Your Excellency Secretary General
Mr, Antonio Guterres,

On the 22nd anniversary of UNSC Resolution 1325 and the annual open discussion at the Security Council for the advancement of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, the Palestinian Women’s Civil Coalition for the Implementation of UNSC Resolution 1325 would like to bring your attention to the fact that the suffering of Palestinian women living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) has unprecedentedly escalated since this resolution was passed, due to the Israeli occupation’s ongoing, hostile policies, systematic violations of human rights and grave breaches of international humanitarian law that are disproportionally impacting women and girls in the OPT. These violations include extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests, restriction on movement, military blockades, house demolitions, land confiscation and illegal de-facto and de-juri annexation, in addition to the ongoing isolation of areas of the OPT from one another. This has had both individual and collective impact on the lives of women, impeding their access to resources, compounded by the deteriorating economic situation due to the occupation’s control and dominance over land and resources. Added to this is the rise in poverty levels due to unemployment, military blockade on the Gaza Strip for over 15 years and the occupation’s exercise of systematic long-term violence against the Palestinian protected population in the OPT, settlement expansion combined with settlers’ violence and vandalism

The Palestinian Women’s Civil Coalition strongly believes that 22 years since the passage of UNSC Resolution 1325 has not resulted in concrete measures for the advancement of the women, peace and security agenda to Palestinian women living under Israeli prolonged military occupation. A lot still need yet to be made by the Security Council to maintain peace and security for Palestinian women living under military occupation. To the contrary, complications and challenges to Palestinian women have increased in terms of implementing the WPS agenda, due to Israeli impediments to its implementation. Israel, the occupying power, has also placed enormous obstacles before Palestinian women who seek to implement this resolution, given its continued occupation of the OPT and the absence of a just and durable solution to end this prolonged belligerent occupation. No concrete measures were taken by the international community to implement UN resolutions related to the question of Palestine, namely UN Resolutions 242, 338, 194 and 2334. Instead, Israel is intent on confiscating and annexing more land to build settlements, which has severed any path to the establishment of an independent and contiguous Palestinian state. Instead, OPT has been transformed into isolated islands more like the Bantustans of apartheid South Africa, as indicated in the most recent evidence based-report by Amnesty International, describing Israel as an apartheid regime, where one racial group is discriminating against other racial groups.

The Palestinian Women’s Civil Coalition, would also like to point out to the remarkable conclusions of a UN independent Commission of Inquiry (CoI) in its recent to the UN General Assembly in New York on 20/10/2022, which considered the Israeli occupation as unlawful according to international law. The report called on the UN General Assembly to ask the International Court of Justice for an urgent advisory opinion on the illegality of this prolonged military occupation, and the impacts of the Israeli illegal measures and violations against the Palestinian civilian population in the 1967 OPT.

Your Excellency UN Secretary General,

As the UNSC is meeting to discuss the advancement of the WPS agenda, we would like to draw to their attention the double standards employed by the United Nations in dealing with its own resolutions, especially when it comes to Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the practices of Israel, the occupying power against Palestinian civilian population. Israeli illegal policies in the OPT , has not only curtailed Resolution 1325 from guaranteeing protection for women and involving her in security and peacemaking, it has also thwarted all international tools and mechanisms for the protection of civilians in times of war and under occupation. This is due to the failure of the international human rights and humanitarian law especially the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protections of Civilians at time of War and under occupation. The reason for this is that the UN itself is discriminatory and has double standards in its handling conflicts, and peoples’ causes due to the huge imbalance in justice and the policy of impunity, which Israeli, the occupying power enjoys. These policies have allowed Israel to escape from accountability or any punitive measures in accordance to UN Charter and more specifically Article 11 of UNSC Resolution 1325, which demands that perpetrators of crimes and violations during war are not afforded impunity. The fact that Israel is treated as a country above the law, and the absence of any form of accountability has only encouraged it to commit more crimes and violations. A case in point is the recent murdering of Palestinian Journalist Shirine Abu Akleh, where no one has been held accountable thus far, although the incident was caught on tape and there is hard evidence proving that her death was the result of premeditated and extrajudicial killing by the Israeli army.

During its evaluation and review of its action plan, the Palestinian Women’s Civil Coalition noted that Resolution 1325 and the nine subsequent resolutions, pinpointed the reasons for the outbreak and development of conflicts in various regions of the world to racial, religious and ethnic disputes. However, it excluded women under racist, colonialist occupation, which is the case of Palestinian women under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including occupied East Jerusalem. Thus, it has disregarded all international resolutions pertaining to the rights of the Palestinian people, over and above Israel’s disregard for its responsibilities as an occupying power. This necessitates a special resolution addressing the status of Palestinian women under racist, colonialist occupation, and addressing the root causes of the suffering of Palestinian women and the major obstacle they face in meaningful political participation, and in moving forward in the advancement of the women, peace and security agenda.

Mr. Secretary General,

Finally, we in the Palestinian Women’s Civil Coalition for the implementation of Resolution 1325, thank your Excellency for your understanding, and for conveying our concerns to all nation states during the open debate on WPS in the Security Council this year. We call on you to dedicate ample attention to the status of Palestinian women during the 22nd Security Council meeting on Resolution 1325, with the objective to develop and push forth the WPS agenda and put into action the role of international tools of accountability. We ask you to provide the necessary protection for Palestinian women under occupation, by closely overseeing the implementation of this resolution and the party responsible for impeding its application on the ground, namely, the Israeli occupying power that has exacerbated the suffering of Palestinian women at all levels and increased discriminatory measures against them.

With our sincere thanks and appreciation,
The Palestinian Women’s Civil Coalition for the Implementation of UNSCR1325

Mr. President, Esteemed Members of the Security Council,

I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to address you today, especially thankful to H.E. Ambassador Macharia Kamau, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary and the Republic of Kenya for the kind invitation.

For over 70 years, the UN and its various bodies have been seized of the Palestine question; repeatedly reviewing conditions, adopting resolutions, and dispatching fact-finding missions, to no avail. Sadly, this Council has been unable to assert authority, allowing this injustice to become a perpetual tragic human, moral, political and legal travesty.

So it would be disingenuous of me to come before you assuming I could inform you of something you do not already know. Nevertheless, I do appreciate the opportunity to communicate in a candid manner, not to recite endless statistics, nor to reiterate the ongoing pain of a people, deprived of their basic rights, including even the right to speak out, admonished not to “whine” or “complain,” as a means of silencing the victim.

The tragedy is that you know all of this; yet, it has had a minimal impact, if any, on the horrific conditions in Occupied Palestine.

I imagine it must be disheartening and frustrating for this distinguished organization and its members to find themselves trapped in this cycle of deliberate disdain and futility.

It is therefore imperative that this Council consider where it has gone wrong and what it can do to correct course and serve the cause of justice and peace.

Undoubtedly, the absence of accountability for Israel and of protection for the Palestinian people has enabled Israeli impunity to ride roughshod over the rights of an entire nation, allowing for perpetuation of a permanent settler-colonial occupation.

Mr. President,

Much of the prevailing political discourse overlooks reality and is diverted and subsumed by chimeras and distractions proffered by Israel and its allies under such banners as “economic peace,” “improving the quality of life,” “normalization,” “managing the conflict,” “containing the conflict,” or “shrinking the conflict.”

These fallacies must be dismantled. Volatile situations of injustice and oppression do not shrink. They expand and explode, with disastrous consequences. Similarly, the delusion of “imposing calm” under siege and systemic aggression, particularly as in Gaza, is an oxymoron, for calm or security on the one hand and occupation or captivity on the other are antithetical and irreconcilable.

Likewise, the fallacy of “confidence-building measures” is misguided since occupation breeds only contempt, distrust, resentment, and resistance. The oppressed cannot be brought to trust or accept handouts from their oppressor as an alternative to their right to freedom and justice.

The misleading and flawed “both sides” argument calling for “balance” in a flagrantly unbalanced situation is another attempt at obfuscation and generating misconceptions.

Israel’s impunity is further enhanced using such excuses as being the so-called “only democracy in the Middle East” or a “strategic ally,” or having “shared values,” or even for the sake of protecting its “fragile coalition.”

There has also been tacit and, at times overt, acceptance of Israel’s ideological, absolutist arguments, including the invocation of religious texts as a means to dismiss and supplant contemporary political and legal discourse and action. Hence, the so-called “Jewish State Law,” which allocates the right to self-determination exclusively to Jews in all of historic Palestine, is endorsed and normalized.

In the meantime, a massive disinformation machine persists in its racist maligning and demonizing of the Palestinian people, going so far as to label them “terrorists,” or a “demographic threat,” a dehumanizing formula exploited as a way to deny the right of millions of Palestine refugees to return.

Such slander has warped political focus and discourse globally. Some states have gone off on a tangent pursuing Palestinian textbooks for so-called “incitement,” or adopting the IHRA definition that conflates criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism, or criminalizing BDS, or intimidating and censoring academics and solidarity activists who stand up for Palestinian rights.

These distortions ignore the unequal and unjust laws designed to persecute Palestinians, individually and collectively. It is evidenced in the defamation of our political prisoners and the targeting of their families’ livelihoods, as though Israeli military courts or prison systems have anything to do with justice or legality.

The mindless refrain that Israel has the “right to defend itself,” while the Palestinian people are denied such a right, is perverse in that the occupier’s violence is justified as “self-defense” while the occupied are stigmatized as “terrorists.”

We cannot afford to disregard the context of occupation and its systemic aggression as the framing device for all critical assessments and action.

Excellencies,

Occupied Palestine, including Jerusalem, is the target of a comprehensive and pervasive policy of colonization and erasure, of displacement and replacement, in which Israel is appropriating everything Palestinian; our land and resources; our cultural and human heritage; our archeological sites, which we have safeguarded for centuries; our history; our cuisine; the names of our streets; and most egregiously the identity of Jerusalem, as we witness in the ethnic cleansing of the Old City, Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan among others. Even our cemeteries have been desecrated such as the building of a so-called “museum of tolerance” on top of human remains in Maman’ Allah cemetery. And, Israel continues to stoke the flames of a “holy war,” with repeated assaults on our holy sites, particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Jerusalem is being targeted in a deliberate campaign of annexation and distortion. Israel now brazenly declares its intent to complete the settlement siege of Jerusalem and destruction of the territorial contiguity of the West Bank, with its outrageous plans for E-1, Qalandiya airport (Atarot), “Pisgat Ze’ev” and “Giv’at HaMatos.”

We cannot be distracted by symbolic gestures that create a false impression of progress. Claims that the “time is not right,” or that it is “difficult now” to work for a peaceful solution, give license to Israel to persist in its perilous policies. Likewise, repeating a verbal commitment to the two-State solution, while one state is allowed to deliberately destroy the other, rings hollow.

Mr. President,

All of this does not preclude our recognition of our own shortcomings. We do not shirk our responsibility to speak out against internal violence, human rights abuses, corruption, or other such practices that are rejected and resented by our own people. It is our responsibility to carry out democratic reform and revitalize our body politic while ending our internal divisions. This is a Palestinian imperative.

But we must caution others against exploiting our shortcomings to justify Israeli crimes or international inaction, or to condition any positive engagement on the creation of an ideal system of governance in Palestine while we languish under a lawless system of Israeli control.

We ask that you, trustees of the rules-based order, uphold your responsibilities: provide us with protection from aggression and empower our people to amplify their voice, both in governance and liberation.

Esteemed Members of the Council,

Peace is not achieved by “normalizing the occupation,” sidelining the Palestine Question, or rewarding Israel by repositioning it as a regional superpower. Such an approach maintains the causes of regional instability and insecurity, while enabling Israel as a colonial apartheid State to superimpose “Greater Israel” on all of historic Palestine.

Generation after generation, the people of Palestine have remained committed to the justice of their cause, the integrity of their narrative, the authenticity of their history and culture, and their inviolable right to live in freedom, and dignity, as an equal among nations and in the fullness of our humanity.

It is time to reclaim the narrative of justice and invoke our collective will to activate the UN Charter and affirm the relevance of international law.

The time has come for courageous and determined action, not just to undo the injustice of the past but to chart a clear and binding course for a peaceful future of hope and redemption.

I thank you.

To view the full Speech as PDF

We, the undersigned global coalition of leaders –from civil society to academia, art, media, business, politics, indigenous and faith communities, and people of conscience around the world– call upon the States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to act decisively to put an end to Israel’s notorious use of arms and military equipment for the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights against Palestinian civilians by immediately imposing a comprehensive two-way arms embargo on Israel.

In the spring of 2021, the world once again watched in horror as Israeli occupying forces attacked defenceless Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and inside Israel. Palestinian civilians peacefully protesting against colonisation of their land were assaulted with live fire, rubber-coated steel bullets, sound bombs, tear gas and skunk water. Israel’s deadly military aggression against the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip was the fourth in a decade. Over 11 days, 248 Palestinians were killed, including 66 children. Thousands were wounded, and the reverberating effects of the use of explosive weapons on hospitals, schools, food security, water, electricity and shelter continue to affect millions.

This systematic brutality, perpetrated throughout the past seven decades of Israel’s colonialism, apartheid, pro-longed illegal belligerent occupation, persecution, and closure, is only possible because of the complicity of some governments and corporations around the world.

Symbolic statements of condemnation alone will not put an end to this suffering. In accordance with the relevant rules of the ATT, States Parties have legal obligations to put an end to irresponsible and often complicit trade of conventional arms that undermines international peace and security, facilitates commission of egregious crimes, and threatens the international legal order.

Under Article 6(3) of the ATT, States Parties undertook not to authorise any transfer of conventional arms if they have knowledge at the time of authorisation that arms or items would be used in the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva conventions of 1949, attacks directed against civilian objects or civilians protected as such, or other war crimes as defined by international agreements to which they are a Party.

Under Articles 7 and 11, they undertook not to authorise any export of conventional arms, munitions, parts and components that would, inter alia, undermine peace and security or be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law.

It is clear that arms exports to Israel are inconsistent with these obligations. Invariably, Israel has shown that it uses arms to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity, as documented by countless United Nations bodies and civil society organisations worldwide. Military exports to Israel also clearly enabled, facilitated and maintained Israel’s decades-long settler-colonial and apartheid regime imposed over the Palestinian people as a whole.

Similarly, arms imports from Israel are wholly inconsistent with obligations under the ATT. Israeli military and industry sources openly boast that their weapons and technologies are “combat proven” – in other words, field-tested on Palestinian civilians “human test subjects”. When States import Israeli arms, they are encouraging it to keep bombing Palestinian civilians and persist in its unlawful practices. No one –neither Israel, nor arms manufacturers in ATT States parties– should be allowed to profit from the killing or maiming of Palestinian civilians.

It is thus abundantly clear that imposing a two-way arms embargo on Israel is both a legal and a moral obligation. ATT States Parties must immediately terminate any current, and prohibit any future transfers of conventional arms, munitions, parts and components referred to in Article 2(1), Article 3 or Article 4 of the ATT to Israel, until it ends its illegal belligerent occupation of the occupied Palestinian territory and complies fully with its obligations under international law. Pending such an embargo, all States must immediately suspend all transfers of military equipment, assistance and munitions to Israel.

A failure to take these actions entails a heavy responsibility for the grave suffering of civilians – more deaths, more suffering, as thousands of Palestinian men, women and children continue to bear the brutality of a colonial belligerent occupying force– which would result in discrediting the ATT itself. It also renders States parties complicit in internationally wrongful acts through the aiding or abetting of international crimes.  A failure in taking action could also result in invoking the individual criminal responsibility of individuals of these States for aiding and abetting the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity in accordance with Article 25(3)(c) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Justice will remain elusive so long as Israel’s unlawful occupation, settler-colonialism, apartheid regime, and persecution and institutionalised oppression of the Palestinian people are allowed to continue, and so long as States continue to be complicit in the occupying Power’s crimes by trading weapons with it.

In conclusion, we believe that the ATT can make a difference in the Palestinian civilians’ lives. It has the potential, if implemented in good faith, to spare countless protected persons from suffering. If our call to stop leaving the Palestinian people behind when it comes to implementation of the ATT is ignored, the raison d'être of the ATT will be shattered.

Joining organisations:

1. Action Sécurité Ethique Républicaines
2. Adalah Justice Project
3. Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association
4. AFPS 63
5. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
6. Aldameer Association for Human Rights
7. Al-Haq, Law in the Service of Man
8. Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society
9. American Muslims for Palestine
10. Anglican Pacifist Fellowship
11. Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ)
12. Arab Canadian Lawyers Association
13. Arab Organization for Human Rights
14. Argenteuil Solidarité Palestine
15. Asociación Americana de Juristas
16. Association Belgo-Palestinienne WB
17. Association femmes plurielles
18. Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS)
19. AssoPacePalestina
20. Australia Palestine Advocacy Network
21. Australian Centre for International Justice
22. Australians For Palestine
23. Badayl
24. BDS Australia
25. Begian Campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
26. Campagne BDS France
27. Canadian BDS Coalition
28. Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)
29. Center for Constitutional Rights
30. Center for International Policy
31. Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios Estratégicos para la Seguridad y el Desarrollo Social CIESED A.C.
32. CNAPD - Coordination Nationale d'Action pour la Paix et la Démocratie
33. Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine
34. Collectif 69 de Soutien au Peuple Palestinien
35. Collectif BDS 57
36. Collectif Judéo Arabe et Citoyen pour la Palestine
37. Colombian Campaign to Ban Landmines
38. Columban missionaries Britain
39. Columbia Law Students for Palestine
40. Combatants for Peace
41. Comitato BDS Campania
42. Comité de Solidaridad con la Causa Árabe
43. Comité pour une Paix Juste au Proche-Orient asbl
44. Community Action Center - Al-Quds University
45. Confederación Intersindical Gallega (CIG)
46. Cultura è Libertà, una campagna per la Palestina
47. Dagropass
48. De Palestijnse gemeenschap in Nederland
49. Defense for Children -Palestine (DCI-Palestine)
50. Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)
51. docP - BDS Netherlands
52. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
53. European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine (ECCP)
54. European Legal Support Center
55. Femmes Unies pour la Paix dans la région des Grands Lacs
56. FILEF Sydney Federation of Italian Migrant Workers
57. Finnish-Arab Friendship Society
58. Friends of Palestine Tasmania Inc
59. Gaza Action Ireland
60. Gesellschaft Schweiz Palästina GSP/ASP
61. Global Kairos Asia Pacific Solidarity For Palestine (GKAPS)
62. Good Shepherd Collective
63. Housing and Land Rights Network
64. Human Rights and Democratic Participation Center “SHAMS”
65. Human Rights Network Nigeria
66. ICAHD Finland
67. ICAHD UK
68. Independent Jewish Voices Canada
69. Indian Writers Forum
70. Indo Palestine Solidarity Forum
71. International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (EAFORD)
72. International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific
73. Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign
74. Jewish Voice For Peace
75. Jews for Palestinian Right of Return
76. Just Peace Advocates/Mouvement Pour Une Paix Juste
77. Karapatan
78. Kenya Human Rights Commission
79. Labor for Palestine
80. Manushya Foundation
81. National Association of Democratic Lawyers (South Africa)
82. National Justice & Peace Network (NJPN)
83. National Lawyers Guild, Palestine Subcommittee
84. Nederlands Palestina Komitee
85. Newweapons research group
86. Niagara Movement for Justice in Palestine-Israel (NMJPI)
87. North Notts Unite Community
88. NOVACT
89. Oakville Palestinian Rights Association
90. Palestine Solidarity Network - Edmonton
91. Palestinian and Jewish Unity
92. Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)
93. Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign (Stop the Wall)
94. Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO)
95. Pax Christi International
96. Pax Christi, England and Wales
97. Paz con Dignidad
98. Platform of French NGOs for Palestine
99. Salaam ragazzi dell'Olivo, comitato di Trieste
100. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
101. SODePAZ
102. Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative
103. The Civic Coalition for Palestinians Right in Jérusalem
104. The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD)
105. The Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC)
106. The National Association of Human Rights Defenders
107. The Oakville Palestinian Rights Association
108. The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC)
109. The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy-MIFTAH
110. UJFP French Jewish union for peace
111. Union syndicale Solidaires
112. US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
113. US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
114. Visualizing Palestine
115. Vrede vzw
116. Vredesactie
117. War on Want
118. Women for Palestine
119. Women in Black Vienna
120. Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling

Joining individuals:

121. Ahmed Ben
122. Ahmed Reda Tolba
123. Alaa Shalaby
124. Alaaeddine Tatak
125. Aline Shaban
126. Amin Abbas
127. Andrea Balduzzi
128. Angie Mindel
129. Ann McNicholas
130. Anne Peacey
131. Ashley Tellis
132. Atamjit Singh
133. Audrey J Bomse
134. Badee M.T. Aldwaik
135. Baruti Likoyi
136. Bernadette McPhe
137. Chirag Shah
138. Claudia Karas
139. Claudia Schiavelli
140. Denise Peillon
141. Denotter JJ
142. Devaki Khanna
143. Dr. Ibrahim Lada’a
144. Dr. Nerina Cecchin
145. Egbert Harmsen
146. Marc Fayard
147. Firoz Ahmad
148. Flavia Lepre
149. Françoise Abadie
150. Frstot Marie-Paule
151. Gabriel Mondragón Toledo
152. Geeta Kapur
153. Geeta Kapur
154. Georges Franco
155. Gillard Francois
156. Gina Cardosi
157. Githa Hariharan
158. Gregory Kotoy
159. Gyan Prakash
160. Haidi Ali Muhammad Eltayeb
161. Hélène Le Cacheux
162. Herman De Ley
163. Huwaida Arraf
164. Ian Ampleford
165. Ian Mc Cabe
166. Indu Chandrasekhar
167. Jake Javanshir
168. James Dickins
169. James Lafferty
170. John King
171. Joop Hoekstra
172. Julia Auf Dem Brinke
173. Julie Hart
174. Kalyani Chaudhuri
175. Karel Arnaut
176. Karin Brothers
177. Karin Verelst
178. Kathryn Kelly
179. Kellie Tranter
180. Lauren Speiser
181. Laurent De Wangen
182. Lee Rhiannon
183. Luisa Morgantini
184. M.N. Harakeh
185. Madeline Lutjeharms
186. Maha Abdallah
187. Maha Alami
188. Malini Bhattacharya
189. Mani Shankar Aiyar
190. Marcy Newman
191. Maria Bartolacci
192. Marjorie Cohn
193. Martin Mavenjina
194. Massimiliano Masini
195. Maxime Florentin
196. Maya Devi
197. Michael Letwin
198. Michel Gevers
199. Mohamad Arouki
200. Mohamed Aboelazm
201. Mohammad Al Nabulsi
202. Mohan Rao
203. Monique Vincent
204. Muralidharan K
205. Nalini Nayak
206. Nandini Sundar
207. Naresh Dadhich
208. Nasir Tyabji
209. Navdeep Mathur
210. Nick Deane
211. Nozomi Takahashi
212. Oishik Sircar
213. P A Azeez
214. Pamela Blakelock
215. Pamela Philipose
216. Paola Manduca
217. Patrick Lechopier
218. Persis Ginwalla
219. Pierre Bordone
220. Pushpa Achanta
221. Pushpamala N
222. Raffaele Spiga
223. Rajni Palriwala
224. Rev Joseph Ryan
225. Rey Asis
226. Rudolf Knutti
227. S. Raghunandana
228. Salim Yusufji
229. Sellin Jean-Christophe
230. Shafey Kidwai
231. Sharib Aqleem Ali
232. Sigour Brigitte
233. Sonia Fayman
234. Stephen Flaherty
235. Sue Ingham
236. Sumanta Banerjee
237. Terri Ginsberg
238. Valter Mutt
239. Vinay Bharadwaj
240. Vincent Basabé
241. Winfried Belz
242. Yousuf Saeed
243. YVes Goaer
244. Yves Jardin

To View the Letter as PDF

I have a feeling which becomes stronger as the days pass that now is the time for starting a new path for peace. Although such feelings sometimes are strange and bizarre, the facts on the ground drag the thinking to a whole new direction.

The election of Hamas for the government of Palestine is nothing but a new motive in that direction. Since its election and up until the massacre of Beit Hanoun - and what is in between of the strangulating and strict siege - the whole world roared for the renewed pains of the Palestinian people. Even in Israel itself, women and men are denouncing such massacres and famines. Moreover, Europe expressed its resentment through marches and demonstrations, the last of which was the European Union denouncement of Israel; the Arab League voice was raised a little higher.

From another perspective, there is evidence that the long-term dialogue, which started as if it is a dialogue between two deaf parties Fatah and Hamas, returned the sense of conscious awareness for the talking parties. They are on the edge of a new declaration, which I think became almost ready, waiting for a deal regarding the Israeli soldier, exchange of prisoners, stoppage of rockets, and guarantees to transfer money.

All such positive initiatives were crowned by a significant European initiative, which Toni Blair, personally, drafted a week before it was declared, calling for participation of Iran and Syria in regional political negotiations regarding Palestine, Iraq, and Lebanon. The Spanish Prime Minister announced the new European initiative which is holding a special conference for peace in the Middle East. At all levels, steps are accelerating, and at all doors hands are knocking, and Palestinians have to realize that they have to move fast and work harder before it is too late in order to take advantage of the accelerating events.

Hamas, in particular, went through a bitter experience, since its winning of the elections. No one was spared from conspiring against Hamas, even if the victims were the Palestinian people as a whole. Hamas did not do well in its leadership and management of the past events. It was not ready, despite its genuineness and intentions. Today, Hamas has a golden and historical opportunity and I hope that it does not waste it and waste another 24 years of the Palestinian people's lives.

Briefly, Hamas has a heavy responsibility, which is not just winning elections, forming governments, appointing ministers, distributing allowances for ministers and others, marching parades, distributing goods and scholarships, hiring individuals, and releasing enthusiastic slogans. This is not the responsibility of the government; This is not what we expect from the government.

The responsibility of Hamas is finding solutions for the cause of Palestinian people and its chronic battle with Israel. It is a political battle that can not be solved by power or rockets; it is an ideological battle that Hamas should go through amongst itself and its Cadres regarding the horizon of the solution that guarantees that Muslims, Christians, Jews, and all religions live in an equal environment in the holy land, based on adoption of rightness, law, and peace. It is not Hamas role to keep challenging by slogans of resistance, confrontation, refusal, and hard-mindedness. Such solutions are the easy ones. The main and difficult mission is the ability to reach solutions and ideal formulation for co-existence, without having dominance or control for a certain religion over another.

The noble-minded and final solution for any liberation movement or revolution is the liberation of human beings, and ensuring rightness and implanting justice without discrimination or favoritism. That is peace which Islam calls for. That is why Islam is calling us to preserve blood and life and enjoyment of peace as the big meaning for Islam is peace itself. As a result, Hamas has a basic duty of showing the bright face of Islam after it was exposed to many aching defeats, particularly after the world- with some conspiring Islamic assistance, was successful in linking the name of Islam with Terrorism.

This is the significant role of Hamas, that is; to give Islam the image that is able to convert the international public opinion to support Islam, the Islam of rightness, the Islam of human rights, the Islam of peace. Over the past decades, we got used to play broken CDs to listen to it in every occasion, when houses and blood was scattered in every occasion we revert to sadness and grief, where many of us became professional in slapping our own faces and releasing the tuning slogans, and reverting to old-fashioned means of solace.

What is needed today in this new era is something that is related to thinking and ideology to break through the world. What is needed today is new minds and intellectuals, to save us and our cause from the immature and slogans. Such slogans and means brought us nothing but more defeats. We have tried the slogans and failed over and over again.

This is the real challenge for Hamas movement. If it succeeded, we succeed with it. If it failed, it will be a new setback for us that might extend for long decades, terminating Hamas, as others did, and terminating a new generation of our Palestinian cause.

The political scene in Palestine and Israel offers no solace. In Palestine, the usual old populist rhetoric was wheeled out with people calling for earthquake-like revenge, while mediocre politicians got busy trying to score public relations points over other mediocrities. They reminded me of student speakers at London's Hyde Park Corner. The exception was President Mahmoud Abbas who seemed in genuine pain and was genuinely angry. He was always committed to peace and denouncing killings and violence.

The Israeli scene is even worse. The signs are ominous when people like Avigdor Lieberman are welcomed into the Cabinet while the once promising Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, appears to have been thoroughly chewed and absorbed by the military establishment.

This should not be the time for mediocrity, politicking or revenge from individuals and other parties. They have wasted too much time and too many lives. They were occupied with wars and killings in the name of dignity, freedom, and security. They were not concerned about peace, which is solely means dignity, freedom, and security. It is now more urgent than ever for all those who still truly believe in peace - Palestinians, Israelis and friends and allies all over the world - to unite their efforts in order to give reconciliation and peace a last chance. This is vital as there are international moves and signs signaling that it is about time. This is evidenced nowadays that warmongers like Donald Rumsfeld are out, the rest should be pursued wherever they are and particularly in Palestine and Israel. Even Blair himself who was calling for war became in his way to be vanished politically, despite the fact that he is trying to be peace calling. I don't need to contemplate their paranoid question: Do they want to make peace? The answer, on behalf of all people, is an unequivocal "yes." But, we have to expose the foes of peace and freedom. We know how powerful the Pentagon and the Israeli war machine are. This war machine, with its hegemony over Israeli politics, is bigger than Israel itself and must be stopped. It is a tool of death and destruction. The Israeli political community, public and leadership alike, must know that it is a captive of this powerful establishment. Israelis should know that their security will only be found through strategic peace with Palestinians, and not through the power to kill, subservience to the powerful military machine or dependence on the American administration.

Responsible Palestinian leaders, from Hamas particularly, must make every effort to restore the Israeli public's confidence in Palestinians, lost after six years of horror and lies. They should make the effort to convince their own constituencies of the merits of peace and help shape a new culture. This should be done systematically and on all fronts. Imagine if Hamas comes out today, after all this pain, and declares a complete ban on all forms of violence and extend its hand for peace, rather than launching rockets and announcing publicly its responsibility for them.

Israel must be told, by Hamas and others, that it is a country in the Middle East, and so is Palestine. These two countries must live together or die together. Between them, they have all the ingredients for prosperity and together they can help the region and the world.

The world must be offered the chance to see the good Palestinian, the good Arab and the good Muslim. We must be offered the chance to see the good Jew and the well-intentioned Christians and West. It is all in our grasp, but, we need to take that important leap by acting now with courage and wisdom.

A unified vision and strategy on the Palestinian side must lead us toward peace. Hamas is an essential part of the political map and should declare its readiness to rise to the responsibility of not only making internal reforms but, more importantly, participation in making peace with Israel.

Hamas' rise to power was well-deserved and democratic. It is tragic that it was not ready for this dramatic chance, and it is tragic Hamas was never given a fair chance to govern. After months of pressure, Hamas is yielding to the calls of the international community. Hamas should be encouraged and be engaged on all levels and all conspiracies must stop. A truly democratic culture based on the rule of law is one of the keys to peace.

Fatah and Hamas need to stand behind Abbas' leadership who can help the nation and the region because of his unique stature, position and the worldwide respect for his leadership that is based on his strategic vision of peacemaking. His only weak point is not having the proper tools at his disposal. Hamas and Fatah should provide him with such supportive tools, similar to what is being done by intellectuals and academics. And now is the time.

Eyad El Sarraj director general of Gaza Community Mental Health Programme and a human rights activist.

The recent parliamentary elections in Palestine were the equivalent of a political earthquake. It is an earthquake that brings with it the possibility of dramatic change in the Middle East and beyond. The elections represented the first time in history that an Islamic movement came to power in the Arab world through peaceful and clean democratic elections. It is important, however, to note that religion itself played only a small role in the vote, no more, in my opinion, than 15 percent. The bulk of the vote was a protest against Fateh for its dismal record on all fronts and a defiant message against the Israeli occupation and American policies.

Hamas now is challenged by its history to face the future. I believe it has some smart people who will help it climb down the tree, because if Hamas succeeds in running the country and negotiating peace, the next ten years will see the Arab world ruled by Islamic governments. Hamas is currently agonizing over the issue of recognizing Israel and renouncing violence, but I think it will do so with time. This is a historical moment for the Islamic movement and an opportunity it won't want to miss. Hamas leaders have already declared that they will respect all previous agreements between Israel and the PA, and Mahmoud Zahhar, in recent days, further said that America is "not our enemy and she holds the key to peace in the Middle East."

The question now is how others react. Fateh is finding it all very difficult to swallow, from the president on down. However, it is important that there is a serious internal dialogue with Hamas and that the vote of the people is respected. Even if the vote gave people the opportunity to punish Fateh, Fateh should not punish people by letting Hamas run aground.

The Israeli government will be more than happy if Hamas does not change. Israel already started on a unilateral course under Ariel Sharon. Should Hamas show no inclination to change, it will be all the justification Israel needs to stave off any (muted) international pressure to negotiate and instead continue what Sharon started, grabbing whatever land it wants and giving nothing to the Palestinians, who in any case are not considered by Israel as partners for peace.

The declared Hamas positions of not recognizing Israel and refusing to surrender arms play well in the hearts and minds of the masses, who believe that Israel should first recognize Palestinian rights and end the occupation of Palestinian and Arab land. But Hamas would be well advised to declare its commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative of March 2002, which calls for mutual recognition of Israel and full relations conditioned on Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Arab land. Hamas could also form a cabinet of technocrats and give President Mahmoud Abbas the mandate to conduct foreign policy while Hamas restructures and rehabilitates the Palestinian Authority.

Israel, for its part, stands at a crossroads. Israel has never taken Palestinian rights seriously, let alone been willing to accede to them. The ascendancy of Hamas represents a chance for Israel, but, and this goes for whoever sits at the helm of the Palestinian polity, Israel will never achieve peace without recognizing that Palestinians have rights that must be fulfilled. Hamas' victory represents the ultimate proof. If it were not for the Israeli occupation there would be no Hamas and no armed resistance.

Dr. Eyad El Sarraj

The collective Palestinian psyche is a mixture of painful memories, old and recent traumas, an unyielding quest for freedom and a profound longing for a dignified life.

In December 1987, the Palestinian popular uprising, the Intifada, against the Israeli military occupation opened a dramatic new chapter in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with far-reaching psychological, political, and socio-economic consequences.

The Israeli army's response to the Intifada was to increase brutal and oppressive measures. These measures included killings, detentions without trial, demolition of homes, torture, deportation, and curfews.

The Palestinian Human Rights Information Center estimates that during the period of the first Intifada (December 1987 to December 1993), 1,282 Palestinians died (of which 332 were children) as a result of the conflict and 130,472 Palestinians were injured. Among the injured there are those that remain with permanent disabilities. Furthermore, approximately 57,000 Palestinians were arrested (many of whom were subjected to systematic physical and psychological torture)(1), over 481 were deported and 2,532 had their homes demolished. The psychosocial and financial costs for the affected families in terms of medical and psychosocial care, loss of productive time, chronic disability, loss of function, and loss of life and property are enormous. (2)

Two kinds of trauma have been considered the most difficult to cope with – torture and home demolitions

• The use of torture in Israeli interrogation centers was sanctioned by law until the Israeli High Court of Justice ruled in 1999 that all forms of torture during in interrogations are unlawful (except for moderate use of physical pressure!). Research from the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP) showed that 30% of torture survivors developed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and that the more a prisoner had been exposed to physical, chemical or electric torture, psychological ill-treatment, sensory deprivation or bombardment, the more he subsequently suffered from intrusive re-experiencing, withdrawal, numbness, and hyper-arousal. Electric and chemical torture constituted the most serious risk for PTSD symptoms. Both physical and psychological methods of torture placed victims at serious risk for intrusive experiences trauma. (3) It is worth mentioning that some political prisoners did not develop signs or symptoms of PTSD.
• Home demolition has been one of the harshest methods of collective punishment carried out on the Palestinian population. During the Al-Aqsa Intifada, the number of demolitions of private homes exceeded thousands The Donor Support Group Statistics in April 2003, estimates total damage of private housing to be US$ 63,008,410. Many families currently live in tents or in relatives' houses, which causes frustration and conflicts between family members. Children who were exposed to loss of home were severely disturbed. (4)

In 1990, the GCMHP established programs to care for children who were most traumatized. Many children have detailed and sequential forms of trauma. Most come from overcrowded homes and many have had their parents arrested, humiliated, beaten and imprisoned. In many instances there was a direct link between events in which the child witnessed humiliation of the father and his desire to throw stones at Israeli soldiers. Children who come from families of imprisoned fathers were more ready to join the struggle against the occupation.

Mental disorder in the Palestinian culture is seen as either a form of weakness, spoiled behavior or spiritual possession, but always stigmatic. Throughout the years, the most immediate resource for Palestinians has been the family, which is still cohesive and eager to assume responsibility for the weak, elderly or ill.

Although the years of occupation and conflict have impacted negatively the physical, psychological and mental well being of Palestinians, the Israeli unilateral disengagement from Gaza could be an opportunity for peace. Ending the cycle of violence and victimization can only be achieved through a political settlement and through national reconciliation.

**Eyad El Sarraj is a psychiatrist, human rights and peace activist. He founded the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP) in 1990 to provide comprehensive community mental health services - therapy, training and research - to the population of the Gaza Strip. He is currently the Chairman.

Mr. President,

I am in full support of your vision and initiative for a greater Middle East. It would be really great if we would get rid of all the dictators, kings or presidents in the Arab countries. It is a beautiful dream to think that one day we will see democracy and respect of human rights within the rule of law. Arab countries, almost all, are lagging seriously behind the rest of the world. Lack of democracy is one of the reasons for violence and terror.

Indeed Mr. President, it would be a miracle if we wake up one day to find no political prisoners, no torture, no military courts and full respect of international laws and treaties.

It would certainly be a huge leap into civilisation and progress.

Some Arab politicians are scared of reform because it means that they would be out of office, and may be out of pocket if not in jail. They use any excuse to reject it, such as "reform should not be imposed from outside."

No one is suggesting that reform will be imposed from outside. They should listen to advice from friends like you. I am sure you also would welcome their advice too, that is if they have any to offer.

Well Mr. President, I have some advice.

To begin with it is vital that you treat the Arabs as partners and not just an area of oil reserves.

Why not give us an example by reforming the US policies?

Would it not be good if America showed more respect to human rights in Guantanamo and elsewhere?

Would it not be beautiful if America began to show respect for international legality, including respect for United Nations Security Council resolutions and ratifying the treaties on the protection of the environment?

Would it not be encouraging if America stopped being one of a minority of two on the international stage -- itself and Israel against the rest of the world?

Would it not open up new possibilities if America started to show fairness by asking Israel to end its four decades of occupation of Palestine and open its doors for the inspection of its stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction -- otherwise America would consider sanctions and possibly war?

Mr. President, by taking action in this way I am confident that you will offer an irresistible example for the Arabs and the rest of the world. After all we are friends and no one is imposing anything on any body.

Finally, Mr. President I want to tell you an Arab popular proverb. It says: ‘He who lives in a glass house should not throw stones at others’. I’m sure you understand.

Sincerely,

Eyad El Sarraj, MD
Chairman of the Board,
Gaza Community Mental Health Programme
Gaza-Palestine

NB. This is my second letter to you and I hope this time I’ll get an answer although I understand how much busy you are.