United for Peace and Justice Condemns Israeli Attacks on Gaza, Calls>for an End to U.S. Support of the Israeli Occupation

>>>> www.unitedforpeace.org 212-868-5545 Click to subscribe>> If you are having trouble viewing this message, please click here.>>> Please forward widely!>> United for Peace and Justice Condemns Israeli Attacks on Gaza, Calls>for an End to U.S. Support of the Israeli Occupation>> Ten months ago Israeli military forces withdrew from the Gaza Strip,>part of the Palestinian lands long occupied by Israel. On Tuesday, June>27th, the Israeli military launched an all-out assault on the people of>Gaza, and there seems to be no end in sight.>> The destruction of vital bridges and power stations, which led to>the cut off of electricity and water for well over 1 million people, is>nothing short of collective punishment imposed on a civilian population.>Israel has also taken nearly 100 elected officials and leaders of the Hamas>party as prisoners in the last few days.>> Israel's massive military assault on Gaza is clear evidence that>Israel remains the occupying power of the Gaza Strip, despite its>unilateral withdrawal of settlements last year. Israel has been seeking to>bring down the Palestinian government by bringing pressure to bear on the>civilian Palestinian population, and is using the kidnapping of an Israeli>soldier as a pretext to do that. (More background information below.)>> United for Peace and Justice condemns this brutal attack and calls>for an end to U.S. support for the Israeli occupation of Palestinian>territories, including the Gaza Strip.>> UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE CALLS FOR:>>> 1) An immediate end to the assault on Gaza by the Israeli military>forces.> 2) Cut off of U.S. financial and military aid to Israel that makes>it possible for such assaults to be carried out, as well as U.S. support>for the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.>> 3) Immediate shipments by the U.S. government of humanitarian aid>(especially food and medicines) for the people of Gaza.>> YOU CAN TAKE ACTION TODAY:>>> 1) Call the White House (202-456-1111) and the U.S. State>Department (202-647-4000) to demand that the U.S. take immediate action.> 2) Send a letter to your local paper and speak out against the>latest assaults by the Israeli government on the people of Gaza.>> 3) You can help get much-needed medical supplies to Gaza -- click>here for more information and to make a donation.>> BACKGROUND> During the month of June the Israeli military forces carried out>several deadly attacks in Gaza. On June 9th, 8 Palestinians were killed and>32 injured when a beach was shelled (see report from Human Rights Watch for>more information on this incident); on June 13th a missile attack on a>highway in Gaza killed 11 people and wounded another 30; and on June 20th>another missile attack from Israeli forces killed 3 children and wounded 15>more people.>> In retaliation, Palestinian militants raided Israeli military>positions near Gaza on June 25th, during which 2 soldiers were killed and>Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit was captured. Israel then threatened an attack if>he was not freed and began deploying tanks along the border. Their attack>began after Israel rejected Shalit's captors' demand for the release of all>Palestinian women and Palestinians younger than eighteen in Israeli>prisons. (There are some 9,800 Palestinians being held: 335 of them are>children and several dozen are women.)>> Just before midnight on June 27th a large scale military assault on>Gaza was launched by Israel. Fighter planes hit three bridges along the>main north-south highway in Gaza. Another strike hit Gaza's main power>plant and knocked out the electricity in densely populated Gaza City. This>power plant provided 42% of the power to Gaza's 1.3 million residents, and>now Gaza is completely dependent on Israel for power. It could take as long>as a year to get the plant operational again. Israel's deliberate targeting>of civilian infrastructure is a violation of its obligations under the>Geneva Conventions and a war crime. Israel's use of U.S. taxpayer-supplied>weapons to target civilian infrastructure is also a violation of the U.S.>Arms Export Control Act; UFPJ calls upon the White House and Congress to>investigate these violations of U.S. law and take appropriate action to>shut off future weapons transfers to Israel as a result.>> At about 2:30 in the morning the Israeli military forces started to>move into Gaza and take control of areas east of the city of Rafah. A>little after 5am fighter plans flew low over Gaza, causing intentional>sonic booms which reportedly shattered windows. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud>Olmert said their goal was "not to mete out punishment but rather to apply>pressure so that the abducted soldier will be freed. We want to create a>new equation -- freeing the abducted soldier in return for lessening the>pressure on the Palestinians." Such deliberate collective punishment of a>civilian population is also a violation of the Geneva Conventions and a war>crime.>> According to the June 29th edition of the NY Times, the Israeli>forces have expanded their assault: "In the West Bank city of Ramallah this>morning, Israeli forces detained 20 lawmakers and 8 ministers in the>24-member cabinet, including Deputy Prime Minister Nasser Shaer and Labor>Minister Mohammed Barghouti, security officials said. Today, an Israeli>warplane fired a missile in Gaza City that an Israeli spokeswoman said hit>a soccer field near the pro-Hamas Islamic University. Reuters reported that>the missile hit inside the university .... The Israelis also detained about>20 Hamas members of the Palestinian parliament as they made arrests in>Ramallah, Jenin, East Jerusalem and elsewhere." And the shelling and sonic>booming has continued over these past few days.>> The Times went on to say, "On Wednesday, the crisis seemed to be>tipping toward escalation as Israeli tanks hunkered down inside southern>Gaza at the airport after warplanes had knocked out half of Gaza's>electricity and pounded sonic booms over houses. Also on Wednesday, Israel>battered northern Gazan towns with artillery and sent warplanes over the>house of the Syrian president [in northwest Syria], who is influential with>the Palestinian leader believed to have ordered the kidnapping.">> According to reports in the Syrian press, the 4 Israeli fighter>planes were forced out of the airspace by Syria's military. As bad as the>situation is, things could get even worse if Israel does not stop its>assaults. But the Israeli government is taking an extremely hard line:>Prime Minister Olmert, as quoted in the NY Times, said, "We won't hesitate>to carry out extreme action to bring Gilad back to his family.">> All of this comes in the midst of a severe economic, humanitarian>crisis throughout Gaza and the West Bank. In January of this year>international aid to the Palestinians was cut off after the Hamas party won>the elections, leading to extreme shortages of food and medicine, as well>as other supplies and necessities. Last week, the Senate passed its version>of the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, which proposes additional economic>and diplomatic sanctions against the Palestinian people for exercising>their right to vote. The Senate bill, which was approved by unanimous>consent, comes on the heels of the House passing its version of the bill>last month. UFPJ has signed a statement to Congress, organized by the U.S.>Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, calling on it not to impose>sanctions on the Palestinian people for voting.>>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------->> Help us continue to do this critical work: Make a donation to UFPJ>today.>>> ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE> www.unitedforpeace.org 212-868-5545> To subscribe, visit www.unitedforpeace.org/email>> If you no longer wish to receive emails from us, visit>www.demaction.org/ufpj/unsubscribe.jsp