TomDispatch: Mega-Bases in Iraq

TomDispatch: Mega-Bases in Iraq:

"TomDispath blogger Tom Engelhardt on the mega-bases and super-embassy in Iraq, and why mainstream media won't report about these small cities."



also see

The Bases Are Loaded: US Permanent Military Presence in Iraq:

"Will the U.S. ever leave Iraq? Official policy promises an eventual departure, while warning of the dire consequences of a 'premature' withdrawal. But while Washington equivocates, facts on the ground tell another story. Independent journalist Dahr Jamail, and author Chalmers Johnson, are discovering that military bases in Iraq are being consolidated from over a hundred to a handful of 'megabases' with lavish amenities. Much of what is taking place is obscured by denials and quibbles over the definition of 'permanent.' The Bases Are Loaded covers a wide range of topics. Gary Hart, James Goldsborough, Nadia Keilani, Raed Jarrar, Bruce Finley Kam Zarrabi and Mark Rudd all add their observations about the extent and purpose of the bases in Iraq.

Alternate Focus is available on the Dish Network, Free Speech TV, Channel 9415 and on cable stations near you. Check www.alternatefocus.org for details. Alternate Focus is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) non-profit organization supported by viewers like you."



Here's another interview with Tom on the bases in Iraq

Conversation with TomDispatch editor, Tom Engelhardt:

"Read more at www.tomdispatch.com"

Israeli troops kill Palestinian youth in West Bank, attack his Funeral Procession

Israeli troops kill Palestinian youth in West Bank:

"29-06-2008"
Article Source PNN
Eyewitness report: Funeral of 17 year old student attacked by same Israeli soldiers who killed him

Hebron / Bekah Wolf - The Israeli military has been slowly escalating its intimidation tactics in Beit Ommar over the last three days, often patrolling the streets at sundown, provoking youth by parking outside of the mosque and waiting for young boys to come and throw stones before shooting tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets.

The increasing terrorization of the village culminated at approximately 9:30 pm Friday when a 17 year old boy, Mohammed Anwar Al-Alami, was shot in the heart and killed.

Soldiers first entered the southern West Bank’s town at 4 pm and began slowly circling the village, often stopping in the center of town, shooting a few tear gas canisters, but otherwise staying in their jeeps. They were not searching houses nor made any other indication that they were engaging in any authorized operation. Shortly after sundown, at approximately 9 pm, they began arresting residents: blindfolding and handcuffing nine men in total and bringing them to the entrance of the village. Four were later released, five remain in Israeli custody. Several more jeeps and Armored Personnel Carriers (APC's) entered the village. Young boys began throwing stones and empty bottles which bounced off the armored military vehicles harmlessly. Still, for the Israeli military a rock against reinforced metal is reason enough to end the life of a young man, about to finish his final exams and graduate from high school.

Mohammed was quickly rushed to the hospital, but he had been shot in the chest and the bullet entered his heart, killing him almost instantly.

When international activists approached the soldiers one was thrown to the ground and his camera was stolen from him. Another observer with the Christian Peacemaker Teams, who was on crutches, was also knocked to the ground by the commander of the Israeli forces. The video tape and memory cards of the cameras of the CPT activists were all taken, erasing evidence of the assault on them presumably in an attempt to cover-up the egregiously excessive violence used by the Israeli army against young people.

On Saturday at 10:30 am international and Palestinian activists with CPT and Palestine Solidarity Project joined the community as they took the body from the hospital in Hebron and drove in the funeral procession back to Beit Ommar. The long line of cars with Palestinian and political faction flags hanging out the windows was soon accompanied by two Israeli military jeeps. Not given a moment to grieve, the Israeli military soon brought in reinforcements and gathered a mass of jeeps and soldiers near the cemetery.

After a visit to the murdered student's home and the mosque, the entire village, several thousand people, marched down the main road to the cemetery. The soldiers, not wanting to allow the participants to use the main entrance of the cemetery, ostensibly because of its proximity to their reinforced concrete watchtower that looms over the entrance to the village, parked two jeeps on the main road, cutting off the residents and forcing them to a side road leading to the back entrance to the cemetery. Community leaders, trying to prevent a confrontation with the soldiers, managed to persuade most of the procession on to the side road; approximately 50 or so, however, were insistent on their right to approach where their dead are laid to rest from the front entrance.

These men walked past the parked jeeps and gathered at the entrance to the cemetery as well as gathering on the roof of a house across the street from the watchtower. It was at that time that the same commander who oversaw the killing of the boy the night before got out of his jeep. The member of the Christian Peacemakers Team who had been pushed to the ground the night before approached the soldiers with a video camera, reminding the commander that the CPT member was now a witness to the funeral of the boy his unit had killed the night before and demanding that he, a Palestinian-American, and other Palestinians, be treated with the dignity they deserve. The soldiers soon began pushing the crowd back towards the cemetery and threw a sound grenade, effectively disrupting not only the crowd, but the family's moment to mourn the death of a young man.

Residents soon returned to their homes while young men, many of whom were fellow students of Mohammed’s, began to throw stones at the armored jeeps. The soldiers, rather than leaving the village which would have both eliminated the source of tension and allowed the community to mourn properly, instead decided they had not ‘taught their lesson’ well enough and again invaded the village. This time, at least two were injured: one young boy was hit with a ricochet in the head, and another was light injured when his arm was grazed by a bullet.

Members of PSP and CPT again went out into the street to document. Although they were less than 50 meters away and clearly visible to the soldiers, they also had to soon take cover as live ammunition, rather than "crowd-dispersal weaponry" such as tear gas or rubber-coated steel bullets which are less lethal, went whizzing past their heads. And so it continued that lethal force, when less lethal means were well at their disposal (though some of the soldiers were outfitted with plastic-coated steel bullets which are against international law) was used against stone-throwing children and international activists. It is this low-level war—the murder of a child here and there, the unending expansion of Israeli settlements and theft of Palestinian land—that is ongoing in the West Bank; less obvious, perhaps, than the brutal attacks on Gaza, but no less devastating.

AIPAC: End the Occupation and Apartheid Now!

AIPAC: End the Occupation and Apartheid Now!:

"EndTheOccupationDOTorg Josh Ruebner talks about the difference between the 'freedom and democracy' rhetoric at the Jun 2008 APIAC conference and the reality that the occupation of Palestine has created."

Edward Said - On Orientalism

On Orientalism-Edward Said:

"Edward Said discusses the themes of his classic work 'orientalism', its implications and its place in the modern world."

Edward Said's book Orientalism has been profoundly influential in a diverse range of disciplines since its publication in 1978. In this engaging and lavishly illustrated interview he talks about the context within which the book was conceived, its main themes, and how its original thesis relates to the contemporary understanding of "the Orient" as represented in the mass media.

"That's the power of the discourse of Orientalism. If you're thinking about people and Islam, and about that part of the wold, those are the words you constantly have to use. To think past it, to go beyond it, not to use it, is virtually impossible, because there is no knowledge that isn't codified in this way about that part of the world." -Edward Said

Part(2/4)



part (3/4)



Part (4/4)

Mosaic News - 06/26/08: World News From The Middle East

Mosaic News - 06/26/08: World News From The Middle East:

"'Gaza: A Tense Calm,' Al Jazeera TV, Qatar
'Suicide Bomber Kills 15 in Anbar Province,' Al Arabiya TV, UAE
'"Western Oil Companies Return to Iraq,' Syria TV, Syria
'Tehran Warns Europe Not to Tighten Sanctions,' Abu Dhabi TV, UAE
'Iran Fights Drug Smuggling from Afghanistan,' Press TV, Iran
'China's Increased Influence in Sudan,' Sudan TV, Sudan
'Violence in Somalia Causes Malnutrition in Children,' Al Jazeera English, Qatar
'Forty-Eight Countries Compete at the Tanja Film Festival,' 2M TV, Morocco
Produced for Link TV by Jamal Dajani."

Irving Moskowitz: Gambling for Jerusalem

Irving Moskowitz: Gambling for Jerusalem:

"The building and populating of Jewish settlements within Palestinian inhabited areas of East Jerusalem, as well as the construction of the Separation Wall that divides Palestinians residing in Jerusalem from those living outside the city, in the West Bank, are integral elements of Israel's attempt to fragment the Palestinian population in Jerusalem.

Israeli non-profit associations, such as Elad and the Ateret Cohanim, have been responsible for the settlement construction on lands confiscated by the Israeli government, with the substantial financial support of foreign tycoons, including, most notably, American millionaire Irving Moskowitz."

Na'alin demonstration 24.6.2008

Na'alin demonstration 24.6.2008:
"Demonstration on land belonging to the village of Na'alin on Tuesday 24th June 2008. The demonstrators reached the bulldozer working on construction of the separation barrier and work was halted for a short while."

Muhammad Jaradat & Eitan Bronstein: 1948 and the Right of Return

Muhammad Jaradat & Eitan Bronstein: 1948 and the Right of Return:

"Eitan Bronstein of the Jewish Israeli group, Zochrot, and Muhammad Jaradat of the Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugees' Rights, present 'Acknowledging the Past; Imagining the Future: Israelis and Palestinians on 1948 and the Right of Return.'"

George Bisharat - Ending the Palestinian Nakba

George Bisharat - Ending the Palestinian Nakba:

"Dr. George Bisharat, University of California Hastings College of Law Professor and former legal consultant to the Palestinian Authority, calls for one secular democratic state for Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews as a durable solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Dr. Bisharat offers his legal perspective on how Israel may continue to be a home for the Jewish people when the Palestinian right of return is implemented. The lecture was part of a half-day program sponsored by Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights of Portland, Oregon, to commemorate the Palestinian dispossession and expulsion from what became Israel in 1948."

Under Siege - Israel/Palestine

Under Siege - Israel/Palestine:
"June 2008

Since Israel began its blockade, Gaza has rarely been out of the news. We take a look at life behind the blockade and the headlines and we see a people left suffering and angry.
'Enough!' shouts a gas-buyer in the market, 'We are a people who have had enough!' The mood in the market, as in Gaza as a whole, is one of misery and anger. No one is allowed to enter or leave Gaza, and restrictions have been placed on water, fuel and electricity. 'This is the problem with Gaza', says John Ging, director of the UN Relief and Works Agency. 'The problems are identified, the solutions are known and yet nothing changes other than the situation continues to get worse and worse'. Karima Al Doul has cancer in an advanced stage. Before the blockade she used to travel to Israel for chemotherapy, but now treatment is unavailable and she has only months to live. Karima worries about the five children she will leave behind. It is the vulnerable that have suffered most from the blockades, she tells us. 'Many sick people have died because of this blockade. They are sick; this is not their fault'."
Click link to see video Under Siege - Israel/Palestine 20:34

Huwwara Checkpoint: A Violent Checkpoint Commander

Huwwara Checkpoint: A Violent Checkpoint Commander:

"Machsom Watch activists saw the checkpoint commander beating up Palestinians in the detention cell.
After one activist tried to film what the checkpoint commander is doing in the detention cell, the commander and his soldiers turned their violence towards her"

BtS in Hebron channel 10

BtS in Hebron channel 10:

"Israeli channel 10 aticle on Hebron settlers' reaction to Breaking the Silence tours in Hebron"

Israeli Police prevents Shovrim Shtika (Break the Silence) Group tours in Hebron.
The group has exposed Israeli army and settlers violence against Palestinian civilians by publishing testimonies of Israeli soldiers involved in the violence.

Broken Palestinian families

Broken Palestinian families:

A year has passed since Israel forced three Palestinian women to leave their family in the west bank. The women were forced to live in Gaza because they carry Gaza ID cards.

Inside Story -- Israeli Settlements

Inside Story -- Israeli Settlements:

"Despite pledges by Israeli officials to stop settlement construction, the construction continues with nearly 2,000 additional settlement housing units announced since the Annapolis Conference in November 2007. The settlements in the OPT violate a number of international legal norms, and their illegality has been recognised by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and several United Nations (UN) resolutions. They are a flagrant violation of Article 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an Occupying Power from transferring parts of its civilian population into occupied territory.

Al-Haq addresses the issue of continued settlement expansion on Al-Jazeera International's 'Inside Story.'"

Israeli Settlers Attack and Burn Agricultural Lands of Four Villages South of Nablus

Israeli Settlers Attack and burn agricultural lands of four Villages south of Nablus
June 20, 2008
"Israeli settlers burn tens of dunams of agricultural land, properties and cars belonging to the residents of four Palestinian Villages south of Nablus. Eyewitnesses declared that Armed Israeli settlers who came from the Israeli Settlement of Yetzhar/Itshar attacked the Palestinian citizens.
The report is in Arabic from the Al-Jazeera Arabic Channel.
The first person interviewed by the reporter declared that the Israeli Army refused to allow the villagers to their lands and held them for four full hours, preventing them from putting out the fire. The second person interviewed declared that the Israeli soldiers only allowed the villagers to put out the fire on their lands when the Al-Jazeera cameras arrived on the scene."
-Thx Eyad!

News Item from PNN
Official report: Israeli military watched settlers set blaze to Palestinian lands

Nablus / Amin Abu Wardeh - Black spots of scorched earth cover vast areas of southern Nablus. The towns of Asira and Burin were the most affected when Israeli settlers burned Palestinian farmers’ fields and hundreds of trees.

The settlers retreated to the Itshar Settlement after the arson. Israeli soldiers looked on and prevented fire-fighters from reaching the scene.

This occurred on Thursday, but what has been confirmed on Saturday by official Palestinian sources is that the Israeli military had full knowledge of the act as it was happening.

“The fires burned under the site and within ear shot of occupation soldiers,” one source told PNN. Eyewitness testimony includes, “they didn’t lift a finger to stop them.”

The Israeli military also did not allow Palestinian fire fighters to reach the scene for several hours, adding to the destruction. When they finally did manage to begin working, it took six hours to put out the blaze.

This is not the first time that Israeli settlers have started fire to Palestinian lands and property in the northern West Bank towns.

Resident Abu Zahar said that Israeli settlers conduct “surprise attacks in broad daylight, in front of the world, even in front of news cameras at times.”

A journalist living in the area filmed the black cloud covering the skyline “strangulating the region,” near the Itshar Settlement.

Nablus Governor, Dr. Jamal Al Muhaisin, along with the General Director of Public Affairs, visited the site in the villages of Burin and Asira after this latest settler attack.

Nilin

Nilin: "Nilin"

Here's an article From the Guardian on the village's struggle (Click link below to read)

Seth Freedman: A village in its death throes | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk:

"A village in its death throes

The bloody violence in Nilin showed me that Israel's security wall could be the final blow in the destruction of Palestine"

Bil'in Friday 20.6.2008

Bil'in Friday 20.6.2008:

"Demonstration against the separation barrier on land belonging to Bil'in village, with the participation of Palestinian villagers, international and Israeli activists. The Israeli army used a noice -producing machine and quantities of gas to disperse the demonstration, starting fires in the process."

Here is a News report from Bil'in by IMEMC

Two Injured in Bilin weekly protest
Friday June 20, 2008 16:55 - by Abedallah Abu Rahma - Bil'in - IMEMC News
On Friday, villagers from Bilin, located near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, along with their international and Israeli supporters marched in their weekly nonviolent protest against the illegal Israeli wall built on the village's land.

Protesters carried banners demanding the removal of the Israeli wall and settlements and calling upon the international community to help Palestinians retain Jerusalem. Protestors also carried photos of Ibrahim Burnat who was injured during last week's protest by three live bullets fired by an Israeli soldier at a close range. Burnat He is still receiving treatment in the hospital.

The protests started after the mid-day Friday prayers were finished in the mosque, participants marched towards the separation Wall which separates the village from its land.

Immediately after the protest reached the gate of the Wall, soldiers showered the protestors with tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. Scores of protesters were treated for gas canisters. Israeli troops used a new tear gas launcher which fires thirty canisters in one barrage. They also used a high pitched ‘scream’ device in an attempt to disorientate demonstrators. Two people were injured as a result of the rubber-coated steel bullets; Muheeb Albarghutee a journalist from Al Hayyat Al Jadeedah newspaper and Ranny Burnat a local activist.

In addition tear gas canisters started several fires in the olive orchards burning many of the old trees. The fields belonged Rashid Muhammed Abu Rahma and Muhammed Ali Yasin, local sources reported.

Last night Israeli occupation forces forcibly removed Palestinians inside an outpost built to monitor attempts to seize more land from the village. At midnight Abdullah Abo Rahma, Ahmad Ibrahim Abo Rahma and Farhat Ibrahim Burnat were beaten and detained before being forced back to the other side of the fence. Israeli soldiers also attacked the house of Muhammed Tawfiq Al Khatib and arrested his son Tariq.

In related newes After a joint request by residents of Bilin and Jayyos villages supported by the Adalah-NY coalition UNICEF confirmed this week that it would no longer accept financial or other support from Liv Leviev or his corporate entities.

Leviev is a financial supporter of the illegal settlements of Modin Eilat and Zofim. Modin Eilat is built on land from Bilin village and Zofim settlement is built on land from Jayyos village and Abu Ghnaim Mountain. Representatives from Dubai have also been successfully petitioned to deny Leviev permission to open two stores there.

Tell the world: Bethlehem Today - slideshow

YouTube - Tell the world: Bethlehem Today - slideshow:

"45 slides tell the story of how historic Bethlehem, known the world over as the birthplace of Jesus, faces a crisis for its very survival."

From the "Open Bethlehem Campaign"

Al-Haq interview with RAM FM

Al-Haq interview with RAM FM:

"Al-Haq interview with RAM FM radio station in Ramallah regarding Israeli checkpoints, 17 June 2008."

Hamas-Israel ceasefire brings hope to Gaza - 18 Jun 08 - Al Jazeera

YouTube - Hamas-Israel ceasefire brings hope to Gaza - 18 Jun 08:

"Israel has confirmed it has agreed to a six-month truce with Palestinian armed groups including Hamas, the country's public radio service has reported.

Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister and Ehud Barak, defence minister, approved the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire a day after Egyptian and Palestinian officials announced a deal.

The Palestinian territory's been the scene of deadly clashes with the Israeli army since a Hamas takeover last year.

Egypt, which has worked for months to broker the deal, is urging both sides to do everything they can to make the peace last.

Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin reports from Gaza on the Egyptian-brokered peace deal."

Na'alin 16.6.2008

YouTube - Na'alin 16.6.2008:

"Video of protest on lands belonging to the village of Na'alin, June 16 2008"

Also read this Article describing what happened in full details:

Israeli Military Escalates Violence against Peaceful Protestors in Ni’lin

Soldiers fire live and rubber-coated bullets at demonstrators and employ new tear gas battery that can fire up to 80 tear gas canisters at once

Palestinian National Initiative

16 June 2008

Ramallah, 16-06-08: The Israeli military stepped up its use of violence against peaceful demonstrators and health workers at a non-violent demonstration against construction of the Apartheid Wall in Ni’lin village today.

Approximately 100 soldiers fired live and rubber-coated bullets as some 200 peaceful protestors attempted to reach the bulldozers that are stripping villagers’ olive groves of their trees in preparation for construction of the Wall. For the first time, the Israeli military also employed a new tear gas battery that can fire an estimated 80 tear gas canisters at once.

Some 17 Palestinians were injured – seven from rubber-coated bullet injuries – and three were taken to hospital. An Irish national was also wounded after he received a rubber-coated bullet to the leg.

The windows and body of an ambulance from the Palestinian Medical Relief Society were damaged when soldiers fired 17 live bullets at the vehicle while the ambulance team was inside. No one was injured in the attack, although one of the team members suffered from breathing difficulties after inhaling tear gas.

The Apartheid Wall is being built on 2,500 dunums of land belonging to Ni’lin villagers. When completed, the Wall, the encroaching settlements and the closure of the main entrance to the village will totally isolate Ni’lin from the surrounding area. Residents will be forced to exit and enter their villages via one strictly controlled access tunnel, severely impeding their access to their lands, and to workplaces, places of study, and health services in Ramallah.

Prior to 1948, the lands of Ni’lin amounted to some 58,000 dunums and stretched as far as the towns of Ramle and Lod, which now lie inside Israel. Following the Nakba, 40,000 dunums of this land were annexed to the newly-created Israeli state. Since 1982, the construction of the illegal Israeli settlements of Nili and Nala have eaten up a further 8,000 dunums of land belonging to the village.

http://www.almubadara.org/new/edetails.php?id=4676

Hard right neocons and AIPAC

Hard right neocons and AIPAC (1 of 2):

"Jim Lobe: The origin of the Zionist, Neocon, Christian Right alliance (1 of 2)" see 2 of 2 below
Pepe Escobar talks with Jim Lobe about this history of the Israel lobby in the United States. From Christian Zionists to Neoconservatives. (Jointly produced by IPS and The Real News)



YouTube - Who funds AIPAC?:
(part 2 of 2)
"Jim Lobe of IPS on the role of AIPAC (2 of 2)"

Rachel: An American Conscience

Rachel: An American Conscience:

"Rachel: An American Conscience by Yahya Barakat From the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs: Yahya Barakat, who teaches at Al-Quds University, told The Washington Report that he began work on the documentary the instant he learned that Corrie had been crushed to death by an Israeli-driven Caterpillar bulldozer. This documentary offers rare footage of Rachel talking to a camera and describing Israeli human rights violations against a Palestinian civilian population. The film opens with grim images of dinosaur-like Caterpillar bulldozers turning urban Rafah into a garbage pile of destroyed buildings. It continues with interviews of Rachel's fellow International Solidarity Movement volunteers, and concludes with comments from her parents. ***** Learn more about Rachel Corrie life and activities http://www.rachelcorrie.org/ There is a play of her life, which has been censored in the 'free world'. http://www.rachelswords.org"

Israeli settlements harm peace talks - Al Jazeera 15 Jun 08

Israeli settlements harm peace talks - Al Jazeera - 15 Jun 08:

"It is a move that has enraged Palestinians and now it has drawn strong criticism from Washington.

As Condoleeza Rice arrives in the region for a visit, the issue of Israeli settlements is threatening to cause a rift between the two countries.

Since the Annapolis conference in November, Israel has approved the construction of 7974 new homes.

Dan Nolan reports."

Build Apartheid in Jerusalem

YouTube - Build Apartheid in Jerusalem:

"The expansion of Maale Edumim settlement."

Israeli Army Uses Live Rounds on Peaceful Protest in Bilin -13-06-2008

Israeli Army Uses Live Rounds on Peaceful Protest in Bilin-13-06-2008:

"Bilin Weekly Protest- Israeli Army Uses Live Rounds on Peaceful Protest.
F.F.J. June 13 2008- Today a young man from Bilin was shot with live rounds during the weekly Bilin Protest. Ibrahim Burnat who was shot in his right thigh was taken directly to Sheik Zaid Hospital in Ramallah and was described by doctors as being in critical condition. Ibrahim posed no threat to Israeli soldiers who shot him with live rounds simply for attempting to scale the Apartheid Wall as a symbolic gesture against the ongoing illegal occupation.

The protestors were shot with tear gas, rubber coated steel bullets, and finally live ammunition as the protest wound down. The Israeli peace activist Lee Lorian was injuried with a rubber bullet in the chest and another more seriously injured. In addition dozens were treated for tear gas inhalation.

Locals where joined by International activists this week to protest against the Apartheid Wall and the expansion of Israeli Settlements. The weekly protestors raised the Palestinian flag and slogans against the occupation. The signs demanded the dismantling of the Apartheid Wall, land confiscation, and the expansion of Israeli Settlements. The protesters also demanded an end to Israel's killing of unarmed Palestinian civilians, the closure of roads in the West Bank, and large scale imprisonment as a form of collective punishment"

Palestinian pharmacy makes first shipment - 12 June 2008

Palestinian pharmacy makes first shipment - Al Jazeera - YouTube - 12 June 2008:

"A rare story of success now marks the Palestinian territories as a West Bank pharmaceutical company has defied the odds and Israeli restrictions. Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh reports from Ramallah on how they became the first Palestinian drugs company to ship its goods to Europe."

Israeli Settlers West Bank attack filmed - BBC at YouTube

West Bank attack filmed:

"The BBC has obtained footage of Palestinians being attacked in the West Bank by a group of men wielding sticks."

The attack occurred in the south Hebron Hills

For background purposes, read this Article Written by Ahmad Jaradat, Alternative Information Center (AIC) Tuesday, 22 April 2008

Israeli Policy Leaves Palestinians Homeless in the South Hebron Hills of the Occupied Territories

In the south hills of Hebron, ever since Jewish settlers arrived to colonize the region, we witness a comprehensive and ongoing policy of mass deportation of Palestinians from the area in order to create space for the expansion of surrounding Israeli settlements.

The main settlements surrounding the area—Susya, Karmel, Maon and Yatir—are known to be inhabited by some of the most militant and violent settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The area was originally inhabited by a small Palestinian population of approximately 2,000 pastoralist herders and farmers living in caves carved out of the hillside, hence, their designation as “cave dwellers.” Their way of life is unique in Palestine, as they have survived by farming the rocky hillsides and tending their flocks for at least 170 years. Before this, they were poor Palestinian families living in villages in the southern Hebron region, who bought land 20 kilometers away. About two centuries ago, they started to live in caves spread out across the area, gaining their livelihood from the mountains and surrounding fields. Some generations later they succeed in developing a culture and a way of living based on sheep herding, agriculture and cave dwelling.

However, since the occupation of the region by Israel in 1967, the Israeli authorities have been confiscating their land, first using military justifications and then for the purpose of building and expanding settlements.

In the beginning of the 1990s, the Israel Civil Administration, with the support of the military, began to implement a policy of deportation, removing the residents from their traditional huts and forcing them to move to the town of Yatta and its surroundings. The frequent settler harassment, which has resulted in the destruction of nearly 80% of the Palestinians’ cave-homes and the poisoning of wells, was intended to further the policies of deportation and settlement expansion.

The majority of those who lost land were located in what is now the Susya settlement. Those villagers who managed to return to work their land were faced with increasingly violent acts of vandalism by the settlers, who have prevented them from working on their own land by beating people, destroying their caves and their wells, ripping up their fields and olive trees and killing their cattle.

According to a list compiled by residents and given to the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, 300 Palestinians in this area have been expelled from their homes. The Israeli Civil Administration has continually denied this number, referring to a report from the Red Cross which counts no more than 100 people displaced. The administration considered cave dwellers as seasonal farmers who lived in the caves for few months out of the year, when they were cultivating their land and grazing their flocks, while actually maintaining houses in the neighboring town of Yatta. For this reason they never accepted their stable presence in the area. Instead, the Israeli authorities intend to permanently expel them from their villages and seize their lands for the settlers.

The case has had some level of international recognition and is followed by several human rights organizations, included Israeli ones. The most active international group in the area is the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), which undertakes nonviolent civil disobedience actions against the Israeli military and attempts, through its permanent presence there, to protect the Palestinian residents from settler attacks and soldier violations.

In 2004, the Israeli High Court of Justice decided that the Israeli army was not allowed to destroy and evacuate the inhabitants from Susya. They suggested trying to get building permits from the Civil Administration, an institution which mainly consists of settlers. But the inhabitants of Susya were not allowed to rebuild the destroyed ruins of their homes, and therefore, they live in tents and shacks. Israel is now claiming that they live illegally on their own land, without proper building permits.

This is why, up to the present, Israel’s policy of house demolitions is continuing in the area.

It appears that the same fate as the Susya cave dwellers is waiting for other Palestinian villages in the area, which host at least 10,000 inhabitants. Years ago the Israeli military declared that several villages on the south hills of Hebron were a closed military area. Six-thousand dunam of land have been already confiscated by Israel to build military bases and expand settlements, and has meant the loss of many jobs as farmers and the possibility to feed their goats and sheep.

Only last month, on 19 March, the Israeli Army demolished six houses in the area. A spokesperson from the Yatta Regional Council reported that tens of soldiers came at six in the morning with their bulldozers and demolished two houses in the al-Dairat village, located to the west of the Karmel settlement. The houses belonged to the residents Yesser and Ismail Odra. An additional three houses and a hut have been demolished in the Eqwaiqees village, close to the Beit Yatir settlement. The houses belonged to Ibrahim No’man Abu o’ram, Abdel al-Azeez Na’aseen, A’ed Salama and Ibrahim Khaleel. The third village targeted was Imnazil, where, in the last years, hundreds of residents have already been deported from their homes.

Abdel Hadi Hantash, from the Land Defense Committee, reported that these most recent demolitions are intended to open a new settlement road in the area. The new road will link the Ze’ev settlement to Karmel. According to Hantash, this is only the beginning. More and more houses are going to be destroyed to attend this project.

On the same day, the Israeli military destroyed another six houses in the Borto’a village, to the southwest of Jenin. According to a leader of the village, the demolitions took place without previous orders being handed to residents.

Another three houses have been demolished in al-Jeeb town, to the northwest of Jerusalem, which belonged to families from the Ka’abna Bedouin tribe. Salem Abu Dahook, the leader of the Bedouin community in the Jerusalem area, said: “we lived in these houses for more than 10 years. A lot of our families have demolition orders on their houses and huts, and several houses and tents have already been destroyed by the military. We know that there is a plan by the Israeli government to deport all our Bedouin tribes in order to replace the area with Jewish settlers and to leave space for the Separation Wall.”

In only one day, the Israeli military was able to demolish 15 houses in different locations throughout the West Bank.

But if wider political plans underlie these actions, this will only be the beginning of a catastrophe.

More than 300 people have already been left without homes in the south of Hebron. Another approximately ten villages are threatened with the same fate. This difficult situation is very alarming. Why does the world remain silent while the Israeli government implements the deportation of Palestinian people against international and humanitarian law? Where are these people supposed to go? What future is waiting for them?



The video below is published by B'Tselem

Settlers Beat up Palestinian Shepherds

http://www.btselem.org/english/Video/

On the 8.6.2008, 4 masked settlers from the settlement of Suseya in the South Hebron Hills (in the West Bank), attacked with clubs a family of shepherds on the nearby village.

B'Tselem is an Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

In the Spider's Web (pt. 1) - Eng. Sub.

In the Spider's Web (pt. 1) - Eng. Sub.:

"In the Spider's Web is a 47-minute long documentary produced in 2004 by Al-Haq and directed by Hannah Musleh. The film is part of Al-Haq's campaign to stop collective punishment practiced by Israeli occupying forces against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Through In the Spider's Web Al-Haq provides an overview of these punitive measures against the Palestinian civilians. While the film mainly addresses the accounts of two women, it also highlights the impact that collective punishment has on the whole civilian population. The film also takes the audience to a girls; school in Hebron, where it shows a typical day in the lives of these students. The documentary also seeks to capture and relay some of the disastrous implications of the continuing construction of the Annexation Wall and the further expropriation of land for its construction."

In the Spider's Web (pt. 2) - Eng. Sub.

In the Spider's Web (pt. 2) - Eng. Sub.:

"In the Spider's Web is a 47-minute long documentary produced in 2004 by Al-Haq and directed by Hannah Musleh. The film is part of Al-Haq's campaign to stop collective punishment practiced by Israeli occupying forces against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Through In the Spider's Web Al-Haq provides an overview of these punitive measures against the Palestinian civilians. While the film mainly addresses the accounts of two women, it also highlights the impact that collective punishment has on the whole civilian population. The film also takes the audience to a girls; school in Hebron, where it shows a typical day in the lives of these students. The documentary also seeks to capture and relay some of the disastrous implications of the continuing construction of the Annexation Wall and the further expropriation of land for its construction."

In the Spider's Web (pt. 3) - Eng. Sub.

In the Spider's Web (pt. 3) - Eng. Sub.:

"In the Spider's Web is a 47-minute long documentary produced in 2004 by Al-Haq and directed by Hannah Musleh. The film is part of Al-Haq's campaign to stop collective punishment practiced by Israeli occupying forces against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Through In the Spider's Web Al-Haq provides an overview of these punitive measures against the Palestinian civilians. While the film mainly addresses the accounts of two women, it also highlights the impact that collective punishment has on the whole civilian population. The film also takes the audience to a girls; school in Hebron, where it shows a typical day in the lives of these students. The documentary also seeks to capture and relay some of the disastrous implications of the continuing construction of the Annexation Wall and the further expropriation of land for its construction."

In the Spider's Web (pt. 4) - Eng. Sub.

In the Spider's Web (pt. 4) - Eng. Sub.:

"In the Spider's Web is a 47-minute long documentary produced in 2004 by Al-Haq and directed by Hannah Musleh. The film is part of Al-Haq's campaign to stop collective punishment practiced by Israeli occupying forces against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Through In the Spider's Web Al-Haq provides an overview of these punitive measures against the Palestinian civilians. While the film mainly addresses the accounts of two women, it also highlights the impact that collective punishment has on the whole civilian population. The film also takes the audience to a girls; school in Hebron, where it shows a typical day in the lives of these students. The documentary also seeks to capture and relay some of the disastrous implications of the continuing construction of the Annexation Wall and the further expropriation of land for its construction."

In the Spider's Web (pt. 5) - Eng. Sub.

In the Spider's Web (pt. 5) - Eng. Sub.: "In the Spider's Web is a 47-minute long documentary produced in 2004 by Al-Haq and directed by Hannah Musleh. The film is part of Al-Haq's campaign to stop collective punishment practiced by Israeli occupying forces against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Through In the Spider's Web Al-Haq provides an overview of these punitive measures against the Palestinian civilians. While the film mainly addresses the accounts of two women, it also highlights the impact that collective punishment has on the whole civilian population. The film also takes the audience to a girls; school in Hebron, where it shows a typical day in the lives of these students. The documentary also seeks to capture and relay some of the disastrous implications of the continuing construction of the Annexation Wall and the further expropriation of land for its construction."

Tell the world: The Rachel's Tomb case - slideshow

YouTube - Tell the world: The Rachel's Tomb case - slideshow:

"How the Rachel's Tomb area of historic Bethlehem has been adversely affected by the construction of an Israeli settlement, military base and the notorious concrete 'security barrier' which snakes through the district. The biblical road into Bethlehem has become a concrete walled corridor."

Isolated Communities - Sheikh Saed

Isolated Communities aicvideo:

"Sheikh Saed is an isolated community in Jerusalem."

Shimon Hatzadik

Shimon Hatzadik - aicvideo:

"New settlement planned in Jerusalem. More than 40 Palestinian families are going to be evicted."

The Last Family

YouTube - The Last Family:

"The last Palestinian family living in the old Maghrebite neighborhood in the Old City of Jerusalem."

Labor for Palestine-NYCLAW Opposes Racist State of Israel

Labor for Palestine-NYCLAW Opposes Racist State of Israel:

"NYC Labor Against War (NYCLAW) protests AFSCME-DC 37 celebration of 60 years of Israeli apartheid in Palestine. Workers stand in solidarity with the victims of oppression. Cut off support for the State of Israel."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

John Pilger - Freedom Next Time

John Pilger - Freedom Next Time:

"Australian journalist, author, film maker John Pilger speaks about global media consolidation, war by journalism, US military's quest for domination/hegemony in the post 9/11 era, false history in the guise of 'objective' journalism. Filmed in Chicago at Socialism 2007: Socialism for the 21st Century by Paul Hubbard. June 16, 2007 Broadcast on Democracy Now - The War and Peace Report - August 7, 2007 http://www.haymarketbooks.org/ http://www.socialistworker.org/"

Gaza's children suffering from malnutrition- 8 June 08

YouTube - Gaza's children suffering from malnutrition- 8 June 08:

"Gaza's hospitals are used to treating victims of rocket attacks and gunfire. But now their waiting rooms are increasingly filled with severely malnourished children. Since Israel imposed a blockade on the strip following the Hamas takeover a year ago, families have been struggling to feed their children. Al Jazeera's Owen Fay reports from Gaza."

George Galloway Interviews Jeff Halper

Israelis Against House Demolitions & George Galloway Pt1:

"George Galloway talking with Jeff Halper, head of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) - a non-violent, direct-action group established to oppose and resist Israeli demolition of Palestinian houses in the Occupied Territories.

ICAHD's activities have extended to: resistance and protest actions in the Occupied Territories; efforts to bring the reality of the Occupation to Israeli society; and mobilizing the international community for a just peace.

ICAHD is comprised of members of Israeli peace and human rights organizations. Their work in the Occupied Territories is closely coordinated with local Palestinian organizations.

ICAHD: http://www.icahd.org/

Recorded 30 May 2008 from George Galloway's live talkshow on Talksport radio.

Listen to George Galloway live online every Friday and Saturday night, 10pm - 1am GMT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtFg_F..."

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Bil'in Friday 6.6.2008

YouTube - Bil'in Friday 6.6.2008:

demonstration against the route of Israel's Annexation Wall that steals the land belonging to the people of Bil'in; The video shows the use of new tear-gas projectile launcher against peaceful nonviolent demonstrators.

The Doctor, the Depleted Uranium, and the Dying Children

The Doctor, the Depleted Uranium, and the Dying Children:

"An award winning documentary film produced for German television by Freider Wagner and Valentin Thurn. The film exposes the use and impact of radioactive weapons during the current war against Iraq. The story is told by citizens of many nations. It opens with comments by two British veterans, Kenny Duncan and Jenny Moore, describing their exposure to radioactive, so-called depleted uranium (DU), weapons and the congenital abnormalities of their children. Dr. Siegwart-Horst Gunther, a former colleague of Albert Schweitzer, and Tedd Weyman of the Uranium Medical Research Center (UMRC) traveled to Iraq, from Germany and Canada respectively, to assess uranium contamination in Iraq."

Racist settler aggresion in land stealing operation

YouTube - Racist settler aggresion in land stealing operation:

"Jewish settlers steal Palestinian land in Sousia, an area near Hebron."

Israeli army uses grenades as a threat to Palestinians at checkpoint

YouTube - israeli army uses grenades as a threat:

Added September 16, 2007
"the israel army closes a the check points surrounding Nablus then use a grenade as a threat towards the local Palestinians"

Occupation Inc.

Occupation Inc.YouTube

"Palestinians always thought that the military occupation is the worst that could ever happen to any nation. Israel has introduced a privatized occupation, and some has described it as Human Occupation, does soemthing like this exist?"

Mosaic News - 6/5/08: World News from the Middle East

YouTube - Mosaic News - 6/5/08: World News from the Middle East: "'Abbas Calls for Comprehensive Reconciliation,' Dubai TV, UAE
'Hamas and Fatah Reach Preliminary Reconciliations,' Al Jazeera English, Qatar
'Obama Rushes to Win the Heart of AIPAC,' Syria TV, Syria
'A Look Back at the History of Negotiations,' Al-Alam TV, Iran
'Al Sahwa Forces Cleanse New Areas of Al Qaeda,' Abu Dhabi TV, UAE
'UAE Appoints Ambassador to Iraq,' Al Jazeera TV, Qatar
'Iraqi Military Operations Over the Past Year,' Sumaria TV, Iraq
Produced for Link TV by Jamal Dajani."

Has Obama moved to the right?

Has Obama moved to the right? (1 of 2): "At the AIPAC conference Barack Obama shows that on foreign policy he has moved closer to McCain and Bush"



YouTube - Has Obama moved to the right? (2 of 2)

The Bases Are Loaded: US Permanent Military Presence in Iraq

The Bases Are Loaded: US Permanent Military Presence in Iraq:

"Will the U.S. ever leave Iraq? Official policy promises an eventual departure, while warning of the dire consequences of a 'premature' withdrawal. But while Washington equivocates, facts on the ground tell another story. Independent journalist Dahr Jamail, and author Chalmers Johnson, are discovering that military bases in Iraq are being consolidated from over a hundred to a handful of 'megabases' with lavish amenities. Much of what is taking place is obscured by denials and quibbles over the definition of 'permanent.' The Bases Are Loaded covers a wide range of topics. Gary Hart, James Goldsborough, Nadia Keilani, Raed Jarrar, Bruce Finley Kam Zarrabi and Mark Rudd all add their observations about the extent and purpose of the bases in Iraq."

Inside Story - The role of AIPAC - 05 June 08 - Part 1

Inside Story - The role of AIPAC - 05 June 08 - Part 1 - YouTube





Inside Story - The role of AIPAC - 05 June 08 - Part 2

Mosaic News - 6/4/08: World News from the Middle East - YouTube

YouTube - Mosaic News - 6/4/08: World News from the Middle East

Na'alin Wednesday 4.6.2008

Na'alin Wednesday 4.6.2008 - YouTube

demonstration protesting a new part of the Apartheid Wall being built near Na'alin

Obama courts Israel lobby - The Real News Network - Story

Obama courts Israel lobby - The Real News Network - Story: "Presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama, addressing the AIPAC conference in Washington DC, made sure to express his unconditional support of Israel and took great pains to clarify his position on Iran: tough negotiations as leverage."

Palestinian farmer defies Israeli settlement policy - 3Jun08

Since Annapolis, Israel has issued over 17,000 new tenders for housing units in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

The Palestinians say this is a policy that destroys any prospect of peace and renders establishing a viable Palestinian state impossible.

Israel's Prime Minister is courting new controversy by approving the building of nearly 900 new homes in occupied East Jerusalem.

Many Palestinians are fighting to keep their land, and one farmer, Mohamed Elian, in Bethlehem has made it a life-time commitment from his cave.

For almost 4 decades, he has lived in a cave in his land in the village of Wad Fukeen to make sure his land is not lost to the expanding Israeli settlement nearby.

Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh visited Mohamed Elian and filed this report.

At the Entrance to the Village of Marda

The army received a report about stone throwing next to the village of Marda. Two suspected teenagers were arrested and the village was put under curfew as a collective punishment. The residents of the village had tp leave their cars next to the entrance gate and continue by foot.

McCain at AIPAC: Drumbeats of War?

McCain: Tehran's pursuit of nuclear weapons poses an unacceptable risk, a danger we cannot allow (1of2)

Carter says Israel has 150 nukes

Aijaz Ahmad: Why is corporate media marginalizing a former President?

George W. Guilty of Murder?

A prominent lawyer lays out a compelling case in THE PROSECUTION OF GEORGE W. BUSH FOR MURDER. Staggering evidence is collected against the president in a startling new book.

Captured Prisoners - The Whole Story

Part 2 contains an additional four segments. The 15 minute video "Captured Prisoners" features testimony from former inmates and outside observers about Palestinian's minimal legal rights and the brutal conditions inside Israeli prisons. The next segment explores "Gaza After Disengagement". The third segment offers interviews with American politicians, diplomats, and journalists about the Israel-Palestine conflict. The program concludes with a three minute version of the Alternate Focus show "Divesting From Violence: Presbyterian Policy in the Middle East".

Alternate Focus is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational media group promoting an alternative view of Middle East issues. We use the web, cable and satellite television, and DVDs to showcase media not usually seen by American audiences.

Alternate Focus is available on the Dish Network, Free Speech TV, Channel 9415, Saturdays at 8:00pm EST and on cable stations near you. Check www.alternatefocus.org for details.

Jeffrey Goldberg: Pundit for Israel

4-minute video about media pundit and New Yorker staff writer Jeffrey Goldberg.

High quality version and more information at http://www.ifamericansknew.org/

B'Tselem: Hebron, Tarkumia Checkpoint