Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations " PNGO "
Alert
by
Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations " PNGO "
The city of Rafah and Rafah's refugee camp in the Gaza Strip are being
ravaged by Israeli occupation forces, creating a massive catastrophe in
this already devastated Palestinian refugee camp. We cannot contain our
shock and anger at the impotence of the international community in curbing
Israeli war crimes perpetrated against the Palestinian people throughout
the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
According to human rights organizations, within less than two weeks, since
May 1, Israeli Occupation forces have destroyed hundreds of homes in
Rafah's refugee camp, leaving thousands of Palestinians homeless. This
wave of inhumane destruction continues with acts no less criminal in
nature than those committed by Milosevic in Kosovo.
Since Monday May, 10 2004, at least 60 Palestinians have been killed during
Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip and more than 300 Palestinian
civilians injured. It is indeed extremely dismaying that at a time when
people around the world are expressing their desire for peace and their
condemnation of military aggression and oppression, Israel continues to
pave the way to the future with machines of war, consolidating injustice
and domination of a whole nation, and crushing their legitimate rights.
PNGO calls upon the United Nations and the international community as a
whole to bear their responsibility and confront the aggression Israel has
been perpetrating with impunity for the last half a century, and which is
continuing with Israel's construction of the Apartheid Wall and
settlements, further dispossessing the Palestinian people of their lands,
water resources and threatening their very livelihood.
of peace and joy.
We call upon the international community, particularly signatories of the
Fourth Geneva Convention, and the High Contracting Parties to ensure an
immediate halt to these escalating violations of the Convention which are
being perpetrated by the Israeli occupying forces in the OPTs.
Specifically, we call for the immediate dispatch of international
protection for the Palestinian civilian population.
"With these disproportionate military operations, Israel is in grave breach
of international humanitarian law. This collective punishment can do
nothing to calm the situation in Gaza or enhance Israel's own security".
(Statement made by the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Peter Hansen: Press
Release No. HQ/G/11/2004 16 May, 2004)
The Palestinian NGO Network