These two VERY SHORT videos tell a very long story.
From "Gisha" - Legal Center for Freedom of Movement...
and the animator from "Waltz with Bashir"
"Closed Zone": 90 animated seconds on the closure of Gaza
http://www.closedzone.com/
*********
AFSC
"Israel-Palestine: A Land in Fragments"
2-minute video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ewF7AXn3dg
*********
A March 7, 2009, New York Times article, linked on www.ePalestine.com, the news web site of Sam Bahour a Palestinian American/American Palestinian living in Ramallah.
BEITAR ILIT, West Bank — Boulders the size of compact cars are carved out here at a vast quarry near Bethlehem and pushed noisily through grinders, producing gravel and sand that go into apartment buildings in this rapidly growing Israeli settlement and all across Israel itself.
The land of the West Bank is, of course, disputed. Israel occupies it, and the Palestinians want it for a future state. But more and more of it is gone — quarried by Israeli companies and sold for building materials, a practice that is the focus of a new legal challenge.
“Israel is transferring natural resources from the West Bank for Israeli benefit, and this is absolutely prohibited not only under international law but according to Israeli Supreme Court rulings,” said Michael Sfard, lawyer for the Israeli rights group Yesh Din, which is bringing the case to the high court next week. “This is an illegal transfer of land in the most literal of senses.”
Sand and rocks might seem like trivial resources in a country that is half desert. But with strict environmental restrictions on quarrying because of the noise and dust produced, they turn out to be surprisingly valuable. Building contractors are often caught in the Negev Desert stealing them by the truckload in the dead of night. A 2008 government study predicted a serious shortage of raw building materials within a decade. Read more....
Showing posts with label palestine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label palestine. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Sunday, December 7, 2008
American peace activist Darlene Wallach's story of her arrest
a news story by Eileen Fleming about the arrest of an American peace advocate of non-violence n the Middle East (more of her story on the previous posting below)---
December 6, 2008
On November 18, 2008, Darlene Wallach of California was kidnapped atgunpoint by Israeli forces and deported to New York City onThanksgiving Day. She arrived without money, passport, cell phone,warm winter clothes and had no way of contacting her family andfriends in California, London, or Cyprus.
Darlene spoke to me on the phone from the home of the parents of an International Solidarity Movement/ISM activist who met her at JFKAirport.
The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is a Palestinian-led NONVIOLENT movement that resists the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land in creative and always nonviolent ways. ISM wasfounded by a few committed thoughtful people in August, 2001. ISMsupports and strengthens the NONVIOLENT Palestinian popularresistance front by providing international presence and a voice thatwill not be silenced.
Darlene began and ended our conversation talking about why she "willreturn to Gaza. It is because of the people of Gaza. It is theirspirit, courage, resilience, kindness, warmth, hospitality, love andresistance to the occupation that pulls me back."
Twice, Darlene has been to Gaza and arrested and deported by IsraeliForces.
Her first visit was in 2002. While in the Balata Refugee camp she wasarrested along with seven other nonviolent internationals who werethere bearing witness to the collective punishment of Palestinians.All eight were arrested and deported, but that did not stop Darlenefrom returning for more.
Darlene arrived in Gaza for her second time, aboard the SS Liberty onAugust 23, 2008. She was arrested this time along with Andrew Munciefrom Scotland and Victor Arrigoni from Italy who had arrived at thesame time and had remained in Gaza until they were kidnapped byIsraeli Forces on November 18, 2008.Darlene said, "
I told the American Embassy I wanted to be deported toLondon or Cypress where I have many friends as I had no money did notknow anyone in New York and had no means of contacting anyone. Their response was to issue me passport valid for one month which becomeinvalid once I entered the USA. The two Embassy employees kindly gaveme fifty five dollars out of their own pockets, but the AmericanEmbassy, whose job it is to take care of American citizens and myCongressional Representative, whose job it is to represent me, failedme…
"It began around ten in the morning on the 18th. I was with 15 fishermen and Andrew and Vittorio; all on three typical woodenPalestinian fishing boats. The usual response from the Israeli Naval Forces who illegally invade Gaza water zones, is to shoot machineguns, canons, grenades. They do a lot of damage to the boats withtargeted high pressure water canons. Those water canons have crackedpeoples ribs and one of the nonviolent activists was nearly washedover board from the force. The Palestinian fishing boats havesustained a lot of damage from the high pressured water fired fromthe water canon. The Israeli navy has also used some kind of "dirtywater". We still don't know what the Israeli Forces are mixing inthat water, but it smells like putrid sewage and they wear protectiveclothing - masks, gloves and what ever else, to keep themselvesprotected from the liquid they shoot at the fishing boats, the catchin the nets and at the Palestinian fishermen and internationals whoare in Gaza territorial waters."
On that Tuesday morning, the Israeli Forces had three gunboats thatwere joined by five Zodiacs. Zodiacs are inflatable, high-speedmaneuverable water craft. The Zodiacs came right up to each woodenfishing boat one at a time. I saw them board the boat Andrew was on -he raised his arms above his head and they put a life vest on him andput him on the Zodiac. Then more Israeli Forces boarded that boat andbegan putting the Palestinian fishermen on another Zodiac. Usuallythe Israeli Forces do not board the fishing boats. They order thefishermen to strip and then swim over to the Israeli boat. This timewas different…"
After they finished with the boat Andrew was on, a Zodiac came andIsraeli Forces boarded the boat I was on. One of the Israelis said inEnglish "you are in Israel."
"We were in Gaza waters and I did not want to go to Israel, but theIsraeli Forces kidnapped me at gunpoint and forced me to Israelagainst my will. We were told in English to raise our hands."
I said, 'I want to stay with my friends. I want to stay on theboat.' The three notebooks I had with me were confiscated. Atgunpoint I was forced off the Palestinian boat, onto the IsraeliZodiac and then onto the Israeli gunboat."
I saw the Palestinian fishermen, blindfolded and handcuffed, takenfrom the boat Andrew was on. I said I wanted to stay with my friendson the deck. I was then forced below to the second level and Ifinally saw Andrew again. He was handcuffed and sitting at a table ina galley-kitchen area. We started to talk and were ordered to shutup. The Israeli Forces separated us and later they brought Vittorio in."
Vittorio looked awful! I was very concerned about him, but didn'tlearn until much later that he had been tasered while holding onto ametal structure on the roof of the fishing boat. He ended up in thecold water and I am assuming he was suffering from hypothermia; hewas barefoot, and shivering!"
When we arrived in Ashdod and as I was being taken off the Israeligunboat I saw the Palestinian fishermen, blindfolded and handcuffedsitting on the deck. I yelled, in Arabic, that they were my dearfriends and I will see them again."
I was questioned by many Israelis and my response was that I was nottalking to anyone or answering any questions without my attorneypresent."
All of my belongings — cell phones, cameras, keys to my apartment,everything was confiscated and while in Israeli custody, I was takento Ben Gurion Airport for an audience with the Minister of the Interior."
I told him-and every other inquisitor that I wasn't answering anyquestions without my attorney. His response was, 'We are done!'"
I do not know what charges were filed against me. I was held in thewomen's compound in the men's prison at Ramle that held people withvisa violations. So I'm assuming I was there for being in Israelwithout a visa - pretty ridiculous given I was forced to go to Israelat gunpoint against my will. Israel deported me against my will backto America. I wanted to go to London or Cypress, but my requests wereignored. My belongings were not returned to me - my cell phone, mythree notebooks, my keys to the apartment!"
When I saw the Zodiacs, I tried to text on my cell phone but therewas no network. By some miracle, I received a phone call and told theperson what was happening. A little later the captain, Adham, handedme his phone as Fida, the ISM-Gaza Strip Palestinian coordinatorcalled to talk with me, she could not get through on my phone. If Ihad not received that first phone call I don't know how our friendsin Gaza would have known what happened to us."
Usually Israel will hold Gaza fishing men and their boats for weeksor months at a time. This time the men were released the followingday and their boat a week later. The Israeli Forces damaged a motoron one and stole all the GPS units."
On this trip 15 men who usually remain at sea for two days at atime, were denied their catch and that resulted in denying hundredsof children some protein! Hundreds of people were impacted just fromthis one illegal action by Israeli Forces. The families and everyoneconnected with the three Palestinian fishing boats were without theirsource of food and income for ten days — longer for the damaged boat.
"The thing that pulls me back to Gaza is the people. The Palestinianshave touched my heart and I will continue to work in solidarity withthem and I will return to Gaza."
(ed. note from Jan) To see a video of the Israeli Navy using water cannons to harrass Gazan fishermen, see "A Day in the Life of a Gaza Fisherman: http://redressnewsblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/video-day-in-life-of-gazan-fisherman.html
Eileen Fleming is the author of Keep Hope Alive and Memoirs of a Nice Irish American Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory and the producer of 30 Minutes With Vanunu. Email her at ecumei@gmail.com. Read otherarticles by Eileen, or visit Eileen's website: http://www.wearewideawake.org/
December 6, 2008
On November 18, 2008, Darlene Wallach of California was kidnapped atgunpoint by Israeli forces and deported to New York City onThanksgiving Day. She arrived without money, passport, cell phone,warm winter clothes and had no way of contacting her family andfriends in California, London, or Cyprus.
Darlene spoke to me on the phone from the home of the parents of an International Solidarity Movement/ISM activist who met her at JFKAirport.
The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is a Palestinian-led NONVIOLENT movement that resists the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land in creative and always nonviolent ways. ISM wasfounded by a few committed thoughtful people in August, 2001. ISMsupports and strengthens the NONVIOLENT Palestinian popularresistance front by providing international presence and a voice thatwill not be silenced.
Darlene began and ended our conversation talking about why she "willreturn to Gaza. It is because of the people of Gaza. It is theirspirit, courage, resilience, kindness, warmth, hospitality, love andresistance to the occupation that pulls me back."
Twice, Darlene has been to Gaza and arrested and deported by IsraeliForces.
Her first visit was in 2002. While in the Balata Refugee camp she wasarrested along with seven other nonviolent internationals who werethere bearing witness to the collective punishment of Palestinians.All eight were arrested and deported, but that did not stop Darlenefrom returning for more.
Darlene arrived in Gaza for her second time, aboard the SS Liberty onAugust 23, 2008. She was arrested this time along with Andrew Munciefrom Scotland and Victor Arrigoni from Italy who had arrived at thesame time and had remained in Gaza until they were kidnapped byIsraeli Forces on November 18, 2008.Darlene said, "
I told the American Embassy I wanted to be deported toLondon or Cypress where I have many friends as I had no money did notknow anyone in New York and had no means of contacting anyone. Their response was to issue me passport valid for one month which becomeinvalid once I entered the USA. The two Embassy employees kindly gaveme fifty five dollars out of their own pockets, but the AmericanEmbassy, whose job it is to take care of American citizens and myCongressional Representative, whose job it is to represent me, failedme…
"It began around ten in the morning on the 18th. I was with 15 fishermen and Andrew and Vittorio; all on three typical woodenPalestinian fishing boats. The usual response from the Israeli Naval Forces who illegally invade Gaza water zones, is to shoot machineguns, canons, grenades. They do a lot of damage to the boats withtargeted high pressure water canons. Those water canons have crackedpeoples ribs and one of the nonviolent activists was nearly washedover board from the force. The Palestinian fishing boats havesustained a lot of damage from the high pressured water fired fromthe water canon. The Israeli navy has also used some kind of "dirtywater". We still don't know what the Israeli Forces are mixing inthat water, but it smells like putrid sewage and they wear protectiveclothing - masks, gloves and what ever else, to keep themselvesprotected from the liquid they shoot at the fishing boats, the catchin the nets and at the Palestinian fishermen and internationals whoare in Gaza territorial waters."
On that Tuesday morning, the Israeli Forces had three gunboats thatwere joined by five Zodiacs. Zodiacs are inflatable, high-speedmaneuverable water craft. The Zodiacs came right up to each woodenfishing boat one at a time. I saw them board the boat Andrew was on -he raised his arms above his head and they put a life vest on him andput him on the Zodiac. Then more Israeli Forces boarded that boat andbegan putting the Palestinian fishermen on another Zodiac. Usuallythe Israeli Forces do not board the fishing boats. They order thefishermen to strip and then swim over to the Israeli boat. This timewas different…"
After they finished with the boat Andrew was on, a Zodiac came andIsraeli Forces boarded the boat I was on. One of the Israelis said inEnglish "you are in Israel."
"We were in Gaza waters and I did not want to go to Israel, but theIsraeli Forces kidnapped me at gunpoint and forced me to Israelagainst my will. We were told in English to raise our hands."
I said, 'I want to stay with my friends. I want to stay on theboat.' The three notebooks I had with me were confiscated. Atgunpoint I was forced off the Palestinian boat, onto the IsraeliZodiac and then onto the Israeli gunboat."
I saw the Palestinian fishermen, blindfolded and handcuffed, takenfrom the boat Andrew was on. I said I wanted to stay with my friendson the deck. I was then forced below to the second level and Ifinally saw Andrew again. He was handcuffed and sitting at a table ina galley-kitchen area. We started to talk and were ordered to shutup. The Israeli Forces separated us and later they brought Vittorio in."
Vittorio looked awful! I was very concerned about him, but didn'tlearn until much later that he had been tasered while holding onto ametal structure on the roof of the fishing boat. He ended up in thecold water and I am assuming he was suffering from hypothermia; hewas barefoot, and shivering!"
When we arrived in Ashdod and as I was being taken off the Israeligunboat I saw the Palestinian fishermen, blindfolded and handcuffedsitting on the deck. I yelled, in Arabic, that they were my dearfriends and I will see them again."
I was questioned by many Israelis and my response was that I was nottalking to anyone or answering any questions without my attorneypresent."
All of my belongings — cell phones, cameras, keys to my apartment,everything was confiscated and while in Israeli custody, I was takento Ben Gurion Airport for an audience with the Minister of the Interior."
I told him-and every other inquisitor that I wasn't answering anyquestions without my attorney. His response was, 'We are done!'"
I do not know what charges were filed against me. I was held in thewomen's compound in the men's prison at Ramle that held people withvisa violations. So I'm assuming I was there for being in Israelwithout a visa - pretty ridiculous given I was forced to go to Israelat gunpoint against my will. Israel deported me against my will backto America. I wanted to go to London or Cypress, but my requests wereignored. My belongings were not returned to me - my cell phone, mythree notebooks, my keys to the apartment!"
When I saw the Zodiacs, I tried to text on my cell phone but therewas no network. By some miracle, I received a phone call and told theperson what was happening. A little later the captain, Adham, handedme his phone as Fida, the ISM-Gaza Strip Palestinian coordinatorcalled to talk with me, she could not get through on my phone. If Ihad not received that first phone call I don't know how our friendsin Gaza would have known what happened to us."
Usually Israel will hold Gaza fishing men and their boats for weeksor months at a time. This time the men were released the followingday and their boat a week later. The Israeli Forces damaged a motoron one and stole all the GPS units."
On this trip 15 men who usually remain at sea for two days at atime, were denied their catch and that resulted in denying hundredsof children some protein! Hundreds of people were impacted just fromthis one illegal action by Israeli Forces. The families and everyoneconnected with the three Palestinian fishing boats were without theirsource of food and income for ten days — longer for the damaged boat.
"The thing that pulls me back to Gaza is the people. The Palestinianshave touched my heart and I will continue to work in solidarity withthem and I will return to Gaza."
(ed. note from Jan) To see a video of the Israeli Navy using water cannons to harrass Gazan fishermen, see "A Day in the Life of a Gaza Fisherman: http://redressnewsblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/video-day-in-life-of-gazan-fisherman.html
Eileen Fleming is the author of Keep Hope Alive and Memoirs of a Nice Irish American Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory and the producer of 30 Minutes With Vanunu. Email her at ecumei@gmail.com. Read otherarticles by Eileen, or visit Eileen's website: http://www.wearewideawake.org/
Friday, October 3, 2008
Israel's settlement-building frenzy
This is an excellent piece from Tuesday's Washington Post that explains how Israel has managed to continue building settlements, in spite of international pressure and countless agreements to stop.
www.washingtonpost.com
Failure Written in West Bank Stone
By Gershom Gorenberg
Tuesday, September 30, 2008; A19
JERUSALEM -- The latest phone call came from a journalist in Denmark. Why, he asked, has Israeli settlement in the West Bank continued despite peace negotiations with the Palestinians?
As a historian of settlements, I'm used to this question. Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert insists that Israel's future depends on a two-state solution. Building new homes in settlements only makes it more difficult to withdraw. When President Bush convened the Annapolis conference last November, there was media buzz about a settlement freeze. Olmert said that every request to build from within the government required his approval. Yet in the past year, construction has increased -- despite Olmert's talk, despite Bush's supposed commitment to his 2003 "road map" plan with its freeze on settlement.
Nearly a thousand housing units are being built in Maale Adumim, according to Peace Now's Settlement Watch project. At Givat Zeev, another of the settlements ringing Jerusalem, a 750-unit project was approved this year. The government has asked for bids on building nearly 350 homes in Beitar Illit, also near Jerusalem. Meanwhile, hundreds of homes have been added at settlements deep in the West Bank, with the government's acquiescence if not approval.
All this fits a historical pattern: Diplomatic initiatives accelerate settlement building in occupied territory. When the peace effort fades away, the red-roofed houses remain as a monument.
Maale Adumim, a hive of apartment buildings on the parched slope between Jerusalem and Jericho, is the most imposing example. Secret discussions about settling at the site began within the Israeli government in August 1974. At just that time, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was mediating between Israel and Jordan on an interim peace agreement. Israeli Foreign Minister Yigal Allon proposed that Israel would withdraw from Jericho as a first step toward realizing his larger plan: Israel would also give up major Palestinian towns deeper in the West Bank.
But Allon wanted to keep much of the West Bank under Israeli rule -- including a ring of land surrounding Jerusalem and separating it from Jericho. By the fall of 1974, the Israeli- Jordanian contacts had failed. But Allon's political ally, settlement czar Yisrael Galili, pushed on with Maale Adumim. Building is easier than negotiating, and it is harder to stop.
The government's method of acquiring land for the settlement was audacious -- and, until now, well hidden. After a tenacious freedom-of-information legal battle, Israeli human rights activist Dror Etkes of the organization Yesh Din recently received data from the Israeli army's Civil Administration on West Bank land expropriations. In April 1975, Israel expropriated 11 square miles east of Jerusalem "for public use." In 1977, another square mile was taken.
On his laptop, Etkes showed me an aerial photo of the settlement today, superimposed on a map of the expropriation. Most of the built-up area of Maale Adumim lies inside the land that was confiscated.
This is a prima facie violation of international law. Under the 1907 Hague Convention, an occupying power may expropriate land only for the public use of the occupied population. Taking private West Bank land for Israeli use is therefore barred.
That's just one example of the historical pattern. In 1970, Israel and Egypt ended their "War of Attrition" under a cease-fire proposed by Secretary of State William Rogers. The next stage of the Rogers initiative was supposed to be peace talks. Fearing pressure to withdraw, the Israeli cabinet approved the first settlement in the Gaza Strip to stake Israel's claim to the territory. Diplomacy stalled, but settlement continued in Gaza.
The pattern repeated itself in 1998, when President Bill Clinton convened the Wye River summit to revive the Oslo process. The summit ended with an Israeli commitment to resume West Bank withdrawals and a Palestinian pledge to suppress terrorism. Neither promise was kept. But Ariel Sharon, then foreign minister, returned home and publicly advised settlers to "grab more hills, expand the territory. Everything that's grabbed will be in our hands. Everything we don't grab will be in their hands." That spurred establishment of the tiny settlements known as outposts that dot the West Bank.
Since Annapolis, hard-line settlers have continued building, hoping to block any pullback. The government, meanwhile, is building in the so-called settlement blocs -- settlements that it insists Israel must keep under any agreement. As in the past, it is writing its negotiating position in concrete on the hills. That includes more construction on the expropriated land at Maale Adumim.
As shortsighted as Olmert has been to allow this, the same is true of Bush. The president began a negotiating process but has invested little effort in pursuing it. The administration's objections to settlement expansion have been too faint. The new buildings are a monument to Bush's failure as well as Olmert's. They will make Israeli-Palestinian peace a more difficult challenge for the next president -- assuming the next president cares about pursuing peace.
Gershom Gorenberg is the author of "The Accidental Empire: Israel and the Birth of the Settlements, 1967-1977." He blogs at http://SouthJerusalem.com .
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR2008092902665.html
www.washingtonpost.com
Failure Written in West Bank Stone
By Gershom Gorenberg
Tuesday, September 30, 2008; A19
JERUSALEM -- The latest phone call came from a journalist in Denmark. Why, he asked, has Israeli settlement in the West Bank continued despite peace negotiations with the Palestinians?
As a historian of settlements, I'm used to this question. Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert insists that Israel's future depends on a two-state solution. Building new homes in settlements only makes it more difficult to withdraw. When President Bush convened the Annapolis conference last November, there was media buzz about a settlement freeze. Olmert said that every request to build from within the government required his approval. Yet in the past year, construction has increased -- despite Olmert's talk, despite Bush's supposed commitment to his 2003 "road map" plan with its freeze on settlement.
Nearly a thousand housing units are being built in Maale Adumim, according to Peace Now's Settlement Watch project. At Givat Zeev, another of the settlements ringing Jerusalem, a 750-unit project was approved this year. The government has asked for bids on building nearly 350 homes in Beitar Illit, also near Jerusalem. Meanwhile, hundreds of homes have been added at settlements deep in the West Bank, with the government's acquiescence if not approval.
All this fits a historical pattern: Diplomatic initiatives accelerate settlement building in occupied territory. When the peace effort fades away, the red-roofed houses remain as a monument.
Maale Adumim, a hive of apartment buildings on the parched slope between Jerusalem and Jericho, is the most imposing example. Secret discussions about settling at the site began within the Israeli government in August 1974. At just that time, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was mediating between Israel and Jordan on an interim peace agreement. Israeli Foreign Minister Yigal Allon proposed that Israel would withdraw from Jericho as a first step toward realizing his larger plan: Israel would also give up major Palestinian towns deeper in the West Bank.
But Allon wanted to keep much of the West Bank under Israeli rule -- including a ring of land surrounding Jerusalem and separating it from Jericho. By the fall of 1974, the Israeli- Jordanian contacts had failed. But Allon's political ally, settlement czar Yisrael Galili, pushed on with Maale Adumim. Building is easier than negotiating, and it is harder to stop.
The government's method of acquiring land for the settlement was audacious -- and, until now, well hidden. After a tenacious freedom-of-information legal battle, Israeli human rights activist Dror Etkes of the organization Yesh Din recently received data from the Israeli army's Civil Administration on West Bank land expropriations. In April 1975, Israel expropriated 11 square miles east of Jerusalem "for public use." In 1977, another square mile was taken.
On his laptop, Etkes showed me an aerial photo of the settlement today, superimposed on a map of the expropriation. Most of the built-up area of Maale Adumim lies inside the land that was confiscated.
This is a prima facie violation of international law. Under the 1907 Hague Convention, an occupying power may expropriate land only for the public use of the occupied population. Taking private West Bank land for Israeli use is therefore barred.
That's just one example of the historical pattern. In 1970, Israel and Egypt ended their "War of Attrition" under a cease-fire proposed by Secretary of State William Rogers. The next stage of the Rogers initiative was supposed to be peace talks. Fearing pressure to withdraw, the Israeli cabinet approved the first settlement in the Gaza Strip to stake Israel's claim to the territory. Diplomacy stalled, but settlement continued in Gaza.
The pattern repeated itself in 1998, when President Bill Clinton convened the Wye River summit to revive the Oslo process. The summit ended with an Israeli commitment to resume West Bank withdrawals and a Palestinian pledge to suppress terrorism. Neither promise was kept. But Ariel Sharon, then foreign minister, returned home and publicly advised settlers to "grab more hills, expand the territory. Everything that's grabbed will be in our hands. Everything we don't grab will be in their hands." That spurred establishment of the tiny settlements known as outposts that dot the West Bank.
Since Annapolis, hard-line settlers have continued building, hoping to block any pullback. The government, meanwhile, is building in the so-called settlement blocs -- settlements that it insists Israel must keep under any agreement. As in the past, it is writing its negotiating position in concrete on the hills. That includes more construction on the expropriated land at Maale Adumim.
As shortsighted as Olmert has been to allow this, the same is true of Bush. The president began a negotiating process but has invested little effort in pursuing it. The administration's objections to settlement expansion have been too faint. The new buildings are a monument to Bush's failure as well as Olmert's. They will make Israeli-Palestinian peace a more difficult challenge for the next president -- assuming the next president cares about pursuing peace.
Gershom Gorenberg is the author of "The Accidental Empire: Israel and the Birth of the Settlements, 1967-1977." He blogs at http://SouthJerusalem.com .
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR2008092902665.html
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Free Gaza volunteers accompany Palestinian woman seeking medical attention for a tumor
Erez Crossing, by Donna Wallach:
"I along with others from Free Gaza Movement decided not to return with the SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty to Cyprus and instead to remain in Gaza Strip for a while to continue the work of breaking the siege. Throughout the time I am staying here I will participate with the others in various actions in Rafah, Gaza City, and other areas throughouth the Gaza Strip, including going out in fishing boats to challenge the Israeli Navy preventing the Palestinian fishermen from fishing more than 6 miles out.
In addition, we are re-organizing ISM Rafah, to do Palestinian led solidarity work here.
"This past Friday a 64 year-old Palestinian woman from Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip arrived to the Erez crossing accompanied by all of the remaining members of the Free Gaza Movement. She has been suffering for seven months with a tumor on her spine. Without the necessary surgery granted her by St. Joseph Hospital in Jerusalem, she will become paralyzed and will live in contant pain, from what I understand. We, FGM members, walked in front of her as a protection for her to not be shot by the Israeli soldiers guarding their border. She was being pushed in a wheelchair. Slowly we approached the Israeli side, holding our arms in the air and many of us clutching our passports.
"A Palestinian man was the liason between Dr. Mona El-Farra and the Israeli "authorities". Dr. Mona El-Farra was the main organizer for this action of bringing this 64 year-old woman to cross the Erez checkpoint.
The Palestinian man kept on telling us that we needed to stop because the Israelis told him they were going to shoot us. We decided it was more important to challenge the Crime Against Humanity of Israel not permitting this woman to receive the urgent medical treatment she needed, so we continued to walk towards the Israeli gate with our arms up in the air. We finally reached the Israeli gate without a shot being fired, not a bullet not a tear gas cannister or a sound bomb. In the end though, the Israelis heartlessly told the woman she had to go back home, but could return an 8th time.
"On Sunday 31st August, we from FGM arrived at about 9:00am from Rafah, the southernmost area in Gaza Strip, to Erez crossing, the northernmost area in Gaza Strip. We came to continue standing in solidarity with the woman from the village of Beit Hanoun. We arrived late and she and Dr. Mona El-Farra had already left for the border. We gathered inside the crude fenced in area where all Palestinians and others wait for permission to cross the dirt pathway to arrive to the Israeli gate. We waited hours, then we heard that the woman was turned back again, with ridiculous excuse that a member of her family must accompany her into Israel to the hospital. This woman came back, yet was not defeated. Almost all the members of her family have been wrongfully blacklisted by Israel, meaning that they cannot enter the Apartheid State of Israel. Finally the woman's 75 year-old husband was granted permission to enter Israel with her. After he arrived to Erez and the paper work for him was filled out, they went off to the Israeli side. We continued to wait in the heat to hear that she had crossed and was inside the Israeli ambulance that would take her to the hospital and to her surgery which was supposed to have started on Sunday. Dr. Mona El-Farra told us that she continued to tell the Israeli authorities that members of the Free Gaza Movement were waiting at Erez to ensure that the woman would enter this time and that we were willing to die, we would walk again to the border even if the soldiers would shoot and kill us, we would do what it takes so that the Israelis would allow her to enter, which they finally did. The 8th time was the charm for this very brave and courageous woman sitting in a wheelchair who defied the Israelis with all of their gunpower."
31 August 2008
Donna Wallach, Free Gaza Movement
http://www.FreeGaza.org
"I along with others from Free Gaza Movement decided not to return with the SS Free Gaza and SS Liberty to Cyprus and instead to remain in Gaza Strip for a while to continue the work of breaking the siege. Throughout the time I am staying here I will participate with the others in various actions in Rafah, Gaza City, and other areas throughouth the Gaza Strip, including going out in fishing boats to challenge the Israeli Navy preventing the Palestinian fishermen from fishing more than 6 miles out.
In addition, we are re-organizing ISM Rafah, to do Palestinian led solidarity work here.
"This past Friday a 64 year-old Palestinian woman from Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip arrived to the Erez crossing accompanied by all of the remaining members of the Free Gaza Movement. She has been suffering for seven months with a tumor on her spine. Without the necessary surgery granted her by St. Joseph Hospital in Jerusalem, she will become paralyzed and will live in contant pain, from what I understand. We, FGM members, walked in front of her as a protection for her to not be shot by the Israeli soldiers guarding their border. She was being pushed in a wheelchair. Slowly we approached the Israeli side, holding our arms in the air and many of us clutching our passports.
"A Palestinian man was the liason between Dr. Mona El-Farra and the Israeli "authorities". Dr. Mona El-Farra was the main organizer for this action of bringing this 64 year-old woman to cross the Erez checkpoint.
The Palestinian man kept on telling us that we needed to stop because the Israelis told him they were going to shoot us. We decided it was more important to challenge the Crime Against Humanity of Israel not permitting this woman to receive the urgent medical treatment she needed, so we continued to walk towards the Israeli gate with our arms up in the air. We finally reached the Israeli gate without a shot being fired, not a bullet not a tear gas cannister or a sound bomb. In the end though, the Israelis heartlessly told the woman she had to go back home, but could return an 8th time.
"On Sunday 31st August, we from FGM arrived at about 9:00am from Rafah, the southernmost area in Gaza Strip, to Erez crossing, the northernmost area in Gaza Strip. We came to continue standing in solidarity with the woman from the village of Beit Hanoun. We arrived late and she and Dr. Mona El-Farra had already left for the border. We gathered inside the crude fenced in area where all Palestinians and others wait for permission to cross the dirt pathway to arrive to the Israeli gate. We waited hours, then we heard that the woman was turned back again, with ridiculous excuse that a member of her family must accompany her into Israel to the hospital. This woman came back, yet was not defeated. Almost all the members of her family have been wrongfully blacklisted by Israel, meaning that they cannot enter the Apartheid State of Israel. Finally the woman's 75 year-old husband was granted permission to enter Israel with her. After he arrived to Erez and the paper work for him was filled out, they went off to the Israeli side. We continued to wait in the heat to hear that she had crossed and was inside the Israeli ambulance that would take her to the hospital and to her surgery which was supposed to have started on Sunday. Dr. Mona El-Farra told us that she continued to tell the Israeli authorities that members of the Free Gaza Movement were waiting at Erez to ensure that the woman would enter this time and that we were willing to die, we would walk again to the border even if the soldiers would shoot and kill us, we would do what it takes so that the Israelis would allow her to enter, which they finally did. The 8th time was the charm for this very brave and courageous woman sitting in a wheelchair who defied the Israelis with all of their gunpower."
31 August 2008
Donna Wallach, Free Gaza Movement
http://www.FreeGaza.org
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