Tag: Benjamin Netanyahu

Urgent Call out for Volunteers – Palestinians reject the ‘deal of the century’

Palestinians oppose the “deal of the century” at a protest in al-Khalil (Hebron)

At a time of heightened aggression against Palestinians by Israeli occupation forces suppressing “Deal of the Century” protests across the West Bank the International Solidarity Movement is issuing an urgent call out for volunteers.

 

What is the ‘Deal of the Century?’

On 28 January 2020 Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu announced their annexation plan for Palestine. Purportedly to bring an end to the 52 year occupation of Palestine by Israel, the ‘peace’ plan was put together without any Palestinian input and offers Israel a wish list of their long-held demands, at the expense of Palestinian rights and freedoms.  

Although the US claim the plan offers the prospect of a future Palestinian ‘state,’ it does so at an unacceptable price with Israel unashamedly benefitting. Some of the most significant points include:

  • A proposed Palestinian ‘state’ with very limited sovereignty, for example it would not be permitted to have its own Army, and Israel would retain security control over vital areas such as the sea in Gaza 
  • Establishing Jerusalem as Israel’s ‘undivided’ capital, stripping Palestinians of their current rights to their capital, East Jerusalem
  • Officially recognising illegal Israeli settlements constructed on stolen Palestinian land, bringing them under Israeli control  
  • Annexing further swathes of Palestinian territory including the Jordan Valley
  • Stripping thousands of Arab-Israelis of their citizenship and forcibly transferring them to the West Bank
  • Finally refusing Palestinian refugees the ‘right of return’ to their homes lost in the Nakba

The plan has been resoundingly rejected by the Palestinian leadership and people living through daily oppression. 

 

Why am I needed? 

Protests have erupted across the West Bank in response to Trump’s legitimisation of Israel’s crimes against Palestinians. As usual the protests have been heavily suppressed by the Israeli army with lethal force. Five Palestinian teenagers have already been killed by Israeli soldiers since the deal was announced while dozens more have been injured. Israel’s violent crackdown on Palestinian’s protests against the Deal of the Century are expected to continue. This means we need more volunteers to ensure there is an international presence to document and raise awareness about human rights abuses by the occupation forces. 

 

What would I be doing? 

ISM volunteers support Palestinian resistance by providing protective presence at demonstrations,  observing and documenting any human rights violations against Palestinians by Israeli settlers or soldiers. At this critical time of heightened political tension, we urgently need volunteers to join in solidarity with Palestinians fighting for their right to self-determination.  

Aside from the need for practical solidarity, experiencing the situation for yourself is vital to adequately understand why the ‘deal of the century’ is such a threat to the future of Palestine, and your personal experiences will equip you to lobby and campaign more effectively in your home country.

 

Occupation forces at checkpoint 56, al Khalil (Hebron)

 

Will I receive training? 

ISM will host mandatory two-day training sessions for prospective volunteers before they do any work on the ground.

 

How do I apply? 

You can join ISM as a volunteer for as little as two weeks. However you are likely to gain more from your experience if you can commit to a longer period. We welcome volunteers for periods of up to three months. 

Please send an email to ismtraining@riseup.net to register as a volunteer.

Jewish protester disrupts Netanyahu During Congressional Address

24 May 2011 | Move Over AIPAC

Rae Abileah is dragged to the floor after disrupting Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the US Congress.
Rae Abileah is dragged to the floor after disrupting Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress.

During the Joint Session of Congress while Prime Minister Netanyahu was speaking, Rae Abileah stood up from the gallery and shouted “Stop Israeli War Crimes.”

From the peace group CODEPINK, Rae is a 28 yr. old Jewish American of Israeli descent. She has traveled to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza and witnessed firsthand the reality of occupation and oppression. “Prime Minister Netanyahu says that the 1967 borders are indefensible. But what is really indefensible is the occupation of land, the starvation of Gaza, the jailing of dissenters and the lack of equal rights in the alleged Israeli democracy. As a Jew and an American taxpayer, I can’t be silent when these crimes are being committed in my name and with my tax money.”

Ms. Abileah grew up on Half Moon Bay and presently lives in San Francisco. She was arrested and charged with disrupting Congress. Upon release, she can be reached at 415-994-1723.

This protest is part of the week-long series of actions, organized by CODEPINK as part of a coalition of groups gathered in Washington D.C. for a campaign named Move Over AIPAC. During Netanyahu’s speech to AIPAC yesterday, 5 individuals interrupted Netanyahu and were removed from the building (see: http://bit.ly/aipac2011).

U.S. offers Israel warplanes in return for new settlement freeze

13 November|Haaretz
Netanyahu presents security cabinet with Clinton’s incentive of 20 F-35 fighter planes and security guarantees in exchange for 90-day West Bank building moratorium.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s seven-member inner cabinet discussed Saturday an offer by the United States to reinstate a freeze on West Bank Settlement construction in return for a package of incentives.

Netanyahu presented Saturday the U.S. offer, which was discussed by Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday, to the forum of seven.

According to the offer Israel would stop construction in the West Bank for 90 days. The freeze includes construction that began after the end of the first settlement moratorium on September 26.

The moratorium would not apply to construction in East Jerusalem. The U.S. will not ask Israel to extend the new moratorium when it expires.

Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian negotiator, said the Americans had not officially informed the Palestinians about the details of the proposal, “but they know we have a major problem in not including east Jerusalem”.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will put the U.S. plan before Palestinian
decision-makers and call for an immediate session of Arab League officials before announcing an official decision, Erekat said.

In return for an Israeli freeze, the U.S. government would deliver 20 F-35 fighter jets to Israel, a deal worth $3 billion. Moreover, if an Israeli-Palestinian agreement is achieved, the U.S. would sign a comprehensive security agreement with Israel. The U.S. and Israel are to discuss the nature of the new security arrangements in the next few weeks.

According to “The Cable” blog, White House Middle East adviser Dan Shapiro told a group of American Jewish leaders on Friday that U.S. was committed to fighting delegitimization of Israel, and listed recent efforts to advocate on behalf of Israel.

Such efforts included: curbing actions by the United Nations on the Goldstone Report; blocking anti-Israel UN resolutions concerning the Gaza flotilla raid; defeating international resolutions aimed at exposing Israel’s nuclear program at the International Atomic Energy Agency; and strengthening pressure on Iran and Syria in regards to their nuclear and proliferation activities.

U.S.-sponsored direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority broke down on September 26 when a 10-month Israeli freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank expired. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said he would not restart negotiations with Israel while settlement construction continues.

CPT: Netanyahu statement on Ibrahimi Mosque leads to unrest in Hebron

Christian Peacemaker Team

22 February 2010

On 21 February 2010 Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced the Israeli government’s intention to designate as Jewish heritage sites Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. Netanyahu’s statement has led to considerable concern and outrage in the Palestinian community. The Ibrahimi Mosque is one of the most important Muslim sites, and is the one most accessible to West Bank Palestinians. The prospect of these sites becoming closed to Muslim worshipers has been particularly keenly felt in Hebron, where the Ibrahimi Mosque regularly draws large numbers of Muslim worshipers and was the site on 25 February 1994 of the massacre of 29 Muslim worshipers by Dr. Baruch Goldstein, an extremist Jewish settler.

There is international concern too. In a statement, Robert Serry, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said he was concerned by Israel’s announcement regarding the Hebron holy site. ‘I call on Israel not to take any steps on the ground which undermine trust or could prejudice negotiations, the resumption of which should be the highest shared priority of all who seek peace,’ Serry said.

In protest at Netanyahu’s statement there was a general strike on 22 February 2010 in Hebron, as a result of which most children were not at school. Around 08:30, Palestinian boys made their own response to the statement by throwing stones near the Qitoun checkpoint in the Yatta Road, while other Palestinians threw stones at soldiers between Bab il Baledeyya and Bab iZaweyya. Press reports have suggested that bottles were also thrown, but CPTers saw nothing thrown apart from stones. The Israeli military’s response was to shoot repeated rounds of tear gas at the Palestinians, causing alarm and discomfort to people on the street and in their homes and shops. At Yatta Road a group of small children huddled together as they got into a bus to take them home. In the Bab iZaweyya area (by the H1/H2 border) CPTers Gainey and Nichols observed Palestinian policemen work to move the crowd away. The incident there was over by 10:45. CPTers Chiba and Jack were at the incident near the Qitoun checkpoint, which lasted until 11:30.

On Thursday 25 February 2010 Hebron residents, supported by Israeli and international friends, will mark the anniversary of the mosque massacre with a non-violent demonstration calling for the opening of Shuhada Street to Palestinians. At 05:00 that same day, Hebron residents will worship in the Ibrahimi Mosque in memory of those who died in the massacre.

Israeli PM says West Bank barrier there to stay

AFP

22 July 2009

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel’s controversial separation barrier in the occupied West Bank would not be pulled down.

“I hear today people who say that because the situation is calm in the West Bank we can dismantle the security barrier, but it is in fact because of this barrier that there is calm,” he told a session of parliament.

“It is because of this barrier and because of a certain improvement on the part of the Palestinian security services that the situation is calm,” Netanyahu said. “The barrier will stay.”

Israel began erecting the barrier in the wake of the second intifada or uprising, calling it a “security barrier” needed to prevent potential suicide bombers from entering the Jewish state.

Palestinians call the barrier an “apartheid wall” and say its purpose is to grab land and make their promised state unviable by thrusting deep into the West Bank and isolating Jerusalem from the occupied territory.

The controversial barrier consists of more than 400 kilometres (250 miles) of walls, fences and barbed wire, with about 300 kilometres (190 miles) more either being built or planned, according to UN figures which show 87 percent of it to be inside the West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem.

On July 9, 2004 the International Court of Justice issued a non-binding ruling declaring parts of the barrier illegal because they were built inside the occupied West Bank, but Israel pressed on with its construction.

Netanyahu spoke on the same day that the Maariv daily ran a report that the Palestinian Authority (PA) has recently sent a message to US President Barack Obama’s administration, asking that the barrier be dismantled because of the improved security situation in the territory.

There was no comment on the report from the PA.