#PowerOffHP

Let's turn the power off on HP until it stops its complicity!

Hewlett Packard (HP) is famous for its desktops, laptops, printers. However, HP provides Israel with software & equipment. This makes HP directly complicit in Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine.

Take Action

#PowerOffHP until it stops supporting occupation

Write to Enrique Lores, CEO of HP, calling for an end to HP’s role in the occupation and colonisation of the Palestinian people.

Edit the suggested letter below before sending.

Dear CEO Enrique Lores,

I am writing to express my deep concern about HP’s links with Israel’s military and civil administration and the direct role this plays in sustaining the illegal occupation of Palestine.

I am aware that HP provides the technology for the control systems used in Israel’s checkpoints, is the exclusive provider of computers to the Israeli military and provides the Israeli government with its biometric ID system. I also understand that HP has contracts with the Israeli prison system, despite serious concerns surrounding children’s rights, including those set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Both the checkpoint system and the computers provided to the Israeli military help to maintain the Israeli occupation which is illegal under international law. This is the world’s longest occupation and it has enormous ongoing cost to human life.

The checkpoint system involves significant restrictions on Palestinian movement within the West Bank and it is an infringement on the rights afforded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, particularly Article 13.

HP also play a critical role in providing the biometric ID system for the Israeli administration. These IDs determine the level of rights a holder is entitled to. Currently there are more than 65 Israeli laws that discriminate against Palestinians in Israel and the occupied settlements. Under this system, Palestinians are afforded fewer rights than Israelis and face fundamental inequality.

HP’s relationship with Israel’s prison system also has significant ramifications due to the detention of children and political prisoners within this system, and the damage this poses to human rights. The UK government has highlighted that these detentions contravene six articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. These violations were described as ‘severe and continuous’ by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. HP’s involvement in the Israeli prison system contributes to these international violations.

I understand that you may wish to avoid adopting an overtly political stance, however support for human rights and opposition to discrimination are legal and ethical positions, removed from partisan politics.

We understand that HP’s current business relationships with the Israeli military and civil administration violate your policies on corporate responsibility. Consequently, we would like further clarity as well as a commitment from HP to withdraw from activity which undermines human rights, including engaging in business with Israel’s military and civil administration.

I hope that you will respond to these concerns and respect the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people.

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Enrique Lores

Story

Let's turn the power off on HP until it stops its complicity!

HP supplies software and hardware to Israel, which is used at military checkpoints, watchtowers, outposts, fortified gates and the apartheid wall. The technology provided by HP makes it possible for the occupying forces to monitor and control the Palestinian people.

HP’s Basel System is the software that is installed within the biometric sensors that are in place throughout Israeli checkpoints. Palestinians are required to pass through these biometric sensors, powered by HP, whenever they wish to travel within the West Bank.

These biometric sensors, supported by HP technology, allow occupying Israeli forces to police, track and trace the movement of Palestinians.

HP also provides Itanium servers for Israel’s Aviv System. This technology allows Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority to monitor, classify and segregate the population within occupied Palestine through the Yesha database. This compiles information on Israeli citizens within illegal settlements, allowing the apartheid Israeli state to effectively promote its two-tiered system of laws which prioritise the Jewish population over the Palestinians. 

Furthermore, HP exclusively provides desktops to all branches of the Israeli military. By providing the Israeli army with the equipment to monitor the imprisonment of over two million Gazans, HP is an active accomplice in Israel’s illegal military blockade of Gaza.

In addition, HP also maintains and profits from the IT infrastructure of Israel’s prison system, which currently holds more than 4,500 political prisoners, including at least 150 children.

By providing the occupation forces with the technology that is used to monitor and regulate the movement of Palestinians, HP is supporting Israel’s brutal colonisation of Palestine.

A huge thanks to Unite the Union, the 1.2m members strong union, who are part of the campaign to oppose Hewlett Packard’s (HP) complicity in the occupation of Palestine. The union passed a resolution to stop any purchase of HP products until HP end their involvement in Palestinian human rights violations.

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FAQ

How is HP involved in the occupation? 

HP is the prime contractor that has installed and maintained the control systems at checkpoints which restrict movement for Palestinians, known as the Basel system. This set of restrictions on movement directly contravenes the right to free movement set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The checkpoints erected by Israel causes severe overcrowding and take hours to pass through as thousands of Palestinians attempt to travel through for work. By HP providing the technological material for the Israeli checkpoints, they sustain the humiliation, injustice and dangerous conditions Palestinians face daily.

HP also provides technology and services to the Israeli army and administers the Israeli Navy’s IT infrastructure, despite the widespread abuses of human rights committed by the Israeli military and their continued occupation of Palestine.

Do we need to throw away our HP laptop?

No. We are asking you to sign the current pledge to not buy any more HP products until they end their direct support for the Israeli occupation.

Will boycotting HP help?

Yes, boycotting companies helps to put pressure on businesses that are involved in the illegal occupation. Every time somebody joins the boycott of HP, their oppressive role in the occupation is undermined.

What does HP have to say?

HP’s CEO Meg Whitman stated that the company will “look into” the issue. However, it is already in violation of their policy on corporate responsibility.

When did HP to sell its hardware and technology to Israel?

Since the 1990s, HP has worked closely with the Israeli military and other branches of the Israeli government on a wide range of products related to the occupation of Palestine.

Has HP had any past involvement within illegal Israeli settlements?

In 2005, the Israeli government contracted HP to implement a pilot of its “Smart City” project in Ariel, an illegal Israeli settlement located in the northern occupied West Bank.

Between 2008 – 2015, HP operated a research and development (R&D) centre in Beitar Illit, an illegal Israeli settlement located in the occupied West Bank.

What is required from Palestinians in order to pass these biometric sensors, powered by HP’s technology?

To pass through these biometric sensors, Palestinians must retain a magnetic biometric ID card that contains sensitive information, ranging from fingerprint and retinal measurements, facial, as well as personal data.

More Campaigns

#NotInMyFridge

 Central Bottling Company (CBC) is an Israeli manufacturer and distributor of soft drinks, dairy products and alcoholic beverages.

Coca-Cola profits from the occupation by working with CBC which sells its drinks in Israel. CBC has a Coca-Cola factory in Atarot illegal Israeli settlement. Israeli settlements are built on land stolen from Palestinians and are illegal under international law as they violate the Fourth Geneva Convention, which bans an occupying power from transferring its population to the area it occupies.

Currently, there are between 600,000 and 750,000 Israeli settlers living in at least 250 illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

By having it’s Israeli franchise in an illegal settlement, Coca-Cola ignores international law and profits from the illegal occupation.

FOA is calling for Coca-Cola to cut ties with CBC.

Buying from companies which work in settlements such as Coca Cola means we as consumers are turning a blind eye to the illegal occupation of Palestinian land.

Here are questions we posed in 2014 when a Coca-Cola factory was opened in Gaza. These questions are completely relevant today. 

Some questions to ask Coca-Cola:

1. Where are these construction materials being purchased? We believe it’s Israel so isn’t Coca-Cola simply supporting the Israeli economy to a far greater tune than the Palestinian economy?

– Raw materials such as sugar will be purchased from Israel, thereby enriching the Israeli economy.

2. How much water is required to run the bottling plant and where will water come from?

– Palestinians in Gaza face a chronic shortage of freshwater, and rely on desalination plants. Reports from around the world show that communities living around Coca-Cola bottling plants are adversely affected by water shortages due to Coke’s demands on the water infrastructure.

– The World Bank has reported on the dire state of the water and sewage infrastructure in Gaza following Israel’s various attacks. Access to water is limited on average to 6-8 hours for 1-4 days a week for the population of Gaza.

In light of these statistics, how does Coca-Cola plan to operate its factory? And will the factory divert vital resources from Palestinian families, while drawing a profit from its products?

3. Where will the factory’ electricity supply come from?

-The only power plant in Gaza is only able to supply 30% of the population intermittently, leaving 1.2million Palestinians in darkness. Hospitals continue to run on emergency generators.

4. Will Coke be given preferential access to water and electricity, which will disadvantage Palestinian civilians and hospitals?

-The indications are that it will, and this is indicated by the passage of materials into Gaza to build the factory, while essential building materials for hospitals are barred.

5. As predicted Israel has now bombed the factory during the May 2021 bombardment on Gaza.

 What guarantees has Israel provided that it won’t bomb the Coca Cola factory? Israel has a track record of destroying businesses in Gaza. Before the blockade in 2006, 3,600 factories operated in Gaza. Now, there are less than a hundred.

– Israel bombed a biscuit factory in Gaza which employed 450 people, leaving them unemployed. Can Coca Cola guarantee that its 400 workers won’t be left in a similar position?

6. Coke’s investments in the West Bank and Gaza are dwarfed by its economic activity in Israel. At present, Coca Cola is profiting from the occupation by abiding by Israel’s occupation regime.

‘If Coca-Cola is serious about investing in the Palestinian economy, it will call for a lifting of the siege on Gaza so that its operation there can really flourish and provide Palestinians with more than jobs, but with future economic prospects – as it is doing for Israel.’ said Shamiul Joarder, Head of Public Affairs at FOA.

A related article worth reading: Click here

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#CheckTheLabel

During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to sunset. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection and to get closer to God. The end of each day of fasting is marked by having iftar, the meal to end the day’s fast. Iftar usually begins by eating a date.

Unfortunately, without realising, many Muslims break their fast with an Israeli date. Breaking the fast with an Israeli date does not fit with the values of justice and fairness that Muslims try to instil within themselves during Ramadan.

Please remember to #CheckTheLabel to make sure that you’re not breaking your fast with Israeli dates. Dates labelled as from the West Bank and Jordan Valley will have been grown in illegal Israeli settlements on land stolen from Palestinians. You will be buying into the occupation and apartheid of Palestine (and that doesn’t taste good!)

Illegal Israeli settlements are a key part of Israel’s illegal occupation. Palestinians are forcibly removed from their homes or their homes are demolished. The ongoing building of these settlements violates the Fourth Geneva Convention and has been widely criticised by the UN.

As a part of the process of colonisation of Palestine, Israel takes over Palestinian land, sets up companies on that stolen land and they then employ some Palestinians who have no option but to work there since Israel has taken away the opportunity for them to work for themselves. Palestinians would rather have their land back and than have called for a boycott of Israeli goods.

What can you do?

1) When shopping this Ramadan, #CheckTheLabel on the packaging for the ‘origin of’/’produce of’ is. If it’s from Israel, the West Bank or the Jordan Valley, choose another option.  Also boycott dates from Israeli companies shown in the image below.

To confuse the customer, some Israeli brands have labelled themselves as ‘Produce of Palestine’. Our research, at present, can only verify genuine Palestinian brands: Yaffa, Zaytoun, Holy Land, Al’Ard

 

2) Email the Foreign Secretary urging the British government to ban trade with Israeli settlements.

The UK government repeatedly condemns Israeli settlements, but it still trades with them! The UK is Israel’s second largest market for dates – worth £28m in 2020. The average British person consumes over 20kg of dates in their lifetime – so make sure you’re not buying into occupation and apartheid.

You can email the foreign secretary above.

These simple actions are a powerful way to stand up for justice and against occupation and apartheid.

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#HandsOffAlAqsa

Al-Aqsa mosque is a sacred sanctuary in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is the holiest site in Jerusalem for Muslims and an important symbol of Palestinian culture.

Al-Aqsa is in East Jerusalem, which has been under illegal occupation by Israel since 1967 according to international law. Every day under Israeli occupation, the threat to Al-Aqsa increases.

Some Israeli groups wish to build a Jewish temple in the place of Al-Aqsa. The Israeli government frequently allows these groups to visit Al-Aqsa, accompanied by Israeli Occupation Forces. These provocative visits are known as incursions.

Over the last few years, the number of incursions at Al-Aqsa and attacks on Palestinian worshippers have rapidly increased.

In April 2022 for example, during the middle of Ramadan, Palestinian worshippers at Al-Aqsa mosque were attacked 7 times in the space of 10 days. Over 250 worshippers were injured, including women, children and the elderly. Over 700 illegal Israeli settlers were allowed to roam the holy site freely and protected. The glass of Al-Aqsa’s pulpit and the historic windows of Musallah Al-Qibly were smashed by Israeli bullets.

Most recently, the leader of an Israeli group has called for the destruction of Al-Aqsa.

The #HandsOffAlAqsa campaign is dedicated to protecting this sacred site:

  • We encourage you to use the email tool above to write to your MP, calling on them to publicly condemn the ongoing incursions and attacks on Al-Aqsa and to demand immediate sanctions on Israel
  • Get involved in Aqsa Week. This is a global initiative to promote the love of Masjid Al-Aqsa. It is an incredible week for people around the world to create conversation and raise awareness on the centrality of Masjid Al-Aqsa as well as the plight of the Palestinian people. The week includes workshops, talks, activities and shareable content for adults and children held by different countries and organisations, all under the banner of #LoveAqsa. Aqsa Week 2022 was the biggest yet, with events taking place at over 200 mosques across the UK and 50 countries worldwide. Aqsa Week 2023 will be held between Monday 13th Feb – Sunday 19th Feb 2023. 

Read about Aqsa Week 2022 in Arab News, Middle East Monitor, Middle East Eye, Palestine Chronicle, Islam21C and Salaam Media.

  • For resources on the virtues and significance of Al-Aqsa mosque in Islam, please visit the Aqsa Resources page.

Read about #TeamFOA’s recent #HandsOffAlAqsa protest outside the Israeli Embassy in London in Days of Palestine.

 

 

 

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