Sderot: Either Stop Supplying Gasoline To Hamas Or We'll Petition Supreme Court

From an email:

APRIL 15, 2008

Contact: Nitsana Darshan-Leitner
011.972.52.383. 7020
011.972.3.751. 4175

011.972.54.499. 6453 (Mike Cohen - mike@gogalil. com)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Residents of Sderot To Israeli Government: Stop Supplying Gasoline
to Hamas!!

The residents of Sderot, represented by Attorney Nitsana Darshan-
Leitner, director of Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center
(http://www.israella wcenter.org), have dispatched a series of
letters to Israeli government, parliamentary, military and legal
officials calling upon Israel to stop supplying petroleum to the
Hamas-led Gaza Strip. The residents allege in their letters that
Hamas siphons off more than half of the gasoline supplied from
Israel for use in terror related activities including the daily
Kassam rocket attacks, the incessant shootings at the farmers in the
field, as well as the murderous attack last week on the Nachal Oz
gasoline depot in which two Israeli petrol workers supplying the
Gaza line were killed.

"Our lives are being physically threatened daily," said Mrs. Nechi
Fendel, a mother of seven who moved to Sderot from Staten Island 15
years ago and works as a computer programmer in Nachal Oz. "For
eight years now we are living with non-stop rocket attacks, day in
and day out. The Hamas fires endlessly at our farmers in the field,
at our schools and at our homes and rather than respond and protect
us, our government continues to supply the terrorists with the very
gas they need to make more missiles and launch them to try and kill
our kids – it's a black comedy of the absurd!"

The Sderot residents allege that Hamas is siphoning off thousands of
liters of Israeli supplied gasoline on the Gaza side of the Nachal
Oz depot in order to create an artificial humanitarian crisis and
bring world public opinion down on Israel. Israel, on its part,
claims that it continues to supply the gasoline to Gaza so it can be
used for humanitarian purposes such as hospitals, schools and a
variety of critical and emergency services.

"Hamas can get petroleum from Egypt via Rafah or from other
sources," said Attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner in sending the
letters. "It makes no sense for Israel to continue to supply her
enemies with fuel. In 2005 Israel "disengaged" from Gaza, with
Israeli Jews paying a tremendous price in social and personal
suffering as a result, so why are we continuing this charade? Either
we are disengaged or not!"

If the residents demand to shut down the Nachal Oz depot and stop
the supply of gasoline to Hamas is not adhered to, Shurat HaDin, on
behalf of the Sderot families, will be filing a petition in Israel's
high court of justice requesting that the court compel the
government to cease and desist the supply of fuel to Hamas. "The
supply of fuel to Hamas in Gaza is as close to aiding and abetting
the enemy as one can ever come. We supply them with gasoline, Iran
supplies them with training, Syria supplies them with political
cover – it's a perfect recipe for continued disaster. How can we
complain about Iran and Syria with a straight face if we are aiding
Hamas in the same manner " concluded Darshan-Leitner.

Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center is a Jewish human rights institute based in Israel and staffed by some of the country's leading activist attorneys. Shurat HaDin is dedicated to providing legal representation and resources for the numerous courtroom struggles, which are being waged in the Israeli, American and European courts on behalf of the Jewish State and serves as a central clearinghouse and litigation base for the multifarious legal battles that have been thrust upon Israel's citizens during recent years.

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