Tags: occupation

Israeli settlers, with IDF complicity, have destroyed 800,000 olive trees since 1967

Palestinians who rely on olive harvests for their livelihood have been terrorized by Israeli settlers since the beginning of the occupation in 1967. Settlers – often guarded or assisted by Israeli military – destroy trees and equipment, steal large quantities of olives, kill livestock, and attack Palestinian farmers. 

In the ongoing travesty of justice, some olive groves are only accessible to their Palestinian owners for a few days a year; swaths of farmland has been appropriated by Israel for settlement expansion or military use. 

Palestinian village denied basic human rights, now faces imminent demolition

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.

Troves of looted Palestinian books, documents, photographs and films from as early as the 1930s are sealed in Israel’s archives and libraries. Palestinians see the censorship as part of a wider trend of physical and cultural erasure continues to this day. Concealing the archival record denies Palestinians the tools to communicate their own history.

The United Nations is anti-injustice, not anti-Semitic

A United Nations committee is directed to facilitate self-determination among colonized and suppressed people groups. The committee is poised to pass 9 resolutions against Israel. Predictably, the charge of anti-Semitism arises. 

It is not hard to dismantle the accusation – using context, fact-checking, and a bit of logic.

Goliath lives: Palestinian children at risk in school

In the course of just 4 days, Israeli soldiers managed to attack and traumatize scores of school children, as well as adults who were there to serve the children. Mainstream media does not report on these incidents because they don’t match the narrative of benign occupation and Palestinians as terrorists.

Palestinian groups agree to Egyptian-brokered truce with Israel

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.”

Palestinians denounce Hollywood stars’ $60m for Israeli army ‘terror’

At the November 1st “Friends of the IDF” Hollywood gala, $60 million was raised in one night for Israel’s army. This is on top of $10 million a day in US military aid to Israel. Palestinians are outraged that American artists are supporting a regime that kills innocents and colonizes land.