[Peace-discuss] Fwd: HEBRON URGENT ACTION: Next 48 hours critical

[manni at snafu.de]

Forwarded Message:
> To: portside at yahoogroups.com
> From: portsideMod at netscape.net
> Subject: HEBRON URGENT ACTION: Next 48 hours critical
> Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 01:45:18 -0500
> -----
> Tell the Israel that more home demolitions are not the answer.
> 
> In a message dated 11/19/02 2:20:49 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> CPTnet.editor.guest.445947 at MennoLink.org writes:
> 
> On Monday CPTer Greg Rollins (Surrey, BC) walked around the area of
> Hebron that Prime Minister Sharon's latest plan would bulldoze for a
> new Israeli settlement.  "The journalists with me shook their heads
> in disbelief; there's just no way, without demolishing hundreds of
> Palestinian homes," said Rollins.
> 
> Three homes near the site of Friday's gunfight have already been
> demolished in retaliation. The Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported
> that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is proposing that Israel should
> "quickly" expand the Hebron settlements.  "Sharon said that for
> 'operational and political' reasons, Israel must move quickly.  An
> opportunity has been created and facts have to be created in the
> coming 48 hours,' he said."  (See Ha'aretz article, below.)
> 
> Tuesday CPTer LeAnne Clausen (Mason City, IA) learned names of at
> least fifteen more Palestinian families near Kiryat Arba who have
> just been given home demolition orders.  "These Palestinian families
> had no connection with the shooting.  The site of Friday's attack is
> not even visible from most of their houses.  These demolitions would
> leave over a hundred innocent civilians homeless," said Clausen.  At
> least one of the families is a partner in CPT's Campaign for Secure
> Dwellings.
> 
> PLEASE FAX BRIEF NOTES to Israeli and US and Canadian officials
> saying that these planned demolitions and settlement expansions are
> escalations of violence and violations of international law.  Making
> families homeless contributes nothing to peace or security for
> anyone.  Ask these officials to make urgent, strong and clear
> representation to the government of Israel opposing new
> settlements/settlement expansion in general, and Kiryat Arba/Hebron
> expansion in particular.  In your fax, you may refer to information
> you have received from Christian Peacemaker Teams.  You may also
> want to refer to the Ha'aretz article (below).  It never hurts to
> send a copy of the fax to members of Parliament, the Canadian
> Minister of Foreign Affairs, U.S. senators and representatives.
> 
> Ambassador Michael Bell, Canadian Embassy, 011-972-3-636-3384
> Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer, US Embassy, 011-972-3-517-3227
> 
> Ambassador Daniel Ayalon, Embassy of Israel to the US, fax
> 202-364-5607, phone 202-364-5500 Ambassador Haim Divon, Embassy of
> Israel to Canada, fax 613-237-8865, phone 613-567-6450
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Rich Meyer,
> Christian Peacemaker Teams - Hebron Team Support
> Phone/fax 574-642-3920 Cell 574-202-3920
> 
> PS.  The Hebron team delivered a letter of condolence to the Israeli
> military in Hebron on Saturday.  Copies of that letter are available
> from csd at cpt.org
> 
> ==============
> 
> Prime Minister demands `quick' changes in Hebron for Jewish control
> .. . . proposes plan for `compact zone' of contiguity
> 
> By Aluf Benn and Gideon Alon - Ha'aretz 18 November 2002
> 
> http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=
> 231627&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
> 
> Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday said that a window of
> opportunity existed in the coming 48 hours to establish a "compact"
> zone of Jewish territorial contiguity between Kiryat Arba and the
> Jewish enclave in the heart of Hebron, including the Tomb of the
> Patriarchs.
> 
> Touring the scene of Friday night's battle in which nine Israeli
> soldiers and three security officers from Kiryat Arba were killed in
> an Islamic Jihad ambush, Sharon yesterday told leaders of the
> defense establishment - including Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and
> Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon - that it should reassess his 1996
> proposal for "territorial contiguity" encompassing Kiryat Arba and
> the Jewish enclave.
> 
> Sharon originally presented his plan during 1996 negotiations led by
> then-premier Benjamin Netanyahu for the Hebron redeployment. "When I
> proposed it then, they threw me down the stairs," he said yesterday.
> But now he believes that a readjustment in Hebron should be
> undertaken "looking years ahead" in the city, to create a Jewish
> area that would be "compact," with a small Arab population. He
> believes that the Israeli-controlled sector of the city could
> include some 2,000 Arabs instead of the 20,000 now living under
> Israeli control on the basis of the January 1997 Wye River
> Plantation accord.
> 
> According to the prime minister's proposal, the Jewish zone would
> extend from Kiryat Arba to Tel Rumeida and Beit Hadassah, and would
> include the ancient Karaite and Sephardi cemeteries. That would
> create contiguity between Kiryat Arba and the Tomb of the
> Patriarchs, through the eastern Casbah. Prayer arrangements under
> which Jews and Muslims share the Tomb would not be affected. The
> Jewish area would be surrounded by a wall. Those Palestinians
> remaining in the Jewish sector would be able to enter and leave
> through gates in the walls, but there would be no Arab commercial
> ventures inside the walled Jewish area, according to Sharon's plan.
> 
> Sharon believes there's no reason for a large Palestinian presence
> in Hebron under Israeli control. The prime minister's proposal does
> not affect the ongoing IDF security operations in the city. He
> ordered the army to continue its security operations throughout the
> city, "according to security needs and without limitations."
> 
> Sharon said that for "operational and political" reasons, Israel
> must move quickly. An opportunity has been created and facts have to
> be created in the coming 48 hours, he said. ........
> 
> Some minister noted that despite the gloomy atmosphere in the
> cabinet as a result of the Friday night bloodbath, Sharon and
> Netanyahu continued using the setting as a stage for exchanging
> barbs. When Netanyahu said the Friday evening battle was "a
> massacre" - the term the Foreign Ministry used on Friday night,
> depicting it as the cold-blooded murder of Jewish worshipers, Sharon
> interrupted him and said "I'm very sorry, but we have to be
> credible. Soldiers fell in battle, and there was no massacre."
> 
> ==============
> 
> Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative among Mennonite and
> Church of the Brethren congregations and Friends Meetings that
> supports violence reduction efforts around the world. Contact CPT,
> POB 6508 Chicago, IL 60680; Telephone: 773-277-0253 Fax:
> 773-277-0291.
> 
> To receive news or discussion of CPT issues by e-mail, fill out the
> form found on our WEB page at http://www.prairienet.org/cpt/
> 
> 
> 
> __________________________________________________________________
> The NEW Netscape 7.0 browser is now available. Upgrade now!
http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp 
> 
> Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Mail account today at 
http://webmail.netscape.com/
> 
> 
> portside (the left side in nautical parlance) is a
> news, discussion and debate service of the Committees
> of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism. It
> aims to provide varied material of interest to people
> on the left.
> 
> Post            : mail to 'portside at yahoogroups.com'
> Subscribe       : mail to 'portside-subscribe at yahoogroups.com'
> Unsubscribe     : mail to 'portside-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com'
> List owner      : portside-owner at yahoogroups.com
> Web address     : <http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/portside>
> Digest mode     : visit Web site
>  
> 
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ 
> 
>