Please find attached an Arab NGO communique to the heads of state meeting for the Arab League summit in Damascus 29-30 March.

A lof of NGOs have already signed as indicated. If any other organisation would like to sign please do so and direct to Arab Program for Human Rights Activists at aphra@aphra.org or wadah@aphra.org - Deadline: End of day; 27 March, 2008.

The Arab Program for Human Rights Activists continues to follow up, with extreme worry, news coming from occupied Gaza, which is evidence of the extent of deterioration and worsening of human conditions due to the imposed Israeli siege. In addition to the suspicious international silence and complete oversight to what is happening in Gaza in lieu of shameful crimes.

Five years after the US-led invasion of Iraq, the country is still in disarray. The human rights situation is disastrous, a climate of impunity has prevailed, the economy is in tatters and the refugee crisis continues to escalate.

On
January 1st, settlers from Efrat, Navi Daniel, Ele’azer and other settlements in
Bethlehem district burned a part of Hamedia Mosque in the Faghour area of the
town of al-Khader, situated to the south west of Bethlehem.

Gaza has suffered from a long¬term pattern of economic stagnation and plummeting development indicators. The severity of the situation has increased exponentially since Israel imposed extreme restrictions on the movement of goods and people in response to the Hamas take over of Gaza and to indiscriminate rocket attacks against Israel.

Social Movements in the Arab World
Azza Abd al-Mohsen Khalil, 5 Juillet, 2004 - 06:27.
Introduction