Rome, 06/02/2010
The Italian Non-Governmental Organizations operating in the occupied Palestinian territory express strong objection to and concern about the declarations made by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi during his visit to Israel and Bethlehem; in particular the declarations made by the Prime Minister concerning the latest military aggression carried out by the Israeli army in Gaza, defined as a “fair reaction to the missiles of Hamas launched from Gaza.”
This military aggression resulted in 1,400 dead, including many women and more than 340 children, and struck the civilian population through the use of weapons prohibited by International Conventions such as white phosphorus. This has been confirmed by the recent investigation initiated by the United Nations, which led to the drafting of the Goldstone Report, whose recommendations were approved by the General Assembly with 114 favorable votes, 44 abstentions, and 18 opposing votes, including the Italian vote. The Goldstone report has also defined many of the actions carried out by the Israeli army during operation “Cast Lead” as war crimes, in violation of international humanitarian law and the fourth Geneva Convention.
While the United Nations investigation is still in progress, the Israeli government has admitted to the use of white phosphorus, and, indirectly, to the unjustifiable destruction of civilian buildings by compensating the United Nations with 10.5 million dollars for damage caused to UNRWA structures.
We, the Italian NGOs, thus completely disassociate ourselves from the positions of the Prime Minister and express our astonishment concerning the choice to normalize commercial relations and cooperation with Israel while military operations are ongoing in Gaza; while siege continues to hinder the possibility of providing over one and a half million people with humanitarian aid; while expropriations and house demolitions continue in Jerusalem; while we witness the repression and arrest of Palestinian activists and heads of families protesting peacefully against the confiscation of their agricultural land for the construction of the Wall, in violation of the same principles and legal rights to life and liberty at the basis of our Constitution and international legislation regarding relations between nations and individuals.
We, the Italian NGOs, confirming our commitment to work towards reaching a just peace condition essential for the safety of the State of Israel and its integration into the region call for the mobilization of Italian civil society and greater consideration toward the Middle Eastern issue.
Finally, we call for urgent action on the part of the international community for a full recognition of the rights of the Palestinian people as defined by international law and the numerous United Nations Resolutions approved from 1948 to the present day.
 Piattaforma su visita Berlusconi.pdf | [ ] | 31 Kb |