Category: Press Releases

What is not being said about the Ketziot prison raid

For Immediate Release

On October 22nd, at two in the morning, Israeli prison guards from Ketziot prison in the Negev desert began searching the tents and belongings of Palestinian inmates. Searching prisoners’ tents in the middle of the night is a classic form of harassment; keeping people from sleeping. Some prisoners resisted the search due to the early hour and the army responded by throwing sounds grenades and shooting tear gas canisters into the tents of prisoners and at prisoners themselves.

It has been reported in the news that between 30 and 250 inmates have been injured, and that the Israeli forces used ‘non-lethal’ methods to subdue the prisoners. It has also been reported in Israeli and international news that in the ‘riot’ that the prisoners created, the Palestinian prisoners burned their own tents. When tear gas is shot the canisters are extremely hot, they frequently start fires when landing near grass or trees. More likely than Palestinians burning the tents in which they sleep, with their possessions, is that the tear gas canisters or the explosions from sound grenades started the fire.

The information that the Israeli military unit Nahashon have used only ‘non-lethal’ methods has also proved to be misleading, or to use another word, false. What has gone unreported in Israeli and international news is that one inmate, Mohammed Al-Ashkar, was shot in the head and died at Soroka Medical Center, in Israel. Al-Ashkar was twenty-five and had only one month left on his term. Sources are mixed, some people say it was a rubber-coated steel bullet, some people say it was live ammunition. Regardless of the type of bullet, a man died, so it was clearly a lethal weapon which killed him.

If live ammunition was used, one must wonder why prison guards would find the need to open fire on their unarmed inmates. If it was rubber-coated steel bullets that killed Mohammed Al-Ashkar, then the farce of calling such bullets ‘non-lethal’ must end.

For more information call:
02 2971824
0542389549
0599943157

PACBI: Facts about the Cancellation of the Jericho-Tel Aviv Normalization Event

October 17, 2007

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and all its partners, individuals and organizations active in art, culture and human rights, regard the cancellation of the Jericho-Tel Aviv event, planned by “One Voice” to take place on October 18th, as a substantial accomplishment for the Palestinian boycott movement. A solid partnership between diverse civil society organizations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has succeeded in thwarting the event’s organizers’ attempt to mislead public opinion and to use deceptive slogans to market a political program that concedes some fundamental Palestinian rights. Without the broad grassroots support among Palestinian and Arab institutions and leading figures for the statement* calling for boycotting the event, the organizers would not have been compelled to cancel this huge production handsomely funded by dubious foreign sources.
PACBI and its partners wish to express their gratitude to all the artists and arts groups that withdrew from the festival after learning the truth about the organizing group’s political program. In particular, we thank Jamil as-Sayeh, Ilham Madfa’i, DAM and Asayel. We also thank everyone who helped spread the word and raise awareness about the event and its sponsors.

The discrepancy in the political language used by the organizers in their Arabic webpage and the main English page was only an indicator of a deeper deception. They falsely claimed, for instance, that the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, was the event’s main patron, a claim that was categorically dismissed in an official statement issued by the President’s office on 11 October; they also included names of well-known national figures as members of various committees of their organization without those individuals’ consent or even knowledge, as was later disclosed.

Most recently, after they were forced to cancel the festival due to the withdrawal of the main artists, the overwhelming support of Palestinian civil society for a boycott of the event, and the President’s distancing himself from the whole festival, the organizers asserted, in Arabic, that the event was cancelled due to “technical reasons,” while the press statement, in English, issued by the main sponsor — who announced the festival cancellation — cited “security reasons” and “threats” by “extremists” against the participating artists as the reason for the cancellation. Despite the obvious falsehood and slander of such assertions, PACBI wishes to stress that, since its inception in 2004, it has embraced civil struggle, non-violent by its nature, in its discourse and action, inside occupied Palestine and outside. Moreover, all of PACBI’s partners who participated in exposing the truth about this event adopted only rational persuasion and awareness-raising in countering the deception and innuendo propagated by the event organizers, a fact that played a key role in widening the circle of public support for the proposed boycott.

This achievement is further proof that a clear majority in Palestinian society continues to insist on the full realization of the inalienable rights of the people of Palestine, paramount among which is the right to self-determination and the right of return for the refugees, as guaranteed by international law. A just peace can only be attained by completely ending the occupation with all its manifestations as well as the various forms of Israeli oppression against the Palestinian people, in compliance with international law and the universal principles of justice and human rights.

Contact: info@BoycottIsrael.ps

The PACBI statement can be read at: http://www.pacbi.org/press_releases_more.php?id=612_0_4_0_C

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel Urgent Appeal for Intervention

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Help Demand Access of Seven Gaza Patients to Lifesaving Care Unavailable in Gaza.

On the 10th of October Physicians for Human Rights-Israel sent an urgent request to the Israeli army and Minister of Defense, demanding that seven patients from Gaza whose access to medical care outside Gaza had been denied for “security reasons” be immediately allowed to exit Gaza via the Israeli-controlled Erez Crossing.

The seven patients are:

1. C, in need of urgent bypass heart surgery, referred to a Palestinian hospital in Nablus in the West Bank.

2. T, 53, in need of urgent bypass heart surgery, referred to a Palestinian hospital in Nablus.

3. I, 16, congenital heart disease, referred to urgent catheterization or open heart surgery in a Palestinian hospital in Nablus.

4. I, 27, deaf, suffers from a brain tumor and is referred for surgery to Palestinian St. Joseph’s surgical hospital in East Jerusalem.

5. H, 43, a Hepatitis B patient, with a sarcoma in the jejunum and metastasis in the lung, referred to Palestinian Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem for chemotherapy.

6. I, 20, a cancer patient who was already treated in the past in Israel, is suffering from a relapse and urgently referred to care in Ichilov hospital, Tel Aviv.

7. L, 22, suffering from Hodgkin’s lymphoma with tumors in the chest, referred to Shiba medical center in Tel Hashomer, Israel.

Despite appeals to the Israeli General Security Service director and the Israel Medical Association, mobilization of Israeli members of Knesset, and extensive local media exposure, no results have been achieved to date.

Since June 2007 the Government of Israel has progressively worsened the conditions for granting permits to patients needing to exit Gaza for medical care unavailable in Gaza. As Rafah Crossing, the only international border with Gaza, has been sealed since 9/6/07, patients now depend totally on Israeli policy for permission to exit, whether to Israel, to the West Bank, to Jordan or to any other country.

We are asking that you urgently intervene on behalf of these individuals, by telephone, email and fax, asking that their access to urgent lifesaving care be immediately granted, and protesting the general Israeli policy of denying Palestinian patients access to medical care unavailable in Gaza:

· IDF Spokesperson, Avi Bnayahu, Telephone + 972 3 569 0797, Fax + 972 3 569 8221

· Israeli Coordinator of Government Operations in the Territories, General Yossef Mashlab. Telephone + 972 3 697 5351, + 972 3 697 7957, Fax + 972 3 6976306, mobile phone of aide Mr. Assaf Baharal: + 972 506 234 082, mobile phone of spokesperson Mr. Shlomo Dror: + 972 506 234 053

· Israeli Minister of Defense, Mr. Ehud Barak, Telephone + 972 3 697 2090, Fax + 972 3 697 6218

· Chair of the Israeli Medical Association and of the World Medical Association, Dr. Yoram Blashar: Telephone + 972 3 6100422, Fax + 972 3 5750704, email blachar@ima.org.il

For further details please contact Miri Weingarten, miri@phr.org.il < mailto:miri@phr.org.il>, +972 546995199, +972 3 6873718 ext. 115

For a previous position paper released by PHR-Israel on Israeli policies at Erez Crossing, and a related article, see: http://www.phr.org.il/phr/article.asp?articleid=480&catid=42&pcat=42&lang=ENG

Another Voice: ONEVOICE CONCERT CANCELLED DUE TO GRASSROOTS MOBILIZATION

ANOTHER VOICE

October 13, 2007

For Immediate Release

ONEVOICE CONCERT CANCELLED DUE TO GRASSROOTS MOBILIZATION

… Another Voice to hold alternate concert on October 24th

Another Voice is proud to have contributed towards the grassroots mobilization that has resulted in the cancellation of OneVoice’s event in Jericho on October 18th. We acknowledge the efforts of all the organizations and individuals that have played a role in generating awareness about the major problems with OneVoice’s campaign and how it undermines Palestinian rights, as well as OneVoice’s fraudulent listing of endorsers and unethical means of collecting signatures.

The problems with OneVoice’s campaign include, but are not limited to, failure to distinguish between occupier and occupied, implicit support of Israel’s retention of settlement blocks, apparent disregard for the refugees right of return, failure to mention of Israel’s illegal separation wall, and the absence of any reference to international law or human rights.

Most of the Arab artists have withdrawn their participation from the concert, including DAM Rap, Reem Talhami, Jamil Al Sayeh, and Al Asayel Group. In addition, many individuals and organizations that have been listed as endorsers, including Bishop Atallah Hanna, have pulled out upon closer examination of what OneVoice is all about. Furthermore, we have learned that several alleged endorsers, including President Mahmoud Abbas, were listed without their prior knowledge or consent. As for collecting signatures, the concert in effect serves as a bribe to the public, as concertgoers would be required to sign OneVoice’s mandate prior to entry.

Another Voice spokesperson Natasha Aruri stated, “A concert for peace is one thing, and asking people to sign away their basic human rights is another. The OneVoice campaign is deceptive, and the reaction of the Palestinian public was a natural result.”

OneVoice claims that the cancellation of their event was due to security issues. However, a source at the President’s Office affirmed that there were no problems regarding security arrangements. OneVoice founder Daniel Lubetzky also claims “threats of violence” by “extremists,” and that he did not want to “endanger people’s lives.” We are disturbed by this slander and challenge OneVoice to provide any evidence or information supporting these outrageous lies.

Another Voice is organizing a concert in Ramallah on October 24th, to sing and chant for freedom, justice, and true peace.

For more information, contact:
Natasha Aruri: +970-599-794-761
Huwaida Arraf: +972-547-473-308 / +970-599-130-426
Web: www.anothervoice-palestine.org
E-mail: info@anothervoice-palestine.org

The European Parliament calls for change in Gaza

By: LUISA MORGANTINI
Vice President of he European Parliament
(GUE/NGL)

Brussels 11th October 2007,

In a resolution voted today in the Parliament, MEPs, called on Israeli Government for the lifting of the blockade of the Gaza Strip and to fulfill its international obligations under the Geneva Conventions to guarantee the flow of humanitarian aid, humanitarian assistance and essential services, such as electricity and fuel. Luisa Morgantini, Vice President of the European Parliament, who was in the Parliamentary delegation in Gaza Strip, on her speech stressed the need to lift the embargo on people and goods and the end of the military occupation.

“I was recently in Gaza- Luisa Morgantini declared- and I saw how the Strip is suffocating in a serious humanitarian crisis due to the raids and the closure imposed by the Israeli Army: massive devastation of public facilities and private homes, the disruption of hospitals, clinics and schools, the denial of access to proper drinking water, food and electricity, and the destruction of agricultural land wanted by Israel create a true catastrophe for civilians. Furthermore, the blockade on the movement paralyzes the economy and contributes to an extremely high rate of unemployment, while the health system is under severe pressure, a significant proportion of the population is suffering from a lack of urgently needed treatment and medicines and many NGOs and humanitarian organisations are obstructed by the lack of freedom of movement and of resources.

European Union has to demand with force to the Israeli Government that human rights and International law must be fully respected in the whole area, ending the continued emergency of Gaza Strip but also the military occupation in West Bank, where the robbery of Palestinian lands continues without any condemnation and, in spite of the meeting between Olmert and Abbas, the Israelis change the situation on the ground which casts serious doubts if they want peace or just gaining time to grab more land: it is an example the recent decision by the IDF to expropriate 272 acres of land from four Arab villages in order to build, as declared by Israeli Authorities, a new Palestinian road that would connect East Jerusalem with Jericho. But this decision would free up the existing E1 area between Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adunim, allowing the construction of a new Jewish settlement consisting of 3,500 apartments and an industrial park, blocked by an international protest since 2004, that showed the risk of the cutting of the West Bank in two, separating East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. This unilateral and illegal policy by Israeli Authorities must immediately end.

EU must to face up to its full responsibility on the respect of the legality, first through implementation of the existent EU-Israel Agreements on Movement and Access, but also imposing Israel to respect the International law concerning human rights, to end the military occupation in West Bank and the closure of the Gaza Strip and of the WB: even if there is an humanitarian tragedy, its solution is political.

This is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace and to give more credibility to the International Peace Conference in November, reinforcing the negotiations based on the UN resolutions and on the right of Palestinians and Israelis to live in two States, in peace and security”.