Palestine Update 634
_Comment_
Violent upheavals by settlers and soldiers bring despair to Palestinians
92 lawmakers sent a letter to the US president in which they said the
proposed changes to Israel’s judiciary would “jeopardize Israeli
democracy, which in turn would undermine the very foundation of the
US-Israel relationship” They are calling on President Biden to
influence a reversal in the decision.
But, the Biden administration defies political ethics. It has approved a
diplomatic visa for right-wing Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich
even after Human rights groups had urged the Biden administration to reject Smotrich’s request for a visa after he called for the Palestinian village of Huwwara to be “wiped out” [1] earlier this month. His comments were a prelude to a surge [2] of settler violence in the area that resulted in one Palestinian being killed, hundreds being injured, and huge amounts of property destroyed.
Legal sources narrated 214 incidents of suppression of Palestinian
advocacy in the US. Of these, 70 percent of incidents took place at 80
educational institutions. In addition, the group provided an overview of some of the key the stories behind these numbers.
The high court of Israel is enabling the state’s use of torture against
Palestinian prisoners. On 29 December 2022, the high court once again
yielded to the demands of the state regarding the issue of prison
conditions and the size of prison cells in particular. In most Western
countries, the size of standard prison cells ranges between 6 and 12
sqm, while in Israel, it is less than 3 sq metres.
An estimated 500 Israeli settlers stormed the occupied West Bank
villages [3] of Hawara [4], Zaatara, and Burin, among others in what
many are calling a pogrom [5]. Protected by Israeli Occupation Forces
(IOF), armed settlers set fire to hundreds of Palestinian homes – 9 of
which were confirmed to have families trapped inside – hundreds of
cars, shops, ambulances, trees, and livestock. Just a few days ago
Zionist settlers and IOF soldiers invaded occupied Nablus again, broke
into shops, and terrorized Palestinians. Predictably, in the wake of
such violence from settlers who are not IOF soldiers, narratives about
“extremist,” “right-wing” Zionists and Zionist governments
emerged.
Amnesty International has expressed strong disapproval: “Israeli
authorities have long enabled and incited settler attacks against
Palestinians, and in some cases, soldiers have directly participated”,
it stated.
Please read the articles below and disseminate widely.
On behalf of MLN Palestine Updates
Ranjan Solomon
————————-
US lawmakers warn Biden that Israel’s judicial overhaul undermines
bilateral ties
_More than 90 members of US Congress say Biden must ‘oppose any moves
toward annexation’_
A group of nearly 100 Democratic lawmakers has warned US [6] President Joe Biden that the actions of Israel’s [7] far-right government are undermining the US-Israel relationship. The 92 lawmakers sent a letter to the US president in which they said the proposed changes to Israel’s judiciary would “jeopardize Israeli democracy, which in turn would undermine the very foundation of the US-Israel relationship”…We urge you to use all diplomatic tools available to prevent Israel’s
far-right government from further damaging the nation’s democratic
institutions and undermining the potential for two states for two
peoples,” said the letter, published [8] by the liberal pro-Israel
group J Street.
Currently, Israel’s highest court can disqualify government legislation
if it contradicts Israel’s 13 basic laws, particularly the Human Dignity
and Liberty Basic Law. Israel’s basic laws are intended to be part of
the future constitution, which does not exist yet. However, a new plan
proposed by the Netanyahu-led coalition would expand the government’s power to appoint judges and impede the Supreme Court’s power to restrain parliament.
Read more in Middle East Eye [9]
Biden administration approves visa for Israeli minister who called for
Palestinian village to be ‘wiped out’
_The State Department has approved a visa for Bezalel Smotrich, the
Israeli finance minister who called for the village of Huwwara to be
destroyed as settler violence has surged in the West Bank._
The U.S. State Department has approved a diplomatic visa for right-wing Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Human rights groups had called [10] on the Biden administration to reject Smotrich’s request
after he called for the Palestinian village of Huwwara to be “wiped
out” [11] earlier this month. His comments came amid a surge [12] of
settler violence in the area that resulted in one Palestinian being
killed, hundreds being injured, and huge amounts of property destroyed.
Smotrich apologized for his comments last week. “People sometimes use harsh words they don’t mean in order to pass a message,” he tweeted [13]. “It happens to everyone.”
Smotrich is scheduled to address an Israel Bonds meeting [14] in
Washington, D.C. that begins on March 12. The CEO of Israel Bonds is Dani Naveh, a former Likud Party minister and Benjamin Netanyahu’s first cabinet secretary. Press are not permitted at the event.
A senior U.S. official told [15] Axios‘ Barak Ravid that the State
Department had internal discussions on the issue, but that there’s a
very high bar for denying a diplomatic visa to a United States ally.
In 2019 the U.S. denied [16] a visa to senior Palestinian official Hanan
Ashrawi for unspecified reasons. In 2012 former Knesset member Michael Ben Ari was denied [17] a visa over connections to a “terrorist
organization,” presumably the defunct Zionist party Kach.
Read more in Mondoweiss [18]
US group records 214 incidents of suppression of Palestine advocacy in
2022Palestine
Legal reports that in 2022 it responded to 214 incidents of suppression
of Palestinian advocacy in the US. Of these, 70 percent of incidents
took place at 80 educational institutions. They also responded to 48
legal questions from activists concerned about their rights. In
addition, the group provided an overview of some of the key the stories behind these numbers. “By sharing these stories together and seeing the backlash people face, we’re building a support system and speaking out for one another,” Zoha Khalili, a staff attorney with Palestine Legal and an author of the report, told The New Arab. These stories included Palestinian poet Mohammad El-Kurd, who faced attempts at derailing his book tour at US college campuses; professors facing backlash over lectures; and students being punished for allegedly posting pro-Palestinian fliers. In each of these cases, the activists were
accused of antisemitism. Last year saw a slew of anti-Palestinian legislation, with at least 11 anti-BDS bills introduced at the state level, as well as at least eight bills introduced in state legislatures to adopt the definition of antisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which has been widely interpreted as equating
criticism of Israel as antisemitism. Implementation of the IHRA
antisemitism definition appears to be accelerating in 2023.
Read more in New Arab [19]
Israel’s Supreme Court enables torture of Palestinian prisoners
While Israelis protest against Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir’s war on the
judiciary, the high court of Israel enables the state’s use of torture
against Palestinian prisoners. On 29 December 2022, the high court once again capitulated to the demands of the state regarding the issue of prison conditions and the size of prison cells in particular. It granted
the state’s request and extended, for the third time, the deadline for
expanding the living space of detainees until 31 December 2027. In most Western countries, the size of standard prison cells ranges between 6 and 12 sqm, while in Israel, it is less than 3 sqm
In response to a petition [20] by Israeli human rights organisations
including the Association for Civil Rights (ACRI), the Supreme Court
issued an order in June 2017 to expand the living space of prisoners to
4.5 sqm – giving the Israel Prison Service an initial deadline of nine
months (HCJ 1892/14 ACRI v Public Security Minister). The ruling seemed to acknowledge the cruel, humiliating, and inhuman living conditions of the prisoners. In the opening statement of the decision, Judge Yitzhak Amit wrote that “society is evaluated…through its treatment of prisoners”. He pointed out that “depriving them of their freedom through imprisonment does not mean depriving them of their right to dignity, which stems from the prisoner’s right to determine the minimum living space”. However, despite this statement, the court approved maintaining these conditions for an additional five years which then became 10 years [21] from the initial judgement.
Read more in Middle East Eye [22]
Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank: Pogroms are the foundation of
the Zionist state On 26 February, an estimated 500 Israeli settlers stormed the occupied West Bank villages [23] of Hawara [24], Zaatara, and Burin, among others in what many are calling a pogrom [25]. Protected by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), armed settlers set fire to hundreds of Palestinian homes – 9 of which were confirmed to have families trapped inside – hundreds of cars, shops, ambulances, trees, and livestock. Just a few days ago Zionist settlers and IOF soldiers invaded occupied Nablus again, broke into shops, and terrorized Palestinians. Predictably, in the wake of such violence from settlers who are not IOF soldiers, narratives about “extremist,” “right-wing” Zionists and Zionist governments emerged. Ironically, thousands of settlers in the territories occupied in 1948, known as “Israel”, denounced [26] such aggression in the occupied West Bank, blaming it on the newly elected right-wing Zionist government led by Netanyahu, as opposed to so-called “progressive” Zionist parties.
Read more in The New Arab [27]
Israeli Occupation Forces execute four Palestinians in Jenin
A special Israeli forces unit killed three Palestinians after opening
fire at their vehicle at the entrance of the town of Jabaa’, south of
the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. The three slain Palestinians were
identified as Sufyan Fakhoury, 26, Nayef Malayshah, 25 and Ahmad
Fashafsha, 22. According to eye witnesses, a special Israeli forces unit
sneaked into the town and opened fire at a Palestinian vehicle while
three youths were inside, killing them all. They added that Israeli
forces raided the town and detained a Palestinian citizen after breaking
into and ransacking his house.
With the killing of the three youths, the number of Palestinians killed
by Israeli forces since the beginning of 2023 has risen to 77, including
13 children and one woman. Another Palestinian child has Thursday
succumbed to the wounds he sustained from Israeli gunfire during the
Israeli army assault on Jenin two days ago. According to the Ministry of
Health, Waleed Nassar, 14, was shot during the Israeli forces raid into
the city and refugee camp of Jenin. The number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli forces in Jenin during the assault on March 7 has now risen to seven. Earlier a special Israeli forces unit killed three
Palestinians after opening fire at their vehicle at the entrance of the
town of Jabaa’, south of Jenin. The number of Palestinians killed by
Israeli forces since the beginning of 2023 has risen to 78, including 14
children and one woman. Read more from PNN [28] Amnesty: ‘Impunity reigns for perpetrators of settler violence’
Commenting on the violent settler attack on the occupied West Bank
village of Huwara last week, Amnesty International has said that
“impunity reigns for perpetrators of settler violence” against
Palestinians. “Under Israel’s apartheid system, impunity reigns,”
Amnesty International’s Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Heba Morayef, said.
“Despite the intensity and scale of Sunday’s attacks [29], which
resulted in the killing of one Palestinian and the wounding of nearly
400, and despite a rare show of international condemnation of settler
violence, Israeli police yesterday released six suspects who were
arrested in connection with the attacks,” Morayef said. “Meanwhile two
others have been issued with administrative detention orders, which
violate international law.”
“Israeli authorities have long enabled and incited settler attacks
against Palestinians, and in some cases, soldiers have directly
participated,” she continued, stressing that “state-backed settler
violence is endemic in the occupied West Bank.”
Read more from Middle East Monitor [30]
Palestine Updates from Movement for Liberation from Nakba is a clearing house for historical and current information about happenings in the colonised Palestinian territories.
12 March 2023
Source: nakbaliberation.com