Tag: palestinians

Hamas Demolishes Palestinian Homes

RAMALLAH – On Sunday approximately 150 Palestinians from 20 families were driven out of their homes in Rafah, in the southern Gaza strip, by heavily armed police and soldiers who menaced them with clubs. The difference this time was that it was not the Israeli Defense Forces carrying out evictions and demolitions but Hamas security … Continue reading “Hamas Demolishes Palestinian Homes”

US Funds Apartheid Roads on West Bank

RAMALLAH – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is helping Israel to construct an apartheid road infrastructure in the occupied Palestinian West Bank by financing nearly a quarter of the segregated road system primarily for the benefit of Israeli settlers. USAID’s figures state that the agency has financed 235 km of roads in … Continue reading “US Funds Apartheid Roads on West Bank”

Israeli Settlers Step Up Attacks on Palestinian Mosques

LUBBAN ASH SHARQIYA, West Bank – “There is immense anger as well as a feeling of vulnerability and fear when a place of sanctuary and holiness is subject to indiscriminate violence,” says Issa Hussein. “Despite living under a brutal military occupation and being subjected to regular attacks by Israeli settlers for decades, normally places of … Continue reading “Israeli Settlers Step Up Attacks on Palestinian Mosques”

From Two States to One

Last week in Tel Aviv, a judge imposed a $25,000 fine on three tenants who extended their balcony illegally by annexing 23 sq. meters (250 sq. ft.). Well, that’s not really a scoop. Illegal construction is a punishable offense everywhere, even if there are no immediate victims like in this case. Israel is a law-and-order … Continue reading “From Two States to One”

Jerusalem Divided Between Hats and Hearts

JERUSALEM – There’s a Jerusalem saying that the city wears too many hats – Jewish hats, Muslim hats, Christian hats – so it’s difficult to get at its brain. As Israelis and Palestinians wrestle for the right to wear the prime Jerusalem hat, U.S. President Barack Obama is being made aware that his special envoy … Continue reading “Jerusalem Divided Between Hats and Hearts”

A Cloud Over Jerusalem

Everyone has the right to change his or her mind. Even Danny Tirzeh. Col. Tirzeh was responsible for planning the wall that “envelopes” Jerusalem – the one that cuts the city off from the West Bank in order to turn it into the United Capital of Israel for All Eternity. And now, suddenly, Tirzeh pops … Continue reading “A Cloud Over Jerusalem”

The Wiesenthal Center’s Bait and Switch

The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s stated purpose is “confronting anti-Semitism, hate and terrorism, promoting human rights and dignity, standing with Israel, defending the safety of Jews worldwide, and teaching the lessons of the Holocaust.” Rabbi Marvin Hier established the Center as a tax-exempt foundation in 1977 with a major grant from Canadian financier Samuel Belzberg and … Continue reading “The Wiesenthal Center’s Bait and Switch”

A Middle East Peace That Could Happen (But Won’t)

The fact that the Israel-Palestine conflict grinds on without resolution might appear to be rather strange. For many of the world’s conflicts, it is difficult even to conjure up a feasible settlement. In this case, it is not only possible, but there is near universal agreement on its basic contours: a two-state settlement along the … Continue reading “A Middle East Peace That Could Happen (But Won’t)”

Israel’s Large and Small Apartheids

Author’s note: Below is the text of a talk delivered to the fifth Bilin international conference for Palestinian popular resistance, held in the West Bank village of Bilin on April 21. Israel’s apologists are very exercised about the idea that Israel has been singled out for special scrutiny and criticism. I wish to argue, however, … Continue reading “Israel’s Large and Small Apartheids”

Israel Winning Its War on Goats

GAZA CITY – Nine-year-old Ismail spends every afternoon herding his family’s flock of sheep and goats, a scraggly group of roughly 20 animals. They live in a shanty house district near Tel el Howa in Gaza City, where growth is sparse to nonexistent. "I walk all over to find food for the animals," he says, … Continue reading “Israel Winning Its War on Goats”