To: Mr. Paul S. Otellini, Intel President and Chief Executive Officer
We the undersigned demand that Intel abandon its investments and shut down and dismantle its plants in Israel without delay. The company’s manufacturing plants in Kiryat Gat are built on private land without permission of its owners and in violation of international law. Intel is trespassing on privately-owned US citizens’ property!Kiryat Gat was built on the ruins of the Palestinian village of Iraq Al-Manshiya which Israel destroyed in 1949. The original inhabitants of the village and the nearby village of Fallujah were expelled in 1949 by the Zionist state contrary to international law and an armistice agreement sponsored by the UN and which Israel itself signed earlier that year. Some of the Palestinian refugees from Iraq Al-Manshiya, who own the land on which Intel built its Fab 18 and Fab 28 manufacturing plants without permission, became US citizens, and are living in the US where they pay taxes.Intel should not trespass, profit, participate and allow Israel to have economic benefits from the illegal dispossession of Palestinians. Israel is denying Palestinian refugees their right to return to their lands and homes which it is occupying. This natural, inalienable, individual and collective right is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Law, and is supported by numerous UN resolutions.
Intel has far more attractive options long-term for building and expanding its operations legally in other countries. These legal options serve Intel’s customers, shareholders and employees in far more honorable and productive ways.
The original inhabitants of Iraq Al-Manshiya and the nearby village of Fallujah were expelled from their villages in 1949 by Israel contrary to international law and an armistice agreement which Israel itself signed earlier that year on 24 February 1949. This agreement, which was co-signed by the UN mediator, the American Ralph Bunche, guaranteed the land, property and safety of the people of Iraq Al-Manshiya and Faluja, and their right to remain in their villages. According to Zionist historian Benny Morris, the villagers of Iraq Al-Manshiya (and Fallujah) were expelled by “intimidation using all means”. There are now 24,000 Iraq Al-Manshiya refugees, living in refugee camps in Jordan (15,000) and in the West Bank (9,000). Some are now US citizens, living in the US and paying taxes.Intel built and operates two manufacturing plants, known as Fab 18 and Fab 28, which it opened in 1999 and 2009, respectively on Iraq Al-Manshiya land which belongs partly to US citizens (see attached map from Palestine Land Society). Intel did this without the knowledge of the owners of the land or their permission. Thus, the company is in violation of international law and trespassing on privately-owned US citizens’ property.
ACT NOW
Join us in demanding Intel shut down and dismantle its manufacturing plants in Israel and stop profiting from its operations on land stolen from Palestinian refugees without permission of its owners. Please sign the petition and help us spread the word.
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