8/3/04-CFL ALERT: ISRAEL TO EXPAND SETTLEMENTS DESPITE U.S. WISHES, CONTACT CONGRESS

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Citizens for Fair Legislation
For Immediate Release
August 3, 2004
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CFL ALERT: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon approved the expansion of illegal settlements in occupied Palestine in violation of understandings between Israel and the U.S. Israeli actions have left no hope in establishing the two-state solution. If democracy is really what the U.S. is striving for in the Middle East, then it would be behoove us to begin by pressuring our "closest ally" in the region to democratize themselves and give each citizen of historic Palestine an equal vote.

TALKING POINTS
*While the international community and the Palestinians welcome Israeli disengagement from Gaza they are skeptical that it is a ruse to cement Israel's grip on the West Bank and deny them a viable state. There are 8,000 settlers in Gaza and about 400,000 living in the West Bank, with 30,000 people in the Ma'aleh Adumim settlement it is one of several large West Bank settlements that Sharon wants to merge in the West Bank in order to steal large swaths of occupied Palestine.

*Tell your representatives that Israeli actions and the expansion of settlements have destroyed hope of a two-state solution and that the only viable solution is to support one democratic state with equal social and human rights for Palestinians and Israelis. A true democracy respects the rights of each citizen equally. Historic Palestine now has 6 million Jews and over 5 million original Palestinian inhabitants (with many million more living along the borders as refugees). If the U.S. expects all different ethnic and religious groups in Iraq to live together in one unified democratic nation, there is no reason for this government not to demand that Israel do the same and offer citizenship to Palestinians.

*Tell your representative that Israeli intransigence remains unchecked because this country continues to coddle the Israeli regime as they defy international law, the United Nations, the International Court of Justice and now even agreements they have reached with the Bush administration. When President Bush told Sharon that Israel could retain some West Bank land under any peace deals with Palestinians, he gave Sharon a green light to continue stealing Palestinian land. Ask your representatives to support legislation declaring the settlements illegal and a major impediment to peace.

*Israeli hegemony in the Middle East continues to threaten U.S. security and U.S. standing in the international community. It is time to separate our support for Israel from our political reality in Washington; Israeli lobbyists in D.C. have hindered Mideast policy for far too long. Tell your representatives that it is incomprehensible that we continue to destroy our credibility throughout the world and put American lives at risk for the sake of an apartheid nation.

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Citizens for Fair Legislation is a grassroots organization committed to encouraging a fair domestic and foreign policy with an emphasis on the US/Arab world.
http://www.cflweb.org
To learn more about John Kerry and his anti-human rights position on Palestinians, click here: http://cflweb.org/kerryonisrael.htm.htm