Daily Archives: June 20, 2020

2020-06-20: News Headlines

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-06-20). Israeli Navy Forces Palestinian Fisherman off the Coast of Gaza. imemc.org The Israeli Navy, early on Friday, forced Palestinian fishermen to flee the coast fearing for their lives, blocking their ability to provide for their families. According to Palestinian sources in the besieged coastal territory, Israeli Navy vessels intercepted fishermen sailing in the north of the Gaza strip, in the Al-Sudaniya …

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-06-20). Arab Leaders Express Criticism of Israeli Annexation Plans. imemc.org Three key Arab countries, including Jordan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have expressed their opposition to the Israeli leadership's plan to expropriate Palestinian lands, expected to be implemented in July. For his part, King Abdallah II of Jordan, asserted, in a phone conversation with the Emir of Abu …

Ilona Gazarova (2020-06-20). Friday 6/26: United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. indybay.org Advocacy for Humankind is Hosting an Event for United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

ahtribune (2020-06-19). European Court of Human Rights Upholds Right to Boycott Israel. ahtribune.com "Criminal conviction of activists involved in the BDS campaign boycotting products imported from Israel had no relevant and sufficient grounds and violated their freedom of expression" | That is the heading on the 11 June 2020 press statement from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), announcing that it had overturned the conviction by a French court of eleven individuals for engaging in BDS activity. | The Court ruled that their conviction violated Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights — the right to freedom of expression — which states: | "Everyone has the right to freedom o…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-19). What does the Israeli annexation plan mean for Palestinians? peoplesdispatch.org On July 1, Israel is set to begin the annexation of as much as 30% of the West Bank. This move violates multiple international laws and treaties and has been met with widespread protests.

Ali Salam (2020-06-19). Israeli Forces Shoot, Injure Ten Palestinians at Kufur Qaddoum Weekly Protest. imemc.org Ten Palestinian civilians were injured, on Friday, by Israeli soldiers during the weekly peaceful demonstration against illegal settlements, in the northern West Bank village of Kufur Qaddoum, according to a local source. Morad Eshteiwi, coordinator of the popular resistance in the village, told Palestinian WAFA News Agency that Israeli forces …

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-06-19). Russia Denies that Putin Tried to Block UN Security Council Recognition of Palestine. imemc.org Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, denied that President Vladimir Putin had blocked a 2016 UN Security Council's resolution that recognizes Palestinian statehood on the 1967 border lines. Zakharov's remarks came during a press briefing on Wednesday, in which she responded to claims by an Israeli online newspaper, Israel …

Ron Jacobs (2020-06-19). The Israeli Defense Forces is a Misnomer. counterpunch.org Unless one defines defense as attacking others with overwhelming force, the Israeli Defense Forces have never been a defensive force. As scholar and author Haim Beshreeth-Zabner makes clear in his just published history An Army Like No Other, the IDF was designed to be an offensive armed force intended to take and keep territory. In

Miachael Arria (2020-06-19). Biden VP Front Runner Susan Rice Has a History of Criticizing Israel…While Also Letting Its Government Do Whatever It Wants. anti-empire.com The Associated Press

Ramzy Baroud (2020-06-19). The 'Palestinian Chair': Exposing Israel's Direct Role in US Violence. counterpunch.org The banning of deadly police practices by many American states and cities following the murder of an African American man, George Floyd, at the hands of Minneapolis police officers is, once more, shedding light on US-Israeli collaboration in the fields of security and crowd-control. From California to New York, and from Washington State to Minneapolis,

OCHA (2020-06-19). OCHA — Protection of Civilians Report ( 2-15 June 2020 ). imemc.org United Nations Office For The Coordination Of Humanitarian Affair: Protection of Civilians Report (2 — 15 June 2020) Biweekly highlights: Seventy Palestinian-owned structures were demolished or seized in the West Bank due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, displacing 90 people and affecting over 280.

IMEMC News (2020-06-19). Israeli Colonists Prevent Family From Reaching Its Home In Hebron. imemc.org Several fanatic Israeli colonialist settlers prevented, on Friday evening, a Palestinian family from reaching their own home in the center of Hebron city, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank. The family was trying to reach its home in Tal Romeida neighborhood, in the center of Hebron city. …

Ali Salam (2020-06-19). Israel To Demolish A Palestinian Home Near Occupied Jerusalem. imemc.org The City Council in occupied Jersusalem informed, Thursday, a Palestinian family of a demolition order targeting their home in the Sawahra town, southeast of the occupied Palestinian capital. The home is owned by Yassin Taha Zaatra, and was built 10 years ago, sheltering him and his family. The property is …

IMEMC News (2020-06-19). Soldiers Abduct Four Palestinians In Tulkarem. imemc.org Israeli soldiers abducted, on Friday at dawn, four young Palestinian men in Qaffin town, north of the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem, after invading and ransacking their homes. Media sources in Tulkarem said several army jeeps invaded the town, before the soldiers violently searched homes, causing damage, and abducted …

IMEMC News (2020-06-19). Illegal Israeli Colonists Assault, Injure, A Palestinian Child Near Bethlehem. imemc.org A group of armed fanatic Israeli colonialist settlers, squatting on stolen Palestinian lands in direct violation of International Law, assaulted a child, Friday, near the West Bank city of Bethlehem, south of the occupied Palestinian capital, Jerusalem. Eyewitnesses said the child, only fifteen years of age, was attacked by a …

Sam Bahour (2020-06-19). America's Intifada Must Dig Deeper. counterpunch.org Palestinians' sustained struggle for freedom and independence offers many lessons The murder of George Floyd and the White House's mishandling (to put it politely) of the COVID-19 pandemic may be providing the perfect toxic storm to fix America. The road to creating an equitable American society will be long and hard, but the U.S. civil rights

IMEMC News (2020-06-19). Israeli Soldiers Abduct Three Palestinians In Jenin. imemc.org Israeli soldiers invaded, on Friday at dawn, into Jenin city and Jenin refugee camp, in northern West Bank, and abducted three young Palestinian men. Eyewitnesses said the undercover soldiers, driving a car with Palestinian license plates, infiltrated into Jenin, and kidnapped two young men, who remained unidentified at the time …

Elijah J. Magnier (2020-06-19). The US "Caesar's Law" Sanctions Regime against Syria. How It Will Affect Lebanon: Israel Will be Targeted. globalresearch.ca The enactment of "

Ali Salam (2020-06-18). Armed Israeli Settlers Level Palestinian-owned Land near Jericho. imemc.org An Israeli settler, on Wednesday, levelled vast amounts of Palestinian-owned lands in the Bedouin al-Malihat area, northwest of Jericho, in the eastern occupied West Bank, local sources said. Fatah official, Suleiman Malihat, told Palestinian WAFA News Agency that an armed settler levelled 350 dunams (87 acres) of nearby Palestinian-owned land, …

Ali Salam (2020-06-18). Israeli Colonists Raze Palestinian-owned Lands near Nablus. imemc.org Illegal Israeli settlers, on Wednesday, razed several dunams of land that belongs to the Palestinian village of Qusra, south of Nablus city, in the northern occupied West Bank, to be used for a road for illegal colonial projects, according to a settlements-watch group. Palestinian official, Ghassan Daghlas, chief monitor of …

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-06-18). Israeli Forces Abduct Several Palestinians in the West Bank. imemc.org Israeli soldiers abducted, early on Thursday morning, several Palestinian residents from a number of West Bank cities, towns and villages. In the West Bank city of Jericho, Israeli special forces invaded the Aqbat Jaber refugee camp, south of the city and abducted a young man, according to Palestinian security sources. …

IMEMC News (2020-06-18). Army Demolishes A Home, A Carwash Facility, In Bethlehem. imemc.org Israeli soldiers demolished, Thursday, a Palestinian home in the al-Khader town, and a carwash facility in Teqoua' town, south and east of Bethlehem city, south of occupied Jerusalem in the West Bank. Several army jeeps, accompanied by a bulldozer, invaded the al-Khader town, before demolishing a two-room house, owned by …

Eliza Egret (2020-06-18). The ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem continues as a family fights imminent eviction. thecanary.co In 2018, I visited the Sumarin family in their East Jerusalem home, right by the walls of the historical Old City. Welcoming me with sweet tea and biscuits, Ahmad Sumarin told me about the their decades-long fight in the Israeli courts to keep their home. Like other Palestinian families in the Silwan neighbourhood, the Sumarins are in danger of being evicted to make way for Israeli colonisers. | Now, two years later, the family faces one last, urgent battle. On 30 June, the Israeli court will hear the family's final appeal. "There are six children in this household," Ahmad explained to me. If the family loses in…

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-06-18). Al-Zahar: 'Calm, in Return for Calm' Can't Last Forever. imemc.org In a new statement to media outlets, influential Hamas leader in Gaza, Mahmoud Al-Zahar, warned that the continuation of the Israeli siege and the 'calm, in return for calm' on both sides of the borders, can not last forever. Al-Zahar's remarks, which were reported by local Palestinian media outlets, including …

Ali Salam (2020-06-18). Israeli Settler Attacks Elderly Palestinian Protecting his Land in Jerusalem. imemc.org An illegal Israeli settler, on Thursday, attacked an elderly Palestinian man in Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem, pepper-spraying him in the face, Palestinian WAFA News Agency reported. Witnesses said that an illegal Israeli settler pepper-sprayed Mohammad Daoud Abbasi, in the face, along with his sons, causing them all to suffer …

PCHR (2020-06-18). PCHR: Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (June 11 — 17, 2020). imemc.org Palestinian Centre for Human Rights Israeli violations of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory (11 — 17 June 2020) Summary The Israeli forces continued to commit crimes and multi-pronged violations against Palestinian civilians and their properties, including raids into Palestinian cities that are characterized with excessive use of force, …

yenisafak (2020-06-18). EU 'strongly' urges Israel not to annex West Bank. yenisafak.com EU strongly urges Israel to refrain from the annexation of any occupied Palestinian territory, the bloc's foreign policy chief said on Thursday. | Josep Borrell was speaking at the plenary session of the European Parliament. | It would be a "serious violation of international law" if the Israeli government decided unilaterally to annex any parts of the West Bank, he said. | The majority of EU member states can only accept "a negotiated two-state solution, based on international parameters". | Borrell said he had recently informed the new Israeli ministers on foreign affairs and defense, Gavriel Ashkenazi and Benj…

sputniknews (2020-06-18). Gantz Will Not Back Applying Israeli Sovereignty to Areas With 'Many Palestinian Residents' — Report. sputniknews.com It was reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition government partner from the Blue and White Alliance, Benny Gantz, discussed on Wednesday four scenarios presented by the PM to extend sovereignty to lands on the West Bank. Although the two have failed to agree on a course of action, talks are expected to continue.

Middle East Eye (2020-06-17). Israel Increases Secretive Nuclear Stockpile to 90 Warheads: Report. globalresearch.ca Israel may have increased its nuclear stockpile from 80 warheads in 2019 to 90 in 2020, according to a new report by a leading global arms watchdog. | The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) said in its

Muhammed Shabeer (2020-06-17). "The Netanyahu government is a betrayal of the people's mandate" peoplesdispatch.org The Communist Party-led Hadash has emerged as a major force among the leftist groups in Israel. Hadash has displaced the exhausted Israeli left bloc of the Labour and Meretz in the recently concluded elections to the Knesset. Here, Peoples Dispatch (PD) talks to Arafat Bdarny, Secretary-General of the Israeli Communist Youth, regarding the relevance of the communist movement in contemporary Israeli politics and the peace process. | Peoples Dispatch (PD): What has been the status of the COVID-19 spread in Israel and what has its impact been on the people, especially the working class? How effective has been the go…

Middle East Eye (2020-06-17). Israel Increases Secretive Nuclear Stockpile to 90 Warheads: Enough to Blow Up the Planet… globalresearch.ca Israel may have increased its nuclear stockpile from 80 warheads in 2019 to 90 in 2020, according to a new report by a leading global arms watchdog. | The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) said in its

_____ (2020-06-17). Will Moscow Save The West Bank From Annexation? popularresistance.org Palestinian efforts against Israel's plans to annex Palestinian territory are being exercised on three levels. Locally, Palestinians have severed all relations, including security coordination, with Israel and the United States. Regionally, Jordan has been spearheading the Arab response to the Israeli plan, including efforts by the only two Arab countries that have a peace plan with Israel: Jordan and Egypt. | On the international level, Palestinian energy has been largely focused on three members of the Middle East Quartet — the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia. The focus is on these three in…

ahtribune (2020-06-17). After the West Bank When (How Soon) Will the East Follow? ahtribune.com Whatever percentage of the West Bank Israel begins to annex in July, it will eventually annex the rest. Will it then turn to the east bank of the Jordan river? | Since the 19th century, the Zionist project was based on the seizure of all Palestine, including territory east of the Jordan. The map of 'Israel' presented to the Paris peace conference in 1919 extended northwards into what is now Lebanon and included the city of Sidon; in the northeast, all the Golan Heights and Syria almost as far as Damascus; in the southeast the entire Jordan River valley, with the territory it desired extending almost to the tow…

Al-Mezan Center For Human Rights (2020-06-17). On Behalf of 43 NGOs, Al Mezan calls to lift Israel's illegal Gaza closure at the UN Human Rights Council, Geneva. imemc.org Al-Mezan Center For Human Rights: United Nations Human Rights Council — 43rd Regular Session Item 7 — Human Rights Situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories Joint Oral Intervention Delivered by: Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights NGOs in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social …

RT (2020-06-17). Trudeau's anti-Palestinian record & support for Israel is out of touch with what Canadians want — survey. rt.com Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is out of touch with Canadians' views on Israel's annexation of the West Bank, a survey reveals. As Canada vies for a spot on the UN Security Council, its pro-Israel record may hamper its chances. | A new

Miko Peled (2020-06-17). The Murders of Floyd and Halak Exposed the US and Israel as Settler-Colonial Enterprises. mintpressnews.com The systemic oppression faced by blacks and Palestinians in the United States and Israel is indicative of a deeply rooted racism rarely found in true democracies.

Ramzy Baroud (2020-06-17). Exposing Israel's Direct Role in US Violence. dissidentvoice.org The banning of deadly police practices by many American states and cities following the murder of an African American man, George Floyd, at the hands of Minneapolis police officers is, once more, shedding light on US-Israeli collaboration in the fields of security and crowd-control. From California to New York, and from Washington State to Minneapolis, …

Ramzy Baroud (2020-06-17). The 'Palestinian Chair': Exposing Israel's Direct Role in US Violence. commondreams.org IDF soldiers deployed during "Operation Protective Edge." (Photo: IDF/flickr/public domain) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/army_2_0.jpg

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-06-17). Israeli Forces Confiscate Palestinian-owned Bulldozers, Equipment. imemc.org Israeli forces, on Wednesday, seized five Palestinian-owned bulldozers in addition to other excavation equipment, in the western Almazra'a village, northwest of the central West Bank city of Ramallah. Board-member of the municipality of the western Mazra'a village, Waseem Ladadwa, told the Palestinian WAFA News Agency that dozens of Israeli soldiers …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-17). Hamas calls for greater Palestinian unity to resist Israeli annexation plan. peoplesdispatch.org The Hamas movement has called for a broader unity among Palestinians to confront Israel's proposed annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank from July 1. Addressing the media on Monday June 15, senior Hamas official and member of its political bureau, Salah al-Bardawil said that a united struggle will bring the "Palestinian project back on track." | Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that his government will start the process of extending Israeli sovereignty in the Jordan Valley and in areas of the occupied West Bank where illegal Israeli settlements are located beginning on July 1. Accor…

IMEMC News (2020-06-17). Soldiers Abduct Seven Palestinians, Including Four Children, In Silwan. imemc.org Israeli soldiers abducted, on Wednesday at dawn, five children, in addition to a mother and her son, in Silwan town, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in occupied East Jerusalem. The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan (Silwanic) has reported that the soldiers stormed and ransacked many homes in the town, …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-17). UN experts condemn Israeli annexation plan. peoplesdispatch.org UN experts, in a joint statement on June 16, said the controversial Israeli plan to annex the Jordan valley and the illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank is illegal and would be a grave violation of the human rights of Palestinians…

IMEMC News (2020-06-17). Israeli Army Demolishes Many Structures, Stores, Near Jerusalem. imemc.org On Wednesday morning, Israeli soldiers, accompanied by bulldozers, invaded Abu Dis town, east of occupied East Jerusalem, before demolishing a shed, an under-construction building, and several stores, owned by Palestinians from the town. The WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency has reported that the soldiers demolished a shed owned by …

IMEMC News (2020-06-17). Army Uproots Palestinian Lands Near Bethlehem. imemc.org Israeli army jeeps and armored bulldozers invaded, Wednesday, the al-Badia ash-Sharqiya area in the al-Freidis village, east of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, before bulldozing and uprooting Palestinian lands. Hasan Breijiyya, the head of the Bethlehem office of the "Colonization & Wall Resistance Commission," has reported that the Israeli …

The Palestinian News & Info Agency (2020-06-17). UN experts: Israel's annexation of West Bank land a serious violation of UN Charter, Conventions. imemc.org GENEVA, Tuesday, June 16, 2020 (WAFA): Israel's planned annexation of large swaths of the occupied West Bank land starting July 1 constitutes a serious violation of the United Nations Charter and the Geneva Conventions and the international community has a duty to prevent it, today said 47 of the independent …

IMEMC News (2020-06-17). Israeli Colonists Burn Palestinian Lands Near Nablus. imemc.org Many fanatic illegal Israeli colonialist settlers burned, on Wednesday evening, Palestinian agricultural in Burin village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Media sources said the colonists came from the illegal Ronim outpost, and burnt agricultural lands in the eastern area of the village, setting fields and trees …

Staff (2020-06-17). Adalah backs warning from UN human rights experts: Morning after Israel's West Bank annexation will be 'vision of 21st century apartheid'. imemc.org 17/06/2020: ADALAH — The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights In Israel: UN experts:…

IMEMC & Agencies (2020-06-17). Israeli Forces Close an Archaeological Site in Nablus City. imemc.org Israeli forces closed, early on Tuesday, an ancient archaeological site in the northern occupied West Bank city of Nablus. Mayor of Sebastia village, north of Nablus city, Mr. Mohammad Azem, confirmed that Israeli troops invaded the village in the early hours of dawn, and began cordoning off the Sebastia archaeological …

_____ (2020-06-17). German Party Calls For Sanctions On Israel. popularresistance.org Germany's left-wing party Die Linke is calling for sanctions on Israel if it proceeds with its planned annexation of large parts of the occupied West Bank. | In Germany there is a strictly enforced — but intellectually lazy and morally repugnant — elite consensus that unconditional support for Israel and inaction in the face of its crimes against Palestinians are necessary to atone for the murder of millions of European Jews in German government death camps. | Few prominent German politicians have the courage or moral clarity to understand that genuine and principled atonement would mean applying the…

yenisafak (2020-06-17). Scores of Israelis storm Al-Aqsa complex in Jerusalem. yenisafak.com The official with the Jordan—run Islamic Waqf Department said 171 settlers toured the site under the protection of Israeli police. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. | The Waqf department has repeatedly called on the Israeli government to halt settler visits to the holy site as they trigger confrontations with Muslim worshippers.. | Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world's third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times. | Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 196…