New Israeli law prohibits discussion in public institutions of the Palestinian perspective on 1948
Jerusalem Post - The so-called “Nakba law” appears to be on its way to becoming law, after it was approved in its second and third votes in the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee on Monday. The legislation now awaits a second and third vote in the Knesset plenum in which it is expected to pass.
The bill gets its name because it would require the state to fine local authorities and other state-funded bodies for holding events marking Israeli Independence Day as the “Nakba” (“catastrophe” in Arabic) or for supporting armed resistance or racism against Israel. It also bans desecration of the state flag or national symbols.
A spokesman for committee chairman David Rotem (Yisrael Beiteinu), whose fellow party member Alex Miller initiated the bill, said that it would surely pass its final two votes, as it is a law put forward by the governing coalition...
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Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Revered as business guru, Rabbi faces questions about his organization’s finances
The Forward - On the streets of Ashdod, a hardscrabble port city in Israel’s southern desert, Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto is considered the local saint.
Six middle-aged men sitting outside a cafe nodded with recognition when asked about the 37-year-old scion of Moroccan rabbinic royalty. “He’s an honored person here,” one said. Another man, hearing the kabbalist’s name, shouted “Tzadik,” or righteous one, as he hurried down the street.
And his reputation isn’t confined to the Jewish state’s grittier precincts. In the hallowed halls of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, Pinto is revered. A December 2010 reception in his honor was attended by five Cabinet members and an Israel Defense Forces major general. In January, he hobnobbed with opposition leader Tzipi Livni of the Kadima party at a dinner in a Tel Aviv hotel. And as the Forward prepared this story, current and former Israeli government officials contacted the paper on Pinto’s behalf...
In New York, appearances by the charismatic rabbi can draw more than 100 people to his Midtown Manhattan yeshiva, including Israeli-born real estate moguls and Jewish communal heavyweights. LeBron James, the superstar professional basketball player, has also consulted with the rabbi.
But a Forward investigation of Pinto’s Manhattan not-for-profit Mosdot Shuva Israel points to the contrast between the rabbi’s lifestyle and his reputation for modest living, and raises questions about the rabbi’s image as a business guru when his own not-for-profit faces financial problems.
Among the Forward’s findings:
• The $6.5 million Manhattan townhouse where Pinto lives, which is owned by Mosdot Shuva Israel, faces foreclosure;
• Mosdot Shuva Israel has not responded to or paid a $48,000 judgment against it for failure to obtain workers’ compensation insurance;
• The top financial officer of Mosdot Shuva Israel, who does not speak English, could not say how many employees worked for the organization;
• Former donors to the organization claim that associates of the group employed insistent and unusual fundraising tactics.
Six middle-aged men sitting outside a cafe nodded with recognition when asked about the 37-year-old scion of Moroccan rabbinic royalty. “He’s an honored person here,” one said. Another man, hearing the kabbalist’s name, shouted “Tzadik,” or righteous one, as he hurried down the street.
And his reputation isn’t confined to the Jewish state’s grittier precincts. In the hallowed halls of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, Pinto is revered. A December 2010 reception in his honor was attended by five Cabinet members and an Israel Defense Forces major general. In January, he hobnobbed with opposition leader Tzipi Livni of the Kadima party at a dinner in a Tel Aviv hotel. And as the Forward prepared this story, current and former Israeli government officials contacted the paper on Pinto’s behalf...
In New York, appearances by the charismatic rabbi can draw more than 100 people to his Midtown Manhattan yeshiva, including Israeli-born real estate moguls and Jewish communal heavyweights. LeBron James, the superstar professional basketball player, has also consulted with the rabbi.
But a Forward investigation of Pinto’s Manhattan not-for-profit Mosdot Shuva Israel points to the contrast between the rabbi’s lifestyle and his reputation for modest living, and raises questions about the rabbi’s image as a business guru when his own not-for-profit faces financial problems.
Among the Forward’s findings:
• The $6.5 million Manhattan townhouse where Pinto lives, which is owned by Mosdot Shuva Israel, faces foreclosure;
• Mosdot Shuva Israel has not responded to or paid a $48,000 judgment against it for failure to obtain workers’ compensation insurance;
• The top financial officer of Mosdot Shuva Israel, who does not speak English, could not say how many employees worked for the organization;
• Former donors to the organization claim that associates of the group employed insistent and unusual fundraising tactics.
None of these activities directly involves the rabbi himself, and all focus on a single component of his sprawling international network, which a senior Mosdot Shuva Israel official estimated runs on $50 million to $60 million a year...
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Former Israeli President jailed for seven years on rape charges
BBC - The former Israeli President Moshe Katsav has been sentenced to seven years in prison on charges of rape and sexual harassment.
He was convicted at an earlier hearing of raping an employee in the 1990s, when he was tourism minister, and of later sexual offences while he was president.
Mr Katsav, who stepped down in 2007, has denied the charges against him and his lawyers say that he will appeal...
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He was convicted at an earlier hearing of raping an employee in the 1990s, when he was tourism minister, and of later sexual offences while he was president.
Mr Katsav, who stepped down in 2007, has denied the charges against him and his lawyers say that he will appeal...
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Israel continues shelling Gaza, death toll rises to eight, 12, 16, and 17 year old among the dead
Jerusalem Post - ...In the afternoon, IDF troops shot mortars into Gaza and accidentally hit innocent civilians in the northern town of Sajaiyeh...
Palestinians reported that four people were killed in the strike aged 58, 12, 16 and 17.
The IDF said that that the Southern Command was investigating the incident..
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Palestinians reported that four people were killed in the strike aged 58, 12, 16 and 17.
The IDF said that that the Southern Command was investigating the incident..
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Israel's latest apartheid law allows Jewish settlements built on state land inside Israel not to admit Palestinian citizens of Israel
Counterpunch, Ilan Pappe - Those of us who have been veteran comrades in the struggle for peace and justice in Palestine have quite often been frustrated by the inability to galvanize enough support in the political and media establishments in the West against the brutal occupation of the West Bank and the strangulation of Gaza. We believed that clear cut evidence of the oppression and the highly visible criminal policies that raged since 1967 should have at least triggered a world reaction similar to the one that now takes place against Libya, and even more so.
But we know all the reasons why it did not, and will not happen. And yet we may have overlooked one particular reason, indeed one successful ploy of the Israeli peace camp that seems to have aborted any such effort in its buds. The liberal Zionists believe strongly in the existence of two discrete entities one Israel and one that lies on the other side of the 1967 green line which have very little in common. The acceptance of this line as a hard fact is the main justification given in the West for the inaction against Israel (one which is also supported by some of Palestine's best friends and of course the Palestinian Authority). The line drawn is not just a political boundary it is mainly a moral border. Everything that is happening in the occupied world is diametrically opposed to life in democratic Israel and hence the argument is that if you treat Israel as a pariah state then you will also harm the 'good' part, the pre-1967 state. This is also the basis to the continued support for the two states solution that bases peace on the ability of moral Israel to re-invent itself in the pre-1967 borders.
I hope this distinction would at least disappear from the vocabulary and dictionary of the Western solidarity movement with Palestine (where it can still be heard in loyalty to the peace camp in Israel, the PA and the invisible lord of realpolitik).That this distinction is false was proved once more this week (20 March, 2011) when yet another apartheid law was passed in Israel. This new law allows Jewish settlements built on state land inside Israel not to admit Israeli Palestinian citizens as residents and legalizes the wish of these new settlers not to sell land to the Palestinians citizens of the state. This is one of many such laws passed recently (the loyalty oath law that turns the Palestinians in Israel to second class citizens by law and one which does not allow them to live with their Palestinians spouses from the occupied territories are two of the more famous apartheid laws passed recently). The new law, like the previous others, institutionalize the Apartheid State of Israel or for short ASOI...
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But we know all the reasons why it did not, and will not happen. And yet we may have overlooked one particular reason, indeed one successful ploy of the Israeli peace camp that seems to have aborted any such effort in its buds. The liberal Zionists believe strongly in the existence of two discrete entities one Israel and one that lies on the other side of the 1967 green line which have very little in common. The acceptance of this line as a hard fact is the main justification given in the West for the inaction against Israel (one which is also supported by some of Palestine's best friends and of course the Palestinian Authority). The line drawn is not just a political boundary it is mainly a moral border. Everything that is happening in the occupied world is diametrically opposed to life in democratic Israel and hence the argument is that if you treat Israel as a pariah state then you will also harm the 'good' part, the pre-1967 state. This is also the basis to the continued support for the two states solution that bases peace on the ability of moral Israel to re-invent itself in the pre-1967 borders.
I hope this distinction would at least disappear from the vocabulary and dictionary of the Western solidarity movement with Palestine (where it can still be heard in loyalty to the peace camp in Israel, the PA and the invisible lord of realpolitik).That this distinction is false was proved once more this week (20 March, 2011) when yet another apartheid law was passed in Israel. This new law allows Jewish settlements built on state land inside Israel not to admit Israeli Palestinian citizens as residents and legalizes the wish of these new settlers not to sell land to the Palestinians citizens of the state. This is one of many such laws passed recently (the loyalty oath law that turns the Palestinians in Israel to second class citizens by law and one which does not allow them to live with their Palestinians spouses from the occupied territories are two of the more famous apartheid laws passed recently). The new law, like the previous others, institutionalize the Apartheid State of Israel or for short ASOI...
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Report: Israel-Gaza border violence in March
Maan News Agency - The following is a day-by-day summary of reports on projectile fire, gunfights, air strikes and artillery fire in the Gaza border area since the beginning of March.
1 March
Armed wings of Hamas and PFLP claim fire at Israeli forces in northern Strip.
Witnesses say Israeli fire injures 22-year-old Gaza man in southern Strip. Israeli military says soldiers did not fire back at factions operating in south, AFP reports force used new "antitank" interception system.
2 March
Witnesses say Israeli force enters southern Gaza under gunfire. No injuries reported. Israeli military denies fire.
PFLP fighters say fired on an Israeli military patrol in the northern Gaza Strip....
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1 March
Armed wings of Hamas and PFLP claim fire at Israeli forces in northern Strip.
Witnesses say Israeli fire injures 22-year-old Gaza man in southern Strip. Israeli military says soldiers did not fire back at factions operating in south, AFP reports force used new "antitank" interception system.
2 March
Witnesses say Israeli force enters southern Gaza under gunfire. No injuries reported. Israeli military denies fire.
PFLP fighters say fired on an Israeli military patrol in the northern Gaza Strip....
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Settlers attack Palestinian farmland
Maan News Agency - Settlers on Tuesday destroyed agricultural land owned by Palestinian villagers near Nablus in the northern West Bank.
The Agricultural Work Committees Union recently planted hundreds of seedlings on the land around Aqraba village.
Residents of the illegal Itamar settlement uprooted the seedlings and destroyed water wells in the area, the union said.
The union appealed to international organizations to intervene and protect Paelstinians and their properties from escalating settler violence.
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The Agricultural Work Committees Union recently planted hundreds of seedlings on the land around Aqraba village.
Residents of the illegal Itamar settlement uprooted the seedlings and destroyed water wells in the area, the union said.
The union appealed to international organizations to intervene and protect Paelstinians and their properties from escalating settler violence.
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Israel continues to shell Gaza, 5 dead, including children
Maan News Agency - A child, teenager and three adults were killed and others injured by Israeli artillery fire which hit a home east of Gaza City on Tuesday afternoon, the second shelling and third hit of the day.
Earlier, two were injured in the same area in separate incidents involving artillery fire and a drone strike.
An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed the involvement of civilians, in a strike she said was directed toward militants.
Medics collected bodies from a home on An-Nazzaz Street in the eastern part of the Ash-Shaja’iya neighborhood in Gaza City.
Adham Abu Salmiya, spokesman of the higher committee of ambulance and emergency services, said members of the Al-Hilu family were playing football outside of their home when the shell hit.
Eyewitnesses said ambulances took the injured to Ash-Shifa hospital in Gaza city...
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Earlier, two were injured in the same area in separate incidents involving artillery fire and a drone strike.
An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed the involvement of civilians, in a strike she said was directed toward militants.
Medics collected bodies from a home on An-Nazzaz Street in the eastern part of the Ash-Shaja’iya neighborhood in Gaza City.
Adham Abu Salmiya, spokesman of the higher committee of ambulance and emergency services, said members of the Al-Hilu family were playing football outside of their home when the shell hit.
Eyewitnesses said ambulances took the injured to Ash-Shifa hospital in Gaza city...
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Israeli forces detain Palestinian journalist and his two sons
Maan News Agency - Sources at Voice of Palestine Radio told Ma'an that the station's director of programming was detained by Israeli forces in the village of Awarta, after the village was locked down under a military curfew.
Kamal Sharab's home was searched during a raid, and soldiers detained him and two of his sons - Fadi, 17, and Ra’fat, 16.
Earlier in the week, Sharab's brother was also detained, in a round up that saw 40 men and youth from Awarta taken by Israeli forces.
The sources told Ma’an that Israeli forces detained Kamal’s brother a few days ago.
The Palestinian Journalist Syndicate condemned the detention of journalists and called for his immediate release...
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Kamal Sharab's home was searched during a raid, and soldiers detained him and two of his sons - Fadi, 17, and Ra’fat, 16.
Earlier in the week, Sharab's brother was also detained, in a round up that saw 40 men and youth from Awarta taken by Israeli forces.
The sources told Ma’an that Israeli forces detained Kamal’s brother a few days ago.
The Palestinian Journalist Syndicate condemned the detention of journalists and called for his immediate release...
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Monday, March 21, 2011
Israeli aircraft drops bombs on Gaza, at least 19 wounded
Maan News Agency - Residents of the Gaza Strip reported late Monday that Israeli aircraft fired on two sites in the coastal enclave, including a security facility in the south and a warehouse in Gaza City.
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UN investigator: Israel engaged in ethnic cleansing with settlement expansion
U.S. academic Richard Falk spoke to UN Human Rights Council as it prepared resolution condemning settlement building in East Jerusalem and West Bank
Haaretz - Israel's expansion of settlements in East Jerusalem and eviction of Palestinians from their homes there is a form of ethnic cleansing, a United Nations investigator said on Monday.
United States academic Richard Falk was speaking to the UN Human Rights Council as it prepared to pass resolutions condemning settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The "continued pattern of settlement expansion in East Jerusalem combined with the forcible eviction of long-residing Palestinians are creating an intolerable situation" in the part of the city previously controlled by Jordan, he said.
This situation "can only be described in its cumulative impact as a form of ethnic cleansing," Falk declared.
Israel declines to deal with Falk or even allow him into the country, accusing him of being biased...
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Haaretz - Israel's expansion of settlements in East Jerusalem and eviction of Palestinians from their homes there is a form of ethnic cleansing, a United Nations investigator said on Monday.
United States academic Richard Falk was speaking to the UN Human Rights Council as it prepared to pass resolutions condemning settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The "continued pattern of settlement expansion in East Jerusalem combined with the forcible eviction of long-residing Palestinians are creating an intolerable situation" in the part of the city previously controlled by Jordan, he said.
This situation "can only be described in its cumulative impact as a form of ethnic cleansing," Falk declared.
Israel declines to deal with Falk or even allow him into the country, accusing him of being biased...
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Settler opens fire on funeral procession
Maan News Agency - Two Palestinians were shot Monday afternoon when a settler disembarked from his car on the Jerusalem-Hebron road and opened fire on a funeral procession heading to the Beit Ummar cemetery.
Medics said two were injured in the shooting, including 59-year-old Muhammad Ali Abu Safiyya who was in critical condition after being shot in the chest, and 32-year-old Bassam Zaq’aqiq, who was shot in his right thigh. Both were evacuated to hospital.
According to Palestinian Authority officials, Abu Safiyya is in critical critical condition at the Al-Ahli Hospital, while Zaq’aqiq is in the Alia Hospital in stable condition.
According to eyewitnesses, Palestinians from Beit Ummar and the area were walking in funeral procession, when settler arrived and opened fire at Abu Safiyeh and Za’aqiq.
An eyewitness told Ma'an that a settler stopped his car near the town and walked toward the local cemetery where mourners were escorting the body of a loved one for burial.
As he approached the cemetery, the witness said, the settler drew out a gun and began shooting indiscriminately at the mourners...
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Medics said two were injured in the shooting, including 59-year-old Muhammad Ali Abu Safiyya who was in critical condition after being shot in the chest, and 32-year-old Bassam Zaq’aqiq, who was shot in his right thigh. Both were evacuated to hospital.
According to Palestinian Authority officials, Abu Safiyya is in critical critical condition at the Al-Ahli Hospital, while Zaq’aqiq is in the Alia Hospital in stable condition.
According to eyewitnesses, Palestinians from Beit Ummar and the area were walking in funeral procession, when settler arrived and opened fire at Abu Safiyeh and Za’aqiq.
An eyewitness told Ma'an that a settler stopped his car near the town and walked toward the local cemetery where mourners were escorting the body of a loved one for burial.
As he approached the cemetery, the witness said, the settler drew out a gun and began shooting indiscriminately at the mourners...
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Israeli forces arrest 4 Palestinians at Al-Aqsa Mosque
Maan News Agency - Israeli forces detained four Palestinians from inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards on Monday.
According to guards in the area, the detentions were precipitated by the men chanting "God is Great."
Tensions were high at the site, which was being visited by an ultra-orthodox Jewish group of proximately 40 people, guards said.
Field workers with the Research and Documentation Unit in the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights said the calls to god angered the border guards accompanying the religious group, prompting the arrests.
Palestinian worshipers at the site were outraged at the move, and demanded that the Israeli forces release the men, saying that chanting the phrase "God is Great" (Allahu Akbar) did not justify their arrest.
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According to guards in the area, the detentions were precipitated by the men chanting "God is Great."
Tensions were high at the site, which was being visited by an ultra-orthodox Jewish group of proximately 40 people, guards said.
Field workers with the Research and Documentation Unit in the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights said the calls to god angered the border guards accompanying the religious group, prompting the arrests.
Palestinian worshipers at the site were outraged at the move, and demanded that the Israeli forces release the men, saying that chanting the phrase "God is Great" (Allahu Akbar) did not justify their arrest.
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Settlers stab Palestinian in the West Bank
Maan News Agency - A 32-year-old from the south Hebron hills told Ma'an he was stabbed in the chest on Monday by settlers from the Ma'on settlement.
Speaking by phone from hospital, Mahmoud Ibrahim Ali Awad said he was treated for moderate stab wounds.
The father of two lives in Khirbet Toubeh. Family members told the Palestinian Authority shortly after the incident that he was attacked while riding his donkey toward the nearby town of Yatta, where he was to receive treatment for kidney problems.
As he passed by the Havat Maon outpost settlers accosted him and one stabbed him several times in the chest, head and left arm, a PA statement said. He was moved to Alia hospital in Hebron.
Medical sources said Awad was scheduled for surgery Monday afternoon...
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Speaking by phone from hospital, Mahmoud Ibrahim Ali Awad said he was treated for moderate stab wounds.
The father of two lives in Khirbet Toubeh. Family members told the Palestinian Authority shortly after the incident that he was attacked while riding his donkey toward the nearby town of Yatta, where he was to receive treatment for kidney problems.
As he passed by the Havat Maon outpost settlers accosted him and one stabbed him several times in the chest, head and left arm, a PA statement said. He was moved to Alia hospital in Hebron.
Medical sources said Awad was scheduled for surgery Monday afternoon...
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Israel's military intelligence admits to monitoring international organizations
IDF officers say special department has been created to monitor left-wing groups that the army sees as aiming to delegitimize Israel; department will work closely with government ministries.
Haaretz - Military Intelligence is collecting information about left-wing organizations abroad that the army sees as aiming to delegitimize Israel, according to senior Israeli officials and Israel Defense Forces officers.
The sources said MI's research division created a department several months ago that is dedicated to monitoring left-wing groups and will work closely with government ministries. In recent weeks, the head of the new unit has been taking part in discussions in the Prime Minister's Office about how to prepare for the possible arrival of a Gaza-bound flotilla in May.
The undefined and potentially broad scope of such a venture, which IDF sources say is focusing on how to respond to maritime convoys aimed at breaching Israel's Gaza blockade, has some Foreign Ministry officials concerned that the army is overreaching.
"We ourselves don't know exactly how to define delegitimization," said one ministry official. "This is a very abstract definition. Are flotillas to Gaza delegitimization? Is criticism of settlements delegitimization? It's not clear how Military Intelligence's involvement in this will provide added value."
Military Intelligence officials said the initiative reflects an upsurge in worldwide efforts to delegitimize Israel and question its right to exist....
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Haaretz - Military Intelligence is collecting information about left-wing organizations abroad that the army sees as aiming to delegitimize Israel, according to senior Israeli officials and Israel Defense Forces officers.
The sources said MI's research division created a department several months ago that is dedicated to monitoring left-wing groups and will work closely with government ministries. In recent weeks, the head of the new unit has been taking part in discussions in the Prime Minister's Office about how to prepare for the possible arrival of a Gaza-bound flotilla in May.
The undefined and potentially broad scope of such a venture, which IDF sources say is focusing on how to respond to maritime convoys aimed at breaching Israel's Gaza blockade, has some Foreign Ministry officials concerned that the army is overreaching.
"We ourselves don't know exactly how to define delegitimization," said one ministry official. "This is a very abstract definition. Are flotillas to Gaza delegitimization? Is criticism of settlements delegitimization? It's not clear how Military Intelligence's involvement in this will provide added value."
Military Intelligence officials said the initiative reflects an upsurge in worldwide efforts to delegitimize Israel and question its right to exist....
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Human rights organizations call for immediate release of Palestinian abducted by Israeli forces in Ukraine
Palestinian Center for Human Rights - On 19 February 2011, members of the national intelligence agency of Israel (Mossad) kidnapped Derar Mousa Yousef Abu Sisi, 42 while he was in the Ukraine. Mr. Abu Sisi is the Director of the Operations, Department in Gaza Power Generation Plant. Mossad then transferred Abu Sisi to Israel. Abu Sisi is currently being detained in Ashkelon prison. Yesterday, 20 March 2011, a lawyer from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) managed to visit Abu Sisi for the first time.
Abu Sisi told the PCHR lawyer that on 19 February 2011 he was travelling by train from Kharkov to Kiev to meet with his brother Yousef who was coming from the Netherlands. Abu Sisi stated that three persons, two in military uniforms, entered his room on the train. They asked him to show his passport but he refused. Then they threatened him and forcefully took his passport. They forced him to get off the train at the nearby station of Poltava. At this time he was handcuffed and hooded. He was transported in a car to Kiev. Once in Kiev he was held in an apartment where there were another six persons who introduced themselves to be members of the Mossad. Abu Sisi said that the Mossad members immediately questioned him and then flew him by plane. The flight lasted between four and five hours before landing in a place unknown to him. Approximately thirty minutes later, they took off again and the flight lasted for approximately one hour. Upon landing Abu Sisi found himself in Israel. Abu Sisi told the PCHR lawyer that he was denied contact with a lawyer for fourteen days. This denial was extended for another eleven days. He said that he was placed under intensive interrogations and that he was denied his legal rights.
It should be noted that the Israeli security authorities imposed a media blackout regarding the kidnapping of Abu Sisi and prevented lawyers from visiting him to check on his health and provide legal assistance during the second period.
After knowing the details from Abu Sisi, PCHR has doubts about whether there was collusion from international parties in the kidnapping. Especially as Abu Sisi was not legally arrested by Ukrainian authorities and he did not have any appearances in domestic courts. PCHR has concerns over the deterioration of Abu Sisi's health and notes that he has cholelithiasis and he takes blood thinning medicines. He is experiencing serious psychological problems after going into long and continued investigation sessions. PCHR calls for the immediate release of Abu Sisi.
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Abu Sisi told the PCHR lawyer that on 19 February 2011 he was travelling by train from Kharkov to Kiev to meet with his brother Yousef who was coming from the Netherlands. Abu Sisi stated that three persons, two in military uniforms, entered his room on the train. They asked him to show his passport but he refused. Then they threatened him and forcefully took his passport. They forced him to get off the train at the nearby station of Poltava. At this time he was handcuffed and hooded. He was transported in a car to Kiev. Once in Kiev he was held in an apartment where there were another six persons who introduced themselves to be members of the Mossad. Abu Sisi said that the Mossad members immediately questioned him and then flew him by plane. The flight lasted between four and five hours before landing in a place unknown to him. Approximately thirty minutes later, they took off again and the flight lasted for approximately one hour. Upon landing Abu Sisi found himself in Israel. Abu Sisi told the PCHR lawyer that he was denied contact with a lawyer for fourteen days. This denial was extended for another eleven days. He said that he was placed under intensive interrogations and that he was denied his legal rights.
It should be noted that the Israeli security authorities imposed a media blackout regarding the kidnapping of Abu Sisi and prevented lawyers from visiting him to check on his health and provide legal assistance during the second period.
After knowing the details from Abu Sisi, PCHR has doubts about whether there was collusion from international parties in the kidnapping. Especially as Abu Sisi was not legally arrested by Ukrainian authorities and he did not have any appearances in domestic courts. PCHR has concerns over the deterioration of Abu Sisi's health and notes that he has cholelithiasis and he takes blood thinning medicines. He is experiencing serious psychological problems after going into long and continued investigation sessions. PCHR calls for the immediate release of Abu Sisi.
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US Journalist Helen Thomas: “I’m not anti-Jewish, I’m anti-Zionist”
IMEMC - ormer White House correspondent Helen Thomas, 89, who was fired last year after making controversial comments about Israel, told Playboy magazine in a feature interview that her comments were misinterpreted by the media, but that she stood by her critique of Israel.
Playboy contributing editor David Hochman interviewed Thomas in her Washington DC home for a full-length feature in Playboy magazine, giving Thomas a chance to explain herself. Her career of over 50 years as a White House correspondent came to an abrupt end last May when Rabbi David Nesenoff approached Thomas with a camcorder outside the White House and asked her what she thought of Israel. Thomas responded “I think they should get the hell out of Palestine.”
When asked, in a followup question, where she thought they should go, Thomas said that they should go home to Poland, Germany and the other countries where they came from. In the Playboy interview, she explained the statement, “ What I meant was they should stay where they are because they’re not being persecuted—not since World War II, not since 1945. If they were, we sure would hear about it. Instead, they initiated the Jackson-Vanik law, which said the U.S. would not trade with Russia unless it allowed unlimited Jewish emigration. But it was not immigration to the United States, which would have been fine with me. It was to go to Palestine and uproot these people, throw them out of their homes, which they have done through several wars. That’s not fair. I want people to understand why the Palestinians are upset. They are incarcerated and living in an open prison.”
Hochman asked Thomas if she knew how controversial her statements were, she said that she was “going for broke”, because she was fed up with how the Palestinians had been treated for decades...
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Playboy contributing editor David Hochman interviewed Thomas in her Washington DC home for a full-length feature in Playboy magazine, giving Thomas a chance to explain herself. Her career of over 50 years as a White House correspondent came to an abrupt end last May when Rabbi David Nesenoff approached Thomas with a camcorder outside the White House and asked her what she thought of Israel. Thomas responded “I think they should get the hell out of Palestine.”
When asked, in a followup question, where she thought they should go, Thomas said that they should go home to Poland, Germany and the other countries where they came from. In the Playboy interview, she explained the statement, “ What I meant was they should stay where they are because they’re not being persecuted—not since World War II, not since 1945. If they were, we sure would hear about it. Instead, they initiated the Jackson-Vanik law, which said the U.S. would not trade with Russia unless it allowed unlimited Jewish emigration. But it was not immigration to the United States, which would have been fine with me. It was to go to Palestine and uproot these people, throw them out of their homes, which they have done through several wars. That’s not fair. I want people to understand why the Palestinians are upset. They are incarcerated and living in an open prison.”
Hochman asked Thomas if she knew how controversial her statements were, she said that she was “going for broke”, because she was fed up with how the Palestinians had been treated for decades...
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Sunday, March 20, 2011
Israel admits to abducting Palestinian engineer in Ukraine
Maan News Agency - Israeli media released details on the abduction of Gaza engineer Dirar Abu Sisi on Sunday, after the country partially lifted its gag order on the plight of the Power Plant official who went missing in the Ukraine in February.
In a report released in the Israeli daily news site Haaretz, said only that "Sisi was arrested by Israel as part of an investigation. Much of the rest of the details remain under gag order."
Earlier in March, an Israeli court in Petah Tikva upheld a ban on publishing any information from Israel about the mysterious disappearance of Abu Sisi on February 19, when he boarded a train in the Ukraine during a visit to his wife's family. Relatives said he was seeking to establish Ukrainian citizenship during the trip...
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In a report released in the Israeli daily news site Haaretz, said only that "Sisi was arrested by Israel as part of an investigation. Much of the rest of the details remain under gag order."
Earlier in March, an Israeli court in Petah Tikva upheld a ban on publishing any information from Israel about the mysterious disappearance of Abu Sisi on February 19, when he boarded a train in the Ukraine during a visit to his wife's family. Relatives said he was seeking to establish Ukrainian citizenship during the trip...
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1 injured as Israel tanks shell central Gaza
Maan News Agency - A Palestinian man sustained wounds Sunday as Israeli tanks launched fresh attacks against targets in the central Gaza Strip, medics said.
Palestinian medics said a man was hit by shrapnel and wounded all over his body.
Witnesses said Israel's military fired three artillery shells at Juhor Ad-Dik, an area east of Al-Bureij refugee camp.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said she would look into the incident.
The attack comes amid a tense escalation in violence between Gaza resistance fighters and Israel's military...
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Palestinian medics said a man was hit by shrapnel and wounded all over his body.
Witnesses said Israel's military fired three artillery shells at Juhor Ad-Dik, an area east of Al-Bureij refugee camp.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said she would look into the incident.
The attack comes amid a tense escalation in violence between Gaza resistance fighters and Israel's military...
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Saturday, March 19, 2011
Village of Awarta faced mass arrests, violence and massive destruction during five days of curfew
PalSolidarity - During the five day curfew in the village of Awarta, south of Nablus, the Israeli military raided homes and detained around 300 people, the youngest 14 years old. Some of the men were taken to the local boy school were they had to leave their finger prints and DNA and some were taken to the military base at Huwwra checkpoint. According to mayor, Qays Awwad, 55 men are still in Israeli custody. Some of the detainees reported that they had been abused by the soliders while they were detained and handcuffed. It has been reported that a 75 year old woman was handcuffed and had to sit on the ground while the soliders went through her home, and that an 80-year-old woman was beaten by soliders.
Three scandinavian ISM activists were in Awarta during the five day curfew, from saturday afternoon until wednesday noon. From the roofs of people’s houses they witnessed how the Israeli soliders went into homes, arrested men and made the familes wait outside while they raided their homes resulting in large scale damage to property. The ISM activists also visited homes that soldiers had searched to find broken windows, cut fuse-cables, smashed furniture, and polluted drinking water caused by Israeli soldiers.
Hundreds of soldiers entered the village in military vehicles early on the morning of the 12th of march, following the murder of five members of a settler family in the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Itamar. According to the soliders, they were searching for the murderer and would continue until they found one. One soldier told ISM activists, ”we will serch this village until we find someone.” In the process of ”searching” the houses the sodiers damaged framed pictures, funiture, Tv-sets, gasheaters, smashed holes in floors and walls, stole money and jewlery, and poured liquids over computers. The Israeli forces occupied around 30 houses to sleep in during the four nights they remained in Awarta. In some of the houses they evicted the families who had to seak shelter outdoors or in neighbours homes during the night; in others they forced the families to stay in one room as the soldiers occupied the rest of the house. In occupied houses the sodiers deficated in the rooms and used the famlies bed sheets as toilet paper...
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Three scandinavian ISM activists were in Awarta during the five day curfew, from saturday afternoon until wednesday noon. From the roofs of people’s houses they witnessed how the Israeli soliders went into homes, arrested men and made the familes wait outside while they raided their homes resulting in large scale damage to property. The ISM activists also visited homes that soldiers had searched to find broken windows, cut fuse-cables, smashed furniture, and polluted drinking water caused by Israeli soldiers.
Hundreds of soldiers entered the village in military vehicles early on the morning of the 12th of march, following the murder of five members of a settler family in the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Itamar. According to the soliders, they were searching for the murderer and would continue until they found one. One soldier told ISM activists, ”we will serch this village until we find someone.” In the process of ”searching” the houses the sodiers damaged framed pictures, funiture, Tv-sets, gasheaters, smashed holes in floors and walls, stole money and jewlery, and poured liquids over computers. The Israeli forces occupied around 30 houses to sleep in during the four nights they remained in Awarta. In some of the houses they evicted the families who had to seak shelter outdoors or in neighbours homes during the night; in others they forced the families to stay in one room as the soldiers occupied the rest of the house. In occupied houses the sodiers deficated in the rooms and used the famlies bed sheets as toilet paper...
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A Farewell Address
AntiWar, Philip Giraldi - On the anniversary of his birthday, it once was the custom to read in the United States House of Representatives all of George Washington’s Farewell Address. The tradition lost its immediacy with the passage of time and ceased during the 1970s, when Washington’s endorsement of a free republic that assiduously avoided the quarrels of others became increasingly irrelevant to an America mired in Vietnam that was moving in the opposite direction at breakneck speed. I had hoped that the custom might be revived this year by some of the tea partiers, but, alas, could not find a congressman willing to take the lead to honor our first president.
We ignore George Washington at our peril. Our first president as well as Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Adams predicted ruin for a republic that would involve itself in foreign politics. The founders also foresaw and warned against what we now call democracy promotion, the urge to fan the flames started by the American revolution to launch a crusade to convert the nations of the world into firebreathing republicans. James Madison’s Secretary of State John Quincy Adams described it as "going abroad in search of monsters to destroy."
The United States is currently involved in a number of conflicts in which it has no imaginable interest while the nation seems to wallow in an orgy of military-worship. Fifty thousand American soldiers hunker down in Iraq, which is, according to media reports, reverting to the same kind of government oppression that characterized the reign of Saddam Hussein. Recently 29 demonstrators protesting against government corruption were shot dead. The only difference from Saddam is that this time the government carrying out the brutalizing is Shi’ite, not Sunni. So the end result is that the United States removed a dictator who did not threaten Americans and replaced him with a government that is beginning to kill people protesting against it, a sense of official entitlement not far removed from that of the dictator whose removal started the whole process. Oh, and one might add that Saddam was hostile to would-be regional hegemon and perennial American enemy-in-waiting Iran while the current Iraqi government is extremely friendly to the Mullahs. So much for mitigating the threat to the United States. And along the way, the still uncompleted transition process has cost nearly 5,000 American lives, the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and the displacement of millions more, and at least one trillion dollars and still counting.
Democracy promotion is here to stay, even if it requires a splendid little war or two to get the juices flowing. The United States is preparing to help everyone become just like America. If they refuse, they will have to answer to Hillary. In fact, the United States is perfectly prepared to meddle just about anywhere. The Washington Post on the morning of March 4th might just be considered a fine example of news from the empire, lacking only a “Democracy or bust” section where all the really juicy bits might be collected in one place. On page one, Scott Wilson writes how “US prepares for possible rise of new Islamist regimes.” Wilson reports how a White House assessment dated February 16th determined that all Islamic groups are not the same as al-Qaeda. Some are actually quite different and do not aspire to creating a universal Caliphate, killing all infidels, and introducing Sharia law to Oklahoma. President Obama was reportedly stunned to learn that people in Algeria could not even locate Oklahoma on a map. According to an anonymous source for the story, the White House will keep the report close at hand with colored paper clips in the margin highlighting key judgments and will in future evaluate Islamists by how they behave. But, as Hillary put it somewhat ominously, they have to “agree to play by the rules of democracy.”
We ignore George Washington at our peril. Our first president as well as Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Adams predicted ruin for a republic that would involve itself in foreign politics. The founders also foresaw and warned against what we now call democracy promotion, the urge to fan the flames started by the American revolution to launch a crusade to convert the nations of the world into firebreathing republicans. James Madison’s Secretary of State John Quincy Adams described it as "going abroad in search of monsters to destroy."
The United States is currently involved in a number of conflicts in which it has no imaginable interest while the nation seems to wallow in an orgy of military-worship. Fifty thousand American soldiers hunker down in Iraq, which is, according to media reports, reverting to the same kind of government oppression that characterized the reign of Saddam Hussein. Recently 29 demonstrators protesting against government corruption were shot dead. The only difference from Saddam is that this time the government carrying out the brutalizing is Shi’ite, not Sunni. So the end result is that the United States removed a dictator who did not threaten Americans and replaced him with a government that is beginning to kill people protesting against it, a sense of official entitlement not far removed from that of the dictator whose removal started the whole process. Oh, and one might add that Saddam was hostile to would-be regional hegemon and perennial American enemy-in-waiting Iran while the current Iraqi government is extremely friendly to the Mullahs. So much for mitigating the threat to the United States. And along the way, the still uncompleted transition process has cost nearly 5,000 American lives, the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and the displacement of millions more, and at least one trillion dollars and still counting.
Democracy promotion is here to stay, even if it requires a splendid little war or two to get the juices flowing. The United States is preparing to help everyone become just like America. If they refuse, they will have to answer to Hillary. In fact, the United States is perfectly prepared to meddle just about anywhere. The Washington Post on the morning of March 4th might just be considered a fine example of news from the empire, lacking only a “Democracy or bust” section where all the really juicy bits might be collected in one place. On page one, Scott Wilson writes how “US prepares for possible rise of new Islamist regimes.” Wilson reports how a White House assessment dated February 16th determined that all Islamic groups are not the same as al-Qaeda. Some are actually quite different and do not aspire to creating a universal Caliphate, killing all infidels, and introducing Sharia law to Oklahoma. President Obama was reportedly stunned to learn that people in Algeria could not even locate Oklahoma on a map. According to an anonymous source for the story, the White House will keep the report close at hand with colored paper clips in the margin highlighting key judgments and will in future evaluate Islamists by how they behave. But, as Hillary put it somewhat ominously, they have to “agree to play by the rules of democracy.”
Sinking Liberty
Who will write the final chapter on Israel’s 1967 confrontation with the U.S. Navy?
The American Conservative, Philip Giraldi - The attack on the USS Liberty by Israeli warplanes and torpedo boats on June 8, 1967 has almost faded from memory, but new evidence suggests that the White House might actually have had prior knowledge that the ship would be struck by Israel’s armed forces. In the worst attack ever carried out on a U.S. Naval vessel in peacetime, 34 American sailors and civilian personnel were killed and 171 more wounded in the two hour assault, which was clearly intended to sink the intelligence-gathering vessel operating in international waters collecting information on the ongoing Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
The Israelis and their supporters in the United States have always claimed the attack was a tragic mistake while many of the surviving Liberty crew believe that it was anything but: They assert that the vessel was flying an oversized American flag and was clearly identifiable as a U.S. Navy vessel. The ship’s commanding officer, Captain William McGonagle, was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor for his role in keeping the ship afloat, though President Lyndon Baines Johnson broke with tradition by refusing to hold the medal ceremony in the White House, or to award it personally, delegating that task to the Secretary of the Navy in an unpublicized presentation at the Washington Navy Yard...
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The American Conservative, Philip Giraldi - The attack on the USS Liberty by Israeli warplanes and torpedo boats on June 8, 1967 has almost faded from memory, but new evidence suggests that the White House might actually have had prior knowledge that the ship would be struck by Israel’s armed forces. In the worst attack ever carried out on a U.S. Naval vessel in peacetime, 34 American sailors and civilian personnel were killed and 171 more wounded in the two hour assault, which was clearly intended to sink the intelligence-gathering vessel operating in international waters collecting information on the ongoing Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
The Israelis and their supporters in the United States have always claimed the attack was a tragic mistake while many of the surviving Liberty crew believe that it was anything but: They assert that the vessel was flying an oversized American flag and was clearly identifiable as a U.S. Navy vessel. The ship’s commanding officer, Captain William McGonagle, was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor for his role in keeping the ship afloat, though President Lyndon Baines Johnson broke with tradition by refusing to hold the medal ceremony in the White House, or to award it personally, delegating that task to the Secretary of the Navy in an unpublicized presentation at the Washington Navy Yard...
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Israel court decides to turn Palestinian graveyard into Jewish garden
Palestinian Information Center - An Israeli court decided to convert part of the Palestinian graveyard, Bab Al-Rahma, in occupied Jerusalem into a biblical garden and prevent the Muslim Palestinians from burying their dead there.
This decision was taken after an extremist Jewish settler called Arie King filed a petition with the Israeli court claiming that part of this Islamic graveyard, near the Aqsa Mosque, was in the past a biblical Jewish garden.
Pressures from Zionist right-wing parties, the societies of Elad and Ateret Cohanim and the bureau of defending Zionist antiquities also contributed to this court decision.
Director of the Islamic waqf (endowments) in Jerusalem Sheikh Azzam Khatib reported that the Israeli police installed a number of surveillance cameras on the wall of Jerusalem’s old city, especially at the entrance to the graveyards of Rahma and Yusufiya.
Sheikh Khatib added that the camera used to prevent the Palestinians from burying their dead in the graveyards...
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This decision was taken after an extremist Jewish settler called Arie King filed a petition with the Israeli court claiming that part of this Islamic graveyard, near the Aqsa Mosque, was in the past a biblical Jewish garden.
Pressures from Zionist right-wing parties, the societies of Elad and Ateret Cohanim and the bureau of defending Zionist antiquities also contributed to this court decision.
Director of the Islamic waqf (endowments) in Jerusalem Sheikh Azzam Khatib reported that the Israeli police installed a number of surveillance cameras on the wall of Jerusalem’s old city, especially at the entrance to the graveyards of Rahma and Yusufiya.
Sheikh Khatib added that the camera used to prevent the Palestinians from burying their dead in the graveyards...
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Medics: Settlers attack Palestinian man
Maan News Agency - A Palestinian man was hospitalized Saturday after he was attacked by a group of settlers in Nablus, medics said.
Mahmoud Rashad Atallah, 30, was driving near the illegal Yitzhar settlement when settlers obstructed his car and assaulted him.
Attallah sustained injuries to his head and chest and was taken by ambulance to Rafedia hospital, medics from the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
On Friday, 35-year-old Talal Ad-Dmeidi was beaten with sticks by settlers in the same area.
A day earlier, masked settlers attacked two Palestinian constructions workers and an Israeli security guard with knives, pipes and pepper spray at Shilo settlement in Nablus.
Settler violence has escalated in the northern West Bank since Israeli officials blamed Palestinians for the murders of five Israelis in Itamar settlement last weekend...
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Mahmoud Rashad Atallah, 30, was driving near the illegal Yitzhar settlement when settlers obstructed his car and assaulted him.
Attallah sustained injuries to his head and chest and was taken by ambulance to Rafedia hospital, medics from the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
On Friday, 35-year-old Talal Ad-Dmeidi was beaten with sticks by settlers in the same area.
A day earlier, masked settlers attacked two Palestinian constructions workers and an Israeli security guard with knives, pipes and pepper spray at Shilo settlement in Nablus.
Settler violence has escalated in the northern West Bank since Israeli officials blamed Palestinians for the murders of five Israelis in Itamar settlement last weekend...
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Friday, March 18, 2011
Israel to demolish six homes in East Jerusalem for wall construction
IMEMC - The Israeli Authorities handed down orders to six Bedouin families, from Al Saray’a tribe, in occupied East Jerusalem, informing them the the Jerusalem Municipality intends to demolish their homes.
The new orders came following nine similar orders that were handed down to other Bedouin families living in the same area.
Human rights sources in Jerusalem said that Israel intends to demolish the homes and illegally grab 450 Dunams (111.19 Acres) that belong to the Abu Dis municipality, and that the grabbed lands will be used for the construction of the Annexation Wall.
In its handed orders, the Israeli Authorities claimed that the residents are “illegally living in the area”.
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The new orders came following nine similar orders that were handed down to other Bedouin families living in the same area.
Human rights sources in Jerusalem said that Israel intends to demolish the homes and illegally grab 450 Dunams (111.19 Acres) that belong to the Abu Dis municipality, and that the grabbed lands will be used for the construction of the Annexation Wall.
In its handed orders, the Israeli Authorities claimed that the residents are “illegally living in the area”.
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Israeli army attacks anti-wall protesters in the West Bank, six injured, two kidnapped
IMEMC - Six civilians were injured and two were kidnapped when the Israeli army attacked the weekly anti-wall protests organized on Friday in the villages of Bil’in, Nil’in and an-Nabi Saleh, in the central West Bank, as well as al-Ma’sara in the south.
In Bil’in, five were injured by rubber-coated steel bullets fired by the Israeli army.
International and Israeli supporters joined the villagers after the midday prayers and marched up to the gate of the wall separating villagers from their land.
Soldiers, stationed at the Wall gate, attacked the nonviolent protestors with tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. Troops troops also sprayed protesters with chemicals, known locally as "skunk." Many were also treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.
The Popular Committee Against the Wall in Bil’in reported that several Israeli and international peace activists participate in the protest, and that hunger strikers of the March 15 Movement for Palestinian unity also joined them in their protest.
The Committee added that the protesters carried the pictures of Bassem Abu Rahma and Jawaher Abu Rahma who were killed by the Israelii army during previous nonviolent protests against the Wall, and chanted for ending internal divisions and for
“When the protestors arrived to the east gate of the wall the soldiers attacked them with tear gas canisters, rubber coated bullets, sound bombs and chemical spray. As a result, five locals were wounded; Nashmi Abu Rahmah, 16 years old, a rubber bullet was shot at his right hand; Iyad Burnat, head of the Popular Committee, 38 years old, tear gas canister was shot at his head; Mohamad Al Khatib, 17 years old, a tear gas canister was shot at his leg; Mohamad Burnat, 20 years old, a tear gas canister was also shot at his leg; Asia, a 22 year old Italian activist, twisted her left ankle whilst running from the attack”, the Popular Committee reported on its Website.
The Committee added that the soldiers were aiming at the upper body parts, and the heads of the protestors, an issue that provoked violence by some protestors.
In the nearby village of Ni'lin, villagers and their supporters marched up to the gate of the wall separating local farmers from their land.
Soldiers fired tear gas at the protesters and several were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation...
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In Bil’in, five were injured by rubber-coated steel bullets fired by the Israeli army.
International and Israeli supporters joined the villagers after the midday prayers and marched up to the gate of the wall separating villagers from their land.
Soldiers, stationed at the Wall gate, attacked the nonviolent protestors with tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. Troops troops also sprayed protesters with chemicals, known locally as "skunk." Many were also treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.
The Popular Committee Against the Wall in Bil’in reported that several Israeli and international peace activists participate in the protest, and that hunger strikers of the March 15 Movement for Palestinian unity also joined them in their protest.
The Committee added that the protesters carried the pictures of Bassem Abu Rahma and Jawaher Abu Rahma who were killed by the Israelii army during previous nonviolent protests against the Wall, and chanted for ending internal divisions and for
“When the protestors arrived to the east gate of the wall the soldiers attacked them with tear gas canisters, rubber coated bullets, sound bombs and chemical spray. As a result, five locals were wounded; Nashmi Abu Rahmah, 16 years old, a rubber bullet was shot at his right hand; Iyad Burnat, head of the Popular Committee, 38 years old, tear gas canister was shot at his head; Mohamad Al Khatib, 17 years old, a tear gas canister was shot at his leg; Mohamad Burnat, 20 years old, a tear gas canister was also shot at his leg; Asia, a 22 year old Italian activist, twisted her left ankle whilst running from the attack”, the Popular Committee reported on its Website.
The Committee added that the soldiers were aiming at the upper body parts, and the heads of the protestors, an issue that provoked violence by some protestors.
In the nearby village of Ni'lin, villagers and their supporters marched up to the gate of the wall separating local farmers from their land.
Soldiers fired tear gas at the protesters and several were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation...
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Israeli forces and Palestinian residents clash in East Jerusalem
IMEMC - Clashes took place on Friday between dozens of Palestinian residents on Silwan town, in occupied East Jerusalem. Several residents and one Israeli officer, were injured.
Israeli sources reported that the Border Guard Policemen (Israel’s Military Police” suffered body injuries during the clashes, and that the officer was reportedly injured when protestors hurled a Molotov cocktail into a settlers’ home.
The sources said that the settler’ home sustained fire damage after being attacked with Molotov cocktails, and that the protestors reportedly broke into it and set it ablaze.
The Israeli Police in East Jerusalem claimed that while extinguishing the fire, local youths hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at them leading to the injury of one officer.
The Border-Guard officer suffered minor burns to several parts of his body and was moved to a local hospital.
Also, a Palestinian cameraman identified as Mahmoud Abu Turk was injured during the clashes and was moved to a local hospital.
Dozens of residents were treated for the effects of teargas inhalation as the soldiers fired several gas bombs at the protestors and nearby homes.
Fakhri Abu Thiab, head of the local committee for defending Silwan, stated that the soldiers fired rubber-coated metal bullets and gas bombs in an attempt to force the protestors to disperse.
Furthermore, the police kidnapped Anas, 18, the son of Abu Thiab, and intend to press charges against him, accusing him of throwing stones at the police...
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Israeli sources reported that the Border Guard Policemen (Israel’s Military Police” suffered body injuries during the clashes, and that the officer was reportedly injured when protestors hurled a Molotov cocktail into a settlers’ home.
The sources said that the settler’ home sustained fire damage after being attacked with Molotov cocktails, and that the protestors reportedly broke into it and set it ablaze.
The Israeli Police in East Jerusalem claimed that while extinguishing the fire, local youths hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at them leading to the injury of one officer.
The Border-Guard officer suffered minor burns to several parts of his body and was moved to a local hospital.
Also, a Palestinian cameraman identified as Mahmoud Abu Turk was injured during the clashes and was moved to a local hospital.
Dozens of residents were treated for the effects of teargas inhalation as the soldiers fired several gas bombs at the protestors and nearby homes.
Fakhri Abu Thiab, head of the local committee for defending Silwan, stated that the soldiers fired rubber-coated metal bullets and gas bombs in an attempt to force the protestors to disperse.
Furthermore, the police kidnapped Anas, 18, the son of Abu Thiab, and intend to press charges against him, accusing him of throwing stones at the police...
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Settlers attack Palestinian taxi driver
Maan News Agency - A Palestinian taxi driver said a group of settlers attacked his car on Friday in Salfit in the northern West Bank.
Fathallah Issa Bozeh, 45, told Ma'an that settlers threw rocks at his taxi and smashed the windscreen at Za'tara junction.
Bozeh said he informed Israeli forces at a nearby checkpoint and they told him to leave the area.
The attack comes amid an escalation in violent attacks by settlers against Palestinians in the northern West Bank. Several settler groups have vowed revenge for the murder of five Israelis in Itamar settlement.
Israeli officials have blamed Palestinians for the killings, but no suspects have been identified and no factions have claimed responsibility...
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Fathallah Issa Bozeh, 45, told Ma'an that settlers threw rocks at his taxi and smashed the windscreen at Za'tara junction.
Bozeh said he informed Israeli forces at a nearby checkpoint and they told him to leave the area.
The attack comes amid an escalation in violent attacks by settlers against Palestinians in the northern West Bank. Several settler groups have vowed revenge for the murder of five Israelis in Itamar settlement.
Israeli officials have blamed Palestinians for the killings, but no suspects have been identified and no factions have claimed responsibility...
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Thursday, March 17, 2011
Jewish official stopped by Israeli police for looking Arab
IMEMC - Israeli Ynet News reported that a Jewish man, member of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa City Council was stopped by a policewomen who racially profiled him as an Arab. The man described the act as racist.
The Ynet said that, two weeks ago, Yoav Goldring was driving on Allenby Street when he was ordered to stop by an Israeli policewoman, and when asking her about the reason for stopping him she said in a cynical way that he has an Arab profile.
The City Council member objected to the statement of the policewoman and told her that what she said was racist, especially coming from a uniformed official.
Goldring sent a complaint to the Tel Aviv District Police commander stating that this actions demanding a disciplinary action against the policewoman for her racist remarks.
According to the Ynet, Police commander, Illan Mor, sent a reply to Goldring apologizing on behalf of the policewoman, and stating that she was reprimanded for her actions.
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The Ynet said that, two weeks ago, Yoav Goldring was driving on Allenby Street when he was ordered to stop by an Israeli policewoman, and when asking her about the reason for stopping him she said in a cynical way that he has an Arab profile.
The City Council member objected to the statement of the policewoman and told her that what she said was racist, especially coming from a uniformed official.
Goldring sent a complaint to the Tel Aviv District Police commander stating that this actions demanding a disciplinary action against the policewoman for her racist remarks.
According to the Ynet, Police commander, Illan Mor, sent a reply to Goldring apologizing on behalf of the policewoman, and stating that she was reprimanded for her actions.
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What the Media Missed on Itamar
Murdering babies is "permissible" when they're Palestinian
Counterpunch, Alison Weir - US media have been widely and repeatedly reporting on the horrific March 11 murder of three small Israeli children and their parents. While no one yet knows who committed this act, reports presume that the murderers were Palestinian, and for this reason the incident is receiving major attention. Various heads of state, including President Obama, have condemned it.
If it turns out that the murderer or murderers were Israeli, as some previously presumed “terrorists” have turned out to be, or a foreign worker who had previously threatened the family over unpaid wages, as some reports from the area suggest, it is likely that coverage of the incident will quickly vanish from U.S. headlines.
For now, however, American news reports continue to provide excruciating details about the atrocity. Given the amount of reportage, it is surprising how much significant information is omitted.
For example, none of these reports mention that the location of the murders, Itamar (near Nablus), is an illegal Jewish-only settlement on stolen Palestinian land in the midst of refugees whom Israel pushed off their ancestral land through massacres and ruthless military actions.
Nor do reports mention the frequency with which Israeli settlers beat, occasionally torture, and sometimes murder Palestinians of all ages, burn their crops, and hack down their groves of olive trees, the livelihood of many Palestinian villagers; hundreds, at least, of these trees, have been destroyed by rampaging Israeli settlers.
Religious extremism
Even lengthy articles on the tragic incident fail to mention the extremely relevant and chillingly ironic fact that Itamar was founded and is largely populated by fanatic Jewish extremists, many of whom believe that the killing of non-Jewish infants is religiously permitted, and sometimes mandated, as discussed in a best-selling book “The King’s Torah,” which was written by authors from the area and endorsed by numerous rabbis and religious schools (but opposed by most Israelis).
In their elaborate descriptions of the murder scene, U.S. articles neglect to mention that the building next door is the house of Chabad Lubavitch emissaries, a Hassidic movement in Orthodox Judaism, and features a photo of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known for his astoundingly supremacist teachings.
Schneerson is widely revered by such settlers (and his followers in the U.S.); many believed him to have been the messiah. In their book “Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel,” professors Israel Shahak and Norton Mezvinsky quote Schneerson’s teachings about the differences between Jews and non-Jews:
Finally, news reports on the abhorrent Itamar murders fail to mention the frequent, tragic, and equally abhorrent killing of massive numbers of Palestinian children by Israelis.
For example, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Itamar incident was “the deadliest such attack against Jewish settlers in the area since 2002,” but didn’t bother to report that there have been numerous deadly attacks on Palestinians in the area in the intervening years, that dozens of Palestinian minors have been killed, many more injured and maimed, and even more Palestinian mothers, fathers, and grandparents killed.
This viewpoint is typical of U.S. media. Statistical studies show that primetime network news shows report on Israeli children’s deaths at rates up to 14 times greater than they report on Palestinian children’s deaths; regional newspapers report Israeli deaths at even more disproportionate rates.
Palestinian deaths are therefore often virtually invisible to American news consumers, even though they occurred first and are far greater in number.
In the round of violence that began in fall 2000, over 90 Palestinian children were killed before a single Israeli child; in total, approximately 1,500 Palestinian children have been killed by Israelis, and approximately 130 Israeli children have been killed by Palestinians during this period.
Since American media, in stark contrast to coverage of the Itamar victims, so rarely report on Palestinian victims and their weeping families, or provide details of their grisly deaths, at the end of this article is a partial list of these young, largely disappeared victims.
While this very incomplete list does little to balance the moving, detailed reporting on Israeli children’s deaths found in U.S. news media, and completely ignores the even greater number of children grieving for parents killed by Israeli forces, publishing it here at least provides the names of Palestinian victims, a rarity in American media coverage.
A few years ago an Israeli army officer emptied, at close range, the entire magazine of his automatic rifle into a 13-year-old Palestinian girl. Afterward he said he would have done the same even if she had been three years old. Because so many of his underlings reported this particular incident, he was eventually tried in an Israeli military court – but on minor offenses, not murder. He was acquitted of all charges.
It is hard to imagine the feelings of Americans if these were our children and if we were suffering this degree of unbearable loss. The population in the Palestinian Territories is less than 1/90th the population of the U.S.; there is hardly a Palestinian family that has not experienced tragedy.
Because Israel partisans consistently screen out the mass of significant information on this issue, and other editors, perhaps through ignorance, negligence, and/or timidity, go along, Americans receive the kind of highly filtered, lying-through-omission “journalism” that is so effectively creating fear, hatred, and ignorance of Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims – and that perpetuates the uniquely massive flow of American money to Israel, currently over $8 million per day. Israel, with a population of seven million, is reportedly about to ask for an additional $20 billion.
Regarding the as-yet unsolved murder of three children in Itamar, President Obama pronounced: “There is no justification and there can be neither excuse nor forgiveness for the murder of children. I expect a similar condemnation, and I demand a similar condemnation, from the Palestinian Authority.”
Perhaps someday President Obama will have the integrity – and the courage – to make the same pronouncement about the murders of Palestinian children, and address it to the Israeli government.
Counterpunch, Alison Weir - US media have been widely and repeatedly reporting on the horrific March 11 murder of three small Israeli children and their parents. While no one yet knows who committed this act, reports presume that the murderers were Palestinian, and for this reason the incident is receiving major attention. Various heads of state, including President Obama, have condemned it.
If it turns out that the murderer or murderers were Israeli, as some previously presumed “terrorists” have turned out to be, or a foreign worker who had previously threatened the family over unpaid wages, as some reports from the area suggest, it is likely that coverage of the incident will quickly vanish from U.S. headlines.
For now, however, American news reports continue to provide excruciating details about the atrocity. Given the amount of reportage, it is surprising how much significant information is omitted.
For example, none of these reports mention that the location of the murders, Itamar (near Nablus), is an illegal Jewish-only settlement on stolen Palestinian land in the midst of refugees whom Israel pushed off their ancestral land through massacres and ruthless military actions.
Nor do reports mention the frequency with which Israeli settlers beat, occasionally torture, and sometimes murder Palestinians of all ages, burn their crops, and hack down their groves of olive trees, the livelihood of many Palestinian villagers; hundreds, at least, of these trees, have been destroyed by rampaging Israeli settlers.
Religious extremism
Even lengthy articles on the tragic incident fail to mention the extremely relevant and chillingly ironic fact that Itamar was founded and is largely populated by fanatic Jewish extremists, many of whom believe that the killing of non-Jewish infants is religiously permitted, and sometimes mandated, as discussed in a best-selling book “The King’s Torah,” which was written by authors from the area and endorsed by numerous rabbis and religious schools (but opposed by most Israelis).
In their elaborate descriptions of the murder scene, U.S. articles neglect to mention that the building next door is the house of Chabad Lubavitch emissaries, a Hassidic movement in Orthodox Judaism, and features a photo of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known for his astoundingly supremacist teachings.
Schneerson is widely revered by such settlers (and his followers in the U.S.); many believed him to have been the messiah. In their book “Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel,” professors Israel Shahak and Norton Mezvinsky quote Schneerson’s teachings about the differences between Jews and non-Jews:
“… we do not have a case of profound change in which a person is merely on a superior level. Rather, we have a case of ‘let us differentiate’ between totally different species. This is what needs to be said about the body: the body of a Jewish person is of a totally different quality from the body of [members] of all nations of the world...A non-Jew’s entire reality is only vanity…The entire creation [of a non-Jew] exists only for the sake of the Jews...”Which children matter?
Finally, news reports on the abhorrent Itamar murders fail to mention the frequent, tragic, and equally abhorrent killing of massive numbers of Palestinian children by Israelis.
For example, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Itamar incident was “the deadliest such attack against Jewish settlers in the area since 2002,” but didn’t bother to report that there have been numerous deadly attacks on Palestinians in the area in the intervening years, that dozens of Palestinian minors have been killed, many more injured and maimed, and even more Palestinian mothers, fathers, and grandparents killed.
This viewpoint is typical of U.S. media. Statistical studies show that primetime network news shows report on Israeli children’s deaths at rates up to 14 times greater than they report on Palestinian children’s deaths; regional newspapers report Israeli deaths at even more disproportionate rates.
Palestinian deaths are therefore often virtually invisible to American news consumers, even though they occurred first and are far greater in number.
In the round of violence that began in fall 2000, over 90 Palestinian children were killed before a single Israeli child; in total, approximately 1,500 Palestinian children have been killed by Israelis, and approximately 130 Israeli children have been killed by Palestinians during this period.
Since American media, in stark contrast to coverage of the Itamar victims, so rarely report on Palestinian victims and their weeping families, or provide details of their grisly deaths, at the end of this article is a partial list of these young, largely disappeared victims.
While this very incomplete list does little to balance the moving, detailed reporting on Israeli children’s deaths found in U.S. news media, and completely ignores the even greater number of children grieving for parents killed by Israeli forces, publishing it here at least provides the names of Palestinian victims, a rarity in American media coverage.
A few years ago an Israeli army officer emptied, at close range, the entire magazine of his automatic rifle into a 13-year-old Palestinian girl. Afterward he said he would have done the same even if she had been three years old. Because so many of his underlings reported this particular incident, he was eventually tried in an Israeli military court – but on minor offenses, not murder. He was acquitted of all charges.
It is hard to imagine the feelings of Americans if these were our children and if we were suffering this degree of unbearable loss. The population in the Palestinian Territories is less than 1/90th the population of the U.S.; there is hardly a Palestinian family that has not experienced tragedy.
Because Israel partisans consistently screen out the mass of significant information on this issue, and other editors, perhaps through ignorance, negligence, and/or timidity, go along, Americans receive the kind of highly filtered, lying-through-omission “journalism” that is so effectively creating fear, hatred, and ignorance of Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims – and that perpetuates the uniquely massive flow of American money to Israel, currently over $8 million per day. Israel, with a population of seven million, is reportedly about to ask for an additional $20 billion.
Regarding the as-yet unsolved murder of three children in Itamar, President Obama pronounced: “There is no justification and there can be neither excuse nor forgiveness for the murder of children. I expect a similar condemnation, and I demand a similar condemnation, from the Palestinian Authority.”
Perhaps someday President Obama will have the integrity – and the courage – to make the same pronouncement about the murders of Palestinian children, and address it to the Israeli government.
A partial list of
Palestinian Children Killed by Israelis...
Israeli F16s drop leaflets over northern Gaza
Maan News Agency - Israel's air force dropped thousands of leaflets on northern Gaza Thursday morning, warning residents to stay away from the border area.
The Israeli military maintains that the border area off limits, describing it as a zone used by militants to launch attacks on Israel.
The no-go zone takes up some 20 percent of Gaza's agricultural lands, and eats into the coastal enclave as far as one kilometer, according to UN reports.
On Thursday morning, Jabaliya and Deir Al-Balah residents said leaflets advised those in the northern Strip to stay away of the border fence.
An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed that leaflets were dropped.
The last time leaflets were reported to have been dropped on Gaza civilians was in early January 2010, when residents of the southern segment of the enclave were also warned to stay away from the border area...
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The Israeli military maintains that the border area off limits, describing it as a zone used by militants to launch attacks on Israel.
The no-go zone takes up some 20 percent of Gaza's agricultural lands, and eats into the coastal enclave as far as one kilometer, according to UN reports.
On Thursday morning, Jabaliya and Deir Al-Balah residents said leaflets advised those in the northern Strip to stay away of the border fence.
An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed that leaflets were dropped.
The last time leaflets were reported to have been dropped on Gaza civilians was in early January 2010, when residents of the southern segment of the enclave were also warned to stay away from the border area...
Read More
Masked settlers attack Palestinians
Maan News Agency - Masked settlers attacked two Palestinian construction workers and an Israeli security guard at a West Bank settlement on Thursday, lightly wounding them, settler officials and police said.
The settlers attacked workers with knives, pipes and pepper spray, leaving one man hospitalized with moderate injuries.
Sami Snobar, 33, was injured when a group of Shilo settlers accosted him, beating him severely and causing a concussion and injuries to his back. The resident of Yetma village works in Shilo, and was on his way to work.
"Masked Jews attacked Arab workers at a building site inside the settlement, also harming the Jewish guard," said a statement from the Shilo settlement in the northern West Bank where the attack occurred.
The statement said the attackers were not from Shilo and the motivation behind the attack was not completely clear...
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The settlers attacked workers with knives, pipes and pepper spray, leaving one man hospitalized with moderate injuries.
Sami Snobar, 33, was injured when a group of Shilo settlers accosted him, beating him severely and causing a concussion and injuries to his back. The resident of Yetma village works in Shilo, and was on his way to work.
"Masked Jews attacked Arab workers at a building site inside the settlement, also harming the Jewish guard," said a statement from the Shilo settlement in the northern West Bank where the attack occurred.
The statement said the attackers were not from Shilo and the motivation behind the attack was not completely clear...
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Israeli enforced blockade frustrates Gaza students
Maan News Agency - The next generation in the Gaza Strip may be less educated, less professional and perhaps more radical because an Israeli blockade has restricted educational and employment opportunities, say UN and other sources.
The four-year blockade has particularly affected youths aged 18-24, limiting access to higher education, academic exchanges and professional development, says Gaza's education ministry. About 65 percent of Gaza's 1.6 million people are under 25, according to UN estimates.
"Higher education in all its forms is absolutely critical to a functioning society and the creation of a future Palestinian state," UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory Max Gaylard told IRIN, and "to maintain a necessary level of skills in professional sectors, like medicine and engineering."
Gaza's unemployment rate - nearly 50 percent according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics - indicates dire prospects for the rapidly growing and youthful population...
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The four-year blockade has particularly affected youths aged 18-24, limiting access to higher education, academic exchanges and professional development, says Gaza's education ministry. About 65 percent of Gaza's 1.6 million people are under 25, according to UN estimates.
"Higher education in all its forms is absolutely critical to a functioning society and the creation of a future Palestinian state," UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory Max Gaylard told IRIN, and "to maintain a necessary level of skills in professional sectors, like medicine and engineering."
Gaza's unemployment rate - nearly 50 percent according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics - indicates dire prospects for the rapidly growing and youthful population...
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So much for liberty
Khaleej Times - In the aftermath of 9/11 the US Department of Justice and especially the FBI have had a policy of rooting out a phantasmagorical worldwide anti-US terrorist conspiracy by arresting and prosecuting Muslim Americans on ridiculous charges based on a bizarre conspiracy theory that has moved from the Zionist Lobby to the highest levels of the US government.
Of all the political prosecutions orchestrated by the Neocons, that of Albany, New York’s Imam Yassin Aref is among the most outrageous.
Imam Yassin notes that his own preemptive prosecution is “a form of selective prosecution which targets certain individuals for prosecution for crimes not yet committed, based on their adherence to the Muslim religion, and that such unequal protection of the laws is prohibited under the Constitution.”
The US government claimed that Aref made 14 calls to terrorists in Syria, even though Aref was only keeping in touch with old friends at the general office of IMK (Islamic Movement in Kurdistan), a perfectly legal political party for which Aref had worked in Syria. The US government refused to hand over transcripts of these conversations that would have shown that there was nothing of alarm being discussed, claiming this evidence was “classified.” Aref’s conviction was based on the US government’s assertion that Mullah Krekar, who was later accused of forming a terrorist organisation, Ansar al-Islam, had also called that number in the past. Imam Yassin had never once encouraged terrorism to his mosque congregation and had character witnesses to prove it. Yet, under government pressure, Judge McAvoy told the jury that the government had good reason to target Aref. This seriously swayed the outcome of the verdict despite the lack of evidence.
The US government had been trying to come up with a way to frame Aref for years before his actual arrest. There were a number of potential witnesses with very interesting stories who had been willing to testify. One was Abraham Youssef, who said the FBI had interviewed him before Aref’s arrest. Youssef was facing some potential felony charges. He said the FBI told him they could make these charges “disappear” if he would give a statement against Imam Yassin, “that one week prior to the September 11, 2001 attack, Ibrahim had seen two of the nineteen hijackers sleeping over at my house.” Youssef flatly refused their offer....
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Of all the political prosecutions orchestrated by the Neocons, that of Albany, New York’s Imam Yassin Aref is among the most outrageous.
Imam Yassin notes that his own preemptive prosecution is “a form of selective prosecution which targets certain individuals for prosecution for crimes not yet committed, based on their adherence to the Muslim religion, and that such unequal protection of the laws is prohibited under the Constitution.”
The US government claimed that Aref made 14 calls to terrorists in Syria, even though Aref was only keeping in touch with old friends at the general office of IMK (Islamic Movement in Kurdistan), a perfectly legal political party for which Aref had worked in Syria. The US government refused to hand over transcripts of these conversations that would have shown that there was nothing of alarm being discussed, claiming this evidence was “classified.” Aref’s conviction was based on the US government’s assertion that Mullah Krekar, who was later accused of forming a terrorist organisation, Ansar al-Islam, had also called that number in the past. Imam Yassin had never once encouraged terrorism to his mosque congregation and had character witnesses to prove it. Yet, under government pressure, Judge McAvoy told the jury that the government had good reason to target Aref. This seriously swayed the outcome of the verdict despite the lack of evidence.
The US government had been trying to come up with a way to frame Aref for years before his actual arrest. There were a number of potential witnesses with very interesting stories who had been willing to testify. One was Abraham Youssef, who said the FBI had interviewed him before Aref’s arrest. Youssef was facing some potential felony charges. He said the FBI told him they could make these charges “disappear” if he would give a statement against Imam Yassin, “that one week prior to the September 11, 2001 attack, Ibrahim had seen two of the nineteen hijackers sleeping over at my house.” Youssef flatly refused their offer....
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Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Israeli spy ring uncovered by Egyptian authorities
Authorities still searching for Egyptian and two Israelis suspected of helping gather information on the country's armed forces during the uprising that saw Mubarak's ouster
Haaretz - Egyptian authorities have uncovered an espionage network working for Israel and are searching for an Egyptian and two Israelis believed to be involved in spying on the country's armed forces, local media reported on Wednesday.
Prosecutors interrogated a suspect involved in the network, who is now in police custody pending investigation, the daily Al-Masry al- Youm reported on its website.
Other local media reported that the alleged spy ring was gathering information about the Egyptian army, who has been in control of the country following Former President Hosni Mubarak's ouster earlier this year.
The group was allegedly spying on the armed forces during the uprising that led to Mubarak's toppling...
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Haaretz - Egyptian authorities have uncovered an espionage network working for Israel and are searching for an Egyptian and two Israelis believed to be involved in spying on the country's armed forces, local media reported on Wednesday.
Prosecutors interrogated a suspect involved in the network, who is now in police custody pending investigation, the daily Al-Masry al- Youm reported on its website.
Other local media reported that the alleged spy ring was gathering information about the Egyptian army, who has been in control of the country following Former President Hosni Mubarak's ouster earlier this year.
The group was allegedly spying on the armed forces during the uprising that led to Mubarak's toppling...
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Israel uproots Palestinian olive trees in the West Bank
Maan News Agency - Israeli troops blocked off access to agricultural fields near the village of Beit Dajan on Wednesday, while bulldozers tore out dozens of olive trees from privately owned property, officials said.
The trees were uprooted and confiscated, deputy to the Nablus governor Anan At-Ateera told Ma’an.
"Dozens of olive trees from the At-Tyur area east of Beit Dajan were taken ... residents were prevented from reaching the site," At-Teera said...
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The trees were uprooted and confiscated, deputy to the Nablus governor Anan At-Ateera told Ma’an.
"Dozens of olive trees from the At-Tyur area east of Beit Dajan were taken ... residents were prevented from reaching the site," At-Teera said...
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Video: On the 8th anniversary of Rachel Corrie's stand in Gaza
Mondoweiss - "On Wednesday, March 16th, we mark the eighth anniversary of our daughter Rachel’s stand in Rafah, Gaza, for the human right of Gazan families to be safe and secure in their homes and the rights of Palestinians to self-determination, freedom, equality, and security in the same measure as their Israeli neighbors.
Here in Olympia, Washington – our hometown and Rachel’s – our family, the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice, and our community will mark this anniversary with an event that emphasizes three components: community-building, education, and action. Strengthening community connections was important to Rachel when she lived and worked here in Olympia, but, also, beyond, as she embraced the world as her community. As we pursue a more just global community, we must arm ourselves with solid information and knowledge. Rachel believed this profoundly and emphasized in her writing from Gaza the importance of seeking and communicating the facts and doing so without exaggeration. And it is not enough for us to think and talk. We must, also, act. Indeed, it is because of Rachel’s action on March 16, 2003, that we pause to mark this day..."Read More
SodaStream profits from the occupation
Who Profits - Using SodaStream as a case study, a new report by Who Profits discusses key issues in industrial production in illegal West Bank settlements. SodaStream is a manufacturer of home beverage carbonating devices, whose main production site is in the West Bank Settlement of the Mishor Edomin Industrial Zone. The report provides an extensive overview, including the identity of the manufacturers, employment conditions, land confiscation and trade in settlement products.
The report shows how the success of SodaStream and other companies which produce in settlements is based, at least in part, on the structural advantages that these companies enjoy, such as tax incentives, lax enforcement of regulations, as well as additional governmental support. The report also exposes the manner in which the company conceals the fact that its products are manufactured in a West Bank settlement by using the Made in Israel label. The company, therefore misleads consumers to believe that its products are manufactured in Israel rather than in occupied land.
The business of SodaStream is growing rapidly. Its products are sold in 39 countries and can be found in retail stores like Macy’s, Bed Bath and Beyond, Bloomingdale’s, Coop, Carrefour and Migros. On November 8, 2010, the company has gone public and its shares are traded on NASDAQ. The SodaStream devices are especially popular in Sweden; the company has recently announced that it has sold more than 1 million devices there.
The report provides an unprecedented insight into the internal considerations of a settlement producer, weighing consumer boycotts and possible negative publicity against the economic benefits of operating from a settlement. By its own admission, SodaStream states that calls for boycott are indeed a "risk factor" and a cause for "rising political tensions and negative publicity". However, the company declares that moving its factory out of the settlement would require the expenditure of resources and, more importantly, "limit certain of the tax benefits for which we are currently eligible." These benefits stem from the fact that the Israeli government provides economic incentives, including tax deductions, for businesses operating in West Bank settlements.
Read the full report
Israeli forces detain five overnight in Ramallah
Maan News Agency - Palestinian police said five were detained by the Israeli military overnight from the Ramallah area, including a father and three of his sons in the central West Bank village of Shabitin.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was unaware of arrests in either Shabitin or An-Nabi Salih, where police said 22-year-old Ahmad Sameh Al-Khatib was taken from his home.
The spokeswoman said soldiers detained one man from the Qalqiliya area overnight.
Those said to have been taken from Shabitin were identified as Helmi Abed Al-Hafith Thib and his sons Ammar, Mohammad and A’yed.
The detentions were said to have occurred following a home invasion.
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An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was unaware of arrests in either Shabitin or An-Nabi Salih, where police said 22-year-old Ahmad Sameh Al-Khatib was taken from his home.
The spokeswoman said soldiers detained one man from the Qalqiliya area overnight.
Those said to have been taken from Shabitin were identified as Helmi Abed Al-Hafith Thib and his sons Ammar, Mohammad and A’yed.
The detentions were said to have occurred following a home invasion.
Read More
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Israeli Civil Administration demolishes all the structures in Palestinian village
B'Tselem - On 2 March 2011, the Civil Administration demolished all the structures in the Palestinian village Khirbet Tana, in the Jordan Valley. This is the sixth time that the Civil Administration has demolished structures in the village since 2005, and the fourth in the last four months. The pretext for the demolitions is that the village is located within a closed military area intended for military exercises, in which Palestinians and Palestinian construction are prohibited.
Khirbet Tana is a small Bedouin community of 250 persons to the east of Beit Furik. The community has lived in the western section of the Jordan Valley for dozens of years, gaining their livelihood from farming and raising livestock.
For many years, residents of the village, like other Palestinians in the Jordan Valley, have suffered from Israel’s policy restricting their access to extensive land areas of land, in an attempt to remove them from the area. The village lies in Area C, which is under complete Israeli control, on land that was, in the 1970s, classified a closed military area when some of the residents were already living there. According to residents of the village, the area has never been used for military exercises. Israel’s restrictions on movement prevent rapid access to the village from main traffic arteries in the Jordan Valley, compelling the residents to use alternate, dirt roads from the Nablus area.
In recent years, villagers twice petitioned the High Court of Justice, demanding that the army reduce the area in which entry is prohibited and that the Civil Administration prepare an outline plan for the village to enable them to build their houses lawfully. The petitions were denied “for substantive reasons relating to the needs of the surrounding area.”
The army has carried out four demolition operations in the village in the past four months, destroying temporary and permanent structures, and enclosures for livestock. On 8 December 2010, the Civil Administration demolished 18 structures, including a school and six residential dwellings, leaving 48 persons, among them 14 minors, homeless. On 9 February 2011, the Civil Administration destroyed nine residential dwellings and 12 enclosures for livestock. This operation left 60 persons, including 19 minors, homeless. A week and a half later, on 20 February, the Civil Administration demolished seven residential dwellings (in which 58 persons, including 21 children, lived) and seven livestock enclosures....
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Khirbet Tana is a small Bedouin community of 250 persons to the east of Beit Furik. The community has lived in the western section of the Jordan Valley for dozens of years, gaining their livelihood from farming and raising livestock.
For many years, residents of the village, like other Palestinians in the Jordan Valley, have suffered from Israel’s policy restricting their access to extensive land areas of land, in an attempt to remove them from the area. The village lies in Area C, which is under complete Israeli control, on land that was, in the 1970s, classified a closed military area when some of the residents were already living there. According to residents of the village, the area has never been used for military exercises. Israel’s restrictions on movement prevent rapid access to the village from main traffic arteries in the Jordan Valley, compelling the residents to use alternate, dirt roads from the Nablus area.
In recent years, villagers twice petitioned the High Court of Justice, demanding that the army reduce the area in which entry is prohibited and that the Civil Administration prepare an outline plan for the village to enable them to build their houses lawfully. The petitions were denied “for substantive reasons relating to the needs of the surrounding area.”
The army has carried out four demolition operations in the village in the past four months, destroying temporary and permanent structures, and enclosures for livestock. On 8 December 2010, the Civil Administration demolished 18 structures, including a school and six residential dwellings, leaving 48 persons, among them 14 minors, homeless. On 9 February 2011, the Civil Administration destroyed nine residential dwellings and 12 enclosures for livestock. This operation left 60 persons, including 19 minors, homeless. A week and a half later, on 20 February, the Civil Administration demolished seven residential dwellings (in which 58 persons, including 21 children, lived) and seven livestock enclosures....
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