Videos: It’s time to harvest the crop: accompanying farmers in Gaza under Israeli fire
23 April 2012 | il Blog di Oliva by Rosa Schiano — Israeli soldiers have already started shooting onto the land along the border of the Gaza Strip. Two injured just in the first two days of the harvest. Renad Salem Qdeeh, 33, was collecting he crop from her land when Israeli soldiers started shooting, at around 7.30am or 8am. The other farmers managed to escape, but Renad started screaming as she was hit in the head while standing about 800 meters from the border. She was rushed to a hospital in Khuza‘a and received ten stitches for her wound. We now come to find her lying on the bed … The day that Renad was injured, Hassan Waled Shnano, 27, was also injured. Except he wasn’t working in the fields. He was simply walking to work, in Khuza‘a, in an area that’s about 2km from the border, not far from his house.
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/04/its-time-to-harvest-the-crop-accompanying-farmers-in-gaza-under-israeli-fire/
Wheat farmers under fire in Gaza: We must continue to work our land
ISM Gaza 23 Apr by Nathan Stuckey — Today we went farming with the family of Ahmed Saadat. We arrived in Khuza‘a at about 7 AM and met Ahmed. He told us that the Israeli’s had already shot at his family when they went to their land to begin work. We went to the land, which lies 300 meters from the border and directly on the buffer zone. You immediately know the buffer zone, nothing is planted in it, no trees are left, and everything has been destroyed, only weeds grow there. Ahmed and his family began to work, ten people on their knees harvesting wheat by hand. To harvest the wheat they pull it up by the roots and tie it into sheaves to be taken to a threshing machine. The land is quite large, in the past perhaps they would have hired a combine to harvest the wheat so that they would not have to do it by hand, but now it is dangerous to bring equipment near the buffer zone. Now, they work by hand.
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/04/wheat-farmers-under-fire-in-gaza-we-must-continue-to-work-our-land/
Israel detains Gaza fishermen
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 24 Apr — Israeli forces on Tuesday detained fishermen working off the coast of the Gaza Strip. Local official Mahfouth al-Kabareeti told Ma‘an that Israeli naval forces detained Nader Yousef Abu Simaan, 22, and his brother Hasan at sea and confiscated their equipment. The brothers, from al-Shati refugee camp, were fishing within the area designated by Israel, he added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=479341
Power crisis leaves Gaza farmers hanging out to dry
Alresalah 24 Apr ) — Large stretches of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip are suffering from lack of irrigation as the electricity and accompanying fuel crisis have started leaving their mark on farmers. With the crisis now in its third month, farmers have told Oxfam that with no fuel and electricity they are unable to irrigate their crops and they see their yields drying up. Even in the water-rich northern town of Beit Lahiya, famous for its strawberries that are among the few items allowed out for export, farmers are watching in despair as their fields dry up. “We can’t turn our water pumps on to extract water from boreholes, and we are left powerless seeing our crops dying in front of our eyes until we get a steady supply of fuel or electricity,” said Nabil Ghaben, a farmer who depends on his dunum (1,000 square metres / 1/4 acre) of land for a living.
http://www.alresalah.ps/en/index.php?act=post&id=482
Egyptian forces seize fuel truck near Gaza
El-ARISH, Egypt (Ma‘an) 25 Apr — Egyptian forces on Wednesday seized a truck in Sinai’s El-Arish carrying fuel to be smuggled into Gaza, security officials said. Egyptian security officers told Ma‘an the truck was carrying a large quantity of diesel. It was headed to Rafah to be smuggled through tunnels into the Gaza Strip, they said. The driver was arrested, they added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=479654
UN builds 223 homes in Gaza refugee camp
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 24 Apr — The UN agency for Palestinian refugees provided residents of a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip with 223 new homes on Tuesday, officials said. The homes, supported by a $7.2 million donation from the Government of the Netherlands, will provide shelter to 1,300 Palestinians in Gaza’s Khan Younis refugee camp, a press statement said. The UN body is one of the few agencies able to import construction materials into the blockaded coastal strip, and officials urged Israel to allow more supplies to replace unsafe structures in the camps.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=479166
Viva Palestina’s sixth journey to the Gaza Strip
25 Apr — A British-based organization that has delivered millions of dollars to the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip embarked Sunday on its sixth convoy to Gaza from Bradford, UK. Viva Palestina 6, dubbed “The Right of Return Convoy,” is organized by Viva Palestina Arabia (VPA), an affiliate group of Viva Palestina (VP). The convoy is “about the return to Palestine – the right of Palestinians to return and returning our attention to this central issue by contributing to the construction, the rebuilding, of a Palestine for all Palestinians, with Jerusalem recognized as its capital,” according to the organization’s website.
http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/04/25/viva-palestinas-sixth-journey-to-the-gaza-strip/
Family: Syria forces kill Palestinian in Deraa
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 25 Apr — Syrian security forces on Wednesday shot dead a 20-year-old Palestinian man in Daraa, relatives said. Raad Nidal Fora was shot in the head on his way to work in the southern city of Deraa, his cousin Walid Fora told Ma‘an by telephone, adding that Syrian government forces were refusing to return his body. Fora’s relatives in Gaza City are receiving condolences at their home in the Shujaiyeh neighborhood, he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=479655
Netanyahu says backs ‘contiguous’ Palestinian state
JERUSALEM (Reuters) 24 Apr — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced support on Tuesday for the first time for Palestinians to establish a contiguous state, saying their future country should not look like “Swiss cheese”. But only hours earlier, a ministerial committee in his right-wing government granted Israeli legal status to three previously unauthorized Jewish settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, drawing Palestinian and international criticism. Palestinians fear such outposts and the 130 formal settlements Israel has built in the territory it captured in a 1967 war will deny them a viable state. Asked on CNN’s Erin Burnett Outfront program whether he would accept the Palestinians’ belief they should have a country that is contiguous, Netanyahu replied: “Yes.” “Not as a Swiss cheese? No,” Netanyahu added, addressing a key Palestinian concern, that the state they seek would be comprised of pockets of villages and towns surrounded by Israeli settlements … His change of tone on the nature of a Palestinian state came a week after he received a letter from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that repeated a call for an end to all settlement activity and put the onus on Israel to take action to get peace talks moving again.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/24/us-palestinians-israel-settlements-idUSBRE83N12920120424
Israel backtracks on demolition of illegal West Bank settlement Ulpana / Harriet Sherwood in Ulpana
Guardian 25 Apr –The Israeli government is seeking to renege on a pledge to demolish a West Bank outpost built on privately owned Palestinian land. The move comes amid a wave of international condemnation over its retrospective authorisation this week of three other illegal outposts, strengthening Israel’s hold on the West Bank and bolstering pro-settler groups, whose influence on government policy is growing. The attorney general, Yehuda Weinstein, will ask the supreme court to delay an order to evacuate and demolish five apartment buildings at Ulpana, on the edge of the Beit El settlement. The case is due to be heard before Tuesday’s deadline for evacuation.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/25/israel-backtracks-illegal-west-bank-settlement-ulpana
Israel’s Ulpana neighborhood is built on years of land theft and forgery / Akiva Eldar
Haaretz 24 Apr — …The Ulpana neighborhood was born and raised in sin. Ironically, it was established in 1999 during Ehud Barak’s term in the Prime Minister’s Office … Going by accepted norms of the enlightened world, the Ulpana neighborhood is not the only illegitimate child of Beit El. The entire community was founded on an unaccepted norm that goes by the name “temporary occupation orders.” Over the years, the community spread north beyond the limits of those orders, onto the private lands of Dura al-Kara’s residents. In a normative society, individuals and organizations that turn land theft and forgery into norms end up in jail.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/israel-s-ulpana-neighborhood-is-built-on-years-of-land-theft-and-forgery-1.426140
PM: I don’t fear elections on Ulpana issue
JPost 24 Apr — Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed concerns that his handling of the Ulpana outpost, slated for evacuation at the end of the month, would bring down the governing coalition and confirmed the government would seek a delay in the court-ordered evacuation. In an interview with Army Radio, Netanyahu said: “The coalition is strong, but this situation needs to be taken care of.” He continued, “We are not scared of elections,” but said he did not expect to call elections any time soon.
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=267320
EU urges Israel to reverse settler outpost decision
BRUSSELS (AFP) 25 Apr – — The European Union called on Israel on Wednesday to reverse its decision to legalize three settler outposts in occupied Palestinian territory … The chief EU diplomat said the Israeli decision ran counter to the spirit of an April 11 statement by the Quartet of Middle East peacebrokers, the European Union, United States, Russia and United Nations. The Quartet, she recalled, “expressed concern about unilateral and provocative actions, including continued settlement activity.”
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/04/25/eu-urges-israel-to-reverse-settler-outpost-decision/
UN chief ‘deeply troubled’ by new West Bank outposts
Reuters/Haaretz 24 Apr — Ban Ki-moon comments on Israel’s decision to grant legal status to Bruchin, Sansana and Rechalim outposts, describing activity as ‘illegal’.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/un-chief-deeply-troubled-by-new-west-bank-outposts-1.426382
Spain condemns Israel’s legalization of illegal outposts
MADRID (WAFA) 25 Apr — The Spanish government Wednesday condemned Israeli legalization of three settlement outposts in the west Bank, according to a statement issued by the Spanish Foreign Ministry. Spain considered the Israeli act as an “extremely serious decision” that sets a dangerous precedent in relation to other settlement outposts. [The UK, Russia, and France also condemned the move.]
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19654
US: Outposts not helpful to peace
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 25 Apr — The United States said Tuesday it was concerned by Israel’s decision to sanction three settler outposts in the West Bank, as world powers warned of the negative impact on the peace process with Palestinians.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=479491
France condemns settlement legalization, destruction of cisterns
PARIS (WAFA) 24 Apr — …France also condemned the Israeli destruction of two French-financed water cisterns on Monday in the Hebron area that were supposed to be used for the development of the Palestinian communities in the area. It called on Israel to stop the destruction of vital Palestinian projects in Area C of the West Bank, which is under full Israeli control, but considered by the French government as important for the development of the future Palestinian state. The statement said the French government will raise this complaint with the Israeli embassy in Paris as well as with officials in Israel.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19644
The right to water: Cistern demolitions in Hebron area
[photos] ISM 23 Apr by ‘Joseph’ — On Monday April 23, 2012, the Israeli occupation forces destroyed four water cisterns outside of the city of al-Khalil (Hebron). Two of the destroyed cisterns were located in the Abweire area, a small agricultural neighborhood of 400-500 residents northeast of al-Khalil. The other two cisterns destroyed were located in Hal-Houl, south of al-Khalil. The demolitions came just one week after another four cisterns were destroyed in the Meshroona area south of al-Khalil … The occupation forces did not stop with removing the top of the cistern, but actually smashed the sidewalls, rendering the structure totally useless. The occupation forces came without warning in four jeeps, an armored personnel carrier, an armored bulldozer, and another armored earth-wrecking machine, along with personnel from the Israeli permits and construction offices.
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/04/the-right-to-water-water-cistern-demolitions-in-hebron-area/
Army closes West Bank during holidays
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 25 Apr — Israel closed checkpoints in the West Bank late Tuesday for 48 hours while the country commemorates national holidays, the army said. All entry and exit crossings from the West Bank will be closed until Thursday at midnight, with the exception of prior-authorized medical emergencies, a press statement said. Israel marks Memorial Day on Wednesday, and Independence Day on Thursday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=479524
Jerusalem’s ‘center of life’ policy imprisons Palestinians / Allison Deger
Mondoweiss 24 Apr — …While their Jewish-Israeli counterparts are exempt, Palestinians who live in Jerusalem are required to submit documentation verifying that city is at the “center of their life.” Though inside of Israel’s 1967 border, Palestinians living in Jerusalem are not Israeli citizens, they are “Jerusalem residents.” If a court finds that Jerusalem is not their existential or material “center of life,” the local authorities can strip him or her of Jerusalem residency. For Palestinians, “center of life” becomes a constant process: proving where one works, attends school, and seeks medical services.
https://mondoweiss.net/2012/04/jerusalems-center-of-life-policy-imprisons-palestinians.html
Arab visits to al-Aqsa mosque not forbidden: Abbas
JERUSALEM (Reuters) 25 Apr — High-level Arab visits to Jerusalem to pray privately at the third holiest site in Islam should not be seen as acceptance of Israel’s disputed grip on the eastern half of the city, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday. The argument by some respected Islamic scholars that going to the al-Aqsa mosque is forbidden as long as access is controlled by Israelis is wrong-headed, Abbas said
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/25/us-palestinians-israel-jerusalem-idUSBRE83O0WP20120425
Bereaved families angry over Israel Defense Ministry Memorial Day gift
Haaretz 25 Apr — Gift sent out for Memorial Day and Independence Day is a hiking guide, that recommends over 50 trails in the West Bank contains suggestions to ‘bring a weapon, as the trail is located near an Arab village’ … Aharon Barnea, who lost his son at Beaufort in 1999, was involved in writing the letter. “It is horrible that the Defense Ministry sent this book to bereaved families. I see in this book that just like that, areas names’ were changed to names of those killed in terror attacks, as if we are the lords of the land,” said Barnea. “Really, it’s shocking. We’re changing history, by naming every hill and bush after someone who was killed…”
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/bereaved-families-angry-over-israel-defense-ministry-memorial-day-gift-1.426533
Otherwise Occupied: A rifle butting that wasn’t reported / Amira Hass
Haaretz 23 Apr — When no cameras are present to document cases of violence, the IDF simply closes the file — Another story about a rifle butting, but this time the story had a different ending. It had no independent camera documentation, nor European eyewitnesses and Europeans who were injured. This time the GOC Central Command didn’t have to express his shock and the chief of staff didn’t have to suspend anyone. It was enough for the Investigating Military Police and the military advocate general to determine that “proportional force was used.” This proportional force has resulted in irreversible cognitive damage to the victim. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The place: the Hawwara checkpoint, when it was still manned around the clock, the bottleneck of Nablus, slowing down and limiting egress from the city. The time: Tuesday, January 20, 2009. The Cast Lead offensive had just ended … The reason for being at the checkpoint: a visit to sisters living in the village south of the checkpoint. The family: Awwad, from the village of Salem, east of Nablus. The siblings: Naim, 36, Mahmoud, 29, Fauzi, 25, Anwar, 22.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/otherwise-occupied-a-rifle-butting-that-wasn-t-reported-1.425929?localLinksEnabled=false
Settlers attack Palestinian vehicles near Nablus
JENIN (WAFA) 25 Apr — A group of Jewish settlers Wednesday threw rocks and empty glass bottles at Palestinian vehicles on the Jenin-Nablus main road, according to security sources. They said that settlers set up a checkpoint near the evicted settlement of Homesh and attacked cars passing by with rocks and empty bottles causing damage to at least one car. T he army, which was present in the area, did not interfere to stop the settlers.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19655
Settlers ‘accost Chilean delegation’ at Hebron site
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 24 Apr — Israeli settlers accosted on Tuesday members of a Chilean Senate delegation and Hebron governor Kamel Hamid near Ibrahimi mosque, onlookers said. Settlers shouted obscenities at the delegation and told them they were in a “Jewish area” during a tour of the Old City, they said. Israeli forces moved in to keep the two sides apart. The head of the delegation, Andre Salvidor, said the incident was “worse than they expected.” He said he backed the Palestinian initiative to get recognition of statehood at the UN.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=479400
IOF soldiers storm Dura village
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 25 Apr — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed suburbs in Dura town, south of Al-Khalil, on Wednesday and installed roadblocks at its western and southern entrances and searched vehicles. A Dura citizen told the PIC that three IOF patrols roamed the streets of three suburbs in the town and installed a roadblock on a road leading to a nearby settlement. The soldiers installed another roadblock on the road between the town and nearby villages of Beit Uwa and Al-Majd.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7DJRg0wvBxjmXpEAGDmnsLdtUxkRN4SFcPJ64yHlb8Fd8L%2fIypRVaB5KOLbROGgvBWhgaYCpaMwwZJxpipUS2xNOuwQ%2fp4t8gAWLhvil1cgM%3d
‘Prisoner of conscience’ released on bail
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 25 Apr — Non-violence activist Bassem Tamimi was released on bail late Tuesday after spending 13 months in prison, a popular committee said. Tamimi, from Ramallah-district village Nabi Saleh, has been recognized as a human rights defender by the European Union and a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. He was detained by Israeli forces on March 24, 2011, and accused of organizing illegal demonstrations in the village, which holds weekly protests against seizure of their land by nearby Israeli settlement Halamish. On Tuesday, an Israeli military court rejected the Military Prosecution’s appeal against his release on bail, and released him on 12,000 shekel ($3,193) bail, the popular struggle coordination committee said. Tamimi will not be able to return to his village, as bail conditions prescribe he remain inside the city of Ramallah, and he is under house arrest between Thursday and Sunday. He will next appear in court on May 13, when the court will give its verdict on his case, committee spokesman Jonathan Pollack said. Throughout his trial, Tamimi has repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of the military court system that rules over Palestinians in the West Bank, and Israeli regulations that deem any gathering of more than 10 people an illegal demonstration.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=479517
IOF soldiers arrest student, summon others
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 25 Apr — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested a Palestinian university student from Beit Ummar village, north of Al-Khalil, on Wednesday, local sources said. They said that the soldiers arrested Nabil Alami, 21, while standing at a village crossing and took him to Etzion interrogation center, adding that summonses were served to other youths in four other villages in Al-Khalil province.
Meanwhile, other IOF soldiers stormed two villages to the east of Jenin city at dawn Wednesday and searched a number of homes. Eyewitnesses said that the soldiers along with intelligence officers interrogated a citizen inside his house in Deir Abu Da‘if village.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s75%2fcBIIAK58MXuMuKJEL5k%2fo2jH1Q2eabU8TblCPnyVnTuuaLBNFzF%2fCjxUyF9gvsCL%2fZSvL5QwTll%2fQbKo44daoSDi0P%2b4T%2fktxoauaP3tM%3d
Israeli forces arrest 4 Palestinians in West Bank
HEBRON, QALQILYA (WAFA) 25 Apr – Israeli forces Wednesday arrested four Palestinians, including three from the Qalqilya governorate and one from the southern West Bank governorate of Hebron, according to local and security sources. They said Israeli soldiers arrested a 21-year old university student from Beit Ummar, a town north of Hebron, and took him to an unknown destination. Forces also arrested three Palestinians, including two teenagers from Kufor Kadoum [Kafr Qaddum], a village east of Qalqilya after raiding the area.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19648
IOF soldiers arrest son of detained Hamas MP Natshe
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 25 Apr — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed the home of detained Hamas MP Mohammed Jamal Al-Natshe in Al-Khalil at dawn Wednesday and took away his son Islam. The family said that an officer calling himself Omar ordered Islam, 21, to come out of the house in Aissy suburb, south of the city, and then arrested him. The IOF soldiers had rounded a number of other young men in the same suburb this week. The IOF soldiers had arrested the MP Natshe in January 2011 only four months after serving eight and a half years in Israeli occupation jails.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7waAiUXSDy9YfGeVDtgRab6rbT1iNBwSxqpiIJIhAJuIRPelml9gIKItKAKvagHdyo29xYney7GG5L1gHVKLZt6v1Ld9qbB8auQmCwgNolYI%3d
4 Palestinians detained at West Bank checkpoint
NABLUS (Ma’an) 24 Apr — Israeli forces detained a member of Fatah and four other Palestinians in Yatma village south of Nablus at the Zaatara checkpoint, one of their relatives said Tuesday. The father of Ahmad al-Najjar, 35, said soldiers searched his son’s car thoroughly before detaining him. He was taken to Hadarim prison and will be transferred to court, the father said. Four others were also detained, according to onlookers. They were believed to be workers but their identities were not immediately clear.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=479435
IOA transfers detained elderly man to hospital
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 25 Apr — The Israeli occupation authority transferred 65-year-old detainee Sheikh Hassan Abu Hadid to Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem after he fainted during his court hearing in Ofer on Tuesday … Israeli occupation forces broke into the home of Abu Hadid in Abu Snene suburb in Al-Khalil at dawn Wednesday and searched it. Abu Hadid, who suffers numerous illnesses, and is fitted with a pacemaker.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7itxCaEtUWOe9WZxxBMPSm9V5j7SDTpD37fYlHSghW3u%2fGglJPJHAfZSXphGGOn6DetZ2e%2f%2b0%2bD%2bXwoO9LMqWMpP1OjEQzxHut1AT2tYvbGc%3d
OPEC agency awards funds to Palestinian prisoners
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 23 Apr — OPEC’s international development arm has granted its annual award for development to families of Palestinian prisoners and released detainees, the PA minister of prisoners affairs said Monday. OFID will bestow the $100,000 award at its UK congress in June, Issa Qaraqe said. The minister described the gift as more political than material. “This has important international symbolic implications in supporting freeing prisoners and condemning Israeli oppressive measures against them,” Qaraqe said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=478937
UN agency hands over Ramallah prison to Palestinian police
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 24 Apr — The United Nations Office for Projects Services (UNOPS) handed over Ramallah Prison to the Correction and Rehabilitation Centres Department of the Palestinian Civil Police, ending seven months of redesigning and reconstruction work, an EUPOL COPPS press release said Tuesday.T t said the $1.25 million refurbishment project was funded by the Canadian government. With the massive modifications, Ramallah Prison’s capacity has increased to 200 inmates, to include females and juveniles … The new prison facility was designed according to international prison and human right standards.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19641
Israel court rejects hunger striker’s appeal
AFP 25 Apr — Israel’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by a Palestinian prisoner who has been refusing food for more than seven weeks to protest being held without charge, his lawyer told AFP on Wednesday. Hassan Safdi, 31, was arrested on June 29, 2011 and has been held without charge under a procedure called administrative detention, which means a prisoner can be held for renewable periods of up to six months.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/israel-court-rejects-hunger-strikers-appeal-134931765.html
MInistry: Hunger-strikers to decide next steps by Monday
RAMALLAH (Ma‘’an) 25 Apr — The PA ministry of prisoners said Wednesday that Palestinian detainees on hunger-strike in Israeli jails have set Monday as the deadline for an Israeli response to their demands. After Monday, prisoners will decided their next steps based on the Israeli prison administration’s response, the ministry said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=479544
Prisoners rep: More detainees to join hunger strike
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 24 Apr — Prisoners society chief Qadura Fares said Tuesday he expects more detainees to join the mass open hunger strike in Israeli prisons in the coming days. “There are between 1,400 and 1,600 prisoners on strike and I believe this number will increase to 3,000 in the next few days,” he told Ma‘an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=479106
Khader Adnan urges prisoners to stand firm, criticizes lack of support
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 24 Apr — Released Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan, who went on hunger strike for 66 days protesting his administrative detention, Tuesday urged in a press conference hundreds of striking prisoners in Israeli jails to stand firm in their demands while criticizing lack of official, popular and media support for the prisoners … He said that “backing off” from the hunger strike now will be “highly destructive” to the prisoners … He called on to pay special attention to prisoners who have been on hunger strike the longest, including Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh, who have entered their 57th day in hunger strike, and warned that “if something happens to these prisoners, the Israeli occupation will stomp all over prisoners.”
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19640
Palestinians rally in Gaza in support of prisoners
PressTV 25 Apr — …Chanting anti-Israeli slogans, hundreds of Palestinians marched from the UN office toward the Red Cross headquarters in the besieged coastal strip on Wednesday to demand the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel without trial or charge. The rally was organized by Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and came one day after a similar demonstration in the West Bank city of Bireh.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/238051.html
‘The first day is the hardest’: Ex-prisoner Loai Odeh’s hunger strike diary
EI 25 Apr by Shahd Abusalama — Loai Odeh is a former prisoner and my best friend, whom I am very proud to have met after his release. He joined the campaign of disobedience, the 22-day mass hunger strike, launched at the end of September 2011 to protest cruel conditions and an escalating series of punitive measures against Palestinian prisoners, until the swap deal by Israel and Hamas on 18 October. He was released after 10 years of imprisonment and expelled from Jerusalem, in the occupied West Bank, to Gaza, where we met at a festival. Since his release, his main concern has been the prisoners he left behind … The following is my translation of Loai’s diaries, describing the first eight days of a hunger strike: …The first day of a hunger strike is the hardest. Abstaining from food or drinks has a great impact on strikers during the first three days. But what distinguishes the first day is the measures that the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) takes against our prisoners, attempting to repress them. The jailers confiscate all their possessions, but are generous enough to leave them only the clothes they’re wearing. Moreover, they remove everything the cells contain in a very provocative way, damaging a lot of valuable items our prisoners have collected throughout their precious years in jail to ease the pain of their daily lives.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/shahd-abusalama/first-day-hardest-ex-prisoner-loai-odehs-hunger-strike-diary
Mass hunger strike grows despite Israel’s best efforts to repress it
EI 25 Apr by Maureen Clare Murphy — The Palestinian human rights and prisoner advocacy group Addameer announced today that the mass, open-ended hunger strike in Israeli prisons which began on 17 April, Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, has now grown to an estimated 2,000 participants. Addameer renews its calls for action in support of the hunger striking prisoners.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/mass-hunger-strike-grows-despite-israels-best-efforts-repress-it
Female prisoners ‘start partial hunger strike’
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 25 Apr — A human rights advocate said Wednesday that Palestinian women detained in Israel will join the mass hunger strike by refusing food for two days each week. Ahmad al-Bitawi, a researcher for the International Solidarity Foundation for Human Rights, said Lina Al-Jarbouni was moved to solitary confinement in Ramla prison for refusing to stop her 9-day hunger-strike. Last Tuesday, marking Palestinian Prisoners Day, at least 1,200 prisoners in Israeli jails launched an open-ended hunger strike.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=479573
The Battle of Empty Stomachs: Khader Adnan highlights the consolation of solidarity
ISM 24 Apr by ‘Sylvia’ — Khader Adnan visited the village of Tubas [yesterday], where the relatives of political prisoners gathered in a tent outside the Municipal offices. Standing before a wall covered in the cherished photographs of absent men, Adnan spoke of his 66 day hunger strike, giving solace to worried parents and siblings: “We have a message for those mothers; we honour you. If the doors to the prisons are closed, the door of God will always be open.” The International Solidarity Movement accompanied members of Tubas Prisoners Club and Khader Adnan to visit families of prisoners in their homes. Mohamamad Taj, who is 42 years old, has been on hunger strike since March 15. His family has not been given permission to visit the prison and await news of his condition. Adnan’s visit brought strength and resolution, stressing the need for solidarity amongst prisoners with sight of a clear goal. He mentioned that prisoners are united despite political differences outside the prison walls. Acts like these are being mirrored all over Palestine.
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/04/the-battle-of-empty-stomachs-khader-adnan-highlights-the-consolation-of-solidarity/
Israel opens fire on protesters in Ni‘lin: One youth injured by rubber-coated bullet
ISM 22 Apr (posted 24 Apr?) by ‘Sunny’ — The weekly demonstration in Ni‘lin on Friday April 20th was relatively quiet compared to previous weeks. Nevertheless, it showed again the disproportionate measures taken by Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian resistance. The Israeli army propelled skunk spray, tear gas, sound bombs, and rubber-coated steel bullets at protesters. Some of the Palestinian youth, or shabab, responded by throwing stones. One local youth masked with the flag of Palestine was pelted by a rubber-coated bullet, although did not suffer critical injuries. A local photographer was nearly struck in the face by a tear gas canister while attempting to take a closer photo of the Israeli soldiers.
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/04/israel-opens-fire-on-protesters-in-nilin-one-youth-injured-by-rubber-coated-bullet/
Nabi Saleh: 16 year old shot with tear gas canister
ISM 19 Apr (posted 24 Apr?) by Rana Hamadeh — A nonviolent demonstration in the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh last Friday, April 13th was met with Israeli army aggression, resulting in at least six injuries, including a sixteen-year old boy shot above the eye with a tear gas canister.
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/04/nabi-saleh-16-year-old-shot-with-tear-gas-canister/
London: Deir Yassin Remembrance Day
Ind. Catholic News 25 Apr by Fr Joe Ryan — On 9 April 1948 a massacre took place in the village of Deir Yassin, not too far from Jerusalem. This was part of the strategy used in the setting up of the new state of Israel. Many other such massacres and displacement of Palestinian people took place to facilitate the implantation of new Jewish settlers. On Monday, 23 April 2012 at the Mosaic Rooms, Tower House, Cromwell Road in London, a reception took place to mark the 64th anniversary of this tragic event. The guest of honour was Abu Ashraf, who is now 72 years of age and living in Israel. He survived the massacre on his home village. He was just eight years old. Mr Ashraf gave a vivid, detailed and moving account of what happened on that fatal day, 9 April 1948. He described how he was in his home with his family. His mother was in labour and about to give birth to her baby; his two sisters and father were present when the attack took place.
http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=20267
BBC challenged for ignoring plight of Palestinian prisoners / Amena Saleem
Glasgow (EI) 25 Apr — Palestinian political prisoners are on mass hunger strike but you’d never know it from watching the BBC — “I had no idea. How could I not have known?” I heard those words on Palestinian Prisoners’ Day (17 April) from a teacher, shocked at discovering how Israel abducts, abuses and imprisons Palestinian children — some as young as 12 — in the West Bank because they may or may not have thrown stones at Israel’s wall … The answer to her question is fairly simple: this woman — a member of the educated, professional middle-classes — did not know because she relies on the mainstream media, led by the BBC, for her news. And that media’s silence on the realities of Israel’s occupation is deafening.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/bbc-challenged-ignoring-plight-palestinian-prisoners/11206
BDS roundup: Major divestment victory at UMass Boston
EI 24 Apr by Nora Barrows-Friedman — This week in BDS news around the world: UMass Boston’s undergraduate student government unanimously passes a divestment resolution against Boeing; the US’ largest Latin@ youth association continues to endorse BDS across the country; Moroccan activists say no to orientalist Israeli belly dancers; and more!
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/bds-roundup-major-divestment-victory-umass-boston
Campaign to urge Red Hot Chili Peppers to cancel Tel Aviv gig heating up
EI 25 Apr by Nora Barrows-Friedman — Boycott, divestment and sanctions activists and supporters around the world continue to urge popular US rock group the Red Hot Chili Peppers to cancel their gig in Tel Aviv, scheduled for September.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/campaign-urge-red-hot-chili-peppers-cancel-tel-aviv-gig-heating
New York Times ad accuses BDS movement, college professors of inciting murder of Jewish children
EI 24 Apr by Ali Abunimah — In a sign of growing desperation among anti-Palestinian groups, a New York Times ad published today likens the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement to the Holocaust. “The Holocaust began with boycotts of Jewish stores and ended with death camps,” begins the ad, placed by notorious anti-African American and Islamophobic agitator David Horowitz. Citing the murder of three Jewish children and a rabbi in Toulouse, France earlier this year, the ad says, “it is time for supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) to ask themselves what they did to contribute to the atmosphere of hate that spawned these and other murders of Jews.” Unsatisfied with blaming supporters of Palestinian rights in general of aiding and abetting murder, the ad names specific professors whom it holds responsible, and calls on them to be “publicly shamed and condemned for the crimes their hatred incites.”
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/new-york-times-ad-accuses-bds-movement-college-professors-inciting-murder-jewish
Supreme Court allows Ethiopian Israelis to keep protest tent up outside Netanyahu’s residence
Haaretz 25 Apr — The Supreme Court is letting Ethiopian Israelis keep their protest tent up outside the Prime Minister’s Residence for another month, describing as “petty” the Jerusalem municipality’s request to dismantle the tent immediately. The justices allowed the activists, who are protesting anti-Ethiopian discrimination, to stay where they are until the end of May, pending their compliance with several bylaws.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/supreme-court-allows-ethiopian-israelis-to-keep-protest-tent-up-outside-netanyahu-s-residence-1.426402
Freedom of the Press under the PA
Palestinian Authority blocks critical websites
New York (Committee to Protect Journalists) 24 Apr — The Palestinian Authority has blocked up to eight critical news websites in the West Bank since February, according to a
http://www.cpj.org/2012/04/palestinian-authority-blocks-critical-websites.php
PalTel: No choice in Web censorship
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 25 Apr — The largest telecommunications company in the occupied territories has “no choice” but to enforce orders issued by the Palestinian Authority, its chief executive said Wednesday. Ammar Aker says PalTel conducts its operations in compliance with regulatory and legal instructions, and has no further involvement in decisions imposed by the government … The executive’s remarks further distanced the company from evidence of a secretive initiative by the Palestinian Authority to censor websites critical of President Mahmoud Abbas. Ma’an published Monday the first part in an investigation into the program, allegedly ordered by attorney-general Ahmad al-Mughni, to force PalTel and others to block access to eight websites.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=479638
Abed Rabbo ‘removed as media chief’
RAMALAH (Ma‘an) 25 Apr — Head of the official PA broadcasting organization Yasser Abed Rabbo has been removed from his post, an official Fatah website said on Wednesday … The top official will take a new position as a political adviser to official radio and television, the Fatah relations commission said on its website. On Tuesday, the official fended off accusations from the head of the union of public employees Bassam Zakarneh that he had banned the union from appearing on official media.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=479531
Mishaal in Cairo to discuss reconciliation
CAIRO (PIC) 25 Apr — Political bureau chairman of Hamas Khaled Mishaal is to arrive in the Egyptian capital on Thursday heading a delegation, a senior Hamas official told the PIC reporter in Cairo on Wednesday. He said that Mishaal and the accompanying delegation would meet with a number of Egyptian officials to discuss Palestinian reconciliation. Yesser Al-Wadiya, a member of the PLO leadership, recently announced that Arab contacts were underway to overcome obstacles impeding the reconciliation and to reactivate the Doha declaration that agreed on Mahmoud Abbas, the PA chief and Fatah leader, as the premier of the transitory government.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7gssZEnQOjpg07U%2b9DTABAI2j8vF2AIrM%2bngj8FXLPuXkcgy%2fuSY7rQhK45K6ksixTgnM9F1NDJ4Vsrj7OvBVJL6FpTVCTRulO3YS%2fFQMi6o%3d
Israeli opposition chief fears binational state
JERUSALEM (AP) 24 Apr — Israel’s new parliamentary opposition leader said Tuesday that the Jewish state faces the danger of being replaced by a binational Jewish-Arab entity if it fails to separate itself from the Palestinians. Former military chief Shaul Mofaz won leadership of the centrist Kadima Party last month. “The threat of us losing the Jewish majority and Israel becoming a binational state is the biggest threat to Israel, and time is working against us,” he told Israel Radio. “The threat of a binational state that we are bequeathing to our children really keeps me awake at night.”
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/world/ci_20468067/israeli-opposition-chief-fears-binational-state
Newspapers review: Dailies highlight Jordan’s citizenship controversy
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 24 Apr — The three Palestinian Arabic dailies Tuesday highlighted Jordanian government denial of reports that it gave instructions to withdraw citizenship from Palestinians with Jordanian nationality based on the 1988 disengagement plan from the West Bank. The dailies said Jordanian government spokesman, Rakan al-Majali, and other officials have stressed that no citizenship will be withdrawn from any Palestinian with Jordanian nationality.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19636
America has $800m worth of military equipment stockpiled in Israel
MEMO 25 Apr — It has been reported in the Israeli media that the United States has $800 million worth of military equipment, including arms and ammunition, stockpiled in Israel. This, it is claimed, could grow to $1.2 billion worth of weapons and equipment for use by the United States in case of war, and for use by Israel “in case of an emergency”.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/3662-america-has-800m-worth-of-military-equipment-stockpiled-in-israel
Alternative service to honor Israel, Arab victims of conflict
Ynet 24 Apr — Event organized by ‘Combatants for Peace’ expected to draw hundreds of bereaved Israelis, Palestinians. Killed IDF soldier’s sister: I know there are those who believe Remembrance Day is not the time to recognize victims on the other side
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4220691,00.html
Rare mosaic vandalized in Valley of Elah
Ynet 24 Apr — A rare mosaic from the Byzantine era was vandalized this week in Khirbet Hanut, located in the Valley of Elah. Initial estimates suggest that extremist haredi elements may have been behind the act. [shades of the Taliban…]
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4220742,00.html
Israel at 64: Population of 7,881,000
Israel’s population numbered 7,881,000 people on the eve of its 64th anniversary, data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics indicate. In comparison, on the eve of its establishment, the State of Israel consisted of only 806,000 residents. New data published by the CBS, indicate that nearly 5,931,000 of the population are Jewish (75.3%). The Arab population stands at 1,623,000 (20.6%) and the remaining 4.1% are immigrants and their children who are not listed as Jewish by the Interior Ministry. They comprise 327,000 residents.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4220712,00.html
Look beyond the Oslo accords, say architects of Middle East peace plan / Harriet Sherwood
Jerusalem (Guardian) 24 Apr — Former Israeli minister Yossi Beilin and ex-Palestinian PM Ahmed Qurei question usefulness of two-state plan they drew up … Yossi Beilin, a former Israeli minister who worked in secret on the accords before the historic signing ceremony at the White House in September 1993, has called on the Palestinians to dismantle their governing body, which was set up under Oslo, saying it had become a fig leaf and a farce. Ahmed Qurei, the former Palestinian prime minister who was one of the key negotiators in the Oslo process, said the two-state solution was defunct, and the option of one single democratic state for both Israelis and Palestinians must now be considered.Both men reflect a view held by many observers of the stalled peace process, that the window of opportunity to create a Palestinian state has closed or is about to close.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/24/middle-east-two-state-solution
This Israel Independence Day, I’m buying Palestinian / Bradley Burston
24 Apr — Family-owned West Bank Palestinian companies who only want to expand their sales to Israelis have faced mounting bureaucratic obstacles from Israeli officials … When I can, where I can, at the most direct level I can find, I’m working on trade ties. Seeking out matchless blood oranges and madjool dates from Jericho, taking home the superb tahini from Nablus, taking my business to the Palestinians of East Jerusalem, supporting the new entrepreneurs and small manufactures and merchants of Jenin and Ramallah.
http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/a-special-place-in-hell/this-israel-independence-day-i-m-buying-palestinian-1.426316
The gas torch / Zvi Bar’el
Haaretz 25 Apr — Israel should change its belief that independence and the freedom to occupy are congruent concepts … The haste to present the Egyptian company’s decision to cancel the gas agreement as a “commercial” rather than a political issue is the best proof of the fact that the issue is supremely political. Because in Egypt, as in Israel, the pipeline has become a symbol. A symbol of disgusting normalization with an occupying country; a symbol of the corrupt government of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak,whose sons are suspected of having received commissions of 2.5 percent to 5 percent of the total billion-dollar transaction; and a symbol of the abandonment of the interests of the Egyptian public, which pays a higher price than Israel for the gas it consumes. And so, a popular revolution to bring about regime change in Egypt has adopted the gas pipeline as a symbol of national disgrace. Israel is afraid that without Egyptian gas there is no peace; the Egyptians say that if there is gas for Israel there is no national honor.
http://www.haaretz.com/independence-day-2012-opinions/the-gas-torch-1.426417
www.theheadlines.org (archive)
“in an area that’s about 2km from the border”, which is pretty impressive shooting if it’s from the Israelis, considering the world record is about 2400m. Sure he wasn’t shot by Hamas or some other local group?