100 signatures reached
To: Linda Stewart, General Manager Trinity Centre, Ryan Manson, General manager Union Square
Say No to Jericho's Stolen Resources
We want Aberdeen’s Union Square and Trinity Centre to distance themselves from the theft of resources and human right abuses by removing Jericho Cosmetics stalls from their premises.
Why is this important?
The Dead Sea cosmetic products company Jericho Cosmetics trades from stalls in Aberdeen’s Union Square and Trinity Centre.
Dead Sea products are made with minerals illegally extracted by Israeli authorities from occupied Palestinian territories surrounding the Dead Sea.
We appeal for a peaceful boycott of all Dead Sea products and for the closure of Jericho Cosmetics stalls on the following basis:
1- The extraction and commercialisation of resources from an occupied territory by the occupant is prohibited by UN resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention [1]. This is exactly what Israeli authorities are pursuing by commercialising Dead Sea cosmetics. Notably, Palestinians have no access to such resources. The exclusive access of resources to a section of the population based on ethnicity amounts to apartheid as defined by the UN.
2- The Israeli army has created 4 military checkpoints in the West Bank and has enforced inhumane restrictions of movement on Palestinian civilians. This seriously impairs the life of tens of thousands of Palestinians living in the West Bank, including children, who have to go through these checkpoints every day to reach their schools and hospitals [2, 3, 4]. The Israeli army is also fostering an apartheid culture by stopping Palestinians from accessing the beach resorts while these are being used by Israeli citizens [5].
3- The Israeli settlements have hijacked the fresh water resources, with the consequence that now some Palestinians are consuming less than 40% the minimum recommended by the World Health Organization. This also means that the traditional Palestinian agriculture is becoming unsustainable [2].
Sustained campaigns in Glasgow, Dundee and Edinburgh have resulted in the closure of Dead Sea cosmetics stalls in shopping centres across Scotland.
We urge Aberdeen’s Union Square and Trinity Centre to also distance themselves from the theft of resources and human right abuses by removing Jericho stalls from their premises.
Aberdeen Branch, Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign
References:
[1] http://www.cjpme.org/fs_146
[2] http://www.btselem.org/publications/summaries/dispossession-and-exploitation-israels-policy-jordan-valley-northern-dead-sea
[3] http://www.btselem.org/jordan_valley/other_resources
[4] http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.677426
[5] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/palestinians-barred-from-dead-sea-beaches-to-appease-israeli-settlers-846948.html
