WEST BANK CLERGYMAN CALLS ON NZ PM TO OPPOSE ISRAEL’S WAR CRIMES
Bethlehem University was established 50 years ago by the De La Salle order and has 3259 Muslim and Christian students enrolled at its campus. Brother Peter Bray said Israel’s total siege of Gaza imposed last week, as well as the IDF’s catastrophic bombing of the 140-square mile coastal enclave, constituted war crimes under the Geneva Conventions.
“Forty percent of our students come from East Jerusalem and most of them come by bus. Those buses can be stopped by the Israeli military and the students can be taken off and interrogated, can be arrested, can have a gun put in their face.”
“There are many people in Gaza who do not support Hamas and yet everybody in Gaza is being punished, with the cutting off of water, power, medical supplies, food and other essential supplies. Under international conventions, that’s a war crime.”
“What I think is happening is that there’s been an incredible build-up of frustration over the last year, particularly since Netanyahu formed his government. There’s been an increase of violent attacks from the Israeli military and settlers that happened during the Jewish feast, the provocations around Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the expansion of settlements, the constant harassment of Palestinians.”