Mondoweiss Online Newsletter

NOVANEWS

• Settler violence on the rise; violent incidents in 2011 may double those in 2010

• Gaza rejects Greek offer to deliver humanitarian aid as it stops the freedom flotilla

• The erasure of history (Israel gives go-ahead to desecration of Mamilla cemetery)

• Liberal American Jews negotiate away the right of return

• Flotilla placed Palestinian struggle in global understanding of the Arab spring

• Israel makes it clear it views ‘Israel/Palestine’ as one state

• Poll says American Jews overwhelmingly oppose Fatah-Hamas reconciliation and declaration of Palestinian state

• Richard Witty’s 10,000th comment

• James Murdoch’s explanation of the right of return fell on deaf ears (Rupert’s and TB’s)

• Israeli business leader: Anti-boycott law has given legitimacy to the boycott movement

Settler violence on the rise; violent incidents in 2011 may double those in 2010

Jul 15, 2011

Kate

 

In West Bank, settler violence seen on the rise
HUWARA, West Bank (Reuters) 14 July – Scorched hillsides and charred olive groves near Nablus pinpoint the latest acts of arson by hardline Jewish settlers against Palestinians who say they are ever more the victims of such attacks in the West Bank. “The olive tree is the only source of income for farmers,” said Mohammad Zeban, a Palestinian farmer, lamenting the damage inflicted on hundreds of olive trees by a recent fire near the village of Huwara. “They want to annihilate us.” Settler-related incidents resulting in Palestinian injuries and damage to property are up by 57 percent this year, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which documents violence in the Palestinian territories. Palestinian officials say that is a worrying sign of deepening hostility which they fear could trigger wider violence as hardline settlers increasingly appear to be a law unto themselves and frustration grows over the evaporating prospects for peace … To Palestinians, the increasing frequency and audacity of settler attacks is an inevitable result of the support their movement enjoys from a right-wing Israeli government whose foreign minister is himself a settler … Palestinians have been injured by settlers this year at double the rate of 2010, he said. So far this year, 178 Palestinians have been stoned, run down or shot at by settlers, compared to a total of 176 for the whole of 2010. Three Palestinians have been killed by settlers this year.

Dramatic spike in settler violence sadly predictable / Yousef Munayyer
For the past 18 months we’ve been working at the Palestine Center to analyze Israeli settler violence against Palestinian civilians and their property. We’ve put together the most comprehensive database of Israeli settler violence available and continue to add data to our records. In April of this year we presented an analysis covering the period of September 2004-February 2011, and at the time I noted an dramatic trend: “The important news is this. A very strong, noticeable increase in Israeli settler violence over the past five years, and mind you 2011 is on pace to beat 2010. We started with an extremely violent two months of 2011 and it shows no indication of slowing down.” … The troubling part is that, when you study settler violence over time you realize that the most
dramatic spike that comes on an annual basis is during the olive harvest season — at the end of October. With a 57% increase in violence by July, the number of violent incidents against Palestinian civilians may well double last year’s numbers.

And more news from Today in Palestine:

Land, property, resources theft and destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Apartheid

Israel’s interior minister seeks to extend ban on family unification
Haaretz 14 July — Order stipulates that unification between Israeli citizens and Palestinian partners to be prohibited except in cases where Palestinian male partner is over 36 or Palestinian female is over 26; order significantly limits citizens’ ability to live together with Palestinian spouse — Interior Minister Eli Yishai is expected to ask the government next week for a six month extension of the order banning family unification. This order significantly limits the ability of a citizen to live together with a Palestinian spouse. The order’s practical meaning is the prevention of unification of hundreds of families, particularly Bedouin ones in the Negev. Some Knesset members have called it a draconian order and a threat to civil liberties.
link to www.haaretz.com

Yovel outpost: Israel retroactively approves theft of private land
[with photos] B’Tselem 14 July — The Yovel outpost, established in 1998, lies west of Qaryut and south of the Eli settlement. The 12 permanent dwellings in the outpost were built without a permit, without an outline plan, and partially on private Palestinian land. The declaration of state land was made in an attempt to approve retroactively the construction and to overcome the claims made in petitions to the High Court of Justice by the Palestinian landowners together with Israeli organizations. In September 2005, Peace Now petitioned the High Court in objection to the illegal construction in the outpost, and in April 2009, Yesh Din petitioned the court regarding the construction of the access road.
link to www.btselem.org

House arrest: a Palestinian prison / Meg Walsh
Palestine (Pal Telegraph) 15 July — The Israeli settlement of Givon Ha’hadasha is built alarmingly close to the Palestinian village of Bet Ijza. The settlement is built practically on top of this village because the Jews believe that biblically, this is the site where the sun stood still for Joshua while his enemies were defeated. In this land, too often the beliefs of the past trump the realities of the present. The Ghrayeb family, who refused to leave their home in order for the settlement to be built, even after threats of eviction and demolition, live amidst the Jewish enclave. However, they are separated from it on three sides by a seven meter high metal fence. In the one entry that they have, there are two surveillance cameras — one on the house and the other facing the opposite direction observing anyone coming toward the house. With only one gate, the family is at the mercy of the Israeli army who can close it at any time, for any reason. At one point, they were prisoners inside their home for an entire month.
link to www.paltelegraph.com

Jerusalem

Issawiya of East Jerusalem resists home demolition
Jerusalem/PNN Exclusive/By SWK 14 July – White plumes of smoke streak across the sky saturating the air with tear gas, a common sight in the East Jerusalem town of Issawiya [Eissawiya, Isawiya, ‘Aissawiya, etc. العيسوية ] that has become notorious for resisting home demolitions … Israeli zoning policies allow for Palestinians to build on just 13% of the land in East Jerusalem. This 13% is already densely inhabited and doesn’t leave much room for new infrastructure or expansion for existing residence. The Jerusalem Municipalities website states “The Municipality of Jerusalem demolishes buildings or parts of buildings for reasons of urban planning, not for security matters.” The website also claims that houses are only demolished when not yet inhabited and when built without a permit on land that interferes with public plans for infrastructure like schools, parks and roads. Citizens of East Jerusalem say this is not the case. Issa Nasser, a resident of Issawiya, tells PNN of his cousin’s house situated between preexisting homes that was demolished 3 times. On the third demolition the man threw himself from the top floor resulting in permanent paralysis and is now confined to a wheelchair. “We apply for permits” Nasser states, “But they are not given to us, we have children, what can we do?” … 94% of all housing permits requested are denied. Palestinians are forced to build illegally because they are not granted permits, granting permits would interfere with the plan set out by the Jerusalem Municipality entitled Jerusalem 2000. This long term plan for the city openly intends to keep the Palestinian population in Jerusalem at 30% by 2020, a statistic that seems unlikely at the current growth rate of the Palestinian population. 
link to english.pnn.ps

Palestinian house demolition (Part 1)
Jeff Halper of ICAHD in 2008, using a four times demolished house in Anata, East Jerusalem as an example — very affecting Interview with homeowner Selim: “I have seven kids, and me and my wife – we are nine people living in this
house … At 2 o’clock in the afternoon we are eating our lunch, and suddenly I see our room surrounded by soldiers … More than 200 soldiers came to kick up out! … It’s not your house now, you have 15 minutes to take your belongings and family out…”  [Excellent explanation by Halper of the ‘quiet transfer’ going on.  Parts 2 and 3 available under YouTube’s ‘suggestions’ at right of video.]
link to www.youtube.com

VIDEO: Issawiya home demolition
AIC 13 July 2010 – [there are dozens of videos of demolitions on YouTube, most watched only a few times. But it’s necessary to see something like this to understand the human cost, and to see just how coldly and mechanically the destruction is carried out]
link to www.youtube.com

VIDEO: Issawiya, a suffocated Palestinian village in East Jerusalem
AIC from 2008 — [shows the geography of the village’s problem] From atop the hillside, the crux of Issawiya’s problems becomes evident, its decisive location. Circling around you see the Israeli military base, the tower of Hebrew University, the Jewish settlement of French Hill, and an Israeli military detention center. Next to the detention center is the Ring Road, vast land appropriated from Issawiya to build the E-1 settlement bloc, and in the distance, the imposing Jewish settlement of Maale Adummim. In the middle of all this, cramped and constricted, lies Issawiya.
link to www.youtube.com

IOA imposes $900,000 in fines on Jerusalemite children in past 10 months
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 14 July — The Israeli occupation authority has imposed 900,000 dollars in fines on Jerusalemite children in Silwan for throwing stones at Israelis vehicles and settlers over the past ten months. Fakhri Abu Diab, a member of the committee for the defense of Silwan real-estate, said in a press release on Wednesday that the Israeli courts blackmail the Silwan inhabitants by imposing heavy fines on their children, because they know the families would be forced to pay the fines to secure the release of their children. He said that many Jerusalemites go in debt to secure the money while others could not and their sons remain in jail.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bc

Report: Israeli opposition leader visits Silwan
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 15 July — Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni visited the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan Friday in an action deemed provocative by local residents. Israeli forces initiated unprecedented closures in the area, blocking streets and entrances across the neighborhood, and maintaining a visible presence locals told Ma‘an.  
Tzipi Livni was reportedly visiting the ‘City of David’ before heading to a settlement outpost in the AL-Bustan district. According to witnesses Livni was guided around by a member of the Elad association, an organization actively involved in settlement projects in the Silwan neighborhood. 
link to www.maannews.net

Settlers

VIDEO: Soldiers stand by while settlers attack ‘Asira al-Qibliya
B’Tselem 14 July — On 3 July ’11, at midday, settlers attacked the village of ‘Asira al-Qibliya, claiming villagers had started a fire near the Yitzhar settlement. The attackers were armed with sticks and pieces of piping, some had covered their faces, and two carried weapons. They threw stones towards the village and broke some twenty olive trees. They injured one Palestinian by beating him. Villagers came to the spot and responded by throwing stones at the attackers.
link to www.btselem.org

Settlers torch Palestinian land near Nablus
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 15 July — Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement of Yizhar set fire to Palestinian land on Friday near the village of Burin, south of Nablus. “A group of settlers from Yizhar had set fire to dozens of Dunams in that area,” a member of Burin’s agricultural committee, Belal Eid, told Ma‘an Friday. Residents of Burin and members from the Palestinian civil defense crew are reportedly still trying to extinguish the fire but settlers are preventing them from reaching the land, he added. 
link to www.maannews.net

Rep
ort: Israeli commander warns of conflict between settlers and army
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 15 July — An Israeli army commander has warned about the risk of armed conflict between settlers and the army in the West Bank, Israeli daily Maariv reported Friday. “It is likely that a settler would open fire on the soldiers while evacuating the outpost of Metzeh Yetzahar, that it will be happen by the end of 2011 is not imagination, and that the danger in the book of the King’s Torah is not only a theoretical discussion,” Netsan Arlen reportedly warned during an army meeting on the situation in the West Bank. Arlen was highly critical of extremist religious texts such as the ‘King’s Torah’ saying that “this book is not theoretical for those people but it’s clear in torching mosques which is an issue that would ignite a huge fire in the region.”
link to www.maannews.net

Barak considers emergency laws against rightists
Ynet 14 July — Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday instructed his legal adviser to look into the possibility of using old emergency laws to curb rightist attacks on IDF soldiers … Some 10 days ago, Brigadier General Alon’s vehicle was attacked by several youths at Tapuach Junction in the West Bank. Alon left the scene after right-wing activists encircled his car and began kicking it, while resorting to slurs and chanting “traitor.” 
link to www.ynetnews.com

Israeli forces

PCHR Weekly Report 7-13 July: Civilian killed, woman, child wounded by Israeli forces
IMEMC 15 July — …Israeli forces conducted 47 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, during which they abducted 12 Palestinian civilians, including a child. In addition, Israeli forces abducted 4 Palestinian civilians at military checkpoints in the West Bank … There are approximately 585 permanent roadblocks, and manned and unmanned checkpoints across the West Bank. At least 65% of the main roads that lead to 18 Palestinian communities in the West Bank are closed or fully controlled by Israeli forces. There are approximately 500 kilometers of restricted roads across the West Bank. In addition, approximately one third of the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, is inaccessible to Palestinians without permits issued by Israeli forces … Israeli settlement activities: 
Israeli forces have continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. [ Complete report, which also contains details of movement of both people and freight through Beit Hanoun (Erez) and Rafah crossings]
link to www.imemc.org

Army gas canisters set fire to Palestinian land
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 15 July — Israeli soldiers fired gas canisters at residents in the town of Qatana, near Jerusalem, on Thursday, causing fires which spread through olive and fig groves, reports say. The fire also damaged vineyards and the electricity grid in the area, a spokesman from the town’s police department Ashraf Shamasneh said, noting that the Israeli army did not contact the fire department at any point. Palestinian firefighters were unable to reach all areas affected by the fire, and several homes in the town were damaged. Local witnesses said that Israeli forces deliberately set fire to properties, some even using their own lighters, as soldiers had threatened to burn property if they were harassed by residents, reports say … This attack is the second within days in which gas canisters were fired on the residents’ homes and agricultural lands.
link to www.maannews.net

Israeli military conducts investigation on killing of Ibrahim Sarhan
IMEMC 15 July — The Israeli military will be investigating the killing of twenty-one year old Ibrahim Omar Sarhan on Wednesday July 13, 2011, for alleged wrongdoings. Israeli military sources said that an investigation does not mean the Israeli military were violating the operations rules of engagement, according to the Jerusalem Post … Major General Avichai Mandelblit announced in April that the Israeli Military would launch a new policy where immediate investigations would take place on killings of unarmed Palestinian civilians not suspected in terrorist activities.
link to www.imemc.org

Gaza

Palestinians: Five wounded as IAF jets strike Gaza tunnels
Haaretz 15 July 09:03 — In the last three days, the IAF has carried out six airstrikes in Gaza in r
esponse to homemade missiles fired by militants toward southern Israel — Israel Air Force strikes left at least five Palestinians wounded and one missing early Friday in the Gaza Strip, witnesses and officials in the territory said. The witnesses said that IAF fighter jets struck a smuggling tunnel under the border between southern Gaza and Egypt, where five people were wounded … Rescue teams rushed to the scene and sent three people with moderate wounds and two with minor injuries by ambulance to the nearby Rafah hospital, Gaza emergency chief Adham Abu Selmeyeh said.  Earlier, IAF jets carried out two airstrikes late Thursday against another smuggling tunnel and an empty area inside Gaza.
link to www.haaretz.com

Four Palestinians, including two children, wounded in Israeli airstrike
GAZA, (PIC) 15 July  20:14– Israeli occupation aircraft carried out a number of airstrikes late Thursday night against targets in the Gaza Strip wounding four Palestinians, including two children. Spokesman for the emergency services, Adham Abu Selmeyya, told PIC that that two children were wounded when occupation aircraft targeted an open area near Makousi residential towers in Gaza City and two other citizens were wounded as a result of another airstrike that targeted the central Gaza Strip. Palestinian sources said that F16’s fired a rocket at a resistance training grounds to the south west of Gaza City, while an Apache fired at another position to the west of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. A third position to the north west of Gaza City was also targeted, but no casualties were reported as a result of these three airstrikes. 
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2

Israeli airstrike injures 5 at Rafah border
RAFAH (Ma‘an) 15 July 02:26 — Five Gazans were injured Thursday and a sixth is reported missing after an Israeli warplane attacked a tunnel at the Egyptian-Palestinian border near Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The attack took place at dawn, local witness said … Israeli planes were reportedly targeting the transfer of cement and building materials into the Gaza Strip. An Israeli army spokeswoman said that the attack was in response to “the firing of rockets at residents in southern Israel” and terrorist activity at the Rafah border. It is understood that the tunnel was destroyed in the attack.
link to www.maannews.net

Unknown military faction fires projectile at Sderot
GAZA (Ma‘an) 14 July 17:49 — A previously unknown armed faction announced Thursday that it had fired a homemade projectile at the Israeli city of Sderot from the Gaza Strip. The faction calls itself “Sarayah Palestine”, a statement received by Ma‘an said. It launched the projectile at 7.00 a.m Thursday. The attack was in response to Israeli aggression and threats against the Palestinian people, the statement added.
link to www.maannews.net

6 rockets hit Israel; IDF strikes Gaza
Ynet 15 July 00:29 — Qassams fired from Strip explode in open areas in southern Israel throughout day; no injuries reported. IDF reportedly strikes Hamas targets late Thursday
link to www.ynetnews.com

IDF condemns Hamas for failing to halt Gaza rocket fire
Haaretz 15 July — Israel Defense Forces officials issued a statement Friday, condemning Hamas for not taking action to stop rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into Israel, shortly after Chief of Staff Benny Gantz called an emergency meeting to discuss the increased violence in southern Israel 
link to www.haaretz.com

VIDEO: International solidarity boat crew attacked off Gaza coast / Hama Waqum
Mondoweiss/CPSGAZA 14 July — I am writing this exactly twelve hours after I was attacked by an Israeli warship, off the Gaza coast. As a member of the Civil Peace Service, I board the Oliva boat around twice a week to monitor Gazan fishermen’s human rights. But today, it wasn’t just the fishermen who were targeted. We approached a cluster of hasaka fishing boats that were being attacked with water cannons at midday on July 13. As we got closer all I could focus on was the officer manning the machine gun, covered from head to toe with black, which struck me as very medieval, if you know what I mean. Our boat, along with the fishing vessels, was around two miles out to sea, well within the three-mile fishing limit imposed by Israel. 
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/07/international-solidarity-boat-crew-attacked-off-gaza-coast.html

CPS GAZA responds to Israeli naval attacks, death threats
Civil Peace Service Gaza press release, 14 July 3:55 — At approximately 8:15 am, two Israeli gunboats approached the Oliva as it cruised within the three-nautical mile fishing zone unilaterally imposed and enforced by Israeli forces. After circling it several times, they opened fire on it with water cannons, nearly filling it with water in an apparent attempt to sink it. Two United States crew members and the Palestinian captain were rescued from the vessel, in imminent danger of capsizing, by a small fishing boat, which transported them to a nearby trawler. One of the warships then circled the trawler for nearly an hour, firing water cannons at it and taunting its fishing crew over its loudspeaker with cries of, “Where are your fish? Show me your fish!” The warship eventually departed, after an amplified warning that if it returned to the sea, the Israeli navy would shoot both Palestinian fishermen and international human rights observers.
link to www.cpsgaza.org

Gaza blockade keeps Saleh away from sea / Rami Almeghari
EI 14 July — For five years now, Saleh has only been able to sail for short distances. Most of the time, it sits idle in a parking lot for boats near a sea port to the west of Gaza City.aleh is the name of a large boat that belongs to Abu Ayman Kabaja, a 56-year-old fisherman and father of five children, all of whom have worked inGaza’s fishing industry for many years … Saleh is one of about 25 similar boats in the area that used to sail from Gaza before Israel imposed the maritime blockade. These boats are all out of regular use as a result of thesiege on Gaza.
link to electronicintifada.net

Hamas organizes rally to protest UNRWA aid reductions
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 15 July — The Hamas government in Gaza organized a mass rally on Friday afternoon in protest against a reported decision by UNRWA to reduce the amount of aid given to Palestinian refugees … Protests commenced after Friday afternoon prayers in the An Nuseirat and Al Bureij refugee camps.
link to www.maannews.net

UNRWA facing shortages due to Israeli blockade
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 14 July — Figures released by UNRWA on Thursday reveal that the organization is facing severe shortages in construction materials needed for ongoing projects in the Gaza Strip. “We been allowed to take in to Gaza a tiny fraction of the construction materials needed,” UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said. Around 3,291 trucks have been allowed into the Gaza Strip, accounting for under four percent of the overall $660 million UNRWA construction plan to take place over the next three years. “The 3,921 trucks represent just 16 percent of the materials we need for the projects approved so far by the Israeli authorities. To complete these projects we need to get in to Gaza 17,383 trucks. “At this rate, it will take us a year to get in the supplies for our 73 projects approved so far by the Israel authorities. This is woefully inadequate, especially for people who have been waiting a decade to have their homes rebuilt.”
link to www.maannews.net

Humanitarian aid cargo arrives safely in Gaza
Bernama 15 July — The humanitarian aid cargo of sewage pipes and joints arrived safely in Gaza via Karem Shalom on Tuesday after departing from El Arish Port on July 10. According to a statement from Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF) here today, the 32-tonne cargo was unloaded from the Spirit of Rachel Corrie, the MV Finch, on July 6 into nine trucks, seven carrying sewage pipes and two carrying joint components. The convoy of trucks was then escorted by two Egyptian Army armoured personnel carriers (APC) to El Ouja at the Israeli border before the cargo was transferred to trailers sponsored by the Palestinian Authority and accompanied by the Palestinian Red Crescent, the statement said.
link to www.bernama.com

EWASH: One year since Israel announced easing of blockade policy but clean water still not flowing freely
Gaza (PNN) 15 July — The Water Sanitation and Hygiene Group (EWASH) issued a report say
ing that even though Israel announced last year that it will ease the blockade; Gaza Strip residents still don’t have clean water running from their taps as up to 95 percent of water for domestic supply in the Gaza Strip is still below the minimum World Health Organization (WHO) standard for drinking water and unfit for consumption. “Relaxing restrictions on imports to Gaza to allow in a variety of soda and chips does nothing to help families that can’t drink the water running from their taps,” says Subha Ghannam, EWASH coordinator. 
link to english.pnn.ps

In Gaza: Lucky to have water
[photos] Wet clothes are actually a blessing, for me at least in Gaza.  I only wear them indoors, or sometimes underneath outer layers, and they do what non-existent air-con or fans-wanting-electricity can’t: cool me down for a bit … Free Gaza says: “Most family homes have running water for less than six hours a day, and almost a third of homes have no running water at all.”  And my Gaza family themselves have to pump water via a series of hoses, pumps and motors (dependent on electricity and town water flow) to their rooftop for family use. [this post goes on to include information about both the depletion and deterioration of Gaza’s water and the effect of Israeli border shootings on farmers – well worth reading]
link to ingaza.wordpress.com

Algerian Red Crescent donates 2.5 million dollars to Gaza
GAZA (PIC) 15 July — The Algerian Red Crescent has donated Thursday 2.5 million dollars to the victims of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip in 2009 that left 1500 Palestinian martyrs and nearly 5000 wounded in addition to destroying the Strip’s infrastructure. Haj Hammo Bin Zughair, the president of the Algerian Red Crescent, said that the amount was donated by benevolent Algerian citizens to their Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip, explaining that humanitarian aid extended by his society passed three stages. The first stage, he said, was through dispatching teams of Algerian doctors, medical equipments, foodstuff, and dried blood bags. In the second stage, he added, we dispatched Algerian psychiatrists to Gaza but the deposed regime in Egypt blocked them at Rafah crossing checkpoint and denied them entry…
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bc

PFLP leader returns to Gaza after 42 years
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 14 July — A senior leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Salah Mohammad, returned to Gaza [from Algeria] on Thursday after 42 years of forced absence.  Senior leaders of the PFLP received Salah at the Rafah crossing and he is set to receive guests at his home in the Ash-Shate refugee camp.
link to www.maannews.net

Detention

Palestinian-Israeli leader granted bail in UK
Al Jazeera 15 July — Sheikh Raed Salah, the detained leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, has been granted bail by a court in London. He was detained on June 28 in the UK during a speaking tour, allegedly for entering the country illegally. Ismail Patel, chair of the activist organisation Friends of Al-Aqsa, who was at Friday’s bail hearing, said: “It is a tremendous relief that Sheikh Raed’s bail application was successful.” “We are shocked and horrified that a Palestinian leader can be held like this,” Sarah Colborne, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, told Al Jazeera. “They gave no reason why bail was denied last week.” The arrest of Salah has drawn condemnation from Palestinian leaders across the political spectrum. 
link to www.aljazeera.com

Arab League raps pro-Israel Britain
PressTV 15 July — The Arab League has strongly condemned the British government for arresting Sheikh Raed Salah, calling for his immediate and unconditional release, a statement said. The league said in its statement that news of Sheikh Salah’s arrest was received “with considerable shock and surprise”, calling for him to be treated in a manner befitting an internationally-renowned man of faith. Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, was arrested by British authorities in London, irrespective of the fact that there were no legal or legitimate reasons for him to be pursued. His programme of activities in Britain was publicised well in advance; the plan was to speak about the realities of the Palestine-Israel conflict to British politicians, academics and members of the public. The intention was to provide an opportunity for those in Britain to hear the Palestinian narrative for a change. 
link to www.presstv.ir

IOF soldiers detain Palestinian youth in Nablus, storm Al-Khalil
NABLUS (PIC) 14 July — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested a Palestinian youth in the Nablus village of Til at dawn Thursday after wreaking havoc in his home and other houses in the village. Other IOF soldiers stormed Al-Khalil city, installed roadblocks and search citizens for their IDs. Local sources said that the troops detained a number of young men for field interrogation then released them.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b

Administrative detention extended against two Palestinian prisoners on Thursday
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 14 July — Israeli occupation authorities have extended the administrative detention of Palestinian prisoner Zawadi Sha‘ban Shalalideh, 48, from Sa‘eer in Al-Khalil province, for an additional four months on Thursday. It was the third time his term in administrative detention was extended since he was first arrested ten months back. Shelaledeh is a father of eight and school teacher who suffers various illnesses. He was arrested several times by Israeli authorities and currently sits in the Ofer prison.
The same day, a military tribunal in the Negev extended the administrative detention period of Hamas leader Raafat Jameel Nasseif, 45, for six months, Nasseif’s family told our correspondent. It marked the sixth time his detention term has been extended. Nasseif has been sitting in the Negev prison since March 2009. He also suffers from health conditions.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2Bc

Senior prisoner returned to isolation after prison fake-out
NABLUS (PIC) 14 July — Longtime Palestinian prisoner Nael al-Bargouthi, 54, was returned to isolation in the Ramon prison on Tuesday for the second time in a two week timespan. Apparently, the prison administration faked out prisoners by releasing him to quell wide-ranging protests.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b

Children of Gaza captives send messages to fathers via flying bottles
GAZA, (PIC)– Hundreds of children in Gaza Strip have gathered Thursday at Gaza Sea to send  a letter of love to their fathers who are incarcerated in Israeli jails for years now, alarming the entire world that they also have the right to live in peace with their fathers like all children of the world. The activity that was organized by the Waed Society for prisoners and ex-prisoners was attended by officials of the ministry of prisoners and ex-prisoners in Gaza and a delegation from the international solidarity committee where the children wrote message to their detained fathers and put them in bottles and flew them with balloons in hope it could reach the detention cells of their fathers.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Q

Events organized for children of Palestinian detainees
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 14 July — The Palestinian detainees center in Qalqiliya said Wednesday that they had organized an evening of entertainment for the children of Palestinian prisoners who live in the city. The event was sponsored in cooperation with the Palestinian Woman’s Center, a Christian youth organization and the prisoners’ mothers committee. Head of the detainees center in Qalqiliya Lafi Nasura said that the event shows solidarity with prisoners in Israeli jails and sends a message to the world that Palestinians don’t forget their prisoners and will always support them. 
link to www.maannews.net

PA arrests 13 Islamists in crackdown
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 15 July — The Hizb ut-Tahrir movement said Friday that the Palestinian Authority is still cracking down on its members, arresting 13 in the last week.  A spokesman for the Islamist party said that the arrests occurred after the party had distributed a statement last week in West Bank cities and villages.  Nine of those arrested are from the Jenin district, three from Ramallah and one from near Salfit. The party has called for the immediate release of all prisoners and an end to PA suppression of the movement. 
link to www.maannews.net

Activism / Solidarity

Map: Weekly West Bank protests
Al Jazeera 15 July — Click the icons for more information on protest sites. Due to legal restrictions, Google Maps shows only low resolution imagery and limited place names in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Viewweekly West Bank protests in a larger map [Source: Media reports] Every Friday, pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest in several West Bank and Jerusalem locations, most notably Bil‘in, Ni‘lin and Sheikh Jarrah.
The regular gatherings focus attention on the route of Israel’s separation barrier, ongoing land confiscation and Israeli settler attacks.
link to www.aljazeera.com

Israeli troops attack anti-wall protesters, injuring one and arresting one
Ramallah (PNN) 15 July — One injured, another arrested, while scores were treated for effects of tear gas inhalation, as Israeli troops attacked on Friday nonviolent protests organized in a number of West Bank communities. Protests were reported in the villages of al-Nabi Salleh, Bil‘in, and Ni‘lin in the central West Bank, as well as al-Ma‘ssara in the south. 
link to english.pnn.ps

Songs tear down fences in Izbat Tabib
ISM 13 July — On July 13th villagers in the small town of Izbat Tabib wanted to protest against the illegal Israeliconstruction of barbed wire fences outside the village, preventing farmers from tending their lands and olive trees … the villagers and activists from ISM helped each other tear down the fences, this continued for around half an hour, until the arrival of Israeli military jeeps with about 20 soldiers. The cutting of the fences halted, and together the villagers and activists prevented the entry of the soldiers into the village by means of peaceful singing and demands for Palestinian rights to their rightful land.
link to palsolidarity.org

Photo Essay: East Jerusalem march for Palestinian independence / Dahlia Scheindlin
972mag 15 July — The demonstration today in Jerusalem in support of Palestinian independence was attended by anywhere from 2000 to 4500 people (according to a Facebook post), who marched from the Old City’s Jaffa Gate to Sheikh Jarrah. I was there and organizers announced 3,000 attendees at the end, but Channel 2’s evening news reported “over 1000.”  I suppose they’re playing it safe, but after tramping through burning sun on a winding walk through Jerusalem’s famous Friday crush, with people singing, drumming, cheering, dancing and laughing, that conservative estimate has a cynical ring.
link to 972mag.com

Thousands of Israelis and Arabs march in Jerusalem to support Palestinian independence
Haaretz 15 July — Several MKs participate in the ‘March for Independence,’ the first such Jewish-Arab event in 20 years — Approximately 2,000 Palestinians and Israelis took part in the “March for Independence” Friday, calling for the recognition of a Palestinian state. Although the organizers of the march issued a statement saying the march was carried out peacefully, police had to intervene and separate right-wing and left-wing activists … Several MKs participated in the march, including Zehava Galon of Meretz and Dov Hanin of Hadash. Other prominent public figures took part as well, such as former Speaker of the Knesset Avraham Burg and former Attorney General Michael Ben Yair. The march took a symbolic route, following the green line that used to divide East and West Jerusalem before the Six Day War in 1967. It began at Jaffa Gate and ended at the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, the opposite route taken by right-wing activists during Jerusalem Day last month.
link to www.haaretz.com

Support our friend Rani Burant
ffj-Bil‘in 13 July — Rani Burnat has been wheelchair-bound since being shot in the neck by a sniper in 2000. The shooting occurred during a demonstration in Ramallah on the second day of the second intifada. The injury has left him paralyzed from the chest down, with a head wound from which he is still recovering. Despite the difficulties, Rani — now 30 years old — has since started a family and is the proud father of triplets. In spite of his severe handicap, Rani continues to attend demonstrations against the separation wall in his village of Bil‘in on a regular basis. Over the years of protest Rani has been beaten and shot numerous times by the forces of the occupation, and his wheelchair has sustained repeated damage. Rani’s medical equipment demands constant care and gets worn down quickly. 
link to www.bi
lin-ffj.org

Expatriate wants Gaza boats confiscated
WASHINGTON (CN) 15 July — A U.S. citizen who lives in Israel, and says he was hurt by Palestinian terrorists in Jerusalem in 2002, seeks forfeiture of the 13 boats that activists are planning to use to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip.  Alan Bauer, a biologist who lives in Jerusalem, sued the ships in Federal Court, seeking an order to summon all people with interest in the boats to show cause why they shouldn’t forfeit the vessels and their “arms and ammunition and stores”.  Bauer says the ships are subject to seizure under 18 U.S.C. § 962, as “employed in the service of any foreign prince … to cruise, or commit hostilities against … people with whom the United States is at peace”.
link to www.courthousenews.com

Israel expands its borders into Europe / Dahr Jamail
AJE 12 July – Recent clampdowns on Palestinian solidarity activists underscore Israel’s ability to outsource its security operations — On July 11, Israel announced it was not interested in having the United Nations become involved as a mediator in its maritime border issues with Lebanon. But when it comes to recruiting other countries to assist in the enforcement of its naval blockade of Gaza, or having international airlines deny entry to passengers destined to the occupied territories from flying, Israel is keen to have other countries help. [includes map showing the approximate location of the flotilla vessels, including descriptions of what happened to each boat]
link to english.aljazeera.net

Boycott law  (see also Analysis / Opinion)

PA to boycott companies heeding Boycott Law
Ynet 14 July — Palestinian economic minister threatens to boycott Israeli companies, says Boycott Law is ‘part of the mechanism of the occupation’ … According to Abu Libdah, “The decision made by the Israeli government to approve this law proves Israel is setting the ground for the option of one, bi-national state.” 
link to www.ynetnews.com

Meretz party marks settlement goods at Israeli supermarkets
Haaretz 14 July — The New Movement-Meretz’s operations headquarters and youth division made their way through supermarkets across Israel Wednesday, marking products manufactured in the settlements. The move is part of a campaign intended to warn the public against purchasing goods manufactured in the settlements, and comes in response to the boycott law passed in the Knesset this week …P arty Secretary-General Dror Morag said the struggle today is not solely about settlement goods, but the “essence of democracy.” 
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/meretz-party-marks-settlement-goods-at-israeli-supermarkets-1.373218

Dozens of Israeli law professors protest unconstitutional boycott law
Haaretz 14 July — 32 academics sign petition aimed at Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein; Netanyahu maintains that he ‘approved the law’ and is ‘against boycotts’ aimed at Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/dozens-of-israeli-law-professors-protest-unconstitutional-boycott-law-1.373152

Political / Diplomatic / International news

Political factions urge Hamas, Fatah to implement unity deal
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 15 July — Palestinian national and religious factions met without Hamas or Fatah in Gaza City on Thursday in an attempt to urge the two parties to implement the reconciliation agreement. 
link to www.maannews.net

PLO official: Local elections to take place in October
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 14 July — The Palestinian government in Ramallah is set to approve plans to hold municipal elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in October 2011. PLO executive committee member Ghassan Shaka told Ma‘an Thursday that consultations about the elections were held during a recent PLO Committee meeting and October 22 is understood to be the prescribed date for the elections to take place … The date had been previously agreed upon but consensus must be reached among the Palestinian political factions.
link to www.maannews.net

West Bank MPs: Political atmosphere not suitable for municipal elections now
RAMALLAH (PIC) 15 July — Palestinian lawmakers in the West Bank have criticized Thursday the call of the PA leadership in Ramallah to hold municipal elections in October, describing such call as clear violation of what have been agreed upon by all Palestinian factions in Cairo a couple of months ago. All Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, have agreed that elections should be held after achieving the reconciliation and should be made as one bundle in clear and transparent atmosphere to make credible and authentic.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b

UN: Jerusalem part of occupied Palestinian territories
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 15 July — …”UNESCO wishes to reiterate that, contrary to recent claims, there has been no change in UNESCO’s position on Jerusalem,” the statement said. “In line with overall UN policy, East Jerusalem remains part of the occupied Palestinian territory, and the status of Jerusalem must be resolved in permanent status negotiations.” …UNESCO had been criticized recently after it emerged that the organizations’ website listed Jerusalem as Israel’s capital
link to www.maannews.net

Haaretz: Russia’s refusal to refer to Israel as a ‘Jewish state” leads to failure of Quartet meeting
MEMO 14 July — According to the online version of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, rejected the inclusion of Israel as a “Jewish state” in the concluding statement of the Quartet meeting. The newspaper added that the meeting, which lasted for more than two hours, failed to achieve its objectives because of the disagreement sparked by the Russian foreign minister, and as such no public statement on the meeting was issued. 
link to www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk

Arab League to request full Palestinian membership at UN
Reuters 14 July –Security Council set to hold open debate on Middle East on July 26, but Israel has made it clear that it opposes any unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood.– The Arab League will apply to upgrade the Palestinians to full member status at the United Nations, according to a draft statement from a league meeting in Qatar on Thursday. “It was decided to go to the United Nations to request the recognition of the state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital and to move ahead and request a full membership,” said the communiqué, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
link to www.haaretz.com

Report: Former German ambassadors urge Merkel to support UN bid
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 15 July — 32 former German ambassadors have reportedly urged the German chancellor Angela Merkel to support the Palestinian UN bid in September. The former government staff members sent a signed letter to Angela Merkel and German foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle Friday, as well as providing a copy to the PLO, expressing their support for the Palestinian UN bid.
link to www.maannews.net

Dignitaries visit Israel to fight Palestinian statehood bid
Jerusalem (JTA) 14 July — A group of dignitaries including a former prime minister and a Nobel Peace Prize winner came to Israel to pledge to fight the Palestinian bid for statehood recognition at the United Nations.The group came as part of the Friends of Israel Initiative, which seeks to rally international support for Israel.
link to forward.com

Fatah: Israel extorts European countries for UN bid
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 14 July — Palestinian movement Fatah accused Israel Thursday of exploiting economic conditions in some European countries in order to persuade them to vote against the Palestinian UN bid for statehood in September.  Fatah spokesman Dr. Fayez Abu Eitah told Ma‘an that the decision by Netanyahu to provide preferential treatment to Romanian and Bulgarian laborers amounts to political extortion. It is understood that the Israeli PM has offered Romania and Bulgaria a favorable share in the Israeli labor market and a deal to bring laborers from the two countries to Israel in a bid to win their vote as the Palestinians go to the UN this September. 
link to www.maannews.net

PLO condemns UNESCO for listing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital
RAMALLAH (Xinhua) 14 July — The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Thursday condemned listing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on the website of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Identifying Jerusalem as Israel’s unified capital “is a procedure against humanitarian and international legitimacy and the Security Council’s resolutions that consider East Jerusalem as an occupied city,” said the PLO in a statement.
link to news.xinhuanet.com

PA recognizes South Sudan
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 14 July — Palestinian Authority minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad Al-Maliki said Thursday that the PA has recognized the new state of South Sudan.
link to www.maannews.net

Hezbollah: Lebanon will not let Israel seize its natural gas
Haaretz 14 July — Deputy secretary general of Hezbollah says Lebanon will protect its rights in face of Israeli threats as Israel-Lebanon conflict on their maritime economic border escalates.
link to www.haaretz.com

Netanyahu opposes parliamentary investigations of Israeli human rights organizations
Haaretz 14 July — After supporting the controversial boycott law, PM announces he will vote against the initiative for a parliamentary inquiry into funding sources of Israeli human rights organizations.
link to www.haaretz.com

Yisrael Beiteinu vows revenge on Netanyahu for opposition to investigating NGOs
Haaretz 15 July — Cracks appear in the governing coalition after the prime minister announces he will not enforce party discipline when voting on investigative committees bill. Members of Yisrael Beiteinu warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that their ‘revenge was on its way’ after the latter announced that he opposes the establishment of parliamentary committees to investigate human rights organizations. .
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/yisrael-beiteinu-vows-revenge-on-netanyahu-for-opposition-to-investigating-ngos-1.373275

Other news

Tawjihi results to be announced by end of next week
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 13 July — The vice-minister for Higher Education in the Hamas government, Dr. Muhammad Abu Shuqair, said Wednesday that he expects the Tawjihi results to be announced by the end of next week … All grading will be completed by next Tuesday and the results will be announced in the West Bank and Gaza Strip at the end of next week, Shuqair added. Over 89,000 students completed their Tawjihi exams on July 3 in the West Bank and Gaza. 
link to www.maannews.net

Economy minister criticizes allegations of corruption
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 14 July — Palestinian Authority minister of economy Hassan Abu Libdeh has criticized reports linking names from his ministry with allegations of corruption. Abu Libdeh told Ma‘an Thursday that he is ready to appear before an anti-corruption committee and answer any questions put forward regarding corruption charges, vowing to defend the work of his ministry. 
link to www.maannews.net

In Nablus, Palestinians play down possibility of September intifada
Haaretz 15 July — Ex-militants say they won’t take to streets in September, but wish Israel would disappear … On Wednesday a reunion of sorts took place at the restaurant, attended by several leading formerly wanted men from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, coming to speak to Haaretz about the current situation, about the amnesty they received from Israel and about what they expect in the lead up to September’s possible Palestinian bid for recognition of an independent state at the United Nations.
ht
tp://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/in-nablus-palestinians-play-down-possibility-of-september-intifada-1.373291

Israeli kindergartners now have to sing the national anthem every week
Haaretz 14 July — From September Jewish nursery and kindergarten teachers to raise Israeli flag and sing ‘Hatikva’ according to new Education Ministry directives; teachers also required to instruct children on state symbols … According to the Education Ministry, the directives will not be implemented in the Arab sector. “We are conducting discussions in the Preschool Department to see how we can adapt [the directives] to this sector,” the ministry said. .
link to www.haaretz.com

Israel air force pilots head to US to test-fly new military aircraft
Haaretz 14 July — An Israel Air Force delegation recently visited a United States Marine Corps base in North Carolina in order to test out the new V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft … the IAF will have to replace the Sikorsky helicopters sometime toward the end of the decade, and will have to decide between upgrading the Sikorsky or choosing the V-22. 
link to www.haaretz.com

Haredi radio to play women’s voices?
Ynet 14 July — According to compromise reached with Second Authority for Television and Radio, Kol Barama station will broadcast special programs presented by women. But radio official states, ‘We’ll let women speak only under certain conditions and in times of emergency’ — The issue was addressed following complaints filed with the Second Authority against the station’s refusal to have women present programs or call in as listeners. According to a recent Ynet report, the radio station’s special programs for women are presented by men, and female listeners are asked to send in recipes and questions by fax. 
link to www.ynetnews.com

Poll: Obama’s ratings plummet in Arab world
Haaretz 13 July — According to the poll, both the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and US interference in the region are seen as the biggest obstacle to peace and stability — A new poll shows a sharp decline in support of President Obama’s policies in the Middle East. The poll, which was conducted by the Arab American Institute in six Middle Eastern countries, shows Obama’s ratings at 10% or less
link to www.haaretz.com

Analysis / Opinion

Where are the Palestinians? / Mairav Zonszein
EI 15 July — From all over the Western world holding up Palestinian flags and chanting “Free Palestine.” We’ve heard from the likes of Americans, like prize-winning author Alice Walker and former CIA official Ray McGovern (both passengers on the US boat to Gaza) about the importance of standing up for Palestinians in Gaza; we’ve heard about hunger strikes by Spanish and American citizens stuck in Greece after their boats were not allowed to sail; and we’ve seen videos of activists landing in Ben Gurion airport, declaring their intention to visit the occupied West Bank, being accosted by an Israeli mob and then detained and deported, all while chanting “Free Palestine.” All these events have enormous significance as symbolic acts … But amid all the sensational scenes of confrontation between Israeli authorities and Western “pro-Palestinian” activists (including Israelis), what became apparent was that Palestinians themselves could not be seen or heard. Even though the “Welcome to Palestine” campaign was organized by Palestinian civil society organizations that invited foreigners to come, the media spectacle was focused on the Western activists and their confrontation with Israel. The Palestinians were largely unseen.
link to electronicintifada.net

Israel’s McCarthy coalition is on a dangerous power trip / Carlo Strenger
Haaretz blog 13 July — The flood of anti-democratic laws that were proposed, and partially implemented, by the current Knesset, elected in February 2009, constitute one of the darkest chapters in Israeli history. The opening salvo was provided by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party with its Nakba law, that forbids the public commemoration of the expulsion of approximately 750,000 Palestinians during the 1948 war.  Since then, a growing number of attempts were made to curtail freedom of expression and to make life for human rights groups more difficult. The latest instance is the boycott law that is passed this Monday by the Knesset, even though its legal advisor believes it to be a problematic infringement on freedom of speech. 
link to www.haaretz.com

Why Israelis must fight against the boycott law / Gideon Levy
Haaretz 14 July — With the new boycott law the meager Israeli discourse will become even more threadbare due to the silencing laws; this may be the last call to boycott those who are boycotting Israeli democracy … One doesn’t buy stolen merchandise. Period. We can and must say that out loud, before this disgraceful law was passed and even more so after it was passed. According to the new law of the new Israel, whose image is becoming distorted at alarming speed before our amazed eyes (and the eyes of the world ), it will be forbidden to say that … Now we call not only on those who consider the damage caused by the settlements to be decisive, but also those who fear for the character of the country and the society in which they live – to boycott.To boycott, boycott and boycott. Not only the products of injustice, but the unjust regime as well. This law must now be boycotted.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/why-israelis-must-fight-against-the-boycott-law-1.373135

Boycott law proves Israel’s one-state vision / Mairav Zonszein
972mag 14 July — More than anti-democratic, the boycott law is indicative of Israel’s de facto annexation of the West Bank — Everyone who is up in arms about the passing of the boycott law this week has been emphasizing the severity of its violation of freedom of expression and dialogue. While this is of course true, what is even more alarming about the law, which has gone largely unmentioned in the press or by organizations opposing it, is what it says about the State’s relation to the territory under its control: The boycott law makes no distinction between Israel and the Occupied Territories and thus is in effect a legalization and normalization of the occupation, the total erasure of the Green Line and the moratorium on the two-state solution (in case this was not already clear).
http://972mag.com/boycott-law-proves-israels-one-state-vision/

The boycott law is fascist / Alon Idan
Haaretz 14 July — The widely held view that the slew of anti-democratic laws legislated by the 18th Knesset is a slippery slope to Fascism in the future is disingenuous. The Boycott Law is Fascism: it is a categorically anti-democratic law whose goal is to annul any possibility of legitimate protest.
link to www.haaretz.com

Forward editorial: We can’t say this
We could get in trouble for this. Not in New York City, where this editorial is being written, because legitimate comment is protected under the First Amendment. But our editorials, along with many other stories and columns in the Forward, also appear every Sunday in the English edition of the Haaretz newspaper in Israel. And now, with a new anti-boycott law approved by the Knesset and due to take effect in less than 90 days, the boundaries of free speech and legitimate expression have grown unpredictably and suffocatingly tight. So, for example, if we say something like:  We can understand why reasonable people could advocate a boycott of products made in Israeli settlement in the West Bank because those settlements are deemed illegal under international law and because a boycott is a peaceful way of expressing a moral concern  — well, if we say something like that, we could be sued and held liable in civil court.
link to www.forward.com

groups.yahoo.com/group/f_shadi (listserv)
www.theheadlines.org (archive)

 

Gaza rejects Greek offer to deliver humanitarian aid as it stops the freedom flotilla

Jul 15, 2011 11:39 am | The Free Gaza Movement

 

The following letter was delivered to the Greek Government on July 12, 2011 making it clear that the people of Gaza seek freedom and respect for their human rights, including their right to lead a dignified life, not charity. Seemingly deaf to their call, yesterday a spokesman for the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Delavekouras, repeat
ed the Greek Government’s “generous offer” to deliver limited humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza – instead of helping them gain the freedom that is rightfully theirs.

We, members of Palestinian civil society in Gaza, have been watching the actions your government has taken to block Freedom Flotilla 2 from setting sail towards the biggest open air prison – the Gaza Strip – to challenge Israel’s criminal blockade. Israel’s closure of Gaza has deprived us of things that most people take for granted, first and foremost, our freedom of movement. We are not allowed to pursue adequate health care or educational opportunities because we cannot travel freely. We are cut off from our families in other parts of the occupied territory and abroad; and we are not allowed to invite people to visit us in Gaza. Now, you have imported this restriction on the people whose main mission is to stand in solidarity with us.

The people of Gaza are not only in need of humanitarian aid because we are prevented from building our economy. We are not allowed to import raw materials or to export; our fishermen and farmers get shot at when attempting to fish or to harvest their crops. As a result of deliberate Israeli policy, 80% of our people have become food aid dependent, our infrastructure is in shambles, and our children cannot imagine a day when they will know freedom.

Your offer to deliver the cargo of the Freedom Flotilla entrenches the notion that humanitarian aid will solve our problems and is a weak attempt to disguise your complicity in Israel’s blockade.

We are so sorry not to accept your charity. The organizers and participants of the Freedom Flotilla recognize that our plight is not about humanitarian aid; it is about our human rights. They carry with them something more important than aid; they carry hope, love, solidarity and respect. Your offer to collude with our oppressors to deliver aid to us is totally REJECTED.

While it is clear that you have been under enormous political pressure to comply with the will of the Israeli regime, to collaborate with Israel in violating international law and legitimizing the siege, we refuse to accept your breadcrumbs. We crave freedom, dignity and the ability to make choices in our daily lives. We urge you to immediately reconsider and to let the Freedom Flotilla sail.

Finally we recognize the historical relations between our people and your country’s support for our legitimate rights. With this history in mind and your previous acknowledgment of the freedoms denied to us, we are calling on you to allow the freedom flotilla boats to leave for Gaza, thus challenging Israel’s illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip and illegal occupation of Palestinian land.

Sincerely,
Palestinian Network of NGOs (PNGO)
Representing over 60 non-governmental organizations in Gaza
www.pngoportal.net

Palestinian International Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza
General Society for Rehabilitation
Deir Al-Balah Cultural Centre for Women and Children
Maghazi Cultural Centre for Children
Al-Sahel Centre for Women and Youth
Rachel Corrie Centre, Rafah
Rafah Olympia City Sisters
Al Awda Centre, Rafah
Al Awda Hospital, Jabaliya Camp
Ajyal Association, Gaza
Al Karmel Centre, Nuseirat
Local Initiative, Beit Hanoun
Beit Lahiya Cultural Centre
Al Awda Centre, Rafah
Middle East Children’s Alliance – Gaza office
Alshomoa Club for Women
General Union for Public Services Workers
General Union for Health Services Workers
General Union for Petrochemical and Gas Workers
General Union for Agricultural Workers
General Union of Palestinian Syndicates
General Union of Palestinian Women
Palestinian Congregation for Lawyers
Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU)
Union of Health Work Committees
Union of Synergies-Women Unit
Union of Women’s Work Committees
Palestinian Association for Fishing and Maritime
Palestine Sailing Federation
Fishing and Marine Sports Association
Palestinian Women Committees
Progressive Students’ Union

For further information go to: freegaza.org

The erasure of history (Israel gives go-ahead to desecration of Mamilla cemetery)

Jul 15, 2011 09:35 am | Lizzy Ratner

 

It’s official: on Tuesday, the Israeli government gave the Simon Wiesenthal Center the go-ahead to begin digging the foundation of its so-called Museum of Tolerance, a name that would be ironic if Israel’s political discourse hadn’t become so mutilated that words like”tolerance” had simply stopped meaning anything. The museum is set to be built on the site of Jerusalem’s Mamilla cemetery, a storied Muslim burial ground that dates to the 7th Century. Already hundreds of graves have been dug up and desecrated to make room for the angled planes of the Tolerance center, and the museum’s construction crews are now free to build on thousands more.

The news that Israel’s Interior Ministry has approved the museum’s building plans was not unexpected but it is still devastating. It is the final defeat in nearly a decade’s worth of efforts by Palestinians, Israelis, academics, and human rights groups to stop the desecration. Or rather, it is the final nail in the coffin of a desperate bid to save a sacred piece of Palestinian history — before that coffin gets dug up and re-buried, that is.

The historical and religious importance of Mamilla cemetery (originally the Ma’man Allah cemetery) is well documented. Situated half a kilometer west of the Old City’s walls, the cemetery is reputed to contain the remains of some of Jerusalem’s oldest, most celebrated families as well as those of religious leaders, pilgrims, officers and soldiers of Saladin’s army, every-day Jerusalemites, and even companions of the Prophet Muhammad. In its graves lie the secrets and stories of centuries of Palestinian history, most if not all of which managed to survived Persian siege, Christian crusades, Ottoman conquest, and British rule. Indeed, it was only after west Jerusalem was absorbed into Israel in 1948 that the “indignities” began, as Rashid Khalidi explains in an elegant essay recently published in Jadaliyya. (Khalidi’s ancestors are, or at least were, among those buried in the Mamilla Cemetery, and he has been a leader of the Campaign to Preserve Mamilla Jerusalem Cemetery.)

Given various Israeli state agencies’ appropriation of religious holdings such as Mamilla, it goes without saying that such sites could not be protected, preserved or restored by the appropriate religious authorities. This is despite the fact that these authorities hold unassailable legal title to these properties, a title that the discriminatory legal system of the Israeli state does not recognize. Thus before sections of the cemetery were earlier turned into a parking lot, a park, or other profane purposes starting in the 1960s, they had been allowed to deteriorate significantly. This is what is currently happening to the remaining untouched area at the eastern end of the cemetery where numerous gravestones can still be seen. With the Muslim religious authorities forbidden from tending it, this remnant of the cemetery has become overgrown. Vandals have knocked down gravestones. The area came to be known as a seedy, disreputable, and dangerous place at night. The Jerusalem Municipality has repeatedly used earth-movers and other heavy equipment to remove both ancient grave markers and more recent ones restored by families or by private associations. The most recent episode of this sort took place on the night of June 25-26, 2011, when about 100 gravestones were destroyed by bulldozers.

I have now read these words several times, and each time I’ve been reminded — overpoweringly — of a pilgrimage I made two years ago to one of the only remaining Jewish cemeteries in Bialystok, Poland, birthplace of my grandfather and dozens of other relatives. The cemetery was deserted the day we visited and in bad disrepair. Of the original 40,000-50,000 headstones, all but 5,000 t0 7,000 had been destroyed or repurposed — which is to say, uprooted, stolen, and turned into building fodder for streets, homes, and other random objects of daily living. Of those that remained, many had been toppled, and several bore the fresh, spray-painted markings of swastikas. Litter from picnics strafed the grounds.

Compared to the death camps and mass graves we’d visited the previous days, the desecrated Bialystok cemetery barely rated on the horror scale. And yet, there was something in the desecration, so common in those parts of the world as to be almost de rigueur, that suggested a level of intolerance so profound that the only option was complete erasure. It wasn’t enough that a whole people and population had disappeared, they had to be redacted from history.

And now, of course, Israel is engaged in the same dance of intolerance, and once again we are reminded that the victim has become the victimizer, the desecrated has become the desecrator. And the vibrant history of a vital people is in danger of being lost. Which is, of course, the intent.

Liberal American Jews negotiate away the right of return
Jul 15, 2011 09:30 am | Philip Weiss

 

In Dissent a few weeks back Michael Walzer wrote thatno Palestinian leader will give up the right of return of refugees, which means that Palestinians have not accepted Israel’s right to exist with a Jewish majority. Now Jerome Slater has responded saying that there is actually a rich history of Palestinian leaders/negotiators being willing to give up the right of return of refugees (beyond a token return, say of 30,000 refugees) thereby acknowledging what even some of these Palestinians have called Israel’s “demographic” needs, i.e., to maintain a strong Jewish majority inside Israel.

I know that Slater is a realist. And privately, even Palestinians will say, How many of the refugees are going to return to the land of Israel? So they also are being realistic… And yet I find these discussions unseemly, for a number of reasons having to do with the imbalanced power-politics and spiritual/historical-politics, of the issue. It’s complicated, so I’m going to chip away at this one:

–Politically I can’t see why anyone is dressing up the two-state solution as a reality. It’s not. It’s a failure. The positions Slater cites are largely 8 and 10 years old, or in the Palestinian Papers case, 2008– the product of a group of negotiators who I doubt are representative of Palestinian public opinion.  They took these positions before the Israeli assault on Gaza in Dec. 08 catalyzed the international solidarity movement, which has embraced the right of return as a human rights principle, and years before the Arab spring changed many people’s expectations for democracy in the Middle East.

–Some spiritual politics. This post is about privileged American Jews, including me, weighing in on Palestinian rights. And here is liberal professor Eric Alterman, celebrating Sari Nusseibeh’s declaration that he would give up the right of return, and calling it a brave statement. But I need to point out: if you talk to anyPalestinian in the Diaspora, they will tell you that they believe in the right of return. They might be romantic, but that’s what they actually say.

Palestinians in the West Bank too. At a time when the vision of human rights is shifting inside the Arab world, and we are dreaming of a fulfillment of liberal democracy in Egypt, why should any liberal in the West be selling out a basic human right– the right to return to your home from which you were thrown out? As James Murdoch says in the Guardian today, they were thrown out of their fucking homes. Isn’t this a fact/right that Jewish liberals ought to acknowledge and embrace?

–Historical/spiritual dimension. The United States acted to recognize Israel in 1948 in some large measure because Harry Truman was moved by the plight of European Jewish refugees in displaced persons camps, 3 years after the war. And in that year, 1948, 700,000 Palestinian refugees were created, and in the decades that followed several U.S. Presidents urged Israel to allow them to return to their homes, which was their right under international law. Israel flouted US concerns. None of these Palestinian refugees were allowed to return to their homes. Their plight was never the basis of international action…. And their rights are still being debated and negotiated away by American political theorist Michael Walzer 63 years later. Isn’t that kind of dispiriting/unseemly?

–The power-politics dimension is inescapable. For those 60-odd years, Jews have had a law of return under which any Jew anywhere has a right to become a citizen of a land from which 100s of thousands of Palestinians were expelled and to which they were not allowed to return. Jerry Slater, Eric Alterman, Michael Walzer and I have all chosen not to exercise our right of “return,” preferring to live i
n the liberal democracy in which we were born. So: hundreds of thousands of Palestinians want to go home, were born there but can’t set foot in the place, can’t even visit their own homes. And millions of other Jews who have no living connection to this land–only a connection they find in religious texts– get to move to those homes whenever they like, on a racial/ethnic basis. Isn’t that kind of appalling?

I have to repeat: Who would want to be a party to such talk? Michael Walzer is a justice theorist. He has come up with respected theories of law and justice. I have to ask: Is there any justice in demanding that millions of people who say they want the right to return to their (or their parents’) homes have no right to do so but must accept their dispossession as an accomplished fact and moral virtue? What would that theory of justice say about the Jews who lost family members and property in the Holocaust, and who have been compensated, and more than that, APOLOGIZED TO?

I find this the most stupendous monstrosity of the refugees issue. We Jews were apologized to. We Jews have countless holocaust museums across the United States and the world. Beginning 20 years or so after the fact, the world did its utmost to apologize to the Jews and say Never-again. No, the atrocities of the Nakba don’t approach the horrors of the Holocaust. (Though for those who were massacred, what’s the difference if they were one of 100 or one of 100,000?) But right now the world has done almost nothing to acknowledge the Nakba, and Jewish leaders have done nothing collectively to acknowledge it, even 60 years later.

This dullness won’t last. Walzer and Alterman are trying to run ahead of that awareness. They want to cut a deal to save the Jewish state before people wake up to the tragedy that marked its establishment– a tragedy that Jerry Slater has done as much as anyone to document in the West.

I say, Liberals are better than that. American liberals—we should do as Nixon, Eisenhower, Johnson and Truman said, and stand up for the right of return. Therecent Zogby poll says that liberal Americans [Obama supporters] support the right of return by 61 to 13 percent. On the basis of similar consensuses, liberals have argued for abortion rights, women’s rights and gay rights– and changed America! Why throw in the towel on the right of return?

It may be that the injustices of the Nakba are so old that the right of return isn’t fully actionable. It may well be that the refugees are so well situated that few would want to return. It may well be that the Palestinians living in Palestine and even the border states are less attached to the right of return than the Palestinians in the Diaspora. And god knows, Diaspora longings are a bad basis for policy-making.

But I don’t see how a liberal American Jew can be taking the conservative position on these matters, I don’t see where a liberal American Jew gets off talking about “demographics.” And please, save me those arguments, at least until our community has acknowledged the Nakba, and apologized for our part in it…

Flotilla placed Palestinian struggle in global understanding of the Arab spring
Jul 15, 2011 09:28 am | annie

 

This piece was published a week back, but Jack Shenker at the Guardian groks Palestine’s flotilla activism bigtime.  From quoting stalwart flotilla activists congregating at a Corfu beach, to the relevance of Palestine to the Arab Spring, to “the wider status quo of power relations in western democracies” Shenker cinches it:

[Ewa Jasiewicz says] “What the flotilla does is actually bring civil society into a space where states have to deal with us. Our actions are exposing the lack of adherence to international law among nation states supporting the siege, and through that we can show that it’s only grassroots movements and people power from below that has an impact on changing policy. We’re exposing the inertia and complicity of governments and really undermining the idea that we’re living in democracies  and that’s especially clear in Greece.”

In the midst of the Arab spring, Jasiewicz’s argument – that direct actions like the flotilla serve to delegitimise not only Israel’s occupation of Palestine but also the wider status quo of power relations in western democracies – is an explosive one, particularly in a country like Greece where the elected government is facing a powerful crisis of legitimacy from below.

Many of those involved in the flotilla believe that this year’s revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, as well as the ongoing battles being waged against autocratic rulers elsewhere in the Arab world, have fundamentally changed the dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well. “People have had their stereotypes of Arabs smashed over the past six months, particularly when you see protesters in Sana’a wearing brightly coloured wigs and children resisting armed police in Cairo you can’t call these people terrorists,” argues Jasiewicz.

“And in TV pictures of these scenes, the Palestinian flag is everywhere. You can’t cut the Palestinian freedom struggle out from the Arab Spring it’s becoming recognised as a pro-democracy movement, and hence more widely accepted.”

The real intention of the flotilla has always been less about physically transporting humanitarian aid and geared more towards political subversion of the Israeli blockade. At this level the challenge was not so much to set sail  although one small French craft has reached international waters, the only boat in the flotilla to do so but rather to win the media battle and create an opening for Palestinian voices to be heard.

Don’t miss this great article, read the whole thing.

(Hat tip Ann Wright)

Israel makes it clear it views ‘Israel/Palestine’ as one state
Jul 15, 2011 09:16 am | Adam Horowitz

 

The anti-boycott law that passed the Knesset this week has been a clarifying moment in several regards. Mairav Zonszein has a good post on +972 about how the law reveals the one-state reality in Israel/Palestine. From her post:

Everyone who is up in arms about the passing of the boycott law this week has been emphasizing the severity of its violation of freedom of expression and dialogue. While this is of course true, what is even more alarming about the law, which has gone largely unmentioned in the press or by organizations opposing it, is what it says about the State’s relation to the territory under its control: The boycott law makes no distinction between Israel and the Occupied Territories and thus is in effect a legalization and normalization of the occupation, the total erasure of the Green Line and the moratorium on the two-state solution (in case this was not already clear).

No one should be alarmed that the boycott law passed because it is merely retroactive legislation for an already existing, de facto reality, just as
the government’s recent expropriation of uncultivated Palestinian land was simply a formal approval of the daily reality of the settlement project.

The boycott law, like other laws, such as the Citizenship Loyalty Law that passed last March, as well as other imminent bills and remarks by government committee heads – such as Danny Danon’s recent demand that birthright trips “stop boycotting Judea and Samaria” –  is the government’s way of taking advantage of its power to formally cement its hold on the West Bank, and with it the Palestinian people.

If Israel were in any way interested in a two-state solution, it would be legislating laws geared at diminishing Israel’s institutional presence in the West Bank, not further deepening it. Instead of the principles of democracy and the desire to remain a Jewish state dictating its actions in the West Bank, what we see is the discriminatory, militant practices of how Israel runs the West Bank seeping into Israel proper, turning the whole area into one giant mold of apartheid jello.

 

Poll says American Jews overwhelmingly oppose Fatah-Hamas reconciliation and declaration of Palestinian state
Jul 15, 2011 09:00 am | Philip Weiss

 

This is interesting. Pat Caddell lately published a poll of American Jewish attitudes that suggests that while foreign policy is not their first concern politically, they are very conservative on Israel/Palestine. Then liberal bloggers at the Washington Post sandbagged the poll’s methodology, as Commentary reports, because the poll sure seems sloppy, also the liberals don’t want to believe that Jews are abandoning Obama:

The poll — which found that only 42 percent of Jewish Americans would vote for Obama in 2012 – stirred controversy because it was released at a time when Obama has been trying to downplay the perception he’s losing Jewish support….

[one] major criticism [is that the poll] allegedly had a skewed sample…. only 65 percent of their poll respondents said they voted for Obama in 2008, which conflicts with the exit polling data claiming 79 percent of Jews voted for him. Caddell said the sample’s demographics were solid, but  it’s common for many people not to admit voting for a president when he becomes less popular.

I am with Commentary on this one. I think American Jews are very conservative on Israel/Palestine stuff. We can differ on how conservative– an earlier poll said that 58 percent were against dividing Jerusalem, this one says 73 percent– but intolerance is intolerance; and again I say, the lack of a Palestinian state, 63 years after it was promised to ’em, is an American Jewish achievement.

From the poll:

A.An overwhelming majority (81% to 8%) disapproves of the U.N. voting to declare a Palestinian state that refuses to renounce terrorists and is linked to terrorist organizations. [i.e., they’re against Hamas-Fatah reconciliation].
B.Four in five (81%) are against Israel being forced to return to its pre-1967 borders, which were susceptible to attack.
C.Nearly three-quarters (73%) believe Jerusalem should remain the undivided capital of Israel. Only 8% thinks the United States should force Israel to give parts of Jerusalem, including Christian and Jewish holy sites, to the Palestinian Authority.
D.Two-thirds (64%) think that if the Palestinian Authority were given their own state in the West Bank, part of Jerusalem, and Gaza, they would continue their campaign of terror to destroy Israel. Only 16% thinks they would live peacefully with Israel.
E. An overwhelming majority (88% to 5) agrees with the position that before the Palestinian Authority is given their own country, they must first recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.
F.American Jewish voters are strongly favorable to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (65% favorable to 20% unfavorable).

Richard Witty’s 10,000th comment
Jul 15, 2011 08:47 am | James North and Philip Weiss

 

Yesterday we reached a milestone: Richard Witty made his 10,000th comment on this site. Since July 30, 2009, when our counting system went into effect, Witty has averaged 13.7 comments a day.

We agree with little that Witty has to say about Israel/Palestine, but on one point we see eye-to-eye completely: He represents a large (but decreasing) portion of mostly Jewish opinion. He represents hundreds of thousands of Jews in the U.S. and elsewhere, maybe millions. When people ask us why we pay attention to Richard Witty, that’s why: he is representative of a vast number of people sometimes called liberal Zionists. (Though we’d distinguish him from men of great intellectual integrity like Jerry Slater, who’s also liberal Zionist.)

Witty has more courage than many of these people, who are simply in denial and don’t want to expose themselves to any of the truth of Israel today, preferring their dreamcastle view of Israel. For Witty visits this site.

And as to the fact that Witty ignores evidence that is routinely presented to him: this illustrates the point that, as a wise man once said, man is not a rational animal, man is a rationalizing animal. So Witty uses argument to rationalize an emotional attachment. And though Noam Chomsky or the late IF Stone would say that you don’t argue emotionally, you only present the facts, this issue is so filled with emotions that it is important to bring them up and deal with them (as Weiss frequently does). It is North’s view that Witty gets worked up over these issues because deep down he is an honest man with a troubled conscience. If he makes enough noise, he’ll drown out that inner voice, and protect his dreamcastle view of Israel.

James Murdoch’s explanation of the right of return fell on deaf ears (Rupert’s and TB’s)

Jul 15, 2011 08:44 am | Philip Weiss

 

Guardian’s Andy Beckett on whether James Murdoch, 38, can survive phone-hacking scandal (thanks to Bruce Wolman):

His growing confidence could startle. In 2002, [Tony Blair mouthpiece Alastair] Campbell records in his diaries, Rupert Murdoch, James and Lachlan came to dinner at Downing Street. The conversation turned to the Middle East: “[Rupert] Murdoch said he didn’t see what the Palestinians’ problem was and James said it was that they were kicked out of their fucking homes and had nowhere to fucking live. Murdoch . . . finally said to James that he didn’t think he should talk like that in the prime minister’s house . . . TB [Tony Blair]  said afterwards he was quite impressed with the way Murdoch let his sons do so much of the talking.”

 

Israeli business leader: Anti-boycott law has given legitimacy to the boycott movement

Jul 15, 2011

Adam Horowitz

Israel’s leading business publication, Globes, has a pieceinterviewing business leaders on the impact of the anti-boycott law. Below is an excerpt from the discussion with Bruno Landsberg, the founder of a cleaning products company called Sano, who seems affiliated with Peace Now. From the interview:

Does the boycott alarm you?

“I’m truly worried, because if they impose a boycott on certain products, after that they will boycott me too. I’m talking about a boycott overseas, which can’t be pleasant for an export-oriented country. We have to realize that we are not alone in this world. Laws won’t help. You have to understand why they are imposing a boycott, the causes of it.”

The reason is the occupation.

That’s what I’m talking about. We have to cure this by treating the cause of the boycott. I don’t like any boycott from whatever direction it comes, but this law is like a fire cupping cure for the dead. Will we pass a law about everything that’s against us? It can be enforced in Israel, but what will we do overseas?”

Peace Now director Yariv Oppenheimer believes that the new law has achieved the opposite of its intended effect, and has succeeded in rallying leftists to the cause. “The immediate result of the law,” he says, “is that now more people are boycotting products of the settlements than ever before.

“Awareness of the boycott and the perception of its legitimacy have risen. The reason for that, among other things, is people’s desire to say ‘this law is unacceptable to us.’ Not everyone who will refuse to buy products from the settlements tomorrow will do so because of this or that stance on the territories, but out of an attempt to protest against this law.”

Up to now, Peace Now has never supported a boycott.

“We have never encouraged people to buy products from the territories, but we have never taken a step such as we have taken in the past few days. Not even as individuals. I personally try not to buy products from the settlements, but I have never seen anything dramatic in that. Now, after the law has passed, I am much, much more forceful about it. Not because I think that that will stop the occupation, but because I think that that has to be the public response to laws like these.”

Has the law boomeranged?

“As far as the Israeli public is concerned, the boycott of products from the settlements has never had the legitimacy it has today. The law has created legitimacy for it among much more moderate people in Israel and around the world.”