Palestinian women make appeal The following is a statement issued by Palestinian women in the U.S. to join the global march for march for women's equality: The Israeli occupying forces in the Palestinian occupied territories of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip are continuing their aggressive actions. They are opening fire against Palestinian civilian protesters demonstrating against 32 years of Israeli occupation of their land and for a just and lasting peace which recognizes fully their national and legitimate rights. The Israeli army is using excessive and disproportionate force, firing with live ammunition, deploying snipers, using anti-tank missiles and assault helicopters to disperse the Palestinian demonstrators. More than 100 are dead and 4,000 wounded. A large percentage of the injured and killed are under 18 years old. The majority of the injuries (over 60 percent) are to the upper parts of the body. The excessive use of force intended to kill and injure the highest number of people is clear. There has been a deliberate negligence in using non-violent control methods. In a dangerous escalation of the violence being used by the occupying army, Israeli armed settlers are attacking Palestinian villages, terrorizing the inhabitants, burning and killing. Israeli settlements are built in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 on confiscated Palestinian land. Since 1967 Israel has confiscated almost 750,000 acres of land from the 1.5 million compromising the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The actual bloodshed of the Palestinians, mostly children, is a clear reminder of Israel's lack of genuine commitment to peace in the region and a reflection of its military and violent mentality. We urge the international community and in particular the U.S. to stop the massacre of our children. We call for international protection of the Palestinian people. Stop the Israeli violations of our basic human rights. We ask the U.S. government to examine its policy of unrestricted shipment of sophisticated arms to Israel. We call for the full Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian land occupied in June 1967 and an unconditional implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242. We call for the implementation ... of U.N. Resolution 194 which requires the return of the Palestinian refugees to their homeland. The Palestinian people have equal rights with other peoples in the world to self-determination and the establishment of Palestine-independent and sovereign with East Jerusalem as its capital. Join the Palestinian women in their struggle for a just and lasting peace.
