29 mar 2018
The Secretary of the Executive Committee of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Dr. Saeb Erekat, issued a statement, Thursday, strongly denouncing what he called a calculated incitement campaign by Israel and the United States, against the Palestinian people, their leadership and their legitimate, internationally-guaranteed rights.
Dr. Erekat said that both the U.S. Administration and Tel Aviv are spearheading this illegal campaign against the unalienable legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including their internationally-guaranteed Right of Return, self-determination, independence and sovereignty on their land.
He added that both Washington and Tel Aviv are also calling for removing the Palestinian leadership, including President Mahmoud Abbas.
“These open campaigns are calculated and programmed by both Israel and the United States, to remove the Palestinian leadership, and replace it,” Erekat said, “They are ignoring International Law and all related United Nations and Security Council resolutions, and are just seeking to extend the life of this colonialist, Apartheid regime by keeping and supporting this illegal occupation.”
Erekat’s statements came in response to U.S. Ambassador in Tel Aviv, who expressed full support not only to Israel, but to its illegal occupation of Palestine, including Jerusalem, and its illegal colonies on Palestinian lands.
“From the moment he assumed his duties as Ambassador, David Friedman acted in support of the illegal annexation of occupied Palestinian lands, and has personally financed and supported colonialist activities,” Erekat said, “Such actions do not only violate International Law and its core foundation; they also grant Israel complete power and immunity to annihilate the Palestinian people, and their existence on their historic land, in addition to assassinating the entire Palestinian cause, the struggle for liberty, independence and justice.”
Furthermore, Dr. Erekat said that the personal attacks against him, and against the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and the incitement by Israeli “Defense Minister” Avigdor Liberman, are open calls for assassinations.
Lieberman was attacking Abbas and the Palestinian Authority for paying salaries to Palestinian political prisoners, held by Israel, and supporting their families.
“Palestine continues to pay a heavy price for this illegal occupation, and for Israel’s defiance of International Law – It imprisons the detainees and violates their rights, and the rights of their families,” he said, “Articles 81 and 98 of the Fourth Geneva Convention require the occupation authorities to provide support to the detainees, and those dependent on them.”
The official said that the Palestinian struggle against the colonialist occupation is a legitimate, historic right, and added that all nations under foreign occupations must fight for their liberation and independence.
Furthermore, Erekat said that the Palestinian leadership will not abandon the detainees, and their rights, as its commitment to them is moral, and legal.
Erekat called on the International Community to act and perform its duties, to protect the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights, as stated by all International Resolutions and Treaties, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, and to end fifty years of brutal and illegal occupation, instead of encouraging Israel to escalate its violations and crimes against the Palestinians people.
|Article 81. Parties to the conflict who intern protected persons shall be bound to provide free of charge for their maintenance, and to grant them also the medical attention required by their state of health.
No deduction from the allowances, salaries or credits due to the internees shall be made for the repayment of these costs.
The Detaining Power shall provide for the support of those dependent on the internees, if such dependents are without adequate means of support or are unable to earn a living.|
|Article 82. The Detaining Power shall, as far as possible, accommodate the internees according to their nationality, language and customs. Internees who are nationals of the same country shall not be separated merely because they have different languages.
Throughout the duration of their internment, members of the same family, and in particular parents and children, shall be lodged together in the same place of internment, except when separation of a temporary nature is necessitated for reasons of employment or health or for the purposes of enforcement of the provisions of Chapter IX of the present Section. Internees may request that their children who are left at liberty without parental care shall be interned with them.
Wherever possible, interned members of the same family shall be housed in the same premises and given separate accommodation from other internees, together with facilities for leading a proper family life. – Chapter II. Places of Internment|
|Article 98: All internees shall receive regular allowances, sufficient to enable them to purchase goods and articles, such as tobacco, toilet requisites, etc. Such allowances may take the form of credits or purchase coupons.
Furthermore, internees may receive allowances from the Power to which they owe allegiance, the Protecting Powers, the organizations which may assist them, or their families, as well as the income on their property in accordance with the law of the Detaining Power.
The amount of allowances granted by the Power to which they owe allegiance shall be the same for each category of internees (infirm, sick, pregnant women, etc.) but may not be allocated by that Power or distributed by the Detaining Power on the basis of discriminations between internees which are prohibited by Article 27 of the present Convention.
The Detaining Power shall open a regular account for every internee, to which shall be credited the allowances named in the present Article, the wages earned and the remittances received, together with such sums taken from him as may be available under the legislation in force in the territory in which he is interned.
Internees shall be granted all facilities consistent with the legislation in force in such territory to make remittances to their families and to other dependents. They may draw from their accounts the amounts necessary for their personal expenses, within the limits fixed by the Detaining Power.
They shall at all times be afforded reasonable facilities for consulting and obtaining copies of their accounts. A statement of accounts shall be furnished to the Protecting Power, on request, and shall accompany the internee in case of transfer.| – Chapter VII. Administration and Discipline
Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949
Dr. Erekat said that both the U.S. Administration and Tel Aviv are spearheading this illegal campaign against the unalienable legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including their internationally-guaranteed Right of Return, self-determination, independence and sovereignty on their land.
He added that both Washington and Tel Aviv are also calling for removing the Palestinian leadership, including President Mahmoud Abbas.
“These open campaigns are calculated and programmed by both Israel and the United States, to remove the Palestinian leadership, and replace it,” Erekat said, “They are ignoring International Law and all related United Nations and Security Council resolutions, and are just seeking to extend the life of this colonialist, Apartheid regime by keeping and supporting this illegal occupation.”
Erekat’s statements came in response to U.S. Ambassador in Tel Aviv, who expressed full support not only to Israel, but to its illegal occupation of Palestine, including Jerusalem, and its illegal colonies on Palestinian lands.
“From the moment he assumed his duties as Ambassador, David Friedman acted in support of the illegal annexation of occupied Palestinian lands, and has personally financed and supported colonialist activities,” Erekat said, “Such actions do not only violate International Law and its core foundation; they also grant Israel complete power and immunity to annihilate the Palestinian people, and their existence on their historic land, in addition to assassinating the entire Palestinian cause, the struggle for liberty, independence and justice.”
Furthermore, Dr. Erekat said that the personal attacks against him, and against the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and the incitement by Israeli “Defense Minister” Avigdor Liberman, are open calls for assassinations.
Lieberman was attacking Abbas and the Palestinian Authority for paying salaries to Palestinian political prisoners, held by Israel, and supporting their families.
“Palestine continues to pay a heavy price for this illegal occupation, and for Israel’s defiance of International Law – It imprisons the detainees and violates their rights, and the rights of their families,” he said, “Articles 81 and 98 of the Fourth Geneva Convention require the occupation authorities to provide support to the detainees, and those dependent on them.”
The official said that the Palestinian struggle against the colonialist occupation is a legitimate, historic right, and added that all nations under foreign occupations must fight for their liberation and independence.
Furthermore, Erekat said that the Palestinian leadership will not abandon the detainees, and their rights, as its commitment to them is moral, and legal.
Erekat called on the International Community to act and perform its duties, to protect the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights, as stated by all International Resolutions and Treaties, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, and to end fifty years of brutal and illegal occupation, instead of encouraging Israel to escalate its violations and crimes against the Palestinians people.
|Article 81. Parties to the conflict who intern protected persons shall be bound to provide free of charge for their maintenance, and to grant them also the medical attention required by their state of health.
No deduction from the allowances, salaries or credits due to the internees shall be made for the repayment of these costs.
The Detaining Power shall provide for the support of those dependent on the internees, if such dependents are without adequate means of support or are unable to earn a living.|
|Article 82. The Detaining Power shall, as far as possible, accommodate the internees according to their nationality, language and customs. Internees who are nationals of the same country shall not be separated merely because they have different languages.
Throughout the duration of their internment, members of the same family, and in particular parents and children, shall be lodged together in the same place of internment, except when separation of a temporary nature is necessitated for reasons of employment or health or for the purposes of enforcement of the provisions of Chapter IX of the present Section. Internees may request that their children who are left at liberty without parental care shall be interned with them.
Wherever possible, interned members of the same family shall be housed in the same premises and given separate accommodation from other internees, together with facilities for leading a proper family life. – Chapter II. Places of Internment|
|Article 98: All internees shall receive regular allowances, sufficient to enable them to purchase goods and articles, such as tobacco, toilet requisites, etc. Such allowances may take the form of credits or purchase coupons.
Furthermore, internees may receive allowances from the Power to which they owe allegiance, the Protecting Powers, the organizations which may assist them, or their families, as well as the income on their property in accordance with the law of the Detaining Power.
The amount of allowances granted by the Power to which they owe allegiance shall be the same for each category of internees (infirm, sick, pregnant women, etc.) but may not be allocated by that Power or distributed by the Detaining Power on the basis of discriminations between internees which are prohibited by Article 27 of the present Convention.
The Detaining Power shall open a regular account for every internee, to which shall be credited the allowances named in the present Article, the wages earned and the remittances received, together with such sums taken from him as may be available under the legislation in force in the territory in which he is interned.
Internees shall be granted all facilities consistent with the legislation in force in such territory to make remittances to their families and to other dependents. They may draw from their accounts the amounts necessary for their personal expenses, within the limits fixed by the Detaining Power.
They shall at all times be afforded reasonable facilities for consulting and obtaining copies of their accounts. A statement of accounts shall be furnished to the Protecting Power, on request, and shall accompany the internee in case of transfer.| – Chapter VII. Administration and Discipline
Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949
28 mar 2018
The leftist Palestinian People’s Party (PPP) issued a statement strongly condemning a meeting between the Palestinian Labor Minister, Ma’moun Abu Shahla, and his Israeli counterpart Haim Katz, under German mediation.
The PPP said that the meeting contradicts and violates the decisions made by the Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) which reject such meetings.
It added that such meetings are acts of normalization with an illegal occupation, in addition to violating decisions made by the Executive Committee of the PLO.
“Holding this meeting, especially in occupied Jerusalem, while Israel and the United States are acting on legalizing the Israeli occupation of the city and considering it the unified capital of Israel in direct violation of International Law, is a very serious violation that requires all of us to act and stop it,” the PPP said.
“The Palestinians have officially declared they will resist and counter the illegal U.S. stance regarding the occupied City, and we need to act and respect our decisions, and the will of our people,” the PPS added, “Such meetings will just create more divisions between the Palestinians, and will lead to lack of trust in decisions made by the leadership, especially when comparing them with what is happening on the ground.”
The PPP said that the meeting contradicts and violates the decisions made by the Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) which reject such meetings.
It added that such meetings are acts of normalization with an illegal occupation, in addition to violating decisions made by the Executive Committee of the PLO.
“Holding this meeting, especially in occupied Jerusalem, while Israel and the United States are acting on legalizing the Israeli occupation of the city and considering it the unified capital of Israel in direct violation of International Law, is a very serious violation that requires all of us to act and stop it,” the PPP said.
“The Palestinians have officially declared they will resist and counter the illegal U.S. stance regarding the occupied City, and we need to act and respect our decisions, and the will of our people,” the PPS added, “Such meetings will just create more divisions between the Palestinians, and will lead to lack of trust in decisions made by the leadership, especially when comparing them with what is happening on the ground.”
27 mar 2018
Walla Hebrew website said that hundreds of Israeli policemen on Tuesday started military exercises to storm al-Aqsa Mosque and to turn the Old City of Occupied Jerusalem into a closed military zone.
The Hebrew news website said that the drills which are being held in the border guards police centers with the participation of 700 policemen are aimed at testing the readiness of the police for any “extremist” scenarios including raiding al-Aqsa Mosque.
The exercises are being carried out in light of tension prevailing currently in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in preparation for next Friday on which Palestinian popular massive marches are going to be held to mark the Land Day.
Israeli police will deploy Special Forces, wearing civil clothes, all over the occupied city of Jerusalem in coincidence with the Jewish Passover.
The Hebrew news website said that the drills which are being held in the border guards police centers with the participation of 700 policemen are aimed at testing the readiness of the police for any “extremist” scenarios including raiding al-Aqsa Mosque.
The exercises are being carried out in light of tension prevailing currently in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in preparation for next Friday on which Palestinian popular massive marches are going to be held to mark the Land Day.
Israeli police will deploy Special Forces, wearing civil clothes, all over the occupied city of Jerusalem in coincidence with the Jewish Passover.
26 mar 2018
On Sunday evening, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in its 138th session, in Geneva, Switzerland, voted to support the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, to have a state of their own with Jerusalem as its capital.
The resolution counters a statement that Donald Trump made in December in which he unilaterally bypassed all peace agreements and negotiations and declared that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel – thus denying all Palestinian claims to their historic capital city.
The IPU is a forum made up of representatives from the national legislatures of 176 countries.
At their annual session in Geneva this week, they considered four resolutions regarding Palestine and Israel – three proposed by the Palestinian Authority, and one proposed by the Israeli representative.
The Palestinian Authority was joined by Kuwait and Bahrain in introducing three resolutions condemning the declaration by Trump of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, as well as condemning the US decision to cut funding to the United Nations Refugee Works Agency, which provides food aid and schools to Palestinian refugees.
The Israeli representative responded with a resolution calling Iran a “terrorist state”. That resolution did not pass.
The three measures introduced by the Palestinian Authority did pass, despite the Israeli delegate’s meetings through the weekend to try to convince the delegations of Argentina, France, Russia, Mexico, Canada, Brazil and other countries to vote against the measure.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement strongly denouncing the resolutions and claimed on that the council is “adopting resolutions that have lost touch with reality.”
He also said that the time has come to change the name of the Human Rights Council to the “council that adopts resolutions against the only democracy in the Middle East.”
For his part, Israeli “Defense Minister” Avigdor Lieberman called on Israel to withdraw from the council, adding that Israel’s membership with this council “grants it recognition, and harms the Jews.”
Israel’s ongoing illegal occupation of occupied Palestine, including East Jerusalem, and its colonies, violate International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention, and numerous United Nations and Security Council resolutions.
The resolution counters a statement that Donald Trump made in December in which he unilaterally bypassed all peace agreements and negotiations and declared that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel – thus denying all Palestinian claims to their historic capital city.
The IPU is a forum made up of representatives from the national legislatures of 176 countries.
At their annual session in Geneva this week, they considered four resolutions regarding Palestine and Israel – three proposed by the Palestinian Authority, and one proposed by the Israeli representative.
The Palestinian Authority was joined by Kuwait and Bahrain in introducing three resolutions condemning the declaration by Trump of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, as well as condemning the US decision to cut funding to the United Nations Refugee Works Agency, which provides food aid and schools to Palestinian refugees.
The Israeli representative responded with a resolution calling Iran a “terrorist state”. That resolution did not pass.
The three measures introduced by the Palestinian Authority did pass, despite the Israeli delegate’s meetings through the weekend to try to convince the delegations of Argentina, France, Russia, Mexico, Canada, Brazil and other countries to vote against the measure.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement strongly denouncing the resolutions and claimed on that the council is “adopting resolutions that have lost touch with reality.”
He also said that the time has come to change the name of the Human Rights Council to the “council that adopts resolutions against the only democracy in the Middle East.”
For his part, Israeli “Defense Minister” Avigdor Lieberman called on Israel to withdraw from the council, adding that Israel’s membership with this council “grants it recognition, and harms the Jews.”
Israel’s ongoing illegal occupation of occupied Palestine, including East Jerusalem, and its colonies, violate International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention, and numerous United Nations and Security Council resolutions.
25 mar 2018
Jerusalem Magistrate's Court on Sunday issued a ruling allowing Jewish settlers to perform prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque's gates, claiming that the right of Jewish settlers to pray at the “Temple Mount” gates was no less than the right of the Arabs.
Judge Shmuel Herbst rejected a police request to distance three 14-year-old Jewish girls from al-Aqsa Mosque area who prayed near the holy site’s gates.
The three girls were detained after praying at the al-Aqsa's gates and police requested they be distanced from the area, claiming their prayers and presence with a prayer book at the holy shrine gate area could spark violence.
In his decision, the judge ruled that "it is the right of every person to pray on the streets of cities in Israel, provided this does not violate the rights of others".
Sheikh Ekrema Sabri, head of the Higher Islamic Authority in Occupied Jerusalem and Preacher of al-Aqsa Mosque, said that the Israeli ruling is null and void and totally rejected.
He told Quds Press that al-Aqsa Mosque is a holy site for Muslims only and the court’s decision is irresponsible and illegal.
Judge Shmuel Herbst rejected a police request to distance three 14-year-old Jewish girls from al-Aqsa Mosque area who prayed near the holy site’s gates.
The three girls were detained after praying at the al-Aqsa's gates and police requested they be distanced from the area, claiming their prayers and presence with a prayer book at the holy shrine gate area could spark violence.
In his decision, the judge ruled that "it is the right of every person to pray on the streets of cities in Israel, provided this does not violate the rights of others".
Sheikh Ekrema Sabri, head of the Higher Islamic Authority in Occupied Jerusalem and Preacher of al-Aqsa Mosque, said that the Israeli ruling is null and void and totally rejected.
He told Quds Press that al-Aqsa Mosque is a holy site for Muslims only and the court’s decision is irresponsible and illegal.
Head of the UK Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn has condemned American punishments against the Palestinian people, including the assault on their right to have Jerusalem is the capital of their state.
Labour Friends of Palestine met in British Parliament on 14 March, highlighting speeches by Palestinian Authority Ambassador Manuel Hassassian, Jeremy Corbyn and Palestinian teenage poet Leanne Mohamad.
Jeremy Corbyn slammed US President Donald Trump saying: “Donald Trump, his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has sparked a resurgence in tensions.
“And, we absolutely condemn that. What we want is peace achieved in the region. You don’t achieve it by the actions of Donald Trump, in that sense.”
Corbyn also spoke out against the cuts made to UNRWA, the United Nations body that deals with Palestine refugees, who have been enforced out of their homes by the Israeli Zionist since 1948.
“Also, the cuts that have been made to the funding of UNRWA, jeopardizing schooling and healthcare for Palestinian refugees across the Middle East, including 500,000 children whose only access to education is UN funded schools through UNRWA.
“No one can believe that such a state of affairs will ever bring about a long-lasting peace,” Corbyn said.
Labour Friends of Palestine met in British Parliament on 14 March, highlighting speeches by Palestinian Authority Ambassador Manuel Hassassian, Jeremy Corbyn and Palestinian teenage poet Leanne Mohamad.
Jeremy Corbyn slammed US President Donald Trump saying: “Donald Trump, his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has sparked a resurgence in tensions.
“And, we absolutely condemn that. What we want is peace achieved in the region. You don’t achieve it by the actions of Donald Trump, in that sense.”
Corbyn also spoke out against the cuts made to UNRWA, the United Nations body that deals with Palestine refugees, who have been enforced out of their homes by the Israeli Zionist since 1948.
“Also, the cuts that have been made to the funding of UNRWA, jeopardizing schooling and healthcare for Palestinian refugees across the Middle East, including 500,000 children whose only access to education is UN funded schools through UNRWA.
“No one can believe that such a state of affairs will ever bring about a long-lasting peace,” Corbyn said.
24 mar 2018
By Motasem A Dalloul
An Israeli propaganda group has claimed that the call by Hamas for the Palestinians to take part in a “Friday of Rage” demonstration was incitement to terrorism that led to the killing of two Israeli soldiers near an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. In a video that opened with a screenshot of the Hamas Twitter account, the group called for an end to what it called the movement’s “violence and hatred”.
It is ironic for this group to speak about violence, hatred, racism, apartheid and many other terms that represent intolerance and hatred, given the level of state violence, war crimes and genocidal acts committed by Israel against the Palestinians. Such efforts to legitimise the state terrorism against Palestine and its people, who they actually describe as “terrorists”, are shameful.
Let us look at the last two car-ramming incidents as examples of Israeli incitement; they happened in Acre and Jenin within the past few weeks. The driver in Acre was an Israeli Arab, a Palestinian whose grandfather refused to leave his house despite the threats of the Zionist gangs who massacred Palestinians and forced 700,000 of them out of their homes to create the state of Israel. The driver in the second accident was a Palestinian refugee from Jenin.
The Israeli police must prove that both incidents were terrorist attacks in order to try to justify punitive countermeasures against Israeli Arabs and the Palestinians. However, eyewitnesses said that the driver in the accident in Acre only acted aggressively after he was fined NIS1,000 ($280) for parking in a disabled parking spot, but the police have insisted that “secret” investigations and “secret” findings prove that it was a terror attack.
Regarding the accident in Jenin, the Israeli Hebrew news website Walla reported that the Palestinian driver — described by the Israeli domestic spy agency Shin Bet as a “terrorist” and who the above-mentioned propaganda group claimed was affected by “Hamas incitement” — was abused and tortured into “confessing” that it was a terrorist act. Nevertheless, Shin Bet insist that it was a “terror attack” and say that, “The objective of the terrorist’s claims is to divert the discussion from the serious suspicions against him.”
Such incidents are just one example of the official Israeli attempts to brand Palestinians and Arabs as “terrorists”. Commenting on the accident in Jenin, before any investigations had been completed, the Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said, “We will act to sentence the terrorist to death, to demolish his house and to punish anyone who cooperated.” This is the reality of Israeli officials; they do not incite violence, they actually practice violence. At the same time, they distort legitimate Palestinian resistance against the brutal Israeli military occupation in an attempt to lead the international community into turning a blind eye to their crimes and genocidal acts, most of which are even described by Israeli rights groups as flagrant violations of international law.
The two car-ramming incidents were accidents which have been exploited by Israel to incite terror against the Palestinians and distract the international community from raising humanitarian aid for the Palestinians besieged in Gaza and squalid refugee camps scattered around the region.
While the UN was holding an international donor conference in Rome with the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the European Union to raise funds for Palestinian refugees, Lieberman announced the destruction of two Palestinian tunnels in the besieged Gaza Strip. The right-wing extremist claimed that they were being prepared by “Hamas terrorists” in the coastal enclave to carry out “terror attacks” on Israel. He accused Hamas of investing billions of people’s money in the tunnels.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is defending himself in at least four corruption cases that threaten his political life, has also addressed the issue of the tunnels. Directing his comments at participants at the donor conference, he warned that the money to be raised and sent to the Gaza Strip would be used by “terror groups” to build their tunnels to attack Israel.
Ignoring the humanitarian crisis, which is the result of the strict siege imposed on Gaza by the Israeli occupation government and its friends in Cairo and the West, Netanyahu claimed that humanitarian aid is stolen by Hamas and “buried underground” by being used to build tunnels instead of helping people in need.
To prove that all of this was just a ruse by Israel to sabotage the donor conference, the military wing of Hamas announced that the two tunnels targeted by the Israelis were in fact old and unused, as they were discovered and destroyed by Israel during its 2014 military offensive against the Palestinian civilians of Gaza. This was nothing less than Israel inciting the world against the Palestinians and their lawful resistance.
Aside from such indirect incitement, Israel has a history of overt incitement of violence against the Palestinians. For example, Lieberman’s call in March 2015 to behead the Palestinians who did not leave their homes in 1948, in order to let the Jewish population prosper. This came just one month after pledging to introduce the death penalty for Palestinians in Israeli prisons. “The first law that Yisrael Beitenu [Lieberman’s party] will propose is a death penalty for terrorists [his euphemism for Palestinian prisoners],” he said. A bill to introduce the death penalty duly passed its first Knesset vote earlier this year. Lieberman is, apparently, quite serious about killing Palestinians.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu described the death penalty for Palestinians as “justice”. In 2015, he even absolved Adolf Hitler of the Holocaust and blamed the Palestinians instead. Is that not incitement of the worst, most deceitful kind?
In a 2017 report, Human Rights Watch accused the Israeli occupation of carrying out “unlawful killings; forced displacement; abusive detention; closure of the Gaza Strip and other unjustified restrictions on movement and development of settlements, along with the accompanying discriminatory policies that disadvantage Palestinians.” In this, the rights group was merely confirming what numerous other international and local organisations have demonstrated for many years; it is Israel which is the serial abuser of human rights, and it is Israel which not only incites violence against the Palestinians but also ensures that it is carried out. The facts speak for themselves.
- Motasem A Dalloul is MEMO’s correspondent in the Gaza Strip.
An Israeli propaganda group has claimed that the call by Hamas for the Palestinians to take part in a “Friday of Rage” demonstration was incitement to terrorism that led to the killing of two Israeli soldiers near an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. In a video that opened with a screenshot of the Hamas Twitter account, the group called for an end to what it called the movement’s “violence and hatred”.
It is ironic for this group to speak about violence, hatred, racism, apartheid and many other terms that represent intolerance and hatred, given the level of state violence, war crimes and genocidal acts committed by Israel against the Palestinians. Such efforts to legitimise the state terrorism against Palestine and its people, who they actually describe as “terrorists”, are shameful.
Let us look at the last two car-ramming incidents as examples of Israeli incitement; they happened in Acre and Jenin within the past few weeks. The driver in Acre was an Israeli Arab, a Palestinian whose grandfather refused to leave his house despite the threats of the Zionist gangs who massacred Palestinians and forced 700,000 of them out of their homes to create the state of Israel. The driver in the second accident was a Palestinian refugee from Jenin.
The Israeli police must prove that both incidents were terrorist attacks in order to try to justify punitive countermeasures against Israeli Arabs and the Palestinians. However, eyewitnesses said that the driver in the accident in Acre only acted aggressively after he was fined NIS1,000 ($280) for parking in a disabled parking spot, but the police have insisted that “secret” investigations and “secret” findings prove that it was a terror attack.
Regarding the accident in Jenin, the Israeli Hebrew news website Walla reported that the Palestinian driver — described by the Israeli domestic spy agency Shin Bet as a “terrorist” and who the above-mentioned propaganda group claimed was affected by “Hamas incitement” — was abused and tortured into “confessing” that it was a terrorist act. Nevertheless, Shin Bet insist that it was a “terror attack” and say that, “The objective of the terrorist’s claims is to divert the discussion from the serious suspicions against him.”
Such incidents are just one example of the official Israeli attempts to brand Palestinians and Arabs as “terrorists”. Commenting on the accident in Jenin, before any investigations had been completed, the Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said, “We will act to sentence the terrorist to death, to demolish his house and to punish anyone who cooperated.” This is the reality of Israeli officials; they do not incite violence, they actually practice violence. At the same time, they distort legitimate Palestinian resistance against the brutal Israeli military occupation in an attempt to lead the international community into turning a blind eye to their crimes and genocidal acts, most of which are even described by Israeli rights groups as flagrant violations of international law.
The two car-ramming incidents were accidents which have been exploited by Israel to incite terror against the Palestinians and distract the international community from raising humanitarian aid for the Palestinians besieged in Gaza and squalid refugee camps scattered around the region.
While the UN was holding an international donor conference in Rome with the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the European Union to raise funds for Palestinian refugees, Lieberman announced the destruction of two Palestinian tunnels in the besieged Gaza Strip. The right-wing extremist claimed that they were being prepared by “Hamas terrorists” in the coastal enclave to carry out “terror attacks” on Israel. He accused Hamas of investing billions of people’s money in the tunnels.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is defending himself in at least four corruption cases that threaten his political life, has also addressed the issue of the tunnels. Directing his comments at participants at the donor conference, he warned that the money to be raised and sent to the Gaza Strip would be used by “terror groups” to build their tunnels to attack Israel.
Ignoring the humanitarian crisis, which is the result of the strict siege imposed on Gaza by the Israeli occupation government and its friends in Cairo and the West, Netanyahu claimed that humanitarian aid is stolen by Hamas and “buried underground” by being used to build tunnels instead of helping people in need.
To prove that all of this was just a ruse by Israel to sabotage the donor conference, the military wing of Hamas announced that the two tunnels targeted by the Israelis were in fact old and unused, as they were discovered and destroyed by Israel during its 2014 military offensive against the Palestinian civilians of Gaza. This was nothing less than Israel inciting the world against the Palestinians and their lawful resistance.
Aside from such indirect incitement, Israel has a history of overt incitement of violence against the Palestinians. For example, Lieberman’s call in March 2015 to behead the Palestinians who did not leave their homes in 1948, in order to let the Jewish population prosper. This came just one month after pledging to introduce the death penalty for Palestinians in Israeli prisons. “The first law that Yisrael Beitenu [Lieberman’s party] will propose is a death penalty for terrorists [his euphemism for Palestinian prisoners],” he said. A bill to introduce the death penalty duly passed its first Knesset vote earlier this year. Lieberman is, apparently, quite serious about killing Palestinians.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu described the death penalty for Palestinians as “justice”. In 2015, he even absolved Adolf Hitler of the Holocaust and blamed the Palestinians instead. Is that not incitement of the worst, most deceitful kind?
In a 2017 report, Human Rights Watch accused the Israeli occupation of carrying out “unlawful killings; forced displacement; abusive detention; closure of the Gaza Strip and other unjustified restrictions on movement and development of settlements, along with the accompanying discriminatory policies that disadvantage Palestinians.” In this, the rights group was merely confirming what numerous other international and local organisations have demonstrated for many years; it is Israel which is the serial abuser of human rights, and it is Israel which not only incites violence against the Palestinians but also ensures that it is carried out. The facts speak for themselves.
- Motasem A Dalloul is MEMO’s correspondent in the Gaza Strip.
AIPAC President Mort Fridman has sent supporters an email announcing the approval, by US Congress, of almost $4 billion of US tax money to Israel, while cutting aid to Palestinians widows, orphans, Days of Palestine reports.
“Our work together just made a difference for Israel’s security and for its future,” wrote Fridman, according to If Americans Knew Blog.
“Early this morning, the United States Congress passed major pro-Israel legislation as part of its Omnibus Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2018.
“This legislation includes many critical initiatives that will bolster Israel’s security, including:
“The bill was also the vehicle for Congress to pass the Taylor Force Act, critical legislation that cuts funding to the Palestinian Authority if it continues paying terrorists or their families.”
Reacting to the inclusion of the Taylor Force Act in the United States spending bill for 2018, Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) General Delegation to the United States, said on Saturday that with this act, the US Congress is rewarding occupation and punishing those who seek peace.
“Halting aid to the Palestinian Authority as a tool for a politically-motivated financial pressure does not work, and severely damages the prospects for peace in the Middle East,” said Zomlot in a statement. “The bill rewards the illegal Israeli occupation and ongoing violations of human rights, while simultaneously punishing the Palestinian Authority, which is the only agency committed to peace and nonviolence, and undermines the American-Palestinian bilateral relationship and decades of U.S. investments in the two-state solution.”
Zomlot added that “Congress’ bias is flagrantly obvious, targeting a stipend program that provides dignity and education for children and families of the victims of occupation, and security for both sides, while turning a blind eye towards Israel’s daily violations of US policy and international law.”
He said, according to WAFA, that the Taylor Force Act, which calls for cutting aid to the Palestinian Authority due to the latter’s financial support to families of Palestinians who resisted the Israeli occupation and got either killed or imprisoned, represents the most recent effort in this 30 year old trend of legislations that deliberately targets the Palestinian people.
Congress has targeted the PLO as a terrorist organization since 1987 to date, despite the signing of the Oslo Accords, Israel’s recognition of the PLO, and the numerous bilateral agreements with the United States.
“The ongoing bias against Palestinians in Congress is not irreversible. We have taken notice of the principled and brave members of Congress who have raised concerns over the Taylor Force Act. Also, we are inspired by recent efforts to promote Palestinian children’s rights included in H.R. 4391 Promoting Human Rights by Ending Israeli Military Detention of Palestinian Children Act introduced by the courageous Rep. Betty McCollum to prevent United States tax dollars from supporting the Israeli military’s ongoing detentions and mistreatment of Palestinian children,” said Zomlot.
“Our work together just made a difference for Israel’s security and for its future,” wrote Fridman, according to If Americans Knew Blog.
“Early this morning, the United States Congress passed major pro-Israel legislation as part of its Omnibus Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2018.
“This legislation includes many critical initiatives that will bolster Israel’s security, including:
- $3.1 billion for U.S. security assistance to Israel, to help our ally defend herself and protect her citizens. [See this]
- $705.8 million for missile defense programs, representing $105 million more than last year’s funding level. [See this]
- $47.5 million for joint anti-tunneling technologies, a $5 million increase from last year. [More info on US aid to Israel]
“The bill was also the vehicle for Congress to pass the Taylor Force Act, critical legislation that cuts funding to the Palestinian Authority if it continues paying terrorists or their families.”
Reacting to the inclusion of the Taylor Force Act in the United States spending bill for 2018, Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) General Delegation to the United States, said on Saturday that with this act, the US Congress is rewarding occupation and punishing those who seek peace.
“Halting aid to the Palestinian Authority as a tool for a politically-motivated financial pressure does not work, and severely damages the prospects for peace in the Middle East,” said Zomlot in a statement. “The bill rewards the illegal Israeli occupation and ongoing violations of human rights, while simultaneously punishing the Palestinian Authority, which is the only agency committed to peace and nonviolence, and undermines the American-Palestinian bilateral relationship and decades of U.S. investments in the two-state solution.”
Zomlot added that “Congress’ bias is flagrantly obvious, targeting a stipend program that provides dignity and education for children and families of the victims of occupation, and security for both sides, while turning a blind eye towards Israel’s daily violations of US policy and international law.”
He said, according to WAFA, that the Taylor Force Act, which calls for cutting aid to the Palestinian Authority due to the latter’s financial support to families of Palestinians who resisted the Israeli occupation and got either killed or imprisoned, represents the most recent effort in this 30 year old trend of legislations that deliberately targets the Palestinian people.
Congress has targeted the PLO as a terrorist organization since 1987 to date, despite the signing of the Oslo Accords, Israel’s recognition of the PLO, and the numerous bilateral agreements with the United States.
“The ongoing bias against Palestinians in Congress is not irreversible. We have taken notice of the principled and brave members of Congress who have raised concerns over the Taylor Force Act. Also, we are inspired by recent efforts to promote Palestinian children’s rights included in H.R. 4391 Promoting Human Rights by Ending Israeli Military Detention of Palestinian Children Act introduced by the courageous Rep. Betty McCollum to prevent United States tax dollars from supporting the Israeli military’s ongoing detentions and mistreatment of Palestinian children,” said Zomlot.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted, in its 37thsession, concluded in Geneva on Friday, four resolutions for Palestine.
The majority of the member countries voted in favor of the following four resolutions:
According to WAFA, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad al-Malki praised the vote and thanked the countries that voted in favor of the four resolutions. He called on the countries of the world to take not only statements but tangible steps, in order to protect the people of Palestine and achieve the two-state solution.
“Palestinian diplomacy will defend the rights of the Palestinian people and will continue to work with the countries of the world to end the Israeli occupation of the land of the State of Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital,” al-Malki said in a press release.
The majority of the member countries voted in favor of the following four resolutions:
- Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, are illegal.
- The right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
- The situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.
- Ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of international law in the OPT, including East Jerusalem.
According to WAFA, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad al-Malki praised the vote and thanked the countries that voted in favor of the four resolutions. He called on the countries of the world to take not only statements but tangible steps, in order to protect the people of Palestine and achieve the two-state solution.
“Palestinian diplomacy will defend the rights of the Palestinian people and will continue to work with the countries of the world to end the Israeli occupation of the land of the State of Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital,” al-Malki said in a press release.
23 mar 2018
Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission on Thursday said that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have arrested 562 Palestinian children in the West Bank and Jerusalem since the US president Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
The Commission said in a statement that Israel has stepped up its arbitrary arrest campaigns against Palestinian children recently and arrested about 562 children over the past three months and a half.
It added that the number of detained children constitutes 25% of the number of Palestinians arrested by the IOF during the same period.
The Commission slammed Israel's disregard for all international conventions which stipulate that the detention of children should be a last solution that is done in exceptional cases and for the shortest period possible.
Moreover, the Commission added, Israel has approved a set of laws which allow the detention of Palestinian minors and the imposition of harsh penalties on them, pointing out that the detained children are subjected to many forms of physical and psychological torture.
It called on all local and international institutions to shoulder their responsibilities and pressure Israel to release about 350 children who are still languishing in Israeli jails.
In a related context, the Commission condemned an Israeli court's decision sentencing the Palestinian teenager Ahed al-Tamimi to eight months in prison and forcing her to pay a fine of $1,500.
Head of the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Commission, Isa Qaraqe, described the court's decision as "arbitrary par excellence" saying it was made without fair trial.
The IOF arrested al-Tamimi on 19th December 2017 from her house in Nabi Saleh village west of Ramallah after she was accused of slapping Israeli soldiers who attempted to break into her family's house.
The Commission said in a statement that Israel has stepped up its arbitrary arrest campaigns against Palestinian children recently and arrested about 562 children over the past three months and a half.
It added that the number of detained children constitutes 25% of the number of Palestinians arrested by the IOF during the same period.
The Commission slammed Israel's disregard for all international conventions which stipulate that the detention of children should be a last solution that is done in exceptional cases and for the shortest period possible.
Moreover, the Commission added, Israel has approved a set of laws which allow the detention of Palestinian minors and the imposition of harsh penalties on them, pointing out that the detained children are subjected to many forms of physical and psychological torture.
It called on all local and international institutions to shoulder their responsibilities and pressure Israel to release about 350 children who are still languishing in Israeli jails.
In a related context, the Commission condemned an Israeli court's decision sentencing the Palestinian teenager Ahed al-Tamimi to eight months in prison and forcing her to pay a fine of $1,500.
Head of the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Commission, Isa Qaraqe, described the court's decision as "arbitrary par excellence" saying it was made without fair trial.
The IOF arrested al-Tamimi on 19th December 2017 from her house in Nabi Saleh village west of Ramallah after she was accused of slapping Israeli soldiers who attempted to break into her family's house.
22 mar 2018
Israeli finance minister Moshe Kahlon announced Wednesday he was instructing Israel’s planning and zoning authorities to offer the US diplomatic mission in Israel a blanket exemption from certain zoning requirements in order to allow for the moving of the US embassy to Jerusalem on May 14.
According to a Hadashot TV news report, over the past few days American officials have reportedly met with the relevant Israeli authorities to get permission for urgent security-related construction work they say is necessary to convert the consulate in the Arnona neighborhood in southern Jerusalem into an embassy.
The Americans want to build a three-meter wall around the site and pave a new road from the site, among other changes. However, the site’s current zoning status does not allow for such changes and need special permission.
In a Hebrew-language press release Wednesday, which he also posted on Twitter, Kahlon said:
“I am delighted, both as finance minister and as [the official] responsible for planning in the state of Israel, to sign today a recommendation to the [National] Council [for Planning and Construction] to issue an exemption from an infrastructures construction permit in order to enable the American embassy to move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Good luck, and [do it] as quickly as possible.”
In a follow-up tweet, Kahlon turned to English and addressed US President Donald Trump directly.
“President DonaldTrump, I’m happy to inform you that we are moving forward with the preparations, making sure that no bureaucracy slows down the process of moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.”
According to a Hadashot TV news report, over the past few days American officials have reportedly met with the relevant Israeli authorities to get permission for urgent security-related construction work they say is necessary to convert the consulate in the Arnona neighborhood in southern Jerusalem into an embassy.
The Americans want to build a three-meter wall around the site and pave a new road from the site, among other changes. However, the site’s current zoning status does not allow for such changes and need special permission.
In a Hebrew-language press release Wednesday, which he also posted on Twitter, Kahlon said:
“I am delighted, both as finance minister and as [the official] responsible for planning in the state of Israel, to sign today a recommendation to the [National] Council [for Planning and Construction] to issue an exemption from an infrastructures construction permit in order to enable the American embassy to move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Good luck, and [do it] as quickly as possible.”
In a follow-up tweet, Kahlon turned to English and addressed US President Donald Trump directly.
“President DonaldTrump, I’m happy to inform you that we are moving forward with the preparations, making sure that no bureaucracy slows down the process of moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.”
