Call to protest Bush's phony Annapolis 'peace meeting'

Call Off Bush's phony Annapolis 'peace meeting'

A Call for Protest
FOR JUSTICE & PEACE, U.S. OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST
Across the Country--Protest on November 27

Protest in New York City at Times Square at 5:pm.
List of actions in formation.

We call on the anti-war movement to organize and demonstrate on November 27, during President George W. Bush's phony "peace meeting" at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md or whenever this meeting is held.

It is a monumental insult to the people of the Middle East and all justice-minded people that war criminal Bush would dare to convene a "peace meeting" while Washington continues to bring occupation, genocide and devastation to Iraq and Afghanistan, destabilization to Palestine and Lebanon, and constant threats to Iran and Syria in its quest for oil and colonial empire. This phony meeting should be called off. The fraud is so transparent that Bush's plan for a grand "Middle East peace conference" has shrunken to a one day meeting.

As an anti-war movement, we must ask ourselves: Can we allow the war criminals, who time after time have callously ignored the anti-war majority in the U.S. and globally, to get away with this outrageous farce?

Some may be confused about the purpose of the Annapolis meeting, so let's speak plain truth: It isn't really about peace and justice for the Palestine–it's about deception, occupation and war. It's about isolating popular forces and countries that reject U.S. rule. It's about attempting to force new concessions on the Palestinian people, while attempting to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and other Arab governments with Israel. All while Tel Aviv continues its all-out assault on the Palestinian people. And it's about preparing for a new war.

At this moment, Palestinians in Gaza are being deprived of food, fuel, medicines and other basic necessities by an economic embargo imposed by Israel and backed by the U.S. Meanwhile, more Israeli settlements, roads, walls and checkpoints are being set up in the West Bank each day. Palestinian, Arab and Muslim communities in the U.S. have also been subjected to a war of racist repression and need our support

Beyond pretending to be a "peace broker," Bush hopes that the Annapolis meeting will:

Divide and weaken the just struggle of the Palestinian people;
Prop up the unstable Israeli occupation regime;
Legitimize and strengthen the illegal occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and U.S. plans for colonization of the whole Middle East;
Help prepare for aggression and war against Iran.
Representatives of the Israeli apartheid regime will be in Annapolis, along with some Palestinian and other Arab forces that are under severe pressure from Washington or are willingly in its orbit. Those who refuse to tow the line have not been invited or chosen to boycott the meeting.

We must not be silent when the war criminals in the White House and Pentagon are talking peace - while waging war and planning new wars. This is the time for anti-war forces to take a strong stand!

END THE WAR NOW
* Get out of Iraq and Afghanistan NOW
* Stop preparations for war under the guise of "peace," from Iran to Syria, Palestine and Lebanon
* Free Palestine – Support the Right to Return and self-determination
* End the blockade of Gaza
* Occupation is a crime, from Iraq to Palestine

Initiated by: Troops Out Now Coalition

(Endorsers List in formation)
Arab American Union Members Council
Al-Awda - Palestine Right To Return Coalition, NY & Omaha
American Iranian Friendship Committee
Artists and Activists United for Peace
All India Anti-imperialist Forum
Asia-Pacific Action
All Peoples Congress
Ahmad Kawash, Palestine American Congress, Executive Board, Boston
Abayomi Azikiwe, Editor of Pan-African News Wire
Angeles Maestro, former MP, Spain, Corriente Roja
Amr El-Bayoumi, Alexandria Association of Human Rights Activists (Egypt)
Alexander Moumbaris, Les dossiers du BIP (Editions Démocrite)
Bisphop Filipe C. Teixeira, OFSJC, Northeast Diocese of St. Francis of Assisi, CCA
Bernadette Ellorin - BAYAN USA*
Brenda Stokely - NYC Labor Against the War*
BRussell's Tribunal
Campaign for Healthcare Not Warfare
Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa'adat
Chuck Turner - Boston City Councilor
Elena Everett, GPAX*, North Carolina Green Party*
F.I.S.T.-Fight Imperialism Stand Together
Frantz Mendes, President United Steelworkers Local 8751 Boston Schoolbus Union
Haiti Support Network
Harlem Tenants Council
International Action Center
Jersey City Peace Movement
Kamau Franklin, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement*
Lenora Foerstel, Women for Mutual Security
Lynne Stewart
Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Oakland Chapter
Millions for Mumia
New England Human Rights Organization for Haiti
NJ Solidarity - Activists for the Liberation of Palestine
NY Committee to Free the Cuban Five
Pakistan-USA Freedom Forum
Pam Africa, Internat'l Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Peoples Video Network
Queers for Peace & Justice
Stop War On Iran Campaign
Womens' Fightback Network
*Organization for identification only

Endorse: http://www.troopsoutnow.org/annapolisendorse.shtml
Donate: http://troopsoutnow.org/donate.shtml
List your local action: http://www.troopsoutnow.org/nov2707volorgcent.shtml

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Al-Awda Alternate Focus Third Annual Worldwide Video Contest

Submission Due Date - March 1, 2008

Al-Awda, The Palestine Right of Return Coalition, and Alternate Focus are dedicated to presenting the unheard voice of the Palestinian people to the American public.

In the past two years we were privileged to view video film submissions by videographer activists exploring the lives of the Palestinian people, their heroism and their resistance under the Zionist occupation of their land. Each year winners were chosen out of many entries by our panel of judges. The quality of submissions was very high, and many of the films have since found their way on cable television and around the world.

By popular demand, we are now calling for submissions for the Third Annual Worldwide Video Contest.

This is an opportunity for videographer activists to see their work on television and distributed on DVD's worldwide, while advancing the cause of Palestinian return and self-determination.

The winning entries will also be screened at the 6th Annual International Al Awda Convention which will take place May 16-18, 2008 on the 60th year of Al Nakba in Anaheim, California.

Additionally, cash prizes will be awarded to the finalists: First prize $500.00; Second prize $300.00; Third prize $100.00

A panel of Al-Awda and Alternate Focus judges will view all submissions.

For further information, and for the video contest submission form, please see the flyer posted at: http://al-awda.org/pdf/awdafilm.pdf

Please detach the form and return it with your video submission to:

Al-Awda and Alternate Focus Video Contest
2734 Loker Avenue West Suite K
Carlsbad, CA 92011, U.S.A.

Tape and DVD submissions may be in any format and any length.

Thank you and good luck!

Palestine Media Center

Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition
PO Box 131352
Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA
Tel: 760-685-3243
Fax: 360-933-3568
E-mail: info@al-awda.org
WWW: http://al-awda.org

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Physicians for Human Rights-Israel Gaza Update

1. High Court of Justice Hearing scheduled for Monday, 12.11.07, at 11.30 regarding eleven patients in life-threatening condition who are refused exit from Gaza.

2. GSS (shabac, the Israeli secret service) attempts to co-opt PHR-Israel into its mechanisms.

3. A further worsening of State policies at Erez Crossing is recorded PHR-Israel and eleven patients from Gaza have appealed to the Israeli High Court of Justice, demanding their immediate passage into Israel, the West Bank or Jordan for urgent lifesaving care. The petition was submitted after only four out of 16 cases submitted for review by PHR-Israel last week were granted permits.

Following are the details of the patients in the petition:

1. M.A-A, 40, heart patient, in need of urgent bypass surgery. referred to Nablus in the West Bank.

2. R.M.T, 40, cancer patient, in need of urgent diagnostic services due to a suspicion of secondary tumors. Referred to Jordan.

3. A.Q, 38, cancer patient (prostate), needs urgent diagnostic services due to non-response to current care. Referred to Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv. He entered Israel in the past but was recently refused.

4. N.A-K., 21, cancer patient (seminoma), who was referred in July to Ichilov hospital in tel Aviv for urgent diagnostic services in order to determine care. He was refused entry repeatedly and his condition has badly deteriorated; he has secondary tumors in the liver.

5. N.K, 28, suspicion of kidney cancer. Referred to Jordan for diagnostics and surgery. He received an entry permit but upon reaching Erez Crossing was asked by the GSS (secret service) to provide information about his family and neighbors, including their telephone numbers. When he failed to provide the information he was refused passage.

6. N.S, 28, cancer of the pancreas. Referred to Jordan for diagnostics and treatment.

7. M.A-J, 25, cancer patient (osteosarcoma). Referred to Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem for diagnostics and care. This patient was included in our previous appeal in October, and received a permit as a result. However, upon reaching Erez Crossing, he was delayed for 11 hours and finally turned back.

8. R.Y., suspected lymphoma in the spleen. Referred to Augusta Victoria hospital in East Jerusalem for diagnostics and surgery.

9. M.A-W., 32. Obstruction hepatitis. Referred to Nablus in the West Bank for care.

10. Y.A-H, 37. Heart patient in need of open heart surgery. Referred to Nablus in the West Bank for surgery. This patient received a permit to exit Gaza but upon arriving at Erez Crossing he was called for "interrogation" by the secret service. According to the patient, the interrogator said: "If you help us we will help you" and asked him to provide information about his acquaintances. When he said he had no such information, the interrogator said "If you don't help up we won't help you. Go and die in Gaza". He sent him back home, promising that he would never leave Gaza.

11. Y.M.S., 20, giant brain tumor. Referred urgently for brain surgery to St. Joseph hospital in East Jerusalem.

These life-threatening conditions could be treated if allowed to reach medical centers in time. Several of the patients have already suffered deterioration in their condition due to the delays so far.

In its petition, PHR-Israel has reviewed the worsening of State policies at Erez Crossing since June 2007, and demanded that all patients in need of care unavailable in Gaza be permitted access to medical centers.

PHR-Israel has also demanded an immediate stop to Shabac (Israeli secret service, GSS) exploitation and coercion of the patients at the Crossing, whereby patients who have already passed security clearance are required to provide information on acquaintances as a condition for passage to medical care.

Israeli secret service attempts to co-opt PHR-Israel into its practices

On the 8th of November the Israeli army authorities at Erez Crossing informed PHR-Israel that patients receiving a permit of the category "authorized pending interrogation" would no longer be interrogated on their way out of Gaza as heretofore. Instead, they would be called for an interrogation by the GSS, for which lengthy prior coordination is necessary, after which the patients would be sent home to await a reply. This policy further delays an already arbitrary process that has led to at several deaths since June. Moreover, the Israeli authorities demanded that PHR-Israel inform the patients of interrogations and coordinate their
arrival. PHR-Israel is aware of the practices of the GSS during such "interrogations", whereby they demand information on others as a condition for granting a permit (see above). Even if the "interrogation" were not used in this way, as a medical and human rights organization we can have no part in such a mechanism.

When PHR-Israel refused to coordinate interrogation appointments, saying that it would only inform patients of authorization to exit Gaza for medical care, the military authorities closed the files of the patients and refused them entry.

In addition, the Israeli military refuses to handle PHR-Israel's appeals on behalf of patients without receiving the telephone numbers of the patients. Since the military refuses to phone patients to inform them either of an interrogation or of authorization of the permit, PHR-Israel's conclusion is that the telephone numbers are used for intelligence purposes.

In the light of the above, PHR-Israel sees the permit category "authorization pending interrogation" to be tantamount to a refusal to grant a permit.

PHR-Israel regards the attempt to co-opt its workers for the gathering of intelligence as totally unacceptable; it undermines the foundations of trust between patients and the workers of PHR-Israel.

Both these practices constitute an attempt to exploit an independent, non-governmental medical organization for purposes that are completely external to and often contradictory to the best interests and well-being of the patients. The attempt to co-opt PHR-Israel into the practices of the secret services by threatening that non-compliance would deny a permit to
the patient, is totally unacceptable in our opinion.

From a medical-ethical perspective, PHR-Israel cannot participate in, collaborate with or condone such mechanisms in any way, and sees itself duty-bound to express clear and public opposition to these practices. It will do so, in court, on Monday.

Further worsening of State policies at Erez Crossing -

Military authorities at Erez Crossing, and the Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank have recently forbidden Palestinian hospitals in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to issue medical appointments directly to patients or hospitals in Gaza, and have directed them to issue appointmentsx only to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah. Due to the current division of powers between Gaza and the West Bank, this directive leads to further delays for Gaza patients awaiting referrals to hospitals outside Gaza, even before submitting a request for an exit permit. Since patients often do not receive answers regarding their permits in time for the appointments issued them, they miss appointments and have to reschedule repeatedly, leading to further delays.

Attached is a flowchart of the stages a patient must undergo on her way from a Gaza hospital to medical care outside Gaza. Each of the stages represents a potential obstacle on the way to care.

What you can do:

If you are in Israel:

- Attend the High Court of Justice Hearing on Monday morning, 12.11 at 11.30am. Bring placards with slogans demanding access to medical care for all, protesting the isolation of the residents of Gaza, and protesting GSS coercion of patients and of medical organizations.

If you are outside Israel:

- Write to the chair of the Israel Medical Association, Dr. Yoram Blachar, who was recently appointed to chair the World Medical Association. Ask him to express his position publicly on this issue. blachar@ima.org.il .

- Write to other Israeli policy makers. This is the fax number of the head of the Israeli secret service, GSS (Shabac), Mr. Yuval Diskin: 00 972 3 6428175. This is the email of the Public Affairs Department of the Israeli Prime Minister's Office: pmo.heb@it.pmo.gov.il .

- Write to the Israeli embassy in your country.

- Forward this message to individuals and organizations worldwide, protesting the isolation of Gaza and the denial of access to medical care and other basic rights.



For further details please contact Miri Weingarten at miri@phr.org.il,
telephone 00 972 3 6873718 ext. 115 or 00 972 546 995199, or Ran Yaron at
ranyaron@phr.org.il, telephone 00 547 577696, or Libby Lenkinsky-Friedlander
at libby@benor.co.il

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Petition for Iraqi Refugees

If you believe that we should act to help avert a humanitarian crisis then sign the online petition, (created with the support of Medact), lobbying the British government to give assistance to more than 2 million Iraqi refugees living in Syria and Jordan together with a further 2 million refugees displaced within Iraq. The petiton will take no more than 1 minute to sign, I promise.

The aim is to get at least 10,000 online signatures to let the government know that this is not an issue that can simply be side-stepped. I have also added a short TV news report onto the petiton site, which gives a good indication of the crisis facing Iraqi refugees residing in Syria. http://tinyurl.com/2uq9rr

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Stop The Siege Petitions & More

Andrew J Silvera

There are 3 Stop The Siege Petitions here, all addressed to
different people, the first is probably the most important, called
by the PSC.

I've been researching to draft a petition against Israel's (ab) use
of the Defence Emergency Regulations which they have manipulated to
systematically persecute Palestinians since 1948 and in the process
found this:

http://www.palestinecampaign.org/features.asp?d=y&ID=672 which
contains:

"The more the siege continues, the greater the harm to the residents
and their ability to meet their basic needs. Therefore, B'Tselem
calls on all the parties in charge of managing the crossing points
to take immediate action to open the crossings and prevent a
humanitarian tragedy."

Then I'm thinking there should just be a petition calling for the
opening of the Rafah Crossing but the closest I could find was: Ah!
This is a new one.

URGENT PETITION: End the siege on Palestinians and support
Palestinian democracy
We the undersigned call on the new prime minister, Gordon Brown, to
immediately:
• Call for international support for the Palestinian power-sharing
framework of the Mecca Agreement and a return to a unity government,
based on the results of the January 2006 elections
• Demand that the blockade on all Occupied Palestinian Territories
be lifted and freedom of movement guaranteed
• Reinstate funds and aid to Gaza and ensure there is no separation
of the Gaza Strip from the West Bank and East Jerusalem
• Press Israel to release all elected Palestinian parliamentarians,
and all other Palestinian political prisoners
• Work towards a just solution based on international law and an
end to Israeli occupation

http://www.palestinecampaign.org/sign.asp?PetitionID=5

To: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
Gaza - Stop the Siege! Stop the War!

The siege of Gaza is shameful; the stranglehold on Gaza is immoral.
It must be stopped!

We, the undersigned, call on you, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, your
Cabinet, and the Israeli Knesset to immediately:

• Open up the Karni transport terminal for commercial and civilian
use; allow it to operate at full capacity - 400 trucks daily.

• Open up the Rafah crossing; allow President Mahmoud Abbas's
security force supported by European Observers as monitors.

• Open up the Erez crossing; allow a normal flow of business people,
international aid workers, journalists, and diplomats to pass.

• Re-start the monthly transfer of $55 million in customs and tax
revenues to the Palestinian Authority; money that you collect on
their behalf, that is rightfully theirs.

• Make all back payments of customs and tax revenues, including
interest.

• Tell the USA to lift its embargo on funds going to any legitimate
organisation supporting Palestinian civil society.

• Provide the Businessman Card to thousands of Gazan businessmen who
are peaceful people working to build a Palestinian state; allow them
their dignity; enable them to contribute to their families, their
communities, and the Palestinian economy.

• Release Palestinian prisoners, especially the old, the sick, and
the veteran prisoners; you know who can be released. Release enough
to be meaningful; an unambiguous good-will gesture, encouraging the
Palestinians to release Gilad Shalit.

• Meet with President Abbas, immediately, personally. Set a date,
time, place for a meeting. Hold that meeting - anywhere, anytime, as
you said

• Instruct your government ministers to meet with their counterparts
in the PA and begin to rebuild the Israeli-Palestinian partnership
in as many fields as possible.

• Instruct your colleagues to stop their snide, hate-inciting
comments. Specifically, condemn publicly, unequivocally your UN
envoy Daniel Carmon for his comment that the 19 Palestinians "are in
fact the victims of Hamas terrorism." Warn your colleagues that you
will condemn anybody making similar comments - and follow-through.

• Allow Palestinians to travel between Gaza and the West Bank,
thereby growing the economy, encouraging education, and enabling
family and social links to be retained. Give the good citizens of
Gaza something to live for ... not something to die for.

We call upon you and Israel to assist in the return of normal
economic health to Gaza, without which there can be no political
stability and no assured peace. Your policy must be directed against
hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos. Its purpose should be the
revival of a working economy in Gaza, to permit the emergence of
political and social conditions in which free and democratic
institutions can exist. [Based on George C Marshall's speech at
Harvard, 1947]

We call upon you most urgently to stop the siege! Stop the war!

Peace! Shalom! Salaam!

http://www.petitiononline.com/jb520926/petition.html

To: Israeli Government and World Leaders
The situation in Gaza has reached emergency levels -- inadequate
water, electricity, and medicine; widespread hunger, poverty, and
unemployment; schools and other services rendered inoperative;
constant bombardments and attacks by the Israeli military.

This humanitarian catastrophe is man-made: It was brought on by the
ongoing siege of the Gaza Strip by Israel and the sanctions imposed
by the international community on Palestine, made worse by repeated
IDF attacks. If this situation continues, we will see spreading
disease, malnutrition, and more violence. Under these conditions,
negotiations -- the only way to reach peace between both peoples --
also become an impossibility.

http://www.petitiononline.com/SaveGaza/ That's not a bad one & has
7,000 sigs already, tho I don't know when it was started.

OUR MISSION is to publicise the case of two young people whose lives
are being wasted in prison for offences they did not, could not and
would not have commited.
On 11 December 1996, Samar Alami, a Lebanese Palestinian woman, and
Jawad Botmeh, a Palestinian man, were wrongfully convicted of
conspiracy in relation to the bombings of the Israeli Embassy and
Balfour House in London in 1994. Both have been sentenced to an
extraordinary twenty years in prison, after which they face
deportation.
http://www.freesaj.org.uk/

May as well add: Kick Israeli Apartheid Out of Football

http://www.palestinecampaign.org/petition.asp?PetitionID=4

Petition to Israeli, Palestinian & international leaders: The
Palestinian-Israeli conflict lies at the heart of a global clash
threatening to divide us all. People from every corner of the world
want a just and lasting peace in the Middle East - and the
international community can and must help bring all sides to the
table. Start Real Middle East Talks Now, and stay at the negotiating
table until we have peace.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_the_clash/ This one's a bit out of
date, they wanted it signed before June & the 40th anniversary of
the 6 day war but it didn't stop me from signing it. I just wish I'd
seen it was so out of date before I posted it to the 300 or so
addresses in my mailbox, doh! & PS, Don't Forget:

London: Palestine Vigil at Wembley Stadium for the England–Israel
Euro 2008 Qualifier

http://www.palestinecampaign.org/events.asp?d=y&id=2301

If you're really unfortunate – you might just bump into me!!

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"Pushing in Ann Arbor for boycott of Israel"

- The Arab American News

 

On the Internet at:

http://arabamericannews.com/newsarticle.php?articleid=9529

 

 

ANN ARBOR — The People's Food Co-op is no longer just a grocery store. It is now where a historic vote will take place to boycott all Israeli products.

Horrified by the Israeli army's destruction of Palestine and Lebanon, nearly 1,000 Ann Arbor residents petitioned the local grocery store to boycott Israel.

The voting will take place inside the store, starting September 1. The boycott ballot box will close on September 30.

With $900 million in annual sales, the Co-op has been an institution in Ann Arbor for over 30 years; it is proud to be one of the few stores in town promoting fair trade in business and advocating for the protection of all life on earth. The Co-op has boycotted dolphin-unsafe tuna and has supported the United Farm Workers' grape boycott, but never supported the world-wide boycott of apartheid South Africa.

The campaign to boycott Israel was initiated when a product called "Israeli Couscous" was spotted on the co-op shelves. Openly selling products from a racist state? That seemed unthinkable, for a co-op dedicated to workers' rights and even dolphins' rights. So Ann Arbor human rights activists contacted the co-op managers, and quickly met with the co-op Board to request a humanitarian boycott against apartheid Israel.

Almost 1,000 petition signatures urging a boycott of Israel were gathered. As a result, the co-op board was compelled to schedule a Boycott-Israel Referendum. Thousands of flyers have already been handed out in front of the co-op calling for the boycott and highlighting Israel's long alliance with apartheid South Africa. The upcoming boycott vote has panicked a handful of local Zionists, who rushed to "join" the co-op so as to obstruct the referendum.

City Councilmember Joan Lowenstein complained, in co-op president Linda Feldt's blog — "…Linda, you are right: this does not bring people together but tears them apart. I hope the co-op will not single out Israel or Israeli products…"

Last summer, the Lebanese people shattered the myth of invincible Zionist power; the myth was shattered again in Ann Arbor on August 9, 2007, by an unprecedented series of public speakers addressing the food co-op's Board at their monthly meeting.

In the basement of the co-op, Israel was effectively put on trial for starving Palestinians, stealing their top-soil and making Gaza into a living hell. One after another, members of the co-op spoke with conviction against Israeli and U.S. crimes in Palestine and Iraq.

Speaking with passion, they vividly portrayed the "filthy boots of occupiers on prayer rugs" as marks of inhumanity and shame in Fallujah and Jenin.

Outrage against Israel's savage racism rose to a unified voice, with seven speakers demanding an immediate boycott of the apartheid state.

The three Zionist representatives, stunned with disbelief and in anguish, were obviously shocked at any public demands against Israel. Public action against Israeli brutality is a new thing, in Ann Arbor and in the U.S.

The legitimacy and legality of grassroots human rights boycotts were fully confirmed at the meeting.

The boycott-Israel vote will commence on September 1, 2007 and will continue through September 30th. The People's Food Co-op is located at 216 North Fourth Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Their telephone number is 734.994.9174.

 

--End--

 

 

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A call for one million signatures in support of Palestine

A Call for one million signatures in support

of the resistance and the Right of Return and

nullity of presentation

Samih Khalaf

Those presently influential in PLO and Fateh openly announced their
clear and actual intentions to settle the Arab / Zionist conflict, and
what the news revealed from western diplomatic sources about giving up
the inalienable Right of Return, to be followed by Fayad's program
that annulled the legal right of resistance of Palestinian Arabs, it
added that the Palestinian state shall not be achieved through
resistance!!!

Aabbas announced that a creative solution for the problem of the
refugees, and especially resolution 194 that states about the
inalienable Right of Return and compensation should be discussed on
the table of negotiation under the chairmanship of the U.S. Secretary
of State, Condalisa Rice.

The situation is critical and dangerous, and the coming generation
shall put us accountable for our negligence and our negative attitude
in facing this gang that is taking a free hand in dealing with the
future of all the Palestinian Arab people.

This is an open call for all patriotic organizations to support the
resistance campaign in Palestine, and its legality, the Right of
Return and the annulling of the so-called leadership of PLO.

For those who support this campaign please send your signature to the
following address:

arabnews.ca@gmail.com

Campagne pour collecter 1 Million de signatures, en soutien à la
Résistance Palestinienne et au Droit au Retour et à la déchéance de la
direction palestinienne !
http://arabnews.ca/index.php?option=com_
content&task=view&id=1293&Itemid=1/
Cette campagne, lancée par le site http://arabnews.ca/, est le fruit
des échanges entre l'écrivain Samih Khalaf, Hani Barghouthi, rédacteur
en chef du site et l'écrivaine Sawsan Barghouthi. Elle répond, sans
doute, aux voeux des peuples arabes et de tous les arabes à travers le
monde/
Samih Khalaf
Dimanche 29 Juillet 2007
arabnews.ca@gmail.com

Les événements se bousculent sur la scène Palestinienne et les jeux,
longtemps couverts par le secret ou la surenchère patriotique, se
déroulent en plein jour. Les décideurs prépondérants de l'OLP et du
Fath n'hésitent plus à déclarer leur véritable intention de régler le
conflit arabo- sioniste. Les informations qui nous parviennent des
milieux diplomatiques occidentaux, révèlent que le droit au retour est
abandonné. Le Premier Ministre Fayadh pour sa part, sacrifie le droit
légitime du Peuple Palestinien à la Résistance, ajoutant que l'Etat
Palestinien ne viendra pas par la résistance.
De son côté, Abbas déclare qu'il faudrait chercher une « solution
innovatrice » au problème du retour, sacrifiant ainsi les résolutions
internationales et notamment la résolution 194 relative au droit des
réfugiés palestiniens au retour et aux compensations, et propose de
mettre tout sur le tapis des prochaines négociations sous la houlette
de Condolezza Rice.
Les nouvelles orientations de Abbas et de son gouvernement sont très
graves pour nos droits légitimes en Palestine et le programme de
Fayadh constitue un coup de poignard dans le dos du Mouvement
Palestinien de libération nationale, de son histoire et de son
expérience. Fayadh veut-il dire par là que le peuple palestinien était
dans l'erreur quand il avait choisi la voie de la résistance armée, et
devrait-il ainsi s'en excuser?
Abbas et son premier ministre parlent comme s'ils représentaient le
peuple palestinien. Rappelons que Abbas a été élu par les Palestiniens
de l'intérieur et à ce titre, Fayadh peut parler au nom de ceux qui
ont élu son chef, mais sûrement pas au nom des 6,5 millions de
palestiniens qui vivent à l'étranger. Ces derniers ne l'ont pas élu,
ni comme Président de l'Autorité, ni comme Président de l'Organisation
de Libération de la Palestine (OLP), laquelle est devenue le moyen de
faire passer les programmes douteux et de faire des concessions à
l'ennemi sioniste.
Nous voulons affirmer que la présidence de l'OLP par Abbas est matière
à contestation pour une raison bien simple : le Conseil Central et la
Commission Exécutive de l'OLP sont actuellement illégitimes au vu de
la loi et de la constitution palestinienne.
Depuis plus de deux décennies ces décideurs prépondérants occupent
leurs postes pour exécuter leur propre projet et non pas celui du
peuple palestinien. Nous les aurions soutenus si leur projet était
celui du peuple palestinien et nous aurions fait de même si le peuple
palestinien les avait élus. Mais le peuple palestinien n'acceptera
jamais que l'on bafoue ses choix, sa lutte et sa résistance et il
refusera que l'on fasse la moindre concession à propos de son droit au
retour sur sa terre. Il n'y a donc aucune place à « l'innovation
créatrice » puisque l'essentiel est toujours là, c'est-à-dire nos
revendications nationales légitimes. Qui donc a donné à Abbas le droit
de parler au nom du peuple palestinien et des réfugiés ?…Lui-même,
comment donc a-t-il eu la citoyenneté palestinienne ? Lui qui est
toujours un réfugié ? En fait sa légitimité émane de l'occupation et
non de la légitimité nationale.
Notre peuple réfugié à l'étranger quant à lui revendique son droit au
retour à travers ses propres choix nationaux et non pas le choix de la
reddition et l'aliénation de ses droits légitimes tels que l'envisage
Abbas avec sa théorie de la « solution créatrice », formule que nous
avons connue chez Condolezza Rice avec son « désordre créateur ». Nous
savons ce que ces deux formules signifient sur le terrain à Gaza, en
Irak, en Somalie et au Liban.
Il est temps pour notre peuple Palestinien, à l'intérieur de la
Palestine et à l'étranger, d'agir pour collecter Un Million de
signatures afin de retirer la confiance à Abbas et à son gouvernement
et de les empêcher de négocier en lieu et place du peuple palestinien.
Nous sommes convaincus que toutes les promesses faites par Abbas lors
de la réunion du prétendu Conseil Central et de celle du Conseil
National Palestinien, ne sont que tergiversations et pour gagner du
temps, pour qu'il aille, avec ses conseillers et ses affidés
imposteurs au congrès international pour négocier les bases de l'Etat
Palestinien à la mi-septembre prochain.
Il appartient au Peuple Palestinien d'empêcher cette action par
laquelle Abbas ira négocier ce qui ne lui appartient pas.
La situation est très grave et nous serons appelés à rendre des
comptes aux générations futures sur notre comportement vis-à-vis de
cette bande qui monopolise le droit de disposer de l'avenir de tout un
peuple.
Samih Khalaf

Traduit de l'arabe par Ahmed Manai :

www.tunisitri.net

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Support Palestine URGENT PETITION

End the siege on Palestinians and
support Palestinian democracy

 

We the undersigned call on the new prime minister, Gordon Brown, to immediately:

 

·  Call for international support for the Palestinian power-sharing framework of the Mecca Agreement and a return to a unity government, based on the results of the January 2006 elections

·  Demand that the blockade on all Occupied Palestinian Territories be lifted and freedom of movement guaranteed

·  Reinstate funds and aid to Gaza and ensure there is no separation of the Gaza Strip from the West Bank and East Jerusalem

·  Press Israel to release all elected Palestinian parliamentarians, and all other Palestinian political prisoners

·  Work towards a just solution based on international law and an end to Israeli occupation

 

http://www.palestinecampaign.org/sign.asp?PetitionID=5

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Wheels of Justice and Palestinian Civil Society Call to Action

Mazin Qumsiyeh,

Two items of importance: the fall 2007 Wheels of Justice bus tour (your
logistical and other support needed) and the Palestinian Civil Society Call
to Action (this remains a seminal document for all who seek peace with
justice)

1) FALL '07 WHEELS OF JUSTICE TOUR

The Fall '07 Wheels of Justice tour needs your active participation and
support.

The Wheels of Justice Tour has already covered 48 states and we spoke and
mobilized at hundreds of events but we must intensify our efforts at this
crucial stage. The new fall season begins September 10 as we see
significant changes in the political landscape regarding occupation in Iraq,
colonization in Palestine, and oppression of civil liberties here at home.
The bus team is growing and adapting to changing circumstances but with your
help will continue to offer the very best in compelling witness, testimony
and expertise on our roles and responsibilities as taxpayers and world
citizens. With your much-needed help (need volunteer hosts, organizers,
speakers, money etc), we will continue to speak and mobilize at more high
schools, more colleges, more churches, more community centers, and more
diverse audiences.

How you can help:

1) If you live in the areas along the route or know people there consider
hosting the Wheels Tour and participating fully. The tour kicks off in
Tucson, Arizona and on to Albuquerque and Santa Fe, NM (need Phoenix and/or
Flagstaff in Arizona), then Denver, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and West to
Seattle, and down the West Coast into California.

2) Let us know if you know of good speakers with eyewitness accounts to
occupations in Iraq and/or Palestine.

3) Spread the word. Call and email people you know along the present rout
or people you think might be interested in being added o the route. Also
hold fundraising events and raise needed funds.

4) DONATE. It takes money to operate this educational platform. It takes
money for speaker travel costs, biodiesel, food, literature, mailing,
logistics etc. To donate send checks to Wheels of Justice, 740 Roundlake
Rd., Luck, WI 54853. On line donations via paypal can be made at
http://www.justicewheels.org/donation-and-endorsements (BTW, tax deductibe
donations can be made to the Progressive Foundation-For Wheels of Justice
and mailed to the address noted at the link above).

Contact Abigail Coburn abigail.coburn@gmail.com 510-384-9246 and visit
http://justicewheels.org for more details.
====================
2) Palestinian Civil Society Calls for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
against Israel Until it Complies with International Law and Universal
Principles of Human Rights
First issued 9 July 2005

One year after the historic Advisory Opinion of the International Court of
Justice (ICJ) which found Israel's Wall built on occupied Palestinian
territory to be illegal, Israel continues its construction of the colonial
Wall with total disregard to the Court's decision. Thirty eight years into
Israel's occupation of the Palestinian West Bank (including East Jerusalem),
Gaza Strip and the Syrian Golan Heights, Israel continues to expand Jewish
colonies. It has unilaterally annexed occupied East Jerusalem and the Golan
Heights and is now de facto annexing large parts of the West Bank by means
of the Wall. Israel is also preparing - in the shadow of its planned
redeployment from the Gaza Strip - to build and expand colonies in the West
Bank. Fifty seven years after the state of Israel was built mainly on land
ethnically cleansed of its Palestinian owners, a majority of Palestinians
are refugees, most of whom are stateless. Moreover, Israel's entrenched
system of racial discrimination against its own Arab- Palestinian citizens
remains intact.

In light of Israel's persistent violations of international law, and Given
that, since 1948, hundreds of UN resolutions have condemned Israel's
colonial and discriminatory policies as illegal and called for immediate,
adequate and effective remedies, and Given that all forms of international
intervention and peace-making have until now failed to convince or force
Israel to comply with humanitarian law, to respect fundamental human rights
and to end its occupation and oppression of the people of Palestine, and In
view of the fact that people of conscience in the international community
have historically shouldered the moral responsibility to fight injustice, as
exemplified in the struggle to abolish apartheid in South Africa through
diverse forms of boycott, divestment and sanctions;

Inspired by the struggle of South Africans against apartheid and in the
spirit of international solidarity, moral consistency and resistance to
injustice and oppression,

We, representatives of Palestinian civil society, call upon international
civil society organizations and people of conscience all over the world to
impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel
similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era. We appeal to
you to pressure your respective states to impose embargoes and sanctions
against Israel. We also invite conscientious Israelis to support this Call,
for the sake of justice and genuine peace.

These non-violent punitive measures should be maintained until Israel meets
its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people's inalienable right to
self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law
by:

1. Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling
the Wall;

2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of
Israel to full equality; and

3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees
to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.

Endorsed by:

The Palestinian political parties, unions, associations, coalitions and
organizations below represent the three integral parts of the people of
Palestine: Palestinian refugees, Palestinians under occupation and
Palestinian citizens of Israel.

link http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=66_0_1_10_M11

Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
qumsiyeh.org

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Full Article of Palestinian Labor Leader Manawel Issa Abdellal's SF Appearance

"Support this worldwide Divestment and Boycott Campaign Against Israel and Apartheid" appeals Palestinian Labor Leader in SF Speech.

Boycott

"We actually don't have any other way to exercise international pressure except calling our friends and supporters in the trade unions around the globe to call for this Boycott and Divestment." stated Manawel Issa Abdellal, member of the Executive Committee of the
250 thousand member Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) in a recent speech to union activists and labor movement supporters in San Francisco.

"Factories actually exist inside the settlements and their products are going to the markets in Europe and in the United States. The
whole world is saying these settlements are actually illegal settlements. So why would it be wrong to boycott them?", he continued.

"My message to you as labor activists is to follow the lead of unions in Canada and Britain."

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)in Ontario passed Resolution 50 in May of 2006." Adopted unanimously by 900 delegates, the resolution expressed support for the global campaign against Israeli apartheid. CUPE Ontario is the largest public sector union in Ontario representing over 200,000 workers.

The same month, the British National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE)declared its active support of
boycotts against Israeli academics and academic institutions that do not publicly take an explicit stand against Israeli apartheid and
Israel's discriminatory educational system. NATFHE is the largest union of university teachers in Britain (70,000 members).

Histadrut

In a wide-ranging talk, Manawel spoke about the PGFTU's efforts in defense of Arab workers struggling under the Israeli iron heel in
occupied Palestine. He gave numerous examples of the policies employed by Histadrut and the State of Israel attempting insure the
Arab majority of historic Palestine remains isolated and powerless.

Manawel described how Histadrut (the Israeli Labor Union) has used its privileged position in the Jewish State to take advantage of
Palestinian workers for Histadrut's own ends. "Histadrut has failed to represent any Palestinian workers inside Israel.", he said, "and the PGFTU is forbidden from defending Arab workers in such areas. It is very painful. We can see, witness, and hear of Israeli brutal exploitation of Arab workers, but we cannot do anything...It can only remind us of the Cantons of the Apartheid State of South Africa."

In one example, there are Palestinian workers who have worked in the same East Jerusalem hospital continuously for over 30 years.
The State of Israel does not allow them to leave Jerusalem to visit their families. If they were to leave Jerusalem, they would lose their
jobs because they would not be allowed to return. Just over a year ago, a worker from Gaza working at the Makassed Hospital left to
visit his family in Gaza. Although he had a permit to work at the Hospital, he wasn't allowed back in and lost his job. He was the
sole breadwinner for his entire family.

In response to a direct question of whether Histadrut has shown any solidarity with Palestinian workers, Manawel answered, "Until now I have not seen any sort of solidarity. Even when Arab workers are hurt, which should be the ABC of solidarity with workers, I have never seen the Histadrut say that they condemn such an act or do something about it."

He described instances of Histadrut's withholding and diversion of funds belonging to the Palestinian workers. "An American Communication Union wanted to donate something to the Palestinian Unions and the Palestinian Labor Movement. Histadrut somehow
obtained these funds, built a building for themselves in East Jerusalem, then leased it to the private sector, ironically, a Palestinian private sector. The contribution was meant to benefit Palestinian workers, not a private sector, Palestinian or otherwise. When confronted, Histadrut responded, "Well, we didn't sell the place".

Histadrut has been automatically deducting 1% of the salaries of Palestinian workers since 1970 as "trade union fees". The PGFTU
estimates between 1970 and 1994, the Histadrut pocketed NIS (New Israel Shekel) 400 million (=US$94.27 million) "for little more than
permission to enter Histadrut collective agreements along with Israeli workers".

In 1996, right after OSLO, an agreement was signed between the PGFTU and Histadrut stipulating that from 1995 on, of the 1% Histadrut was collecting, one-half was to go to the PGFTU. Histadrut has not honored the agreement they signed. Since 1996, they have kept all the funds they have collected from Palestinian workers.

Yet Histadrut has a strong presence in the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), having been among the leadership for many years, even before it changed its name to the ICFTU. Instead of bringing pressure on Histadrut to implement the
terms of the agreement they signed with PGFTU, the ICFTU is exerting pressure on the PGFTU to abrogate the agreement and make changes more favorable to Histadrut.

Manawel compared Israel's disproportionate influence among international labor organizations to the political power that Israel
is able to exert among western nations, regardless of legitimacy of their claims under international law. Now that the possibilities of
US federal sanctions have receded even further, with the largest number of congress members having dual-Israeli citizenship (43 - 13
Senators, 30 Representatives), it is ever more imperative that rank-and-file labor rise to the task of divestment, boycott, and state and
local sanctions.

One rank-and-filer in the audience related that in 1987 Histadrut had an office in San Francisco at the Service Employees Financial Union Headquarters on Golden Gate. Every year the Labor Council would give a dinner honoring Histadrut. The Labor Committee on the Middle East in San Francisco organized a picket line which received a lot of publicity. August, 1987 was the last dinner that was given for Histadrut. They closed their office soon afterward and left San Francisco.

The Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU)

The PGFTU's roots go back to the founding of the Arab Worker's Association (AWA) in Haifa in 1920 and its struggle against the
discriminatory labor and immigration policies of the foreign-imposed British Mandate. Increased wages, improved working conditions, and the 8-hour day were early union successes. But many later labor campaigns, including one of the longest general strikes in history (1936 - 6 months), were sabotaged through collaboration between the British, the Jewish Histadrut, and Arab collaborators and bought agents. Still, in 1948 the AWA was recognized by the International Trade Unions Federation as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian workers.

The 1948 catastrophe of the Jewish State and ethnic cleansing of Israel (al-Nakba) split the Palestinian Labor Movement asunder. The
West Bank, operating under Jordanian law (with some British labor law), was initially allowed independence of action. Union activity
was even made a part of the labor code in 1953. The next year, the West Bank-dominated General Federation of Unions, containing twenty Jordanian Unions, moved from Amman to Nablus. But by 1957, the Communist Party was banned and the unions rigidly controlled. Thirty-nine unions in 1957, became twenty-nine by 1959, and, after merging with the Jordanian trade unions in 1960, became sixteen by 1961.

Gaza, however, found Egyptian labor law more flexible, especially under Nasser, who encouraged the development of a Palestinian labor law. By 1964, the Palestinian Trade Union Federation (PTUF) in Gaza, with six industrial unions, began organizing Palestinian workers abroad and eventually established 13 exile branches in Europe and the Middle East. The PTUF was the first mass-based organization to recognize the PLO as the sole representative of the Palestinian people and became a part of it in 1969.

With the 1967 June War and Occupation, Israel attempted to totally suppress the Palestinian union movement. Gaza union offices were closed, union leaders were imprisoned or expelled, and all union activities were banned for twelve years. The notorious Military
Order 101 of August 27, 1967[see below] was employed to insure the goal of silencing the voices of the Palestinian people. The unions
went underground, but continued to grow. As the burden of occupation grew heavier on their institutions and economy, Palestinian workers increasingly sought work in Israel and urban centers. They began to view themselves with a united working class perspective for the first time.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[Military Order 101: "It is forbidden to conduct a protest march or meeting (grouping of ten or more where the subject concerns or relates to politics) without permission from the Military Commander. It is also forbidden to raise the flag or other symbols, to distribute or publish political articles and pictures with political connotations. No attempt should be made to influence public opinion in a way which would be detrimental to public order/security. Censorship regulations are in accordance with the Defence Regulations (Emergency) 1945. The punishment for non-compliance is a prison sentence of up to 10 years and/or a fine of 2,000 Israeli lira; soldiers may use force to apply this law."]
------------------------------------------------------------------------

The First Intifada had a profound effect on worker's solidarity and class consciousness. Factional political struggles by The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) , and, finally, Fatah resulted in an overt politicism of the unions at the expense of their class unity.

Paralleling that of the Communist Party, later called the Palestine People's Party (PPP), all three organizations formed popular
movements under trade union banners. From 1984, all four effectively shattered the labor movement with competing trade unions that
eventually resulted in 161 "political" unions on the West Bank and Gaza, involving no more than 6,000 mostly politically affiliated
workers.

It wasn't until 1991 in Amman, as the intifada cooled, that the PPP, PFLP, and Fatah combined into the Fatah-governed PGFTU , with twenty industry-based unions. The exiled PTUF , being the official PLO trade union , was still viewed as the parent organization of them all.

The PTUF occupied 15 seats in the Palestinian National Congress (PNC), the governing body of the PLO, but they were essentially
appointed by Arafat and had no direct significance to workers' struggles under occupation. When the Palestinian Authority (PA) was
first formed in 1994, the leader of the PTUF in-exile was appointed Deputy Minister of Labor. He tried to assert control over the PGFTU,
by combining it with the PTUF, but only allocated two seats (representing West Bank and Gaza) on the 19-seat executive board.

The Palestinian unions in the trenches under occupation refused to combine and severed ties with the Tunis-based PTUF. The
International Labor Organization (ILO) recognized the PGFTU as the Palestinian workers' representative in the ILO, declaring that it
would only recognize "elected representatives from the territories, not appointees from Tunis".

The Palestinian labor movement has been hampered, not only outside from the occupation, but inside as well from the discord between Arafat-appointees returning from exile and entrenched union organizers who held their unions together all through the First
Intifada. While the rank-and-file sided with the PGFTU, during the early years, neither side had been directly elected. The PGFTU
constitution was finally approved by ballot in 2004. By 2005, it had implemented direct elections and its Secretary General could
declare, "The PGFTU is the first institution working independently and democratically inside the Palestinian Territories."

The reaction of hegemonic nations to the Palestinian elections and the Hamas victory, a year and a half ago, was a disaster for all
Palestinians, but especially for workers and their families. The failure of hegemony leads to coercion. A catastrophic political and
economic blockade was deliberately inflicted to starve them into submission. In Palestine this means no job opportunities and those
with jobs have no salaries. Four or five families depend on one worker feeding them all. Unemployment rose almost overnight from 41%
to 75% of the workforce (400,000 workers). 80% live below the poverty line.

With the government still nascent and divided, the PGFTU had to provide much more then workplace representation and union issue
negotiations. The union had to create an economic and social infrastructure for workers and their families. Manawel described
graphically what unemployment really meant for them. There is no unemployment system yet. No work means no milk and no bread for the family. The union had to intervene between the government agencies and private sector employers to provide workers with jobs and salaries.

Prior to the last election, payments were still being received by workers who were unemployed because of the Intifada. The PGFTU made agreements with some of the Ministries to distribute these funds, supplemented them with grants and other resources, and redistributed them to those who were in the most need. Food supplies were likewise distributed by the PGFTU. As an independent organization, they insured a non-partisan distribution.

They also negotiate with private employers to get them to increase their workforce. They have also negotiated with government agencies like the Ministry of Labor to provide specific programs to provide jobs for the unemployed. They succeeded in establishing a program in which the government paid wages to unemployed workers who volunteered in non-private organizations for three months a year on a rotation basis.

Manawel was asked about the use of the ultimate weapon of class struggle,the strike, under their extreme situation. He responded,
"Even if we are under occupation, there are human...workers rights that we are obligated to defend...There are workers' rights that we
should be entitled to exercise in every place and every time. So while I resist the occupation from one side, I must also resist
injustice in my workplace so we workers retain our rights."

The PGFTU, Hamas, and Fatah

The specter of the Hamas-Fatah conflict loomed heavy over Manawel's remarks. At a San Francisco labor union breakfast he was asked about the internecine bloodletting in Gaza and whether it was truly a confrontation between Hamas and Fatah or, in reality, involved just one faction in Fatah which was pursuing its own agenda. He diplomatically answered, "The latter". I heard the name of Dahlan, the Gaza Fatah warlord, mumbled in the audience.

Later, he spoke about the Hamas Unions and PGFTU's relationship with them. He explained,

"Hamas started very recently in trade union work, but they call themselves the Islamic Unions...I refuse to transform the unions into ethnic or religious groups or institutions. If you want to work in the unions, you don't work under a Code Islamic Union. They realize that in a union there is power and they want this. We are not going to cooperate with the kind of union that has only one ethnic and one religious identity. Hamas is very selective. They are willing to work with secular unions only if they can gain more power for their workers. We refuse to work conditionally with them as long as sectarianism is involved."

He was truly saddened by the situation between Hamas and Fatah.

"It was the outcome of the accumulation of several incidents and circumstances. I just want to remind you, before the elections, the US Administration, the European Union, the Arab Countries, and Israel, all pressured Abu Abas to bring Hamas to the election. When the election took place, they refused the outcome. You ask for democracy, so why do you reject the outcome? That was the beginning of it."

"And the dialogue and the different conflicts since that election day until the Mecca Agreement last February...the issue of taking different Ministries, one would take one and one would take another...it was so weak and so shallow that it has caused this type of explosive event. And each of them has a specific agenda so that they must win and implement it. Right now with technology and the information revolutions, everybody knows a lot of the facts. One of which is the taking by Fatah of support from the US and the European Countries. Others say that Hamas takes their resources from other countries that have a religious trend in the area."

"Unfortunately, instead of directing these funds and resources into rebuilding the social infrastructure, they use them to try to destroy one another. In my point of view, the only solution right now is the dismantlement of both governments, and a continued engaging in a national dialogue to come out of this crisis we are going through.  In this small, tiny land we are talking about, we were asking for one state, now we have three states - Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel."

By D Leland Castleberry

[D Leland Castleberry is retired California Attorney. He is currently a labor organizer for the I.W.W. His law partner for
over twenty-five years was born in Jaffa, Palestine and fled to the United States during al-Nakba 1948.

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Take Action: Oppose $30 Billion Military Aid Package to Israel

SAY NO TO MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL. THIS WILL NOT ACHIEVE PEACE IN THE REGION!!

Student, University of Southern California
Major, International Relations
"Be the change you hope to see in the world." Mahatma Gandhi

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Take Action: Oppose $30 Billion Military Aid Package to Israel

Dear Meher,

Recent media reports suggest that the United States and Israel will sign in August a ten-year agreement for $30 billion in U.S. military aid to Israel.   Full details of the package have yet to emerge; however, it is reported to include a new generation of F-35 fighter jets, advanced bombs, and laser-guided missiles.

This military aid package, amounting to $3 billion per year, represents a 25% increase over the current U.S. annual military aid appropriation to Israel of $2.4 billion.   Israel is already the largest recipient of U.S. military aid before the proposed increase.

The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation opposes this proposed increase in military aid to Israel.  Instead of increasing military aid to Israel, the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation calls on the Bush Administration and Congress to sanction Israel by cutting off military aid to it for its continued violations of the U.S. Arms Export Control Act and U.S. Foreign Assistance Acts.

Take action today and send a similar message to your elected officials by clicking here. 

The U.S. Arms Export Control Act prohibits foreign countries from using U.S. weapons against civilians or civilian infrastructure and limits their use to "legitimate self-defense" or for "internal security."   The U.S. Foreign Assistance Act states that "No assistance may be provided under this part [of the law] to the government of any country which engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights".

Rather than use U.S. military aid for "legitimate self-defense" or "internal security", Israel relies upon it to prosecute its illegal 40-year old foreign military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip. "Gross violations of internationally recognized human rights" against Palestinians living under Israel's illegal military occupation have been well-documented by numerous Palestinian, Israeli, U.S., and international human rights organizations, as well as by the U.S. government.   

During Israel's attacks last summer upon civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation documented many instances of Israel using U.S. weapons in violation of U.S. law and demanded that the Bush Administration and Congress hold Israel accountable for these violations of law.  For additional details, click here.

Thanks in part to your demand for accountability, the State Department in January 2007 sent a top-secret report to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senator Joe Biden, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, claiming that Israel may have violated the U.S. Arms Export Control Act by indiscriminately dropping cluster munitions in civilian areas in Lebanon during last year's war.  A final report with definitive conclusions has not yet been issued. 

The Bush Administration and Congress make a mockery of the rule of law by supporting an increase in military aid to Israel even before the government's own investigation of Israel's prior violations of the U.S. Arms Export Control is completed.

Please take a moment to contact your elected representatives today and urge them to oppose an increase in military aid to Israel and to sanction Israel by cutting off military aid for its prior violations of U.S. law.  Click here to send your message.

 

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