The Issue:

In a three-week occupation of Nablus, the largest Palestinian city with 180,000 residents, the Israeli army has killed 19 people, wrecked dozens of buildings and confined tens of thousands to their homes in a futile search for the leader of "the heart of the terror networks". On January 3 three Palestinian teenagers who were throwing stones were killed including Amjad al-Masri, 15. One of Amjad's cousins, Mohammed al-Masri, 18, helped to carry the boy's body at the funeral. As the procession wound through the town, an army sniper shot Mohammed in the head.

Mahmoud Aloul, Governor of Nablus, described the events of the last few weeks: The siege included the killings of innocent civilians during the 12 days the town was held under virtually uninterrupted curfew, the demolition of houses in the Balata Refugee Camp, in Beit Foreek and in the old town. He emphasized the disproportionate force used against a civilian population and expressed outrage at the damage done to the historic sites of the city, the aqueducts and tunnels dating back to Roman times.

Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, President of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees, reported during a press conference on January 8, 2004 that the siege of Nablus is an Israeli "unilateral military campaign." Dr. Barghouthi echoed the governor’s sentiments that this had been a military campaign carried out against a civilian population, interpretable as nothing other than an act of collective punishment. The Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees is a grassroots, community-based Palestinian health organization founded in 1979.

He went on to point out three trends being systematically carried out by the state of Israel and its armed forces.

• The horrific campaigns of invasions and killings as seen in Jenin, Rafah, Tulkarem, and Qalqilya as well as Nablus in the past month alone.
• The continued construction of the apartheid wall.
• The continuing maintenance and implementation of checkpoints and closures throughout the West Bank and Gaza, which now number some 757 according to the UN’s OCHA.

(Sources: Kansas City Star, The Guardian, Palestine Monitor)

What You Can Do:

1. URGENTLY CALL, FAX OR WRITE YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO STOP THE ISRAELI SIEGE OF NABLUS.

White House - President George W. Bush

E-mail: president@whitehouse.gov Washington Office: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 Phone: (202) 456-1414 Fax: (202) 456-2461

Missouri

Senator Christopher Bond (R-MO - Washington Office: 274 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510-2503 /  Phone: (202) 224-5721 Fax: (202) 224-8149

Senator Jim Talent (R-MO) - Washington Office: 493 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510-2505 / Phone: (202) 224-6154 Fax: (202) 228-1518

Representative Karen McCarthy (D-MO 5th) - Washington Office: 1436 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515-2505 / Phone: (202) 225-4535 Fax: (202) 225-4403

Representative Sam Graves (R-MO 6th) - Liberty Office: 113 Blue Jay Drive Suite 100 Liberty, Missouri 64068 / Phone: (816) 792-3976 / Fax: (816) 792-0694

Kansas

Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) - Washington Office: 303 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510-1604 / Phone: (202) 224-6521 Fax: (202) 228-1265

Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) - Washington Office: 109 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510-1605 / Phone: (202) 224-4774 Fax: (202) 224-3514

Representative Dennis Moore (D-KS 3rd) - Washington Office: 431 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515-1603 Phone: (202) 225-2865 Fax: (202) 225-2807

2. WRITE A LETTER TO THE KC STAR AND OTHER LOCAL NEWSPAPERS DEMANDING FULL, ACCURATE REPORTING OF THE SIEGE OF NABLUS | TIPS FOR WRITING LETTERS

Kansas City Star -- E-mail: letters@kcstar.com / Phone: (816) 234-4636 / Fax: (816) 234-4926 / Address: 1729 Grand Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64108-1458

Pitch Weekly -- E-mail: feedback@pitch.com / Phone: (816) 561-6061 / Fax: (816) 756-0502 / Address: 1701 Main St Kansas City, MO 64108

Independence Examiner -- E-mail: dbrendel@examiner.net / Phone: (816) 254-8600 / Fax: (816) 254-0211 / Address: 410 S Liberty St, Independence, MO 64050

Lee's Summit Journal -- E-mail: editor@lsjournal.com / Phone: (816) 524-2345 / Fax: (816) 524-5136 / Address: 415 SE Douglas St Lee's Summit, MO 64063

Olathe Daily News -- E-mail: odn@olathedailynews.com / Phone: (913) 764-2211 Fax: (913) 764-3672 / Address: 514 S Kansas Ave Olathe, KS 66061

3. Call local and national radio and TV networks and ask them to cover the deteriorating situation of the Palestinians under occupation and the ongoing destruction of land and resources through the construction of the Separation Wall.  | TIPS FOR COMMUNICATING WITH JOURNALISTS

KCPT (PBS 18, 19) -- E-mail: kcpt@kcpt.org / Phone: (816) 756-3580 / Fax: (816) 931-2500 / Address: 125 E 31st St Kansas City, MO 64108

KCTV (CBS-5) -- E-mail: kctv5@kctv5.com / Phone: (913) 677-5555 / Fax: (913) 677-7243 / Address: 4500 Shawnee Mission Pkwy Fairway, KS 66205

KMBC (ABC-9) -- E-mail: kmbc@blairlake.com / Phone: (816) 221-9999 / Fax: (816) 760-9245 / Address: 1049 Central St Kansas City, MO 64105

KSHB (NBC-41) -- E-mail: newstips@nbcactionnews.com / Phone: (816) 753-4141 / Fax: (816) 932-4145 / Address: 4720 Oak St Kansas City, MO 64112

WDAF (Fox 4) -- E-mail: wdaftv4@wdaftv4.com / Phone: (816) 753-4567 / Fax: (816) 561-4181 / Address: 3030 Summit Kansas City, MO 64108

4. Send an email to info@cjme.org and let us know that you called or wrote to the White House or KC Star on this issue.