A Palestinian woman who now lives in the US recalls growing up in simpler times, without an awareness of the differences in religions. Christmastime – and Santa – were for everyone. But times have changed, and Jerusalem has changed, especially since Trump’s announcement.
A study of AP’s 2018 reports on Palestinians and Israelis killed found that AP headlines reported on Israeli deaths at a rate four times greater than on Palestinian deaths, and that articles were almost three times longer. Essential information was often missing; never once, for example, did AP use the term “occupied” or “occupation”…
Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Colin Powell, recalls his work to invent a case for “pre-emptive” war against Iraq. It worked like a charm – ultimately at a high cost in lives, financially, and in destabilization of the whole region. Wilkerson argues that Nikki Haley and the Trump administration are doing the same thing today, only with even weaker evidence. The result could be “10 to 15 times worse than the Iraq war in terms of casualties and costs.”
It’s not just Palestinian houses that are demolished by Israel. This week it was irrigation pipelines. No warning – just a bulldozer accompanied by Israeli army.
How did a 14-year-old Palestinian girl who has never set foot in the open-air prison of Gaza find herself being dumped there by Israeli officials – alone, at night and without her parents being informed? Ghada’s story, like Ahed Tamimi’s and the African refugees’, is the story of the indifference that is created by an occupation machine.
Donald Trump’s Israel policies may have more to do with outmaneuvering Democrats than they do with any concern for Middle East peace, argues Jonathan Marshall.
Acting Humanitarian Coordinator for the oPt, Roberto Valent, has strong words on the Israeli authorities’ destruction of donor-funded classrooms in the Palestinian community of Abu Nuwar.
Israeli soldiers shot and killed Ahmad Samir Abu ‘Obeid, 19, with a live bullet to the head during an invasion into the West Bank. The invasion was carried out by twenty-two armored military vehicles and two bulldozers. It appears that the killing of Obeid was random; soldiers were searching for a different man.
Israel has begun to tax churches and UN properties in occupied East Jerusalem – reversing a policy that has been in place since 1967. (This will not apply to buildings used for worship.) The government imposed restrictions on the bank accounts of evangelical, Armenian and Roman churches on the grounds of non-payment of property taxes. Trump’s decision last month to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has encouraged the Israeli government to annex large swathes of the city and force its laws on it…
Treating Israeli waste outside Israel, with less stringent regulations, lower costs, and higher risks: just another example of Israel’s ongoing exploitation of a powerless occupied population.