Israeli settlements

"Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, are illegal and an obstacle to peace and to economic and social development [... and] have been established in breach of international law."

International Court of Justice Ruling, July 9, 2004

Settlements: The Facts

- There are currently 121 Israeli settlements and approximately 102 Israeli outposts built illegally on Pales-tinian land occupied by Israel in 1967. All of these settlements and outposts are illegal under international law and have been condemned by numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions. Israeli outposts are considered illegal under Israeli law.

- These settlements and outposts are inhabited by a population of some 462,000 Israeli settlers. 191,000 Israelis are living in settlements around Jerusalem and a further 271,400 are further spread throughout the West Bank. The settler population has grown consistently between 4-6% per year over the last two decades, a much higher rate of growth than Israeli society as a whole (1.5%).

- Approximately 385,000 settlers in 80 settlements will be located between the Separation Wall and the Green Line if Israel holds to projected plans.

- In 2008, amidst the ‘settlement freeze’ agreed upon in the Annapolis framework, tenders for new settle-ment building increased by 550% from 2007. Actual settlement construction has increased by 30% since the launching of the new round of peace talks. Settlement building around Jerusalem has increased by a factor of 38.

- A total of 9,000 further housing units have been approved in East Jerusalem, and approximately 2,600 new housing units are being built east of the Separation Wall, comprising 55% of all settlement construc-tion activity.

- Settlements are built on less than 3 percent of the area of the West Bank. However, due to the extensive network of settler roads and restrictions on Palestinians accessing their own land, Israeli settlements domi-nate more than 40 percent of the West Bank.

The Israeli settlements

The Israeli Settler movement has continued growing and expanding throughout the last few decades in spite of the international condemnation it has accrued for Israel, and regardless of which political party holds sway in Tel Aviv. That is to say that settlement building on the land occupied in 1967 is not a policy of either the right or the left; it is the policy of Israel. Even those in Israel who now loudly call for a swift two-state solution, for fear that it will soon become impossible, have done little or nothing to stop the expansion of settlements - even during the on-going Annapolis Peace Process.

JPG - 71.5 kb
Making the desert bloom with concrete
Picture: Palestine Monitor

Settlers and settlements compose one of the most difficult challenges to peace. Those who self-identify as settlers are ideologically committed to staying on their land regardless of what their government or military think. Many of these settlers have built their communities in areas far east of Israel proper and often far east of the illegal separation Wall that encloses the majority of illegal settlements. These settlers are often will-ing to use violence against both Israelis and Palestinians to have their way, and have stepped up their acts of terror and intimidation throughout the peace process.

Those settlers living in the blocks surrounding Jerusalem largely identify themselves as ‘economic settlers’, or those who have been enticed to settle in occupied lands by the variety of public and private incentives laid at their door. Ironically these settlers are the most willing to leave and repatriate back to Israel; while they are at the same time those settlements least likely to be conceded by Israel in negotiations.

It is important to remember that though the settlements and settlers themselves are significant obstacles to peace, the large security apparatus and infrastructure which unite them to Israel proper pose even more dif-ficult challenges, as by-pass roads between settlements slice the West Bank into a series of economically and politically isolated ‘bantustans’. Furthermore, settlements are often located in strategic areas which capture vital resouces such as water and agricultural land.

Israel’s continued insistence upon the legitimacy of the settler movement provides a tough challenge for negotiators who are able to recognize the inherent impossibility of maintaining nearly half a million hostile citizens of Israel in a future, highly incontiguous Palestinian state. Regardless of this reality, the movement continues to grow stronger and more determined day by day.

Wall and Settlement map (Feb 07)
Settlement vs. Outpost




Since 1967, successive Israeli governments have established settlements in violation of international law; colonizing Palestinian territories in order to con-solidate and secure control of these areas and prevent the emergence of a Palestinian state.

Originally used to describe any new Jewish develop-ment in Israel, the term ‘settlements’ now refers to Jewish-only housing units built in strategic areas of East Jerusalem and the West Bank, on land occupied by Israel in 1967.

Most settlements begin as ‘outposts’. These are often composed of just a few families who live in caravans whilst awaiting infrastructure and financial support from the state and other sympathetic communities both inside Israel and abroad.

Caravans in the outpost of Maskiot

Of the more than 120 settlement outposts in the West Bank, 58 were established after March 2001. Only three have been dismantled since the Annapolis process began.

Moreover, Israel continues to speak of removing only “unauthorized” outposts (i.e., those estab-lished in violation of domestic Israeli law) and have identified only 26 which fit this description. Neither the Road Map, nor the successive UN resolu-tions, contain or respect Israel’s domestic distinction between legal and illegal settlements or outposts.
By-Pass Roads

Settlements are linked to each other and to Israel by an extensive network of “bypass roads”.

All bypass roads have a 50–75m buffer zone on each side, where no construction is allowed. These buffer zones have led to a great loss of agricultural and privately-owned Palestinian land.

Whilst illegally built on confiscated Palestinian land, these roads are forbidden for use by Pales-tinians. They consolidate Israel’s creation of a sys-tem of Apartheid in the West Bank and fracture communities across Palestine.

In August of 2008 there were 794 kilometers of by-pass roads in the West Bank. To date it is unclear how many kilometers of road Israel is planning to build before it is finished. This is un-derstandable within the context of the on-going negotiations and the uncertainty that they pose for the future of many settlements.

For Palestinian use there are currently a number of roads being constructed to facilitate their move-ment in a way which will separate them from the settlers. To date, about 40 kilometres of “fabric of life” roads, including 44 tunnels and underpasses, were completed. In addition, some five kilometres are under construction and another 40 kilometres and 18 tunnels are planned.
Resources

Settlements are the cause of great inequalities in ac-cess to natural resources between Israelis and Palestin-ians. Many settlements are built on prime agricultural land confiscated from Palestinians, or over key water resources such as the Western Aquifer basin, springs and wells.

Israeli West Bank settlers domestically consume an amazing 280 liters of water per day, per person com-pared to 86 liters per day available for Palestinians in the West Bank - only 60 of which are considered po-table. The World Health Organization recommends a minimum of 100 liters per day – meaning that settlers utilize far more than double the water required, while Palestinians do not approach the minimum.

But only looking at domestic use is misleading. The brunt of water resources consumed by Israel are for farming and industrial purposes. When one looks at these numbers, the inequality between Israel and Palestinian resource sharing grows dramatically.

It is also misleading to look at the amount of land ac-tually ‘settled’ in the West Bank (3%), as opposed to the more than 40% of West Bank residential and vital agricultural land confiscated around the settlements themselves.

By stealing both the land and water resources from Palestine, the Israeli settlers and the Israeli state have literally made the ‘desert bloom’ whilst Palestinians are left with little of their own wealth by which to compete.
Settler Violence


Settlers often carry out violent attacks against Palestinians and their property with complete legal immunity, and often with more than implicit support from the military itself. In fact, Israeli soldiers often protect and assist settlers, and legal proceed-ings are rarely brought against them.

Swedish human rights wor ker after being attacked by Israeli settlers in Hebron in the presence of Israeli soldiers and police. November 18th, 2006

According to OCHA, 80-90% of the files opened against Israeli settlers following attacks on Pales-tinians and their property are regularly closed by the Israeli police without prosecution.

In the first eight months of 2008, there were a total of 112 people injured as a result of settler attacks. Nearly 80% of these incidents have occurred in the Hebron district.

However, as this book goes to print, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of settler attacks and murders coinciding with the Palestinian Olive Harvest. The ferocity and sheer number of such incidences have led to more calls within Israel to punish settler violence, but as of yet there has been no real effect on the ground.

Settlements and International Law

Israeli settlements are illegal under every basic reading of international law:

- Article 46 of the Hague Convention prohibits confiscation of private property in occupied territory. Article 55 of the same Hague Convention stipulates “the occupying state shall be regarded only as administrator and usufructuary of public buildings, real estate, forests, and agricultural estates belonging to the hostile State, and situated in the occupied country. It must safeguard the capital of these properties, and administer them in accordance with the rules of usufruct”.

- Article 49, paragraph 6 of the Fourth Geneva Convention explicitly stipulates that “the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies”.

- UN Security Council Resolution 465 (1980-unanimously adopted) made it clear that “Israel’s policy and practices of settling parts of its population and new immigrants” in the Occupied Territories constitutes “a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East”. The Security Council called upon Israel to “dismantle the existing settlements and in particular to cease, on an urgent basis, the establishment, construction or planning of settlements in the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem”.

- The 2004 ruling of the International Court of Justice in The Hague declared that “Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, are illegal and an obstacle to peace and to economic and social development”.

Settlements in the Annapolis Process

At the Annapolis Conference Israel and the Palestinians renewed their respective commitments under the Road Map. Chief among Israel’s obligations are “[freezing] all settlement activity (including natural growth of settlements)” and “immediately [dismantling] settlement outposts erected since March 2001”.

Despite Israel’s commitment during the Annapolis Summit to freeze all settlement activity, construction has continued and almost doubled in all of the settlements and outposts on both sides of the Separation Barrier. “Since Annapolis, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other senior Israeli officials have repeatedly made clear that Israel would not implement a genuine settlement freeze. Among other things, Olmert has said that Israel would continue building in settlements in and around East Jerusalem as well as in the so-called settlement ‘blocs’, thus effectively negating the very purpose of the freeze. Moreover, despite clarification by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that “the United States doesn’t make a distinction” between settlement activity in East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, Israeli officials continue to make unilateral exemptions to their settlement freeze obligations”.


The Two state solution map

The Gaza Strip

“Gaza is a prison and Israel seems to have thrown away the key.”

United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, John Dugard

Gaza: The Facts

- Total Population - 1,500,202
- Population Density - 4117 per sq km
- Fertility Rate - 5.19 children/woman
- Total Refugees - 1,059,584
- Refugees as % of Population - 70%
- Unemployment - 45.5%
- Average Age - 17.2 years - some estimates have put the median age at 15.3.
- Life Expectancy - 73.16 years
- % dependant on foreign aid - 86%
Gaza: Retrospective of events

1948 Arab-Israeli War - Gaza Strip’s boundaries were defined by the 1949 Armistice and placed under Egyptian rule to be held in trust for a future Palestinian state.

1956 Suez-Sinai War - The Gaza Strip was occupied by Israel. A year later they withdrew their troops and a UN Emergency Force was placed in the Gaza Strip.

1967 War - Israel recaptured the Gaza Strip on June 5th. In November of the same year, UN Security Council called for the ‘withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict’.

1970 - The first settlement, Kfar Darom, was built in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli settlement movement continued to expand as did confrontations between settlers and Palestinians.

1987 - The first Palestinian Intifada and Hamas, an Islamic Resistance Movement, begin in Gaza. The Intifada comes to an end with the signing of the Oslo Accord and establishment of the PA in 1993.

2000 - The Camp David Summit renewed hopes for peace until Ariel Sharon’s visit to the al-Aqsa Mosque sparks the Second Intifada in September.

2005 –Ariel Sharon ‘disengages’ from the Gaza Strip in September – unilaterally and without consultation or coordination with the the Palestinian Authority. Though the settlers are gone, Israel maintains effective contol of the Strip.

2006 – Hamas wins the January Parliamentary Election by a landslide. Israel and the international community place sanctions on Palestine and withhold VAT. Tensions grow within Palestine between factions.

2007 -Violent clashes erupt between Fatah and Hamas in Gaza, resulting in Hamas securing control of the Strip. Egypt responds by sealing off the border.

2008 - On January 17th Israel sealed off the borders to Gaza following a rise in rocket attacks. They retain full control over the amount of medical supplies, food and fuel imported to the Gaza Strip by land or sea. In June 19th, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire. As this goes to print, they are fighting again (Nov).
The Constant Crisis in Gaza

The Gaza Strip has been facing a humanitarian crisis ever since April of 2006, when border closings and the lack of foreign aid caused a severe shortage of fuel, foods and medical care. Gazans suffer shortages of essen-tial commodities and the rise in market prices has made it difficult for families to have an adequate, healthy and balanced diet.

The Karni crossing, which serves as the main conduit for commercial goods into Gaza, has been closed since June 13th, 2007. This has devastated the Gazan economy. ”In June 2007, there were 748 truckloads of ex-ports leaving Gaza for Israel and other countries. A month later there were none”.

In Gaza over 80% of Palestinians are now depending on foreign aid compared to 63% of 2006. Unem-ployment in Gaza is close to 40% and is set to rise to 50%. The private sector – that generates 53% of all jobs in Gaza is crumbling.

The health sector remains unstable as the severe lack of fuel causes power cuts. According to the July 2007,UNRWA Gaza Situation Report, primary and secondary health care facilities are still functioning de-spite shortages of electricity and supplies such as X-ray film, laboratory kits, patient beds and examination tables. However there are ongoing shortages of chronic disease drugs and anaesthetics, and a considerable portion of equipment and machines are out of order, overloading the remaining capacity of hospitals.

WHO reports that at least 51 people have died from October 2007-July 2008 as a direct result of not being able to access medical care outside Gaza – among these were 11 children.

The fuel shortage and the lack of spare parts required to repair and upgrade Gaza’s wastewater treatment plants have forced the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility to continue dumping approximately 84,000 m3 of raw and partially treated sewage into the Mediterranean Sea each day.
Connecting Gaza and the West

One of the most complex aspects of the peace process has always concerned the necessity for a link between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A series of proposals and ideas have been floated. One suggesting a land corridor be-tween the two which would be ‘bought’ in landswaps with Israel coming from the West Bank; another a bridge; and still another suggests building a tunnel. The geographical complexities of the issue have kept negotiators and their advisors up at night.

What has kept the rest of us awake is the way in which the Gaza and the West Bank can be reunited politically and socially following the tragic schism of 2007. While the PA was at work preparing itself for negotiations on the geographic complexities, it quickly became clear that moving forward in the peace process with Israel hinged upon prior national reconciliation and the formation a national unity government.

Sporadically throughout 2008, attempts were made to bring the two major factions together, but it was not until the closing months of the year (as this goes to print) that there appeared to be any sort of breakthrough.

Reconciliation will not however make negotiations any easier. In fact, allow-ing Hamas any say in the process might cause Israel to reject them on the premise that the party are neither part of the PLO nor credible partners for peace.

Because of these conflicting realities, 2009 promises to be a very delicate year. The PLO and PA are now clinging to an emergency mandate that began in 2007. The legitimacy of the emergency government has been questioned throughout, but maintains its hold on power through the promise of being able to make tangible improvements in people’s lives by moving towards a negotiatied two-state settlement.

The inability to do so will increase support for Hamas. Furthermore, not co-opting Hamas into the process gives them immense power to disrupt prog-ress. Meanwhile the people of the West Bank and Gaza Strip drift further and further apart.

East Jerusalem: The Facts

East Jerusalem: The Facts

- A 2006 study estimated that 62% of Palestinians in East Jerusalem live in poverty, as compared with 23% of Jewish families in East Jerusalem.
- In 2005 the Arab and Jewish birthrates in Jerusalem were equivalent at 3.9 children per woman.
- In the first three years of occupation, Israel confiscated 18270 dunums (18,27 sq kms) of Palestinian land.
- By 1991 that number had reached 23378 dunums (23,4 sq kms).
- By 2007, the Wall resulted in the confiscation of land belonging to 19.2% of Palestinian families in Jerusalem.
- From 1967 until the end of 2006, Israel had revoked the residency rights of around 8,269 Palestinian Jerusalemites.
East Jerusalem

In the 1947 UN Partition Plan Jerusalem was declared a ‘corpus separatum’ to be placed under a special international regime administered by the UN. The UN Partition Plan was not accepted by Palestinians, nor the larger Arab world, resulting in the 1948 war in which Israel captured up to 85% of the city, primarily in the west, while the Jordanian army held onto 11% primarily in the east. The remaining 4% was considered ‘no man’s land’.

64,000-80,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes in West Jerusalem and 40 of the surrounding villages, which were destroyed by Israeli forces to preclude the return of their inhabitants. The property, homes and possessions of Palestinians who fled were considered ‘left’ by the previous inhabitants under Israel’s 1950 Absentee Property Law and transferred to the Israeli state.

The remaining 15% of Jerusalem, including the ‘Old City’, remained in the hands of Palestinians until it too was captured by Israel in the war of 1967. After having ‘unified’ the city, Israel began to implement a complex series of policies and regulations meant to control or expel the remaining Palestinian population, so as to build a strong Jewish majority in the city.

In 1980, the Israeli government officially annexed East Jerusalem by amending the “Basic Law” to extend Israeli jurisdiction to the occupied area of the city. This act unofficially, but quite effectively, severed the remainder of the city from Palestinians living in either the West Bank or Gaza Strip. Travel to and from East Jerusalem today requires special permits from the Israeli authority which are often difficult or impossible to get for the majority of Palestinians.

The annexation of Jerusalem by Israel has had two important consequences for Palestinians revolving around culture and economics. Culturally and historically Jerusalem was the original capital of Islam, where the Prophet Mohammed not only began his ministry, but from where he also ascended to heaven. After the center of Islam moved to the Arabian Peninsula, Jerusalem, or ‘Al Quds’ as it is known in Arabic, remained its third most holy site.

Economically, the severing of Jerusalem from Palestine can be likened to the removal of the hub of a bicycle wheel. The cities of Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah and Nablus to name only a few, developed as suburbs over time like the spokes of a wheel - all connected to and dependant upon Jerusalem as the center of trade and commerce. The removal of the hub has left each of the spokes disconnected and economically impotent - greatly hampering the economic development of the occupied Palestinian territories.



East Jerusalem Ring Road map

Despite international law, and the implications that Jerusalem has for the viability of a future Palestinian state, Israel has thus far refused to put the city on the negotiating table. Many believe that this is not politically feasible in an Israeli politic in which small, extreme or religious parties are given great power in the coalition building process - powers which are effectively able to veto any negotiations or even collapse a coalition-building process as was done in October 2008.

Meanwhile it is highly unlikely that any Palestinian leader would be able to sign an accord which does not include East Jerusalem in a Palestinian state as it would exacerbate the economic challenges of state-building and deliver a heavy blow to the pride of not only Palestinians, but the entirety of the Muslim and Christian world.
Land Confiscation

In the 1949 Armistice Agreement Jerusalem was divided between Israel in the West and the Jordanian East Jerusalem. In 1950 the ‘Absentee Proberty Law’ was passed transferring all property considered ‘abandoned’ during the war, to the Israeli state. In the late 1980’s a number of properties in Silwan and the Muslim Quarter in the Old City were turned over to the Custodian for Absentee Property, and then to a settler organization.

In June 1967, Israel unilaterally expanded the boundaries of Jerusalem by annexing some 70 sq kms to the municipal boundaries of the West Bank area and evicting “over 6,000 Palestinians from the Old City’s Mughrabi Quarter (…) in order to create a plaza in front of Al-Buraq (the Western Wall)”.

Following the Six-Day War and the annexing of Palestine, Jerusalem was declared capital of Israel. This prompted the UN GA to pass a resolution (2253), which ordered Israel “to desist forthwith from taking any action which would alter the status of Jerusalem”. However Israel, in the first three years of occupation, confiscated 18270 dunums (18,27 sq kms) of Palestinian land - by 1991 that number had reached 23378 dunums (23,4 sq kms).

The construction of the separation Wall is also important in terms of land confiscation. By 2007, the Wall resulted in the confiscation of land belonging to 19.2% of Palestinian families in Jerusalem. Over the course of the occupation, Israel has expropriated over 60,000 dunums (60 sq kms) of Palestinian land in occupied East Jerusalem, all of which have been converted exclusively to Jewish use. This amounts to roughly 86,5% of the total land area of occupied East Jerusalem.
House Demolition

According to the Fourth Geneva Convention as signed by Israel, an Occupying Power is prohibited from destroying property or making use of collective punishment. Article 53 states that; “Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, to the State, to other public authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations”. East Jerusalem is regarded ‘occupied territory’ by the United Nations, therefore, the practice of demolishing Palestinian houses is not legal.

Israeli law, however, differs. Construction, built without an Israeli permit is considered illegal. In large parts of East Jerusalem no building permits are obtainable due to the inability to meet the conditions required. The Municipality notes that NIS 185 million is required to “promote conditions for construction in the eastern city,” and to provide infrastructure that will enable building permits to be issued. The Municipality was given NIS 9 million, but so far, no project has been launched.

Many Palestinian Jersusalemites choose to construct buildings without permits, which provides the Ministry of Interior and the Jerusalem Municipality the judicial pretext to demolish their homes.

It is to be noted that illegal constructions are being built in West Jerusalem, but demolition of these are seldom carried out and “if they are actually carried out, are committed against minor structures – balconies, sheds, staircases and so on – while in East Jerusalem most demolitions are of entire dwellings and multi-storey apartment buildings.”
Residency & ID

From 1967 until the end of 2006, Israel had revoked the residency rights of around 8,269 Palestinian Jerusalemites. Losing residency means losing the right to live in Jerusalem, access to social services and the right to travel within and out of Israel.

Jerusalem IDs were issued to Palestinian Jerusalemites in 1967 when they refused to accept Israeli citizenship following the occupation of East Jerusalem. This would have required them to take an oath of allegiance to the Israeli state and would have meant the de facto acceptance of the occupation.

Jerusalem IDs entitle Palestinian Jerusalemites to all the social and economic rights granted to Israeli citizens. They are allowed to work, travel and reside anywhere in Israel. However, Palestinian ‘permanent residents’ of Jerusalem are not entitled to an Israeli passport and they are not allowed to participate in Israeli national elections. They do have the right to participate in Jerusalem municipal elections, but most residents choose not to, as a principled protest over the Israeli controlled East Jerusalem.
Jerusalem under International Law

Israel unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem in June 1967 and extended Israeli law, jurisdiction, and administration to this part of the city. In 1980, the Knesset passed the Basic Law, which declared Jerusalem the Capital of Israel, including East Jerusalem. In response to Israel’s expansion of the Jerusalem borders, UNSCR 252 of 1968 states that the Security Council “Considers that all legisla-tive measures by Israel, including expropriation of land and properties thereon, which tend to change the legal status of Jerusalem are invalid and cannot change that status”.

In response to Israel’s annexing of occupied East Jerusalem, UNSCR 476 of 1980 states that the Security Council “Reconfirms that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, which purport to alter the character and status of Jerusalem have no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and also constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East”.

Furthermore, West Jerusalem, which was declared Israel’s capital in 1949 in contravention of United Nations General Assembly Resolutions 181, which stated that; “The City of Jerusalem shall be estab-lished as a corpus separatum under a special inter-national regime and shall be administered by the United Nations". See Map on inside rear cover in the PDF.

This point was further restated in UN General As-sembly Resolutions 303 of 1949. Despite these resolutions, the Judaization of Jerusalem and the oppression of the remaining Palestinians continues right into the present.
Jerusalem in the Annapolis Process

The issue of East Jerusalem was too controversial to be addressed in the Oslo Accords (1993) and left to be decided at a later stage. Since then we have seen the outbreak of the Second Intifada (2000-2007) and the continued expansion of settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, as well as the construction of the separation Wall, which encloses and divides Palestinian communities while incorporating illegal Israeli settlements on its western side.

In this current round of talks the issue of Jerusalem has remained controversial to say the least. Though we will perhaps never know what is discussed behind closed doors, the negotiators of both sides have publically admitted that the final status of the Holy City has not yet been discussed in the year since the launch of the Annapolis Peace Process. Even the rumor of Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni carrying on discussions concerning the partition of Jerusalem is said to have been part of the reason Kadima was unable to form a coalition in October of 2008, which in turn has frozen the peace process pending new Israeli elections.

The Wall

Israel’s Wall: The Facts

- Currently, approximately 409 km (or 57%) of the planned route has been constructed. 66km (or 9%) is under construction; and construction has not yet begun on 248km (or 34%) of the planned route.

- The Wall’s total length is 723km, which is twice the length of the 1949 Armistice Line (Green Line) between the West Bank and Israel.

- When completed, approximately 14% of the Wall will constructed on the Green Line or in Israel, while 86% will be inside the West Bank.
- Approximately 385,000 settlers in 80 settlements are located between the Wall and the Green Line.

- Approximately 35,000 West Bank Palestinians will be located between the Wall and the Green Line (an area known as ‘no man’s land’). They require permits to live in their homes and can only leave their communities via a gate in the Wall. This is in addition to the majority of the 250,000 East Jerusalem residents.

- Approximately 125,000 Palestinians in 28 communities will be surrounded on three sides by the Wall.

- Approximately 26,000 Palestinians in 8 communities will be surrounded on four sides by the Wall, with a tunnel or road connection to the rest of the West Bank.

- The cost of the Wall to the Israeli government: approximately $3.7 million per kilometer, and approx $4 billion when completed. Building the Wall along the Green Line would have saved Israel 5.7 billion NIS i.e. approx $1.7 billion (calculated with 3.4 exchange rate).
Israel’s Wall

The construction of Israel’s Separation Wall began on the 16th of June, 2002 and consists of a series of 25-foot-high concrete slabs, trenches, barbed wire “buffer zones”, electrified fencing, numerous watch towers, thermal imaging video cameras, sniper towers and roads for patrol vehicles.

Israel originally claimed that the Wall was being built to protect Israel proper from attacks emanating from either the West Bank or the Gaza Strip, and that it was not meant to be a unilateral declaration of their borders. It quickly became apparent that neither of these claims were wholly true.

Israel’s own security apparatus, as well as a number of independent military analysts have consistently concluded that the Wall does little or nothing to protect Israelis from Palestinians, and that in fact, any reduction in violence coinciding with the construction of the Wall is due to political conciliation rather than the Wall itself.

Rather than serving any real security needs, it is now clear that the Wall constitutes a further effort by Israel to annex Palestinian land and resources, and enclose the major settlement blocks. Only 16% of the Wall has been constructed on the 1967 ‘Green Line’, while the rest snakes in and around major settlements. Despite rulings by both International Court of Justice and Israel’s own Supreme Court, the trajectory of the Wall has not changed. Instead, much like the settlements that it captures, the Wall constitutes a ‘fact on the ground’, or de-facto border, from which Israeli negotiators will begin to bargain.

Many experts and observers have focused on what the Wall ‘is not’ or ‘does not do’ - namely provide security for Israelis living within and beyond the 1967 Green Line - while few look at what it truly ‘is’ and what it ‘does do’ to Palestinians and the prospects of a future state. The Wall in the West Bank, captures not only land and resources, it sometimes envelopes entire Palestinian cities. When combined with the buffer zones and service roads, the Wall destroys the contiguity of the West Bank and further slices any future state into a collection of isolated cantons.

The Wall and settlements map (Feb 07)


The Wall and a Viable Palestinian State

The Wall will isolate 10,2% of West Bank territory: the area located between the Green Line and the completed barrier, including East Jerusalem and ‘No Man’s Land’. In addition to this, another 28,1% of the West Bank is inaccessible to Palestinians (due to settlements, declared Israeli military areas or restricted road networks) bringing the total land area restricted from Palestinian access to 38,3%. The enclosed areas include some of the most valuable agricultural land and access to some of the richest water resources in the West Bank, which has had a severe impact on Palestinian farmers.

The Ministry of Defense Information website promises that: ’Israel will establish gates to allow free passage across the Area.’ and that ’Special arrangements have been made for Palestinian farmers separated from their lands. Gates along the Security fence will enable Palestinian farmers and their workers to cross from one side to another’.

Despite these promises, of those Palestinians who are now separated by the Wall from their farming lands and wells, less than 20% have now been granted ‘visitor’ permits to access their own lands. Even if permission is granted, it is often not given to the most appropriate person, leaving older family members to do the work, whilst the younger generation has to remain at home. The access to agricultural lands is through 64 designated gates which are currently open on a daily, weekly and/or seasonal basis. The irregular placement of the gates and the restrictive opening times gravely limits the time available for farming.

The Wall does not only severely restrict the farmers’ ability to tend to and harvest their crops, it also impairs them from selling their produce. The olive industry, which provides around 18% of the annual agricultural production income in the West Bank, has not only been harmed by the cutting down of tens of thousands of trees, but also by the lack of ability for the farmers to harvest and sell their produce. The overall damage caused by the destruction of land and property for the Wall’s construction will take many years to recover further hindering Palestinian development.

In addition to the approximately 630 closure obstacles such as checkpoints, earth mounds, and road barriers, other layers of the complex movement restrictions include: a permit regime, restrictions on the use of main roads, random checkpoints, curfews, and age and gender restrictions. The Israeli authorities are also investing large amounts of money into transport-related infrastructure in the West bank – the so called “fabric of life” roads. These are newly constructed or upgraded alternative routes designed to reconnect Palestinian communities that have been severed by the Wall or other closure obstacles. Most of these “fabric of life” roads include tunnels and underpasses going beneath the Wall or restricted road. The cost of the completed and planned infrastructure is approximately 2 billion NIS.

In September of this year OCHA commented on the Wall that, ‘what was once justified by the Israeli authorities as a short-term military response (...) appears to be developing into a permanent system’.
The Wall under International Law

In its advisory opinion on 9 July 2004, the International Court of Justice stated that Israel is in breach of international law as the “construction of the wall and its associated regime cre-ate a “fait accompli” on the ground that could well become permanent” that there is a “risk of situation tantamount to de facto annexation”. Furthermore, “the construction of the wall severely impedes the exercise by the Palestinian people of its right to self-determination and is therefore a breach of Israel’s obligation to respect that right.” The Court also ruled that “the infringements resulting from that route (of the wall) cannot be justified by military exigencies or by the require-ments of security or public order".

Israel was further obliged “to cease forthwith the works of construction of the wall, to dismantle it” and to “make reparation for the damage caused” to all those affected by the construction of the Wall, and “to return the land, orchards, olive groves and other immovable property seized”.

More for Rachel Corrie...16/03/2009 - don't forget for that day...

More for Rachel Corrie...16/03/2009 - don't forget for that day...


http://www.rachelcorriefoundation.org/

Message from Noam Chomsky

March 04, 2009

Dear Milena,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm writing you today because hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza are suffering terribly following the recent Israeli attacks-paid for by your tax dollars and mine.

Even before this horrifying assault, there were tremendous shortages of food, medicine, electricity and fuel because of the Israeli blockade that has been going on for nearly two years.

We must do everything we can to stop the immoral acts of the Israeli government and our own government's political and financial support.

But right now, the children desperately need our immediate help. I'm asking you to make a contribution to the Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA) to help meet the most basic needs of children in Gaza.

I am a founding advisor and supporter of MECA. For the last 21 years, MECA has been sending food and medical aid to children in Iraq, Palestine, and Lebanon-more than $12 million in aid to date. And MECA supports community projects to improve children's lives in the West Bank and Gaza.

MECA's Director Barbara Lubin just returned from three weeks in Egypt working to get aid into Gaza, and then four days in Gaza. She said, "I have been to Palestine many times over the last two decades, but never have I seen anything like what I saw this time. I will never forget the sadness, the smell of death, the destroyed homes, schools, mosques and cemeteries"

In the aftermath of the bombardment MECA delivered four tons of medicine for infants and children, an ambulance that's outfitted as a mobile intensive care unit, several tons of powdered milk and baby cereal, 29 state-of-the-art wheelchairs, and a truckload of crayons, coloring books and paper to the children of Gaza and their families.

I am asking you, please, give whatever you can possible afford
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102488755832&e=001Gi-8GqO3XpTIwqLDuT5hJYNG0PLbcwGcBYsn3S0lA8rqeX46JLzdJ8xEi9jWzx1C0rQw53FT5kLy4QaZlSXIwJIQ1D8HpykLuVzaE0jU6UAh_GEVhDs9mm8dvBZbJty3vNaSFEqpcA4HoJ-U0lzguLzGKQaqsGzw)

to help save the lives and ease the pain of thousands and thousands of children who are traumatized, injured, orphaned, and homeless.

Your contribution now will help:

* Send more medical aid in the months ahead

* Launch a major mental health intervention program for children in Gaza

* Build water purification and desalinization systems in Gaza schools

Gaza is no longer on the front page, but I know you understand that the catastrophe is far from over for the children and families who are trying to survive and rebuild their lives under the most desperate circumstances.

Thank you so much for your support,

Noam Chomsky
Cambridge, Massachusetts

DONATE NOW
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Middle East Children's Alliance

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~email: meca@mecaforpeace.orgweb: http://www.mecaforpeace.org


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Help Keep Rachel Corrie's Memory Alive

Message from If Americans Knew:

Dear Friends,

The anniversary of Rachel Corrie's murder – March 16th – is fast approaching. Please help keep her memory and work alive by distributing flyers and putting up posters in your area.

We have flyers and posters commemorating Rachel available at cost now:

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We plan on handing flyers out by the hundreds and hope that you will join us.

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Israeli warplanes bomb Egypt-Gaza border

Israeli warplanes bomb Egypt-Gaza border
04/03/2009

Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli warplanes on Wednesday morning bombed the tunnel area at the Gaza-Egypt border in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Director of Ambulance and Emergency Services in the Palestinian Health Ministry Muawiya Hassanein told Ma’an that there were no casualties amongst Palestinians there.

Meanwhile, Palestinian medical sources at Abu Yousif An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah said 12 Palestinians were injured in Tuesday’s shelling of the same tunnel area.

Israel's security cabinet is scheduled to convene Wednesday at the Israeli prime minister’s office to discuss the continuation of fired projectiles from the Gaza Strip toward towns in southern Israel.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and other military commanders are expected to attend the meeting.

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36205

'13-year-old Hammad’s death barely made the news'

'13-year-old Hammad’s death barely made the news'
04/03/2009

Bethlehem - Ma'an - In a new series of personal testimonies, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights looks at the aftermath of Israel’s 22-day offensive on the Gaza Strip, and the ongoing impact it is having on the civilian population.

On the 14 of February 2009, almost a month after Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza, 13-year-old Hammad Silmiya was grazing his sheep and goats in northeast Gaza, about 500 metres from the border with Israel.

An Israeli military jeep patrolling the border opened fire on him and his teenage friends. Hammad was shot in the head and he died almost instantly.

Hammad’s death barely made the news – just another casualty in the Gaza Strip, where civilian injuries and deaths continue to mount daily. His family had already endured the killing of Hammad’s grandmother, his two cousins, aged four and 18 months, and the destruction of their homes and livestock during Israel’s offensive.

“It was Saturday morning and Hammad woke up at six,” says Hammad’s aunt Jomai’a, 40. “He left with his brother and a couple of young friends to graze the animals. At around ten in the morning Hammad was preparing some breakfast in the field like he always did. An Israeli military vehicle fired at them and shot him in the head.”

Jomai’a pulls out a plastic bag from the folds of her black shawl and unties the knot. Inside a small envelope is the only remaining photograph they have of Hammad, taken when he was seven years old. More recent photographs of him were lost in the rubble of their home.

“Hammad was like a beloved son to me because I have no children of my own and he always slept beside me,” says Jomai’a. “Whenever he needed anything, he would ask me. They used to say Hammad didn’t have just one mother, he had two – his real mother, and I. Hammad owned a part of my heart and it went with him when he died.”

Hammad had left school just a few months ago to work fulltime as a shepherd and help his family. “I tried to force him to go back to school but all he cared about was working with the goats and riding his donkey,” says Jomai’a.

“He was so good with animals. Whenever he came home from school, he’d throw his bag in the house and run to be with the animals. The night before Hammad was killed I dreamt about a wedding ceremony, which in our culture is a bad omen. When they told me Hammad was injured I knew that he had been killed because I had seen him as a bridegroom in my dream.”

Hammad’s mother Salma sits beside Jomai’a in the makeshift shelter the family has set up beside the remains of their homes in Hay-as-Salama, northeastern Gaza. All around them are scenes of utter devastation.

This Bedouin family came to Gaza as refugees from Beersheva in 1948 and settled in the Hay-as-Salama area. Prior to the latest Israeli offensive they had concrete homes and livestock farms beside the buffer zone, which was the first area to be hit during Israel’s ground offensive in January 2009.

“Tanks began firing at the area at two in the morning on 5 January,” recalls Jomai’a. “The first bomb hit our house and I ran to my mother’s room because she is 80 years old and bedridden. Then a second shell hit the house and we had to run, leaving her behind. We were like scared goats whose stable door had been opened. We fled to Jabaliya and then to Zeitoun where we sheltered in schools.

"Every day I begged ambulances and medics to help me go and evacuate my mother. I even said I would walk in front of the ambulance, carrying a white flag, but it was too dangerous and they refused,” she says.

When the Silmiya family returned to the area on 18 January, they found their row of houses had been flattened by F-16 airstrikes and it took them three days to uncover Hammad’s grandmother from the rubble. Hammad was buried next to his grandmother just a few weeks later.

Due to this area’s proximity to the border, few donors have come to assess the damage or provide assistance. The nearest refugee tent camp is unsuitable for the Silmiyas because they need to be near their animals and Bedouin families prefer to live alone.

“The war is not over,” says Hammad’s mother Salma. “There is no quiet time in Gaza and we often see F-16s in the sky. But Hammad was never afraid. He was strong and full of energy. His younger brother says he wishes the Israelis had killed him instead because everybody loved Hammad. He also refuses to take any food or tea with him now when he goes shepherding because Hammad was making breakfast when they shot him.”

In the days before his death Hammad had been upset about his donkey that was killed during the Israeli ground invasion along with sixty goats and three cows belonging to his father Barrak Salem Salaam Silmiya, whose three surnames are all derivatives of the word "peace" in Arabic.

“We want peace, but where is it? Where are human rights in Gaza?” asks 47-year-old Barrak as he shows us the animal remains still floating in the mud around the ruins of his house.

“Hammad was 13 years old. In anyone’s eyes he looked like a child, but they still shot him. He was very bright and he was great with animals. He even used to sell our milk and cheese in the market. What more can I tell the world about my son? How can I speak about him? Big countries can’t even stop Israel so what can I do? I feel like I’m nothing. This area was just houses and a street. Were these goats fighters? There’s nothing left…”

As Barrak turns to walk away, Hammad’s mother Salma rises to her feet: “These fifteen days since Hammad died have felt like five a hundred. Hammad was dark, and he was beautiful. Food has no taste anymore.”

“Everybody who saw Hammad that morning before he was killed said his face had looked particularly beautiful,” adds his aunt Jomai’a. “This is not a war against a strong government or country. Israel kills us like we are animals and dogs and nobody stands with us.”

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36215

Clinton: Israel’s East Jerusalem home demolitions "unhelpful"

Clinton: Israel’s East Jerusalem home demolitions "unhelpful"
04/03/2009

Ramallah – Ma’an – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday said Israel’s plan to demolish dozens of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem is “unhelpful.”

"Clearly this kind of activity is unhelpful and not in keeping with the obligations entered into under the Road Map," Clinton said at a Ramallah news conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Israel’s Jerusalem Municipality is moving to demolish over 100 houses and remove the 140 families who live in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem. The decision is expected to lead to the forced displacement of more than 1,000 Palestinians from their family residences.

"It is an issue that we intend to raise with the government of Israel and the government at the municipal level in Jerusalem," she added, shortly after meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The US secretary of state said she would bring up the issue with the new Israeli government, likely to be headed by Likud Party chair Benyamin Netanyahu.

Clinton met earlier with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad at the headquarters of the Council of Ministers in Ramallah, but no remarks were immediately available from that meeting.

Clinton arrived in Israel on Monday, where she met with the Israeli president, prime minister-designate and foreign minister, and insisted that America's policy remains a two-state solution to the Palestinian struggle for self-determination.

The US secretary of state said America’s assessment is “that eventually, the inevitability of working towards a two-state solution is inescapable."

The remarks came following meetings alongside both Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

On Wednesday Clinton reiterated that the United States would be “vigorously engaged” in the peace process, and that she would be “personally engaged.”

“I hold this mission in my heart, not just in my portfolio,” she said.

Netanyahu has historically rejected the creation of a Palestinian state, which would involve Israel withdrawing from Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, but of late has offered limited expressions that Palestinians ought to rule themselves. The charter of Netanyahu’s Likud party calls for Israel to maintain control over all the land occupied in 1967.

The issue of an increasingly right wing government in Israel also came up during the Ramallah news conference. Abbas said that “we respect the choice of the Israeli people” but that the Israeli government must commit to the two-state solution and to the Road Map.

Clinton said that the US would wait for Netanyahu to finish forming a ruling coalition before sending Special Envoy George Mitchell back to the region for another round of peace talks.

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36217

Israel to demolish 55 homes in Jerusalem-area refugee camp

Israel to demolish 55 homes in Jerusalem-area refugee camp

Jerusalem – Ma’an – Israeli authorities plan to demolish 55 homes in a refugee camp near Jerusalem, according to a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).

The Fatah-affiliated PLC member, Jihad Abu Zneid, told Ma’an on Tuesday that Israel informed 55 Palestinian families at the Jerusalem-area Shu’fat Refugee Camp that their homes were slated for demolition, citing that their homes were built without permits.

Abu Zneid issued the statement from her office in Jerusalem, warning of what she called an Israeli policy of “genocide” against Palestinians in and around the city, aimed at displacing the indigenous residents of Jerusalem.

“The Israeli occupation is going ahead with its barbarian policy against the Palestinian people, especially these arbitrary decisions that assert that they want the Palestinian people displaced from their homes and their city,” the statement claimed.

Abu Zneid went on to say that the Israeli occupation would fail in light of Palestinian “steadfastness” and protests against the activities there.

She called on all the Palestinian people to show solidarity with the people of Shu’fat camp on Thursday and to announce a “state of anger” in order to thwart Israeli plans against Jerusalem.


http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=District&ID=1

Arab League secretary-general: Arab fund to rebuild Gaza

Arab League secretary-general: Arab fund to rebuild Gaza
04/03/2009

Bethlehem – Ma’an – Donations collected from Arab countries to rebuild the Gaza Strip will be deposited in Arab funds, said Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League, on Tuesday.

Moussa’s comments came in a joint news conference with Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Ahmad Karti following the end of the 131st session of a conference of Arab League foreign ministers.

“In the Sharm Al-Sheikh conference we discussed how to coordinate between European, American, and international mechanisms for implementing reconstruction projects,” Moussa said.

He asserted that it would be much better to have a Palestinian government which encompasses all sides. However, he added, everything is dependent on opening Gaza’s border crossings and lifting the crippling siege, something he said could only come through Palestinian unity.

Mousa highlighted that the atmosphere in the Arab world has become less tense as countries have begun to cooperate with one another.

Commenting on the question of a possible conciliation between Arab countries after the tripartite meeting between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Syria, Moussa said, “All our endeavors now are focused on ensuring that the Qatar Arab League Summit will succeed.”

With regard to the situation in Sudan, Mousa said Arab countries’ foreign ministers would hold a meeting on Wednesday to discuss how to respond to the International Penal Court Decision against Sudanese President Omar Hasan Al-Bashir.


http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36203

Toys For Gazan Children Denied Entry Into Gaza

Toys For Gazan Children Denied Entry Into Gaza

Israel allows water filtration system into Gaza; refuses children's toys from UNICEF
Ma'an News

A UN report revealed that Israel, though refusing to allow construction materials into Gaza, allowed a Brackish Water Desalination Plant, nine trucks of prefab materials for school assembly between 22 and 28 February.

During the same time period 57 boxes of children’s toys from UNICEF were denied entry. "According to COGAT (coordinator of government activities in the territories)," the UN report released Tuesday said, "The toys were not a humanitarian priority."

Israeli authorities have resolutely refused to allow concrete, steel bars and construction equipment into the West Bank for fear that it would fall into the hands of Hamas. A Brackish Water Desalination Plant includes filtration systems, pumps, pressure valves, chemical treatment materials, electronic switchboards and remote control systems. The plant will provide 50 m3 of drinking water per hour which will benefit approximately 22,000 refugees in the Al-Bureij camp in the central strip.

While there is no question that such systems are a humanitarian necessity, according to reports by leading NGOs in the area, they have also stressed the importance of school supplies and the danger of major psychosomatic trauma among the children of Gaza.

Israel allowed a prefab school building into Gaza, but not 50 Early Childhood Education kits from UNICEF.

So as the refusals continue bare-minimum materials are allowed piecemeal into Gaza despite international partners who have "pressed for this incessantly" as Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Commissioner for External Relations for the European Union said Tuesday.

www. maannews. net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDetails&Do=&ID=36193

Young Gaza couple begin married life in a tent

Young Gaza couple begin married life in a tent
Rami Almeghari writing from the occupied Gaza Strip, Live from Palestine, 2 March 2009


Tents setup in the al-Rayyan refugee camp for Palestinians whose homes were destroyed by the Israeli attacks on Gaza. (Rami Almeghari)

Last Thursday, relatives, friends and local community representatives attended an unusual wedding party in Gaza. The celebration was held in a newly-erected refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabaliya.

"My wife and I planned to marry at my house, where we furnished an apartment, just shortly before Israel's war on Gaza. Yet, as you see, we were forced to stay at this tent in the al-Rayyan refugee camp," said newly-married Ahmad al-Hersh of Jabaliya refugee camp.

"We had no other option; after the war, there have been so many difficulties to find a house to rent, as the demand is higher than before. My wife Eman initially objected but later on she agreed as we don't have any other choice. And thanks to those who helped furnish this marriage set," recalled Ahmad while sitting at his tent's bedroom.

Ahmad used to live in a three-story house in the al-Khulafa neighborhood inside the town of Jabaliya, before it was bombed by Israeli warplanes during the 22-day siege of Gaza. The tent where the newly married Palestinian couple will live has a bed, table, cupboard and a small bathroom.


The wedding tent where Ahmad and Eman were married. (Rami Almeghari)
Ahmad explained that "I am not totally pleased but what can I say. But I look forward to the reconstruction of Gaza soon, so I and many others like myself get relief. I am a victim of the Israeli war."

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Palestine Red Crescent Society, Israeli shelling and missiles during the 22-day-long siege destroyed more than 2,800 homes completely and damaged an additional 1,900, leaving tens of thousands homeless. To accommodate the large number of internally displaced Palestinians, a number of small refugee camps have been erected in different parts of the Gaza Strip, mainly in northern Gaza, through assistance by international organizations such as the UN agency for Palestine refuees, UNRWA. Ahmad's special tent was funded by a local charity in Jabaliya, via a Kuwaiti grant.

The reconstruction of Gaza has yet to begin, as donor countries are set to attend an international conference in Egypt next week. The reconstruction is estimated to require at least $2 billion dollars. Among the main obstacles to the reconstruction is the current Israeli blockade of the coastal enclave, which has been in place for more than 20 months. It has caused the lack of basic construction materials in Gaza, helping to impede housing in the tiny territory.

Ahmad's 18-year-old wife Eman Abdelal's house was partially damaged during the Israeli invasion. Ahmad described his wife's reaction toward having her wedding in a tent: "'Your house was destroyed, my house was damaged, where can we go? We cannot afford an inflated price for rent.'" He added, "Thank God for this tent. For how long will we remain refugees in tents? I look forward to the moment when my wife and I can live in a better home."

UNRWA spokesperson Sami Mshasha, speaking by phone from Jerusalem said that many international bodies have pledged funds to rebuild Gaza. He added that the big challenge for these international bodies is whether they will start rebuilding Gaza amidst a crippling Israeli closure of the Strip.

Mshasha explained, "The internal Palestinian dialogue is going on and after the destruction of the war and the good will of the international community on the eve of the Sharm al-Sheikh donors meeting, will the Israeli authorities comply with all this and allow the entry of building materials and other basic commodities and goods?"

Recently, representatives of some European countries, including Javier Solana, the EU policy and foreign relations chief, have visited Gaza for the first time since the Islamist Hamas party came to power after the 2006 parliamentary elections. During his visit, Solana stated his hope that Hamas and Fatah would agree on a national unity government that would assume the reconstruction of the coastal Strip.

The EU, US and Israel have boycotted Hamas, demanding the party recognize Israel and accept agreements with Israel signed by the Palestine Liberation Organization. In June 2007, Israel imposed a siege on Gaza after Hamas wrested control over the territory amidst factional fighting with the Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas's term legally expired on 9 January, and he remains in power under controversial emergency laws. Representatives of Fatah and Hamas are currently meeting in Cairo in an attempt to resolve their divisions and create a national unity government pending new elections.

In Jabaliya, Ahmad explained that "I am originally a refugee from Jaffa, my family was displaced in 1948. I wonder how long we will remain refugees. I appeal to all Arab and Islamic nations to help us get rid of the Israeli occupation."

Rami Almeghari is contributor to The Electronic Intifada, IMEMC.org and Free Speech Radio News and is a part-time lecturer on media and political translation at the Islamic University of Gaza. Rami is also a former senior English translator at and editor-in-chief of the international press center of the Gaza-based Palestinian Information Service. He can be contacted at rami_almeghari A T hotmail D O T com.

Israel's crimes in Gaza

Israel's crimes in Gaza
Reem Salahi writing from the United States, Live from Palestine, 3 March 2009


Muhammad Shurrab holds pictures of his son Kassab (left) and Ibrahim, killed during Israel's siege of Gaza. (Reem Salahi)

Having returned from Gaza, I am trying to come to terms with what I saw, what I heard and honestly, what I don't think I will ever understand -- the justification. While Israel's recent offensive has been the most egregious of any historical attack upon the Palestinians in Gaza, it is just that, one of many. Gaza has been under Israeli bombardment and sanctions for decades. Prior to the Israeli pullout in 2005, Gaza was under complete Israeli control and occupation. Nearly 8,000 Israeli settlers occupied 40 percent of Gaza while the 1.5 million Palestinians occupied the remaining 60 percent. Settlements were located on the most fertile lands and along Gaza's beautiful coastal regions and checkpoints prevented Palestinian mobility. Despite being one-fifth the size of Rhode Island, 25 miles long and 4 to 7.5 miles wide, Gaza was divided into three sections and Palestinians had to pass through multiple checkpoints to get from one section to the next. Often Israeli forces would close these checkpoints and not allow the Palestinians access to the other regions in Gaza as a form of collective punishment.

Yet with Israel's pullout in 2005, the Palestinian experience has not improved. Rather, it has become even more unpredictable and isolated. Palestinians who celebrated the exodus of the Israeli settlers and the return of some of their land could not have imagined what would follow and how Israel would subsequently unleash its brutal force against them. As the saying goes, nothing in life is free and the Palestinians have paid, and continue to pay, a dear and unforgivable price for Israel's withdrawal from their legally rightful land. Ironically, the majority of Palestinians living in Gaza are refugees who fled from their homes that were previously located in what has become Israel proper due to the influx of Zionist settlers. These refugees have yet to be restored their right to their original land and property. Now these Palestinians are even being denied their right to be refugees as Israel continues to bombard their homes in Gaza and destroy any livelihood they may have had.

Having been to both the West Bank and Gaza, I cannot begin to describe how different the two regions are despite their proximity. Unlike the West Bank, once inside Gaza, there is no fear of bumping into an Israeli soldier or waiting for hours at a checkpoint or having an Israeli soldier point an M-16 at your head while you show your identification card. Yet once inside Gaza, one is in constant fear and apprehension of what missile may fall from the skies or from the sea. The sound of Apache helicopters and drones are a constant reminder that Gaza remains at the mercy of the Israeli military.

After sunset, Gaza becomes a ghost town as Palestinians lock their doors and often sit without electricity, fearing to roam the streets. If a Palestinian is to be killed by an Israeli missile, he would rather be killed together with his family and not alone on the streets. Yet, as seen by the recent offensive, when Israel wishes to attack, it is not prevented from doing so by the time of day or by the location.

From the first moments of Israel's military campaign on 27 December, Israel's indifference to civilian casualties was clear. Its first attacks started at around 11:30am, at a time when children leave the morning session of school and the afternoon students arrive. The streets were packed with civilians -- children no less. Within moments, hundreds of Palestinians were killed and even more Palestinians were injured (at least 280 Palestinians were killed on the first day, and 700 wounded, including more than a dozen policemen attending a graduation ceremony at the Gaza City police station). A little girl in Jabaliya told me that she was in school when the attacks started. She fainted from the overwhelming fear and was not able to go home and see her family for days. When she did go home, she remembers seeing dead and injured bodies stranded all over street and hearing the thundering sound of missiles falling.

In its offensive, Israel attacked the warehouses of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), schools, mosques, civilian neighborhoods, businesses, factories, hospitals, universities and the media center. Its attacks took place during the day, night, during temporary ceasefires, and often without any notice or warning. I would ask the Palestinians I met who had lost loved ones in the recent incursion whether they were warned about an oncoming attack by some flyer or radio announcement. The majority would laugh at my question. "Why would I stay in my home if I knew that it was going to be attacked? Do you think I want to die? Do you think I would want to put my family and children in danger?" Most of the Palestinians had no notice that they were going to be attacked and bombarded until it was too late, and at that point, all they could do was stay in their homes, far from any window or door, and pray that their house would not be next.

Those, like Majid Fathi Abd al-Aziz al-Najjar, who were warned, tended to flee to "safer" areas. Majid and his wife and children resided in a border town in Khan Younis. Shortly after the start of its incursion, the Israeli military dropped flyers on his town, a copy of which he showed me. It said in Arabic that militants had entered the area and as a result the Israeli army was forced to react and attack this area. Yet these flyers were only dropped in the center of town and Majid did not even realize that they were dropped until after the attacks on his way to see the rubble that used to be his home. Realizing that Israeli tanks were planning on entering Gaza and would destroy anything that would block their entry, Majid packed his family and fled to a relative's home far from the border, in an area deemed safe. Yet, at 10pm on 3 January 2009, a white phosphorus missile strayed off course and rammed right into the home that Majid and his family had taken refuge in, along with 15 to 20 other Palestinians. The missile came through the roof and killed Majid's wife, Hanan Abd al-Ghani al-Najjar, instantly. Six or seven others, including Hanan's elderly mother and Hanan and Majid's daughter, were severely injured by shrapnel and rushed to the hospital. Whereas Majid thought he had fled from certain death in his home on the border, death followed him to his place of refuge. Yet the sad reality is that no matter where Majid fled, no place in Gaza was safe. Hanan's death was not the unpredictable result of a misguided missile, but rather the predictable consequence of a one-sided war waged by one of the world's most powerful armies against a population that is trapped within a prison and weakened by decades of occupation and years of blockade.

While Israel has perfected its many excuses in justifying innocent Palestinian death and destruction ("there were militants present," or "we thought there were militants present," "we warned them but they did not to leave," "missiles were being fired from that (insert location here)," "we are investigating this attack," "it was an accident"). Israel has fallen short of providing actual evidence to substantiate killing people like Hanan Abd al-Ghani al-Najjar, Kassab Shurrab, Ibrahim Shurrab, Mahmoud Masharrawi, Amal Abed Rabu, Suaad Abed Rabu, Farah al-Helo, Halima Badwan and the majority of others killed. After attacking the UN-operated al-Fakhura school in Jabaliya on 6 January, where many families had taken refuge and killing at least 40 innocent women and children and injuring dozens more, Israel made a rare attempt to actually justify its attacks. Not only did Israel use one of its staple excuses ("militants were firing from inside the school"), but it actually showed a video of militants firing mortars from the school. However, the video was dated to summer 2006 -- during Israel's last major invasion into Gaza -- and until now, it has not provided another staple excuse of why, more than two years later, the al-Fakhura school was attacked and the hundreds of Palestinian civilians taking shelter there were killed and injured.


The bombed American school in Gaza. (Reem Salahi)

But let us play the devil's advocate and agree that the majority of Israel's attacks were completely reactionary and only consequent to Palestinian militant firing. Let us assume that Israel was justified in its attacks against al-Fakhura school, in its demolition of the American School, the best school in Gaza, in its destruction of the UNRWA warehouses which housed tons of humanitarian aid, in its shelling of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, in its obliteration of the Samouni home in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City where hundreds of family members had taken refuge after being directed to do so by the Israeli military, resulting in the killing of 48 to 70 members of the same family (I visited this area during the mass memorial for the Samouni family and it still reeked of rotting bodies and phosphorus), in its eradication of the Gaza City police station, in its shooting at UN cars, clearly marked with the large blue letters, and at ambulance drivers, in its destruction of the Islamic University of Gaza on 28 December, in its bombing of the Gaza media building, and the list goes on and on. Yet, let us momentarily assume that Israel was the victim in all of this madness, as it claims it was, and that in fact the Palestinians are the ones to blame.

How then, does Israel explain the executions, the shooting of Palestinians point blank in cold blood? How does it justify Israeli soldiers shooting Kassab Shurrab with seven bullets across the chest as he came out of his car with his hands to his side, especially as one of the Palestinian hostages sitting blindfolded by the soldiers heard the commander tell the soldier in Hebrew to shoot the civilians that were driving down the road. What about the two daughters of Khaled Abed Rabu, Amal, two years old, and Suaad, seven years old, murdered by an Israeli soldier using a semi-automatic rifle before their father's eyes as the other Israeli soldiers ate chips and chocolate?

Or Sameer Rashid Mohammad Mohammad, a 43-year-old UNRWA worker, who was separated from his family by Israeli soldiers and taken to a separate room and shot in the chest? For four days after killing Sameer, Israeli soldiers held his family hostage and would make the family prepare the murdered Sameer food. Only when the Israeli soldiers left their home, did Sameer's children see that their father was executed and by their father's dead and bleeding body were piles of food.

How about Farah al-Helo, 18 months old, shot in the stomach when her family was forced to evacuate from their home at 6:30pm by Israeli soldiers who assured them of their safety? Only 50 meters down the road they were shot at by other Israeli soldiers. Farah, with her intestines spilling from her stomach, died on the side of the road a few hours later as the same soldiers that had assured their safety watched.

Further, how can Israel explain its use of the Palestinians as human shields? Upon entering a village, Israeli soldiers would separate the men from the women. Sami Rashid Mohammad Mohammad, Sameer's brother, was taken as a hostage and forced to accompany the Israeli soldiers for four days. He was handcuffed and blindfolded and made to walk in front of the Israeli tanks and soldiers as bullets would whiz by. At other times, he was made to sit on his knees in an open field for hours while Israeli soldiers would shoot from behind him and often at his feet. These Palestinians were nothing more than entertainment for the soldiers, a child's play toy. When I asked Sami whether he saw any Palestinian militants during his time as a human shield, he laughed and said that he only saw Israeli soldiers with their blackened faces and camouflage outfits.

Additionally, how can Israel explain the humiliating tactics it used against the Palestinians such as forcing Palestinian ambulance drivers to abandon their ambulance cars and drive donkey carts to pick up the dead and wounded as if to equate Palestinians with donkeys? The soldiers would grant the ambulance drivers half an hour to clear the area using donkey carts and threatened to shoot after half an hour. And what about the racist remarks painted on the walls of Palestinian homes? One of my co-delegates took pictures of the Hebrew writings graffitied on the walls of some of the homes we visited in Zeitoun and had a friend translate them. Among the things written were: "Death to Arabs," "War now between Arabs and Jews," "An Arab brave is an Arab in a grave," "Bad to the Arab = good for me," "He who dreams Givati [Israeli infantry brigade] does not expel Jews. He who dreams Givati kills Arabs!!!"

The reality is that Israel cannot explain or justify any of these things, nor does it even care to do so. When Israel's staple excuses are not readily consumed or when they are examined under a critical lens, Israel applies another tactic: threat and demonization. Israel has created one of the strongest lobby organizations in the US, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which actively demonizes any opponent or criticizer of the State of Israel. Due to UNRWA director John Ging's open opposition to Israel's attacks in Gaza and his call for an investigation into the attacks on UN buildings, he has been demonized and AIPAC recently introduced to the House Foreign Affairs Committee House Resolution 29 attacking UNRWA and alleging that it supports terrorists. Even I have received a few threatening emails upon the issuance of the National Lawyers Guild's Press Report which documented some of our findings. One of the emails indicated that I, along with the other attorneys, will have our careers followed. As the email stated, "Israel is smart not stupid, and will continue to do what they must as will America to survive even over the bodies of their leaders if necessary."

Now that I have left Gaza, I wonder what it will take to depoliticize the situation in Gaza and for the Palestinians, and make it into a human rights and humanitarian issue. Before entering the Rafah border crossing, I spoke with someone from Amnesty International. He had waited at the crossing for three days and was still denied entry. I asked him what was the most difficult area he had visited. He told me that Palestine, and Gaza specifically, was the most politically difficult area to advocate on behalf of in his decades-long career as a human rights advocate.

Almost every Palestinian I met in Gaza believes that Israel's recent attack will only be followed by another bloodier and more deadly attack on Gaza that will exterminate the Palestinians once and for all. Considering the history of attacks on Gaza, the level of atrocities recently committed in Gaza and the lack of international redress, I do not think that these statements are mere paranoia. Israel must be held accountable for its crimes in Gaza lest it commit larger and more egregious crimes in the future. As one who has been trained in the legal profession, I demand that Israel engage the legal arena and provide the international community with real evidence, and not just staple excuses and dated videos, that can justify every single civilian murder and the widespread destruction of Palestinian civil society. Until Israel is able to do so, the evidence in Gaza leads anyone willing to visit to the inevitable conclusion that Israel has committed war crimes.

Reem Salahi is a lawyer and Bridge Fellow in the National Security and Immigrants' Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California. She recently traveled with six other attorneys and one law student to Gaza in the National Lawyers Guild delegation. This article is based on what she saw and experienced during her time in Gaza.

Sustaining global solidarity after Gaza

Sustaining global solidarity after Gaza
Jamal Juma',
The Electronic Intifada,
3 March 2009



This time, anger flared up by Israel's latest attack is being channeled into a sustained campaign. (Matthew Cassel)

The Israeli invasion of Gaza, which has now claimed more than 1,400 lives, generated serious popular backlash the world over. The overwhelmingly weak official positions and statements, especially in the Arab world, stood in stark contrast to the outpouring of rage that was witnessed in the streets of capitals, cities, and towns across the globe. However, this recent wave of protests has a particular quality that differentiates it from past mobilizations: the initial flare-up of energy is being channeled into effective grassroots political action, primarily in the form of an ongoing campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS).

The tangible victories and rise of BDS activism immediately following Gaza are a direct result of the many years of often little-acknowledged organizing, building and mobilizing that was undertaken following the 2005 call from Palestinian civil society. It is important to look at these last four years in order to make sure that we continue to build on these victories. We have moved beyond questioning the efficacy of BDS and must now work to incorporate the growing numbers of people who, while outraged at the events in Gaza, are not yet connected to the BDS movement. We also must expand the actors and struggles involved in BDS by linking the Palestinian cause to other similar fights for social, economic and political justice.

A number of commentators have already noted the mass mobilizations that occurred in response to Israel's invasion of Gaza. Demonstrations and protests were undertaken on every inhabited continent involving millions of people across hundreds of cities. In the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Western Europe, where pro-Palestine demonstrations are typically strong, the numbers of participants and scale of actions were astronomical.

In the Middle East, particularly in Jordan and Egypt, the disconnect between the stance of US-backed regimes and their people vis-a-vis Israel was laid bare. In Egypt, the regime's army of riot police was often unable to suppress demonstrations, which on many occasions numbered well into the tens of thousands. Similar scenes took place in Jordan, where thousands of protestors in Amman hurled stones at state police who blocked the street to the Israeli embassy.

Latin America, on the other hand, is the only region wherein popular anger was more or less reflected in official discourse and action. It is no coincidence that Bolivia and Venezuela, the two countries in the region that cut diplomatic ties with Israel, are also the two states whose governments operate, both in principle and in practice, according to the needs of the majority.

Palestine has developed into a global litmus test for democracy. While more progressive states in Latin America stood up for Palestine and BDS, repressive Middle Eastern regimes did their best to crush popular mobilization. The EU governments stood somewhere in the middle, giving further proof of their special form of "democracy" wherein people are allowed to express their opinions but not influence government decisions.

Regardless of governmental political leanings, the mobilizations evidence a considerable and growing popular support for the Palestinian people. Yet, these protests, while encouraging, do not guarantee longer-term political gains. The most recent and sobering example of this were the record numbers of people who turned out to protest the most recent invasion of Iraq and the subsequent problems that have plagued the creation of an effective anti-war movement.

Instead, we should look to the concrete BDS victories that followed Gaza as evidence of lasting political change. The actions of South African workers and Latin American social movements, to mention only a few examples, represent not only anger over Gaza, but also its effective channeling into an organized movement that far predates this most recent atrocity. They indicate that we have managed to build, in a short period of time, an effective focal point for uniting international solidarity and support for the Palestinian cause.

Immediately following Gaza, South African trade unions took action against Israel. The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU), part of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) declared that they would no longer handle Israeli ships. Things came to a head when the Johanna Russ, a ship operated by the Zim Israel Navigation Company, attempted to dock in the Durban port. Despite pressure and threats, SATAWU workers refused to handle the cargo or to allow scab labor to unload the ship.

This victory can be traced back to the early work of the Palestine Solidarity Committee, which, since its founding at the beginning of the second Palestinian intifada, has been active in promoting a South African boycott of Israel. The 2005 call from Palestinian civil society bolstered the movement, and, over the past four years, organizers have built up considerable support for BDS within South African trade unions, movements, churches, and institutions. In a 2006 speech in the UK to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign's trade union conference, Willy Madisha of COSATU endorsed the BDS call and stated that "the trade union movement must move beyond resolutions, otherwise history will look back on us and spit on our graves."

The movement has continued to move forward, and in 2008, COSATU promised to take "drastic action to disrupt" a government deal with the Israeli firm, Orsus Solutions Israel Ltd., which had been awarded a $5 million contract to upgrade the South African transportation system. With the Johanna Russ, the union took their first concrete action. Furthermore, COSATU has scored successes in gaining influence within the governing African National Congress party during the past several years. While these kinds of overall political dynamics have so far not stopped South Africa's trade with Israel from growing yearly, they have laid the groundwork for a possible turnaround in national politics that would place moral responsibility for the implementation of BDS at the diplomatic level.

In South America, serious pressure is building against the Israel-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement (FTA), threatening to derail it entirely. South American social movements, who have years of experience fighting against free trade, have integrated Palestine solidarity into their general work. Following the 2009 World Social Forum in Brazil, key organizations in the country, including the MST (the Landless Rural Workers' Movement), CUT (the chief union federation in Brazil), and other smaller social movements are organizing actions on the popular level against the agreement. Further, a number of members of the ruling party are supportive of these efforts, and are working on the official level to promote the rejection of the FTA.

This campaign is also based on the call from Palestinian civil society. In 2006, when the agreement was first placed on the agenda of the Mercosur, the outrage created by Israel's 2006 war on Lebanon pushed the social movements into action. They raised the issue at the Mercosur counter summit, and officials silently dropped the agreement from the agenda. Later, taking advantage of a lull in mobilization, the FTA was silently pressed through but is still undergoing the ratification process. In Brazil, social movements, unions, Arab organizations and Palestine solidarity groups organized in a broad coalition and escalated their campaign against the Israel -- Mercosur FTA. This coalition has done work on several levels, including mobilizing popular resistance, while simultaneously working and meeting with elected officials.

These successes provide us with a framework with which to ensure the sustainability of expanding Palestine solidarity. This solidarity, which in many cases is not new, became more visible and vocal during Gaza and must be integrated into the global BDS movement. One way to incorporate this expanding support is through a focus on common struggles and on mutual solidarity and interest. We can look to South Africa and Brazil for inspiration, where activists have been keen on tying BDS with local struggles and histories. Fights against racism, colonialism and economic exploitation as well as more specific campaigns for housing, land, water and educational rights are critical across the global south as well as in marginalized communities in the global north.

Links can also be established on a more specific level, for instance, against individual firms that benefit from perpetuating apartheid and occupation in Palestine and are involved in similar practices abroad. One such company is the Israeli Elbit Systems, which supplies the Israeli military and is key in constructing Israel's wall in the West Bank. Abroad, the company is responsible for supplying drones to British and American occupation forces and erecting the wall on the US-Mexico border. This approach has already seen some exciting developments, for example activists fighting against racism in the US have drawn interesting parallels between the violence and racism as experienced in Oakland and Gaza as well as in New Orleans.

In places where comparable shared experiences or histories may not exist, activists have found other ways to link the Palestinian cause to the broader community. University activism, for instance, effectively uses the situation of Palestinian students and universities to connect with the student community and build support for BDS. Students' calls for divestment from Israel and academic boycott are clearly linked with the call for more involvement in the universities' decision-making processes and financial transparency. The work over the last few years has set the stage for the various actions that we have witnessed in the universities, including the wave of direct action that took place in the UK, the push for divestment at Hampshire College, and growing interest in the academic boycott in Europe, the US and Canada.

Israel has lost this most recent war on all fronts. In addition to failing to crush the resistance within Gaza, it was unable to control dissent in any of the territories under its military control. This defeat was mirrored on the international level, despite a massive public relations effort coupled with an attempt to control the flow of images and information coming out of Gaza, Israel was unable to shape public understanding and discourse. A growing majority has openly condemned the operation for what it was -- a massacre -- and joined the BDS movement. The most recent victories of the movement have shown that the global struggle for genuine democracy and justice is not only a common ground on which the support for Palestinian rights is based, but a crucial precondition for effective solidarity. Our task now is to channel popular outrage into coordinated, collective action.

Jamal Juma' is the coordinator of the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign (www.stopthewall.org).

UCLA professor helps launch boycott of Israel

by Anna Andersen
Published: Monday, February 23, 2009

http://dailybruin.com/news/2009/feb/23/ucla-professor-helps-launch-boycott-israel/

Sondra Hale, a UCLA professor in the anthropology and women’s studies departments, is an organizing committee member of the recently launched U.S. Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel.

Eleven of the 15 organizing committee members represent California universities, and four of them are from the University of California. Nearly 200 faculty members from universities across the nation are endorsing the boycott.

The committee was formed in response to a call for support by Palestinian civil society and follows the guidelines drafted by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, which was launched in 2004, according to its Web site.

The call is “inspired by the struggle of South Africans against apartheid and in the spirit of international solidarity, moral consistency and resistance to injustice and oppression,” according to its mission statement.

Although there have been local efforts to boycott and divest from Israeli companies in the past, this is the first attempt in the United States to organize an academic and cultural boycott on a national level, Hale said.

The U.S. boycott was largely provoked by the recent attack on Gaza, in which hundreds of children were killed, Hale said.

“The bombing of the Islamic University of Gaza was an important impetus,” she added. “That made us think Israeli academics should take a stand and put pressure on their universities, which are highly implicated in the developing of weapons through scientific research, not unlike other universities.”

However, the boycott is institutional and is not aimed at individual academics and cultural figures, Hale said.

It means that foreign exchange and cooperative programs with Israel would cease, but it doesn’t mean that Israeli academics would stop being invited to speak at UCLA or that their work would cease to be published, Hale added.

The academic and cultural boycott of Israel is part of a global boycott, divestments and sanctions movement supporting Palestine.

On Feb. 7, Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., became the first college in the United States to divest from Israel due to its occupation of Palestine.

It was also the first college or university to divest from South Africa during the apartheid struggle.

However, for various reasons, not all professors support the boycott.

Since Hampshire College divested, Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor, has put pressure on the college to rescind its statement, Hale said.

Marc Trachtenberg, a UCLA professor in the political science department is also against the boycott.

“The main reason I’m against the boycott is because it is very one-sided,” Trachtenberg said.

“The key to a settlement is to put pressure on both sides. The more one side is castigated, the more power the other side feels and the less pressure they feel to act,” he said. “It’s counterproductive. The trick to policy is to structure incentives.”

Trachtenberg said he would feel the same way about extreme action taken by the other side as well.

Still, the U.S. Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel campaign believes it is time to take a stance, “especially in light of the censorship and silencing of the Palestine question in U.S. universities, as well as U.S. society at large,” according to the campaign’s mission statement.

Hale, who is also the chair of the Faculty Advisory Committee of the Center for Near Eastern Studies and the co-chair for Islamic Studies, said she feels this pressure at UCLA in the form of internal and external complaints.

“After the Center for Near Eastern Studies held the Jan. 21 ‘Human Rights and Gaza’ panel, we received an enormous amount of pressure from administrators complaining that our panel was not balanced enough,” Hale said.

“It has a chilling effect,” Hale added.

She said would like to be able to discuss this controversial subject with clarity and respect for both sides on the UCLA campus.

Chancellor Gene Block was not immediately available for comment, but his office recently released a statement in early February regarding academic freedom at UCLA.

In his statement, Chancellor Block discussed the controversy surrounding the conflict in the Middle East and specifically in Gaza.

In response to complaints about the “Human Rights and Gaza” panel, he wrote about the importance of protecting freedom of expression and maintaining scholarly balance.

“We have a responsibility to protect the freedom of expression. We also all have a responsibility to listen and engage, respectfully, even as we must understand that not every campus forum on a controversial topic will satisfy passionate and concerned members of the campus and broader communities,” he said in his statement.