March 15, 2006
Muslim Canadian Congress asks
Harper government to protest
Israel's attack on Jericho
Pro Tel Aviv Shift in Canadian Policy has Encouraged Hawks in Israel

TORONTO - The Muslim Canadian Congress has written to Prime Minister Harper, asking him to issue a strong denunciation of the recent raid by Israel into the Palestinian city of Jericho.

In the letter, Niaz Salimi, President of the MCC said, "please intervene in this matter and send a strong note to the Israeli government condemning the recent invasion of Jericho and the arrest of Ahmad Saadat and his colleagues."

The letter said, "Your government's shift towards Tel Aviv has contributed to the Israel government's arrogance and violation of international law."

"We are shocked at the impunity Israel enjoys when it violates international laws, kills Palestinians, continues its illegal occupation, and yet your government treats Israel as an ally," the letter went on to say.

The Canadian Muslim community is outraged with the latest Israeli attack on Palestinian prisoners. Israel's illegal and criminal seizure of Palestinian prisoners from a West Bank jail highlights its lack of commitment to the peace process. Tuesday's raid also undercuts the authority of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, boosts the electoral prospects of acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Palestinians are most moved by the plight of their prisoners. Parading them naked and blind followed by Israeli soldiers, not only grossly violates all international accords and norms, but also an affront to basic decency and morality. By humiliating the prisoners Israel knows for certain it is humiliating the entire Palestinian people. The images broadcasted around the world have understandably outraged Palestinians and many around the world.

BACKGROUND
The international community, especially the American and British governments has guaranteed the safety of the prisoners and was part of the guards of the Jericho jail before the Israel attack.

The agreement that kept six Palestinian prisoners under foreign watch in the West Bank town of Jericho was forged in an effort to end the Israeli siege of then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's headquarters four years ago. Israeli troops had surrounded the compound in Ramallah in April 2002, demanding Arafat turn over the six men who had sought refuge inside. Five of the men, including Ahmad Saadat, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, were implicated in the 2001 assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi. The sixth, Fuad Shobaki, masterminded an illegal weapons shipment to the Palestinian Authority on a ship called the Karine A.

Later that in 2002, the Palestinian High Court of Justice in Gaza ordered that Ahmad Sa'adat be released immediately as there was no evidence connecting him to the crime of which he was accused and Amnesty International found the proceedings which convicted the accused, grossly unfair. Nevertheless, the PA did not release those accused. The agreement by the UK and US to monitor these prisoners in the Jericho prison was clearly a compromise drawn up to prevent the killing of prisoners not properly convicted.

Last week the Palestinian Human Rights Commission, with the help of British law firm, filed a lawsuit before the UK judiciary against the British government for its role in monitoring the illegal detention of Sa'adat in violation of the Palestinian High Court of Justice ruling. PCHR believes that this role violates international law and humanitarian law.

The Muslim Canadian Congress echoes the call for the immediate release and guarantee of safety for one of the Palestinian movement's most respected leaders. The MCC believes that the world community must also insist on his safety and well being.