The recent Israeli military incursions into the Rafah refugee camp have
left 1,240 Palestinians homeless. According to UNRWA, this brings the
total number of Palestinians who have been made homeless in Rafah since
the beginning of the current Intifada to 7,523. The total for the whole
of the Gaza Strip now stands at 11,987. These home demolitions are
grievous, immoral, and illegal acts perpetrated by the occupation
forces against a defenseless civilian population of mostly women and
children. The demolitions are acts of collective punishment and grave
breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention, humanitarian international
law, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. According to
Amnesty International, such wanton destruction "constitutes a war
crime." These horrendous acts are accompanied by similar acts of ethnic
cleansing and expulsions in the West Bank.
ACTION REQUESTED
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition once again calls on
all people of conscience to help the victims of the Rafah refugee camp
demolitions by donating directly to UNRWA. Donations will be
distributed to the victims who need help getting through the cold
winter months.
You may donate directly online to UNRWA at
www.un.org/unrwa/emergency/donation/index.html
OTHER ACTIONS REQUESTED:
CALL, EMAIL, AND FAX:
Write letters to the editor (150 words or less) or opinion articles
(700-800 words). Contact data for newspapers and other media outlets
can be found at:
www.MrSmithMedia.com/MrSmithNewspaper.html .
Contact elected officials using this link:
www.cflweb.org/congress_merge_.htm
And write to:
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
E-mail:
president@whitehouse.gov
Phone: (202) 456-1414
Fax: (202) 456-2461
Secretary of State Colin Powell
E-mail:
secretary@state.gov
Phone: (202) 647-4000 (or 202-647-5150 Bureau of Near East Affairs)
Fax: (202) 261-8577
Letters may be faxed online via
www.tpc.int/sendfax.html
POINT OUT:
The recent Israeli military incursions into the Rafah refugee camp have
left 1,240 Palestinians homeless.
According to UNRWA, this brings the total number of Palestinians who
have been made homeless in Rafah since the beginning of the current
Intifada to 7,523. The total for the whole of the Gaza Strip now stands
at 11,987.
The United States should immediately stop the supply of the very
weapons which Israel makes war against defenseless civilian population
under occupation.
The United States cannot permit Israel to rampage freely and
indefinitely; destroying property, murdering innocent people, building
settlements and besieging and impoverishing the entire population.
The United States must oppose Israel's use of terrorist death squads
armed with American weapons to carry out extra-judicial murders.
The United States cannot expect Israel's aggression against a
defenseless civilian population and the continuing occupation to be in
its short or long-term interest.
Please cc your correspondence to
Al-Awda-Alerts@mail.com.
