Israel suspends plan to send African asylum seekers to West | Al Jazeera English
All hail the peacemakers 20
In 1988 at the gates of Jerusalem’s Old City, I watched Palestinian youths face down Israeli soldiers. The soldiers held rifles, while the Palestinians held stones. That asymmetry sent the Judaism of my childhood crashing headlong into my sense of justice. The stones demanded that I ask, “What could make a young man risk his life this way?"
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/debunking-israel-s-talking-points-on...
Analysis: Saudi crown prince supports Israeli right to land | Al Jazeera English
Palestinians worry political divide is seeping into social fabric | Al Jazeera English
Palestinian protests persist despite Israel threats, killings | Al Jazeera English
“IF THE CONCEPT of intervention is driven by universal human rights, why is it — from the people who identify themselves as liberal interventionists — why do we never hear a peep, a word, about intervening to protect the Palestinians?”
That was the question I put to the French philosopher, author, and champion of liberal (or humanitarian) interventionism, Bernard-Henri Lévy, on my Al Jazeera English interview show “Head to Head” in 2013.
https://theintercept.com/2018/04/02/israel-killing-palestine-civilian-li...
https://ricochet.media/en/2165/after-latest-gaza-massacre-canada-must-im...
On March 30, 1976, in response to the Israeli government’s announcement of a plan to expropriate thousands of dunams of Palestinian land for illegal settlement purposes, a general strike and marches were organized in Palestinian towns. In the ensuing demonstrations, the Israeli army and police killed six unarmed Palestinian citizens and wounded about one hundred demonstrators. Hundreds of others were arrested.
A FRIEND from overseas sent me the recording of a song. An Arab song, with a soft Arab melody, sung by an Arab girls' choir, accompanied by a flute.
It goes like this:
Ahed / You are the promise and the glory / Standing as high as an olive tree / From the cradle to the present / Your honor will not be violated / Palestine has been planted in us / As a dock for every ship / We are the land and you are the water /
You are covered with blond hair / You are as pure as Jerusalem / You taught our generation how the forgotten people should revolt / They thought the Palestinians are afraid of them because they are wearing armor and holding a weapon? / Palestine has been planted in us / As a dock for every ship / Our nation must be united and resist for the freedom of Palestine and the prisoners /
Your blue eyes are a lighthouse / For a country that has every religion / You united the people far away and close / You ignited the spark in all our hearts / Your head is raised up high encouraging us / You ignited the light in our darkness /
Despite the softness of your hands / Your hands have shaken the world / Your hands returned the slap to the occupier / And returned esteem to the nation / Palestine has been planted in us / As a dock for every ship / We are the land and you are the water.
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1523017627/
Palestinian journalist dies after being shot by Israeli forces | Al Jazeera English
Israeli army kills seven Palestinians, wounds 1,000 at Gaza rally | Al Jazeera English
We've used all our stock': Gaza hospitals declare state of emergency | Al Jazeera English
Video shows Ahed Tamimi interrogation in Israeli detention centre | Al Jazeera English
'Hamas at the fence': Israeli media's spin on Gaza protests | Al Jazeera English
Israel verifies video of sniper shooting Palestinian on Gaza border | Al Jazeera English
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180409-israel-using-strange-gases-ag...
Israeli occupation forces used “strange” and “unknown” gases against unarmed, peaceful protesters in Gaza, Quds Press reported the central commission for documentation and pursuit of Israeli war criminals –Tawtheeq saying.
Head of the commission Imad Al-Baz told Quds Press that Israel used strange gases against the protesters for the first time last Friday as Palestinians continued their peaceful activities as part of the Great March of Return.
The gases caused protesters’ bodies to convulse and tremble, he explained. Many lost consciousness as a result for several hours, he added.
“We do not know the kind of gases which were used for the first time,” he said, “but we took cultures from the blood and urine of those affected and we expect the results will be shocking.”
https://electronicintifada.net/content/african-refugees-get-no-reprieve-...
The fortunes of the African refugee community targeted by the Israeli government for deportation have swung wildly in recent days.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu first announced a United Nations-backed deal to resettle some of them in the West, but then quickly retracted the plan after right-wing Israelis complained that the deal was too generous to asylum seekers.
“I listened closely to many comments about the agreement. As a result, after reevaluating the advantages and disadvantages, I decided to cancel the deal,” Netanyahu wrote on his Facebook page.
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/dublin-city-council-vo...
Dublin City Council passed a motion Monday night endorsing the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) on Israel.
And on Tuesday, Israel claimed to have barred Dublin’s mayor from entering territory it controls, but a short time later the mayor appeared to be tweeting from Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.
“Since its violent establishment in 1948 through the ethnic cleansing of more than half of the indigenous people of Palestine, the state of Israel has denied Palestinians their fundamental rights and has refused to comply with international law,” the motion states.
https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-my-interview-with-the-bbc-a-bro...
LONDON — The interviewer’s questions on local BBC radio reflected another arena in which the Israeli government has scored a victory. After the preliminary “good morning,” first she asked the opinion of her Israeli guest about the public debate surrounding anti-Semitism in the British Labour Party. Unfortunately, I, the radio guest, fell for it.
I related to the question itself instead of saying: “Excuse me, but my expertise is not British politics but rather the Israeli occupation,” or “I’m still studying the matter. Let’s talk about Israel imprisoning two million people in the Gaza Strip,” or “The killing of almost 30 unarmed demonstrators by Israeli sharpshooters should concern British Jews and Israel’s other friends.” “What’s more,” I could have said: “There are probably a few Israeli soldiers with dual Israeli and British citizenship who are involved somehow, perhaps spokespeople, explaining in fine English to your colleagues why the demonstrators were killed according to the rules.” Instead air time that should have been devoted to Israel’s policies was wasted on questions that were in no way connected to me.
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1523632747/ WRITE DOWN: I, Uri Avnery, soldier number 44410 of the Israel army, hereby dissociate myself from the army sharpshooters who murder unarmed demonstrators along the Gaza Strip, and from their commanders, who give them the orders, up to the commander in chief. We don't belong to the same army, or to the same state. We hardly belong to the same human race.
Can Palestinian protests achieve anything? | Inside Story
IDF sniper who shot Palestinian protester cleared of wrongdoing, activists claim ‘target practice’
Israel Mows Down Unarmed Gaza Protesters for 3rd Week as US Blocks UN Investigation
Israel forces continue to 'shoot to kill' Gaza protesters | Al Jazeera English
Gaza protests: Will Israel stop using deadly force? | UpFront
Israel's Gaza blockade blamed for water crisis | Al Jazeera English
Prisoner's Day: Thousands of Palestinians in Israeli jails | Al Jazeera English
First Sergeant S
Rabbi Arik Ascherman on Jewish Extremism
Nikki Haley Confronted Over Israel’s Treatment of Peaceful Palestinian Protesters
Rashid Khalidi: The Israeli Security Establishment is Terrified of a Nonviolent Palestinian Movement
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1524231235/
TWO DAYS ago, the State of Israel celebrated its 70th birthday. For days we heard about nothing else. Innumerable speeches full of platitudes. A huge festival of kitsch.
Everyone agreed: It was a historic moment, when David Ben-Gurion got up in a small hall in Tel Aviv and declared the foundation of the state.
Everybody still alive from then was asked this week: Where were you at that moment? What did you feel, when history knocked on the door?
WELL, I was alive. And I did not feel anything.
I was a soldier in the new army, which was not yet called "Israeli Defense Army " (its official name in Hebrew). My company had a small encampment of pup tents in Hulda, a kibbutz south of Tel Aviv.
Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman has refused to travel for Israel to accept a $2 million award, citing her “Jewish values” as an imperative to stand up for justice amid an increasingly deadly conflict with the Palestinians.
The Hollywood superstar said she did not want to be seen as endorsing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom she accused of carrying out a wide variety of misdeeds.
Read more: https://forward.com/news/399261/natalie-portman-refuses-to-visit-israel-...
Mother of killed Palestinian youth: 'How could he pose a threat?'
UN's Palestinian envoy urges probe into Israel's deadly crackdown | Al Jazeera English
Israel control of Palestinian water supply hits farmers | Al Jazeera English
Mossad blamed for Palestinian scholar's murder in Malaysia | Al Jazeera English
Malaysia sees 'foreign hand' in Hamas member's killing
MSF: Palestinian protesters face 'injuries of unusual severity' | Al Jazeera English
Twitter temporarily suspended the account of Deputy Knesset Speaker Bezalel Smotrich after he posted on the weekend that a Palestinian teenager who slapped an Israeli soldier should have been shot in the kneecap.
Smotrich's account was suspended for 12 hours and he was instructed to delete the tweet, but the lawmaker said he would refuse and would appeal Twitter's demand that he do so.
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-twitter-limits-israeli-mk-w...
Israeli soldiers cheer after shooting a Palestinian protester in the village of Madama
Natalie Portman Smeared As Antí-Semíte For Humanitarian Stand
Monthly salaries for Gaza's PA workers a week overdue | Al Jazeera English
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/27/three-dead-and-hundreds-in...
Israeli troops have shot dead three protesters along the Gaza border, hours after the United Nations human rights chief criticised Israel for using “excessive force” against demonstrators.
Soldiers have killed 41 Palestinians and wounded more than 5,000 others since Gaza residents began staging protests along the border fence on 30 March to demand the right of return for Palestinian refugees.
Israeli forces kill three Palestinians, wound 955 at Gaza protest | Al Jazeera English
Inside Story - Are Palestinian journalists being targeted by Israeli snipers?
UN calls for de-escalation at Gaza-Israel border | Al Jazeera English
Israel's Massacres of Gaza Protesters Force Liberal Zionists to Face Oppressive Reality
http://mondoweiss.net/2018/04/shosberger-soldiers-terrorists/
Israeli human rights activists who promote BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) and speak harshly against Israeli policy are often subject to campaigns of exclusion and sometimes to death threats. While their stories pale in comparison to the stories of Palestinians (who are often shot dead just for protesting their rights), they need to be told and heard once in a while.
Thus I will tell the story of Adi Shosberger, the Israeli activist who called Israeli soldiers “terrorists” who are participating in a “massacre of innocent civilians”, telling them they were brainwashed into joining a “terror army”, as featured in a video which went viral in Israel just over two weeks ago. The incitement against her following the video release resulted in death threats, harassment and intimidation of her children, slashing of tires, garbage on the lawn etc. Adi required protection from fellow activists, as the police have taken her situation very lightly.
ON THE fifth day of the six-day war in 1967, I published an open letter to the Prime Minister, Levy Eshkol. The Israeli army had just conquered the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, and I proposed that Eshkol immediately offer the Palestinian people to establish the State of Palestine there, in return for peace with Israel.
I was a Member of the Knesset at the time. Two days after the end of the war, Eshkol asked me to meet him in his office in the Knesset building.
He listened to what I had to say, and then he answered with a fatherly smile: "Uri, what kind of a trader are you? In a negotiation, one offers the minimum and demands the maximum. Then one starts to negotiate, and in the end one reaches an agreement somewhere in the middle. And here you want to offer everything before the negotiation even starts?"
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1524856660/