Freies Politikforum für Demokraten und Anarchisten

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

Testimonies from over 60 Israeli soldiers and officers who fought during last summer's war in the Gaza Strip were released to the public Monday, raising serious concerns over whether Israel's military adhered to the most basic principles of International Humanitarian Law.

The testimonies -- collected by Israeli military watchdog Breaking the Silence -- tell accounts of indiscriminate fire in civilian areas, orders to regard every individual inside of Gaza as a "threat," and the shelling of buildings in revenge without any military objective.

Many soldiers testified that they received orders to "shoot to kill" every person on sight, the group said, while others reported being ordered to shoot from the ground and air in order to"demonstrate presence" in a given area of military activity.

http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765221

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

Gazans are increasingly issuing complaints with security services in the Gaza Strip of being blackmailed by Israeli security and intelligence services. Israel is seeking to recruit new Palestinian spies, by exploiting their need for work, money, medical treatment or travel.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/04/gaza-citizens-israel-threats-recruit-informants-erez.html#

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

Nakba literally means a natural disaster such as an earthquake, volcano, or hurricane. However, the Nakba in Palestine is a process of destroying an unarmed indigenous nation to replace it by another ‘grouped-up’ nation.

http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/news/764-resist-67-years-to-palestinian-nakba

Palestinian nakba today

On the eve of the 67th year anniversary of the Nakba (the catastrophic ethnic cleansing of Palestine), Benjamin Netanyahu finally formed a “coalition government” a group of ministers who are honest about their racist and genocidal tendencies.

http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/news/758-palestinian-nakba-today

Ilan Pappe: Die ethnische Säuberung Palästinas

Am 10. März 1948 treffen sich David Ben-Gurion und elf führende Vertreter der jüdischen Einwanderer in Tel Aviv; sie beschließen die ethnische Säuberung Palästinas. Noch während des britischen Mandats beginnen die Angriffe, geführt von Moshe Dayan (später Verteidigungs- und Außenminister), Menachem Begin (später Ministerpräsident und Außenminister) und Yitzhak Rabin (später Ministerpräsident und Friedensnobelpreisträger). Elf Stadtviertel und 531 palästinensische Dörfer werden zwangsgeräumt, viele dem Erdboden gleichgemacht; 800.000 Menschen fliehen. Es kommt zu Vergewaltigungen, zu Plünderungen und zu Massakern – auch an Frauen und Kindern. Heute bedecken Wälder, Parks und Freizeiteinrichtungen die einstigen Dörfer.

Der israelische Historiker Ilan Pappe hat anhand von Augenzeugenberichten und neu zugänglichen Dokumenten aus israelischen Militärarchiven die Ereignisse von 1947 und 1948 akribisch nachgezeichnet; sie stehen zur offiziellen Geschichtsschreibung und dem Gründungsmythos Israels in eklatantem Widerspruch. Sich der historischen Wahrheit zu stellen, ist für Pappe eine moralische Entscheidung – ein erster Schritt, um die Spirale der Gewalt zu beenden und zur Versöhnung zwischen Israel und den Palästinensern beizutragen.

http://haffmans-tolkemitt.de/programm/ilan-pappe-die-ethnische-sauberung-palastinas/

http://www.ipk-bonn.de/bibliothek/books/rezens/Pappe_Saeuberung.html

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

Land Day commemorates the events of 30 March, 1976 when Palestinians from the Galilee to the Negev organised a massive strike to protest against the Israeli confiscation of land, ostensibly for security and settlement purposes; many were subsequently arrested or killed. This became a central incident in the history of the struggle between the Palestinian people and the Israeli occupation. It became a day for Palestinians worldwide to honour those who have fallen in defence of our land, to assert our existence as Palestinians and to embrace our identity as such.

This year's Land Day was given little attention by the local media. Instead, the headlines focused on the release of the tax revenues that Israel has frozen over the last few months in retaliation for the admission of Palestine to membership of the International Criminal Court. Among 180,000 others, I was one of the public sector employees whose salaries had been cut by 40 per cent due to this spiteful move by Israel. The media has also expressed official Palestinian support for the Arab coalition attacking the Houthi rebels in Yemen. And, finally, the media reported that the Palestinian Authority has joined the world community in expressing concern about the environmental effect of climate change. National songs in poor taste, expressive of chauvinism rather than patriotism, were also broadcast as the media paid lip-service to Land Day.

"Recently, I was stopped at a checkpoint on my way to Jerusalem. Seeing food in my car, the soldier shouted, "You cannot pass, this is not lawful." He was dumbfounded when I replied calmly, "It is your presence here that is against international law, not me bringing food from my workplace to home." Then he called for reinforcements to express extreme hostility and aggression in reaction to my remarks . "

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/middle-east/17892-memories-of-land-and-the-mind

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

Israeli Naval forces continued to carry out attacks on Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip during the reporting period[1] (01-30 April 2015), including 15 shooting incidents and a shelling incident that resulted in wounding a Palestinian fisherman while sailing off Beit Lahia shore in addition to the damaging of a fishing boat and fishing nets.

The Israeli naval forces have not comply with the ceasefire agreement concluded between Israel and Palestinian armed groups under Egyptian auspices on 26 August 2014. This agreement includes allowing Palestinian fishermen to sail within 6 nautical miles in the Gaza Sea. According to PCHR's investigations, all attacks took place within the distance of six nautical miles, which proves that Israeli forces' policies aim to tighten restrictions on the Gaza Strip's fishermen and their livelihoods.

In a serious development, on 07 March 2015, the Israeli naval forces declared via loud speakers that the allowed fishing area was reduced to four nautical miles and warned Palestinian fishermen from approaching this area along the Gaza Sea. The Fishermen Syndicate in the Gaza Strip declared suspension of fishing in Gaza waters for three days in protest against the Israeli Naval forces' decision.

http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11018:israeli-attacks-on-fishermen-in-the-gaza-sea&catid=144:new-reports

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

Israel named its new cabinet (Hebrew) yesterday and the names are a Who’s Who of the most rabid, racist, brutal and cruel politicians in the nation. The only one who rivals them and is missing from the show is Avigdor Lieberman, who’s bowed out for political reasons of his own. In the past, nations of the world have isolated individual leaders of nations and refused to visit or meet with them because their ideas are so noxious that they fall outside the consensus of international discourse. Kurt Waldheim and Jorg Haider are examples of this. The time has come to put the Israeli government in herem. You can pick your poison among them as to which deserves special ostracism.

http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2015/05/15/israeli-cabinet-most-racist-extremist-in-history/

Israeli Official to Obama: Don’t Pressure Us or We’ll Fall…and Blame You!

Israel Radio aired this odd report from its political correspondent, Chico Menashe:

A senior source in Jerusalem said that if the U.S. resumes putting pressure on Israel on the subject of Palestine, it would indicate a political vendetta meant to topple Netanyahu, despite the results of the election.

The source, seeking anonymity, said…that there are signs that there will be pressure on Israel to stop military incursions into Area A [which is supposed to be under total PA control]. According to him, such pressure would lead to a disruption of the security “quiet” in the West Bank and would seriously threaten stability.

He said further that the Palestinians are expected to try to strengthen their political capital by means of the ICC and the Security Council. We can only hope that the Americans will not strengthen their hand through added pressure on Israel.

http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2015/05/13/israeli-government-official-to-obama-dont-pressure-us-or-well-fall/

Bibi Invited Pop Star Who Called for Obama’s Death to Sing HaTikvah on Election Night

Amir Benayoun is one of Israel’s most famous Mizrahi pop stars. The closest thing to him here might be Ted Nugent, if Nugent had remained popular and sang songs calling Pres. Obama Hitler and wishing for his death. For that’s what Benayoun, a darling of the political far-right, has done. He wrote a new song about Pres. Obama. It’s an execrable song, not just the lyrics. He sings it with a croaking voice in the tempo of a soporific dirge, which I suppose is meant to offer it some portentous sense of meaning, which it entirely lacks.

http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2015/05/08/bibi-invited-pop-star-who-called-for-obamas-death-to-sing-hatikvah-on-election-night/

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Avrum Burg Speaks on 50th Anniversary of German-Israel Diplomatic Relations

uesday marks the Jubilee of Israel-German diplomatic relations. In commemoration of this major milestone, German Radio’s Israel correspondent, Dr. Sebastian Engelbrecht, traveled to Kibbutz Yakum and recorded this interview (listen to the original Hebrew) on the state of affairs between the two nations. Among the most important issues was Burg’s urging the German leadership to take an active role in opposing the most destructive policies Israel pursues against the Palestinians. He also denounced Germany’s sale of five Dolphin nuclear-armed submarines to Israel.

Thanks to Avrum Burg for his support in republishing the interview. It was translated from German (which itself was translated from Hebrew) by an Israeli raised in Germany who wishes to remain anonymous:

http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2015/05/12/avrum-burg-speaks-on-50th-anniversary-of-german-israel-diplomatic-relations/

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

Over 30,000 Israelis marched through the streets of the Muslim Quarter in East Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday, in commemoration of Israel's 1967 occupation of the city.

http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/special-reports/jerusalem/779-video-jerusalem-day-2015

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

After a Swiss court reportedly ordered an Israeli oil firm to compensate Iran over a scrapped joint venture, Israel said Thursday that its laws prohibited any payment to "the enemy."

Iranian state news agency IRNA said Wednesday that the court had found Israel's Trans-Asian Oil liable for payment of $1.1 billion to the National Iranian Oil Company.

It said that NIOC and an Israeli company had signed an agreement in 1968 to transport Iranian oil across the Red Sea.

But after the 1979 Islamic revolution which overthrew Iran's pro-Western shah, the new regime cancelled the contract because it did not recognize Israel.

http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765557

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

Gulf Arab states and Turkey have spectacularly failed to fulfill their pledges to Gaza, contributing to a two-thirds shortfall in promised assistance to the beleaguered enclave, a new report reveals.

Qatar has delivered just 10 percent of the $1 billion it promised, while Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Kuwait between them have handed over just over $50 million of the $900 million they pledged, according to a World Bank report seen by IRIN ahead of its release.

http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=765568

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

Far right Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu commemorated Israel’s “Jerusalem Day” with a speech in which he said, “Jerusalem was always the capital of the Jewish people only, and no other,” and warned that Muslim terrorism menaced it.

Jerusalem, Daru Shalem, was founded sometime between 6500 and 5500 years ago, by the proto-Canaanite people long before Judaism existed. It was dedicated to the god of dusk, Shalem.

The first mention of it was after 2000 BC, again, before Judaism existed, in an Egyptian text.

So I think we may conclude that the City of Shalem the god of dusk was probably the capital of a lot of peoples long before there was any religion called Judaism.

Roughly 1500-1200 BC, Jerusalem was ruled from Memphis in Egypt by the pharaohs, but the Canaanites remained their proxies.

http://www.juancole.com/2015/05/does-jerusalem-belong.html