Posts Tagged ‘west bank’
Impressions of Israeli Executions in the West Bank
January 10th, 2010 • Awareness, News
Tags: american, diary, execution, west bank
Recently, my family and I were in Israel-Palestine. We spent Christmas in Palestine and then drove north to Nablus. There we witnessed the aftermath of the Israeli targeted killing of three Palestinians. We met the affected families and I wrote down my impressions of the Israeli operation in the form of a report (supplemented with photographs). Later I found out that the American government is questioning the Israeli government on the operation, and therefore I have made the report available to Congress and the State Department. However, I really think that the impressions of an ordinary American citizen should be seen by other Americans.
Read the full report here…
Subsidies, Commandos & Private Contractors.
December 23rd, 2009 • News
Tags: contractor, illlegal, israel, legal, private, security, settlement, subsidies, west bank
A few news reports from Al Jazeera English…
Israel floods settlements with subsidies
Israel has announced a partial moratorium on settlement construction. Yet, at the same time, it has invested in those already established in a bid to solidify their existence.
In the Jordan Valley there are 22 settlements viewed as illegal under international law.
But, as Al Jazeera’s Nicole Johnston reports, they benefit from a system of Israeli funding specifically focused on kick-starting settler economies.
Israel vows action against settlers
Give with one hand (above) and take with the other:
The Israeli army is planning to use special commando units, unmanned spy planes and mobile phone-jamming equipment to prevent new settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, according to a leaked report.
Army officials said the plan is only a “first draft” for potential measures to enforce a 10-months settlement suspension announced last month.
Inspectors tasked with monitoring the suspension have been repeatedly clashing with settlers since the halt and the leaked document is expected to raise tensions further.
Israel ‘outsourcing’ the occupation
Right from the Pentagon/BlackwaterXe playbook:
Concern is growing among Palestinians in the occupied West Bank as Israel steps up its use of private security contractors to patrol Palestinian territories.
The private firms are being used to help patrol checkpoints and protect illegal settlements in what has become a multi-billion dollar business for Israeli security companies.
But as Al Jazeera’s Nicole Johnston reports, some Palestinians are concerned that the private companies are using a different set of rules than the army, and this has raised new legal issues.
The West Bank’s English settler
December 19th, 2009 • 1 comment Awareness
Tags: english, settlement, west bank
More4 News, 2008:
“As hope is rekindled in the Middle East peace process More4 News travels to the disputed areas of the West Bank to meet the only English settler.”
As hope is rekindled in the Middle East peace process More4 News travels to the disputed areas of the West Bank to meet the only English settler. Restarting the Middle East peace process looks like it might be a step closer after Israel said it was nearing agreement on settlement building in the West Bank. Israeli leader Binyamin Netanyahu met the US envoy George Mitchell in London today and settlement-building was the key topic.
Palestinians have always seen the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank as one of the key obstacles to a final peace agreement. The settlements have grown steadily since Israel occupied the West Bank in 1969 – and now nearly half a million Israeli settlers live in the occupied territories. The Israelis agreed to stop building new settlements in 2003 as part of what was called the roadmap to peace. But expansion of existing settlements has continued. The Palestinians have refused to enter new negotiations with Israel until all building stops.
The Jewish settlers in the occupied territories have come from all over the world – more recently from Russia and the former Soviet republics. But others have come from closer to home. Much of the world believes new settlers are one of the main reasons that conflict with the Palestinians persists, but they believe they are fulfilling their duty in occupying their own ancestral land.
Matthew Kalman has been visiting one of the smallest settlements in the West Bank to meet an English woman called Shira Gilad.
Ramallah – The Arab Street
December 15th, 2009 • Awareness
Tags: al jazeera, arab street, documentary, film, ramallah, west bank
From Al Jazeera’s The Arab Street:
The Arab Street goes to the heart of the city to find out, bypassing the politicians and pundits to get the views of ordinary men and women. In this episode we visit Ramallah, home to 125,000 people, as well as the Palestinian Authority.
Penned in by Israel’s separation wall and with freedom to travel limited by road blocks, what is everyday life like for Ramallah’s citizens? Like most of occupied Palestine, Ramallah struggles economically. Its people enjoy the moral support of the wider Arab world, but do other Middle Eastern governments provide sufficient financial support?
What is life like behind Israel’s wall and will a freeze on Jewish settlements lead to peace?
New Israeli funds for West Bank settlements
December 14th, 2009 • News
Tags: aid, funds, settlements, west bank
photo credit: hoyasmeg
The Israeli cabinet has decided to include some West Bank settlements in a national scheme that will entitle them to millions of dollars’ worth of funds.
They are being designated as national priority zones, meaning they will qualify for grants, tax benefits, and other forms of aid.
The move comes amid anger by Jewish settlers at a government-imposed curb on new building in settlements.
The Labour Party leader warned some of the new money might go to extremists.
On Friday a mosque in the West Bank was set on fire, and sprayed with Hebrew graffiti.
Labour leader Ehud Barak said: “I don’t think that we need to award them a prize in the form of including them in the national priority map.”
His five ministers in the coalition government voted against the plan. The other three right-wing parties in the coalition – Likud, Yisrael Beiteinu and Shas – voted for it.
