Appeal for Action

Justice for All..

More than nine months have passed since the senseless murder of our mother, Shaden Saleh Abu-Hijleh, by the Israeli Army (IDF) acting in the city of Nablus on 11 October 2002. Israeli soldiers deliberately shot her while she was sitting inside our home working on a piece of embroidery. Our father Dr. Jamal Abu-Hijleh and brother Saed were injured and miraculously escaped death. Our mother was a peace activist and philanthropist. She dedicated her life to helping the poor, and was a member of several local organizations that extend support to needy families.

The inconceivable circumstances of our mother’s murder brought about international and local condemnation of the IDF actions against Palestinian innocent civilians in general and her case in particular. The Israeli Government had promised whoever approached them about the case, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations, human rights organizations, journalists and even the United States Government, to conduct a serious investigation. To this date no one received any information about the investigation, and we are not sure if one is actually underway.

We, the family and friends of Shaden Abu-Hijleh, vowed to pursue the case of her murder to try to bring the ones responsible to justice. Many concerned people around the world expressed willingness to help and support our endeavor. Lawyer Hussein Abu-Hussein who represents us on the case addressed a letter to the State of Israel Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, the Attorney General, the Military Commander, the Military Police, and the Judge Advocate General requesting an official investigation to be carried out and expressing the readiness of a number of witnesses to provide sworn affidavits of what actually happened (a translation of the letter is attached for your information and use).

We believe that the IDF and the state of Israel should not be allowed to avoid their obligations of conducting the investigation, making its results public and bringing promptly to justice all the ones responsible for the atrocity committed against our mother, father and brother.

We believe soldiers who commit war crimes should not be immune and should be brought to justice like other criminals.

We call upon you to help us by:

Ø      Contacting directly the persons mentioned at the end of the appeal and supporting the family's request for an independent, impartial and transparent investigation and requesting that the ones responsible be promptly brought to justice;

Ø      Requesting your Congress/Parliament representatives, local pressure groups to contact the Israeli Ambassadors to your country and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs to condemn the Israeli Army actions against Palestinian innocent civilians, like Shaden Abu-Hijleh and her family and requesting the Israeli Government to respect its own obligations under international laws; 

Ø      Getting in touch with your local media representatives encouraging them to fairly and objectively cover the stories of Palestinian victims of Israeli violence and to investigate and follow up on the unsubstantiated explanations and unmet promises provided by the Israeli Government Official Spokespersons, particularly in the case of Shaden Abu-Hijleh’s murder.

Help us ensure our mother does not become just another number in the long list of Palestinian victims of the Israeli Occupation.

Let us together make the next Israeli soldier on such a mission hesitate before pulling the trigger and killing another Innocent Palestinian Civilian.

We kindly ask you to spread our appeal by all means possible to you.

Thank you for your support and for standing up for justice.

Lana, Saed, Raed and Rami Abu-Hijleh

Daughter and Sons of Martyr Shaden

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon: Fax: 972-2-670-5475: pm_eng@pmo.gov.il

Prime Minister Spokesman, Mr. ArnonPearlman-Tzadok: dover@pmo.gov.il

Prime Minister Public Relations, Ms Rutti Bait: pniot@pmo.gov.il

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Benjamin Netanyahu: sar@mofa.gov.il

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, Ron Prosher: dover@mfa.gov.il

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Public Relations: pniot@mofa.gov.il

Minister of Defense, ShaolMofaz: fax: 972-3-6916940: sar@mod.gov.il

Ministry of Defense Spokesperson Mrs. Rachel Naidek-Ashkenazi, dover@mod.gov.il

Ministry of Defense Public Relations, Mrs. HadasaKlepfish: pniot@mod.gov.il

Minister of Police, Uzi Landau: sar@mops.gov.il

Ministry of Police Spokesperson Ms. OfraMatityahu: dover@mops.gov.il

Ministry of Police Public Relations, Mr. KobiShiber: pniot@mops.gov.il

IDF Commands: (Fax 972-3-6080339):

To:

IDF Chief of General Staff, Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya’alon

IDF Spokesperson, Brig. Gen Ruth Yarun

IDF GOC Central Command, Moshe Kaplinski

IDF Military Advocate General, Maj. Gen. Dr. Menahem Finkelstein

IDF Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen. Amos Gilad

Minister of Justice MeirSeetrit: sar@justice.gov.il

Ministry of Justice spokesman, Mr. Ido Baum: dover@justice.gov.il

Ministry of Justice Public Relations, Ms. Yehudit Begun: pniot@justice.gov.il

Attorney General, Mr. EliakimRubinstein, Ministry of Justice: Fax: 972-2-62886180 and 6274481

All above