Israel/Palestine News-Xmas Edition

Dec. 15, a debate occurred at Princeton over the BDS movement. Max Blumenthal & Jewish Voices for Peace executive director Rebecca Vilkormerson argued for BDS, & J Street U director Daniel May and Princeton student Dan May argued against.

This holiday season, the UN Relief Agency for Refugees in Gaza is asking for funds to help Gaza's children.

Militants are killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza.

Gazans worry about new assaults on Gaza like Cast Lead.

Children's drawings of Operation Cast Lead, & the siege of Gaza.

Human Rights Watch has issued a report criticizing Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank.

A song by Dam, the Palestinian Israeli rap group.

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Jews, Arabs, & Internationals protest against the attempt to ban Adnan Gheith from Jerusalem, & settlements in Silwan.

A Jew returns to Hebron & talks of ending the Occupation and peace.

Last Friday, demos took place in Ni'ilin and An Nabi Salih.

Last Friday in Al-Ma'asara, the Santas also came out to the demo.

Here is last Friday's demo in Bilin.

In Bilin, Santas take part in the weekly demo.

Christmas is part of the resistance to the occupation of Palestine. Tourism to Bethlehem is making unemployment in the West Bank go down, & is fueling the push by Palestinians to unilaterally declare a state, as Juan Cole notes in this post.

Israel/Palestine News

These two videos are from Team Palestina Bradford (from Britain), who took part in the last convoy to Gaza. They basically do some sight seeing.

In Gaza, the PFLP holds a huge rally in Gaza City.

There is a dire shortage of medical items in Gaza.

Various organizations have come together to help Palestinians by planting olive trees.

In Derat, near Hebron, the IDF uses bulldozers to block roads going to Palestinian homes, & destroy 13 cisterns.

Later that night, Adeeb Abu Rahma, the 'Palestinian Gandhi', was released from prison.

In Bilin, last Friday,on International Human Rights Day, a demo was held with Palestinian officials, residents, Israelis, & internationals.

More African refugees enter Israel looking for a new life, & the Israeli government says they are a threat to the Jewish character of the nation.

Here's another video about the Jenin Cinema.

Ken O'Keefe visits the neighborhood of Jabalya, one of the hardest hit neighborhoods in Gaza.

Ken O'Keefe presents the case of four year old Areef, who was orphaned & has an unexplained skin condition that keeps her from going to school & playing with other children. She lives in the neighborhood worse hit by white phosphorous during the Israeli invasion.

The St Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee did an action against Motorola in a Best Buy.

Activists representing CODEPINK Women for Peace, American Friends Service Committee, US Boat to Gaza, Students for Justice in Palestine, Queers Undoing Israeli Terror and Don't Buy Into Apartheid spent this Christmas season protesting the Occupation, such as this action Dec. 13 in Oakland at an AIPAC dinner.

Israelis aren't alone in trying to drive Palestinians off their land so a Jewish state can be achieved. God TV, an evangelical Christian network, has donated to the Jewish National Fund to plant a forest over the Bedouin village of Al-Araqib. So they can facilitate the Second Coming of Jesus. Watch this video by Richard Silverstein & Max Blumenthal.

Ken O'Keefe -- Antisemite?

I have been publishing videos about the occupation of Palestine by Israel & the resistance it has engendered -by Palestinians, by Israelis, by international activists.   I started out as a weekly series on Daily Kos, but also started publishing here because commentators on the blog accused Yousef Al-Helou (Palgaz), the Gaza stringer for Press TV of being antisemitic--not because of anything he said or done, but because of something someone else said in  stories about Israeli & Jewish gangsters involved in trafficking organs.  Nothing the Gaza stringer was posting even suggested antisemitism, but the moderator declared Press TV antisemitic as  a source, & so Palgaz became unusable for news about Gaza on Daily Kos.  Which is why I started publishing this website.

Now basically the same thing has happened with Kenneth O'Keefe, the ex-US Marine who was on the Mavi Marmara. I was warned by the moderator about using him on Daily Kos, which is the step before being banned. Again, the story seems to be that some commentators on DKos will do anything to keep news about Gaza from being available, but in this case, there is more substance to the accusation. There is this quote from the Baltimore Chronicle & Sentinel:

The world is full of illusions that are used by the rich and powerful to manipulate and control the people. The greatest illusion, and the one with the most devastating consequences, is that the American people and the Israeli, and the British, and numerous others, vote in their governments and hold them to account. Those who really control the governments are those powerful few who control the banking systems, the major multi-national corporations and, of course, the mass media. If you look beyond the faces of the presidents, prime ministers and politicians you will see that these governments' policies remain virtually the same, no matter who is 'leading' these countries. These 'leaders' do not answer to the people they have pledged to serve; they answer to those who remain behind the scenes.

These powerful people and entities have key strategic needs in order to maintain power:

1. They must keep the people ignorant and disempowered.
2. They must keep the people divided. They conquer by dividing the people, never giving people the chance to unite; constantly fostering war by pitting the masses against each other

This system has been controlled by the same families for millennia, and people have been manipulated into a collective state of insanity throughout. Over the course of this tragic situation, empires have come and gone, each one giving way to the next. America is simply the latest in that repeating pattern, and it will fall like all empires do. However, the powers behind it, those controlling the banking, the governments and the propaganda, they will remain in place and prop up the next empire and the pattern will repeat.

We are constantly looking at the faces that these powers present to us, the puppets in effect. The powers themselves remain hidden, with many layers of separation between themselves and the people, and an intricate and complex legal system to protect and hide them. In the west this conspiracy has been called a theory, and everything is done to try and marginalize and ridicule the people who speak correctly about the way the world works. Until this system and those behind it are exposed, we will continue our cycle of self-destruction and continue marching towards a nuclear Armageddon. The most powerful weapon we have is the truth, and until we yield its full power, we will never have justice and peace in this world.

That, is borderline antisemitic. So there is just cause for banning him from Daily Kos. I think, though, that the straw that broke the camel's back was this video put out by someone calling themselves otraverdad. All the imagery of ZOG (Zionist Occupation Government, an Aryan Nation term) otraverdad added in was what inflamed many commentators on DKos. Which is a shame. O'Keefe does appear to embrace the wildest of 9/11 conspiracy theories, but the way he presents himself isn't that of the white supremacist. Look at his websites Aloha Palestine & World Citizen Ken O'Keefe. I've contacted O'Keefe & he replied, saying that since he is married to a semitic woman & has a semitic son, he can't be an antisemite. I don't know what to think. I think I'll post his videos for now, but will stop.

Israel/Palestine/Massachusetts News

In Amherst,MA,on Dec 2, student activists hold a silent protest of a IDF spokesman.

An interview with Noam Chomsky on Israel and Palestine.

Jews and Arabs protest together against house demolition in the East Jerusalem village of Issawiya last Friday.

In the same plot of land near the settlement Mitzpe Yair last Sunday, activists helping a Palestinian farmer are confronted by the same settler, soon joined by others, including the son of the leader, Mordechai Deutsch. The IDF & police show up & again say the land is a closed military zone. The activists leave.

In Bilin last Friday, there was another march to the Wall, & the marchers were met by barrages of tear gas.

In the West Bank, in the South Hebron hills, activists help a Palestinian farmer plow & sow his land.

As mentioned by Richard Silverstein on his blog, rabbis who are employed by towns in Israel have ruled Jews shouldn't sell homes or rent to Arabs. They have been denounced by peace activists, intellectuals, the Left in Israel and by PM Netanyahu. GangreenTV, an anarchist group, has issued a video posting the rabbis' faces & phone numbers. Looking at the photos, the thought pops into my head: what a bunch of old hippies. Cool hats, though.

At Haifa University, Arab students use student elections to fight discrimination.

This next video concerns a recent increase of settler attacks on Palestinian farmers in the West Bank.

In Gaza, an artistic expo focuses on Palestinian culture and heritage.

This video discusses the revelation by Gisha, an Israeli human rights organization, of the official rules the Israeli military follows to enforce the siege of Gaza.

Kevin O'Keefe is still in Gaza, in Gaza City, & posts this video about an Israeli jet bombing the city. He doesn't know what is going on. It turns out the bombing was one of four bombings by the Israeli air force in retaliation for militants firing mortar shells & a rocket into southern Israel.

Israel/Palestine News Fri Dec 03, 2010

Ken O'Keefe,the ex-Marine who was on the Mavi Marmara, is in Gaza now, & took part in a solidarity demo on Nov, 29. The demonstrators were shot at by the IDF.

How O'Keefe got to Gaza is quit a story, since he was kidnapped to Greece by the captain of the ship the Road to Hope convoy had hired to sale to Egypt.

But he eventually reached Egypt.

Despite the obstacles the Egyptian authorities put in his way, he did get into Gaza.

In East Jerusalem, Palestinian children are being arrested by police & the IDF & the residents of Silwa are denied basic services.

In Tel Aviv, BDS supporters confront the Cape Town Opera House performers.

In Bilin, Palestinians, Israelis, & internationals marched to the Wall last Friday, & were met by teargas & stun grenades.

In An Nabi Salih, a demo last Friday leads to more teargas from Israeli police.

In An Nabi Salih, a demo last Friday leads to more teargas from Israeli police.

A delegation from the European Union have crossed the Rafah Border Crossing into Gaza Strip in order to see the conditions in the Strip and the critical humanitarian needs of the Palestinians under the Israeli siege.

In Gaza, two teenagers in the Nuseirat refugee camp practice break dancing.

Israel/Palestine/New York News Fri Nov 26, 2010

Happy Black Friday.  The Hebron Fund held a fundraiser Nov. 16 at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan, and protesters confronted director Yossi Baumol.

[Video made private, so not available.]

More from the Alternative Information Center:

The Hebron Fund event was organized as a Hudson River cruise and entitled the "Hebron Aid Flotilla" in an apparent attempt to mock the international Freedom Flotilla that sailed last spring to break the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza. The Israeli military attacked the flotilla in international waters, killing nine passengers, including an American citizen, and injuring an additional 58 passengers. The Hebron Fund announcement for the event stated that "settlements are legal," and claimed that "the tax deductible status of the meager donations to Hebron’s Jews comes under repeated scrutiny - for no good reason except for racism and anti-Semitism." The Hebron Fund’s keynote speaker, Caroline Glick, a former adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu, has written in the Jerusalem Post that President Obama is "treating Israel like an enemy."
According to all major human rights organizations, the UN, the International Court of Justice, and governments worldwide, all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem violate the Fourth Geneva Convention. In 1979, the US State Department’s legal adviser also issued a legal opinion that has never been revised stating that the establishment of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories "is inconsistent with international law," according to The Washington Post.
This is the third consecutive year in which the Brooklyn-based Hebron Fund’s annual fundraising dinner in New York has faced protests. The Hebron Fund is one of a number of US nonprofits that fund Israeli settlements. Others include Friends of Ir David, American Friends of the Ateret Cohanim, and The Central Fund for Israel. According to the Washington Post, "A search of IRS records identified 28 U.S. charitable groups that made a total of $33.4 million in tax-exempt contributions to settlements and related organizations between 2004 and 2007." A recent New York Times report on these US settlement nonprofits quoted a senior US State Department official saying, "It’s a problem. It’s unhelpful to the efforts that we’re trying to make."

In Israel, the East Jerusalem village of Issawiya hosted a conference attended by around sixty internationals, Israelis, and Palestinians on the recent assault by the City of Jerusalem on the village.

During Thanksgiving, Israel was busy demolishing a mosque in the Jordan Valley . . ,

. . . and a house in Derat, south Hebron.

Last Friday, a demo was held in Nabi Salih. The IDF responded by saturating the town with teargas.

In Bilin, the IDF pulled another night raid, tried to keep the raid from being filmed, & arrested a boy.

A demonstration in Beit Ommar against the settlement Karmei Tsur ended with the arrest of a Palestinian boy named Mohammad Awad, two international activists, & three Israeli activists.

In Gaza, falafel is still a popular and cheap staple.

This next video maybe the highpoint of this diary. Seven Israeli activists went with a Palestinian shepherd to pump water from a well on his land. While they are doing this, a settler from the outpost of Mitzpe Yair shows up. He is alone, but keeps trying and trying to pull out the hose from the well. The activists could have hit him in the head with a rock, could just jump him & tie him up, but don't. Finally, more settlers & the IDF show up. The soldiers pull the guy away, & show the shepherd & activists an order declaring the land a closed military zone. They have to leave. By the way, the settler outpost has had a military demolition order on it since 2002.

Israel/Palestine/US News Fri Nov 19, 2010

As a protest of the Cape Town Opera Co. staging Porky & Bess in Tel Aviv, this group of Israelis sing a song to the tune of "Summertime" about Israeli apartheid & the BDS movement on the opening night.

In Jerusalem, demonstrators in Sheikh Jarrah march on the one year anniversary. The police block off the march.

Later, settlers come out from Friday night prayers to sing thanks to Shimon Hatzaddik (Simon the Just) that the neighborhood will be Jewish; deport the leftists; you are a traitor; the Jews are the chosen nation.

Last Friday, there was a march in honor of Yasser Arafat in Ni'ilin, & more teargas in An Nabi Salih.

Last Friday in Bilin, marchers also commemorated Arafat.

Later that night, the IDF raided the village, specifically the cameraman's (Haitham al Khatib) house.

Today also there was a demo in Bilin.

Let's concentrate on the Saffa Valley. Last Saturday, farmers with 30 activists, International, Palestinian & Israeli, went to their land to work it. The IDF shot teargas at them.

On Sunday, farmers near Beit Ommar in the Saffa valley went with ten activists to their land.

Thursday, 30 activists again accompanied farmers to their land in Saffa near Beit Ommar. The IDF detained the activists & took them to a police station at a nearby settlement. They had been burning brush to clear the land, & the settlers accused them of burning olive trees in order to accuse settlers of the arson.

In Gaza, Muslims prepare for the feast of Eid Al-Adha, even with the siege.

In the US, Rabbi Melissa Weintraub speaks at the Jewish Federation General Assembly on the alienation of young Jewish people with Israel's PR talking points.

Israel/Palestine News Fri Nov 12, 2010

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke at the Jewish Federation's General Assembly in New Orleans last week.  He was also protested by five Jewish activists from Jewish Voices for Peace.  They stood up during the speech, holding signs & chanting "The Occupation de-legitimizes Israel!"

Young Jews Disrupt Netanyahu at Jewish General Assembly

Several of the protesters explain their actions here,
here, here, and here. 

Another demonstration takes place in Sheikh Jarrah to protest settlers stealing Palestinian homes.

Israeli police swarmed the East Jerusalem village of Issawiya last Saturday.

An International Children's Conference was held in Bethlehem Nov. 10 & 11.

Bil'in was again the site of a demo, tear gas, & burning bushes.

Bil'in was also raided in the night by the IDF on Nov. 10 & 11.

The students in Beit Ommar marched to commemorate Yasser Arafat on the anniversary of his death. The IDF shot teargas into the elementary schools.

International members of the Solidarity Movement were arrested in the Saffa Valley after they worked on a Palestinian's land.

In Gaza, the IDF bombs a building because of armed militants.

The German Foreign Minister visits Gaza.

Mustafa sings You Are My Sunshine for Frida, because he misses her.

Israel/Palestine News Fri Nov 05, 2010

Members of an EU parliamentary delegation visited the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in this first video.

UNRWA, the United Nations relief agency for Palestinian refugees has posted several videos on the experiences of refugees here.

This music video is about non-Palestian refugees, mainly Africans escaping from war in their homelands.

Ezra Nawi, who is on probation for assaulting a soldier when a house was demolished (he beat the soldier's fist with his face), has been arrested again in the hills of Hebron, along with fellow activist Amiel Vardi. They were helping a Palestinian family work on their vineyard, when the IDF showed up & stated the land was in a closed military zone. Everyone left the land, when the soldiers started to hassle an elderly Arab woman who had wandered onto the land to pee. Nawi started yelling at the soldiers to stop harassing the old lady, & the soldiers called him over to explain to her in Arabic the situation. Once Ezra reached the old lady, other soldiers came over & arrested him. Vardi was arrested when he ran over to protest the arrest.

Last Friday in An Nabi Salih, the IDF used tear gas, flash grenades & rubber bullets.

In Gaza, the donkey cart is losing to motorbike pulled carts.

On Nov. 2, a Gaza protest against the Balfour Declaration of 1917.

This video discusses Palestinian folk music in Gaza.

Gazans celebrate a mass wedding for disabled men.

For those interested, Richard Silverstein writes about the Israel & Hamas symbiotic relationship: IDF’s Gaza Siege Provides Hamas Showcase.

Israel/Palestine News Fri Oct 29, 2010

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is an organization not too many people have heard of. On its' website, it has the motto 'For a stronger, cleaner, fairer world economy.' Its' members consist of the US, EU, Mexico, Canada, Chile, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Turkey, Iceland, and now Israel. Protesters in Jerusalem tried to show delegates to a OECD tourism meeting what it was like for Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.

Israeli rightist extremes marched in the Arab town of Um-Al-Fahm, leading to clashes between Arab residents & Israeli police.

Back in Jerusalem, Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity movement activists disrupted the opening of an art gallery being celebrated by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat.

Ex-President Jimmy Carter speaks at a rally to protest settlements in Sheikh Jarrah.

The World Education Forum will be held in the West Bank this week end. Michael Warchawski talks about it in this video.

Activists try to help Palestinians in Qusin harvest olives on their land near illegal Israeli settlements, with mixed results.

Next, a demo in Beit Ommar. The most peaceful one I've seen so far.

In Gaza, the Viva Palestina convoy carrying $5 million in aid & with 150 vans to be donated to Gazans, finally enters through Rafa in Egypt.

Israeli tank fire kills one Palestinian member of a militant resistance brigade.

Gaza suffers water problems.

Israel/Palestine News Fri Oct 22, 2010

The Netanyahu Government has proposed a law that would require new Israeli citizens to swear an oath of citizenship that calls Israel a 'Jewish and democratic' state. Jewish and Arab Israelis demonstrated against this in Tel Aviv last Saturday. At the 2:27 mark, we catch a glimpse of Uri Avnery of Gush Shalom (the man with white hair & beard.)

In Jerusalem,the mayor has decided to not renew the licenses of street vendors, who are mainly Palestinians & Mizrahi Jews.

In the West Bank, settlers dump untreated sewage on a Palestinian farmer's land in Beit Ommar.

Later, the settlers & the IDF prevent Palestinians from bringing new soil to put on their farm land.

In Al Ma'asara, demonstrations have been taking place since Nov. 2006. And the back of the Anarchists t-shirt says 'Don't shoot. I might explode.' (Joke.)

In Bil'in, there is another demo.

The Abdullah they are chanting about is this guy. As Philip Weiss noted on his website, Adib Abu Rahma is the Palestinian Gandhi.

Bil'in has also celebrated an olive festival.

In Nabi Saleh, Israeli undercover cops arrested several people at a peaceful demonstration.

In Gaza, Palestinians risk their lives to break up rubble to sell near the Gaza border. We also visit the biggest coffee plant in the Middle East.

Israel, Palestine, & Atlanta News Fri Oct 15, 2010

The Jewish National Fund, a non-profit organization that buys land for Jews in Israel & plants trees, held this year's national meeting In Atlanta GA. They were met by Palestinian & Jewish demonstrators from the Movement to End Israeli Apartheid-Georgia (MEIAG.)

PM Netanyahu has proposed a law that would force non-Jews applying for citizenship to acknowledge Israel as a Jewish & democratic state. As this report notes, this would mainly apply to people marrying Israeli Arabs.

Cindy & Craig Correy give an update on the civil trial filed against the IDF in Israeli court.

In Sheikh Jarrah, another demo is held against a Palestinian family being thrown out of their home (for some reason, this video spells it 'Sheikh Garah.')

There are demonstrations in Beit Ommar in the West Bank . . ,

. . in An Nabi Salih . . ,

. . and little girls Luma, Lian, Tutu, & Falastine Abu Rahmah demonstrate in Bilin for their father's release from prison. Abdullah Abu Rahmah has been under arrest for over a year.

In Gaza, the relaxation of the siege has caused tunnel operators to lose money & workers.

Fall is the time for harvesting crops in the West Bank, with protection supplied by ISM & Israeli volunteers.

The people in white were Israeli settlers. They smashed the windshield of
the volunteer's SUV with three rocks.

Finally, we have this trailer of a movie about Birthright Israel, part of an IDF program to bring a quarter of a million young Jews to Israel to expose them to the Israeli military viewpoint.

Israel/Palestine News Fri Oct 08, 2010

This video has been making the rounds as an example of IDF humiliation of Palestinians. Richard Silverstein on his blog has identified the participants. The woman is Ihsan Dababseh, who served 22 months in a Israeli jail for being a member of Islamic Jihad. The dancing man is Avi Yakobov, whose last known whereabouts is at a bartenders convention in Berlin. Really.

The next video is about Canada Park, an Israeli national park in the West Bank, built on the sites of the Palestinian villages of Dayr Ayyub, Imwas, Yalo, and Bayt Nuba.

[This video has been removed by the user.]

..

Philip Weiss took the next video on a recent trip to Israel. He & his friend are going to Hebron on a Israeli only highway, & Weiss asks about Palestinians joining kibbutzes.

The Palestine News Network has a story about Oktoberfest in the village of Taybe, where they have a brewery.

From Gaza, we have a video about an archeological dig . .

. . and one on how Israel has started to label Gaza prisoners 'unlawful combatants.'

Al Jazeera shows footage of an Israeli settler running over a Palestinian juvenile. An article by Maan News Agency identifies the driver as settler leader David Be'eri, and states two youths were moderately injured. Israeli police released Be'eri on bail.

Activist Mahmoud Jiddah talks about the settlers trying to take over in East Jerusalem. He is trying to prevent East Jerusalem from suffering the fate of Iqrit, as described in the next video.

Israel/Palestine News Sat Oct 02, 2010

Gareth Porter talks about the the UN Human Rights Commission report on the Mavi Marmara, which he notes showed forensic evidence that American citizen Furkan Dogan was shot at point blank range in the head. Porter also notes that no mainstream media outlet has written a story about this evidence (go Google 'OHCHR Furkan Dogan'.)

In Gaza, they are harvesting Gaza's red date crop. Most of it will rot because of the Israeli siege.

In Ni'ilin, residents continue to demonstrate against the Wall.

Likewise in Bili'in. You may want to turn down the sound for the first 20 seconds; for some reason, there is a very loud & annoying news report being played.
There were Palestinian,Israeli, Japanese, & Irish marchers. Careful with those Irish Republican songs, I think you freaked out the IDF.

In Silwan, the border police take over a house & refuse to let a resident go in to look after an elderly woman.

Israel/Palestine News Fri Sep 24, 2010

Things seem to be heating up, both in the West Bank as Tom J has noted in his diary, and in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan.

A security guard for Jewish settlers in Silwan shot dead 32 year old Samer Sarhan, a father of five. His funeral led to rioting by Palestinians. Daniel Argo talks here about the situation.

You never know what kind of a day you’ve woken up to in this city. Will it be a lazy and serene day, the first day of a vacation that I’ve waited so long for, or a day where the entire city turns into a Kafkaesque story. But perhaps it’s not the city – but the people who live here. So here’s the story: it’s about murder; the police; detainees; missing people; hate; lies and loads of stupidity and folly. In short a typical day in East Jerusalem.

His piece talks about the Jerusalem police taking down a sukkot Israeli demonstrators tried to build outside a seized Palestinian home in Sheikh Jarrah. Here's the video.

In Nabi Saleh, Palestinians continue to resist settlers & the IDF, set to the tune of Eddi Reader's Simple Soul .

In Gaza, Israel has allowed 20 cars to be imported into the besieged territory.

Outside of Hebron, Philip Weiss films new construction in the settlement of Kiryat Arba.

And Viva Palestina, the group led by George Galloway, has started a convoy to Gaza. Egypt has announced it will ban Galloway from entering the country.
For more info, go to the Viva Palestina UK website.

Israel/Palestine News Fri Sep 17, 2010

In Gaza, Palestinians react to three farmers killed by IDF tank fire.

In Bil'in, Palestinians, Israelis & ISM members protested against the Wall, & the continued imprisonment of Abdullah and Adeb Abu-Rahma, Ibrahim Burnat and other political prisoners from Bil'in. The footage at the beginning of the video is of Abdullah Abu-Rahma at his hearing ( I think.)

Next we have the story of Miriam Abu Khalid, a Palestinian who is also black.
Mondoweiss has the back story on this video. Mustafa Staiti, the producer, was supposed to get a US visa along with Ms. Abu Khalid to enter the USA & visit the Lincoln Center in New York. But the US consulate is in East Jerusalem, & Israeli border control denied them a visa to travel there from Jenin.

In Beit Sahour, French musicians are jamming with Palestinians in a project to get young Palestinians more involved with music.

Shir Hever talks about Israel joining the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), & what activists could do about it.

When Settlers Attack Thu Sep 16, 2010

 http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/9591923


The Palestine Center has just published a report called When Settlers Attack.

It is basically an analysis of attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers from Jan. 1 2009 to Aug 30 2010.  It covers over one thousand incidents, taken from daily PLO Negotiation Support Unit reports, reporting Date, Village, Attack Type, Settlements, Casualties & other data.  The report found two-thirds of the settlements were taking part in attacks, & that in 279 incidents the settlement of origin is known.  The reports divides the settlements into Secular, Religious, Orthodox, & Mixed.  It finds that most of the incidents were the settlement was known came from Religious settlements, & the majority of attacks occured in the areas of Hebron & Nablus.
70% of the attacks consist of trespassing, stone throwing, assault, property damage, & arson.  The rest consisted of abduction, harassment, seizures of land/housing, raids, theft, shootings & vehicular assault.  Most attacks take place in Areas B & C, where the IDF & Israeli police provide security.  The settlements where most of the attacks come from (when the settlement is know) are Bat Ayin, Bracha, Halmish, Havat Gilad, Keddumim, Kiryat Arba, & Yitzhar.  Villages near Israeli-only roads are very vulnerable to attacks.  Analyzing the attacks, the reports note they increase when settlers think the Israeli government threatens them or acts against settlements.  There has been an increase of attacks & casualities in recent years.  Finally, the report notes the attacks are consistent & systematic, occurring all over the West Bank, in 280 villages & locations.

The Palestine Center is an independent think-tank committed to communicating reliable
and objective information about the Palestinian political experience to American policy makers, journalists,
students and the general public. Established in 1991, it is the educational program of the Jerusalem Fund for
Education and Community Development.
The Palestine Center brings together people and resources within the American and Palestinian communities
to educate about Palestine and the Palestinian people's ongoing quest for sovereignty on their land, civil and
political rights and an end to Israeli occupation.

Israel/Palestine News Fri Sep 10, 2010

Last week, Pres. Obama & Secretary of State Clinton had the Israelis & Palestinian Authority in Washington for negotiations. They have negotiated a series of talks, the next to occur around Sept. 26 in Ramallah. Al Jazeera's Empire asks three commenters what they think. This is interesting because two Palestinians appear in this broadcast: an ex-negotiator with the PA, & the moderator, an Israeli Palestinian.

In the West Bank, things go on as usual in Bil'in.

In Gaza, Muslims celebrate the end of Ramadan, with Hamas making political hay out of the celebration.

In Lebanon, Sahoul El-Natour of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (a leftist group) discusses the differences between Fatah & Hamas.

We now have footage of the demo in Silwan where 5 Israeli activists were arrested last week.

Israel/Palestine News Sat Sep 04, 2010

The big I/P news is the peace talks in Washington. So far Bibi & Abu Mazen have agreed to talk some more in two weeks. Meanwhile, in Gaza, Gazans protest not being included in the talks.

Gazans also held a fair showing off their locally produced wares.

Israel continues its' policy of shooting at Palestinians who venture into a buffer zone around the Israeli border.

Egypt gets into the act of making life difficult for Gazans by denying Gaza residents the right to exit Rafa to make a pilgrimage to Mecca.

In the West Bank, we have a excerpt from the video Life on Wheels. This tells part of the story of Jody McIntyre, a wheelchair bound protestor who has protested in Gaza & Bil'in. His blog is http://jodymcintyre.wordpress.com .

Next we have a video showing five Israeli activists arrested at Silwan in Jerusalem in court. According to Electronic Intifada

Meanwhile, in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan on 1 September, hundreds of demonstrators, including Palestinian residents of Silwan and Israeli and international activists, confronted attendees of a conference aimed at promoting "archeological" interests in the neighborhood.

An increasing number of Israeli settlers have regularly taken over Palestinian homes in Silwan, under the cover of an Israeli archaeological institution, Elad, which has led the charge to push Palestinians out of the area and re-brand Silwan as the "City of David." Elad was the sponsor of Wednesday's conference in Silwan.
Journalist Joseph Dana reported on his website that Israeli border police and special forces, called Yasam, "were deployed and allowed to use physical violence to prohibit the protesters from getting close to the entrance."

The activists were released without charges.

Finally we have two parts of a four part interview of Omar Barghouti, a human rights activist based in Ramallah. The first part discusses the differences between Fatah & Hamas.

In the second part, Barghouti takes on the issue of antisemitism.

Israel/Palestine News Sat Aug 28, 2010

Israel has twice demolished the West Bank village of Al Farasiya in the Jordan Valley. Under the Oslo Accords, all of the Jordan Valley except for Jericho was designated as Area C or an IDF military zone. According to Wikipedia

Israel initially planned to construct an eastern barrier extension as part of the Israeli West Bank barrier, thus separating the Jordan Valley from the rest of the West Bank. Plans were abandoned following international criticism of the route of the barrier as a whole, and the High Court of Justice's decision of June 2004. Instead, a regime of permits and restrictions on the movement of Palestinians has been instituted in the Jordan Valley. B'tselem, an Israeli human rights group states: "These acts have served as a substitute for the construction of a physical barrier, creating a situation in the Jordan Valley almost identical to that of the 'seam zone' between the Israeli West Bank barrier and the Green Line."[1]

The Oslo Accords were supposed to lead to a two-state solution.

Al Jazeera has a news story about an online game posted by the Israeli human rights group Gisha that illustrates the problem Gaza students have with the Israeli blockade.

In Bil'in, there was another demo against the Wall & in commemoration of Abu Ali Mustafa, the head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He had been admitted by order of the Prime Minister of Israel to the West Bank, and then was assassinated with Apache helicopters in 2001. He was a member of the Palestinian Authority's Executive Committee.

Finally, we have the concluding segment of a six part talk on the BDS by Shir Hever, economist with the Alternative Information Center, a Palestinian-Israeli activist organization.

Israel/Palestine News Sat Aug 21, 2010

Israel has been called an apartheid state. According to journalist Jonathan Cook, there are thirty different laws in Israel that discriminate against non-Jews in Israel. Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard backs away from saying apartheid occurs in Israel proper, but demonstrates it occurs in the occupied West Bank.

In the West Bank itself, local industry among Palestinians is faltering, because of the occupation & Israel's embrace of free trade. The Herbawi Textile factory was founded in Hebron in 1961 to manufacture keffiyehs, the traditional Palestinian scarf worn as head gear.

In Bil'in, another demonstration takes place to protest the Wall. The demonstrators decide to make a comment about the controversy over IDF soldier Eden Aberjil's Facebook postings.

The Palestine News Network has a story on how Israel is taking down a wall on one side of a road only for settler use.

In Sheik Jarrah, Israeli protesters once again 'out' Doron Zahavi, the Arab affairs police adviser, as being a Shin Bet interrogator who tortured a kidnapped Lebanese militia leader. 
[This video has been removed, probably because the user is Israeli & outing someone who served in the Shin Bet is proscribed by law in Israel.]

Anyone who speaks Hebrew, can you tell us in the comments what they are saying? Thanks.
Another flotilla is almost upon us.  

TRIPOLI: A Lebanese ship carrying aid and women activists hoping to break Israel’s Gaza blockade will set sail Sunday from Lebanon despite warnings that they will not be allowed to make it past Cyprus, organizers said Thursday.
The ship cannot travel directly to Gaza from Lebanon because Beirut is still technically at war with Israel, forcing the vessel to pass through a third country – in this case, Cyprus – before heading for the blockaded Palestinian territory.
But on Thursday, the Cypriot ambassador to Lebanon told the Associated Press that the boat, the Mariam, will be turned back when it reaches Cyprus.

Maybe they could find another port.  Maybe in Northern Cyprus?  The Turkish part?

'Internet Killed Israeli PR'-- I/P News Fri Aug 13, 2010

We start off with a satire video from Minor Demographic Threat. WARNING: this video ends with Glen Beck (for all those allergic to Glen Beck.)

The part of the video showing someone who looks like Bin Laden snorting cocaine is based on the allegations that Al Qaeda, Hamas, & Hezbollah are involved in drug smuggling to fund terrorism. Of course, Hamas just this week burned confiscated alcohol & drugs because it's un-Islamic. Christ, what a bunch of repressed a-holes. And yes, after Glen, you are rickrolled by . . Rick Astley.

The next video is about the Bedouin village of Al Araqib in the Negev, Israel. Israel is demolishing the village so the site can become a national forest.

Next, we have a video split between demos in Ni'ilin & An Nabi Salih from last Friday.

Next, we have today's demo in Bilin.
From the YouTube page:

The Bil'in Popular Committee Against the Wall yet again led the weekly civilian demonstration against the apartheid wall, after local Palestinians prayed Jummah on the first Friday of Ramadan. Fifty international supporters along with Israeli activists joined non-violent Palestinian demonstrators to protest the Israeli occupation. Together, they marched with Palestinian flags and posters of political prisoners from the village, many arrested through night raids. These prisoners have mostly been arrested for the sole "crime" of being active organizers in the non-violent popular struggle.

As the demonstrators marched towards the apartheid fence, they chanted phrases to stop the construction of the wall that is annexing land from Bi'iln in order for Israel to build illegal settlements. When the demonstrators reached the apartheid fence, large numbers of Israeli soldiers were waiting armed with weapon and riot gear. After protestors and the Israeli army met face to face, the soldiers began shooting tear gas and sound bombs into the crowd. They continued to shoot tear gas up on the hill where spectators thought they were in safe range. Eventually, the IDF ran into part of the crowd and began shooting rubber coated steel bullets. One Israeli woman was hit by a tear gas canister in her leg. Dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation as soldiers attempted to arrest demonstrators. However, nobody was arrested. The demonstration lasted about two hours, and huge success considering multiple protestors were fasting for Ramadan.

The guy in the black tee lecturing the IDF is with Anarchists Against the Wall. I wonder who the guy in the motorized wheel chair is?
Update:Heathlander (Daily Kos poster & commenter) tells me below (In diary's comments) he is Jody McIntyre.

Palestine News Sat Aug 07, 2010

We have several stories: a movie theater opens in Jenin; the UN organizes the largest kite flying event in Gaza; Hamas organizes a 450 couple wedding; Shir Hever, an economist, talks more about the BDS campaign in three videos; and UK & US rappers go to a demo in Bil'in.
Marcus Vetter certainly speaks English better than I can speak German. Doesn't Bianca Jagger look good? Now, residents in Jenin will have a place to take their dates to and make out.

Next, Gaza school kids take part in an attempt to fly thousands of kites at once in Gaza in another program organized by the UH Relief Agency. This follows the mass basket ball dribbling that took place earlier in the week.

Hamas, the ruling party in Gaza, also has organized mass events. In this case, a wedding for 450 couples.

These next videos are a continuation of a discussion by Shir Hever of the BDS (Boycot,Divestment,Sanctions) movement & the history surrounding it. This video talks about the Arab boycott against Israel during the 60s & 70s.

The next video talks about the boycott against Israel compared to the boycott against South Africa.

His final talk discusses whether a boycott against Israel will hurt the Palestinians and Arab Israelis. Shir Hever concludes BDS will effect the Israeli elite first, & will be very effective due to Israel's export economy.

Next is the July 30 demo in Bil'in.

What is interesting about the demo is that there were rappers attending. Googling this event, it looks like the rappers were both the UK Lowkey & the US Lowkey..
Word.

Israel/Palestine News Sat Jul 17, 2010

First we will have flotilla news. The Libyan aid ship at the last minute went to the Egyptian port of al-Arish instead of the Port of Gaza. Wimps.
However, Juan Cole reports at his website that the Qadhafi Foundation has claimed to have gotten several concessions from Israel, such as expediting travel abroad for sick Palestinians from Gaza, & allowing reconstruction projects in Gaza. Israel's record of making promises it doesn't keep makes this assertion dubious.

Next we have two videos from Shir Hever, an economics researcher from the Alternative Information Center, an Israeli/Palestinian organization based in Jerusalem.

Shir Hever in these videos asserts it is an unwritten policy of Israel to suppress & destroy all attempts by Palestinians to be be economically viable in Israel & the occupied territories. The Gaza siege is just the latest example of this. As he notes, all economic aid given to the Palestinian Authority has been countered by blockades & even shelling by the IDF.

In Ni'ilin, there was another demo against the Wall. This one seemed half-hearted.

In Sheikh Jarrad, there was another spirited Friday demo.

In Silwan, Palestinians are facing the same attempts to drive them out. In these next 2 videos, Amiel Vardi, a Latin scholar from Hebrew University, gives a group of activists a tour of Silwan. (Jonathan Pollard is what Jewish settlers have named a house they occupy.)

This next video is of a demo held outside the house of Jerusalem's mayor, Nir Barkat.

The demo was of July 4, before Netanyahu returned from Washington. Once he returned, this happened.

EATEN, Israel, Palestine, & Flotilla news Thu Jul 01, 2010

In honor of the holiday weekend . . .
(WARNING: Graphic violence)
The story is based on a recurring nightmare Netanyahu has.

Israel is deporting four members of the Palestinian parliament from Jerusalem after they have served jail terms in Israeli military prisons. They were arrested & sentenced for taking part in the Hamas led government after free & fair elections. The parliamentarians are appealing to the Israeli Supreme Court, & are calling for protests of their expulsions.

Villagers in An Nabi Salih protest again against the occupation & seizure of their land Friday.

Villagers in An Nabi Salih protest again against the occupation & seizure of their land Friday.

Early morning on Wednesday June 30, IDF soldiers raided Bil'in again, looking for the activist Yasir Maher Yasseen. The villager who looks Irish is harassed by IDF soldiers who look Arab. Later, when another guy comes down from the roof where he was hiding, talks a bit, then leaves, I think the villager then states he was there because he was drunk!!

Omar Barghouti talks about the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement. He focuses on Ireland, since he is talking with someone from the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Coalition. He also notes how the attack on the Mavi Marmara has pumped up the BDS movement worldwide.

Speaking of the Freedom Flotilla, here is raw footage from the Mavi Marmara from Iara Lee & Cultures of Resistance.Org. Here is the IHH report on the attack on the Flotilla.
http://www.docstoc.com/...

Palestine, Israel, & NC news Fri Jun 25, 2010

These first three videos are about the Gaza Blockade. Gazans say the eased blockade is still hard on them, since it doesn't relieve the 85% unemployment or rebuild their homes.

An example of the effects of the siege is the situation at Shifa Hospital, where modern medical equipment can't be used because of lack of replacement parts. A warehouse in Ramallah is full of equipment & parts for the hospital, stymied by Israel's blockade. Since the siege has been eased, someone should throw all this stuff on a truck & take it to Gaza where it is needed.

Israel is shooting at farmers in Gaza when they 'violate' the buffer zone by working their farmland. To solve this, Israel sends in tanks & bulldozers to destroy farm buildings & crops. Palestinian political parties in Gaza have joined in demonstrations against Israel's buffer zones & incursions.

In the West Bank, demos continue against the Wall. Both in Ni'ilin . .

Beit Jala 20 June 2010

. . and in Beit Jala.

In East Jerusalem, Israelis(both Jews & Arabs)& Internationals held a demonstration against home evictions in Sheikh Jerrah. Irish singer Tommy Sundance was at this demo, singing several songs for the crowd.

Another Irishman, Tommy Donnellan, from the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, protested outside the Kimberley Process Conference in Tel Aviv against Israeli polished diamonds. He claims the diamonds are 30% of Israel's manufactured exports & help fund the Occupation. Police in Tel Aviv questioned him & took down his phone number & passport number.
But doesn't he want to live in Eshkol Heights?

According to Mondoweiss, Holyland Properties of Brooklyn is try to sell these condos in East Jerusalem at an Aliya Expo in NYC. Check out the article.
Thanks to Eiron ( a poster at Daily Kos), here's an Ynet story about corruption & Holyland Properties.

Finally, the Jews for a Just Peace-North Carolina chapter decided they didn't like Israel's propaganda, so they put up a fake house demolition outside of the local civic center.

Palestine News Sun Jun 20, 2010

A story from Al Jazeera about the Gaza blockade. The most interesting part of the video in my opinion is seeing the Hamas spokesperson in front of a grove. I always pictured Gaza as being sand dunes.

The Nassar family farm is sandwiched between two settlement blocs In the West Bank between Bethlehem & Hebron. To oppose pressure from Israel to sell the farm, they have started a youth center called Tent of Nations, where they welcome Israeli & foreigners, and talk about peace & co-existence. Plus, don't take our farm. The have spent lots of shekels (Israeli currency) on their legal case, which is before the Supreme Court.

Activists (Palestinian, Israeli & Internationals) try to stop the construction of the Wall near Beit Jala. No stone throwing. IDF only uses teargas once. Lots of pushing activists by IDF. The Wall, when completed, will cut off Beit Jala from olive groves, a recreational forest, & the Cremisan monastery & winery.

Dahmash is a Palestinian village in Israel near Tel Aviv. Except the Israel government doesn't recognize it. So, no sewer lines, no garbage pick-up, no mail delivery, no schools. The father from one of the houses asks, This is a democracy? Thirteen homes have received demolition notices. They held a demonstration against house demolitions last Sunday with Israeli activists & residents from Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem.

Finally, here is a link to Uri Avnery's most recent column. He is an activist with Gush Shalom.

Flotilla News Hotlist Fri Jun 18, 2010

We'll start off with several eyewitness accounts of the events on the Mavi Marmara.  The first is from Farooq Burney, the director of Fakhoora.org, an organization dedicated to helping Gaza students.
[Video deleted because user closed his account.]
Next, is the two part testimony of Lubna Masarwa, a Palestinian member of the Free Gaza Movement.

Masarwa is an Israeli Arab, who speaks English, Arabic, & Hebrew. According to her account, she is the woman I heard on the livefeed from the Mavi Marmara shouting in English "We have many wounded! We need medical help!" After the flotilla reached Ashdod, she was singled out for harsher treatment because she was an Israeli Arab. She was released when Turkey demanded all flotilla members be released from prison, but she still is under house arrest in Kfor Qara & can't leave Israel for 45 days.
Next, we have this video of members of the New York City US congressional delegation holding a rally supporting Israel's handling of the flotilla.

Dude, let me give you some advice. You can either film an event, or heckle its' speakers. You can't do both. Otherwise, you get a crappy video.
Finally, there is going to be a another flotilla to Gaza in July. This one will be two Jewish boats going to Gaza, sponsored by the German group Jüdische Stimme (Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Near East)along with Jews for Justice for Palestinians (UK). Go here if you want to help sponsor the boats and/or sign a petition to Pres. Obama to ensure safe passage.

Palestine- & Austin TX-News Sun Jun 13, 2010

The Austin TX news is this interesting video posted by woman who was visited by the FBI for her pro-Palestinian activism. 
{This video taken down by user.}
The woman in the video remains anonymous.  The two agents from the Joint Terrorism Task Force (the woman appears to be a US Marshal) take her whipping out a video recorder in stride.  Then they ask her their main question:  "Do you know of any acts of violence being planned?"  She sensibly takes the Fifth ('Talking's thirsty work, agent. Why don't you go to the liquor store & buy a fifth of something?'  No, she invokes the Fifth Amendment.) This whole episode raises many questions.  Should they now go to their informant/complainant & prepare them for a grand jury questioning on the charge of wasting gov't resources?  Who can get the JTTF to go question someone?  Someone off the street, or would it have to be someone in federal, state, or local government?  Lloyd Doggett, a liberal Democrat, is the congressman for Austin.  The woman should ask him to look into this.
Next, to Palestine.

A kind of feel-good story from the Palestine News Service. Ah, the indomitable human spirit! And please note the artist is a Christian, as signified by his art. He lives in Bethlehem, selling his wares to Christian tourists.

Fadi Al-Khatib, a 13 year old Palestinian boy, was arrested/kidnapped by the IDF last Friday in Bil'in, after he took part in the weekly demo & then returned to work in his family's olive grove near the Wall. He discribes his experiences in a military jail.

Another demo in Nabi Saleh. The man on the ground got hit in the head with a rifle butt. The man in the black shirt being arrested is Eyal Nir, an Israeli & member of Anarchists Against the Wall. Two other demonstrators were also arrested. The demo was because 8 houses in the village were served demolition orders.

Flotilla, Israel, & Palestine News Tue Jun 08, 2010

Ken O'Keefe, a former US marine, was on the Mavi Marmara, then was deported to Turkey by the Israelis.
On Juan Cole's website, he claims he disarmed two Israeli commandos & then saved them from some of the other passengers. For this, he was apparently beaten savagely before his deportation (see link above for video showing his bloodied arrival in Turkey.) He is apparently tri-national-- he is an American, has an Irish passport, along with a Palestinian one the Israelis confiscated.

Another person on the Mavi Marmara was Knesset member Hanin Zoabi. She gave a speech in the Knesset about her experiences. Boy, were they glad to hear from her. The Speaker has his work cut out for him, trying to keep order. I have to give this a 5 for the sheer spectacle, though this isn't as fun as a Taiwan parliamentary brawl. A Facebook site in Israel is openly calling for MK Zoabi to be assassinated.

Hanin Zoabi was also at this demo in New Beit Nuba Friday. One thousand Palestinians & 150 Israelis marched to the Apartheid Wall to protest the destruction of the Arab villages of Yalu, Amuas and Beit Nuba, & to demand Road 443 be open to Palestinians. By the flags, lots of the Israelis are from the communist Hadash party. There is a lone flag representing the Anarchists. The march gets to the Wall (two sets of barb-wire fence) & ends in a round of teargas and stone-throwing.

This last video shows the IDF supervising the bulldozing of 600 year old olive trees in Al-Walaja, to make way for the Wall. When finished, the Wall will surround the village on all sides.

Israel/Palestine Demos Sat Jun 05, 2010

his is a demo in Beersheba Israel at the prison the Gaza flotilla activists were held at.
There is no info listed with this video on who the participants are. I assume the lady walking from the bus is with Gush Shalom, since they had said in e-mails they would hold a demo for the Gaza flotilla activists. There are many Arab activists at the demo. I think they are Israeli Arabs with Israeli IDs. Of course, all the foreign Gaza flotilla activists have been deported. The blogger Lawrence of Cyberia has a very good post on who the dead Turks were.

This is another demo in solidarity with the Gaza flotilla, in the West Bank Town of Bethlehem. It was apparently organized by the local Palestinians, with Israeli & ISM activists joining in. And Miss! Remember Mad dogs & Englishmen! If you're going out into the hot noonday sun, get a hat! That goes double for blonds.
As you may have heard, Rachel Corey has been boarded & taken over by the IDF. Which isn't the end of it. According to Mondoweiss, Israel is now going to face the Jewish Boat. Shalom, Bibi.

This is a weekly demo in Wad Rahhal in the West Bank. They are protesting the seizure of the Gaza flotilla, along with the Apartheid Wall that is cutting off villagers land. Hmmm. There's something about this video . . . I can't quite put my finger on it, but something's off.
OMG. There's no violance. No rock throwing by the Palestinians, no firing of tear gas & rubber bullets by the IDF. Don't that beat all.This is a weekly demo in Wad Rahhal in the West Bank. They are protesting the seizure of the Gaza flotilla, along with the Apartheid Wall that is cutting off villagers land. Hmmm. There's something about this video . . . I can't quite put my finger on it, but something's off.
OMG. There's no violance. No rock throwing by the Palestinians, no firing of tear gas & rubber bullets by the IDF. Don't that beat all.

Gaza Flotilla Sun May 30, 2010

The Gaza Flotilla is now on its' way to the Gaza City port in Gaza, with Israel still threatening to stop the eight ship flotilla trying to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
What has happened so far is an interesting story. A cargo ship from Ireland, rechristened the Rachel Corrie, is among the ships carrying 10,000 tons of aid to Gaza. A Turkish human rights organization has chartered a passenger ship to carry over 800 activists, including 40 politicians from the European Union. Two of the ships, the Challenger I & Challenger II, developed unexplained mechanical troubles off Cyprus. Cyprus, an EU member, denied them the right to enter a port on the island & make repairs to their boats. But they then went to North Cyprus, & made repairs in port
(To digress, Cyprus the EU member, is the Greek part of the island. North Cyprus is Turkish, and a separate republic that is only recognized by Turkey. I get the idea the reception the flotilla got is more due to the fact that there is a strong Turkish component to it than any pressure from Israel.) The two ships have now rejoined the flotilla, which is on its way to Gaza. Kossacks can track the flotilla here and here.

Meanwhile, in the West Bank . . .

. . and East Jerusalem, life goes on as usual.

Bil'in Night Raid, and Nabi Saleh Protest & Tour Sun May 23, 2010

The first ten seconds of this video is NSFW. The IDF throw a flash grenade near the cameraman, and he curses & yells at them.
Apparently this video is filmed with night vision. The soldiers take turns shining lights into the camera. to obscure their actions. The raid was an attempt to arrest Khasan Abu Rahmah and Yasser Maher, members of the non-violent protest movement. The IDF targeted activist Ashrah Abu Rahmah for arrest in a raid on May 11, but have not caught him. Abdallah Abu Rahmah, a well-known grassroots organizer of the protests, was arrested in December 2009 & is still in a military jail.

This is filmed by two camera crews (otherwise, this is the fleetest foot cameraman EVER.) An IDF soldier (officer?) starts to question the Irish accented cameraman about his press card, but the cameraman insists he's there as a human rights monitor. Apparently, this is settled before the protest gets to the soldiers lined up in the road, & the stones & tear gas start flying.

A tour of the village of Nabi Saleh, starting off on top of the building that houses the shrine.

The residents of Nabi Salih identify a blue-color-domed building complex with the shrine of the prophet Salih (Biblical Shelah). It was built in the 19th century during Ottoman rule. It was situated on the remains of a Crusader structure, which was presumably built atop the ruins of a Byzantine-era church. The remains of the Crusader-Byzantine structure, include apses of a three-isle chapel located behind the shrine complex.[1]

In 2003, under the supervision of architect Yara al-Sharif, the complex was restored. It cost $63,000, primarily funded by Sweden. The praying hall and tomb room are owned by the Islamic waqf authority, but is rented by the Nabi Salih Cultural Centre. Currently, the complex is composed of three floors (including an underground floor) containing the tomb, a large praying room, an olive press, a water well, a classroom, a multipurpose hall, a double-vaulted lecture room, a courtyard and two front and back terraces. All entrances are semi-circular pointed arches. The An Nabi Salih Cultural Centre serves as the most important structure in the village.[1]

What is important is how Murad Tamimi points out how the settlers have taken over the spring that the villagers use to water their land, & how the IDF has burned all crops on the land they plan to seize, so they can deny it was farmland.

Palestine Demonstrations Sun May 16, 2010

hat tip to Mondoweiss for posting this video.

This diary will present several demos that happened in the West Bank & East Jerusalem in the last week or so. The first is the demo at Nabi Saleh, a small village near Ramallah where they are protesting Settlers setting up an outpost on Palestinian farmland and the up rooting of hundreds of olive trees. The protests have turned very violent, with Israeli soldiers shooting tear gas canisters directly at demonstrators.
(To digress, the first time I saw the IDFs headgear, I exclaimed 'I'm a WILD and CRAZY GUY!' But I guess those puffy beret helmet covers work at cooling the helmets. I also impressed with the Palestinians using slings. Hey, I have trouble with Whamo rubber slingshots, much less the old biblical type slings.) I also noted the part halfway thru, where the soldiers are by the dumpster & stones start coming at them, & one soldier runs forward & aims his M16 at the throwers. Apparently he was going to shoot, but his friends sharply tell him to cool it. The beginning of the film shows border police arresting an Israeli woman from an anarchist group, & kicking her several times.

The above video is of the May 3 demo at Bil'in. As opposed to Nabi Saleh, the protests at Bil'in have been non-violent & innovative. After an Israeli telcom broadcast an ad about Palestians & Israelis playing soccer, Bil'in protestors showed up with a soccer ball & kicked it over the wall, just as in the ad. After Avatar came out, protestors came out painted blue like the natives in the movie. But there still is violence.

Jonathan Pollak of Anarchists Against the Wall, a regular at the protests, has been injured several times. [12] On April 3, 2005, Pollak was shot in the head with a teargas canister causing internal brain hemorrhages and a wound requiring 23 stitches[13]In June 2005 an Israeli soldier lost an eye after being hit by a rock thrown by a demonstrator.[10]...
In August 2006 an Israeli lawyer, Limor Goldstein, was shot twice with rubber-coated bullets, sustaining serious injuries. [15]Mairead Corrigan, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for her work on the Northern Ireland dispute, was hit in the leg by a rubber-coated bullet and reportedly inhaled large quantities of teargas during a demonstration in April 2007.[16]In June 2008, European Parliament vice-president Luisa Morgantini and Julio Toscano, an Italian judge, were injured in Bil'in.[17]In April 2009, Bil'in resident Bassem Ibrahim Abu-Rahma died after a tear gas canister hit his chest.[18]