Showing posts with label hypocrisie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hypocrisie. Show all posts

29 December 2010

Triomf van Joods Actueel: katholiek = seksueel misbruik = "anti-Israël"!

Okee, katholicisme en pedo's, weer actueel. Daar komen de joden: François Houtart heeft niet alleen 40 jaar geleden zijn neefje misbruikt (en bekend), maar hij is nog "anti-Israëlactivist" ook! Bewijs! Triomf! En waarom? Omdat hij Hamas van de EU-terroristenlijst af wilde hebben, lid is van het Russel Tribunaal en oprichter van de NGO Cetri.

"De vraag is nog maar welke activiteiten deze grote Palestijnse kindervrienden ook tijdens hun bezoeken aan de Palestijnse gebieden ontplooiden."

Maar dan is de vraag ook wat Israëlische cipiers met Palestijnse kinderen doen:

"An international children’s rights charity has said it has evidence that Palestinian children held in Israeli custody have been subjected to sexual abuse in an effort to extract confessions from them.

The Geneva-based Defence for Children International (DCI) has collected 100 sworn affadavits from Palestinian children who said they were mistreated by their Israeli captors.

Fourteen of the statements say they were sexually abused or threatened with sexual assault to pressure them into confessions." (bron)

Of wat 'anti-Palestijnse' joden met kinderen uitspoken: Cloistered Shame in Israel - TIME over seksueel misbruik binnen de Haredi-gemeenschap in Israël.

NB De vrouw uit Beit Shemesh draagt een zogenoemde 'joodse burka'. A 54-year-old Israeli mother of 12 was under arrest Tuesday for allegedly severely abusing her children, police said. The mother was also suspected of failing to report multiple cases of incest among her children. (Jerusalem Post)

Eind 2009 ontving François Houtart de UNESCO Madanjeet-Singh prijs voor de promotie van tolerantie en geweldloosheid. Ook was hij kandidaat voor de Nobelprijs voor de Vrede. Ja, dat kan natuurlijk niet anders dan "anti-Israël" zijn...

Als de Belgische joden van Joods Actueel nu alle mensen met een "anti-Israël" mening tot een ziekte of een ras zouden uitroepen, dan werd het in ieder geval duidelijk waar ze mee bezig zijn.


François Houtart. Belgian Marxist Priest and sociologist, director of the CETRI ( Tricontinental Center ) and the review " Alternatives Sud".  Militant antiglobalist.  The canon François Houtart is a catholic priest and intellectual Marxist of international fame.  Grandson of the count Henry Carton de Wiart (1869-1951), who was one of the leaders of the Catholic Party and pioneer of the Christian democracy, François Houtart was born in Brussels in 1925.  After his training in philosophy and theology at the Seminar in Mechelen, he was ordered priest in 1949. Graduated in political and social sciences of the catholic University of Leuven and graduate of the International Higher Institute of Town planning of Brussels , he is a doctor of sociology of the UCL where he was a professor of 1958 to 1990.  Author or co-author of many publications regarding socio-religious research, he took part, as expert, in the council of the Vatican II (1962-1965). He participated in the Bertrand Russell War Crimes Tribunal on US Crimes in Vietnam in 1967. Today, he directs a ONG, the CETRI ( Tricontinental Center ) based in Louvain-la-Neuve as well as the review "Alternatives Sud".  Regarded as a prophet by the ones, like a dangerous activist by the others, François Houtart is one of the most active collaborators of the World Social Forum of Porto Allegre and one of the most convinced militants for "another globalisation". Houtart is Executive Secretary of the Alternative World Forum, President of the International League for rights and liberation of people, president of the BRussells Tribunal and senior adviser to the President of the United Nations General Assembly Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann. (bron: BRussels Tribunal)

23 December 2010

Israel's Sham Democracy

By Stephen Lendman | December 19, 2010

Numerous previous articles exposed it, highlighting policies affording rights solely to Jews, including a January 2010 Israeli Democracy or Hypocrisy one accessed through the following link:

http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/01/israeli-democracy-or-hypocrisy.html

It cited a same titled October 2007 Haaretz editorial, calling for "debate about Israel's control over the lives of Palestinians deprived of civil rights," saying its democracy is flawed for denying Arab Israelis equality with Jews.

In his December 10 op-ed titled titled, "The farce of a secular and democratic Jewish state," Haaretz writer Gideon Levy was equally critical, saying:

"The debate over the conversion bill is deceptive." The IDF bill aims to prevent municipal marriage clerks from refusing to register marriages of people converted during military service. An estimated 2,500 occur annually, mostly among former Soviet Union immigrants. Orthodox parties, like Shas, want the Sephardic chief rabbi to have sole conversion authority. Secular ones want bill's language left unchanged.

Levy believes the debate masks greater issues, fundamental ones "that define our society and state." Whether military or civilian rabbis decide who is Jewish is a distraction. "Ten times more significant is....whether (we're) living in the only country on earth where clerics determine the right to citizenship. No less important (is the illusion that Israel) is a secular and democratic state."

Imagine debates over whether to rent apartments to Arabs. What about equal rights, democratic freedoms, civil liberties and justice. Choosing who's superior, who's inferior, who gets rights and who doesn't exposes Israel's real agenda, a theocratic-run Jewish state under religious law, deciding who belongs and who doesn't, enforced by hardline officials and MKs.

"It's time to admit that this approach can only be called racist," based on "the blood flowing through (one's) veins....determin(ing) your status....Sixty-two years after (Israel's) establishment, (it's time to) change this reality."

It's time for "normalcy, for joining the enlightened world, (and changing) distorted reality." Otherwise, it's ludicrous calling Israel "a liberal and modern state" when growing despotism better defines it. Non-Jews have experienced it for decades, under a repressive occupation, and Israeli Arabs treated like second class citizens.

On December 17, the Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel said a new report lists 20 new Knesset laws and draft laws that discriminate against Arab minorities, threatening their rights as citizens. In some cases, Occupied Palestinian rights are also violated.

For example, a recently proposed Knesset "Bill for Protecting the Values of the State of Israel (Amendment Legislation) 2009 requires organizations pledge loyalty to Israel as "Jewish and democratic." In a November 4 press release, Adalah said the bill:

"violates the right of freedom of association and freedom of expression of all Arab organizations in Israel, which seek through democratic means to change the political, legal and social status in Israel. It asks those organizations to express their loyalty to the Jewish state and therefore it is not just a discriminatory law but one that seeks to oppress the rights of the Arab minority."

It also limits and damages Arab organizations' work, "put(ting) them under ultra-nationalist, ideological interrogation and investigation, and (questioning) every serious action" they take. The bill enforces a Jewish world view, delegitimizing and perhaps criminalizing organizations not endorsing it. This and other bills mirror 1920s Italy and 1930s Germany where democracy became fascism, including racist laws, persecution and extermination.

Institutionalizing Apartheid in Israel

On October 29, Haaretz writer Amnon Be'eri-Sulitzeanu headlined, "Segregation of Jews and Arabs in 2010 Israel is almost absolute," saying:

The Knesset's "Amendment to the Cooperative Associations Bill" bypasses High Court rulings in favor of instituting apartheid law.

Ten years ago, Israel's Supreme Court "ordered the town of Katzir to accept the family of Adel and Iman Kaadan, Arab citizens of Israel, as members of the community. Seven years later," the Court again ruled against the Rakefet Galilee village. Like Katzir, it's Jewish, ordered not to discriminate against Arab citizens. The Knesset amendment, however, lets communal village acceptance committees limit residency exclusively to Jews, rejecting families that "are incompatible with the social-cultural fabric of our community, and where there are grounds to assume that they will disrupt the fabric."

In other words, non-Jews are barred to let communities preserve Jewish traditions. Earlier, anticipating the Knesset action, communities like Yuvalim and Manof, in the Misgav area, mandated residence based on declaring allegiance to the Zionist vision. In Mitzpe Aviv, applicants must openly identify with Zionist values and the notion of Israel as a Jewish, democratic state.

In addition, in Upper Nazareth, Safed and Carmiel, senior municipal officials call for dispossessing Arabs or preventing their integration into the communities.

As a result, "Segregation of Jews and Arabs in Israel in 2010 is almost complete." Resident Jews take it for granted. Visitors, however, can't "believe their eyes: segregated education, segregated businesses, separate entertainment venues, different languages, separate political parties, (and) segregated housing..contribut(ing) to the growing mutual alienation of Jews and Arabs." In other words, Jim Crow in the extreme, including violence and intimidation.

To Israel's shame, segregation remains de jure, legislated apartheid expected to pass its final version and become official in the weeks ahead. It already is in practice despite High Court rulings prohibiting the practice. The racist Knesset and Netanyahu government pay no attention, doing what they please with or without legal right.

Under present and past governments, core Judaization policy is a dagger against minority Arab rights, dispossessing or prohibiting them from land Israel wants exclusively for Jews. Cooperative associations limited to 500 families effectively enforce this policy, limiting Arab citizens to shrinking areas, comprising about 2.5% of Israel. Eventually it may all be lost for total Judaization. In addition, all valued West Bank and East Jerusalem land may be seized, confining Palestinians to resource-poor, cantonized scrub lands.

On December 16, Haaretz writers Jack Khoury and Jonathan Lis headlined, "Israeli towns continue to rewrite bylaws to keep Arabs out," saying:

Circumventing Knesset and High Court actions, Jewish "communities are....rewriting admission regulations in order to 'preserve their Jewish and Zionist character.' " The idea, of course, is to prohibit Arabs and other unwanted residents.

A Misgav Regional Council proposal describes the "multigenerational and variegated communal life that upholds Zionist values and seeks to maintain Israel as a Jewish and democratic state in the spirit of (Israel's 1948) Declaration of Independence."

The document also mentions community values "based on tolerance, human dignity and reciprocal relations among members, who pursue a communal lifestyle in an independent, democratic and voluntary manner." Those values, however, are racist, excluding anyone not Jewish, putting a lie to sham language without meaning.

On December 26, Israel's High Court will decide whether Ahmed and Fatin Zbeidat may live in the Rakafet communal settlement, barring Arabs from residency. As in the past, however, Jewish communities may bypass Court rulings, a testimony to Israel's institutionalized racism.

Rabbis Endorsing Racism

Racist rabbis affirm it, including leading ones wanting renting homes to Arabs prohibited. Dozens of municipal chief rabbis endorsed a religious ruling to do so, claiming Israel belongs to Jews, not goyim, especially Arabs.

Beit El settlement's Rabbi Shlomo Aviner said, "We don't need to help Arabs set down roots in Israel." According to Rabbi Yosef Scheinen, head of Ashdod's Yeshiva, "Racism originated in the Torah. The land of Israel is designated for the people of Israel. This is what Holy One Blessed Be he intended, and that is what the (sage) Rashi interpreted." God intended Israel for Jews, he added, a notion only bigoted hatemonger ones endorse. Doing so should get them suspended, denounced and prohibited from distorting true Jewish dogma, teaching love, not hate, like Islam.

No shred of evidence exists that Torah or Talmudic doctrine sanction racism or any other form of hate. Even Haifa's Mayor Yonah Yahav was outraged, calling the ruling a "desecration of God's name." Nazareth Mayor Ramiz Jaraisy said, "We are all children of the land. Both (sides) must search for common ground and not bring out escalation." The rabbis, however, urged "neighbors and acquaintances (of Jews who rent or sell to Arabs to) distance themselves (from them), refrain from doing business with (them), deny (them) the right to read from the Torah, and (ostracize them) until (they retract) this harmful deed."

Racist rabbis offer more proof of Israel's sham democracy. Most disturbing, however, is the extremist Netanyahu government, support or no dissent from opposition leaders, and Israel's most right-wing ever Knesset, flouting democratic principles one law or edict at a time. It endorses, but hasn't yet passed, measures like Israel's Law of Citizenship amendment, requiring non-Jews wanting it to pledge loyalty to "the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state."

On October 10, Netanyahu's cabinet approved it (22 - 8) for new non-Jewish citizens. He, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, other Knesset hard-liners, and MK religious zealots support it.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) expressed concern about increasing anti-democratic Knesset measures proposed or passed. They're "gaining momentum and, regrettably" the new session may be worse, though at times, language in original submissions is softened.

The last session was notably anti-democratic. If this one's no different, enormous damage will be done. Apparently it's Israel's chosen course, harming Arabs most of all.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

15 December 2010

De dankbaarheid van Israël

De dankbaarheid van Israël is slechts one fingernail lang.

Israël heeft een groep Palestijnse brandweermannen verboden een ceremonie, die ter ere van hen was georganiseerd, bij te wonen. De brandweerlieden hielpen mee bij het blussen van de ergste bosbrand in de geschiedenis van Israël. Het is de jongste beschamende vertoning in de wijze waarop Israël de brand aanpakte.

Elf Palestijnen wilden de ceremonie in het noorden van Israël bijwonen, in het gebied waar de brand eerder deze maand woedde. Toen drie brandweerlieden de toegang tot Israël werd geweigerd, werd de ceremonie afgeblazen. Het leger liet de drie om veiligheidsredenen niet toe.

Ongeveer twintig Palestijnse brandweerlieden hielpen bij het blussen van de brand die aan 43 mensen het leven kostte. De brand werd uiteindelijk met internationale hulp bedwongen.

De ceremonie was bedoeld om de moed te erkennen van de Palestijnse brandweermannen die 'ondanks de bezetting tegen de vlammen vochten'. De Palestijnen zeiden dat zij kwamen om te laten zien dat de twee partijen ondanks de politieke spanningen kunnen samenwerken.

Ahmed Rizek, het hoofd van de Palestijnse brandweerdiensten, zei dat de weigering de brandweerlieden toe te laten routine was en een voorbeeld van wat Palestijnen op de Westelijke Jordaanoever dagelijks moeten doorstaan. (Novum/AP)

11 December 2010

Een lege stoel voor Vanunu

Massale media-aandacht voor de lege stoel voor Liu Xiaobo bij de uitreiking van de Nobelprijzen voor de Vrede. zo ook bij de NRC. Journalist Stan van Houcke schtijft hierover:

"Ovationeel applaus,' jazeker en dat van vooral ook mensen die de westerse en Israelische terreur in het Midden-Oosten volmondig steunen. Dit valt natuurlijk de westerse media niet op, want daar worden ze niet voor betaald. Degenen die Abu Ghraib mogelijk maakten zijn dolblij dat ze weer eens publiekelijk voor zichzelf kunnen appaludiseren. Vorig jaar was de grote vredesprijsman Obama die nu nog meer geld naar oorlogvoering en terreur laat vloeien dan onder zijn voorganger Bush. 'Ovationeel applaus' svp!!!"

Vandaag bericht het ANP:

Klokkenluider Israël mag prijs niet ophalen

BERLIJN (ANP) - Israël staat niet toe dat Mordechai Vanunu, die een lange celstraf heeft uitgezeten wegens onthulling van het Israëlische kernprogramma, een prijs gaat ophalen in Duitsland. De organisatoren van de Carl von Ossietzkyprijs hebben dat vrijdag gemeld.

Vanunu zou de prijs zondag in Berlijn krijgen voor zijn werk voor ontwapening. De organisatoren hebben nu besloten de uitreiking te annuleren. In plaats daarvan houden ze een betoging voor de 56-jarige kerngeleerde.

Vanunu onthulde in 1986 de bouwtekeningen van de kerncentrale Dimona. Na achttien jaar celstraf is hij in 2004 vrijgelaten, maar hij moet steeds toestemming vragen voor buitenlandse reizen en contact met buitenlanders.

Vrijdag kon ook de Chinese winnaar van de Nobelprijs voor de Vrede zijn prijs niet ophalen. De Chinese overheid gaf hem en zijn familieleden geen toestemming naar Oslo te reizen.

4 December 2010

The Middle East’s only pretend democracy

MondoWeiss | December 2, 2010


Haaretz notes a recent survey, revealing the hollowness of Israel's claim to be a democracy:

A comprehensive survey compiled by the Israel Democracy Institute and reported in yesterday's Haaretz paints a gloomy, worrisome picture...

...Only 17% of the public believes the state's self-definition as a democracy should take precedence over its self-definition as Jewish; an absolute majority believes that only Jews should be involved in decisions crucial to the state; a majority supports allocating more resources to Jews than Arabs; a third of Jewish citizens support putting Arab citizens in detention camps in wartime; and about two-thirds think Arabs should not become ministers.

...At the root [of the survey's results] lies the twisted belief that democracy means the tyranny of the majority, and that equal rights for all the state's citizens is not an integral part of the democratic system.

...A democracy cannot have two classes of citizens, first-class and second-class.


"The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel" as it appears on the Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs' website. An in-page search for the words "democracy" or "democratic" returns the error message "text not found".

Really? Israel can't both be a democracy, and have second-class citizens? Hmm. What a brilliant revelation, if 60 years too late. Despite liberal Zionist delusions to the contrary, Israel has always been a pretend democracy since the founding of the state.

Although I can't find the link, I remember that even the Palestinians inside Israel who weren't expelled in 1948 lived under discriminatory military rule from day one, and have never had equal rights. For example, see the Association of 40 Palestinian villages that Israel refuses to recognize. They don't even get basic garbage service.

Mt Carmel fire is huge news– what about the arson all over Palestine??

MondoWeiss | December 3, 2010


Because, I document the news every single day and am aware of the fact that a week does not pass without settlers setting fire to Palestinian schools, homes and agricultural land it’s almost impossible for me not make “political hay” out of the fact that while the remaining 22% of historic Palestine burns to the ground, nobody cares, except for Palestinians.

Settlers torch olive trees south of Nablus
NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Residents of illegal settlements in the Nablus district set fire to olive trees on Tuesday, a Palestinian Authority official said.  Ghassan Doughlas, who holds the settlements file for the northern West Bank, said settlers from Yizhar settlement torched trees on land belonging to Madama and Asira villages south of Nablus.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=337538

IOF troops detain 7 Palestinians, settlers set fire to cultivated land
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up seven Palestinians in various West Bank areas at dawn Wednesday including MP Nayef Al-Rajoub in Al-Khalil and two brothers in Nablus.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k

More questions about the settler attack on church in Jerusalem
A group of extremist Israeli settlers attacked and set fire to an old Christian church in Jerusalem (Al Quds) on Friday night, 30th October.
The church itself was built more than a hundred years ago and has housed Christian worshippers in the Holy city of Al Quds for decades.  For the leaders of the Church, Friday night's attack was indicative of the slow but steady destruction of Al Quds itself; once a city of diverse religious beliefs and practices. Zakaria Al-Mashriqi, one of these Leaders of the Church spoke of the attack as a "sinful crime" and stated in a press conference that the destruction of the Church was in line with the attempts by the Israeli army, the settler force and the Israeli government to expel Palestinians from the Holy city.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/articles/middle-east/1709-
more-questions-about-the-settler-attack-on-church-in-jerusalem

Palestinians say settlers torched their olive trees (AFP)
SALEM, Palestinian Territories – Palestinians said that Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank burned about 200 of their olive trees on Sunday and also torched surrounding grazing land. Settlers denied the allegations. The alleged attackers were seen heading in the direction of the nearby Elon Moreh settlement after setting fire to the trees on land owned by the Palestinian village of Salem, village council spokesman Adli Ishtayeh said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101114/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestiniansconflictsettlerolives

Settlers Destroy Trees in Surif
Like Palestinians for centuries before them, Shaban Atiya Al-Hur and Ahmed Atiya Al-Hur have farmed the Al-Hajahat area of Surif. This morning both men attended their land to find that settlers from the nearby Bat Ayn settlement had destroyed 85 of their olive and fig trees. The trees were destroyed by deliberately lit fires and amount to around half the trees in the area. The fires were started at approximately 9:30am and lasted for around half an hour.
http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/2010/11/15/settlers-destroy-trees-in-surif/

Settlers Burn Olive Trees Near Nablus
A group of extremist Jewish settlers torched, on Sunday, at least 200 Palestinian olive trees that belong to residents of Salem village, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and also torched a number of nearby farms.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59906

Jewish settlers set fire to girls school while expanding Rahalim settlement
As Jewish settlers spent Sunday morning digging up land in south Nablus to expand settlement, Nablus lawmaker Yasser Mansur warned expansion of illegal Jewish settlements was on the rise.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Q



Another Settler Arson of Salem’s Olive Trees, Assaf Oron
Uri Pinkerfeld, Villages Group coordinator for Salem and Deir El Hattab, reports:  On Sunday November 14 2010, around 12 noon, smoke was seen rising from the olive orchards on the slopes of Jabal Kabeer above Salem. Several farmers went to locate the fire’s location, north of the settler bypass road, not far from the cistern. Two local teenagers who were shepherding nearby hurried to the location as well, and tried to put out the fire. They reported having seen two settlers run off towards the “Skali Farm” settler outpost. The farmers immediaterly called firefighters from Nablus and the officers of the District Coordination Office. The military allowed the fire truck to get to the orchards, but the road was too steep. Farmers eventually managed to put out the fire manually.
http://theonlydemocracy.org/2010/11/another-settler-arson-of-salems-olive-trees/

Residents say settlers behind torched grove
HEBRON (Ma’an) -- Fires ravaged agricultural lands in the southern West Bank near Hebron on Monday afternoon, destroying 15 dunums of fruit grove and greenhouses.  Beit Ummar farmers, whose lands were affected, said they believed setters from the nearby Bat Ayin colony were behind the arson, which destroyed dozens of fig, olive and pine trees.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333899

Settlers set Saffa ablaze, 3 Palestinian youth arrested
17 Nov - Palestine Solidarity Project - Last night [Tuesday] settlers from the Bat Ayn settlement set fire to 70 olive trees in the Saffa region of Beit Ommar. The trees belonged to the Thalji Aady family, who have been subject to frequent settler violence and military harassment. The fire was lit around 9:30 pm, and burned for 3 hours before fire trucks from the village were able to extinguish the flames. At 11:00 pm 3 military jeeps arrived and attempted to prevent villagers from extinguishing the fire, arresting 3 Palestinian youth in the process.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/11/15554/

Settlers blamed for fire near Nablus
Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian farmland between the West Bank cities of Nablus and Qalqiliya on Tuesday, officials said. Ghassan Dughlus, the Palestinian Authority official monitoring settler activity in the northern West Bank, said Israelis from the settlement of Givat Gilad set fires in the village ofJit. He said about 100 trees were burned in the blaze. Mayor Nasser As-Sida told Ma'an that Israeli soldiers bared villagers from going to the land in order to put out the fire.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333963

Settlers burn 10 dunums of farmlands south of Nablus
NABLUS, (PIC)-- Israeli settlers from the Itamar settlement in south Nablus burned on Friday at least ten dunums of land cultivated with olive trees in the Bayada region northeast of the Awarta village ... Israeli occupation soldiers stopped Palestinians and emergency officials from controlling the fire.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx

10 dunums of olive trees in Awarta burned by settlers
Oct 1, 2010-- two settlers of Itimar settlement burned, approximately 10 dunums of an olive grove. The fires were North East of Awarta village, in the South Nablus district.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2369.shtml

Settlers torch farmlands near Nablus
NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Residents of Huwwara village south of Nablus said Thursday that settlers set dozens of dunums of farm lands on fire, destroying crops.  PA official responsible for settlement-observation in the northern West Bank Ghassan Doughlas said the fields were in the At-Tira area of Huwwara village, and had destroyed some crops.  "Lighting fields on fire is a provocative act perpetrated by settlers seeking bury the peace process," the official said, calling on representatives of the Middle East Quartet to ensure that Israel took responsibility for the actions of its settlers.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=321776

Settlers caught on camera torching cars
Three Israeli settlers were caught on security cameras setting fire to two Palestinian cars in the village of Qusra in the northern Nablus district overnight Saturday ... The footage captured by Hamdan's home security surveillance also show settlers writing "death to you" on his doorstep after the settlers drove up to his home in a Peugeot, fleeing the scene after the arson.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=324602

Settlers torch olive groves in northern West Bank
Firefighters were called to a Qalqiliya village on Friday after settlers torched Palestinian olive groves, a civil defense spokesman said. Mohammad Amer said residents of the illegal Gevat Gilad outpost prevented fire engines from reaching Far'ata village. He added that tens of thousands of shekels of damage was caused in part due to the delay.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=324432

Israel settlers start fires amid West Bank harvest (AFP)
FARATA'A, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Thick black smoke billows from the olive grove under the gaze of Israeli soldiers as Palestinian farmers use branches to try to beat out the fires lit by Jewish settlers. It's olive harvest time in the occupied West Bank. The firebombers swooped down from Havat Gilad, a wildcat Jewish settlement unauthorised even by the Israeli government. Encircled by barbed wire, the makeshift dwellings glower down on the surrounding Palestinian olive plantations from a hilltop in the northern West Bank.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101016/wl_mideast_afp/
israelpalestiniansconflictfarmunrest_20101016101415

Settlers torch crops in Bethlehem village
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian crops on farmland in the Husan village in the southern West Bank district of Bethlehem, burning vast areas of olive groves before firefighters were able to control the blaze, locals said.  Locals said Israeli residents of the nearby illegal Betar Illit settlement obstructed Palestinian firefighters from accessing the site of the blaze, causing the fire to spread extensively.  A local village council source said grape and olive groves were damaged in the arson, largely in the Ein At-Taqa area, adding that bare-footed farmers were unable to extinguish the fire and that several sustained light burns as a result.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=325571

Settlers torch, vandalize Nablus school
NABLUS (Ma'an) -- A group of Israeli settlers broke into an all girls' school in the Nablus district village of As-Sawiya on Wednesday, setting fire to its storehouse containing furniture and unused sports equipment, the headmistress said.  Maysoon Sawalha said the school's cleaning woman arrived to find the lock on the main door broken as well as that of the storehouse, with all its contents torched.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=325796

Palestinian school set on fire, vandalized with 'regards from the hills' graffiti
Incident appears to be the latest action in the 'price tag' campaign of extremist settlers.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/
palestinian-school-set-on-fire-vandalized-with-regards-from-the-hills-graffiti-1.320228

Report from beyond the Green Line: Al Ma`sara celebrates four years of joint struggle and houses set on fire in Nabi Saleh
The unarmed and largely non-violent protests against the occupation returned to the West Bank on Friday. From Al Ma’asara to Sheikh Jarrah to Ni’ilin, Palestinians joined by Israeli and international supporters demonstrated against the occupation and for joint struggle against Israeli repression of non-violence in Palestine. The following is a collection of reports from certain villages complete with photos and video.
http://josephdana.com/2010/10/report-from-beyond-the-green-line-al-ma%E2%80%99a
sara-celebrates-four-years-of-joint-struggle-and-houses-set-on-fire-from-tear-gas-in-nabi-saleh/

Israeli hasbara efforts:  Suspicion: Anarchists torched field near settlement
Security forces detain 12 people, including seven foreigners for allegedly setting fire to field near Bat Ayin; 12 acres destroyed ... The grove has been set on fire three times over the past few weeks by anarchists. 
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3986648,00.html

Truth: Watch: Footage contradicts arson allegations
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- International solidarity activists hit back this week at allegations broadcast in Israeli media that they and Palestinian farmers set fire to "state land" in the occupied West Bank.Ynet news and Arutz Sheva, two Israeli media outlets, reported Sunday that "leftists" and "foreign anarchists" were caught in an arson attempt near an illegal settlement between Bethlehem and Hebron.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333775

Journalists held after covering Safa village arson
Hebron – PNN - Israeli forces held a group of journalists who tried to cover Wednesday’s settler assaults in the village of Safa, near Hebron. Muhammad Ayad Awad, media spokesman for the Palestine Solidarity Project, said that troops detained a Palestine Television crew including Fada Nasir and Mahmoud Khilaf, as well as a group of solidarity activists. They were forbidden from taking pictures of the fire started in Safa by Israeli settlers from nearby Bat Ayin. The fire reportedly destroyed more than ten acres of olive and almond trees.According to Awad, the military’s explanation was that the burning acreage was a "closed military zone."
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9163&Itemid=64

3 December 2010

CIDI: 'Schandalige razziafoto op Indymedia'


Buitenlandse hulp bij bestrijding bosbrand Israël

Summary - Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (25 November – 01 December 2010):

Shooting:
 
During the reporting period, 12 Palestinian civilians, including two children, were wounded by IOF in the Gaza Strip. A 13th civilian was wounded by IOF in al-'Eissawiya village near Jerusalem.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF fired at Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials, at fishermen and at farmers. As a result, 10 workers, one farmer and one fishermen were wounded by Israeli gunfire. The wounded include two children. 
 
On 24 November 2010, a Palestinian civilian was wounded by IOF in al-'Eissawiya village near Jerusalem.
 
During the reporting period, IOF used excessive force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to Israeli settlement activities and the construction of the annexation wall. As a result, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international human rights defenders suffered from tear gas inhalation or sustained bruises.


 
Incursions:
 
During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 35 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, during which they arrested 8 Palestinian civilians, including Nayef al-Rajoub, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. They also summoned 13 Palestinian civilians for interrogation.
 
In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted one limited incursion into the northern Gaza Strip, during which they leveled areas of Palestinian land, which they had already razed.


 
Restrictions on Movement:
 
Israel had continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
 
Gaza Strip
 
Israel has continuously closed all border crossings to the Gaza Strip for over three years. The illegal Israeli-imposed closure of the Gaza Strip, which has steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip. 
 
· The illegal closure has caused not only a humanitarian crisis but a crisis of human rights and human dignity for the population of the Gaza Strip. Measures declared recently to ease the blockade are vague, purely cosmetic and fail to deal with the root causes of the crisis, which can only be addressed by an immediate and complete lifting of the closure, including lifting the travel ban into and out of the Gaza Strip and the ban on exports. PCHR is concerned that the new Israeli policy is simply shifting Gaza to another form of illegal blockade, one that may become internationally accepted and institutionalized. Palestinians in Gaza may no longer suffer from the same shortage of goods, but they will remain economically dependent and unable to care for themselves, and socially, culturally and academically isolated from the rest of the world.
 
· Expanding the list of items allowed into Gaza does not change the illegality of this policy, which is inconsistent with Israel’s legal obligations both as an Occupying Power and under international human rights treaties to which it is party, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 
 
· Facts on the ground refute Israeli claims with respect to the easing of the closure imposed on the Gaza Strip and the reduction of restrictions imposed on the entry of goods.
 
· Israeli declaration of allowing new goods to be entered into the Gaza Strip constitutes an attempt to delude the international community, as such goods do not meet the minimal needs of the Gaza Strip. 
 
· IOF have continued to ban the entry of raw construction materials into the Gaza Strip. 
 
· IOF have imposed a ban on all exports from the Gaza Strip. 
 
· Israel had continued to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to Palestinian civilians wishing to travel to the West Bank and Israeli for medical treatment, trade or social visits.
 
· Israel has imposed additional access restrictions on international diplomats, journalists and humanitarian workers seeking to enter the Gaza Strip. They have prevented representatives of several international humanitarian organizations from entering the Gaza Strip.
 
· Living conditions of the Palestinian civilian population have seriously deteriorated; levels of poverty and unemployment have mounted sharply.


 
West Bank
 
IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians throughout the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip continue to be denied access to Jerusalem.
 
· IOF have established checkpoints in and around Jerusalem, severely restricting Palestinian access to the city. Civilians are frequently prevented from praying at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
 
· There are approximately 585 permanent roadblocks, and manned and unmanned checkpoints across the West Bank.
 
· When complete, the illegal Annexation Wall will stretch for 724 kilometers around the West Bank, further isolating the entire population. 350 kilometers of the Wall have already been constructed. Approximately 99% of the Wall has been constructed inside the West Bank itself, further confiscating Palestinian land.
 
· At least 65% of the main roads that lead to 18 Palestinian communities in the West Bank are closed or fully controlled by IOF.
 
· There are approximately 500 kilometers of restricted roads across the West Bank. In addition, approximately one third of the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, is inaccessible to Palestinians without a permit issued by the IOF. These permits are extremely difficult to obtain.
 
· IOF continue to harass, and assault demonstrators who hold peaceful protests against the construction of the Annexation Wall.


 
· Palestinian civilians continue to be harassed by IOF in Jerusalem, and across the West Bank, including being regularly stopped and searched in the streets by IOF.
 
Measures Aimed at Creating a Jewish Demographic Majority in Jerusalem: 
 
IOF have continued to take measures at creating a Jewish majority in Jerusalem.
 
On 25 November 2010, the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem waged a campaign against owners of shops in Hazma village near Jerusalem. They demolished 9 shops claiming that their owners do not have licenses. Losses are estimated at more than 1.5 million NIS.
 
On the same day, IOF demolished a house and a printing press in al-'Eissawiya village near Jerusalem. 
 
IOF demolished a house in al-Tour neighborhood in Jerusalem. 
 
During the reporting period, the organization committee in the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem approved the construction of 130 housing unit between "Gilo" settlement and Beit Safafa village. The committee approved turning the area, which was devoted to the establishment of hotels, into a residential area. 
 
On 01 December 2010, the Israeli district committee of organization and construction approved the construction of 625 housing units in "Pisgat Ze'ev" settlement, northeast of Jerusalem. It is worth noting that the Israeli occupation authorities have started to construct another 1,300 housing units in Israeli settlements in Jerusalem and 1,000 ones in settlements in the West Bank, since the end of the temporary freezing of settlement activities on 25 September 2010.


 
Settlement Activities:
 
Israel has continued its settlement activities in the OPT in violation of international humanitarian law, and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. 
 
On 25 November 2010, IOF demolished a mosque, a house and 10 barracks in Kherbat Yazra village, east of Tubas, in the northern Jordan Valley. 
 
On the same day, IOF moved into al-Dairat area to the east of Yatta village, south of Hebron. They demolished a house in the village. 
 
Also on the same day, IOF handed two notices to Mousa Taha and Hussein Shamsna, fom Qatna village northwest of Jerusalem, that their animal farms would be demolished.
 
On 29 November 2010, IOF moved into al-Ma'sara village, south of Bethlehem. They handed notices to Mahmoud Ahmed Zawahra and 'Awadh Hassan Zawahra ordering the demolition of their houses. IOF also ordered the demolition of Ibrahim al-Khalil Mosque by 23 December 2010.


 
 
Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (11 – 24 November 2010)
 
1. Incursions into Palestinian Areas and Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
 
Thursday, 25 November 2010
 
· At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into the villages of Beit Ummar and Safa, north of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses, especially ones belonging to persons who are active in resisting settlement activities and the annexation wall. They arrested 4 Palestinian civilians, including two brothers:
 
1. Mousa 'Abdul Hamid Abu Maria, 32, Coordinator of the National Committee against the Annexation Wall in Beit Ummar village;
2. Saddam Kassab Abu Daya, 25;
3. Yousef 'Abdul Hamid Abu Maria, 38; and
4. Mo'ayad Hassan al-Tit,20.
 
IOF also confiscated a laptop and some personal belongings of the first detainee. On Sunday evening, 29 November 2010, IOF released the four detainees after forcing them to sign oaths not to be present near "Karmi Tsur" settlement to the south of Beit Ummar village.
 
· Also at approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Jenin town and refugee camp. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Za'tara village, east of Hebron. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of Anas Mohammed Thwaib, 26, and summoned him for interrogation.
 
· At approximately 07:00, IOF moved nearly 350 meters into the northeast of the Bedouin Village in the northern Gaza Strip. They leveled areas of Palestinian land.
 
· At approximately 10:00, IOF moved into Ya'bad village, southwest of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses and summoned 6 Palestinian civilians for interrogation.
 
· Also at approximately 10:00, IOF moved into Shwaika suburb, north of Tulkarm. They raided and searched two car maintenance workshops, but no arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 17:00, IOF moved into the western neighborhood in Tulkarm. They patrolled in the streets for some time. They stopped near Ajnadin School. An Israeli soldier stepped down and beat 11-year-old Wa'ed Fat'hallah al-Hamshari, when he was playing in the area. IOF also confiscated the child's bicycle. IOF withdrew from the town later and no arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 21:50, IOF moved into Kharabtha al-Misbah village, west of Ramallah, and patrolled in the streets. A number of Palestinian boys gathered and threw stones at IOF military vehicles. Immediately, Israeli soldiers fired at the boys, but no casualties were reported.
 
· At approximately 23:00, IOF moved into Sa'ir village, northeast of Hebron. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of As'ad Zaidan Jaradt, 18, and arrested him.


 
Friday, 26 November 2010
 
· At approximately 10:00, IOF moved into Fahma village, southwest of Jenin. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· Also at approximately 10:00, IOF moved into Ya'bad village, southwest of Jenin. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
Saturday, 27 November 2010
 
· At approximately 09:10, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northwest of Beit Lahia town opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. As a result, Shamekh Sa'id al-Debes, 16, from Jabalya town, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, when he was nearly 150 meters away from the border.
 
· At approximately 12:30, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers at the beach to the northwest of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian fishermen who were fishing nearly 350 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. As a result, Ahmed Mahmoud Jarbou', 26, from al-Shati refugee camp in the west of Gaza City.
 
· At approximately 14:00, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers near Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials from the debris of buildings in Erez industrial zone. As a result, Khaled Ashraf Abu Sitta, 21, from Beit Hanoun town, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg.
 
· At approximately 23:00, IOF moved into Beit Liqya village, west of Ramallah, and patrolled in the streets. A number of Palestinian boys gathered and threw stones at IOF military vehicles. Immediately, Israeli soldiers fired at the boys, but no casualties were reported.


 
Sunday, 28 November 2010
 
· At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into 'Anabta village, east of Tulkarm. They patrolled in the streets for ssome time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into 'Aaroura village, north of Ramallah. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 02:30, IOF moved into Jayous village, northeast of Qalqilya. They raided a number of houses and summoned 3 Palestinian civilians for interrogation: Khaled Mulaq Shamasna, 36; Taher Mohammed Jaber, 40; and Sari Mohammed Baida, 22.
 
· At approximately 08:15, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers near Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials from the debris of buildings in Erez industrial zone. As a result, Mukhles Jawad al-Masri, 15, from Beit Hanoun town, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, when he was nearly 250 meters away.
 
· At approximately 08:30, IOF moved into Shwaika suburb, north of Tulkarm. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 09:15, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers at the beach to the northwest of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials from the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai." As a result, Mamdouh 'Aayesh al-Sous, 28, from Beit Lahia town, was wounded by a bullet to the left foot.
 
· At approximately 09:30, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers near Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials from the debris of buildings in Erez industrial zone. As a result, Mohammed Khalil al-Za'anin, 20, from Beit Hanoun town, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, when he was nearly 100 meters away.
 
· At approximately 10:00, IOF moved into 'Ejja village, south of Jenin. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 10:10, IOF moved into Jainsafout village, east of Qalqilya. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 10:30, IOF moved into Sanour village, south of Jenin. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 11:30, IOF moved into al-Rama village, south of Jenin. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 13:30, IOF moved into Bidya village, west of Salfit. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· Also at approximately 13:30, IOF moved into Salfit. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 17:50, IOF moved into Jeet village, east of Qalqilya. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 19:30, IOF moved into Bourqin village, southwest of Jenin. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 19:40, IOF moved into Nabi Elias village, east of Qalqilya. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.


 
Monday, 29 November 2010
 
· At approximately 00:30, IOF moved into Kufor al-Dik village, west of Salfit. They raided and searched a number of houses and summoned 3 Palestinian civilians for interrogation: Gharib 'Abdul Rahman al-Dik, 20; Nash'at 'Abdul Rahman al-Dik, 20; and Shihab Karem al-Dik, 20.
 
· At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into al-Khader village, south of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a house belonging to Samer Jameel al-Balboul, but no arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 01:25, IOF moved into Qalqilya. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 09:00, IOF moved into Kufor Dan village, west of Jenin. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later.  No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 11:15, IOF moved into Abu Da'if village, east of Jenin. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· Also at approximately 11:15, IOF moved into al-Khalayel area near Kufor 'Abboush village, south of Tulkarm. They searched the area and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 14:15, IOF moved into Safarin village, east of Tulkarm. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later.  No arrests were reported.
 
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
 
· At approximately 07:20, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers at the beach to the northwest of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials from the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai." As a result, Isma'il Sa'ed Ghaben, 31, from Beit Lahia town, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, when he was nearly 150 meters away from the border.
 
· At approximately 08:20, Israeli soldiers fired at Palestinian workers in the same area. As a result, two workers were wounded:
 
1. Ghassan Mas'oud Abu Riala, 21, from al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City, wounded by a bullet to the left leg; and
2. Ameen Akram Abu Shawish, 22, from al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City, wounded by a bullet to the left leg.
 
· At approximately 08:40, a fourth worker was wounded by IOF in the same area. He was identified as Nader Mohammed al-Anqar, 21, from Beit Lahia town, wounded by a bullet to the left leg.
 
· At approximately 10:40, IOF stationed at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast of Beit Lahia town opened fire at Palestinian agricultural areas near the border. As a result, Bayan Farouq Tanboura, 26, a farmer from Beit Lahia, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, when he was nearly 400 meters away from the border.
 
· At approximately 22:30, IOF moved into Tulkarm. They raided and searched a number of houses, including a 3-storey apartment building belonging to the family of 'Alaa' Saleh Shahin, 38, whom they interrogated. No arrests were reported.


 
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
 
· At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Dura village, northwest of Hebron. They raided and searched a house belonging to Nayef Mahmoud al-Rajoub, 53, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, without allowing him to change his sleeping clothes. It is worth noting that al-Rajoub had been released from Israeli jails on 20 June 2010.
 
· At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into 'Arraba village, southwest of Jenin. They raided a house belonging to the family of Mohammed 'Abdul Latif Shibani, 35, a leader of Islamic Jihad. An Israeli intelligence officer interrogated him about his detention by Palestinian security services. The officer also discussed with him the current political situation. IOF then raided a house belonging to Tayseer Burhan Jaber, 48, and took him to guide then to the house of his nephew, Samer Mo'in Jaber, 30, a leader of Islamic Jihad. IOF raided the house and interrogated Samer. They then raided a house belonging to Ja'far Ibrahim 'Izziddin, 39, another leader of Islamic Jihad, and discussed with him the current political situation.  
 
· At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into al-Khader village, south of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a house belonging to Samer Jameel al-Balboul, but no arrests were reported. .
 
· At approximately 11:45, Israeli soldiers positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel fired at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials in Bourat Abu Samra area, nearly 400 meters away from the border. As a result, Murad Bassam al-Souq, 19, was wounded by a bullet to the right leg. .
 
2. Use of Excessive Force against Peaceful Demonstrations Protesting Settlement Activities and the Construction of the Annexation Wall
 
During the reporting period, IOF used force against peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders in protest to the construction of the Wall and settlement activities in the West Bank. As a result, 9 Palestinian civilians, including two children, were wounded. Dozens of Palestinian civilians and human rights defenders also suffered from tear gas inhalation and others sustained bruises. IOF also arrested 5 international and Israeli human rights defenders and a Palestinian child.
   
· Following the Friday Prayer on 26 November 2010, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration in protest to the construction of the Annexation Wall in Bil'ein village, west of Ramallah. They moved towards the annexation wall. Israeli soldiers stationed in the area fired rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at the demonstrators. As a result, a number of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation and others sustained bruises as they were beaten by Israeli soldiers.  
 
· Also following the Friday Prayer on 26 November 2010, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international and human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration in Ne'lin village, west of Ramallah, in protest against the construction of the Annexation Wall. They clashed with Israeli troops positioned near the Wall. Israeli troops fired rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at demonstrators. As a result, dozens of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation, and others sustained bruises.
 
· Also following the Friday Prayer on 26 November 2010, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration in Nabi Saleh village, northwest of Ramallah, in commemoration of the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, and in protest against land confiscations in the Wad al-Raya area between the villages of Nabi Saleh and Deir Nizam. When the demonstrators attempted to reach areas of land seized by Israeli settlers near "Halmish" settlement, Israeli troops fired rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at them. A number of demonstrators also suffered from tear gas inhalation. IOF also chased the demonstrators into the village. They also turned a house belonging to Helmi Tamimi into a military site. They withdrew from the village at approximately 17:00.
 
· Also on Friday noon, 26 November 2010, dozens of Palestinian civilians and a number of international human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration in al-Ma'sara village, south of Bethlehem. They moved towards the annexation wall in the north and northwest of the village. IOF reinforced their presence at the entrance of the village. They attacked the demonstrators and fired tear gas canisters and sound bombs at them. As a result, 6 demonstrators, including 15-year-old Mo'tassem Mos'ad Fawaghra, suffered from tear gas inhalation.
 
· At approximately 13:00 on Monday, 29 November 2010, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel near Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire about 50 demonstrators, including 7 international solidarity activists, who demonstrated nearly 50 meters away from the border in protest to the establishment of a restricted buffer zone along the border. No casualties were reported.


 
3. Continued Closure of the OPT
 
Israel has continued to impose a tightened closure of the OPT and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
 
Gaza Strip
 
Israel has continuously closed all border crossings to the Gaza Strip for over three years. The illegal Israeli-imposed closure of the Gaza Strip, which has steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.
 
· The illegal closure has caused not only a humanitarian crisis but a crisis of human rights and human dignity for the population of the Gaza Strip. Measures declared recently to ease the blockade are vague, purely cosmetic and fail to deal with the root causes of the crisis, which can only be addressed by an immediate and complete lifting of the closure, including lifting the travel ban into and out of the Gaza Strip and the ban on exports. PCHR is concerned that the new Israeli policy is simply shifting Gaza to another form of illegal blockade, one that may become internationally accepted and institutionalized. Palestinians in Gaza may no longer suffer from the same shortage of goods, but they will remain economically dependent and unable to care for themselves, and socially, culturally and academically isolated from the rest of the world.
 
· Expanding the list of items allowed into Gaza does not change the illegality of this policy, which is inconsistent with Israel’s legal obligations both as an Occupying Power and under international human rights treaties to which it is party, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 
 
· Facts on the ground refute Israeli claims with respect to the easing of the closure imposed on the Gaza Strip and the reduction of restrictions imposed on the entry of goods.
 
· Israeli declaration of allowing new goods to be entered into the Gaza Strip constitutes an attempt to delude the international community, as such goods do not meet the minimal needs of the Gaza Strip. 
 
· IOF have continued to ban the entry of raw construction materials into the Gaza Strip. 
 
· IOF have imposed a ban on all exports from the Gaza Strip. 
 
· Israel had continued to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to Palestinian civilians wishing to travel to the West Bank and Israeli for medical treatment, trade or social visits.
 
· Israel has imposed additional access restrictions on international diplomats, journalists and humanitarian workers seeking to enter the Gaza Strip. They have prevented representatives of several international humanitarian organizations from entering the Gaza Strip.
 
· Living conditions of the Palestinian civilian population have seriously deteriorated; levels of poverty and unemployment have mounted sharply.



The West Bank
 
Israel has imposed a tightened closure on the West Bank. During the reporting period, IOF imposed additional restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians.
 
· Jerusalem: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians to and from the city. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been denied access to the city. IOF have established many checkpoints around and inside the city. Restrictions of the movement of Palestinian civilians often escalate on Fridays, preventing Muslim Palestinians from praying at al-Aqsa Mosque.     
 
· Bethlehem: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. They have maintained their presence at 41 checkpoints around the town. The town has been also impacted by the construction of the annexation wall to the north and west, and large areas of Palestinian land have been isolated by the wall. During the reporting period, Israeli troops stationed at the 300 checkpoint (Rachel Tomb), north of Bethlehem, continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians wishing to travel to Jerusalem. Palestinian civilians are forced to wait in queues on two routes outside the checkpoint. They are then checked by Israeli soldiers using electronic checking machines. Such checking is often prolonged and humiliating.   
 
· Ramallah: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of the Palestinian civilians in Ramallah. IOF troops positioned at the Jaba' and Qalandiya checkpoints, southeast of Ramallah, have imposed additional restrictions on movement and conducted prolonged checks of Palestinian civilians. During the reporting period, IOF established a number of temporary checkpoints, and stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles. At approximately 16:30 on Thursday, 25 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance of Silwad village, northeast of Ramallah. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles. At approximately 23:00 on the same day, IOF re-established their presence at 'Attara checkpoint at the northern entrance of Bir Zeit village, north of Ramallah. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilians. At approximately 21:00 on Saturday, 26 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint under Deir Dibwan Bridge, northeast of Ramallah. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles. At approximately 20:00 on Sunday, 27 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint at Kharabtha al-Misbah intersection, west of Ramallah. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.     
 
· Qalqilya: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. On Friday, 26 November 2010, IOF established 5 checkpoints around Qalqilya. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.  On Saturday, 27 November 2010, IOF established 4 checkpoints around Qalqilya. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.  On Sunday, 26 November 2010, IOF established 3 checkpoints around Qalqilya. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.
 
· Tulkarm: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. At approximately 14:00 on Thursday, 25 November 2010, IOF closed Eannab checkpoint, east of Tulkarm, for several hours.  At approximately 16:00 on Friday, 26 November 2010, Israeli soldiers stationed at Ennab checkpoint, east of Tulkarm, imposed additional restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. At the same time, IOF established a checkpoint near Kufor Sour intersection on Tulkarm-Qalqilya road, south of Tulkarm. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles. At approximately 20:30 on Saturday, 28 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint near Far'oun intersection on Tulkarm-Qalqilya road, south of Tulkarm. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles. At approximately 09:00 on Sunday, 28 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance of al-Jaroushiya village, north of Tulkarm. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles. At approximately 09:00 on Monday, 29 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint Beit Leed intersection on Nablus-Tulkarm road, east of Tulkarm. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.
 
· Nablus: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. At approximately 10:30 on Monday, 29 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint near Deir Sharaf intersection on Nablus-Tulkarm road, west of Nablus. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.
 
· Jenin: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. At approximately 19:30 on Thursday, 25 November 2010, IOF closed Barta'a checkpoint to the east of Barta'a village, which has been isolated by the annexation wall, west of Jenin, for several hours, claiming that they found explosives. At approximately 12:00 on Sunday, 28 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance of Jaba' village, south of Jenin, and another one at the entrance of 'Anza village, south of the town. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles. 
 
· Salfit: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. IOF have continued to close the northern entrance of Salfit with cement blocks and sand barriers since 2000. They have also continued to close two roads linking Marda village with agricultural land belonging to it.  At approximately 23:00 on Friday, 26 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance of Deir Estia village, northwest of Salfit. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.   
 
· Jericho: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. At approximately 06 on Friday, 26 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance of 'Ein al-Dyouk village, north of Jericho. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.


 
Arrests at Military Checkpoints
 
· At approximately 14:00 on =, Israeli soldiers positioned at Ertah checkpoint near Tulkarm arrested Ma'rouf Mahmoud al-Rammal, 20.
 
· On Tuesday evening, 30 November 2010, Israeli soldiers positioned at Za'tara checkpoint, south of Nablus, arrested Nour al-Din Hafez Sawafta, 30, from Tubas. 
 

4. Measures Aimed at Creating a Jewish Demographic Majority in Jerusalem
 
Israel has recently escalated arbitrary measures against Palestinian civilians in East Jerusalem in order to force them to leave the city. PCHR has devoted this section in the Weekly Report to highlighting violations of human rights perpetrated by IOF against Palestinian civilians in East Jerusalem.
 
· On Thursday morning, 25 November 2010, the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem waged a campaign against owners of shops in Hazma village near Jerusalem. They demolished 9 shops claiming that their owners do not have licenses.
 
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 01:30 on Thursday, IOF moved into Hazma village, east of Jerusalem. They demolished 9 shops after confiscating the majority of their contents:
1. A shop of bricks belonging to Mohammed 'Abdul Rahman 'Abdul Rahim;
2. An agricultural nursery belonging to Malek 'Abdul Karim;
3. An agricultural nursery belonging to 'Azmi al-Khatib and Samed Sabi;
4. An agricultural nursery belonging to Nader Salem and Hassan 'Abdul Latif;
5. A shop of bricks belonging to Mohammed Tafatfa;
6. A shop of furniture belonging to Riad 'Othman;
7. An agricultural nursery and a shop of bricks belonging to 'Afif Suleiman;
8. An agricultural nursery and a shop of bricks belonging to Jamal Salem; and
9. An agricultural nursery belonging to Mohammed Saladin.
 
Losses are estimated at more than 1.5 million NIS.
 
· At approximately 08:00 on Tuesday, 30 November 2010, IOF moved into al-'Eissawiya village near Jerusalem. They demolished a 120-square-meter, under-construction house belonging to 'Atiya Isma'il Mtair, claiming that it was being built without a license. According to Mtair, he had not received any demolition notice, and the issue of licensing was being considered by an Israeli court. IOF then demolished a 30-square-meter structure belonging to Mohammed Robin 'Olayan, 28, which served as a printing press.  
 
During this operation, IOF attacked Palestinian civilians who gathered in the area. Israeli soldiers fired tear gas canisters and rubber-coated metal bullets at civilians. As a result, Ghassan 'Olayan, 35, was wounded by a rubber-coated metal bullet that caused fractures to the skull and the nose. They also violently beat a number of civilians. As a result, Robin 'Olayan sustained bruises throughout the body. Additionally, 5 women suffered from tear gas inhalation.
 
· At approximately 08:00 on Wednesday, 24 November 2010, IOF moved into al-Tour neighborhood in Jerusalem. They demolished a house belonging to 'Aziz Zablah, claiming that it was built without a license. As a result, 7 individuals, including 4 children, have become homeless.
 
· During the reporting period, the organization committee in the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem approved the construction of 130 housing unit between "Gilo" settlement and Beit Safafa village. The committee approved turning the area, which was devoted to the establishment of hotels, into a residential area. 
 
· On Wednesday, 01 December 2010, the Israeli district committee of organization and construction approved the construction of 625 housing units in "Pisgat Ze'ev" settlement, northeast of Jerusalem. It is worth noting that the Israeli occupation authorities have started to construct another 1,300 housing units in Israeli settlements in Jerusalem and 1,000 ones in settlements in the West Bank, since the end of the temporary freezing of settlement activities on 25 September 2010.




5. Settlement Activities and Attacks by Settlers against Palestinian Civilians and Property
 
Israel has continued its settlement activities in the OPT in violation of international humanitarian law, and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
 
· At approximately 06:30 on Thursday, 25 November 2010, IOF, accompanied by 3 bulldozers, moved into Kherbat Yazra village, east of Tubas, in the northern Jordan Valley. They closed the entrances of the village. At approximately 07:00, they demolished a 100-suqaure-meter mosque and a 20-square-meter subordinate room. Soon after, they demolished a 50-square-meter house belonging to Fayez Hamed Daraghma, in which 15 individuals, including 8 children, lived. They then demolished 10 tin-made barracks, which served as stores and barnyards:
 
1. A 120-square-meter barrack belonging to Na'im Hafez Masa'id;
2. A 60-square-meter barrack belonging to Hafez Na'im Masa'id;
3. An 80-square-meter barrack belonging to Mithqal Fayez Daraghma;
4. An 80-square-meter barrack belonging to Fawzi Mahmoud Daraghma;
5. An 80-square-meter barrack belonging to Hassan Khaled Daraghma;
6. A 75-square-meter barrack belonging to Mohammed Mahmoud Darghma;
7. A 50-square-meter barrack belonging to Mahmoud Fawzi Daraghma;
8. An 80-square-meter barrack belonging to Sami Khaled Daraghma;
9. A 70-square-meter barrack belonging to 'Omair Khaled Daraghma; and
10. A 50-square-meter barrack belonging to Khaled Mohammed Masa'id.
 
· At approximately 07:00 also on Thursday, IOF, accompanied by two bulldozers, moved into al-Dairat area to the east of Yatta village, south of Hebron. They besieged a 250-square-meter house belonging to Eyad and Mohammed Musleh al-'Omour, in which 25 individuals live. They forced its residents out and demolished it, claiming that it was built without a license. According to the two brothers, they applied for a license, but IOF refused to delay the demolition.
 
· On Thursday, 25 November 2010, IOF handed two notices to Mousa Taha and Hussein Shamsna, fom Qatna village northwest of Jerusalem, that their animal farms would be demolished.
 
· On Monday, 29 November 2010, IOF moved into al-Ma'sara village, south of Bethlehem. They handed notices to Mahmoud Ahmed Zawahra and 'Awadh Hassan Zawahra ordering the demolition of their houses; a 200-square-meter house and 230-square-meter one respectively. IOF also ordered the demolition of Ibrahim al-Khalil Mosque by 23 December 2010.



 
Recommendations to the International Community

1. PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their legal and moral obligations under Article 1 of the Convention to ensure Israel's respect for the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. PCHR believes that the conspiracy of silence practiced by the international community has encouraged Israel to act as if it is above the law and encourages Israel continue to violate international human rights and humanitarian law.
 
2. PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to convene a conference to take effective steps to ensure Israel's respect of the Convention in the OPT and to provide immediate protection for Palestinian civilians.
 
3. PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to comply with their legal obligations detailed in Article 146 of the Convention to search for and prosecute those responsible for grave breaches, namely war crimes.
 
4. PCHR calls for the immediate implementation of the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice, which considers the construction of the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank illegal.
 
5. PCHR recommends that international civil society organizations, including human rights organizations, bar associations and NGOs, participate in the process of exposing those accused of grave breaches of international law and urge their governments to bring the perpetrators to justice.
 
6. PCHR calls upon the European Union to activate Article 2 of the Euro-Israel Association Agreement, which provides that Israel must respect human rights as a precondition for economic cooperation between the EU states and Israel. PCHR further calls upon the EU states to prohibit import of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the OPT.
 
7. PCHR calls on the international community to recognize the Gaza disengagement plan, which was implemented in September 2005, for what it is - not an end to occupation but a compounding of the occupation and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. 
 
8. In recognition of ICRC as the guardian of the Fourth Geneva Convention, PCHR calls upon the ICRC to increase its staff and activities in the OPT, including the facilitation of family visitations to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
 
9. PCHR appreciates the efforts of international civil society, including human rights organizations, bar associations, unions and NGOs, and urges them to continue their role in pressuring their governments to secure Israel's respect for human rights in the OPT and to demand Israel end its attacks on Palestinian civilians.
 
10. PCHR calls upon the international community to pressure Israel to lift the severe restrictions imposed by the Israeli government and its occupation forces on access for international organizations to the OPT.
 
11. PCHR reiterates that any political settlement not based on international human rights law and humanitarian law cannot lead to a peaceful and just solution of the Palestinian question. Rather, such an arrangement can only lead to further suffering and instability in the region. Any peace process or agreement must be based on respect for international law, including international human rights and humanitarian law.

21 November 2010

Wait- we are giving who?? 20 F-35 stealth attack jets?? for what??

In onze nieuwsmedia lezen we niets over Obama's "omkoping" van Israël, voor een miezerige settlement freeze van 3 maanden, laat staan dat de wereld al decennialang heeft geakkoordeerd dat Israël zich terug moet trekken uit de bezette gebieden en de nederzettingen moeten verdwijnen. Bij ons heet het simpelweg "vredesoverleg", wanneer een dief onderhandelt met zijn slachtoffer over de gestolen waren.

MondoWeiss | By Virginia Tilley | November 20, 2010


With 25 years of experience under my belt analysing the Middle East conflict, and as a close observer of US foreign policy with a pragmatic attitude toward its realist exigencies, I have never seen anything as destructive, humiliating and ruinously conceived as the “incentive” package now being offered by the US to Israel for a 3-month settlement freeze. It is our country’s foreign policy nadir: a deal is so damaging to US interests that it is hard to find words for it. What can be said plainly is that US citizens – yes, even those jaded, tired, embittered, disillusioned folks who have watched this stuff for too long – have to rise up and move fast to stop this, in the name of our country’s future.



Let us briefly consider just what’s being proposed here. Israel has been asked (asked!) to freeze illegal settlement construction in the West Bank for a lousy three months in the interests of the so-called peace process.

This brief hiatus is purely cosmetic. Jewish settlements in this occupied territory have been steadily and deliberately eradicating taking over East Jerusalem and the West Bank for over 40 years. The whole full-bore settlement construction programme makes open nonsense of partition now, as well as the putative “peace process”, by “eating the pizza”. But Israel has refused even a short-term freeze. And the US, egg all over its face, is being reduced to bribing the Israelis with a mind-boggling package of incentives – $3 BILLION in military hardware, equivalent to Israel’s annual automatic US package – just for three months of a partial freeze on construction, after which construction will continue unabated.

Israel’s refusal to freeze settlements even temporarily should surprise no one: the enigma is rather that anyone still finds that refusal confusing. Israel’s strategy for annexing the West Bank is recorded in Israeli government maps and settlement Master Plans dating back decades. For reasons too complicated to summarise here, deep divisions in Israeli society and politics make changing that policy effectively impossible at this late hour, as it is entrenched in Israeli doctrine, politics, policy and practice at levels so deep that the State’s very survival is implicated in it. The entire Israeli government, from the Agriculture Ministry to the World Zionist Organisation, is fully involved in and committed to building the West Bank settlements. But no one in the White House seems to have told President Obama this. He has already been deeply humiliated in world eyes when he insisted that Israel freeze settlement construction and Israel (predictably) gave him the diplomatic finger. Ever since that debacle, he has looked like a tin man in Middle East politics. Many wondered – first when, then whether – the US might find some spine with Israel over a situation so obviously damaging to the country’s image and interests. But Obama’s language about the settlements lately has been mealy stuff about “unhelpful” and “both sides”. As billions of tax dollars sink into the Afghan morass and US soldiers are shot down in ditches, the US superpower can’t get Israel to do diddly to help out and isn’t willing even to try. On the contrary, the US is committed to helping Israel do the opposite of what it urgently needs and what its own rhetoric asks for.

Normally, of course, the US would just strong-arm the Palestinians. But the Palestinian Authority is down to its last thong of dignity and even this is ready to snap. It can’t participate in a peace process that’s so openly idiotic. Politically, and despite the partial economic benefits that appointed Prime Minister Fayyad has brought to a narrow sector of Palestinian society in the West Bank, the PA is on the brink of implosion. Looking too much like a stringed puppet dancing in an empty diplomatic theatre, “negotiating” for a territory vanishing day by day, Mr. Abbas confronts a level of shame that even hard-core PA cronies have to consider soberly. For years, he has cultivated the image of a much-abused Palestinian patriot on the brink of resignation, enduring endless insults from Israel and the US only to do his best by the Palestinian people. But that always dubious story is crumbling to reveal a sordid truth: whatever its individual members’ intentions, the PA is effectively a cluster of native clients sucking up funds and graces from enemy patrons who are happy to pay a self-serving indigenous elite to keep the native masses quiet. This classic colonial deal can be sustained only as long as the Palestinian people as a whole are not smacked in the face with it.

But why does the US care about sustaining this farce? To understand the outlandish military deal now being offered, we have to recognise the whole Middle East “peace process” as a survival pact. The US needs the PA to help keep alive the whole fake story about the PA – Oslo’s “Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority”, supposedly “interim” to full Palestinian independence but actually “interim” to Israel’s final victory – to achieve what it needs to do in Afghanistan. Israel still needs the PA, too, because otherwise Israel will be identified for what it is: an Apartheid state. The Ramallah-PA elite relies on the coloniser’s needs -- indirect rule of the natives – for its very existence. So everyone needs the game a little longer and, if all goes right, it will work out for all of them. The US and Israel assume that when Israel’s eastern border (marked by the Wall plus the Jordan Valley) is finally consolidated, the PA will serve as the “self-government authority” – language straight out of the South African Bantustans, not incidentally – that will keep the natives quiet in assigned “reserves” which may or may not be called a state. The Ramallah PA hopes to land on its feet: a native elite that can enrich itself on sweetheart deals with Israel that it will cultivate by ensuring “security”. Counting on this pact, Israel need contemplate no true change to settlement policy because, token protests aside, the PA will take whatever it can get. No one in the US government really cares where Israel decides to put its borders, so the US government will not insist on any change either. The only concern is keeping up appearances. The short-sightedness of this plan is obvious and sad: it can’t but culminate in Palestinian revolt, Israeli violence, security dilemmas throughout the region and periodic regional upheavals. But then, colonists always assume that colonialism will win out somehow.



Even sadder is that the US actually has immense power in this situation and need do very little to deploy it. All it has to do to alter the entire power balance in the Middle East – in the interest of its own desperate situation in Afghanistan and its credibility as a world power – is sit back and abstain in the UN, leaving Israel to face the monumental international opprobrium that is brewing around its multitudinous human rights violations and sins against international security. Instead, the US is now doing the opposite: promising openly to protect Israel from any such blame, however legitimate, and handing over twenty – TWENTY – F35 stealth attack jets, the latest in US military stealth equipment, as well as unnamed satellite intelligence capacity and other cutting-edge technology. And for what? A 3-month token freeze that will end with Israel bouncing back to exactly the same strategy as before, putting the US back in the same impossible situation by February 2011.

Of course, it’s unlikely that the US is really doing this. Probably the deal was in the works anyway – maybe to capacitate Israel to strike Iran, in reality or as a threat – and some pro-Israel fanatic in the White House thought it might make slightly better sense to the world if cast as a sweetener to Israel regarding the always-fictive “peace process”. The opposite is true: attaching this colossal military transfer to a 3-month diplomatic nod from Israel makes the US look like a giant on its knees to a local mafia thug, handing over the family jewels (in both senses?) to cover the next short-term protection-racket instalment. It announces to the world that the US has no foreign policy leverage whatever and is reduced to giving away its best goods for the slightest temporary cooperation by a rude ally that claims openly to control its foreign policy. It also announces to the world that we are ready to destabilise the entire planet to plead for the most immaterial of Israel’s diplomatic graces. It indicates an infatuation with Israel so craven as to betray the foundations of our country’s essential interests – to remain a credible power in world affairs. (And let’s not even go into how deeply it abuses and insults the millions of desperate jobless Americans for whom $3 billion in mortgage assistance, education and job training could make all the difference – and whose children are being killed or maimed in Afghanistan as this disgusting deal goes forward to make their lot worse.)

I don’t usually speak like this, but this is a matter for US patriots. I don’t mean tea-party dolts, I mean liberal principled citizens people who – even grown cynical after decades of disappointments and disillusionments – still in their hearts really care about the US and what we always believed it was founded to become. And I include people who don’t much care one way or the other about the Middle East. For, although it will indeed be ruinous for the Middle East, and catastrophic for US relations with the Middle East, this crisis isn’t only about the Middle East. We cannot possibly hand over vast first-strike armaments at the tune of $3 billion on the utterly shaming rationale of coaxing an arrogant local power into a minor diplomatic gesture with a dinky 90-day limit. Doing so would mark the end of the US as any kind of sensible player in the world.

Virginia Tilley is a professor of political science and international relations and author of The One-State Solution. She lives in Cape Town and can be reached at vtilley@mweb.co.za. Thanks to John Haines for circulating her piece first.