[WCUSP] May statement on Israel/Palestine from International WILPF

Tue Jun 19 00:07:06 CDT 2007

Clarification:

This statement was fully discussed and approved in May. It was written by
the WILPF International Middle East Committee, which includes members from
our sections in the Middle East: Palestine, Lebanon, and Israel. I believe
the convener of the committee is from our German Section.

in peace,
C.J. Minster
WILPF US Section Program Chair

On 6/18/07, Marlene Santoyo <marlsan at cavtel.net> wrote:
>
> My thanks to each of the WILPF women who worked on this statement.
> I am passing it on to Jewish Voices for Peace with the understanding
> that it
> is still being discussed & not yet approved.
>
> In peace,
> marlena santoyo
> ===
>
> From: wcusp-bounces at wilpf.org [mailto:wcusp-bounces at wilpf.org]On Behalf
> Of Mary Day Kent
> Sent: 2007 June 18 Monday 12:56 PM
> [WCUSP] May statement on Israel/Palestine from InternationalWILPF
>
> WILPF International Executive Committee
> I realized that some of you may not have easy access to the internet, so
> here is the statement in the body of the email:
>
> *Statement of the Middle East Committee*- 7 May 2007
>
> Delegations from WILPF Israel ( Aliyah Strauss, Fathia Akafa), WILPF
> Palestine (Hanan Awwad, Nariman Al Far), WILPF Lebanon (Samira Khoury)
> and WILPF Germany ( Heidi Meinzolt – coordinator, Anja Witte, Nouria
> Ali-Tani, Irmgard Heilberger, Barbara Lochbihler, Irene Eckert) and
> WILPF international (Regina Birchem – int. president) met on May 7 in
> Berlin, considering that this is the historic place of the tearing down
> of a wall.
>
> As the Arab Human Development Report issued in December 2006 states, the
> situation of Palestinian women has seriously deteriorated because of the
> ongoing Israeli occupation. We showed our solidarity with the
> Palestinian women in the occupied territories, who are struggling for
> peace and justice.
>
> *We support the* *Arab peace initiative* declared in the Arab summit in
> Beirut in 2002 and reaffirmed in Riyadh in 2007 and *request* that the
> International Community, particularly the EU, adopt it as a *basic
> initiative for peace in the region*. The UN Security Council
> Resolution1325, which calls for the protection of women and the
> participation of women in conflict solution and democracy building, and
> in the prevention of conflicts, must be part of the implementation of
> this initiative.
>
> The most important points of this initiative are:
> a) a call for the full withdrawal of Israel from the Occupied
> Palestinian Territories to the armistice line of June 1967;
> b) the offer of land for peace;
> c) a nuclear free Middle East.
>
>    2. We call for the *recognition of the elected Palestinian
>       representatives* and of the formation of *the unity government* as
>       a result of the Mecca agreement.
>    3. We call for an *immediate lifting of the economic and political
>       siege* imposed on the Palestinian people and the Palestinian
>       government and the *lifting of the economic sanctions*:
>
> a) Funds promised by the EU for Palestinian development must be
> transferred to the Palestinian National Authority. The Norwegian example
> should be followed by other European governments.
> b) Money owed to the Palestinian people, taken as taxes by the Israeli
> government, should be transferred immediately to the Palestinian
> National Authority.
> c) EU countries should not continue to block Palestinian bank accounts.
> d) The political boycott of Hamas ministers and parliamentarians must
> end.
>
>    1. The immediate lifting of the siege will help the Palestinian
>       leadership to *secure internal peace within Palestine*.
>
>    4. We call for an *immediate release of more than 10 000 Palestinian
>       political prisoners *held in Israeli prisons and detention camps
>       particularly all women and children prisoners. This can lead to
>       the release of the three Israeli hostages and improve the
>       relationships in order to resume peace negotiations.
>    5. We call *for the removal of all the checkpoints and closures
>       *within Palestine and for the *respect of the geographical and
>       political integrity* of Palestine.
>    6. In accordance with the International Court of Justice we call for
>       the *removal of the wall,* the separation barrier, which has been
>       built for the most part on Palestinian land and serves as a tool
>       of annexation of Palestinian land and water and the separation of
>       Palestinian families.
>    7. We call for *freedom of movement* for all Palestinian people.
>    8. We call for *international protection* for the Palestinian people
>       in particular women and children.
>    9. We condemn the continuous expansion of the Israeli settlements
>       located on the Palestinian land, and the creation of new bypass
>       roads that confiscate thousands of acres.
>   10. We condemn the acceleration of so called „security measures" at
>       the checkpoints and passage gates, which are a violation of human
>       rights, humanitarian rights and human dignity. These measures
>       include body scans for security checks - damaging the health of
>       the people and extremely dangerous, for example, for pregnant
>       women, the use of dogs at the checkpoints and the use of young
>       Palestinian men by the Israeli military as human shields.
>   11. We condemn the continuous closure of the Palestinian territories
>       and the long security search process taking place at the Israeli
>       checkpoints, giving no access for the Palestinian people to
>       medical, educational and social services and threatening the life
>       of patients.
>   12. We condemn the bombardment of Palestinian civilian areas that has
>       caused the deaths of hundreds of innocent people, in particular
>       women and children. At the same time, we condemn the bombardment
>       of Israeli civilian areas with rockets from the Gaza Strip.
>   13. We condemn the extra-judicial assassinations of Palestinian
> activists.
>   14. We condemn the new Israeli law which prohibits a Palestinian
>       married to an Israeli citizen to live in Israel or to receive
>       Israeli citizenship.
>
> This statement was issued in Berlin and will be distributed as such. At
> the WILPF Congress in Bolivia it should be discussed in order to be
> accepted by the congress.
>
> Heidi Meinzolt – Coordinator of the Middle East Committee
>
> For more information, please see our websites:
> http://www.wilpf.int.ch
> http://www.peacewomen.org
> http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org
>
>
>
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>
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-- 
------------
C.J. Minster
Program Chair, US Section
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
railing against the military industrial complex since WWI
http://www.wilpf.org

~Social Upheaval~
political analysis from a feminist, activist perspective
http://www.socialupheaval.com

~angelheaded hipster~
cotton candy for the brain
http://www.angelheadedhipster.com
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