Hull Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Behind the Wall: Life, Love, and Struggle in Palestine

2010-01-03T12:26:00.002Z

'Behind the Wall: Life, Love, and Struggle in Palestine’ is a new book by Rich Wiles, a photographer from Hull and activist in the West Bank. It brings together for the first time in one volume a collection of Rich Wiles’ articles of everyday life for Palestine’s refugees, told in their own words.

The vignettes are based around refugee camps in the area of Palestine currently referred to as the ‘West Bank’. Also included is a small selection of intimate black and white photographic portraits taken by the author. The foreword is eloquently written by Ali AbuNimah.

'Behind the Wall: Life, Love, and Struggle in Palestine’ will be released in the US in January 2010 and in the UK in February 2010. Wiles will be in the UK through February and March 2010 and is taking bookings for book launch events. The book is already receiving excellent advance reviews:

John Pilger - “Palestine is the most important issue for humanity because its justice is so long overdue, and its people have been so betrayed, yet it exemplifies a courage and endurance no oppressor can kill. In his superb collection Behind the Wall, Rich Wiles captures these qualities in the struggles and faces of those who will not allow us to forget.”

Ilan Pappé - “A moving insight into the individual experiences of life under occupation and imprisonment. The book allows the people themselves to speak about their horrific experience and their remarkable struggle for survival and normality against all odds. A most valuable and humane contribution to a better understanding of the Palestinian plight in the face of an escalating Israeli brutality and inhumanity.”

Jonathan Cook - “Rarely has the Palestinian experience of occupation—its everyday frustrations, cruelties and injustices—been captured better than in these richly varied and very human stories told by Rich Wiles. Too often the voice of the Palestinians is denied or overlooked: this book seeks to correct that additional indignity by reminding the reader that behind Israel's Wall a people continues to demand the freedoms most of us take for granted.”

Ahdaf Souief - “Rich Wiles's work is exemplary. Clear-sighted and passionate, he provides the frame and the focus for the Palestinians to tell their own stories. These are stories that the world needs to hear.”

Ramzy Baroud - “Behind the Wall is a book of powerful stories, conveyed most eloquently by the author and told by ordinary people describing their extraordinary existence. Rich Wiles’s captivating narrative transcends politics and rebuffs the very desensitizing nature of news related to Palestine and Israel. Instead, Behind the Wall delves into the heart of the conflict—the disaffected Palestinians—including the original refugees of 60 years ago and their descendants, who continue to struggle for rights and recognition. Their undying resilience will endure until rights are restored, justice is delivered, and freedom is attained. Until then, those refugees, feeding on memory and hope, will continue to exist behind the Wall. While they may be physically trapped, their stories don’t have to be. Rich Wiles’s book is a most admired effort at getting the story out. This book must be read, and forever remembered.”

Behind the Wall: Life, Love, and Struggle in Palestine - by Rich Wiles.
Published by Potomac Books.
US/UK Release - January/February 2010
ISBN - 978-1-59797-439-4
To arrange a book launch event in your area, or for further information, please contact Rich Wiles: richimages02@hotmail.com

For further details please see: http://www.potomacbooksinc.com/Books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=209193

Israel threatens another large-scale Gaza war

2009-12-24T12:55:00.003Z

Israel threatens another large-scale Gaza war (inteldaily.com)

Knesset member: Israel still involved in organ theft (presstv.ir)

Israel plans to demolish 900 Palestinian houses in Jerusalem

2009-12-23T15:08:00.004Z

Israel plans to demolish 900 Palestinian houses in Jerusalem to built settlements (news.xinhuanet.com)

Israel arrests and charges non-violent Palestinian activist with arms possession because the activist had collected and displayed the thousands of tear gas canisters that Israel had fired at him. (mondoweiss.net)

Illegal Israeli settlements are diverting 'Palestinian' water

2009-11-20T08:15:00.001Z

Illegal Israeli settlements are diverting water in occupied territory. (csmonitor.com)

Israel approves 900 settler homes

2009-11-17T19:35:00.001Z

Israel approves 900 settler homes (news.bbc.co.uk) - How much is enough? Of other people's land?

Israel plans to demolish 900 Palestinian houses in Jerusalem to built settlements (news.xinhuanet.com)

192-member General Assembly supported Gaza Report on Thursday

2009-11-12T07:57:00.001Z

A 575-page blistering report by Justice Richard Goldstone detailing war crimes in Gaza last December is refusing to die despite an aggressive Israeli smear campaign to kill it. The report...received overwhelming support Thursday in the 192-member General Assembly. (ipsnews.net)

Palestinian declaration of independence within the 1967 borders

2009-11-10T08:46:00.003Z

Concerns are growing in Israel's government over the possibility of a unilateral Palestinian declaration of independence within the 1967 borders, a move which could potentially be recognized by the United Nations Security Council. (haaretz.com)

I want to stay here forever. It’s so, so, beautiful, and it’s still ours…

2009-11-05T11:15:00.001Z

Um Qassim and the New Generation

Um Qassim was born over 70 years ago in the village of Al Kabu. Her early childhood was spent amongst the clean air and fresh water of this Palestinian village. In 1948 everything changed for Um Qassim as it did for all Palestinians, and today she is one of the 4,500 residents of Aida Camp…

At 5.00 am, on Sunday 1st November, 100 people from the ages of three to ninety boarded two buses, full of hope to see their homelands again, but the IOF soldiers at Hussan checkpoint refused to let the buses pass - ‘You have permissions to enter Israel, but not through this checkpoint!’. The buses were forced to turn and head back towards the ominous and oppressive Checkpoint 300 (Bethlehem Checkpoint) alongside Aida Camp and next to Rachel’s Tomb. Had the buses passed through Hussan checkpoint they would, within one kilometer or so, have been in the land of Al Kabu, the village from which Um Qassim was forced over 60 years ago. A few miles further and 55 year old Shifa would also have seen her village of Beit Jibreen, and Abu Amar would have once more experienced his village of Ras Abu Ammar. The villages were not our destination though; we were attempting to get to the coast, and to the ancient Palestinian cities of Yafa, Haifa, and Akka.

At Checkpoint 300, hundreds of Palestinians were waiting to pass. They had permissions to work in Al Quds but they suffer every morning trying to get through the checkpoint. One 55 year old man explained that he gets to the checkpoint at 3.30 am every morning and is forced to wait for hours to pass through. He makes his way to Bethlehem every morning from Al Arrub refugee camp near Hebron.

We eventually passed the checkpoint and made our way to Yafa. All the children wore big smiles and songs rang out. 3 year old Rand, kept singing: "we are going to the sea.. we are going to sea.." Upon reaching Yafa, the children ran down to see the sea. 16 year old Hisham felt he was dreaming:

"This has always been my dream. I think I am still dreaming now. And I want never to wake up."

We had our breakfast alongside the coast. Everyone smelled the sea and breathed the fresh air that is noted only in its absence in Aida Camp. In the streets of Yafa, Abu Amar commented on the crumbling traditional Palestinian buildings, their decay was being offered no care and instead construction was underway within metres complete with huge advertising boards displaying artist’s impressions of the proposed finished designs; European styled apartment blocks and offices. In the flea market Palestinians and Israeli’s shopped, but both were heard speaking in a language non-indigenous to Yafa. One lone man on his way to the mosque greeted us with ‘Salaam Aleikum’, but he was the only exception.

The strong winds in Haifa made the sea dangerously rough, and sadly too rough in terms of safety for the children to enjoying the swimming they had dreamed about in the days preceding the trip. Most still took the opportunity to paddle though, or even just to touch the waters of Palestine’s seas. Younger children played on the sand, and others collected colorful stones and empty shells. This was their way to link the sea with the ones who could not reach it. 13 year old Rana was not collecting memories for herself:

" I want to take some shells back home to my family. We have some at home but these are more beautiful. They will remind me of this trip to Haifa."

Kifah, a Lajee volunteer of several years, added:

"I am taking some sand and sea water to my brother. He said he could not come with us because he did not get permission, but he wants to touch the sand of Haifa."

The children splashed and played at the water’s edge for two hours. Everyone on the shore could hear their laughter and squeals every time a wave chased them up the shore. 15 year old Reem lives in Aida Camp, less than 40 kms to the nearest point of the coast, but for her seeing these waters was something new and very special:

"This is the first time I have seen the sea. It is so huge and beautiful. I felt I had to touch it."

Many children hoped that they could ‘stay there forever’.

From the top of Jabal Al Karmil (Mount Karmel) the coast spread out in front of everyone’s eyes below them. It was an awe inspiring vista which brought gasps from many. 14 year old Sally was amongst those shocked at the sheer size and space of her view:

"This is the first time I have seen how huge the coast is. It looks exactly the way I draw it when I draw the map of Palestine.”

Heading down into the stunning Bahia Gardens eyes opened wide and jaws dropped. 15 year old Abdelfattah felt the beauty of his surroundings:

"I have heard about these Gardens but in reality they are more beautiful than what was been described. I do not believe how beautiful our country is. This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!"he steep and ancient stone ramp that leads up to the ramparts of Akka presented little challenge to most of the youthful legs that raced up it, but for some the climb represented another challenge in a lifetime of challenges. The jeans and t-shirts of Lajee’s children contrasted with the traditional embroidered black dress with red patterning that Um Qassim wore as proudly as always. The children’s supple bones were also at odds with her two false knees, but she met the challenge as she has done with all obstacles through her long life of struggle. Resting alongside the ancient walls after the ascent, she described her feelings:

“I am tired, really I am tired now, but I am happy. This is the first time in my life that I have seen Akka, and it’s so beautiful…”

Before leaving we all sat on the rocks together around the harbor. Lights lit up the remnants of walls that still stood defiantly in the sea after long decades of battering by nature. The walls of Akka are beautiful and proud unlike the oppressive Apartheid version built by colonizers around parts, such as Aida Camp, of today’s Palestine. Akka seemed somehow as strong as its famous walls, and as defiant as Palestine’s people. Everyone we spoke to in Akka spoke Arabic, and its old city possibly even surpasses Al Quds in terms of beauty. It was a hopeful note on which to end the day; Akka, at least in the areas we visited, has retained its true identity. Looking out to see, Athal had tears in her eyes:

“I don’t want to leave. I want to stay here forever. It’s so, so, beautiful, and it’s still ours…”

Bill Moyers talks with Justice Richard Goldstone

2009-10-25T18:36:00.001Z

Bill Moyers talks with Justice Richard Goldstone, who headed up the controversial UN Human Rights Council investigation in Gaza [video/transcript] (pbs.org) - This is the UN vote that Britain didn't vote at...

Our Blood is the Same Color

2009-10-18T12:14:00.000+01:00

From the Apartheid Wall:

Israelis continue to flatten Palestinian homes

2009-10-17T20:06:00.000+01:00

Israelis continue to flatten Palestinian homes, destroy the fabric of civility. (news.bbc.co.uk)

Hopes in Obama "evaporated"

2009-10-13T20:44:00.002+01:00

Palestinians say hopes in Obama "evaporated" and that he "couldn't withstand the pressure of the Zionist lobby" (google.com)

Israel must end unfair jailing - Israel holds hundreds of Palestinians without trial or any way to clear their names, say two Israeli rights groups which urge an end to such detentions. (news.bbc.co.uk)

Hull PSC next meets on Tuesday 13th Oct.

2009-10-12T12:25:00.003+01:00

Hull PSC next meets on Tuesday 13th Oct. 7.30pm

at the Jericho Café,
on Cottingham Road, Hull.

(next to Gardener's)

---------------------------------------------------------------
News from Palestine

11 Oct 2009

Rich from Hull writes,

Few people visit Jenin these days. Being the West Bank’s most northerly city no-one really passes through Jenin in transit on their way to other Palestinian cities unlike Ramallah, Bethlehem, and even Nablus to a lesser degree. But much like Nablus, Jenin has become a prison within the myriad of Bantustans that is Occupied Palestine.

Before the creation of the Apartheid Wall it took around twenty minutes to drive from Jenin to Nazareth, a few kilometers more and you could reach Haifa and dip your toes in the Mediterranean. The rolling waves are now just a distant memory for most people, and a seemingly mythical dream for Jenin’s children.

When you add these factors to the many checkpoints, and the IOF’s closures of the city, you may begin to understand the feelings of isolation and desperation deep in the hearts of the 250,000 people who live in Jenin Governate.

In common with other Palestinians, Jenin’s residents are both incredibly warm and hospitable, and also deeply committed to seeing an end to their city’s, and their country’s Occupation.

Last week, students at Nablus’ Al-Najah University described to me their dedication to their studies, which they see as a platform on which to build a brighter future without Occupation for their country. Students in Jenin, and all over Palestine, feel likewise, but also face other barriers, speaking both metaphorically and literally.

In 1991 the Al Quds Open University system was established across Palestine. There are now twenty branches stretching from Rafah, on Palestine’s southern border with Egypt in the Gaza Strip, all the way to Jenin in the northern West Bank. Distance learning is practiced around the world but in Palestine its importance takes on extra significance, as Dr Hani, Director of the Jenin’s Al Quds Open University, explains:

“Socially and culturally distance learning addresses the needs of many students in Palestine, especially women and young mothers, who without such programs would not be able to continue their studies. But above these social issues are many directly related to the Occupation. Levels of unemployment are higher in Jenin than other West Bank cities and much closer to those in Gaza, well above 60%. We are isolated from other West Bank cities by Israel’s system of checkpoints, closures and roadblocks.”

Such restrictions make the flow of trade and commerce into Jenin almost impossible so consequently the city’s economy is in ruins.

“Open University fees are only around 30% of those at major Universities such as Al Najah (Nablus) or Bir Zeit (Ramallah). Distance learning is one way to combat the Occupation and closures. Students simply cannot get into the city from surrounding areas every day because of checkpoints which often close. Daily travel is a huge problem and distance learning helps to address this issue. If students miss their exams here because of travel restrictions they can simply transfer them to the next semester. We have more than one hundred students from the University currently in Israeli prisons, but when they are released they can easily return to their studies. Just last night, two of our students who live in Zababida were arrested!”

The night previous to this the IOF had also raided Zababida Village and arrested more than a dozen students from Jenin’s main campus based institute, the Arab-American University.

“We have around 7,000 students currently enrolled on courses from around Jenin Governate, but we have also seen many killed over the years. In this educational year alone, since October, four of our students have been killed by the Israeli forces.”

For the residents of seven villages in particular, home to around 15,000 residents, University education would be impossible without distance learning. These villages, such as Dhaher al Malih, Hannanit, and Umm ar
Rihan, now sit in what has effectively become ‘no man’s land’. That is to say that they are now physically separated from the rest of the Governate, and the rest of the West Bank, by the Apartheid Wall. This is one of the realities of Israel’s so called ‘Security Barrier’ that is often not properly understood because of Israel’s very successful international propaganda machine.

The Wall does not run along any internationally recognised border, but instead cuts deep into the West Bank, isolating many Palestinian villages onto the Israeli side of the Wall. Residents of these villages are prevented from entering Israel itself as they have Palestinian ID and therefore cannot pass the checkpoints. Neither are they allowed free passage to the Palestinian areas on this side of the Wall. In some places gates have been built into the Wall, but in order to pass through, Palestinians must first acquire a permit which can only be obtained from the Occupation authorities, and which is often not granted. Even for those who obtain these permits the gates are theoretically only opened at set times for a few hours a day. In practice the gates often remain locked, creating yet more prisons within prisons.

After talking with Dr Hani I went to see the Student Council at Al Quds Open University who had arranged for me to speak with some students who live in communities trapped in this ‘no man’s land’. When I entered the office however, I found it deserted except for Ra’id, the leader of the student council:

“I am very sorry but we cannot have a meeting today.”

I knew what Ra’id was going to tell me next, and he confirmed my thoughts:

“The students couldn’t make it today. The soldiers locked the gates and closed the checkpoints!”

So there it was, a perfect, or rather disgusting example, of the necessities nor distance learning in Jenin Governate, and another example of Israel’s attempts to prevent Palestinian education. Ra’id continued:

“They will try again tomorrow…”

So today I returned to the University to try again, and the students from these isolated villages again tried to continue their studies. Thankfully, today we were all successful.

Manal, Rasha and Waleed all live in the village of Dhaher al Malih, one of the seven isolated by the Apartheid Wall in the Jenin Governate. Waleed explained that the construction of the Wall in this area began in 2003, and was completed by the following year. He has the required permission to pass through the gates and checkpoints into Jenin but, as was demonstrated yesterday, this often counts for nothing:

“It used to take fifteen minutes from our village to the city before the Wall, now it takes around an hour on a good day. The gate is meant to be open from 6-10 in the morning, and then reopen at 12 until 6pm, but
sometimes they only open it for an hour or two, other days it doesn’t open at all! There is also another permanent checkpoint to pass through, and sometimes ‘rolling checkpoints’ too(these are ‘temporary’ checkpoints which the IOF can setup anywhere by blocking roads with their jeeps for ID checks and further disruption).”

Rasha told me how she felt when she saw the construction of the Wall taking place:

“When I saw the Wall being built I felt sad and dejected. Most people in our village are farmers, my family lost half of our land. We watched our olive trees being chopped down and our land being stolen. We felt isolated and frightened that we would lose communication with people from nearby villages. We have lost friends and family members who can no longer come to see us. Our village has lost more than half of its land. It makes me very pessimistic for the future, I am tired of seeing things disappear, and being surrounded inside a prison…”

Aswell as stealing land and imprisoning these villages, the Wall has also cut them off from the Palestinian infrastructure, and not just educational but also medical facilities which has had fatal consequences as Waleed
explained:

“If a woman goes into labour, or there is a medical emergency whilst our gate is shut, we must go to Batar checkpoint, this gate is meant to be open until 9pm. If all gates are closed its just impossible, we cannot get to a hospital. We have one local doctor in our village who does all he can but people have died.”

Rasha interjects, continuing the story:

“Yes, one or two people have died because they couldn’t get proper treatment. I remember one who had a heart attack and couldn’t get to hospital so he just died there, in our village, unable to get any help. We
have children with severe kidney problems, maybe it will happen to them too one day…”

I can see the sadness and desperation in the young students’ face as she talks.

The stories of those trapped behind the Wall are yet more living proof of the consequences of Israel’s campaigns of Apartheid and Ethnic Cleansing. If these villagers can be forced from their land because of these inhumane living conditions, then in Zionist terms, the land has been ‘cleansed’, and Israel expands yet further. Manal explained this:

“The Wall was built here for colonisation. There is already a Settlement next to our village and they have their own roads leading to Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities which we cannot use. They (the Israeli’s) also have a
big military camp just fifty metres from our village. They have already colonized most of our land!”

These are just some of the facts, the realities, the effects of this concrete monstrosity which I, unapologetically, will always refer to as the Apartheid Wall. Its aim is not ‘security’ but colonisation and expansion of Israel. Its construction led to the displacement of an estimated 250,000 Palestinians. In these seven villages alone in the Jenin Governate 15,000 Palestinains are trapped in this effective ‘no mans land’, without even the most basic of human rights such as freedom of movement and access to medical care. If it were not for the distance learning program of Jenin’s Al Quds Open University they would also have no access to continued education. This has happened in many places across Palestine.

As Zionist colonisation continues, so does the creation of yet more Bantustans, more prisons within prisons.

Lajee Centre, Aida Camp, Hebron
.

Hull PSC: 7.30pm Tuesday 13th Oct. Jericho Café, Cottingham Road, Hull.

2009-10-08T16:36:00.001+01:00

Hull PSC next meets on Tuesday 13th Oct. 7.30pm

at the Jericho Café,
on Cottingham Road, Hull.

(next to Gardener's)

American Jews abandoning Israel

2009-10-06T16:28:00.000+01:00

Why are American Jews abandoning Israel? - Haaretz - Israel News (haaretz.com)

IAEA chief - "Israel is number one threat to Middle East"

2009-10-05T21:22:00.002+01:00

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei said that "Israel is number one threat to Middle East" with its nuclear arms (news.xinhuanet.com)

Fearing arrest for alleged war crimes in London!

Israel's former military chief, now a government minister, cancels a visit to London fearing arrest for alleged war crimes. (news.bbc.co.uk)

Palestinians blackmailed by America not to endorse the UN resolution

2009-10-04T19:43:00.001+01:00

Palestinians blackmailed by America not to endorse the UN resolution to charge Israel with war crimes (english.aljazeera.net)

Israel security forces have closed off the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jersualem as more than 200 Palestinians stage a sit-in at the site - Al Jazeera (english.aljazeera.net)

UN resolution to charge Israel with war crimes

2009-10-04T08:27:00.000+01:00

Palestinians pressured by America not to endorse the UN resolution to charge Israel with war crimes (news.yahoo.com)

Gaza's Water Supply Near Collapse

2009-09-21T15:17:00.000+01:00

Gaza's Water Supply Near Collapse. "The International Committee of the Red Cross has warned that Gaza's access to safe supply of drinking water could cease at any time." (ipsnews.net)

Autumn 2009 meetings

2009-09-19T14:16:00.001+01:00

We hope to restart PSC meetings beginning the second Tuesday in October, Oct. 13th at 7.30pm at Jericho Café , Cottingham Road (right of Gardener's).

Israel's wars are "God's wars"...

2009-09-07T20:19:00.001+01:00

Israel's army is changing. Once proudly secular, its combat units are now filling with those who believe Israel's wars are "God's wars". (news.bbc.co.uk)

Israel officially approves construction of more than 450 homes in the occupied West Bank; pleas by the United States and the rest of the world to stop go ignored (news.bbc.co.uk)

Olmert INDICTED on three corruption charges

2009-08-30T21:13:00.000+01:00

Former PM of Israel, Ehud Olmert, INDICTED in three corruption affairs (haaretz.com)

Tutu to Haaretz: Arabs paying the price of the Holocaust

2009-08-29T12:51:00.000+01:00

By Akiva Eldar
Haaretz Correspondent

August 28, 2009 "Haaretz" -- "The lesson that Israel must learn from the Holocaust is that it can never get security through fences, walls and guns," Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu of South Africa told Haaretz Thursday.

Commenting on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement in Germany Thursday that the lesson of the Holocaust is that Israel should always defend itself, Tutu noted that "in South Africa, they tried to get security from the barrel of a gun. They never got it. They got security when the human rights of all were recognized and respected."

The Nobel Prize laureate spoke to Haaretz in Jerusalem as the organization The Elders concluded its tour of Israel and the West Bank. He said the West was consumed with guilt and regret toward Israel because of the Holocaust, "as it should be."

"But who pays the penance? The penance is being paid by the Arabs, by the Palestinians. I once met a German ambassador who said Germany is guilty of two wrongs. One was what they did to the Jews. And now the suffering of the Palestinians."

He also slammed Jewish organizations in the United States, saying they intimidate anyone who criticizes the occupation and rush to accuse these critics of anti-Semitism. Tutu recalled how such organizations pressured U.S. universities to cancel his appearances on their campuses.

"That is unfortunate, because my own positions are actually derived from the Torah. You know God created you in God's image. And we have a God who is always biased in favor of the oppressed."

Tutu also commented on the call by Ben-Gurion University professor Neve Gordon to apply selective sanctions on Israel.

"I always say to people that sanctions were important in the South African case for several reasons. We had a sports boycott, and since we are a sports-mad country, it hit ordinary people. It was one of the most psychologically powerful instruments.

"Secondly, it actually did hit the pocket of the South African government. I mean, when we had the arms embargo and the economic boycott."

He said that when F.W. de Klerk became president he telephoned congratulations. "The very first thing he said to me was 'well now will you call off sanctions?' Although they kept saying, oh well, these things don't affect us at all. That was not true.

"And another important reason was that it gave hope to our people that the world cared. You know. That this was a form of identification."

Earlier in the day, Tutu and the rest of the delegation visited the village of Bil'in, where protests against the separation fence, built in part on the village's land, take place every week.

"We used to take our children in Swaziland and had to go through border checkpoints in South Africa and face almost the same conduct, where you're at the mercy of a police officer. They can decide when they're going to process you and they can turn you back for something inconsequential. But on the other hand, we didn't have collective punishment. We didn't have the demolition of homes because of the suspicion that one of the members of the household might or might not be a terrorist."

He said the activists in Bil'in reminded him of Ghandi, who managed to overthrow British rule in India by nonviolent means, and Martin Luther King, Jr., who took up the struggle of a black woman who was too tired to go to the back of a segregated bus.

He stressed his belief that no situation was hopeless, praising the success of the Northern Irish peace process. The process was mediated by Senator George Mitchell, who now serves as the special U.S. envoy to the Middle East.

Asked about the controversy in Petah Tikva, where several elementary schools have refused to receive Ethiopian school children, Tutu said that "I hope that your society will evolve."

Click here to read article comments at the Haaretz website http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1110762.html

BBC: It's an error and we've published a correction

2009-08-25T19:00:00.002+01:00

The Radio Ties had an article recently featuring items on the West Bank and Gaza which were all marked or alluded to as Israeli territory. Their reply to us today -

"It is an error and we have published a correction in the edition of Radio Times out today on our Feedback pages."

ACTION ALERT: Tell Gordon Brown...

2009-08-24T08:56:00.004+01:00

ACTION ALERT: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in London and Berlin on a four-day visit, and is meeting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Please take two minutes to contact Gordon Brown urgently, asking him to convoy these issues in his meetings with Netanyahu:

Israeli settlements block peace – they must be dismantled, not just frozen
End Israel ’s siege on Gaza
End Israel ’s ethnic cleansing in East Jerusalem

And remind Gordon Brown that real peace means delivering justice for Palestinians. The British government must act to ensure Israel ends its violations of international law – this includes an immediate end to Israel ’s illegal occupation and respect for the right of return of refugees. The government must also act to uphold the right to self-determination for the Palestinian people.

You can:

Fax your letter to 10 Downing Street : 020 7925 0918.
Twitter Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street
Email David Miliband at the Foreign Office and ask them to convey your message to the Prime Minister: msu.correspondence@fco.gov.uk

Please circulate this call widely.

Israel says shooting of unarmed American activist a justifiable act of war (youtube.com)

British firefighters call for boycott of Israel. (greenleft.org.au)

Boycott Israel

2009-08-21T15:53:00.001+01:00

Boycott Israel: An Israeli comes to the painful conclusion that it's the only way to save his country. [LA Times op-ed] (latimes.com)

Israel's Responsibility for Brain-Damaged American Peace Activist

2009-08-20T09:17:00.000+01:00

Israel Absolves Itself of Responsibility for Brain-Damaged American Peace Activist - Activist shot in the head,near point blank by high velocity tear gas round, designed to be fired from 300 meters. (richardsilverstein.com)

Israel started selling.

2009-08-17T16:33:00.001+01:00

According to international law, Israel holds the property of more than 4 million Palestinian refugees in custodianship, until a final peace deal determines whether some or all of them will be allowed back to their 400+ destroyed villages or compensated for their loss. Well, Israel started selling. (dissidentvoice.org)

Banning roads depending on your ancestry

2009-08-08T22:53:00.000+01:00

A 'democratic' country is now banning people from using the road based on their ancestry. Which one is it? Yep, Israel. (btselem.org)

Israel Planned to Attack Iran during the Riots

2009-08-07T16:26:00.003+01:00

Israel Planned to Attack Iran during the Riots...But the White House Ignored their Request (ynetnews.com)

According to the sources, after the opposition riots broke out in Iran following June's presidential election results, Israel asked the US government for a green light to strike the country's nuclear facilities, along with other vital facilities in Iran.

US agrees to resettle 1350 Palestinians from Iraq

Last month the U.S. agreed to resettle 1,350 Palestinians displaced by fighting in Iraq, marking the largest resettlement ever of Palestinian refugees into America.

Thousands of Palestinians moved to Iraq after the wars of 1948 and 1967, and the Gulf War in 1991. Prior to the 2003 invasion, the community had grown to a population of some 35,000 people.

Following the toppling of Saddam Hussein, Palestinians suffered from the same insecurities affecting the entire Iraqi population. They were, however, also specifically targeted for serious discriminatory treatment and acts of violence as a minority group without a militia to protect them. At least 186 Palestinians were murdered in Baghdad between April 2004 and January 2007.

more > MAP-UK

Palestine Timeline by John Rees

2009-08-06T17:15:00.001+01:00

Israeli government trying to censor IDF soldiers

2009-08-05T17:52:00.008+01:00

Israeli government trying to censor IDF soldiers who are contradicting the governments official story of the Gaza Massacre (btselem.org)

Israeli troops routinely 'ill-treat kids' (news.bbc.co.uk)

Barak: Israel should accept U.S. peace plan: Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Tuesday that the United States would present a Middle East peace plan within weeks and that Israel should accept it.

Israel Seeks Ways to Silence Human Rights Groups

First goal is to stop Gaza war crimes revelations

By Jonathan Cook in Nazareth

Groups reported to be in the foreign ministry’s sights are: B’Tselem, whose activities include providing Palestinians with cameras to record abuses by settlers and the army; Peace Now, which monitors settlement building; Machsom Watch, whose activists observe soldiers at the checkpoints; and Physicians for Human Rights, which has recently examined doctors’ complicity in torture. Continue

Hamas Again Accepts a Palestinian State on the 1967 Lines

2009-08-04T12:53:00.004+01:00

Hamas Again Accepts a Palestinian State on the 1967 Lines (thewashingtonnote.com)

Israel Evicts Two Palestinian Families

Al Jazeera English Video Report
The families have lived in Sheikh Jarrah since 1956 but an Israeli court ruled that the homes belonged to Jewish families. Continue

Lieberman to be indicted for corruption

2009-08-03T20:07:00.005+01:00

Far-right Israeli minister Avigdor Lieberman to be indicted for corruption (haaretz.com)

This morning, Israeli bulldozers removing electrical poles from small Palestinian village; electricity from project supported by Quartet envoy Tony Blair (imemc.org)

Eric Cantor (R-VA) sounds more like a PR man for Israel than an American congressman (haaretz.com)

Israel Evicts 50 Palestinians from Homes, so Israeli Settlers Could Move in. (cbsnews.com)

Former Irish president Mary Robinson 'bullied' by pro-Israel lobbyists: "There's a lot of bullying by certain elements of the Jewish community. They bully people who try to address the severe situation in Gaza and the West Bank. Archbishop Desmond Tutu gets the same criticism." (belfasttelegraph.co.uk)

Promising? Or more of the same...?

2009-08-01T17:54:00.005+01:00

After a joint American-Israeli exercise which included training on the in-flight refueling of Israeli F-16i attack jets by American airplanes, the US tells Israel that Iran has 8 weeks left (thenation.com)

Israel evicts Palestinian families who've been living in their East Jerusalem home since 1956 to build a hotel. (english.aljazeera.net)

IDF Soldiers Admit To Israeli War Crimes (revolutionarypolitics.com)

Ehud Olmert offered the Palestinians nearly 94% of the West Bank as the basis of their would-be state - plus Israeli territory to make up the remaining 6% - plus a safe-passage road-corridor to link Gaza with the West Bank and to internationalise the sovereignty of Jerusalem (economist.com)

2009-08-01T11:26:00.002+01:00

Israel-Palestine News Reports

2009-07-22T12:45:00.006+01:00

Israel admits white phosphorus use (english.aljazeera.net)

Jul 28, Anti-Obama Rally in Jerusalem

Haaretz Daily Newspaper - Israel

The "most moral army in the world"

2009-07-22T12:32:00.001+01:00

As if the IDF, after killing so many civilians and bragging about it, wasn't full of enough cowards as it is, the son of Israels PM will have a body guard protecting him as he serves his mandatory 3 years in the 'most moral army in the world'. (haaretz.com)

VIGIL; Tuesday 21st July, St Stephen's, Hull.

2009-07-15T09:11:00.008+01:00

Many thanks to those who atttended, gave out leaflets and to those who stopped to talk.

VIGIL: Tuesday 21st July, 5pm, St Stephen's, Ferensway, Hull.
IN MEMORIAM - Marwa al-Sherbini, stabbed to death in a savage racist attack, in a Dresden court - by a neighbour, for wearing a headscarf. She was pregnant and her husband was also injured in the attack.

The Story of Marwa al-Sherbini

--------------------------------------

CIA: Israel will fall in 20 years (easenews.net)

Testimonies: An Israeli sniper killed a Palestinian man in order to mark a “score” with his gun. Soldiers fired at houses out of boredom. A commander expressed satisfaction that Gaza hospitals were full. (theglobeandmail.com)

PSC HULL MEETING: 14 July, Jericho Cafe, Hull

2009-07-07T16:38:00.015+01:00

PSC HULL MEETING: 14 July, Jericho Cafe, Hull

Israeli combat soldiers have acknowledged that they forced Palestinian civilians to serve as human shields, needlessly killed unarmed Gazans and improperly used white phosphorus shells to burn down buildings as part of Israel's three-week military offensive in the Gaza Strip last winter. (miamiherald.com)

Israel and EU Clash Over Settlements (ipsnews.net)

Israelis set fire and destroy 37 Acres of Palestinian owned land in southern West Bank (uruknet.com)

Viva Palestina Convoy: Egyptian authorities have held up the international humanitarian aid.

UK cuts Israel weapons contracts - And about time!

Israeli shirts promoting the killing of Palestinians

Cynthia McKinney returns to Gaza!

2009-07-05T11:06:00.009+01:00

McKinney has now joined George Galloway and the convoy to Gaza in Egypt.

Cynthia McKinney (Green Party Presidential candidate) returns home after being held in Israeli jail for 6 days. (counterpunch.org)

At a check-point, in shame she opens her top to a female Israeli soldier to show that her breasts have been removed in an attempt to beat cancer. Despite this, she is refused entry to Israel on security grounds. (tinyurl.com)

'The Israelis hijacked us,' M cKinney says in call from prison (rawstory.com)

UPDATE: Cynthia McKinney (Green Party USA) calls from inside an Israeli prison cell: "I was carrying a suitcase of crayons for Gazan Children!"

Saudis Give Nod to Israeli Raid on Iran (timesonline.co.uk)

Rogue State Commits Act of Piracy in International Waters

2009-07-05T11:03:00.002+01:00

Pirates of the Mediterranean

Israel Kidnaps Peace Boat Crew

By Paul Craig Roberts

On June 30, the government of Israel committed an act of piracy when the Israeli Navy in international waters illegally boarded the “Spirit of Humanity,” kidnapped its 21-person crew from 11 countries, including former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and Nobel Laureate Mairead MaGuire, and confiscated the cargo of medical supplies, olive trees, reconstruction materials, and children’s toys that were on the way to the Mediterranean coast of Gaza. The “Spirit of Humanity,” along with the kidnapped 21 persons, is being towed to Israel as I write.

Gaza has been described as the “world’s largest concentration camp.” It is home to 1.5 million Palestinians who were driven by force of American-supplied Israeli arms out of their homes, off their farms, and out of their villages so that Israel could steal their land and make the Palestinian land available to Israeli settlers. (more)

Armed Israeli 'settlers' take over Mosque in Hebron for 'half hour of Jewish prayers

2009-07-03T17:04:00.011+01:00

Armed Israeli 'settlers' take over Mosque in Hebron for 'half hour of Jewish prayers'. The IDF (most moral army in the world) fearing for the safety of these armed thugs stood by in guard. (imemc.org)

Israel is officially an apartheid state (hsrc.ac.za)

Amnesty: Israel Used Children as Human Shields in Gaza Question: Why are billion$ in US aid going to such a gov't? (alternet.org)

Video interviews with two Palestinians who have won international scholarships, but aren't allowed by Israel to accept them. (philipweiss.org)

Weapons of Home Destruction – “We Need Help…”

2009-07-03T16:58:00.003+01:00

Rich Wiles, from Hull, writes from Hebron, Palestine:

Around ten days ago a group of Israeli officials arrived unannounced at a small and cramped family house on the Jabal as-Zaytoon (Mount of Olives) in Al Quds.

The men of the house, which accommodates 25 members of one Palestinian family, were busily working together to construct extra rooms in an attempt to reduce the severe overcrowding they are forced to live with everyday.

The Israeli officials began taking photographs of the construction and told the men they had no right to extend their house. According to one of the brothers who was present at the time, the officials then took out an official looking document with Hebrew writing on it and taped it onto one of the outer walls of the house before quickly photographing the document in its position stuck to the wall. It was then removed without further discussion and without the family members being able to read it. One of the officials put the sheet of paper back into his pocket before they all returned to their vehicles and left the scene.

The Jumah family has lived on Jabal as-Zaytoon for decades, since well before the Nakba of 1948. The men remember growing up when the mountain was still covered in the rich Olive trees from which it takes its name, but standing on the flat roof of their house today the view is very different. The area has seen vast development over the last forty years and houses are now tightly packed together, Olive trees are no longer abundant. The Dead Sea is still just visible over the mountains in the distance from this high vantage point but as its waters have been drained so severely by Israeli industry the shoreline has moved substantially, and the tiled red roofs of Maele Adumim try their best to obscure it altogether. Maele Adumim is one of the largest Israeli ‘Settlements’ or ‘Colonies’ in the area of Palestine now referred to as the ‘West Bank’, all these ‘West Bank Settlements’ are illegal under International Law and none of them stood in the days when these men who are now attempting to accommodate their extending families were born in the neighbourhood. Down the hill and across the valley another very disturbing and much more recent construction also scars the landscape. From this distance the Apartheid Wall looks small until it is put into visual context by 5 or 6 story-high Palestinian apartment blocks whose residents are now stranded from each other - their neighbours - by this gross monstrosity. The view from the roof of the Jumah house presents significant evidence of the ‘success’ of Zionist colonization in Palestine, the rubble and devastation at the other side of the house alongside the road is much more recent evidence of Israel’s continued attempts to destroy indigenous life in Al Quds, the capital of Palestine…

At 8am on Monday June 29^th over 100 heavily armed IOF soldiers, accompanied by Israeli policemen and snarling dogs, surrounded the Jumah house. They beat heavily on the doors of the various apartments. On the road outside bulldozers waited poised to strike. As the doors were opened by family members soldiers reached inside and dragged them onto the streets. The mother, at 65 years old, resisted and refused to leave her house as did some other family members. She wanted to struggle for her family and her rights. She was pushed backwards roughly as was an aunt who had also stood defiantly alongside her; both fainted from the stress and physical aggression and eventually were carried out unconscious before being rushed to the nearby Al Maqasid Hospital by neighbours. Two of the brothers who attempted to stand their ground were beaten by the intruders and then also dragged outside. Once all family members had been forced out of the building the bulldozers moved into gear and ploughed into the first two small rooms of the house as the family watched in horror. The demolition continued until the first two rooms of the house were reduced to a mass of rubble. The bulldozers did not continue onto the rest of the building as one of the Jumah brothers explained:

“They came (to us) and forced us to sign a letter saying that we would remove all the rubble before Sunday, then they will be back! They told us if we do not clear it all they will remove it and then they will send us the bill for ‘their work’!”

The Israeli Forces forced threatened the family with a bill that will run into thousands of dollars if the remains of their house are not cleared away before they return on Sunday, they also threatened to carry out more demolition on the remainders of the property.

The Jumah family did not have the building permits required by the Israeli Occupation authorities to carry out the extension work that was underway before it was violently halted by this demolition. The only people able to issue this building permit are the same Israeli authorities who brought bulldozers and soldiers to attack the house. Around six months ago the family followed all ‘rules’ laid out by the Occupation and applied to the authorities for the required permit, their request was refused…

“They told us we couldn’t build because we needed a minimum of 600 square metres in order to get the building permit we needed, we had only 100 square metres. Nobody has 600 metres of land here, look around, there’s no space or land left!”

All Palestinians living in Occupied East Jerusalem (Al Quds), or in Areas B and C of the so-called ‘West Bank’ (Areas B and C incorporate all areas of the ‘West Bank’ except the city centres which are referred to as ‘Area A’), must apply to the Occupation authorities for building permission yet it is virtually impossible to obtain. Nearly 300,000 Palestinians live in Al Quds yet according to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolition (ICAHD) only 18 building permits were issued in 2008 in Palestinian areas of the city. This practice forces Palestinians to build without ‘permission’ as their families naturally expand so overcrowding increases as was the case with the Jumah family, yet Israel uses such 'unlicensed' building work as one of many pretexts for demolishing Palestinian houses. OCHA (The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) reports that last year 90 Palestinian buildings in Al Quds were demolished by the Israel authorities for the stated reason of having no building permit. OCHA says this resulted in making 400 Palestinians homeless including over 200 children. A document is sometimes sent to the family by the Occupation authorities informing them of the forthcoming demolition but the Jumah family received no warning. They now believe however that the piece of paper that was taped to their outside wall briefly and photographed by the Israeli officials who came to the house just over a week before the demolition was carried out was probably this document, and that the photographs taken were to create 'proof' of this document being submitted to the family despite the fact that the family themselves were not given this document or even the chance to read it. This 'proof' could be presented by the authorities should the family attempt to build a legal case against this illegal action.

The central section of the Jumah house comprised of two small bedrooms and a living room:

“In one room sleep my brother and his wife, and in the second bedroom sleep his six children. It’s not right six children stuck in one bedroom, when they were smaller it was easier but the oldest is now eleven and boys and girls shouldn’t be forced to share rooms at that age. My mother sleeps on the small sofa in the living room as there is nowhere else she can go…”

With such cramped accommodation the family was desperate to create more space. Even when the permit was refused, as they had expected it would be, they still knew they needed to find a way to extend their living conditions. Another one of the brothers offered to help them with some money as they had none of their own, and they decided to sell the family jewelry and what few valuables they had to try and raise some capital. They used the money to buy whatever building materials they could and for the last five weeks or so everybody has pitched-in together and worked day and night to extend the living space. The brother who had been able to provide some money for the project is a self-employed construction worker but recently has been unable to find much paid work. He lived in 2 small rooms alongside the road and in front of the rooms which housed his mother, brother and wife, and their six children. On the day of the demolition he had found work for the first time in 10 days, ten minutes after starting work he got a desperate phone call urging him to go home immediately. It was the 2 small rooms he lived in that the bulldozers ploughed into and crushed like a tiny beetle under the clumsy feet of an elephant. Sitting with him surrounded by the rubble of his former home he offered few words:

“What can we do? We have no money, no work, no life… all we have is Allah.”

The rubble of his former home cannot be cleared before Sunday, to do so would involve heavy machinery which would incur significant costs; the family is now just sitting and waiting. If the soldiers and their weapons of home destruction do return the family themselves can do little to prevent further demolition being carried out but they are appealing for help:

“Please tell everyone to come here on Sunday at 8am. We need journalists, activists, the Red Cross, we need people from the mosques and churches, we will need hundreds of people, but we need people to come here and help us. We need help…”

Naomi Klein says Boycott Israel. Here's why.

2009-06-27T17:48:00.020+01:00

Naomi Klein in Bil'in: Boycott Israel (philipweiss.org)

'Spirit of Humanity' surrounded, boarded and towed by Israel.

$2.775 billion in US aid supports Israeli nuclear weapons program. Israel enjoys “unusually wide latitude in spending the [military assistance] funds”

Israel's naval blockade devastating key Gazan industry and source of food: fishing. Oslo accord limit was 20 nautical miles - Israel unilaterally reduced to 3 nautical miles (csmonitor.com)

Here we go again: Israel planning to expropriate another 2% of West Bank land (haaretz.com)

Israel approves 50 settler homes on the West Bank (news.bbc.co.uk)

Red Cross: Israel trapping 1.5m Gazans in despair (haaretz.com)

Red Cross: Six months after Israel launched its three-week attack on Gaza, Gazans still cannot rebuild their lives (icrc.org)

Israel's watchdog body on medical ethics has failed to investigate evidence that doctors working in detention facilities are turning a blind eye to cases of torture, according to Israeli human rights groups. (electronicintifada.net)

Can the Palestinians destroy the homes of the settlers responsible for this, just as the Israelis bulldoze Palestinian homes? (google.com)

Israeli law allows every nationality who marries an Israeli to become a citizen EXCEPT for Palestinians. This is racism. (electronicintifada.net)

Israeli firms accused of profiting off holocaust, families battle for assets in court (Counterpunch)

"I Can Identify with Palestinian Youth"

Hillary Is Wrong About the Settlements - interesting roundup from the Bush years

Palestinian Violence Overstated, Israeli Violence Understated (motherjones.com)

US and Israel cancel meeting (ft.com) - Israel perhaps getting jitters about settlements and how serious US may be.

Blair: Peace within reach if Israel compromises; "The advent of the Obama administration has given a new sense of energy and commitment and to a certain extent hope... However, the challenges are still there." (haaretz.com) - not that we should take advice from this guy...

In the news (for all the wrong things)

2009-06-19T20:53:00.001+01:00

Two IDF commanders testify about extensive and routine use of violence and injurious, even lethal means, against Palestinians. Complaints such as this have been filed in the past, but denied. Can Israel ignore the evidence this time? (source)

"Israeli troops humiliate Palestinians - and put it on YouTube" [Actual Israeli newspaper headline] (Source)

YouTube Protest Planned: Tell YouTube to stop censoring videos critical of Israel (Source)

Why Israel is not keen on peace

2009-05-13T12:31:00.004+01:00

Israeli journalist, Amira Hass, writes on why peace is not Israel's thing

Hull May 6th: Palestinians today in the occupied West Bank

2009-04-25T14:46:00.009+01:00

What is life like for Palestinians
today in the
occupied West Bank?

You are invited to a talk by

Warren Bardsley

(recently returned from the occupied West Bank)

Wednesday 6 May 2009, 7.00 pm, Hull Friends’ Meeting House, Bean Street.

http://www.eappi.org/

Israel on trial

2009-04-04T23:25:00.000+01:00

George Bisharat summarizes the offences committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip which constitute war crimes for which individual politicians and military personnel must be brought to justice.

Chilling testimony by Israeli soldiers substantiates charges that Israel’s Gaza Strip assault entailed grave violations of international law. The emergence of a predominantly right-wing, nationalist government in Israel suggests that there may be more violations to come. Hamas’s indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israeli civilians also constituted war crimes, but do not excuse Israel’s transgressions. While Israel disputes some of the soldiers’ accounts, the evidence suggests that Israel committed the following six offences: Israel on trial

Hull PSC Meeting - Tuesday, Jericho Cafe, 7.30pm

2009-04-04T13:02:00.000+01:00

The next Hull PSC Meeting will be on Tuesday 7th April, at the Jericho Cafe, Cottingham Road, 7.30pm

A Trip to Banana Land - Horse rides, broken legs, and mini footballers...

2009-04-04T12:48:00.000+01:00

Rich Wiles writes, Aida Refugee Camp was established from 1950-51 on around 66 dunums of land. Banana Land funpark in Jericho was built in 2008 – 60 years after al-Nakba - on a piece of land a similar size to Aida Camp. Banana Land has a swimming pool, an Astroturf football pitch, children’s fairground rides, horse and camel rides, and a small artificial river in which children can ride on ‘pedalo’ boats. Aida Camp has no grass or fresh air... Full story

Timeline: Israel-Palestine

2009-04-04T12:07:00.000+01:00

Good timeline to help explain the whole Israel and Palestine issue (BBC)