Settlers burn olive trees in Jamma’in

The West Bank village of Jamma’in has 10 000 residents, most of them farmers, and is close to the biggest illegal settlement in the west bank, Ariel, and another smaller one, Tapua. Often the villagers are harassed by settlers, most recently a few days ago when an old man was mugged whilst harvesting his olive field. Two weeks ago settlers also burnt down 50-60 olive trees and refused the fire brigade access to the site of the fire, ensuring the entire field was burnt. The army and settlers also regularly prevent farmers planting new trees on their land.

Last year the villagers from Jamma’in, with the assistance of internationals, built a simple stone road to get a better access to their olive field. Before long the army installed a roadblock rendering it inaccessible by motor vehicle.

Israeli military invasions are frequent in the village, often it is alleged that the village is harboring terrorists or one of its residents has attacked a settler. A few days ago a settler from Ariel was actually shot, and although the attacker’s origin is unknown, the army blocked the road connecting Jamma’in with the main road, forcing the villagers to travel extensive distances to reach the village. This is an example of collective punishment, which is illegal under the Geneva Convention, but all too frequent in West Bank and Gaza.

A fence separates the village from the main road. In no way does it provide any extra security to either of the settlements but merely serves to impede villagers access to their fields.

The population of Jamma’in is growing. Opportunities to build new houses, however, are extremely limited as building is only allowed in area A, and the village is closely bound by area B. House demolitions are frequent along the area A/B boundary, worsening the housing crisis and devastating families. Class sizes in the village school now exceed 50 children in one small room as the school building has no room to expand.

In contrast, Ariel is expanding. Currently there is only a fence along the proposed route of the apartheid wall and it is feared that the route of the wall will be diverted upon completion to annex the villages water source. The annexation of Palestinian water sources by the apartheid wall is an under-reported but integral aspect to the occupation. This process, along with the incursions into the West Bank the wall makes around Salfit and Jerusalem, greatly undermines the chance of setting up of a viable Palestinian state.

Ten years ago the villagers set up a womens center, staffed by local volunteers. Activities include coaching children through their exams and helping them with any problems they may have at school. They also have a library and are going to give several workshops, including computer lessens. Another initiative is a campaign against violence towards women, the center organises demonstrations and actions to raise public awareness of this issue. They are looking for other womens organisations around the world to work with, if you are involved with one and are interested in becoming a partner organisation to the Jamma’in womens center the e-mail addres is: neevein@yahoo.com

Succesful demonstration and olive harvest in Um Salamona

2nd of November 2007

Today, the villagers of Um Salamona called for a demonstration that would assist Mahmoud Takadka, in harvesting his olive trees on his land, located just below the illegal Israeli settlement of Efrat. The villagers of Um Salamona have had difficulties getting to their land because the Israeli army has prevented them from crossing Road 60, the construction site of the Apartheid Wall. Under the current Israeli plan, the Apartheid Wall will separate approximately 3,000,000 square meters of Um Salamona’s land from its Palestinian owners, destroying thousands of grape and olive trees that are vital to the livelihood of the local farmers. This is a violation of a recent Israeli High Court ruling, which confirmed that the land is Palestinian-owned.

Early this morning, the farmer and his family tried to get to his land, but the Israeli Army denied them access. Instead, the farmer started harvesting on his fields close to the school, and waited for human rights activists to arrive.

At about eleven o’clock, dozens of Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists joined the farmer and his family in a new attempt to get through to the land. The demonstration went across the route of the wall, continued a few hundred metres and was then stopped by the army. The activists and farmers went peacefully through a razor-wired fence on the side of the road and managed to continue on to the fields. There, the activists and the farmer successfully harvested all of his olive trees. After finishing about three hours later, everyone went peacefully back to the village. No one was injured.

IMEMC: Israeli soldiers exchange photos of killed Palestinians

Thursday November 1, 2007

Israeli soldiers have recently exchanged photos of killed Palestinians on their cellular phones, the Israeli Daily Mariv reported on Thursday.

The daily explained that the soldiers have set photos of killed Palestinians as their mobiles’ screen pictures instead of their families’.

The daily received a number of photos of those being exchanged by the soldiers and that some soldiers revealed that such photos have recently spread widely among soldiers, serving on Gaza-Israel border lines.’

The Israeli newspaper maintained that most categories of the Israeli army, including the tank battalions, the infantry and others have been using these photos, the latest of which was of a Palestinian who was killed by the Israeli soldiers during an infiltration attempt.

“The photos exchange has become a hobby among the soldiers, in way that would have relieved us as victorious against the terrorists ‘Palestinians'”, the newspaper quoted one of the soldiers as saying.

A spokesperson of the Israeli army has responded to such a report by saying that the army will start an examination into the case and that if it proved correct, the army would guarantee morals of its soldiers.

Throughout the Palestinian uprising (Intifada), the Israeli army has been involved in a series of misconduct, such as the killing of a four-month-old Palestinian baby in southern Gaza, and the dragging in the street of a killed Palestinian in the West Bank.

For the original article, click here:
http://www.imemc.org/article/51245

Adbusters: Maxim’s Sex War

By: Sean Condon

With photos of women in black bikinis striking provocative poses, Maxim magazine devoted five full pages in their July 2007 issue to answer the single most pressing question in the Middle East: “Are the women in the Israeli Defense Forces the world’s sexiest soldiers?”

Commended for their ability to “take apart an Uzi in seconds,” Maxim featured four “drop dead gorgeous” former Israeli soldiers scantily clad in military garb and swimwear.

“My job was top secret,” said Nivit Bash, who wore a black army cap and not much else for her picture. “I can’t talk about it other than to say I studied some Arabic.”

What also wasn’t talked about was that the feature was actually part of a branding campaign by the Consulate General of Israel in New York to improve Israel’s public image. The consulate apparently believed that using women in Maxim would make
readers forget Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine and use of hundreds of thousands of cluster bombs in Lebanon in the conflict last summer. It was Maxim’s decision to use the ex-soldiers, whose photo shoot was partly funded by the American-Israel Friendship League and Israel21C.

While some female members of the Israeli parliament denounced the feature as “pornographic,” there was little outcry about the
magazine’s decision to promote and celebrate an army that has been accused of war crimes by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

“When people view Israel, for the most part they view it as a land of conflict anyway,” says David Saranga, a spokesperson for the consulate. “Maxim knows what its readers like, and they wanted to stylize it as girls of the IDF. Look, we’re a democracy, we’re a free society, we invited them to do something in Israel and they chose what to do.”

Maxim refused an interview request and only issued a brief statement saying it was “pleased” with its work.

Roof occupation in Hebron

At 1 PM on November 1, 2007, six soldiers began occupying the roof of the house of the Ewawy family in the old city of Hebron, while only a 14 year old girl, who had just returned from school, was at home. The girl began screaming for help, and neighbors called for international human rights workers (HRWs) to come.

Eight HRWs responded to the call and began taking pictures and video taping the soldiers on the roof. The HRWs repeatedly asked the soldiers why they were there, but the soldiers refused to answer the question. The HRWs reminded the six soldiers that they were on the roof of a family and that they had no right to be there. The soldiers continued to ignore these comments.

The HRWs called the District Coordinating Office (DCO) for the Israeli Army in Hebron to inquire about the reason for the soldiers’ presence. The DCO responded that the soldiers were there for “security reasons.” Such house invasions occur in the old city of Hebron about once a week, for which the army usually cites “security reasons.”

When the HRWs asked the DCO if they could do anything to help the family, who were frightened by the unnecessary presence of armed men on their roof, the DCO said no.

Neighbors and HRWs repeatedly called TIPH (Temporary International Presence in Hebron), but they refused to investigate. TIPH is an organization, created by the UN and agreed upon by the Israeli government, whose mission is to “help promote stability and an appropriate environment conducive to the enhancement of the well-being of the Palestinians of Hebron.”

Soldiers remained on the roof for 3 hours. When they finally left, they harassed the HRWs by telling them, “More soldiers are coming in 2 hours. Wait here for them.”

This house has recently been subject to having eggs and rocks thrown at it by young settlers who live nearby.