NOVANEWS
Dear Friends,
Just 6 items today—partly because we were again without electricity for several hours, and after we had it back, it went out again for another hour—all thanks to the work that the city is doing in modernizing our street. But I haven’t included more views on yesterday’s elections partly because I agree thoroughly with Hanan Ashrawi (item 1, at the end) and also with Ben White (item 2). As concerns Palestinians, not this election nor the next one will bring about change for the better, sad to say.
Item 1 has BBC comments on yesterday’s election in Israel.
In item 2 Ben White explains why for the Palestinians this election will not bring change.
In item 3 the Rabbis for Human Rights reveal the Israeli government’s new building plans for more Jews in the West Bank.
Item 4 is the PCHR weekly on human rights offences.
Item 5 reports on the trials and tribulations that a farmer in Gaza has due to his property being too near the fence.
That’s it for today. Perhaps tomorrow will be better.
Dorothy
++++++++++++
1 BBC Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Israel coalition talks begin after election deadlock
Analysts are predicting weeks of political horse-trading to form a new cabinet
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21156621
Coalition talks have begun in Israel after near-complete general election results gave right-wing and centre-left blocs 60 seats each in parliament.
President Shimon Peres is expected to ask Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attempt to form a new government.
His Likud-Beitenu alliance lost a quarter of its seats in the Knesset but remains the largest grouping with 31.
He has offered to work with the newly-formed Yesh Atid party, which shocked observers by coming second with 19.
However, its leader, popular former TV presenter Yair Lapid, has demanded reform of a law under which ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students can defer their military service. Religious parties in the current governing coalition are strongly opposed to any changes.
Mr Lapid has also said he would only join a government that was committed to reviving the peace process with the Palestinians, which has stalled since Mr Netanyahu took office.
“Whoever wants Yesh Atid in the coalition will need to bring these things,” Ofer Shelah, a senior member of the party, told Israeli Army Radio.
Any champagne that Mr Netanyahu may be tempted to open will be feeling a little flat”
Kevin Connolly
BBC News, Tel Aviv
——————————————————————————–
Netanyahu’s tough task
Economy back on agenda after vote
Profile: Benjamin Netanyahu
Guide to Israel’s political parties
Q&A: Israeli elections
Ultra-Orthodox privileges
On Wednesday morning, Israeli media reported that with 99.8% of votes counted, the joint electoral list of Mr Netanyahu’s Likud party and the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu (Israel is our Home) party of his former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman had won 31 seats.
That would be 11 seats fewer than the two parties’ combined total from the last election.
The ultra-nationalist Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home), which rejects the notion of an independent Palestinian state, won 11 seats, as did the ultra-Orthodox religious Shas party.
The smaller ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party won seven, bringing the right-wing bloc’s total to 60 of the 120 seats in the Knesset.
Yesh Atid (There is a Future), a secular centrist party which was only set up by Mr Lapid last year, had been expected by pollsters to win about 12 seats, but is set to get 19, just ahead of the Labour party with 15.
The centrist Hatnua (The Movement) grouping of former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni won six seats, as did the left-wing Meretz party. Kadima, which was the largest party in the last parliament, got just two.
The remaining 12 of the left-wing bloc’s 60 seats went to Arab Israeli parties, but they are traditionally neither asked nor seek to join governing coalitions.
The BBC’s Kevin Connolly in Tel Aviv says coalition building in these circumstances will not be easy for Mr Netanyahu.
‘Five principles’
Addressing Likud supporters after preliminary results gave the right-wing bloc a one-seat parliamentary majority, Mr Netanyahu promised to form as “as broad a government as possible”.
“It is an opportunity to make changes that the citizens of Israel wish upon themselves and that will serve all the citizens of Israel,” he said.
Yair Lapid
Former TV news anchor whose journalist father headed now defunct Shinui Party
Founded Yesh Atid in 2012
Secular centrist who says Orthodox Jews should share the social burden
Backs two-state solution through negotiations and retention of main Jewish settlement blocs in the West Bank; opposes division of Jerusalem
Profile: Yair Lapid
Israeli TV star new political force
Mr Netanyahu added: “The new government will be based on five principles: The first is security. We will meet the security threats Israel faces, first and foremost is stopping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.
“The second principle is fiscal responsibility… The third is political responsibility – we will strive to achieve true peace. The fourth is ensuring the equal distribution of burden in society; and the fifth is cutting the cost of living and housing prices.”
The third and fourth commitments appeared to be an appeal to Mr Lapid, who the prime minister also telephoned overnight. Mr Netanyahu was quoted by Likud as telling him: “We have the opportunity to do great things together.”
Mr Lapid meanwhile told his supporters that Israel needed a government that would “bring about real change”. He acknowledged that a “heavy responsibility has been placed upon our shoulders.”
Yair Lapid, addresses party supporters after his Israeli election success
Labour party leader Shelly Yachimovich meanwhile said she had also initiated contacts aimed at forming a centre-left governing coalition.
“We have an opportunity here that we cannot miss to liberate the citizens of Israel from the abuse of the Netanyahu government. Since the fate of Israeli society is hanging in the balance, we must act quickly, discreetly and seriously,” she added.
The leader of the largest party is usually asked by the president to form a government once the election commission submits the official results, which is expected to happen next Wednesday. They will be given 28 days to do so, although this can be extended by a further 14 days.
A senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) said the election result was unlikely to produce an Israeli government more committed to negotiating a permanent peace agreement.
“I don’t see a peace coalition or a peace camp emerging now and revitalising itself,” Hanan Ashrawi told reporters in Ramallah.
+++
2 Al Jazeera Wednesday, 23 Jan 2013
Ben White is a freelance journalist, writer and activist, specialising in Palestine/Israel. He is a graduate of Cambridge University.
Recall the myth of Yitzhak Rabin
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/01/2013123114610363317.html
Ben White
The political distinctions between Israel’s Centre Left and Right wing parties are less apparent on certain issues.
The political distinctions between Israel’s Centre Left and Right wing parties are less apparent when it comes to the Palestinian struggle for basic rights, says author [AFP]
With the results of Israel’s election in (though the exact final breakdown is still unknown), one message has dominated: “Dead heat!” The Knesset is being presented as split down the middle between “right-wing” and “centre-left” blocs, as discussions take place about how a coalition government will be formed.
But there is another way of looking at it: for Palestinians, the Israeli electorate has returned a parliament that is 90-10 in favour of ethnocracy.
It is the recurring problem with how the Israeli political spectrum is presented internationally. Netanyahu and Lieberman are portrayed as “hawks” and on the “right” when it comes to the so-called peace process, while Labour, (the almost extinct) Kadima – and for now Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid – are lumped together as being centre-left or moderate.
Israel Election – News Coverage
These distinctions are important for a variety of Israeli political and socio-economic questions – but less so when it comes to the Palestinians’ struggle for basic rights.
With the three parties representing the vast majority of votes of Palestinian citizens – United Arab List, Hadash, and Balad – taking a dozen seats, the rest of the Knesset is made up of parties who believe in maintaining a regime of Jewish privilege at the expense of the indigenous Palestinians.
This is as true for the “centrists” as it is for the Zionist right – and in some ways, even more so. The alternative to a Netanyahu-led government is a “coalition that believes the best way to secure Jewish privilege in the majority of historic Palestine is to physically separate Jews from Palestinians as much as possible”.
That is the message repeated by the likes of Tzipi Livni, as well as by self-styled “peace” NGOs like One Voice, who in their election campaign urged Israelis to vote for a two state solution in order to “protect a Jewish majority”.
Meretz, a party of the “left”, warned pre-election of the danger posed by the prospect of a “binational state” (as they have done before), a theme picked up by Amos Oz when campaigning for the party recently:
If there won’t be two states here, then there will be one state. If there will be one state it will be an Arab state, not a bi-national state. It won’t be an apartheid state, not for too long anyway. It will be, in the end, an Arab state.
You get a useful insight into the reality of Israeli politics when you pause to reflect on how Oz, a man lauded in the West as a humane liberal, hopes voters will act out of a fear of equality.
International law, decolonisation, human rights – Israel’s so-called centre or centre-left fails on all counts. Livni is proud of her role in the war crimes of “Operation Cast Lead”. Lapid (though there is much unclear still) went to Ariel colony deep in the West Bank and declared his support for Israel holding on to major illegal settlements – with the priority being to maintain a Jewish majority.
What about Labour? Again, party leader Shelley Yacimovich was cited just a few weeks ago as being aware of the danger of “the approaching bi-national state”, and, while proclaiming support of major illegal settlements, clarified that Labour is “not a left-wing party”.
Recall the myth of Yitzhak Rabin, the kind of leader that the smarter Israel advocacy groups must dream of having again. Rabin was feted internationally as a man of compromise, yet he not only sought to preserve Israel’s system of institutionalised racism but he also opposed the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state and furthered colonisation of the West Bank.
Thus in Israel, the centre or centre-left are those focused on separation as a means of protecting ethnocracy – which should ring some historical bells. Their vision of a Jewish state means no return for Palestinian refugees, inequality for Palestinians with citizenship, and annexation of key sections of the West Bank.
Maintaining illusions about the Israeli political spectrum is a key obstacle to the Palestinians realising their rights and bringing an end to Israeli impunity. A peace – or justice – process worthy of the name will not be boosted by racist “centrists”: it is about accountability and the enforcement of international norms.
Ben White is a freelance journalist, writer and activist, specialising in Palestine/Israel. He is a graduate of Cambridge University.
+++
3 A new Post “Rabbis for Human Rights responds to the publication of new building tenders in the occupied territories two days after a poll showing most Israelis want to cut spending on settlements” was written on the January 20, 2013 at 4:26 pm on “Rabbis for Human Rights”.
! 19.1.2013 | The Separation Wall, Shuafat Refugee Camp, East Jerusalem Cc: Flickr By Activestills.org !
The new building tenders the government plans for two settlements indicate the government’s inattention to the Israeli public’s priorities. A survey we conducted as part of the “Social Budget Forum” through the Panels institute found that more than 60% of Israelis think the biggest cuts should be made in the settlement construction budget. 81% of the public think the settlement budget should be cut significantly. Even right-wing voters tended to prefer the biggest cuts be made in construction beyond the Green Line. This preference reflects an Israeli consensus across the political spectrum.
* For further information about the survey (Hebrew) [1]
However, the incumbent government appears to be oblivious to the public’s feelings and clear budgetary preferences, which is a cause of concern for the future. Politicians are given a mandate for a particular issue that is perceived to be critical. They must not use that mandate to ignore the public’s preferences on other issues.
Rabbi Arik Asherman, Rabbis for Human Rights: As a human rights organization with a religious Jewish mission to pursue social justice and prevent the takeover of Palestinian land, Rabbis for Human Rights views the government’s disregard for the public will as a twofold injustice: it both transfers money from the disempowered to territories whose future is unclear, contrary to public opinion, and contributes to the takeover of Palestinian land.
Links: —— [1] http://rhr.org.il/heb/index.php/2013/01/11068
http://rhr.org.il/eng/index.php/2013/01/rabbis-for-human-rights-responds-to-the-publication-of-new-building-tenders-in-the-occupied-territories-two-days-after-a-poll-showing-most-israelis-want-to-cut-spending-on-settlements/
++++
4 PCHR
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights LTD(non-profit)
www.pchrgaza.org
_______________________________________________________________
Israeli Forces Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt)
· The Israeli forces continued to fire at the Palestinian civilians along the border in the Gaza Strip.
– 4 civilians, including 2 children, were wounded in the northern and central Gaza Strip.
· A Palestinian child sustained severe wounds in Ayda refugee camp, north of Bethlehem.
· The Israeli forces conducted 50 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
– At least 37 Palestinian civilians, including 5 children, were arrested.
· The Israeli forces continued to use excessive force against peaceful protests in the West Bank.
– 5 Palestinian civilians were wounded in al-Nabi Saleh and Kofur Qaddoum peaceful protests in the center and north of the West Bank.
– 10 farmers, including 3 women and a baby that was with her mother, were arrested in the eastern Yatta protest, south of Hebron.
· Israel has continued to impose a total closure on the oPt and has isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world.
– The Israeli forces established dozens of checkpoints in the West Bank.
– At least 5 Palestinian civilians were arrested at checkpoints in the West Bank.
· Israel has continued efforts to create a Jewish majority in East Jerusalem.
– Leveling works continued in Shu’fat village to establish a settlement road in Jerusalem.
· Israel has continued settlement activities in the West Bank, and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
– 37 residential tents were damaged and confiscated in al-Maleh area in the northern Jordan Valley, due to which 115 persons became homeless.
– 6 houses and a water well were demolished and new demolition notices were issued in Hebron.
– The settlers uprooted 60 olive seedlings in al-Khader village, south of Bethlehem.
· The Israeli naval forces continued to attack Palestinian fishermen in the sea.
– Palestinian fishing boats were subjected to the Israeli fire 6 times, but neither material damage nor casualties were reported.
Summary
Israeli violations of international law and international humanitarian law in the oPt continued during the reporting period (17– 22 January 2013):
Shooting:
The Israeli forces wounded 10 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. They were all wounded in an excessive use of force during peaceful protests in the West Bank or shooting incidents near the border fence in the Gaza Strip. Moreover, a 2-year girl was wounded while she was playing in front of her family’s house in al-Salqa valley in the central Gaza Strip.
In the West Bank, the Israeli forces continued to use excessive force against peaceful protests organized by the Palestinians civilians and international and Israeli activists in protest to the construction of the annexation wall and settlement activities in the West Bank. As a result, 6 Palestinians, including a child, were wounded; 3 of whom were wounded in al-Nabi Saleh weekly protest, northwest of Ramallah and 2 others were wounded in Kofur Qaddoum weekly protest, northeast of Qalqilia. The child was wounded at the northern entrance of Ayda refugee camp, north of Bethlehem.
On 19 January 2013, the Israeli forces arrested 10 farmers and local activists, including 3 women and a baby who was with her mother, during a peaceful protest organized by dozens of Palestinian civilians, human rights defenders and residents of Qweiqes village, south of Hebron, in protest to the policy of land seizure for the interest of settlements.
In the Gaza Strip, on 17 January 2013, 2 Palestinian civilians, including a child, were wounded. The first one was wounded when the Israeli forces positioned along the border fence, east of Jabalya, opened fire at a group of civilians and farmers, who were 100 meters to the west of the fence. Five minutes later, the second person was wounded when the Israeli forces positioned along the border fence, north of Beit Lahia, opened fire at a group of civilians and farmers a few meters to the west of the fence.
On 19 January 2013, a 2-year girl was wounded when the Israeli forces positioned along the border fence, east of Wadi al-Salqa village in the central Gaza Strip, opened fire at the agricultural lands. The girl was playing in front of her family’s house that was 1,000 meters away from the fence.
On 21 January 2013, a Palestinian boy was wounded when the Israeli forces positioned on watchtowers, northwest of Beit Lahia, opened fire at some workers who were collecting plastic, gravel and firewood a few meters away from the fence. The Israeli forces claimed that they fired at a group of boys who attempted to damage the fence in the northern Gaza Strip. It should be noted that the Israeli forces had fired at farmers and gravel collectors in the vicinity of al-Shuhada’ cemetery, east of Jabalya, but no casualties were reported.
In the context of targeting fishermen, the Israeli gunboats positioned off al-Waha resort, northwest of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats 6 times on 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 January 2013. As a result, the fishermen were frightened and fled back to the shore for fear of being wounded or arrested. Neither material damage nor casualties were reported.
The full report is available online at:
http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9190:weekly-report-on-israeli-human-rights-violations-in-the-occupied-palestinian-territory-17-22-january-2012&catid=84:weekly-2009&Itemid=183
—————————————-
Public Document
For further information please visit our website (http://www.pchrgaza.org) or contact PCHR’s office in Gaza City, Gaza Strip by email (pchr@pchrgaza.org) or telephone (+972 (0)8 2824776 – 2825893).
*Office Hours are between 08:00 – 16:00 hours (05:00 GMT – 13:00 GMT) Sun – Thurs.
+++++
5
| PCHR Palestinian Centre for Human Rights NARRATIVES |
http://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/we-were-too-afraid-stay-our-farmlands
23 January 2013
‘We were too afraid to stay on our farmlands’
Ahmed Saeed Khamis Hamdona in front of the farmland that his family rents
Since 2007, Israeli authorities have unilaterally and illegally established a so-called ‘buffer zone’ along the border, which officially extends 300 metres into the Gaza Strip. However, in reality, the ‘buffer zone’ can extend up to 1,500 metres from the fence, and is enforced with the use of lethal force. This area includesapproximately 35% of the Gaza Strip’s agricultural land, which can only be accessed under high personal risk, as Israeli attacks may result in the injury or death of civilians. This seriously impacts the livelihoods of farmers who work in the border area.
Following the ceasefire agreement of 21 November 2012, it was reported that the people of Gaza would be allowed to freely access the land in the border areas once more. However, attacks against civilians in the border area have continued; since the ceasefire came into effect, 4 Palestinian civilians have been killed, and a further 67 civilians, including 14 children, have been injured. The lack of clarity regarding access to the border area causes great uncertainty for farmers. They are reluctant to invest time or money in their land, only to have their work destroyed once more. More importantly, they risk attack by Israeli forces.
Since 2005, Ahmed Saeed Khamis Hamdona (32) and his family have been jointly renting 30 acres of farmland in Beit Lahia in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, just 200 metres from the border. Ahmed’s family have experienced many challenges while attempting to farm the land, as he explains: “Farming on my land is too difficult because of all the restrictions. We face problems accessing our land and even choosing what we can grow. I can only sow strawberries and potatoes. I am not allowed to plant olive or lemon trees as they are very bushy, and the Israeli forces want this land to be clear so that they can watch what we are doing. We tried to harvest watermelons before but they were shot at and destroyed.”
Ahmed’s family members ploughing the farmland in order to sow potatoes
Ahmed and his family produce export-quality strawberries but find it almost impossible to access foreign markets, as Ahmed explains: “The association for strawberry farmers tries to get our produce across the border for export. We hope to get better prices for the strawberries so we take special care to ensure that our strawberries are good enough for export. However, none of our strawberries have been exported since 2009. Every time, the number of truckloads allowed for export is either reduced or cancelled altogether.
We cannot reach the markets across the border. I could earn around 15-20 NIS per kilogram for my strawberries if they were exported but, because I have to sell them in Gaza, I get only 4 NIS per kilogram. This results in losses as we have to pay 50,000 NIS every year just to rent the land.” Strawberry exports from Gaza have sharply reduced since 2007; prior to the closure, 1,500 tonnes of strawberries were exported annually but, by 2012, this amount had reduced dramatically to 357 tonnes.
Strawberries growing on Ahmed’s farmland
This reduction of income has had negative effects on the lives of Ahmed and his family but, even more seriously, the land has been subjected to repeated attacks by Israeli forces: “Because of the war in November last year, I faced many losses, as parts of my land were shelled. This seriously damaged our crops. It took both time and money for us to make our land harvestable again. We had to plant our crops all over again, as all the strawberries and potatoes we had planted were destroyed.” Such disruptions are not new to Ahmed: “After the 2009 war, the Israeli forces did not allow us to work on the farmland in the afternoon. They shot at anyone who tried to access the farmland. On some days, we could only work for two hours, because we were too afraid to stay on our farmlands. We feared being the next targets. This slowed down the entire farming process and we had to wait a long time to be able to sell the produce in the markets. We used to be able to grow 20 tonnes of strawberries every year but this number went down to 3 tonnes since 2009.”
Ahmed, nonetheless, holds out hope for a better future: “I am still hopeful because, since the violence ended in November, we have been able to work on our lands for longer times, though not beyond the afternoon. Still, I am not sure how long it will take for us to be able to get rid of all our problems. I really hope that this closure ends and that we will have peace. We just want to be safe and be able to do our job.”
The attacks on Ahmed’s, his family, and the land that is their source of livelihood, are part of a larger pattern of attacks carried out by the Israeli forces positioned on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. The closure of the Gaza Strip, enacted by Israel as a form of ‘economic warfare,’ constitutes collective punishment, and is explicitly prohibited under Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The closure regime also violates a number of provisions of international law, including, the obligation under Article 43 of the Hague Regulations to maintain the material conditions under which the occupied population lives.
Furthermore, the denial of farmers’ right to freedom of movement, which results in the lack of access to their source of livelihood, violates these workers’ right to food, as well as various employment rights, which are guaranteed under the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in particular Article 6 and 7. The resultant poverty in the Gaza Strip and the foreign aid needed to support the people in Gaza clearly demonstrate that Israel’s policy also violates its obligations under international human rights law to ensure the progressive realization of economic, social and cultural rights in the Gaza Strip.