April 25, 2006
Against the Oppression and Starvation of the Palestinian People
International Outcry of Jewish Organizations
In defence of human rights and humanitarian law
Prevent Israel’s policy of destruction, oppression and collective punishment of the people in
the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
• Prevent the government of your country from being complicit in crimes against humanity.
• Call for national and international sanctions against the Israeli Occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as well as for political measures appropriate to force the Israeli government
to comply with the standards of international law and human rights.
The Israeli Prime Minister-designate, Ehud Olmert, declared that Israel views the recently elected
Palestinian government, led by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, as a “hostile” counterpart. He therefore
intends to cut off ties with the Palestinian Authority as an attempt to prevent Hamas from becoming an
established government. Furthermore, he announced that Israel will refuse to hold official meetings
with any public figures from abroad who meet with Hamas officials.
The situation in Israel and Palestine is changing rapidly and radically. Inasmuch as the
international community has complied with the pressure of the United States and Israel to
sanction and place embargos on the democratically elected Palestinian government and the
Palestinian people we, on the contrary, believe it is high time to impose sanctions against the
Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian Territories.
For years, the international community has been witnessing the continuous oppression and
dispossession of the Palestinian people. The silence of the world community has made it easy for the
State of Israel to pervert the course of international justice and basic human rights. In its attempt to
collectively punish the entire Palestinian population for the result of its elections it has not refrained
from causing hunger, bombing, and shelling, especially in the Gaza Strip. Blockades of medical
supplies, frequent denials of urgent medical care and above all a constant shortage of clean water have
caused a critical health situation, nearing catastrophic dimensions. The Israeli army continues, with
impunity, to kill, terrify, arrest, and humiliate civilians, among them children and old people.
There is no legal justification for the exposure of an entire captive population to such suffering. Israel is
perpetrating an unprecedented crime against humanity. To stand by and allow these actions, instead of
condemning and halting them, is incontestably immoral. It throws – as any complicity in crimes does
– a negative light on all parties involved including those governments that hold the Palestinian people
accountable for “good governance”.
European Jews for a Just Peace is a federation of Jewish Peace groups working and campaigning in 10 European countries.