PALESTINIANS FROM RAFAH, GAZA TO SPEAK OUT ON ISRAELI KILLINGS AND HOUSE
DEMOLITIONS
LAUNCH OF TOM HURNDALL FOUNDATION IN BIRMINGHAM
WEDNESDAY, 2ND JUNE 2004, 7 TO 9 p.m.
COUNCIL CHAMBER, BIRMINGHAM COUNCIL HOUSE
Gaza and a co-ordinator of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) will
be speaking in Birmingham on the horrors of Israeli killings and house
demolitions. His cousin was recently killed during Israel's "Operation
Rainbow" when the Israelis bulldozed his home on top of him and his family.
Ahmed was also an eye witness when an Israeli sniper shot the British
student and photographer, Tom Hurndall, while he was trying to save
Palestinian children who were under fire.
Ahmed will be joined by Billy Hurndall, 19 years old and Tom Hurndall's
younger brother. Tom was shot in the head last April in Rafah and died in
January this year. The Israeli soldier who shot him is currently on trial
in Israel after a long and tireless campaign by the family.
The meeting will launch fund raising for the Tom Hurndall Foundation which
is committed to seeking justice through the
courts in the killing of Tom Hurndall and other innocent victims of
unlawful killing in the Occupied Territories.
The meeting will also hear from Jenny Chapman, an ISM volunteer, who worked
with Rachel Corrie setting up an ISM
presence in Rafah a year ago. Film clips from "Shebab Deiya" (ISM film)
and "When Killing is Easy" (documentary about the killings in Gaza) will
also be shown.
For further information and to arrange interviews contact Chris Khamis on
07785 342124 or ring Mary Brennan on 0121 472 6871
Notes for Editors:
(1) The ISM is an international organisation that seeks through
peaceful means to prevent the Israeli government and army from killing
Palestinians and demolishing Palestinian homes in the Occupied Territories.
Volunteers from around the world stay with Palestinians whose homes are
threatened and put themselves between bulldozers and the houses they are
trying to demolish. Rachel Corrie, an American ISM volunteer was run over
and killed by a bulldozer as she tried to prevent a family's home from
being demolished. The bulldozer did not stop despite Rachel Corrie being
clearly visible. The bulldozer is supplied by Caterpillar, an American
multinational company with branches in Britain. ISM is calling for a
boycott of Caterpillar products until it stops supplying Israel with
bulldozers.
(2) The Tom Hurndall Foundation is committed to seeking justice through
the courts in the killing of Tom Hurndall and other innocent victims of
unlawful killing in the Occupied Territories. The Foundation is determined
to challenge the "culture of impunity" and send a signal to every soldier
on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that it is not
acceptable to shoot, maim or terrorise innocent civilians, be they
international or Palestinian. For more information, see
www.tomhurndall.co.uk
(3) The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) is an independent,
grassroots organisation which campaigns for the right of the Palestinian
people to self-determination. We believe that the Palestinians have a
right - enshrined in international law - to return to their own towns,
villages and land. PSC opposes all forms of racism, including anti-Jewish
prejudice. The PSC has been in existence for more than 20 years and has
members from a wide range of communities across Britain, with affiliations
from many trade unions and other organisations. PSC provides information
about the human and political situation in Palestine, seeking to give
Palestinians the voice that is often denied to them by Israel and much of
the international media. We aim to build a solidarity campaign as big as
the Anti-Apartheid movement which will focus on peace and human rights for
the Palestinians and for all people who live in the Middle East.
For further information and to arrange interviews contact Chris Khamis on
07785 342124 or ring Mary Brennan on 0121 472 6871