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LOCAL Announcement :: Civil & Human Rights

Rafah Response Actions for Week of May 24-28

Initiated by the Coalition for Justice in Palestine, a formation of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim organizations throughout greater Chicagoland dedicated to advocacy and organizing in support of Palestinian national, civil, political, and human rights.
In response to Israel’s massive military atrocities and war crimes in Rafah refugee camp and other areas of the Gaza Strip, the Coalition for Justice in Palestine is calling on all concerned people and supporters of justice to take part in a series of actions and activities during the week of May 24th through May 28th, 2004.

These actions are being convened in the wake of a spike in home demolitions and civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip in recent weeks, including a brutal military attack on thousands of peaceful protesters this Wednesday that left as many as dozens dead and scores more injured. Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip in recent weeks have provoked global outrage and condemnation from human rights groups, governments and popular movements across the world.

Since the beginning of May, Israel's policy of “collective punishment” through the demolition of residential buildings in Gaza has left thousands of Palestinians homeless. Those housing demolitions have been accompanied by escalating Israeli violence against Palestinian civilians.

On May 11, Israeli forces killed 15 Palestinians, including four children, in the al-Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City and injured at least 200 others, including 35 children. On May 13, Israeli soldiers killed 12 Palestinians, including a child, in Rafah and injured at least 20 others. On May 15, fourteen Palestinian civilians were killed and 30 injured in Rafah. On May 18, ongoing Israeli raids in Rafah resulted in the deaths of 19 Palestinians, including 2 children— Ahmad Mughayaer, 13, and his sister Asma, 16—who were shot in the head by Israeli snipers as they hung laundry out to dry.

The international outcry against Israeli violence grew to a crescendo after Israeli forces rocketed and shot at a crowd of 3,000 Palestinians who were peacefully protesting the invasion of Rafah this Wednesday. Reports from the ground indicate that 20 people or more—including children and women—were killed and many more wounded. Israeli violence continued on Thursday when Israeli forces pressed further into the Gaza Strip, killing at least 7 Palestinians.

Amnesty International and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights has said Israeli home demolitions and destruction are “grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention” and “war crimes,” and have called on Israel to halt these actions immediately. This week, the United Nations Security Council also overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning Israel's actions in Gaza.

Israel is in the process of committing major war crimes with total impunity. The United States continues to give a green light to these crimes, even abstaining from the UN Security Council resolution. In recent days, Secretary of State Colin Powell half-heartedly criticized the destruction in Gaza. Two days ago, as the atrocities continued in Rafah, President Bush declared in a major address to the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC that Israel “has every right to defend itself from terror.” Bush made no criticism whatsoever of the Israeli attack on Rafah.

WE MUST CALL ON OUR U.S. GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES TO TAKE A STAND AGAINST ISRAEL’S WAR CRIMES AND WANTON KILLING OF PALESTINIANS

Key points should include:
· Immediate intervention to demand the protection of Palestinian civilians and Palestinian homes in Gaza—particularly in Rafah refugee camp, which is the focus of the current Israeli military operations.
· A call for the U.S. Congress, State Department, and President to unequivocally condemn Israel's recent actions against Palestinian civilians and homes in Gaza.
· A call for the end of U.S. aid to Israel, an immediate Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and an end to collective punishment and the ongoing indiscriminate murder of Palestinians.
· A call for immediate justice for the Palestinian people, which includes ending Israeli occupation, dismantling all illegal Israeli settlements and the Apartheid Wall, and the implementation of all internationally-recognized Palestinian rights, including the right to self-determination and the Right of Return.

TAKE ACTION ON MONDAY, MAY 24TH, 2004
Call, email, or fax your U.S. Representative and your U.S. Senators between the hours of 11 AM and 2 PM Central Standard Time. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard toll-free at 1-800-839-5276 and ask to be connected to your member of Congress; or, for the Illinois delegation’s contact info, log on to: congress.org/congressorg/officials/membersearch/ (you might need to cut and paste this entire link into your browser)

Illinois’ representative from the 3rd Congressional District is William Lipinski, who serves a community with a large number of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim residents. His office phone number is 312 886 0481, and the fax number is 773 767 9395.

TAKE ACTION ON TUESDAY, MAY 25TH, 2004

Candlelight vigil at Lipinski’s office at 5832 S. Archer Ave. in Chicago, at 8 PM. Lipinski has been invited to join the vigil.


TAKE ACTION ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 26TH, 2004

Call and fax U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell between the hours of 11 AM and 2 PM Central Standard Time:
Telephone: (202) 647-6575; Fax: (202) 261-8577.


TAKE ACTION ON THURSDAY, MAY 27TH, 2004

Call and fax U.S. President George W. Bush between the hours of 11 AM and 2 PM Central Standard Time:
Telephone: Tel: (202) 456-1111; Fax: (202) 456-2461.


TAKE ACTION ON FRIDAY, MAY 28TH, 2004

Candlelight vigil in downtown Chicago at the corner of Delaware and Michigan Aves., at 7:30 PM.


Initiated by the Coalition for Justice in Palestine, a formation of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim organizations throughout greater Chicagoland dedicated to advocacy and organizing in support of Palestinian national, civil, political, and human rights.

Email psg_chicago (at) hotmail.com for more information.
 
 

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