Marc Lamont Hill, in Nazareth 2014. screenshot from Vimeo video. As is often the case with proponents of justice for Palestinians, Marc Lamont Hill was watched closely by Israel partisans as he spoke before the UN last week. They took a phrase – one phrase – from the speech and threw the rest aside, hoping…
Israel’s takeover of Arab East Jerusalem has continued unabated since the 1967 war, but has grown more brazen since US President Trump’s decision to move the embassy. Evictions of Palestinians and appropriation of their homes by Israeli settlers is more frequent; Israeli police presence has grown more pervasive; Israel’s parliament is devising more new policies – and its supreme court is upholding them – to dispossess Palestinians. Meanwhile the PA is powerless to respond. It all adds up to ethnic cleansing.
The lawsuit against Airbnb’s de-listing of Israeli settlement properties sounds pretty flimsy: religious discrimination (illegal settlements are by definition all-Jewish); failure to provide equal access (Palestinians are barred completely – and it’s their land); Airbnb is siding with Palestinians against the occupation (everything about the occupation and settlements is illegal, so, yeah).
Booking.com needs to take a stand against occupation by de-listing properties located on stolen land in Israeli settlements The popular global tourism company Airbnb recently announced its decision to de-list properties in illegal Israeli settlements, a move which Human Rights Watch (HRW) praised as “a stand against discrimination, displacement, and land theft.” Now it’s time for Booking.com to…
Israeli settler violence against Palestinians is increasing, and exasperated Palestinians have begun organizing neighborhood watch groups. Israeli officials worry that these groups may endanger Israeli vandals.
Airbnb is doing the right thing by de-listing properties in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The Anti-Defamation League is pushing back – but its arguments fail to hold up to even the mildest scrutiny.
Israeli settler violence – with IDF complicity – is becoming more and more commonplace, even targeting elementary schools. The government has also approved extensive Israeli settlement expansions and Jewish-only roads to be built on Palestinian land, which will result in isolation of Palestinian communities and loss of olive trees.
In addition, Jerusalem has seen an increase in extremist Jewish visits to the Al-Aqsa mosque.
Last weekend saw an escalation of violence that started when Israeli military infiltrated Gaza, initiated a firefight, and retreated under cover of shelling. One Israeli and 7 Palestinians were killed, and Hamas responded with rockets. Today, factions in the besieged Gaza Strip say they have agreed to an Egypt-brokered ceasefire. “The resistance will respect this declaration as long as the Zionist enemy respects it.”
Recently released Israeli documents show that Israel secretly funded an insurance company for settlers, in addition to planning for 20,000 new units in Ma’ale Adumim worth 3 billion shekels (over $800 million), an East Jerusalem settlement built on confiscated Palestinian land.
In addition, settlement activity in Hebron continues, and Israel is trying to have international human rights observers removed.
Other troubling new governmental actions and policies have also been adopted.
Israeli soldiers and settlers terrorize Palestinians every day. Stories from November 4-5 (that won’t appear in mainstream media) include 2 Palestinian deaths, at least 14 abductions – some of them children, a settler free-for-all in Hebron, and an injured infant.