Ilan Pappe: A big thank you

Today was a unique day in the history of media coverage and discussion in Israel. All the electronic agencies, radio and television alike, discussed the occupation and the oppression of the Palestinians and more importantly, the possible price tag attached to it. It lasted only for 12 hours and tomorrow the obedient Israeli media will return to parrot the governmental new message to the masses that the “conflict” has ended and is about to be solved. On the one hand, you already have happy-go-lucky Palestinians in the West Bank (see the latest reports by Thomas Friedman in The New York Times and Ari Shavit in Haaretz). And on the other, alas, those who opted out from the blissful new reality: the oppressed Palestinians who still live under Hamas’ dictatorship in the Gaza Strip.

For full article, visit http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10752.shtml

Israeli troops fire teargas at Al Jazeera reporter

Israeli soldiers fired on Friday teargas at a reporter working for Al Jazeera English as she was covering the nonviolent weekly protest against the Annexation Wall in Bil’in village near Ramallah.

For full article, visit http://www.imemc.org/article/61589

Jacky Rowland was reporting Friday from the West Bank village of Bil’in, explaining to viewers about the separation fence and the weekly protests that take place there, when Israeli troops began firing tear gas at the protesters and then directly at her.

For full article, visit http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1112501.html

Beachfront exhibit mimics West Bank Apartheid Wall

The wall (Photo: Shelly Federman)

“I deal with architectural violence, with the material itself –- with concrete and with the correlation between concrete and Israeli architecture, which to me, represents the Israeli aggressiveness. It this case –- the concrete has a military context.”

For full article, visit http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3770152,00.html

Troops invade Bil’in, kidnap two Palestinians

The Friends of Freedom and Justice Committee in Bil’in reported that at least 40 soldiers invaded the village and broke into the house of Ashraf Mohammad Al Khatib, 29, and kidnapped him, before breaking into the house of Hamru Hisham Burnat, 24, and kidnapping him.

For full article, visit http://www.imemc.org/article/61524

The cameraman, Haitham Al-Khatib, who was filming in his own house, one victim being his brother, was repeatedly forcibly moved and hit, and threatened with arrest unless he stopped filming. They declared his house a “closed military zone” but did not produce any military order. 3 Jeeps and 2 Humvee jeeps were used for the operation. The Israeli Army invaded Bil’in from three directions, the neighbor villages Kofr Ni’ma and Saffa, and through the gate from the Apartheid Wall. They parked their vehicles, engines running, opposite the mosque. With the victims inside the Jeeps, the vehicles exited the village toward the Wall.

For full article, visit http://www.bilin-village.org/english/articles/testimonies/Night-raid-in-Bilin

Rory McCarthy: How settlements in the West Bank are creating a new reality, brick by brick

In March 1975 there was no Ma’ale Adumim. After Israel captured and occupied the West Bank in the 1967 war the site was earmarked as a an industrial park. A group of activist settlers from the Gush Emunim — the Bloc of the Faithful — arrived one morning and built a water tower and simple concrete hut. They were removed that day by soldiers, but in December that year the first settler families moved in for good. The city then grew exponentially.

The site is a compelling example of how infrastructure is used to extend Israel’s reach around and well beyond the settlement. Ma’ale Adumim’s buildings seem to cover one main hilltop, but the municipal area of the settlement is nearly 20 square miles, the size of Tel Aviv. Then there are the Israeli-built roads connecting Ma’ale Adumim with nearby smaller, satellite settlements, as well as a major highway running further east past Jericho and cutting across the West Bank until it reaches the Jordanian border. Israel is now building its steel and concrete West Bank barrier around Ma’ale Adumim and the other smaller settlements, effectively incorporating them on the “Israeli” side and by doing so taking another 24 square miles of the West Bank.

For full article, visit http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/24/west-bank-settlements-israel

Clashes near Ni’lin as Israeli forces halt funeral procession of slain protester

Clashes erupted as the funeral procession for the Ni’in man killed by Israeli forces Friday were prevented from reaching the burial grounds in the village on Saturday morning.

Hundreds of mourners including several Palestinian leaders, clergy and political activists, left the Ramallah hospital with Yosef A’qel Srur’s body and took to the streets to accompany the man, shot in the chest with a live bullet by Israeli soldiers, to his grave.

The procession chanted slogans affirming their belief in non-violent resistance and dedication to the struggle against the wall.

For full article, visit http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=38364

N’ilin: farewell to the fifth victim of Israel’s army in less than one year

People carrying Aqel Sadeq during his funeral on Saturday

Srour, survived by a pregnant wife and three children, was shot in the chest by an Israeli soldier during a nonviolent protest against the wall in the village.  Four others were wounded in the same demonstration including 15-year-old Mohammad Mousa who is suffering a serious injury in the chest as well and is still in critical condition.

For full article, visit http://www.imemc.org/article/60707

Four beaten by Israeli soldiers at Al-Ma’sara’s weekly anti-wall rally

Four Palestinians sustained bruises after being attacked by Israeli soldiers during the weekly anti-wall protest in Al-Ma’sara south of Bethlehem Friday.

Tens of locals and international peace activists rallied against the construction of the illegal Israeli separation wall and settlement expansion. Ralliers also marked the death one week ago of Basem Rahmeh, killed by an Israeli tear-gas canister shot at his chest in Bil’in.

Villagers, backed by ralliers, requested permission to enter their lands on the far side of the Israeli separation wall, but were denied. The ensuing protest lead to several youth being beaten by Israeli soldiers.

Source: http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=37347

European Parliament VP to participate in Bil’in nonviolence conference; anti-wall protest

Bil’in’s fourth annual conference on nonviolent resistance will see at least two presentations by Vice President of the European Parliament and outspoken supporter of Palestine Luisa Morgantini, who will stay in Palestine for a week.

The “priority objective” for Morgantini’s visit will be addressing the conference, though her itinerary also includes a meeting with Palestinian caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and several meetings with the Beit Jala International Women’s Committee.

Morgantini will also take part in the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the construction of the Israeli separation wall in Bil’in Friday.

Source: http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=37332

PCHR Weekly Report: 3 Palestinians injured, 23 abducted this week

According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, during the week of 09 – 16 April 2009, 3 Palestinian civilians were wounded by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank. Israeli forces abducted 23 Palestinians, including 3 children. 18 were abducted during military invasions in the West Bank, and 5 were abducted at Israeli checkpoints within the West Bank.

For full article, visit http://www.imemc.org/article/60000