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Joint Israeli-Palestinian Expedition Conquers Antarctic Mountain

Posted: January 21, 2004

Courtesy: Associated Press

Eight Palestinians and Israelis recently climbed an unconquered Antarctic mountain to prove that “our people can and deserve to live together in peace and friendship”.

“We have named it ’Mountain of Israeli-Palestinian Friendship,”’ expedition leader Heskel Nathanial told The Associated Press by satellite telephone from the peak of the snow-capped, windy 997-meter (2,770-foot) mountain near the Bruce plateau in Antarctica.

“By reaching its summit, we have proved that Palestinians and Israelis can cooperate with one another with mutual respect and trust,” Nathaniel said, reading from a statement agreed upon by the four Jews and four Arabs in the Breaking the Ice Expedition.

“Despite the deep differences that exist between us we have shown that we can carry on a sincere and meaningful dialogue,” the statement added. “We join together in rejecting the use of violence in the solution of our problems and hereby declare that our people can and deserve to live together in peace and friendship.”

The expedition, which includes two women, departed in a rented British yacht on January 1 from Puerto Williams, a Chilean Navy base on the southern shore of the Beagle channel, 2,050 miles south of Santiago.

The group reached Antarctica after sailing 600 miles through some of the world’s most dangerous waters. Then they trekked for a week on Antarctic soil to the foot of the mountain.

Nathaniel said they would remain briefly at the summit and then come down to their base camp before starting the journey back, probably on Friday.

“We are doing fine, in spite of some minor injuries some of us have sustained,” he said. “But we are mainly very happy.”

Two of the Palestinians on the expedition spent time in Israeli prisons – one for attacking Israeli soldiers and another who was accused of terrorism. Two of the Israelis are former members of an elite commando unit.

The non-profit group Extreme Peace Missions said it organised the 35-day expedition “out of a belief that overcoming physical obstacles by working together as a team toward shared goals can unite the Israelis and Palestinians.”

The expedition is also sponsored by Israel’s Peres Centre for Peace. Organisers say it has received support from Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Dalai Lama, and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Associated Press

 

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