28 feb 2019
February 28, 2019 / By Israeli Apartheid Week / Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America
The 15th Annual Israeli Apartheid Week of actions will take place all around the world between March 18th and April 8th 2019 under the theme “Stop Arming Colonialism”
Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is an international series of events that seeks to raise awareness about Israel’s apartheid regime over the Palestinian people and build support for the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. It now takes place in over 200 cities across the world, where events such as lectures, film screenings, direct action, cultural performances, postering, among many more help in grassroots organizing for effective solidarity with the Palestinian liberation struggle.
Israel is able to maintain its illegal occupation and apartheid regime over Palestinians partly due to its arms sales and the military support it receives from governments across the world. The United States alone is the single largest supplier of arms and military aid to Israel, followed by European states.
These directly sustain Israel’s oppression and human rights violations.
In the Global South, Israel has been known to supply weapons to genocidal regimes [pdf] in Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and elsewhere. Presently, Israel is a major arms exporter to right-wing, authoritarian regimes from Brazil [pdf] to India, the Philippines and beyond.
These weapons are promoted as ‘field-tested’, which means they have been used to kill or injure Palestinians. In fact, Israel is already promoting the technology it has used to repress the Great March of Return in Gaza calling for the right of refugees to return home and an end to the siege.
These arms deals finance Israel’s apartheid regime and its illegal occupation while simultaneously deepening militarization and persecution of people’s movements and oppressed communities in countries where they are bought.
The Palestinian-led BDS movement has reiterated the demand for a military embargo on Israel in the light of Israel’s violent repression of the Great March of Return. International human rights organizations such as Amnesty International have also responded to the Israeli massacre in Gaza with this demand. The UK Labour Party, in its conference in September 2018, passed a motion condemning Israel’s killing of Palestinian protesters in Gaza and called for a freeze of arms sales to Israel.
Ending arms trade, military aid and cooperation with Israel will undercut financial and military support for its regime of apartheid, settler-colonialism and illegal occupation. It will also end the flow of Israeli weapons and security technology and techniques to governments that suppress resistance of their own citizens, people’s movements and communities against policies that deprive them of fundamental rights, including the right to the natural resources of their country.
A military embargo on Israel is a measure for freedom and justice of Palestinians and oppressed peoples in many parts of the world. It can successfully be achieved with massive grassroots efforts, similar to the sustained global mobilization that eventually compelled the United Nations to impose a binding international military embargo against South Africa’s apartheid regime.
For more info, plus action links, see original article.
The 15th Annual Israeli Apartheid Week of actions will take place all around the world between March 18th and April 8th 2019 under the theme “Stop Arming Colonialism”
Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is an international series of events that seeks to raise awareness about Israel’s apartheid regime over the Palestinian people and build support for the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. It now takes place in over 200 cities across the world, where events such as lectures, film screenings, direct action, cultural performances, postering, among many more help in grassroots organizing for effective solidarity with the Palestinian liberation struggle.
Israel is able to maintain its illegal occupation and apartheid regime over Palestinians partly due to its arms sales and the military support it receives from governments across the world. The United States alone is the single largest supplier of arms and military aid to Israel, followed by European states.
These directly sustain Israel’s oppression and human rights violations.
In the Global South, Israel has been known to supply weapons to genocidal regimes [pdf] in Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and elsewhere. Presently, Israel is a major arms exporter to right-wing, authoritarian regimes from Brazil [pdf] to India, the Philippines and beyond.
These weapons are promoted as ‘field-tested’, which means they have been used to kill or injure Palestinians. In fact, Israel is already promoting the technology it has used to repress the Great March of Return in Gaza calling for the right of refugees to return home and an end to the siege.
These arms deals finance Israel’s apartheid regime and its illegal occupation while simultaneously deepening militarization and persecution of people’s movements and oppressed communities in countries where they are bought.
The Palestinian-led BDS movement has reiterated the demand for a military embargo on Israel in the light of Israel’s violent repression of the Great March of Return. International human rights organizations such as Amnesty International have also responded to the Israeli massacre in Gaza with this demand. The UK Labour Party, in its conference in September 2018, passed a motion condemning Israel’s killing of Palestinian protesters in Gaza and called for a freeze of arms sales to Israel.
Ending arms trade, military aid and cooperation with Israel will undercut financial and military support for its regime of apartheid, settler-colonialism and illegal occupation. It will also end the flow of Israeli weapons and security technology and techniques to governments that suppress resistance of their own citizens, people’s movements and communities against policies that deprive them of fundamental rights, including the right to the natural resources of their country.
A military embargo on Israel is a measure for freedom and justice of Palestinians and oppressed peoples in many parts of the world. It can successfully be achieved with massive grassroots efforts, similar to the sustained global mobilization that eventually compelled the United Nations to impose a binding international military embargo against South Africa’s apartheid regime.
For more info, plus action links, see original article.
27 feb 2019
The Otzma Yehudit Party, including (L-R): Itamar Ben-Gvir, Michael Ben-Ari, Benzi Gopstein and Baruch Marzel
Labor MK Stav Shaffir submits petition to Central Elections Committee to stop MK Michael Ben-Ari of the far-right Otzma Yehudit Party from running after investigative report uncovered his ties to an NGO on the US terror blacklist.
Israel's Central Elections Committee will discuss a petition to disqualify the candidates of the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) Party from running in the April 9 elections after one third of the panel's members signed off on the request.
Following an investigative report earlier this week, which uncovered former MK and Otzma Yehudit member Michael Ben-Ari's ties to an NGO on the US terror blacklist, MK Stav Shaffir (Labor) submitted a petition to the committee asking to prevent him from running to the 21st Knesset.
Three other parties in the current Knesset — Meretz, Joint List and Yesh Atid — lent their support to the request.
Yesh Atid, which is running as part of the Blue and White Party in the upcoming elections, said in a statement that, "The decision to join the request comes on the backdrop of our commitment to use all tools at our disposal to prevent the Kahanists from entering Israel's Knesset." Otzma Yehudit said in response: "The cat's out of the bag and it now transpires that (Blue and White leader Benny) Gantz is seeking to form a government with the help of the terrorists' representatives in the Knesset."
The hostility toward Oztma Yehudit led to an exchange of barbs Tuesday between New Right leader Naftali Bennett and National Union leader Bezalel Smotrich, who were both part of the Jewish Home Party before the elections. During an interview with Israel Radio, Bennett was asked whether he thought it was appropriate for people who consider Rabbi Meir Kahane to be a role model to serve in the Israeli parliament. "No," he replied. "Anyone who undermines Israel's existence as a Jewish and democratic state is unworthy."
Smotrich, whose National Union Party, along with Jewish Home, has agreed to run for the Knesset with Otzma Yehudit, hit back, tweeting: "Some act with responsibility, and others seriously suffer from credibility issues." He backed his claim with a screenshot of a tweet Bennett posted earlier this month, in which he said it was "essential for Smotrich to unite with Otzma Yehudit."
The Otzma Yehudit Party is the latest incarnation of the Jewish National Front, a party that was established ahead of the 2006 elections, but its roots are in the Kach movement, which Kahane established in the 1970s.
Kach was a radical and racist right-wing movement with fascist characteristics; it called to expel Arab citizens from Israeli territory and promoted racist legislation against all non-Jews. It also believed in making Israel a Halachah state (ruled by Jewish law) and in annexing all parts of Greater Israel.
Kahane managed to get elected to the Knesset in 1984. In response, all of the parliament's factions came together to pass a law forbidding parties that incite to racism from running in the elections. The Kach Party and Kahane found themselves out of the Knesset, but different movements based on their ideology continued operating.
Labor MK Stav Shaffir submits petition to Central Elections Committee to stop MK Michael Ben-Ari of the far-right Otzma Yehudit Party from running after investigative report uncovered his ties to an NGO on the US terror blacklist.
Israel's Central Elections Committee will discuss a petition to disqualify the candidates of the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) Party from running in the April 9 elections after one third of the panel's members signed off on the request.
Following an investigative report earlier this week, which uncovered former MK and Otzma Yehudit member Michael Ben-Ari's ties to an NGO on the US terror blacklist, MK Stav Shaffir (Labor) submitted a petition to the committee asking to prevent him from running to the 21st Knesset.
Three other parties in the current Knesset — Meretz, Joint List and Yesh Atid — lent their support to the request.
Yesh Atid, which is running as part of the Blue and White Party in the upcoming elections, said in a statement that, "The decision to join the request comes on the backdrop of our commitment to use all tools at our disposal to prevent the Kahanists from entering Israel's Knesset." Otzma Yehudit said in response: "The cat's out of the bag and it now transpires that (Blue and White leader Benny) Gantz is seeking to form a government with the help of the terrorists' representatives in the Knesset."
The hostility toward Oztma Yehudit led to an exchange of barbs Tuesday between New Right leader Naftali Bennett and National Union leader Bezalel Smotrich, who were both part of the Jewish Home Party before the elections. During an interview with Israel Radio, Bennett was asked whether he thought it was appropriate for people who consider Rabbi Meir Kahane to be a role model to serve in the Israeli parliament. "No," he replied. "Anyone who undermines Israel's existence as a Jewish and democratic state is unworthy."
Smotrich, whose National Union Party, along with Jewish Home, has agreed to run for the Knesset with Otzma Yehudit, hit back, tweeting: "Some act with responsibility, and others seriously suffer from credibility issues." He backed his claim with a screenshot of a tweet Bennett posted earlier this month, in which he said it was "essential for Smotrich to unite with Otzma Yehudit."
The Otzma Yehudit Party is the latest incarnation of the Jewish National Front, a party that was established ahead of the 2006 elections, but its roots are in the Kach movement, which Kahane established in the 1970s.
Kach was a radical and racist right-wing movement with fascist characteristics; it called to expel Arab citizens from Israeli territory and promoted racist legislation against all non-Jews. It also believed in making Israel a Halachah state (ruled by Jewish law) and in annexing all parts of Greater Israel.
Kahane managed to get elected to the Knesset in 1984. In response, all of the parliament's factions came together to pass a law forbidding parties that incite to racism from running in the elections. The Kach Party and Kahane found themselves out of the Knesset, but different movements based on their ideology continued operating.
The Breaking the Silence photo exhibition at the EU headquarters in Brussels (Photo: Breaking the Silence)
Breaking the Silence organizes photo exhibition at European Union headquarters in Brussels displaying the 'damages of the occupation,' while members of Reservists on Duty group arrive in Belgian capital to convince European MPs that IDF is a moral army.
Two Israeli organizations went head-to-head this week at the European Union's headquarters in Brussels over a photo exhibition about Israel's "occupation" of the Palestinians.
The left-wing NGO Breaking the Silence, which collects testimonies from IDF soldiers about what they say are war crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinian population in the West Bank, was invited by the EU to organize a photo exhibition about the "damages of the occupation and of controlling another people."
The exhibition marks the 25th anniversary of the massacre carried out by Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein in Hebron on February 25, 1994, when he opened fire at the Ibrahim mosque in the Old City, murdering 29 Palestinians, including children.
The NGO Reservists on Duty, which engages in public relations activity presenting the IDF as a moral army, went to the Belgian capital to fight back. On Tuesday, the IDF reservists met with EU lawmakers to present their narrative. "We decided to show them a different side to the story, one they don't know," said Maj. (res.) Amit Deri, the founder and head of Reservists on Duty. "We told them the IDF sent text messages to Gaza residents to warn them ahead of bombings, because we're a moral army. The parliament members seemed surprised; they got used to hearing that Israel is allegedly committing war crimes."
Deri said the Breaking the Silence exhibition doesn't mention Palestinian terrorism or the Israeli casualties of these attacks.
"There was a large crowd there that had no idea, and they were applauding (Breaking the Silence)," he said. "I felt shame and sorrow. Where are the testimonies about (Hamas's) use of the Palestinian population as human shields? The testimonies they bring to the European Union are not representative of the IDF.
They are making a cynical and anonymous use of IDF soldiers to promote a political agenda." "The European Union must rethink the funding it provides Israeli and Palestinian organizations involved in incitement and brainwashing, which lead to the murder of Israelis," Deri said.
Noy Leyb, another member of Reservists on Duty, said that he "witnessed instances in which Hamas sent minors armed with a knife to cross the border fence. These are not innocent protests. In most cases, it's terrorism."
Breaking the Silence Executive Director Avner Gvaryahu, meanwhile, said that "While (Prime Minister) Netanyahu continues paving the way to the Knesset for Goldstein's friends, and the Israeli government and the settlers are doing everything to promote an international lobby to annex the West Bank, every Israeli citizen who wishes an end to the occupation and a democratic Israel should join us for the fight against the occupation and annexation—both in Israel and abroad."
Breaking the Silence organizes photo exhibition at European Union headquarters in Brussels displaying the 'damages of the occupation,' while members of Reservists on Duty group arrive in Belgian capital to convince European MPs that IDF is a moral army.
Two Israeli organizations went head-to-head this week at the European Union's headquarters in Brussels over a photo exhibition about Israel's "occupation" of the Palestinians.
The left-wing NGO Breaking the Silence, which collects testimonies from IDF soldiers about what they say are war crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinian population in the West Bank, was invited by the EU to organize a photo exhibition about the "damages of the occupation and of controlling another people."
The exhibition marks the 25th anniversary of the massacre carried out by Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein in Hebron on February 25, 1994, when he opened fire at the Ibrahim mosque in the Old City, murdering 29 Palestinians, including children.
The NGO Reservists on Duty, which engages in public relations activity presenting the IDF as a moral army, went to the Belgian capital to fight back. On Tuesday, the IDF reservists met with EU lawmakers to present their narrative. "We decided to show them a different side to the story, one they don't know," said Maj. (res.) Amit Deri, the founder and head of Reservists on Duty. "We told them the IDF sent text messages to Gaza residents to warn them ahead of bombings, because we're a moral army. The parliament members seemed surprised; they got used to hearing that Israel is allegedly committing war crimes."
Deri said the Breaking the Silence exhibition doesn't mention Palestinian terrorism or the Israeli casualties of these attacks.
"There was a large crowd there that had no idea, and they were applauding (Breaking the Silence)," he said. "I felt shame and sorrow. Where are the testimonies about (Hamas's) use of the Palestinian population as human shields? The testimonies they bring to the European Union are not representative of the IDF.
They are making a cynical and anonymous use of IDF soldiers to promote a political agenda." "The European Union must rethink the funding it provides Israeli and Palestinian organizations involved in incitement and brainwashing, which lead to the murder of Israelis," Deri said.
Noy Leyb, another member of Reservists on Duty, said that he "witnessed instances in which Hamas sent minors armed with a knife to cross the border fence. These are not innocent protests. In most cases, it's terrorism."
Breaking the Silence Executive Director Avner Gvaryahu, meanwhile, said that "While (Prime Minister) Netanyahu continues paving the way to the Knesset for Goldstein's friends, and the Israeli government and the settlers are doing everything to promote an international lobby to annex the West Bank, every Israeli citizen who wishes an end to the occupation and a democratic Israel should join us for the fight against the occupation and annexation—both in Israel and abroad."
25 feb 2019
An Israeli news anchor who has blamed the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands for turning regime troops into “animals” has defended her comments despite having received death threats from “thousands.”
Israeli Channel 13 TV anchor Oshrat Kotler had, last week, denounced the mistreatment of Palestinians in Israeli custody, following a piece aired on the channel about five Israeli soldiers indicted for beating two handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinians — a father and his 15-year-old son. video
According to the indictment, the father was hospitalized for three days after sustaining multiple broken ribs, a “severely” broken nose, and subdermal bleeding around his stomach. The son also suffered a number of wounds to his head and “significant swelling” on his face.
After the report was aired, Kotler said, “We send children to the army, to the [occupied] territories, and get back animals. That is the result of the occupation.”
On Saturday, however, Kotler said she stood by her comments despite having been flooded with death threats, according to The Times of Israel.
She accused Israeli politicians of taking “cynical” advantage of her comments and taking them out of context in the midst of an election campaign.
“I am sorry if I hurt anyone with my words, but I cannot see the price we pay through our children for the reality of controlling another nation,” she said, appearing to fight back tears and referring to Palestinians. “We have lived this reality for 52 years. I do not have a magic solution; I am not a politician.”
‘Thousands of death threats’
She said her comments, “spoken with great pain,” had been “directed only at the soldiers who violated the law” and not all Israeli troopers.
“Thousands threatened my life and the life of my family, and I am afraid, but I hope to find the strength to continue and express my opinion as a reporter,” she said.
Israeli NGO Peace Now backed Kotler, saying, “It is permissible and even desirable to look into the mirror from time to time and honestly admit to the damage [caused by] the occupation. Those whose children’s futures are important to them should work to end the conflict rather than maintain it, because the price is high.”
Tamar Zandberg, the leader of left-wing Meretz Party, called the attacks on Kotler “pathetic and yet predictable… shutting your eyes [to the problem] and then assailing the messenger is not a solution.”
Israeli forces have on numerous occasions been caught on camera brutally beating or killing Palestinians, with the videos going viral online and sparking widespread condemnations, Press TV/Al Ray reports.
Israeli Channel 13 TV anchor Oshrat Kotler had, last week, denounced the mistreatment of Palestinians in Israeli custody, following a piece aired on the channel about five Israeli soldiers indicted for beating two handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinians — a father and his 15-year-old son. video
According to the indictment, the father was hospitalized for three days after sustaining multiple broken ribs, a “severely” broken nose, and subdermal bleeding around his stomach. The son also suffered a number of wounds to his head and “significant swelling” on his face.
After the report was aired, Kotler said, “We send children to the army, to the [occupied] territories, and get back animals. That is the result of the occupation.”
On Saturday, however, Kotler said she stood by her comments despite having been flooded with death threats, according to The Times of Israel.
She accused Israeli politicians of taking “cynical” advantage of her comments and taking them out of context in the midst of an election campaign.
“I am sorry if I hurt anyone with my words, but I cannot see the price we pay through our children for the reality of controlling another nation,” she said, appearing to fight back tears and referring to Palestinians. “We have lived this reality for 52 years. I do not have a magic solution; I am not a politician.”
‘Thousands of death threats’
She said her comments, “spoken with great pain,” had been “directed only at the soldiers who violated the law” and not all Israeli troopers.
“Thousands threatened my life and the life of my family, and I am afraid, but I hope to find the strength to continue and express my opinion as a reporter,” she said.
Israeli NGO Peace Now backed Kotler, saying, “It is permissible and even desirable to look into the mirror from time to time and honestly admit to the damage [caused by] the occupation. Those whose children’s futures are important to them should work to end the conflict rather than maintain it, because the price is high.”
Tamar Zandberg, the leader of left-wing Meretz Party, called the attacks on Kotler “pathetic and yet predictable… shutting your eyes [to the problem] and then assailing the messenger is not a solution.”
Israeli forces have on numerous occasions been caught on camera brutally beating or killing Palestinians, with the videos going viral online and sparking widespread condemnations, Press TV/Al Ray reports.
21 feb 2019
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is urging supporters and friends of Palestine and the prisoners to take action by signing the online petition against racism at San Francisco State University (SFSU).
The University is a frequent site of struggle in which Palestinian students and faculty, as well as other marginalized communities, have been attacked by Zionist campaigns that have met with little serious response from SFSU administrators.
Departments like AMED (Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas) studies have been underfunded and unsupported by the University, even in violation of signed agreements.
Most recently, the university issued a document listing “religious holidays” that may be observed by students and other members of the University community.
Shockingly, “Israel Independence Day” was included on this list despite the fact that it is not a religious holiday and – much more significantly – is essentially a celebration of the Nakba, the expulsion of over 750,000 Palestinian refugees from their homes and lands by armed Zionist settler colonial forces.
Today numbering in the millions, Palestinian refugees have been denied their right to return for over 71 years.
Adding insult to injury, the list also omitted major significant Muslim holidays, including Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, despite the fact that they are widely recognized by members of the SFSU community as well as nearly 2 billion Muslims around the world.
Action links and full disclosure at Samidoun.
The University is a frequent site of struggle in which Palestinian students and faculty, as well as other marginalized communities, have been attacked by Zionist campaigns that have met with little serious response from SFSU administrators.
Departments like AMED (Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas) studies have been underfunded and unsupported by the University, even in violation of signed agreements.
Most recently, the university issued a document listing “religious holidays” that may be observed by students and other members of the University community.
Shockingly, “Israel Independence Day” was included on this list despite the fact that it is not a religious holiday and – much more significantly – is essentially a celebration of the Nakba, the expulsion of over 750,000 Palestinian refugees from their homes and lands by armed Zionist settler colonial forces.
Today numbering in the millions, Palestinian refugees have been denied their right to return for over 71 years.
Adding insult to injury, the list also omitted major significant Muslim holidays, including Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, despite the fact that they are widely recognized by members of the SFSU community as well as nearly 2 billion Muslims around the world.
Action links and full disclosure at Samidoun.
18 feb 2019
The Visegrad (V4) Summit, scheduled to start in Jerusalem on Tuesday, has been cancelled after Poland pulled out due to diplomatic tensions with Israel, according to Czech news outlets.
Lidovky news outlet reported that the Czech Republic’s Prime Minister, Andrej Babis, announced that the V4 Summit is officially cancelled, saying “Bilateral discussions would take place instead and that the summit may be rescheduled for the second half of this year.”
Babis’s decision came after Poland decided cancel the visit of its foreign minister to Israel following “racist” remarks made by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
Katz said that "Poles suckle anti-Semitism from their mothers' milk."
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki denounced Katz's remarks as "racist and unacceptable."
Poland's ambassador to Israel also slammed the remarks via his Twitter account, "It is really astonishing that the newly appointed foreign minister of Israel quotes such a shameful and racist remark. Utterly unacceptable."
The diplomatic tensions between Poland and Israel erupted during the Warsaw Conference on the Middle East last week, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to push back against a Polish law, which prohibits broad statements that Poland as a state had collaborated with the Nazis to kill Jews during World War II.
While visiting the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw at the end of the two-day conference, Netanyahu said, "Poles cooperated with the Germans" during the Holocaust.
The V4 group is an alliance of four Central European countries, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, that are members of the European Union (EU) and NATO, and created the V4 for the purposes of advancing military, cultural, economic and energy cooperation with each other.
9 july 2018 Rights Groups Demand Israel Stop Arming neo-Nazis in Ukraine
Lidovky news outlet reported that the Czech Republic’s Prime Minister, Andrej Babis, announced that the V4 Summit is officially cancelled, saying “Bilateral discussions would take place instead and that the summit may be rescheduled for the second half of this year.”
Babis’s decision came after Poland decided cancel the visit of its foreign minister to Israel following “racist” remarks made by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
Katz said that "Poles suckle anti-Semitism from their mothers' milk."
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki denounced Katz's remarks as "racist and unacceptable."
Poland's ambassador to Israel also slammed the remarks via his Twitter account, "It is really astonishing that the newly appointed foreign minister of Israel quotes such a shameful and racist remark. Utterly unacceptable."
The diplomatic tensions between Poland and Israel erupted during the Warsaw Conference on the Middle East last week, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to push back against a Polish law, which prohibits broad statements that Poland as a state had collaborated with the Nazis to kill Jews during World War II.
While visiting the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw at the end of the two-day conference, Netanyahu said, "Poles cooperated with the Germans" during the Holocaust.
The V4 group is an alliance of four Central European countries, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, that are members of the European Union (EU) and NATO, and created the V4 for the purposes of advancing military, cultural, economic and energy cooperation with each other.
9 july 2018 Rights Groups Demand Israel Stop Arming neo-Nazis in Ukraine
MK Tzipi Livni announced that she is quitting her political life after two decades and pulling her Hatnuah party out of the upcoming Israeli legislative elections scheduled for April 9th.
Livni held a press conference in Tel Aviv, on Monday afternoon, officially announcing she is pulling out of the race for the 21st Israeli Knesset, and stressed, "I believe that my and Hatnuah's positions are better for the State of Israel and that justice is on our side. I have the internal force to continue fighting for what I believe in, however, I lack the political force to implement my ideology. I will never forgive myself if the votes of those who believe in me go to waste."
After opinion polls were published on Sunday and two of them gave less than 1% of the vote to Hatnuah, showing that the political party would not pass the electoral threshold, Livni sought to join forces with either the Yesh Atid or the Israel Resilience party.
However, Livni reached a stalemate, which reportedly led her to decide to leave politics behind.
According to Hebrew-language news outlets, Livni was eager to join with the Israel Resilience party, nevertheless, sources in the party said leader, Benny Gantz, was reluctant to run a joint campaign due to worries that Livni is seen as “too leftist.”
Livni began her political life as a member of Knesset for the Likud party in 1999 and in 2005 she joined the Kadima party, set up by former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and was elected chair of the party in 2008.
Later in 2012, Livni resigned from the Knesset and set up her own Hatnuah party after her defeat in Kadima party leadership primaries.
In the 2013 Israeli elections, Hatnuah won six seats and Livni was made justice minister in a coalition with current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in addition to being appointed in charge of negotiations with the Palestinians.
For the 2014 elections she united Hatnuah with the Labor party to form the Zionist Union and was opposition leader from July 2017 until the January 2019 when the Zionist Union was dissolved.
Livni held a press conference in Tel Aviv, on Monday afternoon, officially announcing she is pulling out of the race for the 21st Israeli Knesset, and stressed, "I believe that my and Hatnuah's positions are better for the State of Israel and that justice is on our side. I have the internal force to continue fighting for what I believe in, however, I lack the political force to implement my ideology. I will never forgive myself if the votes of those who believe in me go to waste."
After opinion polls were published on Sunday and two of them gave less than 1% of the vote to Hatnuah, showing that the political party would not pass the electoral threshold, Livni sought to join forces with either the Yesh Atid or the Israel Resilience party.
However, Livni reached a stalemate, which reportedly led her to decide to leave politics behind.
According to Hebrew-language news outlets, Livni was eager to join with the Israel Resilience party, nevertheless, sources in the party said leader, Benny Gantz, was reluctant to run a joint campaign due to worries that Livni is seen as “too leftist.”
Livni began her political life as a member of Knesset for the Likud party in 1999 and in 2005 she joined the Kadima party, set up by former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and was elected chair of the party in 2008.
Later in 2012, Livni resigned from the Knesset and set up her own Hatnuah party after her defeat in Kadima party leadership primaries.
In the 2013 Israeli elections, Hatnuah won six seats and Livni was made justice minister in a coalition with current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in addition to being appointed in charge of negotiations with the Palestinians.
For the 2014 elections she united Hatnuah with the Labor party to form the Zionist Union and was opposition leader from July 2017 until the January 2019 when the Zionist Union was dissolved.
An Israeli news anchor for Channel 13 stirred controversy, over the weekend, after saying that Israel was turning soldiers into “animals” with its ongoing rule over the occupied West Bank.
Israeli news outlets reported that anchor Oshrat Kotler made her comments at the end of a news piece regarding Israeli army soldiers suspected of badly beating two bound and blindfolded Palestinian suspects following their comrades’ deaths in an attack.
The anchor said “We send children to the army, to the territories and get back animals."
"That is the result of the occupation."
After apparently being informed that her comment caused controversy by the end of the program, Kotler said “My own children and their friends are all combat soldiers," she added "My criticism was aimed only at those soldiers who have been led to harm innocents by our control over the Palestinians.”
“I’m actually in favor of easing the soldiers’ punishment, because it is we who sent them into that impossible reality.”
Parents of the accused soldiers said, in a joint statement, that Kotler’s comments were “unfortunate and ugly” and “have no place in Israeli discourse, certainly not by a news anchor who should present facts and not her warped world view."
Israeli New Right political party chief, Naftali Bennett, rebuked Kotler on Twitter, saying “Oshrat, you’re confused, IDF soldiers give their lives so that you can sleep soundly. Animals are those terrorists who murder children in their beds, a teen out for a walk or an entire family driving down the road. IDF soldiers are our children, our strength. Apologize.”
The party said it would call on Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to launch an investigation into Kotler’s comments for libel.
Israeli news outlets reported that anchor Oshrat Kotler made her comments at the end of a news piece regarding Israeli army soldiers suspected of badly beating two bound and blindfolded Palestinian suspects following their comrades’ deaths in an attack.
The anchor said “We send children to the army, to the territories and get back animals."
"That is the result of the occupation."
After apparently being informed that her comment caused controversy by the end of the program, Kotler said “My own children and their friends are all combat soldiers," she added "My criticism was aimed only at those soldiers who have been led to harm innocents by our control over the Palestinians.”
“I’m actually in favor of easing the soldiers’ punishment, because it is we who sent them into that impossible reality.”
Parents of the accused soldiers said, in a joint statement, that Kotler’s comments were “unfortunate and ugly” and “have no place in Israeli discourse, certainly not by a news anchor who should present facts and not her warped world view."
Israeli New Right political party chief, Naftali Bennett, rebuked Kotler on Twitter, saying “Oshrat, you’re confused, IDF soldiers give their lives so that you can sleep soundly. Animals are those terrorists who murder children in their beds, a teen out for a walk or an entire family driving down the road. IDF soldiers are our children, our strength. Apologize.”
The party said it would call on Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to launch an investigation into Kotler’s comments for libel.
Spokesman for Hamas movement Hazem Qasem on Monday said that the Israeli government's decision to deduct funds from the tax revenues transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is a robbery of the Palestinian people's money.
Qasem said in a press statement that the PA "soft policies" toward the Israeli occupation's practices have encouraged Netanyahu's government to commit more crimes.
"It is regrettable that the Israeli move was preceded by the PA decision to cut the salaries of the families of Palestinian martyrs and prisoners in the Gaza Strip," he added.
Qasem said that the PA should respond to these Israeli practices by ending the security coordination with the Israeli army and lifting the sanctions imposed on the Gaza Strip.
What is more important, he continued to say, is that the PA stops its monopoly of the decision-making and abide by the signed reconciliation agreements.
Qasem said in a press statement that the PA "soft policies" toward the Israeli occupation's practices have encouraged Netanyahu's government to commit more crimes.
"It is regrettable that the Israeli move was preceded by the PA decision to cut the salaries of the families of Palestinian martyrs and prisoners in the Gaza Strip," he added.
Qasem said that the PA should respond to these Israeli practices by ending the security coordination with the Israeli army and lifting the sanctions imposed on the Gaza Strip.
What is more important, he continued to say, is that the PA stops its monopoly of the decision-making and abide by the signed reconciliation agreements.
