Author: ISM Media Group

A statement to the press from the Free Gaza Movement

Forty-six international human rights workers are now sailing to Gaza through international waters with one overriding goal: to break the Israeli siege that Israel has imposed on the civilian population of Gaza.

Any action designed to harm civilians constitutes collective punishment (in the Palestinians’ case, for voting the “wrong” way) and is both illegal under international law and profoundly immoral. Our mission is to expose the illegality of Israel’s actions, and to break through the siege in order to express our solidarity with the suffering people of Gaza (and of the occupied Palestinian territory as a whole) and to create a free and regular channel between Gaza and the outside world.

Israel claims that since the “disengagement” in 2005 it no longer occupies Gaza. However, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international human rights organizations reject this claim since Israel still exerts effective control over Gaza. As an Occupying Power, Israel has a responsibility for the well-being of the people of Gaza under the provisions of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention. Israel has abused its control and responsibilities by wrongfully obstructing vital supplies and humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.

As Israel’s 41-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip defies international consensus, and because Israel has grossly violated its obligations, we do not recognize Israel’s right to stop us outside its own territorial waters, which we will not be approaching. To remove any “security” pretense that Israel may raise, we have had our boats inspected and certified by Cypriot authorities that they carry no arms or contraband of any kind. We have invited Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to join us on our voyage and, in fact, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has itself told us the Israeli government “assume[s] that your intentions are good.”

We are human rights activists, invited to visit Gaza by our Palestinian partners, and each of us has vowed to do no violence, in either word or deed. If Israel chooses to forcibly stop and search our ships, we will not forcibly resist. Such a search will be under duress and with our formal protest. After such a search, we fully expect the Israeli navy to stand aside, as we continue peacefully to Gaza. If we are arrested and brought to Israel, we will protest and prosecute our kidnapping in the appropriate forums. It is our purpose to show the power that ordinary citizens of the world have when they organize together to stand against injustice. Let there be no doubt: the policies of repression against the civilian population of Gaza represent gross violations of human rights, international humanitarian law, and constitute war crimes. The goal of our voyage is to break the illegal siege on the people of Gaza as a step toward ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Satellite phone numbers available on the boats will be: a) 00 870 773 160 151; b) 00 870 773 160 156 c) 00 881 651 442 553; d) 00 881 651 427 948.

For More Information, please contact:

JERUSALEM: Angela Godfrey-Goldstein: Tel. +972 547 366 393 – angela@icahd.org

CYPRUS: Osama Qashoo: Tel. +44 78 333 81660 / +44 79 779 3595 – osamaqashoo@gmail.com

Israel’s ‘Two Roads’ Solution

By Fred Schlomka

As the eyes of the world are on the Liberty Ships approaching Gaza, a massive segregated road project in the Greater Jerusalem area is quietly approaching completion. Israel is about to unveil the realization of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s dream of Palestinian ‘transportational contiguity’, in lieu of contiguous territory. Route 1, currently shared with Palestinians, connects Jerusalem to the eastern settlement of Ma’ale Adumim (pop. 35,000). This four-lane highway leads to the Dead Sea and also whisks settlers to Jerusalem in twenty minutes through the ‘E1’ development area. Since Sharon’s ultimate goal was to remove Palestinian traffic from settler roads, he came up with the ingenious plan to build a separate road network for exclusive Palestinian use, with no connection to the settler roads, only bridges and underpasses.

The crown jewel of this Orwellian nightmare, renamed the ‘Fabric of Life Roads’, is currently being readied for use and will complete the territorial separation between the north and south West Bank. Several new steep and narrow roads snake through the hills south of E1 from the Palestinian enclaves of Azariya (Bethany), Adu Dis and adjacent villages. They all merge into a single two-lane road that dips under Route 1, curving around the northeast edge of Jerusalem. The road will soon be extended to enter Ramallah, completing the entire segregated road network through the E1 area.

All Palestinian traffic from the southern West Bank will be forced to use these roads when traveling to the northern West Bank. This will be accomplished through the simple maneuver of physically blocking access to Route 1 from Azariya, which currently funnels all northbound Palestinian traffic. Palestinians will wake up one morning and find that a short fifteen-minute trip from Azariya to Ramallah has turned into a lengthy trek of 1-2 hours. The trip from Bethlehem to Ramallah could take 3-4 hours depending on the backup at the Container Checkpoint and traffic density. Tourists or Israelis can travel from Bethlehem to the Ramallah checkpoint at Kalandia in about twenty minutes through Jerusalem in good traffic.

Other segregated road sections have already opened to the south and west of Ramallah from villages ‘caught’ on the west side of Israel’s ‘Separation Barrier’. The Bir Naballah area is now cut off from Jerusalem forcing residents to drive out of the enclave to the north through a sealed road under Route 45, leading to Ramallah. Route 443, going north from Jerusalem to Modi’in has left numerous Palestinian villages cut off to the West. Another network of segregated roads is now connecting these villages to Ramallah though Route 443 underpasses. South of Jerusalem a similar road network is also underway in order to clear Route 60 of Palestinian traffic and allow the settlers of the Gush Etzion block exclusive use of the road. North of Jerusalem Route 60 is the main road leading to the settlements of Ofra, Shilo and beyond. This may well be the next target of Israel’s drive to remove Palestinians from settler highways.

Further north there is a four-lane highway, Route 5, stretching from Tel Aviv to the Central West Bank settlement of Ariel (pop. 25,000) allowing settlers to travel to Tel Aviv in twenty minutes. Construction recently began on the next phase of Route 5, going east past Ariel to Route 60, eventually reaching Route 90 in the Jordan Valley. The completion of Route 5 will permanently divide the northern West Bank with an Israeli controlled strip, and enable settlers in the central Jordan Valley to reach Tel Aviv in forty-five minutes, a trip that now takes more than two hours.

Thus there will be two populations, Israeli and Palestinian, using the same space simultaneously and separately. They will pass each other like subway trains, each on their own track, on a different elevation, never to meet. The ephemeral presence of 2.5 million Palestinians will eventually have no impact on the ethos of half a million Jewish settlers. The goal will have been reached, an Arab-free environment.

The simultaneous consolidation of the settler and Palestinian road networks will be completed within the next few years. However the Greater Jerusalem system is now in place and could become operational within months. This two-layered state, Israel/Palestine is like a Rubik’s Cube with no solution. No matter which way you twist it there can be no rational outcome.

The political ramifications of this are profound. The heartland of Palestine, East Jerusalem, will be forever gone as the capital of a future Palestinian state, settled by over two hundred thousands Israelis and growing by over 5% per year. The Palestinian neighborhoods remaining in East Jerusalem, bisected by 8-meter high walls and creeping settlements, have already lost their community soul. Without a vibrant Palestinian East Jerusalem, territorial integrity between the north and south West Bank, and a reversal of Israel’s ongoing land grab, there cannot be a viable Palestinian state.

Fred Schlomka (fred@schlomka.com) is the Director of www.ToursInEnglish.com and travels the roads of the West Bank daily.

Free Gaza Movement: Israeli government recognizes “humanitarian” mission to break the siege of Gaza

To view the Free Gaza Movement website click here

NICOSIA, CYPRUS (18 Aug. 2008) – In a letter today to the Free Gaza Movement, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged that the group of international human rights activists attempting to break the siege of Gaza were “humanitarian,” and stated that the Israeli government “assume[s] that your intentions are good.”

Greta Berlin, one of the organizers of the Free Gaza Movement stated that, “Since the Foreign Minister’s office responded to our invitation to join us, and said that we have good intentions, we now fully expect to reach Gaza.”

According to recent reports in the Israeli media however, the Israeli military is preparing to use force to stop the nonviolent campaigners from reaching Gaza. It’s not clear if the letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs signals a change of policy, or is simply an attempt to open up an official dialogue between the state of Israel and the Free Gaza Movement regarding the current blockade.

The Free Gaza Movement is preparing to sail two ships into Gaza carrying 40 human rights workers from 17 different countries. They will also deliver hearing aids for children who have lost some or all of their hearing due to Israeli sound bombs and sonic booms.

The ships have been named the SS Free Gaza, and the SS Liberty – in recognition of the USS Liberty, a U.S. Navy ship, carrying 340 that was attacked by Israeli fighter planes and torpedo boats on 8 June 1967, assassinating 34 American sailors and wounding 170.

The Free Gaza Movement hopes to draw attention to the devastating consequences of the Israeli blockade by actively demonstrating the power of non-violent direct action to change inhumane governmental policies.

For more information, please contact:

Greta Berlin, Cyprus
+357 99 081 767
Iristulip (at) gmail.com

Angela Godfry-Goldstein, Israel
+972 547 366 393
Angela (at) icahd.org

The struggle against the apartheid wall continues in Ni’lin

On the 17th of August at 15:30 in the village of Ni’lin there was a demonstration of around 50 Palestinian together with 10 internationals and Israelis, organized by the Ni’lin Popular Committee Against the Illegal Apartheid Wall. The demonstration took place close to the site where the wall is being built by the Israel.

The non-violent demonstration marched to the construction site placed on their land despite a large amount of tear gas and rubber bullets that being shot by the Israeli army. The army eventually left at 18:00 and it meant that many of the protesters were able to reach the site where the wall will be built. The demonstration ended at 18:15, with no injuries being sustained.

From the originally 58,000 dunums of Ni’lin land (580 hectares) more than 69% was stolen by Israel in 1948, while in 1967 44% of the remaining land was used for construction of the nearby settlements. The wall that is illegal under international law steals 25% of the farming land that the village relies on for its income, and will make the once commercial capital of the area isolated from the surrounding villages. This will leave Nil’in, when the wall is finished, with only 10% of its original land (less than 15,000 dunums).

Maan: Palestinians block settler takeover of house in south Jerusalem

To view original article, published by Maan on the 18th August, click here

Jerusalem – Ma’an – A group of Palestinians successfully blocked Israeli settlers from occupying the home of Baha’ Addin Darwish in the town of Beit Safafa, south of Jerusalem, on Sunday evening.

Last week, the settlers attempted to occupy the house with furniture and religious books, but Palestinian residents sent them away.

Hatim Abdul-Qadir, the Palestinian prime minister’s advisor on Jerusalem affairs, visited the house and described the settlers’ actions “burglary and vandalism.” He warned Israeli police against allowing settlers to invade the house again.

The house is near the settlement of Gilo, and within Israeli-occupied and annexed East Jerusalem. The residents of Beit Safafa possess the Israeli-issued Jerusalem ID for Palestinians.