The Israeli Information Centre on Human Rights

by ... .... .- .-.. --- -- Tue Jun 28, 2005 13:46

in the settler zone by the beach, and settlers met with both army (IDF) and police and "clashed".
They didn't clash palestinian style. They didn't even clash european pacifist style. But they did clash. And for the first time an Israeli soldier refused to carry out orders in settler territory, as he was brought off the site under military arrest to face the usual charges for "conscientious objection" he clearly said to the media watching "They are fighting jews, jews do not fight jews, this is wrong".

It is a small clue to the internal nature of the "apartheid israeli state", the settlers returned at nightfall led by a levi (rabbi's assistant) carrying the tora (religious scrolls) and then they dug into the beach. The authorities say the houses which were inhabited were planned by settlers as a "base" for protests when the full demolition of settlers houses begins in earnest in August as agreed by Sharon with Bush, and wanted by Palestinians, EU and of course the really important man now, Mr Blair. The settlers have chosen "orange" as their colour. They fly orange flags and wear orange t-shirts. This shows me (& I'm an expert) that they have mis-interpreted the popular events of the ukranian "orange revolution".
And many groups on the "right" did so changing their party colours in the last year, in Europe the most noticable group to adopt "orange" was the Spanish PP under their weakened leader Rajoy.
As the media packed up to go and leave the beach, one of the leaders of the emerging "popular movement" of settlers, himself notably an ashkenazy jew but not orthodox, said-
"These houses were empty, look what they did, in august the houses won't be empty, what will happen? what will happen? I leave it to your imagination!"
At which point the tv journalist suggested -"civil war?" the settler leader turned and nodded.
"Civil war, yes you said it, civil war".

The whole event was filmed, just as demolition of houses in Harare have been filmed, and demolitions in Palestine have been filmed. Indeed in the last weeks, quality satelite imagery of Harare's shanty-town demolitions have become more freely available to "poverty activists". (& I'm an expert) satelite imagery which did not come from an african owned or administered machine.
Yet, the video tapes though shown on american network tv, were clipped, and managed. Not even israeli tv showed the whole event for what it was. Another brick in yet another wall, less visible than the first in the brutalised, militarised, apartheid state which is Israel.
... .... .- .-.. --- --

by ... .... .- .-.. --- -- Thu Jun 30, 2005 19:55

Israeli troops sealed off Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip on Thursday and raided a hotel where about 150 radical Jews have holed up to resist the disengagement plan.

Israel intensified the military presence in the Gush Katif settlement bloc after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered "every necessary step" to prevent extremist settlers from disrupting the pullout plan, due to begin in mid-August.

The settlers' Yesha Council on Thursday demanded the Israel Defense Forces rescind its order declaring the Gaza Strip a closed military zone, preventing the entry of non-resident Israelis, and immediately reopen access to the Gush Katif settlement area.

The IDF had moved to counter Jewish extremist activity in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, declaring the entire area a closed military zone and banning entry to all Israelis who do not live in Gaza. Later in the day, IDF sources said the closure order would be reconsidered if the situation in Gush Katif calms down.

The council, meeting Thursday evening in the Neveh Dekalim settlement in Gush Katif, said a reopening of the area would "allow sound civilian life for residents."

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The Yesha Council also said that if the closure order is not rescinded, it will begin on Thursday night to bring tens of thousands of pullout opponents to Gush Katif in solidarity with settlers slated for evacuation.

Police storm extremist stronghold
Large numbers of police, Border Police and soldiers Thursday stormed the Maoz Yam hotel in the settlement of Neveh Dekalim. Hotel residents had gathered in the dining room and handcuffed themselves to each other. No casualties were reported among the activists or security forces and four extreme right-wingers were arrested. The entire operation was completed within 40 minutes.

After the order was issued sealing the Strip, IDF commanders in Gaza were flooded with telephone calls from area settlers thanking the army for removing the right-wing extremists from the hotel.

The hotel had for weeks been home to around 100 extreme right-wingers opposed to the disengagement from Gaza, who had surrounded the area with barbed wire and stockpiled food.

The soldiers had encircled the hotel earlier Thursday, a day after it had been declared a closed military zone.

Prior to the storming, the right-wing activists in the hotel issued a statement saying that they had decided against violence and would only use passive resistance.

Some 2,000 soldiers and Border Police went room-to-room to remove the people, who had barricaded themselves inside for several weeks, stockpiling food and encircling the hotel with barbed-wire.

(((exercise your cookies))) -
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=8734
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/594092.html

Squatters (jewish) are taken from a hotel by IDF today.

by ... .... .- .-.. --- -- Sat Jul 02, 2005 01:42

opinion has turned against the squatters, / settlers / militants, / ultras in israel according to a poll published by largest selling daily Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
(reuters) Israeli opinion has swung back in favor of evacuating the occupied Gaza Strip and away from pro-settler radicals who clashed with troops and blocked roads during a week of turmoil, a newspaper poll showed on Friday.

The poll in the best-selling Yedioth Ahronoth said support for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan had risen from 53 to 62 percent while opposition had fallen from 38 to 31 percent following chaotic protests by ultranationalists.

Other recent polls showed support for leaving Gaza dipping below half. The pullout is due to begin in mid-August. It means Israel will for the first time uproot settlers from land where Palestinians want a state.

"In a few days the settlers have succeeded in arousing feelings of disgust that they did not manage to arouse for decades," said newspaper commentator Sima Kadmon.

Pullout foes spread oil and nails on a motorway and sprang rush-hour protests that stopped commuters from getting home.

Images of young rightists in skullcaps tussling with security forces, throwing stones and knocking unconscious a Palestinian teenager in the Gaza Strip also won little favor.

********************************
in the last week, a gay israeli was stabbed in a hat incident during the local version of global pride events this too has caused further divisions to emerge between the varying "social" factions of liberal and conservative in the apartheid like mediterranean state. Benjamin Netanyahu, a member of the "unity government" led by Sharon which was cobbled together on the death of Arafat at the insistence of a newly elected Bush and Blair (C/F The "his first test is his last test" article) has become the "leading" figure to be seen to associate himself with the settlers.
For full coverage from Yedioth Ahronoth on the pullout (in hebrew with a fair amount of english translation) see their special section.
http://www.ynetnews.com/home/0,7340,L-3491,00.html

by ... .... .- .-.. --- -- Wed Jul 13, 2005 14:03

Israelis who support the pullout are asked to wear blue ribbons, much as westerners who support the G8 on poverty are asked to wear bracelets, and Israelis who do not support the pullout are asked to wear orange, and all over the world angry young people wear hoods and masks.
This is our way of life, which is not common, not homogenous, is a deceit. There are many ways of life, and on the route from incarnation to the grave one is expected to have experienced many changes in your "way of life".

from haaretz:-
["When Moshe Zuchmir recently opened debate on the ultra-Orthodox Internet forum "Behadrei Hadarim" ("In the Inner Sanctum") on the question of whether it is permissible to tear a blue ribbon from a car, his own car, for example, no one flamed him. Perhaps this is because, according to this Haredi surfer, it was not he, heaven forefend, who tied the blue ribbon on his car, but someone else. He claimed that when he stopped beside a Chabad Hasidic synagogue to pray, however, the ribbon was forcefully removed from his car despite his objections, and this made him angry.

The debate was conducted politely even when the forum manager, a Chabad Hasid whose username is "David10," asked in response if it were permissible to tear off parts of the Land of Israel. Between the lines, it was evident that the criticism of vandalism was the issue, and less so the ideology."]
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/599522.html

Israel suffered a suicide bomber yesterday in the narrowest strip of its state, where the wall has been built long ago. As the ripples of what is commonly perceived as the "problem" cause splashes around "our world", the bombing is somehow more significant than all the bombs in Baghdad this last week.

We do not rate terrorist atrocities in the number of dead or wounded, we rate them on the psychological effect they may have. Baghdad is in, has been in and will be in a state of insurgency and war, which has not yet found its "acceptable level of violence" an enventuality which was logical and apparant and predicted long ago. Israel on the other side was moving along in a "ceasefire" situation, called by groups on the "palestinian" side to facilitate the withdrawl of jewish settlers "the orange side" from the occupied territories.
the bombing comes less than a week after one of israel's key figures visited London and found himself between two of the bombs, and the domestic audience of Israelis were called on for opinion, solidarity and sympathy.

This withdrawl may plausibly find its "cause" in the death of Arafat 11/11/05 in Percy, and the attention of the then freshly elected George Bush who at the behest of Blair demanded of the Israeli and Palestinian people that they honour a commitment for the community of civilised nations - The test.
"The first test which is the last test"

The Israeli government thus saw Sharon include the strongest figures who have emerged in the generations who have fought constant war against all neighbours, against palestinian, against Syrian, Lebanese and Egyptian to present as "leadership" required of them - the "exit strategy" from the settler territories.

We know that the palestinians had elections, we may search through the archives and see the results village by village and may reflect on the dreary minarets which forever emerge from the mist of that land.

& many must now draw the connection, because it is appropriate _at this stage_ between what I have in this last week, correctly termed "imitative terrorism" and the continuing perceived injustice to Palestinians.

Not palestinians who are wearers of any ribbons.
Not palestinians loyal to the raiz or scarf of some last century pan arabic leader who's net caught billionaires from Africa to Arabia and who's followers set a template for understanding "the middle east".

But rather palestinians as they really are-
Palestinians who understand and indentify with the Palestinian "way of life".

a people of the mediterranean and middle east who have suffered poverty, malnutrition, apartheid, hatred and little effective education for over 50 years.
Palestinians who are for the most part just like north africans - young, unemployed, with low levels of literacy, but to whom the hooded jacket has found appeal.

I advise ye all, to pay attention.

"imitative terrorism" by whatever extremist group who use a mixture of religion and geopolitics and are fed by disillusioned youth is not made in mountain terrorist camps, it is not made in Baghdad. It was made in Hollywood's popular identities of "the foe" which have come back. We are merely reaping the benefit of "bad education".

Israel must withdraw the settlers in an orderly fashion and the peace process must continue and be seen to continue. And no more talk of "civil war" in the extremist rightwing of the Israeli state or the iinternational Israeli community must be left un-attended.

Shalom = Saleem = Pax
.:. first test is last test .:.