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From: "Gush Shalom" <otherisr@actcom.co.il>
Thousands of Palestinians stuck at Rafah
31-year old mother of five died under the blazing sun
Date: Mon, 2 Jul 2007 12:47:02 -0700
International
release
Thousands of Palestinians stuck under appalling conditions at Rafah - 31-year
old mother of five died yesterday under the blazing sun - Gush Shalom demands
immediate opening of the Rafah Crossing for which the government of Israel and
the European Union share responsibility
After the press release follows a call for action
Press Release, July 2, 2007
Gush Shalom, the Israeli Peace Bloc, today sent a strong protest to Prime
Minster Olmert and Defence Minister Barak, and also a letter to representatives
of the European Union - warning about the extreme suffering of about 6000
Palestinians stuck on the Egyptian side of the closed Rafah Border crossing and
unable to return to their homes: "This shameful and unacceptable situation must
be ended forthwith".
The Rafah Border crossing has been closed ever since the eruption of
confrontations between the Palestinian militias in the Gaza strip, which
culminated with the Hamas takeover. Some six thousands of residents who found
themselves at the time on the Egyptian side - among them a considerable number
returning from medical treatment at Egyptian hospitals - have been stranded ever
since: waiting, sleeping, and living in the streets under the hot sun, unable to
wash, and with no idea how long they would still have to wait. The money most of
them had on them already ran out. And since last week the services of Western
Union and DHL in the Gaza Strip were discontinued under Israeli and American
pressure, making it impossible for families to send money to their trapped
relatives.
Yesterday, July 1, Taghreed Abeaed, a 31 years old Palestinian woman, mother of
five children - died while waiting in the very bad conditions at Rafah Crossing.
Even her body is not allowed to be brought back into the Gaza Strip.
"These stranded Gaza Strip residents have no part in the internecine conflict
between Fatah and Hamas; it is not at their expense that the complicated
problems of the Gaza Strip's legal and political status should be solved. They
are innocent civilians caught cruelly in an unpredictable trap, and it is your
duty to provide them the elementary right of going home" wrote Gush Shalom to
the Israeli PM and Defence Minister.
Also the EU representatives were approached. "We place part
of the responsibility and blame on the European. Since 2005, the armed forces of
Israel are not in direct control of the Rafah Border Crossing. However, its
opening was made conditional upon the presence of European monitors. The EU
however has given the Government of Israel a complete power of veto. It is
in practice the Defense Minster of Israel who decides whether or not there will
be European monitors at Rafah, and thus whether the crossing will be open or
closed . Now, the absence of European monitors at Rafah serves the encirclement
and siege of Gaza, shortsightedly and cruelly decreed by the Government of
Israel. In this way, the EU has abdicated its own often proclaimed
responsibility to promote the welfare and peaceful future of all peoples in the
Middle East.
Gush Shalom calls upon the Europeans to emancipate themselves, form an
independent policy and exert their influence to the reopening of the Rafah
Crossing.
Further details: Adam Keller
adam@gush-shalom.org
=====================
What can and should be done:
Send a Rafah protest mail - a short one or a longer one*- to:
1) To the Prime Minister through the PM's Press office: E-Mail:
gpo@pmo.gov.il; Fax: +972-2-6233388
(You can personalize your letter making use of these data: The
Director of the GPO is Daniel Seaman. The Director's direct telephone number is
02-5007502, and his direct fax is 02- 6257886. The Director's secretary is Noa
Arazi )
2) To the Israeli government via the embassy in your country - for the Israeli
embassy in your country look in:
http://www.learn4good.com/travel/israel_embassies.htm
http://www.travelguru.net/html/consulates/israel.html
http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/mfa/about%20the%20ministry/diplomatic%20missions/
3) To the Delegation of the European Commission, delegation head Ramiro Cibrian
- delegation-israel@ec.europa.eu
4) To the highest-ranking politician in your country whose
address you can get.
Please cc to: MEP Luisa Morgantini:
luisa.morgantini@europarl.europa.eu
and also cc to: info@gush-shalom.org
*You may use the press release and add as subject line "The closed Rafah
border is a shame to all the world"
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