Thursday, September 27, 2007

[AL-AWDA] URGENT APPEAL: Right of Return Action

from Enrique Ferro:

URGENT APPEAL : Ref: UA 20/ 07.

27 September 2007

NAME: Father Faris Khaleifat,
VIOLATIONS: Denial of Right of Return
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please copy the letter below the Background information or write in your own words and send to:

Mr BAN KI-MOON, Secretary General of the United Nations sg@un.org

AND Cc: (simply copy all addresses together and paste into Cc).

mail@palestine-un.org; presse.cabinet@consilium.eu.int; triantaphyllides@europe.com ; uk@un.int; usa@un.int

OPTIONAL: PLEASE ALSO SEND APPEALS TO: Diplomatic Representatives of ISRAEL in your country. Link to ISRAEL Embassies worldwide

http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/Israel/Israel1.html

The Foreign Minister of your country - WORLD-WIDE Governments:

http://www.library.northwestern .edu/govpub/resource/internat/foreign.html

Please cut and paste and send this appeal to your mailing lists

BACKGROUND

The Palestinian right of return refers to the political position or principle that holds that Palestinian refugees have a right to return to their, or their ancestors' homeland and receive full restitution of their property or compensation in lieu. Palestinian refugees are those Palestinians who fled or were expelled from what was once the British Mandate territory of Palestine during and after the Palestinian Civil War (1947-1948), the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli War or the Six-Day War, or those born to Palestinian refugees in exile.(Wikipedia)

Israel prevents family unification between Palestinian residents of the Occupied Territories and their spouses from abroad. Israel also prohibits the foreign family members from visiting the West Bank or the Gaza Strip. This has created a harsh reality for tens of thousands of Palestinian families; thousands of women live in the Occupied Territories with no legal status and thus face the constant threat of deportation, become prisoners in their homes, and are unable to live a normal life.

The policy of restricting entry to the OPT also impacts on foreign nationals, who work in the OPT, mostly assisting with education, health and other institutions and in NGOs. Such restrictions appear to be aimed at weakening Palestinian institutions and further isolating them and the Palestinian population from the outside world.

The Palestinian right of return is legally based on:

  • The General Assembly, Having considered further the situation in Palestine ... Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date ... -UN General Assembly Resolution 194 (11 December 1948) [34]
  • UN Resolution 3236 which "reaffirms also the inalienable right of the Palestinians to return to their homes and property from which they have been displaced and uprooted, and calls for their return" [35].
  • Resolution 242 from the UN affirms the necessity for "achieving a just settlement of the refugee problem," however, Resolution 242 does not specify that the "just settlement" must or should be in the form of a literal Palestinian right of return [36].


Human Rights Watch has long defended the right of refugees and exiles to return to their homes… Like all rights, the right to return binds governments. No government can violate this right.

Amnesty International calls for the recognition of the right of those who are forcibly exiled to return to their country. The right to return to one's own country is based in international law and is the most obvious way to redress the situation of those who are in exile. Amnesty International advocates the right to return regardless of the circumstances in which people have been exiled, whether, for example, it was the result of a decision relating to an individual or the product of mass expulsions, as in the practice of ''ethnic cleansing''.

Mr BAN KI-MOON, Secretary General of the United Nations sg@un.org

Your Excellency,

In a continuing demonstration of Israel's arbitrary denial of entry policy and disregard for the Palestinian population's right to practice their religion and worship freely, the Israeli Government has rescinded its policy of granting re-entry visas to Arab Christian ministers, priests, nuns and other religious workers who wish to travel in and out of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. Arab Christian church workers will henceforth have to apply for re-entry visas at Israeli consulates abroad each time they travel outside the areas of Israeli control.

Since visa applications submitted to Israeli missions abroad are normally not acted upon for months after they are filed, this new Israeli policy means that religious personnel will no longer be able to move freely between their parishes in the occupied territories and any points out side of those areas.

On Friday, September 14, 2007 , Father Faris Khaleifat, priest of Ramallah's Greek Catholic Melkite Church, was barred entry to the West Bank.

Father Faris, a holder of both Vatican and Jordanian passports, commented: "For the past six years, I have been travelling regularly between the West Bank and Jordan on church affairs without any problems whatsoever." Just one week ago, Father Faris travelled to Amman for several days and returned without incident. However, on Friday, his multiple entry visa as a clergyman serving in the OPT, valid until February 2008, was cancelled by Israeli authorities at the Al Sheikh Hussein Bridge without explanation, and he was forced to return to Jordan . His de facto deportation has left the Ramallah parish without its sole clergyman.

Father Faris is one of thousands of foreign passport holders who have been denied entry by the Israeli authorities over the past several years. The priest's case is just one of numerous incidents of entry denial in recent months, demonstrating that Israel's regulation of entry into the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) by foreign nationals remains arbitrary, abusive and internationally unlawful. Israel continues to abuse its control over entry, presence and residency in the OPT in a manner damaging family life, businesses and the religious and social institutions serving the occupied population.

I call on the United Nations to demand from the Israeli government

· the immediate reinstatement of Fr Khaleifat's multiple entry visa.

· a clear, transparent and lawful policy for all foreign nationals wishing to enter the OPT

· the unconditional right of return be given to all Palestinians to their original home or lands. If this is not possible -- because they no longer exist, have been converted to other uses, or because of a valid competing claim -- they should be allowed to return to the vicinity of their original home. Palestinians who choose not to exercise their right to return should receive compensation for lost property, in accordance with principles of international law. Those returning should likewise be compensated for any stolen property.

· cooperation in the establishment of an international commission to examine repatriation, resettlement and compensation issues in detail and publicise results with representatives of Palestinian political organisations, refugee communities, Arab states, Israel, and other interested parties.

Yours sincerely

Copies sent to:

H.E RIYADH MANSOUR, Ambassador, Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations mail@palestine-un.org

H.E. JAVIER SOLANA Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union presse.cabinet@consilium.eu.int

Mr Kyriacos Triantaphyllides, Chairman, EU Delegation for the relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council triantaphyllides@europe.com

H.E. Sir Emyr Jones Parry, UK Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York , uk@un.int

US Ambassador to the United Nations usa@un.int

JUSTICE For PALESTINE MATTERS

( Australia) _._,____

posted by annie at 8:10 PM

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