http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/865963.html
Last update - 15:36 02/06/2007
Palestinians: Dozens of shops, homes damaged in IDF Nablus raid
By The Associated Press
Dozens of Palestinian shops and homes were damaged, and water, sewage and electrical lines were cut in the West Bank town of Nablus on Saturday by Israel Defense Forces blasting of concrete barriers blocking entrances to the crowded Old City, Nablus officials said.The predawn explosions left thousands without running water and electricity, though repair teams were out by mid-morning.Said Handiyeh, a Nablus city council member, estimated the damage at $100,000. He said a 60-year old woman was slightly hurt by shattering glass.
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The IDF, which conducts frequent arrest raids against militants in Nablus, said the concrete blocks impeded soldiers from operating within the city. Soldiers operating in Nablus regularly uncover explosives and munitions that are being readied for attacks on Israelis, the military said."The Palestinians had put up huge concrete blocks so Israeli soldiers would not have access to operate in Nablus, which is a hotbed of terrorist activity," the military said.Three Palestinian cabinet ministers later came to the city to survey the damage."Israel has been ruling the Palestinian people for 40 years, and what is happening to Nablus is out-and-out war," Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti said. "Israel...is choking the city with barriers."
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Children at the Heart of a Conflict: Two Boys in Gaza Shot Dead by IDF.
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL0148284720070601
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6712485.stm
Gaza boys 'shot dead by Israelis'
The shooting took place near the Israel-Gaza border fenceTwo Palestinian boys have been shot dead by Israeli troops in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources say.
The children were estimated to be between eight and 13 years old. They have not yet been identified.
An Israeli army spokesman said the army had shot at several Palestinians near the Gaza-Israel border fence.
He said they were crawling towards the fence near Beit Lahiya, "did not heed repeated calls to stop and planted a suspicious device close to the fence".
A separate spokeswoman said: "We identified hitting three. One was lightly injured and was taken to hospital inside Israel."
The other two were evacuated by Palestinian ambulance workers, but died.
Medical staff at a Gaza hospital said they had been hit in the chest.
They said the children had reportedly been scouring the area near the border fence for scrap metal, Reuters reported.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6712485.stm
Gaza boys 'shot dead by Israelis'
The shooting took place near the Israel-Gaza border fenceTwo Palestinian boys have been shot dead by Israeli troops in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources say.
The children were estimated to be between eight and 13 years old. They have not yet been identified.
An Israeli army spokesman said the army had shot at several Palestinians near the Gaza-Israel border fence.
He said they were crawling towards the fence near Beit Lahiya, "did not heed repeated calls to stop and planted a suspicious device close to the fence".
A separate spokeswoman said: "We identified hitting three. One was lightly injured and was taken to hospital inside Israel."
The other two were evacuated by Palestinian ambulance workers, but died.
Medical staff at a Gaza hospital said they had been hit in the chest.
They said the children had reportedly been scouring the area near the border fence for scrap metal, Reuters reported.
Necessary Funding in The Occupied Territories
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/865985.html
Dutch planning to give each Palestinian policeman 360 euros
By Cnaan Liphshiz and The Associated Press
The Dutch Foreign Ministry is planning to give the Palestinian Police a special grant of 6.3 million euros ($8.4 million) in the following months, the Hague's foreign minister announced last week. The special funding is "also in Israel's best interests," he said.Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen and Bert Koenders, Minister of Development Cooperation, announced the initiative last week. The money would be given to Palestinian police officers, they told the Dutch press.The Dutch government expects to give each officer 360 euros through the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM).
The Palestinian Authority is the largest employer in the West Bank and Gaza, and government salaries help provide for about one-third of the Palestinians.During the boycott, civil servants only received partial salary payments.Hamas and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party formed a coalition in March, with the goal of ending a foreign aid boycott imposed when Hamas first came to power more than a year ago. However, many countries have said they would not resume direct aid payments to the Palestinian government, because Hamas refuses to renounce violence and recognize Israel.Arab countries and several other donor nations, including Norway, have not joined the boycott. Fayyad established the PLO account to enable these donors to transfer funds. In recent weeks, Qatar send $44 million , Saudi Arabia transferred $50 million and Norway gave $10 million.Norway resumed direct aid to the Palestinian administration, after it became the first Western country to recognize the new Hamas-led coalition. "We hope our contribution will help ease the social crisis the Palestinians are now going through," said Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere.
Dutch planning to give each Palestinian policeman 360 euros
By Cnaan Liphshiz and The Associated Press
The Dutch Foreign Ministry is planning to give the Palestinian Police a special grant of 6.3 million euros ($8.4 million) in the following months, the Hague's foreign minister announced last week. The special funding is "also in Israel's best interests," he said.Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen and Bert Koenders, Minister of Development Cooperation, announced the initiative last week. The money would be given to Palestinian police officers, they told the Dutch press.The Dutch government expects to give each officer 360 euros through the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM).
The Palestinian Authority is the largest employer in the West Bank and Gaza, and government salaries help provide for about one-third of the Palestinians.During the boycott, civil servants only received partial salary payments.Hamas and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party formed a coalition in March, with the goal of ending a foreign aid boycott imposed when Hamas first came to power more than a year ago. However, many countries have said they would not resume direct aid payments to the Palestinian government, because Hamas refuses to renounce violence and recognize Israel.Arab countries and several other donor nations, including Norway, have not joined the boycott. Fayyad established the PLO account to enable these donors to transfer funds. In recent weeks, Qatar send $44 million , Saudi Arabia transferred $50 million and Norway gave $10 million.Norway resumed direct aid to the Palestinian administration, after it became the first Western country to recognize the new Hamas-led coalition. "We hope our contribution will help ease the social crisis the Palestinians are now going through," said Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere.
Speaking Out: Nelson Mandela on Israeli Apartheid
Nelson Mandela's First Memo to Thomas Freidman
http://www.mediamonitors.net/arjan28.html
Thomas, if you follow the polls in Israel for the last 30 or 40 years, you clearly find a vulgar racism that includes a third of the population who openly declare themselves to be racist. This racism is of the nature of "I hate Arabs" and "I wish Arabs would be dead". If you also follow the judicial system in Israel you will see there is discrimination against Palestinians, and if you further consider the 1967 occupied territories you will find there are already two judicial systems in operation that represent two different approaches to human life: one for Palestinian life and the other for Jewish life. Additionally there are two different approaches to property and to land. Palestinian property is not recognized as private property because it can be confiscated.
As to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, there is an additional factor. The so-called "Palestinian autonomous areas" are bantustans. These are restricted entities within the power structure of the Israeli apartheid system.
The Palestinian state cannot be the by-product of the Jewish state, just in order to keep the Jewish purity of Israel. Israel's racial discrimination is daily life of most Palestinians. Since Israel is a Jewish state, Israeli Jews are able to accrue special rights which non-Jews cannot do. Palestinian Arabs have no place in a "Jewish" state.
Apartheid is a crime against humanity. Israel has deprived millions of Palestinians of their liberty and property. It has perpetuated a system of gross racial discrimination and inequality. It has systematically incarcerated and tortured thousands of Palestinians, contrary to the rules of international law. It has, in particular, waged a war against a civilian population, in particular children.
http://www.mediamonitors.net/arjan28.html
Thomas, if you follow the polls in Israel for the last 30 or 40 years, you clearly find a vulgar racism that includes a third of the population who openly declare themselves to be racist. This racism is of the nature of "I hate Arabs" and "I wish Arabs would be dead". If you also follow the judicial system in Israel you will see there is discrimination against Palestinians, and if you further consider the 1967 occupied territories you will find there are already two judicial systems in operation that represent two different approaches to human life: one for Palestinian life and the other for Jewish life. Additionally there are two different approaches to property and to land. Palestinian property is not recognized as private property because it can be confiscated.
As to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, there is an additional factor. The so-called "Palestinian autonomous areas" are bantustans. These are restricted entities within the power structure of the Israeli apartheid system.
The Palestinian state cannot be the by-product of the Jewish state, just in order to keep the Jewish purity of Israel. Israel's racial discrimination is daily life of most Palestinians. Since Israel is a Jewish state, Israeli Jews are able to accrue special rights which non-Jews cannot do. Palestinian Arabs have no place in a "Jewish" state.
Apartheid is a crime against humanity. Israel has deprived millions of Palestinians of their liberty and property. It has perpetuated a system of gross racial discrimination and inequality. It has systematically incarcerated and tortured thousands of Palestinians, contrary to the rules of international law. It has, in particular, waged a war against a civilian population, in particular children.
World Recognition of an Occupied Territory
EU, US say they will snub invitation to Jerusalem Day
By israelinsider staff May 13, 2007
Ambassadors from both the US and the EU have declined Israel's invitation to its celebrations this week commemorating the 40th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem. The German ambassador to Israel, Dr. Harald Kindermann, spoke for all EU countries when he declined the invitation, citing the controversial status of Jerusalem as Israel's Capital. "We believe that Jerusalem's future should be part of the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians," German Embassy sources told Ynetnews Sunday. "Our point of view is not new and Germany must take this stance in accordance with the rest of the countries." "We cannot force other European Union countries to accept our opinion, but we can definitely decide for ourselves. Germany cannot take part in an official event of the Israeli government, if this implies that we recognize these borders of Jerusalem," the sources stated. Shortly after Germany's rejection, it was reported by Israel Radio that the US ambassador to Israel, Richard Jones, would follow suit.
EU boycotts 'provocative' Israeli anniversary party
By Eric Silver in Jerusalem
Published: 14 May 2007
Ambassadors from European Union states are to boycott celebrations of the 40th anniversary of Israel's conquest of Arab East Jerusalem this week - in the opening shot of what promises to be a challenging summer for Israeli diplomacy.
The United States ambassador, Richard Jones, is also expected to join the Europeans in snubbing the celebrations .
What Israelis commemorate as the "reunification" of their historic Jewish capital is seen by most of the international community, not to mention the Palestinians, as a unilateral attempt to pre-empt a key issue in any peaceful solution. One-third of the city's 725,000 residents are Palestinians, who have opted to reject offers of Israeli citizenship. Along with most other countries, the Europeans keep their embassies in Tel Aviv.
Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestinian parliament, yesterday welcomed the European boycott as a blow for international law and peace. "The Israelis," she said, "cannot get away with creating facts on the ground and then forcing everybody to fall in line".
Foreign diplomats are likely to be equally wary of celebrating the anniversary of the 1967 June war. Most Israelis cherish it as a glorious victory, but left-wing demonstrators reminded them last week that it heralded 40 years of occupation of Palestinian and Syrian lands.
On the Europeans' behalf, Germany, which holds the rotating presidency of the 27-member union, rejected invitations to a Jerusalem Day event at Israel's parliament on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the European Commission said: "... we do not recognise the Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem. We believe that the future of Jerusalem should be settled by negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians".
The British embassy confirmed that Tom Phillips, the ambassador, would not attend the event. "We think it is not appropriate," a spokeswoman explained, "because Jerusalem is one of the unsettled final-status issues."
The Israeli reaction was calculatedly low-key. It is not spoiling for a fight over Jerusalem at this stage. Mark Regev, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said: "We are disappointed and unhappy that not all governments will be sending representatives."
He reiterated Israel's long-standing policy: "We have agreed that the issue of Jerusalem is part of final-status talks. We will bring our position to the table. The Palestinians will bring [theirs]. But our position is that Jerusalem will remain the united capital of the Jewish state."
The Israeli cabinet, which met yesterday in the Menachem Begin Heritage Centre overlooking the Old City, approved a 5.75 billion-shekel (£7m) package designed to strengthen Israel's hold on Jerusalem over the next five years. It includes tax relief for charities, hospitals and educational institutions; and transferring more government offices to the city.
Ehud Olmert, the Prime Minister, said the measures would "advance and encourage Jerusalem". But Mohammed Baradeh, an Arab member of the Israeli parliament, protested: "Holding the government meeting across from the walls of the Old City, celebrating the occupation, is a provocation. There will be no peace without two capital cities in Jerusalem."
By israelinsider staff May 13, 2007
Ambassadors from both the US and the EU have declined Israel's invitation to its celebrations this week commemorating the 40th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem. The German ambassador to Israel, Dr. Harald Kindermann, spoke for all EU countries when he declined the invitation, citing the controversial status of Jerusalem as Israel's Capital. "We believe that Jerusalem's future should be part of the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians," German Embassy sources told Ynetnews Sunday. "Our point of view is not new and Germany must take this stance in accordance with the rest of the countries." "We cannot force other European Union countries to accept our opinion, but we can definitely decide for ourselves. Germany cannot take part in an official event of the Israeli government, if this implies that we recognize these borders of Jerusalem," the sources stated. Shortly after Germany's rejection, it was reported by Israel Radio that the US ambassador to Israel, Richard Jones, would follow suit.
EU boycotts 'provocative' Israeli anniversary party
By Eric Silver in Jerusalem
Published: 14 May 2007
Ambassadors from European Union states are to boycott celebrations of the 40th anniversary of Israel's conquest of Arab East Jerusalem this week - in the opening shot of what promises to be a challenging summer for Israeli diplomacy.
The United States ambassador, Richard Jones, is also expected to join the Europeans in snubbing the celebrations .
What Israelis commemorate as the "reunification" of their historic Jewish capital is seen by most of the international community, not to mention the Palestinians, as a unilateral attempt to pre-empt a key issue in any peaceful solution. One-third of the city's 725,000 residents are Palestinians, who have opted to reject offers of Israeli citizenship. Along with most other countries, the Europeans keep their embassies in Tel Aviv.
Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestinian parliament, yesterday welcomed the European boycott as a blow for international law and peace. "The Israelis," she said, "cannot get away with creating facts on the ground and then forcing everybody to fall in line".
Foreign diplomats are likely to be equally wary of celebrating the anniversary of the 1967 June war. Most Israelis cherish it as a glorious victory, but left-wing demonstrators reminded them last week that it heralded 40 years of occupation of Palestinian and Syrian lands.
On the Europeans' behalf, Germany, which holds the rotating presidency of the 27-member union, rejected invitations to a Jerusalem Day event at Israel's parliament on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the European Commission said: "... we do not recognise the Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem. We believe that the future of Jerusalem should be settled by negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians".
The British embassy confirmed that Tom Phillips, the ambassador, would not attend the event. "We think it is not appropriate," a spokeswoman explained, "because Jerusalem is one of the unsettled final-status issues."
The Israeli reaction was calculatedly low-key. It is not spoiling for a fight over Jerusalem at this stage. Mark Regev, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said: "We are disappointed and unhappy that not all governments will be sending representatives."
He reiterated Israel's long-standing policy: "We have agreed that the issue of Jerusalem is part of final-status talks. We will bring our position to the table. The Palestinians will bring [theirs]. But our position is that Jerusalem will remain the united capital of the Jewish state."
The Israeli cabinet, which met yesterday in the Menachem Begin Heritage Centre overlooking the Old City, approved a 5.75 billion-shekel (£7m) package designed to strengthen Israel's hold on Jerusalem over the next five years. It includes tax relief for charities, hospitals and educational institutions; and transferring more government offices to the city.
Ehud Olmert, the Prime Minister, said the measures would "advance and encourage Jerusalem". But Mohammed Baradeh, an Arab member of the Israeli parliament, protested: "Holding the government meeting across from the walls of the Old City, celebrating the occupation, is a provocation. There will be no peace without two capital cities in Jerusalem."
The Palestinians Don't Even Have Weather.
Tanya Reinhart.
The Palestinians don't even have weather
Yediot Aharonot, March 9, 2003
To the extent that the recent military acts in the territories are debated in Israel at all, the debate almost solely revolves around the question whether or not it is possible to end the Palestinian terror this way. The Palestinians, as human beings, simply do not exist.A few days ago it snowed in Jerusalem. On Tuesday, Ferbruary 25th, the cold wave featured in all Israeli papers as the main news. Even in my heated home in Tel Aviv it was cold. My thoughts wandered to my Palestinian friends - colleagues from Bir Zeit University. How does the snow fare with a family that still has a home, but not that much money to heat it? And what's with those who no longer have a home? It snowed in Jenin as well. How did the Jenin refugees survive the cold, and those who were recently made to flee from Hebron? And what about the old people, for whom the cold is particularly dangerous? Where did the new homeless of Gaza spend the night - those whose homes were destroyed that same day? Is UNRWA still able to provide them with blankets and tents? At the beginning of February, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians in the Near East (UNRWA), renewed its emergency appeal to the international community for urgent contributions for the first half of 2003. They stated that without these contributions, which have decreased lately, their budget would end in March(1). The heart seeks answers, but the papers tell you nothing about that. Across the fence, outside the media, outside of consciousness, the Palestinians don't even have weather.That same day, however, Ha'aretz reported a new campaign, launched by the Israeli security echelons, to confiscate funds that are transmitted to the Palestinians through Israeli banks - "tens of millions of dollars a year…mainly from charity organizations in the Arab countries and in Europe". (Amos Har'el, Hebrew edition only). While UNRWA is on the verge of collapse, the Palestinians should be deprived also of the charity funds that help them survive. This is not an isolated incident, but one more step in a systematic Israeli policy of economic strangulation. Already in June 2002,"internal conclusions of the security echelons, following operation 'Defensive Shield', assessed that… the financial reserves of the Palestinian authority are reaching the bottom... In a future not far off, the majority of Palestinians will only be able to maintain a reasonable life through the help of international aid." (Amos Har'el, Ha'aretz, Hebrew edition, June 23, 2002). At the same time, Israel, aided by the Jewish Lobby in the US congress, opened a campaign to restrict international aid, and demanded a "reconsideration" of UNRWA's operations in the occupied territories:
"Israel has begun a campaign in the United States and the United Nations to urge a reconsideration of the way the UN Relief and Works Agency, which runs the Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza, operates. Israel charges that UNRWA workers simply ignored the fact that Palestinian organizations were turning the camps into terrorist bases and it is demanding the agency start reporting all military or terrorist actions within the camps to the UN.... Meanwhile, Jewish and pro-Israeli lobbyists in the U.S. are waging a parallel campaign ... American Jewish lobbyists are basing their efforts on the fact that the U.S. currently contributes some 30 percent of UNRWA's $400 million a year budget, and is therefore in a position to influence the agency: A congressional refusal to approve UNRWA's funding could seriously disrupt its operations." (Nathan Guttman, Ha'aretz, June 29, 2002).
Malnutrition of Palestinian children in the occupied territories already equals that of Congo and Zimbabwe (2), but Israel "launches a campaign" to prevent even the little left to keep them nourished. Genocide is associated in our minds with mass graves, or convoys of population transfer. The slow death inflicted on the Palestinian people has, perhaps, no name yet, but still, how does it happen that the Israeli society seals its heart and its eyes from seeing it? Part of the answer is that evil is wrapped in words about "war against terror". The security sources announce that UNRWA "ignores" terrorist activities (as if UNRWA is a police force), or that the charity funds to the Palestinians are "millions of dollars to terror" and the media just circulates their prophecy. No further proof is ever needed. Following the confiscation of charity funds, which started in East Jerusalem banks, "the region commander, Levi, refused to disclose precise details concerning the terrorist activities in Jerusalem that were funded with these [confiscated] funds" (Arnon Regular and Amos Har'el, Ha'aretz, February 28, 2003). The primal Israeli instinct to believe that the IDF (army) never lies, will do the rest.Israel's persecution of the Palestinian people is not war against terror. The Palestinian suicidal terror has a simple solution - get out of the territories and give the Palestinians reasons to live. The war against the Palestinians is over the 'Promised Land' of Sharon, the army and the settlers. In this kind of war, one needs to lie constantly, because (according to the polls) most Israelis don't care about the territories and they are willing to get out of there tomorrow. Left to themselves, people won't seek out ways to starve, torture and abandon in the cold millions of other people. To get them to accept that, one has to cultivate their fears. In the same way, the half of the American people that supports the war on Iraq believes that if they don't immediately eliminate the Iraqi people, Saddam Hussein will eliminate the US. (1) The text of the UNRWA Emergency Appeal for 2003 can be found at http://www.un.org/unrwa/emergency/pdf/5th-appeal.pdf(2) Chris McGreal, The Guardian Feb 11, 2003.
The Palestinians don't even have weather
Yediot Aharonot, March 9, 2003
To the extent that the recent military acts in the territories are debated in Israel at all, the debate almost solely revolves around the question whether or not it is possible to end the Palestinian terror this way. The Palestinians, as human beings, simply do not exist.A few days ago it snowed in Jerusalem. On Tuesday, Ferbruary 25th, the cold wave featured in all Israeli papers as the main news. Even in my heated home in Tel Aviv it was cold. My thoughts wandered to my Palestinian friends - colleagues from Bir Zeit University. How does the snow fare with a family that still has a home, but not that much money to heat it? And what's with those who no longer have a home? It snowed in Jenin as well. How did the Jenin refugees survive the cold, and those who were recently made to flee from Hebron? And what about the old people, for whom the cold is particularly dangerous? Where did the new homeless of Gaza spend the night - those whose homes were destroyed that same day? Is UNRWA still able to provide them with blankets and tents? At the beginning of February, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians in the Near East (UNRWA), renewed its emergency appeal to the international community for urgent contributions for the first half of 2003. They stated that without these contributions, which have decreased lately, their budget would end in March(1). The heart seeks answers, but the papers tell you nothing about that. Across the fence, outside the media, outside of consciousness, the Palestinians don't even have weather.That same day, however, Ha'aretz reported a new campaign, launched by the Israeli security echelons, to confiscate funds that are transmitted to the Palestinians through Israeli banks - "tens of millions of dollars a year…mainly from charity organizations in the Arab countries and in Europe". (Amos Har'el, Hebrew edition only). While UNRWA is on the verge of collapse, the Palestinians should be deprived also of the charity funds that help them survive. This is not an isolated incident, but one more step in a systematic Israeli policy of economic strangulation. Already in June 2002,"internal conclusions of the security echelons, following operation 'Defensive Shield', assessed that… the financial reserves of the Palestinian authority are reaching the bottom... In a future not far off, the majority of Palestinians will only be able to maintain a reasonable life through the help of international aid." (Amos Har'el, Ha'aretz, Hebrew edition, June 23, 2002). At the same time, Israel, aided by the Jewish Lobby in the US congress, opened a campaign to restrict international aid, and demanded a "reconsideration" of UNRWA's operations in the occupied territories:
"Israel has begun a campaign in the United States and the United Nations to urge a reconsideration of the way the UN Relief and Works Agency, which runs the Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza, operates. Israel charges that UNRWA workers simply ignored the fact that Palestinian organizations were turning the camps into terrorist bases and it is demanding the agency start reporting all military or terrorist actions within the camps to the UN.... Meanwhile, Jewish and pro-Israeli lobbyists in the U.S. are waging a parallel campaign ... American Jewish lobbyists are basing their efforts on the fact that the U.S. currently contributes some 30 percent of UNRWA's $400 million a year budget, and is therefore in a position to influence the agency: A congressional refusal to approve UNRWA's funding could seriously disrupt its operations." (Nathan Guttman, Ha'aretz, June 29, 2002).
Malnutrition of Palestinian children in the occupied territories already equals that of Congo and Zimbabwe (2), but Israel "launches a campaign" to prevent even the little left to keep them nourished. Genocide is associated in our minds with mass graves, or convoys of population transfer. The slow death inflicted on the Palestinian people has, perhaps, no name yet, but still, how does it happen that the Israeli society seals its heart and its eyes from seeing it? Part of the answer is that evil is wrapped in words about "war against terror". The security sources announce that UNRWA "ignores" terrorist activities (as if UNRWA is a police force), or that the charity funds to the Palestinians are "millions of dollars to terror" and the media just circulates their prophecy. No further proof is ever needed. Following the confiscation of charity funds, which started in East Jerusalem banks, "the region commander, Levi, refused to disclose precise details concerning the terrorist activities in Jerusalem that were funded with these [confiscated] funds" (Arnon Regular and Amos Har'el, Ha'aretz, February 28, 2003). The primal Israeli instinct to believe that the IDF (army) never lies, will do the rest.Israel's persecution of the Palestinian people is not war against terror. The Palestinian suicidal terror has a simple solution - get out of the territories and give the Palestinians reasons to live. The war against the Palestinians is over the 'Promised Land' of Sharon, the army and the settlers. In this kind of war, one needs to lie constantly, because (according to the polls) most Israelis don't care about the territories and they are willing to get out of there tomorrow. Left to themselves, people won't seek out ways to starve, torture and abandon in the cold millions of other people. To get them to accept that, one has to cultivate their fears. In the same way, the half of the American people that supports the war on Iraq believes that if they don't immediately eliminate the Iraqi people, Saddam Hussein will eliminate the US. (1) The text of the UNRWA Emergency Appeal for 2003 can be found at http://www.un.org/unrwa/emergency/pdf/5th-appeal.pdf(2) Chris McGreal, The Guardian Feb 11, 2003.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Keep Jerusalem Jewish
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/857769.html
I thought this article would apply to our class and what the Al-Quds students were implying yesterday in the video conference. They often stated that Israel wants to ensure that its population is mainly comprised of a Jewish majority. This is one of the possible reasons for the wall, and why the walls are built in certain areas, dividing families and villages. According to this article, there is a concern that Jerusalem will lose its Jewish majority in Jerusalem by the year 2035.
Excerpts:
"People used to believe that the Jewish majority in Jerusalem could be maintained by the massive construction of neighborhoods around the city's edges; now what is being advocated is the removal of Arab neighborhoods on the fringes of the city, which would reduce the number of Arab residents in an artificial, bureaucratic way. "
"The loss of the Jewish majority is a scarecrow that serves as an excuse to constrict the Palestinian population, as well as being a convenient slogan for internal Israeli goading."
I thought this article would apply to our class and what the Al-Quds students were implying yesterday in the video conference. They often stated that Israel wants to ensure that its population is mainly comprised of a Jewish majority. This is one of the possible reasons for the wall, and why the walls are built in certain areas, dividing families and villages. According to this article, there is a concern that Jerusalem will lose its Jewish majority in Jerusalem by the year 2035.
Excerpts:
"People used to believe that the Jewish majority in Jerusalem could be maintained by the massive construction of neighborhoods around the city's edges; now what is being advocated is the removal of Arab neighborhoods on the fringes of the city, which would reduce the number of Arab residents in an artificial, bureaucratic way. "
"The loss of the Jewish majority is a scarecrow that serves as an excuse to constrict the Palestinian population, as well as being a convenient slogan for internal Israeli goading."
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