Your World is Crackers

(The following article is something I recieved from the website posted at the end. The information was so good, i couldn't help putting it up here...)

Fact: The occupation is killing children and innocent civilians

Israelis possess overwhelming military superiority over the Palestinians. Israeli soldiers are shooting individuals with missiles, using American made F-16s and Apache helicopters. Tanks roll into refugee camps, supposedly to root out terrorists. But so many of these so-called terrorists are young children.

According to B'Tselem, the Israeli Center for Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian Territories, 1059 of the Palestinians killed from September 29, 2000 though July 20, 2002 were civilians. In comparison, 360 Israeli civilians were killed during this period, in Israel and the Occupied Territories combined (see box below). There were also over 108 extra-judicial assassinations of Palestinians during this period -- a war crime according to the Hague Convention of 1907.

How many Palestinian and Israeli civilians have been killed in Israel and the Occupied Territories during the current Intifada? Click HERE for a graphical representation.

Fact: Israeli Settlements Are Illegal and Provocative

One of Israel's most egregious violations of the 4th Geneva Convention is the construction of massive settlements in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. The terms of the Convention couldn't be clearer: "The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies." The Israeli government is essentially colonizing the Occupied Territories.

More than 350,000 settlers have built approximately 150 illegal settlements on confiscated Palestinian land. And the number is growing. Since 2001 forty-four new settlements have been established, according to an aerial survey by Peace Now. Jewish-only bypass roads that connect settlements to each other and to Israel have carved up Palestine into disconnected Palestinian islands, making establishment of a viable Palestinian state impossible. The army and settlers also confiscate scarce natural resources from the region. Israeli Jewish settlers are allocated 4.5 times more water, per capita, for agricultural and personal use than the occupied Palestinians themselves.

Fact: The Israeli government demolishes homes, uproots crops, and confiscates land.

As stated in this press release by Amnesty International, Israel has demolished over 3,000 homes since October 2000, leaving tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians homeless. These demolitions are frequently used as a form of collective punishment, or to facilitate the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements. In East Jerusalem, Palestinian homes are demolished and land confiscated in order to ensure Jews have a majority in the city (the “Silent Transfer”).

Fact: Palestinians suffer a severe water shortage due to the Occupation

The Israeli government pursues a grossly discriminatory water policy. Since 1967, the Israeli government has been stealing up to 80% of the gro undwater from the"Mountain Reservoir," a group of groundwater aquifers located underneath the mountains of the Occupied West Bank of Palestine, lincluding the Occupied Jerusalem. The Palestinian people are allowed no control of these extensive water resources.

Fact: US Aid to Israel Harms Israelis

For every dollar the US sends to the Israeli military, Israeli taxpayers end up spending two to three extra dollars supporting their military. By strengthening the Israeli military establishment, US aid to Israel makes it even harder for progressive Israelis to create a civil society committed to a just peace in the region. Israel has one of the most powerful militaries in the world, with a large portion of the country's budget allocated for the military. The country's massive military expenditures, promoted in part by the US, mean that less money is spent on social programs. The increasing US aid to Israel only serves to cement Israeli dependence on the US and turns the country into a militarized "client state."

Fact: Over 1,000 Israelis have refused military service due to the Occupation.

"We will no longer fight beyond the Green Line for the purpose of occupying, deporting, destroying, blockading, killing, starving and humiliating an entire people," declares a petition signed by the reservists.

Fact: YOU fund the Occupation.

Israel, whose population is 0.1% of the total world population, gets roughly one-third of all US foreign aid. Annually this amounts to more than $3 billion in US taxpayer dollars going to Israel. $2.04 billion of that is military aid.

Fact: Peace is possible.

It is a myth that Palestinians need to be subjugated to keep Jews safe. The occupation is only worsening the position of Jews in the Middle East. True safety only comes with justice and equality. History teaches us that when people come together around a common vision for peace, they can change even the most oppressive conditions.

http://stop-us-military-aid-to-israel.net/5reasons.htm