Stop the War Coalition - Hezbollah MP Hussein El Haj Hassan London 3 March 2009

Stop the War Coalition - Hezbollah MP Hussein El Haj Hassan London 3 March 2009:

"http://www.stopwar.org.uk"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Stop the War Coalition - Meet the Resistance - Jeremy Corbyn MP London 3 March 2009

Stop the War Coalition - Meet the Resistance - Jeremy Corbyn MP London 3 March 2009:

"http://www.stopwar.org.uk
Stop the War Coalition Public Meeting
Solidarity with the struggle for Peace and Justice in the Middle East
London March 30 2009"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Stop the War Coalition - Meet the Resistance - John Rees London 3 March 2009

Stop the War Coalition - Meet the Resistance - John Rees London 3 March 2009:

"http://www.stopwar.org.uk Stop the War Coalition Public Meeting Solidarity with the struggle for Peace and Justice in the Middle East London March 30 2009"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

George Galloway on The Hour

George Galloway on The Hour - Tearing the JDL a new one [30/03]:

George Galloway's interview 30-3-09

Related News items:
Terrorist organization that planned to bomb Concordia University advised Canadian government to ban MP George Galloway



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Ronnie Kasrils - South Africa & Palestine: Long Roads to Freedom

Ronnie Kasrils -- South Africa & Palestine: Long Roads to Freedom:

1:18:41 - Mar 28, 2009

Source: Pulsemedia.org

"Ronnie Kasrils spoke at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow on March 20, 2009 at a lecture organized by Pulsemedia.org and Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

- During the years of apartheid rule in South Africa, Ronnie Kasrils was a leader in the banned ANC and its military wing Umkonto we Sizwe
- Hunted by the security police, he was described by them as 'armed and dangerous'
- Kasrils served as a government minister in post-Apartheid South Africa until 2008
- Today Kasrils is an activist in the Palestine Solidarity Committee, South Africa
- The Palestine Solidarity Committee in South Africa has won dock workers there to a policy of boycotting all Israeli ships that dock in South African ports
In quotes: WORSE THAN SOUTH AFRICAN APARTHEID 'I will state clearly, without exaggeration, that any South African, whether involved in the freedom struggle, or motivated by basic human decency, who visits the Occupied Palestinian Territories are shocked to the core at the situation they encounter and agree with Archbishop Tutu’s comment that what the Palestinians are experiencing is far worse than what happened in South Africa, where the Sharpeville massacre of 69 civilians in 1960 became international symbol of apartheid cruelty.' FOUR PILLARS OF STRUGGLE 'With that moral advantag"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Clashes erupt during Land Day

Clashes erupt during Land Day:

"03-31-2009"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Israel only listens to its own

Israel only listens to its own: "More at http://therealnews.com/t/in...

Nissenbaum: Israel's skepticism of UN means it will probably only examine reports from its own soldiers"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

To avoid embarrassment on inauguration, Obama Bribed Israel with... smart bombs!

Obama's Solution For Ending The Israeli Onslaught in Gaza Was To Bribe Israel With More Smart Bombs:

Interview with Seymour Hersh
"Airing Date March.30, 2009"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Hang Up on Motorola!

DN! Anti-Zionist Campaign to Boycott Motorola Launched in New York:

"Campaign to Boycott Motorola Launched in New York

The company Motorola is a target of a new boycott campaign organized by the group New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel. Organizer Ryvka Bar Zohar accused Motorola of supporting Israels military occupation. Ryvka Bar Zohar: Motorola produces bomb fuses, communications devices, surveillance technology, thats used directly by the Israeli military in its ongoing occupation of the Palestinian people."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Caught on Video - Israeli Soldier Shoots Palestinian at Point Blanc - March 27, 2009

DN! Israeli Troops Shoot at West Bank Protesters: "Israeli Troops Shoot at West Bank Protesters

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Friday at a crowd of Palestinians protesting the construction of the separation wall in the town of Bilin. Reuters video showed an Israeli soldier shooting a Palestinian demonstrator with a rubber-coated bullet at point-blank range, injuring his leg. Palestinian legislator Mustafa Barghouti attended the demonstration and said the new Israeli government will further damage the lives of the Palestinians. Mustafa Barghouti: The only thing that the new Israeli government is bringing is more settlement, more land confiscation, more discrimination, more apartheid and more building of this wall that is killing the lives of the Palestinians and destroying the option of peace based on two-state solution."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Palestinian Refugees - Identity Without a Homeland

Palestinian Refugees - Their Experiences / Documentary Film Video:

"As part of the Syrian Cultural Lecture Series, The Jerusalem Fund Gallery and Dr. Rafif Al-Sayed Moustapha invite you to a lecture and film discussion entitled: 'Palestinian Refugees: Identity Without a Homeland' with Director Adam Shapiro and Dr. Laurie King-IraniFriday, 20 February 2009

The Jerusalem Fund Dr. Laurie King-Irani and Adam Shapiro will discuss the global Palestinian refugee experience as portrayed in the new 6-part documentary film series Chronicles of a Refugee. Several segments chosen by Adam Shapiro will be screened. Filmed in over 15 countries, with more than 250 interviews of Palestinian refugees who have lived in over 25 countries, Chronicles of a Refugee is the first documentary film to look at the global Palestinian refugee experience over the last 60 years. Produced by Perla Issa, Aseel Mansour and Adam Shapiro.

Adam Shapiro is a human rights activist, dedicated to fostering dialogue between Jewish and Palestinian youth through 'Seeds of Peace'. Together with his wife, Shapiro founded the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), an organization that attempts to bring civilians from around the world into non-violent resistance efforts in Palestine. His previous works include a documentary entitled About Baghdad.

Laurie King-Irani is an Adjunct Professor at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University, and is a founding member of The Electronic Intifada. Currently, she serves as Managing Editor of The Journal for Palestine Studies. She is a frequent commentator on national and international news programs, including MSNBC and CNN, on political, cultural and military developments in the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy in the region."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Gazans want action not words from Arab summit - 30 Mar 09

Gazans want action not words from Arab summit - 30 Mar 09:

"Israel's war on Gaza has left 100,000 homeless, they have nowhere to go.

Arab states have pledged millions of dollars to reconstruct Gaza, but the money hasnt come through.

The people of Gaza have had enough of empty promises, they remain deeply skeptical as to whether the Arab Summit will offer them anything other than rhetorical support.

From Gaza, Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros reports on what residents want from this summit."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Focus on Gaza - White Phosphorous - 27 Mar 09 - 2 Parts

Focus on Gaza - White Phosphorous - 27 Mar 09 - Part 1:

"In this week's show we hear how Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of war crimes for it's unlawful use of white phosphorous. Mike Kirsch a town in the US where white phosphorous is manufactured and shows locals the true human cost of the weapon.

Survivors of the war in Gaza take legal action and we meet a mother burnt by white phosphorous who tells her story."

Part 1


Part 2


Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

President Abbas Karzai refuses to give passports to Palestinians

Gazans feel trapped as PA refuses to send blank passports:

An Israeli siege, an Egyptian siege, and a Palestinian Authority siege on Gaza.

"Press Tv Gaza"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Tony Benn: The Israeli Policy is Designed to Complete the Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine

TONY BENN MP (Part 1) "END THE WAR ON TERROR", 26 March 2009:

"STOP THE WAR COALITION Meeting 26 March 2009
Woodfield Road W9 2bE London"

Part 1


Part 2


Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Qatar receives troubled Arab League - 29 Mar 09

Qatar receives troubled Arab League - 29 Mar 09:

"Arab foreign ministers met in Qatar on Saturday, ahead of the 21st annual Arab League summit. Members hope to address pressing issues such as an Arab-backed Middle East peace offer, and unity amongst an increasingly fragmented organisation. But nine out of the League's 22 member countries have said they won't attend the conference. And as Al Jazeera's Mohammed Vall reports, there's a lot for the new League's presidency to deal with, when Syria hands over to Qatar."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Israel's Blockade prevents the rebuilding of Gaza

Block on materials obstructs Gaza reconstruction:

"Press Tv Gaza"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Israeli soldiers attack Mohammed Barakeh, MK, at Protest marking Land Day

Israeli soldiers attack Arab member of Knesset on Land Day:

"Press Tv Reporter Al-Khalil"

Related News Item:
Three residents injured, two international activists detained in Hebron
Source: IMEMC
Date: Sunday March 29, 2009 03:42

Palestinian sources in Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank, reported Sunday that Israeli soldiers attacked a peaceful protest against Israeli settlements in the Old City of Hebron, and demanding the army to reopen Al Shuhada Street in the city; three residents were wounded, and two international activists were detained.

The Al Shuhada road was closed by the army after the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre in 1994.

Arab member of Israeli Knesset, General Secretary of the Hadash Movement, Mohammad Barakeh, Palestinian Legislator Sahar Qawasmi, member of the political bureau of the Palestinian People Party Afaf Ghatasha, member of the party’s central committee, Fahmi Shahin, and dozens of residents and peace activists, participated in the protest.

The protesters carried Palestinian flags, and chanted slogans against the settlements and the illegal Israeli policies. They also chanted for real peace in the region.

The Israeli army attacked the protesters near the illegal outpost of Beit Romano in the Old City. Soldiers attacked the protesters with clubs and rifle butts, and dragged a number of protesters in the ground; several protesters were injured.

Later on, the army cuffed two international peace activists and detained them at a nearby settlement while the settlers called for more attacks against the activists and the residents.

Medical sources at the Hebron Governmental Hospital stated that three residents received treatment who suffered cuts and bruises after being violently attacked by the soldiers.

The three are Fahmi Shahin, 47, member of the political bureau of the Palestinian People Party (PPP), Mousa Abu Hash-hash, 54, a researcher with the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (B’Tselem, and Azzam Al Jamal, an owner of the store in the area.

MK Barakeh slammed that army for attacking the protest and said that the Old City in Hebron should be a closed zone for the settlers and the soldiers, and not for the indigenous Palestinian residents.

Barakeh also called for boycotting the government of Benjamin Netanyahu until it recognizes the legitimate Palestinian rights and the two-state solution.

Furthermore, Barakeh called on all factions to achieve a unity deal and to end all of their internal conflicts and divisions.

PPP’s central committee member, Sahar Al Qawasmi, slammed the illegal Israeli measures and the closures in the Old City as the residents are under more restrictions while the illegal settlers have a free hand.



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Apartheid and Occupation under International Law by John Dugard (26 March 09)

Apartheid and Occupation under International Law by John Dugard (26 March 09):

"“Apartheid and Occupation under International Law”

with

Professor John Dugard
Former U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
Visiting Distinguished Professor of Law, Duke University

26 March 2009

While the international community continues to posture and push for a settlement to the decades-long Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory, international legal institutions are positioned to offer insights based on developed international treaties and customs. They are underutilized to the detriment of peace. Drawing on his experience as the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Professor John Dugard, who returned from a fact-finding mission to Gaza early this month, will discuss how international law and the institutions charged with upholding it can enable a break in the Israel-Palestinian impasse.

Professor Dugard is a member of the Institut de Droit International. Since 1997, he has been a member of the U.N. International Law Commission and was, from 2000 to 2006, the Special Rapporteur on Diplomatic Protection to the Commission. From 2002 to 2008, he was a judge ad hoc in the International Court of Justice. From 2001 to 2008, Dugard served as Special Rapporteur to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. His present principal interests are international criminal law and diplomatic protection. "



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Bil'in 27 3 09 - the 214th demo against the wall

Bil'in 27 3 09 - the 214th demo against the wall:

"Bilins Weekly Protest Celebrating the 33rd Anniversary of Land Day"

Related News Item:
Four injured in Bil'in's weekly demonstration
Source: IMEMC
Date: Friday March 27, 2009 17:23

The residents of Bil'in village, located near the central west Bank city of Ramallah, marched towards the wall today after Friday prayers. The protest was joined by Israeli and international activists.

Protesters' banners condemned Israel's ongoing policies and violence against civilians, especially in Jerusalem and commemorated what the Palestinians call the Land Day. The protest began in the center of the village then headed towards the Apartheid Wall which is being built on Bil'in's land.

An Israeli army unit stationed behind the wall prevented the crowd from going through the gate.

The army fired tear gas canisters to break up the crowd, Four were injured including a journalist, while dozens suffered from gas inhalation.



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Gaza survivors search for justice - 27 Mar 09

Gaza survivors search for justice - 27 Mar 09:

"Three months after the start of Israel's 22-day offensive in the Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera has returned to see how one family is recovering from their ordeal.

Forty-eight members of the Samouni family were killed in an Israeli bombardment and the survivors spent days trapped in the ruins of a house.

Now the survivors are looking for justice.

Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros reports from Zeitoun."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Hebron settlers throwing stones at Palestinians

Hebron settlers throwing stones at Palestinians:

"On Wednesday the 11th of March, a number of Hebron Israeli settlers pelted Palestinian children (aged 4 to 8 years) and two international activists with stones. The event took place during a settler-organized dancing event close to Avraham Avinu Settlement, presumably as part of Purim festivities. The settlers became aware of the Palestinian children and internationals, who were watching from a near-by roof, and proceeded to hurl stones from the car-parking lot below, despite calls of 'Stop'. The Israeli soldiers on guard at a military post within 30 meters surveyed the disturbance but provided no assistance."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Riz Khan - Chas Freeman and the Israeli lobby - 26 Mar 09

Riz Khan - Chas Freeman and the Israeli lobby - 26 Mar 09 - Part 1:

"Charles 'Chas' Freeman was selected last month by the administration of Barak Obama, the US president, for one of the country's top intelligence jobs, chairman of the National Intelligence Council.

Within hours, pro-Israel advocates launched a major offensive to make sure Freeman's appointment did not stand.

Advocates say Freeman was a natural choice: He was a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, who has also served as an assistant secretary of defence and a senior US diplomat in China."

Part 1


Part 2
Riz Khan - Chas Freeman and the Israeli lobby - 26 Mar 09 - Part 2



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

CodePink reporting on Gaza March 23, 2009 - Part 1:

"CODEPINK's Medea Benjamin, Col. Ann Wright, Gael Murphy, and Noura Erakat of the National Lawyer's Guild report their findings of their recent trips to Gaza . Retelling of eyewitness accounts of Israel's war crimes and violations of International laws during the brutal massacre of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Report Back was sponsored by American Palestinian Womens Association and CodePink Women for Peace in Washington, DC"

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

A Beit Safafa Demolition

A Beit Safafa Demolition:

"On March 17, 2009, the Israeli authorities demolished a portion of a house in the Bait Safafa neighborhood of Jerusalem. The Arab residents were outraged when the house where they had been living for the past 7 years was destroyed without any prior notice."



EAST JERUSALEM
Policy of discrimination in planning, building and land expropriation
Source: B'Tselem

The planning policy in East Jerusalem since its annexation in 1967 is affected by political considerations and infected by systematic discrimination against the Palestinians living there. While extensive building and enormous budget allocations have been the rule in Jewish neighborhoods, the Israeli government has choked development and building for the Palestinian population.

In June 1967, Israel annexed 70,500 dunams [4 dunams = 1 acre] of East Jerusalem and the West Bank and incorporated them within Jerusalem’s borders. From this annexed territory, Israel has expropriated about one-third of the annexed territory – 24,000 dunams – most of it privately-owned Arab property. Israel used this expropriated land for residential construction. By the end of 2001, 46,978 housing units had been built for Jews on this land, but not one unit for Palestinians who constitute one-third of the city’s population.

At the same time, Israel choked construction in Palestinian neighborhoods and restricted new construction. Immediately upon annexation of East Jerusalem, and contrary to its actions in the rest of the West Bank, the Jordanian outline plans were nullified, thus creating a planning void that took a long time to fill. In the first decade following annexation, construction was only allowed ad hoc in a few areas in East Jerusalem.
Much land surrounding Palestinian villages and neighborhoods was expropriated to build Jewish neighborhoods, leaving no room for Palestinian construction. The Jerusalem Municipality did not establish outline plans for the Palestinian areas. The few plans that were approved were primarily intended to prevent new construction by declaring broad expanses of land as “green areas,” restricting the building percentages on the lots, and setting narrow borders.

In the early 1980s, the Jerusalem Municipality began to prepare outline plans for all the Palestinian neighborhoods. Most of the plans are complete, and others are in the process of planning and approval. The most conspicuous feature of these outline plans is the vast amount (some 40 percent) of area that is designated as “open landscape areas,” on which building is forbidden. In the plans that were approved prior to the end of 1999, only some 5,100 dunams (constituting 11 percent of the land in East Jerusalem, after the expropriation of 24,000 dunams mentioned above) were available for construction for the Palestinian population. As is the case with the demarcation plans existing in the West Bank, construction is allowed primarily in built-up areas.

The consequences of this policy are evident in Palestinian neighborhoods. For example, at the end of 2002, housing density in Arab neighborhoods was almost twice that of Jewish neighborhoods, 11.9 square meters per person compared to 23.8 square meters per person. The existing situation has forced many Palestinians to build homes without first obtaining a building permit. The Jerusalem Municipality enforces the building laws on Palestinians much more stringently than on the Jewish population, even though the number of violations is much higher in the Jewish neighborhoods.

Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

DN! HRW Accuses Israel of War Crimes in Phosphorus Attacks

DN! HRW Accuses Israel of War Crimes in Phosphorus Attacks:

"HRW Accuses Israel of War Crimes in Phosphorus Attacks

In Israel and the Occupied Territories, Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of unlawfully attacking densely populated civilian areas with white phosphorus during its three-week attack on Gaza. In a new report, Human Rights Watch says the white phosphorus killed at least twelve Palestinian civilians and destroyed millions of dollars worth of property. Bill Van Esveld of Human Rights Watch says the phosphorus use likely amounts to a war crime. Bill Van Esveld: It looks like that evidence is consistent with war crimes being committed. A war crime is when there is either intent or recklessness with regard to targeting civilians or civilian institutions. What weve got here is a lot of different civilian institutions being burned down, a lot of different civilians being injured, and it continued to happen for no apparent justification. Thats why were concerned."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Debate at UN SC meeting

UN meeting blemishes Israels image - denounces war on Gaza:

"Press Tv Report"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

What is Ban Ki-Moon waiting for?

New law to throw the book at Israel:

"UN human rights investigator Richard Falk explains why Israeli conduct in the Gaza Strip necessitates the world to introduce a new law."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

HRW - Rain of Fire: Israel's Unlawful Use of White Phosphorous in Gaza

Rain of Fire: Israel's Unlawful Use of White Phosphorous in Gaza:

"During Israel's 22-day military operations in Gaza, from December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009, the IDF repeatedly exploded white phosphorus munitions in the air over populated areas, killing and injuring civilians, and damaging civilian structures, including a school, a market, a humanitarian aid warehouse and a hospital. Senior Military Analyst Marc Garlasco discusses Human Rights Watch's on the ground investigation and findings. For more, visit: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/03/25..."



Human Rights Watch
Israel: White Phosphorus Use Evidence of War Crimes
Indiscriminate Attacks Caused Needless Civilian Suffering
March 25, 2009

(Jerusalem) - Israel's repeated firing of white phosphorus shells over densely populated areas of Gaza during its recent military campaign was indiscriminate and is evidence of war crimes, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

The 71-page report, "Rain of Fire: Israel's Unlawful Use of White Phosphorus in Gaza," provides witness accounts of the devastating effects that white phosphorus munitions had on civilians and civilian property in Gaza. Human Rights Watch researchers in Gaza immediately after hostilities ended found spent shells, canister liners, and dozens of burnt felt wedges containing white phosphorus on city streets, apartment roofs, residential courtyards, and at a United Nations school. The report also presents ballistics evidence, photographs, and satellite imagery, as well as documents from the Israeli military and government.

Militaries use white phosphorus primarily to obscure their operations on the ground by creating thick smoke. It can also be used as an incendiary weapon.

"In Gaza, the Israeli military didn't just use white phosphorus in open areas as a screen for its troops," said Fred Abrahams, senior emergencies researcher at Human Rights Watch and co-author of the report. "It fired white phosphorus repeatedly over densely populated areas, even when its troops weren't in the area and safer smoke shells were available. As a result, civilians needlessly suffered and died."

The report documents a pattern or policy of white phosphorus use that Human Rights Watch says must have required the approval of senior military officers.

"For the needless civilian deaths caused by white phosphorus, senior commanders should be held to account," Abrahams said.

On February 1, Human Rights Watch submitted detailed questions to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) about its white phosphorus use in Gaza. The IDF did not provide responses, citing an internal inquiry being conducted by the Southern Command.

In the recent Gaza operations, Israeli forces frequently air-burst white phosphorus in 155mm artillery shells in and near populated areas. Each air-burst shell spreads 116 burning white phosphorus wedges in a radius extending up to 125 meters from the blast point. White phosphorus ignites and burns on contact with oxygen, and continues burning at up to 1500 degrees Fahrenheit (816 degrees Celsius) until nothing is left or the oxygen supply is cut. When white phosphorus comes into contact with skin it creates intense and persistent burns.

When used properly in open areas, white phosphorus munitions are not illegal, but the Human Rights Watch report concludes that the IDF repeatedly exploded it unlawfully over populated neighborhoods, killing and wounding civilians and damaging civilian structures, including a school, a market, a humanitarian aid warehouse, and a hospital.

Israel at first denied it was using white phosphorus in Gaza but, facing mounting evidence to the contrary, said that it was using all weapons in compliance with international law. Later it announced an internal investigation into possible improper white phosphorus use.

"Past IDF investigations into allegations of wrongdoing suggest that this inquiry will be neither thorough nor impartial," Abrahams said. "That's why an international investigation is required into serious laws of war violations by all parties."

The IDF knew that white phosphorus poses life-threatening dangers to civilians, Human Rights Watch said. A medical report prepared during the recent hostilities by the Israeli ministry of health said that white phosphorus "can cause serious injury and death when it comes into contact with the skin, is inhaled or is swallowed." Burns on less than 10 percent of the body can be fatal because of damage to the liver, kidneys, and heart, the ministry report says. Infection is common and the body's absorption of the chemical can cause serious damage to internal organs, as well as death.

If the IDF intended to use white phosphorus as a smokescreen for its forces, it had a readily available non-lethal alternative to white phosphorus - smoke shells produced by an Israeli company, Human Rights Watch concluded.

All of the white phosphorus shells that Human Rights Watch found were manufactured in the United States in 1989 by Thiokol Aerospace, which was running the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant at the time. On January 4, Reuters photographed IDF artillery units handling projectiles whose markings indicate that they were produced in the United States at the Pine Bluff Arsenal in September 1991.

To explain the high number of civilian casualties in Gaza, Israeli officials have repeatedly blamed Hamas for using civilians as "human shields" and for fighting from civilian sites. In the cases documented in the report, Human Rights Watch found no evidence of Hamas using human shields in the vicinity at the time of the attacks. In some areas Palestinian fighters appear to have been present, but this does not justify the indiscriminate use of white phosphorus in a populated area.

Human Rights Watch said that for multiple reasons it concluded that the IDF had deliberately or recklessly used white phosphorus munitions in violation of the laws of war. First, the repeated use of air-burst white phosphorus in populated areas until the last days of the operation reveals a pattern or policy of conduct rather than incidental or accidental usage. Second, the IDF was well aware of the effects of white phosphorus and the dangers it poses to civilians. Third, the IDF failed to use safer available alternatives for smokescreens.

The laws of war obligate states to investigate impartially allegations of war crimes. The evidence available demands that Israel investigate and prosecute as appropriate those who ordered or carried out unlawful attacks using white phosphorus munitions, Human Rights Watch said.

The United States government, which supplied Israel with its white phosphorus munitions, should also conduct an investigation to determine whether Israel used it in violation of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said.


Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Israel Warplanes Attacked Sudan Convoy

Israel Warplanes Attacked Sudan Convoy:


"The Israeli government is refusing to comment on reported American claims that its air force carried out a long-range air strike in Sudan."

Related News Item:
Report: Israel responsible for Sudan air strike in January
Source: IMEMC News
Date: Thursday, March 26, 2009 06:56

A new report by the American tv network CBS has revealed that Israeli forces carried out an air strike in Sudan in January, which inside sources say targeted an arms shipment bound for the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.

Israeli authorities would not comment on the report, which claimed that the Israeli airforce bombed a convoy of trucks in Sudan, killing 39 Sudanese, Eritrean and Ethiopian people in the midst of the Israeli invasion of Gaza in January.

The CBS report claimed that an Egyptian source had told the network that the trucks carried weapons bound for the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians fighting the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip have very few weapons with which to fight the fourth-largest army in the world. While Israeli forces are armed with US-supplied tanks, F-16 fighter jets, missiles, drones, cluster bombs, surface-to-surface missiles, air-to-surface missiles and white phosphorus, Palestinian fighters are armed only with stones, the occasional World-War II-era Russian rifle, and crude homemade shells made of metal pipes and dynamite. Israeli authorities have made allegations in the past that the Palestinian resistance was receiving weapons from Iran, but no evidence was found to back that claim.

Now, according to CBS News network, the Israeli airforce has carried out a unilateral airstrike in Sudan, an act which considered a declaration of war under international law, based on information that the arms in question were on their way to the Hamas resistance movement in Gaza.

Hamas officials have come under fire recently for publicly voicing support for Sudan's controversial president Omar Bashir, who has been charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity.



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Israeli settlement building threat in West Bank - 26 Mar 09

Israeli settlement building threat in West Bank - 26 Mar 09:

"Just a day after promising to be a partner for peace with the Palestinians, Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister-designate, appears to be preparing to build Israeli settlements on more West Bank land.
Israeli media is reporting that Netanyahu has struck a secret deal with his coaltion partner - the far right Yisrael Beiteinu party - to build more settlements. Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin reports from the occupied West Bank area of E1."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Riz Khan Extra - Charles "Chas" Freeman - 26 Mar 09

Riz Khan Extra - Charles "Chas" Freeman - 26 Mar 09:

"Al Jazeera's Riz Khan talks to Charles 'Chas' Freeman, former the US ambassador to Saudi Arabia who withdrew his nomination for a senior US intelligence post after what he says was pressure by the US pro-Israel lobby.
Freeman discusses the role of the lobby, his hopes for the Middle East peace process and why he went public on his decision to step aside from the post."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Gazan speaks of white phosphorus use - 26 Mar 09

Gazan speaks of white phosphorus use - 26 Mar 09:

"According to Human Rights Watch Israels use of white phosphorus in their offensive on the Gaza Strip constitutes a war crime', which Israel strenuously denies. Phosphorus ignites in oxygen in temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius and daily temperatures were much hotter than that when the war was carried out in Gaza in January. It is almost impossible to put out, and if it comes into contact with human flesh it can burn to the bone. Sabah Abu Halima who lost her husband and four of her children in the war, tells her story."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Empire - Arab unity in the shadows - 26 Mar 09 - (2 Parts)

Empire - Arab unity in the shadows - 26 Mar 09 - Part 1:

"Marwan Bishara and his guests examine the past, present and future of Arab Unity in view of the historical processes, and geopolitical realities of the Arab World in the shadow of Empires."

Part 1


Part 2


Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Small town's controversial role in War on Gaza - 26 Mar 09

Small town's controversial role in War on Gaza - 26 Mar 09:

"Al Jazeera has tracked down the origin of the white phosphorus used by Israel in the war on Gaza.

It comes from an army arsenal in a small US town called Pine Bluff, Arkansas, home to 50,000 people.

Mike Kirsch travelled to Pine Bluff to discover what its residents and leaders thought of their town's role in the war on Gaza."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Despite pressure Jeff Halper speaks out in Australian universities

Despite pressure Jeff Halper speaks out in Australian universities:

"Press TV Sydney"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Gaza: "Efforts to end current impasse imperative" UN Under-Secretary-General

Gaza: "Efforts to end current impasse imperative" (Lynn Pascoe):

"United Nations, 25 March 2009 - B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, said that two months since the declaration of unilateral ceasefires in Gaza, a worrying situation of impasse and uncertainty existed. Despite international engagement and support, very little concrete progress had been made on key issues outlined in Council resolution 1860 (2009), including the establishment of a proper ceasefire regime in Gaza, unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance, opening of the crossings, prevention of illicit trafficking in arms and ammunitions, and intra-Palestinian reconciliation.

Turning to Lebanon, he said that on 23 March, the prevailing relative calm had been interrupted when Kamal Medhat, Deputy PLO representative in Lebanon, had been killed by a roadside bomb. The Secretary-General had condemned that terrorist attack and expressed his hope that the perpetrators would be brought to justice promptly. In other developments, the Lebanese embassy in Damascus had been inaugurated on 16 March, the overall situation in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) area of operations had remained generally quiet during the past month, progress was continuing on visibly marking the Blue Line and Israeli air violations continued on an almost daily basis."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

More From Um Al Fahem counter demonstration

Umm al-Fahm clashes: "Al-Jazeera 090324
[LinkTV/Mosaic]"



Israel cracks down on Palestinian counter-rally - 24 Mar 09:

"Israeli riot police have fired tear gas and water cannon in clashes with hundreds of Arab youths in the northern town of Umm El-Fehm.

The youths were angry at a high court decision to allow a Jewish far-right group to march through the mainly Arab town.

Police deemed their counter-demonstration illegal. Ayman Mohyeldin was there."



www.pls48.net

Um Al Fahem Counter Demonstration to zionist ethnic cleansing gangs who want native Palestinians to swear an oath of allegiance to a Jewish State or be stripped of their citizenship and removed from their homeland. Sort of like asking a black man to swear an oath of allegiance to a self declared white State that excludes him as equal.
The residents came out to protest the racist ideology of Lieberman's supporters.




Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

No mention of Palestinian state by Netanyahu - 25 Mar 09

No mention of Palestinian state by Netanyahu - 25 Mar 09:

"He spoke about the Palestinians having a 'partner for peace', and of helping them to build 'a strong economy'.

But a day after Binyamin Netanyahu secured the centre-left Labor Party into his coalition he made no mention of the Palestinian's quest for statehood.

In fact the Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat has told Al Jazeera that Netanyahu's proposed coalition remains the most extreme in the country's history.

Al Jazeera's Ayman Moyheldin reports from Jerusalem."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Palestinians facing worst water shortage in 80 years

Palestinians facing worst water shortage in 80 years:

Press TV Report



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

DN! UN Accuses Israel of War Crimes in Gaza

DN! UN Accuses Israel of War Crimes in Gaza:

"UN Official Accuses Israel of War Crimes in Gaza

Meanwhile, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Richard Falk, accused Israel Monday of committing war crimes in Gaza. Falk called for an independent inquiry to examine possible war crimes committed by both Israel and Hamas. Richard Falk: The overall ratio of deaths—1,434 on the Palestinian side, thirteen on the Israeli side—is suggestive of the one-sidedness of the military encounter and provides a basis for challenging the legality of initiating a military assault with modern weaponry against an essentially defenseless society."



The following is a ReliefWeb Document:

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Richard Falk (A/HRC/10/20)

Source: United Nations General Assembly; United Nations Human Rights Council
Date: 17 Mar 2009

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Tenth session
Agenda Item 7

HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN PALESTINE AND OTHER OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES

Summary

In the light of resolution S-9 adopted by the Human Rights Council at its ninth special session, the present report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 focuses on the main international law and human rights issues raised by Israel military operations commencing on 27 December 2008 and ending on 18 January 2009. He challenges the widespread emphasis on whether Israeli force was disproportionate in relation to Palestinian threats to Israeli security, and focuses on the prior question of whether Israeli force was legally justified at all. He concludes that such recourse to force was not legally justified given the circumstances and diplomatic alternatives available, and was potentially a crime against peace.

The Special Rapporteur also gives relevance to the pre-existing blockade of Gaza, which was in massive violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, suggesting the presence of war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity. He considers the tactics pursued during the attacks by both sides, condemning the firing of rockets at Israeli civilian targets, and suggests the unlawfulness of disallowing civilians in Gaza to have an option to leave the war zone to become refugees, as well as the charges of unlawful weapons and combat tactics. He recommends that an expert inquiry into these matters be conducted to confirm the status under international law of war crimes allegations, and to consider alternative approaches to accountability.

Finally, the Special Rapporteur insists that Israeli security and the realization of the Palestinian right of self-determination are fundamentally connected, and that the recognition of this aspect of the situation suggests the importance of an intensified diplomatic effort, respect by all parties of relevant international law rights, and implementation of the long deferred Israeli withdrawal from occupied Palestine as initially prescribed by the Security Council in its resolution 242 (1967). Until such steps are taken the Palestinian right of resistance within the limits of international humanitarian law and Israeli security policy will inevitably clash, giving rise to ever new cycles of violence. The Special Rapporteur also recommends action in response to the denial by Israel of entry to him on 14 December 2008

Full Report (pdf* format - 128.9 Kbytes)

Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Guardian uncovers evidence of Israeli war crimes in Gaza Part 3

Guardian investigation uncovers evidence of alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza Part 3:

"Part 3 of 3 deals with the drones targeting civilians

Palestinians claim children were used as human shields and hospitals targeted during 23-day conflict

The Guardian gathered testimony of missile attacks by Israeli drones on clearly distinguishable civilian targets. In one case a family of six was killed when a missile hit the courtyard of their house. Israel has not admitted to the use of drones but military experts say their optical equipment is good enough to clearly identify individual items of clothing worn by targets."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Guardian uncovers evidence of Israeli war crimes in Gaza Part 2

Guardian investigation uncovers evidence of alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza Part 2:

"Part 2 deals with the targetting of medics and medical facilities

Palestinians claim children were used as human shields and hospitals targeted during 23-day conflict

Medics and ambulance drivers said they were targeted when they tried to tend to the wounded. Sixteen of them were killed. According to the World Health Organisation, more than half of Gaza's 27 hospitals and 44 clinics were da More..maged by Israeli bombs. Two clinics were destroyed. In one incident, paramedics were fired on by a tank using a shell filled with 8,000 lethal metal darts as they were carrying a wounded man to an ambulance.

In a report released today, doctors for Human Rights Israel said there was 'certainty' that Israel violated international humanitarian law during the three-week war in January, with attacks on medics, damage to medical buildings, indiscriminate attacks on civilians and delays in medical treatment for the injured.

'We have noticed a stark decline in IDF [Israeli Defence Forces] morals concerning the Palestinian population of Gaza, which in reality amounts to a contempt for Palestinian lives,' said Dani Filc, chairman of Physicians for Human Rights Israel.

The Guardian gathered testimony of missile attacks by Israeli drones on clearly distinguishable civilian targets. In one case a family of six was killed when a missile hit the courtyard of their house. Israel has not admitted to the use of drones but military experts say their optical equipment is good enough to clearly identify individual items of clothing worn by targets.

The Israeli military issued a statement in response to the allegations saying: "The IDF operated in accordance with the rules of war and did the utmost to minimise harm to civilians uninvolved in combat. The IDF's use of weapons conforms to international law."

The IDF said an investigation was under way into allegations that hospitals were targeted. A statement said Israeli soldiers were under standing orders to avoid harming medics, but added: "However, in light of the difficult reality of warfare in the Gaza Strip carried out in urban and densely populated areas, medics who operate in the area take the risk upon themselves."

The use of human shields was outlawed by Israel's supreme court in 2005 after a string of incidents. The IDF said only Hamas used human shields by launching attacks from civilian areas.

An Israeli embassy spokesman said any allegations from Gaza were suspect because of Hamas pressure on witnesses. "Anyone who understands the realities of Gaza will know that these people are not free to speak the truth. Those that wish to speak out cannot for fear of beatings, torture or execution at the hands of Hamas," the spokesman said in a written statement.

However, the accounts gathered by the Guardian are supported by the findings of human rights organisations and soldiers' testimony published in the Israeli press.

An IDF squad leader is quoted in the daily newspaper Ha'aretz as saying his soldiers interpreted the rules to mean "we should kill everyone there [in the centre of Gaza]. Everyone there is a terrorist.

"To write 'death to the Arabs' on the walls, to take family pictures and spit on them, just because you can," the squad leader said. "I think this is the main thing: To understand how much the IDF has fallen in the realm of ethics, really. It's what I'll remember the most."

Last week, a group of 16 of the world's leading war crimes investigators and judges called on the UN to launch a full inquiry into "alleged gross violations of the laws of war committed by both sides during the recent conflict in Gaza and southern Israel". "



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Guardian uncovers evidence of Israeli war crimes in Gaza Part 1

Guardian investigation uncovers evidence of alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza Part 1:

"Part 1 of 3 deals with the human shield allegations

Palestinians claim children were used as human shields and hospitals targeted during 23-day conflict

The Guardian has compiled detailed evidence of alleged war crimes committed by Israel during the 23-day offensive against Gaza earlier this year, involving the use of Palestinian children as human shields, the targeting of medics and hospita More..ls, and drone aircraft firing on civilians.

Three Guardian films based on a month-long investigation, add weight to calls this week for a full inquiry into the events surrounding Operation Cast Lead, which was aimed at Hamas but left about 1,400 Palestinians dead, including up to 300 children.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) refused to respond directly to the allegations made against its troops, but issued statements denying the charges, and insisted international law had been observed.

The Guardian's investigation follows soldiers' evidence published in the Israeli press about the killing of Palestinian civilians and complaints by colleagues involved in the military operation that the rules of engagement were too lax.

Amnesty International has said Hamas should be investigated for executing at least two dozen Palestinian men in an apparent bout of score-settling with rivals and alleged collaborators while Operation Cast Lead was under way.

Human rights groups say the vast majority of offences were committed by Israel, and that the Gaza offensive was a disproportionate response to Hamas rocket attacks. Since 2002, there have been 21 Israeli deaths from Hamas rockets fired from Gaza and during Operation Cast Lead there were three Israeli civilian deaths, six Israeli soldiers killed by Palestinian fire and four killed by friendly fire.

"Only an investigation mandated by the UN security council can ensure Israel's co-operation and it's the only body that can secure some kind of prosecution," said Amnesty's Donatella Rovera, who spent two weeks in Gaza investigating war crimes allegations. "Without a proper investigation there is no deterrent. The message remains the same: 'It's OK to do these things there won't be any real consequences.'"

Some of the most dramatic testimony gathered by the Guardian came from three teenage brothers in the al-Attar family. The trio describe how they were taken from their home at gunpoint, made to kneel in front of tanks to deter Hamas fighters from firing at them and sent by Israeli soldiers into Palestinian houses to clear them.

"They would make us go first so if any fighters shot at them the bullets would hit us not them,"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Israeli police attack Um Al Fahem, injuring eight, one critically

Israeli police attack an Arab town in Israel, injuring eight, one critically. International Middle East Media Center:

"The Israeli police attacked residents and local community leaders in the Arab town of Um Al Fahem , northern Israeli, on Tuesday injuring eight civilians including one critically.

The police attack came after local residents tried to stop Israeli right wing groups from conducting a march into the Arab town, a move that is seen by the local community as provocative.

Witnesses said that thousands of police officers were deployed since early morning on Tuesday; they added that police officers fired tear gas at homes knowing that there are children inside.

Medical sources said that eight were injured including one critically; among those injured was Shikh Ra�ed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement in Israel.

The residents of Um Al Fahem closed their shops and business since Tuesday morning as an act of protest to the right-wingers march that was allowed after a court rolling last month."

Reuters Video:



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Gazans call for Israeli criminals to be brought to trial

Gazans call for Israeli criminals to be brought to trial:

"Yousef Al-Helou Press TV Gaza"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Inside Story - Arab culture event worries Israel - 23 Mar - Part 1

Inside Story - Arab culture event worries Israel - 23 Mar - Part 1:

"The 'capital of Arab culture' is supposed to promote Arab culture and heritage and encourage co-operation in the region. But this year's choice falls on a city that Israel says is its capital - Jerusalem.

And instead of festivities, the designation has been marked by arrests and confiscation of flags and banners associated with the event."

Part 1


This second video seems to have a problem at 3:00. To resume the video, click and drag the playback time slider to 3:16 or further
Part 2


Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Inside Story - Israeli war crimes in Gaza - Mar 22 - (2 Parts)

Inside Story - Israeli war crimes in Gaza - Mar 22 - Part 1:

"A group of former Israeli soldiers say they have new evidence of potential war crimes committed by the Israeli army during the war on Gaza. These are not the first allegations of war crimes levelled at the Israeli military and the claims have sparked a bitter debate within Israel's defence forces and wider society over the 'morality' of the IDF and its behaviour in Gaza."

Part 1


Part 2


Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Israeli Army Vandalize Palestinian Homes And Smear Faeces ( Shit ) On Walls

Israeli Army Vandalize Palestinian Homes And Smear Faeces ( Shit ) On Walls:

Note: This is a John Pilger video filmed in the west bank, made long before the latest Israeli war on Gaza. The least that can be said Is that it shows a pattern of behavior.

"The Israeli Army is often described as the 'most ethical' in the world by propagandists. The very brutal and inhumane nature of their conduct is insulated from our TV screens, and therefore, hidden from our conscience. This is a short glimpse of the systematic vandalism exacted upon the Palestinian nation by the Israeli Occupation Forces.

The pre-meditated project of internalizing humiliation within the Palestinian pysche has long roots to the very origin of the Zionist movement. From one prime minister to the next, Israeli leaders have time and again described the Palestinian nation degradingly as beasts in human form, or as humans embellished by animalistic qualities.

In order to come to terms with this narcisstic pyschology on the part of the Israelis, it is revealing to quote he words of Moshe Yaalon, the Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff, in 2002:

'The Palestinians must be made to understand in the deepest recesses of their consciousness that they are a defeated people.'

Fair Use"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

March On The Pentagon: Occupation is a Crime from Iraq to Palestine

March On The Pentagon: Ann Wright and Medea Benjamin:

"WASHINGTON -- March 21, 2009. Retired Army Colonel Ann Wright and CodePINK activist Medea Benjamin speak at a rally prior to the march on the Pentagon."




March On The Pentagon: Al-Awda:

"WASHINGTON -- March 21, 2009. Activists from Al-Awda, The Palestinian Right To Return Coalition, speak at a rally preceeding the march on the Pentagon."



March On The Pentagon: Lynne Stewart:

"WASHINGTON -- March 21, 2009. Attorney-activist Lynne Stewart speaks at a rally prior to the march on the Pentagon."



March On The Pentagon: Brian Jones and Debra Sweet:

"WASHINGTON -- March 21, 2009. Harlem school teacher Brian Jones and Debra Sweet of the World Can't Wait speak at a rally prior to the march on the Pentagon."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Jerusalem as capital of Arab culture 2009

Jerusalem as capital of Arab culture 2009:

"The Israeli forces were trying to stop people from celebrating Jerusalem as a capital of Arab culture for 2009, or from celebrating mothers day in Jerusalem. (Taken from Aljazeera, March 22, 2009)"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Israeli T-shirts mock Gaza killings - 23 March 2009

Israeli T-shirts mock Gaza killings - 23 March 2009:

"The Israeli military has condemned the t-shirts worn by soldiers as 'unacceptable,' which depict the killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

The shirts came into fashion following disclosures that soldiers who took part in Israel's military offensive in Gaza complained about rules of engagement allowing them to kill civilians and destroy property.

Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin has more."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

March on the Pentagon's Industrial complex

March on the Pentagon's Industrial complex:

"Protest demands that US ends military occupations and universities divest in Lockheed Martin"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Ni'ilin protests IOF attacks on Tristan Anderson and Palestinians

Ni'ilin 20 3 09 - Solidarity with Tristan and Palestine:

"Several hundred people, Palestinians, internationals and Israelis activist gathered in Ni'lin, then marched, to protest the IDFs life threatening attack on Tristan Anderson of Oakland, CA, in that village in Palestine on Friday, March 13. and the continuing Israeli violence against Palestinians

Last Friday the IDF shot Tristan in the head with a high speed tear gas canister as he was standing in solidarity with Palestinians in the West Bank who were protesting the building of the apartheid wall through their town. This wall would cut them off from their farmland and make their home even more of a communal prison than it already is.

The violence and killing inflicted by the IDF has taken four lives recently in the town of Nilin, where Tristan took a direct hit in the head, necessitating the surgical removal of part of the frontal lobe of his brain.

A flyer handed out at todays rally by Friends of Tristan and Palestine people stated We are here to express out love and solidarity with Tristan and with the families of those killed in Nilin protesting the wall: Ahmed Mousa (10), Yousef Amira (17), Arafat Rateb Khawaje (22), and Mohammed Khawaje (20).

We are here because we are angry at the Israel state for injuring our friend and because we know that families in Palestine are humiliated, injured and killed"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Canada ban: Galloway faces his accusers a Jewish Defence League (JDL) "Terrorist"

Canada ban: Galloway faces his accusers a Jewish Defence League (JDL) "Terrorist":

"The decision to ban George Galloway from Canada seems odd, but now it emerges that the Jewish Defence League (JDL) pressured the Canadian Government to so the action takes on sinister connotations for Canada, why? Because the Jewish Defence League are according to the FBI a Terrorist Group. In its report, Terrorism 2000/2001, the FBI referred to the JDL as a 'violent extremist Jewish organization'. This 'violent extremist Jewish organization' now it seems has power and influence over the Canadian Government."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Ronnie Kasrils: Apartheid, From South Africa to Israel (3 Parts)

Apartheid: From South Africa to Israel Part 1 or 3:

"Ronnie Kasrils, member of the African National Congress, said that Israel's apartheid is far worse than the South African apartheid. In his recent talk, in Vancouver, BC, he explains why this is so."

Part 1/3



2/3


3/3


Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Phyllis Bennis talks to TRNN on Israel: "an incredible shift in discourse"

Israeli troops admit abuses in Gaza:

"Bennis: Israeli soldiers come forward saying they had no restrictions rules of engagement"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

'Cold-blooded murder' of Gaza man's daughters - 20 Mar 09

'Cold-blooded murder' of Gaza man's daughters - 20 Mar 09:

"For the families of those killed in Israel's war on Gaza, an investigation into Israeli war crimes may not heal the pain, but it could go some way in the search for justice.

Khaled lost his two daughters in the conflict. They were just two and seven years old.

Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid reports from the north east of the Gaza Strip."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Focus on Gaza - Faction Fighting - 20 Mar 09

Focus on Gaza - Faction Fighting - 20 Mar 09 - Part 1:

"In this week's Focus On Gaza we look at two blows suffered by the Israeli army. Firstly a UN report which brands the recent Israeli war on Gaza as illegal.

Secondly the chilling accounts of a disregard for civilian safety from its own soldiers involved in the operation, published this week in a leading Israeli newspaper.

We also look at internal dischord among the Palestinian movement and the numerous factions involved.

In a special report our correspondent Hoda Abdel Hamid brings together two Gazan students one from each of the two opposing groups - living very different lives and separated by factional rivalry.

Our senior political analyst Marwan Bishara reveals the real chances of a unity government being negociated by the leaders of these factions in talks in Cairo."

Part 1


Part 2



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Israeli soldiers admit war crimes + revealing audio interview with Major Avital Leibovich

Israeli Soldiers admit WAR CRIMES in Gaza (inc Interview with Major Avital Leibovich):

Audio Interview starts at 1:45

"Evidence is emerging from the testimonies of Israeli Soldiers who admit WARCRIMES took place in Gaza. The Israeli Government say will investigate the allegations themselves but surely this demands the attention of the UNITED NATIONS"



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Fresh Jerusalem demolition demos | Video | Reuters.com

Fresh Jerusalem demolition demos | Video | Reuters.com:
"Fresh Jerusalem demolition demos
(01:59) Report

Mar. 20 - Palestinians and Israelis protest over the continuing destruction of Arab homes in the east of the city.

Israel is pressing ahead with plans to evict some 1, 500 Palestinians and demolishing dozens of homes in Jerusalem despite an international outcry.

Paul Chapman reports."



Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

DN! Doctor Recounts Israeli Attack That Killed Family.

Doctor Recounts Israeli Attack That Killed Family. Democracy Now 3/20/09 1 of 2:

"Palestinian gynecologist and peace advocate Dr. Ezz edin Abu Al Aish speaks to Democracy Now! producer Anjali Kamat and Jacquie Soohen of Big Noise Films in his home in Jabaliya, Gaza, where Israeli shells killed three of his daughters and a niece two months ago. Walking through his daughters room, he points out the remnants from the attack: blood stained walls, books, clothes, and hand-drawn pictures; gaping holes that were once windows; burned out bits of computers; twisted pieces of metal; destroyed cupboards, shattered glass, and shrapnel.
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/3/20..."

Part 1


Part 2


Palestine Video - A Palestine Vlog

Israel's army, the most immoral mafia in the world, promises to investigate itself

Israel Promises Internal Probe of Gaza Assault. Democracy Now 3/20/09:

"The Israeli Military Advocate General has for the first time called for criminal inquiries into the conduct of Israeli troops in Gaza. The request came in response to soldiers testimonies that described loose rules of engagement, troops firing on unarmed civilians, and troops intentionally vandalizing property during the three-week assault on Gaza. We speak to Gaza-based journalist Amira Hass of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz."



Related Stories:
'No virgins, no terror attacks'
By Uri Blau
Source: Haaretz

"The office at the Adiv fabric-printing shop in south Tel Aviv handles a constant stream of customers, many of them soldiers in uniform, who come to order custom clothing featuring their unit's insignia, usually accompanied by a slogan and drawing of their choosing. Elsewhere on the premises, the sketches are turned into plates used for imprinting the ordered items, mainly T-shirts and baseball caps, but also hoodies, fleece jackets and pants. A young Arab man from Jaffa supervises the workers who imprint the words and pictures, and afterward hands over the finished product.

Dead babies, mothers weeping on their children's graves, a gun aimed at a child and bombed-out mosques - these are a few examples of the images Israel Defense Forces soldiers design these days to print on shirts they order to mark the end of training, or of field duty. The slogans accompanying the drawings are not exactly anemic either: A T-shirt for infantry snipers bears the inscription "Better use Durex," next to a picture of a dead Palestinian baby, with his weeping mother and a teddy bear beside him. A sharpshooter's T-shirt from the Givati Brigade's Shaked battalion shows a pregnant Palestinian woman with a bull's-eye superimposed on her belly, with the slogan, in English, "1 shot, 2 kills." A "graduation" shirt for those who have completed another snipers course depicts a Palestinian baby, who grows into a combative boy and then an armed adult, with the inscription, "No matter how it begins, we'll put an end to it."

There are also plenty of shirts with blatant sexual messages. For example, the Lavi battalion produced a shirt featuring a drawing of a soldier next to a young woman with bruises, and the slogan, "Bet you got raped!" A few of the images underscore actions whose existence the army officially denies - such as "confirming the kill" (shooting a bullet into an enemy victim's head from close range, to ensure he is dead), or harming religious sites, or female or child non-combatants.

In many cases, the content is submitted for approval to one of the unit's commanders. The latter, however, do not always have control over what gets printed, because the artwork is a private initiative of soldiers that they never hear about. Drawings or slogans previously banned in certain units have been approved for distribution elsewhere. For example, shirts declaring, "We won't chill 'til we confirm the kill" were banned in the past (the IDF claims that the practice doesn't exist), yet the Haruv battalion printed some last year.

The slogan "Let every Arab mother know that her son's fate is in my hands!" had previously been banned for use on another infantry unit's shirt. A Givati soldier said this week, however, that at the end of last year, his platoon printed up dozens of shirts, fleece jackets and pants bearing this slogan.

"It has a drawing depicting a soldier as the Angel of Death, next to a gun and an Arab town," he explains. "The text was very powerful. The funniest part was that when our soldier came to get the shirts, the man who printed them was an Arab, and the soldier felt so bad that he told the girl at the counter to bring them to him."

Does the design go to the commanders for approval?

The Givati soldier: "Usually the shirts undergo a selection process by some officer, but in this case, they were approved at the level of platoon sergeant. We ordered shirts for 30 soldiers and they were really into it, and everyone wanted several items and paid NIS 200 on average."

What do you think of the slogan that was printed?

"I didn't like it so much, but most of the soldiers wanted it."

Many controversial shirts have been ordered by graduates of snipers courses, which bring together soldiers from various units. In 2006, soldiers from the "Carmon Team" course for elite-unit marksmen printed a shirt with a drawing of a knife-wielding Palestinian in the crosshairs of a gun sight, and the slogan, "You've got to run fast, run fast, run fast, before it's all over." Below is a drawing of Arab women weeping over a grave and the words: "And afterward they cry, and afterward they cry." [The inscriptions are riffs on a popular song.] Another sniper's shirt also features an Arab man in the crosshairs, and the announcement, "Everything is with the best of intentions."

G., a soldier in an elite unit who has done a snipers course, explained that, "it's a type of bonding process, and also it's well known that anyone who is a sniper is messed up in the head. Our shirts have a lot of double entendres, for example: 'Bad people with good aims.' Every group that finishes a course puts out stuff like that."

When are these shirts worn?

G. "These are shirts for around the house, for jogging, in the army. Not for going out. Sometimes people will ask you what it's about."

Of the shirt depicting a bull's-eye on a pregnant woman, he said: "There are people who think it's not right, and I think so as well, but it doesn't really mean anything. I mean it's not like someone is gonna go and shoot a pregnant woman."

What is the idea behind the shirt from July 2007, which has an image of a child with the slogan "Smaller - harder!"?

"It's a kid, so you've got a little more of a problem, morally, and also the target is smaller."

Do your superiors approve the shirts before printing?

"Yes, although one time they rejected some shirt that was too extreme. I don't remember what was on it."

These shirts also seem pretty extreme. Why draw crosshairs over a child - do you shoot kids?

'We came, we saw'

"As a sniper, you get a lot of extreme situations. You suddenly see a small boy who picks up a weapon and it's up to you to decide whether to shoot. These shirts are half-facetious, bordering on the truth, and they reflect the extreme situations you might encounter. The one who-honest-to-God sees the target with his own eyes - that's the sniper."

Have you encountered a situation like that?

"Fortunately, not involving a kid, but involving a woman - yes. There was someone who wasn't holding a weapon, but she was near a prohibited area and could have posed a threat."

What did you do?

"I didn't take it" (i.e., shoot).

You don't regret that, I imagine.

"No. Whomever I had to shoot, I shot."

A shirt printed up just this week for soldiers of the Lavi battalion, who spent three years in the West Bank, reads: "We came, we saw, we destroyed!" - alongside images of weapons, an angry soldier and a Palestinian village with a ruined mosque in the center.

A shirt printed after Operation Cast Lead in Gaza for Battalion 890 of the Paratroops depicts a King Kong-like soldier in a city under attack. The slogan is unambiguous: "If you believe it can be fixed, then believe it can be destroyed!"

Y., a soldier/yeshiva student, designed the shirt. "You take whoever [in the unit] knows how to draw and then you give it to the commanders before printing," he explained.

What is the soldier holding in his hand?

Y. "A mosque. Before I drew the shirt I had some misgivings, because I wanted it to be like King Kong, but not too monstrous. The one holding the mosque - I wanted him to have a more normal-looking face, so it wouldn't look like an anti-Semitic cartoon. Some of the people who saw it told me, 'Is that what you've got to show for the IDF? That it destroys homes?' I can understand people who look at this from outside and see it that way, but I was in Gaza and they kept emphasizing that the object of the operation was to wreak destruction on the infrastructure, so that the price the Palestinians and the leadership pay will make them realize that it isn't worth it for them to go on shooting. So that's the idea of 'we're coming to destroy' in the drawing."

According to Y., most of these shirts are worn strictly in an army context, not in civilian life. "And within the army people look at it differently," he added. "I don't think I would walk down the street in this shirt, because it would draw fire. Even at my yeshiva I don't think people would like it."

Y. also came up with a design for the shirt his unit printed at the end of basic training. It shows a clenched fist shattering the symbol of the Paratroops Corps.

Where does the fist come from?

"It's reminiscent of [Rabbi Meir] Kahane's symbol. I borrowed it from an emblem for something in Russia, but basically it's supposed to look like Kahane's symbol, the one from 'Kahane Was Right' - it's a sort of joke. Our company commander is kind of gung-ho."

Was the shirt printed?

"Yes. It was a company shirt. We printed about 100 like that."

This past January, the "Night Predators" demolitions platoon from Golani's Battalion 13 ordered a T-shirt showing a Golani devil detonating a charge that destroys a mosque. An inscription above it says, "Only God forgives."

One of the soldiers in the platoon downplays it: "It doesn't mean much, it's just a T-shirt from our platoon. It's not a big deal. A friend of mine drew a picture and we made it into a shirt."

What's the idea behind "Only God forgives"?

The soldier: "It's just a saying."

No one had a problem with the fact that a mosque gets blown up in the picture?

"I don't see what you're getting at. I don't like the way you're going with this. Don't take this somewhere you're not supposed to, as though we hate Arabs."

After Operation Cast Lead, soldiers from that battalion printed a T-shirt depicting a vulture sexually penetrating Hamas' prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, accompanied by a particularly graphic slogan. S., a soldier in the platoon that ordered the shirt, said the idea came from a similar shirt, printed after the Second Lebanon War, that featured Hassan Nasrallah instead of Haniyeh.

"They don't okay things like that at the company level. It's a shirt we put out just for the platoon," S. explained.

What's the problem with this shirt?

S.: "It bothers some people to see these things, from a religious standpoint ..."

How did people who saw it respond?

"We don't have that many Orthodox people in the platoon, so it wasn't a problem. It's just something the guys want to put out. It's more for wearing around the house, and not within the companies, because it bothers people. The Orthodox mainly. The officers tell us it's best not to wear shirts like this on the base."

The sketches printed in recent years at the Adiv factory, one of the largest of its kind in the country, are arranged in drawers according to the names of the units placing the orders: Paratroops, Golani, air force, sharpshooters and so on. Each drawer contains hundreds of drawings, filed by year. Many of the prints are cartoons and slogans relating to life in the unit, or inside jokes that outsiders wouldn't get (and might not care to, either), but a handful reflect particular aggressiveness, violence and vulgarity.

Print-shop manager Haim Yisrael, who has worked there since the early 1980s, said Adiv prints around 1,000 different patterns each month, with soldiers accounting for about half. Yisrael recalled that when he started out, there were hardly any orders from the army.

"The first ones to do it were from the Nahal brigade," he said. "Later on other infantry units started printing up shirts, and nowadays any course with 15 participants prints up shirts."

From time to time, officers complain. "Sometimes the soldiers do things that are inside jokes that only they get, and sometimes they do something foolish that they take to an extreme," Yisrael explained. "There have been a few times when commanding officers called and said, 'How can you print things like that for soldiers?' For example, with shirts that trashed the Arabs too much. I told them it's a private company, and I'm not interested in the content. I can print whatever I like. We're neutral. There have always been some more extreme and some less so. It's just that now more people are making shirts."

Race to be unique

Evyatar Ben-Tzedef, a research associate at the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism and former editor of the IDF publication Maarachot, said the phenomenon of custom-made T-shirts is a product of "the infantry's insane race to be unique. I, for example, had only one shirt that I received after the Yom Kippur War. It said on it, 'The School for Officers,' and that was it. What happened since then is a product of the decision to assign every unit an emblem and a beret. After all, there used to be very few berets: black, red or green. This changed in the 1990s. [The shirts] developed because of the fact that for bonding purposes, each unit created something that was unique to it.

"These days the content on shirts is sometimes deplorable," Ben-Tzedef explained. "It stems from the fact that profanity is very acceptable and normative in Israel, and that there is a lack of respect for human beings and their environment, which includes racism aimed in every direction."

Yossi Kaufman, who moderates the army and defense forum on the Web site Fresh, served in the Armored Corps from 1996 to 1999. "I also drew shirts, and I remember the first one," he said. "It had a small emblem on the front and some inside joke, like, 'When we die, we'll go to heaven, because we've already been through hell.'"

Kaufman has also been exposed to T-shirts of the sort described here. "I know there are shirts like these," he says. "I've heard and also seen a little. These are not shirts that soldiers can wear in civilian life, because they would get stoned, nor at a battalion get-together, because the battalion commander would be pissed off. They wear them on very rare occasions. There's all sorts of black humor stuff, mainly from snipers, such as, 'Don't bother running because you'll die tired' - with a drawing of a Palestinian boy, not a terrorist. There's a Golani or Givati shirt of a soldier raping a girl, and underneath it says, 'No virgins, no terror attacks.' I laughed, but it was pretty awful. When I was asked once to draw things like that, I said it wasn't appropriate."

The IDF Spokesman's Office comments on the phenomenon: "Military regulations do not apply to civilian clothing, including shirts produced at the end of basic training and various courses. The designs are printed at the soldiers' private initiative, and on civilian shirts. The examples raised by Haaretz are not in keeping with the values of the IDF spirit, not representative of IDF life, and are in poor taste. Humor of this kind deserves every condemnation and excoriation. The IDF intends to take action for the immediate eradication of this phenomenon. To this end, it is emphasizing to commanding officers that it is appropriate, among other things, to take discretionary and disciplinary measures against those involved in acts of this sort."

Shlomo Tzipori, a lieutenant colonel in the reserves and a lawyer specializing in martial law, said the army does bring soldiers up on charges for offenses that occur outside the base and during their free time. According to Tzipori, slogans that constitute an "insult to the army or to those in uniform" are grounds for court-martial, on charges of "shameful conduct" or "disciplinary infraction," which are general clauses in judicial martial law.

Sociologist Dr. Orna Sasson-Levy, of Bar-Ilan University, author of "Identities in Uniform: Masculinities and Femininities in the Israeli Military," said that the phenomenon is "part of a radicalization process the entire country is undergoing, and the soldiers are at its forefront. I think that ever since the second intifada there has been a continual shift to the right. The pullout from Gaza and its outcome - the calm that never arrived - led to a further shift rightward.

"This tendency is most strikingly evident among soldiers who encounter various situations in the territories on a daily basis. There is less meticulousness than in the past, and increasing callousness. There is a perception that the Palestinian is not a person, a human being entitled to basic rights, and therefore anything may be done to him."

Could the printing of clothing be viewed also as a means of venting aggression?

Sasson-Levy: "No. I think it strengthens and stimulates aggression and legitimizes it. What disturbs me is that a shirt is something that has permanence. The soldiers later wear it in civilian life; their girlfriends wear it afterward. It is not a statement, but rather something physical that remains, that is out there in the world. Beyond that, I think the link made between sexist views and nationalist views, as in the 'Screw Haniyeh' shirt, is interesting. National chauvinism and gender chauvinism combine and strengthen one another. It establishes a masculinity shaped by violent aggression toward women and Arabs; a masculinity that considers it legitimate to speak in a crude and violent manner toward women and Arabs."

Col. (res.) Ron Levy began his military service in the Sayeret Matkal elite commando force before the Six-Day War. He was the IDF's chief psychologist, and headed the army's mental health department in the 1980s.

Levy: "I'm familiar with things of this sort going back 40, 50 years, and each time they take a different form. Psychologically speaking, this is one of the ways in which soldiers project their anger, frustration and violence. It is a certain expression of things, which I call 'below the belt.'"

Do you think this a good way to vent anger?

Levy: "It's safe. But there are also things here that deviate from the norm, and you could say that whoever is creating these things has reached some level of normality. He gives expression to the fact that what is considered abnormal today might no longer be so tomorrow."

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