Jon the Anti-Zionist Jew: From Strength to Strength - Bil'in to Abud
Just the other day I visited an area that had been damaged due to an assassination of a Hamas fighter by the IOF. I've never seen such blatant and wanton destruction by an army before... I also attended a demonstration in Bil'in where the army used excessive violence at a peaceful crowd and shot a 14 year old boy in the head. more. ED. Video of this demonstration in EI.
I have been to two impressive and inspiring demonstrations, one in the village of Bil'in, and the other in the village of Abud. Both are located to the west of Ramallah, are inhabited by roughly 2500 people each, and are being affected by the construction of the Wall. The Wall in Bil'in has confiscated 60% of it's agricultural land, and the village of Abud (at which construction has just begun) they will lose a similar percent as well as access to water. more
Little town of Bethlehem imprisoned by Apartheid wall
A letter from Bethlehem to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton
Greetings to you from Bethlehem, the birthplace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the center of the world for billions of Christians in the 2,000 years since the Word became flesh, and the home of a dwindling population of Palestinian Christians who, despite the continued pressures of living under Israeli policies of occupation and segregation, still hold onto their lands and dignity.
In one month's time, you will be singing "O Little Town of Bethlehem." I wonder: How you will sing it this year, having declared your support for transforming our "little town" into a big, open-air prison, leaving no green space for our children to play or our olive trees to grow? more
Related: Palestinian Christians face ethnic cleansing
Letter to Senator Clinton on Comments about the Construction of the Wall - Human Rights Watch.
An Old-New Occupation: Notes from a "Disengaged" Gaza
by a local college student
The sun had just come up at Erez terminal, the only crossing point for non-Israelis between the Gaza Strip and Israel. Everyone I have ever met who has been there compares Erez either to a prison, a cattle-processing plant, or both....
The long-standing "dilemma," as an analyst at a center-left Zionist think tank in Tel Aviv explained to me, is how to maximize control over the territory of the Gaza Strip while minimizing responsibility in the eyes of the world for the welfare of its inhabitants...
The disengagement plan claims to dispel any Israeli responsibility for "the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip" - note the reference to people, not land (1). Over the latter, the plan accords Israel prerogatives normally reserved for occupying powers: Israel will keep complete control over Gaza's airspace and coastline as well as a veto on any foreign security presence ... Israel reserves the "right" to reposition its forces into the Strip at will and the Gaza Division of the Israeli military (currently headed by a 1997 Kennedy School alum, Brigadier General Aviv Kochavi) has not dissolved, but merely relocated to a new base just across the border. In the meantime, Gaza will remain dependent on Israel for water, sewage, electricity, and telecommunications; Israel will continue to control imports and exports and collect customs duties on behalf of the PNA; the Israeli shekel will still be the currency.more
The Imprisoned Children of Hebron*
As we visit the families in [Hebron], the cruelty of the situation becomes evident. The homes are around the corners of military outposts; soldiers with machineguns patrol the streets on a regular basis. Some of the children have soldiers staying on the roofs of their homes, keeping them awake at night. Other houses are right next to the [illegal] settlements , and the children have to sneak into their homes, quietly, to avoid harassment. Every now and then a settler passes by on foot in the streets, sometimes throwing stones or carrying a machinegun. The streets are not safe for children to play: the children here are determined by birth to a life in prison.more
* In Hebron, settlers/colonialists have forced themselves on the native communities. They terrorize the "communities to the point that the lives of Palestinians are made a complete hell." more
Killing the Children in Cold Blood
An Israeli army officer who repeatedly shot a 13-year-old girl, Iman Al-Hams, in Gaza dismissed a warning from another soldier that she was a child by saying he would have killed her even if she was three years old.
The soldier in the watchtower radioed his colleagues after he saw Iman: "It's a little girl. She's running defensively eastward."
Operations room: "Are we talking about a girl under the age of 10?"
Watchtower: "A girl of about 10, she's behind the embankment, scared to death."
A few minutes later, Iman is shot in the leg from one of the army posts.
The company commander then moves in as Iman lies wounded and helpless.
Captain R: "I and another soldier - are going in a little nearer, forward, to confirm the kill - Receive a situation report. We fired and killed her - I also confirmed the kill. Over."
Witnesses described how the captain shot Iman twice in the head, walked away, turned back and fired a stream of bullets into her body. Doctors at Rafah's hospital said she had been shot at least 17 times. more Update: This summer Captain R. was promoted and in a trial that ended 11-15 -05, he was cleared of all charges. Israeli officer cleared in little girl's death
Report: The Israeli Military's Failure to Investigate Wrongdoing
Boy shot by IDF dies
