Violence / Detentions Israeli forces injure 3 with live fire near Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 26 Sept -- Three Palestinian youth were injured by
live Israeli fire during clashes that erupted in the town of
Tuqu‘ [or Taqu‘, Teqou‘a]
in southeastern Bethlehem on Friday. Locals told Ma‘an that Israeli
military forces arrived to the town and were deployed onto the rooftops
of resident's homes, targeting youth with bullets and tear-gas. Clashes
had erupted between the youth and Israeli forces around the town's
municipality building when Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition and
rubber-coated steel bullets, injuring the three youth in the legs with
live fire, locals said. The youth received aid at the town's medical
clinic before being taken to the Beit Jala Governmental Hospital by
Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances. Their injuries were reported as
moderate.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767810 Arresting four children from the village of Al-Tur SILWAN, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 28 Sept -- The occupation forces arrested four children from the village of
Al-Tur
east of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem on Monday early morning.
Sources from the village explained to Wadi Hilweh Information Center
that the occupation forces raided several houses and arrested four
children aged between 11-13 years. The detainees are: Abdullah Zakaria
Abulhawa, Mohammad Mohannad Abulhawa, Mu’ath Munther Abulhawa and Khalil
Kamal Abulhawa.
http://silwanic.net/?p=62983 Double standards, one rule for all - except Palestinians NABI SALEH, Occupied Palestine 27 Sept by ISM, Al-Khalil Team -- On the 28th of August, Mahmoud Tamimi was arrested in
Nabi Saleh
during the weekly nonviolent demonstration. Every Friday, just after
the prayer, the residents demonstrate against the expansion of the
illegal settlement of
Halamish which has continuously confiscated
Palestinian land as well as the only water source of the village: ‘Ain
al-Qaws. During the Friday march towards the expropriated lands the
residents were stopped by Israeli forces using excessive brutality,
shooting tear gas, rubber coated steel bullets, live ammunition and
sound grenades against civilians. Additionally, demonstrators are often
arrested and beaten up. On the 28th of August, in the course of the
demonstration I, as a foreigner, was arrested by Israeli forces together
with the 19-year old Palestinian Mahmoud Tamimi. Both of us have been
brutally beaten by the soldiers with punches, kicks and the butts of
their guns. Both of us were arrested and secluded for 6 hours, kept
blindfolded and handcuffed in a small room in a military base.
Afterwards, we were taken to the police station based in the illegal
settlement of Ben Yamin and, at that point, our paths were divided: he
was brought to the military prison of Ofer and I was brought to “Ramle”
near Tel Aviv. Within a few days, my predicament was positively solved: I
was acquitted from the charges of throwing stones and other objects,
and returned to be a free citizen. Regarding Mahmoud, although the
charges were exactly the same, because he’s Palestinian, the situation
is completely different: in fact Mahmoud is still under arrest in Ofer
military prison and is waiting to attend his first hearing, to be held
on the 28th of October, that is 60 days after his arrest . . . In my
case, hard evidence would be required to bring charges against me; for
Mahmoud in contrast, as a Palestinian, no evidence is required at all.
All the trial is only based on the statement of 18-year old soldiers . .
. .
http://palsolidarity.org/2015/09/double-standards-one-rule-for-all-except-palestinians/ Israeli army denies shooting Palestinian girl with rubber bullets
Haaretz 26 Sept by Jack Khoury -- A 7-year-old Palestinian girl and her
father were wounded Friday in clashes between Palestinians and Israel
Defense Forces soldiers in the village of
Kadum [or Qaddoum] in
the northern West Bank. According to Murad Ashtawi, one of the
organizers of the weekly demonstrations in the village, the girl was
standing in her window and was injured in the head when soldiers who
surrounded the house “fired in every direction.” According to Ashtawi,
the girl’s father,
Col. Abd el-Latif a-Kadumi [or Qaddoumi], the
commander of the Palestinian police in Nablus, was shot in the head
attempting to evacuate his daughter from the scene in his car. The
Palestinian news agency Ma‘an reported that the girl was struck by a
rubber-coated steel bullet aimed directly at her by the soldiers. The
girl and her father were taken to Rafadiyah Hospital in Nablus with
moderate injuries and their condition is described as stable. According
to Ma‘an, the soldiers raided the village and set up a number of
ambushes in order to prevent the weekly demonstration.
The IDF
Spokesperson's Unit said: "A preliminary investigation showed the girl
was wounded by stones thrown by the villagers, during a violent
disruption against IDF soldiers. The IDF regrets the girl was injured."
The IDF also said that "any other report is a false report which aims to
slander the forces working to keep law and order in the area."
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.677680 Israel suspends officer over assault of AFP journalists
JERUSALEM (AFP) 27 Sept -- The Israeli military has suspended the
officer in charge during an incident in the West Bank that saw soldiers
assault two AFP journalists, take their equipment and destroy it, the
army said. "The officer in charge of the operations on the ground has
been suspended from operational duty until further notice," Lieutenant
Colonel Peter Lerner said of the incident on Friday. Lerner said the
move was an immediate step "pending further disciplinary measures"
against the officer or other soldiers and that investigations were
continuing. He added that the Israeli military considered it a "grave"
incident. "Lessons from the incident will be learnt and disseminated
within the (Israeli army)," Lerner told AFP late on Saturday. The two
AFP journalists, Italian Andrea Bernardi and Palestinian Abbas Momani,
were covering clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers in Beit
Furik near Nablus following a funeral when they were assaulted by
soldiers. Bernardi is a video journalist and Momani is a photographer.
The soldiers pointed their weapons at them and shoved them. Bernardi was
thrown to the ground, with a knee pressed against his chest until he
was able to show his press card. They were identifiable as journalists
not only by their equipment but also by their body armour clearly marked
"Press". They had been previously authorised to enter the area. The
soldiers smashed a video camera and a stills camera, while also taking
away another stills camera and a mobile phone. The incident was filmed
and posted online by a local production company. On Friday evening, the
army told AFP that it had identified those involved and that
disciplinary measures would be taken. It also said it had recovered
equipment. Severely damaged equipment was returned to AFP on Saturday,
though without the memory cards that had been inside. AFP as well as the
Foreign Press Association in Israel and the Palestinian Territories
have strongly condemned the assault.
http://news.yahoo.com/israel-suspends-officer-over-assault-afp-journalists-063658420.html The IDF must come clean about the Hebron shooting +972 Blog 27 Sept by Noam Rotem --
Why is the Israeli army refusing to release its footage from the shooting of 18-year-old Hadeel al-Hashlamon?
-- Was the shooting an act of self defense by the soldiers wearing
ballistic vests in the checkpoint, standing behind a steel barrier
separating them and the young woman, as claimed by the IDF Spokesperson?
Or was it an “extrajudicial execution,” as
Amnesty claimed,
and which B’Tselem said in more cautious terms. It won’t be difficult
to find the answer. It would actually be very easy. The IDF has video
footage of the entire event, showing the entire sequence of events. To
this day, five days since the shooting, the army has chosen not to
release that video, a choice that raises questions about its
motivations. Is the army covering up for yet another soldier who
sentenced a civilian to death in the West Bank? Did the young woman
threaten to attack the armed soldiers to the point that they felt a
threat to their lives and that they had no choice but to shoot her? Did
Hashlamon pull out and wave a knife at the soldiers? Could she have
actually reached soldiers standing on the other side of the barrier
separating them? And after the first shot, was there a justification for
shooting the 18-year-old in her stomach and chest, while she was lying
unresponsive on the ground? All of the evidence is available, all of the
testimonies have been recorded. The military prosecutor must put on
trial the soldier who cut short Hadeel al-Hashlamon’s life, or
alternatively, release the video showing that it was indeed self
defense. The IDF Spokesperson had no response when asked why video of
the event hasn’t been published yet and whether it intends to do so.
http://972mag.com/the-idf-must-come-clean-about-the-hebron-shooting/112113/ Wanted for war crime: killer of Hadil al-Hashlomon Tikun Olam 2 Sept by Richard Silverstein -- Thank you to
Shaul Hanuka for his wonderful work creating this wanted poster featuring the killer of Palestinian student,
Hadil al-Hashlomon.
I appeal once again for any Israelis who know this person to step
forward and name him. He deserves to be held accountable for what
Amnesty International has called an “
extrajudicial execution.” Please circulate this poster online everywhere you can.
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2015/09/27/wanted-for-war-crime-killer-of-hadil-al-hashlomon/ Israeli police hold 4 Palestinian youths over driver's death
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 26 Sept -- Israeli police said Saturday that they
were holding four Palestinians aged 16-19 who they accuse of causing an
Israeli driver's death by throwing stones at his car earlier this month.
Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said the four Palestinians,
from the East Jerusalem village of
Sur Baher, were detained on
suspicion of "carrying out the attack over the Jewish new year."
Rosenfeld said: "They admitted carrying out the attack. They planned it
ahead of time." A police statement identified the youths as Muhammad
Salah Muhammad Abu Kiff, Walid Fares Mustafa al-Atrash and Abed Mahmoud
Abed Rabbo Dawiyat, while the identity of the fourth was under gag
order. Israeli police have said they believe the Israeli driver,
64-year-old Alexander Levlovich, lost control of his car after a stone
was thrown at it on Sept. 13, during the Jewish new year holiday. They
have so far released no evidence, and shortly after the accident took
place the Jerusalem's Magistrate Court issued a gag order on details of
the incident. During a visit to the accident site several days later,
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed "war" on Palestinian
stone-throwers. Israel's security cabinet has since broadened the rules
under which stone-throwers can be targeted by live fire and has
announced a minimum four-year prison sentence for those found guilty of
stone-throwing.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767820 East Jerusalem residents feel they have nothing left to lose Haaretz 26 Sept by Amira Hass --
Even
when they don’t agree with stone throwing, Palestinians in East
Jerusalem say their existence is constantly under threat -- Rami
received Israeli citizenship two years ago. He is a student in his
mid-20s, born and living in East Jerusalem. Repulsed by the stone
throwing, he has undergone a conscious and self-chosen “Israelization”
since high school. Rami (not his real name) reached the conclusion that
he wouldn’t get ahead in life without learning Hebrew, becoming familiar
with Israeli culture and even befriending Jews, and pursuing studies
and work opportunities through Israeli institutions. He submitted two
citizenship applications to the Interior Ministry, which rejected him
both times. Only after paying a lawyer a decent sum of money that put
him in debt was he granted citizenship. It is not Israeli patriotism
that motivated Rami to become a citizen. Like most Jerusalem
Palestinians who have managed to receive Israeli citizenship or have
pursued it, he did it to be able to study and stay abroad without fear
of not being permitted to return to his city and home. “Our existence in
Jerusalem is constantly threatened,” says Rami, who calls himself a
Jerusalem Arab rather than Palestinian.
Variations of this theme
arise in every conversation with East Jerusalem residents, especially
during the current, publicized confrontations between police and youths.
Morning, noon and night, every Palestinian in Jerusalem lives and
breathes the Israeli desire, which they perceive in the state’s
policies, for them all to abandon the city and move abroad or to
Ramallah. As residents but not citizens, they are subject to Israeli
entry laws – as if they had asked to move there and not been annexed.
Extended residence outside the city – for studies, work or living in the
West Bank – puts them at risk of losing their Jerusalem residency
status and expulsion, with the High Court's approval.
. . .
http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel/.premium-1.677625 Jews throw stones too, but Arabs get harsher sentences Haaretz 28 Sept by Yaniv Kubovich --
In verdicts over recent years, Arabs are much more likely to get prison sentences that approach or exceed a year -- . . . A
look at verdicts in recent years show differences in sentencing for
Jewish and Arab stone-throwers. In February, a Tel Aviv District Court
judge sentenced an East Jerusalemite to 16 months in prison for throwing
stones at a vehicle on the road to Ma’aleh Adumim. A month before, a
Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court judge, Dana Cohen-Lekach, sentenced two
minors to six months and eight months respectively for throwing stones
at cars in East Jerusalem. And in 2011, Magistrate’s Court Judge Rivka
Friedman-Feldman sentenced an East Jerusalem resident who threw stones
at a demonstration during Gaza fighting to nine months in prison. “I
have a 14-year-old about whom we agreed with the prosecution for a
10-month sentence for throwing a firebomb that didn’t hit anything,”
Mahmoud said. “Two weeks ago a 16-year-old client got 10 months in
prison for throwing a stone at a bus. Today the punishment is very harsh
for minors.” According to Mahmoud, Arabs don’t receive the option to
swap a prison sentence for community service or another alternative.
When Jews disturb the peace, “the court doesn’t find them guilty, and if
it does, they don’t get more than three months,” while no Jewish minors
are sentenced to prison at all, Mahmoud says.
Recent verdicts
show that there is truth to Mahmoud’s claims. For example, a Jewish
Israeli took part in a demonstration by Jews, Palestinians and
foreigners on the outskirts of the village of Nabi Saleh and was caught
throwing stones at police. He was sentenced to two months in prison,
which was replaced by community service at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. In
2013, the president of the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, Shulamit
Dotan, sentenced to six months’ community service a man convicted of
attacking police during demonstrations by the ultra-Orthodox against the
opening of a parking garage on Saturdays. In July, Jerusalem District
Court Judge Amnon Cohen sentenced an ultra-Orthodox man who set fire to
garbage dumpsters, threw stones at police and hit a policeman in the
face with a fist-sized stone to only seven months in prison
. . . .
http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel/.premium-1.677685 PLO: Israel's new live fire law 'dehumanized a whole nation'
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 26 Sept -- The PLO secretary-general said Saturday
that new Israeli regulations authorizing forces to use live ammunition
in occupied East Jerusalem served to "dehumanize" Palestinians. Israel's
security cabinet on Thursday broadened the rules whereby stone-throwers
can be targeted with live fire, allowing Israeli forces to open fire
when they determine that the life of a third party is under threat.
Arguing that the new law gifts Israeli soldiers with wide discretion for
determining this "threat," PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat described
the measures as "a mere pretext to justify the escalating Israeli crimes
against the people of Palestine." He said the new laws would expand the
level under which Palestinians may be directly targeted by Israeli
forces. "The Israeli government continues to incite against Palestinian
lives, with a culture of hate that dehumanizes a whole nation," Erekat
said. Erekat said the PLO would hold Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and the members of the security cabinet responsible for "the
new crimes to be committed under this new regulation," adding that any
violations of international law carried out under the new law would be
reported to the International Criminal Court (ICC) . . . Israeli rights
group B'Tselem warned last week that the approval of live fire against
stone throwers in occupied East Jerusalem would "exacerbate the cycle of
violence with lethal results" rather than restore order in the city.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767813 Is Bibi using J'lem violence as an excuse to target all Arabs? / John Brown* & Mihal Rotem +972 Blog 27 Sept --
Netanyahu
is trying to expand the open-fire regulations so that they target Arabs
inside Israel. The outcome? Only more bloodshed -- For the past few weeks it has been difficult not to avoid reports on
stone throwing in East Jerusalem.
Government representatives compete with one another over who will offer
up the firmest way to deal with these youth in order to “do away with
this phenomenon.” Of course none of them offers
dealing with neglected East Jerusalem, the discrimination, the
home demolitions, and the fact that
75 percent of East Jerusalem residents — and 84 percent of children there — live below the poverty line,
or the fact that there is no framework to take care of children and
teenagers after school is over. It is strange that not a single
politician has offered to shoot settlers when they throw stones
following the demolition of their illegal structures in the West Bank.
The opposite is true: they are granted hundreds of new housing units . .
. So why is Netanyahu wrapping up the issues of Jerusalem and the Negev
in one fancy package, especially when the issue of stone throwing is a
minor one in the south? It’s unclear. One possible reason is that
Netanyahu is a seasoned campaigner, he knows that the next election
campaign begins where the previous one ends, and so that his voters go
out in droves
when he tells them that the Arabs are going out in droves to vote
. . . But there is another, more frightening option . . . Netanyahu
does not respond to past events — he responds to future ones. He knows
that the process of dispossession will meet severe resistance, and he is
laying down the legal infrastructure that will allow widespread use of
live fire against Bedouin children and teenagers. It is unlikely that
disproportional police violence will bring an end to this resistance; it
is much likelier that it will only increase the violence, which will
allow the government to justify taking care of “the Bedouin problem,”
using the excuse of “security” to continue dispossessing the residents
of their land in the Negev.
http://972mag.com/is-bibi-using-jlem-violence-as-an-excuse-to-target-bedouin/112063/ Al-Aqsa
New clashes as Israeli forces raid Al-Aqsa Mosque compound
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an/AFP) 28 Sept -- Israeli forces raided the Al-Aqsa
Mosque compound on Monday and deployed heavily in the courtyard, leading
to clashes with Palestinian worshipers ahead of the Jewish holiday of
Sukkot. Officials from the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Endowment
told Ma‘an that dozens of Israeli forces raided the holy site and fired
stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets "haphazardly" in the area.
Sources with the Jordanian-run organisation that administers the site,
the Waqf, told AFP that police stun grenades provoked four fires inside
the building that were brought under control. Around 15 snipers deployed
on the roof of the southern mosque, while Israeli forces in riot gear
were stationed in the main courtyards. Witnesses said Israeli forces
closed the doors of the southern mosque with chains and forcibly
evacuated worshipers from the area through the Hatta Gate. Locals also
said that Israeli soldiers used hammer drills and oxy-fuel welding tools
to remove several windows from the mosque. Only the Hatta, Chain, and
Council Gates were open for Palestinians to access the holy site, with
worshipers performing dawn prayers outside of the compound early Monday .
. . Recent weeks have seen a series of Jewish holidays during which
there has been an uptick in visits by Jews that have sparked repeated
clashes. The same situation is feared over Sukkot.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767840 Israel imposes severe Aqsa entry restrictions ahead of Jewish festival
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 27 Sept -- Israeli police on Sunday imposed severe
entry restrictions on Palestinians to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound ahead
of an eight-day Jewish festival. Israeli police prevented all
Palestinian men under 50 from accessing the site while holding the IDs
of those men that were allowed to enter. There were no age restrictions
on Palestinian women. Witnesses said that large numbers of Palestinian
men performed evening prayers outside the mosque compound's gates after
they were prevented from entering. Earlier Sunday saw clashes across the
compound after Israeli police stormed the holy site and fired
rubber-coated steel bullets and stun grenades at Palestinian protesters.
During the four-day Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday that ended Sunday,
non-Muslims were prevented from accessing the compound, while age
restrictions on Palestinians were lifted. However, tensions rose sharply
ahead of the eight-day Jewish Sukkut festival, which began Sunday
evening and is expected to see large numbers of Jews visit the Al-Aqsa
Mosque compound. Palestinian protesters on Sunday were reportedly
preparing "to defend" the compound during the festival, stocking stones
inside the southern mosque and planning to sleep in it. Right-wing
Jewish organizations have reportedly called on Jews to visit the
compound in coming days, while Palestinian leaders in Israel have called
on Palestinians to "protect" the mosque compound "in masses."
Palestinians have expressed fears that Israel is seeking to change rules
governing the site, with far-right Jewish groups pushing for more
access to the compound and even efforts by fringe organisations to erect
a new temple.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767835 Isolating 21 Palestinians from Al-Aqsa Mosque and the city of Jerusalem
SILWAN, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 27 Sept -- The occupation authorities
isolated 10 young Jerusalemite men for periods that varied between two
weeks and 6 months from
Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Wadi Hilweh Information Center was informed that the occupation forces
stormed into several houses in the city, arrested the young men and
handed them calls for interrogation at Al-Qishleh police center; they
were then handed the isolation orders. They are: Thaer Zghayyar,
Abdullah Nimer (2 weeks), Mohammad Arafeh (6 months), Ibrahim Abu
Sneineh, Walid Tufaha, Nour Shalabi, Mohammad Hashlamon and Mahmoud
Jundi (two months), Amir Bilbeisi (one month) and Mustafa Hashlamon. In a
related matter, four young men from the 1948 lands were isolated from
Al-Aqsa Mosque. They are: Amin Abu Diab, Sindbad Taha, Sheikh Fouad Abu
Qmeir and Khalil Akri. Also, people from the 1948 lands were ordered to
stay away from the city of Jerusalem for periods between two weeks and
three months. Sheikh Hussam Abu Leil, second deputy for the Islamic
movement in the 1948 lands, Ala’ Abu Al-Hayja’, Mahdi Masalha, Dr.
Hikmat Na’amneh and the photographer of Al-Jazeera Live TV, Omar Siam,
were handed orders of staying away from Jerusalem for two weeks whike
Wisam Sweiti was ordered to stay away for three months.
http://silwanic.net/?p=62981 A play date at Al-Aqsa / Sayed Kashua
Haaretz 27 Sept -- . . . “So who is behind all this?” the anchor of a
major TV news program asked, as he, his correspondents, his commentators
and his interviewees kept repeating the same phrases: stone-throwing
terror, firebomb terror, waves of murderous terror, the terror of
Islamic rioters. You really don’t know who’s behind it? Have you been to
Jabal Mukaber lately? Have you ever been to Silwan? Have you wandered
through the alleys, visited the schools there? Have you seen the homes
of the settlers and the buildings of their not-for-profit associations?
Did you ask what the parents do, what their income level is, or about
future development plans and the number of demolition orders that have
been issued? And now they want to take Al-Aqsa away from the children of
the eastern part of the city, too? And people ask what’s behind it? I
will not talk about Al-Aqsa in any religious sense; call it the Temple
Mount, or whatever you want. I will talk about it as the only place
where the children of the Old City and the adjacent neighborhoods have
to play. The only venue for which a play date can be set. I will talk
about it as a garden, as the only place in the Old City that is not
choked with buildings, dirt and the distress of everyday life. I used to
walk a great deal in the plaza outside the mosque there when I lived in
Jerusalem. I never prayed there. I also took my kids there, until they
started to ask my daughter to cover her head. Many children go there,
because they have nowhere else to go to. It’s a beautiful, magical
plaza, far from the overcrowding and duress that lurk behind every Arab
door in the Old City. Every child knows that it’s the loveliest place in
the Arab part of the city. That you can play there, dream and imagine a
different reality there – one with a bit of hope. And even though
Israeli police are present at the entrances, the compound is free of
direct Israeli rule. But now you won’t even leave that small area to the
Arab children, whether in the name of the Temple or in the name of
Israeli sovereignty, freedom of worship, archaeology and Israeli
security?
http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/sayed-kashua/.premium-1.677321 Abbas, Sisi discuss Israeli violations at Aqsa
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 26 Sept -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and
his Egyptian counterpart Abdul Fattah al-Sisi met in New York Saturday
to discuss potential action to halt Israeli violations in occupied East
Jerusalem, Egyptian media reported.Egyptian media reports said the two
discussed the Palestinian Authority's plan on the ground and at an
international level to stop increasing Israeli violations at the Al-Aqsa
Mosque compound in East Jerusalem.They also reportedly discussed other
regional issues, with no further details provided.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767814 Gaza Hamas says fighter dies in Gaza smuggling tunnel
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 28 Sept -- A member of the Al-Qassam Brigades died on
Monday inside a smuggling tunnel in the Gaza Strip, Hamas said. The
fighter was identified as
Majid al-Sakani from the
Shuja‘iyya neighborhood of Gaza City. Hamas did not give details about
how, or where, the fighter died. [He looks to have been severely burned
at some point]
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767841 Egypt leader defends 'security measures' along Gaza border
CAIRO (AFP) 26 Sept - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on
Saturday said the security measures taken by his country along the
border with Gaza were not aimed at "harming" Palestinians. "The measures
taken by Egypt to secure its eastern borders are in full coordination
with the Palestinian Authority and cannot have the aim of harming our
Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip," Sisi was quoted as saying in a
statement sent by his office. "The measures seek to protect the
Egyptian borders and maintain Egyptian and Palestinian national
security," it added. The Egyptian leader reportedly made the comments
during a meeting with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in New York,
where they are attending the United Nations General Assembly. Egypt
began creating a wide buffer zone along the Gaza border in late 2014 in a
bid to destroy the hundreds of smuggling tunnels Cairo says are used by
Palestinian activists to deliver weapons to jihadists who are battling
Egyptian forces in the Sinai peninsula. In recent weeks, Egypt has also
been carrying out digging work in the area that Palestinians believe is
intended to flood the last remaining tunnels between Gaza and the Sinai.
The work has been criticised by Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist
movement that runs the Gaza Strip, with chief Ismail Haniyeh on Thursday
accusing Egypt of further besieging the enclave, which is already under
an Israeli blockade.
http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-leader-defends-security-measures-along-gaza-border-231856234.html PA must take control of Gaza crossings, Sissi tells Abbas
Timed of Israel 27 Sept -- The Palestinian Authority must take charge
of the crossings in and out of the Gaza Strip, and restore control to
the coastal area, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi told PA
President Mahmoud Abbas in a meeting Saturday in New York, Al Jazeera
reported. The two met on the sidelines of a United Nations summit on
climate change, as world leaders gathered in New York for the annual UN
General Assembly, the report said. During the meeting, Sissi said PA
control over the Gaza access points would have major impact on the Rafah
crossing between the Strip and Egypt.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/pa-must-be-in-control-of-gaza-crossings-sissi-tells-abbas/ Israel closes Gaza crossings for Jewish holiday
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 28 Sept -- Israeli authorities closed the Kerem
Shalom and Erez crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip on Monday
for the Jewish Sukkot holiday. An official at the Palestinian liaison
department told Ma‘an that more closures would follow in coming days
during the eight-day Jewish festival, although he said the crossings
would be open on Tuesday. The crossings were partially open on Sunday . .
. Earlier this month, the crossings were closed during the Jewish new
year holiday as well the Yom Kippur holiday. The Kerem Shalom crossing
in southern Gaza is a vital entry point for goods into the
Israeli-blockaded coastal territory, while Erez is the only crossing for
people traveling between Gaza and Israel, although travel is heavily
limited by Israeli authorities.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767845 Anguish and joy from Gaza to Mecca
MECCA (Al Jazeera) 26 Sept -- Hussain Tarneesi had never crossed a
bridge or walked near a wide, paved road in his life. Tarneesi, who is
from the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza, had never stood in front
of a skyscraper or a shopping centre. He had never been out of the
territory where infrastructure is severely lacking after repeated
Israeli military campaigns, which flattened many neighbourhoods. This
week, at the age of 55, Tarneesi boarded a plane for the first time in
his life and headed to Saudi Arabia, discovering the marks of a modern
city. The glare of Jeddah and Mecca was riveting, he said, but it was
the sight of the Kaaba, the holiest structure in Islam, that caused him
to collapse in tears. "I started crying because I wasn't even hoping to
see it," he told Al Jazeera, wiping away more tears. "I didn't expect to
get a permit. It was a shock. When I saw the Kaaba, I started crying
from happiness." Travel for Tarneesi and hundreds of thousands of others
in Gaza is next to impossible. Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza -
which residents refer to as an "open-air prison" - since 2007. Gaza's
only other neighbour, Egypt, opens the border crossing of Rafah for a
few weeks each year. For a few days earlier this month, the crossing was
opened to allow pilgrims to fly to Saudi Arabia through Cairo's
airport. The five-hour trip from Gaza to Cairo's airport took 13 hours
by bus, pilgrims told Al Jazeera. They said they were told by Egyptian
authorities that the bus had to reroute for unspecified security
reasons. Saudi Arabia this year offered to fully fund the Hajj journeys
of 1,000 Palestinians, half from Gaza and the other half from the
occupied West Bank. The majority of pilgrims were family members of
Palestinians killed in Israeli military operations. "I am someone who
has no money, someone who is not allowed to travel. Suddenly, the doors
of heaven opened for me. I look at the streets here, and I think I am
entering into heaven," Tarneesi said. Under the Kaaba, the black cube at
the centre of Mecca's Grand Mosque, Tarneesi felt he could finally let
go of his composure and sob. He prayed for his son, who was killed at 21
during clashes with Israel in 2004. "They shot him dead, 10 metres away
from me. Every time I remember him I cry. He was engaged ... I couldn't
even see him get married," Tarneesi told Al Jazeera in the Mecca hotel
that is accommodating the Palestinian pilgrims.
https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/anguish-joy-gaza-mecca-080833530.html VIDEO: From Gaza to Makkah Al Jazeera 26 Sept
1:48 min
-- "We
(Muslims) want to see the Kaaba and imagine the prophets Abraham and
Adam were here. To walk where the Prophet Muhammad walked." Every year,
500 Palestinians from Gaza are given grants to go to Mecca for Hajj, the
annual pilgrimage of the Islamic faith. Some have never left Gaza
before. Al Jazeera's Basma Atassi speaks to them about the experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmwePoD0Bjk Israel breaches truce, opens machine gunfire on Gazan civilian homes
GAZA (PIC) 26 Sept -- The Israeli occupation soldiers afternoon Friday
opened heavy machine-gun fire on Palestinian civilian homes and
agricultural lands east of the blockaded Gaza Strip, flagrantly
violating the Cairo-brokered ceasefire accord. A PIC news correspondent
quoted Palestinian locals as reporting that Israeli army jeeps and
patrols deployed near military watchtowers at the border fence unleashed
random spates of machine gunfire on Palestinian civilian homes and
cultivated land lots in the al-Shuja‘iya neighborhood, in eastern Gaza.
The blockaded Gaza Strip has frequently been subjected to Israeli
machine-gun fire and limited incursions in what observers branded a
barefaced violation of the Cairo-brokered truce deal struck in the wake
of summer 2014 Israeli aggression on the besieged coastal enclave.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=73775 IOF arrests 3 Palestinians for trying to cross the security fence in Gaza
GAZA (PIC) 26 Sept -- Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested three
Palestinians for trying to cross the security fence in eastern Gaza
Strip Friday evening. Local sources revealed that the IOF arrested three
unarmed young Palestinian men at the security fence to the east of
Central Gaza and transferred the arrested to a nearby military camp.
Palestinians’ attempts to sneak into the 1948 Occupied Palestine for
work purposes have increased recently due to the continuation of the
siege on the blockaded enclave leading to hard economic conditions. Over
140 Palestinians have been arrested since last November.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=73781 In Gaza no figures can express the sorrow
GAZA STRIP, Occupied Palestine 26 Sept by ISM Gaza Team -- I don’t know
if pain can destroy or fortify, I only know that pain changes
everything. I also know that the recollection of such suffering shall
remain, has to remain in my memory. At the beginning of the Israeli
aggression, the first days of last July, I had promised myself not to
forget the names of the children that were killed, those who I
photographed horrified in the nightmare’s morgues in Gaza under fire. In
that moment I didn’t know that it would be impossible to keep that
promise. More than 500 names of children, destroyed by bombs should be
now pronounced by my voice, one by one. However, I do not forget, I can
not nor want to forget. The crimes and brutality do not deserve
forgetfulness nor forgiveness, only rage. An unmitigated rage that
drives us to act, to fight to prevent that their murders go unpunished,
so that death won’t be in vain, even though the death of children always
is. They are gone, we cannot bring them back to life, but we can, have
to punish their executioners. It is 10 am and several drones' fire
impact onto a house in Deir Al Balah while a Bulldozer recovers the
remains of a family, buried under a one-ton bomb dropped by a F-16,
those that leave craters, smoke and smell of death, where before were
homes, affections, dreams, lives.The ambulance fills with wounded
persons in seconds, a man enters carrying a small body of a child about
six or seven years old, the boy lacks the right calf, his foot is
hanging from a tendon or a shred of skin, I don’t know, I don’t want to
look, but I do . . . .
http://palsolidarity.org/2015/09/in-gaza-no-figures-can-express-the-sorrow/ In Gaza, it may not be perfect but it's Eid [with PHOTOS] MEE 25 Sept by Mohammed Omer --
Despite all the hardships and ongoing blockade, Gazans of all ages attempt to enjoy Eid celebrations with loved ones
-- The mosque loudspeakers are busy sending out messages of welcome,
mostly from children chanting the special Eid Takbeer. At 6am in West
Rafah, the street is filled with adults and children, including little
Ismail shouting to his younger brother, Zuhdi, also heading towards
Bilal Ben Rabah mosque. Some of the people are leading cows and sheep to
be sacrificed for the celebration after Eid sunrise prayers, their meat
is distributed among the poor so they can celebrate too. Eid al-Adha
marks the end of the Muslim Hajj by sacrificing precious livestock to
mark reverence to Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son -
Ismail - on God's command. Down the street, more women are heading
towards the local mosque. For Umm Ahmed, 55 years old, it is a very
special day when women attend Eid prayers and get the chance to chat
with the other ladies. “We also use this joyful occasion to remember
those we have loved and lost during last year’s war,” says Umm Ahmed,
who lost her young brother-in-law in an Israeli airstrike. Everyone is
heading towards something on the first day of Eid - whether it be joy or
mourning.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/it-may-not-be-perfect-it-s-eid-260183413 10 injured as amusement ride collapses in Gaza City
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 26 Sept -- Ten Palestinians were injured on Saturday
when an amusement park "discovery" ride collapsed in a park in southern
Gaza City.Ashraf al-Qidra, the spokesperson for Gaza's Ministry of
Health, said that 10 Palestinians, including an elderly woman, were
injured in the accident. He said that they were taken to al-Shifa
Medical Center, where three were reported as being in moderate
condition.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767818 Prisoners Wounded child detainee could lose his leg [with photo] IMEMC 28 Sept -- The Palestinian Detainees Committee has reported, Sunday, that detained wounded child,
‘Issa ‘Adnan ‘Abdul-Mo’ty,
13 years of age, currently hospitalized at the Hadassah Israeli medical
center in Jerusalem, could lose his leg. Lawyer Tareq Barghouth of the
Detainees’ Committee said the child, from Bethlehem, was shot and
injured on September 18 with an Israeli dumdum bullet, near the northern
entrance of Bethlehem city. Barghouth managed to visit the wounded
child, to find him cuffed and shackled to his hospital bed despite his
serious injuries, in addition to the fact that Israeli soldiers guard
his room. “His health condition is very serious; the doctors might even
have to amputate his right leg,” the lawyer said, “Yet, he is shackled
to his hospital bed…” The lawyer further stated that the Detainees'
Committee is trying to secure the child’s release due to his serious
injuries and his very young age. The wounded child underwent surgery on
his leg, but it failed. “Shooting children, especially with bullets that
expand upon impact, is illegal and immoral,” he added, “And yet, the
Israeli government has granted the soldiers a green light to even use
sniper rifles against Palestinians who throw stones on the military.”
http://www.imemc.org/article/73167 PA: Israel 'trying to kill' hunger striking Palestinian prisoners
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 27 Sept -- The Palestinian Authority's committee for
prisoners' affairs on Sunday said that Israeli authorities have thus far
refused the committee's requests for seven Palestinian hunger strikers
to be transferred to hospitals for treatment. In a statement, the
committee accused Israel of "trying to kill" seven hunger striking
prisoners who have been on strike for 40 days, alleging that the
“Israeli government is wearing down the prisoners on purpose in order to
force them to end their hunger strike by depriving them of medical
treatment and sending them to prison wards where criminal prisoners are
being held.” The statement pointed out that the prisoners’ committee had
submitted an emergency appeal to Israel’s High Court, asking the court
to order the prisoners' hospital transfers. A spokesperson for the
Israeli Prison Service told Ma‘an over the phone on Sunday that the ISP
could confirm the prisoners had not been transferred to hospitals,
stating that the prisoners had "only been [hunger striking] for 30 days,
and they are not required to be moved to a hospital until after 35
days." However, Ma‘an first reported that at least five of the hunger
strikers began their strike on Aug. 18, exactly 40 days before. The
prisoners' committee said the striking prisoners are in dire need of
medical treatment, reporting that the men have lost "all power and
strength."
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767828 Other news, analysis
Palestinian Christian schools end strike after temporary agreement
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 27 Sept -- Thousands of Palestinian schoolchildren
will attend school for the first time this academic year, after
Palestinian Christian schools in Israel announced the end of a nearly
month-long strike on Sunday. Abdel Massih Fahim, a Franciscan priest and
director of the Catholic church's Custody of the Holy Land which
oversees the Christian schools, told Ma‘an that the 47 Christian schools
across Israel had reached a temporary agreement with Israel's Ministry
of Education. The agreement will see the ministry allocate a one-time
payment of 50 million shekels ($12.6 million) to the Christian schools.
"Tomorrow morning, we are happy to say we will open the schools," Fahim
told Ma‘an. "We arrived at an agreement with the Ministry of Education,
but I want to stress that this is not a final agreement." Fahim said the
schools had created a committee to continue negotiations with the
Israeli government in order to come to a permanent solution for the
budget constraints and lack of funding experienced by Palestinian
Christian schools in Israel. "Until we achieve complete equality we will
not accept a permanent agreement," Fahim said. "We don't accept that
this current agreement is equality, but through the committee we have
created, we will explain why we have the right for equality and we will
demand better in the future." The strike, which affected 33,000
Palestinian pupils -- 40 percent of which are Muslim -- as well as 3,000
staff, was announced last month, with parents and school officials
accusing the government of discrimination in funding their
establishments. Christian schools in Israel reportedly receive a third
of what the Israeli government allocates to Jewish schools.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767831 Abbas to meet with world leaders around UN General Assembly
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 27 Sept -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is
scheduled to meet with a number of international officials in New York
this week, as world leaders gather in the city for the United Nation's
70th General Assembly, the Palestinian foreign minister told
Fatah-affiliated Mawtini radio on Sunday. Riyad al-Maliki said President
Abbas will meet with a number of foreign ministers from Arab countries
in order to help prepare the agenda for an upcoming meeting between Arab
leaders and the Middle East Quartet, an international body involved in
mediating the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In
addition, he is also scheduled to meet with the foreign minister of
Norway, prime minister of Poland and the Emir of Qatar. Abbas will also
meet with Egyptian president Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi to discuss bilateral
relations between Egypt and Palestine and the possibility of renewed
peace talks with Israel, among other things, al-Maliki said. Al-Maliki
also said the president is scheduled to deliver a speech before the
General Assembly on Wednesday, where he is expected to urge the
international community to "commit to its responsibilities" concerning
Palestine. The speech, he added, will reflect the reality of the
Palestinian people’s daily life in light of Israel’s violations
concerning the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, lack of commitment to the Oslo
Accord and the "foiling of all efforts" to achieve peace.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767830 French FM to attend Palestinian flag-raising at UN
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) 26 Sept -- French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius
said Saturday he will attend a ceremony next week to raise the
Palestinian flag at the United Nations, despite opposition from Israel
and the United States. The Palestinians have invited hundreds of leaders
to attend the event on Wednesday in the presence of president Mahmud
Abbas. Fabius told reporters in New York that his presence at the
ceremony would highlight France's "continued support for a two-state
solution." "We cannot allow the two-state solution to fall apart before
our eyes," he said. "We cannot risk seeing Daesh take over the
Palestinian cause," he said, referring to the Islamic State group that
now controls parts of Syria and Iraq . . . UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon is planning to attend the flag-raising event held just after
Abbas takes the podium at the General Assembly to deliver his address.
On that same day, Ban will be hosting a meeting of the diplomatic
quarter seeking a political settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. In a shift, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the Arab League
have been invited to the meeting along with the foreign ministers of
Russia, the United States and EU foreign affairs chief Federica
Mogherini.
http://news.yahoo.com/french-fm-attend-palestinian-flag-raising-un-211704776.html Palestinians excluded from Israel police map of southern West Bank
[includes photos of map] Haaretz 27 Sept by Amira Hass -- The map of
the Hebron region used by the Israel Police excludes all the Palestinian
villages and communities in the area, other than the three big cities,
and omits written data about the Palestinian population. In the map's
segmentation of the terrain between "built-up" and "open" areas, the
populated Palestinian areas are included under "open." . . . The map, a
photograph of which was obtained by Haaretz, is framed and hangs on the
wall in the patrol room of the Kiryat Arba-Hebron police station. It
consists of a large information board, in the center of which is the
map. Only the cities of Bethlehem, Halhul and Hebron appear on the map,
alongside Israeli settlements (but excluding unauthorized outposts.) The
other Palestinian cities, towns, villages, shepherding communities –
together numbering more than 200 localities – don't appear. Areas A, B
and C as defined by the Oslo Accords are color coded. The police don't
operate in Area A, but are authorized to operate in areas B and C, in
other words to enter the dozens of villages and communities in those
areas. They are also authorized to detain, arrest and issue traffic
tickets to any Palestinian traveling the roads in Area C. The
information section of the map puts the "number of residents" at 82,000.
An asterisk points to a note that reads "Irrespective of the
Palestinian population." The religious segmentation of the area is given
as 99.6 percent Jews and 0.4 percent others.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel/.premium-1.677631 Black labor: How a white elite uses black soldiers to enforce its will Haokets 25 Sept Photos by Mari Milstein, text by Tom Mehager --
A
new photo project focuses on the soldiers of Israel’s Border Police,
the main military unit used to enforce the occupation of the
Palestinians. Shot in various locations across Israel and the occupied
Palestinian territories, ‘Black Labor’ looks at the points of impact
where Israel’s elite pits black Jews against Palestinians -- Mati Milstein’s
“Black Labor” project
reveals the face of the “Second Israel,” the antithesis of those
Israelis who have always been viewed as the “salt of the earth.” When
the parents of those photographed arrived to this country, the
establishment viewed them as both morally and intellectually inferior --
people who need to be re-socialized in order to become a part of the
State of Israel’s
moral regime. . . .
http://972mag.com/black-labor-how-a-white-elite-uses-black-soldiers-to-enforce-its-will/112017/ Israeli universities still failing Arab students when it comes to inclusion Haaretz 27 Sept by Yarden Skop --
Institutions
are trying to attract Arab students to fill lecture halls, but in many
instances they ignore requests for Arabic signage or websites. Arab
faculty, meanwhile, are nearly nonexistent --An examination found
that only Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University and the
University of Haifa have Arabic signage, and even then it is only in
central locations. Bar-Ilan University, Ben-Gurion University of the
Negev, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, and Ariel
University (in the West Bank) have no Arabic signage at all. And only
the University of Haifa and Hebrew University make Muslim and Christian
holidays official vacation days. In addition, the university’s websites
only feature partial Arabic versions, with Arab content often difficult
to access. Over the years, only a few university conferences – mostly
dealing with the Middle East – have been conducted in Arabic, an
official state language and the native language of 20 percent of the
population . . . “There is a correlation between the low status of
Arabic and the low status of Arab citizens,” said Yonatan Mendel, an
Arabic language researcher from the Van Leer Institute, “and one of the
ways to promote equality in Israel and a positive attitude toward Arabic
culture is by changing the attitude toward the language. We are not
trying to make any university bilingual. By promoting conferences in
Arabic, we are drawing attention to the fact that there are a lot of
conferences in English and there are conferences in French – but holding
a conference in Arabic is not seen as obvious. It’s as if the language
didn’t exist.”
http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel/.premium-1.677686 Court calling for indictment of 'inciting' rabbi Haaretz 27 Sept by Chaim Levinson
--
Two organizations petitioned the High Court of Justice on Thursday,
asking it to order the state to indict a rabbi for writing an article
six years ago that allegedly incited to violence. Rabbi Yosef Elitzur
teaches at the Od Yosef Chai yeshiva, an institution considered a hotbed
of right-wing extremism that's located in the West Bank settlement of
Yitzhar. He is also coauthor of the controversial book “Torah Hamelech,”
which discusses the circumstances under which Jewish law would permit
Jews to kill non-Jews. He was banned from entering Britain in 2011 as a
result of writing the book. The article that is the subject of the
petition, “Mutual Responsibility,” was published in late 2009 on the
website Hakol Hayehudi, and includes the line, "If the Jews have no
peace, Arabs should also have no peace." But despite the almost-six
years that have since elapsed, the attorney general still hasn’t decided
whether to file charges. The petitioners – the Reform movement’s Israel
Religious Action Center and the Tag Meir organization – argue that this
lengthy delay is so unreasonable as to be illegal. Moreover, the
petition said, “It is clear that, today, the destructive and horrifying
influence of the statements made in this article is no longer a
hypothetical assessment ... The events of the last summer proved that
incitement doesn’t end with acts like hateful graffiti, uprooting olive
trees and puncturing car tires, but is translated into murder for racist
motives.”
The latter refers to an arson attack that killed three members of the
Dawabsheh family and seriously wounded a fourth in the West Bank village
of Duma in July. Jewish extremists are presumed to be behind the attack
. . . .
http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel/.premium-1.677677 Israel's army and schools work hand in hand, say teachers
HAIFA (MEE) 27 Sept by Jonathan Cook -- The task for Israeli pupils: to
foil an imminent terror attack on their school. But if they are to
succeed, they must first find the clues using key words they have been
learning in Arabic. Arabic lesson plans for Israel’s Jewish
schoolchildren have a strange focus. Those matriculating in the language
can rarely hold a conversation in Arabic. And almost none of the
hundreds of teachers introducing Jewish children to Israel’s second
language are native speakers, even though one in five of the population
belong to the country’s Palestinian minority. The reason, says Yonatan
Mendel, a researcher at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem, is that the
teaching of Arabic in Israel’s Jewish schools is determined almost
exclusively by the needs of the Israeli army. Mendel’s recent research
shows that officers from a military intelligence unit called Telem
design much of the Arabic language curriculum. “Its involvement is what
might be termed an ‘open secret’ in Israel,” he told MEE. “The military
are part and parcel of the education system. The goal of Arabic teaching
is to educate the children to be useful components in the military
system, to train them to become intelligence officers.” Telem is a
branch of Unit 8200, dozens of whose officers
signed a letter
last year revealing that their job was to pry into Palestinians’ sex
lives, money troubles and illnesses. The information helped with
“political persecution”, “recruiting collaborators” and “driving parts
of Palestinian society against itself”, the officers noted. Mendel said
Arabic was taught “without sentiment”, an aim established in the state’s
earliest years. “The fear was that, if students had a good relationship
with the language and saw Arabs as potential friends, they might cross
over to the other side and they would be of no use to the Israeli
security system. That was the reason the field of Arabic studies was
made free of Arabs.” . . . The teaching of Arabic is only one of the
ways the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), as the Israeli military is known,
reaches into Israeli classrooms, teachers and education experts have
told MEE.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-s-army-and-schools-work-hand-hand-say-teachers-201601890 Israel hits back after Golan rockets fired from Syria
JERUSALEM (AFP) 27 Sept -- A rocket fired from war-torn Syria strayed
into the Israeli-occupied sector of the Golan Heights Sunday, prompting
the Israeli army to respond after the second such incident in as many
days. The Israeli military said the rocket crashed into a field without
causing any casualties or damage, but that the Syrian army would be held
to account for any spillover that violated the Jewish state's
sovereignty. It said that it was the result of Syria's conflict in which
various factions are fighting against the regime of President Bashar
al-Assad, as well as each other. The Israeli army later retaliated with
artillery fire against two Syrian army positions located on the Golan,
said a military spokeswoman. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
said the Israeli fire targeted army positions in a town in southwest
Quneitra province, on the Golan. At least three or four Israeli strikes
hit a regime military position inside Saryeh, near the regime's
administrative capital of Baath City, said Observatory head Rami Abdel
Rahman. They were fired from inside the occupied Golan Heights, he said,
but did not have details on any casualties.
http://news.yahoo.com/rocket-fired-syria-hits-israel-held-golan-181241318.html Hostile intelligence: Reflections from a visit to the West Bank / David Graeber
International Times 20 July 2015 -- . . . . For most, it’s as if the
very texture of everyday life has been designed to be intolerable --
only, in a way that you can never quite say is exactly a human rights
violation. There’s never enough water. Showering requires almost
military discipline. You can’t get a permit. You’re always standing in
line. If something breaks it’s impossible to get permission to fix it.
Or else you can’t get spare parts. There are four different bodies of
law that might apply to any legal situation (Ottoman, British,
Jordanian, Israeli), it’s anyone’s guess which court will say what
applies where, or what document is required, or acceptable. Most rules
are not even supposed to make sense. It can take eight hours to drive 20
kilometers to see your girlfriend, and doing so will almost certainly
mean having machine guns waved in your faces and being shouted at in a
language you half understand by people who think you’re subhuman. So you
do most of your dalliance by phone. When you can afford the minutes.
There are endless traffic jams before and after checkpoints and drivers
bicker and curse and try not to take it out on one another. Everyone
lives no more than 12 or 15 miles from the Mediterranean but even on the
hottest day, it’s absolutely impossible to get to the beach. Unless you
climb the wall, there are places you can do that; but then you can
expect to be hunted every moment by security patrols. Of course
teenagers do it anyway. But it means swimming is always accompanied by
the fear of being shot. If you’re a trader, or a laborer, or a driver,
or a tobacco farmer, or clerk, the very process of subsistence is
continual stream of minor humiliations. Your tomatoes are held and left
two days to rot while someone grins at you. You have to beg to get your
child out of detention. And if you do go to beseech the guards, those
same guards might arbitrarily decide to hold you to pressure him to
confess to rock-throwing, and suddenly you are in a concrete cell
without cigarettes. Your toilet backs up. And you realize: you’re going
to have to live like this forever. There is no “political process.” It
will never end. Barring some kind of divine intervention, you can expect
to be facing exactly this sort of terror and absurdity for the rest of
your natural life. But when someone does snap under the pressure, and,
say, stabs a soldier at a checkpoint, or joins a cell to shoot at
settlers, there’s no one specific act one can point to that seems to
justify what seems like an act of disproportionate madness . . .
But what of the policies towards the Palestinians? How does that make
any sort of sense? . . . The only answer that makes sense is that the
Israel forces want the Palestinians to seethe; they want there to be
resistance; but they also want to ensure that political resistance is
completely ineffective. They want a population that is compliant on a
day-to-day basis, but that periodically explodes, individually or
collectively, in an unstrategic and uncoordinated fashion that can
represented to the outside world as irrational demonic madness. And why
would they wish to do this? Almost every Arab political analyst I talked
to considered the answer self-evident. Israel’s economy has become
largely dependent on the high-tech arms trade, and the supply of complex
electronic “security” systems. Israel is today the world’s fourth
largest arms exporter, after the US, Russia, and UK (it has recently
pushed back France to #5). This is actually quite a feat for such a tiny
country. But as everyone also hastens to add: Israeli arms and security
systems have an enormous advantage over their rivals, one Israeli firms
never fail to emphasize in their promotional literature. They are
extensively field-tested. This new type of shell that was used to
destroy tunnels in Gaza! This new type of random-distribution tear gas
dispenser was successfully used against protesters in the Balata refugee
camp . . . .
http://internationaltimes.it/hostile-intelligence-reflections-from-a-visit-to-the-west-bank/ --
