[fajg]

Novedades en CSCAweb - nº 566 - 31 de mayo de 2004
+ Balance de la represión en Palestina (20-26 de mayo): Continúa la ofensiva en la ciudad y en el campamento de refugiados de Rafah, donde el ejército israelí deja sin hogar a 1.498 palestinos - Más de 30 palestinos asesinados por Israel en los Territorios Ocupados

+ Agenda 6 de junio: Propuesta de Convocatoria estatal en solidaridad con Palestina del Foro Social de Sevilla

+ "El Terrorismo" (viñeta de 'Al-Hayat')

UNE EUROPE AUX COTES DES PEUPLES DU MONDE
DES DEPUTES EUROPEENS AUX COTES DU PEUPLE PALESTINIEN
La solidarité : des luttes aux urnes et au parlement européen

APPEL

Agir vraiment pour les droits des Palestiniens

Soutenir le camp de la paix en Israël

Les logiques mondialisées de la domination donnent aux inégalités et aux discriminations, en Europe et dans le monde, une ampleur sans précédent. Ces logiques ultralibérales constituent le véritable terreau du racisme, du populisme, de la guerre et de l’occupation, destructeurs pour les peuples.

Militant-e-s pour les droits des Palestiniens et pour le soutien au camp de la paix israélien, altermondialistes, associatifs, politiques, syndicalistes, féministes, citoyens et citoyennes, nous sommes partie prenante de cette autre Europe qui existe, celle qui rassemble, l’Europe des luttes pour la coopération et la solidarité humaines.

Les luttes sociales, le mouvement anti-guerre, les forums sociaux mondiaux et européens, le Festival de Cannes avec Michael Moore et son combat inlassable anti-Bush, avec la réalisatrice israélienne, Keren Yedaya, rendant hommage à ses nombreux compatriotes du camp de la paix israélien en lutte et appelant à aider les Palestiniens à obtenir leurs droits, montrent que les rapports humains diversifiés et multiples ne cessent de se développer.

Pour effacer les contours de cet autre monde possible, Bush et Sharon développent leur logique de guerre à outrance, légitimant le tout sécuritaire contre les aspirations et les besoins des peuples du monde entier. La Palestine en est un exemple flagrant : effondrement de l’économie palestinienne provenant du morcellement des territoires occupés, de l’occupation, de la colonisation, des bouclages quasi permanents, des murs d’annexion, incursions des chars israéliens, attentats ciblés de l’armée israélienne avec leurs effets boomerang catastrophiques, répression aveugle contre les femmes et les enfants, obstacle à l’éducation et à la culture, bref, la destruction des fondements de la vie même, comme ce fut le cas à Jénine hier et Rafah aujourd’hui.

La voix de la Palestine et celle du camp de la paix en Israël ont besoin de se faire entendre au parlement européen. Les élections européennes du 13 juin prochain peuvent en être l’occasion.

Le Parlement européen sortant a demandé, à deux reprises, la suspension de l’accord d’association entre l’Union européenne et Israël tant que ce dernier viole les droits humains les plus élémentaires. Le groupe de la Gauche unie européenne, avec Francis Wurtz a agi, sans discontinuer dans ce sens.

Aussi, parce que nous refusons que la cause palestinienne soit isolée des grandes questions qui se posent à l’Europe et au monde, nous voulons des députés européens qui

- puissent prolonger les actions engagées, nos luttes et nos rassemblements,

- agissent pour faire respecter le droit international,

- se mobilisent pour la libération de Marwan Barghouti et des autres prisonniers,

- se prononcent pour l’envoi d’urgence d’une force de protection du peuple palestinien et pour le démantèlement des murs d’annexion,

- s’opposent aux logiques ultralibérales et du tout sécuritaire,

- mettent la cause palestinienne au centre de la dimension humaine de la mondialisation,

- disent NON à la constitution ultralibérale de Giscard et se prononcent pour qu’un nouveau traité soit mis en chantier, en associant les élus nationaux et européens, les syndicats, les associations, les citoyen-nes.

Nous appelons toutes celles et tous ceux qui, comme nous, sont animés par l’espoir

- que naisse un jour la paix entre les peuples palestinien et israélien,

- de voir naître un Etat palestinien indépendant et viable, à côté de celui d’Israël,

- qu’émerge une Europe antilibérale qui s’engage vraiment pour la paix, la démocratie et la solidarité.

à soutenir et à voter pour la liste

La Gauche Populaire et Citoyenne « L’Europe, oui. Mais pas celle-là !» conduite par Francis Wurtz et Hamida Ben Sadia.

Attention : en raison du nouveau mode de scrutin antidémocratique, pour avoir 1 député en Ile-de- France, la liste doit obtenir plus de 7% des suffrages.



Pour soutenir l’appel : droits_palestiniens@yahoo.fr ; 0670796471 ou 0609051957

1ers signataires : Lysiane Alezard, conseillère régionale, Mouloud Aounit, conseiller régional, association nationale, Antoine Avignon, Aubervilliers, Liliane Balu, conseillère municipale PCF Aubervilliers, Tarek Ben Hiba, conseiller régional, association nationale, Mohamed Ben Saïd, médecin, Paris, Joël Biard, universitaire,Thierry Bodin, statisticien, syndicaliste CGT Aventis, Jean Brafman, conseiller régional, collectif Saint-Denis, Patrick Braouezec, Député-maire, Claude Caroly, Mathilde Caroly, collectif Saint-Denis, Carmen Caron, conseillère municipale PCF ’Aubervilliers, présidente du groupe des élu-e-s communistes et apparenté-e-s, Anne-Marie Charasz, militante AFPS, Jean-Marc Charasz, conseiller municipal associatif, militant AFPS, Pierre Chétif, militant syndical CGT, Clichy sous bois, Jean-Claude Coquelet, Adrian Cossic, militant associatif, Pierre Cours-Salies, universitaire, Gérard Del-Monte, maire adjoint PCF Aubervilliers, Pierre Flament, association Saint-Denis, Ginette Francequin, psychologue, Carole Gastineau, conseillère municipale de Montfermeil Christophe Gaudier, urbaniste-architecte, alternative citoyenne, Olivier Gebuhrer, directeur de recherche, universitaire, animateur d ‘«UNE AUTRE VOIX JUIVE », Catherine Gégout, conseillère de Paris, participante à une mission en Palestine, Pierre Gineste, Thérèse Gouet, militante associative et syndicale, Muguette Jacquaint, députée, Ronan Kerrest, vice-président du conseil général de Seine-Saint-Denis, Patrice Leclerc, conseiller général des Hauts-de-Seine, Pascal Lederer, universitaire, animateur d’ « UNE AUTRE VOIX JUIVE », Nathalie L’Hopitault, collectif Saint Denis, Fernanda Marrucchelli, responsable associative, Madjid Messaoudene, collectif Saint-Denis, Dominique Noguères, militante associative, Gérard Perreau-Bezouille, maire-adjoint et président du groupe communiste et apparentés de Nanterre, Azzedine Taïbi, conseiller général, coopération avec les camps palestiniens, collectif Stains, Aline Pénitot, militante associative, Jacques Perreux, vice-Président du Conseil général du Val de Marne, David Proult, conseiller municipal Saint-Denis, Jack Ralite, sénateur et ancien ministre, Jean-Claude Ruas, Président association culturelle, Jean-François Téaldi, grand reporteur audiovisuel public, Odette Terrade, sénatrice communiste du Val de Marne, Lucky Thiphaine, journaliste, ancienne secrétaire nationale du MRAP, militante AFPS, Patrick Vassalo, conseiller municipal de Saint-Denis,

Rafah Invasion - the end?
GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/

International release

===================
Rafah Invasion - the end?
Adam Keller - Tel-Aviv, May 25, 2004
============================

At long last, the Israeli armed forces have ended their invasion and
occupation of Rafah. It had cost the lives of 59 Palestinians - 12 of
them unarmed civilians according to the army's own account. The
invasion
aroused worldwide condemnation, including a censuring resolution by
the
UN Security Council which the United States exeptionally did not veto,
and aroused widespread controversy inside Israel.

After the fatal "warning shots" fired last Wednesday by a tank at an
unarmed demonstration, it was widely expected that the Rafah operation
would be terminated. But with the tacit agreement of Washington, the
army
continued its operation and even extended it into hitherto untouched
neighborhoods of Rafah. On Sunday, there came the news of widespread
home
demolitions at the Barazil Neighborhood - first from Ha'aretz
correpsondent Amira Hass, the only Israeli journalist to be present at
Rafah
from the beginning of the invasion. Then Kol Israel military
correspondent
Carmela Menashe gained entry to Barazil and broadcast a shocking
account
on the station's noon news maganize, which she later published also in
a two-
page article in the mass-circulation Yediot Aharonot. Finally, Israel's
two
commercial TV stations, Channel 2 and Ch. 10, broadcast extensive
footage
of Palestinians digging in the ruins of their homes and trying to
salvage some
possessions (such footage was conspicuously absent on the government-
controlled Channel 1).
In the cabinet meeting, Justice Minister Yosef ("Tommy") Lapid sharply
criticized the house demolitions, stating: "The sight of an old
Palestinian
woman digging in the ruins for her medicines reminds me of my
grandmother". Since Lapid is a Holocaust survivor, this was taken as a
comparison between the army's conduct and that of the Nazis.
The fact that the Shinuy leader said this means that he thinks it is
what his
constituency feels. Lapid, a former TV talk-show commentator, is quite
a
demagogue.

This morning Kol Yisrael interviewed Brigadier-General Shmuel Zakai,
commander of the Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, and asked him to
account
for the fifty-six houses the army now admits to destroying at Rafah
(after
several days when they claimed to have demolished "only five"). His
answer:
"We had reason to think that the Palestinians had mined the roads, so
we
wanted to create a cleared space to let the tanks and armoured
personnel
carriers pass through". General Zakai evidently assumed that the
Israeli
public would accept this as an acceptable reason for wiping out whole
streets...

Now, the army is out of Rafah, and the Israeli headlines are caught by
Sharon's plan to pass through his cabinet some form of a "Gaza
Disengagement Plan" - though, it seems, one even more partial and vague
than the earlier one. And meanwhile, the issue of Rafah is far from
off the
agenda. In today's Yediot Aharonot General Gabi Ashkenazi, deputy
Chief-of-
Staff, reiterated the army's position: "We must keep hold of the
Philadelphi
Route" (the Israeli-controlled wedge seperating the Palestinian Gaza
Strip
from Egypt). The plans to widen "Philadelphi", at the expanse of
destroying
some 2000 houses (!) at Rafah are not off the agenda, either. They are
likely
to resurface in the event of a new attack on Israeli soldiers in the
Gaza Strip -
or of any other event which would provide a "need for a retaliation."

# The Colonel's Mother demonstrated against the military operation
(translated from Yediot Aharonot, 25/5/04)

Aliza Tibon, mother of Colonel Noam Tibon who commands the Nahal
Brigade and whose soldiers are engaged in various tasks in the
Territories,
joined in yesterday's protest outside the Defence Minstry in Tel-Aviv
calling
for evacuation of the army from Rafah. Tibon arrived there together
with
other women active in the left-wing movement "The Fifth Mother", having
last week participated in a vigil at the Kisufim Chackpoint at the Gaza
Strip
entrance to protest what the movement termed "the harm caused to
innocents".
Tibon, who lives in Kibbutz Tzor'ah, came yesterday morning by train to
Tel-
Aviv and stood in front of the Defence Ministry, holding a sign reading
"Down With the Occupation". She told her fellow activists that she
could
not remain silent in face of the sights from Rafah which she saw on TV,
and
felt she must take personel action to help get the army outof there.
She told
journalists "I am proud to be Noam's mother and I am proud to
demonstrate
against the occupation".

VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES. UN RESOLUTION
UNITED NATIONS

Economic and Social Council

Distr. GENERAL

E/CN.4/2004/NGO/248

11 March 2004

ENGLISH ONLY

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Sixtieth session

Item 8 of the provisional agenda

QUESTION OF THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES, INCLUDING PALESTINE

Written statement* submitted by Habitat International Coalition (HIC), a non-governmental organization in special consultative status

The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31.

[9 February 2004]

* This written statement is issued, unedited, in the language(s) received from the submitting non-governmental organization(s).

GE.04-11875

Habitat International Coalition and its member Al Mezan Center
for Human Rights (Gaza)

This document reports on Israel’s systematic and aggravated violations of Palestinian civilians’ right to adequate housing in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) since the 59th session of the Commission on Human Rights (2003), as well as the consequent breaches of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), (ratified by Israel in 1991), the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (1949) and The Hague Regulations (1907).

On 7 March 2003, the UN Secretary General expressed his deep concern at the excessive force and demolition of Palestinian homes in Jabalia Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip by the State of Israel.[1] “A main feature of the past year [2002–03] had been the increase in the demolition of refugee shelters in the Gaza Strip,” noted UNRWA Commissioner General Peter Hansen.[2] Unfortunately, the information gathered by the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and the Habitat International Coalition (HIC) since then shows the escalation of such violations of the Palestinian people’s rights to housing and land, as a measure of collective punishment. Additionally, the construction of the Separation Wall dominates the picture in the West Bank, with all the land confiscation and isolation of communities that it incurs.

Furthermore, Israel is seizing ever more Palestinian land for its military use and to develop illegal settler colonies, thus depriving the Palestinian population of an essential source of its livelihood and reversing the development of both rural and urban communities within the OPT. Currently, Israel has acquired control by force over one-third of the land of the Gaza Strip and 41.9% of the West Bank. The construction of its Separation Wall in the West Bank further consumes Palestinian land and alienates entire communities from their vital environment and functions; e.g., keeping farmers from their land, students from schools, the sick and injured from hospitals. The Wall’s construction already has variously violated rights and deteriorated lives of over 220,000 Palestinians.[3]

The aforementioned violations of the basic rights to housing and land have, perforce, impinged upon the Palestinian civilian population’s enjoyment of other basic rights. Poverty and unemployment recently reached unprecedented levels, with 62.3% now living in poverty, and 30% jobless.[4] Unfortunately, the limited capacity of the Palestinian Authority and international relief agencies to remedy the vast loss of land, home and other resources fails to remedy the grave situation.

Despite the Secretary General’s renewed attempts to remind the State of Israel of its obligations under international humanitarian law, since the beginning of the Intifada in September 2000, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have exercised no precautions to respect and protect civilian life and property. Since the 59th Commission on Human Rights session, the IOF destroyed completely or made inhabitable 1,819 Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip, and 182 houses in the West Bank, including entire buildings. In the Gaza Strip, the number of people who lost their homes is 15,825.[5]

Below are a few relevant facts and figures gathered by Al Mezan Center for Human Rights in the Gaza Strip, illustrating the practices carried out by the Israelis on the OPT in violation of the human right to adequate housing of Palestinians:

Bulldozing houses: During 2003, the IOF launched dozens of incursions with bulldozers into Palestinian neighborhoods to demolish homes and level land. In total, the IOF destroyed 676 homes in this manner in the Gaza Strip and 182 in the West Bank. The IOF’s construction of a wall between Rafah and Egypt during 2003 caused the destruction of hundreds of homes, often resulting in civilian casualties.

Demolition with explosives: Israel escalated the use of explosives to demolish homes in 2003. In addition to those directly targeted, adjacent houses most often either were destroyed or severely damaged. During 2003, the IOF destroyed 604 homes with explosives in the Gaza Strip, while Israeli army announced that it had targeted 68.

Last 25 October, the IOF detonated three residential buildings of 13 stories and 52 apartments in al-Zahra, south to Gaza City.[6] In 2003, 41 casualties were reported due to house demolitions by explosives in the Gaza Strip. In all of the documented cases, the IOF did not notify the inhabitants or allow them to collect their belongings before the demolition.

Arbitrary shelling: Palestinian residential neighborhoods continued to undergo IOF shelling with heavy machine guns, tank shells and antitank missiles. This way, the IOF destroyed or damaged severely 393 homes in the Gaza Strip. Areas near borders and Jewish settler colonies were most affected as the IOF built watchtowers over these areas.

Destruction of houses by air strikes: Israel escalated its air raids on the Gaza Strip during 2003, destroying 108 houses with a total of 28 air strikes. According to the Israeli army, these raids targeted Palestinian allegedly “wanted” resistance activists.

Isolation of residential areas: IOF has imposed a comprehensive military siege on the OPT since 9 October 2000. This has completely isolated certain areas such as al-Muwasi, in southern Gaza, and al-Syafa, in the north of Gaza. In the West Bank, Israeli forces have strangled 70 villages or communities by constructing the Separation Wall. Only local residents are allowed in and out of these areas with special, discretionary IOF-issued permits. The IOF prevents medical personnel from entering these areas, and curtails the movement of construction materials and the import and export of agricultural goods.

Hundreds of families have had to leave these areas to work, to send their children to school, to survive. It appears that these IOF operations aim to extinguish all aspects of normal life for indigenous Palestinians living near Israeli settler colonies and thus force their displacement and transfer.

Destructive house searches: In 2003, the IOF carried out approximately 150 incursions into residential areas of the Gaza Strip, conducting violent house-to-house searches. In numerous documented cases, IOF soldiers have behaved brutally toward civilians and damaged their belongings. During the searches and seizures, IOF detains entire families in one room for long hours. In several incursions, the IOF seized houses and used the rooftops as watchtowers. This occupation has become permanent in some cases.

Damage to infrastructure: IOF incursions have damaged or destroyed physical infrastructure, including roads, bridges, water and electricity lines and, more seriously, sewage and sanitation facilities. In Bait Lahia, northern the Gaza Strip, an environmental disaster is imminent because IOF “security” restrictions preventing repair of a sewage-treatment plant and threatening military force.[7] 250,000 people in North Gaza consequently are living in a health-threatening environment.

Leveling of land: The IOF leveled 5,476 dunums[8] of productive agricultural land in the Gaza Strip and over 40,000 dunums in the West Bank[9] during 2003. The growing scarcity of land for the Palestinian population has further deteriorated living conditions in the already densely populated urban areas and refugee camps. For example, several municipalities in the Gaza Strip lack space for cemeteries.

Land theft: Israel continued the construction of the planned 650-kilometer Wall, confiscating 17% of the Palestinian land in the West Bank and consequently affecting 38% of the population.[10] Meanwhile, unabated growth and expansion of Jewish settler colonies and their infrastructure consume ever more Palestinian national and private lands.

Conclusion: HIC and the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights once again remind that the IOF practice of home demolition, land and house seizure and the expansion of settler colonies and walls in the OPT are crimes breaching the most fundamental norms of international public law, including human rights standards and the international law.

HIC and the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights remind the Commission that Israel is legally bound under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Right, inter alia, to report on the implementation of its treaty obligations in areas under its control, and stubbornly has refused to do so. The international community, and the members of the Commission bear a corresponding responsibility under the principle of international cooperation to remedy these violations within the framework of international public law. The effective inaction of States to do so has encouraged Israel to continue this pattern of deprivation and senseless destruction, undermining peace and security in the region and beyond.

HIC and the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights endorse the statement of the UN Rapporteur on adequate housing, recognizing the “strong need for an end to the occupation and for the immediate deployment of an international protection force in the region,” and urging the international community “to act decisively to protect Palestinians by taking urgent steps to remove the impunity that Israel enjoys.”[11] Failure to do so perpetuates hostility in the region, and destroys faith in the entire system of international law and legitimacy among the wider public.


For further information, please consult the following websites:

http://www.mezan.org


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] UN Information Centre Press Release (New York, Beirut), “Kofi Annan Deplores Israel's Excessive Use of Force in Gaza,” 7 March 2003.

[2] UN Department of Public Information Press Release GA/SPD/274, 30 October 2003.

[3] http://www.un.org/unrwa/emergency/barrier/f-phase.html .

[4] According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, September 2003. The poverty rate in the Gaza Strip reached 83.4%, while the unemployment rate was 34%. Both of the rates increase in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

[5] Source: Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, Gaza

[6] Press Release 49/2003: “he IOF Destroy Dozens of Homes and Order Eviction of the al-Zahraa Town,” http://www.mezan.org/ .

[7] This plant was designed and built in 1979 by the Israeli civil administration. For greater detail on this plant, consult Al Mezan's report "On the Brink of Disaster" at www.mezan.org

[8] A dunum equals 1,000m2

[9] This figure includes all the area of leveled land in the West Bank since September 2000.

[10] http://www.palestinechronicle.com/story.php?sid=20031129162311958

[11] Press Release: “UN Rapporteur Blasts Israel's Demolition of Palestinian Homes,” 6 November 2003.

----------------------------------------------------------------
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Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights
Jabalia Office:Palestine, Gaza Strip, Jabalia Camp - Main St.- P.O.Box 2714
Tel: 972-8-2453555 Fax 972-8-2453554
Gaza Office: Gaza/ Izz ad-Din al-Qassam St. – P.O. Box. 5270
Tel.:2820442/ Fax: 2820447
E.mail: info@mezan.org or mezan @ planet.com
Web Site: www.mezan.org

Statement by European Jews for a Just Peace*

Paris 22 May 2004

We, European citizens from ten European countries gathered in Paris for a meeting of the organisation European Jews for a Just Peace, condemn in the strongest possible terms the Israeli government’s policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and especially in Rafah. Many of its actions amount to war crimes under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

We express our support fort those forces in Israel actively opposing the occupation and showing their solidarity day-by-day with Palestinians suffering under the Israeli army onslaught. We express our solidarity with the Palestinian people in general, suffering intolerable repression and hardship.

We call on the European Union and European governments generally to put pressure on Israel to call off its war against the Palestinian people. In particular, we reaffirm our opposition to the special privileges Israel enjoys under the EU-Israel Association Agreement, while it is in breach of the human-rights foundations of that agreement. We call on the European Union and European governments to participate in an international peace-keeping force to intervene to stop the bloodshed.


EJJP Executive Committee

(Liliane Cordova (Frnce)

Dror Feiler (Sweden)

Sveva Haertter (Italy)

Richard Kuper (United Kingdom)

Daniela Vorburger (Switzerland)

Max Wieselmann (the Netherlands)


EJJP is a federation of 16 Jewish organisations in ten European countries

Novedades en CSCAweb - nº 563 - 24 de mayo de 2004
+ Balance de la represión en Palestina (13-19 de mayo): Más de medio centenar de palestinos asesinados esta semana por el Ejército israelí en Rafah

+ Declaración de emergencia de la Unión de Comités Populares de la Salud de Palestina en relación a la situación en Rafah

+ "Cumbre árabe" (viñeta de Hajjaj)

The rape of Rafah
The immense might of the Israeli army, assembled from all over the
country, has attacked a small Palestinian township on the margin of
the destitute Gaza Strip. Palestinians, both fighters and civilians,
are
being killed by the dozen, homes are being destroyed wholesale, the
sight of the fleeing population bring back memories of 1948.
All this - for what?
At first sight, the whole action is absurd. Ariel Sharon has
proposed
a unilateral withdrawal from all of the Gaza Strip, and his original
plan
included the evacuation of the "Philadelphi Axis", a narrow buffer zone
cutting Gaza off from Egypt. This means that he does not consider this
entire territory necessary for the security of Israel. According to
him,
the Gaza Strip is a military and demographic burden, and the quicker
we get out of it, the better.
Sha'ul Mofaz, a former Chief of Staff and the present Minister of
Defense, went even further. This eminent thinker revealed that Gaza is
not a part of "our patrimony", that the settlements there were a
mistake from the start. This means that the soldiers who were killed
there under his command died for nothing, for a mistake, and every
soldier killed there now is dying in vain.
But now more soldiers are being placed in mortal danger. Dozens
of Palestinians, among them women and children, are being killed for
the mistake.
Does this sound crazy? What evil spirit possessed the Prime
Minister and the Chief of Staff to start a big military operation in a
territory that the army is supposed to leave at any moment?
There must be some method in this madness. What is the real
reason for this onslaught?
The official purpose is to "destroy the tunnels" under the
"Philadelphi Axis". But tunnels have been there for years. The army
boasts of destroying 98 such tunnels in the past, but only one single
tunnel has been discovered in this operation. It is clear that no
military
action will put an end to them. Even if the army destroys more and
more Palestinian homes in order to widen the axis - the new tunnels
will just be longer.
The tunnels are a pretext. So, what were the real reasons for this
brutal invasion of a pitiful little town?
The first reason is the simplest: thirst for revenge. The army has
suffered two painful blows, its commanders want to settle the account.
Dozens of Palestinians are killed for 13 of our soldiers, hundreds of
homes demolished for two destroyed personnel carriers.
Add to this the argument of morale. Some senior officers were open
about this: an impressive operation that underlines the superiority of
the Israeli army in order to raise the morale of the soldiers who are
still
smarting after the failures.
One can also mention the guilty conscience of the commanders
who sent their soldiers into the killings field riding on huge
quantities of
explosives in inadequately armored personnel carriers. In a decent
army the responsible officers - headed by the hapless Chief of Staff -
would have resigned within hours. But in the Israeli army that is not
the
way things are. On the contrary, if you fail, you can expect promotion.
From a purely military point of view, the "Philadelphi Axis" (the
name randomly generated by computer) is madness. It cannot be
defended without committing atrocities constituting or bordering on war
crimes. It attracts guerilla fighters as a candle attracts moths. But
the
army chiefs who devised it will never admit its folly.
There is another reason for this operation. The generals want to
leave Gaza "with their heads held high". They cannot allow the
Palestinian guerillas to claim to have driven them out by force, as
Hizbullah did in Lebanon.
A childish argument, reflecting a particular military mentality.
After
Rafah, the very opposite will happen: the action will confirm to the
Palestinians that their heroic stand has forced the army out. Who will
be able to deny that?
But the directive for the onslaught on Rafah came from the
political
leadership, which was in need of a resounding military show, with
much killing and destroying, in order to gratify the primitive emotions
of
a part of the public. Simply put: they hurt us, so we hurt them
tenfold.
Ten eyes for an eye, ten teeth for a tooth. That's how votes are won.
Ariel Sharon also has a very good personal reason for ordering
such a glorious military campaign in the alleys of Rafah: after his
defeat in the Likud members' referendum, he was stuck in a dead end.
Opponents in his party and his government blocked him in all
directions.
A few days after the Likud vote, Gush Shalom published a political
ad under the headline "Warning!" It read:

"Sharon now resembles a wounded bull.
"A wounded bull is a dangerous animal.
"His plan is dead. He is incapable of dismantling even one single
settlement. He is incapable of getting another plan accepted.
"His only way out is to order a spectacular military adventure.
"There is no limit to the bloody deeds he is capable of now in
order
to survive."

This warning was published in Haaretz on May 7. Less than two
weeks later, the operation started.
Besides the generals' thirst for revenge, the action is designed
to
serve the personal interests of Sharon. The dramatic events in Rafah
fill
all the news bulletins and leave no room for Sharon's political
failure.
This restores his image as a resolute leader. Again he is a player on
the global stage. And if the entire world condemns him, this only
serves to raise his stature among his voters.
And the opposition? A week ago, 150 thousand peaceniks
demonstrated in Tel-Aviv's Rabin Square to express their disgust with
the present situation and to demand change. Some politicians
appointed themselves as the leaders of these wonderful people and
showered them with garbled and contradictory messages. Yet none of
these speakers cried out this week against the atrocity in Rafah. The
radical peace movements were again left alone in the field. A few hours
after the killing of the unarmed demonstrators in Rafah, these peace
activists were facing the police in the streets of Tel-Aviv, and
yesterday
they held a tumultuous demonstration at the roadblock near Rafah.
The invasion of Rafah will, of course, fail, as did the invasion
of
Jenin. A regular army, strong as it may be, cannot put down guerilla
fighters who are supported by a desperate population. On the contrary,
the mightier an army is, the smaller are its chances of succeeding. It
can kill dozens and hundreds, destroy whole neighborhoods, drive
masses of people from their homes and cause a small Nakba - nothing
will help. A guerilla war can only be ended by compromise and a
peaceful solution.
A little reminder: the word "guerilla" (little war) was coined in
Spain
during the struggle against Napoleon. The French reacted with the
utmost brutality, witnessed for eternity by Goya's shocking painting.
It
did not help them. Many historians believe that the Spanish guerilla
stuck a mortal blow to Napoleon's world empire, even before his
disastrous invasion of Russia.
Sharon is no Napoleon, whatever he might believe. He will leave
Rafah as he entered it. Nothing will change. Except one thing: Rafah,
like Jenin, will take its place in the national epic that will sustain
generations of Palestinians to come.

***

# Donations for the families in Rafah whose houses were demolished
can be sent by cheque - in your own currency! - made out to Anat
Matar, 33 Bernstein-Cohen Street, Ramat Hasharon 47213.
Bigger sums can be deposited to the Ta'ayush' bank account:
Bank Hapoalim, acc. no. 396608, Ramat Aviv branch 606
(Please avoid international bank transfer of two-digit sums because of
prohibitive bank fees).
NB: in both cases you should inform Anat Matar about the sum you
have donated, by sending her the details at

# Boycott List of Settlement Products (newly updated)

enviado por omar :: 12:35 AM ::

8 arrested, 3 to hospital after police disperses T-A Rafah protest
We heard what happened in Rafah while preparing in the Gush office
for the already announced Friday protest at the Gaza entrance. We
couldn''t think of a more fitting reaction than sending out a call to
come - once more - to the Defense Ministry for an immediate protest. On the
way there, with our banners and shields, we felt rather futile compared
with those on whose behalf we were going to protest: the Rafah
demonstrators in the middle of whom a helicopter gunship had sent a
missile wounding dozens and among the ones killed several kids...

Still, the protest of some 250 - with besides Gush Shalom a very
visible (and loud) presence of the dissident reservists (Courage to
Refuse) and the Anarchists - had more spirit than the mass rally some
days earlier. People easily found each other in furious chanting and
the blag flags were there again. Nobody was surprised when some of the
young took the initiative of blocking the street. More and more left
the sidewalk. Police who started coming, closed off the Kaplan road for
traffic, but before they could isolate us we had started marching.
Chanting while walking from the Defence ministry gate through the
whole Kaplan street into Ibn Gvirol, and from there towards the Rabin
Square.

Reactions of passers-by were not unfriendly, and we nearly thought that
the police for once decided not to show the usual behavior on this day
of shame, but then suddenly they come from nowhere diving into the
crowd and singling some out for arrest. Gush Shalom spokesperson Adam Keller was
the first - seven polices dragged him, forcing him face-down on the
street, and from seeing how they handled his arms and legs it seemed a
miracle that he afterwards was not among the three (out of eight arrested) who had
to go to hospital. The others were treated no better: Matan Cohen
(wounded) , Yonathan Pollack (the "recidivist" anarchist), Elad Orian,
refusnik David Zonscheine, Lezer Peled (wounded), Roni Avidov, Gal Chajad
(wounded).

Some thirty demonstrators came to the police station, with two of them
being able to function as lawyers (adv. Micheal Sfarad, himself a
refuser, and activist advocate Yael Varda). After we had seen the wounded
three handcuffed but on their feet coming out of the sstation to enter an
ambulance, at 11pm the message came that the other arrestees would spend the
night at Abu-Kabir (the Arabic name of this prison dating back to the
pre-'48 period) after which the judge would decide what to do further.

Israelis who can, please come to the court(s) Thursday morning, May 20.
Six of the eight will appear before the Duty Judge in the Magistrate
Court (Mishpat Hashalom) Weitzman Street where they can be expected to be
heard from 9am on.
Matan and Roni will appear before a judge in the Juvenile Court
(Shocken building), at about the same time. We hope that all will have the
support of some friends and family.

NB: later tomorrow - again opposite the Defense Ministry, Tel Aviv -
at 6pm Peace Now intends to demonstrate for Get Out Of Gaza Now

Be at the court(s) Thursday morning, May 20 from 9am on.

GUSH SHALOM pob 3322 Tel-Aviv 61033
Phone:
Office: 03-5221732
Spokesperson Adam Keller
03-5565804 / 050-6709603
www.gush-shalom.org - info@gush-shalom.org

Elderly, Sick Worker Trapped at Workplace in Rafah
DWRC- The Democracy and Worker’s Rights Center in Palestine

May 19th, 2004

THE ISRAELI RAID ON GAZA INVADES EVERY FACET OF LIFE:

Elderly, Sick Worker Trapped at Workplace in Rafah

As the Israeli army escalates its merciless military siege on the Gazan town of Rafah, a lone watchman -- 60-year-old Adbel Fatah Muhammad Salim Al-Bayumi, afflicted with diabetes -- languishes trapped at his worksite without any medicine or access to proper care for a third consecutive day.

At this very moment, Israeli tanks are circulating around Abdel Fatah’s construction site, shooting anything that moves, and Adbel is hiding in a container on the site of the Abu-Ziad Company housing construction project, powerless to emerge. While a member of the DWRC’s Gaza branch office has attempted to approach the site in order to extend medical help, he has found it impossible to reach Abdel Fatah in the midst of the heavy gunfire. DWRC has contacted the Red Cross for assistance, and every attempt to assist Abdel Fatah till now has been in vain.

Abdel Fatah’s terrifying predicament is an unfortunate illustration of the reach of Israeli military campaigns into every aspect of existence in Palestine and the lives of all its citizens. Even on the most "peaceful" of days, the Occupation deprives Adbel Fatah of the right to bring bread home to his family of 12 without constant anxiety and work insecurity. And today, the Israeli army denies Abdel Fatah the right to treat his condition and the right to see his family without fear for his life.

DWRC condemns this ruthless and unrelenting offensive perpetrated by the Israeli government, in which 27 Palestinians have been killed, 12 critically wounded, and countless injured. Dozens of houses have been damaged, and tonight and for many nights after, the already impoverished inhabitants of these houses will try to manage a night’s sleep in the open, vulnerable and covered only by the sky.


We call upon the world to act against the unrelenting inhumanity of the Israeli Occupation and its implications for Palestinians simply working to earn their daily bread. To all who carry the flag of human rights, we entreat you: Intervene immediately for Abdel Fatah and other workers afflicted in every facet of their lives by the brutality of the Occupation.

You can send protest letters to the following addresses:

- UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, coi@un.org

- European Union, civis@europarl.eu.int

- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Fax (+972 2) 670-5361 pm_eng@pmo.gov.il

- Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz, Fax (+972 3) 691-6940 sar@mod.gov.il

- The nearest Israeli Embassy: you will find addresses on http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/israel1.htm


For more information, please contact DWRC at:

info@dwrc.org

Tel: 972-2-295-2608
Fax: 972-2-295-2985


DWRC is a non-governmental, non-profit worker’s rights organization unaffiliated with any political party.

DWRC works to promote worker’s direct experience of democracy
through the advancement of labor education and democratic unions.

El asalto de Israel contra Rafah
A los 56 años de 'al-Nakba': solidaridad con el pueblo palestino, fin de la ocupación, soberanía para Palestina

El asalto de Israel contra Rafah

'Arco iris en las nubes', o hacer de Gaza una prisión

CSCAweb (www.nodo50.org/csca), 19 de mayo de 2004
Loles Oliván, Nota informativa CSCAweb, 19 de mayo de 2004

"Las imágenes de familias palestinas enteras intentando salvar sus pertenencias y enseres y evacuando lo que ha sido su hogar en las últimas décadas de ocupación israelí antes de que se produzcan las anunciadas demoliciones por la fuerza militar, actualizan aquellas otras producidas en 1948, cuando la presión militar sionista de las fuerzas terroristas de Ergun y Stern, como en la actualidad el terrorismo de Estado de Israel, ejecutaron el primer gran desalojo masivo de población en la Palestina histórica como condición sine qua non para asentar el proyecto colonial del sionismo y la creación del llamado 'Hogar nacional judío'"

"Es la obligación de la dirección [israelí] explicar a la opinión pública unas cuantas verdades. Una verdad es que no habrá sionismo, ni colonización, ni Estado judío sin evacuar a los árabes [palestinos], sin expropiarles la tierra y sin mantenerles a raya".

(Yesha'ayahu Ben-Porat , ministro del gobierno israelí en 1951,
en respuesta a la controversia surgida por la expulsión de palestinos de Rafah en 1972)

La última operación militar que el Ejército de ocupación israelí está llevando a cabo en la Franja de Gaza -denominada por el ejército de ocupación Arco iris entre las nubes- pone de manifiesto que el Estado de Israel está determinado a forzar un nuevo punto de inflexión en el proceso histórico de desalojo masivo de población palestina (el denominado transfer), tal y como lo exige el proyecto sionista desde los años 40 para hacer de toda Palestina un territorio de mayoría poblacional judía sujeto a su control.





Desde hace semanas la Franja de Gaza y en especial el campamento de refugiados palestinos de Rafah -situado al sur y el segundo más grande de la Franja, con cerca de 145.000 habitantes- están siendo sometido a un mayúsculo asedio de tropas israelíes apoyadas por tanques y helicópteros de combate. El objetivo es aislar este campamento del resto de la Franja, así como de su frontera con Egipto [1]. Se trata oficialmente, según han declarado fuentes gubernamentales y militares israelíes de "[...] crear una nueva zona de seguridad" fronteriza entre Egipto y el territorio palestino bajo control israelí extendiendo la llamada ruta de Filadelfia, que separa la frontera con Egipto del territorio palestino, y bajo la cual -Israel acusa- se ha tejido una supuesta red de túneles subterráneos por donde se trasladarían armas para la resistencia palestina, argumento falaz donde los haya, pues habida cuenta de los compromisos que el gobierno egipcio tiene establecidos con el de Israel en materia de seguridad en la Franja, los supuestos túneles habrían ya sido cerrados por las autoridades egipcias de saberse operativos para la lucha armada palestina.

La realidad de la ofensiva militar israelí es que ha causado ya más de 48 muertes palestinas en la última semana [2], 20 solo en el día de ayer, martes, 18 de mayo. El grado de la tragedia se expresa en las declaraciones efectuadas en la mañana de ayer por fuentes hospitalarias palestinas, que indicaban que la morgue del hospital de Abu Yusuf am-Nayar de Rafah está repleta de cadáveres palestinos y que los heridos superan el centenar [3]. Exhausta ya la población palestina por muerte o devastación, el ministro de Defensa israelí, Saul Mofaz, ha declarado, no obstante, que las operaciones militares y de destrucción de viviendas se prolongarán por tiempo indefinido.

Un nuevo '1948'

Las imágenes de familias palestinas enteras intentando salvar sus pertenencias y enseres y evacuando lo que ha sido su hogar en las últimas décadas de ocupación israelí, antes de que se produzcan las anunciadas demoliciones por la fuerza militar, actualizan aquellas otras producidas en 1948, cuando la presión militar sionista de las fuerzas terroristas del Ergun y Stern (como en la actualidad el terrorismo de Estado de Israel) ejecutó el primer gran desalojo masivo de población en la Palestina histórica como condición sine qua non para asentar el proyecto colonial del sionismo y la creación del llamado "Hogar nacional judío".

Hoy, esas imágenes confirman de hecho, una vez más, que esa estrategia no ha concluido todavía y reproducen el drama renovado que se cierne para esos mismos hombres y mujeres y para sus descendientes, una población en su mayoría ya registrada como refugiados palestinos de la primera gran oleada de las expulsiones sionistas de 1948 y desplazados por tercera o cuarta vez en menos de cinco décadas. De nada ha servido en las últimas cinco décadas que la comunidad internacional proteja a esas personas como refugiadas y les reconozca derechos colectivos e individuales a regresar a su lugar de origen, tal y como especifica la resolución 194 de Naciones Unidas (NNUU), conocida como la del Derecho al Retorno.

A su condición de refugiados desposeídos de su tierra y sus derechos durante más de 55 años se une de forma inherente la de haber quedado devastada colectivamente por más de 37 años de ocupación militar directa, por el abandono calculado de la administración militar israelí, por el empobrecimiento hasta la miseria causado por el asedio sistemático y planificado no solo cifrado en la física brutalidad militar sino en políticas administrativas diseñadas para obtener devastadores efectos destructivos: desempleo y subdesarrollo generalizados como táctica; aniquilación hasta el éxodo o la muerte como estrategia. Todo ello en Gaza, un área que pasa por ser una la zona más densamente poblada del mundo, en un espacio de unos escasos 360 kilómetros cuadrados, donde malviven 1,3 millones de palestinos y cuyo territorio ha sido en más de un tercio confiscado ilegalmente por la ocupación para pasar a ser, igualmente de manera ilegal, de uso exclusivo para unos seis mil colonos judíos-israelíes asimismo ilegales y ocupantes.

Sin vía de salida

Y sin embargo, la paradoja primera que se produce ante este nuevo asedio del sionismo es que los refugiados de Rafah, y por extensión de todos los palestinos de la Franja de Gaza, no tienen vía de escape esta vez, tal y como señala Peter Hansen, el comisionado general de la UNRWA (la Agencia de NNUU para los refugiados palestinos) al describir "[...] la imagen brutal de la gente marchándose. Pero, ¿marchándose hacia dónde? Si se está en Gaza no es posible dirigirse al sur porque hay una frontera [la internacional egipcia]; no se puede ir al oeste porque hay un mar [el Mediterráneo] y no se puede ir al norte ni al este [Palestina ocupada por Israel] porque no hay a dónde ir. No se puede salir de Gaza. Así que si se ha sido refugiado durante años y años ya no hay lugar al que uno pueda desplazarse" [4].

Las fuerzas de ocupación israelíes han cercado todo el campamento-ciudad de Rafah y han destruido la única carretera de salida; la gente está presa en un espacio limitado y militarmente asediado mientras se suceden los informes de un aumento vertiginoso de heridos y de ambulancias palestinas a las que Israel prohíbe el acceso al interior del campamento. La UNRWA, en quiebra financiera abierta desde los últimos 12 años, ha instalado tiendas de campaña de lona y algunos edificios públicos como escuelas y mezquitas se convierten en improvisados alojamiento para más de 2.000 palestinos re-refugiados. El gobierno de Israel, por su parte, ha prohibido en las últimas semanas el acceso de alimentos y medicinas a la Franja y está impidiendo que los heridos palestinos puedan ser evacuados a hospitales de una Cisjordania igualmente castigada por la ocupación [5].

Catástrofe humanitaria

El alcalde de Rafah, Saed Zurub, ha informado de que Israel ha cortado la electricidad y el suministro de agua:

"El propósito del Ejército es destruir nuestras infraestructuras. Rafah es el campamento de refugiados más pobre de la Franja de Gaza y del mundo: llamo a la comunidad internacional para que sea consciente de que si la operación continúa, seremos testigos de una catástrofe humanitaria." [6]

Asimismo, el Ejército israelí ha intensificado en los últimos días su presencia militar con un despliegue masivo de tropas, armamento pesado, carros de combate, buldózeres y helicópteros Apache -de fabricación estadounidense- desde Rafah a Jan Yunis, (donde se asientan 65.000 refugiados), explícitamente para prohibir el movimiento de personas y bienes entra ambos campamentos, como han indicado fuentes del Ejército de la ocupación. Al sur de Rafah, el barrio de Zeitun, invadido e intensamente atacado por las fuerzas de ocupación, ha sufrido al menos 30 bajas mortales palestinas desde el pasado martes, 11 de mayo.

En medio de intensos ataques militares, que incluían lanzamientos de misiles como si de una guerra abierta se tratara, la población palestina de Rafah hacía dramáticos llamamientos durante la tarde de ayer, martes, a través de emisoras, para que el Creciente Rojo y la Cruz Roja Internacional les salvara, alertando de la catástrofe que estaba teniendo lugar en el campamento.

El Tribunal Supremo israelí 'legaliza' un Crimen de Guerra

La embestida definitiva contra los palestinos del sur de la Franja de Gaza y la destrucción de sus viviendas ha sido declarada por el presidente del Consejo Legislativo Palestino (CLP), Rauhi Fatuh, como Crimen de Guerra [7]. Sin embargo, el Tribunal Supremo israelí ha dictaminado la legalidad de las demoliciones a través de una resolución en respuesta al recurso presentado el pasado 14 de mayo por el Centro Palestino de Derechos Humanos de Gaza (CPDH) en nombre de 13 familias palestinas [8]. El viernes, 16 otro recurso, presentado en nombre de otras 46 familias palestinas, fue igualmente rechazado.

El fallo autorizaba a demoler viviendas palestinas por entender que desde ellas se pone en peligro la vida de las tropas de ocupación israelíes [9]. Desde ese día más de 150 viviendas palestinas han sido destruidas por Israel.

El Plan Sharon: hacer de Gaza una prisión

Esta operación constituye una evidencia clara de que el Plan de Sharon [10] de abandonar Gaza y acabar la ocupación militar no es sino una nueva falacia de dimensiones inhumanas para la población palestina. Las intenciones de Israel al desconectar la Franja de su frontera con Egipto son cercar militarmente territorio y población palestinos, convertir Gaza en una hacinada prisión militar sujeta al control israelí, vigilada por seleccionados y sumisos agentes de la seguridad palestina adiestrados al efecto y supervisados por representantes de los servicios de inteligencia de Egipto y de Jordania en dependencia de la CIA [11]. Todo ello, tras haber causado impunemente el mayor daño posible contra tierra y población.



Notas:

1. Véase en CSCAweb: Violaciones de los derechos humanos en Palestina llevadas a cabo por las fuerzas de ocupación israelíes en mayo de 2004
2. Palestinian Monitor, 17 de abril de 2004
3. Agencias y La Vanguardia, edición electrónica, 18 de mayo de 2004
4. Citado en Palestinian Monitor, 17 de abril de 2004
5. El martes, 18 Israel ha invadido de nuevo Yenín y Nablus, asesinando a dos palestinos en cada ciudad. Véase en CSCAweb: Violaciones de los derechos humanos en Palestina llevadas a cabo por las fuerzas de ocupación israelíes en mayo de 2004
6. La Vanguardia, edición electrónica, 18 de mayo de 2004
7. El País, 18 de mayo de 2004
8. Véase en CSCAweb: Carta abierta al presidente del Consejo Europeo apelando a la toma de medidas para proteger a la población civil palestina
9. La Vanguardia, edición electrónica, 18 de mayo de 2004, op. cit.
10. Véase en CSCAweb: El asesinato de al-Rantisi y el Plan Sharon: un nuevo Balfour para Palestina - Ibrahim Alloush: ¿Quién se beneficia del asesinato del 'sheij' Yasín y de sus compañeros?
11. Sobre las especificaciones relativas a la seguridad de Gaza en el marco del plan de Sharon, véase el contenido del Plan en su versión en inglés en la edición electrónica del diario israelí Ha'aretz, de 25 de abril de 2004: www.haaretz.com

Brindis a la sombra de la muerte




En la foto superior, el primer ministro Ariel Sharon levanta su copa por los triunfos del baloncesto israelí en los campeonatos europeos en una recepción celebrada el martes 18 de mayo; en ese mismo instante, la morgue del hospital Najaj de Rafah (Gaza) se llenaba de cuerpos de palestinos asesinados por el ejército israelí (foto inferior). En el centro, un niño palestino tras ser herido en una incursión israelí de castigo en Rafah el pasado domingo 16 de mayo.

Historia de la demolición de viviendas palestinas desde el periodo del Mandato Británico hasta mayo de 2004, bajo la ocupación israelí

CSCAweb (www.nodo50.org/csca),
19 de mayo de 2004
Badil (Palestina), Press Release E-18-04,
18 de mayo de 2004
Traducción para CSCAweb de Loles Oliván

"Desde el establecimiento del Estado de Israel en 1948, se calcula que Israel ha destruido más de 200.000 casas palestinas. La política de destrucción de viviendas palestinas continúa"

- Década de 1930: La Administración británica en Palestina utiliza la demolición de viviendas palestinas como medio para reprimir la revuelta local contra el control británico. Entre 1936 y 1939m las fuerzas británicas destruyeron más de 5.000 viviendas palestinas.

- 1948: el recién creado Estado de Israel comienza la destrucción de viviendas de los palestinos refugiados para prohibir que retornen a sus hogares. Más de 125.000 viviendas algunas de ellas dañadas durante la guerra, fueron sistemáticamente destruidas en un proceso denominado de "limpieza de las vistas de la Nación".

- Década de 1950: Israel expulsa a los palestinos de las zonas fronterizas y de las aldeas donde la población había permanecido tras la guerra, y destruye las casas palestinas.

- 1967: La destrucción de infraestructuras palestinas durante la guerra incluyó 375 viviendas en Imwas, 535 en Yalu, 550 en Beit Nuba, unas 135 en el barrio marroquí de la Ciudad Vieja de Jerusalén; mil en Qalquilia, además de miles de casas en Beit Marsam, Beit Awa, Yiftlik, y al-Burj, así como las de los campamentos de refugiados del área de Jericó y de la Franja de Gaza.

- Hasta 1990: Israel ha seguido destruyendo casas palestinas alrededor de Cisjordania, Jerusalén Oriental y la Franja de Gaza por razones punitivas y administrativas. Más de 20.000 viviendas fueron destruidas desde 1967 hasta principios de la década de 1990. Esta cifra no incluye los alojamientos de refugiados. En las décadas de 1970 y 1980, Israel destruyó más de 10.000 albergues de refugiados en Gaza para crear el denominado "corredor de seguridad" entre el norte de la Franja y el desierto del Sinaí [ocupado por Israel hasta 1979] y para ampliar los caminos para el acceso de las patrullas militares israelíes. Las demoliciones fueron parte igualmente de una campaña para reasentar a la fuerzas a refugiados palestinos que se habían instalado fuera de los campamentos. La mayor parte de las demoliciones se llevaron a cabo bajo el mando de Ariel Sharon, entonces comandante del Frente Sur del ejército israelí.

- Desde 2000: Israel ha seguido destruyendo las casas palestinas dentro del Estado de Israel [la Palestina de 1948]. En 2003 las destrucciones de viviendas de beduinos en el Negev se multiplicaron por 8. Más de cien hogares fueron destruidos. Además, otras 280 casas fueron demolidas en Galilea y en el Triángulo. En total, más de 500 hogares fueron derribados. El cálculo estimado de órdenes de demolición en Galilea asciende a 12.000 y en el Négev a 30.000.

- Entre 1993 y 2000, Israel ha destruido más de mil viviendas palestinas a lo largo de los territorios ocupados en 1967.

- Desde el comienzo de la segunda Intifada en septiembre de 2000, Israel ha destruido más de 3.000 viviendas palestinas.

- Desde el establecimiento del Estado de Israel en 1948, se calcula que Israel ha destruido más de 200.000 casas palestinas. La política de destrucción de viviendas palestinas continúa.

URGENTE: Protest Israeli war crimes against civilians in Rafah, Gaza
Ali Abunimah, Nigel Parry, and Michael F. Brown, The Electronic Intifada, 18 May 2004




Scenes of grief and desolation in Rafah, 18 May 2004 (17th May in US).

The Electronic Intifada urges all concerned people to contact international and government officials to demand immediate action to halt Israel's assault on Rafah refugee camp in Gaza. Israel is in the process of committing major war crimes with total impunity.

In the first 10 days of May 2004, Israel's demolition of 131 residential buildings in Gaza left 1,100 Palestinians homeless.

Five days later, continued Israeli demolition operations doubled the number of homeless since the beginning of May 2004 to 2,197 Palestinians.

The total number of people to lose their homes in the Gaza Strip is 18,382 since the start of the Second Intifada in September 2000.

The majority of the demolitions this month have taken place in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, where 12,600 people had already been made homeless by demolitions since the Intifada began.

On 11 May 2004, Israel killed 15 Palestinians in the al-Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City, including 4 children, and injured at least 200 others, including 35 children.

On 13 May 2004, Israel killed 12 Palestinians in Rafah, including a child, and injured at least 20 others.

By 15 May 2004, two days after the 13 May invasion began, a total of 14 Palestinian civilians had been killed and 30 injured in Rafah, with 80 homes destroyed, leaving 880 Palestinians homeless.

Rafah continues to experience ongoing Israeli military operations at the time of publishing this alert.

(Source: PCHR/UNRWA)


ISRAELI WAR CRIMES

The United States continues to give a green light to Israeli war crimes. In recent days, Secretary of State Colin Powell half-heartedly criticized the destruction in Gaza. Today, however, as the atrocities continue in Rafah, President Bush declared in a major address to the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC that Israel "has every right to defend itself from terror." Bush made no criticism whatsoever of the Israeli attack on Rafah.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights has said that, "The extensive destruction of civilian property, carried out wantonly and unlawfully, and without military necessity constitutes a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention as defined in article 147, and a war crime as clarified in article 85.5 of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions."

Amnesty International reported today that: "More than 3,000 homes, vast areas of agricultural land and hundreds of other properties have been destroyed by the Israeli army and security forces in Israel and the Occupied Territories in the past three and a half years," and said that "some of these acts of destruction amount to grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention and are war crimes."


INTERNATIONAL WORDS, NOT ACTION

Governments and international organizations have strongly criticized the Israeli action:

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemned the Israeli attack on Rafah and stated that Israel, "as the occupying power ... must cease such acts of collective punishment immediately, and ... refrain from further grave violations of international law."

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said that, "what is taking place now in Gaza is something that we have to condemn and to condemn very strongly."

However none of these statements has had any impact on Israel, because Israel knows that it can act with impunity and has the full backing of the US government. For years, Israel has been able to flout UN Security Council Resolutions and the Geneva Conventions without any real consequences. The result is escalating, unrestrained violence.

Israel is now even brazen enough to announce its war crimes in advance, knowing full well that international action will be limited to a few statements. On 18 May 2004, Ha'aretz reported Israeli army radio as quoting Israel's Ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman as saying that there was a "very, very strong chance" that the United States would veto any such condemnation of Israel's actions in Gaza.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in particular, has failed to exercise his responsibility. Under the UN Charter, the Secretary-General has a duty to inform the Security Council of grave breaches of international law and security. Annan has restricted himself to statements "urging" Israel not to violate international law. As Israel has repeatedly ignored his pleas, he has effectively done nothing.

The EU, as Israel's largest trading partner, has enormous influence with Israel, but has so far been reluctant to use it.

TAKE ACTION

We believe that a large mobilization of international public opinion on behalf of the people of Rafah demanding that those with power and responsibility act to end these war crimes can make a difference.

Key points should include:


Immediate intervention to demand the protection of Palestinian civilians and Palestinian homes in Gaza -- particularly in Rafah refugee camp, which is the focus of the current Israeli military operations.


A call for governments to unequivocally condemn Israel's recent actions against Palestinian civilians and homes in Gaza.


Tell US representatives not to veto the coming Security Council resolution about the situation in Gaza.

We urge you to act now and contact the following US, UN, UK, and European Union representatives (Readers outside the United States are encouraged to contact their national political representatives. Contact information can typically be tracked down quickly by searching with Google.com):

United States Representatives

US President George W. Bush -- Tel: (202) 456-1111; Fax: (202) 456-2461.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell -- Tel: (202) 647-6575; Fax: (202) 261-8577.

US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer -- Tel: (+972-3) 519-7575; E-mail: webmaster@usembassy-israel.org.il

Your member of Congress -- Call the Capitol switchboard toll-free on 1-800-839-5276 and ask to be connected to your member of Congress.

United Nations

General Telephone: (212) 963-1234; Fax for Kofi Annan's office: (212) 963-7055; E-mail: inquiries@un.org

Permanent Missions to the United Nations

European Union Representatives

EU Presidency, Bertie Ahern, T.D., Prime Minister of Ireland -- Tel: 353 1-6194123, Fax: 353 1-6621899; E-mail: eu@taoiseach.gov.ie

High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) for the European Union Javier Solana -- Tel: +32 (0)2-285-6467 or +32 (0)476-93-6426; E-mail: presse.cabinet@consilium.eu.int

UK Representatives

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair -- E-mail or Fax via Downing Street website

Soldiers Stop! The black flag of war crime is flying
GUSH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 -

[] Daily protest and joint mobilization for Friday
[] Why are we again so few?
[] Please, continue flooding politicians and embassies with protests
[] B'Tselem on High Court Decision on Rafah Demolitions:
The Rule of Law Ends at the Border
[] Israel and the Occupied Territories: Under the rubble,
House demolition and destruction of land and property

###

[] Daily protest and joint mobilization for Friday

Many hundreds of letters against the Rafah house demolitions were
sent by protesters worldwide as fax or as email, in answer to the Gush
Shalom call a few days ago. But now, with Rafah cut off from the rest
of the Gaza Strip, we face a situation of more than thousand people
having lost their homes and belongings, and 20 Palestinians who got
killed during the last day alone .
On Monday we stood at the call of Courage to Refuse outside the Defense
Ministry, holding black flags and crying out: Soldiers Stop! - and on
Tuesday morning the Bat Shalom women took the lead and held a protest
vigil at
the Sufa Checkpoint, the nearest to Rafah which Israeli peace seekers
can get. There were dozens of people, from all over the country, joined
by members of nearby kibbutzim who provided logistical support. It was
decided
to establish a continuous presence, day and night. Gush Shalom and
Ta'ayush are preparing a big mobilization for a demonstration there on
Friday.
Bat Shalom asks women AND men to come and join them for a while at any
time until then. Bus no. 362 (6th floor, platform 633) from central bus
station in Tel-Aviv leaves at 9:00 a.m. and goes to Machsom Rafah
(Sufa). You
can also catch it at the central station in Ashkelon at 10:00. There is
a bus from Jerusalem to Ashkelon that leaves the central station at
8:00 (bus no. 437 at platform 10). To arrive by car you should drive to
Ofakim, f
rom there take road 241 and then road 232 till the Cholit junction, and
there take a right to the Sufa checkpoint.
If you have room in your car, or need a ride, please contact Bat-Shalom
at 02-5631477 or 02-563622 or at info@batshalom.org (please indicate
phone no.) and after office hours contact Jessica at 065-679478. There is
a poss
ibility for organized transport on Thursday, from Jerusalem and/or
Tel-Aviv depending on demand.
In Haifa a vigil will be held on Wednesday, at 6pm
in the corner of elJabal st (shderot hazionut) and Shabtai Levi st.
(For more details: Abir: 054-743723 / Iris: 054-420806)
For organized transportation on Friday:
If you want to travel by bus from Tel-Aviv please phone the Gush Salom
office (03-5221732 ) and leave on the answering machine your phone
number and the number of seats. Ta'ayush info at: 03-6914437 . The exact
details w
ill come later.
>From Jerusalem a minibus will leave at 10.30; it will leave to return
to Jerusalem at approximately 18.00. Limited places! Reserve in
advance with Pnina at (02) 563-7798.

For direct contact with the women at the checkpoint call: Hot Line
Against the Occupation (Hannah) 066-300144 or Lili 053-966281.


[] Why are we again so few?

Why are we again so few - after the enormous rally on the Rabin Square
just days ago? That demonstratiobn addressed onlythe internal
Israeli and utilitarian aspects of the army's presence in Gaza. Among the
speakers w
as even the former general Yom Tov Samiya, who during his term in
charge of the Gaza Strip actually intitiated the monstrous plan to extend
the “Phildelphi Route” (Israeli-controlled wedge along the Egyotian
border) and
thus destroy hundreds of Palestinian hoimes at Rafah... no moral
condemnation from him.

Though we may not be able to match the 150,000 turnout of the Tel-Aviv
event, it is the time to sound our clear and different message:to
demand thatthegovernment andarmyimmediately stop the destruction and
the killin
g,stop the cruelty towards the inhabitants of the refugee camps,stop
the expulsion and the war crimes.

[] Please, continue flooding politicians and embassies with protests

Please, continue flooding the government offices and Israeli embassies
throughout the world with protest messages. We hear on the Israeli news
how the embassies have it hard to "explain." Today the call is renewed
by Gila
Svirsky (to which we add the embassies url).

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Tue, 18 May 2004 17:50:12 +0200
From: Gila Svirsky
Subject: Emergency right now in Gaza


Friends,
We need your help.
There is an emergency situation right now in the Gaza Strip and the
town of Rafah, in particular, with scenes that bring to mind Israel's
invasion of Jenin and Nablus in the spring of 2002. So far today, 18
Palestinians
were killed, but the action continues. Last weekend, 116 homes were
destroyed, making over a thousand people homeless (www.btselem.org).
Hundreds more are slated for destruction. Amira Hass, filing dramatic
daily repor
ts from inside Rafah, describes the scenes of people grabbing their
children and whatever comes to hand and fleeing their homes, anticipating
the entry of the bulldozer-tanks (www.haaretzdaily.com). Even Yossi
Sarid from
the Yahad Party (formerly called Meretz), normally a staunch defender
of the IDF, described actions in Rafah as "war crimes". My friend
In'am called me from Gaza trembling with fear, and reported that the
Palestinian ne
ws broadcaster broke down in tears as he spoke.

Many -- Israelis, internationals and Palestinians -- are desperately
trying to halt the bloodshed. The Israeli women's peace movement just
placed an ad in Ha'aretz calling for an immediate halt to the violence
and renewa
l of negotiations for a peace agreement that will extract us from all
the occupied territories ("True and enduring solutions," we wrote, "are
attained by negotiation, not destruction, revenge or humiliation").
This morni
ng, forty women drove to Gaza to see if they could intervene
physically, but they are being prevented from entering Gaza by the army. The
women have set up an encampment at the Sufa checkpoint and say they will
not leave
until the army stops its actions there. Other peace and human rights
organizations have placed newspaper ads, and many are organizing a
larger delegation to join the women on Friday.

International figures have begun to speak out, but we need more, and
quickly. Can you please take a moment to write a letter (email or fax)
or make a phone call to any or all of the list below? A sample letter
is append
ed.

Please take a minute to try to save someone's life or home. Imagine
that you had to walk out the door of your home at this very moment, with
nothing but what your arms can carry, and you would never see your home
or its
contents ever again. Please make a couple of calls.

Gila Svirsky

**********************************
Coalition of Women for Peace:
http://www.coalitionofwomen4peace.org
**********************************

Sample letter text:

There is an emergency situation in the Gaza Strip right now. Please
demand that Prime Minister Sharon halt the death and destruction wrought
there by the Israeli army. The cycle of bloodshed must end.

Contact people (First try the US, European and UN officials. All the
fax numbers work):

(1) President George W. Bush -- Tel (202)-456-1111; Fax (202) 456-2461.

(2) Secretary of State Colin Powell -- Tel (202) 261-8577; Fax (202)
261-8577.

(3) US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer -- Tel in Israel: (+972-3)
519-7575
webmaster@usembassy-israel.org.il

(4) Your member of Congress:
Call the Capital switchboard toll-free: 1-800-839-5276 and ask to be
connected to your member of Congress.

For your information, you can send a free fax by internet (to certain
places only, but definitely area code 202 in the US) at
http://www.tpc.int/sendfax.html. Note that this is a service provided
for free, but is not to
be used for bulk fax mailings because they can only handle a relatively
limited number of faxes at once. [Thanks, Mike Wolfson, for this info.]

(5) UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, coi@un.org

(6) Council of the European Union, public.info@consilium.eu.int
(7) European Union, civis@europarl.eu.int

(8) Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Fax (+972 2) 670-5361
pm_eng@pmo.gov.il

(9) Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz, Fax (+972 3) 691-6940
sar@mod.gov.il
(10) Minister of Justice Yosef Lapid, Fax: (+972 2) 628-5438
sar@justice.gov.il

(11) Look for the nearest Israeli Embassy at:
http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/israel1.htm

Thanks for doing this -- but please don't send me a copy of your
letters, or I'll be flooded (I hope...).
Gila


[] B'Tselem on High Court Decision on Rafah Demolitions:
The Rule of Law Ends at the Border

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Sun, 16 May 2004 17:01:11 +0200
From: "Noam Hoffstater"



May 16, 2004

Press Release

High Court Decision on Rafah Demolitions:
The Rule of Law Ends at the Border

This morning’s ruling of Israel’s High Court of Justice allows the IDF
to
continue its mass house demolitions in Rafah, and gives the IDF full
discretion as to when to allow a court hearing prior to demolition.

In issuing this ruling, the Court has shirked its obligation to balance
security considerations with the rights of Palestinian civilians who
are
not involved in the hostilities.

When addressing events in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the Court
consistently disregards its obligations regarding human rights and
international law, and uncritically adopts the position of the security
establishment.

Since the beginning of the Intifada, the IDF has demolished some 1,800
homes in the Rafah Refugee Camp. Since the beginning of 2004 alone,
284
homes have been demolished in Rafah, leaving 2,185 Palestinians
homeless.
House demolition on such a massive scale cannot be justified as “urgent
military need.”

B’Tselem calls on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to immediately cancel the
plans for further demolitions, discussed by Chief of Staff Moshe
Ya’alon
in this morning’s cabinet meeting. In addition, the organization calls
on
the Israeli government to compensate families who lost their homes and
to
provide them with alternative housing.

For the results of B’Tselem’s investigation on the IDF action in Rafah
this weekend, see www.btselem.org


For additional information, contact Noam Hofstatter, B’Tselem’s
Spokesperson, at 050-387230, 02-6735599, or at noamh@btselem.org


[] Israel and the Occupied Territories: Under the rubble,
House demolition and destruction of land and property

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Subject: Amnesty International NEW REPORT
From: eastmed@amnesty.org
Date sent: Tue, 18 May 2004 10:19:42 +0100


Amnesty International is launching a report today entitled Israel and
the Occupied Territories: Under the rubble: House demolition and
destruction of land and property. In this report, the organization analyses
the main p
atterns and trends of forced eviction, house demolition and destruction
of property by the Israeli army and security forces in Israel and in
the Occupied Territories in the light of international human rights and
humanita
rian law.

You can find the report as well as a web action on AI's website:

The report: http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde150332004

Press release: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE150502004

Stop destruction of homes and land by Israeli army - take action!
http://web.amnesty.org/pages/isr-180504-action-eng

Slideshow:
http://www.amnesty.org/resources/slideshow/slideshow-detect.htm?id=isr-180504-eng


# Boycott List of Settlement Products
newly updated - at www.gush-shalom.org

Hebrew
http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boycheb.htm

English
http://gush-shalom.org/Boycott/boyceng.htm

# Sharansky and the New Antisemitism, by Adam Keller -
http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/sharansky.html

(more articles of The Other Israel May issue accessible via
http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/contents.html)


#Against the Wall
contact addresses daily struggle / eye-witness reports

#Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites)
updated refusniks lists / support to five long-time incarcerated


#Against the Wall

*
ðåëçåú éåîéåîéú áëôøéí îàéîéí ò"é äçåîä ìúàí òí
àééáé 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il
àøé÷ 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net

Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall.
Contact:
Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il
Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net

*
Daily eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories:
http://www.machsomwatch.org
(Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints)
http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php
(internationals throughout OT)


#Refusniks

Constantly-updated refusniks lists:


English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/
Hebrew / òáøéú - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/

English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en
Hebrew / òáøéú - http://www.newprofile.org/

For the latest news about the five:
http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html

--
http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (òáøéú/Hebrew)
http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English)
http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in
Arabic)

with
\\photos of recent actions
\\the weekly Gush Shalom ad
\\the columns of Uri Avnery
\\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle
\\position papers & analysis (in "documents")
\\and a lot more

N.B.:
On the Gush Shalom website links for
Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish

In order to receive Gush Shalom's Hebrew-language
press releases mail to:
gush-shalom-heb-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org
+ NB: write the word "subscribe" in the subject line.

If you want to support Gush Shalom's activities you can
send a cheque or cash, wrapped well in an extra piece
of paper to:

Gush Shalom
pob 3322
Tel-Aviv 61033
Israel

or ask us for charities in your country which receive
donations on behalf of Gush Shalom

Please, add your email address where to send our
confirmation of receipt. More official receipts at
request only.



_______________________________________________
If you got this forwarded and you want to subscribe, send mail to

gush-shalom-intl-press-request@mailman.gush-shalom.org

and write "subscribe" in the subject line.

enviado por omar :: 7:54 PM ::

Palestinian PP, Articles by Hanna Amireh
From: Palestinian People's Party, Monday, May 17, 2004

mailto:hanna@palpeople.org

==================================================

What does Sharon want from the disengagement Plan?

By Hanna Amireh*

There is no doubt that the current extensive contacts and meetings between the US and Israeli officials are actually American-Israeli negotiations to impose a unilateral settlement to the conflict in the region away and far from the Palestinian people and their leadership and this is unprecedented hegemony and intransigence.

Following the US approval to Sharon’s disengagement plan, the extensive contacts and consultations started moving to discuss the details of the plan and its expected ramifications on the Palestinian internal condition and on the Arab neighboring countries and on the capacity of the US Administration to mobilize Arab and international support to the plan or even to neutralize any potential opposition to the plan.

We can recall here the statements of Israeli PM Areil Sharon who said: “the US support and what Washington can offer in return constitute two vital factors working for the disengagement plan. This takes us back once again to the issue of American-Israeli contacts and the price Sharon has set!

What Sharon wants in return for withdrawal from Gaza – according to his statements – is a new defense line inside the West Bank according to which the course of the separation wall is defined and which is eating up half of the Palestinian territories. Moreover, he wants to consolidate control over the major settlement blocs in Areil, Gosh Atsion, and the Jordan Valley and around the settlements of Amanuel and Karneh Shomron – i.e. in the northern, southern and central regions in the West Bank – in addition to an official US recognition to the annexation of the city of Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel.

That is, the separation wall and the settlement blocs and Jerusalem constitute the basic part of Sharon’s plan; these issues are non-negotiable from his point of view and they are subject to the so-called unilateral solution. As to the part which is subject to negotiations, it is the second part of his plan or what might be left for the Palestinians after Sharon takes what he wants, such as the establishment of a besieged Palestinian state with temporary borders and superficial signs of sovereignty as an interim solution without any definite time ceiling and facilities in the economic field and also facilities in crossing to Jordan and Egypt and other so-called facilities in the economic and humanitarian fields.

As for the negotiations, they will never take place until the Palestinian side deals with two basic conditions: dismantling the terrorism infrastructure and replace the current Palestinian leadership with a leadership that can do the job. It is no secret that these two conditions were set up in the first place by Sharon in order to implement the first phase of the roadmap. According to statements of Israeli Defense Minister Shaoul Mofaz, unilateral separation opens the door for resumption of negotiations with the Palestinians on the basis of the roadmap. But these negotiations will be delayed from three to five years as of today. This means that the aim of the negotiations is to impose the roadmap on the Palestinian people with the Israeli conditions, interpretations and the 14 reservations which Sharon has set up. Therefore, the situation will settle down on a permanent interim settlement to be executed unilaterally by Israel with US support until it is proven that there is a Palestinian partner with whom they can negotiate after three or five years on some necessary details to bring about this settlement in a beautified manner that can be accepted by some Palestinian, Arab and international circles.

In this sense, Sharon’s disengagement plan is a means through which he can freeze the final settlement and reinforce the policy of the occupation status quo indefinitely. Sharon is currently discussing with the Bush Administration the best means to achieve this; in fact, this is the real content of the current American-Israeli contacts at this phase.


Thus, Sharon’s plan must be taken very seriously since it is not a tactical maneuver, as some like to describe it, or a new trick or game that this man excels in or that it is impossible to imagine that the godfather of settlements would evacuate settlements even remote ones.

What Sharon is presenting these days in the name of the Israeli right conservative or extremist wing is unprecedented because he is working on formulating an amended version of the self-rule project which was posed by Menahem Begin 25 years ago. This is a project which comes as an alternative to Oslo Accord and goes beyond the security for withdrawal formula which was the basis of that accord. It is an imposed unilateral scheme and not a negotiable solution; it is a solution that gives up settlements in Gaza Strip and the West Bank in return for seizing more than half of the area of the Palestinian territories after surrounding them with the separation wall.

This is Sharon’s scheme and he is presenting it with the full support of the US and in light of an ineffective European official role and absence of any Arab role.

Why now and is there any significance for the timing? It seems he wants to make maximum use and exploitation of the regional implications emerging from the US occupation of Iraq before it is too late. He also wants to make use of the start of changes in positions of some Arab countries and to use the time factor as put by Sharon himself: “Either we do it ourselves now or end up losing everything”.

The question remains: Will Sharon succeed through the disengagement plan to freeze the final status solution indefinitely? Will he be able to transform his scheme into a permanent solution to the Palestinian cause?

This is impossible according to all criteria and standards and the experience of past years. Sharon’s scheme came because the Israeli policy failed in achieving what it considered objectives in the recent years. It failed in imposing a solution on the Palestinian people through military means and other means of pressure. It failed in imposing a solution on the Palestinian people that does not conform to the international legitimacy resolutions. It also failed in keeping the occupation in its current form indefinitely; it failed in removing the Palestinian leadership and its President from the scene of events; it could not find any alternative or any Palestinian collaborator. After failing in achieving the announced goals, the Israeli governments exhausted all military and non-military means to impose an unjust solution on the Palestinian people, Sharon comes these days to legitimatize the use of force and the imposition of the status quo and to present them as a new invention, but in reality it is a further retreat and setback.

As we look into the negative aspects of the disengagement plan and the evacuation of settlements, we have to note also the signs of retreat in the Israeli official positions, especially when they repeated on many occasions last year on the possibility of military victory and the defeat of the Intifada and on implementing the model of Iraq on the Palestinian leadership; Israel said 2003 will be the year of military decisiveness and the toppling of Yasser Arafat and clung to the position of refusing to evacuate any settlement or settler without a permanent settlement with the Palestinians.

This retreat - although it seems superficial at this phase - does not tackle the real and core of the expansionist policy of the occupation and entails an initial recognition that the current policies cannot continue and that they cannot afford the costs of such policies indefinitely. The current changes on the shape of the Israeli policies, no matter how small or superficial, will make an impact by time on the content of those policies, whether it is positive or negative.

For the above reasons and other factors, we are standing now at an important and critical juncture through which the course of the framework of evacuating the settlements will be decided. Will it be the framework of Sharon, i.e. the disengagement plan and reinforcement of occupation under the name of interim solution and making it a permanent solution of the Palestinian cause? Alternatively, will it be the framework of international legitimacy resolutions and the transferring of the withdrawal from Gaza and evacuation of settlements into a preliminary step towards the implementation of those resolutions. The external Arab and international factors, which have been suspended so far, will have major impact in frustrating Sharon's scheme. The emergence of the Palestinian factor will play a key role in activating the above-mentioned factors. The struggle against the wall will constitute the key element in building a Palestinian-Arab-international alliance to frustrate those schemes.

There is no doubt that the unity of the Palestinian people and their various forces and the performance of their leadership should play a decisive role in this confrontation.

* Member of the PLO Executive Committee and Politburo Member of the Palestinian People's Party


Date:15/4/2004

======================================

Notes That Must Be Said Regarding What The Future Holds!

* Hanna Amireh

The threats made by Arek Sharon on assassinating President Yasser Arafat a few days after the assassination of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, Hamas Founder and Spiritual Leader, comes as a serious development that cannot be isolated from the current political developments, such as the disengagement plan, and the construction of the separation plan and the US-Israeli Understanding Memo which is being drafted in preparation for the visit of the Israeli PM to the US. Moreover, the statements also cannot be isolated from the current developments in the Arab world and the failure of the Arab summit and other phenomena that encourage Sharon to continue with his all-out attack policy against the Palestinian people and leaders.

The threats included striking "Palestinian and non-Palestinian human targets" in the Arab neighboring countries, including Sheikh Hasan Nasrallah, Leader of Hizbollah in Lebanon. Sharon said: "I don’t propose to either one of them - meaning Arafat and Nasrallah - to feel secure and I don’t advise any insurance company to issue life insurance policies to either".

Prior to Sharon's threats, similar threats were made by Israeli Defense Minister Shaoul Mofaz and chief of the Joint Staff Moshe Ya'alon. The threats pointed very clearly that Israel should continue with its offensive operations by sea, ground, and air against Gaza Strip.

Within the same context, we can read the US Veto at the UN Security Council against the draft resolution on condemning the assassination of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin as an "insurance certificate" to the Israeli policies. Thus, Israel would not have committed the assassination operation if it had not received full coverage from the US Administration which sought it adequate to express some kind of annoyance or dissatisfaction regarding the operation in order to save the face of its friends and for the purpose of calming the emotions and tensions and for media consumption only.

Those threats are extremely dangerous since they foresee that the region is going to face many difficult days ahead and might witness an explosion in the whole situation. Of course, this causes concern of the international community and relative concern of the US Administration which fears of unexpected reactions that will negatively affect its interests in the region, especially its occupation of Iraq, and in consolidating its hegemony over the so-called Greater Middle East.

Therefore, the US Administration expresses officially its resentment, but at the same time offers full coverage to the Israeli policies. This double standard US policy must not be pass unnoticed. Remaining silent in front of such policies will only encourage their continuation and means some sort of dealing with such policies and their devilish goals.

Israel has announced for a long time that it shall liquidate Hamas leadership and other Palestinian leaders. Israel translated its threats in the failing assassination attempt which was executed last September in Gaza when it dropped a large bomb weighing around 250 kgs at a building where a meeting of Hamas leadership was taking place, according to Israel. During the same period, the Israeli officials did not hide their threats against the lives of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and other leaders.

Despite this policy and the fact that the government of Sharon continues in its policies and threats against the Palestinian leaders, a counter measure has not been taken at the Arab and international levels to deter those threats. Similarly no measure has been taken to stop this policy. The government of Sharon understood from the absence of serious and decisive Arab and international reactions that it could implement its threats without fearing any ramifications. Even when the Palestinian forces and factions convened to hold their national dialogue in Cairo under the Egyptian official sponsorship and when they expressed readiness to observe a mutual and parallel ceasefire under international supervision, the government of Sharon rejected that offer, and at the time, the international community, the US in particular, could have exerted pressure on Sharon's government to accept the Palestinian proposal, but nothing happened and it was only natural to see Sharon continue with his policies fearing no one and nobody.

The assassination operation against Sheikh Ahmad Yassin came In light of the above-mentioned background; therefore, efforts have to be exerted at the various Arab and international levels to prevent additional assassination operations, especially in light of the most recent threats made by Sharon and the Israeli insistence to continue with the assassination policy and the incursions without any limitations or restrictions. Yediot Ahronot (an Israeli newspaper) quoted on March 24, 2004, a senior official in the Israeli army saying "the army will try in the few months to come to physically harm as many Hamas leader as possible in Gaza"; he added: there shall be also large scale ground operations that will target the infrastructure and other steps that will surprise the Palestinians".

As mentioned earlier, those schemes and threats are related to Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan and the building of the wall and through saying that this plan requires launching a devastating strike against the Palestinian factions so as not to repeat the experience of the Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon and what came after in terms of Hizbollah control over South Lebanon.

Therefore, the Israeli continuous policy of "all-out attack" will continue and it is based on the claimed excuse which is the absence of the Palestinian partner with whom they can negotiate while reality shows that no Palestinian partner can accept Sharon's scheme.

However, implementing this policy with all its phases and details and various components will always need the appropriate cover and justification and timing and this is what the government of Sharon is trying to seek through what it calls "fighting Palestinian terrorism".

Thus, we are facing several dangers: the first danger lies in the fact that Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan which is based on the evacuation of settlements in Gaza in return for a price in the West Bank to be guaranteed by Washington and which deals with the conclusion of the separation wall and the reinforcement of settlement blocs and the continuation of the measures to Judaize Jerusalem. Second, the dangers also lie in the possibility of the full incursion of Gaza Strip such as what happened in the West Bank two years ago; third, there is also the danger of escalating the assassination operations and the imposition of new facts on the ground and the attempt to create a state of chaos and internal conflict that might lead to the fragmentation of the PNA.

The outcome of this will be an interim - permanent unilateral solution that will be imposed by Israel!

Based on these facts, there is a need to confront this plan with a quick Palestinian move from several axes. The first axis deals with moves at the Arab and international levels in order to urge for Arab and international steps that can recruit the pressure on the Israeli government to halt the policy of assassinations and prevent a large scale military incursion in Gaza Strip and to get Arab and international guarantees and not only US guarantees regarding the safety of Palestinian leaders, mainly the safety and security of the elected President of the Palestinian people Yasser Arafat. The second axis deals with moves to reinforce the trend of national reconciliation at the internal level and the restoration of public order and security for the citizen since this is a public national interest and national duty and not only a security task. The third trend deals with reinforcement of popular struggle and mobilization of an Arab and international campaign against the separation wall since it is the basic tool of Sharon's scheme.

These moves from the three directions and other moves can constitute a basis for a Palestinian national dialogue as part of two phases, where the first phase will witness the formulation of an interim political action plan for one year for example and to determine its implementation tools with direct and clear timetables and goals. Thus, a basis for cooperation and national unity can be established to lay confidence building measures in preparation for the second phase of dialogue which can tackle the long term programs, goals and strategies. The complexities of those goals and strategies and the insistence to prefer them as sole topics for dialogue have prevented so far any success in reaching those goals.

The two-phase Palestinian national dialogue and agreement might be the sole practical approach that can succeed within the current circumstances and due to the urgency and dangers of the challenges and the urgent need to have a consensus and not postpone things awaiting agreement over al matters, especially that the sole practical alternative is nothing.

In conclusion, these were some necessary comments in light of the assassination of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, especially that the assassination comes as a qualitative step in the context of an integrated Israeli scheme to continue the comprehensive attack against the Palestinian people. A comprehensive dialogue leading to an agreement over an interim action plan and necessary lessons and conclusions of the assassination operation has become one of the most urgent issues on the Palestinian agenda.

* Member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee
and Politburo Member of the People' s Party.

Carta abierta al presidente del Consejo Europeo
Carta abierta al presidente del Consejo Europeo apelando a la toma de medidas para proteger a la población civil palestina

CSCAweb (www.nodo50.org/csca), 19 de mayo de 2003
Centro Palestino de Derechos Humanos (Gaza, Palestina ocupada),
16 de mayo de 2004
Traducción para CSCAweb de Paloma Valverde

"El CPDH desea recordar a los Estados europeos sus obligaciones legales señaladas en la Cuarta Convención de Ginebra para asegurarse de que Israel respete la Convención en los Territorios Ocupados. [...] Tienen la obligación de detener las violaciones de la Convención por parte del Ejército israelí y de asegurar la protección de la población civil palestina. Las medidas requeridas para cumplir estas obligaciones no están especificadas en el artículo pero pueden incluir una serie de actuaciones legales como la suspensión del Acuerdo de Asociación UE-Israel y la no renovación de otros privilegios; la disminución del nivel de representación diplomática, la restricción y/o la prohibición del comercio de armas, de la cooperación militar, tecnológica y científica, la restricción sobre las exportaciones e importaciones"

A/a: Bertie Ahern T.D
Primer Ministro de Irlanda
Presidente del Consejo Europeo

Estimado Mr. Ahern:

Nos dirigimos a usted para expresarle nuestra más profunda preocupación respecto al deterioro de la situación humanitaria y de los derechos humanos en los Territorios Ocupados palestinos (TTOO), especialmente en la Franja de Gaza. Creemos que lo que supone la última escalada de las acciones militares israelíes en la Franja de Gaza, incluyendo las masivas ofensivas militares lanzadas en el día de hoy [17 de mayo] sobre Rafah -cuya finalidad manifiesta es la destrucción de cientos de viviendas de refugiados palestinos- requiere su atención urgente. Hacemos un llamamiento a la Unión Europea (UE) para que actúe de forma inmediata como Alta Parte Contratante de la Cuarta Convención de Ginebra y asegure el fin inmediato de las violaciones a la Convención perpetradas por las fuerzas ocupantes israelíes en los TTOO. Concretamente hacemos un llamamiento para el envío inmediato de protección internacional para la población civil palestina en los TTOO.

Magnitud de los ataques de Israel

En la última semana las fuerzas israelíes de ocupación han incrementado el uso de la fuerza en una serie de ataques aéreos y terrestres en la Franja de Gaza utilizando helicópteros de combate, tanques, buldózeres y otros vehículos blindados. Esos ataques han tenido como objetivo las zonas residenciales de la ciudad de Gaza, el campamento de refugiados de Rafah y la zona sur de la Franja de Gaza -densamente pobladas- violando completamente los principios de proporcionalidad y de distinción requeridos por las leyes humanitarias. Desde la noche del lunes 10 de mayo de 2004, al menos 30 palestinos, incluidos 21 civiles no implicados en actos de resistencia, han sido asesinados por las fuerzas de ocupación israelí durante las operaciones militares israelíes en la Franja de Gaza. Más de 258 palestinos civiles han sido heridos y más de 188 propiedades de civiles destruidas o dañadas.

Barrio de al-Zeytoun

La magnitud de la incursión israelí en el barrio de al-Zeytoun, en la ciudad de Gaza, que dio comienzo a primeras horas del jueves 11 de mayo, se caracterizó por tener como objetivo la destrucción de las propiedades civiles y las infraestructuras en esta zona residencial densamente poblada, incluyendo la destrucción de las redes de agua y electricidad, carreteras, la demolición y daños causados a 83 viviendas de civiles y 42 comercios, la destrucción de 30 coches y la devastación de 100 dunums de tierras de cultivo. Al menos 16 palestinos, incluidos 7 civiles no implicados en la lucha, fueron asesinados durante esta incursión que finalizó a primeras horas del martes 13 de mayo. Unos 200 palestinos más fueron heridos. Durante esta incursión, las fuerzas de ocupación establecieron además puestos militares en viviendas de civiles, incluyendo puestos de francotiradores en propiedades de civiles [palestinos] de las zonas limítrofes. Helicópteros de combate israelíes lanzaron misiles contra la gente de la calle y contra propiedades y abrieron fuego en la zona. Las fuerzas israelíes utilizaron a los civiles palestinos como escudos humanos durante los registros casa por casa, usaron explosivos y vehículos blindados para destruir las propiedades civiles, impusieron el toque de queda en el vecindario prohibiendo el acceso a los equipos médicos de urgencia y a la ayuda humanitaria. Las acciones israelíes se intensificaron tras la destrucción de un vehículo blindado [israelí] por un grupo armado palestino, lo que finalizó con la muerte de al menos seis soldados israelíes.

Campamento de refugiados de Rafah

En el campamento de refugiados de Rafah, al sur de la Franja de Gaza, las fuerzas de ocupación israelíes iniciaron una incursión a primera hora del martes 13 de mayo en la que se utilizaron buldózeres, helicópteros de combate, tanques y otros vehículos blindados. Nuevamente, esta incursión tenía como objetivo una zona residencial civil densamente poblada. Las acciones israelíes se intensificaron tras la muerte de varios soldados israelíes en esta incursión, cuyo resultado final la muerte de otros 14 civiles palestinos, incluido un número de personas asesinadas por un misil lanzado desde un helicóptero de combate contra una calle abarrotada de gente. Además, al menos 48 civiles han resultado heridos. Las fuerzas israelíes se retiraron durante un corto lapso de tiempo el sábado 15 de mayo, pero nuevos preparativos han dado comienzo esta mañana temprano en los alrededores de Rafah para una mayor y mejor ofensiva militar.

Demolición de viviendas

El Centro Palestino de Derechos Humanos (CPDH) está especialmente preocupado por la demolición de casas palestinas que ha caracterizado esta operación en Rafah de magnitud sin precedentes. El campamento de refugiados de Rafah, situado a lo largo de la frontera con Egipto, ha sido objeto de repetidas operaciones de demolición. Desde el inicio de la actual Intifada en septiembre de 2000, las fuerzas israelíes de ocupación han demolido total o parcialmente aproximadamente unas 2.000 viviendas palestinas en Rafah, dejando una franja de tierra paralela a la frontera con Egipto completamente yerma. Miles de palestinos civiles se han convertido en "sin techo", muchos de ellos por segunda o tercera vez. Las demoliciones se llevan a cabo normalmente sin aviso y sin dar un plazo para reclamar contra la operación y sin tiempo para recoger sus pertenencias. Cada vez más civiles palestinos están asesinados o heridos durante estas operaciones. Desde el lunes 10 de mayo, al menos 101 hogares han sido destruidos o dañados en el campamento de refugiados de Rafah, dejando a 1.371 civiles palestinos sin hogar. 23 comercios también han sido demolidos total o parcialmente. Las afirmaciones hechas por los responsables israelíes indicando que estas operaciones de demolición que se llevan a cabo probablemente terminen con la destrucción de varios centenares de casas.

Sin embargo, las manifestaciones israelíes de que todas las casas que han sido demolidas recientemente estaban vacías o eran utilizadas por francotiradores palestinos no concuerdan con los principios de proporcionalidad y distinción. La naturaleza estratégica de estas operaciones de demolición ha quedado desvirtuada por las manifestaciones [realizadas] el mes pasado en relación con el proyecto de construcción de una franja paralela a la frontera con Egipto en el lado palestino, en esta misma zona del campo [de refugiados de Rafah] [1].

Por tanto, las aseveraciones israelíes de una necesidad militar inmediata son claramente inconsistentes.

Como estamos seguros que usted conoce, la ley internacional humanitaria, concretamente la Cuarta Convención de Ginebra, está basada en el principio de protección de la población civil en tiempo de guerra o de ocupación. La Cuarta Convención de Ginebra proporciona una amplia cobertura para la protección de civiles bajo régimen de ocupación, lo que incluye la protección de la vida y la propiedad de los civiles. Concretamente la extensiva destrucción de la propiedad civil llevada a cabo caprichosamente, fuera de la ley y sin necesidad militar alguna es una grave violación de la Convención, como se define en el artículo 147, y un Crimen de Guerra como se define en el Artículo 85.5 del Primer Protocolo Adicional. El Artículo 33 de la Convención prohíbe además "los castigos colectivos e igualmente todas las medidas intimidatorios". La magnitud y las circunstancias de la reciente destrucción de viviendas planificada en Rafah, niega las afirmaciones israelíes de "una inmediata necesidad militar", tal y como manifestó Peter Hansen, Comisionado General de Naciones Unidas para la Ayuda al Refugiado (UNRWA): "Con esas operaciones militares desproporcionadas, Israel está violando gravemente las leyes humanitarias internacionales. Este castigo colectivo no calmará en absoluto la situación en Gaza ni mejorará la propia seguridad de Israel" [2].

Sin embargo, a pesar del claro reconocimiento de la comunidad internacional acerca no sólo de la aplicabilidad de la Convención de Ginebra en los TTOO, sino también de las graves violaciones de Israel en sus acciones en los TTOO, estas demoliciones injustas y otras violaciones están aprobadas por el Tribunal Supremo israelí. El sábado 14 de mayo, el CPDH, en nombre de 13 familias, presentó una reclamación al Tribunal Supremo contra la propuesta de demolición de las casas del bloque O del campamento de refugiados de Rafa. A pesar de que una orden temporal de no demolición se había expedido el viernes, la reclamación fue rechazada el sábado 16 por el Tribunal Supremo alegando necesidades militares. Israel se ha negado repetidamente a aceptar la aplicabilidad de jure de la Cuarta Convención de Ginebra en los TTOO, y el Tribunal Supremo de Israel no ha hecho nunca responsable al ejército israelí y al Estado [de Israel] del cumplimiento de sus obligaciones respecto a la Cuarta Convención de Ginebra y los Tratados fundamentales sobre derechos humanos de los que Israel es un Estado parte.

Responsabilidades de la UE

En este contexto, el CPDH desea recordar a los Estados europeos sus obligaciones legales señaladas en la Cuarta Convención de Ginebra para asegurarse de que Israel respete la Convención en los TTOO. En lo relativo a las obligaciones señaladas en el Artículo 1 de asegurar el respeto de la Convención en todas las circunstancias, todas las Altas Partes Contratantes tienen la obligación de detener las violaciones de la Convención por parte del ejército israelí y de asegurar la protección de la población civil palestina. Las medidas requeridas para cumplir estas obligaciones no están especificadas en el artículo pero pueden incluir una serie de actuaciones legales como la suspensión del Acuerdo de Asociación UE-Israel y la no renovación de otros privilegios; la disminución del nivel de representación diplomática, la restricción y/o la prohibición del comercio de armas, de la cooperación militar, tecnológica y científica, la restricción sobre las exportaciones e importaciones [3]. Específicamente, el Artículo 146 requiere que las Partes contratantes asuman la investigación y el enjuiciamiento de aquellos responsables de ordenar o cometer graves violaciones de la Convención.

Al mismo tiempo que celebramos la reciente condena [por parte de la UE] de la operación de demolición de viviendas llevada a cabo por las fuerzas militares israelíes en los últimos días, creemos que tal manifestación no es suficiente para cumplir con los requerimientos [de las Convenciones de Ginebra] a los Estados europeos como Altas Partes Contratantes.

A la luz del rápido deterioro de la situación actual y de las intenciones declaradas de las mandos militares israelíes relativas a la inminente demolición de centenares de casas palestinas más en Rafah, el CPDH apela a la Presidencia de la UE y a los Estados de la UE para que tomen medidas inmediatas, tal como requiere la Cuarta Convención de Ginebra a las Altas Partes Contratantes.

A la luz de la gravedad de la situación actual y de las operaciones militares a gran escala que están teniendo lugar en la Franja de Gaza, y concretamente en Rafah, el CPDH requiere a los Estados de la UE para que desplieguen ayuda internacional inmediata para proteger a la población civil palestina en los TTOO.

A la luz de la permanente y efectiva impunidad de Israel por sus violaciones de los derechos humanos y de las leyes humanitarias internacionales en los TTOO, la violencia continuará su espiral hacia una situación de absoluta ausencia de ley. Una acción concreta, siguiendo las claras obligaciones legales, es urgente para asegurar el fin de la actual escalada de violencia y dar un paso más para lograr una paz duradera y justa para israelíes y palestinos.

Gracias por su atención.
Atentamente,

Centro Palestino de Derechos Humanos
Gaza, 16 de mayo de 2004



Notas del CPDH de Gaza:

1. Amos Harel, "IDF Plans to build trench along Philadelphi Road", 28/04/04, en www.haaretz.com
2. UNRWA Press Release, "UNRWA: Alarm at Planned Demolitions", 16 May 2004, en www.unrwa.org
3. U. Palwankar, "Measures available to states for fulfilling their obligation to ensure respect for international humanitarian law" (January-February 1994) 298 Int. Rev. Red Cross.

Mueren doce palestinos en operativo israelí en Gaza
18 de mayo de 2004, 7h56

RAFAH, Franja de Gaza (Reuters) - Al menos doce palestinos murieron el martes en el campo de refugiados de Rafah, en el sur de Gaza, durante un amplio operativo lanzado por el ejército israelí contra un bastión de activistas en un abierto desafío a la oposición internacional.

La redada con tanques y tropas de infantería, que podría llegar a ser uno de los mayores operativos realizados en Gaza desde el comienzo del levantamiento palestino en el 2000, despertó la condena internacional debido a la amenaza del jefe del ejército israelí de destruir cientos de viviendas palestinas.

Sin embargo, las fuerzas de seguridad israelíes dijeron que no hay planes para una destrucción sistemática de casas durante lo que el ejército describió como una operación tendente a detener el contrabando de armas mediante túneles desde Egipto.

"La única manera en que destruiremos hogares es si encontramos un túnel dentro de una casa o si una casa es utilizada como refugio de terroristas para atacar nuestras fuerzas", aseguró una Publicidad

fuente.

En medio de la oscuridad, las tropas irrumpieron en Rafah adoptando posiciones estratégicas en edificios, mientras soldados realizaban búsquedas de activistas casa por casa y se enfrentaban con palestinos armados.

Antes del comienzo del operativo, helicópteros israelíes dispararon contra zonas aledañas de Rafah causando la muerte a siete palestinos, al menos tres de ellos armados.

En el primer ataque, los helicópteros artillados dispararon contra un grupo de activistas palestinos armados que estaban escondidos detrás de un muro que divide al campo de un vecindario de Rafah, matando a por lo menos tres de ellos.

Poco antes del amanecer, los aparatos lanzaron otro ataque con misiles en la zona, mientras tropas del ejército israelí penetraban en el vecindario de Tel al-Sultan, situado en los suburbios del campo de refugiados. En el ataque murió otra persona.

Anteriormente, los helicópteros israelíes habían disparado misiles contra un grupo de miembros de un grupo radical palestino que se desplazaban armados por una zona cercana a la entrada del campo de Rafah, matando a tres de ellos.

Otros cinco palestinos, al menos uno de ellos armado, murieron en enfrentamientos callejeros, dijeron médicos, que agregaron que unas 20 personas resultaron heridas en los ataques y en los combates.

RODEADO

Las tropas israelíes mantienen rodeado el campo de refugiados palestinos en Rafah. Cientos de palestinos huyeron el lunes de sus hogares en el campo de refugiados.

Rafah es conocido por ser refugio de guerrilleros de grupos extremistas palestinos que se mezclan en la población de 90.000 refugiados y atacan frecuentemente a los soldados israelíes.

Israel afirma que en el campo de refugiados se ocultan los activistas palestinos que atacan ciudades y pueblos israelíes, y asentamientos de colonos judíos.

Las tropas israelíes se preparan para llevar a cabo una demolición masiva de casas en el lugar.

El primer ministro palestino, Ahmed Qurie, solicitó el lunes a la Casa Blanca que intervenga para detener la amenaza de Israel de realizar la demolición de casas en el campo de refugiados.

Qurie hizo la petición en una reunión en Berlín con la asesora de Seguridad Nacional de Estados Unidos, Condoleezza Rice, que sirvió para aliviar el aislamiento diplomático de los palestinos con Washington.

La solicitud ocurrió después de que Israel rodeara con blindados el campo de refugiados de Rafah, como preparativo para la demolición.

El ejército de Israel, el más poderoso de Oriente Medio, se vio sacudido por las emboscadas de la semana pasada en las que los extremistas palestinos mataron a trece soldados israelíes.

El lunes el ejército israelí no sólo se preparaba para derribar cientos de casas, que según Israel son utilizadas por miembros de grupos armados palestinos para esconderse, sino que también consideraba la posibilidad de cavar una zanja para bloquear el contrabando de armas.

La medida ha sido fustigada por los funcionarios palestinos, que sostienen que contradice la iniciativa del primer ministro israelí Ariel Sharon para buscar la "desvinculación" de Gaza.

Mientras los blindados israelíes acordonaban el campo de refugiados de Rafah, palestinos armados preparaban emboscadas contra las tropas del estado judío.

Muchos residentes apilaban colchones, muebles, ladrillos y otros objetos frente a los casas para tratar de bloquear la entrada de las tropas israelíes.

Empleados de la agencia de la ONU para refugiados palestinos almacenaban agua y alimentos en cuatro escuelas de la zona y colocaron varias filas de carpas para albergar a unos 1.500 refugiados que huyeron de Rafah.

"No se puede vivir (en Rafah). Estoy cansado de huir. No creo que vuelva allá", dijo Yousef al Jamal, de 33 años, mientras sacaba algunos de sus escasos bienes de su hogar.

Unos 12.600 residentes de Rafah han perdido sus hogares desde que las tropas israelíes comenzaron a destruir las casas de las familias de los activistas suicidas en el 2000.

Los asistentes humanitarios de la ONU dijeron que ya había más de 1.000 refugiados de Rafah fuera del campo, después de que el ejército destruyó con sus excavadoras unas 80 casas la semana pasada.

/Por Cynthia Johnston, con colaboración de Nidal al-Mughrabi en Gaza, Wafa Amr en Ramallah y Matt Spetalnick en Jerusalén/.*.

CÓMO RETIRARSE DE PALESTINA
Sólo la creación de dos estados, con retoques menores de fronteras, puede traer la paz

NOAM Chomsky
Profesor de Lingüística del MIT y autor de Hegemonía o supervivencia. La estrategia imperialista de EEUU (Ediciones B).




El conflicto palestino-israelí continúa siendo una de las principales razones del caos y del sufrimiento en Oriente Próximo. Pero podríamos tener a la vista una forma de romper el impasse. A corto plazo, la única solución posible y mínimamente decente del conflicto es crear dos estados separados por una frontera, la línea verde, con ajustes mutuos y menores.
Por ahora, el proyecto israelí de construcción de asentamientos e infraestructuras apoyado por EEUU parece estar cambiando el significado del término menor. Sin embargo, hay varios planes en la mesa basados en la coexistencia de dos estados. El más destacado es el Acuerdo de Ginebra, presentado en diciembre por un grupo de destacados negociadores israelís y palestinos, que trabajaron al margen de los canales oficiales. El acuerdo ofrece un detallado programa para el canje de tierras y puede ser concretado si el Gobierno de EEUU lo respalda, ya que la realpolitik indica que Israel debe aceptar lo que la potencia ordena.

EN CAMBIO, el plan Bush-Sharon de separación es de hecho un plan de expansión y de anexión. Aun cuando Sharon propone algún tipo de retirada de la franja de Gaza, "Israel invertirá decenas de millones de dólares en asentamientos en Cisjordania", ha recordado James Bennet citando declaraciones del ministro de Finanzas de Israel, Binyamin Netanyahu. Otras informaciones indican que estos asentamientos se desarrollarán en el lado palestino de la valla de separación.
Tal expansión contradice la Hoja de ruta respaldada por Bush, que exige el cese de "toda actividad en los asentamientos". "Aunque el fin de la ocupación de la franja de Gaza por parte de Israel es un hito importante, sólo tendrá significado si hay un cambio análogo de política en Cisjordania", ha escrito Geoffrey Aronson en una publicación de la Fundación para la Paz del Próximo Oriente, con sede en Washington. La fundación acaba de publicar un mapa de los planes israelís para Cisjordania, mostrando mosaicos de enclaves palestinos rodeados por muros, que reproducen los peores aspectos de los bantustanes, las poblaciones creadas durante el régimen del apartheid de Suráfrica, tal como Meron Benvenisti ha denunciado en el diario Haaretz de Jerusalén.
La cuestión planteada ahora es si las comunidades israelís y palestinas están tan entrelazadas en los territorios ocupados que es imposible toda división. Sin embargo, en noviembre, exdirigentes del Shin Bet, el servicio de seguridad interior israelí, señalaron que Israel puede y debe retirarse completamente de la franja de Gaza. En cuanto a Cisjordania, entre un 85% y un 95% de los colonos podrían abandonar la zona "con un simple plan económico", en tanto la fuerza pública tal vez deba enfrentarse con un 10% que no desean ser desalojados. Para los exdirigentes del Shin Bet, ése no es un problema muy serio.
El Acuerdo de Ginebra se basa en conjeturas similares, que parecen bastante realistas. Por cierto, ninguna de esas propuestas encara el abrumador desequilibrio en el poderío militar y económico entre Israel y un eventual Estado palestino, u otros asuntos cruciales.
A largo plazo, otros arreglos podrían surgir, a medida que se desarrollasen interacciones más saludables entre ambos países. Una posibilidad es una federación binacional. Entre 1967 y 1973, ese Estado binacional fue bastante asequible en Israel-Palestina. Durante esos años también era posible un total acuerdo de paz entre Israel y los estados árabes, y por cierto hubo ofertas en ese sentido de Egipto y de Jordania. En 1973, esa oportunidad se había perdido. Lo que alteró la situación fue la guerra de 1973 y el cambio de opinión entre los palestinos, en el mundo árabe y en el campo internacional, en favor de los derechos nacionales de los palestinos en una forma que incorporó la resolución 242 de la ONU, pero añadió disposiciones para la creación de un Estado palestino en los territorios ocupados, que Israel debería evacuar. Sin embargo, EEUU ha bloqueado de manera unilateral esta resolución durante los últimos 30 años. El resultado ha sido guerra y destrucción, una cruel ocupación militar, la absorción de tierras y recursos, la resistencia y, finalmente, un creciente ciclo de violencia y odio mutuo.

EL PROGRESO requiere compromisos de todas partes. ¿Cuál sería un compromiso justo? Lo más cerca que podemos llegar a una fórmula general es que el compromiso debe ser aceptado si es el mejor posible y puede conducir a algo mejor. La propuesta de Sharon de dos estados que dejen a los palestinos encerrados en la franja de Gaza y en cantones en la mitad de Cisjordania no cumple ese criterio. El Acuerdo de Ginebra sí se aproxima, y por tanto debe ser aceptado, al menos como base para negociaciones de israelís y palestinos. Ésa es mi opinión.
Una de las cuestiones más espinosas es el derecho de los palestinos a retornar a sus tierras. Los refugiados palestinos ciertamente no están dispuestos a renunciar a ese derecho, pero en este mundo, no en un mundo imaginario que podemos discutir en seminarios, ese derecho no podrá ser ejercido más que de forma limitada dentro de Israel. En todo caso es erróneo ofrecer esperanzas que no se concretarán a personas que sufren en la miseria y en la opresión. En cambio, deben realizarse esfuerzos constructivos para mitigar su sufrimiento y encarar los problemas que tienen en el mundo real.
Un acuerdo para instituir dos estados con el consenso internacional es aceptable para una amplia gama de la opinión pública israelí. Eso incluso engloba a halcones tan preocupados por la presencia de demasiados no judíos en un "Estado judío" que han formulado la absurda propuesta de transferir áreas de densas poblaciones árabes dentro de Israel a un nuevo Estado palestino.
La mayoría del pueblo estadounidense también respalda la idea de los dos estados. Por tanto, no es inconcebible que esfuerzos organizados de activistas en EEUU puedan conseguir que Washington acepte el consenso internacional, en cuyo caso, también Israel accedería al plan. Aun sin la presión de EEUU, gran cantidad de israelís favorecen alguna solución de ese tipo, dependiendo exactamente de cómo se les formulan las preguntas en las encuestas. Un cambio en la posición de Washington tendrá una enorme diferencia. Los exlíderes del Shin Bet, así como los dirigentes del movimiento de paz israelí (Gush Shalom y otros), creen que la ciudadanía israelí aceptará tal resultado.
Pero nuestra preocupación real no es especular sino conseguir que la política del Gobierno de EEUU se alinee con la del resto del mundo y aparentemente, con la mayoría de los ciudadanos norteamericanos.

© Copyright 2004 by Noam Chomsky. Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate.

Novedades en CSCAweb - nº 559 - 17 de mayo de 2004
+ Balance de la represión en Palestina (6-12 de mayo): Al menos 25 palestinos asesinados en diferentes ataques de las fuerzas de ocupación en Gaza y Cisjordania - 1.100 palestinos sin hogar tras 10 días de destrucción de viviendas por el Ejército israelí

EJJP statement on the Bush-Sharon meeting
Fuente: Lista Foro Social Mediterraneo

Bush’s endorsement of Sharon’s unilateral approach is a rejection of any genuine ‘two-state’ agreement. Its waiving of international law in favour of illegally-created ‘facts on the ground’ is a cynical endorsement of the philosophy of ‘might is right’.

Bush: No Return of Refugees, No Return to pre 1967 Borders
I
MEMC & Agencies, April 15, 2004

The American President George W. Bush denied the Right of Return of
Palestinian Refugees to their land expelled from in 1948 and said no
Israeli pullout to the 1967 borders.

"In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing
major
Israeli population centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the
outcome of
final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the
armistice lines of 1949," Bush told reporters after the meeting the
joined him with the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the White
House Wednesday. Bush said the Palestinian refugees would not
return to their lands, but to the future Palestinian State.

Bush's statements enraged the Palestinians who consider both, Right
of Return and the Independent Palestinian State on the West Bank
with the Borders of pre 1967 as red lines that can not be crossed.

The Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei rejected Bush's
statements and told reporters outside his office in Ramallah
Wednesday, "He [Bush] is the first president who has legitimized the
settlements in the Palestinian territories when he said that there will
be
no return to the borders of 1967," he said. "We as Palestinians reject
that, we cannot accept that, we reject it and we refuse it."

Palestinian Minister for negotiations affairs Dr. Saeb Erekat also
dismissed Bush's statement. "This is like someone giving a part of
Texas' land to China," he said, adding that over the years, U.S.
administrations have assured the Palestinians that issues like borders
and settlements would be handled in negotiations between the two
sides.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a former minister of Information also slammed
Bush Statements said "Bush and Sharon are trying to protect each
others' political future but are endangering the political future of
Israel,
the Palestinians and the whole region."

Further more, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan criticized Bush for
ignoring the Palestinians' wishes in recognizing Israel's claim to
major
West Bank settlements. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, the
secretary-general reiterated his position that unresolved details of a
final Middle East peace deal "should be determined in negotiations
between the parties, based on relevant Security Council resolutions,"
"He strongly believes that they (Israelis and Palestinians) should
refrain
from taking any steps that would prejudice or preempt the outcome of
such talks," Dujarric added.

Khaled Mashaal the leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement
Hamas, said Bush's policy marked the end of "illusions that there can
be a U.S.-sponsored political settlement" between the Israel and the
Palestinians. "This stance proves that resistance is the only way,"
Meshaal told Reuters.


* The so-called ‘withdrawal’ from Gaza is in reality merely a relocation of Jewish settlements, while Israel retains military bases and exercises control over Gaza’s borders, coast, airspace and water. The strip will remain a vast detention camp, a concentration of misery and despair that will breed more terrorists, whose acts will cynically be used by Sharon to continue to refuse negotiations.

* The six settlement blocks which Sharon has made clear, with Bush’s approval, will remain under Israeli rule are deliberately located so as to slice up the West Bank and make a genuine ‘peaceful, democratic and viable’ Palestinian state impossible

* The cruel and illegal ‘apartheid wall’ will remain in its criminal route through Palestinian lands, with only cosmetic changes; imprisoning Palestinians, destroying their livelihoods, and ensuring the continuation of the sadistic regime of ‘closure’ and collective punishment of an entire people.

* An ‘agreed, just, fair and realistic’ solution to the problem of Palestinian refugees can only be found through negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, that recognises Israel’s role in creating the problem and its responsibility for sharing in a solution, as well as Israel’s legitimate concerns. Bush’s endorsement of Israel’s rejection of this approach can only reinforce hatred and embitter relations between the two peoples beyond any hope of reconciliation.

In particular the statement is a betrayal of those among both peoples who have been struggling together for a non-violent strategy of resistance to the ‘apartheid wall’ . As the reaction from Hamas shows, the statement will be seen as a rejection of peace through negotiation between equals, and as confirmation of the argument that Israel and the USA only understand the language of violence.

Tony Blair’s statement of support for Sharon and Bush is shameful, and amounts to a repudiation of Britain’s former stated position. To claim that this is not a repudiation of the Road Map but a way back to it is staggering in its cynicism. It is in contrast to the EU Presidency’s reaffirmation of the principle that the questions of borders and refugees can only be changed by agreement.

We, Jewish groups in Europe, are adamant in our rejection of this unilateral blow against any prospect of a peaceful Middle East and call on the institutions of the European Union to reaffirm their commitment to the rule of international law and to a just, negotiated settlement.

EJJP Executive Committee
16th April 2004

USH SHALOM - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 - www.gush-shalom.org/

International release

[] The rally - enormous crowd, contradictions on the podium

[] 'If I may be permitted a prophecy' - the new optimism of Uri Avnery

[] Supreme Court injunction puts temporary halt to mass demolition of
houses in Rafah

###

[] The rally - enormous crowd, contradictions on the podium

Saturday night, May 15, Rabin Square Tel-Aviv. For the first time in
years, peaceminded Israelis were out on the street in force - not in an
event masquerading as a memorial and apologizing for making political
statements. Still, we were in an event with whose program (rather, an
uneasy compromise between two different programs) we had fundamental
disagreement.
The huge square started filling long before the scheduled time, and by
8pm the crowd was spilling off into the adjacent streets. These people
were motivated by two major events of the past two weeks: the so-called
referendum, held by Sharon among the registered members of the Likud
Party, which had the intolerable result that some fifty thousand people
-
less than one percent of the Israeli citizen body - decided a major
national issue, and that the settlers and extreme right acquired an
effective veto even over a partial and half-hearted withdrawal such as
the one proposed by Sharon. Hard upon this came the shock of the
unexpected blows suffered by Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip.
The army learned the hard way that invading Palestinian towns and
refugee camps inside armoured vehicles does not always render the Israeli
forces completely immune. The general public came up with the word "Lebanon",
which for Israelis carries the same connotations as "Vietnam" for
Americans.
All in all, the planned rally was being treated as a major event even
before it took place. The rightwingers who demanded that it be canceled
out of "respect for the fallen soldiers", merely helped to publicize
the event.

While striving very hard to present a common front, and declare itself
"the voice of the majority" the coalition of political parties and
mainstream extraparliamentary groups which initiated the rally had a
fundamental difference to cover up. Some accepted the basic framework
of Sharon's "unilateral withdrawal from Gaza"; others advocated renewal of
negotiations with the Palestinians touching upon the West Bank as well
as Gaza, and aimed at achieving not only withdrawal but also peace. The
compromise slogan eventually chosen: "Leave Gaza and Start Talking".

Still, on the podium covered with this slogan, the difference
immediately became evident whith speakers contradicting each other.
- Ami Ayalon, former Shabak head turned peacemaker: "I believe in the
sincerety of Sharon. We must not treat the settlers as enemies.
Settlements can only be evacuated by one who feels great pain and
empathy." (This did not go well on the audience, and there were some
angry mutterings.)
- Tsali Reshef of Peace Now: "We have not the slightest trust in
Sharon. We know that he wants to withdraw from Gaza in order to keep the West
Bank. But just as he was forced to give up Gaza, we will force him to
give up the West Bank. Ofra and Beth-El [near Ramallah] and Kedumim
[near Nablus] will be evacuated just like the Gaza settlements! Yes, they
will!"(applause).
- Reserve General turned businessman Yom-Tov Samiya: "Our armed forces;
bought a lot of time for the political echelon to make a plan, but they
can't do it forever. I support Sharon's concept of limited withdrawal
from Gaza and a small part of the West Bank; the alternative is
headlong flight like from Lebanon, which will encourage terrorism." (He got a
very scattered applause, quite a few people felt that such a person - who
initiated the concept of destroying Rafah houses to widen the "security
belt" - should not have been on the podium.)
- Yosi Beilin, initiator of "Geneva" and head of the Meretz/Yachad
Party: "Those who refuse peace have tried everything, targeted killings which
are not always very targeted; re-invading the West Bank and Gaza;
destroying fields and groves and houses - 1800 houses destroyed;
burning the fact of defeat into the other side's consciousness and doing it
again and again and again. The one thing which they did not try is to make
peace. Those who say that there is no partner are those who don't want
to talk!" (The biggest applause of the evening.)
- Amir Peretz, trade-union leader and head of the One People Party: "In
1977, the electorate toppled the Labor Party rule, and brought the
Likud to power; but they did not do it in order to help the Greater Israel
ideology; they did it because they felt second-class citizens. But the
money did not go to the slums; it went all to the settlements. We
should end the cruel occupation, we should disengage from Gaza, but that is
not all; we should re-engage with Israeli society, with the values of
humanity and social justice."
- And of course, the inevitable Labor Party leader, Shimon Peres:
"There had been very much talk of a Unity Government [no mention of his own
eagerness to become once more Foreign Minister!]. But what is needed is
a Unity Policy. We are not here a demonstration of the left. We are a
demonstration of the majority. The government represents only a
minority."
- And then, a surprise speaker: "My name is Eliezer Bidu, I live in the
settlement of Omarim, south of Hebron. I went there fourteen years ago
because I was promised 'quality of life' for my family. What a quality
of life! A few months ago our car was shot at. A bullet passed near the
head of my baby son. I can't sleep at night, I want to get out of there. Not
to live guarded by soldiers day and night, on disputed land among
neighbors who hate me. I want to live in the real Israel, and I am not
the only one."

All this time, the radical groups who have been excluded from the
podium, were busy among the enormous crowd, adding the points which none of the
speakers made. On the day before the rally, organizers announced that
signs advocating refusal will be banned - but in practice nobody
stopped Courage to Refuse and Yesh Gvul from holding up "It will not end if you
don't refuse!", while the Refuser Parents Forum collected a
considerable number of signatures in support of the six imprisoned refusers. We
ourselves were busy distributing Gush Shalom leaflets: "It should be
said in clear words: Arafat is the partner; an agreement without his
signature has no value; he is the only one who can convince his people to a
compromise." And people were flocking around the Gush Shalom stall,
taking up the "Truth Against Truth" brochure (now alo available in
English!) as well as last-minute stickers "Destruction of Rafah - War
Crime" and "Philadelphi Route - a Death Trap."

The whole spectrum of moderate and radical groups were there with
stalls and stickers: Women's Peace Coalition, the Geneva Initiative, the
Communist Youth, the Ayalon-Nusseibeh plan, the Labor Youth, Ta'ayush,
Yachad Youth, Socialist Workers League, MachsomWatch, the Working and
Studying Youth, Chadash, the Anarchists ("two states for two people is
two states too many"). The newly-founded "Shuvi" women were collecting
signatures on their petition for withdrawal from Gaza (reportedly they
already flooded the email of the PM's office). The "Daber" initiative
told about collecting testimonies of soldiers who had served in the
territories, while "All for Peace" are initiating a peace radio, to
begin with through the internet.

And there was a forest of signs, official and unofficial; printed and
hand-made: Evacuating settlements is choosing for life / Get out of ALL
the territories / The Likud is disengaged from the people - Elections
Now! / Stop the Apartheid Wall / The Likud is Against Peace and Against
the Poor / There is a partner / Life is cheap - settlements are
expensive / Right or Left? History will prove that we were RIGHT to have LEFT
[this one originally English] / We buried our sons - save those still alive /
The life of our sons is more important than the settlements / Dear
settlers, come back home.

A man in a wheelchair was wheeling himself energetically through the
crowd, on his chest a sign: "More money for the handicapped - less for
the territories. How long will we get 1201 shekels (appr. $250) per
month? A young Yachad supporter collected signatures against the plan
of the Tel-Aviv municipality to turn the Rabin Square into a parking lot.
"If you don't sign, where will you demonstrate next year?"


For photos and what the press wrote:

Hebrew


cid=1084599616754&p=1078397702269>


Hebrew



[] 'If I may be permitted a prophecy' - the new optimism of Uri Avnery

Uri Avnery
15.5.04

Hebrew at request & soon at the site:
http://www.gush-shalom.org :òáøéú òì ôé á÷ùä àå á÷øåá áàúø


Busharon: The Countdown

The strange creature named the Busharon is in serious trouble.
The front half of this animal - George W. Bush - is having
trouble with nude photos. Not only those of the hapless Iraqi prisoners, with
the exuberant female soldier pointing at their genitals, but also of Bush
himself, whose nakedness was exposed for all to see.
The savior of the Iraqi people from a cruel tyrant, the gallant
leader bestowing democracy on Mesopotamia, the representative of
Western civilization fighting against barbarism - has himself been exposed as a
cruel barbarian.
Let no one kid himself: this is not a case of a few sadists, male
and female, who happened to find themselves in one place. It is already
clear that there was systematic abuse of prisoners - keeping them
naked, humiliating them sexually, sending in vicious dogs which probably bit
them, preventing them from sleeping, keeping them shackled in painful
positions for a long time, covering their heads with filthy hoods,
threatening them with electrocution - all these were photographed. But
there can be little doubt that with such an attitude towards the
prisoners, much worse torture was applied but not photographed.
It is now quite clear that this is applied as standard procedure
for "softening" up prisoners. Not only in this prison, not only in all the
other prisons in Iraq, but also in Afghanistan, in the devil's island
of Guatanamo and all the other places where such defenseless victims, most
of them quite innocent people who were picked up by accident, are
imprisoned. Meaning: this was a matter of policy, coming from the
highest level.
The soldiers, male and female, who happily let themselves be
photographed in these pornographic scenes are certainly detestable, but
anyone familiar with military life knows that this was not a private
initiative. Such acts cannot go on for a long time, with many hundreds
of pictures shot, without the whole chain of command being involved.
Every simple soldier is influenced by the spirit of his
commanders, at least up to the level of the brigade. Its commander in turn is
influenced by the spirit of his superiors, up to and including the
Chief- of-Staff. In this case, it has been proven that the Pentagon chiefs and
the Secretary of Defense knew the facts long ago. The investigating
general did not find any written order, but such orders are always
conveyed orally, and sometimes by a mere gesture or a wink.
These soldiers, most of them from decent homes, behaved as people
do in lynch mobs, and for the same reason: the denial of the humanity
of other races, which are considered sub-human. Racism turns the members
of the master-race themselves into sub-human beings.
George Bush lost his world with the publication of these photos.
He could have fired the whole chain of command, from the Secretary of
Defense down to the prison commander. He didn't, of course.
All the moral arguments attempting to justify his war against Iraq
have come crashing down. No democracy, no liberation, no civilization.
Nothing is left except the naked aggression of cynical and cruel robber
barons, just like the henchmen of Saddam Hussein.
If I may be permitted a prophecy: this week starts the countdown
to the end of the career of George W.

The animal's rear end - Ariel Sharon - is also in great trouble.
This started with the rejection of the "Unilateral Disengagement"
plan by the Likud members, a tiny part of the population, manipulated
by the settlers. Since then Sharon has been prowling around like a caged
predator. He has no majority among his ministers and members of
parliament (they are bound by the party referendum), he is unable to
form another government (the MPs of his party will not allow it), he is
unable to fulfil his promise to President Bush (and has made Bush look
ridiculous).
He has begun to blabber about "other plans" that he is forming -
reminding one of Groucho Marx's joke: "Those are my principles. If you
don't like them, I have others."
If Sharon had really intended to leave Gaza, he would have done
it at once and without the hullabaloo, fixing a strict timetable and
without changing the details every few days. He would have including in his
plan the evacuation of the "Philadelphi Axis", the narrow strip a few
hundred yards wide between Gaza and Egypt, which demands a human sacrifice
almost every day.
A week after the Likud referendum, two terrible blows were
delivered. An armored vehicle carrying a large quantity of explosives
entered Gaza city in order to blow up buildings, and was hit by a
roadside bomb planted by Palestinian guerillas. It exploded, tearing
the six soldiers to pieces. The day after, the very same thing happened on
the "Philadelphi Axis": an armored personnel carrier full of
explosives, which was sent there to blow up tunnels under the border, was hit by a
Palestinian rocket and blew up with its five crew members.
The power of each of the two explosions was such that body parts
were scattered over hundreds of meters. The whole country saw on TV how
Israeli soldiers crawled on all fours, filtering the sand with their
bare hands in order to gather the body parts of their comrades. The media
competed in the orchestration of a necrophile hysteria, with endless
talk about "body parts" interlaced with scenes of funerals.
It was impossible to ignore the direct connection between the
Likud referendum's rejection of the withdrawal and the death of the soldiers.
This was expressed in the most simple way by the actor Shlomo
Vishinsky, whose son Lior was killed in the second vehicle, when he blamed the
members of Likud for the death of his son.
For the first time, the Israeli public saw the real picture of
Gaza: not "terror", not "terrorists", but a classic guerilla war, with the
whole population taking part in the struggle against the occupation
forces. Today's Gaza, tomorrow's West Bank.
In such a struggle, we cannot win. One can kill Palestinians
wholesale, destroy whole neighborhoods, as is happening now. But one
cannot win. The public is beginning to understand that. The "Zionist
Left", so it seems, is also waking up from its 4-year coma.
Israel will leave the Gaza Strip, as it left the "Security Strip"
in South Lebanon. The similarity between the two strips is so obvious,
that
banal headlines proclaim it in all the media. If I may be permitted a second prophecy: this week starts the countdown to the end of the career of Ariel Sharon.

[] Supreme Court injunction puts temporary halt to mass demolition of
houses in Rafah


cid=1084599617096>


# Sharansky and the New Antisemitism, by Adam Keller -
http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/sharansky.html

(more articles of The Other Israel May issue accessible via
http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/contents.html)

*** Ongoing struggle ***

how to link up with anti-Wall struggle, refusnik news etc.

#Against the Wall
contact addresses daily struggle / eye-witness reports

#Refusniks (prisoner addresses & links to constantly updated sites)
updated refusniks lists / support to five long-time incarcerated


#Against the Wall

*
ðåëçåú éåîéåîéú áëôøéí îàéîéí ò"é äçåîä ìúàí òí
àééáé 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il
àøé÷ 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net

Day to day presence at villages threatened by route of wall.
Contact:
Ivy Sichel 064-604172 isichel@netvision.net.il
Arik Asherman 050-607034 info@rhr.israel.net

*
Daily eye-witness reports from the Occupied Territories:
http://www.machsomwatch.org
(Israeli women monitoring the checkpoints)
http://www.palsolidarity.org/pressreleases/pressreleases.php
(internationals throughout OT)


#Refusniks

Constantly-updated refusniks lists:


English - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/english/prison/
Hebrew / òáøéú - http://www.yesh-gvul.org/prison/

English - http://www.newprofile.org/default.asp?language=en
Hebrew / òáøéú - http://www.newprofile.org/

For the latest news about the five:
http://www.refuz.org.il/News.html

Letters of support to
Noam Bahat / Haggai Mattar / Matan Kaminer
AGAF BET
Ma’asiyaho Prison
P.O.B 13
Ramla - Israel

Adam Maor / Shimri Tzameret:
Hermon Prison
P.O.B 4011
KFAR M’RAR - Israel


--
http://www.gush-shalom.org/ (òáøéú/Hebrew)
http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English)
http://www.gush-shalom.org/arabic/index.html (selected articles in
Arabic)

with
\\photos of recent actions
\\the weekly Gush Shalom ad
\\the columns of Uri Avnery
\\Gush Shalom's history & action chronicle
\\position papers & analysis (in "documents")
\\and a lot more

N.B.:
On the Gush Shalom website links for
Articles and documents in German, French and Spanish

enviado por omar :: 4:28 PM ::

STOP THE MASSIVE DEMOLITION OF PALESTINIAN HOMES IN GAZA
by Prof. Jeff Halper

At this very moment (Friday, May 14), Israel army bulldozers are razing dozens of homes in the Rafah refugee camp in retaliation for the deaths of five Israeli soldiers. Prime Minister Sharon and Defense Minister Mofaz last night authorized the army to demolish hundreds of Palestinian houses at Rafah, on the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt, so as to create a "sterile" zone hundreds of meters wide. This, in addition to dozens of homes demolished or threatened with demolition in the Zeidun refugee camp in Gaza City. According to witnesses, panic-stricken residents are grabbing whatever belongings they can carry and are fleeing, some waving white flags at approaching Israeli forces.

The demolitions are being carried out as part of a campaign of collective punishment visited on the Palestinian population of Gaza after two army troop carriers were destroyed in the wake of the Israeli invasion. The demolitions are part of an ongoing war against Palestinian civilians that goes far beyond terrorist attacks. So disproportionate is the Israeli response, so indiscriminate in its attacks upon an innocent civilian population -- some 1,200 houses have been demolished in Gaza the past three years -- that Israeli actions can only be described as state terrorism. Attacks on non-combatant populations, collective punishment and the demolition of homes are all illegal under international law and constitute war crimes, as former Israeli government minister Yossi Sarid declared today in the Haaretz newspaper.

Nor is this a response to terrorism. The notion that Sharon intended to "disengage" from Gaza is disingenuous and misleading. He may dismantle Israeli settlements, but Sharon intends to keep full military control of Gaza, including the "sterile zone" at Rafah, keeping Gaza encircled within an electronic fence, maintaining a military and economic boycott of the sea and controlling Palestinian airspace. Rather than "disengagement," this is merely imprisoning a million and a half Palestinians while then strengthening the settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

In presenting the deaths of the soldiers as a "terrorist attack," the Israel government conceals entirely the fact that they died as part of a military force invading Palestinian towns and cities as part of a brutal 37-year Occupation by Israel that shows no signs of ending. Palestinian terror may be a symptom but it is the Occupation that is the cause. The Occupation, the Israeli peace camp stresses, constitutes the infrastructure of terror. Nor does terror come only from "the ground." Terror, when directed against a subjugated and powerless civilian population like the Palestinians in Gaza, is equally reprehensible. The wholesale onslaught of Israeli planes, missiles, tanks, bulldozers and troops on densely populated civilian centers, the leveling of whole neighborhoods as we are witnessing at this moment, can only be called state terrorism. To add to the tragedy and injustice, the camps and neighborhoods under attack are home to Palestinians made refugees by Israel in 1948.

Indeed, the terror being visited upon the Palestinians in Gaza is part of Israeli state policy. The demolitions being carried out today are not merely a reaction to violence; they are the implementation of plans formulated by the army already in 2001, when the American peace activist Rachel Corrie was killed attempting to block bulldozers demolishing Palestinian homes. These actions, it should be noted, implicate the US in Israeli war crimes and violate American law. Virtually all the weapons deployed against Palestinians are American-made and purchased, from the D-9 Caterpillar bulldozers used to demolish Palestinian homes to the F-16s used to bomb Palestinian cities. Their very use against civilian populations violates the Arms Control Export Act, which prohibits the use of American arms in situations that violate fundamental human rights.

There is another dimension of this Americans should note with grave concern. The ongoing subjugation of the Palestinian people with American arms and the uncritical support of the American government – witness President Bush’s policy change recognizing the permanency of Israeli settlements and thereby burying the two-state solution forever – isolates America in the eyes of the world. In a recent UN vote calling on Israel to withdraw from Gaza, every country in the world supported withdrawal; only Israel, the US, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia opposed. This should send warning signals to the American public. The damage done to the US position in the world by the prisoner abuse scandal can only be understood against the backdrop of American support for the subjugation of another Arab Muslim population – the Palestinians – by Israel, enabled by a fully complicit and supportive US.

Israel will not know peace and security, the Palestinians will not know freedom, America will not know security and find its place in the world until the Israeli Occupation ends.

(Jeff Halper, is the Coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD: www.icahd.org). He can be reached at +972-50-687-0354 or at

enviado por omar :: 3:36 AM ::

YOUR IMMEDIATE PROTEST MAY HELP LIMIT THE DAMAGE
> ===========================================
> Y O U R P R O T E S T
> M A Y S T O P B U L L D O Z E R S
> HUNDREDS OF HOUSES BEING DEMOLISHED AT RAFAH
> Gush Shalom calls for worldwide campaign
> ===========================================
>
> YOUR IMMEDIATE PROTEST MAY HELP LIMIT THE DAMAGE
>
> --SMS, PHONE, FAX AND EMAIL TO YOUR RELEVANT CONTACTS--
>
>
> International release
>
> Prime Minister Sharon and Defence Minister Mofaz last night
authorized
> the army to demolish hundreds of Palestinian houses at Rafah, on the
Gaza
> Strip's border with Egypt, so as to create a "sterile" zone hundreds
of
> metres wide. This was reported on Kol Yirael radio by correspondent
> Shmuel Tal.
>
> The recent killing of five Israeli soldiers nearby is the pretetxt,
but
> in fact it is the implementation of plans which the army formulated
> already in 2001, under then Southern Command General Yom Tov Samiya,
and
> which were carried out piecemeal over the past three years. (American
> peace activist Rachel Corrie was killed when trying to block
bulldozers
> carrying out such demolitions).
>
> While a mass protest rally is being prepared for tomorrow evening in
Tel-Aviv, Gush Shalom calls up
> on supporters of
> peace and justice worldwide to mobilize their governments and civic
organizations to act immediate
> ly and come out
> against this war crime while it is not yet fully perpetuated - the
premeditated massive destruction
> of homes, making
> hundreds of families homeless - most of them refugee families already
uprooted once.
> Now is the last minute to act against the Sharon government's Grand
Design
(to create an Israeli-co
> ntrolled buffer zone -
> "Philadelphi Route" so as to permanently cut off the Gaza Strip from
all
access to the outside worl
> d - in effect turning
> Gaza into a huge prison camp).
>
> To remain updated look from time to time into:
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/427462.html
>
>
> PLEASE BE CREATIVE ABOUT WHOM TO ALARM
>
> To begin with: send an urgent protest to the government of Israel,
with
copies to the relevant inte
> rnational bodies and
> media - using the following sample letter.
>
> Dear Sir
>
> I call upon you to immediately stop the demolition of dozens of
Palestinian homes going on at this
> moment at Rafah in the
> Gaza Strip.
> The authorization for the IDF to destroy hundreds of houses is an
authorization by the government o
> f Israel to commit a
> war crime. For this premeditated crime nobody in the hierarchy will
be
able to shrug off responsib
> ility.
> The killing of Israeli soldiers in this vicinity offers no
justification
for such an act, nor can i
> t stop further bloodshed. Peace
> and quiet can only beachieved by withdrwal of the occupation forces,
when
the the Gaza Strip like t
> he other parts of the
> occupied territories become part of an independednt Palestinian
state,
which like all sovereign sta
> tes must have free access
> to the outsdie world.
> Yours
> ......
>
> NB: Start with sending it to the nearest Israeli Embassy:
> http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/israel1.htm (It will be good when
the
foreign ministry will be
> alarmed by many
> of its embassies)
>
> But send your letter ALSO by fax (the best) and/or email to:
>
> Prime Minster Ariel Sharon - email ; fax +972 2
> 6705475
> Defence Minster Saul Mofaz - email ; fax
+972-3-6916940
> Foreign Minster Silvan Shalom - email ; fax +972-3-
> 6916940
>
>
> with copies to:
>
> President George W. Bush
> Fax: +1-202-456-2461
>
> Secretary of State Colin Powell
> Fax: +1-202-261-8577
>
> Spokesperson of the Prime Minister
> Spokesperson Defense Ministry
> Spokesperson Foreign Ministry
> UN Special Coordinator
> State Departement
> European Union
> (MAYBE ADD HERE THE EMAIL OF YOUR LOCAL MEDIA)
>
> and with a blind copy to:
> Gush Shalom
>
> [for your conVenience, here follow the combined email addresses:
> to:
> pm_eng@pmo.gov.il, sar@mod.gov.il, sar@mofa.gov.il
>
> cc to:
> president@whitehouse.gov, secretaryofstate@USA.gov, dover@pmo.gov.il,
> info@mail.idf.il, dover@mfa.gov.il, unsco@palnet.com,
> secretary@state.gov, mailto@delwbg.cec.eu.int,
>
> + bcc to:
> info@gush-shalom.org ]
>
>
> BUT DON'T FORGET TO SEND MESSAGES BY SMS, PHONE, FAX AND EMAIL TO
YOUR
> RELEVANT CONTACTS
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> IDF to raze hundreds of Rafah homes; Sarid: Move would be war crime
>
> By Haaretz Service and Agencies
>
> Last Update: 14/05/2004 13:15
> http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/427462.html
>
> Hebrew:
> http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/427582.html
>
>
> IDF armored bulldozers Friday began demolishing buildings in the
Rafah
> refugee camp, adjacent to the Philadelphi Route where five soldiers
were
> killed in a Palestinian attack on Wednesday.
>
>
>
>
> Witnesses said bulldozers had demolished 10 houses and were
threatening
> many more in the camp. Panic-stricken residents grabbed whatever
> belongings they could carry and fled, some waving white flags at
> approaching Israeli forces, the witnesses said.
>
> The army had no immediate comment.
>
> The IDF has plans to widen the flashpoint corridor it controls in
> southern Gaza along the Egyptian border and demolish dozens or even
> hundreds of Palestinian homes in the area, political sources said on
> Friday.
>
> Local Palestinian officials said the military tore down "dozens" of
> houses and shops in the Rafah camp, where 12 Palestinians were killed
in
> Israeli missile strikes and exchanges of fire on Thursday.
>
> Four armed Palestinian militants were meanwhile reported killed
> overnight, three of them as they approached soldiers on guard along
the
> Egyptian border and at least one other when a bomb he was carrying
> exploded in his ow
> n hands just outside the Rafah Yam settlement.
>
> The plan to expand the route was approved on Thursday at a high-level
meeting attended by Prime Min
> ister Ariel Sharon, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and other top
officials.
>
> "It's a measure that we are taking to provide better protection for
armored personnel carriers and
> the soldiers, and to reshape that theatre of war so we will enjoy an
advantage and not the Palestin
> ians," one Israeli offi
> cial said about the Philadelphi corridor where five troops were
killed on
Wednesday.
>
> An Israeli political source said the army intends to destroy "dozens
or
perhaps hundreds" of homes
> and widen the 9-km long buffer zone once soldiers complete a search
in the
area for the remains of
> their comrades blown up
> two days ago.
>
> Left-wing lawmaker Yossi Sarid (Meretz) told Israel Radio that the
mass
demolition of Palestinian b
> uildings along the route would be a war crime and warned against
"razing
half of the town of Rafah.
> "
>
> Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat condemned the plan as a
"total
contradiction" to what Shar
> on has presented as a disengagement initiative to reduce points of
conflict with Palestinians after
> three and a half years
> of fighting.
>
> "This is a catastrophe. At a time when the Israelis are speaking of
disengaging from Gaza this is r
> eally re-engaging," he said. "I hope that President Bush, who says he
is
encouraged by disengagemen
> t, will interfere to st
> op the demolitions."
>
> Palestinians carry out daily attacks against Israeli positions and
soldiers in the area adjoining R
> afah refugee camp, where the army has already demolished hundreds of
homes
in searches for arms smu
> ggling tunnels.
>
> "It's a major source of infiltration and smuggling of weapons. We've
got
to stop it," said the offi
> cial, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
>
> Israel Defense Forces troops were resuming searches Friday morning
for the
remains of soldiers kill
> ed Wednesday during an attack on their armored personnel carrier on
the
Philadelphi route in the so
> uthern Gaza Strip.
>
> Remains identified
> Three of the five soldiers killed in the attack will be buried Friday
afternoon, after forensic tes
> ting confirmed their identities late Thursday night.
>
> A total of 11 IDF soldiers were killed in Gaza this week, with
Wednesday's
attack coming on the hee
> ls of the deaths of six soldiers, who were killed the previous day
when
Palestinians bombed their A
> PC in the Gaza City nei
> ghborhood of Zeitoun. At about 3 A.M. Thursday, representatives of
the
Palestinian Red Crescent Soc
> iety gave the IDF the remains of the soldiers killed Tuesday, after
Palestinian militants had threa
> tened to use the body p
> arts as ransom.
>
> Corporal Elad Cohen, 20, of Jerusalem, will be buried 1 P.M. Friday
at the
Mount Herzl military cem
> etery in the capital; Sergeant Lior Vishinski, 20, from Ramat Gan,
will be
buried 2 P.M. Friday in
> the Kiryat Shaul milita
> ry cemetery; and Sergeant-Major Aiman Gadir, 24, of Bir Makhsur, will
be
buried 2 P.M. Friday at th
> e cemetery in his hometown.
>
> Chief military chaplain Rabbi Yisrael Weiss was involved in the tests
to
confirm their identities,
> which were carried out in the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu
Kabir,
in Tel Aviv. After the i
> dentities were confirme
> d, Weiss went to the homes of the soldiers killed to inform the
families
of a formal declaration of
> death, allowing for the soldiers to buried.
>
> The identities of the bodies of the other two soldiers killed
Wednesday -
Lieutenant Aviv Hakani, 2
> 3, of Ashdod, and Sergeant Za'ur (Zohar) Smelev, 19, of Ofakim - have
not
yet been confirmed. All f
> ive were killed during
> a mission on the Philadelphi route to seek and destroy arms-smuggling
tunnels in Rafah, along the E
> gyptian border.
>
> Meanwhile, at least 12 Palestinians were killed in clashes with
Israel
Defense Forces troops in the
> Gaza Strip during fierce fighting Thursday.
>
> Mofaz: IDF operations in Gaza essential
> Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Thursday that the 11 soldiers
killed in
separate APC bombings in
> the Gaza Strip over the past two days died in an essential and
unavoidable
battle.
>
> Mofaz, speaking at a press conference in Tel Aviv, said Israel
Defense
Forces efforts to bring the
> troops to proper burial continue amid constant fighting.
>
> Mofaz, who met earlier Thursday with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and
high-ranking security official
> s, said the war on terror will continue, utilizing all necessary
means in
order to safeguard the se
> curity of Israeli citiz
> ens.
>
> He added that no one intends to flee from the Gaza Strip.
>
> Troops took control of several houses in the Rafah area in order to
protect the soldiers searching
> for any remains of the soldiers, Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon said,
adding
that the operation was b
> eing carried out in a r
> estrained manner to avoid civilian casualties.
>
> Also Thursday, Sharon thanked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for
the
> assistance his country has given Israel in helping recover the
remains of
> the soldiers killed this week.
>
> Sharon also extended his thanks to the head of the Egyptian
intelligence
> services, Omar Suleiman, for making a special effort to recover the
> remains.
>
> Mubarak told Sharon of his wish to tighten cooperation between the
two
> countries and advance Sharon's plan to disengage from the Gaza Strip
and
> part of the West Bank.
>
> Ya'alon said Thursday the Egyptians were conducting searches and
allowing
> IDF troops to search for the remains inside Egyptian territory.
Sources
> in the Palestinian Authority said that to the best of their
knowledge,
> Palestinian organizations were not in possession of any remains from
> Wednesday's attack.
>

enviado por omar :: 8:13 PM ::

El ejército israelí destruirá cientos de casas palestinas en Rafá
¡Miserables genocidas sin escrúpulos! ¡BASTA YA!





14 de mayo de 2004, 10h03
Imagen de casas palestinas destruidas por excavadoras israelíes la semana pasada en Rafá. Israel planea destruir cientos de casas de palestinos en este campo de refugiados de la Franja de Gaza.


JERUSALEN (AFP) - El ejército israelí recibió autorización para destruir cientos de casas en Rafá, en el sur de la franja de Gaza, cerca de la frontera egipcia, tras la muerte de cinco soldados en ese sector el miércoles pasado, indicó la radio pública israelí este viernes.

El ejército recibió la autorización del primer ministro israelí Ariel Sharon para "ampliar" el corredor denominado 'Filadelfia', que se extiende a lo largo de la frontera con Egipto, y destruir en el futuro "cientos de casas" situadas en ese sector, agregó la radio.

"En una primera etapa, serán destruidos los edificios abandonados. Luego, se destruirán otras casas habitadas. Israel se encargará de encontrar alojamiento para los palestinos que serán evacuados", continuó la radio sin dar más detalles.

Un responsable de la presidencia del consejo confirmó a la AFP que el ejército va a "ampliar" el sector controlado a lo largo de la frontera egipcia y que "casas de palestinos serán destruidas" cuando las operaciones de búsqueda de los soldados muertos cerca de Rafá, que se reiniciaron el viernes, hayan terminado.

"Es una medida de legítima defensa, se trata de asegurar mejor la protección de nuestros soldados, que no deben ser blanco de disparos, y de impedir también el contrabando de armas, de morteros, de cohetes por túneles entre Egipto y la franja de Gaza", agregó el responsable, que pidió no ser identificado.

El diputado de oposición de izquierda, Yossi Sarid, denunció el proyecto de "destruir la mitad de Rafá". "Es un crimen de guerra, y el apoyo estadounidense para este tipo de operación no nos ayudará frente a la comunidad internacional", agregó Sarid a la radio militar.

El viernes, el jefe de la oposición laborista Shimon Peres llamó a una retirada de toda la Franja de Gaza, incluyendo el corredor Filadelfia, "como lo establecía el plan inicial del Primer Ministro".

En octubre de 2003, el ejército israelí había destruído o convertido en inhabitables 114 casas, dejando a 1.240 personas sin vivienda en el campamento de refugiados de Rafá, según la Agencia de la ONU para los refugiados de Palestina (UNRWA).

An E-Newsletter from The Rebuilding Alliance
www.RebuildingAlliance.org

Dear Friends,
Two years ago, we began a journey. Working with Jeff Halper, founder of the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions, we developed The Global Campaign to Rebuild Palestinian Homes. Quite soon the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights joined us as the Palestinian partner organization "in our struggle to end Israel's tragic policy of demolishing Palestinian homes and, ultimately, to end Israel's occupation over Palestinian areas altogether" (Jeff Halper).

These past two years have brought knowledge, experience, and friendship. Our pilot project raised money and awareness for eight home rebuilding projects, as well as a kindergarten and a peace center, in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. We funded two petitions before the Israeli Supreme Court and invited amicus curae briefs for two more. And now, the journey continues.

What started as a pilot project has grown into an independent non-profit organization. Our new name, The Rebuilding Alliance, reflects our broadened commitment in building homes, schools, and a future with all who refuse to be enemies. While we continue to fund projects of our founding partners, ICAHD and JCSER, we are also working with other Palestinian and Israeli NGOs to extend our reach beyond the Jerusalem area and now, into Gaza.

Our new organization's three-fold mission is to:

Rebuild homes and schools with families in areas of conflict through cooperative civic action;
Educate and engage moderate voices worldwide to support rebuilding and assert fair property law;
Develop financial programs to guarantee the right of each family to a home on the land they own.
Although we are a U.S. organization, our work focuses on Palestine and Israel, where more than 4,500 homes have been demolished since September 2000. In just the last twelve days, the Israeli military has demolished, or damaged beyond repair, 131 residential buildings in Gaza. The demolitions have made 1,100 people newly homeless, according to figures released Monday by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The extensive destruction in Gaza -- including whole neighborhoods destroyed in Rafah and Khan Younis -- have left a total of 17,594 people now homeless. The Rebuilding Alliance condemns without reservation the murder of Israelis and Palestinians -- but collective punishment is not the answer.

To make peace, we are hosting a series of events called Journeying Home that introduce The Rebuilding Alliance's newest, and most far-reaching, projects: The Rachel Corrie Rebuilding Project in Rafah and Safe Haven in Gaza: the UNRWA School for Girls in Al Fakhari. Beginning with a fundraising event in Orange County on May 15th, followed by another in the San Francisco Bay Area on June 10th, Journeying Home is a memorial for, and an affirmation of, Rachel Corrie -- and through her memory and actions, a reminder of who we are, creating what's next and what's possible. Journeying Home will empower us to connect with friends of every faith and ethnicity, and pool our resources to provide the children of Gaza a new neighborhood, a new school, a safer path home.

Journeying Home is also about telling the real stories of the families who seek our help. Please visit our new web site, www.RebuildingAlliance.org to meet the families and children who are counting on us to change their lives. Please get involved and give generously of your time and money. DONATE NOW.

Working together, we make a difference. Journey with us on this critical path to a just and safer world.

Sincerely,

Donna Baranski-Walker, Director
The Rebuilding Alliance

P.S. If you'd like to attend either of the California events, or organize a Journeying Home in your community, please e-mail me at info@RebuildingAlliance.org



The Rebuilding Alliance (formerly Rebuilding Homes) is the recipient of the
2003 Lewis Mumford Award for Development
awarded by the Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility.

Donations in support of the Rebuilding Alliance are tax-deductible in the US.
Please DONATE NOW or make your check out to The Rebuilding Alliance and send it to this address:

The Rebuilding Alliance
PO Box 610061
Redwood City, CA 94061 USA

phone 415 820 3204 -- fax 650 261 1235
email: info@RebuildingAlliance.org
web: www.RebuildingAlliance.org



"People say, what is the sense of our small effort. They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time." -- Dorothy Day

An E-Newsletter from The Rebuilding Alliance
Dear Friends,
Two years ago, we began a journey. Working with Jeff Halper, founder of the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions, we developed The Global Campaign to Rebuild Palestinian Homes. Quite soon the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights joined us as the Palestinian partner organization "in our struggle to end Israel's tragic policy of demolishing Palestinian homes and, ultimately, to end Israel's occupation over Palestinian areas altogether" (Jeff Halper).

These past two years have brought knowledge, experience, and friendship. Our pilot project raised money and awareness for eight home rebuilding projects, as well as a kindergarten and a peace center, in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. We funded two petitions before the Israeli Supreme Court and invited amicus curae briefs for two more. And now, the journey continues.

What started as a pilot project has grown into an independent non-profit organization. Our new name, The Rebuilding Alliance, reflects our broadened commitment in building homes, schools, and a future with all who refuse to be enemies. While we continue to fund projects of our founding partners, ICAHD and JCSER, we are also working with other Palestinian and Israeli NGOs to extend our reach beyond the Jerusalem area and now, into Gaza.

Our new organization's three-fold mission is to:

Rebuild homes and schools with families in areas of conflict through cooperative civic action;
Educate and engage moderate voices worldwide to support rebuilding and assert fair property law;
Develop financial programs to guarantee the right of each family to a home on the land they own.
Although we are a U.S. organization, our work focuses on Palestine and Israel, where more than 4,500 homes have been demolished since September 2000. In just the last twelve days, the Israeli military has demolished, or damaged beyond repair, 131 residential buildings in Gaza. The demolitions have made 1,100 people newly homeless, according to figures released Monday by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The extensive destruction in Gaza -- including whole neighborhoods destroyed in Rafah and Khan Younis -- have left a total of 17,594 people now homeless. The Rebuilding Alliance condemns without reservation the murder of Israelis and Palestinians -- but collective punishment is not the answer.

To make peace, we are hosting a series of events called Journeying Home that introduce The Rebuilding Alliance's newest, and most far-reaching, projects: The Rachel Corrie Rebuilding Project in Rafah and Safe Haven in Gaza: the UNRWA School for Girls in Al Fakhari. Beginning with a fundraising event in Orange County on May 15th, followed by another in the San Francisco Bay Area on June 10th, Journeying Home is a memorial for, and an affirmation of, Rachel Corrie -- and through her memory and actions, a reminder of who we are, creating what's next and what's possible. Journeying Home will empower us to connect with friends of every faith and ethnicity, and pool our resources to provide the children of Gaza a new neighborhood, a new school, a safer path home.

Journeying Home is also about telling the real stories of the families who seek our help. Please visit our new web site, www.RebuildingAlliance.org to meet the families and children who are counting on us to change their lives. Please get involved and give generously of your time and money. DONATE NOW.

Working together, we make a difference. Journey with us on this critical path to a just and safer world.

Sincerely,

Donna Baranski-Walker, Director
The Rebuilding Alliance

P.S. If you'd like to attend either of the California events, or organize a Journeying Home in your community, please e-mail me at info@RebuildingAlliance.org



The Rebuilding Alliance (formerly Rebuilding Homes) is the recipient of the
2003 Lewis Mumford Award for Development
awarded by the Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility.

Donations in support of the Rebuilding Alliance are tax-deductible in the US.
Please DONATE NOW or make your check out to The Rebuilding Alliance and send it to this address:

The Rebuilding Alliance
PO Box 610061
Redwood City, CA 94061 USA

phone 415 820 3204 -- fax 650 261 1235
email: info@RebuildingAlliance.org
web: www.RebuildingAlliance.org



"People say, what is the sense of our small effort. They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time." -- Dorothy Day

SOLIDARITÉ AVEC LES OBJECTEURS DE CONSCIENCE ISRAÉLIENS
- Ils refusent de se battre dans les territoires palestiniens
- Ils refusent de participer à des opérations militaires illégales et criminelles
- Ils dénoncent la perversité et l'immoralité de l'Occupation

Ces démocrates sont mis en prison, et leurs représentants n'ont pas été autorisés à participer au grand rassemblement pour la Paix à Tel Aviv la semaine dernière.

Avec Amnesty International, soyons solidaires de ces objecteurs de conscience et de leurs parents, considérés comme des parias.


Help us free our children from the military prison!
For ENGLISH details please click http://www.refuz.org.il/help.html
For HEBREW please click http://www.refuz.org.il/hebrew/help.html

Ezra Nawi
In the past three months the Israeli prosecution has filed three suits against Ta'ayush activist Ezra Nawi. It is clear that there is an orchestrated effort to harass Ezra and stop his activism, and it is, we believe, our role to stand by his side and support him.

As some of you may know, over the past two and a half years Ezra has been the major Ta'ayush activist in the South Hebron area. Through his devotion he has managed to establish a special relationship with the Palestinian cave-dwellers, a real partnership, and has been one of the leading organizers of our activities in the region.

The first suit involves our convoy to a harvest in South Hebron, when we took the novelists Meir Shalev and David Grossman (as well as television anchor Haim Yavin) to Twaneh. Most of us did not reach Twaneh due to a closed military zone, but Ezra together with the novelists were allowed to enter. Meanwhile, the rest of the group were promised that the residents of Twaneh could harvest the wheat and would be protected by the military. Right when the small group of novelists and activists reached Twaneh, the residents, who were already working in the fields, were attacked by a group of settlers. Ezra ran forward and stood between the settlers and the Palestinian residents, protecting the harvester with his body. In an insidious effort to distort what occurred, one of the settlers filed a complaint to the police, stating that Ezra attacked him.
In another case, Ezra is being sued for entering Yatta, Area A. He was caught with a truck load of clothes, which he hoped to deliver. Thousands of Israeli activists have entered Area A, and yet the prosecution has hardly ever filed a suit against these activist, suggesting that there is attempt to single Ezra out.

Finally, in the third case Ezra is being sued for allowing his partner, a Palestinian from Ramallah, to sleep in his house. The complaint was filed by the police four years ago. Yet, only now the persecutor decided to file the suit, which suggests yet again that there is an attempt to clamp down on Ezra.

As an act of solidarity we want to cover all Ezra's legal expenses, which amount to $3,000. Please send checks, made out to Ta'ayush, mentioning that the money is for Ezra's legal costs. The checks should be sent to:

C/O Yigal Bronner
P. O. Box 8384
Jerusalem, 91083
Israel

Thanks,
South Hebron Committee, Taayush

Novedades en CSCAweb - nº 556 - 10 de mayo de 2004
+ Balance de la represión en Palestina (29 de abril-5 de mayo): El ejército israelí asesina al menos a 15 palestinos, entre ellos, varios menores, una anciana y seis objetivos 'selectivos'; 680 palestinos pierden sus hogares, destruidos por los ocupantes

6 meses de condena a un oficial israeli por matar a un niño palestino...
On Monday, the Israeli Army authorities were proud to announce that: “For the first time since the beginning of the confrontation: An officer that killed a Palestinian was sentenced to prison. Capt. Zvi Koratski , who shot a 16 year old, was sentenced to half a year in prison.” In October 2002 Koratski killed Mohammed Ali Zeid, a high-school student from a village near Jenin. When he heard the Israeli soldiers announce a curfew on his village, Zeid went out onto his porch, where Koratski shot him. There was no question in the mind of this outstanding officer that this was a serious crime which merited the death penalty. But have no fear, army justice works. Proof positive: Koratski was sentenced to six long months in prison on the charge of causing death by negligence, and, heaven forbid, they even busted him down to First Lt. But at the last moment the military court realized that they had gone too far, and 4 of the 6 months were commuted to (army) service.

However, the Israeli Army is certain that there are crimes more severe than the murder of innocent civilians (sorry, causing death by negligence). For example, refusing to enlist into an army of occupation. Daniel Tsal did just that on Sunday and was sentenced to 28 days in Prison 4. This was the second time that Daniel was jailed, and at the trial the convicting officer promised Daniel “he would deal with him with all the means at his disposal.”

We’ve seen it all before. Noam Bahat, Adam Maor, Haggai Matar, Shimri Zameret and Matan Kaminer have been in jail since the end of 2002, for refusing to be drafted into an army that carries out a brutal occupation. And the same army that was considerate towards a murderer refuses to shorten this draconian punishment.

In addition, Matti Yadin, a 26 year-old reservist from Tel Aviv was sentenced to 21 days at Prison 6 for refusing to serve in an army of occupation.

In order to show our support for the jailed refuseniks, Yesh Gvul is holding a solidarity vigil next to Military Prison 4 (Tzrifin) on Saturday May 15th at 1:30pm. Details will follow in the coming days.

E-mails of support can (and should) be sent to:

For Daniel Tsal: Jehoshua@freud.tau.ac.il

For Matan Yadin (via Adi Leibowitz) dash@seruv.org.il
For Adam, Matan, Haggai, Shimri and Noam: prisoners@refuz.org.il


Yesh-Gvul - www.yesh-gvul.org

Biddu: The Struggle Against The Wall. May 08, 2004
ZNet Commentary
Biddu: The Struggle Against The Wall. May 08, 2004
By Tanya Reinhart

Biddu is a beautiful Palestinian village, surrounded with vines and
fruit orchards, a few miles to the east of the Israeli border of 1967. In
the last couple of months, the village, that has lived in peace with
its Israeli neighbors even during the present Intifada, has become yet
another symbol in the history of Israel/Palestine.

The misfortune of this village is that its lands, as well as the lands
of the other small Palestinian villages nearby, border the "Jerusalem
corridor" - a sequence of Israeli neighborhoods to the North of
Jerusalem. Israeli control of this land would enable territorial continuity
"clean of Palestinians" from this corridor to the settlement of Givat
Zeev, built deep inside the occupied West Bank, close to Ramallah.

In the massive annexation project of Sharon and the Israeli army, this
is the kind of land one "does not give up". For this reason, Israel is
imprisoning the villagers inside a wall, and is grabbing their land.
Biddu, and the ten villages around it, are allowed only one option - to
sit quietly and watch as the fruit orchards that they have nourished
from one generation to another, turn into the real-estate reserves of the
Jerusalem corridor.

But rather than obeying, the village of Biddu united with the other
nearby villages to defend their land. In the new model of popular
resistance that has developed along the line of the wall in the West Bank, the
whole village - men women and children - are going out to put their
bodies between the bulldozers and their land. A basic principle in this
form of struggle is that of non-violence. Use of arms is strictly
forbidden, and there is also visible effort on the part of the communities to
restrain the youth from throwing stones.

A second principle of the resistance is that it is a joint struggle of
Palestinians and Israelis, whose fate and future are intertwined. Like
in other areas of the wall, the people of Biddu have called on the
Israelis to join them. -"Raise the voice of reason, the voice of logic,
above the sound of the bullets and the sound of the oppression ..." - they
wrote in an open letter to the settlements and the Israeli
neighborhoods around them.

Indeed, Israelis have answered the call - from the young activists
against the wall, to the neighbors from the Mevaseret Tzion neighborhood in
the Jerusalem Corridor. Thirty of the latter have also joined an appeal
that the villages submitted to the supreme court of Israel, against the
appropriation of their land. But in the eyes of the army, this new
model of Palestinians and Israelis demonstrating together is the most
dangerous.

In Biddu the army has already posed snipers on the roofs, used live
ammunition and killed five Palestinians. Dozens of others have been
wounded. Following the media coverage and the protest, the army's use of live
fire has decreased, but its violence has not. On April 17, Rabbi Arik
Asherman was arrested in Biddu, when he tried to protect a Palestinian
child strapped on to the hood of a military jeep

In response to the violence of the army, the women of Biddu called for
a quiet and small protest demonstration of women only, on Sunday, April
25th. About 30 Israeli women answered the call - women of diverse ages
and from a wide array of occupations. In Biddu, we met with Palestinian
women, and with women from the international organizations active in
the occupied territories. A quiet protest walk started - less then a
hundred women, carrying posters. There was no man in sight, nor children,
who could potentially throw stones. We constituted no threat whatsoever.
But for the army, this does not matter.

"We will not allow this demonstration" - a voice in uniform announced.
Tear gas and stun-grenades directly followed. Paralyzed where I stood,
I watched a hallucinatory scene. In the midst of the fog of smoke and
tear gas, there were still a few women standing, silently lifting their
posters in front of the soldiers. But then, out of the fog burst
warriors on horses and charged into the women holding the posters. I have
seen cops on horses before, but this was a different sight. It was dead
clear that their batons were meant for breaking bones. Molly Malekar, the
director of the Bat-Shalom organization, ended her quiet protest
against the army's violence with a broken shoulder, and a severe blow to her
head.

The army blocks any route of protest. It is no longer allowed even to
stand silently with posters. And this does not hold only for
Palestinians. From the army's perspective, we Israelis are also given only one
option - sit silently and watch as our country loses its human face. But
since Israel is still, officially, a democracy, it is not permissible
for the army to be the body that determines the limits of the freedom to
protest. It is necessary to form an independent committee of inquiry
into the armyÂ’s violence in Biddu, and to bring those responsible to
justice.


For more on Biddu see Gideon Levy's article 'Fighting the fence'
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/401215.html

http://www.tau.ac.il/~reinhart

Yediot Aharonot, May 5, 2004;
Translated from Hebrew by Netta Van Vliet

SETTLER TAKE-OVER IN ABU DIS, WITH FULL BACKUP BY ISRAELI GOVERNMENT
4.05.04

Yesterday a new phase was entered as to takeover by settlers of East Jerusalem. Settlers of Ateret Cohanim took over two houses at Abu Dis. In parallel, the Border Police last Thursday took over Cliff Hotel, next to those two buildings. The two houses and hotel form a triangle of about 2 dunams, now at the use of a core of settlers building a new settlement, to be known as "Kidmat Zion." This new settlement is on land next to the triangle formed by the hotel and two houses, so the settlement's available land has now been extended by those two dunams, and settlers have secured full use of the access road passing the Cliff Hotel.

The construction of this Jewish compound in Abu Dis defines a highly dangerous new political reality. It is a deliberate torpedo of any future peace plan, since it is so close to the future Palestinian Parliament building (Palestinian Legislative Council) at Abu Dis. Its presence next to Al Quds University will create ongoing clashes between settlers and students.

The compound will create contiguity with the Jewish compound at Ras al Amud ("Ma'ale Zeitim") also financed – as is this settlement - by Irwin Moskowitz, and from there will connect with the Jewish settlements of Silwan ("David's City") and from there to Abu Tor, where settlers are currently making huge efforts to buy properties, and from there to Jabel Mukaber where a new settlement, "Nof Zahav," is being built. Settlers are also strengthening their hold at Sheikh Jarrah. This entire process (including details not covered here) is undertaken to judaise East Jerusalem and predetermine and preclude any future negotiation as to Jerusalem's status as Israel's capital. It also cuts off Palestinian East Jerusalem contiguity, thus isolating Jerusalem's Palestinian residents from each other and from the West Bank.

This process is being carried out with the encouragement and full support of the Government of Israel. In yesterday's events at Abu Dis, the two most outstanding features were the Border Police takeover of the Cliff Hotel in order to provide security to the settlers and also the fact that the government had stopped the erection of the "Security Wall" next to one of the two houses which was yesterday occupied by settlers. The original route had been planned to leave that house outside the boundaries of Jerusalem but now the house is being included within the city boundaries and the changed route of the Wall will go ahead. It has been said that the Radwan family which sold the house did not receive money, but have received in exchange a house at Sur Baher and Jerusalem "blue" IDs. The family had faced the dilemma of losing their right to live in Jerusalem and in the panic of an emergency situation, because of the Wall's proposed route, which would have excluded the house from Jerusalem, chose to give up ownership of the house rather than find themselves forced out of Jerusalem.

As to the Ayyad family's ownership of Cliff Hotel, lawyer Shlomo Lecker states: "They are basing the confiscation on the Absentee Property Law of 1950, used to take away the property of the Palestinian refugees who fled in '48-'49. This is a vicious precedent, which is endangering hundreds of Palestinian properties in the seam line." According to Lecker, the property has always been regarded part of the West Bank – the hotel license was given by the Civil Administration and taxes paid to it. But since the hotel is on a high vantage point, overlooking the PLC, it has become a strategic asset for the security forces and is now considered part of Jerusalem. Its Palestinian owners (Dr. Walid Ayyad), living on the other side of the Wall, have no access or claim to it now.

Further details:

Meir Margalit, Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (past City Councillor): 054-345503
Terry Boulata: 051-438743 / 02-6289297 Sallah Ayyad: 050-523910 / 02-6289297
Dr. Walid Ayyad: 055-873825
Adv. Shlomo Lecker: 052-673780 / 02-6233695
Photos: Ahikam Seri : 053-452835

Contre le mur de l'Apartheid
Contre le mur de l'Apartheid, pour les droits du peuple palestinien et pour la solidarité ouvrière internationale

Les syndicats et travailleurs palestiniens et les 52 membres de la mission syndicaliste internationale manifesteront ensemble à Ramallah le 1er mai, à 11 heures, et lancent à toutes les organisations ouvrières et syndicales ces deux appels communs :

Syndicalistes, salariés, chômeurs, paysans et travailleurs précaires, nous sommes 52 militantes et militants invité(e)s dans les territoires occupés pendant deux semaines par les syndicats ouvriers et paysans palestiniens à l'occasion du 1er mai.

Nous sommes engagé(e)s dans la campagne des Missions Civiles pour la Protection du Peuple Palestinien en tant que militant(e)s syndicalistes et associatifs d`Europe, et nous avons répondu à l'appel des travailleurs palestiniens en ce jour du 1er mai qui est, depuis plus d'un siècle, le symbole de la solidarité ouvrière avec tous les exploités et les opprimés du monde.
Militants de tous les combats, contre le chômage, la précarité, les discriminations et les attaques qui menacent tous les acquis sociaux, nous nous sentons directement concernés par la terrible injustice qui frappe le peuple palestinien.

Pendant que les armées d'occupation de G. Bush et ses alliés mettent l'Irak à feu et à sang, Sharon bâtit un mur de la honte qui enferme les palestiniens dans de véritables bantoustans, emprisonnant une population vivant déjà sous le joug implacable de l`occupation israélienne. En tant qu'acteurs du mouvement social et de la société civile, nous nous devons d'agir et d`aller à la rencontre des mouvements sociaux et de la société civile palestinienne. Il faut briser le silence complice des dirigeants de la communauté européenne et internationale.
Nous manifestons à Ramallah avec les syndicalistes palestiniens en ce 1er mai 2004 pour les droits des travailleurs et du peuple palestiniens. Nous voulons nous adresser en direct aux manifestants rassemblés aujourd'hui dans toutes les villes d’Europe.

Nous appelons toutes nos organisations syndicales et associatives à faire écho à notre appel pour que ce 1er mai 2004 soit un grand moment de solidarité ouvrière internationale.

Au nom de tous nos camarades travailleurs, chômeurs, syndicalistes et militants de la société civile palestinienne, nous aimerions nous joindre à l'appel lancé par nos camarades qui sont présents parmi nous. En ce 1er mai 2004, nous manifesterons à Ramallah et à Gaza comme vous dans vos villes et vos pays, et nous avons plus que jamais besoin de votre solidarité et de vos encouragements pour renforcer notre lutte quotidienne pour notre survie et nos droits les plus fondamentaux. L'occupation israélienne a détruit notre économie et nos emplois, et chaque jour, chaque travailleur et travailleuse en Palestine se demande comment il va nourrir, éduquer, soigner et protéger ses enfants, et leur offrir un avenir meilleur.

Bien que nous traversions l'une des plus difficiles phases de notre histoire, nous n'avons pas perdu l'espoir de parvenir à construire avec nos camarades dans le monde entier un avenir meilleur, un avenir de paix, justice et égalité, un avenir sans occupation. C'est pourquoi ici en Palestine, nous nous organisons en comités de travailleurs et syndicats démocratiques, et nous menons une double lutte contre l'occupation israélienne qui nous étouffe, et pour notre droit à la liberté d'association et d'organisation syndicale, le respect du code du travail et l'amélioration de nos conditions de travail.

Votre soutien et votre solidarité nous donnent la force de persévérer dans nos luttes et d'aller de l'avant, de combattre le colonialisme, l'impérialisme, le néo-libéralisme, la course au profit, pour notre peuple et pour tous les opprimés, les exclus et les sans-droits dans le monde entier.

Le Centre pour la Démocratie et les Droits des Travailleurs en Palestine (DWRC), le Comité de Coordination pour les Syndicats et Associations Palestiniennes en Cisjordanie (la Fédération des Syndicats pour les Professeurs et Employés des Universités Palestiniennes, le Syndicat des Enseignants des Ecoles Privées, le Syndicat des Postes et Télécommunications, les Comités de Travailleurs des Municipalités de Al-Bireh, Ramallah, et Bétunia, le Conseil Syndical pour les Travailleurs du Sud de Hébron, le Comité des Travailleurs de l'Union Palestinienne des Comités d'Aide Médicaux (UPMRC), le Comité des Travailleurs de l'Hôpital Sheikh Zaid, le Comité des Travailleurs de l'Hôpital du Croissant Rouge, le Comité des Travailleurs de la Compagnie Birzeit Palestine, le Comité des Travailleurs de la Compagnie Pharmaceutique Al-Quds, le Forum de Jeunesse Sharik, le Syndicat des Travailleurs du Tourisme et du Secteur Hôtelier, le Syndicat des Travailleurs de la Pierre a Bethlehem , le Syndicat des Organisations de Service Public à Tulkarem), la Société des Travailleuses Palestiniennes pour le Développement (PWWSD), et le Comité de Coordination pour les Comités de Travailleurs dans la bande de Gaza.

Angleterre Thomas (Barbedwire Britain), Espagne Ignacio (CGT Interpro), Suisse Pierrette ( Service Public), Remi (Bâtiment), France: Agriculture Jean-François, Pascale, Alain (Confédération Paysanne), Chemin de Fer Emmanuelle, Mamadou, Fathi (SUD Rail); Olivier, José (CGT cheminots), Chômeurs, précaires, migrants Jean-Claude, Denise, Caroline, Magali (Droits Devant!!), Alain, Aline, Béatrice (AC!), Education Sandrine (militante FSU snui-pp Ecole émancipée), Hortensia (CNT-FTE), Noëlle (SUD Education), Geneviève (SUD et Comite Interpro de Béziers), Marc, étudiant (CNT), Erell (SUD Etudiant), Antoine, étudiant, Métallurgie Jean-Pierre ( SUD Renault CKD), Santé Bernard (CNT Santé/Sociaux), Serge, Nicole, Jean, Christian (SUD Santé/Sociaux), Jeanne, Yamina (CGT du Centre Hospitalier du Rouvray), Poste et Télécommunications Didier, Pascal, Sandra (SUD PTT), Marie Christine (G10 Solidaires), Elian (CNT) et les militants suivants: Anne-Marie (Féministes pour l`égalité), Anne-Marie (CFDT Interco), Marion (Journaliste a Politis), Marie Hélène (Union Juive Française pour la Paix et CGT Collectivité Territoriale), Julien (photographe), Michel (Ras l`Front et CCIPPP), Paulette (CGT Finances et Artisans du Monde), Lionel (CGT du Livre et journaliste retraite de La Vie Ouvrière), Didier (CNT)

Mission soutenue par la Confederacion National del Trabajo (CGT Espagne), les Syndicats du Bâtiment et des Services Publics (Suisse), Barbedwire Britain (Angleterre), la Confédération Paysanne, la CNT, G10 Solidaires, les syndicats SUD Santé, SUD Rail, SUD PTT, SUD Metallo Rouen, la CGT/Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, CGT Centre Hospitalier du Rouvray, CGT du Conseil Général de St. Denis, la CCIPPP, les associations AC!, Droits Devant!!, Féministes pour l`égalité

Yonatan Shapira - La historia de una piloto israeli arrepentida
SPEECH BY YONATAN SHAPIRA, A REFUSENIK, AT THE ALTERNATIVE INDEPENDENCE DAY TORCH-LIGHTING CEREMONY, ON APRIL 26, 2004, PRESENTED BY “COURAGE TO REFUSE” []. (Translation)


Everything I say here is based on my love of Israel and my wish to protect her and the life of all those in Israel. My name is Yonatan Shapira, and I have taken part in the Occupation for the past ten years as an officer in the Israeli Defence Forces, as an Air Force helicopter pilot.

It seems to me that it took me far too long to understand that both my great love for flying and the warm family that is the Israeli Air Force -- which spoilt me so well -- stopped me from seeing and understanding the reality I live in. Things also closing my eyes were the one-sided history lessons, the laundering of words, the lessons about the purity of arms and human dignity, and the songs of peace and bereavement that I love so much. And my eyes were also closed by a stubborn faith that above me, in the top ranks and the leadership of the country, sat people of morality pursuing peace. This was really the case. I didn’t see the awfully simple fact that we have occupied millions of people and that for nearly 40 years they have been controlled by us – the master race.

During hundreds of flights above the territories, I saw over the years how the apartheid land was flourishing, in grey with spots of red. Refugee camps. Crowded, suffocating and overseen by military bases and between them, red roofs radiating beauty – settlements of the chosen people … and although the evil and injustice shouted and are still shouting to the skies – my process of awareness was long and hard, and sometimes it was in need of specific moments of perception to rid it of lingering doubts.



For this, I have to thank a man who in the past was my commanding officer, who in the near future will be sitting in the Deputy Chief of Staff’s seat, and in the future, perhaps, in a seat reserved for the guilty.



On the evening of Yom Kippur, seven months ago, I was brought before the Commander of the Air Force because I had given notice (together with my friends and partners in the Pilots’ Letter), that we would refuse to participate in the illegal and immoral orders that we were given. In the discussion of my dismissal, I asked General Dan Halutz if he would allow the firing of missiles from an Apache helicopter on a car carrying wanted men, if it were travelling in the streets of Tel Aviv, in the knowledge that that action would hurt innocent civilians who happened to be passing at the time. In answer, the general gave me his list of relative values of people, as he sees it, from the Jewish person who is superior down to the blood of an Arab which is inferior… as simple as that, and when the rottenness has reached the top of the ladder, it is no surprise to find it at the bottom, too.



If once they told us that “The best go into flying” .. I say that apparently today the best will be sentenced in court for refusing to be inducted into the services of the Occupation – and will be sent to prison for a year’s service instead.



And to my good friends in the Air Force, I say: For years we taught our students in Flying School how to analyse and think ahead. We told them that was the advantage of our soldiers, and that was what differentiated us from other armies. Today I call on them: Ilan, Tomer, Uri, Yoav, Assaf, Yair, Alon, Eitan, Zviki, Sharon, Avner, Amit, Nir, Ehud, Raz .. think about what you are going to tell your children in another 20 years. Not what people will say about you today. Don’t be in self-denial to the human being that you are, and to the ongoing process of your heart closing down. Use the huge power of a single small word: NO.



I light this torch and in doing so, wish to be in real solidarity with the terrible tragedy of the bereaved families and bereaved mothers, those who lost and those who will lose their close ones -- who were killed and who will be killed in vain -- being sacrificed in the name of stupidity for the increasing value being placed on the sacred nature of land and the cheapness of blood and humanity.

Novedades en CSCAweb - nº 553 - 3 de mayo de 2004
+ Balance de la represión en Palestina (22 al 28 de abril): Al menos 26 palestinos asesinados mientras continúa el toque de queda en ciudades y pueblos de Cisjordania y en Gaza