OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- A report published by B'tselem revealed that Israeli settlements control more than 42 percent of the West Bank, although they were actually built on one percent, affirming that much of that land was seized from Palestinian landowners.
In other words, the actual buildings in the settlements cover just one percent of the West Bank's land area, but their jurisdiction and regional councils extend to more than 42 percent.
Although Israel declares it is building settlements on state-owned land, B'tselem says it obtained data from Israel's civil administration for the West Bank with aerial photographs and discovered that 21 per cent of the settlements' built-up areas lay on private Palestinian land.
The report, titled "By Hook or by Crook," was also based on official state documents, including military maps and a military settlement database.
B'tselem said that Israel was supposed to start implementing its roadmap obligations in May 2003, but rather it has embarked on carrying out extensive construction since 2004 and giving Jews tempting incentives to live in the settlements.
It added that the number of settlers, not including those in east Jerusalem, grew by 28 percent, from 235,263 to 301,200 persons, by the end of 2009.
http://www.btselem.org/English/Publications/Summaries/201007_By_Hook_and_by_Crook.asp

European campaign receives 9,000 requests to participate in Freedom Flotilla 2
[ 05/07/2010 - 04:54 PM ]

BRUSSELS, (PIC)-- The Brussels-based European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza said that there has been a large turnout for Freedom Flotilla 2, in terms of activists requesting to participate, and in terms of the number of ships.
The campaign, which was one of the founders of the Freedom Flotilla coalition, in a press statement on Monday, boasted that the new flotilla has a few surprises in store for Israeli authorities, one of which is that seven of the ships scheduled to participate in the flotilla are from European counties.
The European campaign added that it received around nine thousand requests forms from sympathizers from around the world since opening registration to participate in the second Freedom Flotilla, which is expected to set sail into the Gaza Strip within a few weeks, despite Israel’s May 31st raid against the first Freedom Flotilla, which left nine dead, others injured, and properties confiscated and damaged.
The first Freedom Flotilla carried 750 activists from more than 40 countries, including 44 Arab and European government and political officials, including ten Algerian MPs, more than 10,000 tons of medical supplies, building materials, and timber, and 100 ready-made houses in support of the tens of thousands of people who lost their homes in the Israeli war on Gaza in late 2008 and early 2009. The ships also carried 500 electric vehicles for the use of the disabled, especially since the recent war left nearly 600 disabled in Gaza.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, independent MP Jamal al-Khudari, Chairman of the Popular Committee against the Siege, has confirmed that Israel has publically announced that it will ease the aggravated siege on Gaza, without any mention of ending the root of the crisis.
Khudari, in a press release on Monday, noted that ending the blockade would require a series of measures on the ground, the most important of which would be to completely open commercial crossings to allow the flow of goods, and to put an end to the "restricted lists" policy, underlining that Gaza is need of all the supplies it was deprived of since the institution of the blockade four years ago.
He noted that Israel was still closing all Gaza commercial crossings except the crossing point at Kerem Abu Salem, the absorptive capacity of which is small when compared to the Strip’s needs, the biggest proof that the broadcasted ease of the siege is merely an attempt to ease international pressure.
Preparations by European, Arab, and Islamic parties for new ships headed for the Gaza Strip are well underway, Khudari confirmed, adding that scheduled departures will soon be announced.

Israel’s abuse of female prisoners on the rise
[ 05/07/2010 - 03:40 PM ]

NABLUS, (PIC)-- The International Tadhamun (Solidarity) Foundation for Human Rights revealed that a special Israeli unit spontaneously raided the cells of female inmates in the Damon prison and proceeded in a barbaric inspection operation a few days ago.
Ahmed Beitawi, one of the foundation’s researchers, said that the victims were spontaneously raided by the “Droor” unit, an Israeli prisons authority unit, which specializes in inspecting female offenders, in search of drugs and contraband in their cells at exactly nine o’clock in the morning. The captives were then detained in the corners of their cells and forced to raise their hands. They remained in that position until 3:00 pm.
Beitawi said, "The inspection raid operation permeated inspection and destruction of all the prisoners’ belongings, and the procedure ended by removal of prisoners from the cells, and they were 17 captives in number, one after the other, and then they were subjected to humiliating strip searches" by female soldiers.
On her part, prisoner Amna Mona, the woman responsible for inmates in the Damon prison, denied the IPA argument that the raid operation was to search for cellular devices, clarifying that the purpose behind it was to "humiliate and terrorize prisoners and to put them in a state of emotional instability".
The human rights foundation appeals for serious efforts to stop the policy of humiliating strip searches and successive raids of prisoners’ cells.