And, if you don’t think we are up to our necks into this conflict, then I can’t tell you much. You shouldn’t even be here. Israel receives around $3 billion in direct foreign assistance every year from the United States, about one-fifth of our foreign aid budget.

That said, I do plan to write about some other countries – right after this.

There has been a growing movement in Canada and Europe, mostly, to boycott goods made in Israel in an effort to get the Israeli government to restart serious negotiations toward a lasting peace in the Middle East. So far, efforts by some groups here in the United States haven’t gained the momentum seen elsewhere.

Click here to view the site for the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. It has links to boycott sites around the world.

Meanwhile, yesterday, the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA), a Canadian group, staged some creative nonviolent, and sometimes very entertaining, demonstrations to focus public attention on a couple of companies who deal in Israeli products.

Here is a video of those demos:

While I’m posting, I should mention the International Campaign in Support of Palestinian Political Prisoners. Addameer and other human rights and activist groups are calling for “days of action” during the week of April 11 – 17 in support of Palestinian political prisoners.

April 17, 2010 marks the 34th anniversary of Palestinian Political Prisoners Day. Several Palestinian organizations and solidarity groups feel it is a critical time to focus on these sometimes forgotten “heroes” of the struggle to liberate Palestine.

There are a total of 7,300 Palestinian prisoners, including 33 women and 300 children.
For more information visit:
www.freepalestinianprisoners.com

This note from Huwaida Arraf, an American lawyer with the Al Quds Human Rights Law Clinic at Al Quds University in Jerusalem, shows what Palestinians face on almost any given day:

Dear friends,

Thanks so much for your concern, solidarity and support. I was released last night (Saturday, March 20) at around 6:45pm from Neve Tirtze prison in Ramle. Save for minor cuts and bruises, I am OK. I haven’t gotten a chance to see Ellen Stark (the ISM volunteer shot in the arm) yet. I hear she has a broken wrist but is doing OK. (Huwaida also is a co-founder of ISM, the International Solidarity Movement, through which she has helped train thousands of volunteers in human rights documenting and reporting.)

Huwaida Arraf

When I got on the road the soldiers turned their guns on me but I just get talking and walking towards them. “We have a woman that has been shot; she needs help. Stop shooting. There is no reason to be shooting at people like this. You are in THEIR village.” For this I was handcuffed and thrown in a jeep, later accused of: (1) attacking a police officer; (2) cursing at the military and police; (3) obstructing the operations of the military; and (4) being in a closed military zone.

Instead of being taken to a police station, as Israeli citizens and foreigners are supposed to be, I was taken to the illegal settlement of Halamish where I was held for nearly eight hours outside in the cold. Two other Palestinians from Nabi Saleh, Omar who is 23 and Amjad, 22 were also arrested and brought there. The soldiers and border police were particularly abusive to Omar and Amjad, pushing them around, forcing them to stand for hours, handcuffed and blindfolded and every few minutes yelling at them to lift their heads, so they couldn’t rest or fall asleep. When I protested this abuse I was told to “shut the f*** up” and if I didn’t, I would get the same treatment. I responded, “I don’t really care, but it’s sad that you feel you have to treat people so inhumanely.” “Shut the f*** up!”

At one point, when Omar couldn’t feel his hands or move his fingers anymore (a combination of tight plastic cuffs and the cold, we were taken into a building supposedly to be checked by a doctor. The same officer who kept telling me to shut up, abusing his power because he can, ordered us to stand facing the wall. I refused this unnecessary measure and show of machoism, and was dragged back outside, lifted by my arms, while still cuffed behind my back, and then thrown on the ground. The dehumanization of Palestinians was not only evident amongst the soldiers, but also the Jewish settlers. Since we were held outside in the settlement, we were exposed to settler youth who surrounded and hurled profanities at us.

The ISM lawyer says that my arrest was illegal; that I should have been taken before a judge the same day I was arrested. Israeli citizens and internationals have that right. Palestinians don’t. I was separated from Omar and Amjad at about 2:00 in the morning as after we were interrogated I was taken to a women’s prison in Ramle, and they to the Ofer military prison.

In the end I was detained for 31 hours then released. If I had not been released I would have come before a judge last night. It will likely be at least another week before Omar and Amjad will be allowed to see a judge. At that point they will be accused of violence because they were protesting, unarmed, against the confiscation of their land. The heavily armed soldiers that invaded their village, immediately began shooting tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets; the soldiers that damaged 10 Palestinian homes and injured 25 people in Nabi Saleh aren’t the violent ones. We are. Omar and Amjad are likely to have to pay a fine and/or post a hefty bail to be released, if they are not held for months first.

The police released me right before I was scheduled to come before a judge. This is likely because they had nothing to bring before a judge. I probably should have refused release and challenged their actions in court, but I really didn’t want to make a big deal out of my arrest, when so many other worse things are happening.

That said, so many good things are happening also. Solidarity actions around the world are on the rise, the BDS movement is gaining more support every day, and the spirit of the Palestinian people is high. Israel expects to be able to continue stealing land and resources, subjugating the indigenous people, and using violence to subdue any kind of protest from the colonized and their supporters. We don’t have the weapons Israel has to fight back, but we have our spirit and our voices with which we will fight. Israel should be under no illusion that it can intimidate or break us.

Thanks so much again for your concern and support!

In solidarity & struggle,
Huwaida Arraf

In another village Saturday, the Israeli military killed 16-year old Mohammad Qadus from Iraq Burin, a village south of Nablus, with a live round on his heart. A second youth, Asaud Qadus, 19 years old, was critically injured after being shot in the head. Mohammad was trying to carry Asaud to safety when he was hit, according to a report by Stopthewall.org. The Associated Press also moved a brief story about the shootings.

From Stopthewall.org:

Today, just as every Saturday in the last few weeks, settlers from the settlement of Bracha attacked the village of Iraq Burin. The community of around 600 people has lost over 100 dunum to the settlers who claim more land.

Eyewitnesses report that today the number of settlers and Israeli military was unusually high. At around noon, settlers and soldiers invaded the village.

People stepped out of their homes to defend their village and a struggle ensued. The military took up positions with several jeeps at strategic points and chased the youth in the streets of Iraq Burin.

They shot tear gas, sound grenades and life ammunition randomly at homes and people. Asaud Qadus was shot by live ammunition in the head. Young Mohammad ran to carry the injured youth to safety but was himself targeted in the heart by live ammunition.

Medics and ambulances were prevented from entering the small community. Only after a long time both youth were allowed to be carried out of the village and to a hospital in private cars. Mohammad was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital in Nablus while Asaud is still in critical condition.

Two people were arrested but no further details are known about them yet.

Shoot-to-kill policy

Mohammad was the latest victim shot while protesting since Bassem Abu Rahmah, 31, was killed by a high velocity tear gas canister in Bi’lin last April. His death comes only two weeks after Ehab Barghouti, a 14-year-old boy from Nabi Saleh village near Ramallah was shot in the head with a rubber-coated steel bullet by the Israeli military on 5 March 2010. He is still in critical condition.

Killing children with live ammunition is not an accident, It is a crime. Of the 16 people killed by the Israeli military in connection with anti-Wall protests since 2002, half were under the age of 18.

The pattern of killings related to anti-Wall protests shows that the occupation forces engage in killings cycles: during a wave of killings in 2004/2005 8 were killed, then again between July 2008/ April 2009 6 were killed. This is very likely just the start of yet another wave of killings.

This systematic criminal policy against our people is a war crime and supports the settlers in stealing Palestinian land. Israel will continue with its shoot-to-kill policy against our children and youth until the international community starts to hold it accountable for its crimes.

Here’s the letter:

Friends,
As many of you know, a civil lawsuit in the case of our daughter Rachel Corrie is scheduled for trial in the Haifa District Court beginning March 10, 2010. A human rights observer and activist,Rachel, 23, tried nonviolently to offer protection for a Palestinian family whose home was threatened with demolition by the Israeli military. On March 16, 2003, she was crushed to death by an Israel Defense Force (IDF) Caterpillar D9R bulldozer in Rafah, Gaza.

The lawsuit is one piece of our family’s seven-year effort to pursue justice for our daughter and sister. We hope this trial will illustrate the need for accountability for thousands of lives lost, or indelibly injured, by occupation—in a besieged and beleaguered Gaza and throughout Palestine/Israel; bring attention to the assault on nonviolent human rights activists (Palestinian,Israeli, and international); and underscore the fact that so many Palestinian families, harmed as deeply as ours, cannot access Israeli courts.

In order to deliver these interconnected messages as effectively as possible, we are asking for large-scale participation in the trial itself as well as in the events surrounding it. We hope you will join us for all or some of the events listed below and help us to put the call out to others.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10
9:00-16:00—Trial Begins in the Haifa District Court (12 Palyam St. Haifa)
A strong presence of human rights observers, legal observers, and others on the first day of the trial will send the message that this case is being closely monitored and that truth, accountability and justice matter to us all. Other trial dates are: March 14, 15, 17, 21, 22 and 24. Supportive presence at all court sessions is both welcome and needed!

FRIDAY, MARCH 12
13:00-15:00—Film Screening at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque (2 Shprinzak St. Tel Aviv)
Screening of the documentary film RACHEL followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Simone Bitton
and the Corrie family. RACHEL is a cinematic inquiry into Rachel’s killing. It raises many of
the questions that should be asked and addressed during the trial.

TUESDAY, MARCH 16
20:00-22:00—Memorial; Location TBA
March 16th marks the seven-year anniversary of Rachel’s killing. We hope to mark this day as a “Day of Conscience” with a large gathering that calls for truth, accountability and justice, in Rachel’s case and beyond.

There will also be events in Gaza (at the Rachel Corrie Children and Youth Cultural Center in
Rafah), possibly in the West Bank (TBA), and around the world.

If you are not with us in Palestine/Israel, please think about how you and your group/community can be visible/audible on March 16.

We expect this to be a challenging time, but we know the friendship we have felt from so many of you over the years will help us navigate the weeks ahead. Though the course and outcome of the trial are unknown, we welcome the opportunity to raise and highlight many of the critical issues to which Rachel’s case is linked.

Thank you for your continuing support.
In solidarity and with much appreciation,
Cindy and Craig Corrie

More information on Rachel Corrie and other social justice issues can be found at the Rachel Corrie Foundation website.

“Anyone who says that within the next few years an agreement can be reached ending the conflict … simply doesn’t understand the situation and spreads delusions, ultimately leading to disappointments and an all-out confrontation here,” right-wing Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said, according to news reports.

Lieberman said the two sides should instead come up with a long-term interim arrangement that would ensure prosperity, security and stability, the Associated Press reported. He recommended leaving the toughest issues, the status of Jerusalem and a solution for Palestinian refugees who lost homes amid war, to some time in the distant future. This is a position that the Palestinians have already strongly rejected.

Lieberman’s statements, a rejection of Obama’s efforts to bring about a resumption of peace talks, could also be a reaction to the European Union actions on a controversial U.N. report that harshly criticized Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.

The EU gave its backing on Thursday to the report and offered praise for its chief author, saying the document is “worthy of consideration.”

“It is worthy of consideration needless to say, I think Mr. Goldstone is a person of high credibility and high integrity and accordingly his report carries weight,” Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt – whose country holds the EU presidency – told reporters in Stockholm, according to Agence France Presse (AFP).

The report by a fact-finding mission led by former international war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone condemned both Israel and Palestinian leaders for war crimes during Israel’s military invasion of Gaza from December 27 to January 18, but it primarily blasted Israel for “actions amounting to war crimes, possibly crimes against humanity.”

The 22-day conflict that saw more than 1,400 Palestinians killed, the great majority civilians, and only 13 Israelis killed, the majority soldiers.

Israel has condemned the report for its bias and even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been pressured into holding off on further action on the report so that current peace efforts wouldn’t be jeopardized. The report had called for the U.N. Security Council to refer allegations of war crimes to the International Criminal Court (ICC) if either side failed to investigate and prosecute suspects.

The only sign of hope in the Middle East seems to be the report saying that Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, which fought a week-long civil war in 2007 that killed over 100 people, are due to sign a deal later this month which is designed to pave the way for a unity government.