21-5-2010 Disabled child injured, three Israeli activists arrested in Bil’in

Photo Muhammed Muheisen. Palestinian demonstrator in a wheelchair reacts as he get caught in tear gas fired by Israeli troops, during a demonstration against Israel’s separation barrier in the West Bank village Bil’in.

A disabled child were injured and three Israeli activists arrested today, And dozens of cases of suffocation as a result of inhaling the tear gas fired by the Israeli Occupation Forces in the village of Bil’in, today along with internationals and Israiles activists people from the village run the weekly march against the wall and settlements in the 62 anniversary of the Nakba.

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Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff and Chaim Levinson May 20 2010

Photo Israeli colony on Palestinian lands in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority has upgraded its campaign against products made in Israeli settlements, notwithstanding warnings from Israel.

On Tuesday, some 3,000 Palestinian volunteers, conscripted by the government of PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad through a group set up by the Palestinian Finance Ministry, went from door to door in West Bank communities explaining the reasons they should boycott settlement products.

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Bil’in case continues at the Quebec Court of Appeal in Montreal

on June 3rd: support activities organized to support of Bil’in’s struggle in Palestine!

9h30: Appeal at the Quebec Court of Appeal
Courtroom Pierre-Basile-Mignault
100 Notre Dame East
metro Champ-de-Mars
Montreal, Quebec

19h : Conference with villagers from Bil’in and Israeli lawyer
Georges-Vanier Cultural Center
2450 Workman
Lionel-Groulx metro

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May 19 2010 International Middle East Media Center- IMEMC

Photo Israeli colony approaching olive trees in Palestine.

Six women and their children from the village of Araba, northern West Bank, were detained by Israeli troops on Tuesday evening.

The women and their children were collecting grab leaves from their lands close to the Mabo Do Than settlement built on villagers’ lands. Troops detained them, then moved them to a military site inside the settlement and kept them there until Wednesday at dawn.

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Irish Times Mark Weiss in Jerusalem, May 2010

Photo Mathew Cassel Blankets and mattresses are handed out to Palestinians whose homes were destroyed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip.

Ireland’s Ambassador to Israel has urged the Israeli authorities to take every precaution to ensure the safety of Irish citizens travelling aboard aid boats heading for Gaza.

The plea from ambassador Briefne O’Reilly came during a meeting at the foreign ministry in Jerusalem on Monday where he was informed by the ministry’s director of European affairs, Naor Gilon, that Irish peace activists, together with other European participants in the “freedom flotilla”, will be turned back by Israeli naval patrols before they reach the shores of Gaza.

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Adri Nieuwhof and Bangani Ngeleza, Electronic Intifada 19 May 2010

Photo South African carried away after being injured by police at anti-apartheid demonstration in Cape Province, 1985. (UN Photo)

Two weeks after Israel imposed a travel ban on him, Ameer Makhoul, a well-respected Palestinian leader holding Israeli citizenship, was kidnapped from his home on 6 May in the middle of the night. The persecution of Makhoul brings back memories of the South Africa apartheid regime: he has been held incommunicado and was not allowed access to his lawyer for two weeks; a court order prohibited publication of any information on the case against Makhoul for 90 days; and the so-called evidence justifying the “security charges” against Makhoul remains secret. During the South Africa anti-apartheid movement, similar tactics were used against those advocating for freedom and equal rights, who were accused of terrorism and having links with the Soviet Union.

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PACBI reaction to Elvis Costello’s cancellation of two gigs in Israel

Photo Larry Towell Palestinian youth resisting Israeli tanks with stones in Palestine.

Occupied Ramallah, 18 May 2010 – The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) warmly welcomes Elvis Costello’s cancellation of his scheduled performances in Israel. Costello’s decision is a great victory for the ethical responsibilities of international cultural figures, a key factor in the cultural boycott of Israel. It comes after similar cancellations by Gil Scott-Heron, Carlos Santana and Bono/U2 upon appeals by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and its international partners, particularly in the UK and U.S.

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Elvis Costello statement May 2010.

Photo: Israeli apartheid wall winds through Palestinians lands.

It is after considerable contemplation that I have lately arrived at the decision that I must withdraw from the two performances scheduled in Israel on the 30th of June and the 1st of July.

One lives in hope that music is more than mere noise, filling up idle time, whether intending to elate or lament.

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Al Jazeera by As’ad AbuKhalil May 2010

Photo: Palestinian solidarity rally in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Every year, Arabs around the world commemorate al-Nakba or “the catastrophe” on May 15 – the day following Israel’s declaration of statehood in 1948.

But poems and speeches are now too embarrassing to recite and Arab governments barely seem interested in remembering – so busy are they trying to win Israel’s approval for direct or indirect negotiations.

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Toronto Star by Gil Yaron May 15 2010

Photo Valerian Mazataud Palestinian facing Israeli repression at weekly protest in Bil’in.

He is wheelchair-bound, but every Friday Rami Burnat can be found in the front lines of those clashing with Israeli soldiers at the outskirts of Bilin, a small Palestinian village in the hills around Ramallah.

For five years now, weekly demonstrations have turned Bilin into a prototype of peaceful protest. The rallies usually run the same course. At around 11:30 a.m. the protesters gather in front of the small mosque. The atmosphere is cheerful: Colourful flags beat in the wind; activists chant rhythmic slogans in Arabic. A circle of young men is dancing to an Arab song blaring out of a cellphone connected to a speaker. Other youngsters try to pick up the female volunteers from Israel and the rest of the world, who flock to Bilin every Friday to demonstrate their solidarity with its plight. Eventually, the demonstration gets going and sets off to the fence at the outskirts of the village.

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