Documents & Data
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| Title | | Description | Date |
| This Is Ours – And This, Too : Israel’s Settlement Policy in the West Bank | | B`Tselem & Kerem Navot - "The State of Israel is enforcing a regime of Jewish
supremacy in the entire area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean
Sea. The fact that the West Bank has not been formally annexed does not stop
Israel from treating it as if it were its own territory" [ry] | 29/3/2021 |
| ... |
| On British colonialism, antisemitism, and Palestinian rights | | Avi Shlaim - Middle East Eye - The “original sin” was the 1917
Balfour Declaration, which promised to support the establishment of a
“national home for the Jewish people”, provided that nothing was done
to “prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish
communities in Palestine”. In 1917, Arabs constituted 90 percent of
the population of Palestine; Jews made up less than 10 percent.
The declaration was thus a classic colonial document: it granted the
right to national self-determination to a small minority, while
denying it to the majority. To add insult to injury, the declaration
referred to 90 percent of the country’s inhabitants as “non-Jewish
communities in Palestine”, relegating them to an inferior status.
Although grotesquely imbalanced in favour of Jews, the declaration at
least included a promise to protect the civil and religious rights of
Palestinians - but even this promise was never kept. Palestine was
not lost in the late 1940s, as is commonly believed; it was lost in
the late 1930s, as a result of Britain’s savage smashing of
Palestinian resistance. The British mandate for Palestine lasted from
1920 until midnight on 14 May 1948, the date the State of Israel was
proclaimed. The first high commissioner for Palestine, Herbert
Samuel, was a Jew and an ardent Zionist. Partiality towards Jews was
evident from day one; the cornerstone of the mandate was to deny
representative institutions as long as Arabs were the majority in
Palestine. In the end, Britain over-fulfilled its promise to Zionists
by helping the “national home” evolve into a Jewish state, while
betraying its pledge to Palestinians. Britain’s betrayal gave rise to
the Palestinian Great Revolt of 1936-39. This was a nationalist
uprising, demanding Arab independence and an end to the policy of
open-ended Jewish immigration and land purchases.(rh) | 28/3/2021 |
| ... |
| ISRAELI GOVERNMENT WAS ‘NOT PREPARED’ FOR MASSIVE OIL SPILL CLEANUP, SAY NGOS | | Euronews - Over 90 per cent of Israel`s 195-kilometre Mediterranean
coastline has been covered with more than 12,000 tonnes of tar
causing extensive damage to the ecosystem. Volunteers were quick to
step in and have been working hand in hand with soldiers on loan from
the army to organise the cleanup. A local NGO believes that the
government was not sufficiently prepared to react to an ecological
disaster like this."The initial response was from the NGOs, the
environmental NGOs, and from the municipalities along the coast,"
says CEO of Zalul environmental NGO Maya Jacobs."The Ministry of
Environment took a few days until they actually started to manage the
issue. They are not prepared to deal with such emergencies, this is
one of our problems with them." (rh) | 28/3/2021 |
| ... |
| ICC prosecutor opens war crimes probe in Palestinian territories | | Aljazeera- The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
said on Wednesday she launched a formal inquiry into alleged crimes
in the occupied Palestinian territories, a move strongly opposed by
Israel. Fatou Bensouda said in a statement the inquiry will be
conducted “independently, impartially and objectively, without fear
or favour”. “Today, I confirm the initiation by the office of the
prosecutor of the International Criminal Court of an investigation
respecting the situation in Palestine,” Bensouda said, adding it will
specifically look at allegations since June 13, 2014.The Palestinian
Authority (PA) welcomed the prosecutor’s investigation.(rh) | 28/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Spring Newsletter 2021 | | Friends of Machsomwatch - MachsomWatch reports continue to document
the deterioration of the living conditions of the Palestinians
throughout the West Bank, in particular in the Jordan Valley and the
South Hebron Hills. We wonder, is there a guiding hand in all of
this? Who is behind the worsening of the Palestinians’ circumstances
caused by increased harassment by violent settler-colonists, by the
demolition of houses, the confiscation of their property, and the
uprooting of their olive trees by the Civil Administration and the
Army?(rh)
| 28/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Israel imposes full closure on occupied territories on election day, Passover holiday | | WAFA - Israeli occupation authorities ordered a full closure on the
occupied Palestinian territories on election day, which coincides
tomorrow, and for the upcoming Passover holiday, which starts on
Friday. Israelis go to the polls tomorrow for the fourth elections in
two years to elect a new parliament and government. As a result,
Israel decided to restrict the movement of Palestinians and ban them
from entering territory under its control all day Tuesday. As Israel
also marks the week-long Passover holiday starting Friday, another
full closure will be imposed on the occupied territories for the
duration of the holiday.(rh) | 28/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Israel’s election results look like the coronavirus never happened | | Aluf Benn - Forward - The television exit polls show that the main
event of the past year – the coronavirus – didn’t influence Israeli
voters at all. What hasn’t happened to us since the last election?
Lockdowns, quarantines, more than 6,000 deaths, face masks, cellphone
tracking by the Shin Bet security service, huge deficits, soaring
unemployment, Saturday night demonstrations and a closed airport. And
all this was on top of an intensifying political crisis.
Nevertheless, at the polls, we were left with the same yes-Bibi/no-
Bibi. All that happened was that the internal composition of the
blocs changed.(rh) | 28/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Kahanism doesn’t need a seat in the Knesset | | Orly Noy - +972mag - More than 30 years have passed since Meir
Kahane’s party was barred from participating in Israeli elections.
Six years later, it was declared a terrorist organization and banned
by the Israeli government. But after next week’s election, Itamar
Ben-Gvir, a student and ideological heir to the rabbi who founded the
Jewish Defense League and supported expelling all Palestinians from
their historical land, may very well become a member of Knesset. And
he won’t be walking into the parliament as a marginal figure in
Israeli politics, but rather with all the glory and support of Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Israel’s election laws,
parties can sign a “vote-sharing agreement,” under which parties that
pass the election threshold can pool their surplus votes — which
otherwise would not add up to win an extra seat — in order to gain
another spot for another party. Thus, parties that are ideologically
aligned can ensure that their supporters’ votes do not go to waste.
(rh)
| 28/3/2021 |
| ... |
| The Jerusalem Declaration | | The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism is a tool to identify,
confront and raise awareness about antisemitism as it manifests in
countries around the world today. It includes a preamble, definition,
and a set of 15 guidelines that provide detailed guidance for those
seeking to recognize antisemitism in order to craft responses. It was
developed by a group of scholars in the fields of Holocaust history,
Jewish studies, and Middle East studies to meet what has become a
growing challenge: providing clear guidance to identify and fight
antisemitism while protecting free expression. It has over 200
signatories.(rh) | 28/3/2021 |
| ... |
| This is what ‘Jewish democracy’ looks like | | Philip Weiss - Mondoweiss - A lot of Israel’s friends in the U.S.
describe the country as both Jewish and democratic. That description
is fair inasmuch as the Israeli elections revolve around one
question, Which Jews will run the country? It is true that the 20
percent or so of the Israeli population that is not Jewish can vote,
but Palestinians are never allowed anywhere near the executive
branch. And all the leading Jewish parties campaign by saying they
will have nothing to do with the Palestinians parties. And all the
coalition-action in the next few weeks will involve Jewish leaders
(with an occasional sideshow that amounts to nothing). Discussion of
the settlements was completely absent in this election. “The
Palestinian issue is literally and figuratively over the hills and
far away,” Neri Zilber said on a J Street zoom. (rh) | 28/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Symbiosis between state and settler attacks | | Sarit Michaeli - Ynetnews - In attempt to drive them out of their homes,
Israel is hounding underprivileged Palestinian farmers who have given up
filing complaints, having learned from experience that they get no
protection from Israeli police.(rh) | 28/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Anyone but Ben Gvir: One man’s mission to keep a Kahanist out of the Knesset | | TAL SCHNEIDER - Times of Israel - Spooked by the thought of the right-
wing extremist becoming an MK, Yaniv Carmel is going door-to-door in
right-wing strongholds to convince people to vote for anybody else.(rh) | 21/3/2021 |
| ... |
| ICC probe in Palestinian territories faces some pitfalls | | Mike Wagenheim / The Media Line - Ynetnews - The International Criminal
Court does not have unlimited funds and may not want to risk taking on
such a lengthy, high-profile and politically charged case, knowing that
there is no consensus that it has the jurisdiction to move forward.(rh) | 21/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Next ICC prosecutor will hopefully just drop the case against Israel, says a Biden ally | | PHILIP WEISS - The Biden administration is hoping that the next
International Criminal Court prosecutor will simply drop the case
against Israel when he comes on board in June, because this is “not
something that really needs to be pursued.” That is the indication
from Dan Shapiro, the former Obama ambassador to Israel who spoke for
Biden during the campaign last year. In the same commentary, Shapiro,
who lives in Tel Aviv, said that Israel can’t be investigated by the
ICC because it has done such a bangup job of investigating itself.
(rh) | 21/3/2021 |
| ... |
| ADDAMEER LAUNCHES IT`S CAMPAIGN AGAINST MILITARY COURTS | | Addameer - Tuesday 2 March 2021, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human
Rights Association launched its campaign against Israeli military
courts, titled "In the Case of the Palestinian People vs. Military
Courts”. The launching event included a press conference near Ofer
military court, with speakers from the Palestinian Prisoners` Society
and Al-Haq, Defending Human Rights, with the presence of Palestinian
civil society organizations, families of prisoners and former
prisoners, Human Rights Watch representative, and wide media
coverage.(rh) | 21/3/2021 |
| ... |
| First batch of COVAX-supplied vaccines arrives for Palestinians | | Aljazeera - The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Wednesday received the
first batch of COVID-19 vaccines from the global COVAX sharing
initiative, in a boost to inoculations in the occupied West Bank and
the Gaza Strip which lag far behind Israel’s campaign. A Palestinian
health ministry spokesman said 38,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech
vaccine would be used for inoculations as of Sunday, while 24,000
doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine would be stored “until there
is a scientific decision from the World Health Organization”.//The
WHO, one of the leaders of the COVAX programme, has said its advisory
panel was reviewing reports from several countries of isolated cases
of bleeding, blood clots and low platelet counts after administration
of the AstraZeneca shots. But the organisation appealed to nations on
Monday not to pause vaccination campaigns over the safety fears.(rh)
| 21/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Presidential spokesman: No backtracking on decision to hold elections | | WAFA - There would be no backtracking on the decision to hold the
general elections, Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh stated
today. Speaking to Voice of Palestine, Abu Rudeineh announced that
the decision to hold the general elections would not be reversed
because elections are a “democratic and a popular requirement” while
affirming that they would be held based on clear and proper rules.
He added that the Fatah movement is determined to run on one unified
electoral list in the first full presidential and parliamentary
elections in 15 years. Commenting on contacts with the new US
administration, Abu Rudeineh said that the Palestinian leadership has
initiated contacts with US President Joe Biden’s administration,
which has voiced explicit support for the two-state solution and
rejection to any unilateral steps, noting that the relation with the
Biden administration was progressing, albeit slowly.(rh) | 21/3/2021 |
| ... |
| ICC gives Israel month to seek deferral of war crimes probe | | Associated Press - Ynetnews - The International Criminal Court said
Thursday it has sent formal notices to Israel and the Palestinian
Authority about its impending investigation into possible war crimes,
giving them a month to seek deferral by proving they are carrying out
their own investigations.
Earlier this month, the ICC announced it would investigate possible
war crimes committed by Israel and Palestinian militants following a
request by the Palestinians, who joined the court in 2015 after being
granted nonmember observer status in the U.N. General Assembly. The
ICC prosecutor`s office confirmed in a written statement that on
March 9 the letters were sent to all of the court`s member states and
those states that would normally exercise jurisdiction, including
Israel and the Palestinian Authority.(rh)
| 21/3/2021 |
| ... |
| What sort of ‘victory’ would await a victorious Netanyahu? : The premier has focused obsessively on weakening his rival Bennett – and for good reason. Even if he hands Netanyahu his victory, the Yamina head will exact a painfully high price | | HAVIV RETTIG GUR - Times of Israel - Early on Friday morning, Shin
Bet and police forces began to gather inexplicably outside the
Ra’anana home of Yamina leader Naftali Bennett. “Today we woke up to
companies of police and Shin Bet in front of the house,” Bennett said
in a video released on social media from his home. “We didn’t
understand what was happening. It turns out Netanyahu is planning his
gimmick, to come here with some contract for me to sign, etc., etc.,”
Bennett said.//“I’m not signing anything,” Bennett said in the video.
“Because I don’t work for Netanyahu. I work for you, citizens of
Israel. But I invite Bibi to a debate at the time of his choosing,”
Bennett said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.//In the end,
the Likud campaign appeared to grasp how bad the optics were.
Netanyahu never showed up.(rh)
| 21/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Israeli forces kill Palestinian man during West Bank protest : The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed that the man, 45-year-old Atef Hanaysheh, was shot with live ammunition in the head during a protest against settlement expansion and the confiscat | | YUMNA PATEL- Mondoweiss - A Palestinian man was shot and killed by
Israeli forces on Friday during a protest in the northern occupied
West Bank district of Nablus.The Palestinian Ministry of Health
confirmed that the man, 45-year-old Atef Hanaysheh, was shot with
live ammunition in the head during a protest against settlement
expansion and the confiscation of Palestinian-owned land in the
village of Beit Dajan.The MOH said that Hanaysheh was taken by
Palestinian medics to a hospital in Nablus, where he was pronounced
dead shortly after. Eyewitnesses told Israeli and Palestinian media
outlets that Hanaysheh, the local imam at one of Beit Dajan’s
mosques, was shot at “point blank range” by forces who were
suppressing the Friday protest — a weekly occurrence in the village.
(rh) | 21/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Foreign interference in the Palestinian elections : Several foreign players are seeking to influence the outcome of the Palestinian elections | | Adnan Abu Amer - Aljazeera - As Palestinians begin the countdown to
their general legislative and presidential elections in May and July
of this year, there seems to be growing interest among foreign actors
in shaping their outcome. This has started to worry the Palestinian
leadership. On February 16, Major General Jibril Rajoub, secretary-
general of the Central Committee of Fatah, said on Palestinian TV
that some Arab countries have been trying hard to interfere in the
Palestinian elections and the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation talks. Three
days later, Bassam al-Salhi, secretary-general of the Palestinian
People’s Party and member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine
Liberation Organization, noted in an interview for the website
Arabi21 that: “Many countries will pump huge sums of money because
they want to have influence in the Legislative Council. We are facing
interference from many countries, Arab and foreign.”(rh) | 21/3/2021 |
| ... |
| ICC probe in Palestinian territories faces some pitfalls: The International Criminal Court does not have unlimited funds and may not want to risk taking on such a lengthy, high-profile and politically charged case, knowing that there is no consensus that | | Mike Wagenheim - Ynetnews - “The decision by the ICC is not as
controversial as one would think,” says Mahmoud Abuwasel, the vice
president of The Hague Institute for Global Justice. “Think of the
ICC as a machine operating by an algorithm. It operates within the
text of the Rome Statute,” he says, referring to the treaty that
established the ICC.
Israel never signed on to the Rome Statute, and while the State of
Palestine did, the question of whether Palestine is actually a state
is one that is quite complex for the international community.
“The first thing to look at is the Rome Statute, which gives the ICC
jurisdiction over a state party. The Palestinians are a party. The
question then becomes if you have acceded to the statute, then what
gives you statehood?" says Abuwasel.
"The court made clear that they are not adjudicating borders and not
commenting on general international law, but looking as to whether
certain tests have been fulfilled. The ICC doesn’t grant statehood or
validity. The ICC elaborated that the Palestinian Authority may not
have fulfilled Vienna provisions, have borders, a constitution, etc.,
but the United Nations defined Palestine as a state,” he says. (rh) | 14/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Is Israel burying its Head in the sand as climate change makes Mideast a hot mess? Drought, sea-level rise and other environmental factors could destabilize the region, but Israel’s defense establishment is not thinking about the new dangers, a new paper | | Times of Israel - Sometime in the not-too-distant future, scientists
predict that global temperatures may rise as much as 4 degrees
Celsius, or even higher, on average. By 2100, the sea level is
expected to rise between 0.2 meters in a best-case scenario to 2.5
meters in an extreme one, depending on efforts to curb emissions. A
rise of just half a meter, though, would be enough to inundate the
Egyptian cities of Port Said and Alexandria, according to one
estimate. An increase of a meter would cover a quarter of the Nile
River Delta, the country’s breadbasket.//The slowly unfolding
disaster may be enough to uproot six million Egyptians, in addition
to millions more migrating from parts of the Sahel. There, land
degradation is taking its toll and unbearable heat has become the
norm, making a wide swath of Africa, already the continent with the
fastest-growing population on the globe, unlivable.//“It seems
undeniable that severe environmental problems are likely to escalate
the degree of global conflict,” Peter Schwartz and Doug Randall wrote
in an oft-cited 2003 study for the Pentagon, laying out the possible
national security implications of climate change. The paper
envisioned a worst-case scenario where “famine, disease, and weather-
related disasters strike due to the abrupt climate change. This will
create a sense of desperation, which is likely to lead to offensive
aggression in order to reclaim balance.” (rh) | 14/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Elections under Fire: Palestine’s Impossible Democracy Dilemma | | Ramzy Baroud - The Palestine Chronicle - Many Palestinian
intellectuals and political analysts find themselves in the
unenviable position of having to declare a stance on whether they
support or reject upcoming Palestinian elections which are scheduled
for May 22 and July 30. But there are no easy answers.The long-
awaited decree by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas last
January to hold legislative and presidential elections in the coming
months was widely welcomed, not as a triumph for democracy but as
the first tangible positive outcome of dialogue between rival
Palestinian factions, mainly Abbas’ Fatah party and Hamas. As far as
inner Palestinian dialogue is concerned, the elections, if held
unobstructed, could present a ray of hope that, finally, Palestinians
in the Occupied Territories will enjoy a degree of democratic
representation, a first step towards a more comprehensive
representation that could include millions of Palestinians outside
the Occupied Territories. But even such humble expectations are
conditioned on many “ifs”: only if Palestinian factions honor their
commitments to the Istanbul Agreement of September 24; only if Israel
allows Palestinians, including Jerusalemites, to vote unhindered and
refrains from arresting Palestinian candidates; only if the US-led
international community accepts the outcome of the democratic
elections without punishing victorious parties and candidates; only
if the legislative and presidential elections are followed by the
more consequential and substantive elections in the Palestinian
National Council (PNC) – the Palestinian Parliament in exile – and so
on. (rh) | 14/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Netanyahu cancels UAE trip after Jordan refused to okay air route : Netanyahu cancels UAE trip after Jordan refused to okay air route Prime Minister`s Office says the visit was canceled over Jordan`s refusal to authorize PM`s flight path over the kingdom | | Ynet, News agencies - A much-publicized trip to the United Arab
Emirates by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday was
canceled shortly before he was due to depart after Jordan stalled on
authorizing his flight path over the kingdom. Sources reported the
planned visit on Wednesday, saying Netanyahu would meet Abu Dhabi`s
Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. Commentators deemed
it as a chance for Netanyahu to flourish his diplomatic credentials
ahead of Israel`s March 23 election. Sources reported the planned
visit on Wednesday, saying Netanyahu would meet Abu Dhabi`s Crown
Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. Commentators deemed it as
a chance for Netanyahu to flourish his diplomatic credentials ahead
of Israel`s March 23 election.(rh)
| 14/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Israel`s next election is not just about Netanyahu : Regardless of the outcome when polls are counted after March 23, politicians will have to not only decide whether to join another Likud coalition, but also how to handle issues such as the Palestinian c | | Sever Plocker - Ynetnews - It has become customary to divide the
parties running in the March 23 election into the pro- and anti-
Netanyahu camps, or more accurately, the probability of them joining
a coalition headed by the incumbent prime minister. It is a
reasonable method of categorization, but not the only one. Going
deeper and looking over the various parties` manifestos and
ideologies, especially on the Palestinian conflict, creates new
divisions not seen at a first glance. One bloc is the diplomatic
center, a collection of parties that do not support (or have stopped
supporting) the idea of Greater Israel and have instead adopted the
two-state solution, however the final borders may look.
In this category sit centrist parties Yesh Atid led by Yair Lapid and
Benny Gantz`s Blue & White - and even the right-wing Likud. Yes, even
the Likud has made a political shift on the matter, especially under
the leadership of Netanyahu, who decided to forgo annexation of West
Bank land in favor of normalization agreements with far-flung Arab
states that have do not have a side in the Palestinian issue.(rh) | 14/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Is Israel’s Orthodox Monopoly Ending? : The Supreme Court decision recognizing Reform and Conservative conversions performed in Israel has reignited attention to the issue. A podcast from the Shalom Hartman Institute. | | The Times of Israel - The decision by Israel’s Supreme Court
recognizing Reform and Conservative conversions performed in Israel
has reignited attention around issues of state and religion,
especially in the eve of what has become a bi-annual national
election. In this episode of For Heaven’s Sake, a podcast from the
Shalom Hartman Institute, Donniel Hartman, Yossi Klein Halevi, and
Elana Stein Hain analyze this landmark decision – discussed in the
Supreme court for over a decade – which recognizes that perpetuating
Orthodox authority over issues of personal status violates Israel’s
legal commitment to human freedom and dignity for all of its
citizens, regardless of nationality, religion, ethnic, or sexual
identities. (rh)
In this episode of For Heaven’s Sake, a podcast from the Shalom
Hartman Institute, Donniel Hartman, Yossi Klein Halevi, and Elana
Stein Hain analyze this landmark decision – discussed in the Supreme
court for over a decade – which recognizes that perpetuating Orthodox
authority over issues of personal status violates Israel’s legal
commitment to human freedom and dignity for all of its citizens,
regardless of nationality, religion, ethnic, or sexual identities.
For Heaven’s Sake is a podcast from the Shalom Hartman Institute’s
iEngage Project that revives the lost art of Jewish debate for the
sake of illuminating a topic, not sowing division. The podcast draws
its name from the concept of Machloket l’shem shemayim, “Disagreeing
for the sake of heaven.”
Subscribe to For Heaven’s Sake on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever
you receive your podcasts.
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| 14/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Israel-Palestine: Two elections, under the burning sun of Apartheid | | JONATHAN OFIR - Mondoweiss - Many people think there will be an
election round in Israel this spring (March 23rd). But that’s only
half the story, because there will actually be two election rounds:
one in so-called ‘Israel proper’, and one in the Palestinian
territories which it has occupied for the past 53 years (May 22
Palestinian general elections). The question is, which are the real
elections? The answer is, none – they are both make-believe.Just two
months ago, the prominent Israeli human rights NGO B’tselem came out
with a report titled: “A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan
River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid”.This was
considered a watershed moment in Israeli terms, but those who have
been following this theme have seen a similar assessment in the much
longer report commissioned by a UN agency in 2017, authored by
professors Richard Falk and Virginia Tilley, about how Israel has
been practicing Apartheid from its inception, and veiling it as a
“Jewish democracy”.(rh) | 14/3/2021 |
| ... |
| At behest of settlers, Israeli forces arrest Palestinian children picking wild flowers : “This was obviously an attempt by the settlers to intimidate the boys by using the soldiers,” eyewitness Basel Adrah tells Mondoweiss. “They didn’t steal or damage an | | YUMNA PATEL - Mondoweiss - Israeli forces arrested five Palestinian
children, ranging between the ages of eight and 13, in the South
Hebron Hills of the southern occupied West Bank on Wednesday,
sparking outrage among local and international human rights
advocates.Videos of the arrest went viral on social media, showing a
large group of masked and armed Israeli soldiers forcibly arresting
the children, who were visibly alarmed and frightened as they were
dragged into an Israeli military jeep. | 14/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Masked settlers beat, throw rocks at Palestinian family in West Bank : Rights group B’Tselem says parents and 8 children were attacked near Mitzpe Yair outpost; parents taken to hospital for treatment | | TOI STAFF - A group of around 10 masked alleged Israeli settlers beat
and threw rocks at a Palestinian family in the West Bank on Saturday
in an attack the family captured on video. According to the B’Tselem
organization, the Alyan family — two parents and their eight children
— were working on their agricultural land near the illegal settler
outpost of Mitzpe Yair, south of the West Bank city of Hebron, when
the attack took place. The family filmed part of the incident, which
was released by the rights group.In the footage, the assailants can
be seen throwing rocks and brandishing batons as the children scream
and cry in the background.(rh)
| 14/3/2021 |
| ... |
| `Winds are shifting`: US lawmakers criticise Israel in two rare letters : Dozen House members slam range of Israeli policies, and five senators call on Israel to vaccinate Palestinians in separate letter | | Ali Harb - Middle East Eye - US lawmakers from both chambers of
Congress have sent letters to the Biden administration criticising
the Israeli government and urging it to vaccinate Palestinians living
under its control. In two separate letters sent to Secretary of State
Antony Blinken on Friday, progressive senators and members of the
House of Representatives called on the US administration to resume
funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and push
to ensure the rights of Palestinians.The documents signal the growing
willingness to criticise Israel amongst Democrats in Congress, a
branch of the US government where unquestioning support for Israel is
the norm. (rh) | 14/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Israel said to trade coronavirus vaccines for diplomatic support | | TOI Staff - The Times of Israel - Israel is offering coronavirus
vaccines to various countries in return for their diplomatic backing,
the Kan public broadcaster reported Tuesday, citing a source familiar
with the development. It is also sending thousands of doses for
medical staff in the Palestinian Authority. A plane from Honduras was
to take delivery of a shipment later in the day, the report said, and
the Czech Republic and Guatemala are also interested.All three
countries have in the past said they would open diplomatic offices in
Jerusalem, and the source said that providing the vaccines is part of
the process of bringing the missions to the capital.(rh)
| 7/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Rights group: Israeli human rights violations escalated in 2020 | | YUMNA PATEL - Mondoweiss - 2020 was a dismal year for human rights in
Palestine, as Israel tightened its grip on the occupied Palestinian
territory (oPt) through escalated attacks on Palestinians and their
property and the introduction of new laws to further limit
Palestinian rights, all in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. A new
field report from Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq released this
week details the numerous human rights violations that occurred
throughout Palestine, particularly in the occupied West Bank, during
2020 — violations that the group said were exacerbated by, and
spurred on, by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In the report, Al-
Haq states that while Palestinians focused their efforts into
combating the spread of the coronavirus in 2020, Israel “seized the
opportunity to advance its settler project and intensify repressive
measures against Palestinians in all their places of residence.”
Those repressive measures, the group says, included massive home
demolitions, land confiscation, settlement expansion, and the
violation of freedom of movement and the right to health, among other
things.(rh) | 7/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Yes, The Hague is right to investigate Israel for war crimes | | LARRY DERFNER - Mondoweiss - There’s a natural resistance to saying
that your country deserves to be investigated for war crimes by the
International Criminal Court in The Hague. But if you believe that
Israel’s open-ended occupation and the settlements and lethal
onslaughts in Gaza that go with it are morally untenable, how do you
avoid that conclusion? The arguments against an investigation, whose
formal initiation was announced Wednesday by ICC Chief Prosecutor
Fatou Bensouda, don’t stand up. For instance, the argument that such
an investigation would be unfair because there are so many countries
doing worse things than Israel does. “[T]he ICC refuses to
investigate brutal dictatorships like Iran and Syria,” Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu said in response to the court’s decision last
month clearing the way for the probe, calling that ruling “pure
antisemitism.” He used the same term to characterize Wednesday’s
decision to launch the investigation. I suspect Netanyahu knows the
real reason why the ICC doesn’t investigate Iran or Syria – or China,
or North Korea, or Zimbabwe, or Eritrea, or Saudi Arabia, or Yemen,
or a number of other regimes whose criminality exceeds or dwarfs
Israel’s. It’s because the wrongs these regimes commit don’t affect a
state that has granted the ICC jurisdiction over it by signing the
Rome Statute.(rh) | 7/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Netanyahu horror last-ditch show | | Sima Kadmon - Ynetnews - The prime minister sees his poll numbers
decline ahead of the March 23 elections as his popularity drops due
to his failings during the year-long pandemic; since he is focused
only on himself this has made him dangerous and mean. Mockery,
insults and abuse are the tools Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has
used in his recent interviews to Israeli media
While the prime minister was expected to intensify his campaign
closer to the March 23 Election Day - the fourth he has brought the
country to in the past two years - his declining poll numbers have
prompted him to embark on his media blitz prematurely.His concern is
evident. In two appearances in the Israeli media this week, Netanyahu
appeared angry. His ambitious goal of winning 40 seats for Likud in
the upcoming ballot seems out of reach. Unlike previous campaigns,
the Likud leader no longer has the protection of an assured
parliamentary bloc made up of the ultra-Orthodox parties and right-
wing allies. (rh) | 7/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Likud minister’s Iran eco-terror accusations damage Israel’s credibility : Gila Gamliel keeps claiming the oil spill polluting Israel’s beaches was deliberately engineered by Tehran. Offering no proof, she makes Israel look paranoid, conspiratorial | | LAZAR BERMAN - The Times of Israel - As last month’s oil spill
continues to do damage to Israel’s territorial waters and beaches,
Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel is doing damage to
herself, to the prime minister and to Israel’s efforts to contain
Iran, with her ongoing accusations that Tehran deliberately
engineered the incident. Pressed Thursday night during an interview
with Channel 12 to provide evidence to back up her repeated claims
that last month’s spill, which polluted most of Israel’s
Mediterranean coastline with hundreds of tons of tar, was an act of
“environmental terror” by Iran, Gamliel offered only circumstantial
evidence regarding the ship and the damage it caused. The previous
day, on Wednesday afternoon, Gamliel initially explained in an
interview why the incident could not have been intentional, but was
instead the result of negligence. Hours later, however, based on what
she said was new information, she was accusing Iran of carrying out
the spill as part of its campaign against Israel — a charge she
repeated several times on Thursday.(rh)
| 7/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Israel`s military courts for Palestinians are a stain on international justice | | Sahar Francis - The Guardian - The overwhelming majority of
Palestinians in the West Bank were born into, and have spent their
entire lives under, an Israeli military occupation that violates
their right to self-determination. A new report by the UK charity War
on Want exposes how a core part of what sustains that occupation is a
military judicial system characterised by violations of international
law.The report – Judge, Jury and Occupier – is a deep dive into the
diverse ways in which Palestinians’ rights are being violated – from
arrest, through interrogation, conviction and jail time. It reflects
the experiences of Palestinian lawyers and human rights groups. The
prisoners’ rights organisation I lead, Addameer, was proud to
contribute evidence. One of the report’s important contributions is
to make clear that, despite the Oslo accords and establishment of the
Palestinian Authority (PA) for Palestinians in the West Bank, there
has been, and remains, no escape from Israel’s military judicial
system. (rh) | 7/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Road to renewed Iran nuclear deal likely to be long and bumpy | | Reuters/Ynetnews - It took seven years from the summer`s day in 2008
when a top U.S. diplomat first sat down with his Iranian counterpart
until the two sides sealed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that aimed to
keep Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. No one expects it to take
as long to establish whether they can resuscitate the pact abandoned
by former U.S. President Donald Trump, but U.S. and European
officials say the journey will be lengthy and arduous, if, indeed,
they even begin the trek.(rh) | 7/3/2021 |
| ... |
| Israel to Biden: Tehran Can Wait : Israel cautions Biden not to rush it with the Iranians and to adapt to a fundamentally changed Middle East | | Neri Zilber - NEWLINES MAG -The United States and Israel are publicly
battling over the future of Iran policy again, yet Israeli security
officials admit that the previous “maximum pressure” policy
championed by the Trump administration has not succeeded in forcing
Tehran to capitulate or dented its support for its militia proxies in
the Middle East. Such an apparent policy failure has not, as of yet,
forced a rethink of Israel’s fierce opposition to the Biden
administration’s stated goal of rejoining the Iran nuclear accord —
even at the risk of regional escalation.//The prospect, held out by
former Trump officials and some in Israel, that the Iranian regime
would collapse from within due to economic pressure and public
discontent is remote, according to two senior Israeli security
officials.“Countries don’t collapse so quickly,” one told me, adding
that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Hoseini-Khamenei “doesn’t have to
answer to anyone, and he is still advancing towards his goals.”(rh) | 7/3/2021 |
| ... |
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