(Ramallah, 8 November, 2006), Palestinian Legislative Council members for the Third Way parliamentary block, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi and Dr. Salam Fayyad, view with grave concern the latest wave of Israeli military aggression against Palestinian civilians in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, in which Israeli tanks shelled the residential neighbourhood of Al-Kafarnah this morning, killing 20 Palestinians and wounding 54 (some of whom are reported in critical condition).

Ashrawi and Fayyad deeply condemn the horrific crimes committed by the Israeli army against Palestinian civilians across the northern Gaza Strip during the past 8 days, in which at least 80 people have been killed, and urge the international community to take immediate steps to pressure Israel to abide by its obligations under international and humanitarian law.

The Third Way appeals to the international community to:

1. voice its condemnation of the latest massacres, in which civilians have been directly targeted by Israeli military forces, and to dispatch an international commission of inquiry to investigate Israel’s military measures,

2. hold the Israeli Government accountable before its legal and political obligations under international law, and to ensure Israel’s abidance by the principles of the 4th Geneva Conventions of 1949,

3. pressure Israel to end its ongoing military offensive in the Gaza Strip, and

4. immediately work towards the deployment of international troops in the occupied Palestinian territories to protect the Palestinian people and guarantee the security and wellbeing of Palestinian civilians, whose already dire socio-economic situation has been amplified by Israel’s ongoing assaults and prolonged siege since June 2006.

Signed,

Dr. Hanan Ashrawi
Dr. Salam Fayyad