Israel/Palestine: Coalition of Women for Peace Supports EU Endorsement of Goldstone Report

The Coalition of Women for Peace (Israel) endorses the European Parliament's resolution defending the Goldstone Report. The Coalition supports the call for follow-up investigations into war crimes committed by both sides (Israeli and Palestinian) during Operation Cast Lead. It additionally requests that the European Parliament take diplomatic and legal measures to ensure that the Israeli government will cease all attempts to restrict the work of civil society organizations in the region.

Official Statement:

The Coalition of Women for Peace (Israel) would like to congratulate the European Parliament on its official resolution, dated March 10th 2010, endorsing the Goldstone Report and its findings. We would like to extend our support to the European Parliament for not succumbing to pressures by the "pro-Israel" lobby and for adopting a resolution that seeks justice and accountability.

As Palestinian and Jewish women, citizens of Israel, we call upon the European Parliament, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Member States to pressure Israel to implement the recommendations of the Goldstone Report, to investigate the war crimes it committed during the assault on Gaza, to lift the ongoing siege of Gaza, which constitutes a collective punishment of a civilian population, and to end the occupation of Palestinian lands.

In its resolution, the European Parliament also stressed "the importance of the cooperation between official authorities and non-governmental organizations in the follow-up investigations and in the implementation of the Goldstone Report's recommendations" and expressed its "concern about pressures towards NGOs involved in the elaboration of the Goldstone Report and in the follow-up investigations, [calling] on authorities on all sides to refrain from any restrictive measures towards the activities of these organizations."

The Coalition of Women for Peace and its member organizations have been one of the targets of these growing assaults from Israeli officials, extremist organizations and journalists, because of our cooperation with the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission and our ongoing struggle against the occupation of Palestine and for a just peace.

In response to this growing wave of assaults on Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations and activists, we urge the European Parliament and the Member States to use any available diplomatic and legal measures to ensure that the Israeli government and parliament will cease all attempts to restrict the work of civil society organizations or to legalize limitations on financial support from European countries and the EC.

We are greatly encouraged by the European Parliament's involvement towards achieving a just peace in the region, and we call upon you to pressure Israel until it abides by the legal and ethical standards of international human rights and humanitarian law.

Sincerely,

Coalition of Women for Peace (Israel)

March 11, 2010