Activism

Gaza not ‘liveable’ by 2020 barring urgent action: UN

By 2

Gaza not ‘liveable’ by 2020 barring urgent action: UN
GAZA (Reuters) 27 Aug — Gaza will no longer be “liveable” by 2020 unless urgent action is taken to improve water supply, power, health, and schooling, the United Nations’ most comprehensive report on the Palestinian enclave said on Monday. “Action needs to be taken now if Gaza is to be a liveable place in 2020 and it is already difficult now,” U.N. humanitarian coordinator Maxwell Gaylard told journalists when the report was released on Monday. Five years into an Israeli blockade supported by Egypt, and living under one-party rule, Gaza’s population of 1.6 million is set to rise by 500,000 over the next eight years, say the authors of the U.N.’s most wide-ranging report on the territory. Gaza has one the youngest populations in the world, with 51 percent of people under the age of 18. “Action needs to be taken right now on fundamental aspects of life: water sanitation, electricity, education, health and other aspects,” Gaylard said.
http://news.yahoo.com/gaza-not-liveable-2020-barring-urgent-action-u-153403821–business.html

Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Apartheid / Refugees

Israeli PM: Bethlehem settlements will always be part of Israel
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 27 Aug  — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Bethlehem-area settlement of Efrat on Monday, and insisted it and a nearby bloc of other settlements would forever remain part of the Israeli state, according to media reports. “Efrat and Gush Etzion are integral parts of greater Jerusalem,” Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post quoted Netanyahu saying. “They are the southern gates of Jerusalem and will always be part of the State of Israel. We are building Efrat and Gush Etzion with enthusiasm, faith and responsibility.” The Palestinian villages surrounding Efrat and Gush Etzion fear plans to renew construction of Israel’s separation wall around the settlements will result in their displacement, or encirclement by the barrier.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=514847

IOF serves demolition notices in Jenin
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) served demolition notices to 15 farmers in west Jenin for demolishing their artesian wells, and a notice for a citizen to demolish his house.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7ItBn84OM76jFj1MTSZTVshCprbYSwcm2yG3WWHiiQ5HwfvGSjF4LlP9UemsOEhAHvnknHTTNVHC0sVCEu3ktCfC4LSC%2bAo%2bZEnKv1USXHfA%3d

The Israeli war ministry’s workers removed surveillance cameras located on the Ras Khamis crossing, northern Jerusalem, as a prelude to remove the crossing and build a section of the segregation wall.
Jewish settlers control hilltop in Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM (PIC) 27 Aug — Jewish settlers occupied a hilltop in Khader village south of Bethlehem on Sunday under the protection of Israeli soldiers and surrounded it with barbed wire to build a third park and a biblical garden. The coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall in Khader village, Ahmed Salah, said that the third park is being established at Ain Masur area next to Daniel settlement, which is built on the village’s land. He added that the Israeli occupation’s project establishing biblical parks and gardens comes within a project launched by “Green Berets Society” which calls for seizing Palestinian hills in the West Bank …He noted that the settlers have put banners on the southern entrance to Khader village, adjacent to the bypass road linking between Jerusalem and Etzion settlements, calling on the settlers to visit the parks established in the area.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7h%2bHbW8L7wXUFRa1ck%2b6z9aWYgoc6Z8U2MabiAZX3hbpMR9jLpe9Ndh1IOSPA0WjCTsfr8kzjh5cQ07LhSBlLk7MZRDZUAjKIVIIeRw0Iaz0%3d

IOF soldiers demolish commercial store in al-Ram, houses in al-Khalil
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) razed on Monday a commercial store, located in the town of Al-Ram near the Qalandia crossroad. 
  
Israeli forces destroy tents, wells near Hebron 
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 28 Aug — Israeli forces on Tuesday demolished five wells and several tents in villages south of Hebron, residents said. Forces bulldozed five wells and tents in Zanuta belonging to Odeh Abu Sharekh, Ideis Abu Sharekh, Nabil Samamreh and Mohammad Samamreh, locals said, adding that soldiers beat up residents who protested the demolition. In Susiya, troops demolished two tents belonging to Mohammad Mousa Abu Ghanam, a father of 10, villager Nasser Nawaja said, adding that the family would be forced to sleep outdoors following the demolition of their shelters. It was the second time Israeli forces demolished Abu Ghanam’s tents, Nawaja said, adding that he had rebuilt them after they were destroyed a month ago.  Meanwhile, soldiers handed out evacuation orders to residents of Tabban and al-Majaz hamlets, and ordered villagers in Tabban to take down their solar energy panels.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=515101 

Settler and IOF actions in Bruqin and Deir Istiya
PIC 28 Aug — … Local sources said that settlers from Brochin settlement, established on the village of Bruqin’s lands, bulldozed new lands in the west of the village in preparation for the establishment of new settlement neighborhoods.
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) also stormed the village of Deir Estia and issued orders to uproot 176 olive trees in Wadi Qana owned by the village’s farmers, at the pretext that  they had been planted in an area classified as “a natural reserve”. Deir Estia’s mayor, Nadhmi Salman, recalled in a press statement that the IOF soldiers uprooted 1300 olive trees in the same district last year, and destroyed irrigation channels project.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7dL7qGOM7jE%2bTm5LSKb8IHsYQImnZIiALXv2yGoBqNsbqr8YHID6kHvHRkRZXtki1KBvMQJMZTUbH%2bVA9i6cB4nRwsQYfSOw1oFU2MoAmFNc%3d

Antiquities Authority starts new phase of Umayyad Palaces excavation 
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 28 Aug — The Israeli Antiquities Authority commenced with a new phase of excavation of the remains of the Islamic Umayyad-era Palaces in Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque, on Sunday 26 August. Wadi Hilweh Information Center reporters photographed Antiquities Authority workers preparing for a new dig. The remains of the palaces were opened by authorities in June last year as part of a scheme to highlight biblical history in the region. Information signs were posted around the site referencing an alleged connection to the First and Second Temples of Jewish history. New archaeological “finds” were also added to support its claims of exclusively Jewish history. The excavations, which take place near Bab al-Rahme Cemetery, have upset great inconvenience to the local Palestinian community, with one family prevented from burying a deceased family member in the cemetery by Antiquities Authorities, who claimed that they held the rights to the burial land
http://silwanic.net/?p=28257

In new site, evacuated residents of West Bank outpost will pay only NIS 11 per square meter
Haaretz 27 Aug — The state will subsidize rental costs for the mobile homes it will be providing to residents of the unauthorized West Bank outpost of Migron in their new temporary camp nearby. The renters will pay just NIS 11 per square meter per month, less than half of other rental housing in the area. The state built the camp over the past four and a half months. The cabinet decided that the state would pay for all the infrastructure in the camp, as well as the 50 mobile homes themselves and other expenses.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/in-new-site-evacuated-residents-of-west-bank-outpost-will-pay-only-nis-11-per-square-meter.premium-1.460850 

Report: Israel to seal Shufat camp exit
TEL AVIV (Ma‘an) 27 Aug — Israel is sealing a key Jerusalem checkpoint, leaving only a single exit for 65,000 Palestinian residents of Shu‘fat refugee camp, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported Monday. Israel’s Defense Ministry is closing the Ras Khamis checkpoint despite a 2008 High Court ruling that the main crossing must be upgraded first, Haaretz said.  Security cameras have already been dismantled at the Ras Khamis crossing and it will be sealed next week, police sources told Haaretz. Residents of the camp in northeast Jerusalem, which is surrounded by Israel’s separation wall, will only be able to access the city through the central crossing, adding an extra two-kilometer journey for some residents to enter Jerusalem.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=514986

Increase in Israel permits seen as political move 
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 25 Aug — Tens of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank were granted permits from the Israeli authorities to visit Jerusalem and cities across Israel during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr holiday. As the permits expired Friday, analysts and average Palestinians have been busy trying to decipher the sudden change in Israeli policy.  Some observers say it was a purely political gesture, while others believe it was an attempt to harm the already weak Palestinian economy during a period of active commercial movement. “I can’t find an explanation for the Israeli move of issuing tens of thousands of visiting permits to Palestinians, not only who need them for work, medical treatment or family visits, but also to youngsters who do not need such permits,” Fatah central committee member Mahmoud al-Aloul wrote on Facebook.  National Economy Ministry undersecretary Nasser Tahboub said the permits issue was being given more attention than it deserved. “I think we are mistakenly accusing Israel of being too genius.” The permits issue, he said, is a purely a political move. According to Tahboub, Israel is trying to improve its image by showing the world that the Israeli authorities do allow the Palestinians to move freely and do not deny them their right to pray in al-Aqsa Mosque. 
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=514253 

 
The Gazan and the general 
Haaretz 28 Aug by Sari Bashi — It is hard to imagine anything more beneficial for a society undergoing change and upheaval than women’s empowerment. So why isn’t Gaza resident Andalib Shahada allowed to pursue her studies in the West Bank? … It is close to certain that Shahada and her fellow students are not what bother Dangot. Rather, what he fears is a gradual erosion of the sweeping prohibition against Gaza residents traveling to the West Bank for academic study. The prohibition was imposed when the Second Intifada broke out in September 2000 … The prohibition, therefore, is rooted in what Dangot calls “the policy of separation,” whose purpose is to prevent the passage of people (as well as goods) from Gaza to the West Bank, particularly for long-term reasons such as marriage or study.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/the-gazan-and-the-general.premium-1.461121# 
 

Palestinians are home for the holiday — at least for now / Gideon Levy 
Haaretz 24 Aug — Eid al-Fitr was celebrated by with joy, but also fear, since many Palestinians are not sure they’ll get to enjoy the traditional celebrations again on the land of their fathers – Othman Abu Kabeita drove this week to bring his family food for the Id al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan — bottles of cola and date cookies, as usual. But Abu Kabeita, who was driving alone, according to his brother Abbas, had the audacity to drive on a dirt path that the Israel Defense Forces has deemed is only for the use of Palestinian tractors. An IDF force appeared immediately, as did the police. A policeman gave Abu Kabeita a NIS 1,000 fine, but an IDF officer decided to confiscate his car as well. Now the jack and the bottle of motor oil for the car are sitting on the floor of the Abu Kabeita family’s cave, while the vehicle is parked at the military facility near the Beit Yatir checkpoint. Welcome to the land of the caves in the south Hebron hills, where the ongoing and systematic attempt by Israel to remove residents from these dwellings, as well as tents and homes, continues, on behalf of all the Jewish settlements, outposts and farms that have cropped up here in the last few years.

Sheikh condemns Israeli plans to hold wine festival at mosque

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Chief Islamic judge Sheikh Yusef Ideis on Tuesday criticized plans to hold a wine and beer festival at an Ottoman-era mosque in Beersheba. Ideis said in a statement that holding the festival at the site was a violation of international norms and a provocation to Muslims. The mosque is a contentious site in the southern Israeli town. Israeli forces turned the building into a prison in 1948. Rights groups and the Islamic Committee appealed to Israel’s high court in 2002 to resume worship at the mosque. After a decade-long battle, the high court ruled that the site should be turned into an Islamic museum. 
 
TRIPOLI (IPS) – Just before the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime one year ago, Huda and her Palestinian family were forcefully evicted from their Tripoli home. “This was last August and there was a lot of violence. There was no government. My husband had suffered a heart attack and we were scared,” says Huda, an anxious middle-aged woman clad head to toe in black. She breaks into tears. “We begged for more time to look for another place, but the owner’s children came and yelled bad words. We left our home with all its furniture. We were kicked out violently.”      
Video: Palestinians from Syria twice displaced
BEIRUT (VOA) 27 Aug — A half million Palestinian refugees are registered in Syria and slightly fewer in Lebanon.  Most have remained in Syria, but with the escalation of fighting in and around their camps last month, hundreds of Palestinian families began seeking safer havens in neighboring Lebanon.  Many of the Palestinian families who have come to Lebanon are staying in the Shatilla refugee camp.  Forty-year old Rajaa Hashem, is one of them.  She says she feared for the safety of her five children in Damascus. “After the war planes and the shelling and killing, I took my children and I came here,” she said. “We could not bear this situation anymore.”
http://www.voanews.com/content/palestinians-from-syria-twice-displaced/1496243.html 

Gaza

Gaza not ‘liveable’ by 2020 barring urgent action: UN
GAZA (Reuters) 27 Aug — Gaza will no longer be “liveable” by 2020 unless urgent action is taken to improve water supply, power, health, and schooling, the United Nations’ most comprehensive report on the Palestinian enclave said on Monday. “Action needs to be taken now if Gaza is to be a liveable place in 2020 and it is already difficult now,” U.N. humanitarian coordinator Maxwell Gaylard told journalists when the report was released on Monday. Five years into an Israeli blockade supported by Egypt, and living under one-party rule, Gaza’s population of 1.6 million is set to rise by 500,000 over the next eight years, say the authors of the U.N.’s most wide-ranging report on the territory.  Gaza has one the youngest populations in the world, with 51 percent of people under the age of 18. “Action needs to be taken right now on fundamental aspects of life: water sanitation, electricity, education, health and other aspects,” Gaylard said.
http://news.yahoo.com/gaza-not-liveable-2020-barring-urgent-action-u-153403821–business.html

Rafah crossing open until Friday, Gaza official says 
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 26 Aug  — Egyptian authorities announced that the Rafah land crossing will be open until Friday, a Gaza official said Sunday. Maher Abu Sabha, general director of crossings in Gaza, told Ma’an that the crossing will be operating from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. daily until Friday. “Opening the crossing came after constant calls between the Palestinian government and the Egyptian authorities,” he said. Egypt reopened the Rafah border crossing with Gaza on Saturday and informed Gaza officials that it would be open all days of the week but with no other details, Ehab Al-Ghsain, spokesman for the interior ministry in Gaza, said Saturday. Thousands of Gazans are waiting to travel via Rafah, Abu Sabha said, adding that registration offices will be open from Sunday. Over 1,300 people left Gaza via the Rafah crossing on Saturday, mainly consisting of people seeking medical treatment, foreign passport holders, and students, Abu Sabha added. The Ministry of Interior in Gaza said that people registered for August 25 and 26 would be able to travel on Sunday while those registered to travel before August 25 will be able to travel on Tuesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=514568 

Gaza authority levels land for Egypt free trade zone 
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 28 Aug — The land authority in Gaza began leveling ground on Tuesday to establish a free trade zone between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, an official said. “The land authority has submitted 200 acres to the Economy Ministry to establish a trade zone between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, all located west of the Rafah crossing,” land authority director Amal Shamali told Ma‘an. “An area of 40 acres will be within the commercial crossing in the area near the Rafah crossing, while 160 acres will be allocated to the free market. Furthermore, the free market is one kilometer wide and two kilometers in length mostly on government land, while small parts are from citizens’ land,” he added. Some landowners have reportedly objected to their land being used for the project.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=515116

Israeli Injustice System

 
Israeli judge says 2003 death of American pro-Palestinian activist a result of “accident she brought upon herself”.
 
The lawyer of the parents of pro-Palestinian activist Rachel Corrie says the verdict that the state of Israel was not responsible for her death ‘contradicts fundamental principles of international law’
 
After a seven year trial, an Israeli court exonerated Israel’s army in the 2003 killing of peace activist Rachel Corrie in what Rachel’s family and human rights groups say is another instance of impunity.
 
Member of Parliament and secretary-general of the Palestine National Initiative party Dr Mustafa Barghouti declared that the Israeli occupation court’s decision to acquit the murder of US activist Rachel Corrie is definitive evidence that the Israeli judiciary is an accomplice in the war crimes that the Israeli occupation army practices against the Palestinian people and the international solidarity activists. Describing the decision of the Israeli court in Haifa as unjust and inhumane, Dr Barghouti said that an impartial courtroom does not exist in Israel when it comes to dealing with Palestinians and solidarity activists.
 
There will be no justice, see above: Israel arrests suspects in West Bank firebomb attack
Israel arrested three settler children suspected of throwing a firebomb at a Palestinian taxi in the West Bank that injured six people on August 16, a police spokesperson said on Sunday. The suspects, aged 12 to 13, from Beit Ayin, a settlement in the occupied West Bank, were remanded into custody yesterday. Most of the injured were from the Hassan family, and included four-year-olds Iman and Mohammed, their parents Ayman, 37, and Jamila, 25, and Hassan Hassan who was driving, Red Crescent official Abdul Jaafra told Ma’an news agency. Both children suffered first degree burns, and the adults suffered second and third degree burns, Jaafra said.
 
Ahmad Tibi laments small number of Arab justices in Supreme Court in Joint Bar Association and Ynet conference
 
Israeli Terrorism

Medics: Israel shells Gaza Strip, 2 injured
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 28 Aug — Two Palestinians were injured early Tuesday as Israel shelled the Gaza Strip , medical officials said. The shelling early on Tuesday came from Israeli military aircraft and naval ships and targeted two compounds in Gaza City, Hamas officials said. Two women in nearby homes were injured by flying debris, hospital officials said. “The shelling targeted the northern Gaza Strip, and an agricultural area in Wadi Gaza,” spokesman of the Gaza ministry of health Ashraf al-Qudra said. Eyewitnesses said at least five missiles struck a Hamas building in Gaza City. Israel described the targets as weapons manufacturing and storage sites and said they were hit in retaliation for recent short-range rocket salvos launched from the coastal enclave.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=515010 

Navy Opens Fire At Fishermen In Gaza
On Tuesday morning, the Israeli navy opened automatic fire at Palestinian fishermen, in Palestinian territorial waters, north of Beit Lahia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and chased several fishing boats to the shore.

 

Violent confrontations in occupied Jerusalem
Israeli occupation soldiers and policemen fired rubber bullets and teargas at young Jerusalemites in Abu Dis town to the east of Jerusalem on Sunday night.

 
IOF soldiers injure woman in the head during break-in
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) broke into the home of Kiswani family in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem on Sunday at the pretext of searching for weapons.
 
Israeli forces raided a Palestinian family home in Silwan on Saturday, 18 September. The Karki family were accused by armed forces of attacking nearby Israeli settlers. Ahmad Siyam told Silwanic that a group of Palestinian children playing in the street were in fact attacked by settlers, leading to a confrontation. When the children continued playing after, a settler arrived 10 minutes later with an Israeli forces escort to arrest the children. When the children ran away, armed forces raided the Karki home.
 
Settlers attack elderly Palestinian
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 27 Aug — A group of Israeli settlers on Monday attacked a Palestinian man from Khirbet Bir Al-Idd village, near Hebron, medics and the Israeli army said. Eight residents of the illegal Mitzpe Yair attacked Ismail Ibrahim al-Adra, 65, and then fled the scene, locals told Ma‘an.  An Israeli military spokeswoman said Israeli civilians threw rocks at al-Adra. She said Israeli soldiers provided medical treatment at the scene to the 65-year-old, and that soldiers were searching the area for suspects.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=514984
 
Jewish settlers storm al-Aqsa Mosque
A big number of Jewish settlers stormed on Tuesday morning Al-Aqsa Mosque escorted by dozens of police officers and intelligence elements.
 
‘Regards from Asher Palmer’ and ‘Revenge’ sprayed on vehicles in Palestinian village
 
NABLUS (Ma’an) — Hundreds of settlers visited Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus overnight Monday, local sources told Ma’an. More than 20 buses carrying the settlers were seen by the tomb amid a heavy Israeli military presence, locals said. Settlers performed prayers until the early morning hours before leaving the area. No incidents were reported. Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, the site was to remain under Israeli control. But the Israeli army evacuated the premises in October 2000 shortly after the start of the second intifada, or uprising, and it was immediately destroyed and burnt by the Palestinians.
 

PA official warns of attacks ahead of outpost evacuation 
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 27 Aug — Palestinian Authority official Ghassan Daghlas on Monday warned Palestinians to be cautious of settler attacks ahead of a planned evacuation of an illegal Israeli outpost near Ramallah … Settlers have not complied with the order to leave by Tuesday and may face forced evacuation by the army to an alternative site built and subsidized by the Israeli government. Migron residents have appealed against their removal and are expecting a decision this week. Daghlas expressed concern that settlers would attack Palestinians in response to an Israeli attempt to evacuate them. Extremist settlers have adopted what they call a “price tag” policy in which they attack Palestinians and their property in retaliation for Israeli government policies against settlements. The PA official urged Palestinians to be careful on main roads and shared roads between Nablus and Ramallah.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=514870

PA considers legal action against Israeli officials, settlers 
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 25 Aug — The Palestinian Authority is considering taking legal action against Israeli leaders and settlers who practice ‘terrorism’ against the Palestinian people, a legal advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday. Hasan al-Auri told Ma‘an that the PA would seek to sue Israeli officials in international courts, and to prosecute settlers in national courts in countries where it is allowed to prosecute foreigners. 
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=514233

 
VIDEO: Reaction to Jerusalem lynching – ‘I saw the whole beating, it’s a good thing that they beat the Arabs’, Adam Horowitz 
The Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) has posted an English translation of a video that was produced by Ynet following the attack on several Palestinians in Jerusalem’s Zion Square on August 17th. These interviews were taken in Jerusalem’s Kikar Hahatulot (Cat Square) near the site of the attack. The IMEU notes, “the video is reminiscent of a controversial 2009 video made by Jewish-American journalist/author Max Blumenthal and American-Israeli journalist Joseph Dana titled ‘Feeling the hate in Jerusalem.'”
 
Israel uses Caterpillar bulldozers to block roads, isolate Palestinian villages
Israeli forces were caught on camera when they blocked Palestinian roads in the occupied south Hebron hills with Caterpillar armored bulldozers.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/adri-nieuwhof/israel-uses-caterpillar-bulldozers-block-roads-isolate-palestinian-villages
 
The Palestinian Authority

HRW demands Palestinian action on police violence
Jerusalem (Daily Star) 27 Aug — Human Rights Watch called on Monday for the western-backed government of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to take urgent action against police officers responsible for beating demonstrators in the West Bank city of Ramallah. It said that during rallies on June 30 and July 1, “police severely beat protesters in the street and dragged others to a police station, where the police continued to beat and kick them.” … Following the violence, Abbas’s office said it would establish a commission to investigate the incidents but HRW said in a statement on Monday that no action had been taken so far against officers involved. “Two months and four reports later, the Palestinian Authority has not yet brought to justice the police officers responsible for brutal assaults on peaceful protesters in Ramallah’s main square,” it said.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Aug-27/185845-hrw-demands-palestinian-action-on-police-violence.ashx

 
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — High ranking Palestinian Authority officials ordered the suppression of protests in Ramallah against negotiations, rights groups said Monday.  The Council of Palestinian Human Rights Organizations on Monday announced the results of its inquiry into a crackdown on protesters who opposed a visit by Israel’s vice premier to Ramallah for talks with President Mahmoud Abbas. Police violently suppressed the protest on June 30, and again used force to shut down a demonstration on July 1 against police brutality.
 
PA slams rights report
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority hit back Tuesday after a coalition of human rights groups released a report linking high-ranking officials in the suppression of protests in Ramallah in June.  Adnan Dmeiri, a spokesman for the Palestinian security forces, said the report amounted to a “clear attack on the presidency.”  Without addressing specific allegations, Dmeiri said the timing of the report’s release was suspicious and coincided with an “Israeli-American-Hamas attack on the presidency.” 
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=515236 
 

Abbas meets an Israeli delegation in Ramallah
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas meets on Sunday a delegation of the Israeli leftist party Meretz headed by its leader MK Zehava Gal-On in Ramallah.

 
“Abbas: “Lieberman and the government of which he is a member know very well that there is 100 percent security cooperation between us and the Israeli security forces”
 
Instead of protecting Palestinians from Israeli Occupation Forces or settlers: PA seizes smuggled chickens near Ramallah
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Palestinian Authority officials seized a truck carrying chickens smuggled into the West Bank from Israel on Saturday night, the public safety committee said. The truck, carrying 2,300 chickens, was stopped in Beit Ur village, west of Ramallah.  The Ramallah public safety committee said it would initiate legal proceedings against the dealer.
Detainees / Prisoner News

Israeli forces detain 2 fishermen off Gaza coast 
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 28 Aug — Israeli forces arrested two fisherman off the coast of northern Gaza on Tuesday, Israel’s army and witnesses said. Kamal al-Ankah and his son were detained by Israeli forces near Beit Lahiya and taken to an unknown location, locals said. Their fishing boat was also confiscated.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=515105

Israel ‘detained 7 teens near Gaza border’ since Friday
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 26 Aug — Human rights advocates said Sunday that Israeli forces have detained seven Palestinian teenagers near the Gaza Strip’s border with Israel in recent days. On Saturday night, two 18-year-olds from Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza were seized east of Bureij refugee camp, and their families informed they are being held in an Israeli jail, a human rights officer said.
Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights said in a statement earlier on Sunday that five teens, also from Nuseirat camp, were detained on Friday morning in the same area.
Israel’s army said in a statement that the “suspects breached the security fence on both incidents” and were arrested and taken for investigation.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=514556 

 
Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Tuesday evening, a Palestinian citizen of Jerusalem after the army, undercover units and security officers, invaded a sweets shop in Az-Zahra’ Trade Center in Salah Ed-Deen Street, in occupied East Jerusalem.
 
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested at dawn Tuesday six Palestinians in Al-Khalil province, including two children, after raiding and searching their homes and damaging their belongings.
 

IOF soldiers arrest liberated female student Asma Al-Batran
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested Asma Al-Batran from her home in Edhna to the west of Al-Khalil afternoon Monday, local sources said.

 
IOF soldiers re-arrest liberated prisonee Ali Juma Zaidat
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) re-arrested Ali Juma Zaidat from Bani Naim village to the east of Al-Khalil, special sources told the PIC.
 

IOF soldiers storm houses, arrest 3 citizens in Nablus
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed houses in the eastern suburbs of Nablus and in Balata refugee camp and rounded up three citizens including two teenagers at dawn Monday.

http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7Ieb8BFxdUPkT6xoY7bv1G7tZUwa69%2fNkI7ourdOW2ucMNYjUzLdHDhReVR7A0K%2f%2fst%2f%2b%2bJFWGrdYyUvliog71FIPrnf5%2bW8GfiHQIMwwmEI%3d

Israeli forces detain 4 across West Bank overnight 
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 26 Aug — Israeli forces detained four Palestinians across the West Bank overnight Saturday, an Israeli army spokeswoman said. In Idhna, a town west of Hebron, forces detained Ismail Yusif al-Tamizi, 35, his nephew Mousa said. Ten military vehicles entered the village and raided his father and uncle’s homes, he added. They smashed the door and gathered 11 inhabitants out of the house while they searched it accompanied by sniffer dogs, Mousa, a lawyer, said. He said they beat his brother Rami, 18, arrested his uncle and gave a summons to his father.  An Israeli army spokeswoman said one person was arrested in Idhna, and nearby Dura and Shuyukh, and one in Saaida, near Tulkarem.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=514566

Israeli forces arrest 8 people overnight 
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 27 Aug — Israeli forces arrested eight people overnight Sunday in the West Bank, Israel’s army and witnesses said. Witnesses told Ma‘an that over 30 military vehicles raided Balata refugee camp in Nablus and detained Amid Hussein Qaddura, 18, Abdul Rahman Mahamid and Ismail al-Qaysi. Qaddura’s brother Imad, 22, was recently arrested by Israeli forces, witnesses said.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said five people were arrested in Nablus and three in Hebron. All suspects were wanted for security questioning, she added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=514860

Israeli forces arrest 6 people overnight 
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 28 Aug  — Israeli forces arrested six people overnight Monday, Israel’s army and a local committee said. Ayad Awad, spokesman for a local committee against settlements, said that Muhanad Mershed Muhammad, 14, and Muhammad Hassan Mahmud, 17, were arrested by Israeli forces in Beit Ummar, Hebron. Muhammad, 14, was arrested last June and released after serving a month in jail, Awad added. An Israeli army spokeswoman said that three people were arrested in Hebron, two in Ramallah and one in Jenin. All suspects were taken for security questioning, she added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=515114

Israel police link fingerprints to boys suspected of hurling fire bomb at Palestinian taxi 
Haaretz 27 Aug — A Jerusalem magistrate’s court remanded three boys suspected of hurling a fire bomb at a Palestinian taxi by 96 additional hours, only a day after the presiding judge criticized the police, saying they lack substantial evidence against the suspects. The court’s decision on Monday came after the police introduced hard evidence linking the boys to the incident. The police said they possess forensic evidence, however its nature was not revealed. Haaretz has learned that the evidence found by the police is a fingerprint found on the scene.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-police-link-fingerprints-to-boys-suspected-of-hurling-fire-bomb-at-palestinian-taxi.premium-1.461007 

 

Abu Sisi still in solitary confinement, prisoner group says
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 27 Aug — Israeli prison authorities issued a decision on Sunday to keep detained engineer Dirar Abu Sisi in solitary confinement, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said. Abu Sisi, 42, disappeared in February 2011 while traveling on a train in the Ukraine and Israel later announced that it was holding him in Ashkelon jail. His lawyer says Israel has yet to file charges against him. The engineer, from Gaza, has been held in solitary confinement throughout his detention. Israel pledged to release all prisoners held in isolation as part of a deal to end a mass hunger strike by detainees. Abu Sisi suffers chronic illnesses and has threatened to refuse medicine if he is kept in isolation.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=514635

Ahrar center for prisoner studies and human rights said the Palestinian prisoners were exposed to more than 42 violent search raids on their cells during the holy month of Ramadan.
 
Wounded Palestinian prisoner’s family calls for putting an end to his suffering
Palestinian prisoner Othman Ibrahim Younis from the city of Qalqilya in the West Bank, who suffers from a serious health condition, entered his eleventh year in the Israeli occupation’s prisons.
 
A liberated prisoner’s father dies before seeing his son
Liberated prisoner Zaher Jabareen’s father has died in the town of Salfit in the northern West Bank before seeing his son.  

IOA prevents a sick mother from visiting her detained son 
NABLUS (PIC) 27 Aug — Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) prevented a Palestinian prisoner from Nablus from meeting his sick mother and his father who had obtained special permission from the Red Cross to visit him. Raed Amer, the director of the Palestinian prisoner’s association in Nablus, stated that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) and the intelligence service prevented the father of prisoner Mohammed al-Chachtari, held in Gilboa jail and sentenced to life prison, from visiting his son despite having a prior permission from the Red Cross. Amer added that the prison administration also refused to allow Mohammed’s mother to meet her son although she was ill and transported to the prison by an ambulance to see him.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s70rHEryKdlY22DqWisakAAfrzDNipcG%2biBR9SGPAPUNtx1rRyOrDaYzjhWDoO9Lp3%2fqsTOHsuX74nKWihMiZYlYJzVQuwePG%2bQyAzakbRN5M%3d
 
GAZA (PIC) 27 Aug — A new batch [the 7th?] of relatives of Gaza prisoners boarded buses in front of the Red Cross offices in Gaza city en route to visit the prisoners in Israeli jails. Spokesman for the Red Cross in Gaza Strip Ayman Al-Shihabi said that the new batch of relatives left at dawn Thursday en route to Eshel prison. He said in a press release that members of 62 families left aboard the Red Cross buses via the Erez (Beit Hanun) crossing), north of the Strip, to visit 39 prisoners in Eshel jail.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7LugroPKyvaW258q8YNazvJsdKd2Utfm%2fsjC20lUz6ytNZGerUvc0xzo8NTi8AOVOd%2fkMcWY54NReeoRNHZRotVvDQbUu6WGFBNNEzfKJ9eo%3d

 
Israeli Racism / Discrimination

The Lehava anti-assimilation group recently distributed flyers warning Arabs not to approach Jewish girls; ‘We don’t want you to get hurt,’ flyer read.
 
Palestinians in Shafa Amr and Ableen filed an objection with the Israeli Supreme Court against the Kiryat Ata municipality’s decision preventing Palestinians from entering the city’s public park.
 

Report: 40% of east J’lem seniors drop out of school
Data published by Association for Civil Rights and Ir Amim suggests large gaps between education systems in east, west capital. Jerusalem Municipality: We are investing large funds to battle inequality.

 
Interior Minister says migrants use south Tel Aviv synagogues as bars, bathrooms; Tel Aviv Municipality: Synagogues not our responsibility.
 
Here’s Is­rael In­te­rior Min­is­ter Eli Yishai talk­ing at a con­fer­ence in April about the role of for­eign work­ers and how the Jew­ish state should han­dle them (ie. with con­tempt and racism)
 
Eilat: Migrant kids to attend regular schools
Ynet 27 Aug — At Supreme Court’s behest, authorities in southern city reach deal that rescinds decision to segregate schools – The Eilat Municipality, the Education Ministry and several human rights groups have reached a last minute agreement that aims to integrate the children of asylum seekers and migrant workers within the southern city’s schools. 
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4273385,00.html

Up in salt: Israeli firm omits woman from kosher for Passover products 
Haaretz 26 Aug — Brit Harel’s boyfriend couldn’t understand why she kept staring at the bag of salt he had brought back from the market in their neighborhood of Nahlaot in Jerusalem. “Don’t you notice something missing here?” she asked him. “There used to be something blue here,” he recalled. “Yes, a woman!” she responded. The exclusion of women from the public domain has reached a new level. This time, the topic of discussion is a packet of Salit table salt that was bought in a non-ultra-Orthodox market in Jerusalem. The package typically features the familiar blue drawing of a woman sprinkling a pinch of salt but on this particular package, the woman was nowhere to be found.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/up-in-salt-israeli-firm-omits-woman-from-kosher-for-passover-products.premium-1.460807 

Palestinian Activism / BDS / International Activists

Palestinians in Gaza support the Corrie family on the eve of the verdict in their lawsuit against Israel over its 2003 killing of their daughter Rachel, as well as divestment from Caterpillar and the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
 
Campaigners strengthen calls for divestment against Caterpillar following the Corrie verdict; Indian activists, scholars and artists denounce India-Israel free trade agreement; and more!
 

Palestinian Street Artists Take to Walls With New Zeal

increase in graffiti over the past year, including drawings of Palestinians in Israeli jails, social media-inspired tags such as #OccupyWallStNotPalestine and religious symbols. While Palestinian graffiti had always been political and reflected the Palestinian struggle against Israel’s occupation, street art now puts a greater emphasis on aesthetics and originality, said Palestinian artist Majd Abdel Hamid. He attributes this recent development to what he describes as an “art explosion” following a wave of popular uprisings that swept through the Arab world, though not in the Palestinian territories.

Three Lebanese filmmakers who were scheduled to participate in an international film training project in Jordan have pulled out after learning that Israel was among its key sponsors. The filmmakers, Habib Battah, Lucien Bourjeily and Samer Ghorayeb, said they were unaware of the Israeli connection to the project when they applied to the annual event. The group that organizes the project, Greenhouse, describes itself as an EU-Mediterranean joint venture, but it appears to be based in Israel and is run by three Israelis, according to its website.
 

AOHR calls for boycotting Avkon company
The Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) in Britain condemned the involvement of many international companies in the Israeli military operations in the occupied Palestinian territories.

 
The South African Ministry of Trade and Industry has approved a move to place Occupied Palestinian Territory labels on imported goods from Jewish settlements.
In a press briefing on Wednesday 22 August, government spokesman Jimmy Manyi stated that the decision was “in line with South Africa ‘s stance that recognises the 1948 borders delineated by the United Nations and does not recognise occupied territories beyond these borders as being part of the state of Israel .”
 
First came the news that Lollapalooza, one of the world’s biggest and best-known alternative music festivals, was headed to Israel next year. And with it, producer Perry Farrell is likely bringing millions in revenue, not to mention a massive boon in cultural cache designed to portray the world’s last legal apartheid state as a bastion of diversity. 
 

At the Jordan Bridges border crossings, Israeli authorities prevented the entry of more than a hundred international activists
Gush Shalom Press Release 27 Aug — About 7.30 pm, more than a hundred activists from all over the world arrived from Jordan to the Israeli border crossings at the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge, telling that they on their way to Bethlehem at the invitation of its Palestinian governor and of civil society organizations there, and that they were carrying with them notebooks and school equipment for Palestinian pupils about to begin their school year. However, their entry into the West Bank was denied. In the Israeli-controlled area of the Allenby Bridge was seen a major alert of military forces, and journalists there were told that the area had been declared “a closed military zone”. “They did not even let us get off the bus,” said Olivia Zemor of Paris, one of the organizers of the visit. “They collected our passports and a few minutes later returned them with each and every passport stamped ‘Entry denied’. The soldiers refused to give any explanation, they just said – that’s it, your entry is denied, go back to Jordan.” Zemour noted that last year, when she and her fellows tried to reach the Palestinian Territories through Ben Gurion Airport, they were told, “Why don’t you come through the Jordan bridges?”. “So we did try to get through the Jordan bridges, and now we got a definite answer from the government of Israel.”
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/press_releases/1346017234/

PA ‘concerned’ about Welcome to Palestine activists 
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 27 Aug — Member of the PLO Executive Committee Hanan Ashrawi said on Sunday night that the Palestinian Authority has contacted Jordan out of concern for a group of international activists trying to cross into the West Bank. “Palestinian ambassador to Jordan Ata Khairi and a number of Palestinian leaders are following up with the case,” she said. 
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=514723 

Political / Other News

 
One of religious Zionism movement’s leaders slams prime minister over his intention to implement High Court ruling and evacuate Migron outpost
 
An influential Israeli rabbi has called for prayers for Iran’s destruction, a week after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to court his support for a possible attack on a nuclear program Israel sees as an existential threat. The sermon by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef added to a flurry of recent rhetoric from Israeli officials that has raised international concern that Israel, widely believed to be the Middle East’s only atomic power, might attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.
 
‘Israel will encounter environment that is more tense and Islamist,’ Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi tells IDF leadership during annual military intelligence assessment
 
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sent a threatening message to the Lebanese government warning that Israel would respond to any “provocation” by Hezbollah and the state of Lebanon will pay the price, it was learned on Monday. Haaretz reported on Monday that Netanyahu conveyed the message to Beirut through a Western diplomat he met in Jerusalem several weeks ago. ”As far as we’re concerned, the Lebanese government is responsible for whatever happens in its jurisdiction,” Netanyahu is reported to have said.
 
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Tuesday urged Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi to warm relations with Israel by visiting Jerusalem.
 
Move follows allegations arising from Al Jazeera probe that deceased Palestinian leader may have been poisoned in 2004.
 
Foreign Minister says president Abbas decides not to apply at the General Assembly session next month, though he will informally appeal for recognition in a speech.
 
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas will canvas for support for the UN bid at a summit of 120 developing nations in Tehran, PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said Tuesday. The PLO plans to ask the UN General Assembly to upgrade its status to a non-member observer state. A previous bid for full UN membership stalled at the Security Council last year.  Al-Malki told Ma’an he was confident Palestine had the support of the non-aligned states at the summit.  The Palestinian delegation will also discuss the issues of prisoners in Israeli jails and Israel’s ongoing confiscation of Palestinian land, the PA minister said.
 

Gaza govt: Haniyeh has right to attend Iran summit
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Hamas government in Gaza responded Tuesday to Fatah’s position on Ismail Haniyeh’s invitation to Iran and said it was Haniyeh’s right to accept any invitation he receives. The government said in a statement that “since announcing that Haniyeh had received an invitation from Iran’s presidency to attend the non-aligned summit, the government has been subjected to an incitement campaign”. The statement added that “Haniyeh’s attending any invitation that he receives in regional or international forum including the non-aligned summit is a normal participation as he is the legitimate Palestinian prime minister who was set by the legislative council, and his government is a reflection of the people’s democratic choice.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=515279 

 
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Knesset member Taleb al-Sana on Tuesday said Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman deserved “Mussolini’s fascist prize” at a protest in Jerusalem. The Arab Democratic Party protested Tuesday against Lieberman’s recent remarks calling for the replacement of President Mahmoud Abbas. Demonstrators held photos of Abbas and late President Yasser Arafat and raised banners condemning Lieberman’s “campaign of incitement” against the PA president outside the Israeli Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. Standing on a photo of Lieberman, al-Sana said incitement by far right Israelis had led to the assassinations of Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
PA ‘stops recruitment, promotions’ due to financial crisis
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 26 Aug — The Palestinian Authority issued a decision on Friday to stop all new recruitment and promotions in government institutions until further notice as a result of the financial crisis it is currently experiencing, a statement from President Abbas’ office said. Palestinian economist Nasser Abed al-Kareem told Ma’an that the PA was forced to make the decision as a result of the current financial crisis, adding that the move will add around $30 million annually to the PA’s budget.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=514606
 
Data published by CBS reveals that while haredi, Arab education systems have 91%, 55% growth rate respectively, State education system’s growth rate stands at only 2%
 
West Bank eggs shipped to Jordan for the first time 
QALQILIYA (Ma‘an) 27 Aug — A truckload of eggs produced in the West Bank was exported to Jordan via King Hussein Bridge on Sunday, turning a new page in commercial relations between Jordan and Palestine. The eggs were collected from farmers in Qalqiliya in the northern West Bank, who welcomed the step as a vital alternative to the Israeli market. “This is a remarkable Palestinian accomplishment which enables Palestinian farmers to sell their products to our Jordanian brothers,” said Adnan Zaid, a farmer from Qalqiliya. He explained that Palestinian poultry breeders buy all the material they need such as fodder, veterinary medicines and other goods from Israel. However, he added, Israel does not allow Palestinian products into its markets and has started to import eggs from Turkey.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=514739 

Over the course of the last four decades, Western media, in both its corporate and state forms, have sculpted an image of the Arab and Muslim worlds largely founded on xenophobic, indeed Orientalist, notions. As a consequence of this media campaign, few can claim to have experienced such an extensive, grueling, and ongoing period of suffering as the Palestinians. Millions of exiled refugees continue to toil in wretched camps throughout the Arab world; farmers and herders continue to have their land stolen every day by both military forces and state-sponsored settlers in the West Bank; and the Gaza Strip has been turned into an open-air prison, subjected to regular military raids and saturation bombing campaigns that often last weeks at a time. But in the news these people are almost unconditionally portrayed as the sole aggressors, as ragtag gangs of terrorists who prefer death to life (a bizarrely inaccurate tagline for people who have survived so much).
 
A surprisingly candid op-ed from a high-level Israeli official explains the role the Oslo Accords played in allowing Israel to maintain the occupation.
http://972mag.com/how-we-created-the-worlds-only-prison-where-prisoners-provide-for-themselves/54706/
 

Guardian Reader’s Editor evades key questions in column on Joshua Treviño debacle, Ali Abunimah
The Guardian has a responsibility not to enable bigotry even as it offers readers diverse points of view.

Gaza trial must offer more than verdict / Ramzy Baroud
ATimes 29 Aug — … [Vittorio] Arrigoni’s story had a most unexpected twist. On April 2011, he was kidnapped and murdered. His murderers were Palestinians from Gaza, commanded by a mysterious Jordanian character whose origins and motives remain unclear. It was a horrifying, anti-climactic end to a story that was never intended to turn out so wrong. The trial of Arrigoni’s alleged killers has not been a model of transparency. On September 4, a verdict is scheduled to be handed down to four men accused of involvement in the murder … Brizat, the Jordanian, was perhaps the most important key in the trial. He is gone now, and allegations that his true aim was to exchange Arrigoni for an imprisoned Salafi leader, Hisham al-Saedni, remain unverified. Just 11 days before Arrigoni’s murder, another activist, Juliano Mer-Khamis, was murdered in Jenin, in the West Bank. The timing of the killings is puzzling and suggests a larger plot. Hamas and other Palestinian officials suggested hidden Israeli hands in both of these vile acts, but the thread is yet to be found and unraveled … On September 4, four men will be awaiting the verdict of a Gaza military court. But much more will be on trial that day, not least the credibility of Gaza’s legal system. Many questions will need to be answered to understand truly what is transpiring in the Gaza Strip, and who is behind the hidden agendas. 
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/NH29Ak01.html
 

Palestinians Living in Firing Zones, Stephen Lendman
Life in Occupied Palestine is hard enough. Imagine how much worse in firing zones. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) … 

I am Walajeh, I am Silwan, I am Nabi Saleh
Alison Ramer – This Week in Palestine – Who are you? Where are you from? What is the local culture, history, and identity of your neighbourhood? Alison Ramer’s arts advocacy project, “Image and Identity,” asks Palestinian youth to articulate such images. The youth in Al Walajeh’s images are expressly vacant and removed, telling a story of a once-thriving agricultural community, slowly turned into refugees and pushed from their land. Photographing arouses heavy levels of suspicion due the the Israeli army using photographs to persecute people and cultural conservatism which argues that women should not be seen in public.
 
Journalist and activist Maath Musleh talks about the situation in Jerusalem after a racist Israeli mob attacked and beat Palestinians; and his story about a Palestinian prisoner; and more.
 
While Israel—cheered on by its American boosters led by AIPAC and Mitt Romney—beats the drums ever louder for a war of aggression against Iran, President Obama in late July signed the United States-Israel Enhanced Cooperation Act. This was hardly a signal that Obama would like to defuse the explosive situation building in the Middle East. The Rose Garden signing, attended by AIPCA representatives, came on top of the latest in a series of harsh economic sanctions approved by AIPAC-dominated Congress and Obama against the Iranian people. This intensifying economic warfare is predictably creating hardship for average Iranians, including shortages of life-saving medicines. (Sanctions come on top of covert warfare and assassination of Iranian scientists by Israel and cyber warfare by the United States, and an increasing U.S. presence in the Persian Gulf and surrounding area. Iran is nearly ringed by U.S. military installations.) Signing the Act, Obama said:
Behind Israel’s walls / Edwin Heathcote 
FT 4 Aug 2007 – Hollow Land: Israel’s Architecture of Occupation By Eyal Weizman – Hollow Land is more like an extraordinary new drawing than a conventional piece of architectural literature. It is a document that allows you to see a physical landscape overlaid with politics, sociology, religion and history, as if one were using architectural x-ray specs. It posits the contemporary urban war zone with its cocktail of violence, media, politics and extremism as the ultimate postmodern environment. It is also the most astonishing book on architecture that I have read in years … The book is effectively a section cut through the area, revealing a series of layers and territories, each manipulated by the Israeli authorities. He explores the one-sided porosity of those borders, passable by settlers but not by Arabs. He looks at how inland archipelagos have been created by the cordoning off of settlements within Arab territories. He examines the use of archaeology to justify Jewish settlement in some areas while fragments of ancient Islam are trodden over and left in the rubble.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/de3d71b2-3fca-11dc-b034-0000779fd2ac.html#axzz24TM
 
How the US and Israeli justice systems whitewash state crimes, Glenn Greenwald
Courts are supposed to check the abuse of executive power, not cravenly serve it. But in the US and Israel, that is now the case. The US military announced on Monday that no criminal charges would be brought against the US marines in Afghanistan who videotaped themselves urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters. Nor, the military announced, would any criminal charges be filed against the US troops who “tried to burn about 500 copies of the Qur’an as part of a badly bungled security sweep at an Afghan prison in February, despite repeated warnings from Afghan soldiers that they were making a colossal mistake”.

 
Columnist Glenn Greenwald’s most recent book demonstrates “how the law is used to destroy equality and protect the powerful” in the United States today.
 
www.TheHeadlines.Org
 

Related Posts

2 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Gaza emptied of Palestinians — isn’t that the point of ethnic cleansing?

0
0

When Jews were dying in ghettoes because Germans coudn’t be arsed to get them enough food, it was beginning of HOLOCAUST (one of first arguments for gas chambers was that they were more humane that letting men, women and children starve).

With Palestinians ( and half of population is children) in Gaza paying third of their income for water, and very soon when any drinkable water will run out will we start getting same arguments from Jewish Israelis?

0
0