Take part in a week of action (July 1-9)

Action Alert--No US Funding for Israel's Illegal Wall

TAKE ACTION NOW:

On July 9, 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion that the Wall Israel is building in the occupied Palestinian West Bank is illegal and must be torn down. The ICJ also ruled that countries cannot provide aid or assistance to Israel to maintain the Wall. One year after this historic ruling, not only has Israel refused to implement the ICJ opinion, but the United States remains in non-compliance with it as well.

ACTION REQUESTED:

1. Contact the State Department, White House, and Members of Congress and demand that the United States comply with the ICJ opinion and stop providing Israel with aid to maintain the Wall. Click on the End the Occupation action link to send a letter via the web:
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/uscampaign/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=917

2. Provide feedback to CJME: Send an email to info@cjme.org to let us know how your call to your Senator went.

TALKING POINTS (from the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation):

* The International Court of Justice ruled that states cannot “render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created” by Israel’s construction of an illegal Wall in the occupied Palestinian West Bank. (Paragraph 163D, Source: http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/icjhome.htm)

* In the $82 billion supplemental war request passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush in May 2005, Congress appropriated $200 million “for programs, activities, and efforts to support Palestinians” with $50 million of it going “for assistance for Israel to help ease the movement of Palestinian people and goods in and out of Israel”. (Source: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_bills&docid=f:h1268enr.txt.pdf)

* The Israeli Foreign Ministry has announced plans to build high-tech terminals to solidify its grasp on the occupied Palestinian West Bank under the guise of easing the movement of Palestinian peoples and goods. The Foreign Ministry affirmed that the terminals, funded with $50 million from the United States, will be at “crossing points along the revised route of the security fence.” The Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reported that Israel plans to build 34 of these terminals into the Wall. (Sources: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2005/Israeli+assistance+a... and http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/591686.html)

* The $50 million that the United States is providing to Israel to build these terminals is illegal and in violation of the ICJ opinion that states cannot provide aid or assistance to Israel to maintain the Wall. The United States purports to advance “the rule of law” globally; it should start doing so by complying with the ICJ decision on the illegality of the Wall Israel is constructing in the occupied Palestinian West Bank.

* Congress has already passed legislation limiting Israel’s use of US assistance "only to support activities in the geographic areas which were subject to the administration of the Government of Israel before June 5, 1967." (Public Law No. 108-11: Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2003) Congress and the Executive Branch must act now to ensure that this $50 million of US aid to Israel is not used in the occupied Palestinian West Bank to maintain Israel’s illegal Wall there. For more background information, see the March “Washington Wednesday” action alert, “No Aid for Checkpoints”, at: http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1056