Mahdi Abdul Hadi*, Terrasanta.net, 24.11.07. Chi può far davvero la differenza sono i Paesi europei. Vista da questa parte del mondo, l'Europa sembra essersi appiattita sulle posizioni degli Stati Uniti, prima con la guerra in Iraq e le prigioni della Cia in Europa, e ora con il pressing sull'Iran. Così facendo, di fatto appoggia l'occupazione israeliana: basti pensare che l'Unione europea non ha mai chiesto un euro di risarcimento per tutte le opere che erano state costruite con i fondi Ue per i palestinesi e che sono state rase al suolo dagli israeliani. Qual è dunque l'identità europea? Quel che è andato storto finora fra i palestinesi e l'Europa è che gli europei non ci hanno trattato come partner. Hanno adottato il rapporto di sudditanza che c'è fra donatori e beneficiari: con il paternalismo dei finanziatori che danno fondi senza preoccuparsi eccessivamente di formare degli esperti che diventino autonomi. Oggi tutto questo può cambiare: ci vorrà molto tempo, ma ci aspettiamo che l'Europa possa aiutare i palestinesi ad aiutare se stessi nel realizzare quei valori che hanno fatto grande la storia europea: libertà, solidarietà, uguaglianza, indipendenza, democrazia, formazione, Stato di diritto.
*Mahdi Abdul Hadi, fondatore e direttore della Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (Passia)
sabato 24 novembre 2007
«Isolare falchi ed estremisti per far vincere i due popoli»
Amos Oz, Corriere della Sera, 21.11.07. La responsabilità principale di un progresso nella trattativa pesa sulle spalle del governo e dell’opinione pubblica israeliani perché è Israele ad avere il controllo dei territori palestinesi, non il contrario. Se Ehud Olmert sceglierà di concedere ai falchi della sua coalizione (o sarà costretto a farlo) la facoltà di arrestare l’intero processo di pace, il risultato sarà che, di qui a breve, avremo Netanyahu al governo. Ma non solo. Anche da parte palestinese gli estremisti avranno il sopravvento sui moderati e anziché con Abu Mazen ci troveremo a fare in conti con un fronte bellicoso nel quale sarà l’Iran a tirare i fili. Il banco di prova della leadership di Olmert non sarà il suo talento a barcamenarsi tra Lieberman ed Eli Yishai (il capofila della destra estrema e quello dell’ortodossia sefardita all’interno del suo esecutivo, ndt) ma la sua determinazione a perseguire un cambiamento storico. La destra radicale in Israele sostiene che Abu Mazen è troppo debole per concludere la pace. È la stessa destra che sosteneva che Arafat era troppo pericoloso per concludere la pace. La verità è che c’è un rapporto diretto tra l’indebolimento, o il rafforzamento, di Abu Mazen e i risultati del suo approccio moderato in un negoziato con Israele. Il presidente palestinese rimarrà debole fintanto che lo indeboliremo non concedendogli di ottenere risultati concreti. Cosa succederà se l’attuale negoziato dovesse fallire? In quel caso la soluzione di due Stati per due popoli potrebbe sfumare per sempre e saremo costretti a scegliere tra due catastrofi di proporzioni storiche: un unico Stato (nel quale gli arabi saranno quasi la maggioranza) tra il Giordano e il mar Mediterraneo, o un governo di apartheid «all’israeliana» che perpetuerà gli insediamenti e opprimerà con la forza i palestinesi i quali, a loro volta, continueranno a ribellarsi all’occupazione. Dobbiamo andare ad Annapolis e da lì proseguire, consapevoli che i due popoli già sanno, più o meno, quale sarà l’accordo finale: uno Stato palestinese entro i confini del 1967 a fianco di quello ebraico, con alcune modifiche di confine, senza il ritorno dei profughi in Israele e Gerusalemme capitale dei due Stati. Tutti lo sanno, anche gli oppositori sui due fronti. Il paziente—Israele e i palestinesi— è già quasi pronto per l’intervento. Ma i medici si mostreranno abbastanza coraggiosi?
Traduzione di Alessandra Shomroni © Amos Oz 2007
Traduzione di Alessandra Shomroni © Amos Oz 2007
Hébron, cité convoitée par les colons israéliens
Michel Bôle-Richard, Hébron Cisjordanie envoyé spécial, Le Monde, 21.11.07. Pour les colons, cela ne fait aucun doute : l'endroit est stratégique. Située sur une colline dominant une petite vallée, l'énorme bâtisse permet de contrôler l'accès au coeur historique d'Hébron. Le bâtiment de quatre étages, d'une superficie totale de 3 500 m2, est surtout une acquisition capitale dans la conquête du territoire palestinien par les colons pour établir un lien entre la colonie de Kyriat Arba et le caveau des Patriarches, lieu de culte important de cette cité antique tant pour les juifs que pour les musulmans. C'est pourquoi, le 19 mars, un groupe de colons a investi cet immeuble,
situé à proximité d'une mosquée et d'un cimetière musulman, au milieu d'un quartier palestinien.
Depuis, pour ces habitants, c'est un enfer. Cernés par les colons, ils n'ont plus le droit d'utiliser la route et se déplacent à pied ou avec des carrioles, que les nouveaux barrages ne laissent pas toujours passer. La police et l'armée sont omniprésentes. Un poste de surveillance a été installé à proximité et sur le toit du bâtiment. En face, de l'autre côté du vallon, une tour de guet. Une dizaine de familles y sont installées, sous la haute protection des forces de sécurité. L'entrée y est interdite à la presse. Les colons sont là pour rester et le font savoir à leurs voisins, jugés indésirables. Un rapport publié par B'Tselem indique que l'immeuble a été connecté au réseau électrique et que des travaux ont été entrepris pour l'installation de nouveaux colons. Il dénonce "les abus et les violences exercés par les colons et les forces de sécurité, et les interdictions croissantes placées à la liberté de mouvement des Palestiniens". B'Tselem énumère toutes les attaques qui se sont produites depuis sept mois : "Agressions physiques et verbales ; insultes ; malédictions ; jets de pierre, d'urine, d'oeufs, d'ordures, de bouteilles vides", sous l'oeil indifférent des forces de sécurité qui, elles aussi, sont accusées de mauvais traitements et d'humiliations.Article paru dans l'édition du 21.11.07.
situé à proximité d'une mosquée et d'un cimetière musulman, au milieu d'un quartier palestinien.Soldiers and settlers
inside the new settlement's building
inside the new settlement's building
Depuis, pour ces habitants, c'est un enfer. Cernés par les colons, ils n'ont plus le droit d'utiliser la route et se déplacent à pied ou avec des carrioles, que les nouveaux barrages ne laissent pas toujours passer. La police et l'armée sont omniprésentes. Un poste de surveillance a été installé à proximité et sur le toit du bâtiment. En face, de l'autre côté du vallon, une tour de guet. Une dizaine de familles y sont installées, sous la haute protection des forces de sécurité. L'entrée y est interdite à la presse. Les colons sont là pour rester et le font savoir à leurs voisins, jugés indésirables. Un rapport publié par B'Tselem indique que l'immeuble a été connecté au réseau électrique et que des travaux ont été entrepris pour l'installation de nouveaux colons. Il dénonce "les abus et les violences exercés par les colons et les forces de sécurité, et les interdictions croissantes placées à la liberté de mouvement des Palestiniens". B'Tselem énumère toutes les attaques qui se sont produites depuis sept mois : "Agressions physiques et verbales ; insultes ; malédictions ; jets de pierre, d'urine, d'oeufs, d'ordures, de bouteilles vides", sous l'oeil indifférent des forces de sécurité qui, elles aussi, sont accusées de mauvais traitements et d'humiliations.
C'est une nouvelle pièce d'un puzzle qui se met en place pour évincer la population palestinienne située entre les points d'implantation déjà établis dans la vieille ville (600 à 700 personnes) et les deux colonies de Kyriat Arba et de Givat HaAvo (8 000 habitants) à la périphérie. Le grand arc de cercle serait ainsi complété, permettant de reprendre en partie possession de ce que David Wilder, porte-parole de la communauté juive, appelle "la première ville juive ayant existé dans le monde".
"Les colons ne cessent de nous attaquer. Mon fils a été traîné dehors et battu, se lamente Bassam Jaabari. Ils m'interdisent d'apporter de la marchandise. Ils nous crachent dessus, nous lancent des poubelles. Ils ne nous considèrent pas comme des humains. Ils cherchent à nous faire partir à tout prix. Mon frère est en prison depuis le 5 août avec six autres personnes accusées d'avoir jeté des pierres. C'est devenu infernal". Bassam Jaabari tient une petite boutique en contrebas du bâtiment des colons qui a été baptisée "la maison de la paix". "C'est pour montrer que les Arabes et les Juifs peuvent vivre en paix", dit, sans rire, David Wilder. Il explique que les accusations de B'Tselem sont "une fabrication. Il n'y a aucune preuve, pas une image. Les Juifs veulent vivre à Hébron et lorsqu'il y a une propriété à acheter, il est normal de le faire".
FAUX ACTES DE PROPRIÉTÉ
Contrairement à ce qu'affirme M. Wilder, les preuves de violences sont nombreuses. B'Tselem a fourni aux Palestiniens de petites caméras qui leur ont permis de filmer plusieurs agressions. Quant à acheter, les Palestiniens refusent de vendre, même sous la pression. Fayez Al-Rajabi, le propriétaire, raconte qu'il n'a jamais vendu ce bâtiment, dont il avait acheté le terrain, il y a treize ans, à un Jordanien. Il avait entrepris d'y édifier une construction dont les travaux ont été retardés à cause de l'Intifada. Pour ce garagiste, les documents de propriété des colons sont "des faux". "Ma maison m'a été volée", accuse-t-il. Il a même passé six mois en prison car l'Autorité palestinienne l'avait soupçonné d'avoir vendu à des colons. Ce qui est considéré comme un acte de collaboration. Dimanche 18 novembre, l'enquête gouvernementale demandée par la Haute Cour a conclu qu'effectivement, il n'avait pas vendu son bien et que, par conséquent, les occupants devaient en être délogés.
Il semble bien que les colons aient acheté au même Jordanien, un certain Ayoub Jaber, une propriété qu'il avait déjà vendue au garagiste. Le procureur de la Haute Cour avait estimé qu'il y avait de "sérieux doutes sur l'authenticité des documents présentés par les colons". Il y a quelques mois, le ministère de la défense avait ordonné l'expulsion des colons. Un appel a été interjeté. Pour les colons, l'important est de gagner du temps. Ils s'installent et créent sur le terrain une situation de fait. "Nous sommes chez nous et nous avons l'intention d'acheter tout ce qu'il est possible d'acheter, car Hébron, martèle M. Wilder, est un haut lieu du judaïsme."
Michel Bôle-Richard
venerdì 23 novembre 2007
Bil'in Friday Demonstration 16-11-2007
An Israeli activist was shot in the head with a rubber bullet during the demonstration in Bil'in today.
He was sent to the hospital in Ramallah and was released after they did a scan and said he was ok.
As a precaution, he is currently on his way to an Israeli hospital for another check up.
Sarah
0523 899 386
Palestine: No Way for Mary and Joseph and Jesus to the Inn--Bethlehem behind the Wall
No Way to the Inn Christmas Campaign Resources
CPT Palestine
18 November 2007
Campaign “How-To’s”:
The CPT Palestine team is pleased to provide the following ideas for how your family, small group, or church can use the “No Way to the Inn” campaign as a teaching tool about the separation barrier throughout the occupied Palestinian territories:
ÿ When building the wall around your nativity or crèche, be creative! Build a wall encircling the nativity, with no one or nothing else in view. Perhaps leave Mary and Joseph outside the wall, separated from the nativity (they certainly would have difficulty entering Bethlehem from Nazareth today!) Or perhaps Handala (a Palestinian symbol of resistance – www.handala.org) could join the shepherds, separated from the baby Jesus by the wall. Create as the Holy Spirit leads your family, small group, or church!
ÿ Contact the local media regarding your family, small group, or church decision to erect a wall surrounding your nativity or crèche. Use this opportunity to explain to the media (and the broader public!) about the separation barrier the Israeli government is building throughout the occupied Palestinian territories. Note: If you decide to extend the campaign through to Epiphany, call the media on January 1 – this is often a slow news day.
ÿ Take pictures of your wall. If you make your own Christmas cards, consider using a photo of your nativity/crèche surrounded by the wall. In the card, explain why this is relevant.
ÿ E-mail pictures of your wall to: guest.49296@MennoLink.org. The CPT Palestine team will compile and use the pictures for broader distribution.
ÿ Remember, in prayer and reflection, the Palestinian communities, Christian and Muslim, who are unable to travel because of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Use our worship materials and reflections (first reflection below – more coming soon) to incorporate into Advent and Christmas worship services
REFLECTION
Palestine: No Way to the Inn--Bethlehem behind the Wall
By Lorne Friesen
18 November 2007
The Gospels of both Matthew and Luke tell the nativity story, and both authors make it abundantly clear that Jesus was born under the Roman occupation. According to some, the whole world was at peace; it was called “Pax Romana”. Occupation, then as well as now, meant that the powerful ruler had such a stranglehold upon the citizens that it controlled almost every aspect of life for those under its domination. Both Luke and Matthew have the courage to refer in their stories of Jesus’ birth to the hardships that were part of life in Judea and Galilee.
Luke informs us that the occupation required Mary and Joseph to make a long and dangerous journey to satisfy the dictates of the Occupying Power. Matthew tells us that all infant boys born near the place and time of Jesus’ birth were slaughtered, for Herod to preserve the power that was given him by the Roman authorities.
Unfortunately, the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus have often it turned into a fairy tale that misses the point of the gospel. The gospel accounts give dramatic evidence that in spite of the best efforts of the political powers at securing their own position, God continues to move. Caesar Augustus and Herod the Great sought to advance their own political careers, but it is never God’s will that an individual or a nation use injustice to advance their agenda. The message of the scriptures is that no matter how brutal and unjust the methods of the powers, God will continue to achieve God’s plan for us.
Imagine the risks of being pregnant under the occupation. Caesar made his decree, and so Mary and Joseph had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Many other pregnant women as well as Mary would have been making similar journeys. And if the delivery was premature and the mother and child died en route, Caesar would not have cared in the least. The Israeli military occupation of the West Bank likewise places its own interests above the needs of the people under its control. Numerous mothers, whose labor has already begun have been held up at checkpoints, some have given birth in the open fields or in their cars. Mary gave birth in a distant community, far away from the traditional midwife support that families usually provide. It was occupation that made it necessary for the birth of Jesus to be in crude circumstances with the numerous risks of birth in a stable or cave among the animals. And we should remember that both in Mary and Joseph’s day and in ours, there is a mysterious God-sent challenge to imperial power in every pregnancy—the power of love and new life works outside the restrictions of occupation.
Luke informs us that the census required people to return to their place of origin. Joseph was from Bethlehem, and so Mary and Joseph needed to make this journey. There is no record of the number of people who were required to make such journeys. The disruption in the lives of people will have been enormous. The purpose was to consolidate the power of the Roman authorities, and there was no regard for the human cost to its citizens. Today, travel is again a major issue in the occupation. Today, travel in and out of Bethlehem is controlled by checkpoints in this monstrous 27 foot high wall that snakes across the West Bank. Checkpoints similar to international border terminals channels access in and out of Bethlehem. The Israeli government has made special arrangements for tourists, so that their inconvenience will be minimal, but most Palestinians find their travel severely restricted even in the case of medical emergencies. They need special permits even to travel the five miles to Jerusalem. Many residents of Bethlehem have not been able to visit Jerusalem for years.
May your reflections and meditations on the Nativity story, help you find a bond of solidarity with the countless people throughout the world whose lives are controlled by powers that have little regard for their well-being.
IOF provoking troubles so the High Court will grant permission to build the Wall
ISM Media Alert mailto:media@palsolidarity.org,18.11.07. This morning an Israeli jeep containing 4 Israeli soldiers invaded the school grounds of the Azzoun High School - contravening international law. Jeep #401 entered the school grounds at approximately 8:30am, at the end of the second lesson, driving through the school yard, all the way up to the steps of the main school building. Teachers and principals advised that there was nothing in the village this morning to provoke such an action by the Israeli soldiers - indeed, a teacher on his way to school was stopped at the Azzoun gate on Tuesday 13th November by Israeli soldiers and told to inform the principal that Israeli soldiers would attack and enter the school - proving that it was premeditated. Rather, they consider these actions as part of a cynical strategy to garner High Court approval for a four kilometre wall to be built along the highway from Izbat Al Tabib to Kafr Laqif - a wall that will effectively seal the main gate of Azzoun
forever and impede travel for Palestinians throughout the region - for which the markings already exist. "If they can present a big file, showing lots of trouble in Azzoun, then the High Court will grant them permission to build this wall." said principal Majd. "We know the game they play."
Three teachers and one administrator went to speak to the soldiers, requesting very politely that they leave. Soldiers replied that it was the teachers who should leave them alone - telling them to go back to their classrooms and stop interfering in the soldiers' work, all the time pointing a gun at the teachers.
One teacher reported: "We said to him that there are rules that forbid him from entering a school". The soldier said "For me there are no rules. I will come one time, two times, ten times, as many times as I want and no one can forbid me. If you forbid me, I will shoot you."'
Another teacher, reportedly asked the soldiers "What if we were soldiers and came to your schools?", and was immediately threatened with arrest. The teachers told the soldiers that coming into the school would cause problems, asking "Do you want to cause problems?" to which the head soldier replied "Yes, I do."
The teachers consider these actions to be provocations by the Israeli soldiers, which are common. Two weeks ago soldiers shot two sound bombs into the school, and regularly enter the village and wait outside the school to provoke the students as they are heading home for the day. These provocations in the past gave soldiers the excuse for imposing curfews on the village. They take on an even more sinister edge now that the Commander has advised villagers that students caught throwing rocks will be killed.
Azzoun school prinicpals claim that this is the first time a jeep has entered school grounds in the history of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The principal called the Qalqilia DCO, who seemed to not know about this invasion, and advised that they will find out what happened from the soldiers.
The teachers closed the doors to the main school building, leaving the soldiers in the school yard, where they waited and circled for ten minutes, before driving the jeep to block the entrance to the school.
When teachers went down to close the main school gates, soldiers tried to stop them saying "You are forbidden to close the door to the school. Don't close the door". Teachers openly defied this order, closing the gate and saying "We will close the gate, you do what you do". Since the incursion, the school gates have been fixed, so that no vehicle entry is possible, and strengthening them to prevent ram raids.
Teachers and principals advised that there was nothing in the village this morning to provoke such an action by the Israeli soldiers - indeed, a teacher on his way to school was stopped at the Azzoun gate on Tuesday 13th November by Israeli soldiers and told to inform the principal that Israeli soldiers would attack and enter the school - proving that it was premeditated. Rather, they consider these actions
as part of a cynical strategy to garner High Court approval for a four kilometre wall to be built along the highway from Izbat Al Tabib to Kafr Laqif - a wall that will effectively seal the main gate of Azzoun forever and impede travel for Palestinians throughout the region - for which the markings already exist. "If they can present a big file, showing lots of trouble in Azzoun, then the High Court will grant them permission to build this wall." said principal Majd. "We know the game they play."
For More Information:
John 054 5364072
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The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is a Palestinian-led non-violent resistance movement committed to ending Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian land. We call for full compliance with all relevant UN resolutions and international law.
For specific media inquires such as interview requests, photo usage, etc. please email the ISM Media Office at media@palsolidarity.org
mercoledì 21 novembre 2007
Usa: il 27 novembre ad Annapolis vertice di pace sul Medio Oriente
la Repubblica, 21.11.07. Washington conferma la conferenza che si terrà nell'Accademia navale in Maryland Tra gli invitati Siria, Lega araba e Organizzazione per la conferenza islamica (Oic) WASHINGTON - Gli Stati Uniti hanno annunciato ufficialmente la convocazione per il 27 novembre prossimo della conferenza di pace internazionale sul Medio Oriente che si terrà ad Annapolis, in Maryland. Lo ha annunciato il portavoce del dipartimento di Stato Sean McCormack, specificando che oltre Israele e Anp, Washington ha invitato un gruppo di Paesi arabi tra cui Arabia Saudita e Siria.
L'annuncio segue giorni di incertezza sulle date e sui protagonisti dell'incontro voluto dall'amministrazione Bush nell'Accademia navale di Annapolis, che nelle speranze di Washington dovrebbe offrire l'occasione per accelerare il processo di pace in Medio Oriente. Gli inviti sono stati recapitati nella giornata di martedì nelle varie capitali interessate e portano la firma direttamente del presidente George W.Bush, che ha avuto una serie di colloqui telefonici con leader internazionali per esortarli a sostenere la conferenza di Annapolis.
Tra i 49 Paesi e organizzazioni internazionali invitati figura anche l'Italia in qualità sia di membro non permanente del Consiglio di sicurezza dell'Onu sia come Paese del G8. In rappresentanza del "Quartetto di Madrid" (Onu, Ue, Usa, Russia) l'inviato speciale Tony Blair; per l'Onu, il segretario generale, Ban ki-moon; per L'Unione europea, l'Alto rappresentante per la politica estera, Javier Solana e il Commissario alle relazioni esterne, Benita Ferrero Waldner e il ministro degli Esteri portoghese in quanto presidente di turno; la Russia con il ministro degli esteri Sergei Lavrov. Per quanto riguarda la Lega Araba, oltre al segretario generale Amr Mussa ci sarà una rappresentanza dei 22 paesi aderenti. Nell'elenco delle istituzioni compaiono anche il Fondo monetario internazionale (Fmi), la Banca mondiale (Bm) e l'Organizzazione per la conferenza islamica (Oic), che raccoglie 56 Paesi musulmani.
Lieberman and Ahmadinejad – The Anti-Peace Coalition
Peace Now, 19.11.07. In light of the upcoming Annapolis summit and the continuing right wing opposition within the government to this summit, Peace Now has begun an aggressive awareness campaign against those opposing the conference. Yesterday, activists plastered posters throughout Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Nokdim. These posters showed the faces of the President of Iran Ahmadinejad and Israeli Right Wing Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, under the headline “Objecting to Annapolis – the Anti-Peace Coalition”. Peace Now: “We wanted to show that the entire world supports the peace summit, apart from the Israeli right wing and the Islamic Extremists, it seems that they have more in common that we originally thought.”
Gerusalemme è e resterà israeliana
Michele Giorgio, il manifesto, 18.11.07. Come e perché il prossimo vertice convocato da Bush a Annapolis sarà una trappola in cui il presidente palestinese Abu Mazen andrà a cacciarsi. La città e la Cisgiordania isolati l'una dall'altra. Allo «Stato» di Palestina andranno solo alcuni quartieri etnicamente arabi. Per un antropologo prestato all'impegno politico come Jeff Halper la realtà non è di difficile intepretazione. E le previsioni sono quasi automatiche. L'incontro di Annapolis, previsto tra una decina di giorni, al quale l'amministrazione Bush attribuisce un potere taumaturgico, non solo non offrirà soluzioni in linea con il diritto internazionale ma si svolgerà in un percorso definito con largo anticipo da Israele. E' un tragitto, spiega l'esperto israeliano, volto a convincere la leadership palestinese a rinunciare alla Gerusalemme araba (est), occupata militarmente nel 1967, in cambio di una vaga sovranità su qualche rione o sobborgo della città abitato da palestinesi. «E' un progetto politico - spiega Halper, noto in Italia come coordinatore dell'Icahd (Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions) - che è partito subito dopo l'occupazione con la costruzione di insediamenti ebraici nella zona est dove ormai, dopo 40 anni, vivono circa 200mila coloni israeliani». Tuttavia, aggiunge l'antropologo, per annettere in via definita Gerusalemme est a Israele e mantenere la città a maggioranza ebraica non è sufficiente costruire gli insediamenti. «Nella ridefinizione dei confini che avevano e hanno in mente i dirigenti politici israeliani è necessario tagliare fuori dalla città quanti piu palestinesi possibile». Non soprende, aggiunge, «che i centri abitati palestinesi ad alta densità di popolazione siano stati escluse dai confini della linea rossa che definisce l'area sulla quale sta sorgendo la Grande Gerusalemme. In sostanza hanno annesso zone che un tempo non facevano parte di Gerusalemme e hanno estromesso aree che prima vi erano incluse».
A Annapolis il premier israeliano Ehud Olmert e i suoi collaboratori andranno decisi a strappare al presidente palestinese Abu Mazen quel «sì» che l'ex primo ministro Ehud Olmert non riuscì ad ottenere dal rais Yasser Arafat. Andranno negli Usa con in mente la Grande Gerusalemme, un progetto che passo dopo passo sta trasformando la città santa in una vera e propria regione inserita, come un cuneo, nel cuore della Cisgiordania, spaccandola in due.
«Quando si parla di Stato palestinese, uno Stato sovrano che può autosostenersi economicamente, ci riferiamo ad un territorio omogeneo, non a macchia di leopardo, collegato in tutte le sue parti da una rete stradale - aggiunge il geografo Khalil Tufakji, noto esperto palestinese di Gerusalemme -. Ci deve essere, ad esempio, una autostrada che metta in comunicazione il nord col sud della Cisgiordania, per il movimento di beni e persone, altrimenti non si può nemmeno parlare di un vero Stato». Tenendo conto della geografia, spiega Tufakji, il transito tra nord e sud della Cisgiordania si interrompe tra la colonia ebraica di Maale Adumim e Gerusalemme est. «In quel punto - prosegue - Israele sta costruendo un'area che si chiama "E1" e che chiude l'unico corridoio che hanno i palestinesi, costringendoli a passare per Gerusalemme per poter recarsi da nord a sud. In sostanza, i palestinesi in futuro saranno sotto costante controllo perchè per spostarsi lungo il loro territorio dovranno chiedere il permesso a Israele».
Il muro di separazione costruito intorno a Gerusalemme (181 km), spiega Tufakji, «è parte essenziale del progetto riguardante la zona "E1": da un lato delimita il territorio palestinese che Israele intende attennersi e dall'altro isola i 250.000 palestinesi di Gerusalemme est dal loro Stato e da Ramallah, la città più importante della Cisgiordania. Il muro garantisce inoltre l'annessione di tutti i blocchi di insediamento intorno alla città e la loro espansione sulle terre palestinesi confiscate durante la costruzione della barriera».
Il governo Olmert, incurante delle incerte e deboli obiezioni statunitensi, è deciso ad andare avanti e descrive il progetto per la zona "E1" come un passaggio necessario per garantire la «sicurezza» di Gerusalemme, tutta sotto sovranità israeliana, ad eccezione, come spiega Halper, delle aree densamente popolate da palestinesi. A fine settembre ha perciò rilanciato il progetto e ordinato la confisca delle terre palestinesi a ridosso di Maale Adumim che, grazie alla costruzione di altre 3500 case per coloni, si ritroverà collegata a Gerusalemme. Le confische riguardano di 110 ettari di terre di Abu Dis, Sawahreh a-Sharqiye, Nabi Mussa e Khan Ahmar, nei pressi di Gerusalemme est e sulla strada che porta a Maale Adumim. Così modo i palestinesi perderanno continuità territoriale con la valle del Giordano.
A lanciare il progetto "E1" è stato nel 1994 il «martire della pace» Yitzhak Rabin. Mentre ritirava il premio Nobel per la pace assieme a Yasser Arafat e all'allora ministro degli esteri Shimon Peres, il premier israeliano assassinato 12 anni fa da un estremista di destra ebreo, garantiva la crescita della colonie e l'annessione, in forma dilatata rispetto al 1967, della Gerusalemme palestinese. Il progetto "E1" venne congelato nel 2005 su pressione di Washington e non casualmente ha ripreso slancio proprio subito dopo l'annuncio dell'incontro di Annapolis fatto da George Bush. «L'espansione delle colonie nella regione di Gerusalemme, va a minare, anzi annientare gli sforzi di pace», ha dichiarato Saeb Erekat, negoziatore palestinese e stretto colaboratore di Abu Mazen. Tuttavia l'Anp non ha mai posto come condizione per andare ad Annapolis lo stop dei progetti israeliani a Gerusalemme e nei Territori occupati.
Abu Mazen ad Annapolis corre il rischio concreto di vedersi accusare, proprio come accaduto al suo predecessore Arafat a Camp David, di non aver accettato le «generose offerte» (il controllo di qualche rione arabo) presentate da Olmert su Gerusalemme e Cisgiordania (Gaza, strangolata dal blocco economico e militare, formalmente è un territorio che Israele ha restituito ai palestinesi). «Si sta scherzando con il fuoco perché questa terra determinerà se ci sarà o meno la pace - sottolinea Jeff Halper -. Israele ha il controllo di tutta Gerusalemme, dei confini, delle strade e dell'acqua. E stando così le cose come si potrà costituire uno Stato palestinese?».
«Quando si parla di Stato palestinese, uno Stato sovrano che può autosostenersi economicamente, ci riferiamo ad un territorio omogeneo, non a macchia di leopardo, collegato in tutte le sue parti da una rete stradale - aggiunge il geografo Khalil Tufakji, noto esperto palestinese di Gerusalemme -. Ci deve essere, ad esempio, una autostrada che metta in comunicazione il nord col sud della Cisgiordania, per il movimento di beni e persone, altrimenti non si può nemmeno parlare di un vero Stato». Tenendo conto della geografia, spiega Tufakji, il transito tra nord e sud della Cisgiordania si interrompe tra la colonia ebraica di Maale Adumim e Gerusalemme est. «In quel punto - prosegue - Israele sta costruendo un'area che si chiama "E1" e che chiude l'unico corridoio che hanno i palestinesi, costringendoli a passare per Gerusalemme per poter recarsi da nord a sud. In sostanza, i palestinesi in futuro saranno sotto costante controllo perchè per spostarsi lungo il loro territorio dovranno chiedere il permesso a Israele».
Il muro di separazione costruito intorno a Gerusalemme (181 km), spiega Tufakji, «è parte essenziale del progetto riguardante la zona "E1": da un lato delimita il territorio palestinese che Israele intende attennersi e dall'altro isola i 250.000 palestinesi di Gerusalemme est dal loro Stato e da Ramallah, la città più importante della Cisgiordania. Il muro garantisce inoltre l'annessione di tutti i blocchi di insediamento intorno alla città e la loro espansione sulle terre palestinesi confiscate durante la costruzione della barriera».
Il governo Olmert, incurante delle incerte e deboli obiezioni statunitensi, è deciso ad andare avanti e descrive il progetto per la zona "E1" come un passaggio necessario per garantire la «sicurezza» di Gerusalemme, tutta sotto sovranità israeliana, ad eccezione, come spiega Halper, delle aree densamente popolate da palestinesi. A fine settembre ha perciò rilanciato il progetto e ordinato la confisca delle terre palestinesi a ridosso di Maale Adumim che, grazie alla costruzione di altre 3500 case per coloni, si ritroverà collegata a Gerusalemme. Le confische riguardano di 110 ettari di terre di Abu Dis, Sawahreh a-Sharqiye, Nabi Mussa e Khan Ahmar, nei pressi di Gerusalemme est e sulla strada che porta a Maale Adumim. Così modo i palestinesi perderanno continuità territoriale con la valle del Giordano.
A lanciare il progetto "E1" è stato nel 1994 il «martire della pace» Yitzhak Rabin. Mentre ritirava il premio Nobel per la pace assieme a Yasser Arafat e all'allora ministro degli esteri Shimon Peres, il premier israeliano assassinato 12 anni fa da un estremista di destra ebreo, garantiva la crescita della colonie e l'annessione, in forma dilatata rispetto al 1967, della Gerusalemme palestinese. Il progetto "E1" venne congelato nel 2005 su pressione di Washington e non casualmente ha ripreso slancio proprio subito dopo l'annuncio dell'incontro di Annapolis fatto da George Bush. «L'espansione delle colonie nella regione di Gerusalemme, va a minare, anzi annientare gli sforzi di pace», ha dichiarato Saeb Erekat, negoziatore palestinese e stretto colaboratore di Abu Mazen. Tuttavia l'Anp non ha mai posto come condizione per andare ad Annapolis lo stop dei progetti israeliani a Gerusalemme e nei Territori occupati.
Abu Mazen ad Annapolis corre il rischio concreto di vedersi accusare, proprio come accaduto al suo predecessore Arafat a Camp David, di non aver accettato le «generose offerte» (il controllo di qualche rione arabo) presentate da Olmert su Gerusalemme e Cisgiordania (Gaza, strangolata dal blocco economico e militare, formalmente è un territorio che Israele ha restituito ai palestinesi). «Si sta scherzando con il fuoco perché questa terra determinerà se ci sarà o meno la pace - sottolinea Jeff Halper -. Israele ha il controllo di tutta Gerusalemme, dei confini, delle strade e dell'acqua. E stando così le cose come si potrà costituire uno Stato palestinese?».
The Middle East has had a secretive nuclear power in its midst for years
George Monbiot, The Guardian, 20.11.07. When will the US and the UK tell the truth about Israeli weapons? Iran isn't starting an atomic arms race, it's joining one. I believe that Iran is trying to acquire the bomb. I also believe it should be discouraged, by a combination of economic pressure and bribery, from doing so (a military response would, of course, be disastrous). I believe that Bush and Brown - who maintain their nuclear arsenals in defiance of the non-proliferation treaty - are in no position to lecture anyone else. But if, as Bush claims, the proliferation of such weapons "would be a dangerous threat to world peace", why does neither man mention the fact that Israel, according to a secret briefing by the US Defence Intelligence Agency, possesses between 60 and 80 of them? Officially, the Israeli government maintains a position of "nuclear ambiguity": neither confirming nor denying its possession of nuclear weapons. But everyone who has studied the issue knows that this is a formula with a simple purpose: to give the United States an excuse to keep breaking its own laws, which forbid it to grant aid to a country with unauthorised weapons of mass destruction. The US government has continued to protect it. Every six months, the intelligence agencies provide Congress with a report on technology acquired by foreign states that's "useful for the development or production of weapons of mass destruction". These reports discuss the programmes in India, Pakistan, North Korea, Iran and other nations, but not in Israel. Whenever other states have tried to press Israel to join the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, the US and European governments have blocked them. Israel has also exempted itself from the biological and chemical weapons conventions.
By refusing to sign these treaties, Israel ensures it needs never be inspected. While the International Atomic Energy Agency's inspectors crawl round Iran's factories, put seals on its uranium tanks and blow the whistle when it fails to cooperate, they have no legal authority to inspect facilities in Israel. So when the Israeli government complains, as it did last week, that the head of the IAEA is "sticking his head in the sand over Iran's nuclear programme", you can only gape at its chutzpah. Israel is constantly racking up the pressure for action against Iran, aware that no powerful state will press for action against Israel.
Cisgiordania, colono israeliano ucciso
l'Unità, 2011.07. Un colono israeliano è stato colpito a morte - lunedì sera vicino Nablus, in Cisgiordania - da colpi di arma da fuoco esplosi da palestinesi, hanno annunciato fonti sanitarie e militari. La vittima - di 29 anni e residente nella colonia di Kedoumim - è stata uccisa dai colpi provenienti da una vettura con a bordo palestinesi, che si sarebbe allontanata dalla zona a tutto gas, hanno precisato le fonti. L'attentato è avvenuto pochi giorni prima di un incontro, che gli Stati Uniti intendono organizzare verso la fine del mese ad Annapolis per tentare di rilanciare i negoziati tra Israele e l'autorità palestinese, in vista della creazione di uno stato palestinese.
Lunedì intanto, ad una settimana dalla Conferenza di pace di Annapolis (Maryland) il premier israeliano Ehud Olmert e il presidente palestinese Abu Mazen hanno cercato assieme, per oltre due ore, di compiere progressi per definire una dichiarazione congiunta. Al termine del nuovo incontro, avvenuto a Gerusalemme, hanno espresso compiacimento per i progressi registrati e hanno chiesto ai rispettivi negoziatori capo (il ministro degli esteri Tzipi Livni e l'ex premier Abu Ala) di proseguire subito gli sforzi congiunti. Malgrado tutto, restano divergenze significative.
martedì 20 novembre 2007
Gaza Strip Closure: Palestinian Child Dies as a result of Delay in Allowing Entry to Israeli Hospital
20.11.07. This brings to 10 the number of
The Center’s preliminary investigation indicates that the child Amir Shaher Abdallah El-Yazji (8) from Sheikh Radwan Quarter in
Physicians in Naser hospital indicated that the child was unconscious, and was suffering from an undiagnosed condition in the brain and high blood pressure. They suspected that the child was suffering from a brain tumor. The child died yesterday morning after efforts to transfer him to the Israeli hospital failed. This brings to 10 the number of
PCHR condemns denying the child Amir El-Yazji the right to medical treatment, and:
- Calls upon the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention to pressure IOF to respect International Humanitarian Law, and to cease their policy of collective punishment against eh civilian population in the Gaza Strip.
- Calls upon these Parties to work to ensure that Palestinian patients have free and timely access to healthcare facilities outside the Gaza Strip.
- Calls upon international organizations working in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to act against this policy of collective punishment of the civilian population of the Gaza Strip, and to act to stop the deterioration of the humanitarian and health situation by ensuring the safe and timely passage of food and medicine so as to protect the lives of the civilian population of the Strip.
Public Document
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PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
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Palestinian Childrens Rights and the 18th Anniversary of the Adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
Defence for Children International. Palestinian Section. [RAMALLAH, 20 November] - The 20 th of November 2007 marks the 18 th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989, by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 44/25. The Convention entered into force in Israel in November 1991, but as with most other international conventions and treaties, Israel denies its applicability to the Palestinian territory. Israel contends that human rights treaties to which it is party were intended for the protection of nationals from their own government in time of peace, and do not apply to the current situation in the occupied Palestinian territory. However, the international community widely accepts the applicability of international human rights law to situations of armed conflict and occupation, and Israel therefore has a moral and legal obligation to uphold international human rights standards in its administration of the territory. On the 18th anniversary of the Convention, children's rights in the occupied Palestinian territories are still routinely and widely violated as a result of the Israeli occupation and the PNA's failure to undertake appropriate measures for the implementation of the rights enshrined in the Convention.
Since the start of its occupation of the Palestinian territory in 1967, Israel has carried out policies and practices that have continuously violated Palestinian children's civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. These violations did not cease with Israel's ratification of the Convention in 1991. On the contrary, they escalated and reached unprecedented levels during the second Intifada . Between 1991 and September 2000 (period preceding the second Intifada ) 249 Palestinian children were killed as a result of Israeli military activity in the occupied territory, and since the start of the second Intifada (September 2000) 899 Palestinian children were killed by Israeli military activity. In addition to violating Palestinian children's right to life, Israeli policies and military practices breach many other provisions of the Convention, including: protection from discrimination; provision of adequate standards of living and the highest attainable standard of health; access to education; a guarantee not to be unlawfully or arbitrarily deprived of liberty; and protection from the impact of armed conflict. Indeed, in 2007 alone, hundreds of Palestinian children have been arrested and detained, and around 340 are still currently imprisoned. Most of them are held inside Israel, in contravention of international humanitarian law. Furthermore, the Israeli military routinely resorts to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment amounting to torture when dealing with Palestinian children during arrest, interrogation and detention procedures.
On the Palestinian level, the PNA has still not fully undertaken appropriate measures to implement the rights enshrined in the Convention domestically. While it has drafted and adopted a national Child Law in 2004, it must take other executive steps to implement national laws which would guarantee Palestinian children's enjoyment of the rights set out in the Convention.
The Palestinian National Authority's lack of capacity and the absence of rule of law throughout 2007 have resulted in the deaths of 46 children. Among these 46 children, 24 were killed as a result of infighting between Palestinian political factions.
On the global level, the international community has failed to provide the PNA with the financial resources required to assist in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child nationally. The recent suspension of foreign aid and assistance to the Palestinian National Authority has placed immense financial pressure on its institutions, and made Palestinian children victim of political decisions.
Defence for Children International-Palestine Section calls upon the international community to place pressure on the Israeli government to abide by international law and cease its violations of Palestinian children's rights. We ask State Parties to the Convention to abide by their obligations and endeavour to protect all children without discrimination.
Defence for Children International-Palestine Section also calls upon the Palestinian National Authority to ensure the protection of Palestinian children and take appropriate measures towards effective domestic implementation of the rights recognised in the Convention.
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lunedì 19 novembre 2007
8 percent of new IDF recruits have a criminal record
Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz, 19.11.07 The IDF is adopting measures aimed at preventing the downward spiral in the number of dropouts and rejected conscripts. According to data from the Human Resources Directorate of the army, 18 percent of conscripts drop out during their first year in the IDF and as many as 28 percent of youth eligible for conscription are exempt each year. Most of those who gain exemptions do so for religious reasons, but there are also those who suffer psychological problems, and others who have substantial criminal records. Another problem the IDF has been addressing stems from the fact that as many as 8 percent of each year's conscripts have a criminal record. A decade ago the numbers were approximately 2 percent. As many as 70 percent of conscripts with criminal records do finish their military service. A senior IDF officer explained to Haaretz yesterday that the minute a teenager with a criminal record is conscripted, his background is kept a secret, also from his commanding officers. "He joins the military and no one knows about his past and he comes in clean. We allow him to carry out his military service in the best way, depending on his level of motivation," the officer said.
He also said that every year the IDF files hundreds of requests with the president, asking to do away with the criminal records of soldiers who completed their military service without any major disciplinary problems.
"There is a proposal that we are evaluating at this time to automatically erase all criminal records who complete their full military service," the officer said.
He also said that every year the IDF files hundreds of requests with the president, asking to do away with the criminal records of soldiers who completed their military service without any major disciplinary problems.
"There is a proposal that we are evaluating at this time to automatically erase all criminal records who complete their full military service," the officer said.
Undernourishment causes 10% of these Palestinian children to suffer impaired development, a 36% increase from statistics in 2000
ALEX GELLER , jerusalempost, 18.11.07. Only 52.2% of Palestinian families feel they can provide a safe environment for their children.
According to attorney Irit Rosenblum, founder and chairperson of New Family, the issue affects more than just Palestinian households: "It is a global problem. The world is not paying enough attention to poor society". Data from the New Family report revealed that 2.1 million children under the age of 18 comprise 52.2% of the Palestinian population living in the occupied territories. Reportedly, undernourishment causes 10% of these Palestinian children to suffer impaired development, a 36% increase from statistics in 2000. "The situation is getting worse and worse because people are poor," stated Rosenblum, "and Israel needs to help." Today, low body weight is the leading cause for infant deaths in Gaza. This infant mortality rate is three times greater than that of Israel, and also higher than the rate in the Western world. "Palestinian distress has many repercussions for Israeli society that may not be immediately apparent... the Palestinian regime is under our control, and they are considered to be our poor," she said". According to Rosenblum, the current hardships affecting Palestinian society will have harmful effects on neighboring societies. "This [issue] is the sparkplug of religious global conflict, and Israel is the door to the Third World - a world that influences the actions of fundamental Islam."
After-school clubs and activities are rarely available to Palestinian children, mainly because few options exist, and those are largely unaffordable. The poverty plaguing the families forces one in every 10 Palestinian children under age 18 to work; 73.4% of them work for their families without pay.
New Family found that 95.1% of Palestinian girls spend the majority of their free time at home, in contrast to 80.5% of Palestinian boys, making the home the only place where female children suffer more violence than males.
Rosenblum says "girls, who are less powerful, are the victims. Tradition encourages the inferiority of women, but tradition affects reality."
While 24.6% of Palestinian mothers are unaware of their sons' general whereabouts, only 5.2% say they don't know where their daughters spend their free time.
According to statistics gathered from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO), 93.3 percent of Palestinian children have experienced domestic violence, amounting to 1,950,739 children - 953,950 of whom are girls.
UN aid chief attacks new Israeli checkpoint plan
Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem, The Guardian, 19.11.07 The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees launched a scathing attack today on a new Israeli plan for a system of checkpoint terminals across the occupied West Bank. Karen AbuZayd, head of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said Israeli authorities had told them of plans to install six specially built terminals to check people and cargo, including aid deliveries. She said it would hamper the agency's work and dramatically raise costs. "An insidious new regime to limit freedom of movement is threatening to further stifle economic activity and smother social interaction between villages and towns in the West Bank," AbuZayd said today at a meeting of UNRWA donors in Amman, Jordan. Under the new system, UNRWA expects the annual cost of transporting and delivering aid is likely to treble from $220,000 (£110,000) this year to $720,000 next year. "It is obvious that these new procedures will result in loss of time and an exponential increase in costs," AbuZayd said. There are already 563 obstacles in the West Bank, from permanent checkpoints to earth mounds, according to the UN. "Unless access is assured, there will be a high human cost," said AbuZayd. "More lives will be lost, public health will suffer and the standards of education will fall. The resulting sense of isolation and abandonment accompanied by an increase in radicalism serves no one's interests."
Israeli officials said the terminals were intended to "streamline" crossings. The new checkpoint policy comes at a time when Israel and the Palestinians are engaged in a new round of talks ahead of a summit expected next week in the US in Annapolis, which is intended to restart peace negotiations.
PCHR Calls for Investigation into Methods of Torture Practiced by Palestinian Police in the Gaza Strip
19.11.07. PCHR has received more affidavits from Palestinians who were subjected to beating, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment while in detention by the Palestinian police in the
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, last week, the police of the dismissed Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip, accompanied by individuals wearing civilian clothes, waged a wide scale arrest campaign throughout the Gaza Strip targeting activists of Fatah movement because they participated in a ceremony organized in Gaza City on 12 November 2007 on the third anniversary of the death of the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.[1] A number of these activists who have been released have told PCHR staff members that they were subjected to beating, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment during interrogation. They were also forced to sign documents pledging not to participate in any activities organized by Fatah movement.
An activist of Fatah movement, from Beit Hanoun, who was arrested on 13 November 2007 and was released on the following day, stated:
“At approximately 11:00 on Tuesday, 13 November 2007, the police came to my house and summoned me to the police station in Beit Hanoun. I went to the station. The guards at the entrance of the station took my identity card and held me in a room. Nearly half an hour later, a number of policemen entered the room. They handcuffed me and covered my head with a sac. They then took me to another room. There, they violently beat me using sticks, especially on my feet, for nearly half an hour, and they insulted me. They then took me back to the first room. I felt severe pains in my legs, so I asked them to take me to the hospital, but they refused. At approximately 02:00 on Wednesday, 14 November 2007, they transported me to
Another activist, from Khan Yunis, who was arrested and released on 13 November 2007, stated:
“At approximately 16:00 on Tuesday, 13 November 2007, I went to the police station in Khan Yunis as I had been summoned by the police in the morning. Policemen took me to the interrogation center. They handcuffed and blindfolded me. They then violently beat me. I informed them that I have chronic pains in my back, but they did not pay attention and continued to beat me. They even put a piece of cloth in my mouth in order not hear my screams. When I was sitting with my hands tied behind my back and my back down, one of them treaded on my neck and pressed hard. I suffered from severe pains and my limbs were almost paralyzed. They called for an ambulance that transported me to
A third activist, from Jabalya refugee camp, who was arrested and released on 15 November 2007, stated:
“At approximately 23:00 on Wednesday, 14 November 2007, a person wearing civilian clothes came to my house and handed to me a note summoning me to Jabalya police station at 15:00 on the following day. He also threatened me that I would be severely punished if I did not go. I went to the police station on time. Policemen took me to a room on the upper floor. A person then came and ordered me to stand with my face to the wall. He covered my face and tied my hands and legs. He tied my feet to a lever and pulled me up until my head was down and my legs were up. A number of other persons came and started to violently beat me using sticks and plastic hoses. I screamed and one of them covered my face with a blanket to suppress my screams. I told them that I was suffocating. They then took me down and sprinkled cold water on me. At approximately 18:00 on the same day, I was released when a number of leaders of Hamas intervened. Before my release, I was forced to sign a document pledging not to participate in any activities organized by Fatah movement.”
A fourth activist, from
“At approximately 04:30 on Thursday, 15 November 2007, a number of militants, including masked ones, came to my house and asked me to accompany them quietly. They transported me in a police vehicle to the headquarters of the police (al-Jawazat) in
In light of the above:
1) PCHR reiterates its strong condemnation for torture and calls for investigating such practices and taking legal action against the perpetrators to ensure their non-recurrence.
2) PCHR reminds that torture is outlawed by Palestinian Law, and is a grave human rights violation under international human rights instruments, especially the Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhumane, or Degrading Treatment (1984).
3) PCHR is concerned for prevailing inhuman and degrading treatment by security officials against detainees.
4) PCHR stresses that arrests under the Palestinian Law are the mandate of judicial warranty officials represented by the civilian police, working under the instruction and supervision of the Attorney-General.
Public Document
**************************************
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PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
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[1] For more details about the regrettable incidents that accompanied the ceremony, see PCHR’s press release on 13 November 2007, “PCHR Condemns Excessive and Lethal Use of Force against Civilians in
domenica 18 novembre 2007
Hebron città militarmente occupata
L'occupazione qui a Hebron ha un aspetto molto più pesante ed opprimente rispetto a Twani. I coloni sono arrivati nel cuore della città occupando alcuni edifici che storicamente appartenevano alla comunità ebraica, un gruppo di ebrei fuggiti dopo un violento pogrom nel 1929. Con i coloni è arrivata una cospicua presenza militare che interferisce in modo pesante con la quotidianità degli hebroniti. Da allora Hebron è divisa in due: il 20% sotto totale controllo israeliano, con parte della città riservata esclusivamente ai coloni e il restante 80% sotto controllo palestinese, comunque con la presenza di presidi dell'esercito israeliano. Nel tempo si sono sviluppati due sistemi di viabilità, spesso intrecciati e sovrapposti ma che non si incontrano mai. Per questo i coloni israeliani e i palestinesi residenti vivono vite parallele, fianco a fianco e a volte muro a muro, senza incontrarsi mai.
La separazione è tenuta in piedi da filo spinato, muri di cemento e tanti tanti militari. I numeri aiutano a definire la situazione: circa 120.000 abitanti palestinesi, 600 coloni all'interno della città, altri 7000 circa nelle colonie circostanti (in particolare Kyriat Arba), 1200 soldati piu un gran numero di poliziotti.
Il CPT ha un appartamento nel cuore di Hebron, proprio dove finisce la zona abitata -ma sarebbe meglio dire 'disabitata'- dai Palestinesi e dove inizia l'area riservata ai coloni.
Dopo un po' ci si abitua a tutto... a dover passare attraverso tre check-point per percorrere mezzo chilometro nella città oppure ad incontrare una pattuglia armata fino ai denti, in assetto di combattimento, andando a fare la spesa; ci si abitua a stendere la biancheria mentre sull'ex stazione degli autobus, attualmente confiscata e trasformata in base militare, un centinaio di nuove reclute chiacchierano in cortile in attesa di essere istruiti su come controllare la città. Il gracchiare delle radio militari dai tetti ti ricorda che esiste un "livello superiore" rispetto a quello dove cammini tu: è fatto da giovani diciottenni armati di tutto punto, che si annoiano o vigilano spaventati (a seconda di quanta tensione c'è in città) su quello che succede "di sotto".
Noi siamo " di sotto"...
E qui non accade certo che uno si dimentichi per un solo istante che vive sotto occupazione... ma è ugualmente impossibile non rimanere stupii delle mille risorse che gli abitanti della citta' adottano per resistere in questo posto: è così che il caffè vicino alla nostra sede riapre tutte le mattine con testardaggine sapendo che per ordine militare potrà venir chiuso regolarmente poche ore dopo. E non ti meravigli più se i bambini e gli insegnanti si mettono in fila al checkpoint per andare a scuola, i venditori ti fermano venti volte al giorno illudendosi di venderti qualcosa... fantasticando turisti che ormai da anni non si vedono più. “Hebron, città fantasma” titola un rapporto di B'tselem che dimostra con numeri allarmanti come la stretta militare sulla citta vecchia stia portando al suo totale declino economico e sociale.
Hebron, città che risuscita ogni mattina: è quello che voglio pensare io, rispecchiandomi nella resistenza tenace dei suoi abitanti.
Un abbraccio di speranza.
Laura
volontaria del Christian Peacemaker Team
"ONE BIG PRISON" A Glimpse at Daily Misery in the Gaza Strip
Ulrike Putz in Gaza City, SPIEGELONLINE, 18.12.06 John Ging is the director of the United Nations Refugee and Works Agency (UNRWA), the body that has been dealing with the Palestinians since they were expelled following the foundation of the state of Israel in 1948. Ging doesn't blame the Israelis for everything. When he speaks about Hamas, his voice is filled with anger: "Hamas knew that the money would stop flowing if they didn't maintain relations with the international community," he said. "But they didn't do it anyway. That was irresponsible. The party took into account the fact that the people would suffer." He says that international donors have the right to stop their aid payments. "But then they can't act surprised when the psychological strain leads to a greater tendency towards violence." The fact that the Palestinian government was 70 percent dependent on foreign aid wasn't considered either. "The absence of aid deliveries caused chaos."
As bad as the economic situation is for the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, the psychological strain is even worse. "In the past people hoped that the Israelis would leave. Today there is no more light at the end of the tunnel," Ging says. Morale is terribly low. People feel oppressed. Hopelessness leads to despair, which in turn leads to violence. What worries Ging is that a lost generation is growing up. "Just try inspiring a young person to learn, when he knows that after school absolutely nothing awaits him."
Israeli Sabotage is a Deliberate Policy to Bring Down Palestinian Moderation
Raghida Dergham, Dar Al-Hayat, 16.11.07 Israel currently rejects mentioning the Arab Peace Initiative as a reference-point for the peace process, which is very embarrassing for the US administration, which has made the greatest possible efforts to convince Arab countries to attend the conference, and this includes the initiative's author, Saudi Arabia. This peace plan is the Arab peace plan. Israel has never put forward an Israeli peace plan. It continually works to abort peace plans that are proposed. Its provocative stance on refusing to mention the Arab Peace Initiative as one of the reference-points for the peace process can only be a testament to the sterile Israeli maneuvers, just like its demand that Palestinians issue a prior recognition of the Jewishness of Israel to head off any discussion of the right of return.
Then there is the Knesset, which last week approved a draft law to prevent the Israeli government from changing the borders of east and west Jerusalem without the approval of two thirds (80) of Knesset members, instead of an absolute majority of 61, according to current law. The goal of this change is head off any chance of reaching an agreement about the status of East Jerusalem. This stance by the Israeli Knesset is another chapter in the annals of Israeli intransigence when it comes to the requirements of peace with the Palestinians.
It's no coincidence that these Israeli positions, meant to sabotage the conference, are part of a deliberate policy to bring down Palestinian moderates, represented by the PA and the government of Abbas and Fayyad, at a time of competition between Hamas and the PA. This is not the first time that Israel has invested in Hamas; the Jewish state directly helped create Hamas to challenge the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Israel is trying to ignite inter-Palestinian division, in the belief that this is in Israel's interest. Thus, it is readying itself militarily for the post-Annapolis conference phase, since it expects the eruption of a wave of violence against the PA if the Annapolis Conference fails to push the peace process seriously forward. Thus, the Israelis are competing among themselves, at a time in which there is no Israeli option other than igniting a Palestinian civil war in order to justify Israel's mass expulsion of Palestinians to Jordan, as an alternative homeland - this is in order to solve the demographic problem and turn Israel into a purely Jewish state, militarily, with no need for negotiations or compromises.
HEBRON UPDATE 22-28 October 2007
Key events: A home invasion; clashes at the Bab iZaweyya; soldiers harassing Palestinians at checkpoints
Regular events: Accompanying Hani to and from school; school, noon, and afternoon patrols
Monday 22 OctoberRegular events: Accompanying Hani to and from school; school, noon, and afternoon patrols
In the morning, Border Police detained a Palestinian teacher and searched the bags of ten Palestinian children in ten minutes. Jessica Frederick spoke with three Border Police and one Blue Police officer and presented them with a legal position from the Civil Administration stating they could not search the bags of children on their way to or from school. One Border Police said, “Someone puts a bomb in the bag of a ‘little one,’ as you call them.”
Frederick, Christina Gibb, and Donna Hicks went to the Ibrahimiyye Boys’ School to meet with the headmaster and meet Hani (not his real name), a boy in a wheelchair that they are accompanying to school. A wall erected by the Israeli authorities prevents him from a direct route to his school (see Reflection: “Obstacles to School, Obstacles to Peace” 14 November.)
In addition, the headmaster told them Israeli soldiers tried to destroy the Palestinian Authority ID of a teacher they detained in the morning. Even though teachers have these special IDs that ought to get them through checkpoints without detention (in addition to IDs issued by the Israeli government), one of the Palestinian school staff said, “When he [the teacher] would take it [the special ID] out for a soldier, he would start laughing on (sic) him.”
Wednesday 24 October
On afternoon patrol, Frederick and Mary Wendeln caught up with three soldiers walking hurriedly through the market with a map in hand. The soldiers started down a hill and positioned themselves low on the ground with their guns aimed. They rapidly entered a nearby building and went up its steps. The soldiers, ahead of the CPTers, entered a home. Hearing them inside, Frederick opened the door and propped it open with her foot as Wendeln informed the soldiers they needed to leave as they did not show a search warrant. Frederick snapped a picture before a soldier pushed the door shut. After a few minutes, the soldiers left and took the stairs to a higher level in the building.
When they left the apartment, Frederick and Wendeln entered the home to find a visibly shaken mother with her 18-month-old son. Wendeln called Zleehka Muhtaseb, who translated for the woman. She said the soldiers came into the house unannounced and physically dragged her and her child from the laundry room to the living room. Muhtaseb told Frederick members of the family have connections to Hamas (one spent time in jail), so soldiers periodically harass them in their home. Frederick and Wendeln stayed with the family, sharing tea, cookies, dinner, and coffee with them. Finally, the soldiers exited the building.
Thursday 25 October
Delegation members went on school patrol with the team, including going to Qurtuba School. One delegate had an extended conversation with a soldier, whose brigade arrived in Hebron from Gaza. He said he liked being in Hebron better, because in Gaza soldiers did not interact with Palestinians. He said to the delegate, “They’re human beings. They have rights.”
Gibb and Wendeln went to Qurtuba school again for afternoon school patrol. Hisham Sharabati told them young men were burning tires and throwing stones in Bab iZaweyya. He said shopkeepers were going on strike, because a Palestinian prisoner had been killed in an Israeli jail the day before. The deputy principal dismissed the children as usual, despite the whiff of tear gas and sounds of percussion grenades from the direction of the checkpoint. The children and teachers were unable to travel freely home because the army had closed the checkpoint and some of the roads. Eventually, two TIPH (Temporary International Presence in Hebron) members escorted them along a path and up a steep track where they were vulnerable to harassment by soldiers and attack by settlers from Tel Rumeida.
Frederick and Lorne Friesen accompanied Hani to and from school. They visited with a friend of Hani’s family. Years ago, one of his sons was at a checkpoint when Israeli soldiers shot and killed a child. This traumatized his son. When Friesen asked him if he studied a lot for school, the translator (a friend of the family) explained the trauma he experienced had made studying difficult; he now has a very poor memory. The translator said, “They [the Israeli soldiers] ruined his future.”
At about 3pm, Hicks and Gibb went out on patrol to see what was happening in Bab iZaweyya. A rubber bullet had hit someone in the neck. He was not seriously hurt, refusing to go in an ambulance. The CPTers saw a group of boys running towards the checkpoint. One by one, they ran and threw their stones, then ran out of sight. The army retaliated from the checkpoint with tear gas canisters and percussion grenades. The tear gas overcame an older man, who lay in the street while passers by administered first aid.
Friday 26 October
After a short prayer, the delegation and the team headed for the Al Jabari and Da’na lands to pick olives. One ISM (International Solidarity Movement) member tried to conduct interviews with Palestinians and some Israeli settlers. The ISMer said Palestinians would not give interviews, because “they were arrested the last time” they gave interviews.
On their way home, at the Mosque checkpoint, CPTers saw border police restraining an elderly Palestinian man by pulling at his clothes, while they laughed at him. Gibb confronted the soldiers and told them their behaviour was disgraceful. One of the soldiers said it was only a joke; they were just having fun. Gibb said it was not a joke for the man, and they had a responsibility to respect Palestinian civilians, who are also children of God.
Saturday 27 October
While on CPT’s roof, Mary Rose and a soldier on duty on the roof across the road began chatting. Rose offered the soldier a brochure to describe the work of CPT. They decided to meet in Shuhada Street, so Rose asked Muhtaseb for access through her house. The two went to Muhtaseb’s front door. After aggressive settler adolescents confronted them and a soldier questioned them about using the door, the other soldier arrived to collect the brochure.
When Jan Benvie and Hicks approached the Gutnick Center checkpoint at around 4pm, they observed four Israeli border police surrounding a Palestinian man, forcing him to remove his trousers. As the CPTers approached, the Border Police stepped back from the man. Not wanting to embarrass him, Benvie and Hicks walked past, but stayed in a position to monitor the situation. Half an hour later, Israeli authorities released him.
As Benvie and Hicks returned home, a patrol of six soldiers appeared from the market, not far from their home. One soldier asked Benvie “Are you hiding terrorists in your house?” She explained CPT is against violence and that they worked for peace.
Team members during this period included: Jan Benvie, Jessica Frederick, Lorne Friesen, Christina Gibb, Donna Hicks, Jonathan Stucky, Mary Wendeln, and Mary Rose, a guest from New Zealand
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical initiative to support violence reduction efforts around the world. To learn more about CPT's peacemaking work, visit our website www.cpt.org Photos of our projects are at www.cpt.org/gallery A map of the center of Hebron is at http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/fullMaps_Sa.nsf/0/5618737E38C0B3DE8525708C004BA584/$File/ocha_OTS_hebron_oPt010805.pdf?OpenElement The same map is the last page of this report on closures in Hebron: www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/ochaHU0705_En.pdf
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