We Need Your Help Americans! Help Us to Stop The Mass Murder of the Palestinian People by Israel!

On Saturday January 26 they are DOING SOMETHING in Israel and Gaza to End the Siege!

PRESS RELEASE from New Profile, January 19, 2008:

Relief convoy

Does it help the children of Sderot when we force the children of Gaza to drink polluted water? It seems the government of Israel thinks so (if they think).

Gaza is under siege! Hundreds of commodities needed for the maintaining daily life are not allowed into the Strip, by order of the Government of Israel. Even the entry of water filters - vital for purifying the water drawn from Gazan wells, which are heavily polluted by brine, oil and sewage - is prevented for more than half a year already. The Israeli communications media don’t succeed (and not always even try) to convey to the public a real impression of how severe is the situation. But anyone who talked to Gazans in the past months understands that the situation has long since developed into a regional disaster, which puts us, too, in danger.



As is well-known, the Gaza Strip is a small, poor, overcrowded territory even in "ordinary" times. The occupation of the Strip did not end with the "Disengagement"; on the contrary: the passage of persons and goods, in and out of the Strip, was made far more difficult by the Israeli authorities, no one can get in or out, by land, sea or air, except with the permission of the Israeli Security Service. As far as Gazans are concerned, Disengagement did not bring any liberty, but just made occupation that much worse!



However bad the suffering is of the inhabitants of Sderot, Ashkelon and the Kibbutzim and Moshavim in the area under the barrage of Qassam missiles, mortar shells and sniper bullets, it is in no way a justification for a cruel siege which severely damages a million and half civilians - men, women and children. The siege is an immoral act and a violation of International Law - and from the practical point of view, increasing the bitterness and suffering in Gaza leads to an intensification of attacks towards the Israeli side, not to their end. Unlike what we are made to believe, the inhabitants of Sderot and the inhabitants of Gaza are not to be seen as opponents. Both alike are the victims of a stupid and vicious policy by the Government of Israel.



In the convoy, departing from all over Israel on Saturday January 26, 2008, we will take with us a large quantity of water filters and firmly demand of the military authorities that they be allowed into the Strip where they are urgently needed, together with basic foodstuffs - flour, rice, oil, salt, lentils, beans - for distribution to inhabitants driven by the siege to extreme poverty and despair.

On the border of the Strip we will conduct a protest rally, simultaneously with a rally held by our Palestinian friends on the other side. Together, we will demand of the Government of Israel to remove the siege of Gaza, forthwith! We intend to hold the rally in a location where we could have eye contact with the Palestinians, at a distance of no more than one kilometer.



Our friends on the Palestinian side, peace and human rights activists of the Palestinian International Campaign To End The Siege such as te well-known psychiatrist Dr. Eyad Sarraj, will go to the border area despite the great difficulty and risk, in order to greet and support us. It is far easier for us to go towards them and support them. In a joint Israeli-Palestinian action on both sides of the border we will present a true alternative to the continuing escalation, to the shooting and killing, destruction and suffering, missiles and tanks. An alternative of ceasefire, of a true end to direct and indirect occupation, of peace and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians, for Sderot and for Gaza.



The convoy will include both buses and private cars. It is very important to arrive with a car, if you have one, in order to create a long and impressive convoy. If at all possible, let us know in advance, even before Monday Jan. 21, to Ya'akov 050-5733276 or Teddy 052-5017141. It is especially important to let us know as soon as possible if you can come with a car - so that we can make better preparations.

Donations to help buy products for the convoy, and defray other expenses, can be transferred via POB 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033, Israel, or handed to our activists during the convoy itself (checks should be made out to Gush Shalom, and prominently marked 'For Gaza Convoy').

We have spent considerable and long effort to coordinate this activity. The convoy will depart from organized rendezvous points at predetermined hours, in order to arrive together and create a long convoy.



The rendezvous points are as follows:

Haifa: Solel Boneh Square (buses & private cars) 7:45

Tel-Aviv: Arlozorov Railway Station (buses) 8:15

Reading Parking Lot (private cars, joined by thebuses from Arlozorov 8:30

Jerusalem: Liberty Bell Park (buses) 8:30

Teddy Parking Lot (private cars, joind by the buses from Liberty Bell, 8:45

Be'er Sheba: University Gate (buses & private cars) 10:15



Signs, posters and cloth banners for the buses will be available at the rendezvous points. Please arrive in time to 'decorate' the cars. Everybody is asked to bring from home commodities needed in Gaza (milk powder,mineral water [not of Eden Springs], oil, flour, school supplies [satchels, pens and pencils etc.] and cigarettes) as a family package for a Gazan family. If you want you can add a personal letter in Arabic or English to the recipients. Those who arrive in their cars are asked to tie a symbolic aid package to the roof of the car (if you were not able to do it before arriving, please bring the products and a rope with you, and we will help you tie them at the rendezvous).

We also ask all of you to bring drums, whistles, and those who have them - a shofar, in order to make a big outcry of breaking down the wall of the siege. Please bring food and drink for a whole day.



Registration for Tel-Aviv and Haifa:

taliashiff@gmail.comTalia Shiff 052-3738832

Registration for Jerusalem and Be'er Sheba:

moshepesach@yahoo.esMoshe Pesach 050-9702338



Participating organizations:

Gush Shalom, Combatants for Peace, Coalition of Women for Peace, ICAHD - The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Bat Shalom, Bat Tzafon for Peace & Equality, Balad, Hadash, Adalah, Tarabut-Hithabrut, Physicians for Human Rights, Alternative Information Center, Psychoactive - Mental Health Professionals for Human Rights, ActiveStills, Student Coalition (Tel-Aviv University), New Profile, Machsom Watch, PCATI (Public Committee Against Torture).

The list is definitely open to the adherence of further Israeli organizations!.

Details on the Palestinian Interational Campaign to which we are allied: http://www.end-gaza-siege.ps/IndexEn.htm

From an email from Israel Jan. 20:


I just want to draw your attention that the electricity will completely shut down in GAZA today at 3:00pm. I cannot imagine the impact of that on Hospitals... esp that no one knows when they will ever have it on again...


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"History will be our judge, but what is written is up to us. Who we are, who we've been, what we want to be remembered for. We can't say our generation didn't know how to do it. We can't say our generation couldn't afford to do it. And we can't say our generation didn't have reason to do it. It's up to us. We can choose to shift the responsibility, or… we can choose to shift the paradigm....I am WIDE AWAKE!"-Bono

Email received Jan. 21, 2008:

Death and Darkness in Gaza, People are dying, Help us!


A humanitarian crisis is underway as the Gaza Strip's only power plant began to shut down on Sunday, and the tiny coastal territory entered its third full day without shipments of vital food and fuel supplies due to Israel's punitive sanctions.

The Gaza Strip's power plant has completely shut down on Sunday because it no longer has the fuel needed to keep running. One of the plant's two electricity- generating turbines had already shut down by noon.

This will drastically reduce output to 25 or 30 megawatts, down from the 65 megawatts the plant produces under normal conditions. By Sunday evening the plant will shut down completely, leaving large swaths of the Gaza Strip in darkness.

Omar Kittaneh, the head of the Palestine Energy Authority in Ramallah, confirmed that by tonight, the one remaining operating turbine will be powered down, and the Gaza power plant will no longer be generating any electricity at all.

"We have asked the Israeli government to reverse its decision and to supply fuel to operate the power plant", Dr. Kittaneh said. "We have talked to the Israeli humanitarian coordination in their Ministry of Energy [National Infrastructure] . We say this is totally Israel's responsibility, and that reducing the fuel supplies until the plant had to shut down will affect not only the electrical system but the water supply, and the entire infrastructure in Gaza – everything."

After months of increasingly harsh sanctions, Israel imposed a total closure on the Strip's border crossings, even preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid. The Israeli government says the closure is punishment for an ongoing barrage of Palestinian homemade projectiles fired from the Gaza Strip.

"Famine"

180 fuel stations have shut down after Gaza residents to buy gas for cooking.

A Palestinian economist Hasan Abu Ramadan said the current humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip will be deepened by the blockade on fuel and food supplies. He warned that Gaza Strip could go from a situation of deep poverty to all out famine, disease, and malnutrition.

Abu Ramadan said that more than 80% of the Strip's 1.5 million residents have been surviving with the help of food aid from international organizations such as UNRWA for Palestinian refugees.

International condemnation

Most international actors in the region believe there already is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including the UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator, the Undersecretary- general for humanitarian affairs John Holmes, who said at a press conference at UNHQ in New York on Friday that "This kind of action against the people in Gaza cannot be justified, even by those rocket attacks".

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon expressed particular concern, in a statement issued later on Friday through his spokesperson, about the "decision by Israel to close the crossing points in between Gaza and Israel used for the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Such action cuts off the population from much-needed fuel supplies used to pump water and generate electricity to homes and hospitals".

The UN Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied territories, John Dugard, also issued a much sharper statement on Friday, saying that Israel must have foreseen the loss of life and injury to many nearby civilians when it targeted the Ministry of Interior building in Gaza City.

This, and the killings of other Palestinians during the week, plus the closures, "raise very serious questions about Israel's respect for international law and its Commitment to the peace process", Dugard said. He said it violates the strict prohibition on collective punishment contained in the Fourth Geneva Convention, and one of the basic principles of international humanitarian law: that military action must distinguish between military targets and civilian targets.

Source:
Maan

www.freegaza. ps
freegaza.ps@ gmail.com



--
Popular Committee Against Siege(PCAS),
PCAS Manager,
Sam AK
Gaza - Palestine
Mob:00972598873055
Freegaza.ps@ gmail.com
Website: www.freegaza. ps
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Email received Jan. 21, 2008 from WRMEA:

ACTION ALERT
January 20, 2008
Contact: communications@wrmea.com

Blackout in Besieged Gaza City


The Gaza Strip’s only power plant has shut down as Israel’s blockade has dried up fuel supplies. Tonight Gazans are living in darkness as the second of the plant's two working turbines was switched off on the third day of a crippling Israeli blockade of the territory. “At least 800,000 people are now in darkness,” Derar Abu Sissi, general director of the plant, said.
Sunday’s shutdown has prompted fears of a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.


This catastrophe is affecting hospitals, medical clinics, water wells, sewage treatment plants, water facilities, factories, homes— all aspects of life. Palestinians said the worst affected could be the health sector, with hospitals failing to provide services in the absence of electricity.


Food supplies have dwindled, thanks to Israel’s blockade. And now there is no bread. Bakeries stopped operating because they did not have power or flour. Gazans are protesting in the streets—asking for bread.


Israel’s targeting of a Hamas government office on Jan. 18, which caused serious casualties at a nearby wedding party was a “war crime” and those responsible should be punished, a United Nations official said yesterday. John Dugard, UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied territories, slammed the killing of Palestinians in other attacks and the closing of border crossings.


“The killing of some 40 Palestinians in Gaza in the past week, the targeting of a government office near a wedding party venue with what must have been foreseen loss of life and injury to many civilians, and the closure of all crossings into Gaza raise very serious questions about Israel’s respect for international law and its commitment to the peace process,” Dugard said in a statement.


“Those responsible for such cowardly action are guilty of serious war crimes and should be prosecuted and punished for their crimes,” Dugard said.


When U.S. government offices are closed, and the media is not paying attention, during special holidays—in this case Dr. Martin Luther King’s Birthday—Israel often takes full advantage to attack the people whose land it surrounds and occupies. Call your local news desk or the telephone numbers below. Don’t let Israel continue to get away with war crimes.


WRITE OR TELEPHONE THOSE WORKING FOR YOU IN WASHINGTON AND DEMAND THAT THIS CARNAGE STOP—AND THAT YOUR TAX DOLLARS NO LONGER BE USED TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE:

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
(202) 456-1414
White House Comment Line: (202) 456-1111
Fax: (202) 456-2461


Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Department of State
Washington, DC 20520
State Department Public Information Line:
(202) 647-6575


Any Senator
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-3121


Any Representative
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-3121

E-Mail Congress and the White House:

Congress: visit for
President Bush:
Vice President Cheney: vice.president@whitehouse.gov

CONTACT THE EMBASSY OF ISRAEL TO DEMAND THAT IT STOP ESCALATING THE DEADLY CYCLE OF VIOLENCE:

Embassy of Israel
3514 International Dr., NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 364-5500

Date: 21 January 2008
Time: 09:30 GMT

PCHR Calls On the International Community
to Prevent a Humanitarian Catastrophe in Gaza

At approximately 20:00 on Sunday, January 20th, the Gaza Strip power plant ran out of fuel and shut down, plunging the Gaza Strip into darkness. The closure of the Gaza power plant, in addition to Israel's continuing tightened siege of the Gaza Strip, will have a catastrophic effect on the 1.5 million residents of Gaza, who are already suffering chronic shortages of fuel, medicine and some basic food stuffs. The Director of Gaza's main Shiffa hospital describes the current situation as "Potentially disastrous."

Israel is manufacturing a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip that is seriously deteriorating every aspect of civilian life. To date, fourty five patients have died as a direct result of Israeli Occupying Force (IOF) closure and siege of the Gaza Strip. According to the Director of Shiffa Hospital, Dr Hassan Khalaf, patient's lives continue to be at stake, including the lives of 30 premature babies in Shiffa Hospital, who will die immediately if there is a power cut at the hospital. Gaza's second major hospital, the European Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, has now suspended all major surgical operations.


Meanwhile, all borders from Gaza to the outside world remain sealed to Palestinians.

The Gaza Strip requires 230-250 megawatts of electricity a day to operate at full capacity. On Friday, January 18th, and again on Sunday, January 20th, the IOF prevented a vital daily delivery of fuel from passing through the Nahal Oz Crossing, including industrial diesel used to fuel the power plant. The power plant is now completely closed. This closure of Gaza's only power plant has drastically reduced electricity output across the Gaza Strip by 65 megawatts. Civilians across Gaza city and the central Gaza Strip are totally dependent on the power plant. The closure of the power plant will severely impact on civilian lives across the Gaza Strip. In addition to the dangerous shortage of electricity that threatens the lives of critically


ill patients in all of Gaza's' hospitals, chronic shortages of petrol and diesel and gas for domestic use have led to panic buying before gas stations in Gaza are forced to close completely. Civilians are also suffering widespread shortages of bread, due to lack of electricity to power the ovens at bakeries across Gaza.

PCHR condemns the catastrophic humanitarian crisis that is being manufactured by the IOF as collective punishment to the entire population of the Gaza Strip, and calls upon the International Community to put immediate pressure on the Government of Israel to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip. The Centre appeals to the international community to act upon their legal and moral responsibilities to ensure the basic human rights of the citizens of the Gaza Strip are protected.

The Centre reiterates that Palestinian civilians are protected from collective punishment under international human rights law, and international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention.

PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfil their legal and moral obligations under Article 1 of the Convention, to ensure Israel's respect for the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. PCHR believes that the conspiracy of silence practised by the international community has encouraged Israel to act as if it is above the law and encourages Israel to violate international human rights and humanitarian law.




Public Document
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For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza , Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 - 2825893
PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
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