As we sat silently, staring down the barrel of his gun, the 13-year-old boy sitting next to me turned and asked if I was all right. I simply nodded. He smiled at me and said: “Don’t worry, it will all be fine.” I suddenly felt rather embarrassed. Embarrassed that a 30-year-old man was being comforted by a child. The soldier began walking along the bus and at that moment I needed to feel good about myself. So what did I do? I acknowledged my sympathy. I felt for this kid sat next to me. I reminded myself no child should have to stare down the barrel of a gun. I reminded myself no child should have to feel the fear of death. I reminded myself this was all so wrong. And I ultimately reminded myself that my sympathy did nothing for my 13-year-old companion. This lad looked to me again and observed that I was nervous. “Smile, it will help!” he said before asking for my passport. I didn’t even question giving my British passport to a 13-year-old child. He placed the passport visibly on my lap and said something that made me realise my sympathy was futile. “This is Kryptonite, remember that.” The soldier arrived at my seat and pointed his gun in my young friend’s face, while the boy sho
Category Archives: Gaza
Marches of Return or Political Manouvres – nadiaharhash
it is hard to catch a season or a day in the Palestinian context. we start the year with movements and party memorial days, and march starts after celebrating women and mother into a sacrifice where women and mother are the ones who pay the highest price for their patience.. a loss of a son, a…
Source: Marches of Return or Political Manouvres – nadiaharhash
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Israeli parents protest arrests of Palestinian children in central Tel Aviv | +972 Magazine
Israeli parents gather to mark International Day for the Rights of the Child by raising awareness of the conditions of Palestinian minors in Israeli custody.
Source: Israeli parents protest arrests of Palestinian children in central Tel Aviv | +972 Magazine
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Trump cannot simply erase the Palestinian right of return | +972 Magazine
When in the face of this incontrovertible history of Israeli “ethnic cleansing” and international conventions on the rights of refugees, I cringe when I hear of the Trump Administration’s intention to take the refugee issue “off the table.” What they are, in fact, taking off the table is so much more. At stake is: the lives and fortunes of innocent Palestinians and their families; the rule of law; simple human justice; and the possibility of peace. The more than 5 million Palestinians living under occupation and in refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria cannot be erased and in their attempt to do so, it is not only the Israelis who are guilty of the war crime of ethnic cleansing. The Trump Administration is making itself complicit in this crime.
Source: Trump cannot simply erase the Palestinian right of return | +972 Magazine
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Trump redirects over $200 million in U.S. aid for West Bank, Gaza | Reuters (when racists rule in DC)
U.S. National Security adviser John Bolton told Reuters this week that UNRWA, which extends aid to Palestinians displaced by the 1948 war of Israel’s founding and to millions of their descendants, was “a failed mechanism” that violated standard international law on the status of refugees. “I think it is long overdue that we have taken steps to reduce funding,” Bolton said, adding that “much of UNRWA’s expenses really go to perpetuating the refugee status of the Palestinian people.”
Source: Trump redirects over $200 million in U.S. aid for West Bank, Gaza | Reuters
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Journalist Mohammed al-Baba shot by IDF while covering Gaza protests – IFEX
Mohammed al-Baba, a photographer for Agence France-Presse, was hit by a live round fired by the Israel Defense Forces while covering a protest east of the northern Gazan city of Jabalia.
Source: Journalist Mohammed al-Baba shot by IDF while covering Gaza protests – IFEX
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In memory of Razan al-Najjar | +972 Magazine
I then returned to the comments that had accumulated under the picture of the young woman who went to care for wounded protesters and came back in a shroud. My heart struggled to contain the sadness. I apologize to my well-intentioned friend. The bitter truth is that the Israeli collective consciousness is light-years away from a place where it can even begin speak about the basic concepts of justice, human rights, and human equality before God. I doubt that years of occupation and moral corruption can be corrected. I also apologize to Razan, the young Gazan woman who lived her whole life under occupation, more than half under the brutal siege. She did not taste a single day of freedom in her short life. She went out into the Valley of Death by the separation barrier to care for her wounded countrymen and never came back. With shame beyond words, I apologize. Rest in peace Razan, may your memory bring freedom and justice to your people.
Source: In memory of Razan al-Najjar | +972 Magazine
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A Woman Dedicated to Saving Lives Loses Hers in Gaza Violence – The New York Times
Israeli soldiers fired two or three bullets from across the fence, according to a witness, hitting Ms. Najjar in the upper body. She was pronounced dead soon after. Ms. Najjar was the 119th Palestinian killed since the protests began in March, according to Gaza health officials. Hers was the only fatality registered on Friday. The Israeli military said Saturday that the case would be examined. The military said it “has repeatedly warned civilians against approaching the fence and taking part in violent incidents and terrorist attacks and will continue to act professionally and determinedly to protect Israeli civilians and Israeli security infrastructure.”
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‘Open up or we’ll tase you’: Police arrest activists protesting Gaza violence | +972 Magazine
“The fact that the protests took place in downtown Haifa is no coincidence. This is the same place where Arab residents were kicked out of so it could be turned into a recreational area with bars. Since 2013, there has been an increase in the mistreatment of political activists – in terms of numbers arrested, release conditions, preventative arrests, etc.” “Ultimately, this is foolish behavior. They do not have the tools to influence us. They still believe that arresting three or four organizers will stop people from going into the streets, as if they are puppets. They are unable to understand that we have a political demand. They won’t be able to stop that.”
Source: ‘Open up or we’ll tase you’: Police arrest activists protesting Gaza violence | +972 Magazine
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We are all accomplices to Israel’s massacre in Gaza | +972 Magazine
Since March 30, when the Gaza protests began, 101 Palestinians have been killed and well over 10,000 wounded, many maimed for life. Not a single Israeli injury and not a single rocket fired at Israel, even as Israel has bombed Gaza several times in recent weeks. It doesn’t matter which numbers you want to believe or how many stones have been thrown (not a single injury caused by them), or even how many Hamas officials have called on Palestinians to protest. This is a massacre of a stateless population living under military siege. And we are all accomplices for not doing more to stop it.
Source: We are all accomplices to Israel’s massacre in Gaza | +972 Magazine
