and other news from Today in Palestine:
Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Apartheid
Israel expropriates Palestinian land in order to legalize West Bank settlement
Haaretz 8 July — Move is Netanyahu government’s first confiscation of land in the territories … Last week, acting on orders from the government, the Civil Administration declared 189 dunams of land belonging to the Palestinian village of Karyut to be state land, so as to retroactively legalize houses and a road in the Hayovel neighborhood of the settlement of Eli. This would seem to violate Israel’s long-standing commitment to the United States not to expropriate Palestinian lands for settlement expansion. An Ottoman land law dating from 1858 allows uncultivated land to be declared state land. This law, which is still in force in the West Bank, is what was used to carry out the expropriation.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-expropriates-palestinian-land-in-order-to-legalize-west-bank-settlement-1.372023
AF: IOA wants to wipe historic Ma’manullah Cemetery from memory
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 8 July — The Aqsa Foundation that caters for Muslim holy shrines in occupied Palestine, has warned Thursday that the Israeli plan to put a fence on what remained of Ma’manullah [Mamilla] cemetery was meant to wipe the historical cemetery from memory. In a statement it issued on this regard, the foundation explained that the IOA had been striving hard to remove the cemetery from memory of history, being the biggest and oldest Muslim cemetery in occupied Palestine occupying nearly 200,000 sq meters of land.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bc
Videos; Mamilla Cemetery
http://www.mamillacampaign.org/etemplate.php?id=78
IOA destroys solidarity tent supporting sit-in legislators in O. Jerusalem
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 8 July — The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has destroyed the solidarity tent that human right activists erected in support of the three Palestinian officials the IOA threatens to deport from their hometown … According to local residents and eyewitnesses, special forces from the Israeli occupation army stormed the area and surrounded the solidarity tent before they leveled it to ground shortly before the activists held their final session to end a one-week conference in support of the threatened officials.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b
IOF arrest 3 Jerusalem Palestinians, try 3 others
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 8 July — IOF troops arrested on Thursday night three young men from the Jerusalem suburb of Silwan after raiding the suburb and mounting raids on a number of Palestinian homes there. Eyewitnesses said that local youth clashed with the invading occupation troops and that the clashes lasted till late at night.
Meanwhile, a Zionist occupation court sentenced Nitham Abu Romoz (29 years old) and Wael al-Rajabi (30 years old) to four years and four months prison terms, and sentenced Ahmad Salymeh (23 years old) to three years and four months prison term
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bc
Abir’s Garden – a safe place to grow
Rebuilding Alliance 8 July — Dear Friends, This morning we received a request from Haj Sami Sadeq, the head of the Al Aqaba Village Council, to ask you to call Congress. Here’s why: The local Israeli Civil Administrator visited the section of the Peace Road that had previously been demolished and subsequently repaired by the village. Haj Sami tells us that visits by this administrator are always followed by the issuance of demolition orders a few days later. Bulldozers may arrive in a matter of days after that to carry out the orders. In 2003, the State Department was able to halt home demolitions in Al Aqaba after two homes were destroyed, saving the rest of the village. In April of this year, State Department officials arrived in Al Aqaba two days after the Peace Road was demolished, too late to stop it. This time, let’s give them enough time to take action. [Abir Aramin was leaving school with her sister and two friends in the West Bank town of Anata on January 16th, 2007. She never made it home to her family. On this day a single shot was fired from the back of an Israeli Border Police jeep that was patrolling outside the gates of the Anata Girls’ School.]
http://sandbox.rebuildingalliance.org/?page_id=275
Settlers
IDF to allow organized visits to Joseph’s Tomb once every three weeks
Haaretz 8 July — Restrictions will be eased for Jewish worshipers … The IDF prefers to allow access to the tomb once a month, while the settlers want once a week. The settlers say a lack of organized visits increases the motivation to risk visiting the tomb illicitly … On the last organized visit, on Sunday night, forces roughly the size of a brigade were deployed in the city, including special forces and a drone that monitored events from above.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-to-allow-organized-visits-to-joseph-s-tomb-once-every-three-weeks-1.372027
Fly-in / Flytilla
65 pro-Palestinian fly-in activists transferred to detention facilities
Haaretz 8 July 20:22 — Israel Police estimate that the bulk of events related to the pro-Palestinian ‘fly-in’ have ended. Authorities are waiting for a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt with a limited number of activists on board that is scheduled to land at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Friday night … A total of 310 arriving passengers have been questioned by the Immigration and Population Authority. 69 of the passengers were found to be “fly-in” activists and were denied entry to Israel. The others were found to be regular tourists and were permitted to enter Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/65-pro-palestinian-fly-in-activists-transferred-to-detention-facilities-1.372215
‘Activists asked about Israeli prisons’
Ynet 8 July — Israeli passengers recall encounter with pro-Palestinian ‘flytilla’ activists on board flight home. ‘You could tell they were stressed out; they were easily recognizable,’ says passenger from Britain
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4092833,00.html
Welcome to Israel / Adam Horowitz
Mondoweiss 8 July — Joseph Dana has been stationed in Ben Gurion Airport all day reporting on the “Welcome to Palestine” initiative. The scene he has shared can only be described as chaos. Israel has barred journalists from entering the airport, arrested Israeli activists who came to Ben Gurion in solidarity and stood aside as Israeli passersby cursed, spit on and punched “Welcome to Palestine” travelers arriving from abroad.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/07/welcome-to-israel.html
Mobocracy at Ben-Gurion Airport / Larry Derfner
972mag 8 July — Journalist Larry Derfner came to Tel Aviv airport to cover the arrival of international activists. Once in the reception hall, a small Israeli mob turned on him. In a matter of seconds, he found himself in a police van — Anybody who believes the platitude that the people want peace, it’s just the leaders who want war, should have been at Ben-Gurion Airport today. It’s a good thing those Free Palestine activists got arrested; otherwise, the little mob that formed spontaneously would have punched them up pretty good … Let me repeat — the police started off arresting the demonstrators, but very shortly their main task was to keep them from being assaulted. They had to hold back the herd — and that’s what these people were, a herd incited by the idea that these protesters, non-violent protesters trying to get to the West Bank, were a menace, an immediate threat to their security.
http://972mag.com/derfner-2017-872011/
Dozens to be deported from TLV airport; 5 Israeli activists arrested / Joseph Dana
972mag 8 July — Some 50 ‘Welcome to Palestine’ activists reportedly barred from entering Israel while hundreds others banned from boarding flights; bystanders jeer, assault Israeli activists as police look on … Welcome to Palestine was meant to demonstrate the effective control of Israel over the Palestinian Territories. Visitors to the West Bank usually hide their destination for fear of being deported from Israel, but participants of Welcome to Palestine decided to openly declare their wish to visit Palestinian towns and villages … At one point, Jerusalem Post columnist Larry Derfner was detained as he pleaded with the angry mob of onlookers to stop attacking the detained activists … Watching my enraged countrymen at Ben-Gurion, I imagined the daily headlines having been distilled into a kind of political methadrine and mainlined into their veins … Theirs is the loudest voice in the land, it’s joined by the voice of Netanyahu, the government, the settlers and most of the media. All competing voices are drowned out. Which is why these foreign activists on these flotillas, whatever I or anybody else thinks of the totality of their politics, are absolutely vital not only to the Palestinians, but to Israel. They’re bringing oxygen to a suffocating nation.
http://972mag.com/dozens-deported-from-tlv-airport-5-israeli-activists-arrested/
VIDEO (Hebrew) Confrontations at Ben Gurion
See Matan Cohen defending activists in English as he is arrested, at about 1:01
http://news.walla.co.il/?w=/22/1839002
VIDEO: Gaza ‘Flytilla’ activists arrested for chanting ‘Free Palestine’ in Tel Aviv airport
http://weeklyintercept.blogspot.com/2011/07/gaza-flytilla-activists-arrested-for.html
Gaza fly-in gains momentum
Ynet 8 July — Dozens of pro-Palestinian activists arrive in Israel despite foreign airlines’ efforts to follow passenger blacklist; more than 60 detained by police; 25 denied entry into Israel … Foreign airlines cooperating: About 50 passengers at the Lufthansa terminal at Paris’s Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport were turned back Friday morning, after French authorities discovered their names were included on Israel’s list of “undesirables.” “Roissy-Charles de Gaulle is under Israeli occupation. We are peaceful people who have no intention of creating disorder in Ben Gurion Airport,” group organizer Olivia Zemor protested. She later released a statement calling the moves to prevent activists from reaching Israel “provocative, blackmailing and illegal.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4092661,00.html
VIDEOS and photos: Live in Roissy/CDG airport, Paris: Images of the rally
8 July 17:07 — The passengers turned away from Roissy are still at the airport waiting for the refund of tickets. [confrontations with the police, arrests, etc – great PR for Palestine]
http://www.foulexpress.com/2011/07/live-in-roissy-les-images-du-rassemblement/
Welcomed to Palestine
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 8 July — Briditta, from Germany, arrived in the West Bank on Thursday. “As a German, I feel somehow drawn to Israel because of our history,” she told Ma’an, “but that does not mean I tolerate illegal behavior.” Briditta is looking forward to joining in with activities planned by Palestinian civil society organizations as part of the ‘Welcome to Palestine’ initiative over the following week.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=403416
Barghouti: Israeli ‘hysteria’ not stopping solidarity
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 8 July — Palestinian lawmaker Mustafa Barghouti said Friday that Israeli ‘hysteria’ over international solidarity would not stop foreign peace activists.
Barghouti, who is head of the Palestinian National Initiative party, said the Israeli government had turned Ben Gurion airport into a ‘military post’ and accused Israeli officials of ‘violating all international navigation laws that regulate flight’.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=403387
Detention
Islamic movement in Israel leader to remain in jail after court denies appeal
Haaretz 8 July — London court rules against Sheikh Ra‘ad Salah’s appeal of detention order; demonstration held outside UK embassy in Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/islamic-movement-in-israel-leader-to-remain-in-uk-jail-after-court-denies-appeal-1.372219
Israeli Arab group demands Ra‘ad Salah’s release in UK
Haaretz 7 July — Representatives of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee sent a letter yesterday to the British government protesting the arrest of Sheikh Ra‘ad Salah, leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israeli-arab-group-demands-ra-ad-salah-s-release-in-u-k-1.371846
Palestinian detainee not released after term ends
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 8 July — A detainee in Israeli jail completed his eight and a half year sentence on Wednesday, but his expectant family waited in vain. Ma‘an correspondent learned that Israeli authorities refused to release Ra‘ed Samih Qefeisha on the date scheduled according to a decision by Israeli court. No reason was given for the extension of detention. Qefeisha, from the West Bank city of Hebron, was detained on May 9, 2003 and charged with affiliation to Fatah. He remains in Israeli prison Ramon.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=403364
Soldiers arrest daughter of Fatah lawmaker
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 8 July — Israeli soldiers arrested the daughter of a Fatah lawmaker Friday at the Atara checkpoint near Ramallah. The girl was identified as Besan Mahmoud Abu Baker, 21, daughter of Najat Abu Baker, a Fatah official from Nablus.
“Israeli soldiers present at the checkpoint of Atara had stopped the car the girl was riding in, forced her out, arrested her and took her to an unknown location,” the girl’s mother Abu Baker told Ma‘an. Israeli forces have tightened their arbitrary search procedures at military checkpoints like Atara since early on Friday morning, activists told Ma‘an. Six others were detained at Atara on Friday before being released, they added
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=403418
Israeli forces detain Palestinian from Nablus village
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 8 July — Israeli forces detained a young Palestinian from Nablus district village Salim at dawn on Friday morning. Witnesses told Ma‘an that Israeli soldiers entered the village from the south and searched a number of homes. Khaldun Hassen Isa, 25, was detained and taken to an unknown location.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=403368
PA security summons four citizens from Yatta
RAMALLAH (PIC) 8 July — PA security on Friday morning handed four citizens from Yatta town in the southern West Bank district of al-Khalil summonses. Those summoned include Sheikh Atef Rabba‘ and his brother Sheikh Taiseer Rabba‘ who work at the Islamic Orphans Welfare Society. The two brothers spent in occupation jails more than four years in administrative detention, without charge or trial. They also spent about eight months at PA jails where they were brutally tortured. The PA preventive security also handed summonses to both Jebrael al-Amour and Osama al-Hamamda for next week.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b
Flotilla
Gaza flotilla activists aboard the Tahrir refuse to lose hope / Amira Hass
Haaretz 8 July — Will remaining on board the Tahrir until it is allowed to sail serve the demand that Israel and the world honor the Palestinians’ right to freedom of movement? … The coast guard boat, carrying four or five soldiers who participated in taking over the vessel, remains beside the Tahrir. The soldiers and sailors greet people, offer them sesame bagels and even listen to a radio program dedicated to the flotilla. But they make sure the boat doesn’t escape. Still, someone must pay, so the coast guard arrested three activists who had been off the boat when it sailed on July 4 and brought them to trial Wednesday in the nearby town of Neapolis.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/gaza-flotilla-activists-aboard-the-tahrir-refuse-to-lose-hope-1.372025
Activism / Solidarity
Villages march in solidarity with Freedom Flotilla and Welcome to Palestine
Ramallah (PNN) 8 July – Israeli troops attacked on Friday nonviolent protests organzied every week in a number of West Bank villages … Protests were reported in the villages of al-Nabi Salleh, Bil‘in, and Ni‘lin in the central West Bank, as well as al-Ma‘ssara in the south …In Bil‘in village on Friday, international and Israeli supporters joined villagers and replanted trees on land given back to local farmers after the army adhered to a court order and rerouted the wall around Bil‘in giving the villagers half of their lands back.Also on Friday, one boy and a youth were slightly injured when troops fired tear gas at the weekly protest in the village of al-Nabi Salleh. Palestinians and their supporters dragged a mock-ship they called Popular Resistance Flotilla. As soon as they reached the end of the village, troops attacked them with tear gas
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10417&Itemid=56
Final witness to testify in Rachel Corrie case Sunday
IMEMC 7 July — Colonel Pinhas Zuaretz is scheduled to testify on Sunday July 10, 2011 as the final witness for the case involving the killing of Rachel Corrie. Rachel Corrie was an American activist for the ISM who was killed by a bulldozer when acting as a human shield to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home in the Gaza Strip in 2003. Colonel Zuaretz was the commander of Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade and faces responsibility for the death of Rachel Corrie. He is possibly the highest-ranking officer to face a “cross examination” involving abuses of civilians in Gaza during the Second Intifada, according to a report issued by the Palestinian Solidarity Organization today.
http://www.imemc.org/article/61631
Knesset set to discuss bill to outlaw boycotts against Israel
Haaretz 8 July — Two controversial bills – one prohibiting calls for a boycott against Israel, and the other restricting the ability of human rights groups to raise funds abroad – are likely to be the focus of fierce debate in the Knesset next week.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/knesset-set-to-discuss-bill-to-outlaw-boycotts-against-israel-1.372034
Political / Diplomatic / International news
Congress votes in favor of PA aid suspension
AP 8 July – A week after the Senate approved a similar proposal; the US House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly backed the idea of suspending aid to the Palestinian Authority if it continues to refuse a negotiated settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They also rejected Palestinian pursuit of statehood through the United Nations. The vote was 407-6 for the nonbinding resolution that also called on the Obama administration to consider suspending aid to the Palestinian Authority in light of the deal between the government and Hamas – considered a terrorist group by Israel and the US.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4092666,00.html
UN bid to bypass Security Council as US veto likely
RAMALLAH (AFP) 8 July — The Palestinians may take their bid for statehood to the UN General Assembly rather than the Security Council, where a US veto is likely, an official said on Friday. “We will submit our request to the Secretary General, maybe in the last 10 days of July,” Palestinian negotiator Mohammed Shtayeh told journalists.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=403435
Romania backtracking over Palestinian statehood vote
AFP 8 July — Romania said Friday it had yet to decide on its vote on a unilateral Palestinian bid for statehood in September, two days after telling Israeli’s Benjamin Netanyahu it opposed any unilateral solution.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/romania-backtracking-over-palestinian-statehood-vote-170438310.html
Turkey PM: Israel must still apologize for last year’s Gaza flotilla raid
Reuters 8 July — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Friday that it was “unthinkable” to normalize ties with Israel unless Israel apologized for the killing of nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists aboard the Mavi Marmara ship bound for the Gaza Strip last year. Erdoğan also said that two other conditions for the normalization of ties were Israel lifting its blockade of Gaza and Israel paying compensation to the victims of the flotilla raid.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/turkey-pm-israel-must-still-apologize-for-last-year-s-gaza-flotilla-raid-1.372198
Israel ‘trusts Germany’ over Saudi tank deal
BERLIN (AFP) 8 July — A top Israeli official said he was unaware of a disputed German deal to sell hundreds of tanks to Saudi Arabia but had complete confidence in the German government, in an interview published Thursday. Saudi Arabia is reportedly about to buy 200 Leopard-2s, Germany’s main battle tank which is also produced under license in Spain, for a multi-billion-euro (dollar) sum. Germany, which for more than 20 years has declined to sell such heavy weapons to Saudi Arabia because of concerns over human rights and fears for Israel’s security, has refused to officially confirm the reports citing a secrecy policy on such deals.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=403361
Lebanon to search for natural gas in Israeli waters
Haaretz 8 July — The Lebanese government has hired a Norwegian firm to conduct a seismic survey on the border of Israel’s exclusive economic zone. Lebanon intends to parcel out the rights to search for natural gas and oil in the area, which may also include part of Israel’s exclusive economic zone, according to information obtained by the Israeli government. As a result, the cabinet will be asked to approve an official decision on Sunday detailing the borders of Israel’s exclusive economic zone … the border between Israel and Lebanon has never been agreed upon.
http://english.themarker.com/lebanon-to-search-for-natural-gas-in-israeli-waters-1.372048
Other news
‘Shabbat phones’ for Netanyahu aides
Ynet 8 July — Prime minister’s bureau purchases kosher phones for religious aides, enabling communication on Jewish day of rest … The Shabbat phone was created by the Zomet Institute which specializes in adapting medical and security equipment for Shabbat use. It utilizes a special technology: A special mechanism scans the phone for activity regularly. This way when the user presses buttons, picks up the phone or hangs up he is not directly activating the device. Actions are performed only when the scan picks up on them thus canceling out the electrical aspect.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4091811,00.html
Tali Fahima wants job in Ramallah
Ynet 8 July — Israeli pro-Palestinian activist Tali Fahima, known for her close relationship with Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades commander Zakaria Zubeidi and her recent decision to convert to Islam, is looking for a job in the Palestinian territories.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4092642,00.html
Analysis / Opinion
The pro-Palestinian fly-in poses no danger to Israel / Amos Harel
MESS Report 8 July — Excessive preparations for clashes risk becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy … The overreaction stems from the siege mentality that has taken hold over the past two years in the clash between the Netanyahu government and the campaign to delegitimize Israel in Europe … To this should be added the permanent atmosphere of panic and confusion around Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/mess-report/the-pro-palestinian-fly-in-poses-no-danger-to-israel-1.372026
Times coverage of fly-in protest masks nature of Israeli control over Palestinian lives / Adam Horowitz
A friend writes: Isabel Kershner has some useful information about Israel’s hysterical response to the fly-in today, though she leaves out the frightening scenes of angry crowds at the airport. But she obfuscates the basic reality that the fly-in was meant to underline, that Israel controls all borders and entry and exit of Palestinians and foreigners into and out of the West Bank, and cuts Palestinians off from the outside world. Readers won’t learn these very basic facts about Israeli control over Palestinian lives in the NY Times.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/07/times-coverage-of-fly-in-protest-masks-nature-of-israeli-control-over-palestinian-lives.html
Empathy toward the Palestinian side invokes hatred and distrust / Yael Sternhell
Haaretz 7 July — The anger at Israelis who support Palestinian independence resembles the treatment of whites who supported the black civil rights movement — The July 15 march scheduled by the solidarity movement for Palestinian independence will surely stir an ugly wave of threats against Jews who dare to deviate from the consensus: those who express their identification with the Palestinian desire to end the occupation and establish an independent state. In the Israel of 2011, every manifestation of basic human empathy toward the Palestinian side, every disclosure of understanding for its aspirations and priorities hits a wall of hatred, distrust and the growing siege mentality.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/empathy-toward-the-palestinian-side-invokes-hatred-and-distrust-1.371874
Way back machine: Senate hearing in ’77 were titled ‘The colonization of the West Bank territories by Israel’! / Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss 8 July — Yes, it was in 1977. I was wearing muttonchops. That’s a link to a Library of Congress record titled “The Colonization of the West Bank Territories by Israel,” a Senate hearing on “The Question of West Bank Settlements and the Treatment of Arabs in the Israeli-Occupied Territories” dated October 17 and 18, 1977. Fouzi El-Asmar, the Palestinian poet and author of the amazing book To Be an Arab In Israel, testified. El-Asmar lived behind barbed wire for a while, near Lyd. Also testimony from the great Dr. Israel Shahak, Professor of Chemistry, Hebrew University, where he describes how settlements are first referred to by their Arabic names, and then later biblical names … OK: What’s happened to my country, the U.S., that we can’t call colonization colonization and have the likes of Saree Makdisi and Mazim Qumsiyeh and Jeff Halper testify before the Senate? I believe the reason is the rise of the meritocracy, the new order of Jews inside the establishment, the Israel lobby as a fact of our elite culture. In ’77 the WASPs were still au saddle. As I hasten to add every time I make this point, it’s a great thing, generally, for everybody that the bluebloods were deposed, them too. But when it comes to Middle East policy it means that there’s no debate.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/07/way-back-machine-senate-hearings-in-77-were-titled-the-colonization-of-the-west-bank-territories-by-israel.html
Is Palestine next? / Adam Shatz
LRB 14 July issue — …The old Arab order was buried in Tahrir Square. Young revolutionaries rose up against a regime which for three decades had stood in the way of Palestinian aspirations. It seemed too good to be true and some pundits in Palestine wondered whether it wasn’t an American conspiracy. But it wasn’t, and Palestinians began to re-examine what had been one of their most disabling convictions: the belief that the US controls the Middle Eastern chessboard, and that the Arab world is powerless against America and Israel. ‘There has been a kind of epistemic break,’ a young Palestinian said to me. The excitement among Palestinians sometimes seems to be mixed with unease, even envy: the spotlight has been stolen from them.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v33/n14/adam-shatz/is-palestine-next
US collusion in the Gaza blockade is an affront to human rights / Cindy Corrie
Guardian 8 July — My daughter’s death shows the cruelty of an America that won’t protect its own and is complicit in harming Palestinian civilians — When Greek authorities prevented the US ship the Audacity of Hope leaving its port in Athens this week, they dealt a blow to a group of brave and principled Americans who were trying to carry thousands of letters from US citizens to those who wait on Gaza’s shores.I know many of the people who were on this boat, and my family’s letter was part of their cargo. In 2003 my daughter Rachel Corrie made her journey to Gaza and was run down and killed by a US-made Israeli military Caterpillar D-9 bulldozer. She was trying to protect a Gazan family and their home, one of thousands illegally destroyed in Israeli military clearing operations … After eight years, our family remains engaged in prolonged court proceedings seeking accountability that the US government has been unable to secure — though it has no difficulty sending Israel $3bn annually in weapons that do the damage.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jul/08/gaza-blockade-rachel-corrie
Gaza and a liturgy for justice / Ray McGovern
8 July — The Audacity of Hope, the U.S. boat among a small flotilla seeking to challenge the Israeli blockade of Gaza, was turned back by Greek authorities doing the bidding of Washington and Tel Aviv. However, for ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern, who was among the passengers, the endeavor demonstrated the commitment of Americans from a variety of backgrounds to fight injustice … Our kind of extremism can be seen as rooted in a liturgy that rejects pseudo-worship, which prophet Isaiah warned that God finds sickening: “Trample my courts no more! … Your incense is loathsome to me. … Make Justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow. … I will strengthen you … a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of confinement, and from the dungeon those who live in darkness…”
http://consortiumnews.com/2011/07/08/gaza-and-a-liturgy-for-justice/
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