Friday, December 19

Today's Headlines in the Occupation Magazine December 19

Click the headline for the full Story!


Criminal Complaint at the Hague
Window into Palestine-"Although many leaders have commented on the cruelty and unlawfulness of the Gaza blockade imposed by Israel, such a flurry of denunciations by normally cautious UN officials has not occurred on a global level since the heyday of South African apartheid"


Jewish Leaders: Condemn Settler Pogroms
by Isaac Luria-J Street-"American Jews have a real obligation to speak out on settler extremism. Because, while mainstream Israelis recognize the necessity of reining in the settler movement, a large part of the money supporting the settlers` presence in Hebron is coming from right here in America. The Brooklyn-based Hebron Fund, for instance, has raised at least $6.6 million since 2002 to support the extremist Jewish community in Hebron [4] - and is actively undermining the possibility of a two-state solution with the Palestinians. "


Major U.S. Power Figures -- Tisch, Greenberg, Milken -- Linked to Charity that Funds Settlers` Militias
Phil Weiss and Adam Horowitz-Mondoweiss-"The truth is that the settlements have drawn on support from the heart and soul of the American Jewish leadership. That`s why Barack Obama was very quiet about settlements during the recent presidential campaign. He wanted to do nothing to alienate important donors to the Democratic Party, many of whom probably share Tisch, Milken and Greenberg`s feelings about Israel. But as Jeffrey Goldberg has said, it`s time to have this issue out: which side are you on? "


UN assembly boss accuses Israel of `lie`
Harvey Morris- Financial Times-"Miguel d`Escoto Brockmann, the former Nicaraguan foreign minister who has chaired the 192-member assembly since September, accused Israel, in a statement read out by a spokesman, of a "malicious and absolute lie" in claiming he tried to deny its ambassador the right to speak at a recent human rights session."


Legal opinion regarding the closure of the Gaza Strip
Sari Bashi-Gisha-"The closure of Gaza is neither a siege, nor a blockade, nor an economic sanction – it is an illegal act of collective punishment and stands in violation of both international and Israeli law. In the following paper, we seek to de-mystify the terminology being used and misused to describe the closure of Gaza in order to dispel any uncertainty regarding Israel`s responsibility towards residents of Gaza and accountability for the rights violations occurring as result of the closure. We argue that the restrictions on freedom of movement in and out of Gaza constitute a closure aimed at civilians and undertaken for purposes of collective punishment – and are therefore illegal."


Fighting on a different front
Ben White-Guardian.co.uk-"In contrast to the cliché-trapped media, and policy papers and peace plans that are a grand exercise in missing the point, the Shministim remind us that as you read this, the Palestinians are living another day corralled into enclaves, overlooked and encircled by colonies of settlers who exist in a parallel legal realm of privilege and domination. They remind us of the occupation, and also of hope, for they are some of the Israelis who choose to exchange the "privilege" of the IDF call-up, for the "great privilege of saying `No`"."


PCHR Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory No. 49/2008
PCHR-Weekly Report:-"On Sunday, 12 December 2008, a Palestinian child was seriously wounded by a gunshot to the head fired by IOF troops that provided protection to Israeli settlers who attacked Palestinian civilians and property in Hebron...IOF conducted at least 38 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. During these incursions, IOF arrested 50 Palestinian civilians, including 14 children and a girl. Thus, the number of Palestinian civilians arrested by IOF in the West Bank since the beginning of 2008 has mounted to 2,311. "


CANADIAN JEWS SUPPORT SHMINISTIM
Diana Ralph-Independent Jewish Voices,Canada-"We are inspired by the example of these caring students, and their counterparts in Palestine, whose nonviolent resistance to the Occupation points the way to a just peace and security for all people in the region. They are our best hope for the future. We urge you to heed them, and not punish them."


Israeli Youth Resist Palestinian Occupation
Ira Chernus - Common Dreams - "When Judea was ruled by a much stronger neighboring nation, the Jews took up arms to free themselves from a military occupation. Yet when Palestinians even talk about taking up arms against the occupying army of their powerful neighbor today, the Israeli government and its supporters call that unjustified, immoral, an outrage."


Israeli shelling kills a Palestinian in northern Gaza
DPA - M & C - "Hamas and other militant groups said earlier that they won`t extend the truce for another six months unless Israel keeps Gaza crossings opened and stops military operations into the poor enclave."


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