Video: Waves of arrests in weekly Nabi Saleh demonstration / Joseph Dana
Only a day after the arrest of Bassem Tamimi, the coordinator of the village’s popular committee, the IDF has escalated its attempts to suppress protest in Nabi Saleh. During the early hours of the morning, long before the weekly demonstration began, large groups of Israeli soldiers and Border Police deployed on the three roads leading into Nabi Saleh, and in the groves surrounding the village, bringing movement in and out of the village to a standstill. Three Israeli activists were detained in the groves as they tried to march, despite the siege … When the demonstration began, protesters skirted the soldiers by walking between the houses, and managed to reach the road leading to the spring threatened by settler takeover. When the soldiers noticed the march peacefully heading towards the spring, they immediately opened fire at it, shooting tear-gas projectiles directly at the crowd
Israeli forces arrest activists in Nabi Saleh
ISM 25 Mar — This afternoon nine people were arrested at a demonstration in the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh. Among the arrested were two ISM activists along with one Danish, one Palestinian and five Israeli protesters. Both ISM activists report being beaten by the Israeli military whilst non-violently demonstrating. The Swedish activist was pepper-sprayed in the face before having his hands tied behind his back and being dragged around a corner and hit in the face several times causing his glasses to break. The other ISM activist, a woman from the United States was hit in her chest whilst being arrested. The third international from Denmark also had his hands tied before being dragged two metres by his hood and then beaten. Both men were left with their hands tied for over two hours. The weekly demonstration had been going only a matter of minutes when the army began firing teargas and sound grenades into the crowd, and later entered Palestinian houses to look for activists to arrest.
And then we have this quite impressive Israeli attempt to smear the Nabi Saleh protests:
Secrets of Nabi Saleh protests
Ynet Magazine 26 Mar — Organized army of boys following one pied piper: Arrest, indictment of seven youngsters involved in Nabi Saleh demonstrations leads to revelations about inner workings of man who organizes violence with military precision. Ynet offers behind-scenes look at most violent protests around [wonder how much ‘interrogation’ took place before the boys ‘confessed’?]
And more news from Today in Palestine:
Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Settlers
Israeli forces demolish Palestinian tent in Tubas
TUBAS (Ma‘an) 25 Mar 21:52 — Israeli forces on Friday demolished a tent belonging to Palestinians in the northern West Bank, a day after Israeli settlers erected a tent in the same area. On Thursday, residents of the illegal Maskiot settlement put up a tent by the ‘Ein Al-Helwa village, north of the Jordan Valley, on land belonging to Nabil Daraghmeh. Settlers installed barbed wire around the tent, put up Israeli flags and chanted slogans demanding the expulsion of all Palestinians, locals said. On Friday, Israeli authorities arrived in the village and demolished the tent belonging to Palestinians, but left the settlers’ tent standing, witnesses said. Palestinian and foreign nationals were detained while protesting the demolition and taken to an unknown location.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=372267
Heavy military presence in Silwan after Molotov cocktails thrown
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 26 Mar — Heavy numbers of Israeli forces have moved in to Baten al-Hawa and Bir Ayyub districts of Silwan after several Molotov cocktails were thrown at the Palestinian house occupied by Israeli soldiers in Baten al-Hawa. Live ammunition has been fired by soldiers, with no injuries reported so far. Clashes have spread throughout several areas of Silwan, with troops wantonly firing tear gas grenades.
http://silwanic.net/?p=14034
Suspended in time — Lifta under threat / Jillian Kestler-D’Amours
EI 26 Mar — A natural spring, countless olive trees, a mosque and virtually every stone used to build the village’s unmistakable houses — Yacoub Odeh remembers it all … Odeh was born in Lifta, a Palestinian village nestled in a hillside northwest of Jerusalem, in 1940. He was eight years old when he and his family were forced from their homes during the Palestinian Nakba (Catastrophe), the uprooting of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians when the State of Israel was created in 1947-48 … Today, as the Jerusalem municipality moves to build a new neighborhood — for Jewish residents only — over Lifta lands, Odeh is more concerned than ever about preserving the village he knows like the back of his hand.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11879.shtml
Nakba law and nakba map produce nakba dream / Yuval Ben-Ami
26 Mar — Among the books my friends and I discovered a collection of maps. They present the country at a 1:100,000 scale and while published in the mid 50s, are mostly based on British maps charted in the early 40s. The publishers of the maps simply published the British maps, adding a circle for each new Israeli settlements founded over the years and marked each wrecked Palestinian village with the word ‘demolished’. I never had any idea how large those communities were and how numerous. An excerpt of one such map is provided above. The entire compendium is literally the stuff of nightmares.
http://972mag.com/nakba-law-and-nakba-map-produce-nakba-dream/
Detention / Abduction
Palestinians jailed because lawyer can’t communicate with them / Yossi Gurvitz
The text is simple and quite short, and it merits being quoted in full: “The Netanya Magistrate’s Court has decided to extend by 24 hours the detention of three Palestinians, without holding a hearing about their alleged crimes. The reason for the absence of such a hearing is that the suspects speak only Arabic, and could not communicate with the public defender appointed for them.” The abstract form of this masterpiece of news briefs deserves a few words of attention. Reporter Ra’anan Ben Zur successfully conveys the fully Kafkaesque nature of the situation in two little sentences. We have three defendants, about whom we know nothing except for their nationality; the fact that a public defender has been appointed for them; that they cannot communicate with said defender; and that they are consigned to detention due to this lack of communication.
http://972mag.com/a-rubber-stamp/
Witnesses: 2 Palestinians detained at checkpoint
Jenin (Ma‘an) 25 Mar — Israeli soldiers on Friday detained two men at the Al-Hamra checkpoint in the northern West Bank, witnesses said. Onlookers said Israeli forces stopped a public taxi on the road between Tubas and Jericho and detained two passengers.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=372320
Detained man’s wife appeals to PA
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) — The wife of a Palestinian detained by Israeli forces appealed to Palestinian Authority Civil Affairs chairman Hussein Al-Sheikh to lobby for his release. Israeli forces detained Wisam Abu Samra on Thursday at the Erez crossing on the Israeli-Gaza border as he tried to enter the Gaza Strip. Abu Samra works for the Palestinian Authority and his passage had been coordinated by the Palestinian embassy in Amman, his wife told Ma‘an. She said she was told her husband was taken to Israel’s Al-Majdal prison for interrogation. She added that he had no affiliations with any factions.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=372238
Palestinian who mysteriously disappeared in Ukraine still in Israel
Jerusalem (CNN) 25 Mar — In the latest chapter of an unfolding story that reads like a spy thriller, a Palestinian engineer who was allegedly abducted by Israeli intelligence services in the Ukraine over a month ago will be kept in custody for at least another week after an Israeli court ruling.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/03/25/israel.mysterious.detainee/index.html
Palestinian hospitalized after health deteriorates in PA custody
RAMALLAH, (PIC) 26 Mar — Moatasim al-Natsheh, 25, has been hospitalized after his health deteriorated while held by the Palestinian Authority in the Jericho prison in Ramallah. He had been held in solitary confinement since September 2010 when his father and brothers were arrested among 1,400 other Hamas supporters targeted by PA intelligence in a West Bank arrest campaign.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87
Israeli Attacks
Israeli artillery shell blasts factory in Gaza
GAZA, (PIC) 26 Mar 08:16 — Artillery shelling by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) at dawn Saturday started huge fire in a factory for soft drinks in Gaza Strip and inflicted big damage to the facility. The PIC reporter said that an artillery shell slammed into Al-Sattar factory east of Zaitun suburb in Gaza city causing a big explosion in the petrol tanks inside the factory. He said that fire fighters controlled the resultant massive fire after two hours, adding that civil defense squads participated in the effort.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%
Israeli aircraft destroys roadside poster of Shaikh Ahmed Yassin and Ismail Haniyeh
MEMO 25 Mar — An Israeli reconnaissance plane has destroyed a roadside poster depicting Shaikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder of the Islamic Resistance Movement, and current Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. The poster was alongside a coastal road in the Shaikh Aiglein district of Gaza. Local residents said that the Israeli aircraft clearly targeted the poster deliberately, destroying it completely.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/2175-israeli-aircraft-destroys-roadside-poster-of-shaikh-ahmed-yassin-and-ismail-haniyeh
Southern command chief: Gaza ruled by anarchy
Ynet 26 Mar — …Following the recent escalation in rocket and mortar fire from the Gaza Strip into Israel, Maj. Gen. Russo noted that “there is anarchy inside the organizations in Gaza and also within Hamas. There is no control over there,” he said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4047904,00.html
Reprisals
Qassam rocket hits Eshkol Regional council
Ynet 26 Mar 18:32 — A Qassam rocket exploded in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council on Saturday. No injuries or damage were reported.This is the third rocket fired at Israel over the weekend. Palestinians fired two rockets at Israeli territory early Saturday morning. One exploded in the Eshkol Regional Council and caused severe damage one house and moderate damage to another. There were no reports of injuries. The other rocket landed in an open area.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4047962,00.html
Abu Obeida: Resistance factions do not call for war
GAZA, (PIC) 26 Mar — The recent firing of mortar shells at Israeli targets by the armed wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, was in retaliation to the escalating Israeli army crimes against the Palestinian people, Abu Obaida, the Brigades’ spokesman, said. He added in an interview with the Panorama TV program on Hiwar network on Friday there is a practical calm in Gaza, and the resistance factions only retaliate to Israeli attacks. The spokesman stressed that resistance factions do not call for war and seek to spare the people its repercussions, charging Israel with starting the aggression.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2
Islamic Jihad vows response to ‘Israeli crimes’
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 26 Mar — Islamic Jihad leader Khader Habib vowed Thursday that the movement would respond to Israel’s escalation in attacks against the Gaza Strip. On Wednesday, Israeli warplanes killed four members of the movement’s military wing, the Al Quds Brigades, in an air strike south of Gaza City. The attack came hours after Israeli artillery fire hit a home east of Gaza City killing four members of the same family, including an 11-year-old and a 16-year-old.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=372086
Gaza militants say will withhold fire if Israel does
GAZA, March 26 (Reuters) 17:38 – Hamas Islamists said on Saturday that Gaza militants had agreed to halt their rocket fire at Israel if the Jewish state stops launching strikes against targets in the coastal territory. Hamas spokesman Ismail Rudwan said after a meeting with faction heads over a surge in cross-border tensions with Israel, that militants were “committed as long as the occupation (Israel) was committed” to restore a de-facto ceasefire.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/gaza-militants-say-will-withhold-fire-if-israel-does
Siege
Health ministry warns of ‘catastrophe’ if Israel attacks amid medical crisis
GAZA, (PIC) 26 Mar — The Ministry of Health in Gaza has warned that a new Israeli aggression on the Strip could lead to a ”catastrophe” as the region suffers a dangerous shortage of medical supplies. The ministry’s pharmaceutical director Muneer al-Bursh said in a statement Friday that there is a shortage of 153 medicines and 135 medical supplies used in intensive care, surgery, dialysis, and chronic illnesses.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bc
Refugees
Serving the refugees of Dheisheh Camp: an insight into the Popular Committee
PNN 25 Mar By Alessandra Bajec – – On a visit to Al-Feneiq Cultural Center, meeting with well-respected Naji Owdah seemed to be a worthwhile opportunity to familiarise with what work is done by a popular committee inside a refugee camp, and how the needs of people living in Dheisheh are served. The views presented here are those expressed by the interviewee.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9779&Itemid=56
Discrimination
Regularly confronting discrimination at Ben Gurion airport / Aziz Abu Sarah
24 Mar — The recent Supreme Court rebuke of the Airport Authorities in Israel came as a shining light of hope. The treatment of Arabs at Ben Gurion Airport has caused many controversies over the last few years. For me, this is not something I simply read about in the newspaper — being a Palestinian resident of Jerusalem and a frequent business flyer I regularly experience discrimination at Ben Gurion.
http://972mag.com/my-regular-confrontation-with-discrimination-at-ben-gurion-airport/
Human rights
PCHR Weekly Report on Israeli human rights violation in the occupied Palestinian territory 17-23 March
24 March — *10 Palestinians, including 4 children, were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip. *IOF continued to target Palestinian workers, farmers and fishermen in border areas in the Gaza Strip. *IOF continued to use force against peaceful protests in the West Bank. *IOF conducted 45 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and two limited ones into the Gaza Strip. *Israel has continued to impose a total siege on the OPT and has isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world. *IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. Details: [esp. interesting for the many invasions of West Bank villages.]
http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7322:weekly-report-on-israeli-human-rights-violations-in-the-occupied-palestinian-territory-17-23-march-2011&catid=131:new
Politics / International
Palestinian president meets Hamas to talk unity
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) 26 Mar — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has met with the rival Palestinian group Hamas in the West Bank for the first time in about a year … Abbas now says he’s willing to travel to Hamas-controlled Gaza to prepare the ground for a unity deal. He has not visited Gaza since the Hamas takeover … Saturday’s meeting appeared to be an attempt to lobby Hamas to accept Abbas’ proposal.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110326/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians
Abbas: No peace agreement before all prisoners in Israel are released
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 26 Mar — During a reception in Ramallah for the coordinator of the popular committee against the wall and settlements in Bil’in, Abdullah Abu Rahma, recently freed from Israeli jail, Abbas asserted the Palestinian Authority would not spare any effort to release all Palestinian prisoners. The official PA news agency Wafa quoted Abbas saying he gives special attention to the prisoners’ cause as “a pivotal issue” which tops priorities of the PA leadership.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=372486
Diplomats: New European peace proposal
AP 26 Mar — Following deadlocked negotiations, Britain, France, Germany ask UN, EU to draft new peace agreement that would lead to establishment of Palestinian state
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4047852,00.html
Video: United States of Israel
Pulse — GOP presidential hopefuls make Israel pilgrimage on road to 2012 — Sarah Palin is just the latest GOP politician to visit to Israel after a string of possible Presidential hopefuls to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the past few months. Why is establishing your credentials in Tel Aviv before running for US president as vital as stumping in New Hampshire?
http://pulsemedia.org/2011/03/24/united-states-of-israel/
Canada: Gaza rocket strikes ‘criminal’
AFP 25 Mar — Canada ‘vigorously condemns’ Palestinian attacks, says Israel has right to defend itself
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4047780,00.html
Analysis / Opinion / Human interest
The top 7 terms that distort Israel/Palestine / Yousef Munayyer
The following is a list of some of the often-occurring words or phrases in mainstream English-language media which distort our understanding of the situation in Palestine. We’ve become so accustomed to hearing these words, we often fail to question their meaning, validity and appropriateness. In a world of “wall-to-wall text,” these words/phrases are most responsible for a distorted representation of the situation in Palestine. [and another one – why is it Israel/Palestinians (or, more rarely, Israel/Palestine? Why not Palestine/Israel once in a while?]
http://blog.thejerusalemfund.org/2011/03/top-7-terms-that-distort.html
Natural flow of history: Hamas should rethink its charter / Ramzy Baroud
24 Mar — …Hamas, since its official inception in 1987 — and even prior to that, when the Islamic movement was dedicated mainly to charity work and institution building — has proved capable of changing and growing. Its growth has not been based on the diktats of Israel or any outside power, but rather its own motivations … Hamas should now re-think its charter of 1988, which was once an almost impulsive rally cry, and which will always be used in the interests of those seeking to discount Hamas’ credibility. The language of the charter might have served a purpose in the past, but it fails to live up to the of the expectations of a people who wish for unity and to see past the confines of Oslo, its ‘peace process’ and its wealth-amassing elites. Post-Oslo Palestinian leaderships require new language, new ideas, new approaches, and most certainly a brand new vision and strategy.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16742
The Nakba law deepens apartheid in Israel
26 Mar — …According to experts, the law is undeniably vague in its wording, thus leaving it open to abuse. Sawsan Zaher of Adalah, the legal centre for Arab minority rights in Israel, believes the bill threatens a broad swath of government-funded institutions. Organizations at risk include research institutions that are found to be challenging the definition of the Israeli state as Jewish and democratic; educational institutions, such as bilingual schools, which hold events acknowledging the shared history of Jews and Arabs; and state-funded community organizations, such as theatres showing plays about the Nakba. One cannot escape the fact that the law clearly targets freedom of expression, a basic human right and an essential requirement for a meaningful democracy.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1729
Women at the front
[good photos] Palestine Monitor, 26 Mar — Young Palestinian women took the initiative to be in the front line of the March 15 protests in Palestine to protect the protesters. With their bodies they created a human shield in an attempt to prevent any expected fights. Some of the protesters were on hunger strike for the third day. They simply called for an end to Palestinian division. The thugs who attacked the peaceful protest in Ramallah intentionally targeted those women. They turned to violence against the unarmed women. Many were beaten up, pushed to the ground and two of them were sent to the hospital in Ramallah.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1730
Hopes high, hopes dashed in Palestine / Linah Alsaafin
25 Mar — Protests on March 15 in Gaza and the West Bank turned out to be much ado about nothing.
http://www.uruknet.info/?new=76216
A Confession – a poem / Samah Sabawi
I stand between my shame and relief / I breathe… / The missiles missed this time / Truth is, they didn’t miss entirely / Someone’s house is destroyed / but not that house I know so well / Someone’s family is grieving / but not the one whose name I carry … Every time the bombs fall on Gaza / I search for answers / Where did they strike? / Which street did they blow up? / Which neighborhood did they destroy? / Which lives did they steal? / Aware of my guilt I whisper a prayer / Dear God, please don’t let it be the ones I know. / Dear God, please don’t let it be the ones I love….
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16744
Happy Birthday, Deya, rest in peace / Yousef Munayyer
24 Mar — Dear Deya, Facebook alerted me that today was your birthday. Happy Birthday. I had always wondered what happened to people’s Facebook pages after their owners die. Yours stands as a testament to your all-too-short life and the amazing number of people you touched who are all wishing you happy birthday on your wall today – a year after you died. Do you remember when we met? I do. It was at a Palestinian heritage event in New Jersey. The lovely host family you were staying with brought you to meet the Palestinian community in the area. That’s when I learned about your situation and the Israeli settler’s bullet that ripped through your 14 year-old body … We’ll be presenting the comprehensive analysis [of settler attacks] on April 19th, 2011.
http://blog.thejerusalemfund.org/2011/03/happy-birthday-deya-rest-in-peace.html
Gaza children gather to support Japan
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 25 Mar — Children gathered in Gaza City on Thursday in solidarity with the victims of Japan’s devastating earthquake. Over 100 children held banners and slogans outside the Al-Nower education center to show their support for Japan, where more than 25,000 people are dead or missing. Nour Breikh, 11, explained, “We are standing here to send a message of love to all the kids in Japan and to tell them that we are sad because of what happened to them.” Meanwhile, 12-year-old Haya Al-Kasas recalled Japan’s support for residents of the Gaza Strip during Israel’s devastating offensive in December 2008, when hundreds of Gazan children were killed by Israeli forces.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=372209
Iraq
Friday: 5 Iraqis killed, 31 wounded
Hundreds defied heavy rain to protest in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square and other Iraqi cities. While many were protesting corruption and poor services, some were demonstrating support for Bahraini protests. Meanwhile, at least five Iraqis were killed and 31 more wounded in new and previously reported incidents. Authorities revealed that 15 prisoners were wounded in a previously reported riot at a prison in Baghdad yesterday. Separately, 16 rockets were seized in northern Baghdad.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/03/25/friday-5-iraqis-killed-31-wounded/
