This is a roundup of news related to Palestine with a particular focus on grassroots action and peaceful civil disobedience in the Occupied Territories and within the borders of Israel proper.
We use the name Filasṭīn, since that is the pronunciation preferred by Arabic speakers (irrespective of faith) for their homeland.
Violent settlers cleared despite smoking gun (literally)
(
story at +972mag)
The location was Qusra, a village in the Shiloh Valley; the date, September 16, 2011. Fathallah Mahmoud Muhammad Abu Rhoda went out with his three sons to pick figs. A short while after reaching their land, they noticed about 10 Israeli civilians standing around their water hole. The Palestinians demanded the Israelis leave the place; the interlopers refused. The residents of Qusra — a village that has already proven it can defend itself against marauders — began heading to the area. An argument ensued, and according to Abu Rhoda’s testimony to the police, three of the settlers (who were armed) opened fire on the Palestinians. One bullet hit Abu Rhoda in the thigh.
Of the three, two were armed with rifles and the other with a handgun. From the police testimony, we see that the handgun’s owner also sicced a dog on the Palestinians. The complainants managed to photograph some of their attackers, among them the handgun owner.
E. was identified by the Palestinian victims, and they even supplied the police with photos of him at the scene, which clearly show him holding a handgun in one hand and the dog in the other. The police picked up cartridges from the scene, and a ballistic fingerprinting – which took place on September 27, 2011 – found that one of the cartridges came from a 9mm Glock pistol (the others were fired from rifles.) E. was summoned for questioning, invoked his right to remain silent, but admitted he owned a Glock. The gun was duly turned over to the police, which sent it to a ballistic fingerprinting. In February 2012 the forensic expert reached the conclusion that there is a match between the cartridges fired from E.’s handgun and the those that were examined on September 27.
[...]
Despite the evidence, the police recommended that the case against E. be closed due to — get this — lack of evidence. The recommendation was accepted by the prosecution.
Palestinian woman and her children attacked by settlers
(
Int'l Solidatiry Movement) along with video of the incident
Yesterday evening in Al Khalil (Hebron), a Palestinian woman and her two small children were attacked by settlers from the illegal settlement as they were on their way to the shops.
Marwat Abu Remele lives in Tel Rumeida, an area in Al Khalil under Israeli control. She was on her way to buy groceries, when about twenty settlers gathered around them and attacked her son. A Palestinian man, Mohammed Abu Hazerh, promptly ran to protect them from this harassment. Harassment of this kind is not unusual for the Palestinians living in this part of the city.
A settler woman managed to convince Israeli soldiers that the Palestinians were in the wrong, and Mohammed narrowly escaped arrest. When the soldiers agreed to release him, the Israeli woman became hysterical and with a crowd of children ran after him. While she was shouting and insulting everyone standing on the street, the settler children spat, harassed and kicked other Palestinians and internationals that had come to witness the scene.
The soldiers attempted to stop all filming of what was going on and were failing to prevent the settlers harassing and taunting local people. The Abu Shamsiyeh family, who live on the street where the attack took place, were unable to enter their home as settlers were blocking their entrance. One of the Palestinian women who was trying to film the scene was violently attacked by two settlers.
WATCH: Israeli soldiers speak out against rules of engagement in Gaza
(
article in Haaretz)
Members of Breaking the Silence said Tuesday that even though many of the reactions to the report had been critical, the group felt it was succeeding in its goal of opening a public debate on what it claims was the army's reckless disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians during last summer's conflict.
"People do want to listen, even if there were angry reactions - we want to initiate a discussion on our morality and on the way we fought in Gaza," said Avner Gvaryahu, a spokesman for the group.
"We want Israeli society to take responsibility," he said at a presentation of the report held in a Tel Aviv conference hall. "We placed a mirror to the face of Israeli society, and the reflection is not a pretty one."
[...]
A small group of people protested outside the venue of Tuesday's presentation in Tel Aviv, holding up signs that read: "Breaking the Silence wounds the nation" and "Breaking the Silence – shut up."
"They are trying to paint our soldiers as murders by taking isolated events that shouldn’t have happened and orders that shouldn't have been given, and saying that this was the norm," said Amram Sherby, a 26-year-old student from Bar-Ilan University who held up pictures of soldiers who were killed during the war.
Video footage of soldiers testifying to Breaking the Silence was released this week and is embedded in the story above. The testimonies were covered in depth in three diaries I posted last week:
- "we do not spare ammo – we unload, we use as much as possible" - Breaking the Silence on Gaza
- "2,000 dead, 11,000 wounded, half a million refugees" = Mission Accomplished - Breaking the Silence
- "His wife and kid are in the car too? Not the end of the world" - Breaking The Silence on Gaza
ICC urges Israel to give material for preliminary Gaza probe
(
story at Washington Post)
Fatou Bensouda said in an interview with The Associated Press that she hasn’t received any information yet from either side regarding last summer’s Gaza war and urged Israel and the Palestinians to provide information to her.
The Palestinians accepted the court’s jurisdiction in mid-January and officially joined the ICC on April 1 in hopes of prosecuting Israel for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict so they are certain to provide Bensouda with information. Israel, however, has denounced the Palestinian action as “scandalous,” with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning that it turns the ICC “into part of the problem and not part of the solution.”
Bensouda said her office is “making attempts” to contact the Israelis and to reach out to the Palestinians.
“If I don’t have the information that I’m requesting,” she said, “I will be forced to find it from elsewhere, or I may perhaps be forced to just go with just one side of the story. That is why I think it’s in the best interest of both sides to provide my office with information.”
Israel 'surprised' by ICC prosecutor's warnings
(
article by JPost)
Diplomatic sources in Jerusalem expressed “surprise” that Fatou Bensouda made the comments in the interview in which she said she has not received any information from either side regarding last summer's operation in Gaza, but that it was in the “best interest” of both sides to provide information.
It is surprising, the diplomatic sources added, that the prosecutor – obligated to act according to the rules of the courts and conduct her job “according to the highest standards of professionalism, prudence, independence, and lack of bias” – chose to related to these matters “through the pages of the newspaper.”
This type of behavior, the sources said, does “not add to the credibility of the process.”
“We hope that the Court will not allow the exploitation of its resources to address an appeal without legal basis that is driven by cynical political motives, and whose promotion will damage both the credibility of the court and chances to maintain an Israeli-Palestinian dialogue,” the sources said.
A tragically unexceptional story of life and death under occupation
(
article in +972mag)
Three decades ago the Israeli military government canceled my sister-in-law’s Palestinian residency because she studied abroad for ‘too long.’ Now, Israel is denying her one last visit with her dying father. But my family will not allow her case, like thousands before it, to be buried in silence.
My father-in-law, Mughira Barghouty, is dying. At age 91, his health has severely deteriorated over the last six months. He has three daughters: Sawsan, Serene and my wife, Abeer. Serene and Abeer live in Ramallah and have become full-time caregivers to their now bedridden father. Sawsan lives in Amman, Jordan. Of late, Mughira has repeated a single request: to touch his daughter Sawsan’s hand one last time. It was about to happen on the last day of April. Sawsan got all the way to the Israel border crossing, Israeli tourist visa in hand, but she was denied entry and told to go back to Amman. The family is crushed, but not surprised.
[...]
Sawsan acted without delay. As a Jordanian citizen, she applied for an Israeli tourist visa — the only way a Palestinian citizen of Jordan can reach Palestine. This is done through certified travel agent. The process goes like this: you apply, pay a 50 JD (U.S. $70) application fee, then you wait, and wait, and wait some more. Eventually you get a call from the travel agent when the answer comes back: you either have approval, meaning an Israeli Interior Ministry tourist visa, or you are denied and have to start all over again. If you are one of the lucky ones and get approval, you must pay an additional 70 JD (US $100) fee and place a 20,000-30,000 JD (about US $28,000-42,000) bond (to guarantee you will not overstay the visa period) and you must travel the following day. Throughout the entire waiting period, you must be ready to travel on 24 hours’ notice.
[...]
Eventually an Israeli official came and advised Sawsan that she was being denied entry into Israel. Her bus was told to continue on to Israel without her.
The Israeli official brought her two copies of a form written in Hebrew and English; she is fluent in neither. They state two reasons for the denial of entry: 1) “Prevention of illegal immigration considerations”; and, 2) “Public security or public safety or public order considerations.” Despite her protests that she could not read the documents, she signed. Five hours after arriving at the crossing, she was escorted to a bus and sent back to Jordan.
[...]
That a Palestinian could lose their residency status in their birthplace is routine practice of the Israeli occupation.
Wave riders: The men and women of Gaza’s Surf Club making waves in Gaza City
(
Gaza Surf Club with help from the U.S. nonprofit
Explore Corps that helps to provide surf programming and distribution of equipment. Prior to the formal establishment of Gaza Surf Club, organizations, such as Surfing 3 Peace and Gaza Surf Relief, were providing new boards and equipment from companies abroad through person-to-person outreach. Like a band of brothers — and sisters on occasion — they descend from their homes in farmlands or fishing villages to the beach in Gaza City, young surfers venturing out, whenever time, schedules and modes of transportation allow, to explore their own little slice of the Mediterranean. Most work as lifeguards who gather informally in the wee hours of the morning before the crowds arrive, or whenever enough fellow lifeguards are not working.
Though predominately featuring men, several young girls have taken up the sport as well, wearing a burkini swimsuit.
[...]
Most have acquired a love for surfing in part from low-budget American films shown via Arabic television. Exposure to surf culture beyond their borders was slow coming. In April, Explore Corp offered to host one Gaza Surf Club member in Hawaii for a workshop, the first trip abroad for the group.
Hit TV show 'Fauda' offers angle on conflict with Palestinians that Israelis usually prefer not to see
It has been common knowledge, at least since the mid-1990s, that in order to maintain its control over the Palestinian territories, the IDF must resort to a sort of overtly black op tactic. Volunteers who served in elite fighting units and are willing and ready to assume an Arab guise – false biography, alias, language, manners, looks – infiltrate into the fabric of life on the West Bank with the aim of providing firsthand intelligence and act with lethal efficiency if need be.
The series is the brainchild of Lior Raz (writing and acting as the main character) and Avi Issacharoff (at one time a Haaretz reporter on Palestinian matters). Both have considerable mileage in double-and-triple lives on the other side of the Israeli-Palestinian divide – Raz as a member of one of those undercover units, and Issacharoff who has been covering this very confusing reality on a day-to-day basis. The expressed aim was to present the everyday reality that most Israelis prefer not to see up close, and instead of simplifying it in black and white, to show that it is made up of more than 50 shades of all-too-human gray that can explode at any moment into the most crimson red.
The series was created by Israelis who know what is really going on. As such it takes the Israeli side for granted and does not try to present a “balanced view” of the conflict. It assumes – rightly in my mind – that for Israeli viewers, the dice is loaded for the home (Israeli) team. As a result, it sometimes looks as though the Palestinian side of the story is presented with an extra dose of understanding and compassion. If indeed this is so, it is a belated and much needed redress: It is high time for Israelis to accept that there are human beings on the other side as well.
Below the fold:
- Hundreds of Palestinians displaced in Jordan Valley by IDF 'training exercises'
- Marianne heads for Gaza today!
- iNakba app shows two sides of Israel's war story
- Strategic talks between Israel, France deteriorate into serious dispute
- High Court okays plan to raze Arab village, build Jewish one in its place
- Life in a refugee camp – New Askar, Nablus
- Israel sells its story on a new Lebanon war, and the 'Times' bites
- Nine Palestinian fishermen kidnapped by the Egyptian army
- WATCH: Racism-filled march curbs Palestinian movement in Jerusalem
- UPDATE: Shepherds in Salem
- As Israel celebrates a unified Jerusalem, the city is losing its Jewish residents
- Israel steps up diplomatic action as fears grow over FIFA suspension
- Vatican treaty uses term 'state of Palestine' for first time
- Beyond Baltimore: The ugly truth about racism and police brutality in Israel
- As Israel celebrates a unified Jerusalem, the city is losing its Jewish residents
- A tale of two tragedies: From Beitunia to Vienna on Nakba Day
Hundreds of Palestinians displaced in Jordan Valley by IDF 'training exercises'
(
story at +972mag)
The exercises were conducted by the Artillery Corps Support Unit 282, according to the Jerusalem Post, as part of preparations for a possible war with Hezbollah.
Local groups, such as Jordan Valley Solidarity (JVS), have been actively monitoring and recording the impact of the training exercises. JVS, a grassroots coalition of Palestinian community groups, notes that 47 families from the Hamra area were approached by the Israeli army on April 30 and forced to sign orders compelling them to leave their homes between May 4-7, in order for military drills involving live fire to be conducted.
[...]
Given the Israeli government’s overarching plans to annex the Jordan Valley, none of these issues are expected to receive any kind of a just resolution in the foreseeable future. The Israeli army’s training exercises, with all their attendant ruin, will also persist, and are likely to intensify. In May 2014, Col. Einav Shalev of the Central Command – the section of the Israeli army responsible for units in the West Bank – confirmed to a Knesset committee that suchlive fire military drills in Area C are aimed at driving Palestinians out. Between government policy and military activity, the ethnic cleansing of the Jordan Valley is set to continue.
Hamas launches crackdown on Salafist groups in Gaza Strip
(
story in Washington Post)
The ruling Hamas militant group launched a crackdown Tuesday on radical Salafi groups following a series of unclaimed bombings in the Gaza Strip, arresting dozens of people and setting up military-type checkpoints.
Hamas, an Islamic militant group that has ruled Gaza for the past eight years, considers the more radical Salafists, who identify ideologically with the Islamic State group, a threat. The Salafists, believed to number several hundred, seek the establishment of an Islamic caliphate and accuse Hamas of being too soft on Israel and failing to adequately impose religious law.
On Monday morning, a bomb damaged a wall at a security site run by Hamas’ armed wing. There were no casualties, but after a series of similar blasts on Hamas security posts in recent weeks, suspicion fell on the Salafists.
Marianne heads for Gaza today!
(
Int'l Solidarity Movement)
Marianne of Gothenburg will leave her home port at 7 pm on the 10 of May. The trawler, which has been acquired by Ship to Gaza Sweden and Ship to Gaza Norway jointly, departs for a voyage of almost 5000 nautical miles to eastern Mediterranean and the blockaded Gaza Strip.
Marianne will join other ships and together they will form the “Freedom Flotilla III” in order to perform a peaceful, nonviolent action to break the illegal and inhumane blockade of the Gaza Strip.
In passing Marianne will call at European ports for manifestations against the blockade. The First three ports will be Helsingborg, Malmö and Copenhagen. The subsequent ports will be announced in press releases.
Marianne is not a cargo-ship, but she will bring a limited cargo of, among other things, solar cell panels and medical equipment.
iNakba app shows two sides of Israel's war story
(
article in Haaretz)
The grounds of the Yehiam Convoy Memorial contain some of the original armored vehicles that came under attack on March 27, 1948; a plaque bearing the names of the fallen soldiers; and a map showing the area as it looked back then, dotted with Arab villages.
Until a year ago, visitors curious about what transpired at this site 67 years ago would have relied on the Jewish-Israeli version of events – the one spelled out on the visitor information signs and monuments scattered on the premises, not to mention official government and Israel Defense Forces websites.
[...]
For example, less than two months before the fatal ambush, according to information provided on iNakba, “a small Zionist unit had attempted to blow up the house of a village leader allied with the Mufti of Jerusalem.” It was after this hit-and-run attack, the app states, that Arab villagers often tried to block Jewish traffic on the main road. Citing testimony from some of these villagers, iNakba also provides details pertaining to the reprisal operation that followed the convoy ambush – information not widely available via official Israeli sources. “An undisclosed number of villagers were taken captive and some were killed,” it reports. “Others were killed during their dispersal in Galilee when Zionist forces found out they were from Al-Kabri.”
Strategic talks between Israel, France deteriorate into serious dispute
(
article in Haaretz)
Strategic consultations between Israel and France last week deteriorated into an argument over French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius’ initiative to advance a resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian issue in the United Nations Security Council, with Israel arguing that Paris was operating behind Israel’s back.
The strategic dialogue meetings take place annually and are attended by Foreign Ministry officials of both countries. Israel’s delegation was led by Foreign Ministry Director General Nissim Ben-Sheetrit, while French Foreign Ministry Secretary General Christian Masset led his country’s large delegation to Jerusalem.
[...]
The meeting that took place last week at Foreign Ministry headquarters was therefore quite exceptional. From the first moments it became clear to participants that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to smooth over the disagreements between the two sides, particularly with regard to the Palestinian issue. Both Israeli and French diplomats said that the harsh exchanges were evidence of the depth of the tension between the two countries, and that the frustration building on both sides over the past few months erupted in full force.
High Court okays plan to raze Arab village, build Jewish one in its place
(
article in +972mag)
One year ago, the unrecognized Bedouin village of Alsira won a major victory when the Be’er Sheva District Court refused to reinstate demolition orders against the entire village. The case set a legal precedent for defending other unrecognized villages threatened by the discriminatory Prawer Plan, which could forcibly displace up to 70,000 Bedouin citizens of Israel living in the Naqab (Negev). That cautious hope was dashed last week, however, when, in a 2-1 ruling, Israel’s High Court of Justice refused to cancel eviction orders against Umm el-Hiran, home to 700 men, women and children of the al-Qi’an tribe.
Bringing an Arab land case to the Israeli courts is always a risky venture, but many believed that Umm el-Hiran, like Alsira, had a strong chance of success. Contrary to the state’s initial claims, the villagers are not trespassers on the land; the Israeli military government transferred them there in 1956, after it displaced them from their original home of Khirbet Zubaleh in 1948. This fact was confirmed by the High Court as well as the lower courts. In other words, there is nothing illegal about the villagers’ presence.
More importantly, the state’s plan for Umm el-Hiran is explicitly racist. It wants to demolish the village and relocate the Bedouin residents to the town of Hura – for the sole purpose of building a new Jewish town called ‘Hiran’ over its ruins. Umm el-Hiran’s adjacent sister village, Atir, will also be destroyed to expand the man-made forest of ‘Yatir.’ The Jewish residents who are slated to move into the new Hiran, who are tied to the West Bank settlement of Susya, are currently living in an encampment in the forest. And while the current residents of Umm el-Hiran have been denied water and electricity for decades, the future residents of Jewish Hiran have already been provided those services by the state and the Jewish National Fund (JNF).
Court-approved dispossession of Israeli Bedouin
(
Editorial in Haaretz)
Two Supreme Court rulings from last week give a judicial stamp of approval to the dispossession of Arab communities on both sides of the Green Line for the benefit of the Jewish settlement enterprise.
Last Tuesday, the court rejected an appeal by residents of the Negev Bedouin town of Umm al-Hiran, who are slated to be evicted and their houses razed so that a Jewish town, to be called Hiran, can be built on the site. The court insisted that Hiran would be open to everyone, but it is meant as a community for Orthodox Jews and therefore would not to be conducive to the integration of Bedouin.
During the proceedings, the Bedouin residents succeeded in proving that they are not squatters and have every right to live in the area, having been sent there by the military government in 1956. Nonetheless, the majority justices deemed that fact insufficient to alter their decree. Only Justice Daphne Barak-Erez, who dissented, thought it should obligate the state to consider compensating the Bedouin by giving them a building lot in the new town of Hiran.
The story of Umm al-Hiran highlights the problem of the “unrecognized” Bedouin villages, which although their inhabitants are Israeli citizens do not receive basic services because they lack master plans. Some of these villages have existed since before the state was founded. Others, like Umm al-Hiran, resulted from the expulsion of Bedouin from their lands.
The court’s ruling that the property rights of the Bedouin were not harmed because they don’t own the land only underscores the disparity in the allocation of property rights in Israel. Its ruling that this is not discrimination because Hiran will be open to all renders meaningless the idea of substantive equality and is blind to the erasure of an Arab community in order to establish a Jewish community.
So we meet again, Prawer Plan
(
article in +972mag)
Over the past week, I’ve come to realize that I and my fellow campaigners are facing great challenges ahead, now that the new government looks set to put the notorious Prawer Plan back on the table.
The thought of starting our struggle from scratch doesn’t make much sense, especially when taking into account the fact that the far-right Jewish Home party, who back in 2013 rejected the plan for being too generous to the Bedouin, is the one now insisting on including it in the new coalition agreements.
The only plausible explanation is that Jewish Home, who received the Agriculture portfolio (thus becoming effectively in charge of implementing the plan), reintroduced Prawer as a ploy to legitimize a tougher policy to “deal” with the Bedouin. Given that anti-Prawer protests swept the country, it remains to be seen how it will go down.
We, the Bedouin, hoped that this time a policy would be drafted in conjunction with our community, and would take our input into account. We still call on the government, whom we thought displayed a reasonable degree of good will, to take us up on our offer and come down to meet and negotiate with us, instead of deciding people’s fates in the comfort of their Jerusalem offices.
Life in a refugee camp – New Askar, Nablus
(
Int'l Solidarity Movement)
New Askar refugee camp is situated north-east of Nablus in the Askar area. It was created in 1965 to accommodate the increased number of refugees who were living in (old) Askar Camp that was established in 1950 after hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced from their homes in the Nakba. This ethnic cleansing of 1948 was part of the creation of Israel. The camp has since grown to a total of 6.000 people living on an area of 0.5 km 2. This high density creates both a claustrophobic and at time a dangerous environment.
Located in Area C, under full Israeli control, it does not have the status of a refugee camp. This means that if the occupation was to end and refugees were able to return to their hometowns, those living in New Askar would not be given this right. They cannot take part in the elections of Nablus municipality either. Instead, the camp has its own internal government and elections take place every two years. All political parties, except for Hamas, are represented and currently there are nine elected men and two women.
But although the camp has a good level of self-organisation, many problems remain unsolved; one of the main ones being drugs. The camp is plagued with drug dealers and as it is located in Area C, there is no presence of Palestinian police. The camp is also open to local settlers, Israeli soldiers and Samaritans to come and buy whatever they want.
Israel sells its story on a new Lebanon war, and the 'Times' bites
(
article in +972mag)
Discusses a NY Times story: Israel Says Hezbollah Positions Put Lebanese at Risk
What’s most concerning is Israel’s warning that since Hezbollah has embedded its facilities within southern Lebanese villages, all bets are off when it comes to their residents. They are now human shields, Israel says. “At the end of the day, it means that many, many Lebanese will be killed,” the piece quotes Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser, as saying.
That’s one of a number of warnings in the piece, which are quite chilling when taken in context. Israel killed more than 1,000 Lebanese during the 2006 Second Lebanese War. Its relentless air strikes destroyed extensive civilian infrastructure. Human Rights Watch later found that the strikes were indiscriminate, targeting civilian areas long after Hezbollah had left them. (Forty-four Israel civilians were killed in that war, along with 119 soldiers.) There’s little reason to believe the next round will be less bloody, and plenty of reason to believe it will be deeply familiar, or worse:
[...]
But beyond reminding readers of what we have to look forward to, it’s hard to understand why this piece was published. Its problems are manifold. It’s a government-packaged story with a bit of added background. It fails to recognize the irony of officials in their central Tel Aviv military headquarters lambasting Hezbollah for embedding among civilians. It doesn’t do much to substantiate the story it’s echoing. “The Israeli claims could not be independently verified,” Kershner (or her editor) writes.
[...]
It certainly seems that Israel learned the wrong lesson from the most recent Gaza war. Instead of reexamining its rules of engagement, which turn civilians into fair game, it has chosen the tack of trying to preempt criticism of future carnage. “We told you this would happen,” they’ll be able to say.
Israel's secret weapon in the war against Hezbollah: The New York Times
(
story in Haaretz)
Israel is turning to the media and diplomacy to head off an almost inevitable new round of confrontation with Hezbollah. Its message: Israel won't be able to avoid attacks on Lebanon's civilians so long as the Shi'ite militias use them as human shields.
Although Kershner’s Israeli interlocutors don’t claim to know when or under what specific circumstances war will erupt, they pull no punches about its likely consequences. In such a war, the Times report says, the IDF will not hesitate to attack targets in a civilian setting, with the result that many Lebanese noncombatants will be killed. That will not be Israel’s fault, an unnamed “senior Israeli military official” says, because “the civilians are living in a military compound.” Israel “will hit Hezbollah hard,” and make “every effort to limit civilian casualties,” the military official said. However, Israel does “not intend to stand by helplessly in the face of rocket attacks.”
In recent weeks, the Arab media have been flooded with reports and conjectures about the imminent fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Israeli intelligence is voicing more cautious appraisals, to the effect that the war in Syria has not yet been decided. If the regime does fall, it’s likely that Hezbollah will greatly step up its efforts to smuggle out from Syria the advanced weapons systems that remain in its hands there. That scenario would ratchet up immensely the risk of a confrontation with Israel, as the latter is likely to launch a broad effort to disrupt the smuggling efforts, while Syrian rebel organizations intensify their pressure on Hezbollah and the Assad camp.
Nine Palestinian fishermen kidnapped by the Egyptian army
(
Int'l Solidarity Movement)
On the 3rd of May, the trial of nine Palestinian fishermen kidnapped by the Egyptian army while fishing in waters of the border city of Rafah, took place in the Egyptian city of Al Arish. Three of the fishermen are brothers, Ali Abu Hamada, 36 years old, with eight children, Mahmoud Abu Hamada, 22 years old, and Mohamed Abu Hamada, 32 years old with three children. Among the hostages there’s also a 13 years old boy.
Since the end of the last massacre in Gaza the situation of the fishermen has been worse than ever. They don’t even dare to reach the four mile limit.
Despite the fact that, officially, the sea blockade imposed by the Israeli state starts at six miles, the attacks on the fishermen are continuous even as close as two miles out.
Palestinians locked in Gaza tell us how much the position of the Eyptian government and its total coordination with the Israeli state regarding the policies towards the Palestinian people surprises and saddens them.
WATCH: Racism-filled march curbs Palestinian movement in Jerusalem
(
article in +972mag)
High Court dismisses petition to re-route the ‘Jerusalem Day’ march away from the Muslim Quarter, but tells police it expects them to act against the type of racist incitement for which the ‘March of the Flags’ is notorious.
[...]
Palestinian shopkeepers are told to shutter their stalls and stores ahead of the march
Most of the arrests on Jerusalem Day in recent yearshave been of Palestinians protesting the march, and police have assaulted and detained Israeli and Palestinian journalists covering those events. This year, activists are planning to film the march with an aim at documenting whether police heed the High Court’s warning and arrest Jews making racist and inciting chants.
Jerusalem Day is billed as a celebration of the city’s “reunification” in 1967. In practice, it is a day for Israeli nationalists, draped in flags, dancing in circles, singing and chanting “death to Arabs” as they march through East Jerusalem and the Old City. Many of the Jewish demonstrators are bused in from right-wing yeshivas in Israel and the West Bank.
.
“Restricting freedom of movement solely on an ethnic-national basis is not acceptable in a democratic state,” Attorney Eitay Mack wrote on behalf of the organizations.
Israel steps up diplomatic action as fears grow over FIFA suspension
(
article in Haaretz)
The Israeli campaign has included talks with sports ministers and heads of soccer federations in more than 100 countries, supplying incriminating information on Palestinian soccer players who have supposedly been involved in terrorist activity, and attempts to blacken the name of the Palestinian soccer federation’s chairman, Jibril Rajoub.
[...]
First, he alleges that Israel is restricting the travel of Palestinian soccer players abroad and between the West Bank and Gaza. It also limits the entry of soccer teams from Arab countries into the West Bank, damages Palestinian soccer facilities and imposes limitations on the transfer of equipment from overseas to Palestinian teams, he claims.
Secondly, Israel allows five teams from its settlements to play as part of its soccer federation, despite Palestinian arguments that they come from occupied territory over which the federation has no authority. Rajoub demands that these teams stop playing.
Thirdly, Rajoub demands that Israel take significant action against displays of racism at soccer matches held in Israel, especially at games played by Beitar Jerusalem. His fourth argument is that the Teddy Stadium, in which Beitar plays, is beyond the 1967 “green line,” so that international games played there should be prohibited. (The final of the European Under-21 tournament was held there in 2013.).
How Israel slept through the Palestinian bid to oust it from FIFA
(
article in Haaretz)
Blatter and his people have met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a number of times, even just last year, after Blatter succeeded in having discussion of the Palestinian proposal removed from the agenda at the previous FIFA congress, before the 2014 World Cup. One of the people present at the meeting between Blatter and Netanyahu said he was shocked at the disrespect the prime minister showed one of the most influential figures in world sports, and no less shocked by how scornful Netanyahu was at the idea that Israel could be blacklisted.
[...]
As opposed to suspending a member due to financial irregularities or prohibited government involvement – decisions that are made by FIFA’s executive committee – the FIFA congress has over the years ousted only one country: South Africa during apartheid. True, it’s not the same thing, but it shows how difficult Israel’s situation is.
[...]
It is unlikely that a Palestinian proposal to suspend Israel from FIFA will pass, but if it does, it will break open the floodgates. First of all, Israel’s national team and Israeli club teams will not be able to compete in any international games. But it could very well not end there: As happened with South Africa, other athletic associations could adopt the FIFA proposal.
Palestinian soccer chief: We’ll drop bid to ban Israel from FIFA if our demands are met
(
story in Haaretz)
The proposal to remove Israel from the International Federation of Association Football is due to be put to a vote in about two weeks, on May 29. Rajoub also said that Israel has not responded to Palestinian complaints about the infringement of the rights of Palestinian athletes and the adverse impact on the sport in the Palestinian Authority. “Israel continues to show disregard and to behave aggressively, and all FIFA member countries know the facts,” said Rajoub.
In an interview with Haaretz at his office in Ramallah, Rajoub said, “We are ready to withdraw our proposal to revoke Israel’s membership in FIFA if Israel presents a different position that meets our demands – including freedom of movement for the players and a halt to harassment against them, a halt to displays of racism against the Palestinian teams and athletes, and also removing the five teams identified with the settlements from the league in Israel, and following the FIFA rules of conduct.”
Vatican treaty uses term 'state of Palestine' for first time
(
article in Haaretz)
The Vatican on Wednesday for the first time used the term "the state of Palestine," as part of a new treaty with the Palestinian Authority centering on the Catholic Church's activities in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
A statement released by the Palestinians and the Vatican said both sides have reached a draft agreement that still needs to be approved in the near future before it is made final.
The meaning of Vatican's use of the term "state of Palestine" is not entirely clear. In the early stages of formulating the agreement, several drafts stated that the agreement is between the Vatican and the Palestine Liberation Organization. Now, the final draft says the treaty is between the Vatican and the state of Palestine.
Senior officials at the Foreign Ministry said that at this point, Israel does not view the treaty as a recognition of Palestine by the Vatican, and is waiting for further clarifications from the Vatican's Foreign Ministry. On the other hand, Vatican Spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi told reporters on Wednesday that "it's a recognition that the state [Palestine] exists."
Beyond Baltimore: The ugly truth about racism and police brutality in Israel
(
Opinion in Haaretz)
More than two decades on, however, the racism that existed then is not only still present in Israeli society, but in some ways may be worse, in that the ignorance is less excusable and the anger and awareness of young people more palpable. The video that showed police beating an Ethiopian soldier, sparking protests last week, is not a lone incident. Far from it, says Shimon Solomon, a veteran immigrant from Ethiopia who was a Yesh Atid MK from 2013 to 2015.
“What we saw in the video is nothing compared to what goes on, in fact it was less shocking that what happens to people in our community at the hands of police,” Solomon told me. “When we speak to people in their neighborhoods, we hear that it’s happening all the time, that the police allow themselves to act brutally and take people aside and beat them for no reason. We turned to the police and ask them to fix this situation, but it just continued like nothing happened.”
“When an Ethiopian applies for a job, as qualified as he might be, as impressive as his CV might be, he is not going to be invited for the interview because he has an Ethiopian name,” Assefa-Dawit told journalists on Monday as we were heading to a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who set meetings with Ethiopian leaders to try to calm the situation. “When a local Rabbinate office refuses to register a couple who wants to get married because they’re Ethiopian, when you see a school that says we cannot take more children because they have a quota of how many Ethiopians they will enroll, you can imagine what the feeling of young people will be,” Assefa-Dawit says.
The color-blind Israel I hoped to discover never did exist. Israel is perhaps no better and no worse when it comes to racism than is America, with its much longer and complex history stretching back to slavery. But the other forms of discrimination and oppression practiced here on a daily basis, including an occupation that turns 48 next month, perhaps make it easier for people in power – even when power simply means a gun and a nightstick – to justify their behavior. The events of the past few days should give the nation a wake-up call. Things here must change in a substantial way, and this generation won’t wait another 20 years to see a difference.
UPDATE: Shepherds in Salem
(
Int'l Solidarity Movement)
The farmers and shepherds of Salem, near Nablus, are asking for you help. They are being beaten, humiliated and pushed off their land. They are asking you to join them on Friday 15th and Saturday 16th to help them save their harvest.
However, Israeli occupation forces have forbidden the farmers from harvesting the wheat and forbidden the shepherds from crossing the road that cuts through their land, dividing it in two. See report written by the International Women’s Peace Service here.
Harassment happens on a daily basis and many of the shepherds can recount life-threatening stories. This is the case with Rabih, for instance. Only five days ago, as he was taking his sheep out to graze and was accompanied by his young nephew who was going out into the fields to work for the first time in his life; Israeli soldiers arrived. They pointed their guns to his brother’s head, threw his nephew to the ground and attacked Rabih with the butt of an M16 rifle. They ordered Rabah to take his clothes off. When Rabih refused they beat him and took him away blindfolded and handcuffed and threw him out hours later in the middle of the countryside. “I am getting used to being humiliated”.
Shepherds and farmers are asking for a large number of people to accompany them on Friday 15th and Saturday 16th May. From early in the morning, they will attempt to work a part of their land to the east of Salem that the occupation forces are preventing them from using. A call out will be made on the mosque’s megaphone to gather as many people from the village as possible.
As Israel celebrates a unified Jerusalem, the city is losing its Jewish residents
(
story in Haaretz)
But even as Israel celebrates Jerusalem Day on Sunday, Jewish Jerusalemites are fleeing and the people buying and building homes are disproportionately foreign residents — albeit nearly all Diaspora Jews — buying a second home to use a few weeks of the year.
Mayor Nir Barkat has told TheMarker that about 11,200 homes in the city are owned by foreigners — and he wants that number reduced.
Last year, a stunning 11% of all homes in the capital were bought by foreign residents, versus 8.5% in Tel Aviv and 8.7% in Netanya, two other cities favored by overseas Jews. Nationwide the figure was just 4%. Jerusalem accounted for 28% of all home purchases by foreign residents in Israel.
If Jerusalem’s population is growing, it’s mainly due to the Palestinian eastern half of the city. “The growth rate of the Jerusalem Arab population is higher than for the Jewish population, which has been in decline for the last two decades,” the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies says in a report.
The Haaretz article uses the term "defector" to refer to Jewish residents leaving Jerusalem. That is an interesting choice of words.
A tale of two tragedies: From Beitunia to Vienna on Nakba Day
(
article in +972mag)
Standing by, watching and listening, my blue ID card burning a hole in my bag, I suddenly understand Israel rather better than before: the extent of its hysterical paranoia, its red lines, its constant reliance on hatred for strength. This demonstration and the army’s response cry out that the fundamental founding reality of this country is one that Israelis are distantly aware of but cannot bear to face, like someone who has stepped on broken glass and dares not lift their foot to inspect the damage.
But there is no time to reflect on this in Beitunia, because we are back in the car on the way to Jerusalem. We do not know at that time that by the end of the afternoon, two Palestinian teenagers will have been shot dead, along with a third who is shot in the lung but survives.
Eighteen hours later I am in the air, flying to Vienna for a memorial honoring members of my family who were killed in the Holocaust. I feel Jewish again, in a way that I don’t (or can’t) when I’m in Israel. I think to myself that identity is merely sleight of hand, or perhaps drag.
Two days later, surrounded by my family from around the world, and other people’s families from around the world, I listen to my great-grandmother’s niece describe to us all the last time she saw her father, before he was taken to a concentration camp in 1938. A survivor herself, she pays tribute to all those who were lost during the Holocaust, and tells us: “I want to say that their lives weren’t taken in vain, but they were. And today, the atrocities continue in other countries.”
This is a roundup of news related to Palestine with a particular focus on grassroots action and peaceful civil disobedience in the Occupied Territories and within the borders of Israel proper. The goal is to provide a bi-weekly update on the non-violent resistance movement.
Diplomatic negotiations and actions by armed resistance groups are covered quite widely by the mainstream press and in other diaries on DKos so they will rarely be included.
We use the name Filasṭīn, since this is the pronunciation used by Arabic speakers (irrespective of faith) for their homeland. The more familiar Palestine is the Hellenic or Roman variant. Filasṭīn refers to the geographic entity roughly encompassing Israel and Palestine. It is a likely cognate of "Philistine", the name used in the Hebrew bible to describe a rival of the Jewish kingdom of that era.
Prior diaries:
May 10, 2015: "Palestinians are beasts, they are not human" - new head of West Bank civil administration
May 3, 2015: 6 year old child arrested in Jerusalem; The Death of Compassion
April 26, 2015: No Arabs Allowed; Christian cemetery vandalized; Annual March of Return
April 19, 2015: Shooting kids in the back, segregating female soldiers, state-sanctioned theft
April 12, 2015: Yarmouk refugees, NYU divestment letter, Terrorizing Children
April 5, 2015: Segregated Streets in Hebron, Palestinians observe Land Day
March 29, 2015: A March for the Bedouin, A License to Kill & To Teach the Nakba