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Ashrawi and Tibi say Obama made it sound like Palestinians are occupying Israel

By Ira Glunts | Mondoweiss |September 21, 2011

Hanan Ashrawi, who is part of the Palestinian delegation at the UN, reacted angrily to President Obama’s UN address.  Here are some quotes from a Ha’aretz interview in Hebrew that took place immediately after the speech (Barak Ravid, “Palestinian Anger Over Obama Speech at the UN” (original title), Ha’aretz (Hebrew))

I did not believe what I heard, it sounded as if the Palestinians were occupying Israel.  There was no empathy for the Palestinians, he only spoke of the Israeli problems.

He told us that it isn’t easy to achieve peace, thanks, we know this.  He spoke about universal rights – Good, those same rights apply to Palestinians.

[The Americans] are applying enormous pressure on everybody at the UN, they are using threats and coercion.  I wish they would invest the same energy in an attempt to promote peace, not threats.

Ahmad Tibi, a Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament, who is in NYC with the Palestinian delegation, was also interviewed by the newspaper.  He echoed Ashrawi when speaking about the Obama address:

It is possible to think after hearing the President’s speech today, that the Israelis were demanding a state from their Palestinian occupiers.

Avoiding [mentioning] the ’67 borders was biting and clear.

His message is continued suffering for the Palestinians, accompanied by long and perpetual negotiations with Netanyahu.

The fact that Tibi, who is an Israeli politician, traveled with the PA delegation to the UN is viewed by many as controversial in Israel.  Many Israelis take a very dim view of cooperation between Palestinians from Israel, with officials in the territories; they see it as disloyalty to the state.   I know it sounds crazy, but that’s the way they think.

Both Tibi and Ashrawi insisted that despite the pressure, the Palestinians will go forward with the UN resolution as planned.  According to an AP report, Mahmoud Abbas says that he will not agree to a delay in voting for the statehood resolution despite pressure from the US and France.

September 21, 2011 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Progressive Hypocrite | 1 Comment

Who’s who in the Syrian National Council?

More of the same pro-Western, imperial puppets.

The Naked Facts | September 21, 2011

The United States has welcomed the formation on Thursday of an umbrella group of Syrian opposition figures, the self-proclaimed Syrian National Council. Ahmed Ramadan, Bassma Kodmani, Abdulbaset Seida speak as a group of Syrian opposition members announce a Syrian National Council in Istanbul, Turkey, September 15, 2011.

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Bassma Kodmani is based in France (writing books in French and, oh look, connected to the Ford Foundation) Bassma Kodmani is Executive Director of the Arab Reform Initiative. She is also senior adviser on international cooperation to the French national research council (CNRS). From 1999 to 2005 she headed the Governance and International Cooperation Program at the Ford Foundation office for the Middle East and North Africa. Here she had special responsibility for initiating and supporting joint Israeli-Palestinian projects,

http://www.peacebuilding.no/eng/About-NOREF/Authors/

Bassma-Kodmani Special Advisor, Oxford Research Group Advisory Council, Carnegie Middle East Center

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Mohamad Abu Ramadan – Aspen Institute / Middle East Strategy Group …The Aspen Institute Middle East Strategy Group (MESG) “supports pragmatic economic and policy initiatives that tangibly advance prospects for peace in the Middle East. The group’s membership includes prominent American, Palestinian and Israeli business leaders and policy makers. MESG is chaired by former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright, Senators Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Hagel, and Palestinian and Israeli businessmen Samer Khoury and Idan Ofer. http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Aspen_Institute_/_Middle_East_Strategy_Group Group Members Mohamad Abu Ramadan

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Abdulbaset Seida – WHO IS THIS FRAUD? AN AUTHOR WHO HAS GIVEN LECTURES AT NONE OTHER THEN THE ULTRA-RIGHTWING, ZIONIST, NEOCON HUDSON INSTITUTE   … SEE….Syria: Challenges and Opportunities for the New Administration Thursday, March 26, 2009. Abdulbaset Sieda, Ph.D., is an educator and author of numerous books, including Forgotten Seasons of Continual Sufferings: The Kurdish Question in Syria. (and close friend of dr radwan ziadeh a leading spokesperson for Syria opposition who comes from chattam house(riia)and iiss an imperial British military think tank)see… http://thenakedfacts.blogspot.com/2011/05/syria-proof-of-conspiracy.html

Sources:

http://pennyforyourthoughts2.blogspot.com/2011/09/syrias-2nd-transitional-council-and.html

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Syrian-Opposition-Creates-National-Council-129882363.html

September 21, 2011 Posted by | Timeless or most popular, Wars for Israel | 3 Comments

Diane Black Bonds With Israel in Required Initiation Ritual

Kenny’s Sideshow | September 20, 2011

One of the best kept secrets lately has been the complete list of congress members that visited Israel during their recent ‘break.’

My ‘con,’ Republican Diane Black, 6th district Tennessee, zionist states of America, was one of them.

As a freshman congressperson it is no surprise that she had to make the obligatory trip, meet with the criminals in charge and let them know she is with them all the way. There seems to be no other way to secure a long term congressional career and Mrs. Black knows it.

What’s odd is that Diane kept her trip to Israel about as hidden as could be. To the best of my knowledge she did not announce it publicly in advance.  It was a reported 9 day visit where for all intents and purposes she just disappeared. Upon her return she has not posted anything about this ‘educational’ trip paid for by the AIPAC subsidiary The American Israel Education Foundation on her official government web site or her Facebook page.  No press release, no nothing except for one apparent tweet that few saw. One might get the impression that she was trying to hide her trip from her constituents. Why would that be Diane?

What is also odd is that the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal, the newspaper in the largest city in Diane’s district did not find her trip to Israel newsworthy. Neither did the nearby Nashville media including the Tennessean or any of the local tv or radio stations. The secret has been safe with no debate anywhere to be found among the middle Tennessee area residents.

Without the help of Video Rebel’s Blog and Legistorm’s trip report it would still be a secret to me.

A statement that was found from Black is “My Trip to Israel” on an obscure site Tennesseans Watching Federal and State Government and as far as I can tell not re-posted anywhere else.

Black, number 25 on the list of wealthiest congresspersons, is a low key zionist supporter. She is not required to shout from the rooftops her loyalty to the apartheid illegitimate state in her overwhelmingly non-jewish but fairly significant christian zionist populated district. She just needs to deliver the votes in Congress as needed.

The Palestinian initiative for statehood recognition in the UN will get no support from Mrs. Black. The wishes of the Israeli criminal ‘leaders’ will dictate her foreign policy votes and war mongering stance.

Once again I’m ashamed to have a congressperson who will represent Israel’s and of course big corporate interests ahead of those of the folks of Tennessee. We’ll even go so far as to call her a traitor, a tea party traitor. The best we can hope for is that her first two years in Congress will also be her last.

September 21, 2011 Posted by | Corruption, Wars for Israel | 1 Comment

Yahoo Appears To Be Censoring Email Messages About Wall Street Protests

By Lee Fang | Think Progress | September 20, 2011

Yahoo blocks users from sending e-mails about the OccupyWallSt.org website with a message claiming “suspicious activity”

Thinking about e-mailing your friends and neighbors about the protests against Wall Street happening right now? If you have a Yahoo e-mail account, think again. ThinkProgress has reviewed claims that Yahoo is censoring e-mails relating to the protest and found that after several attempts on multiple accounts, we too were prevented from sending messages about the “Occupy Wall Street” demonstrations.

Over the weekend, thousands gathered for a “Tahrir Square”-style protest of Wall Street’s domination of American politics. The protesters, organized online and by organizations like Adbusters, have called their effort “Occupy Wall Street” and have set up the website: www.OccupyWallSt.org. However, several YouTube users posted videos of themselves trying to email a message inviting their friends to visit the Occupy Wall St campaign website, only to be blocked repeatedly by Yahoo. View a video of ThinkProgress making the attempt with the same blocked message experienced by others (click full screen for a better view of the text):

ThinkProgress tried other protest websites, like AmericansforProsperity.org and TeaPartyPatriots.org, and both messages were sent smoothly. However, emails relating to the OccupyWallSt.org protest were blocked with the following message (emphasis added):

Your message was not sent
Suspicious activity has been detected on your account. To protect your account and our users, your message has not been sent.
If this error continues, please contact Yahoo! Customer Care for further help.
We apologize for the inconvenience.

ThinkProgress has sent a request for more information to Yahoo, and will post any reply once we have received it with Yahoo’s explanation for its apparent censorship.

It’s not the first time Yahoo has been accused of political censorship. Yahoo officially partners with the repressive Chinese regime to provide the government with access to emails related to groups viewed as dissidents. An explosive investigation by Der Spiegel found that Yahoo provided Chinese authorities with access to emails from journalists, and the snooping resulted in the same journalists being sent to prison camps.

The Occupy Wall Street protests have continued, but if you own a Yahoo e-mail account, you might not know about it.

Update

We’re continuing to monitor Yahoo’s mail service and have now been able to send messages containing the phrase “Occupy Wall Street” and its website on some Yahoo accounts. On other accounts, however, Yahoo is still blocking the messages.

Update

Yahoo’s customer care Twitter account acknowledges blocking the emails, but says it was an unintentional error:

“We apologize 4 blocking ‘occupywallst.org’ It was not intentional & caught by our spam filters. It is resolved, but may be a residual delay.”

Yahoo’s main Twitter account adds:

“Thanks to @YahooMail users & @ThinkProgress for catching problem w/ #Occupywallst.org mail. Prob is fixed, but there may be residual delays.”

September 21, 2011 Posted by | Full Spectrum Dominance | Leave a comment

Palestinian Authority orders mosques to praise Abbas, UN bid

By Ali Abunimah – The Electronic Intifada – 09/21/2011

The Palestinian Authority (PA) controlled by Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah has ordered all mosques to join its campaign in support of Abbas and the PA’s bid for UN membership.

An official letter posted on the website of the PA’s religious affairs ministry, in Arabic, and dated 20 September 2011, states the following:

Pursuant to the instructions of His Excellency, brother Dr. Mahmoud, Sidqi al-Habbash – may God save him – the Minister of Awqaf [Islamic foundations] and Religious Affairs, the following instructions should be issued to the muezzins [those who make the call to prayer], to praise God immediately after the completion of the expected speech of His Excellency President Abbas/President of the State of Palestine on Friday, 23 September 2011.

This is to express thanks to God for His favors, imploring Him to grant success to the Commander President Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, and to guide his steps on the path to realizing the hopes of our people and the return of all our legitimate rights by the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

The letter is signed by Sheikh Khamis Mahmoud Abada, who is identified as “Assistant Undersecretary for Islamic outreach and guidance.”

In recent years, supported by the United States and Israel, the PA has imposed a strict regime of control on all West Bank mosques. This was supposedly to stop “extremists” – particularly Abbas’ rival and erstwhile coalition partner Hamas – from using the mosques for political purposes.

How ironic then that the supposedly “secular” PA so blatantly uses the mosques to promote a political leader who lacks any democratic legitimacy and accountability and to give his policies that enjoy no national consensus a veneer of divine legitimacy instead.

The misuse of mosques in this manner comes on the day when the PA staged a rally in downtown Ramallah in favor of the UN bid, instructing – according to media reports and eyewitnesses – PA employees to take paid time off work in order to attend.

September 21, 2011 Posted by | Full Spectrum Dominance | 1 Comment

Teen hurt as settlers storm Nablus village

Ma’an – 20/09/2011

NABLUS — A 14-year-old Palestinian was hurt by Israeli forces on Tuesday during clashes with settlers in Asira Al-Qibliya village south of Nablus, witnesses and medics said.

Medics said Israeli forces shot Aref Aref in the back, during confrontations which erupted after dozens of settlers marched on the village. AFP said he was hurt by a tear-gas canister.

A journalist, Ayman An-Noubany, was also injured by a rock, medics said, adding that they were both taken to Rafedia Hospital in Nablus.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said forces used “riot dispersal means” to respond to clashes in the village. She was not aware that any teenagers were shot at, but said a Palestinian man was injured “probably by a rock hurled by an Israeli civilian.”

Palestinian fire fighters said they extinguished a blaze in the garden of a home in Asira Al-Qibiliya. The fire was believed to have been sparked by a tear gas grenade, a civil defense report said.

Volunteers from a watchdog committee set up to document settler attacks said around 40 settlers tried to raid Asira Al-Qibiliya, and that they were protected by Israeli forces.

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September 21, 2011 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Video | Leave a comment

9/11: A Conspiracy Theory

By James Corbett | September 11, 2011

Everything you ever wanted to know about the 9/11 conspiracy theory in under 5 minutes.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 men armed with boxcutters directed by a man on dialysis in a cave fortress halfway around the world using a satellite phone and a laptop directed the most sophisticated penetration of the most heavily-defended airspace in the world, overpowering the passengers and the military combat-trained pilots on 4 commercial aircraft before flying those planes wildly off course for over an hour without being molested by a single fighter interceptor.

These 19 hijackers, devout religious fundamentalists who liked to drink alcohol, snort cocaine, and live with pink-haired strippers, managed to knock down 3 buildings with 2 planes in New York, while in Washington a pilot who couldn’t handle a single engine Cessna was able to fly a 757 in an 8,000 foot descending 270 degree corskscrew turn to come exactly level with the ground, hitting the Pentagon in the budget analyst office where DoD staffers were working on the mystery of the 2.3 trillion dollars that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had announced “missing” from the Pentagon’s coffers in a press conference the day before, on September 10, 2001.

Luckily, the news anchors knew who did it within minutes, the pundits knew within hours, the Administration knew within the day, and the evidence literally fell into the FBI’s lap. But for some reason a bunch of crazy conspiracy theorists demanded an investigation into the greatest attack on American soil in history.

The investigation was delayed, underfunded, set up to fail, a conflict of interest and a cover up from start to finish. It was based on testimony extracted through torture, the records of which were destroyed. It failed to mention the existence of WTC7, Able Danger, Ptech, Sibel Edmonds, OBL and the CIA, and the drills of hijacked aircraft being flown into buildings that were being simulated at the precise same time that those events were actually happening. It was lied to by the Pentagon, the CIA, the Bush Administration and as for Bush and Cheney…well, no one knows what they told it because they testified in secret, off the record, not under oath and behind closed doors. It didn’t bother to look at who funded the attacks because that question is of “little practical significance“. Still, the 9/11 Commission did brilliantly, answering all of the questions the public had (except most of the victims’ family members’ questions) and pinned blame on all the people responsible (although no one so much as lost their job), determining the attacks were “a failure of imagination” because “I don’t think anyone could envision flying airplanes into buildings ” except the Pentagon and FEMA and NORAD and the NRO.

The DIA destroyed 2.5 TB of data on Able Danger, but that’s OK because it probably wasn’t important.

The SEC destroyed their records on the investigation into the insider trading before the attacks, but that’s OK because destroying the records of the largest investigation in SEC history is just part of routine record keeping.

NIST has classified the data that they used for their model of WTC7′s collapse, but that’s OK because knowing how they made their model of that collapse would “jeopardize public safety“.

The FBI has argued that all material related to their investigation of 9/11 should be kept secret from the public, but that’s OK because the FBI probably has nothing to hide.

This man never existed, nor is anything he had to say worthy of your attention, and if you say otherwise you are a paranoid conspiracy theorist and deserve to be shunned by all of humanity. Likewise him, him, him, and her. (and her and her and him).

Osama Bin Laden lived in a cave fortress in the hills of Afghanistan, but somehow got away. Then he was hiding out in Tora Bora but somehow got away. Then he lived in Abottabad for years, taunting the most comprehensive intelligence dragnet employing the most sophisticated technology in the history of the world for 10 years, releasing video after video with complete impunity (and getting younger and younger as he did so), before finally being found in a daring SEAL team raid which wasn’t recorded on video, in which he didn’t resist or use his wife as a human shield, and in which these crack special forces operatives panicked and killed this unarmed man, supposedly the best source of intelligence about those dastardly terrorists on the planet. Then they dumped his body in the ocean before telling anyone about it. Then a couple dozen of that team’s members died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.

This is the story of 9/11, brought to you by the media which told you the hard truths about JFK and incubator babies and mobile production facilities and the rescue of Jessica Lynch.

If you have any questions about this story…you are a batshit, paranoid, tinfoil, dog-abusing baby-hater and will be reviled by everyone. If you love your country and/or freedom, happiness, rainbows, rock and roll, puppy dogs, apple pie and your grandma, you will never ever express doubts about any part of this story to anyone. Ever.

This has been a public service announcement by: the Friends of the FBI, CIA, NSA, DIA, SEC, MSM, White House, NIST, and the 9/11 Commission. Because Ignorance is Strength.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

September 20, 2011 Posted by | Deception, False Flag Terrorism, Timeless or most popular, Video | 7 Comments

Thought Terrorism

By Nahida the Exiled Palestinian | September 20, 2011

In defence of freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and freedom to access information

Some want us to believe that:

“Ignorance Is Strength”,

“Restricting the boundaries of discussion expands Knowledge”,

“Crucifying intellectuals is Progressive”

“Shunning people for their thoughts and opinions is Revolutionary”

“Thinking independently is very Dangerous”

“Reading many sources affects the protocols of Health and Safety”

“Framing the Debate is Good… very very good”,

“Gagging is strategically crucial for gaining Wisdom”

“Suppressing of Information helps to uncover the Truth”

“Revising Historical narratives is a Crime, and should be Punished by Law”

“Following the Evidence is a Conspiracy Theory”

“Investigating a Crime is not Helpful, it’s a Distraction”

“Crying against Racism and Supremacy is anti-Semitism”

“Exposing the power-elite is Racist”

“Thought Terrorism leads to Truth and Justice” (somehow, eventually) !

And of course, “no mater what, the Earth is still Flat, flat as a thin crispy pancake”

All you have to do is to Believe!

Otherwise face the consequences of your “blasphemy and wickedness”, be prepared for the burning of your reputation at the stake of their Omniscience, and be prepared for the crucifying of your character at the altar of their omnipotence and self-righteousness.

September 20, 2011 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Full Spectrum Dominance, Timeless or most popular | 1 Comment

Iran questions IAEA impartiality

Press TV – September 19, 2011

Iran’s nuclear chief has questioned the impartiality of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its silence towards the deployment of hundreds of nuclear warheads in Europe.

“The agency claims to be impartial, but is it really impartial? If it is then why does it keep silent on the deployment of hundreds of nuclear warheads on European soil and some occupied countries and not [even] submit a report to international organizations like the UN? Head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) Fereydoun Abbasi queried on Monday.

Abbasi made the remarks at the IAEA’s General Conference in Vienna.

The Iranian official demanded answers to questions such as why the agency is silent on the missing nuclear material in the US and who is in possession of the said nuclear material.

He went on to caution that the health of US and international community is in danger.

Earlier this month the US Government Audit Office (GAO) reported that the government is unable to account for the whereabouts of 16,000 kg of weapons-grade nuclear material.

The material in question was distributed to 27 countries over several decades.

“The selective approaches of the IAEA, particularly towards developing countries, and by showing diversion in their activities, have so far paved the way for the imposition of economic sanctions and military attacks against these countries,” Abbasi added.

The United States, Israel and their allies accuse Iran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program.

As a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran maintains that it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

September 20, 2011 Posted by | Deception, Timeless or most popular, Wars for Israel | 1 Comment

HOUSE DEMCORATS SEND LETTER OPPOSING UNILATERAL PALESTINIAN UN EFFORT

Press Release – September 15, 2011

WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer Hoyer (MD) led a letter that was signed by 58 House Democrats including Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Ranking Member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee Howard Berman, and Ranking Member on the Appropriations State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee Nita Lowey that is being sent to 40 key European heads of state today, urging them to stand with the United States in opposing unilateral action by the Palestinian Authority at the United Nations. In their letter, the members warn that there may be “devastating consequences for the peace process” should the Palestinians proceed unilaterally, and they make clear that direct negotiations are the only path forward to a just and lasting peace. The letter cites further risks of acting unilaterally, including the potential for violence on the ground and a reconsideration of U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority.

“We share with our friends and allies a determination to see this conflict ended peacefully,” Hoyer said. “Voting together to oppose unilateral steps that set peace back would strongly reaffirm our common commitment to this shared goal and to the longstanding principle enshrined in the Oslo Accords that both parties ought to reach a solution through direct negotiations. Quite fundamentally, it would be an expression of our common values.”

“Realizing the goal of two states, living side-by-side in peace and security, is only possible through direct talks – not in the halls of the UN General Assembly,” Pelosi said. “A vote for Palestinian statehood will not advance the peace process; it will impede it. The nations of the world must make it clear: a lasting peace cannot be imposed on Israel or the Palestinian people – it can only be negotiated between the parties themselves.”

“This is a historic moment in the Middle East. An inflammatory UN resolution, particularly one that unleashes international legal action against Israel, will put Middle East peace prospects on hold for years, if not decades,” Berman said. “We are counting on our friends and allies to stand with us at this critical time.”

Below is the full text of the letter:

Dear ___________________:

We write on a matter of great urgency, on the eve of the United Nations General Assembly meeting. It is our understanding that the leadership of the Palestinian Authority will pursue a resolution at the United Nations – in either or both the Security Council and the General Assembly – to grant the Palestinians the equivalent of statehood and/or prejudge final issues, including borders and the status of Jerusalem. One of the major goals of this effort is for the Palestinians to better position themselves to petition the International Criminal Court, very possibly bogging down the court for the foreseeable future.

It is our strong belief that such unilateral action would have devastating consequences for the peace process and the Palestinians themselves. Accordingly, we urge you in the strongest terms not to support this effort.

We believe that the only way to achieve a two-state solution is through direct negotiations leading to a peace treaty fully accepted by both governments and by both peoples. A just and lasting peace cannot and must not be imposed on the parties. If the Palestinians pursue such a unilateral approach, it violates the letter and spirit of the Oslo Accords and will deal a significant blow to future negotiations. Given the expectations gap among the Palestinian public, such action could lead to widespread violence on the ground, jeopardizing the West Bank’s impressive economic and security gains over recent years. There is also a substantial risk of more broadly inflaming the region and increasing violence at a time of already great instability. Finally, the United States will reconsider its assistance program for the Palestinian Authority and other aspects of U.S.-Palestinian relations if they choose to pursue such a unilateral effort.

We are confident that your government shares the United States’ commitment to a comprehensive resolution of the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. That outcome can only be achieved through direct negotiations. A vote on a unilateral UN resolution will likely set prospects for peace back years.

Our bilateral relationship is based on certain fundamental values. We urge you to vote those values, and to stand with the United States in not supporting unilateral action at the UN that would impede the peace we all seek.

Thank you for your consideration of our views.

Steny H. Hoyer, Democratic Whip
Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Leader
Howard Berman, Ranking Member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee
Nita Lowey, Ranking Member on the Appropriations State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee
Henry Waxman, Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee
Gary Ackerman
Joe Baca
Shelley Berkley
Madeleine Bordallo
Leonard Boswell
Dennis Cardoza
Russ Carnahan
David Cicilline
Emanuel Cleaver
Gerry Connolly
Jim Costa
Jerry Costello
Mark Critz
Joseph Crowley
Susan Davis
Rosa DeLauro
Ted Deutch
Eliot Engel
Charles Gonzalez
Gene Green
Janice Hahn
Kathy Hochul
Brian Higgins
Tim Holden
Steve Israel
William Keating
Larry Kissell
James Langevin
John Larson
Sander Levin
Dan Lipinski
Carolyn Maloney
James McGovern
Gregory Meeks
Michael Michaud
Chris Murphy
Jerrold Nadler
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Bill Owens
Gary Peters
Steven Rothman
C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger
John Sarbanes
Janice Schakowsky
Adam Schiff
Allyson Schwartz
David Scott
Brad Sherman
Heath Shuler
Albio Sires
Betty Sutton
John Tierney
Edolphus Towns
Debbie Wasserman Schultz

September 20, 2011 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation, Progressive Hypocrite, Wars for Israel | Leave a comment

Repression and resistance sharpening in Beit Ommar

By David Warren | The Electronic Intifada | 19 September 2011

Beit Ommar – With a population of 17,000, Beit Ommar has grown into more of town than a village. But the tractors struggling up the main street and the herds of sheep wandering the alleys eating rubbish and causing mischief help it retain a certain rural charm.

Beit Ommar sits alongside Route 60, the main highway between Bethlehem and Hebron, which you can reach in about 30 minutes on a good day. Like much of the rural West Bank, the area depends on agriculture, with the village’s location in the West Bank’s central highlands particularly suitable for softer fruits such as grapes, peaches and plums.

That is where the normality ends, however. If you were to climb one of the nearby hills you would notice that Beit Ommar is encircled by no less than five illegal settlements: Karmei Tsur, Kfar Etzion, Migdal Oz, Bat Ayin and Allon Shevut. In Beit Ommar, water is regularly cut off and private wells are illegal. In the settlements, swimming pools and fountains are de rigeur.

Taking a stroll down to the entrance to the village, you could not fail to notice the tallest watchtower in the West Bank looming above you — a modern-day Panopticon from Foucault’s worst nightmares — cataloguing those who come and go. The sound of low-flying jets, helicopters and even drones is an ever-constant reminder of the destructive potential of the Israeli military, a continual source of fear. That’s the point.

This is the context in which Mohammed Shtayyeh, a senior member of Fatah’s central committee admits that, even if the United Nations approves the Palestinian Authority’s bid for statehood, it will not change daily life for Palestinians. “Things on the ground are not going to be different,” he said at a recent news conference (“PLO to seek full UN recognition,” Al Jazeera English, 14 September 2011).

Week of brutality

Bearing this in mind one should consider what has happened on the ground in Beit Ommar over one September week.

On 6 September, a group of 15 farmers selling fruit beside the main highway were attacked by Israeli soldiers, who proceeded to confiscate and destroy thousands of dollars worth of grapes, peaches and plums (“Israeli soldiers, police attack Beit Ommar fruit vendors,” Palestine Solidarity Project, 7 September).

Given its strategic location beside Route 60, Beit Ommar used to have the largest fruit market in the southern West Bank. Now however, the Israeli army has blocked the entrance to the market with boulders, dissuading shoppers. This is part of the ongoing campaign to destroy Beit Ommar’s economy, as local farmers are now reduced to attempting to sell what they can to passing traffic.

A few days later, on 10 September, a small sit-in protest of little more than ten persons beside the highway was savagely repressed. The group was sprayed with military-grade mace and two international activists were dragged away to be detained without charge (“Two arrested, pepper spray used as activists try to tear down fence in Beit Ommar,” Palestine Solidarity Project, 10 September) .

The next night at around 2am, the Israeli army invaded the village, abducting three young Palestinians while firing tear gas and concussion grenades into the streets and nearby houses before vanishing into the gloom (“Israeli army raid Beit Ommar, arrest three,” Palestine Solidarity Project, 12 September).

The arrest of young people towards the end of the school year is a common, vindictive practice in the West Bank, meaning that those detained will miss their final exams and therefore have to re-sit the year at great personal expense.

Early Monday morning on 12 September, settlers hacked down grape vines that were almost ready for harvesting on an area of almost 2,000 square meters. The owner of the land had a heart attack when he saw the destruction, according to the Palestine Solidarity Project (“Settlers destroy Beit Ommar farmer’s crops,” Palestine Solidarity Project, 12 September).

On Tuesday, at around 4am, soldiers came with bulldozers and destroyed two buildings in different parts of the town (“Israeli army demolish two buildings in Beit Ommar area,” Palestine Solidarity Project, 13 September).

Given that Beit Ommar found itself in Area C after the Oslo accords, it has remained under the total control of the Israeli military. Under the Oslo accords, which were signed by the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel in the mid-1990s, the West Bank was carved up in to areas A, B and C, the latter of which covers 60 percent of the West Bank with a population of approximately 150,000. Large areas around the village have been arbitrarily closed to agriculture and building.

Waiting for Godot

Even these relatively minor events depict a scene of continual violence being perpetrated against the civilian population, a roll-call of yet another quiet horror repeated across the West Bank for decades. On occasions, there are discussions of the United Nations’ session on recognition of a Palestinian state and what might result from this.

Mousa Abu Maria, a leader of the Beit Ommar-based National Committee Against the Walls and Settlements and co-founder of the Palestine Solidarity Project, describes how in the past few years Beit Ommar has “returned to its roots,” a path of nonviolent resistance, reminiscent of the first Palestinian intifada.

Abu Maria has spent nearly seven of the past ten years in prison, most recently for 14 months under “administrative detention” without being charged with a crime or having evidence presented against him.

Now, each Saturday, Abu Maria, alongside other members of Beit Ommar’s popular committee, leads the demonstrations which place alongside the illegal settlement of Karmei Tsur. The number of protesters is currently in the dozens, but as they have grown, so too has the violence of the Israeli response.

After a recent demonstration had been dispersed, and soldiers were pursuing Abu Maria and two others, live ammunition was fired at them. The bullets sailed over their heads. At the same demonstration, Abu Maria’s brother, Yousef, was arrested and brutally beaten (“Yousef Abu Maria brutally beaten as live ammunition used at Beit Ommar demonstration,” Palestine Solidarity Project, 20 August 2011).

What happens on 21 September, and afterwards, is anyone’s guess. Whatever happens at the UN, recognition of a state or otherwise, it seems that the violence of Israel’s occupation will continue. But so too will the popular resistance.

David Warren is an activist currently working in Beit Ommar.

September 19, 2011 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation | Leave a comment