Dear friends,
On 10 November, we received information from the communications officer of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) informing us that the Israeli authorities have decided to cut off the only source of electricity to Imneizil, a Palestinian village in the South Hebron hills. The village had no access to electricity, water and sewage networks due to military restrictions until a Spanish NGO intervened to install solar panels disregarding the army refusal to provide a building permit. The Israeli authorities now intend to tear down a set of solar panels in the south Hebron hills. 390 residents (forty families), a health clinic, and a school will be affected. Paul Raymond, EAPPI communications officer reports that “the solar plant is the village’s only source of electricity”. For more details also see: www.eappi.org
Despite a legal campaign by Rabbis for Human Rights and 39 appeals, the prospects of saving the solar panels remain grim. Lawyers say that the demolition order violates international law. Israeli organization Rabbis for Human Rights launched a legal campaign against the demolition, arguing that the panels did not require a building permit in the first place, and that electricity is a basic humanitarian need.
The Palestine-Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) encourages PIEF constituents to amplify the protests and make a difference. Actions that PIEF joins EAPPI in proposing include:
1. Lobby with your government representative to highlight how the Israeli authorities are brazenly disregarding the Fourth Geneva Convention.
2. Write to the Ambassador or Consul General in Israel or to the Israeli Ambassador in your country.
3. Send letters of protest to relevant Israeli authorities:
a) Minister of Defense Ehud Barak, Ministry of Defence, Fax: +972 3 691 6940/696 2757, Email: minister@mod.gov.il
b) Israeli Military Judge Advocate General, Major General Avihai Mandelblit, Fax: +972 3 569 4526/608 0366, Email: avimn@idf.gov.il
c) Israeli Military Chief of Staff: Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz, Fax: +972 3 691 6940/ 697 6218
In solidarity,
Ranjan Solomon
Consultant
Palestine-Israel Ecumenical Forum
(Source, here)
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