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NOVANEWS

16/12/2010

Wishing Qalandiya Away 

Joharah Baker – MIFTAH – But this is the hard reality we Palestinians find ourselves in today. My daughter – or any other Palestinian child – should not have to worry about crossing a checkpoint to get home or whether her mother`s permit will be renewed by the Israeli interior ministry. But these I realized, are tangible concerns for her, real fears that obviously take precedence over wishing for a castle or for her prince charming.

Labour Is Concerned

Amira Hass – ZCommunications – Labour Party representatives who had visited the Ofer military tribunal in the West Bank two weeks ago expressed shock over how the court conducts its hearings. In a parliamentary debate about detained Palestinian minors, they said that given a sample of 100 children, 69 said soldiers beat them and kicked them when they were being arrested. The children were better off pleading guilty regardless of whether they had done something, because if they were detained until the end of proceedings, this could be three times longer than their punishment, the parliamentarians said.

Middle East peace process: Dead but not buried

The Guardian – Editorial – The Middle East peace process died a quiet, undramatic death with the statement last week that the US had given up trying to persuade Binyamin Netanyahu to stop building on occupied land as a prerequisite to direct talks with the Palestinians. Few, however, are interested in burying the corpse.

Caution: Children Ahead – The Illegal Behavior of the Police toward Minors in Silwan Suspected of Stone Throwing 

B`Tselem – Information Sheet – B`Tselem urges the Jerusalem Police to observe the letter and spirit of the Youth Law while coping with stone-throwing incidents in East Jerusalem. The police must immediately end the arrest of minors at night and the use of violence by special forces during arrests. The police must also ensure that minors are interrogated only in the presence of their parents, and must emphasize options for the rehabilitation of the minors and for preventing injury to them.

IDF Refuses Palestinians Who Fought Carmel Fire Israeli Entry For Appreciation Ceremony

Richard Silverstein – Tikun Olam – In his original statement, the fire chief said more politely than what I’m about to say: we were kosher enough to allow all of us to enter Israel to fight the fire. But after it’s over it’s back to business as usual. Israeli Palestinian MK Ahmed Tibi summarized the incident succinctly:

Breaking the Silence: the occupation testimonies (part I)

Breaking the Silence – +972blog – The collection of 101 testimonies shows the degree of control Israel has over the lives of Palestinians. Unlike previous publications by BTS, this one is not about war crimes. More than anything, the testimonies reveal the banalities of the Occupation: the roadblocks, the nightly raids, the mass arresrs and the daily humiliations which take place everywhere in the West Bank.

The `Real Jew` Debate

ROGER COHEN – The New York Times – The view that American Jews supportive of Israel but critical of its policies are not “real Jews” is, however, widespread. Israel-right-or-wrong continues to be the core approach of major U.S. Jewish organizations, from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Palestinians in Israel would prefer one secular democratic state (but who’s asking them?)

Audrey Farber – Mondoweiss – Palestinians in Israel seem to oppose a two-state solution. It`s not because of Jerusalem, or settlements, or resource distribution, even though these are all issues. It`s not about the borders at all; it`s about what happens inside them. From this perspective, two states means they run the risk of being forcibly expelled and sent to the West Bank. In two states, the Palestinian community in Israel is still a minority, still discriminated against, and possibly under greater physical threat than before. Take, for example, the EU Partnership for Peace Grant.

Outcry in Denmark over firm`s involvement in occupation 

Adri Nieuwhof – The Electronic Intifada – The Danish-British security firm G4S has come under scrutiny after it was revealed last month that it supplies equipment and services to Israel for use at checkpoints and settlements in the occupied West Bank and at Israeli prisons. The company`s own promotional material describes how it has provided “security systems” to the Israel Prison Service, which detains thousands of Palestinian political prisoners.

Israel`s War on Children

JONATHAN COOK – Counterpunch – In the past year, criminal investigations have been opened against more than 1,200 Palestinian minors in Jerusalem on stone-throwing charges, according to police statistics gathered by the Association of Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI). That was nearly twice the number of children arrested last year in the much larger Palestinian territory of the West Bank.

For previous articles since 2004 go to respective sections

 
see: Machsom org today headlines