In recent days, rebel groups have been hit hard by pro-Gaddafi forces. The situation on the ground remains uncertain, but latest reports suggest those loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, the Libya leader, have recaptured Azzawiya - 30 km to the west of Tripoli. The frontline is now moving towards the east. Just who is winning this conflict? And are hopes that the Libyan leader would be ousted proving premature?
Friday, May 13, 2011
63 Nakba: Protests Erupt throughout Palestine
Editor Palestine Monitor
Today protests ignited throughout the West Bank and Jerusalem, jumpstarting the anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba on 15 May. 63 years ago, approximately 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes to make way for the creation of the state of Israel with a Jewish majority.
JPG - 173.8 kb
Clashes on Al Quds Street right before Qalandiya checkpoint.
Qalandiya, Ramallah
At Qalandiya checkpoint, youth from the Qalandiya refugee camp entered the Al Quds Street after Friday prayer finished. Setting tires on fire and flinging rocks at the mammoth Qalandiya checkpoint, which separates Qalandiya from Occupied Jerusalem, the young men engaged in clashes with the Israeli Border Police until nightfall, at around 8:30 pm. The checkpoint was closed to cars coming from Ramallah from the early afternoon onwards.
“We will be here today, tomorrow and on Sunday,” one boy said.
Yaher Fayyad, 20, who was working at a sweet-shop during the clashes told the Palestine Monitor that he would be in the streets on Sunday, for the Nakba, “We hope there is something big on Sunday, to change it all to something good, not to something bad.”
Thaera Awwed, 22, who was working with Yaher said, “63 years we are trying, but nothing changed. We will have our change, inshahallah.”
Silwan/Ras el-Amoud, Jerusalem
Also this afternoon, clashes erupted in the besieged city of Silwan in East Jerusalem. The Wadi Hilweh Information Center, silwanic.net, reported that a 16-year-old from the Ras el-Amoud neighborhood was shot with live ammunition in the stomach. Silwanic.net details that the bullet entered his stomach and exited through his back. The young boy, Morad Ayyash, reached the Muqassed hospital in critical condition, with no pulse.
Also in Ras el-Amoud, Silwanic.net has reported that an additional three Palestinians were injured with rubber bullets.
According to a report by the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, 19 protesters were injured in clashes between residents of Silwan and Israeli forces and a total of 11 were arrested.
As the night fell, Jerusalem police began raiding Silwan houses detaining residents.
Nabi Saleh, Ramallah
Nabi Saleh, whose weekly Friday demonstrations have become the target of escalated Israeli military aggression, also erupted in violence after the protest came to a close. According to eye-witnesses, the protest had been relatively calm before the Border Police officers clashed with villagers and protesters. According to PSCC’s report, the Israeli Border Police began dispersing the peaceful demonstration by shooting ample tear gas and beating protesters with batons.
PSCC reported that approximately 25 protesters were injured. One Palestinian woman in her fifties was beaten by the Police to the point of hospitalization; her condition was critical enough that she was moved from the Salfeet Hospital to the better equipped Rafidiya Hospital in Nablus.
In addition, a 25-year-old American protester endured a serious head injury and one Israeli activist suffered two open fractures in his hand. All injuries were caused by the Border Police shooting tear-gas projectiles from short-frange, directly at the demonstrators, in direct contravention of the IDF’s open fire regulations.
The PSCC is also reporting that four protesters were arrested.
Nabi Saleh, a village outside of Ramallah, holds non-violent weekly demonstrations in protest of the Apartheid Wall’s confiscation of its land.
Elsewhere in the West Bank
According to PSCC, Ma’asara, a village south of Bethlehem Israeli forces shot tear-gas into a peaceful demonstration, arresting two protesters, including a member of the village’s popular committee.
http://palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1808
Today protests ignited throughout the West Bank and Jerusalem, jumpstarting the anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba on 15 May. 63 years ago, approximately 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes to make way for the creation of the state of Israel with a Jewish majority.
JPG - 173.8 kb
Clashes on Al Quds Street right before Qalandiya checkpoint.
Qalandiya, Ramallah
At Qalandiya checkpoint, youth from the Qalandiya refugee camp entered the Al Quds Street after Friday prayer finished. Setting tires on fire and flinging rocks at the mammoth Qalandiya checkpoint, which separates Qalandiya from Occupied Jerusalem, the young men engaged in clashes with the Israeli Border Police until nightfall, at around 8:30 pm. The checkpoint was closed to cars coming from Ramallah from the early afternoon onwards.
“We will be here today, tomorrow and on Sunday,” one boy said.
Yaher Fayyad, 20, who was working at a sweet-shop during the clashes told the Palestine Monitor that he would be in the streets on Sunday, for the Nakba, “We hope there is something big on Sunday, to change it all to something good, not to something bad.”
Thaera Awwed, 22, who was working with Yaher said, “63 years we are trying, but nothing changed. We will have our change, inshahallah.”
Silwan/Ras el-Amoud, Jerusalem
Also this afternoon, clashes erupted in the besieged city of Silwan in East Jerusalem. The Wadi Hilweh Information Center, silwanic.net, reported that a 16-year-old from the Ras el-Amoud neighborhood was shot with live ammunition in the stomach. Silwanic.net details that the bullet entered his stomach and exited through his back. The young boy, Morad Ayyash, reached the Muqassed hospital in critical condition, with no pulse.
Also in Ras el-Amoud, Silwanic.net has reported that an additional three Palestinians were injured with rubber bullets.
According to a report by the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, 19 protesters were injured in clashes between residents of Silwan and Israeli forces and a total of 11 were arrested.
As the night fell, Jerusalem police began raiding Silwan houses detaining residents.
Nabi Saleh, Ramallah
Nabi Saleh, whose weekly Friday demonstrations have become the target of escalated Israeli military aggression, also erupted in violence after the protest came to a close. According to eye-witnesses, the protest had been relatively calm before the Border Police officers clashed with villagers and protesters. According to PSCC’s report, the Israeli Border Police began dispersing the peaceful demonstration by shooting ample tear gas and beating protesters with batons.
PSCC reported that approximately 25 protesters were injured. One Palestinian woman in her fifties was beaten by the Police to the point of hospitalization; her condition was critical enough that she was moved from the Salfeet Hospital to the better equipped Rafidiya Hospital in Nablus.
In addition, a 25-year-old American protester endured a serious head injury and one Israeli activist suffered two open fractures in his hand. All injuries were caused by the Border Police shooting tear-gas projectiles from short-frange, directly at the demonstrators, in direct contravention of the IDF’s open fire regulations.
The PSCC is also reporting that four protesters were arrested.
Nabi Saleh, a village outside of Ramallah, holds non-violent weekly demonstrations in protest of the Apartheid Wall’s confiscation of its land.
Elsewhere in the West Bank
According to PSCC, Ma’asara, a village south of Bethlehem Israeli forces shot tear-gas into a peaceful demonstration, arresting two protesters, including a member of the village’s popular committee.
http://palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1808
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Israel is confusing victimhood with foreign policy Israel's belief that 'the world is against it' has in recent years turned into a real obsession, a sense that we are constantly under attack, a fear of delegitimization, an insanity of persecution.
In an op-ed piece published in The Washington Post, Richard Goldstone wrote that if he knew then what he knows today, the report would have looked different and that it would have been best had Israel cooperated with him.
In fact, it was immediately after Goldstone's report was publicized that many here concluded that it would have been best for Israel to lend its cooperation to the UN-appointed committee, according to a study conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute. Indeed, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel made a recommendation along these lines to the government before the Goldstone commission was even formed.
But this is not the conclusion that Israel's leadership has drawn. Both Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that the decision not to cooperate with Goldstone "was the correct one."
While Israel had reasons to believe that an inquiry commissioned by the UN's Human Rights Council would be hostile, in this extraordinary case, it was possible to think otherwise. Goldstone is known to be a particularly serious individual, a Jew and a supporter of Israel. Indeed, he was opposed to the original mandate which required that he focus his probe solely on Israel. Goldstone agreed to lead the investigation after he was given clearance to examine Hamas' actions as well. Israel had nothing to lose by cooperating with Goldstone.
This lesson could have been learned from a previous episode - the 2004 hearings held in the International Criminal Court in The Hague involving the West Bank separation fence. The ICC is an important, independent legal authority. There was no reason to suspect that it would be one-sided. But then, too, Israel refused to recognize its authority. It did not take part in the discussion nor did it present its position, all so that it could later claim that the ruling handed down was one-sided and caused Israel serious international damage.
It is often said that a wise man learns from the mistakes of others, while a fool learns from the mistakes of his own. Those who do not learn from their own mistakes confirm that insanity is repeating the same act while expecting a different result. In our case, this insanity is an insanity of persecution.
Our belief that "the world is against us" has in recent years turned into a real obsession, a sense that we are constantly under attack, a fear of delegitimization, an insanity of persecution. It is unclear whether Israel is truly capable of differentiating between a real enemy and those who wish it well, or if it is simply complaining about being persecuted because it believes this serves its interests. Now the prime minister is demanding that the Goldstone report be nullified, while the defense minister is calling for "Goldstone to be compelled (! ) to speak before the UN." If this gambit doesn't succeed, it will serve as yet further proof that we are being persecuted.
As the years pass, Israel has grown stronger militarily, economically, and demographically. This has not prevented our leaders from intensifying their warnings about the campaign to get us. They are wont to complain about the one-sidedness and the bias in favor of our enemies. They are also quick to warn against attempts to delegitimize, even destroy, Israel.
There are great parallels between our leaders' statements decrying the persecution of the State of Israel and their statements decrying the persecution aimed at them personally. This holds true for Lieberman, Ehud Olmert and Benjamin Netanyahu. As our leaders feel increasingly persecuted on an individual basis, they respond by ratcheting up the rhetoric that all of us are the victims of persecution.
Aside from the instinctive reflex of all Israelis to assume the role of victims, there is also cynical exploitation here of real hostility that does exist. As such, there is no room for an honest analysis of these statements, and reality becomes distorted.
As he laments the "persecution" to which he and his wife are subjected, much the same way that he railed against the "persecution" of Israel, Netanyahu is so deeply immersed in his suffering that he doesn't even notice that in both cases, the whining simply does more damage - both to him personally and to the image of the State of Israel. Complaining about persecution is not a policy, nor is it a strategy. Rather, it is a tactic that just inflicts more damage on us.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/israel-is-confusing-victimhood-with-foreign-policy-1.354141
In fact, it was immediately after Goldstone's report was publicized that many here concluded that it would have been best for Israel to lend its cooperation to the UN-appointed committee, according to a study conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute. Indeed, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel made a recommendation along these lines to the government before the Goldstone commission was even formed.
But this is not the conclusion that Israel's leadership has drawn. Both Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that the decision not to cooperate with Goldstone "was the correct one."
While Israel had reasons to believe that an inquiry commissioned by the UN's Human Rights Council would be hostile, in this extraordinary case, it was possible to think otherwise. Goldstone is known to be a particularly serious individual, a Jew and a supporter of Israel. Indeed, he was opposed to the original mandate which required that he focus his probe solely on Israel. Goldstone agreed to lead the investigation after he was given clearance to examine Hamas' actions as well. Israel had nothing to lose by cooperating with Goldstone.
This lesson could have been learned from a previous episode - the 2004 hearings held in the International Criminal Court in The Hague involving the West Bank separation fence. The ICC is an important, independent legal authority. There was no reason to suspect that it would be one-sided. But then, too, Israel refused to recognize its authority. It did not take part in the discussion nor did it present its position, all so that it could later claim that the ruling handed down was one-sided and caused Israel serious international damage.
It is often said that a wise man learns from the mistakes of others, while a fool learns from the mistakes of his own. Those who do not learn from their own mistakes confirm that insanity is repeating the same act while expecting a different result. In our case, this insanity is an insanity of persecution.
Our belief that "the world is against us" has in recent years turned into a real obsession, a sense that we are constantly under attack, a fear of delegitimization, an insanity of persecution. It is unclear whether Israel is truly capable of differentiating between a real enemy and those who wish it well, or if it is simply complaining about being persecuted because it believes this serves its interests. Now the prime minister is demanding that the Goldstone report be nullified, while the defense minister is calling for "Goldstone to be compelled (! ) to speak before the UN." If this gambit doesn't succeed, it will serve as yet further proof that we are being persecuted.
As the years pass, Israel has grown stronger militarily, economically, and demographically. This has not prevented our leaders from intensifying their warnings about the campaign to get us. They are wont to complain about the one-sidedness and the bias in favor of our enemies. They are also quick to warn against attempts to delegitimize, even destroy, Israel.
There are great parallels between our leaders' statements decrying the persecution of the State of Israel and their statements decrying the persecution aimed at them personally. This holds true for Lieberman, Ehud Olmert and Benjamin Netanyahu. As our leaders feel increasingly persecuted on an individual basis, they respond by ratcheting up the rhetoric that all of us are the victims of persecution.
Aside from the instinctive reflex of all Israelis to assume the role of victims, there is also cynical exploitation here of real hostility that does exist. As such, there is no room for an honest analysis of these statements, and reality becomes distorted.
As he laments the "persecution" to which he and his wife are subjected, much the same way that he railed against the "persecution" of Israel, Netanyahu is so deeply immersed in his suffering that he doesn't even notice that in both cases, the whining simply does more damage - both to him personally and to the image of the State of Israel. Complaining about persecution is not a policy, nor is it a strategy. Rather, it is a tactic that just inflicts more damage on us.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/israel-is-confusing-victimhood-with-foreign-policy-1.354141
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