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Netanyahu's Video | End of Jewish Modernity | Farewell to Yarmouk | Barghouti's Plan | Arabs & BDS | More ..




www.PalestineChronicle.com -  August 02, 2016
   
In This Issue
JONATHAN COOK: Israeli Racism Unmasks Netanyahu Goodwill Video
JIM MILES: The End of Jewish Modernity & other articles ..
RAMZY BAROUD: Farewell to Yarmouk: A Palestinian Refugee's Journey from Izmir to Greece
LATEST: Barghouti Suggests a Five-pillar Alternative Approach for Palestine
MORE: Arab League Hosts Israel Boycott Conference in Cairo & other articles ..

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FEATURED

Israeli Racism Unmasks Netanyahu Goodwill Video

Aug 2 2016 / 7:27 pmBy Jonathan Cook - NazarethWas it meant as an epic parody or an insult to his audience's intelligence? It was hard to tell.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to social media to apologize for last year's notorious election-day comment, when he warned that "the Arabs are coming out to vote in droves" - a reference to the fifth of Israel's population who are Palestinian.
In videos released last week in English and Hebrew, Netanyahu urged Palestinian citizens to become more active in public life. They needed to "work in droves, study in droves, thrive in droves," he said. "I am proud of the role Arabs play in Israel's success".
Pointedly, Ayman Odeh, head of the Palestinian-dominated Joint List party, noted that 100,000 Bedouin citizens could not watch the video because Israel denies their communities electricity, internet connections and all other services.
Swiftly and predictably, the reality of life for Israel's 1.7 million Palestinians upstaged Netanyahu's fine words.
In a radio interview, Moti Dotan, the head of the Lower Galilee regional council, sent a message to his Palestinian neighbors: "I don't want them at my [swimming] pools." Sounding like a mayor in the southern United States during the Jim Crow-era, he added: "Their culture of cleanliness isn't the same as ours. Why is that racist?"
Dotan was no extremist, observed the liberal newspaper Haaretz. He represents the Israeli mainstream. Notably, Netanyahu did not distance himself from Dotan's remarks.
At the same time, Samar Qupty, star of a new film on Palestinians in Israel called Junction 48, was questioned for two hours and then strip searched at Ben Gurion airport and denied her hand luggage before being allowed to fly to an international film festival.
Stories of state-sponsored humiliation at the airport are routine for Israel's Palestinian academics, journalists, actors and community leaders - in fact, for any Palestinian active in the public sphere.
The list of restrictions on Palestinian citizens is long and growing. A database by the legal group Adalah shows that some 60 Israeli laws explicitly discriminate against non-Jews, with another 18 in the pipeline.
Two laws passed last month intensify the repression of dissent. An Expulsion Law is designed to empower Israeli MPs to oust Palestinian lawmakers whose views offend them, while a Transparency Law stigmatizes human rights groups working to protect Palestinian rights.
Recently leaked protocols reveal that the police have secretly awarded themselves powers to use live fire against Palestinian protesters in Israel, even if they pose no danger. Yet another law threatens jail for any Palestinian citizen who tries to dissuade another from volunteering in the Israeli army.
Growing numbers of Palestinian citizens, including poets and writers, are being jailed or put under house arrest for posts on social media the Israeli authorities disapprove of.
Defence minister Avigdor Lieberman recently compared the work of the Palestinians' national poet, Mahmoud Darwish, to Hitler's Mein Kampf. Darwish is banned from school curriculum.
The culture minister, Miri Regev, meanwhile, has tied state funding for theater and dance companies to their readiness to perform in Jewish settlements, illegally located in the occupied territories in the West Bank.
In his video, Netanyahu said: "Jews and Arabs should reach out to each other, get to know each other's families. Listen to each other."
And yet his officials have just halved funding for the training of Palestinian student teachers, though not Jewish ones, to deter the former from pursuing teaching careers. Jewish schools face severe staff shortages, but Israel's educational segregation is so complete that Palestinian citizens cannot be allowed to teach Jewish children.
Netanyahu also extolled his government for a promise to increase funding for Israel's near-bankrupt Palestinian local authorities. He forgot to mention, however, that he had conditioned the money on the same councils demolishing thousands of homes in their jurisdiction. For decades Palestinians in Israel have been routinely denied building permits.
Israel's Palestinian citizens were not fooled by Netanyahu's video. But as their leaders noted, they were not the intended audience. The video was a cynical PR exercise aimed firmly at the Europeans, who have been discomfited by Israel's increasingly repressive climate and the government's regular incitement against its Palestinian minority.
Netanyahu is worried about a backlash in the West, including growing support for the boycott movement, European efforts to revive peace talks, and potential moves at the United Nations and International Criminal Court.
Palestinians in Israel have known worse repression than they currently endure. For Israel's first two decades they lived under military rule, locked into their towns and villages and largely invisible unless they agreed to do and say as they were told. Palestinian MPs could be elected to the parliament but only if they were first approved by Zionist parties like Netanyahu's.
The Israeli right sounds ever more nostalgic for that era. Slowly the ethos of the military government for Israel's Palestinians is returning - and the perfume of Netanyahu's soothing words about ending "discord and hate" will not cover the stench.
(A version of this article first appeared in the National, Abu Dhabi.)
- Jonathan Cook won the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. His latest books are "Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East" (Pluto Press) and "Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments in Human Despair" (Zed Books). His website is www.jonathan-cook.net
SELECTED

Israeli Racism Unmasks Netanyahu Goodwill Video

Benjamin Netanyahu.  (Photo: File)
By Jonathan Cook - Nazareth Was it meant as an epic parody or an insult to his audience's intelligence? It was hard to tell. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to social media to apologize for last year's notorious election-day comment, when he warned that "the Arabs are coming out to vote in droves" - [...]
Aug 2 2016 | Posted in Articles | Commentary | slider | Read More »

WAFA Issues Report on Incitement and Racism in Israeli Media

Arab member of Israeli Knesset, Haneen Zoabi. (via Al Jazeera, File)
The Palestine news agency, WAFA, Monday issued a report on incitement and racism published in the Israeli media against Palestinians and Arabs between June 15 and 21 July, 2016. The report reviewed a number of articles published by Israeli writers and journalists, which are either direct or indirect incitements against Palestinians and Arabs. Maariv newspaper published [...]
Aug 2 2016 | Posted in Articles | Features | News | slider | Read More »

Barghouti Suggests a Five-pillar Alternative Approach for Palestine

Dr. Mustapha al-Barghouti. (Photo: via Gulf News)
By Palestine Chronicle Staff Dr. Mustapha al-Barghouti, the General Secretary of the Palestinian Initiative, has suggested a five-pillar approach for the Palestinian cause to succeed. Al-Barghouti's remarks came during talks organized by Masarat, the Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies, held in Ramallah and Gaza. He presented his view as follows: First: the [...]
Aug 2 2016 | Posted in Articles | Features | News | slider | The Free Zone | Read More »

Lieberman to Decide Fate of Hebron Hills Village

Areas of the village of Susya were demolished in Ramadan. (Photo: via RHR)
Israel Defense Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, will most likely decide the fate of the village of Susya in the southern Hebron Hills, denying villages their ancestral lands. Israeli NGO, Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR), stated that an Israeli Supreme Court hearing on Monday aimed to decide whether it will accept Israel's decision to immediately and without [...]
Aug 1 2016 | Posted in Articles | Features | News | Read More »

B'Tselem: Israel Deliberately Engineers Inhuman Conditions on Palestinians at Checkpoints

Qalandiya checkpoint. (Photo: Tamar Fleishman, PC)
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in the first quarter of 2016, approximately 63,000 Palestinians worked in Israel, with permits to enter via 11 checkpoints located throughout the West Bank. It is also estimated that another 38,000 or so Palestinians work in Israel without permits. Last month, B'Tselem field researchers, Musa Abu Hashhash and Iyad Hadad, documented [...]
Aug 1 2016 | Posted in Articles | Features | Read More »

Young Palestinians Reflect on Upcoming Local Elections

(Local elections to be held in October in Palestine. (Photo: via MEMO)
By Yousef M. Aljamal As various Palestinian political factions are busy preparing for their electoral lists to join the upcoming local elections to be held in October 2016 in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Palestine Chronicle spoke to young Palestinians regarding this process, their aspirations and expectations. The majority of political factions [...]
Aug 1 2016 | Posted in Articles | Features | News | Read More »

Palestinian Embassy to Uruguay Celebrates Palestinian Traditional Dress

Palestinian Traditional Dress Day. (Photo: via PLO Delegation US Twitter via Reuters)
The Palestinian Embassy to Uruguay organized a cultural festival and an exhibition of Palestinian traditional clothing to mark Palestinian Dress Day. The role of Palestinian women in keeping Palestinian heritage alive as well as their role in protecting Palestinian dress was made clear. Palestinian Traditional Dress Day #Palestine, #Israel Credit: REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini pic.twitter.com/ukIlkrGmq8 - [...]
Jul 31 2016 | Posted in Features | News | The Free Zone | Read More »

Saudis Against Normalization with Israel Take to Twitter in Protest

Dore Gold and Anwar Eshki shake hands as Elliott Abrams looks on. (Photo: Courtesy Council on Foreign Relations)
By Palestine Chronicle Staff Dozens of Saudis took to twitter to protest the recent visit of a Saudi delegation headed by retired General, Anwar Ashqi, to Israel last week. This report highlights some of these tweets which express the voices of Saudi and Arab citizens: Adel Alkalbani: 'When we were young, they used to call [...]
Jul 31 2016 | Posted in Articles | Features | News | The Free Zone | Read More »

The End of Jewish Modernity - A Review

end_jewish_modernity_book
Reviewed by Jim Miles (Enzo Traverso. The End of Jewish Modernity. Pluto Press, London, 2016.) Works of political theory, written within the sphere of intellectual/philosophical history, are generally a difficult read.  The End of Jewish Modernity would probably do well in an academic discussion within the pretensions of political science or general philosophy programs, but [...]
Jul 31 2016 | Posted in Articles | Reviews | Read More »

Israel Bans Ma'an TV from Being Viewed in Prisons

Ma'an ban aims to disconnect Palestinian prisoners from the outside world. (Photo: via Ma'an)
Palestinian prisoners' groups denounced on Saturday a decision by the Israel Prison Service (IPS) to ban Ma'an TV being aired inside Israeli prisons, saying the move was made to disconnect Palestinian prisoners from the outside world and strip them of their rights. Osama al-Wahidi, a spokesperson for, Hossam Association for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners, said in a statement: [...]
Jul 30 2016 | Posted in Articles | Features | News | Read More »

Hamas Gives 40,000 Civil Servants Land in Lieu of Unpaid Salaries

Hamas's land giveaway conveys its financial problems. (Photo: via The National)
Hamas has begun handing out plots of land to 40,000 civil servants to compensate them for the millions of dollars in salaries it owes them for the past two years. The land giveaway is the latest sign that Hamas is struggling financially after almost a decade of uncontested power in the Palestinian territory. Gazans complained [...]
Jul 30 2016 | Posted in Articles | News | Read More »

US State Department: US 'Deeply Concerned' by Israeli Settlements

US State Department spokesman, John Kirby. (Photo: via Ma'an)
The US State Department released a statement on Wednesday slamming Israel's continued settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, while expressing concern over the recent increase of demolitions on Palestinian homes that have left dozens of Palestinians homeless in the past week. John Kirby, State Department Spokesman, said that the United States was "deeply concerned" [...]
Jul 29 2016 | Posted in Articles | News | Read More »

Canada's Green Party Must Not Heed to Pressure, Revoke JNF's Charitable Status

The Jewish National Fund was granted tax-exempt status in Canada. (Photo: Oren Ziv, ActiveStills.com)
By Yves Engler  Despite a backlash evocative of those who defended the Jim Crow US South, Green Party members recently voted in favor of a resolution calling on Ottawa to stop subsidizing racist land covenants. Next weekend the Greens will make a final decision on whether they support the principles underlying a half-century old Supreme [...]
Jul 28 2016 | Posted in Articles | Commentary | Read More »

Farewell to Yarmouk: A Palestinian Refugee's Journey from Izmir to Greece

A refugee family from Syria without shelter in Lebanon. (Photo: File)
By Ramzy Baroud (Based on interviews with Palestinian refugees from Syria.) The refugee camp of Yarmouk was ever present in his being, pulling him in and out of an abyss of persistent fears that urged him to never return. But what was this refugee without Yarmouk, his first haven, his last earth? How could any [...]


FEATURED

Farewell to Yarmouk: A Palestinian Refugee's Journey from Izmir to Greece

By Ramzy Baroud
(Based on interviews with Palestinian refugees from Syria.)
The refugee camp of Yarmouk was ever present in his being, pulling him in and out of an abyss of persistent fears that urged him to never return. But what was this refugee without Yarmouk, his first haven, his last earth?
How could any other spot in this unwelcoming universe ever be a 'home' when he had learned that only Palestine, which he had never visited, can ever be a home? When questioned, he always answered without hesitation: "I am from the village of so and so in Palestine." Yet the Yarmouk Refugee Camp in Syria was all that remained of Palestine, as the Palestine he knew only existed in books or the tattered map in his family's living room.
But at least he had her along to share his grief; without her he would have never embarked on his quest. His name was Khaled al-Lubani and her name was Maysam.
Their first attempt at crossing the sea was doomed to fail. The one thousand American dollars that Khaled's father had given him in Yarmouk was almost depleted, and the money promised to him by his aunt in the UAE was still nowhere to be seen. By then, they had settled in Izmir at Turkey's farthest western corner, and the closest in proximity to Greece.
Wanting opportunities and a chance at a real life, they knew this was just a temporary stopover in their long-term plans.
After a short stay at a cheap hotel, they sought an even cheaper accommodation, a small flat that cost them 400 Turkish liras each month. But with money running out, and Maysam's anxieties increasingly suffocating her every thought, Khaled felt the pressure mounting. As he waited and waited for his aunt's money, he felt as if she were dangling him off the side of a cliff.
When the Syrian war started, Khaled cared little for the politics of war. He had reached the conclusion a long time ago that nothing good came out of politics and that anyone wearing a government or militia uniform could not be trusted. However, the war inched closer to Yarmouk, despite the pleas of the refugees to the warring parties to spare them more agony.
And when Yarmouk was roundly destroyed, Khaled, pressured by the tears and pleas of his parents, fled. A long, costly and agonizing journey landed them both in Izmir.
Their first attempt to cross the sea was with Abu Dandi. There was something about his shady looks and face that suggested he lacked honor and could not be trusted. In his fifties, he was heavy, with a large, protruding belly, and short white hair. He was addicted to overcooked black tea, and spent most of his time at the 'Syrian Club' playing backgammon, oozing the crude confidence of an unatoned gambler.
Other Palestinian refugees pledged all of their faith to finding a new life via this no-guarantees trip. But an hour after their journey began, the dinghy's small engine came to a complete halt.
In one single, heavy choke, without any sign or introduction, it completely expired. As alarm permeated Khaled from head to toe, he knew going back was just not an option. Adding to the acute drama, Maysam's fears and anxieties were culminating into unintelligible mumbles about the scary sea below.
Left without any options, Abu Dandi called the Turkish coast guard, who eventually showed up and hauled them back to an Izmir prison.
They had met the captain of the second dinghy, Abu Salma, while in prison. Captured freshly after his own failed expedition, Abu Salma promised them deliverance or their money back, guaranteed. Sadly, their original payment was never refunded by the miserable smuggler with the protruding belly.
The second expedition was not successful, either, although, this time, the smugglers managed to take the boat much further. The engine did not abruptly stop, but nervously made a ticking sound before it quickly began to hemorrhage a line of dark diesel fuel into the crisp, blue Mediterranean Sea. The pathetic dinghy then suddenly stalled, immediately on reaching Greek waters. When the coast guard intercepted them, they threw out a rope from their large boat so that they could haul the unwelcome passengers to safety.
Trying to circumvent the Greek boat, the passengers rowed frantically and with all their remaining energy. It was as if this was their final task in their epic struggle to feel human again. But the dinghy was brought to a forced halt as the crushing emotions of defeat weighed heavy on their slouched backs.
With little interest in bringing the refugees to their side of the sea, the Greek coast guard robotically tuned out their chronicles of death and disgrace, and quickly telephoned the Turkish gendarmes who hauled the dinghy back to square one, holding its passengers prisoner for two more days.
Swearing in the name of his three-year-old daughter once more, Abu Salma insisted he was still the best smuggler in the business, and if it were not for their cursed luck, they would have already reached Greece and would have been dining like kings while the Greek gods watched from above. Promising the group a bigger and faster engine for their fourth try, Abu Salma, once again, led the passengers back to the same old designated spot where the dinghy was supposedly tucked away; but the boat was nowhere to be found.
Emotionally drained and tired, they walked back to the main road, only to find the gendarmes waiting for them.
When they attempted again, the group of nine had materialized into twenty, and included other war refugees, longing for the safety they were denied at home. This dinghy was slightly larger than the last one, but the engine was even smaller than their first. Heated reactions by the men ensued as they yelled and roared in anger. The women cried out in pain, some grabbing their hearts, some dropping to their knees. Maysam broke down and buried her sopping wet face into the sand.
Most of the passengers just walked away and stood in the sand trying to conjure up a plan that no one had envisioned prior. But the Palestinians, along with Khaled and Maysam, stayed. Their will was just too strong to give up after all they had gone through. Assuming the role of leader, they were urged on by Khaled, yet again.
"Just go this way," the smuggler pointed his stubby fingers into some direction in the dark. And that is just what Khaled did. He challenged the darkness and what he saw as the final push towards freedom. For the entire journey, Maysam quietly sobbed and held onto his arm for dear life.
Then, finally, the much awaited lights of the Island of Mytilene glittered in the distance. "Ya Allah, Ya Allah, Ya Allah," muttered Maysam in a final attempt to cram in as many prayers as she possibly could so that the dinghy would reach the shores, bringing an end to the Syrian and Turkish nightmares, and freeing them from the abyss of the condemned.
A small jar of crunchy peanut better was all that Khaled and Maysam had left in their small duffel bag when their feet first touched the sand of Mytilene late one night. The exhilaration of their success blasted up their spines as they cried and jumped for joy.
But as they tried to process the unbelievable comfort the white sand offered them, it was quickly overshadowed by a haunting, unforeseen and unexpected fear of the future. The water soaking through their trainers suddenly felt like a cold omen.
- Dr. Ramzy Baroud has been writing about the Middle East for over 20 years. He is an internationally-syndicated columnist, a media consultant, an author of several books and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com. His books include "Searching Jenin", "The Second Palestinian Intifada" and his latest "My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story". His website is www.ramzybaroud.net.


LATEST

Barghouti Suggests a Five-pillar Alternative Approach for Palestine

By Palestine Chronicle Staff
Dr. Mustapha al-Barghouti, the General Secretary of the Palestinian Initiative, has suggested a five-pillar approach for the Palestinian cause to succeed. Al-Barghouti's remarks came during talks organized by Masarat, the Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies, held in Ramallah and Gaza.
He presented his view as follows:
First: the popular resistance on the ground, which is supported by the international law, should learn from other experiences such as those of the first Palestinian Intifada. 
Second: to engage in the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS) against Israel, which provides pro-Palestinians outside Palestine with a tool to engage in the struggle. The movement, he explained, is causing much harm to Israel, and gets Palestinians outside involved in the cause as well.
Third: to support Palestinians on the ground by allocating funds to marginalized areas, because high poverty and unemployment rates make it difficult for Palestinians to survive.
Fourth: to realize national unity, because division harms the cause, limiting it to the two main factions, Hamas and Fatah, who will not advance the cause of Palestinians. Having a unified Palestinian front will help Palestinians resist external pressures.
Fifth: to activate and integrate all components of the Palestinian society, both inside and outside Palestine, to have common goals that realize the freedom of Palestinians, their right of return and equality, as well as dismantling of the Israeli apartheid system.
Al-Barghouti concluded that in order for this proposal to succeed, it needs to be adopted by a Palestinian faction who should convince other factions to do so as well.
(Palestine Chronicle)
MORE NEWS .. 

Arab League Hosts Israel Boycott Conference in Cairo

The Arab League conference aims to tighten the BDS Movement against Israel. (Photo: via qna.or.qa)
The Arab League will host the 90th Boycott Israel Conference at its headquarters in Cairo today, aiming to gather liaison officers in various Arab regions 'to activate and monitor an Arab boycott of Israel'. Said Abuali, the Arab League Secretary of Palestinian Affairs and Occupied Arab lands will head the three-day event, along with representatives from [...]
Aug 2 2016 | Posted in News | slider | The Free Zone | Read More »

Israel Labels International Criticism of Illegal Settlements as 'Baseless'

More than 100 Jewish-only settlements were built on Palestinian land. (Photo: via Mondoweiss, file)
Israeli Foreign Ministry has labelled criticism by the international communities of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank as "baseless", Israeli media reported. On Thursday, the US had described the construction of new residential units in the illegal settlement of Gilo as "provocative and counterproductive" and an attempt to undermine the two-state solution. Israel slams [...]
Aug 2 2016 | Posted in News | slider | The Free Zone | Read More »

WAFA Issues Report on Incitement and Racism in Israeli Media

Arab member of Israeli Knesset, Haneen Zoabi. (via Al Jazeera, File)
The Palestine news agency, WAFA, Monday issued a report on incitement and racism published in the Israeli media against Palestinians and Arabs between June 15 and 21 July, 2016. The report reviewed a number of articles published by Israeli writers and journalists, which are either direct or indirect incitements against Palestinians and Arabs. Maariv newspaper published [...]
Aug 2 2016 | Posted in Articles | Features | News | slider | Read More »

100 Palestinian Prisoners Transferred Back to Ramon Prison to Quell Hunger Striking

Bilal Kayed has been on a hunger strike for 49 days. (Photo: via: Addameer, file)
The Israeli Prison Service (IPS) returned 100 Palestinian prisoners affiliated with Fatah and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) to Ramon prison Monday morning, according to Sawt al-Asra (Voice of Prisoners) radio. IPS forces raided Section 5 in Ramon prison last week, during which they moved 100 Fatah and PFLP-affiliated prisoners to Ohalei [...]
Aug 2 2016 | Posted in News | The Free Zone | Read More »

Netanyahu: Seaport for Gaza Poses a 'Threat' to Israel

Netanyahu said he pushed to allow more materials into Gaza.  (Photo: File)
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said during a meeting with the editors-in-chief of major Israeli newspapers that building a seaport for Gaza would pose 'a threat' to Israel and he would not allow this to happen. Netanyahu emphasized that, "We would not allow a Hamas-controlled seaport to operate in Gaza." He further claimed that Egypt [...]
Aug 2 2016 | Posted in News | The Free Zone | Read More »

Barghouti Suggests a Five-pillar Alternative Approach for Palestine

Dr. Mustapha al-Barghouti. (Photo: via Gulf News)
By Palestine Chronicle Staff Dr. Mustapha al-Barghouti, the General Secretary of the Palestinian Initiative, has suggested a five-pillar approach for the Palestinian cause to succeed. Al-Barghouti's remarks came during talks organized by Masarat, the Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies, held in Ramallah and Gaza. He presented his view as follows: First: the [...]
Aug 2 2016 | Posted in Articles | Features | News | slider | The Free Zone | Read More »

Lieberman to Decide Fate of Hebron Hills Village

Areas of the village of Susya were demolished in Ramadan. (Photo: via RHR)
Israel Defense Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, will most likely decide the fate of the village of Susya in the southern Hebron Hills, denying villages their ancestral lands. Israeli NGO, Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR), stated that an Israeli Supreme Court hearing on Monday aimed to decide whether it will accept Israel's decision to immediately and without [...]
Aug 1 2016 | Posted in Articles | Features | News | Read More »

PA: Four Conditions Necessary for Talks with Israel to Proceed

PA ambassador to Cairo, Jamal Al-Shobaki. (Photo: via Arab Today)
Palestinian Authority (PA) ambassador to Cairo, Jamal Al-Shobaki, yesterday said that Israel must meet four conditions in order for peace talks to resume, the Anadolu Agency reported. Al-Shobaki added that "Talks must have international brokers, the Israeli side has to accept the two-state solution and the international legitimacy and there must be a specific timetable for the [...]
Aug 1 2016 | Posted in News | The Free Zone | Read More »

Young Palestinians Reflect on Upcoming Local Elections

(Local elections to be held in October in Palestine. (Photo: via MEMO)
By Yousef M. Aljamal As various Palestinian political factions are busy preparing for their electoral lists to join the upcoming local elections to be held in October 2016 in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Palestine Chronicle spoke to young Palestinians regarding this process, their aspirations and expectations. The majority of political factions [...]
Aug 1 2016 | Posted in Articles | Features | News | Read More »

Skeleton Found Under Gaza Rubble Painful Reminder of those Missing since 2014

Noor Omran disappeared when IDF troops invaded Al-Qarara. (Photo: via Ma'an)
Remains of a human skeleton were found on Sunday under the rubble of a house in Gaza City's eastern neighborhood of Shujayya, which was devastated by an Israeli ground incursion during the Israeli military offensive in 2014. The discovery of the two-year-old remains has caused painful memories for the families of Palestinians who were declared missing during [...]
Aug 1 2016 | Posted in News | Read More »

Palestinian Embassy to Uruguay Celebrates Palestinian Traditional Dress

Palestinian Traditional Dress Day. (Photo: via PLO Delegation US Twitter via Reuters)
The Palestinian Embassy to Uruguay organized a cultural festival and an exhibition of Palestinian traditional clothing to mark Palestinian Dress Day. The role of Palestinian women in keeping Palestinian heritage alive as well as their role in protecting Palestinian dress was made clear. Palestinian Traditional Dress Day #Palestine, #Israel Credit: REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini pic.twitter.com/ukIlkrGmq8 - [...]
Jul 31 2016 | Posted in Features | News | The Free Zone | Read More »

PFLP General Secretary Transferred to Solitary Confinement

A child carries the poster of imprisoned PFLP leader, Ahmad Saadat. (Photo: File)
The Palestinian Prisoners Club revealed that the General Secretary of the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine, MP Ahmad Sadaat, was transferred to Rimon isolation section following his decision to go on a hunger strike in solidarity with Palestinian hunger striker, Bilal Kayed. Kayed has been on hunger strike for 47 days. He began [...]
Jul 31 2016 | Posted in News | The Free Zone | Read More »

Saudis Against Normalization with Israel Take to Twitter in Protest

Dore Gold and Anwar Eshki shake hands as Elliott Abrams looks on. (Photo: Courtesy Council on Foreign Relations)
By Palestine Chronicle Staff Dozens of Saudis took to twitter to protest the recent visit of a Saudi delegation headed by retired General, Anwar Ashqi, to Israel last week. This report highlights some of these tweets which express the voices of Saudi and Arab citizens: Adel Alkalbani: 'When we were young, they used to call [...]
Jul 31 2016 | Posted in Articles | Features | News | The Free Zone | Read More »

15-year-old Palestinian Boy Medically Neglected after Israeli Abuse

Fadi Rafat al-Issawi had a fractured nose after Israeli soldiers abused him. (Photo: Ma'an)
A 15-year-old Palestinian boy sustained a broken hand and heavy bruising after being assaulted and detained by undercover Israeli police officers in the Issawiya neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem. Fadi Rafat al-Issawi was detained last Sunday when two undercover Israeli police officers in civilian clothing stopped to ask him and his friend Mustafa Abu al-Hummus [...]
Jul 30 2016 | Posted in News | Read More »

Israel Bans Ma'an TV from Being Viewed in Prisons

Ma'an ban aims to disconnect Palestinian prisoners from the outside world. (Photo: via Ma'an)
Palestinian prisoners' groups denounced on Saturday a decision by the Israel Prison Service (IPS) to ban Ma'an TV being aired inside Israeli prisons, saying the move was made to disconnect Palestinian prisoners from the outside world and strip them of their rights. Osama al-Wahidi, a spokesperson for, Hossam Association for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners, said in a statement: [...]
Jul 30 2016 | Posted in Articles | Features | News | Read More »

Hamas Gives 40,000 Civil Servants Land in Lieu of Unpaid Salaries

Hamas's land giveaway conveys its financial problems. (Photo: via The National)
Hamas has begun handing out plots of land to 40,000 civil servants to compensate them for the millions of dollars in salaries it owes them for the past two years. The land giveaway is the latest sign that Hamas is struggling financially after almost a decade of uncontested power in the Palestinian territory. Gazans complained [...]
Jul 30 2016 | Posted in Articles | News | Read More »

Israeli Occupation Forces Ban Three Palestinians from Entering Al-Aqsa

Right-wing Jews toured Al Aqsa under protection of the  Israeli police. (Photo: via twitter)
The Israeli occupation forces in Jerusalem banned three Palestinians from entering Al-Aqsa mosque, issuing them with fines. Occupation authorities handed deportation orders to Hamza Alnabali, Hamza Aldisi and Raed Zughbor who were employed at Al-Aqsa mosque for 15 days and fined each of them 1,000 NIS. The three were arrested while at work inside Al-Aqsa [...]
Jul 30 2016 | Posted in News | The Free Zone | Read More »

Mother of Israeli Soldier Captured by Hamas: 'My Son is Still Alive'

Two Israeli soldiers went missing during Israel's 2014 offensive on the Gaza Strip. (Photo: via Social Media)
Zehava Shaul, mother of Oron Shaul, the Israeli soldier who was captured by Hamas fighters in the summer of 2014 during fighting to the east of Gaza said she 'has evidence her son is still alive." Shaul told Yideot Ahranot, an Israeli daily newspaper, "My son might have been injured somewhere in Gaza, but it [...]
Jul 30 2016 | Posted in News | Read More »

Israeli Mayor of Jerusalem: Settlements Will Continue in the City

The Israeli wall near Jerusalem. (Photo: Tamar Fleishman. PC)
Israeli mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barakat, said in a video posted to his Facebook page that Israeli settlement reconstruction will continue all over the city. Barakat stated: "Reconstruction in Jerusalem is not considered a provocation but rather meeting the needs of Jews, Christians and Muslims alike." Germany "extremely concerned" at Israel's latest settlement expansion moves [...]
Jul 30 2016 | Posted in News | The Free Zone | Read More »

Netanyahu Praises Sisi For Peace Efforts in the Middle East

Netanyahu attended a function at the Egyptian ambassador's residence. (Photo: via MEMO)
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, yesterday praised the warm relations with Egypt and President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi. Netanyahu attended an event at the Egyptian ambassador's residence on the occasion of the 64th anniversary of the 23 July revolution which commemorates the Egyptian revolution of 1952. Netanyahu stated that Egypt and Israel are "among the world's [...]
Jul 29 2016 | Posted in News | The Free Zone | Read More »

US State Department: US 'Deeply Concerned' by Israeli Settlements

US State Department spokesman, John Kirby. (Photo: via Ma'an)
The US State Department released a statement on Wednesday slamming Israel's continued settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, while expressing concern over the recent increase of demolitions on Palestinian homes that have left dozens of Palestinians homeless in the past week. John Kirby, State Department Spokesman, said that the United States was "deeply concerned" [...]
Jul 29 2016 | Posted in Articles | News | Read More »

Hamas Regrets Lackluster Arab League Summit in Nouakchott

The Arab League organizes a three-day conference on Israel boycott (Photo: via MEMO)
Hamas stated that the 27th Arab League Summit attended by only eight Arab leaders, and from which 14 were absent, "reflects the status of decline which the Arabs are suffering, even at the official level." In a statement issued on Wednesday, the movement said: "Hamas expresses its regrets regarding the official Arab decline which was reflected in [...]
Jul 29 2016 | Posted in News | Read More »

PA Cuts 80% of Fuel Tax for Gaza's Electricity Plant

Gaza's Electricity Company will operate another generator from Thursday. (Photo: via MEMO)
The Works and Housing Minister at the Palestinian Authority, Mofeed Al-Hasayneh, has announced that the ministerial council in Ramallah has agreed to cut 80 per cent of the tax on fuel for the Gaza Strip's sole remaining electricity plant, QudsNet reported. Al-Hasayneh stated that the decision to cut the tax was taken during the council's weekly meeting [...]
Jul 29 2016 | Posted in News | The Free Zone | Read More »

Congressman Apologises for Likening Israeli Settlements to Termite Infestations

Congressman, Hank Johnson. (Photo: via Twitter.com)
A US Democratic congressman who was harshly criticized for comparing illegal West Bank settlers to termites has apologized for his remarks. Hank Johnson, a Georgia representative, said during an event for the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, "... almost like termites can get into a residence and eat before you know that you've [...]
Jul 28 2016 | Posted in News | Read More »

Israel Demolished More West Bank Homes in First Half of 2016 than All of 2015

12 residential structures were demolished by Israel. (Photo: via UNRWA.org)
In the first half of 2016, Israeli authorities demolished more homes in the West Bank than they did during 2015, according to B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. B'Tselem reported that, "From January to the end of June 2016, the Civil Administration demolished 168 homes in the West Bank, leaving 740 [...]
Jul 28 2016 | Posted in News | Read More »

Turkey Discusses Efforts to Resolve Gaza Crises

Head of the Global Popular Committee in Solidarity with Gaza, Isam Yousef. (Photo: via MEMO)
Head of the Global Popular Committee in Solidarity with the Gaza Strip, Isam Yousef, met with Turkish diplomats in Istanbul, Turkey, to discuss Turkish efforts to resolve the Gaza crises, PalSawa.com reported. Yousef met with the Deputy Chairman of Turkish Justice and Development Party, Yasin Aktay. The men discussed the recent Turkish-Israeli deal and prospects of facilitating [...]
Jul 28 2016 | Posted in News | The Free Zone | Read More »

PLO Condemns Israeli Action against Palestinian Sports

The Rachel Corrie Football Tournament 2016 in Gaza. (Photo: Yousef Aljamal, PC)
The Youth and Sports Department of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) has condemned Israeli action against Palestinian sportsmen through the refusal to issue permits for nine Palestinian players from Khan Younis Youth Club. The players were meant to participate in Palestine's Championship held in the West Bank. The Sports Department said in a statement yesterday, "Israel [...]


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