PSC weekly update 26 June 2009
- Israeli government defies Obama, continues settlement expansion…
- Whilst house demolitions continue apace
- Scottish TUC says ‘Foreign Secretary out of step with trade unions on boycott of Israel
- New! PSC factsheet on Netanyahu’s speech
- 40 aid agencies condemn blockade on Gaza
- Free Gaza boats – update
- Court case in Canada against settlement companies
- PLC speaker released from Israeli jail
- Doctors demand Yoram Blachar resign over Israeli torture
- Israeli group issues report on torture of Palestinians
- Israel sells Palestinian refugee properties
- B’Tselem’s documentation of Israeli human rights violations wins award
1. Israeli government defies Obama, continues settlement expansion
Israel plans to allocate $250 million over the next two years for settlements http://www.palestinecampaign.org/index7b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=4&l2_id=24&Content_ID=698
Israel’s defence ministry has proposed legalising 60 existing homes at a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, and building another 240 homes at the site, despite US calls for a halt to settlement growth.’… http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/23/israel-palestine-construction-farmers-obama
Israeli government officials then denied this: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/06/200962319400811215.html
The Guardian editorial covered this issue: ‘It would indeed be a victory for Netanyahu if, in return for freezing a few extra flats, Obama let himself be manoeuvred into accepting that the existing settlements are “facts on the ground” that can never be changed. Settlements can be abandoned, or assigned to the sovereignty of another state, and many of them will have to be if a fair peace is ever to be obtained. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jun/25/israel-us-settlements-editorial
Tony Judt in the New York Times: ‘If Israel is drunk on settlements, the United States has long been its enabler. Were Israel not the leading beneficiary of American foreign aid — averaging $2.8 billion a year from 2003 to 2007, and scheduled to reach $3.1 billion by 2013 — houses in West Bank settlements would not be so cheap: often less than half the price of equivalent homes in Israel proper. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/opinion/22judt.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all
2. …Whilst house demolitions continue apace
The Israeli military has issued demolition orders to thirty two different family housing groups this month, saying that they will demolish the homes of 304 Palestinians in the Jordan Valley, in the eastern West Bank, before the end of June. http://www.imemc.org/article/60931
3. Scottish TUC says ‘Foreign Secretary out of step with trade unions on boycott of Israel
The STUC has ‘rejected the Foreign Office’s “dismay” at trade union’s supporting boycotts of Israel, and suggested this is an indication that the UK Government is out of step with the views of workers on this matter. http://www.palestinecampaign.org/index7b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=4&l2_id=25&Content_ID=701
4. New! PSC factsheet on Netanyahu’s speech
A detailed analysis from PSC on the truth behind the rhetoric: http://www.palestinecampaign.org/index7b-2.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=5&l2_id=27&content_ID=702
5. 40 aid agencies condemn blockade on Gaza
Forty international aid agencies and non-governmental organizations have released a joint statement condemning Israel’s blockade of Gaza, to mark the second anniversary of the coastal territory being hermetically sealed off from the outside world. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10613.shtml
6. Free Gaza boats – update
On 25 June, the Free Gaza movement issued a press release: ‘our ships were not given permission to leave today due to concerns about our welfare and safety. Our friends in Cyprus tell us that the voyage to Gaza is too dangerous, and they are worried we will be harmed at sea. http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/hope-fleet-news/956-public-advisory-we-did-not-leave-cyprus-today
7. Court case in Canada against settlement companies
From 22-24 June, Quebec Superior Court heard a court case by the village of Bil’in against Green Park International and Green Mount International, two companies registered in Quebec who are constructing illegal Israeli settlements on Bil’in lands. http://www.tadamon.ca/post/3903
8. PLC speaker released from Israeli jail
From the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR): ‘On Tuesday, 23 June 2009, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) released Dr. Aziz al-Dwaik, Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), following three years of arbitrary detention in Israeli jails. PCHR also called ‘upon the international community to exert pressure on IOF to release all Palestinian prisoners, including the approximately 40 PLC Members who are currently detained in Israeli jails. http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2008/81-2009.html
9. Doctors demand Yoram Blachar resign over Israeli torture
More than 700 doctors from 43 countries have written a letter of protest to their governing ethical body, the World Medical Association, alleging that its recently appointed Israeli president has turned a blind eye to the involvement of medical staff in torture, and calling for his removal. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/21/doctors-israeli-torture-yoram-blachar-resign
10. Israeli group issues report on torture of Palestinians
A major new report by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel shows that ‘various security agencies in Israel, chief among them the IDF and the GSS, shackle detainees in painful and humiliating manners that in a number of instances rise to the level of torture in violation of domestic law, High Court of Justice judgments, international law and accepted international standards of practice’ http://www.stoptorture.org.il/files/eng_report.pdf
11. Israel sells Palestinian refugee properties
For an account of the problems caused by Israel’s decision to sell the property of Palestinian refugees see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYuxeFcOgpk
12. B’Tselem’s documentation of Israeli human rights violations wins award
B’Tselem won the One World Media award for its project, which provides video cameras to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for them to use to document human rights violations. http://www.btselem.org/english/press_releases/20090623.asp
And ‘Midweek’ on Wednesday 24 June featured a campaigner from B’Tselem talking about the project (the discussion starts about half way through the podcast). http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/midweek
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The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) aims to raise public awareness about the occupation of Palestine and the struggle of the Palestinian people.
PSC seek to bring pressure on both the British and Israeli government to bring their policies in line with international law.
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