Astiak's Banter » Settlements

Ban Settlement Goods – Email your MP now! PSC and TUC Campaign

Astiak — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 01:34:00 +0000

PSC Weekly Update 11^th February 2010

Ban Settlement Goods – Email your MP now!

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) urge all it’s supporters to lobby MP’s to call for a ban to goods from Israeli settlements in our supermarkets.

You can email your MP using our easy to use lobbying tool. If your local PSC group, trade union branch or student group would like us to send you postcards, please contact us via email at: psc.admin@palestinecampaign.org or ring the office on: 0207 700 6192.

I just used the lobbying tool, it literally takes a few minutes, and that’s including me personalising the letter a bit. I highly recommend you use this tool to get the message to your local MP.

A day with an evicted family in occupied East Jerusalem

Astiak — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:17:48 +0000

We spent the day in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem today. 28 Palestinian refugee families are at the threat of being evicted from their homes to become refugees again. Four families have already been evicted and thrown out on the streets of Sheikh Jarrah by Settlers with the support of the Israeli government – Police and Military involved.

The story of these internally displaced refugees is heartbreaking. Listen to Nasir as he shares with us the background of what is happening in Sheikh Jarrah. Note: Nasir only started learning English 17 months ago, and is a fluent Hebrew speaker as well. A man with many talents he is a graphics designer by profession, but has now made staying outside his own house in a tent his full-time duty. He shares his story with all the visitors, and even attempts to converse with his Occupiers.

The videos are below:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 5:

This set of videos was brought to my attention by the brilliant Palestine Video blog.

Settlement freeze – What settlement freeze?

Astiak — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:45:19 +0000

At the end of my post regarding Netanyahu’s meeting with Prime minister Gordon Brown, I wrote:

Do you really think that he can go back to Israel and convince his right wing government that all settlements must stop? No chance.

So, further to this meeting with Gordon Brown, you must be wondering what is happening back in Israel regarding these settlements, I know I am.

We know that the US has demanded a settlement freeze, and we also know that the UK wants the same. A settlement freeze is NOT a solution, I have said this before. What needs to be done is the removal of all existing settlements. Settlements on occupied land are illegal under international law. Surely enough reason to remove those settlements?

Now, let’s go back on track to the actual outcome of the Brown-Netanyahu meeting. Israel’s defence ministry will approve the construction of 500 new settlement homes in the occupied West Bank this week, this apparently being a prelude to a settlement freeze. During this so called freeze, work will continue on these new homes and on 2,500 others where Israel says construction has already started.

It has been reported that Netanyahu talked of a “reduction” in settlements rather than a freeze. If Israel truly had any interest in peace talks, they would have halted their building of settlements. If anything, this decision, to continue building settlements, will aid their effort of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

I think we all knew that there would be no positive outcome of Brown meeting Netanyahu.

Israel‘s defence ministry will approve the construction of 500 new settlement homes in the occupied West Bank this week, in a last-minute move before agreeing a compromise settlement freeze with the United States.

The authorisation comes despite criticism from Washington and weakens the effect any suspension of Israeli settlement construction will have. During the Israeli pause, work will continue on these new homes and on 2,500 others where Israel says construction has already started.