----- Original Message ----- From: Sid Shniad http://www.ft.com/cms/s/728a69d4-12b1-11dc-a475-000b5df10621.html
Financial Times June 4 2007 In depth New UN map charts West Bank reality [The map: http://tinyurl.com/ysnknj ] By Sharmila Devi and Harvey Morris in Jerusalem A new map of the West Bank, 40 years after its conquest by Israel in the Six Day War, gives the most definitive picture so far of a territory in which 2.5m Palestinians are confined to dozens of enclaves separated by Israeli roads, settlements, fences and military zones. Produced by the United Nations’s Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, it is based on extensive monitoring in the field combined with analysis of satellite imagery. It provides an overall picture officials say is even more comprehensive than charts drawn up by the Israeli military. The impact of Israeli civilian and military infrastructure is to render 40 per cent of the territory, which is roughly the size of the US state of Delaware or the English county of Norfolk, off-limits to Palestinians. The rest of the territory, including main centres such as Nablus and Jericho, is split into isolated spots. Movement between them is restricted by 450 roadblocks and 70 manned checkpoints. The UN mapmakers focused on land set aside for Jewish settlements, roads reserved for settler access, the West Bank separation barrier, closed military areas and nature reserves. What remains is an area of habitation remarkably close to territory set aside for the Palestinian population in Israeli security proposals dating back to postwar 1967. The process of enclosing the civilian enclaves has accelerated in the years since the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising in 2000, and the reintroduction by Israel of its military rule even in areas previously under Palestinian Authority security control. A network of roads designed to ease the movement of Jewish settlers limits access between Palestinian enclaves. A secondary network being built would allow Palestinian limited movement via tunnels, bridges and trenches. Diplomats say the effect of the infrastructure changes would be to formalise the de facto cantonisation of the West Bank. Some 450,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and occupied east Jerusalem and settlements have grown by at least 5.5 per cent a year compared with less than 3 per cent among Palestinians. The map is one of a number of documents whose publication has coincided with Monday’s anniversary of the 1967 war. Amnesty, the rights group, issued a report that accused Israel of a land grab in the West Bank and called for urgent action to address “widespread human rights abuses committed under the occupation”. The Israeli justice ministry branded the report as “one-sided, immoral and riddled with mistakes”. *** Brussels, 6 June 2007 PRESS RELEASE BY LUISA MORGANTINI (GUE/NGL) Vice President of the European Parliament MEPs STAND UP FOR THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF 45 PALESTINIAN MPs IN ISRAELI JAIL 45 Members of the European Parliament, from different political groups, have decided to express their solidarity towards the 45 Palestinian colleagues imprisoned by Israel, and called for their immediate and unconditional release. All the 45 MEPs stood up symbolically in the plenary, right before the beginning of the debate with Mr. Solana on the situation on the Middle East, representing the 45 Members of the Palestinian Legislative Council detained in the Israeli jails in a clear violation of the international legality. “Each of us, MEPs, is deeply concerned about the imprisonment of the President and of 1/3 of the Members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, democratically and legitimately elected by the Palestinian people”, MEPs said in their declaration. Through this initiative, MEPs want to strongly condemn these arrests by the Israeli Army, but also remind the anniversary of the beginning of the Israeli military occupation in the Palestinian territories, which is during 40 years exactly today. “We are deeply worried not only for the plight of the 45 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council but also for the near 11000 Palestinian political prisoners currently imprisoned by the Israeli Army, without a true process and often brutally abducted by the Israeli soldiers. They have to be released and, at the same time, also the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit must be freed by the Palestinian group that kidnapped him in Gaza Strip, as a change of prisoners- affirms Luisa Morgantini, one of the 45 MEPs participating to this initiative. “40 years of military occupation are enough: now it’s urgent to implement a political solution of the conflict, based on “two People and two States” and it’s necessary that the Palestinian Legislative Council could continue its activity, instead of preventing its work because of the check points, the arrests, the summary killings kept on by the current Israeli policy of military occupation”, concluded Luisa Morgantini. MEPs participating to the initiative: Adamou Adamos, Andria Alfonso, Aubert Marie-Hélène, Auken Margarete, Beer Angelika, Brepoels Frieda, Bourzai Bernadette, Bowis John, Carnero Gonzàlez Carlos, Cohn-Bendit Daniel, Davies Chris, De Brún Bairbre, De Keyser Véronique, Demetriou Panayiotis, De Rossa Proinsias, Evans Jill, Flautre Hélène, Gottardi Donata, Guerreiro Pedro, Hammerstein Mintz David, Isler-Béguin Marie-Anne, Kasoulides Ioannis, Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou Rodi, Locatelli Pia Elda, Lucas Caroline, Madeira Jamila, Matsakis Marios, McMillan-Scott Edward, Menendez Del Valle Emilio, Meyer Pleite Willy, Morgantini Luisa, Napoletano Pasqualina, Patrie Béatrice, Portas Miguel, Purvis John, Resetarits Karin, Romeva i Rueda Raül, Roure Martine, Saïfi Tokia, Savi Toomas, Sudre Margie, Svensson Eva-Britt, Toussas Georgios, Triantaphyllides Kyriacos, Wurtz Francis. Further information: Luisa Morgantini 0039 348 39 21 465 Brussels office +32 2 28 45151 *** What: An evening with John Pilger When: Monday June 11, 7 PM Where: Japanese American Cultural Center 244 S. San Pedro St. Downtown L.A. FREEDOM NEXT TIME: AN EVENING WITH JOHN PILGER Pilger will discuss his new book, Freedom Next Time (Nation Books) and show his film Breaking the Silence: Truth and Lies in the War on Terror. This film, set in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Washington, looks at President Bush's "war on terror" and the "liberation" of countries where bloodshed and repression continue. Doors open 6:00 PM Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (http://www.jaccc.org) The JACCC is located at: 244 S. San Pedro Street (between 2nd and 3rd Streets) in the historic Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles. Followed by audience dialogue and a book signing. $5 admission Directions, maps, and parking info at: http://www.jaccc.org/directions.htm Presented by The Center for Economic Research and Social Change, and The Nation Institute, with support from the Wallace Global Fund. For ticket information, call or visit the JACCC. Box office: 213-680-3700 (Box Office Hours: Monday - Saturday: Noon - 5 pm) *** From: Leslie Cagan, UFPJ To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2007 1:50 PM Subject: June 10-11: March & Lobby for a Just Peace in Palestine & Israel Please forward widely! Dear Ed , On Sunday, June 10th, people from around the country will gather in Washington, DC, to protest 40 years of Israel's illegal military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. The economic, military and political support from Washington has made it possible for this brutal occupation to continue. We will be in the nation's capital to call on Congress to set a new direction for U.S. policy in the region. This mobilization is taking place as the crisis in Gaza gets worse: 46% of the population is hungry, and unemployment has grown from 30% in 2000 to 71% in 2007, while 80,000 security personnel and civil servants have not been paid for months. The internal divisions in Gaza are fanned by U.S. policies, which undermine the unity government elected by the Palestinian people. At the same time, there is an extremely serious situation in Lebanon as, according to the Associated Press, "The Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp is ringed by hundreds of soldiers, backed by artillery and tanks, in place to storm the camp and prevent militants from fleeing." It is estimated that 1/2 of the 30,000 Palestinians in this camp have fled, leaving 15,000 still facing this danger. United for Peace and Justice is working with the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation on this timely effort. Without a just peace for all of the people in the region, there will be no end to the fighting and suffering. And without an end to the occupation of the Palestinian territories, there will be no peace throughout the entire region. With ten days until the demonstration, there is still a great deal of organizing to do. We urge you to make plans now to join us in Washington, DC, and to do whatever you can to help get the word out. The weekend will include a number of activities, and we encourage you to participate in as many of them as you can. The major events are: a.. Sunday, June 10th, Rally and March: Rally at 2 pm on the West Lawn of the Capitol, followed by a march at 4 pm to the White House. For a list of the confirmed speakers, click here. a.. Monday, June 11th, Grassroots Lobby Day: After a morning training session, people will attend meetings in the offices of members of Congress. Organizing for June 10-11 is taking place in many cities and towns around the country, and in a wide range of communities and constituencies. We call your attention to three specific efforts, and we hope you will circulate this information: 1. A group of about 20 prominent activists in the African-American community have issued an open "Letter to Black America on Palestinian Rights and June 10th March & Rally." 2. Jewish Voice for Peace is organizing a Jewish contingent to march in the demonstration on June 10th. 3. One of the rally speakers is Cindy Corrie of the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice. Cindy's daughter Rachel was killed by the Israeli army in March 2003 while she stood to nonviolently protect the home of a Palestinian family from being demolished. Cindy Corrie has made a video clip encouraging everyone to attend the June 10-11 mobilization in DC. Watch the video and then pass it on to everyone you know: Google Video / YouTube. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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