Thursday, December 28, 2023
UN asks Israel to end 'unlawful killings' in West Bank & Read more: ‘I was very terrified’: The ordeal of two children detained by Israeli forces in Gaza
[Please notice the trend: Palestinians 1. in Israel, 2. in the West Bank, 3. in Gaza all attacked, harassed, & impoverished by racist Israel... day after day, decade after decade]
UN asks Israel to end 'unlawful killings' in West Bank
28 December 2023
A United Nations report issued Thursday said the human rights situation in the occupied West Bank was rapidly deteriorating and urged Israel to "end unlawful killings" against the Palestinian population.
"The use of military tactics and weapons in law enforcement contexts, the use of unnecessary or disproportionate force, and the enforcement of broad, arbitrary and discriminatory movement restrictions that affect Palestinians are extremely troubling," UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.
& Read more: ‘I was very terrified’: The ordeal of two children detained by Israeli forces in Gaza
The so-called “safe corridor”, established by invading Israeli troops in Gaza in October, is used by Palestinians forced to leave northern areas of the strip to the south.
However, scores of eyewitnesses and rights groups say the corridor is anything but safe, accusing Israeli forces of using it to kill, detain, and abuse Palestinians.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been detained while taking the journey
since the start of the war, including doctors, women and children... READ MORE https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-israel-palestine-ordeal-children-detained-israeli-forces
& read more
A convoy of Israeli settlers' cars and motorcycles entered the Armenian Quarter in occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday, looking to usurp the Armenian-held area, the community has said in a statement.
The Movement for the Protection and Preservation of the Armenian Quarter, in a post on Instagram, warned that tensions were high and that Israeli police had “without probable cause” arrested three Armenians, including a minor, while backing Israeli settlers.
“Instead of removing the trespassers, the Israeli police permitted a few settlers to continue their presence intended to possess the Armenian property,” said the community in a statement.
With Israel’s war on Gaza taking much of the world's attention, Israeli settlers in the occupied territories, including the Old City in East Jerusalem, have increasingly used the distraction to press illegal land claims.
The movement said that the attempt by Israeli settlers to overrun the “Armenian Gardens” - known as the “Cows' Garden” in the Old City of Jerusalem, was a “malicious attempt to change facts on the ground”.
“We are fighting now for the integrity of the Armenian and Christian
quarters,” said Hagop Djernazian, a co-founder of the movement to save
the Armenian quarter, and member of the Jerusalemite Armenian
Community.... READ MORE https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-settlers-jerusalem-take-over-armenian-quarter-force
28 Dec 2023 Israeli bombing kills two more journalists in northern Gaza & Israeli forces raided six exchange companies in the West Bank, seizing the money then blowing up the safes.
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| Al Jazeera LIVE coverage: aje.io/fdiiy5 |
Israeli bombing kills two more journalists in northern Gaza
Two more journalists have been killed in Israeli bombings, raising the total death toll of journalists in the enclave to 105, the Government Media Office has said.
More than 30 people were killed in the Israeli army attack on a residential square in Beit Lahiya, including photojournalist Ahmed Khair al-Din and journalist Mohammad Khair al-Din, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Israeli forces raided six exchange companies: Palestine Monetary Authority
The Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) says Israeli forces at dawn raided the headquarters of six exchange companies under the PMA’s control in a number of governorates in the occupied West Bank.
“The Israelis arrested a number of the owners of these companies and seized sums of money from their safes, after blowing them up,” it said in a statement, adding that it is “following up this sinful attack with all relevant parties”.
It said it considers the attack “an act that violates all international norms, laws, charters and agreements, and aims to undermine confidence in the Palestinian banking and banking sector”.
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
My letter to my elected officials: Hamas violence, Israeli violence, American violence, domestic violence- ALL are ALL WRONG & totally counter-productive.
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| Norman Rockwell's Golden Rule- United Nations |
Hamas violence, Israeli violence, American violence, domestic violence- ALL are ALL WRONG & totally counter-productive.
Do you want fair and just laws and policies to shape a better future for more people, or do you want to send the message that violence "wins?"
Winning with violence is a dangerous delusion. Those left to tell the
tale write the story. That used to mean the side with the strongest
army & the best weaponry including the most talented writers and
extensive propaganda wins. Not anymore. In today's world, with global communications witnesses see, share, and show the vile cruelty of war and home demolitions.
The Genie is out of the bottle as real human beings describe the murder of beloved family members, and
the horrors of being forced into exile over and over again: The very
real plight and suffering of the native non-Jewish Palestinian men,
women and children is a crime against humanity, and has been since 1948
when racist Israel refused to respect the refugees right of return. Now
racist Israel is hell-bent on the pulverization of Palestinian refugee
camps.
Racism and corruption are a bad way to shape our foreign policy & any government: Please stop arming, empowering, and excusing Israel.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
American homemaker & poet
NOTES
Israel has killed more than 21,000 indigenous Palestinian HUMAN BEINGS in Gaza, the majority of those killed or injured have been women and children.
Church leaders in Bethlehem cancel Christmas celebrations
Israel’s Christmas present to the tiny Baptist church in Gaza on the second Christmas Day is a tank shell that penetrated the building and damaged and destroyed the interior.
US Foreign Policy Is a Scam Built on Corruption
Displaced with his family, Sulieman Tarazi sought refuge at Saint Porphyries church, where he extended help to everyone around him. He was killed by Zionists Oct 19, 2023
250 Palestinians have been killed and 500 wounded in the past 24 hours. A holocaust is happening right before our eyes in Gaza, and world leaders refuse to stop it.
Howard Thurman: I Will Light Candles this Christmas & The Work of Christmas
All I want for Christmas is a Right of Return FREE PALESTINE
A mural painted of Wael Dahdouh - Binnish, Idlib province, Syria
Spelling it out... a perfect perch for the Dove of Peace
Bethlehem’s bombed-out nativity sculpture sends a powerful message
Bethlehem Pastor Rev Munther Isaac criticises Western hypocrisy and Church complicity in Gaza crisis
Basilica of the Nativity in Nazareth has a patinated bronze statue of St Joseph with shiny knees from the affection people have show him through the years #Palestine
"Hope” by Palestinian artist, Sliman Mansour
This icon is placed over the altar above the place of Jesus’s birth on the Feast of the Incarnation, at the place of the birth of the Christ-child in the Basilica of the Nativity, Bethlehem.
I’m a Palestinian Christian in Gaza. I want peace—for my homeland and my family.
Dear Santa
“Jesus Would Be Killed in Gaza” Peter Oborne’s Alternative Christmas Message
In solidarity with the people of Gaza, Bethlehem cancels its annual Christmas festivities. #Palestine #Christians
"A message of great hope accompanied by this light of the Christmas star despite the great sadness and despite the ugly occupation…" Bethlehem's Manger Square Christmas 2023 "The Holy Family, the first Palestinian refugee family" illustrating the ongoing Nakba by artist Tariq Salsa
Mosab Abu Toha "If you are celebrating Christmas, please make sure to decorate your Christmas tree🎄 with some slices of watermelon to honor Palestine and some strawberries to honor Refaat... And never stop demanding a ceasefire!"
All I want for Christmas is a free Palestine- Josh Mayfield an artist for Palestine
Susan Muaddi Darraj: "Thank you, @ensarasbookcorner , for including BEHIND YOU IS THE SEA 🌊 in your "most anticipated releases of 2024"! And thanks for this gorgeous graphic!"
Up on the border of Israel (actually occupied Syria) and Syria with Lebanon, is the ancient site of the Hellenistic era town... the source of the river Jordan
"Christ In The Rubble" By artist Kelly Latimore of Kelly Latimore Icons... hoping to create "more dialogue among Christians in the United States during this holy season about the ways our beliefs and actions - or lack thereof - contribute to the violence we're currently witnessing in Gaza"
Historical photo of the day: In 2011, thirteen thousand Palestinian children smashed a Guinness World Record on a beach in northern Gaza for the largest number of people flying kites simultaneously.
Americans in Jerusalem Are Helping Kick Out Palestinians... What is a guy from Virginia doing building a fence around a Palestinian home in Jerusalem?!
The plight of Gaza’s ‘WCNSFs’ – wounded child, no surviving family: "The numbers of Gaza’s dead, wounded and orphaned children are uncertain but there is no question they have borne the brunt of the war"
Don't let our tax dollars pollute the Holy Land with more bullets & bombs... & racist hate
Invest Time & Money in American Ideals - NOT ISRAEL ... letter to my elected officials
"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin?
The UN Mediator for Palestine, Count Folke Bernadotte, believed that the Palestinians displaced had a right to return to their homes and wrote several UN reports to that effect.
"It would be an offence against the principles of elemental justice if these innocent victims of the conflict were denied the right to return to their homes while Jewish immigrants flow into Palestine, and, indeed, at least offer the threat of permanent replacement of the Arab refugees who have been rooted in the land for centuries."
Bernadotte was assassinated on Friday 17 September 1948 by members of the group Lehi, a Zionist terrorist organization, commonly known in the West as the Stern Gang
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| Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world |
Israel has killed more than 21,000 indigenous Palestinian HUMAN BEINGS in Gaza, the majority of those killed or injured have been women and children.
Death toll in Gaza rises to over 21,000, as Israeli Prime Minister announces that he's ‘working’ on ethnic removal of Palestinians from the besieged Strip
The number of people in Gaza killed by Israeli attacks has risen to at least 21,110 since 7 October, with a further 55,243 injured, according to a statement by Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra.
Moreover, the statement said 195 people had been killed in the past 24 hours and 325 injured.
The majority of those killed or injured have been women and children.
Ordinary Palestinians still living in the north of Gaza have told Middle East Eye about the starvation they are suffering amidst the ongoing Israeli bombardment of the city.
"This is my first time being able to connect to the internet for 50 days. We are witnessing horrific days. Death feels imminent, and danger is looming. We fled our house tens of times," said 22-year-old Aseel from Gaza City.
"War is terrifying, and Gaza has become a ghost city. The harsh conditions and scarcity of food have transformed people into monsters, fighting for survival. People are ready to kill each other for food," she added.
"The local market next to us is filled with vendors who have looted shops. They sell goods at five or ten times their original prices. No aid is reaching us, and water is scarce. We have no other choice apart from drinking salt and polluted water."
"Last week, we woke up along with our displaced relatives, amidst the dust and rubble of the neighbouring house, completely unable to see each other. When we thought we made it, a military tank was awaiting us at the end of the street. We kept running until we reached a further place.
"They kill us with airstrikes, tank raids, white phosphorus, machine guns, drones, and field executions, while the world is watching.
"All that comes to my mind is how misled I was into studying law and believing in human rights. How can a Gazan believe in international law?" Aseel continued.
Reporting by Walaa Sabah in Gaza. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-live-gaza-war-hamas-ceasefire
AND At least 6 Palestinians killed by Israeli drone strike in the occupied West Bank
Church leaders in Bethlehem cancel Christmas celebrations
Archbishop Atallah Hanna in Jerusalem, Rev. Drs. Mitri Raheb and Munther Issac of Bethlehem are three Christian leaders who made calls for subdued celebrations while pressing world leaders to facilitate a ceasefire.
“I want to remind the world, and especially Christians and Christian churches, that Palestine is the land of [Christ’s] birth, and Bethlehem is the city of that birth .... I say to all Christians and to all the world, that celebrate this holiday, when you eat and drink, remember that some people are hungry, they can’t find food or water in Gaza. When you celebrate, remember that some people have been deprived of their freedom and deprived of celebrating the holiday, and of joy and happiness.”
The move implemented in the Holy Land comes as the Gaza health ministry reports 20,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, more than 8,000 of them children since Oct. 7.
Israel’s Christmas present to the tiny Baptist church in Gaza on the second Christmas Day is a tank shell that penetrated the building and damaged and destroyed the interior.
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| Israel’s Christmas present to the tiny Baptist church in Gaza on the second Christmas Day is a tank shell that penetrated the building and damaged and destroyed the interior. |
US Foreign Policy Is a Scam Built on Corruption
The $1.5 trillion in military outlays each year is the scam that keeps on giving—to the military-industrial complex and the Washington insiders—even as it impoverishes and endangers America and the world.
Tuesday, December 26, 2023
Displaced with his family, Sulieman Tarazi sought refuge at Saint Porphyries church, where he extended help to everyone around him. He was killed by Zionists Oct 19, 2023
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| Sulieman Tarazi with his family |
We are not numbers
250 Palestinians have been killed and 500 wounded in the past 24 hours. A holocaust is happening right before our eyes in Gaza, and world leaders refuse to stop it.
Howard Thurman: I Will Light Candles this Christmas & The Work of Christmas
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From “The Mood of Christmas…”
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The Work of Christmas
—by Howard Thurman
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among others,
To make music in the heart.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Howard Washington Thurman (1899-1981) was an American author, philosopher, theologian, mystic, educator, and civil rights leader. As a prominent religious figure, he played a leading role in many social justice movements and organizations of the twentieth century. Thurman's theology of radical nonviolence influenced and shaped a generation of civil rights activists, and he was a key mentor to leaders within the civil rights movement, including Martin Luther King Jr.
Thurman served as dean of Rankin Chapel at Howard University from 1932 to 1944 and as dean of Marsh Chapel at Boston University from 1953 to 1965. In 1944, he co-founded, along with Alfred Fisk, the first major interracial, interdenominational church in the United StatesThurman was a prolific author, writing twenty books on theology, religion, and philosophy. The most famous of his works, Jesus and the Disinherited (1949), deeply influenced Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders, both black and white, of the modern Civil Rights Movement.
He was the first black dean of a chapel at a majority-white university or college in the United States.
When Thurman asked Gandhi what message he should take back to the United States, Gandhi said he regretted not having made nonviolence
more visible as a practice worldwide and remarked "It may be through
the Negroes that the unadulterated message of nonviolence will be
delivered to the world". Visions of a Better World: Howard Thurman's Pilgrimage to India and the Origins of African American Nonviolence
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| Detail from a stained glass window featuring Howard Thurman at Howard University's Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel |
All I want for Christmas is a Right of Return FREE PALESTINE
…the [Palestinian] refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.
Resolution 194 endorsed the right of Palestinian refugees to choose whether to repatriate to what is now Israel or to be resettled elsewhere, and codified the accepted principles of customary international law. It has been reaffirmed by the General Assembly every year since its adoption.
The right of return for all refugees also is well-established under other international law, including:
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted in 1948): “Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country” (Art. 13(2)).