Gaza: Residents deprived of critical medications and medical care
By late September, 36% of necessary supplies were lacking, compared to 25% in 2010. The Israeli embargo of the Gaza Strip, which began in 2007, together with years of financial crisis within the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and the chronic lack of cooperation between the Palestinian Authority and Gaza authorities, have caused harm and threaten Gaza’s health system and its patients. Last spring, drug companies stopped supplying the Palestinian Authority. The situation, which had been worsening steadily for several years, deteriorated further in 2011 and has reached an alarming level. As Israeli bombs struck the Gaza Strip in mid-August, local health authorities called on international aid actors working in the area for help. Since that time, they have asked for donations on a regular, long-term basis. However, no humanitarian actor – including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) – has the financial and/or logistical resources to provide the drugs and medical supplies needed by the Territory’s health facilities.
Over 26% of Palestinian Children Live in Poverty, says PCBS
RAMALLAH, November 17, 2011 (WAFA) – Over 26% of Palestinian children in the West Bank and Gaza Strip lived below the poverty level in 2010, according to a new release by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) published Thursday marking the International Child Day. It said poverty average among Palestinian households according to patterns of consumption was 21.4% in 2010, divided into 16% in the West Bank and 31.9% in Gaza Strip. Children who are suffering from poverty form the proportion of 26.9% out of all children, divided into 19% in the West Bank and 38.4% in Gaza Strip. Poverty among Gaza households who have children was 53.8% of the total poor households who have children compared to 46.2% in the West Bank.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=18035
Land theft and destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Palestinian culture & history
The Israeli housing and construction ministry has published tenders inviting those interested to bid for the construction of 5000 new housing units in occupied Jerusalem.
Move seen as latest Israeli retaliation for Palestinian Authority’s UNESCO bid; construction plans condemned by US, Europe in past.
Palestinian land in Wadi Hilweh to be converted to Municipal park
Jerusalem Municipality officers and Israeli troops raided a plot of Palestinian land in Wadi Hilweh yesterday morning, 16 November. Troops removed the iron gate to the land, which belongs to the Al-Helaisi family of Wadi Hilweh. Several olive trees were destroyed by troops, the Municipality later claiming that they had been planted there “without permission”.
http://silwanic.net/?p=22125
Municipality earmarks Palestinian land for park in Silwan
Jerusalem Municipality officers officially surveyed a piece of land in Silwan on 15 November, claiming that the land has been earmarked for construction of a public park. The land in question belongs to two Palestinian and lies between Abbasiyeh, Abu Tur and Rababeh Valley neighborhoods, and next door to an elementary school for girls. There is fear that the land could be the next Israeli appropriation of Palestinian land under the auspices of the Nature Authority. Municipality officers conducted the visit in conjunction with representatives of the Mount of Olives Development Center, an organization linked to the Municipality. Palestinian residents of Silwan have expressed fear that the land will be taken over by the Israeli Nature Authority for conversion to a protected green space, completing the Israeli-controlled encirclement of Al-Bustan and Wadi Hilweh districts. The adjacent school had requested permission to expand on to the land but was refused by the Municipality. Municipal officers stated that the park project will commence implementation in the coming week.
Urgent: Stop Home Demolitions in Al Hadidiye
Stop the Wall has issued an urgent call to action to stop nine fresh demolition orders issued by the Israeli authorities in the Palestinian Bedouin community of Al Hadidiye. The destruction of Palestinian homes and the ongoing colonization of Palestinian land is being carried out under the cover of US acquiescence and with the assistance of US companies like Caterpillarand Motorola. Stand in solidarity with the Palestinian families facing demolition and heed Stop the Wall’s call to action!
Haaretz: The Israeli gov’t hid a report against illegal Derech Ha’avot outpost
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has withheld a report prepared about one year ago on Derech Ha’avot outpost, so as it would not be used in a court of law, Haaretz newspaper said on Monday.
Israel stalling release of report proving West Bank outpost built on Palestinian land
Chaim Levinson – Haaretz “The Military Advocate General (MAG ) is delaying the publication of an internal report from a year ago which shows that most of the West Bank outpost of Derekh Ha`avot is on private Palestinian land. The report, a copy of which was obtained by Haaretz, indicates that 60 percent of the Etzion Bloc community is on Palestinian farmland.
The Independent newspaper said Monday that the Jewish settlers are expanding their presence in the occupied city of Jerusalem as the number of Palestinian natives continues to shrink.
AFEH documents the digging of more graves at Ma’manullah cemetery
AFEH revealed that dozens of Zionist workers have been engaged in digging up Muslim graves at the historic Ma’manullah cemetery in occupied Jerusalem.
Russia and France slam Israel’s settlement expansion in O. Jerusalem
Russia and France denounced Israel’s declared intention to build 800 settlement units in the occupied city of Jerusalem.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7qf26cuUcvTCDP%2f2aOVp0QBqrPNRr7ZHDi23AyZyo8xkK4xRyIPbtEPf7lkXipaGrwcm%2fY6IY5kIWOPnGx9W8Nb%2bEtSW2RSd7jm2qeEJXVKo%3d
AICafe 19.11.11: discussion with Dr. Adnan Musallam, Bethlehem University history professor
Please join us at the AICafe on Saturday, 19 November 2011 at 8:00 p.m. as Dr Adnan Musallam, professor of history at Bethlehem University, discusses the Balfour Declaration and Jewish attempts to establish a national homeland before the Holocaust
AICafe 15.11.11: Palestinian independence from 1988-2011, a discussion with Dr. Mohammed Naem Ferhat
Please join us at the AICafe on Tuesday, 15 November 2011 at 8:00 p.m. as Dr Mohammad Na‘em Ferhat, Professor of Sociology at the Bethlehem University and Al Quds Open University, discusses Palestinian attempts to secure independence between 1988-2011.
Include Silwan settlements in visiting dignitaries’ tours, says minister
Silwan’s settlements should be included in the official tours conducted for visiting diplomats, said Israeli deputy foreign minister Dani Ayaloun on Tuesday, 15 November. The statement was made despite evidence that all settlements in Silwan, such as the best-known City of David settlement, is constructed on confiscated Palestinian land. The City of David was visited recently by Dani Ayaloun, accompanied by Elad settlement group head David Beiry. Ayaloun visited one of the tunnels in the archaeological site, which Elad claims to be the remains of King David’s biblical palace. The visit was made with the agenda of promoting Silwan as a site of Jewish heritage – a claim that excludes a long Palestinian history in the area. Excavations at the City of David site have yet to produce any evidence that the site is in fact what Elad claims. Residents of Silwan have pursued court cases against Elad in an attempt to halt the dangerous tunnel-digging. While partially successful, the digging has now recommenced after a 14 month pause. Elad conducts the excavations in cooperation with the Israeli Antiquities Authority.
http://silwanic.net/?p=22129
West Bank: Jewish teens hurl stones at cars
Yeshiva students aim to pelt Palestinian cars with stones but accidentally hit Israeli vehicle.
Summary of the Judgment Concerning the Legality of the GSS’ Interrogation Methods
The Court has held this day that the General Security Service (“GSS”) is not authorized, according to the present state of the law, to employ certain investigation methods that involve the use of physical pressure against a suspect. Several applications were brought before the Supreme Court (sitting as the High Court of Justice), in which it was argued that certain methods used by the GSS (for instance, the shaking of a suspect, holding him in particular positions for a lengthy period and sleep deprivation) are not legal. This, among other reasons, is due to the lack of authority permitting the use of these interrogation methods.
Saed Bannoura – IMEMC – army invaded Azzoun town, east of the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia, and arrested four children identified as Qusai Shaher Salim, Rashad Raed Shbeita, Ehab Taleb Mashal, and Ibrahim Ahmad Enaya, all 17 years old.
http://www.imemc.org/article/62519
Army Kidnaps Palestinian Journalist In Jerusalem
Israeli soldiers kidnapped on Wednesday evening a Palestinian journalist in Jerusalem after she was ordered to head to a security center for questioning.
The Minister of Palestinian Detainees and Ex-detainees Affairs, Issa Qaraq’e, has urged Egypt to exert pressure on Israel to free long-term prisoners, the Palestinian news agency, Ma’an reported on Thursday.
http://www.imemc.org/article/62521
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) on Tuesday refused to allow travel of liberated prisoner Amal Juma to Jordan for medical treatment, her brother Jamil told the PIC reporter.
Israel forces ‘ransack home’ of freed prisoner
TULKAREM (Ma’an) — A recently-released prisoner said Israeli forces ransacked her home and threatened her on Thursday. Duaa al-Jayousi told Ma’an Israeli troops raided her home in Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, searched her and told her she was “being watched.” The soldiers warned her that she could return to prison, she added. Al-Jayousi’s mother witnessed the raid. “It was brutal,” she said, adding that she couldn’t cope if her daughter was imprisoned again. A prisoner affairs’ center described the raid as “barbaric.” Al-Jayousi was released in October in a prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas. She had spent 10 years in an Israeli jail. She was sentenced to three life terms and 32 years.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=437265
Interview: Hunger strikes created “new sense of solidarity”, Maureen Clare Murphy
In an interview with The Electronic Intifada, activist Janan Abdu describes how Israeli prison authorities tried to break the spirits of political prisoner who recently went on hunger strike, including her husband Ameer Makhoul.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/interview-hunger-strikes-created-new-sense-solidarity/10594?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29#.TsRy6sOIm0s
Palestinians protest ‘racist’ bus policy
Israeli authorities accused of operating a policy of racial segregation similar to that in the American south in the 1960s. Six Palestinian activists calling themselves “freedom riders” after the campaigners of the American civil rights movement have been arrested while attempting to enter Jerusalem on an Israeli bus carrying settlers through the occupied West Bank. The activists said they aimed to demonstrate that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank had resulted in a community segregated on racial lines, comparable to those of the American south in the 1960s, where African Americans defied segregation by using buses reserved for “whites only”.
‘If Rosa Parks could have called a press conference it would have looked like this’
CCH Pounder (“Avatar” ) was the only member of the group who said she encountered opposition to her visit here – in her case, from South African friends. Schiff, for his part, was upset upon leaving the hotel to encounter a small group of demonstrators holding signs telling the actors they should be ashamed of themselves and denouncing Israel’s “apartheid” policies.
ADL promotes conspiracy theories to undermine support for Palestine at Occupy Wall Street, Ali Abunimah
In an move reminiscent of anti-Semitic attacks on Jews in America’s past, the ADL is seeking to isolate and cast suspicion on supporters of Palestinian rights at Occupy Wall Street.
Israel seeks minorities, gays for propaganda effortsby communications
The Israeli government hopes to draw attention away from its illegal occupation of Palestinian lands and ongoing human rights abuses by recruiting minorities and members of the lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual (LGBT) community to conduct “public diplomacy” and to “sell Israel as a democracy”
A local Palestinian businessman has brought fair trade to the West Bank, buying olive oil and other produce from more than 1,500 West Bank farmers and guaranteeing them a higher price.
Hani Almadhoun: From Resistance to Pop: Liberating Palestine with an Auto Tune
Thanks to social media and talent competition shows like Super Star, Star Academy and now, Arabs’ Got Talent, many young Palestinians are getting prime time exposure and introducing the Arab world to their voices and their art.
Why is this not made famous?
Khelil sent me this: ”I’m reading a book on surfing by Michael Scott Moore, Sweetness and Blood, and came across this passage in the chapter on surfing in Gaza and “Israel”: ”Tel Aviv has a ‘separate beach,’ were a high concrete wall runs from the sand into the water. Orthodox Jews avail themselves of the beach to swim without breaking mitzvahs against mixing without the opposite sex. On certain days only women can swim there; on certain other days, only men.”pg. 184. ”
Israeli reactions to Freedom Riders
Mya Guarnieri – +972 “The reaction of Israeli onlookers was overwhelmingly negative, with bystanders making racist remarks; after Israeli forces arrested the six activists, a Palestinian journalist was also detained.”
Israel’s Supreme Court rejects Anat Kamm’s request to delay prison sentence
Kamm, who as an IDF soldier gathered, held and passed on classified information without authorization, will begin serving a prison sentence of four and a half years on Sunday.
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2011/11/16/exclusive-list-of-wealthiest-knesset-members-leaked-bibi-threatens-licenses-of-israeli-media-if-they-publish/
PLO says Palestinian reconciliation will hit those opposed to UN membership
The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has said that national reconciliation will remove one of the excuses used by opponents of Palestine’s membership of the UN. “Some parties questioned Palestine’s eligibility for membership as long as the division remained,” said a statement from the Committee. At a meeting on Tuesday in Ramallah, in the presence of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, the Executive Committee called for “real progress towards national reconciliation and comprehensive elections”. With presidential, legislative and National Council elections, the PLO believes that Palestinians will be able to develop a unified political vision, vital in the face of regional political events.
Foreign Ministry accuses Irish government of inciting against Israel. Dublin City Council sponsors display presenting IDF soldiers as ‘Nazi troops’ abusing Palestinians.
Suha Arafat: I never took money from Palestine
Yasser Arafat’s widow denies corruption allegations, says she refused many offers by Leah Rabin to visit Israel.
Weighing in at 30,000 pounds, U.S. unveils new bombWASHINGTON — The US Air Force has a new 30,000-pound bomb in its arsenal designed to penetrate targets buried deep underground, a spokesman said Tuesday. The Air Force started taking delivery of the giant bomb, the “Massive Ordnance Penetrator,” in September, said Lieutenant Colonel Jack Miller. Under an August 2 contract worth $32 million, the aerospace firm Boeing is due to produce eight of the giant MOP bombs to fulfil the Air Force’s “operational needs,” according to Miller.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/11/15/weighing-in-at-30000-pounds-u-s-unveils-new-bomb/
An examination of records in one Texas county shows that 92 percent of the men recently condemned to die have been African Americans. A report published Monday by The Houston Chronicle found that of the last 13 men sentenced to death in Harris County, 12 have been black.
Arab League gives Syria 3 days to end ‘bloody repression’
If the Assad government fails to stop the violence, the league says it will impose economic sanctions. Arab foreign ministers Wednesday gave Syria three days to cease what one league official called its “bloody repression” against its people or face economic sanctions, the latest sign of President Bashar Assad’s growing isolation.
Scores of people reported killed over the past 24 hours in one of the country’s bloodiest days of violence.
Eric Bruneau, “Kurdish Leader: We Oppose Foreign Intervention in Syria”
It is surprising to see that, while the rest of Syria is torn by violence, the Kurdish populated provinces remain quiet. “It’s a tactical choice,” say politicians from the Syrian Democratic Union Party, a Kurdish opposition party. “There is a de facto truce between the Kurds and the government. The security forces are overstretched over Syria’s Arab provinces to face demonstrators, and cannot afford the opening of a second front in Syrian Kurdistan. On our side, we need the army to stay away. Our party is busy establishing organizations, committees, able to take over from the Baath administration the moment the regime collapses,” said one PYD leader. To enforce this truce, their cells in Afrin and Kobane stopped some Kurdish activists from organizing demonstrations. They claim that all their efforts are about maintaining calm to avoid a bloodbath. . . . Syrian Kurdish leaders are skeptical about the Syrian opposition that met several times since the unrest started in Syria in March. The Kurds say the Arab parties do not recognize the rights of the Kurdish population of Syria. . . . Meanwhile, the Syrian Kurdish opposition is skeptical of Turkey’s intimate involvement with the Syrian Arab opposition. A high-ranking PYD leader said, “We want change. But it must come from the Syrians, and be for the Syrians. It must not come from any external power willing to make Syria a satellite state. The PYD so opposes any foreign intervention in Syria.”
Protesters storm Kuwaiti parliament
Dozens of Kuwaitis demanding the prime minister’s resignation have briefly stormed parliamentary buildings as hundreds demonstrated outside. The protesters had earlier on Wednesday marched to Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad Al-Sabah’s home to demand his resignation, an opposition MP said, but police used batons to prevent them. Al Jazeera’s Will Jordan reports.
Analysis: U.S. arms deal for Bahrain hinges on rights report (Reuters)
Reuters – The future of U.S. military support for Bahrain, starting with a $53 million arms deal now on the line, hinges on the findings of a human rights investigation into the Gulf kingdom’s handling of popular protests earlier this year.
Iraqi women ‘afraid for country’
Three women tell how their lives have changed in the new Iraq.
Did U.S. troops bring democracy? Iraqis have doubts (Reuters)
Reuters – Sitting in a barber shop in Baghdad’s Shi’ite Sadr City slum, three friends agreed after a long and hard argument that U.S. forces brought democracy to Iraq.
Sami Moubayed: Preparing for a Sunni Arab Spring in Baghdad
The uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and now Syria have undoubtedly awakened a Sunni appetite for change in Iraq.
Saudi moral committee threatens to cover “tempting” women’s eyes
Women with sexy eyes in Saudi Arabia may be forced to cover them up, according to the spokesperson of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (CPVPV) in the conservative Gulf kingdom. Spokesman of the Ha’eal district, Sheikh Motlab al-Nabet said the committee has the right to stop a women whose eyes seem “tempting” and order her to cover them immediately.
Iran and Israel are still issuing incendiary comments in response to the release of the Iran nuclear report. European leaders are pushing for harsher sanctions instead of a military strike.
Powers close to deal on IAEA Iran resolution (Reuters)
Reuters – World powers look set to overcome their differences and agree on a U.N. atomic agency resolution aimed at putting diplomatic pressure on Iran to address mounting fears about its nuclear program, Western diplomats said on Wednesday.
Barak: I’d want nukes if I were Iranian
(Video) Defense minister tells PBS’ Charlie Rose should Iran obtain nuclear capabilities there would be no way to stop Saudi Arabia, Turkey or Egypt from following suit. ‘Israel allegedly has nukes,’ he says.
The US overlooks the history of the Mujahideen-e-Khalq because they could be of service against Tehran. That would not be the first time: From assisting anti-Shah forces, through assisting Saddam Hussein against Tehran, the MEK’s history of cult-for-hire is rich!
Missile Blast Disrupted Research on New Iranian Weapon Designed to Counter Israel, Richard Silverstein
Earlier today, Iranian officials made two contradictory sets of statements about the blast at the missile base two days ago, which killed 17 IRG soldiers including the “father of the Iranian missile program. Majlis speaker Lariani denied any Israeli involvement in the incident saying it was a “fiction” not even worth wasting time discussing
Israeli-Palestinian jolt? Why some want to dismantle PA
Their UN membership bid failed. They don’t want to resume Israeli-Palestinian talks without a settlement freeze. Now some Palestinian officials have a new idea: dismantle the Palestinian Authority.
Israel blames Abbas for choosing Hamas over peace. Is he?
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas vowed today to accelerate reconciliation with Hamas, a sworn enemy of Israel, with elections to be held in May.
Dubious Charlie Rose asks Ehud Barak why not one state?, Philip Weiss
A Whiff of Egyptian Freedom for Gaza, Eric Walberg
The ongoing Freedom Waves campaign to break the siege of Gaza hit the world headlines last week with the attempt by the Canadian Tahrir and the Irish Saoirse — Arab and Irish for freedom — to bring aid to Gazans directly. This time the boats left from Turkey, not Greece, where last June authorities refused to let the Freedom Flotilla depart. “Our efforts in Greece only fuelled our determination to challenge the imprisonment of the people of Gaza. We said we would continue to sail and so we are,” according to a Freedom Waves press statement.
Syrians continue to be victimized, not only in violent clashes with the Syrian military, but also by regional and international players with various agendas. Protests in Syria began on January 26, and a more inclusive uprising was set in motion on March 15. The initial demand was for serious political reforms, but this was eventually raised to a demand for full regime change, encompassing the unconditional departure of President Bashar al-Assad and his Ba’ath Party, which has ruled Syria for decades.
The election monitors gaffe, Max Ajl
www.TheHeadlines.org
Civilians in Gaza need medicine and surgical facilities. Who would disagree with that?
Good news: Israel doesn’t stop medicines from entering Gaza. (See article below, paragraph 4)
http://maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=396647
For those who want to make a donation through the UNRWA or the International Red Cross for the quickest possible delivery, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) provides a guide:
http://idfspokesperson.com/2011/06/27/how-to-deliver-to-goods-to-gaza/
There was a reduction of goods arriving in Gaza from Israel in April, 2011 and fewer permits were issued for people to enter Israel for medical treatment. April was the month when an Israeli kid was killed on a clearly marked yellow school bus by an anti-tank missile fired by Hamas. Fortunately, goods and medical patients crossing to and from Gaza increased to greater than pre-April levels by May and by June had been increased 12%.
Please consider donating even a small amount to the UNRWA or International Red Cross! The Arab Spring revolt severely decreased aid from Egypt.
A holocaused lack of medicine?
Maybe Adolf is burning in hell, but is somehow enjoying the suffering that followed him. He was after all a very evil man, but he is dead…
We can not punish him.
He WAS evil. The LIVING leaders of the world, that continue to let the nakba go on decade year after decade IS evil. All the time…
They can be punished !