The Peace Cycle 2008

The next stage in the Peace Cycle – an urgent call for justice

2008 marks the 60^th anniversary of the creation of the Israeli state. The Peace Cycle does not pretend to know all the answers to the conflicts in the Middle East, and we would not deny any state its right to existence or security. We do however recognise that the creation of Israel caused what the Palestinian people call “al Nakba” - the Palestinian catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands of the indigenous population of Palestine were expelled from their land, thousands of innocent men, women and children were killed, hundreds of Palestinian villages were destroyed, and a process of ethnic cleansing began which continues to this day. Sixty years on, millions of Palestinian people are either living as refugees across the world or as prisoners in their own land, occupied by a regime that controls every aspect of their lives and denies them freedom or security.

We believe that if the Israeli people are ever to have the security they seek themselves, they must end the occupation of Palestine as called for under International Law and United Nations Resolutions. Only when Israel complies with International Law and the Geneva Convention on Human Rights, will a peace process have any chance of even getting started.

The Palestinian people have agreed to give up their right to 88 per cent of their land. They have said that in the name of peace they will accept 22 per cent of historic Palestine, and wish to build a state on Gaza, the West Bank (within the 1967 borders), and East Jerusalem.[i] But this land is still being occupied by Israel, which continues to demolish Palestinian homes to build settlements deemed illegal under International Law. Israel also continues to build a barrier in the West Bank which not only illegally annexes land which belongs to the Palestinian people, but which severs Palestinians from their land and from each other. The Palestinian people are now among the poorest and malnourished in the world[ii], and a whole generation of Palestinians has grown up knowing nothing of freedom, but only of military occupation and aggressive domination.

Thousands of groups and organisations across the world are calling for an end to the occupation as the essential first step towards peace, and many Israeli people realise that they will never live peacefully until their leaders comply with International law and allow people their human rights.

But Israel is still not listening.

Strong pressure must be applied to Israel to end this illegal and brutal occupation. It does not seem that the United States of America will apply any real pressure to the Israeli government, but perhaps Europe can. Perhaps Europe will take a stand against injustice and tell Israel it must abide by International Law and the basic principles of human rights.

The next Peace Cycle will take its campaign straight to the heart of the European Parliament and tell them it’s time to take action, and we will call on all fair-minded and peace seeking people across Europe to join us!

We believe that if enough people know what is really happening in Israel and Palestine, and if enough people use their voices to demand justice, then those voices will have to be heard. 

Aims of the Peace Cycle 2008

·         To send an international group of cyclists direct to Palestine to show solidarity and support to the Palestinian people, and to encourage future advocacy and campaigning.

·         To raise funds to help alleviate suffering and hardship in Palestine.

·         To tour the West Bank on bikes with cyclists from the newly formed Palestinian Cyclist Club, to witness the occupation and its effect on daily life.

·         To return via the European Parliament in Brussels to meet with MEPs, followed by public and media events in the UK to speak of what we have seen and demand an end to this injustice.

Outline of events

In 2008, the Peace Cycle is organising unique events to show solidarity and raise much needed funds for the Palestinian people, and to demand action to end the occupation.

Unlike previous years, when the Peace Cycle campaigned in Europe at the start of the journey, 2008 will see cyclists from all over the world visiting Palestine first. This will enable participants to learn about the realities of life under occupation, meet and cycle alongside Palestinians, hear their stories and witness the situation first-hand.

This also means that instead of raising money to fund the bike ride across Europe, cyclists can help and support the Palestinian people who are living in increasing poverty and hardship.

We will therefore be asking participants of this years Peace Cycle to raise funds to cover the costs of taking part, PLUS an amount to donate to charities to help alleviate suffering and poverty and make a real difference to the lives of many people.

The Peace Cycle has made an arrangement with the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, so that donations can be made directly towards humanitarian aid in Palestine. Working with MAP in this way will ensure that the money donated by Peace Cyclists can help specific and urgent projects in the West Bank and Gaza – and we plan to visit some of those projects during the ride.

MAP’s goals are to:

• Work with local partners to help meet the health and medical needs of Palestinians and other vulnerable communities in the region.
• Respond quickly and effectively to emergencies and humanitarian crises.
• Raise public awareness in the UK of the impediments to Palestinian access to health and medical care.

Medical Aid for Palestinians is a registered UK charity, number 1045315.

For more information about MAP, see their website at www.map-uk.org

Please note that everyone involved in organising the Peace Cycle does so on a voluntary basis, so once costs are covered, all money raised will go directly to charitable projects in Palestine.

The Peace Cycle 2008 will therefore enable cyclists to show their solidarity by being with the Palestinian people, and will help alleviate their suffering by donating urgently needed funds.

Then once the ride ends in Jerusalem, the Peace Cycle participants will travel to Brussels and campaign to the European Parliament, demanding that Europe takes action to end the occupation. We will be asking European groups and organisations to meet us there in a mass demonstration calling for justice and peace.

By taking part in the Peace Cycle 2008, you can be part of that united voice.