Category: Press Releases

http://www.btselem.org/english/

The Israeli government has proposed an amendment to the Civil Wrongs Law intended to exempt Israel from paying compensation to Palestinians injured by the security forces. The amendment applies to “residents of a conflict area” and “subjects of enemy states.” The Government has clearly stated its intention to apply the new law to Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.

Today, Palestinians are not able to sue the state for damages caused by combatant activity, broadly defined as, “…any action of combating terror, hostile actions, or insurrection, and action intended to prevent terror and hostile acts and insurrection committed in circumstances of danger to life or limb.” If the Knesset passes the new amendment, it will almost completely block the ability of Palestinians to file for compensation, even for damage caused by illegal shooting, looting, negligence on training grounds, abuse and degrading treatment at checkpoints, or physical violence.

The law is blatantly discriminatory in that it denies the right to sue for compensation based on the identity of the victim, rather than the substance of the claim.

B’Tselem joined together with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, HaMoked, and the Public Committee against Torture in Israel, Adallah and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel to warn against the grave implications of passing such a law. The organizations calls on the government to remove this amendment from the Knesset docket, thereby preventing a stain upon its law books.

Urgent Action: The amendment has passed its first reading in the Knesset plenary and is now under discussion in the Knesset Law Committee. The Committee held its first discussion of the amendment on May 31, and is expected to reconvene to continue discussion shortly. Write to the committee chairman, MK Michael Eitan, calling on him to act to prevent passage of Amendment 5 to the Civil Wrongs Law.

Fax: +972-2-6496404 or
meitan@knesset.gov.il

Dear Solidarity Movement Members,
On Sunday, July 17th, Tali Fahima’s trial sessions will be continued.

On this occasion, we are calling on all solidarity movements around the world to join us and let the people of the world and the State of Israel know that the persecution and unjust incarceration of a woman who represents hope for a future of friendship and commonality between Palestinians and Israelis will not pass unnoticed.

Tali Fahima, a Jewish Israeli woman of Arab origin, has been harassed by the Israeli General Security Services for over a year now, for defying the Apartheid logic set by the Occupation Forces and showing public solidarity with the people of the Jenin Refugee Camp in their daily efforts to stay alive and resist their oppressors. Her example shows just how little the Israeli institutions (including the judicial system) tolerate camaraderie between the two peoples, and how important it is for the solidarity movements to emanate a different voice.

Spending almost a year in jail now, Tali expresses at every possible opportunity her solidarity with all political prisoners, and stresses the call for the total end of all forms of oppression of the Palestinian people. Hence, on July 17th we will be calling for the immediate release of Tali Fahima and all political prisoners held by the State of Israel.

We urge you to join the international campaign, which is an opportunity for all of us to consolidate our message regarding the reality of warfare in the region – it is neither fate nor natural disaster, but the fruit of intentional and extremely calculated policies on behalf of the State of Israel. At a time when the world seems to be overtaken with exaltation because of the Israel’s Prime Minister’s willingness to evacuate a small number of illegal settlements in order to fortify a large number of them elsewhere, the treatment of the Tali Fahima’s affair by all Israeli state institutions demonstrates as clearly as is possible just how much Israel desires living together in peace with its Palestinian neighbors.

Means of Action
Events: rallies, demonstrations, vigils and conferences

On July 17th we will be holding a large demonstration outside of the court in which Tali’s trial will be held. We will be glad to know that other events are held worldwide during this day.
We encourage and are willing to assist you in the organization of conferences dealing with Tali Fahima, political prisoners in Israel and Palestine and Israeli-Palestinian solidarity acts in general.
We will be glad if at all events consecrated to solidarity with Palestine and the Palestinian people, Tali Fahima’s case will be mentioned. Information, photos and materials of all sorts can be found at www.FreeTaliFahima.org
Letters of protest and support

Letters of protest and dismay regarding Tali Fahima’s incarceration and treatment can be sent to the Israeli general attorney, defense minister, prime minister’s cabinet and the president. Copies should be sent to Israeli ambassadors and consulates, and to your diplomatic corps in Israel. An example of such a letter and the relevant e-mails addresses and fax numbers can be found at www.FreeTaliFahima.org
Given her isolation, Tali is grateful for all the letters sent to her in jail. The prison address also appears in the website.
We thank you for propagating this call among your activists, and please do inform us about all activities.

Alternative Information Center
The Committee for the immediate release of Tali Fahima

Film is an important means of both resistance and communication. The Balata Film Collective was initiated to enable young Palestinians from Balata to break their isolation, challenge their oppression and represent their lives to the world.

The Balata film production collective films, edits and produces movies in Arabic and English. Films produced will include shorts uploaded to the internet and full-length movies distributed on DVD and VHS. Interesting footage will be made available on a server for other filmmakers across the world.

Visit them online at:
http://www.balatacamp.net

This Friday, June 17th, the villages of Bill’in (at 1pm) and Ramadin (at 11am) will continue their non-violent campaign against the Annexation Wall that is being built on their land, depriving them of their livelihoods and annexing their lands to Israel.

The village of Bil’in has been organizing non-violent demonstrations against the barrier being built on their land for many months now. The demonstrations have been organized by the local Popular Committee Against the Wall, whose members have been detained, arrested, beaten and threatened, and their families have been harassed in the middle of the night. The entire village has suffered at the hands of the Israeli army for their persistence in non-violent resistance. The army commander in the area, Lieutenant Colonel Tzachi Segev was recently quoted as saying: “The stronger the activity against the fence, the stronger our operations will be. We reserve the right to enter the village at any hour … sometimes there is no escaping collective punishment, even if it has a negative impact. Collective punishment is closure, prohibiting people from entering a certain village, blocking the Bilin-Safa road [referring to the neighboring village] as a lever of pressure if the village does not behave properly.” (Meron Rappaport – Gandhi Redux).

All forms of collective punishment are illegal under the terms of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

The village of Ramadin, in the ultra-impoverished district of South Hebron, will once again demonstrate against the theft of the villagers land this Friday. The Annexation Barrier, if completed in this area, will cut the village off from their olive groves, throwing the community into further poverty. The village demonstrated twice last week, managing on one occasion to stop the work of the bulldozers. The response of the army was very violent.