notes 7-1-2006
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GAZA CITY (AFP) -Israel has rejected Palestinian demands to free 1,000 prisoners as its warplanes pounded the Gaza Strip for a fourth straight night http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060701/ts_afp/mideast_060701093332 *********************************************************
The discomfort shown by Diaspora Jewry over the Israeli vision of Jewish identity derives in part from the fact Yehoshua happily exposes the double standard at the heart of Zionism. The Zionists demand a right for Jews to reinvent their identity in the age of the nation state while denying that same right to his Palestinian neighbours. Zionists like Yehoshua are having their cake and eating it. Jewish tribalism comes clean Jonathan Cook, The Electronic Intifada, 30 June 2006 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4881.shtml *********************************************************
Palestinian parliamentarian warns of severe public health and humanitarian disaster facing Gaza Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, The Electronic Intifada, 30 June 2006 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4880.shtml *********************************************************
The Palestinian prime minister has vowed that his Hamas-led government will not give in to force, saying Israel has to halt its Gaza offensive if it wants to free a captured soldier.
Hamas will not bow to Israeli force 30 June 2006
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D81EA823-EE6E-43DC-A0B1-24FD25B26973.htm *********************************************************
The Al Quds Centre for Social-Economic Rights condemned on Friday the decision by the Israeli Interior Minister Ronny Bar-On to revoke the Jerusalem residency of four top Hamas officials.
Israel revokes Jerusalem residency rights of top Hamas leaders by Saed Bannoura- IMEMC & Agencies 30 June 2006
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19673&Itemid=1 *********************************************************
Friday after midnight, the Israeli air force fired missiles at electricity generators in the central Gaza Strip causing complete power blackout in the whole area.
Army shells electricity generators in central Gaza by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies 30 June 2006
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19671&Itemid=1 *********************************************************
The protesters carried a 3-meter long banner that reads “With our blood we protect you, Al-Aqsa".
In Lebanon, the Shiite Muslim cleric, Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, denounced the Israeli attack and described it as “the war to annihilate the Palestinian people ... by the malicious, racist Jewish army".
Thousands protest in Arab and Muslim countries against Gaza offensive Thousands of residents in several of Arab and Muslim countries protested on Friday in support of the Palestinian people facing the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip. The protests took place in Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and Syria, Lebanon and several other countries in the middle east. by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies - Friday, 30 June 2006
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June 30, 2006 BREAK THE SIEGE ON THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE
http://www.al-awda.org/alert-siege.html Al-Awda calls upon the international community, Palestine solidarity activists and groups, Arab community organizations including community centers, mosques and churches, to demand:
- Ending the siege imposed on the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
- The protection of civilian lives and property, as stipulated in International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law.
- The immediate release of all political prisoners, including all elected representatives of the Palestinian people.
- To provide Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip and West Bank with financial and material support, and to Demand the implementation of their inalienable right to return to their homes and lands from which they have been dispossessed since the imposition of the Zionist state in 1948 and thereafter.
- An end to all Zionist occupation, Apartheid and all other war crimes.
- An end to all U.S. aid to Israel which supports the continuing occupation.
- Immediate reparations and compensation for all destruction carried out by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip and elsewhere.
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Israeli Forces Carry out Sweeping Arrests of Palestinian Officials http://asp.alhaq.org/zalhaq/site/home.aspx?ln=en *********************************************************
When the US Supreme Court refused to accept the shady US military trials of Guantanamo inmates, the world witnessed one of the most brilliantly designed mechanisms of governance at work: a system of checks and balances. The US system, which shares power between three branches of government (executive, legislative and judiciary), grants each branch the authority to check the power of another. Exercising this authority, the Supreme Court ruled that the military tribunals created by President George W. Bush in the "war on terror" must be brought in line with US and international law. In a five-to-three vote, the court warned the Bush administration that it does not have a "blank check" to wage the war on terror and that it "may not run roughshod over the nation's legal system." Even the most powerful man in the world is not above the law http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=17&article_id=73597 *********************************************************
Is this the beginning of "Transfer" in Gaza? By Mike Whitney 6-30-6
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article13805.htm *********************************************************
Israel's Appalling Bombing in Gaza Starving in the Dark By VIRGINIA TILLEY 6-30-6
http://www.counterpunch.org/ *********************************************************
Life on the Other Side of Palestine Crime in the Valley By NICK DEARDEN
June 30, 2006 http://www.counterpunch.org/dearden06302006.html **********************************************************
Photostory: Israel invades Gaza, 27 June 2006 Combined sources, The Electronic Intifada, 30 June 2006 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4866.shtml **********************************************************
· Gaza escalation cannot be justified, says Haniyeh
· Jerusalem agrees to delay for diplomatic efforts
Hamas leader out of hiding to accuse Israel of hindering deal Chris McGreal in Gaza City July 1, 2006
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1810334,00.html **********************************************************
Hamas refuses to trade arrested ministers
Palestinian National Football Team prepares for the next World Cup despite difficultiesThey don't have a state, let alone a soccer league, and most of the national players are prevented from even training together. One of them has been killed in the conflict with Israel. Despite this, the Palestinian National team is preparing for the next soccer World Cup, having missed out on qualifying for this year's tournament.http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1676020.htm **********************************************************
Landowners in Arab Village of Lajoun Demand Registration in their Names of Land Confiscated by the State in 1953 On 31 May 2006, Adalah submitted its written arguments to the Nazareth District Court challenging the appropriation on 15 November 1953 of a 200-dunam plot of land in the village of Lajoun, located near to the Arab town of Umm al-Fahm. The land was previously part of Umm al-Fahm. Adalah argued that the Court should rule the expropriation of the land in question fundamentally invalid and that the deeds to the land must be registered in the names of the original owners.http://www.adalah.org/newsletter/eng/jun06/1.php **********************************************************
Immediate Action Needed in BEIT JALA City – Bethlehem District – PalestineThis is an urgent appeal from the Municipal Council of Beit Jala city on behalf of the citizens of Beit Jala and its organizations to our friends and peace loving people around the world, asking them to help us to protest the continuous illegal act facing the Palestinian Community in Beit Jala city, caused by the construction of the segregation Wall.http://www.openbethlehem.org/pages/content/index.asp?PageID=62 **********************************************************
Palestinians, Israelis and internationals protest in Bil'in against the Israeli attacks in GazaPalestinian residents, Israeli and international peace activists held their weekly non-violent protest in Bil'in village, west of the West Bank city of Ramallah, and protested against the Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip. Some of the protesters were wearing orange clothes, resembling the clothes prisoners convicted to death wear before execution. The protesters also carried Palestinian flags.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19664&Itemid=1
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South Hebron Villages Persist to ResistToday, June 30th, the people of Qawawis accompanied by people from Tuwanwi and other neighboring villages as well as Israeli and international activists demonstrated against the settlements and the wall. About 50 people gathered and marched to the wall. The Israeli group Rabbis for Human Rights also donated ten bales of hay that will be used to feed the sheep to replace what was burned by the settlers earlier this week.http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2006/06/30/persit-to-resist/
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From the moment of their arrest, Palestinian governments begins hunger strikePalestinian human rights organization sources are reporting identical information regarding an immediate call by Palestinian detainees in Israeli Prisons for hunger strike upon the arrest of Palestinian government officials. The call came after the arrested legislators and officials started a hunger strike
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19666&Itemid=1
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Israel rejects Mubarak deal on soldierIn an interview published on Friday, Egypt's leading pro-government newspaper, Al-Ahram, quoted Mubarak as saying:"Egyptian contacts with several Hamas leaders resulted in preliminary, positive results in the shape of a conditional agreement to hand over the Israeli soldier as soon as possible to avoid an escalation. "But agreement on this has not yet been reached with the Israeli side," Mubarak said.http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/0E664728-9F3C-440E-B8C1-83599F127543.htm **********************************************************
Israel warns: free soldier or PM diesThe unprecedented warning was delivered to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a letter as Israel debated a deal offered by Hamas to free Corporal Gilad Shalit. It came as Israeli military officials readied a second invasion force for a huge offensive into Gaza.http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19645805-601,00.html
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Child injured in Israeli shelling to the northern Gaza StripThe five-year old child was hospitalized at a Gaza hospital, several homes were partially damaged as a result of the blasts. Eyewitnesses reported that several missiles were also fired at the Customs area, the Bedouin village and Qleibo area in northern Gaza. Also, Israeli air force fired several missiles at the entrance of Beit Hanoun city, Al Saifa area, Sheikh Zayid housing project, and Al Shaima area.http://www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19642&Itemid=1
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Israeli air strikes hit at least 30 targets in GazaIsrael also stripped a Hamas minister and three lawmakers from Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem of their right to reside and vote in the city, a day after, in an unprecedented move, it arrested nearly the entire Hamas leadership in the West Bank.http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/article_1176896.php
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Gaza Invasion Unites PalestiniansBurying recent differences, which in some cases took a violent turn, resistance fighters from different Palestinian groups stand united in the face of the invading Israeli troops. "We are united against the Israeli enemy," said al-Qassam fighter. "The enemy sought to pit us against one another but failed. "http://www.palestinechronicle.com/story-06300601338.htm **********************************************************
ISRAEL BOMBS PALESTINIAN INTERIOR MINISTRY, SECOND POWER PLANT, CHARITABLE SOCIETIES IN GAZA Airstrikes from Israeli planes have destroyed the Interior Ministry in Gaza City as Israeli forces continue to destroy Palestinian infrastructure and civil installations in a bid to totally destroy the Palestinian economy and social institutions in what is being called 'Operation Summer Rain.' The Palestinian society for the speech impaired, the only center for speech-impaired residents of Gaza, was severely damaged when Israeli bombs destroyed its training workshops. The society serves hundreds of speech impaired Palestinian citizens, most being children. IMEMC- 30/6/2006 http://www.prc.org.uk/defaulten.aspx **********************************************************
In short, Israel wants to slaughter and maim as many Palestinian families, children, and civilians as it can. When the tormented Palestinians seek to defend themselves with whatever meager and primitive means under their disposal, the Israelis become furious and threaten to crush them and turn Gaza into smithereens. Between violence and diplomacyIsrael overruns Gaza in its anger over the kidnap of an Israeli soldier, reports Khaled Amayreh from Gaza 29 June - 5 July 2006 http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/801/re61.htm ************************************************************
Israel Kidnaps Non-violent Palestinian ActivistsPalestinians active in non-violent struggle against the illegal Israeli annexation barrier were taken from their homes in the West Bank last night. This happens at a time when media attention is focusing on the taking of one Israeli soldier by Palestinians, and the mass-taking of 64 elected Palestinian representatives last night. Israel took 2 Palestinians from Bil’in and 1 from Beit Ummar - villages active in the struggle against the annexation barrier. http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2006/06/29/israel-kidnaps-yousef/ *******************************************************
In short, Israel wants a "peace" settlement based not on human rights and international law, but rather on the balance of power. It insists that Palestinians be content with whatever Israel gives them and demand nothing more. *************************************************************
Despite the completion of the Israeli military disengagement from the Gaza Strip on 12 September 2005, Israeli occupation forces have continued to exert their effective control over the territory of the Strip. Israel maintains control over all of Gaza 's borders, dictating who and what passes through, and over the supply of basic civilian infrastructure such as electricity and water. Moreover, Israel has aggressively tormented the population of the Gaza Strip through military assaults from the air, land and sea.
Gaza civilians bear the brunt of Israeli military escalation 2006/06/28 http://www.dci-pal.org/english/display.cfm?DocId=500&CategoryId=1 **********************************************************
Median age in Gaza Strip 15.8 years http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gz.html
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And as heliocopters and F-16's continued to destroy the sleep of the imprisoned people of Rafah, Mohammed reflects on what he and the other innocents have done to bring on Israel's latest war crime: "What I'm doing? I'm doing nothing. I'm talking to a radio station in San Francisco."
'Our Children Were Not Born to Get Killed By the Israeli Army' June 30, 2006
http://www.umkahlil.blogspot.com/ **********************************************************
The problem with arrogance by Daoud Kuttab June 30-July1, 2006
http://jordantimes.com/fri/opinion/opinion3.htm *************************************************************
The bloodshed is not the result of errors or miscalculations. The Israeli occupation forces are determined to continue their carnage, to carry on with the kind of war crimes for which others have had to face international trials. And we must pursue this issue until, likewise, these Israeli war criminals are brought to trial. The crimes need to be documented thoroughly, and files must be compiled, for I am confident that the day will come when the murderers will be finally brought to justice. A criminal mindset Ibrahim Nafie calls for Israeli war crimes to be fully documented 29 June - 5 July 2006 http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/801/op1.htm *************************************************************
Israel kicked off the world cup by killing an entire family in Gaza, and it hasn't taken a break in its systematic bombardment and assassination of Palestinians since the beginning of the season. The Poisoned Chalice By Dr. Azmi Bishara ,
Gaza wasn't always like that. There was a time when it was a pleasant, even relatively affluent seaside city. June 30, 2006 http://palestinechronicle.com./story-06300600135.htm *************************************************************
We just completed a live interview with Mohammed Omer from Rafah in Gaza. Mohammed is the blogger who does Rafah Today (
www.rafahtoday.org) . It is a devastating interview that details the brutality of the current assault and attemps to censor his voice. Please listen and pass on. Original article is at
http://radio.indymedia.org/news/2006/06/10383.php Print comments.
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The obsession with demonizing Palestinian Muslims throughout this resolution, coupled with intentionally not seeking out Palestinian Christians’ input, makes it painfully clear that there’s an attempt to drive a wedge between Palestinians.
Speaking for Palestinian Christians If there’s anything positive that’s come out of this whole episode, it’s the unexpected window that’s opened up to discuss why the Christian population in Palestine has been going extinct. By Sherri Muzher June 28, 2006 http://palestinechronicle.com./story-062806232728.htm ***************************************************************
Gaza Invasion Units Palestinians By Mustafa el-Sawwaf : Wielding assault rifles and anti-tank rockets, fighters prowled the streets in the balmy night, threatening an unrelenting battle. June 30, 2006
http://palestinechronicle.com./story-06300601338.htm ***************************************************************
How the Arabic press has reacted to the Israeli incursion into Gaza. Arab Perspective: Gaza incursion by Manal Alafrangi 06/29/2006
http://www.gulf-news.com/region/Middle_East/10050253.html ***************************************************************
Gaza voices: Israeli air strikes There is tension and fear in the Gaza Strip following the Israeli bombing raids overnight.
The BBC News website spoke to three Palestinians in Gaza about what happened and their worries for the hours ahead.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5124172.stm ***************************************************************
Israel has crossed the line many times. By destroying the infrastructure again and again of the Palestinian Authority, by arresting ministers and Members of Parliament, and by preventing Mahmoud Abbas President of the Palestinian Authority from leaving Gaza, she unveils true nature of its relation with the Palestinian Authority.
It was the one thousand error of Arafat not dissolve the Palestinian Authority when he was under siege. The poor man thought that being a President would have given him protection.
Abu Mazen should now dissolve the Palestinian Authority before he meets the same fate. He is checked mated. The UN should come in or Israel assumes the power and responsibilities of the occupation without hiding behind the stigmatized Palestinian Authority or the Infamous Oslo agreement.
Eyad El Sarraj , Gaza, Palestine June 29, 2006 http://palestinechronicle.com./story-062906225914.htm ***************************************************************
Archbishop of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Atallah Hanna, described the Israeli offensive against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as "an ugly crime, an organized state terrorism.” Archbishop Hanna stressed his "deep condemnation, the church's condemnation and all Palestinian Christians' condemnation of this attack against Palestinians." Archbishop Hanna: Israeli aggression against the Palestinians is an ugly crime George Rishmawi-IMEMC & Agencies - Friday, 30 June 2006 ***************************************************************
Irish MP: Israel an "abhorrent and despicable" regime Press Release, Sinn Féin, 30 June 2006 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4875.shtml ***************************************************************
Israel bombs Palestinian Interior Ministry, Second Power plant, Charitable societies in Gaza IMEMC & Agencies - Friday, 30 June 2006
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19648&Itemid=1 ****************************************************************
OPT: Gaza invasion targets civilian infrastructureThis comes at the end of a month during which 34 Palestinian civilians have been killed in Gaza in Israeli military attacks or ‘targeted assassinations' of suspected militants. This includes 10 children. Christian Aid condemns all violent actions and believes that without an end to violence by all sides there will be no security, no end to poverty and no peace.http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/HMYT-6R8N97?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR
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When is the capture of an enemy soldier a 'kidnapping' or an 'abduction?' When is the legitimate right to self-defense against a mighty military machine by a defenseless people called ‘terrorism'? The answer, a puzzling one, is that it is called 'terrorism' by most media in the West whenever Palestinians exercise that right. It is also called 'terrorism' by most Western Countries or any country allied with the USA. http://www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19639&Itemid=1
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Israeli missiles pound Gaza into new Dark Age in 'collective punishment'It would, Dr Abu Sisi said, take a "minimum of three to six months" to restore supplies at a cost between $5m (#2.8m) and $7m. "The Geneva Convention says it is not allowed to attack infrastructure for the civilian people," he added. "You might expect that economic infrastructure could be a target in the last stages of a war. But this is not like that."http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article1129750.ece
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Israeli tanks turn screw on besieged Gaza StripIsrael widened its assault on the Gaza Strip last night by shelling the north of the territory and dropping leaflets warning residents of a pending attack by tanks and troops, as the government seized on a crisis over an abducted soldier to take on Palestinian armed groups. It also held more than 1 million ordinary Palestinians responsible for 19-year-old Corporal Gilad Shilat's continued capture and promised "extreme action" to secure his release. http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1808456,00.html
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While the world’s attention turns to the dramatic situation in Gaza, the Israeli Army has begun uprooting ancient olive trees in Bethlehem’s Cremisan area, marking out the path of the wall to be built through one of the regions most valuable heritage sites. Bulldozers start work on Wall to annex Bethlehem’s Cremisan Monastery
By: Open Bethlehem June 28, 2006 http://www.amin.org/eng/uncat/2006/june/june28-4.html ****************************************************
Saeb Erekat:
“Israeli war crimes destroying prospects for peace” June 28, 2006
http://www.amin.org/eng/uncat/2006/june/june28-1.html ****************************************************
One Israeli soldier was kidnapped. Over one million Palestinians are made to suffer. As collective punishments go, this cannot be more egregious. Collective punishment by an occupying power is a war crime.
A sick situation editorial 6-29-2006 http://jordantimes.com/thu/opinion/opinion1.htm *********************************************************
As a human rights organization working in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), Al-Haq is acutely aware that it is all too often Palestinian civilians who pay the price of Israeli military operations. In Jenin in 2002, during "Operation Defensive Shield," approximately half of more than 50 Palestinians killed were civilians. Israeli Incursion into Gaza Threatens Civilian Lives and Infrastructure By: Al-Haq June 28, 2006 http://www.amin.org/eng/uncat/2006/june/june28-3.html *********************************************************
PCHR strongly condemns IOF retaliatory measures targeting Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, including the destruction of properties that are not classified as a legitimate military targets. Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Punish Palestinian Civilians in the Gaza Strip Press Release, PCHR, 28 June 2006 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4860.shtml *********************************************************
Israel’s policies of controlling, containing and shaping Palestinian demographics for its own benefit and to the utter detriment of Palestinians are longstanding. The damage thus inflicted on the social and emotional fabric of Palestinian lives over the decades has been incalculable. Separating Palestinian families by Rima Merriman 6-29-2006 http://jordantimes.com/thu/opinion/opinion5.htm *********************************************************
Gaza under large-scale attack Mona Elfarra writing from Gaza, Live from Palestine, 28 June 2006 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4862.shtml *********************************************************
In Rafah, the refugee camp that has not been spared the wrath of the Israeli Army on so many occasions in the past, where 16, 000 Palestinians lost their homes to armoured bulldozers, families have holed themselves indoors, fearing for their lives. Bracing for the worst: Electricity cut off, bridges bombed, sonic boom attacks resume Laila El-Haddad writing from occupied Gaza, Live from Palestine, 28 June 2006 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4863.shtml **********************************************************
Whether the Arab-American community can rise to the challenge may depend on their willingness to stick their neck out.
Get out there, get involved By: George S. Hishmeh June 29, 2006
http://www.amin.org/eng/uncat/2006/june/june29-0.html
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A Race Against Time: An interview with Sam Bahour Christopher Brown, The Electronic Intifada, 28 June 2006 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4867.shtml **********************************************************
I admit that I am a non-violent person. I disagree with all violent activities and don't believe that any conflict can or should be solved by force and violence. Yet I also fully believe in International Law, which gives occupied people the right to resist their occupiers by all means. Gaza, just like the rest of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, is still under occupation and not liberated, or "contested" as Israel and some media try to say. When will Israel learn? Rifat Odeh Kassis writing from occupied Palestine, Live from Palestine 28 June 2006 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4864.shtml **********************************************************
What Are They Thinking? Palestinians have no tanks, no ships, no airplanes. About seventy percent of them in Gaza do have, however, according to the UN, two dollars or less a day on which to live June 28, 2006
http://www.umkahlil.blogspot.com/ ***********************************************************
Toronto's United Church to boycott Israeli goods Wants exit from occupied lands
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The plight of Palestinian children arrested by the Israeli army has long been one of the neglected aspects of Israeli occupation, involving some 600 minors a year since the outbreak of the second Intifada in September 2000. Nearly all are held without access to legal support during questioning, often compelled to sign confessions in Hebrew, a language they don't understand, while subjected to intimidation and mistreatment as a matter of routine course. A Welcome Spotlight on Palestinian Child Prisoners Catherine Hunter, The Electronic Intifada, 27 June 2006 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4856.shtml ***********************************************************
In this web-site, you will read the thoughts and feelings of Palestinian teenagers. Their ideas have not been edited because we believe you want to know what is really in their hearts and minds. Students are asked questions and directed to comment on given topics. They also often write about issues they choose. Peers edit the articles for grammar. The result is what you see in Behind The Wall.
Behind the Wall http://www.lifebehindthewall.com/ ************************************************************
Prisoners Suffering is Increasing as a Result of the International Sanctions on Palestinians By: Gaza Community Mental Health Programme June 26, 2006
http://www.amin.org/eng/uncat/2006/june/june26-1.html ************************************************************
Israel is driven by a terrorist, racist, and fake fundamental religious ideology of “god’s chosen people in god’s Promised Land”. Even before establishing the state of Israel all Israeli leaders, without exception, had been calling for the preservation of the pure Jewish blood in a Jewish only state, a twin ideology of the Nazi’s pure superior Arian blood.
Israel is The Mother of Terrorism in The Middle East By Dr. Elias Akleh June 26, 2006 http://www.amin.org/eng/uncat/2006/june/june26-0.html ***************************************************************
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‘Escalation’, ‘retaliation’ and BBC double standards in Gaza By: Jonathan Cook June 26, 2006
http://www.amin.org/eng/uncat/2006/june/june26-2.html ************************************************************
IOF Disappears 24 Palestinians Since Saturday June 28, 2006
http://www.umkahlil.blogspot.com/ ***********************************************************
A protracted refugee situation, no solution, multiple and new displacement Ending the protracted Palestinian refugee situation will require further strengthening of the current inter-agency (UNRWA-UNHCR, a.o.) protection regime, as well as political will among the powerful western governments and the United Nations to engage Israel on its obligation to faciliate the return of Palestinian refugees. Until this happens, the international community will be called upon to render emergency aid, assistance and protection to ever more Palestinians displaced and rendered homeless as a result of occupation, colonization and armed conflict.
Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons BADIL, Jun 20, 2006 http://imeu.net/news/article001822.shtml ************************************************************
Israeli "Retaliation" and Double Standards By JONATHAN COOK June 26, 2006
http://www.counterpunch.org/cook06262006.html ************************************************************
The Ideology of Occupation Revisited by Ran HaCohen Antiwar 26 June 2006
http://antiwar.com/hacohen/?articleid=9178 ************************************************************
One thing is certain: the loss of innocent Palestinian life in Israeli attacks has been the rule rather than the exception. Sacrificing Palestinians’ lives to “protect” Israelis’ By: Remi Kanazi 6/25/2006 http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=11598 ***************************************************************
Stop torture and ill-treatment in the 'war on terror' No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. http://web.amnesty.org/pages/stoptorture-index-eng ************************************************************
Israel talks about restraint, but the Israeli army has been killing children, killing families, destroying homes and destroying lives. The Gaza Strip has been suffering a months-long constant artillery barrage. Israel has really been restraining itself. It is a restraint we are very familiar with. It is nonsense. Interview with Eyad Sarraj - Legitimate ResistanceJune 27, 2006 http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=10645&CategoryId=5
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How Israel is tearing families apart Ahmed Zaid writing from Al-Bireh, occupied Palestine, Live from Palestine, 23 June 2006 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4841.shtml *****************************************************************
Victory for the LA8 Today has proven to be a victory for the LA8! Determining that the government had unlawfully denied his citizenship, a judge ruled in favor of LA8 defendant, Aiad Barakat. With 19 years of unsuccessful attempts to deport the 7 Palestinians and one Kenyan, today's ruling is a victory for all those seeking justice and working to secure our civil rights and liberties.
http://www.arab-american.net/index.html Federal judge in LA rules Palestinian man should be citizen *********************************************************************
Israeli police arrest American man in weapons case 6-21-6
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/06/21/state/n045015D35.DTL&type=politics *****************************************************************************
Sderot Built on Ashes of Ethnically Cleansed and Defaced Najd Sderot was settled by Jews in 1951. According to Walid Khalidi in
All That Remains, it along with the settlement of Or ha-Ner, founded in 1957, were established on the village lands of Najd, which means "elevated plain" in Arabic.
Najd's Palestinian villagers, approximately 620 in 1945, were expelled on 13 May 1948, before Israel was declared a state and before any Arab armies entered Palestine. According to UN Resolution 194 and also the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 13, Section 2, the villagers of Najd have a right to return home to their personal property and to their native village. (posted June 21 & 22 2006)
http://www.umkahlil.blogspot.com/ ******************************************************************************* 2006 World Refugee Day; BADIL Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons *************************************************************************
UNICEF 1 in 3 newborns dies in Gaza due to shortages in care Ma'an News- 22/6/2006
http://www.prc.org.uk/data/aspx/d1/2991.aspx *************************************************************************
UNRWA Strongly Condemns Death and Injury to Gazan Refugees http://www.un.org/unrwa/index.html
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Palestinian Children must be Protected June 21, 2006 By MIFTAH http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=10601&CategoryId=2 *******************************************************************************
Behind the Walls: Separation Walls between Arabs and Jews in Mixed Cities in Israel Report, Arab Association for Human Rights, 16 June 2006 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4816.shtml ********************************************************************************
In case you missed it:
Desmond Tutu: Apartheid in the Holy Land . I've been very deeply distressed in my visit to the Holy Land; it reminded me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/ ********************************************************************************
CALL FOR ACADEMIC AND CULTURAL BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL http://www.pacbi.org/
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Confront the colluders in Israel's academy by Lisa Taraki 23 June 2006 The Times Higher Education Supplement http://www.thes.co.uk/current_edition/story.aspx?story_id=2030850 (or
http://www.umkahlil.blogspot.com/)
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Understanding the Presbyterian Vote Divestment, Corporate Engagement and Israel By Will Youmans and Nora Erakat June 24, 2006 http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=10634&CategoryId=5 *********************************************************************
Presbyterian divestment? Still on the table. By Casey Currie -- The Arab American News -- June 24, 2006:
http://www.arabamericannews.com/newsarticle.php?articleid=5615 *********************************************************************
poem by the late Tawfiq Zayyad, poet, former Mayor of Nazareth and Knesset member.
ALL I HAVE
I never carried a rifle
On my shoulder
Or pulled a trigger.
All I have
Is a lute’s memory
A brush to paint my dreams,
A bottle of ink.
All I have
Is unshakeable faith
And an infinite love
For my people in pain.
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Reversing ethnic cleansing: The Right to Return Home by Salman Abu Sitta June 5, 2006 Salman Abu Sitta is a Palestinian author and researcher on refugees. http://www.amin.org/eng/uncat/2006/june/june5-0.html ****************************************************************************
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide http://www.hrweb.org/legal/genocide.html Universal Declaration of Human Rights
http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html ******************************************************************************
TUNE IN The 58th anniversary of the dispossession of the Palestinian people by the State of Israel (Al-Nakba), and the current dire situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Arab Voices Radio - Wednesday, May 17, 2006 
Dr. Zahi Damuni Co-founder of Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, who currently serves on Al-Awda's national coordinating and executive committees, and is coordinator of the organization's chapter in San Diego, California.( Dr. Damuni's actual interview well worth listening to is about 20 minutes into the show) http://www.arabvoices.net/ *****************************************************************************************
BUILDING THE RIGHT TO RETURN MOVEMENT
The writing really is on the wall- for a glimpse explore Al-Awda http://www.al-awda.org/July 14-16, 2006 upcoming Al Awda Convention,
San Francisco, CA
Confirmed Speakers:
Dr. Salman Abu Sitta, former member of the Palestine National Council and known expert researcher on Palestinian refugee affairs.
Michel Shehadeh, L.A. 8 defendant
Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi, Director of Center for Arab American Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn
Dr. Asa'd Abu Khalil, Professor at California State University, Stanislaus
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PalestineOnlineStore.com
REFUGEES @ Palestine Online Store
This page features resources related to the refugee issue. Refugees are suffering tremendously, and especially so in Gaza. Their plight is one that deserves no less than our full and immediate support. We hope that these materials will help in supporting them by increasing awareness. To support them by making donations, we recommend donating to UNRWA.
http://www.palestineonlinestore.com/refugees/
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Look into My EyesOutlandish Song based on
Words by Gihad Ali
Major hit in Danish charts in 2005
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umkahlil's (http://www.umkahlil.blogspot.com/)
excellent advice: What You Can Do to Stop Israel's War Crimes in Gaza
PalestineOnlineStore Send your name and country to this address
ProtectPalestine@gmail.com to sign the Letter to Kofi Annan printed
here.
In addition it is very easy for US citizens to send this prewritten Citizens for Fair Legislation letter to their representatives: Click here to send our prewritten letter:
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/CFLWeb/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=4413 6/27/06-CFL ALERT: TELL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TO DEMAND ISRAELI RESTRAINT AGAINST PALESTINIANS.
*In the last two weeks alone Israel has killed an unprecedented number of Palestinian civilians including pregnant women, children, and entire families. Not once did the U.S. speak out against these crimes. In retaliation for these attacks Palestinian groups have kidnapped an Israeli soldier. Israel is now promising collective punishment for all Palestinians and have entered Gaza under indiscriminate gunfire.
* Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated that Israeli lives are more important than “lives in Gaza.” Ask your representatives if they believe that the lives of Palestinians who are being relentlessly killed and maimed are also worth less than Israeli lives.
*Tell your representatives that you value Palestinian lives as much as you value Jewish lives and that you are outraged to hear Israel has cut off electricity and stopped food from entering into Gaza because of the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier. Remind your representatives that collective punishment is illegal and ask them how long this country will continue to be complicit in Israeli crimes.
EMAIL AND OR CALL THE WHITE HOUSE
WHITE HOUSE COMMENTS LINE: 202-456-1111
WHITE HOUSE SWITCHBOARD: 202-456-1414
WHITE HOUSE FAX: 202-456-2461
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Citizens for Fair Legislation
www.cflweb.org
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In 2005, there were approximately 7.2 million Palestinian refugees, equivalent to 74% of the entire Palestinian population which is estimated at 9.7 million worldwide. Al-Awda Fact sheet: The Right To Return, a Basic Right Still Denied http://al-awda.org/facts.html ************************************************************************************
