Petition TripAdvisor.com To Remove Listing For Business located In Illegal Israeli Settlement
We, the undersigned, hereby petition TripAdvisor.com to remove the listing for Caliber 3 ‘commando tourist’ training range from the well regarded and popular website. Caliber 3 is describes as "an Israeli Academy for Counter Terror. Open for the public to train with the best in the field of counter terrorism. Come train with top Israeli Commando instructors. Learn to shoot, Learn Krav Maga, and more."
Mostly importantly and the reason for our request, Caliber 3 is located adjacent to Kibbutz Midgal Oz in the illegal Israeli settlement bloc of Gush Etzion beyond the internationally recognised Green Line of the Occupied West Bank of Palestine.
The privately-owned ‘commando-tourist’ training academy was founded in 2002 by Israeli colonel Sharon Gat who also serves as the CEO. The company does not employ a single Palestinian even though it is located on Palestinian land. According to Blaze.com (1) all employees at have served in elite units within the Israeli Defense Forces. Illegal settlements directly benefit the occupation of Palestine and offer no benefits to the indigenous people on whose land it is located.
Illegal Settlements: The international community unanimously considers the settlements in occupied territory to be illegal (2) and the United Nations has repeatedly upheld the view that Israel's construction of settlements constitutes a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.(3) The International Court of Justice4 also agreed settlements are illegal in a 2004 advisory opinion.(4) In April 2012, UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon reiterated all settlement activity is illegal and "runs contrary to Israel's obligations under the Road Map and repeated Quartet calls for the parties to refrain from provocations.” (5) As of June 30, 2014 approximately 382,031 Israelis live in 121 settlements in the West Bank, over 300,000 in settlements in East Jerusalem and over 20,000 lived in the Golan Heights. (6) This figure does not include the numerous outposts that even Israel does not recognise.
Human Rights Violations: In addition to Israel’s illegal settlements, the government violates numerous United Nations resolutions and international humanitarian law regarding the rights of the indigenous people of Palestine. Further, Israel has not allowed Palestinian refugees to return to their homes as mandated in U.N. Resolution 194.
Therefore, we respectfully request Trip Advisor remove the listing for Caliber 3 due to the following reasons:
Caliber 3,
Directly profits from and contributes to the Israeli occupation of Palestine.Provides services that contribute to the construction and maintenance of Israeli settlements and/or the Separation Wall, both of which are illegal under international law.Provides services that contribute to or enable violent acts that target civilians.Actively benefiting from the subjugation of the Palestinian people and military occupation of Palestinian land. By choosing to establish a facility in an illegal Israeli settlement, Caliber 3 is complicit and in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention ; a binding principle of international law.Sincerely,
The undersigned
1. Blaze.com , This West Bank Gun Range Shows Tourists How to ‘Stop Terrorists’ & ‘Rescue Hostages’, Retrieved October 6, 2014.
2. Roberts, Adam. "Prolonged Military Occupation: The Israeli-Occupied Territories Since 1967". The American Journal of International Law (American Society of International Law) 84 (1): 85–86. doi:10.2307/2203016. "The international community has taken a critical view of both deportations and settlements as being contrary to international law. General Assembly resolutions have condemned the deportations since 1969, and have done so by overwhelming majorities in recent years. Likewise, they have consistently deplored the establishment of settlements, and have done so by overwhelming majorities throughout the period (since the end of 1976) of the rapid expansion in their numbers. The Security Council has also been critical of deportations and settlements; and other bodies have viewed them as an obstacle to peace, and illegal under international law."
3. UN Security Council Resolution 465.
4. International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion, 9 July 2004, Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, para 120.
5. Natasha Mozgovaya, Reuters and The Associated Press,Palestinians call on UN to stop Israeli settlement legalization, at Haaretz, 26 April 2012.
6. Sherwood, Harriet (26 July 2012). "Population of Jewish settlements in West Bank up 15,000 in a year". The Guardian (London).
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