[WCUSP] press release from Luisa

[yvonne simmons]

PRESS RELEASE

BY

LUISA MORGANTINI

Vice President of the European Parliament

 

  

THE ISRAELI SIEGE ON GAZA KILLS PALESTINIAN PRESENT
AND FUTURE 

 

NO MORE SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDENTS IN GAZA

 

 

 

Rome, 30th  May 2008

 

"The Israeli siege on Gaza continue to punish
collectively and illegally civil population, killing
them together with their hopes of a dignified life and
of a better future: of course rocket launched from
Gaza to Sderot are illegal and criminal and must be
immediately stopped because they hit Israeli
civilians, but the fault of some Palestinian
extremists groups cannot be paid as reprisal by one
million and a half of non-culpable people.

Today, more examples of collective punishment against
Palestinian civilians took place.  

Special Israeli Forces raided Khaza'a area, east of
Khan Younis, and killed Yosra Qzeih Abu Roq, a 70
years-old woman. Amnesty International in its latest
report announced that since the beginning of 2008,
"frequent air strikes and other attacks by Israeli
forces killed more than 370 Palestinians, including
some 50 children, and injured thousands more." 

Also today, the U.S. Department of State withdrew all
Fulbright grants from Palestinian students in Gaza, as
Israel refused to grant them permission to leave the
Gaza Strip. Seven Palestinian students were added to
the long list of victims of the illegal, brutal, and
incomprehensible siege. The students were deprived
from a chance to better contribute to Palestinian
society. As The New York Times reported today, even
some Israeli lawmakers expressed their anger of the
decision. 

"This could be interpreted as collective punishment,"
Rabbi Michael Melchior, chairman of the Knesset's
education committee, stated in a committee hearing. He
also expressed his concern that "this policy is not in
keeping with international standards or with the moral
standards of Jews, who have been subjected to the
deprivation of higher education in the past. Even in
war, there are rules".

This is the meaning of a widespread and contradictory
unbalanced policy carried out by the United States
that, instead of asking to Israel to open the border
crossings to people, women, men, ill persons and
goods, it reinforces the brutality of the closure
withdrawing scholarships for students.   

Unfortunately this unbalanced and hypocritical policy
is also followed by ‘a supine Europe’, as recently
defined Peace Nobel Prize and former U.S. President
Jimmy Carter who, together with another Peace Nobel
Prize, Archbishop Desmond Tutu -in these last days
visiting the Strip and shocked for the deteriorated
situation in Gaza- urge both that Gaza siege must end.


Amnesty International also announced that "some 40
Palestinians died after being refused passage out of
Gaza for urgent medical treatment not available in
local hospitals," which totals143 Palestinian
patients. Amnesty International also expressed concern
over the situation of the thousands of those seriously
ill and are denied permission to leave the Gaza Strip.

In the West Bank, UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) denounced the increasing
number of checkpoints and other physical limitations
on movement. According to OCHA there are 607 new
checkpoints and physical limitations added since
September 2007. In its report, OCHA also expressed its
concern regarding the 3,000 Palestinian homes
scheduled for demolition by the Israeli Army, and the
confiscation of Palestinian fertile land due to the
illegal Wall.

Many UN Agencies, International, Palestinian and
Israeli NGOs, are constantly denouncing this evidence,
but once again in vain. There are also two resolutions
by the European Parliament calling on Israel to end
the Gaza siege. Nevertheless people in Gaza continue
to dye, justice and rights for Palestinians are always
more and more remote after  40 years of Occupation and
60 years of Nakba carried out by Israeli Governments
and tolerated by the International Community.  

 

Further information Luisa Morgantini + 39 348 39 21
465 or + 972 54 72 71 742 or Office +39 06 69 95 02
17/ +32 22 84 51 51 

Luisa.morgantini at europarl.europa.eu ;
www.luisamorgantini.net;