This Week in Palestine Aug. 30 – Sept. 5
by IMEMC News
HAVANA TIMES — Welcome to this Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for August 30th to September 5th, 2014.
Palestinian diplomats seek UN resolution to end Israel’s occupation to Palestinian land in three years, meanwhile this week four civilians from Gaza died this week after being injured during the Israeli war on Gaza last month. These stories and more, coming up, stay tuned.
The Nonviolence Report
Let’s begin our weekly report as usual with the nonviolent activities organized in the West Bank. At least four civilians were injured and many others were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation when Israeli troops attack anti wall and settlement protests organized at a number of West Bank communities on Friday.
In central West Bank protests were organized at the village of Bil’in, Ni’lin and Al Nabi saleh. Also protests were organized in southern West Bank villages of Al Ma’ssara and Wadi Foukien near Bethlehem.
At the villages of Bil’in, and Ni’lin residents and their supporters reached the Israeli wall built on lands taken from local famers before soldiers stationed their showered them with tear gas and chemical water that generate bad smell. Many were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation at both villages.
In the nearby village of Al Nabi Saleh, Israeli soldiers attacked protesters before even leaving the village. Later soldiers also invaded the village and fired tear gas at residents’ homes. As a result four civilians were injured by rubber-coated steel bullets while many were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.
Elsewhere, many civilians were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation when Israeli soldiers attacked villagers of Wadi Foukien and their supporters. Protesters tried to plant olive trees at land Israel want to take over to construct new illegal settlements.
At al Ma’ssara village on Friday, Israeli troops stopped the villagers and their supporters at village entrance then forced them back using rifle-buts and batons, no injuries were reported.
The Political Report
Shortly after the Palestinian diplomats submitted a proposal to the United Nations for ending the Israeli military occupation in Palestine, the US threatened to block such proposal in the UN if voted on.
Senior Palestinian Liberation Organization’s negotiator Saeb Erekat submitted a proposal for ending the ongoing Israeli occupation and establishing Palestinian State. The proposal was said to include a timetable for withdrawal of Israeli military forces.
The PLO now intends to seek a UN Security Council resolution which would set a three-year deadline for the end of the occupation.
In the meantime, US permanent representative to the United Nations, Samantha Power, has implied that Washington will block any resolution in the Security Council to pass Palestinian initiatives which aim to end the Israeli occupation in the West Bank within three years.
Power said such issues should be solved through negotiations and described the Palestinian move as a unilateral step.
Palestinian observors said the US continues to implement double standard with issues related to Palestine-Israel.
This week, Palestinian negotiators met with US Secretary of State John Kerry for over two hours described by US officials as “constructive talks” concerning future relations with Israel.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: “It was a constructive conversation that covered a range of issues, including Gaza, Israeli-Palestinian relations, and recent developments in the region.” She further stated that the conveners have agreed to talk again, in coming weeks.
Such talks come as Israel has declared it would expropriate nearly 1000 acres of Palestinian land to build new settlements and expand some existing ones in the West Bank.
The US has urged Israel to reverse this decision as it would backfire against Israel. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the announcement would cause the situation in the region to deteriorate further, and added that settlements in general are illegal.
In related news, head of Hamas political bureau Khaled Mashal says that the Gaza Strip will not return to the siege or be internationally isolated again.
Mashal said, in an interview with the Al-Araby al-Jadeed website: “The 1.8 million Gazans should live as all human beings, enjoying their national rights to travel by land, sea, or air. Gaza is part of the Palestinian homeland and is the coastal city of the West Bank”. Mashal added “A number of demands were already established in the Cairo cease-fire agreement and others postponed to be negotiated within a month, he said “we will continue our struggle until our people get what they want.”
The West Bank and Gaza Report
Four Palestinians from Gaza died this week due to wounds they sustained during the Israeli war on Gaza last month. Meanwhile in the West Bank Israeli attacks leave six civilians injured.
On Monday, Palestinian medical sources reported that a man and a child have died of serious injuries suffered, in different strikes, during Israel’s extensive bombardment and aggression on the Gaza Strip last month.
Moreover a Palestinian aged woman died on Wednesday at an Egyptian hospital after succumbing to wounds she sustained during the Israeli war on Gaza. She was injured on July.
Another elderly Palestinian woman died on Thursday at the Nasser Medical Center, in Cairo, of serious injuries suffered on August 29, during the Israeli war on the coastal region.
Last week, Egyptian mediated truce ended a 51 days long Israeli war on Gaza that started on July 8. Israeli bombardment have left more than 2149 killed and at least 11300 injured.
Also this week, Israeli navy continued to attack Palestinian fishermen off the coast of the Gaza Strip. On Monday Israeli warships fired at Palestinian boats while they were sailing within the agreed-upon six-nautical-mile limit, near Rafah. On Wednesday morning, Israeli navy opened fire at a number of Palestinian fishing boats close to the shore of Gaza City, and kidnapped two of them.
In the West Bank this week, two Palestinian civilians were injured on Monday evening during clashes between local youth and invading Israeli soldiers at the village of Beit Ummer in southern West Bank.
Local sources announced that two teenagers were taken to hospital after being hit by rubber-coated steel bullets fired by Israeli troops and many others were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation. Moreover at least four Palestinians were injured during clashes which erupted Monday, at dawn, in Deheishe refugee camp, to the south of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank.
Later in the week, Israeli troops demolished on Wednesday two homes in Beit Hanina town in occupied east Jerusalem. Local sources said that the houses are home to 15 family members who are now homeless. Israeli soldiers also demolished on Wednesday a Palestinian owned shop at the village of Al Jep near Jerusalem.
The Israeli army claimed that the three structures are built without the needed permission from the military. Construction permits are rarely given to Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem.
Conclusion
And that’s all for today from This Week in Palestine. This was the Weekly report for August 30 to September 5th, 2014 from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. For more news and updates please visit our website at www.imemc.org. This week’s report has been brought to you by Samer Jaber, and Ghassan Bannoura.
I don’t care who lived in the territory thousands of years ago. What kind of world would we live in if everyone had the right to kick off people from their current home because their great grannies have lived their thousands of years ago? You are aware that Israel still thinks that not only Palestine, but a huge chunk of the Levant is “Jewish land”, I put quotes around it because thousands and thousands and thousands of Jews in America alone are appalled by the fact that Israel dares to claim it represents international Jewry. The only thing Israel has done is smear the name of the Jewish people under its Zionist agenda. Palestine, after being occupied and destroyed by Israels attempt at ethnic cleansing is the ONLY state that gets to say “I am defending itself”. Have you thought of how Israel wouldn’t have to defend a person if it treated the Palestinians as human beings instead of animals? Let’s not forget the fact that Jews and Arabs have lived together for a long time before Zionism entered the picture and ruined the peace there. There was no need to create this ongoing conflict. Lastly, I apologize for confusing you with a woman, I misread your name as “Carolyne” as I was rreading quickly.
On this I fully agree with you.
The State of Israel was established by the United Nations. Why should the Jews who after all established Jerusalem thousands of years prior to Christ and later Mohamed not have any territory as a homeland? Israel is a miniscule country compared with the numerous Arab countries combined territory. I am not criticising Israel’s existence, I am criticising the construction of houses for Israelies on the West Bank. Just as many Israelies have been killed defending their homeland against attacks by Arab states, they have in defending their country killed others.
Hamas is recognised as a terrorist organization and has called for the elimination of the State of Israel. Syria supported by others including the Castro regime of Cuba launched a military attack now known as the Yum Kippur war – which Israel won retaining the Golan Heights as an important strategic location and occupying the West Bank.
You pose a question – “Why was there a need to kill?” As a legal State Israel has a right to defend itself against attack and those who kill in the process of those attacks.
As you no doubt are aware, Hamas is not the recognised legal representative of the peoples of the West Bank or Gaza. The leader lives in comfort and safety in Quatar willingly sacrificing the lives of those in Gaza – the innocent and members of his terrorist organization alike.
My understanding is that some 18% of citizens of Israel are Arabic and have the vote as it is a democratic country – and the Arabs I met there were treated as equal citizens by the authorities and government departments – yes I have been the recipient of Arab hospitality both in Israel and the West Bank.
I understand that you and I are not going to agree and say so as a long discussion here on the Havana Times site would be pointless.
Finally, I am a male.
Let me start of by saying that I think you are an intelligent woman, seeing as how you point out the flaws in Israel’s decisions to annex more territory illegally instead of being blind like so many others. However, I urge you to understand that Israel has been occupying, setting up blockades, and killing millions of people (children included) long before Hamas was brought into the picture. This conflict has been going on since the late 40’s, and so anyone can see that Israel is the true terrorist here. Why do this when Jews and Arabs have been living in Palestine for generations. There is evidence of currency labeled with the name of Palestine in both Arabic and Hebrew from 1927, long before this conflict began. So why? Why was there need to kill? Why occupy, and steal the rights of people that have been living in peace with Jews for generations? The zionist ideology of Israel is the true terrorist. The world must know that. Palestine has been stolen, and so you’re saying that Israel has a right to exist? It doesn’t because it’s been taken from a people who had every right to their homes. And Hamas is the terrorist for defending it’s people and trying to get their rights back? Lastly, just because Israel has no right to exist does not mean that Jews and Arabs cannot live together in peace in the State of Palestine, which like I said has been going on for a very long time. Zionism is the problem, and Israel should be ashamed.
Firstly, Israel has a right to exist and Hamas is a terrorist organization.
However, Israel is not without fault. Building housing for Israelies on the West Bank is provocative and inexcusable.
The US administration is subject to more than substantial lobbying and pressure from members of Congress and the Senate who are supported by Jewish organizaions. In
my opinion, when Israel first allowed the construction of housing for Israelies on the West Bank, the US administration should have demonstrated both intestinal fortitude and integrity and notified the Government of Israel of that whereas it could not prevent the construction, it would reduce its financial support of Israel by $2 million per year – every year – for every house constructed on the West Bank.
Sadly the best opportunity for agreement which was President Clinton’s joint meeting of Arafat and Barak a Camp David was missed when Arafat’s history of strife and practising a form of terrorism overcame him when it was the moment instead to display statemanship. I know that view can be rejected by some, but what future chance do they perceive?