“Land means everything here” - Areej Ja’fari, Palestinian youth activist

Land and water have been at the core of the conflict between Palestine and Israel from its very origins. Access to and control of these resources is critical for achieving Palestinian self-determination and for an enduring and just peace with Israel.

Under occupation, Palestinians face the confiscation and destruction of land, private property, and water resources, the expansion of settlements and roads, the construction of the Separation Wall, the setting up of checkpoints and roadblocks; with Israel continuing to unilaterally define its borders.

We are proud to announce a new campaign, coordinated by Grassroots International and Jewish Voice for Peace, together with Global Exchange and Code Pink to raise $50,000 for the International Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza. The Campaign, led by Dr. Eyad el-Serraj, is Palestinian-run and -led, but requires partnerships with people like you to succeed.  Please give generously.

In a part of the world where hope is scarce, these past weeks have been one of those rare moments that have defied testing times in Gaza. More than 40 civilians from more than a dozen countries arrived on Gazan shores after a long sail from Cyprus on Saturday evening August 23, breaking the siege and bringing with them a powerful message of commitment to human rights for the Palestinian people.

As the heads of states meet with the Secretary General in Rome this week to discuss world food security in the light of climate change and bioenergy, Palestinians are experiencing a different dimension of the food crisis. Food is of the most basic of all human rights, and in much of the Palestinian context, is being systematically denied to civilians.

Our partners in the West Bank and Gaza recently released a call to action, which we have reproduced here. We have also posted a copy of the open letter to the conference organizers referenced below.

The other night I went to listen to Sandy Tolan read from his book The Lemon Tree. Grassroots International’s friend Hilda Silverman, a long time activist for Palestinian rights who sadly passed away recently, had invited Sandy to Cambridge.

The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew and the Heart of the Middle East is an agonizingly beautiful, sad and yet even hopeful story of two people and two peoples, two nations and one land. Listening again, as I have before, to the stories of partition, independence, refugees and war, I was overcome with emotion and my thoughts wandered as they have often during such times to my own India-Pakistan. And I had to remind myself that this was Palestine-Israel.

No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.

                                                                     -  Fourth Geneva Convention, article 33

Nonviolence.  Opportunity.  Innovation.  In the wake of the recent escalating violence and food insecurity in Gaza, our grassroots partners have redoubled their quest for social change and sustainability in one of the most troubled places in the world.  We are humbled by their laudable tenacity in the face of massive obstacles.

President Bush's FY2009 budget request to Congress includes $2.55 billion in military aid to Israel, a 9% increase from 2007. This increase is the first installment of a ten-year plan to increase military aid to Israel by 25%, totaling $30 billion over the next decade.

Call the Senate Appropriations Committee today, April 9, at 202-224-7363 and let them know that you oppose this budget request. It violates the U.S. Arms Export Control and Foreign Assistance Acts. Click here to act now.

This week Palestinians around the world are commemorating Land Day (begun in 1976) to mark their attachment to, and dispossession from land -- the fundamental issue of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Former Grassroots International Board chair Assaf Kfoury reflects on the re-emergence of the one versus two states debate.

Gaza's humanitarian situation is at its worst since Israel occupied the territory in 1967, say human rights and development groups including Amnesty International, Save the Children, Cafod, Care International and Christian Aid.

In order to highlight the impact of the siege and closure of the Gaza Strip on the civilian population, PCHR is publishing a series of "Narratives Under Siege" on our website. These short articles are based on personal testimonies and experiences of life in the Gaza Strip, and we hope they will highlight the restrictions, and violations, being imposed on the civilians of Gaza.

http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/campaigns/english/gaza_closure/Narratives.html 

Please circulate these narratives as widely as you can.

Many thanks from PCHR.