Despite the horrors of conflicts around the globe, the United States and Israel compete for headlines about their latest killing sprees. These close allies have cultivated cultures of violence, have aided one another with weapons, with military mindsets, with a fascination with violence as the way to solve problems and eliminate opponents.
Source: Gun slaughter of Americans and Palestinians – Pearls and Irritations
55 journalists have been killed and hundreds more injured or detained by Israel since 2000. Yet for many Palestinian, the physical harm they face pales in comparison to the constant delegitimization of their work by in the media.
Only Palestinian voices can convey the emotions of highly charged stories about Palestine, stories that never make it to mainstream media coverage. When they do, these stories are often missing context, prioritize Israeli views – if not outright lies – and sometimes omit Palestinians altogether. But as the work of Abu Akleh, al-Samoudi, Alnaouq and Shalash, and hundreds more, continues to demonstrate, Palestinians are qualified to produce high-quality journalism with integrity and professionalism.
Source: Palestinians Are Not Liars: Confronting the Violence of Media Delegitimization – scheerpost.com
Distraction provides cover for Israeli crimes
The European Union has expressed its profound concern about the rash of extra-judicial killings by Israel of Palestinian young men, with ten having been killed recently. This year alone, some 207 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces. The new extremist government of Binyamin Netanyahu and his fascist partners in ‘Religious Zionism’ is suspected of having more Palestinians killed since October. Although a ‘shoot to kill policy’ has been on the books for many years, Some observers fear that the new far right government may be resorting to it more often.
Source: Spike in Extrajudicial Executions by Israeli Police of Palestinian Youth
In bars and cafes across Israel, the air is thick with cannabis smoke. For years, smoking weed has been socially permissible in Israel despite being technically illegal. Patio tables in cities like Tel Aviv are dotted with people openly rolling joints and lighting up without a second thought. Ironically, smoking pot is tolerated in more public places in Israel than in countries like Canada, where recreational cannabis is legal. In Israel’s trendy cafes and middle-class Jewish neighborhoods, police often turn a blind eye.
As is true of many of the freedoms enjoyed by Israeli citizens, however, the open consumption of cannabis stops at Israel’s separation wall, beyond which Palestinians are economically, militarily, and legally denied many of their most basic rights.
While there is a budding cannabis culture in the West Bank — tobacco stores there openly sell weed paraphernalia like rolling papers and grinders — Palestinians, who live under military rule, face serious legal jeopardy if they are caught firing up.
( Middle East Monitor ) – When the Palestinian Authority leader jumped on the US bandwagon spouting status quo rhetoric, he should have remembered President Joe Biden’s dedication to Zionism and colonial Israel. Upon arriving in Israel yesterday for a two day visit during which he will also go to the occupied West Bank, Biden said, ‘I realised that I had the great honour to be part of the great history of this country. I’ll say it again, you need not be a Jew to be a Zionist.’ That ‘great history’, remember, is built upon a distorted narrative and the
Source: In Biden World, Palestinians are not an Occupied Nation-in-Waiting but a mere Charity Case
Reinforcing US hegemonyOn the campaign trail, Biden pledged that as president he would make the Saudi kingdom a “pariah” for the killing of Khashoggi. He also said he would not sell more weapons to Saudi Arabia.But it appears that the benefits of thawing of relations outweigh such promises.The unnamed senior White House official who briefed media said that while the administration imposed the so-called “Khashoggi ban” on more than 70 Saudi individuals and entities, rekindling ties is critical.“While we recalibrate relations, we’re not seeking to rupture relations, because Saudi Arabia has been a strategic partner of the United States for eight decades,” the official said Tuesday.Saudi Arabia is also the United States’ largest arms customer, accounting for a quarter of US weapons sold world
Biden hopes to preside over Israel-Saudi wedding | The Electronic Intifada
If both the Israeli military occupation and apartheid are derivatives of Israeli colonialism, then colonialism needs to be addressed when speaking about both manifestations of violence.
Source: Israeli Apartheid toward Palestinians isn’t Just a Human Rights Issue; it is about Colonialism
The exodus out of Ukraine since Russia began its invasion has provoked questions about discrimination between the uprooted. Last week, social media was awash with claims that white Ukrainian refugees at the border with Poland were given preferential treatment compared to other groups, including people from many Middle Eastern and African nations who were living or studying in the country. While initially denied, Flippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, has since confirmed the allegations.
Israel’s new patchwork coalition doesn’t hold much promise for Palestinians, who are fighting for self-determination, writes Dr Ibrahim Natil.
Source: Palestinian hopes paralysed under new Israeli government
Across the world, there has been deep shock over the actions of the Israeli Government’s military aggression towards the Occupied Territories of Palestine, in particular the Gaza Strip. But these actions are part of a deliberate and systematic ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people writes Dr Rashad Seedeen.
Source: The slow but systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestine
Everywhere in the media and in the halls of power, we hear that Israel has a right to self-defense. But when it comes to the question of whether Palestinians suffering under brutal occupation have the right to defend themselves, those same voices are conspicuously silent.
Human Rights Watch has issued a 214-page report concluding that between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean there are 6.8 million Jews and 6.8 million Palestinians, and that the Israeli state systematically privileges the Jews, wherever they are, and disprivileges the Palestinians, on the basis of race.
Source: Israel is an Apartheid State seeking Systemic Domination of Palestinians: Human Rights Watch
But the 45-year-old taxi driver was forced to abandon his car – his private car – when he was set upon by what he described as a gang of seven settlers. By the time Jaber returned, the men had pummeled his car with rocks and stones and smashed the windows. “Two Israeli soldiers were there watching and didn’t do anything to stop them,” Jaber told The Electronic Intifada.
Spike in settler attacks creates “living hell” for Palestinians | The Electronic Intifada
“The defendant participated in a [student] election campaign on behalf of an organization at Birzeit University, as well as a book and stationery fair that was organized by the organization. He sold sandwiches, falafel, and coffee on behalf of the organization.”
In its war on Palestinian students, Israel deems book fairs and falafel sales a crime
The Palestinian boycott of Israel is not racist, it is anti-racist
The claims made by Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang in a recent op-ed in the Jewish weekly The Forward, point to the prevailing ignorance that continues to dominate the US discourse on Palestine and Israel. Yang is a former Democratic Presidential candidate and is vying for the Jewish vote in New York City. According to the reductionist assumption that all Jews must naturally support Israel and Zionism, Yang constructed an argument that is based entirely on a tired and false mantra equating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. His pro-Israel logic is not only unfounded, but also confused.
The Palestinian boycott of Israel is not racist, it is anti-racist
Israel has been praised for launching an aggressive coronavirus vaccination drive. There’s just one problem: they’re excluding Palestinians in occupied territories.
Israel Is Refusing to Give Palestinians COVID Vaccines
Quid Pro Quo there is nothing more certain than Trump expects a return from Israel.(ODT)
Palestinians have an opportunity to stop annexation. But it may mean taking drastic steps, such as dismantling the Palestinian Authority and putting an end to security coordination with Israel.
via Trump just green-lit annexation. Here’s how Palestinians can stop it – +972 Magazine
Israel doesn’t care what your religion is if your not Jewish or Palestinian. (ODT)
via The Israeli Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinian Christians that nobody is talking about
Every year for over two decades, thousands of Palestinian citizens of Israel have marked Nakba Day by marching to the site of a different village that was depopulated and destroyed during the Nakba.
While the story of Palestinian refugees — 700,000 of whom were driven out or fled in 1948 — is relatively well known, we rarely speak of those who were internally displaced during the war. These families remained in what became Israel but were never allowed to return to their original homes.
This year, the Return March marking 71 years since the Nakba was held in one such village, Khubbeiza. +972 Magazine’s Henriette Chacar went to the march to hear from participants of various ages what it means to them.
via PODCAST: The other Palestinian march of return | +972 Magazine
Hamas is Palestine’s democratically elected government, not the US/Israeli created PA, what came out of the disgraceful 1993 Oslo Accords, a Palestinian Versailles.
Unilateral surrender permitted permanent occupation harshness, colonialism, and apartheid rule, along with grand theft of Palestinian land and resources – high crimes gone unpunished.
Illegitimate puppet Mahmoud Abbas serves as enforcer against his own people for special benefits received.
Israel controls virtually all valued West Bank land and Jerusalem, more seized regularly, why a two-state solution no longer is possible.
Netanyahu vowed not one inch of Israeli occupied territory will be given back. Trump regime ideological extremists support his ruthlessness, including state terror and aggression.
Two million Gazans are terrorized under suffocating blockade, falsely blamed for misery inflicted on them, the world community largely ignoring their suffering.
via Palestinians Blamed for US/Israeli Crimes Against Them – Stephen Lendman
I grew up believing the Arabs wanted to throw us into the sea. Then I met a Palestinian from Gaza, and started to question everything I was ever taught. By Osnat Ita Skoblinski As a young girl I believed that Arabs were evil. My belief wasn’t based on personal experience — it was just common knowledge. As befits a coastal country, Israelis would often talk about “throwing people into the sea” — either the evil Arabs throwing us into the sea, or us throwing them in first as a preventive measure. [tmwinpost] I spent first grade studying in a bomb shelter because…
Source: I was taught to hate Palestinians — until I met one | +972 Magazine
Hamas new ‘Document of Principles’ ditches Islamism for frank positions on borders, international law, and human rights. But can the movement maintain unity as it inches closer to the ideas held by its rivals in the PLO? By Menachem Klein (translated by Philip Podolsky) Hamas’ recently-revised charter, titled “Document of General Principles and Policies” sees the group go down a path that could eventually result in its fracturing. Once it chose to depart from the simplistic and monolithic guidelines of the Islamic Charter, it had no choice but to acknowledge the ideological differences that drive the movement’s leadership apart (as do the inevitable power…
Source: Religion out, nationalism in: Will Hamas’ charter divide the movement? | +972 Magazine
The right to equality? The right to free movement in and out of the country? How about the right to freedom from arbitrary arrest and exile? Or the right to marriage and family? By Fady Khoury Everyone on Facebook is playing a game where they post nine concerts they’ve been to and one they haven’t. The idea is your friends have to guess which band you haven’t seen. [tmwinpost] I want to play too, but I’ve been to only two concerts in my life, both of which were Mashrou’ Leila’s. So I thought of a different way to play. Here…
Source: Guess which of these human rights Israel guarantees to Palestinians | +972 Magazine
Journalists, scientists, human rights activists and even a clown are among the Palestinians currently sitting in Israeli jails. By Yael Marom The vast majority of Israelis are not interested in Palestinian prisoner statistics. After all, for them, Palestinians are not human beings but “terrorists,” and as such it’s perhaps preferable that as many as possible sit behind bars. But for the thousands of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails at any given moment, they are subject to a system of occupation and oppression that pursues, threatens and jails as a matter of daily routine. Journalists, scientists, human rights activists and even a clown are among the prisoners.…
Source: Report: 7,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails | +972 Magazine
Americans will still have a long way to go before they can decide what their country represents. Once they do, Palestinians can begin to care again about what happens in Washington. As a Palestinian contributor to +972, I have been struggling these past weeks with how to write about the US presidential election. Part of the problem is that this year’s nominees have hardly touched on our part of the world. Beyond the shock-jock antics of the Republican candidate or the very real resurgence of hate among the American electorate, this election has revealed America’s distinct lack of awareness about…
Source: Palestinians aren’t counting on Trump or Hillary for their liberation | +972 Magazine
Tribe is resisting US-backed effort to build pipeline on ancestral lands.
Source: Palestinians back Standing Rock Sioux in “struggle for all humanity” | The Electronic Intifada
Ever since he filmed an Israeli soldier executing a Palestinian man in Hebron, Emad Abu Shamsiya has been subject to violent threats. Things became so bad his family had to leave their home. So why do the police refuse to help? By John Brown* Ever since a video showing Israeli soldier Elor Azaria executing an immobilized Palestinian attacker in Hebron was published, Emad Abu Shamsiya, the man who captured the incident on video, has been subject to threats against his life by right-wing activists and settlers. The latter even threw stones at his home, according to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, where Abu Shamsiya…
Source: Palestinian who filmed Hebron shooting faces threats to his life | +972 Magazine
“There’s no such thing as a Palestinian person,” key Israel lobbyist says.
Source: Israel lawfare group plans “massive punishments” for activists | The Electronic Intifada
Netanyahu said Israel is defending itself against what he called Palestinian terrorists
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has slammed the decision by the International Criminal Court to launch a preliminary investigation into possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories, saying it is “absurd”.
Speaking in West Jerusalem on Saturday a day after the decision was made, Netanyahu said: “It’s absurd of the ICC to ignore international law and agreements under which the Palestinians don’t have a state and can only get one through direct negotiations with Israel. The rules of the ICC are clear: No state, no standing, no case.”
The preliminary probe does not mean war crimes were committed but will seek to determine whether preliminary findings merit a full investigation into alleged atrocities, which could result in charges being brought against individuals in either Israeli or Palestinian territories.
Palestine applied to join the ICC in December and has since signed the Rome treaty, the charter that led to the formation of the ICC in 2002. It is due to join the court in April but its membership will be backdated to June 2014, meaning that the court will have jurisdiction to look into last summer’s offensive between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas.
The conflict, which left the Gaza Strip run by Hamas devastated, killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, mostly women and children. Israel says it lost 73 people, most of them soldiers.
Netanyahu said Israel upholds “high standards of international law” and that the country’s “actions are subjected to careful and constant review of … world-renowned and utterly independent legal system”.
“But this decision is even more preposterous given that Israel is legitimately defending itself against Palestinian terrorists who routinely commit multiple war crimes,” said Netanyahu.
“They deliberately fire thousands of rockets at our civilians while hiding behind Palestinian civilians whom they as human shields.”
Hamas hails decision
The comments were a veiled reference to Hamas, which said on Saturday it welcomed the ICC’s decision.
Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas, said the group would provide the ICC with “thousands of reports” suggesting “horrible crimes” were committed.
“What is needed now is to quickly take practical steps in this direction and we are ready to provide [the court] with thousands of reports and documents that confirm the Zionist enemy has committed horrible crimes against Gaza and against our people.”
Israel rejected the court’s Friday decision as hypocrisy and the US State Department said it was “a tragic irony that Israel, which has withstood thousands of terrorist rockets fired at its civilians and its neighborhoods, is now being scrutinized by the ICC”.
Israel in 2005 pulled its settlers and troops out of Gaza, which remains under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade.
Palestinians seek statehood in Gaza and the West Bank.
Palestinian foreign minstry officials said on Friday that “everything is going according to plan” and that “no state and nobody can now stop this action we requested”.
Denouncing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians under occupation, a group of veterans from an elite, secretive military intelligence unit have declared they will no longer “take part in the state’s actions against Palestinians” in required reserve duty because of what they called “our moral duty to act.”
it is the first public collective refusal by intelligence officers rather that combat troops. Unit 8200 has a special role in Israeli society as a coveted pipeline to its high-technology industry.
“After our service we started seeing a more complex picture of a nondemocratic, oppressive regime that controls the lives of millions of people,”
said one of the group’s organizers, a 32-year-old sergeant major who was on active duty from 2001 to 2005. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because the military prohibits Unit 8200 members from being publicly identified.
“There are certain things that we were asked to do that we feel do not deserve the title of self-defense,” he added in a telephone interview. “Some of the things that we did are immoral, and are against the things we believe in, and we’re not willing to do these things anymore.”
The new refuseniks said their group began a year ago and was not motivated by Israel’s battle with Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip this summer, which a member said was “just another chapter in this cycle of violence.” The veterans described exploitative activities focused on innocents whom Israel hoped to enlist as collaborators. They said information about medical conditions and sexual orientation were among the tidbits collected. They said that Palestinians lacked legal protections from harassment, extortion and injury.
The timing is nonetheless powerful, coming after many longtime Israeli critics of the occupation complained that their voices were stifled during a unified rallying around the war effort.
Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said specific incidents mentioned in officers’ testimonies presented with the group’s letter would be examined, and that “ramifications” for refusing to serve — including possible criminal prosecution — would be handled individually.
olddogthoughts 