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Anti-wall protestors report injuries, detentions
7/30/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Injuries were reported across the West Bank as Israeli soldiers responded to weekly non-violent anti-wall protests with tear gas, sound grenades and detentions on Friday. Clashes erupted in Bil'in, where the wall cuts off agricultural lands from farmers despite a High Court ruling mandating its removal. This week's rally commemorated the third anniversary....
Three Injured 2 Arrested As Troops Attack Wall Protests In The West Bank
PNN - Ghassan Bannoura - PNN - Israeli troops attacked on Friday anti wall protests that were organized at a number of locations in the West Bank. Israeli and international supporters joined Palestinian villagers...
British, Israeli Wounded in Weekly Demo in Bil’in
WAFA - RAMALLAH, July 30, 2010 (WAFA)- A British and an Israeli pacifist were wounded, during the weekly demonstration against the Israeli Apartheid Wall in the West Bank village of Bil’in west of
Israel speeding up WB wall following injunction
Palestine Note 29 Jul 2010 - Washington - The Israeli Defense Ministry has "picked up the pace" on its construction of its West Bank separation barrier near Wallaja after the Israeli High Court issued a show cause order earlier this week, Haaretz...
Israel Accelerates Building Of The Wall After Court Injunction
PNN - Jerusalem - PNN - The Defence Ministry has rapidly increased building of the separation wall around a village south of Jerusalem after a court ruled that the state must provide an answer...
Volunteers plant on land to avoid confiscation
7/28/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Planting initiatives in the southern West Bank district of Bethlehem began Tuesday on land threatened with confiscation for Israel's separation wall, officials said. In the Husan village, west of Bethlehem, volunteers began cultivating 300 dunums of land near the illegal settlement of Betar Illit under a Palestinian Authority Ministry of Agriculture program initiated....
IOF attacks Burin villagers in efforts to protect settlers
Stop The Wall - Israeli Occupation Forces arrested four Palestinians and wounded three others after a group of approximately 20 settlers attacked the home of Ibrahim Eid, which is located close to Bracha, a new Israeli settlement in the area. [
VIDEO - Bil’in teen taken in night raid faces jail term
Palestine Note 7/25/2010
Bil’in is known for its tenacious, peaceful protest marches against Israel’s construction of the separation wall across the town’s land. The Israeli military routinely suppresses the demonstrations with tear gas and gunfire, and also regularly raids the village at night, arresting protesters.
Eyad Burnat of the Bil’in Popular Committee sent the following message in an email:
On 19 July 2010 Bil’in was subjected to yet another Israeli Occupation Forces night raid when an unusually heavy number of Israeli soldiers entered the outskirts of the village to arrest a local youth; 17 year old Ahmad Abed Al-Fatah Burnat – who unfortunately was arrested.
Ahmad was taken by jeep to Ofer military prison located outside Ramallah, where arrestees from Bil’in are normally taken. His family witnessed their son and brother being taken away without knowing why. There is still uncertainty why the Israeli army came in 12 jeeps and stormed the family’s house kidnapping the 17 year old that night.
Ahmad has now been held for seven days in Ofer. What we know from experience is that the prisoners in Ofer, especially young boys are put under harsh conditions, with the intention of pressuring them to give information about other villagers. We know that many are denied food and water for extended periods of time and exposed to extreme cold or heat. This coupled with the uncertainty of when he is to be released makes the situation unbearable for his family. All this is done to make the prisoners confess false charges, or to falsely confess that they have witnessed other people i.e. throwing stones.
Today Ahmad was brought in front of a judge.... -- See also: YouTube: Night Raid on Bil'in 19-07-2010 more.. e-mail
Israeli court questions separation wall's legality
Palestine Note 26 Jul 2010 - Washington – Israel’s High Court of Justice issued Sunday a show cause order requiring the state to justify its plan to continue building its separation barrier through the Palestinian village of Wallaja, the Jerusalem Post reported...
Protests continue: Al Ma’sara, Beit Ommar, Ni’lin, Iraq Burin and Nabi Saleh
7/26/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Al Ma'sara (23 July 2010): strong turn out for the second week running - Over 100 people participated in Al Ma'sara's demonstration today in a successful protest against the Israeli Apartheid Wall which saw one person injured. With the support of many internationals, including a large French contingent, the village - known for creatively themed protests - chose....
VIDEO - Israel And Economic 'Warfare'
The Real News 7/25/2010
Israeli parliament passes first of three readings illegalizing boycott activism or advocacy
On Wednesday, July 14th, the Israeli Parliament approved the first of three readings of a new law. If passed, the law will make it illegal to declare a boycott on Israel or Israeli companies, participate in a boycott, or provide aid in the form of information to anyone who is part of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign. The bill also penalizes the Palestinian Authority for its decision in May to ban the use by Palestinians of settlement products. The law even affects international citizens who will be banned from entry into Israel for 10 years and will be effective retroactively. Lia Tarachansky of The Real News spoke with Dalit Baum of Who Profits and Ronnie Barkan of Boycott from Within about how their work will become illegal if this bill passes.
Bio:
Dr. Dalit Baum teaches gender and the global economy at the Haifa University and Beit Berl college in Israel. A feminist anti-occupation activist, she has been a co-founder of Black Laundry, the Community School for Women and the Coalition of Women for Peace. Presently, she is the project coordinator of "Who Profits from the Occupation", an activists’ research initiative of the Coalition of Women for Peace.
Ronnie Barkan is a long time Israeli activist and conscientious objector, an active member in the joint Palestinian-Israeli-International non-violent struggle. He is a member of Anarchists Against the Wall and Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within.... more.. e-mail
Israel's Right Discovers the One-State Solution
Palestine Chronicle: 25 Jul 2010 - By Uri Avnery – Israel Since I witnessed the rise of the Nazis during my childhood in Germany, my nose always tickles when it smells something fascist, even when the odor is still faint. When the debate about the “one-state solution” began, my nose tickled. Have you gone mad, I told my nose, this time you are dead wrong. This is a plan of the Left. It is being put forward by leftists of undoubted credentials, the greatest idealists in Israel and abroad, even certified Marxists. But my nose insisted. It continued to tickle. Now it appears that the nose was right, after all. This is not the first time that a kosher leftist plan leads towards extreme rightist consequences. That happened, for example, to the ugliest symbol of the occupation: the separation wall. It was invented by the Left. When attacks multiplied, leftist politicians, headed by Haim Ramon, offered...more
Israeli forces seize 2 at Iraq Burin checkpoint
7/24/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - Israeli forces detained two young Palestinian men at a flying checkpoint installed outside a village south of Nablus on Saturday, in what witnesses called an attempt to prevent demonstrators from entering the area. The village, Iraq Burin, hosts weekly anti wall protests, and locals said the checkpoint was set up to prevent Palestinian....
Stop the Wall: People v. Oppression
Uruknet July 23, 2010 - Stop the Wall.org (STW) is a "Palestinian movement against the (Separation) Wall and the settlements under Israeli repression," calling for it to be stopped, portions built dismantled, all confiscated lands returned, and compensation paid for losses. On July 9, it released a report titled, "People versus Oppression," a March - June 2010 account of Israeli...
Bil'in Non-violent Struggle Faces Up To Israeli Offensive
PNN - Alessandra Bajec – PNN – This Friday over 100 people took part to the weekly demonstration against the wall in the village of Bil’in among whom Israelis and several internationals. Since March...
IOF quells peaceful anti-wall demonstrations in the West Bank
PIC 24 Jul 2010 - The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have savagely quelled peaceful demonstrations in the West Bank on Friday against the apartheid wall the Israeli occupation is building.
Rosemary’s baby
Uri Avnery, Media Monitors Network 7/24/2010
The attractive leftist vision of the one-state solution may grow up into a rightist monster.
Since I witnessed the rise of the Nazis during my childhood in Germany, my nose always tickles when it smells something fascist, even when the odor is still faint.
When the debate about the “one-state solution” began, my nose tickled.
Have you gone mad, I told my nose, this time you are dead wrong. This is a plan of the Left. It is being put forward by leftists of undoubted credentials, the greatest idealists in Israel and abroad, even certified Marxists.
But my nose insisted. It continued to tickle.
Now it appears that the nose was right, after all.
This is not the first time that a kosher leftist plan leads towards extreme rightist consequences.
That happened, for example, to the ugliest symbol of the occupation: the separation wall. It was invented by the Left.
When the “terrorist” attacks multiplied, leftist politicians, headed by Haim Ramon, offered a miracle-solution to the problem: an impassable obstacle between Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. They argued that it would stop the attacks without recourse to brutal actions in the West Bank.
The Right opposed the idea vehemently. To them it was a conspiracy to fix the borders of the state and promote the two-state solution, which they saw (and still see) as an existential threat to their designs.... more.. e-mail
Jewish musicians unite for Palestine
Sahar Habib Ghazi, Dawn 7/12/2010
HOUSTON: Deep in downtown, the teasing strum of a guitar, hypnotic beat of percussions, and the wooing echo of horns bounce off lime-green soundproof walls in a dimly-lit rented studio.
It is close to midnight on a weekday, and the Free Radicals are rehearsing a song inspired by a centuries-old Jewish music genre called Klezmer.
In its historic form, the purely instrumental compositions were structured to facilitate expressive celebrations and dancing at traditional Jewish weddings in Eastern Europe. But the Free Radicals are anything but traditional.
By day, the band members are activists, volunteers and teachers and by night, they gather in a rented studio to practice. They often play pro bono at protests and peace benefits.
“Outside the political sphere, we take radicalism in our approach to music,” says percussionist Chris Howard.
The Free Radicals have taken the high energy and exotic scale of Klezmer and turned it into something verging on punk rock. Since they formed in 1996, the band has experimented with diverse international instrumental styles and have collaborated with over 50 other musicians.
But in Klezmer, folk music inherited from some of their Jewish ancestors, the Free Radicals saw potential beyond bar mitzvahs and weddings.
The drummer and founder of the band, Nick Cooper thought it could be a powerful voice to gather support to “boycott Israel.” Cooper’s own band, the Free Radicals abides by the call from Palestinian academics.... more.. e-mail
Who’s aiding Judaisation?
Nicola Nasser, Media Monitors Network 7/22/2010
Since 1860, when the American Jewish tycoon Judah Touro donated $60,000 -- a fortune for that time -- towards the construction of the first Jewish settlement outside the old walls of Jerusalem, public and private American funds have aided the creation and territorial expansion of Israel. Israel today is the foremost recipient of US aid. According to a USAID green paper, between 1946 and 2008 Israel has received more aid than Russia, India, Egypt and Iraq. In fact, the US has poured more money into Israel than it did into the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. However, a recent New York Times article adds a new dimension to the story. On 5 July, the Times reported that, over the last decade more than 40 American groups have collected more than $200 million in tax-deductible gifts for Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, indicating that the US Treasury is effectively aiding and abetting illegal settlement expansion and the Judaisation of Jerusalem.
While the New York Times honed in on the irony of how a US government organ was facilitating the funnelling of private funds into activities and goals that ran counter to official US policy, and as significant as this is, the article failed to mention that the amount of private tax-exempt "donations" pales in comparison to the public funds that Washington has steadily poured into the Zionist project. For example, the US federal budget for 2011 has earmarked $3 billion in aid for Israel, or 42 per cent of the total amount of aid to be allocated to the so-called Near East for that year. It is also interesting to observe that the policies of USAID, an instrument that the State Department uses to pursue the US’s objectives overseas, also conflict with Washington’s official stances. USAID programmes for the Palestinians effectively exclude East Jerusalem. Its green papers and other official reports and statements make frequent mention of "the West Bank and Gaza" as headings for its activities, but rare are references to East Jerusalem. It is as though, for USAID, East Jerusalem is not an indivisible part of the occupied territories, in spite of Washington’s official acknowledgement that it is.... more.. e-mail
One Injured; Four Arrested During Bil'in Weekly Protest
IMEMC - 23 Jul 2010 - Friday July 23, 2010 - 18:56, Villagers of the central West Bank village of Bil’in, along with their international and Israeli supporters, protested the Israeli wall on Friday.
Former European Parliamentarian detained in Bil’in
7/23/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli soldiers arrested former European Parliament vice president, Luisa Morgantini, and three others, in the West Bank village of Bilin on Friday during what organizers called a non-violent protest. Morgantini was leading a 50-strong Italian delegation at the weekly march from the village center to the separation wall, which cuts off residents....
One Injured; Four Arrested During Bil'in Weekly Protest
PNN - Ramallah – PNN - Villagers of the central West Bank village of Bil’in along with their international and Israeli supporters protested the Israeli wall on Friday. Around 100 protesters marched from the...
Rebuilding a demolished Palestinian home
Ellen Davidson, Ma’an News Agency 7/22/2010
Rubble covers the tile floor at the site of the demolished home we are beginning to rebuild in the East Jerusalem section of Anata, a Palestinian town divided between occupied "East" Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.
Activists from the United States, Britain, Germany and Iran, reinforced daily by local Palestinian and Israeli activists, have gathered here for the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions’ eighth annual summer rebuilding camp. They will spend two weeks rebuilding a Palestinian home that has been destroyed by Israeli authorities.
This year’s house, belonging to the Hamdan family, was first demolished in 2005. In 2007, ICAHD activists began rebuilding the home, but because it was located near a section of the separation wall under construction around Anata, battles of stone-throwing, tear gas, shooting and arrests erupted between the Palestinian residents resisting their virtual imprisonment behind 8 meter concrete blocks and the Israeli army and police.
Feeling endangered, ICAHD suspended the effort for an alternative site. In 2008, the ICAHD camp came back to the Hamdan home and completed its reconstruction. The house, however, was demolished again within a few months. Since our rebuilding constitutes political acts of resistance to occupation and not "humanitarian gestures," we try to rebuild every home that is re-demolished.
As we cleared the rubble from the foundation this morning, I noticed the tile floor that remained underneath. I was struck by the fact that the tiles were the same pattern as those we used last summer, when I participated in the ICAHD effort to rebuild a house a short distance away.... -- See also: Israeli Committee Agianst House Demolitions more.. e-mail
IOF shoots 2 Palestinians near a settlement in WB
22 Jul 2010 - West bank, July 22, (Pal Telegraph) A Palestinian man was shot dead and another wounded by the Israeli occupation at dawn on Thursday at the entrance to the settlement of "Burkan" in the central West Bank. The Israeli radio quoted Israeli sources saying that Israeli soldiers spotted a Palestinian man with his friend trying to infiltrate the fence of...
Who's Aiding Judaisation?
Palestine Chronicle: 22 Jul 2010 - By Nicola Nasser Since 1860, when the American Jewish tycoon Judah Touro donated $60,000 -- a fortune for that time -- towards the construction of the first Jewish settlement outside the old walls of Jerusalem, public and private American funds have aided the creation and territorial expansion of Israel. Israel today is the foremost recipient of US aid. According to a USAID green paper, between 1946 and 2008 Israel has received more aid than Russia, India, Egypt and Iraq. In fact, the US has poured more money into Israel than it did into the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. However, a recent New York Times article adds a new dimension to the story. On 5 July, the Times reported that, over the last decade more than 40 American groups have collected more than $200 million in tax-deductible gifts for Jewish settlements in the occupied...more
Netanyahu: Illegal African immigrants - a threat to Israel's Jewish character
Ha'aretz - Prime Minister urges construction of fence along border with Egypt to prevent infiltrators from entering Israel.
The story of a people's resistance told in "Budrus"
Electronic Intifada: 21 Jul 2010 - Director Julia Bacha pieces together a lovely film exploring the evolution of the West Bank village of Budrus' resistance to Israel's wall, and its reclaiming of its destiny. Jimmy Johnson reviews for The Electronic Intifada.more
Netanyahu: Illegal African immigrants - a threat to Israel's Jewish character
Ha'aretz - Prime Minister urges construction of fence along border with Egypt to prevent infiltrators from entering Israel.
Israel's Separation Wall: A Health Hazard
Palestine Chronicle: 20 Jul 2010 - By Stephen Lendman In July 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled Israel's 'Separation Wall' illegal, saying its route inside the West Bank, and associated gate and permit system, violated Israel's obligations under international law, ordering the completed sections dismantled, and "all legislative and regulatory acts relating thereto" repealed or rendered "ineffective forthwith." The ICJ also mandated reparations for the "requisition and destruction of homes, businesses, and agricultural holdings (and) to return the land, orchards, olive groves, and other immovable property seized," obligating member states to reject the illegal construction and demand Israel comply with international law. Most nations ignored the ruling. Israel defied it and continued building, now 61% finished, another 8% under construction, and the remaining 31% planned but not begun. When completed, its expected to be over 800 km, twice the length of the Green Line, four times as long as the Berlin Wall, and in...more
Israel's Separation Wall: A Health Hazard
Uruknet July 19, 2010 - In July 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled the Separation Wall illegal, saying its route inside the West Bank, and associated gate and permit system, violated Israel's obligations under international law, ordering the completed sections dismantled, and "all legislative and regulatory acts relating thereto" repealed or rendered "ineffective forthwith." The ICJ also mandated...
IOF create security zone to shut out the weekly protest in Wadi Rahal
Stop The Wall - The demonstrators were caught off-guard when the Israeli Occupation Forces sealed of the Wall and prevented the demonstrators from approaching the regular site of picketing. This was the first time since the beginning of the weekly protests in Wadi Rahal that the Occupation Forces shut off the area as a “security zone” and banned people from entering Israel. [
Netanyahu: Illegal African immigrants - a threat to Israel's Jewish character
Ha'aretz - Prime Minister urges construction of fence along border with Egypt to prevent infiltrators from entering Israel.
IOF Escalating its Attacks on Civilians Collecting Rubble
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights 7/15/2010
Al Mezan Condemns IOF Escalating its Attacks on Civilians Collecting Rubble, 27 Injured; 10 Children, since the Beginning of 2010
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) increased its attacks on Palestinian civilians who collect the rubble of the destroyed buildings and roads near the border fence between Gaza and Israel. Since the start of 2010, 27 persons have been injured; including ten children. Eight of the 27 were injured in July alone. The number of persons injured in 2010 has tripled since 2009 during which nine persons were injured.
According to Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights’ documentation, the IOF, which is positioned at the border fence, regularly opens fire on Palestinian civilians who collect rubble. Some of the attacks have occurred close to the border fence, while many other attacks occurred when civilians were as far as 800 meters from it. On many occasions, the IOF also opened fire on these civilians more than once during the same day. The IOF attacks have become a daily reality for these civilians.
Dozens of Palestinian civilians, including children, collect and remove rubble and gravel from structures located along the border fence inside what the IOF has declared as a “security buffer zone”. In effect, this zone extends up to one kilometer inside the Gaza Strip. The IOF claims it goes as deep as 300 meters. The collected rubble is sold to the brick factories which recycle it into bricks, or people to use for construction. Since last year’s offensive on Gaza, this has been the only source of construction materials needed for making bricks and concrete for construction that is available in the Gaza Strip, which suffers from acute shortage of materials due to the Israeli siege. Al Mezan has documented the following violations against Palestinians who were collecting the rubble during the five day period from 10 to 15 July.... more.. e-mail
Justice from Israel? With one hand she giveth
Michael Carpenter, Ma’an News Agency 7/18/2010
The Israeli army finally decided to open an investigation into the 2009 killing of an unarmed, peaceful Palestinian protester in the West Bank village of Bil’in.
The announcement came fast on the heels of the Israeli government’s decision to expand its modest inquiry into the deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla into a full-fledged government commission, a concession that itself followed the decision to modify the Gaza blockade to allow consumer goods into the besieged territory.
Do these uncharacteristic gestures signify a new trend? What lies behind Israel’s new-found responsiveness to criticism of its Palestinian policies? I went to Bil’in to discover how a small village forced the hand of the Israeli military.
Every Friday, armed with banners and cameras, flanked by activists from Israel and around the world, the people of Bil’in march peacefully to the gate of the separation barrier that cuts them off from their land and repeat their demand: tear down the wall. Fifteen months ago, on Friday 17 April 2009, an Israeli soldier fired a teargas cannon horizontally at close range into the chest of Bassem Abu Rahmah. Bassem collapsed to the ground and died almost immediately.
Because of the known lethal impact of teargas cannons, horizontal firing is prohibited by the military. Instead, the army requires that the crowd-control device be launched into the air so that it arcs down onto its targets. Bassem’s death was documented on video from close up.
Despite the video and photographic record, the Israeli military refused to see or hear any evidence other than the testimony of its soldiers. The army quickly determined its soldiers had acted properly, the protest had been violent, and Bassem’s death was an accident. Fifteen months later, however, Israel’s Military Advocate General opened an investigation into the killing. What changed? more.. e-mail
Justice For The Abu Rahmahs?
Palestine Monitor: 19 Jul 2010 - The Israeli army has finally decided to open an investigation into the April 2009 killing of an unarmed, peaceful Palestinian protester in the West Bank village of Bil'in. The announcement came days after the Israeli government's expansion of the Gaza flotilla inquiry into a full-fledged government commission, while a separate ruling has been passed to allow consumer goods into Gaza. So what lies behind Israel's new-found responsiveness to criticism of its Palestinian policies? Michael Carpenter went to Bil'in to discover how a small village forced the hand of the Israeli military. Photo: Lazar Simeonov Bassem 'Pheel' Abu Rahmah leading a demonstration Every Friday, armed with banners, cameras and activists from around the world, the people of Bil'in march peacefully to the separation barrier which cuts them off from their land. They repeat a singular demand: The Wall must fall. 15 months ago, on Friday 17 April 2009, an Israeli soldier...more
Beit Ummar: One Journalist Arrested, Two Injured
Palestine Monitor: 19 Jul 2010 - Israeli soldiers arrested one journalist and injured two others at Beit Ummar's Saturday protest calling for access to village land and the dismantling of nearby settlements. Beit Ummar is a Palestinian town located 11 kilometers northwest of Hebron. In the last years, the local Popular Commitee has organised weekly protests against the Israeli occupation and the theft of the agricultural land. All photos by Kara Newhouse. / A teenager places Palestinian flags in the barbed wire fence that separates Palestinian fields from the Karmei Tsur settlement. Israel has built six illegal settlements on land confiscated from Beit Ummar. / Since 2006, Israel has annexed 600 dunums of the Beit Ummar's land, requiring farmers to obtain security permits to visit and cultivate their fields. The villagers refuse to acquiesce to this demand. / An Israeli soldier emerges from a grove of plum trees to demand that villagers leave the land they own, calling it...more
Netanyahu: Illegal African immigrants - a threat to Israel's Jewish character
Ha'aretz - Prime Minister urges construction of fence along border with Egypt to prevent infiltrators from entering Israel.
An open letter to the Jewish people
Mairead Maguire, Ma’an News Agency 7/18/2010
I write to ask for your help in gaining the freedom of a good man, a man of peace, and a man of conscience.
In the Jewish scriptures there is great emphasis on justice and freedom and it is for such, for one man, that I write to seek your help.
He will not be aware that I am writing this appeal, but I do so in the hope that with your help, it will produce his freedom, and not (and this I must risk) cause yet more punishment and cruelty to be inflicted upon him.
However, I feel when I tell you the story, it will touch your hearts and there will be those among you who will be able to help him gain his freedom.
In May 2010, this man was returned to prison to serve three months for allegedly breaking his prison release restrictions and speaking to the foreign media. On 11 July 2010, he had his first visit in seven weeks. His brother, Meir, was granted a 30-minute visit. There was a glass window between them and they spoke via phone. He wore a prison uniform. He is held in the harshest section there is in the prison. It holds the most notorious criminals in the country, well-known murder cases. About a dozen are in severe isolation conditions. He is in a cell by himself for 24 hours a day, no window but a small wire-covered crack at the top part of one wall. He has about an hour’s walk a day in a very tiny yard. He was simply thrown in a cell by the security agents, the door locked, and left to suffer there all alone. He has not spoken to anyone in all the seven weeks and this visit was (apart from a short visit of his lawyer six weeks ago) the first conversation he had in seven weeks. His food is limited in quality and quantity, and his reading material is two books he has with him. Of course his spirits are down as a result of being put in such harsh, inhuman and cruel conditions.
His name is Mordechai Vanunu, and he is in an Israeli prison cell. more.. e-mail
Al Mezan: 27 Injured; 10 Children, since Beginning of 2010
WAFA - GAZA, July 18, 2010 (WAFA)- The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) increased its attacks on Palestinian civilians who collect the rubble of the destroyed buildings and roads near the border fence
Israel imprisoned my father for nonviolently resisting the occupation
Uruknet July 16, 2010 - On 12 January 2010 my father Ibrahim was arrested by the Israeli army and sentenced to two years in prison for organizing and participating in nonviolent protests against the Israel's wall in the occupied West Bank. The wall cuts us off from our land and our olive groves, robbing our family of its livelihood. To...
IOF troops quell peaceful marches, fire at residential quarters
PIC 17 Jul 2010 - Israeli occupation forces' excessive use of tear gas bombs against peaceful anti wall marches in Ramallah and Bethlehem districts led to breathing problems among dozens of participants.
2 injured in Bil’in, journalist injured in Al-Ma’sara protests
7/16/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Two residents of the West Bank village of Bil'in and an international journalist in Al'-Ma'sara village were injured on Friday, during weekly protests against Israel's separation wall. In Bil'in, where the wall cuts off agricultural lands from farmers despite a High Court ruling mandating its removal, Israeli forces stationed on the western....
Night Beat: One-state right wingers
Palestine Note 15 Jul 2010 - Today in Palestine, Israel, the broader Middle East, and beyond: Israel's West Bank Separation wall. [Photo: Justin McIntosh] Israeli journalist Noam Sheizaf, who blogs at Promised Land , has an important article in the Haaretz weekend magazine...
Position paper: Suppression of demonstrations
B'tselem 14 Jul 2010 - The Separation Barrier causes severe violations of human rights, and gave rise to popular Palestinian resistance. In a new position paper, B'Tselem examines the army's increased efforts to quell these demonstrations, in light of the right to demonstrate.
Israel imprisoned my father for nonviolently resisting the occupation
Electronic Intifada: 16 Jul 2010 - On 12 January 2010 my father Ibrahim was arrested by the Israeli army and sentenced to two years in prison for organizing and participating in nonviolent protests against the Israel's wall in the occupied West Bank. The wall cuts us off from our land and our olive groves, robbing our family of its livelihood. Saeed Amireh writes from Nilin, occupied West Bank.
Gaza aid ship docks in Egypt
Palestine Note 14 Jul 2010 - Libyan vessel changes course after hitting 'wall of Israeli warships' New York - A Libyan aid ship originally bound for the besieged Gaza Strip has docked at the port of El-Arish, Egypt, after Israeli warships blocked...
Position paper: Suppression of demonstrations
B'tselem 14 Jul 2010 - The Separation Barrier causes severe violations of human rights, and gave rise to popular Palestinian resistance. In a new position paper, B'Tselem examines the army's increased efforts to quell these demonstrations, in light of the right to demonstrate.
Palestine's possible Gandhi: Budrus activist Ayed Morrar talks to Palestine Note
Palestine Note 14 Jul 2010 - By Sarah Harlan Washington - " Budrus ," Julia Bacha's successful documentary about one West Bank town's success in beating back the Israeli separation barrier with nonviolent resistance, is centered largely on the efforts of Ayed...
Gaza aid ship docks in Egypt
Palestine Note 14 Jul 2010 - Libyan vessel changes course after hitting 'wall of Israeli warships' New York - A Libyan aid ship originally bound for the besieged Gaza Strip has docked at the port of El-Arish, Egypt, after Israeli warships blocked...
Presbyterians insist on ‘breaking down the walls’ in Israel/Palestine despite pressure from the Jewish community
Mondoweiss - I’ve just returned from Minneapolis, having attended the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA at the invitation of the denomination’s Israel Palestine Mission Network. The PC(USA) is at the epicenter of the struggle of the Christian community in the U.S. to come to terms...
Israel's New 'Video Game' Executions
Palestine Chronicle: 13 Jul 2010 - By Jonathan Cook - Nazareth It is called Spot and Shoot. Operators sit in front of a TV monitor from which they can control the action with a PlayStation-style joystick. The aim: to kill terrorists. Played by: young women serving in the Israeli army. Spot and Shoot, as it is called by the Israeli military, may look like a video game but the figures on the screen are real people -- Palestinians in Gaza -- who can be killed with the press of a button on the joystick. The female soldiers, located far away in an operations room, are responsible for aiming and firing remote-controlled machine-guns mounted on watch-towers every few hundred metres along an electronic fence that surrounds Gaza. The system is one of the latest “remote killing” devices developed by Israel’s Rafael armaments company, the former weapons research division of the Israeli army and now a separate governmental...more
Tearing Down The Wall In Al-Ma’sara
Uruknet July 10, 2010 - Israeli soldiers dragged the remnants of a symbolic wall from highway 3157 near Al Ma’sara today, halting a popular demonstration. Yesterday’s protest took place on the sixth anniversary of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that construction of the Wall in Palestinian territory is illegal..
Palestinian village to be encircled by barrier
Uruknet July 10, 2010 - Israel has started construction on a new section of its West Bank separation barrier that Palestinian residents say could sound a death knell for their hamlet. The barrier, running much of the length of the West Bank, has already disrupted lives in many Palestinian towns and villages in its path. But it threatens to outright...
Irtas rally marks the sixth anniversary of the International Court of Justice ruling against the Wall
Stop The Wall - the popular committee against the Wall and settlements in The village of Irtas organized a protest which commemorated the 2004 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice which ruled that Israel’s construction of the Wall was illegal under international law. [
Tearing Down The Wall In Al-Ma'sara
Palestine Monitor: 10 Jul 2010 - Israeli soldiers dragged the remnants of a symbolic wall from highway 3157 near Al Ma'sara today, halting a popular demonstration. Yesterday's protest took place on the sixth anniversary of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that construction of the Wall in Palestinian territory is illegal. Written and photographed by Kara Newhouse. Gathering after noon prayers, around forty Palestinian, Israeli and international activists marched through the village chanting- "The wall must fall!", carrying a home-made wall constructed from iron and Styrofoam. The fake wall, decorated with stickers reading "The right to return is inalienable" measured four metres wide. The Separation Wall that Israel continues to build will be 760 km long when completed and could annex over 40% percent of West Bank land. When the demonstrators reached the intersection of Al Ma'sara's main road and 3157, they set up the Styrofoam wall in the road, where three army jeeps and...
OCHA And WHO Announce Israel’s Barriers Are Blocking Access To Hospital
Uruknet July 10, 2010 - On the sixth anniversary of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) demand that the Separation Barrier be re-routed and dismantled where it breaches Palestinian territory, The United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have issued a new report condemning its impact on health and agriculture. New...
Another Palestinian Gandhi Crushed by Israel
Uruknet July 9, 2010 - Few people other than Palestinians visit the Ofer Israeli military prison in the West Bank. Part military prison and part military courthouse, the Ofer prison complex feels like a desert version of Guantanamo Bay. Palestinians families wait for hours inside the prison walls while their loved ones stand trial in makeshift courthouses before military tribunals....
Israel to encircle Palestinian village with wall
Palestine Note 10 Jul 2010 - New York - Israel has begun construction on a section of its West Bank wall that will completely encircle the village of Al-Walajeh, outside of Bethlehem. Israel's West Bank wall [Photo: Chris Yunker, via Wikimedia Commons]...
Beitin marks the 6th anniversary of the ICJ ruling against the Wall
Stop The Wall - As usual, the protest began in front of the Beitin military checkpoint that cuts off 17 villages from the city of Ramallah. However, this week's protest, instead of centering on the issue of the injustice of the checkpoint, focused on Israel�s perpetual disregard for the ICJ ruling and demanded that Israel be held accountable for its human rights abuses. [
West Bank protests mark 6th anniversary of ICJ’s ruling on Israel’s illegal Apartheid Wall
7/10/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Al-Ma’sara: tearing down the wall: The Popular Committee of Al Mas'ara supported by a number of Internationals and Israelis constructed and then demolished a symbolic wall to mark the sixth anniversary of the decision by the International Court of Justice that Israel's Apartheid Wall is illegal. After afternoon prayers the villagers and internationals gathered to....
Tearing Down The Wall In Al-Ma'sara
Palestine Monitor - Israeli soldiers dragged the remnants of a symbolic wall from highway 3157 near Al Ma'sara today, halting a popular demonstration. Yesterday's protest took place on the sixth anniversary of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that construction of the Wall in Palestinian territory is illegal....
The People Behind ‘Keep Israel Safe’ and ‘Stop Iran Now’
Eli Clifton, Lobelog.com 7/7/2010
The Weekly Standard’s blog has been the go-to source for those of us who follow the various astroturf groups springing up to hype the looming Iranian nuclear threat.
First, there was the end-of-April launch of Keep Israel Safe. Keep Israel Safe is a joint project of Tom Rose, the former publisher of The Jerusalem Post and current contributing editor at The Weekly Standard, and Gary Bauer, a major player in the Christian right, long-time Kristol buddy, and charter member of The Project For a New American Century.
During his tenure at the The Jerusalem Post, Rose gained notoriety for pushing the paper’s editorial stance hard to the right and alienating his staff.
After Rose was fired from the paper in 2004, Bret Stephens, a former editor in chief at the Post and current Wall Street Journal columnist and editorial board member, wrote:
So many of us have been waiting for this day, and fighting for it, that we may be forgiven for thinking that Tom’s departure brings our problems to an end. It does not. It will be some time before we can undo the damage he wrought: To our finances, to our reputation, to our business relationships, to our morale, to the quality of our editorial product …. What we can say is that, with Tom gone, we can begin to address our problems in a rational and purposeful way.
Rose responded with a $2 million defamation lawsuit against Stephens. The case was dismissed by the trial judge, whose disposition was upheld by the appeals court. more.. e-mail
Tearing Down The Wall In Al-Ma'sara
Palestine Monitor: 10 Jul 2010 - Israeli soldiers dragged the remnants of a symbolic wall from highway 3157 near Al Ma'sara today, halting a popular demonstration. Yesterday's protest took place on the sixth anniversary of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that construction of the Wall in Palestinian territory is illegal. Written and photographed by Kara Newhouse. Gathering after noon prayers, around forty Palestinian, Israeli and international activists marched through the village chanting- "The wall must fall!", carrying a home-made wall constructed from iron and Styrofoam. The fake wall, decorated with stickers reading "The right to return is inalienable" measured four metres wide. The Separation Wall that Israel continues to build will be 760 km long when completed and could annex over 40% percent of West Bank land. When the demonstrators reached the intersection of Al Ma'sara's main road and 3157, they set up the Styrofoam wall in the road, where three army jeeps and...
Bil’in leader remains in jail after term ends
7/10/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Bil'in protest leader Adeeb Abu Rahma is being held in Israeli custody until the prosecution's appeal against him is heard, despite having served his term in full, a statement read Friday. Abu Rahma, a taxi driver and organizer of the weekly anti wall protests in the central West Bank village of Bil'in near....
Tibi: Destroy the wall
7/9/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - Palestinian Knesset member Ahmad Tibi called on international rights groups to take immediate action against Israel's disregard for the International Court of Justice's opinion on the illegality of the wall Friday. Tibi and fellow MK Mohammad Barakeh had participated in the hearing six years ago at the Hague, where he said it was....
Video: Palestinian healthcare paralysed by separation wall
Uruknet July 9, 2010 - Palestinians in the West Bank are not allowed into Israel for treatment unless they have a permit. The process of getting one is lengthy and complex. With males often denied permits on security grounds. The UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the World Health Organisation has issued a report expressing grave concern...
UN: West Bank wall a health hazard
AlJazeera 9 Jul 2010 - New report says barrier being built by Israel limits Palestinian access to medical care.
Dozens Injured Marking The Sixth ICJ Ruling Anniversary
PNN - Ghassan Bannoura - PNN - Anti wall protests were organized across the West Bank on Friday marking the sixth anniversary of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling against the wall Israel...
Today in Palestine: Palestinian healthcare paralyzed by separation wall
Mondoweiss - And other news from Today in Palestine: Land theft and destruction/Ethnic cleansing Netanyahu: “Settlement Activities To Resume By The End Of September” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that he will not renew the so-called settlement freeze in the occupied West Bank after it expires at...
Israeli refuseniks paint 'Free Gaza' on Warsaw Ghetto
IMEMC - 8 Jul 2010 - In a demonstration in Poland, Israeli activists who refuse to serve in the military (refuseniks) painted the words 'Free Gaza' and 'Liberate all the ghettos' on the Wall of a Ghetto used to imprison Jews during World War II – a move which sparked disgust from the Holocaust Museum in Israel.
In photos: Queen Nour attends film screening in Ramallah
7/8/2010 - Queen Nour, wife of the late King Hussein of Jordan, attends the premier screening of award-winning documentary Budrus at the Cultural Palace in Ramallah on 8 July 2010. The feature documentary portrays the life of a Palestinian community organizer and his daughter who organized popular resistance movements against Israel's construction of its separation wall in....
Palestinians face being walled by Israeli security barrier
The Guardian 8 Jul 2010 - Al Walaja in the West Bank turned into an enclave despite residents' protests Sixty-three-year-old Ahmed Bargouth sits in the shade of a walnut tree and contemplates the view before him. Across the valley is Jerusalem's zoo,...
Wall Main Obstacle to Movement within West Bank
WAFA - JERUSALEM, July 7, 2010 (WAFA)- The Israeli Wall in the West Bank, in conjunction with its gate and permit regime, continues to be the single largest obstacle to Palestinian movement within the West
Shoah survivors slam Warsaw Ghetto vandal
YNet News - Holocaust survivors living in Israel are fuming over the graffiti slogans sprayed on the walls of Warsaw Ghetto by left wing activist Yonatan Shapira on Sunday. .......
IDF objector sprays ’Free Gaza’ graffiti on Warsaw Ghetto wall
Anshel Pfeffer and Haaretz Service, Ha’aretz 7/5/2010
A group of left-wing activists last week sprayed graffiti on remnants of a Warsaw Ghetto wall calling for all ghettos to be liberated.
One of the activists was conscientious objector Yonatan Shapira, an Israel Air Force pilot who authored the Pilot’s Letter – a 2003 statement signed by 27 Israeli pilots who publicly refused to fly missions over the Palestinian territories. Shapira was subsequently ousted from reserve duty and also lost his job as a commercial pilot.
Last week Shapira joined a group of Israeli, Palestinian and Polish activists at a demonstration near the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto, where they sprayed graffiti on one of the walls saying "Liberate all ghettos" in Hebrew and "Free Gaza and Palestine" in English.
The activists’ rally took place near the last fragment of the perimeter wall of the Ghetto. They also hung Palestinian flags from the wall.
Shapira on Monday defended his actions, saying, "The Holocaust cannot be appropriated only by Bibi [Benjamin Netanyahu], [Avigdor] Lieberman or anyone else in the Israeli government.
"My action is not controversial," Shapira told Army Radio on Monday. "I am not saying there is a comparison with the monstrosity of Nazi death camps, but I am saying we must talk about the silence in Israel and the world when people are confined in a ghetto-like place."
Shapira went on to call the Israeli public indifferent and said "we will do everything to wake it up, even spray graffiti on an abandoned ghetto wall." more.. e-mail
Israel releases revised list of items banned from Gaza
LA Times 6 Jul 2010 - Most food and household goods are permitted, but critics say vital supplies are still blocked. The shift is part of an effort by Netanyahu to smooth the way for his White House visit Tuesday. As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embarked Monday on a fence-mending trip to the U.S., his government released a list of thousands of items that will continue to be banned or restricted from entering the Gaza Strip, including such basics as fertilizer and cement.
Israeli forces attack non-violent anti-Wall demo in Beit Jala
IMEMC - 5 Jul 2010 - In what has become a weekly non-violent demonstration against the Wall, Palestinian and Israeli peace activists came together Sunday afternoon in the town of Beit Jala, near Bethlehem. Israeli forces launched a barrage of semi-lethal weapons at the demonstrators, injuring both participants in the demo and passers-by, according to eyewitnesses.
Obama and Netanyahu to mend fences
The National 5 Jul 2010 - The UK and Israel have smoothed out their differences in recent weeks after discord over settlement policy strained the alliance.
Bethlehem: Activists injured, arrested in protests leading up to the 6th anniversary of the ICJ decision
Stop The Wall - Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested activists and assaulted 15 demonstrators with batons during the weekly protest against the Apartheid Wall and settlements in Wadi Rahal while kilometers away farmers blocked the Tekoa-Efrat settlement road. [
Bi’lin and Ni’lin continue protests against the Israeli Apartheid System
Stop The Wall - The protestors in both marches carried large pictures of the martyrs Yasser Arafat and Ahmad Yassin as a message of Palestinian national unity calling for solidarity across factions to face the Israeli Apartheid system. Banners calling for the boycott of Israel were also carried. [
Israeli courts criminalize protest: Adeeb Abu Rahma sentenced to two years
7/4/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - International network for the Palestinian popular nonviolent resistance - Israeli repression of Palestinian non-violent resistance against the Wall and the Occupation takes a distubring turn: Adeeb Abu Rahma, from Bil'in Village, sentenced to two years' imprisonment. On 30 June 2010, grassroots activist Adeeb Abu Rahma, member of the Bil'in Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements....
'Free Palestine' sprayed on Warsaw Ghetto wall
YNet News - Former Israeli pilot known for signing refusniks' letter hangs Palestinian flag....
Several injured as Israeli forces disperse Beit Jala rally
7/4/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Several injuries were reported on Sunday as Israeli forces dispersed a march protesting settlement expansion and the wall's construction in Beit Jala, a town in the southern West Bank district of Bethlehem. Imad Abu Nassar, the coordinator of the national committee against the wall, said confrontations were based near the Cremisan area and....
Several injured as Israeli forces disperse Beit Jala rally
Uruknet July 4, 2010 - Several injuries were reported on Sunday as Israeli forces dispersed a march protesting settlement expansion and the wall's construction in Beit Jala, a town in the southern West Bank district of Bethlehem. Imad Abu Nassar, the coordinator of the national committee against the wall, said confrontations were based near the Cremisan area and the injured...
Israeli courts criminalize protest: Adeeb Abu Rahma sentenced to two years
7/4/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - International network for the Palestinian popular nonviolent resistance - Israeli repression of Palestinian non-violent resistance against the Wall and the Occupation takes a distubring turn: Adeeb Abu Rahma, from Bil'in Village, sentenced to two years' imprisonment. On 30 June 2010, grassroots activist Adeeb Abu Rahma, member of the Bil'in Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements....
IOF troops wound four civilians, detain three others in peaceful march
PIC 4 Jul 2010 - Four Palestinian citizens were wounded while three others were arrested when the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) quelled a peaceful anti wall march in Beit Jala town north of Bethlehem on Sunday.
Nocturnal Terror in Silwan
Jesse Bacon, Israel: The Only Democracy in the Middle East? 7/3/2010
Another night sets in on Silwan. Just two days ago, hundreds of Israeli and Palestinian demonstrators marched together along the narrow streets of the neighborhood, to support the local residents, facing the municipality’s plan to demolish 22 houses. But here, as anywhere in east Jerusalem, happenings do not cease for a moment.
In previous weeks, more and more appeals to the solidarity activists of Sheikh Jarrah came in from the residents of Silwan. In view of our successful campaign, more and more Palestinians have been trying to find a way for Arab-Jewish cooperation. During recent tours in Silwan, we all had a sense of urgency and shared destiny. We must act, and act fast, before catastrophe hits us, before the abyss becomes too deep and wide to bridge. And we must act together, against all the risks and against all the suspicion which has built up here over the years.
And now we are here, climbing up the narrow alleys, together with the locals. Just one hour ago, tens of private security guards, escorted by border policemen, entered Palestinian homes around “Beit Hadvash” (house of honey in Hebrew…) and “Beit Yehonatan”. The settlers have only managed to seize two houses in this area, but this is enough to bring the place to the brink of eruption. Nightly border police patrols, private security personnel, armed with guns, undercover policemen and “Mistaarvim” (Israeli soldiers disguised as Arabs) have turned the place into a war zone.
This alley is narrow, dark. Tens of meters above us, shots are being fired and explosions can be heard. A helicopter is hovering above us, projecting rays of light onto alleys where the municipality has never thought of installing street lights. Twenty activists cling to the walls, and keep going forward.
All of a sudden the alley comes to an end, and a battlefield lies ahead of us. The small street around Beit Hadvash is all strewn with rifle bullet casings, unexploded grenades and the parts of destroyed cars. The soldiers are standing in groups at the entrances to houses and on the balconies, shooting into the houses around them.... more.. e-mail
Hamas and Hezbollah 'beginning to embrace non-violent tactics'
Ha'aretz - Wall Street Journal reports that Hamas and Hezbollah see civil disobedience, protest marches, lawsuits and boycotts as productive tactics in their fight against Israel.
Report: PA would give Israel Western Wall
Jeruslalem Post 3 Jul 2010 - Arab newspaper says Abbas willing to give Israel Jewish Quarter of Old City.
Hamas and Hezbollah 'beginning to embrace non-violent tactics'
Ha'aretz 4 Jul 2010 - Wall Street Journal reports that Hamas and Hezbollah see civil disobedience, protest marches, lawsuits and boycotts as productive tactics in their fight against Israel.
Army Attacks Nonviolent Weekly Protest In Bil’in
IMEMC - 2 Jul 2010 - As local residents accompanied by international peace activists held their nonviolent weekly protest against the Annexation Wall in Bil’in village, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, Israeli soldiers fired gas bombs at them leading to dozens of injuries.
2 foreigners detained at Bethlehem protest
7/2/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Two foreign nationals were detained Friday in the central West Bank at a protest against Israel's wall, activists said. Dozens of foreigners participated in the demonstration in Al-Mas'ara, a village near Bethlehem, organizers said. Israeli forces clashed with the demonstrators and dispersed the demonstration. Salah Al-Khawaja, a member in the Nil'in popular committee....
Soldiers attacked at anti-fence protests
YNet News - Four left-wing activists were arrested late Friday afternoon at protests against the separation fence in the West Bank, on suspicion they attacked members of Israel's .......
Army Invades Bil’in
IMEMC - 30 Jun 2010 - Israeli soldiers invaded the village of Bil’in, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, in an attempt to kidnap a local activist of the nonviolent movement against the annexation wall built on village lands.
'Iran supplied Syria with radar system to thwart surprise Israel attack'
Ha'aretz - According to Wall Street Journal, Iran is equipping its ally with ability to prevent IDF from attacking nuclear facilities and to bolster defenses of Syria and Hezbollah.
'Iran supplied Syria with radar system to thwart surprise Israel attack'
Ha'aretz 1 Jul 2010 - According to Wall Street Journal, Iran is equipping its ally with ability to prevent IDF from attacking nuclear facilities and to bolster defenses of Syria and Hezbollah.
Tehran supplies radar system to Syria - report
Daily Star 1 Jul 2010 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Iran has supplied a sophisticated radar system to Syria that can monitor Israeli air force sorties and threaten its ability to attack Iranian nuclear targets by surprise, the Wall Street Journal said on Thursday....
The Two Sides of a Barbed-Wire Fence
Nicholas D. Kristof, Karmel, West Bank, New York Times 6/30/2010
The Israeli occupation of the West Bank is widely acknowledged to be unsustainable and costly to the country’s image. But one more blunt truth must be acknowledged: the occupation is morally repugnant.
On one side of a barbed-wire fence here in the southern Hebron hills is the Bedouin village of Umm al-Kheir, where Palestinians live in ramshackle tents and huts. They aren’t allowed to connect to the electrical grid, and Israel won’t permit them to build homes, barns for their animals or even toilets. When the villagers build permanent structures, the Israeli authorities come and demolish them, according to villagers and Israeli human rights organizations.
On the other side of the barbed wire is the Jewish settlement of Karmel, a lovely green oasis that looks like an American suburb. It has lush gardens, kids riding bikes and air-conditioned homes. It also has a gleaming, electrified poultry barn that it runs as a business.
Elad Orian, an Israeli human rights activist, nodded toward the poultry barn and noted: “Those chickens get more electricity and water than all the Palestinians around here.”
It’s fair to acknowledge that there are double standards in the Middle East, with particular scrutiny on Israeli abuses. After all, the biggest theft of Arab land in the Middle East has nothing to do with Palestinians: It is Morocco’s robbery of the resource-rich Western Sahara from the people who live there.
None of that changes the ugly truth that our ally, Israel, is using American military support to maintain an occupation that is both oppressive and unjust. Israel has eased checkpoints this year — a real improvement in quality of life — but the system is intrinsically malignant. more.. e-mail
The Battle For Al-Walaja
Palestine Monitor: 1 Jul 2010 - Hidden between the ancient cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, lies the village of Al-Walaja. Home to around 2,000 people, mainly agricultural workers, the land is rich in olive trees, summer crops and other natural resources. But the village is at a crossroads. Reporting from Aaron Dearborn. This year has witnessed a surge in Israeli military crackdowns, as Al-Walaja joins Bili'n, Ni'lin and Beit Jala, as the scene of heated weekly anti-wall demonstrations and popular resistance. Since the first construction workers and soldiers arrived to begin clearing land for the Wall almost four years ago, locals say they have received an increasing number of eviction orders, arrests, threats and intimidation from IDF soldiers. The current plan for Al-Walaja will see the town surrounded on all sides by the wall. Only one entry and exit point, under complete military control, will remain. The position of nearby settlements mean the Wall will encroach...
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