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THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE WON'T STOP
UNTIL THE OCCUPATION ENDS As people of faith and humanitarians we must work to ensure the well being of all peoples. The suicide bombings by Palestinians and the Israeli government's brutal actions have their roots in Israel's continuing occupation of the territories it seized in the 1967 war. *We join with the United Nations and citizens around the world who declare that the Occupation by Israel of the West Bank and Gaza is immoral and illegal. *We join with peacemakers around the world who call for the enforcement of UN Resolution 242, which requires Israel to withdraw to its pre-1967 borders, and other relevant UN Resolutions bearing on the Israel/Palestine conflict. *We join with those around the world who recognize that the Occupation, and Israel's efforts to maintain it, deny the Palestinian people life, liberty and dignity. *We join with the Israeli reserve officers and soldiers and Israeli peace activists who recognize that the Occupation is making Israel less secure and is corrupting and brutalizing both the Palestinian and Israeli peoples. "We ... know that the Territories are not Israel, and that all settlements are bound to be evacuated in the end. We hereby declare that we shall not continue to fight this war of the Settlements. We shall not continue to fight beyond the 1967 borders in order to dominate, expel, starve, and humiliate an entire people." [From the statement of the more than 1,000 Israeli reserve officers and solders who have refused service in the Occupied Territories]. *We join with religious leaders around the world who decry the ways the Occupation fuels nationalistic, ethnic, and religious hatred, intolerance, and fanaticism. *We stand against those who use Israeli atrocities as the grounds to promote anti-Semitism. We stand against those who claim the ongoing Occupation and expropriation of Palestinian lands is justified because of Palestinian atrocities. We are extremely aware that the U.S. gives more aid to Israel than to any other country in the world--between 3-5 billion tax dollars a year. *We join with fellow citizens throughout the United States who say it is time for the United States Government to stop funding the Occupation. . End the Occupation and the terror it creates! _____________________________ Interfaith Council for Peace &
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