Israeli army vehicles have crossed into the Gaza Strip and destroyed Palestinian farmland, witnesses in the besieged territory said.Palestinians say several Israeli military bulldozers backed by tanks crossed the border in the southern Gaza Strip, near Khan Yunis, on Tuesday and began bulldozing farmland.
"A number of tanks accompanying military bulldozers penetrated an area more than 100 meters into Palestinian farmland on the border, and began razing it," witnesses told AFP news agency.
Two Israeli military vehicles were damaged after an explosive device blew up in the area. One local resident said he saw one of the bulldozers catch fire.
Israeli army has confirmed the blast, saying a concealed device caused the explosion. The army, however, did not say whether anyone was injured in the explosion.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/04/09/297371/israeli-army-vehicles-raze-gaza-farmland/
A UN humanitarian official says a new round of Israeli sanctions on the besieged Gaza Strip is impacting food supplies and would have "serious" effects if continued."Israel has announced a series of heightened restrictions on the movement of people and goods to and from the Gaza Strip, including closures of the Kerem Shalom crossing," AFP quoted UN Humanitarian Coordinator James W Rawley as saying in a statement on Wednesday.
"These measures are resulting in the depletion of stocks of essential supplies, including basic foodstuffs and cooking gas, and undermine the livelihoods and rights of many vulnerable Gazan families," he said.
"If these restrictions continue, the effect upon the Gaza population will be serious," Rawley warned.
The Israeli regime closed Kerem Shalom, the only goods crossing from Israel into the Gaza Strip on Monday.
Gaza has been blockaded by Israel since June 2007, a situation that has caused a decline in the standard of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty.
The apartheid regime of Israel denies about 1.7 million people in Gaza their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, jobs that pay proper wages, and adequate healthcare and education.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/04/10/297609/israel-sanctions-hit-gaza-food-stocks/
Israel, US finalize $10 billion arms deal
(PIC) US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel (L) with Israeli Minister of Defense Moshe Yaalon during a joint press conference in Tel Aviv on April 22, 2013.Minister Yaalon and I agreed that the United States will make available to Israel a set of advanced new military capabilities ... including anti-radiation missiles and advanced radars for fighter jets, KC135 refueling aircraft, and most significantly the V-22 Osprey…."
US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel
US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Israeli Minister of Military Affairs Moshe Yaalon have finalized a new arms deal worth USD 10 billion.
"Minister Yaalon and I agreed that the United States will make available to Israel a set of advanced new military capabilities ... including anti-radiation missiles and advanced radars for fighter jets, KC135 refueling aircraft, and most significantly the V-22 Osprey…," Hagel said in a joint press conference in Tel Aviv on Monday.
Hagel arrived in Israel on Sunday at the start of a six-day regional tour, his first since taking over as the Pentagon chief two months ago.
Meanwhile, Israel admitted to attacking a scientific research facility in Syria back in January, claiming the airstrike destroyed a convoy of advanced weapons that was bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah movement.
Hagel is set to visit Cairo, then Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to finalize details of a USD 10 billion arms deal that will also provide sophisticated missiles to Saudi Arabia and US F-16 fighter jets to the UAE.
The Pentagon chief’s trip comes a month after US President Barack Obama visited Israel and reaffirmed Washington’s backing of Tel Aviv while promoting fresh attempts to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/04/22/299652/israel-us-finalize-10bln-arms-deal/
UN to distribute food in Gaza on Wednesday 13
AZA CITY (Ma'an) -- UNRWA will start distributing food aid to refugees in Gaza on Wednesday, a spokesman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said Monday. UNRWA has started moving food to its 12 distribution centers across Gaza, Adnan Abu Hasnah told Ma'an. The agency had suspended food aid after protesters stormed a UN depot on April 4 demanding reinstatement of a monthly cash allowance to poor families which was halted from April 1 due to budget cuts.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=588401
Think before you “take part in occupation and war,” says jailed Israeli refusenik
Natan Blanc walks into Tel Ha’Shomer military base near Tel Aviv, where he refused once again to serve in the Israeli army, 2 April.(Oren Ziv / ActiveStills)Natan Blanc, a 19-year-old from Haifa, has spent more than 120 days in prison for refusing to serve in the Israeli military.
He began thinking about resisting conscription during Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s three-week offensive against Gaza in late 2008 and early 2009.
Israel’s Defense Service Law — introduced in 1949 — gave the Israeli military the authority to enroll any Israeli citizen who turns 18. After finishing a mandatory service of one year, Israelis remain in a reserve unit in the army. This requires Israelis to spend one month in the army each year until the age of 40.
Conscientious objection to military service is considered a felony in Israel. It is usually punished by imprisonment for a few weeks — during which pressure is put on an objector to change his or her mind. Following that spell in jail, the objector is summoned again to a military recruitment committee. Continued refusal to serve can lead to further imprisonment.
In total, Blanc has been summoned to a recruitment committee eight times. On each occasion, he has been sent to jail. He is scheduled for release in three weeks’ time.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/think-you-take-part-occupation-and-war-says-jailed-israeli-refusenik/12384
JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli police detained three children on Thursday morning during a raid in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiyeh, a local committee member said. The three children, aged 13, were arrested by Israeli police who were accompanied by intelligence agents, Follow-Up Committee member Muhammad Abul Humus told Ma'an.
A spokesman for Israel's police was not immediately available for comment.
The detentions follow a raid on Wednesday in the area during a wedding party, where one Palestinian was injured by Israeli fire. Three detentions were also made during the raid.
Issawiya is the hometown of Samer Issawi, who ended a 266-day hunger strike on Wednesday after Israel agreed to release him in eight months.
Israeli forces have repeatedly raided the neighborhood amid frequent protests over Issawi's detention, dismantling a solidarity tent in the town over 30 times.
NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Thursday uprooted over 700 olive trees near Arraba village in the northern West Bank, Palestinian Legislative Council member Najah Abu Bakr said.The trees belonged to Palestinians in Arraba, south of Jenin, close to the Israeli settlement Mevo Dotan, the MP said in a statement.
On Tuesday, Israeli forces destroyed over 1,300 olive trees in the south Hebron hills of the southern West Bank.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=589385
Roll up, roll up - ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friends and foes – please put your hands together and give your warm welcome to the unparalleled, the outstanding, the one and only Palestinian Circus School.This could perfectly be the opening line of one of the shows of the Palestinian Circus School. Currently submerged in an ambience of red noses, big shoes, squeaky flowers, stilts and many other props, the Palestinian Circus School (PCS) began as a small circus group in August 2006 thanks to the determination of Shadi Zmorrod and Jessika Devlieghere, who initiated the pathway to introduce circus arts from Palestinians for Palestinians, amidst Israeli checkpoints and M-16 rifles.
The whole idea of creating the first circus school in Palestine was to provide an effective alternative to the massive effects that the Israeli military occupation has had over the lives of young Palestinians, particularly since 2000.
Read more ...
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/details.php?id=uqemcja3673yk8ejvownf
