‘We have nowhere else to go’: Bedouins say they will continue to rebuild as Israel carries out home demolitions at a record pace
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- Written by Sheren Khalel Sheren Khalel
- Published: 01 February 2017 01 February 2017
A white tent is the only structure left standing among the scattered piles of twisted metal and tarp that was a Jahalin Tribe Bedouin encampment West of Jericho city in the Wadi Qilt valley.
On the morning of Wednesday, January 25th, Israeli forces escorted two bulldozers down from the main road up to the small Bedouin community. Mohammed Jahalin and his family were ordered out of their houses and forcefully gathered together on the edge of their encampment where they watched as the metal blades of bulldozers smashed through their homes.
Israeli forces destroyed every standing structure in the encampment — including three houses and two livestock barns — leaving 12 people homeless, half of whom are children.
In 2016, Israeli forces demolished homes, particularly Bedouin homes, in record numbers. According to United Nations documentation, Israeli forces in 2016 demolished or seized an unprecedented 1,093 Palestinian-owned structures throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, resulting in the displacement of 1,601 Palestinians and affecting the livelihoods of another 7,101.
In the first 23 days of 2017, Israeli forces demolished 119 Palestinian-owned structures, leaving 177 Palestinians displaced. The bi-weekly average for home demolitions in 2017 is nearly a third higher than 2016’s, putting 2017 on track for another record-breaking year.
Read more on Mondoweiss: http://mondoweiss.net/2017/01/bedouins-continue-demolitions/
Israel Approves Another Wave of West Bank Settlement Construction
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- Written by IAN FISHER and ISABEL KERSHNER IAN FISHER and ISABEL KERSHNER
- Published: 01 February 2017 01 February 2017
AMONA, West Bank — Israel approved 3,000 more housing units in the occupied West Bank late Tuesday, the largest number in a wave of new construction plans that defy the international community and that open a forceful phase in the country’s expansion into land the Palestinians claim for a future state.
Emboldened by the new Trump administration and internal battles at home, Israel announced plans for the new units in about a dozen settlements a week after approving 2,500 homes in the West Bank and 566 in East Jerusalem.
“We are in a new era, where life in Judea and Samaria goes back to its normal and proper course,” the defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said in a statement, using the biblical name for the West Bank.
MET Emergency Forum! Understanding Justice and Equality for All Through the Strength of Law and Compassion
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- Written by Muslim Educational Trust Muslim Educational Trust
- Published: 30 January 2017 30 January 2017
Wednesday, February 1st, 2017
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Refreshments will be served
MET Community and Educational Center
10330 SW Scholls Ferry Road, Tigard, Oregon, 97223
Please join us on Wednesday, February 1st at 6:30 p.m. for an important forum titled "Understanding Justice and Equality for All Through the Strength of Law and Compassion. Distinguished speakers will discuss Civil Liberties in light of President Trump's Executive Order Banning Refugees. They will also address the fear that such order has created in the local American Muslim and Arab Communities.
Netanyahu hails Trump’s cruel racist crackdown
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- Written by Ali Abunimah Ali Abunimah
- Published: 30 January 2017 30 January 2017
President Donald Trump’s executive orders barring entry to refugees and ordering the completion of a southern border wall “have united the world against you,” former Mexican president Vicente Fox warned in a tweet on Saturday.
Even some Republican lawmakers are publicly criticizing Trump’s policies.
But through all the anger and chaos he has created, Trump has found at least a few staunch allies: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some of his hard-line US supporters.
Netanyahu’s public alignment with Trump’s incendiary policies will likely accelerate the erosion of some of Israel’s traditional bases of support in the US.
Read more on Electronic Intifada
American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon (ACLU) Statement on Trump's Executive Order Banning Refugees
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- Written by ACLU ACLU
- Published: 29 January 2017 29 January 2017
In response to President Trump's Executive Order banning entry into the United States by people from seven Muslim-majority countries, the ACLU of Oregon has joined with local attorneys to assist in the representation of anyone affected.
If you or someone you know has a family member who will be arriving in the next 72-hours from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan or Yemen at Portland International Airport (PDX), or who was detained already by Customs pursuant to President Trump's Executive Order, please call the ACLU of Oregon at (971) 412-2258 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
We are deeply relieved that, on Saturday evening, a federal judge stayed the removal of individuals with approved refugee applications, valid visas, and other individuals from the seven banned countries legally authorized to enter the United States. The stay means that people detained at airports may not be deported, but people may still be detained pending these proceedings.
ACLU Statement