Press Releases

40+ Jewish and Palestinian organisations defy EU secrecy

 For Immediate Release

No. (E/32/05)

10 December 2005


 

Dismayed by the refusal of the EU to publish their own Ramallah and East Jerusalem Heads of Mission findings regarding Israeli state actions towards non Jewish residents of East Jerusalem, over 40 Jewish, Israeli and Palestinian anti Occupation groups have decided they must take matters into their own hands.

Every organisation listed below will publish the Report on their websites. See, for example: ..\..\..\eu-reponse.htm

The report, which states that “Israel’s activities in Jerusalem are in violation of both its Roadmap obligations and international law” was shelved by EU foreign ministers at their 12 December Foreign Affairs (GAERC) meeting in Brussels, for fear of alienating Israel and reducing the EU's influence.

Yet, protesting groups point out, only one day after the report’s suppression, Israel announced the building of 300 new homes in the Maale Adumim settlement, the largest in the occupied territories, in violation of the Road Map and international law.

Pierre Galand, Senator in the Belgian Parliament and Chairman of the European Co-ordinating Committee of NGOs on the question of Palestine (ECCP) said: “European diplomats in East Jerusalem and Ramallah had the courage to stress the alarming situation in East Jerusalem. Their report corroborates the ICJ advisory opinion ruling on the Wall and the illegal settlements, which led the ECCP to initiate the “European Campaign for Sanctions against the Israeli Occupation”. In order to force the EU member states to respect their own commitment to International Law and Human Rights, we will publish the report on East Jerusalem on our websites, despite the EU refusal to do so.”

Dan Judelson, Secretary of European Jews for a Just Peace said "The EU are burying their heads in the sand and are thus co-responsible while East Jerusalem residents face repeated violations of international law and of simple standards of humanity, all at the hands of the Israeli state. This is not a time for thumb twiddling or inaction; if the EU sits on this report, we see it as our duty to make it as widely available as we can."

Betty Hunter, General Secretary of the UK Palestinian Solidarity Campaign said: "It is 17 months since the International Court of Justice declared the apartheid Wall to be an illegal act by an occupying force and that settlement building should end.  While Israel defies this decision, Palestinians are losing their homes, land and livelihood in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.  If European countries continue to collude with this, they are also guilty of oppressing the Palestinian people."

 

...ENDS...

 

Pierre Galand,      + 32 2 223 07 56                                                               [email protected]

Chairman, European Co-ordinating Committee of NGOs on the question of Palestine 

Dan Judelson, + 44 (0) 779 339 2820

Secretary, European Jews for a Just Peace                                                    www.ejjp.org

 

Plus:

Alternative Information Centre, Bethlehem & Jerusalem                        www.alternativenews.org

Arab Centre for Agricultural Development                                                     [email protected]

Arab Media Watch, UK                                                     www.arabmediawatch.blogspot.com

Association Belgo-Palestinienne                                      www.association-belgo-palestinienne

Association France Palestine Solidarité                                             www.france-palestine.org

Association France Palestine Solidarite – Toulouse                        www.toulouse-palestine.org

AIPPP Strasbourg                                                                      www.protection-palestine.org

BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, Bethlehem www.badil.org

Bat Shalom                                                                                             www.batshalom.org

BRICUP                                                                                                    www.bricup.org.uk

Civimed Initiatives, Strasbourg                                                     www.protection-palestine.org

Coalition of Women for Peace                                                         www.coalitionofwomen.org

Collectif judéo-arabe et citoyen pour la paix, Strasbourg                 www.protection-palestine.org

Committee for a Just Peace in the Middle East, Luxembourg                               www.cercle.lu

Coordination de l'Appel de Strasbourg                                          www.protection-palestine.org

Council for the Advancement of Arab British Understanding, UK                         www.caabu.org

Een Ander Joods Geluid, Netherlands                                                                   www.eajg.nl

Farrah France                                                                            www.protection-palestine.org

Friends of Sabeel-UK                                                              www.sabeel.org/old/friends.html

Humanistic Peace Council, Netherlands                                                      [email protected]

ISM France                                                                                             www.ism-france.org

ISM London                                                                                       www.ism-london.org.uk

ISM Switzerland                                                                                      www.ism-suisse.org

Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions-UK                                           www.icahduk.org

Jewish Socialists’ Group, UK                                                         www.jewishsocialist.org.uk

Jews for Israeli Palestinian Peace, Sweden                                                            www.jipf.nu

Jews for Justice for Palestinians, UK                                                                   www.jfjfp.org

Jill Evans MEP (Plaid Cymru)                                                                       www.jillevans.net

Joint Action for Israeli Palestinian Peace, UK                                                [email protected]

Judische Stimme für gerechten Frieden in Nahost, Berlin                   www.juedische-stimme.de

Just Peace UK                                                      http://groups.yahoo.com/group/justpeaceuk    

Netherlands Palestine Committee                                                              www.xs4all.nl/~npk

Network of Jews against the Occupation, Italy                                      http://www.rete-eco.org/

NUS Black Students’ Campaign, UK