Justice for the Palestinian People!
Stop the brutal repression!
Rally: Wed, November 29, 6:00 pm
Parliament House
* Withdraw Israeli troops from Palestine now!
* Stop Israeli State theft of Palestinian land and expansion of Israeli
settlements!
* Demand a UN international inquiry into the deaths of Palestinian civilians!
* Demand the Israeli government charge the Israeli citizens who have
initiated the recent pogroms against Palestinians living in Israel!
* Demand the UN send a peacekeeping force to ensure the implementation of
UN resolution 242 - the Israeli government must withdraw its forces to 1967
boundaries!
* Demand the Australian government: Condemn the acts of war being carried
out by the Israeli state against the Palestinian people; Demand the
immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestine; Demand the US cancel
all military aid to Israel.
Sponsored by the Democratic Socialist Party and Resistance and the
Australian-Palestinian Society
Phone 8231 6982=20
e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.dsp.org.au
_________________________________________________________________________
November 29 is the international day of solidarity with the Palestinian
people. It is the anniversary of the UN vote in 1947, calling for the
establishment of two states - Israel and Palestine - in an area formerly
under British colonial rule.
Only one of these states has come into being. In December 1947, Zionist
militias launched a massive military campaign, siezing Palestinian land and
expelling hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes. This
campaign has never ended, and has now entered a brutal new phase.
The current uprising and protest by the Palestinian people is a product of
pent up frustration with the fundamentally flawed peace process and decades
of occupation, dispossession, exile and daily humiliation caused by the
military occupation of Palestine by Israel. The one sided nature of Israeli
violence in the latest massacre of Palestinians is reflected by the fact
that 205 out of 227 people killed were Palestinians and more than 4,000
Palestinians have been wounded.
The Israeli army has used tanks, assault rifles, bazookas, hand grenade,
snipers and launched rocket attacks from combat helicopters against the
demonstrators. Jewish citizens have stoned and firebombed Palestinian homes
within Israel. When the Israeli army has been called to protect Palestinian
civilians, it has taken no action to stop violence, instead firing upon
Palestinians defending their homes.
Because Israel was created by expelling more than 800,000 Palestinians from
their homes, the right of return for refugees is central to the conflict.
There are currently more than 6 million Palestinian refugees (including
children of refugees) scattered in makeshift camps in Lebanon, Syria and
Jordan. Most of these refugees still aspire to return to their villages.
This desire was evident from the touching scenes at the Lebanon-Israeli
border earlier this year when Palestinian refugees from camps in Lebanon
made their first contact in over fifty years with relatives in Israel.
Denial of the right of refugees to return is especially appalling when any
Jew from any part of the world is automatically guaranteed a right to live
in Israel. The Israeli government has ruled out allowing refugees to
return. The policies of the Israeli government are discriminatory towards
Palestinian people in land ownership, health education, employment and
access to essential services. For example, between 1948 and 1967, 90% of
Arab lands in Israel were confiscated from their owners and given to Jews.
Only Jews are allowed to own or lease land. Palestinians are also denied
welfare benefits, which accrue from military service. Palestinians are in
essence second class citizens.
Many Palestinians hoped that the Oslo Accord signed in 1993, would
establish a Palestinian state in a liberated West Bank and Gaza Strip, with
East Jerusalem as its capital. This is not written in the agreements. West
Bank and Gaza Strip are the two main areas of Palestinian land occupied by
Israel. Although Israeli settlers are only a minority of the West Bank and
Gaza Strips population, a mere 170,000 Jewish settlers control 42% of the
land, while the remaining land is controlled by two million Palestinians.
Under the Accord, Israel would have the final say on all critical issues.
For example Israel would retain the right to enter any area if it deems its
state security and hence its fundamental interests to be at risk. Israel
could automatically veto any law passed by the Palestinian authority; and
Israel could not be held legally responsible for any act during the
fifty-two years of occupation.
Israel remains the key Middle East ally of the US government and US
business interests. The Israeli and US governments have a shared political
interest - opposition to any form of Arab radicalism that threatens Western
economic domination of the region. Traditionally Israel has been in the top
three highest recipients of US aid.
Australian Labor and Liberal governments have a long history of giving
strong diplomatic support to the Zionist regime in Israel. The Australian
government must now demand that the US cancel all military aid to Israel
immediately. This would significantly reduce Israel's capacity to continue
the war against the Palestinian people. The Australian government must also
demand the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestine and
condemn the acts of war being carried out by the Israeli State against the
Palestinian people.
The latest uprisings demonstrate the frustration of the Palestinian people
with the stalled peace process. There will be no peace or justice for the
Palestinian people without the complete withdrawal of the Israeli military
from Palestine. Immediate action must be taken to end the violence!
Join the Solidarity rally on November 29.
--
Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/
Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop
Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink
Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL.VK
