Israel wird tatsälich ein NATO Mitglieder geworden
Ja, Israel richtet Palästinenser ohne Gerichtsurteil hin
Wir sollten es beim Namen nennen: Israel richtet fast jeden Tag Leute ohne Gerichtsurteil hin. Jede andere Beschreibung ist eine Lüge. Wenn es in der Vergangenheit noch eine Diskussion über die Todesstrafe für Terroristen gab, so werden sie jetzt sogar ohne Gerichtsurteil (und ohne Diskussion) hingerichtet. Wenn es in der Vergangenheit noch eine Diskussion über Verantwortlichkeitsregeln gab, so ist heute Folgendes klar: Wir schießen, um zu töten jeden verdächtigen Palästinenser. http://www.tlaxcala-int.org/article.asp?reference=17170
551 Palestinians arrested in January
The following report was issued on 1 February 2016 by three prisoners' organizations in Palestine: the Palestinian Prisoners' Society, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, and the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Committee. The Arabic original is available at Addameer's website.
In a joint report, the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, and the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Committee reported that 551 Palestinians were arrested during the month of January 2016, including 131 children and six women and girls. There have now been over 3,500 arrests since October 2015 and the beginning of the popular upsurge. http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/news/1266-551-palestinians-arrested-in-january
Over the weekend, Israeli soldiers kill a child and wound dozens of Palestinians
A child, 14-year-old Haitham Ismael al-Baw, was killed on Friday by Israeli soldiers using live fire in Halhul village, north of Hebron in the West Bank.
Over the weekend in Bethlehem, Israeli soldiers injured four Palestinians with rubber bullets during clashes in Aida Refugee Camp and at the northern entrance of the city. Dozens of others suffered from tear gas inhalation.
In al-Jalazone Refugee Camp, north of Ramallah, clashes occurred at the east entrance to the camp. Six Palestinians were wounded by rubber-coated steel bullets. One of the wounded is in critical condition due to being shot in the head. http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/news/1269-child-killed-dozens-wounded-in-clashes
sraeli soldiers killed a 14-year-old Palestinian and detained another young boy in the occupied West Bank town of Halhul north of Hebron, after the two allegedly tried to throw Molotov cocktails at passing vehicles.
During routine activity to secure Route 60, Israeli forces "spotted two suspects attempting to throw Molotov cocktails at vehicles" on the highway, an Israeli army spokesperson told Maan.
The forces then opened fire on the teenagers, killing one and detaining another, the spokesperson said.
Witnesses told Ma'an that they saw a child lying on the ground after hearing gunshots where Israeli forces were deployed in the al-Hawawer area of Halhul city. One witness told Ma'an that they saw Israeli soldiers putting the child into a black bag.
Another child was seen handcuffed and blindfolded. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770141
When Israel turns houses into jails
Fadi Shaludi, 14, has not left his house since November. Every day, he sees the children from his neighborhood go off to school. He especially misses playing football with his friends and walking around Jerusalems Old City.
Fadi is under house arrest. He fears going downstairs, let alone to the corner shop next to his home. His punishment came after he was charged with throwing stones at Israeli troops during confrontations in Silwan, the area of occupied East Jerusalem where he lives, in October.
That incident also resulted in his mother, Shifa Obeido, being put under house arrest on charges of incitement. She awaits a trial that will likely see her forcibly transferred from Jerusalem. https://electronicintifada.net/content/when-israel-turns-houses-jails/15486
Israeli forces detain 22 in overnight raids across the West Bank and Jerusalem (08-02) http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770180
Israeli authorities inform family missing daughter detained for 3 days http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770115
Reprisal operation in Qabatiya
Last night and early Thursday morning the Israeli army raided Qabatiya, a village in the Jenin district of the West Bank.
Prior to the raid, the Israeli army declared Qabatiya a closed military zone and sealed all entrances to the village.
Israeli forces then invaded Qabatiya, raiding dozens of houses and arresting at least 12 Palestinians.
The siege of the village followed an attack against Israeli soldiers in occupied Jerusalem on Wednesday. One Israeli soldier was killed and another was injured.
Three residents of Qabatiya carried out the attack and were killed at the scene. http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/news/1265-reprisal-operation-in-qabatiya
Thousands attend funeral of 3 Jerusalem attackers in West Bank http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770145
Israeli forces on Thursday stormed the West Bank district of Jenin's Qabatiya village, the home of three Palestinian youths who were shot dead the day before after killing a 19-year-old Israeli police officer and seriously injuring another.
Israeli forces shot and wounded four Palestinian youths with live rounds during the raid, critically wounding one who was shot in the head, local Palestinian Liberation Organization spokesperson Ali Zakarneh said.
He added that Israeli forces also ran over a 15-year-old boy, identified as Mujahed Zakarneh, with a military jeep. leaving the boy in critical condition.
The five youths were all evacuated to a nearby hospital for treatment, Zakarneh said.
Israeli forces also raided the family homes of the three youths who committed the attack and notified the families that their homes would be demolished, requesting that they evacuate their belongings in preparation for the demolitions. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770116
Clashes erupt after caravan attempts to break Qabatiya closure
Clashes broke out when Palestinians from Jenin caravanned towards the nearby village of Qabatiya in the occupied West Bank in attempt to break a three-day blockade imposed on the villages more than 20,000 residents.
The village was sealed by Israeli military forces after three residents carried out an attack in occupied East Jerusalem that left a 19-year-old Israeli police officer dead and another injured on Wednesday.
Dozens of Palestinian vehicles poured from the city of Jenin and Jenin refugee camp towards the village after Palestine Liberation Organization factions called for a march in protest of the closure.
Spokesperson of the PLO factions, Ali Zakarneh, told Maan that Israeli forces forcefully suppressed the march, firing tear gas bombs at vehicles attempting to enter Qabatiya from its northern side. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770160
Israel revokes Israeli work permits from Qabatiya village residents
Israeli authorities will begin to revoke work permits from residents of Qabatiya, a village in the northern occupied West Bank, after a deadly attack carried out by three teens from the village last week, a spokesperson for the Palestine Liberation Organization said.
Ali Zakarna said Israeli forces have already revoked at least ten work permits at military checkpoints in the area.
The spokesman highlighted that the decision to revoke permits came hours after Israeli forces lifted a three-day blockade imposed on the village following the deadly attack committed by the village's three teens in occupied East Jerusalem which killed a 19-year-old Israeli border police officer and injured another. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770176
Israel to 'close and confiscate' homes of 4 teens accused of stone throwing attacks
Israeli authorities on Sunday gave a notice of "closure and confiscation" on the family homes of four Palestinians aged 16-19 accused of causing an Israeli driver's death by throwing stones at his car in early September, the families said.
The families of Muhammad Salah Muhammad Abu Kiff, Walid Fares Mustafa al-Atrash, Abed Mahmoud Abed Rabbo Dawiyat, and Muhammad Jihad al-Taweel said their homes in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sur Baher are being confiscated in order to deter future attacks against Israelis.
The homes, which house 23 people, are to be closed and confiscated on Feb. 10. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770173
Israel demolishes 9 Palestinian structures in Jordan Valley
Israeli forces on Thursday demolished five homes and four other Palestinian-owned structures in the Jordan Valley town of Tammun in the occupied West Bank.
A spokesperson for Israel's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) told Ma'an that Israel's Civil Administration as well as security forces demolished the structures because they were built illegally "without necessary permits."
"As part of this enforcement, five residential tents and three buildings that were used as sheds, and a tin construction used as a restroom were demolished," COGAT said. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770136
Told to leave, determined to stay: Bedouins of the Jordan Valley
On the sparsely populated northern stretch of the occupied West Banks Jordan Valley live tens of Bedouin families.
Neglected by both the Palestinian Authority and harassed by the Israeli military, these families have to survive without running water or electricity.
Any water wells dug by the families themselves will likely be destroyed by Israel, which maintains strict control over water resources in the occupied West Bank. Israel does not issue building permits for more permanent structures. Any attempt to build such structures will likely end in demolition. https://electronicintifada.net/content/told-leave-determined-stay-bedouins-jordan-valley/15476
Israel to demolish 15 corrugated metal homes near Nablus city http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770186
Israeli forces to demolish 2 homes in Nablus-area village http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770179
Unit 8200 Hackers Investigated for Computer Theft
Ynet reports that two of the most élite cyber war units in the IDF came under suspicion several weeks ago. Tens of officers and non-commissioned officers in Unit 8200 (IDFs SIGINT unit) and AMANs Unit 81 (military intelligences technology unit) are accused of using their hacking skills to derive economic benefits for themselves. The article notes that the hacking of the offenders came at the expense of their fellow soldiers in the Units (see below).
Those investigated have such high security classifications that the IDF military police needed to get special permission to examine their computers. http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2016/02/08/breaking-unit-8200-hackers-investigated-for-computer-theft/
Israeli Knesset passes stop and frisk law for 'suspicious' indiviudals
Israels Knesset on Tuesday passed a new law allowing Israeli forces to stop and frisk individuals who appear suspicious for unlicensed weapons. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770112
Palestinian MK sentenced for "disgracing a public servant"
Member of Knesset (MK) of the Joint List party, Haneen Zoabi, reached a plea bargain of six months of probation and a fine of NIS 3,000 at the Nazareth Magistrate's Court on Sunday for "disgracing a public servant."
Initially, the Attorney General wanted to charge Zoabi with incitement for allegedly telling a crowd of protesters in 2014 that Israeli Palestinians who work for government security forces should be scared of us. However, the charges were dropped after they were proved to be false.
Instead, Zoabi was charged on Sunday with disgracing a public servant, based on the claim that Zoabi called an Israeli Arab police officer a traitor at a protest in Nazareth on July 6, 2014.
The charges against Zoabi come as the Israeli government builds up an offensive against Palestinian Israeli MKs. http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/news/1267-mk-haneen-zoabi-sentenced-to-six-months-probation
The Myth That Jews Are Always Victims of Persecution, Occupiers or Not
Because there is no official death sentence in Israel, 18 relatives of 17 Israelis who were murdered by Palestinians in 13 separate attacks are demanding that the families of the attackers be punished by permanent expulsion. The real punishment that the murderers deserve is death, explain the relatives in a letter sent to government ministers and published on news websites. But Jewish compassion prevents us from resorting to it. The letter and the demand are also signed by the families of five murdered Jews whose five attackers were killed at the site of the attack.
The letter rightfully points out one central fact: All the means of punishment and deterrence adopted by Israel until now havent stopped the wave of solo attacks. Not the killing of the attackers or suspected attackers on the spot nor the demolition of their families homes, neither long prison sentences nor restrictions on the familys freedom of movement. https://t.co/1IKd10oJk0
The State of Israel is changing its nature
Usually I don't like to use the concept "fascism" to describe the Israeli regime. First of all and above all, the State of Israel is a colonial State, and its institutions, policies and strategies belong to the broad family of colonialism. The basic relationship with the indigenous Arab population has been from the very beginning of the Zionist enterprise and still is today a colonial relationship. In that colonial framework, one can identify some specificities: civil rights for the Indigenous minority that were not pushed to exile in 1947-1949 and democratic institutions and mechanisms inside Israel, in its pre-67 borders. One must mention, however, the long series of discriminative laws and practices towards the Palestinian minority in the framework of the so-called "Jewish and Democratic State" of Israel. http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/aicoment/1268-the-state-of-israel-is-changing-its-nature
Willkommen im Ghetto der israelischen Araber
Im Kopf, ganz sicher im Kopf die Blutlache ist auf der linken Seite des Kopfes. Wie viele Kugeln? Kamen sie von hinten oder von vorne? Der halbe Schädel ist weggeblasen, das Gehirn quillt heraus. Offensichtlich ein großes Loch hier, man kann es sehen. Sie drehten den Körper um. Es gibt Bilder von ihm, wie er auf dem Rücken liegt und andere, wie er auf der Seite liegt. Drehten sie ihn mit ihren Füßen um?
Es ist spürbar kalt. Man sieht es in den Augen im gefrorenen Blick der Bewohner von Arara. Kälte ist ein Gefühl und hat nichts mit der Temperatur im Winter zu tun. Es macht keinen Unterschied, ob man die Temperatur mit Celsius oder Fahrenheit misst. Deshalb werden die Nächte der Kindheit in Tira immer die kältesten sein. Mit dem Elektroheizer, der an Tagen ohne Stromausfall ein wenig Wärme spendet, den gestreiften oder geblümten Wolldecken und den dünnen Matratzen mit der Standardstickerei.
Jeder erkennt sie, wenn nicht von zu Hause, dann aus dem Haus der Eltern oder Großeltern. Sie erkennen die Armut, die Glasflasche mit Limonade, den weißen Zucker, unser Geschirr und die Flecken von schwarzem Kaffee, der über den Dallah floss ja so wird das Gefäß genannt, denn es ist kein Finjan. Finjan ist das kleine, normalerweise angemalte Glas, aus dem der Kaffee getrunken wird. Aber geh dich mit den yefei blorit vetoar, den hübschen, gefälligen Sabras streiten. http://www.tlaxcala-int.org/article.asp?reference=17172
Portraits of Palestines youth rebellion
Nobody organizes us. We do not want to depend on anyone or have money involved. Its better to be independent. East of al-Bureij refugee camp, Gaza Strip
For nearly four months, popular protests, violence and general unrest have buffeted the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, leading some commentators to suggest a third intifada or uprising.
Most of this is driven by restive and young people tired of endless and evidently pointless negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel that have brought no end to Israels military occupation and only seen its illegal settlements expand.
This is our land. We must do anything to free it from occupation, says Mahmoud, 26, from al-Azzeh refugee camp in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
Mahmoud (not his real name, since Israel frequently arrests protesters) has been a regular participant in demonstrations against the military occupation, in which youth confront Israeli forces with stones and, less frequently, Molotov cocktails. The army tries to suppress these protests with tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition.
Since the beginning of last October, which witnessed increased confrontation with the occupation, more than 160 Palestinians and approximately two dozen Israelis have been killed. A United Nations monitoring group recorded a weekly average of 1,000 Palestinian injuries at the hands of the Israeli army during the last quarter of 2015. https://electronicintifada.net/content/portraits-palestines-youth-rebellion/15426
With Gaza as Their Model, Palestinian Youth Only See the Steadily Shrinking Horizon
Von Amira Hass ,
The prevailing assumption is failing on a daily basis. The assumption that our regime is normal, as is our life, and that our subjects are getting adjusted, or will become adjusted and will even say, Thank you, Sir. In each and every generation and day, we rise up to subjugate and trample them, and theyre almost there trampled and submissive and normalized, and then they rock the boat.
And only because they those young people, from the privatized uprising are upsetting the false Israeli normalcy, are they heroes in the eyes of their public, though it has reservations about their choices and isnt joining them. They are its inarticulate spokespersons, understood and not understood, surprising everyone again and again, although they emulate each other and part of a new routine.
They are deaf to the voice of logic and the Palestinian security services, which say that the nation and the homeland need them alive. They only hear the sound of doors bolted before them, and see the steadily shrinking horizon. They have never been there, but they know that Gaza is the model that was prepared for them (the planning, design and casting are Israeli, with a few brushstrokes and additions by Hamas and Fatah. The disgrace is that of Europe, the Quartet, the United States, the United Nations, Norway and Germany, who feed the encaged and hang around with the warden). http://ebx.sh/1T8hEyM
A Palestinian Hunger Striker Is Dying in an Israeli Hospital
Palestinian detainee Mohammad al-Qiq is dying at Haemek Hospital in Afula. Qiq, whose administrative detention was suspended last week when his condition worsened, is conscious but non-communicative. Hes lost his hearing and ability to speak. On Saturday, his hunger strike entered its 81st day. In the West Bank village of Dura, his family waits for news, including his wife Fayhaa and their two small children, Islam and Lur. They havent seen him since November 20. https://zcomm.org/znetarticle/a-palestinian-hunger-striker-is-dying-in-an-israeli-hospital/
Palestinian prisoner moved to hospital after entering coma http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770315
Video: Hunger striker on brink of death remains defiant https://electronicintifada.net/content/video-hunger-striker-brink-death-remains-defiant/15636
Video: Palestinian hunger strikers wife makes urgent plea https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/video-palestinian-hunger-strikers-wife-makes-urgent-plea
Amnesty demands Israel to transfer Palestinian hunger striker http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770334
Journalists, prisoners stand in solidarity with hunger-striking al-Qiq http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770343
Clashes erupt as Palestinians rally to support hunger-striker http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770317
4 Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike against administrative detention http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770341
Three boys among 6 Palestinians killed during bloody weekend
Israeli forces shot and killed six Palestinians over the weekend, including three children and a woman, and critically injured a 14-year-old girl.
On Sunday night, two Palestinians were shot dead after allegedly attempting to carry out an armed attack outside Damascus Gate in occupied Jerusalems Old City. https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/three-boys-among-6-palestinians-killed-during-bloody-weekend
Israels excessive force kills two more children
Two Palestinian children were shot dead by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank this past week as a United Nations human rights investigator called on Israel to investigate its excessive use of force against Palestinians.
The special rapporteur Makarim Wibisono also told Israeli authorities to charge or release all Palestinian prisoners being held under lengthy administrative detention, including children, Reuters reported, referring to Israels widespread practice of holding Palestinians without charge or trial under military court orders.
Wibisono made his remarks during his final report to the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday. The Indonesian diplomat resigned from his post last month because he said Israel would not give him access to the areas he was assigned to monitor.
Israels foreign ministry accused the investigator of flagrant anti-Israel bias and rejected the findings of his report. https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/israels-excessive-force-kills-two-more-children
Israeli forces shoot Palestinian children
Early on Sunday, Israeli forces killed two 15-year-old Palestinian youth in Jenin, claiming that they opened fire at Israeli soldiers.
Hours later, Israeli forces shot and killed 17-year-old Naim Safi at a checkpoint north of Bethlehem, alleging that he attempted to stab Israeli soldiers.
Later that day, Israeli forces shot 14-years-old Yasmin Rashad al-Zarou at a checkpoint near the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, again, leveling the claim that she attempted to stab Israeli soldiers.
Witnesses told Maan News Agency that Yasmin crossed the checkpoint with her sister and neither one of the girls attempted to attack Israeli soldiers before being shot.
Some even say that Yasmin was walking away from the Israeli soldiers when they shot her.
Video footage emerged of Israeli soldiers surrounding her and assaulting passersby who wanted to help her. http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/news/1280-israeli-forces-shoot-five-palestinian-children
Israeli forces shoot, injure 28 Palestinians during Ramallah-area clashes http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770287
Israeli forces on Thursday raided al-Duheisha refugee camp in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem and summoned a Palestinian child for questioning, locals told Ma'an.
Locals said Israeli forces summoned 12-year-old Mahmoud Ahmad al-Mughrabi to meet with Israeli intelligence, adding that the boy's father is serving 17 life sentences in Israeli prison. The boy's mother was also recently detained and released after a month in custody.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770335
Israeli troops detain nine in West Bank overnight raids (14-02) http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770271
Israeli troops detain 10 Palestinians in West Bank raids(15-02) http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770286
17 Palestinians detained in West Bank, East Jerusalem (16-02) http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770301
Israeli forces detain 20 Palestinians in predawn raids (17-02) http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770325
Israeli forces detain 15 Palestinians across the West Bank (18-02) http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770336
Israel levels lands, demolishes structures in East Jerusalem
The Israeli authorities on Wednesday demolished agricultural structures and leveled land in the outskirts of al-Issawiya village in occupied East Jerusalem, locals said.
Muhammad Abu al-Hummas, a spokesperson for a local popular committee, told Ma'an that bulldozers had started leveling around five acres of land, adding that they "deliberately" ruined the dirt roads used by farmers to access their fields as well as their fences.
He said they were accompanied by Israeli police forces as well as officials from Jerusalem's municipality and the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority.
The land is located in an area Israeli authorities have earmarked for a national park, in a controversial plan known as "11092", which aims to turn around 740 dunams (175 acres) of Palestinian land in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of al-Issawiya and al-Tur into Israeli parkland. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770322
Israel issues 12 demolition orders to Bedouins in E1 corridor
Israeli forces on Tuesday issued home demolition orders on 11 Palestinian Bedouin homes and a mosque in the Jabal al-Baba community in the E1 corridor east of Jerusalem, a representative of the community told Ma'an. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770311
Israeli forces uproot 100 olive trees in Wadi Qana
Israeli forces uprooted 100 olive trees in the Wadi Qana area west of the village of Deir Istiya in Salfit district on Tuesday amid ongoing efforts to push Palestinians out of the area, locals said.
Farmers from Deir Istiya told Maan the forces arrived in Wadi Qana and uprooted the trees without prior notice.
Soldiers then forced locals from the area in order to allow Israeli settlers to arrive there, the farmers said.
Ibrahim al-Hamad, director of the Palestinian Ministry of Agricultures Salfit branch, told Ma'an that soldiers removed the seven-year-old trees on the grounds that the area is a nature reserve, with planting prohibited in the area. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770304
Israel demolishes homes, structures in Nablus-area village
Israeli bulldozers under army escort on Monday demolished a number of Palestinian structures built without construction permits in the northern occupied West Bank district south of Nablus's Khirbet Om al-Rashash village, locals said.
Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activities in the northern West Bank, told Maan that Israeli troops forced residents, as well as foreign activists, to evacuate the structures for immediate demolition.
Daghlas said the structures included corrugated metal homes, barns and brick buildings.
Residents said Israeli forces issued demolition orders on structures two weeks prior to the demolition.
While demolitions in the occupied West Bank decreased by 10 percent in 2015 from the previous year, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that 539 Palestinian-owned structures were still demolished, leaving many Palestinians homeless. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770289
Video: Israeli soldiers push disabled man from wheelchair after shooting http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770283
Israeli police briefly detain Washington Post bureau chief
Israeli police briefly detained the Washington Post's Jerusalem bureau chief and West Bank correspondent for alleged "incitement" on Tuesday, prompting the Foreign Press Association to decry Israel's "heavy-handed tactics."
The FPA said bureau chief William Booth and West Bank correspondent Sufian Taha were detained while interviewing Palestinian and Jewish residents of Jerusalem at Damascus Gate outside the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem.
Booth and Taha were interviewing high-school students under a tree when Israeli border police "waved the two journalists over and asked them for their IDs," the FPA said in a statement. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770309
Israeli Myths: An Interview with Ramzy Baroud
Were the Palestinians better off under Labor government than under Likud?
For many years, much of the Western world understood Israel based on a cluster of myths, from the early fables of the Zionists making the desert bloom, to Palestine supposedly being a land without people for a people without land. That intricately constructed and propagated mythology evolved over time, as Israeli hasbara labored to provide a perception of reality that was needed to justify its wars, its military occupation, its constant violations of human rights and its many war crimes. Persistent Israeli propaganda did a splendid job of preserving the image of Israel internationally, although the tide began turning a few years ago starting with the first major war on Gaza in 2008. Of course, the Israeli hasbara would not have survived a day if Western mainstream media had the willingness or the audacity to unabashedly present the truth about the situation in Palestine. http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/02/12/israeli-myths-an-interview-with-ramzy-baroud/
To my Fellow Israelis: We Can Stop This
An open letter to my fellow Israelis:
This is probably a culmination of nearly a decades reviewed study of our history. At some point, beyond the singular stories, cases and arguments, I feel something unequivocal and very generally encompassing needs to be said about our Israeli miracle, the manifestation of the Zionist dream.
I will not write this in Hebrew, although that would probably have been the most direct idiomatic tool to reach your minds. I will not do so, because I have had enough of dirty laundry recycled amongst us self-understanding Israelis. Whilst I write to you, my hopes of change coming from within us Israelis have regrettably declined in the years and thus, I am also, if not more so, placing my bets upon the involvement of the international community whose help we need so badly not for more cash, weapons, or apologetic understanding, but rather for its intervention in what we are apparently unable, and mostly unwilling, to fix. The attitude which I thus exhibit here is an extremely unpopular one in Israeli and Jewish culture. It is the vein of the moser the one who snitches against the Jewish nation towards the goyim.
Well, get over it. There are far more serious issues at hand.
I have to tell you first that our evaluation of Israeli history omits so much atrocity from our side. Indeed, much of it is still classified even back to 1948. http://www.globalresearch.ca/to-my-fellow-israelis-we-can-stop-this/5506572
Israel tortures Palestinian children; keeps them in outdoor cages in winter: Rights group
Following a November 2015 report by the independent, in which it quoted NGO rights organization the Palestinian Prisoners Club (PPC) that at least 600 Palestinian children have been arrested in Jerusalem alone in the first half of 2015 and that roughly 40% were sexually abused, a new January 2016 report was also issued by the Independent, this time saying that the Israeli government is torturing children and keeping them in outdoor cages during winter time.
The Independent cited a report published by The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) saying that children accused of minor crimes were subject to public caging, threats and acts of sexual violence and military trials without representation.
Upon a visit by Israels Public Defenders Office (PDO) lawyers, shocking details of happenings in the detention facility was uncovered. http://ahtribune.com/human-rights/339-israel-tortures-palestinian-children.html
Tel Aviv service offers cleaners priced by ethnic origin
A service provider offering cleaning and housekeeping in north Tel Aviv has taken the term human resources to a whole new level, distributing a flyer that prices its cleaners according to their ethnic origin.
The advert, which was distributed in one of Tel Avivs most affluent areas, was first posted on Facebook by political blogger Tal Schneider, who was given the flyer by an acquaintance.
Starting out with a corny infomercial-style list of questions, the ad asks: Do you need a housekeeper? Are you tired of hiring illegal foreign workers and getting fined? Not prepared to have an Arab cleaner for security reasons? Are you tired of employing according to the law and being sued by temporary workers?
The flyer then presents the solution to all these unpleasant and onerous problems, by offering legal only housekeepers and cleaners, with hourly rates scaled according to the cleaners ethnicity.
The cheapest labor comes from employees from African countries, at NIS 49 per hour. Slightly more expensive are Eastern European workers, at NIS 52 an hour. By far the most expensive are Eastern European employees who hold Israeli citizenship, at NIS 69 per hour. http://www.tlaxcala-int.org/article.asp?reference=17248
Can the IDF withstand political pressure?
The closure imposed on Ramallah on Feb. 1 and its partial lifting a day later are telling in terms of disagreement between Israels top military brass and the political echelon on how to deal with the lone attacker intifada that broke out in October. Since that time, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been pressed to restrict the movement of residents in Palestinian towns in the West Bank in a bid to prevent them from getting into Israel and carrying out terror attacks. In the aftermath of the Jan. 31 shooting at a roadblock near Bet El by Amjad a-Sukari, a Palestinian police officer, the IDF has been forced, for the first time during this intifada, to impose a closure on Ramallah.
For months, the IDF chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, has staved off demands from the political echelon to impose a closure on the territories, arguing that the damage would far exceed any benefits. It would be a bitter mistake to impose closures and blockades on the territories. This would be counterproductive for Israel, Eizenkot said Jan. 18 at a conference held by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), adding that the Palestinian population should be given hope and the possibility to make economic ends meet. http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/fr/contents/articles/originals/2016/02/closure-idf-ramallah-intifada-attack-netanyahu-eizenkot.html#
Monsanto Exposed as Source for White Phosphorus Used in Gaza Massacre
......But Monsantos role as a purveyor of deadly military chemicals goes even deeper. For at least 20 years it has supplied the U.S. government with white phosphorus (WP) for incendiary weapons. Whats more, some of this white phosphorus was used in Israels invasion of Gaza at the end of 2008, known as Operation Cast Lead or, more appropriately, the Gaza Massacre.
Israel denied using WP at first, but admitted to using it in Gaza under media pressure. It said the WP was used as an obscurant and illuminant, but even this type of use is banned in civilian areas under the Geneva Convention. According to Sputnik News, in 2009 the U.S. State Department confirmed that WP weapons from its Arkansas plant were sent to Israel for use in the Gaza invasion.
The Monsanto connection to Israels war crimes and other uses of white phosphorus was exposed when Current Events Inquiry scoured documents on the US Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website, finding that the agribusiness company provided 180,000 pounds of WP to the government for making projectiles at its Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas. http://www.activistpost.com/2016/02/monsanto-exposed-as-source-for-white-phosphorus-used-in-gaza-massacre.html
Security ties between Palestinians and Israel begin to fray
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has described his security forces cooperation with the Israeli military as sacred. But an armed attack on an Israeli checkpoint last weekend by a Palestinian security official, which left three Israeli soldiers injured, suggests that Abbas view may not be widely shared among Palestinians.
Amjad Sukari, aged 34, a driver and bodyguard in Ramallah for the Palestinian attorney general, was shot dead on Sunday after he opened fire at Israeli soldiers stationed at a VIP crossing near Ramallah.
It was the second time in recent months that a PA security officer has opened fire on Israeli soldiers.
In December Mazen Ariba, a member of the Palestinian intelligence services, injured two Israelis, including a soldier, at Hizme checkpoint, close to Jerusalem.
Israel responded to Sukaris attack by briefly locking down Ramallah, the Palestinians effective economic and political capital, in what appeared to be a policy of collective punishment. http://www.jonathan-cook.net/2016-02-04/security-ties-between-palestinians-and-israel-begin-to-fray/
Palestinian did an Palestinian Embassy in Bulgaria
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine salutes and mourns the martyr, Comrade Omar Nayef Zayed, the former Palestinian political prisoner and lifelong struggler for the freedom of Palestine, assassinated this morning in the Palestinian embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria. http://pflp.ps/english/2016/02/26/pflp-mourns-and-salutes-the-martyr-comrade-omar-nayef-zayed-assassinated-in-bulgaria/
Family: PA shares blame in Bulgaria assassination
The family of Omar al-Nayif on Friday said they held the Palestinian Authority responsible for his reported assassination by Israel at the Palestinian embassys headquarters in Bulgaria.
Ahmad al-Nayif told Ma'an: My brother was being directly and indirectly threatened by some individuals at the embassy -- especially the ambassador -- who demanded him to leave the embassy where he was taking cover after being threatened by Mossad, referring to Israel's overseas intelligence agency.
Ahmad demanded the Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Palestinian ambassador to Bulgaria be dismissed for not providing enough protection for al-Nayif. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770453
Israels Bildungsminister: Palästinenser müssen getötet werden und in geheimen Friedhöfen beerdigt we
Israels Bildungsminister: Palästinenser müssen getötet werden und in geheimen Friedhöfen beerdigt werden
Der israelische Bildungsminister Naftali Bennett von der extrem rechten Jüdische Heim-Partei rief dazu auf, die Palästinenser zu ermorden, die Aktivisten gegen die Besatzung sind. Man sollte auch die Wohnungen ihrer Familie zerstören, um den Widerstand in den besetzten palästinensischen Gebieten zu unterdrücken. http://www.tlaxcala-int.org/article.asp?reference=17352
Dozens wounded as Israeli forces repress weekly Palestinian marches
Dozens of Palestinians were wounded across the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip on Friday as Israeli forces repressed weekly demonstrations against the ongoing military occupation.
A Palestinian youth was injured in the head by a tear gas canister and treated by medics on scene, while dozens were injured with rubber-coated steel bullets and suffered tear gas inhalation during a march in Kafr Qaddum. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770454
Palestinian mother put under house arrest as part of son's sentencing
Palestinian officials on Wednesday visited a woman in occupied East Jerusalem who the Israeli authorities have sentenced to house arrest along with her 16-year-old son ahead of his court hearing next month.
The Palestinian Committee for Prisoners' Affairs said in a statement that its head, Issa Qaraqe, along with Ramallah Governor Laila Ghannam, had visited the mother of 16-year-old Melad Mousa Najeeb.
The statement said that in an unprecedented move the Israeli authorities have sentenced the woman to house arrest along with her son ahead of his court hearing on March 7. It did not say what charges he is facing. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770420
Israeli forces detain teen in Hebron's Beit Ummar village(28-2) http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770482
Israeli forces detain 9 across West Bank, East Jerusalem(28-2) http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770475
Israel detains 3 Palestinians in search along Gaza borderline(27-2) http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770463
Israeli forces assault, detain human rights lawyer in Hebron(26-2) http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770459
Israeli forces detain 33 Palestinians in overnight(25-2) raids(http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770430
Israeli forces detain 18 Palestinians across West Bank(24-2) http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770418
Flooding, mold in Etzion jail causing illness among detainees
Palestinian prisoners in Israel's Etzion prison are suffering from a lack of protection against cold and wet conditions, leading to illness and infections that are neglected by the prison service, a lawyer with the Palestinian Authority Prisoners' Affairs Committee said on Wednesday.
Lawyer for the committee Hussien al-Sheikh said Etzion is "flooded" from heavy rainfall in recent days. The flooding has ruined prisoners' clothing and blankets, as mold has taken root in the dampened materials.
Al-Sheikh added that due to the poor conditions, flu and skin infection have started to spread among the prisoners, who remain untreated.
In addition to deteriorating living conditions in the jail, al-Sheikh documented cases of Israeli authorities insulting, beating and torturing prisoners during interrogations. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770421
Palestinian fishing vessels damaged after Israeli forces open fire http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770461
Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishermen(26-2) http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770446
Israeli naval forces open fire on Gazan fishermen(24-2) http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770419
5-year-old killed in Gaza as Israeli ordnance explodes http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770443
Israeli forces seize 1 million shekels' worth of machinery in Hebron
Israeli army, police, and border forces raided a Palestinian construction company north of Hebron on Saturday, seizing machinery worth around 1 million shekels ($255,552).
Activist Muhammad Ayyad Awad said Israeli forces raided the Ghazalah Building Materials company near Beit Ummar and seized electronic machines used for cutting iron.
Company owner Muhammad Mustafa Ghazalah reported that the machines were bought legally from Tel Aviv, but that Israeli police insisted on seizing them until Ghazalah could bring them the ownership documents. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770473
Israeli soldiers prevent renovations in Hebron's Old City, detain 2
Israeli forces on Thursday stopped workers from renovating a Palestinian home in the Old City of Hebron, assaulting and detaining two, locals said.
Owner of the home, Nidal al-Uwaiwi told Maan that soldiers attacked a group of laborers and prevented them from renovating his home, located on Abraham Avenue in the center of the Old City.
Al-Uwaiwi identified the detainees as Palestinian architect Baraa Dufash and laborer Yusif Abu Aker, adding that Israeli soldiers detained the two on the grounds that they were "disturbing settlers." http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770439
Israel issues 9 home demolition orders in Jerusalem-area village
Israeli forces on Wednesday issued nine home demolition orders to residents in the occupied East Jerusalem village of al-Issawiya, a local follow-up committee member said.
Muhammad Abu al-Hummus told Ma'an that Israeli forces issued the home demolitions in the Abu Riyala area of the village, telling residents their homes would be demolished due to lack of permits.
Abu al-Hummus said some of the homes issued demolition orders were built more than 40 years ago, and accused Israeli authorities of using permit laws to dole out "collective punishment" on Palestinians in Jerusalem. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770431
Palestinian families in Silwan receive evacuation notices http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770416
Israeli settlers escorted by army raid village in Salfit district
A group of Israeli settlers escorted by Israeli military forces raided the village of Yasuf in the northern West Bank district of Salfit on Saturday.
The head of the Yasuf village council, Hafith Ebayya, said that a group of Israeli settlers raided the village and attempted to enter the al-Basatin area in central Yasuf.
Ebayya said that the settlers were escorted by military vehicles and soldiers, and that a military checkpoint was set up at the entrance of the village.
Clashes erupted between dozens of Palestinian youths and Israeli forces. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770470
Thousands commemorate DFLP anniversary in Gaza
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) celebrated its 47th anniversary on Saturday with a march in the Gaza Strip, as its leaders stressed the need for Palestinian unity and the importance of armed and popular resistance to end the Israeli occupation. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770467
Israeli farms exploit Thai workers and Palestinian children as government looks the other way
This is not what I expected, Dusit Doting says as he stands outside the white shipping container that he now calls home. The other Thai agricultural workers standing around Doting appear to agree with the sentiment. They work long hours, in often dangerous and hazardous situations, and all for less than the legal Israeli minimum wage of 25 NIS an hour. http://mondoweiss.net/2016/02/israeli-farms-exploit-thai-workers-and-palestinian-children-as-government-looks-the-other-way/
The Israeli left still has European colonial dreams
How did it come about that I, while I acknowledge the Nakba and favour the establishment of a new Jewish-Palestinian nationhood in this land, do not describe myself as a leftist?
It's about the fact that the leftist struggle in Israel is not a popular or class struggle, but an elitist one with a sectarian face. Being leftist in Israel is no longer about an ideology; "left" has become a symbol of identity, part of the struggle over identity politics that has so inflamed our era.
I wish in this article to stimulate discussion among English readers about the meaning of being leftist, not just in Israel but also in Europe and the West. The special case of the state of Israel, a place where the occupier is also a former victim, introduces an element that seems relevant in other contexts as well, including perhaps the expansion of green parties at the expense of the traditional red/social parties. http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/left-means-identity-israel-1972066976
Hamas digs deep in Gaza for 'coming' underground war
For Gazans, the buzz of drones or the roar of fighter jets provide a near-constant reminder of Israels strategic dominance of the space above their heads.
But many here believe the next war could potentially be fought over the ground beneath their feet.
While exchanges of air strikes and rocket attacks have punctuated previous battles, Hamass main preparations for a future conflict are taking place out of sight and deep underground.
Analysts in Gaza say that tunnels are now seen as offering the best line of defence from an Israeli assault, as well as a potential route into Israeli territory for fighters tasked with retaliatory attacks and a potent psychological weapon.
Hamas too is lauding the tunnel builders for whom the threat of often deadly collapses is an ever-present danger. http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/hamas-digs-deep-coming-underground-war-gaza-417205867
Wie Israel Palästinenser in Zionisten verwandelt indem es den palästinensischen Schulen israelische Lehrpläne aufzwingt
Israel übt finanziellen Druck auf palästinensische Schulen im besetzten Ost-Jerusalem in dem Bestreben aus, dass sie zu einem israelisch kontrollierten Lehrplan wechseln, nach lokalen Aktivisten und Offiziellen.
Fast alle Ost-Jerusalemer Schulen benützen einen Lehrplan, der von der palästinensischen Behörde entwickelt wurde, einer palästinensischen Regierung im Werden, die Mitte der 90er-Jahre durch das Oslo-Abkommen geschaffen wurde. Vorher richteten sie sich nach dem jordanischen Lehrplan.
Palästinensische Offizielle wehren sich heftig dagegen und warnen davor es sei Teil intensiver Bemühungen Israels, Ost-Jerusalem vom benachbarten Westjordanland zu trennen und seine Kontrolle über die 300 000 Palästinenser der Stadt zu haben.
Friedensbemühungen haben lange basiert auf die Idee, Israel würde seine Besatzung Ost-Jerusalems beenden und die Stadt als Hauptstadt eines zukünftigen palästinensischen Staates anerkennen.
Dieser Angriff auf unseren Lehrplan ist Teil von Israels Krieg gegen unsere palästinensische Identität, sagte Sabri Saidam, der palästinensische Bildungsminister zu Al Jazeera. Israel ist dabei, seine illegale Besatzung zu festigen.
Israel versuchte, den israelischen Lehrplan schon 1967, als es Ost-Jerusalem eroberte, aufzuzwingen, war aber gezwungen worden, dies nach monatelangen Streiks und Protesten der Eltern und Schüler zurückzunehmen. http://www.tlaxcala-int.org/article.asp?reference=17361
Another Mossad Assassination, This Time in Bulgaria
There are only a few things the Mossad is good at. And killing is the primary one. They dont do much thats constructive. They dont make the world better or safer for Israel. They dont bring peace. They dont persuade people to compromise.
They kill. They cheat. They steal. Theyre good at all those things. But how do those things do anything to help Israel in the long-term? They dont. http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2016/02/28/another-mossad-assassination-this-one-in-bulgaria/
41 Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces since October
Forty-one Palestinian children have been killed in the occupied Palestinian territory since October, Defense for Children Internationals Palestine branch (DCIP) reported Friday.
All were killed as a direct result of intensified violence, DCIP said in a statement, and all but one were killed by Israeli military forces.
The number includes 31 Palestinians under the age of 18 who allegedly carried out knife or gun attacks, as well as others shot dead during clashes.
The report does not include a two-year-old who was killed alongside her pregnant mother in their home during an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770565
February: 616 Palestinians arrested
In a joint report, three Palestinian institutions: the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, and the Prisoners Affairs Committee said that the Israeli occupation authorities arrested 616 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza in February 2016. This number includes 140 children and 18 women and girls. The number of arrests since the beginning of the popular uprising in October 2015 has exceeded 4,120. http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/news/1304-february-616-palestinians-arrested
US Palestinian and Arab organizations demand justice for Omar Nayef Zayed
The Palestinian and Arab institutions in the United States express their outrage and condemnation of the assassination of the former prisoner Omar Nayef Zayed inside the Palestinian embassy at the hands of the Zionist Mossad and a handful of paid collaborators who have stained their hands with the blood of strugglers, the honorable children of Palestine. http://samidoun.net/2016/03/us-palestinian-and-arab-organizations-demand-justice-for-omar-nayef-zayed/
Too dangerous to play: The West Bank children shot dead by Israeli soldiers
Parents in the occupied West Bank say they can no longer allow their children to play outside because of fears that they could be shot dead by Israeli forces.
A report published this month by a children's rights group said that 41 children had been shot dead during six months of upheaval in which Israeli forces have often responded with lethal force to scores of stabbing and shooting attacks by Palestinians.
Nasreen al-Baw, the mother of 14-year-old Haitham al-Baw who was killed by Israeli soldiers on 5 February, told Middle East Eye that her son had died instantly after being shot in the back while playing on a hillside with his cousin and another teenager and his two new dogs.
Israel security forces said Haitham had been throwing stones at passing cars on the outskirts of Halhul village near Hebron, a statement Nasreen al-Baw denied.
My son was the oldest of four, and our only son, she said. He was very responsible. He had a kind soul that fell for every animal he met, from the chickens to the donkeys and the dogs and cats in our neighbourhood. He didnt have violence in him. http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestine-west-bank-shootings-children-2034733677
Israeli forces kill 22-year-old Palestinian
Qalandia residents said that on Monday, Israeli soldiers raided the Qalandia Refugee Camp to rescue a group of undercover [Israeli] officers who had entered the camp through an alleyway near the camps cemetery.
Qalandia residents reported Israeli military helicopter retrieved the soldiers after they were detained by Palestinian gunmen for three hours.
Israeli authorities, however, reported that two Israeli soldiers erroneously drove into Qalandia using the Waze application on their smartphones, and residents threw stones and Molotov cocktails at their jeep, causing both soldiers to flee the vehicle.
One soldier immediately contacted Israeli authorities; the other seemed to be lost in the camp. http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/news/1300-israeli-forces-kill-22-year-old-palestinian
4 Palestinians shot as Israeli forces disperse Friday protests
Four Palestinians were shot and scores suffered from excessive tear gas inhalation after Israeli forces dispersed weekly protests in the occupied West Bank with rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and skunk water.
Medics told Ma'an that a teenager was hit in the eye with a rubber-coated steel bullet when clashes broke out with Israeli forces in the town of Abu Dis east of Jerusalem.
Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics said three other Palestinians were injured with rubber-coated steel bullets, in addition to 15 others who suffered from tear gas inhalation. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770657
Israeli forces shoot, injure 14-year-old in chest during Ramallah-area clashes
Israeli forces on Sunday shot and seriously injured a 14-year-old Palestinian boy during clashes in al-Mazraa al-Gharbiya village, northwest of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank, medical sources told Ma'an.
Medical sources said Adi Kamal Salamah, 14, was shot with a live bullet in the chest, and was taken to Palestine Medical Complex for treatment.
The teen was in serious, but stable condition, medical sources said.
Clashes broke out in the village when Israeli forces entered the area, with Palestinian youth throwing rocks and empty bottles at forces who shot live fire, as well as rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas and stun grenades at protesters. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770685
Israel escalates its assault on Palestinian press
Early in the morning on Friday, March 11th, dozens of Israeli soldiers raided the offices of Palestine Today (Falastin al-Yawm) in al-Bireh in the West Bank. The soldiers damaged the TV stations offices, confiscated technical equipment, and ordered the station's closure with a military order. The Israeli Army claims the TV station is guilty of incitement against Israel.
During the raid, Israeli forces arrested two employees of Palestine Today: Mohammed Amr and Shabeeb Shabeeb.
Israeli soldiers proceeded to raid TransMedia Production Company in the West Bank city of Ramallah. TransMedia provides satellite TV services to stations in Palestine; it is the broadcasting servicer for Palestine Today.
At the same time, another group of Israeli soldiers sought out Farouq Elayyat, the General Director of Palestine Today, at his home in Birziet and arrested him as well. http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/news/1312-palestinian-press-under-attack
Israel jails Palestinian journalist for incitement
An Israeli military court sentenced a Palestinian journalist to 11 months in prison on Monday for alleged incitement.
Ahmad Hamad al-Betawi, an editor with Quds Net News Agency, had been awaiting trial since he was arrested last June for allegedly violating bail conditions on which he had been released from a previous arrest in February 2014. https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/charlotte-silver/israel-jails-palestinian-journalist-incitement
Aspiring Palestinian journalist killed months before graduation
Iyad Sajadiyya had worked hard to make his way through college. To pay his tuition fees, he had a job in a clothing store serving Qalandiya refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. He was working there on Monday, 29 February, when two Israeli soldiers drove into the camp, reportedly by mistake.
We immediately shut down the store to see what was happening, said a coworker, who asked not to be named. Later, we saw a massive number of troops storm the camp so we began marching through the camps market while chanting.
Israel invoked the so-called Hannibal Directive after the soldiers were separated from their vehicle and it was attacked by some of the camps residents. Under that directive, the Israeli military is authorized to use huge firepower with the objective of preventing a soldier being captured alive. https://electronicintifada.net/content/aspiring-palestinian-journalist-killed-months-graduation/15886
Family of Palestinian responsible for attack forced to leave Jerusalem
Five family members of a Palestinian killed after shooting and injuring two Israeli officers were denied Jerusalem residency and transferred to the occupied West Bank by the Israeli authorities, according to prisoners rights group Addameer.
Lawyer for the group Muhammad Mahmoud said the family members of Fouad Abu Rajab -- all of whom lived in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Issawiya -- were summoned to al-Maskobiya police station in Jerusalem. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770644
Israeli authorities to demolish 13 homes, structures in Azzun
Israeli forces on Thursday delivered stop-work and demolition orders to 13 Palestinian homes and structures in the occupied West Bank town of Azzun, locals said.
Hassan Shubaita, a local who documents Israeli violations in the Qalqilya-area town, told Maan that Israeli military forces raided the area near route 55 before delivering the orders.
Shubaita added that the notices included demolition of inhabited homes, homes under construction, and tin shacks which were reportedly built without the proper permits.
The owners of the structures, along with the village mayor, plan to appeal the demolitions. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770643
Israel hands demolition notices for two buildings in East Jerusalem area
Israeli authorities on Sunday handed demolition notifications for two buildings in the al-Issawiya neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, citing construction without building permits, local sources told Maan.
Al-Issawiya local committee member Muhammad Abu al-Hummus said Israeli troops raided the neighborhood and handed Fadi al-Issawi and Muhammad Dawood Mahmoud demolition notices for their homes claiming that it was built without prior permission.
Al-Issawi said his house consists of two floors and three apartments and was built in 2001, with prior permission from Israeli municipal authorities. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770687
Palästinensische Beduinengemeinschaft in Ein Ar Rashash fast total zerstört
Am 15. Februar 2016 demolierte die israelische Armee fast alle bestehenden Strukturen der palästinensischen Beduinen-Gemeinschaft von Ein Ar-Rashash im Ramallah-Gouvernement auf Grund fehlender Baugenehmigung. http://www.tlaxcala-int.org/article.asp?reference=17369
Israel acted 'above the law' in killing of Gazan children
The Palestinian Prime Ministers office on Tuesday slammed Israel for acting above the law and called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for the deaths of two children killed in an airstrike on Gaza last week.
Six-year-old Israa Abu Khussa and her 10-year-old brother Yasin were killed on March 12 after a missile fired by the Israeli air force hit near their home in Beit Lahiya.
Addressing the incident, Jamal Dajani, Director of Strategic Communications and Media for Prime Minister Hamdallah said: Israel continues to act above the law and murder children.
"Israeli leaders have blood on their hands, how do they justify the killing of innocent children?" Dajani said.
The official said at least 1,000 Palestinian children had been killed during the six major military offenses carried out by Israel on the Gaza Strip since 2005. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770699
A seaport in Gaza, a neoliberal distraction
Anticipation of a fourth Israeli war on Gaza has all but disappeared this week as talk of breakthroughs or even an easing of the siege has taken its place.
Numerous news reports from both Israel and Hamas debated the possibility of negotiations clearing the way for the construction of a seaport in Gaza. Concern about a looming war was replaced with concern about the practicalities of building a port in Gaza: Where would the seaport be? On a Gaza beach? A pier directed toward the Port of Limassol in Cyprus? Or a port similar to what Israel has in Ashdod? The Israeli media indicated through detailed reporting, complete with descriptions and pictures of possible approaches to building such a seaport, the seriousness of the suggestion.
This speculation, however, ended when Yoav Mordechai, coordinator of Israeli government activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, stated that there are no negotiations with Turkey to establish a seaport in Gaza. In any event, he added, if Israel decides to consider such a proposal in the future, it would be through the Palestinian Authority. http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/aicoment/1305-a-seaport-in-gaza-a-neoliberal-distraction
'Aleppo's hell is better than this': The Syrians who want out of Gaza
Refugees from Syria in Gaza are protesting to be allowed to leave, with some even saying they want to return home because conditions in the besieged Palestinian territory are so intolerable.
Gaza is currently home to an estimated 1,200 refugees who are mainly from Syria but include others from Libya and Yemen. Most of them arrived through now-demolished tunnels that once linked the enclave to Egypt.
Many say they were drawn there by promises of jobs, or in the hope of starting their own businesses, despite the challenges posed by Gazas near-decade-long blockade by Israel and Egypt.
Some of them have Palestinian backgrounds and come from the refugee camp of Yarmouk, south of the Syrian capital Damascus, which is home to the descendants of families displaced from their lands in modern-day Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories in 1948 or during the Six Day War of 1967 between Israel and its Arab neighbours.
Yarmouk has been the scene of regular fierce fighting between pro-government forces and rebels during Syrias five-year war and was briefly captured by the Islamic State (IS) group last year. http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/gaza-syrian-refugees-1269724324
Video: Did Israel target Gazas ambulances?
A new documentary shows the devastation Israels 2014 bombardment of Gaza caused to medical and rescue teams.
In the documentary, which can be viewed at the top of this page, three medics recall incidents during which their colleagues came under attack.
In total, 11 ambulance drivers and civil defense workers were killed during Israels 51 days of aerial bombing and ground invasion.
Twenty-four ambulances and 70 medical facilities were damaged or destroyed. https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/charlotte-silver/video-did-israel-target-gazas-ambulances
Shin Bet Agent Killed by Fellow Agent During Meeting with Palestinian Informer
An Israeli Shin Bet agent was killed yesterday by security personnel in a friendly fire incident along the Gaza fence near the Kerem Shalom border crossing. The victims name was Amir Maimoni. This much has been reported by Israeli media. But this Haaretz report says that the case is under a gag order. After inquiring from an Israeli security source, I learned this: the Shabak was conducting a security operation in which a rakaz (Shabak officer who runs Palestinian spies) was to meet a Palestinian agent at the security fence separating Gaza from southern Israel. Besides the rakaz and the spy, there were two other agents disguised as Palestinians (in Israeli police jargon they would be called mistarvim) who were providing security for the meeting. http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2016/03/10/breaking-shin-bet-agent-killed-in-friendly-fire-incident-at-gaza-fence/
Pro-Israel NGO puts pressure on UNRWA for aiding Palestinian refugees
Operating as a humanitarian organisation in the Palestinian territories presents challenges even during the best of times. The devastation wrought by the Gaza war in 2014 and the conflict in Syria has put unprecedented pressure on relief efforts.
Now one of the oldest and most established humanitarian groups in the region faces another problem - it is under fire from factions that appear set on undermining its reputation and stopping its funding. None of this is helped by the fact that the group in question is facing a funding crisis of its own.
This is no ordinary organisation and no small sum of money - this is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which has a budget of $1.5bn this year for regular programmes and emergency work and provides a lifeline to five million Palestinian refugees, permanently displaced by the Middle Easts most intractable struggle. http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pro-israeli-ngo-puts-pressure-unrwa-aiding-palestinian-refugees-1755634396
Nearly half of Jewish Israelis support expulsion of Palestinians: Poll
Almost half of Jewish Israelis support the transfer or expulsion of Palestinians, while 61 percent believe that God gave the land to the Jewish people, according to the results of a survey published on Tuesday by a US-based think tank.
The survey by the Pew Research Center was conducted from October 2014 until May 2015 and polled 5,601 people, including 3,879 Jewish residents of Israel and settlers and Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem.
Forty-eight percent of Jewish Israelis said they agreed with the statement that Arabs should be expelled or transferred from Israel. Twenty-nine percent said they dont really agree and 17 percent said they dont agree at all. http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/nearly-half-jewish-israelis-support-expulsion-palestinians-poll-11055798
What's behind Israel's call for 'economic peace'?
Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, the Israeli military chief of staff, gave the Israeli Cabinet a periodic security briefing Feb. 21. According to press reports, Eizenkot expressed concern over the deteriorating political situation within the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the continuation, for six months by now, of almost daily terror attacks by individual Palestinians. He recommended to the Cabinet that the economic situation in the West Bank be ameliorated, primarily by allowing a greater number of Palestinians to work in Israel. http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/03/israel-palestine-economic-peace-colonialism-equal-partners.html#
Third intifada, terror wave, the 'situation': Just don't mention the 'O' word to Israelis
It is six months into the third Intifada and the Israelis are frustrated; they sense chaos and a constant inability to create order. The Israeli leadership does not understand what to do when it appears that there is no leadership behind the young people who attack Israelis.
And indeed the old order has collapsed. It is interesting that before going to attack Israelis, the last words of young Palestinians to the old Palestinian leadership, are: Dont print posters after I die, dont take responsibility for my actions. I am independent. The Israelis refuse to see that they themselves are the reason for this uprising, so every day they come up with a new analysis of whats behind it. Today its social media, yesterday it was the Palestinian media and the day before it was the economy. The bottom line, as community activist Jamal Juma says, is that they dont see us, they dont want to acknowledge our needs.
The Israeli Security Agency (Shabak) has issued several reports about what it calls the latest wave of terror attacks. The word military occupation or its euphemism - Israeli military presence - do not appear in these reports. http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/israeli-security-agency-and-mau-mau-443206787
Video zeigt kaltblütigen Kopfschuss
Blutiger Zwischenfall im Westjordanland: Nach einer Messerattacke auf israelische Soldaten liegen zwei Angreifer verletzt am Boden. Sanitäter kümmern sich um die Israelis. Ein Soldat zückt sein Waffe und erschießt einen offenbar wehrlosen Palästinenser. http://www.n-tv.de/politik/Israelischer-Soldat-erschiesst-Verletzten-article17313251.html
Der Teil wo der soldat erschießt wurde selbst von BTselem Zensiert , das video zeigt nur nach der palästinenscher erschoss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9H2KDYPptg
IDF Soldier Who Executed Unarmed Palestinian, and Commanding OfficerExposed http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2016/03/26/breaking-identities-of-idf-soldier-who-executed-unarmed-palestinian-and-his-commanding-officer-exposed/
Netanyahus hypocritical condemnation of videotaped Hebron execution
Israels political and military establishment broke out into a chorus of hypocritical condemnation after the release of a video showing a soldier shooting directly at the head of a Palestinian lying on the ground on Thursday. https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/netanyahus-hypocritical-condemnation-videotaped-hebron-execution
Israeli settlers threaten Palestinian who filmed Hebron 'execution'
Israeli settlers on Friday gathered outside the home of a human rights worker in Hebron to hurl abuse at him, a day after he captured on camera an Israeli soldier's killing of a wounded Palestinian that has sparked international outcry.
Emad Abu Shamsiya, a staff member with Israeli human rights group BTselem, told Maan after settlers threatened him: I now fear for my life and the life of my family. Im afraid they might attack my house and do me harm. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770850
UN: Over 400 Palestinians displaced by Israel in 6 weeks 18-02
Over 400 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have been displaced due to Israeli demolitions during the first six weeks of this year, a senior UN official said Wednesday.
Coordinator for Humanitarian and UN Development Activities for the occupied Palestinian territory Robert Piper in a statement called the number of demolitions alarming.
The number of Palestinians displaced in 2016 is already equivalent to over half of the total number displaced in all of 2015, the official said. https://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770350
Rights group: Israel demolishes Palestinian home in West Bank
The Israeli Civil Administration in the occupied Palestinian territory demolished a home and several structures in the southern West Bank on Tuesday morning, an Israeli human rights group said.
According to BTselem, Israeli authorities demolished a home and an adjacent shed and animal enclosure in the community of Khirbet Jenbah in the Masafer Yatta area of the southern Hebron Hills. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770796
3 structures torn down as East Jerusalem demolitions continue
Three structures belonging to Palestinians were demolished in occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday, continuing a recent surge in Israeli demolitions across the occupied Palestinian territory.
Israeli bulldozers tore down a 100-square meter mobile home in Beit Hanina in northern Jerusalem belonging to local resident Majdi Idris, relatives told Ma'an. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770797
Israeli forces level Palestinian land in northern Gaza
Israeli forces entered the border area of the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday and leveled land near the Zikim military base, local residents told Ma'an.
Witnesses said seven Israeli bulldozers escorted by an Israeli armored vehicle crossed the border near the military base, which is adjacent to the northern Gaza Strip village of al-Saifa. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770808
Israeli forces level large swathe of land, demolish shack near Hebron
Israeli forces on Tuesday leveled 40 dunams (9.88 acres) of land west of Hebron and demolished a tin shack in the Masafer Yatta area in the southern occupied West Bank, locals said.
Village spokesman Abdul-Rahman al-Tumazi told Ma'an that Israeli troops leveled the lands in the Suba area of the village of Idhna in order to illegaly annex it to a nearby Israeli settlement.
Al-Tumazi added that he believed the land was being leveled for the purpose of extracting stones -- considered the best in the area -- to use for construction for nearby illegal settlements. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770805
Palestinian family regains hotel 13 years after confiscation by Israel
A Palestinian family was able to regain control of the disputed Cliff Hotel in the occupied East Jerusalem village of Abu Dis, after a decades-long battle with Israeli authorities.
The familys lawyer Bassam Bahar, who also heads a local committee to defend Abu Dis lands, said the Ayyad family, which owns the hotel, was able to enter the hotel for the first time since Israeli forces occupied the hotel in 2003 and began using it as a watchtower, citing security reasons.
The Israeli authorities had previously taken over the hotel under the Israeli Absentee Property law, which effectively allows Israelis to move into property whose Palestinian owners live in the West Bank or Gaza Strip.
Bahar said that the familys resistance against Israeli policy of Judaization of the area is what enabled the family to regain the property. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770826
Israel displaces two Palestinian families
Dozens of Israeli soldiers, along with bulldozers and an officer from the Israeli civil administration, raided the villages of Khirbet Jenbah and Khirbet al-Tabban in the South Hebron Hills.
On Tuesday, in Khirbet Jenbah, Israeli forces demolished the home of Shaher Ahmed Mohammad. Israeli soldiers also confiscated a solar panel, a shed, and a sheep pen that belonged to the family.
Today, Israeli forces demolished a home belonging to Mahmoud Khalil Obaid in the nearby village of Khirbet al-Tabban. Like many other families who live in the South Hebron Hills, this is not the first time the Abu Obaid family has been targeted by the Israeli military. http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/news/1325-israel-displaces-two-palestinian-families
Israeli forces begin construction over Bethlehem-area historical site http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770111
Settler group wins in battle over controversial Silwan plan
In direct violation of past rulings, an Israeli council approved on Wednesday controversial plans in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan pushed by the settler organization Elad.
The Israeli National Council for Planning and Building approved a plan for Elad's Kedem project despite over a decade of appeals against the move by Palestinian residents and Israeli rights organizations.
The Silwan-based Wadi Hilweh Information Center said in a statement that the settlement project was approved after an emergency session was held at the councils headquarters on Tuesday.
The center said Silwan residents withdrew from the session after they were treated in a racist way. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770822
Israeli forces raid home of Palestinian killed by Israeli soldier, detain 2 (27-03)
Israeli forces targeted the family of Abed al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif and detained two Palestinians during predawn raids Sunday in the occupied West Bank district of Hebron, locals said.
Local sources told Maan that Israeli forces raided the village of Jabal Abu Rumman and stormed the home of Khalid Yusri al-Sharif, 25, the brother of Abed al-Fattah, who was killed by an Israeli soldier earlier this week in what has been widely condemned as a brutal execution. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770866
4 teens detained after allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails at settlement 26-03 http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770854
2 injured in Nablus clashes 25-03 http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770851
Israeli police on Friday detained a Palestinian teenage girl after she allegedly attempted to stab police officers at the entrance to the occupied East Jerusalem village of Issawiya. 25-03 http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770846
7 Palestinians in Jerusalem indicted for forming 'PFLP cell' 25-03 http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770840
Elderly man wounded as Israeli forces suppress weekly protests http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770847
Israeli forces detain 22 in West Bank raids, 3 minors 24-03 http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770828
Israeli forces detain 16 Palestinians across West Bank 23-03 http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770809
Israels less lethal weapons take childrens eyes and lives
Israels military regulations supposedly instruct soldiers not to fire rubber-coated metal bullets at women or children or above the torso.
But since October 2015, eight children have been shot in the head or neck during protests.
Two of these teenagers have lost their eyesight.
Ahmad Sharaka, a 14-year-old resident of Jalazone refugee camp, lost his life after a rubber-coated steel bullet hit him behind his left ear causing a massive brain hemorrhage that killed him within an hour of his injury.
Rubber-coated bullets are just one kind of supposedly less lethal weapon Israeli occupation forces and police are using with increasing frequency against Palestinian protesters and bystanders. https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/charlotte-silver/israels-less-lethal-weapons-take-childrens-eyes-and-lives
SEE! A week of Israeli occupation http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/news/1324-see-a-week-of-israeli-occupation-3
Beit Fajjar: six days under siege
Israeli authorities have besieged Beit Fajjar, a town south of Bethlehem in the West Bank, for six days, along with the 12,000 Palestinians that live there.
Israeli authorities imposed the siege on Thursday. The Governor of Bethlehem, Jibril al-Bakri, and Beit Fajjar residents attest that Israeli forces are collectively punishing the town for the death of two youth last week. Israeli forces habit of collectively punishing Palestinian civilians is in blatant violation of international law. http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/news/1322-beit-fajjar-six-days-under-siege
Jerusalem family rejects sons body after Israeli handover, another buried
The Israeli authorities late Monday returned the bodies of two Jerusalemite Palestinians were were shot dead after allegedly carrying out attacks, one of which was rejected by family members.
Witnesses said the Lions Gate area of occupied East Jerusalems Old City where the handover took place looked like a military barracks as Israeli forces heightened their presence for the return of the bodies of 15-year-old Hassan Khalid Manasra and Omar Skafi, 21.
Outrage erupted when the family of 15-year-old Manasra found their sons body frozen, in violation of a mutual agreement set up between the Israeli authorities and family members. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770790
Israeli forces raid, confiscate items from Jenin-area university
Israeli forces overnight Monday raided the campus of the Arab American University in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin and confiscated items -- including computers and flags -- from student union offices.
The universitys public relations department told Maan that 11 Israeli military vehicles stormed the campus grounds at 1 a.m. and broke into the office of the Dean of Students, as well as a number of offices belonging to the student union. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770791
Youngest prisoner in Israeli jail is a 12-year-old girl
On a hilltop overlooking the town of Halhul from the West, the al-Wawi family home looks unremarkable at first. A row of potted plants sit on a low wall above a plot of barren grape trees out front.
A large plastic poster, hanging from the roof, displays a photograph of some of the family's young daughters.
Among the smiling faces is 12 year-old D*, who no longer lives in the family home.
Instead, she is detained at the Hasharon prison in Israel.
On February 18 she was sentenced - in a plea bargain - to four and a half months in prison, after being charged with attempted manslaughter and possession of a knife. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/03/youngest-israeli-prisoner-12-year-girl-160317064812932.html
Fire breaks out in Russian Compound detention center in Jerusalem http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770801
Israeli forces assault prisoners in Etzion detention center
Palestinian prisoners in Israel's Etzion detention center were aggressively assaulted while under Israeli custody, the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners Affairs said on Thursday.
The committee said Israeli soldiers raided the prisoners cells and forced them to leave before their rooms were subjected to a humiliating inspection. The groups were later forced to crowd together into two rooms. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770829
5 Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike
Five Palestinians are currently on a hunger strike in Israeli jails in protest of solitary confinement and Israels policy of administrative detention -- internment without charge or trial.
Amjad al-Najjar, the director of the Palestinian Prisoners Societys office in Hebron said in a press statement Saturday that Sami Janazrah has been on hunger strike since March 3, Imad al-Batran has been on strike since March 15, and Abd-al-Rahim has been on strike since March 24, all in protest of administrative detention.
They were joined in their strike Saturday by Zayid Al-Basisi who is sentenced to life plus 55 years, and Nahar Al-Sadi who was sentenced to four life sentences plus 20 years. They are both protesting solitary confinement. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770862
Neuer Bericht von HaMoked und BTselem enthüllt routinemäßige Misshandlung palästinensischer Häftlinge während der Verhöre durch die ISA
In den letzten Monaten berichteten die israelischen Medien umfänglich über den Missbrauch und die Demütigungen von Seiten der Vernehmungsbeamten der Israelischen Sicherheitsagentur (ISA) gegenüber den jüdischen Häftlingen, die in den Brandanschlag in Duma verwickelt waren. Die Verhörmethoden, die mit Schmerzen und Leid verbunden sind, sind unakzeptabel und rechtswidrig; es gibt keine Rechtfertigung für ihre Anwendung. Eine engagierte kritische, öffentliche Debatte ist zweifelsohne gut, nachdem dies ans Tageslicht gekommen ist. Aber die tägliche Misshandlung, Demütigung und Folter der ISA gegenüber den palästinensischen Häftlingen wird von den Medien und auch von der Öffentlichkeit mit Geringschätzung und Gleichgültigkeit aufgenommen. http://www.tlaxcala-int.org/article.asp?reference=17522
Chief Rabbi Urges Israeli Soldiers to Kill Palestinian Assailants, Not Worry About Court or Chief of Staff
Israel's Sephardi chief rabbi said Saturday that it was a religious imperative to kill armed Palestinian assailants, and urged soldiers not to be concerned by the scrutiny of the High Court or the army chief of staff on the matter.
If someone comes to kill you, you kill him first. Dont start being afraid with all kinds that theyll make about him later in the High Court of Justice, or that some chief of staff will come and say something different.. . It deters them too. The moment a terrorist knows that if he comes with a knife he wont return alive, that will deter them. Thats why its a mitzvah to kill him, Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef said during his weekly Torah lesson. http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.708648
The incredible story of 18 cows that became Israel's most wanted fugitives and symbols of Palestinian resistance.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has borne witness to numerous tragedies but in The Wanted 18, an award-winning and astonishing true story, animation, claymation and interviews highlight an absurd footnote in the history of the bitter foes.
Set in the late 1980s against the backdrop of the first Intifada, The Wanted 18 begins with residents from the predominantly Christian Arab village of Beit Sahour in the occupied West Bank deciding to buy 18 cows and produce their own milk as a co-operative.
Wanting self-sufficiency and an alternative to Israeli goods, the residents, many of whom have never seen a cow, smuggle the herd into their village and begin to learn the fine art of milking.
Their venture is so successful that the collective farm becomes a landmark and the cows local celebrities - until the Israeli army takes note and declares the farm "a threat to the national security of the state of Israel".
Consequently, the dairy is forced to go underground, the cows continuing to produce their "Intifada milk" with the Israeli army in relentless pursuit. http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/specialseries/2016/03/wanted-18-palestine-israel-intifada-160316111349132.html
Economic policies entrench Israeli occupation
The Palestinian economy has not been independent in centuries. Like the economies of other Arab countries, the Palestinian economy was subject to foreign control and looting for four centuries under Ottoman rule. Next, British colonial rule lorded over Palestine, until the Nakba uprooted Palestinians from their land in 1948. Following Israel's occupation of Palestine, Israeli colonial powers took control of the Palestinian economy. All of this made the already weak Palestinian economy an easy target for manipulation and destruction. Israeli management of the Palestinian economy has created deep structural disparities in Palestinian society. http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/aicoment/1320-economic-policies-entrench-israeli-occupation
Palestinian journalists bear a heavy burden
Deception remains one of Israel's primary weapons in influencing local and international public opinion. Claiming Palestinian incitement, this week Israeli security authorities shut down the television station Palestine Today in the West Bank town of al-Bireh. Israel claims that through its programming, Palestine Today incites public confrontation with the Israeli occupation and thus makes it difficult to quell the Third Intifada. Such a justification is the epitome of Israeli deception: it suggests that the Palestinian people need television to educate them on and inspire them to resist the occupation. http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/aicoment/1319-palestinian-journalists-bear-a-heavy-burden
Der palästinensische Journalistenverband verurteilt Israels Schließung des palästinensischen Fernsehsenders Palestine Today
Der palästinensische Journalistenverband verurteilte am Freitag (d. 11.3.) die gewaltsame Übernahme der Agentur des Satellitenfernsehsender Palestine Today im besetzten Westjordanland, die militärischen Schließungsbefehle und die Verhaftung von drei Journalisten. http://www.tlaxcala-int.org/article.asp?reference=17520
Palestinian support for knife attacks on decline, poll finds
Popular Palestinian support for stabbing attacks against Israelis is beginning to ebb, though most Palestinians still back a return to an armed intifada, a respected research center found in a poll published Monday.
The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) said support for the use of knives had dropped from 67 percent last December to 58 percent this month -- including 44 percent in the occupied West Bank, where most Palestinian attackers have come from.
"There is a notable drop in the West Bank in the support for knifing attacks, due, it seems, to a rising perception in its inefficacy," the research center said.
Since a wave of unrest swept the occupied Palestinian territory last October, Israeli forces have shot dead more than 200 Palestinians, most after they allegedly attempted to attack Israelis and most armed only with knives. The attacks killed nearly 30 Israelis in the same period. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770802
Decades on, Israel tries to bury its darkest times
One might expect that only historians would care to revisit the 1948 war that created Israel. And yet the debate about what constitutes truth and myth from that period still provokes raw emotions.
Much rests on how those events are reconstructed, not least because the shock waves have yet to subside. Israelis fear, and Palestinians crave, a clearer picture of the past because it would powerfully illuminate the present. It might also influence the international communitys proposed solutions for the conflict.
That is why the unearthing of an Israeli soldiers letter from 1948 detailing what was probably the wars worst massacre one long buried by Israel is of more than historical significance.
It comes as Moshe Yaalon, the defence minister, this week accused Breaking the Silence, an Israeli organisation that exposes military abuses, of treason for collecting evidence from the armys current whistle-blowers.
Western understandings of the 1948 war what Palestinians term their Nakba, or catastrophe are dominated by an enduring Israeli narrative. Israels army, it is said, abided by a strict moral code. Palestinians left not because of Israels actions but on the orders of Arab leaders. http://www.jonathan-cook.net/2016-03-22/decades-on-israel-tries-to-bury-its-darkest-times/
Thousands march on 40th Land Day to protest decades of land grabs
Thousands of Palestinians across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory marched Wednesday to commemorate the 40th Land Day, protesting decades of Israeli land grabs. http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770914
Israeli police testimony from 1976 land day
Below is a translation by the Alternative Information Center (AIC) of testimony provided by a policeman who participated in Israels oppression of the 1976 Palestinian Land Day. The now-defunct Hebrew-language weekly news magazine Haolam Haze published this anonymous testimony on 7 April 1976, which is brought here in its entirety.
My luck was bad (and to this my swollen forehead will testify) and I was appointed amongst the police force meant to calm the riots which broke out amongst Arabs from the Galilee on the day they call Land Day.
After reading articles written by journalists present in the area, what remains for me is only to unpack the burden of restraint which obligates me as a policeman and to set several things straight.
I am not a leftist, but the aspects of my thought on what happened in the Galilee on 30 March (1976) will most certainly be attributed to the left bloc as this bloc, according to my broken heart, is the bloc with objective vision. http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/news/1329-israeli-police-testimony-from-1976-land-day
Is Israel reviving this 50-year-old land plan?
In a March 18 statement, the Land Defense Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) reintroduced to political discussion terminology no longer often heard. In the statement, the PLO accused right-wing Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu of reviving the Allon Plan, so named after the late Labor Party Minister Yigal Allon. http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/03/israel-allon-plan-palestinian-land-grab.html#