THE HANDSTAND

JANUARY 2006
Friends, due to Christmas engagements I am unable to play out this page from the urls to the articles ; and I would ask all who wish to read them to accept my lack of time and haste.JBeditor.

It's all known, but who is doing something?

TOI-Billboard, December 24, 2005
The Other Israel's weekly email updates

  In March of this year, the Israeli government had a report produced - the Sasson report - about illegal outposts, and how government bodies give them a helping hand. The report was made public; a ministerial committee was appointed to study the report; after that: nothing.

the report summary http://www.mideastweb.org/sassonreport.htm

  At the end of November, the EU's Ramallah and East Jerusalem Heads of Mission produced their shocking findings in the 'Report on East Jerusalem' and it was circulated unofficially - but the EU decided not to present it officially as it would "complicate relations with the Sharon government".
  Jewish peace groups together with Palestine Solidarity campaigns around Europe have decided they must take matters into their own hands and many quote the Report on their websites.

press release of the protesting European organizations http://www.ejjp.org/main.asp?pagid=65
complete report  http://www.ejjp.org/bijlagen/EU%20report%20on%20Jerusalem.pdf

  In yesterday's Ha'aretz Gideon Levy describes the death of 43 year old Mahmoud Shawara, father of nine. Shawara was one of those West Bank Palestinians who in an effort to earn a day's work traveled over a dust path on a donkey to the neighboring village, thereby crossing the Green Line.  What happened to him after being caught by Border Police without permit seems not to be new; Palestinians call it "the donkey method" - the donkey owner is handcuffed and connected to his animal which is then beaten as to make it run...

The Ha'aretz editors realized that the weekly revelations of the untiring Levy are not having the effect which they should have.  In the Friday editorial ('On Apathy') they wonder why:

(...) Cases of abuse of Palestinians, whether by soldiers or by settlers, have stopped making headlines in the press or eliciting shock. Nor do investigations of these incidents appear to be serious, and complaints are ignored until the story is either published in the media or dealt with by one of the human rights organizations active in the territories. This growing apathy can perhaps be attributed to the continuous satisfaction felt over the disengagement from Gaza, following which Israelis feel that the occupation is about to end. But, meanwhile, the occupation is continuing in all its severity, with all the abuses that have characterized it throughout the years.

It seems that Sharon, who survived this week a light stroke, has everything under control. His Kadima party push provides him with immunity at least until after the elections.

Gideon Levy 'Dusty trail to death' http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/661473.html
Ha'aretz editorial 'On Apathy' http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=661708

                                           ***

  The Bil'in anti-Wall campaigners, Palestinans together with Israelis and internationals, seem to understand a bit better what is needed: imagination, determination and courage. After months of creative protest, this week they proved that they are really growing in this Gandhi-like struggle. On Wednesday, a mobile home appeared on a part of the land from which the Bil'in farmers are to be cut off by the wall under construction. An outpost - as the settlers constantly put up - but "a legal one, as it got a permit from the Bil'in municipality, and was built on land owned by them."  The army which does near to nothing against the dozens of illegal settler "outposts" was very quick to put an end this symbol of  Palestinian non-violent protest. Soldiers broke their way into the trailer, removed the activists and air-lifted the caravan. On Friday, a tent was put up instead as the headquarters of “The centre for joint struggle”. 

Contact: Mohamed Khateeb of Popular Committee Against the Wall  +972-54-5851893

The Tent of Defiance
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2005/12/24/the-tent-of-defiance/

IDF evacuates Palestinian 'outpost'
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3188815,00.html

IDF completes evacuation of Bil'in 'outpost'
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/660894.html

                                         *** Also this week - the end of the Tali Fahima trial: three years - of which the pre-trial detention is to be deducted but even so:  she has still to spend at least 11 months behind bars. And in case she wouldn't be considered for the "third off for good behavior" (which all kind of Israeli criminals get, but which was refused for example to Mordechai Vanunu) it would be one more year. Tali Fahima: Israeli `collaborator` jailed for three years
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=10739   ... and, there were the Rabbis for Human Rights  who did act upon what they knew. In an email (info@rhr.israel.net) a week ago they reported that "140 trees belonging to Burin were cut down on Friday, Dec. 16,  in the exact area where we worked on Wednesday. (...) we warned the security forces that something like this was likely to happen." Following this they started to mobilize volunteers ready to take upon themselves the time-intensive and quite risky task - to come and guard the olive trees nearest to settlements during the nights...     Meanwhile, there is a speedy escalation building up around the Gaza Strip - Israeli assassinations on the West Bank entailing retaliation by mortars and missiles from the Gaza Strip. Generals already speek of "the need to bombard residential areas" and Kadima ministers speak of the need to create inside the Gaza Strip "a security zone" i.e. razing to the ground buildings and trees.
  Gush Shalom wrote in it's weekly ad in Ha'aretz: "There is a lurking suspicion that [the escalation] is influenced by the election considerations of Ariel Sharon and Shaul Mofaz". The government should stop all offensive action of the Israeli army, including assassinations, arrests and incursion, and demand that the Palestinians also stop all offensive actions, including Qassam rockets and mortar shells -  says Gush Shalom.  http://gush-shalom.org/                                          ***   Read more:   Abu-Daoud. Prevented.   B. Michael - Yediot Aharonot , Dec. 16
Translated from Hebrew by Tal. Haran   (...) So now it is finally clear why Abu-Daoud is "prevented": a settler-woman killed his father by running him over in her car, an Israeli army teargas canister killed his mother, an Israeli soldier perforated his son's head... Is it even thinkable that he should be allowed freedom of movement?
 
full text http://www.geocities.com/toi_billboard/b.michael.htm         Nuclear adventures
 
By Gideon Spiro - Hagada Hasmalit, 14 Dec. Translated from Hebrew by Mark Marshall   "I have no doubt that Sharon wants to imitate the late Prime Minister Menahem Begin who initiated the bombing of the Iraqi reactor in 1981 a short time before elections."   http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=10699 Hebrew original: http://www.hagada.org.il/hagada/html/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4152     Peretz' statement about Jerusalem makes no sense    Uri Avnery in his weekly column ''The Main Thing is to Have No Fear!"   (...) Two weeks ago, Amir Peretz gave in to his advisors and repeated the sacred mantra: he, too, is for the United Jerusalem, Capital of Israel for all Eternity. Amen. [Meanwhile] Yediot Ahronoth, published a poll that shocked the politicians: 49% of the Israeli public is ready to accept the division of Jerusalem.   http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1135379584
  Unrecognised villages in the Negev expose apartheid policy   Bangani Ngeleza and Adri Nieuwhof   (...) The challenge for Israel is to arrive at a solution that will guarantee equality for all its citizens regardless of race, gender, religion and so on, within a democratic state. Pressure must be put on the state of Israel to abandon its apartheid policies, including its refusal to recognise the existence of villages composed of its own citizens living within its national borders.   full text http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4358.shtml     Today's choice by Occupation Magazine http://www.kibush.co.il/
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