(2005) Urgent Appeal for International Involvement: Save Palestine and Israel   The elimination of the Palestinian national presence west of the Jordan River is implicit in the long-term aims of the Israeli right wing. A violent, apocalyptic driving-out of the entire Palestinian population is explicitly advocated by the rightmost political circles. What has actually been taking place since the beginning of the 35 years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but at an unprecedented rate for the last two years, is a systematic process of demolition of Palestinian private and public property, and mass expropriation of Palestinian land on behalf of settlers. The guiding principle is the effort to minimize the size of the area actually inhabited by Palestinians. At the same time, huge-scale harassment has been taking place, by means of prolonged curfews, road-blocks, humiliations, beatings, military invasions of densely populated areas, detentions of thousands without trial under sub-humane conditions, obstruction of access to work, medical care, schools and universities, and a host of other means. The soldiers were given license to treat any Palestinian as a potential terrorist. Millions of Palestinians have been reduced by Israeli government policies to life in fearsome ghettos. Most are now subsisting under the poverty line, on savings or handouts from humanitarian organizations. The ever-intensifying oppressive measures are being inflicted on Palestinians by the Israeli government, ostensibly to fight terror. We unequivocally condemn terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. There can be no justification for acts of violence against any unarmed people. However, the Israeli policies are not a way to reduce terror; rather, they promote it, as evidenced by the dramatic increase in terror acts during the last two years. The terror acts are then cynically used by Prime Minister Sharon as a pretext to inflict more damage and hardships on the Palestinians, and to further de-legitimize their existence in the occupied territories in the perception of the Israelis. THE PALESTINIAN PRESENCE STANDS IN THE WAY OF SHARON'S LIFE-LONG VISION OF GREATER ISRAEL, WITH SETTLERS SUPPLANTING PALESTINIANS. THIS OBJECTIVE IS TRANSPARENT TO ANYBODY WHO FOLLOWS WHAT HIS GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN ACTUALLY DOING, rather than listening to the frequently uttered but empty declarations about peace intentions, "once the security problems are solved". The Israeli society pays a high price for the attempts of its politicians to extend the Israeli domination, and for their addiction to territorial expansion. The drive to develop Israel as a modern, productive and tolerant society was cruelly truncated. This drive has been evident in periods of hopeful peace negotiations with neighboring Arab states, and with Palestinians. Fatalistic resignation to the vicious circle of fear, oppression, violence and counter-violence is depriving the whole society of positive energy, forward looking projects and hope. The drain on the state resources by the war effort and the expansion of the settlements and the concurrent loss of investment result in large scale unemployment and economic recession. Large sectors of the Israeli society are denied access to a a decent standard of living, to decent education, and to productive integration into modern technological and cultural world. Instead, backward-looking ultra-nationalistic ideologies are taking firm hold on the social and political scene. Young Israeli soldiers sent to implement the brutal occupation measures are likely to be morally scarred for life. The ongoing devastation of Palestine must be stopped, for the sake of both Palestine and Israel.