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From: New Worker Online
Sent: Saturday, December 08, 2001 10:31 AM
Subject: [NCP] Palestinians call for Geneva Convention to be
applied International story - 7/12/2001.
Palestinians call for Geneva Convention to be applied.
by Renee Sams THE CONTINUAL escalation of Israeli aggression and acts of violence in the occupied Palestinian
territories is of grave concern and at a
press
conference in London last Thursday, two human
rights activists called for more publicity on
the plight of the Palestinians.
The press conference was hosted by the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and chaired by Tim Llewellyn.
Arjon El Fassad from the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights said: "We are not
pleading, we are asking. The problem is that nobody
wants to know. There is a conspiracy of silence on
Israel's crimes.
"The media are more interested in suicide bombers, but when it comes to what has caused these terrible
acts, they are silent.
"Yet we are not talking about politics, this is human rights."
Raji Souriani of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights compared the situation in occupied Palestine
with that in South Africa during apartheid.
He pointed out that Israeli propaganda labels opponents of Israel's human rights violations as "anti-Jewish",
anti-Semitic" or "pro-Arab".
The media are also endeavouring "to dehumanise and demonise the Palestinians, portraying all 4.8 million
Palestinians in Israel as being terrorists or not
deserving human rights protection as Arabs or
Muslims."
Israel claims that an exclusively Jewish character to the state, to the exclusion of non-Jewish inhabitants
is justifiable as are all methods to ensure they remain
a majority.
Both speakers pointed out that Israel occupies the West Bank and the Gaza Strip by force. This only
causes violence and, they stressed, must be brought
to an end.
But until that happens, they argued, Israel as the occupying power, has a legal obligation to
guarantee the safety and well-being of civilians
living there.
Palestinians began their second Intifada against Israel's 34 year illegal occupation of Palestinian
lands following Ariel Sharon's provocative visit
to the Dome of the Rock in occupied east Jerusalem
on 28 September 2000.
Between 29 September 2000 and 17 October 2001 some 760 Palestinians have been killed in the
occupied territories and 13 within Israel. No
less than 16,497 have been injured of whom
2,000 have been permanently disabled.
Ambulances and paramedics have frequently been fired on while trying to help the injured.
Three Palestinian physicians, a German doctor, three paramedics and three firefighters have
been killed. Also 42 first-aid workers,
including two physicians, have been
injured.
There have been many attacks on ambulances, which have been damaged by live ammunition and rubber
coated metal bullets as well as 221 reported cases
of restrictions and denial of access to ambulances.
As recently as Last October, Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed his support for a viable
Palestinian state.
But the speakers emphasised that such a state cannot be established until Israel's occupation
is ended.
They also pointed out that "Blair has played an obstructive role and blocked measures being taken
to force Israel to comply with international
humanitarian law, in particular
the Fourth Geneva Convention."
The speakers told the press conference that some years ago, the Israeli government suspended the
question of Palestinian human rights because,
they claimed, it would impede the peace
process.
Only now has some progress been made in bringing forward discussion of this issue, and then only
under certain conditions.
They have refused to have any non-government organisation representatives present and the
discussion is to be held in camera.
The Fourth Geneva Convention, which is central to international law, clearly states that the
occupying power is prohibited from the transfer
of its own people to the area concerned.
This clause was added as a direct result of the experience of the Second World War.
The Palestinians are asking why the world community is not imposing this recognised international law?
The speakers are calling on MPs to put pressure on the Prime Minister and the Government to take action, not
just words, to ensure that Israel respects the Fourth
Geneva Convention.
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