Category: Press Releases

All Eyes On Gaza Disengagement

What May Come After the Evacuation of Jewish Settlers from the Gaza Strip?
A Warning from Israel
By Uri Davis, Ilan Pappe, and Tamar Yaron

We feel that it is urgent and necessary to raise the alarm regarding what may come during and after evacuation of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip occupied by Israel in 1967, in the event that the evacuation is implemented.

We held back on getting this statement published and circulated, seeking additional feedback from our peers. The publication in Ha’aretz (22 June 2005) quoting statements by General (Reserves) Eival Giladi, the head of the Coordination and Strategy team of the Prime Minister’s Office, motivated us not to delay publication and circulation any further. Confirming our worst fears, General (Res.) Eival Giladi went on record in print and on television to the effect that “Israel will act in a very resolute manner in order to prevent terror attacks and [militant] fire while the disengagement is being implemented” and that “If pinpoint response proves insufficient, we may have to use weaponry that causes major collateral damage, including helicopters and planes, with mounting danger to surrounding people.”

We believe that one primary, unstated motive for the determination of the government of the State of Israel to get the Jewish settlers of the Qatif (Katif) settlement block out of the Gaza Strip may be to keep them out of harm’s way when the Israeli government and military possibly trigger an intensified mass attack on the approximately one and a half million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, of whom about half are 1948 Palestine refugees.

The scenario could be similar to what has already happened in the past – a tactic that Ariel Sharon has used many times in his military career – i.e., utilizing provocation in order to launch massive attacks.

Following this pattern, we believe that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz are considering to utilize provocation for vicious attacks in the near future on the approximately one and a half million Palestinian inhabitants of the Gaza Strip: a possible combination of intensified state terror and mass killing. The Israeli army is not likely to risk the kind of casualties to its soldiers that would be involved in employing ground troops on a large scale in the Gaza Strip. With General Dan Halutz as Chief of Staff they don’t need to. It was General Dan Halutz, in his capacity as Commander of the Israeli Air Force, who authorized the bombing of a civilian Gaza City quarter with a bomb weighing one ton, and then went on record as saying that he sleeps well and that the only thing he feels when dropping a bomb is a slight bump of the aircraft.

The initiators of this alarm have been active for many decades in the defense of human rights inside the State of Israel and beyond. We do not have the academic evidence to support our feeling, but given past behavior, ideological leanings and current media spin initiated by the Israeli government and military, we believe that the designs of the State of Israel are clear, and we submit that our educated intuition with matters pertaining to the defense of human rights has been more often correct than otherwise.

We urge all those who share the concern above to add their names to ours and urgently give this alarm as wide a circulation as possible.

Circulating and publishing this text may constitute a significant factor in deterring the Israeli government, thus protecting the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip from this very possible catastrophe and contributing to prevent yet more war crimes from occurring.

Please sign, circulate, and publish this alarm without delay! call for action from peace and human rights organizations now:

Please send notification of your signature to Tamar Yaron: tiyaron@hazorea.org.il

Abdallah Abu Rahme, The Palestinian Gandhi Arrested in Bili’n

During today’s non-violent demonstration in Bil’in, two members of the popular committee against the wall, AbedAllah abu Rachme, The Palestinian Gahndi and Akram AlKhateeb were arrested. In addition, two Israeli peace activists, Einat Pudnacharni and Michal Greenberg were arrested. Initially, Israelis and four internationals were also detained, but they were later released. 10 demonstrators were wounded; 2 by rubber bullets, and 2 Israelis were beaten during their arrest.

Israeli Army Continues Night-time Invasions of Hares

by International Women’s Peace Services

At approximately 12:30 a.m. two army jeeps entered the village of Hares and three army jeeps stationed themselves at the western entrance into the village. At approximately 1:30 a.m. soldiers entered the home of Yasser. They were able to open the door without breaking it. They proceeded to the roof, looking briefly into the room where Yasser’s wife and four young children were cowering. After searching the roof, they came down and asked for her husband. She responded that he was not there. The soldiers proceeded towards the door, opened the refrigerator that was located near it, then searched the guest room, an area underneath the house and then finally left. They were there approximately 30 minutes.

At approximately 1:30 a.m. soldiers knocked on the door of another house. They were let in. They started to proceed to the roof but were told by the husband to take another path because his wife and children were in that room. After searching the roof, they left. They were there approximately 15 minutes.

At approximately 1:45 a.m. soldiers rang the buzzer of the home of Abdul Rahim. They banged the door but the family did not answer. After about 15 minutes, the soldiers went around to the back of the house and knocked on the adjacent unit where Abdul Rahim’s brother lives with his family. The wife opened the door and the soldiers told her to tell the family of Abdul Rahim that if they did not answer the door the army would blow up the house. The soldiers came back around to the front and banged loudly on the door. Finally, it was opened and the soldiers proceeded inside. The family consists of twenty members including 9 children, 6 women and 5 men. Most of the family was cowering in one room while the husband and father asked the army why they were there. The two men received no answer. The soldiers cursed at the two men, told them to stay downstairs with the rest of the family and then proceeded to the roof of the house. They stayed there approximately 20 minutes and then left.

Report by: Wendy, Ingrid and Laura.
Date report written on: Thursday, July 13, 2005

Report from Hares

by International Women’s Peace Services

Date of incidents: July 10, 2005
Place: Hares, Salfit district
Witness/es: Hares residents
Contact details: Contact IWPS

Description of Incident

On Sunday, July 10, Mohamad Mahmoud Daoud, 28 years old, was stopped and detained on the road from Hares to Nablus, near the town of Jit. Mohammed and his wife, who is four months pregnant, were forced to wait in the noon sun for several hours. When Mohamad’s wife complained that she was sick and needed to go to the hospital, the soldiers cursed at her. Mohamad told the soldiers not to say bad words to his wife. The soldiers beat him and arrested him. He is currently being held in Qedumin. IWPS members interviewed family members and assisted the family to call Hamoked (an Israeli Human Right organization).

Report by: Cathy
Date report written on: July 12, 2005

Soldier Released After Admitting to Deliberately Firing at Palestinian

by IMEMC & Agencies

An Israeli soldier who admitted that he deliberately shot a Palestinian who was simply observing a peaceful protest has been released from custody.

The incident took place two months ago in Bil’in, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, when the soldier fired and moderately injured a resident during a protest against the separation wall.

The soldier originally claimed that the resident endangered his life by hurling stones at him, and that he had to shoot him, but other soldiers in the same unit testified that their colleague was not under any kind of danger, and that it was not necessary to open fire during a protest against the separation wall.

The soldier originally claimed that the resident endangered his life by hurling stones at him, and that he had to shoot him, but other soldiers in the same unit testified that their colleague was not under any kind of danger, and that it was not necessary to open fire.

Under interrogation by a team from the Israeli Ministry of Justice, the soldier who opened fire admitted later that the resident he shot had not thrown stones, and that his life and the lives of the other soldiers were not endangered in any way. The soldier also admitted that the resident was only observing the events and did not even participate in the protest.

Despite these facts, the soldier was released only under the condition that he remain on his military base for two months!