arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Take action to stop violence in Palestinian territories

This is not a CAFOD action; it is written in a personal capacity. Any actions you take as a result should be clearly written from your own personal viewpoint, not on behalf of CAFOD.

The news from the last few weeks on events in Israel and Palestine have been very depressing. It can make you feel a bit helpless, but international pressure from all quarters for all sides to seek a political solution to the crisis is the only way the violence will stop. The next few days are key for making an impact, so please consider how you can play a role in helping support peace in Israel and Palestine. Here are a few ways you can get involved:

1. Put pressure on the US. The US government has the most influence over Israel and is likely to be the only outside government that could enforce a change of policy. So far the US has been restrained in the pressure it has applied on Israel and even now is compromising on its demand for immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied Palestinian towns.
· Amend, sign and print out the letter, inserting your home address, and leave in a box by reception with donations for faxing to Tel Aviv (£1). We will fax the first lot over lunchtime, so if possible complete by 1230pm, otherwise we will fax the rest in the evening
· Pass the letter onto your friends and contacts

2. Put pressure on the UK Government. Send a letter to your MP calling on them to push the government to apply maximum pressure on the US and Israel to end the occupation. The UK Government does have some leverage – both in terms of access to the US President but also in the military support they give to Israel. They should at the very least cease all military exports when many of these weapons are probably being used in the current repression on the West Bank and Gaza.
· We will post around a letter tomorrow to amend, sign and print out, using your home address and addressed to your local MP (put your home postcode into http://www.locata.com/commons if you want to find out who it is)
· Leave the letter at reception together with a contribution towards first class postage
· For more background info on UK military exports to Israel, see http://www.aquascript.com/psc/campaigns.asp?d=y&id='108'

3. Stay informed and active. The following sites have good background information:
· Caritas Statement: choice between peace and bloodshed is good – see http://www.cafod.org.uk/news/palestine_caritas20020405.shtml plus the Catholic Church has been speaking out – see http://www.catholic-ew.org.uk/CN/02/020402.htm
· http://www.palestinecampaign.org - very useful site with features, actions, upcoming events
· Christian Aid's website has provided space for its Palestinian partners voices to be heard – see http://www.christian-aid.org.uk
· http://electronicintifada.net/new.html - analysis of media coverage from a Palestinian perspective
· http://jerusalem.indymedia.org - activist media site with constant reports from cities around West Bank and Gaza. Anyone can contribute a story, but this does mean it contains some fairly virulent and racist contributions from the extremist sides of the debate

en hier dan de brief: Fax: Colin Powell, US Secretary of State,
c/o US Embassy, Tel Aviv
00 1 202 261 8577

Dear Colin Powell
I am profoundly concerned by the current crisis in Israel and the Occupied Territories. Palestinian and Israeli lives have been lost on an appalling scale, and this is continuing even while you are in Israel.
I hope your visit to the region is a sign that, at last, the USA will bring effective pressure on both parties to end the current crisis and will now redouble its efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace. As a country that gives substantial grants and military support to Israel, I sincerely hope that you will make it clear that this will be stopped if Israel Defence Forces do not immediately withdraw from occupied towns and end their abuses of humanitarian law and human rights. The peace negotiations that follow must address the issues of land, occupation and repression of Palestinian peoples that lie at the heart of this conflict.
Most immediately, I urge you to ensure that
· Israeli defence forces immediately withdraw from occupied towns, with both parties declaring a complete ceasefire and agreeing to a new political process of negotiations;
· The Israeli government takes immediate steps to end all violations of human rights and humanitarian law, complies with UN Resolutions 1397, 1402 and 1403 and ends its illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories;
· The Palestinian Authority condemns and does all it can to prevent attacks on Israeli civilians;
· An international observer mission with a strong and transparent human rights component is despatched to Israel and the Occupied Territories without delay.
Your actions could decisively pull this region back from the brink of disaster. I earnestly hope for your success at this 11th hour.
Yours sincerely,

Aan diegenen die liever mailen, de adressen van Collin Powel zijn: secretary@state.gov en vicepresident@whitehouse.gov.
Laat jullie volledig gaan!