To day in Palestine

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Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Apartheid

Visualizing occupation: Distribution of water

972mag 2 July — Israel controls the access to water from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Its disproportionate allocation of water, the settlements’ takeover of natural springs, and the prohibition against maintaining and constructing water cisterns in the West Bank without Israeli permits make water a sparse commodity for Palestinians. This illustration is the sixth in a series of infographics on Palestinian civilian life under occupation.
http://972mag.com/visualizing-occupation-distribution-of-water/49925/

The Wall, 10 years on: part 10 / My encounters with the Wall in space / Haggai Matar
971mag 1 July — A few months back, I was leaving a demonstration in the West Bank, planning to travel home to Tel Aviv after dropping off a friend on one of the main settler highways – Route 5. Although I knew more or less how to get there, I agreed to be guided by Google Maps on her smartphone. The first thing Google didn’t tell us about was the differences between three types of roads which all looked the same on the map. On the ground, however, you have your settler roads, extremely well maintained, then your roads leading only to Palestinian villages, filled with holes and bumps, and then Palestinian roads sponsored by the EU, the Japanese government or USAID — new, well kept, lacking the safety barriers and street lights of the settler roads, but otherwise quite a treat ... One other thing you couldn’t see on the map was the separation between these roads, which had us traveling on a Palestinian USAID-funded road overlooking the parallel and detached settler road. At one junction with a deserted checkpoint, the signs encouraged us to take a right for Route 5, declaring that going straight is illegal for Israelis. “The map says that if we just go straight we’ll be at the road in no time, while taking a right would just be a detour,” said my friend, and, somewhat unconvinced, I drove onward. Five minutes later we reached Route 5, only to find that it had been cut off from this Palestinian road by fences, and that the road only leads us under the settler highway.
http://972mag.com/the-wall-10-years-on-part-10-my-encounters-with-the-wall-in-space/49770/

Military college at a sensitive spot in East Jerusalem
[map] Sett. Watch 2 July — The Regional Committee for Planning approved today the depositing of plan no. 51870 for the construction of the Israeli Military College at one of the most sensitive places in East Jerusalem: Mount of Olives. Following this approval, the plan will be deposited for public review and the public will be granted 60 days to file objections. After hearing the objections, the plan can be approved and validated. The plan is located near the Beit Orot Settlement and the Palestinian neighborhood of A-Suwane, at the hilltop of Mt. of Olives. The plans call for an 8 story structure, 5 stories of which will be built into the ridge, with 41,480 sq. m. of built up space.
http://settlementwatcheastjerusalem.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/idf-academ/

Jerusalem’s light rail: Judaizing Palestinian space, privatizing Jewish space
972mag 1 July by By Sahar Vardi — ...The train that did not stop yesterday, in order to prevent protesters from boarding, was deliberately planned to have as few stops as possible in Palestinian neighborhoods – even though half of its route goes through East Jerusalem. Veolia, the company that won a contract to control the main square of West Jerusalem, also received a contract to dump waste on Palestinian lands in the Jordan Valley. The trains that protesters were pulled off by police yesterday are owned by the same company that supplies buses that go through the West Bank, but are for Israelis only. The light rail that occupies the public space in West Jerusalem was also built to strengthen the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, and to improve the connection between the settlements in northeast Jerusalem to the center of the city. And Veolia, like many other companies, has made lots of money from both these occupations. I am not comparing the two — there is still a large gap between the restrictions on freedom of expression for Israeli society, and the restrictions on freedom in general for the Palestinians. But we must understand that it is the same system, and the battle against it should be united.
http://972mag.com/jerusalems-light-rail-judaizing-palestinian-space-privatizing-jewish-space/49880/

IDF bars Palestinian farmers, but not settler outpost, from land in disputed firing range / Amira Hass
Haaretz 2 July — For the past three months the Israel Defense Forces have prohibited farmers from the West Bank Palestinian village of Aqraba from reaching their farmland and seasonal homes in the area, on the grounds that they are in a live-fire range. However, Givat 777, an auxiliary outpost of the Itamar settlement, is located in the same firing range. Around 300 villagers earn their living by growing crops and raising sheep and goats in an area to the east of the village of Yanun. Some of them live there year-round, in caves or in concrete or mud dwellings, while the rest reside there only as the seasons demand ... In early April there was an altercation with settlers armed with knives whom the villagers say ambushed them on the same road. The Palestinians were arrested and the IDF ordered the farmers not to use the path, on the grounds that it is in a firing zone. Since then, the villagers say, an Israeli man who pitched a tent on a hill that commands the path and the spring for the area uses the same path freely, even putting his flocks out to pasture on the wheat fields they planted six months ago and are not permitted to harvest.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-bars-palestinian-farmers-but-not-settler-outpost-from-land-in-disputed-firing-range.premium-1.448131

Israeli authorities demolish stores in Old City
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 1 July — The Israeli municipal council of Jerusalem demolished on Saturday night several stores belonging to Palestinian residents of Jerusalem near the Old City’s Damascus Gate. Local residents told Ma‘an that four stores were being demolished. The stores were set ablaze suspiciously about a week ago, they noted. One of the owners, Samir Salaymah, said, "the owners were surprised when they saw large numbers of Israeli police officers escorting laborers who started to demolish the stores without prior notice."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=500141

Israeli court extends deadline for removal of settler homes
JERUSALEM (Reuters) 1 July — Israel’s Supreme Court on Sunday granted the state a four-month extension to remove five apartment blocks built illegally on Palestinian-owned land in a Jewish settlement on the occupied West Bank. The court had ruled the homes, in the Ulpana outpost of the Beit El settlement, must be torn down by July 1. The 30 families who lived in the buildings moved out last week to nearby temporary accommodation under a deal with the government to go quietly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to construct 851 new settler homes in the West Bank.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=500396

Jewish settlers throw stones at Palestinian cars
RAMALLAH (PIC) 1 July — Jewish settlers threw stones at Palestinian cars passing near Beit El settlement near Ramallah on Saturday night, eyewitnesses said. They said that the settlers stood near the old Nablus street connecting Ramallah with Nablus and threw stones at passing Palestinian cars. The witnesses said that traffic came to a halt and citizens could not move between the two provinces on the street.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Violence / Raids / Arrests

VIDEO — Hebron: Border Police officer kicks Palestinian child, 2012
B’Tselem 2 July — A B’Tselem video volunteer documented an Israeli Border Police officer kicking a Palestinian child while another officer held the boy. The incident took place on the 29th of June 2012 near the Tomb of the Patriarchs, in Hebron’s H2 area. The child, Abd a-Rahman Burqan, who is nine years old, lives with his family near the parking lot used by Israeli vehicles outside of the Tomb. The video shows a Border Police officer ambushing a child from around the corner. As the child walks past, the officer grabs him by the arm and says: "why are you making trouble?" The officer then drags the child, who is screaming, on the ground for a few seconds. A second Border Police officer then appears and kicks the boy. The officer then lets the child go. He runs away, and the two Border Police officers leave the scene as well. The incident was filmed by a volunteer in B’Tselem’s camera distribution project, from inside his home. The volunteer told B’Tselem that he began to film when he noticed the officer hiding behind the wall. B’Tselem will refer the case to the Justice Ministry’s Department for the Investigation of Police.
http://www.btselem.org/video/201200629_soldier_kicks_boy

Suspicion of abuse: Soldiers detained a 13-year-old boy and abandoned him at night, handcuffed, in another village
B’Tselem 26 June — Testimonies taken by B’Tselem indicates that during April 2012, soldiers arrested Muhammad a-Zir, age 13, three times in Harmalah, the village where he lives in the Bethlehem district. According to the testimonies, the soldiers beat the boy during his first detention, during which he was interrogated without his parents present and he was not permitted to consult an attorney, in contravention of the law regarding detention of youths. Following both subsequent detentions, the soldiers left him at night with his hands cuffed, somewhere unknown to him, and far away from his home. Details:
http://www.btselem.org/beating_and_abuse/20120626_muhammad_a_zir

Sunday evening / Monday: Israeli raids and assaults in West Bank villages
JININ/TOUBAS,(PIC) ...The occupation forces also raided Jenin refugee camp, stationed in the Hadaf area and stormed several houses in the morning, and entered the Burkin valley and spread among the olive groves.
Meanwhile, IOF assaulted, on Sunday evening, Palestinian shepherds near Taysir checkpoint northern the Jordan Valley, where they beat and took three of them to the military camp under the pretext that they shepherded their sheep in the slopes close to the Tayasir military camp. Local sources said that the soldiers pursued the shepherds and their livestock in the slopes of the mountainous area, and fired in the air before arresting three of them. Bedouins of that region continuously complained against the occupation forces’ arrests at the checkpoint where they force them to sign pledges not to shepherd in that region after imposing excessive fines against them and torturing them.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk

Sunday: Activist: Forces detain 2, injure relatives in Beit Ummar
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 2 July — Israeli forces briefly detained two youths in Hebron town Beit Ummar on Sunday evening, activists said. Forces seized Muhammad Ali Abu Ayyash, 14, and Muhammad Ibrahim Abu Ayyash, 25, after raiding a vegetable store near the main entrance to the town, local committee spokesman Muhammad Ayyad Awad said. Relatives gathered around the military jeep holding them and troops dispersed the crowd with tear gas and stun grenades, Awad said. Muhammad’s mother, May, 35, Badriyya Muhammad Sabarna, 75, and Ahmad Muhammad Abu Ayyash, 55, were injured, he added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=500599

Monday: IOF soldiers nab seven Palestinians
RAMALLAH (PIC) 2 July — The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continued their arrest campaigns in various West Bank areas at dawn Monday and rounded up seven Palestinians. Radio Israel said that the IOF troops stormed a number of West Bank cities and villages and arrested seven citizens.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk

Monday: Witnesses: Israeli forces erect checkpoints, raid stores in Jenin
JENIN (Ma‘an) 2 July — Israeli forces raided two mechanic stores in the northern West Bank city of Jenin on Monday morning, before setting up a temporary checkpoint in a nearby town, witnesses said. Locals told Ma‘an forces ransacked the car mechanic headquarters of Waleed Abu Ghali and Nasser Abu Daqqa in the Jenin industrial zone.
Soldiers also erected a military checkpoint at the entrance to Ya‘bad town, and begin searching cars on the road.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=500522

Sunday: Israeli army: 2 detained in overnight raids

BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 1 July — Israeli forces detained two Palestinians early Sunday from areas near Bethlehem and Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army said. Forces arrested the Palestinians from the al-Mughayyir village northeast of Ramallah and Duheisha refugee camp near Bethlehem, a military spokeswoman told Ma‘an.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=500166

Sunday: Witnesses: Israeli forces raid Bethlehem village
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 1 July — Israeli forces raided Dar Salah village near Bethlehem on Sunday afternoon, witnesses said. Locals told Ma‘an five military vehicles surrounded the village and soldiers were searching the area with dogs. No arrests were reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=500427

Sunday: Israeli soldier injured in a bomb explosion in Nabi Saleh
PNN 2 July — On Sunday, 1st July, Israeli media sources said that an Israeli soldier was injured in an explosion of one of the bombs he was carrying to repel Palestinian protesters during confrontations in Nabi Saleh village. The same sources said that a tear gas bomb exploded, which caused minor injuries to the soldier’s hand and leg.
Hebrew language sources said that Palestinian youths threw stones toward Israeli cars near Gush Etzion settlement, north of Hebron
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/national/2070-israeli-soldier-injured-in-a-bomb-in-nabi-saleh

Sunday: Jewish settlers engage in clashes with citizens on leaving Nabi Yusuf tomb
NABLUS (PIC) 1 July — Dozens of Jewish settlers stormed the Nabi Yusuf tomb east of Nablus at dawn Sunday under tight security and protection measures on the part of the Israeli occupation forces. The IOF troops were deployed in the area surrounding the tomb after sealing it off and occupied rooftops of high buildings to protect the settlers. The settlers deliberately raised their voices while performing their rituals at the tomb, which they believe is the tomb of prophet Yusuf, to disturb the Palestinian citizens residing nearby. Citizens threw stones and empty bottles at the settlers during their departure from the site.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/

25 Palestinians killed by occupation in Gaza [Palestine] during June
NABLUS (PIC) 1 July — ...Twenty-five Palestinian civilians have been killed in the Palestinian territories during the past month, including six children under the age of eighteen. In the West Bank, two citizens, Na‘im Salama Mohammed Najjar, 32, and Anwar Khalil Abed Rabbo, both from the town of Yatta in Al-Khalil city, died after being shot by a settler in the Alsemia, near the town of Samu‘. In the Gaza Strip, the IOF have resumed its aggression last month where they killed 23 Palestinians, including six children between the ages of 2 and 18 years. The Israeli assassination policy has also targeted 17 Palestinians, including a number of resistance men.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Report: IOF arrested 53 citizens including 9 children in one week
RAMALLAH (PIC) 30 June — The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested 53 citizens over the course of the past week including nine children and four liberated prisoners. The Palestine prisoners’ center for studies said in a press release on Saturday that the arrest campaigns targeted the cities of Jerusalem, Al-Khalil, Nablus, Tulkarem, Bethlehem, and Ramallah. The statement noted that the youngest in the detained nine children was 14-year-old Mohammed Baydon from Silwan town in occupied Jerusalem. It pointed that two foreign activists were nabbed in Beit Ummar village near Al-Khalil for participating in the weekly anti-wall and anti-settlement march.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Lebanese shepherd abducted by Israel released
BEIRUT (Daily Star) 30 June — A Lebanese shepherd abducted Friday by the Israeli army has been released and is back in Lebanon, security sources told The Daily Star. The sources said that UNIFIL handed over Youssef Mohammad Zahra to Lebanese military intelligence at the Naqoura border crossing late Saturday morning. Intelligence officials proceeded to debrief him. Zahra was kidnapped Friday by an Israeli infantry patrol at 3 p.m. from Marj al-Teiss, the Lebanese Army announced the same day. Marj al-Teiss is a disputed area claimed by Lebanon. Israel also kidnapped and released a Syrian shepherd from Shebaa Farms last week.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Jun-30/178876-lebanese-shepherd-abducted-by-israel-released.ashx

Shin Bet arrests Israeli Druze at Golan border, holds him incommunicado
Tikun Olam 1 July by Richard Silverstein — UPDATE: I’ve just spoken to Eyad’s brother Radwan and Eyad’s attorney. Dr. al-Jawhari was arrested at the Kuneitra border crossing on June 28th. On June 29th he was arraigned at Nazareth court for ten days detention. His lawyers says he hopes to see him by this Thursday. He has not been allowed to see or speak with his client since his arrest. The doctor had spent ten years in Syria, returning every year for a visit. Two years ago, he earned his MD and served as a family doctor in Syria. Recently he married and his wife is currently pregnant. He’d not returned back to the Golan for the past three years. His intent on this trip was to return permanently to Majdal Shams and open a medical practice there. He planned to bring his wife later. The Shin Bet has only told his lawyer that it suspects him of "acts against the security of the state," a catch-all phrase that can mean everything and virtually nothing.
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2012/07/01/shin-bet-arrests-israeli-druze-at-golan-border-holds-him-incommunicado-under-gag/

Prisoners / Court actions

After 83 days on hunger strike, detainee in serious condition
IMEMC 2 July — Diabetic Palestinian prisoner Akram Rikhawi has been on a hunger strike for 83 days and is at imminent risk of dying ... Rikhawi suffers from various chronic conditions: diabetes, asthma, osteoporosis, kidney problems, deterioration of his eye lenses, high cholesterol, and immune deficiency. Due to these pre-existing conditions Rikhawi’s hunger strike has been even harder on his body. He was already in fragile condition a month ago. Now he is in a coma and his condition is deteriorating fast.
http://www.imemc.org/article/63825

Prisoner Ayman Sharawna begins an open hunger strike
GAZA (PIC) 1 July — The Palestinian ministry of prisoners’ affairs said the prisoner Ayman Sharawna from Dora in southern Al-Khalil begun his open hunger strike on Sunday till his release. The ministry stated in a statement that Sharawna is a liberated prisoner in Wafa al-Ahrar deal where he spent ten years in occupation prisons. He is the first liberated prisoner who was re-arrested after Wafa al-Ahrar exchange deal in October last year, where he was administratively sentenced for six months. The ministry stressed that the arrest of Sharawna and other liberated prisoners is a flagrant violation of what have been agreed in Wafa al-Ahrar deal through Egyptian mediation.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Israeli court issues 54 life sentences against Hamas official Ibrahim Hamed
RAMALLAH (PIC) 1 July — The Israeli military court of Ofer prison issued on Sunday morning 54 life prison terms against senior Hamas official Ibrahim Hamed without proving any charge leveled by the prosecutor against him. Hamed, from Silwad town east of Ramallah city, was captured in May 2006 after a pursuit for 10 years. He is accused by the Israeli intelligence of being responsible for carrying out deadly attacks against Israelis. His trial lasted for more than six years during which the Israeli courts failed to condemn him for lack of evidence ... His lawyer Ra‘fat Hamed said the court verdict was based on recommendations from the Israeli intelligence agency, and not on legal evidence.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Five more detainees in PA jails join the hunger strike
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 2 July — Five detainees in the PA intelligence prison in Al-Khalil have announced they are going on open hunger strike as of today Monday, protesting their detention despite court orders for their release. Reliable sources said that one of the detainees is from Al-Khalil city while one is from Dura town and three form Sa‘eer village. They said that the detainees had paid fines and obtained court verdicts ordering their release but none of them were implemented. They noted that the detainees had been in custody for more than a year. The five detainees join the ten other detainees who have been on hunger strike for 10 to 12 days and all are from Al-Khalil.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk

Health of Markhiya deteriorating in PA detention
Ramallah (PIC) 1 July — The health condition of Anas Markhiya, who has been on hunger strike for ten days in PA jails, is deteriorating, his father said on Sunday. Sources close to the family quoted Anas’s father as saying that he waited for long hours before the Ramallah intelligence allowed him to see his son. He said that his son’s health was not good but his morale was high and is adamant on persisting in his strike until his release despite growing pressure by the intelligence apparatus to end it.
Anas has been held in PA detention for the past six months during which he was moved from one jail to another. He was before that held in Israeli administrative custody for 28 months and before it he was held in Palestinian intelligence jails for 18 months.
Eight detainees in PA jails are on hunger strike some of them for 12 days.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Hamas releases half-yearly report on PA violations against its cadres
GAZA (PIC) 2 July — The Palestinian authority security forces escalated its arrest campaigns and violations against Hamas cadres and supporters in the West Bank despite the signing of a reconciliation agreement last May, Hamas stated in a report covering the PA violations during the past six months. Its report said the month of June saw the highest rate in political arrests and violations against Hamas cadres and supports, where the PA security forces arrested 92 citizens representing 25 percent of the total detainees during the past six months. It added that the PA security forces arrested during the first half of the current year 382 citizens, 162 of them are ex-detainees, and summoned 245 others, 101 of them are also ex-detainees.
The PA security apparatuses also extended the detention of 62 citizens, although they received release orders from courts.
They also persisted in violating the law by their prosecution of three political prisoners in military courts and their dismissal of 12 civil servants from their jobs because of their affiliation with Hamas....
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk

Cartoon: Israeli recycling / Nidal El-Khairy
Elect. Int. 2 July — Israel often releases prisoners and leaves them in areas where Palestinians are not allowed to be in and rearrests them immediately. This is a part of a systematic psychological war on Palestinian political prisoners.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nidal-el-khairy/israeli-recycling

Mishaal, Hamas leaders visit newly-wed liberated prisoners
AMMAN (PIC) 2 July — Political bureau chairman of Hamas Khaled Mishaal and a number of Hamas leaders visited the newly-wed liberated prisoners Ahlam Tamimi and Nizar Tamimi in Amman on Sunday. Both prisoners were liberated in the Wafa Al-Ahrar exchange deal between Hamas and Israel in which more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails half of them were serving high sentences. The Israeli occupation authorities deported Ahlam to Jordan and prevented Nizar from travelling to Jordan on three occasions just to foil their wedding, but finally Nizar was allowed to travel on the fourth time where the wedding ceremony was held in mid-June.
Mishaal and the accompanying delegation also called on Sunday on the wife of detained speaker of the Palestinian legislative council Dr. Aziz Dweik in her hospital bed in the Jordanian University hospital. The Hamas leaders wished her speedy recovery.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk

Gaza

Israeli jets fire on Gaza, no injuries
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 2 July — Israeli warplanes fired on the central Gaza Strip at dawn on Monday, without causing injuries. Israeli jets fired on a military site of Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, in the Zaitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, a Ma’an reporter said. Witnesses told Ma‘an a group of Hamas militants were targeted but not hurt. Several minutes later the jets targeted the site again causing serious damage.
Later, Israeli jets fired a missile at an open area in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. No injuries have been reported ...
The airstrikes come a week after an Egyptian-brokered truce halted deadly fighting on the border.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=500482

Palestinian resistance fighters survive three targeted bombings
GAZA (PIC) 2 July — Two groups of Palestinian resistance fighters survived at dawn Monday three attempts on their lives by Israeli warplanes in Gaza city and in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip. Local sources said that Israeli warplanes fired a missile at a group of fighters in Abu Jarad, south of Zaitun suburb in Gaza city, but they escaped unharmed. They added that the warplanes fired at them again but they also survived the bombing that caused material damage.
Israeli warplanes fired earlier Monday at a car in Deir Al-Balah. The car was damaged but the fighters inside it managed to escape unharmed.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk

Gaza under air, land, sea shelling
GAZA (PIC) 2 July — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) launched air, sea, and ground attacks on various areas in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, local sources said. They told the PIC reporter that two loud explosions were heard near Zaitun suburb in Gaza city at dawn Monday that turned out to be an IOF air raid on a field that left no casualties.
Israeli gunboats on Monday morning fired at Palestinian fishing boats off the Khan Younis coast, in southern Gaza Strip, but no casualties were reported.
An IOF unit tried to infiltrate into central Gaza Strip near Breij refugee camp but was confronted by Palestinian resistance fighters on Sunday night. The Israeli radio said that an IOF bulldozer was damaged in the shooting of the resistance combatants while working in central Gaza. The IOF troops retaliated by shelling agricultural fields to the east of the refugee camp.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk

Tawtheeq: The IOF launched 58 deadly strikes on Gaza last month
RAMALLAH (PIC) 2 July — The central commission for documentation and pursuit of Israeli war criminals - Tawtheeq - said the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) bombed the Gaza Strip in last June more than 58 times during which 19 Palestinians were killed.
Tawtheeq added in a press release on its website that the Israeli aerial and artillery attacks led to the injury of more than 77 others and caused severe material damage to property.
It also said the Israeli navy during that month attacked Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Gaza seven times and kidnapped 16 of them, while the land troops carried out several limited incursions into different areas of Gaza and damaged agricultural lands and property.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk

Gaza man who lost his legs cleans cars to support family
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 2 July — Without legs, and with only one working eye and arm, Ibrahim Abu Thraya has not given up. Once a fisherman working on the Gaza shores, he was hit by an Israeli rocket in December 2008 during Israel’s war on the coastal enclave. Abu Thraya was with seven friends when the rocket struck; he was the only survivor. Despite his disabilities, Abu Thraya works cleaning cars on the streets of Gaza to support his 11-member family. Every morning he rides his wheelchair from al-Shati refugee camp to solicit cleaning work, often bringing back just five to 10 shekels ($1.30 - $2.60). His father also suffers from disabilities and is unable to take a job, while his mother has a chronic illness that leaves him as the only breadwinner for the family ... Meanwhile Abu Thraya said he dreams of being able to afford an electric wheelchair and artificial limbs.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=500456

Choosing colours over violence, Gaza
PNN 1 July — Mohammed, 12 years old from Khan Younis refugee camp, is enjoying a rare day at one of the few amusement parks in Gaza as part of a class trip. Due to his family’s poverty, he hasn’t enjoyed recreational trips out for a long time ... In a bid to improve the quality of life and education for children in Gaza, Oxfam and local partner Culture and Free Thought Association (CFTA) are working with Salam Ya Sughar, a children’s charity funded by HH Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi [of Sharjah]. Besides improving the quality of education, the project seeks to create recreational learning opportunities and a safe space where children can develop their creativity and learn new ways of expression....
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/opinion/2066-choosing-colours-over-violence-oxfam-gaza

Palestinian Authority vs. Protesters

PA security clash with protesters in Ramallah
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 30 June — Dozens of young Palestinians clashed with PA security forces in Ramallah on Saturday at a protest against the leadership’s scheduling of a meeting with Israeli vice premier Shaul Mofaz. The youth gathered in central Ramallah and tried to march on the headquarters of the leadership, the Muqata‘a, where they were blocked by riot police and some plain clothes agents. "They beat them badly," a witness who asked not to be identified told Ma’an, adding that three people were taken to hospital but the extent of their injuries was not immediately clear. They were identified as journalist Muhammad Jaradat, Hassan Faraj and Waed Barghouti. Activists told a Ma‘an correspondent that six people were injured, and six others detained when forces attempted to disperse the crowd.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=500066

PA police crush new Ramallah demo
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 1 July — Palestinian protesters said security forces used brutal force Sunday during the second demonstration in as many days protesting Palestinian Authority policy. Police attacked protesters with batons, beating and injuring at least seven people. Another seven protesters were taken to a police station along with at least two journalists, a Ma‘an correspondent said. Protesters shouted against police brutality, and the police responded by beating them. Journalists were also attacked for the second day in a row, the correspondent reported. The reporter said Reuters photographer Saed al-Hawari was attacked and photographer Ahmad Musleh was arrested. A camera belonging to journalist Ahmad Ouda was confiscated ... "It was more crazy than yesterday, you can’t imagine — they hit girls and were laughing like they don’t care about Palestinians," the journalist said ... Adnan Dmeiri said fighting only broke out when protesters tried to reach the presidential headquarters, which police are required to stop as protesting there is forbidden.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=500441

EI blogger who witnessed Palestinian Authority police beating forced to destroy photos
[photos] Elect. Int. 1 July by Ali Abunimah — Electronic Intifada blogger Jalal Abukhater was forced to delete photos he took of Palestinian Authority (PA) police violently attacking a protester in Ramallah on Sunday. Abukhater wrote this account of what he witnessed: After the police started pushing and beating protesters with sticks and batons, I managed to slip behind their line to be met with another line of police only a few meters behind. There, I was alone with my camera, I saw a guy lying on the ground being beaten by the police behind their line, I tried to take a picture but my camera was then confiscated. I was forced to delete all the pictures on my camera by the police, then my camera’s SD card was destroyed to pieces. The guy who was being beaten by the police managed to stand up — he was visibly bleeding — for his injuries to be treated.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/ei-blogger-who-witnessed-palestinian-authority-police-beating-protestor-forced

MADA demands an investigation into attack on journalist Mohammed Jaradat
PNN 2 July — The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) strongly condemns the beating of journalist Mohammed Jaradat, who was covering a march in the city of Ramallah on Saturday,30th June. MADA demands the Palestinian Government form a committee of inquiry to investigate the attack, and to hold accountable all those involved ... MADA Center lawyer Raed Abdul Hamid visited Mr. Jaradat, who is still receiving treatment at Kuwaiti Hospital in Ramallah.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/human-rights/2071-mada-demands-an-investigation-into-attack-on-journalist-mohammed-jaradat

Activists call for Ramallah police director dismissal
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 1 July — Palestinian activists on Monday called for the Palestinian Authority to dismiss the head of police in Ramallah after two days of protests in the city were forcefully dispersed. The Palestinians for Dignity group also called for the dismissal of the director of the police headquarters in the city. The police’s treatment of journalists — including one Palestinian reporter who says he was beaten by forces while in custody at the headquarters — has been criticized by media freedom groups.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=500566

Interior minister orders investigation into Ramallah clashes
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 2 July — PA Minister of Interior Said Abu Ali said Monday he will form a committee to investigate clashes between police and protesters in Ramallah in the last two days.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=500488

Palestinian Authority loyalists blame ’foreign agendas’ and ’Mossad’ for Ramallah protests / Jalal Abukhater
Elect. Int. 2 July — Have you heard the latest news? Foreign agents, supported by the Israelis and international intelligence agents, are working to destabilize the Palestinian Authority’s rule over Ramallah! It is Egypt all over again! Foreign agendas, foreign agendas, foreign agendas. According to Adnan Al-Damiri, the spokesperson of the Palestinian Authority’s police force, violent individuals attacked the police and caused chaos. He was referring to the Palestinian Authority’s violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators in Ramallah on Sunday. Al-Damiri continued that the police didn’t use any riot dispersal method, the police didn’t use any plainclothes security personnel. The dozens of police personnel and special intervention squads equiped with sheilds and battons didn’t exist, according to the police spokesperson’s statement.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/jalal-abukhater/palestinian-authority-loyalists-blame-foreign-agendas-and-mossad-ramallah

Ashrawi condemns the suppression of peaceful protests
PNN 2 July — Hanan Ashrawi: "Our responsibility is to listen to the young people and take their message very seriously" ... Ashrawi stressed the right to peaceful protest and demonstration, and freedom of expression guaranteed by the basic principles of Palestinian Basic Law, Palestinian institutions and international covenants. She said: "We condemn the attack on public freedoms, which affect the fundamental rights of the Palestinians, harm the image of our people and our state institutions, and, moreover, jeopardize our democratic future which preserves and protects human rights and the rule of law." Dr. Ashrawi, The head of the PLO Department of Culture and Information, called for the formation of an independent commission of inquiry in order to hold accountable those responsible for these events, also emphasizing the need to provide protection to journalists and the media, and to take the necessary measures to enable them to work freely.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/human-rights/2077-ashrawi-condemns-the-suppression-of-peaceful-protests

Is the PA afraid of a third intifada? / Amira Hass
Haaretz 2 July — The second intifada broke out not only because of resentment toward Israel, but also toward the PA. In West Bank refugee camps, it seems that resentment has returned ... The authority carried out a wave of arrests in May (which included Mu‘ayyed and Zakaria) and turned yesterday’s heroes into today’s criminal problem. At the same time it was glorifying the Palestinian prisoners who were on a hunger strike in Israeli prisons. Many of them are not only relatives and friends of those recently arrested by the Palestinian Authority, but like them, they too turned the gun, the symbol of machismo, into both capital and cult. Thus the leadership of the PA is again sending out mixed messages and broadcasting dishonesty. The brutality of the arrests, no matter what the suspicions, shows that the PA is afraid of the social resentments, and as a preventive measure, is suppressing anyone it thinks may be a potential representative or leader.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/is-the-pa-afraid-of-a-third-intifada.premium-1.448159?localLinksEnabled=false

Political, economic news

Hamas ’temporarily’ suspends voter registration
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) 2 July — The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip said on Monday it has "temporarily" halted voter registration just over a month after granting the electoral commission permission to work. In a statement, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri cited various "obstacles" that needed to be resolved before the electoral commission could resume its work ... The statement lists a variety of alleged obstacles, including the arrest of Hamas members in the West Bank and a failure to carry out registration in the Palestinian territories and abroad at the same time. It also says no agreement has been reached on dealing with the "large number" of unregistered Palestinian voters in the West Bank and Gaza who do not have identity cards.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i3DdZ89T1l6sy57wy7iWpuMDeLAA?docId=CNG.5a68850480a01fb7349833bd9c847954.91

PA may apply for world heritage status for 20 more Palestinian sites
MEMO 2 July — UNESCO’s decision to add the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem to the list of World heritage sites paves the way for other Palestinian sites to apply for similar status, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s executive committee has claimed. Hanna Amira, who is also the head of the supreme presidential commission for ecclesiastical affairs, said that listed status would provide international protection to Palestine’s Christian and Muslim sites, maintain, preserve and defend them.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/3939-pa-may-apply-for-world-heritage-status-for-20-more-palestinian-sites

IMF turned down Israeli request for $100 million loan for Palestinian Authority
Haaretz 2 July — Israel recently asked the International Monetary Fund for a bridge loan of one hundred million dollars that it planned to transfer to the Palestinian Authority to help prevent its financial collapse, but the IMF turned down the request. The PA, which is not a state, cannot ask the IMF for help on its own. The plan therefore, was for Israel to take the loan on the Palestinians’ behalf, have the PA repay the loan to Israel, and Israel would repay the IMF. The IMF rejected the Israeli request, however, saying it did not want to set a precedent of a state taking a loan on behalf of a non-state entity.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/imf-turned-down-israeli-request-for-100-million-loan-for-palestinian-authority.premium-1.448125

Official says Abbas wants all pre-Oslo prisoners released
RAMALLAH, June 30 (WAFA) — President Mahmoud Abbas wants all 113 prisoners Israel has been holding since before the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993 released before meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Prisoners Issa Qaraqi‘ said on Friday. He said if the Israeli government does not release the prisoners, they will start an open-ended hunger strike on September 13, the date the Oslo agreement was signed.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=20178

Mashaal meets Jordan Brotherhood leaders amid election boycott
AMMAN, Jordan (Ma‘an) 1 July — Exiled Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal met Saturday with Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Jordan, after the movement threatened to boycott upcoming Jordanian elections in protest of a new voting law.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=500251

Activism / Solidarity / BDS

European campaign against Israel’s apartheid wall launched in The Hague
THE HAGUE (PIC) 2 July — The Hague-based European initiative against the wall and settlements launched on Sunday an information campaign against Israel’s segregation wall and settlement expansion in the West Bank. "No to the wall ... no to settlements" is the slogan for its campaign that includes sit-ins, protests, symposiums and social networking. Head of the European initiative Amin Abu Rashed said in a press release that the campaign was launched on the eighth anniversary of the resolution against the segregation wall that was issued by the international court of justice in 2004.Abu Rashid added that the campaign is aimed at renewing international moves to condemn Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian lands. He noted that the campaign started on Sunday and would end on July 9,
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk

It’s not about Israel, it’s about freedom / Leila Richards
30 June — The Presbyterian Church (USA) is holding its General Assembly in Pittsburgh this Independence Day week. Recently, 700 Presbyterian commissioners received an open letter from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, signed by 15,000 people, asking them to reject the divestment of stock from three American companies profiting from the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. Yet the letter does not say a word about the principal Presbyterian concern: Israel’s military occupation and confiscation of Palestinian land ... The three companies targeted by the Presbyterian divestment proposal provide strategic assistance to the occupation and profit from it.
http://triblive.com/opinion/2107468-74/divestment-occupation-presbyterian-israeli-jewish-letter-palestinian-rights-church-freedom

Circus School calls on Cirque du Soleil not to perform in Israel
RAMALLAH, July 2 (WAFA) - The Palestinian Circus School sent a letter to the General Management of Cirque du Soleil calling on it not perform in Israel, according to statement issued Monday. Cirque du Soleil is scheduled to perform in August. "We do not take lightly calling for Cirque du Soleil, or any circus for that matter, to not perform in Israel, especially since we ourselves are totally committed to the art of circus and are committed to bringing the circus everywhere we can," said the letter. "However, for circus to be faithful to its art form, we are also unrelentingly committed to human rights..."
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=20188

Refugees

Palestinians block Tyre road to protest arrest

BEIRUT (Daily Star) 30 June — Tens of Palestinians briefly blocked a road in Tyre, south Lebanon, with burning tires Saturday over the arrest of a Palestinian who threw rocks at members of Internal Security Forces. Earlier Saturday, ISF personnel demolished an illegal construction in the Tyre neighborhood of Jal Bahr owned by Bassam Hamas Meree. The demolition prompted Meree’s brother, Kamel, to throw rocks at the ISF members and curse them. The ISF detained Kamel and was able to reopen the road and put out the burning tires.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Jun-30/178887-palestinians-block-tyre-road-to-protest-arrest.ashx

Israeli Racism / Discrimination

6-year-old Israeli-born and Filipino migrant mother to be deported in 20 days, court rules
Haaretz 2 July — Six-year-old A.J. Mathias was released from detention with her mother, an Filipino migrant worker, after a Petah Tikva District Court granted them 20 days in order to allow an orderly departure from Israel, along with the girl’s father. The two were released on NIS 30,000 bond. Israeli-born A.J., who finished kindergarten last week, and her mother, Annalyn, were arrested on Sunday and were slated to be deported immediately. This is the first time a child who is a part of the education system is arrested before being expelled. Annalyn had come to Israel several years ago with a work permit, but as in many other cases, she lost the permit when she had A.J., making her continued stay in Israel after the birth illegal.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/6-year-old-israeli-born-and-filipino-migrant-mother-to-be-deported-in-20-days-court-rules.premium-1.448344

Israel to invest NIS 355m to improve sewers in Arab towns
Haaretz 28 June — After years of neglect that has frequently led to the collapse of the sewerage infrastructure in Arab towns and the pollution of local streams, the government is allocating NIS 355 million for improvements to sewerage systems in Arab locales. Energy and Water Resources Minister Uzi Landau announced the allocation on Wednesday. But environmental group Zalul warned that without regular budgets to maintain these systems they will simply collapse again.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-to-invest-nis-355m-to-improve-sewers-in-arab-towns.premium-1.444474

Other news

Shot lawmaker: Attacker wanted to kill me
JENIN (Ma‘an) 1 July — Fatah lawmaker Shami al-Shami, who was shot early Sunday in his hometown of Jenin, told Ma’an from hospital that he believes the unknown assailants aimed to kill him. Al-Shami was wounded by two bullets in his right thigh and is recuperating in Jenin government hospital. Medics say his wounds are moderate ... The lawmaker said the incident was just the latest attempt to destabilize Jenin and called on Palestinian security services to apprehend anyone who undermines security.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=500387

Data gathering vehicle used in TA rally
Ynet 1 July — The police deployed an Advanced Observation Vehicle for Intelligence Gathering dubbed "The Raccoon" during the social protest in Tel Aviv Saturday evening. The Raccoon is considered one of the most advanced and sophisticated data collecting tools in the IDF’s Field Intelligence Corps and is used to collect intelligence during combat. The large field vehicle is equipped with advanced data collecting systems, including radars with night and day identification capabilities, long-range cameras and a monitoring system that can communicate with other Corps.
One of the protest movement’s leaders, Daphni Leef, told reporters that "its inconceivable that while citizens in the south don’t even have functioning shelters, Israel’s defense budget is used for trying to thwart and frighten a non-violent civilian protest."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4249821,00.html

Occupation comes home: What was a military surveillance vehicle doing in TLV last night? / Noam Sheizaf
972mag 1 July — Protesters taking part in the #J14 march last night couldn’t help noticing a large army vehicle near the route of the protest, on the corner of Ibn Gvirol and Frishman streets (basically under my house). The car, nicknamed Raccoon, is a modified Hummer with special surveillance equipment. It is often used in the occupied territories against unarmed Palestinian protesters (you can see it used in army training in this link).
Update: Apparently, the Raccoon was developed by Rafael – the Israeli government company that develops advanced weapons systems, under the much more appropriate name STALKER: "Mobile Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition & Reconnaissance (ISTAR) System". Rafael’s site includes the following description of the Stalker:
http://972mag.com/occupation-comes-home-what-was-an-idf-surveillance-vehicle-doing-in-tlv-last-night/49842/

The Electronic Intifada beats most Israeli leaders in Twitter influence: AFP
Elect. Int. 28 June — Last week, the French news agency AFP launched a web tool for “exploring the world of digital diplomacy” and The Electronic Intifada came out on top. The ’hub’ visualizes, analyzes and measures the presence and influence of diplomatic actors on Twitter, across the globe and in real time ... EI co-founder Ali Abunimah and The Electronic Intifada were identified as the two most influential ’digital diplomats’ on Twitter for ’West Bank and Gaza’.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/benjamin-doherty/electronic-intifada-beats-most-israeli-leaders-twitter-influence-afp

Analysis / Opinion

Israel’s cynical campaign to pit Arab Jews against Palestinian refugees / Richard Irvine
Elect. Int. 1 July — Israel’s new diplomatic campaign to draw attention to the forgotten plight of Jews from Arab countries is an attempt to use historical injustices to justify current injustices. It is also a lost opportunity. After years of denial and neglect, the Israeli government has rediscovered the issue of the Mizrahim — Jews from Arab countries. Following up on a successful 2008 US Congress resolution, Danny Ayalon, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, has instructed diplomats to request that foreign parliaments recognize the refugee status of Jews forced from Arab countries. That many Jews were forced out and that the Mizrahi community was almost entirely destroyed is not in doubt ... Behind the facade of what Ayalon claims is a quest for the truth, the real intent is simply to nullify the right of return for Palestinians displaced and dispossessed by Israel. By highlighting the plight of Arab Jews while simultaneously placing the blame on the Arab states for the creation of both exiled communities, Israel hopes to escape its own legal and moral responsibilities.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/israels-cynical-campaign-pit-arab-jews-against-palestinian-refugees/11395

The ’wrong’ protest: Why J14 propagates the political status quo / Noa Shaindlinger
972mag 2 July — Despite the importance of the J14 movement’s demand for social justice, by calling for the restoration of the welfare state while ignoring the mechanisms of Israel’s ethno-national colonial regime that fosters occupation, activists are actually propagating the status quo, rather than undermining it ... Public housing, welfare and democracy are all worthy causes, but when they are demanded in the name of “all of us,” they mask existing power relations and illusions that they produce – namely, the absence of the Palestinians (whether citizens or subjects of Israeli military rule) from the equation. In the Galilee, for instance, J14’s demands for public housing means more land confiscation from Palestinian villages and towns.
http://972mag.com/the-wrong-protest-why-j14-propagates-political-status-quo/49964/

Play satirizes how aid donors sideline Palestinians / Michelle Gyeney
Elect. Int. 30 June — A political talk show sets the stage for House of Yasmine (“Beit Yasmine” in Arabic), a play produced in collaboration between the Ashtar Theatre of Ramallah and the Al-Harah Theatre of Jerusalem. The story unfolds as the play’s characters, led by human rights worker Yasmine, discuss the Palestinian Authority’s 2011 bid for statehood at the United Nations and then turn to audience members to ask for their own thoughts on the role that foreign money plays in Palestinian politics as well as social and economic issues. Those watching a recent performance in Jenin’s Freedom Theatre were quick to highlight that aid dependence means both that no organization is independent and that little genuinely sustainable development has occurred in Palestine.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/play-satirizes-how-aid-donors-sideline-palestinians/11450

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