Thursday, June 30, 2016

PALESTINIANS AMONG VICTIMS OF ISTANBUL AIRPORT ATTACK [Graphic]

One Palestinian has been reported dead in the attack on Istanbul's Atatürk airport yesterday, one child is possibly missing and six to seven other Palestinians have been reported wounded, two of them critically.

The name of the victim has been given as Nisreen Hashem ShafeHadad(28) and she was originally from Jenin on the occupied West Bank, but was living in Saudi Arabia with her husband and daughter.

Nisreen Hadad's 34 y/o husband was wounded, but of the fate of their 3 y/o daughter there has been conflicting claims. According to one she was also wounded and in hospital, according to another one she is missing. Which in these circumstances would mean that she is dead.

One of the two critically wounded is a 17 y/o girl from the besieged Gaza, another a woman from the occupied West Bank town of Qalqilya, almost totally closed from the outside world by Israel's illegal Wall.

At least 42 people were killed and 239 wounded in the attack by three suicide bombers armed with assault rifles. The attack is presumed to have been carried out by Islamic State supporters, largely based on the similarity to recent similar attacks claimed by it.

Of the dead, 24 have been confirmed to be Turkish and 13 foreign nationals.

SOURCES:

Istanbul airport attack death toll rises to 41 after triple suicide bombing
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/istanbul-airport-turkey-attack-bombing-isis-death-toll-suicide-bombs-a7108816.html

Istanbul Ataturk airport attack: Deaths rise to 42 as Turkey mourns
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36662684

Palestinian woman among victims of suicide attacks on Ataturk airport in Istanbul
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?ID=772045

Palestinian woman killed, 6 injured, child missing in Istanbul attack
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=79368

Routine night of Istanbul airport duty, then horror and death
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/06/29/victims-istanbul-airport-attack/86502950/

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

ILLEGAL ISRAELI SETTLERS ATTACK VILLAGE OF WADI FUKIN

Illegal Israeli settlers from the illegal colony of Beitar Illit destroyed agricultural lands and two greenhouses in the village of Wadi Fukin near Bethlehem on the occupied West Bank on Tuesday.

The destroyed property belonged to five local Palestinian farmers.

As a "finishing touch" the illegal Israeli settlers sprayed "Death to Arabs" messages at the site of their crimes.

These daily attacks by illegal Israeli settlers against occupied Palestinians have the silent backing of Israel's occupation forces, who much of the time accompany the attackers to "protect" them.

Wadi Fukin is targeted regularly (on May 26th illegal Israeli settlers burned down part of the village lands) because it lies between the illegal colony of Beitar Illit, which is part of the bigger Gush Etzion colony bloc, and the Green Line, the armistice line from 1949.

The target of the illegal Israeli settlers and Israeli occupation is to ethnically cleanse Wadi Fukin so that the illegal colony bloc of Gush Etzion can be directly connected to Israel.

SOURCES:

Israeli settlers raid lands in Bethlehem, spray "Death to Arabs" on Palestinian property
http://maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=772053

Monday, June 27, 2016

IPNOT PICTURE OF THE DAY FROM June 26: Al-Aqsa mosque compound guard beaten by Israeli occupation

Israel's occupation forces attacked Palestinians and foreign visitors on Sunday in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Palestine's occupied East Jerusalem. During the attack Badir Badir, a guard appointed by Jordan, received a head-wound.

The 'reason' was to allow another group of extremist Zionists to 'tour' the compound. Palestinians tried to resist opening the Magharba gate to the extremist Zionists.

These 'tours' are incitement, pure and simple. People have died in the violence they create.

On Sunday the result of Israeli occupation incitement was that up to 28 people suffered various light to moderate injuries and up to 14 were arrested by the occupation.

Among the arrested were according to conflicting reports either 3 British and 2-3 South African nationals, or only 3 foreigners either from Great Britain or South Africa. Three arrested foreigners will be deported by the Israeli occupation.

SOURCES:

12 Palestinians injured as Israeli forces raid Al-Aqsa, detaining 2 South Africans
http://maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=772005

2 South Africans, 12 Palestinians kidnapped by IOF in predawn sweep
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=79309

Clashes break out in Al-Aqsa mosque, eight injured
http://english.pnn.ps/2016/06/26/clashes-break-out-in-al-aqsa-mosque-five-injured/

Israeli Army Kidnaps Eleven Palestinians, Three South Africans, In The West Bank, Injures Five
http://imemc.org/article/israeli-army-kidnaps-eleven-palestinians-three-south-africans-in-the-west-bank-injures-five/

Sabri: Israeli attack on Aqsa worshipers crime
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=79311

Thursday, June 23, 2016

REUTERS JOINS ATTACK AGAINST ABBAS' FOR 'BLOOD LIBEL' TO PROTECT ILLEGAL ISRAELI SETTLERS

Today Palestine's president Mahmoud Abbas spoke in the European Union's Parliament, asking European Union to help to end the occupation.

During his speech he mentioned the recent call to poison Palestinian water supply from illegal Israeli settler rabbi on the occupied West Bank.

Supporters of Israeli occupation immediately declared this to be a blood libel and 'Western' media joined the attack. The reason being to take both attention from Abbas' speech, the overall positive reaction to it and the poisoning of water supplies by illegal Israeli settlers, which is a common occurrence.

Reuters' Brussels and Jerusalem correspondents Robin Emmott and Dan Williams published an article, where they tried to tarnish Abbas' comment and support the 'blood libel' argument, trying to link it such things as violence against Jews during the Black Death plague epidemic during the mid-14th century.

Beyond intentionally failing to 'realize' that the name given for one rabbi calling for poisoning of the water supply has become mangled in translation and failing to mention the many recorded cases of poisoning of springs and wells by illegal Israeli settlers, Emmott and Williams also came up with this in their article:

"The same day, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, on its website, cited what it said was a water-poisoning call from a "Rabbi Mlmad" and demanded his arrest.

Reuters and other news outlets in Israel could not locate any rabbi named Shlomo Mlma or Mlmad, and there is no listed organisation called the Council of Rabbis in the West Bank."

The trick that Emmott and Williams try here is that first, they use Palestinian terminology and look at 'listed organizations'. They go searching - in places where they knew they wouldn't find the subject of the search.

The illegal Israeli settlers' terminology is not 'West Bank', but Judea and Samaria - and the illegal Israeli settler rabbis' organization is 'Council of Rabbis of Judea and Samaria'.

It's a very well known extremist group giving religious excuses for illegal Israeli settlers' actions and is currently led by the octogenarian Dov Lior(1933-). A simple web search can reveal all of this. But supposedly Reuters' correspondents couldn't find any of this...

A one more case of 'Israel for itself and Western media for Israel'.

SOURCE:

Abbas says some Israeli rabbis called for poisoning Palestinian water
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-palestinians-israel-idUKKCN0Z91IP

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

IPNOT PICTURE OF THE DAY for June 21: Collective punishment by Israel in the West Bank

Israel's occupation forces destroyed the family home of Bashar Masalha(22) in the village of Hajja on Tuesday morning. Hajja is situated near the town of Qalqilya on northern part of the occupied West Bank. This was an act of collective punishment and is a war crime forbidden in the international law.

Masalha was murdered on March 8 while laying on ground wounded in Palestine 1948's Jaffa after having carried out an attack which killed a former United States' soldier on holiday and injured 10 Israeli citizens.

At the time, the Israeli media and part of the United States' media made much of the death of the US man, Taylor Force(28), who had taken part in the occupation of Iraq. Force, a West Point graduate, must have understood that he had made a decision to visit an occupying country during a time increased violence.

Although we don't condone Bashar Masalha's action, we understand the circumstances driving him to do it. He could not just decide to take part in an occupation, like Taylor Force had decided to do in Iraq. All his life was lived under an occupation. Taylor Force could take part in occupation and leave it behind him, and then fatefully decide to visit an occupying power.

Force was no 'innocent abroad' somehow ending up a victim in a situation he didn't know of or understand. Parts of US media did try their best portray him as such, leaving his military past unmentioned and instead describing him merely as a student of Vanderbilt University, as he was by the time of his death.

None of these representatives of the press made the obvious recommendation that US government should advice its citizens against travel to Israel as long as the occupation goes on. There is no safe occupation. Neither for Israelis themselves or American tourists.

Taylor Force would be alive if he wouldn't have visited an occupying state and both he and Bashar Masalha would be alive if the United States government would have been more eager to achieve end to the occupation in peace talks than to try to secure as much of the occupied areas to Israel as possible.

When Taylor Force and Bashar Masalha met, it was a bloody collision resulting from decades of failed United States' policies and unconditional military and political support to Israel. All those who had by then played a part in keeping up the occupation dipped that day their hands in both young men's blood.

These Israeli and United States did not have any problem with the murder of the wounded Masalha, or with the crowd around him goading a police volunteer to commit the murder, with sentences like: “Give it to him in the head, don’t be afraid, give it to him in the head. Good, you’re a king." and "Son of a bitch! ... Give it to him in the head.”

SOURCE:

3 Palestinians shot dead after multiple attacks kill tourist, wound 12
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770613

Israeli Soldiers Demolish A Home Near Qalqilia
http://imemc.org/article/army-demolishes-a-home-near-qalqilia/

Israel demolishes home of Palestinian slain after carrying out deadly Jaffa attack
http://maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=771954

Israel to Probe Whether Police Volunteer Lawfully Killed Assailant Behind Jaffa Attack
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.708047

Israel Razes Home of Palestinian Who Killed U.S. Tourist in Jaffa Rampage
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.726162

Sunday, June 19, 2016

TEL AVIV CROWD KILLS HEART ATTACK VICTIM AFTER TRAFFIC ACCIDENT BELIEVING HE'S A PALESTINIAN

Reminding us of the brutal lynching of 29 y/o Eritrean Haftom Zarhum in Palestine 1948's Beersheba on October 18th last year, a male driver has been beaten to death by a crowd in Tel Aviv after he suffered a heart attack and his car crashed into a restaurant yesterday.

Two middle-aged men who were in the Chinese Furama restaurant at Ben Yehuda Street were killed in the accident, after which bystanders pulled the unconscious man from his car and began a violent attack that cost his life.

According to the restaurant owners' wife, those who killed the driver thought that he was a Palestinian, and a 'terrorist' who would have deliberately crashed into the restaurant.

This act of brutal mob violence has received surprisingly little coverage in Israel and in international media so far.

SOURCES:

Israeli driver mistaken for Palestinian attacker beaten by Tel Aviv mob
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-driver-mistaken-palestinian-attacker-beaten-380656976

Tel Aviv: Driver of last night’s deadly accident was beaten by eye-witnesses
http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news/in-israel/local/driver-of-last-nights-deadly-accident-initially-believed-to-be-terrorist-21793

Friday, June 17, 2016

IPNOT PICTURE OF THE DAY June 17: Wadi Hilweh playground destroyed again by Israel

In 2012 Israel destroyed children's playground in Wadi Hilweh, which is situated in the Silwan neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem. It was then rebuild by the locals, but today it has been destroyed again.

On yesterday the locals were able to stop Israeli occupation from getting to the playground - then the claim was that they would be doing 'repairs'. Today that was changed to 'archaeological work' - with mechanical diggers that dug a trench through the playground and dumped the dug soil on rest of the playground.

In Silwan Israeli occupation has given - through Israel's 'National Parks' authority - the zoning authority to illegal Israeli settlers' organization named Elad, whose goal is to drive as many Palestinians out of East Jerusalem and bring in as many illegal Israeli settlers as possible.

That illegal Israeli settlers' organization holds zoning authority in occupied Palestinian territory is one of those things that Israel's 'Western' supporters - including almost all of the mainstream media - neither mention nor criticize. What in else would be absurd and monstrous is injustice 'normal' when it comes to Israel.

In Israel itself its a rare Arab community which holds zoning authority in its own area. The whole system is rigged, it is planned to be rigged and operates as intended, producing Apartheid, ethnic cleansing and poverty.

In end of March Israeli occupation destroyed a playground in Silwan's al-Abbasiyya. Both it and the now destroyed playground are in private land owned by Palestinians.

The destruction of children's playgrounds so the kind of petty hate that is characteristic of the illegal Israeli settlers. They wage long campaigns to make Palestinians' lives as miserable as possible and celebrate takeover of houses after decades of attempts at great victories. In the meanwhile, the Palestinian population no only in occupied East Jerusalem but of whole Jerusalem is growing at a faster rate than the Jewish one.

PHOTO: Silwanic.net

SOURCES:

Children of Wadi Hilweh play in bulldozed playground ~ in pictures
https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/children-of-wadi-hilweh-play-in-bulldozed-playground-in-pictures/

Israeli Forces Level Palestinian Playground in Latest Silwan Demolition
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/israeli-bill-on-prison-sentences-for-minors-targets-palestinian-children/

Parks in Arab East Jerusalem 'not for the public'
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/features/2015/9/18/parks-in-arab-east-jerusalem-not-for-the-public

Thursday, June 16, 2016

PRO-PALESTINIAN BRITISH MP CRITICALLY WOUNDED IN ATTACK

Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox(42), who has shown support for Palestine, has been shot and stabbed today in Great Britain in Birstall, near Leeds. She had just ended an event where the people of her constituency of Batley and Spen could meet here.

According to contradictory eye-witness claims, Cox was either directly targeted or intervened in a fight between two men. She was shot two or three times and stabbed at least once. Her attacker has been identified as Tommy Mair(52).

According to one eye-witness Mair would have shouted about the far-right British First -party during the attack. Mair was arrested by the police near the scene of the incident.

Cox has called for the recognition of Palestine, and has met with representatives of pro-Palestinian groups during her short time in parliament, where she was elected in the last elections last year. Previously as an Oxfam aid worker she had spent time in Palestine herself.

In her own words from 2015:

"The Gaza reconstruction mechanism is clearly not working, but it is also not a substitute for easing the closure. There is a need for urgent expansion of access to Israeli markets for Palestinian exports. What measures are the Government taking to that end? We also need to remove the last restrictions on the export of Gazan products to the West Bank.

I would like construction materials to be allowed into Gaza urgently. The facts are clear: only one home has been rebuilt in the past year, since the bombing, and the projections are that it will take hundreds of years to rebuild at the current rate. There is a need for materials to get into Gaza so that people can rebuild their lives. What is the Government’s view on that?

In addition, people need to get in and out of Gaza. In 2000 about 500,000 people were leaving and returning to Gaza, for work or to see family members. This year the number is 18,000, which is very low, and we need to raise it quickly. We also need the Israeli Government to continue to believe that there will be a cost to their allowing further settlement expansion in the West Bank. I would love to know what the Government are doing to get that message clearly heard by the Israeli Government. I would be interested also in the Government’s view of the Israeli Government’s silent policy of retrospectively legalising illegal outposts."

SOURCES:

2015 intake show support for Palestine and LFPME
http://www.lfpme.org/list/events_in_parliament1.php

British MP Jo Cox 'injured in shooting attack'
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/british-mp-jo-cox-injured-shooting-attack-160616131521198.html

GAZA: Questions to be answered
https://palestinebriefing.org/2015/10/07/853/

Jo Cox MP critically injured amid shooting reports
http://passionislam.com/articles.php?articles_id=366

National Lobby of Parliament for Palestine
http://www.palestinecampaign.org/lobby/

We must remember that Syria is not Iraq – and build a plan for action
http://labourlist.org/2015/10/we-must-remember-that-syria-is-not-iraq-and-build-a-plan-for-action/