28, February, 2007
Dear Editor, Israel - response to Mark Donig’s op ed, February 27 in S. Daily
Mark Donig’s op-ed (Stanford Daily, February 27) offers nothing new. It is a classic ‘smoke and mirrors’ to deflect criticism from hard line Israeli policy that closely parallels former white South African oppression of its indigenous population. If Donig’s is not comfortable with this analogy, perhaps the genocide of the native American Indians by European invaders would be a more apt comparison. The Israeli/Palestinian issues are not complex, as Doing contends, but relatively simple. Israel has clearly violated international law by its illegal occupation of land outlined in U.N. Resolution 242. Israel must therefore withdraw from the West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights, Sheeba Farms, and East Jerusalem.
The separation barrier has been declared illegal by the International Court of Justice and must therefore be dismantled. Palestinian land seized illegally to build this wall must be returned to its rightful owners. Palestinians must be compensated for home demolitions and the destruction of thousands of their olive trees. All illegally occupied land, to build Jewish-only settlements, must be dismantled and returned to the Palestinians. This theft is in contravention of Article 49, paragraph 6 of the Fourth Geneva Convention which states unequivocally, the "occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into territories it occupies." Amnesty International and the International Committee have documented all these illegal activities. Israel must renounce all forms of collective punishment and other terrorist activities and commit to an independent Palestinian state along the “Green Line” or pre-1967 borders. Finally, Israel must renounce all forms of torture and release thousands of Palestinians, including women and young children, from its dark dungeons and commit to civilized behavior in line with its great religious traditions.
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