Gaza massacres must spur us to action
Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 27 December 2008
Palestinians carry the body of a victim of an Israeli air strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, 27 December 2008. (Hatem Omar/MaanImages)
"I will play music and celebrate what the Israeli air force is doing." Those were the words, spoken on Al Jazeera today by Ofer Shmerling, an Israeli civil defense official in the Sderot area adjacent to Gaza, as images of Israel's latest massacres were broadcast around the world.
A short time earlier, US-supplied Israeli F-16 warplanes and Apache helicopters dropped over 100 bombs on dozens of locations in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip killing at least 195 persons and injuring hundreds more. Many of these locations were police stations located, like police stations the world over, in the middle of civilian areas. The US government was one of the first to offer its support for Israel's attacks, and others will follow.
Reports said that many of the dead were Palestinian police officers. Among those Israel labels "terrorists" were more than a dozen traffic police officers undergoing training. An as yet unknown number of civilians were killed and injured; Al Jazeera showed images of several dead children, and the Israeli attacks came at the time thousands of Palestinian children were in the streets on their way home from school.
Shmerling's joy has been echoed by Israelis and their supporters around the world; their violence is righteous violence. It is "self-defense" against "terrorists" and therefore justified. Israeli bombing -- like American and NATO bombing in Iraq and Afghanistan -- is bombing for freedom, peace and democracy.
The rationalization for Israel's massacres, already being faithfully transmitted by the English-language media, is that Israel is acting in "retaliation" for Palestinian rockets fired with increasing intensity ever since the six-month truce expired on 19 December (until today, no Israeli had been killed or injured by these recent rocket attacks).
But today's horrific attacks mark only a change in Israel's method of killing Palestinians recently. In recent months they died mostly silent deaths, the elderly and sick especially, deprived of food and necessary medicine by the two year-old Israeli blockade calculated and intended to cause suffering and deprivation to 1.5 million Palestinians, the vast majority refugees and children, caged into the Gaza Strip. In Gaza, Palestinians died silently, for want of basic medications: insulin, cancer treatment, products for dialysis prohibited from reaching them by Israel.
What the media never question is Israel's idea of a truce. It is very simple. Under an Israeli-style truce, Palestinians have the right to remain silent while Israel starves them, kills them and continues to violently colonize their land. Israel has not only banned food and medicine to sustain Palestinian bodies in Gaza but it is also intent on starving minds: due to the blockade, there is not even ink, paper and glue to print textbooks for schoolchildren.
As John Ging, the head of operations of the United Nations agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), told The Electronic Intifada in November: "there was five months of a ceasefire in the last couple of months, where the people of Gaza did not benefit; they did not have any restoration of a dignified existence. We in fact at the UN, our supplies were also restricted during the period of the ceasefire, to the point where we were left in a very vulnerable and precarious position and with a few days of closure we ran out of food."
That is an Israeli truce. Any response to Israeli attacks -- whether peaceful protests against the apartheid wall in Bilin and Nilin in the West Bank is met with bullets and bombs. There are no rockets launched at Israel from the West Bank, and yet Israel's attacks, killings, land theft, settler pogroms and kidnappings never ceased for one single day during the truce. The Palestinian Authority in Ramallah has acceded to all of Israel's demands, even assembling "security forces" to fight the resistance on Israel's behalf. None of that has spared a single Palestinian or her property or livelihood from Israel's relentless violent colonization. It did not save, for instance, the al-Kurd family from seeing their home of 50 years in occupied East Jerusalem demolished on 9 November, so the land it sits on could be taken by settlers.
Once again we are watching massacres in Gaza, as we did last March when 110 Palestinians, including dozens of children, were killed by Israel in just a few days. Once again people everywhere feel rage, anger and despair that this outlaw state carries out such crimes with impunity.
But all over the Arab media and internet today the rage being expressed is not directed solely at Israel. Notably, it is directed more sharply than ever at Arab states. The images that stick are of Israel's foreign minister Tzipi Livni in Cairo on Christmas day. There she sat smiling with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Then there are the pictures of Livni and Egypt's foreign minister smiling and slapping their palms together.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported today that last wednesday the Israeli "cabinet authorized the prime minister, the defense minister, and the foreign minister to determine the timing and the method" of Israel's attacks on Gaza. Everywhere people ask, what did Livni tell the Egyptians and more importantly what did they tell her? Did Israel get a green light to turn Gaza's streets red once again? Few are ready to give Egypt the benefit of the doubt after it has helped Israel besiege Gaza by keeping the Rafah border crossing closed for more than a year.
On top of the intense anger and sadness so many people feel at Israel's renewed mass killings in Gaza is a sense of frustration that there seem to be so few ways to channel it into a political response that can change the course of events, end the suffering, and bring justice.
But there are ways, and this is a moment to focus on them. Already I have received notices of demonstrations and solidarity actions being planned in cities all over the world. That is important. But what will happen after the demonstrations disperse and the anger dies down? Will we continue to let Palestinians in Gaza die in silence?
Palestinians everywhere are asking for solidarity, real solidarity, in the form of sustained, determined political action. The Gaza-based One Democratic State Group reaffirmed this today as it "called upon all civil society organizations and freedom loving people to act immediately in any possible way to put pressure on their governments to end diplomatic ties with Apartheid Israel and institute sanctions against it."
The global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement for Palestine (http://www.bdsmovement.net/) provides the framework for this. Now is the time to channel our raw emotions into a long-term commitment to make sure we do not wake up to "another Gaza" ever again.
Co-founder of The Electronic Intifada, Ali Abunimah is author of One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse (Metropolitan Books, 2006).
Monday, December 29, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
photo training at Noor Shams refugee camp/ formation photo dans le camp de refugies de Noor Shams
(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, 14 December 2008.
The 6 hours drive was worthy, for a few smiles and moments of sharing the passion of photography..
les 6 heures de route en valaient la peine,,,pour ces quelques sourires et ces moments partages de passion de la photographie.
Israel wants to be immune from scrutiny and denies entry to UN Special Rapporteur
DCI deeply concerned as Israel denies entry to SR Falk
[RAMALLAH, 15 December 2008] – DCI-Palestine is deeply concerned by news received this morning from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Ramallah that the UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory, Professor Richard Falk, was denied entry into Israel and deported to Switzerland by the Israeli authorities.
Professor Falk, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, was planning to conduct his first official visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) this month. The objective of the visit was to collect information for a report to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2009. On this visit, Professor Falk was to meet among others Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli journalist Amira Hass, UN agencies and NGOs working in the Occupied Territory, including DCI-Palestine. The visit was supposed to take place from 14 to 20 December.
Professor Falk landed at Ben Gurion airport in Israel yesterday and was detained all night before being deported to Switzerland, on the first plane to Geneva this morning. The two colleagues accompanying him were allowed into Israel but are unable to carry out the visit without the Special Rapporteur. DCI-Palestine is also concerned by reports that their laptops were taken from them.
Israel has always criticised the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the OPT because it does not address human rights in Israel, but Professor Falk's appointment in March 2008 particularly angered Israel because of Falk’s outspoken views on the Israeli military occupation and Israeli policies in the OPT. [DCI/PS, 27 March 2008]
This week, Professor Falk issued a statement equating Israel's policies in the Gaza Strip to crimes against humanity. He said the siege of Gaza constituted a “continuing flagrant and massive violation of international humanitarian law” and amounted to collective punishment by Israel. [DCI/PS, 9 December 2008]
Throughout 2006-2008, Israel denied entry three times to the High-level Fact-finding Mission to Beit Hanoun headed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and established under Council Resolution S-3/1 to investigate the impact of the Israeli military operations carried out there around 8 November 2006. Israel’s refusal to facilitate the implementation of the Resolution prevented the Mission from discharging its mandate until May 2008, when the Mission decided to travel to Beit Hanoun via Egypt [BBC].
Israel’s refusal to cooperate with independent experts mandated by the UN to investigate human rights violations is unacceptable; all the more so if they represent attempts by the Israeli government to protect its politicians and military commanders from being held accountable for grave human and child rights violations; and especially in light of the fact that independent and impartial investigations into killings by the Israeli military are never conducted by Israel, despite numerous calls from both Israeli and Palestinian civil society.
DCI-Palestine supports Professor Falk’s call for accountability, and calls on the international community to publicly denounce Israel’s lack of transparency and put pressure on the current government to cooperate with the UN’s efforts to improve the human rights situation in the OPT.
DCI-Palestine had been asked by OHCHR in Ramallah to prepare a briefing for Professor Falk. We will be sending a detailed report on the detention and abuse of Palestinian children by the Israeli authorities to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as to the Special Rapporteur to aide his report to the UN Human Rights Council.
“The deportation of Professor Falk is a clear and blatant attack against the UN, its mission and its staff and shows how far Israel can go in challenging the international community. It is time to put more pressure on the Israeli government to hold it accountable for all the human rights violations it is committing in the OPT and to force Israel to comply with internationally recognised human rights norms and standards”, said DCI-Palestine General Director Rifat Odeh Kassis.
Professor Falk does not intend to attempt to re-enter Israel in the immediate future.
[RAMALLAH, 15 December 2008] – DCI-Palestine is deeply concerned by news received this morning from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Ramallah that the UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory, Professor Richard Falk, was denied entry into Israel and deported to Switzerland by the Israeli authorities.
Professor Falk, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, was planning to conduct his first official visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) this month. The objective of the visit was to collect information for a report to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2009. On this visit, Professor Falk was to meet among others Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli journalist Amira Hass, UN agencies and NGOs working in the Occupied Territory, including DCI-Palestine. The visit was supposed to take place from 14 to 20 December.
Professor Falk landed at Ben Gurion airport in Israel yesterday and was detained all night before being deported to Switzerland, on the first plane to Geneva this morning. The two colleagues accompanying him were allowed into Israel but are unable to carry out the visit without the Special Rapporteur. DCI-Palestine is also concerned by reports that their laptops were taken from them.
Israel has always criticised the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the OPT because it does not address human rights in Israel, but Professor Falk's appointment in March 2008 particularly angered Israel because of Falk’s outspoken views on the Israeli military occupation and Israeli policies in the OPT. [DCI/PS, 27 March 2008]
This week, Professor Falk issued a statement equating Israel's policies in the Gaza Strip to crimes against humanity. He said the siege of Gaza constituted a “continuing flagrant and massive violation of international humanitarian law” and amounted to collective punishment by Israel. [DCI/PS, 9 December 2008]
Throughout 2006-2008, Israel denied entry three times to the High-level Fact-finding Mission to Beit Hanoun headed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and established under Council Resolution S-3/1 to investigate the impact of the Israeli military operations carried out there around 8 November 2006. Israel’s refusal to facilitate the implementation of the Resolution prevented the Mission from discharging its mandate until May 2008, when the Mission decided to travel to Beit Hanoun via Egypt [BBC].
Israel’s refusal to cooperate with independent experts mandated by the UN to investigate human rights violations is unacceptable; all the more so if they represent attempts by the Israeli government to protect its politicians and military commanders from being held accountable for grave human and child rights violations; and especially in light of the fact that independent and impartial investigations into killings by the Israeli military are never conducted by Israel, despite numerous calls from both Israeli and Palestinian civil society.
DCI-Palestine supports Professor Falk’s call for accountability, and calls on the international community to publicly denounce Israel’s lack of transparency and put pressure on the current government to cooperate with the UN’s efforts to improve the human rights situation in the OPT.
DCI-Palestine had been asked by OHCHR in Ramallah to prepare a briefing for Professor Falk. We will be sending a detailed report on the detention and abuse of Palestinian children by the Israeli authorities to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as to the Special Rapporteur to aide his report to the UN Human Rights Council.
“The deportation of Professor Falk is a clear and blatant attack against the UN, its mission and its staff and shows how far Israel can go in challenging the international community. It is time to put more pressure on the Israeli government to hold it accountable for all the human rights violations it is committing in the OPT and to force Israel to comply with internationally recognised human rights norms and standards”, said DCI-Palestine General Director Rifat Odeh Kassis.
Professor Falk does not intend to attempt to re-enter Israel in the immediate future.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Sad eid in Hebron/ tristes fetes a hebron
(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org; Hebron, 08 December 2008.
Long time I had not been in Hebron. Last time it was just after some settlers attacked some Palestinian families and damaged a Muslim cemetery. A few weeks after the situation continues to deteriorate. The settlers do what they want; and what they want is to ethnically cleansed Hebron; as the rest of Palestine. After they were forcibly evacuated from the "house of peace" they occupied; they took revenge on Palestinians and what subsequently happened was even described by Olmert as pogroms. Palestinian families were violently attacked, as well as journalists and photographers. Some houses have been set on fire while some Palestinians were still inside. Th Israeli soldiers just stood there and watched, as the whole world. Feeling somehow umconfortable with the violence of the settlers, but unable to act and stop them. I went to Hebron the first day of Eid; after the violent storm. The tension, as always, was still very much palpable. The Palestinians were still trying to continue their tradition and culture. Groups of men were walking from houses to house. Some kids were outside playing with their brand new plastic guns. All displayed their new clothes. The soldiers were also out, and I was shocked to discover so many more racists grafittis everywhere- on the shops; on the graves; on the houses. The whole place resonates with despair.
Il y a quelques temps que je ne m'etais pas rendue à Hebron. La dernière fois, c'était juste après que colons aient attaqué des familles palestiniennes et saccagé un cimetière musulman. Quelques semaines après la situation continue de se détériorer. Les colons font ce qu'ils veulent et ce qu'ils veulent, c'est le nettoyage ethnique de Hébron; ainsi que du reste de la Palestine. Après l'evacuation des colons de la "maison de la paix" qu'ils occupaient, ils se sont vengés sur les Palestiniens et ce qui s'est passé ensuite a même été décrit par Olmert comme des pogroms. Des familles palestiniennes ont été violemment attaquées, ainsi que des journalistes et des photographes. Certaines maisons ont été incendiées alors que certains Palestiniens étaient toujours à l'intérieur. Les soldats israéliens se sont contentés de regarder; comme le monde entier. Se sentant légèrement mal à l'aise avec la violence des colons, mais incapable d'agir et de les arrêter. Je me suis rendue à Hébron le premier jour de l'Aïd après la tempête. La tension, comme toujours, était encore palpable. Les Palestiniens sont encore en train d'essayer de poursuivre leur tradition et de culture. Des groupes d'hommes se déplaçaient en groupe de maison en maison pour visiter les femmes de leurs familles. Certains enfants étaient dehors en train de jouer avec leur tous nouveaux pistolets en plastique. Tous étaient fiers de montrer leurs nouveaux vêtements. Les soldats étaient aussi presents en grand nombre, et j'ai été choquée de découvrir beaucoup de nouveaux grafittis racistes laissés partout par les colons- sur les magasins, sur les tombes, sur les maisons. L'ensemble du lieu résonne toujours de désespoir
Friday, December 12, 2008
L’Union européenne capitule devant Israël
L’Union européenne capitule devant Israël
mercredi 10 décembre 2008, par Alain Gresh
Les ministres des affaires étrangères de l’Union européenne ont adopté, les 8 et 9 décembre, un texte intitulé « Council Conclusions Strengthening of the EU bilateral relations with its Mediterranean partners - upgrade with Israel ». Sous l’impulsion de la présidence française, le principe de rehausser les relations entre Israël et l’Union européenne a été accepté. Déjà, avant la tenue du sommet méditerranéen, Paris avait essayé de faire adopter cette mesure, mais avait dû reculer devant la levée de boucliers de certains régimes arabes, notamment l’Egypte (lire « Enquête sur le virage de la diplomatie française », Le Monde diplomatique, juin 2008).
Ce texte a été adopté après de nombreuses discussions. La première version présentée par la France faisait la part belle à Israël et a suscité des réserves chez certains des partenaires — notamment le Royaume-Uni et la Belgique — qui ont demandé un « rééquilibrage » du texte. Un comble, quand on pense qu’il y a quelques années encore, la France était accusée d’être pro-arabe.
Notons aussi que ce texte a été entériné le jour même où l’expert de l’ONU sur les droits humains dans les territoires palestiniens, Richard Falk, demandait la mise en œuvre de « la norme reconnue de la “responsabilité de protéger” une population civile punie collectivement par des politiques qui s’assimilent à un crime contre l’humanité ». Dans le même sens, ajoutait-il, « il semble que c’est le mandat de la Cour pénale internationale d’enquêter sur la situation, et de déterminer si les dirigeants politiques israéliens et les chefs militaires responsables du siège de Gaza doivent être inculpés et poursuivis pour violations du droit pénal international ».
Finalement, le texte adopté par l’Union européenne intègre des références à la politique de voisinage européenne, au Maroc, à la Tunisie, et à presque tous les Etats arabes, références purement formelles qui permettent de faire passer l’essentiel : le point 9, qui affirme la détermination du Conseil à rehausser les relations avec Israël. Il est toutefois souligné que ce rehaussement doit avoir lieu dans le contexte de « nos intérêts communs », qui incluent la résolution du conflit israélo-palestinien sur la base de la coexistence de deux Etats.
Une longue annexe comprend les lignes directrices pour renforcer les structures du dialogue politique avec Israël.
D’abord, la tenue régulière de réunions des chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement de l’Union européenne et d’Israël, un privilège qui n’était accordé jusque-là qu’à quelques grands Etats, Chine, Russie, Inde, etc. La première réunion devrait avoir lieu sous la présidence de la République tchèque, pays qui, selon la formule d’un haut fonctionnaire à Bruxelles, « ne défend pas la politique du gouvernement israélien, mais celle du Likoud ».
Ensuite, la tenue régulière, au moins trois fois par an, de réunions entre ministres des affaires étrangères (ce qui n’est pas nouveau, et existait déjà de facto). De telles réunions sont étendues à d’autres secteurs que les affaires étrangères.
L’invitation régulière de responsables du ministère des affaires étrangères israélien aux comité pour la politique et la sécurité de l’Union. Inviter aussi plus systématiquement des experts israéliens dans les comités travaillant notamment sur le processus de paix, les droits humains, la lutte contre le terrorisme et le crime organisé, etc.
Organiser des consultations informelles plus larges sur les problèmes stratégiques.
Intensifier les échanges sur des points précis, notamment les droits humains et l’antisémitisme.
Encourager Israël à s’associer aux politiques étrangère et de sécurité commune de l’Union européenne.
Permettre la coopération sur le terrain dans le cadre des politiques de sécurité et de défense commune. Des experts israéliens pourront ainsi participer à des missions extérieures de l’Union, que ce soit en Afrique ou ailleurs.
Dans la mesure où Israël, aux Nations unies, ne peut participer au groupe Asie, l’Union européenne tentera de l’intégrer au groupe Western European and other groups (WEOG), une vieille demande de cet Etat qui lui permettrait d’être élu dans différentes instances, dont le Conseil de sécurité.
Intensifier le dialogue entre le Parlement européen et le parlement israélien.
Ces décisions de l’Union européenne ont été vivement critiquées par l’Autorité palestinienne et par l’Egypte.
Dans un article de Haaretz du 9 décembre, « EU votes to upgrade Israel relations despite Arab lobbying », Barak Ravid rapporte que la semaine précédente, « la ministre des affaires étrangères israélienne Tzipi Livni s’est rendue à Bruxelles pour faire son propre lobbying auprès des ministres des affaires étrangères, et en premier lieu de Bernard Kouchner. A un moment de la rencontre, elle a demandé à le voir en tête à tête et à ce que les autres sortent de la salle. Durant cette conversation, les deux sont tombés d’accord sur le fait qu’il n’y aurait pas de “lien” (linkage) (entre le rehaussement des relations UE-Israël et les négociations de paix), mais que l’Union européenne publierait une déclaration séparée appelant à la poursuite de conversations de paix sur le statut final ».
Même si l’article est un peu à la gloire de Livni et note des « avancées » qui n’en sont pas – les réunions régulières des ministres des affaires étrangères avaient déjà lieu –, le texte est significatif de la victoire israélienne. D’autant plus que Livni a aussi empêché l’adoption d’un texte stratégique d’action qui rappellerait la position de l’Union européenne sur le conflit du Proche-Orient. Ce texte, préparé par la France, a été « retiré ».
On peut noter que toute la stratégie française (et européenne) de rapprochement avec Israël est justifiée par le fait qu’une amélioration des relations permettrait à l’Union européenne et à la France d’influer sur la politique israélienne. Il suffit de voir ce qui se passe à Gaza, l’extension des colonies, les pogroms anti-arabes, pour mesurer le succès de cette stratégie.
En revanche, Israël a subi une importante défaite au Parlement européen (lire « Israël devra attendre », La valise diplomatique, 5 décembre 2008). Ce refus du Parlement européen aura des conséquences concrètes sur un certain nombre de projets de coopération. Notons, pour l’anecdote, que le vote négatif a été provoqué à la fois par le lobbying d’un certain nombre de pays arabes et par l’arrogance et les pressions israéliennes, qui ont suscité le ras-le-bol d’un certain nombre de députés européens.
D’autre part, on lira deux textes intéressants sur le conflit, l’un de Barak Ravid et Anshel Pfeffer dans Haaretz du 4 novembre, « Britain to EU : Clamp down on imports from settlements », qui souligne la manière dont Israël tente d’exporter les produits des colonies vers l’Union européenne ; l’autre, d’Yves Aubin de La Messuzière, publié dans Le Monde (10 décembre) : « Pourquoi l’Europe doit parler au Hamas ».
mercredi 10 décembre 2008, par Alain Gresh
Les ministres des affaires étrangères de l’Union européenne ont adopté, les 8 et 9 décembre, un texte intitulé « Council Conclusions Strengthening of the EU bilateral relations with its Mediterranean partners - upgrade with Israel ». Sous l’impulsion de la présidence française, le principe de rehausser les relations entre Israël et l’Union européenne a été accepté. Déjà, avant la tenue du sommet méditerranéen, Paris avait essayé de faire adopter cette mesure, mais avait dû reculer devant la levée de boucliers de certains régimes arabes, notamment l’Egypte (lire « Enquête sur le virage de la diplomatie française », Le Monde diplomatique, juin 2008).
Ce texte a été adopté après de nombreuses discussions. La première version présentée par la France faisait la part belle à Israël et a suscité des réserves chez certains des partenaires — notamment le Royaume-Uni et la Belgique — qui ont demandé un « rééquilibrage » du texte. Un comble, quand on pense qu’il y a quelques années encore, la France était accusée d’être pro-arabe.
Notons aussi que ce texte a été entériné le jour même où l’expert de l’ONU sur les droits humains dans les territoires palestiniens, Richard Falk, demandait la mise en œuvre de « la norme reconnue de la “responsabilité de protéger” une population civile punie collectivement par des politiques qui s’assimilent à un crime contre l’humanité ». Dans le même sens, ajoutait-il, « il semble que c’est le mandat de la Cour pénale internationale d’enquêter sur la situation, et de déterminer si les dirigeants politiques israéliens et les chefs militaires responsables du siège de Gaza doivent être inculpés et poursuivis pour violations du droit pénal international ».
Finalement, le texte adopté par l’Union européenne intègre des références à la politique de voisinage européenne, au Maroc, à la Tunisie, et à presque tous les Etats arabes, références purement formelles qui permettent de faire passer l’essentiel : le point 9, qui affirme la détermination du Conseil à rehausser les relations avec Israël. Il est toutefois souligné que ce rehaussement doit avoir lieu dans le contexte de « nos intérêts communs », qui incluent la résolution du conflit israélo-palestinien sur la base de la coexistence de deux Etats.
Une longue annexe comprend les lignes directrices pour renforcer les structures du dialogue politique avec Israël.
D’abord, la tenue régulière de réunions des chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement de l’Union européenne et d’Israël, un privilège qui n’était accordé jusque-là qu’à quelques grands Etats, Chine, Russie, Inde, etc. La première réunion devrait avoir lieu sous la présidence de la République tchèque, pays qui, selon la formule d’un haut fonctionnaire à Bruxelles, « ne défend pas la politique du gouvernement israélien, mais celle du Likoud ».
Ensuite, la tenue régulière, au moins trois fois par an, de réunions entre ministres des affaires étrangères (ce qui n’est pas nouveau, et existait déjà de facto). De telles réunions sont étendues à d’autres secteurs que les affaires étrangères.
L’invitation régulière de responsables du ministère des affaires étrangères israélien aux comité pour la politique et la sécurité de l’Union. Inviter aussi plus systématiquement des experts israéliens dans les comités travaillant notamment sur le processus de paix, les droits humains, la lutte contre le terrorisme et le crime organisé, etc.
Organiser des consultations informelles plus larges sur les problèmes stratégiques.
Intensifier les échanges sur des points précis, notamment les droits humains et l’antisémitisme.
Encourager Israël à s’associer aux politiques étrangère et de sécurité commune de l’Union européenne.
Permettre la coopération sur le terrain dans le cadre des politiques de sécurité et de défense commune. Des experts israéliens pourront ainsi participer à des missions extérieures de l’Union, que ce soit en Afrique ou ailleurs.
Dans la mesure où Israël, aux Nations unies, ne peut participer au groupe Asie, l’Union européenne tentera de l’intégrer au groupe Western European and other groups (WEOG), une vieille demande de cet Etat qui lui permettrait d’être élu dans différentes instances, dont le Conseil de sécurité.
Intensifier le dialogue entre le Parlement européen et le parlement israélien.
Ces décisions de l’Union européenne ont été vivement critiquées par l’Autorité palestinienne et par l’Egypte.
Dans un article de Haaretz du 9 décembre, « EU votes to upgrade Israel relations despite Arab lobbying », Barak Ravid rapporte que la semaine précédente, « la ministre des affaires étrangères israélienne Tzipi Livni s’est rendue à Bruxelles pour faire son propre lobbying auprès des ministres des affaires étrangères, et en premier lieu de Bernard Kouchner. A un moment de la rencontre, elle a demandé à le voir en tête à tête et à ce que les autres sortent de la salle. Durant cette conversation, les deux sont tombés d’accord sur le fait qu’il n’y aurait pas de “lien” (linkage) (entre le rehaussement des relations UE-Israël et les négociations de paix), mais que l’Union européenne publierait une déclaration séparée appelant à la poursuite de conversations de paix sur le statut final ».
Même si l’article est un peu à la gloire de Livni et note des « avancées » qui n’en sont pas – les réunions régulières des ministres des affaires étrangères avaient déjà lieu –, le texte est significatif de la victoire israélienne. D’autant plus que Livni a aussi empêché l’adoption d’un texte stratégique d’action qui rappellerait la position de l’Union européenne sur le conflit du Proche-Orient. Ce texte, préparé par la France, a été « retiré ».
On peut noter que toute la stratégie française (et européenne) de rapprochement avec Israël est justifiée par le fait qu’une amélioration des relations permettrait à l’Union européenne et à la France d’influer sur la politique israélienne. Il suffit de voir ce qui se passe à Gaza, l’extension des colonies, les pogroms anti-arabes, pour mesurer le succès de cette stratégie.
En revanche, Israël a subi une importante défaite au Parlement européen (lire « Israël devra attendre », La valise diplomatique, 5 décembre 2008). Ce refus du Parlement européen aura des conséquences concrètes sur un certain nombre de projets de coopération. Notons, pour l’anecdote, que le vote négatif a été provoqué à la fois par le lobbying d’un certain nombre de pays arabes et par l’arrogance et les pressions israéliennes, qui ont suscité le ras-le-bol d’un certain nombre de députés européens.
D’autre part, on lira deux textes intéressants sur le conflit, l’un de Barak Ravid et Anshel Pfeffer dans Haaretz du 4 novembre, « Britain to EU : Clamp down on imports from settlements », qui souligne la manière dont Israël tente d’exporter les produits des colonies vers l’Union européenne ; l’autre, d’Yves Aubin de La Messuzière, publié dans Le Monde (10 décembre) : « Pourquoi l’Europe doit parler au Hamas ».
Free Gaza ship departs with 11 students denied exit by Israel
MAAN NEWS AGENCY
---------------------------
Free Gaza ship departs with 11 students denied exit by Israel
Date: 12 / 12 / 2008 Time: 10:39
Bethlehem - Ma'an - A ship with the Free Gaza movement left the Strip late Thursday night with 11 Palestinian students aboard.
The students had previously been denied exit by Israel to attend universities abroad despite having all proper documentation from the institutions.
Over 700 students are currently trapped in Gaza, unable to obtain permission from Israel to continue their education abroad, according to the group.
Accompanying the students were two British academics, Jonathan Rosenhead and Mike Cushman, of the London School of Economics and the British Committee for Universities for Palestine (BRICUP), an organization of UK-based educators that calls for an academic boycott of Israel.
"As academics, we are particularly pleased to be traveling on the Dignity [the ship of the Free Gaza movement] on this mission to enable at least some of the hundreds of students trapped in Gaza by the Israeli siege to get out and take up their places at universities around the world," said a statement released by the group.
"This siege is an affront to any idea of academic freedom or human rights. How can anyone justify preventing young people from fulfilling their potential and learning how to serve their community more fully?" it continued.
In an act of "nonviolent defiance" against the ongoing Israeli occupation, the Free Gaza movement has been running "civil resistance ships" to Gaza since August.
The Dignity's voyage is the fourth such trip, and aimed to reunite families and deliver medical supplies, mail, and international humanitarian and human rights workers to the Gaza Strip.
Free Gaza spokesperson Ewa Jasiewicz said "though we carried in a ton of medical supplies and high-protein baby formula on our ship, our mission in Gaza was not to provide charity, but to give our solidarity to the people of Palestine, break the silence of the world over this continuing calamity, and physically break through the blockade of Gaza in an act of direct resistance against the siege."
"In the end, the oppression and humiliation of occupation assaults the humanity of both occupier and occupied and cannot and must not be tolerated any longer," Jasiewicz added.
For over two years, Israel has imposed an increasingly severe blockade on Gaza, dramatically increasing poverty and malnutrition rates among the 1.5 million people who live in the tiny, coastal region.
Osama Qashoo, another Free Gaza spokesperson, explained their voyage's success by saying that "the sea passage to Gaza is open." Three ships, one from Libya, one from Qatar, and a third from the Israeli Jaffa port were denied entry into Gaza just over a week ago.
Commenting on the Israeli action taken against the ships, Qashoo said "Our fourth mission was a quick response to Israel denying earlier attempts,” and an effort to maintain the opening the group had managed to force in Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
"We hope that other nations, civil society organizations, and activists around the world will learn from our experience, be strategic in their planning, and not let Israeli threats and aggression stop them from coming to Gaza," said the Free Gaza Movement.
"Freedom of movement and of education and to live in peace is everyone's right," the group added.
According to Caoimhe Butterly, a Free Gaza coordinator, the ship faced no interference or radio contact from the Israeli navy on its way into and out of Gaza waters. She did note, however, that the ship’s radar showed naval vessels passing within a few miles of the vessel.
Asked why the Free Gaza ship was allowed through while others were blocked, Butterly said it was a sign that Israel “does not see this project as a threat.”
***Updated 13:43 Bethlehem time
---------------------------
Free Gaza ship departs with 11 students denied exit by Israel
Date: 12 / 12 / 2008 Time: 10:39
Bethlehem - Ma'an - A ship with the Free Gaza movement left the Strip late Thursday night with 11 Palestinian students aboard.
The students had previously been denied exit by Israel to attend universities abroad despite having all proper documentation from the institutions.
Over 700 students are currently trapped in Gaza, unable to obtain permission from Israel to continue their education abroad, according to the group.
Accompanying the students were two British academics, Jonathan Rosenhead and Mike Cushman, of the London School of Economics and the British Committee for Universities for Palestine (BRICUP), an organization of UK-based educators that calls for an academic boycott of Israel.
"As academics, we are particularly pleased to be traveling on the Dignity [the ship of the Free Gaza movement] on this mission to enable at least some of the hundreds of students trapped in Gaza by the Israeli siege to get out and take up their places at universities around the world," said a statement released by the group.
"This siege is an affront to any idea of academic freedom or human rights. How can anyone justify preventing young people from fulfilling their potential and learning how to serve their community more fully?" it continued.
In an act of "nonviolent defiance" against the ongoing Israeli occupation, the Free Gaza movement has been running "civil resistance ships" to Gaza since August.
The Dignity's voyage is the fourth such trip, and aimed to reunite families and deliver medical supplies, mail, and international humanitarian and human rights workers to the Gaza Strip.
Free Gaza spokesperson Ewa Jasiewicz said "though we carried in a ton of medical supplies and high-protein baby formula on our ship, our mission in Gaza was not to provide charity, but to give our solidarity to the people of Palestine, break the silence of the world over this continuing calamity, and physically break through the blockade of Gaza in an act of direct resistance against the siege."
"In the end, the oppression and humiliation of occupation assaults the humanity of both occupier and occupied and cannot and must not be tolerated any longer," Jasiewicz added.
For over two years, Israel has imposed an increasingly severe blockade on Gaza, dramatically increasing poverty and malnutrition rates among the 1.5 million people who live in the tiny, coastal region.
Osama Qashoo, another Free Gaza spokesperson, explained their voyage's success by saying that "the sea passage to Gaza is open." Three ships, one from Libya, one from Qatar, and a third from the Israeli Jaffa port were denied entry into Gaza just over a week ago.
Commenting on the Israeli action taken against the ships, Qashoo said "Our fourth mission was a quick response to Israel denying earlier attempts,” and an effort to maintain the opening the group had managed to force in Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
"We hope that other nations, civil society organizations, and activists around the world will learn from our experience, be strategic in their planning, and not let Israeli threats and aggression stop them from coming to Gaza," said the Free Gaza Movement.
"Freedom of movement and of education and to live in peace is everyone's right," the group added.
According to Caoimhe Butterly, a Free Gaza coordinator, the ship faced no interference or radio contact from the Israeli navy on its way into and out of Gaza waters. She did note, however, that the ship’s radar showed naval vessels passing within a few miles of the vessel.
Asked why the Free Gaza ship was allowed through while others were blocked, Butterly said it was a sign that Israel “does not see this project as a threat.”
***Updated 13:43 Bethlehem time
Saturday, December 06, 2008
activestills photographer Tess assaulted by Israeli soliders in Hebron
While the settlers are going around perpetrating violence against Palestinian civilians, the Israeli soldiers are attacking the few journalists and photographers who try to document the events...
w w w . h a a r e t z . c o m
Last update - 14:07 06/12/2008
IDF soldier assaults Haaretz photographer in Hebron
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
An Israeli photographer on assignment for Haaretz was assaulted by an Israel Defense Forces soldier in Hebron on Saturday. The photographer, Tess Scheflan, suffered light head injuries and was taken by an ambulance to hospital.
Scheflan, who is a staffer for the Jini photo news agency, stayed in Hebron alongside Haaretz reporter Fadi Edayat to cover the aftermath of the forced eviction of Jewish squatters from a disputed home in the West Bank city.
Edayat said Scheflan and another photographer were snapping pictures of Palestinian families inside their homes, which lie not far from the evacuated "House of Contention" in central Hebron, when IDF troops arrived and temporarily requisitioned the homes.
When the three journalists exited the home, they spotted three IDF soldiers in the street. As Scheflan began taking pictures of the soldiers, they began to approach her. One of the soldiers tried to swipe her camera before attempting to grab the camera of the other photojournalist at the scene.
Scheflan then remarked something to the soldier, who responded by delivering a fisted blow to her face. The soldier then used the butt of his rifle to strike Scheflan in the head.
Shortly afterwards, Scheflan received treatment at the scene from an IDF medic. She was subsequently transferred by ambulance to Sha'arei Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem.
The assailant soldier is an infantryman serving in the Haruv battalion. Haaretz provided details of the incident to the IDF Spokespersons Unit, which said that an investigation was underway.
w w w . h a a r e t z . c o m
Last update - 14:07 06/12/2008
IDF soldier assaults Haaretz photographer in Hebron
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
An Israeli photographer on assignment for Haaretz was assaulted by an Israel Defense Forces soldier in Hebron on Saturday. The photographer, Tess Scheflan, suffered light head injuries and was taken by an ambulance to hospital.
Scheflan, who is a staffer for the Jini photo news agency, stayed in Hebron alongside Haaretz reporter Fadi Edayat to cover the aftermath of the forced eviction of Jewish squatters from a disputed home in the West Bank city.
Edayat said Scheflan and another photographer were snapping pictures of Palestinian families inside their homes, which lie not far from the evacuated "House of Contention" in central Hebron, when IDF troops arrived and temporarily requisitioned the homes.
When the three journalists exited the home, they spotted three IDF soldiers in the street. As Scheflan began taking pictures of the soldiers, they began to approach her. One of the soldiers tried to swipe her camera before attempting to grab the camera of the other photojournalist at the scene.
Scheflan then remarked something to the soldier, who responded by delivering a fisted blow to her face. The soldier then used the butt of his rifle to strike Scheflan in the head.
Shortly afterwards, Scheflan received treatment at the scene from an IDF medic. She was subsequently transferred by ambulance to Sha'arei Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem.
The assailant soldier is an infantryman serving in the Haruv battalion. Haaretz provided details of the incident to the IDF Spokespersons Unit, which said that an investigation was underway.
Friday, December 05, 2008
Who will stop the settlers? settlers violence reached new pics in the West Bank
ANALYSIS / Hebron settler riots were out and out pogroms
By Avi Issacharoff
An innocent Palestinian family, numbering close to 20 people. All of
them women and children, save for three men. Surrounding them are a few dozen masked Jews seeking to lynch them. A pogrom. This isn't a play on words or a double meaning. It is a pogrom in the worst sense of the word. First the masked men set fire to their laundry in the front yard and then they tried to set fire to one of the rooms in the house. The women cry for help, "Allahu Akhbar." Yet the neighbors are too scared to approach the house, frightened of the security guards from Kiryat Arba who have sealed off the home and who are cursing the journalists who wish to document the events unfolding there.
The cries rain down, much like the hail of stones the masked men hurled at the Abu Sa'afan family in the house. A few seconds tick by before a group of journalists, long accustomed to witnessing these difficult moments, decide not to stand on the sidelines. They break into the home and save the lives of the people inside. The brain requires a minute or two to digest what is taking place. Women and children crying bitterly, their faces giving off an expression of horror, sensing their imminent deaths, begging the journalists to save their lives. Stones land on the roof of the home, the windows and the doors. Flames engulf the southern entrance to the home. The front yard is littered with stones thrown by the masked men. The windows are shattered and the children are frightened. All around, as if they were watching a rock concert, are hundreds of Jewish witnesses, observing the events with great interest, even offering suggestions to the Jewish wayward youth as to the most
effective way to harm the family. And the police are not to be seen. Nor is the army.
Ten minutes prior, while the security forces were preoccupied with dispersing the rioters near the House of Contention, black smoke billowed from the wadi separating Kiryat Arba and Hebron. For some reason, none of the senior officers of the police or the army were particularly disturbed by what was transpiring at the foot of Kiryat Arba. Anyone standing hundreds of meters away could notice the dozens of rioters climbing atop the roof of the Abu Sa'afan family home, hurling stones. Only moments later did it become apparent that there were people inside the home.
I quickly descend to the wadi and accost three soldiers. "What do you want from me? The three of us are responsible for the entire sector here," one said, his hand gesturing towards the entire wadi.
"Use your radio to request help," I said. He replies that he is not equipped with a radio.
A group of journalists approach the house. A dilemma. What to do? There are no security forces in the vicinity and now the Jewish troublemakers decided to put the journalists in their crosshairs. We call for the security guards from Kiryat Arba to intervene and put a halt to the lynch. But they surround the home to prevent the arrival of "Palestinian aid."
The home is destroyed and the fear is palpable on the faces of the children. One of the women, Jihad, is sprawled on the floor, half-unconscious. The son, who is gripping a large stick, prepares for the moment he will be forced to face the rioters. Tahana, one of the daughters, refuses to calm down. "Look at what they did to the house, look."
Tess, the photographer, bursts into tears as the events unfold around her. The tears do not stem from fear. It is shame, shame at the sight of these occurrences, the deeds of youths who call themselves Jews. Shame that we share the same religion. At 5:05 P.M., a little over an hour after the incident commenced, a unit belonging to the Yassam special police forces arrives to disperse the crowd of masked men. The family members refuse to calm down. Leaving the home, one can hear a settler yell at a police officer: "Nazis, shame on you." Indeed. Shame on you.
By Avi Issacharoff
An innocent Palestinian family, numbering close to 20 people. All of
them women and children, save for three men. Surrounding them are a few dozen masked Jews seeking to lynch them. A pogrom. This isn't a play on words or a double meaning. It is a pogrom in the worst sense of the word. First the masked men set fire to their laundry in the front yard and then they tried to set fire to one of the rooms in the house. The women cry for help, "Allahu Akhbar." Yet the neighbors are too scared to approach the house, frightened of the security guards from Kiryat Arba who have sealed off the home and who are cursing the journalists who wish to document the events unfolding there.
The cries rain down, much like the hail of stones the masked men hurled at the Abu Sa'afan family in the house. A few seconds tick by before a group of journalists, long accustomed to witnessing these difficult moments, decide not to stand on the sidelines. They break into the home and save the lives of the people inside. The brain requires a minute or two to digest what is taking place. Women and children crying bitterly, their faces giving off an expression of horror, sensing their imminent deaths, begging the journalists to save their lives. Stones land on the roof of the home, the windows and the doors. Flames engulf the southern entrance to the home. The front yard is littered with stones thrown by the masked men. The windows are shattered and the children are frightened. All around, as if they were watching a rock concert, are hundreds of Jewish witnesses, observing the events with great interest, even offering suggestions to the Jewish wayward youth as to the most
effective way to harm the family. And the police are not to be seen. Nor is the army.
Ten minutes prior, while the security forces were preoccupied with dispersing the rioters near the House of Contention, black smoke billowed from the wadi separating Kiryat Arba and Hebron. For some reason, none of the senior officers of the police or the army were particularly disturbed by what was transpiring at the foot of Kiryat Arba. Anyone standing hundreds of meters away could notice the dozens of rioters climbing atop the roof of the Abu Sa'afan family home, hurling stones. Only moments later did it become apparent that there were people inside the home.
I quickly descend to the wadi and accost three soldiers. "What do you want from me? The three of us are responsible for the entire sector here," one said, his hand gesturing towards the entire wadi.
"Use your radio to request help," I said. He replies that he is not equipped with a radio.
A group of journalists approach the house. A dilemma. What to do? There are no security forces in the vicinity and now the Jewish troublemakers decided to put the journalists in their crosshairs. We call for the security guards from Kiryat Arba to intervene and put a halt to the lynch. But they surround the home to prevent the arrival of "Palestinian aid."
The home is destroyed and the fear is palpable on the faces of the children. One of the women, Jihad, is sprawled on the floor, half-unconscious. The son, who is gripping a large stick, prepares for the moment he will be forced to face the rioters. Tahana, one of the daughters, refuses to calm down. "Look at what they did to the house, look."
Tess, the photographer, bursts into tears as the events unfold around her. The tears do not stem from fear. It is shame, shame at the sight of these occurrences, the deeds of youths who call themselves Jews. Shame that we share the same religion. At 5:05 P.M., a little over an hour after the incident commenced, a unit belonging to the Yassam special police forces arrives to disperse the crowd of masked men. The family members refuse to calm down. Leaving the home, one can hear a settler yell at a police officer: "Nazis, shame on you." Indeed. Shame on you.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Fireworks Light Up Dubai as Gaza Sleeps in Darkness
Fireworks Light Up Dubai as Gaza Sleeps in Darkness
Share
Today at 12:18am
Fireworks Light Up Dubai as Gaza Sleeps in Darkness
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=18237&CategoryId=13
By Nadia W. Awad for MIFTAH
November 24, 2008
Dubai was the center of attention again last week as it spent $20
million on an exorbitantly lavish, all-night party to celebrate the
opening of its latest hotel, the Atlantis Palm Jumeirah. Described as
the party of the decade, no expense was spared. Two thousand celebrities
accepted an all-expenses-paid invitation to join the celebrations, with
Hollywood stars such as Robert de Niro, Lindsay Lohan, Wesley Snipes,
and at least one Olsen twin found sipping Dom Pérignon with Dubai’s
royal family. Kylie Minogue was paid somewhere in the region of $1 and
$3.5 million for a 45 minute performance, followed by DJ Sam Ronson and
others. The 1,539 room hotel boasts the exclusive Bridge Suite, which
alone costs $35,000 per night to stay in. We all know the Chinese like
to do things big, but the fireworks display at the Beijing Olympics was
dwarfed by the Atlantis’s display, which was seven times the size of the
Beijing show and could apparently be seen quite clearly from space.
But before you start wondering whether you’ve wandered onto the wrong
site or are reading an article from The Insider, rest assured – this
descriptive introduction does have a point! I don’t believe I was the
only person to read about the party and its copious expense without
thinking that the timing of the whole event was in very poor taste. As I
read a description of the elaborate fireworks display, I couldn’t help
but consider the 1.5 million Palestinians living in darkness in Gaza,
courtesy of an Israeli blockade on food, fuel and medical supplies– 20
days and counting so far. Meanwhile, the world is sinking deeper into a
global financial crisis which Dubai seems to be in denial of; millions
of people have and will lose their jobs; and military and humanitarian
crises are still ongoing in places like Darfur, Iraq, DR Congo and
Zimbabwe. Not to mention the 2,000 or so flights to Dubai for the A-list
celebrities that probably chipped off a little more from our melting
polar icecaps. Still, there was no evidence of concern as tycoons and
celebrities streamed into Dubai for what was reportedly the world’s most
expensive private party. In true capitalist style, the rich have once
again found a way to ‘party as the world burns’.
However, this article is not a criticism of capitalism, or the
activities of the world’s rich. There are plenty of other people who are
better adept at doing that job. Rather, my argument is with Dubai
itself, as an emirate of the UAE and a member of the Arab and Muslim
world. There is no denying that Dubai, along with the other emirates,
has given millions in aid to the Palestinians and the Palestinian
Authority, for which Palestinians are ever grateful. There is even a
section of Gaza named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late
ruler of Abu Dhabi, who funded the construction of housing units there.
Nevertheless, there is more than one type of support that can be given.
Unfortunately, Dubai usually resorts to what it does best – it throws
money at a problem, just as it has thrown money to the Palestinian
people. When it comes to moral and political support, it is less
forthcoming. While we are aware that the original residents of Dubai
support the Palestinian cause, we rarely hear their government take a
controversial stance on it. True, like most other Arab and Muslim
nations, Dubai does not have diplomatic or political relations with
Israel. However, it has relations of another kind. In this regard, the
name Lev Leviev comes to mind.
Earlier this year, controversy erupted when Dubai announced it had
allowed the diamond magnate, Lev Leviev, to open two retail stores in
the Gulf emirate, including one just opened in the Atlantis. What it did
not announce was that Lev Leviev is an Israeli billionaire and a major
funder of illegal settlement construction in the Palestinian
Territories, including infamous settlements such as Har Homa and Maale
Adumim. Two of his companies, Africa-Israel and Leader Management &
Development, as well as several other subsidiaries such as Danya Cebus,
have been primary forces in the displacement of Palestinian villagers
from their lands in the West Bank. Leviev is also a major donor to the
Israeli Land Redemption Fund, which is known to use illicit means to
obtain Palestinian land for Israeli settlements. Granted, the Dubai
authorities initially displayed an unwillingness to award the Israeli
billionaire a license to do business in Dubai; but apparently those
feelings of reluctance were dispelled when Leviev used American and
European connections to persuade Dubai officials otherwise.
To donate millions of dollars in assistance to the Palestinians and then
to profit from business dealings with a primary funder of Palestinian
land theft is hypocrisy at its best. The lavish hotel opening last week
was just another example of Dubai’s lack of tact and sensitivity. The
Atlantis itself is owned by Solomon Kerzner, a South African
billionaire, but the cost of the party was split between him and the
Dubai government-owned Nakheel PJSC, also a developer of the hotel.
Perhaps business is merely that, business. But in the heart of the
Middle East, it would have behooved Dubai to express a little solidarity
with the suffering of its fellow Arabs, the Palestinians living in the
Gaza Strip, perhaps by donating some of the firework display funds to
purchase fuel for Gaza’s power plant, or by having a moment of silence.
Or perhaps by kicking Leviev out of the emirate, or at least, putting
pressure on him to refrain from illegal settlement building. Big
business is not the only goal in life.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband infuriated the Israeli
government when he informed them of his intention to press for EU
tariffs to be imposed on produce and products coming from Israeli
settlements. Londoners demonstrated outside a large supermarket to bring
attention to the fact that produce coming from the illegal settlements
is being sold in Britain under the misleading ‘West Bank’ label. On the
other hand, Dubai, who has more in common with us historically,
geographically, culturally and religiously, is helping to bankroll a
major Israeli settlement builder, indirectly causing untold misery for
Palestinians. Dubai is not the first Arab state to have business
dealings with Israelis, nor is it likely to be the last; but to have
dealings with such a man as Leviev helps to undermine efforts to stop
illegal settlement construction. As one Palestinian official in Gaza
said, “We never imagined that a day would come when we would have to
appeal to an Arab country to refrain from harming us and undermining our
cause."
To say Palestinians feel a bit betrayed is an understatement. We
definitely need humanitarian aid, but more importantly, we also need
Arab and other international nations to stand by us morally and
politically, shoulder to shoulder, in the face of an ever-worsening
Israeli occupation. And as always, actions speak louder than words.
Share
Today at 12:18am
Fireworks Light Up Dubai as Gaza Sleeps in Darkness
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=18237&CategoryId=13
By Nadia W. Awad for MIFTAH
November 24, 2008
Dubai was the center of attention again last week as it spent $20
million on an exorbitantly lavish, all-night party to celebrate the
opening of its latest hotel, the Atlantis Palm Jumeirah. Described as
the party of the decade, no expense was spared. Two thousand celebrities
accepted an all-expenses-paid invitation to join the celebrations, with
Hollywood stars such as Robert de Niro, Lindsay Lohan, Wesley Snipes,
and at least one Olsen twin found sipping Dom Pérignon with Dubai’s
royal family. Kylie Minogue was paid somewhere in the region of $1 and
$3.5 million for a 45 minute performance, followed by DJ Sam Ronson and
others. The 1,539 room hotel boasts the exclusive Bridge Suite, which
alone costs $35,000 per night to stay in. We all know the Chinese like
to do things big, but the fireworks display at the Beijing Olympics was
dwarfed by the Atlantis’s display, which was seven times the size of the
Beijing show and could apparently be seen quite clearly from space.
But before you start wondering whether you’ve wandered onto the wrong
site or are reading an article from The Insider, rest assured – this
descriptive introduction does have a point! I don’t believe I was the
only person to read about the party and its copious expense without
thinking that the timing of the whole event was in very poor taste. As I
read a description of the elaborate fireworks display, I couldn’t help
but consider the 1.5 million Palestinians living in darkness in Gaza,
courtesy of an Israeli blockade on food, fuel and medical supplies– 20
days and counting so far. Meanwhile, the world is sinking deeper into a
global financial crisis which Dubai seems to be in denial of; millions
of people have and will lose their jobs; and military and humanitarian
crises are still ongoing in places like Darfur, Iraq, DR Congo and
Zimbabwe. Not to mention the 2,000 or so flights to Dubai for the A-list
celebrities that probably chipped off a little more from our melting
polar icecaps. Still, there was no evidence of concern as tycoons and
celebrities streamed into Dubai for what was reportedly the world’s most
expensive private party. In true capitalist style, the rich have once
again found a way to ‘party as the world burns’.
However, this article is not a criticism of capitalism, or the
activities of the world’s rich. There are plenty of other people who are
better adept at doing that job. Rather, my argument is with Dubai
itself, as an emirate of the UAE and a member of the Arab and Muslim
world. There is no denying that Dubai, along with the other emirates,
has given millions in aid to the Palestinians and the Palestinian
Authority, for which Palestinians are ever grateful. There is even a
section of Gaza named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late
ruler of Abu Dhabi, who funded the construction of housing units there.
Nevertheless, there is more than one type of support that can be given.
Unfortunately, Dubai usually resorts to what it does best – it throws
money at a problem, just as it has thrown money to the Palestinian
people. When it comes to moral and political support, it is less
forthcoming. While we are aware that the original residents of Dubai
support the Palestinian cause, we rarely hear their government take a
controversial stance on it. True, like most other Arab and Muslim
nations, Dubai does not have diplomatic or political relations with
Israel. However, it has relations of another kind. In this regard, the
name Lev Leviev comes to mind.
Earlier this year, controversy erupted when Dubai announced it had
allowed the diamond magnate, Lev Leviev, to open two retail stores in
the Gulf emirate, including one just opened in the Atlantis. What it did
not announce was that Lev Leviev is an Israeli billionaire and a major
funder of illegal settlement construction in the Palestinian
Territories, including infamous settlements such as Har Homa and Maale
Adumim. Two of his companies, Africa-Israel and Leader Management &
Development, as well as several other subsidiaries such as Danya Cebus,
have been primary forces in the displacement of Palestinian villagers
from their lands in the West Bank. Leviev is also a major donor to the
Israeli Land Redemption Fund, which is known to use illicit means to
obtain Palestinian land for Israeli settlements. Granted, the Dubai
authorities initially displayed an unwillingness to award the Israeli
billionaire a license to do business in Dubai; but apparently those
feelings of reluctance were dispelled when Leviev used American and
European connections to persuade Dubai officials otherwise.
To donate millions of dollars in assistance to the Palestinians and then
to profit from business dealings with a primary funder of Palestinian
land theft is hypocrisy at its best. The lavish hotel opening last week
was just another example of Dubai’s lack of tact and sensitivity. The
Atlantis itself is owned by Solomon Kerzner, a South African
billionaire, but the cost of the party was split between him and the
Dubai government-owned Nakheel PJSC, also a developer of the hotel.
Perhaps business is merely that, business. But in the heart of the
Middle East, it would have behooved Dubai to express a little solidarity
with the suffering of its fellow Arabs, the Palestinians living in the
Gaza Strip, perhaps by donating some of the firework display funds to
purchase fuel for Gaza’s power plant, or by having a moment of silence.
Or perhaps by kicking Leviev out of the emirate, or at least, putting
pressure on him to refrain from illegal settlement building. Big
business is not the only goal in life.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband infuriated the Israeli
government when he informed them of his intention to press for EU
tariffs to be imposed on produce and products coming from Israeli
settlements. Londoners demonstrated outside a large supermarket to bring
attention to the fact that produce coming from the illegal settlements
is being sold in Britain under the misleading ‘West Bank’ label. On the
other hand, Dubai, who has more in common with us historically,
geographically, culturally and religiously, is helping to bankroll a
major Israeli settlement builder, indirectly causing untold misery for
Palestinians. Dubai is not the first Arab state to have business
dealings with Israelis, nor is it likely to be the last; but to have
dealings with such a man as Leviev helps to undermine efforts to stop
illegal settlement construction. As one Palestinian official in Gaza
said, “We never imagined that a day would come when we would have to
appeal to an Arab country to refrain from harming us and undermining our
cause."
To say Palestinians feel a bit betrayed is an understatement. We
definitely need humanitarian aid, but more importantly, we also need
Arab and other international nations to stand by us morally and
politically, shoulder to shoulder, in the face of an ever-worsening
Israeli occupation. And as always, actions speak louder than words.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
the slow ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem continues
Only feeble protest over family's eviction
Jonathan Cook, The Electronic Intifada, 21 November 2008
The middle-of-the-night eviction last week of an elderly Palestinian couple from their home in East Jerusalem to make way for Jewish settlers is a demonstration of Israeli intent towards a future peace deal with the Palestinians.
Mohammed and Fawziya Khurd are now on the street, living in a tent, after Israeli police enforced a court order issued in July to expel them.
The couple have been living in the same property in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood since the mid-1950s, when East Jerusalem was under Jordanian control. The United Nations allotted them the land after they were expelled from their homes in territory that was seized by Israel during the 1948 war.
Since East Jerusalem's occupation by Israel in 1967, however, Jewish settler groups have been waging a relentless battle for the Khurds' home, claiming that the land originally belonged to Jews.
In 1999, the settlers occupied a wing of the house belonging to the couple's son, Raed, though the courts subsequently ruled in favor of the family. The eviction order against the settlers, unlike that against the Khurds, was never enforced.
The takeover of the Khurds' house is far from an isolated incident. Settlers are quietly grabbing homes from Palestinians in key neighborhoods around the Old City of Jerusalem in an attempt to pre-empt any future peace deal with the Palestinians.
What makes the case of the Khurd family exceptional is that it has attracted the attention of western consulates, particularly those of Israel's important allies, that is, the United States and Britain. They have appealed without success to the Israeli government to intercede.
In particular, the diplomats are concerned that the takeover of the Khurds' home will set a dangerous precedent, freeing settler groups to wrest control of most of Sheikh Jarrah. The settlers plan to oust more than 500 Palestinians from the neighborhood and build 200 apartments for Jewish families.
If the settlers can take control of other areas, such as Silwan, Ras al-Amud and the Mount of Olives, the Old City and its holy sites would be as good as sealed off not only to Palestinians in the West Bank -- as is the case already -- but also to nearly 250,000 Palestinians in the outlying suburbs of East Jerusalem.
Because the Palestinians expect East Jerusalem and its holy places to be the core of their state, the Sheikh Jarrah judgment effectively offers the settlers a blocking veto on any future negotiations.
That may be one reason why the Israeli government has shown little inclination to intervene in cases like that of the Khurds. In Israeli law, all of Jerusalem, including the eastern half of the city, is the "indivisible" capital of the Jewish state.
The eviction order also worries western diplomats because it opens up a Pandora's box of competing land claims that will make it impossible for Palestinian negotiators to sign up to a deal on the division of Jerusalem.
The Palestinian Authority has already pointed out to the consulates that nearly two-thirds of West Jerusalem's land was owned by Palestinians before the creation of Israel. Fawziya Khurd, for example, lived in Talbieh, in what is now the city's western half, before 1948.
If the settlers can make property claims in East Jerusalem based on title deeds that pre-exist 1948, why cannot Palestinians make similar claims in West Jerusalem?
The US involvement in the Khurd case demonstrates its desire to mark its red lines in East Jerusalem. The concern is that Israeli actions on the ground are seeking to unravel the outlines of an agreement being promoted by Washington to create some kind of circumscribed Palestinian state.
In the US view, the basis of such a deal is an exchange of letters between President George W. Bush and Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister at the time, in spring 2004 in which the US president affirmed that Israel would not be expected to return to the armistice lines of 1949. Instead, he declared that Israel would be able to hold on to its "population centers" in the West Bank -- code for the established settlement blocs.
As a result, the current US administration has turned a blind eye to continuing construction in the main settlements, home to most of the West Bank's 250,000 settlers. The unstated agreement between Tel Aviv and Washington is that these areas will be annexed to Israel in a future peace deal.
In an indication of Israel's confidence about the West Bank settlements, the Israeli media reported at the weekend that Ehud Barak, the defense minister and the leader of the Labor Party, had personally approved hundreds of new apartments for the settlers in the past few months.
Israel's wall is being crafted to include these blocs, eating into one-tenth of the West Bank and leaving only a few tens of thousands of settlers on the "wrong side."
For the time being, the US is showing indecision only about two settlement-cities, Ariel and Maale Adumim. If the wall encompasses them, it will effectively sever the West Bank into three parts.
In relation to East Jerusalem, the White House has so far appeared to favor maintaining the status quo. That would entail the eastern half of the city being carved up into a series of complex zones, or "bubbles" as they have been described in the Israeli media.
Another 250,000 Jewish settlers live in East Jerusalem, though almost all of them reside in their own discreet colonies implanted between Palestinian neighborhoods. These settlements are considered so established by Israelis that most of their inhabitants do not regard themselves as settlers.
However, the more ideological settlers of the kind taking over homes in Sheikh Jarrah refuse to accept partition of the city on any terms. They are trying to erode the Palestinians' chances of ever controlling their own neighborhoods in the eastern half of the city.
Backed by powerful allies in the courts, government and municipality, the settlers look set to continue expanding in East Jerusalem.
Nir Barkat, the millionaire businessman who was elected mayor of Jerusalem last week, forged close ties with some of the most extreme figures in the city's settlement movement during his campaign.
Like his chief rival for the mayoralty, he has promised to build a new Jewish neighborhood, called Eastern Gate, that will be home to at least 10,000 settlers on land next to the Palestinian neighborhood of Anata.
The move, much like the eviction of the Khurds, has been greeted with silence from the government. Both developments are a sign of Washington's powerlessness to force even the limited concessions it expects from Israel in East Jerusalem.
Jonathan Cook is a writer and journalist based in Nazareth, Israel. His latest books are Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East (Pluto Press) and Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments in Human Despair (Zed Books). His website is www.jkcook.net.
This article originally appeared in The National published in Abu Dhabi and is republished with permission.
Jonathan Cook, The Electronic Intifada, 21 November 2008
The middle-of-the-night eviction last week of an elderly Palestinian couple from their home in East Jerusalem to make way for Jewish settlers is a demonstration of Israeli intent towards a future peace deal with the Palestinians.
Mohammed and Fawziya Khurd are now on the street, living in a tent, after Israeli police enforced a court order issued in July to expel them.
The couple have been living in the same property in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood since the mid-1950s, when East Jerusalem was under Jordanian control. The United Nations allotted them the land after they were expelled from their homes in territory that was seized by Israel during the 1948 war.
Since East Jerusalem's occupation by Israel in 1967, however, Jewish settler groups have been waging a relentless battle for the Khurds' home, claiming that the land originally belonged to Jews.
In 1999, the settlers occupied a wing of the house belonging to the couple's son, Raed, though the courts subsequently ruled in favor of the family. The eviction order against the settlers, unlike that against the Khurds, was never enforced.
The takeover of the Khurds' house is far from an isolated incident. Settlers are quietly grabbing homes from Palestinians in key neighborhoods around the Old City of Jerusalem in an attempt to pre-empt any future peace deal with the Palestinians.
What makes the case of the Khurd family exceptional is that it has attracted the attention of western consulates, particularly those of Israel's important allies, that is, the United States and Britain. They have appealed without success to the Israeli government to intercede.
In particular, the diplomats are concerned that the takeover of the Khurds' home will set a dangerous precedent, freeing settler groups to wrest control of most of Sheikh Jarrah. The settlers plan to oust more than 500 Palestinians from the neighborhood and build 200 apartments for Jewish families.
If the settlers can take control of other areas, such as Silwan, Ras al-Amud and the Mount of Olives, the Old City and its holy sites would be as good as sealed off not only to Palestinians in the West Bank -- as is the case already -- but also to nearly 250,000 Palestinians in the outlying suburbs of East Jerusalem.
Because the Palestinians expect East Jerusalem and its holy places to be the core of their state, the Sheikh Jarrah judgment effectively offers the settlers a blocking veto on any future negotiations.
That may be one reason why the Israeli government has shown little inclination to intervene in cases like that of the Khurds. In Israeli law, all of Jerusalem, including the eastern half of the city, is the "indivisible" capital of the Jewish state.
The eviction order also worries western diplomats because it opens up a Pandora's box of competing land claims that will make it impossible for Palestinian negotiators to sign up to a deal on the division of Jerusalem.
The Palestinian Authority has already pointed out to the consulates that nearly two-thirds of West Jerusalem's land was owned by Palestinians before the creation of Israel. Fawziya Khurd, for example, lived in Talbieh, in what is now the city's western half, before 1948.
If the settlers can make property claims in East Jerusalem based on title deeds that pre-exist 1948, why cannot Palestinians make similar claims in West Jerusalem?
The US involvement in the Khurd case demonstrates its desire to mark its red lines in East Jerusalem. The concern is that Israeli actions on the ground are seeking to unravel the outlines of an agreement being promoted by Washington to create some kind of circumscribed Palestinian state.
In the US view, the basis of such a deal is an exchange of letters between President George W. Bush and Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister at the time, in spring 2004 in which the US president affirmed that Israel would not be expected to return to the armistice lines of 1949. Instead, he declared that Israel would be able to hold on to its "population centers" in the West Bank -- code for the established settlement blocs.
As a result, the current US administration has turned a blind eye to continuing construction in the main settlements, home to most of the West Bank's 250,000 settlers. The unstated agreement between Tel Aviv and Washington is that these areas will be annexed to Israel in a future peace deal.
In an indication of Israel's confidence about the West Bank settlements, the Israeli media reported at the weekend that Ehud Barak, the defense minister and the leader of the Labor Party, had personally approved hundreds of new apartments for the settlers in the past few months.
Israel's wall is being crafted to include these blocs, eating into one-tenth of the West Bank and leaving only a few tens of thousands of settlers on the "wrong side."
For the time being, the US is showing indecision only about two settlement-cities, Ariel and Maale Adumim. If the wall encompasses them, it will effectively sever the West Bank into three parts.
In relation to East Jerusalem, the White House has so far appeared to favor maintaining the status quo. That would entail the eastern half of the city being carved up into a series of complex zones, or "bubbles" as they have been described in the Israeli media.
Another 250,000 Jewish settlers live in East Jerusalem, though almost all of them reside in their own discreet colonies implanted between Palestinian neighborhoods. These settlements are considered so established by Israelis that most of their inhabitants do not regard themselves as settlers.
However, the more ideological settlers of the kind taking over homes in Sheikh Jarrah refuse to accept partition of the city on any terms. They are trying to erode the Palestinians' chances of ever controlling their own neighborhoods in the eastern half of the city.
Backed by powerful allies in the courts, government and municipality, the settlers look set to continue expanding in East Jerusalem.
Nir Barkat, the millionaire businessman who was elected mayor of Jerusalem last week, forged close ties with some of the most extreme figures in the city's settlement movement during his campaign.
Like his chief rival for the mayoralty, he has promised to build a new Jewish neighborhood, called Eastern Gate, that will be home to at least 10,000 settlers on land next to the Palestinian neighborhood of Anata.
The move, much like the eviction of the Khurds, has been greeted with silence from the government. Both developments are a sign of Washington's powerlessness to force even the limited concessions it expects from Israel in East Jerusalem.
Jonathan Cook is a writer and journalist based in Nazareth, Israel. His latest books are Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East (Pluto Press) and Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments in Human Despair (Zed Books). His website is www.jkcook.net.
This article originally appeared in The National published in Abu Dhabi and is republished with permission.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Israeli soldier beats Palestinian laborers with rock
MAAN NEWS AGENCY
---------------------------
Israeli soldier beats Palestinian laborers with rock; three in hospital with multiple fractures
Date: 10 / 11 / 2008 Time: 13:29
Nablus – Ma’an report – Three workers from the southern Nablus governorate were beaten with stones by Israeli soldiers on Monday.
The men were taken to hospital where medical staff confirmed that several bones had been snapped.
When speaking of the incident Palestinian sources recalled the Israeli policy of the first Intifadah. During the late 1980s Israeli soldiers were outfitted with truncheons and encouraged to break the bones of Palestinians participating in protests.
The workers were identified as 20-year-old Mohammad Qawariq from Awarta and 20-year-old Mousa Barham from Beita in addition to another man from Qabalan who asked to remain anonymous for fear that Israeli authorities would take measures against him.
According to the men a group of Israeli soldiers confiscated their identity cards as the men headed towards work in Israel early Monday morning. The men are laborers and were en route to work via the Nil’in checkpoint north of Ramallah.
An eyewitness said that the men encountered the soldiers, who “stopped them with their rifles.”
“Then the Israeli soldiers asked the workers to say “we are not men” and when they refused to, they began beating them with the rifle butts,” the eyewitness continued. He described one soldier picking up a large stone and turning back to the workers, and striking them with the rock repeatedly. The witness said he believed the soldier was trying specifically to break the bones of the workers.
Three were transferred to Sheikh Zaid hospital in Ramallah where they were treated for multiple bone fractures. Medical sources described their conditions as medium to serious.
---------------------------
Israeli soldier beats Palestinian laborers with rock; three in hospital with multiple fractures
Date: 10 / 11 / 2008 Time: 13:29
Nablus – Ma’an report – Three workers from the southern Nablus governorate were beaten with stones by Israeli soldiers on Monday.
The men were taken to hospital where medical staff confirmed that several bones had been snapped.
When speaking of the incident Palestinian sources recalled the Israeli policy of the first Intifadah. During the late 1980s Israeli soldiers were outfitted with truncheons and encouraged to break the bones of Palestinians participating in protests.
The workers were identified as 20-year-old Mohammad Qawariq from Awarta and 20-year-old Mousa Barham from Beita in addition to another man from Qabalan who asked to remain anonymous for fear that Israeli authorities would take measures against him.
According to the men a group of Israeli soldiers confiscated their identity cards as the men headed towards work in Israel early Monday morning. The men are laborers and were en route to work via the Nil’in checkpoint north of Ramallah.
An eyewitness said that the men encountered the soldiers, who “stopped them with their rifles.”
“Then the Israeli soldiers asked the workers to say “we are not men” and when they refused to, they began beating them with the rifle butts,” the eyewitness continued. He described one soldier picking up a large stone and turning back to the workers, and striking them with the rock repeatedly. The witness said he believed the soldier was trying specifically to break the bones of the workers.
Three were transferred to Sheikh Zaid hospital in Ramallah where they were treated for multiple bone fractures. Medical sources described their conditions as medium to serious.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Demolition of Jahalin Bedouins homes, Palestine, 30/10/2008 / Demolitions d'habitations de Bedouins, 30/10/2008
(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, 30/10/2008.
Demolition of the homes of around 100 Bedouins near the Ma'ale Mikhmas settlement. The residents of the community are members of the Jahalin Bedouin clan, which was expelled into the West Bank during the creation of Israel in 1948, and has been forcibly moved several times since.
Démolition des maisons d'environ 100 Bédouins, près de la colonie de Ma'ale Mikhmas. Les habitants de la communauté sont membres du clan de Bédouins Jahalin, qui a été expulsé en Cisjordanie lors de la création d'Israël en 1948, et a été déplacé de force à plusieurs reprises depuis.
Demolition of Jahalin Bedouins homes, Palestine, 30/10/2008 / Demolitions d'habitations de Bedouins, 30/10/2008
(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, 30/10/2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
A March and prayer for peace, Bethlehem, Palestine, 30/10/2008./ Une marche a la bougie a Bethleem
(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, 30/10/2008.
About 400 protestors marched on the 30/10/2008 in the city of Bethlehem, towards the Wall near Rachel's Tomb, calling to “remove the walls from Palestinian land, from our minds and from our hearts”.
Environ 400 personnes ont marche vers le Mur pres de la tombe de Rachel a Bethleem avec des bougies, en appelant a "enlever les murs des terres palestiniennes, de nos esprits et de nos coeurs"
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Settlers vandalized Palestinian's properties in Hebron, 25-26/10/2008 / Destruction de tombes et de proprietes palestiniennes a Hebron
(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, 26/10/2008, Hebron
During the night of 25th of November 2008, a group of settlers from Kyriat Arba vandalized around 15 graves in the Muslim cemetery of Ar-Ras. They also damaged more than 20 cars by using knives to burst the tires. In addition the house of the Ja'bari family was attacked, causing damages to windows. The settlers announced that this is the price for the evacuation of their outpost by the Israeli army, the night before. The Palestinians of the area gathered at the cemetery the following day to try to repair the damaged graves.
Au cours de la nuit du 25 Novembre 2008 un groupe de colons de Kiriat Arba a vandalise une quinzaine de tombes dans le cimetière musulman Ar-Ras, pres de la vieille ville de Hebron. Ils ont également endommagé plus de 20 voitures à l'aide de couteaux avec lesquels ils ont creve tous les pneus. En outre, la maison de la famille Ja'bari a été attaquée, causant des dommages aux fenêtres. Les colons ont annoncé que c'est le prix a payer pour l'évacuation de leur poste par l'armée israélienne lors de la nuit precedente. Les Palestiniens du quartier se sont réunis au cimetière le lendemain pour tenter de réparer les tombes endommagées.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Olive harvest, Tel Rumeida, Hebron/ Cueillette des olives a tel rumeida, Hebron
(c) Anne Paq/Activerstills.org, Hebron, 24/10/2008.
Internationals were prevented to help Palestinian families to pick up olive trees in their fields located close to Tel Rumeida settlements. The Israeli military declared the area as a closed military zone. Some settlers gathered in the area. In the last weeks there had been constant attacks from settlers against Palestinians and internationals harvesting olive trees.
Des Internationaux ont été empêchés d'aider les familles palestiniennes à cueillir des olives dans leurs champs situés à proximité de la colonie de Tel Rumeida. L'armée israélienne a déclaré la région comme zone militaire fermée. Certains colons se sont réunis aux alentours du champ. Au cours des dernières semaines, les attaques de colons contre les Palestiniens et les internationaux récoltant des olives ont ete constantes.
Olive harvest, Tel Rumeida, Hebron/ Cueillette des olives a tel rumeida, Hebron
(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Hebron, 24/10/2008.
Friday, October 10, 2008
sweet olive harvest
(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org; Yanoun village, Olive harvest, 2006.
as every year the olive harvest is marked by constant harassement and attacks from the settlers. Palestinians, including children are attacked, trees are burnt.
the Israeli army and police just stand and watch.
MAAN NEWS AGENCY
---------------------------
Elderly man, two children among six injured after settler attack
Date: 10 / 10 / 2008 Time: 17:22
Nablus � Ma�an � Israeli settlers injured six Palestinians as they harvested their olive trees near the illegal Israeli settlement of Brachah.
Medical sources at Radefia hospital told Ma�an that six residents of the village south of Nablus suffered bruises, fractures and wounds after settlers assaulted them. Among the victims were two children and an elderly Palestinian man.
Hospital officials identified the two injured children as eight-year-old Hesham Fayez Fathi Mansur and 12-year-old Madeeha Nassar Rashed Mansur.
70-year-old Fathi Rasheed Mansur, as well as Ibtisam Naasar Rasheed and Manal Wasfi Rasheed Mansur, both 30, were also injured in the attack.
A Palestinian Authority (PA) official responsible for village affairs told Ma�an that �dozens of Israeli settlers� attacked the Palestinians.
The official, Ghassan Daghlas, said the settlers beat and threw stones at the residents of the village on Friday.
MAAN NEWS AGENCY
---------------------------
Olive harvest for Ni'lin farmers aborted by Israeli forces
Date: 10 / 10 / 2008 Time: 12:24
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli forces prevented several Palestinian farmers accompanied by Israeli peace activists from harvesting olives near the village of Ni�lin west of Ramallah.
The farmers were accompanied by at least 100 Israeli peace activists, who came to assist in the harvest. In the past, international and Israeli presence during the harvest season has allowed many Palestinians to perform "regular" tasks they would otherwise be prevented from carrying out by Israeli forces.
Despite claims that the Israeli Civil Administration, which maintains control over the Palestinian West Bank, has coordinated with Palestinian authorities, there have been several incidents where Israeli troops have prevented farmers from reaching their land.
According to some of the peace activists, Israeli forces used tear gas and sound bombs to disperse the group, which was heading towards Ni'lin village lands. No injuries were reported.
Settlers increase attacks on Palestinians as olive picking season begins
author Thursday October 09, 2008 00:18author by IMEMC News
Several Palestinian villagers stated that the olive picking season has resulted in the increase of extreme Israeli settlers attacks against them and against several other Palestinian villages.
The northern part of the West Bank, the district of Nablus was the main target by the settlers, especially in areas close to the settlements of Alon Moreh, Itamar and Yitzhar.
In an unprecedented statement, Ghadi Shamney, the Israeli General in charge of the West Bank Israeli army brigades, affirmed that the settlers have significantly increased their attacks against Palestinian residents and have even attacked Israeli soldiers.
Shamney added that in the past, the attacks were carried out by dozens of settlers but now hundreds of settlers are carrying out these attacks. He also said that this was a very serious issue and claimed that most of the settlers in the West Bank were not violent.
“We are talking here about hundreds of settlers who are carrying out these attacks. There are nearly 300.000 settlers living in West Bank settlements.”
Resident Ahmad Awwad from Awarta village near Nablus said that residents started picking their olives trees three days ago. They deliberately chose to pick the olives during Jewish feasts because most of the settlers would be on vacation away from the settlements.
“Some of our orchards are very close to settlement outposts. We cannot pick our olive trees while the settlers are present; they always attack us." Awwad added, “Every year, we are prevented from picking hundreds of olive trees because they are adjacent to settlement outposts, especially on the hills.”
Residents Shihada Khalaf from Aseera Al Qibliyya village said that the settlers did not only attack the orchards but also attacked the village and sabotaged properties in it while the army did not intervene.
Khalid Mansour, a local activist against the wall and settlements and head of field operations in the Palestinian Agricultural Relief, said that efforts were being conducted to organize a campaign that includes large number of volunteers. This will include internationals and several institutions in order to help the villagers pick their olive trees and provide them with the needed tools such as ladders and blankets to be placed under the trees, boxes and other tools.
category west bank | israeli settlement | news report author email saed at imemc dot org
IMEMC NEWS http://www.imemc.org
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
From the US - Call me a woman, Call me a Palestinian, Call me revolution !! (Abeer- Sabreena the Witch)
(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org, Boston Palestine Film festival; Slingshots Hiphop screening and performance by Palestinian singer Abeer, 4 Oct 2008.
The Boston Palestine Film festival is buzzing and has a great start with the screening of a great documentary on the emerging hip hop scene in Palestine.
It took 5 years to the director Jacky Saloum to finish it without any established funding. It is really worth seeing and now the documentary is being shown around in many festivals. dont miss it if you have the chance to see it!
The documentary also shed might on amazing artists such as DAM and Sabreena the witch (Abeer). Abeer had to struggle to get on stage and sing, despite the resentment of many members of her own community. She sings very courageous lyrics which are truly inspiring for women who often suffer from oppression from many ways. Abeer has just put together a CD which is fantastic. She is now in the US and continues to develop herself as an artist.
You can listen to some of her songs on her myspace :
www.myspace.com/sdawitch
qnd check the website of the documentary on:
www.slingshothiphop.com
Le festival de films de Boston sur la Palestine est animé et a eu un excellent départ avec la projection d'un documentaire sur la nouvelle scène hip hop en Palestine appelé slingshots Hip Hop.
Il a fallu 5 ans pour la réalisatrice Jacky Saloum sans financement etabli pour finir son film. Ça vaut vraiment la peine de le voir et maintenant, le documentaire est montré dans de nombreux festivals. Ne le manquez pas si vous avez la chance de le voir!
Le documentaire met également en valeur des artistes remarquables tels que le groupe DAM et Sabreenala sorcière (Abeer). Abeer a dû lutter pour monter sur scène et chanter, malgré le ressentiment de nombreux membres de sa propre communauté. Elle chante de très courageuses paroles qui sont une source d'inspiration pour les femmes qui sont souvent victimes de l'oppression de bien des façons. Abeer vient de sortir un CD qui est fantastique. Elle est maintenant aux États-Unis et continue à se développer elle-même comme un artiste.
Vous pouvez écouter quelques-unes de ses chansons sur son myspace:
www.myspace.com/sdawitch
et voir les prochaines projections du documentaires sur
www.slingshothiphop.com
»
Monday, September 29, 2008
Al Kader night Jerusalem 26.09.2008
(c) Anne Paq/Activestills.org; Jerusalem; 26.09.2008
and al quds was theirs; if only for one night. but some Palestinians remained stuck at Bethlehem checkpoint as most permission ended at 7pm. Al Qader night is an important night of Ramadan. Many muslims stay up all the night to pray.The atmosphere in the old city was wonderful. I wish i could see other nights like this in Jerusalem.
et Jerusalem etait leur...ne serait-ce que pour une nuit.
mais beaucoup de Palestiniens n'ont pas pu se rendre à Jerusalem comme beaucoup de permissions se terminaient à 19h. La nuit de Al Qader est une nuit tres speciale durant le mois du Ramadan. De nombreux mulsumans restent eveillés toute la nuit à prier. l'atmosphere dans la vieille ville etait merveilleuse. J'aimerais voir plus souvent des nuits comme cela à Jerusalem.
