[GushShalom] HELP STOP IT: MASS HOUSE DEMOLITION UNDERWAY

[Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)]

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

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                                Y O U R   P R O T E S T   
                  M A Y   S T O P   B U L L D O Z E R S
           HUNDREDS OF HOUSES BEING DEMOLISHED AT RAFAH
               Gush Shalom calls for worldwide campaign
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      YOUR IMMEDIATE PROTEST MAY HELP LIMIT THE DAMAGE

  --SMS, PHONE, FAX AND EMAIL TO YOUR RELEVANT CONTACTS--


International release

Prime Minister Sharon and Defence Minister Mofaz last night authorized 
the army to demolish hundreds of Palestinian houses at Rafah, on the Gaza 
Strip's border with Egypt, so as to create a "sterile" zone hundreds of 
metres wide. This was reported on Kol Yirael radio by correspondent 
Shmuel Tal.

The recent killing of five Israeli soldiers nearby is the pretetxt, but in fact it is the implement
ation of plans which the army 
formulated already in 2001, under then Southern Command General Yom Tov Samiya, and which were carr
ied out 
piecemeal over the past three years. (American peace activist Rachel Corrie was killed when trying 
to block bulldozers 
carrying out such demolitions). 

While a mass protest rally is being prepared for tomorrow evening in Tel-Aviv, Gush Shalom calls up
on supporters of 
peace and justice worldwide  to mobilize their governments and civic organizations to act immediate
ly and come out 
against this war crime while it is not yet fully perpetuated - the premeditated massive destruction
 of homes, making 
hundreds of families homeless - most of them refugee families already uprooted once. 
Now is the last minute to act against the Sharon government's Grand Design (to create an Israeli-co
ntrolled buffer zone - 
"Philadelphi Route" so as to permanently cut off the Gaza Strip from all access to the outside worl
d - in effect turning 
Gaza into a huge prison camp).

To remain updated look from time to time into: http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/427462.html
 

PLEASE BE CREATIVE ABOUT WHOM TO ALARM

To begin with: send an urgent protest to the government of Israel, with copies to the relevant inte
rnational bodies  and 
media - using the following sample letter.

Dear Sir

I call upon you to immediately stop the demolition of dozens of Palestinian homes going on at this 
moment at Rafah in the 
Gaza Strip.
The authorization for the IDF to destroy hundreds of houses is an authorization by the government o
f Israel  to commit a 
war crime. For this  premeditated crime nobody in the hierarchy will be able to shrug off responsib
ility.
The killing of Israeli soldiers in this vicinity offers no justification for such an act, nor can i
t stop further bloodshed. Peace 
and quiet can only beachieved by withdrwal of the occupation forces, when the the Gaza Strip like t
he other parts of the 
occupied territories become part of an independednt Palestinian state, which like all sovereign sta
tes must have free access 
to the outsdie world. 
Yours
......

NB: Start with sending it to the nearest Israeli Embassy:
http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/israel1.htm (It will be good when the foreign ministry will be 
alarmed by many 
of its embassies)

But send your letter ALSO by fax (the best) and/or email to:

Prime Minster Ariel Sharon - email  <pm_eng at pmo.gov.il>; fax +972 2 
6705475
Defence Minster Saul Mofaz - email <sar at mod.gov.il>; fax +972-3-6916940
Foreign Minster Silvan Shalom - email <sar at mofa.gov.il>; fax +972-3-
6916940


with copies to:

President George W. Bush <president at whitehouse.gov>
Fax: +1-202-456-2461

Secretary of State Colin Powell <secretaryofstate at USA.gov>
Fax: +1-202-261-8577

Spokesperson of the Prime Minister <dover at pmo.gov.il>
Spokesperson Defense Ministry <info at mail.idf.il>
Spokesperson Foreign Ministry <dover at mfa.gov.il>
UN Special Coordinator <unsco at palnet.com>
State Departement <secretary at state.gov>
European Union <mailto at delwbg.cec.eu.int> 
(MAYBE ADD HERE THE EMAIL OF YOUR LOCAL MEDIA)

and with a blind copy to:
Gush Shalom <info at gush-shalom.org>

[for your conVenience, here follow the combined email addresses: 
to:
pm_eng at pmo.gov.il, sar at mod.gov.il, sar at mofa.gov.il
 
cc to:
president at whitehouse.gov, secretaryofstate at USA.gov, dover at pmo.gov.il,  
info at mail.idf.il, dover at mfa.gov.il, unsco at palnet.com, 
secretary at state.gov,  mailto at delwbg.cec.eu.int, 

+ bcc to:
info at gush-shalom.org ]


BUT DON'T FORGET TO SEND MESSAGES BY SMS, PHONE, FAX AND EMAIL TO YOUR 
RELEVANT CONTACTS





 
 
IDF to raze hundreds of Rafah homes; Sarid: Move would be war crime   
 
By Haaretz Service and Agencies 
 
 Last Update: 14/05/2004 13:15 
 http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/427462.html

 Hebrew:
 http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/427582.html
 
 
IDF armored bulldozers Friday began demolishing buildings in the Rafah 
refugee camp, adjacent to the Philadelphi Route where five soldiers were 
killed in a Palestinian attack on Wednesday. 
 
 
 
 
Witnesses said bulldozers had demolished 10 houses and were threatening 
many more in the camp. Panic-stricken residents grabbed whatever 
belongings they could carry and fled, some waving white flags at 
approaching Israeli forces, the witnesses said.

The army had no immediate comment.

The IDF has plans to widen the flashpoint corridor it controls in 
southern Gaza along the Egyptian border and demolish dozens or even 
hundreds of Palestinian homes in the area, political sources said on 
Friday.

Local Palestinian officials said the military tore down "dozens" of 
houses and shops in the Rafah camp, where 12 Palestinians were killed in 
Israeli missile strikes and exchanges of fire on Thursday.

Four armed Palestinian militants were meanwhile reported killed 
overnight, three of them as they approached soldiers on guard along the 
Egyptian border and at least one other when a bomb he was carrying 
exploded in his ow
n hands just outside the Rafah Yam settlement.

The plan to expand the route was approved on Thursday at a high-level meeting attended by Prime Min
ister Ariel Sharon, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and other top officials.

"It's a measure that we are taking to provide better protection for armored personnel carriers and 
the soldiers, and to reshape that theatre of war so we will enjoy an advantage and not the Palestin
ians," one Israeli offi
cial said about the Philadelphi corridor where five troops were killed on Wednesday.

An Israeli political source said the army intends to destroy "dozens or perhaps hundreds" of homes 
and widen the 9-km long buffer zone once soldiers complete a search in the area for the remains of 
their comrades blown up
 two days ago.

Left-wing lawmaker Yossi Sarid (Meretz) told Israel Radio that the mass demolition of Palestinian b
uildings along the route would be a war crime and warned against "razing half of the town of Rafah.
" 

Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat condemned the plan as a "total contradiction" to what Shar
on has presented as a disengagement initiative to reduce points of conflict with Palestinians after
 three and a half years
 of fighting.

"This is a catastrophe. At a time when the Israelis are speaking of disengaging from Gaza this is r
eally re-engaging," he said. "I hope that President Bush, who says he is encouraged by disengagemen
t, will interfere to st
op the demolitions."

Palestinians carry out daily attacks against Israeli positions and soldiers in the area adjoining R
afah refugee camp, where the army has already demolished hundreds of homes in searches for arms smu
ggling tunnels.

"It's a major source of infiltration and smuggling of weapons. We've got to stop it," said the offi
cial, who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

Israel Defense Forces troops were resuming searches Friday morning for the remains of soldiers kill
ed Wednesday during an attack on their armored personnel carrier on the Philadelphi route in the so
uthern Gaza Strip.

Remains identified
Three of the five soldiers killed in the attack will be buried Friday afternoon, after forensic tes
ting confirmed their identities late Thursday night. 

A total of 11 IDF soldiers were killed in Gaza this week, with Wednesday's attack coming on the hee
ls of the deaths of six soldiers, who were killed the previous day when Palestinians bombed their A
PC in the Gaza City nei
ghborhood of Zeitoun. At about 3 A.M. Thursday, representatives of the Palestinian Red Crescent Soc
iety gave the IDF the remains of the soldiers killed Tuesday, after Palestinian militants had threa
tened to use the body p
arts as ransom.

Corporal Elad Cohen, 20, of Jerusalem, will be buried 1 P.M. Friday at the Mount Herzl military cem
etery in the capital; Sergeant Lior Vishinski, 20, from Ramat Gan, will be buried 2 P.M. Friday in 
the Kiryat Shaul milita
ry cemetery; and Sergeant-Major Aiman Gadir, 24, of Bir Makhsur, will be buried 2 P.M. Friday at th
e cemetery in his hometown.

Chief military chaplain Rabbi Yisrael Weiss was involved in the tests to confirm their identities, 
which were carried out in the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir, in Tel Aviv. After the i
dentities were confirme
d, Weiss went to the homes of the soldiers killed to inform the families of a formal declaration of
 death, allowing for the soldiers to buried.

The identities of the bodies of the other two soldiers killed Wednesday - Lieutenant Aviv Hakani, 2
3, of Ashdod, and Sergeant Za'ur (Zohar) Smelev, 19, of Ofakim - have not yet been confirmed. All f
ive were killed during 
a mission on the Philadelphi route to seek and destroy arms-smuggling tunnels in Rafah, along the E
gyptian border.

Meanwhile, at least 12 Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israel Defense Forces troops in the
 Gaza Strip during fierce fighting Thursday.

Mofaz: IDF operations in Gaza essential
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Thursday that the 11 soldiers killed in separate APC bombings in 
the Gaza Strip over the past two days died in an essential and unavoidable battle.

Mofaz, speaking at a press conference in Tel Aviv, said Israel Defense Forces efforts to bring the 
troops to proper burial continue amid constant fighting.

Mofaz, who met earlier Thursday with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and high-ranking security official
s, said the war on terror will continue, utilizing all necessary means in order to safeguard the se
curity of Israeli citiz
ens. 

He added that no one intends to flee from the Gaza Strip.

Troops took control of several houses in the Rafah area in order to protect the soldiers searching 
for any remains of the soldiers, Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon said, adding that the operation was b
eing carried out in a r
estrained manner to avoid civilian casualties.

Also Thursday, Sharon thanked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for the 
assistance his country has given Israel in helping recover the remains of 
the soldiers killed this week. 

Sharon also extended his thanks to the head of the Egyptian intelligence 
services, Omar Suleiman, for making a special effort to recover the 
remains. 

Mubarak told Sharon of his wish to tighten cooperation between the two 
countries and advance Sharon's plan to disengage from the Gaza Strip and 
part of the West Bank.

Ya'alon said Thursday the Egyptians were conducting searches and allowing 
IDF troops to search for the remains inside Egyptian territory. Sources 
in the Palestinian Authority said that to the best of their knowledge, 
Palestinian organizations were not in possession of any remains from 
Wednesday's attack.