Izvor: Committee: Refugee 'return rallies' planned for June 5
21. svibanj 2011.
Organizatori prosvjeda za povratak palestinskih izbjeglica koji su održani 15. svibnja najavili su da će se palestinske izbjeglice ponovo uputiti na izraelske granice 5. lipnja ove godine.
U nedjelju 15. svibnja izraelske su snage otvorile vatru na tisuće izbjeglica koje su se pokušavale vratiti na svoju zemlju u Izraelu. Ubijeno je 14 prosvjednika: 10 palestinskih izbjeglica koji su pokušavali iz Libanona prijeći u Izrael i 4 palestinskih izbjeglica koji su pokušavali ući na Golansku visoravan koja je pod izraelskom okupacijom.
Stotine prosvjednika su ozlijeđene kad su izraelski vojnici ispalili suzavac i gumom presvučene čelične metke na Palestince koji su prosvjedovali na kontrolnoj točki Qalandiya koja odvaja Jeruzalem od ostatka Zapadne obale. Izraelske su snage također ubile 1 palestinskog tinejdžera koji je sudjelovao u prosvjedu na graničnom prijelazu Erez na sjeveru Pojasa Gaze.
Međunarodne organizacije za ljudska prava Human Rights Watch i Amnesty International su zatražile istragu ubojstava. Human Rights Watch tvrdi da su izraelske snage na gađanje kamenjem od strane mladića odgovorile bojevim streljivom, što je predvidljivo dovelo do smrtnih posljedica. Amnesty International je Izrael optužio za uporabu „pretjerane sile kojom su ubijene i ozlijeđene osobe koje nisu predstavljale prijetnju životima vojnika ni drugih osoba“.
Prosvjednici su 15. svibnja obilježavali Dan Nakbe, obljetnicu protjerivanja Palestinaca iz njihovih domova i sela prilikom uspostave države Izrael 1948. i tražili ostvarenje svog prava na povratak.
Odbor koji organizira prosvjede za povratak najavio je da je ovo bio tek početak, te pozvao sve palestinske izbjeglice da se 5. lipnja priključe nenasilnoj prosvjednoj povorci. 5. lipnja se obilježava obljetnica rata iz 1967. kad je Izrael okupirao južni Libanon, Golansku visoravan, Istočni Jeruzalem, Pojas Gaze i Zapadnu obalu. Na taj će dan tisuće izbjeglica prosvjedovati na granicama s Izraelom u Pojasu Gaze i Zapadnoj obali, te u Siriji, Jordanu i Libanonu, zahtijevajući svoje pravo na povratak. U izjavi su dodali da će se prosvjedi nastaviti tako dugo dok se palestinske izbjeglice ne vrate u sve okupirane palestinske gradove. Palestinske odvjetnike su pozvali da podignu tužbe za ubijanje prosvjednika 15. svibnja.
DODATNI LINKOVI:
Palestina/Izrael:
Jonathan Cook: Is Israel at a Strategic Dead End as Palestinian "Arab Spring" Arrives?
The Palestinian "Arab Spring" is arriving and Israel has no diplomatic or political strategy to deal with it. Instead on Sunday, Israel used the only weapon in its current arsenal - brute force - against unarmed demonstrators. Along the northern borders, at least 14 protesters were killed and dozens wounded, both at Majdal Shams in the Golan and near Maroun al-Ras in Lebanon. In Gaza, a teenager was shot dead and more than 100 other demonstrators wounded as they massed at crossing points. At Qalandiya, the main checkpoint Israel created to bar West Bank Palestinians from reaching Jerusalem, at least 40 protesters were badly injured. There were clashes in major West Bank towns too. And inside Israel, the country's Palestinian minority took their own Nakba march for the first time into the heart of Israel, waving Palestinian flags in Jaffa, the once-famous Palestinian city that has been transformed since 1948 into a minor suburb of Tel Aviv.
Palestinian factions react to Obama's speech
Palestinian People's Party general-secretary Bassam As-Salhi said Obama demonstrated a clear bias toward Israel, particularly by trying to obstruct Palestinian efforts to seek UN recognition of a state. Dismissing Palestinians' intention to seek recognition of their state at the UN, Obama said "Symbolic actions to isolate Israel at the United Nations in September won't create an independent state." As-Salhi said Obama gave "dangerous hints" that he aimed to pursue an interim solution to the occupation. The president also failed to condemn illegal Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank, As-Salhi said. The last round of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations collapsed within weeks over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to extend a partial freeze on illegal construction on occupied Palestinian land. But Obama tried to equate Palestinian and Israeli responsibility on the breakdown of talks, the PPP official said, adding that the president "evaded" the implementation of UN resolutions. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine also said Obama's speech was biased toward Israel, and ignored the need to respond to democratic changes across the region. It was out of sync with US claims to value freedom, democracy and justice, PFLP said in a statement. Obama had subdued to Israeli pressure and ignored the legitimate demands of Palestinians, the leftist faction said, particularly by trying to prevent Palestine seeking recognition at the UN as a member of the international community. Continued attempts by the US administration to restart the peace process reflected Washington's growing need to distract attention from Israel's invasions and assaults on Palestinian people, PFLP said. While the president applauded uprisings in Arab countries in demand of human rights, he said an end to the Israeli occupation "must be negotiated." PFLP accused the US and Israel of seeking a return to talks to avoid being forced to comply with international law and the Geneva Conventions.
Palestinian shot dead near Gaza-Israel border
Izraelske snage su u subotu (21. svibnja) u Gazi ubile 1 Palestinca za kojeg tvrde da je puzao prema ogradi na granici s Izraelom. Izraelske su snage u petak (20. svibnja) otvorile vatru i ranile 1 prosvjednika na jugu Pojasa Gaze.
Sirija:
Activist: 44 killed Friday in Syria protest
Security forces killed 44 people on Friday during anti-regime protests which swept Syria, with most of the casualties in the western province of Idlib and the central city of Homs, a human right activist told AFP on Saturday. "Syrian authorities are continuing to use excessive force and live ammunition to face popular protests in various regions throughout the country," said Ammar Qurabi, head of the National Organisation for Human Rights, who was reached by telephone. Qurabi said 26 people were killed on Friday in the province of Idlib and 13 in Homs. Two people were also killed in the eastern town of Deir Ezzor, one in Daraya, a suburb of the capital Damascus, one in the coastal city of Latakia and one in central Hama. The authoritarian government has responded to the protests that have swept Syria since March 15 with a brutal crackdown that has left at least 850 people dead and hundreds injured, according to rights groups. Thousands have been arrested.
