Construction of a section of the Annexation Wall in Bethlehem.- One Palestinian civilian was killed by IOF.
- A number of Palestinian civilians were injured by IOF.
- Construction of the “annexation wall” in the West Bank has continued and at least 260 donums (1 donum is equal to 1000 square meters) of land were confiscated in Bethlehem and Jerusalem for this purpose.
- IOF conducted a series of incursions into Palestinian areas.
- At least 27 Palestinian civilians were arrested by IOF.
- 3 Palestinian civilians were used by IOF as human shields.
- Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property in the West Bank and more areas of Palestinian land were confiscated in Hebron.
- IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT; IOF positioned at checkpoints arrested 16 Palestinian civilians and injured one, and IOF have continued to use a special checking machine at Rafah International Crossing Point.
Introduction:
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have launched more attacks on Palestinian civilians and property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). IOF willfully killed a Palestinian civilian in Hebron. This week, human rights violations perpetrated by IOF included shooting at Palestinian civilians, incursions into Palestinian areas, house raids and arbitrary arrests. In violation of international law and humanitarian law, IOF have also continued to construct the annexation wall inside the West Bank territory and confiscated more areas of Palestinian land for this purpose. They have also continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. This week, IOF used three Palestinian civilians as human shields in military operations in the OPT.
On 25 April 2005, IOF shot dead a Palestinian civilian in Hebron. The victim lost control over his car and was not able to stop it when he was surprised by an Israeli military checkpoint, so IOF opened fire at him. IOF claimed first that the victim ran down an Israeli soldier. Then, they stated that “lived bullets were found in the soldier’s head fired by his colleagues who were on duty” and that “it is possible that this was the cause of his death.”
This week, IOF conducted at least 20 military incursions into Palestinian areas in the West Bank, the widest of which was into Balata refugee camp near Nablus on 21 April 2005. IOF raided and searched a number of houses and opened fire at Palestinian civilians. As a result, two Palestinian civilians were wounded and 27 others were arrested. On 23 April 2005, IOF used two Palestinian civilians as human shields while raiding a photo exhibition in Yassid village near Nablus. On 27 April 2005, IOF used a third civilian as human shield while raiding a flour company in the Gaza Strip.
IOF have continued to construct the annexation wall inside the West Bank territory. On Sunday, 24 April 2005, IOF issued military orders confiscating 80 donums of agricultural land in al-Ja’ba village near Bethlehem, and 181 donums in Beit Sourik village near Jerusalem for the purpose of the construction of the wall. This week, IOF published a planning map for Kherbat Jebara village, south of Tulkarm, which has been isolated behind the wall. According to the local council of the village, the map ignored 30 out of the 60 houses of the village and areas of land devoted for public projects, such as an elementary school and a clinic. In addition, IOF used force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians in protest to the construction of the wall.
Israeli settlers living in the OPT in violation of international humanitarian law have launched a series of attacks against Palestinian civilians and property. This week, IOF confiscated eight donums of Palestinian land in Hebron for the purpose of settlement expansion. Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian schoolchildren in Hebron, injuring two of them. They also attacked and seriously injured an old Palestinian man in Beit Dajan village near Nablus.
IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT, including Jerusalem. In the Gaza Strip, IOF have continued to completely or partially close all border crossings of the Gaza Strip, and impose severe restrictions on the internal movement of Palestinian civilians. They closed checkpoints on the main road in the Gaza Strip several times this week. They also fired at Palestinian civilians waiting at the checkpoints, injuring one. IOF also arrested four Palestinian civilians at Rafah International Crossing Point on the Egyptian border.
In the West Bank, IOF have continued to impose a strict siege on Palestinian communities. They closed al-Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron for three days. They have also imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians as well as erecting a number of sudden military checkpoints. They stopped and checked Palestinian civilians and arrested 12 of them, including two children.
Read full report at:
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR).
Thank you for drawing attention to the PCHR website and their weekly report. I am impressed that this organisation is collating and documenting information on Israeli terrorism and human rights abuses. The western mainstream media doesn’t give this sort of thing much coverage.
.
Posted earlier in part on another thread.
– not allowed to live in it!
Reference –
International Court of Justice on ruling Israeli build security wall in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The Law of Armed Conflict
and International Humanitarian Law
Ruth Wedgwood and Christophe Girod – Fall 2004
Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
John Hopkins University – excellent links! [pdf file]
Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité
When I was reading this my outrage caused a bit of an odd idea, I thought “Wouldn’t it be amusing to exercize my right of return to Israel, grow in a beard, move to a settlement, and then sublet (for free) every room in my house to displaced Palestinian families.” (I assume that myself and my houseguests would have a zero life expectancy).
Would it be possible for anti-occupation Israeli citizens to “take over” settlements (e.g., just by buying the houses.)?
Then just sell the damn things back to Palestinians for a dollar?
Just wondering if anyone had thought of or tried that approach.
I am sorry I can’t find the link and embarrassed not to remember his name, it was a couple of years ago, but the gist of his piece was basically what you just said, as a Jew, he was entitled to some land, good. He’d like to donate his land to a Palestinian family who had lost their home.
It’s a wonderful idea, you’d probably have to be a bit discreet about it though, not divulge your plans before showing up to stake your claim 😀
It’s a great idea, but if you tried it I think you’d find that some Jews have more right to “return” than others.
American Jews temporarily immigrating in support of the settlers = O.K.
American Jews in Israel to protest the Wall and the Occupation = not O.K.
“Tell it not in Gath or Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines triumph
The glory of Israel is slain…”
People like Ms. Bender (who I do not necessarily see eye to eye with) are the glory of Israel. If Israel sacrifices all that it means to be Jewish in order to triumph, the Arab-Israeli conflict will have truly resulted in the destruction of the Jewish state.
Perhaps it is just idealism left over from the Seder, but as a jewish lawyer, I feel like making a return just to kick Judge Tal’s ass for being an anti-semite. (Three rounds, 16 oz. gloves, ticket revenues to the winner’s favorite charity.)
on a slightly different note, I tried a different Chinese joint over on Snyder, and their spare ribs are the bomb. However, I can’t type with this goo on my fingers.
Now, back to seeking peace in the Middle East…
If Israel sacrifices all that it means to be Jewish in order to triumph, the Arab-Israeli conflict will have truly resulted in the destruction of the Jewish state
Ha’aretz had a good, hard-hitting editorial a few days ago, by Avirama Golan on the ramifications of using religious justifications for political ends:
The thing that struck me is that if you took his first sentence, you could insert “Christianity” or “Islam” instead of Judaism, and the point would be just as valid. Maybe it’s because of that whole Terri Schiavo circus we just went through, but it feels as if there is a depressingly widespread acceptance of religion as a tool of political extremists at the moment. I wish I had the courage to stand up and be counted like Ms. Bender but, like most people, I’m afraid I probably don’t.
P.S. I think I would want to see a photo of Judge Tal before committing myself to the three rounds, 16oz gloves, thing. Just in case he looks like this.
If what you describe were possible, someone would have done it by now. Lots of Israelis are not racist Arab-haters, and the vast majority would prefer to live next door to a nice Arab family than a Jewish family of religious fanatics.
The problem is, Israeli property rights don’t work that way. Most land in Israel and the Occupied Territories is leased through official or semi-official government agencies. Although the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that Israeli Arabs technically have the right to lease “Jewish land,” the petitioner, Adel Ka’anan (an Israeli Arab) is still–five years after “winning” his case– fighting his way through the courts and government bureaucracy to get a piece of land.
The other thing to remember is the extraordinarily high level of settler violence. Remember these are people who hang pictures of “St. Baruch Goldstein” in their dining rooms. It’s hard to imagine any sane Arab wanting to subject their children to that kind of environment.
Here’s a little more on the attack on that demonstration. Bold is mine.
Together with Gush Shalom, “Anarchists Against the Wall”, “Ta’ayush” and the Women’s Coalition for Peace” took part.
All the participants – about 1000 Palestinians and 200 Israelis – undertook in advance to avoid all violence. However, before the demo could reach the site of the fence, it was savagely attacked by the security forces, which bombarded it with tear gas bombs without the slightest provocation.
Many of the demonstrators succeeded in going around the chain of soldiers, but clashed further on with a second chain and were attacked with tear gas. The first section of the demo, which included the former Palestinian minister Kadduri Fares, presidential candidate Mustafa Barghouti, Uri Avnery and Knesset members Barakeh, Dahamshe and Sakhalka, got to within 50 meters of the bulldozers, when they were viciously attacked. A tear gas bomb was thrown between the feet of MK Barakeh from a distance of less than a meter.
Barakeh was slightly wounded. A soldier pushed Avnery violently and threw him down.
Only then the reason for this violence became clear: for the first time, a special unit of the Prison Service, called Massada, was put into action, using new means of riot control, such as specially painful plastic bullets covered with salt, pepper bombs and more. Several demonstrators, both Israeli and Palestinian, were wounded.
The cameras succeeded in prove a shocking fact: the stones which were thrown at the security forces and served as pretext for their savage behavior, were thrown by undercover members of the special unit disguised as Arabs (called “Arabized”). They mingled with the demonstrators and threw big rocks at the soldiers. When they were exposed, they turned on the nearest demonstrators and arrested four – two Palestinians and two Israelis….link
.
… on the Midlle-East issue and attaining the moral and legal goal of an independent Palestinian state in the occupied territories. Your diary at Booman Tribune can be more powerful by a balanced approach on the issues, not an advocacy of one-sided, pro-Palestinian propaganda, no matter how many facts you include in your journal.
At BT we love to have a good discussion, but don’t force me to start relaying the Israeli point of view. It would be appreciated if you would include some of the Israeli arguments for their political and military maneuvers. It would increase the power of your own argument. Also, give us some proposals how you see the near future with international support from the EU, UN or Russia; and the difficult road to start building an economic, viable nation.
The destruction during the last five years by the IDF under Sharon rule has been grave. Many EU projects have been leveled to rubble, as have the thousand plus homes in the Rafah border area. The combination of Sharon and Bush, and the rule from Arafat, has been a disaster for the Palestinian people.
There are many forces in Israel, Palestine and supporting nations, which I would like to join in an attempt to start an exchange of information, awareness of cultural differences and identities, and most important the beginning of a dialogue.
In the Netherlands, there are new grass roots Jewish groups with an independent view toward Israeli politics and a ME solution. One group is called “Another Jewish Voice”, and is attacked by the right-wing Likud factions, the AIPAC spokespersons and the official Israeli embassy statements and press releases.
Haitham, will you help us at BT to be part of such an initiative for dialogue? It’s about time to start working for PEACE by political means.
Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité
It is from an Israeli source 😉
Sorry I have to disappoint you with this part. I can’t and will never be pro-Israel in the sense that it’s not my job. As a Palestinian I can’t be but what I am.
On the other hand, please feel free to start relaying the Israeli point of view as you said. I can’t stop you, but can’t accept that as a warning!!
Anyway, I think I will stick to my four very active blogs around there and prefer to speak up freely without anyone telling me what should I post and what I should not.
BTW, this reminds me of some recent posts at my blog:
http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2005/01/19/who-rules-america/
http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2005/04/22/the-real-reason-they-hate-us/
Feel free to go through them. Can’t promise you to post anything less than that, nor I will post anything other than what I believe.
Oui, if you want a political dialogue, join a political party. As Internet is not a place for political dialogues, it’s for propaganda, unless you can give me one example of fruitful online political dialogue that ended up in saving one Palestinian life!!!
Period…
.
Your comments:
I prefer to speak up freely without anyone telling me what should I post and what I should not.
Can’t promise you to post anything less than that, nor I will post anything other than what I believe.
Oui, if you want a political dialogue, join a political party. As Internet is not a place for political dialogues, it’s for propaganda …
Not only one-sided but blinded as well. I tried to reach out, extend my hand, but it doesn’t suit your agenda. Is merely a confirmation of what I started to suspect when your third diary was published. I do not waste my time with someone’s political rant, or propaganda. You have your own blog for that.
Indeed, internet is an open platform, feel free to extend your political forum to BT. I am quite busy with my own war – the propaganda machine of the Bush | Cheney administration and the deceit and lies.
For the Middle-East discussion, I’ll stay with my acquaintance and friends, moderates who aim at a political PEACE settlement of the Isreali-Palestinian issue. A chance lost – never mind.
Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité
restriction on what people can post as long as they abide by the guidelines in the FAQ.
If you are pro-life or anti-gun control, no one should down-rate your posts or make you feel unwelcome at this site, or in the Democratic Party. This site is not for the enforcement of any orthodoxy on its members. Principled disagreement is always allowed. Just don’t act like Sean Hannity and be an idiot.
For people that do not live in the United States and are therefore not Democrats or Republicans, the same basic principle applies.
Haitham’s diaries are not in violation of the policy.
.
Haitham states:
“… if you want a political dialogue, join a political party. As Internet is not a place for political dialogues, it’s for propaganda.”
In my naivete, I hoped to meet a Palestinian blogger, who would enlighten the issue with local knowledge and true passion. It’s clear he/she is a hardliner interested in one-sided expression and claiming the victim role.
Fine, my comment –
to extend your political forum to BT.
does not in any way convey a restriction on his publication. You can read through my comments on both diaries, I participated in the discussion.
Luckily there are many moderates to engage in an opening for dialogue. True, the battle is waged between two parties and will be resolved between them. It’s wise not to extend the rage to the international scene, as you can witness what the result is really close by – the murder of Theo van Gogh.
I expressed to Haitham that I will not engage in a political rant or propaganda, it’s just a waste of time. I have another battle to fight, for my own people, in opposition to the 51% who voted FOR GWB.
PS In the `50’s and `60’s, Soviet and communist propaganda was a global issue – by definition it is a form of brainwashing. See also the abduction of Patty Hearst and Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA).
Prefer to spend some time on … a bird!
Pax!
Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité
I understand.
I posted the rules for Haitham’s benefit as well as yours.
Everybody carry on…
accusations of propaganda.
It is true that he did not post an accompanying article praising human rights violations, but you should feel free to do so. Arutz Sheva usually has plenty of that kind of material, and there is a piece in JPost today demanding to know just why Muslims are being permitted to breed so much.
I don’t think I have seen a single post on this board ever, that praised Bush and Cheney and their policies.
Has that lack made you uncomfortable?
You’re entitled to your views, I feel, as long as you don’t hurl general insults at people and I find the above title to be somewhat insulting.
Please understand: Haitham is my special guest here and is, rather soon, making his own home here.
But, if he were a special guest in my home, and you came over, I’d expect you to have a dialogue with him, even a lively exchange, but not insult him.
I.e., I believe deeply in the value of courtesy and kindness during dialogue.
If there isn’t courtesy and kindness — and even a stretch of compassion for views that you personally don’t hold — there will never be any peace anywhere.
.
Just to get away from the previous topic header and state my loyalty of heart and mind on ME issue. Perhaps in my personality I’m more analytic than passionate, you can hold that against me if you wish. I have been friendly and courteous in all of my posts on his two diaries I placed comments.
Please refer to my original post above thread.
This was followed by Haitham’s own words:
As these are opposing opinions, other bloggers could just have left it, as it became a side-issue to topic of diary.
If you read carefully my original comment, I have not stated that Haitham should express pro-Israeli views, that’s a gross misunderstanding of my suggestion as to style of diary. Merely a suggestion, to encompass for the average informed reader, the complexity of the Middle-East problems.
I find it informative not to speak of THE Israeli or THE Palestinian, as society is diverse. I would appreciate to better understand the political position of parties or factions, whether they support a PEACEFUL solution or are part of the religious right in parliament who support Eretz Israel and the transfer of all Palestinians to other Arab countries. Eretz Israel, promised land positioned from the Nile river in Egypt to Mesopotamia and the Euphrates river.
See also my contributions on the ruling by the International Court of Justice on the illegal security wall.
IMHO I have not been unfriendly and I trust this side issue discussion can be ended, as it is continuing on its own momentum, not on any merit as part of the intended diary topic.
To be clear as to my views, the contributions on this thread by Cicero, Matt in NYC and Diane101 are an example of style and content greatly appreciated by me.
Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité
which, IMHO, incorporates both honest polemic and dishonest rhetoric. Thus I wouldn’t take a confession of propagandization as indicative of a dismissive attitude towards honest dialogue.
While I would love to see a peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian situation, it is important to be honest about the fact that both populations contain large sub-populations that are willing to kill and die over certain issues.
It is important to know what these issues are because any resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian problem, even a peaceful one, will require substantial force be directed at certain sectors of the Israeli and the Palestinian populations. There are ample “dead enders” on either side.
I would like a resolution that isolates the problem populations as much as possible to irrational crazed fundamentalists like Dr. Baruch Goldstein and Hezbollah. Mostly because I just don’t like irrational crazed fundamentalists.
But in order to get to this best of all terrible solutions, a peace must be hammerred out that will satisfy folks on both sides who will kill and die for more “acceptable” reasons. E.g., Money, Family home, civic dignity, etc. You may not agree that some (or all) of these things are causus Belli, (I only buy into two of them) but that doesn’t make those who hold those positions worth disregarding as expendable collateral in the pursuit of mid-east peace for the benefit and convienience of America and Europe.
Put more directly, I think it is a bit neo-colonialist to demand that either Israelis or Palestinians back off of idealogical positions that are not out of the acceptable western mainstream.
If Americans or Britons were subject to the conditions found in the occupied territories, I assure you that their communications would be far more heated and polemical that what one finds in Haitham’s diaries.
Haitham is not obliged to report on any other viewpoints but his own.
And you’re not forced to represent any view.
This is dialogue. It’s sharing of viewpoints. It isn’t high school debate and it most certainly isn’t Crossfire (thank god).