Tag Archives: US
France Promises US To Delay Palestine-Israel UN Security Council Resolution
Diplomatic western sources today said that France vowed to the US administration, to delay presenting its project to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) which aims on relaunching the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and Palestinian statehood recognition.
The French draft was presented to both Israeli and Palestinian officials, in addition to the European Union, the Arab League and the US administration for observation and remarks.
The French projects suggests a UNSC issue resolution in September to relaunch the talks between Palestinians and Israelis, and puts an 18-month plan to recognize Palestinian statehood.
The project also suggests Jerusalem as a capital for two countries, Israel and Palestine. However, if the project fails to pass, France will recognize Palestinian state.
Barghouthi previously told PNN that the French initiate content will be studied for either approval or decline, voicing that there are issues that cannot be accepted in it, including considering Jerusalem a united capital for two states, which conceals an Israeli domination on Jerusalem, in addition to keeping the Israeli military in the Jordan valleys with no time frame, and letting go of the right of return for compensation.
Headlines From Palestine: May 14, 2015
PLO: We Will Not Resume Negotiations Until A Deadline Ending Israeli Occupation Is Set
Wasal Abu Yousef, a member of the PLO leadership, said Thursday that Palestinians would not return to the negotiation table with Israel unless a deadline for the end of the Israeli “occupation” is set, London-based newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reported.
Israeli Occupation Detains 13 Palestinians In West Bank, Youth In Jerusalem
Israeli forces detained overnight 13 Palestinians, including three between the ages of 16 and 19, from various West Bank districts, in addition to a youth in Jerusalem, said Palestine Prisoner’s Club (PPC).
Palestinian Surgeons Perform Rare Operation At Hebron Public Hospital
Palestinian surgeons at Alia public hospital in Hebron in the southern West Bank on Wednesday successfully repaired a very uncommon skull deformity of a baby.
PLO: Vatican Accord With Palestine A Contribution To Justice
The PLO praised the Vatican’s announcement Wednesday that it was preparing to sign its first accord with Palestine, viewing the upcoming signing of the agreement as a “genuine contribution to peace and justice.”
Palestine Accumulates Official Reports For ICC
The documentation necessary for Palestine to bring Israel to the International Criminal Court will be approved before the end of 2015, says the ambassador of Palestine to Switzerland.
Discriminatory Housing Policy Is Only Home Palestinian Israeli Citizens Know
In ruling against Bedouin, Israel’s top court ignored years-long institutionalized policy that created serious shortage of housing in Palestinian society.
Talks Dissolve Between Israel And France Over UN Resolution On Palestine
Meetings between Israel and France fell apart last week after an argument erupted over French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius’ revived attempt to advance a resolution on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the United Nations Security Council, Israeli media reported Thursday.
Israeli Apartheid Week Launched In Dozens Of US Universities
Israeli apartheid week activities were launched in several universities of the US, in coordination by the Students for Justice in Palestine organization, which has branches in many American universities, on Wednesday.
Israeli Apartheid Week Launched In Dozens Of US Universities
Israeli apartheid week activities were launched in several universities of the US, in coordination by the Students for Justice in Palestine organization, which has branches in many American universities, on Wednesday.
The action highlights the Israeli apartheid policies and daily human rights violations against Palestinians, in synchronization with the Palestinian Nakba (exodus) anniversary, on 15 May, 1948.
According to a statement by the student activists in Justice for Palestine organization which PLO Department of Palestinians Expatriates Affairs received, the apartheid week will be organized in tens of American universities including Northwestern University, Delaware, Houston, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York and Seattle.
Palestinian activist and entrepreneur at Students for Justice in Palestine, Omar Shanti, said that the event aims on exposing the dark Israeli history and systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, in addition to the ongoing oppression and racism policies. The activity will support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement against Israel, in addition to seeking justice for Palestine and ending the Israeli occupation.
Throughout the week, there will be several speakers and activists of different backgrounds and cultures to raise awareness of the issue. Workshops will be held on the Palestinian resistance through cultural heritage, poetry and arts around the world.
Solidarity stands with Palestine will be conducted by setting checkpoints around campuses to explain the Israeli blockade, since about 67 Palestinian mothers between the years 2000-2005 had to deliver their babies on military checkpoints, leading to the death of 36 infants.
The other purpose of the apartheid week involved the ethnic minorities in the US, and the struggle to be free around the world, to achieve justice and equality for the oppressed.
Headlines From Palestine: May 13, 2015
No More Occupation Electricity! West Bank Electricity Grid To Be Connected To Jordan
The occupied West Bank’s electricity grid will be connected to Jordan as part of an initiative to interconnect power usage in the Arab world, the head of the Palestinian Power and Natural Resources Authority said Wednesday.
Israeli Occupation Forces Issue Demolition Order In A Palestinian Village Near Bethlehem
Israeli forces on Wednesday delivered a demolition order for a Palestinian agricultural structure located inside of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, local officials said.
Israeli Occupation Orders Construction On Palestinian Homes Near Bethlehem To Stop
Israeli army Wednesday handed local residents of Beit Iksaria, south of Bethlehem, a notice ordering them to stop the construction work on three homes, as well to demolish an animal barn, under the pretext of ‘unlicensed building’, according to a local official.
Israeli Occupation Orders 18 Palestinians To Be Held Held Captive Without Charges
The Israeli authorities recently issued administrative detention orders against 18 Palestinian prisoners, according to a statement by the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club (PPC).
Obama: Palestinians Deserve End To Indignity Of Occupation (Then STOP Aiding The Occupation)
President Barack Obama says the United States is “taking a hard look” at its approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, telling an Arabic language news source Wednesday that Palestinians “deserve an end to occupation.”
Obama: Palestinians Deserve End To Indignity Of Occupation (Then STOP Aiding The Occupation)
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — President Barack Obama says the United States is “taking a hard look” at its approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, telling an Arabic language news source Wednesday that Palestinians “deserve an end to occupation.”
Talking to the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, President Obama said that he would never give up hope for “peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”
“Palestinians deserve an end to the occupation and the daily indignities that come with it. That’s why we’ve worked so hard over the years for a two-state solution and to develop innovative ways to address Israel’s security and Palestinian sovereignty needs,” he told Asharq al-Aswat.
The US president said that all parties must address the impact of last summer’s military offensive in Gaza and reconnect the coastal territory with the occupied West Bank, in addition to the solving “humanitarian and reconstruction” needs of the territory.
Obama’s remarks come just days after former EU officials urged the regional body to take action in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s construction of a new coalition government.The letter published Sunday reiterated a statement made in April 2014 that the officials now regarded the Oslo-Madrid peace processes as “defunct.”It added: “We are convinced in our own minds that he (Netanyahu) has little intention of negotiating seriously for a two-state solution within the term of this incoming Israeli government.”In the lead up to March’s Knesset elections in Israel, Netanyahu publicly announced there would be no creation of a Palestinian state if he was reelected, while repeatedly vowing to expand settlement activity throughout occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The letter by former EU officials added that, “We… have low confidence that the US Government will be in a position to take a lead on fresh negotiations with the vigor and the impartiality that a two-state outcome demands.”
Lauryn Hill Cancels Israel Show- BDS Win
NEW YORK (AFP) — R&B star Lauryn Hill on Monday canceled a concert in Israel just a few days away, saying she had tried unsuccessfully to perform in the occupied Palestinian territories as well.The former Fugees singer had been scheduled to perform Thursday near Tel Aviv but faced a social media campaign by activists who urged her to boycott Israel over its ongoing military occupation of Palestinian land.Hill said that she had wanted to schedule a second show in Ramallah in the West Bank but that the logistics “proved to be a challenge.”
“I’ve wanted very much to bring our live performance to this part of the world, but also to be a presence supporting justice and peace,” she wrote on her website.”It is very important to me that my presence or message not be misconstrued, or a source of alienation to either my Israeli or my Palestinian fans,” she said.Hill said she would “seek a different strategy to bring my music to ALL of my fans in the region.
“Activists had pressured Hill to cancel, with a campaign that quoted “Killing Me Softly” — a cover song she is famous for — to describe Israeli policies.Israel has faced boycott calls by artists, academics and musicians including Roger Waters and Brian Eno, who hope that such cultural ostracization can change Israeli policies.However, Israel’s defenders have fought against the campaign and plenty of musicians have defied boycott calls to play in Israel in recent years including Paul McCartney and Elton John.Hill came to prominence in the mid-1990s with the Fugees, who also featured Haitian American Wyclef Jean and incorporated elements of hip-hop and Caribbean music into R&B.The Library of Congress recently inducted “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” — her introspective 1998 solo album, written while pregnant — into the National Recording Registry of important works.After the album, Hill decided to drop out of the public eye. She later re-emerged with a variety of side projects and served a brief prison term over tax evasion.
The Palestinian civil society campaign for BDS calls for applying broad boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) initiatives against Israel, similar to those applied to South Africa during the apartheid era, until Israel meets its obligations under international law by respecting the basic right of the Palestinian people to self determination.
Ma’an staff contributed to this report.
US Supporting War Crimes: US Court Rejects Lawsuit Against Charity Funding Of Illegal Settlements
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The US Court of Appeals in New York has rejected an appeal from a group of 13 Palestinians seeking damages for alleged “terrorist attacks” by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, Israeli media reported Friday.The complaint was filed against US-based charities that financially support settlements, alleging that such support leads to terrorist activity and is in violation of US anti-terrorism laws, reported Israeli news source Jewish Telegraphic Agency.The USA Patriot Act enacted in October 2001 prohibits citizens from “knowingly providing material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.” Plaintiffs in the case argued that charities were financially supporting terrorist activity by funding settlers who have carried out acts of violence against Palestinians and their land, and desecrated houses of prayer.Charities accused in the case included Christian Friends of Israeli Communities, the Hebron Fund, Central Fund of Israel, One Israel Fund and American Friends of Ateret Cohanim.After District Judge Jesse Furman initially rejected the case last year, the appeal was rejected again this week by a panel of appellate judges.”American federal judges recognize the difference between the financing of murder and violence… and legitimate bona fide financial support of the daily needs of peaceful Israeli settlements over the Green Line,” Israeli Haaretz quoted attorney Nathan Lewin, who represented the charities in the trials.
Privately funded violence
The dismissal of the case is a setback for those fighting to shed light on private US funding that is currently helping to sustain illegal settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, as well as the violence that results from it.While the U.S. government has condemned ongoing settlement expansion, its citizens have been able to freely donate millions to the illegal enclaves.The New York Times identified at least 40 American groups in 2010 that had collected over $200 million in tax-deductible gifts for Jewish settlement in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank over the last decade.Israeli watchdog Americans for Peace Now have long fought against tax-exempt donations to settlements.
Among other criticisms, the groups point out that IRS regulations exempting charities from tax deduction define a charitable organization as one that “includes relief of the poor and distressed or of the underprivileged; advancement of religion; advancement of education or science; erection or maintenance of public buildings, monuments, or works; lessening of the burdens of government; promotion of social welfare.”Such a definition does not extend to charities funneling funds to the Jewish-only settlements of the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, the group argues, and such donations should not be tax-exempt.The court ruling on the 13 Palestinians’ appeal is only the latest example of a number of cases in which Israeli settlers have gained legal backing from the US government for illegal practices.Attacks carried out with impunityHuman rights groups in Israel and the Palestinian Territories have long fought for effective Israeli law enforcement against the type of violent acts committed by Israeli settlers that the 13 Palestinians were drawing attention to.Such acts are often termed “price-tag attacks,” and are carried out to retaliate perceived pressure from both Israeli and foreign governments against settlements, most often with Palestinian civilians as their victims.
They are nearly always carried out with impunity from the law.Following price-tag attacks on Vatican-owned offices in occupied East Jerusalem in May 2014, Israeli Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch said the government planned to begin using administrative detention against suspected extremists.Although Israeli police had made scores of arrests before that time, there had been few successful prosecutions for price-tag attacks and the government was facing mounting pressure to authorize the Shin Bet internal security agency to step in.The US State Department’s Country Reports on Terrorism discussed price-tag attacks for the first time in 2013, citing UN figures of some “399 attacks by extremist Israeli settlers that resulted in Palestinian injuries or property damage.”The report said such attacks were “largely unprosecuted.”
Headlines From Palestine: April 21, 2015
Three Palestinians Wounded in Israeli Occupation Raid on Nablus
At least three Palestinian residents of Nablus were injured predawn Tuesday during an Israeli army raid on the city, security sources reported.
Israeli Extremists Uproot 450 Palestinian Olive Trees in Salfit, West Bank
Israeli settlers have entered Salfit from Immanuel settlement annexing Deir Istiya village, Tuesday morning have uprooted 450 olive trees planted by Palestinian farmers.
Israeli Occupation Forces Detain Four Palestinians, Summon Three Others from Bethlehem, Hebron
Israeli forces detained early Tuesday four Palestinians and summoned four others from Hebron and Bethlehem, said security sources and a local activist.
Israeli Occupation to Demolish Residential Tents, Animal Barn near Hebron
The Israeli authorities Tuesday notified a local resident of Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, of their intent to demolish his private-owned residential tents and an animal barn, according to local sources.
Palestinian Police Thwart Attempt To Steal Bethlehem Banksy Mural
Bethlehem’s local municipality is seeking protection for 12 known artworks by British graffiti artist Banksy across the city, after police thwarted an attempt to steal one of them.
PLO Welcomes EU Labeling of Settlement Goods And Products
Israeli Occupation President And PM Refuse To Meet Jimmy Carter
President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have rejected a request from former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to meet during the latter’s visit to Israel in the coming weeks, a senior official in Jerusalem told Haaretz
Headlines From Palestine: Prisoner’s Day April 17, 2015
14 Year Old Palestinian Khaled Al–Sheikh Released After 4 Months Of Captivity In Israeli Prisons
Hamas parliament imposes additional 10% tax on businessmen importing goods into Gaza
‘Thousands’ Of Palestinian Homes Threatened With Demolition By Israeli Occupation
“Where will we go,” asks eight-year-old Tiba Qeren, saying goodbye to the family home that, like those of many other Palestinian citizens of Israel, is condemned to demolition for failing to meet planning rules.
Israeli Occupation illegally confiscated (stole) 2 Palestinian owned construction cranes yesterday near Nablus, West Bank, Palestine
7 Palestinians Injured By Occupation Forces During Protest Near Ramallah
Seven Palestinians were injured with rubber-coated steel bullets during clashes with Israeli soldiers following a march by prisoners’ rights groups near Ofer jail in Beitunia on Thursday.
Israel’s War On Truth: 20 Palestinian Journalists Being Held In Israeli Prisons
Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian journalist on Wednesday after raiding his home in Nablus, bringing the total number of journalists imprisoned by Israel to 20.
Palestinian Factions Condemn Israeli Occupation Prison Conditions For Palestinian Prisoner
Palestinian political factions on Thursday condemned “aggressive policies” against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, a week after the death of Jaafar Ibrahim Awad, 22.
Palestinian Mother To Serve 2 Years In Israeli Occupation Prison Following House Arrest
A Palestinian mother of six arrived at Israel’s Ramla jail on Wednesday to serve the remainder of her prison sentence, after spending 38 months under house arrest.
PLO: Israeli Occupation Must End Captivity Of Palestinian People
Senior PLO official Hanan Ashrawi on Friday marked Palestinian Prisoner’s Day by demanding that Israel end its “captivity” of the Palestinian people under occupation.
Fearing sanctions? US & Israel sign 10yr agreement: US will provide Israel with oil if Israel not able to acquire it on International market
Religious Equality? Not In Israel. Town Cancels Christian Baptism Ceremony
Residents, officials, chief rabbi and Yad L’Achim succeed in blocking missionary baptism of Jews, after it was already thwarted once.
Occupied: Headlines From Palestine 