KwAcKy's Konfessional |
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Nothing of interest; just mindless links to bikes Birmingham City Football Club and useless junk  
  
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24 January 2004
Just 3 days ago, in the biggest demolition in the West Bank in years, Israel razed 62 shops and market stalls in a Palestinian village Tuesday. The army wounded Palestinians who protested the demolition. Seven bulldozers, guarded by some 300 troops, began tearing down shops in the village of Nazlat Issa early Tuesday. By midmorning, 62 shops were demolished, the mayor said. Dozens of protesters threw stones at troops who fired tear gas and (lethal) rubber-coated steel pellets. Other demonstrators chanted "Down with the occupation." The village is on the edge of the West Bank, close to Israel. The 170-shop market in Nazlat Issa drew many Israeli customers before the outbreak of fighting in September 2000. The market is a main source of income for the village's 2,500 residents, said the mayor, Ziad Salem, adding that Israel officials informed the shopowners that the entire market would be demolished. The Israeli pretext for this criminal assault on civilians is that the shops were built "illegally.” 200,000 Israeli settlers live in settlements built on stolen land in the West Bank (another 200,000 live in illegally annexed East Jerusalem). These settlements are illegal, according to the Fourth Geneva Convention. For 35 years, the government of Israel kills and pillages and fails to perform basic governmental function for Palestinians, including the protection of life and property, yet has the audacity to be concerned about building code violations. Israeli troops have demolished hundreds of Palestinian homes, many in the Gaza Strip, in the past 28 months of fighting. In Gaza alone, more than 5,700 Palestinians have been made homeless, according to Palestinian officials. Many of the buildings were razed by artillery and air raids in military assaults on the civilian population. Since July, Israel has also demolished dozens of homes that belong to the families of Palestinians allegedly involved in bombing and shooting attacks on Israelis. The demolitions constitute collective punishment and are forbidden by the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Fourth Geneva Convention was written with the intention to prohibit the practices of the Nazi occupation of Europe. In Nazlat Issa, demolition orders were distributed earlier this month, and shopowners were told they had 15 days to file court appeals. The mayor said the market has been operating for more than 10 years, and this was the first time merchants received demolition orders. "The Israelis are waging a war on the economic front as well," Salem said. Talia Somech, a disinformation officer (spokeperson) of Israel's military "government" in the West Bank, said it took 10 years to take down the shops because a series of court and committee hearings preceded the demolition of illegal structures in the West Bank. She said without irony that the owners had a chance to remove the inventory before the demolition. Saeb Erekat, cabinet member of the Palestinian Authority, which Palestinians loathe because of its corruption and servility towards Israel, said the demolitions "reflect the fait accompli policies of Sharon on the ground, knocking down homes, livelihoods." Palestinians also made the quite plausible suggestion that the demolition is motivated by Sharon's election campaign. As Israel's crimes against humanity continue, the rulers of the world watch and remain silent. The International Solidarity Movement 
AMIN Gush Shalom's Political positions: The Green Line (the borders before the 1967 war) will be a border of peace between two free and sovereign states: Israel and Palestine. All Israeli settlers in the currently occupied territories will return to Israel. Jerusalem will be an open city, and will serve as capital to both states: East Jerusalem will be the capital of Palestine; West Jerusalem will be the capital of Israel. Both parties can reach a just and agreed upon solution for the tragedy of Palestinian refugees, based on these guidelines: Israel will acknowledge its share of responsibility for this tragedy, and will accept, in principle, the right of return. The refugees will be offered several possible venues of rehabilitation and compensation. One of these venues will allow a limited number of refugees the right to return to the state of Israel, based on a formula that will maintain the Jewish majority in the state of Israel. These positions do not offer absolute justice, but rather a formula that can be accepted by the majority of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples |
