[GushShalom] Your presence needed in Mes'ha - as well as protest letters

[Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)]

GUSH SHALOM  pob 3322, Tel-Aviv 61033 www.gush-shalom.org

[] URGENT: your presence needed in Mes'ha - as well as protest letters
[] Report on tenacious struggle yesterday - from the ISM
[] The Occupation is the Infrastructure - Gush ad

                                \\// //\\ \\// //\\ \\//      
  
[] URGENT: your presence needed in Mes'ha - as well as protest letters

[There just came a phonecall from our member Oren Medicks who 
takes part in the Coalition Against The Wall at the Mes'ha tent.]

Tomorrow, Sunday August 3, the Separation Wall bulldozers are 
expected to enter the front yard of of the Amer family home at Mes'ha 
Village on the West Bank, demolishing whatever shed is in it's way 
and start construction of the wall right there.

The family home itself  will escape demolition - but from tomorrow it will 
become part of the "security perimeter". Any exit of Hani Amer, his 
wife or their six children from their door will require a permit from the 
army, and nobody will be allowed to visit them. Obviously, the army 
would like the family to go away and save them the bother - except 
that they have nowhere to go. 

Starting tonight, Israeli and international peace activists, together 
with Mes'ha villagers, will set up a protest tent on the threatened spot. 
They ask for those who can to join them there, and participate in 
passive resistance to the demolition, and demonstrate exacty what 
Sharon means when he says that efforts will be made to prevent the 
wall/fence from disrupting Palestinian daily life. 

For details of how to arrive, call Oren 054-412369, Natzi 053-503551. 

Those who can't be physically present are asked to express by fax, 
phone or email theirr protest to PM Sharon, to his Foreign Minister 
Shalom, with copies to the US administration, especially to Secretary 
of State Powell who spoke some highly pertinent words on the wall and 
its destructive effect on Palestinian daily life.  (So maybe this time your 
letter will not fall on deaf ears!!!)  You can use the two first paragraphs 
of this mail as a "sample letter".

email string: 
pm_eng at pmo.gov.il,  sar at mofa.gov.il, president at whitehouse.gov, 
secretary at state.gov

more address details:

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, 
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan Street, P O Box 187 
Jerusalem 91919, Israel
Fax: +972 2 6705475 
E-mail: pm_eng at pmo.gov.il

Foreign Minister Silwan Shalom <sar at mofa.gov.il>

President George W. Bush
COMMENTS: 202-456-1111
FAX: 202-456-2461
Email: president at whitehouse.gov

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell: 
phone:   (202) 647-7098
email <secretary at state.gov>

[] Report on tenacious struggle yesterday - from the ISM

---------forwarded message follows--------

From:           	"International Solidarity Movement" <ism-
alerts at palsolidarity.org>
Date sent:      	Fri, 01 Aug 2003 20:54:05 -0000

Report from Deir al Ghassoon, north of Tulkarem

At 11:30 approximately 200 farmers from Deir al Ghassoon, at least 50 internationals, 
and many television cameras, started their march from the center of the village to the 
fence that has prevented access to the fields of the village for two weeks now.

Two weeks ago, the farmers attempted to pass through the gate in the Ghetto Wall 
that the Israeli government promised them, along with ISM activists.  They were 
shoved back onto the village side of the Wall and denied access to the land by hired 
security guards.  A lock was placed on the gate.  Last Friday, the farmers came 
again to the fence. This time, they took action into their own hands.  They dismantled 
the fence physically and cut the lock.  When proceeding to move to their field, the
Israeli army appeared, and again physically forced them back through the gate.

Today, while approaching the gate, the international activists began to cut the razor 
wire that has been placed meters before the gate to block access.  The army was 
waiting for them.  As they approached, the army opened fire with "rubber bullets", 
clearly aiming high, not at the ground as is the regulation.

Eight activists were hit during continuous fire, shielding the Palestinians. 2 farmers 
were also hit with rubber-coated steel bullets. 
None were seriously wounded, although several were taken to the nearby hospital 
of Dr.Thabet Thabet in Tulkarem.   As the activists fled admist clouds of tear gas, the 
army spokesman was already claiming an appropriate use of "non- lethal force".

The eight internationals injured were: 
Thomas, from Britain
Polly, from Britain
Andrew, from Scotland
Robin, from Britain
Michael, from the USA
Joe, from the USA
Eric, a student at Bir Zeit University
and Juliana, currently in Palestine to work on a documentary
film about medical care and access in the Occupied Territories,
from the USA.


[] The Occupation is the Infrastructure - Gush ad

THE 
OCCUPATION
IS THE
"INFRASTRUCTURE
OF TERRORISM".
IT 
MUST
BE 
DESTROYED

(Translation of this week's Gush Shalom ad on Friday in Ha'aretz)
--

A map of the separation wall:

http://www.gush-shalom.org/thewall/hebrew.html (òáøéú)
http://www.gush-shalom.org/thewall/index.html (English)

--
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http://www.gush-shalom.org/english/index.html (English)

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