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June 17th, 2015 
Awake Goy Violence / Arrests
Watch: TV report on Palestinian child seriously injured by Israeli explosive in Tubas
IMEMC/Agencies 16 June by Saed Bannoura — 9-year old Qoteiba Sawafta suffered serious burns and injuries when he picked up an Israeli explosive object, thinking it was a toy, and it detonated in his face. The incident took place in Tubas, in the central part of the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military frequently conducts live fire training in the area … “I was playing; I found something…I thought it was a toy, but it exploded in my face… it just exploded.” With these words Qoteiba Sawafta, nine years of age, described the moment when the Israeli explosive object detonated as he picked it up, thinking it was a toy, causing severe burns to his face and various parts of his body. “It was an unbearable, horrific scene,” the mother said, “I collapsed, fell onto the ground… the scene was something I cannot ever describe…” “All of his body looked charred, with what appeared to be like nails or shrapnel covering his face and other parts of his body,” she added, “At first I thought a cooking gas jar exploded near him or an electric malfunction… I never thought it was a bomb.” When the Israeli soldiers aren’t operating in the occupied West Bank, their dropped explosive objects are always there. The army frequently conducts live fire training in Palestinian communities, leaving behind very dangerous ordnance. Sawafta was planning to spend the summer holiday in a summer camp with his friends and schoolmates, but he is now hospitalized with severe burns, in the al-Makassed Hospital in occupied Jerusalem. A doctor treating Sawafta told the Ma‘an News Agency that the child was hospitalized on June 4th, suffering burns on 30-40% of his body. The devastated family is hoping that their child would be the last victim of the Israeli explosive objects and materials left behind by the military after training in large areas, especially in the Jordan Valley, and the southern part of the occupied West Bank. Official studies revealed that at least 250 Palestinians have been killed by unexploded Israeli ordnance left by the army [since] Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967, while hundreds have been injured; dozens of them suffered permanent disabilities.
Mohammad Sayyad, of the Ma‘an News Agency – Satellite TV Channel, conducted this televised report, in Arabic [interviewing the boy, his mother, and others]:
http://www.imemc.org/article/71955
Israeli forces detain disabled Palestinian near Hebron
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 16 June — Israeli forces detained a disabled Palestinian youth from al-‘Arrub refugee camp near Hebron on Monday, a prisoners committee said. The Palestinian prisoners’ affairs committee identified the detainee as Yahiya Muhammad al-Huwar, 19, adding that he suffers from speech and hearing disabilities and faces regular health difficulties. Hussein al-Sheikh, a committee lawyer who visited al-Huwar on Monday at the Etzion detention center, said the young man had been detained from his home around 2 a.m. on Monday, handcuffed, and taken to Etzion. An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma‘an that al-Huwar was suspected of “illegal activity,” but did not have any further details available.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765992
Soldiers kidnap a Palestinian near Hebron, confiscate fruit and vegetable stands
IMEMC/Agencies 16 June — Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Monday afternoon, a Palestinian in Beit Ummar town, north of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and confiscated fruit and vegetable stands, on the main entrance of the town, near the Jerusalem-Hebron road. Mohammad Awad, spokesperson of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Beit Ummar, said the soldiers stopped a Palestinian car and kidnapped its driver, Ahmad Mohammad Za‘aqeeq, 28 years of age, after forcing him out of his vehicle along with his wife and their 5-month-old son. Awad added that the soldiers held the three Palestinians for more than two hours, before kidnapping Za‘aqeeq, and took him to the military tower, installed at the main entrance of the town, before moving him to an unknown destination.
In addition, soldiers attacked dozens of Palestinian farmers, and confiscated their fruit and vegetable stands, on the main entrance of Beit Ummar.
http://www.imemc.org/article/71956
3 Palestinians arrested at Aqsa, right-wing Jews tour compound
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 16 June — Israeli police arrested one Palestinian man and two women as they were leaving the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Tuesday, witnesses said.The detainees were identified as Taha Shawahna, Refqa al-Rajabi, and Sameeha Shahin.Witnesses also said that more than 50 right-wing Jews escorted by 12 Israeli police officers had toured the mosque compound.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765988
Army kidnaps a child in Hebron
IMEMC/Agencies 17 June — Israeli soldiers invaded, on Wednesday at dawn, Beit Ummar and Yatta towns, in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, searched homes and kidnapped a child, and handed several residents military orders for interrogation. Coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Beit Ummar, Mohammad Awad, said the soldiers kidnapped a child, identified as Wahid Saqr Abu Mariya, 15 years of age, after breaking into his family home, and searching it. Awad added that the soldiers handed the child’s father a military order for interrogation in the Etzion military and security base. Soldiers also invaded the home of Fathi Fakhri Ekhlayyel, and handed his son, Nassr, 25, a military order for interrogation. A similar order was handed to resident Sharif Hasan Abu Hashem, 25. Awad added that the soldiers invaded the home of Ahmad Khalil Abu Hashem, and violently searched it, causing excessive property damage. In addition, soldiers invaded the al-Karmil village, east of Yatta, and searched several homes, including the homes of Mohammad Ali Abu Era, and detainee Fadel ‘Ali Abu E’ram, and handed resident Ayman ‘Ali Abu E’ram a military order for interrogation.
http://www.imemc.org/article/71966
Prisoners / Court actions
Khader Adnan: ‘The more they torture me, the more determined I become’
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 16 June — Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan, who is now on his 42nd day on hunger strike against the Israeli practice of administrative detention, said Tuesday that “the more [the Israelis] torture me, the stronger and more determined I become.” Adnan, 37, made the comments to the chief lawyer of the Palestinian prisoner’s society Jawad Bulous, who was visiting him at Israel’s Assaf Harofeh medical center. Bulous said that “new dangerous symptoms” had appeared indicating that Adnan’s health has seriously deteriorated. “He suffers severe pains all over his body with blue spots on his shoulder and clear speaking problems.” Bulous said that despite Adnan’s sufferings, there has so far been no discussion about his case, although he said officers from the Israeli prison service visited Adnan on Monday to see how dangerous his condition was. “Despite his complaints about detention conditions in hospital, wardens made these conditions worse by fixing a curtain at the outer door of his room and three wardens were sent to his room while his hand and his leg were tied to his bed,” said Bulous. Adnan also told the lawyer that a delegation representing the International Committee of the Red Cross had attempted to visit him several days ago, but that they canceled the visit after Israeli officers insisted on attending and keeping Adnan tied to the bed. On Friday, the director of the prisoner’s society, Rafat Hamduna, said that Adnan’s weight was dropping to dangerous levels and he was no longer able to stand up or move.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765991
Israel seeks force-feeding powers as hunger striker enters danger zone
+972 mag 16 June by Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man — The head of the Israeli Medical Association says he will instruct physicians to ignore the new law if it is passed, saying it contradicts medical ethics — The Israeli parliament is expected to soon vote on a bill that would permit authorities to force feed Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike; the cabinet gave the measure its seal of approval on Sunday. Although no direct correlation has been shown, the move comes as Israel/Palestine’s most famous repeat hunger striker, Khader Adnan, has gone more than 40 days without food or nutrients. Adnan is protesting being held under administrative detention, which means he has no access to due process, has not formally been accused of any crime, and has no way of defending himself. He is currently being held in a hospital in central Israel where he is reportedly shackled to his bed and is refusing to be treated by hospital medical staff. Adnan has said he will only agree to be treated by a doctor from Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHR), who is expected to see him on Wednesday …
Force feeding hunger strikers is extremely inhumane and painful for the patient, described by the ACLU as “cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.” In the video below Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def) volunteers to undergo the “treatment” – it’s not a sight for faint eyes … By force feeding hunger striking Palestinian prisoners, Israel hopes to undercut the only non-violent path prisoners have to protest their treatment and denial of due process. Hunger strikers have gained significant support on the Palestinian street, and Israeli authorities have long warned that letting high-profile hunger strikers die could spark unrest. Israeli politicians also believe that Israel would face international pressure over its practice of administrative detention if hunger strikes go on for too long. Opposition to the bill came from an unexpected corner this week when former foreign minister MK Avigdor Lieberman said his party, which is in the opposition, would oppose the bill. “[Israel] should learn from what happened to the Irish underground during the time of Margaret Thatcher,” Haaretz quoted Lieberman as saying. “What is good for the birthplace of democracy, England, is good for us as well.”
http://972mag.com/israel-seeks-force-feeding-powers-as-hunger-striker-enters-danger-zone/107901/
Detained lawyer Shireen al-‘Eesawy declares hunger strike
IMEMC/Agencies 17 June — Imprisoned Palestinian lawyer Shireen al-‘Eesawy from occupied Jerusalem, held in solitary confinement in the Ramla Israeli prison, has declared, Tuesday, an open-ended hunger strike. The Palestinian Detainees’ Radio said al-‘Eesawy is demanding her right to family visits, in addition to being granted access to her clothes and belongings, including a mattress to sleep on, instead of the thin rubber mattress provided to her. Al-‘Eesawy is also demanding to be allowed certain electrical equipment such as radio, TV and a fan due to excessive heat, in addition to having her Canteen account reopened, as Israel closed it after moving her into solitary confinement. It is worth mentioning that the Israeli Prison Authority transferred the detained lawyer from the HaSharon Prison to solitary confinement in Neve Tirtza Prison, after accusing her of “inciting other detainees against the soldiers in prison.” The Prison Authority also removed four female detainees from solitary confinement, after holding them for a week, when they intervened after an Israeli prison guard attacked detainee Ehsan Dababsa.
http://www.imemc.org/article/71965
Palestinian teen sentenced to 28 months in prison
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 16 June — The Israeli central court sentenced a Palestinian minor to 28 months in prison and fined him 6000 shekels ($1563) Wednesday for stabbing two Israeli settlers, a prisoners’ committee says. Mohammad Hani Subhi Matouq,16,was arrested on Jan. 9, 2015 in the old city of Jerusalem. He has since been moved throughout several jails and is currently being held in HaSharon prison, head of Jerusalem prisoners’ families committee Amjad Abu Asab said. This year has been witness to spates of alleged stabbing attacks by Palestinians against Israeli military targets and civilians in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs estimates an average of two Israelis injured by Palestinians a week in 2015 so far, while around 40 Palestinians have been injured per week by Israeli forces in the same time period, not including attacks on Palestinians by settlers.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765998
Prisoner’s wife caught smuggling phones into jail
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 15 June — Israeli prison guards in Eshel prison in Beersheva caught the wife of a Palestinian prisoner trying to smuggle two phone CPUs and nine SIM cards under her clothes on Monday, residents said. Sources at the prison said the woman caused suspicion and while she was being interrogated she removed a “packet” from her person and threw it on the ground. The prisoner is from Bethlehem and is awaiting his trial in solitary confinement, sources said. The prisoner was not named.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765981
Elderly Palestinian woman sentenced to eleven months in prison
IMEMC 17 June — The Israeli Central Court in Beersheba (Be’er As-Sabe‘) sentenced, Tuesday, an elderly ailing Palestinian woman to eleven months imprisonment. Head of the Jenin Office of the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS), Ragheb Abu Diak, said the Palestinian women, Fathiyya Khanfar, 60 years of age, is from Sielet ath-Thaher, in the northern West Bank district of Jenin. Abu Diak said the ruling is “shocking,” especially since the women suffers from various health conditions. Khanfar was kidnapped on February 3 2013, while visiting her detained son, Rami, in the Negev Detention Camp, and was held for eighteen days. An Israeli court then ordered her to pay 50,000 NIS bail, and forced her under house arrest in the home of a relative in Rahat, in Beersheba (Be’er As-Sabe‘). She was never allowed to return to Jenin. Abu Diak stated that the detained woman has been sent to court 21 times since her abduction in 2013. Israel claims she was attempting to smuggle a mobile phone to her son while visiting with him. It is worth mentioning that her son, Rami, was taken prisoner on November 30 2005, and was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.
http://www.imemc.org/article/71967
75 Palestinians from Gaza visit relatives jailed in Israel
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 15 June — Over 75 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip visited relatives in Israel’s Nafha jail on Monday in a visit coordinated by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Thirteen children were part of the group, which visited 44 relatives jailed in southern Israel. Around 420 Palestinians from Gaza are currently detained in Israeli jails.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765971
Italian prisoner at Israeli jail threatens to wage hunger strike
NABLUS (PIC) 14 June — The Italian pro-Palestine activist Samantha Comizzoli, who has been detained in an Israeli jail since Friday, threatened to start hunger strike protesting Israel’s decision to deport her outside of Palestine. Ahrar Center for Prisoners and Human Rights revealed that Samantha Comizzoli was arrested on Friday by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in Nablus while she was taking part in a peaceful march in Kafr Qadoum in Qalqilya on a makeshift barrier. She was questioned in the field for six hours then, on Sunday, brought to Tel Aviv airport where she is now detained, the center added. Samantha was working as an activist in the field of journalism and documenting the Israeli violations against Palestinians especially the children. She is an activist at Solidarity for Free Palestine (SFP) and has been in Palestine for over a year. The center also condemned the arrest of Samantha and called the Palestinian highest official organizations to intervene in order to release her and to pressure Israel not to deport her out of Palestine.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=72157
Gaza
Rafah crossing to remain open for humanitarian cases until Friday
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 16 June — The Rafah crossing will remain open Thursday and Friday for humanitarian cases, the director of Gaza’s crossings and borders said Tuesday. Maher Abu Sabha said that the Egyptian authorities had agreed to keep the crossing open beyond the initially planned three days that began on Saturday. He said that 750 people had left the Gaza Strip via the crossing on Monday and 203 had arrived in Gaza, while the Egyptian authorities prevented 13 people from traveling without specifying reasons. Abu Sabha said that this week was the first time the crossing had been opened in both directions in more than 3 months … Some 15,000 Gazans registered at the Palestinian Ministry of the Interior are currently waiting to travel via Rafah, including 3,000 patients and more than 2,500 students.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765993
Second group of students departs Gaza
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 15 June — The head of the PA’s department for civil affairs said Monday a new group of Palestinian students accepted in universities abroad will travel from Gaza through the Erez crossing to Jordan from where they will head to their destination. Hussein al-Sheikh said efforts are continuing to allow students stuck in the Gaza Strip to leave. This is the second group of students to leave Gaza Strip this week.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765982
Egypt may continue with the opening of Rafah border for goods
Middle East Monitor 15 June — Head of aid convoy Miles of Smiles Dr Isam Yousef has revealed sovereign Egyptian promises to open the Rafah border crossing for goods, Palestinian Al-Resalah newspaper reported on Sunday. This will not be connected to the opening of the crossing for people, which occurs two or three days almost every three months. On Saturday, the Egyptian authorities allowed a limited amount of cement through the border crossing and into Gaza. Speaking to Al-Resalah, Yousef said that Egypt had reiterated its intention to allow the entrance of goods into Gaza. Yousef said that the goods would not be limited to cement and other construction materials, but would include other items.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/19227-egypt-may-continue-with-the-opening-of-rafah-border-for-goods
Hamas smuggling thousands of tons of cement into Gaza through Egypt
Ynet 16 June by Yossi Yehoshua — Extended opening of Rafah border crossing allows Islamist group to smuggle in some 4,000 tons of cement a day to rebuild tunnels — …Palestinian sources reported that since the Rafah crossing has been opened, some 4,000 tons a day of cement has passed through it unsupervised. According to these sources, some 10,000 tons of cement have already entered the Gaza Strip by Monday night, and in the next two days, Hamas and Egypt have agreed to allow at least 8,000 tons more into the Strip .For the sake of comparison, over the course of a full month, some 7,000 tons of cement enter the Gaza Strip from Israel under close supervision of a body formed by the IDF, the UN and the Palestinian Authority following the end of Operation Protective Edge.[Is this likely, with Egypt as concerned about tunnels as Israel is?]
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4669295,00.html
Israel washed itself clean of Gaza’s dead beach children / Gideon Levy
Haaretz 15 June —The IDF should have been the first to press for a true investigation of the death of three boys shelled on Gaza’s coast – instead it blamed Hamas, as if it had sent the boys to play on the beach — This is an eye-witness description by The Guardian’s correspondent in Israel, Peter Beaumont, who was sitting that terrible afternoon on the terrace of the Al-Deira Hotel, regularly used by journalists, when the explosion occurred … They were 9 to 11 years old. Ismail and Ahed, Zakariyah and Mohammed, all members of the Bakr family. Three others were seriously injured, two of them children. They were younger than the three yeshiva boys killed in the West Bank, for whom Israel attacked Gaza. They were four skinny children of fishermen, the beach boys of Gaza, wearing shorts, looking even younger than their years. At the funeral Zakariyah’s mother could not kiss his face; it was torn apart. The spokesman of the most moral army in the world expressed his regret, while blaming Hamas, of course, for the killing of the children, for “cynical use of them” – Hamas, after all, had sent them to play on the beach … The IDF should have been the first to press for a true investigation, especially of this case, which reverberated throughout the world and damaged Israel much more than all the articles of the leftists. Israel should have held up the investigation like a banner, one that would prove that there was no need for The Hague or for another Goldstone Commission. But it turns out that the IDF acted as it always does: Even this “investigation” led where all investigations of war crimes lead – to the garbage can and to foregone acquittals without trials of the killers of the children. The IDF cannot and does not want to investigate itself; it has no interest in its soldiers following the law, except in cases where a non-kosher sandwich is eaten on base or a soldier appears in uniform on a TV show. Israel, which has the means of identifying the color of the underwear of assassinated individuals, claims that the IDF did not realize that the figures on the beach were children.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.661224
Gaza soccer players work hard for little pay
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Al-Monitor) 14 June by Mohammed Othman — Basel al-Sabbahin, 27, has been the goalkeeper for Al-Shabab soccer club since 2007. His team has won many championships and he has been awarded several titles, such as best goalkeeper and best player, in local Gaza tournaments. Sabbahin earned an annual bonus — not salary — of $2,000 in 2015, about $166 per month, making him the highest-paid player among his teammates. “Being a player in the club’s soccer team was supposed to be my main job, but the economic situation is extremely bad,” he told Al-Monitor. “This is why I began working on a number of small projects, such as investment [projects]. But they always end up failing as a result of the deteriorating economic situation in the country. I am married and have two children; I need a decent income.” Sabbahin said that he has tried to move to other clubs that offer better financial and professional chances, but Al-Shabab rejected his transfer requests, claiming that it cannot find a goalkeeper as good as he is. “I have been with [Al-Shabab] club since I was a child, and I encountered many problems when I expressed my wish to transfer to another club,” he said. “In order for me to play for another club, I will need to be released from my current club. However, it will never happen because my transfer request was rejected several times. The club told me it would approve my request under one [impossible] condition, which was to pay $20,000.”
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/06/gaza-football-clubs-players-no-financial-privileges.html
Israel ministry video lashes out at foreign journalists
JERUSALEM (AFP) 16 June — Israel’s foreign ministry has lashed out at foreign journalists’ coverage of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, in a video ridiculing their reporting, particularly during last year’s bloody war. The 49-second cartoon clip, entitled “Open your eyes about Gaza”, was posted on YouTube on Sunday, and quickly drew condemnation from the Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Israel. The video features a blonde-haired television correspondent in Gaza with an American accent declaring to camera “there are no terrorists here, just ordinary people”, while a masked militant fires off a rocket, presumably towards Israel. Another scene has the reporter describing tunnels that Hamas fighters used to stage attacks into Israeli territory as “the first Palestinian subway.” A female character then gives the reporter a pair of glasses, allowing him to see the reality of “life under Hamas rule”. The reporter then faints. “Terror rules Gaza,” a caption reads. The FPA said it was “surprised and alarmed” by the “misleading and poorly conceived” clip. “It is disconcerting that the ministry would spend its time producing a… video that attempts to ridicule journalists reporting on a conflict” that killed 2,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 73 on the Israeli side, mostly soldiers. It described the video as “inappropriate” and “unhelpful.” The Hamas-run ministry of information said 17 journalists were killed covering the July-August Gaza war, the bloodiest yet in the tiny coastal territory … The International Federation of Journalists says at least 13 media workers were killed…
http://news.yahoo.com/israel-ministry-video-lashes-foreign-journalists-101116141.html
Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Punitive demolitions and sealings
Bedouin village of ‘Atir to be replaced by forest of ‘Yatir’
+972 mag 16 June by Amjad Iraqi — ‘Atir is hardly the first case in which forestation has been used by the Israeli government and the JNF as a method of displacement and land grabbing against Palestinians — on both sides of the Green Line — “Apparently in Israeli democracy, the state is permitted to uproot Arabs from their homes and plant trees in their place.” At first glance, Ali Abu Al-Qi‘an’s comment would appear to be a joke or an exaggerated statement – but it is neither. In one sentence, Ali, an Arab Bedouin citizen of Israel, summarized the grim fate of his village of ‘Atir, located in the Naqab (Negev). The case of ‘Atir is intricately tied with that of its neighboring twin village, Umm al-Hiran. In 1956, the Israeli military government moved the Bedouin Abu Al-Qi‘an tribe to their current location, which is registered by Israel as state land, after their forced displacement from their original homes of Khirbet Zubaleh in 1948. Decades later, in 2002, the state announced plans to retake the lands and evict the residents again, for blatantly discriminatory purposes. While Umm al-Hiran will be demolished to build a Jewish town over its ruins, ‘Atir is to be destroyed in order to expand the man-made forest of “Yatir,” which is sponsored by the Jewish National Fund (JNF). ‘Atir’s 500 residents, like Umm al-Hiran’s residents, will be relocated to the government-planned township of Hura.
http://972mag.com/bedouin-village-of-atir-to-be-replaced-with-forest-of-yatir/107905/
Israel’s Bedouin refuse to go quietly as state attempts to oust Umm al-Hiran villagers
UMM AL-HIRAN (The Independent) 13 June by Annie Slemrod — …for some 400 Bedouins, this modest village in the southern Israeli desert has been home for nearly 60 years. And as they wait to hear the outcome of a last-ditch legal attempt to prevent the state from ousting them to make way for a new Jewish town, they have become the focal point in a debate about Israel’s treatment of its Bedouin citizens. A few hours after a protest about the village’s plight, Raed Abu al-Qi‘an – a member of a committee fighting eviction – holds court under the shade of a tent hitched to the side of the local mosque. Strong family connections are important in the village, and it shows – an elderly man in white robes turns up with coffee and several young children gather round. Mr Qi‘an is undeterred by recent setbacks. Last month, Israel’s Supreme Court decided in favour of the state’s planned expulsion, finding that although in 1956 the military installed the villagers on the land where they now sit, they can be moved for new construction. The village’s lawyers have filed an extraordinary appeal for a larger panel to hear their case; they’ll hear back within 10 days.“We’re talking about a hunger strike now,” says Mr Qi‘an.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israels-bedouin-refuse-to-go-quietly-as-state-attempts-to-oust-umm-alhiran-villagers-10318538.html
Expelled for life / Jen Marlowe
Tomdispatch 11 June — A Palestinian family’s struggle to stay on their land — Nasser Nawaj’ah held Laith’s hand as, beside me, they walked down the dirt and pebble path of Old Susya. Nasser is 33 years old, his son six. Nasser’s jaw was set and every few moments he glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was approaching. Until Laith piped up with his question, the only sounds were our footsteps and the wind, against which Nasser was wearing a wool hat and a pleated brown jacket. “Why did they take our home?” the little boy asked. “Why did they take it? Good question,” replied Nasser, pausing to choose his words carefully. “They don’t want Palestinians. They don’t want us here.” Laith was, in fact, asking about something that had happened 29 years ago when his father was a young boy. But he could just as well have been referring to the imminent threat of expulsion facing his family and his community today. I had spent the previous night with Nasser and his family in their tent on their farmland in Khirbet Susya in the South Hebron Hills of the West Bank. Since 1986, they have have lived there, one-third of a mile from their old home, which is now an Israeli archeological park.
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176009/tomgram%3A_jen_marlowe%2C_%22they_demolish_and_we_rebuild%22/#more
Israeli forces destroy hundreds of trees in Tubas natural reserve
TUBAS (WAFA) 16 June – Israeli forces early Tuesday destroyed hundreds of forest trees in a natural reserve to the east of Tubas, in the northeastern West Bank, according to head of Wadi Maleh village council, Aref Daraghmeh. He informed WAFA that Israeli forces, accompanied with bulldozers and staff from the civil administration, stormed a natural reserve to the east of Tubas, which occupies an area of 300 dunums, and destroyed the forest trees. Israeli forces often target Palestinians and their property or provide protection to settlers conducting attacks on Palestinian residents’ land; including the burning and uprooting of trees. According to a United Nations’ OCHA report, “Israeli settlers destroyed over 5,500 Palestinian-owned olive trees and saplings in the period between December 30 2014, and January 12, 2015.”
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=28692
Settlers burn farmland in Kafr al-Lebed, Tulkarem
IMEMC/Agencies 16 June — A group of Israeli settlers, last night, deliberately burned the wheat crops of Rafiq Jbara, in Kafr al-Lebed village, near Tulkarem, stretching over vast areas of Palestinian land. The Mayor of Kafr Al- Lebed, Ziad Jab’iti, said that the wheat was deliberately and completely burnt down by the settlers. The people, then, had to call military coordination and civil defense to put out the fire. Villagers witnessing the attack voiced the need for defense against such incidents. They added that it was not the first time where settlers burned agricultural lands, which are the the only source of income for the villagers. In addition, they demanded compensation for the losses out of this violation.
http://www.imemc.org/article/71951
Army demolishes a house in Jerusalem
IMEMC 17 June — Israeli soldiers invaded, Wednesday, Beit Hanina neighborhood, north of occupied Jerusalem, and demolished a Palestinian home. The demolished property, located in the al-Marwaha area in Beit Hanina, belongs to Tamer Edrees. Edrees said the soldiers invaded his home, after surrounding the area, and only allowed the family to remove some of its property, leaving the rest behind. He added that City Council bulldozers, accompanied by the army, demolished his property, and informed him they “placed the destruction order near his property two days ago.” The resident said he never received the alleged order, otherwise he would have filed an appeal instantly. The army claims his property was built without a construction permit.
http://www.imemc.org/article/71970
Israel’s High Court rules to seal room of Palestinian home
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 17 June — The Israeli High Court on Tuesday ruled that a room in the home of a Palestinian family residing in the al-Thuri neighborhood of Jerusalem must be sealed, family members said. Uday Hijazi told Ma‘an that the room slated for permanent closure was the bedroom of his brother Muataz, 32, who was shot dead by undercover Israeli officers on suspicion that he shot and critically wounded activist Yehuda Glick in October 2014. A lawyer representing Glick recommended that the court should order the complete demolition of the family house, Hijazi said. The family, he added, hasn’t yet received any reports from the Israeli authorities with the findings of an alleged investigation into the “targeted-assassination of Muataz,” and relatives are still waiting to receive belongings confiscated by Israeli forces confiscated after Muataz’ death. US-born Glick is a radical rightist who leads controversial visits under Israeli armed guard to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and advocates for the mosque’s replacement with a Jewish temple. Hours after an attack on Glick, Israeli forces shot Muataz over 20 times during a raid on his home, with relatives saying that he was deliberately killed by Israeli police when he could have been detained and given due process. The decision by the High Court to seal Muataz’ bedroom and appeal by Glick’s lawyer to demolish the family’s home come as Israeli policies use home demolitions as a punitive measure against Palestinians living in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank. In the case of car attacks on Israelis by Palestinians earlier this year, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the demolition of the homes of the attackers in an effort to deter future attacks. This policy of punitive demolitions received criticism due to the fact that demolitions punished individuals who hadn’t committed crimes, the family and often-times extended family of the attacker.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=766008
Restriction of movement / Israeli determination of Palestinian residency
Knesset extends law to stop Palestinian families from living together
Middle East Monitor 16 June — Last night, the Israeli Knesset extended the temporary “citizenship” law known as the prohibition of family reunification law for Palestinian families. This racist law prohibits Palestinian families from either side of the Green Line from reunification. It also prohibits Palestinians from inside the Green Line who are married to Palestinians from the West Bank or Gaza Strip from living inside Israel with their families unless the Palestinian husband is over 36 years old or if the Palestinian wife is over 26 years old. The law was extended for a year. Fifty-seven Knesset members voted in favour of the extension, while 20 voted against it and five abstained. It was supported by some members of the Zionist Camp. The law has been renewed annually based on the recommendations of the Israeli security institution … The Supreme Court rejected a number of complaints filed by human rights organisations to cancel this law which has deprived thousands of Palestinian families from legally living under one roof. The draft bill was proposed in Ariel Sharon’s first government in 2002 in order to protect the “Jewishness of the state” and prevent Palestinian refugees from returning through the “backdoor”. The law was later passed under the pretext of security, tearing the Palestinian social fabric and Judaising Jerusalem.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/19265-knesset-extends-law-to-stop-palestinian-families-from-living-together
Israel eases restrictions on Palestinians for Ramadan
JERUSALEM (AFP) 16 June — Israel announced on Tuesday it was relaxing restrictions on the movement of Palestinians to and from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. A spokeswoman for COGAT, the defence ministry unit which manages civilian affairs in the West Bank, said that for the first time, Palestinians will be able to travel by bus directly from West Bank cities to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in east Jerusalem. Men aged over 40 and women of all ages from the West Bank will be able to pray at the Israeli-controlled holy site, and 800 people [out of 1.8 million] from the Gaza Strip will be allowed to attend Friday prayers. In addition, 200 Gaza residents will be allowed to visit relatives in the West Bank during Ramadan, which is to begin on Wednesday or Thursday, and 500 people from the West Bank will be authorised to enter Gaza, COGAT said. Israel would also allow 300 Palestinians living abroad to visit relatives in Gaza, and 500 West Bank Palestinians would be permitted to travel from Israel’s Ben Gurion international airport. The COGAT spokeswoman told AFP the measures were possible because of ongoing security cooperation between Israel and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority and the relative security lull, but that any breach would have consequences. Israel tends to make such gestures ahead of and during Ramadan.
http://news.yahoo.com/israel-eases-restrictions-palestinians-ramadan-172520487.html
Israel allows 70 Hebron shops to reopen after 15 years
HEBRON (AFP) 15 June – Israel has approved the reopening of around 70 Palestinian shops which it closed 15 years ago in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron, its mayor announced on Monday. “The Israeli army’s leadership allowed the reopening of stores on Sahla Street, which runs from the area near the Ibrahimi mosque” through Hebron’s old town, Dawud al-Zaatari told journalists. “This is the first time the army has allowed these shops to open since the beginning of the second intifada” or uprising in 2000, he added. After hearing the news, three owners immediately dashed to their stores to unlock the doors and peer inside, an AFP photographer said, but they were forbidden by soldiers from opening yet. “We were informed they’ll be allowed to reopen on Friday,” Zaatari said, without elaborating. [Ma‘an: Al-Zaatari said Israeli forces also agreed to re-open the entrance of Jabal Jowhar, which was closed since the start of the Second Intifada, and which leads to the main intercity road, at the start of Ramadan.]
http://news.yahoo.com/israel-allows-70-hebron-shops-reopen-15-years-181102998.html
Palestinian refugees — Jordan, Lebanon, Syria
UNRWA says Palestinian refugees facing ‘most profound crisis’ since exodus
AMMAN (Jordan Times) 15 June by Laila Azzeh — UNRWA’s financial woes and the complexity of its mission amid the regional unrest were featured high on the agenda of the agency’s advisory commission meeting on Monday. With the relief organisation saying that it is facing the “most alarming” budget gap throughout its history, host countries expressed their “deep” concerns over the fate of the refugees, many of whom are about to become part of an “imperiled” community in conflict zones. “UNRWA refugees are facing the most profound crisis since the original crisis in 1948,” the agency’s commissioner general, Pierre Krahenbuhl, said. Jordan bluntly voiced its concern over the financial situation of the agency and the growing gap between its needs and income, especially with around 42 per cent of the total number of Palestinian refugees residing in the Kingdom. “The government is committed to continued cooperation with UNRWA and providing it with all means of support,” said Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani … “With our budget deficit; we have three options to consider: approaching our existing donors, approaching new donors and taking internal measures to cut costs,” UNRWA’s chief told reporters. “Sometimes cutting costs is mistakenly conveyed as cuts in services. This is incorrect. We are cutting costs to keep services,” he said …
The agency’s planned austerity measures have prompted around 30,000 of its employees, including 7,000 in Jordan, to observe a one-hour work stoppage on Monday, according to an informed source … There are 700 UNRWA-run schools, in the agency’s five fields of operations, run by 22,000 employees who provide education to half-a-million students. Regarding the situation of refugees in Syria, Krahenbuhl noted that more than half of the 560,000 refugees there are now displaced, while UNRWA has not been able to access thousands of Yarmouk refugee camp residents since March 28.
http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/unrwa-says-palestinian-refugees-facing-most-profound-crisis%E2%80%99-exodus
Hamas working to lower tensions in Lebanese camps
Al-Monitor 15 June by Adnan Abu Amer — With security tensions escalating in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, Hamas and Lebanese officials are discussing ways to avoid the camps being turned into arenas for settling regional scores — A number of Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon have experienced heightened security tensions since early February, with the Lebanese government alleging that Palestinians and Islamists belonging to armed groups are harboring in them. Sources among Hamas’ leadership, speaking on condition of anonymity, informed Al-Monitor that Hamas is in constant contact with high-ranking Lebanese officials to try to head off security actions and other military clashes inside the camps. Tensions took a turn for the worse May 5, when gunmen killed Moujahed Balous, a Hezbollah member, in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, in south Lebanon. Rumors circulated in Beirut that Balous’ assassination was an organized attempt to eradicate any pro-Hezbollah or pro-Syrian regime presence in the camp, but Maj. Gen. Munir Maqdah, head of the Palestinian force charged with preserving order in the camp, said May 7 that the reason behind the assassination was unknown and that no suspect had been identified. The rising tensions were also exacerbated by the growth in the camps of armed Islamist organizations — among them Asbat al-Ansar, Jund al-Sham, Fatah al-Islam and Shabab al-Muslim — which has led to armed clashes between them and the Lebanese army.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/06/palestinian-refugee-camps-lebanon-hamas-tension.html
Other news
Hamas rejects unilateral dissolution of Palestinian unity govt
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 17 June — Hamas rejected any unilateral dissolution of the Palestinian unity government on Wednesday, hours before Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah was expected to meet President Mahmoud Abbas to present his government’s resignation and discuss the formation of a new government. The rejection comes as senior Fatah officials reported Tuesday night that Abbas announced during a Fatah council meeting that the government would be dissolved and entirely reformed. “Hamas rejects any one-sided change in the government without the agreement of all parties,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP. “No one told us anything about any decision to change and no one consulted with us about any change in the unity government. Fatah acted on its own in all regards.” Governmental sources told Ma‘an that Hamdallah is expected to be assigned to the task of forming a new government that would potentially include the Hamas movement and other PLO factions. Spokesperson of the national consensus government Ihab Bseiso meanwhile denied reports by Israeli media that forming a new government would not include representatives of Hamas. The move to dissolve the government would signal a fresh setback in efforts to reconcile Hamas-dominated Gaza and the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=766012
Hamas, Israel in indirect ‘exchange of ideas’ over truce
GAZA CITY (AFP) 16 June by Adel Zaanoun –– Israel and Hamas have been holding indirect contacts about ideas for cementing a long-term truce in the Gaza Strip, sources in the Islamist movement said Tuesday. The contacts have gone through a number of Arab and European channels in a bid to firm up an informal ceasefire agreement that took hold last August, ending a 50-day war in Gaza. “There has been indirect contact between Israel and Hamas, messages passed via Arab channels as well as through European and Turkish sources,” one of the sources told AFP, describing it as “an indirect exchange of ideas.” The contacts were confirmed by an Israeli source. The Egyptian-brokered truce came into effect on August 26, with the sides pledging to resume indirect contact within a month to pin down a lasting ceasefire and discuss crunch issues. But the follow-up talks were delayed several times and never formally resumed. “We are ready for an agreement. Hamas wants to solve the problems in Gaza,” the source in the Islamist movement said. But he insisted the contacts were purely informal and that there was no formal initiative or proposal on the table.
http://news.yahoo.com/hamas-israel-indirect-exchange-ideas-over-truce-203046594.html
Abbas’ spokesman: Gaza ceasefire important, but not at any price
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 16 June – A long-term ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is key, as long as the unity of Palestinian people and land is not harmed in the process, a spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday. According to the official Palestinian Authority’s news agency Wafa, Nabil Abu Rdeina said that a ceasefire in Gaza should not be an introduction to a Palestinian state with temporary borders. Such a move would have “destructive” repercussions on the Palestinian people, their plight and independence. “Any ceasefire must seek to end the suffering of our people without paying a toll of breaching national consensus,” Rdeina added.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765990
Premier, Spanish consul sign memorandum of understanding to support disadvantaged families
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 15 June – Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and Spanish Consul General in Jerusalem, Juan José Escobar, Monday signed a memorandum of understanding worth one million Euros to assist deprived Palestinian families. The premier met with the Spanish consul prior to the signing of the memorandum, where he stressed the Palestinian government’s commitment to improve the living standards of marginalized families, as well as to promote coordination and cooperation with local and international institutions.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=28687
Bethlehem hosts international conference in religious tourism
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 15 June — A conference on religious tourism organized by the United Nations World Tourism Organization began Monday in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. It is the first time UNWTO has chosen Palestine to host the two-day international conference, this year titled “Fostering sustainable socio-economic development for host communities.” The UNWTO invited 200 dignitaries from across the world to take part, of which 100 from 70 nations have confirmed they will attend, the Palestinian minister of tourism Rula Maaya said. Among the attendants, she added, will be more than ten ministers of tourism, although Jordan’s minister of tourism will be the only Arab minister present. Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah inaugurated the conference with Japan’s minister of foreign affairs. Niger’s Minister of Tourism Hama Hadiza Oumarou Tchiani is among the dignitaries, the first time a high-profile Niger politician has visited Palestine. Maaya said that the second day of the conference would be dedicated to workshops looking at ways to promote tourism in Palestine, particularly in East Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Tourism is hugely important to the Palestinian economy, although its development has been hindered by the Israeli occupation. In April, the PLO Negotiations Affairs Department said that the Israeli Ministry of Tourism has both claimed and profited from Palestinian sites by blurring territorial lines between Israel and Palestine. The PLO criticized Israeli Ministry of Tourism maps that erase Palestinian presence by using “Judea and Samaria,” hindering the ability for tourists to know whether or not they are viewing sites within the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Many tourists and religious pilgrims spend time within occupied Palestinian territory however leave under the impression their entire itinerary was based in Israel.
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765967
Settlements lose $6bn in two years of European boycott
Middle East Monitor 15 June — The European boycott campaign against the Israeli settlements’ agricultural products caused Israel’s economy a loss $6 billion in the years 2013 and 2014. According to the data of the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, obtained by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the losses resulting from the boycott will rise to $9.5 billion by the end of this year. The paper said that Israel is trying to compensate for these losses through increasing Israeli exports to the United States, as well as increasing US investments in Tel Aviv.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/europe/19237-settlements-lose-6bn-in-two-years-of-european-boycott
Israel arrests 7 times more Arabs than Jews at ‘illegal’ rallies
Middle East Monitor 16 June — Police in 2014 arrested seven times as many Arabs at illegal demonstrations as Jews, Arab48.com reported on Monday. According to the statistics, the police arrested 1,472 Arab citizens for illegal assembly or association for political purposes in 2014, compared to 202 Jews. Arab48.com said that police supplied the data to MK Esawi Freige (Meretz) after he demanded it following the collective arrest of Arabs who protested Israel’s offensive on Gaza last summer. According to the data, 15 percent of the 2014 detainees were indicted. Out of these, 42 percent of them were Arabs and 35 percent were Jews. Last year 110 Arabs were arrested on suspicion of inciting violence, compared to 25 Jews. The Israeli police arrested 32 Arabs for flying the Palestinian flag.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/19250-israel-arrests-7-times-more-arabs-than-jews-at-qillegalq-rallies
Israel vows to protect refugees amid fear for Syrian Druze
JERUSALEM (AFP) 16 June — Israel pledged Tuesday to protect any refugees who fled towards the Jewish state after a rebel offensive in Syria and Islamist violence there raised fears about the Druze minority’s safety. A significant number of Druze live in Israel, and leading members of the community have called on the government to help their brethren in Syria following the recent violence. Without mentioning the Druze, Israel’s military chief of staff chief Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot said the authorities were preparing for a possible influx of Syrian refugees and would prevent a potential massacre at the border. “The reality in the Golan Heights, where internal fighting is near the border with Israel, is of great concern to us, including the possibility we might have to deal with refugees from Syria arriving at the border,” Eisenkot told a parliamentary committee, his words conveyed by a spokesman.
http://news.yahoo.com/israel-vows-protect-refugees-amid-fears-syrian-druze-170214573.html
Sewing together Palestinian history
Middle East Monitor 15 June by Raya Al-Jadir – -For some, when you mention Palestine, images of war, bombings and destruction come to mind, most forget that Palestine has a rich and beautiful history and a colourful culture. Taita Leila is a project that challenges these ideas and brings together Palestinian history through a different language: the language of thread. The core idea of the project is to produce modern clothing inspired by traditional Palestinian dress, reviving and restyling embroidery in a way that Palestinian grandmothers would be proud to wear it. The team behind the project research, repackage and rework items with this “language” in mind, decoding the meaning behind it to share it with the wider public. The social enterprise employs and empowers local Palestinian women who know how to embroider and make handcrafts of all kinds to retell the story behind every type of Palestinian dress. Taita Leila works with different villages and co-operatives to make designs that can be incorporated into a modern wardrobe. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Taita-Leila/1500792880160119?fref=ts
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/middle-east/19242-sewing-together-palestinian-history
Israel’s behavior will bankrupt it over time / Jonathan Cook
The National 15 June — Two recent reports suggest that Israel could face catastrophic consequences if it fails to end the mistreatment of Palestinians under its rule, whether in the occupied territories or in Israel itself. The Rand Corporation’s research shows that Israel could lose $250 billion (Dh919bn) over the next decade if it fails to make peace with the Palestinians and there is a return to violence. Ending the occupation, on the other hand, could bring a dividend of more than $120 billion into the nation’s coffers. Meanwhile, the Israeli finance ministry predicts an even more dismal future unless Israel reinvents itself. It is likely to be bankrupt within a few decades, the finance ministry report says, because of the rapid growth of two unproductive groups. By 2059, half the population will be either ultra-Orthodox Jews, who prefer prayer to work, or members of Israel’s Palestinian minority, most of whom are failed by their separate education system and then excluded from much of the economy. Both reports should be generating a tidal wave of concern in Israel but have caused barely a ripple. The status quo – of occupation and endemic racism – still seems preferable to most Israelis … The finance ministry report points out that with a growing population not properly prepared for a modern global economy, the tax burden is increasingly falling on a shrinking middle class. The fear is that this will create a vicious cycle. Wealthier Israelis tend to have second passports. Overwhelmed by the need to make up the revenue shortfall, they will leave, plunging Israel into irreversible debt.
http://www.jonathan-cook.net/2015-06-15/israels-behaviour-will-bankrupt-it-over-time/
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Source Article from http://mondoweiss.net/2015/06/palestinian-occupation-explosive
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