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Rick Clark
Shared publicly -Feeling Helpless: Palestinian children at the Rafah crossing last week.
Said Khatib/AFP
"You feel totally helpless, faced with this bureaucracy."
Walid Wafi, a Gazan who is trying to travel to Egypt.
Jordan joins Israel in clamping down on Palestinian transit visas
Gazans have given up on crossing into Egypt via Rafah, but now the alternative of traveling via Jordan is in many cases no longer an option for them – or other Palestinians seeking to travel abroad.
Jordanian lawmaker asks government to clarify denial of transit visas for Palestinians
Israel bars BDS founder Omar Barghouti from travel abroad
Israel to let Gazans leave via West Bank - as long they don't return for at least 12 months
Walid Wafi and his wife, who are in their sixties, have been waiting for weeks to leave the Gaza Strip and travel to Cairo to organize a wedding for their daughter who lives there. The family cannot set a date for the event because they have no idea when they’ll be able to cross the border into #Egypt – and if they do, when they’ll be able to return.
Wafi, who works in construction, says that going to Egypt via the Rafah crossing is difficult because it’s closed most of the time; even if he does succeed in entering the country, he will have to return home the same way and doesn't know how many days or weeks that might take.
In early 2013, the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt served as an alternative for Gaza residents who wanted to leave Gaza. On average, Gazans recorded some 40,000 entries and exits during the early months of 2013. Since then, the Rafah crossing has been closed more and more frequently, and in the past few months it was open only for three days, and less than 4,000 people and entered and left through the crossing.
Wafi’s second option would be going from Gaza to #Ben-Gurion International Airport and flying from there to Cairo, but that’s impossible because Israel grants Gazans such permission only under urgent humanitarian circumstances.
The most realistic option would be for the couple to go from the Erez crossing to the Allenby checkpoint at the Jordanian border, to travel to Amman, and from there fly to Cairo. But for that to be possible they need a special transit visa from Jordan, without which neither Israel nor Jordan will let them make the trip. And for months now, Jordan has been very stingy with these visas, known in Arabic as “non-impediment” permits; as a result, thousands of Palestinians in the territories who are seeking to travel abroad via Jordan are basically trapped.
Many Gaza residents who want to leave, whether for humanitarian reasons or for their studies, have used the Erez crossing at the northeast end of the Gaza Strip. From there they traveled to the Allenby Bridge and crossed into Jordan, and flew to other countries via the airport in Amman.
Over the past few months, the Jordanians have made it more difficult for Palestinians from Gaza to receive an entry permit into Jordan, and many have been left with no solution for leaving Gaza, said Palestinian sources in the Gaza and the West Bank.
The number of Palestinians leaving Gaza through the #Erez crossing and traveling to Jordan from there has actually risen in recent months, as well as the number of those returning, but this increase is mostly testimony to the great demand to leave Gaza for foreign countries in light of the steep drop in the use of the Rafah crossing.
“This is an impossible situation and you feel totally helpless, faced with this bureaucracy,” Wafi says. “For me to go to #Cairo could take half a day if everything was open, but nowadays I have to take a circuitous route across the Middle East just to meet my daughter, and now there’s another unexplained obstacle on the Jordanian side.”
Hiba Almajaida, a resident of Khan Yunis, has a 7-year-old son who lives with his father in Holland, whom she is longing to see. Over the past year she has been unable to leave the Strip because Jordan won’t give her the transit visa allowing her to fly to Holland from Amman. “My visa to Holland is waiting at the Dutch representative’s office in #Ramallah but without the non-impediment permit, I can’t leave the Strip. I haven’t seen my son for two years and I just don’t know what to do.”
Jordan issues the non-impediment permits to Palestinians with blue identity cards – i.e., Palestinian residents of Gaza or the West Bank with origins in other #Arab or #Muslim countries, whose families never lived in the West Bank before 1967, when it was under Jordanian control. Those with green ID cards, whose families did reside in the West Bank before 1967, don’t need the permits, nor do Palestinians who are Jordanian citizens.
Subject to security checks, the Jordanian Interior Ministry used to routinely issue these transit visas to Gazans seeking to reach foreign countries via Jordan. Since August, however, private individuals, as well as lawyers and members of human rights groups, have found that requests are being rebuffed by Jordan with no explanation.
Mashour Abu Daka, the former Palestinian communications minister, is trying to persuade the Jordanians to change their policy, which he said has no discernible justification. “People are getting refused with no explanation. We don’t know why,” he said, adding that some 50,000 West Bank residents are blue-card holders, along with nearly all the residents of Gaza.
Daka, and others who spoke to #Haaretz, said that if Rafah is closed and the Jordanians aren’t issuing transit permits, then Israel has to take responsibility for the situation.
“In the end Israel controls the crossings between Gaza and the West Bank and doesn’t permit the building of a seaport or airport [in Gaza], so it’s obligated to provide solutions. If Israel would allow Palestinians with blue cards to leave via Ben-Gurion it would make things much easier,” he asserted.
Israeli officials said that for security reasons, the airport is generally off-limits to Palestinians, but if a special request is received to leave the country via the airport, it is evaluated and a decision is made based on the specific circumstances.
Palestinian government officials are aware of the problem, but have not received any official explanation for the toughening of Jordanian policy. But sources in Ramallah say that one reason is Amman’s unwillingness to bear the brunt of Egypt’s decision to keep the #Rafah crossing closed. Palestinian sources also point to diplomatic tensions between Jordan and the Palestinian Authority over the past few months.
It should be noted that during that time, Israel has been making exceptions with respect to its regulations and has allowed up to 100 Gazans per week to enter Israel and traverse the West Bank, so they can cross into Jordan to proceed elsewhere. These are primarily students and businessmen who have a visa to a third country or a foreign passport. According to Human Rights Watch, #Jordan has been allowing such people to enter the country.
But in general, there has been a sharp increase in the number of persons being refused visas by Amman. The Gisha organization, which helps Gaza residents seeking Israeli permission to travel, says it does not know of cases of persons who were refused visas by Jordan before last August. Between August and January, however, 58 individuals sought the group’s help because Amman had either refused to issue them a transit visa or hadn’t responded to their request.
Both international and #Palestinian educational institutions have reported that they have not been able to get Jordanian travel visas for students or faculty members; senior businessmen have also been refused.
Human Rights Watch recently asked Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour to ease the transit of Gazans, emphasizing that #Amman must show transparency in its decisions and ensure that they aren’t arbitrary, and also take into account the rights of those affected by its decisions.
Haaretz approached the Jordanian Embassy in Israel with questions about the permit refusals and noted the Human Rights Watch request, but received no response by press time.
The response of the Coordinator of Government Activity in the territories: “The civil policy of the State of Israel toward the #Gaza Strip allows Gaza residents to depart for destinations abroad via Israel and the Allenby Bridge for certain reasons, primarily humanitarian and medical, as well as academic studies abroad. Special requests to leave via Ben-Gurion International Airport are examined and approved in accordance with the circumstances. We note that since the beginning of 2015, more than 300 students were allowed to leave for studies abroad via #Israel.”
Said Khatib/AFP
"You feel totally helpless, faced with this bureaucracy."
Walid Wafi, a Gazan who is trying to travel to Egypt.
Jordan joins Israel in clamping down on Palestinian transit visas
Gazans have given up on crossing into Egypt via Rafah, but now the alternative of traveling via Jordan is in many cases no longer an option for them – or other Palestinians seeking to travel abroad.
Jordanian lawmaker asks government to clarify denial of transit visas for Palestinians
Israel bars BDS founder Omar Barghouti from travel abroad
Israel to let Gazans leave via West Bank - as long they don't return for at least 12 months
Walid Wafi and his wife, who are in their sixties, have been waiting for weeks to leave the Gaza Strip and travel to Cairo to organize a wedding for their daughter who lives there. The family cannot set a date for the event because they have no idea when they’ll be able to cross the border into #Egypt – and if they do, when they’ll be able to return.
Wafi, who works in construction, says that going to Egypt via the Rafah crossing is difficult because it’s closed most of the time; even if he does succeed in entering the country, he will have to return home the same way and doesn't know how many days or weeks that might take.
In early 2013, the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt served as an alternative for Gaza residents who wanted to leave Gaza. On average, Gazans recorded some 40,000 entries and exits during the early months of 2013. Since then, the Rafah crossing has been closed more and more frequently, and in the past few months it was open only for three days, and less than 4,000 people and entered and left through the crossing.
Wafi’s second option would be going from Gaza to #Ben-Gurion International Airport and flying from there to Cairo, but that’s impossible because Israel grants Gazans such permission only under urgent humanitarian circumstances.
The most realistic option would be for the couple to go from the Erez crossing to the Allenby checkpoint at the Jordanian border, to travel to Amman, and from there fly to Cairo. But for that to be possible they need a special transit visa from Jordan, without which neither Israel nor Jordan will let them make the trip. And for months now, Jordan has been very stingy with these visas, known in Arabic as “non-impediment” permits; as a result, thousands of Palestinians in the territories who are seeking to travel abroad via Jordan are basically trapped.
Many Gaza residents who want to leave, whether for humanitarian reasons or for their studies, have used the Erez crossing at the northeast end of the Gaza Strip. From there they traveled to the Allenby Bridge and crossed into Jordan, and flew to other countries via the airport in Amman.
Over the past few months, the Jordanians have made it more difficult for Palestinians from Gaza to receive an entry permit into Jordan, and many have been left with no solution for leaving Gaza, said Palestinian sources in the Gaza and the West Bank.
The number of Palestinians leaving Gaza through the #Erez crossing and traveling to Jordan from there has actually risen in recent months, as well as the number of those returning, but this increase is mostly testimony to the great demand to leave Gaza for foreign countries in light of the steep drop in the use of the Rafah crossing.
“This is an impossible situation and you feel totally helpless, faced with this bureaucracy,” Wafi says. “For me to go to #Cairo could take half a day if everything was open, but nowadays I have to take a circuitous route across the Middle East just to meet my daughter, and now there’s another unexplained obstacle on the Jordanian side.”
Hiba Almajaida, a resident of Khan Yunis, has a 7-year-old son who lives with his father in Holland, whom she is longing to see. Over the past year she has been unable to leave the Strip because Jordan won’t give her the transit visa allowing her to fly to Holland from Amman. “My visa to Holland is waiting at the Dutch representative’s office in #Ramallah but without the non-impediment permit, I can’t leave the Strip. I haven’t seen my son for two years and I just don’t know what to do.”
Jordan issues the non-impediment permits to Palestinians with blue identity cards – i.e., Palestinian residents of Gaza or the West Bank with origins in other #Arab or #Muslim countries, whose families never lived in the West Bank before 1967, when it was under Jordanian control. Those with green ID cards, whose families did reside in the West Bank before 1967, don’t need the permits, nor do Palestinians who are Jordanian citizens.
Subject to security checks, the Jordanian Interior Ministry used to routinely issue these transit visas to Gazans seeking to reach foreign countries via Jordan. Since August, however, private individuals, as well as lawyers and members of human rights groups, have found that requests are being rebuffed by Jordan with no explanation.
Mashour Abu Daka, the former Palestinian communications minister, is trying to persuade the Jordanians to change their policy, which he said has no discernible justification. “People are getting refused with no explanation. We don’t know why,” he said, adding that some 50,000 West Bank residents are blue-card holders, along with nearly all the residents of Gaza.
Daka, and others who spoke to #Haaretz, said that if Rafah is closed and the Jordanians aren’t issuing transit permits, then Israel has to take responsibility for the situation.
“In the end Israel controls the crossings between Gaza and the West Bank and doesn’t permit the building of a seaport or airport [in Gaza], so it’s obligated to provide solutions. If Israel would allow Palestinians with blue cards to leave via Ben-Gurion it would make things much easier,” he asserted.
Israeli officials said that for security reasons, the airport is generally off-limits to Palestinians, but if a special request is received to leave the country via the airport, it is evaluated and a decision is made based on the specific circumstances.
Palestinian government officials are aware of the problem, but have not received any official explanation for the toughening of Jordanian policy. But sources in Ramallah say that one reason is Amman’s unwillingness to bear the brunt of Egypt’s decision to keep the #Rafah crossing closed. Palestinian sources also point to diplomatic tensions between Jordan and the Palestinian Authority over the past few months.
It should be noted that during that time, Israel has been making exceptions with respect to its regulations and has allowed up to 100 Gazans per week to enter Israel and traverse the West Bank, so they can cross into Jordan to proceed elsewhere. These are primarily students and businessmen who have a visa to a third country or a foreign passport. According to Human Rights Watch, #Jordan has been allowing such people to enter the country.
But in general, there has been a sharp increase in the number of persons being refused visas by Amman. The Gisha organization, which helps Gaza residents seeking Israeli permission to travel, says it does not know of cases of persons who were refused visas by Jordan before last August. Between August and January, however, 58 individuals sought the group’s help because Amman had either refused to issue them a transit visa or hadn’t responded to their request.
Both international and #Palestinian educational institutions have reported that they have not been able to get Jordanian travel visas for students or faculty members; senior businessmen have also been refused.
Human Rights Watch recently asked Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour to ease the transit of Gazans, emphasizing that #Amman must show transparency in its decisions and ensure that they aren’t arbitrary, and also take into account the rights of those affected by its decisions.
Haaretz approached the Jordanian Embassy in Israel with questions about the permit refusals and noted the Human Rights Watch request, but received no response by press time.
The response of the Coordinator of Government Activity in the territories: “The civil policy of the State of Israel toward the #Gaza Strip allows Gaza residents to depart for destinations abroad via Israel and the Allenby Bridge for certain reasons, primarily humanitarian and medical, as well as academic studies abroad. Special requests to leave via Ben-Gurion International Airport are examined and approved in accordance with the circumstances. We note that since the beginning of 2015, more than 300 students were allowed to leave for studies abroad via #Israel.”
Gazans have given up on crossing into Egypt via Rafah, but now the alternative of traveling via Jordan is in many cases no longer an option for them – or other Palestinians seeking to travel abroad.
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Sibby
Shared publicly -Nakba Remembrance Day - The key has become a symbol of the #Palestinian struggle for the Right of Return – a universal right granted by the Fourth #Geneva Convention – in violation by the #Jewish State for 64 years.
Today, May 15 is the Palestinian Nakba Remembrance Day. It commemorates the massacring, uprooting, expulsion and plunder of the native Palestinians in a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing orchestrated by war criminal David Ben Gurion and his #Zionist gang against a defenseless civilian population. This massive act of terror carried out by Zionist immigrants resulted in the expulsion of 80% of Palestine’s native population, whose villages were subsequently razed to the ground and their property and lands confiscated by the illegitimate state of Israel. They have lived as destitute, stateless refugees ever since in refugee camps scattered in and around Palestine.
The ethnic cleansing by Jewish forces has also demonstrated to the people of the #MiddleEast that the Zionist colonial invader from #Europe is unlike any other before him – he does not abide by the laws of warfare or the common brotherhood of mankind. He targets the entire Palestinian people, not an army or armed forces. Unlike the countless empires and conquerors who extended their rule over #Palestine over the ages, the Zionist aims to clear the land for a Jewish Lebensraum. He views the natives of the land as no more than weeds that need to be eradicated in his quest to erase the people and the history of Palestine. He rapes, massacres, razes villages and towns to the ground, confiscates and plunders property and covers his murderous track by planting forests over his victim’s remains. Then he continues his coverup by falsifying history, lying, distorting and omitting facts, subverting the truth and creating a fantasy alibi tale which he narrates to the world using his connections and influence in the West.
The #Nakba is not just history, it is a living breathing thing, the heart of the Palestinian struggle and the root of the conflict. There will not be peace without an acknowledgement, compensation and / or the right of return. Moreover, the Zionists have not changed their ways one iota. The new Barbarians of the Middle East still plunder, confiscate, imprison, deport and kill under various pretexts. They deny the Palestinian #Nakba and continue to this day to dispossess and oppress the remaining Palestinians, hoping to implement a Final Solution under the fog of war, like their European mentors.
Let it also be a reminder of #Western colonial mores and their world order, that which sends people to jail for the thought crime of Holocaust denial, yet unequivocally supports and arms the perpetrators of the Palestinian #Holocaust who never admitted their responsibility, have not paid a dime in reparations and have made Nakba denial an official policy.
Today, May 15 is the Palestinian Nakba Remembrance Day. It commemorates the massacring, uprooting, expulsion and plunder of the native Palestinians in a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing orchestrated by war criminal David Ben Gurion and his #Zionist gang against a defenseless civilian population. This massive act of terror carried out by Zionist immigrants resulted in the expulsion of 80% of Palestine’s native population, whose villages were subsequently razed to the ground and their property and lands confiscated by the illegitimate state of Israel. They have lived as destitute, stateless refugees ever since in refugee camps scattered in and around Palestine.
The ethnic cleansing by Jewish forces has also demonstrated to the people of the #MiddleEast that the Zionist colonial invader from #Europe is unlike any other before him – he does not abide by the laws of warfare or the common brotherhood of mankind. He targets the entire Palestinian people, not an army or armed forces. Unlike the countless empires and conquerors who extended their rule over #Palestine over the ages, the Zionist aims to clear the land for a Jewish Lebensraum. He views the natives of the land as no more than weeds that need to be eradicated in his quest to erase the people and the history of Palestine. He rapes, massacres, razes villages and towns to the ground, confiscates and plunders property and covers his murderous track by planting forests over his victim’s remains. Then he continues his coverup by falsifying history, lying, distorting and omitting facts, subverting the truth and creating a fantasy alibi tale which he narrates to the world using his connections and influence in the West.
The #Nakba is not just history, it is a living breathing thing, the heart of the Palestinian struggle and the root of the conflict. There will not be peace without an acknowledgement, compensation and / or the right of return. Moreover, the Zionists have not changed their ways one iota. The new Barbarians of the Middle East still plunder, confiscate, imprison, deport and kill under various pretexts. They deny the Palestinian #Nakba and continue to this day to dispossess and oppress the remaining Palestinians, hoping to implement a Final Solution under the fog of war, like their European mentors.
Let it also be a reminder of #Western colonial mores and their world order, that which sends people to jail for the thought crime of Holocaust denial, yet unequivocally supports and arms the perpetrators of the Palestinian #Holocaust who never admitted their responsibility, have not paid a dime in reparations and have made Nakba denial an official policy.
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Israel is a War Criminal
Shared publicly -440 #Palestinian children currently in #Zionist military detention which is the highest total since 2008
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Christopher Poff
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+moshe Kerr How many stupid, untrue epithets and slurs are you going to fling at us this time to justify your lust for abusing other people's children?
Add a comment...
Mishel Here
Shared publicly -
Source: U.S. taxpayers paying ‘salaries’ of jailed Palestinian murderers Norwegian officials calling on the Palestinians to drop a program that uses funding from U.S. and other Western nations’ tax…
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Bennett Ruda
Shared publicly -As I See It: The Vatican Channels War Against Israel
+melanie phillips, +Jerusalem Post
May 14, 2016
...The Vatican this week agreed a treaty with the Palestinians, to cover its interests in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza, which referred to its treaty partners as the “state of Palestine.” A Vatican spokesman said: “Yes, it’s a recognition that the state exists.”
...By supporting this Potemkin Palestine, the Vatican has lined up behind those who disdain international law. In supporting the recognition gambit which tears up the Palestinians’ own treaty obligations under the Oslo Accords, the pope has now openly made Catholics complicit with reneging on promises and shattering bonds of trust.
And where exactly is this state of Palestine the pope has now recognized? For as PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement reiterated on its Facebook page this week (according to Palestinian Media Watch): “Palestine means the entire national land, from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea.” For good measure, the PA’s national security forces declared on Facebook that Mount Tabor was in “occupied Nazareth” and the Hippodrome in Caesarea was in “Palestine.” And of course, the PA’s maps of Palestine include all of Israel.
So it would appear that what the pope has actually recognized and endorsed is the open intention to destroy Israel and replace it by Palestine.
Why has he done this?
Read the whole thing: http://bit.ly/1TxOaJ1
Below: Pope Francis (R) meets PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem May 25, 2014.. (photo credit:REUTERS)
#popefrancis
#abbas
#palestinian
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+melanie phillips, +Jerusalem Post
May 14, 2016
...The Vatican this week agreed a treaty with the Palestinians, to cover its interests in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza, which referred to its treaty partners as the “state of Palestine.” A Vatican spokesman said: “Yes, it’s a recognition that the state exists.”
...By supporting this Potemkin Palestine, the Vatican has lined up behind those who disdain international law. In supporting the recognition gambit which tears up the Palestinians’ own treaty obligations under the Oslo Accords, the pope has now openly made Catholics complicit with reneging on promises and shattering bonds of trust.
And where exactly is this state of Palestine the pope has now recognized? For as PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement reiterated on its Facebook page this week (according to Palestinian Media Watch): “Palestine means the entire national land, from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea.” For good measure, the PA’s national security forces declared on Facebook that Mount Tabor was in “occupied Nazareth” and the Hippodrome in Caesarea was in “Palestine.” And of course, the PA’s maps of Palestine include all of Israel.
So it would appear that what the pope has actually recognized and endorsed is the open intention to destroy Israel and replace it by Palestine.
Why has he done this?
Read the whole thing: http://bit.ly/1TxOaJ1
Below: Pope Francis (R) meets PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem May 25, 2014.. (photo credit:REUTERS)
#popefrancis
#abbas
#palestinian
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The Vatican this week agreed a treaty with the Palestinians, to cover its interests in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza, which referred to its treaty partners as the “state of Palestine.”
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Palestine Works
Shared publicly -#Palestinian #identity gets no voice at #Eurovision song contest : another obstacle to #Self-determination http://muftah.org/eurovision-song-contest-bans-palestinian-flag/#.Vysrw3rFOey
As the flag ban by Eurovision shows, Palestinian national identity is still controversial on a global stage and asserting it is seen as contentious.
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Palestine Communities
Shared publicly -Dissenting Israeli voices that call for a #Palestinian state
#Palestine #Israel #ChristianPalestinianCommunities #PalestineCommunities #CommunitierDigitalNews #CDN
#Palestine #Israel #ChristianPalestinianCommunities #PalestineCommunities #CommunitierDigitalNews #CDN
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Bennett Ruda
Shared publicly -Real Palestinians Tire of Bloody Intifada, as BDS Chickenhawks Cheer it On
It transforms their uninspiring coddled Western lives into something heroic
William A. Jacobson, Legal Insurrection
By now, it is common for supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement on campuses to interrupt speeches and chant “Long Live the Intifada.”
...The Intifada is the bloody campaign of terror launched by Palestinians mostly against Jewish civilians.
The suicide bombing campaign of the Second Intifada killed almost one thousand Israeli civilians, and led to the construction of the security barrier. That security barrier (maliciously called the “Apartheid Wall” by groups like Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace) is now the focus of protests because it is more important to BDS supporters that Palestinians have unfettered access to kill Jews.
The current wave of terror, sometimes called the Third Intifada, the Knife Intifada, or the Stabbing Intifada) is not as bloody as the Second Intifada (yet) because knives can’t kill as many people as bombs. But that may be changing, as a bus was bombed just a few days ago. It was not immediately known if the bomb was planted or a suicide bombing. Police just released the identify of the bomber, who died in the suicide bombing. His family celebrated his death and handed out candies.
Why do BDS activists chant “Long Live the Intifada”? Because they are chickenhawks.
...An interesting thing happened on the way to “Long Live the Intifada” — actual Palestinians, not the Western wannabees, grew tired of it.
The Washington Post reports, After six months of violence, Palestinians wonder: What was gained?:
After six months of attacks by Palestinian youths against Israeli soldiers and civilians, authorities have begun to hope the wave of violence is subsiding.
What did the Palestinians gain?
Funerals, many say...
...There are no illusions here. There still is a large part of Palestinian society that supports Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Islamist armed factions who have brought far more death and destruction to Palestinians than they ever will to Israelis. In that regard, there is little difference between the Western leftists and the Jihadists.
Read the whole thing: http://bit.ly/1VBc2P1
#palestinian
#terrorism
#intifada
#chickenhawks
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It transforms their uninspiring coddled Western lives into something heroic
William A. Jacobson, Legal Insurrection
By now, it is common for supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement on campuses to interrupt speeches and chant “Long Live the Intifada.”
...The Intifada is the bloody campaign of terror launched by Palestinians mostly against Jewish civilians.
The suicide bombing campaign of the Second Intifada killed almost one thousand Israeli civilians, and led to the construction of the security barrier. That security barrier (maliciously called the “Apartheid Wall” by groups like Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace) is now the focus of protests because it is more important to BDS supporters that Palestinians have unfettered access to kill Jews.
The current wave of terror, sometimes called the Third Intifada, the Knife Intifada, or the Stabbing Intifada) is not as bloody as the Second Intifada (yet) because knives can’t kill as many people as bombs. But that may be changing, as a bus was bombed just a few days ago. It was not immediately known if the bomb was planted or a suicide bombing. Police just released the identify of the bomber, who died in the suicide bombing. His family celebrated his death and handed out candies.
Why do BDS activists chant “Long Live the Intifada”? Because they are chickenhawks.
...An interesting thing happened on the way to “Long Live the Intifada” — actual Palestinians, not the Western wannabees, grew tired of it.
The Washington Post reports, After six months of violence, Palestinians wonder: What was gained?:
After six months of attacks by Palestinian youths against Israeli soldiers and civilians, authorities have begun to hope the wave of violence is subsiding.
What did the Palestinians gain?
Funerals, many say...
...There are no illusions here. There still is a large part of Palestinian society that supports Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Islamist armed factions who have brought far more death and destruction to Palestinians than they ever will to Israelis. In that regard, there is little difference between the Western leftists and the Jihadists.
Read the whole thing: http://bit.ly/1VBc2P1
#palestinian
#terrorism
#intifada
#chickenhawks
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It transforms their uninspiring coddled Western lives into something heroic
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Sibby
Shared publicly -Its all about Power & Control to get #Palestinian Angry 71 Squatters & IOF broke into the #AlAqsa this afternoon.
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Tayeeb Hussain
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Satans children.
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Rick Clark
Shared publicly -FREEDOM: Israel releases Palestinian journalist Mohammed al-Qeeq
Mohammed al-Qeeq spent 94 days on hunger strike before reaching deal with Israeli officials in February for his release.
Israel has released a Palestinian activist and journalist who spent three months on hunger strike after being held without trial or charge since November.
Mohammed al-Qeeq, 33, went on hunger strike for 94 days in protest against his treatment by Israeli authorities, before reaching a deal with #Israel in February securing his release.
Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from Ramallah, said Qeeq now had a stronger physical appearance and was walking unaided after his release.
"At one point his wife was saying he was close to death [...] Since then, his health has been recovering," he said.
"He spoke of having secured a victory through his hunder strike, and talked of the fragility that his release showed in the Israeli occupation."
Four days after he was arrested on November 21, 2015, Qeeq decided to begin his strike.
He demanded the #Israeli military either charge or release him from the military detention centre where he was being held.
Israel had accused Qeeq of inciting violence and having links to #Hamas, the Palestinian faction which rules the #Gaza Strip.
However, any intelligence supporting the accusations are classified, and the allegations were never put forward in the form of criminal charges.
Palestinians argue he was persecuted for expressing his opinion.
Qeeq worked as a news reporter for the Saudi-owned TV network Al Majd.
Until his release on Thursday, he was one of 750 Palestinians - including five journalists - being held in Israeli prisons under administrative detention.
The controversial policy permits Palestinians to be held for renewable six-month periods without charge or trial for an indefinite period.
Qeeq had previously been jailed on three occasions for alleged activities linking him to Hamas.
In 2003, he spent a month in prison and the following year he was jailed for 13 months.
In 2008, #Qeeq was jailed for 16 months on charges relating to his activities on the student council at Birzeit University.
At least 70 #Palestinian #prisoners in Israeli prisons are on #hungerstrike.
Mohammed al-Qeeq spent 94 days on hunger strike before reaching deal with Israeli officials in February for his release.
Israel has released a Palestinian activist and journalist who spent three months on hunger strike after being held without trial or charge since November.
Mohammed al-Qeeq, 33, went on hunger strike for 94 days in protest against his treatment by Israeli authorities, before reaching a deal with #Israel in February securing his release.
Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from Ramallah, said Qeeq now had a stronger physical appearance and was walking unaided after his release.
"At one point his wife was saying he was close to death [...] Since then, his health has been recovering," he said.
"He spoke of having secured a victory through his hunder strike, and talked of the fragility that his release showed in the Israeli occupation."
Four days after he was arrested on November 21, 2015, Qeeq decided to begin his strike.
He demanded the #Israeli military either charge or release him from the military detention centre where he was being held.
Israel had accused Qeeq of inciting violence and having links to #Hamas, the Palestinian faction which rules the #Gaza Strip.
However, any intelligence supporting the accusations are classified, and the allegations were never put forward in the form of criminal charges.
Palestinians argue he was persecuted for expressing his opinion.
Qeeq worked as a news reporter for the Saudi-owned TV network Al Majd.
Until his release on Thursday, he was one of 750 Palestinians - including five journalists - being held in Israeli prisons under administrative detention.
The controversial policy permits Palestinians to be held for renewable six-month periods without charge or trial for an indefinite period.
Qeeq had previously been jailed on three occasions for alleged activities linking him to Hamas.
In 2003, he spent a month in prison and the following year he was jailed for 13 months.
In 2008, #Qeeq was jailed for 16 months on charges relating to his activities on the student council at Birzeit University.
At least 70 #Palestinian #prisoners in Israeli prisons are on #hungerstrike.
Mohammed al-Qeeq spent 94 days on hunger strike before reaching deal with Israeli officials in February for his release.
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Kevin Wright
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It's very important to bring these things to light....... Alas.... Is the cup half full or half empty?......
Was it a good thing to release him or was it a bad thing to have held him without charges?...... Is the current wave of Palestinian violence an indication of people being manipulated by powers who have violent agendas?........ The history of the world is full of charismatic types who have changed the world for both good and bad......
To the victor goes the spoils... When we can solve the basic simple obvious human tendencies to want "our side to win" ...... perhaps we will be able to overcome our animalistic nature...........
By means that don't cause the suffering of countless innocents........
I don't have much hope we will......
Not in my lifetime or a thousand lifetimes.......
Was it a good thing to release him or was it a bad thing to have held him without charges?...... Is the current wave of Palestinian violence an indication of people being manipulated by powers who have violent agendas?........ The history of the world is full of charismatic types who have changed the world for both good and bad......
To the victor goes the spoils... When we can solve the basic simple obvious human tendencies to want "our side to win" ...... perhaps we will be able to overcome our animalistic nature...........
By means that don't cause the suffering of countless innocents........
I don't have much hope we will......
Not in my lifetime or a thousand lifetimes.......
Add a comment...
Raleigh Waller
Shared publicly -Why some Palestinians are siding with the IDF
“Surprised and not surprised” is how Fatah member Qadura Fares described the reaction of the Palestinian leadership to the tensions in Israel between top military and defense officials and thepolitical leadership following the May 4 remarks by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Deputy Chief of Staff #YairGolan on the eve of #Holocaust Remembrance Day. On the one hand, they were surprised by the freedom and intensity with which a senior IDF officer delivered an outspoken social critique and exposed the helplessness of the political echelon in dealing with the social trends he described. Maj. Gen. Golan had said that he sees signs in Israel of “abhorrent processes that took place in Europe, and Germany in particular, some 70, 80 or 90 years ago.” On the other hand, the Palestinians had already noticed the deep divisions among top-level Israeli officials over the handling of the current intifada and the climate created by the right wing.
“Since the latest escalation, the IDF has had to practically block the right-wing Netanyahu government from running amuck,” said Fares in an interview with Al-Monitor. “This was clear for all to see.” According to Fares, during meetings with the Israelis to discuss ongoing security cooperation, the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership became aware of the responsibility and wisdom displayed by the Israeli military vis-a-vis the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We saw that the army and the Shin Bet were starting to worry about the future of the state under the leadership of the radical right and were concerned about a phenomena that could bring about Israel’s demise,” said Fares, who believes that Israel’s top brass had restrained itself for a long time from criticizing Netanyahu’s policies, only recently deciding to raise its voice in opposition.
“Up to now, they [Israeli security officials] respected conventions, because the helm of the state is in the hands of the politicians,” Fares remarked. “But suddenly they realized that the political and party echelons had gone too far. Way too far. They understood that if they leave the decisions to them, their country could turn into a fascist, racist state, and they might be seen as having lent a hand to this.”
Fares thinks that the military and most of the defense establishment have spoken out against the political echelon in general, and Netanyahu in particular, because they realized that continuing to heed their instructions, carrying out the dictates of the right-wing government, and the dangerous climate it has created in Israel, in their eyes, could be the end of the state of which they have dreamt.
Assessing the situation, Sufian Abu Zaida, a former Fatah official considered a close associate of former #Fatah member Mohammed Dahlan, told Al-Monitor:
“[It] appears to the Palestinians somewhat strange. The [Israeli] army, like any army in the world, usually adopts more radical positions than those of the political echelon. But today, with the Israeli government so radical in its essence and conduct, the top military command is, against its will, having to present moderate stances, both in terms of ethical norms and diplomacy.”
Although Abu Zaida, Fares and other top Palestinian officials in the West Bank recognized that top Israeli officers were fed up with the politicians, they were nonetheless surprised by Golan’s remarks. “If the army had gone in the direction that members of the Netanyahu government wanted to drag it, we would today have been in a different place,” said Abu Zaida. “The Israeli army also learned the lessons of the first and second intifadas and also of the rounds of violence in between the two. It managed to impose [on the political leadership] its approach of the best way to prevent most of the Palestinians [from joining the current intifada], focusing on those who it views as the instigators of the events.”
Abu Zaida also said that the Palestinians are not expecting to benefit in any way from the divisions within Israel, but are in despair over the dire situation in the Palestinian Authority-controlled territories.
The Palestinian media have been closely monitoring tensions in Israel, the latest expression of which was the May 16 meeting between the prime minister and Defense Minister Moshe #Yaalon. Netanyahu summoned Ya'alon after the defense minister expressed his support for senior #IDF commanders and urged them to keep expressing their thoughts. The prevailing view in #Ramallah, said a senior Palestinian source speaking on condition of anonymity, is that these are the “first signs of an #intifada” by the Israeli defense establishment against Netanyahu, but it will not be sufficiently effective to shake up the government.
Mohammed Najib, military affairs commentator for the defense magazine Jane’s, confirmed that Palestinian decision-makers had anticipated the head-on collision between Israel's political and military echelons. “Our analysis of these events is clear,” he told Al-Monitor.
“The army and the Shin Bet in Israel, the Israeli media and the opposition have all understood that there’s no solution to the complex and dangerous situation other than through a diplomatic process. Only Netanyahu and his rightist coalition think the solution lies in adopting defense measures. We believe that this is the backdrop for the clash and that it erupted as a result of the disagreements and power struggles.”
Najib added that he had recently been following the activities of the government’s coordinator in the territories, Maj. Gen. Yoav “Poli” Mordechai, and recognized the extent to which the civil administration under his command was energetically trying to prevent deterioration on the ground and worrying that things might get out of control.
“I can tell you from my experience, and based on many conversations I’ve had with the Palestinian leadership, they are convinced that the Israeli defense establishment understands full well Israel’s security needs, and those of the Palestinians, and is far more worried than the Israeli politicians,” said Najib. According to him, Adnan al-Damiri, spokesman for the Palestinian security services, Jibril Rajoub of the Palestinian Counter Security Forces and other senior Palestinian intelligence officials told him that in joint discussions with the Israelis, the army appears to be caught between their concept of security and the demands of the political echelon.
No one in the senior or junior #Palestinian leadership believes that the highly public disagreement between the army and the government in #Israel will result in significant change for the Palestinians. Nobody is holding out hope that Israel will change its policy toward them or that the Israeli army will succeed in forcing the Netanyahu government to adopt new policies. At most, the Palestinians believe, the Israeli military echelon will succeed in blocking unwise decisions that the radical right might try to push through.
“The leadership of the right has managed to drag Israeli society into dangerous places — incitement, hatred and radical ideology,” Fares remarked. “But people have to understand that as far as we’re concerned, the two main instruments that Israel uses to humiliate, hurt and oppress us are the army and the #ShinBet. What they’re doing is not for us. The army and Shin Bet are not in love with us. They’re simply worried about the future of their state.”
“Surprised and not surprised” is how Fatah member Qadura Fares described the reaction of the Palestinian leadership to the tensions in Israel between top military and defense officials and thepolitical leadership following the May 4 remarks by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Deputy Chief of Staff #YairGolan on the eve of #Holocaust Remembrance Day. On the one hand, they were surprised by the freedom and intensity with which a senior IDF officer delivered an outspoken social critique and exposed the helplessness of the political echelon in dealing with the social trends he described. Maj. Gen. Golan had said that he sees signs in Israel of “abhorrent processes that took place in Europe, and Germany in particular, some 70, 80 or 90 years ago.” On the other hand, the Palestinians had already noticed the deep divisions among top-level Israeli officials over the handling of the current intifada and the climate created by the right wing.
“Since the latest escalation, the IDF has had to practically block the right-wing Netanyahu government from running amuck,” said Fares in an interview with Al-Monitor. “This was clear for all to see.” According to Fares, during meetings with the Israelis to discuss ongoing security cooperation, the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership became aware of the responsibility and wisdom displayed by the Israeli military vis-a-vis the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We saw that the army and the Shin Bet were starting to worry about the future of the state under the leadership of the radical right and were concerned about a phenomena that could bring about Israel’s demise,” said Fares, who believes that Israel’s top brass had restrained itself for a long time from criticizing Netanyahu’s policies, only recently deciding to raise its voice in opposition.
“Up to now, they [Israeli security officials] respected conventions, because the helm of the state is in the hands of the politicians,” Fares remarked. “But suddenly they realized that the political and party echelons had gone too far. Way too far. They understood that if they leave the decisions to them, their country could turn into a fascist, racist state, and they might be seen as having lent a hand to this.”
Fares thinks that the military and most of the defense establishment have spoken out against the political echelon in general, and Netanyahu in particular, because they realized that continuing to heed their instructions, carrying out the dictates of the right-wing government, and the dangerous climate it has created in Israel, in their eyes, could be the end of the state of which they have dreamt.
Assessing the situation, Sufian Abu Zaida, a former Fatah official considered a close associate of former #Fatah member Mohammed Dahlan, told Al-Monitor:
“[It] appears to the Palestinians somewhat strange. The [Israeli] army, like any army in the world, usually adopts more radical positions than those of the political echelon. But today, with the Israeli government so radical in its essence and conduct, the top military command is, against its will, having to present moderate stances, both in terms of ethical norms and diplomacy.”
Although Abu Zaida, Fares and other top Palestinian officials in the West Bank recognized that top Israeli officers were fed up with the politicians, they were nonetheless surprised by Golan’s remarks. “If the army had gone in the direction that members of the Netanyahu government wanted to drag it, we would today have been in a different place,” said Abu Zaida. “The Israeli army also learned the lessons of the first and second intifadas and also of the rounds of violence in between the two. It managed to impose [on the political leadership] its approach of the best way to prevent most of the Palestinians [from joining the current intifada], focusing on those who it views as the instigators of the events.”
Abu Zaida also said that the Palestinians are not expecting to benefit in any way from the divisions within Israel, but are in despair over the dire situation in the Palestinian Authority-controlled territories.
The Palestinian media have been closely monitoring tensions in Israel, the latest expression of which was the May 16 meeting between the prime minister and Defense Minister Moshe #Yaalon. Netanyahu summoned Ya'alon after the defense minister expressed his support for senior #IDF commanders and urged them to keep expressing their thoughts. The prevailing view in #Ramallah, said a senior Palestinian source speaking on condition of anonymity, is that these are the “first signs of an #intifada” by the Israeli defense establishment against Netanyahu, but it will not be sufficiently effective to shake up the government.
Mohammed Najib, military affairs commentator for the defense magazine Jane’s, confirmed that Palestinian decision-makers had anticipated the head-on collision between Israel's political and military echelons. “Our analysis of these events is clear,” he told Al-Monitor.
“The army and the Shin Bet in Israel, the Israeli media and the opposition have all understood that there’s no solution to the complex and dangerous situation other than through a diplomatic process. Only Netanyahu and his rightist coalition think the solution lies in adopting defense measures. We believe that this is the backdrop for the clash and that it erupted as a result of the disagreements and power struggles.”
Najib added that he had recently been following the activities of the government’s coordinator in the territories, Maj. Gen. Yoav “Poli” Mordechai, and recognized the extent to which the civil administration under his command was energetically trying to prevent deterioration on the ground and worrying that things might get out of control.
“I can tell you from my experience, and based on many conversations I’ve had with the Palestinian leadership, they are convinced that the Israeli defense establishment understands full well Israel’s security needs, and those of the Palestinians, and is far more worried than the Israeli politicians,” said Najib. According to him, Adnan al-Damiri, spokesman for the Palestinian security services, Jibril Rajoub of the Palestinian Counter Security Forces and other senior Palestinian intelligence officials told him that in joint discussions with the Israelis, the army appears to be caught between their concept of security and the demands of the political echelon.
No one in the senior or junior #Palestinian leadership believes that the highly public disagreement between the army and the government in #Israel will result in significant change for the Palestinians. Nobody is holding out hope that Israel will change its policy toward them or that the Israeli army will succeed in forcing the Netanyahu government to adopt new policies. At most, the Palestinians believe, the Israeli military echelon will succeed in blocking unwise decisions that the radical right might try to push through.
“The leadership of the right has managed to drag Israeli society into dangerous places — incitement, hatred and radical ideology,” Fares remarked. “But people have to understand that as far as we’re concerned, the two main instruments that Israel uses to humiliate, hurt and oppress us are the army and the #ShinBet. What they’re doing is not for us. The army and Shin Bet are not in love with us. They’re simply worried about the future of their state.”
Palestinian officials do not think the rift between the IDF and Israel's political leadership will improve the Palestinians' situation or advance diplomacy toward peace.
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Rick Clark
Shared publicly -The Palestinian Authority's war on Facebook dissent
Since 2014, more than 50 Palestinians have been detained for their activity on the social media site.
"Here, [in Palestine], we do not understand what democracy means."
Ahmad al-Deek, former detainee
Those detained for their Facebook activity join a long list of people the PA has jailed for alleged links with Hamas [AP]
Baraa al-Qadi, a 23-year-old student at Birzeit University in Ramallah, has been arrested twice by Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces for criticising the government on Facebook and in the media.
In September 2014, PA preventive security forces arrested Qadi, who is the head of Birzeit's media club, after he wrote an article for al-Quds quoting someone who said that Jibril Rajoub, the former head of the preventive security forces, had tortured former Hamas member Imad Awadallah. (Amnesty International has said that the PA abused Awadallah, though they do not name Rajoub in their report.)
Held for 10 days, Qadi said he was asked about his Facebook posts and whether he had any links to Islamist organisations like Hamas; he told his interrogators that he did not. He stood accused of defaming the PA.
In January, Qadi was again arrested when he put up a Facebook post mocking Rajoub, the same high-ranking Fatah official who is now the head of the Palestinian Football Association. He suggested that Rajoub should resign after the Palestinian football team lost to Jordan in a match, and should hand over the reins to "Captain Majed Faraj", a tongue-in-cheek reference to a popular Arabic cartoon character and to Majed Faraj, the PA's intelligence chief.
"Before I posted this joke, I asked some people: 'Will this put me in jail?' They said, 'No, impossible. There is nothing. You wrote nothing, just a joke.' But they took me," Qadi told Al Jazeera.
Facing charges in court of "insulting a public official", Qadi was held for 13 days, during which he said he was deprived of sleep and again interrogated about links with Islamist groups. Although he is now out of jail, the charges from the two arrests are pending, and his next court date is later this month.
Another Palestinian university student, 23-year-old Ahmad Bilal al-Malak al-Deek, was detained and allegedly tortured this summer after posting a comment on Facebook.
After having become fed up with electricity cuts in his northern West Bank village of Kafr al-Deek, Deek said that on July 3, he posted a coarse message criticising the local authorities. He has since deleted the post.
That same day, an assailant allegedly tried to burn the car of the mayor of Kafr al-Deek. Two days later, PA police summoned Deek to question him about the car; his lawyers say the mayor alerted police to the Facebook post.
Deek denied involvement in the crime, but he was held by police for the next five days. During that time, he says PA police abused him - depriving him of sleep, forcing him to stand on his toes for hours and beating him with sticks to the point that he could not walk on his bruised feet after he was released.
Speaking to Al Jazeera about the incident in his uncle's home, Deek showed pictures of his swollen, black-and-blue feet that he said were taken after his detention. "Here, [in #Palestine], we do not understand what #democracy means," he said.
Deek is now suing the PA for #torture, a practice #humanrights groups sayhas been widespread in the occupied West Bank for years. Those who allegedly beat Deek are facing trial, according to Majed Arouri, the executive director of the Civil Commission for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Rule of Law, which is representing Deek.The trial is ongoing.
Qadi and Deek are two of a growing group of young Palestinians targeted by West Bank authorities for criticising officials on Facebook.
Since 2014, the PA has detained 52 people for Facebook activity, according to unpublished data provided to Al Jazeera by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor. The monitor also said that over the same time period, 58 Palestinians have been summoned to interrogations with PA security for Facebook posts and subsequently released.
One of the most recently reportedcases occurred in September, when PA forces arrested Abdullah Nashat al-Sayyid for allegedly insulting Saudi Arabia on Facebook, though he told al-Monitor he was interrogated about criticising the Tulkarm municipality. He was charged on the basis of a #Jordanian law that prohibits "inciting sectarian strife". (The Jordanian government administered the occupied West Bank from 1948 to 1967, and the PA uses a patchwork of Palestinian and Jordanian laws to govern in the small area of the West Bank that Israel allows them to control.)
Those detained for their Facebook activity join a long list of prisoners whom the PA has jailed for alleged links with #Hamas, the #Islamist rival to the nationalist Fatah party that dominates the PA. However, the crackdown on Facebook dissent has also swept up those unaffiliated with Hamas.
Critics of the PA say the arrests over Facebook posts reveal its nature as an authoritarian body that does not tolerate dissent.
Anas Barghouti, a prominent #Palestinian human rights lawyer, said PA judges, prosecutors and security services work together to tamp down dissent. "There is collaboration, and there is an unfortunate dependency by the judiciary and public prosecution on the security forces," he told Al Jazeera. "This debunks all myths stated about the integrity and independence of the judicial system."
He added that the PA is working to "validate and protect itself, and, like any security system or police authority, it works to ensure the protection of its project - even if this means arresting, suppressing and beating people in the streets, or chasing and persecuting them".
But Adnan al-Damiri, a spokesperson for PA security services, told Al Jazeera that the PA does "not arrest anyone for their political opinions or political stance. We arrest anyone who violates the law". The PA frequently cites a Jordanian-era law that prohibits insulting public officials.
The harsh consequences for criticising officials on Facebook have led some, like Deek, to say he will not criticise the #PA on #Facebook or any other platform in the future. But others, including Qadi, are undeterred.
"We are not afraid of anyone," Qadi said. "They [the PA] are against our national project."
Since 2014, more than 50 Palestinians have been detained for their activity on the social media site.
"Here, [in Palestine], we do not understand what democracy means."
Ahmad al-Deek, former detainee
Those detained for their Facebook activity join a long list of people the PA has jailed for alleged links with Hamas [AP]
Baraa al-Qadi, a 23-year-old student at Birzeit University in Ramallah, has been arrested twice by Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces for criticising the government on Facebook and in the media.
In September 2014, PA preventive security forces arrested Qadi, who is the head of Birzeit's media club, after he wrote an article for al-Quds quoting someone who said that Jibril Rajoub, the former head of the preventive security forces, had tortured former Hamas member Imad Awadallah. (Amnesty International has said that the PA abused Awadallah, though they do not name Rajoub in their report.)
Held for 10 days, Qadi said he was asked about his Facebook posts and whether he had any links to Islamist organisations like Hamas; he told his interrogators that he did not. He stood accused of defaming the PA.
In January, Qadi was again arrested when he put up a Facebook post mocking Rajoub, the same high-ranking Fatah official who is now the head of the Palestinian Football Association. He suggested that Rajoub should resign after the Palestinian football team lost to Jordan in a match, and should hand over the reins to "Captain Majed Faraj", a tongue-in-cheek reference to a popular Arabic cartoon character and to Majed Faraj, the PA's intelligence chief.
"Before I posted this joke, I asked some people: 'Will this put me in jail?' They said, 'No, impossible. There is nothing. You wrote nothing, just a joke.' But they took me," Qadi told Al Jazeera.
Facing charges in court of "insulting a public official", Qadi was held for 13 days, during which he said he was deprived of sleep and again interrogated about links with Islamist groups. Although he is now out of jail, the charges from the two arrests are pending, and his next court date is later this month.
Another Palestinian university student, 23-year-old Ahmad Bilal al-Malak al-Deek, was detained and allegedly tortured this summer after posting a comment on Facebook.
After having become fed up with electricity cuts in his northern West Bank village of Kafr al-Deek, Deek said that on July 3, he posted a coarse message criticising the local authorities. He has since deleted the post.
That same day, an assailant allegedly tried to burn the car of the mayor of Kafr al-Deek. Two days later, PA police summoned Deek to question him about the car; his lawyers say the mayor alerted police to the Facebook post.
Deek denied involvement in the crime, but he was held by police for the next five days. During that time, he says PA police abused him - depriving him of sleep, forcing him to stand on his toes for hours and beating him with sticks to the point that he could not walk on his bruised feet after he was released.
Speaking to Al Jazeera about the incident in his uncle's home, Deek showed pictures of his swollen, black-and-blue feet that he said were taken after his detention. "Here, [in #Palestine], we do not understand what #democracy means," he said.
Deek is now suing the PA for #torture, a practice #humanrights groups sayhas been widespread in the occupied West Bank for years. Those who allegedly beat Deek are facing trial, according to Majed Arouri, the executive director of the Civil Commission for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Rule of Law, which is representing Deek.The trial is ongoing.
Qadi and Deek are two of a growing group of young Palestinians targeted by West Bank authorities for criticising officials on Facebook.
Since 2014, the PA has detained 52 people for Facebook activity, according to unpublished data provided to Al Jazeera by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor. The monitor also said that over the same time period, 58 Palestinians have been summoned to interrogations with PA security for Facebook posts and subsequently released.
One of the most recently reportedcases occurred in September, when PA forces arrested Abdullah Nashat al-Sayyid for allegedly insulting Saudi Arabia on Facebook, though he told al-Monitor he was interrogated about criticising the Tulkarm municipality. He was charged on the basis of a #Jordanian law that prohibits "inciting sectarian strife". (The Jordanian government administered the occupied West Bank from 1948 to 1967, and the PA uses a patchwork of Palestinian and Jordanian laws to govern in the small area of the West Bank that Israel allows them to control.)
Those detained for their Facebook activity join a long list of prisoners whom the PA has jailed for alleged links with #Hamas, the #Islamist rival to the nationalist Fatah party that dominates the PA. However, the crackdown on Facebook dissent has also swept up those unaffiliated with Hamas.
Critics of the PA say the arrests over Facebook posts reveal its nature as an authoritarian body that does not tolerate dissent.
Anas Barghouti, a prominent #Palestinian human rights lawyer, said PA judges, prosecutors and security services work together to tamp down dissent. "There is collaboration, and there is an unfortunate dependency by the judiciary and public prosecution on the security forces," he told Al Jazeera. "This debunks all myths stated about the integrity and independence of the judicial system."
He added that the PA is working to "validate and protect itself, and, like any security system or police authority, it works to ensure the protection of its project - even if this means arresting, suppressing and beating people in the streets, or chasing and persecuting them".
But Adnan al-Damiri, a spokesperson for PA security services, told Al Jazeera that the PA does "not arrest anyone for their political opinions or political stance. We arrest anyone who violates the law". The PA frequently cites a Jordanian-era law that prohibits insulting public officials.
The harsh consequences for criticising officials on Facebook have led some, like Deek, to say he will not criticise the #PA on #Facebook or any other platform in the future. But others, including Qadi, are undeterred.
"We are not afraid of anyone," Qadi said. "They [the PA] are against our national project."
Since 2014, more than 50 Palestinians have been detained for their activity on the social media site.
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Abu Haytham
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And Hamas is doing the same,if not worse!
We know that the PA is corrupted,but much of people who aren't living in occupied Palestine don't know exactly what Hamas is doing in Gaza!While hamas is corrupted as well!
We know that the PA is corrupted,but much of people who aren't living in occupied Palestine don't know exactly what Hamas is doing in Gaza!While hamas is corrupted as well!
Add a comment...
Ahram Online
Shared publicly -Picture of the day: Thousands of Arabs march for #Palestinian return in #Israel
See more: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentMulti/216693/Multimedia.aspx
See more: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentMulti/216693/Multimedia.aspx
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El Guapoowner
Pictures - An Innocent & armed #IOF is defending himself from a 'terrorist' #Palestinian child.
#Unbelievable +Netanyahu Benjamin
#Unbelievable +Netanyahu Benjamin
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Add a comment...
Bennett Ruda
Shared publicly -The 25th Anniversary of the "Naqba" You Never Hear About
+Elder of Ziyon
25 years ago, in 1991, Kuwait expelled over 350,000 Palestinians.
And no one mentions this anniversary [http://wapo.st/1TpCavZ].
Many of the Palestinians in Kuwait had lived there for over a generation. Entire families were raised there.
But after the PLO embraced Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, the Palestinian residents became targets. There were four fatal bomb attacks in Palestinian neighborhoods in late 1990. Kuwaiti forces
...Torture, assassinations, rape, and the planned and public ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes.
Why aren't Palestinians marking this anniversary? Why isn't any "pro-Palestinian" group talking about this "naqba?"
You know why. The entire reason people pretend to be "pro-Palestinian" has nothing to do with their love for Palestinians but because of their hate for another group.
Read the whole thing: http://bit.ly/1OSgGWP
#kuwait
#palestinian
#naqba
-----
+Elder of Ziyon
25 years ago, in 1991, Kuwait expelled over 350,000 Palestinians.
And no one mentions this anniversary [http://wapo.st/1TpCavZ].
Many of the Palestinians in Kuwait had lived there for over a generation. Entire families were raised there.
But after the PLO embraced Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, the Palestinian residents became targets. There were four fatal bomb attacks in Palestinian neighborhoods in late 1990. Kuwaiti forces
...Torture, assassinations, rape, and the planned and public ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes.
Why aren't Palestinians marking this anniversary? Why isn't any "pro-Palestinian" group talking about this "naqba?"
You know why. The entire reason people pretend to be "pro-Palestinian" has nothing to do with their love for Palestinians but because of their hate for another group.
Read the whole thing: http://bit.ly/1OSgGWP
#kuwait
#palestinian
#naqba
-----
Many of the Palestinians in Kuwait had lived there for over a generation. Entire families were raised there. But after the PLO embraced Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, the Palestinian residents became targets. There were four fatal bomb attacks in Palestinian neighborhoods in late 1990.
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The Federation of Earth
Shared publicly -#Muslim #Palestinian #Hamas defense shield are #Children! Why hasn’t #UN condemned such #HumanRights violation ?
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Add a comment...
Kevin FitzMaurice
Shared publicly -#Palestinian #Logic
Evil is the excuse to commit evil.
#Abuse is the #excuse to commit #abuse.
Wrong is the excuse to commit wrong.
Injustice is the excuse to commit injustice.
Unfairness is the excuse to commit unfairness.
Mistreatment is the excuse to commit mistreatment.
If such madness were not enough, Palestinians only need to claim, fake, or pretend to be wronged in order to excuse themselves before mankind and God for doing wrong. Furthermore, Palestinians are not content with doing wrong, they must do the most wrong thing that they can imagine such as sending children as bombs to murder other children.
Hamas work children to death: http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/180400/hamas-killed-160-palestinian-children-to-build-terror-tunnels http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2014/07/27/report-hamas-used-child-labor-to-build-tunnels-hundreds-died/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2014/07/31/if-liberal-elites-really-cared-about-gazan-children/
Evil is the excuse to commit evil.
#Abuse is the #excuse to commit #abuse.
Wrong is the excuse to commit wrong.
Injustice is the excuse to commit injustice.
Unfairness is the excuse to commit unfairness.
Mistreatment is the excuse to commit mistreatment.
If such madness were not enough, Palestinians only need to claim, fake, or pretend to be wronged in order to excuse themselves before mankind and God for doing wrong. Furthermore, Palestinians are not content with doing wrong, they must do the most wrong thing that they can imagine such as sending children as bombs to murder other children.
Hamas work children to death: http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/180400/hamas-killed-160-palestinian-children-to-build-terror-tunnels http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2014/07/27/report-hamas-used-child-labor-to-build-tunnels-hundreds-died/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2014/07/31/if-liberal-elites-really-cared-about-gazan-children/
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