West Bank

Omar Barghouti - BDS: Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions book launch

miotailtmilidh — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 14:03:50 +0000

The evening started with Victoria Brittain, who chaired the evening, and Omar Barghouti both speaking for about 10 minutes and was followed by an electrifying 40 minutes of questions and answers. Full video of the event is provided below. Victoria Brittain introduced the book and commented on some of the glowing reviews it has received (see box below). Omar Barghouti read out a personal message of solidarity for the peoples of the Arab world who are rising up to break the shackles of neo-colonialism.

Source: Omar Barghouti - BDS: Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions book launch

Breaking the Silence: Testimonies of Israeli Soldiers in the Occupation of the Territories 2000-10

miotailtmilidh — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 20:14:16 +0000

This volume contains more than 180 testimonies from 101 witnesses interviewed by the organization – both women and men. The testimonies were selected as representative of material contained in the more than 700 interviews conducted by the organization since its inception. They describe Israel’s operational methods in the Territories and its consequences. The witnesses represent all strata of Israeli society and nearly all IDF units engaged in the Occupied Territories. They include testimonies of commanders and officers as well...

Source: Breaking the Silence: Testimonies of Israeli Soldiers in the Occupation of the Territories 2000-10

Hoping Foundation

unicorn27 — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:29:30 +0000

Hope and Optimism for Palestinians in the Next Generation.

Source: Hoping Foundation

Palestinians Are Living Under Discriminatory Laws

miotailtmilidh — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 22:18:03 +0000

(Originally Published on Indymedia.ie in December 2010)

A new report from Human Rights Watch once again clearly, and succinctly, lays forth the discriminatory and downright apartheid laws which the Palestinian people daily have to live under. The 166 page report, entitled Separate and Unequal, describes in detail the “two-tier system of laws, rules and services that Israel operates for the two populations in areas of the West Bank (and East Jerusalem) under its exclusive control, which provide preferential services, development and benefits for Jewish settlers while imposing harsh conditions on Palestinians.”

Source: Palestinians Are Living Under Discriminatory Laws

Palestine: Looking Into 2011

miotailtmilidh — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 21:52:53 +0000

(Originally Published on Indymedia.ie in January 2011)

This time two years ago, Gaza was being bombarded ceaselessly, from land, sea and air, by the forces of an illegal occupying force. Civilians were deliberately targeted along with schools, power stations, and other non-military targets. Overall, the occupying forces managed to kill 1,416 Palestinians, of which 926 were civilians and 255 were police officers....

Source: Palestine: Looking Into 2011

Report: Chile recognizes independent Palestinian state

miotailtmilidh — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 21:20:51 +0000

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera announced late Thursday that he officially recognizes an independent Palestinian state, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported on Thursday.

Pinera's announcement is preceded by official recognition of Palestine by other Latin American countries, including Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.

Source: Report: Chile recognizes independent Palestinian state

An Amnesty Student Group

Suraj — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 10:37:02 +0100

Interview with Combatants for Peace

MaryAlex — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:07:16 +0100

Radical theatre in the Palestinian West Bank.

Source: Interview with Combatants for Peace

Barack Obama does not hate Israel, says Binyamin Netanyahu

DrPot — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:23:13 +0000

Hagai Ben-Artzi, the brother of the Israeli premier's wife, said on Israeli Army Radio that the US president dislikes Netanyahu and the Israeli people because he had spent years in the church of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who he said is "antisemitic, anti-Israeli, and anti-Jewish." Obama once declared the fiery liberal Chicago preacher was his spiritual mentor but disavowed him during the campaign.

"As a politician running for [the] presidency he had to hide it," Ben-Artzi said, "but it comes out every time and I think we just have to say it plainly: there is an antisemitic president in America."

Source: Barack Obama does not hate Israel, says Binyamin Netanyahu

Hillary Clinton piles pressure on Israel over East Jerusalem settlements

DrPot — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:43:10 +0000

The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, todaydemonstrated a new-found steeliness towards Israel by making it clear she was expecting it to back down in the row between the two countries and offer concessions needed for a resumption of Middle East peace talks.

As rock-throwing Palestinians clashed with Israeli forces in Jerusalem in protests dubbed "a day of rage", Clinton sent a double-edged message to Israel.

Source: Hillary Clinton piles pressure on Israel over East Jerusalem settlements

Biden sees 'moment of opportunity' for Mid-East peace

fionamc — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:42:59 +0000

US Vice-President Joe Biden has said there is a "moment of real opportunity" for peace between the Palestinians and Israel during a visit to the region.

Source: Biden sees 'moment of opportunity' for Mid-East peace

Israeli military 'unfriends' soldier after Facebook leak

DrPot — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:28:49 +0000

The Israeli military cancelled a planned raid on a Palestinian village after one of its soldiers posted details of the operation on Facebook.
The unnamed soldier revealed the time and place of the raid and the name of his unit on the social networking site.
He said on his status update that his unit planned a "clean up" raid.
The soldier was court-martialled and sentenced to 10 days in prison. He was also ousted from his battalion and relieved of combat duties.
"On Wednesday we clean up Qatanah, and on Thursday, God willing, we come home," the soldier wrote on his Facebook page. Qatanah is a village in the West Bank near Ramallah.

Source: Israeli military 'unfriends' soldier after Facebook leak

Jerusalem mayor unveils demolition plan | World news | guardian.co.uk

DrPot — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:50:03 +0000

Jerusalem's mayor today unveiled a sweeping plan for an area of East Jerusalem that would see at least 22 Palestinian homes demolished to make way for a public park and tourist site.

But in a sign of the criticism the plan has already brought, the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, told the mayor to delay demolitions and hold more discussions with the Palestinian residents of the area.

Nir Barkat, the mayor, said Palestinians who lost their homes would be offered homes in the area, but it is not clear who would pay for the new houses.

Source: Jerusalem mayor unveils demolition plan | World news | guardian.co.uk

Just married and determined to die

DrPot — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 11:19:56 +0100

There is a ceasefire in Gaza, but the BBC has found evidence of militant groups preparing for a return to violence. One group, Islamic Jihad, is training female suicide bombers. The young, veiled woman was sitting quiet and still as the room bustled around her.
The black flag of Islamic Jihad was pinned on the wall behind her and two Kalashnikovs were carefully placed in camera shot. Her husband, an Islamic Jihad fighter himself, tied on her "martyr's" headband.
Umm Anas - not her real name - had just graduated from a programme to train female suicide bombers in Gaza.

Source: Just married and determined to die

Israel to demolish 23 illegal settlements in one day | World news | The Guardian

DrPot — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 22:47:52 +0100

Israel is planning to remove 23 "illegal outposts" from the West Bank in the course of a single day in response to mounting US demands that it halt all settlement activity, it was reported today.
These outposts are defined as "illegal" by the Israeli government because they have not received planning permission. But under international law all settlements built on occupied territory are illegal. According to the Ha'aretz newspaper the outposts, housing 1,200 people, will all be evacuated and dismantled simultaneously following a decision by the Likud prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Source: Israel to demolish 23 illegal settlements in one day | World news | The Guardian

BBC NEWS | Israel admits Tube advert map 'mistake'

unicorn27 — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:27:47 +0100

Israel's tourist ministry has admitted to a "mistake" over adverts on the London Underground after complaints that they "wipe Palestine off the map".

Source: BBC NEWS | Israel admits Tube advert map 'mistake'

She's Israeli, he's an Arab. War has made them like mother and son | World news | The Observer

krease chan — Sun, 10 May 2009 10:14:04 +0100

An unlikely pair of peace campaigners brought their message to Britain last week. Sarfraz Manzoor discovers how the deaths of loved ones brought them together

Source: She's Israeli, he's an Arab. War has made them like mother and son | World news | The Observer

The offer on the table - EU-Israel relations | Jews for Justice for Palestinians

krease chan — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:34:11 +0100

Fifty years ago, Golda Meir, then Israel’s foreign minister, dispatched an ambassador to Brussels, to establish Israel’s diplomatic relations with the predecessor organizations to the European Union. In so doing, she displayed a strategic foresight shared by few others: Not even all the future members of the EU were represented in Brussels at that time. And her vision has proved right.

Source: The offer on the table - EU-Israel relations | Jews for Justice for Palestinians

China’s Palestine Policy - The Jamestown Foundation

krease chan — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:45:06 +0000

The geopolitics of China’s rise and its implications for the Arab world and wider Middle East is a topic for serious debate. Currently, China’s Middle East strategy revolves around shoring up its energy security and tapping consumer markets and investment opportunities for Chinese businesses.

Source: China’s Palestine Policy - The Jamestown Foundation

Israel 'plans settlement growth'

krease chan — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:43:48 +0000

The Israeli government has plans to build at least 73,000 new homes for Jews in the occupied West Bank, the anti-settlement group Peace Now says.

Source: Israel 'plans settlement growth'

Palestinians pledge era of unity

krease chan — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 01:28:04 +0000

Leaders of the rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah have said they are entering a new era of reconciliation, after talks in Cairo.

Source: Palestinians pledge era of unity

Blair wins $1m leadership prize

krease chan — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 09:27:21 +0000

Former prime minister Tony Blair has won $1m (£697,000) for his leadership on the world stage.
Mr Blair, now a Middle East envoy, will receive the Dan David Prize at Tel Aviv University in Israel in May.

Source: Blair wins $1m leadership prize

There is no peace for Israel as it lurches into fascism

krease chan — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 21:19:18 +0000

Whatever coalition emerges, it will maintain control with more violence and repression as the nation lurches into fascism

Source: There is no peace for Israel as it lurches into fascism

Hamas murder campaign in Gaza exposed - guardian.co.uk

DrPot — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:33:06 +0000

New evidence has emerged revealing the extent of the crackdown by Hamas during and after Israel's war in Gaza last month.
Amnesty International said Hamas forces and militias were involved in a "campaign of abductions, deliberate and unlawful killings, torture and death threats against those they accuse of 'collaborating' with Israel, as well as opponents and critics". It said at least two dozen men had been shot by Hamas since the end of December and "scores of others" shot in the legs, kneecapped or beaten.

Source: Hamas murder campaign in Gaza exposed - guardian.co.uk

Panorama - Gaza: Out of the Ruins

DrPot — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 00:06:03 +0000

The BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen covered Israel's 22-day military offensive in Gaza and now reports for Panorama on the aftermath of a sustained bombardment of the narrow and densely populated territory.
During the war the Israeli army killed around 1,300 Palestinians - armed men, civilians and hundreds of children. They destroyed acres of homes and businesses. .............If the damage had no justifiable and proportionate military purpose then it is classified as wanton destruction, which is a breach of the laws of war. What it also does is ratchet up the level of hatred for Israel because each pile of rubble was somebody's home or somebody's business.

Source: Panorama - Gaza: Out of the Ruins

Leaked settlement data puts Israeli peace drive in doubt

krease chan — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 02:03:28 +0000

A secret Israeli government database revealed last week the real extent of settlement construction in the Occupied West Bank. In violation of the "road map" to peace agreed with the US, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, it turned out, agreed to the construction of another settlement on the Occupied West Bank.

Source: Leaked settlement data puts Israeli peace drive in doubt

Turkish PM storms off in Gaza row

DrPot — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:33:49 +0000

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stormed off the stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos after an argument with Israel's president.
Mr Erdogan clashed with Shimon Peres in a discussion on the recent fighting in the Gaza Strip, telling him: "You are killing people."
Mr Peres said Mr Erdogan would have done the same had rockets hit Istanbul.
Mr Erdogan accused the moderator of not allowing him to speak and said he did not think he would return to Davos.

Source: Turkish PM storms off in Gaza row

Hamas 'being blamed' for crisis

DrPot — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:13:10 +0000

More than 1,000 Gazans and 13 Israelis have reportedly died as Israel's war on Hamas militants enters its 20th day. Mark Regev, spokesman for the Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, discusses how the conflict can be brought to an end.

Source: Hamas 'being blamed' for crisis

Civil rights group claim Israeli occupation is "reminiscent of apartheid"

fionamc — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:39:05 +0000

Israel's leading civil rights organisation yesterday broke a taboo by describing Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank as being “reminiscent of apartheid” in South Africa.

Source: Civil rights group claim Israeli occupation is "reminiscent of apartheid"

Israeli human rights group compares Israeli policies to apartheid

Niall — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:02:02 +0000

Israel's leading civil rights organisation yesterday broke a taboo by describing Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank as being “reminiscent of apartheid” in South Africa.

Alleging an intensification of human rights abuses against Palestinians, the respected Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) made the comparison in an annual report that described the existence of separate legal, planning and transportation systems for Jewish settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank.

Source: Israeli human rights group compares Israeli policies to apartheid