Press Release on the second occupation of PARC’s headquarters in Ramallah
Yesterday 10. June 2002, at six o’clock in the morning, the Israeli army forces invaded PARC’s headquarters in Ramallah for the second time. The first time being on 28.03.02 which lasted four weeks. The Israeli army broke open the main building door and evacuated the employees that were present. 3 Canadian volunteers and the guard were at PARC, a number of employees were at Links Production. The offices of the Palestinian Hydrology Group were locked and the guard did not have the keys. The army broke the door and entered the offices. The building at present is fully occupied by the Israeli army and is used as a detention and investigation station. It is worth mentioning that PARC suffered $ 60,000 worth of losses in infrastructure and equipment as a result of the first Israeli invasion. The damages were repaired and the equipment replaced. It is impossible to assess the damages resulting from this invasion as the army is still in the building. The city of Ramallah with its 150,000 inhabitants is under very strict curfew for the second day today.
We call on all our friends all over the world to exercise pressure on their governments, who in turn should exert pressure on Israel to withdraw its forces from the Palestinian towns and villages and immediately halt all attacks on Palestinian civilians and their institutions. We call on the international community to intervene by sending international forces to protect the Palestinian people and end the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine.