[Onthebarricades] IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN and PALESTINE: Protests, October 2007-January 2008

[Andy]

*  US diplomats protest forced postings in Iraq
*  Afghans stage anti-US protest near Khost, allege Quran abuse
*  Iraqi villagers protest against "al-Qaeda attacks"
*  Uprising by 1000 Palestinian prisoners at Ketziot; 1 killed in Israeli 
attack
*  Ketziot uprising, killing marked in West Bank protest
*  Tensions running high as guards violate agreement after Ketziot unrest
*  University students protest at Gaza checkpoint
*  Two ISM protesters injured in Bil'in protest
*  Mock outpost built in anti-fence protest
*  Israeli reservists refuse to take part in drill
*  Unrest between Druze and Jews in Peki'in: protest or pogrom?
*  Police raid on Druze town sparks uprising
*  Palestinian rights protest as celebrity buys at pro-Israeli store
*  Ethiopian migrants protest Israeli policy clampdown
*  Dutch activists paint graffiti on separation wall, raise funds for 
Palestinians
*  Banksy's art protest backfires
*  Fatah militants protest life in Egyptian army camps
*  Women in Black protest in Jerusalem
*  Peace Now target outpost before Bush visit
*  Hamas supporters protest Bush visit; "Bush equals terrorism"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/02/wgulf302.xml

US diplomats protest forced postings in Iraq

By Alex Spillius in Washington
Last Updated: 3:06am GMT 03/11/2007

American diplomats have revolted against plans to force them to serve in 
Iraq, an assignment described by one as a "potential death sentence".
The one-year tours would be at the US embassy in Baghdad's fortified Green 
Zone, which is often hit by mortar fire, or in civilian-military provincial 
reconstruction teams in one of the 18 regions.
About 250 members of staff were told this week that they were in a pool for 
50 posts in Iraq for which no qualified candidates have volunteered, and 
risked losing their jobs if they did not accept.
Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, was forced yesterday to try to 
quell the protest. According to US officials, she will send a cable to state 
department employees to explain the rationale behind the decision to begin 
the largest diplomatic call-up since Vietnam.
Iraq is considered the most dangerous posting in living memory. Staff are 
unable to move around Baghdad without a substantial armed guard and have 
been regular targets for gunmen and bombers.
At an emotional meeting between several hundred staffers and bosses this 
week, Jack Crotty, nearing retirement after three decades of service, said: 
"I'm sorry, that's a potential death sentence and you know it."
Rachel Schneller, another staffer, said she returned from a tour of duty in 
Iraq wounded and in need of counselling for post-traumatic stress disorder, 
which the department had failed to provide. Employees' resentment has been 
fuelled by the war's general unpopularity among their ranks.
Many felt the department was sidelined during the planning for the war and 
the phase after Saddam Hussein was removed and is now being asked to do 
George W Bush's dirty work.
Harry Thomas, the department's director general, reminded staff that they 
had a contractual obligation to work anywhere in the world. "We cannot pick 
and choose where we go. We cannot shrink from our duty," he said.
The row came as a senior retired army general gave warning that US forces 
might need to be in the Middle East for up to 50 years.
Gen John Abizaid, the former US commander in the region, said the rise of 
extremist Sunni and Shia movements in Iraq and elsewhere, the Arab-Israeli 
conflict and global dependence on Middle East oil made it highly unlikely US 
troops would return home soon.
"We shouldn't assume even for a minute that in the next 25 to 50 years the 
American military might be able to come home, relax and take it easy, 
because the strategic situation in the region doesn't seem to show that as 
being possible," he said.
The US army also yesterday admitted it has fewer personnel for basic 
training this year than at any time since it became an all-volunteer service 
in 1973.

http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSB383207

Hundreds of Afghans stage anti-US protest
Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:29am EDT

KHOST, Afghanistan, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Afghans staged a protest 
against the United States on Wednesday, saying U.S. troops had thrown a copy 
of the Koran during an operation in the southeast, a police officer said.

A U.S-led coalition spokesman said he had no knowledge of the reported 
desecration in Paktika province, but added investigators found no truth to a 
similar allegation against soldiers in eastern Kunar province last week.

The protests come as anti-U.S. sentiments are running high in parts of 
Afghanistan following the deaths of more than 370 civilians this year during 
operations by Western troops stationed in the country.

The protest on Wednesday was held in Urgun district of Paktika province, 
part of the main bastion for resurgent Taliban near the border with 
neighbouring Pakistan, a district police chief said.

Protesters said U.S. troops broke into a house on Monday night in Urgun, 
arrested four people, including a woman, and one soldier threw away a copy 
of the Koran, Nawar Khan told Reuters.

"We have began an investigation into the villagers' reports about the 
arrests...and throwing of Koran," Khan said.

Another provincial official said the arrested people were Taliban.

A similar protest was held in the eastern province of Kunar where villagers 
and several lawmakers say U.S. soldiers desecrated the Koran last week.

But the coalition said its investigation into the allegation found the 
report to be untrue.

"The coalition force in this incident did not desecrate any religious 
articles. We respect all religions and treat their holy articles with the 
respect they deserve," Major Chris Belcher, coalition spokesman said.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gkx-3oYeFwuWKCusr2jrojs98w8wD8TC12300

Iraq: Villagers Protest al-Qaida Attacks
By LAUREN FRAYER - Dec 6, 2007
BAGHDAD (AP) - Shiite villagers paraded empty coffins at mock funerals near 
Baghdad on Thursday, demonstrating against alleged al-Qaida in Iraq attacks 
that killed as many as 45 people in a single village in recent months.
Hundreds of residents and Muslim sheiks from Dwelah, a Shiite enclave about 
45 miles north of Baghdad, held a huge procession in the Bawya area south of 
the capital, saying they feared reprisals if they did so in their hometown.
Dust blew through crowded streets as men hoisted flag-draped coffins over 
their heads, chanting "We remember the victims!"
Another rally snaked through thoroughfares in Baghdad's mixed Karradah 
neighborhood, where Dwelah residents and their Shiite brethren from the 
capital demanded more protection from the Iraqi government.
"We are holding this symbolic funeral procession for our sons who were 
killed by Sunni extremists. It all happened because of the government's 
ignorance and incompetent local security authorities," said sheik Ghalib 
al-Furaiji.
"We call on the prime minister to intervene. Local authorities are 
concentrating only on Baqouba, and ignoring outlying villages," he said.
Dwelah is one of several Shiite villages on the northern outskirts of 
Baqouba, the Diyala provincial capital that has seen some of the war's 
harshest fighting. Sectarian attacks and displacement of civilians has left 
the once-mixed city overwhelmingly Sunni, and many Shiites who once had 
freedom of movement throughout Diyala are now hunkered down in their 
villages.
Protesters said Dwelah has come under constant attack by al-Qaida-linked 
militants, who once claimed Baqouba as the capital of an Islamic shadow 
government in Iraq.
The most recent attack came Saturday, when Iraqi police said at least 13 
people were killed after suspected al-Qaida militants showered Dwelah with 
mortar rounds and then stormed the streets, torching homes and forcing 
hundreds of families to flee.
"We denounce this hideous crime by the gangsters against our sons. Those 
terrorists do not fear God," said sheik Qassim Hizam al-Bawi, leader of the 
al-Bawi tribe in Dwelah. "Forty-five of our sons have been killed in attacks 
like this."

http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/104877.html

Palestinian killed in prison riot

Published: 10/25/2007
A Palestinian inmate died in a riot at an Israeli high-security prison.
Guards at Ketziot, a stockade in the Negev Desert for convicted Palestinian 
terrorists and administrative detainees, searched cells for hidden weapons 
Monday, touching off scuffles with prisoners. Fifteen guards and 15 inmates 
were wounded; one of the inmates died later in a hospital.
The Ha'aretz newspaper suggested SWAT teams that responded to the riot may 
have used excessive force, but Israel's Prisons Service said its officers 
used only non-lethal weapons and tactics.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/915883.html

Dozens wounded in Ketziot riot

By Jonathan Lis

About 1,000 prisoners rioted before dawn yesterday at Ketziot Prison in the 
south, in response to a massive search for concealed weapons that wardens 
were conducting at the time. One prisoner was mortally injured by the 
wardens' crowd dispersal equipment.

Fifteen other prisoners were lightly wounded, as were 15 wardens. Four of 
the prisoners were taken for treatment to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er 
Sheva; one warden also needed medical attention.

The Israel Prison Service declined to release the name of the mortally 
injured prisoner, a 29-year-old Palestinian serving a two-year sentence for 
sheltering another man from the authorities. The Palestinian Authority 
identified him as Mohammed al-Askar.

Prison Commissioner Benny Kaniak has appointed an inquiry committee to look 
into the incident.

Major General Eli Gavison, head of the IPS's southern district, confirmed 
that jailers had fired "nonlethal objects" at the crowd, and that caused the 
prisoner's injury. He refused to specify the exact "nonlethal means" the 
wardens had used, explaining that the nature of the equipment used by the 
IPS's specialized riot dispersal unit is classified. However, he did say 
that the mortally wounded prisoner was hit in the head by a small bag filled 
with pellets of some kind.

Regulations state that wardens are only allowed to fire these missiles at 
the prisoners' legs, and Gavison insisted that all the wardens had obeyed 
this rule. However, he said, the prisoner in question was bending down at 
the time; hence the sachet struck his head.

The raid, in which 535 wardens participated, began at about 2 A.M. The 
wardens were searching the prison's security wing, which houses those 
convicted of terrorist activity, for weapons and information about possible 
escape plans by prisoners.

However, when the jailers entered the ward, the prisoners began rioting: 
They threw vegetables and other objects at the wardens, and took apart their 
beds and used them as clubs with which to attack the IPS officials. Some of 
the prisoners also set fire to the tents in which they are housed, 
destroying 10 of them before the blaze was extinguished.

"There was very serious fear for the warden's lives," said Gavison, 
explaining the decision to use crowd dispersal equipment.

Gavison said the wardens has suppressed the riot within 40 minutes, and the 
prison was back to normal within about two hours.

The IPS refused to allow journalists to enter the ward or interview 
prisoners yesterday, saying it feared the media's presence could reignite 
the riots. Photographers were barred for the same reason.

The crowd dispersal sachets were fired by members of the IPS's Massada Unit, 
which is considered one of Israel's leading riot dispersal and hostage 
rescue units. The army and police have often borrowed its services.

The PA denounced what it termed an Israeli assault against Palestinian 
prisoners and accused the IPS of using clubs, gas grenades and rubber 
bullets against the inmates. It put the number of wounded prisoners at about 
50.

Avi Issacharoff contributed to this report

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL23136178

Palestinian prisoner dies after Israeli jail riot
Tue Oct 23, 2007 2:03pm EDT

(Adds Haniyeh's comments)

By Ari Rabinovitch

JERUSALEM, Oct 23 (Reuters) - A Palestinian prisoner has died of injuries 
suffered during a riot at an Israeli jail, a prisons spokeswoman said on 
Tuesday.

At least 30 people were wounded in clashes between Palestinian prisoners and 
guards on Monday.

The violence erupted when guards conducted a routine search for weapons in a 
tented complex housing 1,000 prisoners in Israel's Negev desert, the 
spokeswoman said.

At least 15 guards and 15 prisoners were hurt in the riot, during which 
prisoners hurled rocks and torched tents. The spokeswoman said the guards 
used only "non-lethal" means to quell the violence, which lasted about an 
hour.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the prisoners involved were members 
of the Islamist group Hamas.

"I think the unrest amongst the Hamas prisoners is (caused by the fact) that 
we don't release Hamas prisoners. We release Fatah prisoners," Olmert told 
reporters during a London visit.

Israel has freed prisoners from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's 
secular Fatah faction in an attempt to bolster him against Hamas. The 
Islamist group seized control of the Gaza Strip after a brief civil war in 
June.

Olmert and Abbas are scheduled to discuss Palestinian statehood at a coming 
U.S.-sponsored conference.

"We have released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and we will consider a 
release of more, but none of them will be Hamas, because Hamas continues to 
be engaged in terrorist actions against Israel," Olmert said.

Keeping up their almost daily operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 
Israeli forces killed three Palestinian militants on Tuesday. Ismail 
Haniyeh, a Hamas leader who was prime minister in the Palestinian government 
Abbas declared void, said he condemned Israel in the name of all his people.

"This policy will not break the will of those heroes, will not break the 
will of the Palestinian people and Palestinian factions," he said at a Gaza 
rally. "We stress the unity of our people against this aggression."

More than 100 Palestinians gathered near a Jewish holy site in the occupied 
West Bank to protest over the death of the prisoner. An Israeli army 
spokesman said soldiers used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the 
protesters after one threw a fire bomb at troops.

Hamas vowed revenge for the prisoner's death and said in a statement that 
attacks on Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails could bring "painful 
choices" regarding the fate of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Shalit was abducted last year by Gaza militants in a cross-border raid. 
(Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza)

http://voanews.com/english/2007-10-23-voa36.cfm

Demonstration in West Bank After Prisoner Dies in Israeli Jail Riot
By VOA News
23 October 2007

Palestinian women hold portraits of their relatives held in Israeli prisons, 
calling for their release, West Bank city of Ramallah, 23 Oct. 2007
Palestinians have staged demonstrations in the West Bank to protest the 
death of a Palestinian prisoner injured during an Israeli jail riot.
Family members of prisoners took to the streets in Ramallah and Bethlehem 
Tuesday, holding framed pictures of their jailed relatives and demanding 
their release from Israeli custody.
Prisoners at the Ketziot jail in Israel's Negev desert rioted early Monday 
after security forces began searching a tent complex where 1,000 prisoners 
are housed.
Rioters threw rocks and burned tents.  Israel says it used "non-lethal" 
methods to quell the unrest.  The prisoner who was killed in the violence 
was identified as an Islamic Jihad militant.
In a separate development, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinian 
militants in the West Bank town of Jenin.
The Israeli army says the militants were killed in an exchange of gunfire 
when soldiers raided a house to arrest wanted militants.  The army said one 
soldier was slightly wounded and six people were arrested.
Palestinian security officials identified the dead as members of Islamic 
Jihad.  Israeli forces frequently carry out raids in the West Bank to 
capture Palestinian militants.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli aircraft fired on a vehicle, killing a militant 
leader.  Palestinian sources said the man worked at the Hamas-controlled 
Interior Ministry in Gaza and was a member of the Popular Resistance 
Committees, which regularly fires rockets at Israel.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/917001.html

Last update - 05:05 25/10/2007

Ketziot inmates: Wardens acting provocatively, as before deadly riot

By Amira Hass, Haaretz Correspondent

Inmates at Ketziot Prison fear that the Israel Prison Service is planning to 
break into their tents again, three days after a similar incident led to 
clashes and to the death of one prisoner, Mohammed al-Ashkar.

A prisoner at Ketziot told Haaretz that a few officers from the IPS Nahshon 
Unit were walking around the tents of the Negev prison at around 7 P.M. 
yesterday, accompanied by dogs. The prisoners considered the presence of the 
officers a clear provocation, as the inmates are still mourning the death of 
their fellow detainee.

According to Maj.-Gen. Eli Gavison, head of the IPS Southern District, 
Ashkar's death was caused by a small bag filled with pellets fired by IPS 
officers. Prison Commissioner Benny Kaniak appointed a committee of inquiry 
to investigate the incident.
Advertisement

According to the prisoner, as soon as the officers arrived, representatives 
of the inmates told the prison administrators that they will resist any 
attempt by the officers to go into their tents, at any price.

The prisoners say that the Monday morning raid of their tents was in 
violation of an agreement between them and the administrators, whereby no 
searches would be conducted at night by IPS officers who were not regular 
staff members at the prison.

The prisoner told Haaretz that the officers left after about 20 minutes, but 
tensions in the residency tents are still running high.

About 1,000 prisoners were involved in the riot on Monday, which began as a 
search for weapons and information about possible escape schemes in the wing 
holding prisoners convicted of terror activity.

The Palestinian Authority denounced what it called on Israeli assault 
against Palestinian prisoners, and claimed that the IPS used clubs, gas 
grenades and rubber bullets against the inmates. It put the number of 
injured inmates at about 50, compared with 15 according to Israeli sources.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7036816.stm

Students protest at Gaza blockade
By Aleem Maqbool
BBC News, Ramallah

Palestinian university students unable to leave Gaza to continue their 
studies abroad have held a demonstration to try to bring attention to their 
plight.
The Gaza Strip has been all but cut off from the outside world since June, 
when the Islamist militant group, Hamas, seized control of the territory.
Palestinian officials have said Israel is issuing permits to students only 
sporadically and after long delays.
Israel's foreign ministry has said the permit "problems" will be solved 
soon.
Isolation
It is now exactly four months since Israel closed Gaza's borders.
Humanitarian aid, mainly in the form of food and medicines is still getting 
in, but otherwise, there is no freedom of movement for goods or people 
entering or leaving the territory.
Israel wants to isolate Hamas, the Islamist group that so violently took 
control of Gaza.
But hundreds of thousands of ordinary Palestinians are suffering as a 
consequence, among them students who normally study outside the confines 
Gaza - at universities around the world.
A month ago, Israel allowed four bus-loads of students to leave, but 
hundreds more remain and are not being allowed out.
Some gathered in Gaza City on Tuesday to protest.
"This was supposed to be my first year at university in Egypt," one student 
at the demonstration said. "I tried to leave by the checkpoint but the 
Israelis sent me back."
"I'm appealing to the politicians and the international community to help us 
with our problem."
Another student said everyone just wanted to find a solution to the crisis.
"I need the checkpoints to be opened, but I'm pessimistic," he said. "The 
situation here is so strange and tough I can't imagine what my future will 
be."
Israeli human rights groups have now taken up the cause of the students and 
say they will take their cases to Israel's High Court.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380660561&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Oct 26, 2007 15:47 | Updated Oct 26, 2007 16:02
Two Italian left-wing activists hurt in protest against security fence
Two Italian left-wing activists were wounded Friday when they were shot with 
rubber bullets by IDF troops during a protest against the West Bank security 
barrier near the Palestinian village of Bil'in.
Meanwhile, IDF troops arrested four British left-wing activists on suspicion 
of damaging a vineyard belonging to a resident of the Dolev settlement.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1196847283987&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Dec 8, 2007 14:06 | Updated Dec 8, 2007 20:16
Mock outpost built in left-wing protest
By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Palestinian and left-wing activists built a mock "Palestinian outpost" in 
the West Bank on Saturday to protest ongoing settlement expansion.

A settler holds up an Israeli flag to protest a mock "Palestinian outpost" 
as a police officer tries to remove him on in an area between Jerusalem and 
Ma'aleh Adumim, Saturday.
Photo: AP
In an area between Jerusalem and the West Bank settlement of Maaleh Adumim, 
demonstrators set up a small house, complete with a concrete foundation, and 
raised Palestinian flags.
The fake outpost was meant to draw attention to continued settlement 
activity and about 30 Palestinians, Israelis and foreigners participated in 
the protest. Two Palestinian were arrested on suspicion of attacking police 
men, police said.
One man shoveled concrete around the small house to reinforce it. Others 
tried to work out how to fit a glass window into its ready-made gap.
"We are trying to make a new Palestinian suburb on land that is threatened 
with expropriation," said Abdullah Abu Rahme, a protester.
During the protest, an man carrying an Israeli flag began arguing with the 
protesters. "This is Israeli land," he said. "Go to Jordan," he told 
Palestinian demonstrators.
Police said the protesters had 60 days to remove the house.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/931960.html

Last update - 13:22 06/12/2007

Reservists refuse to take part in drill due to base conditions

By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent

Tags: Guy Zur, Ze'elim, IDF

Reservist soldiers from an Israel Defense Forces Infantry Corps company 
refused on Thursday to participate in a battalion drill at the Ze'elim 
training base in the Negev.

The soldiers refusal came in protest of logistical conditions at the base, 
and over what they termed unsuitable treatment of their complaints by 
commanders.

This sort of protest by reserve units is a rare phenomenon, and IDF sources 
said the matter would be investigated.
Advertisement

The soldiers, who belong to the Jordan Valley Brigade, conducted a company 
drill at Ze'elim on Wednesday. They said that they had made several 
complains over the last week regarding the lack of heaters in their tents 
during the cold desert nights.

The soldiers also complained over delays in the arrivals of vehicles to 
transport them to training.

On Thursday morning, after several serious hitches relating to 
transportation, the soldiers refused to participate in a company drill.

The matter will be investigated by the Ze'elim Commander Brigadier General 
Guy Zur, who up until several weeks ago served as commander of the 162nd 
division, to which the battalion belongs, and by the Jordan Valley Brigade 
commander, Colonel Yigal Slovik.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124112

Peki'in Riots: Was It About A Cellular Tower Or Was It A Pogrom?

by Hana Levi Julian
(IsraelNN.com) Conflicting versions of the riots in Peki'in have appeared in 
the Israeli media.
While the generally accepted version is that the riots were caused by a 
police raid following an attack on a cell phone transmission tower, Ynet 
published an account Wednesday afternoon of the suffering of the Jewish 
inhabitants of Peki'in at the hands of a violent Druze nationalist gang - 
then abruptly pulled it from the front page and hid all direct links to it.
According to this version of the story, the Jewish families living in the 
ancient village said that the transmitter was "just an excuse" for violence 
and that six of the eight Jewish families' homes in ancient Peki'in were 
either burned or ransacked in the morning after the riots that received 
media coverage.
Peki'in is populated primarily with Druze families, but there are also a 
number of Muslim, Christian and Jewish families living in the village, 
including a famous Jewish family that has been living in Peki'in 
consecutively since the days of the Temple.
Masked youths firing in the air
Jewish Peki'in resident Orit Ziegelman recounted the harrowing night between 
Monday and Tuesday thus: "All night long masked youths roamed about, armed 
with clubs and live weapons, guns and grenades. There was constant firing in 
the air. Overnight our car was burned, again. Then the police came, with all 
of the stories that were in the media. We went out in the morning [on 
Tuesday] as if everything was normal. but there was something bad in the 
air. It was clear that something bad was about to happen. 30 minutes after 
we left we were told that our house had been completely burned. To the 
ground."  Ziegelman said she would not go back to her home after it was 
torched. "I don't intend to be a victim," she said.
Margalit Zenati, an elderly Peki'in native from the family that has lived 
there since Second Temple times, said the troublemakers are Druze 
nationalist youths: "Until yesterday, we thought there were only a few dozen 
of them, but now it's clear there are between 100 and 200 of them," she 
said.
Dichter visits wounded
The fallout from rioting in Peki'in Tuesday continued to spread Wednesday, 
as Public Security Minister Avi Dichter visited hospitalized police officers 
and Druze citizens before meeting with Police Chief Dudi Cohen for a full 
report.
Violence broke out early Tuesday morning when more than 100 police officers 
entered the ancient village at 4:00 a.m. to make arrests following the 
destruction of a cell phone tower.
The wanted men had used firebombs and a hand grenade to destroy the tower, 
which was installed in the nearby Jewish town of Peki'in HaChadasha.
At least 40 people were wounded in the violence, including more than two 
dozen police officers, 10 medics and seven residents.
Border Police officer Liat Duadi was separated from her fellow police 
officers during the melee and dragged 20 meters on the ground by the masked 
assailants, who kicked and beat her. Duadi said some of the attackers tried 
to stab her in the chest and stomach but failed due to the bulletproof flak 
jacket she wore. "I saw murder in their eyes," she told the Maariv daily 
newspaper.
Policewoman held hostage, traded
Duadi suffered a stab wound in the thigh before she managed to escape the 
mob and reach a retired Druze police commander who brought her to the local 
prayer house. She ended up a hostage in any case, however, with the mob 
yelling, "You won't get out of here alive until we get what we want."
Though the retired Druze officer made sure she was not harmed, she was not 
released until the police agreed to the demands of the mob. Police released 
at least six rioters and Duadi herself told Yediot Acharonot that "it is no 
secret that I was not released for free - they received everything they 
demanded." Police confirmed that six rioters were released from custody 
during negotiations for the officer's release.
By Tuesday evening, 16 police officers were still hospitalized along with a 
dozen residents and medics. A Druze rioter and a police officer were both 
listed in serious condition.
Minister of Public Security Avi Dichter said Wednesday that whoever says the 
violence at Peki'in was motivated by sectarian tension "is wrong and 
deceives others."
Dichter visited the wounded policemen but also wounded Druze villagers, and 
said that "no body, including the Israel Police, is immune from mistakes, 
and if we made mistakes we will look into it and make corrections."
Dichter said he would be receiving an update from Northern Region commanders 
Wednesday night.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/30/africa/mideast.php

Israeli police raid on Druse town turns into riot

By Isabel Kershner
Published: October 30, 2007

JERUSALEM: A Galilee village turned into a battleground Tuesday as the 
Israeli police clashed with rioters from the Druse community and fired live 
ammunition, police officials and community leaders said.
The violence in Pekiin in northern Israel left at least 16 police officers 
and a similar number of medics and residents wounded. One Druse resident was 
in serious condition after being shot in the stomach, emergency service 
officials said. One policeman was hospitalized with a serious head wound, a 
police spokesman said.
The episode was unusual because it involved the Druse, a minority of 130,000 
people who make up less than 2 percent of Israel's total population of just 
over seven million. The Druse practice a secret religion and are known for 
their loyalty to the state in which they reside. Israeli Druse are enlisted 
for compulsory military service and many join the police force.
The clashes erupted when more than 100 police officers entered the village 
at 4 a.m. to arrest five men they suspected of having vandalized a cellphone 
antenna in the neighboring community of New Pekiin, the police spokesman 
said. The villagers contend that radiation from the antenna causes cancer.
"The police came under a barrage of rocks, boulders and metal bars thrown by 
masked youths," said the police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld. "Our officers 
were in a life-threatening situation and it was necessary for one to open 
fire with live ammunition to get out of the situation." He added that the 
police arrested six of the rioters.
The police left the village at about 7 a.m., Rosenfeld said, but somehow a 
border policewoman was left behind. She was surrounded by rioters, he said, 
but "one of the villagers, an ex-policeman, took her into his house for 
safety."
A dialogue ensued between police representatives and the village sheik, and 
about two hours later the border policewoman was handed over unharmed, 
Rosenfeld said. In return, the six arrested villagers were released.
Israel's deputy foreign minister, Majallie Wahbee, a Druse legislator with 
the governing Kadima party, condemned the police actions in Pekiin. "Would 
they send in such a large armed force, like an army operation, to arrest 
someone in Tel Aviv?" he asked.

http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/104989.html

Riot in Druze village
Published: 10/30/2007
Dozens of people, including police, were injured in a riot in an Israeli 
Druze village.
Police officers came to Pekiin, in northern Israel, on Tuesday to arrest 
local villagers suspected of vandalizing a cell-phone antenna tower, only to 
be attacked by scores of rock-throwing local youths.
At least 40 people, most of them police, were hurt in the ensuing 
confrontations.
Three rioters were wounded by live bullets fired by police, prompting 
Israeli Arab leaders to call for an investigation. Internal Security 
Minister Avi Dichter vowed a crackdown on those who had assaulted the police 
officers.
Israeli cellphone servers have come under criticism recently by 
environmental groups arguing that the antennas pose a health risk.

http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2007/12/09/adalah-ny-despite-nyc-palestinian-rights-protest-dershowitz-buys-jewelry-from-settlement-mogul-leviev/

Adalah-NY: Despite NYC Palestinian rights protest, Dershowitz buys jewelry 
from settlement mogul Leviev
December 9th, 2007 | Posted in Reports, International Actions

New York, NY, Dec. 8 - Wealthy Madison Avenue holiday shoppers were greeted 
Saturday afternoon by boisterous music and dancing, as 60 New Yorkers 
protested in a growing campaign to boycott Israeli diamond magnate Lev 
Leviev over his settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. 
Participants performed a joyous dabke, a traditional Palestinian dance, and 
chanted to music from the eight-piece Rude Mechanical Orchestra. During the 
protest, Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz entered LEVIEV New York and 
emerged to jeers as he displayed a LEVIEV shopping bag to the crowd.

Saturday's event was the third and largest protest outside LEVIEV New York 
since the store's November 13 gala opening. The protesters highlighted 
Leviev's abuse of marginalized communities in Palestine, Angola and New 
York. In the West Bank companies owned by Leviev have built homes in at 
least five Israeli settlements. These settlements carve the West Bank into 
disconnected bantustans, seize valuable Palestinian agricultural and water 
resources, and isolate Palestinian East Jerusalem from the rest of the West 
Bank, rendering the creation of a viable Palestinian state impossible. All 
Israeli settlements violate international law. Yesterday, Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice warned Israel against its plans to build new homes in Har 
Homa, one of the settlements where Leviev's company Danya Cebus is building.

Midway through Saturday's protest Alan Dershowitz suddenly appeared in front 
of LEVIEV New York. "Just before he entered the store, I told Mr. 
Dershowitz, "you claim to be for peace, but you are deliberately putting 
money in the pockets of a man who builds settlements and prevents peace," 
explained Issa Mikel of Adalah-NY." Dershowitz responded, 'Thank you for 
telling me about this place. I'm going to shop here from now on.' It's not 
surprising that Dershowitz is proud to support Israeli settlements, despite 
their illegality and immorality. Dershowitz is also a defender of torture, 
and has proposed that Israel destroy entire Palestinian villages." As 
Dershowitz emerged from the store holding high his LEVIEV shopping bag, he 
was met by loud chants of, "Alan, Alan, you can't hide, your support for 
Apartheid."

New Yorkers were joined by members of the New Jersey Star dance troupe for 
likely the first ever Madison Avenue performance of the Palestinian folk 
dance dabke. Riham Barghouti of Adalah-NY explained, "Our dabke performance 
at Leviev's store was an affirmation of our identity as Palestinians, and of 
our refusal to accept Israel's efforts to cleanse us from our land and 
destroy our culture."

Participants were reminded of the breadth of Leviev's abuses when a stream 
of cars decorated with Burmese flags and "Free Burma" banners drove by the 
protest honking their horns in support. In September, 2007 The Sunday Times 
in London reported that its undercover journalist was shown Burmese rubies 
for sale, allegedly "blood rubies" used to finance Myanmar's military junta. 
UPI reported in October that Leviev was warned by the EU to stop doing 
business with Myanmar or face sanctions.

Protesters held signs saying, "Latkes not land theft", and "Dreidels not 
demolition and "Candles not confiscation." Ethan Heitner of Adalah-NY 
explained, "I can think of no better way to celebrate Hanukah than to shine 
a light on the abuses Leviev is committing around the world."

Leviev mines diamonds in close partnership with Angola's repressive Dos 
Santos regime, and the security company Leviev employs in Angola has been 
accused of serious human rights abuses. In New York City, Shaya Boymelgreen, 
Leviev's US partner until this summer, has been the target of a campaign by 
local groups for employing underpaid, non-union workers in hazardous 
conditions, and violating housing codes to construct luxury apartments that 
threaten to displace lower-income residents.

Protest photos available upon request, email us at: justiceme at gmail.com

For more on Adalah-NY: www.mideastjustice.org

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/935894.html

Last update - 17:48 18/12/2007

1,000 Ethiopian immigrants protest plans to halt Falash Mura aliyah

By Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz Correspondent

Tags: immigration, Falash Mura

Some 1,000 Ethiopian immigrants demonstrated on Tuesday against the 
government's decision to close down next week its operation to bring the 
Falash Mura to Israel.

The protest march left from the Jerusalem International Convention Center 
and headed towards the Prime Minister's Office, where the demonstrators 
blocked the street. Several attempted to break through the PMO fence.

Cabinet Secretary Oved Yehezkel agreed to receive a delegation of 
demonstrators for a meeting.

The protest's organizers took issue with ministry figures that show that 
some 1,500 eligible Falash Mura are still in Ethiopia, and all are expected 
to arrive here by next June. Ethiopian immigrant associations claim that 
there are at least 8,500 others who are eligible to immigrate under the 
government's criteria.

Both the Interior Ministry and the Jewish Agency, in contrast, charge that 
these 8,500 people are merely the tip of an iceberg comprising tens or even 
hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians who want to immigrate to Israel, and if 
the government were to accede to their demands, the flow would be endless. 
Israel has absorbed some 30,000 Falash Mura over the last decade despite 
having no legal obligation to do so, they said, and the time has come to put 
a stop to the matter.

Ancestors converted to Christianity
The Falash Mura are Ethiopians of Jewish descent whose ancestors converted 
to Christianity. They are not Jewish according to Jewish law, but in 1999, 
under pressure from local Ethiopian immigrant groups and American Jewish 
organizations, the government agreed to bring them to Israel. They are 
currently arriving at a rate of about 300 per month.

In late 2006, however, the government decided to bring the remaining Falash 
Mura here and wind up its operation in Ethiopia within a year.

According to the government's immigration criteria, which are based on a 
halakhic ruling by Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, a Falash Mura must be 
able to prove their maternal ancestral line is Jewish for seven generations 
back, have a first-degree relative who is already in Israel and promise to 
undergo a pro forma conversion upon arrival. Over the last year, the 
Interior Ministry has refused immigration permits to some 3,000 applicants.

This has outraged Ethiopian immigrant groups. "There are 8,500 people who 
left their homes and villages and came to Gondar [where the Israeli 
representatives are based] in the hope of immigrating to Israel," said 
Avraham Negusa, who chairs these groups' umbrella organization. "These are 
people who have parents, siblings and children already living in Israel. And 
now, along comes the interior minister and changes the policy."

Jewish Agency officials also charged that the process is vulnerable to 
corruption, and in many cases, visa applicants have bribed Ethiopians 
already in Israel to claim them as first-degree relatives.

In addition, the government accuses American Jewish groups that promote 
Ethiopian immigration of pressuring Israel to keep absorbing more Falash 
Mura solely in order to preserve their own raison d'etre. Interior Minister 
Meir Sheetrit, addressing the Jewish Agency's board of trustees last month, 
said bluntly: "We will not bring in more Falash Mura. If the [American 
Jewish] organizations want to help them so badly, they should bring them to 
the U.S."

American Jewish groups are divided on the issue. The Joint Distribution 
Committee, which runs a clinic in Gondar, sides with the government. The 
United Jewish Communities, which in the past had pressured the government on 
this issue, has since softened its stance, and officials in Jerusalem 
believe that it, too, will fall in line.

But the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry (NACOEJ) is more 
confrontational. "We don't make decisions for the Israeli government," said 
Joseph Feit, one of its leaders, "but according to the halakhic rulings of 
Israel's chief rabbis, and according to opinions by the three religious 
streams here in the U.S. [Orthodox, Conservative and Reform], the Jewishness 
of the 8,500 Falash Mura remaining in Gondar should be recognized. Nor would 
it surprise me if there are more Jews in the villages of Ethiopia."

NACOEJ has already decided to continue its operation in Ethiopia even after 
the government closes up shop.

Israeli Ethiopian immigrant groups are planning protests in Jerusalem next 
week. Several Knesset members also object to the government's decision, and 
have asked the state comptroller to examine the issue. The cabinet largely 
sides with Sheetrit, but Ethiopian groups are hoping for support from Shas 
leader and Industry Minister Eli Yishai.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/935931.html

Last update - 23:53 18/12/2007

Falafel recipe painted on West Bank fence as part of protest

By Cnaan Liphshiz, Haaretz Correspondent and The Associated Press

Tags: West Bank, falafel

"For the rest of the recipe, turn over the wall," reads a falafel recipe 
spray-painted on Israel's imposing West Bank separation fence Tuesday, in a 
lighthearted but serious protest against the hardships it causes 
Palestinians.

A Dutch group called Sendamessage collects money over the Internet for the 
project - painting messages on the barrier Israel is building along the West 
Bank. The barrier, made up of concrete walls, barbed wire, trenches and 
electronic sensors, is meant to keep Palestinian suicide bombers and other 
attackers out of Israel, but Palestinians charge it juts into their land and 
cuts many people off from their fields and services.

The idea evolved during two workshops by advertising creatives from the 
Palo-Dutch Concept Factory from the Palo-Dutch Concept Factory, who had come 
to Ramallah to coach young Palestinians in creative campaigning and public 
relations.

The project aims to publicize the difficulties while raising money for 
social projects in the West Bank. For a $43 contribution, a Palestinian 
volunteer will paint a message on the wall - anything from a political 
statement to marriage proposal. However, hate messages against Israelis or 
Palestinians are forbidden.

"We've received dozens of orders," the site's operator and concept designer, 
Justus van Oel, says. One woman, van Oel recalls, left a message for Tareq - 
a long-lost ex-boyfriend. Another couple wanted their wedding date on the 
wall.

To ensure no hateful content ends up on the wall, van Oel reviews all 
slogans. "Payment is in advance and defamers get no refunds," van Oel says. 
"I'm hoping it'll keep them away."

"It's not about changing the wall, it's about spreading the news ... that 
[the separation fence] is in our cities, our towns and our villages," 
explained the project's local coordinator, Faris Arouri.

It wasn't easy for Yousef Nijim, 24, to paint the first part of the felafel 
recipe and 13 other messages in various languages on the Palestinian side of 
the wall on Tuesday.

Israel Defense Forces helicopters could be heard flying by, and a stiff wind 
blew dust and paint in all directions. Leaning against the eight-meter-high 
concrete wall, Arouri called out the spelling of the words to the painter, 
Nijim. Several times they failed and had to start over. After Nijim 
struggled mightily with a Hebrew word, other volunteers joked that next 
time, he should bring some Wite-Out.

Arouri said a small portion of the money raised through the Web site goes to 
administrative costs, while most goes to charities in and around Ramallah, 
including building a children's garden, a youth cinema and a basketball 
court.

"I think it's important for Palestinians to see that people from around the 
world are supporting their cause," said Nabil Kukali, an expert on 
Palestinian opinion on Israel. "They are happy to see this type of 
organization standing with them and understanding their suffering."

http://news.scotsman.com/world/Banksy39s-Bethlehem-art-protest-backfires.3611613.jp

Banksy's Bethlehem art protest backfires

By BEN LYNFIELD
AN EFFORT by the British graffiti artist Banksy to protest against Israeli 
occupation practices by drawing wall murals in beleaguered Bethlehem has 
crashed against a cultural barrier.
Unknown Palestinians have painted over a new Banksy mural of an Israeli 
soldier checking a donkey's identity papers, it was discovered yesterday.

The mural was apparently meant to protest against the often draconian 
Israeli security measures that paralyse Palestinian daily life.

But some residents believe Banksy had insulted them. "I didn't like that 
painting," said Jamal Salman, a former town manager of Bethlehem. "It gave 
the impression that we are donkeys. He may have meant to say that the 
Israelis check the identity cards even of donkeys but, from my point of 
view, he is showing us as donkeys."

Leading an effort known as "Santa's Ghetto" that brought 25 European and 
American artists to Bethlehem, Banksy early this month painted six images on 
walls around the city. The art campaign, which ends on Christmas Eve, aims 
to illustrate the hardships Palestinians face from the 25ft-high Israeli 
separation barrier, which cuts farmers off from their land, breaks the West 
Bank into enclaves and casts a daunting shadow over Bethlehem, the 
birthplace of Jesus.

Israel says the barrier is essential to thwarting infiltrations by suicide 
bombers and has significantly reduced attacks. But it also effectively 
annexes 10 per cent of the West Bank to Israel.

Much of the "Santa's Ghetto" effort, which includes an auction of artwork 
for children's
charities, has been aimed at transforming the barrier into an open canvas 
that protests against itself, something Banksy pioneered during a visit to 
Bethlehem in 2005. Bethlehem municipality officials hope the wall art will 
be a tourist draw.

The strongest image Banksy made for Bethlehem is one of a dove with an olive 
branch in its beak, wearing a bullet proof vest. Crosshairs are trained on 
the dove's heart.

But George Rishmawi, the director of the Palestinian Centre for 
Rapprochement Between People in the neighbouring town of Beit Sahour, said 
the wall would be better left as it is.

"Although these artists have come with good intentions, in general I am 
sceptical about any artistic work done on the wall," he said. "The wall 
suffocates life every day. These artists should not make it beautiful: it 
should be left to speak for itself in all its ugliness."

Last Updated: 20 December 2007 10:29 PM

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/25/africa/ME-GEN-Egypt-Palestinian.php

Dozens of Palestinian militants protest life in Egyptian army camps

The Associated Press
Published: December 25, 2007

EL-ARISH, Egypt: Some 60 Palestinians, mostly Fatah loyalists who escaped 
Gaza Strip after Hamas seized of power, protested on Tuesday their living 
conditions in Egyptian army camps.

Egyptian police assert the men broke out of their camps located near the 
border town of El-Arish and Rafah at dawn and had to be re-captured, but the 
Palestinians deny the account.

Khamis Bakr, a Fatah member said that actually there was no breakout, the 
men were just protesting the six months they had spent living in tents by 
not returning to the camp that evening. The Palestinians are only confined 
to the tents at night.

"The youth are frustrated and oppressed," Bakr said. "They just spent few 
extra hours outside the camps and returned."

He said despite having entered the country legally, the Egyptian government 
is ignoring their demands for improved living conditions, especially with 
the advent of colder winter weather.

"We didn't jump over the wire (border) and we didn't cross borders through 
tunnels - we came here in coordination between the Fatah movement and 
Egyptian government," he said.

"We are asking to rent apartments and leave the tents which even dogs can't 
live in," Bakr said.

The Egyptian government, which backs Fatah leader and Palestinian President 
Mahmoud Abbas, gave permission to many of Fatah loyalists to cross to Egypt 
after fleeing Gaza Strip in June, when their rival Hamas took power.

The Fatah militants are divided into two camps, one in Rafah holding 85 
people and the other in el-Arish with 58.

Since many of Fatah members are also wanted by Israel, they don't want to 
return to the West Bank via the Jewish state.

Bakr also said Hamas members were passing freely between Egypt and the Gaza 
Strip through a network of tunnels underneath the border.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gouC8cCTLvAYh7NdL034BWo2ysrg

Arab, Jewish women protest occupation

Dec 28, 2007

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Hundreds of Jewish and Arab women staged a protest in 
Jerusalem on Friday against Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, 
witnesses said.

Protestors from Women in Black demonstrated near the home of Israeli Prime 
Minister Ehud Olmert to mark the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the 
pacifist group.

Women from east Jerusalem joined the group of black-clad demonstrators, who 
carried signs that read: "Down with occupation." A chorus sang in the 
background.

Women in Black were set up after the outbreak of the first Palestinian 
uprising against the Israeli occupation in December 1987.

Since then they have been staging weekly demonstrations on Fridays across 
Israel.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1198517307536&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Jan 6, 2008 17:36 | Updated Jan 6, 2008 17:44
Peace Now to protest at largest West Bank outpost before Bush's visit
By JPOST.COM STAFF

The left-wing group, Peace Now, intends to hold a protest at a West Bank 
outpost on the eve of President Bush's visit to the region.

A statement issued by the group stressed that the Migron outpost, the 
largest unauthorized Jewish outpost in the West Bank, was constructed on 
privately owned Palestinian land and the government already declared its 
intention to remove it.

The group also said that the removal of outposts was one of the commitments 
Israel undertook at Annapolis.

In reality, claimed the group, the only changes to take place were the 
expansion of the outpost and millions of shekels from the state budget being 
invested in its infrastructure.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23031599-401,00.html

Hamas supporters protest Bush visit

>From correspondents in Gaza City

January 10, 2008 05:00am
Article from: Agence France-Presse

THOUSANDS of Hamas supporters took to the streets of Gaza to protest US 
President George W. Bush's visit, some brandishing pictures of the US leader 
with blood dripping from his mouth.

Angry crowds burned American and Israeli flags and effigies of Mr Bush and 
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, with some demonstrators hoisting the 
green flags of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

"We say as we burn the American flag that the Bush visit is rejected by the 
Palestinian people and the Arab and Islamic world," Hamas parliamentarian 
Mushir al-Masri said at the rally.

"What is this but the visit of one who has become ensnared in Iraq and 
Afghanistan and wants at the end of his political life to produce honours 
for himself at the expense of our people," he said.

Israel and the West consider Hamas a terror organisation and have sought to 
isolate the territory with a strict sanctions regime.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=87983

Palestinians protest Bush 'terror' tour
By Mohammed Zaatari
Daily Star staff
Saturday, January 12, 2008

SIDON: Islamist parties at the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near 
Sidon held a rally on Friday in protest against US President George W. 
Bush's visit to the region.

The protest was called by the Hamas but also attracted participants from 
other parties, both Palestinian and Lebanese.

"You are not welcome in Palestine," some of the banners read. "Bush equals 
terrorism," said others.

Bassam Hammoud, an official with Al-Jamaa al-Islamiyya, said Bush's visit 
was not aimed at either ensuring Palestinian statehood or protecting the 
refugees' right of return.

"Bush's visit has come to wipe out those rights and impose the Zionist 
vision," he said.

Hammoud urged Palestinian factions in Lebanon to unify their efforts in a 
bid to foil any attempts to instigate strife inside refugee camps, and to be 
"totally" neutral when it comes to Lebanon's internal issues. He also urged 
Palestinians to hold an "unconditional internal" dialogue that puts an end 
to the current discord between Hamas and Fatah and places people's interests 
above all foreign interference and US "diktats."

Hamas' representative in Sidon, Abu Ahmad Fadel, also slammed Bush's visit, 
describing it as "ill-omened."

"Bush's visit is nothing but an attempt to give the Zionists freedom to 
exert pressure on the Palestinians," he said.

Fadel said the Palestinians in Lebanon do not interfere in the country's 
internal affairs.

"Palestinian refugee camps are part of Lebanese security," he said. "We hope 
that the crisis plaguing Lebanon will be resolved soon so this country can 
recover its normal life."