This letter was sent on behalf of three groups to Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sholomo Ben-Ami in February 2000.
Shlomo Ben-Ami
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Israel
September 15, 2000
Dear Minister Ben-Ami:
We, concerned Israeli, Palestinian and American groups and individuals, are writing to protest the hypocrisy in your upcoming talk, "Continuing Efforts to Achieve a Final Status Agreement with the Palestinians." Are we to understand that continued land confiscations, house demolitions, settlement building and bypass road construction as Israel's continuing "efforts at peace"?
We are especially disappointed at your own responsibility for these grave Israeli violations of human rights since you have been a champion of social and economic rights inside Israel and because, as a Mizrahi Jew, you should understand what discrimination and inequality mean.
We hope that you will extend your understanding of human rights and non-discrimination to include Palestinians by advocating for an end to the following Israeli practices - all of which preclude the possibility of a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
- Continued border closure of Gaza and the West Bank. In a recent ECOSOC report, the UN affirms that the enjoyment of fundamental human rights and freedoms by the population of the occupied Palestinian territories is severely curtailed by measures such as closures. (ECOSOC document E/CN.4/2000/25 of 15)
- Continued land confiscation, house demolitions and building of by-pass roads. These practices, which have been condemned by every major human rights group and the UN, not only violate Israel’s commitments under the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, but also prejudice any kind of final status agreement by changing facts on the ground.
- Continued settlement expansion. Referring to the approximately 200 Jewish settlements in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem, a recent ECOSOC report reiterated that Population transfer constitutes a particularly grave violation of human rights and humanitarian law and violates the long-established public international law principle of the unacceptability of the acquisition of territory by force.(ECOSOC document E/CN.4/2000/25 of 15)
- Continued detention of Palestinian political prisoners (including Arab-Americans). The holding of political prisoners is in direct contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Although there have been some recent releases the number of prisoners remains high, standing currently at about 1,500.
Furthermore, we call upon Israel to uphold its commitments under international law which include:
- United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 (1947) which recognizes the right to Jewish and Palestinian self-determination and guarantees equal rights protection for both populations.
- United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 (1948) which guarantees the right of return for all Palestinian refugees in addition to compensation for the loss or damage of property.
- If Israel continues to abandon international law and human rights there will be no peace in the region. We urge you to lead Israel into a peace with justice.
Signed,
Center for Economic and Social Rights, New York,
MADRE, New York,
Partners for Peace, Washington DC