Soldiers fire on protesters near Gaza border
Ma’an – 20/05/2011
GAZA CITY — Israeli forces fired on protesters in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday afternoon, medical officials said.
One protester was injured in the incident east of Khan Younis, medics told Ma’an.
The protester was taken from Abasan village to the European Hospital for treatment, they said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said the army confirmed shooting one “inciter” in the leg as he approached a fence separating Palestinians from forces on the border.
Demonstrations organized on Facebook called for Palestinians to demand the right of return.
In response to the demonstrations, Israel’s military is increasing a state of alert in Jerusalem and deploying more forces at its Syrian and Lebanese borders, Israel Radio reported.
More protests were expected in Nabi Saleh, where a busload of 50 soldiers had arrived, and Qalandiya, activists said. The two villages are near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
The protests come less than a week since Israeli forces killed over a dozen demonstrators crossing into Israeli-controlled territory in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and from Lebanon.
Over 100 Palestinians were injured in separate clashes throughout the West Bank marking Nakba Day, the 63rd anniversary of the mass exodus of Palestinians amid Israel’s creation in 1948.
Ameer Makhoul: One Year of Imprisonment
Ameer Makhoul, Gilboa Prison-2011
A year has passed since my imprisonment. My share has been more modest compared to other prisoners who are about to enter their fourth decade in Israeli prisons. It’s true, one should not differentiate between the sentences the same way we should not differentiate between the fighters for freedom – the sentence of the judges of oppression is always one of cruelty, terror and abuse. What is most important, however, is that it is always temporal.
Things in Palestine occur according to the following rule: the harsher the escalation of state sponsored terrorism, oppression, political persecution and deportation policies, the stronger is our steadfastness, challenge, remaining, preservation of our identity and commitment to our cause and dispossessed rights. They wish to fragment our cause according to geography and the color of identification cards, but our senses are never suppressed and our struggle for liberation is one in all of its components. While they continue to reproduce oppression, we reproduce freedom and break out of their vicious circle, transforming their actions into reactions to ours. Our right to Palestine, whether we are in our homeland or in exile, is one: the return, self-determination, ending the occupation, prisoners’ release, recovery of confiscated land, dismantling settlements and the apartheid wall, protection of Jerusalem, the Naqab, the Galilee and the coast from Judaization and eviction projects and breaking the Israeli blockade on Gaza- all these causes form part of our one cause.
But the struggle for our cause is not waged only by us Palestinians, for it is being complemented by the rebellions in the Arab world and the global BDS movement, succeeding in isolating Israel on both the Arab and international levels. These actions are nothing but an extension of the Palestinian anti-normalization movement inside Israel and of our struggle to strip the racist colonizing regime from its legitimacy.
Speaking on behalf of prisoners’ movement, I wish to allude to the dangers of the so-called security coordination between Israel and any Palestinian or Arab party. The victims of such coordination are, first and foremost, the fighters and prisoners of the freedom of Palestine and the Arab peoples. We call on the Arab peoples to stop the complicity of some Arab regimes with Israel on the so-called security-coordination level by launching an Arab and Palestinian campaign for this cause.
To spend one year in prison is a high price to pay for their unjust rule. However, free will has made of this year an act of steadfastness, challenge and struggle for our people. I here send a message of appreciation and love to all the people who call for my release, as well as to the popular committee for my defense and the Popular Committee for the Defense of Political Freedoms, which has launched a campaign for my release from the very first moment when I was arrested. From inside the prison cells I also wish to greet my loving and supportive family, and to all those who are in solidarity with our cause, here and abroad, as individuals and the organizations they represent. They are in constant contact with me, and are partners in our struggle for liberation and freedom. What we seek, we the political prisoners, is freedom and not to accumulate more years of imprisonment. We were born free, and protecting our freedom is our responsibility.
On May 15th we commemorated the 63rd anniversary of the ongoing Palestinian Nakba. Our strength continues to stem from the justice of our cause and rights, which can be fulfilled only through struggle. To struggle for liberation, as well as to rebuild ourselves as people and institutions, is our right and obligation. As for the price that is paid- it will always be painful, whether it is individual or collective. Regardless of how painful it is, we will never deviate from the road to liberation and freedom of our people and land.
Their rule, not matter how long, is temporal, but our freedom is our destiny.
~
Ameer Makhoul is the General Director of Ittijah- Union of Arab Community-Based Organizations in Palestine 48 and president of the Committee for the Defense of Political Freedoms of Palestinians 48. He is a Palestinian political prisoner who has been in prison since May 2010.
Translated to English by Shadi Rohana, Alternative Information Center (AIC
Israeli Occupation Forces raid Palestinian homes just to “get acquainted”
Palestine Information Center – 20/05/2011
NABLUS — IOF troops raided a number of Palestinian homes in the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday to “get acquainted” with their residents.
The raids were concentrated in the Daheya neighbourhood to the east of the city and two of the homes raided belonged to the families of Jittan and Shaaban.
One of the owners of the homes raided told PIC correspondent that IOF soldiers raided his house at 2:00 am and that among the soldiers were intelligence officers and that one of those officers told him that they did not intend to arrest anyone, but they only wanted to “get acquainted.”
The Palestinian home owner further said that the officer introduced himself saying that his name was “Ali” and that he was in charge of that area. He further informed the head of the household that he wanted to “get acquainted” with him and his family.
The officer’s questions were concentrated about members of the family, what jobs they have and their financial situation. He also asked what Palestinians thought of the reconciliation agreement between Palestinian factions. The questioning lasted about an hour.
Such raids, “just to get acquainted”, have been frequently taking place in the West Bank and are causing great concerns among residents who do not know the real aim behind such raids.
US: PATRIOT Act Renewed
Press TV – May 20, 2011
Several controversial provisions of the nearly decade-old Patriot Act are about to expire, and US Congress has decided to extend them.
US Congress lawmakers have agreed to extend a series of controversial surveillance and search powers, known as the Patriot Act, in force since the 9/11, 2001 attacks.
The agreement calls for the extension of key powers of the act for an additional five years, AFP reports.
Under the arrangement, the Senate and House of Representatives will hold a vote on extending the controversial powers at the core of the act before they lapse on May 27, according to several congressional aides.
The officials said the vote would be “a clean extension” to June 1, 2015, meaning it would not include new civil liberties safeguards sought by some senior Republican and Democrat lawmakers.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reached the accord with time running short before the provisions expire.
The measures include the use of wiretaps and tracking non-US citizens suspected of being “lone-wolf” terrorists, even if they are not affiliated to an extremist group.
It also allows law enforcement agencies to seize “any tangible thing” seen as critical evidence in an investigation, such as personal or business records.
The Patriot Act has generated a great deal of controversy since it came in force.
The American Civil Liberties Union says it undermines people’s basic rights.
US Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper urged top lawmakers in a January-28 letter to extend all three powers, and complained of frequent short-term renewals.
FBI plans, interview questions discovered in raided activist’s home
Maureen Clare Murphy – Electronic Intifada – 05/18/2011
Activists in the Twin Cities today announced at a press conference that they were releasing a recently-found document that was left behind by federal agents when they raided Mick Kelly and Linden Gawboy’s Minneapolis home on 24 September 2010.
The FBI confirmed to the Associated Press that the documents appear to be authentic and were accidentally left behind during the raid.
The Committee to Stop FBI Repression said in a statement:
FBI agents, who raided the home of Mick Kelly and Linden Gawboy, took with them thousands of pages of documents and books, along with computers, cell phones and a passport. By mistake, they also left something behind; the operation plans for the raid, “Interview questions” for anti-war and international solidarity activists, duplicate evidence collection forms, etc. The file of secret FBI documents was accidently mixed in with Gawboy’s files, and was found in a filing cabinet on April 30. We are now releasing them to the public.
The press conference was held at the office of the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee, which was raided the same day as the Kelly-Gawboy home. It is believed that the key used to raid the office was one that had belonged to a woman known as Karen Sullivan, now confirmed to be an undercover agent, and whose word appears to be the basis for the investigation.
The investigation has so far targeted 23 activists — several homes in the Twin Cities and Chicago were raided on 24 September 2010 and 14 activists were subpoenaed that month. After they refused to testify before a grand jury, nine more activists — all of them active in the Palestinian community or involved in Palestine solidarity work — in Chicago were subpoenaed, including myself (I believe I have been subpoenaed because of my solidarity organizing in Chicago, not because of my work with The Electronic Intifada). All 23 of us have refused to testify before the grand jury.
Last week we reported that bank accounts of one of the targeted activists, Palestinian community organizer Hatem Abudayyeh, and his wife were frozen but restored after a flood of phone calls were made to protest the move.
The Committee to Stop FBI Repression statement adds:
Taken as a whole, the secret FBI file shows the willful disregard for the rights of anti-war and international solidarity activists – particularly the first amendment rights to freedom of speech and association. The documents make it clear that legal activity in solidarity with the peoples of Colombia and Palestine is being targeted. The documents use McCarthy-era language, which gives one the feel that the 1950s red scare has returned. And finally, the documents show the chilling plans for the armed raid that took place at the home of Kelly and Gawboy on September 24, 2010.
The documents show that public advocacy for the people of Colombia was the genesis of the FBI investigation. The ‘Operations Order’ for the FBI SWAT Team states “The captioned case was initially predicated on the activities of Meredith Aby and Jessica Rae Sundin in support of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a U.S. State Department designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO), to include their travel to FARC controlled territory.”
While we have no way of knowing if it was speaking tours or educational events on Colombia that got them so riled up, there is something we can state with certainty: There is nothing illegal about traveling to Colombia, or visiting the areas where the FARC is in charge. This is something that journalists, including U.S. journalists, do, and we have yet to hear of their doors being broken down. Upon returning from Colombia, Aby and Sundin spoke at many public events about their experiences.
The FBI interview questions for Meredith Aby ask “1) Have you ever met Lilia [sic] Obando? 2) Where? 3) When? 4) Why?” Liliana Obando is a well-known Colombian trade unionist who spoke in the Twin Cities at an event organized by the Anti-War Committee. She received a visa to travel in the U.S. from the U.S. government.
In addition to focusing on associational information and travel to Palestine and Colombia, the interview questions focus on the Freedom Road Socialist Organization:
The FBI documents include 57 interview questions about Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the organization that some of those who were raided or subpoenaed to the Grand Jury are members of. The questions include; “Are you a member?” “How many members are there?” “Who are the leaders?” And on and on and on. It is like pages of the calendar have been turned back 60 years.
The documents also show the amount of force used to raid the anti-war and social justice activists’ home. The committee says in the statement:
In the documents, the “Operations order” for FBI SWAT for “Operation Principal Parts” the raid on the Kelly/Gawboy home has the word “DANGEROUS” in underlined bold type at the top of the page. FBI agents were told to bring assault rifles, machine guns and two extra clips of ammunition for each of their side arms. Two paramedics were to stand by in the event of causalities. Other documents include photos of Kelly and Gawboy, as well as pictures of stairs leading to their front door and the front door itself.
What transpired on September 24 was this. Gawboy was awoken by the FBI pounding on the door. When she stated she wanted to see the search warrant, agents used a battering ram on the door, breaking the hardware and shattering a fish tank in the process. Gawboy was taken down the front steps in her nightgown while the FBI swat team entered her home.
The justification for this armed home invasion is given in the “Operations plan” – “Kelly is believed to be the owner of an unknown number of firearms which may be at his residence…”
Kelly, who learned to shoot while in Boy Scouts, owns guns – just like a lot of Minnesotans. The “Operation Plan” also claims that Kelly “offered to provide weapons training” – an outright lie that originated with the police infiltrator “Karen Sullivan” or a fiction writer at the FBI office.
Those of us who have been ensared in this fishing expedition have claimed from the beginning that activists are being targeted for organizing in opposition to US foreign policy in the Middle East and South America, and because of first-amendment activity like travel and association. The interview questions confirm that this is the focus.
Imagine being asked any of the following questions — all listed in the document — knowing that if you are not able to answer them completely, you could be vultnerable to perjury or contempt-type charges (emphasis mine):
“Have you, anyone from FRSO [Freedom Road Socialist Organization], or anyone you know, ever traveled to South America?”
“Have you, anyone else from FRSO, or anyone you know, ever traveled to the Middle East? Gaza? West Bank? Israel?”
And some questions are just incredible, like:
“Have you ever taken steps to overthrow the United States government?”
“What is your husband’s immigration status?”
“What do you think of terrorist groups? Do you support them?”
“Have you ever recruited fighters to the FRSO?”
As the Committee to Stop FBI Repression concluded in its statement today:
The bottom line is this: there can be no justification for the raid in the first place, and still less for it to be done by agents smashing doors and wielding machine guns. This is a recipe for people getting hurt or killed.
The events of September 24 and the ongoing grand jury are not about “material support of terrorism,” as any normal person would understand it. What is happening is this: anti-war and international solidarity activists are being targeted for practicing our rights to speak out and organize. We have done nothing wrong. Our activism is making this world a better place.
The documents left behind by federal agents can be downloaded from stopfbi.net.
Israeli prison service refuses to free a Palestinian mother despite court order
Palestinine Information Center – 18/05/2011
GAZA — The Israeli prison service (IPS) has refused to release a detained Palestinian mother of six despite a court order to the effect, the Ahrar center for prisoners’ studies and human rights said.
Fuad Al-Khafsh, the Ahrar director, added in a statement on Tuesday that Samha Hijaz, 37, was detained while on her way to visit her two detained brothers Yasser, who is serving a life sentence, and Hisham, who is serving 10 life sentences.
He said that Samha, from the Ramallah village of Mazra Sharqiya, was detained on 8 February 2011 and charged with planning to smuggle mobile phones to her brothers.
Samha categorically denied the charge but was kept by the Israeli intelligence in custody and was subjected to cruel interrogation rounds then taken to prison with homicide convicts before being transferred to Hasharon jail.
Khafsh said that an Israeli military court decided last Sunday that Samha should be released but the IPS refused.
The Ahrar director urged human rights groups and international organizations to demand the release of Samha without any further delay and let her return to her husband and six children.
Bahrain Students Ordered to Pledge Support for Regime
By Jason Ditz | Anti-war.com | May 16, 2011
Reports coming out of the island nation of Bahrain indicate that, as the latest effort by the regime to curb dissent are demands that students sign loyalty pledges as a condition of attending college.
The University of Bahrain in Sakhir has distributed pledges to every student on Sunday, demanding them to sign a statement vowing loyalty to the Sunni monarch. The pledge adds “I acknowledge that not signing this document means I do not wish to continue my education un the University of Bahrain.”
Reports suggest that the university also suspended a large number of students for either participating in demonstrations against the regime or for expressing support for the protests on Facebook.
Bahrain saw protests involving a significant portion of its population, with the Shi’ite majority demanding equal rights and free elections. The GCC invaded the nation to help the Bahraini royal family put down the protests.
Israeli forces violently arrest demonstrators in al-Walaja
15 May 2011 | International Solidarity Movement
At 11 AM on al-Nakba remembrance day, 500 residents from the West Bank village of al-Wallajeh and international supporters marched towards the Israeli Apartheid Wall. The Wall was built to separate the villagers from their original land from which they were expelled in 1948. The demonstration was violently attacked by the Israeli military with rubber coated steal bullets, tear gas and protesters were beaten with batons and rifles. One youth was hospitalized after being injured by a rubber coated steal bullet.
Eight Palestinians including twins aged 11 and 6 internationals (American, Dutch, German and Canadian nationals) were arrested. The army proceeded to raid the village and invade each house, searching for people who had participated in the demonstrations. The raids as well as confrontations between the army and the village youth are ongoing.
The Arrested Palestinans are:
Mazen Qumsiyah
Basel Al Araj
Ahmed Al Araj
Mohammad Al Araj
Allah And Mohammed Abu Tin 11 year old twins
Tarek Abu Tin
Adel Abu Tin
Al-Walaja is an agrarian village of about 2,000 people, located south of Jerusalem and West of Bethlehem. Following the 1967 Occupation of the West Bank and the redrawing of the Jerusalem municipal boundaries, roughly half the village was annexed by Israel and included in the Jerusalem municipal area. The village’s residents, however did not receive Israeli residency or citizenship, and are considered illegal in their own homes.
Once completed, the path of the Wall is designed to encircle the village’s built-up area entirely, separating the residents from Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and almost all their lands – roughly 5,000 dunams. Previously, Israeli authorities have already confiscated approximately half of the village’s lands for the building of the Har Gilo and Gilo settlements, and closed off areas to the south and west of it. The town’s inhabitants have also experienced the cutting down of fruit orchards and house demolition due to the absence of building permits in Area C.
According to a military confiscation order handed to the villagers, the path of the Wall will stretch over 4890 meters between Beit Jala and al-Walaja, affecting 35 families, whose homes may be slated for demolition.
‘Bahraini government hits social networkers’
PressTVGlobalNews on May 15, 2011
President of Bahrain’s Center for Human Rights Nabeel Rajab says the Bahraini regime has dismissed people from their jobs for sending information of the government’s harsh crackdown on protesters via social networks.
An interview with President of Bahrain’s Center for Human Rights, Nabeel Rajab
Israeli Army Places West Bank Under Siege
By Saed Bannoura – IMEMC & Agencies – May 15, 2011

Photo credit – Oren Ziv, Active Stills
As the Palestinians prepare the mark the Nakba Day on Sunday, the Israeli authorities decided to place the West Bank under a 24-hour siege under direct orders issued by Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak.
The Israeli Radio reported that Israel will be deploying nearly 10.000 policemen and soldiers in East Jerusalem, and in Arab towns in the 1948 Territories.
The Israeli government said that it will be arresting any person who marks the Nabka in “Israel”, and also deployed hundreds of policemen in cities have have Arab and Jewish inhabitants.
The extensive police presence in Jerusalem, and other areas, is expected to remain in effect for several days especially after a settler shot and killed a youth, identified as Milad Ayyash in Silwan town, in East Jerusalem.
Ayyash was seriously wounded on Friday and died of his wounds at a Jerusalem hospital on Saturday morning. He was shot by a Dumdum illegal round fired by a settler from the illegal “Yonatan” outpost in East Jerusalem. The police also kidnapped two residents in Silwan neighborhood.
Furthermore, hundreds of residents held a massive protest in Jaffa marking the Palestinian Nakba, no clashes were reported.
Israel places Hamas leader in administrative detention
Palestine Information Center – 15/05/2011
NABLUS — The Israeli prison authority transferred Khalid al-Hajj to administrative detention Saturday night, the Tadhamon international organization for human rights reported.
The Ofer military court sentenced Hajj, 45, to six months in administrative detention a week after he was arrested at an Israeli checkpoint near the West Bank city of Jenin.
He has been detained seven times in Israeli prisons over the past two decades, with prison time exceeding 13 years. He was released about a year ago after he was placed in administrative detention for three years. He was later arrested as the Palestinians began to reconcile.
Israel has also transferred prisoner Rami Esam Suleiman, 32, from Marda near Salfit to serve six months in administrative detention. That was after he had already served four years in prison, Tadhamon researcher Ahmed al-Beitawi added.
The Israeli army arrested Suleiman 18 May 2007 and placed him in administrative detention before he was sentenced to four years in prison. After he completed the term, he was switched to administrative detention. He was said to have been arrested three times spending more than nine years in Israeli prisons.
Beitawi said that the policy of placing prisoners in administrative detention after they serve their terms is a regular policy that Israel has taken against its Palestinian captives.
Egyptian army blocks Gaza march
Press TV – May 14, 2011

Rafah border crossing point
Egyptian authorities have reportedly blocked access to the Sinai Peninsula to prevent activists from reaching the Gazan town of Rafah.
Pro-Palestinian activists plan to march to the Gaza Strip on Sunday, to mark the 63rd anniversary of the day of Nakba, or catastrophe, which marks the day when Israel occupied Palestinian lands.
The Egyptian army has warned against rallies at the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip.
However, a convoy left Cairo’s Liberation square on Saturday to head to Sinai.
Organizers say their march is to show that the Palestinian issue concerns all Arabs and supporting it remains a concern for Egyptians. The activists are calling for Palestinian statehood, an end to the Israeli occupation, as well as the release of all Palestinian prisoners.
Egyptians have frequently demanded that their military rulers abandon Israel and lift the blockade on the besieged Gaza Strip.
Egypt’s political parties say the Gaza blockade serves the interests of Israel and the US and threatens regional stability and independence.
Under the US-backed Mubarak regime, Egypt consistently served Tel Aviv’s interests in the region by helping to impose a crippling blockade on the impoverished Strip after the democratically-elected Hamas government took control of the territory in 2007.
