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Palestine

Invitation to olive picking [Palestine, October, 2010]

AuthorGilad Atzmon

(Starting Saturday 16th October 2010 for 9 nights)

http://visitpalestine.webs.com/oliveharvestoct2010.htm

2010 will be the 7th year the annual Olive Picking Program in Palestine from October 16th to 25th 2010. This event is of special significance to the Palestinian economy when all energies and efforts are mobilized.

Since the beginning of the second Intifada in 2000, the olive harvest has been overshadowed by the Israeli policies of repression, closure, blockage of streets, confiscation of agricultural lands, as well as repeated attacks against Palestinian farmers by Israeli settlers*. Now with the construction the Apartheid Wall and the continuous expansion of Israeli settlements at the expense of agricultural land in the occupied Palestine , many farmers are separated from their trees, and help is most needed.

The objective of this program is to mobilize as many people as possible for olive picking, especially in areas that are situated in proximity to Israeli settlements and bypass roads, in order to help Palestinian farmers harvest their olive trees which they might be unable to do without international support. Also, the event has brought up awareness to hundreds of people from many countries around the world about real life under the Israeli Military Occupation, and the experience itself was referred to by several participants as a life changing one. You too are invited to join us for this event.

Besides picking olives, the program will feature introductory presentations about the organizing institutions, the current situation in Palestine and the effect of the Apartheid Wall, tours in the old city of Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem , a tour of Hebron , cultural evenings and social gatherings.

Olive Picking 2010 – Proposed schedule

Day One – Saturday 16/10/2010: Arrival. Meeting representatives from the organizing institutions for an overview and discu ssi on of the program.

Dinner and overnight in Beit Sahour (near Bethlehem )

Day Two – Sunday 17/10/2010: Half day picking olives at a selected field.

After lunch, political tour and sightseeing in Bethlehem , including the visit of a refugee camp. Dinner, followed by screening of a documentary at Jadal / Alternative Information Center (AIC)

Dinner and overnight in Beit Sahour

Day Three – Monday 18/10/2010: Half day picking olives at a selected field, followed by lunch.

Meeting at The Applied Research Institute Jerusalem (ARIJ) for a presentation on the Apartheid Wall and land confiscation. Visiting an olive press

Dinner and overnight in Beit Sahour

Day Four – Tuesday 19/10/2010: Tour in the Old City of Jerusalem .

Lunch, followed by a settlement tour around Jerusalem with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD).

Dinner and overnight in Beit Sahour

Day Five – Wednesday 20/10/2010: free day

Day Six – Thursday: 21/10/2010: A tour in the old city of Hebron . Visiting the Ibrahimi Mosque. Meeting with the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee (HRC) for a presentation about the situation in Hebron .

Lunch. Visiting a glass factory. Free time

Dinner and overnight in Beit Sahour

Day Seven Friday 22/10/2010: a full day of picking olives at a selected field, lunch included. –

Dinner and overnight in Beit Sahour

Day Eight – Saturday 23/10/2010: Half day picking olives at a selected field.

Dinner followed by a presentation on the refugee questions with BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugees’ Rights

Overnight in Beit Sahour

– Day Nine – Sunday 24/10/2010: Half day picking olives at a field. Lunch –

Evaluation meeting with institutions’ representatives, followed by a musical evening.

Overnight in Beit Sahour

– Day Ten – Monday 25/10/2010: departure. –

To learn more about previous seasons please go to the video and watch a 10 minutes film about the event here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UYxAIxY2xA

More Information:

• The cost of the program including accommodation in a double room, meals, guides, local transportation and other relevant expenses is $620.

• Accommodation can be arranged at a hotel or with a local family.

• A tour guide will be present with the group at all times for facilitation purposes.

• Travel from and to the airport is not included in the cost but can be arranged for groups.

For any other information, questions, concerns, or to request a registration form, please contact:

visitpalestine@yahoo.co.uk

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Beit Jala 20 June 2010

justicewheels — 20 juin 2010 — Israeli occupation forces today in Beit Jala engaged in beatings, burning of fields, and attacking peaceful demonstrators, bystanders, and reporters. Two young Palestinains: Mohammed Masalma and Thaer Mahmoud were injured after severe beatings with hands and clubs (they were both near their homes and not participating in the demonstration). Several demonstrators were also roughed-up. Occupation enforcers also attacked six reporters and prevented them from doing their job of covering the event: Yousef Shahin (Palmedia), AbdelHafith Hashlamon (European News Aghency), Nasser AlShayukhi (associated Press), Mamon Wazwaz (APA), Musa AlShaer (France Press), and Najeh Hashlamon (ABA). The Israeli occupation forces (thugs) also aimed their gas canisters at dry fields managing to set a fire that engulfed an olive grove (fortunately, the Palestinian fire department quick response saved most of the field and the nearby homes). The apartheid forces also aimed tear gas at far away homes in Beit Jala to send a message of fear to the local population. And Israeli Occupation ‘intelligence’ Officer Fadi came at the end to mock us and call out my name with his loud speaker.

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Bloggers UNITE for Gaza

http://www.bloggersunite.org/event/bloggers-unite-for-gaza

July 09, 2010

Objective:
On 9 July, we are urging bloggers to make a simple promise: “Gaza, We Will Not Forget You”.

Humanitarian aid cannot address the hardship faced by Gaza’s 1.5 million people. The only sustainable solution is to lift the closure. The blockade imposed on Gaza is about to enter its fourth year, thwarting any real chance of economic development. As Gazans endure unemployment, poverty and warfare, the quality of their health care has reached an all-time low.

Israel’s raid on the Gaza aid flotilla brought the issue to international attention. We must act now to put an end to the humanitarian crisis once and for all.

On 9 July 2004, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion condemning Israel’s infringement of the Palestinian right to self-determination and violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The ICJ explicitly affirmed the international community that the burden also falls on them not to recognise or assist the illegal situation.

This year, on 9 July 2010, remind your own government of its own obligations not to recognise or assist Israel’s violations of international law. Urge that there must be an independent and international inquiry into the attacks on the Gaza aid flotilla. And make a simple promise: “Gaza, We Will Not Forget You.”

http://www.humanrightsfund.org

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Palestine/Gaza: The Siege

neverbeforecampaign — 10 juin 2010 — The three year old siege on the Gaza Strip and its 1.5 million inhabitants is a testament to the Israeli regime’s disregard of law, decency and morality. This siege amounts to collective punishment, an action outlawed by various conventions and humanitarian laws. This is not to mention the suffering and humanitarian crisis caused by this law. This siege has been disgracefully condoned by the “international community” and justified by the “free world” as a measure that safegurads the security of the Israeli regime.

The same position was applied to the various humanitarian aid ships that were attacked and abuducted in international waters, and the aid carried by those ships confiscated. The killing of 9 Turkish activists on the the Freedom Flotilla on 1 June brought an abrupt end to international silence regarding the siege. It is unfortunate that the world needed to see the blood of those brave men to realize the brutality of the siege and of the besieger.

Nevertheless, it is our duty to finish what the brave men and women of the Freedom Flotilla and the campaigns that preceded it. It is time to brieak the siege.

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Palestine: Israeli Love Song

neverbeforecampaign — 4 avril 2010 — When the Israeli regime feels that it has to create a ministry for propaganda, you know that they are worried. This concern is shared by dedicated Zionists and other misled people all over the world. Their concern is simple: the world is begginning to realize that the Israeli regime and its policies are nothing better than any other, past or present, discriminatory/apartheid regime.

No amount of spinning tactics or communications strategies will reverse this long overdue awakening. Yet, the Zionists and their regime persist. Over the past few years we have seen initiative after initiative, document after document, and campaign after campaign, to revert to the old pereceptions that the Israeli regime represents the values of freedom, liberty and equality. This regimes latest move, an initiative to turn every citizen into a PR ambassador highlights the desperation of its spin masters and PR firms.

Along these lines, many documents have been compiled to guide anyone willing to defend the Israeli regime and its policies. Most striking, and what we have been seeing for years by Israeli politicians and advocates, is the focus on the audacious claim that the Israeli regime, and its occupation army, actually cares about the Palestinian people.

It is the same old story for all oppressors eventually their image comes to fall, and soon afterwards, so do they.

Many of the photos are by:
“Michael Ramallah”: http://occupiedlove.blogspot.com/
Ahmad Mesleh: http://www.ahmadmesleh.wordpress.com

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The Israel/Palestine one-state solution sounds like a good idea, but…

Solving the problem of Israel/Palestine isn’t rocket science: the solution is obvious. We just have to get serious about it

By Roger Tucker

18 June 2010

Roger Tucker outlines the case for a one-state solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict, arguing that this is the only formula that would provide peace, justice and security for Jews and Palestinians and avoid a possible catastrophe for the rest of the world.

read

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The Helen Thomas’ Resolution by Gilad Atzmon

Those who are engaged in the Palestinian solidarity discourse are familiar with two visions of conflict resolution: the ‘Two State Solution’ and the ‘One State Solution’. This week we have learned about a third possible resolution that seems to me the most reasonable and ethical considering the circumstances.

Helen Thomas, the 89 years old doyenne of the White House press corps, sketched it in one sentence. When asked by a Rabbi holding a camera: “where should Israelis go”, she said Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine”. When the Rabbi challenged her, she made it plainly clear: “they should go home to Poland, Germany, America and elsewhere”

Thomas was quick to be reminded who runs Capitol Hill. A global war was declared against her. She had to resign and to apologise. However, her brief yet transparently clear solution is sound and should be elaborated upon.

read on

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Abbas to Obama: I’m against lifting the Gaza naval blockade

The Palestinian president reportedly told Obama that lifting the naval blockade of Gaza would bolster Hamas, a move that shouldn’t be done at this stage.

By Barak Ravid

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is opposed to lifting the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip because this would bolster Hamas, according to what he told United States President Barack Obama during their meeting at the White House Wednesday. Egypt also supports this position.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once more put off announcing the creation of a committee of inquiry into the naval commando raid on the Gaza Strip flotilla, and the matter will not be brought before the cabinet for a vote this morning.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and U.S. President Barack Obama

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and U.S. President Barack Obama
Photo by: Archive

Netanyahu and his advisers had hoped to announce the establishment of a committee of inquiry as early as yesterday evening for a vote in the cabinet today. Nonetheless, the Prime Minister’s Bureau said yesterday evening that the conditions have not matured for such an announcement “due to political reasons.”

Talks have been held with the U.S. administration and several European countries to rally support for the mandate of the committee of inquiry and approval of its makeup. The Americans have rejected – a number of times – Israel’s proposals and asked that a retired Supreme Court justice head the probe. The issue was resolved when Justice Yaakov Tirkel was proposed for the post.

The Americans have also been busy with the issue of sanctions against Iran at the United Nations Security Council and also with the visit to the U.S. capital by Abbas and so exchanges with Netanyahu’s bureau on the committee of inquiry were delayed.

Apparently, there is another cause for delay involving exchanges between the Americans, Israel and European countries concerning the proposed foreign observers on the committee of inquiry and their authority. One of the foreign observers on the committee will be a senior American jurist. Washington has made it clear that the administration would like at least two European observers to be involved in order to strengthen the legitimacy of the Israeli panel.

The issue of the Gaza flotilla and lifting the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip was the main topic of discussion between Obama and Abbas last Wednesday night.

European diplomats updated by the White House on the talks said that Abbas had stressed to Obama the need of opening the border crossings into the Gaza Strip and the easing of the siege, but only in ways that do not bolster Hamas.

One of the points that Abbas raised is that the naval blockade imposed by Israel on the Strip should not be lifted at this stage. The European diplomats said Egypt has made it clear to Israel, the U.S and the European Union that it is also opposes the lifting of the naval blockade because of the difficulty in inspecting the ships that would enter and leave the Gaza port.

Abbas told Obama that actions easing the blockage should be done with care and undertaken gradually so it will not be construed as a victory for Hamas. The Palestinian leader also stressed that the population in the Gaza Strip must be supported, and that pressure should be brought to bear on Israel to allow more goods, humanitarian assistance and building materials for reconstruction. Abbas, however, said this added aid can be done by opening land crossings and other steps that do not include the lifting of the naval blockade.

On Friday, Netanyahu met with Quartet representative Tony Blair in his office. This was the third meeting between the two during the last eight days, and centered on ways of easing the blockade on the Strip.

Senior Israeli officials and European diplomats say there is agreement that policy on the blockade should be altered, but this should be done carefully and discretely.

“There is agreement that no major declarations should be made so Hamas will not to be allowed to score points,” a source familiar with the talks with Blair said.

source

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The Banality of Occupation

from uruknet : June 10, 2010 – While the world has been rightfully focused on the Gaza Flotilla, the banality of occupation goes on. In this video (originally posted on Coteret), a twelve year old boy is arrested in Bil’in. An international activist and the boy’s mother plead with the soldiers to release him, but the soldiers ignore them completely, with the complete power of the occupier. The child was apparently working in his olive groves with his family. As the boy is taken away, you can see, not far away at all, the buildings of the nearest settlement. Just another day in Palestine…

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