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3 Gaza workers detained at Israeli border fence
2/28/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Three Gaza workers were detained by Israeli forces on Sunday as they attempted to cross over the barbed-wire fence east of Al-Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza Strip. Ma'an's Gaza correspondent said Israeli troops opened fire after they spotted the workers. The three were detained and taken to an unknown location, he added. An Israeli military spokesman told Ma'an that "three suspects were identified approaching the security fence. "As they approached the fence, Israeli forces detained them and took them for security questioning in Israel, he said. Two weeks prior, a number of Gazan workers were detained also trying attempting cross through the border fence near Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza. . . . .
West Bank: Weekly Protest Video Round-Up
Uruknet February 27, 2010 - ...Dozens of protesters suffered teargas inhalation in a demonstration against the Wall and settlements in Bil’in which was joined by Israeli and international activists. Despite the bad weather, protesters marched on the streets of the village chanting slogans and singing national songs. The protesters carried Palestinian flags and called for national unity against the Israeli occupation...
Israel may let sponsors beam messages onto Western Wall
Ha'aretz 28 Feb 2010 - Most people go to the Western Wall to pray, but now some will also head there to pay. ...
Weekly Protest Video Round-Up
Palestine Monitor: 27 Feb 2010 - Heavy rain prevented popular resistance marches scaling the peaks of Bi'lin last week, but up and down the country demonstrators made their feelings known. BILIN Dozens of protesters suffered teargas inhalation in a demonstration against the Wall and settlements in Bil'in which was joined by Israeli and international activists. Despite the bad weather, protesters marched on the streets of the village chanting slogans and singing national songs. The protesters carried Palestinian flags and called for national unity against the Israeli occupation and against the confiscation of the Bilal ben Rabah mosque in Bethlehem and the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron . Protesters also called on Palestinians to resist the new Israeli policies in Hebron district. When protesters reached the wall, an Israeli army unit was situated behind a block of cement. The gate that leads to the confiscated land was already closed with barbed wire. The army immediately fired high-velocity tear gas...
Protest in al-Ma’sara Met With Increased Aggression
IMEMC - Friday February 26, 2010 - 18:39, Following an incursion into the village of al-Ma’sara, at 2 a.m. Friday morning, the villagers of al-Ma’sara marched towards the construction site of the Israeli built wall that annexes their land.
Ni’lin Wards Off IOF Invasion
2/26/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - International Solidarity Movement - Nearly 100 youth of Ni'lin were tear gassed and shot at with rubber-coated steel bullets as the IDF attempted to invade their village. Near the edge of the village, the soldiers scaled a house to attack the demonstrators from a heightened vantage point. Undeterred by inclement weather, residents of Ni'lin attempted to reach the Apartheid Wall for their weekly demonstration. The rolling thunder accentuated their chants which demanded justice, the destruction of the wall that kept them from their crops and to be heard. However, the protest's course was redirected after the Israeli soldiers brought two military jeeps and tried to enter the village. The Palestinian protesters walked up to the gate of their village where they were met with volleys of tear gas. The demonstration retreated, and the Israeli forces moved forward, entering a Palestinian home, climbing onto the roof and firing down into the street. Other soldiers moved behind buildings to fire on the protesters from the side.
Wanted: Israeli army commander of Bil’in area, Palestine
2/26/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Bil'in Popular Committee - Palestinian, Israeli, and International activists demonstrated against the apartheid wall and settlements in Bil'in village west of Ramallah. Despite rain and harsh winds demonstrators marched to the wall and were immediately met with tear gas from the Israeli military as they are each week Friday. Soldiers fired heavy aluminum tear gas canisters into the crowd, and veteran activists commented on the extra strength of the gas today. People attempted to distribute "wanted signs" with the face of the local army commander to the soldiers positioned on the other side of the fence. Signs read: WANTED: ISRAELI ARMY COMMANDER OF BIL'IN AREA, PALESTINE - Suspected of Committing Crimes Against Humanity - -sections 23(g), 25,42,46,50, and 52 of the Hague Regulations 1907, Articles 31, 33, and 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. IF IDENTIFIED, DO NOT TRY TO APPREHEND THE SUSPECT, CONSIDER HIM ARMED AND DANGEROUS. NOTIFY THE AUTHORITIES IMMEDIATELY.
Union: Farmer beaten by Israeli forces at Jubarah checkpoint
2/25/2010 - Tulkarem - Ma'an - A farmer on his way to agricultural lands near Tulkarem was told to lie on the floor of the Jubara checkpoint and was subsequently beaten while on the floor, the Agricultural Union said in a report released hours after the alleged event Thursday. The man, identified as Said Walid, is a resident of Khirbet Jubara, a village in the West Bank but on the western side of Israel's separation wall. Residents of the village must pass through the Jubarah checkpoint to reach the city of Tulkarem, and any other of the neighboring villages. Shortly after the checkpoint opened at 5:30am, a statement said, Walid entered the military zone en route to his fields on the far side of the wall. The union said he was badly beaten "without any explanation," adding that Walid was the fourth member of the Tulkarem Agricultural union to have been beaten by soldiers since the start of 2010.
Israel’s undermining of international law
Jeff Halper, Ma’an News Agency 2/25/2010
The Israeli attack on Gaza in December 2008/January 2009 was not merely a military assault on a primarily civilian population, impoverished and the victim of occupation and siege these past 42 years. It was also part of an ongoing assault on international humanitarian law by a highly coordinated team of Israeli lawyers, military officers, PR people and politicians, led by (no less) a philosopher of ethics.
It is an effort coordinated as well with other governments whose political and military leaders are looking for ways to pursue ’asymmetrical warfare’ against peoples resisting domination and the plundering of their resources and labor without the encumbrances of human rights and current international law. It is a campaign that is making progress and had better be taken seriously by us all.
Since Ariel Sharon was indicted by a Belgian court in 2001 over his involvement in the Sabra and Shatila massacres in Lebanon’s refugee camps, and Israel faced accusations of war crimes in the wake of its 2002 invasion of the cities of the West Bank, with its high toll in civilian casualties (some 500 people killed, 1500 wounded, more than 4000 arrested), hundreds of homes demolished and the urban infrastructure utterly destroyed, Israel has adopted a bold and aggressive strategy: alter international law so that non-state actors caught in a conflict with states and deemed by the states as ‘non-legitimate actors’ (‘terrorists,’ ‘insurgents’ and ‘non-state actors,’ as well as the civilian population that supports them) can no longer claim protection from invading armies.
The urgency of this campaign has been underscored by a series of notable setbacks Israel subsequently incurred at the hands of the UN. In 2004, at the request of the General Assembly, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that Israel’s construction of wall inside Palestinian territory is "contrary to international law" and must be dismantled.... more.. e-mail
The tax siege of Shu’fat refugee camp
Ma’an News Agency 2/25/2010
Jerusalem "“ Ma’an "“ The scene greeting those entering the Shu’fat refugee camp is one of severe dilapidation, its streets overwhelmed by its closed-in residents.
Children are making their way home from school, passing through the Israeli military checkpoint at the camp’s entrance.
Two weeks ago, this East Jerusalem camp was the site of fierce confrontations as Israeli forces and police launched a three-day search-and-arrest operation throughout the camp and its environs, Ras Khamis, Dahiyet As-Salam, and Ras Shahada.
UNWRA estimates the number of those detained between the start of the operation and clashes at 92. At the time, the Israeli police told me the events did not seem out of the ordinary.
Israeli media reported that municipal workers and inspectors joined Israeli forces on the raid, to handle safety hazards, various infrastructure works, and other municipal matters. Tax evasion, it was reported, was the impetus.
"This had nothing to do with taxes ... but that was the pretense," said the head of the committee against the wall and settlements in Shu’fat’s refugee camp, Al-Munasiq. "This was an operation undertaken to terrorize the younger generation of the camp – those detained were selected because of their age."
He reminds me that he is speaking on the condition of anonymity, that Al-Munasiq is not his real name. His son was among what he estimates as 60 detained during the raid on the first evening, all under the age of 18, save one, he said. more.. e-mail
African migrant shot dead at Egypt-Israel border
2/23/2010 - Al-Arish - Ma'an - An African migrant was shot dead by Egyptian police en route to Israel early Tuesday morning, security sources said. The unidentified migrant, whose nationality was not immediately clear, was with nine others including two Eritreans when police opened fire, Egyptian sources confirmed. Two others were reportedly hurt when, despite calls for them to surrender, three refused and raced toward a border fence between Egypt and Israel about three kilometers south of the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza. On Sunday, police shot dead two migrants and injured three others under similar circumstances, Ma'an's Egypt correspondent reported. Police patrols spotted a number of migrants attempting to breach the same border fence, upon which police opened fire, he said. Those injured were transferred to the Al-Arish Hospital, where they were said to have informed Egyptian police of paying a fee of 1,000 US dollars to human traffickers to assist them in finding work in Israel.
Bil’in village plants 200 trees next to apartheid wall: existence as resistance!
2/23/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Bil'in Popular Committee, 22 February - Palestinian and internationals help plant olive trees in Bilin to replace those destroyed by Israeli troops and settlers. At 9:30am residents of Bil'in village, Palestinian political representatives, and International activists gathered in Bil'in to plant olive trees and almond seeds for 20 farmers who own land besides Israel's Apartheid Wall. Approximately 200 trees were planted as part of the ongoing popular resistance to the Israeli apartheid wall and settlements. Bil'in has organized weekly and sometimes daily actions against the wall for the past five years, gaining international attention for the struggle and becoming a symbol for nonviolent, creative, popular struggle around the West Bank of Palestine. An hour into the planting, an Israeli soldier appeared on the other side of the wall and gave a warning shot.
Unfairly balanced
Mondoweiss - 23 Feb 2010 - Earlier today I read the BBC’s report on the fifth anniversary of the Bil’in protests against the Annexation Wall. It was not one of the worst the BBC has done on I/P; yet I got angry at the enforced, distorted "balance" which gave Israeli military spokesperson...
Hebron's living hell
Electronic Intifada: 23 Feb 2010 - Our sobering taste of life in Hebron included other devastating stories and the presence of Israeli guard towers, camouflage netting, checkpoints, a wall spray painted with graffiti that included a tribute to the Golani brigade, one of the Israeli army's most aggressively violent units, and to Betar, a right-wing youth organization. I passed a concrete block obstructing the road, spray painted with an arrow and the words "This is apartheid." Alice Rothchild writes from Hebron.
Akiva Eldar / For Palestinians, more talks don't mean new hope
Ha'aretz 22 Feb 2010 - Netanyahu's 1996 directive to open Western Wall Tunnel cost dozens of Israeli and Palestinian lives.
Archaeologist finds Jerusalem wall matching biblical story
Ha'aretz 22 Feb 2010 - A team of Israeli archaeologists has announced the discovery of a massive wall they say dates to the 10th century BCE in Jerusalem's Ophel Park on the slope between the Temple Mount and the village of Silwan. The dig director, Dr. Eilat Mazar, dates the wall according to potsherds found nearby to the period of King Solomon and the major period of construction in Jerusalem in the First Temple period, as described in the Bible. ...
Curfew In Husan leaves Wadi Fuqeen without access To Bethlehem, freshwater springs and 2,000 year-old irrigation system under threat
The Friends of Wadi Fuqeen 2/22/2010
Two evenings ago, villagers in Wadi Fuqeen were alarmed to hear the sounds of trouble with the Israelis in the nearby village of Husan, which lies slightly to the east. A curfew was immediately imposed upon it. This means that the Wadi Fuqeen will be isolated for few days as well because villagers can only gain access to Bethlehem if they go through Husan. This is the reality caused by the winding path of the separation barrier and many so called ’security measures’ imposed by the Israelis.
In any case, Israeli jeeps have now begun to patrol the village of Wadi Fuqeen on a regular basis. ’Flying’ checkpoints have also begun to appear at the entrance to the village - both during the day and overnight.
Two weeks ago three workers from the district of Hebron were beaten by the Israeli soldiers in an area to the northeast of the village. They had been trying to sneak through into Israel in order to find work. They were later admitted to Beit Jala hospital.
The separation wall is not yet fully in place around Wadi Fuqeen. The route of the wall is subject to a legal challenge and this has somewhat delayed its building, although many of its footings are already in place. The village is therefore a favourite route for those impoverished Palestinians desperate to find illegal work in Israel. They try to slip through without being seen by the Israeli patrols. Looking at longer term developments, Wadi Fuqeen is facing a worrying situation in relation to its water sources.
Villagers from Wadi Fuqeen practice a 2,000-year-old form of agriculture dependent upon a complex system of terracing and wells. These ancient terraces and wells are fed by rainwater and a unique local aquifer and, in the past, that has made possible the widespread irrigation of surrounding arable land. -- See also: The Friends of Wadi Fuqeen and The Settlers Next Door: Notes from Wadi Fukin more.. e-mail
Israel is accused of waging covert war across the Middle East
Sheera Frenkel in Jerusalem, Axis of Logic 2/21/2010
Israel is waging a covert assassination campaign across the Middle East in an effort to stop its key enemies co-ordinating their activities.
Israeli agents have been targeting meetings between members of Hamas and the leadership of the militant Hezbollah group, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
They are also suspected of recent killings in Dubai, Damascus and Beirut. While Israel’s Mossad spy agency has been suspected of staging assassinations across the world since the 1970s, it does not officially acknowledge or admit its activities.
The current spate of killings began in December when a "tourist bus" carrying Iranian officials and Hamas members exploded outside Damascus. The official report by Syria claimed that a tyre had exploded but photographs surfaced showing the charred remains of the vehicle — prompting speculation that a much larger explosion had taken place.
Several weeks later a meeting between members of Hamas, which controls Gaza, and their counterparts from Hezbollah in its southern Beirut stronghold in Lebanon was also attacked, resulting in several deaths.
Hamas had sought to cover up the incidents because it was embarrassed, a senior Palestinian official in Ramallah told The Times.
"There has been growing co-operation between Gaza and Iran. Israel can read the writing on the wall and they know that with the help of Iran, the Hamas Government in Gaza will become stronger and will fight better...." more.. e-mail
Israeli shelling injures 5 in northern Gaza
2/21/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Five Palestinians were injured and structural damage was sustained when Israeli forces opened fire at a target north of Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, on Sunday. Muawiyah Hassanein, director of ambulance and emergency services in Gaza, said three people sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene, while two others were transfered to the Kamal Udwan Hospital to undergo further treatment. Witnesses said the shelling targeted Palestinian workers at the evacuated Israeli settlement of Gush Katif in northern Gaza. An Israeli military spokesman told Ma'an: "Earlier today an IDF force identified a man approaching the security fence in a suspicious manner in the northern Gaza Strip. The force fired at the suspect. No casualties or structural damage were reported on both sides. " Three Palestinians were injured when Israeli helicopters fired on a group of fighters. . .
Egyptian police kill 2 African migrants, injure 3
2/21/2010 - Al-A'rish - Ma'an - Egyptian police shot dead two African migrants and injured three others trying to enter Israel three kilometers south of the Kerem Shalom crossing on Sunday. Police patrols had spotted a number of migrants attempting to breach the Egyptian-Israeli border fence, upon which police fired warning shots in the air, Ma'an's Egyptian correspondent reported. Despite the warning shots, the migrants continued their attempt and further shots were fired, killing two and injuring three. Those injured were transferred to the Al-A'rish Hospital, where they were said to have confessed to Egyptian police to paying a fee of 1,000 US dollars to human traffickers to assist them in finding work in Israel. . . . .
IOF Continues Enforcing Security Buffer Zone inside Gaza, Bulldozes Agricultural lands, Destroys Palestinian Houses
2/21/2010 - Al Mezan Center for Human Rights - The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) has increased its attacks on Palestinians near the Gaza Strip's eastern and northern borders with Israel; an area inside Gaza that the IOF has declared as a security 'buffer zone'. Al Mezan's investigations indicate that the IOF always fires at any Palestinians near the eastern and northern borders. The IOF's attacks do not follow a specific pattern. The IOF claims that its soldiers fire at Palestinians only when they are 300 meters from border fence. However, while some attacks have occurred close to the border fence, many other attacks occurred when civilians were more than a kilometer from the borderline. According to Al Mezan's continuous monitoring, at approximately 6am on Thursday 18 February 2010, Israeli tanks and four armored bulldozers moved under the cover of reconnaissance drones nearly 650 meter inside the Al Msadar village in the Al Maghazi refugee camp.
VIDEO - Palestinian village isolated from West Bank
2/21/2010 - Palestine Note - Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh reports. Israel's separation wall has generated anger and protest all over the Palestinian territories. For one small village on the ouskirts of Bethlehem, the wall has effectively created a prison for its. . . Israel's separation wall has generated anger and protest all over the Palestinian territories. For one small village on the ouskirts of Bethlehem, the wall has effectively created a prison for its Palestinian residents. Al-Nu'man village was cut off from Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank in 2003 and it is walled in on three sides by the wall, which was illegally constructed beyond the Green Line of armistice drawn after the 1949 Arab-Israeli war. A permanent checkpoint is now the only entrance to and exit from the village.
ABDALLAH ABU RAHMAH (from Bil’in) writes from his Israeli prison cell 19Feb10
Uruknet February 20, 2010 - Dear Friends and Supporters, It has been two months now since I was handcuffed, blindfolded and taken from my home. Today news has reached Ofer Military Prison that the apartheid wall on Bil’in’s land will finally be moved and construction has begun on the new route. This will return half of the land that was stolen...
Video: Palestinian village isolated from West Bank
Uruknet February 20, 2010 - Israel's separation wall has generated anger and protest all over the Palestinian territories. For one small village on the ouskirts of Bethlehem, the wall has effectively created a prison for its Palestinian residents. Al-Nu'man village was cut off from Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank in 2003 and it is walled in on three...
Letter from prison: Abdallah Abu Rahmah
Abdallah Abu Rahmah, International Solidarity Movement 2/21/2010
Dear Friends and Supporters,
It has been two months now since I was handcuffed, blindfolded and taken from my home. Today news has reached Ofer Military Prison that the apartheid wall on Bil’in’s land will finally be moved and construction has begun on the new route. This will return half of the land that was stolen from our village. For those of us inOfer, imprisoned for our protest against the wall, this victory makes the suffering of being here easier to bear. After actively resisting the theft of our land by the Israeli apartheid wall and settlements every week for five years now, we long to be standing along side our brothers and sisters to mark this victory and the fifth anniversary of our struggle.
Ofer is an Israeli military base inside the occupied territories that serves as a prison and military court. The prison is a collection of tents enclosed by razor wire and an electrical fence, each unit containing four tents, 22 prisoners per tent. Now, in winter, wind and rain comes in through cracks in the tent and we don’t have sufficient blankets, clothes, and other basic necessities.
Food is a critical issue here in Ofer, there’s not enough. We survive by buying ingredients from the prison canteen that we prepare in our tent. We have one small hot plate, and this is also our only source of warmth. Those whose families can put money in an account for us to buy food, do so, but many cannot afford to. The positive aspect to this is that I have learned how to cook! Tonight I made falafel and sweets to celebrate the news about our victory. I cannot wait to get home and cook for my wife and children! more.. e-mail
Weekly Protest Video Round-Up: Bil'in Special
Palestine Monitor: 20 Feb 2010 - Yesterday's demonstrations were dominated by the fifth anniversary of the popular struggle in Bil'in. The occasion was marked in spectacular fashion and Israeli security once again displayed the brutality which makes these protests so necessary. Here's what happened in the main locations. “ Bil'in Habibti!” 5 years later… Yesterday the entrance of the village was more like a carnival than a political protest. Over 2000 Palestinian, Israeli and international activists joined clowns, Ka/Ya-Samba percussionists, representatives of various Palestinian parties, the Palestinian Struggle Youth Union marching band and journalists from all over the world to mark 5 years of the popular struggle against the Apartheid Wall. Five years after the local committee began its activities, Bil'in has become a symbol of the Palestinian non-violent struggle against Israeli occupation, inspiring other villages to adopt its formula for peaceful resistance. Protesters marched to the Wall, chanting slogans and holding posters bearing the portrait...
Three injured in clash on Gaza border
2/21/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Three Palestinians were injured when Israeli helicopters fired on a group of fighters near the central Gaza military base Kissufim following reports of clashes in the area early Saturday morning. Security sources said armored Israeli vehicles at Kissufim had fired shells at areas in the south-central border region, following an attack on the base by resistance fighters. Witnesses said the fighters were less than 100 meters away from the military post. An Israeli military spokesman said soldiers "identified armed men moving along the security fence" toward the army base and fired "in their direction. "He noted the detonation of an explosive device in the same area two days earlier, which injured a soldier. Muawiya Hassanein, head of emergency and ambulance services in Gaza, confirmed the injury of three Gaza residents undergoing treatment at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
Bil'in protesters dismantle section of West Bank separation barrier
Ha'aretz 20 Feb 2010 - Hundreds mark five years since the first weekly anti-fence protest near the Palestinian village.
Over a Thousand Demonstrators Marked Five Years of Struggle in Bil'in by Dismantling the Wall
Uruknet February 19, 2010 - One week following the victory forcing Israel to begin rerouting the path of the Wall, and under the shadow of an unprecedented wave of repression against the popular struggle, over a thousand protesters took part in a demonstration at the west Bank village of Bil’in, marking five years of struggle there. At the height of the...
Peaceful Al Ma’sara Demonstration Faces Continued Aggression
2/20/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - ISM - 19 February - The peaceful demonstration in the Occupied West Bank village of Al Ma'sara by Palestinians and Internationals was aggressively dispersed using tear gas & sound bombs, today, by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). This is the second week that the IOF have been using increasingly violent methods to repress non-violent demonstrations in Al Ma'sara, a reflection of their tactics across the villages of the West Bank. Palestine Popular Struggle - Approximately 70 Palestinians and 14 Internationals, including 3 Israelis, gathered to protest against the construction of the Israeli apartheid wall which is illegal under international law. The wall runs through the land of the village, the completion of which will block the residents from their farmland; they have already lost more than 350 hectares of land to a nearby Israeli settlement.
Weekly Protest Video Round-Up: Bil'in Special
Palestine Monitor: 20 Feb 2010 - Yesterday's demonstrations were dominated by the fifth anniversary of the popular struggle in Bil'in. The occasion was marked in spectacular fashion and Israeli security once again displayed the brutality which makes these protests so necessary. Here's what happened in the main locations. “ Bil'in Habibti!” 5 years later… Yesterday the entrance of the village was more like a carnival than a political protest. Over 2000 Palestinian, Israeli and international activists joined clowns, Ka/Ya-Samba percussionists, representatives of various Palestinian parties, the Palestinian Struggle Youth Union marching band and journalists from all over the world to mark 5 years of the popular struggle against the Apartheid Wall. Five years after the local committee began its activities, Bil'in has become a symbol of the Palestinian non-violent struggle against Israeli occupation, inspiring other villages to adopt its formula for peaceful resistance. Protesters marched to the Wall, chanting slogans and holding posters bearing the portrait...
Bringing Down The Wall in Bil'in
Palestine Monitor: 20 Feb 2010 - Replacing liberation with demonstration, it has been five years since the protest against the Israeli apartheid barrier began in Bil'in. The Palestine Monitor was there at the fifth anniversary protest, and offers a first-hand account of how thirty meters of the barrier was torn down. All photographs were taken by Brady Ng. "Five Years Strong". Placards and flags handed out to demonstrators Photo: Brady Ng Israelis supporting Bil'in. The signs read: "Yes to the demolition of the wall and the barriers, and the evacuation of settlements, because it is the occupation". "Solidarity will triumph over occupation, poverty and repression." "Palestinians and Israelis struggling against the wall and the occupation." Photo: Brady Ng Is the demonstration a family-friendly event? Photo: Brady Ng The boy scouts of Bili'in Photo: Brady Ng Clown activists Photo: Brady Ng Approaching the barrier Photo: Brady Ng No tear gas. No sign of Israeli soldiers. Photo: Brady...
Israeli troops attack the weekly anti wall protest at Nil'in and Bil'in villages central West Bank
IMEMC - Friday February 19, 2010 - 22:24, At Bil'in and Nil'in villages central West Bank Israeli troops used tear gas and sound bombs to suppress anti-wall protests. Today, the people of Bil'in, a small Palestinian village in the central West Bank marked the 5th year anniversary of their weekly struggle against the Israeli-built wall on their lands.
One injured scores suffered tear gas inhalation at an anti wall protest near Bethlehem
IMEMC - Friday February 19, 2010 - 22:03, Israeli Forces aggressively dispersed a peaceful demonstration of Palestinians protesting the construction of the Israeli apartheid wall through their land at Al Ma'sara village near Bethlehem city on Friday afternoon.
Israel tightens restrictions on limboed village
2/20/2010 - Qalqiliya - Ma'an - Residents of Azzun Atma, a village in the West Bank surrounded by the separation wall on two sides, settlements on three sides and a road barrier to the south, said Israeli forces guarding the area had recently tightened security procedures in the area. The Azzun Atma village council said Israeli forces postponed the opening hours for the northern Azzun Atma checkpoint they must pass through to access agricultural land and workplaces in Qalqiliya and surrounding villages. Instead of opening at 4:30am, the checkpoint now opens one hour later. Villagers say the delay means many cannot arrive to work or school on time. Farmers say the later opening will have an increasingly detrimental affect come summer, when morning hours are the coolest. Witnesses say long lines of workers, farmers and students cue at the checkpoint, all hoping to be the first through.
Israel deploys forces at Jerusalem anti-eviction rally
2/20/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - Some 100 Israeli and Palestinian protesters amassed in the Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in Jerusalem on Friday, calling for an end to settlement activity and forced eviction of Palestinians from their homes. Amidst a heavy police and border guard presence, protesters and evicted families gathered to denounce both Israeli policy in Sheikh Jarrah and the separation wall's route in Bil'in, which marked five years of anti-wall demonstrations on Friday. This week's Sheikh Jarrah demonstration was tame in comparison to its Bil'in counterpart, where protesters breached part of an Israeli military fence and were met with riot disposal gear. In occupied East Jerusalem, protesters marched down to a residential area not marked off by Israeli police but were quickly dispersed. No one was arrested or injured.
3,000 protesters mark Bil’in anniversary
2/20/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - Organizers said at least 3,000 demonstrators marched the separation wall cutting off the village of Bil'in from its agricultural lands on Friday to mark the fifth year of anti-wall protest by residents. Protest organizers also said the weekly march "celebrated" the Israeli military's decision to implement a two-year-old court order to move the barrier back from center of the village. "The Israeli court had already ruled two years ago that the Wall here should be rerouted, but it is our struggle, not their court, that forces the Army to implement this decision now", said Mohammed Khatib, an organizer from the village, in a statement. "The International Court of Justice in the Hague ruled that the Wall should be dismantled in its entirety, and not just partially like the Israeli court had ordered," he added. Related: VIDEO - Over a Thousand Demonstrators Marked Five Years of Struggle in Bil'in by Dismantling the Wall
VIDEO - Mass Demo Bil’in: Five Years of Resistance Commemorated
2/19/2010 - YouTube - Haith M Katib - Today Bil'in commemorated the fifth anniversary of popular demonstrations against the settlements and the Apartheid Wall. Israel's occupation has confiscated over 50% of Bil'in's land. Only last week the construction work to reroute the Wall began, nearly two and a half years after the High Court of Justice ordered the Wall to be moved. Approximately 30% of land will be returned to the village. This victory strengthens Bil'in's resistance and counterbalances the hardships the Israeli Occupation Army has inflicted upon the village. Throughout the past five years, Bil'in's non-violent demonstrations have met with severe army violence, injuring over 1,200 people and killing one person. Another 85 villagers have been arrested for organizing or merely taking part in the demonstrations. The Israeli Occupation Army terrorizes the entire village, entering Bil'in at night, often using sound bombs and tear gas.
Clashes erupt at West Bank protest
Uruknet February 19, 2010 - Israeli security forces have fired tear gas and munitions at a group of Palestinians staging a protest in the West Bank town of Bi'lin to mark the fifth anniversary of a separation wall built by Israel..."The Israeli army fired tear gas and began throwing various munitions over the fence including skunk gas ... which is very harmful,"...
Clashes erupt at West Bank protest
AlJazeera 19 Feb 2010 - Israeli forces fire tear gas at Palestinians rallying against separation wall.
VIDEO - Over a Thousand Demonstrators Marked Five Years of Struggle in Bil’in by Dismantling the Wall
2/19/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Popular Struggle Coordination Committee - One week following the victory forcing Israel to begin rerouting the path of the Wall, and under the shadow of an unprecedented wave of repression against the popular struggle, over a thousand protesters took part in a demonstration at the west Bank village of Bil'in, marking five years of struggle there. At the height of the demonstration dozens of protesters stormed the Barrier, toppled some 40 meters of it and crossed to village's lands. Protesters also managed to take over a military post adjacent to the path of the Wall for a short time. In a show of support of the popular struggle and the village of Bil'in, hundreds from all across the West Bank joined the demonstration today, as well as many Israeli and international activists. Among the many supporters were also the mayor of Geneva, Nabil Sh'ath, Mustafa Barghouthi and Palestinian. . . .
A thousand demonstrators gather to commemorate the 5 year struggle in Bil’in
2/19/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - More than 1000 Palestinians, Israelis and internationals gathered. Demonstrators managed to get to the fence, dismantlea large section down, and cross the wall, placing a Palestinian flag on top of an Israel Defense Forces outpost. The Israeli soldiers responded by spreading water with chemicals which provoke unbearable smell, shooting scores of tear gas canisters. [end]
Bil'in: 5 years of anti-Wall struggle
Palestine Monitor: 18 Feb 2010 - This Friday, Palestinians, Israelis and internationals will together celebrate five years of anti-Wall protest in Bil'in. The anniversary takes place only one week after court ordered work to reroute the Wall began.
Israeli forces cross into Gaza Strip
2/19/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli forces entered the Gaza Strip on Thursday after a soldier was injured by a bomb planted at the border, the military said, confirming reports of an incursion following a blast hours earlier. "This morning, an IDF soldier was lightly injured when an explosive device was detonated against a force patrolling the Israeli side of the central Gaza Strip's security fence," a military spokesman told Ma'an. "While searching the area, IDF soldiers discovered a second explosive device, which was detonated in a controlled manner by IDF sappers," the spokesman added. "The IDF holds Hamas responsible for maintaining the peace and quiet in the Gaza Strip. " Bulldozers demolished two homes belonging to Ali and Salem Suleiman Ibn Said northeast of Deir Al-Balah, both on the outskirts of Al-Masaddar, and large swaths of olive groves, relatives said by phone.
Friday: Thousands to mark 5 years of protest in Bil’in
2/18/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Organizers of Bil'in's weekly anti-wall protest expect thousands to turn out on Friday and mark the fifth year of popular action against the continued confiscation of village land by Israel's separation wall. Caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and leaders of all political factions will be among the demonstrators, a statement from the Bil'in Popular Committee said. The anniversary will also be a cause to celebrate, coming just one week after an Israeli court ordered that the route of the wall be rerouted. The changes should see Palestinians from the area granted better access to their lands. Over its five years of protest, Bil'in has seen a sharp increase in violence and repression, with regular night raids targeting protest organizers, thousands injured by riot-dispersal equipment alongside real bullets, and the death of a Palestinian man last year after a tear-gas canister was shot at him from a high-velocity gun. Basem Ibrahim Abu Rahmeh was 29 years old when he was. killed.
IDF Raids 5 Apartments in Nablus
2/18/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - International Solidarity Movement - Last night at around 2. 30am, the Israeli army illegally stormed into 5 apartments in the Ashref Building on Suki Street in Nablus. The city is located in "Area A", which is under full Palestinian Authority control under the Oslo II Agreement, making this raid illegal under international law. Without any warning, IDF soldiers forced their entry by blowing open all five apartment doors as it left visible dents on the metal door frame, deformed metals doors and cracked walls. Residents described the device to have been pushed against both sides of the door frame, as the dents on all the door frames indicate, with a control box in the middle, making a loud explosive sound as the doors blew open. After hearing the description of this device, two former IDF soldiers have recognized it as a "Fox", an IDF military device loaded with two fingers of TNT to blow open doors.
Bil'in: 5 years of anti-Wall struggle
Palestine Monitor: 18 Feb 2010 - This Friday, Palestinians, Israelis and internationals will together celebrate five years of anti-Wall protest in Bil'in. The anniversary takes place only one week after court ordered work to reroute the Wall began.
New Excavations Under the Walls Of Jerusalem’s Old City
IMEMC 18 Feb 2010 - Thursday February 18, 2010 - 06:07, The Al Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage reported that the Israeli authorities started new excavations under the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem., The foundation stated that most of the digging is now concentrated in Bad Al Amoud (Damascus Gate) and Bab Al Sahera (also known as Herod's Gate), in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Israel stops construction in West Bank town
2/18/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Armed Israeli soldiers seized construction materials in the West Bank town of Al-Khadr on Wednesday after delivering stop work orders for two unfinished houses. One of the houses belongs to Ali Salim Mousa, the other belongs to the village's mayor Ramzi Salah. According to the stop work orders, the two houses are being built in an area under full Israeli military control, a claim Palestinian authorities and residents dispute. Officials from the Al-Khadr Municipality told Ma'an that Israeli soldiers arrived on Wednesday in the Abu Sud area in the southern part of the village, close to the separation wall which runs alongside a settler bypass road. Once in the area, the officials said, soldiers handed over a stop work order for Ali Salim Mousa's house. According to Mousa's son, soldiers also confiscated construction equipment.
Palestinian workers protest at checkpoint
2/18/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - Palestinian trade unions staged a demonstration at the Sha'ar Efraym crossing point near the West Bank city of Tulkarem on Wednesday protesting what they say are humiliating searches by a private security company at the checkpoint. Angry workers appeared at the barbed wire fence that surrounds the crossing and handed over a letter to Israeli officials demanding an end to the hours of waiting and strict searches workers are subject to while crossing into Israel. The letter also emphasized that if workers' demands are not met, further protests will take place. According to Farouq Omar, secretary of the Palestinian trade union in Nablus, each night more than 15,000 workers from throughout the West Bank districts line up at the crossing starting after midnight. He explained that "humiliating inspections take a long time, and so workers can't arrive to their workplaces in time. "
Palestinians of Yaffa face settlers as neighbors
2/18/2010 - Yaffa - Graffiti scrawled on walls around the mixed Jewish and Arab town of Yaffa in central Israel last week exclaimed: "Settlers, keep out" and "Yaffa is not Hebron. " Yaffa is home to what remains of a Palestinian community near what is now the bustling coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv. Palestinian residents say their neighborhood has become the latest battleground for an attempted takeover by extremist Jews, a dynamic familiar from West Bank cities like Hebron, where Zionist Israelis move into Palestinian homes under the cover of armed soldiers. Small numbers of nationalist religious Jews have begun moving into Yaffa's main Arab district, Ajami, over recent months. Tensions have been simmering since a special Yeshiva, or Jewish seminary, was established last year in the heart of Ajami for young Jewish men who combine study of religious texts with serving in the Israeli army.
Jews-Only Homes for Ajami Arabs of Jaffa Face Settlers as Neighbors
Uruknet February 16, 2010 - Over the past few days graffiti scrawled on walls around the mixed Jewish and Arab town of Jaffa in central Israel exclaims: "Settlers, keep out" and "Jaffa is not Hebron". Although Jaffa is only a stone’s throw from the bustling coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, Arab residents say their neighbourhood has become the unlikely battleground for...
'Avatar' on the West Bank
New York Times 16 Feb 2010 - Last week protesters in the West Bank painted themselves blue and wore loinclothes, pointy ears and tails to make themselves look like characters from the film "Avatar" for a demonstration against the security barrier Israel is building near the village of Bilin.
Locals say Gaza man held without charge in Egypt since 2008
2/16/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Friends and colleagues of a Gaza man said this week that he has been held without charge or trial in an Egyptian jail since early 2008 when he and hundreds of thousands of other Palestinians breached the border wall into Egypt. Ayman Noufal's supporters say he was arrested on 27 January 2008, when militants in Gaza dynamited the border wall separating Gaza from Egypt, allowing thousands to cross into Egypt to buy goods made scarce by the Israeli-led blockade. A "solidarity committee" set up to support Noufal said he has been subjected to "psychological and physical torture" while in prison. The report could not be independently verified by Ma'an. The solidarity committee appealed specifically to the Hamas government in Gaza to pressure Egypt to release Noufal and return him to his family and six children.
'Avatar' on the West Bank
New York Times 16 Feb 2010 - Last week protesters in the West Bank painted themselves blue and wore loinclothes, pointy ears and tails to make themselves look like characters from the film "Avatar" for a demonstration against the security barrier Israel is building near the village of Bilin.
Palestinians fight Jewish-only housing in Jaffa
Electronic Intifada: 16 Feb 2010 - Over the past few days graffiti scrawled on walls around the mixed Jewish and Arab town of Jaffa in central Israel exclaims: "Settlers, keep out" and "Jaffa is not Hebron." Although Jaffa is only a stone's throw from the bustling coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, Arab residents say their neighborhood has become the unlikely battleground for an attempted takeover by extremist Jews more familiar from West Bank settlements. Jonathan Cook reports.
Defamation Nation
Palestine Monitor: 16 Feb 2010 - Revelations in the Israeli media concerning Mahmoud Abbas and former aide Rafiq Husseini should surprise no-one. Slurs comes thick and fast against perceived enemies of Israel, from presidents to charities. To list the Palestinian victims of media assassination would take forever, so we chose some of the more surprising targets. Human Rights Watch David Bernstein of the Wall Street Journal denounced HRW, one of the largest and most respected rights groups, as “maniacally anti-Israel”, following their fund-raising trip to Saudi Arabia last year. Allegedly Sarah Leah Whitson, director of HRW, “trafficked in a toxic perception of Jews” and her organisation wilfully ignored Saudi Arabia's less than pristine human rights record. The same day Bernstein's piece was published, Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev added his two cents, claiming; “A human rights organization raising money in Saudi Arabia is like a women's rights group asking the Taliban for a donation” and “Human...
Jews-Only Homes for Ajami
Palestine Chronicle: 16 Feb 2010 - By Jonathan Cook in Jaffa Over the past few days graffiti scrawled on walls around the mixed Jewish and Arab town of Jaffa in central Israel exclaims: "Settlers, keep out" and "Jaffa is not Hebron". Although Jaffa is only a stone's throw from the bustling coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, Arab residents say their neighbourhood has become the unlikely battleground for an attempted takeover by extremist Jews more familiar from West Bank settlements. Small numbers of nationalist religious Jews, distinctive for wearing knitted skullcaps, have begun moving into Jaffa's deprived main Arab district, Ajami, over recent months. Tensions have been simmering since a special seminary was established last year in the heart of Ajami for young Jewish men who combine study of the Bible with serving in the Israeli army. Many such seminaries, known as "hesder yeshivas", are located in the occupied territories and have earnt a reputation for turning out extremists. Last week Ajami's residents were dealt a further blow when an Israeli court approved the sale of one of the district's few remaining building plots to B'Emuna (Hebrew for "with faith"), a construction company that specialises in building subsidised homes for religious families, many of them in West Bank settlements. The Association of Civil Rights in Israel, the country's largest human rights law centre, which petitioned the courts on the Arab residents' behalf, called the company's policy "racist". B'Emuna, which is expected to complete 20 apartments in the next few months, is applying for approval for a further...
Tamimi: Israel working to build Third Temple
2/15/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - Supreme Judge Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi said Monday that Israeli institutions, settler groups and the government are working to fulfill 18th century Rabbi Vilna Goan's prophecy declaring that the Third Temple would be re-built by 16 March 2010. He said archeological excavations have caused structural damage to the Al-Marwani Mosque, under the Al-Aqsa Mosque's northern walls, and to Palestinian homes in the Old City of Jerusalem. The sheikh further alleged that a plan had been implemented in 1993 to intensify efforts to "Judaize" Jerusalem by establishing two major settlements around the city and a military brigade dedicated to closing off the city and separating it from its surrounding neighborhoods. Tamimi said the plan included the shutting down of Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem, the expulsion of dignitaries and the revokingof Israeli ID cards of Jerusalem. . .
How Israeli policies and attacks have ravaged Gaza’s agricultural sector
Uruknet February 15, 2010 - "If we didn’t get the wheat planted today, we would not have had crops this year," says Abu Saleh Abu Taima, eyeing the two Israeli military jeeps parked along the border fence east of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. Although his land is more than 300 meters away, technically outside of the Israeli-imposed "buffer zone," Abu...
Two arrested at Ni'lin demonstration
Stop The Wall - February 13th, 2010-- Occupation forces attacked protestors in Ni’lin with tear gas during the Friday demonstration. Two people, a local camera man and an Israeli activist, were arrested. Despite the intensification of the arrest campaign against Ni’lin, residents have refused to end their demonstrations. [
how Israeli policies and attacks have ravaged Gaza’s agricultural sector
In Gaza: 15 Feb 2010 - One of many destroyed water wells in Gaza’s border regions. The Electronic Intifada [blog version longer and slightly modified from that published on E.I.] “If we didn’t get the wheat planted today, we would not have had crops this year,” says Abu Saleh Abu Taima, eyeing the two Israeli military jeeps parked along the border fence east of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. Although his land is more than 300 meters away, technically outside of the Israeli-imposed “buffer zone,” Abu Taima has reason to be wary. “They shot at us yesterday. I was here with my wife and nephews.” Like many farmers along Gaza’s eastern and northern borders, Abu Taima...
Egyptian authorities raid 6 tunnels
2/14/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Egyptian authorities raided six tunnels on the Gaza-Egypt border and confiscated goods intended for smuggling, security sources told Ma'an on Sunday. Security services stormed the tunnels 120 meters from the Rafah border crossing after receving a tip-off that increased attempts to transfer goods into the Strip were reported near the Salah Ad-Din terminal, particularly in residential areas near the subterranean metal wall, the sources said. Spare parts for computers were confiscated during the operation, the sources added. Fifteen tunnels have been stormed and shut down near the Salah Ad-Din terminal near the metal wall's construction site, as contractors face problems in installing the required metal bars due to rocky terrain, the sources said. Meanwhile, two separate attempts to enter Israel through the barbed wire border between Israel and Egypt by African migrants was apprehended, the sources concluded.
Palestinian protesters pose as Na'vi from 'Avatar'
PNN 13 Feb 2010 - Palestinian protesters have added a colorful twist to demonstrations against Israel's separation barrier, painting themselves blue and posing as characters from the hit film Avatar. The demonstrators also donned long hair and loincloths Friday for the weekly protest against the barrier near the village of Bilin. The demonstrators compared their struggle with the Na'vi race portrayed in Avatar, who find themselves having...
Avatar protest at West Bank barrier
The Guardian 14 Feb 2010 - Demonstrators dress as Na'vi from Avatar for weekly demonstration against Israel's separation barrier, in Bilin
Israel to resume building separation barrier south of Jerusalem
Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - The Defense establishment has announced plans to resume construction of Israel's separation barrier south of Jerusalem - a move that has drawn criticism from environmental groups who claim the barrier will cause grave harm to ancient agricultural landscapes in the area. ...
reclaiming Gaza’s land
In Gaza: 12 Feb 2010 - *photo: Rada Daniell Local Initiative has been leading demonstrations in the Israeli-imposed “buffer zone” –[a 300 m stretch of land flanking Gaza's border with Israel from north to south, but in reality extending up to 2 km in some area. Israeli authorities say anyone within 300 m of the border fence risk being shot.] In the tradition of Bil’in and Ni’lin , in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian and international protesters march non-violently on Palestinian land, in protest of Israel’s unilateral annexation of this land. Last Monday’s demonstration saw us reach roughly 50m near the border fence. Standing on their land, Beit Hanoun demonstrators said this was the first time in...
2.5 years after Supreme Court order, Israel moves wall
2/13/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Infrastructure work began last week to reroute the path of Israel's separation wall on lands of Bil'in village, in accordance with an Israeli Supreme Court decision made two and a half years ago, local activists announced. "The Supreme Court had already ruled this should happen almost three years ago and it should not have taken so long. There should be no doubt in anyone's mind that the only reason that this is finally happening now are the five years of persistent struggle and the scarifies the people of my village have made," Mohammed Khatib, the coordinator of the West Bank-wide Popular Struggle Coordination Committee and a member of the the Bil'in Popular Committee, said in a statement. Construction of the wall in the village started in February 2005, shortly after which Bil'in residents organized weekly popular protests against the barrier, which cut off hundreds of dunums of agricultural land from the village.
Report: Projectile lands in western Negev, no injuries
2/13/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israel Radio reported a projectile landing in western the Negev late on Friday, with no injuries or structural damages. The report said the projectile was launched from Gaza, but no Palestinian faction operating in the Strip claimed the attack. On Friday morning Israeli forces aimed artillery fire at a group of what a spokesman called "armed men detonating an explosive device" near the border wall, and fired in their direction. The Israeli daily Haaretz reported two men were killed in the attack but the report remained unconfirmed as of Saturday. On Thursday, one Gaza man was killed and another injured in an Israeli airstrike that followed an early morning exchange of fire between an unknown militant group and Israeli forces. The Israeli fire injured three girls on their way to school.
Palestinian group rejects peace talks until references are clarified
2/13/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - A group of prominent Palestinian academics and personalities have organized a campaign calling for the rejection of resuming peace talks until appropriate terms of reference are put forward, and national reconciliation is achieved, a statement issued on Saturday read. "Outside pressures, particularly from the US, and Israel are escalating to leading the Palestine Liberation Organization toward resuming negotiations with Israel without obliging it to define clear terms of reference and a settlement freeze. " "We see the resumption of talks under the current situation as a danger to the Palestinian cause. . . Resuming these negotiations, directly or indirectly, on any level, will provide a cover for the policies of the Israeli occupation in Jerusalem, settlement expansion and the construction of the wall. This will create cantons and ghettos in the West Bank, while the tightening siege continues to be imposed on Gaza. "
Israel reroutes separation barrier at Bilin
2/12/2010 - Palestine Note - Acting on a two-and-a-half-year old court rulling, Israel has begun the process of rerouting the separation wall near Bilin, a village in the West Bank, Al-Jazeera English reports. The awarded concession effectively freezes building in the neighboring Israeli settlement Modiin Ilit. Work on the project began Thursday, and once the new section is built, the original section will come down, returning roughly 700,000 square meters to Bilin. The appeal to the Israeli courts changing the route of the wall came from Palestinians who insist the wall cuts them off from arable farmland. Excerpt: "It's a small victory," Mohammad Khatip, an anti-wall activist, told Al Jazeera. "We win a round of the game but we didn't win the game yet so we will continue in our struggle. . . to dismantle this wall and this settlement," he said, referring to the Jewish settlement of Modiin Ilit which lies on the other side of the barrier. . . Related: Aljazeera: Israel acts on West Bank wall order
Israel acts on West Bank wall order
AlJazeera 12 Feb 2010 - Decision to reroute part of separation barrier near Bilin follows court ruling.
Palestinian protesters pose as Na'vi from 'Avatar'
PNN 13 Feb 2010 - Palestinian protesters have added a colorful twist to demonstrations against Israel's separation barrier, painting themselves blue and posing as characters from the hit film Avatar. The demonstrators also donned long hair and loincloths Friday for the weekly protest against the barrier near the village of Bilin. The demonstrators compared their struggle with the Na'vi race portrayed in Avatar, who find themselves having...
Ma’asara Demonstration Takes a New Route to Settler Road
2/13/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - 12 February - Activists in Ma'asara village near Bethlehem changed their demonstration route today and marched to the "settler only" road outside the village. Once they reached Highway 60 the demonstration was surrounded by Israeli soldiers and the area was declared a closed military zone. Demonstrators were then besieged by tear gas as they made their way back to the village. Soldiers began following people into the village once the activists crossed the razor wire fence that the military uses to block the progress of weekly demonstrations. Many people suffered from tear gas inhalation at today's demonstration, and many children were terrified once the military invaded the village. At the beginning of 2010 the Israeli military began intensifying the level of violence used in their methods to repress non-violent demonstrations in villages opposing the apartheid wall and settlements.
VIDEO - Bil’in weekly demonstration reenacts the Avatar film
2/13/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Friends of Freedom and Justice, 12 February - The village of Bil'in reenacted James Cameron's new film Avatar during today's weekly demonstration. Five Palestinian, Israeli and international activists were painted blue, with pointy ears and tales, resembling the Avatar characters. Like Palestinians, the Avatars fight imperialism, although the colonizers have different origins. The Avatars' presence in Bil'in today symbolizes the united resistance to imperialism of all kinds. Today's non-violent demonstration was again met with excessive violence by the Israeli army. Sound bombs and tear gas were used, leaving four people directly injured by the canisters. The canisters were shot directly at the protesters, which is in violation with the IOF's firing regulations. Many other activists suffered from tear gas inhalation. Related: Palestinians dressed as the Na’vi from the film Avatar stage a protest against Israel’s separation barrier and YouTube: Bilin Reenacts Avatar Film
CNN: West Bank wall still triggers weekly protests in village
2/13/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - CNN, 12 February - Tear gas, stun grenades, rubber bullets and rocks: It must be Friday afternoon in the West Bank village of Bil'in. It's billed as a nonviolent protest against what Israel calls its security barrier, what the Palestinians call the apartheid separation wall. The barrier separates the villagers from their farmlands. Protesters come from all over the world to support the Palestinian cause. A few Palestinian youths covering their faces with scarves throw stones at a couple dozen Israeli soldiers in full riot gear and armed with tear gas, stun grenades and bullets. The protest soon degenerates into chaos as it has nearly every week for the past five years. Six protesters have been killed in Bil'in and the neighboring village of Na'alin since July 2008, according to the Palestinian group, Popular Struggle, one of several organizers of the weekly protests.
Collective Wall-Building Effort Baffles IOF in An-Nabi Salih
2/13/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - ISM, 12 February - Israeli army and border police used tear gas, stungrenades, rubber- and plastic-coated bullets, live ammunition and "stinky water"to disperse close to 150 Palestinians who tried to reach their village wellin An-Nabi Salih. The villagers were accompanied by over 20 Israeli and international solidarity activists. Following mid-day prayers, protesters marched towards thewell and their agricultural lands but were immediately confronted with tear-gasand rubber-coated bullets. A group of 50 settlers from the neighboring settlement of Halamish watched as theIsraeli Occupation Forces attacked the Palestinians. In total, 14 protesters were injured, including one hit in the face with a tear gas canister. The march began in its usual fashion. Villagers, Israelis and internationals descended the hillside to attempt to plant olive trees in the settler-occupied land.
World Briefing | Middle East: Israel: Work Begins to Reroute Barrier
New York Times 13 Feb 2010 - More than two years after a Supreme Court ruling, Israel has started work to reroute its security barrier near Bilin, a Palestinian village in the West Bank.
Army Used to Deport Anti-Wall Activists
Jonathan Cook, CounterPunch 2/12/2010
Israel’s War on Protest
Jerusalem - The Israeli courts ordered the release this week of two foreign women arrested by the army in the West Bank in what human-rights lawyers warn has become a wide-ranging clampdown by Israel on non-violent protest from international, Israeli and Palestinian activists.
The arrest of the two women during a nighttime raid on the Palestinian city of Ramallah has highlighted a new tactic by Israeli officials: using immigration police to try to deport foreign supporters of the Palestinian cause.
A Czech woman was deported last month after she was seized from Ramallah by a special unit known as Oz, originally established to arrest migrant labourers working illegally inside Israel.
Human rights lawyers say Israel’s new offensive is intended to undermine a joint non-violent struggle by international activists and Palestinian villagers challenging a land grab by Israel as it builds the separation wall on farmland in the West Bank.
In what Israel’s daily Haaretz newspaper recently called a “war on protest”, Israeli security forces have launched a series of raids in the West Bank over the past two months to detain Palestinian community leaders organising protests against the wall.
“Israel knows that the non-violence struggle is spreading and that it’s a powerful weapon against the occupation,” said Neta Golan, an Israeli activist based in Ramallah. “Israel has no answer to it, which is why the security forces are panicking and have started making lots of arrests." more.. e-mail
Reports: 2 dead after Israeli shelling in Gaza
2/12/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli forces shelled an area east of the Al-Maghazi Refugee Camp on Monday, hitting the central Gaza Strip region with several artillery shells in at least three barrages, witnesses said. Unconfirmed Israeli media reports said two Palestinians were killed. Camp residents said the shells were mostly landing in the Abu Hamam area, and said the hits began at approximately 9am. An Israeli military spokeswoman said the fire was the response of an army unit near the Kissufim military base, south of the Al-Maghazi camp, to an attempt by armed men who were "identified detonating an explosive device" near the border fence that she said was "targeting soldiers. "After soldiers heard an explosion nearby, they responded, she said. The army did not identify a direct hit, she said, and noted that no soldiers had been injured.
Dozens hurt by tear gas during West Bank protests
2/12/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Dozens choked on tear gas across the occupied West Bank on Friday, as weekly protests against Israel's separation barrier were carried out in a number of Ramallah-area villages and towns. In Bil'in, protesters dressed up as creatures in the animated American film Avatar, which chronicles the trials of a fictional indigenous population known as the Na'vi struggling against colonialism on another planet. Palestinian, Israeli and international activists were painted blue, with pointy ears and tales, resembling the Avatar characters. "Like Palestinians, the Avatars fight imperialism, although the colonizers have different origins," said a statement from the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee. The Avatars' presence in Bil'in "symbolizes the united resistance to imperialism of all kinds. " Among the injured were Harun A'maieyarah, a correspondent for Palestine. . .
Israel army: No plans to damage park in Beit Sahour
2/12/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Following three days of military work on a hill overlooking a family park compound in Beit Sahour, an Israeli army spokeswoman assured that no damage would come to Palestinian structures on the land. The Beit Sahour family park, was a Jordanian military base known as Oush Gharab until 1967, when it was taken over by the Israeli army and abandoned in 2006. Since that time it was converted into a family park with a playgound, climbing wall and barbecue area with funds from international donors including USAID. In 2008, Israeli settlers laid claim to the land, gathering on the site a few Saturdays a year. Local residents called the visits intimidating. On Wednesday, Israeli soldiers and a bulldozer entered the park compound and began leveling ground and destroying old military outpost structures. The area was declared a closed military zone and access was prohibited to land owners and journalists.
Palestinians dressed as the Na’vi from the film Avatar stage a protest against Israel’s separation barrier
2/12/2010 - Telegraph - Photos - Protesters dressed as characters from the movie Avatar marchs in the West Bank village of Bilin near Ramallah. REUTERS [end]
Israel acts on West Bank wall order
Uruknet February 12, 2010 - Israel has begun rerouting a section of its controversial separation barrier near the West Bank village of Bilin following a two-and-a-half-year-old court ruling. But activists and Bilin residents continued to hold protests against the barrier on Friday, despite the concession, which returns only about a third of the area claimed by the Palestinians. "It's a small...
Protesters dress as 'Avatar' characters
12 Feb 2010 - Jerusalem, February 13, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Palestinian protesters have added a colorful twist to demonstrations against Israel's separation barrier, painting themselves blue and posing as characters from the hit film "Avatar." he demonstrators also donned long hair and loincloths Friday for the weekly protest against the barrier near the village of Bilin. They equated their struggle to the intergalactic...
Israel acts on West Bank wall order
AlJazeera 12 Feb 2010 - Decision to reroute part of separation barrier near Bilin follows court ruling.
Path of the Wall in Bil’in to Be Moved
2/12/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Popular Struggle Co-ordination Committee, 11 February - Two and a half years after an Israeli Supreme Court decision deeming the path of the Wall on the lands of Bil'in illegal, preliminary infrastructure work to reroute the barrier in accordance with the ruling has finally began. Since the ruling, the state has twice been found in contempt of the court, for not implementing the decision. Mohammed Khatib, the coordinator of the West Bank-wide Popular Struggle Coordination Committee and a member of the the Bil'in Popular Committee, said today that "The Supreme Court had already ruled this should happen almost three years ago and it should not have taken so long. There should be no doubt in anyone's mind that the only reason that this is finally happening now are the five years of persistent struggle and the scarifies the people of my village have made. "
An unacceptable fight against protest
2/12/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Ha'aretz - Israeli security forces have recently intensified their fight against peace activists from here and abroad who seek to protest against the occupation and identify with the Palestinian inhabitants. This week, Israeli soldiers raided the Ramallah offices of the International Solidarity Movement a number of times. They arrested two activists – one a Spanish citizen and the other an Australian. They confiscated office equipment, T-shirts and bracelets bearing the word "Palestine. "They also raided the offices of Stop the Wall and the Palestinian Communist Party in Ramallah. According to data provided by the activists, since December, Israeli forces have undertaken more than 20 nighttime raids on the villages of Na'alin and Bil'in and have arrested more than 30 people. They are all suspected of taking part in protests against the separation fence, which. . .
Palestinian protesters pose as Na'vi from 'Avatar'
Ha'aretz 12 Feb 2010 - Demonstrators paint themselves blue for weekly protest against West Bank separation barrier.
Leftists, Palestinians protest in 3 locations near Ramallah
YNet News 12 Feb 2010 - No injuries reported during clashes with security forces in rallies against construction of West Bank security barrier; leftist leader Pollak arrested
The height of Israeli intransigence
Jonathan Cook, The National, Israeli Occupation Archive 2/10/2010
“In the past 15 years there have been more than a thousand Palestinian homes demolished in East Jerusalem versus absolutely no settler homes,” he said. “In fact, no settlers have ever lost their home in East Jerusalem.” - Jeff Halper
Jerusalem’s mayor threatened last week to demolish 200 homes in Palestinian neighbourhoods of the city in an act even he conceded would probably bring long-simmering tensions over housing in East Jerusalem to a boil.
His uncompromising stance is the latest stage in a protracted legal battle over a single building towering above the jumble of modest homes of Silwan, a deprived and overcrowded Palestinian community lying just outside the Old City walls, in the shadow of the silver-topped al Aqsa mosque.
Beit Yehonatan, or Jonathan’s House, is distinctive not only for its height – at seven storeys, it is at least three floors taller than its neighbours – but also for the Israeli flag draped from the roof to the street.
The settlement outpost, named for Jonathan Pollard, serving a life sentence in the US for spying on Israel’s behalf in the 1980s, has been home to eight Jewish families since 2004, when it was built without a licence by an extremist settler organisation known as Ateret Cohanim.
Beit Yehonatan is one of dozens of settler-occupied homes springing up in Palestinian areas of East Jerusalem, most of them takeovers of Palestinian homes.
Critics say the intent of these “outposts”, together with the large settlements of East Jerusalem built by the state and home to nearly 200,000 Jews, is to foil any peace agreement that might one day offer the Palestinians a meaningful state with Jerusalem as its capital. more.. e-mail
Who would teargas ‘Avatar’?
Mondoweiss - 12 Feb 2010 - Photo of Palestinians dressed up as Navi tribe from the film Avatar during weekly protest against the wall today, from unnamed photog for Reuters, at the Telegraph site. The video: Related posts: All you need to know about the history of Israel/Palestine In Indian culture, the...
UN called on to investigate repression of human rights defenders
Electronic Intifada: 12 Feb 2010 - A joint report submitted by Addameer, The Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign (Stop the Wall) and the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) to Special Rapporteurs of the UN Human Rights Council examines the ongoing, systematic campaign of repression levied by Israel against Palestinian human rights defenders active against the Annexation Wall.
reclaiming Gaza’s land
In Gaza: 12 Feb 2010 - *photo: Rada Daniell Local Initiative has been leading demonstrations in the Israeli-imposed “buffer zone” –[a 300 m stretch of land flanking Gaza's border with Israel from north to south, but in reality extending up to 2 km in some area. Israeli authorities say anyone within 300 m of the border fence risk being shot.] In the tradition of Bil’in and Ni’lin , in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian and international protesters march non-violently on Palestinian land, in protest of Israel’s unilateral annexation of this land. Last Monday’s demonstration saw us reach roughly 50m near the border fence. Standing on their land, Beit Hanoun demonstrators said this was the first time in...
Army Used to Deport Activists against the Wall
Palestine Chronicle: 12 Feb 2010 - By Jonathan Cook - Jerusalem The Israeli courts ordered the release this week of two foreign women arrested by the army in the West Bank in what human-rights lawyers warn has become a wide-ranging clampdown by Israel on non-violent protest from international, Israeli and Palestinian activists. The arrest of the two women during a nighttime raid on the Palestinian city of Ramallah has highlighted a new tactic by Israeli officials: using immigration police to try to deport foreign supporters of the Palestinian cause. A Czech woman was deported last month after she was seized from Ramallah by a special unit known as Oz, originally established to arrest migrant labourers working illegally inside Israel. Human rights lawyers say Israel’s new offensive is intended to undermine a joint non-violent struggle by international activists and Palestinian villagers challenging a land grab by Israel as it builds the separation wall on farmland in the West Bank. In what Israel’s daily Haaretz newspaper recently called a “war on protest”, Israeli security forces have launched a series of raids in the West Bank over the past two months to detain Palestinian community leaders organising protests against the wall. “Israel knows that the non-violence struggle is spreading and that it’s a powerful weapon against the occupation,” said Neta Golan, an Israeli activist based in Ramallah. “Israel has no answer to it, which is why the security forces are panicking and have started making lots of arrests.” The detention this week of Ariadna Marti, 25, of Spain, and...
Israeli forces demolish wells, sheds near Hebron
2/11/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - Israeli bulldozers demolished five water wells and three small storerooms, confiscated electric generators and water pumps in Idhna, a town west of Hebron. Abdullah Al-Asoud, whose irrigation systems were destroyed in the demolition raid, said the area affected was in agricultural lands near the separation wall. The farmer noted that the other residents whose wells were affected, had filed petitions with the Israeli court challenging the demolition notices. Since the suits were in progress, Al-Asoud said, farmers were surprised to see demolition crews Thursday morning. Al-Asoud noted that while the wells and irrigation systems were ripped up, fields planted with crops were destroyed. The mayor of Idhna, Jamal At-Tamzi, said that the municipality will work in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority to reconstruct the agricultural projects and the wells in the area.
Work starts to reroute West Bank security fence at Bil'in
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Newly routed barrier will hand 700,000 square meters of agricultural land back to Bil'in village.
Palestinian Christian priests call for non-violent resistance
Uruknet February 11, 2010 - The voice of Father Jamal Khader coming over the waves of Radio Mawwal in Bethlehem was soothing and confident. A caller asked him to explain the words of Jesus, "to love your enemy", in light of the occupation and walls built by Israel and the injustice against Palestinians. Father Khader, who was being interviewed along with...
Israel arrests 10 Palestinians in north Gaza.
11 Feb 2010 - Gaza Strip, February 11, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Israeli occupation forces have arrested on Thursday morning ten young men from the liberated zone "Dugit" in the northern Gaza Strip, claiming that they were approaching the separation barrier. An infantry unit of the Israeli army ambushed these young men and arrested them while they were collecting pebbles from the area, except that...
Israel makes life miserable for Palestinians west of the Apartheid Wall
11 Feb 2010 - West Bank, February 11, 2010 (Pal Telegraph; by Amira Hass) - About eight of the 40 families from Dhaher al-Maleh have left their tiny village and have gone to live on the eastern side of the separation wall. They could no longer bear the Israeli ban on building houses. Neither could they bear the other restrictions and prohibitions that the...
2.5 Years after Israeli Supreme Court Order: Path of the Wall in Bil'in to Be Moved
Alternative Information Center 11 Feb 2010 - Thursday, 11 February 2010, Five years into anti-Wall struggle in Bil'in, Infrastructure work began yesterday to reroute the path of the barrier on the village's lands in accordance to an Israeli Supreme Court decision. Two and...
IDF twice raids Ramallah office of pro-Palestinian group
2/11/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Ha'aretz - Israel Defense Forces soldiers raided the International Solidarity Movement's Ramallah office Wednesday for the second time this week, confiscating computers, T-shirts and bracelets engraved with the word "Palestine. " On Sunday, soldiers arrested Ariadna Jove Marti of Spain and Bridgette Chappell of Australia at the Ramallah office. The High Court of Justice ordered the two women freed on Monday. Yesterday's raid took place at 3 A. M. Hours later, the ISM held a press conference, in conjunction with other pro-Palestinian organizations, at which they lashed out at the IDF's behavior. According to the ISM, the army launched an organized campaign in mid-December, the goal of which was to break up the popular protests against the separation fence in the West Bank villages of Bili'in and Na'alin. This campaign has included arrests and other forms of harassment, the activists charged.
Israel rerouting barrier near occupied West Bank village
Daily Star 11 Feb 2010 Israel began work on Thursday to reroute a section of its West Bank separation barrier to restore land to a village that has become a flashpoint of Palestinian opposition to the enclosure. The move comes two-and-a-half years after Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the barrier must be moved to ease the hardship of Palestinians in the village of Bilin
Israel begins rerouting West Bank barrier
LA Times 12 Feb 2010 - In the village of Bilin, Palestinians will regain 170 acres. Residents celebrate, but foes of the barrier say they'll continue to protest until it's completely gone. The Israeli military has begun rerouting a hotly disputed section of the West Bank security barrier, marking a victory for Palestinians who fought for five years to win back access to their land, officials said Thursday.
Expulsion without trucks
Amira Hass, Haaretz, Israeli Occupation Archive 2/10/2010
About eight of the 40 families from Dhaher al-Maleh have left their tiny village and have gone to live on the eastern side of the separation fence. They could no longer bear the Israeli ban on building houses.
Neither could they bear the other restrictions and prohibitions that the fence and its planners have imposed on them: They were forbidden to have relatives and friends visit; forbidden to get ill or have babies at night, when the gate is closed; forbidden to bring large quantities of food home, as big families require; forbidden to link their homes up with the electricity grid; and they were forbidden to build a clinic – restrictions and prohibitions to the point of suffocation.
Dhaher al-Maleh does not appear on Israeli maps. The maps are crowded with the settlements that have been positioned and expanded on and between the northwestern West Bank villages of Barta’a and Umm Reihan. The “Barta’a enclave” is one of the largest pockets created by the fence as it winds its way east of Umm al-Fahm. It contains 18,000 dunams that by any standards of justice, ethics and logic should have provided space for developing Palestinian society. But instead these lands were plundered under cover of security pretexts.
The fence was built some five kilometers from the Green Line, which now anyway exists only for the 5,000 or so Palestinians living in seven communities who are trapped between the line and the fence. As far as the maps and the authorities are concerned, this is all already Israel. The occupation authorities have taken land that was not theirs for the 1,500 settlers already there and the many more they hope will come to live there. An industrial zone is for Israelis only, as is the beautiful scenery. As for the indigenous Palestinians, if they want to stay there, let them suffer. more.. e-mail
Palestinian Christian priests call for non-violent resistance
Daoud Kuttab, Palestine Note 2/11/2010
The voice of Father Jamal Khader coming over the waves of Radio Mawwal in Bethlehem was soothing and confident. A caller asked him to explain the words of Jesus, "to love your enemy", in light of the occupation and walls built by Israel and the injustice against Palestinians.
Father Khader, who was being interviewed along with Rifaat Kassis, the coordinator of a new initiative by 16 Jerusalem-based Christian leaders, said that Christians are committed to these words without reservation.
"All the people of the world are God’s children and we are obliged to follow the words of our Lord," he said with confidence, knowing full well that most of his listeners will have a hard-time digesting that reply. The Catholic priest, who also teaches theology at Bethlehem University, said that Christ was also a champion of the oppressed. He said that Palestinians are oppressed today and Jesus clearly stands by Palestinians, and that was what led him and other Christian leaders to sign the Kairos Palestine document.
Kairos is an ancient Greek word meaning the right or opportune moment. On the kairospalestine.ps website, the 16 Christian leaders whose names are listed insist that this the moment of truth. They state boldly: "We Palestinian Christians declare that the military occupation of our land is a sin against God and humanity."
Another caller asked the Christian leaders if they supported the concept of resistance. The radio guests answered said that the group does indeed support resistance, albeit in its non-violent forms. Still another caller wanted the Christian leaders to detail the forms of non-violent resistance they will support. more.. e-mail
'One Small Step': Lionhearts Of Bilin Push Back The Apartheid Wall
Palestine Monitor: 11 Feb 2010 - Work began today on re-routing the separation wall in Bilin. More than two years after a supreme court ruling that the barrier be moved, new tracks were being laid down this morning. The new route will return around 1,000 dunums (250 acres) of farmland to the village. The move is long overdue, as the Popular Struggle's case was ratified by an Israeli court in September 2007. The army have until this point failed to comply with the order, instead policing protestors with increased severity. 36 activists have been arrested in Bilin over the past seven months. The separation wall cuts off the largely agricultural community from the farmland which supports it. Its existence has impacted harshly on work and living conditions for the dispossessed. Mohammed Khatib Mohamed Khatib, coordinator of the popular struggle committee and head of Bilin village council, believes today's success is just a small step toward the...
2.5 Years after Israeli Supreme Court Order: Path of the Wall in Bil'in to Be Moved
Alternative Information Center - 11 Feb 2010 - Thursday, 11 February 2010, Five years into anti-Wall struggle in Bil'in, Infrastructure work began yesterday to reroute the path of the barrier on the village's lands in accordance to an Israeli Supreme Court decision. Two and a half years after an Israeli Supreme Court decision deeming...
Israel bulldozes area around Beit Sahour family park
2/10/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli bulldozers prepared for the military take-over of a family recreation park in the town of Beit Sahour on Wednesday afternoon, preventing local journalists from accessing the area. The park compound, in the map pictured, was a Jordanian army base taken over by Israel during the 1967 war and abandoned in 2006. Grants from governments including the United States helped turn the area into a family picnic area including a modest climbing wall and playbround for local residents. In recent years Israeli settler groups had threatened to take over the space, and Israeli media outlets reported in January that the military intended to re-occupy the area. Following the announcement, Beit Sahour residents - who own the land on and around which the Jordanian base was built - pledged to work the land and re-establish their presence there. Formerly adjacent to an Israeli military base, the land had fallen into disuse and was often declared a closed zone. . . .
Group calls on UN to protest Israeli arrest of anti-wall activists
10 Feb 2010 - Ramallah, February 10, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - The Special Rapporteurs of the UN Human Rights Council should intervene with relevant Israeli authorities in all cases of Palestinian human rights defenders arrested for their advocacy work against the Apartheid Wall and its associated, unlawful regime; demand the immediate cessation of the use of force by Israeli soldiers against Palestinian protesters; and...
The Keyboard is Mightier than the Sword: Stop the Wall Offices Ransacked by Israeli Soldiers
Alternative Information Center 10 Feb 2010 - Tuesday, 09 February 2010, Sunday night, 7 February, Israeli soldiers stormed the offices of Stop the Wall in Ramallah. The soldiers wreaked havoc in the office, damaging it and its contents, but more importantly, they have...
Stop the Wall’s Jamal Juma’: Israel Should Learn History—Targeting Palestinian Grassroots Activists Will Strengthen and Not End Resistance
Alternative Information Center 10 Feb 2010 - Wednesday, 10 February 2010, “The Israeli people must choose: either the fulfillment of Palestinian national and human rights or a continuation of international condemnation, marginalization and boycott against Israel.” So said Palestinian grassroots activist Jamal Juma’,...
Israeli Army Open Fire on Gazan Farmers and International Observors
2/9/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - ISM Gaza - Gazan farmers whose land lies in Israeli defined buffer zone accompanied by international observers have been held down in their field by live gunfire. The Israeli army shot live ammunition for a quarter of an hour after finding the unarmed group fertilizing wheat crops. The international observers loudly informed the soldiers they were unarmed civilians, but the bullets only landed closer. Khuza'a is located 7 kilometers southeast of Khan Yunis. It is about a kilometer from the fence that serves as a border between Israel and Gaza. According to the UN 30% of the arable land in Gaza is in the buffer zone. The farmers and ISM volunteers who came under fire today were on land that was recently lush with a variety of crops. Over the past few years, the number of crops grown has dwindled to due to the fatal threat posed by the Israeli army.
Human Rights Abuses in Israel and Occupied Palestine
Stephen Lendman, Dissident Voice 2/5/2010
Founded in 1972, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) is its leading human and civil rights organization through activities involving litigation, legal advocacy, education, and public outreach. Each year it publishes an annual report covering flagrant violations, positive trends, if any, and “significant human rights-related processes” affecting Israelis and Palestinians.
Its latest December 2009 one is examined below, discussing “a disturbing (government-sponsored) trend that has (gained) currency in Israel over the past year — both in public discourse and sometimes in practice — to make human rights conditional: on fulfilling some obligation, having financial means, or belonging (or not belonging) to certain groups.”
For example, free expression is targeted, and Israeli Arabs threatened, denied equality, education, employment, and their citizenship without “declaring loyalty” to Israel — in other words, on condition they abandon their national identity, culture, language, and historic heritage that’s the equivalent of asking Jews to renounce Judaism.
Financial means involves regarding social rights, including healthcare and education, as commodities, accessible to those who can pay. And for Occupied Palestinians, Gaza was devastated by war, remains under siege, and sustains near daily assaults, killings, and targeted assassinations.
In the West Bank, security forces enforce land seizures, home demolitions, displacement, segregation, isolation, closures, movement and travel restrictions, the Separation Wall’s construction, daily home invasions, arrests, attacks on peaceful protestors, imprisonments, and torture of detainees under a rigid “matrix of control” involving checkpoints, bypass roads, roadblocks, curfews, electric fences, and various other harassments to cow all Palestinians into submission or make them give up and leave. more.. e-mail
The Keyboard is Mightier than the Sword: Stop the Wall Offices Ransacked by Israeli Soldiers
Alternative Information Center - 10 Feb 2010 - Tuesday, 09 February 2010, Sunday night, 7 February, Israeli soldiers stormed the offices of Stop the Wall in Ramallah. The soldiers wreaked havoc in the office, damaging it and its contents, but more importantly, they have confiscated materials from the office—video cameras, cassettes, laptops, hard-drives, CDs...
Stop the Wall’s Jamal Juma’: Israel Should Learn History—Targeting Palestinian Grassroots Activists Will Strengthen and Not End Resistance
Alternative Information Center - 10 Feb 2010 - Wednesday, 10 February 2010, “The Israeli people must choose: either the fulfillment of Palestinian national and human rights or a continuation of international condemnation, marginalization and boycott against Israel.” So said Palestinian grassroots activist Jamal Juma’, Coordinator of the Stop the Wall Campaign...
Jerusalem Mayor to Raze 200 Palestinian Homes
Palestine Chronicle: 9 Feb 2010 - By Jonathan Cook - Jerusalem Jerusalem's mayor threatened last week to demolish 200 homes in Palestinian neighbourhoods of the city in an act even he conceded would probably bring long-simmering tensions over housing in East Jerusalem to a boil. His uncompromising stance is the latest stage in a protracted legal battle over a single building towering above the jumble of modest homes of Silwan, a deprived and overcrowded Palestinian community lying just outside the Old City walls, in the shadow of the silver-topped al Aqsa mosque. Beit Yehonatan, or Jonathan’s House, is distinctive not only for its height -- at seven storeys, it is at least three floors taller than its neighbours -- but also for the Israeli flag draped from the roof to the street. The settlement outpost, named for Jonathan Pollard, serving a life sentence in the US for spying on Israel’s behalf in the 1980s, has been home to eight Jewish families since 2004, when it was built without a licence by an extremist settler organisation known as Ateret Cohanim. Beit Yehonatan is one of dozens of settler-occupied homes springing up in Palestinian areas of East Jerusalem, most of them takeovers of Palestinian homes. Critics say the intent of these “outposts”, together with the large settlements of East Jerusalem built by the state and home to nearly 200,000 Jews, is to foil any peace agreement that might one day offer the Palestinians a meaningful state with Jerusalem as its capital. But exceptionally for the settlers, who are...
Jerusalem mayor to raze 200 Palestinian homes
2/9/2010 - Nazareth - Jerusalem's mayor threatened last week to demolish 200 homes in Palestinian neighbourhoods of the city in an act even he conceded would probably bring long-simmering tensions over housing in East Jerusalem to a boil. His uncompromising stance is the latest stage in a protracted legal battle over a single building towering above the jumble of modest homes of Silwan, a deprived and overcrowded Palestinian community lying just outside the Old City walls, in the shadow of the silver-topped al Aqsa mosque. Beit Yehonatan, or Jonathan's House, is distinctive not only for its height - at seven storeys, it is at least three floors taller than its neighbors - but also for the Israeli flag draped from the roof to the street. The settlement outpost, named for Jonathan Pollard, serving a life sentence in the US for spying on Israel's behalf in the 1980s, has been home to eight. . .
Dangerous cracks in Al-Aqsa Mosque discovered
9 Feb 2010 - Jerusalem, February 9, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf (endowment) and Heritage warned on Monday of large, dangerous cracks in the northern wall of Al-Aqsa Mosue, confirming that theses cracks were caused by Israel's unrelenting escalation of excavation in the vicinity. Al-Aqsa Foundation warned of the gravity of the cracks occurring in the Al-mutwadeat (ablution) area, where cracks...
Barriers: an examination of life with the wall
PNN 9 Feb 2010 - New York Times correspondent Isabel Kershner has covered Israel-Palestine for years. She knows her beat, and this shows in both her news reporting and her in-depth features. 'Barrier (http://www.amazon.com/Barrier-Israeli-Palestinian-Conflict-Isabel-Kershner/dp/1403968012/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8 s=books qid=1260173473 sr=8-1)' is her riveting, humane examination of how Israel's controversial barrier has affected people on the ground. From a reviewPalestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (http://www.pcpsr.org/)in Ramallah: Nothing expresses the...
Join the second Global BDS Day of Action!
Stop The Wall10 Feb 2010 - February 7th, 2010, The BDS National Committee (BNC) is calling on you to unite in your different capacities and struggles for a Global BDS Day of Action on 30 March 2010 in solidarity with the Palestinian people and for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel.
Israeli Army Open Fire on Gazan Farmers and International Observors
2/9/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - ISM Gaza - Gazan farmers whose land lies in Israeli defined buffer zone accompanied by international observers have been held down in their field by live gunfire. The Israeli army shot live ammunition for a quarter of an hour after finding the unarmed group fertilizing wheat crops. The international observers loudly informed the soldiers they were unarmed civilians, but the bullets only landed closer. Khuza'a is located 7 kilometers southeast of Khan Yunis. It is about a kilometer from the fence that serves as a border between Israel and Gaza. According to the UN 30% of the arable land in Gaza is in the buffer zone. The farmers and ISM volunteers who came under fire today were on land that was recently lush with a variety of crops. Over the past few years, the number of crops grown has dwindled to due to the fatal threat posed by the Israeli army.
Targeting Peace Activists: Stop The Wall Offices Raided
Palestine Monitor - 9 Feb 2010 - Late Sunday night Israeli Army raided the Stop the Wall Campaign (a Palestinian grassroots coalition) offices in Ramallah, West Bank. Some 10 military jeeps, hummers and an armoured bus surrounded the building, where the offices are located. Photo: Stop The Wall Following a three-hour search, Israeli...
Targeting Peace Activists: Stop The Wall Offices Raided
Palestine Monitor: 9 Feb 2010 - Late Sunday night Israeli Army raided the Stop the Wall Campaign (a Palestinian grassroots coalition) offices in Ramallah, West Bank. Some 10 military jeeps, hummers and an armoured bus surrounded the building, where the offices are located. Photo: Stop The Wall Following a three-hour search, Israeli soldiers confiscated computer hard disks, laptops, and video cameras along with paper documents, CDs, and video cassettes. Photo: Stop The Wall During the press conference held on Monday at Wattan TV building, the Coordinator of the Stop the Wall Campaign commented: “ This is part of the continuous targeting of the popular grassroots movement and the struggle of the Palestinian human rights defenders to hold Israel accountable for human rights violations.” Palestinians will not be intimidated by this. The struggle against the Wall will only stop once the decision of the International Court of Justice, which calls for the Wall to be torn down,...
Jerusalem Mayor to Raze 200 Palestinian Homes
Palestine Chronicle: 9 Feb 2010 - By Jonathan Cook - Jerusalem Jerusalem's mayor threatened last week to demolish 200 homes in Palestinian neighbourhoods of the city in an act even he conceded would probably bring long-simmering tensions over housing in East Jerusalem to a boil. His uncompromising stance is the latest stage in a protracted legal battle over a single building towering above the jumble of modest homes of Silwan, a deprived and overcrowded Palestinian community lying just outside the Old City walls, in the shadow of the silver-topped al Aqsa mosque. Beit Yehonatan, or Jonathan’s House, is distinctive not only for its height -- at seven storeys, it is at least three floors taller than its neighbours -- but also for the Israeli flag draped from the roof to the street. The settlement outpost, named for Jonathan Pollard, serving a life sentence in the US for spying on Israel’s behalf in the 1980s, has been home to eight Jewish families since 2004, when it was built without a licence by an extremist settler organisation known as Ateret Cohanim. Beit Yehonatan is one of dozens of settler-occupied homes springing up in Palestinian areas of East Jerusalem, most of them takeovers of Palestinian homes. Critics say the intent of these “outposts”, together with the large settlements of East Jerusalem built by the state and home to nearly 200,000 Jews, is to foil any peace agreement that might one day offer the Palestinians a meaningful state with Jerusalem as its capital. But exceptionally for the settlers, who are...
Stop The Wall Campaign Raided & ISM Activists Released On Bail
IMEMC 8 Feb 2010 - Monday February 08, 2010 - 16:14, The Stop the Wall campaign has issued a press release stating that their office, in Ramallah, was raided by the Israeli military, late Sunday night.
Israel army raids offices of anti-wall group
2/9/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - The Israeli army raided the offices of the Stop the Wall organization in Ramallah early Monday morning. Ten military jeeps, hummers and an armoured bus belonging to the Israeli military and intelligence services entered Ramallah at 1am, the group said in a statement. Follwing a three-hour search, soldiers confiscated computer hard disks, laptops, and video cameras along with paper documents, CDs, and video cassettes, the organization said. "This is part of the continuous targeting of the popular grassroots movement and the struggle of the Palestinian human rights defenders for Israeli accountability," said Jamal Juma, coordinator of Stop the Wall. But the movement's supporters "will not be intimidated by this," Juma added, insisting that it would continue its efforts until a 2004 ruling by the International Criminal Court on the wall's illegality is enforced.
Haniyeh: Egypt wall won’t break our will
2/8/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - De facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Monday that the blockade and walls surrounding Gaza would not force Palestinians to submit to external control. He was speaking at a reception honoring the Interior Ministry in Gaza City. "Gaza is surrounded on three sides; north, east, and south; to make it raise a white flag," Haniyeh said, insisting that Egypt's underground wall would not have the desired effect. "The escalation of the blockade and the siege is aimed at bringing down the government and making the Palestinian people kneel," he added. First exposed by the Israeli daily Haaretz, Egypt has been constructing an underground steel wall to stem the flow of smuggling into the coastal enclave. First constructed to transport weapons, tunnels supply Palestinians with daily needs like food and fuel, necessitated by the ongoing military blockade.
Israeli peace activist celebrates birthday in Bethlehem
2/7/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli activists travelled to Bethlehem to celebrate the birthday of Israeli peace activist Amit Lechem on Sunday, in spite of the separation wall. "I came to Bethlehem to tell the residents that this wall will not withstand, neither will it prevent peace activists from defending freedom. This is the least we can do to tell the leaders that walls won't foil our efforts to make peace," Lechem said as she celebrated her birthday in a Palestinian home in the city. Lechem and fellow Israeli activists were welcomed by local Palestinians, who said that the wall will not defeat peoples' will for freedom, she said. The visit was significant as Bethlehem is in Area A, which, following the Oslo Accords in 1993, is an area that Israeli citizens are forbidden to access under threat of arrest. . . . .
VIDEO - Wadi Fuqeen Villagers Battle Israeli Wall
2/7/2010 - The Friends of Wadi Fuqeen - Al-Jazeera TV Video Report - Palestinians and Israeli dissenters are getting together to fight Israel's plan to build another section of the separation wall in the occupied West Bank. According to environmentalists, the wall will stop the flow of water to the natural springs and thus threatens to dry out much of the Palestinian land. They also see the wall - illegal under international law - as a part of long-term Israeli policy to grab more and more Palestinian land in the West Bank. But the Israeli government says the separation wall is for security reasons, in order to stop Palestinians carrying out attacks in Israel. [end]
Video: Palestinians battle Israeli wall
Uruknet February 7, 2010 - Palestinians and Israeli dissenters are getting together to fight Israel's plan to build another section of the separation wall in the occupied West Bank. According to environmentalists, the wall will stop the flow of water to the natural springs and thus threatens to dry out much of the Palestinian land. They also see the wall -...
After family hurt, IDF admits Golan minefields not properly marked
Ha'aretz 7 Feb 2010 - The IDF acknowledged Sunday that there are problems with some of the fences surrounding minefields on the Golan Heights, and in some of the areas the fences are not visible. However, Israel Defense Forces sources reiterated on Sunday that the minefield the Yuval family entered on Saturday, with five members ending up injured by a mine, was fenced and had clearly visible warning signs. ...
Between the Wall and the Occupied Space: 'To Exist Is to Resist'
William Parry, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs 2/6/2010
January-February
A PLAQUE DEPICTING Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock stands over the main entrance to Abdul Halim’s unfinished three- story home, asking Allah to bless the house. It is dated 1999. The Israeli army took over the building in January 2003 and, ever since, has been stationed on the rooftop, with the family unable to complete and live in the building. It’s what you might call a mixed blessing, for in June 2004, Abdul Halim received notice that the home had a demolition order placed on it because it straddled the route assigned to Israel’s illegal separation wall. But the home’s military occupiers intervened, asking the Civil Administration to freeze the demolition order given the rooftop’s strategic value. “I’m happy for the army to stay on the roof, as long as it means they won’t destroy my house,” Abdul Halim says with pitiful gratitude.
The absurd reality that Abdul Halim and his family have had thrust upon them does not stop there, however. The concrete wall, about 15 feet high, slices its way through their property and, instead of detouring around the house, has been built right up to one side, so that the house actually becomes part of the separation wall before the latter continues in its brutal cement form.
The handsome, sandstone colored building now stands out in the village of Nazlit Issa, which is situated close to the Green Line in the northern West Bank. That’s not because of the camouflage netting that covers Abdul Halim’s rooftop and spills over the edges, or the mounted video camera that monitors everything and everyone in sight. What sets it apart is its stasis—life, growth and development unnaturally put on hold in a landscape that has since been strangled...... more.. e-mail
Israel to adjust wall’s route in Bil’in
2/5/2010 - Ma’an News Agency - Ramallah – Ma’an – Attorney of Bil’in local council, Michael Sfard, said on Saturday that Israeli authorities informed him of the new route of the separation wall, adjusted according to a decision by the Israeli Supreme Court of Justice in 2007. “We were not convinced that it was vital for security reasons to maintain the existing route that passes through a topographically low area of Bil’in land and that there was no fitting security substitute to the construction of the barrier in order to protect the residents of Modi’in Illit,” Justice Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch wrote in her decision. Once the adjusted route is implemented, residents of Bil’in are expected to restore almost half of their 2,300 donums confiscated during the construction of the wall’s original route. However, as the portion of the wall already built will be removed, farmers will expect significant damage to their olive groves located in the area.
Protesters clash with IOF in Ni'lin
6 Feb 2010 - Ramallah, February 6, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Hundreds of the Palestinians and international activists demonstrated on Friday afternoon against the construction of the apartheid wall in Ni'lin. Israeli occupation forces fired gas bombs against the protesters after they hurled rocks at them. In addition, Israeli occupation forces worked to disperse some 100 Palestinian protesters who gathered near Nabi Saleh, northwest...
Mohammad Khatib released as 3 more arrested in Bil’in night raids
2/6/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Bil'in Popular Committee Against Wall and Settlements, 3 February - Mohammed Khatib of the Bil'in Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements was released from jail on Wednesday night Feb. 3rd, 2010. The military had taken Khatib from his home in Bilin on January 28th for allegedly not complying with legal conditions from a arrest in 2009. He was released on a bail of 10,000 Israeli shekels, with the condition of not participating in any of the weekly protests. He must appear at the nearest Israeli police station every Friday between 12:00- 5:00pm. The night of Khatib's release, the Israeli military conducted their second raid of the month in Bilin Village. Ibrahim Burnat a resident of Bilin and activist against the wall was arrested in his home early Thursday morning, along with local photojournalist Hamde Abu Rahmeh and an international journalist who were documenting the invasion.
10 injured in peace protest in Nabi Saleh
2/6/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - At least 150 anti-wall peace activists gathered in Nabi Salah on Friday, including 20 Israelis and Palestinians from around the West Bank, joining villagers to voice dissent against Israel's continued construction of the separation wall. Responding to the gathering with rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas, Israeli forces injured 10 of the protesters. The route of the separation wall and the expansion of nearby settlements has deprived Nabi Salah villagers of access to the local spring, which supplied the area with fresh water. According to a statement from local activists, the Friday demonstration "quickly became an exercise in organized community resistance, as demonstrators created makeshift barricades on the roads, preempting an invasion of military jeeps to the village. "Dumpsters wheeled down the road towards the soldiers served as an effective road block, and doubled as shelter to the volleys of tear gas,.
Israel to adjust wall’s route in Bil’in
2/6/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Attorney of Bil'in local council, Michael Sfard, said on Saturday that Israeli authorities informed him of the new route of the separation wall, adjusted according to a decision by the Israeli Supreme Court of Justice in 2007. "We were not convinced that it was vital for security reasons to maintain the existing route that passes through a topographically low area of Bil'in land and that there was no fitting security substitute to the construction of the barrier in order to protect the residents of Modi'in Illit," Justice Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch wrote in her decision. Once the adjusted route is implemented, residents of Bil'in are expected to restore almost half of their 2,300 donums confiscated during the construction of the wall's original route. However, as the portion of the wall already built will be removed, farmers will expect significant damage to their olive groves located in the area.
Friday Protest in al-Ma’sara Ends Peacefully, Without Clashes
IMEMC 5 Feb 2010 - Friday February 05, 2010 - 14:14, The weekly demonstration against the construction of the annexation wall on Palestinian land, ended with no clashes with the Israeli military, in the West Bank village of al-Ma’sara.
Scores suffer tear-gas inhalation at weekly anti-wall ralles
2/5/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Palestinians and peace activists were prevented from accessing private and agricultural lands on Friday, when Israeli forces used tear gas, sound bombs and barbed wire fences to restrict protesters movement. Popular protests continued in Bil'in, Ni'lin and Al-Ma'asara on Friday, with increasing international support for the non-violent resistance activities expressing outrage at Israel's continued construction of the separation wall and illegal settlements on Palestinian land. In Bil'in, scores of protesters suffered tear-gas inhalationas they attempted to access land behind the separation wall. Residents of Bil'in and international peace activists made way to the wall's construction site, where Israeli forces were deployed behind cement blocs and a gate closed off by barbed wire. When those present tried to access the area behind the wall, Israeli forces. . .
Dozens Suffer Tear Gas Inhalation During the Weekly Protest in Bil’in
2/5/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Bil'in Popular Committee Against Wall & Settlements - An EU delegation for monitoring Israeli army violations against protesters, lead by Mr. Thierry Vallat, along with international and Israeli activists joined a demonstration in Bil'in village on Friday. Protesters carrying Palestinian flags and banners called for an end to the Israeli occupation and the release of all Palestinian political prisoners. The protesters marched on the streets of the village chanting slogans and singing national songs. Protesters called for national unity against the Israeli occupation, the release of all prisoners and specifically the release of the Coordinator of the Popular Committee of Bil'in, Abdallah Abu Rahmah, and Bil'in residents Adeeb Abu Rahmah and Ibrahim ‘Amera. When protesters reached the wall, an Israeli army unit was situated behind a block of cement.
New checkpoint targets Tulkarem farmers
2/4/2010 - Tulkarem - Ma'an - Israeli military personnel completed the installation of a partial checkpoint and search station Wednesday for farmers in the Tulkarem area who pass through Gate 753 on their way to lands cut off by the separation wall. Families with orchards or fields near Khirbet Jubara, south of Tulkarem, must have a pre-arranged permit to access their lands, west of Israel's separation wall. Farmers would travel to Gate 753, south of the Ephraim checkpoint, and wait for the scheduled openings of the gate in the wall, in order to access their lands. Residents of the village must also pass through the gate to access Tulkarem. As of Wednesday, farmers with permits from the Israeli Civil Administration must also undergo physical searches. Farmers and all their equipment must be scanned and pass through metal detectors in the new room constructed at the gate.
Berlusconi fails to notice apartheid wall
4 Feb 2010 - Bethlehem, February 4, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi travelled along the road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Wednesday but he said the failed to notice the eight-meter-high Israeli apartheid wall. At a joint news conference with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, an Italian journalist asked Berlusconi about his impressions of the apartheid wall. "I'm going to...
Will Israel Target Gaza or Lebanon First?
Ramzy Baroud, CounterPunch 2/4/2010
Beware the Iron Wall, the Coming War
The Israeli military may be much less effective in winning wars than it was in the past, thanks to the stiffness of Arab resistance. But its military strategists are as shrewd and unpredictable as ever. The recent rhetoric that has escalated from Israel suggests that a future war in Lebanon will most likely target Syria as well. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that Israel actually intends on targeting either of these countries in the near future, it is certainly the type or language that often precedes Israeli military maneuvers.
Deciphering the available clues regarding the nature of Israel’s immediate military objectives is not always easy, but it is possible. One indicator that could serve as a foundation for any serious prediction of Israel’s actions is Israel’s historical tendency to seek a perpetual state of war. Peace, real peace, has never been a long-term policy.
"Unlike many others, I consider that peace is not a goal in itself but only a means to guarantee our existence," claimed Yossi Peled, a former army general and current Cabinet Minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government.
Israeli official policy – military or otherwise - is governed by the same Zionist diktats that long preceded the establishment of the state of Israel. If anything has changed since early Zionists outlined their vision, it was the interpretation of those directives. The substance has remained intact. more.. e-mail
Ministry Of Mixed Messages
Palestine Monitor: 4 Feb 2010 - The circus named Berlusconi has left town. During his whistle stop tour of Israel and the West Bank the world's most flamboyant head of state was at his crowd pleasing best. Crying with Netanyahou during a speech to the Knesset, delivering a set of priceless Da Vinci sketches to a local gallery and describing Arabs as “brothers and friends” while snuggling up to Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem. Despite the charm offensive, feathers will have been ruffled both sides of the wall by some of his statements on key issues. “We know what you suffered on the Gaza front” Sympathy directed not at the devastated civilian population of Gaza, but to Knesset ministers during his address in Jerusalem. Italy voted against the Goldstone report, which Berlusconi describe as “intolerable accusations” and an attempt to “criminalise” a justified, proportionate response to Hamas rockets. Berlusconi in Bethlehem yesterday. "Just as it is right...
Israel detains 2 Palestinians and American activist
3 Feb 2010 - Ramallah, February 3, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation forces invaded on Wednesday Bil'in village, in the west of Ramallah city, and detained 2 Palestinians and American activist. The Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlement said that Israeli occupation forces broke into the houses and kidnapped Ibrahim Abed Al-Fatah Brant, 29 years, who is a member of the committee...
Israel threatens to punish Gaza for explosive barrels found on beach
3 Feb 2010 - Tel Aviv, February 3, 2010 (Pal Telegraph; reprinted from the Wall Street Journal, by Joshua Mitnick) - Israel closed a stretch of beaches north of the Gaza Strip after two explosive-laden barrels washed ashore and Palestinian militants promised more, in revenge for what some in Hamas said was Israeli's assassination of a top Hamas leader last month. Israelis patrol beach...
Fear of peace will be the death of Israel
Ha'aretz 3 Feb 2010 - The right wants to wall off Israel as the world's last remaining legally mandated Jewish ghetto.
Trees Against
Palestine Monitor: 2 Feb 2010 - Planting trees against occupation, settlement expansion and land expropriation – this is the symbolic action carried out by popular committees of resistance who joined a tree-planting action in Aboud, North-West of Ramallah, last Sunday. Heading to the farmland in Aboud. Photo by Brady Ng Local villagers, students from the Birzeit University and some international peace activists gathered on the hilltops facing the village of Aboud and planted 300 trees: an effort to reclaim land confiscated by the ongoing expansion of the settlements and the wall, whose construction has turned one third of the village's land into a buffer zone. Dr. Mustafa Barghouti and Elias Azar with tree-planting volunteers. Photo by Brady Ng “The village community has protested several times against Israel's Apartheid Wall,” said Elias Azar, president of the village council since 1994, “ Our villagers have paid and are still paying a high price for the construction of the...
Beware the Iron Wall, the Coming War
Palestine Chronicle: 3 Feb 2010 - By Ramzy Baroud The Israeli military may be much less effective in winning wars than it was in the past, thanks to the stiffness of Arab resistance. But its military strategists are as shrewd and unpredictable as ever. The recent rhetoric that has escalated from Israel suggests that a future war in Lebanon will most likely target Syria as well. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that Israel actually intends on targeting either of these countries in the near future, it is certainly the type or language that often precedes Israeli military maneuvers. Deciphering the available clues regarding the nature of Israel’s immediate military objectives is not always easy, but it is possible. One indicator that could serve as a foundation for any serious prediction of Israel’s actions is Israel’s historical tendency to seek a perpetual state of war. Peace, real peace, has never been a long-term policy. "Unlike many others, I consider that peace is not a goal in itself but only a means to guarantee our existence," claimed Yossi Peled, a former army general and current Cabinet Minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government. Israeli official policy – military or otherwise - is governed by the same Zionist diktats that long preceded the establishment of the state of Israel. If anything has changed since early Zionists outlined their vision, it was the interpretation of those directives. The substance has remained intact. For example, Zionist visionary, Vladimir Jabotinsky stated in 1923 that Zionist “colonization can…continue and develop only under the protection...
Video: East Jerusalem residents languish beyond the wall
Uruknet February 2, 2010 - More than 50,000 Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem live beyond the separation barrier -- areas which are officially part of the city but cut off from its daily life. AFPTV visited the isolated suburb of Kfar Aqeb, where Palestinians are deprived of most municipal services....
IOF shoots Palestinian near Gaza border
1 Feb 2010 - Gaza, February 1, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation forces shot and wounded a Palestinian man before arresting him on Monday. The man was approaching the Gaza border fence, the Israeli army and Palestinian medics said. The man was transferred to Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba for medical treatment. He will later be investigated. Israeli military spokesmen declined to...
International activists accompany Gazan farmers
2/2/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - ISM Gaza, 31 January - Farmers form the villages of Faraheen and Khuza'a , near Gaza's second biggest city of Khan Younis, reported to the ISM that routine 'sweeps' which Israelis carry out along the the border , disrupted the sowing of the wheat in the last few days available after the recent rainfall. Twice a month Israeli's enter the Gazan side of the electrified border fence to ensure that they are no explosive devices left by the Palestinian resistance in the 50 meter belt. This is the time of increased tensions when farmers experience more incidents of intimidation and firing by the Israeli border patrols. For example, in separate incidents, Israeli border patrols fired at the farmers form villages of Faraheen and Khuza'a in the morning of the Saturday, 30th January. The farmers withdrew to the safe distance and returned to continue with the wheat sowing after the soldiers left the area.
IDF estimates security fence to be completed in 2020
YNet News 2 Feb 2010 - Army largely satisfied with fence around West Bank that will bring new decade low in number of forces deployed in territories. Soldiers in compulsory service will be given time for training and number of reservists will be reduced. Fears of terrorist infiltrations near Mount Hebron
Trees Against
Palestine Monitor: 2 Feb 2010 - Planting trees against occupation, settlement expansion and land expropriation – this is the symbolic action carried out by popular committees of resistance who joined a tree-planting action in Aboud, North-West of Ramallah, last Sunday. Heading to the farmland in Aboud. Photo by Brady Ng Local villagers, students from the Birzeit University and some international peace activists gathered on the hilltops facing the village of Aboud and planted 300 trees: an effort to reclaim land confiscated by the ongoing expansion of the settlements and the wall, whose construction has turned one third of the village's land into a buffer zone. Dr. Mustafa Barghouti and Elias Azar with tree-planting volunteers. Photo by Brady Ng “The village community has protested several times against Israel's Apartheid Wall,” said Elias Azar, president of the village council since 1994, “ Our villagers have paid and are still paying a high price for the construction of the...
Lasting Agriculture Versus Lasting Occupation
Palestine Monitor: 1 Feb 2010 - The village of Battir, North West of Bethlehem, was once a haven for farmers. Its rich soil, water resources and favourable climate produced abundant harvests of olives and vegetables. But since the start of the occupation, Battir's 4,000 inhabitants have faced tremendous difficulties. The farmland of Battir. The village straddles B and C areas, falling under administrative and military Israeli control. It is surrounded on one side by the separation wall and on the other by two settlements, Bitay Illet and Walja. If the settlements continue to expand at their current rate, they will soon merge, further isolating Battir. The village is one of fourteen such ‘blockations' in the West Bank. Available land has been steadily decreasing since 1949, when the Israeli Government began building a railroad through the village. Despite these restrictions, Battir's farmers retain faith that with determination and effective use of their natural resources, the good years...
Israeli Occupation Supportive Companies to Boycott
Palestine Chronicle: 2 Feb 2010 - By Stephen Lendman In July 2005, a coalition of 171 Palestinian Civil Society organizations created the global BDS movement for "Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel Until it Complies with International Law and Universal Principles of Human Rights" for Occupied Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, and Palestinian diaspora refugees. Since 1948, hundreds of UN resolutions and civil society actions condemned Israel's lawlessness; its crimes of war and against humanity; occupation; discriminatory policies; illegal home demolitions, land seizures and settlements; oppression of a civilian population; the Separation Wall; the Gaza siege; and preemptive imperial wars. Nothing so far has worked. Palestine is still occupied. Its people continue to suffer. Their human rights are denied. World leaders ignore them. This no longer can be tolerated. In solidarity, people of conscience everywhere must pressure Israel with BDS initiatives that include boycotting Israeli companies, their products and services, and global ones supporting the occupation. They're numerous, many with familiar names. Below is a partial list, starting with global giants, Israeli companies following. Others can be added, but use it as a good start along with a New Year's resolution to boycott them and encourage others to do it as well. Motorola The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation "aim(s) to change those US policies that both sustain Israel's 42-year occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, and deny equal rights for all." It started with a boycott campaign to "Hang up on Motorola" and its subsidiary, Motorola Israel, that support the worst...
Hebron governor warns of angry reaction to new settlement
2/1/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - Governor of Hebron Hussein Al-Araj warned on Sunday evening that renewed settlement building in the area "is pushing Palestinians to react strongly. "Israel is not offering Palestinians motivation to return to negotiations by continuing settlement construction in the West Bank, Al-Araj said, which justifies President Mahmoud Abbas' refusal to return to negotiations while building of settlements and the separation wall is ongoing. "Let everyone know that Israeli settlement construction is still in place, contrary to Israel's allegations," he said. Al-Araj's comments follow the laying of the foundations of a new block to the Beit Hagai settlement, south of Hebron City. [end]
IOF shoot Palestinian near Gaza border
1 Feb 2010 - Gaza, February 1, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation force shot and wounded a Palestinian man who was approaching the Gaza border fence on Monday before arresting him, the Israeli army and Palestinian medics said. The man was transferred to Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba for medical treatment. He will later be investigated. Israeli military spokesman declined to say...
West Bank: Israeli forces break-in Bi'lin
1 Feb 2010 - West Bank, February 1, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli forces invaded on Monday Bil'in village, in the west of Ramallah city, and broke into the houses searching for what Israel calls "wanted" for activities against the settlements and the apartheid wall. The Israeli occupation forces intercepted the employees, students and patients, expropriate their ID cards and stopped their cars. The...
Israel will not heed PA call for 3-month total freeze
Jeruslalem Post 1 Feb 2010 - Abbas publicly supports Gaza-Egypt wall, claims "no return to armed struggle," but statements gain little attention in gov’t, which won't accept PA position on J'lem as condition for talks.
Israel won’t heed Abbas’s call for 3-month total freeze
Jeruslalem Post 1 Feb 2010 - PA president publicly supports Gaza-Egypt wall, claims "no return to armed struggle," but statements gain little attention in gov’t, which says it won't accept Palestinian position on J'lem as condition for talks.
One injured during a Bil’in night invasion
2/1/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Popular Struggle Coordination Committee - Starting the month off with a bang! Four Shabak (Israeli Intelligence) jeeps and one military hummer rolled through Bil'in around 3am this morning. Computer screens with GPS maps were visible in the jeeps. They started throwing sound bombs amongst houses when camera people arrived on the scene. Soldiers in the last hummer taunted the camera people by making chicken noises. It seemed like they were looking for someone or were lost in Bil'in as they turned down side streets and returned to the main road between the school and the mosque. Earlier in the evening residents of Bil'in reported seeing the military throwing tear gas at young kids who were near the Israeli Apartheid Wall. Invasions like this are not uncommon in Bil'in. One person from Bil'in was injured while running to document the invasion last night.
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