ACRI Responds to Crisis in Gaza and Israel's South

JERUSALEM – January 6, 2008 – In light of Israel’s military operation in Gaza and the ongoing attacks by Hamas on Israel’s south, ACRI has been at the forefront of efforts by Israeli civil-society organizations to condemn the damage inflicted on civilians in both Gaza and southern Israel and to raise public awareness of the human rights violations that are being perpetrated by both sides in the wake of the fighting.

Below is a summary of ACRI's activities:

• ACRI's position on protecting civilians during the conflict: http://www.acri.org.il/eng/story.aspx?id=593.


• ACRI has established a special hot line for residents of Israel's south in tandem with SHATIL, offering information in English, Hebrew, Arabic, and Russian about various rights and procedures in the context of the conflict, including lack of access to bomb shelters and instructions from the Homefront Command, compensation, workers' rights, access to health services, and more. Numbers and hours are available online: http://www.acri.org.il/eng/story.aspx?id=596.


• On December 29, ACRI intervened to the Homefront Command urging it to include in its instructions specific emergency procedures and resources for workplaces and public transportation. The full intervention is available here: http://www.acri.org.il/eng/story.aspx?id=594.


• Together with a coalition of Israeli human rights organizations, we are running a public campaign under the slogan, “Civilians are Not Cannon Fodder. Not in Gaza. Not in Sderot” and highlighting the need to distinguish between combatants and civilians during the fighting. The Hebrew campaign can be viewed here: http://www.acri.org.il/camp/clips/index.html. Also, view the blog established by the coalition in Hebrew and English here: http://gazaheb.blogspotcom/.


• On January 1, ACRI condemned in a written intervention to Attorney-General Meni Mazuz the illegal arrests and interrogations of demonstrators who lawfully protested against the military actions in Gaza. View the complete intervention here: http://www.acri.org.il/eng/story.aspx?id=595.


• On January 4, we joined our partner organizations in appealing to Defense Minister Ehud Barak to demand that Israel restore fuel supplies to hospitals, water wells, and other vital humanitarian institutions in Gaza. View the full intervention in Hebrew here: http://www.adalah.org/features/gaza/gov%20build.doc.

ENDS