Israel is denying Palestinians access to clean, safe water while allowing unlimited supplies to Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank!

Swimming pools, well-watered lawns and large irrigated farms in Israeli settlements… stand in contrast next to Palestinian villages whose inhabitants struggle even to meet their domestic water needs

between 180,000 and 200,000 Palestinians in West Bank rural communities have no access to running water

Israel’s daily water consumption per capita is four times higher than the 20 liters per capita consumed in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (by Palestinians)

Israel, controls much of the West Bank’s supplies, and uses more than 80% of water drawn!

Israel’s war on Gaza early this year left water reservoirs, wells, sewage networks and pumping stations severely damaged.

The water situation in Gaza had now reached a “crisis point,” with 90 to 95 percent of the water supply contaminated and unfit for human consumption.

Palestinians suffer severely of water shortage

Since hundreds of years, and till some years ago, all these lands, and water resources, were totally Palestinian, but everything was taken from them through unfair wars and massacres over the years…

~Source: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/10/20091026132714361238.html

Oh GoD!

source: http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2009/09/06/jimmy-carter-t

This cartoon shows Gaza tunnels, the only open source Palestinians living in Gaza can get food and medicine through. Gaza has only two borders, one is Rafah with Egypt and the other is to Israel. They are both closed because of Israeli siege to Gaza. So, Palestinians go to digging tunnels to move secretly to Egypt to buy goods they need for living. Gaza tunnels link Gaza to egypt, and egyptian authorities under Israeli pressure tracks these tunnels and try to block it.

The cartoon is made by Umayyah Juha, a famous cartoonist whose husband was murdered by Israeli’s and is working hard to raise her children in Palestine.

Tunnels.. The life-vessel of Gaza

This great song for the wonderful Artist Maher Zain. Wonderful cartoon and song. Check it out!

This cartoon was nominated to be the number-1 American cartoon considering the Palestinian strugle against Israel.

Ahmad from Gaza, an 8 year-old boy, he was asked by a reporter during Israeli 2008 Brutal Attack on Gaza. The repoter asked him: What would you say to the UN official during his visit to Gaza? See his answer, on behalf of the people of Gaza.

Ramadan.. The ninth month of the lunar year, is the month when all Muslims around the world enjoy one of the greatest pillars of Islam, Fasting.

For many families, they enjoy the gathering around the dining table for “Iftar”, the time when they break their fasting. But for Palestinians, this gathering brings up their pains, as many of them have prisoners in Israeli jails. Israel has 11,000 Palestinians in their jails. Also, many Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing for the first time to have this meal without their loved ones, especially after 2008 Israeli war on Gaza, known as Gaza Massacre.

Dalal, the only member left from her family (mom, dad, 2 brothers, and a sister) after the recent Israeli Attack on Gaza.

A girl lefting a photo of her captive father.

A gathering of Palestinian women to call for freedom of their loved ones in Israeli jail.

It is a ritual for Muslisms to break their fasting with dates. However, many Palestinians break their fasting with water, as dates aren’t availabe in Gaza or with high prices in other Palestinian territories.

Dates, the first thing a Muslim eats to break his fasting.

In Ramadan, Muslims have an additional prayer called “Tarawih” which they hold in their mosques. However, people in Gaza pray over ruins or in streets, as the recent Israeli Attack on Gaza ruined about 100 mosques in Gaza.

A man holding the Holy Quran torn from a mosque ruined by Israeli army.

People in Gaza, praying outdoors after losing many of Gaza’s mosques in the Israeli 2008 Attck on Gaza.

And people from Palestine wish the Islamic Nation a Happy Ramadan, and ask them to pray for their sake.

During Israel’s recent Gaza offensive, Israeli soldiers unlawfully shot and killed 11 Palestinian civilians, including five women and four children, who were in groups waving white flags to convey their civilian status.

Human Rights Watch said in a report released today: The Israeli military should conduct thorough, credible investigations into these deaths to tackle the prevailing culture of impunity, Human Rights Watch said.

The 11 civilians killed and at least eight wounded comprise a small fraction of the more than 1,100 Palestinian civilians and combatants killed during what Israel called Operation Cast Lead in December 2008 and January 2009. However, these deaths stand out because the civilians were in groups waving a white cloth, T-shirt, or scarf, and no Palestinian fighters were in the area at the time, Human Rights Watch said..

In one case documented in the report, on January 7 in eastern Jabalya, two women and three children from the family of Khalid ‘Abd Rabbo were standing in front of their home after an Israeli soldier ordered them outside – at least three of them holding pieces of white cloth – when a soldier near a tank opened fire, killing two girls, ages 2 and 7, and wounding the third girl and their grandmother.

“We spent seven to nine minutes waving the flags, and our faces were looking at them [the soldiers],” said the grandmother, who was shot twice. “And suddenly they opened fire and the girls fell to the ground.

In each of the incidents, the evidence strongly indicates that, at the least, Israeli soldiers failed to take all feasible precautions to distinguish between civilians and combatants before opening fire, as required by the laws of war. At worst, the soldiers deliberately shot at persons known to be civilians.

~source: Human Rights Watch http://www.hrw.org/node/85113

Outrage at East Jerusalem evictions

The court decision has defied international protests over Jewish settlement activity in the area [AFP] The United States and the UN have condemned Israel’s forcible eviction of two Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem. Washington sent a letter to the Israeli foreign ministry in Jerusalem, stressing the move went against the country’s obligations under the so-called ”road map” to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict. US diplomats said a high-level protest will be communicated to Israel later on Monday. Speaking after the al-Ghawi and al-Hanoun families were evicted on Sunday, Robert Serry, the United Nations special co-ordinator for the Middle East peace process, said: “I deplore today’s totally unacceptable actions by Israel. “These actions are contrary to the provisions of the Geneva Conventions related to occupied territory.

“These actions are contrary to the provisions of the Geneva Conventions related to occupied territory.

“These actions heighten tensions and undermine international efforts to create conditions for fruitful negotiations to achieve peace.”

The homes from where the Palestinians were evicted would reportedly give way to a hotel project believed to have been sanctioned by Israel.

In 1982, Israeli settler organisations began demanding rent from the Palestinian families of Sheikh Jarrah, who at that point had been living in the neighbourhood for almost 30 years – and when many of the families refused to pay this rent, the first eviction orders were issued.

The legal proceedings continued over the years, and in 2006 it was ruled by court that the settler organisations did not have rights to the land, and the Israeli land registration department agreed to revoke the settler associations’ ownership.

Despite pending appeals and the lack of legal ownership of land in the neighbourhood, the settler organisations sold their property claim in 2008 to an investment company.

‘Extremist agenda’

The British consulate which, along with other foreign missions, is located in Sheikh Jarrah where the Palestinian families had been living for more than half a century, said it was “appalled”.

The consulate said in a statement: “The Israelis’ claim that the imposition of extremist Jewish settlers into this ancient Arab neighbourhood is a matter for the courts … is unacceptable.

“These actions are incompatible with the Israeli professed desire for peace.

“We urge Israel not to allow the extremists to set the agenda.”

Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian negotiator, said: “Tonight, while these new settlers from abroad will be accommodating themselves and their belongings in these Palestinian houses, 19 newly homeless children will have nowhere to sleep.

“If the Israeli prime minister continues with settlement activities, he will undermine the efforts to revive the peace process.”

‘Civil dispute’

But Yakir Segev, a member of Jerusalem’s municipal council, told Al Jazeera: “These are not actions made by Israel or the Israeli government. This is a matter of the court.

“It is a civil dispute between Palestinian families and those of Israeli settlers, regarding who is the rightful owner of this property … Israeli law is the only law we are obliged to obey.

“This is not part of an Israeli consipiracy …  The court decided that the Arab families are not the rightful owners of the property and this is why they had to be evicted.

“Jerusalem is one united city, in the same way that Arabs can purchase houses and land in the west part of Jerusalem, it’s the same for Jews.”

The eviction on Sunday comes amid international calls for Israel to halt settlement activity on occupied Palestinian land.

Aljazeera.net

~ref: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/20/gaza-white-phosphorus

This cartoon shows the two state solution: Israeli state, and the Palestinian state, in the eyes of the cartoonist: Yaser.

Aljazeera.net

Firas Mazloom was born in Gaza just as Israel started its siege on the impoverished Palestinian territory two years ago.
Like others in Gaza, Israeli restrictions prevented him from getting the medical treatment he needed.
And now he is dead.

Israel killed two-year-old Firas…

~ref: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/05/2009514144415929204.html

The “spirit of humanity” ship before departure from the port of Larnaca, Cyprus

Israeli gunboats intercepted the “spirit of humanity” ship carrying humanitarian assistance in its way from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip in an attempt to break the Israeli siege. Israeli forces threatened to use force, and asked the ship’s captain to return to Larnaca.

Aljazzera reporter Osman Alaptiri on board of the ship said: the Israeli boats came close to the ” spirit of humanity” ship, and called for the ship’s captain to return from where they come, also threatened to use force against them if they continued moving ahead towards the Gaza Strip.

The ship’s captain told the Israelis that the ship only carries huamnitarian aid to the people of Gaza. But the military forces gave the ship five minutes to return, or they will use force to prevent the ship from proceeding to Gaza Strip. Their execuse was that Gaza is a war zone and it is not allowed to enter.

The reporter said that Israeli forces disrupted the navigation devices on the ship. He pointed out that Israeli forces may repeat previous scenarios when they faced other ships heading to Gaza. They hit the “ship of dignity” which was heading to Gaza and almost caused it to drown. They jumped to “Lebanese brotherhood” ship,  arrested and escorted all its passengers after beating some of them.

The “spirit of humanity” ship has left the Cypriot port of Larnaca, heading to Gaza on Monday morning in order to break the siege imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip. The ship carryies twenty political activist and jurist, Arab and Westerners, in addition to medical aid and medicines.

Among the passengers are the previous Congress U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, and the winner of the Nobel Prize Mariad Macquaer Corrigan, and other activists from Britain, Ireland, Jamaica and Bahrain.

The departure from Larnaca after four days of delay due to political pressure exerted from the Israeli government on Cyprus to prevent the ship from sailing.  Each passenger carries 1 kg of cement, an olive tree plant, some school materials, and construction tools as a symbolic gesture of solidarity with the inhabitants of Gaza strip.

The campaign, “Freedom for Gaza” have succeeded in the conduct of five cruises to Gaza since August 2008, in defiance of Israeli siege over Gaza since the control of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in 2007.

Aljazeera.net

Irgun and Lehi soldiers carried out the slaughter in a cold and premeditated fashion. The attackers lined men, women and children up against the walls and shot them!
~Simha Flapan, Israeli author, The Birth of Israel.

April 9, 1948

04:45

Gaber, an old village man, who lived in this land for 80 years, and before him, his father, grandfather, and all the family lived there. Gaber suddenly heard sounds of explosions, in minutes all his grandchildren were awaken, they all were screaming, no one knew what was going on!

Gaber stood up like a man, he ran to hold the children. His son Ahmed, living with him in the same house, looked through the windows to see what is going on. Sara, Ahmed’s wife, ran towards a poor candle to have some light, while the children were still crying, screaming, and the grandfather was still holding them.

“Oh God! the terrorists are here”, Ahmed shouted, he meant the Irgun gang, they were known for their brutal terrorist actions practiced daily on the poor innocent Palestinians living in the villages around Deir Yassin…

“But, we signed a non-aggression pact with the Israelis!“, Gaber said with a rough sad tone…

The explosions sounds were rising, and the voices of men were rising too, shouting words in Hebrew, that Gaber and his family didn’t understand.

“OMG! there are more than 120 armed Israeli, they are throwing grenades into every house!“, Ahmed shouted.

“What can we do?! Though hundreds of people live in the village, there are only 10 men who have guns!“, Gaber said with a disaster-covered voice, while voices of other screaming houses started to rise up, many people are hearing the explosions too!

6:00 a.m.

Tens of villagers are brutally killed including children and women, all the men who have guns were killed, hundreds of hand grenades were thrown into village houses, hundreds of people are trapped in the village with no protection, and hundreds are wounded., and the terrorists of Irgun and Lehi are running low on ammunition.

8:00 a.m.

Terrorists obtained thousands of rounds from the Haganah to continue their assault.

10:00 a.m – 10:59 a.m.

Haganah squads continued providing covering fire, and fired on unarmed villagers fleeing south towards Ayn Karim.

11:00 a.m.

More than 110 unarmed villagers were killed outside their homes, tens were bombed while hidden without covering inside their homes, tens of children and women were bombed, tens were killed while fleeing out of the village

Q: What happened after the massacre?

A: The massacre continued…

Some of the survivors, aprrox. 125 Palestinian villager were taken prisoners, then later killed brutaly, and their bodies were never found.

After the massacre, 55 parentless Palestinian children were left inside the village without any protection, absolutely without no one. These children later were found by a lady who took them and raised them as the orphans of Deir Yassin.

Later

Till today there are big evidences of sexual rape to many of the children, executed at the time of the attack by the Israeli attackers, many of the raped schoolgirls were killed, and many of those who survived – due to customs – refused to talk about what happened to them, but many were found with ear injuries, a doctor who witnessed the aftermath said:

Many young schoolgirls were raped and later slaughtered. Old women were also molested. One story is current concerning a case in which a young girl was literally torn in two. Many infants were also butchered and killed. I also saw one old woman who gave her age as one hundred and four who had been severely beaten about the head with rifle butts. Women had bracelets torn from their arms and rings from their fingers and parts of some of the women’s ears were severed in order to remove earrings. !!

Hundreds of thousands of unarmed, hopeless, poor villagers all around Palestine left their homes and traveled to other Arab countries, fleeing from Israeli massacres, after hearing about this massacre…

In 5 weeks, Israel was born over the bodies of dead Palestinians massacred in Deir Yassin, and the United States of America was the first country in the world to recognize it, and till today, US is the biggest supporter to Israel!

FOXNews.com: An official close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not agree to U.S. demands to freeze settlement activity in the West Bank.

Sunday, May 31, 2009 //my comments

A map shows Israeli settlements in the west bank of palestine, bbc.