Tell Secretary Clinton to say "No" to legalizing settlements

Israeli Report Rejects Occupation and Outpost Illegality
On Monday a panel commissioned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released its final report on the status of settlements in the West Bank. The group decided that Israel’s presence in the West Bank does not constitute an “occupation” and therefore settlement activity does not violate international law.

The results are only recommendations at this stage, but nevertheless, they received harsh criticism from Israeli peace groups and much of the international community.
Churches for Middle East Peace provided an Action Alert that allows us to register our criticism with Secretary of State Clinton's office.

Tell Secretary Clinton to Say “No” to Legalizing Settlements
An Israeli Commission wants to make all settlements and outposts legal under Israeli Law.

Your action is needed to make sure U.S. opposition is strong and bold.

On Monday the U.S. State Department came out against the Levy Committee Report which, among other things, states there is no “occupation” by Israel of Palestinian Territories and recommends legalizing all existing settlements and outposts under Israeli law.

Acceptance of the report as policy by the Government of Israel would undermine years of international effort, including your’s and your church’s efforts, promote and secure a just, lasting, and comprehensive resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

As people of hope we cannot stand by while some people within the Israeli government attempt to legitimize activities that stand in the way of peace.

Please click the link and tell our Secretary of State to repudiate the Levy Report. You can modify the prepared message. I did, pointing out that American policy for eight administrations - under Democrats and Republicans - has been clear: Israeli settlement beyond the Green Line is illegal or illegitimate.

God bless you all.

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NPR reporting and settler violence

Friends, two interesting reports on NPR this week deserve a listen. After that, see an urgent appeal from EAPPI.

Yesterday morning Lourdes Garcia Navarro reported on Mitt Romney's upcoming trip to Israel courting American votes and using promotion of settlement expansion to do it.  See GOP Courts Republicans Living in Israel.

Later in the day Garcia Navarro reported on settler violence, quoting B'Tselem and shedding light on some of the violence we have heard about from accompaniers and other witnesses on the ground.  Listen to Violence Against West Bank Palestinians is Up.

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Here is an urgent appeal from the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI):

On Saturday, 7 July 2012 at approximately 3:00PM (GMT+2) Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement of Itamar approached three Palestinian farmers in Yanoun who were harvesting their wheat and grazing their sheep. The settlers were armed with knives and killed three of the farmers’ sheep.

A clash then ensued, in which the settlers and farmers began throwing stones at one-another. When EAs arrived to the scene, three fires were ablaze in the fields, but it was unknown whether the flames were intentionally lit by the settlers or were started by teargas canisters that the Israeli military fired at the farmers. Nonetheless, two wheat fields and one olive grove were burnt, and when other Palestinian farmers arrived at the scene to turn out the flames, Israeli soldiers and police prevented them from reaching the fields by firing more teargas at them.

In total six Palestinians were injured, and five were hospitalized:
•       Jawdat Bani Jaber (Hospitalized): was beaten and stabbed multiple times by settlers, then shot in the face and foot by Israeli soldiers. He was then handcuffed by Israeli soldiers and attacked again by the settlers while the soldiers pursued other Palestinian farmers. After being attacked, the military did not allow a present ambulance take him to a hospital or care for him for approximately 3-hours.
•       Ibrahim Bani Jaber (Hospitalized): was beaten by a soldier on his head with the butt-stock of an M16 rifle, causing damage to his eye, and was later beaten by settlers while handcuffed.
•       Hakimun Bani Jaber (Hospitalized): was shot in the arm at close range by a soldier.
•       Adwan Bani Jaber (Hospitalized): was beaten by settlers with clubs.
•       Ashraf Bani Jaber: was beaten by a soldier with a club.
•       Jawdat Ibrahim (Hospitalized): was handcuffed, beaten by Israeli soldiers and then released for the settlers to attack as they watched. He was then tied up by the settlers and left on his land; he was found the next morning (Sunday, 8 July 2012).
 
Rashid, Mayor of Yanoun and long-time EAPPI local contact, expressed fear that settlers initiated the clash to enforce new invisible boundaries, which would defacto confiscate much of the area’s wheat fields to the Itamar Settlement.

ADDITTIONAL INFORMATION:
Yanoun is a small village in Area C of the West Bank, just southeast of Nablus. It has about 65 inhabitants who are dependent upon farming and animal husbandry as their main source of livelihood. The village is surrounded by the illegal Israeli settlement of Itamar and since 1996 the residents of Yanoun have consistently experienced settler harassment and violence, as well as property damage and confiscation.

In October of 2002 the settlers of Itimar forcibly evacuated Yanoun of its inhabitants. International humanitarian agencies and Israeli human rights organizations then came to Yanoun to provide a protective presence with the aim of facilitating the return of the community. These left Yanoun within weeks of the community’s return; however, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) has remained in Yanoun since October 2002. Based in Yanoun Ecumenical Accompaniers (EAs) provide a protective presence, monitor, and report on human rights violations in the community, as well as the entire Nablus Governorate and Jordan Valley.

INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW:
The International Court of Justice has stated that the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilian persons in Times of War applies to the occupied Palestinian territory.

All Israeli settlements are illegal according to Article 49 the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states, “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies."

Article 4
of the Fourth Geneva Convention states, “Persons protected by the Convention are those who, at a given moment and in any manner whatsoever, find themselves, in case of a conflict or occupation, in the hands of a Party to the conflict or Occupying Power of which they are not nationals.” Thus, according to International Humanitarian Law, Israel has the duty as an occupying power to protect Palestinians from settler attacks.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE:
We encourage you to:
•       Forward this email to your networks.
•       Inform your representative in parliament about what is happened in Yanoun.
•       Update news/media agencies (radio, TV & print) in your countries about this incident.
•       Contact (Preferably fax) the following officials and call on them to condemn this attack and hold Israeli settlers accountable for the human rights violations that they commit against Palestinian civilians:  
Your Ambassador and/or Consul General in Israel   http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Sherut/ForeignInIsrael/Continents   
The Israeli Ambassador in your country   http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/Diplomatic+missions/Web+Sites+of+Israeli+Missions+Abroad.htm

You may use the sample letter below or draft your own:

Dear Ambassador,

I call upon you to condemn Israeli settler violence against Palestinian civilians and to call for all those who violate human rights in the oPt to be held legally accountable for their actions.

On Saturday, 7 July 2012 at approximately 3:00PM (GMT+2) Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement of Itamar approached three Palestinian farmers in Yanoun who were harvesting their wheat and grazing their sheep. The settlers were armed with knives and killed three of the farmers’ sheep.

A clash then ensued, in which the settlers and farmers began throwing stones at one-another. Israeli soldiers and police arrived to the scene only to support the settlers’ attack on a defenseless community.

In total six Palestinians were injured, and five were hospitalized:
•       Jawdat Bani Jaber (Hospitalized): was beaten and stabbed multiple times by settlers, then shot in the face and foot by Israeli soldiers. He was then handcuffed by Israeli soldiers and attacked again by the settlers while the soldiers pursued other Palestinian farmers. After being attacked, the military did not allow a present ambulance take him to a hospital or care for him for approximately 3-hours.
•       Ibrahim Bani Jaber (Hospitalized): was beaten by a soldier on his head with the butt-stock of an M16 rifle, causing damage to his eye, and was later beaten by settlers while handcuffed.
•       Hakimun Bani Jaber (Hospitalized): was shot in the arm at close range by a soldier.
•       Adwan Bani Jaber (Hospitalized): was beaten by settlers with clubs.
•       Ashraf Bani Jaber: was beaten by a soldier with a club.
•       Jawdat Ibrahim (Hospitalized): was handcuffed, beaten by Israeli soldiers and then released for the settlers to attack as they watched. He was then tied up by the settlers and left on his land; he was found the next morning (Sunday, 8 July 2012).

Though the settlers were the attackers in this clash, the Israeli Military and Police provided them with protection to carry out the attack. The soldiers and officers attacked Palestinians who defended themselves from the settlers, did not attempt to put out the fires that blazed through Palestinians’ fields - nor let anyone else do so, and delayed medical attention for the victims of the attack.

Like the many Israeli settler attacks that take place on an on-going basis across the occupied Palestinian territory, no Israeli settlers were arrested during this attack.

Sincerely,
YOUR NAME 

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[urgent appeal from]
Nader Hanna
Advocacy Officer
Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine & Israel (EAPPI)
P.O. Box 741
Jerusalem 91000
Tel: +972 2 628 9402
Fax: +972 2 627 4499
Mobile: +972 54 815 7652
E-mail: eappi.advocacy@alqudsnet.com
Skype: eappi.advocacy
Website: www.eappi.org

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To receive regular bulletins from Ann Hafften, sign up at my blog - A Texas Lutheran's Voice for Peace: http://www.voicesforpeace.blogspot.com/ 

Welcome Kairos USA

Dear readers,

I have taken a little break from posting to attend to some home renovations.

Earlier this spring I was involved in the preliminary stages of development of the Kairos USA statement in response to the 2009 Kairos Palestine statement. Others crafted the final statement and an organization  has been established in support of Kairos USA.

The entire statement and how to sign on, along with ways to be further engaged, are at the website: http://www.kairosusa.org/
I encourage you to look at it carefully. I have signed. I consider it a faithful, ecumenical, loving response to the call from Christian sisters and brothers in Palestine.

Here is a portion of the introduction, just to give you a sample.  Please do read the complete text at the website: http://www.kairosusa.org/

"The mission of Kairos USA is to mobilize the churches in the United States to respond faithfully and boldly to the situation in Israel and Palestine. In December 2009, the Christians of Palestine brought forth “A Moment of Truth: A Word of Faith, Hope and Love from the Heart of Palestinian Suffering.” In 2011 and again in 2012, U.S. clergy, theologians and laypersons gathered to write this response to the Palestinian document. In gratitude for the courageous witness and call to action issued by our Palestinian sisters and brothers, and inspired by the prophetic church movements of southern Africa, Central and South America, Asia and Europe that have responded to the call of our sisters and brothers in Palestine, we have prayed for the guidance of the Spirit so that we might also respond with integrity, love and wisdom."

I want to share some thoughts from a longtime friend and colleague, Pastor Russ Siler, on Kairos USA. Russ says most everything I'd like to say myself:

"Dear Friends,

"Perhaps most if not all of you have by now read, or at least have heard of the document from Kairos USA, Call to Action: U.S. Response to the Kairos Palestine Document.

"I have read the document and signed it. I urge you to consider doing the same.

"I was involved in a very small way in the initial stage of formulating just how this document would take shape. I became aware of the host of disparate voices, all seeking the common goal of peace with justice for the people of the Holy Land, but with a multitude of slants, perspectives, and strong opinions about the path we Americans should follow. What has resulted is a powerful and faithful response to our Palestinian sisters and brothers as well as a challenge to ourselves to stand ever more firmly beside them--as well as the people of their neighbor Israel--on peace's path.

"The document that is now out there for the world to see is far from a perfect treatise; in many ways it walks a middle road between powerful proponents on both sides of all the major arguments and approaches. It will please no one fully, but it will ring true with everyone who genuinely hopes and prays for a just end to the conflict which has devastated so many lives for so long. In no way do I mean these few sentences to diminish what the framers have accomplished. It is a strong, Gospel-based, courageous appeal for the quest for peace with justice to begin with each of us.

"I ask no more than that you read it http://www.kairosusa.org/ with open mind and open heart and consider adding your endorsement.

"Now really is `the time.'"

For Peace with Justice,

Russ Siler
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To receive regular bulletins from Ann Hafften, sign up at my blog - A Texas Lutheran's Voice for Peace: http://www.voicesforpeace.blogspot.com/