Pirates in shallow waters

"Watch the video and decide for yourself how many international and maritime laws Israel has broken. The Israeli navy hijacked the Spirit of Humanity in international waters. The Israeli government hijacks Palestinian fishing boats, in Palestinian territorial waters, kidnaps the fishermen, and sends its military out to shoot to wound and kill them as they struggle to make a living. After watching this video, you will be convinced that Israel has committed acts of piracy against Palestinians and against internationals. No other country would be allowed to do what Israel does on a daily basis.

The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) volunteers were accompanying fishermen to document attacks on them by the Israeli Navy, and to provide a deterrence to these attacks. (www.palsolidarity.org) For more information and current reports about Gaza fishermen: fishingunderfire.blogspot.com"

From Free Gaza News

Shout it from the mountains;

Just real quick; Found this on Boing Boing

Via Students for A Free Tibet

I have to go to bed, as I'm getting up early in the morning, but I find this news way too important to lay as dormant as I'm hopefully gonna be in a moment;

The filmmaker; Dhondup Wangchen is being charged by the Chinese gov for "Inciting separatism" and his lawyers barred from representing him in court!

Oh, China you've still have a looooong way ! "Democracy" is still just a word in the dictionary as a explanation for Western fancies !

This is what China is showing her dependent fans on how to treat opponents (real as well as imagined); Just take a look at Burma or Sudan/Darfur !

Gaza Reality - Mud houses

This is reality and needs no comments from a

summer-drained psudoairhead like yours truly!

Six Months later;

Here's 2 of a series of seven photos from how life looks in present Gaza; Six months has passed since the assault on civilians.... Even the Israeli soldiers are experiencing a moment of shame

And the captions say it all, don't they? Here's all seven of them; BBC

Looks like the world is slowly waking up to reality - and actually acknowledge the damage done by the fanatics in both camps!

Camping as a way of life - Six months later and still no reconstruction of Gaza!

Mahmoud Abu al-Anzain and his wife, Umm Naim, and their three children used to live in a two-room, cement-roofed house. It wasn't a palace, but it was a home. The house was completely destroyed by Israeli army fire during last January's assault on the Gaza Strip.

Since that day, al-Anzain, 32, and his family have lived in a tent in al-Rayan refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. "As you can see, under the heat of the July sun, and with the fear of mosquitos and snakes, we have lived in this tent for six months with no one taking care of us," said al-Anzain, as he reclined on a mattress on the ground.

Al-Anzain's is one of 10 displaced families from the northern Gaza Strip living in al-Rayan refugee camp, recently erected by local nongovernmental organizations with a total of 93 tents. Other families sleep there at night, and others still come during the day, each according to its own circumstances caused by the Israeli assault. The al-Rayan refugee camp houses families from three areas in the northern Gaza Strip: Jabaliya refugee camp, Beit Lahiya and Sheikh Zayed.

"I used to live in Block 1 in the Jabaliya refugee camp, before my house was destroyed by Israeli shells," al-Anzain explained. "I don't have work, I only take compensation payment of 750 Israeli shekels monthly [$190 dollars]." This amount, provided by a Palestinian society that assists those injured during the conflict, is insufficient to rent a house and cover his family's other needs. "I am forced to stay in this tent, despite difficult conditions," said al-Anzain, serving Pepsi out of disposable cups, since he felt they could offer better hospitality to his guests than the glasses he keeps in the tent.

To make matters even more difficult, Umm Naim is about to deliver a baby, and one of the couple's children recently had to be taken to the hospital for an infection that came on top of other health complications. "What care can I provide for my new baby?" al-Anzain said. "Even dogs could not bear such a life!"

The al-Anzain's tent has two main parts: a "living room" where the family sits and sleeps, and a "bedroom" where they pile up their mattresses, blankets and clothes. Just near the living room, there is a small corner used as kitchen, with a kerosene stove, a frying pan and a pot for cooking. Opposite the living room, a "bathroom" consists of a small basin.

Umm Naim, sitting in the bedroom holding a broom, and finding little relief from the midday heat, spoke of the difficulty of caring for her children in a tent. "The place is not clean at all, there is dust everywhere inside and out," she complained. "I often can't get enough water even to wash the kitchen utensils." She expressed the constant fear that her children, her husband or herself might be bitten by a snake. "Life in this tent is unbearable," she said.

With a deep sigh, Umm Naim uttered an old Palestinian proverb: "What forces you to bear something bitter? Only that which is more bitter."

Umm Abdallah Abu Eita sat in her own tent in al-Rayan camp, where she has lived since the Israeli army destroyed her home in Block 3 of Jabaliya refugee camp. In her early sixties, she is old enough to have survived the original displacement from historic Palestine to refugee camps in the Gaza Strip and elsewhere. Indeed, the erection of six new refugee camps in Gaza, each of about 100 tents, recalls the 1948 Nakba, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced from their homes in what became Israel, and sought refuge in "temporary" camps such as these. Eighty percent of the Palestinians in Gaza are refugees from the Nakba or their descendants.

Each morning, Umm Abdallah comes to the camp and spends time with a friend, Umm Khamis, whose tent is next to hers, and they cook and chat. By sunset they leave their tents and head to relatives' houses where they sleep.

Abu Nimer Hasan, 53, welcomed this reporter into his tidy tent where he spends the night along with his four children.

"My house was hit by an Israeli shell on 17 January at 3am, in Beit Lahiya residential neighborhood," Hasan said. "My two-story building was completely burned."

Hasan and his children stay in the tent because they have no place else: "I have a married son who lives with his in-laws, while my wife sleeps at her parents' house."

"This is the most difficult time I have ever gone through in my life," Hasan said. "Can you imagine? On the weekends, we all gather from the different places we are scattered in, just to see each other and talk."

Twelve people used to live in Hasan's house. "We had many things and furniture, but everything was burned," he said. The tent now contains all their belongings: a few pieces of furniture provided by local charities, and a few plates and kitchen utensils.

His face reddening, Hasan added, "Can you imagine, I have even been deprived of my own basic human right to live with my wife under one roof for the past six months."

Khaled Abu Ali, who as a member of a local higher committee in charge of services for al-Rayan camp, says it is increasingly difficult to care for the residents who enjoy little privacy or space: "Financial support has eroded considerably, but the displaced people have no choice but to be steadfast."

According to local and international estimates, thousands of Palestinians in Gaza remain displaced after the Israeli attack there. A more than two-year-long blockade has prevented building supplies from entering the territory, thus internationally-pledged reconstruction efforts have yet to even begin.

Last week, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a lengthy report on the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The report described woresning conditions six months after the Israeli attacks on the coastal territory.

"The objective of this report is to raise awareness, and to call on Israel and others to take all possible measures to reopen the crossing points so that the population of Gaza stops paying the price for this conflict," Antoine Grad, head of ICRC Gaza sub-delegation, told The Electronic Intifada. "What I can say is if the situation continues, the people of Gaza will get poorer and poorer, and more and more people will fall into poverty and misery."

Rami Almeghari is a journalist and university lecturer based in the Gaza Strip .

This article comes from the site; Electronic Intifada

5th July 09 : Free Gaza; "Prisoners"

This is a 5 min video; which explains how Israel keeps thousands in jail, either the "real prison" or by just having to live in Gaza - People have been incarcerated for years without fair trials

- Take 5 min off your busy day and watch this Free Gaza org. video and then act, do something! Just in any way that you know how! You can start by forwarding this post to your friends, - We can no longer proclaim innocence and "no knowledge" of these crimes committed against humanity and use this as an excuse for keeping our hands folded and doing nothing.....

Free Gaza.org

–0–

And I want to give you another link to a fantastic video made and posted on FB by Sameh Brill; Caution, the video contains graphic images! - Here's the 3 major points Brill touches in this excellently edited video;

1- Amnesty International official report on Gaza, (released July 2009) regarding the 22-day Israeli assault reveals that Israel committed war crimes and carried out reckless attacks and acts of wanton destruction in its Gaza offensive. Hundreds of Palestinian civilians were killed using high-precision weapons, while others were shot at close range, the report concluded that Israel committed frank war crimes in Gaza.

2-Biased Corporate Media in America, and how media in the united states are neither objective nor completely honest in their portrayal of important issues, as they convey the news with lack of neutrality.

3-On Tuesday June 30 afternoon Israeli Naval Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, 23 miles off the coast of Gaza, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries. Which is an outrageous violation of international law, The Boat held humanitarian andReconstruction supplies to be given to the people of Gaza whom 80% of Gazans depends on UN aid since the Israeli blockade on the Gaza strip which is currently still on. This incidence was not the first, months earlier IDF navy boats rammed DIGNITY boat which on a humanitarian mission to Gaza.........

Report from a Israeli Prison cell;

Report from the Kidnapped Passengers in Ramle Prison, July 4, 2009

On Monday, June 30, 21 passengers going to challenge the blockade of Gaza on board the Spirit of Humanity were seized by the Israeli Navy and taken to Israel against their will. All their equipment was taken and some of were roughed up. All were thrown into prison to await Israel’s decision on how and when they would be deported.

The majority of the group ended up in Ramle Prison. Those of us who are Free Gaza organizers had been hearing some news from them, statements, interviews and letters since they arrived. From the first night, the Free Gaza 21 have been busy trying to get news out of the prison about the illegality of Israel’s actions in relation to themselves and the other inmates inside Ramle Prison who have no voice.

Report from E: I received a 2am phone call during one of the first sleepless nights from Ramle Prison to let me know that in one of the cells, four of the FG group had been busy writing a press release on an old phone one of their cellmates had loaned them. It had taken them hours to write the press release. but they were just ready to send it out, and ‘could I check my email to see if I had received it?’

Since that first night I have been hearing more increasingly about the plight of the other inmates of the prison; men and women who have not nearly as good an opportunity as our folk for media coverage of their stories and not nearly as good an opportunity as our folk of ever getting out of Ramle Prison.

To Fathi Jaouadi, Adie Mormesh, Ishmael Blagrove, and Captain Denis Healy, the situation of their fellow inmates is something they want to talk about and act upon. Fathi wanted to pass on news of what they have been doing inside Ramle prison; he wanted to let everyone who supports the Free Gaza Movement know that ‘Free Gaza Members are never lost for things to do when it comes to trying to expose Israel’s appalling treatment of not just Palestinians, but all people who come to Palestine and get caught up in Israel’s abuse of justice and the law.’

Fathi Jaouadi has been actively involved in Palestinian rights since he was 15 years old. Now in Ramle prison, he has already managed to organize a meeting with a UN representative and to raise the issue of the other inmates with him. He said that the UN official has agreed to follow up on some of the cases; Fathi has also been in contact with local NGO’s to raise the issue of many of the inmate’s situations. He told me he wants to focus on the fact that none of the inmates have any access to legal advice or help, most of the inmates have not been able to contact family to let them know of their situation and none of the inmates have committed anything that warrants them to be held indefinitely inside Ramle prison.

Fathi is in the process of collecting statements from all the inmates, and he is translating them from Arabic. He says the majority of the inmates in their cell are from Arab countries, and they have not had access to their embassy officials. He will follow up with the UN and other organizations once he is released, contact all the families and give statements and details to the relevant embassies.

Ishmael Blagrove is a well-known documentary filmmaker and has been speaking extensively about the Palestinian struggle for more than twenty years. In Ramle prison, he has been working tirelessly to get contact with refugee councils and organizations in Britain to present to them the case of the refugees inside. He says that many of the men from neighbouring Arab countries just want to go home, they don’t want to stay in Israel and yet they are not being given the opportunity to speak. Ishmael says that many of the inmates are entitled to legal representation, but they do not know this, nor do they have any idea how to contact any refugee organization to advise them. Ishmael is in the process of establishing links between the refugee councils in Britain and the inmates of his cell in Ramle Prison.

Fathi and Ishmael have already established channels to publish these issues in Britain on their release.

When we called Ramle Prison today Fathi said that Adie had just finished his daily English lesson with the inmates. Adie is reportedly very happy with the progress of his students and said this morning they had successfully completed an intense session on Past Participles. Adie Mormesh has also been very active for the rights of Palestinians for many years. He spent two weeks in the West Bank with the Olive Coop (Zeitoun) and Action Palestine in 2007. He worked with and documented the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction Campaign and participated in the World Social Forums for Palestine in Porto Alegre and Mumbai in 2003 and 2004. He has now become a teacher of English in Ramle prison.

Captain Denis Healey who has been the Free Gaza Movement’s captain since October 2008 and bravely steered the DIGNITY to safety in December when she was attacked by the Israeli Navy at sea, has also been quite busy; he has been giving in-depth lectures to his fellow inmates about life at sea. Apparently there are many interested parties amongst the inmates; some hope that they may pursue a life on the sea when (and sadly if) they ever get out. They are full of questions as to the procedure of getting qualified to work on and sail boats in the Mediterranean, and Captain Denis is giving them a good run down on what they should do to follow such a dream.

This is how four of our passengers have been keeping busy during the past week, they wanted to let you all know; they also said they realize the news they are sending out is not new to any of us. We have all been working with these issues of injustice for years. But that doesn’t mean that every new story about the violation of human rights, about the cruelty, brutality and flagrant misuse of justice by Israel should not be published.

Our friends are stuck in Ramle prison, because they tried to visit the war-stricken people of Gaza, and they are furious at what they are seeing. They know they have generated media interest around the world, and that sooner or later, they will leave Ramle Prison, but they also know that the other inmates of the prison have no such privilege, and without our interest in them, they could well be stuck inside Ramle prison for the rest of their lives, or exiled to some foreign country that is not their home, facing a life without family or loved ones to share it with. And so it is for the 11,000 Palestinian prisoners at present inside Israeli jails. Every one of them has a story that ought to be heard.

Statement #1 taken by Fathi Jaouadi.

From Ramle Prison, 3^rd July 2009.

My name is M.

I am 26 years old.

I am a Palestinian born in Al Quds and I hold a birth certificate showing this. My family comes from a village called Sour Bahr.

We have two houses there owned by my grandfather who fled in ’48 to Jordan and left the houses with my Aunt.

When I was 5 years old I went with my family to Jordan to bring back the papers that proved our ownership of these two houses. We stayed in Jordan for 2 years and then, when we had all the papers we came back to Sour Bahr.

I lived all my life in one of the houses and some of my family lived in the other. We always used to make our way between our two houses which were only minutes apart from each other.

However when the Wall was built, it split our two houses apart. It used to take minutes and then it took 4 ½ hours to go from house to house.

The house I lived in was in the West Bank, the other on the side of the Wall that is Al Quds.

When I was 16 I began the process to try and obtain Israeli ID so that I could continue to enter Al Quds and go to our house that was on the other side of the Wall.

Every day my mother would go to the Interior Ministry to try and obtain my ID. She contacted many lawyers about the case but although she worked on this for 8 years, there was no result. During this time I tried often to visit our house on the Al Quds side of the wall and every time I was caught by the Israeli forces and sent back to the West Bank.

When I was 24 years old I had a fight with a friend, I was caught by Israel during the fight and imprisoned for 1 ½ years.

I am a normal Palestinian trying to live a normal life. I am not involved in any political movement and I have no security issues with Israel. I am just trying to live my life, but when I had served my time in prison for fighting with a friend, Israel could not decide where to release me.

My birth certificate said Al Quds but I had no Israeli ID. When Israel started investigating, they discovered that when I was 5 years old I had gone with my family to Jordan for 2 years.

It was then that I was told by an Israeli judge that the Law states:

‘Any Palestinian who spends 2 years outside Israel has no right to return’

I have since seen Judge twice in the past two months. and he has told me that I will be returned to Jordan.

But Jordan has refused to accept me. So now I have been told I will just have to wait in prison.

I am very depressed now and hate my life. I am afraid of how long they will make me wait. It could be years. I am afraid I will be sent to Jordan. I have no one in Jordan. I was there when I was 5 years old! All my family are in Palestine. I know if they send me to Jordan I will never be allowed back into Palestine. I will never be allowed to see my family again. And I have done nothing.

I just want to be allowed to live a simple life with my family and the people I know and love, in my own land......

Several Links worth a look;

Dissident Voice

Electronic Intifada

and of course; Free Gaza.org

Where this report came from in the first place.....