We are calling for the creation of a RUSSELL TRIBUNAL ON PALESTINE. This Tribunal will work rigorously and in the same spirit as the Tribunal on Vietnam that sat in 1967, under the presidency of Jean-Paul Sartre.

     The Tribunal will have to judge the breaches of international law, of which the Palestinians are victims, and which deprive the Palestinian people of a sovereign State.

        The Advisory Opinion given by the International Court of Justice of The Hague on the 9th of July 2004 sums up those violations, and concludes, in particular, that Israel must dismantle the Wall and compensate the Palestinians for all the damage resulting from its construction.

      This Opinion reiterates, in §163,D, that “All States are under an obligation not to recognise the illegal situation resulting from the construction of the wall and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by such construction; all State parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilians Persons in Time of War of the 12th of August 1949 have in addition the obligation, while respecting the United Nations Charter and international law, to ensure compliance by Israel with international law as embodied in that Convention”.

       This Opinion was confi rmed on the 24th of July 2004, by resolution ES-10/15 of the General Assembly of the United Nations, adopted by 150 Members States. The General Assembly “demands that Israel, the occupying Power, comply with its legal obligations as mentioned in the advisory opinion” and “calls upon all States Members of the United Nations to comply with their legal obligations as mentioned in the advisory opinion”.

       Drawing in particular on the Advisory Opinion and the UN resolution, the RUSSELL TRIBUNAL ON PALESTINE will reaffi rm the primacy of international law as the basis for the settlement of the Israeli Palestinian confl ict. It will identify breaches in the application of the law and will bring all the perpetrators to the attention of international public opinion.

       Your support for this Tribunal will give it the moral weight necessary to advance the cause of justice and law in this part of the world.

       Thanking you for your attention and your response to this appeal, and with cordial greetings.

         Yours sincerely,