Jillian Kestler-D’Amours

Hundreds of Palestinian and Syrian refugees marched yesterday from Syrian-controlled territory to the occupied Golan Heights to mark Naksa Day. Jillian Kestler-D’Amours interviews Salman Fakhreddin, a rights activist in the Golan Heights, on the significance of yesterday’s march.

As thousands of right-wing Israeli settlers descended on Jerusalem to celebrate the so-called unification of the city this week, Palestinian residents of occupied East Jerusalem were confronted by extreme provocations and the stark reality that their city remains very much divided.

As nationalist parties and festivals were held throughout Israel to mark the country’s Independence Day on 10 May, several thousand Palestinians and their supporters held a commemoration of their own in the Galilee, demanding the right to return to their ancestral villages and homes.

As plans to demolish a Palestinian Bedouin village to make way for a new, Jewish-only town move forward in the Negev desert, the Bedouin residents have submitted a motion for the right to appeal to the Israeli high court.

A new Israeli parliamentary (Knesset) bill that would give direct control of national parks to private organizations is causing alarm amidst Jerusalem-area activists.

Last week, Israeli forces raided the West Bank home of Suha Barghouti, arresting her husband, activist and writer Ahmad Qatamesh. Qatamesh was a political prisoner in the 1990s and was the longest-serving prisoner held without charge by Israel under administrative detention orders.

The Electronic Intifada contributor Jillian Kestler-D’Amours spoke with Muhammad Totah on the 289th day of his refugee at the Red Cross headquarters in East Jerusalem about why he has refused Israel’s orders to leave the city.

The Israeli government has been increasingly revoking Jerusalem residency IDs and using tax collection as a means of forcing Palestinians out of the city. Jillian Kestler-D’Amours reports.

Palestinian activist Jawad Siyam has been under house arrest for nearly three months after being accused of attacking a Palestinian neighbor in the occupied East Jerusalem village of Silwan. Jillian Kestler-D’Amours spoke to Siyam about his recent arrest, what life is like for Palestinians in Silwan, and what he thinks will happen in the future.

A bill was passed by the Israeli Knesset (parliament) last week which calls on the government to deny funding to any organization, institution or municipality that commemorates the founding of the Israeli state as a day of mourning.