July 8th – Challenge the Israeli blockade of the West Bank

Palestinian call to international civil society :

Palestinian civil society organizations and peace and human rights defenders and activists on the ground call on civil society organizations and people of conscience around the world to come to Palestine July 8 for a week of fellowship and peace-building. Israel must recognize the basic human right of entering to Palestine by those who want to visit us. Israel’s arbitrary and abusive control over entry into the Occupied Palestinian Territories is unlawful and must be vigorously opposed.
(See the Right to Enter Campaign at http://www.righttoenter.ps )

Palestinians throughout historic Palestine and in exile still believe in and work for peace based upon justice and trust that with the help of the international community we will achieve our peace and freedom and restore the values and principles that we share as human beings.

We believe in peace-building based on nonviolence for implementation of International Law and Human Rights. We believe that every single one of us is a change maker, and nobody has the right to to deny us the access to suffering populations.

We invite you. We call upon you. Join us and be the change you want to see in this world. You will be accommodated locally and enjoy Palestinian hospitality and a program of networking, fellowship, and volunteer  peace work in Palestinian towns and villages (e.g. land reclamation).

Local activist groups in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, and Africa are organizing delegations.  Email u at info@palestinejn.org if you are outside the UK and would like to be connected to the organizing group in your country.

Al-Rowwad Cultural and Theatre Training Centre, www.alrowwad-acts.ps
Alternative Information Center www.alternativenews.org
BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights: www.badil.org  
Bil’in Popular Resistance Committee www.bilin-village.org
Friends of Freedom and Justice, Bil’in www.bilin-ffj.org
Grassroots Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign www.stopthewall.org
Holy Land Trust: www.holylandtrust.org
International Solidarity Movement: www.palsolidarity.org
Open Bethlehem: www.openbethlehem.org
Palestinian Centre for Rapprochement between People www.PCR.PS
Palestine Justice Network www.palestinejn.org
Palestine Solidarity Project WWW.palestinesolidarityproject.org
Popular Struggle Coordinating Committee www.popularstruggle.org
Siraj Center for Holy Land Studies, www.sirajcenter.org
Youth Against Settlements (Hebron)

Our objectives
This international mission from the 8th to the 16th of July 2011, was decided and is organised by fifteen Palestinian civil rights organisations, in particular by the popular resistance committees of East Jerusalem and the West Bank. This initiative is original and unique for three reasons :

1: arrive together on the same day (Friday 8th July) at Ben Gourion airport (Tel Aviv) from many different countries

2: refuse to dissemble about the reason we have come or to sign illegal commitments not to enter the Palestinian territories. We will not hide the fact that we have come to visit our Palestinian friends.

3: We will help the West Bank Palestinians to plant or replant a maximum of olive trees on their lands.

The right to enter Palestine

• The Israeli government has no right to refuse us access to the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
• Israël destroyed the only Palestinian airport, built with our money (European grants). As a result, we have no other option but to go through israeli security, even though we don’t want to go to Israel.
• We are committed to non-violence against Israeli violence; we will have nothing dangerous in our bags. We call on our elected representatives and our governments, during the following months, to ensure that we  shall be normally and properly treated on our arrival in Ben Gourion airport, as are israeli citizens when they come to our countries.
• We denounce the blockade on Gaza, but Israel imposes a second blockade, equally intolerable if not more deceitful, upon the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, refusing people entry without reason, humiliating travelers in a racist manner, often for hours, because of their arabic-sounding name, asking them questions that have nothing to do with security, like the names of their grandparents, their religion, or their knowledge of the arab language.
• Our Palestinian friends of East Jerusalem and the West Bank, who ask us to come and visit them this summer, suffer not only from the brutality of the occupation and colonization, from the annexation of their lands, from the eviction of whole families and house demolitions, but also from isolation, being deprived of their freedom of movement.
• We will show our solidarity with their non-violent popular resistance, by being many from each continent to join them, as international law allows, and by helping them plant as many olive trees as possible on their lands. All in a joyous and fraternal atmosphere. They are waiting for us. Let’s accept the challenge.

Get involved
If you personally, or your group, wish to get involved in organizing this misson in your respective countries, please contact us so we can coordinate our efforts. Meetings to plan the trip are being organised. You can do the same and we can help you if requested.