AN URGENT STATEMENT TO THE ISRAELI PUBLIC. November 2000
In February of this year, we, a group of Palestinian academics and activists, addressed an urgent call to the Israeli public. We expressed in it our fear that the Oslo peace process, as it had evolved over the past seven years, was inevitably leading to further conflict--perhaps even war--rather than to our hoped-for goal: a final historic reconciliation that would enable our two peoples to live in peace, human dignity and neighborly relations.
We expressed our concern that the Oslo accords have been used by Israel, despite claims to the contrary, to create unprecedented expansion of settlements, almost double the settler population, and continue the expropriation of Palestinian land. Freedom of movement for Palestinians has been severely curtailed while settler violence against our communities continues without restraint. Against this background, the Palestinian population has had no physical, legal or political means of protection.
While military occupation is a palpable reality that affects us every day, it has been disguised under Oslo in ways that negate international law and the protection it might afford. We now live in a series of small disconnected areas which are being posited as the emerging Palestinian state. The only way to expand these Bantustans according to the distorted logic which has dominated negotiations, is for the Palestinian leadership to make concessions which would legitimize a number of Israeli demands in contravention to international law: to concede our national rights to East Jerusalem, allow settlements to remain in occupied territory and renounce the right of return for Palestinian refugees.
The Israeli leadership (be it Likud or Labor) has continued to imagine that, given the massive military balance of force in its favor, it would be able to impose on the Palestinian Authority its unjust vision of a final settlement, and pretend that the conflict is resolved in the eyes of the world. This delusion that a deeply unjust agreement can be made by Israel with President Yasser Arafat alone, who is then expected to force his people into accepting it, is profoundly shortsighted and has inevitably led to the critical situation that confronts us now.
Many of us were in the streets over these recent weeks, holding neither guns nor stones. We were holding candles to commemorate the deaths of our students, neighbors and relatives who tried to make the world hear with their lives what we were unable to with our words. The naïve and dangerous notion that Palestinians took to the streets following Yasser Arafat's orders is not only an insult to our intelligence but also a clear sign of the lack of understanding of the reality in which we live.
We are deeply concerned that the conflict has, at times, dangerously spiraled, into an ethnic/religious one, as the pogroms against Arab citizens of Nazareth, the lynching of the two Israeli soldiers in Ramallah and the numerous mob attacks on synagogues and mosques have shown. The profoundly irresponsible and self-serving act of the Barak government in allowing Ariel Sharon onto the Haram al Sharif shows not just an alarming lack of judgment, but also a total disregard for Palestinian, Arab and Muslim sensibilities. The use of live ammunition against unarmed Palestinian civilians at demonstrations there the next day and at protests ever since, shows total contempt for Palestinian life.
The stubborn and escalating use of Israel's overwhelming military power in order to crush the current uprising and terrify the Palestinian population into submission shows a dangerous, willful refusal to address its underlying causes. Military might may be able to subdue the current wave of protest -- at the immediate cost of many lives. But in the long run, it cannot stem the will of a people seeking their just and rightful place in the world. It will also condemn us to re-visit the current crisis again and again.
All of us are firm believers in an equitable and just negotiated peace between Israelis and Palestinians that recognizes the right to self-determination. However we, like our communities, have lost hope in the possibility of resolving the current inequities in the framework of the Oslo agreements and the exclusive American 'brokerage' of the process. We believe that we must find an equitable basis for peace which must necessarily take the following broad principles as a point of departure:
1.Negotiations must be based on the principles that all the lands occupied by Israel in 1967 are, in fact, occupied territories and that peace will be only be achieved by ending the occupation of these territories and thus enabling Palestinians to exercise their right to self-determination and sovereignty.
2.East Jerusalem is part of these Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in 1967. Consequently, a final settlement must include Palestinian sovereignty over East Jerusalem and the commitment to Jerusalem as the recognized capital of two states.
3.Israel's recognition of its responsibility in the creation of the Palestinian refugees in 1948 is a pre-requisite to finding a just and lasting resolution of the refugee problem in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions.
4.Both sides must recognize the spiritual and historical affinities of each other to sites and locations within their own borders and they must affirm and guarantee the access and protection of the other people to these places within their own borders. But in neither case should the existence of such sites be used to advance extra- territorial claims to locations within each other's borders.
We believe that the implementation of these principles will provide for a just and therefore, genuine and lasting peace. The hoped-for co-existence between our two peoples can only become possible if a reconstructed peace settlement is equitable. This requires moral recognition of the historic injustice visited upon Palestinians. Peace and co-existence will not be accomplished by imposing an unjust settlement that goes against the will of the people.
This land is destined to be the home of our two peoples. The need for a solution based on mutual respect and accommodation is dictated not only by the search for security and stability, but also by the quest for freedom and prosperity of future generations. It is our hope that, out of the tragedies of recent weeks, a new and fair vision of peace can emerge between the two peoples.
Name Position/Profession
1. Dr. Haidar Abdel-Shafi, Head of Red Crescent Society,
Gaza
2. Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, PLC Member
3. Dr. Saleh Abdel Jawad, Birzeit University
4. Dr. Kamal Abdul Fattah, Birzeit University
5. Dr. Abdul Rahman Abdul Ghani, Birzeit University
6. Ezzat Abdul Hadi, Bisan Development Center
7. Dr. Rabab Abdul Hadi, American University, Cairo
8. Ghassan Abdullah, Birzeit University
9. Prof. Ibrahim Abu Lughod, Birzeit University
10. Dr. Lamis Abu Nahleh, Birzeit University
11. Dr. Ragheb Abu Sarris, Birzeit University
12. Nadia Abu Zahra, Researcher
13. Dr. Mohammad Abu Zaid, MD and writer
14. Dr. Ilham Abu-Ghazaleh, Birzeit University
15. Dr. Latif Abuhijleh, Birzeit University
16. Prof. Eisa Abu-Shamsieh, Birzeit University
17. Khader Abusway, Journalist
18. Dr. Mamdouh Aker, Surgeon
19. Mohammad Alagha, Journalist, London
20. Dr. Suad Al-Aamiry, Riwaq
21. Dr. Nazmi Al-Ju'beh, Riwaq and Birzeit University
22. Ghassan Al-Khatib, Jerusalem Media and
Communication
Center
23. Rana Al-Khatib, Birzeit University
24. Mustafa Al-Kurd, Composer and musician
25. Dr. Helga Al-Kurd/ Baumgarten, Birzeit University
26. Dr. Majdi Al-Malki, Birzeit University
27. Dr. Sherif Al-Mousa, American University, Cairo
28. Hussein Al-Rimmawi, Birzeit University
29. Dr. Simon Araj, Birzeit University
30. Tayseer Arouri, Birzeit University
31. Naim Ashhab, Journalist
32. Prof. Naseer Aruri, Emeritus, University of
Massachusetts
33. Naela Ayesh, Women’s Affairs Center, Gaza
34. Suheir Azzouni, Women's Affairs Technical Committee
35. Dr. Raja Bahlul, Birzeit University
36. Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, MD and Head of Palestinian
Union of
Medical Relief Committees.
37. Siham Barghouty, Palestinian Federation of Women's
Action
38. Kamal Boullata, Visual artist, France
39. Ibrahim Dakkak, Institute of Palestine Studies
40. Rabeiha Diab, Ministry of Youth and Sports
41. Dr. Beshara Doumani, Berkley, USA
42. Ali El-Taher, Birzeit University
43. Dr. Tamer Essawi, Birzeit University
44. Prof. Ghassan Faramand, Birzeit University
45. Anita G.-Abdullah, Birzeit University
46. Dr. Rita Giacaman, Birzeit University
47. Dr. Rema Hammami, Birzeit University
48. Rudaina Hammouri, UK
49. Dr. Sari Hanafi, CEDEJ, Cairo
50. Dr. Ahmad Harb, Birzeit University
51. Dr. Roger Heacock, Birzeit University
52. Dr. Jamil Hilal, Writer, Palestine National Council
member
53. Prof. Khalil Hindi, Brunel University, UK
54. Dr. Suha Hindiyeh-Mani, Birzeit University
55. Dr. Samia Huleileh, Birzeit University
56. Islah Jad, Birzeit University
57. Penny Johnson, Researcher, Birzeit University
58. Aysha Joma, Terre des Hommes
59. Hassan Joubeh, Publisher
60. Zahira Kamal, Ministry of Planning & International
Cooperation
61. Prof. Sharif Kanaana, Birzeit University
62. Mustafa Karkuti, Journalist, London
63. Samira Kawar, Journalist, London
64. Hassan Khader, Writer
65. Jalal Khader, Advocate
66. Salima Khalil, Journalist
67. Dr. Samir Khalil, Neuro-Pediatrician
68. Rashid Khatib, Orlando, USA
69. Amal Khreishe, Palestinian Working Women Society
70. Eileen Kuttab, Birzeit University
71. Flora Lahham, Journalist, London
72. Khalil Malouf, Terre des Hommes
73. Prof. Nur Masalha, SOAS, University of London
74. Dr. Nadim Mseis, Birzeit University
75. Zakaria Muhammed, Poet and journalist
76. Prof. Ibrahim Muhawi, Edinburgh University
77. Prof. Foad Mughrabi, University of Tennessee
78. Reem Musleh, Birzeit University
79. Dr. Walid Mustafa, Bethlehem University
80. Dr. Issam Nassar, Institute of Jerusalem Studies
81. Prof. Jamal Nassar, Illinois State University
82. Maha Nassar, Palestinian Women’s Union
83. Mamdouh Nofal, Writer and PCC member
84. Dr. Muna Oded, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
85. Ziad Othman, Journalist and researcher
86. Imad Qamhiyeh, Birzeit University
87. Dr. Mudar Qassis, Birzeit University
88. Nahla Qourah, Ramallah Municipality
89. Suleiman Rabadi, Birzeit University
90. Ramzi Rihan, Birzeit University
91. Adnan Sabah, Lawyer, UK
92. Nahed Sabri- Mikki, Pediatrician
93. Abdul Jawad Saleh, PLC Member
94. Hilmi Samara, Petroleum Consultant, UK
95. Dr. Rosemary Sayigh, Researcher and author
96. Prof. May Seikaly, Historian and author
97. Dr. Othman Sharkas, Birzeit University
98. Raja Shehadeh, Lawyer and writer
99. Samih Shibib, Lecturer and journalist
100. Dr. Azmi Shu'aibi, PLC Member
101. Mahmoud Shukeir, Novelist
102. Prof. Salim Tamari, Institute of Jerusalem Studies
103. Vera Tamari, Artist, Birzeit University
104. Dr. Spiro Tamas, Surgeon
105. Muna Tamimi, Birzeit University
106. Dr. Liza Taraki, Birzeit University
107. Laura Wick, Birzeit University
108. Prof. Muhsin Yusuf, Birzeit University
109. Jamal Zaqout, Palestinian National Council member
110. Prof. Elia Zureik, Queens University, Canada
111. Dr. Wassfi Kafri, Birzeit University
112. Dr. Gamal Siyam, Birzeit University
113. Dr. Muhammed Abd al-Haq, Birzeit University
114. Dr. Samih Geda', Birzeit University
115. Dr. Ilias Saqan, Birzeit University
116. Dr. Mundir Barakat, Birzeit University
117. Dr. Khalid Abaza, Birzeit University
118. Dr. Allan Tlaibi, Birzeit University
119. Dr. Fuad Husni, Birzeit University
120. Dr. Mervat Bulbul, Birzeit University
Israeli occupation forces kill six civilians in less than 24 hours: New cold-blooded killing at Gush Qatif junction
In a new serious escalation of the use of lethal force against Palestinian civilians, the Israeli occupation forces opened fire on a Palestinian civilian car on Salah El-Din Street (the main road between the north and south of the Gaza Strip), near a junction leading to Gush Qatif settlement block, killing two persons. The Israeli occupation forces closed the mentioned road and prevented the entry of ambulances into the area. The closure coincided with the passing vehicle of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, when she was returning from her visit to Rafah. She was also prevented from proceeding on her way to Gaza City.
In the area of Beit Hanoun (Erez) Checkpoint, the Israeli occupation forces shot at Palestinian demonstrators, killing one with a live bullet in the heart. In Hebron, the Israeli occupation forces shot at a young man this evening in an area that did not witness any clashes, killing him with a live bullet in the chest. In Jenin, a Palestinian young man succumbed this morning to an injury incurred yesterday from a live bullet in the head shot by the Israeli occupation forces. On the 44th day of clashes, which started on September 29, 2000, the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli occupation forces increased to 179, including 58 children. More sweeping of agricultural land took place today.
1. Shots Fired at a Palestinian Civilian Car Kill Its Occupants:
At about 12:20 p.m. local time, the Israeli occupation forces opened fire on a civilian car travelling on Salah El-Din Street (the main road between the north and west of the Gaza Strip), near the junction leading to Gush Qatif settlement block. Eyewitnesses stated that shooting was heard in the area five minutes before the passing of the mentioned civilian car, and such shooting stopped for several minutes. Then, intense shooting was heard. Later, it was clear that shooting targeted a civilian car, a blue-colored Delta. Immediately after that, Israeli occupation troops, reinforced with tanks and jeeps, were abundantly deployed in the area, closing Salah El-Din Street. These forces prevented an ambulance of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society from entering the area to evacuate the persons who were in the car. PCHR's field officer in the area reported that he filmed some of the area immediately after the incident took place. He added that the Israeli occupation forces did not allow the evacuation of the wounded who remained in the car until 13:21 local time, when two corpses were removed from the car using a crane. The Israeli occupation forces put the two corpses alongside the road and then destroyed the car, apparently to hide any evidence that might refute their pretenses concerning the crime. PCHR's field officer added that he saw the evacuation of the corpses and the destruction of the car from a distance of 60 meters, and that the Israeli occupation forces did not get out any military equipment or any weapons. This absolutely proves that the victims were civilians and they had no relation with any kind of shooting. PCHR's field officer also saw the Israeli occupation forces cutting the clothes of the two martyrs, refusing to hand their bodies over to the Palestinian side. The two martyrs were moved to an unknown place. Later in the day the Palestinian side received the bodies of the two martyrs. The martyrs are:
1) Mohammed Yassin Darwish El-Madhoun, 25 years old, from Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza, who received heavy bullets throughout the body; and
2) Monther Hamdi Yssin, 25 years old, from Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza, who received heavy bullets throughout the body.
PCHR condemns this terrible crime which is to be added to the long record of crimes and cold-blooded killings perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces. PCHR refers to a similar incident that took place on September 9, 2000, when the Israeli occupation forces opened fire on two civilian cars, passing on Salah El-Din Street, near the settlement of Kfar Darom, near Deir El-Balah. As a result, E'etedal Hamza Moa'mmar, 29 years old, was killed and her infant son Mohammed, 6 months, was seriously wounded. Her other child, Rae'd, 4 years old, and her husband, Sharif E'id Moa'mmar, 37 years old, were moderately wounded. Another civilian car was also hit with bullets fired by the Israeli occupation forces. As a result, Saleh Mahmoud Saleh, was wounded with a live bullet in the thigh. As usual, the Israeli occupation forces claimed that shots were fired in their direction. Later, it was clear that the two targeted cars were civilian vehicles.
2. Shooting at Demonstrators in the Areas of Clashes:
In the aftermath of shooting by the Israeli occupation forces on the civilian car near Gush Qatif junction, tension spread over the area. At about 14:20 local time, shooting was heard. The Israeli occupation forces were seen shooting at Palestinians who gathered in the area, wounding:
1) Ahmed Hassan Yousef Dahlan, 18 years old, from Khan Yunis, critically with a live bullet in the head;
2) Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Najjar, 18 years old, with a live bullet in the foot; and
3) Abdel-Wahab Ahmed Hssan Abu Than, 47 years old, a member of the Palestinian National Security, with a live bullet in the back, when he was at the service post in the area. His wound in the back proves that he was not participating in shooting at the Israeli occupation forces. The three were evacuated to Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis.
This afternoon, clashes broke out between Palestinian demonstrators and the Israeli occupation forces near Al-Tuffah roadblock between Khan Yunis city and Al-Mawasi (agricultural) area, under the security control of the Israeli occupation forces. These forces shot at Palestinian demonstrators, wounding two with live ammunition and another one with a rubber coated metal bullet. Among the wounded is the child Bassem Mattar El-Faqa'awi, 13 years old, who was wounded with a live bullet in the abdomen, and was evacuated to Shifa' hospital in Gaza.
In the vicinity of Beit Hanoun (Erez) Checkpoint, at the northern end of the Gaza Strip, clashes have broken out between Palestinian demonstrators and the Israeli occupation forces since the morning. The Israeli occupation forces shot at Palestinian demonstrators from a distance of more than 100 meters, killing the child Bassel Hussein Abu Qamar, 15 years old, from Jabalya, with a live bullet in the heart. PCHR's field officer in the area reported that another eight Palestinian civilians were wounded with live ammunition.
This afternoon, in the area near Al-Mentar (Karni) Outlet, to the east of Gaza City, clashes broke out between Palestinian demonstrators and the Israeli occupation forces which reinforced their presence in the area with tanks and jeeps. These forces shot at Palestinian demonstrators from a distance of about 150 meters, wounding two with live ammunition.
In Rafah, clashes broke out this afternoon between Palestinian demonstrators and the Israeli occupation forces near Salah El-Din Gate on the Palestinian-Egyptian border. PCHR's field officer in Rafah reported that the Israeli occupation forces shot at Palestinian demonstrators, wounding two with live ammunition, including the child Ahmed Abu A'mra, 12 years old, who was wounded in the shoulder.
At about 17:45 local time, the Israeli occupation forces shot at Munib Mohammed Barakat Abu Monshar, 18 years old, from Hebron, killing him with a live bullet in the right side of the chest, which penetrated his lung and then his heart. According to eyewitnesses, the incident took place in the area of Bab Al-Zaweya in the area under the control of the Palestinian National Authority in Hebron, and the martyr was unloading a truck loaded with construction materials when he was shot. Moreover, there were no clashes in the area at that time.
In Jenin, Hani Abdullah Marzouq, 35 years old, died from his injury in the head, when the Israeli occupation forces shot at Palestinian demonstrators yesterday. In addition, clashes broke out today in several areas in the West Bank, especially in Hebron, Tulkarm, Al-Bireh and Jenin. PCHR learned that 29 Palestinian civilians were wounded by live ammunition and rubber-coated metal bullets, and dozens suffered from suffocation due to inhaling tear gas.
3. Shelling of Civilian Buildings and Facilities:
Yesterday evening, the Israeli occupation forces shelled Palestinian residential areas and civilian facilities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In Hebron, Rae'd Sa'di Al-Muhtaseb, was killed with a medium caliber bullet in the back during the shelling of the city by the Israeli occupation forces.
In Al-Bireh, the Israeli occupation forces shelled several facilities, including the headquarters of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. The headquarters and a number of files and records were severely damaged.
In Khan Yunis, last night at midnight, the Israeli occupation forces fired at houses in the west of Al-Amal neighborhood and the refugee camp of Khan Yunis. As a result, the child Mohammed Abdel-Majid Sukkar, 13 years old, was wounded with a live bullet in the foot, and Tawfiq Abu Shammala, was wounded with splinters of live ammunition in the chest.
4. More Sweeping of Agricultural Land:
The Israeli occupation forces resumed the sweeping of agricultural land in Rafah. These forces started such sweeping on November 8, 2000, which included more than 640 donums of agricultural land adjacent to the Palestinian-Egyptian border in the southeast of Rafah. PCHR's field officer in Rafah reported that the Israeli occupation forces swept:
In Khan Yunis, at midnight yesterday and again this morning, the Israeli occupation forces swept areas of agricultural land in the area of Gizan Al-Najjar, in the south of the city, to the north of Morag settlement, including the following:
PCHR reiterates its call for the international community to immediately intervene to stop the killings and criminal acts perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians. PCHR calls in particular for:
Israeli occupation forces kill six civilians in less than 24 hours: New cold-blooded killing at Gush Qatif junction