29 Nov 2012

Nobel peace laureates call for boycott of Israel over war on Gaza Strip

Nobel Peace Prize laureates have called for an international boycott of Israel following the regime’s recent deadly onslaught against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

A group of Nobel Peace Prize winners, prominent artists, and activists urged an international military boycott of Israel in a letter published on Wednesday .


“Horrified at the latest round of Israeli aggression against the 1.5 million Palestinians in the besieged and occupied Gaza Strip and conscious of the impunity that has enabled this new chapter in Israel's decades-old violations of international law and Palestinian rights, we believe there is an urgent need for international action towards a mandatory, comprehensive military embargo against Israel,” the letter read.


The 52 signatories, including renowned US academic Noam Chomsky, and Irish Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire, also accused the United States and the European Union of “complicity” by selling weapons to Israel.



"While the United States has been the largest sponsor of Israel, supplying billions of dollars of advanced military hardware every year, the role of the European Union must not go unnoticed, in particular its hefty subsidies to Israel's military complex through its research programmes,” the letter said.

“Such a measure has been subject to several UN resolutions and is similar to the arms embargo imposed against apartheid South Africa in the past,” the letter added.

Over 160 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed and about 1,200 others were injured in the Israeli attacks on the besieged coastal enclave from November 14 to 21, when Egypt announced that the Israeli regime and the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas had reached a ceasefire agreement.

In retaliation for the eight-day Israeli offensive, the Palestinian resistance fighters fired rockets and missiles into Israeli cities, killing at least five Israelis.

However, in violation of the truce, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian and injured 19 others in the town of Khuza’a near the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza Strip on November 23. 

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