The belligerent Israeli Occupation Forces continue to besiege the Palestinian cities in the Occupied Territories, and prevent the entrance of fuel in the Gaza Strip
In the most dangerous deterioration of the situation in the Occupied Territories since 29/9/2000, the belligerent Israeli Occupation Forces have reinforced the military siege imposed on the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They have maintained the closure of the crossings and international airport in the Gaza Strip, and continued to isolate the cities of the West Bank and Gaza Strip from each other. They also have completely blocked the entrances of the Palestinian cities and villages. Moreover, they have prevented the entrance of fuels to the Gaza Strip since 17/11/2000. Since Thursday, 16/11/2000, the belligerent Israeli Occupation Forces have prevented two ships from unloading 4200 Tons of gas, imported by Palestinian companies for the use of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in the harbors of Ashdod and Ashkelon. The daily needs of the Gaza Strip of gas are 100 Tons, while its daily needs of car petrol is 500.000 liters. This situation will lead to complete paralysis of the public life. It will prevent the functioning of hospitals including the operating theatres and ambulances, bakeries, and factories, which all need fuel to function.
The belligerent Israeli Occupation Forces have continued to destroy the property of Palestinian civilians. This morning (20/11/2000), they have bulldozed tens of dunams of agricultural land near Kfar Darom Jewish settlement and Almuntar/ Karny crossing in the Gaza Strip. They also have closed all the roads which connect the southern half of the Gaza Strip with its northern half. Moreover, they have randomly opened fire on Palestinian civilians near Salah Addeen border-gate in Rafah leading to the injury of: 1. Rafat Mohammad Abu Libdah, 35 years old, injured in the chest. 2. Bassam Abd Assalam Alqadhy, 21 years old, critically injured in the chest. 3. Mohammad Mousa Zurub, 15 years old, injured in the thigh.
We, at AL-MEZAN Center for Human Rights, stress that the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian civilians in the Palestinian Occupied Territories reflects a general/public policy aiming to impose collective punishments upon the Palestinian civilians and create a state of starvation among them. This policy constitutes a grave breach to the international humanitarian law. Based on this, we stress our previous requests that the international community should immediately intervene to provide protection for the Palestinian civilians and to put an end to the Israeli violations of human rights in the Occupied Territories.
IUrgent Appeal to the International Community as Gaza Strip is Under Heavy Bombardment, Collective Punishment of Palestinian Civilians Borders Crisis Levels
At the time of writing this press release there were reports that the Israeli Occupying Forces, at 6:00pm this evening, had begun a heavy missile bombardment of the Gaza Strip, striking by helicopter gunships at Palestinian military and civilian locations. Electricity has been cut and the Palestine TV, the Preventive Security and the National Security was also damaged by missile attack. All areas of the Gaza Strip have been under attack. Many people have left their homes and are running in the streets in panic. The number of casualties and damage to property has not yet been reported but al-Haq will continue to monitor the situation.
Al-Haq again is appealing to the international community with a sense of urgency regarding the fate of the Palestinian people under Israeli Military Occupation. The safety and security of Palestinians continues to be threatened by punitive measures implemented by the Israeli Occupying Forces and their unwillingness to stop and/or prevent acts of Israeli settler violence against Palestinian civilians.
The Israeli Forces’ continued military closure of the Occupied Palestinian Territories is a punitive action, illegal under international law. Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states:
No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed.
Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.
Pillage is prohibited.
Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited.
The Israeli Forces, once again, have reinforced and intensified the military closure completely isolating Palestinian cities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Entrances to Palestinian cities and villages have been blocked (in some cases by Israeli Settler blockades). Areas near the Kfar Darom settlement in the Gaza Strip have been bulldozed destroying Palestinian property. The Israeli Forces have closed the Karni Crossing since November 17, 2000 resulting in the exhaustion of supplies of car petrol, gas for cooking and oil for heating. Without these supplies, the Gaza Strip will be completely immobilized. Without gas, Gaza vehicles will stop, Gaza hospitals and operating rooms cannot function, ambulances cannot move, and bakeries and factories cannot operate.
We also urge the international community to take the necessary steps to provide food and essential supplies to those Palestinians under siege in the Gaza Strip and to pressure the Israeli Occupying Forces, by any means necessary, to lift the siege imposed on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Israeli Occupying Forces must take full responsibility for the deterioration for the respect of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
ADC Press Release: Israel Again Bombs Defenseless Palestinian Cities; International Protection for Palestinians Urgently Required
Washington, D.C., Nov. 20 - - The American-Arab Anti- Discrimination Committee (ADC), the nation’s largest Arab-American membership organization, has reiterated its urgent call for international protection for the Palestinian people following another air raid against Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles at several civilian targets in Gaza today, knocking out power in much of the city. These attacks appear to be official Israeli vengeance for the bombing of an Israeli settler bus in Gaza yesterday. Palestinian officials deny any connection with the bus attack and Israel has not accused the PA of responsibility for it, yet Israel has chosen to respond by attacking civilian and public targets connected to the authority. This bombing is the latest escalation of Israel’s violent suppression of Palestinian protests against 33 years of Israeli occupation in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.
In a letter to President Clinton and Secretary of State Albright, ADC President Hala Maksoud called upon the U.S. government to use its influence to allow the international community to extend the necessary protection to the defenseless Palestinian people. She wrote that “this outrageous attack seems designed to undo any possibility of a lowering of tensions and a peaceful end to Israeli occupation. There can be no further doubt about the urgent need for an international force to protect the Palestinian people from these continuous attacks by Israel’s occupation troops. Israel has gone from using live fire and tanks against protesters, to assasinating Palestinian leaders, to repeatedly bombing defenseless Palestinian cities. It is clear that the Israelis will stop at nothing to enforce their occupation. The international community can no longer stand by and watch this slaughter continue. The Palestinians need protection now.”
More than 250 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops in recent weeks, many of them children. Yesterday, Israeli soldiers shot three more Palestinians, including a 14 year old child. The Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reports today that Israel has given its soldiers “shoot to kill” orders against all Palestinian protesters over the age of 12. On Oct. 19, The UN Human Rights Commission voted to condemn Israel for ``widespread, systematic and gross violations of human rights” and ``the indiscriminate use of force in violation of international humanitarian law.” Amnesty International has also condemned the "excessive use of lethal force" by Israel and the killing of large numbers of unarmed children. On October 7, the UN Security Council condemned "acts of violence, especially the excessive use of force against Palestinians, resulting in injury and loss of human life" and "called upon Israel, the occupying Power, to abide scrupulously by its legal obligations and its responsibilities under the Fourth Geneva Convention."
Declaration of the joint meeting of Muslim Imams and Bishops and Clergy of the different denominations of the churches in Egypt
Dr. Fawzy El Zefzaf & Dr. Ali El Simman, the Deputies of the Grand Sheikh of Al Azhar, Dr. Said Tantawi together with Bishop Mouneer H. Anis of the Anglican Church in Egypt and North Africa, Bishop Yohanna Kolta representing Patriarch Estaphenous II of the Roman Catholic Church in Egypt and Bishop Moses representing Pope Shenouda III, the Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt met on Tuesday 24th October 2000 in Al Azhar and they chaired a meeting that was attended by Imams and Clergies from all different denominations. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the sad situation in Jerusalem and other parts of Palestine.
The following statement was the result of this meeting:
Out of the common human values between Islam and Christianity which defend> human dignity and rights, Al Azhar and the Christian Churches in Egypt reject the aggression of Israel on the Palestinians and their properties and the unjust and murders of the innocent.
We Muslim and Christian leaders reject and denounce the inhuman practices of the Israeli Army on Islamic and Christian Holy places in the Palestinian cities especially El Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. We, the Islamic and Christian leaders agreed unanimously that all the sraeli aggressive practices against the Palestinians is against all human rights, religions and all International Laws.We plead to all Nations and Governments of the world and all International organizations to intervene immediately to stop the Israeli wild attacks on Palestinians and to withdraw from the occupied territories allowing the Palestinians to have their rights in resisting Israeli occupation and establishing their independent country with Jerusalem as its capital.
We appeal to the leaders of the Arab and Islamic and all Nations, Governments all over the world, the leaders of the Churches and international organizations that work in human relief to offer their urgent humanitarian help and support to the Palestinians as they face all kinds of humiliation and starvation by the Israeli Government."
Sean McConnell
GraceCom Program Producer
1100 California Street
San Francisco, California 94108
seanm@gracecathedral.org
http://www.GraceCathedral.org
Israel Launches An Intensive Air Strike On the Gaza Strip, Clashes Continue
This evening, the Israeli army launched intensive air strikes on the Gaza Strip. The attacks, which were carried out with helicopter gunships, started at around 6 pm local time and lasted for over an hour. A number of missiles were fired on Gaza City, Khan Yunis, Rafah and Deir Al-Balah. During the attacks, electricity was knocked out in Gaza City. A power station under construction, the building of the Palestinian TV station, the Fatah headquarters in Gaza City and a number of buildings housing different Palestinian security services were hit. Gaza harbour was also slightly damaged. As result of the air strikes, 26 people were reportedly wounded, two of them seriously.
GAZA
Earlier today, Jaber al Qitati (59)from Rafah died of injuries
incurred on 8 November. Ra'fat Abu Libda (22) was shot and killed by
an Israeli sniper at the Salah al Din Gate. In the same incident,
Mohammed Zu'rub (14) was shot in the thigh. According to eye witness
accounts, there were no clashes in the area at the time. Two Israeli
settlers were also killed this morning. In the afternoon, Israeli
soldiers opened fire on civilian demonstrators in Rafah, Gaza City, at
Salah-a-Din Gate, Mantar, and checkpoints near the villages of Tal al
Sultan and Tufah. Fifteen civilians were wounded. In Tal al Sultan,
Ibrahim Ahmad Hasan Osman (17), from Rafah, was killed by live
ammunition. He was reportedly unarmed.
It was also reported that Israeli bulldozers leveled 50 dunums of land owned by Nimat al Agha located to the south of the Kfar Darom settlement. Yesterday, 50 dunums belonging to the Abu Naddaf and Abu Bashir families were also leveled by the Israeli authorities.
WEST BANK
Last night Ra'fat Joudeh (22) from Nablus was killed while travelling
along the road that connects Aseera Ashimalieh to Anaqoura. Mounir
Darar Najar (24) from Jenin was hit by a live bullet in his right leg
during clashes; Bilal Na'aman Yunis Hoshiye (14) from Al Yamon was
injured during clashes by a high velocity bullet in his right hand.
LAW condemns the intensive air strikes carried out in a densely populated area involving the risk of civilian casualties.
LAW once again urges the Israeli military authorities to abide by international guidelines concerning the use of force and firearms.
LAW calls on the United Nations Security Council to authorize the establishment of an international Observer Mission to help safeguard Palestinian civilians.
LAW calls on the Israeli government to abide by all the relevant provisions of international humanitarian law and to implement United Nations resolutions 242, 338 and 194.
Last Call: SIGN PETITION to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson demanding International Protection and Implementation of the Palestinian Right to Self-Determination (Sponsored by Media Alternative Palestine-MAP and BADIL Resource Center)
Over 11,800 signatures have been gathered in the Middle East and world-wide since this petition was first launched during UN High Commissioner Robinson's visit in Palestine on 13 November 2000. Signature gathering will be discontinued on Wednesday morning, 22 November, and the petition will be presented to the UN High Commissioner prior to the completion of her report on the violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people by the Israeli occupying power.
Help us to send a clear and strong message for the Palestinian right to self-determination and our need for international protection to UN High Commissioner Robinson - You have ONE MORE DAY to sign our petition!
You can read the petition text and sign on directly via our website: www.badil.org/intifada2000/intifada2000.html ("Petition for International Protection Forces")
For more information about Media Alternatives on Palestine (MAP), please contact: mapalestine@hotmail.com For additional information about the Palestinian uprising, Israeli repression, relevant UN resolutions, and the Palestinian demand for international protection, see: www.badil.org/intifada2000/intifada2000.html
BADIL Resource Center aims to provide a resource pool of alternative, critical and progressive information and analysis on the question of Palestinian refugees in our quest to achieve a just and lasting solution for exiled Palestinians based on the right of return. PO Box 728, Bethlehem, Palestine; tel/fax. 02-2747346; email: info@badil.org; website: www.badil.org
PALESTINIAN CHILDREN CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION ON THE 11th ANNIVERSARY OF THE UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
Today marks the 11th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the most widely-ratified human rights treaty in history. The CRC, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in resolution 44/25 on 20 November 1989, constitutes the main legal framework outlining the universal rights of children. Article 2 of the Convention, which entered into force in Israel on 2 November 1991, obliges States Parties to ensure the rights contained therein, both in the territory of the state itself, and in areas under its control. Moreover, article 4 requires that States Parties take "all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized" in the Convention. To date, Israel has not only failed to submit the required country report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, as required by article 44, it has engaged in a pattern of gross and systematic violations of Palestinian children's rights.
In the period since 28 September alone, 66 Palestinians under the age of 18 have died as a direct result of Israeli military and settler presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. An additional 6 Palestinian children have been declared clinically dead and over 2,000 have been injured. Moreover, thousands of Palestinian children have been traumatized as a result of the daily exposure to violence and repeated attacks by Israeli military forces on Palestinian residential areas. It is important to note that the events of the past two months are an intensification of violations of children's rights committed throughout the over 33 years of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Moreover, they are the manifestation of the international community's failure to ensure that Israel comply with its obligations under international law.
In commemoration of the anniversary of the CRC, over 1,000 Palestinian children in the West Bank cities of Hebron, Jenin and Bethlehem participated in children's marches designed to raise international awareness of Israel's ongoing violations of Palestinian children's rights. The marches, which were organized by DCI/PS, in coordination with numerous local and international organizations, called for an end to such violations by Israeli soldiers and settlers and urged the international community to take immediate action to ensure that Israel uphold its obligations under international law as well as provide temporary international protection for the Palestinian people. Letters highlighting the human rights violations suffered by children daily, with special attention to Israel's violations of the CRC, were presented by participating children to the offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross in each town, as well as to local media. The marches culminated in children's festivals, during which the letters were read to all present.
DCI/PS views with grave concern the ongoing and systematic violations of Palestinian children's rights by the Israeli occupation authorities and joins Palestinian children in calling for temporary international protection for Palestinian civilians residing in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip.
Daily report on settler's violence against Palestinians
-There were further violent incidents in the village of Hares near the settlement of Ariel. A settler damaged one of the villagers' cars and then called the Ariel police, who proceeded to attack the villagers with tear-gas. The settlers then congregated at the western entrance of Hares in an attempt to seal the entrance to the village. The IDF were present at the site but did not take action.
-In the Baka valley the Jaber family was attacked by settlers from nearby Qiryat Arba and Givat Harsina settlements for the fifth time in three weeks. Hundreds of settlers threw stones at the houses, destroyed fields, pulled up plants and pipes and broke irrigation sprinklers. They also made a fire on the road in order to block it off.
-Ayman Abdel Majid (aged 32) from Bani Na'im near Hebron was attacked and severely beaten by Israeli settlers. He was taken to hospital.
- In Hebron Israeli settlers attacked the Cortaba Elementary Girls' School , entering the school and beating a number of students. The Israeli military then arrived at the school and shot gas cannisters into the school as well as live ammunition.
-In the Qalqilya area, Salem Shawahneh (aged 19) was injured by live ammunition when Israeli settlers from the nearby settlement of Kari Shabon shot at him unprovoked.
-Near the village of Kufr Kadom, Israeli settlers uprooted a large number of olive trees and destroyed agricultural lands.
-Mohammad Abdel Khalik, from Ya'abad (near Jenin) was shot by Israeli settlers from the settlement of Shafi Shamron, while driving near them on his way to take his wife to a hospital in Nablus. Settlers opened fire on the car, hitting and injuring him several times with live ammunition.
-In Ya'bad a number of residents were prevented from reaching their olive orchards and were beaten by Israeli settlers and soldiers.
Gaza Strip attacked at 18:00 by Israeli occupation forces: Dozens of injured reported at Shifa’ Hospital
PCHR wants to inform readers that Gaza came under rocket attack at 18:00 local time. Explosions were heard throughout Gaza City. Gaza City had its electricity cut and this could only be sent through the use of a private generator. Dozens of wounded people have been taken to Shifa’ Hospital. Attacks have also been reported in Rafah, Khan Younis, and other locations in Gaza.
PCHR’s normal press release will not be distributed today but should be sent out tomorrow morning. A Palestinian youth was shot dead in Rafah earlier in the day. A man in his fifties died as a result of inhaling tear gas in an incident that took place last week. Many Palestinian civilians were injured in the upper body. Leveling of Palestinian land continued.
PCHR condemns this enormous escalation of violence on the part of the Israeli occupying forces. PCHR calls on the international community to take immediate steps to protect Palestinian civilians.
PCHR calls on all concerned readers to contact their political
representatives and to urge them to support an immediate international
protection force for Palestinians civilians suffering under occupation
and a grossly disproportionate military attack from Israeli occupation
forces. Shelling, missile attacks, and willful killing of Palestinian
civilians are absolutely unacceptable and should not be allowed to
become a part of daily Palestinian life.