There’s no fundamental shift in US policy, but Kerry’s remarks suggest that the US is opposed to Israel as a Jewish state as part of a two-state solution, says Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies
Friday, December 30, 2016
Israel/Palestine News
Since Sept. some 220 Palestinians (incl. about 100 minors) have been forced to leave their homes in the Jordan Valley on multiple occasions to make way for military training. Families from Ibziq, Khirbet Humsah and Khirbet a-Ras al-Ahmar have had to spend hours on end, or even all night, far from home and exposed to the elements. The frequency of these displacements completely disrupts residents’ lives and threatens the very existence of these communities. As an occupying power, Israel cannot use the land for routine military purposes, harm the livelihood of protected persons on this pretext, or attempt to expel the residents.
Friday, December 23, 2016
On 24-25 Nov. 2016, the military took over the homes of two Palestinian families in Hebron. The soldiers used the bathrooms, the kitchens, and in one home also the bedroom of 17-year-old Warud Da’na. She began videotaping the soldiers’ conduct, but they would not allow her to continue. As Da’na told B’Tselem: “It was hard to watch them walking over the carpets in my room with their shoes and sitting on my bed after moving the dolls. I asked my father to tell them to leave, but he said he couldn’t.” Warud and her brother slept over at their grandfather’s, and returned the next morning. She said: “It was very obvious that the soldiers had slept in my bed. The thought of them sleeping in my bed and in my room really bothers me.”
Friday, December 16, 2016
Israel/Palestine News
David Friedman's extreme views are reflected in his use of a term for Jewish collaborators in the Nazi death camps to describe a pro-peace Israeli organization in support of a two-state solution, says political economist Shir Hever.
On Reality Asserts Itself, Miko Peled tells Paul jay that his father, a famous Israeli General, was ostracized for saying it was necessary to negotiate with the PLO and respect Palestinian self-determination; but he never gave up his belief that the expulsion of 1948 and creation of a Jewish state was justified. He fulfilled a childhood dream and became a member of the IDF Special Forces; then he came to realize that everything he'd believed in was a lie. He's come to understand that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands began in 1948 and he broke with the liberal zionist belief in the "secularization of the bible" and the mission of a Jewish state; he says BDS is an effective strategy that should be supported
This video unravels Israel’s colonial policies and practices in occupied East Jerusalem, which aim to reduce the Palestinian presence in the city. At present, there are around 200,000 Israeli settlers and 300,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem. These include some 100,000 Palestinians who have already been isolated by the wall. On the other hand, if the wall is completed by Israel, some 100,00 additional Israeli settlers would be placed on the east Jerusalem side of the wall.
Produced by: PLO-NAD
© http://www.nad.ps
Twitter: @nadplo
Animation Studio: masna' al-rusum al-mutaharrikah مصنع الرسوم المتØركة
Page on Facebook: http://bit.ly/1se4llq
Saturday, December 10, 2016
Palestinians have lived in the camps around Lebanon since the Nakba in 1948 when they were forcibly ejected from their homeland by Israel. Most of these Palestinians have never set foot in Palestine and are prevented from doing so by Israel. Only the oldest have any memory of their homeland. Most were born in poverty in Lebanon and remain there. This video interviews Palestinians of various ages in Bourj El Barajneh camp in Beirut, Lebanon to see how they keep the memory of their homeland alive. What ‘reminds’ them of Palestine, what is their collective cultural memory, and how do they keep these memories alive for the younger generation in a camp where only 1% or less have actually lived in Palestine?
Video by Celia Peterson
Surfing enthusiasts in Gaza hope to meet other surfers from around the world and participate in global competitions, but Israeli travel restrictions prevent them from leaving the besieged strip. Israel also bans the fiberglass material needed for surfboards, which makes the sport difficult.
Video by Mohammed Asad
This film addresses the process of arrest, interrogation, and the policy of house arrest and their effects on children. The film provides accounts of children who were arrested in order to highlight a larger policy of persecution and targeting of Palestinian children in Jerusalem.
This film was produced for Addameer Prisoner Support by Odeh Film.
Friday, December 2, 2016
Under a quarter of American Jews voted for Donald Trump, yet the Republican candidate received 49% of the Israeli-American vote. On Tuesday, November 22 Mondoweiss reporters asked Israelis in West Jerusalem what they thought about the election of Donald Trump and found overwhelming support for the incoming U.S. president. "In this difficult time all over the world, it's time for strong leaders," says one Trump admirer.
Friday, November 25, 2016
Friday, November 18, 2016
Friday, November 11, 2016
Israel/Palestine News
The right sees it as carte blanche for its political activities while the left sees it as potentially leading to less U.S. support for the occupation, says political economist Shir Hever
On 2 November 2016, soldiers entered the village of Zabubah, in the northern West Bank, in pursuit of children who had thrown rocks at the separation barrier. The soldiers entered the center of the village and ran toward a group of children who had gathered there. The children dispersed, but one of them, an 11-year-old, froze. A security camera installed in the area captured the incident on video.
Friday, November 4, 2016
Addameer is pleased to announce the launch of a new film that tackles
the issue of administrative detention as a policy used by the Israeli
government to hold Palestinians indefinitely on secret information
without charge or trial. The film specifically focuses on the
psychological effects of administrative detention on detainees and their
families.
We need your support
Donate: https://www.generosity.com/community-... or via PayPal: http://alternativenews.org/index.php/...
For
over 30 years the AIC has been at the forefront of bringing together
Palestinian, Israeli and international activists to resist apartheid and
occupation.
While local and international leaders are unable to
sustain initiatives in this post-Oslo accords period, the AIC works to
break this stalemate by bringing Palestinians and Israelis together to
create new ideas and actions for real change on the ground.
The
nature of Israel's colonial occupation means that the joint
Palestinian-Israeli work of the AIC is a necessity, not a choice.
Friday, October 28, 2016
Friday, October 21, 2016
http://democracynow.org
- A flotilla bound for Gaza carrying food, medicine and other
humanitarian aid was intercepted and seized last week by the Israeli
Navy. The Women’s Boat to Gaza had set sail from the Spanish port city
of Barcelona in mid-September in efforts to break the ongoing Israeli
blockade. Organizers say the Israeli military seized the boat and
detained the 13 human rights activists aboard in international waters
about 40 miles away from Gaza’s shore. The Israeli military towed the
boat to the Israeli port of Ashdod and detained the women for up to four
days before deporting them. We speak to passenger Ann Wright, retired
Army colonel and former U.S. diplomat. Her recent article is titled
"Women’s Boat to Gaza Participants See the Israeli Imposed Perpetual
Darkness on Gaza." Wright spent 29 years in the military and later
served as a high-ranking diplomat in the State Department.
Friday, October 14, 2016
Israel/Palestine News
On 9 Oct. 2016, Civil Administration and military forces arrived at the
community of a-Ras al-Ahmar which lies east of the Palestinian town of
Tammun, in the northern Jordan Valley. The forces destroyed 10 dwellings
and 17 livestock pens and left 24 people, including five minors,
homeless. These demolitions are part of a massive campaign launched by
the Israeli authorities in early 2016. From January through 6 April
2016, the authorities demolished 128 dwellings and 138 other structures
in vulnerable Palestinian communities. These demolitions have rendered
homeless 510 people, including 275 minors.
A Palestinian in Jerusalem is killed after taking part in a drive by shooting killing two. Richard Silverstein says he was a Shabak informant who turned against his handlers.
Friday, October 7, 2016
Today’s top stories are;
The Palestinian government decides to
postpose the local election in the Palestinian territories until further
notice, a day after a Palestinian Supreme Court ruling excluded the
Hamas-run Gaza Strip from the vote.
Jordan is facing growing protests across the Kingdom against a 10-billion-dollar gas deal signed with Israel.
The
United States suspends efforts to reach an understanding with Russia on
implementing a ceasefire in Syria, accusing Moscow of not living up to
its commitments under a previous agreement.
Friday, September 30, 2016
Israel/Palestine News
The former Israeli president and prime minister has been remembered as a
peacemaker, but his biography tells a different story, says Michel
Warschawski.
In early June, during the month of Ramadan, the Israeli water company,
Mekorot, cut back water supply to several Palestinian communities in the
northern West Bank, including the village of Salem, which is located
east of Nablus and has a population of about 5,000. These communities
suffered from an acute water shortage throughout the summer, and
continue to suffer from it today. Israel has exclusive control over the
supply of water to the entire West Bank, and the amount of water it
supplies to Palestinians falls short of the minimum recommended by the
World Health Organization, and far short of the amount supplied to
Israelis. In this video, Rand ‘Awad, 43, married mother of three, speaks
about living with a water shortage and the many difficulties caused by
the recent cutback.
Kh. Humsah is one of dozens of small shepherding and farming communities
scattered throughout the Jordan Valley. It is comprised of about 20
families and located northeast of the Hamra checkpoint. Like other
communities in the Jordan Valley and throughout Area C, Kh. Humsah is
not recognized by the Israeli authorities, which repeatedly demolish
homes, prevent the community from connecting to the water network and
work toward expelling its residents. Community residents must subsist in
the extreme heat of the Jordan Valley, making a meager living off
farming and shepherding, while facing a constant water shortage. Dina
and Abdallah Abu Kabash, parents of four and residents of Kh. Humsah
speak about the difficulties of living with a water shortage, and
constant harassment from the Israeli authorities.
In early June, during the month of Ramadan, the Israeli water company,
Mekorot, cut back water supply to several Palestinian communities in the
northern West Bank, including the town of Salfit, which has a
population of about 15,000. These communities suffered from an acute
water shortage throughout the summer, and continue to suffer from it
today. Israel has exclusive control over the supply of water to the
entire West Bank, and the amount of water it supplies to Palestinians
falls short of the minimum recommended by the World Health Organization,
and far short of the amount supplied to Israelis. In this video, Jamal
Shahin, from Salfit, speaks about the severe damage the sudden water
cutback caused his cow farm and dairy factory.
Friday, September 23, 2016
In recent months, Israel has stepped up its targeting of Palestinian
human rights defenders. One of those targets is Issa Amro, known for his
engagement in non-violent activism and civil disobedience. Amnesty
International has condemned these attacks, claiming that Issa and others
have been "arrested solely for exercising their rights to freedom of
expression."
Issa: "In our occupied city, we don't have any basic
rights...everyone is a target, every one single stone and tree here is a
target for the Israeli occupation."
On 16 August 2016, a sniper seriously wounded Muhammad al-‘Amsi, while
he was standing on the roof of his home during the military raid on
al-Fawwar RC in mid-August. The sniper fired four Two-Two bullets at
al-‘Amsi, immediately after shouting to him, “Where do you want it”?.
Al-‘Amsi was posing no threat to anyone at the time. A photographer with
Palestinian news agency Ma’an, who was standing on a nearby roof,
caught part of the incident on video. Al-'Amsi was taken to al-Ahali
hospital in Hebron for initial treatment, and transferred to the
Ramallah Medical Center due to the severity of his injuries. He
underwent surgery on both legs and remained in hospital for ten days.
The video was edited and released by Ma’an, and B’Tselem has no access
to the raw material.
Ingrid Jaradat, a lobbyist and expert on Jerusalem affairs discusses
with alternativenews.org Israeli politics on Jerusalem and the problem
of a lack of specific solidarity strategies regarding the city.
Jaradat,
who is a former director of Badil, a civil society organization working
on Palestinian residency rights, states that it is not enough to speack
about occupation and settlements in general because “in the wider
public perception Jerusalem has a separate agenda.”
Speaking
about the Palestinian population in Jerusalem Jaradat says that its
daily concern is about protecting its existence as East Jerusalem is
transformed by the occupation and lose it Arab characteristics. The
Palestinian population is confined to live in enclaves.
Jaradat
also speaks with alternativenews.org about Palestinian resistance. “The
main form of resistance is the routine, a silent attempt to stay in
Jerusalem,” she says as she called for solidarity activities relevant
to Jerusalem and the lives of its Palestinain residents.
“We don’t lack oportunities and targets in Jerusalem,” she concludes.
Friday, September 16, 2016
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Palestinian Authority of seeking to ethnically cleanse the West Bank.
Palestinian and human rights organizations document Israel's ongoing displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
From January to April 2016 Israeli authorities demolished 598 Palestinian structures in the West Bank and displaced 858 people.
In 2015, Israeli authorities demolished 548 Palestinian structures and displaced 787 people.
According
to OCHA, the vast majority of demolitions took place in small
agricultural communities in Area C that are especially vulnerable to
forcible transfer.
Friday, September 9, 2016
Yossi Melman reports on the Knesset meeting in Maariv. Key points translated by Ofer Neiman:
Defamation, harassment and threats - the risk in "special operations" against BDS
Israel
is formulating a policy for fighting the boycott movement via the
Ministry of Strategic Affairs. According to concerned officials in the
Ministry of Justice, in view of past experience, it would be better not
to get dragged into adventurous operations.
Netanyahu's statement
that BDS has been defeated was an embarrassment to Minister Gilad Erdan,
whose Ministry of Strategic Affairs is now based on fighting BDS, with a
new staff and a large budget. If Netanyahu is right, the Ministry is
not needed.
In Israel, whose military language, imagery world and
culture pervade all walks of civil society, Erdan's ministry prepares to
face the boycott challenge as if it were a military threat. Sima Vaknin
Gil, the director of the ministry, wants to establish a "community of
combatants".
Iran - out, BDS - in
Gilad Erdan has decided to
focus on BDS because the agreement with Iran is a done deal, and for now
Mossad can only collect data on possible Iranian violations.
Sima
Vaknin Gil told MK Stav Shafir at the Knesset Transparency Committee:
"We want most of the ministry's work to be classified. There are many
sensitivities, and I can't even explain in an open forum why there are
such sensitivities... A major part of what we do stays under the radar".
A scale of efforts
The ministry is divided into three sections: intelligence, awareness (media) and operations.
25
workers have been hired, whose names are classified. The intelligence
section is run by a former investigator/researcher for the "Security
System". The Ministry is assisted by a special unit in the IDF's
intelligence section, and Shabak assists as well.
The Ministry of
Strategic Affairs, via the Ministry of Tourism and Jewish and non-Jewish
groups abroad, has started to fund visits of "public opinion shapers":
journalists, bloggers, film actors, trade union leaders etc. The costs
are high.
At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is
attempting to convince governments to ban boycotts of Israel. A senior
Ministry official says the Boycott Law from 2010, which requires the
plaintiff to prove they have incurred financial damage due to a boycott
call is merely a "defiant" law, and should be replaced by an "efficient"
one.
The Ministry also initiates "pressure" actions to convince
international companies not to boycott Israel. This involves the use of
AIPAC and Hillel in the US, or similar groups in other countries.
The
problem may arise when the operations section, as hinted by Erdan at
the YNET conference on BDS this year, will try to carry out, directly or
indirectly, attack "special ops", which may also be called "black ops".
These may have the form of defamation campaigns, harassment and threats
to the lives of activists in "the boycott movement and
de-legitimization" groups, infringing on, and violating, their privacy
etc.
Last March BDS accused Israeli intelligence of responsibility
for cyber attacks against its website. At the same time, an anonymous
speaker named "Abu Nabil" made threatening phone calls in Sweden to the
family of Palestinian Attorney Nada Kiswanson, active in the al-Hak NGO
in the Hague. Three weeks ago, Amira Hass published a report about this
in Haaretz.
Kiswanson and a Palestinian colleague, had filed, two
weeks prior to the call, a report and a demand that alleged war crimes
during the "Black Friday" events in Rafah, be investigated.
Of
course, no one has assumed responsibility for the "incident" against the
Palestinian lawyer, and no one addressed the BDS campaign's claims that
the Israeli intelligence is running a cyber war against it.
An
inter-ministerial team of Ministry of Justice officials is now examining
various ideas and proposals in order to come with a legal definition of
what de-legitimization is, and what are the dos and don'ts in the
fight.
The Jerusalem municipality is promoting a plan to build 2,500 new
housing units to the east of Gilo settlement. The plan encompasses 50
acres near Route 50, one third of which is absentee property -- meaning,
it belongs to Palestinian refugees. In July, the Israeli government also announced the construction of 240 housing units in settlements elsewhere in East Jerusalem.
Since
the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Israel has built more than a dozen
Jewish-only neighborhoods in East Jerusalem for the benefit of 200,000
Israelis settlers. The international community views Israeli settlement construction and expansion as a clear violation of international law.
In contradiction of extremely low conviction rates, settler violence
against Palestinians is at least a weekly occurrence in the West Bank
and East Jerusalem. In 2016, there have been an average of 2
incidents of settler violence per week in the West Bank and East
Jerusalem, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs. Incidents of settler violence are
notoriously under reported as victims often fear retaliation by the
Israeli police or their attackers. Moreover, there is little
hope that such complaints will be taken seriously: Israeli human rights
organization Yesh Din determined that a police complaint filed by a
Palestinian in the West Bank has a mere 1.9% chance of being effectively
investigated. Human rights groups say that such negligence on
the part of Israeli authorities constitutes yet another violation of
Israel’s legal obligation to protect the Palestinian population as an
occupying power.
On 10 Aug. 2016 there was a fight between Palestinian and settler
children in Hebron. After Israeli Border Police forces broke it up, they
brought in five Palestinian boys - at least two below the age of
criminal responsibility - for an improvised lineup by a settler boy.
This was partially captured on video by an ISM volunteer. The Border
Police also took an 8-year-old from his home in the middle of the night
and the police sought to interrogate him alone. The immense efforts to
locate Palestinians suspected of harming settlers contrast sharply with
the near absence of action to protect Palestinians from violence by
settlers, or to uphold the rights of Palestinian children.
The Arab American Institute Foundation hosted "The Untenable Status Quo:
Policy Options for Palestine/Israel in Philadelphia to coincide with
the Democratic National Convention. Delegates, attendees and the Philly
community heard from: Sam Bahour, Americans for a Vibrant Palestinian
Economy; Peter Beinart, columnist and author; Debra DeLee, Americans for
Peace Now and James Zogby, Arab American Institute.
Friday, September 2, 2016
Interrogated, detained and denied entry by Israel.
Last month,
five U.S. citizens were interrogated and detained by Israeli border
control before being deported and banned without clear explanation.
Israel routinely racially profiles visitors arriving at the borders they
control, which include the occupied Palestinian territories. Hear 3 of
the 5 speak
https://www.theguardian.com/football/video/2016/aug/24/palestinian-refugees-chant-thank-you-to-celtic-fans-for-donations-video
In a video filmed by the Lajee Center, children in Bethlehem thank fans of Celtic Football Club for their recent donations to charities based in Palestine. Celtic supporters have raised more than £130,000 for charities in the region in an attempt to match an impending Uefa fine for displaying Palestinian flags at a Champions League match against an Israeli team. The centre, located in the Aida refugee camp, supports displaced young people
Celtic fans raise more than £130,000 for Palestinian charities after flag protest
In a video filmed by the Lajee Center, children in Bethlehem thank fans of Celtic Football Club for their recent donations to charities based in Palestine. Celtic supporters have raised more than £130,000 for charities in the region in an attempt to match an impending Uefa fine for displaying Palestinian flags at a Champions League match against an Israeli team. The centre, located in the Aida refugee camp, supports displaced young people
Celtic fans raise more than £130,000 for Palestinian charities after flag protest
So-called liberal Zionists have been settlers in the Kibbutzim,
literally living on top of Palestinian villages, since the very
foundation of the State of Israel. A couple of decades later the settler
movement was initiated by the liberal Zionists of the Labor Party.
Nowadays
they seek to remove these West Bank settlers because of demographic
concerns which have absolutely nothing to do with Palestinians or the
respect for Palestinian rights. They are opposed to the settlements that
they themselves created due to their need to protect an
ethnic-supremacist entity inside '48 (aka "Israel proper").
But then, once in a while, comes some leftist settler in the West Bank and exposes the lie of liberal Zionism...
Filmed near the Sde Bar settlement, east of Bethlehem.
Oct 23rd, 2013.
video thanks to Guy Butavia.
translation thanks to Ofer Neiman.
Friday, August 26, 2016
Friday, August 19, 2016
Israel/Palestine News
Whoever wrote this story should be fired or demoted. The Negev is in Israel, not the West Bank.
David Rubin, former mayor of the West Bank settlement Shiloh, tells Fox News viewers Trump is the best candidate for Israel.
Footage of the wreckage left behind by Israeli authorities’ Aug. 2016
demolitions in three Palestinian West Bank communities. The number of
homes Israel demolished in the West Bank from Jan. to Aug. 2016 is the
highest it has been since B’Tselem began recording demolitions that cite
“construction without a permit” in 2006. This is part of a policy to
step up demolitions, implemented while Israel is engaged in “structured
dialogue” on the matter with the EU, and despite international
condemnation in the Quartet’s July report.
Footage of the August 2016 demolition of a residential structure built
with EU aid in Um al-Kheir, a Palestinian community in the South Hebron
Hills. The number of homes Israel demolished in the West Bank from Jan.
to Aug. 2016 is the highest it has been since B’Tselem began recording
demolitions that cite “construction without a permit” in 2006. This is
part of a policy to step up demolitions, implemented while Israel is
engaged in “structured dialogue” on the matter with the EU, and despite
international condemnation in the Quartet’s July report.
Following recent threats against #BDS
activists by Israel's Minister of Public Security and Hasbara
(propaganda), Ronnie Barkan discusses the merits of BDS and of
international solidarity on Israeli TV.
Yaron London, a TV
personality with lifelong experience in television, goes into propaganda
mode the moment that the discussion strays from the designated
liberal-Zionist discourse.
Friday, August 12, 2016
In a measure of collective punishment, following attacks perpetrated by
local Palestinians in early July, the Israeli military imposed strict
travel restrictions on Palestinians in the Hebron District, disrupting
the daily life and routine of nearly one million people. In al-Fawwar [refugee camp] ., home to 10,000 residents, the main entrance was closed and most of
the dirt roads leading to it were blocked off. B’Tselem field
researcher Musa Abu Hashhash filmed residents having no choice but to
walk on foot past the closed gate carrying heavy burdens.
Over the last 30 years, the Palestinian residents of Susiya have faced
multiple waves of home demolitions by the Israeli state, in an attempt
to drive the residents off their land. Last week, Israel’s high court
placed the fate of the village and its 340 residents in the hands of
Israel's notoriously right-wing defense minister Avigdor Lieberman,
leaving it to him to decide whether the army will demolish nearly half
its structures. Today, Palestinians continue to protest these
demolitions and the takeover of their village.
Friday, August 5, 2016
Amal ‘Obeid: “Being a woman carpenter is very rare in Gaza. Because I’m
divorced, my status is not simple and I face social obstacles. But I
want to provide for myself and for my mother and daughter.”
The
demand for work in the Gaza Strip is enormous, with an unemployment rate
of some 40%. The major reason is the siege Israel has imposed on Gaza
for over a decade. To mark International Women’s Day, we spoke with
three women – a carpenter, a blacksmith, and a vegetable market laborer –
who are all trying to sustain families in this near-impossible economic
reality. Gazan women face a particularly trying challenge, as they must
deal not only with the dearth of work to match their skills, but also,
like women around the world, with a society in which women are
considered inferior and work harder for lower pay.
In September 2012, Israeli security forces put up a chain-link fence
along al-Ibrahimi Street in Hebron, separating the paved road from a
narrow, rough walkway. Since then, B’Tselem has twice documented
security forces denying Palestinians access to the paved road, despite
official claims that there is no such prohibition. On 25 July 2016,
B’Tselem volunteer Raed Abu Ramileh filmed a Border Police officer
seizing the bicycle of 8-year-old Anwar Burqan and throwing it in the
bushes for riding it down the paved road, which is reserved for
settlers.
"Smile, and the World Will Smile Back", a documentary film by the
al-Haddad family of Hebron made in collaboration with Ehab Tarabieh and
Yoav Gross -- volunteer photographers in B'Tselem's camera project and
filmmakers, respectively -- is to be screened as part of the short film
competition at the Berlinale International Film Festival.
The
film documents one winter's night at the al-Haddad home in Hebron. A
group of soldiers arrives for a routine night search there, for reasons
unknown to the family. Diaa and Shatha al-Hadaad, brother and sister,
pick up the home video camera and record the events as they unfold
throughout the night. The soldiers force Diaa to stand facing a wall,
saying they won't leave unless he stops smiling.
Of some 100,000 Palestinians who work in Israel daily, 63,000 have
permits and can enter Israel via one of 11 checkpoints. This past June,
during the fast of Ramadan, B’Tselem again documented the rough
conditions at two of the checkpoints: 300 and Qalandia. Even during
Ramadan, when workers fast all day, conditions at the checkpoints mean
they are forced to leave for work in the dead of night, wait in long
lines, and often sleep where they work, seeing their families only on
weekends. This is not a necessary evil but a deliberate choice by the
Israeli authorities. Whatever the reasoning for the choice, it is an
unconscionable and unacceptable one.
Filmed by: Musa Abu Hashash
Of some 100,000 Palestinians who work in Israel daily, 63,000 have
permits and enter Israel via one of 11 checkpoints. In June, during the
fast of Ramadan, B’Tselem again documented the rough conditions at two
of the checkpoints: 300 and Qalandia. While the latter has 5 lanes only
one is operational at the busiest times. Crowding is particularly bad on
Sundays, the first day of the workweek. These conditions mean workers
are forced to leave for work in the dead of night, wait in long lines,
and often sleep where they work, seeing their families only on weekends.
This is not a necessary evil but a deliberate choice by the Israeli
authorities. Whatever the reasons for the choice, it is an
unconscionable and unacceptable one.
Filmed by: Iyad Haddad
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