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Apartheid looks like this

Jonathan Cook 23 February 2007


The scene: a military checkpoint deep in Palestinian territory in the West Bank. A tall, thin elderly man, walking stick in hand, makes a detour past the line of Palestinians, many of them young men, waiting obediently behind concrete barriers for permission from an Israeli soldier to leave one Palestinian area, the city of Nablus, to enter another Palestinian area, the neighbouring village of Huwara. The long queue is moving slowly, the soldier taking his time to check each person’s papers. The old man heads off purposefully down a parallel but empty lane reserved for vehicle inspections. A young soldier controlling the human traffic spots him and orders him back in line. The old man stops, fixes the soldier with a stare and refuses. 

Weekly Report of Human Rights Violations

22 February 2007


During the reporting period, 12 Palestinian civilians, including two journalists and 5 children, and an Israeli solidarity activist, were wounded by the IOF gunfire in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In the West Bank, 11 Palestinian civilians, including 5 children and two journalists, were wounded by the IOF gunfire. On 15 February 2007, a Palestinian civilian was wounded when IOF fired at a number of Palestinian demonstrators. On the same day, a Palestinian child was wounded in ‘Azzoun village in similar circumstances. On 16 February 2007, a Palestinian civilian and a journalist were wounded when IOF fired at demonstrations. 

Death and injuries in weapons misuse

22 February 2007


PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 16:30 on Wednesday, 21 February 2007, Adham Atallah Sha’ath, a 25-year resident of Gaza City, was killed by a bullet in the back. Ahmad Khader El-Shamali (23) was injured by a bullet in the right foot. They were hit when bullets were accidentally fired from a firearm they mishandled in Johr El-Deek village, southeast of Gaza City. They were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where Sha’ath was pronounced dead upon arrival and transferred to the forensic medicine department in Shifa Hospital. El-Shamali’s injury was listed as moderate. 

Travel restrictions imposed on human rights advocate

23 February 2007


As a Palestinian organisation dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Al-Haq would like to call your attention to the severe travel restrictions that have been imposed on its General Director, and longstanding human rights defender, Shawan Jabarin. Mr. Jabarin’s case is illustrative of the numerous difficulties faced by human rights defenders who volunteer or work with non-governmental organisations in the OPT. The Israeli authorities have refused to grant Mr. Jabarin permission to travel abroad. 

Day of Action Against Indigo Books and Music Inc.

Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid 23 February 2007


Chanting “Fight the power, turn the page: Heather, Jerry, hear our rage!”, one hundred and fifty protesters marched from the Israeli consulate to a nearby Indigo Books and Music store in Toronto on Saturday afternoon. They were protesting Indigo’s majority shareholders’ support for Israeli Apartheid. The day of action was organized by the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) as the culmination of the third annual Israeli Apartheid Week. Israeli Apartheid Week was a series of lectures held on campuses in Canada (Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa), the UK (Oxford, Cambridge), and the US (New York) to highlight Israel’s apartheid policies. 

Growing poverty, unemployment threaten Palestinians' ability to feed their families

22 February 2007


Rising unemployment, poverty and “economic suffocation” in the occupied Palestinian territory are posing acute challenges to food security, leaving many families entirely dependent on outside aid as well as threatening vital sectors of the Palestinian economy, United Nations agencies warned today. “The poorest families are now living a meagre existence totally reliant on assistance, with no electricity or heating and eating food prepared with water from bad sources. This is putting their long-term health at risk,” UN World Food Programme territory Director Arnold Vercken said. 

Palestinian Security Forces Under Attack

22 February 2007


As a human rights organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Al-Haq is gravely concerned by the killing of two Palestinian security officers in the Bitouniya neighbourhood of Ramallah on 2 February 2007. After thorough investigation, Al-Haq has learned that at approximately 2:45 am on that morning, a resident of al-Dik building heard someone attempting to open the door of his fourth-floor apartment. Upon receiving no reply when he inquired as to the identity of the intruders, the resident called the Palestinian Preventative Security Forces. 

Cluster Bomb Victims Push for Ban

Tarjei Kidd Olsen 22 February 2007


OSLO, Norway, Feb 22 (IPS) - As Branislav Kapetanovic brushes aside some grass to get a better view, his arms and legs are ripped off by a cluster bomb dropped by NATO. His eardrums burst. On the way to hospital his heart stops, but he survives to tell the tale. Four years and more than 20 surgical operations later, he recounted the fateful day to delegates at a large non-governmental organisation and civil society forum in Oslo Wednesday. In his wheelchair, gesticulating with stumps where hands and arms once were, Kapetanovic laid out the case against cluster bombs. 

DJ Revolutions: Spinning Beats for Freedom

Ismail Khalidi 22 February 2007


With the announcement earlier this month that the British group Massive Attack was holding a series of concerts in London to support Palestinian refugee communities was another piece of good news: that Checkpoint 303 was going to be performing a DJ set to open the three benefit shows. The international group of DJs or SCs (“Sound Catchers” and “Sound Cutters”) and musicians that make up Checkpoint 303 has quietly been bringing the noise on the internet by unleashing wickedly original sound tapestries and instrumentals (free of charge) on their website, www.checkpoint303.com for over two years now. 

Gaza power supply under pressure

22 February 2007


The Gaza Strip in the Occupied Palestinian Territories continues to suffer daily power cuts eight months after Israel bombed its only power station, leaving health services relying on expensive generators and residents without regular electricity or water. The cuts have continued despite new transformers being installed in November 2006 at the privately owned Gaza Power Generating Company (GPGC) power station. All six of the original transformers were destroyed by Israeli warplanes days after Palestinian militants kidnapped an Israeli soldier last June.