{news} GP RELEASE Greens to Bush: Demand Israel stop slaughter of civilians

[Justine McCabe]

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, July 20, 2006

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty at greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene at greens.org


Greens to Bush: Press Israel to stop the attacks on Lebanon

. Slaughter of Lebanese and Palestinian civilians is a punishable war crime; 
use of U.S. weapons for such purposes violates U.S. laws


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party leaders called on President Bush to demand 
that Israel immediately cease its invasion of Lebanon and its rain of 
destruction on civilian populations and infrastructure in Lebanon and the 
Gaza Strip.

Greens urged President Bush to press for an immediate ceasefire.  The Green 
Party has repeatedly called for negotiation, a halt to violence by both 
sides, and adherence to international law as the only means to achieve peace 
and security for all Israelis, Palestinians, and people in surrounding 
countries.

"The current U.S. reaction is a bipartisan disaster, with most Democrats and 
Republicans alike in Congress expressing unqualified support for Israel," 
said Rae Vogeler, Wisconsin Green candidate for the U.S. Senate 
<http://www.voterae.org>.  "While President Bush is busy rattling sabers at
Iran and Syria and refusing to demand a ceasefire, hundreds of innocent 
Lebanese and Palestinian civilians are dying."

Greens based their demand on the following:

. Israel's attacks violate Fourth Geneva Convention prohibitions against 
"collective punishment," i.e., the retaliatory killing of civilians, 
"targeted" assassinations, and destruction of the infrastructure of an 
occupied territory.  Israel's use of U.S.-made weapons violates U.S. laws 
against deploying such weapons for use against civilians.

. The attacks cannot be justified as a response to the capture of an Israeli 
soldier who was in Gaza as part of the occupation force.  (The current 
exchange of violence began with Israeli shellings that killed eight 
Palestinian civilians on a Gaza beach.)  Israel itself is holding thousands 
of Palestinian civilians, including over 400 Palestinian children and 120 
women, in inhumane conditions and has reportedly subjected some detainees to 
torture.

. Israel and the U.S. have refused to recognize Hamas as the legitimate 
democratically elected government of the Palestinian territories; the 
current attacks are clearly meant to destroy Hamas in the Palestinian 
territories and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and to punish Palestinian civilians 
for having elected Hamas.

. The current escalation of hostilities is a result of Israel's illegal 
occupation (with U.S. support) of Palestinian lands and daily brutality and 
killing visited on Palestinians, land grabs and ethnic cleansing in the West 
Bank, cutoff of water and electricity, destruction of homes and businesses, 
economic strangulation, and conversion of the Palestinian territories into 
heavily guarded bantustans sealed off with a 'security' wall.

. The Olmert government's current actions, especially deployment of troops 
into Lebanon, risk a greater regional conflict that will threaten global 
peace as other nations become involved in the conflict, and will also hinder 
efforts to effect U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq.  Aside from the U.S. and 
Israel itself, most of the world understands the attacks as illegal Israeli 
military aggression.

Greens have repeatedly called for Israel to end the occupation and fully 
recognize the human rights of Palestinians, in accord with international law 
and U.N. directives, as necessary first steps for peace in the Middle East.

In November, 2005, the Green Party endorsed a resolution calling for 
divestment and a general boycott of Israel until it complies with 
international law and realizes human rights for Palestinians, including 
those living within Israel's borders 
<http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2005_11_28.shtml>.

Greens have also endorsed the Palestinian Right of Return, consistent with 
U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194 (nonbinding, passed December 11, 1948), 
which states that "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."

==> For Green campaign listings, news, photos, and web sites, visit the 
Green Party's candidate spotlight page <http://www.gp.org/2006elections> and 
the Green elections database <http://www.greens.org/elections>, which lists 
all 2006 candidates.

The Green Party will hold its 2006 national meeting, titled "El Futuro es 
Verde / The Future is Green," in Tucson, Arizona, from July 27 to 30 
<http://www.gp.org/meeting2006>.  For media credentialing, visit 
<http://www.gp.org/forms/media>.


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193

Green Party Peace Action Committee (GPAX)
http://www.gp.org/committees/peace

"El Futuro es Verde / The Future is Green"
National Meeting of the Green Party of the United States in Tucson, Arizona, 
July 27-30, 2006
http://www.gp.org/meeting2006/
http://www.pimagreens.org/gpusanm/index.html
Media credentialing page: http://www.gp.org/forms/media


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