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The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,    but because of the people who don't do anything about it    
Life under occupation

TitleDescriptionDate
PCHR Weekly Report: One Palestinian killed, 11 wounded by Israeli forces Saed Bannoura - IMEMC - "During the last week, Israeli forces conducted 32 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, during which they abducted 28 Palestinians, including 4 children and a university professor." - is 30/12/2011
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Palestinians hoping to leave Gaza Strip asked to collaborate with IsraelPhoebe Greenwood - Guardian - ""It puts the lives of patients in danger while forcing them to choose one of two impossible options – risk their chances for getting medical care or risk their lives for getting suspected of collaborating with the Israeli security forces."" - id 30/12/2011
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Through force aloneSaleh Al-Naami - Al-Ahram - "...wasting time in seeking political settlements while the balance of power remains in Israel`s favour is futile." - id30/12/2011
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A nightmare that lasted three weeks; memories of Gaza massacreRafat Abushaban - The Electronic Intifada - "Two hours later, it was all over the news channels. Approximately forty persons were killed in the first air strikes and Israeli officials were threatening to wipe Gaza off of the map." - id 30/12/2011
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The last straw for Bedouin in Jerusalem`s periphery?Jonathan Guyer - Foreign Policy - A pending plan in the West Bank threatens to displace Khan al-Ahmar, a Bedouin village of refugees originally from Israel`s south, pushed off their indigenous land in the early 1950`s. Khan al-Ahmar lies on the side of a major West Bank thoroughfare and is sandwiched between the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumin and Jerusalem.28/12/2011
All I Want for Christmas…Julie Holm - MIFTAH - A couple of weeks ago, in the spirit of Christmas, Israel announced that they would ease travel restrictions for Palestinian Christians during the holiday. What was supposed to portray Israel as generous and trusting ended up looking more as a joke. Can there even be such a thing as a generous occupier?28/12/2011
High Court allows Israel to mine Palestinian TerritoriesNoam Sheizaf - +972 - Addressing these arguments, Attorney Michael Sfard, legal advisor for Yes Din, said of the ruling, “Quarrying natural resources in an occupied territory for the economic benefit of the occupying state is pillage, and the court’s reasoning that a long-term occupation should be treated differently cannot legalize an economic activity that harms the local residents.” 28/12/2011
Three Years Ago: The Horror Of Gaza RememberedMohammed Suliman - Countercurrents - Now it has been three years, and I’m still capable of evoking every minute detail of the twenty-two days which have become an experience I recall with feelings of sadness, anger, pain and a little bit of confusing pride, the reason for which I cannot understand. 28/12/2011
Addameer Calls Attention to the 443 Gazans Detained in Israeli PrisonsPress Release - AD-DAMEER - "They are largely unaware of the major events taking place in the lives of their families, including the deaths of close relatives. Similarly, their relatives are kept in the dark about their general detention and health conditions." - id 28/12/2011
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Israel is exploiting the resources of the occupied West BankAeyal Gross - Haaretz - "Israel is conducting a creeping annexation of the West Bank and its resources: Under the pretext of "development," it is exploiting the occupied population`s natural resources - in this case, stone and gravel - for its own benefit." - id 28/12/2011
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High Court: it is acceptable to use West Bank resources (e.g. quarries) for Israeli needs Noam Sheizaf - +972 Magzine - The court rejected the appeal submitted by the Israeli human rights NGO Yesh Din in 2009, arguing that Israeli companies` use of quarries in the West Bank constituted a violation of the Fourth Hague Convention of 1907, allowing an occupier to use the resources in the occupied land only for the needs and benefits of the occupied people. The court argued that since the quarries provide employment to Palestinians, their operation is acceptable - which many jurists would consider a very questionable reading of International Law. 27/12/2011
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Israel allows Gaza athletes to cross into West Bank, but bars outstanding academicsAmira Hass - Haaretz - Loujain, Mohammed and Said are not soccer players in whom FIFA, the international soccer federation, takes any interest. Their travel to the West Bank and presence there are forbidden. No international academic association has stood up for their basic right to choose where they will study. 27/12/2011
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Study: Over 3,000 Palestinians arrested in 2011Imemc/Ma`an - Researcher Abdul Nasser Ferwaneh found that a total of 3,312 Palestinians were arrested by Israeli authorities in 2011 - an averge of 276 per month, or around nine a day. Since October 18, 2011, when 477 Palestinian detainees were released in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Israeli forces already got a similar number of new detainess behind bars. 27/12/2011
A tradition of violence (inluding video evidence)B`Tselem field researchers report - Ynet - Settler violence against Arabs a routine occurrence: setting fields on fire; attacking shepherds. When we complain, it takes the police a long time to arrive. When soldiers are in the field, they rarely try to separate the settlers from the Palestinians. Often, the settlers tell them that we`re not allowed to be in a certain place, and the soldiers remove us, even though it is our land and we are allowed to be there. 27/12/2011
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Just another day... Forwarded by Sam Bahour--A tale reflecting Palestinian Freedom of Movement25/12/2011
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Tthe more it changes, the more it stays the same. worse.Checkpoint video forwarded by Tal25/12/2011
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`If Jesus were to come this year, Bethlehem would be closed`Phoebe Greenwood - The Guardian "A strip of Israeli settlements built on 18 sq km of what was once northern Bethlehem threatens to cut the city off from its historic twin, Jerusalem. To the Israeli authorities, these have been neighbourhoods of Jerusalem since 1967. One of the settlements, Har Homa, is built on land where angels are said to have announced the birth of Christ to local shepherds. A narrow corridor of land between Har Homa and another settlement, Gilo, still connects Bethlehem to Jerusalem but the construction of Givat Hamatos, a new settlement announced in October, will fill this in a matter of years." ca23/12/2011
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Israeli activist: Checkpoint at J’lem refugee camp form of “ethnic cleansing”Mya Guarnieri - +972 "“This [checkpoint] has nothing what so ever to do with security,” Jeff Halper, a co-founder of the Israeli Commitee Against House Demolitions, said. “There are Palestinians on both sides of the border. [The checkpoint] has one purpose–to concentrate 50,000 Palestinians on one side of the [separation] wall so their residency can eventually be revoked.”23/12/2011
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Israel gearing for effective separation of East Jerusalem PalestiniansNir Hasson - Haaretz "Put the pieces together, and you get a picture of Israel erecting, at enormous expense, a major system of roads and checkpoints that would allow for the total separation of Palestinians and Israelis while also enabling the construction of Mevasseret Adumim, a neighborhood that would connect Ma`aleh Adumim to Jerusalem." ca23/12/2011
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From The Freedom Theatre in Jenin refugee campPress Release - 22 December 2011 "Last night the Israeli army invaded Jenin refugee camp for the second night in a row. They arrested another three members of The Freedom Theatre. This time Adnan Naghnaghiye, our stage manager, Bilal Saadi, the chairperson, and Faisal Abu Alheja, acting instructor and assistant producer. The systematized attacks by the Israeli army on The Freedom Theatre and its employees seriously damage the theatre`s ability to operate as a safe place for children and youth." 23/12/2011
Narratives Under Siege: Farming with a grain of salt PCHR - “About four years after digging the well I noticed an increasing salinity in the water coming from our well” says Mohammed. “The plants deteriorated, as did the harvests. We used to plant vegetables on the land for our own consumption but since they only received salty water, these crops have stopped growing. Since 2003 we were growing lemon trees. When the salinity in the well water rose, the trees turned yellow and produced only small lemons with a salty taste.” 22/12/2011
Hamas moves away from violence in deal with Palestinian AuthorityPhoebe Greenwood - The Guardian - "Violence is no longer the primary option but if Israel pushes us, we reserve the right to defend ourselves with force," said the spokesman, Taher al-Nounu. On this understanding, he said, all Palestinian factions operating in the Gaza Strip have agreed to halt the firing of rockets and mortars into Israel. 21/12/2011
Palestinian clowns are everywhere By Sam Bahour - ePalestine " As many are bent on dehumanizing Palestinians, systematically and with contempt, others are mending the wounds of a people who have been purposely stripped of their well-being in one of the world’s most unjust chapters of history. One group tending to that process of mending the deep wounds that 44 years of military occupation continue to inflict is the Palestinian Circus School (PCS), based in Birzeit, Palestine." ca21/12/2011
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What happens when a Gazan wants to marry a West Bank woman?Amira Hass - Haaretz "Did you know that Israel allows Gaza residents to enter the West Bank to attend their relatives` weddings but not to get betrothed themselves?" ca21/12/2011
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Who’s Afraid of Women’s Song?Pulse Media - "Last thought: Though Sahar describes what she went through as “sexual harassment”, I contend that because the man who had harassed her was holding a gun, this is in fact “sexual assault.” This is a common occurrence for women facing soldiers in demonstrations and should be called by its name." ca21/12/2011
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The Villages Group: Cooperation in Israel-PalestineVillages Group - "Update about Sausan and Amal, 2 Palestinian Girls Arrested as their Home was Demolished.The destruction was perpetrated on November 24 by Israeli civilian contractors.The Machsom Watch account continues:The prosecution agreed to Amal’s release that day (perhaps because she is a minor, or because squirting a soldier with water is not such a serious violation) in return for a 4000 shekel deposit. The defense explained that Amal cannot afford to pay such a sum: she is the daughter of a destitute shepherd, and besides, her house has been destroyed." ca21/12/2011
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Mustafa Tamimi Remembered Ben Ronen - +972blog - “They were always looking for him. They came at night, but he managed to jump out of the window. A soldier aimed his weapon at me. He was only a kid, about 19. The officer said: ‘Your son Mustafa was here. He throws stones every week.’ I held my wife tightly and said to him: ‘We also throw stones at you, we all throw stones at you. So, arrest me and my wife.’”20/12/2011
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40,000 govt employees to receive salaries in GazaMa`an News Agency "The finance ministry in Gaza will pay salaries on Thursday to its 40,000 employees for the months of October and November, the deputy minister Ismail Mahfouz said.The salaries are for employees whose monthly income is less than 1,500 shekels. The rest of the salaries will be paid by the end of the week, he announced.The government`s current budget is 77 million shekels per month." ca16/12/2011
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EU launches water management project in West BankMa`an News Agency - "This project comes in addition to the EU food security programme which has focused exactly on improving the management of water and wastewater in rural areas of the oPt to tackle these problems.We are particularly proud to launch this project whose asset lies not only in giving immediate access to water for the most impoverished rural families in the West Bank but also in directly involving the local community".ca16/12/2011
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Israel to Allow 600 Christians from Gaza to Travel to Bethlehem, If They’re Between 35 and 40 PNN "Khlil Faraj, the director of the Civil Coordination Office in the Gaza Strip, confirmed that an Israeli government contact said they would allow 600 Christians from Gaza to go to Bethlehem to participate in Christmas ceremonies." ca16/12/2011
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In Beit Omar, Soldiers Threaten to Kill Palestinian and His Family PNN "Eyad al-Halaykeh said that the Israeli forces attacked and searched his house at dawn, forced him outside of the house, and then they threatened to kill him and his children, saying that his sons were throwing stones at the Israeli vehicles that passed the street in front of Eyad’s house." ca16/12/2011
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Troops Demolish Four Homes Near BethlehemSaed Bannoura - IMEMC - The homes, located near the tunnel that Israel built to link between Jerusalem and Kfar Eztion settlement bloc, belong to residents Jeries Zeidan, Yousef Za’mat, Khader Khaliliyya, and Abed Odah who did not receive a notification from the so-called Civil Administration prior to demolition. 13/12/2011
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Report: “19 Children Killed, 200 Injured, By Israeli Shells In 2011”Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies - "Adham Abu Salmiyya, spokesperson of the Higher Committee for Medical and Emergency Services In Gaza, reported that, in 2011, Israeli soldiers killed 19 children, and injured more than 200, in Air strikes and bombardment targeting the Gaza Strip since the beginning of this year. [...] more than one-third of the wounded Palestinians in 2011 are children"12/12/2011
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Critically Injured Mustafa Tamimi of Nabi Saleh Dies of His Wounds Press release - Popular Struggle Coordination Committee - Mustafa Tamimi, who was fatally injured yesterday during a demonstration in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh passed away earlier today. Tamimi was hit in the face by a tear-gas projectile shot directly at him, from only a few feet away. [Evidence captured by photographer-bz] 10/12/2011
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Reckless behavior Labib Kamhawi - Bitterlemons "It is the reckless political positions of the Israeli right-wing government that has brought Jordan and the Palestinian Authority together to confront this threat of the alternative homeland. Heedless policies have strengthened the anti-peace camp, which is now being used as a red herring by Israel to buy time and change the demographic reality in the Palestinian territories." ca 9/12/2011
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UN report: Smuggling tunnels help alleviate Gaza`s economic woes Amira Hass - Haaretz "The smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border are the primary cause of the improvement in the Gaza Strip`s economy between the first half of 2010 and the same period of 2011, a new report by UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, has concluded.Nevertheless, due to its low starting point, Gaza`s economy remains dismal: It has one of the world`s highest unemployment rates, one of the highest poverty rates and one of the highest rates of families dependent on outside assistance. According to Oxfam, 1.1 million of Gaza`s 1.5 million residents receive food aid." ca9/12/2011
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Former prisoner, PFLP leader: hunger strike `made revolution in the prisons`Ben Lorber - The Electronic Intifada - Abdel-Alim Da’na: I spent 17 years in Israeli prisons. In 1972 I spent more than one year, and in 1975, they gave me 17 and a half years. I was released by an exchange of prisoners between PLO and Israel in 1985. I spent ten years and two months in jail. Then they arrested me in the first intifada, the first uprising, and I spent four years without a trial, as an administrative detainee. Then I spent about one year or more, and then in 2004 I spent one and a half years. 7/12/2011
The Details on the Arrest of Sausan and Amal From the South Mt. Hebron Village Umm FaqaraThe Villages Group - Sausan’s attempt to force her way into her home to clear out belongings led to her being pepper-sprayed in the eyes by one of the soldiers, and her arrest. Amal was arrested as she tried to provide Sausan a water bottle to relieve the stinging in her eyes. Water from the bottle squirted out and wet the soldier who was preventing Amal from giving Sausan the bottle, and that was the reason for Amal’s arrest 7/12/2011
IDF dismisses Palestinian confession over physical Shin Bet interrogationChaim Levinson - Haaretz - "The Shin Bet said its interrogations are carried out in compliance with the law and are monitored by the Justice Ministry and the judicial system. It is still studying the ruling and will consider appealing the acquittal, the agency said." - id 7/12/2011
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Israeli occupation prevents families of 20 released prisoners from meeting their loved onesUFree - Some relatives of prisoners released in the Prisoner Exchange Deal are prevented from travelling outside the occupied West Bank (for unclarified "security reasons). Therefore, wives and children, parents and siblings can still not meet their relatives who after many years in prison were released, but expelled - to Gaza, Qatar and Turkey. 6/12/2011
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Israeli Court Drops Charges Against Tortured DetaineeSaed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies - "The Military Court at the Ofer Prison admitted Sunday that the Israeli interrogators are using brutal methods to interrogate Palestinian detainees, the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) reported"5/12/2011
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In Gaza, lives shaped by dronesScott Wilson - The Washington Post - "The U.S. drone war is largely invisible, carried out in remote regions sometimes beyond the boundaries of America’s battlefields. U.S. officials are reticent to discuss the program, which President Obama has relied on more than his predecessor to kill enemies. Israel’s close-quarters conflict with Palestinians in the relatively accessible Gaza Strip offers a vivid view of the remote-controlled combat, and of the lives of those affected by these tools of modern war. […] The Palestinian Center for Human Rights says 825 people have been killed by drones in Gaza since the capture of Shalit [on 25 June 2006]"5/12/2011
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Artscape - Free Running Gaza [youtube video]A film by George Shazar and Mariam Shain - Two young Palestinians embrace "Parkour", the art of overcoming obstacles, an athletic discipline that offers an escape from life under occupation. [The reality of besieged Gaza, as background, is more real than in a focused documentary-bz]4/12/2011
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Israel `shuts Allenby crossing to Jordan` Ma`an News Agency "The terminal, the sole entry and exit point for Palestinians in the West Bank to travel abroad, was shut down around 5 p.m. as ambulances, fire services, and Israeli police entered the closed zone, travelers said. " ca2/12/2011
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Unsettled: Jasmin Ramsey interviews Amira HassJasmin Ramsey and Amira Hass - Guernica - I am lucky that I can write about it and that I can live in a way within the two communities. So sometimes it’s not really a gift, sometimes it’s more navigating, it’s more lonely; sometimes it’s more reassuring that I can be in the morning with Palestinians from a village that fights against the wall and some Israeli activists as well, the anarchists. And then in the evening I go and spend it with Israeli women who are in the Machsom, the grassroots movement against the checkpoints. 1/12/2011
Where’s my friend?Sam Bahour - ePalestine - Help me get Walid back to his family and his desk so we can get back to the work of improving the Palestinian health care system. Consider contacting your local Israeli Embassy and any or all of the following and demanding his immediate release. Reference his name, Walid Abu Rass, and his ID # 9-9702819-6. 15/12/2011
We don’t have a problem with you, we have a problem with studentsGisha - And so, even as some Israeli politicians berate the Palestinian education system for teaching hatred, only a few have taken action against the ban on student travel to the West Bank to enroll in subjects like gender studies or human rights and democracy. After all, all Palestinian students are a “security threat”. And a shortage of physicians, human rights activists or engineers doesn`t threaten security at all. 15/12/2011
Record number of Palestinians displaced in 2011Ma`an - "Since the beginning of 2011, more than 500 homes, wells and other structures have been destroyed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, displacing over 1,000 Palestinians, UN figures show." - id 14/12/2011
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Japanese NGO Continues to Support Olive Farmers and Women’s Group in Tubas through Japanese Fund Press Release - PNN - "...to encourage them to improve their lives in Tubas area through developing the reasonable method of olive pest control as well as the value-added processed foods by their organic agricultural products." - id 14/12/2011
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Zakariya Zubeidi: Israel reneged on amnesty dealAvi Issacharoff - Haaretz - In 2007, Zbeidi was among 200 wanted Fatah militants who turned in their weapons, under an amnesty arrangement. In 2009, actor Juliano Mer Khamis appointed Zbeidi as his Jenin`s Freedom Theater`s director. Mer-Khamis, was shot and killed last April. [Since then, the Israeli army does everything possible to ruin the theatre-bz]31/12/2011
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Maghair al-`Abid and DaqaiqehDavid Shulman--Let me introduce you to Shehade Mahamra Salama in his dusty blue winter coat, with his white beard, joyful eyes, face burned wine-red by the sun. He lives in the tiny encampment of Maghair al-`Abid on one of the eastern ridges overlooking the desert. There are four or five families here, some twenty caves. The lands they own are scattered in a wide arc over the parched hills—some of them, unfortunately, like the plot they`re plowing today, in the shadow of Chavat Maon, perhaps the most notorious and merciless of the Israeli outposts in south Hebron. dn11/12/2011
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The aftermath of a bombed home in GazaMondoweiss--photo essay11/12/2011
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