Welcome to Fair Go For Palestine.
This site is a non-profit initiative designed
to promote awareness and understanding of
the plight faced by the Palestinians. It does
not condone racism in any form, including
anti-Semitism. Its criticism of the State
of Israel has nothing to do with race or religion
but everything to do with the human rights
of the Palestinian people. Among the most
insightful and edifying information contained
on this site or linked to it, is the work
of Jews struggling against Zionism. The aim
of this site is to provide you with information
and resources to enable you to make an informed
assessment of the situation in Palestine and
to make a difference with respect to the stance
taken by Australian on this issue.
Most people are aware, some
more so than others, that the world in which
we live is a place rife with injustice, misery,
and suffering. It is difficult, however, to
find a place, even in this world, where these
conditions are more acute than in the illegally
occupied territories of Gaza and the West
Bank, known as Palestine. Under the occupation
of Israel since 1948, the Palestinians have
been subjected to the worst forms of oppression,
cruelty, and indignity. The majority of Palestinians
live in densely populated refugee camps, in
their own country, in conditions of abject
poverty, hunger and hopelessness. They survive
on a restricted food and water supply. They
are denied freedom of movement, are subject
to routine 'curfews' and 'closures' of their
camps or villages. When they are permitted
to travel, even to neighbouring villages or
towns, they must pass through Israeli military
checkpoints. Palestinian farmers are prevented
from tending their fields, while labourers
and students are prevented from attending
work or school, all at the whim of the Israeli
military. Palestinian houses are bulldozed
to the ground in the name of 'security' or
when Israeli settlements are to be expanded
or new one established.
The occupation of Palestine
by Israel is illegal as far as the United
Nations (UN) is concerned. Israel has been
condemned by the UN for its continued violation
of the human rights of the Palestinian people.
The treatment of the Palestinian people by
Israel is in violation of the Geneva Convention.
Numerous UN Resolutions have been passed calling
on Israel to, among other issues, withdraw
from Gaza and the West Bank, respect Jerusalem
as an international city, and allow the Palestinian
refugees the right of return. Israel has not
complied and has continued to evade sanctions
for violation of the UN Resolutions thanks
to its number one supporter, the United States.
When the Palestinian people
themselves protest against these conditions
they are ruthlessly suppressed. Often it is
the fortunate ones that are shot dead while
protesting. Others are deliberately shot in
the eye or kneed with rubber-coated bullets
leaving them blind, maimed or crippled. This
'policy of injury' has been employed as injuries
are not as newsworthy as deaths and therefore
inhibiting both sympathy for the Palestinian
cause and criticism for Israel. Those captured
are dealt with mercilessly, often brutally
beaten, and if arrested or detained, frequently
tortured.
Still others suffer less
personal but by no means less violent fates.
Israel is among the most well-equipped and
sophisticated military powers in the world
and despite frequent condemnation from the
UN for using 'excessive' force, it responds
to Palestinian resistance with missiles and
bombs, using attack helicopters and fighter
aircrafts. Those who are not instantly killed
by such strikes are crushed to death under
the rubble of their own homes, or succumb
to their wounds, and die of thirst or lack
of medical attention as their remaining relatives
struggle to search for them. Meanwhile rescue
teams and ambulances are prevented from reaching
the dying.
This situation need not
continue. As the end of apartheid in South
Africa demonstrates, people power can make
a difference. What can you do?
