For Immediate Release:
Contact: Jason Mark, 415-255-7296 x 230 or jason@globalexchange.org
Tuesday, March 5, 2002

Complete Israeli Withdrawal Behind the 1967 Boundaries an Essential Step for Peaceful Coexistence, Global Exchange and Fellowship of Reconciliation Conclude

After spending two weeks investigating conditions in the West Bank and Gaza, a fact-finding delegation sponsored by the international human rights organization Global Exchange and the faith-based pacifist organization Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) has concluded that a complete Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories is the prerequisite for establishing peaceful co-existence in the region. The 18-person delegation traveled to Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza and met with a wide range of Palestinian human rights activists, academics, humanitarian workers and leaders, including Palestinian Authority Chairman Yassir Arafat. The Palestinians that the Global Exchange-FOR group met with were unanimous in their belief that the Israeli occupation must cease if there is going to be an end to the increasingly terrible violence that blights Israeli and Palestinian lives alike. The FOR delegation also met with numerous Israeli organizations and individuals, all of whom voiced their strong support for ending the occupation.

"The terrible violence of the past year and a half has sundered the bonds that Israeli and Palestinian civil society spent the last 8 years trying to create," says Ted Lewis, Global Exchange's human rights director and the co-leader of the recent delegation. "It is clear that the Israeli occupation is at the root of this violence. This occupation is illegal, immoral, and politically unsustainable. It must end."

The cyclical violence in Israel and Palestine escalates daily. But there are glimmers of hope. Most recently, a plan floated by the Saudi Arabian leadership to grant Israel formal recognition in return for a withdrawal behind the 1967 boundaries and the dismantling of all Israeli settlements has generated a great deal of enthusiasm. The Saudi approach appears to pursue the right track. To establish peace in region, the daily humiliation and indignities suffered by ordinary Palestinians must stop. Also, 320 Israel reserve soldiers recently signed a letter refusing to serve any longer in the Occupied Territories. The public act signaled a revitalization of the Israeli peace movement.

Unfortunately, the United States has yet to unequivocally call for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Occupied Territories. This stance is a serious roadblock to peace. That's because Israeli refusal to withdraw behind the 1967 lines is maintained by US military, economic and diplomatic support of the occupation. "Until the US stops protecting Israel by vetoing UN Security Council resolutions and providing no-strings-attached aid, the Israeli government will not have to rethink a deadly status quo," says Ben Rempell, FOR's delegation co-leader. "Changing US foreign policy is key to ending the violence in the region."

Mr. Lewis is available for interviews to discuss his experience in the Middle East. To arrange an interview, please contact Jason Mark at 415-558-9486 x 230 or jason@globalexchange.org. To speak with Mr. Rempell, call 202-244-0951 or middleeast@forusa.org.

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