| IOP - 28 May 2013 |
| Thursday, 30 May 2013 | |
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While the Occupation is business as usual for Israel, there should be no business with Israel In Occupied Palestine Zionism in practice Israel’s Daily Toll on Palestinian Life, Limb, Liberty and Property (Compiled by Leslie Bravery, Palestine Human Rights Campaign POB 56150, Dominion Rd, Auckland, New Zealand www.palestine.org.nz) 28 May 2013 [Main source of statistics: Palestinian Monitoring Group (PMG). http://www.nad-plo.org/dailyreports.php] NB: We shall always do our utmost to verify the accuracy of all items in these IOP newsletters/reports wherever possible – but please forgive us for any errors or omissions (not of our own making) that may occur! L & M. Israeli Navy twice opens fire on Palestinian fishing boats Israeli Army shoots its way onto Central Gaza farmland and bulldozes crops Settler mobs in racist arson attacks on 4 Palestinian villages Israeli Army complicity in settler arson attack 2 Occupation settler arson attacks on Palestinian crops Israeli Army, police and settlers commit 3 mosque violations Home invasion: Israeli soldiers abduct two 15-year-old boys Palestinian family tear-gassed in their home Night peace disruption and/or home invasions in 3 refugee camps and 17 towns and villages 3 attacks – 33 raids including home invasions 5 acts of agricultural/economic sabotage 17 taken prisoner – 9 detained – 109 restrictions of movement Home invasions & occupations: 03:00, al-Eizariya - dawn, Jerusalem - 10:50, al-Bireh - 02:00, the al-Jalazoun refugee camp - 20:40-23:30, Azzun - 22:30, Beit Furiq - 01:05, Nablus - 01:05, the Balata refugee camp - 01:05, the Asqar refugee camp - dawn, Sara - dawn, Qarawat Bani Hassan - 23:15, Khursa - 00:30, al-Tabaqa - 02:35, al-Thahiria - dawn, Hebron. Peace disruption raids: 03:00, al-Sheikh Jarrah - 04:00, Rantis - 06:15, al-Zubeidat - dawn, Marj al-Naja – Zif - 01:00, al-Ram - 10:55, Zabada - 10:55, Qabatya - 21:40, Jalqamus - 02:10, Tamun - 02:30, Tubas - 10:20, Allar - 10:20, Saida - 12:20, Baqa al-Sharqiya - 20:20-22:45, Tulkarem - 01:30-04:10, Qalqilya - 23:00, Orif - 12:00, al-Oja - 02:35, Hebron. Palestinian attacks: none Israeli attack – economic sabotage: Gaza – 19:00, the Israeli Navy opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats. There are about 3700 Palestinian fishermen in Gaza, working from 700 boats. Before the year 2000, there were 30,000 fishermen, with the Oslo Accords allowing them to sail up to 18 nautical miles off the coast. Although the Gaza Strip is a coastal enclave, only seven per cent of its residents can afford to buy fish on a daily basis. The shortage of fish leads to high prices, taking this staple food out of most Palestinians' reach. http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/6125-suffering-of-gaza-fishermen-continues Israeli attack – incursion – agricultural sabotage: Central Gaza – 06:30, the Israeli Army shot its way onto al-Bureij refugee camp farmland and fired tear gas grenades at residents and farmers while bulldozing Palestinian crops. Israeli attack – economic sabotage: Central Gaza – midnight, the Israeli Navy opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the al-Nassariya refugee camp. Home invasion and abductions: Jerusalem – dawn, Israeli troops raided the Wadi al-Juz neighbourhood, invaded a home and abducted two 15-year-old boys: Layth Shalabi and Nur Shalabi. Home invasion and occupation: Hebron – dawn, the Israeli Army occupied the roof of a home in the Old City. Israeli Army rubber-coated bullets and tear gas grenades: Jerusalem – 19:30, Israeli forces positioned near Kafr Aqab fired rubber-coated bullets and tear gas grenades at pedestrians. Israeli Army rubber-coated bullets and tear gas grenades: Bethlehem – 10:05, Israeli troops fired rubber-coated bullets and tear gas grenades at al-Khadr residents. Israeli Army tear gas grenades: Bethlehem – 18:55, the Israeli Army fired tear gas grenades at residents in Taqou’. Occupation settler arson and racist graffiti: Jerusalem – 03:00, Israeli settler militants invaded the al-Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, slashing the tyres of seven vehicles and spray-painting racist graffiti. Occupation settler arson and racist graffiti: Ramallah – 04:00, a settler mob invaded Rantis village, spray-painted racist graffiti on two vehicles and then set them on fire. Occupation settler arson – agricultural sabotage: Nablus – 15:10, Zionist fanatics invaded Deir Al-Hatab farmland and set fire to crops. Occupation settler arson and racist graffiti – Israeli Army complicity and theft: Jericho – 06:15, Israeli settlers, accompanied by Occupation troops, invaded al-Zubeidat village and spray-painted racist graffiti on four vehicles before setting fire to them. Israeli soldiers stole four surveillance cameras from a shop before making off. Occupation settler arson and racist graffiti: Jericho – dawn, a settler mob invaded Marj al-Naja village, spray-painted racist graffiti on three vehicles and then set them on fire. Occupation settler arson – agricultural sabotage: Hebron – Israeli settlers invaded Zif village and set fire to 12 acres of Palestinian wheat crops. Raid: Tubas – 02:30, a family became tear gas casualties inside their home during an Israeli Army raid on the city. Mosque violation – Israeli Army and settlers: Hebron – 07:45, the Israeli Army escorted raiding settlers as they invaded the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and molested worshippers. Mosque violation – Israeli Army and settlers: Jerusalem – 07:45, the Israeli Army escorted raiding settlers as they invaded the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and molested worshippers. Mosque violation – Israeli police: Jerusalem – 09:55, Israeli police invaded the Dome of the Rock Mosque and stopped rehabilitation work on the building, detaining a mosque guard, Sami Qudier, who tried to do his job and prevent the intrusion. The guard was fined for his action and issued with an order preventing him from entering the mosque for four days. SEE ALSO: Restrictions of Movement notes after Behind the Wall (below) Recent news updates: Collective punishment of Kufr Qaddum by Israeli Army. Human Rights Report No. 476, International Women’s Peace Service (IWPS) Deir Istiya, http://iwps.info | Tuesday, 28 May, 2am, around 60 Israeli soldiers on foot and in four Jeeps stormed the village. The Israeli military forced their way into ten homes, demanding the names and employment details of all the members in each household. The Army withdrew at 4am, having collectively punished an entire community through nightly harassment but with no prisoners taken. A few days earlier, on the night of Thursday, 23 May, the Israeli Army had entered the village and stolen some 200 tyres that residents set fire to during the demonstrations to prevent Israeli military vehicles from entering the village. On Saturday, 18 May, one day after that week’s demonstration, Israeli soldiers came at night to the house of one of the organisers and left blazing tyres in his garden. Kufr Qaddum is a 3000-year-old farming village that was occupied by the Israeli Army in 1967; in 1978, the illegal settler-colony of Qedumim was established nearby on land stolen from Kufr Qaddum. The villagers are denied access to a further 11,000 dunams of land due to the closure, in 2003 by the Israeli Army, of the village’s only road to Nablus. Conference on Palestine. Auckland 22 & 23 June 2013 – in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle. An invitation to New Zealand’s national Conference on Palestine will held in Auckland on 22 & 23 June. Conference Programme: International speakers: Israeli author Miko Peled (The General’s Son), and Palestinian activist from Gaza, Yousef Aljamal. Miko Peled’s book, The General’s Son, will be available at the conference for $25 (normal retail about $30). The book can also be purchased now for $25 + postage of $4 in New Zealand. Email orders to: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ]. Support this special event – donations welcome. For more information: go to the 'Conference on Palestine' events page on FaceBook or www.kiaoragaza.net – We will set up a special conference website soon. Contact email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ● Tali Williams (Kia Ora Gaza) ● John Minto (Global Peace and Justice Auckland) ● Mike Treen (National Director, Unite Union) ● Janfrie Wakim and Billy Hania (Palestine Human Rights Campaign) ● Hela Rahman (Students for Justice in Palestine) ● Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP- Auckland, Wellington, Waikato) ● Don Carson (Wellington Palestine Group) IWPS: now recruiting volunteers to retain an international presence in Palestine in 2013-2014. A group of international women taking out a few weeks to show their solidarity with Palestinians. International Women's Peace Service (IWPS) is a small, female driven, human rights organisation with members from all over the world. The group focuses on maintaining an international presence in Palestine and supporting the participation of women in resisting the illegal occupation. Visit the IWPS website http://iwps.info for more information and to download application packs for both long-term and short-term volunteers. The closing date for applications is 2 July 2013. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uefa insensitivity to Palestinians' plight Letters, The Guardian, Monday, 27 May 2013 On Friday, delegates from European football associations gathered in a London hotel for Uefa's annual congress (Report, 24 May). They agreed new, strict guidelines to deal with racism, suggesting a commendable determination to combat discrimination in the sport. We find it shocking that this same organisation shows total insensitivity to the blatant and entrenched discrimination inflicted on Palestinian sportsmen and women by Israel. Despite direct appeals from representatives of the sport in Palestine and from anti-racist human rights campaigners across Europe, Uefa is rewarding Israel's cruel and lawless behaviour by granting it the honour of hosting the European Under-21 finals next month. Uefa should not allow Israel to use a prestigious football occasion to whitewash its racist denial of Palestinian rights and its illegal occupation of Palestinian land. We urge Uefa to follow the brave example of world-renowned scientist Stephen Hawking who, on advice from Palestinian colleagues, declined to take part in an international conference in Israel. We call on Uefa, even at this late stage, to reverse the choice of Israel as a venue. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Frédéric Kanouté Footballer, John Austin MP, Rodney Bickerstaffe, Bob Crow, Victoria Brittain, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Caryl Churchill Playwright, Rev Garth Hewitt, Dr Ghada Karmi, Bruce Kent, Roger Lloyd Pack Actor, Ken Loach Film-maker, Michael Mansfield QC, Kika Markham Actor, Luisa Morgantini Former vice-president, European parliament, Prof. Hilary Rose, Prof. Steven Rose, Alexei Sayle Author and comedian, Jenny Tonge House of Lords, Dr Antoine Zahlan, Geoffrey Lee Red Card Israeli Racism, Tomas Perez Football Beyond Borders, John McHugo Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Murdering the Truth Alaithiran Ali introduces a major new work of investigative journalism concerning British and US propaganda entitled: Go back to Auschwitz! Propaganda and the murders on the Mavi Marmara. The work is published as an interactive e-book, with active links that take the reader to the evidence that supports the book’s claims. 165,000 words long, with more than two hundred links to archived media web pages, YouTube videos and other material, Go back to Auschwitz! is a powerful investigation into contemporary British and US propaganda that deliberately covers up for crimes against humanity Three years ago on the 31 May, the Turkish aid ship the Mavi Marmara was taken by force in international waters by Israeli commandos while on its way to relieve the suffering population of Gaza. What followed was a saturation propaganda campaign in newspapers and on television, online, and in the US Senate and House of Representatives, telling the world that peaceful Israeli soldiers had been attacked by terrorists on the ship, and had used force to save their own lives. The Israeli government released a recording which showed an Israeli Navy radio operator offering to take the aid to Gaza, only to receive the reply, “Shut up. Go back to Auschwitz! We’re helping Arabs going against the US – Don’t forget 9/11 guys!” These words, and other material claiming to show that the organisers and passengers of the Mavi Marmara were violent, anti-Semitic terrorists sailing a hate boat with the aim of attacking Israel, were repeated, written and broadcast over and over again, throughout the British and US mainstream media and by the US government. Now, after more than two years of research and investigation, this new book clearly demonstrates that this was all an official co-ordinated campaign in Britain and the United States to cover up for murder. Clear proof is given that the false stories being circulated were co-ordinated and carefully managed, with a prepared false narrative, a ‘hymn sheet’, adhered to by all parties. This ‘hymn sheet’ had a set of talking points, phrases to use, arguments to put forward, claims and statements purporting to be facts, accusations towards the victims, and spurious analogies, which can be traced from Israeli source material through articles in the Telegraph, the Times, the Daily Mail, the Spectator, the Financial Times, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Miami Herald, in public speeches given by US Representatives, in a motion proposed and passed in the Senate, in Vice-President Biden’s appearance on a chat show, and then finally in a detailed and major presentation by the BBC’s Panorama programme. All references and accusations in the book’s discussion are backed up with active links, so that the reader can at all times check the original material, which provides evidence to prove the book’s claims. This includes the many videos available on YouTube that present or oppose the propaganda; the reader can stop and watch them before continuing. All of the book’s claims are therefore immediately verifiable, and by following the links, readers can see for themselves exactly what’s been going on: the original witness statements of abuse, and the lies that cover up for the abuse, are all still archived and accessible. Showing the real state of affairs in Gaza to be one of child degradation and child slaughter, and that the murders on the Mavi Marmara were committed in order to stop these children receiving any help, the investigation concludes that the BBC, and many other journalists and politicians in Britain and the United States, are accessories to racially aggravated child abuse and child murder, and have deliberately covered up the facts about the murders of aid workers who tried to help those abused children, falsely accusing them of crime instead, in order to ensure that this racially aggravated child abuse and child murder continues unchecked. Go back to Auschwitz! – Propaganda and the murders on the Mavi Marmara is published by Just and Equal Books and is available from Apple iBooks, and from Amazon Kindle Store, Kobo Books and Barnes and Noble Nook here: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Go-back-to-Auschwitz-/book-ko9_nYV3j0ijoV1wMrND3Q/page1.html?s=aoXiLuzUU0-kr4FjSEtefA&r=1 Three years after the murders, as the supporters of Israeli war crimes continue their full-on propaganda campaign, it seems the lies have won. This book has been published to make sure that this is not the case. This year, on the anniversary of the Mavi Marmara’s brave attempt to reach Gaza, let’s expose the lies and broadcast the truth! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Further news sources Ali Kazak's newsletter Today in Palestine contains many news summaries that include both armed and non-violent methods of resistance to the Occupation. The newsletter also contains much other useful reporting. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it For more news see: Today in Palestine! www.groups.yahoo.com/group/f_shadi ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Behind the Wall Rich Wiles is a photographic artist who has been living and working in Palestine for some years. His photographic work has been shown around Europe, the US, Australia and in Palestine itself. Since 2006 he has been writing from Occupied Palestine under the title Behind the Wall. Much of this work is based in and around the refugee camps in Palestine, highlighting daily life and memories of refugees who still live in forced exile for over 60 years since Al Nakba (The Catastrophe). www.richwiles.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Life under Israeli military occupation Every area of Israeli Occupied Palestinian territory experiences varied and arbitrary restrictions of movement imposed by the Israeli Army. The lack of freedom of movement is the frustrating and humiliating background to daily life for the Occupied Palestinian people whose suffering includes a variety of human rights abuses from night home invasions to wanton acts of agricultural and economic sabotage. The Israeli Occupation Army enforces a permit system for the benefit of settlers that determines where Palestinians may live in their own land. Every area of Israeli-Occupied Palestinian territory experiences varied and arbitrary restrictions of movement imposed by the Israeli Army. The lack of freedom of movement is the frustrating and humiliating background to daily life for the Occupied Palestinian people, whose suffering includes a variety of human rights abuses, from night home invasions to wanton acts of agricultural and economic sabotage. Access to safe, clean water is a fundamental human right yet, across the Occupied West Bank, Israel's illegal settlements have completely free access to water. Settler homes enjoy full swimming pools and well-watered gardens while Palestinian access to their own water is severely restricted. Israel compounds this crime in two ways: (1) The Zionist state forces Palestinians to pay the Israeli government for what little water they are allowed and (2) at the same time, Israel forbids Palestinians to sink wells or even build water storage facilities. Thus the Israeli regime profits while maintaining crippling control over a captive population's water supply. In addition, reports by both the World Bank and the United Nations Environment Programme (www.unep.org/PDF/dmb/UNEP_Gaza_EA.pdf) show that the water crisis in Gaza is likely to be both critical and irreversible by 2020. The reports show that Gaza is almost completely dependent on a coastal aquifer but that, due to low rainfall, it has now become filled with undrinkable sea water. Both international bodies express concern that Israeli military occupation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip means severe limitations on people's access to essential water supplies. Israel places checkpoints at the entrances to towns and villages to prevent people entering or leaving. Interference with people attempting to move around towns and villages consists of blocking roads with concrete blocks, barbed-wire and/or earth mounds on roads. People attempting to transport farm produce and other goods find obstacles placed on the roads by the Israeli Army. Trucks have to be unloaded by hand and similarly re-loaded onto vehicles brought from beyond the obstructions. Road closures are used to isolate areas wherever the Israeli Army considers the presence of Palestinians to be ‘illegal’. When the Israeli Army declares a curfew, anyone appearing in the street or at a window is liable to be shot dead. There are instances of Palestinian mothers giving birth at checkpoints, having been denied ready access to hospital. Agricultural and economic sabotage Farmers are prohibited, and often terrorised by both illegal settlers and the Israeli Army, from going to work on their land. Occupation settlers and the Israeli Army uproot or set fire to olive trees and bulldoze Palestinian crops. The Gaza fishing industry is ruined by the enforcement of a draconian fishing limit. The Israel Navy forces Palestinian fishing boats to remain within an alternating three- to six-nautical-mile, over-fished zone, sometimes at the cost to crews of life, limb and property. Gaza City's ruined international airport is permanently closed. Palestinians needing to enter or leave Palestine can do so only with Israeli permission. In addition to Israel's occasional massive bombing raids, Gaza residents are forced to live with the constant fear of overflying drones and the traumatising effects of sonic booms created by Israeli war-planes. The effects on the children of Gaza are particularly distressing. House demolitions and evictions The Israeli Army destroys Palestinian houses built without Israel's permission and invades homes, very often at dead of night, often abducting Palestinian minors. The soldiers frequently terrorise the youngsters with threats and/or by blindfolding them and tying their wrists behind their backs. Many children are illegally taken to prison in Israel, where more terror is practised against them, such as solitary confinement and shackling in painful positions for long periods. Israel’s toxic hazard weapon Israel has devised yet another technique designed to to drive Palestinians from their land and weaken their resolve to resist. It is a direct assault on their health that carries the menace of further agricultural and economic sabotage. For instance, activity at Israel's Barkan industrial complex generates growing quantities of polluting waste-water from the production of plastics, lead and other commodities that endanger human health. Pollution from Barkan flows into the streams that run through valleys or wadis where there are Palestinian farms as well as towns. Israeli Occupation settlements discharge their untreated waste to add to the pollution. This practice poisons Palestinian land, crops, farm animals and essential, if meagre, water supplies. Settlers – with Israeli Army assistance – release wild pigs, that reproduce rapidly, into Palestinian areas, spoiling agriculture and damaging olive trees, fencing and small buildings. The pigs cannot be controlled because Israel will not allow the people to own or use firearms, or even knives to kill the pigs. Poison cannot be used because of the danger to Palestinian farm animals. Israeli Army checkpoints feed semi-wild dogs to release at night in Palestinian areas. Even in towns like Beit Sahour, the sound of dogs continually barking during the small hours makes sleep difficult and discourages people from moving around during the late evening or early morning. In addition, when conducting home invasions, the Israeli Army often uses dogs to terrorise residents. Forced evacuations of homes to facilitate Israeli Army military exercises An example of this practice is contained in an International Women's Peace Service (IWPS) report (No 459 / Human Rights Summary: Weekly Military Training in ‘Atuf, Jordan Valley http://iwps.info) on the Israeli Army's terrorising of a Bedouin community in the Jordan Valley. The report tells of a continual programme of Israeli military training in the village of ‘Atuf that traumatises the population. Every week 22 families amounting to 172 individuals, are displaced from their homes from 4am to 5pm by Israeli military live-fire exercises. Since 1967 Israeli troops have been forcing the Bedouin people to leave their houses each week. Whole families and their livestock are displaced to outlying fields to the sound of gunfire and explosions. The entire area is designated area “C” and there is a 'closed military zone' where nothing is allowed to be built or improved. An entire valley of fertile farmland lies uncultivated while the nearby Occupation settlement of Beqa constantly expands. In both ‘Atuf and Tamun countless houses have been demolished by the Israeli Army and many more are under demolition orders. Since 1970, 14 people have been killed and 30 have lost limbs due to exploding abandoned Israeli Army ordnance. The explosives can be as small as a pen, easily mistaken by children as harmless. The continual sound of explosions and gunfire results in many cases of psychological trauma, especially to children, and the only school in the district is within earshot of the weekly Israeli military exercises. Israeli Army violence The Israeli Occupation Army enforces many of the above restrictions with the threat, or actual use, of military action as well as personal physical assault. Thus, daily life for Palestinians is conducted in an all-pervasive atmosphere of violence and fear imposed by an occupying foreign army. In addition to all of the above, Palestinians have to contend with Israel's anti-Palestinian laws of discrimination: There are more than 50 Israeli laws (http://adalah.org/eng/Israeli-Discriminatory-Law-Database) that discriminate against Palestinian citizens of Israel in all areas of life, including their rights to political participation, access to land, education, state budget resources and criminal procedures. Some of the laws also violate the rights of refugees and Palestinians living under belligerent Israeli military Occupation. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Visit http://www.sapienspromise.org/ for further news. See this In Occupied Palestine newsletter at: the PHRC website: www.palestine.org.nz - and you can check out previous editions by clicking on In Occupied Palestine listed under Contents ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Stop the Violence Coalition Stop the Violence is a coalition aimed at fighting against Israeli violence and crimes all over the world. The purpose of the coalition is to co-ordinate the efforts of groups and individuals working to protest against the historic and continuing oppression of Palestinian people by the Israeli regime. Our coalition is an independent and non-profit organisation, based in Europe, which was formed as part of a global movement against Israeli apartheid. We can also provide the latest news, articles, photos, events and petitions. Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you have friends who would also like to receive these newsletters, please ask them to contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Palestine Human Rights Campaign Aotearoa/New Zealand (PHRC) Declaration We believe that a just peace in Palestine/Israel depends upon the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland and the dismantling of the Zionist structure of the state of Israel, recognising that the further partitioning of Palestine in order to create the so-called two-state solution would lead only to further injustice and suffering. We advocate the primacy of international law, the acceptance of which by the Israeli regime must be the basis for the ending of Israeli military occupation and all forms of ethnic discrimination. We work to raise awareness of the international community's responsibility for upholding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the urgent need for the state of Israel to be called to account for its gross abuses of Palestinian human rights. We call for the establishment of a unitary, secular and democratic state in Palestine/Israel, with full and equal citizenship rights for Palestinians, Israeli Jews and all other ethnic communities. The Palestine Human Rights Campaign Aotearoa/New Zealand (PHRC) works to raise public awareness of the Palestinian people's struggle to resist Israeli military occupation and Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. PHRC seeks to bring pressure on the New Zealand Government to join the majority of the international community in requiring Israel to: ● observe all relevant UN Resolutions and Geneva conventions ● cease ethnic discrimination and territorial annexation ● abandon its militarism and violence |