Единствената рибарка в Газа

Мадлин Кулаб предизвиква традициите

Оставяйки брега и отправяйки се към морето, тя представлява необичайна гледка. 16-годишната Мадлин Кулаб е единствената рибарка в цяла Газа.

По-малките й брат и сестра й помагат, но Мадлин е отговорна не само за лодката, но и за прехраната на цялото й семейство. Тя поела рибарския занаят от баща си.

"Хората не ме интересуват. Когато видят момиче да плува, за тях е много странно, и започват да говорят. Това няма край. Мен обаче изобщо не ме интересува", заявява Мадлин.

Тя се занимава с риболов от малка. Въпреки че била принудена да пропусне учебната година, за да може да се грижи за препитанието на семейството си, Мадлин планира да навакса с ученето догодина.

Младата Кулаб може да се гмурка на 9 м. дълбочина, за да провери мрежата.

На брега, баща й - Махус Кулаб, не може да лови риба заради проблеми с крака. Мъжът твърди, че никога повече няма да може да излезе в морето. Въпреки това обаче, докато синът му порастне, той е доволен, че дъщеря му е достатъчно силна и че може да се грижи за семейството.

"Много съм горд с нея и с това, което прави. Същото се отнася и за по-малкия й брат и сестра", заявява бащата.

Децата се връщат в морето, за да проверят мрежата. Вълните са големи и се изисква сила и упоритост, за да бъдат преодоляни. Уловът обаче е разочароващ - не е достатъчен за продан на пазара и едва стига за храна вкъщи. Заради блокадата ограничението за риболов е до 5 км от брега, така че в много случаи водите тук са почти изчерпани от риба.
Риболовът като препитание не е лесен занаят, но той е дори по-труден в Газа. Мрежите на децата са били във водата 3 дни, а са успяли да уловят само няколко рака.

Мадлин обаче не само се грижи за семейството си, а и изменя вековната традция единствено мъжете в Газа да могат да работят в морето.

"Разбира се, че обичам морето и не мога да стоя далеч от него. Тук израстнах и животът ми е свързан с морето", заявява самата Мадлин.

източник: http://asia.actualno.com/news_307979.html

Cynthia McKinney | Passports denied | Israel imprisoned my father | And more ...

UPDATE FROM THE ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

http://electronicIntifada.net
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US VOTERS CAN DEMAND PALESTINE'S FREEDOM
By Cynthia McKinney, The Electronic Intifada, 19 July 2010

It is only a matter of time before voters of conscience make it clear that elected policy-makers who collaborate in America's unconditional partnership with Israel will be exposed as shameful; and make it clear to policy-makers that such shameful behavior is unsustainable because collaborators in injustice will be ejected from office by the people. Cynthia McKinney comments on the growing grassroots boycott, divestment and sanctions movement for The Electronic Intifada.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11404.shtml

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PALESTINIANS IN GAZA DENIED PA PASSPORTS
Rami Almeghari, The Electronic Intifada, 19 July 2010

Amid all the obstacles preventing Palestinians in Gaza from traveling outside the besieged territory, Nidal Abdo faces an additional one. He needs a passport and despite five attempts to obtain one, he has so far failed. Rami Almeghari reports for The Electronic Intifada.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11402.shtml

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FIGHTING RACISM THROUGH SPORTS
Jillian Kestler-D'Amours, The Electronic Intifada, 19 July 2010

Comprised of four women and three men between the ages of 18 and 27, a Palestinian football team was organized to participate in the Anti-Racism World Cup in Belfast, Ireland. Jillian Kestler-D'Amours reports for The Electronic Intifada.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11401.shtml

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GAZA'S BEE INDUSTRY STUNG BY ISRAELI ATTACKS
Eva Bartlett, The Electronic Intifada, 19 July 2010

GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - Said Hillis, 60, has kept bees since he was a boy. Until the Israeli
attacks changed his business. Until 2009 Hillis' farm had hundreds of trees, and more than 10,000 chickens. "It was all destroyed during the Israeli attacks," Hillis says.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11403.shtml

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PALESTINIANS SUFFER AS ISRAELI GOVERNMENT IGNORES ITS OWN COURT
By Jonathan Cook, The Electronic Intifada, 18 July 2010

The Israeli government is facing legal action for contempt over its refusal to implement a high court ruling that it end a policy of awarding preferential budgets to Jewish communities, including settlements, rather than much
poorer Palestinian Arab towns and villages inside Israel. Jonathan Cook reports.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11398.shtml

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TOUGH TIMES FOR GAZA TRAVEL AGENT
Report, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, 18 July 2010

"Shurafa Tourist and Travel Company has been operating in Gaza since 1952," Nabil Shurafa, general manager of the company, says proudly. This historical background is significant, as much for understanding the many and various forms of movement restrictions with which Shurafa Travel has had to deal during Gaza's 43 year occupation as for providing a rationale for how and why Shurafa remains open under the current restrictions.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11394.shtml

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WATER RESTRICTIONS IN THE OCCUPIED WEST BANK
Report, The Electronic Intifada, 18 July 2010

RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IRIN) - The worst place to be in the occupied West Bank in terms of water and sanitation facilities is an Israeli-controlled stretch of land known as Area C, where the Palestinian Authority (PA) is technically responsible for water services, but simply unable to deliver.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11400.shtml

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ISRAEL IMPRISONED MY FATHER FOR NONVIOLENTLY RESISTING THE OCCUPATION
By Saeed Amireh, Live from Palestine, 16 July 2010

On 12 January 2010 my father Ibrahim was arrested by the Israeli army and sentenced to two years in prison for organizing and participating in nonviolent protests against the Israel's wall in the occupied West Bank. The
wall cuts us off from our land and our olive groves, robbing our family of its livelihood. Saeed Amireh writes
from Nilin, occupied West Bank.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11399.shtml

Al-Awda Membership

Bulletin from the cause: Palestinian Refugees Right to Return - Al-Awda Go to Cause Posted By: Zahi Damuni To: Members in Palestinian Refugees Right to Return - Al-Awda Al-Awda Membership Support Al-Awda! Become a member of Al-Awda or renew your membership today. Join and support our advocacy for the Right of the Palestinian people to Return to their homes and lands of origin. Over the past ten years, Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition has led the effort to ensure that the right to return remains central to any discussion of the Palestinian cause. We have been at the forefront of grassroots and student organizing and education for the Palestinian cause. We have held demonstrations, and hosted regional and national conferences, cultural events, and speaking tours. We have also worked closely with many student, sister and solidarity organizations throughout the US and elsewhere. Join us by becoming a member of our organization as we continue this powerful, important and effective work which is today more critical and needed than ever before. Al-Awda is actively involved in helping 1350 Palestinian refugees who are being relocated from Al-Waleed camp on the Iraq border with Syria to various cities across the US in a major rescue operation from the desert camp. We continue to actively organize and demand an end to the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip, and have raised and donated funds to help with the rebuilding of The Gaza Community Mental Health Program Clinics. We also organize against the inhumane occupation, confiscation and demolition of Palestinian homes in Jerusalem and in other areas and cities of Palestine. And we continue to educate and organize our students, grassroots activists and communities to advocate for the implementation of the Right of all Palestinians to Return to their homes and land of origin. Annual membership dues are $25.00 per individual, $15.00 per student and $40.00 per family. Family membership includes parents and all children up to 18 years old. To pay your dues by credit card, click on the relevant box at http://www.al-awda.org/membership.html. If you prefer to send your annual dues by mail, please address your check or money order to: PRRC, PO Box 131352, Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA. Please remember to include your name, phone number, street and email addresses. For family membership, please include the names and ages of all the family members to be covered. In addition to the membership rights outlined in the organizational by-laws, as a member of our organization you will receive: • Your own personal Al-Awda membership card • Access to Al-Awda's resource center and library • Discounts on some of our educational supplies • Special offers on tickets to Al-Awda events • Free copies of Al-Awda's news letters Thank you so much for your support. We depend on it! Call to Action Link: Al-Awda Membership View Link

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[GazaFriends] Slaughter at Sea

As we get ready to challenge Israel's illegal blockade of Gaza once more, we would ask you to remember the nine men murdered in cold blood by Israeli commandos, who came down from helicopters firing live ammunition.

The official autopsy reports will be released in the next couple of weeks, but preliminary reports say the nine men were shot over 31 times, most through the face and the top of the head. If you have not seen their photos or read who they are, we have now uploaded their information as well as how they were killed onto our FLICKR site. Please take a moment to pay your respects and maybe, add a comment.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/freegaza/?saved=1

These nine men were husbands and fathers, an American student who wanted to become a doctor, a fireman who came to help on board the Mavi Marmara, a photojournalist shot through the middle of the forehead as he tried to photograph Israel's assault on a civilian ship in international waters in the dark.

No matter what spin Israel sends out or its slick talking heads who try to justify murder and mayhem, it is important to remember that none of these men were armed with guns, sound bombs or tear gas. No Israeli soldier was shot... as members on board the Mavi Marmara tried to defend themselves... something every one of us would have done if our family, friends, ship or home was attacked by masked armed intruders.

No Israeli soldier was killed. The few who were injured were treated by Turkish doctors, then sent back to their unit.

The terrorists on board that ship as well as the other five ships, (where passengers were beaten, tied up, tear gassed and wounded), worked for the Israeli navy.


--
Greta Berlin, Co-Founder
witnessgaza.com
www.freegaza.org
http://www.flickr.com/photos/freegaza





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Не бъди безразличен-попълни анкетата за Рак на гърдата

Twitterers paid to spread Israeli propaganda Internet warfare team unveiled | Atlantic Free Press - Hard Truths for Hard Times

Twitterers paid to spread Israeli propaganda Internet warfare team unveiled | Atlantic Free Press - Hard Truths for Hard Times

by Jonathan Cook in Nazareth

The passionate support for Israel expressed on talkback sections of websites, internet chat forums, blogs, Twitters and Facebook may not be all that it seems.

Israel’s foreign ministry is reported to be establishing a special undercover team of paid workers whose job it will be to surf the internet 24 hours a day spreading positive news about Israel.

Internet-savvy Israeli youngsters, mainly recent graduates and demobilised soldiers with language skills, are being recruited to pose as ordinary surfers while they provide the government’s line on the Middle East conflict.

“To all intents and purposes the internet is a theatre in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and we must be active in that theatre, otherwise we will lose,” said Ilan Shturman, who is responsible for the project.

The existence of an “internet warfare team” came to light when it was included in this year’s foreign ministry budget. About $150,000 has been set aside for the first stage of development, with increased funding expected next year.

The team will fall under the authority of a large department already dealing with what Israelis term “hasbara”, officially translated as “public explanation” but more usually meaning propaganda. That includes not only government public relations work but more secretive dealings the ministry has with a battery of private organisations and initiatives that promote Israel’s image in print, on TV and online.

In an interview this month with the Calcalist, an Israeli business newspaper, Mr Shturman, the deputy director of the ministry’s hasbara department, admitted his team would be working undercover.

“Our people will not say: ‘Hello, I am from the hasbara department of the Israeli foreign ministry and I want to tell you the following.’ Nor will they necessarily identify themselves as Israelis,” he said. “They will speak as net-surfers and as citizens, and will write responses that will look personal but will be based on a prepared list of messages that the foreign ministry developed.”

Rona Kuperboim, a columnist for Ynet, Israel’s most popular news website, denounced the initiative, saying it indicated that Israel had become a “thought-police state”.

She added that “good PR cannot make the reality in the occupied territories prettier. Children are being killed, homes are being bombed, and families are starved.”

Her column was greeted by several talkbackers asking how they could apply for a job with the foreign ministry’s team.


The project is a formalisation of public relations practices the ministry developed specifically for Israel’s assault on Gaza in December and January.

“During Operation Cast Lead we appealed to Jewish communities abroad and with their help we recruited a few thousand volunteers, who were joined by Israeli volunteers,” Mr Shturman said.

“We gave them background material and hasbara material, and we sent them to represent the Israeli point of view on news websites and in polls on the internet.”

The Israeli army also had one of the most popular sites on the video-sharing site YouTube and regularly uploaded clips, although it was criticised by human rights groups for misleading viewers about what was shown in its footage.

Mr Shturman said that during the war the ministry had concentrated its activities on European websites where audiences were more hostile to Israeli policy. High on its list of target sites for the new project would be BBC Online and Arabic websites, he added.

Elon Gilad, who heads the internet team, told Calcalist that many people had contacted the ministry offering their services during the Gaza attack. “People just asked for information, and afterwards we saw that the information was distributed all over the internet.”

He suggested that there had been widespread government cooperation, with the ministry of absorption handing over contact details for hundreds of recent immigrants to Israel, who wrote pro-Israel material for websites in their native languages.

The new team is expected to increase the ministry’s close coordination with a private advocacy group, giyus.org (Give Israel Your United Support). About 50,000 activists are reported to have downloaded a programme called Megaphone that sends an alert to their computers when an article critical of Israel is published. They are then supposed to bombard the site with comments supporting Israel.

Nasser Rego of Ilam, a group based in Nazareth that monitors the Israeli media, said Arab organisations in Israel were among those regularly targeted by hasbara groups for “character assassination”. He was concerned the new team would try to make such work appear more professional and convincing.

“If these people are misrepresenting who they are, we can guess they won’t worry too much about misrepresenting the groups and individuals they write about. Their aim, it’s clear, will be to discredit those who stand for human rights and justice for the Palestinians.”

When The National called the foreign ministry, Yigal Palmor, a spokesman, denied the existence of the internet team, though he admitted officials were stepping up exploitation of new media.

He declined to say which comments by Mr Shturman or Mr Gilad had been misrepresented by the Hebrew-language media, and said the ministry would not be taking any action over the reports.

Israel has developed an increasingly sophisticated approach to new media since it launched a “Brand Israel” campaign in 2005.

Market research persuaded officials that Israel should play up good news about business success, and scientific and medical breakthroughs involving Israelis.

Mr Shturman said his staff would seek to use websites to improve “Israel’s image as a developed state that contributes to the quality of the environment and to humanity”.

David Saranga, head of public relations at Israel’s consulate-general in New York, which has been leading the push for more upbeat messages about Israel, argued last week that Israel was at a disadvantage against pro-Palestinian advocacy.

“Unlike the Muslim world, which has hundreds of millions of supporters who have adopted the Palestinian narrative in order to slam Israel, the Jewish world numbers only 13 million,” he wrote in Ynet.

Israel has become particularly concerned that support is ebbing among the younger generations in Europe and the United States.

In 2007 it emerged that the foreign ministry was behind a photo-shoot published in Maxim, a popular US men’s magazine, in which female Israeli soldiers posed in swimsuits.

Jonathan Cook is a writer and journalist based in Nazareth, Israel. His latest books are “Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East” (Pluto Press) and “Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments in Human Despair” (Zed Books). His website is www.jkcook.net.

BDS in Australia | Netanyahu visit | Hirst interviewed | Academic boycott news | And more ...

UPDATE FROM THE ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

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BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS IN AUSTRALIA, FIVE YEARS ON
By Sonja Karkar, The Electronic Intifada, 9 July 2010

In Australia, with a supine government and a media unwilling to investigate Israel's criminal acts, getting
the Palestine message out to the public has been a real challenge. However, Australian unions look like they might
be changing that. Sonja Karkar comments on the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement in Australia on the
anniversary of the historic Palestinian call for such tactics.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11382.shtml

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"BEWARE OF SMALL STATES": JOURNALIST DAVID HIRST INTERVIEWED
By Robin Yassin-Kassab, The Electronic Intifada, 9 July 2010

Veteran Middle East correspondent David Hirst, author of the seminal work on the Palestinian plight The Gun and the
Olive Branch, has a new release: Beware of Small States, an equally important book on Lebanon's complex tragedy.
The Electronic Intifada contributor Robin Yassin-Kassab interviews Hirst on his work and views.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11383.shtml

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UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE POSES DEADLY THREAT IN GAZA
By Eva Bartlett, The Electronic Intifada, 8 July 2010

GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - More than a year after the Israeli attacks on Gaza, the risk of unexploded
ordnance poses as real a threat as the fresh bombings.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11380.shtml

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PROTESTERS GREET NETANYAHU IN WASHINGTON AS ISRAEL EXPANDS SETTLEMENTS
Report, The Electronic Intifada, 7 July 2010

Hundreds of activists in Washington, DC demonstrated outside the White House to protest Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu's visit on Tuesday, 6 July. As protesters held signs calling on the US government to end
military aid to Israel, Netanhayu met with US President Barack Obama in a meeting characterized by the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution as "empty theatrics."

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11378.shtml

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ACTIVISTS FOUND NOT GUILTY FOR DECOMMISSIONING WEAPONS FACTORY
By Chloe Marsh, The Electronic Intifada, 7 July 2010

Seven anti-war activists on trial for entering a Brighton weapons factory and "decommissioning" it were found
unanimously "not guilty" last week. On 16 January 2009 six of the defendants broke into the premises of EDO MBM, a
supplier of weapons components. According to one of the defendants, Elijah Smith, they "set out to smash it up to
the best of our abilities." Chloe Marsh writes for The Electronic Intifada.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11367.shtml

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WATER IN GAZA: "IT'S NOT A SIMPLE PROBLEM"
By Sarah Irving, The Electronic Intifada, 7 July 2010

For the last year Mark Buttle has been the coordinator for the "WASH cluster," the group of aid organizations working
on water, sanitation and hygiene in the Gaza Strip. Sarah Irving interviews for The Electronic Intifada.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11373.shtml

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PALESTINIAN STUDENTS, TEACHERS CONDEMN ITALIAN UNIVERSITY'S NORMALIZATION PROJECT
Statement, Palestinian Students' Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel, University Teachers' Association in Palestine, 7 July 2010

The Italian Development Cooperation (DGCS), with the support of UNESCO, has engineered the partnership of three
Israeli universities with that of Al-Quds University in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in a masters program
that allows 20 Israeli and Palestinian students to participate in learning about "cooperation, humanitarianism, peace and cultural preservation." This act of normalization aims to blur the boundaries between oppressor and oppressed, colonizer and colonized, occupier and occupied, executioner and victim, and ultimately aims at whitewashing Israel's war crimes.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11379.shtml

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BOYCOTT THE INTERNATIONAL GEOGRAPHICAL UNION'S REGIONAL CONFERENCE IN TEL AVIV!
Press release, Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, 6 July 2010

Today, a month after the massacre of nine human rights activists in international waters aboard a flotilla
carrying aid and supplies sailing to break the four-year closure of the Gaza Strip, we call once again upon the
International Geographical Union to take a courageous and principled stand and cancel its Tel Aviv conference.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11375.shtml

Invest for peace ? | IKEA furnishing the occupation | Jerusalem | And more ...

UPDATE FROM THE ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

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THE DECEPTIVE RHETORIC OF "INVEST FOR PEACE"
By Charlotte Silver, The Electronic Intifada, 6 July 2010

The boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement is gaining significant momentum cross the United States and
Europe, including at US campuses. In response, opposition to the movement is devising new ways to divert attention
from efforts to hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law and flagrant abuses of Palestinian
human rights. Charlotte Silver comments for The Electronic Intifada.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11361.shtml

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QUEERS AGAINST ISRAELI APARTHEID REFUSE TO BE SILENCED
By Savannah Garmon, The Electronic Intifada, 1 July 2010

On the morning of 25 May, the Board of Pride Toronto held a press conference on the lawn outside its offices to
announce that the phrase "Israeli Apartheid" would be censored from the upcoming 2010 Pride Parade. The
decision, aimed at banning the Toronto-based activist group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid from the parade,
set off a firestorm in the community. Savannah Garmon comments for The Electronic Intifada.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11368.shtml

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BOOK REVIEW: POCKET-SIZED VOLUME DEFLATES CANADA'S "PEACEMAKER" MYTH
By Hicham Safieddine, The Electronic Intifada, 6 July 2010

In his latest book, Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid, Yves Engler contends that Canada's lopsided support for
Israel is neither a shift nor the product of current government policy but goes as far back as Zionism itself. Hicham Safieddine reviews for The Electronic Intifada.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11372.shtml

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IKEA FURNISHING THE OCCUPATION
By Adri Nieuwhof, The Electronic Intifada, 5 July 2010

Swedish Radio reported on 23 June that home furnishings retail giant IKEA in Israel discriminately ships to Israel's illegal settlements but not Palestinian cities in the occupied West Bank. The company's shipping policies are coming into question following a report by Swedish Radio's correspondent in Israel. Adri Nieuwhof reports for The Electronic Intifada.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11363.shtml

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THE LAST QUEEN OF THE NIGHT
By Yasmeen El Khoudary, Live from Palestine, 5 July 2010

The Last Queen of the Night is not the name of a mythical character, or even an ancient Oriental queen or goddess.
It is not the name of a Parisian perfume or chocolate like "After 8." It is the name of a flower, one that blooms
only during the night. Yasmeen El Khoudary writes from the occupied Gaza Strip.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11371.shtml

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HOME DEMOLITIONS, ARREST RAIDS AS ISRAEL IMPLEMENTS JERUSALEM "MASTER PLAN"
Report, The Electronic Intifada, 2 July 2010

Israeli police detained residents of Silwan as bulldozers demolished a horse stable in the occupied East Jerusalem
neighborhood on 29 June, while other construction vehicles razed a small warehouse to the ground in nearby Abu Tur.
These demolitions came after Israeli courts decided that both of the buildings were built "illegally" and against
"building codes."

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11369.shtml

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FROM ISRAEL TO ARIZONA, BOYCOTT RACISM!
By Press Release, US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, 2 July 2010

The US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI) endorses and supports the call for Boycott
of Arizona on account of its manifestly racist laws, HB1070 and SB 2281.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11370.shtml

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Не бъди безразличен-попълни анкетата за Рак на гърдата

Израелски войници загазиха с танц в Хеброн

След нападението над хуманитарната флотилия за Газа, израелската армия "загази" с нов гаф, който макар и на пръв поглед забавен и безобиден, предизвика бурни коментари.

Видеоклип в YouTube показва шестима патрулиращи израелски войници в Хеброн, които изведнъж започват да танцуват с автоматите си в пълен, макар и леко тромав, синхрон.

Силния звук от хита на Кеша "Тик Ток" заглушава езана от близка джамия, докато войниците се придвижват с танцувална стъпка по ул. "Шухада".

Освен момчетата от бригадата "Нахал", тази основна пътна артерия е напълно празна. Движението на палестинското население по нея е забранено, а се позволява само на еврейските заселници, които са под 1% от жителите на Хеброн.

"Тази нощ ще воювам, докато слънцето изгрее, часовникът тиктака, но купонът няма край", пее американската попзвезда.

Танцът на войниците, започнал неочаквано, завършва също така рязко, като те отминават по улицата и се скриват от кадър.

Израелската армия нарече видеото "шега" и потвърди, че командирите на войниците вече са били информирани. Това означава, че следващият им танц може да бъде Jailhouse Rock (песента "Затворнически рок" на Елвис Пресли), шегува се АФП.

Шестимата танцьори в униформи най-вероятно ще бъдат дисциплинарно наказани, тъй като са били на служба, пише израелският новинарски сайт Ynet.co.il.

Въпреки че бе свалено от качилия го пръв потребител, видеото се превърна в хит и бе качено и от други в YouTube и в социалната мрежа "Фейсбук". Израелските телевизии също го завъртяха.

Подобни клипове не са нещо ново. Последният от тях бе на американски войници в Афганистан, танцуващи с хъс на фона на песен на Лейди Гага. Забавлението им обаче е зад затворени врати и не по време на служба.

Библейският град Хеброн е една от ябълките на раздора в израелско-палестинския конфликт и е бил място на много кървави конфликти. Еврейските заселници около и в града се смятат за незаконно пребиваващи там по международното право, но Израел ги толерира.

Заселниците, дори и малко на брой, са охранявани от израелски войници, които въпреки това понякога стават обект на подигравки и атаки от тяхна страна.

Ул. "Шухада", която е един от главните в града, е забранена за движение за палестинци (както и много други места), докато еврейските заселници имат пълна свобода на движение.

Зоните, обитавани от заселници, са недостъпни за палестинското население освен с изрично разрешение на израелската армия.

[GazaFriends] The Second World Power

By Vittorio Arrigoni, Gaza City, Gaza

July 4, 2010

Ketchup, mayonnaise, thread and needles are the items that were included last week by Israel on the list of those few goods now allowed into Gaza. Farming tools, spare parts for cars, toys and make-up were added to the list on Tuesday, items we watched being carried into the Strip loaded onto 130 trucks. 

Taking into account the decision of the Israeli government to "loosen" the siege of Gaza by allowing the entry of more goods, B'Tselem, the Israeli organisation for human rights commented: "This is a first, tiny step towards the right direction, the direction which'll bring Israeli policy in line with its obligations." 

A veritable microscopic step, considering that before the start of the siege, more than ten thousand trucks a month would drive through the Karni pass alone, and even then, these deliveries were miles away from the 500 truckfuls of goods a day (15,000 trucks a month), the minimum decreed by the United Nations to cover the basic needs of one and a half million people.

According to some Palestinian political analysts, this step might even be counterproductive, because it proposes to attempt to legitimise the siege. This is a siege that is a form of collective punishment against a civilian population. As such, it violates Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and is considered illegal by all major human rights organisations, whether governmental or otherwise, as Amnesty International and the International Red Cross have recently decreed.

Cement, iron and any other building material continues to be banned from the Strip, so much so that according to the UN, one year after the Cast Lead bombings, 75% of the damaged buildings still gape open among the rubble. 

According to Christopher Gunness, spokesman for the UNRWA (UN Agency for Palestinian refugees), Israel's new policy is an attempt to throw smoke into the eyes of the international community and hide its blatant violation of international law: "The Israeli strategy is that of getting the world to talk about a random bag of cement being let in on one side, and a sponsored project on another. What we really need is complete and free access through all the passes."  

All eyes are now turned towards the mirage of the opened Israeli passes. Yet, forgetting to take note of the Egyptian border is a mistake. Rafah continues to remain semi-open, or better still…semi-closed. The Egyptian border authorities refuse to let any type of goods through, including tons of food supplies and medicine collected during the last weeks by the union of Cairo chemists. The bullies of the infamous Egyptian Mubarak, renowned for their rough treatment of Palestinian civilians, including women, children and sick people, have sent back hundreds of travellers with regular passports and visas over the past few weeks. 

For internationals in Egypt who plan to come and report on what they see, or support the population of Gaza in any way, entering "the Rafah Pass" remains forbidding. John, a freelance journalist who accompanied us from the International Solidarity Movement to report on the daily harrassment that the farmers face from Israeli snipers at the border, eventually came in through the tunnels when he had grown tired of waiting for a pass that never came at Al Arish.  

Italian state television is trying to put through the message that the siege has been loosened as an act of generosity on the part of the Israeli government, but the reality is indeed very different. The siege itself needs to be totally lifted, because the people here certainly don't need potato chips or toothpicks. They need cement, iron, medicine, medical supplies and all the essentials coming in the way they would normally come in…through import and export. Only that means will help boost the economy and make Gaza self-sufficient, besides opening the borders to make it possible for anyone to come into or leave this prison. 

All that we have before our eyes these days is the artificial image of a tragic situation, made up to seem like an improvement after the cosmetic surgery of Israeli and Egyptian propaganda. Amid these far-reaching echoes of propaganda, Tony Blair's congratulations to Israel for the alleged "loosening" of its blockade comes across as a strident contradition. Behind the smile of Blair, one the of puppet masters of the Quartet (USA, EU, Russia and UN) who for years has produced nothing but useless press releases, is all the rot of the stone caryatids jointly holding up the current Iraqi genocide, as well as the political laxity of European governments in the face of the Palestinian tragedy.

I'm keen to remind Tony Blair that if two extra bags of flour enter the besieged Strip, it certainly isn't thanks to his work within the castrated quartet, or any other institution in charge of resolving the Israeli occupation of Palestine. It's actually thanks to the sacrifices over many years of thousands of ordinary civilians throughout the world committed to the rights of Palestinians. It's an effort that has culminated in the murder of nine Turkish activists on the Mavi Marmara, much the same way as before them, Tom Hurndall and Rachel Corrie gave their lives for the good of Gaza.

On the eve of the second Gulf war, the New York Times coined the phrase "second world power", to define the global pacifist movement that filled thousands of squares around the world. These civilians were protesting against a war "that never before in history had been met with as much blatant hostility." Well, that second world power has now joined us on the field and is siding with the Palestinians: it is now Israel that's under siege.

Stay human.

Vittorio Arrigoni from Gaza city

(translated by Daniela Filippin)

 

--
Greta Berlin, Co-Founder
witnessgaza.com
www.freegaza.org
http://www.flickr.com/photos/freegaza





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