Yet again Israel massacres Gazan civilians - and yet again world leaders sit on the fence while people burn

Below are some template letters for lobbying purposes!! Addresses at bottom of post.



"I am writing to you to urge you to immediately call on Israel to cease
its attacks on Gaza. I am horrified to learn that more than 200 people
have been killed in Gaza in the last few hours and many more will be
killed if Israel does not cease its attacks immediately.

I also urge you to call for an urgent meeting of the United Nations
Security Council to press for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

The response of the international community in urging Israel to
minimise civilian casualties is entirely unacceptable when nearly 200
people, many of whom are women, children and innocent civilians, have
been killed in the past few hours. Israel must be pushed to
immediately cease all its attacks.

The international community must accept that it has a moral imperative
to bring an end to the violence unfolding in Gaza. The UN Security
Council should meet straight away, call for a ceasefire and impose an
arms embargo on Israel.

I am writing to you as a (British citizen) who is horrified by the
response of my country to these killings and urge you as a
representative of my country to take immediate action.

Yours sincerely "



Dear

I am writing to you to urge you to immediately call on Israel to cease
all its attacks on Gaza.

I am horrified to learn that over 200 people have reportedly been
killed in Gaza in the last few hours, many of them entirely innocent
civilians, a significant number believed to be schoolchildren
returning home from morning lessons.

As Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights and many other observers
feared, Israeli rhetoric of avoiding civilian loss of life is not
rooted in a proper application of the legal principles of
proportionality and distinction. Today's events are not proportionate
acts of self-defence.

I do not believe that Israel has made a lawful case for the wholesale
targeting of Hamas. I believe from news reports that one target struck
today was a graduation ceremony of police officers employed by the
Hamas government – what evidence is there of any connection between
rockets fired by militants, whether under the direction of Hamas or
otherwise, and these trainee police officers?

But in any event, striking populated areas with the kind of force used
by Israel today, even if some of the targets were in principle
legitimate military targets, can never be in compliance with an
ordinary understanding of the laws of war. Israel's acts are therefore
war crimes and crimes against humanity and everything possible will be
done within the law to bring all those concerned to justice, including
any third parties against whom there is evidence that they have aided
and abetted these crimes.

Many more civilians will be killed if Israel does not cease its
attacks immediately.

I urge you to immediately contact other foreign ministers to arrange
an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to pass a
resolution requiring an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and calling on the
international community to collect evidence of war crimes and crimes
against humanity.

The response of the international community in urging Israel to
minimise civilian casualties is entirely unacceptable when many
innocent civilians, including children, have been killed in the past
few hours. Israel must be pushed to immediately cease all its attacks.

The international community must accept that it has a moral and
arguably a legal imperative to bring an end to the violence unfolding
in Gaza.

Yours sincerely,






Contacts for British people
1. Write to your MP
You can find your MPs details on this site  http://www.writetothem.com/
just enter your postcode. If you don't live in the UK you can write to
the MP at your last address.

2. Write to the Labour Party
You can send a message to the Labour Party using this online form
 http://www.labour.org.uk/contact

3. Write to the Conservative Party
Write to David Cameron  camerond@parliament.uk
You could mention you are appalled that he has been on the BBC calling
for restraint on all sides when nearly 200 Palestinians have been
killed.

4. British Consulate Jerusalem
972 (02) 541 4100
Call them asking what the British government is doing about the attacks on Gaza.

5. British Embassy Tel Aviv
02 3510 1167 / (0)3 527 1572

Call them.

6. Prime Minister - Gordon Brown
Fax PM's office on +442079250918

7. Foreign Secretary - David Miliband
 private.office@fco.gov.uk


U.S. Senators -
 http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
U.S. Representatives -  https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
President Bush -  http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

I was just watching CNN interviewing one of their reporters on board the 'Dignity', a humanitarian supply ship carrying doctors and aid workers heading for Gaza. According to the CNN reporter it was just rammed by the Israeli navy. The interview ended with what sounded like the reporter drowning.

The latest CNN report is that the Dignity crew is safe in Cyprus, and the official Israeli spokesperson has withdrawn their original claims it was involved in terrorsim.. They are blaming the ship full of doctors - and a former US congresswoman - of ramming the Israeli ship in internaional waters.
This is a massive own-goal by the IDF akin to sinking the USS Liberty. The other side of the story:

The Dignity, a Free Gaza boat on a mission of mercy to besieged Gaza, is being attacked by the Israeli Navy in international waters. The Dignity has been surrounded by at least half-a-dozen Israeli warships. They are firing live ammunition around the Dignity, and one of the warships has rammed the civilian craft causing an unknown amount of damage. Contrary to international maritime law, the Israelis are actively preventing the Dignity from approaching Gaza or finding safe haven in either Egypt or Lebanon. Instead, the Israeli navy is demanding that the Dignity return to Cyprus - despite the fact that the ship does not carry enough fuel to do so. Fortunately, no one aboard the ship has yet been seriously injured.

There are 15 civilian passengers representing 11 different countries (see below for a complete list). At approximately 5am (UST), well out in international waters, Israeli warships began surrounding the Dignity, threatening the ship. At 6:45am (UST) we were able to establish brief contact with the crew and were told that the ship had been rammed by the Israeli Navy in international waters, and that the Israelis were preventing the ship from finding safe harbor. We heard heavy gunfire in the background before all contact was lost with the Dignity.

It is urgent that you TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION!

URGENT! Israeli Navy Attacking Civilian Mercy Ship! TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY!

The Dignity, a Free Gaza boat on a mission of mercy to besieged Gaza, is being attacked by the Israeli Navy in international waters. The Dignity has been surrounded by at least half-a-dozen Israeli warships. They are firing live ammunition around the Dignity, and one of the warships has rammed the civilian craft causing an unknown amount of damage. Contrary to international maritime law, the Israelis are actively preventing the Dignity from approaching Gaza or finding safe haven in either Egypt or Lebanon. Instead, the Israeli navy is demanding that the Dignity return to Cyprus - despite the fact that the ship does not carry enough fuel to do so. Fortunately, no one aboard the ship has yet been seriously injured.

There are 15 civilian passengers representing 11 different countries (see below for a complete list). At approximately 5am (UST), well out in international waters, Israeli warships began surrounding the Dignity, threatening the ship. At 6:45am (UST) we were able to establish brief contact with the crew and were told that the ship had been rammed by the Israeli Navy in international waters, and that the Israelis were preventing the ship from finding safe harbor. We heard heavy gunfire in the background before all contact was lost with the Dignity.

It is urgent that you TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION!

CALL the Israeli Government and demand that it immediately STOP attacking the Dignity and endangering the lives of its passengers!

CALL Mark Regev in the Prime Minister's office at:
+972 2670 5354 or +972 5062 3264
 mark.regev@it.pmo.gov.il

CALL Shlomo Dror in the Ministry of Defence at:
+972 33697 5339 or +972 50629 8148
 mediasar@mod.gov.il


BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Dignity departed from Larnaca Port in Cyprus at 7pm (UST) on Monday 29 December, bound for war-devastated Gaza with a cargo of over 3 tons of desperately needed medical supplies donated by the people of Cyprus. At our request, the ship was searched by Cypriot Port authorities prior to departure, to certify that there was nothing "threatening" aboard - only emergency medical supplies.

TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY TO STOP THE ISRAELI NAVY FROM ENDANGERING THE DIGNITY AND ITS PASSENGERS!

Civilians aboard the Dignity being threatened by the Israeli military:

(UK) Denis Healey, Captain
Captain of the Dignity, Denis has been involved with boats for 45 years, beginning with small fishing boats in Portsmouth. He learned to sail while atschool and has been part of the sea ever since. He's a certified yachtmaster and has also worked on heavy marine equipment from yachts to large dredgers. This is his fourth trip to Gaza.

(Greece) Nikolas Bolos, First Mate
Nikolas is a chemical engineer and human rights activist. He has served as a crewmember on several Free Gaza voyages, including the first one in August.

(Jordan) Othman Abu Falah
Othman is a senior producer with Al-Jazeera Television. He will remain in Gaza to report on the ongoing military onslaught.

(Australia) Renee Bowyer
Renee is a schoolteacher and human rights activist. She will remain in Gaza to do human rights monitoring and reporting.

(Ireland) Caoimhe Butterly
Caoimhe is a reknowned human rights activist and Gaza Coordinator for the Free Gaza Movement. She will be remaining in Gaza to do human rights monitoring, assist with relief efforts, and work on project development with Free Gaza.

(Cyprus) Ekaterini Christodulou
Ekaterini is a well-known and respected freelance journalist in Cyprus. She is traveling to Gaza to report on the conflict.

(Sudan) Sami El-Haj
Sami is a former detainee at Guantanamo Bay, and head of the human rights section at Al-Jazeera Television. He will remain in Gaza to report on the ongoing military onslaught.

(UK) Dr. David Halpin
Dr. Halpin is an experienced orthopaedic surgeon, medical professor, and ship's captain. He has organized humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza on several occasions with the Dove and Dolphin. He is traveling to Gaza to volunteer in hospitals and clinics.

(Germany) Dr. Mohamed Issa
Dr. Issa is a pediatric surgeon from Germany. He is traveling to Gaza to volunteer in hospitals and clinics.

(UK/Tunisia) Fathi Jaouadi
Fathi is a television producer and human rights activist. He will remain in Gaza to do human rights monitoring and reporting.

(USA) Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia is a former U.S. Congresswoman from Georgia, and the 2008 Green Party presidential candidate. She is traveling to Gaza to assess the ongoing conflict.

(Cyprus) Martha Paisi
Martha is a senior research fellow and experienced human rights activist. She is traveling to Gaza to do human rights work and to assist with humanitarian relief efforts.

(UK) Karl Penhaul
Karl Penhaul is a video correspondent for CNN, based out of Bogotá, Colombia. Appointed to this position in February 2004, he covers breaking news around the world utilizing CNN's new laptop-based 'Digital Newsgathering' system. He is traveling to Gaza to report on the ongoing conflict.

(Iraq) Thaer Shaker
Thaer is a cameraman with Al-Jazeera television. He will remain in Gaza to report on the ongoing military onslaught.

(Cyprus) Dr. Elena Theoharous, MP
Dr. Theoharous is a surgeon and a Member of the Cypriot Parliament. She is traveling to Gaza to assess the ongoing conflict, assist with humanitarian relief efforts, and volunteer in hospitals.

CNN Link:  http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/12/29/penhaul.gaza.bpr.boat.cnn

Report:  http://www.freegaza.org/index.php?module=latest_news&id=ea798749aeed49271e3b58adf6d89db6&offset=

Interview with Jenny Linnel:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g74j4HMMSg

Interview with Ewa Jasiewicz:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muLlFdcK3EA

Interview with Haggai Matat:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMZ35twfsf8