Israeli - Palestinian Conflict

New Flotilla to Gaza set to sail
Boats carrying pro-Palestine activists arrive in Mediterranean ports ahead of departure to blockaded coastal enclave.
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The Marianne of Gothenburg is preparing to set sail for Gaza [Joran Fagerlund]
At least three boats carrying pro-Palestine activists are preparing to set sail to Gaza in the latest attempt to break Israel’s blockade against the territory.

Members of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition in Palermo, Sicily, have told Al Jazeera that final preparations are underway, with the boats aiming to reach Gaza before the end of June.

Activist Kalle Ohlsson said the flotilla’s main objective was not to bring aid, but to open Gaza’s port to allow freedom of movement and trade.

“Our aim is to end the siege of Gaza. We want the Palestinians to know that we haven’t forgotten about them. There are many crises in the world, but the situation in Gaza is also really bad, and we do remember them,” Ohlsson told Al Jazeera.

The Swedish flagged Marianne, currently moving between Sicilian ports, has limited space for cargo, but will be carrying small amounts of aid including medical equipment and solar panels.

Organisers say details of the other boats, as well as the final departure point of the flotilla, are being kept secret to avoid sabotage.

Kalle says there are also concerns about how the Israeli military will react once the boats reach international waters.

“We’re very concerned about safety. We have a strict non-violence policy. We’re hoping Israel won't use violence against us.”

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Activists say they have a strict non-violence policy [Thomas D Johansson]
Ten people were killed in May 2010 when Israeli soldiers opened fire onboard the Mavi Marmara. The ship, which was part of the first ‘Freedom Flotilla’ to Gaza, was raided by Israeli forces in international waters after it refused to change its destination.

Al Jazeera contacted the Israeli military for reaction to the new flotilla, but received no response. The Israeli government says its maritime blockade is necessary to prevent weapons reaching Gaza.

Swedish journalist and writer Kajsa Ekis Ekman, who will be onboard the Marianne as it sets sail, thinks the Israeli government will eventually back down if the flotillas continue.

“I’m hoping that the Israelis actually understand that it would create a lot of more goodwill for them if they actually let the boats through, because there’s no reason for them not to do that. It’s counter-productive in the end. I think they’ve totally lost common sense here, because really it’s not a threat to bring in medical equipment, to bring in medicine, to bring in solar panels.”

The Marianne of Gothenburg

The Marianne spent working life as a fishing trawler in the North Sea, until it was purchased with support from civil groups in both Sweden and Norway. The activists plan to hand it over to Gaza’s fishermen if they succeed in getting through.

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The Marianne hopes to reach Gaza before the end of June [Ship to Gaza]
Ellen Hansson has been working on deck to help maintain the boat since it left Sweden for the Mediterranean.

“The atmosphere is really positive, and optimistic, and every time we’ve arrived at a new port there are so many activists that are coming to show their support. It’s really a wonderful feeling that gives you hope and strength, that makes you really believe that together we can all do something amazing.”
 
Israel forced to free Palestinian prisoner on hunger strike
Khader Adnan, who was held without charge, released after 55-day hunger strike amid fears that he might die.


Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan, who had been on a hunger strike in an Israeli jail for 55 days, has been released.

Adnan, who launched on an indefinite hunger strike on April 6, had been placed under medical supervision at a clinic in Israel's Ramla prison earlier this month.


He had been under "administrative detention" - a practice in which Israel holds Palestinians without charges or trial - for a year, since soldiers took him from his home in Arrabeh, in the northern West Bank last July.

His lawyer Jawad Boulos told Al Jazeera on Sunday that Adnan would be released and that Israel had also pledged to never detain him again under the guidelines of administrative detention, which can imprison Palestinians indefinitely for renewable six-month intervals.

10th detention, six years in jail

It was the tenth time that the 37-year-old father of six, who worked as a baker, had been placed in detention without charge. Adnan had spent a total of around six years in jail.

He has previously been on longer hunger strikes and refused food for 66 days back in 2013.

Al Jazeera's Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from the West Bank, said that Israel had "no choice" but to release Adnan following warnings from rights groups, including the Red Cross, that he was close to death.

Our correspondent said that Adnan was a well-known figure in the Palestinian community and a leading figure in the Islamic Jihad political party but had denied that he had ever been involved in violence.


Earlier this month, Adnan's wife Randatold Al Jazeera: "We are very concerned about his health right now. It's getting much worse. We know that he could die if something isn't done quickly."

As his health deteriorated, Adnan was refusing to undergo medical tests or take vitamins, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society.

"We've been told he cannot stand on his own or walk and that he's shackled to the hospital bed," Randa said. "There are guards watching him at all times."

His family had also been denied visitation rights for "security reasons".

An estimated 426 Palestinians in Israeli lock-up are currently being held as administrative detainees, according to the Ramallah-based Addameer Prisoner Support Network.

* With imputs from Patrick Strickland
 
Israel exonerates itself over Gaza beach killings of four children last year
Israeli investigation says missile attack that killed boys aged between nine and 11 was ‘tragic accident’ in findings contradictory to journalists’ reports from scene

The Israeli military has cleared itself of culpability in one of the most controversial incidents in last summer’s Gaza war: a missile attack that killed four children on Gaza beach and injured a number of others.
Israel’s advocate general’s office said the attack, which led to the death of four boys aged between nine and 11 was a “tragic accident”.

An account of the investigation, posted late on Thursday by military spokesman Lt Col Peter Lerner, said the strike had targeted a “compound” which had been known as belonging to Hamas’s Naval Police and Naval Force (including naval commandos)”.

But journalists who attended the scene in the immediate aftermath of the attack – including a reporter from the Guardian – saw a small and dilapidated fisherman’s hut containing a few tools where the children had been playing hide-and-seek.

Mohammad Ramiz Bakr, 11, Ahed Atef Bakr and Zakariya Ahed Bakr, both 10, and Ismail Mahmoud Bakr, nine, were killed when they were hit by explosive rounds. Three of them died as they sought to flee the beach after the first child was killed.

Three other people were injured in the attack: Hamad Bakr, 13, was hit by shrapnel in his chest; his cousin Motasem, 11, injured in his head and legs, and Mohammad Abu Watfah, 21, who was hit by shrapnel in his stomach.

The conclusion of the Israeli military investigation comes while the Israel is under a preliminary investigation by the International Criminal Court to establish whether war crimes were committed during the Gaza war – both by Israel and Hamas. The finding will inevitably raise questions over the way in which Israel investigates incidents in which civilians were killed.

Israel’s conduct in last summer’s war was thrown under a harsh spotlight last month with the publication of the testimonies of dozens of soldiers who served in Gaza, collected by the Israeli human rights group Breaking the Silence, which included allegations that the Israeli military did not meet its obligations to protect civilians in wartime.

According to the UN, 2,200 Palestinians were killed in the 50-day conflict, of whom 1,492 were civilians, 605 militants and 123 unverified.

Thursday’s statement by the Israel Defence Forces said the conclusion came at the end of an “extensive criminal investigation”.

“During the investigation,” it added, “testimonies were collected from a large number of IDF soldiers and officers who were involved in the planning and execution of the attack.”

The statement continued: “Additionally, an extensive number of documents relating to the attack were reviewed, along with video footage documenting the attack in real time, as well as media images and video footage which documented parts of the incident.

“Efforts were made to collect the testimonies of Gaza strip residents who were, allegedly, witnesses to the incident. In this context, the collection of testimony from three witnesses was coordinated. Regretfully, despite the prior coordination, the witnesses eventually declined to meet the investigators, and instead provided affidavits in regard to the incident.”

Although the attack was witnessed by a Guardian reporter, no attempt was made by the Israeli military investigators to seek a statement.

The IDF statement continued: “From the factual findings collected by the investigators, it revealed that the incident took place in an area that had long been known as a compound belonging to Hamas’s Naval Police and Naval Force (including naval commandos), and which was utilized exclusively by militants.”

The hut, however, was in plain sight of nearby hotels housing international journalists, none of whom described seeing militants in the area at the time of the attack.

Continuing its statement the Israeli military continued: “The compound in question spans the length of the breakwater of the Gaza City seashore, closed off by a fence and clearly separated from the beach serving the civilian population.

“It further found in the course of the investigation (including from the affidavits provided by Palestinian witnesses), that the compound was known to the residents of the Gaza Strip as a compound which was used exclusively by Hamas’s Naval Police.

“The IDF carried out a number of attacks on the compound in the days prior to the incident. In the course of one such attack, which took place on the day prior to the incident (15 July 2014), a container located inside the compound, which was used to store military supplies, was attacked.”
The Israeli claims appear at odds in several details with what journalists were able to see at the time.

The breakwater is both easily accessible from a side lane and also is located on one of the busiest parts of the public beach in Gaza port and accessible not only to the fishermen who use it, but local Palestinians who come to sunbathe and swim within feet of it.

The container described in the Israeli finding also appeared to contain no military equipment.

Describing the moment of the attack the Iisraeli military continues: “On 16 July, aerial surveillance identified a number of figures entering the compound at a running pace.

“These figures entered a shed adjoining the container which had been attacked the day prior. Against the backdrop of the aforementioned intelligence assessment, these were believed to be militants from Hamas’s Naval Forces, who had arrived at the compound in order to prepare to execute the aforementioned military activity against the IDF. It should be stressed that the figures were not identified at any point during the incident, as children.”

“In light of the above, it was decided to conduct an aerial attack against the figures which had been identified, after all the necessary authorizations for an attack had been obtained, and after a civilian presence in the area had been ruled out.

“When one of the identified figures entered into the remains of the container which had been attacked on the day prior to the incident, one missile was fired from the air towards the container and the adjoining shed. As a result of this attack, it appeared that one of the figures identified was hit. Following this attack, the rest of the figures began to run in the direction of the compound’s exit. Shortly before their exit from the compound, an additional missile was fired from the air towards them, which hit the figures in question after they had exited the compound.”

What is not clear from the Israeli report is why Israeli targeters had failed to identify that children had been playing on the beach prior to the attack.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/11/israel-clears-military-gaza-beach-children
 
EU protests against Israeli plans to demolish Palestinian village

European foreign ministers join US in warning against ‘harmful and provocative’ demolition or evictions in West Bank village of Khirbet Susiya

Children in the playground at Khirbet Susiya in the south Hebron Hills with the white walled houses of the Israeli settlement of Susiya visible in the background.

EU foreign ministers have called on Israel to halt plans for the “forced transfer of population and demolition of Palestinian housing” in the West Bank village of Khirbet Susiya amid growing concerns that it may be knocked down in the coming days.

In a statement, the European foreign ministers echoed a warning delivered by the US government over the fate of the community of 350 in the south Hebron Hills.

Last week, John Kirby, a US State Department spokesman, warned that any demolition or evictions would be “harmful and provocative”. He said: “We’re closely following developments and we strongly urge the Israeli authorities to refrain from carrying out any demolitions in the village.”

Fears for the community have been growing since a visit by a senior Israeli military officer, who told villagers that 37 dwellings had been earmarked for demolition ahead of a scheduled appeal hearing on 3 August.



A temporary structure that is home to some of villagers of Khirbet Susiya.
The statements came as Israeli and foreign activists have protested at the site 24 hours a day in an attempt to prevent its demolition.

The case of Khirbet Susiya, which has been fighting a 20-year-long battle for survival, has become an international cause celebre, not least because of the financial support from European countries – including the UK – to the villagers.

If the demolitions go ahead it would be the third time the village has faced attempts at demolition or that its inhabitants have been forced to move.

That prospect has been intensifying since earlier this summer, when villagers lost a case in an Israeli court attempting to block demolition of their homes.

Located in the occupied Palestinian territories, Khirbet Susiya is in Area C under full Israeli control and squeezed between two settlements – Susiya settlement – and an archaeological site run by settlers.

In 1986, villagers were expelled from their cave houses on the archaeological site.

The army expelled the residents again in 2001 during the second intifada – a short time after Palestinians killed an Israeli from the Susiya settlement. The residents then moved to their current location on agricultural land they own.


A woman and her newborn baby inside a home in Khirbet Susiya.

Although Israel claims the structures in the village are illegal, the villagers and their supporters claim that the Israeli authorities have consistently refused to give them proper planning permission or allowed them to connect to utilities, despite the fact that the neighbouring settlement has water and electricity.

Local settler leaders have made clear they would be happy if the land that is currently the site of the Palestinian homes is taken for Jewish settlement.

The present threat to Khirbet Susiya was prompted by a complaint three years ago by Regavim, a rightwing Israeli NGO, which uses the courts to insist on the demolition of Palestinian buildings it argues are illegal.

Fears for the village escalated this month when Maj Gen Yoav Mordechai, the senior Israeli military official in the occupied territories, visited the village to warn residents that demolition orders would be carried out between the end of Ramadan and 3 August. During the visit, Mordechai encouraged villagers to relocate voluntarily to a parcel of private land close to the city of Yatta.

That intention was made clear in a letter sent to villagers by the Israeli military authorities after Mordechai’s visit, which read: “In light of your update concerning the intention to reach a solution on this subject, please find enclosed a list of the illegal buildings constructed in violation of the orders, and which you are requested to evacuate independently.”

Many of the homes due for destruction belong to the extended Nawaja family, who believe they are being singled out by the authorities for speaking out against the demolition orders.



Villagers in Khirbet Susiya live in temporary structures in family groups separated over hilltops in the south Hebron Hills and subsist on sheep farming, bee keeping and selling embroidered goods. Photograph: Peter Beaumont for the Guardian
Among them is Nasser Nawaja, a spokesman for the villagers. He said: “[Gen] Mordechai came and said he wanted to meet with the villagers to make an offer. He said you have lost in court. I’m coming here to propose a humane solution. He said ‘We’ll give you another place where you can build and do what you want but you cannot build here.’”

Nasser and other villagers insist, however, they have not been given any details of the proposed alternative and point out that they own the land on which they are living.

Campaigners and villagers believe the solution will involve the villagers being moved from Area C – a part of the occupied West Bank under full Israeli control following the 1993 Oslo Accord – to Area A, which is under full Palestinian civil and security control. Diplomats say the population transfer is illegal under international law.

“He told us initially only three houses were under threat of imminent demolition under the court order but when the Israeli authorities gave us a map of houses to be demolished it had 37 on it,” Nasser said. “Before the map was produced the Israelis called one of the other villagers to ask where I lived. But on the map they got it wrong, earmarking my sister’s home.”

The case of Khirbet Susiya has taken on an increasing diplomatic significance in recent weeks, against the backdrop of fractious relations between Israel and both the US and the EU.

That has been underlined by comments made both by Kirby at the State Department and senior EU officials and diplomats.

Kirby made clear that the consequences of an Israeli demolition of Khirbet Susiya would be viewed by the Obama administration in the context of continuing illegal settlement construction in the same region.

The UK government has been equally outspoken in its opposition.

“The British government’s position against displacement of communities in Area C is clear,” wrote Alastair McPhail, the British consulate-general in Jerusalem last month.

“Demolitions of property and the evictions of entire communities from their villages cause great suffering to ordinary Palestinians and are harmful to the peace process. They are, in all but the most limited circumstances, contrary to international humanitarian law.”

The settler movement, which has considerable influence with Binyamin Netanyahu’s rightwing government, is pushing for the demolitions to be carried out promptly, saying there is no further legal impediment.

Local settler leader Yochai Damri points to the archaeological site and evidence of an ancient synagogue to argue that the Jews were there first.

The Israeli vice -prime minister, Silvan Shalom, told Reuters the government was abiding by the court’s decision in the same way as when the judiciary ordered it to evacuate Jewish settlers.

“If the supreme court has authorised the decision to evacuate people, it’s something we should do. We have evacuated Israelis [settlers] as well as Palestinians that are staying on land that does not really belong to them, so it’s not something we are doing with the Palestinians only,” he said.
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Nothing to see here, just Israel Israelin'.
 
barros said:
So now they attack buildings as well or maybe they are after someone who's hiding inside? Police is not allowed to enter inside a mosque?
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Ultranationalist Jews/Zionists have been occupying the compound immediately outside of Al Aqsa which they are barred from. They claim that the area there is theirs. The Palestinians protecting the mosque have clashed with them there and with the IOF.
 
barros said:
So now they attack buildings as well or maybe they are after someone who's hiding inside? Police is not allowed to enter inside a mosque?
Click to expand...

Violence at Temple Mount on Tisha B'Av
Police force their way into al-Aqsa Mosque, where Arab youths equipped with stones and fireworks barricaded themselves overnight; police officers wounded; riot dispersed.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4684025,00.html
 
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Monday morning have shot dead Mohammed Abu Lateefa (18) during Israeli raid on Qalandia refugee camp near Ramallah.

Israeli police said the IOF broke into Qalandia camp near to arrest two Palestinians, raiding houses.

The Israeli border police forces opened fire at Abu Lateefa as he was running away across a roof. However, police claimed that he “fell to his death as he tried to leap to another roof.”

Picture of Mohammed Abu Lateefa
The martyr’s body was detained for a full hour before IOF finally handed it to the family.
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Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Thursday morning shot dead Palestinian Falah Abu Maria (55), and wounded his son during savage raid on Beit Ommar village, north of Hebron.

Locals told PNN that intensive private forces broke into Abu Maria’s home, inspected and raided it provocatively, in attempts to kidnap his son, Mohammed.


The soldiers then opened fire on the residents. Falah was shot by three bullets from a close distance– one of the them penetrating the heart.

He was then moved to Al-Ahli hospital in Hebron to be announced dead there.

Mohammed, the son, was shot directly in the leg.

Israeli forces have also kidnapped another youngster from the village, then left.

The condition in the village in the area still nervous, clashes with Israeli soldiers are still happening on the village entrances while the people get ready to bid last farewell to the martyr.


Falah Abu Maria’s home after Israeli soldiers opened fire on the residents

IOF detain Palestinian youngster during raid
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Forget the Palestinians: Arab states have too much else to worry about
By Amir Taheri

July 12, 2015 | 9:53pm


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iran_anti_israeli_rally.jpg

Iranian women hold placards in favor of Palestine and Yemen during an anti-Israel rally marking Al-Quds Day.Photo: EPA
‘Hi there! Any news from Palestine?”

This is how a prominent Arab writer, Walid Abimerchid, started his latest newspaper column last week, going on to describe a “growing fatigue with the whole Palestine issue.”

He notes that the so-called peace process has run into sand. President Obama is focused on forging an alliance with the mullahs of Tehran; no other major power seems interested in touching the issue. The international peace-broker Tony Blair has quietly resigned amid general indifference. French President François Hollande made some noises about “a new initiative” but quickly thought better of becoming involved in “something no one is interested in.”

The Arab columnist’s concern reflects the current mood in the Middle East. For the first time in decades, Palestine has been shut out of the news in favor of Syria, ISIS, sectarian wars and the growing aggressiveness of an Iran encouraged by Obama’s grand strategy of retreat.

Most of the foreign press in Israel has moved to Beirut and Istanbul to cover the sectarian wars in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

In the past months, the Palestinian government resigned, Hamas split into at least three factions and the lengthening shadow of ISIS killers looms over the Sinai Peninsula in neighboring Egypt.

But there are other reasons the Palestine issue has lost much of its luster for many Arabs. One reason was cited the other evening by a Jordanian businessman, Abu Furas, at a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner in London. “Today, no Arab feels safe in his country,” he said. “Ironically, the sole exceptions are Palestinians in the West Bank because they know Israel will defend them if ISIS attacks. Even in Gaza, most people secretly believe that Israel is their ultimate protection against ISIS fighters trying to strike roots in the Sinai.”

Though the idea of Arabs being saved by Israel from massacre by their own brethren sounds fantastic, events on the ground lend it some weight.

Palestinians living in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria have been massacred both by Bashar al-Assad’s troops and throat-cutting mujahideen from ISIS. The massacre of Christians, Yazidis and

Druze minorities by Islamist groups in Syria and Iraq contrasts with the safety those groups enjoy in Israel.

For weeks, Jordan has been bracing itself for an attack by ISIS on Zarqa, a Palestinian-majority city near Syria. Such a move would bring ISIS close to the West Bank and Israel proper, in which case, some Jordanians believe, the Jewish state would stop its spread.

“Today, Arabs see that their own house is on fire,” says a Dubai businessman. “In such a situation one could hardly think of burning someone else’s house.”

Eyad Abuchaqra, a prominent Lebanese commentator and TV personality, cites another reason for dwindling interest in the Palestinian issue. “One might call it Palestinitis,” he says. “Arabs realize that there are many other issues that affect their lives, indeed their existence.”

The idea that it is now Iran and not Israel that poses an existential threat to Arabs receives almost daily confirmation with outlandish statements by Khomeinist leaders in Tehran. “Iran is trying to create a Persian Crescent as the core of its empire,” claims Lebanese Interior Minister Nihad Manshouq. “That now represents the principal threat faced by Arabs.”

“Today, it is Iran and not Israel the Arabs ought to worry about,” says Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the Afghan Hizb Islami (Islamic Party) who was sheltered, financed and armed by Tehran for decades.

Not surprisingly, Iran’s leaders try to keep the Palestine issue on the front burner by casting themselves as the “liberators of Jerusalem.”

That was the theme of the “Jerusalem Day” events last week presided over by President Hassan Rouhani and inaugurated with a message from “Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenei. Both men promised to “liberate Palestine” and wipe Israel off the map.

But their show attracted less attention than at any time in the past 30 years. The Khomeinist regime’s TV station in Tehran complained that global media had ignored “Jerusalem Day” but could hardly restrain its jubilation when reporting a small pro-Iran gathering in Jerusalem itself, where some posters of Khamenei were distributed among visitors to the Al Aqsa Mosque.

The Khomeinists missed the irony of Israel being the only government in the Middle East, outside Iran itself, to allow such a demonstration.

http://nypost.com/2015/07/12/forget-the-palestinians-arab-states-have-too-much-else-to-worry-about/
 
holyland red said:
Forget the Palestinians: Arab states have too much else to worry about
By Amir Taheri

July 12, 2015 | 9:53pm


Modal Trigger


iran_anti_israeli_rally.jpg

Iranian women hold placards in favor of Palestine and Yemen during an anti-Israel rally marking Al-Quds Day.Photo: EPA
‘Hi there! Any news from Palestine?”

This is how a prominent Arab writer, Walid Abimerchid, started his latest newspaper column last week, going on to describe a “growing fatigue with the whole Palestine issue.”

He notes that the so-called peace process has run into sand. President Obama is focused on forging an alliance with the mullahs of Tehran; no other major power seems interested in touching the issue. The international peace-broker Tony Blair has quietly resigned amid general indifference. French President François Hollande made some noises about “a new initiative” but quickly thought better of becoming involved in “something no one is interested in.”

The Arab columnist’s concern reflects the current mood in the Middle East. For the first time in decades, Palestine has been shut out of the news in favor of Syria, ISIS, sectarian wars and the growing aggressiveness of an Iran encouraged by Obama’s grand strategy of retreat.

Most of the foreign press in Israel has moved to Beirut and Istanbul to cover the sectarian wars in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

In the past months, the Palestinian government resigned, Hamas split into at least three factions and the lengthening shadow of ISIS killers looms over the Sinai Peninsula in neighboring Egypt.

But there are other reasons the Palestine issue has lost much of its luster for many Arabs. One reason was cited the other evening by a Jordanian businessman, Abu Furas, at a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner in London. “Today, no Arab feels safe in his country,” he said. “Ironically, the sole exceptions are Palestinians in the West Bank because they know Israel will defend them if ISIS attacks. Even in Gaza, most people secretly believe that Israel is their ultimate protection against ISIS fighters trying to strike roots in the Sinai.”

Though the idea of Arabs being saved by Israel from massacre by their own brethren sounds fantastic, events on the ground lend it some weight.

Palestinians living in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria have been massacred both by Bashar al-Assad’s troops and throat-cutting mujahideen from ISIS. The massacre of Christians, Yazidis and

Druze minorities by Islamist groups in Syria and Iraq contrasts with the safety those groups enjoy in Israel.

For weeks, Jordan has been bracing itself for an attack by ISIS on Zarqa, a Palestinian-majority city near Syria. Such a move would bring ISIS close to the West Bank and Israel proper, in which case, some Jordanians believe, the Jewish state would stop its spread.

“Today, Arabs see that their own house is on fire,” says a Dubai businessman. “In such a situation one could hardly think of burning someone else’s house.”

Eyad Abuchaqra, a prominent Lebanese commentator and TV personality, cites another reason for dwindling interest in the Palestinian issue. “One might call it Palestinitis,” he says. “Arabs realize that there are many other issues that affect their lives, indeed their existence.”

The idea that it is now Iran and not Israel that poses an existential threat to Arabs receives almost daily confirmation with outlandish statements by Khomeinist leaders in Tehran. “Iran is trying to create a Persian Crescent as the core of its empire,” claims Lebanese Interior Minister Nihad Manshouq. “That now represents the principal threat faced by Arabs.”

“Today, it is Iran and not Israel the Arabs ought to worry about,” says Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the Afghan Hizb Islami (Islamic Party) who was sheltered, financed and armed by Tehran for decades.

Not surprisingly, Iran’s leaders try to keep the Palestine issue on the front burner by casting themselves as the “liberators of Jerusalem.”

That was the theme of the “Jerusalem Day” events last week presided over by President Hassan Rouhani and inaugurated with a message from “Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenei. Both men promised to “liberate Palestine” and wipe Israel off the map.

But their show attracted less attention than at any time in the past 30 years. The Khomeinist regime’s TV station in Tehran complained that global media had ignored “Jerusalem Day” but could hardly restrain its jubilation when reporting a small pro-Iran gathering in Jerusalem itself, where some posters of Khamenei were distributed among visitors to the Al Aqsa Mosque.

The Khomeinists missed the irony of Israel being the only government in the Middle East, outside Iran itself, to allow such a demonstration.

http://nypost.com/2015/07/12/forget-the-palestinians-arab-states-have-too-much-else-to-worry-about/
Click to expand...

The only hope is for all the Palestinians to join the Labour Party and vote for Jeremy Corbyn.
 
Here's a list of fabrications made by the article's author:

Controversies and Alleged fabrications
Nest of Spies
Shaul Bakhash, a specialist in mideast history at George Mason University, wrote in a review of Taheri's 1989 book Nest of Spies in The New Republic that Taheri concoctsconspiracies in his writings, and noted that he "repeatedly refers us to books where the information he cites simply does not exist. Often the documents cannot be found in the volumes to which he attributes them.... [He] repeatedly reads things into the documents that are simply not there." Bakhash stated that Taheri's 1988 Nest of Spies is "the sort of book that gives contemporary history a bad name."

Claims of Osama bin Laden's death in 2002
Taheri's byline was attached to an op-ed in the The New York Times of July 11, 2002 under the title "The Death of bin Ladenism". His clip claimed "Osama bin Laden is dead. The news first came from sources in Afghanistan and Pakistan almost six months ago"

Iranian sumptuary law
Main article: 2006 Iranian sumptuary law controversy
On May 19, 2006, the National Post of Canada published two pieces, one by Taheri, claiming that the Iranian parliament passed a law that "envisages separate dress codes for religious minorities, Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians, who will have to adopt distinct colour schemes to make them identifiable in public."[8] Numerous other sources, including Maurice Motamed, the Jewish member of the Iranian parliament, refuted the report as untrue. The Associated Press later refuted the report as well, saying that "a draft law moving through parliament encourages Iranians to wear Islamic clothing to protect the country's Muslim identity but does not mention special attire for religious minorities, according to a copy obtained Saturday by The Associated Press." [9] Reuters also reported that "A copy of the bill obtained by Reuters contained no such references. Reuters correspondents who followed the dress code session in parliament as it was broadcast on state radio heard no discussion of proscriptions for religious minorities."

Taheri insisted that his report was correct and that "the dress code law has been passed by the Islamic Majlis and will now be submitted to the Council of Guardians", claiming that that "special markers for followers of Judaism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism are under discussion as a means to implement the law".

The National Post retracted the story several hours after it was posted online. The newspaper blamed Taheri for the falsehood in the article, and published a full apology on May 24. Taheri stood by his article.

Taheri's PR agent Eliana Benador defended his story. "Benador explained that, when it comes to Iran, accuracy is 'a luxury...As much as being accurate is important, in the end it's important to side with what's right. What's wrong is siding with the terrorists.'"

Khomeni quotation
In 2007, Rudy Giuliani campaign adviser Norman Podhoretz wrote an article in Commentary magazine called "The Case for Bombing Iran," which included the following quotation (allegedly from Ayatollah Khomeini): "We do not worship Iran, we worship Allah. For patriotism is another name for paganism. I say let this land [Iran] burn. I say let this land go up in smoke, provided Islam emerges triumphant in the rest of the world."[3] The quotation, which was later repeated by Podhoretz on the PBS NewsHour, and by Michael Ledeenin National Review, surprised Bakhash, who had never heard it before and found it out of character for Khomeni.[3] Bakhash traced the quotation back to a book by Taheri, and reported that "no one can find the book Taheri claimed as his source in the Library of Congress or a search of Persian works in libraries worldwide. The statement itself can't be found in databases and published collections of Khomeini statements and speeches."

Javad Zarif accusations
Dwight Simpson of San Francisco State University and Kaveh Afrasiabi have written that Taheri and his publisher Eleana Benador fabricated false stories in the New York Post in 2005 where Taheri identified Iran's UN ambassador Javad Zarif as one of the students involved in the 1979 seizure of hostages at the US Embassy in Tehran. Zarif was Simpson's teaching assistant and a graduate student in the Department of International Relations of San Francisco State University at the time.

Erdogan taking Turkey back 1,000 years with ‘reforms’
With his article, published on New York Post website,[16] he made reference to his own opinions as if Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan made such statements. Examples of his own views that he published as if PM Erdogan's views are as follows, - Taheri claimed 'His plan to amend the Constitution to replace the long-tested parliamentary system with a presidential one (with himself as president and commander-in-chief) is only part of it. He’d also undo the key achievement of Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey.' while Turkish PM never mentioned during his press conference about presidential system and also PM publicly stated that he prefer presidential system to be discussed but it is not a must, only if there is consensus over presidential system between all political parties, it may be implemented. - Taheri also says in this article, 'First, his package encourages many Turks to redefine their identities as minorities. For example, he has discovered the Lezgin minority and promises to allow its members to school their children in “their own language.”'. The changes promised by Turkish PM doesn't refer to any specific minority or group of citizens and allow any language to be taught in private schools. News and comments in Turkish media stated this amendment was addressing to mainly Kurdish people as there has been requests from Kurdish citizens of Turkey for this. - His article reads, 'They (Kurdish citizens of Turkey) would be allowed to use their language, but not to write it in their own alphabet. Nor could they use “w” and other letters that don’t exist in the Turkish-Latin alphabet but are frequent in Kurdish.' Turkey, under rule of PM Erdogan, made necessary amendments to the laws and there were more than 6.000 books published in Kurdish language in 2012. Therefore, this is a clear example of Taheri's using his own views and ignoring the facts. - Taheri also says in his article, 'The second leg of Erdogan’s strategy is to re-energize his Islamist base. Hundreds of associations controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood are to take over state-owned mosques, religious sites and endowment properties — thus offering AKP a vast power base across Turkey.' which is just an opinion of himself, not based on single evidence or fact as there is no Muslim Brotherhood in Turkey. - Taheri says in his article that 'Erdogan is using “Manzikert” as a slogan to sell his package' while PM Erdogan never made any reference to Manzikert in his speech.
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Gaza: Cutting edge investigation points to Israeli war crimes in Rafah on ‘Black Friday’

New evidence showing that Israeli forces carried out war crimes in retaliation for the capture of an Israeli soldier has been released today in a joint report by Amnesty International and Forensic Architecture. The evidence, which includes detailed analysis of vast quantities of multimedia materials, suggests that the systematic and apparently deliberate nature of the air and ground attack on Rafah which killed at least 135 civilians, may also amount to crimes against humanity.

The online report, ‘Black Friday’: Carnage in Rafah during 2014 Israel/Gaza conflict, features cutting edge investigative techniques and analysis pioneered by Forensic Architecture, a research team based at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International said:

“There is strong evidence that Israeli forces committed war crimes in their relentless and massive bombardment of residential areas of Rafah in order to foil the capture of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, displaying a shocking disregard for civilian lives. They carried out a series of disproportionate or otherwise indiscriminate attacks, which they have completely failed to investigate independently.”

“This report presents an urgent call for justice that must not be ignored. The combined analysis of hundreds of photos and videos, as well as satellite imagery and testimony from eyewitnesses, provides compelling evidence of serious violations of international humanitarian law by Israeli forces which must be investigated,” Luther added.

The massive amount of evidence collected was presented to military and other experts, and then pieced together in chronological order to create a detailed account of events from 1 August, when the Israeli military implemented the controversial and secretive “Hannibal” procedure following the capture of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin.

Under the “Hannibal Directive”, Israeli forces can respond to the capture of a soldier with intense firepower despite the risks to his life or to civilians in the vicinity. As the report illustrates, the implementation of the directive led to the ordering of unlawful attacks on civilians.

“After Lieutenant Hadar Goldin was captured, Israeli forces appear to have thrown out the rule book, employing a ‘gloves off’ policy with devastating consequences for civilians. The goal was to foil his capture at any cost. The obligation to take precautions to avoid the loss of civilian lives was completely neglected. Entire districts of Rafah, including heavily populated residential areas, were bombarded without distinction between civilians and military targets,” said Luther.

The ferocity of the attacks, which continued after Lieutenant Goldin was declared dead on 2 August, suggests they may in part have been motivated by a desire to punish the population of Rafah as revenge for his capture.

Intense bombardment

Shortly before Lieutenant Goldin’s capture on 1 August 2014, a ceasefire had been announced, and many civilians returned to their homes believing it was safe. Massive and prolonged bombardment began without warning while masses of people were on the streets, and many of them, especially those in vehicles, became targets. That day later became known in Rafah as “Black Friday”.

Eyewitness accounts described horrifying scenes of chaos and panic as an inferno of fire from F-16 jets, drones, helicopters and artillery rained down on the streets, striking civilians on foot or in cars, as well as ambulances and other vehicles evacuating the wounded.

One witness described the attacks that day as an attempt to pulverize Rafah’s civilians, likening the onslaught to “a machine making mincemeat out of people without mercy”.

Cutting edge forensic analysis

For this investigation, eyewitness accounts describing the carnage in Rafah were cross-referenced with hundreds of photos and videos taken from various sources and multiple locations, as well as new high resolution satellite imagery obtained by Amnesty International.

A team of researchers at Forensic Architecture used an array of sophisticated techniques to analyse this evidence. They examined time indicators within an image – such as the angle of shadows or shape and size plumes of smoke, which act as “physical clocks” – to pinpoint attacks in time and space (a process known as geo-synching).

The analysis reveals that on 1 August, Israeli attacks on Rafah targeted several locations where Lieutenant Goldin was believed to be located, regardless of the danger posed to civilians, suggesting that the attacks may even have been intended to kill him.

In one of the deadliest incidents researchers, with the help of military experts, were able to confirm that two one-ton bombs – the largest type of bomb in Israel’s air force arsenal –were dropped on a single-storey building in al-Tannur in eastern Rafah. Scores of civilians were in the immediate vicinity at the time making this a grossly disproportionate attack.

“The ferocity of the attack on Rafah shows the extreme measures Israeli forces were prepared to take to prevent the capture alive of one soldier – scores of Palestinian civilian lives were sacrificed for this single aim,” said Philip Luther.

The analysis of available photos, videos and other multimedia evidence from eyewitnesses was crucial for investigating possible violations since the Israeli authorities have denied Amnesty International staff access to the Gaza Strip since the 2014 conflict began.

“Forensic Architecture combines new architectural and media technologies to reconstruct complex incidents based on the traces that violence leaves on buildings during a conflict. Architectural models help us draw links between multiple bits of evidence such as images, videos uploaded on social media and testimonies to virtually reconstruct the unfolding of events,” said Eyal Weizman, the Director of Forensic Architecture.

Attacks on hospitals and medical workers

Satellite images and photographs analysed for the report show craters and damage indicating that hospitals and ambulances were attacked repeatedly during the assault on Rafah, in violation of international law.

A doctor described how frantic patients fled Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital after attacks on the area intensified. Some were wheeled out on beds, many had intravenous drips still attached. A young boy in a plaster cast dragged himself along the ground to get away.

An ambulance carrying a wounded old man, woman and three children was struck by a drone-fired missile, setting it alight and burning everyone inside including medical workers to death. Jaber Darabih, a paramedic who arrived at the scene, described the charred remains of bodies with “no legs, no hands… severely burned”. Tragically, he later discovered that his own son, a volunteer paramedic was among those killed in the ambulance.

“By attacking ambulances and striking near hospitals, Israel’s army displayed a flagrant disregard for the laws of war. Deliberately attacking health facilities and medical professionals amounts to war crimes,” said Philip Luther.

Ending the cycle of impunity

This investigation into Rafah provides some of the most compelling evidence yet of serious violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes, during the conflict.

In previous reports, Amnesty International has highlighted violations by both sides, including systematic attacks by Israel on inhabited civilian homes and its wanton destruction of multistorey civilian buildings; and Palestinian armed groups’ indiscriminate attacks and direct attacks on civilians in Israel, as well as summary killings of Palestinians in Gaza.

However, a year after the conflict, the Israeli authorities have failed to conduct credible, independent and impartial investigations into violations of international humanitarian law. Israel’s limited military inquiries into some of its forces’ actions in Rafah on 1 August have not held anyone accountable.

“Thus far, the Israeli authorities have proved at best incapable of carrying out independent investigations into crimes under international law in Rafah and elsewhere, and at worst unwilling to do so. This report’s findings add compelling evidence to an already large body of credible documentation of serious violations during the Gaza conflict, which demand independent, impartial and effective investigations,” said Philip Luther.

“Victims and their families have a right to justice and reparation. And those suspected of ordering or committing war crimes must be prosecuted.”
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Evidence is overwhelming, but they continue to get away with it. They've broken countless UN resolutions. So infuriating.
 
I sat in on an international law tutorial once, when quite apropos of nothing someone up and asked the tutor at what point we considered Israel a rogue state. The tutor hemmed and hawed for about five minutes before basically going "because America".
 
Fearless said:
Give me something more than that. I've presented top military and legal experts and you've given nothing.
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:lol:

Kemp also reportedly told his Christians United For Israel (CUFI) audience that he had communicated with the dead. According to the Frontpage Mag report, he had “that morning, spoken to Orde Wingate … ‘I spoke to him this morning at Arlington [military cemetery]’.”

The late British officer infamously led the Special Night Squad, a militia used to crush Palestinian rebels who fought against the British occupation in the 1930s. According to one history of the British occupation of Palestine, Wingate had “a passionate pro-Zionism born of the religious tenets he had absorbed as a member of the Plymouth Brethren” – a conservative Evangelical denomination.

The squad was mostly populated by Zionists with the British “knowing that they were simultaneously members of Haganah,” the militia which would in 1948 play the leading role in ethnically cleansing 750,000 Palestinians. At the same time, “Arabs caught with arms were routinely prosecuted, and some hanged” while Haganah training and arming “had been winked at” (A. J. Sherman, Mandate Days, John Hopkins University Press: 1997, pp. 121, 151).

Kemp reportedly told his audience Wingate was “the greatest Christian Zionist in Britain.”

A veteran of British occupations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland, since leaving the army, Kemp has become an author and motivational speaker.

He has been described by the London correspondent of Israel’s Haaretz as “a favorite of the British pro-Israel lobby.” One Israeli army propagandist wrote he was an “almost lone voice in defending the actions of the” Israeli army during its 2008-09 assault on Gaza.

More than 1,400 Palestinians were killed by Israel in that attack, the vast majority civilians. But Kemp saw fit to defend Israel’s actions.
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Your expert is Zionism's favourite British son. Your posts are getting more idiotic. I think you should go to bed and think about your behaviour.

Edit: There's actually reams about this fool on the net.

Edit 2: By that I mean Kemp, not Fearless.
 
@Fearless - this one is straight from your bag of utter shite.

There is a “global conspiracy of propaganda aimed at the total de-legitimization of the state of Israel,” he stated, seemingly referring to movements of solidarity with Palestine like the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. He also called it an “evil conspiracy of de-legitimization.”

He continued with another favorite Israeli propaganda theme – its opponents must all be Nazis: “it is no surprise, of course, that such a campaign has great popularity in the Arab and wider world, any more than Goebbels’ twisted propaganda succeeded in persuading so many Germans to his murderous cause.”

He also cited the same UN Human Rights Council he addressed in 2009 as an example of the “anti-Israel conspiracy.”
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:lol:

Just waiting for him to come out with 'if you don't like Israel you're an anti-Semite' bullshit. He's halfway there.
 
Uzz said:
:lol:



Your expert is Zionism's favourite British son. Your posts are getting more idiotic. I think you should go to bed and think about your behaviour.

Edit: There's actually reams about this fool on the net.
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Some fool......

Honours and awards
Kemp was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), Military Division, on 25 April 1994 in recognition of his intelligence work in Northern Ireland in 1993,[33]and was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Bravery for service as a commander in the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia in 1994.[34] He was promoted Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), Military Division, in the New Year Honours 2006.[35] In addition, he is a member of the International Advisory Board of NGO Monitor[36] and of the Board of Advancing Human Rights (NGO).[37]
 
Palestinian baby burned to death in settler attack
Two houses burned in Duma village in occupied West Bank, with graffiti left on the walls reading "revenge" in Hebrew.

An 18-month-old Palestinian boy has burned to death after settlers set fire to his family house in Duma village, south of Nablus city, in the occupied West Bank.

The parents of Ali Saad Dawabsheh and his four-year-old brother were also injured in the attack, sources told Al Jazeera on Friday morning.

Up to 75 percent of their bodies suffered burns, according to medics in Nablus' Rafidia hospital.

The Israel army issued a statement saying that they were trying to locate the suspects of the attack.

"This attack against civilians is nothing short of a barbaric act of terrorism. A comprehensive investigation is underway in order to find the terrorists and bring them to justice," Lietenant Colonel Peter Lerner said in the statement.

"The IDF (Israeli army) strongly condemns this deplorable attack and has heightened its efforts in the field to locate those responsible."

Two Palestinian houses were burned at the entrance of the village with graffiti left on the walls, reading in Hebrew "revenge" and "long live Messiah".

Witnesses told Al Jazeera that they saw at least four settlers running away from the scene.

There are at least three illegal Israeli settlements near Duma village.

According to the UN, at least 120 attacks by Israeli settlers have been documened in the occupied West Bank since the start of 2015.

A recent report by Yesh Din, an Israe;i human rights organisation, showed that more than 92.6 percent of complaints Palestinians lodge with the Israeli police go without charges.
 
Absolutely disgusting. This is where death penalty should be applied, houses demolished, schools closed and rabbis arrested and charged.
 
holyland red said:
Absolutely disgusting. This is where death penalty should be applied, houses demolished, schools closed and rabbis arrested and charged.
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The perpetrators should definitely be arrested and charged harshly, though the death penalty and demolishing people's home is the unnecessary sort of response that represents a microcosm of the overall conflict here.
 
We can see in this thread why the the situation will never be resolved.

You're mean, well only 'cos you're mean, well only 'cos you're mean, well only 'cos you're mean...etc etc

Unless they can do what they did in Northern Ireland and basically bury the hatchet, and let what happened in the past stay in the past and start to look forward, then there really is no way forward.
 
Kaos said:
The perpetrators should definitely be arrested and charged harshly, though the death penalty and demolishing people's home is the unnecessary sort of response that represents a microcosm of the overall conflict here.
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Those elements should be dealt with harshly. The only difference between them and ISIS material is that they currently live in a state of law. If this is loosened any longer they'll continue to raise their ugly heads and cause more damage, in what is already an explosive state of affairs. It's the same elements in society here that torched a church a couple of months ago, and stabbed people in the pride parade in Jerusalem yesterday. Hate crimes- checked, religious fundamentalists- checked. you don't hunt them down only after they take over, but you fight them harshly well before. Unfortunately Israeli authorities are well late in taking the necessary measures. Shameful.

Expect plenty of clashes after the Friday prayers later on today, with possibly additional deaths. There are also people who will get killed in the coming days/weeks in incidents triggered by this barbaric act.
 
kid777 said:
Palestinian baby burned to death in settler attack
Two houses burned in Duma village in occupied West Bank, with graffiti left on the walls reading "revenge" in Hebrew.

An 18-month-old Palestinian boy has burned to death after settlers set fire to his family house in Duma village, south of Nablus city, in the occupied West Bank.

The parents of Ali Saad Dawabsheh and his four-year-old brother were also injured in the attack, sources told Al Jazeera on Friday morning.

Up to 75 percent of their bodies suffered burns, according to medics in Nablus' Rafidia hospital.

The Israel army issued a statement saying that they were trying to locate the suspects of the attack.

"This attack against civilians is nothing short of a barbaric act of terrorism. A comprehensive investigation is underway in order to find the terrorists and bring them to justice," Lietenant Colonel Peter Lerner said in the statement.

"The IDF (Israeli army) strongly condemns this deplorable attack and has heightened its efforts in the field to locate those responsible."

Two Palestinian houses were burned at the entrance of the village with graffiti left on the walls, reading in Hebrew "revenge" and "long live Messiah".

Witnesses told Al Jazeera that they saw at least four settlers running away from the scene.

There are at least three illegal Israeli settlements near Duma village.

According to the UN, at least 120 attacks by Israeli settlers have been documened in the occupied West Bank since the start of 2015.

A recent report by Yesh Din, an Israe;i human rights organisation, showed that more than 92.6 percent of complaints Palestinians lodge with the Israeli police go without charges.
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Sickening. Really sickening.
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