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April 21, 2004
For Immediate Release
Al-Awda Condemns Murder of Abd al-Aziz al-Rantisi
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition strongly condemns the extra-judicial
murder of Abd al-Aziz al-Rantisi, the spiritual leader of The Islamic Resistance
Movement in Palestine, known by its acronym as HAMAS.
Abd al-Aziz al-Rantisi, was murdered on the evening of 17 April 2004. In the
attack on his car, two persons traveling with him, Akram Mansi Nassar, 36 and
Ahmed 'Abdullah al-Ghurra, 38 were also killed. A number of bystanders were also
injured.
Abd al-Aziz al-Rantisi was a pediatrician by training. He became a refugee from
the village of Yebna, which Israel occupied in 1948. He lived in the Khan Younis
camp in the Gaza Strip since his family fled when he was just six months old
after the imposition of Israel in 1948. He became the spiritual leader of HAMAS
after the murder of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin on March 21, 2004. The murders of both
Abd al-Aziz al-Rantisi and Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, like 200 other similar extrajudicial
executions carried out by Israel, have been strongly condemned by the international
community and human rights groups across the globe as violations of international
law and as war crimes. These horrific acts further show that Israeli leaders
are only interested in perpetuating violence through state-sponsored terrorism
to avoid having to address the root cause of the conflict: the ethnic cleansing
of Palestine.
We extend our condolences to the Palestinian people, our brothers and sisters
in this struggle. We also urge the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah to reject
all edicts, declarations and agreements that fall short of implementing of the
inalienable right of all Palestinian refugees to return to their original homes
and lands.
We call on all people of conscience to demand:
- An end to all US political, military and economic
aid to Israel
- The divestment of all public and private entities
from all Israeli corporations and American corporations
with subsidiaries operating within Israel
- An end to the investment of Labor Union members' pension
funds in Israel
The boycott of all Israeli products
- The right to return for all Palestinian refugees to
their original towns, villages and
lands with compensation for damages inflicted on their property and lives
- The right for all Palestinian refugees to full restitution
of all confiscated and
destroyed property
- The formation of an independent, democratic state
for all its citizens in all of
Palestine
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return
Coalition
PO Box 131352
Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA
E-mail: info@al-awda.org
WWW: http://www.al-awda.org
Tel: 760-685-3243
Fax: 360-933-3568
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