Subject: Fw: Appeal - please forward!!
Date: Tue, 8 May 2001 10:09:50 +0200



----- Original Message ----- > > > COVER LETTER
> > >
> > > Dear friends and concerned citizens,
> > >
> > >
> > > The enclosed petition, signed by nearly 350 Israeli intellectuals,
> > academics and concerned citizens, calls for an immediate deployment of
an
> > international peace keeping force in the occupied territories in order
to
> > restore elementary safety and living conditions to the battered civilian
> > Palestinian population in the region.
> > >
> > > We believe that under present conditions a temporary international
> > intervention may be the only practical means now available to end the
> daily
> > killing, wounding, and suffering of civilians, including children and
old
> > people, and to facilitate the resumption of talks.
> > >
> > > We ask you to join our effort to enlist the support of world public
> > opinion and governments for the immediate deployment of such an
> > international force, by organizing and sending your own petitions or
using
> > other means available to you to help check the deteriorating situation
and
> > stop the bloodshed.
>
> > For the list of signatories, please contact one of the addresses below
> > >
> > > Yaron Ezrahi: mshruth-AT-mscc.huji.ac.il
> > > Ruth HaCohen : mshruth-AT-mscc.huji.ac.il
> > > Hannan Hever: hever26-AT-post.tau.ac.il
> > > Anat Matar: matar-AT-post.tau.ac.il
> > > Adi Ophir: adiophir-AT-post.tau.ac.il
> > >
> > >
> > > THE APPEAL
> > >
> > > Israeli Citizens Appeal for International Intervention
> > > in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
> > >
> > > We, citizens of Israel, are extremely concerned about the rapid
> > deterioration of the condition of the Palestinian people in the West
Bank
> > and Gaza Strip. We consider the Jewish settlements in the territories
> > occupied by Israel since 1967 to be an ongoing act of aggression against
> the
> > Palestinian people. Massive construction of new Jewish settlements and
> > expansion of existing ones have continued relentlessly even after the
> > signing of the Oslo agreements, more than seven years ago. This is but
one
> > major element of the burden of the Israeli occupation, which has become
> > unbearable for Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. While we
> > totally condemn acts of terror against civilians, we regard the
> Palestinian
> > revolt against colonial occupation as legitimate. Despite the fact that
> many
> > innocent Israelis have been victims of this revolt we understand that
> there
> > can be no moral and military symmetries between occupiers and occupied.
> The
> > occupation itself is morally and politically wrong; the excessive force
> > Israel uses in order to impose its rule against growing Palestinian
> > resistance is totally unacceptable.
> > >
> > > The Israeli army has used lethal weapons against non-armed
demonstrators
> > killing over four hundreds Palestinians since October 2000, among them
> about
> > seventy youth under sixteen, and wounding thousands more. In response to
> > Palestinian attacks Israel has been retaliating by bombing and shelling
> > targets in Palestinians cities. Israeli control of all major roads in
and
> > around the West Bank has fractured the Palestinian territory, cutting it
> up
> > it into a series of isolated ghettos. This is severely crippling
> Palestinian
> > economic activity, pushing ever larger portions of the Palestinian
> > population beneath the poverty line to the point where in some areas
there
> > are already signs of famine. Israeli operations are disrupting
Palestinian
> > emergency medical services, transportation, and education. Palestinian
> > civilians are not only abused and mistreated by members of the Israeli
> > military, but are further exposed to daily harassment and aggression by
> > Jewish settlers. The mental harm caused by years of terrorization,
> anxiety,
> > loss, humiliation and mourning is inexpressible.
> > >
> > > Israel acts as a sovereign that has relinquished all legal and moral
> > responsibilities to protect the Palestinian population under its
> > jurisdiction. We acknowledge the complexity of a situation in which it
is
> > often difficult to distinguish between legitimate acts of Palestinian
> > resistance and unacceptable acts of Palestinian terror and between
> > legitimate defensive Israeli policy and acts of State terror. But the
> > complexity of this situation can neither diminish our responsibility nor
> > silence our voice. It is our moral obligation as Israeli citizens to
> express
> > our solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom, and to do
> > everything possible to protect the Palestinian population living in the
> > occupied territories. We urge our fellow citizens, and friends and
> > colleagues worldwide to join us in speaking up against the continued
> > occupation and oppression of the Palestinians. Specifically, we call for
> an
> > immediate international intervention to stop the killing and wounding of
> > human beings who are exercising their elementary right to claim
political
> > freedom. We call upon you to urge your governments to go beyond hesitant
> > condemnations of Israeli policies and initiate an international peace
> force
> > that would help protect the Palestinians from the aggression of the
> Israeli
> > government and facilitate the resumption of serious negotiations between
> the
> > parties to the conflict.
> > >
> >
> >
>

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