March 24, 2003
Avec le soutien de – with the support of :
Heinrich Böll Foundation
Commissariat Général aux Relations Internationales (CGRI)
Protection of the Palestinian People
Appeal to the public opinion
We, the Network « European Jews for a Just Peace » strongly support the Appeal to World Public Opinion to protect the Palestinian People, published by the Palestinian Emergency Committee, as well as the Israeli statement distributed by the Israeli Emergency Committee.
The dangers posed to the Palestinian population in case of an American attack on Iraq are real and severe. We are deeply worried by indications that the ‘fog of war’ could be exploited by the Israeli government to commit further crimes against the Palestinian People, including ethnic cleansing which is commonly referred to as ‘transfer’ in an attempt to hide behind political jargon.
In accordance with international conventions, we declare our intention to denounce, as a war crime, any attempt taken by the Israeli authorities aimed at killing or displacing Palestinians.
We call upon the European Union to pay close attention to events that unfold within Israel and in the Occupied Territories, to make it absolutely clear that crimes against humanity will not be tolerated, and to take concrete measures to prevent such crimes from taking place.
We call upon all Europeans of goodwill to set up, urgently, an international Committee for the Protection of the Palestinian People.
As a first step, we suggest establishment of national initiatives for political, moral and material support of the Palestinian People.