[Onthebarricades] GAZA PROTESTS Palestine and Israel, Dec-Jan 08-09

[global resistance roundup]

* WEST BANK: Israeli goons murder protester during wave of protests
* GAZA: Protest boat attacked by Israeli navy
* WEST BANK: Fatah repression, factional disputes mar protests
* WEST BANK/JERUSALEM: Wave of protests, clashes
* WEST BANK: Hamas in show of strength at funerals
* WEST BANK: Thousands march in Ramallah; later protest cancelled for 
lack of interest
* JERUSALEM: Unrest as Arab protesters clash with police
* ISRAEL: Clashes in Umm al-Fahm
* ISRAEL: Palestinians march in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Sakhnin, Nazareth
* ISRAEL: Peace groups push for truce
* ISRAEL: Harassment of protesters decried
* ISRAEL: Anarchists blockade army base
* ISRAEL: Leftists in court challenge over flag ban
* ISRAEL: Palestinian group calls general strike
* ISRAEL: Peace Now, Meretz in belated anti-war protest
* PALESTINE/TURKEY: Palestinian painter protests on canvas




http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2446474,00.html

Gazan shot while protesting
28/12/2008 19:50 - (SA)
West Bank - Israeli troops in the West Bank shot dead a Palestinian man 
and gravely wounded another on Sunday during a violent protest against 
Israel's deadly air campaign against Gaza militants, the army and a 
Palestinian medic said.
The medic, Basem Abu Sheikh, said 22-year-old Arafat Khawaja was hit in 
the chest by live fire in the village of Naalin, near Ramallah.
Residents said some demonstrators were hurling rocks at Israeli forces, 
but it was not immediately clear if the dead man had been among them. 
Abu Sheikh and the Israeli military said another man was also shot 
during the protest and was in critical condition.
The military said troops stationed near the village were attacked with a 
hail of rocks and only used live ammunition after other crowd control 
methods failed to halt the barrage. A spokesperson said the incident was 
being investigated by military authorities.
Some 280 Palestinians have been killed in a wave of Israeli airstrikes 
into Gaza launched on Saturday in an attempt to halt cross-border rocket 
attacks on Israeli towns from the territory ruled by the radical Islamic 
Hamas movement.
Demonstrations against the strike have erupted across the Arab world and 
in Israel itself, where Arabs in the northern village of Deir al Asad 
fired rifles during one rally, and two children were injured by stray 
bullets, police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said.
In the southern West Bank town of Hebron, Palestinian security forces 
loyal to western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas fired in the air to 
break up a crowd of hundreds of Hamas supporters who were preparing to 
march to a nearby Israeli checkpoint.
Abbas' forces have been deploying in several West Bank towns, both to 
minimise friction with Israeli troops and to keep Hamas in check.
At the Kalandia Israeli checkpoint, north of Jerusalem, Palestinians 
stoned Israeli police but there were no reports of injuries on either side.
- AP






http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1230456501062

Dec 28, 2008 18:18 | Updated Dec 28, 2008 22:52
Palestinian killed by Israeli fire in protest
By ETGAR LEFKOVITS

IDF troops shot and killed a Palestinian man and seriously wounded 
another in the West Bank Sunday during a violent protest against 
Israel's major military offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
The fatality was the first in the West Bank since Israel launched its 
air campaign against Hamas security installations on Saturday.
The deadly late-afternoon protest in the village of Ni'lin near Ramallah 
turned violent after troops stationed in the area were attacked with a 
hail of rocks, the military said.
After the soldiers were unable to halt the barrage with crowd control 
measures, they used live ammunition to quell the protest.
It was not immediately clear Sunday why the security personnel did not 
have sufficient anti-rioting equipment, and an army spokesman said the 
incident was being investigated by military authorities.
The Palestinian victim who was hit by a bullet in his chest was 
identified by a Palestinian medic as 22-year-old Arafat Khawaja.
The village in question is the focus of a long-running dispute between 
Palestinians and Israelis over land appropriations for the construction 
of the security barrier.
Meanwhile, Arabs teens in east Jerusalem continued to pelt police with 
stones in sporadic violent protests in Arab sections of the city, police 
said.
On Monday evening, a tourist bus was damaged in the east Jerusalem 
neighborhood of Wadi Joz after it was hit by a stone thrown by an Arab 
rioter, police said.
There were no injuries reported in the incident.
More than three dozen Arabs suspected of rioting have been arrested in 
east Jerusalem over the last 48 hours.






http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230111718524&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Dec 27, 2008 17:19 | Updated Dec 28, 2008 1:11
Tibi protests Israeli 'war crime'
By BRENDA GAZZAR AND ETGAR LEFKOVITS

Israeli Arab leaders called Saturday for an immediate cessation of 
hostilities in Gaza as thousands of Israeli Arabs around the country 
took to the streets to protest.

Soldiers fire rubber bullets and throw stun grenades at Palestinian 
demonstrators during clashes following a demonstration against the IAF 
missiles strike on Gaza, at the Kalandia checkpoint between the West 
Bank city of Ramallah and Jerusalem on Saturday.
Photo: AP
Slideshow: Operation Cast Lead
Following the assault on Gaza, outbreaks of rioting were being reported 
in east Jerusalem on Saturday.
"It's a war crime," said MK Ahmed Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al) "I can't 
accept the logic that panic in the streets of Sderot is worth 200 killed 
in Gaza as a consequence of firing from one side or another."
Tibi said he could not accept that logic particularly when Israel had 
repeatedly violated the six-month cease-fire that expired December 19 by 
not opening the crossings and by conducting military strikes in the 
Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. "This war crime needs to stop, and we need 
to return to the tahadiya [calm] to save lives both here and there," he 
said.
Tibi said UAL members participated in spontaneous protests Saturday in 
the cities of Taiba, Sakhnin, and the Galilee village of Ibillin. In 
Nazareth, some 3,000 protesters participated in a protest march Saturday 
evening organized by the Nazareth Democratic Front. Marchers demanded a 
halt to "all the massacres of the Israeli army in Gaza, second for the 
unity of the Palestinian people and third, a critique on the silence of 
the Arab regimes," said Abir Kopty, a Nazareth city councilwoman from 
the NDF, who helped organize the march.
"You see the silence of the international community and the Arab world, 
except for condemning, and calling for it to stop, but there are no 
concrete actions to stop the Israeli attack on Gaza," she said after the 
march. "The only thing you can do is to go out to the streets and 
demonstrate."

A protest was also held in Umm el-Fahm, while another - organized by 
Jewish and Arab peace activists - took place in Tel Aviv.
Meanwhile, the Higher Committee for Arab Citizens in Israel called on 
Israeli Arabs to hold protests against "Israeli aggression wherever it 
happens."
The Higher Committee was meeting late Saturday night to create a plan of 
action vis-a-vis the Israeli military operation.
MK Muhammad Barakei (Hadash) accused Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and 
Defense Minister Ehud Barak - both candidates for prime minister in the 
upcoming elections - of "using Palestinian blood for political aims."
"We are part of the Palestinian people," he said. "We can't be silent 
about a situation like this when there are innocent people that are 
killed in cold blood."
Barakei called on the government to stop its attack and on the 
international community to do something "to stop the massacre of the 
Palestinian people."
"It's clear that these attacks will not bring quiet or calm, only 
negotiations will," he said.
On Saturday evening, a 22-year-old Arab ran over a policeman in east 
Jerusalem, lightly injuring him in what police called a terrorist attack.
The assailant, who has a criminal record, was arrested on the scene, 
Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said.
It was the fourth vehicular terror attack in the capital this year, and 
came as hundreds of Arab residents of east Jerusalem pelted police with 
stones in several locations in protest of the IAF strikes on Hamas 
targets in Gaza.
According to an initial police investigation, the driver intentionally 
ran over the policeman near the Augusta Victoria Hospital as he exited 
his patrol car, after having watched the police patrol from his own 
vehicle for several minutes.
The victim managed to overcome the attacker with the help of his 
colleague. He was then evacuated to Hadassah-University Hospital on 
Mount Scopus.
More than a dozen rioters were arrested.
In one incident, dozens of masked teens from the Isawiya quarter clashed 
with police after trying to enter the adjacent French Hill neighborhood, 
police said.
The rioters, who were forcibly dispersed by police, threw stones at a 
gas station on the edge of the Jewish neighborhood.
A large police force was positioned in the area from early afternoon, 
some officers on rooftops.
Later in the evening, three firebombs were thrown at police on the edge 
of Isawiya, police said. Also on Saturday night, a firebomb was hurled 
at a Jewish home in the mixed Jerusalem neighborhood of Abu-Tor. There 
were no injuries or damage reported in the attack, according to police.
Palestinians in the West Bank also demonstrated their opposition to the 
IAF attacks.
In Bethlehem, municipal officials switched off Christmas lights in 
protest. "In solidarity with Gaza, we turned off the lights," said Mayor 
Victor Batarseh. The colorful Christmas lights usually remain lit until 
mid-January.
In Ramallah, just a few hundred meters from the home of Palestinian 
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, club-wielding PA policemen in white 
helmets formed a cordon to keep back about 200 Palestinians throwing 
rocks at an IDF checkpoint. PA firefighters doused burning tires. On the 
city's main streets, angry residents raised the Palestinian flag as they 
marched through town, shouting, "We will defend you, Gaza!"
In Hebron, dozens of youths hurled stones at soldiers, who lobbed back 
percussion and tear gas grenades in response. At one point, PA security 
forces tried to step in, but to no avail.
 From mosque minarets in Jenin, Palestinians called for strikes and more 
demonstrations.
AP contributed to this report







http://rawstory.com/news/2008/West_Bank_protester_shot_dead_by_0104.html

West Bank protester shot dead by Israeli troops
Agence France-Presse
Published: Sunday January 4, 2009

NABLUS, West Bank (AFP) — A Palestinian demonstrator was shot dead by 
Israeli troops in the northern West Bank on Sunday during a protest 
against the Gaza Strip offensive, medics and security officials said.

Mufid al-Walwil, 21, was killed when Israeli troops opened fire on a 
group of Palestinians who were throwing stones at them near the 
separation barrier in Qalqilya.

An army spokewoman confirmed that troops had opened fire after the 
Palestinians threw stones and "two flaming tyres" towards them during a 
"violent riot."

She said two demonstrators had tried to climb the barrier and had 
ignored warning shots fired by the soldiers.

"The soldiers aimed at their lower body and realised that they had hit 
one of them in the knee," she said.

At least 23 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel's ground 
offensive began on Saturday.

In total, more than 485 Palestinians have died since Israeli started a 
week of bombing raids on December 27.





http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1056164.html

10:25 17/01/2009

Palestinian killed, IDF soldier hurt in West Bank protest against Gaza 
operation By The Associated Press Tags: Israel News, Hamas, Israel
Israel Defense Forces troops on Friday shot and killed a Palestinian who 
participated in a violent West Bank protest against Israel's offensive 
in Gaza.

An IDF soldier sustained light wounds when Palestinian demonstrators 
hurled rocks at troops who stopped them from marching into Hebron to 
protest the Israeli operation in the coastal strip.

IDF soldiers then fired tear gas rubber-coated bullets at the group of 
protesters, killing one.

Palestinian witnesses named the dead man as Musab Daana, 20.

A Palestinian medic said that Daana was killed by a live round to the head.

Fifteen other Palestinians were injured in the incident.

Israel's offensive in Gaza entered its 21 day Friday, as the Israel Air 
Force attacked close to 40 targets in the coastal strip, while rockets 
fired from Gaza pounded southern Israel.






http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LG92998.htm

Palestinian youth killed during W.Bank protest
16 Jan 2009 14:26:46 GMT
Source: Reuters
HEBRON, West Bank, Jan 16 (Reuters) - A Palestinian teenager was killed 
on Friday as Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron 
confronted protesters demanding an end to Israel's offensive in the Gaza 
Strip, medics and witnesses said.
Medical officials and a relative said 17-year-old Musat Dana was shot in 
the head by an Israeli soldier. An Israeli army spokesman said soldiers 
had not fired live ammunition, only rubber bullets, and that the 
incident was being investigated.
Reuters journalists saw troops fire rubber bullets and smoke grenades as 
demonstrators in Hebron, where Gaza's ruling Islamist movement Hamas has 
strong support, threw rocks and petrol bombs.
Israel imposed sweeping additional restrictions on movement for 
Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and deployed large 
number of forces during Muslim weekly prayers.
There were no reports of injuries at some half a dozen other protests in 
the occupied territory.





http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1232100160779

Jan 16, 2009 14:00 | Updated Jan 16, 2009 15:18
'IDF kills Palestinian W. Bank rioter'
By AP AND JPOST.COM STAFF

Once again, Gaza violence spilled over into the West Bank after Muslim 
prayers on Friday, and Palestinian medics said that IDF soldiers shot a 
Palestinian dead during a violent protest against the army's operation 
in the Strip.

Hamas supporters in Hebron throw stones at Israeli security forces 
during clashes following a protest against the Gaza operation.
Photo: AP
SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World
They named the dead man as Musab Daana, 20.
Witnesses said demonstrators hurled rocks at troops who stopped them 
from marching into the Israeli-controlled sector of Hebron following 
Friday prayers.
They said the soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the 
protesters, but a medic said that Daana was killed by a live round to 
the head.
Five other men were lightly wounded.
The army had no immediate comment.
In the capital, an Arab was arrested in the east Jerusalem neighborhood 
of Ras el Amud on suspicion of hurling stones at Border Police forces. 
In addition, dozens of Arabs demonstrated near the Old City's Damascus 
Gate against the Gaza offensive, and police prevented the demonstrators 
from marching to Salah a-Din Street. In Silwan, Arabs hurled three 
Molotov cocktails at security forces, damaging a jeep.
Meanwhile, a border policeman was lightly wounded when he was hit by a 
stone during a protest in Ni'lin, west of Ramallah. There were also 
protests next to Kalandiya and in Bil'in.





http://www.buzzflash.net/story.php?id=84303

Israel Navy fired on protest boat (Dignity) off Gaza shore
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1051224.html
sent by kjlovell since 104 days 5 hours 8 minutes, published about 103 
days 19 hours 38 minutes
Israel has declared the coastal territory (international waters) a 
closed military zone and said the Free Gaza Movement boat would not be 
permitted to dock. Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for Israel's Foreign 
Ministry, said the boat failed to respond to Israeli naval radio 
contact, and that an Israeli vessel "clashed with the ship." Free Gaza 
Movement told Reuters their boat, carrying 3.5 tons of medical aid with 
16 people aboard, was rammed and shot at while in international waters 
about 70-80 miles off Gaza by Israeli naval vessel. NOTE: Latest word 
from the passengers and crew is that the Israeli ship rammed Dignity 
three times, putting the lie to the initial Israeli claim that the 
collision was an accident.





http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054495.html

14:43 11/01/2009

International protesters plan to break Gaza naval blockade By The 
Associated Press Tags: Israel News, Hamas, Israel
International protesters said Sunday they will again sail from Cyprus to 
Gaza in a renewed bid to break an Israeli naval blockade of the 
Palestinian territory.

Free Gaza group organizers said their 20-meter Greek-flagged yacht,
the Spirit of Humanity, will depart at noon Monday from the Cypriot port 
of Larnaca. It will be carrying medical supplies and 30 passengers 
aboard, including 7 doctors and Greek, Belgian and Spanish lawmakers.

Another Free Gaza boat with aid and volunteer doctors aboard was turned 
back last month after being seriously damaged in a collision with an 
Israeli navy vessel.

Organizers said in a statement Sunday they have already notified Israeli
authorities of the trip and they expect no interference because of the 
trip's humanitarian purpose.










http://arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=117690&d=31&m=12&y=2008&pix=world.jpg&category=World

Gaza protest boat sails back into Lebanon
AP
BEIRUT: A boat carrying international peace activists and medical 
supplies to the embattled Gaza Strip sailed into a Lebanese port 
yesterday - after being turned back and damaged by the Israeli Navy, 
organizers of the trip said.
A small crowd on the docks in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre, 
including fishermen, cheered welcoming the vessel, called SS Dignity, 
and some flashed the victory sign.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said the boat had 
ignored an Israeli radio order to turn back early yesterday. Palmor said 
the boat tried to outmaneuver an Israeli Navy ship and crashed into it, 
lightly damaging both vessels. The navy then escorted the boat out into 
the territorial waters of Cyprus.
But passengers and crew aboard the SS Dignity disputed the Israeli 
account, saying their boat was rammed by Israeli Navy boats. “We were 
prevented from entering Gaza ... by Israeli patrol boats that tracked us 
for about 30 minutes. They shone their spotlight on us and then all of a 
sudden they rammed us approximately three times, twice in the front and 
once in the side,” said former US Rep. Cynthia McKinney who was aboard 
the boat.
“Communications from the Israelis indicated that we were involved in 
terrorist activities ... I presume that’s why they rammed our boat,” she 
added. The boat’s British captain, Denis Healey, said the Israeli action 
came “without any warning, or any provocation.” The boat, which set off 
from Cyprus on Monday seeking to make a statement and deliver medical 
supplies to Gaza, bore clear damage marks near its front.






http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1051224.html

30/12/2008

Pro-Palestinian activists say Israel Navy fired on protest boat off Gaza 
shore By Reuters Tags: Israel News, Hamas, Gaza
An Israel Navy ship clashed on Tuesday with a small boat carrying 
international activists with aid destined for Gaza, an Israeli Foreign 
Ministry spokesman said.

There were no reported casualties from the incident involving the small 
cabin cruiser "Dignity" that sailed from Cyprus late on Monday.

Israel has declared the coastal territory a closed military zone and 
said the Free Gaza Movement boat would not be permitted to dock.

Advertisement

Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry, said the boat 
failed to respond to Israeli naval radio contact, and that an Israeli 
vessel "clashed with the ship."

Free Gaza Movement told Reuters their boat, carrying 3.5 tons of medical 
aid with 16 people aboard, was rammed and shot at while in international 
waters about 70-80 miles off Gaza by Israeli naval vessel.

Palmor denied there had been any shooting although the two ships made 
"physical contact." He said no one had been hurt and that the Israeli 
ship escorted the aid boat back to Cypriot territorial waters.

Israel has declared areas around the Gaza Strip a "closed military zone" 
after it launched an aerial offensive in the coastal territory on Hamas 
targets on Saturday, in which 345 Palestinians have been killed.

Free Gaza Movement said their boat was safe, but had sustained damage.





http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054286.html

Palestinian security forces break up Gaza protest By Amira Hass Tags: 
Palestinian Authority
Ramallah residents were shocked on Friday when a protest against the 
Israeli offensive in Gaza was forcibly dispersed by Palestinian 
Authority security forces using tear gas and clubs. Youth from the Fatah 
movement assisted security forces in breaking up a rally of solidarity 
with the Palestinian faction's rival Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Fatah said the protest was dispersed because Hamas supporters waved 
flags identified with the Islamic group, violating an agreement to only 
display symbols not affiliated with any party.

Witnesses who are not members of either Palestinian faction said Fatah 
youth provoked the clash by shouting slogans supporting Palestinian 
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as the protesters left a mosque. 
Demonstrators responded by shouting Hamas slogans, prompting security 
forces to intervene.

"Welcome to Dayton country," a teary-eyed female Palestinian protester 
shouted, referring to U.S. General Keith Dayton who trained the PA 
security forces that dispersed the crowd.

Ties between the two Palestinian factions have been severed since 2007 
when Hamas forcibly took control of the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian 
Authority, which is associated with Fatah.

Since the start of the IDF's operation in Gaza, the PA government has 
decided to suppress demonstrations supporting Hamas in the area under 
its control in the West Bank. Last week, PA forces dispersed 
demonstrators marching toward an Israel Defense Forces roadblock near 
Jerusalem. Meanwhile, a large contingent of security forces is 
preventing protesters from going near the PA's government center in 
Ramallah. Plain-clothes policemen have been stationed around town to 
keep protesters under surveillance.

According to Palestinian sources, Hamas activists demonstrated in areas 
under Israel's security control because they were barred from holding 
the protest in areas under the control of the PA. Some 20 participants 
in the protest were hurt in clashes with Israeli troops. Last week an 
initiative to hold a joint protest by Hamas and Fatah against Israel was 
abandoned after the IDF arrested a senior Hamas member involved in its 
organization.





http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054269.html

11/01/2009

Left-wing activists: IDF uses live ammo to break up West Bank protests 
By Nir Hasson and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents Tags: West Bank, 
Security Fence
Palestinians and Israeli left-wing activists claim that in the wake of 
Operation Cast Lead, the Israel Defense Forces has reintroduced the use 
of a semiautomatic rifle that uses live ammunition to disperse crowds 
that was banned after the second Intifada.

The Ruger .22 rifle was banned following the Al-Aqsa Intifada, in which 
it was used to break up protests and caused the deaths of a number of 
Palestinians, including youths and children.

In 2001, the IDF's then-Military Advocate General Menahem Finkelstein 
ruled that the rifle, used against protesters and stone-throwers, be 
viewed as a lethal weapon in all senses.

The rifle has been used by snipers to shoot at protesters from the waist 
down, and last Friday it was used to fire on activists, eight of whom 
sustained light wounds to the leg.

The .22 rifle fires a small cartridge which has a much lower stopping 
power than larger caliber rifles in use by Israeli security forces, but 
can still be lethal at close range. IDF snipers will use the rifle to 
fire at demonstrators, aiming at the lower half of the body.

The rifle was used by security forces against Palestinian demonstrators 
in the West Bank last Friday, with 8 demonstrators sustaining light 
wounds to their legs.

"We have never seen these rifles used before. The soldiers use them to 
break up demonstrations, not in instances where their lives are in 
danger. They shoot from long range, far past the range of 
rock-throwers," left-wing activist Yonatan Pollak said.

A West Bank resident who was wounded by the .22 fire told Haaretz Friday 
that he and his friends were leaving their village for a demonstration 
when as they approached the West Bank Security Fence they were fired 
upon by IDF soldiers.

The man said he was shot three times in the leg and suffers from 
lingering pain as a result. He said his friend who was also shot in the 
incident was more severely injured and lost a great deal of blood.

An IDF official said Friday that the rifle is less lethal and causes 
less damage than a rubber bullet.

"These demonstrations can be very dangerous. Our goal is to cause as 
little damage as possible in order to calm the situation", the official 
said.







http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp?id=11732

West Bank protests end in fist fights
(01-09 20:51)
Hamas supporters clashed with members of the rival Fatah party during 
protests in the West Bank city of Ramallah against the Israeli offensive 
in the Gaza Strip.

The clashes erupted after the Hamas rulers of Gaza had called for a 
second Friday of protests to mark a ''day of wrath'' against the Israeli 
bombardments.

Fist fights erupted and security forces used teargas and batons to 
disperse the fighters.

Thirteen people were taken to hospital and several others were detained.

In the West Bank city of Hebron, 3,000 people took part in a protest 
march, with some hurling stones at Israeli soldiers who fired 
rubber-coated bullets and teargas.

In Jerusalem, police fired teargas at dozens of young Palestinians who 
threw stones.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE





http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,475305,00.html

Palestinian Police Ban Pro-Hamas Protests in Widening Crackdown on 
Violent Demonstrations
Friday, January 02, 2009 | FoxNews.com

AP

Jan. 2: Palestinian protesters throws stones at Israeli troops, not 
seen, during clashes in the Shuafat refugee camp on the outskirts of 
Jerusalem.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian police violently cracked down on 
protests organized by their rivals in Hamas throughout the West Bank on 
Friday as rallies against Israeli air strikes in Gaza turned into 
demonstrations against the Palestinian Authority.
Police of Mahmoud Abbas' Palestinian Authority pounced on demonstrators 
protesting seven days of heavy Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip 
targeting the militant Hamas movement.
Security forces particularly focused on anyone carrying Hamas' green 
flags, a telling indication of Abbas' determination to thwart any 
challenges to its own rule in the West Bank from Hamas.
Feelings are running high among Palestinians and across the Middle East 
against the strikes which have killed at least 400 Palestinians, 
including around 100 civilians, according to a U.N. estimate.
Abbas, together with his allies in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have blamed 
Hamas for bringing the attacks on themselves by repeatedly firing 
rockets into Israel. These criticisms, though, have angered many in the 
face of Israel's assaults.
"Abu Mazen is on the side of the Jews!" yelled 66-year-old Umm Maher at 
a small demonstration in east Jerusalem, referring to Abbas by his nickname.
Israeli police quickly dispersed the few dozen protesters in that 
demonstration, but elsewhere, it was the security forces of the 
Palestinian Authority stopping the rallies against Israel's actions.
In the southern West Bank city of Hebron, demonstrators who for decades 
had being throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers, now pelted Palestinian 
police after they tried to disburse 400 Hamas loyalists brandishing the 
movement's green flag.
"We will prohibit any signs and slogans that are hostile to the 
Palestinian Authority, and prohibit incitement," said Riyad Malki, 
Information Minister. "Security forces have been instructed to deal with 
these demonstrations."
Police detained five Hamas supporters at a 3,000-strong demonstration in 
the central West Bank town of Ramallah and ripped up placards with 
pro-Hamas slogans.
"The more they try suppress us, the more popular we will become," vowed 
Muna Mansour, a prominent Hamas member.
In several cases, the Palestinian police stopped protesters from 
approaching some of the Israeli checkpoints scattered around the West 
Bank, which youths target with rocks and firebombs.
Demonstrators were shocked to suddenly find themselves clashing with 
their own police forces.
"When I saw the police coming with their batons, I thought of the Jews. 
They also don't deal with people except with clubs and live bullets," 
said Najiyeh Awdeh, a 50-year-old protester, referring to Israeli forces.



http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98960940&ft=1&f=1004

Palestinian Infighting
Meanwhile, protests broke out in several Palestinian cities in the 
occupied West Bank on Friday as Hamas urged supporters to observe a "day 
of rage" over the Israeli bombardment.
In Ramallah after Friday prayers, Omar Barghouti was among several 
thousand who marched through downtown streets. He said the bombings in 
Gaza had helped unite Palestinian factions around a common enemy.
"We're pushing for national unity. Without unity there will be no Hamas 
and no Fatah," Barghouti said. "Both factions have the objective of 
liberating Palestine. Anybody who idealizes one faction over another is 
mistaken. Factionalism will get us nowhere."
But while there were chants of "unity, unity," Palestinian police worked 
hard to keep the Fatah and Hamas supporters separated and repeatedly 
cracked down on pro-Hamas demonstrators. At one point, a Hamas man 
called a pro-Fatah protester "a traitor," sparking a fistfight; shots 
were fired into the air. A few people were injured in scuffles.
Israeli Soldiers Taunted
In an uncharacteristic way, Palestinian riot police and Israeli soldiers 
in the West Bank were united Friday in their quest to crack down hard on 
Palestinians seething over the Israeli bombing of Gaza. After getting 
roughed up by their own police force in Ramallah, hundreds of 
Palestinian teens and young adults made their way over to an Israeli 
checkpoint where they were greeted with rubber bullets and tear gas.
At the entrance to Qalandiya, a massive, walled checkpoint between 
Ramallah and Jerusalem, teenagers threw rocks, burned tires and taunted 
Israeli soldiers who responded with round after round of tear gas.
Israel declared a general closure of the West Bank through the weekend. 
The move, which severely restricts the movement of Palestinians, is 
aimed at reining in protests and violence. Israel also has added mobile 
checkpoints and bolstered security throughout Jerusalem and entrances to 
the city fearing more protests and reprisal attacks over its ongoing 
bombing of Gaza.






http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/tm_headline=three-boys-killed-as-thousands-protest-at-gaza-violence%26method=full%26objectid=21011734%26siteid=115875-name_page.html

Three boys killed as thousands protest at Gaza violence
By Stephen White 3/01/2009
Three young children were killed in air strikes in Gaza yesterday as 
thousands of Palestinians took to the streets in protest at Israel's 
attacks.
The boys, two brothers and a cousin aged between seven and 10, were said 
to have died during an air raid as they played in the street.
Hamas's call for a Day of Wrath protest was answered by mass 
demonstrations across the middle east.
Thousands of Palestinians also flocked to a memorial service for Hamas 
leader Nizar Rayan, killed in a rocket strike on Thursday with four of 
his children. Mourners marched to a cemetery carrying the bodies of 
Rayan and his family.
In London ex-model Bianca Jagger and singer Annie Lennox joined a human 
rights rally to call on US president elect Barack Obama to speak up 
against the Israeli bombardment.
Israel yesterday said it was still being hit by missiles.
Meanwhile hundreds of its tanks massed near Gaza, heightening invasion 
fears.
The Israeli military was reported to be ringing homes in Gaza warning 
they were about to attack.





http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/03/2458419.htm

Thousands protest Gaza bombings
Posted Sat Jan 3, 2009 12:32am AEDT
Updated Sat Jan 3, 2009 12:46am AEDT

As the violence continues Palestinian anger is increasing. (Reuters: 
Abed Omar Qusini )
Thousands of Palestinians have been taking part in demonstrations across 
the West Bank in response to a call from Hamas for what it called a day 
of wrath against the Israeli attacks on Gaza.
The protesters are directing their anger not just at Israel but at Arab 
governments for their failure to stop the offensive.
As the violence continues Palestinian anger is increasing.
In Ramallah a large demonstration has been held in support of Hamas and 
the people of Gaza. Protests were planned in other towns along the West 
Bank.
In east Jerusalem stones were thrown at Israeli police.
Overnight in Gaza there were more than 20 Israeli air strikes. They 
targeted a mosque and the homes of several Hamas members.
But rockets are still being fired out of Gaza towards towns in southern 
Israel and preparations continue for a possible ground operation by 
Israeli troops.
There is speculation that could begin soon.
Protests against the Israeli bombing raids in Gaza have also been held 
across Pakistan, were hundreds of demonstrators have rallied, some 
calling for a holy war against Israel.
In Afghanistan, demonstrators ripped up an Israeli flag, torched banners 
and set alight an effigy of Israeli President Shimon Peres.
Up to 5,000 people gathered in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, while 
hundreds of people in Indian-administered Kashmir burned Israeli flags.





http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/249688,thousands-in-ramallah-protest-israeli-offensive-in-gaza.html

Thousands in Ramallah protest Israeli offensive in Gaza
Posted : Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:31:02 GMT
Author : DPA
Category : Middle East (World)

Ramallah - Thousands of Palestinians gathered in the West Bank city of 
Ramallah to protest the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday, 
shouting slogans and waving national flags. Up to 3,000 people gathered 
outside a mosque after Friday prayers and began marching to the main 
Manara Square in the city centre.
While there were no green Hamas flags, Palestinian police, who were 
located around the demonstration in large numbers, arrested people who 
shouted pro-Hamas slogans.
The West Bank is under control of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas 
from the Fatah faction, the rival of the Islamic movement which rules 
Gaza. Even so, few yellow Fatah flags could be seen at the protest.
One sign held by the marchers read "one people united against Israeli 
aggression."
People shouted they would "sacrifice" themselves for Gaza.




http://www.anspress.com/nid99688.html

Event / 09.01.2009 23:03
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank protest over Gaza
Palestinian youths threw stones at soldiers who again fired tear gas and 
stun grenades at the protesters.
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank protested on Friday against 
Israel's full-scale offensive against Gaza.. Around 4,000 people 
protested in Ramallah after the Muslim noon prayer. Supporters of Hamas, 
the Islamic movement which controls Gaza, said Fatah-dominated police of 
the Palestinian Authority tried to intimidate them. Police fired tea gas 
to disperse Hamas supporters in the crowd who taunted them as "Jews" and 
"collaborators" of Israel.
Palestinians protesting against the Israeli offensive on the Gaza strip 
have clashed with Israeli security forces in the West Bank.
At the Qalandiya checkpoint, an entrance to the city of Ramallah, 
Palestinian youths threw stones at soldiers who again fired tear gas and 
stun grenades at the protesters.
In the West Bank village of Bilin, protesters dressed as Holocaust 
concentration camp inmates and threw stones at Israeli soldiers, who 
responded with tear gas.
In Nablus, about 700 protested. Some carried pictures of Abbas, but 30 
women bore the green banners of Hamas. There were no clashes





http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/features/article_1452587.php/As_Gaza_bleeds_West_Bank_protests_-_and_bickers__News_Feature__

As Gaza bleeds, West Bank protests - and bickers (News Feature)
Middle East Features
By Ofira Koopmans Jan 9, 2009, 14:13 GMT
Ramallah, West Bank - 'With our souls, with our blood, we will sacrifice 
for Gaza' and 'God is great,' chant the protesters, as they march after 
completing Friday's prayers from the mosque at Ramallah's vegetable 
market to the West Bank city's central Manara circus.
'One people, united against the Israeli aggression,' say several signs 
they hold up.
A two- to three-year-old sits on his father's shoulders, a Palestinian 
flag tied around his head and a plastic toy rifle in his hand. Then 
follow a group of dozens of women, all holding up copies of the Koran as 
they chant.
The protesters mostly carry black-white-green-and-red Palestinian flags, 
but a few standing on a truck also wave two Venezuelan flags and carry a 
large portrait of President Hugo Chavez, who earlier this week called 
Israel 'cowardly' and expelled the Israeli ambassador from Caracas.
The administration of President Mahmoud Abbas and the demonstration's 
organizers, handing out the four-colour national flags, have told people 
not to carry either Hamas or Fatah flags in a show of unity.
But as a leading independent legislator pleads for national unity over a 
truck loudspeaker, what was meant as a large display of just that - a 
united protest against Israel - quickly turns into yet another factional 
spat.
A boy carries a large Palestinian flag, with a tiny green Hamas flag 
taped to the back, so Abbas' security forces - present in large numbers 
both in blue police uniforms and in civilian cloths - do not see it.
When one group then starts chanting slogans in support of Fatah and 
Abbas, another begins to chant 'Hamas, will shake the earth!'
Soon a few dozen heated young men in Fatah baseball caps with wooden 
sticks - guided by what bystanders say are Abbas' security forces - 
storm after someone who appears to be a Hamas supporter.
Intelligence officers in civilian cloths drag away a protester to a 
green van of the National Security Service, as he shouts 'I didn't do 
anything' - and then soon disperse the demonstration.
Up to 3,000 people attended the march in the heart of downtown Ramallah, 
which would be filled with as many as 50,000 during past demonstrations 
a few years ago, especially those called by the popular and disciplined 
Hamas shortly after it won the January 2006 Palestinian parliamentary 
elections.
Israel was initially concerned its Gaza offensive would revive major 
unrest throughout the West Bank.
Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal called for a third Intifada 
(uprising) against Israel. But while mass demonstrations have been held 
elsewhere in the Arab world, the West Bank has been comparatively quiet. 
'Why?' wonder some observers.
Palestinians in the West Bank, while outraged at the high death toll in 
Gaza, say they feel that going out into the streets en mass would make 
'no difference.'
Still exhausted from the second Intifada, which erupted in late 2000 
amid a deadlock in the peace process but has largely died down in the 
West Bank, they say the uprising brought nothing but Israel's security 
wall and more military roadblocks. They have no interest in a third one.
Many in the West Bank also say they have lost faith in both Hamas and 
Fatah, the two largest Palestinian political factions which have been 
locked in a bitter and at times bloody power struggle ever since the 
radical Islamic movement beat the secular party of the Palestinian 
establishment in the 2006 elections.
Hamas, they suspect, would not hesitate to use whatever means, including 
violence, to seize sole control over the West Bank as it did of Gaza in 
June 2007, while Fatah promoted a peace process that has brought nothing 
but promises.
Both factions, therefore, have more difficulty to mobilize large numbers 
of people than they had in the past. Hamas, more centralized than Fatah, 
is still able to call up larger numbers of its supporters' base, but its 
demonstrations have been harshly crushed down by Abbas' security forces.
During a protest against Israel's Gaza offensive in Ramallah last 
Friday, security forces in civilian cloths beat several female 
supporters of Hamas.
Police threatened to confiscate the cameras of journalists who had 
documented the beatings, until the cameramen pledged not to publish the 
footage. The police arrested several protesters, who say they were also 
beaten before being released.
'We are all feeling awful,' said shoarma shop employee Mohammed Nakhla 
of the Gaza violence, adding that in his 25 years 'I haven't seen 
anything worse.'
'I don't know anyone there (in Gaza), but we are all Palestinians. There 
is no difference between Hamas and Fatah. We all have the same goal. We 
want freedom for our country.'
But even in the face of the fierce Israeli offensive in Gaza, the rift 
and distrust between the two rival factions seems as deep as ever.





http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6578929.html

Fatah calls for protests against Israel's offensive on Gaza

19:04, January 21, 2009

Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on 
Wednesday for massive protests against the Israeli military air and 
ground offensive on Gaza that ended last Sunday.

Israel had carried out a large-scale military offensive on the Gaza 
Strip and lasted for 22 days until January 18. Official figures said 
that around 1,400 Palestinians were killed and 5,500 others wounded.

The Israeli army had also destroyed more than 4,000 houses, and damaged 
around 20,000 others, in addition to destroying mosques, security and 
governmental installations and buildings.

Fatah said in a written statement sent to reporters that "the war on the 
Gaza Strip had not differentiate between one faction and another, but it 
targeted everyone, including Hamas and Fatah."

Hamas and Fatah movements are the biggest rival groups in the 
Palestinian territories. Both had been conflicting on power in Gaza 
Strip, which Hamas has been ruling since mid June 2007, and the West 
Bank that Abbas and Fatah rule.

Fatah statement called also for appealing to the international courts 
"in order to sue the Israeli leaders for their inhuman aggression and 
the crimes they committed against the Palestinian people."

The movement, which lost 35 of its militants during the Israeli 
offensive on Gaza, said that the Palestinian factions are urged to join 
popular protests and rallies, calling on Hamas movement not to prevent 
these protests.

Source: Xinhua








http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,473285,00.html

Palestinian President Sends Forces to Disperse Protesters
Saturday, December 27, 2008

AP

Dec. 27: A Palestinian woman reacts during a demonstration against the 
Israeli missiles strike on Gaza, in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Protests against Israel's deadly bombing of Gaza 
erupted across the West Bank on Saturday, and in two cities, 
club-wielding Palestinian police tried to block crowds from throwing 
stones at Israeli troops.
In Bethlehem, Jesus' traditional birthplace, municipal officials 
switched off Christmas lights in protest.
More than 200 Palestinians were killed in unprecedented Israeli air 
attacks on Hamas security compounds across Gaza on Saturday, in 
retaliation for continued rocket fire from Gaza on Israeli towns.
Moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who controls the West 
Bank, called for restraint. However, he is also engaged a bitter power 
struggle with Hamas which wrested control of Gaza from him last year. 
Since then, Abbas' security forces have cracked down hard on Hamas 
activists in the West Bank.
Click here for photos of the seige (WARNING: Graphic)
Click here for photos of resistance to the airstrikes.
In sending forces to block anti-Israel protests Saturday, Abbas' 
government signaled that it is determined to prevent the unrest from 
spreading. Abbas coordinates some security with Israel and has held 
peace talks with Israel for the past year.
Abbas aide Nimer Hamad suggested that Hamas carries some of the blame 
for Saturday's violence because of continued rocket fire from Gaza. "We 
think that launching rockets is useless. No excuse should be given to 
(Israel) to attack," Hamad said, while calling on Israel to halt its 
strikes.
Abbas had left the West Bank for a Mideast tour earlier Saturday, before 
the air strikes began.
In the West Bank town of Ramallah, just a few hundred meters from Abbas' 
home, club-wielding Palestinian policemen in white helmets formed a 
cordon to keep back about 200 Palestinians throwing rocks at an Israeli 
checkpoint. Palestinian firefighters doused burning tires.
Nearby, Israeli soldiers stood behind their jeeps, clutching guns.
In the southern West Bank city of Hebron, dozens of youths hurled stones 
at Israeli soldiers, who lobbed back sound bombs and tear gas grenades 
in response. At one point, Palestinian security forces tried to step in, 
but to no avail.
Bethlehem, the scene of Christmas celebrations this week, went dark 
Saturday. "In solidarity with Gaza, we turned off the lights," said 
Mayor Victor Batarseh. The colorful Christmas lights usually remain lit 
until mid-January.
 From mosque minarets in the northern West Bank town of Jenin, 
Palestinians called for strikes and more demonstrations.
On Ramallah's main streets, angry residents raised the Palestinian flag 
as they marched through town, shouting, "We will defend you, Gaza!"





http://www.myantiwar.org/view/168959.html

West Bank factions announce protest coalition
Date: 28 / 12 / 2008 Time: 21:03

[Ma'anImages]
Ramallah - Ma’an - National and Islamic factions announced Sunday the 
formation of a leadership coalition for "daily action that would 
interact with those who took to the streets over the past two days in 
protest to the Israeli attacks on Gaza."

This leadership group will organize daily activities in all parts of the 
West Bank, it said in a statement.

Factions had called for Palestinians to carry Palestinian and black 
flags in all of their actions in the West Bank, adding that the 
leadership will work with all organizations of the civil community and 
each of the anti-occupation committees, aiming at “lifting the siege, 
resisting the construction of the wall on a daily basis until the 
occupation has ended.”

This statement was released after an urgent meeting that was held by 
national and Islamic factions in the West Bank city of Ramallah to 
discuss consequences of Israeli attacks on Gaza.

It urged the Palestinian leadership to fully halt all negotiations, end 
political arrests and stop security coordination.

It also urged a “joint Arab stance in the coming Arab summit... a 
national stance that will address international legitimacy, in spite of 
Israeli and American domination."







http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/12/20081227122748912382.html

Protests call for Palestinian unity


In Hebron, people took to the streets in
anguish over the attack [Reuters]

Palestinians in the West Bank have demonstrated for unity between the 
rival factions, Fatah and Hamas, after Israeli air attacks on the Gaza 
Strip killed more than 225 people and wounded about 700 others.
Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in the centre of Ramallah in the West 
Bank on Saturday, some carrying banners reading: "We will not forget 
you, Gaza."
Protesters threw stones at Israeli troops in the occupied city, as well 
as at the Qalandiya checkpoint and a village near Hebron. Television 
pictures showed the soldiers responding with tear gas.

In Bethlehem, municipal officials switched off the Christmas lights in 
protest over the violence.
Nour Odeh, Al Jazeera's correspondent in neighbouring Jordan, said: 
"This is probably one of the most violent Israeli air campaigns against 
Gaza."
"Politically speaking, this is devastating... We can see people in 
Ramallah coming out on the streets, calling on the leaderships in the 
Palestinian territories to unite, and set aside their differences 
knowing that that will be difficult, as it has been for the past year 
and a half.
"It will certainly be very embarrassing for Mahmoud Abbas [the 
Palestinian president], who is engaged in a peace process with Israel, 
trying to convince a very sceptical public that a political process with 
Israel can yield results while these bombs are raining on Gaza."

Solidarity
Yasser Abed, an adviser to Abbas speaking in the West Bank said: "In 
this moment we express our solidarity with all the victims of this 
aggression.
"And we call for an immediate halt and ending of this aggression against 
the Gaza Strip.
"Our leadership and our government are taking measures now in order to 
help the victims of the aggression"
Yasser Abed,
Spokesman for Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian president
"Our leadership and our government are taking measures now in order to 
help the victims of the aggression."
Abbas said he was in "urgent contact" with numerous countries over the 
raids.
Angry demonstrations also broke out in Oum el-Fahem, Nazareth, Sahnin 
and Tamra in northern Israel in response to a call from leaders of the 
country's Arab community.
Protesters chanted slogans condemning "Israeli aggression" and waved 
Palestinian flags.

The Israeli bombardment sparked rallies across the Arab world, including 
in Amman, the capital of Jordan, and Damascus in Syria.

"It's a Zionist holocaust, but it won't dissuade us from going on with 
our struggle to achieve our goals," Ali Barakah, one of the protesters 
at al-Yarmouk camp, outside Damascus, said.

In Beirut, Palestinian and Lebanese protesters gathered outside the 
Egyptian embassy, calling on Egypt to open the Rafah crossing into the 
Gaza Strip.
Protesters held candles and Palestinian flags, chanting pro-Hamas and 
anti-Israel slogans.






http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1230733174742

Jan 5, 2009 0:27 | Updated Jan 5, 2009 1:24
PA keeping lid on Hamas protests in West Bank
By ETGAR LEFKOVITS AND YAAKOV LAPPIN

The Palestinian Authority Police has proven capable of quelling violent 
protests and maintaining law and order in the West Bank during Israel's 
military offensive against Hamas in Gaza, Israeli security officials 
said Sunday.

A Palestinian demonstrator jumps off the West Bank security barrier at 
the Kalandiya checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah on Sunday.
Photo: AP
SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World
"The Palestinian police have succeeded in dealing with the 
demonstrations in the West Bank over the last week," Judea and Samaria 
Police spokesman Ch.-Supt. Danny Poleg said.
The PA police, which recently received training from the Americans, had 
largely been able to contain violent protests in Palestinian-controlled 
cities, so they didn't spill over into Israeli-controlled areas, Poleg 
said."They are under the same high alert as we are," he said.
On the instructions of PA President Mahmoud Abbas,the Fatah-controlled 
security forces have banned pro-Hamas demonstrations.
Hamas supporters in the West Bank said the PA's security forces 
threatened to arrest them if they raised Hamas flags or chanted slogans 
in favor of the Islamist movement.
"We were told that we could only stage protests against Israel and in 
solidarity with the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip," a Hamas 
representative said. "We were also warned against initiating 
confrontations with the Israeli army."
He added that it was ironic that "millions of people" in nations across 
the world were being permitted to demonstrate in solidarity with the 
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip while Abbas and other Arab leaders were 
prohibiting such protests.
The tough measures in the West Bank are aimed at preventing Hamas from 
stirring trouble and undermining the Palestinian Authority, a senior PA 
official in Ramallah said.
He pointed out that Hamas leaders have in the past few days called on 
Palestinians living in the West Bank to rise up against Israel and the PA.
"Our security forces have instructions to use an iron fist against 
anyone who incites and expresses support for Hamas," the official said.
On Friday, the PA security forces used force to disperse several hundred 
demonstrators in Hebron. Sources in the city said at least five 
protesters were detained.
Separately, IDF troops shot and killed Mufid Saleh Walweel, 22, during 
violent protests near Kalkilya on Sunday, Palestinian medical officials 
said.
The military said the soldiers fired at a man who was trying to cross 
the West Bank security barrier during a protest in which firebombs and 
stones were thrown at the troops.
Meanwhile, the Israel Police remain on the highest state of alert 
nationwide over the weekend as the ground operation in Gaza got under way.
Hamas has said it would carry out suicide bombings in Israeli cities in 
retaliation for the Israeli offensive.
Nearly 600 Arabs suspected of taking part in violent protests in Israel 
against the Gaza operation were arrested over the past week, most of 
them in northern Israel and in Jerusalem, police said.
Two hundred and thirty of them remain in detention, while dozens have 
been charged with rioting and disturbing the peace.
Scores of police officers were lightly wounded in the clashes.








http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7808257.stm

Friday, 2 January 2009

West Bank anger over Gaza raids

Hamas made a show of strength at funerals on Friday
Thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank have joined demonstrations 
after a call from Hamas for a "day of wrath" against the Israeli attacks 
on Gaza.
Five Palestinians, including three children, have been killed in the 
latest Israeli air attacks on Gaza.
More than 400 people are believed to have died in a week of raids on 
Gaza. Four Israelis have died in the rocket attacks Israel is trying to 
prevent.
The US said on Friday it wanted a "durable and sustainable" ceasefire.
But US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said any ceasefire should 
"not allow a re-establishment of the status quo ante, where Hamas can 
continue to launch rockets out of Gaza".
The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington says it is unclear what Ms Rice 
means by "sustainable ceasefire" or how it can be attained.
But it is a position that is widely interpreted as tacit backing by 
Washington for Israel to continue its military operation and try to 
weaken Hamas as much as possible, our correspondent says.
Stone-throwing
Friday's protests were called after an Israeli air strike hit the home 
of Nizar Rayan, a firebrand leader of Hamas who refused to go into 
hiding, killing him, and several of his wives and children.
"We will not rest until we destroy the Zionist entity," senior Hamas 
figure Fathi Hammad said at the funeral for the 20 people who died in 
that attack.
In the West Bank Palestinian protesters have been directing their anger 
not just at Israel but at Arab governments and their own leaders for 
their failure to stop the offensive.
Thousands gathered in Ramallah, while in Israeli-occupied East 
Jerusalem, youths threw stones at security forces, who fired tear gas.
Protests have also been held across the Middle East and in several Asian 
countries, as well as in Australia and Kenya.
Riot police in Jordan reportedly fired tear gas to stop a march on the 
Israeli embassy, while in Istanbul thousands of Turks burned Israeli 
flags after main Friday prayers.
The Egyptian authorities deployed thousands of riot police to prevent 
demonstrations in Cairo. The Islamist opposition group, The Muslim 
Brotherhood, said many people had been arrested there.





http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-01-11-westbank_N.htm?csp=34

West Bank stages calm protests against Israel's Gaza offensive
Updated 1/12/2009 12:21 AM | Comments 24 | Recommend 3

ISRAELI TROOPS GO DEEP INTO GAZA CITY

GAZA CITY — Israeli ground forces on Sunday made their deepest foray yet 
into Gaza's most populated area as infantry engaged in urban warfare. 
Meanwhile, Hamas militants kept up their assault of southern Israel.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said residential neighborhoods in Gaza are 
riddled with bombs and booby traps, including mannequins placed at 
apartment entrances to simulate militants and rigged to explode if 
soldiers approach.
The army "is advancing more into urban areas," said the spokeswoman, 
Maj. Avital Leibovich. "Since the majority of the Hamas militants are 
pretty much in hiding in those places, mainly urban places, then we 
operate in those areas."
Late Sunday, smoke from explosions rose over Gaza City. Early Monday, 
Israeli gunboats fired more than 25 shells at Gaza City.
At least 870 Palestinians, about half of them civilians, have been 
killed since the conflict began Dec. 27, according to Associated Press 
interviews with Palestinian health officials. Israel says Hamas 
terrorists are firing rockets from residential neighborhoods, schools 
and mosques in violation of international law and causing civilian 
deaths. Thirteen Israelis, including 10 soldiers, have died.
Israel and Hamas have ignored a United Nations Security Council 
resolution calling for a cease-fire.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel had made progress in its 
objectives in the Gaza offensive but is not finished. "Further patience, 
determination and effort are necessary in order to achieve those goals 
in a way that will change the security reality in the south."
—The Associated Press




By Jim Michaels, USA TODAY
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Not so long ago, it might have been a sign of 
impending bloodshed: knots of Palestinians gathered in a square, 
unfurling banners and chanting to protest Israel.
Yet as the crowd grew louder at a street demonstration here Sunday 
against the Gaza conflict, a handful of police officers looked on from a 
distance — and the proceedings remained peaceful. The police were close 
enough to watch but not so near as to provoke the crowd.
"When they arrest anyone, it is to stop chaos," explained Mariam 
Nakhmeh, a 38-year-old housewife who was among about 150 mostly female 
protesters gathering at Manara Square.
If any region would be expected to explode in violence during Israel's 
offensive in Gaza, it would be the West Bank — the other Palestinian 
territory, which itself has a long history of unrest. However, the area 
has remained relatively quiet so far, even as rowdy protests have 
ignited throughout the Arab world.
Officials here say that after years of violence, Palestinians in the 
West Bank are tired of the violence. They also point to the growing 
strength and professionalism of the Palestinian Authority security 
forces, many of whom have been trained under U.S. and European-funded 
programs designed to create an effective force respectful of civil rights.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: United States | Israel | Middle East | 
Palestinians | Gaza Strip | West Bank | Hamas | Arab | George W Bush | 
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas | Fatah | Palestinian Authority | 
Knesset | Ephraim Sneh | Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton | Shawan Jabarin | Manara 
Square | National Security Forces
"There are sit-ins, demonstrations and rallies," said Brig. Gen. Adnan 
Damiri, a police spokesman. But, he said, people have concluded violence 
is counterproductive. "Are we supposed to fill our morgues with dead 
people?"
Gaza and the West Bank would constitute a unified Palestinian state 
under the long-term Middle East peace plan sponsored by the U.S. and 
European powers, but the territories have been effectively separate 
since Hamas took over Gaza in a revolt in 2007. Provoked by rockets 
fired from Gaza, Israeli launched an offensive Dec. 27 against Hamas, 
which is considered a terrorist group by the U.S. and Europe. In 
contrast, the West Bank is governed by Fatah, a moderate rival 
organization that has shown a willingness to negotiate with Israel.
"Palestinians feel law and order are the ticket to statehood," said Dov 
Schwartz, a senior aide to Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, the U.S. security 
coordinator who is overseeing a program to support and aid Palestinian 
security forces. "The security services are delivering that law and order."
When Israel launched its offensive in Gaza, Palestinian President 
Mahmoud Abbas, a Fatah member, ordered his security team to keep a lid 
on violence in the West Bank. The orders that came out of the meeting 
were that peaceful demonstrations would be allowed but anyone trying to 
incite violence would be arrested, said Brig. Gen. Majid al-Khatib, who 
heads the joint operations center in Ramallah.The rules also state that 
only the Palestinian flag could be flown and that Hamas and Fatah flags 
were banned from rallies — a step designed to prevent clashes among 
Palestinians.
"I am not against people expressing their views," said Maj. Gen. Diab 
al-Ali, commander of the Palestinian Authority's National Security 
Forces. "However, we discourage people from getting to the point of 
conflict."
Police have arrested about 50 people in demonstrations over the past 
couple of weeks, al-Khatib said. Some are still being held. There also 
have been scuffles at demonstrations. Police and security officials say 
they have kept the demonstrators away from Israeli troops. "We consider 
anyone who throws stones at Israelis a criminal," al-Khatib said. "We do 
not want to escalate the situation."
The security measures have bothered some. "Everybody is demonstrating," 
said human rights activist Shawan Jabarin, referring to worldwide 
protests. "What about the Palestinians? You can't control the public in 
an angry moment." Jabarin said some demonstrators have been roughed up 
by police.
Col. Akram Rujib, a security official in Ramallah, conceded that 
"sometimes we violate human rights." But he says new training programs 
are aimed at eliminating such abuses by teaching officers how to respect 
people while enforcing the law, a balance he compared to "walking on 
land mines."
During a visit here a year ago, President Bush called the creation of an 
effective security force "step one" of building credibility with the 
Palestinian people. The United States has provided about $161 million 
for training.
The Palestinian security forces also have benefited from a better 
relationship with the Israelis. Earlier this decade during the 
Palestinian intifada, or revolt, police stations were targeted by 
Israeli forces, leaving security forces weakened.
Now, the relative calm here has given Israelis one less possible front 
to worry about as it battles Hamas. The more effective police force, 
plus a security wall that Israel built around the West Bank, may help 
explain why Hamas' threat to send suicide bombers into Israel has so far 
been unrealized.
"In the old days, it was militias or sometimes thugs in uniform," said 
Ephraim Sneh, a former member of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, who 
once served as the civil administrator of the West Bank. "Now it is a 
real organized, disciplined and professional force."






http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/250932,several-thousand-protest-in-ramallah-against-gaza-assault.html

Several thousand protest in Ramallah against Gaza assault
Posted : Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:33:04 GMT
Author : DPA

Ramallah - Some 3,000 Palestinians marched in the West Bank city of 
Ramallah Friday to protest Israel's offensive in Gaza, waving 
Palestinian flags, chanting "the blood of the martyrs will not go to 
waste," and holding up signs calling for West Bank-Gaza unity. Women 
holding up copies of the Koran chanted slogans in support of Hamas, as 
Palestinian police in uniform walked behind but did not try to stop them.
Plain-clothes security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas, whose 
Fatah party is locked in a bitter power struggle with Hamas, had beaten 
and arrested marchers shouting pro-Hamas slogans during similar 
demonstrations over the past two Fridays.
But organizers - of an umbrella group representing various factions 
including the two rival parties - then threatened to cancel all planned 
West Bank demonstrations against the Israeli assault in Gaza.
They withdrew their threat after acting Palestinian Interior Minister 
Abdul Razzaq Yahya, in a meeting with the group, promised no longer to 
use force against Hamas demonstrators.
As part of a compromise, the parties agreed not to carry Hamas and 
Fatah, but only Palestinian flags during Friday's protest.
Tensions between the two groups have remained high since they peaked in 
June 2007, when Hamas seized sole control of Gaza by violently 
overpowering the headquarters throughout the strip of Fatah- dominated 
security forces answering to Abbas.
Since then, Hamas has cracked down on Fatah supporters in Gaza, while 
also Abbas, fearing a similar violent take-over in the West Bank, has 
acted heavy-handedly against Hamas members.
The tensions have led to a relatively low turn-out in the West Bank 
protests against Israel, despite widespread outrage among Palestinians 
over the surging death toll in Gaza, where more than 1,100 people have 
been killed and 5,000 wounded over the past three weeks.




http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1055557.html

Pro-Gaza demonstration in Ramallah canceled for a lack of protesters By 
Avi Issacharoff , Haaretz Correspondent Tags: hamas, west Bank, gaza
RAMALLAH - It's quiet in Ramallah. At the northern entrance to the city, 
not far from the mall, a new fountain spouts water. Next to it lies a 
sign in English: "Gaza under fire." But it seems the Gaza Strip has 
never been so far away. Tel Aviv, meanwhile, feels closer than ever. 
Almost every day at 1 P.M., a demonstration leaves Manara Square in the 
city center, expressing support for the residents of the Gaza Strip. The 
number of participants has declined, however, on a daily basis, and on 
Wednesday the demonstration was called off for a lack of protesters.

Dozens of men sit in cafes near the square playing cards. In the 
background, the television blasts the voices of Al-Jazeera reporters, 
who provide continual updates about the events taking place in the 
Strip. But even the dramatic reports do not stop the card players for a 
moment. Occasionally one of them glances up at the screen, but then gets 
back to business.

The offices of the Al-Jazeera television network overlook Manara Square. 
Walid Omari, the bureau chief for the Palestinian Authority and Israel, 
explains that "the residents of Ramallah are filling the cafes, the 
restaurants, watching Al-Jazeera, cursing the situation, expressing 
anger and then continuing with their own affairs."

Omari explains that the quiet all over the West Bank in the face of the 
events in Gaza stems mainly from disappointment and frustration with the 
leadership of Hamas and Fatah.

"The residents of the West Bank lost a great deal in the course of the 
last Intifada, but saw no achievements. They are very afraid of more 
losses, mainly in light of the crisis of confidence between the 
Palestinian street and its leadership."

He refrains from accusing the PA of suppressing the protest 
demonstrations, a claim that quite a few of his colleagues have made.

"The PA is not preventing people from demonstrating, it is stopping them 
from coming to points of friction and raising flags other than 
Palestinian ones.

At the moment, there is a state of despair in light of the 
intra-Palestinian disputes, but make no mistake. In the 1980s, the 
despair was even greater because of the leadership vacuum, and 
nevertheless the first Intifada broke out."

Beneath the Al-Jazeera building, a protest tent for Gaza has been set 
up. The PA Ministry of Youth and Sports has set up such tents all over 
the West Bank, possibly in a non-violent attempt to channel the people's 
frustration with the conflict in Gaza. City residents have brought 
various items to transfer to the Strip: blankets, clothing, food, 
medicines, et al.

There is no unusual activity at the site. A pamphlet bearing the slogan: 
"One homeland, one nation, we are all Gaza" is being distributed to 
passersby.

But it is difficult not to get the impression that the relative apathy 
of the Palestinians in the West Bank stems from several reasons that the 
public does not like to bring up, certainly not in times like these. 
First and foremost, the historical gaps between the residents of the 
West Bank and the Strip. The residents of Ramallah and other West Bank 
cities have always looked down on their brethren in Gaza. Second, the 
Hamas coup in the Strip about a year and a half ago left behind quite a 
few scars. To see innocent Palestinian citizens killed in bombings is 
sad, but for quite a number of Fatah supporters, Hamas brought this upon 
itself. Mohammed, a 46-year-old businessman, offers another reason for 
the apathy: "We're afraid to see the tanks outside the house again."

Third Intifada? Not anytime soon

Within this relative quiet, many voices are being heard in opposition to 
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah. One of the surveys conducted 
recently in the territories indicated a dramatic decline in Fatah's 
strength. The violent crack-down of the Palestinian security forces 
against Hamas-identified demonstrators, as witnessed last Friday in 
Ramallah, also increased the criticism against Abbas. The PA chairman 
and his followers are accused of collaborating with Israel in a war 
waged against the Palestinian people.

The security cooperation between Israel and the PA is continuing in full 
force, and that is also one of the reasons for the relative quiet in the 
West Bank. Although since the start of the fighting there has been an 
increase in disorderly conduct, there have not been many attempted 
terror attacks. Apparently a third Intifada will not break out here 
soon, thanks in large part to the PA.





http://www.myantiwar.org/view/168834.html

Demonstrations erupt across West Bank; clashes in East Jerusalem as 
Palestinians protest Gaza violence
Date: 27 / 12 / 2008 Time: 16:49

Demonstration in Nablus,
27 December [Ma'anImages]
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Palestinians poured into the streets Saturday after 
news of a massive Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip hit media outlets. 
Clashes broke out in Hebron and East Jerusalem as demonstrators met 
Israeli troops.

Spontaneous demonstrations took place in East Jerusalem, Ramallah, 
Nablus, Tulkarem, and the Ad-Duheisha refugee camp, while organized 
rallies marched in Hebron and Bethlehem.

East Jerusalem

Violent clashes erupted between Palestinian youth and Israeli forces in 
Shufat refugee camp, Qalandia, Ar-Ram and Al-Isawiya as Palestinian 
youth hurled stones at the Israeli soldiers and set fire to car tires. 
Dozens of injuries and arrests were reported.

The youth gathered after a call came from Fatah leader Demitri Deliani 
calling for a reaction to the Gaza violence. He called the demonstration 
a normal response to the Israeli massacres, and announced a blood drive 
would be organized in an effort to help wounded Gazans.

Black flags were hung around the city and a commercial strike was declared.

Hebron

At least 40 students suffered from tear-gas inhalation as hundreds of 
protesters in Hebron clashed with Israeli troops on Hebron streets and 
several were taken to hospital for treatment. Dozens threw stones at 
Israeli soldiers at the military checkpoint installed on Ash-Shuada Street.

Hundreds of students from Hebron University, Al-Quds Open University and 
the Polytechnic University in Hebron rallied in the city calling for an 
end to the violence. They chanted anti-occupation slogans and called for 
Palestinian rivals to unify under Israeli pressure.

The group marched to the Bab Az-Zawiyah neighborhood where 
confrontations erupted between Palestinian youths and Israeli forces at 
the entrance to Ash-Shuhada (martyrs) street.

Tulkarem

Tulkarem Governor Talal Duweikat and PLC member Hasan Khriesah joined 
hundreds of Palestinians marking in the streets protesting the Israeli 
airstrikes in Gaza.

Participants called for the international community to pressure the 
Israeli government into halting its military ongoing operations. The 
city declared a day of mourning.

Ramallah

The Fatah party in Ramallah organized a rally for hundreds of people 
Saturday, and called a general strike that saw all shops in the city 
close for the day. Demonstrators and international community 
institutions lifted banners and slogans saying “one blood, one nation, 
Gaza we are with you.”

One Palestinian official in the ministry of Prisoners Affairs Ziyad Abu 
Ein said the event showed that Palestinian unity can oppose Israeli 
aggression, and called on all Palestinians to unite in dark days.

Palestinian Legislative Council member Mustafa Barghouthi attended the 
rally and called the latest Israeli violence “their harshest crimes 
against Palestinians,” and condemned other Arab states for their silence.

PLC member for the Change and Reform Bloc Ayman Daraghmeh called on the 
Palestinian Authority to halt peace negotiations with Israel immediately.

Bethlehem

Protests spontaneously erupted in the Ad-Duheisha refugee camp south of 
Bethlehem as news of the Israeli attacks spread, and information of a 
larger protest in the center of Bethlehem began to circulate through the 
city almost immediately.

Palestinian Civil Society organizations called on all “people of 
conscience in the Bethlehem area,” to gather at the Nativity Church 
Saturday evening to protest the Israeli violence.


***Updated 19:02 Bethlehem time





http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/03/2458426.htm

Protests continue
Meanwhile, violent protests in Jerusalem and the West Bank over Israel's 
bombing campaign in Gaza have continued overnight.
In Jerusalem, the Muslim quarter of the Old City was locked down and all 
men younger than age 50 were stopped from entering the Al Aqsa Mosque.
In the West Bank city of Ramallah, prayers ended with a call to keep up 
the struggle against Israel.
Worshippers then marched through Ramallah, chanting that they would 
sacrifice their souls and blood to protect Gaza.
Palestinian youths threw rocks at Israeli police, who responded with 
tear gas and rubber coated metal bullets.
But there was also tension among those who rallied, with supporters of 
the rival factions of Hamas and Fatah turning on each other during the 
march.
- ABC/BBC/Reuters





http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hEkt_Efgka0UBrYr0CM6BZIpQ-7w

Clashes at West Bank, Jerusalem protests over Gaza
Jan 9, 2009
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) — Supporters of the Hamas movement on Friday 
clashed with members of the rival Fatah party during protests in the 
West Bank city of Ramallah against the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The clashes erupted after the Hamas rulers of Gaza had called for a 
second week in a row for Palestinians to mark a "day of wrath" against 
the Israeli bombardments.
Fist fights erupted and security forces used teargas and batons to 
disperse the demonstrators who had taken part in rival protests.
Thirteen people were taken to hospital and several others were detained, 
witnesses said.
Simmering tensions between Hamas and the Fatah party of secular 
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas burst into all-out street warfare in 
June 2007, when the Islamists seized the Gaza Strip and ousted forces 
loyal to the Western-backed president, who now only holds sway in the 
West Bank.
In the West Bank city of Hebron, some 3,000 people took part in a 
protest march on Friday, with some hurling stones at Israeli soldiers 
who fired rubber-coated bullets and teargas.
Local medics said eight people were wounded by rubber bullets and dozens 
more suffered from tear gas inhalation during the clashes.
In Jerusalem, police fired teargas at dozens of young Palestinians who 
threw stones at them.







http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1230456521714

Dec 29, 2008 22:41 | Updated Dec 30, 2008 9:30
Jerusalem-area Arabs step up riots, protests
By ABE SELIG

Parts of Jerusalem were tense Monday as Arab riots and protests against 
the ongoing IDF operation in Gaza erupted at various locations in and 
around the capital.

Israeli riot police [file].
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski
SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World
For the second day in a row, dozens of youths rioted near the entrance 
to the Shuafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem, burning tires and 
throwing rocks at the border policemen and IDF soldiers stationed at the 
checkpoint that leads in and out of the area.
By nightfall, the rioters had been dispersed, but the marks of two days 
of violence were visible from the camps' entrance.
Large rocks, pieces of glass and other debris were scattered across the 
road, and a boosted Border Police presence - including Arabic-speaking 
officers wearing black face masks - were congregated in larger numbers 
than usual.
"They were throwing rocks and burning tires, you know, the usual stuff," 
said one border policeman, who declined to give his name.
"They did it yesterday and they'll probably do it again tomorrow, but 
that's what we're here for."
Shuafat residents' reactions to the riots ranged from complacency to 
talk of starting a third intifada.
In a nearby auto garage, mechanics were transfixed by their television 
set, as it broadcast Al-Jazeera's seemingly nonstop coverage of 
Operation Cast Lead.
"Is that Rafah or Gaza City?" one of them asked the other, pointing at 
the images of black smoke rising above the dense urban sprawl.
"Rafah," another of the mechanics answered. "It's the border with Egypt."
But when it came to speaking with the press, the mechanics seemed less 
interested.
"It's angering," one of them said. "It makes us all angry, but we don't 
pay any attention to the kids who come out here and cause trouble. We 
have work to do."
Others were more forthcoming.
"There is talk of starting the intifada again," said Marwan, a young man 
returning home from work. "And it's not just here in Shuafat, nor is it 
just in east Jerusalem. It's in Ramallah, it's in Nablus, it's in Jenin. 
People are very upset about what's going on, and I think that right now, 
the Palestinians feel very unified - no more Fatah and Hamas, it's 
Palestinian blood that's being spilled."
Still others said they had no interest in the situation at all.
"I was sleeping all day," another young man said. "I don't care what 
these kids do, just leave me out of it. I like to sleep and I like to 
watch TV."
Shuafat was not the only place that experienced unrest on Monday.
The Jerusalem suburb of Har Adar was the site of a smaller, less intense 
disturbance, as youth from the neighboring Palestinian village of Bidu 
approached the small crossing set up for laborers in Har Adar and began 
burning tires and throwing rocks at border policemen.
But that demonstration ended quickly, as the small force of Border 
Police and private security officers that responded were able to 
disperse the group of between 20 and 30 young men with what they called 
"relative ease."
"They ran back to the village," one of the Border Police commanders told 
The Jerusalem Post. "It was just a few of them; they came down here and 
set some tires on fire."
However, the commander stressed, a large number of the village's 
residents work construction in Har Adar, and had no interest in causing 
any trouble.
"It was just some kids," he said, looking back up the hill towards the 
village.
Other incidents across Jerusalem on Monday served as a clear reminder 
that tensions in the capital were on the rise.
A fire in a Jerusalem area forest caught the attention of border 
policemen on patrol. The officers began searching the area on suspicion 
that the fire had been deliberately set.
"The officers apprehended two Arab suspects near the forest, who 
admitted to setting the fire in connection with the ongoing events in 
Gaza, and the protests in and around Jerusalem," a police spokesman told 
the Post.
A loud but mostly peaceful protest was held at the Old City's Nablus 
Gate in the afternoon, as dozens of east Jerusalemites carried signs and 
shouted slogans decrying the Gaza operation.
That protest was dispersed by police after one of the protesters tried 
to incite the crowd to riot, but another protest was held in the same 
spot later in evening, which was attended by even more Arab residents.
Other disturbances occurred in the east Jerusalem neighborhoods of 
Isawiya and Silwan on Monday, police said, but all of the demonstrations 
were dispersed by police and Border Police units, with minimal use of force.






http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/158272

Anti-IDF Protests in Cities, Universities

by Maayana Miskin

(IsraelNN.com) Violent protests against IDF operations in Gaza continued 
in Jerusalem, Haifa and elsewhere in Israel on Monday. University 
students joined the fray with protests and counter-protests in Haifa, 
Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Jerusalem: Rocks, Arson, Graves Vandalized
In Jerusalem, riots continued for the third day in a row in Arab 
neighborhoods of the city. Twenty policemen were lightly wounded in 
confrontations with rioters armed with stones. Approximately 60 rioters 
were arrested.
Pro-Arab students in the foreground wave PA Flag while pro-Israel 
students wave Israeli Israeli flags at a Hebrew University student 
standoff on Monday. Police stand between the two sides.
In the Jerusalem neighborhood of Nebi Samuel, Arab residents protested 
the Cast Lead operation in Gaza with arson attacks. Arsonists set fire 
to a local forest at three different points. Firefighters succeeded in 
extinguishing the blaze. Two suspected arsonists were later arrested.

Riots were reported in Shuafat, Har Adar and the Old City in Jerusalem 
as well, and in the village of Kalandia north of the capital, and 
Rachel's Tomb (Kever Rachel) south of the city, in Bethlehem. On the 
Mount of Olives (Har Zeitim), overlooking the Old City, Arab rioters 
smashed headstones on Jewish graves in the local cemetery.
Haifa U.: 'Barak Murders' vs. 'Death to Terrorists'
At Haifa University, hundreds of Arabs and a handful of extreme-left 
Jewish students and professors faced off against supporters of Cast Lead 
on campus. Arab students held signs saying “Barak murders” and “State 
terror,” while those supporting the IDF called out “Death to terrorists” 
and called for Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh to be killed.
Police kept the sides apart, but minor disturbances were reported as 
protesters broke free to argue and occasionally throw objects at each 
other. Some students serving in the IDF reserves argued with their 
leftist professors, who were protesting against the Gaza operation.
Senior university administrators said both the pro- and anti-IDF 
demonstrations had been approved. Students must be allowed to exercise 
their freedom of speech, they said.
The Haifa student union published a statement in support of the IDF and 
the Cast Lead operation.
Hebrew U.: 'With Blood and Fire We Will Liberate You, Palestine'
Next to the Hebrew University campus on Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, 
hundreds of Arab students held Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) 
flags and yelled, “Gaza, Gaza, do not despair,” “Allah is great,” and 
“With blood and fire we will liberate you, Palestine.”
Jewish students from the Zionist “Im Tirtzu” (If You Will It) student 
group held a counter protest. The students held Israeli flags, sang the 
national anthem HaTikva, and shouted “We love the IDF” and “See you in 
the reserves.”
Tel Aviv: Three Arrested
Protests and counter-protests took place near the Tel Aviv University 
campus in Ramat Aviv. A scuffle broke out between protesters, and three 
were arrested.





http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050645.html

Last update - 01:56 29/12/2008

Israeli Arabs protesting Gaza campaign clash with police By Yoav Stern 
and Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondents, and Haaretz Service Tags: gaza, 
israel, israel news
Violent clashes erupted on Sunday between Israel Police officers and 
Israeli Arabs in the town of Umm al-Fahm, where protesters have been 
staging a mass demonstration against the Israeli campaign in Gaza, which 
has so far killed more than 280 Palestinians and wounded scores more.

The confrontation was sparked after protesters began throwing stones at 
police forces.

nother protest by Israeli Arabs has been taking place near the Dir 
al-Assad junction on route 85. The demonstration there turned violent 
after activists began hurling stones at police forces, who responded 
with tear gas.

Massive police forces have been deployed to the area.

A senior official in the Northern Israel police said the protests were 
authorized under the condition that the demonstrators refrain from 
rioting and don't disrupt traffic.

"Any lawbreakers will be treated decisively," said the official.

Israeli troops earlier on Sunday shot dead a Palestinian man and 
seriously wounded another during a violent protest against Israel's 
deadly air campaign, the army and a Palestinian medic said.

The medic, Basem Abu Sheikh, said 22-year-old Arafat Khawaja was hit in 
the chest by live fire in the village of Na'alin, near Ramallah.

Residents said some demonstrators were hurling rocks at Israeli forces, 
but it was not immediately clear if the dead man had been among them. 
Abu Sheikh and the Israeli military said another man was also shot 
during the protest and was in critical condition.

The military said troops stationed near the village were attacked with a 
hail of rocks and only used live ammunition after other crowd control 
methods failed to halt the barrage. A spokesman said the incident was 
being investigated by military authorities.

Meanwhile Sunday, an eight-month-old Israeli baby was moderately wounded 
as Palestinian protesters hurled stones at vehicles south of Mount Hebron.

Earlier Sunday, a one-year-old baby sustained injuries as shards of 
glass from a car window, shattered by stone throwers, in the same area.

Two other cars sustained damage, also as a result of stone hurling near 
Dir Al-Assad junction. The passengers were not hurt. The incident was 
reported to the Carmiel police, who proceeded to comb the area.








http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1230456503064

Dec 28, 2008 21:18 | Updated Dec 29, 2008 8:57
Protests flare up in Arab Israeli sector over Gaza
By BRENDA GAZZAR AND YAAKOV LAPPIN

Israeli Arabs closed their schools and shops on Sunday in solidarity 
with Palestinians in Gaza, and some rioted as the IDF operation in the 
Strip continued for a second day.

An explosion is seen during an IAF missile strike in the northern Gaza 
Strip.
Photo: AP
SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World
The general strike was called late Saturday night by the Arab Higher 
Monitoring Committee, which includes political representatives from the 
national and local levels.
"We are part of the Palestinian people as well and our people are going 
through a tough time. There is a lot of suffering because of the 
casualties there," said MK Hanna Sweid (Hadash), a member of the 
committee. "It's our way of showing our sympathy with them and our 
solidarity. It is also an objection to the policies of Israel, which is 
pursuing the issue with force and not by negotiations."
As they did on Saturday, police in the North dealt with a series of 
rock-throwing attacks and demonstrations held by Arabs against the IDF 
operation in Gaza.
Forty-one Israeli Arabs were arrested by Sunday afternoon across 
northern Israel, police said. Two Jews who entered Umm el-Fahm were 
reportedly attacked by a mob on Monday evening and lightly wounded. 
There were also reports of rock-throwing and tire-burning in Wadi Ara.
In addition to calling for demonstrations throughout the country, the 
monitoring committee has decided to send letters to diplomats worldwide 
asking them to intervene and is requesting that people donate blood on 
behalf of those injured in Gaza, said committee member Ayman Odeh, who 
is also Hadash general-secretary.
Members of the committee also met on Sunday night in Haifa.
The committee has called for an immediate halt to the IAF attacks and 
believes that negotiations are the only way to resolve the conflict, 
Sweid said.
Otherwise, "shelling will continue on both sides."
Demonstrations were held in several cities on Sunday, including in 
Haifa, Tel Aviv and Umm el-Fahm.
In Umm el-Fahm, Ayman Igbaria, who lectures on education at the 
University of Haifa, said that as far as he could tell, everything was 
shut down in the city, including small stores not on the city's main 
thoroughfare.
Sunday's strike, he said, did not necessarily reflect an acceptance of 
Hamas policies or behavior, but rather was a call for Palestinians to 
resolve their political differences and unite to oppose the Israeli 
military operation as well as the blockade of Gaza.
"People are showing solidarity with the Palestinian people because they 
don't think that it is only Hamas that is being targeted, it's also the 
entire Palestinian people," Igbaria said.
In the Galilee, youths threw rocks at passing vehicles at the Deir 
el-Asad junction on Route 85, near Karmiel. Two cars were lightly 
damaged, though no injuries were reported. Police closed off the road in 
both directions as officers brought the disturbance under control. The 
road was reopened after a few hours.
Also in Umm el-Fahm, one man fired a gun during a rally, accidentally 
injuring two children aged 10 and 11. The children were evacuated to the 
Emek Medical Center in Afula with light injuries to their legs.
In Daburiya, east of Nazareth, youths burned tires during a demonstration.
Police have launched a dialogue with village elders across the Arab 
sector in an effort to prevent youths from rioting.






http://www.myantiwar.org/view/168920.html

Police chief doesn't foresee return to October 2000 riots

Arab-Israelis hold dozens of rallies in protest of IDF offensive in 
Gaza; 'Arab leaders must convey a message of calm and restraint,' Dudi 
Cohen says
Sharon Roffe-Ofir

Following dozens of protests staged by Arab-Israelis on Sunday against 
the Israeli offensive in Gaza, Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen held a 
security assessment at the Northern District, after which he asked Arab 
leaders to call for restraint and cooperate with the police.

Two children were lightly injured when a demonstrator fired into the air 
during one of the rallies in Umm al-Fahm. A 57-year-old resident of 
Afula was lightly injured from stones thrown at him in the Arab-Israeli 
city, and two Jews were rescued by police after being attacked by locals.

During the rally in Umm al-Fahm demonstrators waved black flags and PLO 
flags and shouted, "Jews – know that Muhammad was here before you" and, 
"In spirit and in blood we will save Gaza."

Arab-Israeli demonstrators in Dir al-Asad were dispersed with water 
hoses, and three of them were detained. Protestors threw stones at 
police officers in east Jerusalem and Kfar Qana, while additional 
disturbances were reported in the south Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit 
Safafa, where youths set tires on fire.

In the evening hours some 700 people protested in the northern 
Arab-Israeli town of Fureidis, and about 400 more held a rally in Haifa. 
PLO flags were waved in both demonstrations.

"We prepared in advance for such scenarios," Police chief Cohen said. "I 
do not fear a return to the October 2000 riots. Those took place at the 
beginning of the decade; we've all matured since then. The public has 
matured, we've learned our lessons; everyone knows this is a completely 
different situation. The Arab public has responsible leaders."

According to him, no less than 12,000 officers have been deployed in the 
various districts; their presence will be maintained at least for the 
next 48 hours, when Cohen is expected to hold another security assessment.

"I am calling on the leaders of the Arab public to convey a message of 
calm and restraint; we all want these incidents to end with no 
casualties, and therefore the cooperation between the Arab leaders and 
police is crucial," Cohen said.

"We live in a democratic country where everyone has the right to be 
heard, but we will not allow anything beyond the regular protests."

Eighteen police officers have been injured and more than 50 rioters have 
been detained since the IDF launched its aerial attacks on Gaza.







http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050933.html

Last update - 10:32 29/12/2008

Seven Israeli Arabs arrested for hurling stones in protest of Gaza op By 
Eli Ashkenazi, Yoav Stern, Jack Khoury, and Jonathan Lis Tags: Gaza, 
Israel, Hamas
Police on Monday arrested seven Israeli Arabs, three of them youths, for 
allegedly hurling stones and setting fire to tires near the entrance to 
the Mishad municipal council in the north.

Authorities have arrested 49 people for disturbing the peace since the 
Israel Air Force began its aerial offensive in the Gaza Strip on Saturday.

Police will remain on high alert today to deal with a wave of 
disturbances among Israeli Arabs and residents of East Jerusalem. There 
is also concern that Palestinian terror groups might try to carry out 
attacks in protest against Israel's military action in the Gaza Strip.

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Police Commissioner David Cohen held a series of consultations on Sunday 
to assess the extent of violence in the area of Arab towns known as the 
Triangle, roughly bounded by Baka al-Garbiyeh, Taibeh and Tira, and in 
towns with mixed Arab-Jewish populations.

Cohen also said that there was little chance that the disturbances would 
escalate to the level of the October 2000 riots, in which 13 Arabs were 
killed.

A senior police official said Sunday that the police have no 
intelligence about an expected escalation of violence among Israeli Arabs.

The police said they intend to allow demonstrators to "let off steam" 
and Israeli Arabs could demonstrate as long as they do not endanger life 
or property. The police are holding talks with Arab community leaders to 
try to to tone things down and to prevent escalation. The police said 
yesterday they were optimistic, and that there was no evidence that the 
Arab community in Israel was headed toward an "intifada" against the state.

Meanwhile, police are also preparing for the possibility that terror 
organizations might launch revenge attacks over the Gaza operation 
within Israel. Police sources said yesterday that so far there has been 
no specific warnings of any organization preparing an attack against 
Israeli targets.

"The best evidence of the lack of intelligence data is the fact that the 
IDF has not placed a closure order on any of the cities in the West 
Bank, which is what is done when there is significant information about 
a terror attack, a police source said yesterday. According to police 
assessments, terror groups will in the near future opt for "relatively 
simple" and "popular" forms of attack, such as shootings, stabbings and 
assault with a vehicle, which do not require complex organization. 
Police also said the terror organizations will have difficulty right now 
in establishing a system for bringing explosives or suicide bombers into 
Israel. "The Israeli operation surprised terror elements in the West 
Bank," a police officer said, adding, however, "It is clear to us that 
the calls from the heads of Hamas to renew suicide bombings will 
eventually be heeded by those who will try to put those calls into action."

In East Jerusalem public disturbances were renewed following the Gaza 
operation, and 38 Palestinians were arrested in East Jerusalem for 
throwing stones at police and vehicles. There were no injuries in the 
stone-throwing incidents. Three residents of the Jerusalem neighborhood 
of A-Tur on the Mount of Olives were caught red-handed by under-cover 
Border Police while throwing stones at a police vehicle.

Three Palestinian minors were also arrested for throwing stones at a 
tour bus in Wadi Joz in northern Jerusalem, breaking the bus windshield, 
and in Beit Safafa in southern Jerusalem and Beit Hanina north of the 
city, young demonstrators burned tires in protest over Gaza.






http://www.myantiwar.org/view/168819.html

Last update - 22:48 27/12/2008

Israeli Arabs react with violence to IDF operations in Gaza By Haaretz 
Service Tags: IDF, Israel News, Gaza Strip
Israeli Arabs on Saturday protested Israel Defense Forces attacks in the 
Gaza Strip, with demonstrations and clashes with police breaking out in 
communities throughout Israel.

In East Jerusalem, a police officer was lightly hurt by an Israeli Arab 
who hit him with his car. The driver, who has a criminal record, was 
arrested by police shortly thereafter.

On Salah-a-Din Street in East Jerusalem, dozens of youths lit dumpsters 
and hurled stones at police. One assailant was arrested by police at the 
scene.

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In the Shuafat refugee camp, hundreds of Palestinian protestors threw 
rocks at security forces.

In the West Bank settlement of Beitar Illit, a three-year-old boy was 
lightly hurt after he was hit in the eye by a rock thrower.

In the Bedouin village of Rahat in the Negev, around 400 residents 
protested the attacks, while mosques throughout the town broadcast 
prayers of mourning.

Hadash, the predominantly Arab leftist party, will stage a demonstration 
on Saturday in Nazareth to protest the IAF operations in Gaza. Hadash 
chairman Mohammed Barakeh called on the government "to immediately halt 
the crime in the Gaza Strip."

"Escalation will not bring quiet and calm," Barakeh said. "It is 
inconceivable for the Palestinian people in Gaza to live between 
starvation and bombardment. The government and the defense minister are 
trying to gain political capital in an election period on account of the 
bloodletting of the Palestinian people."

MK Jamal Zahalka, who is the chairman of the Balad faction, called for 
Defense Minister Ehud Barak to be tried for "war crimes" in Gaza.

"Barak is trying to win votes in exchange for Palestinian blood," he said.

(Haaretz)






http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1052897.html

06/01/2009

Over 2,000 take to streets of Haifa to protest IDF Gaza operation By 
Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondent Tags: Israel, Gaza, Israel News
Over 2,000 demonstrators took part in a protest march in Haifa on Monday 
evening expressing opposition to the Israel Defense Forces offensive in 
the Gaza Strip. Police deployed significant forces in the area to 
provide security for the event. There were no reports of any disturbances.

The demonstration ended with speeches from political activists and Haifa 
residents who called on the government to cease "the aggression and the 
massacre in the Gaza Strip."

Participants waved Palestinian flags, brandished photographs of 
Palestinian children killed during the operation, and chanted slogans 
denouncing the IDF.

Police in Karmiel arrested a resident of the city for allegedly 
assaulting an officer during a demonstration in support of the IDF 
operation in Gaza.

Haifa University is the site of what is expected to be a large 
demonstration on Tuesday. The protest is being organized by the Arab 
student union.

It is worth noting that the university administration has banned 
demonstrations that can potentially ignite clashes with other students 
or with campus security.






http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/01/417186.html

Tel Aviv Protest Against the War
Gush shalom | 04.01.2009 22:25 | Palestine | World
10, 000 people from all over Israel protested against the war on Gaza on 
3rd January, 2009. At the end they were attacked as traitors by 
right-wingers and abandoned by police who were supposed to protect them.
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/index_en.html

Saturday 03/01/09
MASSIVE DEMONSTRATION AGAINST THE WAR
Preparing to start: hoisting the big Gush Shalom transparent
photo gallery

At the same time as Ehud Barak was ordering the army to start the bloody 
ground offensive against Gaza, some ten thousand protesters from all 
over Israel marched in Tel-Aviv in a massive demonstration against the 
war. All four lanes of Ibn Gvirol St., one of the city's main 
throughfares, were packed full of demonstrators who marched the two 
kilometres from the Rabin Square to the Cinemateque, chanting and waving 
banners all the way.

“One does not build an election campaign over the dead bodies of 
children!” shouted the protesters in Hebrew rhymes. “Orphans and widows 
are not election propaganda!”, “Olmert, Livni and Barak – war is no 
game!”’ “All cabinet ministers are war criminals!!” Barak, Barak, don’t 
worry – we shall meet you in The Hague!”, “Enough, enough – speak with 
Hamas!”

The written posters were similar. Some of them paraphrased Barak’s 
election slogans: “Barak is not friendly, he is a murderer!” (The 
original Barak slogan says: “Barak is not friendly, he is a leader!”) 
Also: “No to the Election War, 2009!” and “The six-Knesset-seat war!” – 
an allusion to the polls which showed that in the first days of the war 
Barak’s Labor Party has gained six prospective seats.

The demonstration took place after a fight with the police, which tried 
to prevent or at least limit it, arguing that they would not be able to 
stop right-wing rioters from attacking it. Among other things, the 
police demanded that the organizers undertake to prevent the hoisting of 
Palestinian flags. The organizers petitioned the High Court of Justice, 
which decided that the Palestinian flag is legal and ordered the police 
to protect the demonstration from rioters,

The demonstration was decided upon by Gush Shalom and 20 other peace 
organizations, including the Women’s Coalition for Peace, Anarchists 
Against the Wall, Hadash, the Alternative Information Center and New 
Profile. Meretz and Peace Now did not participate officially, but many 
of their members showed up. Some thousand Arab citizens from the north 
arrived in 20 buses straight from the big demonstration of the Arab 
public which had taken place in Sakhnin.

The organizers themselves were surprised by the large number of 
protesters. “A week after the start of Lebanon War II, we succeeded in 
mobilizing only 1000 demonstrators against it. The fact that today there 
came 10,000 proves that the opposition to the war is much stronger this 
time. If Barak goes on with his plans, public opinion may completely 
turn against the war in a few days.”

The giant Gush Shalom banner said in Hebrew, Arabic and English: “Stop 
Killing! Stop the Siege! Stop the occupation!” The slogan of the 
demonstration called for the end of the blockade and an immediate 
cease-fire.

On the day of the protest, the extreme Right mobilized their forces in 
order to break up the demonstration by force. The police made a great 
effort to prevent riots, and the one-mile march from Rabin Square to 
Cinematheque Square proceeded relatively quietly. However, when the 
protesters started to disperse, in accordance with the agreement with 
the police, a large crowd of rightists started to attack them. The 
police, which till then had been keeping the two camps apart, 
disappeared from the scene. The rioters then encircled the last of the 
protesters, harassing them, pushing them about and at a certain point 
started to besiege the Cinematheque building, where some of the last 
protesters had found refuge. They tried to break into the building, 
threatening to “finish off” the protesters, but at the last moment some 
police arrived and protected the entrance. The rioters stayed around for 
a long time.

Circumstances made it impossible to hold the planned public rally at the 
end of the march. No speeches were made. Here is a translation of the 
speech Uri Avnery was about to make on behalf of Gush Shalom:

They tell us We are traitors.

They tell us We are destroyers of Israel.

They tell us We are criminals.

But we tell them: The criminals are those Who started this Criminal and 
unnecessary war!

An unnecessary war Because it was possible To stop the Qassams By the 
government stopping the blockade On the million and a half Inhabitants 
of Gaza.

A criminal war Because, on top of everything else It is openly and 
shamelessly Part of Ehud Barak’s and Tzipi Livni’s Election campaign

I accuse Ehud Barak Of exploiting the IDF soldiers In order to get more 
Knesset seats.

I accuse Tzipi Livni Of advocating mutual slaughter In order to become 
Prime Minister.

I accuse Ehud Olmert Of trying to cover up Rot and corruption With a 
disastrous war.

I call upon them From this tribune, On behalf of this Courageous and 
decent audience: Stop the war at once! Stop shedding the blood of Our 
soldiers and civilians for nothing! Stop shedding the blood Of the 
inhabitants of Gaza!

The ground invasion Will cause An additional disaster, A mutual massacre 
And even more Terrible war crimes!

At the end of this war No general Will be able to set foot On European 
soil Without fear of being arrested For war crimes.

We are told That there is no alternative. Not true!!! A cease-fire is 
possible even now, Yes, this very minute, If we agree to lift The 
murderous siege, If we allow the Gaza people To live in dignity, If we 
talk with Hamas.

I wish to address

The people of the South, The people of Sderot, Ashdod and Beersheba: We 
know your anguish – Even though we don’t live with you, We know well. 
But we also know That this war Will not change your situation. The 
politicians exploit you, The politicians conduct a war On your back. You 
too know that!

I call upon Olmert, Barak and Livni: Do not send the soldiers into the 
Strip! All three of you will be accused of war crimes! All three of you 
will pay the price!

The masses in Israel Saluting you now Will punish you tomorrow. That 
happened in the Second Lebanon War That will happen Again this time!

And YOU who are standing here, Women and men, Young and old, Jews and 
Arabs, YOU who have protested Against this horrible war From the first 
day, From the first minute, Isolated and cursed – YOU are the real heroes!

You can be proud, Very proud, Because you stand in the middle Of a 
hurricane of hysteria and ignorance, And are not swept away by it! You 
are retaining your sanity, Not only at home But here, in the street!

Millions around the world see you, Salute you, Salute each one of you.

As a human being, As an Israeli, As a seeker of peace, I am proud To be 
here today.
Gush shalom





http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050470.html

Last update - 02:26 28/12/2008

Hundreds of activists in Tel Aviv protest IAF strike in Gaza By Ofri 
Ilani, Haaretz Correspondent Tags: gaza, israel air force, hamas
Hundreds of left-wing and human rights activists marched in the streets 
of Tel Aviv on Saturday night to protest the massive Israel Air Force 
offensive in Gaza that left at least 230 dead and hundreds more wounded.

The protesters marched from Tel Aviv's Cinematheque toward the Defense 
Ministry offices. Police, some mounted on horseback, surrounded the 
protesters, arresting five of them.

According to the protesters, Israel's military action in Gaza does not 
protect Israeli citizens or provide them security.

"No one can tell us that slaughtering the citizens of Gaza is meant to 
protect the citizens of Sderot and Ashkelon," said Matan Kaminer, a 
student who participated in the march.

Some protesters complained of extraneous force on the part of 
horse-mounted police, but overall the march remained non-violent.

Similar protests took place in Arab villages in the Galilee and in 
Bedouin villages in the Negev.





http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/12/416431.html

2000 protest in Tel Aviv against the air strikes, 27th Dec
Fyn | 30.12.2008 18:28 | Repression | Social Struggles | World
Two-thousand Israeli activists demonstrated on 27th December in Tel Aviv 
against yesterday’s Israeli attacks on Gaza, which killed at least 270 
Palestinians and injured some 700. The demonstration, initiated and 
organized by the Israeli Coalition against the Siege on Gaza, included a 
march of activists through central Tel Aviv, from the Cinemateque square 
to the Ministry of Defence.

Demonstrators called for an immediate end to Israeli military attacks 
and the siege on Gaza, and criticized the center-left wing political 
party Meretz for supporting Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

Israeli police officers were particularly harsh with demonstrators, five 
of whom were detained and subsequently released.

AIC Programme Director Sergio Yahni, one of the main organiser’s of the 
demonstration in Tel Aviv, noted that “last night’s demonstration was 
substantially larger than the first demonstration we organized against 
Israel’s 2006 war on Lebanon. People were truly horrified by Israel’s 
military attack on Gaza yesterday, and went out to the streets to show 
this.”

The Israeli Coalition against the Siege will be holding another 
demonstration this evening in Tel Aviv, and will be meeting tomorrow to 
strategically plan future actions.

Demonstrations against Israel’s assault on Gaza also occurred in 
Jerusalem. Demonstrators gathered in the Mount of Olives, Qalandiya, 
A-Ram, in Issawiya, on the main street in East Jerusalem —and in the 
Shuafat Refugee Camp. The demonstrators blocked roads, called out 
against the Israeli occupation and attacks on Gaza, and confronted 
Israeli soldiers who arrived to break up the demonstrations. Israeli 
soldiers stationed at a checkpoint in the Shuafat Refugee Camp ran away 
from the demonstrators. At least 3 Palestinians were injured by soldiers 
during the demonstrations.
Fyn
Homepage: 
http://socialist-blogs-news.blogspot.com/2008/12/demonstrations-in-tel-aviv-east.html




http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1231167264698&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Jan 5, 2009 19:38
Some 2000 Jews, Arabs protest in Haifa against IDF Gaza op
By ELANA KIRSH

Some two thousand people, including both Jews and Arabs, demonstrated in 
Haifa against the IDF operation in Gaza Monday evening.
They called for a cease-fire, and an immediate halt to the "murder and 
injuring of Gaza civilians," according to a statement.
The protest was organized by a variety of organizations including 
political parties Balad and Hadash.






http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1230733153924

Jan 3, 2009 19:51 | Updated Jan 4, 2009 21:33
Hundreds protest Operation Cast Lead in Tel Aviv
By TALIA DEKEL

More than a thousand people demonstrated against the IDF's Operation 
Cast Lead in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square on Saturday evening.
In response, about 600 activists gathered in the same place to show 
support for the army and for residents of the South.
Witnesses told The Jerusalem Post that many of those demonstrating 
against the operation wore keffiyehs and waved combined Israeli and 
Palestinian flags.
People supporting the operation, who organized a counter-demonstration 
upon learning of the left-wing event, chanted "IDF, we are with you!"
The group included members of the Im Tirzu student organization, which 
has a stated aim of "returning Zionism to the Israeli consciousness," as 
well as Likud activists.
Im Tirzu spokesman Erez Tmidor told the Post that police were preventing 
participants in the counter-demonstration from marching from Rabin 
Square to the city's Cinematheque.
Police had "cornered hundreds of people into an area on the corner of 
King David and Ibn Gvirol streets near the square" and were refusing to 
let them join the march, Tmidor said.
Police said they arrested four of the counter demonstrators for 
disturbing the peace.
Yaakov Lappin contributed to this report





http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1230733152340

Jan 3, 2009 17:31 | Updated Jan 4, 2009 7:14
Sakhnin: Over 10,000 protest Gaza operation
By YAAKOV LAPPIN AND JERUSALEM POST STAFF

Over 10,000 people demonstrated against Operation Cast Lead in the 
northern town of Sakhnin on Saturday, by far the biggest such protest in 
Israel so far.
An Israeli-Arab holds up a doll as he joins a demonstration of tens of 
thousands of Israeli-Arabs protesting against Israel's military 
operation in Gaza, in the northern town of Sakhnin, Saturday.
Photo: AP
SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World
According to organizers, it was the largest protest held by the 
Israeli-Arab sector in many years.
Marchers held Palestinian flags and even a smattering of green Hamas 
flags. They also held pictures of children said to have been killed 
during the IDF operation. There were no reports of violence.
The protest opened with a minute of silence, in memory of Palestinians 
killed in Gaza since the operation began.
The event was attended by several Arab Knesset members including 
Muhammad Barakei (Hadash) and Jamal Zahalka (Balad), as well as Arab 
mayors and other public officials from the Arab sector.
Zahalka demanded that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud 
Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and IDF chief of General Staff 
Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi be tried in an international tribunal for what 
he called "war crimes in Gaza."
The demonstration ended peacefully on Saturday afternoon, Police 
Northern District chief Cmdr. Shimon Koren said.
Koren added that police preparations and the ongoing dialogue between 
police and Arab communal leaders have "once again resulted in a peaceful 
demonstration," and called on the dialogue to "continue in the coming days."
Police Commissioner Insp.-Gen. Dudi Cohen, who toured the northern 
district on Saturday, said, "We approve demonstrations on the condition 
that they are held with a license and in a peaceful manner."
Cohen warned, however, that "all disturbances will be dealt in an 
uncompromising manner."
Meanwhile, Israel Beiteinu activists held counter-demonstrations at four 
junctions in the North. During the protests at the Megiddo, Mahanayim, 
Tishbi and Golani junctions, 100 demonstrators held signs and chanted 
slogans including, "No citizenship without loyalty!"
Israel Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman said that "in the same way 
that the Israeli government knows that it is impossible to stop the 
operation in Gaza until Hamas is eradicated, [the government] must act 
against those Israeli citizens who are not loyal to the State of Israel."
"The demonstration in Sakhnin in which 10,000 protesters are 
participating, proves that their loyalty is to Hamas and to those who 
want to destroy Israel," Lieberman continued.
Over the past week, 210 Arabs were arrested in the North for endangering 
lives, rock throwing, and other offenses. A total of 126 suspects remain 
in custody, and 16 indictments have already been served.
Across the country, 442 Arabs have been arrested for violent 
disturbances, 149 of those minors. A total of 384 Palestinians who 
crossed into the country illegally have been arrested since the Gaza 
operation began.
Police remain mobilized in a three-ring formation stretching from the 
Green Line to city centers, and continue to operated under the Special C 
level of alert.
Twelve thousand officers are patrolling across the country. In the 
South, police are focusing on protecting lives and reaching all 
rocket-landing zones.





http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=29543

2009-01-03
100,000 Israeli Arabs protest against Gaza offensive

Israeli Arabs call for immediate stop to Israel’s offensive on besieged 
Gaza Strip.

SAKHNIN, Israel - Tens of thousands of Israeli Arabs demonstrated on 
Saturday in the northern town of Sakhnin over Israel's week-old 
offensive against the Gaza Strip.
Organisers estimated that nearly 100,000 people attended the protest 
rally, which stretched through the city streets.
Crowds waving Palestinian flags and brandishing pro-Palestinian placards 
chanted "Gaza will not surrender to the tanks and bulldozers!" and 
"Don't fear, Gaza, we are with you!"
Thousands of police deployed on the outskirts of Sakhnin and across 
northern Israel following a number of protests against the Gaza 
operation in recent days.
Following a minute's silence, Sakhnin Mayor Mazem Ghanaim called for an 
immediate halt to the Gaza offensive which Israel launched last Saturday 
against the besieged territory.
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 440 Palestinians and wounded 
more than 2,290.
According to the UN, one quarter of the Palestinian victims were civilians.
"The Israeli occupation forces are conducting crimes in Gaza before the 
eyes of the international community. We call for an immediate stop to 
the Gaza offensive," Ghanaim told the crowd.
He also called on Gaza resistance fighters to halt their rocket fire 
against southern Israel, which have killed four people over the past 
eight days.
Israeli Arab MP Mohammed Barakeh said the Sakhnin demonstration was "our 
answer to the Israeli threats against the Palestinian people in Gaza."
"We are determined to stand alongside our brothers in Gaza to stop the 
bloodshed and massacre," Barakeh said.
Israeli Arabs have staged several big demonstrations since Israeli 
warplanes launched air strikes in Gaza.
Some protesters in Sakhnin called Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak a 
"coward" and accused him of "collaborating with the Americans."
Israel has often come under international criticism for ‘racism’ and 
mistreatment of its Arab minority, who are the original inhabitants of 
the land and today make up one fifth of its total population.
The Arab population is comprised of the descendants of the Palestinians 
who remained in their land despite being subjected to an Israeli 
campaign of ethnic cleansing during the creation of Israel.






http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230456532186&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Dec 30, 2008 15:24 | Updated Dec 30, 2008 22:57
Israeli Arabs plan protests in TA, Sakhnin
By BRENDA GAZZAR, YAAKOV LAPPIN AND ETGAR LEFKOVITS

The Hadash Party plans a massive Jewish-Arab demonstration for Tel Aviv 
on Saturday evening to protest the IAF offensive in Gaza, while the Arab 
Higher Monitoring Committee has a smaller protest set for the same day 
in Sakhnin.

Border policemen at a West Bank checkpoint [file].
Photo: AP
SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World
The protests will call on Israel to "stop the massacre in Gaza," and on 
feuding Palestinian factions - particularly Fatah and Hamas - to unite, 
said Aymen Odeh, secretary general of the Hadash communist party and a 
member of the monitoring committee.
Both sides "need to unite against the occupation," Odeh said. "Our enemy 
is the Israeli occupation, not Hamas, and not Fatah, and not others."
Operation Cast Lead was an unprecedented tragedy, exceeding Deir Yassin 
in 1948, he said.
The Sakhnin protest will begin at 1 p.m. on the town's main road, while 
the Tel Aviv protest will begin at 6:30, at a location yet to be decided.
Meanwhile, the monitoring committee is preparing to collect donations on 
Friday for the people of Gaza, such as food, clothes and blood, Odeh said.
On Tuesday evening, 350 Israeli Arabs demonstrated in Haifa. Police were 
on the scene, and no violence or arrests were reported. There was also a 
protest in Nazareth.
Ninety-three Arab residents of east Jerusalem have been arrested for 
rioting since the start of the Israeli offensive against Hamas in Gaza, 
police said Tuesday.
The four-day-old protests appeared to be ebbing on Tuesday, with only 
one peaceful demonstration reported in east Jerusalem by late-afternoon.
The suspects were detained for alleged participation in violent protests 
in which both stones and firebombs were thrown at police, and included 
both minors and adults, the police said.
About two dozen police officers were lightly wounded in the clashes.
Three hundred Israeli Arabs have been arrested during violent 
disturbances across the country since the start of Operation Cast Lead 
on Saturday.
Some 170 of the suspects remain in custody, and 17 of those will remain 
behind bars until the end of legal proceedings against them, police said.
At the same time, Public Security Minister Avi Dichter and police chiefs 
are holding an ongoing dialogue with local Arab leaders in an effort to 
stem rioting by youths.
Dichter met with Arab communal leaders on Tuesday and urged them help 
maintain calm "despite the tense atmosphere." He added that police would 
allow approved protests to go ahead, "as is accepted in a democratic 
country," but warned that "any attempt to turn a demonstration into a 
violent incident in which the symbols of the state are attacked, such as 
flag-burnings, will be treated with the utmost severity."
Most of the disturbances have taken place across the North and around 
Jerusalem.
On Tuesday evening, police arrested four boys aged 12 to 14 after 
receiving reports of rock-throwing at the entrance to Nazareth Illit. No 
injuries or damages were reported.
Two boys aged 15 and 16 from Majd el-Kurum, west of Karmiel, were 
arrested in a joint Israel Police-Border Police operation. They are 
suspected of donning ski masks and throwing rocks at cars on Route 85.
In Acre, six suspects arrested for rioting have had their remand 
extended until Thursday, while a further 10 suspects, seven adults and 
three minors, who were arrested Tuesday night, also had their remand 
extended.
Twelve residents of Wadi Ara were arrested over the past few days after 
attempting to block roads.
In the Galilee, 34 people have been arrested since Sunday for trying to 
block routes 85 and 70. The suspects come from the villages of Deir 
el-Asad, Bana, Nahf and Kabul.
They were arrested for endangering a transport route, illegally 
congregating, and rioting.
The neighboring Amakim police force has 30 Israeli Arabs in custody for 
rioting, 12 of them minors.
Police have also rounded up 386 Palestinians who entered the country 
illegally in recent days.
On Tuesday, Israel Police chief Insp.-Gen. David Cohen toured the 
Northern District, stopping off at a number of flash points such as 
Nazareth and Umm el-Fahm, where he received briefings from police 
commanders.
Earlier this month, police held its largest ever drill, in which 
thousands of officers simulated the eruption of Arab rioting across the 
country.






http://www.myantiwar.org/view/169740.html

Hadash party to protest 'massacre in Gaza'

Organizers expect thousands to call for an 'end to IDF assault and the 
lifting of the blockade on Gaza'; Yisrael Beiteinu: Rally a provocation
Sharon Roffe-Ofir

The Hadash party is scheduled to hold a rally in the 
predominantly-Jewish northern Israeli city of Nazareth-Illit on Saturday 
in protest of the "massacre in Gaza".

Organizers expect thousands of people to attend and call for an "end to 
the (IDF) assault and the lifting of the blockade on Gaza."

Nazareth-Illit Mayor Shimon Gafaso turned to Internal Security Minister 
Avi Dichter and asked that he cancel the event. "I've received dozens of 
phone calls from residents demanding that the rally be called off. I 
know activists from Yisrael Beiteinu party are planning to hold a 
demonstration opposite the Hadash rally and in all of the city's 
intersections," he said.

According to Mayor Gafaso, holding such a rally in a Jewish city may 
lead to violence.

Alex Gadalkin, chairman of Yisrael Beiteinu's Nazareth Illit branch, 
called the planned rally a "provocation", adding "do they not have 
enough convention halls in Nazareth? Why hold the rally here, and at 
such a sensitive time? We will not tolerate a rally against the IDF and 
Israel."

Hadash denied the allegations, saying Nazareth Illit was chosen for its 
large convention hall.

Amakim Police said "we will allow any legitimate and lawful protest."






http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1230456536477

Dec 30, 2008 22:59 | Updated Dec 31, 2008 11:35
Meretz, Peace Now to push for truce
By GIL HOFFMAN

Just five days into the war in Gaza, candidates of Hatnua 
Hahadasha-Meretz will begin a new campaign on Wednesday calling for a 
cease-fire and opposing a ground incursion.

Meretz MK Zehava Gal-On.
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski [file]
Slideshow: Gaza op, day V
Meretz's campaign will be the first step against the war for the Zionist 
Left. Peace Now will start a similar campaign on Friday. While the 
non-Zionist Hadash Party protested outside the Defense Ministry in Tel 
Aviv on Saturday, Meretz and Peace Now say they are holding off against 
demonstrating for now.
"We understand that this war is an inevitable struggle against Hamas," 
Peace Now secretary-general Yariv Oppenheimer said. "There is no anger 
and fury at the government yet. There is just hope that the war ends 
before it gets too complicated and there is concern that it won't, but 
that concern has not yet persuaded our people to go out and demonstrate."
At first, Meretz's campaign will focus on Internet ads. MK Zehava Gal-On 
said all of her party's Knesset candidates believed that steps had to be 
taken to end the Gazan rocket fire, but they were divided over the 
timing of Israel's strike.
"I thought there should have been more diplomatic steps before going to 
war, which should only be a last resort," Gal-On said.
During the Second Lebanon War, Meretz was divided over whether to 
demonstrate against the government. At first it boycotted dozens of 
rallies that were held because it considered them too left-wing.
Gal-On later spoke at a demonstration outside the Defense Ministry, but 
then-party chairman Yossi Beilin opposed joining the protest.
Current Meretz leader Haim Oron urged Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to seek 
an immediate cease-fire when he met with him on Monday. He said that 
restoring the "calm" with Hamas was the only way to end bloodshed, bring 
home St.-Sgt. Gilad Schalit and guarantee quiet in the communities 
around the Strip.
In a speech to the Knesset on Monday, Oron warned against the IDF 
"getting stuck in the Gaza Strip" and said he still did not understand 
what the goals of the war were. Meretz MKs later voted against a motion 
endorsing the war.
Three authors identified with Meretz - Amos Oz, A.B. Yehoshua and David 
Grossman - published separate articles on Tuesday calling for Israel to 
push for an immediate truce. Grossman, whose son Uri was killed in the 
Second Lebanon War, wrote that had Israel decided to hold its fire and 
try mediation after its initial response the reality today might have 
been different.
Grossman wrote in Haaretz that Israel should tell Hamas: "If you hold 
your fire, we will not renew ours. If you continue firing while we are 
practicing restraint, we will respond at the end of this 48 hours, but 
even then we will keep the door open to negotiations to renew the 
cease-fire, and even on a general and expanded agreement. That is what 
Israel should do now."





http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1052995.html

The right to express protest By Haaretz Editorial Tags: israel, hamas, 
israel news
In the last few days, the Shin Bet security service questioned dozens of 
Arab Israelis, while others were subjected to warnings aimed at 
deterring them from participating in demonstrations against the Israel 
Defense Forces operation in the Gaza Strip. Those taking part in 
demonstrations in Jaffa, Sakhnin and Shfaram were brought in for 
"clarification talks" even in cases when the demonstrations had been 
authorized.

The Shin Bet approved the questioning and explained that, "In recent 
days a number of violent incidents, with nationalist character, have 
taken place in Israel. These incidents included arson, stone-throwing 
and firebombs. As a result of these incidents, arrests were made."

In parallel, charges were brought in the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court 
against left-wing activists who blocked the entrance to the Sde Dov 
airbase on Friday, in protest of Operation Cast Lead. The activists were 
charged with unlawful entry into a military area, participation in a 
forbidden gathering and interfering with a police officer as he tried to 
carry out his duty. The judge rejected the prosecution's request to keep 
the defendants in custody until the end of the legal proceedings, 
something normally done when the court believes that releasing the 
suspects poses a threat to the public.

A democratic society must differentiate, even in wartime, between 
activities that raise genuine fears of violence or that really incite to 
violence, like those from October 2000, and the right of every citizen 
to take part in demonstrations that do not involve serious violence.

In a long series of decisions, the Supreme Court has established the 
freedom to demonstrate as a right "at the highest level of human 
rights." The right to demonstrate and to protest is part of the freedom 
of expression and is "one of the loftiest expressions of the idea of 
human dignity and freedom." This right is not revoked even during war. 
Today, gatherings and demonstrations are regarded in the democratic 
world as an acceptable and natural means of manifesting the 
constitutional right to protest that stems from the freedom of 
expression. Demonstrations during war are known phenomena even as 
soldiers are risking their lives.

The freedom to demonstrate, like every other constitutional right, is 
not absolute. It is subordinate to the obligation to obey the law and to 
act in line with its rules and guidelines. Considerations of public 
order and public safety are relevant and could justify limits on 
demonstrations, but not their banning.

According to reports, the security services are using intimidation 
tactics to prevent legitimate protest against the current campaign. Such 
means are not only excessive but have also been demonstrated as 
counterproductive. Repressing the freedom of expression normally 
transforms dialogue into acts of violence that could have been 
prevented, and it is imperative to prevent this from happening, 
especially during times of war.






http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7013593232

Israel Trying To Limit Protests Over Gaza Bombardment
January 2, 2009 10:57 a.m. EST

Linda Young - AHN Editor
Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - Israel is taking steps to try to limit 
possible protests around the Friday Muslim prayers at the al-Aqsa mosque 
in Jerusalem's Old City.
It has deployed thousands of police to the area. In addition, Israeli 
officials are restricting Friday prayers at the mosque to men over the 
age of 50 who have Israeli identity cards or women of any age, according 
to CNN news.
Those steps go into effect as tensions mount on the seventh day of 
Israeli air attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Some 422 Palestinians have been killed - about 25 percent of them were 
civilians - and around 2,000 have been wounded, the head of Palestinian 
emergency services told Bloomberg news.
Hamas officials had called for a day of wrath to protest the aerial 
bombardment.
A top Hamas leader was killed in the attacks, Israeli government 
officials said Thursday. But a Palestinian university professor said not 
to expect that incident to accomplish much.
"Israel is mistaken if it thinks that by killing Hamas leaders it will 
put an end to the group," Mkhaimar Abusada, a professor of political 
science at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, told Bloomberg news. "Hamas is a 
movement that has the support of 35 to 40 percent of the Palestinian 
people."
Overnight air attacks Thursday night on Gaza targeted a mosque, Hamas 
military headquarters and other targets.
On Friday afternoon, three Palestinian children from the same family 
were killed in an Israeli air attack on the southern Gaza Strip town of 
Khan Younis, according to Ynet news reports.






http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1052261.html

02/01/2009

'Anarchists' block entrance to IAF base in protest of Gaza strikes By 
Ofri Ilani Tags: IDF, Israel News, Gaza
Twenty-one members of the "Anarchists Against the Wall" group were 
arrested Friday morning after they blocked the entrance to the Sde Dov 
Israel Air Force base in North Tel Aviv.

The protestors, wearing white masks and covered in fake blood, laid on 
the street and played dead.

They said they were arrested after they left the road and were on the 
sidewalk.

Ayala, one of the protestors, said that the protest was meant to "show 
IAF pilots the results of their actions in Gaza. From thousands of feet 
in the air, a pilot who aims and presses a button can ignore, forget, or 
be unable to fathom that at that moment he killed innocent people. We 
came here to remind them of this."

Also on Friday, clashes broke out between police and Israeli Arabs 
rock-throwers protesting the IAF raids in Gaza. In Tiberias on Thursday, 
some 15 youths burned tires and a Palestinian flag, in support of the 
operation in Gaza.







http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=42086

Friday, January 2, 2009 Leftist Israeli Jews petition court for right to 
wave Palestinian flags at protest
Leftists petition court for right to wave Palestinian flags at protest
Two activists organizing Saturday rally claim police would not approve
demonstration unless they promise not to wave Palestinians flags
Aviad Glickman YNET Published: 01.01.09, 20:36 / Israel News
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3649004,00.html
Two left-wing activists filed a petition with the High Court of Justice
Thursday demanding that police be forced to allow them to stage an anti-IDF
protest.
The activists claim authorities announced they would allow the protest only
if they promised not to wave Palestinian flags, a condition the petition
said was unlawful and unfeasible.
Ayala Maoz and Hagai Matar are two of the organizers of a procession and
rally scheduled for Saturday evening. The event is intended to protest the
military operation in Gaza.
They claim the condition posed by the police lacks logic and legality, and
that despite the fact that they were not intending to wave Palestinian flags
at the protest, they could not vouch for the other demonstrators in
attendance.
Maoz and Matar say police were afraid the presence of the flags would anger
people of opposing political views and result in possible riots, as the
angered parties may become violent.
Thus, the petition says, the police's fear is not due to the behavior of the
demonstrators, but "criminal passers-by who want to harm the participants."
They asked the court to hold an emergency hearing on the petition so the
protest would not have to be postponed.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) joined the activists'
struggle by sending a letter to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz regarding
the arrests of numerous demonstrators who protested the IDF operation in
Gaza.
The letter warns against adopting policies allowing for numerous arrests and
dispersal of protestors, as this constitutes a violation of the right to
freedom of speech.






http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/12/416206.html

Sunday 28/12/2008 declared a General Strike in protest of the Israeli 
Massacres
The High Follow Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel | 28.12.2008 17:07
This is the statement issued by the unified leadership of all 
Palestinian political parties and civil society inside Israel.

In an important precedent, the statement explicitly calls for sanctions 
and boycott against Israel for its "war crimes" and "acts of genocide" 
in Gaza.

The High Follow Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel
____________________________________________________________

28/12/2008

Urgent Appeal

The High Follow Up Committee declares Sunday28/12/2008 a General Strike 
in protest of the Israeli Massacres committed in Gaza

In the presence of all national alliances, an urgent meeting for the 
Follow up Committee was held today declaring Sunday 28/12/2008 a General 
strike in protest of the Israeli massacres committed against 
Palestinians in Gaza. The meeting called for the organization of 
demonstrations and marches in every Arab town in al Naqab, the Triangle, 
the Galilee areas and coastal towns as a symbol of the rage and severe 
grief of the Palestinian nation upon the loss of hundreds of its 
citizens in Gaza.

It was decided that the High Follow Up Committee remains on alert to 
hold further meetings to take steps in resistance and to stop the 
consistent aggression and break the siege on Gaza including the opening 
of all border crossings especially that of Rafah.

The following political message stemmed from the meeting:

- Considering the Israeli aggression against Palestinians in Gaza an 
assault against Palestinian People everywhere and our duty is to resist 
it and break the siege.

- Recognizing Israel and its political and security forces as a 
'criminal' state committing acts of genocide, war crimes and crimes 
against humanity against our people in the Gaza Strip. This with the 
assurance that the current Israeli parliamentary election campaign is 
fueled by the Palestinian bloodshed.

- Saluting the determination and will of Palestinian people in the face 
of the aggressive Israeli scheme to break their steadfastness and human 
dignity.

- Condemning the international complicity with the official Israeli 
aggression, and considering its silence and complicity as partnership in 
the crime. the meeting also stressed the absolute rejection of holding 
the Palestinian people or the Islamic Resistance Movement-Hamas- 
responsible for the situation and while exempting Israel from its total 
responsibility.

- Calling upon the international community to take its legal and moral 
responsibility, to sanction Israel and boycott it as a state that 
pursues terrorism, war crimes and crimes against humanity with 
premeditation.

- Condemning Arab Official complicity used by Israel to cover for its 
predefined aggression and condemning the general Arab weakness and 
calling them to shut down their embassies in Israel and boycott it. We 
call Upon Egypt to open all crossings with Gaza and break its siege.

- Condemning the complying Arab and Official political voices which held 
the Palestinian leadership in Gaza responsible for the Israeli 
aggression and calling the head of the PNA to immediately stop the 
negotiations with Israel used to further fuel the Palestinian Split in 
the West Bank and in Gaza.

- Assuring the call for national Palestinian unity and its total support 
of the Palestinian struggle and resistance in the face of Israeli 
aggression.

- Paying tribute to the heroic steadfastness of our people and 
supporters in the Arab world and elsewhere and the masses in the 
homeland that stood in the face of the bloody aggression and supported 
the steadfastness in Gaza.

- Calling on the masses of our people to exercise the highest degree of 
readiness to contribute, on individual and collective levels, in the 
national relief campaign, which includes the donation of medical 
supplies, food and blood donation in support of Gaza and in contribution 
to the breaking of the siege.

- Calling on the masses of our people and supporters in the world to 
share the worry and to have more readiness to escalate the struggle in 
order to defeat the Israeli aggression and provide protection for our 
heroic Palestinian nation.

The Higher Follow Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel
The High Follow Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel






http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1231424911169

Jan 10, 2009 23:30 | Updated Jan 11, 2009 9:54
Peace Now, Meretz hold Left's first anti-war protest
By GIL HOFFMAN

Peace Now organized the first demonstration of the Zionist Left since 
Operation Defensive Shield began two weeks ago on Saturday night outside 
the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv.
The event marked a change in direction for the organization, which had 
previously limited itself to calling for a cease-fire via an on-line 
campaign. Peace Now expressed understanding for the operation when it 
began, but started calling for a cease-fire six days into the fighting.
"Calls for a cease-fire are not anti-IDF," Peace Now secretary-general 
Yariv Oppenheimer said at the rally. "We just don't want the soldiers to 
lose their lives in an operation that should not be continuing. The Left 
was divided at the start of the fighting. But when the choice is between 
staying in Gaza for years or leaving now, it is clear what we support."
Some 600 people attended the rally, including many of the anti-Zionist 
Hadash activists who have been demonstrating against the operation since 
it began.
RELATED
• "What's left of the Left?"
The Hadash activists accepted a request from the rally's organizers not 
to bring the Palestinian flags that had been a part of their demonstrations.
While Hadash MK Dov Khenin and Arab MKs have attended many 
demonstrations, Saturday night's was the first attended by MKs from Meretz.
"Even though we supported initiating the operation after Hamas broke the 
cease-fire, now we are saying enough," Meretz head Haim Oron said at the 
rally. "A cease-fire must be reached now. We must do everything possible 
to reach a peace agreement under the umbrella of the Arab League. Only 
an agreement between us and the Palestinians can end terror."
Meretz released a statement criticizing the security cabinet's decision 
on Friday to continue the operation, saying that remaining in the Gaza 
Strip was against Israel's interests and would result in losses on both 
sides and the loss of international support.







http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/010909b.html

Anti-War Protests Grow in Israel
By TheRealNews.com
January 9, 2009
Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip has prompted public opposition from 
anti-war elements of the Israeli public – and counter-measures from 
right-wing groups and Israeli domestic intelligence agencies.
Protesters across the country have turned out in larger numbers than 
opposed the 2006 war with Lebanon and some have clashed with police in 
both Arab-Israeli and Jewish cities.
(The story summary continues below.)
Jesse Rissin Rosenfeld, a freelance journalist based in Tel Aviv and 
Ramallah, reports that the Israeli intelligence agency, Shabak/Shin-Bet, 
has been cracking down on dissenters.







http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=163515

Palestinian painter protests Israeli attacks on canvas

A Palestinian painter living in Turkey has decided to share his feelings 
about the pain being visited upon his homeland and his perceptions of 
insensitivity on the part of the United Nations through his paintings.

Ali Salim, 68, who lived in Hatay for years, recently moved to Konya to 
be close to his two daughters and his grandchildren. With the conflict 
that began recently in the Gaza Strip, Salim has decided to reflect his 
own emotions on his canvases.
Salim notes that his pictures will bring images of the conflict in Gaza 
to exhibition halls and that foremost in his work is the insensitivity 
shown by the UN to what is going on in Gaza.
He says many members of his family currently live in Palestine and that 
he has been shedding tears every day over the situation in his home country.
Salim left Palestine in 1962. Earlier this year he moved to a retirement 
home in Konya, though he notes that he was not able to bring all of his 
works from his home in Hatay.
The painter also mentioned a factory that he set up in Turkey earlier in 
his life, noting that it had gone bankrupt in 2001. After the 
bankruptcy, Salim decided on his own to move into the Hatay retirement 
home; he said it was here that he learned oil painting, wood painting, 
charcoal sketching and traditional arts such as “ebru.” He points out 
that he has had 12 exhibitions in Hatay.
Salim talks about his move from Hatay to the Konya retirement home. 
“Just as I was getting comfortable in Konya, the conflict in Palestine 
ruined my inner peace. It was then that I began doing paintings of the 
terror going on there using the techniques I had developed in the other 
retirement home. I will bring these paintings to an exhibition hall for 
all to see.”
For this Palestinian, Turkey is second home
Salim talks about Turkey’s efforts in relation to what is happening in 
Gaza, noting that while they are admirable, he cannot understand why the 
UN and the international community are staying silent on the matter.
Salim asserts that while he would love to go to Palestine, even aid 
organizations are not able to enter the region. He says: “Just as Cyprus 
is for Turkey, Palestine is also an offspring nation for this country. 
We now long for the days of the Ottoman Empire.”
Salim was born in 1940 in the Palestinian village of Salamah, near the 
city of Jaffa, but became a Turkish citizen in 1970 when he came to 
Turkey for business. Salim married a Turkish woman and had a daughter 
with her, although after his factory went bankrupt, his wife left him.

08 January 2009, Thursday

MEHMET DENER HATAY