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Action Card - January 2008

Mitri Ghonaim (pictured) lives in Bethlehem. Mitri took several years to build his house, adding to it as money became available. It lies in a picturesque location at the end of a long valley.

Last year the Israeli Defence Forces told Mitri that they were going to cut down the olive trees belonging to him and his neighbours. Mitri protested, begging them to at least let him harvest his crop first. The troops refused and he saw his livelihood destroyed.
 

Mitri was told that the trees had to go to make way for the separation wall. The wall is to cut through his garden and driveway. Even the tree in the middle of his patio is to be cut down. The Israeli Government states that the wall is necessary to separate Palestinians and Israelis. However the snaking route of the wall suggests another purpose. The nearest Israel settlement is at least two kilometres from Mitri's village. Only Palestinians farm the land in between. Palestinians fear that once cut off from their land, it may in time fall into the hands of Israeli farmers or developers. Developers are expanding nearby Israeli settlements with the construction of several large apartment blocks.

The International Court of Justice has challenged the legality of such settlements in the West Bank but Mitri Ghonaim and his wife will receive no compensation and their physical health has suffered as a result of their mental anguish.

A UN report has estimated that 400,000 Palestinians living east of the wall will be separated from their farms, jobs, markets, hospitals and schools, and that the wall will have 'severe humanitarian consequences' for 30 per cent of those living in the West Bank.

Write to the Israeli Embassy expressing concern that the construction of the separation wall in the West Bank and the other restrictions placed on movement has created severe hardship for many ordinary Palestinians. Call for a halt to the construction of the separation barrier.

HE Ambassador R Prosser

The Embassy of Israel

2 Palace Green

London W8 4QB

Express similar concerns to the Foreign Secretary David Miliband and ask what representations are being made to the Government of Israel in relation to the continued occupation of the West Bank.

Rt. Hon. David Miliband MP, Foreign Secretary

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

King Charles Street

London SW1A 2AH