[News] Rafah Emergency Response - Press Release and Actions

[News at freedomarchives.org]

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American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
San Francisco Bay Area Chapter
522 Valencia St  San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 861-7444  adcsf at hotmail.com
www.adcsf.org
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What: American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee – SF Press Conference

Where: San Francisco Federal Building – 450 Golden Gate

When: Thursday, May 20 at 12:15 PM

Press Contacts: Jess Ghannam, 415 726 3951/ Rayan Elamine 415-572-8088



"Demand an End to Israeli War Crimes"



Israeli war crimes continue today when at least 23 Palestinians, most of 
them said to be school children, were killed Wednesday afternoon when 
Israeli Defense Forces helicopter gunships and tanks fired missiles and 
shells into a crowd in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. 
Yesterday 20 Palestinians including 2 children were killed and dozens of 
homes have been demolished as a result of one of the biggest Israeli 
military incursion into the Gaza Strip.  This latest attack on the 
Palestinian people is a continuation of a process of ethnic cleansing that 
Israel has been accelerating under the Sharon government with explicit 
approval from the Bush administration.  The killing and home demolitions 
perpetuated by the Israeli government in Rafah refugee camp in Gaza is 
being described by many as "war crimes"



Amnesty International has said the demolition and destruction are ``grave 
breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention and are war crimes,'' calling on 
Israel to halt the practices immediately. Amnesty also said the house 
demolitions are linked to Israeli intentions to take over West Bank and 
Gaza land.



  *  In the first 10 days of May 2004, Israel's demolition of 131 
residential buildings in Gaza left 1,100 Palestinians homeless.

*  On 11 May 2004, Israel killed 15 Palestinians in the al-Zaytoun 
neighborhood of Gaza City, including 4 children, and injured at least 200 
others, including 35 children.

*  On 13 May 2004, Israel killed 12 Palestinians in Rafah, including a 
child, and injured at least 20 others.

*  On 15 May 2004, 14 Palestinian civilians were killed and 30 injured in 
Rafah, with 80 homes destroyed, leaving 880 Palestinians homeless.

*  Rafah continues to experience ongoing Israeli military operations at the 
time of publishing this alert.



We call on all people of conscious to stage sit-ins at congressional 
district offices in whatever city you may reside and demand that the U.S. 
Government demand Israel to stop the destruction and ethnic cleansing in 
Gaza and take concrete steps to deter Israel from carrying out these crimes 
against humanity.



The sit-ins are part of a national call and will take place in many 
cities.  In the Bay Area, there will be a Protest and Sit-In this Friday, 
May 21 at 10 AM at Nancy Pelosi's office in San Francisco.  There will also 
be an Emergency Protest at the Berkeley Downtown Bart Station at 5 PM on 
Friday.  We urge each city to organize actions and demand that our 
government is held accountable to atrocities being committed with our tax 
dollars and with this administration's consent.

The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org 
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