Seeking Common Sense in a World Gone Mad
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Our Good Friend John goes to the West Bank with a camera crew. We will watch from a
distance. This page has nothing about the film, but news about the West Bank.
Violence threatens to halt Mideast talks
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| UN's top political official warns of increase in Israeli- Palestinian violence
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A very nice photo essay of
Nablus in the West Bank
http://www.nablus.org
an-Najah National University
http://www.najah.edu/
Is this true or propoganda?
"Breeding Ground of Suicide
Bombers"
| Sharon prepares to extend barrier into West Bank (London Times)
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Gaza withdrawal protests paralyse Israel (New Zealand Herald)
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| Israelis Foil Plot by Jewish Extremists (Guardian, UK)
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Palestinian 'knifeman' shot dead (BBC)
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Greetings!
Our good friend John is going to
Israel and the West Bank as part
of a film crew for a
documentary. He is leaving
NYC on Monday, and arrives in
Tel Aviv on Tuesday local time.
He will be there for 10 days.
Israel is 7 hours ahead of New
York City, and 8 hours ahead of
us midwesterners. So at
Midnight in New York City, it is
7 a.m. in Tel Aviv.
I have to confess that I have
been trying to ignore everything
that happens in the middle east
lately, mostly out of frustration,
but John's trip there is
personalizing things somewhat,
because I feel that he is entering
a war zone, although not in the
'traditional' sense, but a
dangerous place nonetheless,
especially for Americans. So I
am going to try to keep tabs on
the news from the region,
especially from the areas that he
is going to be traveling to, if I
can. I will post it all here.
-Ron
march directly to Nablus
Tuesday, 10 May 2005, 10:39 am
Press Release: International Solidarity
Movement
Thursday, May 11th 2005: Students
and workers from Assira Al Shamaliya,
accompanied by Israeli and
international peace activists, will march
from their village to Nablus on the
Sebaatash Road, which has been closed
by the Israeli army for more than four
and a half years. A military base is
stationed there.
Since the beginning of the second
Intifada Nablus has been under siege
and movement in or out of the city
almost impossible. This has had a
devastating effect on the economy of
the city and the neighboring villages.
Although, for the past two weeks,
people of all ages have generally been
permitted to pass through the
checkpoints, it is still impossible for
vehicles to pass, with the exception of
thirty-five taxis and less than one
percent of the population of the city
who have managed to obtain vehicle
permits.
Goods permitted to enter or leave the
city must pass through a trade
checkpoint and be transferred "back to
back" between vehicles on either side of
it. This requires the truck owners to
have permits which must be renewed
every one to three months. It is
impossible for traditional small family
businesses to cover the expenses
incurred, adding to the poverty caused
by the occupation.
Nablus, a city of 200,000 people
within the checkpoints, was once the
economic heart of Palestine. This
was largely because of agricultural
and dairy production in the nearby
villages and the flourishing markets
in the city. Shops and markets are
now full of Israeli goods, often
produced in the settlements. It is
difficult and sometimes impossible
to buy locally produced goods such
as olive oil in the city.
Assira Al Shamaliya is ten kilometers
from Nablus. Since the closure of the
Sebaatash Road residents have been
forced to take a detour of twenty five
kilometers and pass through a
checkpoint. The people of Assira are
demanding that the Sebaatash Road is
re-opened and direct access to the city
resumed.
| Israeli Occupation Forces Arrest Palestinians, as Illegal Israeli Settlers Blaze Palestinian Crops
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Police Out in Force to Thwart Settlers' Plans to Block Roads
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| New Shin Bet chief is the man behind Israel's targeted killings policy |
Jerusalem's International Gay Pride Festival Cancelled due to Disengagement (Haaretz) |
| Israeli Settlements Throw Obsticles in Way of Pullout (Baltimore Sun)
|
Muslims Protest Over Koran Desecration Reports (ABC Australia)
Washington sought to stem Muslim anger as allies demanded investigations and thousands took to the streets in outrage over the Newsweek magazine report that interrogators at the US military prison in Cuba had put the Muslim holy book on a toilet and flushed it down. |
| 110 Palestinian Militants Hand Over Weapons
PA's police force, which means they will soon be carrying arms again, but this time with the permission of the authorities, Hamayel said. Israel has repeatedly demanded that militants it has listed as "wanted" be stripped of their weapons by the PA. Militants in Bethlehem, Ramallah and Kalkiliya are also expected to hand over their weapons, according to PA officials, even though no date has been set. The PA committed itself to disarming militant groups at a summit attended in February by PA president Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli premier Ariel Sharon in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Some in Israel have criticised the practice of enrolling the militants into the PA's armed security forces, saying this does not deprive them of the weapons to carry out attacks. |
Soccer Star Ronaldo to Visit West Bank
that the Real Madrid striker, who is a goodwill ambassador for UNDP, arrives Monday in Ramallah, where he will inaugurate a new center for disadvantaged youth and tour U.N. projects designed to promote sport as a forum of tolerance. He will also visit the "Twinned Peace Soccer Schools" project in Herzilya near Tel Aviv at the invitation of Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres' Center for Peace. The center sponsors soccer tournaments in which 800 Israeli and Palestinian youths play on mixed teams. It intends to hold events in Ronaldo's honor and invite the soccer star to present medals to winners. |
Villagers Open Main
Street Near Nablus
(electricintifada.net)
- What was planned as a
demonstration became a
direct action against the
Israeli occupation:
Hundreds of villagers
and activists from Israel
and abroad opened the
main street from Nablus
to Asira ash-Shamaliya,
which has been blocked
for many years.
(Follow link for more
story, and great
pictures). Tractors
pulled concrete road
blocks off the road.
Response from the
Israeli Occupation Force
is unknown.
| Gaza Settlers Protest on Israel's Independence Day (reuters)
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IDF Removes Roadblock in Ein Bidan (virtualjerusalem.com)
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| Israeli Settlers March into Palestinian Villages, Sparking Clashes (Haaretz)
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22 Settlers Arrested in Ein Bidan for Refusing to Leave (Jerusalem Post)
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| Israel removing Nablus access barriers (Haaretz.com, Israel) |
Israeli Defense Forces Impose General Closure on West Bank, Gaza (Jerusalem Post) Tuesday May 10, 10 PM Israel Time |
| Gaza Pull-Out Delayed (New York Times) |
Gunfights between Militants and Palestinian Cops in Jericho and Tulkarem (CBC News - Canada) |
| Note: This is a small scale operation, they apparently occur frequently ISRAELI OCCUPATION FORCES MOVE INTO NABLUS (not a link) (Jordan News Agency, Tuesday May 10, 8:49 a.m. EST) The Israeli occupation forces moved on Tuesday into the West Bank city of Nablus and arrested two Palestinians. A Palestinian source said that the occupation forces stormed a number of houses in the city, arrested two Palestinians and took them to an unknown destination. |
Another Brick in the Wall (Zurich)
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| Palestinian Poll Shows Hamas Strength (al-Jazeera) |
Palestinians Decry 'Honour Killings' (al-Jazeera) |