Palestine Human Rights Campaign www.palestine.org.nz

Media Release 15 April 2012:

Welcome to Palestine 2012 initiative and the right of Palestinians to receive visitors

The Palestine Human Rights Campaign calls on New Zealand Members of Parliament to endorse the WELCOME TO PALESTINE INITIATIVE ON 17 APRIL 2012 by supporting the right of the people of the occupied Palestinian Territories to receive those who present themselves peacefully at Tel Aviv Airport, and who declare their wish to proceed to Palestine, to be freely allowed to do so. It is our hope that New Zealand MPs will agree that this fundamental human right is worthy of support.

A violation of international law, Israel's belligerent military Occupation of the West Bank isolates the territory from the outside world. Allowing Israel to continue turning away peaceful travellers to Palestine is tantamount to endorsing a long-running, illegal occupation.

New Zealand MPs who support this appeal and confirm their commitment to peace based on justice and freedom for all will be in company with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and many other distinguished human rights advocates around the world.

ISRAELI ACTIVISTS WILL ARRIVE AT TEL AVIV AIRPORT TO WELCOME INTERNATIONAL ACTIVISTS
14 April 2012:
As citizens of Israel, we feel great respect and appreciation for our Internationals who come to visit the West Bank and express solidarity with the Palestinian residents, living under occupation and apartheid. Certainly, we will be there to greet them on 15 April at the airport terminal, maintaining a presence there between the hours of 12 noon until 8pm. We will greet them with open arms, in a feeling of deep appreciation and a personal friendship with some of them. We will hold 'Welcome' signs, balloons, flowers, chocolates and copies of the drawings by Palestinian children from Bethlehem. We welcome them in the harsh reality where Palestinians are excluded from meeting their invited guests and escorting them from the airport – not to mention, of course, being excluded themselves from flying from this airport.
Palestinian organisations proudly announce the forthcoming arrival of hundreds of visitors as part of the "Welcome to Palestine" campaign. The visit's programme will include the launching of a new school, getting into personal contact with Palestinians and exchange of cultural knowledge and study tours. Many Palestinian activists join every day in the effort to provide the most effective programme possible for the visitors.
We continue our preparations, although a number of volunteers were harassed by Israeli security forces. In one case an activist suffered a late-night search of his home at 2am, having his personal computer confiscated. Other activists were detained for long hours of interrogation upon entering or or leaving the country.
Dozens of our volunteers were actually encouraged by this very harassment campaign, as the State of Israel itself exposed the policy of siege and isolation which is being imposed on the West Bank. Last July, hundreds of Internationals bought tickets to board the flights to Palestine. The State of Israel sent out a "black list" containing the names of 342 people aged 9 to 83, preventing them from getting on the flights. This provoked demonstrations at airports across Europe, while Israeli security forces turned Tel-Aviv Airport into a military zone.
127 men and women were arrested at the airport and detained for several days, solely due to their insistence upon visiting the Palestinian families and organisations which invited them. The campaign waged in the aftermath had many positive implications. Under judicial pressure, many airlines compensated the blocked passengers and fully refunded the ticket prices fully; trade unions at airports have joined in our call for preserving the Freedom of Movement. The Workers' Union of the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris recently published a clear message of support for the "Welcome to Palestine" Campaign. The publicity also exposed Israel's attempts to prevent citizens of foreign countries from offering humanitarian support to millions of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. What the State of Israel cannot tolerate, it seems, is the fact that women and men who come to visit here between 15 and 21 April are not going to lie or hide. They refuse to pretend that Palestine or the Palestinians do not exist.
The State of Israel may call it "de-legitimation" and spread various lies about those who are coming to visit here these days. We, on the other hand, are appreciative and grateful to all those visitors, who are striving for the same things to which we aspire - peace, humanism, mutual help and honesty.
The International Community recognises the fundamental right of the Palestinians to receive visitors from abroad, as well as the right of the citizens of all countries to visit the Palestinians without hindrance. Where the State of Israel tries to silence and isolate us, we call upon others to join us, openly and unafraid, without fear. At this time of Passover, known as the Feast of Libert, we will strive with the many others – locally and internationally – and strive to achieve the goals of freedom and equal rights for all, the same basic values we all share as human beings.

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