In a letter addressed to the Editorials
of newspapers in Israel, Terre des hommes asks the citizens of Israel not
to participate in a military occupation that has over the decades made
Israel less secure and less humane for the children of all the communities.
The escalating violence is evidence of this truth.
Terre des hommes, an International NGO
working for children and their rights all over the world, has been working
for the most deprived children of Palestine and Israel for almost 20 years.
Terre des hommes and partner organisations have recently been shot at while
attempting to work. Medical personnel and ambulances have been targets
of Israeli fire.
Since October 2000, more than 850 Palestinians have been killed by your army, 178 of those were minors. Desperate suicide bombers killed also many innocents Israelis.
Are Israeli citizens ready to let their young people keep firing at civilians, civilian demonstrations or obey illegal orders to execute potential terrorists? Your actions give Palestinian terrorists an incentive to prolong the bloodshed in the hope that a horrified world will coerce Israel into submission.
As citizens of Israel, you cannot accept or directly take part in actions such as keeping Palestinians under curfew for months, manning roadblocks that prevent civilians from moving from town to town, taking part in house demolitions and other acts of repression aimed at the entire Palestinian population. You are unjustly victims of terrorist acts but the policy of strength from Israel is inducing hate, violence, terror and war crimes.
Being a citizen in a democracy carries the commitment to democratic values and, for those enrolled in the Defence Force a responsibility for your actions. Do you feel that there has been sufficient debate in your country about the nature of the Israeli presence in the territories? Are you aware about the probable systematic violations of the Israeli army of International Conventions and Rules applied in armed conflicts (Convention on the Rights of the Child - Art 38, par4; Geneva Convention n=B04). Israeli and international human rights groups have raised their voices about the persistent violation of Palestinian human rights. It is your duty as citizens of Israel to protest against such acts which cannot be justified in any way.
These protests alone cannot change government policies or make peace negotiations more likely but they can show Israeli citizens that occupation of the Palestinian territories is not just a political or strategic matter. It is first and foremost an appeal for a better future for the children of Israel and Palestine.
International Federation Terre des Hommes
IFTDH
Raffaele Salinari, President
Peter Brey, Vice-President
For further information please contact Colin Tucker, Desk Manager for Ethiopia and Uganda, Tel: 0044 78 11 162 933 or e-mail <ctu@tdh.ch>