Israel / Gaza:

International appeal for immediate halt of attack on Gaza

Vienna/New York, 2 January 2009

P/RE/21448c-is

The International Progress Organization has issued the following Appeal initiated by Ramsey Clark, winner of the 2008 U.N. Human Rights Award, founder of the International Action Center (New York), and member of the Executive Board of the International Progress Organization; with the endorsement of the Appeal the organization joined international NGOs from all continents in the condemnation of Israel's attack on Gaza:

Urgent Appeal for Israel to Immediately Cease Its Bombing, Siege and Threatened Invasion of Palestinian Gaza!

To:

President of the U.N. General Assembly Miguel d'Escoto-Brockmann

Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban-Ki Moon

Members of the U.N. Security Council and U.N. member states

President of the United States George W. Bush

President-elect Barack Obama

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

U.S. Secretary of State Designate Hillary Clinton

Vice President of the United States Richard Cheney

U.S. Vice President-elect Joe Biden

Congressional leaders of the United States

The President, Prime Minister, Cabinet members and Opposition leader of Israel

For 60 years, Israel has persecuted the Palestinian people with impunity in defiance of United Nations General Assembly and United Nations Security Council resolutions, orders of the International Court of Justice, international law and fundamental human rights.

Throughout the years, Israel has proclaimed itself the victim as it grew richer, more powerful and more violent, while Palestinians were abused, impoverished, divided and demeaned.

A consistent tactic of Israel through all the years has been to divide Palestinians against their most effective organizations. Through most of the recent years Israel has attacked Fatah. Now it is Hamas that Israel attacks. But there is only one Palestinian people and there can be only one Palestinian State. This has been the guiding principle of the PLO. Israel's policy has always been to destroy the possibility of a Palestinian State. Its all-out assault on Hamas is in truth Israel's continuing assault on the possibility of a Palestinian State: divide and conquer.

Now, in the waning days of the Bush Administration, the government of Israel is testing whether world public opinion will permit it to escalate its isolation and impoverishment of Palestine and its policy of selective killings, including systematic assassination of members of the Palestinian leadership in Gaza, to an indiscriminate assault and invasion of Palestinian Gaza, knowing full well that its acts will inflame passions throughout the Middle East and Arab and Muslim worlds risking conflict of disastrous magnitude in Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, even between India and Pakistan.

Beyond crushing Gaza's capacity to resist and imposing its final solution on Palestinians, Israel is seeking confrontation that may lead to war with the U.S., the European Union, and NATO fighting for Israel against Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan and Afghanistan to impair their ability to prevent expansion of Israel's domination of the region while the "only one President at a time" the U.S. has, George W. Bush, will support Israel, finding all fault with Gaza.

In these dangerous and difficult days and hours the undersigned call upon the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, NATO members, and European countries independently, the governments of Asia, foremost China, India, Indonesia and Pakistan, the nations of Africa, and the Americas to demand an immediate ceasefire throughout Israel and Palestine and the assurance of peace. All borders to Gaza from Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea must be opened for humanitarian relief. In view of the paralysis of the League of Arab States, the undersigned remind the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt of his special responsibility in that regard and urge the head of the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank to take a clear and unambiguous stand on the Israeli attack on the Palestinians in Gaza.

We call upon all the people, the ultimate power in every nation when organized and energized, to take to the streets where they live and demand that their governments do all in their power to cause Israel to stop its war of aggression against Palestine and for all parties to pursue peace and for Israel, the U.S. and other nations who have provided material support for Israel's aggression to be held accountable for the deaths, injuries and damage Israel has inflicted.

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• I.P.O. statement at United Nations meeting on 26 November 2008

• I.P.O. call for Emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly (31 December 2008)

• I.P.O. web site on the human rights situation in Palestine