LET OUR PEOPLE LIVE! March 10th, 2001 

We, faculty and staff at Birzeit University, appeal to our colleagues and  friends around the world to help us in delivering our simple but urgent  message -- let our people live! We will be delivering this message in  peaceful marches of protest to the Israeli soldiers and tanks that currently  prevent us from reaching our University by the only road that allows  accessibility and that has been recently blocked. The suffering of  Palestinians in surrounding villages who are cut off from their livelihoods,  health care, schools and markets is also acute. So far protests have only  been met with bullets and tear gas. We need your help to bring our message  to the world. 

The wave of violence against the Palestinian population has reached  unprecedented proportions. The Israeli army's policy of siege through  blocking roads and digging trenches around towns and villages has been  escalating, making it practically impossible to meet people's very basic  needs. This policy has now reached Birzeit University, preventing us and our  students from reaching campus to continue our classes, labs and academic  life. 

On 7 March 2001 in the dead of night, the Israeli army destroyed portions of  the only road linking the University to Ramallah, gouging out trenches and  destroying about 400 meters of asphalt. This damage to the only road linking  Ramallah City to Birzeit village and 33 other villages with a population of  about 65000 has resulted in the total disruption of daily life. To date,  cars, ambulances and provisions are not able to cross to and from Birzeit  and surrounding villages. Most Palestinian populated areas have already been  hermetically sealed, disregarding all standards of dealing with civilians  and contravening international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva  Convention. These measures are, in the full sense of the term, war crimes.  With these actions, it becomes clear that such policies are part of a long  term strategy that Israel is pursuing in both the Gaza Strip and the West  Bank. This strategy has been adopted by successive Israeli Governments, both  of Barak and Sharon, in order to subjugate the entire population, and will  them to accept the unacceptable.   

We call on you to ACT NOW:   

1. Call for an immediate end to the closure policies.  2. Call for the international protection of the Palestinian population.  3. Demand that Israel abide by international law. 

Write to Tony Blair MP, and your local MP, call the nearest Israeli Embassy in your area and send your protests to the Israeli Government on these email addresses: 

Benjamin Beneliazer, Israeli Minister of Defense at sar@mod.gov.il    

and Shimon Peres, Israeli Foreign Minister at sar@mofa.gov.il,

Lucy Hayter  Co-ordinator Friends of Birzeit University  21 Collingham Road  London SW5 0NU, UK 

Tel: 020 7373 8414 - Fax: 020 7835 2088  http://www.fobzu.org