MUNICH - AND A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Defense official: Israel readying for attack on Iran

RED FLAG - RED FLAG!!!

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By Amos Harel, Anshel Pfeffer and Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service

Israel's recent deployment of warships across the Red Sea should be seen as serious preparation for an attack on Iran, an Israeli defense official told the Times of London on Thursday.

"This is preparation that should be taken seriously. Israel is investing time in preparing itself for the complexity of an attack on Iran. These maneuvers are a message to Iran that Israel will follow up on its threats," the official was quoted as saying.

Earlier this week, two Israel Navy gunboats openly sailed through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea.

The ships that passed through the Suez Canal on Tuesday were two Sa'ar 5 gunboats, the Hanit and the Eilat. This follows a similar incident in late June, when an Israeli Dolphin-class submarine passed through the canal, later returning the same way.

The move, apparently coordinated with Egypt, is seen as a warning message to Middle Eastern radicals, first and foremost Iran.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit confirmed the crossings and said that Cairo's agreements with Jerusalem permit Israeli military ships to transit the canal. He declined to speculate on whether the voyage was meant as a warning to Iran or anyone else.

While Israeli naval ships have gone through Suez before, the last such occurrence was at least a year ago.

An Israeli diplomat told the Times that Israel's has been bolstering its ties with certain Arab nations just as wary of the Iranian nuclear threat. In particular, the diplomat cited a "shared mutual distrust of Iran" between Israel and Egypt.

Though neither side says so publicly, there is ongoing security coordination between Israel and Egypt, which could be expanded if necessary in the future.

Israel has an interest in a naval presence in the Red Sea for two reasons: the effort to halt arms smuggling from Iran to the Gaza Strip - which, according to international media reports, mainly takes place by sea from Iran to Sudan, and then overland via Egypt, and the effort to bolster its deterrence against Iran in the event of a direct conflict breaking out.

SOURCE

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READ: Israel's military message to Iran
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Jews for Gaza, Against Israel

"The problem is always Zionism," reiterated Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss.
(IOL Photo)

US Neturei Karta's Jews Call for Dismantling Israel

By Hany Ramadan

The "Viva Palestina" humanitarian campaign for the people of Gaza was launched in the United States, July 4, with Britain MP George Galloway's participation in starting the aid mission.

More than 200 American participants form all walks of life, including journalists, politicians, peace activists, and religious figures — Muslims, Christians and Jews —arrived in Egypt on their way to Gaza through Egypt's Rafah crossing. Galloway and US activists have just been allowed into Gaza.

The US pro-Gaza activists' campaign included four Jewish Rabbis from the Neturei Karta movement, a US-based Orthodox anti-Israel group that opposes Zionism.

Politics in Depth had this interview with Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, the international spokesman for the group, to understand the purpose of the group's participation in the humanitarian mission on Gaza and the reasons behind their opposition to Israel and the establishment of a Jewish state.

IslamOnline.net (IOL): What is the purpose of your planned visit to Gaza? Is it just to break the siege or to achieve some other goals?

Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss: It is actually to turn attention to the unjust Israeli siege against the people of Gaza. We think we should bring peace to this suppressed part of the world. The reason we are here is mainly to provide crucial medical help to the people of Gaza.

One other reason is to convey a solidarity message from the Jewish community around the world to the people of Gaza, especially that we feel their real suffering. We want them to know that they have our support and harmonious solidarity all around the world.

We feel frustrated and humiliated by what is done by Israelis against Gazans. The Israelis are raising the Torah to legitimatize their crackdown on Palestinians, but we want people to be careful about this false justification, and differentiate between the state of Israel, made by Zionists, and peaceful Jews around the world.

The second issue is that people in the Western world should also understand the truth of Zionism, and the truth of Judaism. There are Jewish people who are coming here to support Palestinians' rights. Some people may ask how religious Jews and religious rabbis are coming and supporting the people of Gaza.

People should understand and comprehend that the whole issue about Israel as a Jewish-based entity is the fabrication of Zionists.

The world must break the deafening silence, save the people of Gaza, and save the whole people of Palestine. We should give them what they need: medical assistance, emotional, and physical help.

We need the international community to respond to Israel's brutality as it did against South Africa's devastating racism. This has to be done here immediately to stop the suppression against the people of Gaza.

IOL: We understand that you are planning to cross over to Gaza with British MP George Galloway, but do you expect to face any complexity with the Egyptian authorities? "The world must break the deafening silence and save the people of Gaza and save the whole people of Palestine."

Rabbi Weiss: We hope that the Egyptian government becomes truly sympathetic to the people of Palestine.

They are under enormous and illegal pressure from Israel. I think Egyptians are willing to help the people of Palestine. We started with a caravan in England, and we hope that Egypt's authorities allow the aid package to pass to Gaza. It is a sign of relief to the war-ravaged Strip. For me, I am advised not to go there myself as some Israeli threats may put my life in real risk.

IOL: Why are you against Israel and Zionism?

Rabbi Weiss: We, as true Jews, are united against Zionism, and we eagerly try to free the people of Palestine and Gaza, not only from the siege of Gaza, but also from the siege of Zionism that has continued for 100 years, not just 61 years since the establishment of the state of Israel. We, as religious people, are anti-Zionism, because it is contradictory to Judaism.
Four Jewish Rabbis from the Neturei Karta movement participate in Viva Palestina's campaign to Gaza.

Jewish people and rabbis are still in opposition to the suppression of the Palestinian people. So, we are looking at every opportunity to show our sympathy and offer the help that we can. I personally go on in the United States, with my colleagues demonstrating constantly.

We were demonstrating before the United Nations even before Muslims and Arabs in America. The Jewish community constantly demonstrates against every action of the state of Israel against the Palestinians. When Israel was ratified by the United Nations in 1948, almost immediately, true Jewish people took to the streets of the United States to demonstrate.

IOL: Is that just a matter of time and then when God wills, as you believe, you will "enter the holy land" of Palestine. What will you do with the Palestinians, and will we see another Israel? "Remove Zionism from the scene and Jews would connect with Muslims and Christians."

Rabbi Weiss: Establishing the state of Israel is against Judaism. Judaism aspires to return to the holy land, but after we repent, and God ends our punishment of exile. So, we must repent and get ourselves with God's compassion to bring redemption.

What does redemption mean? God makes metaphysical changes to the world, with all humanity recognizes one God, when everybody recognizes one God then, all nations will join on and go to the holy land, hand in hand.

We all are going to serve God in harmony together. This concept of a Jewish nationalist state is against the Torah. That is why we always like to state that in history during the heyday of Islamic religion; Muslims held the Quran and Shari'a, and at the same time, they simply co-existed with the Jewish community that held the Talmud and lived in co-existence in Palestine.

Many people who come to demonstration remember the co-existence in the old city of Jerusalem. People of the three monotheistic faiths co-existed all the time in harmony. Zionism is based on establishing a false nationalist, Jewish identity. Remove Zionism from the scene and Jews would connect with Muslims and Christians. This is a simple solution.

People will always say that the only solution is a two-state one. This has to be a state against the will of the Palestinian people. You know, if somebody stole a bank or something like that for ten years, does that give them legitimacy? No.

First, we are forbidden to return to the holy land in large numbers. Secondly, we are forbidden to be against any nation. We have to be loyal to every country we live in. We are not attempting to make anything to end that punishment of exile ordained by God.

This concept of trying to end the exile cannot accomplish anything. You cannot oppose the decree of God. Now, it is getting worse with tension and suffering.

That is the reason, because you cannot disobey the order of God. You want to know the solution. Simply, stop fighting God. Then, there would be peace, and look at history about living together.

IOL: You see the dismantlement of Israel as a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Would you please elaborate on that ?

Rabbi Weiss: When we are talking about the end of Israel, we are talking about its peaceful dismantlement, and the dismantlement of its nationalism. It does not mean the destruction of the Jews living there.

Throughout history, we have taught our children that Jews have found a safe haven in Muslim and Arab countries — except when we have Crusades and the Spanish inquisition — and we are thankful for that.

History shows that we can co-exist. Zionists turn history at its head. The Israeli propaganda is that Arabs want to bloodshed Jews, and that there is Arab hatred towards the Jews, but what Arabs and Palestinians want is self-respect and restoring their legitimate rights.

IslamOnline.net can lead other groups to open windows of opportunity for people who are seeking the truth.

IOL: If so, do you agree with Iran's president Ahmadinejad regarding the termination of Israel? How do you read his views on Israel? "The more religious[the Jews], the more anti-Zionist."

Rabbi Weiss: First of all, Zionists offend anybody who stands against them, even the devil himself. They defame anybody who stands against their corruption and evil doings.

We met President Ahmadinejad in New York three times, and in each time he clearly expressed his respect and friendship to the Jewish people. He is against the state of Israel and its aggressions against the Palestinians.

The claims that Ahmadinejad is calling for "wiping out all Jews" are not true. Ahmadinejad speaks the words exactly he speaks that Judaism is a good religion, but to do evil in the name of religion is evil too.

He said that the main cause for all sufferings whether be of Palestinians, Arabs, or Jews is Zionism.

People are asking why there are violent actions in Gaza, and we say that it is the result of oppression and occupation.

IOL: How do you envisage the Israeli PM Netanyahu's recent declaration about "Jewish identity" of the state of Israel?

Rabbi Weiss: First, people speak about the Jewish history, or the Jewish identity of Israel in contrast to the Torah, because it is evil done in the name of Jews by that Zionist movement.

The whole concept of Zionism is that God is not protecting us [Jews]. Zionists are mixing nationalism with religion, breaching every rule of the Torah, oppressing people, and then they falsely claim the Jewish identity of Israel.

Sometimes they use the Bible, and sometimes they do not. Sometimes they come with an approach of peace, but at the end of the day, their movement is evil, criminal, and has no right to exist. The existence of this state is the cause of the Palestinian suffering, and according to Judaism, it has no legitimacy.

IOL: Do you think the Zionist Lobby in the United States is somehow affected by the new US administration of President Obama and his new foreign policy pressuring Israel for a peaceful solution to the conflict?

Rabbi Weiss: We hope President Obama, who has an open ear to different opinions and views, can do something in this regard, although he did say that he has to support the state of Israel. This approach comes, unfortunately, from the propaganda and the Zionists' control of the media.

However, Obama listens to the other side and speaks about the presence of a Palestinian state. We hope that God opens the heart of President Obama for the truth, and we will wait and see.

The problem is always Zionism. So, the solution is to give the Palestinian people a Palestinian state. In order to give the remedy, you must know what the problem is.

IOL: You mentioned the "Zionists' control of media" in the United States. How much is the US media influenced by such pro-Israel lobbying groups?

Rabbi Weiss: Personally, we talked to the Pro-Israel AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that has influence in the United States. Many of AIPAC people are Zionists and they say it is a Zionist organization. They control media not only in the United States, but also in Canada. Besides that, they have a mediawatch apparatus. A newspaper may for example rewrite a story about Palestine many times, as they simply ask editors to cut out this or that.

Simply, they say that they have to do mediawatch that gets broad range of advertisers, and that could pressure them using the weapon of anti-Semitism.

The more religious [the Jews], the more anti-Zionist. And this is all around the world. Our name has been hijacked and kidnapped by the state of Israel.

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Hany Ramadan is a staff writer and editor for the Politics in Depth section of IslamOnline.net. He holds a pre-MA in English linguistics from Cairo University. He was awarded a Chevening Fellowship, 2008, by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, for studies in "Democracy, the Rule of Law, and Security" at the University of Birmingham, UK. Click here to reach him.

SOURCE

Neturei Karta meet with Haniyeh in Gaza

Neturei Karta with Haniyeh in Gaza (Photo: Reuters)

Four followers of ultra-Orthodox stream that doesn't recognize State of Israel travel to Gaza Strip by boat with international activists. Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh welcomes them, says Jews, Arabs not enemies. Next ship scheduled to dock in Gaza to carry Venezuela's Chavez
Ali Waked

While ultra-Orthodox, including Neturei Karta protest in Jerusalem against the arrest of the mother suspected of starving her son, a delegation of the religious stream that opposes the State of Israel arrived in Gaza on Thursday, where they met with Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh.

Four Neturei Karta members arrived in the Gaza Strip on the "Lifeline 2" boat along with dozens of international activists trying to break the siege on the Strip.

Hanyieh told his ultra-Orthodox guests that the Jews are not the enemies of the Arabs or Muslims. "Our problem is with the occupation, that stems from the Zionist ideology and its desire to disperse all the Palestinians."

Haniyeh praised his four Neturei Karta guests: "Those religious figures that express their objection to the siege, the aggression and the crimes – we can't help but respect them and for their beliefs and their culture."

The Hamas prime minister added, "This ship is proof that the American people is not entire a people of occupation and is not entirely on the side of the criminal Zionist regime.

"We view you as heroes, you are opening the eyes of the world to the siege in the Strip.

Officials in the Strip are now awaiting a third ship that is meant arrive carrying Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

SOURCE
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Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Glitch hits Visa users with more than $23 quadrillion charge

$23,148,855,308,184,500 charge is about 2,007 times the size of the national debt

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A technical snafu (= "Situation Normal, All Fucked Up") left some Visa prepaid cardholders stunned and horrified Monday to see a $23,148,855,308,184,500 charge on their statements.

That's about 2,007 times the size of the national debt.

Josh Muszynski, 22, of Manchester, New Hampshire, was one Visa customer aghast to find the 17-digit charge on his bill. Adding insult to injury, he had also been hit with a $15 overdraft fee.

He noticed that his debt exceeded the world GDP while making a routine balance inquiry on his online Bank of America account. According to his statement, he had spent the profound sum in one pop at a nearby Mobil gas station -- his regular stop for Camel cigarettes.

"Very, very panicked," he jumped in his car and sped to the station.

Had they perhaps noticed any "outrageous" charges come across their books recently, he inquired of the cashier there. She checked the records. They had not. Watch the story of an astounded customer in Memphis, Tennessee »

Muszynski wondered aloud what he might possibly have asked to purchase for such an astronomical price. "Can I buy Europe on pump 4?"

He next called Bank of America, the issuer of his Visa prepaid debit card. The bank kept him on hold for two hours, during which time he contemplated the impossibly bleak financial future that might await him. He also felt a stab of fear that he had saddled all his unborn grandchildren -- and their grandchildren -- with a lifetime of debt. "Down the generational line, nobody would have any money."

Finally, a bank representative told him that the $23 quadrillion charge -- and the $15 overdraft fee -- would be stricken from his account.

Muszynski compared the giant debt reprieve to receiving "an amazing Monopoly card that says, 'Bank error in your favor.' "

In a statement, Visa said the rogue charges affected "fewer than 13,000 prepaid transactions" and resulted from a "temporary programming error at Visa Debit Processing Services ... [which] caused some transactions to be inaccurately posted to a small number of Visa prepaid accounts."

The company assured customers that the problem has been fixed and that all falsely issued fees have been voided. "Erroneous postings have been removed ... this incident had no financial impact on Visa prepaid cardholders."

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Breaking silence on Gaza abuses

Soldiers are quoted saying they opened fire at any "suspect places"

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A human rights group founded by Israeli veterans has collected what it says are damning testimonies from soldiers who took part in the offensive in January against Hamas fighters in Gaza. BBC correspondent Paul Wood looks at the anonymous claims presented by Breaking the Silence.

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Standing by the ruins of his home in Gaza, Majdi Abed Rabbo explained how Israeli troops had used him as a human shield.

Israel's military is now looking into Majdi Abed Rabbo's claims

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"The Israeli soldiers handcuffed me and pointed the gun at my neck," he said. "They controlled every step."

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In this manner, Mr Abed Rabbo said, he was forced to go in ahead of Israeli soldiers as they cleared houses containing Palestinian gunmen.
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This same incident was described by one of the Israeli soldiers who spoke to Breaking the Silence.

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"A Palestinian neighbour is brought in," he says. "It was procedure. The soldier places his gun barrel on the civilian's

shoulder."
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If true, that was a clear breach of the international laws of war - which say soldiers have a duty of care to non-combatants - and of Israeli law.

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The Israeli Supreme Court outlawed the so-called "neighbour policy", of using Palestinians to shield advancing troops, in 2005.
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Until now, the Israeli army always had a ready answer to allegations that war crimes were committed during its offensive in Gaza.

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Such claims were, they said, Palestinian propaganda.
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Now, though, the accusations of abuse are being made by Israeli soldiers.

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Testimonies collected
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The common thread in the almost 30 testimonies collected by Breaking the Silence is that orders were given to prevent Israeli casualties, whatever the cost in Palestinian lives.

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Writing the report's introduction, the Israeli lawyer Michael Sfard says: "All the witnesses agreed that they received a particular order repeatedly, in a way that did not leave much room for doubt, to do everything, everything, so that they - the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) soldiers - would not be harmed.
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"The soldiers tell in their testimonies how this unwritten message, which came from brigade, battalion, and company commanders in morale-building conversations before entering Gaza, translated into zero patience for the life of enemy civilians."

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The lawyer adds: "Violations of the laws of war are liable to be war crimes."
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Here are just a few quotes which give a flavour of the soldiers' testimony. The accumulation of detail is convincing and, in the eyes of Israel's critics, damning.

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"Things are happening in his battalion of which he (the commander) has no idea. There are people who deserve to go to jail...
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"When your company commander and battalion commander tell you, 'Go on, fire!' the soldiers will not hold back. They are waiting for this day, the fun of shooting and feeling all that power in your hands...

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"Fire power was insane. We went in and the booms were just mad. The minute we got to our starting line, we simply began to fire at suspect places. You see a house, a window, shoot at the window. You don't see a terrorist there? Fire at the window. In urban warfare, anyone is your enemy. No innocents."
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Israeli military spokeswoman Lt Col Avital Leibovich dismissed the testimonies as anonymous

hearsay, designed to embarrass the army rather than lead to serious investigations.
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She questioned why Breaking the Silence had not handed over its findings earlier, before the

media were informed.
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"We are investigating many of the requests from NGOs and other groups," she said. "But when you have a report that is based on hearsay, with no facts whatsoever, we can't do anything with it."

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In the past, says the Israeli military, some allegations of wrong-doing in Gaza have turned out to be second or third-hand accounts, the result of soldiers recycling rumours in the battalion rather than describing what they themselves witnessed.
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Credible record

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But Breaking the Silence has a long - and to many, credible - record of getting soldiers to talk about experiences which might not reflect well on the Army.
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The group is funded by the British, Dutch and Spanish governments, as well as the EU.
It says the testimony is anonymous because of orders to Israeli soldiers not to speak out publicly.

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Some of the collected testimony is highly specific.
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In the case of Majdi Abed Rabbo, the Israeli military police have now opened an investigation, lending at least some credibility to the soldier who said the "neighbour policy" was in widespread use.

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The military maintains it went to extraordinary lengths to ensure civilians were not harmed in Gaza.
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The soldiers' testimony does describe in detail how leaflets were distributed in areas they were about to enter - warning people to leave.

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But it is what happened after that, says Breaking the Silence, which calls into question the morality of the Israeli army's actions.
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Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/8151336.stm

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Israel soldiers speak out on Gaza

A group of soldiers who took part in Israel's assault in Gaza say widespread abuses were committed against civilians under "permissive" rules of engagement.

The troops said they had been urged to fire on any building or person that seemed suspicious and said Palestinians were sometimes used as human shields.

Breaking the Silence, a campaign group made up of Israeli soldiers, gathered anonymous accounts from 26 soldiers.

Israel denies breaking the laws of war and dismissed the report as hearsay.

The report says testimonies show "the massive and unprecedented blow to the infrastructure and civilians" was a result of Israeli military policy, articulated by the rules of engagement, and encouraged by a belief "the reality of war requires them to shoot and not to ask questions".

One soldier is quoted saying: "The soldiers were made to understand that their lives were the most important, and that there was no way our soldiers would get killed for the sake of leaving civilians the benefit of the doubt."

From Paul Wood, BBC Middle East correspondent:

Until now, Israel always had a ready answer to allegations of war crimes in Gaza. Claims were, they said, Palestinian propaganda. Now the accusations of abuse are being made by Israeli soldiers.

The common thread in the testimonies is that orders were given to prevent Israeli casualties whatever the cost in Palestinian lives.

The Israeli military says past allegations of wrong-doing in Gaza were the result of soldiers recycling rumours.

But Breaking the Silence has a long - and to many, credible - record in getting soldiers to talk about experiences which might not reflect well on the army.

Another says: "People were not instructed to shoot at everyone they see, but they were told that from a certain distance when they approach a house, no matter who it is - even an old woman - take them down."

Many of the testimonies are in line with claims made by human rights organisations that Israeli military action in Gaza was indiscriminate and disproportionate.

Amnesty International has accused both Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group in charge in Gaza, of committing war crimes during the 22-day conflict which ended on 18 January.
Israeli officials insist troops went to great lengths to protect civilians, that Hamas endangered non-combatants by firing from civilian areas and that homes and buildings were destroyed only when there was a specific military need to do so.

'Ill discipline'

Other allegations in the testimonies of the 14 conscripts and 12 reserve soldiers include:

• Civilians were used as human shields, entering buildings ahead of soldiers
“ You can't identify too much at night and anything that moves you engage in order not to take risks. It was not defined this way officially, but it was obvious ” Anonymous Israeli soldier

• Large swathes of homes and buildings were demolished as a precaution or to secure clear lines of fire for the future.

• Some of the troops had a generally aggressive, ill-disciplined attitude
• There was incidents of vandalism of property of Palestinians

• Soldiers fired at water tanks because they were bored, at a time of severe water shortages for Gazans

• White phosphorus was used in civilian areas in a way some soldiers saw as gratuitous and reckless

• Many of the soldiers said there had been very little direct engagement with Palestinian militants.

The report says Israeli troops and the people who justify their actions are "slid[ing] together down the moral slippery slope".

"This is an urgent call to Israeli society and its leaders to sober up and investigate anew the results of our actions," Breaking the Silence says.

Israel said the purpose of Operation Cast Lead had been to end rocket fire from Gaza aimed at its southern towns.

Palestinian rights groups say about 1,400 Palestinians died during the operation. Thirteen Israelis died in the conflict, including 10 soldiers serving in Gaza.

According to the UN, the campaign damaged or destroyed more than 50,000 homes, 800 industrial properties, 200 schools, 39 mosques and two churches.

Investigations

Reacting to the report, Israeli military spokeswoman Lt Col Avital Leibovich said:

"The IDF [Israel Defence Forces] regrets the fact that another human rights organisation has come out with a report based on anonymous and general testimony - without investigating their credibility."

She dismissed the document as "hearsay and word of mouth".

"The IDF expects every soldier to turn to the appropriate authorities with any allegation," Lt Col Leibovich added. "This is even more important where the harm is to non-combatants. The IDF has uncompromising ethical values which continue to guide us in every mission."

There have been several investigations into the conduct of Israel's operation in Gaza, and both Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs the territory, have faced accusations of war crimes.

An internal investigations by the Israeli military said troops fought lawfully, although errors did take place, such as the deaths of 21 people in a house that had been wrongly targeted.

A fact-finding team commissioned by the Arab League concluded there was enough evidence to prosecute the Israeli military for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and that "the Israeli political leadership was also responsible for such crimes".

It also said Palestinian militants were guilty of war crimes in their use of indiscriminate rocket attacks on civilians.

A selection of your comments may be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below.

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Tuesday, July 14, 2009

IDF soldier: We used Gazans as human shields

By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent

The Israel Defense Forces used Palestinians as human shields during Operation Cast Lead last January despite a 2005 High Court ruling outlawing the practice, a Golani brigade soldier says. He says he did not see Palestinians being used as human shields but was told by his commanders that this occurred.

The soldier says his unit employed a variation of the practice, the so-called "neighbor procedure," when it checked homes for Palestinian militants.

The soldier's testimony appears in a collection of accounts being published this week by Breaking the Silence, an organization that collects IDF soldiers' testimony on human rights abuses by the military. The Golani soldier gave similar testimony in a meeting with a Haaretz reporter.

The IDF Spokesman's Office, for its part, says that "the IDF regrets the fact that a human rights organization would again present to the country and the world a report containing anonymous, generalized testimony without checking the details or their reliability, and without giving the IDF, as a matter of minimal fairness, the opportunity to check the matters and respond to them before publication."

The soldier's allegations relate to IDF conduct during fighting in the eastern part of Gaza City. The soldier, a staff sergeant, says that in his unit and others, Palestinians were often sent into houses to determine if there was anyone inside.

"The practice was not to call it 'the neighbor procedure.' Instead it was called 'Johnny,'" the soldier said, using IDF slang for Palestinian civilians. The IDF employed this practice extensively during the second intifada, before it was outlawed by the High Court of Justice in 2005.

At every home, the soldier said, if there were armed occupants, the house was besieged, with the goal of getting the militants out of the building alive. The soldier said he was present at several such operations.

In an incident his commanders told him about, three armed militants were in a house. Attack helicopters were brought in. "They ... again sent the [Palestinian] neighbor in. At first he said that nothing had happened [to the armed men]," the soldier said.

"Again they brought in attack helicopters and fired. They again sent in the neighbor. He said there were two dead and one still alive. They then brought in a bulldozer and began to knock the house down on him until [the neighbor] entered." The soldier said he had been told that the only militant remaining alive was captured and turned over to the Shin Bet security service.

The Golani soldier also testified that his commanders reported incidents in which Palestinians were given sledgehammers to break through walls to let the army enter through the side of houses. The army feared that the doors were booby-trapped.

The soldier added, however, that although the unit commander justified the use of the so-called Johnny procedure, the commander said he was not aware that sledgehammers had been given to civilians or that weapons were pointed at civilians. The commander said the allegations would be looked into.

The soldier said he had heard of other instances in which Palestinian civilians were used as human shields. One time, for example, a Palestinian was put at the front of an IDF force with a gun pointed at him from behind. But the soldier said he had not seen this himself.

The IDF Spokesman's Office said in a statement that on initial consideration, a few of the allegations appear to be similar to allegations published several months ago after a lecture by officers to cadets at a pre-military academy.

"Now, too," the spokesman said, "a considerable portion of the testimony is based on rumors and secondhand accounts. Most of the incidents relate to anonymous testimony lacking in identifying details, and accordingly it is not possible to check the allegations on an individual basis in a way that would enable an investigation, confirmation or refutation."

The spokesman said the Breaking the Silence report suggests that the organization might not be interested in a reliable comprehensive examination of the allegations, "and to our regret this is not the first time the organization has taken this course of action. The IDF is obligated to examine every well-founded complaint it receives."

The spokesman also noted that allegations by Breaking the Silence containing specifics would be investigated. "The IDF expects that every soldier and commander who suspects there was a witness to a violation of orders or procedures, and especially with respect to violations causing injury to noncombatants, will bring all of the details to the attention of authorized parties," the spokesman said.
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SOURCE

Monday, July 13, 2009

Sudan women 'lashed for trousers'

UNBELIEVABLE - STRAIGHT FROM THE ABYSS OF THE MIDDLE AGES!!

Several Sudanese women have been flogged as a punishment for dressing "indecently", according to a local journalist who was arrested with them.

Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein, who says she is facing 40 lashes, said she and 12 other women wearing trousers were arrested in a restaurant in the capital, Khartoum.

She told the BBC several of the women had pleaded guilty to the charges and had 10 lashes immediately.

Khartoum, unlike South Sudan, is governed by Sharia law.

Several of those punished were from the mainly Christian and animist south, Ms Hussein said.

Non-Muslims are not supposed to be subject to Islamic law, even in Khartoum and other parts of the mainly Muslim north.

She said that a group of about 20 or 30 police officers entered the popular Khartoum restaurant and arrested all the women wearing trousers.

"I was wearing trousers and a blouse and the 10 girls who were lashed were wearing like me, there was no difference," she told the BBC's Arabic service.

Ms Hussein said some women pleaded guilty to "get it over with" but others, including herself, chose to speak to their lawyers and are awaiting their fates.

Under Sharia law in Khartoum, the normal punishment for "indecent" dressing is 40 lashes.

Ms Hussein is a well-known reporter who writes a weekly column called Men Talk for Sudanese papers. She also works for the United Nations Mission in Sudan.

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Netanyahu: Palestinian refugees must never return to their homes

Date: 13 / 07 / 2009 Time: 17:25

Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Palestinians to give up the right of return to their homes in what is now Israel as a precondition for a future peace deal.

Speaking on Sunday evening at a ceremony marking the 105th anniversary of the death of Zionist leader Theodore Herzl, Netanyahu said "They [Palestinians] must abandon their demand to settle the descendents of Palestinian refugees in Israel and gradually 'eat away' at the State of Israel after a peace agreement is signed," according to Israel’s Ynet news website.

In 1948, Jewish and Israeli forces expelled more than 726,000 Palestinians from their homes in the land on which the Israeli state was declared, according to United Nations figures. Today, Palestine refugees and their descendants are some 5.5 million people.

The Palestinian leadership currently refuses to negotiate with Netanyahu’s right wing government because he refuses to order a halt to construction of illegal settlements in the West Bank, and rejects the notion of a fully sovereign Palestinian state.

Netanyahu has also demanded that Palestinians recognize Israel as a “Jewish state,” an indirect way of foreclosing the right of return, since Israel asserts that its Jewish nature is based on a Jewish majority, a situation that by definition prohibits the refugees’ return.

The Israeli leader repeated this demand on Sunday. "The Jewish state is the key to our existence and the key to achieving peace with our neighbors," he was quoted as saying.

Palestinians argue that the right of return is both a collective and individual right which, even if Palestinian and Israeli negotiators take it up, cannot legally be forfeited on the behalf of the individual refugees.

SOURCE
~

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Israel to build 50 new homes in settlement

A view of the West Bank Jewish settlement of Adam (back) is seen north of Jerusalem. - Reuters photo

JERUSALEM: Israel’s Defence Ministry said on Monday it had approved construction of 50 new homes at a West Bank settlement as part of a plan for 1,450 housing units, an expansion that defies a US call for a settlement freeze.

News of the planned building work emerged hours before Defence Minister Ehud Barak left for the United States for talks aimed at narrowing a rift with Washington over settlements.

He will meet President Barack Obama’s Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, in New York on Tuesday, Barak’s office said.

An affidavit submitted by the Defence Ministry to the Supreme Court outlined plans to relocate settlers from Migron, an outpost built in the West Bank without Israeli government permission, to the settlement of Adam, north of Jerusalem.

According to the document, a response to a court case brought by the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now, a master plan for Adam calls for the construction of 1,450 homes there.

But the ministry said it had given the go-ahead for the construction of only 50 of the dwellings and any additional units would require its separate approval.

Obama has pressed Israel to halt settlement activity as part of a bid to revive peace talks under which the Palestinians would gain statehood.

In a rare dispute between Israel and its main ally, the United States, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to declare a settlement freeze, saying some construction should continue to match population growth within the enclaves.

Some 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and Arab East Jerusalem, territory Israel captured in a 1967 war. Palestinians say settlements, deemed illegal by the World Court, could deny them a viable and contiguous state.

Peace Now said some 2,500 settlement homes are currently under construction in the West Bank.

In the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated his refusal to resume negotiations with Israel until it froze settlement.

‘We won’t accept the continuation of settlements,’ he said.

Abbas also urged Netanyahu to drop his conditions for the creation of a Palestinian state, which include international guarantees it would have no army and a demand the Palestinians recognise Israel as a Jewish state.—Reuters

LAW OF THE JUNGLE - Israeli intransigence

Dawn Editorial
Sunday, 12 Jul, 2009 | 08:30 AM PST

It is apparent that Israel believes in the law of the jungle.

Reuters/File Photo

An Israeli official let the world know the truth about his country’s intentions when he said on Friday that Tel Aviv would not withdraw from the Golan Heights for the sake of peace with Syria.

The statement by Uzi Arad, who is considered one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest aides, is among the many Israeli policy moves which have come one after another in a bid to sabotage President Barack Obama’s Middle East peace initiative. It has made known to the world that the Israeli leadership does not believe in the ‘land for peace’ formula. In fact, the reasons given by Mr Arad for Israel’s continued occupation of the Golan are shockingly self-serving.

Israel needed the Golan Heights, the Netanyahu aide said, for ‘strategic, military and settlement reasons … [and for] water, landscape and wine’. Apparently, truth, justice and peace — the principles in which humanity believes and which form the basis of the world’s three major monotheistic faiths — have been ditched to quench Israel’s insatiable thirst for other people’s lands.

Golan is not the only issue where Israel has defied Mr Obama. During his last visit to Washington before the American president embarked on his Middle East tour for the epoch-making June 4 speech, Mr Netanyahu displayed an appalling rigidity in his policies and during the joint press conference with the American president made no mention of settlement activity which Mr Obama wanted halted. In his address to the Muslim world Mr Obama again called for a halt to all settlement activity. But, according to press reports, Israel and America have struck a deal under which Tel Aviv will go ahead with the construction of 2,500 more houses for settlers.

Israel has already annexed Jerusalem and the Golan Heights in violation of international law and various UN resolutions and it has decided to continue settlement activity irrespective of what America wants. It is apparent that Israel believes in the law of the jungle. It is sure in the knowledge that the power of the Israel lobby in America is on its side, and what Mr Obama wants is of little consequence.

PLEASE HELP PREVENT CHILD ABUSE!

Posted by dummyanddumdum, November 12, 2006

~~

Early Adulthood, Stolen Childhood

PALESTINIAN CHILDREN POLITICAL PRISONERS

Since the beginning of this Intifada in September 2000, over 2500 children have been arrested. Currently there are at least 340 Palestinian children being held in Israeli Prisons.

According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted on 20 November 1989 and entered into force on 2 September1990 (to which Israel is a signatory), and to relevant Israeli law, a child is defined as every human being under the age of 18 years. This is reiterated in the UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, adopted by General Assembly Resolution 45/113 of 14 December 1990. However, Palestinian children from the age of 16 years are considered adults under Israeli military regulations governing the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

As is the case with adult prisoners, child detainees are transferred to prisons located within Israel. The primary prisons in which Palestinian child male detainees are held are Hasharon (Telmond), near Netanya, and Megiddo, near Haifa. Girl child prisoners are transferred to Neve Tertza Prison (Ramleh). Interrogation of child detainees takes place at Beit El and Huwarra Interrogation Centers, and occasionally other interrogation centers, and Palestinian child administrative detainees are held with adult administrative detainees at both Ofer and Negev Military Prison Camps. Palestinian children are primarily arrested at Israeli military checkpoints, from their homes, or from the street.

Arrests from Military Checkpoints

Palestinian children arrested from Israeli military checkpoints are often made to wait for hours at the checkpoint, with their hands cuffed, before they are transferred to detention and interrogation centers. More often than not, Palestinian child detainees are subject to beatings, curses and threats during the transfer. In most cases, their families are not informed of their arrest, with child prisoners additionally being transferred from one prison to another without informing the family. As a result, it often takes some time before a child detainee is located and the family informed of his/her location.

Arrests from Home

Arrests of Palestinian children often happen in the middle of the night from the child’s home, with tens of soldiers surrounding the house and then raiding it. Soldiers usually do not have a warrant for arrest or searches. The entire house is searched, often ransacked and personal property destroyed, occupants humiliated and harassed.

Detention Centers and Prisons

Megiddo Military Prison

Megiddo is a military prison camp located north of the West Bank and administered by the Israeli Ministry of Defence. Palestinian male child prisoners between the ages of 16-18 are held at the military prison camp together with Palestinian adult prisoners.

Over 1,000 Palestinian detainees are held at Megiddo, including approximately 80 child prisoners aged between 16-18. Prisoners are held in military tents and divided amongst 5 different sections of the prison, with each section accommodating 8 tents. Palestinian child prisoners at Megiddo do not receive any special education as they are considered adults under Israeli military regulations and are therefore unable to continue their studies whilst in detention. Child prisoners are subject to medical negligence from the prison administration.

Hasharon (Telmond) Prison

Hasharon (Telmond) Prison is a central prison located between Tel Aviv and Netanya, administered by the Israeli Prisons Authority. The prison dates to the British Mandate period and is in disrepair. From the beginning of the 1990’s, Palestinian male child prisoners below the age of 16 have been held in various sections of the prison.

Sections 7 and 8 of Hasharon Prison are the primary areas in which Palestinian child prisoners are held. Section 7 holds 38 child prisoners and Section 8 holds 50 child prisoners. The cells in each of the sections consist of a total of 21 beds and 1 toilet. Palestinian child prisoners who hold Israeli blue identity cards (Jerusalemites or citizens of Israel) are held in the Ofek section of the prison, which is a rehabilitation section intended for Israeli juvenile criminal prisoners. The prison includes an outside yard that is enclosed by high walls and is approximately15m by 15m. All prisoners use the yard during their outdoor breaks.

Prior to the beginning of the current Intifada, Palestinian child prisoners were held in section 9 of the prison, separated from criminal prisoners and receiving special education. However, at the beginning of the current Intifada, as a result of the dramatic increase of child arrests, Palestinian child prisoners from the West Bank and Gaza Strip began to be placed in criminal sections of Ofek prison and subject to increased harassment.

Neve Tertza (Ramleh) Prison

This prison is administered by the Israeli Prisons Authority and holds female prisoners.? In 2002, 11 girl child prisoners were being held in Israeli prisons, the youngest being Zeinab Al Shouli and ‘Aisha ‘Obeyat, who both turned 15 whilst in prison.

Ofer and Negev (Ketziot) Military Prison Camps

Palestinian male child prisoners serving administrative detention orders are held together with adult Palestinian male prisoners at both Ofer and Negev Military Prison Camps. The Israel Ministry of Defence administers both military prison camps.

Conditions of detention in which Palestinian child prisoners are held

Palestinian child prisoners are held in inhumane conditions of detention, made to live in overcrowded and filthy cells. Often, children are placed in small solitary confinement cells, measuring 1.5 square meters, that are extremely humid and have no windows for natural light, or with bright artificial light that is continuously kept on. This forces prisoners to remain awake at all times, depriving the prisoner of sleep for days in some cases. Prisoners do not receive sufficient food to meet the daily nutrition requirements for children, are prevented from going to the toilet at their will, and are not allowed a change of clothing.

The UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty offers clear standards for the conditions of detention that children may be held in within Section D of the rules:

D. Physical environment and accommodation

31. Juveniles deprived of their liberty have the right to facilities and services that meet all the requirements of health and human dignity.

32. The design of detention facilities for juveniles and the physical environment should be in keeping with the rehabilitative aim of residential treatment, with due regard to the need of the juvenile for privacy, sensory stimuli, opportunities for association with peers and participation in sports, physical exercise and leisure-time activities. The design and structure of juvenile detention facilities should be such as to minimize the risk of fire and to ensure safe evacuation from the premises. There should be an effective alarm system in case of fire, as well as formal and drilled procedures to ensure the safety of the juveniles. Detention facilities should not be located in areas where there are known health or other hazards or risks.

33. Sleeping accommodation should normally consist of small group dormitories or individual bedrooms, while bearing in mind local standards. During sleeping hours there should be regular, unobtrusive supervision of all sleeping areas, including individual rooms and group dormitories, in order to ensure the protection of each juvenile. Every juvenile should, in accordance with local or national standards, be provided with separate and sufficient bedding, which should be clean when issued, kept in good order and changed often enough to ensure cleanliness.

34. Sanitary installations should be so located and of a sufficient standard to enable every juvenile to comply, as required, with their physical needs in privacy and in a clean and decent manner.

35. The possession of personal effects is a basic element of the right to privacy and essential to the psychological well being of the juvenile. The right of every juvenile to possess personal effects and to have adequate storage facilities for them should be fully recognized and respected. Personal effects that the juvenile does not choose to retain or that are confiscated should be placed in safe custody. An inventory thereof should be signed by the juvenile. Steps should be taken to keep them in good condition. All such articles and money should be returned to the juvenile on release, except in so far as he or she has been authorized to spend money or send such property out of the facility. If a juvenile receives or is found in possession of any medicine, the medical officer should decide what use should be made of it.

36. To the extent possible juveniles should have the right to use their own clothing. Detention facilities should ensure that each juvenile has personal clothing suitable for the climate and adequate to ensure good health, and which should in no manner be degrading or humiliating. Juveniles removed from or leaving a facility for any purpose should be allowed to wear their own clothing.

37. Every detention facility shall ensure that every juvenile receives food that is suitably prepared and presented at normal meal times and of a quality and quantity to satisfy the standards of dietetics, hygiene and health and, as far as possible, religious and cultural requirements. Clean drinking water should be available to every juvenile at any time.

The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, applicable to all imprisoned individuals, also specifies the standards required for conditions of detention:

9. (1) Where sleeping accommodation is in individual cells or rooms, each prisoner shall occupy by night a cell or room by himself. If for special reasons, such as temporary overcrowding, it becomes necessary for the central prison administration to make an exception to this rule, it is not desirable to have two prisoners in a cell or room.

(2) Where dormitories are used, they shall be occupied by prisoners carefully selected as being suitable to associate with one another in those conditions. There shall be regular supervision by night, in keeping with the nature of the institution.

10. All accommodation provided for the use of prisoners and in particular all sleeping accommodation shall meet all requirements of health, due regard being paid to climatic conditions and particularly to cubic content of air, minimum floor space, lighting, heating and ventilation

Interrogation

Palestinian child detainees are subject to physical and psychological torture during their interrogation in order to force them to confess to activities they may or may not have done. The majority of confessions and sentences are related to throwing stones. Under extreme physical and psychological pressure, children often confess to such activities to end the circumstances they find themselves, often confessing to things they didn't do.

During interrogation, children are isolated from their families and lawyers are often not informed of the place of their detention. The child is usually not allowed to meet with a lawyer during the first period of interrogation, confining the child's world to the interrogation room and the interrogator, adding to the psychological stress the child already finds himself/herself in.

Child detainees are interrogated by either the Israeli police of by officers of the Israeli General Security Services (GSS). The initial interrogation period lasts for 4 days, with the possibility of renewal for another 4 days by the interrogation team. After this 8-day period, the child detainee must be brought before a military judge.

Health Conditions

Like all Palestinian prisoners, Palestinian child prisoners are subject to medical negligence from the prison administration. Simple medical treatment, such as painkillers, is often refused the prisoners if the doctor is not available in the prison at the time. Prisoners must wait until the next morning, when the doctor or nurse is in the prison, before they are administered painkillers or examined. Prisoners are not given regular medical checkups, and it can take up to 6 months before a prisoner is seen by a specialist, if the medical conditions warrant it. For example, child prisoners Nasser Zeid, Wadee’ Hassanain, and Abdullah Atta have needed urgent eye examinations and glasses for at least 4 months.

Israeli authorities are in clear violation of international law in the medical negligence practiced against Palestinian child prisoners. The UN Minimum Standard Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, under the section relating medical services, provides that:

22. (1) At every institution there shall be available the services of at least one qualified medical officer who should have some knowledge of psychiatry. The medical services should be organized in close relationship to the general health administration of the community or nation. They shall include a psychiatric service for the diagnosis and, in proper cases, the treatment of states of mental abnormality.

(2) Sick prisoners who require specialist treatment shall be transferred to specialized institutions or to civil hospitals. Where hospital facilities are provided in an institution, their equipment, furnishings and pharmaceutical supplies shall be proper for the medical care and treatment of sick prisoners, and there shall be a staff of suitable trained officers.

(3) The services of a qualified dental officer shall be available to every prisoner.

Food

Food provided to Palestinian child prisoners is prepared by Israeli criminal prisoners and is poor in both quality and quantity. The food is often undercooked, lacking in flavor, and does not meet the daily nutritional requirements for children. Article 20 (1) of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners states that "every prisoner shall be provided by the administration at the usual hours with food of nutritional value adequate for health and strength, of wholesome quality and well prepared and served." This is clearly not the case for Palestinian child prisoners held within Israeli prisons.

Right to Education

Despite the fact that the majority of Palestinian child prisoners are arrested whilst they are still school students, the Israeli authorities clearly neglect the child's right to education whilst in detention. The prison administration does not provide the conditions or materials required to continue their education, despite the fact that international law clearly states that children must be afforded the right to education in all circumstances. In particular, the Israeli authorities neglect of child prisoners right to education is a clear violation of the educational requirements of prisoners stipulated in the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners:

77. (1) "Provision shall be made for the further education of all prisoners capable of profiting thereby, including religious instruction in the countries where this is possible. The education of illiterates and young prisoners shall be compulsory and special attention shall be paid to it by the administration."

(2) “ So far as practicable, the education of prisoners shall be integrated with the educational system of the country so that after their release they may continue their education without difficulty.”

Summary of violations

Attacks by Israeli criminal prisoners, including threats and stabbings.
Subject to sexual, physical and verbal harassment. Sexual harassment has been practiced against a number of child prisoners and threats of beatings if the child reports the incident to the administration. One child prisoner who complained to the administration about sexual harassment was attacked by Israeli criminal prisoners with knives and injured in his leg.
Theft of personal belongings, including phone cards, shoes and foodstuff that is purchased from the prison canteen.
Absence of newspapers and recreational facilities.
Prevention of family visits, and the subsequent psychological impact on child prisoners.
Held in sections with criminal prisoners.
Deprived of continuation of education whilst in detention.
The absence of the psychological care and counselors within the prison.
Tortured during the interrogation period.
Feeling alone and isolated from the outside world.
Attempts to coerce children to work as collaborators with Israeli security agencies.
Absence of entertainment and cultural items.
Medical negligence.

Additional issues regarding child prisoners

It is prohibited to use forms of torture such as shackling as a means of punishment against child prisoners. However, this is common practice in Israeli prisons with child prisoners. Child prisoners held for security reasons should be detained in separate sections and apart from criminal prisoners. In violation of this principle, Palestinian child prisoners detained for security reasons are held with Israeli criminal prisoners.

Does Israel Mistreat Palestinian Child Prisoners?

By Tim McGirk / Jerusalem

Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2009

(JUST FOR THE RECORDS - THERE SHOULD NOT BE ANY (!) CHILD PRISONERS TO START WITH!!!)

Walid Abu Obeida, a 13-year-old Palestinian farm boy from the West Bank village of Ya'abad, had never spoken to an Israeli until he rounded a corner at dusk carrying his shopping bags and found two Israeli soldiers waiting with their rifles aimed at him. "They accused me of throwing stones at them," recounts Walid, a skinny kid with dark eyes. "Then one of them smacked me in the face, and my nose started bleeding."

According to Walid, the two soldiers blindfolded and handcuffed him, dragged him to a jeep and drove away. All that his family would know about their missing son was that his shopping bags with meat and rice for that evening's dinner were found in the dusty road near an olive grove. Over the course of several days in April last year, the boy says he was moved from an army camp to a prison, where he was crammed into a cell with five other children, cursed at and humiliated by the guards and beaten by his interrogator until he confessed to stone-throwing. (See pictures of Israeli soldiers sweeping into Gaza.)

Walid says he saw his parents for only five seconds when he was brought before an Israeli military court and accused by the uniformed prosecutor not only of throwing stones but of "striking an Israeli officer." The military judge ignored the latter charge and chose to prosecute Walid only for allegedly heaving a stone at soldiers.

The boy got off lightly: he spent 28 days in prison and was fined 500 shekels (approximately $120). Under Israeli military law, which prevails in the Palestinian territories, the crime of throwing a stone at an Israeli solider or even at the monolithic 20-ft.-high "security barrier" enclosing much of the West Bank can carry a maximum 20-year-prison sentence.

Since 2000, according to the Palestinian Ministry for Prisoner Affairs, more than 6,500 children have been arrested, mostly for hurling rocks.

Walid's story is hardly unusual, judging from a report on the Israeli military-justice system in the West Bank compiled by the Palestine office of the Geneva-based Defense for Children International, which works closely with the U.N. and European states. Human-rights groups in Israel and elsewhere have also condemned the punishment meted out to Palestinian children by Israeli military justice. Most onerous, says Sarit Michaeli of the Israeli human-rights group B'Tselem, is that inside the territories, the Israeli military deems any Palestinian who is 16 years and older as an adult, while inside Israel, the U.S. and most other countries, adulthood is reached at age 18.

The report states that "the ill-treatment and torture" of Palestinian child prisoners" appears to be widespread, systematic and institutionalized, suggesting complicity at all levels of the political and military chain of command." The group's director, Rifaat Kassis, says the number of child arrests rose sharply in the past six months, possibly because of a crackdown on Palestinian protests in the West Bank in the aftermath of Israel's military offensive in Gaza.

Watch a video about Israel's lonesome doves.

Watch TIME's video "Protesting Gaza, Carefully, in the West Bank."

The Geneva organization's report alleges that under Israeli military justice, it is the norm for children to be interrogated by the Israeli police and army without either a lawyer or a family member present and that most of their convictions are due to confessions extracted during interrogation sessions or from "secret evidence," usually tip-offs from unnamed Palestinian informers. If so, the practice may violate the U.N. Convention Against Torture, which Israel ratified in 1991. In response to TIME's queries, a lawyer for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that under "security legislation" and Israel's interpretation of international law, no lawyer or relative need be present during a child's interrogation.

The children's rights defenders collected testimony from 33 minors, including a child identified merely as "Ezzat H.," who described a "soldier wearing black sunglasses [who] came into the room where I was held and pointed his rifle at me. The rifle barrel was a few centimeters from my face. I was so terrified that I started to shiver. He made fun of me and said: 'Shivering? Tell me where the [father's hidden] pistol is before I shoot you.' " According to the report, Ezzat was 10 years old at the time. TIME asked the IDF to comment on the specific incidents mentioned in the report, but a spokesman said that would be impossible without knowing the names of the soldiers allegedly involved. (See pictures of life under Hamas in Gaza.)

Often, children suffer lasting traumas from jail. Says Saleh Nazzal of the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoner Affairs: "When soldiers burst into a house and drag away a child, he loses his feeling of being protected by his family. He comes back from prison alienated from his family, his friends. They don't like going back to school or even leaving the house. They start wetting their beds." Says Mona Zaghrout, a YMCA counselor who helps kids returning from prison: "They come out of prison thinking and acting like they are men. Their childhood is gone." And they often turn to another father figure — the armed militant groups fighting the Israeli occupation.

According to the Israeli human-rights group Breaking the Silence, a few Israeli soldiers are alarmed by their own troops' behavior. The group cites the testimony of two officers who complained before a military court that during an operation last March in Hares village, soldiers herded 150 male villagers, some as young as 14, into a schoolyard in the middle of the night, where they were kept bound, blindfolded and beaten over the course of more than 12 hours.

A U.N. Committee Against Torture, which met on May 15 in Geneva, expressed its "concern" over Israel's alleged abuses of Palestinian child prisoners. The IDF denies any ill treatment of children detainees and insists that all claims are thoroughly investigated and that the number of complaints has dropped. But Khalid Quzman, a defense lawyer at the Israeli military courts, says, "We don't complain anymore because it's a waste of time." More than 600 complaints of torture and ill treatment were filed between 2001 and 2008, he says, "and not a single criminal investigation was ever carried out."

Inculcating respect for an occupying force is, of course, a difficult task under any circumstances. In the case of the Palestinians, history and society have made hatred for Israel almost an instinct. Still, there was shock in June among Palestinians when members of a West Bank family were accused of hanging a boy for suspected collaboration with Israeli forces.

Israel's treatment of Palestinian children and teens as combatants perpetuates the cycle of hatred. After a spell in an Israeli jail, it's hard for a young Palestinian to stay uninvolved. Walid says he never cared much for anything aside from his school friends and family before his incarceration. Now he bears a radioactive hatred towards Israelis. "The soldiers' curses and insults, I'll carry them to my grave," he says. —

With reporting by Jamil Hamad / Hebron and Yonit Farago / Jerusalem

My two cents ...

~
Adon Rosh ha'Memshala .. ...

As long as you hurt, deceive, steal from, harm and kill your neighbors, your country won't be accepted nor respected but rejected and even hated! Why don't you understand?
~
Don't you know that ...
~
... WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND? MAYBE TOMORROW, MAYBE IN ONE, THREE OR TEN YEARS, NOBODY KNOWS - BUT IT WILL HAPPEN!
~
It is a law of nature (which not even YOU can fight) ...
... or call it first law of Isaak Newton, it doesn't matter.
FACT IS - IT WILL HAPPEN!
~
You WANT security? PROVIDE security for your neighbors!

You WANT acceptance? ACCEPT!
~
You WANT respect? SHOW RESPECT!
~
You WANT justice? GIVE JUSTICE !!
~
You WANT peace, REAL peace? OFFER PEACE, REAL PEACE!!
~
Not on YOUR terms ONLY ... but TOGETHER,
as neither you nor anyone else
will get the whole cake! !

STOP, REMOVE SETTLEMENTS
(and rein in these hooligans)
~
REMOVE THE WALL
~
OPEN THE BOARDERS
~
LIFT THE SIEGE ON GAZA
~
LIFT THE OCCUPATION!!
~
That's the baseline, the ONLY recipe.
~
Think of it ...
~
~

SKATING BABIES ... hilaaaaarious!!!!

Report: Iraqi sandstorm heading toward region

Dubai – Ma’an/Agencies - Meteorologists warned Sunday that a large dust storm carrying two billion tons of sand and soil was advancing toward Palestine on Saturday.

According to a report aired on the Dubai-based Al-Arabiyya satellite TV station, the week-long storm is an expansion of one that descended on Iraq last week, sending hundreds of people to the hospital.

The storm hit Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

Many Baghdad shops stayed closed last Sunday, while police wearing masks directed thin streams of traffic through eerily misty streets. Hospital emergency rooms were packed with people complaining about breathing problems, officials said.

"This is the worst dust storm we have ever had in Iraq," said Dr Jasib Lateef, operations manager at the Iraqi Health Ministry. "A large number of people are turning up at emergency rooms at hospitals, straining our resources."

A NASA satellite recently picked up images of the dust storm from space that revealed its sheer scale, covering a vast swathe of northwestern Iraq.

SOURCE
~

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Racism in 2009: Black Kids Kicked Out Of Philly Pool For ''Changing Its Complexion'' (video)

SHAME ON THEM - NOTHING BUT DIRTY RACISM!!

The alledged excuse was a safety issue .. it proved to be WRONG! There were enough life guards and some of the accompanying parents were trained life guards as well so - NONSENSE!
I HOPE people will open their eyes and SHUN this swimming pool of "The Valley Swim Club"!!!

More than 60 campers from Northeast Philadelphia were turned away from a private swim club and left to wonder if their race was the reason.

I heard this lady, she was like, Uh, what are all these black kids doing here? Shes like, Im scared they might do something to my child, said camper Dymire Baylor.

The Creative Steps Day Camp paid more than $1900 to The Valley Swim Club. The Valley Swim Club is a private club that advertises open membership. But the campers first visit to the pool suggested otherwise.

When the minority children got in the pool all of the Caucasian children immediately exited the pool, Horace Gibson, parent of a day camp child, wrote in an email. The pool attendants came and told the black children that they did not allow minorities in the club and needed the children to leave immediately.

The next day the club told the camp director that the camps membership was being suspended and their money would be refunded.

I said, The parents dont want the refund. They want a place for their children to swim, camp director Aetha Wright said.

SOURCE

Rabbis announce communal fast for Gaza

Bethlehem - Ma'an - A group of rabbis and Jews has committed to undertaking a monthly daytime fast in support of Palestinians in Gaza, their website said.

In Jewish tradition a communal fast is held in times of crisis both as an expression of mourning and a call to repentance.

"The Torah teaches, Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s blood is being spilled (Leviticus 19:16). As Jews and people of conscience, we can no longer stand idly by Israel’s collective punishment of the Palestinian people in Gaza," the group said.

In this spirit Ta’anit Tzedek, Hebrew for Jewish Fast for Gaza, "is a collective act of conscience initiated by an ad hoc group of rabbis, Jews, people of faith, and all concerned with the ongoing crisis in Gaza," they added.

The rabbis also called for lifting the blockade on Gaza, which they said prevents the entry of civilian goods and services, as well as for increasing aid to the Strip's people.

Participants said they want Israel, the US and the international community to "engage in negotiations without pre-conditions with all relevant Palestinian parties - including Hamas - in order to end the blockade," and encouraged the US to "vigorously engage both Israelis and Palestinians toward a just and peaceful settlement of the conflict."

"The Talmud teaches, On three things the world stands: on justice, on truth, and on peace (Mishnah Avot 1:18). From this we learn that justice, truth and peace are interdependent and irrevocably intertwined," the group said. "Thus we cannot separate our call for justice in Gaza from the painful truth of this conflict and the ongoing tragedy of war in this tortured region.

"Nevertheless, the group said it condemned what it called Hamas' deliberate targeting of Israeli civilians, but added that out of "the same ethical commitments we also condemn the use of much greater violence by the Israeli government, causing many more deaths of Palestinian civilians."

The water-only fast will take place every third Thursday of the month, from sunrise to sunset, the group added, noting that they plan to donate money usually spent on food to the Milk for Preschoolers Campaign run by American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA).

~

Israel continues building the Wall and enhancing the military control system

RAMALLAH, 9 July 2009] - Today is the 5th anniversary of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion regarding the construction of the Wall in the West Bank, which found that the Wall, permit systems, and land confiscation in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) violate international law. Despite this finding Israel is continuing to build the Wall illegally. Since the Advisory Opinion of the ICJ in 2004 Israel has added an additional 200km to the Wall. Israel’s repeatedly claims that its conduct is justified by “security needs.” However, the ICJ stated that the international law violations stemming from the route of the Wall cannot be justified by military requirements or protecting public welfare.

The security needs of Israel and self-defence remain the main justification for all Israeli violations of international law and have recently mistakenly been used to justify Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip during Operation Cast Lead.

The building of the Wall accompanied by increasingly restrictive Israeli military control over the Palestinian people through the use of barricades, checkpoints, gates, and permit systems, inhibit Palestinians from leading their normal daily lives. The Wall and permit system restrict the freedom of movement of thousands of Palestinians as they are separated from their schools, workplaces, and deprived of their human rights.

The Wall and settlements, spread throughout the West Bank, antagonise the Palestinian population and create tension among Israelis. The Wall and the settlements also entail the presence of a large number of settlers and soldiers inside the OPT. According to DCI-Palestine documentation a large portion of child rights violations in the West Bank, including the right to life and liberty, during the past two years occurred in villages and towns that have been affected by the construction of the Wall, bypass roads, or villages located near illegal Israeli settlements.

In 2008, a notable number of child injuries and fatalities occurred during demonstrations against the Wall, drawing increased attention and scrutiny on Israeli forces. Israeli Border Police, who typically guard the areas along the Wall, have fired rubber-coated steel bullets and sometimes live ammunition, as well as tear gas canisters and sound bombs at demonstrators, placing children at significant risk of injury. In 2008, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) documented at least 98 child injuries during anti-Wall demonstrations in the villages of Ni’lin and Bil’in (Ramallah Governorate). The vast majority of injuries, 83 per cent, were the result of rubber-coated steel bullets while the remaining 17 per cent was the result of being hit by tear gas canisters.

In January this year, units of the Israeli army entered the village of Tura al-Gharbiya, near Jenin and rounded up a number of children, accusing them of throwing stones at the Wall. The village is located West of Jenin, in the north of the West Bank, and the Wall next to the village was built on land illegally seized from its inhabitants. At least six children aged 12-15 were arrested and interrogated in the middle of the night. They were sentenced to a one-month suspended prison term and NIS750 each for allegedly throwing stones at the Wall. [Read DCI-Palestine's press release]

The Wall is one of the major recent contributions to the settler movement. By building the Wall Israel confiscated large portions of Palestinian land. The 5th anniversary of the ICJ ruling coincides with the Israeli government’s plan to confiscate 139,000 dunums of land from Palestinians east of Bethlehem to the Dead Sea. This confiscation will allow Israel to maintain control of the Dead Sea. In addition, the settlements are continuously expanding and new outposts are being established.

The political consequences of the Wall are the most serious because the route of the Wall seeks to impose borders of an Israeli State before any peace agreement is reached. In addition to preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state, 85 per cent of the wall is built inside the West Bank and this has serious social and economic consequences to Palestinians. Among these, hundreds of Palestinian families have been expelled from their homes and land, whilst some Palestinian villages and towns have been isolated in between the Wall and the Green Line. According to OCHA, about 35,000 Palestinians are living in these isolated enclaves.

In addition, around 10,000 Palestinians need special permits to move in and out of these enclaves.DCI-Palestine views Israel’s continued construction of the Wall and other violations of international law as stemming from the international community’s failure to adequately pressure Israel to cease construction of the Wall on Palestinian land, or to call for the dismantling of portions that have already been built, whilst ensuring compensation for those who were affected by the construction. Detailing and criticising the humanitarian impact of the Wall is not enough, the international community must hold Israel accountable.
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The families driven apart by Israel's red tape

New regulations are making it increasingly difficult for Palestinians from Gaza to see their relatives in the West Bank

By Donald Macintyre

Friday, 10 July 2009

The frequent claims by Gaza's 1.5 million residents that they live in a "big prison" have become a cliché. But they have been given fresh force by new Israeli procedures that make it virtually impossible for Palestinians to leave Gaza even to reunite with their spouses and children in the West Bank.

The Israeli government has recently eased movement within the West Bank for Palestinians. But a new and classified Israeli government document reveals that already heavy restrictions on Palestinian movement from Gaza to the West Bank have been tightened further. The document came to light after a Supreme Court challenge by the Israeli human rights organisation HaMoked.

It says the Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai "established that in every case involving the settlement of Gaza residents in the Judaea and Samaria area [West Bank] one should adopt the most restrictive policy... [and he] clarified that a family relationship in and of itself does not qualify as a humanitarian reason that would justify settlement by Gaza residents [in the West Bank]".

HaMoked and another human rights organisation, Gisha, are convinced that security has nothing to do with a policy which they say undermines a two-state solution by "deepening and formalising" the separation between the two territories. While the military say the Gazans are among thousands living "illegally" in the West Bank, Gisha and HaMoked say the policy directly violates provisions in the 16-year-old Oslo accords to treat the West Bank and Gaza as a "single territorial unit" and ignores the "basic" rights of Palestinian civilians to live in either.

The criteria impose an – unspecified – quota on Gazans allowed to leave and mean that even a child with one dead parent cannot join the other in the West Bank if he has another relative in Gaza to look after him. Joel Greenberg, spokesman for HaMoked, calls it "a one-way ticket to an area Israel is well rid of, unlike the West Bank, where it has territorial claims".

A request for comment to Mr Vilnai's spokeswoman was eventually passed on to the Office for Co-ordination of Government Activities in the Territories. While declining to comment on the policy, it said that Samir Abu Yusef along with Kawkab and Nisrin Jilo [see right] had been barred from leaving Gaza for "security reasons". But Gisha said that no security allegations had ever been made against the three in their dealings with the military on their behalf. Sari Bashi, Gisha's director, added: "Where there are security allegations, that is the first, second, and only thing they mention."

Jamal Bardawil: 'I've never seen my son'

Jamal Bardawil supports his wife Hadil and their two children, Sami, almost two, and Isra, almost three, by working as an electrician from his sister's house in the West Bank. But he has never seen Sami, who, his mother says, calls the telephone "Baba"– daddy.

Mr Bardawil has signed a document undertaking not to return to the West Bank, so he can go back to Gaza. But yesterday he said he had reconsidered and is seeking instead a permit to allow him to visit his family and return to his job in the West Bank.

The Israeli human rights group HaMoked is looking into petitioning the Supreme Court for a ruling that he can do so, having failed to secure one to relocate his family. Unlike those who have been deported to Gaza, Mr Bardawil can at least stay in his mother's house, where his wife is living. But it is small consolation.

"There is no opportunity to work in Gaza," he says. "It's like a prison. I'll have nothing to do there. I'll get coupons and support from the UN [refugee agency] until they open the crossings." He claims the Israeli stance is that "we will pressure him until we defeat him psychologically and he will decide to go to Gaza."

Samir abu Yusef: 'If I became an informer, I'd be allowed to go back'

Until his world fell apart two years ago, Samir abu Yusef was doing well. Having left Gaza in 1994 amid the optimism generated by the Oslo accords to spend three years at an industrial training centre in Jericho, he had settled in Qalqilya, was married to a local woman, Kawther, and had four children, his own carpentry business and a house of his own.

It was coming home on 10 February 2007, after slipping into Israel on a job, that it all ended. Passing through the Jajuliya checkpoint on his way back to the city, he was told by border police to produce his ID card. A few hours later he was in the back of a military jeep speeding to the Erez crossing into Gaza. He has not seen his family – or had a day's work – since.

Arrested, Mr Abu Yusef begged to be allowed to go home. He says an intelligence agent told him that if he collaborated with Israeli security forces he could rejoin his family.

"He said: 'I don't want big things, just little ones like who's thieving and so on.'. But I knew this would only be the beginning. I refused." Even after he returned to his brothers' crowded home in Nusseirat refugee camp, Shin Bet kept calling him, inviting him to be an informer. "If I said yes I would be able to go back," he says.

His brother Qassem, 40, a member of the Fatah-dominated PA security forces who are still being paid from Ramallah, is – humiliatingly – his sole source of support. He says of Samir, his younger brother: "Sometimes we hear him crying at night." Describing how he took a call from his nine-year old son Bassem's school after the Gaza war started in January, Samir Abu Yusef says: "The head said the students should pray for the martyrs in Gaza. Bassem started crying and saying that his father was a martyr." The school asked Mr Abu Yusef to reassure him by telephone that he was still alive.

Meanwhile, his wife Kawther, 32, with two elderly parents to look after, depends on donations from neighbours and is facing unpaid bills and a debt of more than £1,500 at the couple's Qaliqilya home. Pointing out that he was fully supporting his family when he was still in the West Bank, Mr Abu Yusef says: "I want to appeal personally to [Middle East Quartet envoy] Tony Blair to help me get back home. I am not trying to live in Tel Aviv or Haifa. I just want to go back to Qalqilya."

Kawther Abu Yusef adds: "The Israelis don't want people in the West Bank; they want them in Gaza. They are using Gaza as a dumping place.!

Nisrin Jilo: 'They only know my voice'

Recently Nisrin Jilo dreamt that "I was playing with my children and they were sitting on my lap. I woke up but I wanted to get back to sleep so I could go back to the dream."

In reality Nisrin, 27, hasn't seen her children Wadi'ya, now four, and Rouand, 12, since she was summarily deported two years to Gaza after being stopped at an Israeli checkpoint outside the West Bank city of Qalqilya two years ago. Her offence: carrying a Palestinian ID showing her as a Gaza resident. Very poor, and having moved from house to house to lodge with various relatives in Gaza over the past two years, she can only afford to telephone the children twice a week. "They only know me from the phone," says Nisrin. "They don't know my face, only my voice."

Nisrin has no idea if or when she will ever see her children again. Although her family is originally from Gaza, her parents moved to the West Bank 14 years ago. Separated from her husband but happy amidst her extended family, Nisrin, along with her mother, Kawkab, and a young sister Fide, 15, travelled back that fateful day by taxi from a visit to a sick married sister in the East Jerusalem suburb of Aram.

On the return journey they arrived at the Jajuliya checkpoint. They were told they were going back to Gaza. "I said: 'We live in Qalqilya. My family own a house there. My mother and I pay our bills to the municipality.' I was crying because they were deporting me from my children. But they said they had orders from high. They put us in a jeep and took us to [the] Erez [crossing into Gaza]."

For Kawkab Jilo, 45, the deportation was equally traumatic. For while she is a grandmother, her three youngest children are all under 16. Mrs Jilo wept as she described a recent conversation with her youngest daughter, Sabrin, 11, who after good progress in school, has now failed her year-end exams. "She told me 'don't be angry I failed. I always think of you. When you get back I will pass'."

Back in Qalqilya, Sabrin's sister Suha, 15, explains that even when her mother phones from Gaza, "If we have a problem at a school I will not tell my mother because she is in Gaza and she will just worry. We don't have a person who tells what is right and what is wrong."

Could Nisrin bring the family, including her sick father, to a poverty-stricken and war-ravaged Gaza? She is incredulous. "We are 25 in Qalqilya and just three women here. Shall we bring the whole family because of three? We have nothing here."

* Ben Lynfield reported from the West Bank.

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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has 'Jewish ancestry'

Abraham Rabinovich, Jerusalem | July 11, 2009

Article from: The Australian

CLAIMS that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has Jewish roots are making the rounds in the Middle East, stemming from a blog published by the son of a prominent pro-Ahmadinejad cleric.

Mehdi Khazali, whose reformist politics differ sharply from those of his clerical father, Abu al-Kassam Khazali, wrote on his website that Mr Ahmadinejad had changed his family name on his ID card from Saburjian, which, Dr Khazali said, suggested a Jewish background.

The younger Dr Khazali, director of the Hayyan Cultural Institute in Tehran, was reportedly among those arrested during the protests that followed the June 12 Iranian elections. Reports said he was summoned to a special court dealing with religious figures and transferred to an unknown location. Dr Khazali's father is a former member of the powerful Guardian Council.

Four years ago, Britain's The Guardian newspaper interviewed relatives of Mr Ahmadinejad and was told the family had changed its name "for a mixture of religious and economic reasons" but a Jewish angle was not mentioned.

Dr Khazali's allegation was first made on his blog in January but it surfaced into prominence only during the election campaign. One of the candidates running against Mr Ahmadinejad, reformist Mehdi Karroubi, said during their television debate: "My full name is Mehdi Karroubi. What's yours?"

According to an al-Arabiya television report, Mr Ahmadinejad gave his name but left out a surname that could indicate Jewish ancestry. The report did not say what that surname was.

The allegation spread beyond Iran. Bahrain's oldest newspaper, Akhbar al-Khaleej, was shut down for two weeks when it printed the claim.

Those inclined to believe the story say it would explain the vehemence with which Mr Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust and why he repeatedly calls for Israel's disappearance -- a desire to distance himself from any suggestion of a Jewish origin.

Scholars suggest that many Muslim families in the region have some Jewish blood, whether they are aware of it or not. Jews were part of the population of the region for about 2500 years until the foundation of Israel in 1948 forced most to flee and some intermingling was inevitable.

In the sixth century BC, Judea fell to the Babylonians and most of the residents of Jerusalem and other parts of Judea were exiled to the area of modern Iraq. Many of these exiles or their descendants returned soon afterwards to Judea but many stayed on to form thriving Jewish communities "by the waters of Babylon" that would continue to exist down to modern times.

However, a century before the Babylonian exile, there was an even more massive exile to Mesopotamia in which the Jews would lose their identity. The Assyrians had swooped on the northern Jewish tribes, the 10 tribes of Israel, and carried all of them off. Unlike the Babylonians, who permitted the Jews and all other conquered peoples to remain as distinctive ethnic groupings in exile, the Assyrians sought successfully to disconnect all the exiled nations it brought into their territory from their native ethnicity and to make Assyrians of them.

Thus the Israelite tribes disappeared from history and came to be known as the "10 lost tribes", their members integrated into the population of the region, which includes modern-day Iran.

There are suggestions that vague folk memories remain among descendants of those ancient exiles. In some villages in Iran, Muslim residents are reported to light candles on Friday night, a Jewish practice, without knowing why.

"The Foreign Ministry unveiled a new plan this week: Paying talkbackers to post pro-Israel responses on websites worldwide. A total of NIS 600,000 (roughly $150,000) will be earmarked to the establishment of an "Internet warfare" squad."

Viva Palestina: Convoy Prepares to Head for Rafah

Group will bring medical aid, materials to people of Gaza

By Soozy Duncan

July 10, 2009 " " -- After days of gathering supplies and last-minute organizing in Cairo, the Viva Palestina U.S. convoy is beginning to mobilize. This morning 87 members of the caravan traveled to pick up 47 never-used trucks which will be loaded with medical aid to be brought into Gaza. The remaining half of the delegation will re-join the drivers near the Egyptian border before all cross together through Rafah.

This U.S. sequel to George Galloway’s original Viva Palestina convoy, which drove from London to Gaza in order to break the siege in March, departed from NYC’s JFK airport last Saturday, Independence Day. Nearly 80 delegates came in the first wave, and others have since been arriving in Cairo in a steady stream. The convoy now consists of a group of over 180 individuals from all over the United States representing a spectrum of races, religions, ages and ethnicities commensurate with its commencement in the nation’s most diverse county, Queens, NY.

Delegates traveled with carry-on bags only in order to maximize their checked luggage allowance to accommodate the wheelchairs, walkers and medicine so desperately needed in Gaza. The caravan will bring hundreds of thousands of dollars of medical aid, including already-donated materials which have been in storage in Egypt for months, readily available but barred from passing into Gaza by the Egyptian government. Gaza’s healthcare system, already near the breaking point due to the embargo and underfunding, was decimated by direct damage to health facilities and the necessity of treating the thousands of killed and injured by Israel during the 22 day assault from December to January.

Borders have been closed since June 2007 when the democratically-elected Hamas assumed political control. Fenced in and with limited resources, Gazans have been slowly starved. Even prior to Israel’s unrestrained attack, more than a million Gazans, over 80% of families, relied on food aid to survive. The bombing destroyed food stores and created conditions too hazardous to allow food distribution. At present, the Food and Agriculture Organization deemed two-thirds of Gaza’s population, of which half are children, to be “food insecure”. In January, UNICEF said over 10% of Gaza’s children had stunted growth due to malnutrition. Yet, in an ironic and illogical perversion of policy given the self-evident relationship between nutrition and health, Egyptian authorities have refused to allow the Viva Palestina medical aid caravan to transport food into Gaza.

Posted by Al-Awda Blog from VPUS Gaza Convoy at 5:21 AM

http://www.vivapalestina-us.org/

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Friday, July 10, 2009

UN to Israel: Tear down that wall

A United Nations human rights investigator calls on the Israeli leadership to cease the construction of the now 7-year old Apartheid Wall in the West Bank.

"Tear down that wall, Mr. Netanyahu," said the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Richard Falk on Thursday addressing the Israeli prime minister, UN News Center reported.

He made the comments in The Hague at a conference on the fifth anniversary of the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) issuance of the Advisory Opinion which denounced Tel Aviv's erection of the 723-kilometer (449-mile) barrier as illegal.

"There will be no peace between these two peoples until Israel shows respect for Palestinian rights under international law," said Falk. "And a good place to start would be with the wall," he added.

In 2002, the Zionist regime started building the barrier in the West Bank village of Ni'lin, arrogating vast expanses of Palestinian land under the pretext of "protecting" Israeli settlers from "terrorist attacks" by the Palestinian resistance movements. In comparison, the Berlin wall was only 155 kilometers in length.

In response to Falk, the Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement claiming that the ICJ's "attack" was a result of "a politically-motivated maneuver."

"Israel cannot accept this politicization of the Court... If there were no terrorism, there would be no fence," said the statement. "Israel calls on the international community not to lend its hand to the ongoing Palestinian attempts to use international forums to avoid fulfilling their own commitment to fight terrorism."

HN/MB/MMN

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Israeli Warplanes Renew Violation of the Lebanese Airspace

Beirut, (SANA) – Israeli reconnaissance plane violated yesterday the Lebanese airspace and circled over different Lebanese areas and the southern regions in particular.

A Lebanese Army statement stated today that the Israeli reconnaissance aircraft overflew for 9 hours on Thursday in the Lebanese airspace.

Rasha Raslan/ Idelbi

Gaza's Bee Doctor sees old art revitalized amid ailing health system

Gaza - Ma'an - Rateb Smour has been running a bee venom clinic in Gaza city since 2003, his was the first and remains the only clinic to use bee venom as a medical treatment, but interest is expanding as basic pain medication remains scarce in the Strip.

Smour started raising bees in 1985 with his father, who also practiced the art of bee venom treatments. The practice was for the family, then extended family and used primarily for treatment of back and muscle pain. As word of the success some had had with the treatment grew, the family specialty turned into a part-time business. “I never used to charge for the treatment,” said Smour, but when demand rose he began charging 10 shekels (2.5 US dollars) per treatment.

“Many people believe in my treatment,” Smour said during an interview with Ma’an, “and my traditional way often has better results than the treatment people receive in hospitals.” The numbers of patients that come into Smour’s clinic are either a testament to the success of the treatment, or the failure of the health system. Between 50-100 patients come in every day, and Smour says the number is growing.

Smour now raises three kinds of bees, applied to ailments as diverse as ghost-pains for amputations, arthritis, chronic back pain, sinus infections, migraine treatment, thyroid problems, night blindness and for the hearing or visually impaired. In all, Smour says there are now 150 different conditions that he has successfully treated.

According to researchers in North America, bee venom simulates the release of cortisone, and is anecdotal evidence suggests it is effective in treating arthritis, rheumatic diseases and nerve pain.

“I don’t provide my treatment to any patient before doing all examinations to know what he exactly suffers,” Smour assured. He said for more complicated diseases and pain treatment he asks for all the laboratory tests and records a patient has so he can determine where to treat the individual and how man “bites” the patient needs.

“If the case is so hard and I don’t feel comfortable treating it, I frankly tell him that I can’t and that’s it,” he said. :”if the patients’ case is so hard and I can’t treat it, I frankly tell him that I can’t and that’s it.”

As the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip continues and pharmacies have been long out of over-the-counter pain killers, over-priced black-market pills smuggled into the coastal area from Egypt via the tunnel system were the only other option. For others with chronic conditions even painkillers would be insufficient, and the sit-down diagnosis Smour gives to patients as he assesses the possibility of success for the treatment is a welcome option for an increasing number of families.

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