Institutionalized Israeli Impunity

Throwing the Dog a Bone
by Noura

I hate to be so consistently pessamistic in my writing. But, here I
go again…it's a little hard to be hopeful when running for the bone
you trip on the electronic razor wire fence! I mean, does anyone
believe Israel would unilaterally (do anything!) withdraw from the
West Bank if it was not in their interest to do so? Virtually
everyone in their right mind knows that they can not sustain the
brutal level of ongoing military occupation of the West Bank,
economically, morally and especially if they want to be seen by the
world community as anything but a piranha state, they have to get
out sooner than later. You have to give the Israeli's credit though,
they have succeeded in convincing the world that today Israeli's
will vote a "referendum" with the difficult option of continuing a
legacy of military occupation, or not.

Israeli voters are torn between the generous decision of voting for
Kadima, started by Sharon, a known war criminal. Kadima is
pledging to "unilaterally withdraw from most of the West Bank".
Headed by Ehud Olmert', his plan is a way to create "'facts on the
ground' without any negotiation with a Palestinian counterpart. It
will withdraw from isolated settlements but annex the largest ones,
seizing Palestine's most resource-filled areas and isolating
Jerusalem to prevent the establishment of viable Palestinian
statehood in the future."*

Forget peace talks, Israel knows that everything according to
international law and human rights will work against what they want,
a pure Arian, I mean Jewish state. For Palestinians inside Israel,
the "rightist" Yisrael Beiteinu led by Avigdor Lieberman party "has
been aiming at the lowest instincts of some Jewish citizens by
advocating for an Arab-free Israel - by placing Arab towns and
villages outside the national borders and stripping the residents of
their citizenship" According to Ha'aretz, his party's popularity has
been increasing weekly in the polls."

Since we're talking about "unilateral withdrawal", does anyone
really still believe Gaza is not Occupied? If so, see this recent UN
report http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/427.shtml describing
the Humanitarian Crisis happening in Gaza at this moment, because
Israel refuses to allow food, aid and medical relief to be delivered
to the people. Unilateral anything by Israeli is SURE to have dire
consequences, and can be sure that whoever is voted in, will
not "unilaterally" give up one bit of land or air space that they
want, and this wall that has already stolen territory deep into the
West Bank and caused so much additional hardship, land theft,
destroyed thousands of homes and livelihoods, and of course
imprisoned the entire population.

Make no mistake about it, this election is not about peace, nor is
it about ending the ongoing war crimes. It is about how Israel can
most effectively disengage [rid] itself from the "Palestinian problem", which is really the Palestinians right to self determination, equality and
overall human rights.

*http://www.palestinemonitor.org/nueva_web/infos_materials/in_focus/i
n_focus_38.htm

________________________________________________________________

The Power of No

The Power of NO by Noura
The Power of Saying No By Jeff Halper
30 Israeli [Soldiers] Killed 8-Year-Old Palestinian Girl
AP Erases Video of Israeli Soldier Shooting Palestinian Boy
Israel's attack on Jericho: Palestinians remain without protection

The Power of NO
For Palestinians the ground beneath is trembling in that familiar way, bracing we all wait to see what is going happen next. In this surreal world that is Palestinian life, once again fate seems not about the needs of the people and nation building, as external forces disrupt any ability to effectively determine their own future. Just when I think Israeli politics could not get more blatantly barbaric and outrageous we see the Jericho fiasco, followed by the invasion of Jenin, the killing of more children and the media’s purposeful cover up of actual footage (see below), the announcement of building of more illegal settlements which will effectively surround Jerusalem and separate it from the West Bank. To top it off, the recent news was met with the increase in support of Israeli voters. Recent events point to the same dynamics at play and have given no reason to hope for a positive change.

Sick and tired of hoping, the other night some friends and I were talking about various possible Palestinian strategies that may be effective for nation building. The discussion being thrown around these days is that the acting Palestinian government should refuse to continue with the charade of being an international player in the game of politics. I said if that happens then it becomes easy for the West to pontificate from their throne that Pals don’t want peace, and there is in fact “no partner for peace” so they deserve whatever happens to them. One was saying that Palestinians should avoid any civilian casualties, and take the high moral ground and continue to operate within the bounds of international law. Another said “this is a war” why when civilians are routinely targeted here why should it be any different for us to target Israeli citizens. Of course, international law says that the occupied have the right to resist by any means necessary. This IS war, and in war apparently civilians are fair game when fighting for survival and freedom. However everyone agreed, when those with unlimited military, economic and political power use force to determine right, no one is able to stand in their way, not even international law. One thing is clear to all and that is the illusion of equality does not exist. With the ongoing scenarios unlikely to change route, it is due time that we support Palestinians in making the only real choice that is likely to empower rather than co-opt them. It then becomes apparent that the best tool available for Palestinians to control their destiny is one, the power to say NO. It now becomes the job of “we the people” to support a just solution that offers equality rather than occupation.


THE POWER OF SAYING NO
Jeff Halper
Tuesday, March 21, 2006

As the new Hamas government is sworn into power in the Palestinian Authority, we might ask: What would bring a people, the most secular of Arab populations with little history of religious fundamentalism, to vote Hamas? Mere protest at Fatah ineffectualness in negotiations and internal corruption doesn't go far enough. While warning Hamas that their vote did not constitute a mandate for imposing an Iran-like theocracy on Palestine, the Palestinians took the only option left to a powerless people when all other avenues of redress have been closed to them: non-cooperation.

Gandhi put it best: "How can one be compelled to accept slavery? I simply refuse to do the master's bidding. He may torture me, break my bones to atoms and even kill me. He will then have my dead body, not my obedience. Ultimately, therefore, it is I who am the victor and not he, for he has failed in getting me to do what he wanted done. Non-cooperation is directed not against…the Governors, but against the system they administer. The roots of non-cooperation lie not in hatred but in justice."

Non-cooperation, perhaps the most powerful means of non-violent resistance, arises in situations when the oppressed have no other avenues to achieve their freedom and their rights. Since it is the international community, the US, Israel and, yes, Fatah, who have closed all avenues of redress to the Palestinians, they carry the “blame" for the rise of Hamas. It is to them that the message of the Palestinian electorate is aimed: "To hell with all of you!"

For full article: http://www.icahd.org/eng/news.asp?menu=5&submenu=1&item=87

Jeff Halper is the Coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). He can be reached at jeff@icahd.org


30 Israeli [Soldiers] Killed 8-Year-Old Palestinian Girl
Associated Press

YAMOUN, West Bank, 19 March 2006 — Eight-year-old Akbar Zayed was on her way to have stitches removed from her chin when a barrage of Israeli Army bullets killed her on the spot, her family said yesterday. The army opened an investigation into Akbar’s killing, but the failed arrest raid left behind demolished homes, damaged cars and a family devastated by the death of a little girl.

The arrest raid in the West Bank village of Yamoun began like many others. Soldiers stormed the village of Yamoun late Friday, hunting down fugitives the army believed were holed up in a house. Troops cordoned off an area around the house, calling on the fugitives to surrender, the army said.
full article: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=79408&d=19&m=3&y=2006


AP Erases Video of Israeli Soldier Shooting Palestinian Boy
By Alison Weir

In the midst of journalism's "Sunshine Week"--during which the Associated Press and other news organizations are valiantly proclaiming the public's "right to know"--AP insists on conducting its own activities in the dark, and refuses to answer even the simplest questions about its system of international news reporting. Most of all, it refuses to explain why it erased footage of an Israeli soldier intentionally shooting a Palestinian boy. AP, according to its website, is the world's oldest and largest news organization. It is the behemoth of news reporting, providing what its editors determine is the news to a billion people each day. Through its feeds to thousands of newspapers, radio and television stations, AP is a major determinant in what Americans read, hear and see--and what they don't.

If we don't take action, no one else will.
AP can be reached at 212-621-1500.
full article: http://www.counterpunch.org/weir03182006.html


Israel's attack on Jericho: Palestinians remain without protection
Ali Abunimah and Arjan El Fassed of the Electronic Intifada

The Israeli attack on Jericho and kidnap of a number of Palestinian prisoners, including the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) demonstrates once again the fiction that there is a functioning Palestinian "government" in the occupied territories. The ease and impunity with which the occupation forces attack Palestinians everywhere serves to remind us that these territories remain today, as they have been since 1967, under full Israeli military dictatorship. It is a mistake to keep referring to a "Palestinian government," because this gives the false impression that Palestinians under occupation are in control of their destiny. Palestinian factions may, in the wake of the January elections, be negotiating to form a "government," but this does not mean that this "government" can exercise any control or protect Palestinians from the ravages of the occupying power.

The media coverage we have seen of the events in Jericho, especially the BBC, has been appallingly shallow and misleading. Let us remember why Ahmad Sa'adat and other prisoners in the Jericho jail were wanted by the occupation authorities. Sa'adat is accused of killing Rehavam Ze'evi, the founder of the Moledet Party and an Israeli cabinet minister. The missing contextual facts are that the PFLP killed Ze'evi in retaliation for Israel's murder of its leader Abu Ali Mustafa (Mustafa al-Zibri) in August 2001. Al-Zibri was not carrying arms or fighting, but sitting at his desk when an Israeli Apache helicopter fired a missile at him blowing him to pieces. Ze'evi was the leading advocate in Israel for the destruction of the Palestinian people, calling for their wholesale expulsion.

full article: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4550.shtml


If you made it this far and have any feedback, go to the blog I started to respond! http://palestinehumanrights.blogspot.com/

With Love from OPT

'Paradise Now' on location - Balata Refugee Camp, OPT

Visiting Balata by Noura

I visited Balata refugee camp in Nablus with some friends this
weekend, where tensions were high, wounds were raw and people were
reeling from the two week incursion that left eight loved ones dead.
Everyone I spoke with had a story of horror about the regular
military operations that wreak havoc on their lives and demolish
their homes. Mohammad our guide was called to the house of his
friend that was on the roof fixing his satellite dish when he was
shot by a sniper in the heart. Trembling, he shared the story of how
he died in his arms. Another friend we met had a brother that was
wanted, a few months ago the military demolished their family home,
and arrested one of the eight boys and their neighbor each day,
until the wanted brother was located. We visited the home that was
demolished last week, it was where the fighters were hiding. The
smell of stale, dried blood was still in the air, and all over the
walls. The home was directly next to the cemetery where we saw
several families gathered to visit their loved ones, and kids
playing all around.

As we were leaving Nablus I was reflecting on the year long cease
fire by armed resistance groups that has gone nearly as unnoticed by
the media as the recent incursion into Nablus. To get out of Nablus,
you must pass Huwwara checkpoint which is especially difficult, and
notoriously known for its aggressive soldiers. There was a big
commotion near the entrance where we saw a boy with a shirt over his
head and hands bound, was standing near the checkpoint. Apparently
he had been strapped with a bomb and was caught trying to leave
Nablus. After about ten minutes the bomb was detonated safely in the
field beside the checkpoint. After daily invasions, and a two week-
long killing spree which left two resistance fighters and six
citizens dead, including a child throwing stones, there is no reason
to hope for any change in the near future. We see the simple Israeli
formula at work, they go into a Palestinian city or camp where they
know people will resist, provoke the fighters, who will inevitably
fight back, simply exercising their right to defend themselves.
Irregardless of the rule of law, nor the laws of humanity, Israeli
state sponsored terror yields the same results and are as
predictable as the media that chooses to ignore the reality. Next
time the laws of physics set in - for every action there is an
opposite and equal reaction - let us try to answer a few questions
and we might just stop history repeating itself.

First of all, WHY would Israel carry out a major incursion into the
city of Nablus at this very sensitive time, other than to cause
instability and provoke a response? Is it really possible for anyone
to believe that it was for security reasons? How can one feel secure
at the cost of destroying and terrorizing a poor refugee camp? More
importantly, how can citizens in Israel vote for those in power that
perpetuate such attacks of severe violence? Such military incursions
not only terrorize those in its war path and the entire city, but
all in the area are effected, as it knocks humanity clear back to
the days of barbarism.

When reading about future reactions, don't forget the media trickery
and remember the military spin which always alleges that the
Palestinians killed (in their own towns or cities!) by the IOF were
armed and engaged in gun-fighting with the IOF at the time. When
further investigated, 9 times out of 10 this turns out to be at
best, inaccurate and at worst, a complete fabrication. For more
information on the vague, "legally ambiguous" shoot-to-kill
policies, see an investigative report conducted by an Israeli human
rights organization at:
http://www.btselem.org/English/Video/200602_Rules_of_Engagement.asp
and the excellent report published by Human Rights Watch, Promoting
Impunity: The Israeli Military's Failure to Investigate Wrongdoing,
downloadable at http://hrw.org/reports/2005/iopt0605/. If one can
believe that there is actually a security issue, then nags the
question: why don't they use their vast, superior, advanced
technology to investigate more closely the situation before invading
the public sector of an entire city and opening fire on citizens,
children and medical personnel? More importantly, what right does
the Israeli military have invading a purely Palestinian city?
Meanwhile the US and Israel repeat incessantly in unison that the
Palestinians must obey by the rule of law and live democratically
and renounce violence. Yet how in the hell are Palestinians expected
to live a normal life, free from violence while developing their
society and allowing democracy to take shape when Israel's
aggression is intensified? If Palestinians were given a chance to
breathe, the demands would be fulfilled sooner than expected. When
the media allows the tables to turn on the Palestinians, again
blamed for "senseless acts of violence" let us not forget the five
youths and two children killed in Balata, who as always, died too
young and hopeless in a prison, under Occupation.

***