THE GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES





MEDIA RELEASE


For immediate release:


Wednesday, December 12, 2001





National Contacts:


Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576,


nallen (at) acadia.net


Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624,


scottmclarty (at) yahoo.com





Local Contact:


Starlene Rankin, Illinois GP Media Coordinator


773-907-9845, starlene (at) greens.org








GREENS DEMAND THAT ISRAEL CEASE ITS HYPOCRITICAL


'WAR ON TERRORISM' AGAINST PALESTINIAN PEOPLE








WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Activists in the Green Party


of the United States are asking the U.S. to hold


the government of Israel accountable for the


latest wave of bloodshed, and insist that Israel


seek negotiation instead of the "War on


Terrorism" against the Palestinian people that


Israel's own policy of assassination recently


ignited. Greens condemn the current escalation


of violence committed by both sides and call for


an international peace force to enforce a


ceasefire, and support the demand by United


Nations Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson


that Israel stop bombing the West Bank and Gaza


Strip, assaults which Ms. Robinson said are


"terrorising and terrifying the civilian


population".





"Israel's continued occupation -- with heavy


military supervision and imposed economic


deprivation -- of the Palestinian territories


continues in violation of international law and


in the face of the U.N.'s condemnation," said


Anita Rios, an Ohio Green organizer and member of


the party's national steering committee.





"Greens condemn the suicide bombings that have


killed Israeli citizens, and see such tactics as


counterproductive in the movement to liberate


Palestinians. But the Israeli government


instigated the current wave of violence, with the


assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud Abu Hanoud,


at a time when Ariel Sharon demanded a week's


cessation of violence by Palestinians before


negotiations would begin."





"Assassinations are not 'self-defense' but an


illegal attack on civilians," added Ben Manski,


also a steering committee member of the Green


Party of the United States, and a Jewish American


who grew up in Jerusalem and whose family left


Israel at the time of the invasion of Lebanon.





"The Sharon government seems determined to


destroy any chance of ending Israel's half


century oppression of Palestinians, and has


declared the Palestinian Authority under Yasser


Arafat to be the enemy in a hypocritically


declared 'war on terrorism' against an already


subjugated people. Both Israeli and Palestinian


civilians will continue to suffer -- especially


Palestinians, who have already suffered loss of


their human rights, homes, livelihoods, and the


lives of children."





Bulent Ecevit, the Prime Minister of Turkey,


Israel's closest ally in the Middle East,


recently revealed that Sharon has told him Israel


wants to "be rid of" Arafat. Israel and the U.S.


both boycotted the Fourth Geneva Convention in


Switzerland on December 4 and 5, at which Israel


was reprimanded by 114 states, including Britain


and other European Union nations, for


indiscriminate and disproportionate violence


against Palestinian civilians and breaches of the


Geneva Conventions.





"We are ashamed of the silence of the U.S. about


Sharon's responsibility, as the leader of a


wealthy and heavily armed state, for lighting the


fuse that set off the recent attacks," said Annie


Goeke, a Pennsylvania Green activist and chair of


the party's International Committee.


"Palestinian civilians are being murdered with


American weapons and with the Bush


Administration's approval."





The Green Party of the United States continues to


demand that Israel -- and the United States, the


power behind Israel -- adhere to international


law and the decisions of the U.N., that it begin


negotiations and the process of granting


self-determination to the Palestinian people, and


that it respect the right of exiled Palestinians


to return home.





Greens are also concerned that Israel's new 'war'


and the Bush Administration's threat to expand


the military assaults against Afghanistan to


other Muslim nations, especially Iraq and


Somalia, will destroy the fragile alliance with


some Muslim nations and lead to a long and bloody


war across the Middle East and central Asia -- as


well as violent attacks against civilians in the


U.S. and our allies.








MORE INFORMATION





The Green Party of the United States


http://gp-us.org








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