Fun with mom and pop - making holes

Laura Stuart, eagle-eyed and vigilant observer, has just posted this interesting piece about alternative holidays. If you grew up with hollywood westerns and any kind of gun culture it might look like the most natural and wholesome "fun" thing to do together as family. If this is your idea of fun, a firm called Caliber 3 will provide top Israeli anti-fright experts to show you how to pull that trigger:

Latest "Family Holiday"
Take the family to Israel and learn how to shoot guns
http://caliber3.webads.co.il/

picture: "Settlers" carry on the Hollywood tradition

Zionist invasions, attacks and other crimes in occupied Palestine

Israeli attack: Jerusalem – 14:20, the Israeli Army fired tear gas and stun grenades at residents in Silwan.

Israeli attack – homes under Israeli fire: Tubas – Israeli troops opened fire on homes near Al Farisiya village.

Israeli attack: Salfit – 19:45-22:40, the Israeli Army, firing stun grenades, raided Deir Istiya for almost three hours.

Home invasions – assaults – injuries – hospitalisations: Jerusalem – evening, Israeli troops raided Al Issawiya village and stormed into several homes, assaulting and injuring four people, Rami Obied, Lailay Al Esawi, Sahdi Al esawi and Shireen Al Esawi, who were later admitted to hospital.

Home invasions – ten-hour ordeal: Ramallah – 17:20-03:20, the Israeli Army raided Al Mughir village for ten hours, invaded several homes and took five prisoners.

Home invasions and vandalism: Hebron – 11:20, the Israeli Army raided the Al Munthar area in Yatta, invaded a home, vandalised the contents and took one prisoner.

Raid: Ramallah – 15:15, the Israeli Army raided El Bireh city and invaded a shop.

Raid: Tulkarem – 14:15, the Israeli Army raided the city and interrogated several residents.

Raid: Qalqilya – 14:55, the Israeli Army raided Izbat Al Tabib village, stormed a woodwork shop and interrogated several workers.

Raid – terror: Nablus – 05:05, Israeli soldiers raided the Askar refugee camp and threatened to shoot several security officers.

Raid – injury: Hebron – 11:30, Israeli forces raided Al Tabaqa village, injuring a villager, Mahmoud Matar, and taking prisoner three people.

Raid – abductions: Hebron – 16:35, Occupation forces raided the Al Fawwar refugee camp and abducted two youngsters: Mahmoud Al Teti (15) and Mohammad Al Aza (16).

Prisoners taken – economic sabotage: Northern Gaza – 07:10, the Israeli Navy seized a fishing boat off Beit Lahiya and took prisoner the two-man crew, Jamal Sultan and Fadil Sultan.

Prisoners taken – economic sabotage: Northern Gaza – 17:40, the Israeli Navy detained two young fishermen off Beit Lahiya, Mahmoud Abu Rayala (14) and Adham Abu Rayala, and held them for almost eight hours.

Home invasions – theft and damage: Qalqilya – 05:45, February 12, additional to an earlier report, Israeli soldiers raided Jayus, invaded homes and stole a computer, the property of local resident, Omar Mahmoud Also stolen were a cellular telephone belonging to another villager, Nader Khriesha, and three cellular phones from the home of Mohammad Jabers, after breaking down the door and forcing an entry.

Occupation settler violence: Nablus – 17:45, a gang of Israeli militants raided an area near the home of a Palestinian family.

Occupation settler violence and abuse: Nablus – 21:15, Zionist fanatics raided the area near the Huwara checkpoint, taunting and insulting local residents.

Occupation settler land theft: Hebron – 12:25, 'settler' militants raided the area between Hebron and Bani Na’im, seized Palestinian-owned land and planted trees on it.

Occupation settler vandalism: Hebron – evening, a vehicle suffered damage by a gang of stone-throwing Israeli settlers in the Old City.

Recent news updates:

Israeli demolition displaces 120 Hebron villagers. 20 Israeli military vehicles accompanied bulldozers to raze 16 tent dwellings, six animal shelters and a well (the village's only water source) in Khirbet al-Rahwad. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=460129

88 Palestinian houses to be demolished to make way for Israeli park. The city municipality, whose unilaterally drawn borders were established by Israel in 1967 when East Jerusalem was illegally annexed, plans to demolish 88 Palestinian homes in the al-Bustan area in the centre of Silwan to make way for the development of a so-called archaeological park, known as King David’s Garden. More than 1500 Palestinians will be made homeless and forcibly transferred. http://palsolidarity.org/2012/02/88-palestinian-houses-to-be-demolished-for-israeli-park/

Israel to fence off main road to Hebron. Ahmad Abu Hashem, secretary of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Beit Ummar says the Israeli military had recently completed building a new Jewish-only segregated road on Palestinian-owned land in Beit Ummar and Halhul. http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=18976

Israeli court forbids Nablus mosque from using loudspeakers. The Israeli Supreme Court issued a preliminary ruling, forbidding Burin village mosque from using loudspeakers, and even from using lights on the mosque’s minaret. http://www.imemc.org/article/62991

Boy injured as soldiers raid Hebron village. A boy was injured by Israeli forces in Hebron on Sunday when Israeli forces raided several homes in the village of al-Tabaqa, south-west Hebron. Muhammad Mahmoud Imtayer, 16, sustained head injuries and was admitted to Hebron Hospital. http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=459858

Israeli Occupation troops raid village, abduct two children. Heavily armed Israeli Occupation forces stormed a number of houses in the village of Housan, to the west of Bethlehem, at dawn on Sunday, deliberately humiliating inhabitants and searching their homes. Two 16-year-old boys were abducted and taken to the Ofer prison near Ramallah.

Women visitors to prison demand end to strip-searching. A demonstration was held on Sunday, February 12, at the Meitar checkpoint north of Beer Sheba, in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in the Naqab (Negev) region as well as their family members who must pass through this checkpoint to visit them. The demonstration was organised by the Al-Khalil (Hebron) chapter of the Palestinian Prisoners' Society and was attended by affected families, along with Palestinian and international supporters. A young Palestinian woman named Fadwa told ISM that to visit her brother Jihad, who has been held prisoner for a decade, she must make a 12-hour journey involving strip-searches and extensive interrogation at Meitar, only to have the process repeated at the prison. She recalls that several times she has been forced to leave her shoes and jacket in the interrogation room and pass through the checkpoint barefoot, even in cold weather.

Main source of statistics: Palestinian Monitoring Group (PMG) http://www.nad-plo.org/dailyreports.php

Valentine-Palestine

BBC Trust airbrushes out Palestine

BBC Trust rules in favour of censoring 'Palestine'

<><>

The BBC has denied it was wrong to edit the word 'Palestine' from an artist's performance on Radio 1Xtra, but has said its producers may have been 'overcautious'. This final ruling issued at the end of January, marks the end of an eight month campaign by PSC to hold the BBC to account for its bias in censoring the lyrics 'I can scream Free Palestine for my pride/still pray for peace' from a rap performed by the artist, Mic Righteous, on 1Xtra. In an extraordinary exchange of correspondence, during which the BBC's excuses for cutting out 'Palestine' grew ever more bizarre, one producer wrote: 'Referencing Palestine is fine, but implying that it is not free is the contentious issue'. This was originally published by PSC, who would like to thank all  members who wrote to the BBC on this issue, and especially those who carried on the campaign for eight months. Photo: BB Bristol after the appeal for aid for victims of 'Cast Lead' was not broadcast

Life under occupation: numbers

Israel’s Daily Toll on Palestinian Life, Limb, Liberty and Property

24 hours to 8am 02 January 2012

Main source of statistics: Palestinian Monitoring Group (PMG) http://www.nad-plo.org/dailyreports.php

Israeli Navy opens fire on fishing boats off Rafah

Rafah incursion: Israeli Army opens fire on homes – bulldozes crops

2:40am: home invasions and Israeli Army vandalism

2:30am raid – Israeli soldiers abduct youth

Night peace disruption and/or home invasions in 5 towns and villages 4 attacks – 11 raids including home invasions

3 acts of economic sabotage – 7 taken prisoner – 12 detained – 91 restrictions of movement

Home invasions and occupations: 02:40-05:20, Salim.

Peace disruption raids: 23:30, Al Tabeh - midnight, Ramana - 02:30, Azzun - 11:50, Deir Hatab - 11:50, Salim - 12:20, Aqraba - 18:30, Kifl Hares - 13:45, Hebron - 22:15, Hebron - 18:30, Yatta.

Palestinian attack: Northern Gaza – evening, a number of missiles fired towards the Green Line.

Israeli attack – incursion – agricultural sabotage: Rafah – evening, Israeli forces with bulldozers shot their way in to the area , opening fire on homes and farms and bulldozing crops.

Israeli attack – economic sabotage: Rafah – dawn, Israeli gunboats opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the city.

Israeli attack – agricultural sabotage: Rafah – evening, the Israeli Army opened fire on homes and farms.

Israeli attack: Jerusalem – Israeli troops fired tear gas and stun grenades at people in the Bab Al Amoud neighbourhood.

Raids: Jenin – midnight, Israeli troops firing stun grenades raided Ramana village. Raid – abduction: Qalqilya – 02:30, Israeli soldiers raided Azzun and abducted one 17-year-old youth: Mahmoud Radwan. Home invasions and vandalism: Nablus – 02:40-05:20, the Israeli Army raided Salim village and searched six homes, vandalising the interior of one of them. Two people were taken prisoner.

Occupation settler road incident: Nablus – 15:05, an Israeli settler vehicle overran and killed two sheep owned by a Palestinian villager, Mahmoud Idiyas.

Recent news updates:

Turkey demands lifting of the Gaza blockade. Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, made the statement in a meeting with his Gaza counterpart, Ismail Haniyeh, who is visiting Turkey. According to Mr Al-Nunu, Prime Minister Erdogan stressed that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) is not a "terrorist" organisation but a movement that was elected by the Palestinian people. The will of the Palestinian people must be respected, he added.

picture: neighbours, Hebron

'The Wall of Hate' - why we should care

This film lays out the bare facts of reality today in Palestine. If you didn't know before, learn. If you did, polish up your memory. There is something here for us all generally, and for some in particular: the last voice-over being"... and welcome to Your tax dollars at work."

Palestinian Christians speak out

Newt Gingrich, the eminince gris of Washington whose name and opinions could feasibly have been invented by, say, Evelyn Waugh or Joseph Heller, has claimed that the Palestinians are an invented people. Well - the same charge could be levelled at any nationality; but the venerable Palestinian Christians have their own answer.