- Gush Shalom
Gush Shalom (Hebrew: גוש שלום, "the Peace Bloc") is a peace activist group which sees itself as the hardcore of
Israel i peace movement. [cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE7D81E3AF932A35750C0A963958260|title=How Israel Can Regain the Road to Peace |publisher=New York Times|accessdate=2008-03-17|last=|first=] [cite web|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_16-6-2003_pg4_5|title=Middle East Roadmap
publisher=Daily Times|accessdate=2008-03-17|last=|first=] Gush Shalom is an extra-parliamentary organization, independent of any party or other political grouping. Some of its activists do belong to political parties, but the Gush is not aligned to any particular party, though theSan Francisco Chronicle once described it in passing as "left-wing" [cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/08/19/MN219880.DTL|title=Court has Israel feeling uneasy|publisher=sfgate.com|accessdate=2008-03-17|quote=The left-wing Gush Shalom, or Peace Bloc, recently sent letters to 15 battalion and brigade commanders of the Israel Defense Forces saying it was gathering evidence of alleged army abuses that it might present to the court.] .The Gush was founded by former MK and journalist
Uri Avnery in 1993 because he was disappointed by other Israeli peace movements such asPeace Now . Avnery still leads the group. Gush Shalom objects to what they perceive as the illegal Israeli occupation of theWest Bank andGaza Strip , and claims Israel is committingwar crimes on a daily basis. They also support atwo-state solution to the Israel-Palestine question, with the 1967 border between Israel andPalestine , and withJerusalem as the capital of both states. [ [http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/about/aims/ Gush Shalom statement of aims] ]The movement supports soldiers' refusal to serve in the
West Bank orGaza strip , a pragmatic implementation ofPalestinian right of return , and an Israeli withdrawal to the Green Line. Gush Shalom activists regularly confront Israeli security forces in construction sites in settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, and along the Separation Barrier. Gush Shalom said that Israel's offer to Yasser Arafat in the Camp David negotiations of 2000 was not a "generous offer" but "a humiliating demand for surrender." [ [http://gush-shalom.org/generous/generous.html Barak's Generous Offer.] Maps of Barak's offer to Arafat at the 2000 Camp David talks.] [cite web|url=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1181813048307&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
title=Gush Shalom: Israel not without blame for Hamas takeover|publisher=Jerusalem Post|accessdate=2008-03-17|last=|first=] Avnery was among the first to meet and negotiate withPLO leaderYasser Arafat . In 2001 the organisation made a peace proposal on the basis of a two-state solution with the 1967 boundaries. [ [http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/cahier/proche-orient/gushshalom Le Monde Diplomatique 10 August 2001 (in French)] ] Gush Shalom received theRight Livelihood Award in 2001. [cite web
url=http://www.rightlivelihood.org/recip.html|title=Right Livelihood Award: Home|publisher=www.rightlivelihood.org|accessdate=2008-03-17|last=|first=]References
External links
* [http://zope.gush-shalom.org/index_en.html Gush Shalom home page]
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