NOVANEWS
Dear All,
Just 3 items this evening.
The first is Gisha’s commentary and facts about Gaza—specifically in this report it’s about why Gazans do not and will not have enough flour to bake enough bread to feed all. The Hebrew report follows the English one.
The 2nd is Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh’s report on the catastrophe happening to the Bedouins. One might add to what he says that Israel is in fact urbanizing the West Bank just as it did Israel. Consider what happens to farmers and husbandmen when large portions of the WB that were devoted to agriculture or ranching are stolen from Palestinians and turned into urban areas. What happens to the farmers? There is little work for them, but there are large families for them to feed. Imagine what it must be like to be a Palestinian farmer living under colonization and occupation.
The 3rd and last item is really a selection of articles from the AIC (Alternative Information Center—not to be confused with New Profile’s Alternative Information messages).
Good reading,
Dorothy
If they haven’t bread, let them eat gravel |
November 18, 2010 |
The eve of Eid al-Adha celebrated this week brought news of a shortage of flour inthe Gaza Strip. For the past two weeks, traders and flour mill owners have warnedof shortages of wheat in the Strip, claiming that the mills have been providing abouthalf of their production capacity. The mathematical formulas, which the army usedto determine the level to which they would allow the stock of flour in Gaza to be reduced,are no longer in effect. So why is there a shortage?Wheat is delivered to Gaza through the conveyer belt at the Karni crossing (currently the only operational part of the crossing, which was closed to trucks in June 2007).So far, the conveyer belt has been operational on only two days per week for the transferof wheat and animal feed into Gaza. However, since mid-October, Israel has reduced thetransfer of wheat and animal feed to just one day per week. On the other day, Israel allowsgravel to be transferred to the Strip, pursuant to its June announcement regarding changesto the policy for the entry of goods into Gaza, including a promise to allow the entry ofconstruction materials for projects run by international organizations.Incidentally, Israel also promised to open other land crossings “if the need arises tofurther increase the capacity of the crossings”. In practice, approvals for constructionprojects are extremely limited – since the change in policy, an average of 107 truckscarrying construction materials were allowed into Gaza per month compared to anaverage of about 5,000 trucks which entered Gaza every month prior to the closure.In addition, instead of opening additional crossing points, Israel has announced itsintention to close the Karni conveyor belt and transfer all operations to Kerem Shalom.Thus Israel’s promise to allow the entry of construction materials, which was supposedto be good news for the residents of Gaza, has created additional difficulties in transferringbasic and essential nutritional ingredients. Israel refuses to increase the number of daysthe conveyor belt operates and with regard to opening additional crossing points –there is no room for discussion.Moreover, the gravel which Israel allows into the Gaza Strip is not sufficient for theconstruction planned by international organizations. According to UNRWA, at this rate,it will take 75 years to implement the organization’s plan to rehabilitate Gaza. UNRWA,incidentally, is also facing a shortage in its flour reserves, because it buys flour from thelocal market in Gaza after the wheat is transferred to the Strip through the Karni crossing. |
http://www.gisha.org/
of scorpions, settlers, soldiers, and springs
http://www.qumsiyeh.org/ofscorpionssettlerssoldiersandsprings/Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh
reports on a field visit to an area heavily impacted by the occupation in the Jordan valley.
We spent two days in the Auja area north of Jericho on a field trip to survey what remains
of the animals and plants in one of hundreds of areas directly devastated by Israeli occupation policies. Our host and guide was Mubarak Zawahra, a father of seven young children who lives near Bethlehem but his mother and many of his brothers live in the Jordan valley.
The family are considered Bedouins. Bedouins are not nomads. Before their lives were restricted and devastated by the occupation they usually held two locations (one for
the winter months and one for the summer months).
They relied on their economy on flocks of sheep and goats that they
grazed in the wide open areas around the two locations. They also
raised pigeons and chickens and occasionally planted crops.
Mubarak’s father was so successful at what he did that at one point he and
his 16 children had over 1000 head of sheep and goats. It was not an easy
life and required very hard work. Their life meant covering many miles
every day to reduce overgrazing. Spending over 12 hours daily walking rough
terrains, Bedouins come to know every small path, wadi, tree, cave,
depression etc. over vast areas. Their encyclopedic knowledge of their
surroundings is astounding. They have stories to tell you about every
feature of their landscape, every animal and every plant. Even as a
seasoned biologist, I always learn new things from going out with Bedouins
about nature.
They have unique names even for the different species of desert land
snails. They can tell you of natural treatments to different maladies.
While life was difficult, it was a life that functioned in harmony with
nature and with spiritual matters for thousands of years.
Their generosity and kindness to strangers is legendary. Disputes were
mostly solved by tribal traditional laws.
The fields were not overgrazed and nature was left untouched.
The balance was maintained and tranquility prevailed and as
Mubarak told me in the evening after a very hard day of work in
the fields, the best time was to sit after a meal, drink strong sweet
tea seasoned with wild mint surrounded by loved ones and look at
clear skies dotted with brilliant stars.
That life of course is slowly ending. The Zawahra’s saga is just an example. Colonial Jewish settlements in two main locations of the Zawahra’s domain(in the hills around Bethlehem and in the Jordan valley) have made it impossiblefor the Zawahras to continue the Bedouin way of life. In the Bethlehem district,
Israeli colonies, security zones, army bases etc now control the vast majority of
the rich lands. The remaining land is basically the developed Palestinian areas
with few open areas. With less than 5% of the open range areas of the Bethlehem
district left available for grazing, the impact was devastating: 1) significant decrease
in number of animals (even as the human population more than trippled in the past 45
years), and 2) the forced overgrazing on the few remaining open areas had a devastating ecological effect. It is sad to compare biodiversity in the Bethlehem area today versus
what I saw 40 years ago. Many species can no longer be found in the hills of Bethlehem
(both plants and animals). Some areas are so barren that the only living animals
I can see in the late summer and fall months are humans, goats (more hardy than sheep),
and flies. These were areas that 40 years ago, I could show you at least 40 species in
a span of 2 hours.
The second domain of the Zawahras is in the Jordan valley a few kilometers
north of Jericho in the Wadi Auja area. This valley had until a few years
ago water flow year round estimated at 9 million cubic meters coming from
the hills near Ramallah and flowing into the Jordan valley to feed the river
Jordan. It made a beautiful oasis that attracted thousands of visitors year
round for recreation.
The second domain of the Zawahras is in the Jordan valley a few kilometers
north of Jericho in the Wadi Auja area. This valley had until a few years
ago water flow year round estimated at 9 million cubic meters coming from
the hills near Ramallah and flowing into the Jordan valley to feed the river
Jordan. It made a beautiful oasis that attracted thousands of visitors year
round for recreation.
Downstream, agriculture has flourished. Farms had been established
and the tranquil village of Auja with 7000 residents including Christians
and Muslim farmers and Bedouins flourished. My school mate Imad Mukarkar took me to his family farm there when we were in high
school over 35 years ago and I distinctly remember bountiful citrus
fruit, bananas, vegetables of all kinds etc. On Tuesday night as we
stretched nets to catch bats, we chatted with his brother Khalid who
is struggling to maintain the family farm.
He explained how even the well water he relied on is decreasing in output both in quality and quantity while the settlers nearby have unlimited water to grow corn and even watermelons. A way of life is slowly being squeezed for the Palestinians and created for colonial Jewish settlers. These settlers looking for short term political achievements have no clue about the long term consequences of their policies.
He explained how even the well water he relied on is decreasing in output both in quality and quantity while the settlers nearby have unlimited water to grow corn and even watermelons. A way of life is slowly being squeezed for the Palestinians and created for colonial Jewish settlers. These settlers looking for short term political achievements have no clue about the long term consequences of their policies.
Stealing water via pipes at the hills and bringing it to the Jewish settler
communities also via closed pipes dried up the natural flow of water in Wadi
Auja. The oasis is no longer an oasis. The valley now has water only in
the brief rainy season (for about two months at best) whern up until the
late 1990s had water year-round. The crisis of water is so desperate that
winter rain runoff will be collected via a dam adding to the changes created
by the Israeli water theft.
Desertification (already a problem because of global warming) has thus accelerated.
The rich valley fauna and flora was devastated. We did manage to record three species
of scorpions, two species of bats, spiny mice, five species of birds, two lizards, a desert fox, and struggling desert trees and shrubs. We were interrupted once by an Israeli military patrol who wanted to know what we were doing and seemed bemused by our scorpions. One soldier stated that they kill many of them. I did not want to argue but I did think in my mind that scorpions are really much kinder than some people since they do kill only for food or to defend themselves.
Comparing field work now and three decades ago, we can see dramatic
differences. For example I distinctly recall over 20 species of birds seen
in one morning and we now found no frogs, an important environmental
indicator, when there used to be plenty. The loss of biodiversity meant a
loss of livelihood for the native Palestinians who live in this area.
The Zawahra family who had hundreds of sheep and hundreds of goats now have few animals and struggle to find menial jobs to make a living. And farmers like Khalid Mukarker who used to get plentiful agricultural produce have seen their costs quadruple and their output decline. Local animals and plants lost are irreplaceable.
The Zawahra family who had hundreds of sheep and hundreds of goats now have few animals and struggle to find menial jobs to make a living. And farmers like Khalid Mukarker who used to get plentiful agricultural produce have seen their costs quadruple and their output decline. Local animals and plants lost are irreplaceable.
The quality of water and air deteriorates year after year which will make it
eventually impossible even for the colonial settlers to continue to live
here. Short term political thinking of Zionists once again trumps long term
planning. There is clearly a very heavy economic and ecological cost of
colonialism. Urgent studies and documentation are needed for areas like
Al-Auja and increased activism to end this colonial occupation as quickly as
possible. Time is not on our (human) side. Very soon, the damages done to
the environment will make life impossible for all of us (Jews, Christians,
Muslims, other animals, and plants) in this (un)holy Land.Thanks to Mubarak, his family, my wife, my student Michael and his brother
Majd for help in making this trip successful.Here are two pictures of Auja valley with water in it a few years ago
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16622261@N07/4761385611/
http://foeme.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/auja-blog_img022f-o-e-jordan-valley
_verkleind.jpgand here is a link to pictures posted by my wife from our field trip
http://tinyurl.com/2whe5cb
For details on what is happening in Al-Auja including maps, see this report
by the Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=754
Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
http://qumsiyeh.org
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Below are a selection of recent AIC news articles.
Below are a selection of recent AIC news articles.
Israel Continues Assault on East Jerusalem’s Issawiya
Israeli military and police forces entered the East Jerusalem
neighbourhood of Al Issawiya for several days last week, arresting 5
and demolishing several structures.
The Lesser of Many Evils: Plea Bargain of Ameer Makhoul and the
Israeli Legal System
Advocate Hussein Abu Hussein spoke to the Haifa Arabic-language
daily Al-Ittihad about the plea bargain that was reached by the state
prosecutor and the defendant of Ittijah’s Executive Director Ameer
Makhoul.
MK Dichter Cancels Participation in Madrid Coalition Peace Conference
for Fear of Arrest Member of Knesset Avi Dichter, former Head of Israeli
General Security Services (GSS), recently canceled a trip to Spain, due to
fear he would be detained or arrested by Spanish authorities for his
involvement in alleged war crimes against Palestinians.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/news/3006-mk-dichter-cancels-participation-in-madrid-coalition-peace-conference-for-fear-of-arrest
Thousands of Palestinians Attend Memorial Services for Yasser Arafat
Thousands attended a memorial service in Ramallah and throughout
the West Bank on Thursday and Friday (11-12 November), commemorating
the 6th anniversary of the death of iconic Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat.
Five Australian Unions Support BDS of Israel
Five Australian unions have joined the international campaign
advocating the boycott of Israeli goods from the occupied West Bank.
New Yorkers Protest Fundraising Cruise for Illegal Hebron Settlements
120 New Yorkers silently picketed at the entrance to Manhattan’s
Chelsea Piers this evening (16 November) to protest against the
Brooklyn-based Hebron Fund’s fundraising event to expand Jewish
settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Hebron.
AICVideo: Sheikh Jarrah: One Year of Protests
The AIC can also be followed on Twitter at AICNews, on Facebook at
Alternative Information Center, and of course on our website at
alternativenews.org.–
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “AIC Newsletter” group.
To post to this group, send email to aic-newsletter@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to aic-newsletter+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/aic-newsletter?hl=en.
==============================================
Below are a selection of recent AIC news articles.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to aic-newsletter+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/aic-newsletter?hl=en.
Below are a selection of recent AIC news articles.
Israel Continues Assault on East Jerusalem’s Issawiya
Israeli military and police forces entered the East Jerusalem
neighbourhood of Al Issawiya for several days last week, arresting 5
and demolishing several structures.
The Lesser of Many Evils: Plea Bargain of Ameer Makhoul and the
Israeli Legal System
Advocate Hussein Abu Hussein spoke to the Haifa Arabic-language
daily Al-Ittihad about the plea bargain that was reached by the state
prosecutor and the defendant of Ittijah’s Executive Director Ameer
Makhoul.
MK Dichter Cancels Participation in Madrid Coalition Peace Conference
for Fear of Arrest Member of Knesset Avi Dichter, former Head of Israeli General
Security Services (GSS), recently canceled a trip to Spain, due to
fear he would be detained or arrested by Spanish authorities for his
involvement in alleged war crimes against Palestinians.
Thousands of Palestinians Attend Memorial Services for Yasser Arafat
Thousands attended a memorial service in Ramallah and throughout
the West Bank on Thursday and Friday (11-12 November), commemorating
the 6th anniversary of the death of iconic Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Five Australian Unions Support BDS of Israel
Five Australian unions have joined the international campaign
advocating the boycott of Israeli goods from the occupied West Bank.
New Yorkers Protest Fundraising Cruise for Illegal Hebron Settlements
120 New Yorkers silently picketed at the entrance to Manhattan’s
Chelsea Piers this evening (16 November) to protest against the
Brooklyn-based Hebron Fund’s fundraising event to expand Jewish
settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Hebron.
AICVideo: Sheikh Jarrah: One Year of Protests
The AIC can also be followed on Twitter at AICNews, on Facebook at
Alternative Information Center, and of course on our website at
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups “AIC Newsletter” group.
To post to this group, send email to aic-newsletter@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to aic-newsletter+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/aic-newsletter?hl=en.
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