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Israel does not mistreat detained Palestinian children | Amir Ofek The Guardian 2 Feb 2012 - Palestinian minors have committed atrocities – but Israel's military justice system respects their rights in custody Your special report looks at allegations that Israel's military justice system mistreats Palestinian children who have been arrested for throwing... [uruknet.info] Israeli Army Kidnapped 320 Palestinians in January Uruknet February 1, 2012 - Israeli soldiers arrested more than 320 Palestinians in numerous parts of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and occupied East Jerusalem during the month of January, a Palestinian researcher stated.Researcher Riyadh Al-Ashqar, specialized in detainees' affairs, stated in his report that four elected legislators, 53 children, eight women, and one former detainee,... Education minister: All school students should visit Hebron YNet News, 1 Feb 2012 - Gideon Sa'ar announces plan to expand pilot program that will have school children visit Hebron, Cave of Patriarchs .... Educating children 'a role for parents' The National 31 Jan 2012 - Reading to a child worth six months at school, forum told Education becomes luck of the draw The National 28 Jan 2012 - Thousands of parents gathered yesterday to see whether their children would have places at the Abu Dhabi Indian School for the new academic year. Hamas denies Mashaal's family summoned in Syria 1/24/2012 - GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Hamas on Tuesday denied reports that the wife and children of party leader Khalid Mashaal were summoned by police in Syria. Arabic-language newspapers had reported that Mashaal's wife and children were summoned and that his daughter Fatima and her husband were detained. Hamas accused Fatah and its affiliated.... Related: Report: Mashaal to visit Jordan with Qatar emir [uruknet.info] The situation facing Palestinian children detained in the Israeli military detention system (January 2012) Uruknet [21 January 2012] - Today DCI-Palestine submitted a report to the UN - In their own Words: A report on the situation facing Palestinian children detained in the Israeli military court system (January 2012). The report is the third six-monthly submission lodged by DCI-Palestine with the UN in which the situation facing Palestinian children from the... Israeli undercover agents wound 3 Palestinians, detain 2 children in Aiswayia PIC - Israeli undercover agents stormed Aisawiya village in occupied Jerusalem and fired at civilians, wounding three young men, and detained two children. Israeli forces 'detain 12' in Qalqiliya village 1/17/2012 - QALQILIYA (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained 12 people in Qalqiliya village Azzun on Monday, a detainees group said. Qalqiliya detainees society said in a statement that four people were later released, and told the group they were badly beaten by the soldiers. Among the group detained were children and recently-released prisoners, the society said.... 17 January 2009 - The Al Ashqar family Palestinian Center for Human Rights 1/17/2012 “Madleen refuses to sleep by herself; she will only sleep in her parent’s room” says Nujoud, “she’s afraid to be by herself at all. The other day we were in the garden and I asked her to go to the bedroom to bring something. She refused to go without me.” On 17 January 2009, at approximately 05:30, the area surrounding the UNRWA school in Beit Lahiya came under attack from Israeli forces. The area was bombarded using both high explosive, and white phosphorous artillery; white phosphorous is an incendiary chemical which ignites on contact with oxygen, its use in civilian populated areas violates the principle of distinction, and the prohibition of indiscriminate attacks. Nujoud Al Ashqar, along with approximately 1,600 others, was taking shelter in the school at the time of the attack. Nujoud sustained severe head injuries as a result of the bombing, and also losing her right hand. Two of her sons Bilal, 6, and Muhammed, 4, were killed in the attack. When PCHR first spoke to Nujoud in the aftermath of the attack three years ago, her life had become extremely difficult, particularly her relationship with her husband, Mohammed. “At first my husband blamed me for the death of the boys. He used to threaten me every day that he would re-marry” says Nujoud, “but things have got better between us since the birth of our daughter Haneen. He loves her deeply and she loves him.” Nujoud’s daughter Haneen, 1, was both a blessing and a severe challenge for Nujoud, who, despite being thankful she was able to give birth to another child after the loss of Muhammed and Bilal, is faced with extreme difficulties caring for herself, the household and her children given the loss of her arm and other medical difficulties following the attack. “I get most frustrated when trying to care for Haneen” says Nujoud, “I need help form my daughter Madleen all the time to care for her. I always feel sad for her because she sacrifices so much of her education to care for the house and her sister. But I need her to do it” says Nujoud..... more.. e-mail Silenced in Seattle, SeaMAC presses on with ads against settlements, child imprisonment and collective punishment US Campaign to End the Occupation 14 Jan 2012 - Seattle Middle East Awareness Campaign is a coalition member of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. A few of our past blog posts about the group's pioneering efforts to change Palestine-Israel discourse through advertising are here and here and here and here and here .... The Human Sprit: Learning from each other Jerusalem Post 12 Jan 2012 - There is no way to undercut the devotion it takes to bring up 10 children, as is common for haredim. [uruknet.info] Rumor and Anger Mount in Libya Uruknet January 13, 2013 - ...There is clear and growing pro-Gadhafi political and military activity here and it is why NTC leader Mustapha Abdul Jalil, the other day warned against the Gadhafi children raising an insurrection. Aisha Gadhafi, given Saif's current incarceration, is perhaps the likely leader. Every night more pro-Gadhafi graffiti appears on street walls, buildings... [uruknet.info] Why Don't They Pull the Plug on Israeli Trade? Uruknet January 12, 2012 - The imprisonment and collective punishment inflicted on the civilian population in the overcrowded enclave of Gaza continues without let-up. For example, those whose children were killed or maimed by Israel's murderous blitzkrieg 3 years ago (Operation Cast Lead), and whose homes were destroyed, have received no response to the criminal complaints submitted... IOA confiscates cultivated land lot in Bethlehem, detain three including child PIC - The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) confiscated a cultivated land lot in Khader village south of Bethlehem at the pretext of constructing a road to serve a nearby settlement. Silenced in Seattle, SeaMAC presses on with ads against settlements, child imprisonment and collective punishment Mondoweiss - SeaMac collective Punishment The Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign (SeaMAC), the same organization who battled it out with King County Metro over the “Israeli War Crimes” bus ads last year, has been running half-page ads in both the Seattle Weekly and The Stranger since Dec 28th, commemorating... Why Don't They Pull the Plug on Israeli Trade? Palestine Chronicle: 12 Jan 2012 - By Stuart Littlewood The imprisonment and collective punishment inflicted on the civilian population in the overcrowded enclave of Gaza continues without let-up. For example, those whose children were killed or maimed by Israel’s murderous blitzkrieg 3 years ago (Operation Cast Lead), and whose homes were destroyed, have received no response to the criminal complaints submitted on their behalf by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. Not only that. They are still subjected to daily air-strikes. 1,419 Palestinians were killed during Operation Cast Lead, 82 percent civilians. A further 5,300 were injured. Israeli forces directly targeted and attacked private homes and civilian institutions, including hospitals and schools. PCHR says it has submitted 490 criminal complaints to the Israeli authorities on behalf of 1,046 victims. “To-date, only two substantive replies have been received. The overwhelming majority of complaints have been simply ignored.” How would that sit with you if the same thing...more More to PE than games of football, schools chiefs told The National 10 Jan 2012 - Schools need to focus on educating children about physical activity to help their physical, mental and social development, a senior health official said. [uruknet.info] IOF soldiers detain university student, 10-year-old child Uruknet January 8, 2012-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) detained two Palestinian university students after one of them managed to make a kite with an engine that successfully flew in the air as part of an experiment in his engineering faculty in Tulkarem. Local sources said that IOF soldiers broke into the home of Ali Takatka, 19, in... Israel cabinet approves free education plan for children over age of three Ha'aretz - 8 Jan 2012 Cabinet approves free education plan YNet News, 8 Jan 2012 - Majority of 21 ministers vote in favor of lateral budget cut in order to fund free education for children over age of three .... IOF soldiers detain university student, 10-year-old child PIC - Israeli occupation forces detained two Palestinian university students after one of them managed to make a kite with an engine as part of an experiment in his engineering faculty in Tulkarem. [uruknet.info] Palestinian Children Detained Oppressively in Isolation Uruknet January 5, 2012 - DCI/Palestine "is a national section of the international non-government child rights organisation and movement (dedicated) to promoting and protecting the rights of Palestinian children," according to international law principles. On December 28, it submitted a complaint to several UN authorities titled, "The use of solitary confinement on Palestinian children held in Israeli... IOF soldiers round up 8 Palestinians, detain 2 children for hours PIC - Israeli occupation forces rounded up eight Palestinian citizens in various West Bank areas at dawn Thursday after blindfolding and handcuffing them, local sources said. 5 January 2009: Amal al-Samouni Palestinian Center for Human Rights 1/5/2012 "I have constant pain in my head, eyes and ears. I have been having nose bleeds for the past three years. I can still feel the shrapnel move inside my brain." On 4 January 2009 at around 6:00 Israeli forces surrounded the house where Amal al-Samouni (11) and 18 members of her extended family were sheltering, in Zeitoun neighborhood east of Gaza City. Israeli soldiers ordered the owner of the house, Amal’s father Attia al-Samouni (37), to step outside with his hands up. Upon opening the door he was immediately killed by shots to the head and chest. Soldiers then started firing bullets into the house, killing Amal’s 4-year old brother Ahmad al-Samouni and injuring at least 4 other people, of whom 2 were children. Over the following hours, soldiers ordered over 100 other members of the extended al-Samouni family into the house of Wa’el Fares Hamdi al-Samouni, Amal’s uncle. On 5 January 2009 Israeli forces directly targeted the house and its vicinity, killing 21 persons and injuring many others. Amal, who was inside, was wounded by shrapnel to the head and buried under the rubble, lying between injured, dying and deceased relatives. On 7 January ambulance personnel, who were prevented from entering the area until then, evacuated her to hospital. Between 4-7 January 2009, 27 members of the Samouni family were killed, including 11 children and 6 women, and 35 others were injured, including Amal’s twin brother Abdallah. Amal survived those 4 horrific days but is left with permanent injuries and trauma. “I remember my brother and father and how they were murdered in every moment,” says Amal as she thinks back on the attacks and the three days she spent buried under the rubble of her uncle’s house without food or water. Amal does not need a lot of words to express how she feels: “before, we used to live together as a happy family. Now I don’t feel happy anymore.” more.. e-mail Palestinian Children Detained Oppressively in Isolation Sabbah report 5 Jan 2012 - "I was in a very bad psychological state, so I decided to confess. I confessed to throwing Molotov cocktails and stones at army jeeps," even though he was innocent. Undercover Forces Kidnap A 6-Year-Old Child In Jerusalem IMEMC - The Ma'an News Agency reported that undercover forces of the Israeli army kidnapped a 6-year-old child in Al-Esawiyya town, in occupied East Jerusalem, and detained him for several hours before releasing him. ... Israeli forces 'detain 6-year-old' in Jerusalem 1/4/2012 - JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- An undercover Israeli force briefly detained a 6-year-old boy in East Jerusalem on Tuesday, relatives said. The child's grandfather Dawood Dirbas told Ma'an that Israeli officers raided al-Isawiya and local youth threw stones at the military vehicles. He said his grandson Muhammad Ali Dirbas was going.... [uruknet.info] Israeli forces 'detain 6-year-old' in Jerusalem (Video) Uruknet January 4, 2012 - An undercover Israeli force briefly detained a 6-year-old boy in East Jerusalem on Tuesday, relatives said. The child's grandfather Dawood Dirbas told Ma'an that Israeli officers raided al-Isawiya and local youth threw stones at the military vehicles. He said his grandson Muhammad Ali Dirbas was going to the shop when Israeli forces... Chicago and Nabi Saleh honor Gazan children killed during Cast Lead Mondoweiss - Chicago Movement for Palestinian Rights CMPR sent out the following press release. CMPR is a diverse, youth-led movement advocating for Palestinian human rights, civil rights and equality through citywide educational events, grassroots campaigns and creative, direct action : Remembing Cast Lead in Chicago (Photo: earthtonadine ) Over two... Outlook for the New Year: Tyranny in the Forecast Palestine Chronicle: 4 Jan 2012 - By Paul Craig Roberts The outlook for liberty is dismal. Those writers who are critical of Washington's illegal wars and overthrow of the US Constitution could find themselves in indefinite detainment, because criticism of Washington's policies can be alleged to be aiding Washington’s enemies, which might include charities that provide aid to bombed Palestinian children and flotillas that attempt to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. The Bush/Obama regimes have put the foundation in place for imprisoning critics of the government without due process of law. The First Amendment is being all but restricted to rah-rah Americans who chant USA! USA! USA! Washington has set itself up as world prosecutor, forever berating other countries for human rights violations, while Washington alone bombs half a dozen countries into the stone age and threatens several more with the same treatment, all the while violating US statutory law and the Geneva Conventions by torturing...more Lessons on drug danger to be taught in schools The National 3 Jan 2012 - A drug awareness programme from the Abu Dhabi Education Council will instruct parents, teachers and pupils alike on how to protect children from drug abuse. Netanyahu pledges free toddler education in fall Jerusalem Post 4 Jan 2012 - PM reiterated promise that pre-school education will become free for children ages three and four by start of new school year. [uruknet.info] Armed with M-16s, Israeli teenagers detain Palestinians Uruknet January 2, 2012 - The Israeli daily Haaretz reports that several dozens of Israeli teenagers have been trained and armed with M-16s in order to help Israeli Border Police, known as Magav, catch undocumented Palestinian laborers from the West Bank...The children and young adults, who range in age from 16 to 18, are local high school... Much to Forgive: The Story of Bibi Sadia Palestine Chronicle: 3 Jan 2012 - By Kathy Kelly and the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers – Kabul Bibi Sadia and her husband Baba share a humble home with their son, his wife and their two little children. An Afghan human rights advocate suggested that we listen to Bibi's stories and learn more about how a Pashto family has tried to survive successive tragedies in Kabul. Holding her three year old granddaughter in her arms, Bibi adjusted her hijab and launched into a narrative that began during the Soviet occupation. The mujahideen had asked Baba to bring them medicines two or three times a week for those injured in the war. For each batch of medicines that Baba delivered, the mujahideen paid him a small sum of money. When the Russian occupiers discovered what he was doing, they beat him severely. After that, the mujahideen accused him of spying for the Russians and they also beat him...more Israel’s chemistry crisis YNet News, 2 Jan 2012 - Op-ed: State of Israel hurting itself by depriving southern children of chemistry education .... Haredi use of Holocaust symbols reaps condemnation Jerusalem Post 1 Jan 2012 - Children in mock concentration camp uniforms, yellow stars expresses how "Zionists are trying to eliminate us spiritually," says Eda Haredit. Three years after the war on Gaza Daoud Kuttab, Ma’an News Agency 1/1/2012 Three years ago the Israeli army initiated a major military offensive against the people of the Gaza Strip with the aim of stopping the shelling from Gaza and the release of one of their soldiers that was held in the strip. Over 1,400 Palestinians, many of them women and children, were killed, thousands were injured, and public, private and internationally owned properties were damaged as a result of the attack that came from land, sea and air. Both publicly stated goals failed in this criminal war against a defenseless population and lightly armed militants. Shelling from Gaza has continued intermittently since the war. It slowed down considerably as a result of a unilateral decision by Hamas, and could end immediately if Israel were to deal with the Islamic movement. As to the captured Israeli soldier, the Israelis were forced to do what Hamas offered them from day one, to trade him for imprisoned Palestinians. Israel and to a lesser extent, Hamas, were accused by renowned UN appointed international jurists of having committed war crimes. Following extreme pressure on him and his family the head of the UN commission South African judge Richard Goldstone, later wrote an opinion article changing some of the conclusions of the committee he headed. He never made any official change in the report that was submitted as an official document to the United Nations. The Israeli-imposed siege on Gaza has continued and has been publicly justified by major world countries even though this siege was and remains totally illegal. No international body has approved the restriction of movement of people and goods into or out of the Gaza strip. more.. e-mail Open letter from Gaza: Three years after the massacre, justice or nothing! Besieged Gaza, Occupied Palestine, International Solidarity Movement 12/27/2011 We, Palestinians of Gaza, 3 years on from the 22-day long massacre in Israel’s operation ‘Cast Lead’, are calling on international civil society to make 2012 the year when solidarity with us in Palestine captures the spark of the revolutions around the Arab world and never looks back. On this anniversary we demand an international liberation movement that eventually leads to just that, liberation for us Palestinians from 63 years of brutal military occupation and ethnic cleansing that pours shame on any organisation or government claiming to endorse universal human rights. We will never forget the hurt of 3 years ago, the criminal onslaught that we lived through, the blood of over 1400 murdered men, women and hundreds of children running through the streets of Gaza, between the rubble, soaking our beds and etched on our minds. We will never forget. For they are still dead, and thousands more are still maimed.[1] We will never forget the last 63 years during which our land, homes, olive groves, lemon trees and cherished way of life was taken away from us, while Israeli soldiers held our fathers’ faces in the sands, imprisoned them, or shot them in front of us. We will not forget the sickening cowardice of the international community that has allowed and enabled this ethnic cleansing of our people, subjecting us to Israel’s racist Zionist vision that defines us, the indigenous people of Palestine, as the undesired ‘ethnic group’ for the region. The US continues to ‘reward’ Israel with 6 billion dollars of tax-payers money while the EU increases its trade and diplomatic relations. For the Israeli apartheid regime this translates as the green light to unleash the 4th most powerful military on us to ‘do its worst’ against our civilian population, of which over half in Gaza are children and over 2 thirds are UN registered refugees. more.. e-mail Israel Kidnapped More Than Three Thousand Palestinians In 2011 IMEMC - Former detainee and Palestinian researcher specializing in detainees’ affairs, Abdul-Nasser Farawna, stated that Israeli soldiers arrested 3,312 Palestinians, including children, since the beginning of this year. ... IOF detained 3300 Palestinians in 2011 including women and children PIC - The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have detained 3300 Palestinians in the year 2011 including women, children, lawmakers, and even disabled persons of all age categories. [uruknet.info] The Bethlehem Call: Here we stand - Stand with us Uruknet December 24, 2011 - How long, O God, will they steal our livelihood? Oppress, imprison and humiliate our people? Deprive our children of their childhood? Indeed how long, God, will the multitudes of Christians of the world ignore the anguish of our Palestinian sisters and brothers and all of the oppressed? "Come and see," said the... A Checkpoint Isn't Just a Construction Palestine Chronicle: 22 Dec 2011 - By Tamar Fleishman – The West Bank Shuafat checkpoint that was inaugurated a few days ago disconnects the residents of the refugee camp from the center of their lives. It separates family members, employees from their place of work, patients from clinics, children from educational institutions and restricts the free movement of tens of thousands of human beings, for the ultimate goal set by its inventors and constructors to create a "strictly Jewish Jerusalem". The architecture of the checkpoint correlates to the principles of modern prisons, the Panopticon, the concept of the design is to allow an observer to observe all inmates of an institution without them being able to tell whether or not they are being watched, according to Michel Foucault's definition: "A metaphor for the modern disciplinary power which is based on isolation, individualization and supervision… the construction is divided into cells that provide the supervisors a clear...more In photos: Palestinians welcome home prisoners 12/19/2011 - Reuters/Ammar Awad/Mohammed Salem Israel released 550 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday in the second stage of a deal with Hamas in exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The detainees -- who include six women and 55 children -- were greeted by cheering crowds in the West Bank city of Ramallah and in southern Gaza town.... Related: Israel frees 550 Palestinians completing prisoner swap and Prisoner release: The number game of Israel Gaza official: 6 women, 55 children set for release 12/15/2011 - GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Six women and 55 children are among the detainees due to be released in days in a prisoner exchange deal with Israel, a Gaza prisoners' official said on Thursday. Riyad al-Ashqar, media director in Gaza's Ministry of Prisoners, said of the 550 expected to be freed this.... random photos In Gaza: 14 Dec 2011 - A typical Palestinian car interior (decor-wise. If speaking of the actual condition of cars, more typical are these ). But as cluttered as most cars seem, with their numerous stuffed animals and dangling, flashing hearts and Cowboy Up stickers plastered on tattered windows (I have no idea why), this is the norm in Palestine. In the occupied West Bank in 2007 I marveled at the same decor in serviises (shared mini-van taxis), surprised by such a feminine, childish touch, with a burly or devout man behind the wheel who more often than not used to have other work before taking to driving taxis. I’ve written before, but it bears repeating: for such an occupied people suffering for over 60 years of dispossession, assaults, imprisonment, and further dispossession, Palestinians are some of the most openly-loving, child-doting people I’ve ever encountered, even if their car decor is ridiculous. Gaza’s most pleasurable place (when...more Stuck in emergency mode Ha'aretz - Eight months after the murder of actor-director Juliano Mer-Khamis, his widow Jenny Nyman is grappling alone with raising their children - including infant twins - and adamant that they 'grow up experiencing him through the people who knew him' [uruknet.info] Urgent Appeal - Children of Azzun Uruknet December 9, 2011 - Since January 2009, DCI-Palestine has documented 42 cases of children from Azzun village who have been detained by Israeli forces, mostly on suspicion of throwing stones. Reports of ill-treatment and/or torture are common place. Please send urgent appeals... Palestinian children imprisoned in violation of international law Jana Grunewald, Alternative Information Center 12/1/2011 In September 2009 Israel established the Military Youth Court. Two years later, in September 2011 Israel finally met its obligations under international law and raised the age of majority in the military courts from 16 to 18. However, none of these changes brought major improvements in practice and the abuse of Palestinian children arrested and detained by Israeli authorities continues… Since the beginning of the Second Intifada in September 2000, Israel started to deploy administrative detention orders on children. According to international law, administrative detention is only permitted on a very limited scale, especially in concern of minors. In Israel, however, Palestinian children are being detained systematically ever since. Every year there is an approximately 700 Palestinian children arrested by the Israeli military and prosecuted in its courts. Currently 164 Palestinian children are kept in Israeli detention, mostly being charged with stone throwing. Although it is forbidden by Israeli law to imprison any human being under the age of 14, 35 of the children detained are aged between 12 and 13. It is alarming that minors are arrested and incarcerated in violation of Israeli and international legislation. What is even more disturbing though is the way children are treated during their arrest, interrogation and detention. Several NGOs that investigated the treatment of minors in Israeli imprisonment, report on physical as well as mental abuse. In many cases minors are arrested in their home during the night and marched off by soldiers without any parental company. The interrogation as well takes place in the absence of a parent and/or an attorney. In many cases, several hours or even days pass until the arrested minors are interrogated at all. While waiting for the interrogation the children concerned are often denied necessary human needs such as sleeping, eating, drinking and going to the toilet. During all stages of the arrest violence is likely to be involved, including choking, punching, slapping, kicking and hair pulling. In addition to that minors are threatened with further violence and even sexual assault. more.. e-mail Palestinian children to learn Brazilian Capoeira 12/8/2011 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Ramallah based representative office of Brazil will sign an agreement with an NGO on Tuesday to implement a "capoeira" project in refugee camps across Palestine. The project is supported by UNRWA and will entail training sessions by teachers in the Brazilian martial art. The project will take place in Jalazoun.... Palestinian children suffer from severe trauma after imprisonment Alternative Information Center - Children who experienced arrest and detention suffer from multiple problems after being released, ranging from mental and emotional to social and economic difficulties. More than 90% of Palestinian children who have been held in Israeli prisons... Human rights paper exposes Israeli violence against detained children PIC - 06/12/2011 - 04:22 PM Army Arrests Three Children Near Eli’ Settlement IMEMC - The Israeli military detained three Palestinian Children near the settlement of Eli’, built on Palestinian land near the village of al-Lubban ash-Sharqiyah, by the northern West Bank city of Nablus, the Ma’an News Agency reported. ... UN rights chief calls for 'urgent' measures on Syria Jerusalem Post 2 Dec 2011 - United Nations Human Rights head Navi Pillay says 4,000 dead, including 307 children, and 14,000 detained in Syria; Opposition group says military deserters storm Air Force Intelligence center. Palestinian children imprisoned in violation of international law Alternative Information Center - In September 2009 Israel established the Military Youth Court. Two years later, in September 2011 Israel finally met its obligations under international law and raised the age of majority in the military courts from 16 to... ‘College for All’ marks 12 years of success Jerusalem Post 29 Nov 2011 - The organization provides educational classes nurturing gifted children from disadvantaged backgrounds across Israel. next Israel will ban oxygen from Gaza In Gaza: 27 Nov 2011 - (some days ago…) A low rumble mutes the car honks and the cries of children playing on the lane outside our house in Deir al Balah, central Gaza. The vaguely furnace-like sound distinguishes itself as an Israeli warplane flying over our skies, poisoning the mid-morning tranquility. I’d been lost in typing my thoughts, almost oblivious to my surroundings: the Gaza Strip, where at any moment such a warplane’s roar erupts and where likewise any moment the deafening thud of its bomb vibrates through towns and cities and farmland. But the rumble of the circling Israeli warplane snaps me back into reality, making the trivial all the more trivial, and the possible all the more possible. (last night) Ripped from sleep by a loud explosion, which I later learn is in Nusseirat some kilometers north of us. Such is the power of the Israeli F-16 one-ton (or more) bombs that we...more IOF soldiers arrest 6 citizens, Jerusalemite child PIC - Israeli occupation forces (IOF) detained five Palestinian citizens in Beit Osrin village in Nablus, a young man in Jenin, and a 9-year-old child in occupied Jerusalem. next Israel will ban oxygen from Gaza In Gaza: 27 Nov 2011 - (some days ago…) A low rumble mutes the car honks and the cries of children playing on the lane outside our house in Deir al Balah, central Gaza. The vaguely furnace-like sound distinguishes itself as an Israeli warplane flying over our skies, poisoning the mid-morning tranquility. I’d been lost in typing my thoughts, almost oblivious to my surroundings: the Gaza Strip, where at any moment such a warplane’s roar erupts and where likewise any moment the deafening thud of its bomb vibrates through towns and cities and farmland. But the rumble of the circling Israeli warplane snaps me back into reality, making the trivial all the more trivial, and the possible all the more possible. (last night) Ripped from sleep by a loud explosion, which I later learn is in Nusseirat some kilometers north of us. Such is the power of the Israeli F-16 one-ton (or more) bombs that we...more [uruknet.info] U.N.: Reports of child torture in Syria Uruknet November 25, 2011 - A U.N. human rights panel expressed alarm at reports it received of security forces in Syria torturing children. The Geneva-based Committee Against Torture says it has received "numerous, consistent and substantiated reports" of widespread abuse in the country... Of particular concern are reports referring to children who have suffered torture and mutilation... Organized chaos and bare life (*): The non-story of the night raids Noam Sheizaf, +972 Magazine 11/24/2011 There exists a general, intentional, cleverly constructed misunderstanding surrounding the true nature of the Israeli occupation. Some say it’s a simple dispute over land, like many others in the world; other think the conflict is about national independence for the Palestinians, prompting statements like, “The Basques and the Kurds aren’t independent either, so why do people pick on Israel?” But the occupation is something else. It is the ongoing military control over the lives of millions, and everything that comes with it: The lack of civil rights, the absence of legal protection, and perhaps more than anything else, a sense of organized chaos, in which the lives of an entire civilian population is run at the mercy of soldiers 18 to 20 years old. Most of the time, it’s almost hard to explain how bad it is for those who haven’t seen it with their own eyes. Night raid in Nabi Saleh 24 November 2011. Joseph Dana posted this picture today, of a military raid on the home of an imprisoned Palestinian activist in Nabi Saleh. This is a non-story in the West Bank: The army enters Palestinian homes as it pleases, day or night. No warrant is needed, just like you don’t need a warrant to arrest a Palestinian (even a minor). Once the soldiers are in the house, the nature of the interaction between them and the family living there depends on their good or ill will – and in the 44 years of the occupation, we have had everything: from “polite” visits, to beatings and cursing, all the way up to the murder of civilians in their beds. A Palestinian is never safe – not even in his own home. He can never know what’s coming, the way most of us can even during unpleasant encounters with the authorities. The important point is that both the Palestinian and the soldier know that. To illustrate this issue, here is a video from a couple of weeks ago. It was taken in Nabi Saleh, the same village where the picture above was taken. The soldiers enter a man’s house at night, and demand he wakes up his children, so they can take their pictures in order to keep them for identification in case of stone-throwing..... more.. e-mail [uruknet.info] Libyan rebels detaining thousands illegally, Ban Ki-moon reports Uruknet November 24, 2011 - Libya's former rebels have illegally detained thousands of people, including women and children, according to the United Nations secretary general. Many of the 7,000 prisoners have been tortured, with some black Africans mistreated because of their skin colour, women being held under male supervision and children locked up alongside adults, the report... [uruknet.info] Leaked UN report reveals torture, lynchings and abuse in post-Gaddafi Libya Uruknet November 23, 2011 - Thousands of people, including women and children, are being illegally detained by rebel militias in Libya, according to a report by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Many of the prisoners are suffering torture and systematic mistreatment while being held in private jails outside the control of the country's new government. The... Bittersweet Eid Lydia de Leeuw, A Second Glance 11/19/2011 Last week Eid al Adha was celebrated in Gaza and other Muslim communities worldwide. Eid al Adha is one of the most important holidays in Islam, marking the end of the Haj (annual pilgrimage to Mecca) season and symbolizing sacrifices for Allah as well as asking for forgiveness. The official day of Eid al Adha, which fell on Sunday 6 November this year, is celebrated by ritually slaughtering animals, such as cows and sheep, and parents giving their children a new outfit and some pocket money to buy toys. The meat of the slaughtered animals is divided among families and neighbours, and especially shared with those who cannot afford to buy meet. While spending a wonderful time with friends and their families during Eid, I reflected on the essence of holidays. Regardless of the location, religion or traditions, celebrations of holidays seem to have three core elements in common: spending time with family, giving to others and a feeling of happiness. But what does a holiday look like without those? Many families in the Gaza Strip had to celebrate another Eid without their brother, son, father, daughter, or sister. Following last month’s prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, there are still about 5,500 Palestinians[1] languishing in 22 Israeli prisons and detention facilities.[2] Over 700 of these prisoners are from Gaza and have not seen their relatives for many years as the Israeli occupation authorities have not allowed any family visits. On the second day of Eid several relatives (mostly mothers) of Palestinian prisoners gathered in front of the Red Cross Office in Gaza city. They held a weekly sit-in demonstration in support of their imprisoned family members. They have been coming together in solidarity, holding pictures of the sons, every Monday morning for the past 17 years. The constant sadness over the absence of their relatives seemed even more tangible during this important holiday. A woman sitting next to me showed me a picture of her son, saying she had not seem him for four years and that she always kept hoping that he would come home again the following day. She had been cherishing this hope for the past eleven years. There seems to be no other consolation than to hope that one day she would see him again, so we just repeated together “insh’allah” (God willing). more.. e-mail Army Arrests Seven Palestinians in Hebron and Qalqilia IMEMC - Israeli soldiers arrested three Palestinians in Hebron, at dawn, in the southern part of the West Bank, and four children in the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia. Soldiers broke into and searched several homes before detaining the residents. ... Israeli parents protest growing extremist bent in religious schools Ha'aretz - 'Our outcry is over the prohibition against kindergarten girls singing,' Ariela Miller, mother of three children in the Orthodox state school system, tells Haaretz. Estonia: Estonia Helping to Provide Education to Palestinian Children Relief Web 14 Nov 2011 - Source: Government of Estonia Country: occupied Palestinian territory , Estonia No. 356-E The Foreign Ministry is supporting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees with 50 000 euros for its education-related project in Palestine, the goal of which... [uruknet.info] New DCI report: Voices from East Jerusalem, The Situation facing Palestinian Children (2011) Uruknet November 12, 2011 - DCI-Palestine has released a new report: Voices from East Jerusalem, The Situation facing Palestinian Children. The report addresses the impact of Israel's unilateral annexation of East Jerusalem, through administrative and legal measures aimed at limiting the population growth and development of the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, while actively encouraging the influx of Israeli... Motion in UK Parliament calls for release of 164 Palestinian child detainees Sabr 10 Nov 2011 - DCI-Palestine Posted on: 10 Nov 2011 | Filed under: Public Statements Detention On 18 October 2011, an Early Day Motion was tabled in the UK House of Commons in support of UNICEF's appeal to the Israeli government to release all 164 Palestinian child detainees from Israeli military... Angola: Israeli Physicians Visit David Bernardino Paediatric Hospital allAfrica.com 9 Nov 2011 - A delegation of Israeli physicians will visit from 9 to 11 November the David Bernardino Paediatric Hospital of Luanda, to learn of the health condition of children that underwent surgery in Israel. [uruknet.info] Palestinian Children Face Abuse in Israeli Military Courts Uruknet November 4, 2011 - In the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), Israel's prolonged occupation has led to astonishing detention statistics. Since the beginning of the official military occupation in 1967, over 700,000 Palestinians have been detained: this figure amounts to around 20 percent of the existing Palestinian population in the OPT, which consists of the West Bank and Gaza... IOF troops detained 235 Palestinians in October including 23 children PIC - The Palestinian center for the defense of prisoners said that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up 235 Palestinian citizens in the past month of October including 23 children and ten women. Back from the grave Saleh Al-Naami, Al-Ahram Weekly 10/27/2011 For many Palestinian prisoners sentenced to multiple life sentences, their release in a prisoners exchange deal is a miracle. Abdel-Rahman Salah, 58, was watching the young boy who was quickly overtaking everyone to reach him, while hundreds of family members and neighbours welcomed him on the outskirts of Jenin in the north of the West Bank. Within moments, the boy he didn't know was in his embrace shouting joyfully, "Daddy, daddy!" That is when Salah realised that his son, Fadi, who was six years old when his father was arrested, released nine years later as part of the prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel. As he tightly hugged his now 16-year-old boy, the tears rolled down Salah's face. He kissed his head over and over again, and Fadi kissed his father's hands. He shuts his eyes and then once again covers his son in kisses. Salah said that occupation forces banned his family from visiting him during his incarceration and he was not allowed to receive any photographs or letters from them. He relied on his imagination to picture his children growing up. The most difficult time in prison was in 2005, he recalled, when he was listening to the news on the radio and the anchor announced the death of his eldest son, Mohamed, who was shot by the occupation army. He collapsed on the floor. The grief stricken father said that the news was a shocking blow since Mohamed was his first born and was in charge of taking care of the family after his father was arrested. more.. e-mail 'Israeli children won't be part of Hamas’ Russian roulette' Jerusalem Post 1 Nov 2011 - Education C’tee chairman calls for Defense Ministry to increase protection of school buildings from rocket fire. Besieged Gaza paid the price for the release of the prisoners Haneen Zoabi, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 10/25/2011 Palestinians must beware of turning the national struggle into a political football. Without doubt, the prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel is a huge achievement for the Palestinians. Ex-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in 2006 that he would not give in to Hamas and would not release any Palestinian prisoners. The entire population of Gaza was then besieged by Israel in its efforts to find and free their soldier held captive in Gaza, Gilad Shalit; Israel wasn't prepared to give anything in return for their man. During the siege, of course, Israel bombed and invaded Gaza, killing 1,400 Palestinian civilians, one-third of them children. They could still not find and free Shalit. His freedom came when the deal suited the Palestinians and the Israeli government caved in to their demands. All the while that Shalit was in captivity, Gaza became politically stable, resisted Israel's political and military pressure and withstood the siege. Israeli intelligence was given no room to manoeuvre in its quest to locate the soldier. Hence, while Israel didn't get Shalit free of charge, it did succeed on getting the whole Gaza Strip to pay the price. The inhumane blockade was endured in order to gain freedom for the Palestinian prisoners released as part of the exchange deal. It was besieged Gaza which liberated our prisoners, not the largesse of the Israeli government. That such a deal could be negotiated while Gaza remains under siege illustrates how important the prisoner issue is to the people of Palestine. The national struggle is incomplete if the issues of our prisoners, Jerusalem and refugees do not form the core. This was confirmed by our people everywhere in historic Palestine; the solidarity of our youth in Israel with the detainees' hunger strike was unprecedented. The strike showed that the prison walls do not imprison the will of the prisoners.... more.. e-mail IOF troops detain nine Palestinians including two children PIC - Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up nine Palestinians in various West Bank areas including two children one of them a Jerusalemite in Silwan. Israeli Troops Detain Three Children in Bethlehem IMEMC - The Israeli military has invaded al-‘Asakreh village near the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Thursday. According to Palestinian news agency, Ma’an, the forces broke into several houses before abducting three children. ... Israeli forces detain 3 children in Bethlehem village 10/28/2011 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained three children in Bethlehem-district village al-Asakira on Thursday evening, a Ma'an correspondent reported. Troops took Ahmad Hussam al-Moty, 9, Abdul Rahman al-Moty, 12, and Mutaz Asakreh, 13, to an unknown destination, the reporter said. An Israeli army spokeswoman said she was not familiar with the incident.... Q&A: Doha Summit to Boost Education on World's Political Agenda IPS As digital technology begins to spread across classrooms the world over, the United Nations says the next generation of children will be educated far differently from their counterparts in the past. [uruknet.info] Syria News - October 25, 2011 (Warning: Graphic Videos) Uruknet October 25, 2011 - ....Homs: Talbisse: Fatima Khaled Aldhuhaik, mother of 5 children and sister of martyr Mohamad Aldhuhaik martyred after suffering serious injury earlier. Her husband Mahmoud Abdulrahman Duhaik has been detained for 3 months now.. Homs: Security forces and shabiha kidnapped Adnan Khabbaz when he was on his way back from Fajr prayer at Wafaai mosque... The Story of a Political Prisoner – Majde Mahmoud Za’aqiq Palestine Solidarity Project 26 Oct 2011 - Name: Majde Mahmoud Za’aqiq Marital Status: Divorced Father of two children Profession: Teacher Age: 41 years Nationality: Palestinian Address: Beit Ommar Currently: Detained in Israeli occupation prisons. Charge: peaceful resistance to the occupation and defense of human rights. The story of detention started 25/8/2011 – the... Egypt, Israel put final touches on prisoner swap Daily Star 23 Oct 2011 Egypt and Israel are adding the final touches to a deal to swap an Israel-American detained in Cairo for a group of Egyptian prisoners and children, the official MENA news agency said Saturday. Under Prolonged Israeli Occupation, Children's Development 'Deformed by Pervasive Deprivations' affecting Health, Education, Security, UN Expert tells Committee Relief Web 20 Oct 2011 - Source: UN General Assembly Country: occupied Palestinian territory , Georgia , Iraq , Israel , Kenya , Pakistan , World GA/SHC/4016 Sixty-sixth General Assembly Third Committee 25th & 26th Meetings (AM & PM) Also Hears from Experts on Human Rights While Countering Terrorism, Religious Freedom, Foreign... Egypt, Israel poised to agree prisoner swap: MENA Daily Star 22 Oct 2011 Egypt and Israel are adding the "final touches" to a deal to swap an Israel-American detained in Cairo for about 16 Egyptian prisoners and three children, official MENA news agency says. Saving Sergeant Shalit, Condemning Palestinians to Torture and Children to Imprisonment Sabbah report 22 Oct 2011 - Oh Israel... Would you give a scorpion to the little one who asked for an egg?" And would you offer prison, torture and exile to the children that 'cry freedom?' Preterm babies: Do bigger brains make smarter children? Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 - Study finds the faster the rate of cerebral cortex growth in infancy, the higher scores were on developmental, intelligence tests as children. Concerns over Palestinian children in Israeli custody 10/19/2011 - GAZA CITY (IRIN) -- While there have been emotional scenes after the release of 477 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, concerns are being raised about the plight of 164 Palestinian children from the West Bank in Israeli custody. They were either sentenced or are being detained, mainly for stone-throwing, according to the UN Children'.... [uruknet.info] Concerns over Palestinian children in Israeli custody Uruknet October 19, 2011 - While there have been emotional scenes after the release of 477 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, concerns are being raised about the plight of 164 Palestinian children from the West Bank in Israeli custody. They were either sentenced or are being detained, mainly for stone-throwing, according to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) which,... UNICEF pressures Israel on child detainees Mondoweiss - From Foreign Policy's Turtle Bay blog : As the Israeli-Palestinian prisoner swap got under way this week, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) appealed late last night to the Israel military to ensure the release of 164 Palestinian prisoners detained as minors, mostly on charges of throwing stones... Freed Palestinians reunite with families in Gaza and West Bank The Guardian 18 Oct 2011 - Euphoria and tears of joy as released detainees come home after Gilad Shalit is handed over to Israel by Hamas Families wept as they embraced. Children who had no memories of their fathers were held up... When Down children grow up Jerusalem Post 15 Oct 2011 - Despite medical advancements lengthening lifespans, religious establishment makes it difficult for Israelis with Down syndrome to marry under Jewish law. Israel’s asymmetrical prisoner swap Rachel Shabi, Al Jazeera 10/15/2011 The Israeli-Hamas prisoner swap is not a measure of life value, but rather an illustration of the asymmetrical conflict. It doesn't take long to meet a prisoner family in Palestine. With more than 6,000 Palestinians incarcerated by Israel right now and more than 700,000 in jails since Israel's 1967 occupation of the Palestinian territories, those stories soon come into the frame - mention of a father, a brother taken away; a swallowing of pain; a distant gaze determined to bring a beloved, absent face into focus. Now Israel has cut a deal with Hamas to release the soldier Gilad Shalit, five years after his capture, in exchange for more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners, these figures allude to the reality of mass Palestinian imprisonment. With 20 per cent of the population jailed at some point, prison is a feature of Palestinian life under occupation. From the routine night raids that drag family members away, to the opaque military trials, the detention of children (7,000 since the year 2000) and the torture reported by Amnesty to take place in Israeli prisons, it all adds up to a system of control and debilitation. Israel adheres to the script of countries that try to crush national struggle: criminalise protest; use widespread arrests to show who's in charge and categorically refuse to count any prisoners as political. Those Palestinian detention figures are shockingly high - but then, the Israeli occupation has been shockingly long, and its permeation into Palestinian life just as deep. Despite the duration, Hadas Ziv, of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, says the fact Israel blanket-labels all Palestinian prisoners as cold-blooded murderers shows that the country is in a phase which characterises the earliest stages of conflict. more.. e-mail [uruknet.info] Hebron school demonstrates for third day: "Without teachers there is no school" Uruknet October 13, 2011 - For the third morning children and teachers from Qordoba Scool gathered on the H1 side of Checkpoint 56 at 7.30am. The children, with the support of their teachers and the Director of Education in Hebron, Nisreen Amro, peacefully protested against heightened "security measures" that were introduced by the Israeli Army on Tuesday 11th October... Hebron school demonstrates for third day: 'Without teachers there is no school' 10/13/2011 - International Solidarity Movement - International Solidarity Movement, West Bank - For the third morning children and teachers from Qordoba Scool gathered on the H1 side of Checkpoint 56 at 7. 30am. The children, with the support of their teachers and the Director of Education in Hebron, Nisreen Amro, peacefully protested against heightened "security measures" that were introduced by the Israeli.... Analysis: US Congress ruining decade of work in Palestine Daoud Kuttab, Ma’an News Agency 10/13/2011 Haroon Abu Araa has come a long way. In the 15 years I have known him, I have seen the transformation and maturity, from a radical university student activist to his present day position as director of Al Quds Educational Television in Ramallah. He took me this week on a tour of the media lab at Al-Quds University that was funded last year by USAID. He proudly explained how 450 media students at the university would benefit from this high-tech lab and made sure to tell the visitors that local companies helped by supplying furniture for the media lab. But Abu Araa’s excitement was mixed with pessimism, because this important development is now being interrupted by a decision of the US Congress to halt funding for Palestinians. Supporting the media lab is part of a three-year plan designed with Internews Network, which included training of faculty, developing media curriculum and helping Palestinians build a vibrant and independent audiovisual media industry. The unexpected temporary halt of approved and planned programs by USAID is seen as punishment of the Palestinian people for their leadership’s decision to seek statehood recognition at the UN. The hold US Congress members placed on funding for Palestinians covers many other areas that are critical to the nation-building process that the entire world (including the US and Israel) is in favor of. It includes, for example, support for educational programs, like model schools and preschool education. In a young society such as the Palestinians', where the majority of the population is under 25, what is invested in children yields dividends in the future. more.. e-mail Activist: Israeli forces detain child in Hebron 10/12/2011 - HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Confrontations between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian children erupted Wednesday at a junction south of Hebron, local activist Ratib Al-Jabour said. Al-Jabour said soldiers fired rubber bullets, tear-gas and stun grenades at the Palestinians. One Palestinian child was arrested at the event but was not immediately identified.... 'Heritage and tourism' festival to be held in Hebron 10/11/2011 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Hebron-France association for Cultural Exchange is organizing a crafts festival in Hebron on October 15, a statement said. The festival will take place in the old city and handicrafts from local villages will be displayed. The festival is open to children and adults, locals and foreigners. An 'educational garden.... DCI submits complaint on behalf of child detainee Sabr 9 Oct 2011 - DCI Palestine [19 September 2011] – On 7 September 2011, DCI submitted a complaint to the Israeli authorities on behalf 17-year-old Ahmad R. The complaint requests that the Judge Advocate General opens an investigation into allegations that Ahmad was mistreated by Israeli soldiers in May 2011.... [uruknet.info] Palestinians Protest Israeli Prison Hell Uruknet October 6, 2011 - Israel treats Palestinian prisoners horrifically. In detention, interrogations include torture, intimidation and other abuses. "Security prisoners" are punitively isolated for extended periods. Others for any reason or none at all face similar short or longer-term treatment. Administrative detainees are held indefinitely without charges or trial. Children are treated like adults.Horrific conditions include severe overcrowding;... Palestinians Protest Israeli Prison Hell Sabbah report 7 Oct 2011 - Security prisoners are punitively isolated for extended periods. Administrative detainees are held indefinitely without charges or trial. Children are treated like adults. 750,000 Palestinians arrested by Israel witin 45 years 6 Oct 2011 - Palestine, (Pal Telegraph) - Since occupying the Palestinian Territory in 1967, Israel has detained about 750,000 Palestinian citizens, including 12,000 women and tens of thousands of children, said a Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics press release. 'Surgeries before age 2 could lead to learning problems' Jerusalem Post 6 Oct 2011 - US researchers find link among children undergoing multiple surgeries requiring general anesthesia before age 2 and learning disabilities later in childhood. Youth arrested in Hebron over cereal 10/5/2011 - International Solidarity Movement - 2 October 2011, International Solidarity Movement, West Bank - On 2 October in Al Khalil (Hebron), the Israeli army and police arrested 2 Palestinian children based on petty, unfounded accusations whilst allowing settlers to employ violence with complete impunity. 13 year old Khaled Abu Snaeneh and 15 year old Said Abu Aisha were arrested and detained.... [uruknet.info] In their own Words: A report on the situation facing Palestinian children detained inoccupied East Jerusalem Uruknet October 3, 2011 - DCI-Palestine has submitted a second report to the UN on the situation facing Palestinian children detained in occupied East Jerusalem. This follows DCI-Palestine's submission on 19 July 2011 of 45 cases relating to the detention of Palestinian children from the occupied West Bank, under the Israeli military court system. The Report covers a six... [uruknet.info] Forget the distractions; the realities of Israel's Occupation demand its end Uruknet October 1, 2011 - ...The systematic detention of Palestinian children is part of Israel's decades-long mass imprisonment policy, which has seen an estimated 700,000 people jailed as "security" prisoners since 1967. It is rare to find a Palestinian family in the Occupied Palestinian Territories which has not experienced this. It has marked the society profoundly as Palestinian leader... [uruknet.info] Libyan children killed as Sirte exodus grows Uruknet October 1, 2011 - A rocket killed two children on Saturday as their family joined the quickening exodus of civilians during a two-day window to flee the battle for Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, a Libyan medic said....The two children killed "were torn to pieces," said Ahmed Abu Aud, a field medic on the western side of Sirte. "... Witnesses: 2 Palestinian children detained in Silwan 9/26/2011 - JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained two Palestinian children on Sunday evening in East Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood, witnesses said. Israeli forces raided the al-Bustan area of Silwan and detained Wajd Abu Hlayyil, 8, and Umran Mansour, 10, locals told Ma'an. The arrests sparked clashes between Israeli soldiers and local residents.... Tripoli school children show support for Syrian youth Daily Star 26 Sep 2011 School children in a Tripoli neighborhood demonstrated to express their solidarity with Syrian children, the state-run National News Agency reported Monday. Mahmoud Abbas and Barack Obama: tragic hero vs political prostitute Uri Avnery, Redress 9/24/2011 A wonderful speech. A beautiful speech. The language expressive and elegant. The arguments clear and convincing. The delivery flawless. A work of art. The art of hypocrisy. Almost every statement in the passage concerning the Israeli-Palestinian issue was a lie. A blatant lie: the speaker knew it was a lie, and so did the audience. It was Obama at his best, Obama at his worst. Being a moral person, he must have felt the urge to vomit. Being a pragmatic person, he knew that he had to do it, if he wanted to be re-elected. Obama – selling America’s national interests for a second term In essence, he sold the fundamental national interests of the United States of America for the chance of a second term. Not very nice, but that’s politics, OK? It may be superfluous – almost insulting to the reader – to point out the mendacious details of this rhetorical edifice. Obama treated the two sides as if they were equal in strength – Israelis and Palestinians, Palestinians and Israelis. But of the two, it is the Israelis – only they – who suffer and have suffered. Persecution. Exile. Holocaust. An Israeli child threatened by rockets. Surrounded by the hatred of Arab children. So sad. more.. e-mail Supreme Court: Find school for Ethiopian pupils in PT now Jerusalem Post 22 Sep 2011 - Education Ministry, Petah Tikva Municipality asked to find immediate solution for remaining handful of Ethiopian children whose school was closed. PA: Israeli soldiers detain 2 children in Hebron 9/18/2011 - HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained two Palestinian boys at a military checkpoint in Hebron on Sunday, Palestinian Authority officials said. A Ma'an correspondent identified the detainees as Amjad Nidal Taha, 13, and Husam Hussein Abu Sneina, 12. He said they were detained at a checkpoint known to locals as Talat Abu.... Palestine’s Future – its Students – Must be set FREE Intifada-Palestine: 15 Sep 2011 - Free to learn… free to train… free to excel… free to plan… free to travel… free to trade… free to govern… And free at last from Israel’s reign of thuggery Bright and hopeful Palestinian children Stuart Littlewood / Intifada Palestine The last... more Trajtenberg committee recommends cutting Israel’s defense budget by NIS 3 billion Ha'aretz - Committee to recommend redirecting budget toward socioeconomic reform such as raising taxes for upper and middle classes, free education to all children ages four and above. Hebrew U Evicts Homeless Families From Empty Dorms, 8 Detained Alternative Information Center - The Hebrew University of Jerusalem evicted tens of homeless families and their children on Tuesday morning (13 September) from an empty dormitory building taken over earlier this month. Four people were detained during the eviction. During... Family: Israeli forces detain 14-year-old boy at checkpoint 9/12/2011 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli soldiers detained a 14-year-old child at Beit Jala checkpoint, near Bethlehem on Sunday, the boy's family told Ma'an. Mahmoud Marzouq Zawahreh said that his son, Mazin, was accused by Israeli forces of trying to stab a soldier. Zawahreh denied the claims, saying that his son.... ‘Price tag’ – paying for our educational failures Jerusalem Post 12 Sep 2011 - Though mainstream Religious Zionists do not support acts of violence, what their children are being taught may be contributing to it. MIDEAST: Not School Time Yet for Bedouin Girls IPS For mother of five Shimaa al-Aasam, providing her children with the opportunity to complete their education despite a severe lack of classrooms in their Bedouin community is of prime importance. Children of Qalandiya: Occupation Starts Here Palestine Chronicle: 11 Sep 2011 - By Tamar Fleishman – The West Bank I wanted to write about Mahmud, the thirteen year old boy that ever since his return from Ofer prison is the first of the children who hurry to greet me on my arrival. Perhaps this is because finally someone has taken an interest in his fate. It isn't often that someone expresses interest and concern for the children of Qalandiya. More than often people make demands of them, reject them and abuse them. These children are destined to servitude. I no longer regard Mahmud as just another child in the bunch, he is an individual, he is noticed, his photograph is taken, he smiles, he waits for that specific day in the week when he receives his photos, and when I ask him about the leg that was injured when he was beaten, he tilts his head with timidity, which is uncommon among...more Palestine’s future – its students – must be set free Stuart Littlewood, Redress 9/12/2011 Free to learn... free to train… free to excel... free to plan… free to travel... free to trade... free to govern…And free at last from Israel’s reign of thuggery The last thing Israel wants is masses of bright and clever young Palestinians next door in the shredded remains of the occupied territories. But that's exactly what Palestinian youngsters are – bright and clever, given half a chance. So they need repressing. They need humiliating constantly. They need to be discouraged. They need to have their education disrupted big-time, so that they become a broken, dispirited, docile mass without ambition, utterly dependent on a few crumbs of comfort and easy to control. So the Israelis make spiteful war on students especially, as well as women and children generally. Last week's report from Bethlehem University about the brutal attacks by Israeli squatters, in one case under the indulgent eye of Israeli soldiers, on a professor and a student reminds me that I have written on three earlier occasions about intimidation and obstruction by the Israeli authorities. At this moment in the long struggle for decency and freedom it is worth recalling these incidents, which vividly illustrate why Palestinian independence is so vitally important. To get to Bethlehem University, or any other, many students have to run the gauntlet of Israeli checkpoints. "Sometimes they take our ID cards and they spend ages writing down all the details, just to make us late," said one. Students are often made to remove shoes, belt and bags. "It's like an airport. Many times we are kept waiting outside for up to an hour, rain or shine, they don't care." The soldiers attempt to forcibly remove students’ clothes or they swear and shout sexual slurs at female students. more.. e-mail IDF: Palestinian Kindergarten ‘Terror Center’ Tikun Olam - Budding Hamas terrorists learning terror at young age (Emil Salman) A year ago or so the IDF shuttered a West Bank charity for orphaned children because it was supposedly funded by Hamas. Today, the IDF has once again done itself proud by punishing children for the... [uruknet.info] Save the Children UK: Annual Review of Child Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Uruknet September 4, 2011 - Save the Children presents the major trends of 2010 that affected the rights of children in the occupied Palestinian territory to live, learn and play in freedom and safety. In 2010, Palestinian children continued to face poverty, violence and threats to basic rights such as education and health. Economic growth obscured widespread aid dependency,... Child Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: 2010 Review Relief Web 1 Sep 2011 - Source: Save the Children Country: occupied Palestinian territory Save the Children presents the major trends of 2010 that affected the rights of children in the occupied Palestinian territory to live, learn and play in freedom and safety. In 2010, Palestinian... Israeli parents rally in demand of free preschool education Ha'aretz - Hundreds gather in 'stroller march' at Tel Aviv Museum; say raising children in central Israel is unaffordable. ISRAEL: Children Facing Deportation Find Friends IPS After Israel's Interior Ministry attempted to deport the first migrant workers' child educated in the Israeli school system, human rights groups are calling on the Israeli government to develop a clear immigration policy and an official protocol that will minimise the psychological impact of detaining and deporting young children. AL-KHALIL (HEBRON): Six children detained by Israeli soldiers during first day of Eid al-Fitr Christian Peacemaker Teams - Palestine - Members of Christian Peacemaker Teams observed as the soldiers detained the children for forty minutes before releasing them. At one point the soldiers brought them into the compound to have their toy guns examined by military police officers. This investigation took place just a couple of... The Holy Land Five Case Noor Elashi, CounterPunch 8/31/2011 Echoes of Korematsu As we approach the tenth anniversary of 9/11, and my father remains incarcerated in a modern-day internment camp, the time in which we live begins to feel less like 2011 and more like 1942. But this week could determine whether today’s justice system is capable of rewriting the sad chapters of our history. I say this week because on Thursday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear the long-awaited oral arguments in the Holy Land Foundation case, involving what was once our country’s largest Muslim charitable organization. Meet my father, Ghassan Elashi. The co-founder of the HLF. Inmate number 29687-177, sentenced to 65 years in prison for his charity work in Palestine. He is an American citizen from Gaza City, who before his imprisonment, took part in the immigration rally in Downtown Dallas, joining the half a million people wearing white, chanting ˇSi, se puede! The prison walls have not hindered his voice, as he writes to me, heartbroken about the homes destroyed during the earthquake in Haiti, the young protesters killed indiscriminately in Syria, the children lost to the famine in Somalia. Most frequently, he writes to me about the Japanese-American internment. Now meet Fred T. Korematsu, who after Peal Harbor was among the 120,000 Japanese-Americans ordered to live in internment camps. This was in 1942, when President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which authorized the military detainment of Japanese-Americans to ten concentration camps during World War II. Mr. Korematsu defied orders to be interned, because he viewed the forced removal as unconstitutional. So on May 30, 1942, Mr. Korematsu was arrested. His case was argued all the way to the Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled against him, stating that his incarnation was justified due to military necessity. more.. e-mail Will We Finally See Handala’s Face In September? Desert Peace 8/25/2011 Handala was born ten years old, and he will always be ten years old. At that age, I left my homeland, and when he returns, Handala will still be ten, and then he will start growing up. The laws of nature do not apply to him. He is unique. Things will become normal again when the homeland returns. WHO IS HANDALA? From approximately 1975 through 1987 Naji Al-Ali created cartoons that depict the complexities of the plight of Palestinian refugees. These cartoons are still relevant today and Handala, the refugee child who is present in every cartoon, remains a potent symbol of the struggle of the Palestinian people for justice and self-determination. Naji Al-Ali wrote: “The child Handala is my signature, everyone asks me about him wherever I go. I gave birth to this child in the Gulf and I presented him to the people. His name is Handala and he has promised the people that he will remain true to himself. I drew him as a child who is not beautiful; his hair is like the hair of a hedgehog who uses his thorns as a weapon. Handala is not a fat, happy, relaxed, or pampered child. He is barefooted like the refugee camp children, and he is an icon that protects me from making mistakes. Even though he is rough, he smells of amber. His hands are clasped behind his back as a sign of rejection at a time when solutions are presented to us the American way. "Handala was born ten years old, and he will always be ten years old. At that age, I left my homeland, and when he returns, Handala will still be ten, and then he will start growing up. The laws of nature do not apply to him. He is unique. Things will become normal again when the homeland returns...." more.. e-mail Educating Jaffa Jerusalem Post 25 Aug 2011 - A committed band of volunteers working in Jaffa is giving a shot in the arm to children’s English literacy in the city. Profile of MK Danny Danon, Israel’s Rising Star of the Right Jack Weston, Alternative Information Center 7/31/2011 A key promoter in Israel’s recently passed anti-BDS and other anti-democratic legislation, Knesset Member Danny Danon is a rising star of the Likud party. Jack Weston profiles the man who some say wishes to be prime minister of Israel. A joint proposal by Israeli Knesset Members Danny Danon (Likud) and Faina Kirschenbaum (Yisrael Beitenu) to investigate funding and land purchases by leftist organizations was rejected by Israel’s Knesset on 20 July. After government crackdowns on activists involved in the "Welcome to Palestine" campaign, and the recent passing of anti-boycott legislation in the Knesset, this is a small victory for the left. MK Danon and MK Kirschenbaum's move to probe left-wing organizations is over for now, but their message is clear. "These are political organizations outside the consensus," Danon said. And to him, this is unacceptable: "Funding from the EU for [left-wing] organizations that fight against Israel, it is something we should stop. I think they are not part of the system." Danon was born in Ramat Gan and now lives with his wife and three children in Moshav Mishmeret. Chairman of the Immigration Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee and Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, Danon expresses a strong will to preserve Israel as a democratic state. Recent remarks, however, tell a different story however: "We [Israel] are very democratic. Even too democratic…We have a strong democracy, it should be a strong democracy, but we have to set some limits." Political speech is one limit Danon seems to be referring to. In a recent interview, Danon asserts that leftist opposition to the recently passed anti-boycott legislation, deemed undemocratic by many, is hypocritical. As the democratically chosen representative of the Israeli people, Danon said, Likud has the right to pass this law, which bans public advocacy for "a boycott against the state of Israel[1]. more.. e-mail Report: Police detain settlers suspected of attacking child 8/21/2011 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Israeli police detained 13 settlers suspected of attacking a 10-year-old Palestinian boy on Saturday near Ramallah, Israeli media reported. Bassam Dawood sustained injuries to the head and body which appeared to have been inflicted by metal objects, medics at the Palestine Medical Compound told Ma'an. He was attacked.... Spotlight on Occupied Palestine Sabbah report 16 Aug 2011 - Lawrence Davidson argues that while leveling charges of incitement at the Palestinian educational system, Israelis themselves have been practicing on their own children a form of indoctrination that vilifies Palestinians and Arabs. [uruknet.info] Israeli Persecution of Palestinian Children Uruknet August 14, 2011 - .... Each year, about 700 West Bank children are arrested, interrogated, detained, and prosecuted in Israeli military courts. Since 2000 alone, around 7,500 have been affected, facing torture, ill-treatment and other forms of abuse during the entire arrest/transfer/interrogation process. Belligerent soldiers usually raid homes late at night. Young children are arrested, blindfolded, hands tied painfully,... All Israeli kindergarteners are required to sing the national anthem– except for ‘Arab sector’ children Mondoweiss - According to a July Haaretz article , Israeli education authorities have implemented a new rule that kindergarten teachers must have their classes sing the Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem, every week. This generated some debate in Israel about forced patriotism that poses an interesting contrast with the US,... Community based special education programme – building bridges and tearing down wall Relief Web 11 Aug 2011 - Source: Palestine Red Crescent Society Country: occupied Palestinian territory Founded in 2000 by the Palestine Red Crescent Society in partnership with the Norwegian Red Cross, the Community Based Special Education program has been opening doors for Palestinian children with mental... Detainees' parents accused of smuggling cell phones 8/8/2011 - GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli authorities have banned parents from visiting their detained children over suspicions they smuggled cell phones into the jail during visits, a detainees' center reported. Detainees at Shatta prison in Israel said their parents had brought them books but Israeli guards suspected the books concealed cell phones. The prisoners.... Detainee enters 30th year in Israeli jail 8/8/2011 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian prisoner entered his 30th year in Israeli detention on Monday, a detainees' center said. Hasan Salma, 53, was arrested on August 8, 1982. He was accused of killing Israelis and sentenced to life imprisonment. Salma, from Beituniya near Ramallah, is married and has twin children who were born.... Modest but happy Ramadan celebrations in Palestinian camps Daily Star 7 Aug 2011 It’s an hour before the Ramadan fast ends, and Shatila’s children are growing restless. Academic claims Israeli school textbooks contain bias Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem, The Observer, The Guardian 8/7/2011 Nurit Peled-Elhanan of Hebrew University says textbooks depict Palestinians as 'terrorists, refugees and primitive farmers' Nurit Peled-Elhanan, an Israeli academic, mother and political radical, summons up an image of rows of Jewish schoolchildren, bent over their books, learning about their neighbours, the Palestinians. But, she says, they are never referred to as Palestinians unless the context is terrorism. They are called Arabs. "The Arab with a camel, in an Ali Baba dress. They describe them as vile and deviant and criminal, people who don't pay taxes, people who live off the state, people who don't want to develop," she says. "The only representation is as refugees, primitive farmers and terrorists. You never see a Palestinian child or doctor or teacher or engineer or modern farmer." Peled-Elhanan, a professor of language and education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has studied the content of Israeli school books for the past five years, and her account, Palestine in Israeli School Books: Ideology and Propaganda in Education, is to be published in the UK this month. She describes what she found as racism– but, more than that, a racism that prepares young Israelis for their compulsory military service. "People don't really know what their children are reading in textbooks," she said. "One question that bothers many people is how do you explain the cruel behaviour of Israeli soldiers towards Palestinians, an indifference to human suffering, the inflicting of suffering. People ask how can these nice Jewish boys and girls become monsters once they put on a uniform. I think the major reason for that is education. So I wanted to see how school books represent Palestinians." more.. e-mail [uruknet.info] Lattakia: Ongoing Arrests of Doctors Uruknet August 6, 2011 - A number of doctors and employees of the private Tabiyat Hospital in Lattakia have been detained since August 3 following the medical treatment of a child who had sustained gunshot wounds a day earlier and subsequently died of her injuries. The 9-year-old child, Bara'a Mahmoud Kabbaro, was shot on August 2 and was transported... Parents and children protest in 'stroller marches' across Israel Ha'aretz - Demonstrators march in Tel Aviv, Herzliya and Kiryat Motzkin to protest high cost of raising children; 'stroller march' organizer rejects Treasury's claim that free education for children aged 10 and over is unreasonable. Report: Israeli police detain 9 cult members 8/3/2011 - TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- Israeli police have arrested nine members of an ultra-orthodox cult suspected of abusing women and children in Jerusalem and Tiberias, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported Tuesday. Police opened an investigation into the cult after a woman lodged a complaint in May, the report said. An ultra-Orthodox man suspected of.... Opportunities for kids in Gaza to learn and play Relief Web 1 Aug 2011 - Source: Australian Agency for International Development , Government of Australia Country: occupied Palestinian territory Half the population of Gaza is under the age of 18. For these children, life has been characterised by conflict, poverty and despair. Throughout the year, children... Growing number of children with anxiety disorders 7/26/2011 - RAMALLAH (IRIN) -- The number of children with post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders including depression has increased in the occupied Palestinian territory where conflict continues with Israel, according to MĂ©decins Sans Frontières and Palestinian NGOs specializing in mental health. Violations against Palestinian children related to the armed conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.... OPT: Growing number of children with anxiety disorders Relief Web 26 Jul 2011 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Networks Country: occupied Palestinian territory RAMALLAH, 26 July 2011 (IRIN) - The number of children with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other anxiety disorders including depression has increased in the occupied Palestinian territory where conflict continues... [uruknet.info] OPT: Growing number of children with anxiety disorders Uruknet July 26, 2011 - The number of children with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other anxiety disorders including depression has increased in the occupied Palestinian territory where conflict continues with Israel, according to Me'decins Sans Frontie'res (MSF) and Palestinian NGOs specializing in mental health. Violations against Palestinian children related to the armed conflict between Israelis and Palestinians have... France honors educator of Gaza's children Electronic Intifada: 26 Jul 2011 - Rami Almeghari The Electronic Intifada Gaza In a special ceremony at the French Cultural Center in Gaza City earlier this month, a representative of the French consulate in Jerusalem presented the highest award bestowed on non-French citizens to Reem Abu Jaber, head of the Qattan Centre for the Child in Gaza.more Mother of 2 detainees dies 7/22/2011 - JENIN (Ma'an) -- A mother of two detainees died Friday in a refugee camp in Jenin in the northern West Bank, a prisoners' rights group said. Two of Hajjeh Najiyeh Sibani's children are held in Israeli prisons. The 78-year-old was devastated when she learned that her daughter was on hunger.... [uruknet.info] Children tormented in the name of the law Uruknet July 22, 2011 - With the most aggressively racist government ever in power, the Israeli occupation authorities have been prosecuting and imprisoning Palestinian children at will, mostly on bogus charges such as throwing stones at Israeli military vehicles and endangering the security and safety of the Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank. According to the Israeli human... Standing for Corporate America Dissident Voice: 22 Jul 2011 - In a rare moment of ruling class honesty, billionaire James Crown and Stand for Children CEO Jonah Edelman revealed the union-bashing corporate agenda behind education reform in a recent speech. Speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival, they explained how Stand for Children, a nonprofit ostensibly dedicated to helping “all children get the excellent public education…they need to thrive,” helped push through legislation in Illinois aimed at severely restricting teacher union rights. Their panel discussion, titled “If It Can Happen There, It Can Happen Anywhere: Transformational Education Legislation in Illinois,” began with Crown painting a picture of an all-powerful teachers union that consistently blocks education reform and has a stranglehold on Illinois politics: [W]e had a mayor who talked importantly about reforming the schools, Mayor Daley, and we had a CEO of public schools, Arne Duncan, who did everything he could in that environment. But this was not a fair fight....more USAID Completes Vocational Education Support for Dar al Kalima College Relief Web 20 Jul 2011 - Source: US Agency for International Development Country: occupied Palestinian territory Bethlehem, West Bank – On July 19th, the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Program, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented with Save the Children... [uruknet.info] Refugee children rally to save Bethlehem playground Uruknet July 20, 2011 - -- "I have a right to play", "I have a right to live in a clean environment", "I have a right to express myself". Those were some of the signs and slogans carried by children at a recent protest at Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem. Some of these young protesters were barely five years... IOF soldiers detain 16 Palestinians including Hamas leader, children PIC - Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up 16 Palestinians in various West Bank areas at dawn Thursday including Hamas leader and well-known reformist Ghanim Sawalme. Refugee children rally to save Bethlehem playground 7/21/2011 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- "I have a right to play", "I have a right to live in a clean environment", "I have a right to express myself". Those were some of the signs and slogans carried by children at a recent protest at Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem. Some of these young protesters were barely.... [uruknet.info] Denying Palestinian Children Education Uruknet July 20, 2011 - In July 2011, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) issued a new report titled, "Education Denied: Israel's Systematic Violation of Palestinian Children's Right to Education," even though it's a fundamental human right. It involves progressively developing children as individuals and responsible citizens. It's key in helping them "raise their standard of living, and (... Palestinian summer program a hit in Mieh Mieh Daily Star 20 Jul 2011 UNRWA’s summer recreation program for children, Play and Learn, is under way in the Mieh Mieh Palestinian refugee camp, despite the program’s cancelation at the at Ain al-Hilweh camp. Ashqar: Israel detained more than 3000 Palestinian children in 5 years PIC - The ministry of prisoners in Gaza said that the IOF detained more than 3000 Palestinian minors over the period 2005 – 2010 and not only 835 as published by the Israeli B’Tselem. Israel 'detains Egyptian children' in Beersheba 7/19/2011 - TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- An Israeli court has ordered the detention of three Egyptian children no older than 14 in Beersheba prison after they allegedly crossed into Israel illegally, an attorney said Sunday. Lawyer Asmahan Abed Al-Hadi's request to free one of the children was turned down, she said. The children.... No Minor Matter: Violation of the Rights of Palestinian Minors Arrested by Israel on Suspicion of Stone-Throwing, July 2011 Report, B’tselem 7/18/2011 From the beginning of 2005 to the end of 2010, at least 835 Palestinian minors were arrested and tried in military courts in the West Bank on charges of stone throwing. Thirty-four of them were aged 12-13, 255 were 14-15, 546 were 16-17. Only one of the 835 was acquitted; all the rest were found guilty. Palestinian minors charged with criminal offenses are tried under the military legislation applying in the West Bank, which grants them very few of the special rights relating to persons their age. These protections, such as separation from adults during detention and imprisonment, are not always maintained. The same is true regarding protections prescribed in the military legislation for all suspects that are especially important in the case of minors, such as the right to consult with an attorney. The military legislation dealing with minors does not conform to international and Israeli law, which acknowledge that the minor’s age affects his criminal responsibility and the manner in which he experiences arrest, interrogation, and imprisonment, and which assume that these experiences might harm the minor’s development. Consequently, under international law and Israeli law, suspected offenders who are minors are given special protections, their parents must be allowed to be present during their child’s interrogation, and their arrest and imprisonment are viewed as a last resort. In November 2009, the Military Youth Court was established in the West Bank. The court was empowered to hear offenses committed by minors under age 16. The military judges, on their own initiative, expanded the jurisdiction of the court to cover all minors, i.e., up to age 18. A few judges expressed, in their judgments, their belief that the military justice system should try minors in accordance with the standard practice in juvenile courts around the world. The president of the Military Court of Appeals added that the military courts must operate in the spirit of the Israeli Youth Law, even though the Youth Law itself is not incorporated in the military legislation. Despite these declarations, institution of the Military Youth Court has brought limited change, and serious infringement of the rights of minors appearing before it continues. -- See also: Full Report (PDF) and More videos on the topic more.. e-mail Events organized for children of Palestinian detainees 7/14/2011 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) --The Palestinian detainees center in Qalqiliya said Wednesday that they had organized an evening of entertainment for the children of Palestinian prisoners who live in the city. The event was sponsored in cooperation with the Palestinian Woman's Center, a Christian youth organization and the prisoners' mothers committee. Head.... U.N. struggling to cope with East Africa drought Daily Star 12 Jul 2011 U.N. officials sounded the alarm Tuesday about a growing humanitarian crisis in East Africa caused by a severe drought and fighting in Somalia, and warned that tens of thousands of children are at risk of dying. Study: Lebanon 'gypsies' more marginalized than Palestinians 7/11/2011 - BEIRUT (IRIN) -- Of all Lebanon's communities the Dom, described by some researchers as "the Gypsies of Lebanon", are the most marginalized: Up to 68 percent of Dom children do not attend school, according to a new report."Their access to legal protection, health, education, adequate shelter and food is very difficult, verging on.... Week 16: Talal Abu Kabash Palestinian political prisoner Middle East Monitor 11 Jul 2011 - Many long-term Palestinian prisoners have been in Israeli jails since their children were very young. A generation has grown up not really knowing their fathers beyond second-hand information. In such cases, fellow prisoners become a new family but they can never replace the children. Prisoner Talal... Learning Lebanon II’s lessons Jerusalem Post 9 Jul 2011 - The war was not considered a success by Israel, but the fact that it’s the Hezbollah leader hiding in a shelter this year and not Israeli children, suggests that it was not a total loss either. Report: 1,552 Palestinians arrested in 2011 7/8/2011 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- TheDetainees Center in the Gaza Strip reported Friday that 1,552 Palestinian citizens had been arrested by Israeli forces in the first half of 2011, including 215 children. Nineteen Palestinian lawmakers from the Hamas Movement are among those arrested in 2011. It is unclear how many have been detained indefinitely. The Center.... [uruknet.info] "Education Denied: Israel's Systematic Violation of Palestinian Children's Right to Education Uruknet July 7, 2011 - The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) releases today a new report titled "Education Denied: Israel's Systematic Violation of Palestinian Children's Right to Education" which was prepared for the July 2011 High-Level Segment of UN-ECOSOC in Geneva, Switzerland. PCHR will attend this session, which will review the implementation of the education-related Millennium Development Goals (... 270 Palestinians kidnapped last month PIC - The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) persisted in its kidnapping of Palestinians last June and detained more than 270 of them, including 33 children and four women. Taaleem Iraqi refugee project praised for improving school atmosphere Daily Star 5 Jul 2011 Education programs for Iraqi refugee children, targeting attendance and discrimination in public schools, were declared a resounding success Tuesday, as the Swedish branch of the NGO Save the Children, presented the achievements of a three-year project. Learning capoeira in the shadow of Israel's wall Electronic Intifada: 5 Jul 2011 - The Electronic Intifada The Bidna Capoeira project aims to help children cope with trauma by learning capoeira, an age-old Afro-Brazilian martial art.more Amnesty: Saudi Arabia detains women protesters 7/5/2011 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Two women remain in detention after being arrested in Riyadh on Sunday during a protest to demand fair trials for their relatives, Amnesty International reported Monday. Some 15 women and five children were arrested Sunday after calling for fair trials for their male relatives, who are being detained without charge - in.... IOF soldiers detain 300 citizens in June PIC - The IOF detained 300 Palestinians and foreign activists in the West Bank over the past month of June including 36 children, the ministry of prisoners in Gaza said on Monday. Capoeira to ease child trauma IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 7/4/2011 Bidna Capoeira is a project that helps children overcome trauma by learning capoeira, an age-old Afro-Brazilian martial art. WEST BANK, 4 July 2011 (IRIN) - Shu'fat refugee camp, in an Arabic neighbourhood of East Jerusalem in the occupied Palestinian territory, is a difficult place for a child to grow up in. “The area has very few opportunities for kids to do constructive and positive things," said Isaac Heinrich, project manager for an NGO called Bidna Capoeira. "It is dirty [and] just outside the camp school they burn garbage while the kids are in class… The camp is right on the border with Israel, and half of it is encircled by the wall. The level of violence is high, and the threat from outside feels overwhelming.” It is here that Bidna Capoeira started a project in March to help children overcome trauma by learning capoeira, an age-old Afro-Brazilian martial art. The project aims to support children affected by armed conflict, and improve community development and wellbeing. “In Shu’fat, there’s a huge need for young and adult role models," Heinrich explained. "A big part of our work is to strengthen young people and develop their leadership skills.” more.. e-mail Education Denied: Israel’s Systematic Violation of Palestinian Children’s Right to Education Relief Web 3 Jul 2011 - Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights Country: occupied Palestinian territory Ref: 41/2011 Date: 03 July 2011 In a New Report PCHR Denounces Israel’s Systematic Violation of Palestinian Children’s Right to Education. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) releases today... Qatar's Sheikha Mozah urges UN to protect children and schools The National 30 Jun 2011 - Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser, a UN education envoy, told dignitaries at UN headquarters yesterday that 42% of the children who are denied access to classrooms are living in conflict-ridden countries. IOF soldiers detain 8 Palestinians including children PIC - The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up five Palestinian citizens at dawn Monday and three children on Sunday in various West Bank areas, locals reported. Israel policy myth #3: trying to stem a flood of migrants Roi Maor, +972 Magazine 6/27/2011 To justify draconian and inhumane measures against refugees, the Israeli government claims the country is flooded by work migrants from impoverished countries. The facts do not bear this out, to put it mildly. In Israel today, there are two classes of immigrants. One is composed of those who come under the Law of Return, which supposedly grants automatic citizenship for Jews and their immediate relatives (the myth surrounding this law will be discussed in the final installment of this series). The second class is composed, well, of everyone else. How do they fare? Quite badly, in fact. Children who have lived in the country for the majority of their lives face deportation [Hebrew]. A mother of an infant child with Israeli citizenship nonetheless also faces deportation. Getting pregnant will cost you your visa [Hebrew], despite a High Court of Justice ruling that says otherwise (and see upcoming myth #9 on that). And soon, the first Israeli-only kindergartens in the country will be opened. Refugees fare no better. A deaf Eritrean recently spent almost two years in jail, because his identity could not be verified. Some are imprisoned just because they require medical care, while others are incarcerated [Hebrew] without access to appropriate medical facilities. And the government is doubling down on this policy, building a huge new prison for refugees, with intentionally cramped conditions. Things have gotten so bad, that HIAS – an international Jewish organization working with asylum seekers – has scaled down its cooperation with the Israeli government [Hebrew], following a decision to arrest asylum seekers on the spot if their request is denied. The myth of the flood.... more.. e-mail Gaza's children march against child labour Middle East Monitor 23 Jun 2011 - EXCLUSIVE PICTURES On Wednesday, children marched in the streets of Gaza to draw attention to their internationally recognised rights which are being violated with the on-going siege. They demanded recognition of their right to education, to live without fear for their lives and to have a... Creativity Gap between rich and poor children in Palestine Palestine Note 23 Jun 2011 - The Middle East is famous for a long-standing commitment to the pursuit of knowledge. One – of many – shared features between Islamic and Jewish culture is the value placed on education. Palestinians are rightly proud of their leading position... Shakira meets Israeli President Peres, schoolchildren in visit to promote education campaign Palestine Note 22 Jun 2011 - The Washington Post- Colombian pop singer Shakira promoted her global education campaign with a stop at a joint Israeli-Arab school in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Kicking off Israel’s third annual Presidential Conference with a plea for children’s education worldwide, Shakira, a... Shakira pushes education on visit to Jerusalem 6/21/2011 - JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Colombian pop diva Shakira said on Tuesday that education was the best way to achieve global stability and peace after meeting Israeli and Palestinian school children on a visit to Jerusalem. Speaking at a joint press conference with President Shimon Peres, the 34-year-old singer said she had come to Israel to share.... [uruknet.info] Detaining Palestinian Children Uruknet June 20, 2011 - Last month, a 13-year-old boy from a small village in the occupied West Bank woke up to the sound of loud banging on the front door of his family home - it was 3:00 am. Omar's father answered the door and found heavily armed Israeli soldiers waiting outside. The soldiers asked for the family's... UNRWA organises first sports festival for disabled children Relief Web 20 Jun 2011 - Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Country: occupied Palestinian territory 17 June 2011 West Bank UNRWA’s education department organised its first-ever sports festival for disabled children in Camp No. 1 near Nablus yesterday.... [uruknet.info] Children among 3 detained by Israel overnight Uruknet June 20, 2011 - Israeli forces raided the southern West Bank village of Husan, west of Bethlehem overnight and detained two minors after storming their family homes, local source said. Speaking with Ma'an by phone, a family member said several Israeli military vehicles entered the village at around 2 a.m and ransacked two homes. He said 15-year-old Muhammad... [uruknet.info] Syria: They came at dawn, and killed in cold blood Uruknet June 19, 2011 - The houses looked abandoned, windows and doors locked, a broken shutter clattering in the wind. Then, one by one, they began to appear from their hiding places, mainly women and children, a few elderly people. The residents of this village had learned to their cost that being caught unawares in this violent conflict could... Israel’s Systematic Ill Treatment and Punishment of Palestinian Children Gerard Horton, Editor, Palestine Note 6/16/2011 Last month, a 13-year-old boy from a small village in the occupied West Bank woke up to the sound of loud banging on the front door of his family home - it was 3:00 am. Omar’s father answered the door and found heavily armed Israeli soldiers waiting outside. The soldiers asked for the family’s ID cards and then informed Omar’s father that they were taking his son, but without saying why or where. Omar was blindfolded and his hands were tied behind his back before being led outside to a waiting military vehicle and driven off into the night. Omar was taken to the settlement of Ari’el. He was interrogated by two policemen and accused of throwing stones at settlers near his village. He denied the accusation but after several hours of interrogation, in which he was punched and slapped, he confessed. What happened to Omar is not unusual. This month marks the 44th anniversary since the start of Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian territory - an occupation in which arrest and detention are common. According to the UN, since June 1967 well over 700,000 Palestinians have been detained by Israeli security forces and prosecuted in military courts. One leading Israeli NGO described these courts as ‘operating since the beginning of the occupation under virtually an absolute veil of darkness.’ A number of Israeli and Palestinian organisations have attempted to shed more light on what exactly is going on under this military regime since the publication of Yesh Din’s report in 2007. One organisation, Defence for Children International, focuses on children such as Omar, who is just one of around 700 minors, some as young as 12 years, prosecuted in military courts each year. Based on hundreds of sworn testimonies, a picture of systematic ill-treatment and punishment is emerging. more.. e-mail Detaining Palestinian Children Palestine Note 16 Jun 2011 - Lawyer Gerard Horton from Defence for Children International describes a pattern of abuse Gerard Horton - Last month, a 13-year-old boy from a small village in the occupied West Bank woke up to the sound of loud banging on the... Security forces disrupt West Bank rally Middle East Monitor 14 Jun 2011 - EXCLUSIVE PICTURES Residents of Palestinian politicians detained in Israeli prisons yesterday staged a rally in Martyrs Square, Nablus, to demand their release. Several officials including parliamentarians joined the wives and children of the detained politicians and activists. They carried placards and shouted slogans calling for an... Solidarity with Palestinians and Anti-Semitism Michael Warschawski, Alternative Information Center 6/12/2011 The struggle against anti-Semitism must be part of the struggle that every leftist party must wage, with zero compromises, against racism. Solidarity with the Palestinian people is part of the anti-colonial struggle to which every leftist party is committed. The two arenas complete and strengthen each other, writes Michael Warschawski. Roger Cukierman, leader of France’s Jewish community at the beginning of the 21st century, proudly related to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz how he recommended to Ariel Sharon that Israel quell the harsh international criticism of its October 2000 massacre by opening a new front: the front of anti-Semitism. This was after the world was shocked by the France Channel 2 photos of the murder of the child Muhammad al-Dura in the arms of his father. The government of Israel had no response to the horrific photos of the murder of tens of unarmed children and young people by snipers. Cukierman told Ariel Sharon that “instead of attempting to come up with unconvincing excuses, we would attack on a new front: anti-Semitism.” Everyone who opened his mouth against the crimes of Israel would be accused of anti-Semitism, and this strategy succeeded beyond expectations: journalists and intellectuals were quiet lest they be accused of anti-Semitism, and one who dared express himself was forced to conduct a war – including in courts of law – in order to prove that he is not anti-Semitic, a terrible accusation in Europe, fifty years after Auschwitz. It appears that after ten years and from overuse, this weapon has lost its efficacy,and is gradually being pushed to the corner. And yet this same unacceptable connection between criticism of Israeli policy and anti-Semitism has returned, even in the ranks of a leftist party with a history of struggle for human and workers rights. First, a clarification of a few things concerning anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism exists in Europe, even if all surveys indicate that it is in a clear process of decline in comparison with the 1950s.... more.. e-mail Italian Olympic Football Team Visits Bethlehem PNN - Munjed Jadou - Bethlehem - PNN - During their visit to Palestine the Italian Olympic football team expressed their feelings on solidarity with the Palestinian children who were playing in the entrance... One missile, one playground: The will of Gaza Ramzy Baroud, Ma’an News Agency 6/10/2011 A "Hamas commander" drove a beat-up gray van in northern Gaza and theatrically spoke on his walkie-talkie as I sat in the passenger seat. The van was almost barren, save for the most basic equipment propelling it to move forward over the bumpy roads of an overcrowded refugee camp. Iyad was not here to show me any militant training camp, or even to assess the damage that had befallen the impoverished Gaza Strip during Israel's devastating war, Operation Cast Lead, which killed and wounded thousands in 2008-09. Scars of the damage sustained during the three-week onslaught are still visible throughout the Strip. But Iyad was here to show me his latest personal project: a playground for refugee children. At first glance, the "playground" did not seem impressive at all. All I noticed was a small plot of dirt jammed between two unsightly concrete buildings. "So, what do you think?" asked Iyad, with a proud smile. His attempt at growing a full beard was not entirely successful, giving him a younger, albeit disheveled appearance. "It's impressive," I replied, still trying to understand the nature of the accomplishment. I learned later that the achievement was creating space out of the debris. At one time prior to December 2008, when an Israeli missile decided to drop in, a family had lived in this spot. The house had collapsed, and its residents became mere posters of mourned Palestinian faces adorning the walls of other houses in the neighborhood. more.. e-mail The Naksa Day at Qalandiya Palestine Chronicle: 10 Jun 2011 - By Tamar Fleishman It started off with a demonstration. The women walked in the front line in a non-violent civil protest. The protesters who headed towards the checkpoint were halted by military ammunition. Gas and stun grenades. The younger demonstrators wouldn't hold back, and started throwing stones. Some of them were old acquaintances and others were new, they were residents of the camp and the nearby towns who had spent their childhoods and teenage years inside ghettos that imprisoned their bodies and souls. When the order was disturbed the soldiers took to their bullet proof posts- at the entrances of homes, at the windows on top floors and on the roofs. Over and over again, the grenades thundered, the bullets whistled and the smothering gas fumes rose up above. The wind was the only one not to obey the rules or fulfill the orders, it changed directions and carried the...more [uruknet.info] Guantánamo's Children: The Wikileaked Testimonies Uruknet June 6, 2011 - On April 24, 2011, the transparency organization Wikileaks began to release Detainee Assessment Briefs and other classified documents for all 779 Guantánamo prisoners. This revealed that military authorities have acknowledged that Mr. Abdul Samad, Mr. Ibrahim Umar al Umar, Mr. Khalil Rahman Hafez, and Mr. Abdullah R. Razzaq were all imprisoned at Guantánamo as... AT TUWANI REFLECTION: Healing the Trees Christian Peacemaker Teams - Palestine - We start slowly, our delegation members, several men, a handful of women, a sprinkling of children. As we walk out of the Palestinian village of At-Tuwani the procession grows, women cutting across fields, childrenscrambling down hillsides. Some of the boys carry hoes; the women swing buckets;... Non-violence activist addresses Israeli military court Bassem Tamimi, Ma’an News Agency 6/6/2011 Non-violence activist Bassem Tamimi's address to Israel's Ofer military court during his trial for organizing protests in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh. A military judge refused to allow Tamimi to read his full statement in court. Your Honor, I hold this speech out of belief in peace, justice, freedom, the right to live in dignity, and out of respect for free thought in the absence of Just Laws. Every time I am called to appear before your courts, I become nervous and afraid. Eighteen years ago, my sister was killed by in a courtroom such as this, by a staff member. In my lifetime, I have been nine times imprisoned for an overall of almost 3 years, though I was never charged or convicted. During my imprisonment, I was paralyzed as a result of torture by your investigators. My wife was detained, my children were wounded, my land was stolen by settlers, and now my house is slated for demolition. I was born at the same time as the Occupation and have been living under its inherent inhumanity, inequality, racism and lack of freedom ever since. Yet, despite all this, my belief in human values and the need for peace in this land have never been shaken. Suffering and oppression did not fill my heart with hatred for anyone, nor did they kindle feelings of revenge. To the contrary, they reinforced my belief in peace and national standing as an adequate response to the inhumanity of Occupation. International law guarantees the right of occupied people to resist Occupation. In practicing my right, I have called for and organized peaceful popular demonstrations against the Occupation, settler attacks and the theft of more than half of the land of my village, Nabi Saleh, where the graves of my ancestors have lain since time immemorial. -- See also: Protest organizer on trial in Israeli military court and +972: ‘Our demonstrations are in protest of injustice’ West Bank protest leader tells an Israeli military court more.. e-mail 9 detained in Jerusalem after day of protests 6/5/2011 - JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Two children were among the nine detained by Israeli forces from Jerusalem on Sunday, following a day of Palestinian protests across the West Bank marking the 44th anniversary of Israel's occupation. In Silwan, locals said an undercover unit took three young teens from their homes, while in the nearby.... A UN Secretary General vs Freedom Flotilla 2 Richard Falk, Al Jazeera 6/2/2011 Humanitarian ships to sail to Gaza again, despite current UN disapproval and a previous attempt that turned deadly. It is expected that at the end of June, Freedom Flotilla 2 will set sail for Gaza, carrying various forms of humanitarian aid, including medical, school, and construction materials. This second flotilla will consist of 15 ships - including the Mavi Marmara from the first flotilla - sailing from Istanbul, but also vessels departing from several European countries, and carrying as many as 1,500 humanitarian activists as passengers. If these plans are carried out, as seems likely, it means that the second flotilla is about double the size of the first that was so violently intercepted by Israeli commandos in international waters on May 31, 2010, resulting in nine deaths on the Turkish lead ship. Since that shocking incident of a year ago, the Arab Spring has changed the regional atmosphere, but it has not ended the unlawful blockade of Gaza, or the suffering inflicted on the Gazan population over the four-year period of coerced confinement. Such imprisonment of an occupied people has been punctuated by periodic violence, including the sustained all-out Israeli attack for three weeks at the end of 2008, during which even women, children, and the disabled were not allowed to leave the deadly killing fields of Gaza. It is an extraordinary narrative of Israeli cruelty and deafening international silence. The silence was broken only by the brave civil society initiatives in recent years that brought both the symbolic relief of empathy and human solidarity, as well as the token amounts of substantive assistance in the form of much needed food and medicine. It is true that the new Egypt has opened the Rafah crossing a few days ago, allowing several hundred Gazans to leave or return to Gaza on a daily basis, but Rafah is not currently equipped to handle goods, and is available only to people, and so the blockade of imports and exports continues in force, and may even be intensified as Israel vents its anger over the Fatah/Hamas unity agreement. more.. e-mail U.N. calls for Syrian probe into torture of children Daily Star 31 May 2011 The U.N. children’s agency UNICEF called on Syria Tuesday to investigate reports of horrific acts of violence against children detained during the current wave of unrest in the Arab country. Soldiers Detain Palestinians, Abduct International Peace activist Near Hebron IMEMC - Sunday May 29, 2011 - 09:40, Israeli soldiers detained on Saturday evening five several Palestinians, including women and children, and kidnapped an international peace activist near Safa village, north of the southern West Bank city of Hebron. Lord Dubs raises concerns for Palestinian child detainees in UK Parliament Sabr 29 May 2011 - May 11, 2011 DCI-Palestine [11 May 2011] – Following a visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territory in April 2011, Lord Dubs raised the issue of Palestinian child detainees in the UK Parliament on 4 May. Lord Dubs: ‘ My Lords, I recently visited the West Bank;... Qalqiliya: A Day at the Zoo Palestine Chronicle: 20 May 2011 - By Stephen Williams It's the little things that distinguish the longest military occupation in modern history; the minor inconveniences, the trivial acts of spite, the Kafkaesque bureaucracy, its sheer silliness. There we were, a Palestinian family and their UK guest on the way from Ramallah to Qalqilya. For the children, it was to be a day at the zoo in the park; for me, it was the opportunity to see the ”bottle” in which Qalqiliya exists , and to pass through its “neck”, surrounded by illegal settlements - a situation that is manifestly bizarre but tolerated by the rest of the world. The young IDF soldier, emerging from an unexpected checkpoint not far from Nablus, was to play his part in this Theatre of Absurdities. My presence intrigued him. “Where do you live?” he asked. He was delighted to learn that I was a Londoner; “I’m from London too,” he said....more Standing for Human Rights, Dignity in Gaza Palestine Chronicle: 14 May 2011 - By Jane Hirschmann Gaza is crumbling under the weight of an Israeli siege backed by the Obama administration. Roughly 80 percent of Palestinians in Gaza now depend on aid. Vast amounts of infrastructure destroyed in the Israeli attack of 2008-09 require repair. Thousands of families still live doubled up with relatives or are homeless. Children are being short-changed educationally because of damaged and horribly overcrowded schools and a lack of textbooks. Their health is compromised by polluted water and food insecurity. In response, over 1,000 human-rights workers from around the world will sail this June on a dozen boats for the Gaza Strip to highlight this human-made tragedy. Our boat — the American boat — is The Audacity of Hope. It will be carrying approximately 60 students, nurses, artists, journalists and filmmakers, lawyers, academics and ordinary civilians of many beliefs from around the country. Many of us are Jewish. Last...more Making a stand for human rights and dignity in Gaza Jane Hirschmann, Redress 5/14/2011 Gaza is crumbling under the weight of an Israeli siege backed by the Obama administration. Roughly 80 per cent of Palestinians in Gaza now depend on aid. Vast amounts of infrastructure destroyed in the Israeli attack of 2008-09 require repair. Thousands of families still live doubled up with relatives or are homeless. Children are being short-changed educationally because of damaged and horribly overcrowded schools and a lack of textbooks. Their health is compromised by polluted water and food insecurity. In response, over 1,000 human-rights workers from around the world will sail this June on a dozen boats for the Gaza Strip to highlight this human-made tragedy. Our boat – the American boat – is The Audacity of Hope. It will be carrying approximately 60 students, nurses, artists, journalists and film-makers, lawyers, academics and ordinary civilians of many beliefs from around the country. Many of us are Jewish. Last May, Israeli forces stormed the Mavi Marmara and killed nine passengers, including an American citizen. A fact-finding mission of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights found that the "circumstances of the killing of at least six of the passengers were in a manner consistent with an extra-legal, arbitrary and summary execution". All the civilian deaths on board the humanitarian vessel were inexcusable. Yet, once again, the Israeli government has threatened to initiate violence against us. more.. e-mail "Bring the Dinosaurs to Palestine!": A Conversation about Preschool Education Palestine Note 12 May 2011 - Armed protracted conflict has major repercussions on the society, or societies, involved. But the consequences for children, arguably one of the weakest elements of a society, who must grow up in that conflict are even more serious. Children in conflict... Detention Bulletin April 2011 Relief Web 12 May 2011 - Source: Defence for Children International/Palestine Section Country: occupied Palestinian territory April 2011 - Overview This month saw a small decrease in the number of children prosecuted in the Israeli military courts and imprisoned. The detention figures fell by three percent... [uruknet.info] 700,000 children fail to enroll in primary schools in Iraq every year Uruknet May 12, 2011 - The number of children staying away from school in Iraq is estimated at 700,000 a year, a new survey reveals. The survey, by the Tamuz Organization for Social Development, said half the primary school pupils who successfully complete their education, join higher levels. The survey comes amid reports that many school buildings in the... Most young Israelis would consider private school for kids Jeruslalem Post 11 May 2011 - Fifty-two percent of those under 35 support a state-run school voucher program in which the education budget would be allocated to parents, who would use it to pay for their children’s school. Lord Dubs raises concerns for Palestinian child detainees in UK Parliament Defence for Children International - Palestine 10 May 2011 - Following a visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territory in April 2011, Lord Dubs raised the issue of Palestinian child detainees in the UK Parliament on 4 May. 'Parents must place more emphasis on child care, education' Jeruslalem Post 10 May 2011 - Israel Prize c'tee says Pnina Klein's methods for gauging connections between children, caretakers are "cornerstones of caretaking.” Jenin woman enters 10th year in Israeli jail 5/9/2011 - GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Palestinian detainee Qahira Al-Sadi entered her 10th year in an Israeli jail on Sunday, the Ministry of Detainees' in Gaza said. Al-Sadi, 35, was sentenced to life imprisonment accused of affiliation to Islamic Jihad and aiding a suicide bomber, the ministry said. Al-Sadi, from Jenin, has four children, but.... [uruknet.info] Nato units left 61 African migrants to die of hunger and thirst Uruknet May 8, 2011 - Dozens of African migrants were left to die in the Mediterranean after a number of European and Nato military units apparently ignored their cries for help, the Guardian has learned. A boat carrying 72 passengers, including several women, young children and political refugees, ran into trouble in late March after leaving Tripoli for the... Libya’s revolutionaries remake schools for Gadhafi-free thought Daily Star 8 May 2011 How do you teach in schools where history books omitted revolutions, geography books had few maps and children learned never to question authority? Bassem Tamimi: 'Our destiny is to resist' Max Blumenthal, Electronic Intifada 5/2/2011 When I met Bassem Tamimi at his home in the occupied West Bank village of Nabi Saleh this January, his eyes were bloodshot and sunken, signs of the innumerable sleepless nights he had spent waiting for Israeli soldiers to take him to prison. As soon as two children were seized from the village in the middle of the night and subjected to harsh interrogations that yielded an unbelievable array of “confessions,” the 44-year-old Tamimi’s arrest became inevitable. On 25 March, the army finally came, dragging him away to Ofer military prison, a Guantanamo-like West Bank facility where he had previously been held for a 12-month term for the vaguely defined crime of “incitement.” His trial before a military court that convicts more than 99 percent of Palestinians brought before it is scheduled to begin on 8 May. Like nearly all of his neighbors, Tamimi has spent extended time in Israeli detention facilities and endured brutal treatment there. In 1993, he was arrested on suspicion of having murdered an Israeli settler in Beit El. Tamimi was severely tortured for weeks by the Israeli Shin Bet in order to extract a confession from him. Tamimi said that during the torture he was dropped from a high ceiling onto a concrete floor and woke up a week later in an Israeli hospital. In the end, he was cleared of all charges. With his wife, Nariman, and his brother, Naji, Tamimi has been at the center of Nabi Saleh’s popular resistance against the occupation since its inception in 2009. The village’s unarmed struggle has brought hundreds of Israelis and international activists to participate each Friday in boisterous and theatrical demonstrations that invariably encounter harsh Israeli violence, including the use of live ammunition against children. While other villages involved in the popular struggle have seen their ranks winnowed out by a harsh regime of repression and imprisonment, Nabi Saleh’s protests continue unabated, irking the army and frustrating the settlers of Halamish, who intend to expand their illegal colony further onto Nabi Saleh’s land. more.. e-mail [uruknet.info] Oppressing West Bank Palestinian Children Uruknet May 2, 2011 - ... Under military occupation, Palestinian children are treated like adults. Each year, about 700 are arrested, brutally interrogated, and prosecuted in military courts, denying them justice. Since 2000 alone, over 7,000 have been brutalized. On January 31, 2011, 222 Palestinian children were imprisoned, 34 aged 12 - 15. Some at times are 10 or younger.... Palestinian child detained by Israeli forces in Jerusalem 1 May 2011 - West Bank, (Pal Telegraph)-Israeli occupation forces detained yesterday at night a Palestinian child known as Mohammed Houshia, 12, after raiding his house in Jerusalem under the pretext of throwing stones at Israeli soldiers existed near the Separation Wall. THE GHOUL AND THE ARAB POPULOUS REVOLT Intifada-Palestine: 30 Apr 2011 - by: Jamal Kanj Growing up in a Palestinian refugee camp, I remember at times when my little brother cried for no good reason at night; my late mother would warn him: the ghoul comes to the sound of crying children. Instinctively... more [uruknet.info] Guantanamo's Child Soldiers Files Reveal Many Inmates Were Minors Uruknet April 28, 2011 - The Guantanamo files reveal many of the inmates in the controversial detention camp were under 18 at the time of their capture and that the charges against them were often based on hearsay. Even detainees who US interrogators admitted were innocent had to wait a long time before being freed...That also proved true in... Human rights groups launch program for kids Daily Star 28 Apr 2011 An educational program aimed at helping children to peacefully coexist was launched Thursday by three human rights organizations during a news conference at UNESCO Palace. Guantánamo Bay files: Children and senile old men among detainees Uruknet April 25, 2011 - The Guantánamo files reveal the often fragile physical and mental condition of Guantánamo's oldest and youngest residents, who have included an 89-year-old man and boys as young as 14. 2002 Guantánamo prisoners were described as "the worst of a very bad lot" by Dick Cheney, US vice-president. "They are very dangerous. They are devoted... UNICEF: Israeli occupation affecting more than 1.9m Palestinian children PIC - UNICEF said that more than 1.9m Palestinian children face the threat of death, injury, displacement, detention, psychological distress, and low educational attainment. When a Palestinian child becomes an enemy Joseph Dana, +972 Magazine 4/25/2011 Last summer I found myself wading around a swimming pool in the middle of the scorching desert on a Kibbutz in the Negev. I had come to this kibbutz to see an old friend from high school. Over the past 12 years we have developed and maintained a close friendship despite clear political differences which, in this country, can easily destroy personal relationships. As we swam in the cool water, the topic of conversation turned to his reserve service. This friend of mine, let’s call him Avichai, had just finished a round of reserve duty in the Palestinian village of Ni’ilin, where I often attend and cover the demonstrations against the Separation Barrier. I was shocked to hear that he had served there and quickly realized that he had probably fired tear gas, rubber bullets or live ammunition at me. Our conversation took an uncomfortable turn. I asked him directly, ‘what does it take for you to look at children and shoot at them with tear gas, rubber bullets and live fire?” He nonchalantly informed me that they are not children, rather enemies on a battlefield. When I asked him if he considered me an enemy for standing with the children, he brushed away the question suggesting that I was just confused. Sensing his growing discomfort, I ended the conversation knowing that relationships can end over politics in Israel. Avichai’s thoughts regarding the use of force against Palestinian children, while shocking, are not that uncommon in my experience in Israeli society. Breaking the Silence, an Israeli NGO which collects testimonies from soldiers about their service in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza, has released a number of first-hand accounts of soldiers who were told by their superiors to treat civilian areas as combat zones. Reading the testimonies, one sees an army that does not always make the proper distinction between enemy and civilian. This policy is on raw display during the weekly unarmed demonstrations against the Separation Wall and Occupation throughout the West Bank. -- See also: Ma'an: Father says son's liver damage caused by Israeli tear gas more.. e-mail P.A Slams Subaru Ad, Subaru-Israel Denies Relation To The Commercial IMEMC - Sunday April 24, 2011 - 08:54, The Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank expressed on Thursday its anger over an advertisement showing the Subaru car hitting two Palestinian children in Jerusalem with “We will see who will stand in front of you” written in Hebrew on the ad. Child Dies in Agony over Her Imprisoned Father WAFA UN Coordinator calls for protection of rights of Palestinians detained by Israel Middle East Monitor 21 Apr 2011 - The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory has called for protection of the rights of the Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons, especially women and children. In a press statement, Maxwell Gaylard stressed that due legal process must be upheld, regardless of the reasons... Europe’s Rising Islamophobia Paul Hockenos, Agence Global 4/21/2011 Berlin -- With inspiring scenes of the Arab Spring on television for months, one might have expected images of democratic revolutions to punch a hole in the crude anti-Muslim stereotypes of Europe’s Islamophobes, those politicians and intellectuals who swear that Islam is totalitarian to its core. And if this alone didn’t dispel clichés of a monolithic, violent religion, then surely the vox pop of diaspora Egyptians, Tunisians and others on the nightly news -- university students, women who head NGOs and children alongside their native French or German peers -- would have demonstrated the diversity and integration of Muslim Europeans, something study after study documents. To the contrary, in recent elections Islamophobes like France’s right-wing National Front and the anti-EU True Finn Party racked up their best numbers ever, the latest strides in a surging movement that is recasting the political landscape of Western Europe. These elements have every reason to thank mainstream politicians, who, in the hope of exploiting the phenomenon for their own gain, have paved the way for the far right. In April, for example, France’s ridiculous “burqa ban” went into effect with overwhelming popular support, while EU leaders pushed the panic button over Tunisian refugees landing in Italy and Malta, turning the image of peaceful revolutionaries across the Mediterranean into one of an impoverished mob besieging Fortress Europe. What makes anti-Muslim racism so lethal is that unlike populisms of the past, Islamophobia has broad appeal across the political spectrum, from the far left to the far right and irrespective of class or educational level. Where it manifests itself in electoral parties, such as in France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria and now even Sweden and Finland, its advocates fare much better than old-school far-right parties ever did, with their vulgar anti-Semitism and expansionist fantasies.... more.. e-mail Nabi Saleh: A tiny village’s struggle againt the occupation Uruknet April 19, 2011 - In just over one year of unarmed demonstrations in Nabi Saleh, a small Palestinian community in the West Bank, 155 of the village’s 500 residents were wounded (about 60 of them children); 35 homes were damaged and dozens of the village’s people were detained. Yet even after the protest’s leader was put behind bars... Defence for Children International claims Israel targets Palestinian children Middle East Monitor 20 Apr 2011 - The Palestine Section of Defence for Children International has claimed that Israeli occupation forces target children during actions against Palestinian civilians. DCI-Pal said in a statement that the Israeli authorities have detained large numbers of Palestinians and that around 90% of Palestinian children (that is, those... Nabi Saleh: A tiny village’s struggle againt the occupation Idan Landau, translation by Dena Shunra, +972 Magazine 4/19/2011 In just over one year of unarmed demonstrations in Nabi Saleh, a small Palestinian community in the West Bank, 155 of the village’s 500 residents were wounded (about 60 of them children); 35 homes were damaged and dozens of the village’s people were detained. Yet even after the protest’s leader was put behind bars by the army, the struggle for the Nabi Saleh’s land continues. The objects seen in the picture: a magazine (known as a “tampon”) attached to a Tavor gun, and a human skull, attached to a neck. The gun is vertical; the neck is horizontal. You could say they’ve made contact. Inside the magazine: 12 to 16 rubber-coated metal pellets. Inside the skull: soft, gray brain tissue. Thoughts and memories. A soul. The purpose of the weapon: dispersing demonstrations at a minimum range of 40 meters. The purpose of the brain: to live. To remember such moments. Will the rubber-metal pellets go through that brain? Probably not. However, the thought about it doubtlessly goes through the man’s mind. One could say that this is actually happening at the photographed moment. Does pressing the magazine to the head of a man lying on the ground constitute “dispersion of demonstrations” at a minimal range of 40 meters? Pointless question. That is not the point here. The point is sowing fear and terror, emotional terror. more.. e-mail Children send letters to imprisoned fathers 4/19/2011 - TUBAS (Ma'an) -- "Father, I miss you so much and it's been so long and you are away we miss hugging you, we miss the smell of your jacket in the house, and the smell of your cologne. I pray to God that you will be released one day and come back.... Palestinian children send letters to imprisoned fathers Uruknet April 19, 2011 - "Father, I miss you so much and it’s been so long and you are away we miss hugging you, we miss the smell of your jacket in the house, and the smell of your cologne. I pray to God that you will be released one day and come back to us. I dream about... 90% of detained Palestinian minors tortured in Israeli jails PIC - The Palestine branch of the international movement for the defense of children said in a statement on Tuesday that 90% of Palestinian minors detained in Israel were tortured one way or another. Children send letters to imprisoned fathers Sabr 19 Apr 2011 - TUBAS ( Ma'an ) -- "Father, I miss you so much and it’s been so long and you are away we miss hugging you, we miss the smell of your jacket in the house, and the smell of your cologne. I pray to God that you will be... Five Palestinians attacked by Israeli army in WB 17 Apr 2011 - West Bank, (Pal Telegraph)-Israeli occupation forces detained Sunday a Palestinian citizen from Nablus city and violently attacked another five including two children in Al-Dahsh refugee camp. Israeli army arrests Hebron child after settlers attack home Uruknet April 16, 2011 - Israeli soldiers detained a child from Hebron's Old City after settlers attacked the boy's home Saturday. Mu'taz Al-Muhtaseb was beaten by soldiers and arrested, locals told Ma'an. They added that Israeli forces came to the area after settlers from the illegal outpost Beit Hadasa attacked Mu'taz's home. An Israeli army spokesman confirmed that soldiers... Lauren Booth´s “The intellectual intifada under attack” In Gaza: 17 Apr 2011 - excerpts from Lauren Booth on the killing of Vik : The killing of Vittorio (Vik) Arrigoni in Gaza this week follows (too) closely, the murder of pro-Palestinian peace activist Juliano Mer Khamis in the West Bank. Juliano, 52, was shot dead outside the Freedom Theatre in Jenin Refugee Camp on the West Bank on the 4th April. His documentary Arnas’s Children detailed the work of his mother in helping Palestinian children deal with the trauma of living under Occupation through the use of drama and self – expression. Juliano was untimely, bloody, end was one he had predicted three years ago on Israeli television. Vittorio Arrigoni was found, this week, hung, by armed ‘fanatics’ in an apartment in Gaza. An end he would never, ever, have predicted. There was worldwide condemnation for the killing of both men. That a man dedicated to non violent resistance should die in violence is bad...more Vittorio and Israel's Attack on the Intellectual Intifada Palestine Chronicle: 17 Apr 2011 - By Lauren Booth The killing of Vittorio (Vik) Arrigoni in Gaza this week follows (too) closely, the murder of pro-Palestinian peace activist Juliano Mer Khamis in the West Bank. Juliano, 52, was shot dead outside the Freedom Theatre in Jenin Refugee Camp on the West Bank on the 4th April. His documentary Arnas’s Children detailed the work of his mother in helping Palestinian children deal with the trauma of living under Occupation through the use of drama and self – expression. Juliano untimely, bloody, end was one he had predicted three years ago on Israeli television. Vittorio Arrigoni was found, this week, hung, by armed ‘fanatics’ in an apartment in Gaza. An end he would never, ever, have predicted. There was worldwide condemnation for the killing of both men. For friends of Vik, touched forever by his deep, smile filled voice, the pain of loss is made more acute by...more Army arrests Hebron child after settlers attack home 4/16/2011 - HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli soldiers detained a child from Hebron's Old City after settlers attacked the boy's home Saturday. Mu'taz Al-Muhtaseb was beaten by soldiers and arrested, locals told Ma'an. They added that Israeli forces came to the area after settlers from the illegal outpost Beit.... IOF troops detain 845 Palestinians in three months including 105 children PIC - A statistics report by the Ansar Al-Asra society said on Saturday that Israeli occupation forces (IOF) detained 845 Palestinians in the first three months of 2011. AT-TUWANI: Palestinian Authority representatives respond to Israeli military escort delays Christian Peacemaker Teams - Palestine - On Tuesday, 12 April, the governor of Hebron, Kamel Hamaid, and the director of the Hebron district Ministry of Education, Fawzi Abu Hlayel, visited the At-Tuwani school. Then the two Palestinian Authority representatives walked with school children to the place where they usually meet the Israeli... Syria releases 100 detainees after wives, children protest Ha'aretz - Dozens more men are still being held after anti-government protests in al-Baida and Banias. Syria protesters demand release of detainees LA Times 13 Apr 2011 - As hundreds near the village of Baida block a roadway, chant slogans and shake olive branches, symbolizing peaceful protest, security forces threaten violence, witnesses say. The women and children blocking a roadway outside the north Syrian coastal village of Baida shook olive branches as symbols... Israel’s uneven justice Mya Guarnieri, Ma’an News Agency 4/13/2011 Last week, Israeli immigration police arrested and deported a three-year-old boy, born and raised in Israel. The toddler was detained and expelled to the Philippines along with his mother, M, who is pregnant. The children’s father is a migrant worker from Thailand who was deported several months ago. Distance and poverty makes it unlikely that the family, torn apart by the state of Israel, will be reunited. This is just one heartrending story that has surfaced as the Israeli government steps up its current efforts to ensure a "Jewish and democratic" state—by deporting non-Jewish, Israeli-born children of migrant workers, along with their parents. In addition to the forced separation between herself and the father of her children, M faces another problem—she has not spent enough time working overseas to pay back the loan she took to cover the $5,000 fee the employment agency charged for arranging work in Israel. While the law mandates that employment agencies can charge no more than 30,50 shekels (about $900) for this service, a tremendous majority of agencies charge between $5,000 and $20,000. The few Israelis that dare defend the deportation—and there aren’t many—sometimes argue that this isn’t about the children or demographics. They say that this is about enforcing the law. So let’s talk about the law. We could discuss the 2007 Israeli Supreme Court ruling that ordered the army to reroute the separation barrier that slices through the Palestinian village of Bil'in—a ruling the state continues to ignore. Or we could discuss the siege on Gaza, which is illegal according to the Geneva Convention. more.. e-mail Why are the security forces detaining hundreds in Awarta? Yossi Gurvitz, +972 Magazine 4/12/2011 Former IDF Chief Rabbi calls for collective punishment of Palestinian villages in the West Bank In 1990, I was serving as an operations sergeant in the Dir El Balah – a town in the Gaza Strip – in the so-called Civil Administration. On Rosh Hashana of that year, a reservist soldier named Amnon Pomeranz made a fatal error and took the wrong turn. Instead of reaching the Buriej military camp, he reached the Buriej refugee camp. He panicked, drove backwards too fast, and ran over two children. He drove blindly forward, and the vehicle hit a road. An angry mob formed quickly, started throwing stones. Pomranz left the vehicle, threw his gun away, and begged for mercy. The stones kept flying. He went back into the car, tried to start it, failed, was hit, lost consciousness. Three young men ran off to the nearby gas station, came back with jerry cans full of gasoline, poured it, set it on fire. Our information on the events was extremely sketchy. When we received news about mass fleeing of the camp, Hamoud the AAA – Arab Affairs Advisor – connected the dots, left the base driving wildly, and charged to the place, calling everyone he could think of on the radio. He made it too late: The car was already on fire. Several days later, on the way home – he was driving, I was sitting behind him – he said he wanted to get near, to try and save Pomeranz, but was afraid the car will blow up, as it did several minutes later. His hair turned white. In the meantime, the GSS arrested the people responsible. It was said that one of the idiots photographed everything – but then again, they photographed lynches, too, no? – and that the GSS managed to get the photographs. One of the two people who set the car on fire went missing. One night – I think it was the second morning following the incident – our two regular GSS officers showed up with an old man and a child, aged five to six years. The child was blindfolded..... more.. e-mail On Jewish Intolerance Dissident Voice: 11 Apr 2011 - In a New Statesman article, law professor John Dugard ,who was a Judge on The International Court of Justice as well as being Special Raporteur for United Nations Commission on Human Rights, summarises the Goldstone apology saga: there are no new facts that could possibly have led Richard Goldstone to change his mind about the UN-backed investigation into Israel and the conflict in Gaza. While Goldstone claimed that the Israeli investigations produced some results also recognised by a follow-up UN committee report chaired by Judge Mary McGowan Davis, Dugard stresses that the McGowan Davis report was actually very critical of the Israeli investigations, finding them to be “lacking in impartiality, promptness and transparency.” According to the McGowan Davis report, the Israeli ‘probe’ has resulted in “two convictions; one for theft of a credit card, resulting in a sentence of seven months’ imprisonment, and another for using a Palestinian child as...more Palestinian Children Demand International Protection IMEMC - Wednesday April 06, 2011 - 06:44, Hundreds of children in the Gaza Strip participated in a Tuesday event organized by the Palestinian Ministry of Sports and Education – The General Administration of Children’s Affairs, demanding the international community to provide them with the needed protection against the ongoing Israeli violations. Freedom Flotilla 2 set to break the siege of Gaza Dr. Hanan Chehata, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 4/6/2011 The first anniversary of Israel's horrific assault on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla is fast approaching. As most people will remember, nine peace activists were killed by Israeli commandos when the soldiers boarded the Mavi Marmara in international waters. The ship was carrying hundreds of international humanitarians and peace activists en route to break Israel's siege of Gaza. The flotilla, of which the Marmara was a part, was nowhere near Israel's territorial waters and, therefore, had every right to be there. Nevertheless, Israeli troops were ordered to surround the ship with helicopters and navy vessels, board the ship and open fire indiscriminately on the people standing on deck. According to the Head of the Israel Defence Force's Southern Command, the commandos would have had no option but to open fire on civilians due to the "air-drop" boarding tactic used. Apart from the nine activists who were gunned down in cold blood, more than fifty people were wounded. The survivors were then basically kidnapped, subjected to abuse, taken to Israel against their will and held illegally in Israeli prison cells. This act of unjustifiable brutality was heavily condemned in the United Nations Human Rights Council Report which is so graphic and explosive that it reads like a thriller; the facts are beyond belief. It's almost a year later and history looks set to repeat itself if the world does not sit up and take notice. Another flotilla is due to set sail for Gaza in May and it is vital for it to do so. Despite the eyes of the world focusing on Gaza last May, the siege has still not been lifted. After being virtually imprisoned by Israel for over 4 years, 1.5 million Palestinians are still trapped in Gaza (over half of them children) in what British Prime Minister David Cameron - a good friend of Israel referred to as a "prison camp." It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for Palestinians to leave Gaza, and deaths are reported regularly when patients are not allowed to leave the Strip for treatment elsewhere. Similarly, few people are allowed into Gaza, with politicians, charity workers, journalists, Palestinians and non-Palestinians denied access by Israel, and the border with Egypt only now starting to be open a little more often, but still on an extremely limited basis, following the overthrow of Israel's buddy Hosni Mubarak. more.. e-mail Juliano Mer-Khamis: Taken Too Soon Yousef, The Jerusalem Fund 4/5/2011 Shocking news broke this morning about the murder of Juliano Mer-Khamis in a refugee camp in Jenin where he lived. The 53 year-old apparently fell victim to masked gunmen who opened fire on his car. I met Juliano on a few occasions and his work and dedication for the Palestinian cause was remarkable. His loss will be tremendously felt. (Image right: Juliano working with Palestinian kids at the theater) I had first learned about Juliano through a movie about his mother Arna. The film, "Arna's Children," is the story of Arna Mer, an Israeli Jewish woman who served in the Israeli Palmach (Armored Brigades) only to marry a Palestinian man and dedicate her life to working with Palestinians. She opened a theater in Jenin's refugee camps which became a source of comfort and an arena for expression for countless refugee children. In the film about the theater and Arna's work, which was made by her son Juliano, Juliano returns to the camp after the intifada to find out what happened to the kids he remembered from the theater his mother established. Through interviewing those that remained, he found out many of them had been killed. To continue his mother's work and provide a creative space for Palestinian children, Juliano established the Jenin Freedom theater. Through his work, he gave voice to Palestinian children to express themselves through art. He was also a tireless advocate for Palestinian independence in his individual capacity. As a filmmaker, actor and artist, Juliano could have chosen to live in many places, but he spent a great deal of time living in the refugee camp of Jenin where he worked on the Freedom Theater. Ultimately, he gave his life there. more.. e-mail Suffering From Cancer, Child Detainee Released From Israeli Prison Sabr 5 Apr 2011 - Tuesday April 05, 2011 00:09 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies Palestinian sources reported Monday that detainee Mustafa Shihab Abdul-Wahab, 16 years old, from a village near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, was released from an Israeli detention facility due to a sharp... Suffering From Cancer, Child Detainee Released From Israeli Prison IMEMC - Tuesday April 05, 2011 - 00:09, Palestinian sources reported Monday that detainee Mustafa Shihab Abdul-Wahab, 16, from a village near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, was released from an Israeli detention facility due to a sharp deterioration of his health conditions as he suffers from Cancer. Under Occupation: A report on the West Bank Uruknet April 2, 2011 - , Approximately 700 Palestinian children are prosecuted every year in Israeli military courts. Since 2000, more than 7,000 children have been detained and at the end of January 2011, 222 Palestinian children were being held in Israeli jails. Children are often arrested in early morning raids, during which time they are hooded, shackled and regularly subjected... Are US Soldiers Using Rape, Murder, And Bombing Of Children As War Strategy? Uruknet March 30, 2011 - "Some doctors in Libya have accused pro-Gaddafi fighters of using rape as a weapon of war. On Sunday, five men were arrested for raping and torturing a Libyan woman. The international press learned of the incident when the woman, Eman al-Obeidi, burst into a hotel full of foreign journalists in Tripoli. She was quickly detained... Education Crisis in East Jerusalem 30 Mar 2011 - According to a recent report by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Ir Amim, over five thousand Palestinian children in East Jerusalem are completely outside the education system. Last year, only half went to schools run by the Jerusalem Education Administration (Manhi), the rest attending schools set up by UNRWA and Islamic organisations schools. “Failed Grade,” published in... Fogel murders: Israeli army 'detains 60 Palestinians' Palestine Note 29 Mar 2011 - BBC News - Israeli troops detained 60 people in an overnight raid on a West Bank village as they searched for the killers of a settler family, the local Palestinian council said. The Fogels and their three young children were... Abu Tor: A story of neglect Palestine Monitor: 28 Mar 2011 - Abu Tor, a neighbourhood in the Silwan area of East Jerusalem, suffers acutely from state neglect, visible in the cycle of poverty from which its residents are unable to break free. The area is exemplary of the socio-economic depression afflicting most of East Jerusalem, brought on by the municipality's manifest failure to provide adequate funding, despite its legal obligation to do so. At the core of Abu Tor's ills is the quality of its educational resources, among the worst in the city. This lack means many residents do not finish school, cannot find good jobs and so are ill equipped to pull themselves out of the poverty trap into which they are born. There are two elementary and two middle schools for boys and girls, which cater for children between the ages of five and thirteen. There are no kindergartens or playgrounds, evidenced by the presence of young children playing...more Gaza Children Stand In Solidarity With Japanese Children IMEMC - Friday March 25, 2011 - 11:42, Dozens of Palestinian children in the besieged and impoverished Gaza Strip sent letters to Japanese children to express solidarity with them after the massive earthquake that hit Japan and the Tsunami that followed, the Palestine News Network (PNN), reported. Gaza children gather to support Japan 3/25/2011 - GAZA CITY (Ma'an) - Children gathered in Gaza City on Thursday in solidarity with the victims of Japan's devastating earthquake. Over 100 children held banners and slogans outside the Al-Nower education center to show their support for Japan, where more than 25,000 people are dead or missing. Nour Breikh, 11, explained, "We.... Father: Israeli authorities sentenced my teens Sabr 25 Mar 2011 - RAMALLAH ( Ma’an ) – Palestinian detainees’ center in Ramallah reported that Ofer court sentenced Amir Al-Bastami, 14, and ordered him to pay 2,000 shekels and Mahdi Al-Bastami, 13, ordered to pay 4,000 shekels. Their father said that his children are innocent and that it is a crime... The sanctity of the soaring Qassam Amira Hass, Haaretz, Israeli Occupation Archive 3/23/2011 The Hamas authorities once again forgot that the neighbor/occupier to its east is crazy. Fact: Over Shabbat, Hamas’ military wing fired more than 50 mortar shells at Israel. Or perhaps it didn’t forget: Perhaps it merely thought the Palestinian people in Gaza were ready for another high-tech Israeli onslaught, for another Israel Defense Forces video game in which children playing on a roof are identified as lookouts and sentenced to death. In this testosterone-rich competition, there will always be more checkmarks on the Israeli side. But Israel is clever enough to act like the threatened party and to hide its deadly performances. Who cares that the “appropriate Zionist response” to 50 mortar shells, which sowed fear but did not kill, was the killing of two 16-year-olds? Imad Faraj Allah and Qassam Abu Uteiwi, from the Nuseirat refugee camp, were the people killed by Israel’s retaliatory bombing later that evening – not “two terrorists,” as our media obediently said, parroting the commanders’ dictation. Those 50 mortars were the “appropriate Hamas response” to the death of two members of its military wing, Iz al-Din al-Qassam, in an Israeli airstrike. That teaches us that armed men are worth more than boys: The response to the teenagers’ death was a lone Qassam rocket. Nor did the dialogue of testosterone end there. Tuesday morning, we learned of another Israeli assault that wounded some 20 Palestinians, including children. Due to lack of space, we won’t detail what came in between or what came before. But what will come next is frightening. In the binary thinking of those who oppose the Israeli occupation (Palestinians, Israelis and foreigners ), public criticism of the tactics used in the struggle of an occupied and dispossessed people is taboo. It is as if criticism would create symmetry between the attacker and the attacked.... -- See also: Source more.. e-mail Education Crisis in East Jerusalem Palestine Monitor: 23 Mar 2011 - According to a recent report by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Ir Amim, over five thousand Palestinian children in East Jerusalem are completely outside the education system. Last year, only half went to schools run by the Jerusalem Education Administration (Manhi), the rest attending schools set up by UNRWA and Islamic organisations schools. “Failed Grade,” published in August 2010, has shed light on the failure of the state to provide a healthy and inclusive educational environment for Palestinian youths. While the state is legally obligated to provide free education to all its citizens, it has neglected to provide enough schools to cater for residents of annexed East Jerusalem. ‘One thousand five hundred new schoolrooms need to be built', explains Balad chairman Jamal Zahalka, who is active in the Knesset on this matter. ‘On the one hand is the negligence of the municipality and Education Ministry and on...more Wafaa Sleiman encourages children to express opinions Daily Star 22 Mar 2011 BEIRUT: First Lady Wafaa Sleiman said Tuesday it was no longer possible to prevent children from expressing themselves and participating in decision-making and social work. Speaking during a celebration of Monday's Children's Day at the Presidential... Silwan committee: Detained children gone through behavioral changes Sabr 20 Mar 2011 - [ 19/03/2011 - 08:13 PM ] OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, ( PIC )-- According to a study by the Silwan defense committee, children from Jerusalem's Silwan district have undergone marked behavioral changes after being detained in Israeli prisons. The restrictions placed on them could have negative long-term effects, Silwan committee... Libya, Hypocrisy and Betrayal by the UN Palestine Chronicle: 19 Mar 2011 - By Felicity Arbuthnot - London 'If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever.' -- George Orwell. The bombing of Libya will begin on or nearly to the day, of the eighth anniversary of the beginning of the destruction of Iraq, 20th March, in Europe. Libya too will be destroyed - its schools, education system, water, infrastructure, hospitals, municipal buildings. There will be numerous "tragic mistakes", "collateral damage", mothers, fathers, children, babies, grandparents, blind and deaf schools and on and on. And the wonders of the Roman remains and earlier, largely enduring and revered in all history's turmoils as Iraq, the nation's history - and humanity's, again as Iraq and Afghanistan, will be gone, for ever. The infrastructure will be destroyed. The embargo will remain in place, thus rebuilding will be impossible. Britain, France and the US., will decide the country...more Father: Israeli authorities sentenced my teens 3/17/2011 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) - Palestinian detainees' center in Ramallah reported that Ofer court sentenced Amir Al-Bastami, 14, and ordered him to pay 2,000 shekels and Mahdi Al-Bastami, 13, ordered to pay 4,000 shekels. Their father said that his children are innocent and that it is a crime to sentence them considering their young age.... Community supports victims of child abuse 3/17/2011 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian Authority police have detained a man from a Bethlehem village suspected of brutally beating his two children, prompting an outpouring of support by the community. According to a police report, the divorced father beat his 9-year-old daughter Sahar and her brother Ayyoub, 7, so badly that the elder daughter.... On the 8th Anniversary of Rachel Corrie’s Stand in Gaza Craig and Cindy Corrie, Rachel Corrie Foundation, International Solidarity Movement 3/16/2011 On Wednesday, March 16th, we mark the eighth anniversary of our daughter Rachel’s stand in Rafah, Gaza, to protect the right of a Gazan family to be safe and secure in their home and the rights of all Palestinians to self-determination, freedom, equality, and security in the same measure as their Israeli neighbors. Here in Olympia, Washington – our hometown and Rachel’s – our family, the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice, and our community will mark this anniversary with an event that emphasizes three components: community-building, education, and action. Strengthening community connections was important to Rachel when she lived and worked here in Olympia, but, also, beyond, as she embraced the world as her community. As we pursue a more just global community, we must arm ourselves with solid information and knowledge. Rachel believed this profoundly and emphasized in her writing from Gaza the importance of seeking and communicating the facts and doing so without exaggeration. And it is not enough for us to think and talk. We must, also, act. Indeed, it is because of Rachel’s action on March 16, 2003, that we pause to mark this day. As we consider where Rachel would want us to focus now, Gaza still remains high on the list. The UN Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that the number of weekly civilian injuries in Gaza was recently higher than it has been for any week since May 2010. The number includes injuries to five children. During the week of February 20-26, imports from Israel into Gaza were only 36 percent of the average amount that entered weekly before Israel imposed its blockade of Gaza in 2007. Exports and movement of people in and out of the Strip remain severely restricted. Collective punishment of the 1.7 million residents of Gaza by the Israeli government and military continues. We must, therefore, continue to focus on improving their situation and ending the blockade and siege under which they have suffered for so many years. more.. e-mail Awarta Under SeigeSettler violence escalates as the military occupies and raids villages Uruknet March 14, 2011 - International Solidarity Movement activists in Awarta describe a horrific "collective punishment" of the Palestinian village: children taken from school, homes raided, imposition of a 24-hour curfew, constant drone surveillance, and massive imprisonments of the male population. "The soldiers have locked us with the children and young men and are guarding me now," said an International... Three Scandinavian ISM activists trapped by curfew in Awarta village following settlers' murder 3/14/2011 - International Solidarity Movement - UPDATE: As of 12:30pm the ISM activists are locked in a room with the children of the family that they've been staying with while soldiers search the house. It's difficult for the ISMers to confirm information they receive as they're not allowed to leave the house, but they.... Related: Israeli forces detain over 300 in Awarta Awarta Under Seige Palestine Monitor - International Solidarity Movement activists in Awarta describe a horrific "collective punishment" of the Palestinian village: children taken from school, homes raided, imposition of a 24-hour curfew, constant drone surveillance, and massive imprisonments of the male population. "The soldiers have locked us with the children and young... Awarta Under Seige Palestine Monitor: 14 Mar 2011 - International Solidarity Movement activists in Awarta describe a horrific "collective punishment" of the Palestinian village: children taken from school, homes raided, imposition of a 24-hour curfew, constant drone surveillance, and massive imprisonments of the male population. "The soldiers have locked us with the children and young men and are guarding me now," said an International Solidarity Movement (ISM) member who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We can't leave the house and right now we can't even leave this room.” Awarta has become a ghost town, with all the villagers confined to their homes, running out of gas, scared and crying quietly under the buzz of drones and detonations of sound bombs. "The soldiers take people in every house. I don't know how many hundreds of people they've taken now. The children are scared, of course. The women are crying. They take their sons and fathers away. All the village is...more Tear down this Israeli wall Uruknet March 11, 2011 - In 1980, a song I wrote, Another Brick in the Wall Part 2, was banned by the government of South Africa because it was being used by black South African children to advocate their right to equal education. That apartheid government imposed a cultural blockade, so to speak, on certain songs, including mine. Twenty-five years... ‘Palestinian Women Are Shackled During Childbirth’Mehru Jaffer interviews FABRIZIA FALCIONE, UNIFEM Uruknet March 10, 2011 - - Female Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel are often denied legal representation and medical care while being housed in squalid conditions that can include sharing cells with rodents. According to Fabrizia Falcione, a women’s human rights officer for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), now part of UN WOMEN, told IPS that it... Interview: Palestinian women prisoners shackled during childbirth Electronic Intifada: 11 Mar 2011 - VIENNA (IPS) - Female Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel are often denied legal representation and medical care while being housed in squalid conditions that can include sharing cells with rodents.more EU Parliament to review prison conditions inside Israel Uruknet March 9, 2011 - On 15 March 2011, the EU Parliament's Sub-Committee on Human Rights will review prison conditions in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In advance of the hearing, DCI-Palestine has lodged a submission relating to conditions faced by Palestinian child detainees held in Israeli interrogation and detention facilities and prisons. DCI-Palestine's submission to the Sub-Committee provides... Q&A: ‘Women Are Shackled During Childbirth' IPS Female Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel are often denied legal representation and medical care while being housed in squalid conditions that can include sharing cells with rodents. Arrests, demolition warnings in Beit Ummar 3/8/2011 - HEBRON (Ma'an) -- A child, two teenagers and an adult were detained by Israeli forces from the town of Beit Ummar overnight, local officials said, adding that four home demolition orders were delivered at the same time. Popular committee spokesman Muhammad Ayyad Awad said that during the night raid, Israeli troops broke the doors.... Related: Israel hands Jenin residents demolition orders and South Hebron community faces demolitions Israeli army arrests 4 Palestinians including 2 children in WB 7 Mar 2011 - West Bank, (Pal Telegraph)-Israeli occupation forces detained Monday four citizens including two children from The West Bank city of Hebron. IOF troops serve demolition notices, detain ten Palestinians including children PIC 7 Mar 2011 - Israeli occupation forces (IOF) served demolition notices to a number of citizens in Beit Ummar village, Al-Khalil, claiming that their houses were in proximity to the Quds-Khalil bypass road. I love Israel, says child star of Oscar-winning documentary facing deportation Ha'aretz - 'Strangers No More,' which won an Oscar for best short documentary, tells the story of a school where children of migrant workers and refugees from 48 states learn alongside native Israelis. Israel has detained over 80 children from Jerusalem in the past two months Uruknet March 5, 2011 - A human rights centre has revealed that the Israeli occupation authorities have detained more than 80 Jerusalemite children in the past two months. The Research and Documentation Unit in the Jerusalem Centre for Social and Economic Studies claims that "most of these children and minors are from Silwan, Ras El Amoud, Eisasaweyya, and Sha'fat Camp... Report: Israel illegally interrogates, tortures children Uruknet March 02, 2011 - The Palestinian Ministry of Detainee Affairs published a new report Wednesday documenting the torture of children as young as seven in Israeli prisons. Since the beginning of this year, Israeli soldiers have abducted 150 children and all of them were interrogated during the course of their imprisonment. Many were subjected to harm treatment such as... Report: Israel illegally interrogates, tortures children IMEMC - Wednesday March 02, 2011 - 18:38, The Palestinian Ministry of Detainee Affairs published a new report Wednesday documenting the torture of children as young as seven in Israeli prisons. Since the beginning of this year, Israeli soldiers have abducted 150 children and all of them were interrogated during the course of their imprisonment. Many were subjected to harm treatment such as hitting, psychological abuse, violence and the threat of violence without a parent or adult representative present. 5 children detained from Silwan 3/1/2011 - Jerusalem (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Monday detained five children in the Al-Ein Al-Fawqa area of Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem, locals said. Witnesses described the forces as "undercover" saying they entered the neighborhood in unmarked cars and wearing civilian clothes. Three of the children taken from the neighborhood were identified as Fahmi Al-Haymouni.... Children in East Jerusalem Get Short Stick of the Occupation Palestine Monitor - Over the past six months, if you were following Palestinian and Israeli news, hardly a day would go by without reading a report that more children were detained in East Jerusalem. Now, various reports are coming out that confirm these impressions: children of East Jerusalem are... Children in East Jerusalem Get Short Stick of the Occupation Palestine Monitor: 1 Mar 2011 - Over the past six months, if you were following Palestinian and Israeli news, hardly a day would go by without reading a report that more children were detained in East Jerusalem. Now, various reports are coming out that confirm these impressions: children of East Jerusalem are being injured and arrested at an alarmingly high rate. The Association of Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) found that twice the number of children arrested in 2009 in the entire West Bank was arrested in 2010 in East Jerusalem alone. A total of 1,267 Palestinian minors were investigated on criminal charges of stone throwing according to police statistics. The pattern continues: Today, 1 March 2011, Maan News reports that another five children were detained in Silwan by “undercover” forces. Furthermore, the Wadi Hilweh Information Center , a crucial hub of updates on the situation in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, reported that in January...more Israeli policemen detain 9 Palestinian boys including 7-year-old PIC 28 Feb 2011 - Israeli occupation police rounded up nine Palestinian boys in Silwan and Ras Al-Amud in occupied Jerusalem on Monday including a 7-year-old child. Video: Israeli forces seize 11-year-old boy 2/27/2011 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A resident of the West Bank village of Nabi Salih videoed Israeli forces chasing and detaining an 11-year-old child. The footage, from late January, shows two Israeli border police officers chasing Karim Tamimi, who turns to a woman in the street for help. The woman repeatedly pleads to the police.... Related: Video on YouTube: muhammad1191985 Palestinian Children Affected by Armed Conflict: New UNICEF Report Uruknet February 27, 2011 - In 2010, grave violations continued to be committed against children in the occupied Palestinian territory. Eleven Palestinian children were killed and 360 injured in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. No Israeli children were killed but two were injured. Palestinian children continued to be detained and subjected to ill-treatment, and in some cases... Video: Israeli forces seize 11-year-old boy Uruknet February 27, 2011 - A resident of the West Bank village of Nabi Salih videoed Israeli forces chasing and detaining an 11-year-old child. The footage, from late January, shows two Israeli border police officers chasing Karim Tamimi, who turns to a woman in the street for help. The woman repeatedly pleads to the police in Hebrew, "he is a... Children among 13 detained overnight 2/24/2011 - JENIN (Ma'an) -- Overnight raids by the Israeli military saw 13 males detained from their homes and villages and taken for questioning to unknown locations, including a child and a minor. Local sources in Jenin refugee camp said troops entered the camp amid gunfire, breaking into several homes during the raid on the area.... Israeli internal security officers accused of "attempted rape" of a child prisoner Uruknet February 24, 2011 - Lawyers from the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees' and Ex-Detainees' Affairs, have claimed that Israeli internal security officers from Shin Bet tried to rape a child prisoner at Etzion Prison, south of Bethlehem. The prisoner involved, a boy, gave his testimony to this effect, under oath, to the lawyers. The Shin Bet officers are accused of... How school trips to Hebron resemble visits to Auschwitz Gideon Levy, Haaretz, Israeli Occupation Archive 2/17/2011 Just as upon return from the state-sponsored trips to Auschwitz, Jewish students will come back from Hebron feeling more nationalist than ever before. More than half of Jewish school children in Israel have visited Auschwitz; each year more than 10,000 go on a trip to Poland or on the March of the Living, a pilgrimage to the death camps. They come back shocked and nationalist. These tours mislead the weeping students for a moment as they wrap themselves in the national flag, before and after downing a Vodka Red Bull in their rooms. These programs bring back thousands of teens who have learned nothing about the danger of fascism, who have heard nothing about morality, humanity and the slippery slope on which a dangerous regime might pull down a complacent society. Just more and more blind faith in strength, xenophobia, fear of the other and inflamed passions. So in their current format, these tours are missed opportunities whose damage is greater than their use. Now Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar wants to add a tour to the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. Thousands of teens will be taken in armored buses to the danger zone, accompanied by soldiers and armed bodyguards. A safari in Hebron. During the visit, a curfew will be imposed on the last Palestinians left in the neighborhood. The students will be hurried into the ancient site that is believed to be the Cave of Machpelah – the tombs of the patriarchs and matriarchs who are probably not buried there. No one will show them what is around them. No one will tell them what happened to the thousands of people who lived near the tomb. Their guides, the most violent and atrocious of the settlers in the territories, will not tell them what they have done.... -- See also: Source more.. e-mail Biology of the Second Arab Revolt Rami G. Khouri, Agence Global 2/16/2011 BOSTON -- As the ripples from the Tunisian-Egyptian popular revolts work their way throughout the Arab world in the months and years ahead, we should keep in mind two pivotal words that capture every important dimension of the process underway. The two words are “humiliation” and “legitimacy.” Like bookmarks at both ends of the process, they explain why the Arab region is erupting in revolts, and what needs to be done to satisfy people’s demands. They explain what has long ailed hundreds of millions of Arabs who have been denied their birthright as human beings, their citizenship rights as nationals of sovereign countries, and their human rights as children of God and members of the human race. They clarify the abuses, crimes, distortions and stresses of the recent past that have finally driven a few people to set themselves on fire in a desperate death cry, so that their surviving family members might have a better life, and that also have driven many more people to rise up en masse against their prevailing political orders. They also clarify the changes that must occur for the grievances to be redressed, and normalcy to resume in these abnormal countries. “Humiliation” is the consequence of combined material and intangible pressures on ordinary people that include petty corruption, police brutality, abuse of power, favoritism, unemployment, poor wages, unequal opportunities, inefficient or non-existent public services, lack of freedoms of expression and association, state control of media, culture and education, and many others. Ordinary men and women grow up in non-democratic societies feeling increasingly frustrated that they cannot achieve their own human potential, while simultaneously they witness a small group of men and women in the ruling elite grow fabulously rich simply because of their connections, rather than their abilities. more.. e-mail 'Kids should know more of King David than 'Big Brother'' Jeruslalem Post 16 Feb 2011 - Education minister defends plan to bring school children to Hebron; former MKs Amnon Rubenstein and Uri Avnery slam decision. Winners and losers Daoud Kuttab, Ma’an News Agency 2/12/2011 While it is not clear when and how the popular revolt in Egypt will end, it the winners and losers can be identified. It might be a cliché to state that tyrants are the biggest losers and peoples are the winners, but it does reflect what is the case in much of the Arab world. Rulers who were able to govern with little resistance for years are suddenly discovering that the seats they have been clinging to are becoming unbearably hot. Even without being provoked by their own people, some Arab rulers are already announcing that they don’t intend to run for office again. Heads of state who have been harboring ideas of bequeathing their power to their children are declaring such ideas void even though their children are still running the army or such important senior posts. Ruling parties are also quickly feeling that the ground under their feet is shifting. As people power increases in scope and courage, these parties that have ruled for years without a serious challenge are also facing the music, unable to stand up to the scrutiny of their peoples. The newly found bravery of Arab youths has spread from one country to another. The right to demonstrate and expression, which has been restricted for years in Arab countries, has now been extracted as a result of the sacrifices in the streets. Once the barriers of fear were broken, it became clear that the right to assembly, a basic right enshrined in the universal declaration of human rights, has been won over. more.. e-mail Eretz Nehederet: Im Tirzu Teaches Kindergarteners the Middle East Facts of Life Tikun Olam - Thanks to Israeli reader Nuriel for sending along a link for this segment from Eretz Nehederet, Israel’s highest rated political satire TV series. It depicts an education curriculum devised by Im Tirtzu with the Ministry of Education that helps prepare kindergarten children for the “complicated reality”... Women, Children of Bedouin Village El Araqib Beaten as they Silently Protest 16th Demolition of their Homes Tania Kepler, Alternative Information Center 2/10/2011 Women and children of the Bedouin village of Al Araqib were beaten and gassed by Israel forces Thursday morning (10/2), in an attempt to halt the 16th demolition of their homes and property. Israeli forces and Jewish National Fund workers entered the Bedouin village and again destroyed the residents homes, and continued preparing the land for the planting of a “peace forest”. When residents and activists attempted to halt their work, JNF workers and Israeli police fought back with force. The men in the village were held or detained while the women and children stood before the police and bulldozers and did not allow them to pass, all the while waving their Israeli identification cards as an expression of their trampled civil rights. The police attacked them with punches and tear gas. Six residents, four women and two children, were hospitalized at the Soroka hospital in Beer Sheva. Later in the day, two of the women remained hospitalized. “The police harshly beat the women and children who were standing in quiet protest, they simply beat women and children…I stood alongside a woman who was beaten by four police officers, actual fists in her face, ears and neck, in addition to kicks until she almost lost consciousness…people are sitting on the ground, in the rain, and not moving, women and children. The police shot stun grenades and foam bullets directly at the women, at point blank,” reported Tamar, an activist who was present in the village. Three residents were also arrested, including a sixteen year old, and two Israeli activists are being detained at the local police station. more.. e-mail Silwan's Captive Children Palestine Monitor: 11 Feb 2011 - Seventeen children currently live under house arrest in the besieged neighborhood of Silwan in Jerusalem. Combined with a fierce campaign from Jewish extremists and armed Israeli forces, these young men are routinely arrested, beaten and interrogated. Showaib Qutayobeh, 15, on his 45th day of house arrest. “They have been subject to a severe system of Israeli police and security forces,” said Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of The Palestinian National Initiative. “They cannot go to school. They cannot finish or continue their education. The Israelis keep them in their homes.” With Al Aqsa's dome behind him, 18-year old Mahmoud Razem stands on his porch, permitted under terms of his, for now, seven-month long house arrest. As part of a comprehensive program of state-sponsored terror, these children are targeted because they live in a neighborhood coveted by Jewish extremists who believe it to be the Biblical City of David - not...more Child detained near Hebron overnight, locals say 2/10/2011 - HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained overnight a 15-year-old boy from his home in the village of Beit Ummar north of Hebron and took him to an unknown destination, local officials said. Town spokesman Muhammad Awad said the child's home in the Ad-Dhaher neighborhood was entered, searched and then Malek Khaled.... Center: Woman detained en route to brother's cell 2/10/2011 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Ahrar prisoners organization said Israeli forces detained Rahma Abdul Qader Hijaz, 32, on Monday while she was on her way to visit her brother, Yasser Hijaz, in Asqalan jail. Fuad Al-Khafsh, the director of the center, said Rahma is a mother of six children and lives west of Ramallah. She.... MKs clash on assimilation in Israel YNet News - "No one ever thought that we'd be dealing with assimilation issues here in Israel. People who managed to educate their children abroad and feared that their kids will ....... Hamas demands ending suffering of stranded Palestinians PIC 8 Feb 2011 - Hamas movement issued a statement in Damascus on Tuesday expressing concern over the conditions of the stranded Palestinians, who include women, children, and patients, at the Cairo airport. 3 more minors detained in Beit Ummar 2/7/2011 - HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Three minors were detained from their homes in Beit Ummar in an Israeli military raid at 3 a. m. Monday, bringing to six the number of teens and children taken into military custody in the past 24 hours. Local popular committee leader Muhammad Awad identified the three boys taken overnight as.... Child, 2 minors detained by Israeli forces 2/6/2011 - HEBRON (Ma'an) -- A child and two minors were detained in separate incidents Sunday, as Israeli forces continued to patrol the town of Beit Ummar north of Hebron. Local activist Ahmad Ikhleil was said to have come to the aid of three cousins from the Abu Maria family, who were returning from farm lands.... Authorities given 5 years to improve e. J'lem education Jeruslalem Post 6 Feb 2011 - High Court asks Education Ministry, Jerusalem Municipality to complete procedures enabling all children living in e. J'lem state school access. Israeli court extends child's imprisonment 2/3/2011 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Israeli military court at the Ofer detention center extended the detention period of 14-year-old Islam Saleh Tamimi, to almost three months. The child, from the central West Bank village of An-Nabi Saleh, was detained from his home at 2am on the morning of 24 January. Local activist groups said.... Group: Harsh treatment of child detainee 2/1/2011 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces psychologically tortured a 14-year-old Palestinian detained in a night raid on his Ramallah village, a local rights group said. Islam Tamami was detained on 23 January from his home in Nabi Saleh, a village which holds weekly anti-wall rallies to protest Israel's confiscation of residents'.... Related: PSCC: Harsh Interrogations of Children Escalate in Nabi Saleh In their own Words: A report on the situation facing Palestinian children detained in the Israeli military court system Relief Web 31 Jan 2011 - Source: Defence for Children International/Palestine Section Teenager 'arrested' en route to Israeli jail 1/27/2011 - HEBRON (Ma'an) - A Palestinian activist said Wednesday that Israeli forces detained a teenager on his way to visit his brother, who is serving time in Eshel prison in Beer Sheva. Human rights activist Muhammad Awad said soldiers west of Hebron stopped a bus carrying Palestinian families to visit their children in jail. The.... Israeli soldiers detain disabled man, child in Hebron 26 Jan 2011 - Hebron, (Pal Telegraph)-Israeli occupation forces detained Wednesday a disabled elderly man in front of his house after raiding a number of houses and shops in Dura town, in Hebron, southern West Bank. Arrest of Nabi Saleh Teen Extended as Popular Committee Leader Detained Popular Struggle Coordination Committee - 14 year old Islam Tamimi will spend another night in jail as a military judge did not grant his release this morning. Later in the morning, Bassam Tamimi, the Popular Committee leader of Nabi Saleh, was briefly arrested in the village. Two 15 year old children... Israeli army shuts down West Bank rallies 1/21/2011 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A child was pepper-sprayed and an Israeli peace activist detained by Israeli forces during weekly protests against illegal land confiscation across the West Bank on Friday, witnesses said. Residents of An-Nabi Saleh gathered to protest land confiscations from the nearby settlement of Hallamish, demanding a return of the land to villagers.... The Children's Judge. Uruknet January 20, 2011 - True, in the military courtroom itself Palestinians are neither shot nor beaten. They are not 'targeted for elimination’ nor even sentenced to death. At least not in the courtroom. But the military court is also the place where all illusions die. And hopes. Because that is where Palestinians learn that injury caused them, is no... Israel Acting to Destroy Bedouin Communities, Way of Life Tania Kepler, Alternative Information Center 1/17/2011 The Bedouin village of El Araqib in the Negev desert was destroyed by Israeli forces early Sunday morning. This is ninth time in the past six months that the Jewish National Fund and the Israeli military have destroyed the village, and it will certainly not be the last. Israel has for decades been attempting to “urbanize” the Bedouin, taking them from their land, with a final plan of Judaizing their indigenous area. More than 150,000 Bedouin, the indigenous inhabitants of the Negev region, live in informal shanty towns, or "unrecognized villages," in the south of Israel. They account for around 12% of the Palestinian population of the country, and yet discriminatory land and planning policies have made it virtually impossible for Bedouin to build legally where they live.[i] The unrecognized villages do not appear on Israeli maps, there are no road signs to mark them, and their locations do not appear on the Israeli ID cards the residents carry. Residents do not have state education or health services and because the government does not recognize the villages, they are off the water and electricity grids as well. What’s more, Israel implements forced evictions, home demolitions, and other actions to prevent the nomadic, indigenous people from continuing their historical way of life. The Israel Land Authority and particularly the Jewish National Fund are at the heart of the demolitions. The ILA is the branch of the Israel government responsible for managing the 93% of the land in Israel which the country considers public domain, though much of the land is actually unrecognized Arab villages and land. -- See also: 5 Children Injured following Israel’s Demolition of El Araqib Village for Ninth Time more.. e-mail Tweens use ‘virtual home’ to learn environmental protection Jeruslalem Post 19 Jan 2011 - Sviva Israel launches Web-based ‘Eco Campus' allowing children to log on and continue expanding their knowledge in fun, interactive environment. Palestinian children's orchestra inspires youngsters at refugee camp The Guardian 14 Jan 2011 - Al-Kamandjati organisation gives children the chance to learn how to play an instrument and appreciate different cultures Ibrahim, Hala and dozens of other children sit and listen in silence, captivated by the ensemble playing a piece... PALESTINIANS: LIVING UNDER THE OCCUPATION AND LOVING IT Uruknet January 13, 2011 - And what’s not to love? They are separated from their families and loved ones by a concrete wall making visits difficult, or impossible. Access to mosques is forbidden during Holy Days. Their children are accosted daily by Israeli soldiers on their way to and from school …. often imprisoned or murdered just for the fun... Israeli army attacks Silwan, wounds Palestinians 8 Jan 2011 - Silwan, (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation forces carried out yesterday till early hours of today a raid against Silwan town and detained a number of Palestinian children and youths, using helicopters and sniffer dogs. Gaza on the edge of no return Amira Hass, The New Statesman, Israeli Occupation Archive 1/8/2011 “Get away from the window, you’re crazy!” screamed Kauthar. She was terrified to find her daughter standing on the couch by the window, observing the street from the seventh floor. The window had bars. She was afraid not that the girl might fall, but that she would be struck by fire from a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle). A next-door neighbour had been killed that way only a day or two earlier: a missile hit him as he was talking on his phone on the balcony. That was on one of the first days of the Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which began on 27 December 2008. People very quickly learned the hard way that their daily activities could tempt death: standing by a window, trying to find a spot that still had a shred of mobile-phone reception so you could tell your worried father in the Rafah refugee camp that everything was all right, riding a motorbike, going up to the roof to take the washing off the line or feed the pigeons, paying a condolence visit, baking bread in the backyard oven, taking water to the goats. Journalists’ notebooks and reports from human rights organisations overflow with testimonies from ordinary civilians, people who lost loved ones or who were wounded under these non-combat circumstances. Information spread in real time, even though many houses had no electricity and people were unable to learn from the media how entire families were being wiped out. This was a hallmark of Israel’s wintertime assault: the sheer number of families that had to bury most of their members, including babies, after their homes were hit by yet another bomb lauded by the Israelis for its precision. “Although it was not my usual custom, I made a point of kissing my children every night,” one young father from Gaza City told me. “I never knew which of us would still be alive the next day, and I wanted to say goodbye properly.” more.. e-mail Spanish families renew search for stolen babies LA Times 7 Jan 2011 - Countless babies were taken from mothers who fell afoul of the Franco regime, and many women have died without learning their children's fate. Now activists are stepping up pressure on Spain's justice system to ease their search for answers. Emilia Giron never forgot her second son. She wanted to name him Jesus, but he was taken from her in the hospital to be baptized and was never returned. Report: More than 1,000 Palestinians detained last year in Al-Khalil PIC 3 Jan 2011 - The Palestinian prisoner society reported that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) detained more than 1,000 Palestinian citizens in Al-Khalil city last year, including women and children. Israeli forces arrest 2 children in Jerusalem 1/2/2011 - JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Sunday detained two Palestinian children in Jerusalem's Old City, witnesses said. Khaled Dweik, 6, and his 7-year-old cousin Mohammad Suheil were playing hopscotch in the Bab Al-A'mud area. They were throwing stones as part of the game and accidentally hit an Israeli soldier.... Israeli forces arrest 2 children in Jerusalem Uruknet Janaury 2, 2011 -- Israeli forces on Sunday detained two Palestinian children in Jerusalem's Old City, witnesses said. Khaled Dweik, 6, and his 7-year-old cousin Mohammad Suheil were playing hopscotch in the Bab Al-A'mud area. They were throwing stones as part of the game and accidentally hit an Israeli soldier who then arrested them, locals said... Report: The Dangerous Road to Education - Palestinian Students Suffer Under Settler Violence, Military Negligence Uruknet January 1, 2011 - Since 2001, Israeli settlers from Havat Ma'on have routinely attacked the children on their journey to and from school, but it was not until November 2004 that Israeli authorities established a daily military escort. Despite the Israeli military escort, the children have been victims of violence 104 times between November 2004 and June 2010. The... 1,100 Palestinian Children Detained During 2010 IMEMC - 30 Dec 2010 - Thursday December 30, 2010 - 13:50, The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Detainees' Affairs reported, on Wednesday, that Israeli forces arrested 1,100 Palestinian children in 2010, most of them in East Jerusalem and Hebron. PA: Israel detained 1,100 children in 2010 Uruknet December 29, 2010 -- Israeli forces detained 1,100 Palestinian children in 2010, the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Detainees' Affairs said Wednesday. The arrests were concentrated in East Jerusalem, where 500 children were detained, and in Hebron, the ministry found. PA Detainees' Affairs Minister Issa Qaraqe said the high number reflected the Israeli policy to systematically pursue children, particularly in... PA: Israel detained 1,100 children in 2010 12/29/2010 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained 1,100 Palestinian children in 2010, the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Detainees' Affairs said Wednesday. The arrests were concentrated in East Jerusalem, where 500 children were detained, and in Hebron, the ministry found. PA Detainees' Affairs Minister Issa Qaraqe said the high number reflected the Israeli policy.... PA: Israel detained 1,100 children in 2010 Uruknet December 29, 2010 -- Israeli forces detained 1,100 Palestinian children in 2010, the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Detainees' Affairs said Wednesday. The arrests were concentrated in East Jerusalem, where 500 children were detained, and in Hebron, the ministry found. PA Detainees' Affairs Minister Issa Qaraqe said the high number reflected the Israeli policy to systematically pursue children, particularly in... The People of the Year in the Middle East Rannie Amiri, CounterPunch 12/24/2010 Meet the Oppressed The 2010 Middle East People of the Year are: The Palestinians in Gaza, desperate to let the world know that nearly two years after the end of the 2008-2009 war, the cruel embargo on the territory persists; the siege by air, land and sea continues; and the impoverished population is still held captive in their land. The Bahraini Shia, the island’s indigent and marginalized majority, ruled by the wealthy Sunni al-Khalifa royal family who routinely orders an imported security service to round up and torture democracy and human rights advocates. Excluded from government, the public sector and law enforcement by overt sectarian discrimination, they have risked life and limb to protest their disenfranchised state. The Egyptians, who have suffocated under a repressive U.S.-backed regime that has governed by Emergency Law for 30 years and stifled the freedom of expression, assembly and press. The inability to replace their parliamentary representatives by a fair ballot this year makes voting a cruel reminder that the “status quo” is the only candidate ever up for election. The Iraqis, who endured seven years of occupation and a few daily hours of electricity under a blistering summer sun as unrelenting as the explosions, bombings and suicide attacks that wracked cities and killed thousands. The simple will to stroll on neighborhood streets, take a trip to the market, drop the children off at school or attend Friday prayers are testaments to bravery that should put Iraqi politicians only interested in retaining power to shame. more.. e-mail Peres wishes Christian world 'profound' Christmas greetings Ha'aretz - Speaking after a children's choir singing rendition of 'Silent Nights,' Peres expresses hope that people of all faiths live in a better, more peaceful world next year. Street children in Lebanon dream through a camera lens Palestine Note 22 Dec 2010 - Alert Net - Young people from Lebanon's only shelter for street children expressed their dreams of education, recreation and the warmth of a family through a photo exhibition that crowned a ten-day photography workshop as part... Israel detained 1,200 Palestinian children in Jerusalem this year Palestine Note 14 Dec 2010 - A new report from an Israeli civil rights organization condemns Israel's treatment of minors Jonathan Cook, The National - Israeli police have been criticised over their treatment of hundreds of Palestinian children, some as young as... Israel’s war on Jerusalem children Jonathan Cook, Israeli Occupation Archive 12/13/2010 1,200 children arrested in year Israeli police have been criticised over their treatment of hundreds of Palestinian children, some as young as seven, arrested and interrogated on suspicion of stone-throwing in East Jerusalem. In the past year, criminal investigations have been opened against more than 1,200 Palestinian minors in Jerusalem on stone-throwing charges, according to police statistics gathered by the Association of Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI). That was nearly twice the number of children arrested last year in the much larger Palestinian territory of the West Bank. Most of the arrests have occurred in the Silwan district, close to Jerusalem’s Old City, where 350 extremist Jewish settlers have set up several heavily guarded illegal enclaves among 50,000 Palestinian residents. Late last month, in a sign of growing anger at the arrests, a large crowd in Silwan was reported to have prevented police from arresting Adam Rishek, a seven-year-old accused of stone-throwing. His parents later filed a complaint claiming he had been beaten by the officers. Tensions between residents and settlers have been rising steadily since the Jerusalem municipality unveiled a plan in February to demolish dozens of Palestinian homes in the Bustan neighbourhood to expand a Biblically-themed archeological park run by Elad, a settler organisation. The plan is currently on hold following US pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister. -- See also: Source more.. e-mail Caution: Children Ahead- The Illegal Behavior of Israeli Police toward Minors in Silwan Suspected of Stone Throwing Uruknet December 12, 2010 - An investigation conducted by B'Tselem shows that, during the past year (November 2009 to October 2010), at least 81 minors from Silwan have been arrested or detained for questioning, the vast majority on suspicion of stone throwing. The arrests and detentions followed confrontations between Palestinians and settlers in the neighborhood, where there is great tension... Report: Police breach law when arresting children B'tselem 12 Dec 2010 - A new B'Tselem report, Caution: Children Ahead, shows that, over the past year, at least 81 Palestinian minors from Silwan, East Jerusalem, have been arrested or detained for questioning on suspicion of stone throwing. Many were arrested at night, some wegram FilesQuickTimeQTSystem Minister: Israel detained 423 Palestinians last month Palestine Note 6 Dec 2010 - Maan - Israeli forces detained 423 Palestinians, including 80 children in the month of November Palestinian Authority Minister of Prisoners Affairs Issa Qaraqe said Monday. Qaraqe said most of these arrests took place when Palestinians attempted... OPT: Al Jazeera Children's Channel and UNRWA sign groundbreaking online learning agreement Relief Web 7 Dec 2010 - Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Minister: Israel detained 423 Palestinians last month 12/6/2010 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained 423 Palestinians, including 80 children in the month of November Palestinian Authority Minister of Prisoners Affairs Issa Qaraqe said Monday. Qaraqe said most of these arrests took place when Palestinians attempted to fight off Israeli settlers who encroached on West Bank land. He was speaking during a visit.... Report: “280 Palestinians, Including 43 Children and Three Women, Kidnapped In November” Uruknet December 5, 2010 - The Higher Committee for Supporting the Detainees stated that Israeli soldiers kidnapped in November 280 Palestinians, including 43 children and three women, in several areas in the occupied West Bank and in occupied East Jerusalem. Two of the kidnapped residents are elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council. The two are Nayef Rajoub from Hebron,... Minister: Israel detained 423 Palestinians last month Palestine Note 6 Dec 2010 - Maan - Israeli forces detained 423 Palestinians, including 80 children in the month of November Palestinian Authority Minister of Prisoners Affairs Issa Qaraqe said Monday. Qaraqe said most of these arrests took place when Palestinians attempted... Report: “280 Palestinians, Including 43 Children and Three Women, Kidnapped In November” IMEMC - 6 Dec 2010 - Sunday December 05, 2010 - 04:35, The Higher Committee for Supporting the Detainees stated that Israeli soldiers kidnapped in November 280 Palestinians, including 43 children and three women, in several areas in the occupied West Bank and in occupied East Jerusalem. Report: “280 Palestinians, Including 43 Children and Three Women, Kidnapped In November” Uruknet December 5, 2010 - The Higher Committee for Supporting the Detainees stated that Israeli soldiers kidnapped in November 280 Palestinians, including 43 children and three women, in several areas in the occupied West Bank and in occupied East Jerusalem. Two of the kidnapped residents are elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council. The two are Nayef Rajoub from Hebron,... Report: “280 Palestinians, Including 43 Children and Three Women, Kidnapped Last Month” IMEMC - 4 Dec 2010 - Sunday December 05, 2010 - 04:35, The Higher Committee for Supporting the Detainees stated that Israeli soldiers kidnapped in November 280 Palestinians, including 43 children and three women, in several areas in the occupied West Bank and in occupied East Jerusalem. Report: “280 Palestinians, Including 43 Children and Three Women, Kidnapped Last Month” IMEMC - 4 Dec 2010 - Sunday December 05, 2010 - 04:35, The Higher Committee for Supporting the Detainees stated that Israeli soldiers kidnapped in November 280 Palestinians, including 43 children and three women, in several areas in the occupied West Bank and in occupied East Jerusalem. Houses raided, detentions in Al-Isawiya, Beit Hanina 12/2/2010 - JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces entered three homes in East Jerusalem neighborhoods Thursday morning, detaining two men and a minor for unspecified reasons, family members said. In the Al-Isawiya neighborhood, the wife and children of Ahmas Moussa Mustafa, 28, said the patriarch was detained after police and sniffer dogs broke into the home shortly.... Ahdaf Soueif in conversation with Daud Abdullah about Palestinian cultural resistance Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 11/19/2010 MEMO's Director, Daud Abdullah, recently sat down with leading novelist, Ahdaf Soueif, to discuss Palestine. Their conversation covered a number of issues ranging from culture to politics and the current peace process. She described the situation in Palestine as one of the greatest injustices of our time; noting that a just resolution of the conflict would reduce tensions in many other parts of the world. On the peace process, Soueif said she didn't believe Israel is seriously pursuing peace with the Palestinians. "It suits Israel and the elites to have this eternal 'peace process'; this pretence of seeking peace." She pointed out, "A huge injustice is taking place as we speak while the world pretends to uphold the principles of human rights, the right to self-determination, democracy, freedom of speech and freedom of movement. All of this is happening at the heart of the world, so it is an intensely human issue rather than a nationalistic one". On Gaza, the novelist said, "I think they are possibly the nation that sets the greatest store by culture; in Gaza, just one day after the ceasefire you saw the children going to school in pressed uniforms." Ahdaf Soueif is a novelist and political and cultural commentator. Born in Cairo, she was raised and educated in both England and Egypt. She published her first novel, In the Eye of the Sun, in 1993. She is best known for her second novel, The Map of Love, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1999. It has since been translated into 27 languages and has sold over a million copies. In 2008 she initiated the first Palestine Festival of Literature - an annual cultural festival that tours around Palestine. For the full interview.... more.. e-mail Israeli police acknowledge interrogating around 1200 Palestinian children in OJ Uruknet December 1, 2010 - Official statistics of the Israeli police in occupied Jerusalem indicated that its various apparatuses had detained and interrogated 1,124 Palestinian children during 2010, Hebrew media reported on Wednesday. Ha'aretz said that more troubling than the absolute number is the manner in which youths are being detained and questioned. "Children and youth have reportedly being taken... Israeli police acknowledge interrogating around 1200 Palestinian children in OJ PIC 1 Dec 2010 - Official statistics of the Israeli police in occupied Jerusalem indicated that its various apparatuses had detained and interrogated 1,124 Palestinian children during 2010, Hebrew media reported. Israeli police blasted for abusing Jerusalem children Uruknet November 25, 2010 - Israeli police were accused of "flagrant violations" of the law Thursday over their harsh and at times violent treatment of Palestinian children suspected of stone-throwing in east Jerusalem. The allegations were detailed in a letter sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by a group of 60 Israeli professionals, among them experts in medicine, psychology, education,... 16 Year Old Child Detained During Night Raid in Bi'lin IMEMC - 24 Nov 2010 - Tuesday November 23, 2010 - 13:49, The Israeli military raided the West Bank village of Bi’lin, on Tuesday, and detained a 16 year old boy, Mohammed Abu Rahme. Israeli soldiers detain 5 Palestinian boys in Hebron 23 Nov 2010 - Hebron, November 23, (Pal Telegraph - ISM) Claiming that the children were throwing stones, Israeli soldiers detained five Palestinian schoolboys. Since the beginning of 2005, the children from the village of Tuba wait every morning for an Israeli army escort to accompany them to the school in At-Tuwani, along the shortest road that goes through the Israeli settlement of Ma’on... Israeli Soldiers Detain 5 Palestinian Schoolboys in South Hebron Hills Alternative Information Center - At-Tuwani - Claiming that the children were throwing stones, Israeli soldiers detained five Palestinian schoolboys. Group: Israeli soldiers detain 5 schoolchildren 11/22/2010 - HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli soldiers detained five schoolchildren near the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday, peace activists said. Since 2005, children from Tuba village in the south Hebron hills have been escorted to school by Israeli soldiers, tasked with protecting them from attacks by Israeli settlers. The children must walk through an.... Day-trip for detainees' parents in Gaza 11/22/2010 - GAZA (Ma'an) -- Gaza's detainees' center organized a day trip Monday to An-Nour in central Gaza for the parents of political prisoners detained in Israel. Gaza Detainees' Minister Muhammad Al-Ghoul accompanied the group, and said the excursion was arranged to support parents who suffered anxiety waiting for their children'.... Israeli soldiers detain five Palestinian Schoolboys in South Hebron Hills Uruknet November 21, 2010 – Claiming that the children were throwing stones, Israeli soldiers detained five Palestinian schoolboys. Since the beginning of 2005, the children from the village of Tuba wait every morning for an Israeli army escort to accompany them to the school in At-Tuwani, along the shortest road that goes through the Israeli settlement of Ma’on and the... Israeli soldiers detain five Palestinian Schoolboys in South Hebron Hills 11/21/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Christian Peacemaker Team - At-Tuwani – Claiming that the children were throwing stones, Israeli soldiers detained five Palestinian schoolboys. - Since the beginning of 2005, the children from the village of Tuba wait every morning for an Israeli army escort to accompany them to the school in At-Tuwani, along the shortest road that goes through the Israeli.... A Follow Up on My Fifth Grade Essay: Education at Gunpoint Palestine Chronicle: 18 Nov 2010 - By Ramzy Baroud I recall the first sentence of my fifth grade essay on 'Education and Youth'. Written with the occasional aid of my father, and dotted with clichés, it might have read something like this: “Youth is the backbone of any nation, and education is essential to arm the youth with the knowledge they need to lead their societies toward change, progress and prosperity.” The grayish blue pencil I used to write my essay with was one of several items handed annually by United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff to refugee children in many schools scattered throughout the Gaza Strip. My Arabic teacher was Abu Kamal al-Hanafi, a wonderful man with a terrible temper, who was also the Imam of the local mosque. My classroom had exactly 62 students. My desk was as old as the Israeli occupation of Gaza, if not older. The roof was filled...more A follow up on my fifth grade essay: Education at gunpoint Ramzy Baroud, Palestine Note 11/18/2010 I recall the first sentence of my fifth grade essay on "Education and Youth". Written with the occasional aid of my father, and dotted with clichés, it might have read something like this: "Youth is the backbone of any nation, and education is essential to arm the youth with the knowledge they need to lead their societies toward change, progress and prosperity." The grayish blue pencil I used to write my essay with was one of several items handed annually by United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff to refugee children in many schools scattered throughout the Gaza Strip. My Arabic teacher was Abu Kamal al-Hanafi, a wonderful man with a terrible temper, who was also the Imam of the local mosque. My classroom had exactly 62 students. My desk was as old as the Israeli occupation of Gaza, if not older. The roof was filled with holes, creating an exciting spectacle as birds flew in and out, often nesting in available spaces. Watching these scenes made the brutish Arabic grammar lessons bearable, and eased the fear caused by Abu Kamal's bouts of anger and the occasional Israeli gunfire in and around the refugee camp. While the introduction to my "Education and Youth" essay was clichéd and I may not have known what many of the terms actually meant, its overriding sentiment remains as true for me now as it ever was. I remembered my essay as I read about the first World Education Forum (WEF) in Palestine, which took place in several regions throughout historic Palestine, including Jerusalem, Nazareth, Jaffa, Bethlehem and the Gaza Strip. Those who were denied access by Israeli authorities had their own conference in Lebanon. The event, which started on October 28, lasted four days. more.. e-mail A Follow Up on My Fifth Grade Essay: Education at Gunpoint Palestine Chronicle: 18 Nov 2010 - By Ramzy Baroud I recall the first sentence of my fifth grade essay on 'Education and Youth'. Written with the occasional aid of my father, and dotted with clichés, it might have read something like this: “Youth is the backbone of any nation, and education is essential to arm the youth with the knowledge they need to lead their societies toward change, progress and prosperity.” The grayish blue pencil I used to write my essay with was one of several items handed annually by United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff to refugee children in many schools scattered throughout the Gaza Strip. My Arabic teacher was Abu Kamal al-Hanafi, a wonderful man with a terrible temper, who was also the Imam of the local mosque. My classroom had exactly 62 students. My desk was as old as the Israeli occupation of Gaza, if not older. The roof was filled...more Eid without a father and husband Evie Soli, ISM, International Solidarity Movement 11/17/2010 An interview with the wives of Abdallah and Adeeb Abu Rahma Al Eid is a holy time of the year for Muslims. Families gather and visit each other over the four holidays, which are for most a time for families to be together. When one member of the family is missing, it makes it hard to enjoy Al Eid in the same way. Thousands of families of Palestinian political prisoners are suffering because a family member is in prison. For Majida, wife of Abdallah Abu Rahma who has now been held for one year in Israeli jail under the accusation of “incitement,” every day without her husband is difficult. She expresses the pain of seeing her children missing their dad not only during Eid, but every day. Louma (8) and Layam (7) used to go with Abdallah on family visits, and are now crying when talking about their dad. His 1 and-a-half-year-old son Layath does not even remember his dad as he was only 7 months old the night Abdallah was arrested. “He says Baba when he sees Abdallah’s picture, but of course he does not know him, since he was just a baby”, Majida says. Also, for Adeeb Abu Rahma’s children, Eid is not the same without their father. Both families were hoping to have their fathers home for Eid, but the military prosecution managed to postpone the release in both cases. Arrested in front of his children I meet Majida and her children during the preparations for Eid. Louma and Layam are helping their mother in the house, while she is making the Palestinian dish “dawali” (rice rolled in grape leaves). She recalls the night when the family was brutally woken up by the Israeli Army breaking into their house: “I woke up by someone knocking the door 1:30am on the 10th of December (2009). Abdallah said it might be soldiers – because who else would come to pay a visit at that time?” Suddenly the door was broken down, and armed soldiers stormed the house. Abdallah was taken out in the stairway, with four soldiers blocking him from seeing his wife and children.... more.. e-mail Children of martyrs and captives express solidarity with parents on Eid PIC 16 Nov 2010 - A group of Palestinian children in Gaza who lost one or of both of their parents or whose parents are imprisoned in Israeli occupation jails lit the candle of “Freedom, Hope and Determination” Is the American Public About to Toss Israel? Franklin Lamb, CounterPunch 11/16/2010 A Growing Revulsion Ever so slowly over the past two decades, and gaining momentum since the April 2002 Israeli destruction of the West Bank town of Jenin, American attitudes toward Israel are changing. The American Public Opinion and U.S. Foreign Policy polling unit, that works on behalf of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations has argued that the American opinion shift accelerates with each Israeli outrage such as the saturation bombing of much of south Lebanon and south Beirut during the July 2006 war, the civilian slaughter, more than one-third women and children, in Gaza during the winter of 2008/9, the May 2010 murders and carnage committed against the Mavi Marmara, including the assassination of 19-year old American Furkan Dogan, and the cumulative effect of a half century of Geneva Convention and international law violations by Israel against occupied Palestine and Lebanon. Some opinion analysts, like the 2009 Zogby International poll of American attitudes toward Israelis and Palestinians, express surprise by what they are learning from the American public and detect significant changes in American public attitudes favoring US disengagement from Israel. The NYT’s Tom Friedman seemed to concur during meetings in Israel recently: “US support for Israel could shatter like Humpty Dumpty-- and it could get ugly…You are losing the American people who believe me, are fed up with the Mideast in general. But they're also fed up with Israel. When they see their president working hard to try to tee up an opportunity…. And you say 'No, first pay me – let Jonathon Pollard out of jail, have Abu Mazen sing Hatikva in perfect Yiddish, and then we'll think about testing.' It rubs a lot of Americans the wrong way." Changes of US citizens attitudes toward Israel are evident in Lebanon also. Hundreds of Americans and other foreigners have visited Shatila and other Palestinian refugee Camps in Beirut in the past few years according to the Sabra Shatila Foundation that conducts tours of the camp. Many visiting Americans have been surveyed. more.. e-mail Investing in early education 11/15/2010 - DAMASCUS (IRIN) - A new regional Early Childhood Centre offering facilities for pre-school children as well as training for child workers in Damascus, Syria, is hoping to boost the quality of pre-primary education in the Middle East." The centre aims to strengthen national and regional capacity in a region where enrolment in pre-primary education, averaging 19.... Jenin center director: "I want to create hope" Electronic Intifada: 15 Nov 2010 - In 2005, three years after the Israeli army perpetrated a massacre and razed dozens of homes in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, a group of Palestinian youth established the Jenin Creative Cultural Center. The center provides cultural and educational services for children and youth ranging in age from six to 25. The Electronic Intifada contributor Adri Nieuwhof interviews the center director Yousef Awad on the situation of children in Jenin.more Military Resistance 8K13: Creeps Creep Uruknet November 13, 2010 - How Zionists Terrorize A Child In Occupied Palestine: Arrested, Detained, Beaten And Fined By The Occupation Army, Palestinian Karam Daana, 13, Has Been Placed Under House Arrest For Five Months Without Trial: "He Doesn’t Have The Right To Play" "His Father Has Lost His Work Permit" ... On 28 September, the Ofer Military Court, located outside... Occupation Through A Child's Eyes Palestine Monitor: 12 Nov 2010 - An exhibition of photographs taken by children from Nablus offers visitors a rare insight into childhood for Palestinians. Written and photographed by Clive Granger. Organiser Doris Carrion with one of her students. On the top floor of the cultural palace in Ramallah's old city this weekend children from Tomorrow Youth Organisation (TYO), a local NGO that works with young children, have the chance to exhibit photos they have taken of their home city Nablus. Miss Doris Carrion, a photography teacher from TYO, is organising the event. “We use the unique medium of photos to allow people to see the children's daily lives, their feelings and their hopes”, she says. Doris, who has been teaching at TYO for over a year now, says the main aims of her work are to help the children gain self-confidence, become more creative and be able to express themselves and the difficulties they face through...more Peace starts with our children Palestine Note 10 Nov 2010 - We live in a global society with interconnected economies, policies, cultures and lifestyles, in which tolerance and awareness is paramount. Fear of the unknown causes tremendous misunderstanding which can be alleviated through educating our children as... IOA rounded up 33 children in Silwan last month PIC 9 Nov 2010 - The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has detained 33 Palestinian children in the Silwan town, in occupied Jerusalem, a report by the Wadi Hilwa information center said. New Scandals in Palestinian Child Prisoner Torture: Israeli Soldiers Urinate on 13-Year-Old Boys Uruknet November 1, 2010 - Palestinian Minister of Prisoner Affairs Issa Qaraqa’ said he has uncovered a new scandal in the treatment of child prisoners by Israeli soldiers, in which Israeli soldiers urinated on two 13-year-old boys and held them naked in a bathroom for two days. Qaraqa’ said that he had contacted a lawyer on behalf of two detained... A refugee, single mother, worker, struggler Uruknet October 28, 2010 - Seventy-year-old Amna Hammad, or Umm Jihad as she is more commonly known, sat on a mattress in her cement room as the sun began to set over al-Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip. She started to relate her story of raising three children -- now grown men -- despite decades of separation from her... A refugee, single mother, worker, struggler Electronic Intifada: 28 Oct 2010 - Seventy-year-old Amna Hammad managed to raise three children -- now grown men -- despite decades of separation from her husband and despite displacement and occupation in Gaza.more Al-Awda Launches New Palestinian Childrens's Rights Campaign PNN - Ramallah – PNN – Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, just launched a new program that will focus on Palestinian children’s rights that have been detained by Israel, as well as... Oh Israelis...Sorry for the inconvenience Issa Qaraqe, Ma’an News Agency 10/24/2010 Oh Israelis …. After everything that happened between us, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused by our refusal to give up our soul. It has more patience than is bearable. You paid a high price militarily, economically and psychologically to control and destroy it but you failed. We are sorry that our land has many olives on it that obstruct your eyes which are used to seeing imported or artificial plants and trees, and that you have to pay for your settlers' wars as they chase villagers and set fire to trees and olives. We are sorry that we disturb you by having a higher birth rate than yours, that we became a demographic threat to your existence and future, and your Jewish state and its total destruction of us. Oh Israelis .. We are sorry that we are in the way of the natural growth of your beautiful settlements and luxurious houses, stopping your children from playing and running in the gardens of Kiryat Arba, Ma’ale Adumim, Beit Eil, Efrta, Aztion and others We are sorry to disturb you with our miserable poor workers who crowd your checkpoints at dawn with permits, and sometimes without permits, dressed in worn-out clothes, their sleepiness charged with hunger. Oh Israelis …. We are sorry that our old vehicles pass through your vast bypass roads, that the faces of our passengers provoke you, that their features and constant depression, their dirty cloths and loud voices cause you anxiety, fear and environmental pollution. We are sorry for the patience of our detainees and female prisoners who even after 33-year sentences still remain steadfast and dare to defend their hope for freedom without despair. more.. e-mail Shepherd made homeless, injured and imprisoned 21 Oct 2010 - Hebron, October 21, (Pal Telegraph – ISM & CPT) Noah El-Rajabi is a shepherd, with two hundred sheep and goats. He lives in Bani Na’im, 17 kilometres from Hebron. He is married, and has seven children. Ten weeks ago the Israeli military demolished his house. His wife and younger children now live in two rented rooms in Hebron. Noah and... Exclusive: 'No' to UNRWA school ‘near Hamas base' Jeruslalem Post 21 Oct 2010 - Defense sources say Israel committed to UNRWA education system, will not allow Hamas to use schools, children in terror war against Israel. Exclusive: Israel rejects UNRWA school ‘near Hamas base' Jeruslalem Post 21 Oct 2010 - Defense sources say Israel committed to UNRWA education system but will not allow Hamas to use schools and children in terrorist war against Israel. Second child detained seen struck down by settler Uruknet October 17, 2010 - Israeli police detained a 12-year-old boy on Sunday who was seen on video being struck down by an Israeli settler organization leader in the flashpoint East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan on 8 October. Omran Muhammad Mansour was taken to the Russian compound detention center in Jerusalem for questioning and was not allowed to be accompanied... Israel detains child who was run over by Israeli settler 18 Oct 2010 - Jerusalem, October 18, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli occupation forces arrested yesterday the child Imran Mansur (11 years), which was run over by Israeli zionist settler two weeks ago, Israeli police dragged him from his home in “Silwan” town located in Jerusalem city, despite his poor health condition. The Israeli occupation forces prevented the child's parents from escorting their little son and... Second child detained seen struck down by settler 10/17/2010 - JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli police detained a 12-year-old boy on Sunday who was seen on video being struck down by an Israeli settler organization leader in the flashpoint East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan on 8 October. Omran Muhammad Mansour was taken to the Russian compound detention center in Jerusalem for questioning and was.... House arrest for child run down by settler 10/17/2010 - JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- An Israeli court on Sunday ordered the release of a 12-year-old boy, detained on 8 October after he was filmed being run down by an Israeli settler organization leader in Silwan in East Jerusalem. Omran Muhammad Mansour was released on 2,000 shekels bail (around $560), and his family was ordered.... Second child detained seen struck down by settler Uruknet October 17, 2010 - Israeli police detained a 12-year-old boy on Sunday who was seen on video being struck down by an Israeli settler organization leader in the flashpoint East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan on 8 October. Omran Muhammad Mansour was taken to the Russian compound detention center in Jerusalem for questioning and was not allowed to be accompanied... Tensions mount in Silwan as Israel detains child, threatens to take down tent PIC 17 Oct 2010 - Israeli forces arrested Sunday morning the child Imran Mansur, 11, while in poor medical condition in his Wadi Halwa home in Jerusalem’s Silwan district. UNRWA director meets with donors over latest strike 10/16/2010 - JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- UNRWA's West Bank director met Friday with representatives of donor countries in East Jerusalem to discuss the latest employee strike action over pay. Barbara Shenstone told US, Danish, Swiss, Dutch, Irish, Belgian, Canadian and Austrian officials that the strike would deprive 56,000 school children of their rights to education.... Fayyad sends letter to imprisoned child 10/14/2010 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Prime Minister Salam Fayyad sent a letter to an imprisoned child Thursday. The letter, to Sayel Abu Queider of Hebron, who was detained in September, came as part of a new letter-writing initiative launched by the Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs to improve communication with prisoners.... Israeli military court reverses Palestinian child's release Uruknet October 13, 2010 -- An Israeli military court reversed Wednesday a ruling granting the release of a 12-year-old last week, keeping him in detention until legal procedures are complete, his lawyer said. Sayel Rebhi Abu Quedair's bail was set at 5,000 shekels ($1,391.75) after he was detained from his school on 27 September on suspicion of throwing stones at... Center: Child detained in Silwan 10/12/2010 - JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- The Wad Hilweh Information Center said an eight-year-old Palestinian resident of Silwan was detained at dawn on Tuesday by Israeli police. Center director Jawad Siyam said police raided Omran Mansour's home in the Beir Ayoub neighborhood of the flashpoint area. The center had said they believed the child was.... Israel's persecution of Ameer Makhoul Palestine Note 8 Oct 2010 - At any time, from 7,000 - 12,000 or more Palestinians are politically persecuted and imprisoned, including young children. The Addameer Prisoners' Support and Human Rights Association explains that for over 43 years under military occupation, over... Israel’s persecution of Ameer Makhoul Stephen Lendman, Palestine Note 10/8/2010 At any time, from 7,000 - 12,000 or more Palestinians are politically persecuted and imprisoned, including young children. The Addameer Prisoners' Support and Human Rights Association explains that for over 43 years under military occupation, over 650,000 Palestinians have been illegally detained for wanting freedom on their own land in their own country, what Israel won't tolerate, nor have its leaders ever wanted peace. Saying so is a lie. What Avi Shlaim once said about Ariel Sharon, applies to virtually all other Israeli leaders, past and present; namely, that "Bargaining, accommodation, and compromise (were) alien to his whole way of thinking." Sharon earlier, and Netanyahu today, share like-minded views; namely, that "relations with the Palestinians (are) a zero-sum game" in which Israel intends to gain at their expense, including its own Arab citizens. Both leaders spurn concessions, Sharon once saying, "This is our land, and we'll settle it and build on it in order to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state. We'll never give up this area." As a result, Palestinians have been ruthlessly persecuted, imprisoned, or slaughtered in gross violation of international laws. Ameer Makoul is one of many victims, a previous article about him accessed through the following link [below]. An Israeli citizen, human rights activist, and head of the internationally recognized Ittijah NGO for Palestinian empowerment, he also chairs the Public Committee for the Defence of Political Prisoners within the Arab Higher Monitoring Committee in Israel. Besides championing human rights, he also supports the global BDS movement, what many believe is perhaps the most effective nonviolent tactic against Israeli lawlessness, and another reason for his targeting. -- See also: Israeli Persecution of Human Rights Activists more.. e-mail Jerusalem: Closure Of Local NGOs Threatens Palestinian Identity Palestine Monitor: 9 Oct 2010 - Amidst the maze-like streets of Jerusalem's Old City, the Nidal Center is difficult to find. The only evidence that a once-busting community center existed in the al-Jabasheh neighborhood is a beige sign and a small, green door adorned with stickers. Photo: Jillian Kestler-D'Amours The Nidal Center has been closed since July 2009. Last month, it received its newest closure renewal from the Israeli authorities: the green door must remain sealed for one more year, at least. “We used to try to keep the children and youth away from the streets. Now they are once again in the streets, ” said Mahmoud Jiddah, the Co-Founder of the Nidal Center. Mahmoud Jiddah (Nidal Center) Photo: Jillian Kestler-D'Amours “ That's the way [the Israeli authorities] like to see us: without any education and in the streets, making bad things. They don't want to see Palestinians well educated ,” he said. The Nidal Center...more Israel's Persecution of Ameer Makhoul Uruknet October 8, 2010 - At any time, from 7,000 - 12,000 or more Palestinians are politically persecuted and imprisoned, including young children. The Addameer Prisoners' Support and Human Rights Association explains that for over 43 years under military occupation, over 650,000 Palestinians have been illegally detained for wanting freedom on their own land in their own country, what Israel... Israel's persecution of Ameer Makhoul Palestine Note 8 Oct 2010 - At any time, from 7,000 - 12,000 or more Palestinians are politically persecuted and imprisoned, including young children. The Addameer Prisoners' Support and Human Rights Association explains that for over 43 years under military occupation, over... Education Min. denies Avital fired due to Darwinism remarks Jeruslalem Post 6 Oct 2010 - Darvasi: Having Avital in high position does harm to Israel because puts us in un-respectable place, has potential to damage children's education.” Through conflict and poverty, students in the Occupied Palestinian Territory struggle to learn Relief Web 3 Oct 2010 - Source: UN Children's Fund New School Opened for Bedouin Children near Jerusalem WAFA - JERUSALEM, September 30, 2010 (WAFA)- A new school for 300 children who were previously educated in shipping containers was opened in the village of Arab Al-Jahalin, outside Jerusalem, United Nations New School Opened for Bedouin Children near Jerusalem WAFA - JERUSALEM, September 30, 2010 (WAFA)- A new school for 300 children who were previously educated in shipping containers was opened in the village of Arab Al-Jahalin, outside Jerusalem, United Nations New School Opened for Bedouin Children near Jerusalem WAFA - JERUSALEM, September 30, 2010 (WAFA)- A new school for 300 children who were previously educated in shipping containers was opened in the village of Arab Al-Jahalin, outside Jerusalem, United Nations Rejecting Obama's 'Disfigured' Palestine Uruknet September 28, 2010 - ... What the U.S. president said about suffering and the coexistence of children of both parties living side by side in peace and stability are beautiful words, but the expression of greatest import in his speech, and which suggests a vision that will lead to more dangerous violence and war, was the one relating to the... Israeli police detain 24 in East Jerusalem 9/28/2010 - JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli police detained 24 Palestinians from an East Jerusalem neighborhood on Tuesday, an official said. Wad Hilwa Information Center director Jawad Siyam said several women and children in the Silwan neighborhood were briefly detained when Israeli military and police forces shut down the entrance to the Wad Hilwa area. Palestinians were.... Israel releases child charged with stone throwing 9/28/2010 - HEBRON (Ma'an) -- An Israeli military court Tuesday released a 13-year-old child following six days of detention on charges of stone throwing, fining the boy 2,000 shekels ($545). Karam Da'na was detained from his school in the Old City of Hebron on 22 September by Israeli forces and taken to the.... Israel soldiers injure and detain Hebron child Uruknet September 27, 2010 - Israeli soldiers attacked and detained a 13-year-old Palestinian boy on Monday in the Ar-Ras neighborhood of Hebron, witnesses said. Locals said soldiers hit Sayel Rebhi Abu Quweder, leaving him bleeding from his forehead and with bruises on his face. The boy was then handcuffed and taken to an unknown location, residents added... Israel soldiers injure and detain Hebron child 9/27/2010 - HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli soldiers attacked and detained a 13-year-old Palestinian boy on Monday in the Ar-Ras neighborhood of Hebron, witnesses said. Locals said soldiers hit Sayel Rebhi Abu Quweder, leaving him bleeding from his forehead and with bruises on his face. The boy was then handcuffed and taken to an unknown location.... Intifada In Silwan Palestine Monitor: 22 Sep 2010 - The streets of Silwan were on fire Wednesday morning, as residents of the East Jerusalem neighbourhood expressed their anger in light of the shooting death of a member of their community. Jillian Kestler-D'Amours reporting from Silwan. 30-year-old Palestinian man Samir Solhan was shot and killed by an Israeli settler guard at approximately 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. According to Silwan residents, another man, Halid Abbasi, was also injured in the incident, but his condition remains unknown. Silwan residents clashed with Israeli riot police and soldiers all morning while police helicopters circled overhead. With scarves and masks covering their faces, young Palestinian men hurled rocks at police, who were guarding the illegal Israeli settlements in the neighbourhood. Police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and sound grenades directly at homes, the residents and their Israeli and international supporters, in blatant disregard of the many women and children walking through the streets. In fact, schoolchildren...more UN agencies: Palestinian children denied education 9/16/2010 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The new school year saw 40,000 children turned away from classrooms in Gaza and more than 10,000 children in the West Bank return to school in tents, caravans and tin shacks, UN agencies say. UNRWA, the UN body set up to assist Palestinian refugees, said Wednesday that it has been unable.... Palestinian children deprived of basic rights to education Uruknet September 15, 2010 - The Minister of Education and Higher Education, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) warn that educational standards have plummeted to an unacceptable level, despite the efforts of the Palestinian Authority and the support of the international community. Today, as over a million children return to school... Return to Shatila William Cook, Intifada-Palestine 9/16/2010 “O, that it were possible, We might but hold some two days’ conference, With the dead!” - (John Webster, IV.ii.18.) “The voice of the dead was a living voice to me.” - (Tennyson, “In the Valley of Cauteretz”) Twenty eight years ago, a scene of unspeakable horror rocked the rubble strewn alleys of Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut as vengeance vied with naked lust in a massive display of human malice illuminated for the IDF overseers of this massacre with flares that provided “an unobstructed and panoramic view” for Israeli Defense Minister, Ariel Sharon and his Chief of Staff, Rafael Eitan, as they watched from the seven story Kuwaiti embassy providing logistical support for their Phalangist allies as they “massacred for 36 to 48 hours” the hapless Palestinians imprisoned in the camps. “We were breathing death, inhaling the very putrescence of the bloated corpses around us. Jenkins immediately realized that the Israeli defence minister would have to bear some responsibility for this horror. “Sharon!’ he shouted. ‘That fucker Sharon! This is Deir Yassin all over again.’” (Fisk, Pity the Nation, 360). Outside of the Shatila camp, who remembers? What American knows of the massacre? What government agency has investigated our involvement in it? What lives lost haunt the Israeli or American mind for the evil we have done against the innocent who died such ignominious deaths twenty eight years ago? Would that we could hold conference with the dead, to sense the absolute black fear that grabbed the mother’s heart as her executioner grabbed her skirt to shred it before unleashing his uncontrollable lust into her trembling body, to feel the depth of anguish that spread throughout her being in these last moments of her life, to fear with her the absolute despair she felt as her murderer laughed and mocked her before thrusting his knife into her child yet unborn in her womb. Would that we could share with those slaughtered during these days of anguish the pain and suffering they endured, hapless innocents offered by Sharon and his forces to their paid mercenaries as compensation for their loyalty to the invading armies of the Israeli nation.... more.. e-mail Palestinian Children Deprived of Basic Rights to Education WAFA - JERICHO, September 15, 2010 (WAFA)- The Minister of Education and Higher Education, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) warned that East Jerusalem Palestinians Denied Basic Rights Palestine Chronicle: 14 Sep 2010 - By Stephen Lendman The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) is the country's leading human and civil rights organization through litigation, legal advocacy, education and public outreach. Its new report is titled, "Unsafe Space: The Israeli Authorities' Failure to Protect Human Rights amid Settlements in East Jerusalem," explaining how Judaization harms basic Palestinian freedoms. In fact, the Israeli military, police, and hostile settlers deny them, ACRI saying: Palestinians "complain of physical and verbal abuse (by police), settlers and their security guards; the intimidation of their children; various forms of harassment (including videotaping them in their homes); the barricading and closing off of streets and public areas; and more." They also cite regular abuse, including stone throwing, vandalism, racial slurs, violence and more, all of which authorities ignore, "practic(ing) selective law enforcement and fail(ing) to provide even the most minimal protection to Palestinian locals." They're also complicit in violating Palestinians...more IOF soldiers sexually abuse detained Palestinian children PIC 13 Sep 2010 - Israeli occupation soldiers sexually abused Palestinian children while in custody in violation of international laws and norms and in a cruel violation of human rights, according to media reports. Israeli Soldiers Sexually Abuse Palestinian Children Palestine Chronicle: 13 Sep 2010 - By Stephen Lendman On September 10, Israel's YnetNews.com headlined, 'IDF sexually abused Palestinian children,' headlining: "Damning (September 9) CNN report cites uncorroborated sexual abuse charges of Palestinian children detained by IDF." Military officials refused to "respond to abuse charges as no details (were) provided," a spokesman saying "We cannot address general claims on the subject in the absence of a specific complaint." CNN's report "featured an unidentified Palestinian boy claiming that IDF forces attempted to insert an object into his rectum," and that dozens of officers present stood around laughing while it happened. The network cited Defence of Children International (DCI) as its source, an independent NGO involved in promoting and protecting children's rights globally for over 30 years, founded on the date the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) passed 10 years later. In May 2010, it asked the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture to investigate...more Holiday stress for jailed mothers 9/11/2010 - GAZA CITY (Ma'an) - The National Detainees Center said Friday that the Muslim Eid Al-Fitr holiday is hard for prisoners who have children."They are spending their years in Israeli jails far from their sons and families," the center stated."Detained mothers miss their kids; they want to hold them and kiss them during.... Video: Human Rights Group Accuses Israel of Sexual and Physical Abuse of Child Detainees Uruknet September 10, 2010 - Leading fundamentalist rabbis gather in Israel to defend the publication of a book, Torat Ha'Melech, that attempted to provide halakhic justification for the killing of non-Jews, including innocent children and families. The gathering exposed not only the ferocious racism of a swath of Israel's pro-settlement rabbinate, but the powerlessness of the government to stop them.. High committee of prisoners: 36 Palestinian children, three women kidnapped in August Uruknet September 6, 2010 - The high national committee for the support of prisoners said it documented in last August the kidnapping of 295 Palestinians, including 36 children and three women in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and occupied Jerusalem, pointing out that Israeli interrogators electrocuted some detained kids. The committee affirmed that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnapped... Abuse of Palestinian children in detention: Palestinian and Israeli organisations write to Netanyahu Uruknet September 2, 2010 - Today, DCI-Palestine, Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) have written a letter to Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, expressing deep concern over continued reports of ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian children who are detained and prosecuted in the Israeli military court... Why Israel imprisoned my best friend Uruknet September 2, 2010 - When I was a boy I was still allowed to travel in Israel. I went to the beach and swam in the sea, something that most Palestinian children living in the West Bank today can only dream of. Israel has been restricting movement more and more over the years. We Palestinians were banned from traveling... Abuse of Palestinian children in detention: Palestinian and Israeli organisations write to Netanyahu Uruknet September 2, 2010 - Today, DCI-Palestine, Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) have written a letter to Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, expressing deep concern over continued reports of ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian children who are detained and prosecuted in the Israeli military court... Why Israel imprisoned my best friend Uruknet September 2, 2010 - When I was a boy I was still allowed to travel in Israel. I went to the beach and swam in the sea, something that most Palestinian children living in the West Bank today can only dream of. Israel has been restricting movement more and more over the years. We Palestinians were banned from traveling... Group calls on Obama to stop abuse of Palestinian kids Palestine Note 3 Sep 2010 - Washington - Reports of abuse against Palestinian children by the Israeli army are not new. An Al-Jazeera report from the beginning of the summer accused officers of sexually molesting detainees, including children. Al-Awda Right to Return... Why Israel imprisoned my best friend Mohammed Khatib, Electronic Intifada 9/2/2010 When I was a boy I was still allowed to travel in Israel. I went to the beach and swam in the sea, something that most Palestinian children living in the West Bank today can only dream of. Israel has been restricting movement more and more over the years. We Palestinians were banned from traveling to Israel, the land where many of our parents were born. And now I find I cannot leave the West Bank. I was stopped from leaving the country on 4 August when I tried to cross the Allenby Bridge and reach Jordan in order to fly to Europe. And just as Israel has gradually increased restrictions of where we can go, the boundaries of what is permissible to do as a Palestinian have narrowed markedly. We have reached a point where peaceful protest is unacceptable to the Israeli state and military legislation has been constructed to criminalize and throw in jail anyone who dares to publicly voice dissent. Abdallah Abu Rahmah, coordinator of the Bilin Popular Committee and my best friend, is one such man. He made the international news after the EU's foreign policy chief issued a statement condemning his conviction in an Israeli military court on 24 August. He was convicted of "incitement" -- an intentionally vague charge that criminalizes freedom of speech -- and of organizing "illegal" demonstrations. Direct negotiation between Israel and Palestinians may be restarting, but on the ground, Israel's military occupation continues: oppression as usual. Abdallah, a school teacher and father of three, has been imprisoned at the Ofer military prison since 10 December 2009 -- International Human Rights Day, no less. Israeli soldiers raided his occupied West Bank home in the middle of the night, and dragged him from his bed in front of his wife, Majida, and their three children, Luma (7), Lian (5) and eight-month-old baby Laith. more.. e-mail Why Israel imprisoned my best friend 9/2/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Mohammed Khatib, The Electronic Intifada - When I was a boy I was still allowed to travel in Israel. I went to the beach and swam in the sea, something that most Palestinian children living in the West Bank today can only dream of. Israel has been restricting movement more and more over the years. We.... Israeli Shin Bet electrocuted child prisoners to extract confessions Uruknet September 1, 2010 - Following a visit yesterday to some young prisoners being held at the Megiddo Prison, lawyers for the Ministry of Detainees have stated that the young prisoners testified under oath that they had been interrogated and systematically electrocuted and tortured by Israeli intelligence officers in settlements near to Palestinian cities. According to Salim Redouane who was... MK calls for investigation into Israeli soldiers' abuse of Palestinian children Uruknet August 25, 2010 - A member of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, has condemned as "unethical and inhumane" the methods used by Israeli soldiers to investigate Palestinians, particularly children. Dr. Afu Agbaria MK claimed that "Israel's own statistics confirm that 14% of detained Palestinian children were subjected to sexual abuse threats by Israeli soldiers." He referred to a report... NGO accuses Israel of violations against underage detainees PIC 18 Aug 2010 - The Defense for Children International (DCI) has accused the Israeli Shin Bet security service of committing violations against Palestinian juveniles in detention. Gaza's record-breaking children Vittorio Arrigoni, Electronic Intifada, International Solidarity Movement 8/18/2010 Gaza’s kids truly are record-breakers. They survived Israel’s 2008-09 winter invasion and every day they put up with a state of war during a so-called ceasefire. Smeared in blood, they’ve crawled through the rubble of shelled buildings, taking care of younger siblings, and tending to languishing parents, often emerging from under the remains of their own beds. More than half of Gaza’s population are children. Though none of them has ever voted for Hamas, they’re the designated targets of Israel’s military operations and more generally, of the siege imposed upon Gaza. They’re resilient children, standing up against a multitude of ailments and obstacles. According to a recent report of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, 52 percent of Gaza’s children are anemic and suffer from serious nutritional problems due to the insufficiency of phosphorous, calcium and zinc in their food. The rate of respiratory illnesses they suffer is also cause for concern. Gaza’s children suffer from psychological disorders, the consequence of enduring Israel’s attacks and siege. Their memories of dismembered bodies and burning buildings are indelible traumas that make them anxious and depressed, insomniac or incontinent. They live in overcrowded spaces without recreational areas. In the same streets where they now play, they remember having seen live flesh burning or rotting bodies. Missiles, destruction and death are evoked in their drawings whenever you hand them a blank piece of paper. If the right to play is a luxury here, the right to an education is denied. Besides toys and medicine, Israel has also blocked the entry of elementary school textbooks. Unlike the majority of Israeli children, Gaza’s children suffer from hunger and poverty. I see them every day pushing ploughs in the fields, or rummaging through the garbage bins, looking for recyclable material.... -- See also: Source: Electronic Intifada more.. e-mail IOF rounds up 4 West Bankers, 300 Jerusalemite children PIC 16 Aug 2010 - The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up at dawn Monday four Palestinians in various West Bank areas as a Palestinian society revealed that the IOF detained 300 Jerusalemite children recently. Gaza’s Poisoned Water Stephen Lendman, Dissident Voice 8/14/2010 This article follows an August 6 one discussing Palestinians Denied Access to Water. It explained how Israel exploits Palestinian water resources, using most of it, forcing them to find ways to get by. Water, of course, is essential to life, rights to it natural and usufructuary. Belonging to everyone as part of the commons, it must be used, not owned or abused, an essential truth Israel corrupts. On August 5, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) published the latest in its “Narratives Under Siege” series, titled “There’s Something in the Water: The Poisoning of Life in the Gaza Strip.” “THIS BEACH IS POLLUTED” signs dot Gaza City beaches, posing serious health hazards because of daily raw sewage dumped into the Mediterranean Sea through 16 discharge sites along the coast. Yet thousands fill them despite the dangers, including children, taking advantage of one of their few sources of respite — available, convenient, and free, but not safe. For Gazans, the sea is part of their lives — to fish, gather with family, swim, and for children, play in the sun on hot days, a joy this writer recalls growing up on America’s Atlantic coast. Summers were always the best time. The memories remain. “Without the sea there is no Gaza,” explains Abdel Haleem Abu Samra, Public Relations Officer of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights’ Khan Younis Branch. Being unsafe is especially unsettling — its state in some form since 1991, but especially under siege, prohibiting equipment, construction materials, and spare parts to build new wastewater treatment facilities and repair existing ones. In addition, conditions are exacerbated by an acute fuel and electricity shortage, vital to run waste treatment cycles properly.... -- See also: Palestinians Denied Access to Water and PCHR: There's Something in the Water.... more.. e-mail Searching in a refugee camp Ramzy Baroud, Ma’an News Agency 8/13/2010 Two young girls stood, as if frozen, staring below them at an ever vibrant Beirut. Their balcony, like the rest of their house and most of their refugee camp was of an indistinct color. It was dirty, as were their clothes. They, on the other hand, looked beautiful and bright, although their future didn’t. In Bourj Al-Barajneh, one of a dozen Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, time seems to have stood still for years. Generation after generation, children grow up in the same desperate reality, punished for crimes they did not commit, injured by a history not of their making. They stand on dirty balconies, cracked beyond repair, watching Beirut and the world go by. The city is abuzz with life, politics, rumors, anticipation and intrigue. It remains perpetually divided between many worlds and contradictions, in a way that seems almost impossible to reconcile or bridge. Bourj Al-Barajneh has grown into a ‘municipality’ since its original inception as a ‘temporary’ accommodation for the Palestinian refugees who were expelled from their homes and land in Palestine between 1947 and 1948. The Palestinian physical share of the camp has largely remained the same, although the numbers have significantly grown. Influxes into the area of Shia Muslims, Sunni Muslims, and more recently Iraqis, have seen low-income or persecuted groups move in and around the vicinity of the camp. Little was put in place to accommodate the natural growth, or to regulate the latter population influxes. more.. e-mail Bourj el-Barajneh: Searching for Meaning in a Refugee Camp Palestine Chronicle: 12 Aug 2010 - By Ramzy Baroud – Beirut, Lebanon Two young girls stood, as if frozen, starting below them at an ever vibrant Beirut. Their balcony, like the rest of their house and most of their refugee camp was of an indistinct color. It was dirty, as were their clothes. They, on the other hand, looked beautiful and bright, although their future didn’t. Here in Bourj el-Barajneh, one of a dozen Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, time seems to have stood still for years. Generation after generation, children grow up in the same desperate reality, punished for crimes they did not commit, injured by a history not of their making. They stand on dirty balconies, cracked beyond repair, watching Beirut and the world go by. The city is abuzz with life, politics, rumors, anticipation and intrigue. It remains perpetually divided between many worlds and contradictions, in a way that seems almost impossible to...more 12,000 Palestinian children arrested by Israel since 1967 Uruknet August 6, 2010 - According to new figures released by the Palestinian Authority's Minister for Prisoner Affairs, Issa Karaka', the Israeli authorities have arrested 12,000 Palestinian children since 1967, 300 of whom are minors and are still held in prisons run by the Israeli Occupation. Mr Karaka' stated that detained children "were subjected to torture, extortion and unfair judicial... Algeria to send school books for Gaza kids 8/6/2010 - GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Algerian parliamentarians will provide school uniforms and stationary for all children in Gaza's government schools, the education minister said. Mohammad A'squl said the Gaza ministry sent information about the students to Algeria so that the donation could be sent in time for the new school year.... 315 Palestinians including 37 children and 5 women arrested by IOF in July Uruknet August 6, 2010 - The Supreme National Committee for the Support of Detainees said that at 315 Palestinians, including 37 children and 5 women, were arrested during the past month of July in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem. Al-Khalil was the most affected city as the IOF arrested a hundred residents from this southern West Bank... 315 Palestinians including 37 children and 5 women arrested by IOF in July PIC 6 Aug 2010 - The Supreme National Committee for the Support of Detainees said that at 315 Palestinians, including 37 children and 5 women, were arrested during the past month of July.. Abuse of Palestinian children in Israeli jails Uruknet August 5, 2010 - Testimonials and events documented by human rights organizations show the abuse of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons to be regular and widespread. Physical abuse, sexual abuse, torture, threats and intimidation as well as the denial of basic basic human rights, such as access to education are the most common forms of abuse, documents show... Israeli police use force against Bethlehem protest 8/4/2010 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces used physical force and tear gas against what participants called a peaceful rally near the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Wednesday, demonstrators said. Ten people were reported injured including one child, and 15 others were detained in Al-Walaja village, where Palestinian, Israeli, and international demonstrators attempted to halt the path.... Refugee children explore Al-Quds math museum 8/4/2010 - JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian refugee children from the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Tuesday explored interactive exhibits at the Math Museum in Al-Quds University in occupied East Jerusalem. The tour was part of Camp Discovery -- a 13-day program focusing on English language learning which is funded by the US Consulate in East Jerusalem in.... WATCH: Children injured, several detained at Walaja wall protest Palestine Note 4 Aug 2010 - Washington - Israeli forces injured ten people, including a child, with tear gas canisters and rubber-coated bullets at a peaceful protest against the construction of the Israeli separation wall through the village of Al-Walaja near Bethlehem,... VIDEO - Child confronts Israeli forces over father’s detention 8/4/2010 - Zuheir Al-Shaer - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Video footage of a four-year-old child begging Israeli forces to release his father from detention on Monday has circulated the globe."You dog, give me my dad. I want daddy. I want daddy. Give me my dad," cried Khalid Fadel Al-Ja’bari, as Israeli border guards detained his father Fadel.... Child confronts Israeli forces over father's detention Uruknet August 3, 2010 - Video footage of a four-year-old child begging Israeli forces to release his father from detention on Monday has circulated the globe. "You dog, give me my dad. I want daddy. I want daddy. Give me my dad," cried Khalid Fadel Al-Ja’bari, as Israeli border guards detained his father Fadel, 36 in the Al-Baq'a village east... Israel Arrests Children Walking Near West Bank Separation Wall Uruknet August 3, 2010 - At 12pm on Monday August 2nd, three children who had been walking near the wall in Bil’in village where arrested by Israeli soldiers. The three 14-year-old friends Moatasem Ali Mansor, Majde Burnat, and Mohamad Abu Rahmah often take walks near the wall. Today they were detained by soldiers behind the wall for three hours. While... Son of PA official detained while father abroad 7/27/2010 - Qalqiliya - Ma'an - Israeli forces raided the house of the Ministry of Civil Affairs Undersecretary Ma'rouf Zahran in Qalqiliya on Monday morning, detaining his 18-year-old son, family members said. The undersecretary was not at home during the raid and remains abroad on an official visit to Turkey. Two of his children and sister were in.... IOF detains a bus, injures a child 24 Jul 2010 - Hebron, July 24, (Pal Telegraph) A Palestinian child was injured during the Israeli occupation soldiers inspection and detention to a bus at dawn today, attacking and severely beating the passengers at a checkpoint, located at the entrance to Hebron in the West Bank. Israeli Police said in a statement released to the press today, that the Israeli occupation soldiers stationed... Hebrew-speaking children to remain in Israel YNet News - If child of foreign worker studied in previous year in education system, is.... Palestinian Children Under Occupation Stephen Lendman, Dissident Voice 7/21/2010 The Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations is a Beirut, Lebanon-based organization engaged in “strategic and futuristic studies on the Arab and Muslim worlds, (emphasizing) the Palestinian issue.” In July 2010, it published the latest in its “Am I Not a Human?” series titled, “The Suffering of the Palestinian Child under the Israeli Occupation,” saying: Palestinian children grow up “under the Israeli occupation, surrounded by cruelty, oppression, killing, starvation and destruction.” Yet, like all children, they dream of playing and living normally and safely. Instead, their father may be dead or in prison, their brother killed, their home destroyed, and their mother forced to give birth at an Israeli checkpoint, risking her and the newborn. Palestinian children grow up differently from most others, their development “distorted by an occupation,” destroying their innocence, dreams and well-being. They live in constant fear, forced to grow up while still a child. “Actually (they are) grown up, for (they challenge) the toughest circumstances,” helping their families, replacing a parent when lost, and confronting Israeli incursions. “Amazingly… Palestinian child(ren set) the example to mature people,” even when very young. They live when “we think that the world has become (more) civilized” without cruel colonizations, when global leaders defend human rights, dignity, democratic freedoms, and peace rhetorically, yet are indifferent to oppressed Palestinians, children always the most vulnerable, yet they persist and endure despite enormous hardships and obstacles, what Western children can’t imagine. From September 2000 (the start of the second Intifada) through 2007 alone, 1,400 children were killed, 230 under age 12.... more.. e-mail Israel Tortures Detained Children Uruknet July 17, 2010 - "We will attach the electricity wires to your testicles and prevent you from marriage and having kids forever, if you don’t tell us exactly what you know." This is a fraction of what the Israeli interrogator said to the child "A.M.M" of the city of Hebron when he was arrested two weeks ago, who threatened... Israeli police release settler charged with murdering Palestinian child PIC 12 Jul 2010 - The Israeli police released an Israeli settler on Sunday only two hours after detaining him on charges of killing a 15-year-old Palestinian child two months ago. 3 protesters hurt, 1 detained at anti-wall rally 7/10/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - Israeli forces injured two children and a journalist at a demonstration Saturday in the West Bank, activists said. Muhammed Jawad Awad, 9, was hit with shrapnel in his head, and a stun grenade struck Abu Mariyya, 14, in his back at the rally in Beit Ummar, near Hebron, Palestine Solidarity Project spokesman Muhammad.... IOF injures 2 children in Bait Omar demo 10 Jul 2010 - Hebron, July 10, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – IOF soldiers attacked today Bait Omar demonstration and fired gas and sound bombs which injured two children. Besides they detained an activist and beat a journalist. The spokesman for the Palestinian solidarity project, Mohammed Ayad Awad, said that Israeli soldiers injured the children Mohamed Abu Maria, 14, in his back and Mohammed Awad,... Thousands missing out on education in Gaza Uruknet July 8, 2010 - Thousands of Palestinian refugee children in the Gaza Strip are unable to receive adequate education, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). About 39,000 child refugees in Gaza will not attend UNRWA schools this year, since the agency is unable to build or re-build schools due to the Israeli blockade, damage sustained during... Thousands Missing Out On Education In Gaza PNN - IRIN – PNN - Thousands of Palestinian refugee children in the Gaza Strip are unable to receive adequate education, according to UNRWA. About 39,000 child refugees in Gaza will not attend UNRWA... Thousands missing out on education in Gaza Palestine Note 5 Jul 2010 - Gaza - IRIN - Thousands of Palestinian refugee children in the Gaza Strip are unable to receive adequate education, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). Destroyed buildings in Rafah, in the southern Gaza... Thousands missing out on education in Gaza 7/5/2010 - Gaza City - IRIN - Thousands of Palestinian refugee children in the Gaza Strip are unable to receive adequate education, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees found in a recent report. About 39,000 child refugees in Gaza will not attend UNRWA schools in 2010, because the agency is unable to build to accommodate population growth, or rebuild.... Thousands missing out on education in Gaza Palestine Note 5 Jul 2010 - Gaza - IRIN - Thousands of Palestinian refugee children in the Gaza Strip are unable to receive adequate education, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). Destroyed buildings in Rafah, in the southern Gaza... Gaza siege damages Palestinians' health: study Uruknet July 4 2010 - Palestinian health experts studying the impact of Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip say it threatens to cause long-term damage to Palestinians' health, with many children at risk of stunted growth or malnutrition. In a series of studies published in the Lancet medical journal on Friday, researchers also said Israel's attack on the region in... Dr. Strangelove, Made in Israel Philip Giraldi, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs 7/1/2010 July 2010 ONE would expect the Air Force’s top civilian adviser to be someone who has spent some time in the U.S. military or who has a very particular education, or skill set that brings something special to what is, after all, a very senior and sensitive position. Not so. Dr. Lani Kass, senior special assistant to the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, was born, raised, and educated in Israel and then served in that country’s military, where she reached the rank of major. She has a Ph.D. in Russian studies but advises Air Force generals on cyberwarfare, terrorism, and the Middle East. Dr. Lani Kass is married to Norman Kass, a former Pentagon deputy assistant secretary of defense, and resides in McLean, Virginia. She has been naturalized as a U.S. citizen and is presumably a dual national who now holds both American and Israeli passports. Her three children were all born in Israel. While it is perhaps not unusual for American citizens to volunteer with the Israel Defense Forces, as White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel did in 1991, it would have to be considered unprecedented for a senior Israeli military officer to obtain a high level position at the Pentagon. In fact, it is hard to imagine that anyone carrying out a security background investigation would approve such a transition under any circumstances, suggesting the possibility that Kass’ ascent to high office might have been aided or even godfathered by friends in key positions who were able to override or circumvent normal procedures. Indeed, Kass appears to have close and continuing ties to her country of birth, frequently spicing her public statements with comments about life in Israel while parroting simplistic views of the nature of the Islamic threat that might have been scripted in Tel Aviv’s Foreign Ministry. Information has come to light on Kass that heightens my concern about her high position in the United States government’s defense and security establishment.... more.. e-mail Israel’s Stalemate Seyla Benhabib, Reset DOC 6/26/2010 On a balmy and humid Saturday night, June 5th, we left our apartment on Kikar Masarik Square in Tel-Aviv and walked down to Yitzhak Rabin Square, only 5 minutes away. Recalling our youthful days at similar anti-war and peace marches, we eyed the crowd anxiously. We soon realized that we were joining the crowd, whose size would eventually grow to 6,000 and sponsored by the Israeli Peace Movement (Shalom Ahshav), at the gathering spot of the Israeli Communist Party (Hadash): I noticed many young Arabs carrying the hammer and sickle, along with girls, Israeli or Palestinian, with their khaffiyas, chanting in Hebrew and Arabic as a distinguished looking elderly Arab gentleman addressed that part of the crowd. As the sea of red flags surges around us, I suppressed a tear: Such a sight is hardly visible in any European capital. I recalled all those Jewish communist militants of Europe who gave their lives for an ideal that was hollowed out by history. “Wie eine Trane im Ozean,” I mused --like a tear in the Ocean-- recalling that beautiful novel of Mannes Sperber, documenting the decimation of a generation of militants by Stalin and party purges even before the gas chambers reached them. But here now before me were their children and grandchildren, not in Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Budapest and Moscow, but in Tel-Aviv. At that point, we noticed another group, again with many youthful members that has entered the square. It is the Latin American Socialist Youth Alliance, chanting into their megaphones in Hebrew – “El Pueblo unido, no maz sera venciro.” We joined them, and started marching as the sounds of English, Hebrew, and Spanish wafted over heads like so many delicious smells of an eclectic cuisine. more.. e-mail 6,800 Detainees, Including 300 Children, Currently Imprisoned By Israel Uruknet June 29, 2001 - Abdul-Nasser Farawna, a Palestinian researcher specialising in detainees’ affairs and a former detainee himself, stated that there are currently 6,800 detainees imprisoned by Israel, including 300 children, 34 women, and 213 detainees in administrative detention. Farawna stated that eleven elected legislators are still imprisoned by Israel, and that there are nearly 1,500 detainees who are... 5 seized in Silwan, including 12-year-old child 6/29/2010 - Bethlehem/Jerusalem "“ Ma"™an "“ Israeli forces seized five Palestinians, including a 12-year-old child, from Silwan in East Jerusalem at dawn on Tuesday. Ma"™an"™s Jerusalem correspondent said the detentions relate to the clashes that erupted in Silwan on Saturday. The detainees were identified as Ahmad and Nasser Abu Nab, Ahmad Awad, Ahmad Abu.... Response to the Israeli Cabinet’s Decision to Ease the Siege on Gaza Bianca Zammit, ISM Gaza, International Solidarity Movement 6/28/2010 On June 17th 2010, the Israeli Cabinet decided to take steps to ease the Israeli-imposed siege on Gaza by allowing more items to enter. These items include mayonnaise, ketchup, chocolate, sweets and children’s toys, all of which have been prohibted from entering Gaza for the last 3 years. Some other items which will be allowed to enter will be going to civilian projects under the auspices of international NGOs. While welcoming this Israeli initiative, the fact remains that many people in Gaza are living below the poverty line and cannot afford to buy these items. 80% of the population in Gaza is dependent on the UNRWA for food staples and basic living amenities. Now in its fourth year, the siege has created a miserable and unsustainable reality for all. The majority of the population albeit educated and skilled is unemployed and is forced to rely on foreign aid in order to get by. Factory workers can no longer operate since the siege halted raw materials from entering Gaza. In addition, Israel has impeded factories from exporting their goods to the outside world. Since the start of the siege 90% of Gaza’s factories are defunct. During Operation Cast Lead, factories were a major target and have remained so to date. In March 2010, Israeli warplanes struck a cheese factory in a deliberate attack, destroying equipment and machinery. Items which enter Gaza are screened for their possible usage in factories. A tahina factory in Gaza requested the entry of plastic containers. In response, Israel declared that it would not allow containers in but instead it would allow tahina made in Israel to enter. To allow Gaza to export products and import raw materials is a critical step in ending the humanitarian crisis brought about by the siege. The siege has forced 60% of Gaza’ population into unemployment. Besides targeting factory workers, the siege has also direct implications for the traditional farming and fishing industries. Israel has tightened its grip on both sea and land and imposed new policies which fall short of international law and agreements. Live ammunition is used, with deadly consequences, against farmers and fisherpersons working in internationally-recognized Gazan sea and land. The potentially lethal risk faced by these workers has forced many into unemployment. Further injuring the industries, Israel has banned all equipment related to farming and fishing. more.. e-mail 6800 Detainees, Including 300 Children, Currently Imprisoned By Israel IMEMC - 28 Jun 2010 - Palestinian Researcher specialized in detainees’ affairs, former detainee, Abdul-Nasser Farawna, stated that there are currently 6800 detainees imprisoned by Israel, including 300 children 34 women, and 213 detainees in administrative detention. Child Tortured, His Genitals Electrified By Israeli Interrogators IMEMC - 24 Jun 2010 - Israeli interrogators tortured a Palestinian child who was detained and sent to a detention center close to a settlement near Hebron. The child said that the interrogators used electricity in torturing him by attaching wires to his testicles. Child Tortured, His Privates electrified By Israeli Interrogators IMEMC - 24 Jun 2010 - Israeli interrogators tortured a Palestinian child who was detained and sent a detention near in a settlement near Hebron. The child said that the interrogators used electricity in torturing him by attaching wires to his testicles. Palestinian child Tortured, His Privates electrified By Israeli Interrogators Uruknet June 24, 2010 - Israeli interrogators tortured a Palestinian child who was detained and sent a detention near in a settlement near Hebron. The child said that the interrogators used electricity in torturing him by attaching wires to his testicles. Human Rights Commissioner in the Palestinian Territories, based in Gaza, Kiert Jorneg, stated that Israeli interrogators used wires and... Discrimination In Emmanuel Settlement Amongst Jews PNN - Ranallah – PNN - Controversy continues in the settlement of Emmanuel in the West Bank. At issue is the demand of Ashkenazi families to have their female children educated seperately from Sephardi... 'Am I Not a Human': Women under Occupation Palestine Chronicle: 22 Jun 2010 - By Stephen Lendman In spite of their exceptional suffering, Palestinian women display remarkable endurance qualities. Living under stress in poverty, their homes destroyed, lands razed or expropriated, children sick, husbands imprisoned, fathers killed, and more, they plant seeds of hope, fulfill their daily social role, and participate in political and every day resistance. Since the 1948 Nakba, they've been denied basic human rights, security, free expression and movement, a safe and healthy environment, and education. They became refugees in their own land and abroad, bearing burdens beyond the capacity most women can bear anywhere. Under occupation, they struggle daily to endure, survive, and provide the best for their families and children - as spouses, mothers, caregivers, fighters, nurses, workers, and teachers. Annually on March 8, International Women's Day commemorates their economic, political, cultural, scientific, and social achievements, but for Palestinian women, it's more - their struggle under Israeli occupation, their...more Beatings, arrests, nighttime raids and dubious indictments Uruknet June 18, 2010 - M., a Haaretz reader from Zichron Yaakov, was disturbed by reports about the manner in which Palestinian children are arrested in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. They are being detained held in the middle of the night, held in conditions of fear and pain before their interrogations, and then finally interrogated without the presence... Debating Gaza Catherine Ashton, EU high rep. for foreign affairs and security, Ma’an News Agency 6/18/2010 What happened on the seas outside Gaza was unacceptable. We said so immediately, loud and clear. Nine people died in international waters under circumstances that demand an inquiry. This must be an inquiry that Israelis, Palestinians and above all the people of Turkey can believe in. Israel has announced the creation of an independent commission with the participation of two senior international members as observers. This is a step forward. But the EU will follow closely the conduct and findings of the commission before drawing further conclusions. The military attack on the flotilla has captured the world’s attention. The loss of life has been tragic. But we need to remind ourselves why the flotilla was heading for Gaza in the first place. That underlying cause is the terrible plight of Gaza, which is now back on peoples’ radar. I have seen it myself, three months ago, as the first politician allowed to enter into Gaza from Israel for more than a year. What I saw was shocking. Living next to one of the most modern countries in the world, people carry goods by horse and cart. Israel rightly boasts an excellent education system and world-class universities. Next door, many children are denied basic schooling. The blockade denies Gaza the bricks and cement which the UN needs to build new schools, hospitals, housing and sanitation. It is bizarre situation where flour, beans and margarine are allowed in but vinegar, chocolate and fresh meat are not. The blockade hurts ordinary people, prevents reconstruction and fuels radicalism. The blockade is also not completely effective, but in the wrong way. Many goods are smuggled in through illegal tunnels. They do not go to those in need but to those with money and clout. The blockade empowers Hamas. It gives outsiders with a very different agenda from ours a chance to escalate tensions. On top of all this: the suffering of Gaza does not make Israel more secure. This cannot go on. Things must change. more.. e-mail Israel's 'Final Solution' Palestine Chronicle: 18 Jun 2010 - By George Polley You live in a home your family has lived in for generations. On the edge of the village you own a plot of land on which you raise olives and grow vegetables to feed your family. You remember your grandfather working that land, and smile. He was a good man who loved his family and you miss him. One day you return from your olive grove carrying a sack filled with olives that your wife will press. You have saved out a couple dozen of the best for your wife and children to eat in the evening, before retiring for the night. As you turn the corner and start toward your home you notice the family gathered in front of it with all of their belongings surrounding them. They are weeping. Nearby is a contingent of soldiers holding guns. “What is going on?” you shout. One of...more Children of settlers to begin learning Arabic 6/16/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli settlers will soon add Arabic to their middle school curricula, Israeli news media reported Wednesday. A course to be taught at schools constructed in the illegal Israeli settlement of Efrat will enable some 3,000 students to communicate with their "neighbors," the Israeli daily Maariv reported. According to the report, the settlement will.... IOF detains 2 in Hebron, hands interrogation warrant to a child 16 Jun 2010 - Hebron, June 16, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli occupation forces arrested early today two young men from the town of “Beit Amer”, north of Hebron, and a 7 year old boy was given a warrant to be present at the Israeli intelligence center for interrogation. Ayad Awad, spokesperson of the Palestinian Solidarity Draft in the town, said that the Israeli occupation forces... Israeli forces detain 2 teens, child in Beit Ummar 6/14/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - Two Palestinian teenagers and a child were detained from their homes in Beit Ummar raid overnight, during which Israeli forces reportedly used sound bombs and fired tear-gas. Muhammad Ayyad, a spokesman for the Palestinian Solidarity Project in Beit Ummar, identified the three as 17-year-old Anan Muhammad Bahr, 17-year-old Ali Abu Mariyya.... Extensive Report on Palestinian Detainees In Israeli Prisons Uruknet June 9, 2010 - Former detainee and the head of the Census Department at the Palestinian Ministry Of Detainees, Abdul-Nasser Farawna, stated that Israel conducted 700.000 arrests since June of 1967, including dozens of thousands of children and more than 10.000 women. Farawna also stated that 198 Palestinians died due to torture, medical negligence, while some of them were... Israel detains 4 Palestinians in Hebron, Nablus 10 Jun 2010 - West Bank, June 10, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) detained four Palestinians on Wednesday overnight from Hebron and Nablus, in the West Bank. In Al-Zaheria town south of Hebron, IOF detained the citizen Mohammed Sabah Al-Hawaren, Esa Baher, 16, and Sameer Abu Marya, 16. They also beat the child Saker Abu Hashem, SAFA news agency reported. Israeli... Extensive Report on Palestinian Detainees In Israeli Prisons IMEMC - 9 Jun 2010 - Former detainee and the head of the Census Department at the Palestinian Ministry Of Detainees, Abdul-Nasser Farawna, stated that Israel conducted 700.000 arrests since June of 1967, including dozens of thousands of children and more than 10.000 women. Extensive Report on Palestinian Detainees In Israeli Prisons Uruknet June 9, 2010 - Former detainee and the head of the Census Department at the Palestinian Ministry Of Detainees, Abdul-Nasser Farawna, stated that Israel conducted 700.000 arrests since June of 1967, including dozens of thousands of children and more than 10.000 women. Farawna also stated that 198 Palestinians died due to torture, medical negligence, while some of them were... Israel detains child, teen overnight in Hebron 6/8/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - In an overnight detention campaign targeting two Hebron villages, Israeli forces detained a child and a teenager from Beit Ummar, among others, and reportedly detained a resident en route to hospital in a Palestinian ambulance. Palestinian security sources saidWasim Wahadin, 14, and Oday Bahar, 17, were taken from their homes in Beit Ummar.... Two More Families To Be Evicted From Sheikh Jarrah Palestine Monitor: 8 Jun 2010 - The Kanabi and Siyam-Idkadk families recently received 45-day eviction notices, adding to the growing list of Palestinian residents being forced from their homes in East Jerusalem. The small neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah is at the frontline of Israel's efforts to Judaise the would-be Palestinian capital with dozens of permanent settlers installed, scores of forced evictions and weekly protests held in opposition. On Sunday, Palestine Monitor met with the latest families to be faced with losing their homes. Reporting from Michael Carpenter. Karem Siyam-Idkadk lives with his wife, two young children, and widowed mother in their small family home of more than 42 years. Six days earlier, they tell us, an Israeli man representing the law firm of Eitan Gabay delivered a 45-day eviction notice. The basis of the order is overdue rent and an underlying claim that the land had once been in Jewish hands. However, the Idkadks maintain that... Israeli forces take 2 men, child from homes 6/7/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - Israeli forces detained three Palestinians from Beit Ummar overnight and led them to unknown destinations, local officials reported on Monday morning. Spokesman of the Palestine Solidarity Project Muhammad Ayyad Awad said troops entered the town and broke into a number of homes, pulling out men identified as:Tamer Ismail Muhammad Awad, 23Saif Rabih.... Supporting Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions Against Israel Alice Walker, Huffington Post 6/7/2010 "You will have no protection." - Medgar Evers to Civil Rights Activists in Mississippi, shortly before he was assassinated on June 12, 1963. My heart is breaking; but I do not mind. For one thing, as soon as I wrote those words I was able to weep, which I had not been able to do since learning of the attack by armed Israeli commandos on defenseless peace activists carrying aid to Gaza who tried to fend them off using chairs and sticks. I am thankful to know what it means to be good; I know that the people of the Freedom Flotilla are/were, in some cases, some of the best people on earth. They have not stood silently by and watched the destruction of others, brutally, sustained, without offering themselves, weaponless except for their bodies, to the situation. I am thankful to have a long history of knowing people like this from my earliest years, beginning in my student days of marches and demonstrations: for peace, for non-separation among peoples, for justice for Women, for People of Color, for Cubans, for Animals, for Indians, and for Her, the planet. I am weeping for the truth of Medgar’s statement; so brave and so true. I weep for him gunned down in his carport, not far from where I would eventually live in Mississippi, with a box of t-shirts in his arms that said: ’Jim Crow Must Go.’ Though trained in the United States Military under racist treatment one cringes to imagine, he remained a peaceful soldier in the army of liberation to the end. I weep and will always weep, even through the widest smiles, for the beautiful young wife, Myrlie Evers, he left behind, herself still strong and focused on the truth of struggle; and for their children, who lost their father to a fate they could not possibly, at the time, understand. I don’t think any of us could imagine during that particular phase of the struggle for justice, that we risked losing not just our lives, which we were prepared to give, but also our children, who we were not. Nothing protected Medgar, nor will anything protect any of us; nothing but our love for ourselves and for others whom we recognize unfailingly as also ourselves. Nothing can protect us but our lives. How we have lived them; what battles, with love and compassion our only shield, we have engaged.... more.. e-mail Algerian NGO to support 100 Palestinian children 5/29/2010 - Algeria - Ma'an - The Palestinian embassy in Algeria and an Algerian NGO signed an agreement on Thursday, providing support for 100 Palestinian children whose parents were victims of Israeli army assaults or imprisoned. Palestinian Ambassador to Algeria Muhammad Al-Hurani said of the Fondation Nationale for la Promotion de la SantĂ© et le DĂ©veloppement de la.... Israel verbally and physically abuses Palestinian children in detention Uruknet May 29, 2010 - The organization of defense for children international (DCI) stated that the majority of Palestinian children who are detained by the Israeli occupation forces are exposed to different kinds of verbal and physical abuse in varying degrees and for long periods before and after the interrogation. In a report published on Friday, the organization said it... Report: Israeli armi abuses Palestinian child prisoners 29 May 2010 - Jerusalem, May 29, (Pal Telegraph) According to a report published by Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Friday, that the Israeli army harasses Palestinian children that they detain and put in israeli jails and alongside with the Israeli police they threat those children with sexual assault. The report was based on statements the newspaper took last year by the Palestinian children of... DCI: Israel verbally and physically abuses Palestinian children in detention PIC 29 May 2010 - Defense for children international stated that the majority of Palestinian children detained by the Israeli occupation forces are exposed to different kinds of verbal and physical abuse. UNICEF Sees Educational, Safety Challenges Facing Children in Gaza WAFA - GAZA, May 27, 2010 (WAFA) – On a visit to Gaza this week, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Sigrid Kaag highlighted the plight of Palestinian children and the many threats 'Fragmented' Education in Occupied Palestine Palestine Chronicle: 28 May 2010 - By Stephen Lendman A 2007 UNESCO/Save the Children UK report titled, 'Fragmented foundations: education and chronic crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory' addressed issues 'in emergency and reconstruction situations, as well as in chronic conflict.' It explained that in 1994, the Palestinian Authority established the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) with formal responsibility for the system, including planning, budgeting and coordination throughout the Territories. Through at least 2007, it administered about three fourths of OPT schools, handled two-thirds of its students, and, as able, requires 10 years of basic education, two additional non-compulsory ones, then higher education for those qualified. See below. UNWRA runs 13% of schools for 24% of the students, the private sector another 11% of schools and 6% of students as of 2006, according to World Bank figures. Israel maintains authority in East Jerusalem although MoEHE supports a number of its schools. In the 1990s,...more Even picnics in Israel are political Neve Gordon, Redress 5/26/2010 Our farewell picnic to Ezra Nawi before his prison term for peaceful protest carried a new message to most Israeli picnics. Picnics, like almost everything else in Israel, are often political. Oz Shelach underlines this point in his collection of short stories Picnic Grounds, where he describes how a history professor takes his family on a picnic in the pine forest near Givat Shaul, a Jerusalem neighborhood. The professor teaches his son some of the camping skills he learned while serving in the Israeli military, using old stones to block the wind and to protect the newly-lit fire. The stones, we are told, are the remains of a village known as Deir Yassin. Although Shelach does not say as much, Deir Yassin was a Palestinian village located on the outskirts of Jerusalem. The Jewish neighborhood, which now stands in its place, was built not long after Israeli paramilitary forces evicted its Palestinian residents, while massacring an estimated 100 men, women and children out of a total population of 600. Shelach does not recount this history; he simply describes how the father builds a fire with his son and then ends the story by noting that the history professor “imagined that he and his family were having a picnic, unrelated to the village, enjoying its grounds, outside history”. Many picnics in Israel take place in pine forests that were planted to cover the remains of hundreds of Palestinian villages destroyed in 1948. Wittingly or unwittingly, these gatherings have a political effect, since the people enjoying their leisure time on these sites reenact the historical suppression of the Palestinian Nakba. This past Saturday [22 May] I also went on a picnic with my family, but in stark opposition to most Israeli picnics it tried to enact a remembering by exposing the continued domination and expulsion of Palestinians. We joined a group of Jews and Palestinians from Ta’ayush in the South Hebron desert to break bread together and bid farewell to Ezra Nawi, who the following day began serving a jail sentence for resisting Israel’s occupation. more.. e-mail 10 detained by Israeli forces in West Bank, police say 5/21/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Israeli forces detained ten Palestinians including an elderly man and his seven children during arrest campaigns in the West Bank districts of Jenin, Hebron and Jericho on Friday morning. A police report from the Jenin municipal office said forces invaded the town of Kfar Ra'i and entered several homes, which were searched and.... [uruknet.info] Uncertain Education Uruknet May 20, 2010 - Since September 2009, seventy children of the Bedouin community Jahalin in al-Khan al-Ahmar have been going to school close to their homes, between Jericho and Jerusalem. But it is unclear whether these children will be able to attend their necessary lessons next year. By the end of the current school year in July, the Israeli Civil... Iran: Emotional reunion for detained hikers Palestine Note 20 May 2010 - Washington - The mothers of three American hikers held in Iran since July 2009 were able to meet with their children Thursday, Reuters reported . A vigil for the hikers was held April 11, 2010 at Prospect... Uncertain Education Palestine Monitor - Since September 2009, seventy children of the Bedouin community Jahalin in al-Khan al-Ahmar have been going to school close to their homes, between Jericho and Jerusalem. But it is unclear whether these children will be able to attend their necessary lessons next year. By the end... Uncertain Education Palestine Monitor: 20 May 2010 - Since September 2009, seventy children of the Bedouin community Jahalin in al-Khan al-Ahmar have been going to school close to their homes, between Jericho and Jerusalem. But it is unclear whether these children will be able to attend their necessary lessons next year. By the end of the current school year in July, the Israeli Civil Administration will decide whether the demolition will go ahead. If this threat materializes, the children will be deprived of their education. / Reem, Muna and their classmates learn to make little dolls. Photo: Florian Vande Walle For twelve-year-old Reem, the school of al-Khan al-Ahmar changed her life and gave her a future. “ To go to school near to Jericho, I had to wake up at 6.30 in the morning. I arrived at my school between nine and ten o'clock. I returned home around 4 o'clock, three hours after my class was finished. Today it... Israeli Troops Detain Women And Children In Northern West Bank IMEMC - 19 May 2010 - Six women and their children from the village of Araba, northern West Bank, were detained by Israeli troops on Tuesday evening. IOF detains 3 Palestinian women and their children 19 May 2010 - West Bank, May 19, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation forces (IOF) detained Tuesday evening three Palestinian women and their children under the pretext of finding them in a land near the settlement of "Mabo Dotan" which locates near the town of Araba, south of Jenin in the northern West Bank. The women were picking up vine leaves while the... Nakba Day is a Reminder That George Mitchell Can Not Ignore Palestinian Refugees Yousef Munayyer, Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development 5/19/2010 Proximity talks signaling the restart of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, which have been on hold for years, are beginning amidst an important reminder of the root cause of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Saturday, May 15, marked Nakba Day. The Nakba, Arabic for “catastrophe,” was the depopulation of Palestine of its native inhabitants which took place around the emergence of the state of Israel from 1947-1949. Little known to most Americans is the massacre of Palestinians at Deir Yassin, which left dozens of women and children slaughtered. It is marked on April 9, a date which highlights the fact that Palestinians were being ethnically cleansed even before the Arab armies declared war on Israel in May of 1948. The Dahmash mosque massacre, marked on July 12, witnessed the gunning down of Palestinian civilians seeking refuge in a mosque. It was one of the worst massacres of the period. Yet the day on which the Jewish state was established, is the day Palestinians mark their suffering. This is not, as some would suggest, because Palestinians oppose the existence of a safe haven for Jews. Rather it is because the existence of this state means that hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees could not return to their homes – and still cannot to this day. Some will say that Palestinians and Israelis have two irreconcilable narratives and for this reason ought to avoid talk about history. Truth and Reconciliation Commissions in other countries have, however, played a key role in helping victims of terrible injustices to understand in more detail what was done to them and by whom. The facts known today tell of the reality that befell Palestinians and tragically and terribly altered the trajectory of their individual and collective existence. Yet there is much more that will surely come to light as Israeli archives are examined and as aging conquerors examine their consciences. more.. e-mail Detainee mourns loss of mother 5/3/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - The mother of a detainee, taken into Israeli custody in 1992, died of a stroke on Monday, his family reported, adding that the two had not seen each other for four years. Muhammad Al-Harz was detained on 30 July 18 years ago, and left behind his wife and four children, who, along with his mother have all been denied visits since 2006. Al-Hartz was sentenced to life in prison, which he is serving in the Nafha detention center. On his mother's death, Muhammad's brother said she had "yearned to see Muhammad for just one moment. [end] PPA: IOF soldiers detained 65 Palestinians in Al-Khalil last month Uruknet May 3, 2010 - The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up 65 Palestinians in Al-Khalil district in April including a mother of four children, the Palestinian prisoners association (PPA) said. The PPA said in its monthly report published on Monday that the IOF troops used police dogs in their raids on Al-Khalil homes to terrorize its inhabitants and assaulted a... PPA: IOF soldiers detained 65 Palestinians in Al-Khalil last month PIC 3 May 2010 - The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up 65 Palestinians in Al-Khalil district in April including a mother of four children, the Palestinian prisoners association (PPA) said. IOA sentences child to 3 months imprisonment PIC 3 May 2010 - The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has sentenced a 16-year-old Palestinian child from Al-Khalil to three months imprisonment term for throwing stones at Israeli occupation forces (IOF). Report: 65 Hebronites detained in April 5/2/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - Israel's army detained 65 men and women during its army's night raids and detention campaigns targeting the Hebron governorate during the month of April, the local prisoners society reported on Sunday. The monthly report cataloged the detentions of men, women, children, the ill and disabled, as well as the destruction of private property and home demolitions. Prisoners society researchers noted the increased use of sniffer dogs during home raids that ended in detentions. The dogs, the report said, terrified children. Three men suffering from illnesses that require periodic hospitalization were detained during the month, the report said, identifying Iyad Fadel Abu Husien, a kidney disease sufferer; Isam Al-Badawi, who has a severe heart condition; and Khalil Ibrahim A'wad, an Asthma patient as those taken. A 22-year-old disabled man, Khalil Khaled Idris, and a psychiatric patient, Jamil Zakarieyah Salayiemah, were taken from their homes, the society recorded. NGO to distribute laptops to Palestinian refugees 5/1/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - A non-profit organization that helps make computers available to children, in partnership with the UN will provide laptops to nearly half a million refugees in the occupied Palestinian territories, the UN's news site reported Thursday. Under the partnership, the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) charity will distribute XO laptop computers in schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the UN's news agency said."Core to our mission is providing the world’s most isolated and vulnerable children access to modern forms of education and the opportunities that follow," said Nicholas Negroponte, OLPC chairman and founder, the UN wrote. "The XO laptop has a special place in children’s education in regions that are disrupted by ongoing political unrest and violence." Related: In photos: Children in Gaza receive new laptops Nobel Laureates: ’We are all peace makers, and we believe that no amount of dialogue without economic pressure can motivate Israel to change’ 4/30/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Mondowiess, 28 April 2010 - Support for divestment continues to grow. Here is the latest amazing statement urging the University of California to divest: "To the ASUC Senate, We the undersigned Nobel Women Peace Laureates support your courage and call on you to reaffirm the ASUC Bill in Support of UC Divestment from War Crimes. We stand united in our belief that divesting from companies that provide significant support for the Israeli military provides moral and strategic stewardship of tuition and taxpayer-funded public education money. We are all peace makers, and we believe that no amount of dialogue without economic pressure can motivate Israel to change its policy of using overwhelming force against Palestinian civilians. Last year's nearly 400 women and children casualties in Gaza, and thousands more injured and killed, were all victims of a well armed military machine allowed to operate unchecked. . . ." Nil’in protesters honor detainees 4/30/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Several Palestinians suffered tear-gas inhalation during the weekly protest in Nil'in on Friday, onlookers said. Protesters marched for the second consecutive week carrying pictures of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, participants explained. Some of the demonstrators threw stones at the Israeli soldiers, who fired tear-gas canisters toward the crowd, eyewitnesses said. An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed that forces opened fire against stone-throwers. Forces acted in response to a violent and illegal riot involving some 30 people, she added. In recent months, Israeli military authorities have arbitrarily arrested and denied due process rights to several dozen Palestinian anti-wall protesters, Human Rights Watch has reported. Authorities have also denied detainees from villages that have staged protests against the barrier, including children, access to lawyers and family members. Nobel Laureates: ’We are all peace makers, and we believe that no amount of dialogue without economic pressure can motivate Israel to change’ 4/30/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Mondowiess, 28 April 2010 - Support for divestment continues to grow. Here is the latest amazing statement urging the University of California to divest: "To the ASUC Senate, We the undersigned Nobel Women Peace Laureates support your courage and call on you to reaffirm the ASUC Bill in Support of UC Divestment from War Crimes. We stand united in our belief that divesting from companies that provide significant support for the Israeli military provides moral and strategic stewardship of tuition and taxpayer-funded public education money. We are all peace makers, and we believe that no amount of dialogue without economic pressure can motivate Israel to change its policy of using overwhelming force against Palestinian civilians. Last year's nearly 400 women and children casualties in Gaza, and thousands more injured and killed, were all victims of a well armed military machine allowed to operate unchecked. . . ." US sponsors Jericho cleanup 4/29/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - In celebration of Jericho's 10,000th anniversary and the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the US Consulate General in Jerusalem and the Municipality of Jericho organized a clean-up and beautification day in Jericho on Thursday. Mayor of Jericho Hassan Saleh and US Consul General Daniel Rubinstein hosted the event, during which hundreds of volunteers, including officers from the US Consulate General, planted over 50 trees and cleared litter from a section of Qasir Hisham Road. Kamel Hameid, Governor of Jericho and the Jordan Valley, and representatives from the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture participated, along with more than 350 members of the Jericho community including local school children, municipality employees, members of the municipality council, representatives from local NGOs and civil society institutions, and representatives from the local security forces and the police academy. Woman serving life in Israel marks 9 years 4/28/2010 - Salfit - Ma'an - A Jenin woman marked nine years in Israeli detention on Wednesday. The mother of four was sentenced to a life in Israeli prisons, lawyers with the Detainees Society said. Kahira As-Sa'di told her lawyer earlier in the week that that despite the long years of detention, her spirit is high, and she focuses on encouraging those detained alongside her to continue to learn and grow as women and Palestinians. The woman's eldest children were prohibited from visiting the prison, while her youngest can see her when their guardians come for family visits. Kahira said the conditions some of the women live in at the detention facility are grave, and said dozens had been denied medical and dental treatment. . . . . Troops Attack Anti Wall Protesters Near Bethlehem And Detain One Boy IMEMC - Tuesday April 27, 2010 - 19:18, A number of civilians were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation and one child was detained by soldiers when they attacked anti wall protest at the Wallajeh village near Bethlehem, southern West Bank. Dura mayor: 30 detained in civilian home 4/27/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - The home of a Hebron-area civilian was declared a closed military zone by Israeli forces early Tuesday morning, local officials reported. The building, home to 20, located in the city of Dura, southwest of Hebron belongs to Raed Ash-Shahatit, city mayor Mustapha Ar-Rujoub told Ma'an. Ar-Rajoub said all 20 residents, including women and children, were in the home, and said an additional ten men had been arrested and brought into the building in the dawn hours. The additional detainees, Ar-Rajoub said, were taken as they approached or walked near the building."The whole area has been hijacked by the troops," the mayor said, noting the area was often a target for Israeli forces. An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was looking into | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
