Tag: YNet

Ynet: Bulldozer driver testifies in Rachel Corrie case

21 October 2010 | YNet News

The bulldozer driver who ran over Rachel Corrie in Gaza in 2003 said Thursday he did not realize he had trampled the American left-wing activist to death until he heard what had happened over the radio network.

Photo displayed during court hearing (Photo: Avisag Shear Yeshuv)

The driver, whose name has not been released, testified during a Haifa District Court hearing on a civil wrongful-death lawsuit filed in March by the activist’s parents, Cindy and Craig, against the State of Israel and Defense Ministry. The driver testified from behind a wooden partition to keep his identity secret.

The 23-year-old Corrie was run over and killed by an Israeli bulldozer while attempting to prevent Palestinian homes from being demolished along with other members of the International Solidarity Movement. The driver said he did not see her, and her death was ruled an accident by the IDF.

The Corries are demanding $324,000 from the State, which claims the activists endangered IDF soldiers and were in a closed military zone at the time of the incident.

During Thursday’s hearing, Attorney Hussein Abu Hussein, who is representing the parents, spoke of inconsistencies between the driver’s testimony during the IDF investigation and the affidavit he submitted to the court. According to the attorney, the driver told military investigators he had reported the incident over the radio system, while he told the court he heard of Corrie’s death over the network.

The lawyer also pointed to discrepancies in the driver’s testimony regarding how far he continued driving after crushing Corrie. The driver told the court he drove another 20 meters (66 feet) before stopping, but in his affidavit he said he stopped after three meters (10 feet). In addition, the driver claimed Corrie’s body was found between the bulldozer and a mound of dirt, while another soldier said the body was behind the mound. During the hearing, Attorney Hussein displayed a photo in which no mound of dirt can be seen at all.

Meanwhile, Cindy Corrie slammed the state, saying Israel is hiding behind individual soldiers who are hiding behind partitions

YNet: 1,000 rally for Sheikh Jarrah

Ronen Medzin, Ynet

6 August 2010

Arab, Jewish left-wing activists mark first anniversary of protests against evacuation of Palestinian families from east Jerusalem neighborhood in favor of Jews. Rallies held in Tel Aviv, Nazareth, Haifa as well

More than 1,000 people across Israel on Friday took part in activities marking one year since Jewish residents entered the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

Every week for the past year, Arab and Jewish left-wing protestors have been holding a protest in the neighborhood, calling for the return of three Palestinian families to their homes.

Hundreds of participants, including intellectuals and politicians, began marching in Tel Aviv from the Habima Theater to Allenby Street in the afternoon hours, before getting on buses and heading to Jerusalem. Rallies were held in additional places in Israel, including Haifa and Nazareth.

“We’ll be here next year as well, inshallah (‘God willing’ in Arabic),” said one of the protst’s organizers, Sara Benninga. She spoke of the achievements of the group of young people who started the protest, which is defined by many as “the core of the new Left.”

“The problem is not just Sheikh Jarrah,” she said. “It repeats itself in other places across the country and stems from discrimination, inequality and racism, which are the foundation of these moves. I feel that compared to last year, we have made a great leap in the awareness of the injustice taking place here, and we have a lot of PR work to do in order to reach people. It’s a feeling of a beginning of something wonderful and brave.”

Some 600 protestors arrived in Sheikh Jarrah carrying signs reading, “Democracy stops in Sheikh Jarrah.”

Solidarity protest for Sheikh Jarrah - Photo: Sheikh Jarrah

One of the protestors, author David Grossman, told Ynet, “I like it better here than at home.” He said he viewed the expansion of the struggle as a positive phenomenon. “I hoped this would happen and I hope it’s only the beginning,” he said.

Grossman added, however, that the people were not responding to the struggle. “The people, assuming there is such a thing, are apathetic and looking for an excuse not to do something. In the face of this complete indifference, it’s refreshing and encouraging to see the amount of people willing to come here every Friday afternoon to protest, whether in the heat or in the rain.”

He criticized the Israeli society, saying it was “stuck in a situation it created on its own, and is the victim of anxieties and lack of faith in change. It’s insulting to see how little we are capable of doing to help ourselves,” he told Ynet.

Knesset Member Dov Khenin (Hadash) said that “struggle is intensifying, because people understand we are fighting here not just against the injustice suffered by the Palestinians in the neighborhood, but also for ourselves, for our future in this country. Because with a settlement in the heart of Arab east Jerusalem, we won’t be able to reach an arrangement of two states for two people. It’s a critical battle and more and more people are realizing that.”

He directed his criticism at representatives of the Labor Party, who have avoided taking part in the protests. “They must think that being more similar to the Right will make them more popular, but they don’t understand that in such a case there will be no reason to favor them over the Right.”

Transportation Ministry to Hebraize road signs

Udi Etzion | YNet News

13 July 2009

Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz recently ordered a change in roadside signs across Israel’s highways so that the all names appearing on them in English and Arabic would be a direct transliteration of Hebrew.

For example, the sign directing drivers to Jerusalem would read Yerushalayim, Nazareth will become Natsrat and Caesarea will become Kesariya. Arab names are to be changed accordingly.

The Transportation Ministry has been working on the project for over a year and says its main purpose is to create uniform roadside spelling for more than 2,000 names of cities, towns and villages.

Current road signs, says the ministry, reflect the vast changes and development in Israel’s highways, and as such there are many variations of places’ names. Caesarea, for instance, appears as Caesarea, Qesarya, Qesariyya and Ceysaria.

“The lack of uniform spelling on signs has been a problem for those speaking foreign languages, citizens and tourists alike,” explains Yeshaayahu Ronen, head of the ministry’s Transportation Planning Department.

“It impairs drivers’ ability to find their way and we have decided to follow many other countries around the world and make the transliteration of all names correspond directly with Hebrew.”

Katz authorized Ronen’s department to decide which signs would be replaced.

“Almost all Israeli communities’ names have previous names. Some Palestinian maps still refer to the Israeli cities by their pre-1948 names, since they see them as settlements,” said Katz. “I will not allow that on our signs. This government, and certainly this minister, will not allow anyone to turn Jewish Jerusalem to Palestinian al-Quds.”

Katz is convinced the new style will not infringe on Arab drivers’ ability to find their way. “We will continue to serve the Arab public and have signs in Arabic. I have no problem with an Area B (defined by the Oslo Accords as areas under the Palestinian Authority’s civil control and Israel’s security control) sign reading ‘Nablus’ in Arabic.

“The names on the signs should reflect the reality of the local population, which is exactly why Israeli signs must have Hebrew transliteration.”

As for the cost of the new plan, the Transportation Ministry says the change will be gradual. Ministry Spokesman Avner Ovadia says that no existing sign will be changed and that the new ordinance will only affect new signs, or those replaced due to wear.

MK Tibi: Al-Quds will remain al-Quds

Arab Knesset members were infuriated by the proposal: “Al-Quds will remain al-Quds and Shfaram will remain Shefa-‘Amr,” said MK Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List-Ta’al).

“Minister Katz is mistaken if he thinks that changing a few words can erase the existence of the Arab people or their connection to Israel. This is a blatant attempt at harming the Arabic language and everything it represents.”

Hadash Chairman Mohammad Barakeh added that the decision was too far-reaching: “Yisrael Katz is merely the transportation minister and it appears that the power went to his head… I hereby inform him that he cannot change the nature of a place. Yisrael Katz will come and go but Shefa-‘Amr is here to stay.”

Minister of Minority Affairs Avishay Braverman criticized the decision as well: “Road signs are not a political issue. Arabic is an official language in the State of Israel,” he said.

“I would suggest the Minister Katz place much needed street signs in Arab communities before he changes road signs.

Israel to deport peace activists sailing to Gaza

Efrat Weiss | YNet News

1 July 2009

Israel is planning to deport within the next few days the 21 peace activists who arrived on a boat from Cyprus with the intention of entering the Gaza Strip. An Israeli Navy unit boarded their boat and escorted it to Ashdod port. Immigration police will transport the detained activists to Ben Gurion Airport, and from there they will be deported out of the country.

Among the peace activists are two Israeli-American citizens, and 19 others, including five from Ireland, three from Britain, five from Bahrain, three Americans, and Danish, Jordan, and Yemenite citizens.

Eight immigration police arrived at Ashdod police and performed a search of the activists’ belongings. The detainees will then be transferred to the Immigration Administration in Holon. The police will take their fingerprints, and then send them to Ben Gurion Airport, where each one will face a hearing before the Interior Ministry before being deported.

Hana Araf, of Meilia village in the Galilee, uncle of Houida Araf, one of the Israeli-American citizens on the Gaza-bound boat said, “We haven’t managed to get a hold of her, and we haven’t received any information. We are worried. They can’t deport her, and we will fight for this to the very end.

“She has an Israeli passport. She is a citizen of the state, and Israel has no right to detain her. What for, exactly? For trying to help people who have no food? In the past there were a few regimes that did this, the apartheid in South Africa, for instance. Is this the regime Israel wants to be associated with?”

According to him, “She didn’t do anything against the law. She wants to lawfully help people in trouble, and they are part of her people – if the people here in Israel want it or not. I don’t know how in 60 years, people haven’t internalized the fact that the Arabs living here are Palestinians. We are the same nation. The fact that there was separation and occupation doesn’t make us any less brothers.”

In Larnaca, Cyprus, where the boat departed from, the Gerta Berlin, founder of Movement for the Freedom of Gaza, is being inundated with phone calls showing their support following the detainment of the peace activists.

“They simply kidnapped the passengers. I call the Israeli occupation forces to release our people immediately. It’s funny – what are they going to do? Deport us? The last place we wanted to reach was Israel,” she said.

Berlin still has not thrown in the towel. “It isn’t over till the fat lady sings. They took our boat, so we’ll get a freighter. Israel has no right to keep 1.5 million residents under siege, to occupy Gaza, and to turn it into one big refugee camp.

“The Israeli government does not understand that time is on our side. In the meantime, the administration is losing public support. It would be much smarter on their part if they would simply turn the other cheek and let us through. The detainment of the boat only works in our favor in the long run,” she explained.

Israeli Navy takes control of aid boat headed for Gaza

Ali Waked & Anat Shalev | YNet News

30 June 2009

At around noon Tuesday the Israeli Navy intercepted and took control of a boat that had set sail for the Gaza Strip with three tons of medical supplies, Palestinian sources said, adding that the Navy jammed the boat’s radio signals.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Office confirmed the report. Israeli military sources said there was no violence after the small ferry, sailing from Cyprus with activists from the US-based Free Gaza Movement, was intercepted off Gaza.

Earlier Tuesday, “Free Gaza” founder Greta Berlin told Ynet that at around 11:00 am six Navy vessels approached the boat and ordered it to stop some 50 kilometers off Gaza’s coastline. Despite the order, the boat continued to sail towards the Hamas-ruled territory, said Berlin, who is currently in Cyprus.

Berlin said that the communication with the boat had been disrupted from 1:40-6:00 am, adding that its GPS and navigation systems had been blocked by the Navy, forcing the crew to navigate with the use of a compass alone.

The boat is also carrying 21 peace activists, including former US Congresswoman Cynthia Ann McKinney (D-GA) and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire.

Activist Luvana Masarwa, a 30-year-old east Jerusalem resident, said Monday that passengers “are excited about the possibility of contributing to breaking the siege.”

“We want to show the Palestinian people in Gaza that they are not alone, and call on the international community to take a more active role in resolving the situation,” she said.