Gaza - Ceasefire NOW

Dear friends,

Gaza and Israel are on the brink of all-out war -
before it's too late, let's raise a massive global outcry for
a ceasefire to stop the violence and protect civilians:

Hamas has been trying for months to work out a just peace
but Israel does not want to deal with them.

Sign the Emergency Petition

http://www.petitiononline.com/etgs1/petition.html

The Gaza-Israel crisis is out of control.
It's come to this:
bloody full-scale invasion, or
a cease-fire.¹ With rockets raining
down on both sides, Israel launched a
ground assault into the Gaza Strip this
weekend.² Three Israelis and over
a hundred Palestinians, many of
them civilians and children, lie dead already.
³ The next 48 hours are crucial --
Israel's cabinet will discuss a larger invasion Wednesday.
But Hamas floated a Gaza ceasefire months ago,
and 64% of Israelis support the idea.⁴

Both sides know they are in a battle for global legitimacy,
and international opinion counts. We need a massive
global outcry for a cease-fire now -- sign our new
emergency petition below, then forward this message
to friends and family. We will deliver our petition
to senior Israeli and Palestinian leaders this week,
as well as in a major billboard campaign:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_ceasefire_now/6.php

Or http://www.petitiononline.com/etgs1/petition.html

This is not just a war but a growing humanitarian crisis.
Last month we met with EU Middle East envoy
Marc Otte and senior advisers in European member
states to deliver our 100,000-strong call for an internationally
-overseen opening of the Gaza crossings to break the siege of
Gaza, and we have seen progress since from the
international community.⁵

But the crisis is escalating, and citizens on both sides
are desperate for safety. Many experts believe that without
a ceasefire to stabilize Gaza, there is no chance for
achieving a comprehensive peace and a fair two-state
deal. While the US still maintains no-one must talk to Hamas,
Israel itself has begun to break that taboo. Public reports and
our own contacts indicate that European and Arab officials
now support a Gaza ceasefire, as does Palestinian
President Abbas.

Like the Hezbollah-Israel war of 2006, this conflict
is spinning out of control. Just as it did then,
international pressure can help achieve a ceasefire today.
The combatants take public opinion very seriously. So let's
send a united global message to the warring parties to stop
the violence --
sign the new petition and spread the word today:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_ceasefire_now/6.php

With hope and determination,


PS The UN has already called for both sides to
cease all acts of violence⁶ -- the European Union,
Turkey, Russia, the UK, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and many
other states have joined the global chorus.

Sources: Palestine Blogs

Palestine Daily Voices

Window Into Palestine

KabobFest

Palestinian Pundit

DesertPeace & Desert Peace (wp)

End The Gaza Siege

Stop The Siege

Uruknet

Palestinian International
Campaign End The Gaza Siege On Face Book

1. Invasion or ceasefire –
Guardian news report on the Israeli debate:
http://www.guardian.co.uk
/world/2008/mar/03/israel.gaza

2. The Times of London news report -
both sides claiming success, 110 dead:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/
world/middle_east/article3473788.ece

Missiles now reaching the Israeli city of Ashkelon:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iDwNccgnik
UMFy7O6LWaLsmaFUqwD8V5I2I00

3. Reports differ about casualty counts from the
weekend operation - the IDF says 90% of those killed
were militants, but respected Israeli human rights
organisation Bt'selem reports that 54 of 106
Palestinians killed did not take part in the fighting:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/960338.html

4. 64% of Israelis support ceasefire talks with Hamas:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/958473.html

President Abbas wants to help broker
such a ceasefire:
http://www.ynetnews.com/
articles/0,7340,L-3514385,00.html

5. European and international
policy shifting:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/956434.html
and http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/951934.html

6. UN and EU call for an end to the violence:
http://www.reuters.com
/article/newsMaps/idUSN0127116720080302