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One voice makes a difference!
(go directly to a list of informative links) OR (go directly to
"What can YOU do?")
As a group of voices we can and should prevent U.S.A. support
and involvement in Human Rights atrocities. You will want to after you read here only 10 reasons why we must - excerpts from a myriad of additional and similar reasons, based on eyewitness experiences and observations, many details of which do not reach mass media news reports!
Reason #1. The signed statement under oath by photographer Talal Abu Rahma of the French TV, France 2
attests to the fact, based on his film and his observation as evidence, that the killing of the child Mohammed Al-Durreh by the Israeli Occupying Forces was intentional and happened in cold blood. His lawyer, Raji Sourani, witnessed and signed Abu Rahma's statement in Gaza 3 October 2000.
Reference: Reason #2. Maha Samman has sent a letter telling about how her husband was injured
when he went out of the Aqsa mosque into the compound after Friday prayer
29 September. She says the Israeli special forces started shooting all over the
compound. Shots hit the door, so worshippers closed the door, and people out in the
compound sought protection by standing behind the entrance pillars. People were
crowded behind the pillars which provided very little protection. Rounds started
coming from inside the corridor of pillars. So, Maha's husband stood out and shouted
at one of the snipers who wore a helmet, a bullet proof vest, and gray uniform and had a
rifle with him.
Maha tells us: "He told them to stop shooting there since there was no reason to shoot
people taking shelter. The sniper shot him in the eye with a rubber coated metal bullet
from a distance of less than 20 meters. He fell to the ground and someone then lead him
across the Aqsa compound but both were shot again as they were running away with rubber
round pellets."
Maha's husband lost an eye and incurred several other injuries along with
those who helped him to a private van which took injured to the hospital.
"Awad is one of at least 2700 Palestinians who were
injured in the last week (37% are children under the
age of 18 and most of the injuries are at the waist
and head) and at least 80 Palestinians who have been
killed. This casualty and death toll is unprecedented
since the 1967 war in this short period of time."
Reference: Reason #3. "Throughout the West Bank and 1948 Palestinian areas, armed Israeli
settlers and Jewish residents are attacking neighborhoods, homes, cars
and individuals with rocks, clubs, live ammunition, rubber coated
steel bullets, chanting "Death to the Arabs". Eyewitnesses in
Jerusalem report that Israeli police threaten to shoot anyone who
tries to defend themselves from the attacks."
"In Hebron, Palestinian Security forces have announced that Israeli
attack helicopters are shooting down at Al Alia Hospital, in addition
to Palestinian neighborhoods throughout the Hebron area. 10s of
injuries have been reported thus far, including a 16-day-old baby who
was injured during helicopter attacks. In Halhoul, reports state that
undercover Israeli units and settlers are shooting at Palestinians and
their homes."
Israelis also attempted to burn the Latin Patriarchate Church in Beit Hanina.
All of the above attacks took place under the protection of Israeli border
police, policemen and soldiers.
Reference: Reason #4. Israelis burn Palestinian to death
By Khalid Amayreh
JERUSALEM, October 9, 2000 - In a gruesome crime reminiscent of
atrocities during World War II, paramilitary Israeli settlers today
abducted a Palestinian farmer from his olive orchard, took him to
their nearby settlement, bludgeoned him to death with clubs and axes and
then set him on fire.
His charred remains were shown on the Palestinian Television at noon
Monday.
The Islamic Association of Palestine quoting sources in Ramallah said
the settlers, armed with Uzi submachine guns, abducted Isam Judeh Mustafa
Hamed, 47, in early morning hours Monday while picking olive on his olive
orchard at the village of Um Saffa near Ramalla.
They reportedly forced him into an awaiting car at gun point.
At 10 o'clock local time (7:00 am GMT), villagers found his charred
and mutilated body dumped at the roadside.
Earlier on Monday, two more Palestinian villagers were murdered by
marauding settlers who have apparently received a green light from
the Barak government to carry out the wanton killings.
Reference: Reason #5. LAW condemns the support given to settlers by Israeli occupation army.
"LAW Society views the bloody homicides that the occupation army
commits against the Palestinian civilians as opening the doors for settlers
and the extreme racists to commit more crimes and cause more bloodshed. This
is the consequence of years of arming settlers and the building of military
arsenals in settlements."
LAW is affiliate to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), The
Federation Internationale des Ligues de Droits de l'Homme (FIDH), The
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), and is a member of the
Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN)
Reference: Reason #6. An 8 October press release from Israeli Peace bloc, Gush Shalom, reports: Pogrom in
Nazareth by Right-wing mobs - one killed
"At about 7.00 PM today, a mob numbering at 1, 000 left the Jewish town Upper Nazareth
and descended upon the neighboring Arab town of Nazareth, some holding clubs and
other having firearms. They broke into the Eastern Neighborhood of Nazareth
and started hitting and shooting indiscriminately at its inhabitants. The
police stood aside and did not interfere, but when inhabitants of Nazareth
rallied to defend themselves, the police attacked them - first with tear gas
and later with live ammunition. There are many wounded, and at least one Arab
inhabitant was killed. At the time of writing, the police is still shooting
at inhabitants of Nazareth."
Gush Shalom does not mince words, saying it is a pogrom like those
"well known to Jews in Czarist Russia - primarily the collusion between
the racist attackers and the police." Gush Shalom again takes a strong
stand: "This is a day of shame for the state of Israel - and it is
a warning sign for the disaster in store, if the country does not rid itself
of the racist scourge."
(Racism refers to the extremist Israeli settlers, a HUGE percentage of whom
are from America resettled in Israel but who continue to be granted voting
rights in America. They maintain "extreme racist attitudes" against everyone
living in Israel and the Occupied territories who is NOT Jewish. They do
not represent the view of the majority of Israelis yet the Israeli government
is in collusion with their attacks on Palestinian Muslims and Christians, their
homes and communities.)
Reference: GUSH SHALOM (The Israeli Peace Bloc) - pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 Further details: Adam Keller, Gush Shalom Spokesperson First hand information from Nazareth: Dr. Nabila Espanyoli Reason #7. A 9 Oct News Release issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International reported that two Palestinian refugees were killed in south Lebanon,
7 October. There was a demonstration against Israel in Lebanon, at the border,
and Israeli troops opened fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border. After that
three Israeli soldiers were captured by the Lebanese armed group Hizbullah.
Amnesty International calls for humane treatment of the captured
Israeli soldiers, and it calls for an independent, impartial, investigation
by criminal justice experts of all murders since 29 September in Israel,
the Occupied Territories and south Lebanon with the authorities concerned
being obliged to cooperate fully, and the report going to report to the
Commission on Human Rights, the General Assembly and the Security Council.
Reference: Reason #8. An AL-HAQ press release:
"On Friday 6 October 2000, one Palestinian was wounded and one killed
by Israeli ‘Undercover Units’ at Al-Haram Al-Sharif in yet another case of willful
and unjustified killing amounting to summary execution."
An undercover unit is working with the Israeli Occupying Forces in the
area of Al-Aksa mosque. They were posing as fellow worshippers where
people were washing in preparation to pray. They exchanged
pleasantries with the worshippers, then shot them.
"Eyewitness accounts indicate that there were only 100
persons there for prayer in a very calm atmosphere with not a single
person throwing rocks. Even so, this undercover unit approached the small
group of youths preparing for prayer backed by a heavy showing of Israeli
soldiers. Several witnesses also indicated to al-Haq that the event occurred
past 5 p.m. when demonstrations and the atmosphere of the Friday morning
prayer had long finished. Members of the medical staff at Al-Aksa also reported
that the assailants attacked them."
Reference:
AL-HAQ Press Release No. 00/59 8 October 2000 AL-HAQ, P.O. Box 1413, Ramallah, Palestine. Tel: +972 2 295 4646 Reason #9. from journalist Muna Hamzeh-Muhaisen muna@alquds.com
Monday, October 9, 2000
"Dear Diary:
I stared at the tomato for several minutes before finally biting my
teeth into it. I didn't realize tomatoes were such a beautiful red and
smelled so good too. I look at everything as if I'm seeing it for the
first time..and maybe for the last. The plants in my garden...2
year-old Marianna's small mouth and rounded cheeks, though she's been
looking pale these past few days....the five Finch birds sitting on my
terrace in a cage......
And all the time, I am so absent minded. I don't feel like talking to
anyone, or cleaning anything - the laundry has been sitting in the
washing machine for three days, waiting to be hung on the lines to dry
- as if I care....or doing anything except to sit at my computer,
sending and receiving emails... and in between, slumbering into a
restless and broken sleep.
I feel sick to my stomach and I'm not alone......there is no escape,
no outlet, no change of atmosphere....everyday brings more of the
same. We look like zombies over here. We are so wound up from watching
so much blood on our TV screens, listening to the radio
and.....waiting to see if Barak will bomb us to smithereens if we
don't heed his call and bring the Intifada to an end. So many people
around are stocking up on flour, sugar, cooking oil and other
essentials. And we wait.....wait...wait.
But no condemnation from Barak or the U.S., of course, about what the
settlers are doing. Armed Israeli settlers have been on a violent
rampage in the West Bank and inside the Green Line these past two days
and yet the news we hear on radio and TV is concentrating about
diplomatic efforts, about a possible summit, about negotiating the
exchange of prisoners between Israel and Lebanon.....but nothing about
the violent attacks by settlers against Palestinian homes.
Stay in your homes at night....don't go up on your roofs......be
careful, we are going to be showing some graphic photos, so don't let
your kids watch. The local TV stations seem to be the only ones
broadcasting anything about what the settlers are doing. 6
Palestinians were killed, mostly by settlers, in the past 48 hours,
including the gruesome torture - to death- of Issam Hammad near
Ramallah.
Where is the world media? Where is the international protection for
the unarmed Palestinian population?
Isn't it interesting that since a cease fire agreement between Israel
and the Palestinian Authority was announced yesterday, the Israeli
army seems to have stepped back into the shadows and allowed the
settlers to take over??? Shooting at Palestinian homes, smashing
Palestinian cars, beating Palestinians, torturing them......
At 8:30 a.m., the phone rang. Hourieh, one of my best friends in
Dheisheh, was a wreck: I couldn't sleep a wink last night. My brother
in Nablus called to say that the settlers attacked their house at
night, smashing their bedroom window, where the children slept, with
stones. They're so lucky the settlers didn't shoot them.....they're so
lucky.
Around 7 p.m., we could hear the sound of gunfire and we could sniff
the nasty smell of teargas in the air. The village of al-Khader, a few
meters south of Dheisheh, was being attacked by settlers. Heavy
shooting at Palestinian homes was being reported and within seconds,
we could hear the sound of ambulance sirens going by. A news flash on
the TV screen informed us that the ambulances couldn't approach the
homes of those injured because the shooting was so heavy. Then
suddenly, we heard the sound of cars speeding by, honking their horns
like crazy.....Dheisheh's young men had gone to the rescue.....Poor
guys! What rescue? The settlers everywhere are committing acts of
violence under the protection of the Israeli army, police and border
police.
I remember when I moved here from the United States in the early years
of the first Intifada. I was so unaccustomed to Israeli soldiers
storming into our house, that every time they did it, I wanted to
reach for the phone and dial 911. Calling the police for protection
isn't something you can do here.......there is no one to protect
you....no law to defend you against the viciousness of Israel's
brutality.
And now with the settlers taking over the role of Israeli soldiers to
shoot and terrorize Palestinian civilians, the Palestinian national
security forces can't do anything to help. This is the Oslo peace
process folks!!!! It is what divided our West Bank into Zones A, B and
C. The settlers are going on their rampages in villages located in
zone C....under total Israeli control.
The events of the past two days indicate just how smart Israel was in
dividing the West Bank into these zones. For we are surrounded you
see. Can't get to Hebron without passing settlements....can't get to
Jerusalem without passing settlements...can't go to hell without
passing settlements. Each and every Palestinian town and city is
surrounded by them.
And who will dare drive anywhere under these circumstances.....who
will hear the screams of any Palestinian being tortured to
death.....like Issam Hammad.
Freedom and liberty for all.....but not for Palestine.
Condemnations...but not for Israel.
Where are you Anne Frank? Where are you? Is this the reason you died
for? So that your people can turn around and commit these pogroms
against another people? You were so young and didn't deserve to die,
yet you died because of your identity...the same reason they're
killing us now. It is our very existence that they are fighting.
Oh Anne! I wish you could come back to life to take a look and tell me
what you think?
How can we be expected to care about Barak's threats after all this?
Are we supposed to shake in our boots if he threatens to spill more of
our blood?
We breathe, eat and drink the scenes each day. And the graphic photos
on TV keep on coming....driving us all to the point of insanity, or
sanity.....is there a difference anymore????"
Muna Hamzeh-Muhaisen Reference: Reason #10. "JERUSALEM Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is appealing to the
United States for approval of a massive offensive against Lebanon
and the Palestinian Authority.
So far, the United States has appealed to Barak for more time."
"Israeli officials said Barak spoke on the telephone to President
Bill Clinton and senior U.S. officials four times during the last
24 hours. Barak said Clinton has convened his senior aides to
discuss the Middle East and is making a huge effort to maintain
peace.
The officials said Barak is giving Clinton another 48 hours to
win support in the United States and in the international
community."
Reference:
Palestinian Center for Human Rights October 6, 2000
pchr@pchrgaza.org
Webpage: www.pchrgaza.org
maha samman
mahawad99@yahoo.com
08-10-00 11:28
ADDAMEER - Prisoners' Support and Human Rights Association
PO Box: 17338, Jerusalem.
Ramallah, West Bank.
Tel: +972-2-2960446
Fax: +972-2-2960447
E-mail: addameer@planet.edu
URL: http://www.addameer.org/
Khalid Amayreh
LAW
PO Box 20873
Jerusalem
Tel: 00 972 2 583 3428/3298/3537/3530/3430
Fax: 00 972 2 583 3317
Email: law@lawsociety.org
Website: http://www.lawsociety.org
Gush Shalom October 8, 2000 Press Release
http://www.gush-shalom.org/
"Gush Shalom" otherisr@actcom.co.il
972-(0)3-5565804
972-(0)50-581709 or Samira Khouri 972-(0)6-6570650
Past and current Amnesty International news services can be found at
www.amnesty.org/news.
Visit www.amnesty.org for information about Amnesty
International and for other AI publications.
Contact amnestyis@amnesty.org
if you need to get in touch with the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International.
AL-HAQ, an NGO in consultative status with the Economic and Social
Council of the United Nations and the West Bank affiliate of the International Commission of Jurists-Geneva, was established in 1979 by a group of Palestinian lawyers in order to uphold the rule of law and defend Palestinian human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Fax: +972 2 295 4903
E-mail: haq@alhaq.org
Website: http://www.alhaq.org .
Dheisheh Refugee Camp
Palestine
Muna Hamzeh-Muhaisen is a well known Palestinian
journalist, an International Correspondent who lives in Dheisheh Refugee Camp. She
is a founder of, and Public Relations and Technical
Manager for the Birzeit University Across Borders Project
(ABP), financed by the international community, which links Palestinian Refugees through Internet connections.
www.acrossborders.org
Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Monday, October 9, 2000
Please take a strong stand against any and all U.S. support of Israel's reign of terror.
It is beyond comprehension that any foreign government would imagine, let alone demand our U.S. government has 48 hours to win support of its people for ongoing unconsionable atrocities! Ask U.S.A. to support and finance that war!?
NO, NO, a thousand times NO!!!
Together people of conscience worldwide CAN stop the terror! A big part of stopping it is convincing the U.S. government it is in its best interests not to support it!
If you pray then pray for peace with all your hearts while you dedicate your efforts to doing what you can to promote peace!
Here are some suggestions:
Contact your elected and appointed officials who are empowered to make representitive decisions on your behalf and advise them any way you can! Talk to them, e-mail them, send letters, faxes, voice mail. Make sure they know how you want their decisions to represent you. Even if you can't vote, that doesn't mean you can't advise!
Sign petitions. Write petitions.
Talk to one another. Tell people what you know, and what you think and why.
Learn more about what's happening and why.
Read about the issues in a diverse variety of sources.
Look forward to reading this book!
REFUGEES IN OUR OWN LAND
Chronicles from a Palestinian Refugee Camp in Bethlehem by Muna Hamzeh - forthcoming September 2001. It also includes all Muna's "Dear Diary" entries. (publishers page)
Write letters to the editor.
Call in to talk shows and express your thoughts.
Participate in demonstrations. Try these! The "Women in Black" Movement's worldwide vigils demanding an end to Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory.
If you are good at organizing then organize an effort to provide needed supplies.
If you are a fund raiser ... raise funds.
Give a speech or make a presentation.
Palestinian citizens of Israel also need protection. You can find an online petition to United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan demanding international protection for Palestinian citizens of Israel (address of petition: http://www.petitionpetition.com/cgi/petition.cgi?id=862).
Find a petition to sign or create one: (http://www.petitionpetition.com/index.html) )
Read The Fourth Geneva Convention(IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War: (http://www.alhaq.org/references/documents/document_geneva.html)
Read the Genocide Convention: (http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/p_genoci.htm) and learn the internationally agreed upon definition of the term "genocide" (article 2). It is based on "racism" i.e "intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group".
Know that a nation can not truly support peace and justice, despite its claims, when it plays favorites by refusing to speak up against both genocide and racism suffered by ANY and ALL peoples, rather than unconditionally defending an arbitrary exclusive few.
How does your own nation truly measure up as an advocate of peace and justice!?
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