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Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

Denounces Escalation of Military Aggression in Lebanon, Israel and Gaza

Read updates on the situation here.

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom deplores the escalation of violence in Lebanon, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, especially Gaza, and in Israel.

We condemn the targeting of civilians and destruction of civilian infrastructure by all parties and, in particular, the excessive disproportionate military retaliation by Israel as violations of international law. The widespread bombing in Gaza and Lebanon; the air, sea and land blockade of Lebanon; the destruction of electricity and water supplies in Gaza; and the missile attacks on Israeli cities make the possibility for solutions more difficult as hostilities spiral out of control. We denounce the use of force. There is no military solution to the problems in the region.

We recognize that the current dangerous and volatile situation is the direct result of Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian lands and its relentless destruction of Palestinian infrastructure, particularly in Gaza where a humanitarian crisis is growing among the 1.4 million inhabitants.

Therefore, we call upon the United States to join the rest of the international community in denouncing Israel’s escalation of this conflict.

We call for an immediate ceasefire and halt to the retaliatory bombing, killing and destruction. We appeal to all parties to return to the political process and earnestly negotiate permanent solutions.

We appeal for cooperation with the UN special Advisors team sent to the region by the UN Secretary General and for adherence to UN Resolutions and international and humanitarian law especially relating to the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom appeals to Israel to cease the military stranglehold on Gaza and to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, to end the blockade and stop the siege of Lebanon and the destruction of civilian infrastructure. We appeal to all parties to accept a ceasefire, to release illegally held Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners and Israeli soldiers, and to begin negotiating a just and lasting peace that will bring safety to the civilian populations of Lebanon, Palestine and Israel.

We call for an international peace conference convened by the United Nations and that is based on the recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine within the pre-1967 borders established by the 1949 cease fire agreements with eventually mutually agreed adjustments.

We call on the Palestinian National Authority, the United States, the British, Israeli, Iranian and Syrian governments, the Arab League, and the European Union to search for peaceful solutions that protect the lives of all people in the Middle East Region and world-wide.

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--Article 33, Fourth Geneva Convention: “No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed.”

--Article 50, Hague Convention: “No general penalty, pecuniary or otherwise, shall be inflicted upon the population on account of the acts of individuals for which they cannot be regarded as jointly and severally responsible.”

Additional information from inside Lebanon:

 - Residential areas in Beirut have been totally destroyed due to the heavy bombardments launched by the israeli aircrafts.
- Thousands of civilians have been displaced due to a lack of shelters and they are staying, under very drastic circumstances, in public and governmental schools.
 -  200 bridges have been completely destroyed and there is absolutely no way for families who are draging their children, to evacuate residential quarters in the capital cities and most importantly in South Lebanon where dozens of villages are under systematic bombardments,lacking of food, mainly bread, milk for children, medicine, while the hospitals - some of which have been hit- do not have enough medical equipments to meet the numerous needs of the injured civilians, because they are the main victims in this new form of genocide. To tell you the truth not one single military of Hizbullah has been reprted missing in action nor killed; only civilians are falling like autumn leaves; 200 people kille among them numerous children & and over than 350 injured people.
 - Beirut International  airport is closed and many of its facilities have been destroyed.
 - Water & electricity infrastructure have been put out of order because of the heavy  attacks during which forbidden arms and bombs are used. It looks like if the Israeli army ,as well as its main ally, the USA who provide this army with the latest and sophisticated arms, is experimenting these new fatal inventions. Therefore, Lebanon's cities, towns, rural areas and even deserted roads and tiny paths, become an experimentation fields. This is the main condition to allow the development of science.
 - There is no need to mention that the tourism season on which the lebanese people have been counting on and preparing for in order to put an end to the economic crisis that we have been suffering from for the past years because Lebanon has been paying the debts due to the reconstruction of this country that has been weakened by the wars with Israel (Occupation for 23 years, invasion of Beirut, etc.)  during which there was not any equality between the Israeli army and the people who were defending their land and survival.
 - Israel has refused to receive the Secretary General's special mission in the Middle East to seek and try to reach a ceasefire. They want to go until the end of the military options before starting to consider negotitions . In the meantime, innocent people will have to face death.
 - Of course, Hizbullah is attacking back in an attempt to defend the land and the people in a DISPROPORTIONATE TOTAL WAR LAUNCHED BY ISRAEL against Lebanon. Israel claims that it wants to implement the UN Security Coucnil Resolution 1559, especially when it comes to the disarmament of Hizbullah accused as usual of being a terrorist organization. Lebanon has started  a national dialogue in order to resolve this very complicated issue in peaceful ways and was not counting on Israel to dismantel by force this party. However, Israel seazed the capture 2 soldiers as an opportunity to destroy all the lebanese achievments towards peace and development. This is the price that every promissing country in the Middle-East should pay for freedom.

 

We, in Lebanon, are very sad, angry, afraid for the present and the future. We keep our faith in our country and principles of peace and freedom intact. We praise greately your support and we count on you to increase the awareness of the international civil society about what is happening in Lebanon , Palestine, Irak, due to the umprecedented escalation of violence and due  to the double standard policy followed by the American administration in this part of the world where peace does not seem reachable in the near future. Finally, let it be clear as cristal that we want peace for all the peoples in the region, including the Israeli people whose security has been always threatened because of the violent and hostile policies implemented by their government. We sincerely hope that peace will prevail.

 

THANK YOU.
WARM REGARDS TO ALL OF YOU FROM A WOUNDED  BUT PROUD COUNTRY,
Roula Zoubiane \ WILPF Lebanon. 

 

 
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