Friday, July 28, 2017

israel/Palestine News

  





After a public backlash against a proposed law that would make it a
felony for Americans to support the international boycott against
Israel, Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Rob Portman (R-OH) have issued a
letter promising to amend the law. TYT Politics Contributor Ryan Grim (http://Twitter.com/RyanGrim) explains.
 





B'Tselem spokesperson Amit Gilutz says the NGO law is one of many
legislative initiatives unfairly targeting organizations that oppose
Israel's occupation of Palestine
 





The Palestinian protest against restrictions on the Al-Aqsa mosque is
the latest challenge to a 50-year occupation, but self-denial and racism
preclude Israelis from listening, says veteran Israeli journalist
Gideon Levy
 





As the Al-Aqsa protests continue despite a deadly Israeli crackdown,
writer Mariam Barghouti says Palestinians across the Occupied
Territories "are reiterating their right to exist"

 





The deadly Israeli crackdown on Palestinians protesting restrictions at
Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque is part of an effort to divide the holy site
and undermine the Palestinian struggle for freedom, says Dr. Mustafa
Barghouti

  





A new report from War on Want reveals that some of the UK's top banks
and financial institutions are investing in companies known to supply
Israel with weapons and technology used in the oppression of
Palestinians
 





On Jul. 19, military and Civil Administration forces confiscated two
water tanks in Kh. Tall al-Himma in the northern Jordan Valley, along
with a pump from a spring used as the community’s main source of water.
Solar panels were confiscated there on Jul. 5. The cruel treatment of
these communities, which Israel refuses to connect to the water system,
is particularly brazen in the current scorching heat of the Jordan
Valley.
 





Since the mid-1990s, the Israeli military has imposed a policy of segregation in the center of Hebron. As part of this policy, in 2012 it built a fence along the main road of a-Salaimeh neighborhood, dividing it
lengthwise: a wide, paved section for Jews, and a narrow, rutted
pedestrian passageway for Palestinians. Subsequent to footage published
by B’Tselem, the military cancelled the separation, but then reinstated
it in 2015. In May 2017 the military extended the fence into the Gheith
neighborhood, installing a gate at its end which is arbitrarily unlocked
by Border Police. This severe injury to Hebron residents is a case of
collective punishment. It keeps residents from leading normal lives and
makes their lives intolerable. Israel thereby promote the ongoing silent
displacement of Palestinians from the center of Hebron.
 





Since the fence was extended from a-Salaimeh to Gheith https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw9ty...
in May 2017, residents of the two neighborhoods must take a significant
detour when the gate installed at the end of the fence is locked.
B’Tselem field researcher Manal al-Ja’bri documented boys obliged to
take a long alternate route, which includes flights of steps, to reach
their home which is situated on the main street, pushing and carrying a
trolley with pottery made by their father. This route takes far longer,
is hard to negotiate, and is dangerous at night. This severe harm is a
case of collective punishment, which keeps residents from leading normal
lives and makes their lives intolerable.
The clip was edited by B’Tselem.
 





Wadi a-Nasara, al-Hareqa and Jabal Juhar are three Palestinian
neighborhoods (pop. ~45,000) in the southern part of Hebron. The
settlement of Kiryat Arba was established nearby, and settlers use the
main road that links the neighborhoods and leads to al-Haram al-Ibrahimi
(the Tomb of the Patriarchs). In Nov. 2002, Palestinians killed twelve
members of the Israeli security services on that road. The military then
erected a 2-km barrier between Wadi a-Nasara and the neighborhoods
south of it, barred vehicular access by Palestinians to the
neighborhood, and did not even allow Palestinian pedestrians to use the
road, forcing them to use a rock-strewn field by the side of the road.
In May 2017 the military barred Palestinians from walking even there,
and as of June irregularly allows them to do so.
 





Atalia Ben-Abba is a conscientious objector; Tamar Sholav is enlisting
for combat unit in the Karakal. Both met to discuss the connection
between their choice and feminism.
 





The Two State Solution- Is it still viable? What can make it happen?
What is the Alternative? Symposium at the School for Peace at Wahat al
Salam-Neve Shalom with Professor Sari Nusseibeh, Meron Rapoport, Yossi
Kuperwasser, Professor Yuli Tamir, and Professor Ilan Pappé.

Friday, July 21, 2017

israel/Palestine News

 





A bipartisan Senate bill would make boycotting Israel punishable by up
to 20 years in prison. But a new pushback from groups including the ACLU
could help stop the ‘draconian’ measure, says Josh Ruebner of the US
Campaign for Palestinian Rights
 





Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a blistering attack against
the European Union during a closed-session meeting Wednesday morning in
the Hungarian capital of Budapest.
 





Some musicians are calling on Radiohead to boycott Israel, others are
supporting the band's decision to play in Tel Aviv this Wednesday.




    



Israeli bombs. Israeli drones. Israeli-imposed power cuts. And no way to
leave. Everyday life in Gaza is shaped by Israeli policy, which has
turned the coastal enclave into a maximum security prison where the
inmates are fathers, mothers and children whose only crime is being born
in Gaza. Can you imagine life like this?
 





Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban
 





Western media is missing important context behind the deadly gunfight at
Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound, says journalist and filmmaker Dan
Cohen
 





On Wednesday, 5 July 2017, Civil Administration officials and the
military came to the Palestinian community of Khirbet Tall al-Himma
(Khallet Hamad) in the northern Jordan Valley, south of the community of
‘Ein al-Beida. They confiscated two solar panels used by five families,
numbering 25 people, including 15 minors. The panels had been donated
by a humanitarian aid organization in March 2017, after Israeli
authorities confiscated the pre-fab one of the families had been living
in.
 





This month, the implementation of the Deposit Law, which constitutes an
additional blow to the asylum seekers from Sudan and Eritrea, began. The
law obligates employers to set aside 20 percent of the workers' wages
to a deposit, and they will receive their money back only if they leave
the country. On June, a demonstration was held in Habima Square in Tel
Aviv, protesting against the aggressive law. The protest was attended by
members of the Israeli asylum seeker community, and employers, mainly
from the restaurant industry, where many asylum seekers work.
 





The Palestinian village of Jub a-Dib near Bethlehem has existed since
1929, yet Israel refuses to hook it up to the power grid. In late 2016,
thanks to international aid, 96 solar panels were installed providing
the 160 residents with regular electricity for the first time. Israel
confiscated the panels on 28 June 2017. This is another example of
Israel’s systematic abuse of Area C Palestinians, denying them basic
services and confiscating or destroying alternatives provided by aid
organizations.
 





An event marking the launch of the book "50 Concepts, Testimonies and
Representations of Occupation". The panel was moderated by Dr. Ishai
Menuhin (editor of the collection), with the participation of the writer
Odeh Bisharat, Prof. Idith Zertal, Adv. Dan Yakir, Dr. Anat Matar and
Miki Kratsman (editor of the presentations).
 

Noa
Gur Golan dreamed of being a pilot as a child. Instead, she declared a
conscientious objection and went to jail. Watch her tell about her
supporting brothers, about pacifism, and why she did not try to be
released through the mental health officer.

 



Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with French President Emmanuel Macron at the ֹÉlysée Palace in Paris

 



On 19 May 2017, Israeli security forces fired tear gas canisters at
protesters in ‘Abud. Some fell in nearby homes. ‘Abd a-Rahman al-Majid, a
toddler with ALS was at his home and had trouble breathing due to gas
inhalation. This footage, filmed by Falastin TV, shows his parents, and
medics trying to get him to an ambulance waiting at the entrance to the
village. The toddler was taken to hospital and remained there for three
weeks. Four weeks after returning home, he died. This case illustrates
Israel’s lenient, permissive use of “crowd control” measures, relying on
the fact they are considered “non-lethal” and ignoring the danger
involved.
 



After 10 years of Israeli siege, the UN warns Gaza is becoming
'unlivable.' Ali Abunimah of The Electronic Intifada says Israel, with
the Palestinian Authority's help, is responsible for the crisis, as most
of the world looks on in silence.
 





Protest against the blocking of the road from Kufr Qaddoum to nearby Nablus, against the occupation and against apartheid

Friday, July 14, 2017

israel/Palestine News

 





In an attempt to protect accurate consumer labeling information, the
Ontario Liquor Control Board and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency
ordered the products labeled 'Product of Israel' but produced in the
Occupied Territories removed, says Dr. David Kattenburg
 







Israeli police investigate three corruption cases involving the prime minister
 





On 12 March 2017, during the Jewish holiday of Purim (traditionally
celebrated by dressing up), A B’Tselem volunteer filmed a Hebron
resident who, while documenting the detention of a Palestinian youth at a
checkpoint, was detained himself. He was then harassed by settlers
while Israeli Border Police stand stood by and did nothing.

The
Israeli officers’ conduct is part of a longstanding policy of
appropriating Palestinian urban areas in Hebron for the benefit of
settlers. Israel thereby promotes the ongoing silent displacement of
Palestinians from the center of Hebron.
The clip was edited by B’Tselem.

Is the Two State Solution Still Viable?

 





The Two State Solution- Is it still viable? What can make it happen?
What is the Alternative? Symposium at the School for Peace at Wahat al
Salam-Neve Shalom with Professor Sari Nusseibeh, Meron Rapoport, Yossi
Kuperwasser, Professor Yuli Tamir, and Professor Ilan Pappé.
 





A group of young Palestinians from Umm al-Fahm, descendants of families
displaced in 48 of their villages, meets every week to discuss identity,
national oppression and the Nakba. They are part of the "Odna" project -
return in Hebrew, which deals with the promotion and planning of the
return of the Palestinian refugees.
 





"Our soldiers have a need to tell what they saw and what they did, and
their mission and national commitment collide with the inhuman missions
they are required to carry out." On the eve of the reading of soldiers'
testimonies for five hours, Breaking the Silence are determined to
continue to place a black mirror in our faces.
 





International law practitioner and researcher Dr. Valentina Azarova
discusses the politics involved in UNESCO's decision to rule Hebron a
Palestinian World Heritage Site in danger
 







Richard Silverstein discusses Israel’s silenced history of racially motivated medical malpractice
 





"Have you ever visited a refugee camp? Have you seen the poverty?",
"It's impossible for so many to return", "They'll throw us into the
ocean", "We have to provide them with a solution", "The refugees are the
root of the problem".
What is your view on the Palestinians refugees
right of the return? What would happen if it were realized? Is a
conflict resolution possible without a refugee solution?
Watch the answers of Israelis and Palestinians from the West Bank.
 





Nora Lester Murad warns that aid to Palestine serves the Israeli occupation

Friday, July 7, 2017

israel/Palestine News

 





Historian and author Vijay Prashad says Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi's visit to Israel underscores the Indian government's shift to the
right and abandonment of the Palestinian cause
  







What do you think are the problems and difficulties the bisexual
community has to face? Preparing for the pride parade this Friday
(9/6/2017), we went out to check how is this year's pride events theme -
bisexuality - is perceived.
 





Palestine Solidarity Campaign wins case against the UK Government as
judge rules government acted unlawfully by restricting local councils
from pursuing boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against the state
of Israel, says Hugh Lanning
 





Another attempt to expel Palestinians from their land on the false pretext of requiring coordination
  







Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s misguided policies of "trading the
long-term strategic interest of the Zionist movement and the state of
Israel in exchange for short-term political gains, is a mistake" says
TRNN correspondent Shir Hever

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