The Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends has received disturbing reports from Palestinian Quakers in Ramallah about what has happened to them and their neighbors in the West Bank and Gaza since Israel began military occupation there in 1967. We recognize the suffering of both the Israeli and Palestinian people in the complex conflict in the Middle East, and abhor the violence that has victimized innocent civilians on both sides. Our purpose is to present information on conditions in the West Bank and Gaza, which are not widely reported in the American press.
Jean Zaru, the Clerk of Ramallah Friends Meeting, has told us that in the West Bank and Gaza the Israeli Government provides the people in the Jewish settlements with much more water than it provides to the Palestinian people. The Clerk of Ramallah Friends Meeting reports that Palestinian lands continue to be appropriated by settlers. There are now nearly 200 Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. She tells us that untreated sewage from the settlements often runs into the valleys below and endangers the agriculture and health of neighboring Palestinian communities.
Jean Zaru also tells us of many limitations imposed on the personal freedoms of Palestinians. Many Palestinians, especially in East Jerusalem, are denied the right to build homes on their own land. The Israeli Government demolishes houses of persons accused of wrong-doing even though those houses are occupied by many family members who have not been accused of any offense. Those family members are also denied the right to continue living in East Jerusalem and lose social services to which they would otherwise be entitled. Palestinians without residency permits are not allowed even to visit without first obtaining the permission of Israeli military authorities. She tells us her homeland everyday feels more and more like a prison.
In a more recent letter, Jean Zaru speaks of devastating effects of closures not only between Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, but also of blockades between Palestinian villages and cities. Curfews are imposed as well. These blockades have caused unemployment, impeded commerce including shipment of food and commodities, and prevent timely access to medicine and hospitals. People have died and expectant mothers have given birth waiting to clear checkpoints. Jean Zaru says Palestinians are being subjected to "collective punishment" and being made prisoners in their own country.
Rich Meyer of the Christian Peacemaker Teams (a Mennonite, Brethren and Quaker organization) reports that because four settlement compounds in Hebron house about 300 Israelis, about 30,000 Palestinians live under direct military control. Palestinians must show papers at numerous checkpoints in the town and comply with a military curfew.
Jim Matlack of the American Friends Service Committee recently returned from the area and reported that Palestinians he met had suffered from and were extremely vulnerable to violence inflicted by Israeli military forces. He noted that new hotels in Bethlehem that were built for an expected increase in Christian tourists to mark the new millennium were, in fact, filled with Palestinians who had fled their homes because those homes are the targets of Israeli missiles. He was part of a delegation that visited some of those homes where empty shells were found with labels indicating they were made in the United States. The Christian Peacemaker Team in Beit Jala reported that the windows of an apartment it had rented were shot out by the Israeli military even though no one suspected the Christian Peacemaker Team of committing any acts of violence. Damage to the apartment, however, was minor compared to that to neighboring homes that were reduced to rubble.
We are aware that many of the current practices are influenced in part by the fear caused by repeated acts of violence committed against Israelis in the West Bank and Gaza. It is in the nature of acts of violence, even in the pursuit of justice, that they result in still more injustice. We urge those struggling for justice to adhere to the principles of nonviolence in that struggle. We welcome media reports that Palestinian officials intend to change the Intifada tactics and adopt nonviolent activities.
The Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends appeals to the U.S. President and the Secretary of State
Sincerely,
Marjorie Scott, Clerk of Representative Meeting
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3/29/2001