Montreal Gazette, June 25, 2009, by Sue Montgomery.

Photo: Valerian Mazataud. Palestinian Mohamed Khatib at the Quebec Superior Court.

MONTREAL — Two Canadian companies that are building condominiums for Israeli settlers in the West Bank are committing a war crime, a lawyer representing a tiny Palestinian farming village that is trying to sue the firms by using Canada’s War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act argued Thursday.

After three days of hearings in Quebec Superior Court on motions filed by lawyers of Green Park International Inc. and Green Mount International Inc. to have the suit thrown out, lawyer Mark Arnold argued the case should go to trial.

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Photo essay by Valerian Mazataud.

Photo: Valerian Mazataud. Bil’in vs. Israeli apartheid at Concordia University.

Bil’in village has been a focus for the Palestinian solidarity movement in Canada during the past month, as Mohamed Khatib from Bil’in’s Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements and Emily Schaeffer, an Israeli lawyer representing the village of Bil’in, have recently toured across Canada.

In Montreal hundreds have gathered in solidarity with Bil’in this past week, for a major lecture at Concordia University, the last stop on the cross-Canada tour and for a solidarity demonstration with Bil’in outside the Quebec Superior Court, both events are documented in this photo essay.

Bil’in’s historic lawsuit against Green Park International and Green Mount International, two companies registered in Quebec, began this week at the Quebec Superior Court. Bil’in’s lawsuit is rooted in the fact that the two companies are constructing illegal Israeli colonies on Bil’in’s lands in the West Bank.

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Al Jazeera, June 2009 by Jacky Rowland in Jerusalem.

Photo: ActiveStills. Palestinian home demolished by Israel in Jerusalem.

The Palestinian village of Silwan clings to a steep hillside facing the southern walls of Jerusalem’s Old City.

In the valley below, Al Bustan neighbourhood stretches out in the shadow of Haram al-Sharif, also known as the Temple Mount. It is a setting rich in meaning for Muslims, Jews and Christians.

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call for court solidarity surrounding the historic lawsuit launched by Bil’in village.

JUNE 2009: Montreal, Quebec
Tuesday, June 23, 9h30 – 16h00
Thursday, June 25, 9h30 – 16h00
Quebec superior court
room 16.08
1 Notre Dame east
métro Place-d’Armes/Champs-de-Mars

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Aljazeera, June 22nd, 2009.

Photo: ActiveStills. Israeli military launches tear-gas on Palestinian protester in Bil’in.

A Canadian court is to consider a lawsuit brought by Palestinians from the West Bank town of Bilin who say two Canadian firms have committed war crimes by assisting in construction of Israeli settlements.

Activists filed the suit against Green Mount International and Green Park International – two Canadian companies contracted to build in the settlement of Modiin Illit, in a Montreal court, where the companies are registered.

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Montreal Gazette, June 21, 2009, by Sue Montgomery.

Photo: Palestinians and the Israeli apartheid wall in the West Bank.

Members of a tiny Palestinian farming community will be in Quebec Superior Court tomorrow claiming two Canadian construction companies are committing war crimes by building condominiums and roads on the village’s land in the West Bank.

It will be the first time that Canada’s War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act, passed in 2000, will be used in a civil case.

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rally to open the Bil’in’s lawsuit in Quebec against Israeli settlements

MONDAY JUNE 22, 12noon
Quebec superior court
1 Notre Dame east
Montreal, Quebec
métro Place-d’Armes/Champs-de-Mars

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Eva Bartlett | Inter Press Service 18 June 2009

Photo: Palestinian boy admits destruction in Gaza.

While diminishing water resources are a global concern, in Palestine the struggle for water is not against global warming or multinational corporations, but for access to water, and against contamination of what precious resources there are.

Mohamed Ahmed, director of the Water Control Department in the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), says “there continues to be a very rapid depletion and deterioration of ground water.”

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Al-Ahram, June 2009, by Azmi Bishara.

Photo: Israeli occupation soldier cutting out the light.

What is behind the latest wave of legislative proposals flooding the Knesset agenda? I refer specifically to those intended to curb manifestations of Palestinian patriotism and to restrict the political activity of Arab Israelis.
Netanyahu and Lieberman

The aim of these laws is to impose the Israeli nationalist creed by coercion. It’s really that simple. Over the last decade, the Knesset has experienced several bursts of legislative activity seeking to restrict freedom of opinion and expression on the questions of the Jewishness of the state and the right to resist occupation. The advocates of these laws are indefatigable. If the proposals fail to pass through any of the necessary stages, they are resubmitted over and over again in the hope of wearing out their opponents.

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photo essay from Claudia Espinosa and Valerian Mazataud.

Photo: Valerian Mazataud. Opening the evening is Colin Stetson.

Excitement is building around the ongoing Artists Against Apartheid concert series, which unites ground breaking artists and musicians in Montreal in solidarity with Palestinian human rights. As part of the annual Suoni per il Popolo music festival the eighth edition of Artists Against Apartheid featured some of the most celebrated grassroots artists in Montreal.

Esmerine headlined the concert with a quartet performance that included an appearance from singer Lhasa de Sela, while saxophonist Colin Stetson opened the concert stunning the audience at La Sala Rossa with a performance that clearly outlined the reasons for the growing hype surrounding Stetson’s music. Also joining the evening was Jean the Hatchet a collaboration between violinist Sarah Neufeld of Arcade Fire and Bell Orchestre, percussionist Shahzad Ismaily from New York City and Colin Stetson.

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