Following the disappearance of two Israeli teenagers, Israeli troops have been causing upset near Hebron in the West Bank including at least one death, (in a Ramallah refugee camp) although the disappearance has been blamed on the Gaza-based Hamas, who have offered no evidence to support this as yet. Concurrently, military exercises have greatly increased homelessness and danger to life for citizens near Yatta and other parts of occupied West Bank. An Israeli spokesman denied on the BBC that the incursions were collective punishment, claiming that they were justified as the West Bank was now linked to Gaza (and therefore to Hamas) through the new Hamas/PA coalition.
Israeli military training causes widespread disruption:
< http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=704481>
[with photos] BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 13 June -- Hundreds of Israeli soldiers
have been undertaking military training exercises in the south Hebron hills
for the past five days, causing widespread restrictions and disruptions for
local Palestinian residents. Operation Dove, a peace group which works in
the area, said Thursday that hundreds of soldiers have deployed by military
bases near the villages of *Jinba* and *Mirkez.* The Israeli soldiers have
set up tents to sleep in and store military equipment and are deploying in
groups within nearby villages to carry out training exercises. Local
Palestinians have suffered restrictions on their freedom of movement during
the training, with several agricultural fields damaged by the troops.
Shepherds reported being chased away with their flocks by Israeli soldiers,
while others say they were assaulted, Operation Dove said. During the
night, local villagers say the Israeli soldiers have been using explosives
and have even entered the villages, frightening residents. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=704481
Defense Ministry: Army to keep expelling Palestinians from firing zones
< http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.598265>
Haaretz 12 June by Jonathan Lis -- The army plans to continue expelling
Palestinians from military firing zones in Area C of the West Bank, which
is under total Israeli control, Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon told
the Knesset on Wednesday. “It’s not pleasant to remove people from their
homes, but what can we do when these are designated firing zones?” he said.
“Whoever is in an area that doesn’t belong to him that has been declared a
firing zone will have to be evacuated from there, and yes, we plan to
remove more people.” Danon was responding to an urgent parliamentary query
by MK Tamar Zandberg (Meretz) following a Haaretz report that an Israel
Defense Forces official acknowledged the IDF uses training zones in the
West Bank to displace Palestinians. Zandberg addressed her query to the
Defense Ministry, asking how the officials' admission was congruent with
the state’s argument that live-fire zones are designated solely for
military purposes. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.598265
Monday 16 June 2014
Monday 9 June 2014
Israel gets totalitarian - live
IMEMC/Agencies 7 June -- The Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC)
strongly denounced the Israeli military invasion against its Jerusalem
branch, during live broadcast, and the detention of two employees and a
guest speaker. It said 'the attack is yet another example of Israeli
assaults against the Palestinians, and their media departments.' The army
and police claimed the broadcast is not licensed by Israel, 'therefore
illegal and must be stopped', while the PBC stated that it is legally
operating in occupied East Jerusalem, and obtained all permits similar to
all Arab and foreign agencies operating in Jerusalem. It added that, on
Friday morning, the Police told the director of Good Morning
Jerusalem, Ibrahim Qleibo, and the program host, to stop the show . The
Police broke into the Pal Media office in occupied Jerusalem, and kidnapped
show director Nader Bebers, Pal Media Coordinator Ashfar Shweiki, in
addition to Ala’ al-Haddad, member of a detainees’ committee in occupied
Jerusalem. Show host Mona Abu ‘Assab was forced to end her live show
under gunpoint, after the police and the army invaded the offices and the
studio ... Israeli police spokesperson, Luba Samri, said the attack was
part of what she called 'an investigation into the contents of the show',
according to Ma'an News Agency. Samri confirmed three were kidnapped
during the raid, and that they were released later on, and alleged 'no
programs were interrupted during the attack'. The three were interrogated
for several hours, and were denied legal representation.
http://www.imemc.org/article/68032
Tuesday 3 June 2014
Israelis celebrate apartheid Jerusalem
 |
| Young Israelis march into Damascus Gate waving Israeli flags and chanting nationalist slogans on Jerusalem Day. (MaanImages/Charlie Hoyle) |
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- As thousands of Israelis march through East Jerusalem on Wednesday to celebrate its capture in 1967, the Palestinian community continues its struggle to survive in a city marked by systematic political, economic, and social divides.
Every year, thousands of right-wing Israelis march through East Jerusalem neighbourhoods and the Old City in a national holiday described by Israel's Ministry of Tourism as marking the "liberation" and "reunification" of the city.
But for Palestinians, who make up 40 percent of the population, the day is a reminder of their historic dispossession and compounds their ongoing marginalization from a city which was once the political, economic, and cultural centre of Palestinian life.
Over 75 percent of Palestinians, and 82 percent of children, live below the poverty line in East Jerusalem, according to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.
There are huge discrepancies between East and West Jerusalem in terms of education, health, water access, and planning, while Israel has also revoked the residency of 14,309 Palestinians since occupying the city in 1967, with 106 in 2013 alone.
Palestinians in Jerusalem are granted "permanent resident" status, similar to foreign, non-Jewish citizens who choose to live in Israel, and are not Israeli citizens.
Despite forming nearly half of the city's population, Palestinians receive only 10 percent of Jerusalem's municipal budget.
"It's increasingly obvious that Israel is doing anything it can within its own legal structures to push young Palestinian families and couples out of town," Micha Kurz from Grassroots Jerusalem, an NGO in East Jerusalem, told Ma'an.
"Not only are living conditions very poor, but healthcare is inaccessible. People can't find jobs, and no new Palestinian neighbourhoods have been built (since 1967) while Israel has been building 'settlements' on Palestinian land."
Only 14 percent of East Jerusalem is zoned for Palestinian residential construction, ACRI says, while one-third of Palestinian land has been confiscated since 1967 to build illegal Jewish-only settlements.
The construction of the separation wall has also cut off East Jerusalem from the West Bank and forced nearly 100,000 Palestinians in areas such as Ras Khamis, Ras Shahada, and the Shuafat refugee camp to live in "abject neglect" on the outskirts of the city.
Between 60,000-80,000 Palestinians in those neighbourhoods have been cut off from a regular water supply for over three months.
Jerusalem Day is a celebration of the Zionist narrative, Kurz says, and is designed in such a way that Israelis ignore the fact that Palestinians have no right to vote nationally, have few economic prospects, and enjoy none of the public services afforded to Jewish residents.
"Thousands of Israelis will be marching through Palestinian neighbourhoods shouting: 'It's time you leave this town.' This is what the celebration is about; it's systematic.
"Within the next 10 or 20 years Palestinians will be cleansed out of Jerusalem, politically and economically, but also culturally and religiously. Give it another generation or two."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=700344
Every year, thousands of right-wing Israelis march through East Jerusalem neighbourhoods and the Old City in a national holiday described by Israel's Ministry of Tourism as marking the "liberation" and "reunification" of the city.
But for Palestinians, who make up 40 percent of the population, the day is a reminder of their historic dispossession and compounds their ongoing marginalization from a city which was once the political, economic, and cultural centre of Palestinian life.
Over 75 percent of Palestinians, and 82 percent of children, live below the poverty line in East Jerusalem, according to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.
There are huge discrepancies between East and West Jerusalem in terms of education, health, water access, and planning, while Israel has also revoked the residency of 14,309 Palestinians since occupying the city in 1967, with 106 in 2013 alone.
Palestinians in Jerusalem are granted "permanent resident" status, similar to foreign, non-Jewish citizens who choose to live in Israel, and are not Israeli citizens.
Despite forming nearly half of the city's population, Palestinians receive only 10 percent of Jerusalem's municipal budget.
"It's increasingly obvious that Israel is doing anything it can within its own legal structures to push young Palestinian families and couples out of town," Micha Kurz from Grassroots Jerusalem, an NGO in East Jerusalem, told Ma'an.
"Not only are living conditions very poor, but healthcare is inaccessible. People can't find jobs, and no new Palestinian neighbourhoods have been built (since 1967) while Israel has been building 'settlements' on Palestinian land."
Only 14 percent of East Jerusalem is zoned for Palestinian residential construction, ACRI says, while one-third of Palestinian land has been confiscated since 1967 to build illegal Jewish-only settlements.
The construction of the separation wall has also cut off East Jerusalem from the West Bank and forced nearly 100,000 Palestinians in areas such as Ras Khamis, Ras Shahada, and the Shuafat refugee camp to live in "abject neglect" on the outskirts of the city.
Between 60,000-80,000 Palestinians in those neighbourhoods have been cut off from a regular water supply for over three months.
Jerusalem Day is a celebration of the Zionist narrative, Kurz says, and is designed in such a way that Israelis ignore the fact that Palestinians have no right to vote nationally, have few economic prospects, and enjoy none of the public services afforded to Jewish residents.
"Thousands of Israelis will be marching through Palestinian neighbourhoods shouting: 'It's time you leave this town.' This is what the celebration is about; it's systematic.
"Within the next 10 or 20 years Palestinians will be cleansed out of Jerusalem, politically and economically, but also culturally and religiously. Give it another generation or two."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=700344
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