16 mar 2013
UN CSW condemns Israel for HR violation
Palestinian women cry after evacuating their homes to take shelter at a UN school in Gaza City, November 20, 2012
The United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) has condemned Israel for violating the rights of Palestinian women.
In a resolution issued on Friday, the UN policy-making body, condemned Tel Aviv’s regime for the degrading living conditions for Palestinian women.
"The Israeli occupation remains the major obstacle for Palestinian women with regard to their advancement, self-reliance and integration in the development of their society..." the eight clause resolution read.
The resolution was passed by 29 votes. It was rejected only by Israel and the United States. 10 other countries also abstained.
The UN commission also issued a declaration, urging an end to violence against women across the world.
"The commission urges states to strongly condemn all forms of violence against women and girls and to refrain from invoking any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination," said the declaration..
The declaration also called on the word’s countries to "devote particular attention to abolishing practices and legislation that discriminate against women and girls, or perpetuate and condone violence against them."
The 18-page declaration includes the viewpoints of Iran and other Muslim countries. Activists have described the document as a victory for women.
The United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) has condemned Israel for violating the rights of Palestinian women.
In a resolution issued on Friday, the UN policy-making body, condemned Tel Aviv’s regime for the degrading living conditions for Palestinian women.
"The Israeli occupation remains the major obstacle for Palestinian women with regard to their advancement, self-reliance and integration in the development of their society..." the eight clause resolution read.
The resolution was passed by 29 votes. It was rejected only by Israel and the United States. 10 other countries also abstained.
The UN commission also issued a declaration, urging an end to violence against women across the world.
"The commission urges states to strongly condemn all forms of violence against women and girls and to refrain from invoking any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination," said the declaration..
The declaration also called on the word’s countries to "devote particular attention to abolishing practices and legislation that discriminate against women and girls, or perpetuate and condone violence against them."
The 18-page declaration includes the viewpoints of Iran and other Muslim countries. Activists have described the document as a victory for women.
14 mar 2013
Interior Ministry: Israeli accusations reflect an Israeli state of confusion
The Ministry of Interior and National Security in Gaza stated that the Israeli accusations against the Interior Minister Fathi Hamad reflect the Israeli state of turmoil and confusion as a result of the Ministry's campaign against collaborators with the occupation.
The occupation authorities have accused Hamad and a number of officials in the Gaza government of planning to carry out operations against occupation from the West Bank in a violation of the truce agreement in November, as they claimed.
The malicious Israeli accusations against Interior Minister Fathi Hamad came as a result of the Israeli state of confusion especially after the Ministry's campaign against the occupation's collaborators and the Ministry's success to undermine the Israeli Intelligence attempts in the strip, the Ministry declared in its statement.
Such Israeli accusations and threats would never succeed to deter the Minister Hamad to continue his national duty in protecting the Palestinian people and resistance, the Ministry declared in its statements.
The Palestinian Interior Ministry in the Gaza Strip has launched a campaign to encourage collaborators to give themselves up on condition that they agree to undergo rehabilitation. Ministry spokesman Islam Shahwan told a press conference on Tuesday that the campaign is the final stage of the victory against Israel's November war on civilians in Gaza.
The occupation authorities have accused Hamad and a number of officials in the Gaza government of planning to carry out operations against occupation from the West Bank in a violation of the truce agreement in November, as they claimed.
The malicious Israeli accusations against Interior Minister Fathi Hamad came as a result of the Israeli state of confusion especially after the Ministry's campaign against the occupation's collaborators and the Ministry's success to undermine the Israeli Intelligence attempts in the strip, the Ministry declared in its statement.
Such Israeli accusations and threats would never succeed to deter the Minister Hamad to continue his national duty in protecting the Palestinian people and resistance, the Ministry declared in its statements.
The Palestinian Interior Ministry in the Gaza Strip has launched a campaign to encourage collaborators to give themselves up on condition that they agree to undergo rehabilitation. Ministry spokesman Islam Shahwan told a press conference on Tuesday that the campaign is the final stage of the victory against Israel's November war on civilians in Gaza.
12 mar 2013
Channel 2: Ariel Sharon taken for special brain scan
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has been in a coma since 2007, reportedly received medical tests to see if his condition might improve.
Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has been hospitalized for seven years in a vegetative state, was taken Thursday for a special examination to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva, Channel 2 reported that night.
The examination, which included cerebral simulation, aimed to establish whether there is any chance of his condition improving, the report said.
Sharon has been hospitalized at the Rehabilitation Hospital at the Sheba Medical Center for the last six and a half years.
"Sharon's condition remains unchanged. He is undergoing an examination scheduled in advanced and is expected to return to the hospital during the night," the Sheba Medical Center said in a statement.
Both the Sheba and Soroka medical centers refused to elaborate on the examination.
In November 2012, Israeli and foreign media reported the case of Scott Routley, a man from London who, after being hospitalized in Ontario, Canada, for 12 years in what was considered a vegetative state, communicates with his doctors by brain scans.
Routley, who was in a coma after being injured in a traffic accident, showed signs of awareness and answered "no" when researchers asked him if he was in pain. He was able to communicate through an fMRI scanner that displayed his brain activity.
Existing technology for treating patients in vegetative states can identify structural brain injuries but cannot determine how brain tissue is functioning or the patient's state of consciousness. FMRI measures changes in blood flow in the brain to locate brain activity and thus discern signs of awareness in patients classified as in vegetative states.
Research conducted at Cambridge University and released in 2010 found that four of 23 patients ostensibly in vegetative states managed to change their brain activity, measured by fMRI, in response to doctors' instructions.
Sharon, who next month will be 85 years old, suffered a brain hemorrhage in January 2007 and was hospitalized at Hadassah University Hospital Ein Kerem. He did not regain consciousness. In May 2007, he was transferred to the Sheba Medical Center where he has since been under constant guard.
In November 2010, Sharon was moved to Sycamore Ranch at the request of his family. Eventually, he was returned to the Sheba Medical Center, where he remains in a constant vegetative state.
An estimated 200 patients are hospitalized in vegetative states in Israel.
Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has been hospitalized for seven years in a vegetative state, was taken Thursday for a special examination to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva, Channel 2 reported that night.
The examination, which included cerebral simulation, aimed to establish whether there is any chance of his condition improving, the report said.
Sharon has been hospitalized at the Rehabilitation Hospital at the Sheba Medical Center for the last six and a half years.
"Sharon's condition remains unchanged. He is undergoing an examination scheduled in advanced and is expected to return to the hospital during the night," the Sheba Medical Center said in a statement.
Both the Sheba and Soroka medical centers refused to elaborate on the examination.
In November 2012, Israeli and foreign media reported the case of Scott Routley, a man from London who, after being hospitalized in Ontario, Canada, for 12 years in what was considered a vegetative state, communicates with his doctors by brain scans.
Routley, who was in a coma after being injured in a traffic accident, showed signs of awareness and answered "no" when researchers asked him if he was in pain. He was able to communicate through an fMRI scanner that displayed his brain activity.
Existing technology for treating patients in vegetative states can identify structural brain injuries but cannot determine how brain tissue is functioning or the patient's state of consciousness. FMRI measures changes in blood flow in the brain to locate brain activity and thus discern signs of awareness in patients classified as in vegetative states.
Research conducted at Cambridge University and released in 2010 found that four of 23 patients ostensibly in vegetative states managed to change their brain activity, measured by fMRI, in response to doctors' instructions.
Sharon, who next month will be 85 years old, suffered a brain hemorrhage in January 2007 and was hospitalized at Hadassah University Hospital Ein Kerem. He did not regain consciousness. In May 2007, he was transferred to the Sheba Medical Center where he has since been under constant guard.
In November 2010, Sharon was moved to Sycamore Ranch at the request of his family. Eventually, he was returned to the Sheba Medical Center, where he remains in a constant vegetative state.
An estimated 200 patients are hospitalized in vegetative states in Israel.
10 mar 2013
Israeli apartheid week kicks off in Gaza
The events of the international week against Israel's apartheid started on Saturday in the Gaza Strip and will continue until next Thursday. Iman Sourani, a member of the preparatory committee for the week in Gaza, said the anti-apartheid events would take place in 250 cities around the world and they would be intended to expose Israel's segregation practices against the Palestinians.
Sourani affirmed that the committee tries to pool its efforts with the international campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, noting that the events would include meetings with parties and groups supporting the Palestinian cause.
She also pointed out that meetings would be held online with students from Johannesburg university in South Africa because it was the first university that academically boycotted Ben-Gurion university.
The anti-apartheid week will include interviews with South African singers who released two albums against Israel's segregation system.
The international campaign against Israel's apartheid started for the first time in the Canadian city of Toronto nine years ago before other cities worldwide gradually joined it.
Sourani affirmed that the committee tries to pool its efforts with the international campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, noting that the events would include meetings with parties and groups supporting the Palestinian cause.
She also pointed out that meetings would be held online with students from Johannesburg university in South Africa because it was the first university that academically boycotted Ben-Gurion university.
The anti-apartheid week will include interviews with South African singers who released two albums against Israel's segregation system.
The international campaign against Israel's apartheid started for the first time in the Canadian city of Toronto nine years ago before other cities worldwide gradually joined it.
9 mar 2013
Samira Ibrahim denied State Department award for "anti-Semitic" tweets
The Obama administration is postponing the International Women of Courage Award for Egyptian activist Samira Ibrahim because of tweets discovered on her Twitter account. The U.S State Department announced earlier this week that Samira Ibrahim would be among 10 recipients of the International Women of Courage Award presented by Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S First Lady Michelle Obama.
The State Department decided on Friday to hold off on awarding the Egyptian human rights activist because of tweets published on her Twitter account over the past months and described as "anti-U.S." and "support violence against Jews".
An American weekly newspaper had earlier published a report entitled "Michelle Obama and John Kerry to Honor Anti-Semite", after tweet on Ibrahim's Twitter account had welcomed the news about a bombing in Bulgaria that killed five Israelis last July.
In other posts, Samira Ibrahim disseminated Hitler's quote saying that "I have discovered with the passage of days, that no act contrary to morality, no crime against society takes place, except with the Jews having a hand in it."
Ibrahim is one of the real leaders in her country in trying to address gender-based violence and other human rights abuses.
The State Department decided on Friday to hold off on awarding the Egyptian human rights activist because of tweets published on her Twitter account over the past months and described as "anti-U.S." and "support violence against Jews".
An American weekly newspaper had earlier published a report entitled "Michelle Obama and John Kerry to Honor Anti-Semite", after tweet on Ibrahim's Twitter account had welcomed the news about a bombing in Bulgaria that killed five Israelis last July.
In other posts, Samira Ibrahim disseminated Hitler's quote saying that "I have discovered with the passage of days, that no act contrary to morality, no crime against society takes place, except with the Jews having a hand in it."
Ibrahim is one of the real leaders in her country in trying to address gender-based violence and other human rights abuses.
8 mar 2013
The paved side of the street is for Jews only
B'Tselem organization stated that the separation between Israelis and Palestinians adopted by Israeli authorities in the West Bank does not involve public transport only, but it also involves the use of facilities. The Israeli human rights NGO said in a report released on Friday that it has published a new video entitled "How to Build a Fence in Hebron" that features footage of Border Police officers stating that one side of a newly erected fence is for Jews, the other for Arabs.
The organization reported that "The separation principle is an official policy of the Israeli military separating Jews and Moslems in the city of Hebron. The policy is implemented primarily through severe restrictions on Palestinian travel and movement in downtown Hebron, where most Israeli settlement outposts are located".
It added that the neighborhood of a-Salaimeh, which is connected to the Ibrahimi Mosque, represents one of the roads prohibited to Palestinian vehicles. In order to transport supplies through the street, Palestinians were forced to use a horse-drawn wagon or a hand-cart, while settlers and Israeli civilians are permitted to walk and drive cars on the street.
B'Tselem's report noted that on 23 September 2012 Israeli security forces laid out a chain-link fence, dividing the road lengthwise. On one side of the fence is a paved road for settlers and on the other, a narrow pedestrian passageway for Palestinian residents.
"Since the fence was erected, Israeli security forces have not allowed Palestinians to walk on the road. Instead they direct Palestinians to the narrow passageway, which is unpaved, rough and ends in a small staircase. The passage is completely impassible by wheelchair and is very difficult to navigate with a baby carriage, pushcart or bicycle," B’Tselem added.
It has also videoed the construction of the fence and of Border Police keeping Palestinians from going on the road.
Musa Abu Hashhash and Manal al-Ja’bri, B’Tselem field researchers, also tried to reach the wide, paved side of the street. However, because they are Palestinian, Border Policemen prevented them from doing so. The policemen told them explicitly that the paved side of the street is for Jews only.
Related stories:
The organization reported that "The separation principle is an official policy of the Israeli military separating Jews and Moslems in the city of Hebron. The policy is implemented primarily through severe restrictions on Palestinian travel and movement in downtown Hebron, where most Israeli settlement outposts are located".
It added that the neighborhood of a-Salaimeh, which is connected to the Ibrahimi Mosque, represents one of the roads prohibited to Palestinian vehicles. In order to transport supplies through the street, Palestinians were forced to use a horse-drawn wagon or a hand-cart, while settlers and Israeli civilians are permitted to walk and drive cars on the street.
B'Tselem's report noted that on 23 September 2012 Israeli security forces laid out a chain-link fence, dividing the road lengthwise. On one side of the fence is a paved road for settlers and on the other, a narrow pedestrian passageway for Palestinian residents.
"Since the fence was erected, Israeli security forces have not allowed Palestinians to walk on the road. Instead they direct Palestinians to the narrow passageway, which is unpaved, rough and ends in a small staircase. The passage is completely impassible by wheelchair and is very difficult to navigate with a baby carriage, pushcart or bicycle," B’Tselem added.
It has also videoed the construction of the fence and of Border Police keeping Palestinians from going on the road.
Musa Abu Hashhash and Manal al-Ja’bri, B’Tselem field researchers, also tried to reach the wide, paved side of the street. However, because they are Palestinian, Border Policemen prevented them from doing so. The policemen told them explicitly that the paved side of the street is for Jews only.
Related stories:
- Police arrest 17-year-old for attack on Arab woman
- TA: Dozens protest against 'racist' attack of Arab
- J'lem: Arab woman attacked by Jewish women
- Street cleaner attacked in TA: 'They called me 'stinking Arab'
- In wake of lynch, Arabs fear the streets
- Report: 2012 record year for incitement
- Netanyahu condemns Jerusalem lynch
- Jerusalem: Arab man assaulted on Light Rail
- In wake of lynch, Arabs fear the streets
- Druze says 2 nightclubs racially discriminated him
- Arab-Israeli swimmer victim of discrimination?
- 'Culture Ministry discriminates against Arab sector'
- Soldier recorded chanting 'Muhammad is dead'
- Another hate crime? Arab man beaten in Jerusalem
- Minister: Ethiopians should 'say thank you' for what they got
7 mar 2013
Holon fountain vandalized with dead fish, red paint
After severed animal heads littered Tel Aviv, unknown persons throw dead fish into fountain, paint it red; police launch investigation
Anonymous persons vandalized a fountain in a Holon park, painted the area red and threw 15 dead fish into a fountain. On a nearby wall a graffiti inscription was sprayed: "The slaughterhouses are now transparent."
The police are inquiring whether the act is related to similar incidents which occurred in Tel Aviv in the past week.
Tuesday morning severed animal heads were discovered in several public places around Tel Aviv. At around 7 am passersby noticed the severed head of a slaughtered goat in the center of Dizengoff Square. A sign reading "End animal slaughter" was found beside the severed head. Shortly thereafter police received another report, this time of a severed cow head found on the corner of Eben Gvirol and Habashan streets, along with a sign protesting slaughterhouses.
Later, the severed head of a sheep was found near a fountain in Jaffa's Noga district.
The fountain was painted red and the words "the slaughterhouses are now transparent" were spray-painted on the walls. The police have launched an investigation but so far no suspects were arrested. They estimate that animal-rights activists are behind the incidents.
Related stories:
Anonymous persons vandalized a fountain in a Holon park, painted the area red and threw 15 dead fish into a fountain. On a nearby wall a graffiti inscription was sprayed: "The slaughterhouses are now transparent."
The police are inquiring whether the act is related to similar incidents which occurred in Tel Aviv in the past week.
Tuesday morning severed animal heads were discovered in several public places around Tel Aviv. At around 7 am passersby noticed the severed head of a slaughtered goat in the center of Dizengoff Square. A sign reading "End animal slaughter" was found beside the severed head. Shortly thereafter police received another report, this time of a severed cow head found on the corner of Eben Gvirol and Habashan streets, along with a sign protesting slaughterhouses.
Later, the severed head of a sheep was found near a fountain in Jaffa's Noga district.
The fountain was painted red and the words "the slaughterhouses are now transparent" were spray-painted on the walls. The police have launched an investigation but so far no suspects were arrested. They estimate that animal-rights activists are behind the incidents.
Related stories:
5 mar 2013
Radwan: Zionism constitutes a threat to humanity
Dr. Ismail Radwan, Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, stated that Zionism constitutes a threat to humanity, to values and principles, where it practices the worst forms of murder and terrorism against the Palestinian prisoners and the unarmed Palestinian people.
The Minister's statements came during a rally organized by his ministry outside the Red Cross headquarters in Gaza in support of the Palestinian prisoners, on Monday, which was attended by prisoners' families and representatives of the government and national and Palestinian Islamic forces.
Radwan called on peoples of the Arab Spring and the Palestinian people for more support of the prisoners' issue in the Israeli jails especially the hunger strikers.
He also called on the Palestinian factions to unite their efforts for the prisoners, pointing out to the importance of national unity to intensify efforts for the Palestinian prisoners' issue.
"We will not rest until the prisoners regain their freedom, because they defended the Arab and Muslim nation's dignity and holy places," Radwan said.
The Minister's statements came during a rally organized by his ministry outside the Red Cross headquarters in Gaza in support of the Palestinian prisoners, on Monday, which was attended by prisoners' families and representatives of the government and national and Palestinian Islamic forces.
Radwan called on peoples of the Arab Spring and the Palestinian people for more support of the prisoners' issue in the Israeli jails especially the hunger strikers.
He also called on the Palestinian factions to unite their efforts for the prisoners, pointing out to the importance of national unity to intensify efforts for the Palestinian prisoners' issue.
"We will not rest until the prisoners regain their freedom, because they defended the Arab and Muslim nation's dignity and holy places," Radwan said.
Obama and Israel's self-victimization extravaganza
When President Barack Obama visits Israel later this month he will be treated to Jerusalem's full-dress victim show, a modern Via Dolorosa. Can't we offer our closest ally more than war memorials, nuclear nightmares and the Holocaust?
Seven years ago an obscure young United States senator visited the Holy Land. Over the course of five intensive days he covered nearly every inch of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. He took tours, heard explanations, held meetings and asked questions. He always carried a pen and a large notebook. His hosts were impressed by his energy, his likability and his insistence on arriving at his own conclusions.
Among other activities, the studious senator took the opportunity to hover over the state’s narrow waistline in an air force helicopter, to tour the northern border, to view a bombarded building in Kiryat Shmona and the computers in the community center of the Christian-Arab village of Fassuta, to meet the foreign minister, take in a variety of sites in Jerusalem, including in the Old City, to confer in Ramallah with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and to speak with Palestinian university students.
At Ben-Gurion International Airport, while waiting for his return flight, the senator even recorded his regular weekly radio broadcast to constituents. His conclusion: "This is an extraordinarily complicated place."
This month the visitor will return, not as a senator but as the president of the United States who recently began his second term. Judging by the itinerary planned for him by his hosts, when it comes to organized tours, it seems the conditions have worsened: Instead of an extraordinarily complicated land, this time he will see a flat, one-dimensional place.
In addition to his official meetings with President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, what we have is a type of modern via dolorosa: President Barack Obama will lay a wreath at Mount Herzl, view the Dead Sea Scrolls, see a model of Jerusalem at the time of the Second Temple, visit an Iron Dome anti-missile battery and breakfast with Netanyahu.
On the table, according to official sources: "Iran, Syria and Jonathan Pollard." Bon Appetit. (Fortunately, the Americans insisted that Obama will also discuss the peace process with Netanyahu and give an address to 1,000 Israelis).
Ah, we nearly forgot the most important thing: Our man will of course not miss the visit to Yad Vashem, our eternal flame. So what if Senator Obama, on his previous visit, paid a searching, two-hour visit to the Holocaust museum and memorial.
In fact, perhaps an additional space should be found in the schedule of the leader of the free world, to meet with so-called second- and third-generation Holocaust survivors who, as part of an insane new trend, are having the numbers the Nazis tattooed on the arms of their parents and grandparents in Auschwitz inked onto their own arms.
After all, there is no more perfect metaphor for the theme of the entire itinerary being planned: Looking back to the past, mainly as victims. And if we do occasionally foray into the present, it should be to emphasize Israel as passive, vulnerable victim (Iran, Iron Dome, Pollard).
The Jewish past clearly plays a key role in understanding the complexity of Israel's existence, but is this the whole story? How can this be how a regional power, supposedly a historic, global model for independence and renewal, welcomes its ally for a long-hoped-for visit? Do we really have nothing to show Obama apart from the Dead Sea Scrolls, a Temple that was destroyed, Holocaust memorials and military graves?
Never mind the past, which can also be presented in a far more complex and varied way – what about the present and the future? What has happened to our vaunted pride, power and initiative?
Common sense says the U.S. president’s brief time here could be used much more effectively. We could show him, and remind ourselves in the process, that there is more on Israel's horizon than ruin, Holocaust, nuclear nightmares and Iron Dome.
But in the prolonged Netanyahu Era, Israel is ill indeed. The red carpet rolled out by the eternal victim is always stained with blood; eternity is only ashes and dust, in the words of Yehuda Poliker.
Seven years ago an obscure young United States senator visited the Holy Land. Over the course of five intensive days he covered nearly every inch of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. He took tours, heard explanations, held meetings and asked questions. He always carried a pen and a large notebook. His hosts were impressed by his energy, his likability and his insistence on arriving at his own conclusions.
Among other activities, the studious senator took the opportunity to hover over the state’s narrow waistline in an air force helicopter, to tour the northern border, to view a bombarded building in Kiryat Shmona and the computers in the community center of the Christian-Arab village of Fassuta, to meet the foreign minister, take in a variety of sites in Jerusalem, including in the Old City, to confer in Ramallah with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and to speak with Palestinian university students.
At Ben-Gurion International Airport, while waiting for his return flight, the senator even recorded his regular weekly radio broadcast to constituents. His conclusion: "This is an extraordinarily complicated place."
This month the visitor will return, not as a senator but as the president of the United States who recently began his second term. Judging by the itinerary planned for him by his hosts, when it comes to organized tours, it seems the conditions have worsened: Instead of an extraordinarily complicated land, this time he will see a flat, one-dimensional place.
In addition to his official meetings with President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, what we have is a type of modern via dolorosa: President Barack Obama will lay a wreath at Mount Herzl, view the Dead Sea Scrolls, see a model of Jerusalem at the time of the Second Temple, visit an Iron Dome anti-missile battery and breakfast with Netanyahu.
On the table, according to official sources: "Iran, Syria and Jonathan Pollard." Bon Appetit. (Fortunately, the Americans insisted that Obama will also discuss the peace process with Netanyahu and give an address to 1,000 Israelis).
Ah, we nearly forgot the most important thing: Our man will of course not miss the visit to Yad Vashem, our eternal flame. So what if Senator Obama, on his previous visit, paid a searching, two-hour visit to the Holocaust museum and memorial.
In fact, perhaps an additional space should be found in the schedule of the leader of the free world, to meet with so-called second- and third-generation Holocaust survivors who, as part of an insane new trend, are having the numbers the Nazis tattooed on the arms of their parents and grandparents in Auschwitz inked onto their own arms.
After all, there is no more perfect metaphor for the theme of the entire itinerary being planned: Looking back to the past, mainly as victims. And if we do occasionally foray into the present, it should be to emphasize Israel as passive, vulnerable victim (Iran, Iron Dome, Pollard).
The Jewish past clearly plays a key role in understanding the complexity of Israel's existence, but is this the whole story? How can this be how a regional power, supposedly a historic, global model for independence and renewal, welcomes its ally for a long-hoped-for visit? Do we really have nothing to show Obama apart from the Dead Sea Scrolls, a Temple that was destroyed, Holocaust memorials and military graves?
Never mind the past, which can also be presented in a far more complex and varied way – what about the present and the future? What has happened to our vaunted pride, power and initiative?
Common sense says the U.S. president’s brief time here could be used much more effectively. We could show him, and remind ourselves in the process, that there is more on Israel's horizon than ruin, Holocaust, nuclear nightmares and Iron Dome.
But in the prolonged Netanyahu Era, Israel is ill indeed. The red carpet rolled out by the eternal victim is always stained with blood; eternity is only ashes and dust, in the words of Yehuda Poliker.
4 mar 2013
Israel Introduces 'Palestinian Only' Bus Lines in Jerusalem
Starting on Monday, certain buses running from the West Bank into central Israel will have separate lines for Jews and Arabs.
The Afikim bus company will begin operating Palestinian-only bus lines from the checkpoints to Gush Dan to prevent Palestinians from boarding buses with Jewish passengers. Palestinians are not allowed to enter settlements, and instead board buses from several bus stops on the Trans-Samaria highway.
Last November, Haaretz reported that the Transportation Ministry was looking into such a plan due to pressure from the late mayor of Ariel, Ron Nahman, and the head of the Karnei Shomron Local Council. They said residents had complained that Palestinians on their buses were a security risk.
The buses will begin operating Monday morning at the Eyal crossing to take the Palestinians to work in Israel. Transportation Ministry officials are not officially calling them segregated buses, but rather bus lines intended to relieve the distress of the Palestinian workers. Ynet has reported that fliers are being distributed to Palestinian workers notifying them of the coming changes.
Any Palestinian who holds an entrance permit to the State of Israel is allowed by law to use public transportation. Officials at the Samaria and Judea District Police have said there is no change in the operation of the rest of the buses, nor is there any intention to remove Palestinians from other bus lines. But Haaretz has in the past reported incidents when Palestinians were taken off of buses, and witnesses at checkpoints say that such incidents are ongoing.
Ofra Yeshua-Lyth is a member of Machsom Watch, a female advocacy group monitoring West Bank checkpoints. She says that recently, Bus 286 from Tel Aviv to Samaria arrived at a checkpoint filled with Palestinian workers. She filed the following report:
"Police officer Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Shai Zecharia stops the bus at the bus stop. Soldiers order all the Palestinians off the bus. The first thing they do is collect all their identity cards as they get off. One by one, the Palestinians are told to go away from the bus stop and walk to the Azzun Atma checkpoint, which is about 2.5 kilometers away from the Shaar Shomron interchange. All of them responded with restraint and sadness, at most asking why. Here and there they received answers such as, 'You're not allowed on Highway 5' and 'You're not allowed on public transportation.' Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Zecharia gave some vital information to one of the older Palestinians who had arrived there, telling him: You should ride in special vans, not on Israeli buses."
In response to the report, the Transportation Ministry said it "has not issued any instruction or prohibition that prevents Palestinian workers from riding the public bus lines in Israel or in Judea and Samaria. Furthermore, the Transportation Ministry is not authorized to prevent any passangers from riding those lines."
"The two new lines that will be run as of tomorrow (Monday) are intended to improve the services to Palestinian workers that enter Israel via the Eyal Crossing," the ministry's statement continued, adding that the new lines will replace the "pirate" driving services who have been transporting Palestinian workers "at exorbitant prices and in an irregular fashion."
According to the ministry, the new lines will depart from the Tzofim area near Qalqilyah and will transport workers to their places of work in the Sharon region and Tel Aviv, at "especially cheap prices." For example, the tariff for traveling to Kfar Sava or Raanana will be NIS 5.1, and to Tel Aviv will cost NIS 10.6. This is compared to some NIS 40 that passengers have been charged by the private transportation services for each direction, the ministry said.
"The new lines will lessen the burden that has formed on buses as a result of the increase in numbers of working permits provided to Palestinians, who are permitted to work in Israel and will contribute to the improvements of services, for the betterment of Israelis and Palestinians as one", the statement said.
The Samaria and Judea District Police have yet to respond to the report.
The Afikim bus company will begin operating Palestinian-only bus lines from the checkpoints to Gush Dan to prevent Palestinians from boarding buses with Jewish passengers. Palestinians are not allowed to enter settlements, and instead board buses from several bus stops on the Trans-Samaria highway.
Last November, Haaretz reported that the Transportation Ministry was looking into such a plan due to pressure from the late mayor of Ariel, Ron Nahman, and the head of the Karnei Shomron Local Council. They said residents had complained that Palestinians on their buses were a security risk.
The buses will begin operating Monday morning at the Eyal crossing to take the Palestinians to work in Israel. Transportation Ministry officials are not officially calling them segregated buses, but rather bus lines intended to relieve the distress of the Palestinian workers. Ynet has reported that fliers are being distributed to Palestinian workers notifying them of the coming changes.
Any Palestinian who holds an entrance permit to the State of Israel is allowed by law to use public transportation. Officials at the Samaria and Judea District Police have said there is no change in the operation of the rest of the buses, nor is there any intention to remove Palestinians from other bus lines. But Haaretz has in the past reported incidents when Palestinians were taken off of buses, and witnesses at checkpoints say that such incidents are ongoing.
Ofra Yeshua-Lyth is a member of Machsom Watch, a female advocacy group monitoring West Bank checkpoints. She says that recently, Bus 286 from Tel Aviv to Samaria arrived at a checkpoint filled with Palestinian workers. She filed the following report:
"Police officer Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Shai Zecharia stops the bus at the bus stop. Soldiers order all the Palestinians off the bus. The first thing they do is collect all their identity cards as they get off. One by one, the Palestinians are told to go away from the bus stop and walk to the Azzun Atma checkpoint, which is about 2.5 kilometers away from the Shaar Shomron interchange. All of them responded with restraint and sadness, at most asking why. Here and there they received answers such as, 'You're not allowed on Highway 5' and 'You're not allowed on public transportation.' Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Zecharia gave some vital information to one of the older Palestinians who had arrived there, telling him: You should ride in special vans, not on Israeli buses."
In response to the report, the Transportation Ministry said it "has not issued any instruction or prohibition that prevents Palestinian workers from riding the public bus lines in Israel or in Judea and Samaria. Furthermore, the Transportation Ministry is not authorized to prevent any passangers from riding those lines."
"The two new lines that will be run as of tomorrow (Monday) are intended to improve the services to Palestinian workers that enter Israel via the Eyal Crossing," the ministry's statement continued, adding that the new lines will replace the "pirate" driving services who have been transporting Palestinian workers "at exorbitant prices and in an irregular fashion."
According to the ministry, the new lines will depart from the Tzofim area near Qalqilyah and will transport workers to their places of work in the Sharon region and Tel Aviv, at "especially cheap prices." For example, the tariff for traveling to Kfar Sava or Raanana will be NIS 5.1, and to Tel Aviv will cost NIS 10.6. This is compared to some NIS 40 that passengers have been charged by the private transportation services for each direction, the ministry said.
"The new lines will lessen the burden that has formed on buses as a result of the increase in numbers of working permits provided to Palestinians, who are permitted to work in Israel and will contribute to the improvements of services, for the betterment of Israelis and Palestinians as one", the statement said.
The Samaria and Judea District Police have yet to respond to the report.
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Israel introduces 'Palestinian only' bus lines, following complaints from Jewish settlers
A passanger waits at a bus stop
Afikim bus company to have special buses for Palestinian workers commuting from the West Bank to jobs in central Israel; announcement follows complaints from settlers that Palestinians are a security risk. Starting on Monday, certain buses running from the West Bank into central Israel will have separate lines for Jews and Arabs. The Afikim bus company will begin operating Palestinian-only bus lines from the checkpoints to Gush Dan to prevent Palestinians from boarding buses with Jewish passengers. |
Palestinians are not allowed to enter settlements, and instead board buses from several bus stops on the Trans-Samaria highway.
Last November, Haaretz reported that the Transportation Ministry was looking into such a plan due to pressure from the late mayor of Ariel, Ron Nahman, and the head of the Karnei Shomron Local Council. They said residents had complained that Palestinians on their buses were a security risk.
The buses will begin operating Monday morning at the Eyal crossing to take the Palestinians to work in Israel. Transportation Ministry officials are not officially calling them segregated buses, but rather bus lines intended to relieve the distress of the Palestinian workers. Ynet has reported that fliers are being distributed to Palestinian workers notifying them of the coming changes.
Any Palestinian who holds an entrance permit to the State of Israel is allowed by law to use public transportation. Officials at the Samaria and Judea District Police have said there is no change in the operation of the rest of the buses, nor is there any intention to remove Palestinians from other bus lines. But Haaretz has in the past reported incidents when Palestinians were taken off of buses, and witnesses at checkpoints say that such incidents are ongoing.
Ofra Yeshua-Lyth is a member of Machsom Watch, a female advocacy group monitoring West Bank checkpoints. She says that recently, Bus 286 from Tel Aviv to Samaria arrived at a checkpoint filled with Palestinian workers. She filed the following report:
"Police officer Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Shai Zecharia stops the bus at the bus stop. Soldiers order all the Palestinians off the bus. The first thing they do is collect all their identity cards as they get off. One by one, the Palestinians are told to go away from the bus stop and walk to the Azzun Atma checkpoint, which is about 2.5 kilometers away from the Shaar Shomron interchange. All of them responded with restraint and sadness, at most asking why. Here and there they received answers such as, ‘You’re not allowed on Highway 5’ and ‘You’re not allowed on public transportation.’ Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Zecharia gave some vital information to one of the older Palestinians who had arrived there, telling him: You should ride in special vans, not on Israeli buses.”
In response to the report, the Transportation Ministry said it "has not issued any instruction or prohibition that prevents Palestinian workers from riding the public bus lines in Israel or in Judea and Samaria. Furthermore, the Transportation Ministry is not authorized to prevent any passangers from riding those lines."
"The two new lines that will be run as of tomorrow (Monday) are intended to improve the services to Palestinian workers that enter Israel via the Eyal Crossing," the ministry's statement continued, adding that the new lines will replace the "pirate" driving services who have been transporting Palestinian workers "at exorbitant prices and in an irregular fashion."
According to the ministry, the new lines will depart from the Tzofim area near Qalqilyah and will transport workers to their places of work in the Sharon region and Tel Aviv, at "especially cheap prices." For example, the tariff for traveling to Kfar Sava or Raanana will be NIS 5.1, and to Tel Aviv will cost NIS 10.6. This is compared to some NIS 40 that passengers have been charged by the private transportation services for each direction, the ministry said.
"The new lines will lessen the burden that has formed on buses as a result of the increase in numbers of working permits provided to Palestinians, who are permitted to work in Israel and will contribute to the improvements of services, for the betterment of Israelis and Palestinians as one", the statement said.
The Samaria and Judea District Police have yet to respond to the report.
Last November, Haaretz reported that the Transportation Ministry was looking into such a plan due to pressure from the late mayor of Ariel, Ron Nahman, and the head of the Karnei Shomron Local Council. They said residents had complained that Palestinians on their buses were a security risk.
The buses will begin operating Monday morning at the Eyal crossing to take the Palestinians to work in Israel. Transportation Ministry officials are not officially calling them segregated buses, but rather bus lines intended to relieve the distress of the Palestinian workers. Ynet has reported that fliers are being distributed to Palestinian workers notifying them of the coming changes.
Any Palestinian who holds an entrance permit to the State of Israel is allowed by law to use public transportation. Officials at the Samaria and Judea District Police have said there is no change in the operation of the rest of the buses, nor is there any intention to remove Palestinians from other bus lines. But Haaretz has in the past reported incidents when Palestinians were taken off of buses, and witnesses at checkpoints say that such incidents are ongoing.
Ofra Yeshua-Lyth is a member of Machsom Watch, a female advocacy group monitoring West Bank checkpoints. She says that recently, Bus 286 from Tel Aviv to Samaria arrived at a checkpoint filled with Palestinian workers. She filed the following report:
"Police officer Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Shai Zecharia stops the bus at the bus stop. Soldiers order all the Palestinians off the bus. The first thing they do is collect all their identity cards as they get off. One by one, the Palestinians are told to go away from the bus stop and walk to the Azzun Atma checkpoint, which is about 2.5 kilometers away from the Shaar Shomron interchange. All of them responded with restraint and sadness, at most asking why. Here and there they received answers such as, ‘You’re not allowed on Highway 5’ and ‘You’re not allowed on public transportation.’ Advanced Staff Sergeant Major Zecharia gave some vital information to one of the older Palestinians who had arrived there, telling him: You should ride in special vans, not on Israeli buses.”
In response to the report, the Transportation Ministry said it "has not issued any instruction or prohibition that prevents Palestinian workers from riding the public bus lines in Israel or in Judea and Samaria. Furthermore, the Transportation Ministry is not authorized to prevent any passangers from riding those lines."
"The two new lines that will be run as of tomorrow (Monday) are intended to improve the services to Palestinian workers that enter Israel via the Eyal Crossing," the ministry's statement continued, adding that the new lines will replace the "pirate" driving services who have been transporting Palestinian workers "at exorbitant prices and in an irregular fashion."
According to the ministry, the new lines will depart from the Tzofim area near Qalqilyah and will transport workers to their places of work in the Sharon region and Tel Aviv, at "especially cheap prices." For example, the tariff for traveling to Kfar Sava or Raanana will be NIS 5.1, and to Tel Aviv will cost NIS 10.6. This is compared to some NIS 40 that passengers have been charged by the private transportation services for each direction, the ministry said.
"The new lines will lessen the burden that has formed on buses as a result of the increase in numbers of working permits provided to Palestinians, who are permitted to work in Israel and will contribute to the improvements of services, for the betterment of Israelis and Palestinians as one", the statement said.
The Samaria and Judea District Police have yet to respond to the report.
Obama Demands a Timetable For Israeli Withdrawal
American President, Barack Obama, demanded Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to present a timetable for the Israeli withdrawal from the occupied West Bank, the World Tribune has reported.
According to the report, an Israeli source stated that Obama clearly informed Netanyahu that his visit to the region is not meant for media consumption, but is focused on Iran and the establishment of a Palestinian State.
The source added that it appears that Obama will be acting on his own should Tel Aviv fail to present any feasible plan for withdrawal.
Obama is asking Netanyahu to present a detailed West Bank withdrawal plan as part of an American initiative for a peace agreement that leads to the establishment of a Palestinian State in 2014, according to Israeli sources.
Furthermore, the World Tribune reported that Netanyahu’s office is worried about the American demand, especially since the Israeli Prime Minister has not been able to form a new government due to extended coalition talks that has not led yet to forming a new government.
Addressing the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, stated that a comprehensive peace agreement with the Palestinians is not possible under the current circumstances.
Barak added that Israel wants an agreement “that guarantees its security”, and stated that Tel Aviv will have to take what he called “unilateral steps to avoid becoming a bi-national state”.
He also stated that the bilateral steps that Israel should take include ensuring that all of its settlement blocs, built in the occupied West Bank, will be part of Israel, and ensuring a Jewish majority in the country.
Barak also said that Israel must also maintain its security and military presence in the occupied Jordan Valley.
Israel’s ongoing invasions, attacks, the demolition and takeover of Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem, are part of various main issues that led to the collapse of direct peace talks with the Palestinian Authority.
Israel’s settlement construction and expansion activities in the occupied West Bank, including in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are among the main causes for the collapse of these talks.
Tel Aviv is also refusing to recognize the internationally guaranteed Right of Return of the Palestinian refugees, and is refusing to hold talks over borders and national resources.
According to the report, an Israeli source stated that Obama clearly informed Netanyahu that his visit to the region is not meant for media consumption, but is focused on Iran and the establishment of a Palestinian State.
The source added that it appears that Obama will be acting on his own should Tel Aviv fail to present any feasible plan for withdrawal.
Obama is asking Netanyahu to present a detailed West Bank withdrawal plan as part of an American initiative for a peace agreement that leads to the establishment of a Palestinian State in 2014, according to Israeli sources.
Furthermore, the World Tribune reported that Netanyahu’s office is worried about the American demand, especially since the Israeli Prime Minister has not been able to form a new government due to extended coalition talks that has not led yet to forming a new government.
Addressing the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, stated that a comprehensive peace agreement with the Palestinians is not possible under the current circumstances.
Barak added that Israel wants an agreement “that guarantees its security”, and stated that Tel Aviv will have to take what he called “unilateral steps to avoid becoming a bi-national state”.
He also stated that the bilateral steps that Israel should take include ensuring that all of its settlement blocs, built in the occupied West Bank, will be part of Israel, and ensuring a Jewish majority in the country.
Barak also said that Israel must also maintain its security and military presence in the occupied Jordan Valley.
Israel’s ongoing invasions, attacks, the demolition and takeover of Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem, are part of various main issues that led to the collapse of direct peace talks with the Palestinian Authority.
Israel’s settlement construction and expansion activities in the occupied West Bank, including in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are among the main causes for the collapse of these talks.
Tel Aviv is also refusing to recognize the internationally guaranteed Right of Return of the Palestinian refugees, and is refusing to hold talks over borders and national resources.
