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‘Palestinians finally do the right thing’ after Israeli soldier loses his way and other condescensions

February 12, 2012 By 1 Comment

For years now, Israel and its supporters have been calling on Palestinians to find their Gandhi, so to say. It appears that he was found a little over one week ago after local villagers safely delivered a stranded Israeli soldier to his unit during a military incursion near Ramallah in the West Bank. The coverage was overwhelmingly positive — after all, the soldier came out of his debacle unscathed — but we must not allow this supposed PR win to dehumanize the Palestinian people or to mask or outweigh their values and principles.

Naturally, I, like many, hold mixed views over what took place in Budrus. I certainly recognize the humanistic gesture undertaken by the locals when they escorted the frightened soldier through the village but I stand at odds with the idea of voluntarily assisting an occupying force and normalizing its presence, especially as it storms through Palestinian towns and arbitrarily detains men and children. My contention, however, isn’t nearly as troubling as the perceived sense that after six and a half decades of failed opportunities, Palestinians have finally done the “right thing”, that this act of courage, as I’m hearing it said, has shown the world the human face of an otherwise ugly and brutish people. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Opinion Tagged With: , , , ,

Left behind at the scene of the crime: Israel wages war on Bil’in

January 30, 2012 By 2 Comments

Photos by Wedad Yassin

Weeks ago, Wedad Yassin traveled back to Ein Yabrud, a village near Ramallah in the West Bank, to visit her family and to experience Palestine’s rich cultural heritage. Her intention had been to tour through the Al-Khalil district, Ramallah, Bil’in, and Jerusalem. However, she was denied entry to Jerusalem. Nevertheless, Yassin explored Bil’in, site of the weekly demonstrations against Israel’s apartheid wall, and came across this jam’iyya or association dedicated to “enhancing and reviving Palestinian culture along with documenting Israeli crimes”.

Included is a series of photographs from Yassin’s visit to this center. Each of the shells, bullet casings, and projectiles featured in these images were collected over time by the members of this jam’iyya after they were used against unarmed protesters during the demonstrations in Bil’in. Israeli forces continue to use live ammunition, rubber bullets, and USA-made tear gas canisters against the Bil’in activists on a regular basis and have designated the area a military zone to allow soldiers to treat the civilians as hostile combatants.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Guest Contribution, Photo Post Tagged With: , , , ,

MSNBC highlights Israeli abuse, shows soldier driving trailer over Palestinian body

January 27, 2012 By 15 Comments

Featured in MSNBC’s “The Week in Pictures” is a photograph of a Palestinian man screaming in agony as an Israeli soldier drives a tractor-hitched trailer over his legs.

It’s a heartbreaking photograph, and the stone cold and carefree attitudes of the soldiers surrounding the man literally adds insult to injury. But first, a backstory: In the West Bank village of Al-Dirat near Al-Khalil, a group of Palestinian construction workers prepared the equipment and materials necessary to begin the construction of a new home. Soon after, a half-dozen or so Israeli soldiers appeared at the scene and ordered the workers to cease construction.

Almost as suddenly as their arrival, the hostile soldiers commandeered the equipment and ordered the Palestinian workers to disperse. At least one soldier boarded a tractor and, although it is unclear what exactly he aimed at, drove the vehicle’s attached trailer over one of the workers. The worker had reportedly been protesting the unfair expulsion of him and his fellow construction workers. Hazem Bader with Agence France-Presse (AFP) captured the photograph above, as well as the first of the two photographs below.

I expect people to argue that the soldier didn’t deliberately run the man over. I was not at the scene but here’s a question for these people: Do you drive over speed humps without noticing? I find it hard to believe that the soldier didn’t feel or notice the resistance from the man’s body as the wheels lurched up and over him. It’s just not practical. [Read more...]

Filed Under: News, Media Tagged With: , , ,

Israeli military commends itself for saving, not taking, lives

January 8, 2012 By 1 Comment

After reading the Israeli military’s latest report on its service to humanity, one might actually be compelled to believe that the Israeli military “is always ready to leave everything behind and save lives”. But unless you are a seal trained to clap at the clowns behind such a deceptive report, this should instead lead you to question the morality of Israel’s armed forces and how their mission to save lives ends just outside of Palestine’s borders.

The report features the National Search and Rescue Unit, a collection of volunteer Israeli soldiers, as one component of the Israeli military’s overall dedication to providing humanitarian aid in Israel and abroad. According to the report, this group of individuals was responsible for saving the life of a little girl hidden beneath the rubble of her home after a devastating earthquake hit Turkey in 1999. Admirable, yes, so let us ask Jihan al-Hilu what she thinks about Israel’s altruism. It is likely that she shares the same opinion as Mahdi al-’Athamneh.

Here would be the perfect place to insert quotes by sixteen-year-old Jihan and fifteen-year-old Mahdi but they are not with us to share their thoughts. Jihan and her entire family were killed on January 18, 2009, when armed Israeli forces, not an earthquake, fired a barrage of missiles at her home in Gaza City. Similarly, Mahdi was among the nineteen civilians killed when the Israeli military shelled a residential neighborhood in Beit Hanoun and collapsed his home on his family in 2006. Where was Israel’s altruism then? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commentary Tagged With: , , , , ,

Militancy among Israel’s youth

January 5, 2012 By 3 Comments

I wonder when the IDF Spokesperson, an expert at exploiting photographs of Palestinian children donning military regalia, will have the guts to feature one of its own.

When Hamas celebrated its 24th anniversary in mid-December, the Israeli military reported that “more than 100,000 Hamas supporters” had gathered for the ceremony. The remainder of the report quotes Hamas’ charter and lists a variety of self-reported statistics concerning Hamas’ military activity. But although the article itself doesn’t mention children, it is peppered with three bold images of children dressed in green and, in two cases, holding plastic RPGs.

What’s the purpose? To present the supposed militancy of an occupied people and their youth. But what about the savagery of the occupiers? What about these photographs?

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Commentary, News Tagged With: , ,

The Palestine Entries: Shooting the messenger, a tribute to Palestinian journalist Fadel Shana’a

July 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

// Entry #34

A tribute to Fadel Shana’a, Reuters journalist
1984/85 to 2008

Fadel Shana’a was only 23 years old when his body was pierced by metal darts. Working for Reuters as a cameraman, Fadel ‘s enthusiasm, bravery, and dedication to a life of honest reporting compelled him to be at the scene of an attack even as it unfolded. The footage he captured validated the use of the terms “violent” and “systematic” when describing Israel’s occupation, specifically his final seconds of footage.

On 16 April 2008, Fadel and an accompanying Reuters soundman made their way to the site of an ongoing tank shelling. Standing alongside a silver Mitsubishi SUV labeled in bright red with the words “Press” and “TV”, Fadel focused his camera lens on an Israeli tank in the distance. As he slowly zoomed out, the tank fired a flechette shell that within moments hit near his location. This was the second time he was targeted by Israeli troops. The first was in a 2006 air strike that left him bleeding but alive.

This time, unfortunately, Fadel was not so lucky. The impact of the tank missile threw the camera to the ground and blacked the screen. High velocity shrapnel tore Fadel’s body into pieces. He died at the scene while his soundman survived with severe injuries. Two passing men were also killed by the attack. (His final footage can be found at the end of this article.) [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal, The Palestine Entries Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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