American peace activist Ann Petter who has been detained for 14 days at Ben Gurion airport, appeared today before Judge Oded Mudrik at Tel Aviv District Court. Petter was charged with being a security threat to the State of Israel. Judge Mudrik postponed the decision on Petter’s case until Thursday, July 8, 2004 at 11:30 a.m. in Tel Aviv District Court. Petter is a 44-year old graphic designer from New York who planned to attend a nonviolent peace march organized by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Judge Mudrik refused to release Petter from detention while the decision is pending. Read more about U.S. Peace Activist Remains in Detention After Hearing
It had been planned meticulously. The initiative came from the Al-Ram municipality — a huge demonstration including as many Israelis as could be convinced to come on the weekend before the Supreme Court’s decision over the fate of Al-Ram. But, from how it went it seems that somebody up there decided that it was not in their interest to have today an orderly demonstration of Palestinians together with Israelis. That, so short before the Supreme Court was to give its decision, it was much better to transform it into something in which “anything could happen.” Read more about Report of the June 26 Al-Ram demo against the Wall
A member of Britain’s House of Lords said Saturday that Israeli soldiers shot at her and two other lawmakers during a fact-finding visit to Gaza the day before. Baroness Northover, the Liberal Democrat party’s spokeswoman on international development issues, said the group was traveling under U.N. supervision near the Rafah refugee camp Friday when soldiers in an Israeli observation post fired machine guns over their heads. A large number of children were nearby, she said. The group then moved closer to marked U.N. vehicles and another shot hit a building next to them, chipping off pieces of masonry near Northover, she said in a statement. Read more about British lawmaker alleges Israeli soldiers fired at group during visit to Gaza
Irish American political activist Ken O’Keefe is on hunger strike in an Israeli jail whilst fighting deportation after being arrested for attempting to enter Gaza on Thursday. Last year, the former US Marine and Gulf War veteran returned to Iraq with more than 500 Human Shields. After entering Gaza via a settlement, he was detained by 10 Israeli soldiers whilst walking along the beach into the Palestinian area. O’Keefe wished to strengthen his contact with Palestinian militant groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas, and personally discuss with leaders in Gaza his P10K plan to bring 10,000 western citizens to act as international observers in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. Read more about P10K Founder on Hunger Strike in Israeli Jail for attempting to enter Gaza
On June 1, 2004, in Washington, D.C., a delegation of prominent national Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders, members of an unprecedented united, interreligious effort for peace between Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab states, met with Secretary of State Powell to present an urgent appeal for immediate U.S. action to pursue the Road Map to Peace. Recalling President Bush’s recent declaration that, “the United States remains committed to the two state solution for peace in the Middle East … and to the Road Map as the best path to realize this vision,” the religious leaders express their urgent concern that “the Road Map has effectively been put on hold until after the elections.” Read more about Delegation of prominent religious leaders deliver urgent appeal for peace to Powell
Ex-US Marine/Gulf War Veteran & Founder of the Human Shield Action to Iraq Ken O’Keefe announces P10KFORCE’ plan to Mobilize 10,000 International Observers from Western Nations to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) — Launching September 11, 2004. Press conference details — When: Wednesday June 9th, 1300 1300-1330, Questions 1330-End. Where: American Colony Hotel - East Jerusalem. Who: Ken O’Keefe, Ian Hodgson (P10K Coordinator), Rihab Aisawi (who has lost three loved ones to the occupation). Read more about P10K: 10,000 international observers needed in Palestine
We must again note that CNN’s reporting of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not all bad. But, once again, here is a report that employs terminology to describe land — the central issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — that comes straight from the Israeli lexicon. The language of this report suggests that the status of West Bank land is unclear, that it is “disputed”. The status of this land is anything but unclear and is defined by international law as occupied territory, regardless of the views of Israel or CNN. Read more about CNN goes where few have dared to go, adopting Israel's "disputed" territories terminology
“As they mourn today’s anniversary of the birth of Israel, Palestinians find themselves living through a new disaster, a mismatched struggle with the Jewish state that threatens what they have accomplished in the past eight years.” — from “A Bitter Sense of Deja Vu for Palestinians,” by MARYCURTIUS, Los Angeles Times.
Of course Palestinians are not mourning the birth of Israel, but the uprooting of 800,000 Palestinans from their land in the Nakba. Read more about Nakba widely misrepresented as an anti-Israeli protest instead of a Palestinian commemoration
Following our April 12th Action Item #11, CNN yet again portrayed the Israeli occupation as a Palestinian point of view, in a April 26th report titled, “Israel celebrates independence, Palestinians mourn deaths”: “But the Palestinians blame Israel for the violence, saying they employ heavy-handed methods to control Palestinian protesters — and that the presence of Israeli troops in the West Bank and Gaza amounts to an occupation of Palestinian territory.” Read more about CNN refers to the West Bank and Gaza Strip as part of Israel
