Life under occupation
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| Title | | Description | Date |
| Israel braces for fallout as Abbas expected to delay Palestinian elections | | Times of Israel - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is
expected to declare that he is postponing the legislative vote — the
first in 15 years, scheduled for next month — over the question of
voting rights for Palestinians living in East Jerusalem. Hamas said
that it would hold Israel responsible if the vote is pushed off.
“Jerusalem is a red line" Hamas said, adding that calling off the
election would be a denial of the rights of the Palestinians, and
that the Palestinian Authority should rather hold them in East
Jerusalem also without Israeli permission, as an act of defiance.
Abbas is expected to announce the elections "delay" during a speech
on Thursday and has already told Palestinian security services to be
on standby amid concerns of protests or rioting in the West
Bank. Hamas, which is expected to make gains in the election, is
keen to see it go ahead. A recent survey cited by Channel 13 found
that 32 percent of Palestinian voters support Hamas compared to just
17% for Fatah. Another 13.9% back Abbas rival Mohammad Dahlan’s
list. Hamas was also ahead in filling the role of PA president, with
nearly 28% backing its leader Ismail Haniyeh and just 11% supporting
Abbas. All of which gives Abbas a good reason to cancel the
elections - whatever happens in East Jerusalem. [ak]
| 29/4/2021 |
| ... |
| The Two Narratives : Ami Ayalon’s political journey | | Raja Shehadeh - The Nation - Ami Ayalon’s Friendly Fire is a book that
sits uneasily between two narratives. In one, Ayalon, a former
director of the Israeli security service Shin Bet, repeats the story
that Israel tells the world: that the failure to achieve peace in the
region is due to Palestinian terrorism and the refusal to accept
Israel’s existence. In the other, he offers a personal account of how
his understanding of that story—and of the Palestinians themselves—has
changed drastically over time.
BOOKS IN REVIEW
FRIENDLY FIRE: HOW ISRAEL BECAME ITS OWN WORST ENEMY AND THE HOPE FOR
ITS FUTURE
By Ami Ayalon with Anthony David
Buy this book
In telling the first story, Ayalon gives the impression that all would
have been well if only the Palestinians hadn’t refused to come to
terms with the Jewish state. But what makes Friendly Fire a unique
contribution to understanding what is taking place in contemporary
Israel, and what needs to be done to achieve peace, is its author’s
audacity and readiness to confront the myopia of this narrative and
consider its shortcomings.
Who is Ami Ayalon? For a long time, he was a loyal member of the
Israeli military and security services, someone who had eagerly bought
into the assumptions on which the state is based and its history
narrated. For 20 years, Ayalon served in Flotilla 13, the Israeli
version of the Navy SEALs, and he describes himself during this period
as a person for whom “the Palestinian militants were mere targets
which [he] took without flinching.” He then served as a commander of
the Israeli Navy before being appointed chief of the Shabak, also
known as Shin Bet.
Dianne Morales Looks for Space—and Support—on New York’s Left
Born in Tiberias in 1945, Ayalon currently lives in the northern
moshav, or settlement, of Kerem Maharal. The moshav, he tells us, was
once the prosperous Palestinian village of Ijzim, and he in fact lives
in a house that belonged to a Palestinian. Yet even though the Galilee
has a large Palestinian population, he admits that he rarely sees any
Palestinians on a daily basis.
For Ayalon, the fact that his moshav was built on the ruins of a
Palestinian village is merely one episode in a long history of
displacement. Throughout the region, he writes, “you can’t dig a hole
without turning up some trace from eight strata of time. Canaanites,
Israelites from the First and Second Temple periods, Persians, Greeks,
Byzantines, Arabs, and Ottomans all established settlements in our
area.” He tells us this so that we won’t worry too much about this
pattern of displacement—and yet, of course, the Palestinians of Ijzim
lived there only 72 years ago, not thousands of years earlier. Their
displacement is not ancient news but part of an immediate reality.
They, along with their entire nation, are deprived of not only their
homes but also a future.
To Ayalon’s credit, part of the story of Friendly Fire is the way in
which he eventually comes to terms with this fact. By the end of the
book, he acknowledges that Israel’s salvation will only be achieved
when it confronts this past. But before doing so, he gives us a
history of why his myopia persisted for as long as it did.
Fighting in the War of 1967, Ayalon and his comrades subscribed to the
Jabotinsky doctrine of the “iron wall”: They had to continue fighting
until their strength forced their enemies to accept Israel’s existence
as a fait accompli. This sense of righteousness persisted after the
war: Traveling through the occupied West Bank, Ayalon failed to see
the Palestinians living there, just as he had failed to see the
Palestinians living in the Galilee. Instead, all he saw were rocks,
trees, and empty land to settle. In fact, he admits that the only
thing that kept him from becoming a settler himself was his military
service. “Someone,” he explains, “had to defend all that liberated
land.” (rh)
| 25/4/2021 |
| ... |
| Divided and weakened, Fatah seems ready to nix elections | | Elior Levy - Y-Net - In about a month, some 2.5 million Palestinians
are meant to head to the polls in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to
vote in the first parliamentary elections in over 15 years.
But in recent days the Palestinian Authority is seemingly preparing
the public for the possibility of the elections being called off,
officially due to Israel not allowing them to be held in East
Jerusalem - where Israeli security forces are barring any electoral
activity in the area, arresting activists and candidates partaking
in any sort of political action such as press conferences or party
rallies. The Palestinians are publicly protesting these measures,
mainly asking for help from the European Union to pressure Israel
into allowing the elections in East Jerusalem. However, the rival
Hamas is charging that Fatah, weakened and divided into three rival
electoral slates, fears an electoral defeat and is looking for
excuse to cancel the elections. "Postponing the elections due to
Israel`s refusal to allow a vote in East Jerusalem is tantamount to
surrendering to the enemy," said Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-.
Arouri, demanding that the Palestinian Authority defy Israel and
hold the elections in East Jerusalem without its consent. [ak] | 22/4/2021 |
|
| PWA condemns vandalism of water reservoir in Nablus-district village | | WAFA - RAMALLAH, Monday, April 19, 2021 (WAFA) – The Palestinian Water Authority today condemned the vandalism of the main water reservoir in Asira al-Qibliya village, southwest of Nablus city.
During an inspection visit to the site of the vandalized reservoir, head of the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), Mazen Ghneim, decried the sabotage by Israeli settlers of the reservoir as “a systematic and serious violation of the basic human rights”, particularly that it resulted in depriving over 6,000 Palestinians of water, particularly during the Ramadan fasting month.
He added that the settlers came from Yitzhar, an illegal settlement inhabited by hardcore fanatic Jews, while pointing that it was not the first act of settler vandalism against the site.
He pledged that PWA would spare no effort to rehabilitate the reservoir and restore the water supply to the villagers, as he urged local and international human rights organizations to document Israeli settler and occupation authorities’ assaults and help bring perpetrators to account.
Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.
[bz] | 22/4/2021 |
| ... |
| Israeli Police clash with Palestinian crowd outside the Damascus Gate | | AP - — Israeli police clashed with hundreds of Palestinian
protesters outside the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City, firing
stun grenades and a water cannon to disperse the crowd. Similar
clashes have occurred nightly since the Muslim holy month of Ramadan
began last week. Palestinians say they typically gather on the
stairs outside the Old City’s Damascus Gate each evening during
Ramadan but that this year Israeli police put up barriers to keep
away the crowds. The move has angered Muslims who like to meet at
the plaza to pass the Ramadan nights after the daily dawn-to-dusk
fast ends. Police accuse the crowds of disorderly conduct and
throwing stones at security forces. Israel’s public broadcaster Kan
showed videos of large crowds clashing with police, who used stun
grenades and sprayed water to disperse the gathering. Police said
they had made at least three arrests, and the Palestinian Red
Crescent said four people were injured in the clashes. Israeli
police also reported clashes with Arab crowds in Jaffa, on the
southern edge of Tel Aviv. Police said crowds threw stones at
police, slightly injuring two officers, and that three arrests were
made.Ramadan is marked by dawn-to-dusk fasting and nightly feasts
with family and friends, though crowded shoulder-to-shoulder
gatherings in mosques and large gatherings for meals remain limited
due to the continued spread of the coronavirus. [ak] | 21/4/2021 |
| ... |
| Child loses eye from army bullet in Hebron - the worst of this week`s violations | | Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) - Five Palestinians were
injured due to excessive use of force against civilians. A child
lost his eye in clashes with IOF in Hebron. Four civilians including
a photojournalist, were all injured during suppression of a protest
in al-Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem. Also,
dozens suffocated due to tear gas inhalation, and others wounded
during house raids across the West Bank. 13 dunums were confiscated
this week and construction of hundreds of housing units was approved
in two settlements in East Jerusalem. Even more, IOF continued its
demolition operations and delivery of cease-construction and
demolition notices. [ak] | 15/4/2021 |
| ... |
| Prison authorities delaying medical treatment of ailing Palestinian detainee | | IMEMC/Commission of Detainee Affairs - Sharhabeel Abu Threa’, 49,
from al-‘Ezariya near Jerusalem, is held under arbitrary
Administrative Detention orders, without charges or trial. He
suffers from several chronic conditions, including Cardiomyopathy,
and is in urgent need of a pacemaker. In addition his meidcal
problems include high blood pressure, Pulmonary edema, Gout
(a common and complex form of inflammatory arthritis), Renal
indolence, disc issues in the back and neck, and high cholesterol
levels. The Palestinian Authority`s Commission of Detainee and Ex-
Detainee Affairs warned that the Israeli authorities are constantly
delaying his urgently needed medical treatment, and in the absence
of urgent specialized medical care, he could suffer further
complications that could turn fatal. [ak] | 15/4/2021 |
| ... |
| Israeli Authorities continue arresting candidates in the Palestinian elections | | PCHR (Pal. Center for Human Rights - At approximately 23:00, on
Monday, 12 April 2021, Israeli military forces arrived at the al-
Balu’ neighborhood of al-Bireh, and detained the 47-year old Najeh
Abdullah Dar ‘Assi’s, a candidate in the Palestinian Legislative
Council elections scheduled for 22 May 2021. As described by Alia
Abdul Samad, Najeh ‘Assi’s wife: Four military vehicles stopped
near our building, where we live in the second floor. We heard
knocks on our door, so my husband went to open the door. 17 Israeli
soldiers came in, shouting. They held my husband and handcuffed him.
They ordered my husband to give them his cell phone and confiscated
it. I tried to give my husband a jacket and shoes to wear due to the
cold weather, but the soldiers refused to let me do it and
threatened me at gunpoint when I insisted. One of them ordered me to
go with my children into the living room and stay there until they
went away with my husband. Our lawyer later informed us then that
Najeh was taken to the “Ofer” detention center.” A few days earlier,
another candidate - the 62-years old Hasan Mohammed Wardian (62) -
was detained under similar circumstances. The two detained
candidates belong to the “Jerusalem is Our Destiny” list, which is
said to be linked to Hamas, though this connection is not offical.
[ak] | 15/4/2021 |
| ... |
| A story of hot violence, cold violence and Palestinian Radicals | | Rozina Ali - The New Yorker - Tucked in the Nablus Hills is a small
spring that has been fashioned into a swimming pool. The late-
afternoon heat had driven many children into the water, their
parents looking on. On the side, a hulking man carried a
semiautomatic rifle. For decades, the spring had provided water to
a nearby Palestinian village, but settlers had cut the pipe and made
it a recreational site, exclusively for themselves and their
children. Palestinians are banned. This is an example of what writer
Teju Cole described as “cold violence.” - in contrast to "hot
violence" which is louder and deadlier, like using airpower on Gaza
civilians, or soldiers killing innocent bystanders in the West Bank.
It’s the cold violence that one daily confronts — evictions,
harassment by settlers, redirected water supply, hours lost at
checkpoints. Susan Abulhawa’s recent novel, “Against the Loveless
World” is narrated by Nahr, a middle-aged Palestinian woman
held in solitary confinement in an Israeli prison. Via
flashbacks we learn about the violence, hot and cold, that
shaped her. [ak]
| 15/4/2021 |
| ... |
| Threatened by cultural defiance, Israel throws dancer in prison | | Ciaran Tierney - EI - "The arrest, in February, and continued detention without
charge of acclaimed dance choreographer Ata Khattab underlines just how
threatening Palestinian culture and identity is considered by Israel’s occupation
forces" [ry] | 12/4/2021 |
| ... |
| Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian motorist and injure his wife | | Tamara Nassar - Electronic Intifada - Witnesses told Palestinian news agency WAFA that Israeli soldiers fired a stun grenade at the couple’s car after it stopped at a flying checkpoint near Bir Nabala.
They said that led to Osama driving away, after which Israeli forces opened fire at the car.
An Israeli army spokesperson said forces opened fire after the car sped towards them “in a manner that risked their lives,” according to Tel Aviv daily Haaretz. Osama Mansour, 42, and his wife Sumaya Mansour, 35, were on their way home, where 5 children awaited them. [bz] | 8/4/2021 |
| ... |
| Severely injured Palestinian teen serving 10 Years in Israeli jail | | Zahran Maali - WAFA/IMEMC - On on August 15, 2019, Israeli police
near the gate of the the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem shot at
Muhammad Khader Al-Sheikh, 17 year old boy from Al-Eizariya, who
allegedly tried to carry out an attack. Nine bullets penetrated his
body, and his 15-year old friend Naseem Abu Roomi who stood at his
side was killed on the spot by the police bullets. He was left
bleeding on the ground for a long while before being finally taken
to the Israeli Shaarey Tzedek Hospital, where he was treated. Most
of the bullets were extracted from his body by surgery, but one
bullets remains lodged near an artery in his heart - impossible tp
remove and a constant potential threat to his life. When partially
recovered he was tried by an Israeli court and sentenced to ten
years in prison. Held in the ‘Ofer’ prison, he continues to suffer
from severe abdominal pain and constant vomiting as a result of his
extensive injuries, for which the prison authorities continue to
deny adequate medical care. In spite of this health condition, he is
diligently studying, seeking not only to complete in prison his
secondary school education but also to go on to gain a bachelor`s
degree. His mother says that he had been among the best pupils
at orphanage school in Al-Eizariya. On April 5, the Palestinian
Children’s Day, his case was taken up by Palestinian organizations,
among those of some 140 Palestinian minors held in Israeli prisons.
[ak]
| 8/4/2021 |
|
| Israel Threatens to ‘Stop Everything’ if Hamas Wins Parliamentary Elections | | Palestine Chronicle - "On Wednesday, Kan reported Shin Bet security agency
Head Nadav Argaman urging Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud
Abbas to scrap the Palestinian parliament’s upcoming elections if Hamas takes
part. Replying to Argaman, Abbas responded: ‘I do not work for you. I will decide if
there will be an election and with whom. You built Hamas, not me’” [ry] | 5/4/2021 |
| ... |
| President Abbas defies Israeli security chief on elections and Hague proceedings | | Richard Silverstein - Haaretz/Tikkun Olam - During a `patronizing`
visit in Ramallah, Nadav Argaman - head of Israel`s Shabak Security
Service - demanded that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cancel
the upcoming Palestinian parliamentary elections, reportedly telling
Abbas, “You can’t hold elections with Hamas.” To that, Abbas
retorted, “I don’t work for you.” Argaman then warned that the
election could bring Hamas to power in the West Bank. Abbas
responded, “You’re telling me this? Who built Hamas? Who transfers
$30 million to Hamas every month? You [Israelis] built Hamas.” After
their sharp disagreement on the Palestinian elections, the two
discussed the International Criminal Court’s investigation into
alleged war crimes by Israel and Hamas. Argaman threatened that “if
you cooperate with the investigation in The Hague, we’ll stop
transferring the taxes” that Israel collects on the Palestinian
Authority’s behalf. Abbas answered, “I have a complaint about your
actions, and I have nowhere else [but the Hague] to turn to.” In
response, Argaman threatened that Israel would file its own
complaint to the ICC against the PA. Abbas responded, “As far as I’m
concerned, you and I can sit together in the same prison cell.” [ak]
| 1/4/2021 |
| ... |
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