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24/01/2021
| | WEBINAR: The Values Behind Vaccines COVID-19 & Access to Vaccines in Israel & Palestine The Families Circle - WEBINAR: The Values Behind Vaccines
COVID-19 & Access to Vaccines in Israel & Palestine
Monday, January 25th 12:00 PM EST (7:00 PM Jerusalem, 5:00 PM
London). Hear from Israel’s leading human rights attorney, Michael
Sfard; Executive Director of Physicians for Human Rights – Israel,
Ran Goldstein, and bereaved Israeli and Palestinian mothers and
spokespersons, Robi Damelin and Layla Alsheikh, to get a
better understanding of the questions around Israel’s legal, moral
and human responsibility to vaccinate the Palestinians living in the
West Bank and Gaza. [ak] | | | El-Halabi`s outcry for justice Alon Ben-Meir - Mohammed El Halabi, an aid worker from Gaza, has
been in prison for four years while he awaits his trial; this is
nothing short of cruel absurdity. He has been forced before the
court over 150 times, many of those appearances secret, the latest
on January 14, and he and his family still have no word of when his
case will begin. Israel’s case against El Halabi — who is accused
of diverting humanitarian funds to Hamas — has been widely condemned
as flimsy at best. The amount of funds El Halabi allegedly diverted
from his employer, the charity World Vision, is more than the
organization’s entire annual operating budget; furthermore, World
Vision as well as independent auditors found no financial
irregularities. In addition, the Israeli government has refused to
provide any further information or evidence regarding its claims.
This case has not only led to a man’s indefinite imprisonment, but
the suspension of significant humanitarian aid to Gaza, which will
further impact adversely on the living conditions in the territory. [ak] | | | Supreme Court temporarily halts demolition of a Palestinian family home i24NEWS - The Supreme Court in Jerusalem issued an order temporarily halting
demolition of the Kabha Family home. Demolition of the house`s two
upper floors had been was ordered by General Tamir Yadai of the IDF
Central Command, after Muhammad Kabha was detained and under
interrogation confessed to killing an Israeli settler woman in
December; he said that that he did it in retaliation for a
Palestinian detainee dying of cancer in the Israeli prison and being
denied release even when his situation was grave. Muhammad Kabha had
not yet been prosecuted or convicted, but his confession is deemed
enough to order demolition of his family`s home, even though family
members had no part in his alleged act. The demolition order was due
to come into force on 8.00 PM, January 21. An appeal lodged by Adv.
Nadia Daka of Hamoked (Center For Individual Rights) led to the
Supreme Court issuing a temporary order to halt the demolition
pending further deliberations - though at the end of these, the
court might finally authorize the demolition being carried out. [ak] | | | Virtual tour of contentious West Bank ancient sites Emek Shaveh - A virtual tour (via zoom) of ancient sites in the West
Bank which have become increasingly important in the struggle over land
and narrative, under the title "Archaeology, Politics, Settlers and
Palestinians in the West Bank" will take on Thursday, 28th of January
at 7 pm Israel time (12pm EST, 9am PST, 6pm CET). [ak] | | | ---An Important Civics Lesson--- Haifa school defying education minister`s ban on B`Tselem Haaretz Editorial - The ministry director-general called the principal of the Reali High School in Haifa, Mendi Rabinowitz, on the carpet along with the director-general of the school’s ownership, Yossi Ben-Dov, after their refusal to cancel an invitation to the director of the B’Tselem human rights NGO, Hagai El-Ad, to speak at the school. On Sunday the minister ordered his director-general to bar the school from hosting organizations that “operate in a manner that mocks IDF soldiers and labels Israel an apartheid state.” The Reali School did not hasten to obey; they asked the ministry for the legal basis for the minister’s decision to censor those who don’t fall in line politically with the ruling party. When that information wasn’t forthcoming, they went ahead with the planned lecture the following day.
The heads of the Reali School acted as they should have in light of the illegal government bullying and gave their pupils an important civics lesson. [bz] | | | 2,572 Settlement Housing Units in Tenders are Published on the Eve of the Change in Government in Washington Peace Now - “Our out-of-touch government leadership continues to press on with its mad scramble to promote as much settlement activity as possible until the last minutes before the change of the administration in Washington.
The tenders published are in addition to the 780 housing units approved this week in the settlements, the opening of the tender for thousands of units on Givat Hamatos and the billions’ of shekels investments in roads and infrastructure that will double the number of settlers.” [This detailed Settlement Watch article comes with a map-bz] | | | Settler terrorism increases, helped by silence or active support of the Israeli occupation forces Ta`ayush - Settler terrorism is on the rise because of the
standoffish attitude or actual support by the Israeli occupation
forces: this week, another record was set by the settlers
vandalizing Palestinians and their property and activists who
accompany them, from Jit-Sara Junction (Qedumim) all the way to
Hebron, from the West Bank Hill Range to villages, fields and
junctions in the districts of Nablus, Ramallah, Salfit, Bethlehem
and Tul Karm; On Friday, in A-Tawane in the South Hebron Hills,
dozens of Palestinians and over 120 Israeli activists participated
in a demonstration protesting the shooting by an Israeli soldier of
a villager of A-Rakeez who tried to prevent the army from
confiscating a generator – the army dispersed this demonstration by
throwing stun grenades; on Saturday settlers invaded Palestinian
lands near Susya; for weeks now the settlers of ‘Mitzpe Yair’ have
been invading the lands, homes and tents in the village of Simra, in
the South Hebron Hills; an intentional act of vandalism was
perpetrated in the vehicle of two activists while they tried to
prevent a settler’s cattle herd from invading a sown Palestinian
field near Tayibe Junction – an act that endangered the activists’
lives; an activist was hurt by a metal rod while trying to prevent
the invasion by settler flocks of the new settler outpost near Deir
Jarayer. [ak] | | | Starting Point Gush Shalom - The decision of President Obama not to veto the UN Security Council resolution calling for a stop to all settlement construction should be the starting point for Biden`s ME policy [bz] | | | Blinken backs two-state solution but doubts it will happen in near future Jacob Magid - Times of Israel - At his confirmation hearing in the
Senate, Biden`s Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the
incoming administration would seek to restore the 2015 agreement
with Iran (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) from which
Trump withdrew, provided that Iran would also resume keeping its
obligations under that agreement, specifically to stop enriching
uranium. He also said, however, that the US would consult with
Israel and the Arab Gulf states. Netanyahu already made clear his
opposition to resuming JCPOA, and this is likely to be his first
confrontation with Biden. Blinken expressed support for the Abraham
Accords brokered by Trump, but had reservations about the |quid pro
quo" involved, i.e. the sale of fighter planes to the Emirates.
Blinken expressed hope that the Abraham Accords will provide Israel
with a new sense of “confidence and security” to reach an agreement
with the Palestinians. Blinken expressed support for a two-state
solution, as "The only way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish,
democratic state and to give the Palestinians a state to which they
are entitled" but expressed doubt that such a deal could be reached
in the near future. He declared himself opposed to “unilateral
efforts by either party that make reaching such a solution more
difficult" but did not explicitly refer to settlement construction.
He opposed the BDS movement while supporting the First Amendment
right of Americans to call for boycott of Israel and opposed
attempts to prohibit such calls. [ak] | | | Israel OKs hundreds of settlement homes in last-minute push Associated Press - Ynet - With settlement-friendly Trump presidency just days
from over, watchdog says latest construction haul `needlessly sets Israel on
collision course with incoming Biden administration`; EU condemns move, says it`s
`contrary to international law` [ry] | | | For previous articles since 2004 go to respective sections | |
Recommended articles
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Gideon Spiro on looting of Palestinian property
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