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<BODY link=#0000ff bgColor=#ffffff>Posted: <A
href="http://www.phmovement.org/en/node/233">http://www.phmovement.org/en/node/233</A><BR><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE="CITE"><B><FONT color=#000000>PRESS
RELEASE
17 JULY 2006</FONT></B><BR><BR><BR></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE="CITE"><B><FONT
color=#000000></FONT></B><STRONG></STRONG><BR><B><U><FONT
color=#000000>Israeli Offensive in Palestine and
Lebanon:</FONT></U></B><BR><BR><BR><B><I><FONT size=5><FONT
color=#000000>People’s Health Movement</FONT></FONT></I></B><B><FONT
color=#000000><FONT size=5> calls for </FONT></FONT></B><BR><BR><B><FONT
size=5><FONT color=#000000>Immediate Cessation of Israeli Offensive in
Palestine and Lebanon and for UN Intervention</FONT></FONT></B><BR><BR><FONT
color=#000000> </FONT><B><FONT color=#000000>Ramalla (Palestine), 17th
July, 2006: </FONT></B><FONT color=#000000>The Israeli offensive in Lebanon
and Palestine is collective retribution against civilians in breach of the
Fourth Geneva Convention and carries a high risk of all out
war.</FONT><BR><FONT color=#000000> </FONT><BR><FONT color=#000000>The
People’s Health Movement (PHM) calls for an immediate withdrawal of Israel
from Gaza, immediate cessation of the attacks on Palestine and Lebanon,
immediate lifting of the blockade of Gaza and for the establishment of a
strong UN Peacekeeping Mission in the Middle East. </FONT><BR><BR><FONT
color=#000000>The PHM is an international network of grass roots health
organisations in over 90 countries including Asia, Latin America, Africa,
Europe, United States and the Middle East. In PHM’s view social,
economic and political factors, including conflict and war, undermine the
health of the world's people, especially the poor, the majority of whom live
in developing countries. </FONT><BR><FONT
color=#000000> </FONT><BR><FONT color=#000000>The deaths, injuries and
loss of livelihood in both Israel and Palestine are tragic but the burden has
been carried disproportionately by the Palestinians. In the first
48 hours after the incident of the 5th July, 35 Palestinians including
children were killed by Israeli forces and 150 injured.
</FONT><BR><BR><FONT color=#000000>In Lebanon, five straight days of Israeli
attacks have killed 181 people, including children, and injured over 500.
Another 350,000 displaced people, most of them women and children, are seeking
refuge in schools and other public places. Food, water and medications are in
short supply. </FONT><BR><BR><FONT color=#000000> </FONT><FONT
color=#000000>For a small country like Lebanon (area:10,452 m2, population:
3,500,000), its infrastructure like airport, harbours, bridges, roads,
border check points, power stations, fuel tanks etc, is almost completely
destroyed. </FONT><BR><BR><FONT color=#000000> </FONT><FONT
color=#000000>PHM calls upon humanitarian organisations to step up aid efforts
to respond to the humanitarian crises.</FONT><BR><BR><FONT
color=#000000> </FONT><FONT color=#000000>The civilian population of Gaza
has taken the full force of the Israeli attacks with indiscriminate shelling
and bombing; disruption of power, water supply and sanitation; destruction of
houses and bulldozing of farms; and low level supersonic ‘buzzing’ of civilian
populations. The civilian population of Lebanon has more recently been
targeted through the destruction of transport and communications
infrastructure and arbitrary bombing.</FONT><BR><FONT
color=#000000> </FONT><BR><FONT color=#000000>PHM is concerned for the
immediate suffering and loss of life and calls for wider affirmation that
human life is precious of whatever nationality or religion and that the lives
of Palestinians are not to be somehow discounted against the lives of
Israelis. The targeting of civilians and deliberate creation of terror
is terrorism.</FONT><BR><BR><FONT color=#000000>PHM is also deeply concerned
about the increased risk of all out warfare in the region and perhaps
beyond. </FONT><BR><BR><FONT color=#000000> </FONT><FONT
color=#000000>It seems that the border incidents, involving the capture of
Israeli soldiers, are serving as mere pretexts for a major onslaught by Israel
on the aspirations and the morale of the Palestinian people and for the
establishment of a greater Israel.</FONT><BR><BR><FONT
color=#000000> </FONT><FONT color=#000000>On behalf of the millions of
ordinary civilians in the region who would suffer and die in the case of war
PHM calls for an immediate cessation of the Israeli offensive, withdrawal from
Gaza and lifting of the blockade and for immediate UN intervention in the
conflict. </FONT><BR><FONT color=#000000> </FONT><BR><FONT
color=#000000>The health situation in the Gaza Strip has been seriously
undermined as a result of external funding cuts to the Palestinian Authority
(PA), together with Israel’s refusal to transfer tax monies collected on
behalf of the PA, and the freezing of PA accounts by commercial banks.
The PA employs 57 percent of all health workers, and runs 45 percent of
primary health care centres in the Gaza Strip. Its inability to maintain
service provision is having devastating impacts on access to healthcare, and
is placing an unsustainable burden on non-governmental health organisations to
fill the gap in services.</FONT><BR><BR><FONT color=#000000>PHM calls on
health activists in Israel and in the US and Britain (Israel’s principal
allies) and everywhere to generate pressure on Israel to cease its offensive
and to take part in meaningful talks directed to a just and lasting solution
of the problems of the Middle East.</FONT><BR><BR><FONT
color=#000000> </FONT><B><FONT color=#000000>Dr. Jihad
Mashal</FONT></B><FONT color=#000000>, Director General, Palestinian Medical
Relief Society, Palestine </FONT><BR><BR><B><FONT color=#000000>Mobile:
</FONT></B><FONT color=#000000>+970 (599) 55 77 55</FONT><BR><BR><FONT
color=#000000> </FONT><B><FONT color=#000000>Dr. Ghassan
Issa</FONT></B><FONT color=#000000>, Arab Resource Collective: Ph: +96 11
742075</FONT><BR><BR><FONT color=#000000> </FONT><B><FONT
color=#000000>Dr Hani Serag</FONT></B><FONT color=#000000>, <A
href="mailto:secretariat@phmovement.org">secretariat@phmovement.org</A>
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