Tag Archives: Palestine

Over 300 British Academics Pledge to Boycott Israeli Academic Institutions

As an act of protest over Israel’s actions against the Palestinian people, over 300 professors and lecturers from several academic institutions in England and Wales, including Oxford and Cambridge, have pledged to boycott Israeli academic institutions.

“As scholars associated with British universities, we are deeply disturbed by Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land, the intolerable human rights violations that it inflicts on all sections of the Palestinian people and its apparent determination to resist any feasible settlement,” the academics write in the letter.

While they say they will still work with individual Israeli academics, the pledge states that the academics will not take parts in events organized or funded by them, act as referees for them, or accept invitations to visit their institutions, according the Guardian newspaper.

The letter continues saying that the participants in the pledge are “deeply disturbed by Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land, the intolerable human rights violations that it inflicts on all sections of the Palestinian people, and its apparent determination to resist any feasible settlement.”

The Higher Education Statistics Agency reports that there are 194,245 academic staff employed by higher education in the U.K. That would mean that the amount of protestors is less than a quarter of 1% of the overall number of academic staff in the U.K. This is a “statistically insignificant minority” according to director of the Academic Friends of Israel organization, Ronnie Fraser.

Despite the small numbers of protestors, the British and Israeli governments responded to the boycott. The British ambassador to Israel, David Quarrey, stated that the British government would not allow the boycott to affect the relationship between Israel and Britain as the 60 year partnership makes both countries stronger.

The Israeli embassy in London replied with a published response: “The only path to advancing peace between Israelis and Palestinians passes through the negotiation room. Israel has called time and again for the renewal of talks immediately, without any preconditions. Those who call for a boycott against Israel during a month which saw 45 stabbing attacks – in which more than 100 Israelis were wounded, and 10 were murdered – blatantly ignore the lives of Israelis, and the conditions necessary for peace.”

U.N. Chief to Visit Israel and Palestine to Calm Tensions

In an attempt to calm tensions between Israel and the Palestinian territories, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be visiting the area, despite the waves of violence that has plagued the area for about a month.

The violence began about a month ago over tensions concerning policy changes to the Temple Mount, a holy site for both Jews and Muslims. Then stabbings began happening in Arab neighborhoods East of Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel. The escalation in violence has prompted some to believe that a third Palestinian uprising may begin.

On Tuesday there were two more reported incidents. Israeli forces shot a Palestinian man after he stabbed an Israeli military officer. In the West Bank, a separate incident occurred where an Israeli man was killed after being run over by a truck. The Washington Post reports that Palestinians were throwing rocks at the man’s car. The Israeli man then exited his vehicle and began hitting Palestinian vehicles with a stick. He hit a passing truck that then ran over the man. The driver did turn himself in, claiming that the man’s death was the result of him trying to swerve out of the way.

Ban Ki-moon released a video prior to his Tuesday visit, asking for peace on both sides. During his visit Ban will be visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in Jerusalem.

Since the violence began, 40 Palestinians, including attackers, and 8 Israelis have been killed, according to BBC News.

Palestinian Rioters Set Fire to Joseph’s Tomb

After a month or rising tensions and violence, Palestinian rioters set fire to Joseph’s Tomb, a Jewish holy site in the West Bank city of Nablus that is believed to contain the remains of the Biblical patriarch.

The arson came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for Palestinian leaders to stop the attacks that have been plaguing the nation for weeks. Rioters attacked Joseph’s tomb with petrol bombs.

“The burning and desecration of Joseph’s Tomb last night is a blatant violation and contradiction of the basic value of freedom of worship. The IDF will take all measures to bring the perpetrators of this despicable act to justice, restore the site to its previous condition and ensure that the freedom of worship returns to Joseph’s Tomb,” IDF Spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said in a statement Friday morning.

Palestinian Authority security forces arrived on the scene, dispersing the crowd and dousing the fire. Once the confrontation was over, Israel Defense Forces were deployed to the area according to Channel 2 television. There were no reports of any injuries.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli leaders quickly condemned the attacks. Israeli leaders compared it to the actions of ISIS who have destroyed various holy sites throughout the Middle East. Abbas stated that the holy site would be repaired and called for an investigation.

In a separate incident on Friday, a Palestinian man disguised himself as a journalist and attacked an Israeli soldier. The soldier suffered minor wounds; the attacker was shot on site.

Israel Increases Security to Battle Escalating Violence

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is keeping his promise to try and combat the escalating violence in Israel, by deploying extra soldiers in cities across the country and setting up roadblocks in Palestinian neighborhoods.

“Today we … decide on a series of vigorous steps in our fight against the sources of terrorism and incitement,” the Prime Minister said. “They will be implemented as quickly as possible.”

In an overnight session, Israel’s security cabinet authorized the security measures after Palestinians with guns and knives killed three Israelis and injured several others on Tuesday. The approved measures included increasing the ranks of the Israeli police, 300 new security guards for public transportation, and authorization given to police to surround “centers of friction and incitement” in Jerusalem.

Additional measures include “terrorists” having their permanent resident rights revoked and the government confiscating their property. Palestinian neighborhoods will be cordoned off, and Israeli authorities will have the ability to demolish homes of attackers with no rebuilding allowed.

“We’re taking things step by step, stage by stage,” said police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld. “We’re working carefully and cautiously in order to prevent and respond to any further attacks today in Jerusalem.”

Palestinian officials called the increase in security a collective punishment and condemned Israel’s actions. Human Rights Watch also disagreed with the new security measures.

“Locking down east Jerusalem neighborhoods will infringe upon the freedom of movement of all Palestinian residents rather than being a narrowly tailored response to a specific concern,” said Sari Bashi of Human Rights Watch.

Secretary of State John Kerry announced that he would be visiting the Middle East very soon to help calm the situation, but he did not state when exactly he plans to go.

Some have suggested that the violence is part of a third Palestinian uprising, also known as an intifada. Others dismiss this theory, saying it is unrest that is due to the absence of an progress toward peace.

“We’ve tried negotiations and it didn’t work,” a Palestinian youth in the West Bank city of Hebron told CNN. “So now we will fight.”

And the Israeli government is not going to give in.

“Israel will settle accounts with the murderers, those who attempt murder, and all those who assist them,” Netanyahu said. “Not only will they not enjoy their privileges, but we will exact from them the full cost.

“Anyone who raises his hand to harm us — will pay dearly. And we will not hesitate to use all means at our disposal to restore peace to the cities of Israel.”

Violence in Israel Intensifies; Death on Both Sides

The worst spell of civil unrest that has hit the region in years has resulted in several deaths of both Jewish and Arab citizens.

On Friday, a Jewish man stabbed and wounded four Arabs in south Israel. In the past 10 days, four Israelis have been shot or stabbed in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. At least a dozen Israelis have been wounded by knife and screwdriver wielding Palestinians in various Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv. Attacks have continued on both sides recently resulting in the deaths of four Arab men by a Jewish man in his 20s. A 14-year-old Jewish boy was wounded in a stabbing by a Palestinian while a woman believed to be Palestinian tried to stab an Israeli guard at a bus station.

There have been talks of a third Palestinian uprising after the death of three Palestinians who were killed by Israeli security forces in stone-throwing demonstrations. Many more Palestinians have been wounded in the same demonstrations.

The escalation in violence seems to be over the events at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City. Palestinians fear that Israel is trying to change the status quo at the holy site. The current conditions are that Jews are allowed to visit the site, but only Muslim prayer are allowed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied that conditions at the holy site are being changed, but his assurances have done little to keep the peace.

Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have called for calm and for Israeli security forces and Palestinian police to continue working together to restore order. However, signs indicate that the violence will continue.

Spreading Violence in Israel Forces Netanyahu to Cancel German Visit

A rise in street violence has prompted the Prime Minister to cancel his visit to Germany planned for Thursday.

Israeli and Palestinian leaders have been attempting to calm the fueled confrontations that have been surrounding Jerusalem’s al Aqsa mosque complex, Islam’s third holiest site which is considered as a holy place called the Temple Mount by Jews and the site of their two ancient temples.

The prospect that Israel is trying to expand the Jewish presence at the hilltop compound has led to ongoing clashes, including Palestinians barricading themselves inside the mosque and throwing stones and firebombs at Israeli forces.

Several incidents throughout Israel including a Palestinian man was shot dead in southern Israel on Wednesday after he stabbed an Israeli soldier and attempted to grab his weapon.

Earlier Wednesday, a Palestinian woman stabbed an Israeli man who then shot and wounded her in Jerusalem’s Old City and a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli man outside a mall in central Israel, police said. The attacker was arrested.

Four Israelis have been killed in stabbings in Jerusalem and a drive-by shooting in the occupied West Bank since Thursday, and two Palestinians have been shot dead and scores injured in clashes with security services, triggering fears of an escalation.

Palestinians fear increasing visits by Jewish groups to al-Aqsa are eroding longtime Muslim religious control there. Netanyahu has said he is committed to maintaining the status quo.

Tensions Rise between Palestinians and Israelis after Death of Palestinian Teen

Clashes between Israelis and Palestinians on the West Bank resulted in hundreds of injuries and the death of a Palestinian teenager on Sunday. The recent escalation in violence is a reaction to Israel’s decision of restricting Palestinians from entering Jerusalem’s Old City with the exception of residents.

The clashes intensified on Monday after Israeli forces shot and killed Huthayfa Soliman, 18. According to the Israeli military, he and others were throwing firecrackers, rocks, and firebombs at the soldiers at a checkpoint near Tulkarm, in the northern West Bank.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society told Al Jazeera that nearly 400 people have been injured in the recent clashes. The humanitarian organization reported that in two incidents, Jewish settlers have smashed ambulances and physically attacked their staff members.

The escalation in violence began Thursday when Palestinian gunmen killed a Jewish couple near a settlement in the occupied West Bank. Two days later, two ultra-Orthodox Jewish men were fatally stabbed by a Palestinian teenager in the Old City of Jerusalem. Hours later, a Palestinian man stabbed and wounded a 15-year-old Jewish boy in a Jerusalem neighborhood. Palestinians have also shut themselves inside the Al-Aqsa mosque, blocking all entrances and throwing firebombs at police.

The Guardian reported that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a harsh offensive against “Palestinian Islamic terror” on Sunday. In a televised announcement, he said there would be a series of measures, including the “speeding up of the process for the demolition of the homes of terrorists.”

The Palestinian state news agency reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appealed the United nations for an international force to be deployed in the West Bank. Abbas has increasingly asked for outside forces.

Palestinian President Says His People No Longer Bound By Peacekeeping Oslo Accord

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced at the United Nations General Assembly that Palestinians are no longer bound by the 1995 Oslo accord that established the foundation for a two-state solution because Israel did not implement it. This announcement has risen even more between Palestine and Israel and has sent Middle Eastern negotiations into uncharted territory.

The Oslo Accord was a peacekeeping agreement between Israel and Palestine that stated Palestine would be independent and free of Israeli occupation by 1999. Since then, Israel set up three areas in the West Bank for transitional governance.

“As long as Israel refuses to commit to the agreements signed with us, which render us an authority without real powers, and as long as Israel refuses to cease settlement activities and to release of the fourth group of Palestinian prisoners in accordance with our agreements, they leave us no choice but to insist that we will not remain the only ones committed to the implementation of these agreements, while Israel continuously violates them,” Abbas said.

Nadia Hijab, a senior fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies, says one of the implications could be for countries to implement legally bound sanctions against Israel for not meeting its commitments.

“The EU would have to take a much further stand in labeling products that emerge from settlements. They could have to ban settlement products altogether and be even legally inclined to sanction Israel,” she said.

Other analysts believe that Abbas’ announcement would not change anything. Aaron David Miller, a Middle East expert and scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Institute in Washington, stated that the announcement was “an expression of frustration and an effort to create a new point of political departure for his international drive for recognition.”

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel stated that Abbas’ declaration was “deceitful.” The director of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Dore Gold, stated in an interview with the New York Times that “Israel does uphold its agreements.”

Violence at Temple Mount During Start of Jewish Holiday Sukkot

Violence once again erupted between Palestinians and Israeli riot police after young protesters barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount, despite an order permitting only men over the age of 50 to enter the compound for prayers.  Women of any age are also allowed entry.  Israel has imposed the ban during times of unrest because it is for the most part, young palestinian men who throw rocks at the holy site. This comes as Jerusalem is filled with those who have come to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.  

The Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City has been a sore point for both Palestinians and Jews.  This ground is very much a center point of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Muslims revere it as the place they believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven, while the Jews call it the Temple Mount, the site of the two biblical Jewish temples.  

Palestinians stockpiled rocks and other projectiles at the Al-Aqsa mosque overnight, according to police spokeswoman Luba Samri.

Palestinians threw rocks, firebombs and firecrackers from within the mosque at the police, Samri also added that the fire bombs sparked a fire at the entrance to the mosque. Waqf guards did not prevent the “desecration of the sanctity of the place,” she said .

Police had tried to negotiate with the Waqf – the Islamic religious authority that oversees the compound – to call for calm, but talks failed and police entered the compound to seize the “dangerous devices intended to harm visitors to the site and police and endanger their lives,” Samri added.

Israeli Police were able to restore calm  but occasional stone throwing continued throughout the morning.  They reported that by noon the site was quiet.

Heavy Clashes at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem

Muslim youths attacked Israeli police for a second day at the al-Aqsa mosque complex in East Jerusalem.

The site, considered holy by both Jews and Muslims, was raided by Israeli police after Palestinian youths attempted to attack far-right Jews who visited the complex for the Jewish New Year.

“As the police entered the compound, masked youths fled inside the mosque and threw stones at the force,” a police spokesperson said in a statement.

Nine Palestinian youths were arrested.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would be holding emergency talks on the clashes between police and Palestinians that began Sunday.

Netanyahu said in a statement he would “use any means to maintain the status quo and the rule of law on the Temple Mount”.

Police also discovered that the Palestinians were stocking up on pipe bombs and other weapons.  A cache of bombs and weapons was found near to the mosque site and is currently being forensically examined by Israeli authorities.

United Nations officials in the area called for calm saying they wanted everyone to do their share in “ensuring that visitors and worshippers demonstrate restraint and respect for the sanctity of the area”.