Friday, July 28, 2017
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.
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.
Friday, July 21, 2017
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?
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).
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.
Friday, July 14, 2017
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.
"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.
Friday, July 7, 2017
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