Canadian Tour : appeal for help on an upcoming tour of Mohammed Khatib, member of Bil'in Popular Committee
09/04/2009
Bi’lin committee needs help organizing its Canadian speaking tour from June 1st – June 21st 2009. The speaking tour will present both Bil’in village’s ongoing struggle to save it’s land from annexation and the legal case raised by the village against Green Park Int and continued Israeli settlement expansion in Canada. The speakers will be Mohammad Khatib of the Bilin popular committee against the Wall and settlements, a representative of the office of attorney Michael Sfard as well as Attorney Mark Arnold of Montreal who are representing Bil’in in their case against Canadian companies building illegal settlements on their land.
Bi’lin village, a Palestinian community that has resisted Israel’s Apartheid wall which annexes and isolates villager’s land, is looking for help organizing a Canadian speaking tour in preparation for the upcoming hearings against Green Park. International. Green Park International and Green Mount International, both Quebec registered construction companies, are being sued by Bi’lin for their role in helping to construct the illegal Israeli settlement of Mattityahu East, which is built on village land. The Fourth Geneva Convention as well as Canada’s own Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, prohibit occupying forces from establishing settlements at the expense of indigenous populations.
Bi’lin’s Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements is seeking to hold both companies accountable for their complicity in the illegal annexation of their land. There are upcoming court hearings on the lawsuit on the 22nd, 23rd, and 25th of June. The Popular Committee is looking for help from Palestinian solidarity activists in Canada to organize events as part of an advocacy speaking tour. Fundraising will also be needed to help cover the legal costs of this important case. If you can help organize an even in your area, please contact: neta.golan@gmail.com.
Background information about the lawsuit
July 2008 : Bil’in starts legal proceedings against two Canadian Companies, Green Mount Inc. and Green Park Inc. Both registered corporations in Quebec, these are currently building and selling condominium units in Modi’in Illit, a settlement currently spreading on lands that were confiscated from Bil’in under pretexts of "security".
The majority shareholder in the companies Green Mount and Green Park is Lexinter Management, a firm whose majority shareholder, F.T.S. Worldwide Corporation, is registered in Panama. Furthermore, F.T.S. Worldwide Corporation belongs to DGI Group, holder, notably, of the Israeli company DGI Diamonds, founded by Dan Gertler and active in diamonds extraction and sales.
Palestinian village sues Canadian contractors
Radio Canada report about legal proceedings in Quebec (french)
CBC report about legal proceedings in Quebec
In a press release dated to July 10th, the Adalah-NY rights group quoted articles from Israeli media, dated to 2005 and 2006, indicating that the Israeli-American billionnaire Shaya Boymelgreen is the CEO of Green Park Inc. and Green Mount Inc. Further evidence found by Adalah-NY show that the building of settlements - though not covered by the current complaint file by Bil’in - was entrusted by Shaya Boymelgreen, in the name of Green Park, to the Israeli company Danya Cebus, a branch of Africa Israel, owned by Lev Leviev.
Press Release: Palestinians Sue Boymelgreen Companies for War Crimes, Leviev Implicated
Adalah-NY - Land Developers BDS
Land grabs: A Palestinian village sues two Montreal-based companies over the construction of a West Bank settlement
Montreal firms used as fronts for Israeli settlements, activists say
