Palestine is the barometer of Western integrity
HJFP MONTHLY PALESTINE REVIEW – NOVEMBER 2014
Don’t call me a Palestinian of the Palestinian Territories because it is called Palestine.
Don’t give me a fraction of my homeland and call it a solution.
Don’t give me oppression and call it peace.
Don’t give me a Bantustan and call it a home.
Don’t give me a prison and call it freedom.
Don’t draw the borders of my existence according to your whims and interests and call it a state.
My Palestine is the home that is mine since the dawn of history till the end of history.

Palestine Politics
28.11.2014
An article from the PA news agency questioning international donations.
Analysis: Donor complicity in Israeli violations of Palestinian rights
Al-Shabaka is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and foster public debate on Palestinian
human rights and self-determination within the framework of international law. This policy brief is authored by Nora Lester
Murad, a writer and social activist as well as the co-founder of Dalia Association, which seeks to support a vibrant, accountable
and independent civil society through philanthropy.
Palestinians have a right to request international aid, and donors have an obligation to provide it. The manner in which this aid
has been provided, however, may actually facilitate violations of Palestinian rights under international humanitarian law. The
failure of international actors to act in line with their obligations as third-state and non-state actors enables the status quo to
continue, incriminating aid actors in ongoing violations. In fact, several factors that are actually under the control of the
international aid system coalesce into an aid regime that facilitates violations of Palestinian rights.
These include:
o
Donor categorization of the situation of Palestinians living under the Israeli occupation as an "emergency" year after
year as leads to short-term interventions that perpetuate need by focusing on symptoms rather than causes.
o
The policy of non-confrontation with Israel regardless of its actions conveys international acquiescence and
contributes to Israeli impunity.
o
The lack of accountability of the aid system itself has enabled it to marginalize Palestinians and become self-serving.
Whether this meets the legal threshold to deem international aid actors "complicit" is a question better left to legal experts. If it
does, it is to be hoped that these experts will suggest remedies that may be available to Palestinians through legal avenues or
in the political realm.
Below are eight questions that need to be asked about international aid as it is currently structured:
o
1. Does aid to Palestinians help Israel evade its Fourth Geneva Convention obligations? Given Palestinians'
prolonged dependence on international aid, it can be argued that aid to the occupied Palestinian territories effectively
relieves Israel, as the Occupying Power, of its obligations to protect Palestinian civilians and ensure that their basic
needs are met, under Article 60 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Aid also subsidizes the occupation by freeing up
funds that pay for Israel's violations and directly helping Israel evade its obligations towards the protected population.
Moreover, when Israel damages donor-funded projects through demolition, bombing, or other attacks, international
donors rarely respond with anything more than mild objections. They have never acted in a systematic way to claim
reparations or compensation from Israel. On the contrary, they continue to come forward with funding to rebuild,
thereby excusing Israel of responsibility for its actions.
o
2. Do aid actors "give effect" to Israel's illegal blockade on Gaza when they accommodate procedures that
hinder humanitarian or development assistance? The First International Session of the Russell Tribunal on
Palestine concluded that accommodating Israel’s blockade on Gaza in order to provide humanitarian assistance -and/or to justify non-provision of development assistance -- may, over a prolonged period of time, "give effect" to
Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip in breach of Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits collective
punishment (see Article 19.9 of the tribunal's conclusions).
1
This situation can be compared to the International Court of Justice ruling that the annexation Wall in the West Bank
and its associated regime create a fait accompli on the ground that could become permanent and would be
tantamount to annexation.
o
Indeed, a 2011 study in Gaza found that international organizations did not sufficiently challenge the political
framework in which they delivered their support. Other studies have found that aid actors went to extraordinary
lengths to comply with Israel’s requirements even though this added significantly to the cost of aid.
As a result, they do not fully respond to the humanitarian imperative to intervene, as set out by the International
Code of Conduct in Disaster Relief, even when the Gaza crisis is most severe. It should be noted that, under the
Rome Statute, willfully impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions can be, in extreme
cases, a war crime (Article 8(2)(b)(xxv)).
3. Is providing military aid to Israel, which it uses to violate Palestinian rights, a violation of Common Article 1
of the Fourth Geneva Convention?
The United States and European countries provide military aid and weapons that aid Israeli aggression. This military
aid is part and parcel of the same foreign policy that directs these governments' "aid" mechanisms.
One blatant example is the Aug. 1, 2014 decision by the US Congress to allocate an additional $225 million in aid for
Israel's Iron Dome system just two days after the sixth Israeli attack on United Nations facilities -- the shelling of its
shelter in the Jabaliya refugee camp -- which senior UN officials described as a "serious violation of international
law."
Even assuming that the aid was intended for Israel's defense, it shows disregard for both US domestic and
international law precluding aid that facilitates violations. US President Barak Obama, an expert on constitutional law,
may have had this in mind when he delayed delivery to Israel of promised missiles soon afterwards.
Another example is the export of weapons and weapons components by EU member states to Israel, some of which
were used during the conflict in Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009 and may have been used to commit war
crimes and crimes against humanity. In fact, despite British objections to Israeli conduct in that aggression, UK
weapons sales to Israel reportedly increased subsequently in violation of EU law and likely empowered Israel
militarily in its 2014 aggression in Gaza.
In addition to their obligation to ensure respect for Palestinian rights, states have an obligation to ensure that the arms
and ammunition they supply are not used to commit violations of international human rights law and human rights, in
line with Common Article 1 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which obligates High Contracting Parties to respect and
ensure respect for international human rights law as well as with the principles of the Arms Trade Treaty that was
recently adopted by the UN General Assembly.
o
4. Does aid actors' accommodation of discriminatory national anti-terrorism policies violate the humanitarian
principle of impartiality? Implementation of poorly conceived anti-terrorism policies that require discrimination
against partners and beneficiaries solely on the basis of assumed political affiliation appears to be a violation of the
humanitarian principle of impartiality. International donors and international NGOs that promote or comply with these
policies could be considered to be in violation of their humanitarian mandate as a result; many provisions of antiterrorism policy are also illogical, thus opening room for interpretation and abuse. As the Russell Tribunal suggested,
it is not logical for the EU to suspend relations with Hamas while it maintains relations with Israel, a state that violates
international law on a far greater scale (see Article 27).
Furthermore, research in Gaza found that, due in large part to anti-terrorism policies including the no-contact policy,
international involvement in Gaza directly fed the factional split between Fatah and Hamas and led to reduced
accountability, corruption, and militarization.
o
5. Does aid to the Palestinian Authority entrench denial of Palestinian rights? Palestinian human rights
experts consistently point to the Oslo Accords and Paris Protocol as historic landmarks in the deterioration of
Palestinian rights, both because of the restrictions on Palestinians that became legalized as a result and because of
the type of politically compromised aid that followed. International actors frequently claim that they cannot be
expected to advocate for Palestinian rights more forcefully than the Palestinian Authority itself. This implies that the
PA is independent of outside influence, when in fact it isn't even a viable entity without international aid. This results in
a nonsensical situation: The PA must concede to international demands but is then used by aid actors as an excuse
to forsake their obligation to ensure respect for Palestinian rights.
In fact, Articles 7 and 8 of the Fourth Geneva Convention stipulate that no international agreements can undermine
the protections guaranteed under international human rights law. Moreover, given that the PA frequently obstructs
Palestinian rights as an agent of the Israeli occupying power, it may be that international aid to the PA, ostensibly in
response to a request from the protected population, actually facilitates Israel’s violations of the Fourth Geneva
Convention.
o
6. Do aid procurement policies that allow Israel to profit from its abuse of Palestinian rights actually
incentivize further violations? Israeli aggression is profitable for Israel. Administration of aid procurement policies
that allow Israel and Israeli companies to profit, especially those associated with violations of international human
rights law, effectively incentivize further aggression. For example, in May 2012, the UN Children's Fund reportedly
invited a bid from an Israeli contractor with operations in Israeli settlements on a desalination plant in Gaza,
prompting a boycott threat from the Palestinian Contractors' Union. In addition, in Jan. 2014, UNDP awarded a $5.1
million contract to Mifram, an Israeli company that supplies checkpoints to the Israeli army.
According to the findings of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, violations of international human rights law, including
those committed by Israel during the 2008-2009 assault on Gaza as well as the establishment of illegal Israeli
settlements and the construction of the illegal Wall, constitute war crimes and/or crimes against humanity.
Moreover, the Russell Tribunal has noted that these crimes were committed with weapons, materials, equipment, and
services supplied by corporations such as Elbit Systems, Caterpillar, and Cement Roadstone Holdings and that these
corporations may be "liable for complicity in these crimes and violations of international law."
2
Instead of embracing their responsibility under international law, many aid actors have publicly distanced themselves
from the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement. Some have implicitly or explicitly threatened to de-fund
Palestinian NGOs that promote BDS.
o
7. Does treating Israel as a "special case" erode the fundamental notions and universality of international
humanitarian law? Failing to apply existing international rules and standards can be construed as support for Israeli
violations of international law thus incurring responsibility in light of the International Law Commission's Draft Articles
on State Responsibility (Article 16). This applies in particular to the use of the so-called peace process as a means
to delay the realization of Palestinian rights. As long as the "peace process" is in motion, Israel is effectively exempted
from accountability to international law. The fourth session of the Russell Tribunal underscored that the lack of
"concrete UN action to hold Israel accountable for its violations constitutes an internationally wrongful act" (see Article
15).
Furthermore, in the occupied Palestinian territories -- and particularly in Gaza – little or no attempt is made to comply
with declaratory agreements and policy guidance on development assistance, such as the New Deal for Engagement
in Fragile States, the Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, theAccra Agenda for Action, and
the Paris Declaration, which stress common principles that include local ownership, accountability, transparency,
and civil society participation. For example, a Gaza-based sociologist told researchers in 2010:
Too many international NGOs come to Gaza with a 100 percent humanitarian agenda, while our NGOs are all
developmental. They come here, have no idea about the local context, recruit our well-trained staff, and work
directly with the end beneficiaries. This is no partnership. It weakens our local NGO structures and treats us
as subcontractors.
The study also referred to the problems created by more generous salary levels for NGOs, duplication of work, and
short-term interventions, among other ills. Another example is the 2009 Gaza donor conference held in Sharm elSheikh, which, as aid critic and civil society activist Omar Shaban noted, had no participation from local Gazan
institutions or the Hamas leadership. Palestinians are effectively precluded from exercising self-determination when
international actors lead non-accountable processes that exclude genuine Palestinian participation because they are
non-transparent, conducted in English, or because international governments select and appoint specific Palestinians,
based on political criteria, who are then deemed "representative."
International organizations have exempted Israel from scrutiny for so long that they themselves must now be held
accountable for the results, as the Russell Tribunal has urged. Indeed, the principle of the accountability of
international organizations was specifically addressed in the 2012 Declaration of the High Level Meeting of the UN
General Assembly on the Rule of Law at the National and International Levels, which not only underscored that the
promotion of the rule of law and justice should guide all their activities but also that “the rule of law applies to all states
equally, and to international organizations, including the United Nations and its principal organs […]"
o
8. Does international disregard for humanitarian principles send a message that Palestinians have no rights
and Israel has no obligations? There are several conflict-specific examples of reparations programs such as
claims commissions, freezing of assets, and garnishing of revenues that take a broad view of the types of harm for
which claims can be made. However, none of these have been used in the case of Israeli violations against
Palestinians. The sources of international law that call on injuring parties to assist victims are listed in a recent
publication by the Harvard University International Human Rights Clinic and include the following: Basic Principles
and Guidelines for Victims, the Rome Statute, the Principles on Transboundary Harm, and the non-binding Basic
Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparations for Victims of Gross Violations of International
Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law adopted by the 2005 UN General
Assembly.
The most recent international finding regarding reparations that are directly linked to Israel's harm of Palestinians
relates to Israel's illegal Wall, with the ICJ calling for reparations for all natural and legal persons affected. While this
was a non-binding advisory opinion, a subsequent UN General Assembly resolution (A/ES-10/294, January 13, 2005)
demanded Israel's compliance with the advisory opinion and established a register of damages related to the Wall,
which could prove useful in a future claim. After the 2008-2009 Israeli aggression against Gaza, the UN Human
Rights Council voted that Israel should pay reparations for damages suffered by Palestinians, but again there was no
implementation. The only time the international community has ever demanded the payment of reparations from
Israel was for damage it caused in the 2008-2009 Gaza conflict. The claims were made not by or on behalf of the
Palestinian victims, however, but by the UN for damages to its own facilities. It is noteworthy that Israel paid.
It cannot be argued that international aid is a form of reparation. First, because beneficiaries perceive development
programs as distributing goods to which they have rights as citizens rather than as victims. Second, experts in
transitional justice say that remedies are "central to any process of reconciliation and justice" and only have meaning
if the party causing injury pays its own damages. In any case, Israel's responsibility is not abrogated by Palestinians'
receipt of international aid. Apart from Palestinians' claims against Israel, which international aid actors should
support, bad practice by international organizations may in itself be a basis for claims by Palestinians if the Draft
Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations take effect (A/66/10, para. 87).
A Push to Tackle Complicity
Humanitarian principles and codified standards of development practice mandate that assistance shall not expose
beneficiaries to further harm. Whether or not the complicity of international aid actors reaches the liability threshold of aiding and
abetting the aggressor, the evidence demonstrates that much current international aid practice in the OPT does cause
harm. Sadly, the international aid community has neither been critically self-reflective nor have they sought out Palestinian
critiques to improve humanitarian and development outcomes. Palestinian civil society and the international solidarity
movement should seek new and innovative accountability mechanisms to hold international actors to account under existing
laws and commitments. These mechanisms must target the range of aid actors -- governmental and non-governmental donors,
multilateral agencies, international and Palestinian NGOs, private contractors, and political parties and movements.
3
It is also important to understand the opportunities and limitations of traditional mechanisms. For example, it is unlikely that the
courts will provide remedies given the complex limitations of jurisdiction and the uneven development of national and
international law. Other kinds of accountability mechanisms may offer faster and more direct impact: truth commissions,
reparations movements, public inquiries, and civil society trials, such as the Russell Tribunal on Palestine.
The BDS movement has made progress in pushing for accountability of companies involved in Israeli violations of international
law, e.g. Veolia's role in Israel's light rail project in Jerusalem. There could be scope to use some of the same public
pressure against aid actors contributing to violations of Palestinian rights.
Palestinian and international civil society could also engage constructively with international organizations to better understand
how existing codes, standards, and legislation apply in situations of prolonged military occupation. In particular, questions (and
guidelines) should address the conundrums that face aid actors:
How long should a "humanitarian response" be allowed to last before aid actors deem that "emergency" conditions are being
manipulated in order to avoid dealing with root causes? Where is the dividing line between humanitarian aid that is legitimately
controlled by an occupying power and humanitarian aid that is being obstructed in violation of international law?
Are there limits to how much revenue international aid actors should be allowed to raise on behalf of Palestinians when local
organizations are unable to compete to attract funds and long-term local sustainability is being undermined?
One thing is clear, the theory of change that drives the global aid reform movement has been proven false. Like Israel,
international aid actors will not transform their policies based solely on morality or law. Pressure tactics will be needed to upset
power differentials so that, ultimately, international aid actors "can't not do" the right thing.
Originally published on Al-Shabaka's website on 24 Oct 2014. The views expressed in this article are the author's and do not
necessarily reflect Ma'an News Agency's editorial policy.
Abu Dis
17.11.2014
Abu Dis man murdered by settlers tonight
Terrible news from Abu Dis. "The person who was hanged is Yousef al-Ramoni, a bus driver working for an Israeli bus
company. Yousef is the son of a tailor well-known in Abu Dis; his wife is from Abu Dis. He used to live with his family in Abu Dis
before getting married. Then he moved with his wife and two small children to live in Al Tour in Jerusalem. But his parents and
brothers live in Abu Dis. He was working on the bus when six settlers went inside the bus and hanged him."
Here is a photo of Yousef al-Ramoni from Abu Dis (living in Jerusalem) who was tortured and hung by settlers when working as
a bus driver in Jerusalem this evening. We understand he was on the bus alone when six settlers got on and killed him. We
have also been sent photos of his body to show he was tortured.
Also here a photo of his two young children now left with no father.
Also here a picture of his father who was taken to Hadassa hospital after he heard what had happened to his son.
And linked to this we have been sent a facebook page in Hebrew that apparently says 'Death to all Arabs. Death will reach all
of you and your children too. To revenge the deaths of Jews, we will kill all Arabs.'
Following the news that he has been murdered by settlers, the town is full of noise, young people on the streets protesting but in
great danger, Israelis shooting heavy machine guns to try to make a curfew, waking the children, tear gas in every place. Here
is a glimpse of what it is like...
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=360348540807094&set=vb.141101899398427&type=2&theater
Source: CADFA Camden Abu Dis Friendship Association
18.11.2014
What happened to Yousef al-Ramoni
The attached file shows what we have been able to establish about what happened to Yousef , an Abu Dis man who worked as
a bus driver who was killed (say the Palestinians) or died (say the Israeli authorities) in his bus on Sunday evening. The Israelis
say it will take them three months to finish an investigation. There was a huge funeral last night in Abu Dis: reports of over
10000 people and certainly on video it looked huge. Nobody in Palestine doubts that it was a murder. This incident is already
leading to an increasingly tense atmosphere in Abu Dis and in Palestine more widely (as you will see on the news) and the
argument about what happened to Yousef is continuing.
CADFA Camden Abu Dis Friendship Association
Linking together for human rights
The alleged killing of Yousef al-Ramoni.
On the evening of 16th November, we were told from the West Bank that Yousef al-Ramoni, aged 32, a young man from Abu
Dis, father of two young children, working as a bus driver for the Jerusalem Egged bus company, had been killed by settlers and
hanged on his bus. We were shown pictures of his body with a strong mark round his neck and apparent bruising on his chest
and sides. The next day, the Israeli police said that he had committed suicide. During the evening on Monday 17th, there was
an enormous funeral for Yousef in Abu Dis with over 10,000 people. There was no doubt among them that Yousef had been
killed and had not committed suicide.
What seems to be the case is this:
The context
1. There is a context in Palestine over the last years (and very strongly at the moment) of death-threats and sometimes attacks
and killings by settlers
2. There are current threats on the internet very well-known by Palestinians
3. Palestinian bus drivers regularly report abuse and threats by settlers, and Yousef himself had reported such harassment (see
below)
4. The Israeli authorities have often denied that people are attacked or killed and have blamed the victim or Palestinian people
around them. When people die in prison (which has often happened), Palestinians often say or know that they were killed under
investigation, “the same story always comes up, that they have killed themselves.”
4
5. They point to the fact that the action of the Israeli authorities is completely different when Israelis and when Palestinians
suffer violence.
6. Recently one of the settlers’ leaders was attacked in Jerusalem: the Israeli military shot and killed a man they said had done
it, with no trial, saying they were sure that it was him as they could see from CCTV cameras.
7. In contrast, in June, a boy called Mohammed Abu Khdair was tortured and killed by settlers; this was later proven, but initially
the Israeli authorities accused his family and then said it was hard to find who had done it.
8. When Israeli authorities said that Yousef’s death was a suicide, therefore, Palestinians did not trust this.
Yousef’s story
1. Yousef’s body was found hanging in his bus where it was parked on a break in the bus station.
2. It is not at this stage possible to substantiate the original claims that six settlers had killed Yousef.
3. There were no CCTV cameras on Yousef’s bus to show what had happened. And also they said that the bus station CCTV
cameras were not working that day – so it is difficult to say who came and went from the bus
4. Drivers who worked with Yousef said that his bus is the only one on that line which had no cameras inside it and Yousef had
complained on more than one occasion that he was harassed by settlers and asked to have cameras put on the bus, but the
company refused to take his complaint seriously.
5. His father also said that Yousef had been talking about leaving the job and at one time had left and returned when the
company promised to improve the security .
6. People from Abu Dis are absolutely certain that Yousef’s death was not a suicide, because Yousef was fine and had shown
no signs of distress before he left for work, or at all recently; they said he was happy and ‘doing fine’ in his life
The autopsy
7. The family have photographs of bruising on Yousef’s body that they believe are signs of struggle before he died.
8. Those who say that Yousef had committed suicide suggest that he hung himself with his tie. However the sharp circle round
his neck looks more likely to have been done with something like a wire.
9. The family asked for Yousef’s body to be taken to Al Quds University in Abu Dis for an autopsy but the Israeli authorities
refused, and took him instead to Abu Kbeer (an Israeli centre) to have an autopsy where the suggestion was again that there
had been no foul play.
10. The family asked for the involvement of a Palestinian doctor and this was agreed.
11. There is now a massive disagreement about what had happened.
12. “ Yoav Mordechai, Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, said reports that Yousef al-Ramouni was
murdered were untrue... He added that Israeli authorities would release an official medical report proving that the death was a
suicide ...” (Ma’an)
13. “ But a medical expert, speaking to Ma'an on the condition of anonymity late Monday, said that the autopsy indicated that alRamouni's death did not seem to be a suicide.” (Maan) He said that it did not seem that he had hung himself as his neck wasn’t
broken, and so another person/ people seemed to have been involved. He also said that Yousef’s face had been sprayed with
some sort of anaesthetic (?) probably before attacking him, and also noted that this had not dripped down his body as it would
have done had he hung himself: he appeared to have died sitting down. This also suggests that he did not die from hanging
himself.
We may update this and will date each version.
CADFA 18/11/14
21.11.2014
LPA // Request for independent inquiry into the suspicious death of Yusuf
Rammouni
URGENT APPEAL: Ref: UA 12/ 14.
NAME: Yusuf Hasan al-Rammouni, 32
VIOLATIONS: Suspected torture and garrotting
Please demand that the Israeli Minister for Justice instigates an official independent investigation into the highly suspicious and
horrific death of Palestinian,Yusuf Hasan al-Rammouni, 32, an Egged bus driver and father of two little children, who was found
hanged in a bus at Har Hotzvim terminal on Sunday 16th November 2014.
Please press the TAKE ACTION BOX to send letter to TZIPI LIVNI, Minister for Justice, Israel; H.E. Margaret Sekaggya,
UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders, H.E.RIYAD H. MANSOUR, Ambassador, Permanent Observer
Mission of Palestine and please request your mailing lists clickCurrent Urgent Appeal on www.palestinematters.com
For
further
information: https://news.vice.com/article/lynching-or-suicide-conflicting-accounts-of-palestinian-busdrivers-death-underscore-growing-tensions-in-jerusalem
Medical Aid for Palestinians
06.11.2014
Gaza: Winter is Coming
What's it like to be a surgeon in Gaza?
Dr. Adnan Bursh is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon who lives in Gaza City with his family. Dr. Bursh went to medical school
in Romania and did his orthopaedic training in Jordan and at Kings in London. He is certified by the Jordanian Board of
Orthopaedic Surgery and has a fellowship in Limb Reconstructive Surgery from Kings College Hospital.
What are your most vivid memories of the most recent attacks on Gaza?
My strongest memory is when I see children and babies killed and amputated and injured. In every child that came here injured
and dead - I saw my children in them.
How has your work changed as a result of the attacks?
Sometimes I worked three days, four days. When there were hours for ceasefire, we went home and then back again, continue
two days, three days, four days. Once thirteen days in a row when I had no continuous sleep. Maybe 1, 2, 3 hours sleep
between operations. I got 5 hours sleep when I had the chance. But anyone could call me at any time and tell me I am needed.
How have the attacks affected you personally and your family?
During my work here in the hospital, they called me from the morgue – “There is someone from the family Bursh here in the
morgue. Do you know him?” I said “Tell me what is his name”. They told me. “Yeah this is my cousin”. I told his brothers and his
mother. He was killed while he was in his home. Unfortunately he was in his room that was attacked, sleeping.
Also my brother. His home of four levels, a big home was attacked. Completely destroyed. There were about 40 people in this
home. They were not hurt.
5
Is it possible to describe a typical day for you?
We start the day at 7:30am. I start to see my patients, morning rounds. Then some theatre, some outpatients. I finish at 2:30pm.
Then I go back to my family. Then my private clinic from 4pm to 6pm and I go back home to my family to eat and have a good
time. Of course this is the time to support my family and my children, mainly psychologically. Most of the time I spend with them
in the sea, playing. I try to go out of the home. Just go home to sleep. I want them to forget the time of the war, the sound of the
bombs, the sound of the rockets. This is important for them.
Once, after one of the ceasefires ended while I was at home, I was getting ready for work. My wife dressed the children in nice
clothes and she got them to take a photo with me. The feeling was, this was a farewell for me. She said “Maybe you will
not come home again.” The photo is nice now. Really it’s a happy photo.
Is there a recent patient you can describe who especially stands out in your memory?
The patients in orthopaedic surgery, we will follow them for one or two years. Most of the injuries are major injuries. The
management was temporary during the time of the war. We started revising their treatment now. I had a patient called Abdulla.
He is 24 years old. He’s from Beit Hanoun, north of Gaza. He was seriously injured on the day he got married. He had gone to
get his marriage certificate from the sheikh. His leg was severely damaged and couldn’t be saved. He also had very serious
injuries to his hip and abdomen on the same side. The doctors from the UK came to consult on the case. His leg had to be
amputated to save his life but his family were reluctant. One of the UK doctors, Dr. Graeme Groom, spoke to them and
convinced then that it needed to be done. We took the limb away and used the muscular and skin flap to cover the large raw
wound area along his hip and abdomen. This is the first time we did this surgery in Gaza. It took four hours.
What kinds of shortages are you and your hospital facing? What do you urgently need?
When Dr. Graeme was here he saw the shortages of orthopaedic surgical equipment and items such as screws and drill bits.
We urgently need these now.
What is the most difficult part of your job right now?
My time is not owned by me. I can be called during the night or any time to come back to the hospital.
What is the mood among your fellow surgeons and medical staff?
We thank God we are still alive. During the war there was no safe place – not mosques, hospitals or homes
What are your hopes and fears for the future?
Gaza will never die. And remember that today, tomorrow, the next day. Our sons will lead Gaza to peace. Gaza will be a nice
place like London. I am just afraid about time. I am afraid I will not see this in my life.
What role has Medical Aid for Palestinians played in your hospital in recent months?
Many thanks for MAP who helped us by bringing the doctors and consultants to Gaza to support us. They did consultations, saw
patients, went into theatre.MAP is always in hospitals and we know them very well.
What would you say to someone who said ‘the attacks are over, so the crisis has passed’?
For us as doctors, the war starts now. There are 10,000 people injured. 70-80% of them need orthopaedic surgery. The
management of their injuries during the war was temporary. Now we need to revise all these patients, schedule surgery and
resupply equipment.
Source: Medical Aid for Palestinians
06.11.2014
Gaza – Look Closer
MAP’s Kate Mason travelled to Gaza for the first time in October as part of a mission to explore new programme options
following the recent conflict that killed over 2,000 Palestinians and injured over 10,000.
It’s different to actually see Gaza after having learnt so much about it – I realised that before coming here, in my mind, Gaza
had been little more than a set of statistics about food insecurity and children killed by Israeli attacks. What struck me then was
that on many roads in Gaza, seen in a snapshot, you could easily be in any other country. At some times it was hard to
reconcile that image with the 80% food insecurity figure. There are no toddlers staggering around with distended stomachs; the
streets were busy, everyone getting on with that day’s errands and with normal life.
But if you step away from that snapshot image, pause to watch the street scene for more than a few minutes, there are clues as
to the differences between life here and outside the strip. There seem to be schoolchildren everywhere, throughout the day, for
example. This is because there simply aren’t enough schools in Gaza – almost every school has to operate in three shifts
meaning that children are taught for no more than three hours a day. If you look closer too, you can see the generators outside
almost every building, waiting for the minimum 12 hours of power cut Gaza experiences each day.
6
The children on the street however, look incredibly neat and well presented. Their uniforms are pristine, their hair combed and
schoolbags unscuffed. They run and skip along the side of the road in small groups laughing and joking, seeming, for that
moment, that the horrors of the summer are forgotten.
Yet every one of those children was impacted in one way or another by the two month bombardment. They may have lost
classmates – over 500 children were killed – others will still be recovering or coming to terms with disability – over 1,000
children will have been made permanently disabled by attacks. They may also have lost family members or a safe place to live.
Some may still be living in shelters, unable to return to their destroyed homes. Their parents, if they had jobs before the attacks,
may have lost that source of employment and with it a secure income. All will experience the water and power shortages which
have increased since key infrastructure was damaged or destroyed.
7
In that snapshot however, you don’t see this hardship. We watched one boy, who looked clean and happy, the white of his
school shirt as good as new, peel off from his friends to go into what used to be his home in the Shuja’iyya neighbourhood of
Gaza city. Now, his family’s house is a pile of rubble with a couple of sheets strung up for privacy and whatever furniture they
could salvage arranged inside, visible through the gaping holes in what used to be the walls. But this boy, perhaps seven or
eight years old, ran inside to greet his family as if he was returning to a palace.
What struck me about Gaza was that, apart from the destruction - in some areas whole neighbourhoods have been flattened to
the ground – the poverty and hardship was often masked by a barrier of pride and dignity that is maintained even by those in the
harshest conditions. You only have to scratch the surface however to reveal living conditions which are fast becoming unlivable. In our hotel, when the power went out, it came back on almost immediately and, in my room, the TV and wifi flickered
back to life. Across Gaza meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people were reaching for the candles or torches, or going up to
the roof to start the generator. The capacity of the Palestinian people in Gaza to get up, dust themselves off, and carry on was
evident in every street and in every person we met. But the feeling of claustrophobia was also there; the desire to get out – to
get away to any other place and leave the hardship behind once and for all.
Source: Medical Aid for Palestinians
14.11.2014
Israel bans Norwegian doctor from Gaza for life
MAP is deeply concerned by the refusal of access to a medical practitioner into Gaza. Following the recent conflict thousands of
Palestinians in Gaza require specialised surgical treatment and it is imperative that the right to health is unimpeded. Israeli
authorities cited security reasons for shutting Doctor Gilbert out from the Gaza Strip. The Norwegian 67-year-old has travelled
to and from Gaza to treat Palestinians. This summer, the chief physician who lives and works in northern Norway, was back
working at Shifa hospital, Gaza, where he spend more than 50 days treating many of the 11,000 injured. The doctor was
attempting to return to the region in October to help in the hospital and was stopped by Israeli officials from entering. Gilbert
says: “When we came back to the Erez border station, the Israeli soldiers told me that I could not go in to Gaza.”
Now the Israeli government is stating that Gilbert is banned for security reasons, according to an email from the Norwegian
embassy in Tel Aviv. The embassy took up the case on Gilbert's behalf after he was refused entry last month.
8
Norway's Secretary of State, Bård Glad Pedersen, said to VG: “From the Norwegian perspective, we have raised Gilbert's
exclusion from Gaza and asked Israel to change their decision. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is still difficult and there is a
need for all health workers.” Gilbert himself believes the decision is connected to his critical comments against the state of
Israel. The outspoken peace activist wrote a letter to the global media in July this year in which he spoke about the extreme
conditions at the Gaza hospital where he worked.
Source: Medical Aid for Palestinians
14.11.2014
Gaza’s ‘Ground Zero'
MAP’s Paul Julien recently returned from a visit to Gaza. Here he contrasts what he witnessed following the 2009 conflict with
the situation today following the July assault.
Each time I approach Gaza it is with a sense of dread. Visiting for the first time after the war on Gaza of 2009, overwhelmed by
all that I saw, it seemed to me that Gaza was going through its own ‘Ground Zero’ moment. So the comparison isn’t new or even
entirely accurate, but it does seem more powerful than it did four years ago. We struggle with a figurative language that cannot
cope with the physical reality. Now, walking street after street of carnage and annihilation in Shuja’iyya, a whole neighborhood
blasted to ruins, phrases like ‘post-apocalyptic’ cry out to be used. Photographs cannot truly indicate the scale of the
destruction, or the telling detail.
All along the border with Israel, in places like Khuza’a, what facades remain facing east are decimated or covered in bullet holes
and worse. Shuja’iyya has to be seen to be believed. In some ruined buildings, a bathroom wall might still be standing, shelf
and mirror intact. From others a concrete pillar or a heavy slab of floor might hang precariously at an angle – beneath which
barefoot children scavenge for scraps, playing or surviving or both. In the rubble of a blasted school (adjacent to a bombed
mosque), the eye falls on the scorched pages of exercise books. Photographs can show us the rubble: but not the composition
of that rubble. Yes, it is concrete and stone and metal; it is also largely made up of the detritus of everyday life, clothes, plastics,
furniture, kitchen items, books, electronics, and toys. I wonder again if the word ‘apocalyptic’ is too extreme, too biblical, too
much the preserve of melodrama and action films. Not, perhaps, to the 91 entire families killed in these attacks. Not to the child
whose blackened doll we found in the rubble of her bedroom. Not to the child whose English language exercise book was open
at a page where she’d written the humdrum word ‘mango’. This is what remains visible of ordinary, mundane life and is what
adds to the sense of apocalypse, the world’s end. Of course this isn’t the end of the world. But it was the end of that child’s
world.
Nor can photographs show you the cut of dust in your throat, the unforgiving heat, or the smell. The air of Gaza hits you even
before you’ve gone through the state-of-the-art Israeli terminal at Erez crossing, a mix of garbage, sewage and generator oil.
The contrast with Israel, with its pine forests and greenery, couldn’t be more stark: take a look at a satellite map, and contrast
the neat green agricultural spaces of Israel with the grey smudges of Gaza. Those grey smudges are camps and urban centres
where 1.8 million people try to eke out a living: including almost half a million children under the age of eighteen. MAP’s
beginnings grew directly from one young surgeon’s shocked and indignant response to a well-documented massacre. She
witnessed it whilst working in a hospital in a Palestinian refugee camp: Sabra & Shatila, 1982. Now, in Gaza, walking around
the bombed remains of houses and schools and mosques and playgrounds; seeing the wholesale obliteration of entire
communities; reviewing the raw statistics - 100,000 made homeless, 11,000 seriously injured, 1,000 permanently disabled,
2,000 people killed, 500 of them children; thinking about Israel’s military methods - the so-called ‘roof-knocking’, or the sinister
prerecorded phone calls telling you to leave your home - your home - with your entire family, within minutes, at which point an
Israeli warhead will completely destroy the building and with it your worldly belongings; now, pondering all of these things, it is
difficult not to consider what happened in these 51 days as a massacre, equal to if not worse than the Sabra & Shatila
massacre. Watched by the world, yes, and carried out with sophisticated military hardware; but a massacre all the same.
There is no choice but to rebuild. The people of Gaza are known for their resilience. Visitors who return from Gaza always talk
about the unwavering hope but this time I sensed the fatigue, the erosion of hope, the bruised will of a people proud of their
homeland desperate to leave: for anywhere, anywhere better than this. What really can a British charity like MAP do? The
answer is: we do what we can. The needs are immense, and health needs particularly so. Though destruction and despair were
everywhere on this trip, it was reassuring to see so many health professionals and projects working hard to rebuild the
healthcare services and people’s lives. It was good to see the hospitals that MAP is supporting, all of the medicines in the
central store that MAP supporters have paid for, the community-based rehabilitation programme for people with disabilities and
so much more.
At the malnutrition clinic in Khan Younis camp, we learned that 4,500 babies had been born during the recent attacks; mothers’
breast milk had been affected by the stress of war; food insecurity had worsened and the clinic’s caseload had increased. But
MAP will continue to support the clinic staff and doctors doing all that they can to nurse children out of malnutrition and back to
health. We met some of the young children who had been high risk and who, because of this project, are now in good health.
The smiles of these toddlers are a powerful and moving thing to see, an image that I try to carry, to counter all the rest.
Source: Medical Aid for Palestinians
Middle East Monitor
05.11.2014
Paradox in Palestine: Ali Abunimah speaks in London
Ali Abunimah, executive director of the Electronic Intifada website spoke at a meeting organised by the Middle East Monitor in
London on the 4th November. His latest book, The Battle for Justice in Palestine: The Case for a Single Democratic State in
Palestine (2014) has been shortlisted by Middle East Monitor for their Palestine Book Awards. Sherrl Yanowitz and Neil
Rogall summarise what Ali Abunimah said in his talk.
Palestine is engulfed in a massive paradox. The situation has never been better and it has never been worse. Since the war on
Gaza this summer, there is nothing but sheer, relentless awfulness. Ali recently stayed in Jordan while waiting for a visa to visit
Gaza. The rain poured down relentlessly over both places. In Jordan everyone was warm and dry inside permanent structures.
In Gaza 100,000 people are trying to survive out in the cold and rain wrapped in blankets next to the ruins of their entire
neighbourhood. Ali saw piles of rubble where houses once stood. The broken concrete blocks were painted with the names of
Palestinians whose bodies still lie underneath. But ‘the international community’ is doing nothing. There are no appeals, no aid,
no international support systems. There are 100,000 people homeless.
9
Meanwhile the UN and the aid agencies are becoming complicit in the siege of Gaza. A monitoring system has been set up.
Someone from the UN comes, does a ‘needs assessment’ of a family. ‘How much cement does Joseph need to rebuild his
home?” The Israeli authorities have 48 hours to rule on whether or not ‘Joseph’ is a fit person to be granted the ten bags of
cement. The cement comes from an Israeli supplier. Then everything is constantly monitored by cameras so ‘none of the
cement goes astray’. This is just like the UN’s ‘food for oil’ programme in Iraq prior to the Iraq invasion. It is calculated to inflict
maximum suffering on ordinary people. Aid agencies like Oxfam are completely silent on this UN implemented plan. The plan is
also approved by the Palestinian Authority. Basically the Gaza siege is being accepted by the aid agencies, the UN and the PA.
The situation in the whole of Palestine has never been more dire. Palestinian Bedouins are being evicted from their land in the
Jordan Valley and in the Negev. They are receiving no support from the UN or the ‘international community’. The Jewish
National Fund, a registered charity around the world, gets tax relief to ethnically cleanse Bedouin land.
There is the same story in the Galilee, in Acre and Jaffa where a process of ‘gentrification’ means ethnic cleansing. Palestinian
communities that have been able to survive in Israel since 1948 are losing out to the Israeli state’s sectarian policies. In
Jerusalem, Israeli assaults are escalating. On July 2nd 16 year old Mohammed Abu Khdeir was kidnapped and burnt alive by 3
Israeli men. During the summer the mobs in Jerusalem attacking Palestinians were Israeli fascists, Now the mobs are the police
and army. Palestinian youth are shot down in cold blood but no one is arrested or disciplined for it. This institutional violence
mounts as the Zionists try to completely take over Jerusalem. Yehuda Glick, an American Israeli rabbi, is a leader of a far right
organisation that wants to demolish the Al Aqsa mosque and replace it with the ‘Third Temple’. He survived an assassination
attempt in October. The western media treats him as if he is some sort of civil rights activist. This is a movement backed by the
Israeli government that is using the crisis to advance the Zionists’ millenarian plans. This is similar to Hebron in 1994 after the
American born Israeli Baruch Goldstein opened fire in the Ibrahimi Mosque killing 29 worshippers and injuring 125. The Israeli
government responded by partitioning the mosque, rewarding the settlers. It is worth comparing this to the destruction of the
Babri Masjid in Ayodyha, India in 1994. This was organised by the Hindu nationalists of the BJP and led to large number of
murders around India. That carnage might be child’s play to what will happen if Al Aqsa is destroyed by the Israelis.
In the West Bank the Palestinian Authority is there to help Israel by preventing protests. But in Jerusalem there is no PA, so the
Palestinians can protest.
There are no longer any safe places for Palestinians. In the West Bank the Jewish settlements are on steroids. In Syria half of
the Palestinians living there have been displaced by the war. The regional wars mean there are no ‘safe places’ for the
Palestinians. Many hands help drive the bulldozers and drop the bombs. The USA is an enthusiastic partner in what Ilan Pappe
calls an “Incremental Genocide”. Britain is totally complicit too. There was no motion put forward in the UK parliament for an
arms embargo (only on a vote for a Palestinian state). The USA and UK give impunity to Israel. No one is holding the Israelis to
account. Instead the British government has changed the law to make the UK a safe haven for Israeli war criminals. The media
are complicit, particularly the BBC which has become a propaganda channel for Zionism. You can tell the same story around
Europe. In fact those who most preach about human rights are the ones most complicit in depriving the Palestinians of their
human rights. The so-called liberal peace process gives cover to Israel. Let us now consider the other side of the ledger:
Israel has never been more isolated. The Israeli press are hysterical about this. Certainly US backing of Israeli murder
continues. But at the same time US–Israeli relations are in deep crisis. This comes out of a growing realisation by the US elite
that US imperial interests are being harmed by Israel. General Petraeus (in 2010) said that Israeli intransigence on Palestine
was causing anti-American feeling to grow and strengthening Al Qaeda. John Kerry said much the same thing this year. Okay
they withdraw their comments or deny them once the Israeli lobby gets to them but the record doesn’t vanish. Israel has gone
out on a limb in support of ISIS. At the UN, Netanyahu said ‘Iran is the problem not ISIS’. Israel keeps repeating ‘don’t focus on
ISIS but focus on Iran’. At the same time there is this incredible solidarity movement around the world. The Israeli government
describes this as an existential threat on a level with the Iranian nuclear bomb. (There of course, is no Iranian bomb). You get
bravado from Israeli financial figures: ‘trade is higher, investment is higher’. But the government is really worried. The economy
minister said ‘the boycott is really bad, we will pay the price’. We know some of the settlement farms have lost 100s of millions
of dollars since 2012.
This incredible activism is not just about Palestine. Everyone is talking about ‘the death of politics’ because very few people
think elections can change anything. The Scottish referendum showed something very different – people could self organise to
could change things. This crisis of politics affects the Palestinians too. The PLO and the Palestinian Authority have become
subsidiaries of Israel. We have to recognise the Palestinians have a right to resist and we should have no truck with
condemnations of Hamas. But neither Fateh or Hamas have any political vision. BDS is something new. It is led by Palestinians.
It calls for 3 things: (1) An end to occupation (2) An end to discrimination against Palestinians in Israel (3) The right of return for
all Palestinians. It is decentralised. It is self-organised. This causes Israel problems. There is no ‘BDS HQ’ to bomb. The BDS
demands do not provide all the answers. What happens when the ‘South Africa moment’ arrives? But we are not there yet. BDS
strengthens resistance to Israeli occupation. Where are we going? BDS is not aligned with any solutions. BDS is simply saying
Palestinians deserve all rights. The clamour for a two state solution is mounting at the very point when it is not going to happen.
It is not about 1 or 2 or 10 states. It is about decolonisation.
What then? Of course radical inequality can coexist in a single state. We see that in the US, in the UK or in post-apartheid
South Africa. The ‘new’ South Africa was born into the high point of neoliberalism, the collapse of the so-called ‘communist’
bloc. London is the most branded city in the world. We are seeing that too in Palestine. A new Palestinian state (in whatever
form) will be born into neoliberalism. Once the siege in Gaza is lifted all the direction will be from the crony capitalists in the
West Bank and from Gulf capital. We did not take full notes of the lively discussion. But there was a useful point made about the
connection of Ferguson and Palestine. US police forces and military are often trained by the Israelis. What Israel is doing to the
Palestinians is then done to the minorities in the US. Israel sells its weapons as ‘battle tested’. Ali replied to one question
relating the discovery of vast gas fields off Gaza to the recent Israeli assault on Gaza. He replied: Israel wants to ‘cleanse’ the
land of Palestinians – it wants the Palestinians to go but the Palestinians are saying ‘we will not go away’.
Source: Ali Abunimah, Executive Director of the Electronic Intifada website spoke at a meeting organised by the Middle
East Monitor in London on the 4th November. His latest book, The Battle for Justice in Palestine: The Case for a Single
Democratic State in Palestine (2014)
Palestine Solidarity Campaign
06.11.2014
ICC says Israel committed war crimes on Mavi Marmara – so why won’t it
prosecute?
10
The International Criminal Court has said it will not prosecute Israel for its lethal assault on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza,
despite concluding it believes that war crimes were committed. This decision has been called into question by the Counsel for
the Government of the Comoros, which brought the case before the ICC, and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).
The Counsel for the Government of Comoros, said: ‘The Prosecutor’s decision marks the first time a State referral by an ICC
States Party has ever been rejected by the Office of the Prosecutor without even initiating an investigation. Sarah Colborne,
Director of PSC, who was on board the lead vessel, the Mavi Marmara, when it was attacked said: ‘The ICC says it cannot
prosecute war crimes unless they are being committed on a large scale. Israel’s war crimes, especially in Gaza this summer
when more than 2,000 Palestinians were killed, are on a sufficiently large scale to be investigated. ‘We agree that Israel seems
to enjoy a special status. Israel must not be allowed to commit war crimes with impunity. It must be brought to justice and face
the consequences for its actions. This is the only way to stop it from committing further war crimes against the Palestinian
people and those who support them.’
06.11.2014
ICC believes Israel committed war crimes in flotilla raid but won’t prosecute
Media release
The International Criminal Court has said it will not prosecute Israel for its lethal assault on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza,
despite concluding that war crimes were committed. This decision has been called into question by the Counsel for the
Government of the Comoros, which brought the case before the ICC, and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).
In a statement, Sir Geoffrey Nice QC and Rodney Dixon QC, Counsel for the Government of Comoros, said: ‘The Prosecutor’s
decision marks the first time a State referral by an ICC States Party has ever been rejected by the Office of the Prosecutor
without even initiating an investigation. ‘It confirms the view expressed by politicians, civil society organisations, NGOs and
commentators from many quarters that Israel has a ‘special status’. ‘The decision is fundamentally flawed as a matter of law
and on the facts, and the Government of the Comoros will therefore immediately apply to the Judges of the ICC to review the
Prosecutor’s finding, as it is entitled to do under the ICC’s Statute. The Comoros will urge the Judges to rectify the Prosecutor’s
errors so that an investigation can finally be opened.’
Sarah Colborne, Director of PSC, who was on board the lead vessel, the Mavi Marmara, when it was attacked said: ‘The ICC
says it cannot prosecute war crimes unless they are being committed on a large scale. Israel’s war crimes, especially in Gaza
this summer when more than 2,000 Palestinians were killed, are on a sufficiently large scale to be investigated. ‘We agree with
the comments of the Counsel for the Government of the Comoros that Israel seems to enjoy a special status, and we welcome
their decision to pursue this matter further. Israel must not be allowed to commit war crimes with impunity. It must be brought to
justice and face the consequences for its actions. This is the only way to stop it from committing further war crimes against the
Palestinian people and those who support them.’
The International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, issued a statement today in which she said: ‘I have
concluded that there is a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court
were committed on one of the vessels, the Mavi Marmara, when Israeli Defense Forces intercepted the “Gaza Freedom Flotilla”
on 31 May 2010.’ However, the prosecutor said no further action would be taken. Her statement added: ‘Without in any way
minimizing the impact of the alleged crimes on the victims and their families, I have to be guided by the Rome Statute, in
accordance with which, the ICC shall prioritize war crimes committed on a large scale or pursuant to a plan or policy.’
The ICC report can be read here:
http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/otp/OTP-COM-Article_53(1)-Report-06Nov2014Eng.pdf
See
more
at:
http://www.palestinecampaign.org/icc-believes-israel-committed-war-crimes-flotilla-raid-wontprosecute/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PSC+update%3A+ICC+says+Israel+committed+war+...&utm_source=YMLP&
utm_term=pv84_moreinfo.jpg#sthash.oJwOtEXH.dpuf
06.11.2014
Tell the media to report the truth about Jerusalem
East Jerusalem is in the news, but the reports on the violence in the city are missing facts, background and context.
News audiences are being kept in the dark about the daily brutality and illegality of Israel's occupation, Israeli policies aimed at
cleansing the city of Palestinians, and the frequency with which Israeli settlers and soldiers attack and invade the Al Aqsa
compound.
Our report, What the media won't tell you about East Jerusalem, gives the grim facts on how Israel attempts to repress, control,
intimidate and, ultimately, expel East Jerusalem Palestinians.
Please read the report and write to the media to highlight what is being left out of their reporting.
Letters for publication can be sent to:
The Guardian: guardian.letters@theguardian.com
The Observer: observer.letters@observer.co.uk
The Independent: letters@independent.co.uk
The Daily Telegraph: dtletters@telegraph.co.uk
Sunday Telegraph: stletters@telegraph.co.uk
The Times: letters@thetimes.co.uk
Daily Mail: letters@dailymail.co.uk
Please include your name, postal address and telephone number when writing to any of the above
To comment or complain about BBC coverage, please fill in the BBC’s website form atwww.bbc.co.uk/complaints
13.11.2014
Palestinians facing upsurge in Israeli repression
Israel’s attacks on Palestinians are continuing, as tensions increase in Jerusalem and beyond. Israeli Prime Minister,
Netanyahu, has announced the reintroduction of punitive house demolitions, an inflammatory and illegal act – whilst a
further 200 settlement units have just been approved in East Jerusalem. This week Israel bombed a Palestinian fishing boat off
the coast of Gaza, as attacks on fishermen become an increasingly common event. The UN are reporting a spike in the number
of Palestinians with their homes demolished by Israel. Now Israel’s impunity looks set to continue with Israel refusing to
cooperate with the UN Inquiry into the war on Gaza.
The Israeli far right have been mobilising, not only at Al-Aqsa mosque. On Monday night, a violent extreme right wing demo by
supporters of Yisrael Beiteinu, the political party headed by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, demonstrated in Jerusalem
11
outside an art exhibition, this time directing their anger at B’Tselem, an Israeli organization that documents human rights abuses
against Palestinians. At the demonstration, at least one person was physically assaulted, with shouts of ‘may you burn in the
gas chambers’ directed against B’Tselem supporters. Read more> Please help us increase pressure on the UK Foreign
Secretary, Philip Hammond, to take urgent action, and join the thousands who have already emailed
him:http://act.palestinecampaign.org/lobby/ejerusalem
A London protest against Israel’s escalation of violence in Jerusalem, organised by MAB, IFE, APC, PFB, BMI and GUPS, is
being supported by PSC and the Stop the War Coalition, and is taking place on Saturday outside Downing Street this Saturday
15 November, from 1-3pm
A Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli troops in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday. Witnesses said Fadil Muhammad
Halawah, 32, was hunting birds east of Jabaliya when Israeli soldiers shot him dead. In the West Bank Israeli settlers continue
their campaign to terrorise Palestinians living in the West Bank, in collaboration with the Israeli Forces. One family’s house
was set alight by settlers, who scrawled racist graffiti on the home. For the first time, sound bombs and tear gas were used by
the settlers in this attack.
In Jerusalem one Palestinian was shot in the head with a rubber bullet, and another was attacked by Israelis at his place of
work. Another was beaten unconscious by settlers on Friday night. In Jerusalem, gangs of Israeli girls have been beating up
Palestinians. The impunity continues. Due to the fact that DCI Palestine collated and analysed incontrovertible video evidence
that Nadim Nuwara, was shot in cold blood, when he posed no risk, an Israeli policeman now faces charges. But he is being
charged with manslaughter instead of murder. As the boy’s father said: “A Palestinian arrested under these circumstances
would be facing murder charges, with the possibility of life imprisonment, and his family’s home would be demolished.”
Meanwhile, a tsunami of racism against Palestinian citizens of Israel is being unleashed. The Israeli mayor of Ashkelon
announced yesterday that Palestinian citizens of Israel are banned from working on construction projects in bomb shelters at
local kindergartens during school hours. This comes amid a new wave of Israeli popular racism calling for Arabs to be fired.
Likud leader Yariv Levin has advocated draconian proposals including that people waving an ‘enemy flag’, including the
Palestinian flag, during protests, will be arrested and held in remand until the completion of legal procedures against them, with
anyone convicted losing social welfare benefits and their driving licence for 10 years. As Ben White points out, the furore over
new Jewish State law misses the point – Israel already discriminates.
Read PSC Chair's statement on Jerusalem>
Read PSC's factsheet - what the media won't tell you about East Jerusalem>
o
o
Call on MPs to raise these issues in Parliament debate on Palestine. More than 100,000 people signed a petition calling for a
debate on Palestine in Parliament. That debate is now set to take place on Monday 1st December. We want to make sure as
many MPs as possible are asked to speak up for Palestinian human rights. Please make sure you press your MP to speak on
1st December. Ask them to raise the issues of:
Arms embargo: whilst Israel is using equipment and weapons for internal repression, no arms export licences should be granted
to or from Israel (see story in news below on Britain’s arms sales).
Block on settlement trade: as Israel's settlements are illegal - what are settlement goods doing in our shops?
Israel has continued to violate the terms of the ceasefire in Gaza – the government must act to stop Israel’s violations, open the
borders and allow Palestinians to rebuild their lives.
Arms
26.11.2014
Alert 28th Nov - HP #StopArmingIsrael Protest Day OF Action
On Friday 28th November we will be joining the call for a UK Stop Arming Israel day of action, to pressure UK companies and
the government to end all military cooperation with Israel. Our target is HP, one of the top 20 armament companies in the US
with arms sales worth $3 billion in 2011. Hewlett Packard with its $6 billion investment in Israel, provides the IT backbone for the
entire Israeli war machine - from the army, to the navy, to the Ministry of Defense. As HP's London HQ is closed on Saturday
29th (the actual day of action) we will be protesting there on Friday 28th.
BACKGROUND - HEWLETT-PACKARD
HP is more than an office supplies and printers company, they are one of the top 20 defense contractors in the US with arms*
sales worth $3 billion in 2011. They specialize in developing the IT infrastructure that is essential for the military to function.
Whilst Hewlett-Packard(HP) operates in 178 countries around the world in HP's own words "Israel is one of the few countries
where HP has a massive presence.. In the past decade, HP has invested over $6 billion in the acquisition of Israeli companies,
including the establishment of production plants.. HP is the second largest investor in Israeli IT."
HP provides IT backbone to Israeli Military
In 2011 HP won Israel's largest ever servers tender, worth an estimated $140 million. Under the tender HP implements and
manages the entire server farm of the Ministry of Defense and the Israeli army for 5 years (contract ends in 2016). Those HP
servers form the IT backbone of the entire Israeli war machine making HP complicit in Israel's war crimes.
HP has been equipping the Israeli military since 2006 when it was first contracted to provided the IT infrastructure for the Israeli
navy, a virtualization project which was used by the Israeli military as a pilot for implementing the same system to the entire
army. HP is thereby assisting the illegal naval blockade of Gaza which also began in 2006. In 2009 HP won the contract to
supply all computer equipment to the Israeli military. In another contract HP supply configuration management database system
for the Israeli Army's secret IT unit. Currently HP is implementing and assimilating an enterprise resource planning and
management system for the Israeli Army (2011-2015).
HP helping Israels dungeons and torture dens to operate
Hewlett Packard is also providing essential IT services and infrastructural that enable the Israeli Prison Service (IPS)** to
function. Everyday Israel abducts and cages 2 children as young as 12 years old. Human rights groups have documented the
brutal torture of children as standard practice during interrogations in order to coerce confessions, usually to stone throwing
which carries a sentence of up to 20 years imprisonment. Today there are over 6000 Palestinian political prisoners, including
women and children, imprisoned by the Israeli Prison Service - many locked up without even a charge let alone a trial. 72
12
Palestinian prisoners have been tortured to death in Israeli prisons since 1967. The latest being father of five young children,
Raed Abdul-Salam al-Jabari, who was died following interrogation at Eshel prison on 9th Sep 2014. he had been arrested over
a simple car accident involving an illegal Israeli settler. The IPS claimed he had comitted suicide by hanging himself in his cell
but the autopsy revealed he had been savagely tortured with repeated blows to the head and face causing brain hemorrhage.
His neck showed no signs of hanging.
In an ongoing contract (until 2016), worth millions of dollars, HP provides the Israeli prison serviceÃÂ the systems and servers
needed to keep it operational. In 2012 HPÃÂ provided the central servers for the operational system of the IPS ("Tzohar") and
its ongoing maintenance. In a contract worth $35 million, HP developed the Kidma information system for the IPS which
includes the prisoners management system and intelligence subs systems, helping the occupation keep illegal records on
Palestinians it has abducted and their families. HP has also executed a project for e-mail storage and archive for the IPS.
HP helping the occupation implement apartheid
HP has developed and maintained the Basel System -ÃÂ a biometric access control system with hand and facial recognition,
which is used by Israel at illegal checkpoints deep inside occupied territory to restrict and control Palestinian freedom of
movement in their own land. It forms part of the separation wall apparatus declared illegal by the International Court of Justice in
2004. HP also provided services to the illegal settlements, in particular Modi'in Illit and Ariel. This includesÃÂ a data storage
system for the municipality of Ariel as part of the "Smart City" project. *Arms sales defined as goods & services designed
specifically for military purpose and doesn't include general purpose equipment like office computers. Figure may be
underestimate as it doesn't include classified contracts. Src: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
**We would especially like to thank WhoProfits.org for the research they have conducted on HP, in particular their freedom of
information requests that have revealed the extent on HP's complicity with the Israeli Prison Service.
More Information on camapign against Hewlett Packard 's complicity in Israel's war crimes, dungeons and torture
dens:
http://www.inminds.com/article.php?id=10628
Palestinian Prisoners Campaign
www.inminds.com/caged
twitter.com/InmindsCom
youtube.com/user/inminds
The Palestinian Prisoners Campaign aims to raise awareness for the plight of Palestinian prisoners and build solidarity for their
struggle and work towards their freedom. The campaign was launched by Innovative Minds (inminds.com) and the Islamic
Human Rights Commission (ihrc.org) on the occasion of Al Quds Day 2012 (on 17th August 2012), since then we have held
actions every fortnight in support of Palestinian prisoners, if you can spare two hours twice a month then please join the
campaign by coming to the next action.
BDS
08.11.2014
SodaStream to close West Bank plant - Direct action prevents Israeli ships from
docking
SodaStream to close illegal settlement factory in response growing boycott campaign Major Israeli exporter SodaStream has
announced it will close its factory that is based in the illegal Israeli settlement of Mishor Adumim following a high profile boycott
campaign against the company that has seen retailers across Europe and North America drop SodaStream products and the
company's share price fall by more than half. The BDS campaign must continue because Sodastream has yet to close its
factory, and because the company is to benefit from Israel's forcible displacement of Palestinians in the Naqab.
The incredible Block the Boat mobilisations have now suceeded in preventing Israeli ships from the Zim shipping company from
unloading cargo in Oakland, Los Angeles, Seattle and Tacoma. On 28 October, San Francisco Bay Area activists organizing
to block the unloading of Israeli shipping vessels declared their most significant victory yet: Israel’s Zim Integrated Shipping
Services appears to have cancelled all future shipments to the Oakland Port. The Palestinian BDS National Committee
recently welcomed the actions as an inspiration to the BDS movement.
08.11.2014
Kuwait government takes landmark decision to boycott 50 firms over role in
apartheid
The government of Kuwait has announced that it will not deal with 50 companies over their role in Israeli violations of
international law. The companies include Volvo, Dexia and Veolia. Kuwaiti authorities recently excludedVeolia from a contract
worth $750m $750m contract and “all future contract,” over its role in the illegal Jerusalem Light Rail project
08.11.2014
Israel excluded from Italy military exercises
The Israeli air force has been removed from the list of armed forces now taking part in multinational military training exercises on
the Italian island of Sardinia following a campaign by anti-war activists.
08.11.2014
A Call from Gaza: Make Israel Accountable for its Crimes in Gaza and
Intensifying Colonization in the West Bank– Intensify BDS!
A group of 21 organisations in Gaza have issued a moving appeal for solidarity and impactful BDS campaigning:
"Our battle to hold Israel accountable for its fresh war crimes and crimes against humanity has begun. The outcome of this
battle to end Israeli impunity will determine whether Israel’s latest assault will be yet another stage in Israel’s “incremental
genocide” of Palestinians or the turning point that will bring an end to Israel’s status as an entity above the law—the world’s
dangerous pariah. The outcome of this battle depends on you."
Read and share our guide on how to join the BDS movement and make an impact.
08.11.2014
A group of 21 organisations in Gaza have issued a moving appeal for solidarity
and impactful BDS campaigning:
13
"Our battle to hold Israel accountable for its fresh war crimes and crimes against humanity has begun. The outcome of this
battle to end Israeli impunity will determine whether Israel’s latest assault will be yet another stage in Israel’s “incremental
genocide” of Palestinians or the turning point that will bring an end to Israel’s status as an entity above the law—the world’s
dangerous pariah. The outcome of this battle depends on you."
Read and share our guide on how to join the BDS movement and make an impact.
18.11.2014
Alert 22nd Nov - Protest Israeli Blood Diamonds Funding War Crimes In Gaza
Date: Saturday 22nd November 12:30 - 2:30pm
Location: De Beers Jewellers, 50 Old Bond Street, London W1S 4QT (Closest tube: Green Park)
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1550255485217431
www.inminds.com
Yesterday Israel's business news Globes (16th Nov 2014) reported that third quarter economic results show Israel's economy
has for the first time since 2009 contracted in the wake of the genocidal assault on Gaza. The decline in GDP reflects decrease
in investments and exports of goods and services right across the board. Tourism for example is down 77.5%. The only
anomaly is the export of diamonds, they actually rose by 53.3% thus helping bail out the Israeli economy at this critical time
when no one want to touch this genocidal regime. It would appear that most people, including many in the BDS movement, dont
readily associate diamonds with Israel and its war crimes. The reality is that Israel's diamond industry is a main source of
funding for the Israeli military ( $1 billion every year according to testimony given at the Russel Tribunal in Nov 2010).
Join us on Saturday 22nd Nov 2014 outside the global diamond brand De Beers in Bond Street as we highlight this fact that
Israeli blood diamonds bankrolled the mass murder of over 2200 Gazaans this summer including 521 children as documented
by the UN.
BACKGROUND
Israel is one of the world’s leading producers of cut & polished diamonds. It imports rough diamonds, doubles their value by
cutting & polishing, and exports them globally via hubs in London, Antwerp, HK, NY & Mumbai. In 2011 Israel’s net export of
diamonds was worth $10 billion (30% of Israel’s manufacturing export, Israel’s #1 industry). 40-50% of diamonds purchased in
the US in dollar terms are from Israel. Most people don’t realise that diamonds sold in jewellers worldwide are bankrolling
Israel’s war machine: “Overall the Israeli diamond industry contributes about $1 billion annually to the Israeli military and
security industries … every time somebody buys a diamond that was exported from Israel some of that money ends up in the
Israeli military” evidence given by Israeli economist Shir Hever (Russell Tribunal Nov 2010). In February 2013 over 50
Palestinian civil society organisations, representing a cross-section of Palestinian society, issued an appeal to women and men
of conscience and jewellers worldwide to reject diamonds processed in Israel:
The Palestinian civil society organizations and international solidarity groups call upon:
1. Jewellers worldwide to immediately end the trade in diamonds processed in Israel, and
2. women and men of conscience the world over to reject diamonds from Israel which fund a military regime that murders,
maims and terrorises innocent men, women and children with impunity.
21.11.201
Blood Diamond buyers add $27 million per day to the Israeli economy
In the weeks just before Christmas diamond buyers will pump over $3 billion into the Israeli economy. Over the course of a year
the diamond jewellery industry adds an average of $27 million net every day to the Israeli economy. Last week Globes
reported - “For the first time since the third quarter of 2009, the Israeli economy posted negative growth, with GDP dropping
0.4% on an annualized basis in the third quarter, as a result of Operation Protective Edge” As is usual for Israeli economic
reports, data for diamond exports, which are so large they skew other economic data, is reported separately. So while exports
of goods and services were down 4.4% in the third quarter total exports of goods and services rose by an annualized 2.8%
thanks largely to an annualized 53.3% (11.3% in quarterly terms), increase in diamond exports.
This weekend activists in London and Dublin will be on the street to raise awareness about the ongoing trade in cut & polished
blood diamonds which are a major source of funding (1 billion/yr for the IOF) for a nuclear armed apartheid regime guilty of
gross human rights violations. Diamonds that fund war crimes and crimes against humanity are blood diamonds. The jewellery
industry uses the Kimberley Process charade, which allows cut & polished blood diamond evade the human rights regulations
applied to rough diamond, to con consumers by claiming diamonds from Israel are “ethically sourced” and “conflict free”.
Please join, invite friend and share these event notices and help expose the trade in Israeli blood diamonds – Israel’s No.1
export commodity.
London event notice - https://www.facebook.com/events/1550255485217431/
Dublin event notice - https://www.facebook.com/events/577896559008724/
@wardiamonds
https://www.facebook.com/Israelblooddiamonds
25.11.2014
Tell the UN not to reward Israel for Gaza massacre
International donors have pledged $5.4 billion to rebuild Gaza after Israel’s 50-day assault last summer that killed 2,254
Palestinians, including 538 children, and caused widespread destruction. But studies show that at least 45% of the aid pledged
by international donors will go to the Israeli economy.
Take action: Tell the UN: Don’t reward Israel for Gaza massacre
The companies that are set to rake in profits providing materials for the reconstruction of Gaza are corporate criminals.
Companies like Nesher and ReadyMix pillage Palestinian natural resources and participate in the construction of illegal
settlements. It is time the UN feel the extent of public outcry as details emerge of the UN’s complicity in keeping Gaza under
siege and the ways in which Israeli companies will profit from the reconstruction of Gaza. Take action now and send a message
to key UN officials urging them to stop Israel from profiting from Gaza’s destruction and to adopt a procurement policy that
exclude corporate criminals from tenders for Gaza reconstruction.
Take action: http://www.bdsmovement.net/dont-reward-israel
14
The Palestinian BDS National Committee
p.s. If you live in Europe, please also visit freepalestine.eu to take action to demand that the EU suspends the EU-Israel
Association Agreement, the free trade agreement that allows Israel access to EU markets and programs.
www.bdsmovement.net
info@bdsmovement.net
28.11.2014




Why Coca-Cola is #NotInMyFridge
FOA Launches boycott of Coca Cola, 20th December
Today (28 November) Coca-Cola has announced that its iconic Coca-Cola truck is back on the road and FOA has called for a
boycott of Coke, in response to its support of Israel and it's illegal and immoral occupation. We must be clear, no matter how big
a company is, its brand will be damaged if it supports the illegal occupation of Palestine. FOA will officially launch the
#NotInMyFridge campaign on Saturday 20 December.
Why coke is #NotInMyFridge
Coke has partnered with the America Israel Business Connector to promote Israeli companies globally - using the 'Bridge'
project. This defies the boycott call.
Coke violates international law and supports Israel's occupation by operating in Atarot and Shadmot illegal settlements. It owns
a dairy and a distribution plant in these illegal settlements.
Buying produce from companies which operate in settlements means we as consumers are complicit in Israel's illegal actions.
Coke owns Tabor Winery in the stolen and occupied Syrian Golan Heights. Tabor's web-site shows utter disregard for the real
ownership of the land, instead falsely claiming that it is Israeli.
How can you support the #NotInMyFridge Campaign?
1. Sign up to thunderclap now and help increase the exposure of this campaign.
2. Take a fridge selfie or record a video and post it up using #NotInMyFridge on 20 December from 1:00 PM (GMT) onwards.
Nominate your friends and family to join the campaign by tagging them in!
3. Join the Twitter storm at 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM on 20 December so that you can be a part of the #NotInMyFridge campaign and
find out about our secret launch event.
Child Prisoners
21.11.2014
Who killed Palestinian teen Nadeen Nawara? Forensic Architecture identifies
the shooter
Who killed Palestinian teen Nadeem Nawara? Forensic Architecture identifies the shooter
Video analysis conducted by Forensic Architecture on behalf of DCI-Palestine has identified the Israeli border
15
policeman who shot and killed Nadeem Nawara, 17, six months ago in the West Bank city of Beitunia.
Nawara's shooter has been identified, thanks to groundbreaking research by Forensic Architecture. Watch how
they figured it out here. Although Israeli authorities initially asserted that no live fire was used by soldiers during the
May 15, 2014 protests, one border policeman, whose name has not been released, has since been arrested by Israeli
police and faces manslaughter charges. This arrest follows Defense for Children International-Palestine’s release of
video footage from security cameras, which captured the fatal shootings of Nawara and 16-year-old Mohammad Abu
Daher, as well as autopsy findings thata live bullet was the cause of Nawara’s death.
DCI-Palestine commissioned Forensic Architecture, a research agency that provides spatial and media analysis, to
investigate the video footage that captured the fatal shootings of Nawara and Abu Daher. A team of architects, video,
and audio specialists analyzed the CCTV footage from the four security cameras along with CNN released footage from
the same incident to identify Nawara’s shooter, “Soldier A.” READ MORE
Past Israeli investigations into similar incidents consistently fail to be serious, impartial or result in indictments. Systemic
impunity remains an obstacle to justice. Your support allows DCI-Palestine to combat violence against children and hold
their abusers accountable. DCI-Palestine accepts tax-deductible donations from US donors in partnership with
CAF America.
Deir Yassin Remembered
26.11.2014
PALESTINE RISING - HOW I SURVIVED THE DEIR YASSIN MASSACRE
Palestine Rising
- How I survived the 1948 Deir Yassin Massacre
by Dawwud A. Assad
Buy here
www.deiryassinremembered.org
www.deiryassin.org
25.11.2014
A CIRCLE OF VIOLENCE - DEIR YASSIN TO HAR NOF
By James M. Wall
Early Tuesday, 18 November 2014, two young Palestinians broke into a synagogue in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of West
Jerusalem's Har Nof. Armed with a gun, knives and axes, the assailants killed three rabbis and a fourth worshipper. The New
York Times reported that in the gun battle that ensued, one Israeli policeman and the two Palestinians intruders were killed.
In its coverage of the Har Nof killings, the Washington Post put "Americans" in its headline, leaving the impression they
were tourists. They were not. They were Orthodox rabbis with dual citizenship, American and Israeli. Few media outlets have
taken note of the glaring fact that a circle of violence connects Har Nof to Deir Yassin, the Palestinian village destroyed before
the formation of the modern state of Israel by the terrorist Jewish group, the Irgun, on 9 April 1948.
Deir Yassin was part of the "ethnic cleansing" strategy of the Zionist military. It was this strategy that launched the Nakba. This
strategy is well-documented in Jewish scholar Ilan Pappe's book, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. Should the media have
acknowledged the circle of violence in the Deir Yassin-Har Nof connection? If the murder of six contemporary Americans
occurred outside Washington's Ford Theater, where Abraham Lincoln was killed, would the media ignore Lincoln's
assassination? I don't think so.
Meanwhile, back to 2014 in the world according to Israel and the Western media, this is what happened:
16
"On Tuesday night Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Palestinian leaders of inciting the violence and committing
"blood libel" by suggesting that Jews were responsible for the death this week of a Palestinian bus driver who Israeli police say
committed suicide by hanging."
The Prime Minister has also reactivated a former Israel government policy of destroying the East Jerusalem homes of the two
men responsible for the synagogue killings and the homes of other Palestinians linked to other recent attacks. This is, of
course collective punishment, a violation of international moral and legal standards, and what "Human Rights Watch says could
be war crimes".
Samia Nasir Khoury, a revered Palestinian leader and activist, and the author of the highly praised memoir, Reflections from
Palestine - A Journey of Hope, spoke for many Palestinians in her posting on November 18, in which she expresses
sadness over the horrendous Har Nof attack, even as she puts it in its historic context by linking it to another act of violence.
"Ironically, Har Nof where the events of today took place is originally a Palestinian suburb adjacent to Deir Yassin where the
infamous massacre of the Palestinians took place on April 9, 1948. That was the spark that terrorized the Palestinian residents
of West Jerusalem that led to their exodus. Yes indeed, it is brutal and completely unacceptable to attack worshipers in their
place of worship, as was the attack of settler doctor, Baruch Goldstein, on Muslim worshipers during the month of Ramadan at
the Hebron Mosque in February 1994. Twenty-nine Palestinian were killed and 125 wounded at the time."
If the international media were interested in the circle of violence between Deir Yassin in 1948 and Har Nof in 2014, they could
turn to recent writings by Dina Elmuti in The Electronic Intifada. One of her postings appeared April 7, of this year, several
months before Israel's summer invasion of Gaza and the killings at Har Nof this week. She begins with her grandmother's
personal story:
(The picture on the right shows Dina's grandmother as a young girl. She is on the left, with her older sister on the right.)
"My grandmother is a survivor of the Deir Yassin massacre. Sixty-six years later, her scars still bear witness.
Deir Yassin is a name permanently inscribed in the Palestinian narrative. Friday, 9 April 1948 is a date forever engraved with
infamy. The Deir Yassin massacre is a turning point in Palestinian history, remaining a symbol of dispossession, ongoing
erasure and humanity's capacity for cruelty. When I was in Palestine recently, my grandmother pointed to the stone home in
Deir Yassin where she was born 76 years ago - and my eyes caught a glimpse of a pale scar on her arm. The nostalgia in her
voice was so strong, I could almost see the barbaric scenes of terror as if they were being projected from a movie reel onto a
screen in front of us. Today, a psychiatric hospital occupies the center of Deir Yassin village, restricting access to its fortified
stone homes standing out defiantly against the grid of generic Israeli settlement buildings constructed on stolen land. The village
was once home to around 750 people.
Located outside Jerusalem and a few hundred meters to the west of the Jewish-only settlement of Givat Shaul, it was known for
its peaceful reputation and primary industry of stone quarrying. By sunrise on 9 April, the Zionist terrorist organizations known
as the Irgun and Stern Gang, had raided the village and stormed homes, slaughtering as many people as possible. The victims
included unarmed elderly men, pregnant women and children. The grandmother of Dina Elmuti was one of the girls who
escaped the massacre of Deir Yassin and made her way to East Jerusalem where she was rescued by Hind Al-Hussein, a
member of a prominent Jerusalem family.
17
It was Hussein (as a young woman at left) who discovered 53 orphans from Deir Yassin. An account originally written by Daniel
A. McGowan for the American Middle East for Understanding (AMEU)'s Link publication, describes Hussein's initial encounter
with the orphans:
"Fifty-three orphaned children were literally dumped along the wall of the Old City, where they were found by Miss Hind Husseini
and brought behind the American Colony Hotel to her home, which was to become the Dar El-Tifl El-Arabiorphanage."
A segment of McGowan's Link article is also posted on Deir Yassin Remembered, the website of the organization McGowan
established to continue his desire to educate both non-Palestinians and Palestinians on this significant event. Deir Yassin
Remembered begins:
"Early in the morning of 9 April, 1948, commandos of the Irgun (headed by Menachem Begin) and the Stern Gang attacked Deir
Yassin, a village with about 750 Palestinian residents. The village lay outside of the area to be assigned by the United Nations
to the Jewish State; it had a peaceful reputation. But it was located on high ground in the corridor between Tel Aviv and
Jerusalem.
Deir Yassin was slated for occupation under [Israel's] Plan Dalet and the mainstream Jewish defense force, the Haganah,
authorized the irregular terrorist forces of the Irgun and the Stern Gang to perform the takeover."
In 2011, Miral, a motion picture based on the orphans who were raised under the care of Hind Al-Hussein, received world-wide
distribution. I wrote about it for Wallwritings, a posting that may be read here. A preview clip of the film is shown below. Miral is
a fictional representation of one of the orphans. Hind Al-Hussein is realistically portrayed as the head of the orphanage and the
school she formed. The film contains an interesting tension between Miral, who wants to take action against the occupation,
and Hussein, who is placing her faith in education.
MIRAL Official Trailer (A film by Julian Schnabel)
At one point in the film, Hussein tells a class of girls that what is happening "is what they call the intifada". Miral tells a
classmate, "it means, stand up straight". She got that right.
In the picture at top, Jerusalem's chief rabbi Shlomo Amar shakes hands with an imam as leaders from the Christian and
Muslim communities gathered outside Kehilat Yaakov Synagogue in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof. (photo credit:
From the Times of Israel by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)Share
About wall writings
James M. Wall is currently a Contributing Editor of The Christian Century magazine, based in Chicago, Illinois. From 1972
through 1999, he was editor and publisher of the Christian Century magazine. Jim launched this new personal blog April 24,
2008. If you would like to receive Wall Writings alerts when new postings are added to this site, send a note, saying, Please Add
Me, to jameswall8@gmail.com Biography: Journalism was Jim's undergraduate college major at Emory University, Atlanta,
18
Georgia. He has earned two MA degrees, one from Emory, and one from the University of Chicago, both in religion. He is an
ordained United Methodist clergy person. He served for two years in the US Air Force, and three additional years in the USAF
reserve. While serving on active duty with the Alaskan Command, he reached the rank of first lieutenant. He has worked as a
sports writer for both the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, was editor of the United Methodist magazine, Christian Advocate for
ten years, and editor and publisher of the Christian Century magazine for 27 years.
Football
03.11.2014
Petition update – FIFA: Suspend the Israeli Football Association's FIFA
membership
Adalah petitions District Court on behalf of a family against segregation of Arab and Jewish teams in children’s
football league - Red Card Israeli Racism London, United Kingdom
The IFA has reorganised youth leagues in the Al-Shomoron area so that Palestinian teams are segregated from Jewish teams.
It hints that this was in response to calls from Jewish parents. This action flies in the face of FIFA Statute 3 and UEFA Statute
7.7 which stipulate suspension or expulsion for racist actions. Adalah [an independent human rights organization and legal
center] has petitioned the District Court to cancel this reorganisation. We see this as yet another reason that the IFA be
excluded from FIFA until Israel respects the human rights of Palestinians and observes international law.
The text below is the Adalah record and the IFA response is given at the end:http://adalah.org/eng/Articles/2337/Adalahpetitions-District-Court-on-behalf-of-a-of-in
On Tuesday, 21 October 2014, Adalah filed a petition to the Tel Aviv District Court on behalf of a family demanding the
cancellation of the decision by the Israel Football Association (IFA) to divide the children’s national football league in the AlShomoron area (the Triangle area) into “Shomoron 1”, comprised of 12 Jewish teams and 2 Arab teams, and “Shomoron 2”,
comprised of 13 Arab teams. The division effectively imposes segregation between Jewish teams and most Arab teams.
In the petition Adalah argued that the IFA’s decision runs contrary to previous years when Arab and Jewish teams in the same
area were merged into the same leagues. The petition contended that segregation between children based on their national
belonging delivers a negative message that Arab teams are unwanted and are not skilled enough to play with Jewish teams.
This message is offensive to children and violates their right to equality with Jewish children. Additionally, Adalah demanded the
enactment of equal and clear standards for the distribution of teams in children’s football leagues in different areas and districts.
Adalah petitioned the court on behalf of Attorney Muhammad Lutfi from Umm al-Fahem, who spoke to the IFA after discovering
that the team on which his son plays, Maccabi Umm al-Fahem, was merged with a group consisting of Arab teams only,
although in previous years they had played with teams from Jewish towns as well. For example, the teams for the towns of Iksal
and Jisr az-Zarqa were incorporated into the same league as Maccabi Umm al-Fahem, although the towns are 50km away from
each other. At the same time, teams from Jewish towns that are closer to the Arab towns instead play in another league.
Adalah Attorneys Sawsan Zaher and Muna Haddad stressed in the petition that the decision of the IFA to segregate the teams,
even if only in certain areas, reinforces discrimination and prejudices against Arab citizens of Israel. Furthermore, the IFA’s
decision to not distribute teams according to objective general standards, regardless of national belonging, will strengthen and
perpetuate the lack of respect and lack of acceptance of others. This is particularly important in the matter of children’s sports,
where it should not only teach children to be successful but to also teach them the values of mutual respect for different people.
Attorneys Zaher and Haddad added that the IFA is subject to the principles of Israeli public law, which clearly prohibits
segregation based on national or religious belonging or gender, in any area. This segregation negates the right to equality and
dignity.
In its response on 22 October, the IFA hinted that the division of the teams was based on requests from Jewish families. The
response stated that: “we will not contradict the desires of the clubs (regarding the divisions), and we will not force a child to
play in a league that is not joyful for him/her and that does not help his/her professional development”. Judging from this
response, it seems that the IFA preferred social considerations and the desires of Jewish families over the principle of equality
between the teams. Adalah will continue to follow-up on this case.
Case Citation: Civil Case 31842-14-10 Jad Mahajni v. The Israel Football Association
Gaza
27.11.2014
Aid to Gaza
It deals with political manoeuvrings behind the reason why aid is not getting into Gaza. And a linked petition.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/palestinians-demand-end-un-complicity-gaza-siege
Tell the UN: Don’t reward Israel for Gaza massacre | BDSmovement.net
28.11.2014
Gaza – Flooding Emergency Declared
19
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, has declared an Emergency in Gaza City, following extreme
weather and severe flooding over the past 48 hours. No casualties or injuries have been reported, however hundreds of
residents in the flooded areas around the Sheikh Radwan storm water lagoon have evacuated their homes. One UNRWA
school and an UNRWA Collective Centre in Gaza City have been affected by the rising waters.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, has declared an Emergency in Gaza City, following extreme
weather and severe flooding over the past 48 hours. No casualties or injuries have been reported, however hundreds of
residents in the flooded areas around the Sheikh Radwan storm water lagoon have evacuated their homes. One UNRWA
school and an UNRWA Collective Centre in Gaza City have been affected by the rising waters. The Agency has established an
Area Emergency Operations room in Gaza City following contingency planning undertaken last week. As the largest UN agency
in the Gaza Strip, UNRWA utilizes its procurement and logistical capacity to supply emergency fuel to municipalities, water,
sanitation and health facilities, partially through the WASH and Health clusters (led by UNICEF and WHO). Today, UNRWA
provided 60,000 litres emergency fuel supplies to run back-up generators of pumping stations and portable pumps. UNRWA is
also prepared to provide adequate shelter to internally displaced refugees and non refugees should there be a need.
Gaza City is one of five areas in the Gaza Strip, a coastal enclave where UNRWA serves some 1.3 million Palestine refugees
across all Areas. Of the 18 UNRWA Collective Centres, 5 are in Gaza City and currently provide adequate shelter for some
7,000 people displaced by the recent and devastating conflict. As a precautionary measure, 63 schools in Gaza City are closed
today for the afternoon shift, affecting almost 65,000 students. Forty-three schools in the North Area of the Strip are also now
closed. Other UNRWA installations are still being assessed, though no damage has yet been reported. UNRWA is in close
consultation with all of its partners, the Palestinian Government and the local municipality who are monitoring the level of rain
across the Strip. "We are very concerned about such severe storms this early in the season and on the back of unprecedented
damage and destruction caused by the recent conflict,” said UNRWA’s Director of Operations Robert Turner in Gaza. “We are
particularly concerned for those families still seeking adequate shelter and preparing for the winter months, and for the impact
the flooding is already having on children unable to attend school.”
The devastation that extreme weather can cause is not new for Palestinian families in Gaza. In December 2013, the fiercest
winter storm the region has seen for many years, Alexa, hit the Strip, and brought torrential rains and widespread flooding that
displaced thousands. Such devastation exacerbates the already poor humanitarian situation for refugees and non-refugees in
Gaza, which is dealing with the aftermath of a recent conflict, and an acute fuel and energy crisis.
UNRWA continues to closely monitor the situation
Source: Medical Aid for Palestinians
Israeli Groups
17.11.2011
Israeli civil rights group. 2. local film director
Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI)Mission |
Association for Civil Rights in
Israel (ACRI)Mission |
The Association for Civil Rights in
Israel Established in 1972, ACRI
is Israel’s oldest and largest
human rights organization and
the only one dealing with the
enti...
View
on www.acri.org.il
Preview by
Yahoo
20
21.11.2014
Jerusalem: the Unholy City
In its long and checkered history, Jerusalem has been occupied by dozens of conquerors. Babylonians and Persians, Greeks
and Romans, Mamluks and Turks, Britons and Jordanians – to mention just a few. The latest occupier is Israel, which
conquered and annexed Jerusalem in 1967. (I could have written “East Jerusalem” – but all of historical Jerusalem is in today’s
East Jerusalem. All the other parts were built in the last 200 years by Zionist settlers, or are surrounding Arab villages which
were arbitrarily joined to the huge area that is now called Jerusalem after its occupation.). This week, Jerusalem was in flames
– again. Two youngsters from Jabel Mukaber, one of the Arab villages annexed to Jerusalem, entered a synagogue in the west
of the city during morning prayers and killed four devout Jews, before themselves being killed by police. Jerusalem is called “the
City of Peace”. This is a linguistic mistake. True, in antiquity it was called Salem, which sounds like peace, but Salem was in fact
the name of the local deity. It is also a historical mistake. No city in the world has seen as many wars, massacres and as much
bloodshed as this one. All in the name of some God or other.
Jerusalem was annexed (or “liberated”, or “unified”) immediately after the Six-day War of 1967. That war was Israel’s greatest
military triumph. It was also Israel’s greatest disaster. The divine blessings of the incredible victory turned into divine
punishments. Jerusalem was one of them. The annexation was presented to us (I was a member of the Knesset at the time) as
a unification of the city, which had been cruelly rent asunder in the Israeli-Palestinian war of 1948. Everybody cited the Biblical
sentence: “Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together.” This translation of Psalm 122 is rather odd. The Hebrew
original says simply “a city that is joined together”. In fact, what happened in 1967 was anything but unification. If the intent had
really been unification, it would have looked very different. Full Israeli citizenship would have been automatically conferred on
all inhabitants. All the lost Arab properties in West Jerusalem, which had been expropriated in 1948, would have been restored
to their rightful owners who had fled to East Jerusalem. The Jerusalem municipality would have been expanded to include
Arabs from the East, even without a specific request. And so on.
The opposite happened. No property was restored, nor any compensation paid. The municipality remained exclusively Jewish.
Arab inhabitants were not accorded Israeli citizenship, but merely “permanent residence”. This is a status that can be arbitrarily
revoked at any moment – and indeed was revoked in many cases, compelling the victims to move out of the city. For
appearance’s sake, Arabs were allowed to apply for Israel citizenship. The authorities knew, of course, that only a handful would
apply, since doing so would mean recognition of the occupation. For Palestinians, this would be paramount to treason. (And the
few that did apply were generally refused.) The municipality was not broadened. In theory, Arabs are entitled to vote in
municipal elections, but only a handful do so, for the same reasons. In practice, East Jerusalem remains occupied territory.
The mayor, Teddy Kollek, was elected two years before the annexation. One of his first actions after it was to demolish the
entire Mugrabi Quarter next to the Western Wall, leaving a large empty square resembling a parking lot. The inhabitants, all of
them poor people, were evicted within hours.
But Kollek was a genius in public relations. He ostensibly established friendly relations with the Arab notables, introduced them
to foreign visitors and created a general impression of peace and contentment. Kollek built more new Israeli neighborhoods on
Arab land than any other person in the country. Yet this master-settler collected almost all the world’s peace prizes, except the
Nobel Prize. East Jerusalem remained quiet. Only few knew of a secret directive from Kollek, instructing all municipal
authorities to see to it that the Arab population – then 27% – did not rise above that level. Kollek was ably supported by Moshe
Dayan, then the Defense Minister. Dayan believed in keeping the Palestinians quiet by giving them all possible benefits, except
freedom. A few days after the occupation of East Jerusalem he removed the Israeli flag which had been planted by soldiers in
front of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount. Dayan also turned the de facto authority over the Mount over to the Muslim
religious authorities.
Jews were allowed into the Temple compound only in small numbers and only as quiet visitors. They were forbidden to pray
there, and forcibly removed if they moved their lips. They could, after all, pray to their heart’s content at the adjoining Western
Wall (which is a part of the compound’s ancient outer wall). The government was able to impose this decree because of a
quaint religious fact: Orthodox Jews are forbidden by the rabbis to enter the Temple Mount altogether. According to a
Biblical injunction, ordinary Jews are not allowed into the Holy of Holies, only the High Priest was allowed in. Since
nobody today knows where exactly this place is located, pious Jews may not enter the entire compound. As a result,
the first few years of the occupation were a happy time for East Jerusalem. Jews and Arabs mingled freely. It was fashionable
for Jews to shop in the colorful Arab market and dine in the “oriental” restaurants. I myself often stayed in Arab hotels and made
quite a number of Arab friends.
This atmosphere changed gradually. The government and the municipality spent a lot of money to gentrify West Jerusalem, but
Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem were neglected, and turned into slums. The local infrastructure and services
degenerated. Almost no building permits were issued to Arabs, in order to compel the younger generation to move outside the
city borders. Then the “Separation” Wall was built, preventing those outside from entering the city, cutting them off from their
schools and jobs. Yet In spite of everything, the Arab population grew and reached 40%. Political oppression grew. Under the
Oslo agreements, Jerusalemite Arabs were allowed to vote for the Palestinian Authority. But then they were prevented from
doing so, their representatives were arrested and expelled from the city. All Palestinian institutions were forcibly closed down,
including the famous Orient House, where the much admired and beloved leader of the Jerusalem Arabs, the late Faisal alHusseini, had his office.
Kollek was succeeded by Ehud Olmert and an Orthodox mayor who didn’t give a damn for East Jerusalem, except the Temple
Mount. And then an additional disaster occurred. Secular Israelis are leaving Jerusalem, which is rapidly becoming an
Orthodox bastion. In desperation they decided to oust the Orthodox mayor and elect a secular businessman. Unfortunately, he
is a rabid ultra-nationalist. Nir Barkat behaves like the mayor of West Jerusalem and the military governor of East Jerusalem.
He treats his Palestinian subjects like enemies, who may be tolerated if they obey quietly, and brutally suppressed if they do
not. Together with the decade-old neglect of the Arab neighborhoods, the accelerated pace of building new Jewish
neighborhoods, the excessive police brutality (openly encouraged by the mayor), they are producing an explosive situation.
The total cutting-off of Jerusalem from the West Bank, its natural hinterland, worsens the situation even more.
To this may be added the termination of the so-called peace process, since all Palestinians are convinced that East Jerusalem
must be the capital of the future State of Palestine. This situation needed only a spark to ignite the city. This was duly provided
21
by the right-wing demagogues in the Knesset. Vying for attention and popularity, they started to visit the Temple Mount, one
after the other, every time unleashing a storm. Added to the manifest desire of certain religious and right-wing fanatics to build
the Third Temple in place of the holy al-Aqsa Mosque and the golden Dome of the Rock, this was enough to create the belief
that the holy shrines were indeed in danger. Then came the ghastly revenge-murder of an Arab boy who was abducted by
Jews and burned alive with gasoline poured into his mouth. Individual Muslim inhabitants of the city started to act. Disdaining
organizations, almost without arms, they started a series of attacks that are now called “the intifada of individuals”. Acting alone,
or with a brother or cousin whom he trusts, an Arab takes a knife, or a pistol (if he can get one), or his car, or a tractor, and kills
the nearest Israelis. He knows that he is going to die.
The two cousins who killed four Jews in a synagogue this week – and also an Arab Druze policeman – knew this. They also
knew that their families were going to suffer, their home be demolished, their relatives arrested. They were not deflected. The
mosques were more important. Moreover, the day before, an Arab bus driver was found dead in his bus. According to the
police, the autopsy proved that he committed suicide. An Arab pathologist concluded that he was murdered. No Arab believes
the police – Arabs are convinced that the police always lie. Immediately after the Synagogue killing, the Israeli choir of
politicians and commentators went into action. They did so with an astonishing unanimity – ministers, Knesset members, exgenerals, journalists, all repeating with slight variations the same message. The reason for this is simple: every day the Prime
Minister’s office sends out a “page of messages”, instructing all parts of the propaganda machine what to say.
This time the message was that Mahmoud Abbas was to blame for everything, a “terrorist in a suit”, the leader whose incitement
causes the new intifada. No matter that the chief of the Shin Bet testified on the very same day that Abbas has neither overt nor
covert connections with the violence. Binyamin Netanyahu faced the cameras and with a solemn face and lugubrious voice –
he is a really good actor – repeated again what he has said many times before, every time pretending that this is new recipe:
more police, harder punishments, demolition of homes, arrests and large fines for parents of 13-year old children who are
caught throwing stones, and so on. Every expert knows that the result of such measures will be the exact opposite. More Arabs
will become incensed and attack Israeli men and women. Israelis, of course, will “take revenge” and “take the law into their own
hands”. For both inhabitants and tourists, walking the streets of Jerusalem, the city which is “joined together”, has become a
risky adventure. Many stay at home. The Unholy City is more divided than ever before.
Source: URI AVNERY is an Israeli writer and peace activist with Gush Shalom. He is a contributor to CounterPunch’s
book The Politics of Anti-Semitism.
Israeli Politics
07.11.2014
Israel 'pushing for religious warfare'
Palestinian minister urges international community to protect Jerusalem's al-Aqsa, which has been gripped by clashes.
Jerusalem — Amid heightened tensions at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque, the Palestinian Minister of Awqaf and Religious
Affairs, Sheikh Yousef Adeis, has called on the international community to push for the site's protection. Weeks of clashes at the
al-Aqsa compound reached a climax this week, as Israeli security forces stormed the mosque, triggering confrontations between
riot police and Palestinian worshippers. Adeis says Arab and Muslim decision-makers must broach the threat to al-Aqsa with
UNESCO, the UN's cultural arm, and provide daily updates on Israel's "aggressive acts" to the UN Security Council. "Muslims
and Arabs should develop a united stance towards defending the mosque… Israel, by its aggressive acts, is pushing for
religious warfare that would have dreadful consequences on the region," Adeis said.
I'm calling upon all Muslims worldwide to support Jerusalem and its people against the daily Israeli assaults on their rights.
Sheikh Yousef Adeis, Palestinian Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs
Financial support should also be increased, he said, to deter Palestinians from abandoning their homes in the Old City, where
al-Aqsa is located: "I'm calling upon all Muslims worldwide to support Jerusalem and its people against the daily Israeli assaults
on their rights." Under long-standing arrangements, Jews are allowed to visit al-Aqsa but are forbidden to pray, for fear of
religious unrest. The site is Judaism’s holiest, believed to be the site of the Biblical temples, and the third-holiest in
Islam. Jewish hardliners have been ramping up demands to be allowed to pray at the Muslim-run site. On Thursday, Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured Jordan's King Abdullah II that he would not yield to those demands, after Jordan
recalled its ambassador to Israel in protest against the "unacceptable" police assault on the mosque. "We're keeping the status
quo on the Temple Mount," Netanyahu said, using the Jewish name for the compound, which has seen frequent clashes
between stone-throwing Palestinians and Israeli riot police. On Friday, Israel’s chief rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef, told Jews to stop
ascending the plateau to pray, calling it a religious crime. “We must stop this,” he said at a funeral service for a 17-year-old
killed in a hit-and-run attack in Jerusalem earlier this week.
Senior members of Netanyahu’s government, including deputy Knesset speaker Moshe Feiglin, have been among the loudest
voices pushing to change the status quo. Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, the head of the right-wing Jewish Home party,
criticised the chief rabbi’s decree. Israeli police had said they would prevent men under 35 from entering the compound
for Friday prayers, fearing clashes. Similar restrictions have been imposed almost every week since July, when unrest in
Jerusalem began after the abduction and murder of a Palestinian teenager. There were brief scuffles outside the mosque
compound as worshippers entered, but the morning otherwise passed uneventfully. Several hundred young men barred from
entering gathered to pray on the streets outside the Old City. Heavy clashes were reported in Ramallah, in the occupied West
Bank, where Palestinians organised protests over the recent violence at the mosque. At least 17 people were hurt, according to
the Red Crescent. Meanwhile, Adeis says he has been particularly concerned about a proposed bill that would allow Jews to
pray on the mount. The legislation, which Netanyahu opposes, would carve out specific times for Jewish worship. "The threat
now facing al-Aqsa overrides in danger the individual and daily sporadic violations that used to happen before in an organised
manner by Israelis," Adeis told Al Jazeera. "Israel is following a more comprehensive and coherent plan with clearer objectives
to... divide the holy site."
Source: Gregg Carlstrom in Jerusalem and Maram Hussein, Al Jazeera
TIMELINE: Al-Aqsa mosque
08.11.2014
Updates
Netanyahu tries to deport Arab-Jerusalemites to Gaza
22
Netanyahu tries to
deport ArabJerusalemites to Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu seeks to move Arab
Jerusalemites to the Gaza Strip to
reduce tensions in the occupied
city, an Israeli newspaper has
claim...
View
on www.middleeastmonit...
11.11.2014
Preview by Yahoo
Danish MPs asked by Israelis to recognise the State of Palestine
I thought most of you wouldn't be receiving emails from Gush Shalom, sends stuff weekly.
Andy
From: Adam Keller <otherisr@actcom.co.il>
Date: 11 November 2014 17:13
Subject: 660 Israeli public figures call upon Danish Parliament Members to recognize the State of Palestine - "This would be no
anti-Israeli act, it would help Israel's future"
To: intl@mailman.gush-shalom.org
From: Amiram Goldblum <amiramg@ekmd.huji.ac.il>
A letter addressed to all Members of the Folketing (Danish Parliament) and signed by 660 Israeli public figures calls upon them to vote
in favor of Denmark recognizing the State of Palestine. The Danish Parliament is due to vote on such a motion later this week, following
similar votes in the British Parliament and the Irish Senate, and the decision of Sweden, Denmark's neighbor, to extend such recognition
to the State of Palestine. A similar vote is due in the French Parliament as well,in December, as well as in Spain.
Such international diplomatic recognition would greatly facilitate the Palestinian efforts to achieve actual independence and national
statehood on the ground. Far from being a threat and danger, as presented by the government of Israel, the creation of a Palestinian
state side by side with Israel is the only chance to end the long lasting conflict and bloodshed and achieve real peace between Israel and
its neighbors - including and especially the Palestinians. The signatories are determined to go on addressing the Parliaments of all
countries friendly to Israel in which such debates and votes would take place.The letter addressing Members of the Folketing was
initiated by Dr. Alon Li'el, former Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, together with Prof. Amiram Goldblum, a founder
of Peace Now, and Naftali Raz of the action group Massad. Also joining in the initiative is Prof. Eli Bar Navi, former Israeli
Ambassador to France.
In Copenhagen, the letter was passed on to Folketing Members via Christian Juhl, the Member with whom the Israeli activists are in
direct contact
For further information:
Dr. Alon Li'el - Former Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry alonliel@netvision.net.il +972-(0)50-5371000
Prof. Eli Bar Navi, former Israeli Ambassador to France, barnavi@museuro.org +972-(0)54 342 34 69
Prof. Amiram Goldblum amiram@vms.huji.ac.il, +972-(0)54-4653292
Naftali Raz zar89@netvision.net.il +972-(0)5494172
We the undersigned, Citizens of Israel who wish it to be a safe and thriving country, are worried by the continued political
stalemate and by the occupation and settlements activities which lead to further confrontations with the Palestinians and
torpedo the chances for a compromise. It is clear that the prospects for Israel's security and existence depend on the
existence of a Palestinian state side by side with Israel. Israel should recognize the state of Palestine and Palestine should
recognize the state of Israel, based on the June 4 1967 borders. Your initiative for recognizing the state of Palestine will
advance the prospects of peace and will encourage Israelis and Palestinians to bring an end to their conflict.
13.11.2014
In another violation of August ceasefire, Gaza's fishermen shot and detained
In yet another violation of August ceasefire, Gaza's fishermen shot and detained. In another flagrant violation of the 26 August
ceasefire, two Gazan fishermen were wounded and four reported missing after the Israeli navy fired at two Palestinian boats off
the coast of Gaza on Monday sinking one under the pretext that it had been involved in “smuggling.” It was not immediately
clear whether the four missing Palestinian fishermen had been arrested. The Israeli military’s claim that one of the boats had
been tracked returning from Egypt with goods. However, unverified claims made by the Israeli navy are usual when international
attention is drawn to its attacks on Palestinian civilians which appear to be without cause. “This is not the first time Israel has
broken the 26 August ceasefire. By 9 September , the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights had recorded 25 shootings on
Palestinian fishermen, that’s nearly two a day since fishing resumed after the truce,” said Shamiul Joarder, head of Public
Affairs at FOA.
23
Israel prevents Palestinian fishermen from sailing beyond six nautical miles off the coast even though, according to the UN, 1215 miles off Gaza is the minimum required to access the larger shoals of fish for optimum economic benefit. Boats fishing close
to the six mile limit are repeatedly shot at by Israeli naval forces. As a result of Israel’s inhumane blockade of Gaza, over-fishing
in shallow waters close to the coast has almost depleted stocks of smaller fish. Under the Oslo Accords signed in 1994, Gaza’s
fishermen were permitted to go 20 nautical miles out to sea. This freedom was, however, subsequently restricted by Israel. As
part of the ceasefire terms on 26 August, Israel increased the fishing limit from three to six miles. Israel has a habit of arbitrarily
firing on Gaza’s fishermen and the restrictions on fishing have made Gaza’s fishing community one of the poorest. Since the
ceasefire, Israel has failed to honour a number of ceasefire terms which—aside from firing at fishermen—include: failure to lift
the illegal blockade, annexation of 1,500 acres of land in the West Bank, torturing prisoners, detaining people without charge or
trial including children as young as seven, destroying a dairy factory in Hebron whose profits funded a orphanage, continuing to
hold 33 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council without trial, and unveiling plans to forcibly move thousands of Bedouin
away from Jerusalem into townships.
Source: Friends of Al-Aqsa 10th November, 2014
13.11.2014
Homes of Palestinian Protesters to be Demolished
Tensions in the West Bank have mounted in recent weeks due to Israeli aggression around the al-Aqsa. In a shocking and
shameful move, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has ordered that the homes of Palestinians involved in clashes with
Israeli security forces across the Occupied Territories are to be demolished. The announcement follows an emergency meeting
between Netanyahu and Israel’s Defence Minister, Public Defence Minister, IDF Chief-of-Staff, Shin Bet Director and Police
Commissioner. Netanyahu described Palestinian protesters as terrorists and pledged to do whatever is possible to quell the
protests.
“The unrest and protests in the West Bank are all about Israeli violations in al-Aqsa, yet Netanyahu is once again deceiving the
world by calling legitimate protestors ‘terrorists’. To demolish a house and destroy a home as a means to control Palestinians
and quell protests is barbaric. This is not how a humane and democratic state behaves, and Israel is once again showing its
true colours,” said Shamiul Joarder, head of Public Affairs at FOA.
Source:Friends of Al-Aqsa 11th November, 2014
27.11.2014
Israel’s violence and killing continues
A Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli troops in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday. Witnesses said Fadil Muhammad
Halawah, 32, was hunting birds east of Jabaliya when Israeli soldiers shot him dead. In the West Bank Israeli settlers continue
their campaign to terrorise Palestinians living in the West Bank, in collaboration with the Israeli Forces. One family’s house
was set alight by settlers, who scrawled racist graffiti on the home. For the first time, sound bombs and tear gas were used by
the settlers in this attack.
In Jerusalem one Palestinian was shot in the head with a rubber bullet, and another wasattacked by Israelis at his place of work.
Another was beaten unconscious by settlers on Friday night. In Jerusalem, gangs of Israeli girls have been beating up
Palestinians. The impunity continues. Due to the fact that DCI Palestine collated and analysed incontrovertible video evidence
that Nadim Nuwara, was shot in cold blood, when he posed no risk, an Israeli policeman now faces charges. But he is being
charged with manslaughter instead of murder. As the boy’s father said: “A Palestinian arrested under these circumstances
would be facing murder charges, with the possibility of life imprisonment, and his family’s home would be demolished.”
Meanwhile, a tsunami of racism against Palestinian citizens of Israel is being unleashed. The Israeli mayor of Ashkelon
announced yesterday that Palestinian citizens of Israel are banned from working on construction projects in bomb shelters at
local kindergartens during school hours. This comes amid a new wave of Israeli popular racism calling for Arabs to be fired.
Likud leader Yariv Levin has advocated draconian proposals including that people waving an ‘enemy flag’, including the
Palestinian flag, during protests, will be arrested and held in remand until the completion of legal procedures against them, with
anyone convicted losing social welfare benefits and their driving licence for 10 years. As Ben White points out, the furore over
new Jewish State law misses the point – Israel already discriminates.
Read PSC Chair's statement on Jerusalem>
Read PSC's factsheet - what the media won't tell you about East Jerusalem>
o
o
Call on MPs to raise these issues in Parliament debate on Palestine. More than 100,000 people signed a petition calling for a
debate on Palestine in Parliament. That debate is now set to take place on Monday 1st December. We want to make sure as
many MPs as possible are asked to speak up for Palestinian human rights. Please make sure you press your MP to speak on
1st December. Ask them to raise the issues of:
Arms embargo: whilst Israel is using equipment and weapons for internal repression, no arms export licences should be granted
to or from Israel (see story in news below on Britain’s arms sales).
Block on settlement trade: as Israel's settlements are illegal - what are settlement goods doing in our shops?
Israel has continued to violate the terms of the ceasefire in Gaza – the government must act to stop Israel’s violations, open the
borders and allow Palestinians to rebuild their lives.
http://act.palestinecampaign.org/lobby/Palestinedebate
Media & Publicity
06.11.2011
New report: 'What the media won't tell you about East Jerusalem'
East Jerusalem is in the news, but the reports on the violence in the city are missing facts, background and context.
News audiences are being kept in the dark about the daily brutality and illegality of Israel's occupation, Israeli policies aimed at
cleansing the city of Palestinians, and the frequency with which Israeli settlers and soldiers attack and invade the Al Aqsa
compound.
PSC’s report, What the media won't tell you about East Jerusalem, gives the grim facts on how Israel attempts to repress,
control, intimidate and, ultimately, expel East Jerusalem Palestinians.
Please feel free to share widely. Also, I’m very behind with emails, so please excuse my lack of replies over the last two weeks.
I’ll hopefully get back on track next week.
Fair News - Monitoring the Media's Coverage of Palestine and Israel
24
Palestine Solidarity Campaign
18.11.2014
BBC Bias continues as Palestinian murders ignored
Action Alert: BBC Bias continues as Palestinian murders ignored
* BBC Covers tragic Synagogue deaths in Jerusalem as headline news, and plays down Palestinian deaths.
* Write to the BBC and demand fair and balances reporting.
The BBC News online headline article today was 'Bloody attack at Jerusalem synagogue' featuring a report, analysis by a
correspondent, a picture blog, and a live blog containing updates every few minutes.
Examples of the pictures used in the report and photo blog seemed to have been selected to bring out a strong emotive
response amongst the audience. They included the bloodied prayer shawls of the victims, and images of what the BBC alleged
were Palestinians celebrating the attack. In contrast, recent reports on Palestinian victims of Israeli violence were muted:
* Palestinian bus driver, Hassan Yousef Al Ramouni, believed to have been lynched by Israeli settlers had not been
mentioned at all by the BBC until the attack on the synagogue, where it was mentioned only in reference to a Hamas
statement on the synagogue attack. AFP and major Israeli outlets reported Hassan's death.
* On November 11th, the BBC reported the killing of 22-year-old Imad Jawabreh using quotation marks around 'shot dead
by Israeli army' as if there was any conflicting report over who had shot Jawabreh.
By the fourth paragraph of the report, there was mention of attacks against an Israeli soldier and civilians in an attempt to
contextualise the killing. By contrast, the article on the synagogue attack contains no reference to killings of Palestinians by
Israelis. Unlike the story on the synagogue attack, there is no live blog and no use of evocative imagery, instead a generic
image of an Israeli jeep is used.
* The BBC only reported on the killing of Khayr al-Din Hamdan, shot dead by Israeli police while his back was turned once.
The incident was caught on camera, but the BBC has not followed up on this clear example of police brutality.
Bring the BBC to account and question them over this bias reporting which conflates Israeli deaths while understating
Palestinian deaths.
TAKE ACTION
Please write a letter of complaint to the BBC.
Make a complaint using the BBC online form.
Or Post: BBC Complaints PO Box 1922 Darlington DL3 0UR
Once you have received a response from the BBC complaints please forward your complaint onto the BBC
trust, trust.enquiries@bbc.co.uk
Sample Letter
Yes, the BBC seems keen to put the Jerusalem synagogue victims' relatives on-mic, saying how awful it is. It is awful, but it's
not unusual as it happens constantly, only to Palestinians but doesn't get reported. I've heard one person wonder how he
could ever talk to an Arab again and a BBC reporter use the word "pogrom," which only feeds the Israelis' and the Western
public's irrational fear that all the world's Jews need Israel, today more than ever. Channel 4's Jon Snow had Mustafa Barghouti
on, rightly claiming that this escalation was not a religious war, even though Netanyahu was trying to portray it as such,
but wrongly calling this murder merely "unfortunate." This aids both Netanyahu and Naftali Bennett, leader of the no. 2 Settlers'
Party and the likely next PM. Given the struggle of the ultra Orthodox nutters to take over Al-Aqsa (shades of 1936, when the
Mufti was reluctantly dragged in to support the geographic sanctity of the mosque), this may not be the start of a third Intifada,
but of something worse. A warehouse of SAD lightbulbs won't elevate my mood right now.
30.11.2014
Al Jazeera network launches Palestine Remix website
DOHA: Al Jazeera Media Network has launched" Palestine Remix" an interactive website aimed at telling Palestinian
stories. The website was launched yesterday at Hilton Doha Hotel, as part of the activities to commemorate the UN
International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. November 29 commemorates the adoption of the United Nations
Partition Resolution 181 (II) in 1947 calling for the establishment of both a" Jewish State" and an "Arab State" in the Palestinian
region. But so far only Israel became a state in 1948.
"Palestine Remix" allows users access to some of Al Jazeera 's best documentaries on Palestine. It enables people to cut-andpaste the footage to tell stories or part of stories with, and share it immediately through different social media platforms.
The remix tool is built-in simplistic video editing software that allows users to build their short films in minutes. The project also
boasts interactive maps and timelines which allow users to truly understand the Palestinian issue and contextualise it.
"This project is not just about telling the important story of Palestine. It's about creating new ones. We want to give you a new
way to understand, tell and share stories about Palestine. That's why we created Palestine Remix: to put the power of
storytelling
into
your
hands,"
said
Rawan
Damen,
Palestine
Remix's
Project
Manager.
The database provides the user the ability to watch the full documentaries with their full transcripts, which allows the visitor to
click on a word in the transcript and go directly to that point in time in the film, saving a lot of real time searching in films.
The user can also pick and choose, mix and match the extracts of different films or view the full films in a coherent context, in
addition to searching the full transcripts using any word, name, place or concept. The database contains 84 hours in the 4
languages, with more than 250 people, 580 places and a timeline that spans for 215 years. It also provides drone footage of
iconic places in historic Palestine: Jerusalem, Acre, Gaza and many others.
Palestine Remix is the first of its kind on the Palestinian issue, has a special mobile user friendly version and will be a mobile
application before the end of this year, said Damen.
Source: Al Jazeera
25