JERUSALEM – 6 May 2006: The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH) is deeply alarmed by Israel’s latest escalation in Gaza, in which Israeli military helicopters killed 5 Palestinian activists and injured several others yesterday, Friday 5 May 2006.

The Israeli army shelled a training camp in Gaza city belonging to the Popular Resistance Committees, killing Jum’a Doghmash, Mahmoud Doghmash, Hamadah Doghmash, Ahmad Doghmash, and Khaled Abu Waked.

MIFTAH cautions the international community against Israel’s clear attempt to provoke the Palestinian resistance movement to retaliate and further inflame an already volatile situation in the occupied Palestinian territories. MIFTAH is also very alarmed by Israel’s clear adoption of a “preventive strikes” policy, which justifies the extra-judicial killing of any Palestinian activist with impunity.

MIFTAH urges the international community, particularly the Middle East Quartet, to take immediate measures to stop Israel’s assaults and to pressure the Israeli government to abide by its obligations under the Road Map, and other agreements.

Repeated Palestinian calls against Israel’s aggression have so far failed to mobilise any concrete international action to put equal pressure on Israel to end its harsh military measures against the Palestinians, and to accept the Palestinian people’s right to live in freedom and security. MIFTAH re-asserts the need for international protection to the Palestinian people, particularly at a time in which the Israeli government is clearly bent on inflicting the maximum amount of pain on the Palestinians (civilians and non-civilians alike).

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The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy, MIFTAH, is a non-governmental, non-partisan Jerusalem-based institution dedicated to fostering democracy and good governance within Palestinian society through promoting public accountability, transparency, the free flow of information and ideas and the challenging of stereotyping at home and abroad.

For further information, please contact:
Media and Information Programme, MIFTAH
Tel: +972 2 585 1842
Fax: +972 2 583 5184
E-mail: mip@miftah.org
Website: www.miftah.org