Residents of Khan al-Ahmar have been fighting for their existence since 1951, seeking nothing more than basic human rights. Israeli authorities say the village was illegally constructed; the Israeli Supreme Court in May rejected a final appeal against its demolition. Activists are concerned continued Israeli settlement construction in the area could effectively divide the northern and southern West Bank.
Nearly one tenth of the residents of Palestinian village Abu al Nuwar just became homeless thanks to an illegal Israeli policy of home demolition.
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.
Israel, that “beacon of democracy,” is repressing free speech as it imprisons – and re-imprisons – young Palestinian activists. (Since the beginning of Israel’s occupation of Gaza & the West Bank, it has arrested more than 800,000 Palestinians, almost 20% of the total and about 40% of male Palestinians in the occupied territories.)
Stories keep pouring in of Israel demolishing Palestinian villages; many of the buildings destroyed were donated by EU organizations; schools have been razed; residents are often required to pay tens of thousands of dollars for the destruction of their own homes; nearly 160,000 Bedouins live in “unrecognized” villages built before 1948 that Israel has designated “illegal” and threatens with demolition…
Israeli forces destroyed three Palestinian schools for children in the occupied West Bank, just days before start of school year, as part of an ongoing attack on education in Palestine.
JTA reports that Michael Steinhardt, billionaire founder of Birthright Israel (a free, ten-day trip to Israel that is enjoyed by a large percentage of Jewish young adults) considers the state of Israel “the Jewish miracle of the 20th century.” Now he is creating public schools that teach about Israel…
Famine everywhere in Gaza; Palestinian detainees continue to report horrific torture; West Bank property for sale to US Jews; Archbishop of Canterbury weighs in on Gaza; Lobby Watch: Avril Haines claims Iran is funding Gaza war protests; Israeli violence all over West Bank; Netanyahu “deliberately complicates truce talks”; more.
Just as a new school year is getting underway, Israeli forces demolish a brand-new Palestinian kindergarten, citing, as usual, “lack of permit” in the context of an occupation that only rarely dispenses permits to non-Jews.
Being a child while Palestinian is full of risks. Airstrikes, home (and school) invasions, home (and school) demolitions, inability to access medical care – these are just some of the dangers of being not-Jewish in a land under Israeli control.