Israel’s War Against Palestine: Documenting the Military Occupation of Palestinian and Arab Lands

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Rami Elhanan: “Sowing hate and reaping death”

24 April 2010

[T]he line that separates the two sides today is not between Arabs and
Israelis or Jews and Muslims. Today the line is between those who want peace
and are ready to pay the price for it, and all the rest. They are the other
side! And today, that other side, to my dismay, is the corrupt group of
politicians and generals that leads us and behaves like a bunch of mafia
dons, war criminals, who play ping-pong in blood among themselves, who sow
hatred and reap death.

Gilbert Achcar: The Arab-Israeli war of narratives

24 April 2010

The Arab-Israeli war of narratives that has led to Holocaust-denial on the one hand and Nakba-denial on the other opposes two entirely symmetrical visions of the origins of this intractable conflict. In The Arabs and The Holocaust: The Arab-Israeli War of Narratives, Gilbert Achcar traces a complex history of interpretations from Arab responses to the earliest intimations of the Nazi genocide, through the creation of Israel and the occupation of Palestine, to last winter’s Israeli offensive against Gaza.

Travel ban imposed on Palestinian leader in Israel

23 April 2010

This morning [22 April 2010], the Israeli Border Police prevented Mr. Ameer Makhoul, the Director of Ittijah – Union of Arab Community-Based Associations inside Israel, from leaving the country. Makhoul, who also serves as the head of the Popular Committee for the Defense of Political Freedoms, received a prohibition order from leaving the country upon his arrival to the Jordan River Crossing. The order, which was issued by the Israeli Minister of the Interior, Eli Yishai, prohibits Makhoul from leaving the country for a period of two months.

Amira Hass: Access denied

23 April 2010

Defining a Palestinian with a Gaza Strip address as a punishable infiltrator if he is found in the West Bank – as implied by a military order that has now gone into effect – is one more link in a chain of steps that Israel has taken, whose cumulative effect is to sever the Strip from Palestinian society as a whole.

ALSO:

Israel deports West Bank prisoner to Gaza

Has Israel Reneged on the Unity of West Bank and Gaza?

Israeli Military Order enables IOF to expel Palestinians from West Bank

IDF bid to expel West Bank Palestinians is a step too far

Hillel Schenker: If our leaders can’t talk…

23 April 2010

There are times when civil society has to take the initiative when government leaders are unable or unwilling to do so. Indeed, today, with tensions rising between Israel and Iran… it is time to talk, before it is too late.

Rachel Giora: Milestones in the history of the Israeli BDS movement – a brief chronology

23 April 2010

Haaretz correspondent Aluf Benn: “Only one thing does bother the Israelis, according to the polls: fear of a diplomatic embargo and an international boycott. The Goldstone Report and the International Court of Justice in The Hague are arousing concern and interest, far more than Obama’s peace speeches.”

Norman Finkelstein: “This Time We Went Too Far” – book review

23 April 2010

Finkelstein concludes that Gaza was not a war but a massacre, “like shooting fish in a barrel”. Israel maintained undisputed control of the air, carrying out 3,000 sorties virtually unhindered. Amnesty International could not find cases where civilians were caught up in crossfire, because there wasn’t a single battle during the 22-day assault: “‘Most of the time it was boring,’ one soldier confirmed to Amnesty, ‘there was supposed to be a tiny resistance force upon entry, but there just wasn’t’”.

Boycott!: CRH, Divest Now from Apartheid Israel!

23 April 2010

We, at BOYCOTT!, a group of Israeli citizens, strive to stop our government’s human rights and international law violations, which have been facilitated by the cooperation of international companies. Your company has gone to great lengths in getting involved with the Israeli land and resources annexation, segregation and continued colonization of Palestine.

Gas canister injures Bil’in protester

23 April 2010

A Palestinian citizen of Israel was struck in the head with a high-velocity canister during a Friday protest against the separation wall in the West Bank village of Bil’in. The man, identified as 43-year-old Imad Risqa from Yaffa, was transported to hospital.

Stop! Pink Police! — Great video of Ahava boycott action in Austin, TX

23 April 2010

Please stop selling Ahava products. The theft by Israeli colonizers of these resources from stolen Palestinian land supports the illegal displacement and dispossession of the indigenous population. I ask Ulta to cease supporting such violations of international law and human rights.

Poll: Almost half of Americans feel Obama does not support Israel

22 April 2010

American voters believe U.S. President Barack Obama is not a strong supporter of Israel, a new Quinnipiac University survey revealed Thursday, also showing a large majority of Jewish voters as disappointed with the administration’s handling of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

ARIJ: The environmental impact of Israeli military activities in the occupied Palestinian territory

22 April 2010

An often-overlooked factor in the field of sustainable development and resource management is the impact of the military on the environment and unfortunately this is no exception in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). Whilst there have been many studies and reports on the economic, social and political repercussions of the continued Israeli occupation, there has been scant attention paid to the detrimental effects on the environment from Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) activities and the military infrastructure which supports them. This is in no small part because of the lack of information provided by the Israeli authorities and the high level of secrecy surrounding the IOF. For example, whilst conducting research for this paper it was not possible to view any images of the military bases in the oPt post 2004 because all sources have been doctored to erase any evidence of their presence.

The environmental impact of Israeli military activities in the occupied Palestinian territory

22 April 2010

On the 40th Earth Day, a consideration of some of the environmental impacts of the 42-year long Israeli Occupation, presented in a report by Applied Research Institute (ARIJ) – Jerusalem.

Palestinians: Israel deports West Bank prisoner to Gaza

22 April 2010

Issa Qaraqi, PA minister of prisoner affairs: “It is inhumane what they are doing. He has no connection to Gaza, no relatives there, nothing,” claim[ing] Israel was implementing a new set of military orders that critics fear could lead to mass deportations from the occupied West Bank.

US officials slam pro-Israeli ads in American media

21 April 2010

United States administration officials have voiced harsh criticism over advertisements in favor of Israel’s position on Jerusalem that appeared in the U.S. press with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s encouragement. The authors of the most recent such advertisements were president of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel. “All these advertisements are not a wise move,” one senior American official told Haaretz.

Also: Yossi Sarid: For Jerusalem, a response to Elie Wiesel

Bradley Burston: Declare Independence. Free Israel. End the Occupation.

20 April 2010

Will a serious battle against Occupation cause a deep rift in the Jewish People? Will it drive a wedge between all those who believe that the Jews, like other peoples, deserve a state of their own? Too late. The Occupation has already been there, and done precisely that.

IOA Editor: We may not share Burston’s vision of post-Occupation Israel, but it is encouraging to see, on Israel’s “Independence Day,” Israeli Jews calling their people to end the occupation.

NY Airport ‘Blind’ to El Al Racial Profiling

20 April 2010

A 2007 report on racial profiling by Israeli carriers… concluded: “it is hard to find any Arab citizen who travels abroad by air and who has not experienced a discriminatory security check at least once”… [This] incident follows on the heels of a diplomatic crisis between Israel and South Africa over revelations that spies posing as El Al staff have been operating at Johannesburg airport, gathering information on non-Jewish passengers visiting Israel.

Akiva Eldar: This Independence Day, Israel still turning its back on the Arab peace plan

20 April 2010

In its 62nd year of independence, as it has every year since March 2002, Israel is taking advantage of its independence to turn its back on the Arab Peace Initiative. This year, too, it is ignoring a plan that offers it normalization in return for a withdrawal from the occupied territories and a just and agreed resolution to the problem of the Palestinian refugees in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194.

Chris Hedges: Noam Chomsky Has ‘Never Seen Anything Like This’

20 April 2010

Noam Chomsky: “I don’t bother writing about Fox News, it is too easy. What I talk about are the liberal intellectuals, the ones who portray themselves and perceive themselves as challenging power, as courageous, as standing up for truth and justice. They are basically the guardians of the faith. They set the limits. They tell us how far we can go. They say, ‘Look how courageous I am.’ But do not go one millimeter beyond that. At least for the educated sectors, they are the most dangerous in supporting power.”

UN Special Raporteur: Israeli Military Orders “in breach of international human right law”

20 April 2010

Richard Falk: “a wide range of violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law could be linked to actions carried out by the Government of Israel under these Orders, with particular gravity in the event that young persons become victims of their application.”

Daoud Kuttab: Has Israel reneged on the unity of West Bank and Gaza?

20 April 2010

While public deportation which are contrary to the Geneva Conventions had stopped in 1992, a much more sinister plan appears to have been implemented. The new undeclared policy is called by some “the transfer policy,” whereby Palestinians are “encouraged” to leave and not return by use of various administrative orders, such as this latest order.

IOA Editor: Mr. Kuttab may be referring to “deportation” to other countries. However, expulsions of Palestinians from the West Bank to Gaza not only did not stop, but has picked up momentum in recent months, even before the reports on Order 1650. Read Amira Hass’ High Court: Gaza student cannot complete studies in West Bank.

Rashid Khalidi: Bad Faith in the Holy City

18 April 2010

[O]nly a negotiation in which all of Jerusalem is placed on the table will suffice. This is not only the right thing to do; such a posture is rooted in a solemn U.S. obligation made in the all but forgotten U.S. letter of assurances to the Palestinian delegation… at the outset of the Madrid-Washington-Oslo sequence of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. In it, the U.S. government declared that nothing should be done by either side that would “be prejudicial . . . to the outcome of the negotiations,” notably “unilateral acts that would exacerbate local tensions or make negotiations more difficult or preempt their final outcome.”

Yossi Sarid: For Jerusalem, a response to Elie Wiesel

18 April 2010

Someone has deceived you… Not only may an Arab not build “anywhere,” but he may thank his god if he is not evicted from his home and thrown out onto the street with his family and property. Perhaps you’ve heard about Arab residents in Sheikh Jarrah, having lived there since 1948, who are again being uprooted and made refugees.

IOA Editor: If only Mr. Obama were to “use his clout…” as Sarid, perhaps optimistically, suggests.

Noam Chomsky: “The Role of the Radical Intellectual – Some Personal Reflections”

18 April 2010

Havens Center for the Study of Social Structures and Social Change , Orpheum Theater, Madison WI – 8 April 2010 (Video)

PCHR Strongly Condemns Execution of Two Prisoners by Gaza Government

17 April 2010

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the implementation of two death sentences in the Gaza Strip this morning. These death sentences were carried out without the ratification of the Palestinian President. PCHR reiterates that the ratification of death sentences is an exclusive right of the President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) under the Code of Criminal Procedures.

Shlomo Swirski: The Burden of Occupation

16 April 2010

The Cost of the Occupation to Israeli Society, Polity and Economy
By Shlomo Swirski, the Adva Center – Updated Nov 2008 (full report)

At Howard Zinn’s memorial service

16 April 2010

It was beautiful in Boston… as about 250 invited guests gathered at the Arlington Street Church to celebrate the life of Howard Zinn, who died on January 27. The crowd was full of scholars, writers, editors, actors, poets, activists, neighbors—friends all… [Zinn’s daughter, Myla Kabat-Zinn,] told the story of The New York Times calling him up several months before he died and explaining that the paper had a custom of preparing obituaries for people while they were still alive. Without skipping a beat, Howard said: “What’s your deadline?”

Dina Elmuti: Deir Yassin’s inextinguishable fire

16 April 2010

It is a reminder to us all that injustice did take place there, and that it is our responsibility to remember that the atrocities and intolerance we see and hear about today had their inception with Deir Yassin. Deir Yassin, which catapulted the Nakba, our catastrophe… Deir Yassin signifies that Palestinians existed and still exist, and we will never give up without a fight.

UC Berkeley divestment vote: it isn’t over yet

16 April 2010

The [UC Berkeley Student] Senate needed 14 votes to overturn [the] veto, but early this morning, after an epic 10 plus hour meeting, senators found they had only 13 yes votes with one abstention. So the students tabled a vote to overturn the veto. This means the veto stands but can still be overturned later–there will be much continued lobbying and activism in the coming weeks.

Israel envoy hosts J Street chief in bid to end rift

16 April 2010

“J Street hopes that going forward we are building a relationship based on mutual respect and recognizing that our disagreements are rooted in a deep commitment to Israel’s security and its future as a democracy and the home of the Jewish people…”

IOA Editor: Occupation? What Occupation?

Rela Mazali: A Bailout For Arms Dealers – US Aid and the Israeli Budget

16 April 2010

Shlomo Swirski: It can be said that the American administration allowed Israel to conduct its military operations against the Palestinian Authority under highly favorable domestic political conditions. The government was not forced to strain the local capital market or to raise taxes, steps that would have distressed Israel’s more affluent stratum.

Noam Chomsky: A ‘Regrettable’ Event in East Jerusalem

16 April 2010

Netanyahu’s 1996 government was the first in Israel to use the phrase “Palestinian state.” The government agreed that Palestinians can call whatever fragments of Palestine are left to them “a state” if they like—or they can call them “fried chicken.” … By omission, Obama indicated that he accepts Bush’s “vision”: The vast existing Israeli settlement and infrastructure projects on the West Bank are implicitly “legitimate,” thus ensuring that the phrase “Palestinian state,” referring to the scattered remnants in between, means “fried chicken.”

Did Banned Media Report Foretell of Gaza War Crimes?

15 April 2010

Jonathan Cook: Haneen Zoubi, an MP who previously headed an Israeli media-monitoring organization, said it was “outrageous” that the suppressed report was still secret so long after the Gaza attack… “There must be at least a strong suspicion that Mr Blau’s article contains vital information, based on military documentation, warning of Israeli army intentions to commit war crimes.”

Israeli Public’s Support for Dismantling Most Settlements Has Risen to a Five-Year High

15 April 2010

A survey of the Israeli general public and Israeli settlers taken in early March shows three-fifths of the Israeli public (60%) support “dismantling most of the settlements in the territories as part of a peace agreement with the Palestinians.” This is eleven points higher than the previous reading (49%) taken in December, 2009, and is the highest level recorded since 2005, during the debate over evacuating the Gaza Strip.

Al Mezan: Israeli Military Order enables IOF to expel Palestinians from West Bank

15 April 2010

Gaza-born Palestinian living on WB: ‘The Israeli order will destroy our lives. We will live as if we live in a huge prison even if we are not deported to Gaza. No one would dare to leave the city or to go from town to town afraid of the Israeli checkpoints. Who would keep his/her job in this unstable situation’.

UC Berkeley Israel Divestment Bill Supporters Hold Silent Protest At Sproul Hall

15 April 2010

More than 200 people took part in a silent protest this afternoon outside Sproul Hall to protest a veto of the UC Berkeley Israel divestment bill which urges the university to withdraw funding from two companies providing military weapons to the Israeli Army.