Palestinians

Trump's plan would create a small Palestinian state in the West Bank while allowing Israel to annex nearly all the settlements in the territory. After the announcement, clashes erupted between Palestinians and the Israeli army which responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

The Fourth Geneva Convention bars an occupying power from transferring its own civilian population into occupied territory. However, President Trump's State Department argues that this international law does not advance the cause of peace and, therefore, can be ignored.

Eric Zuesse

The act of Palestinian activists covering their faces during anti-Israeli occupation rallies is an old practice that spans decades. The masking of the face, often by Kufyias – traditional Palestinian scarves that grew to symbolize Palestinian resistance – is far from being a fashion statement. Instead, it is a survival technique, without it, activists are likely to be arrested in subsequent nightly raids; at times, even assassinated.

On September 16, I visited South Africa, a country where many Palestinians have always felt welcomed, if not overwhelmed by the degree of genuine and meaningful solidarity.

Experience has taught Palestinians not to pay heed to Israeli elections. But to every rule there is an exception. 
Although it is still true that no Israeli Zionist leader has ever been kind to the Palestinian people, the dynamics of the latest Israeli elections on September 17 are likely to affect the Occupied Palestinian Territories in a profound way. 

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL — As the dust settles from the recent elections in apartheid Israel, the horse-trading begins. This horse-trading will determine which one of two war criminals will end up leading the racist, brutal state as its prime minister. 

The case for Israel’s legitimacy and right to exist is one that is difficult to make. Israel is a state that was created for immigrant-settlers in a country that was fully inhabited and developed. Yet as long as Israeli governments pretend that they are interested in a peaceful solution with the people of Palestine — a solution that will include some recognition of Palestinian rights — Zionists will argue that there is some legitimacy to a so-called Jewish state in Palestine. 

Seven-year-old Tariq Zabania from Al-Khalil (Hebron) was killed on the spot when an Israeli Jewish settler ran his car over him on July 15. Little Tariq’s photograph, lying face down on the road, was circulated on social media. His untimely death is heartbreaking. 

This week I am joined once again my good friend Lizzy to discuss her work in Palestine. Lizzy began by talking about her own personal journey which has led her to live and work full time in Ramallah. We discussed her work with Al Kamandjati, a non-profit which offers world-class music lessons for Palestinian children. We talked about the mission of Al Kamandjati and its founder Ramzi Aburedwan. Lizzy talked about Aburedwan’s life growing up in the Al Amari refugee camp and how this led him to create the organization.