Dozens suffer from tear gas inhalation in Bil’in Friday 2 July 2010

Today the people of Bil’in were joined by internationals and Israelis in the weekly demonstration against the illegal apartheid wall that has stolen more than half of Bil’ins land. About 150 protestors carried out the message to the Palestinian leaders, expressing the need for unification, bringing a large banner showing a picture of Arafat and Yaseen together. The popular committee in Bil’in, represented by Iyad Burnat said there is a need for the Palestinians to unite to resist Israel’s illegal occupation. He welcomes internationals, this time a group from the “Palestine Summer Encounter” and others who want to show solidarity with the people of Bil’in and Palestine. Burnat stressed the fact that many people are coming from abroad to show support, and urged the Palestinian leaders to focus on solidarity instead of causing more suffering for their people.

The protesters went together singing, some dancing and saying slogans up to the wall. There the soldiers were waiting on the other side, and the protest went on for about ten minutes before soldiers started shooting tear gas and sound grenades into the crowd, and into the farm land. As people were moving towards the village, tear gas continued to be shot, and dozens of people suffered from inhalation. Soldiers crossed the gate, chasing the protesters towards the village; still they did not manage to arrest anyone.

Heat from tear gas canisters and sound grenades set fire to the dry ground several places. The smoke and the gas forced people further back, and in spite of the non violence and retreat the soldiers continued shooting. Ammunition causing fire is a serious problem this time of the year, when the ground is dry. Many olive trees have seen severe damage, with the result of dead trees and less olives to harvest.

Kenneth O’Keefe talks about the attack on the MV Mavi Marmara that was trying to run the blockade on Gaza.

Video Interview

Posted June 25, 2010

By Mya Guarnieri

Tel Aviv – Ma’an – The Israeli army released video footage Monday of the navy radioing the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara prior to the raid that took place in international waters and left at least nine activists dead.

But on Friday, it released a new version of the same footage — one that it says proves its claims that many aboard were religious extremists — but that some say has been very obviously tampered with.

In the first video released in the immediate aftermath of the violent raid, a soldier says, "Mavi Marmara, you are approaching an area of hostility which is under a naval blockade." There is no recorded response.

The soldier continues, "The Gaza area, coastal region, and Gaza harbor are closed to all maritime traffic." Again, no response.

The soldier radios once more, saying, "The Israeli government supports delivery of humanitarian supplies to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip and invites you to enter the Ashdod port …"

But an updated version, released five days later, includes three alleged responses from passengers who, according to the video, were supposedly on board the Mavi Marmara. This new clip shows only a still of the soldier who appears in the first footage.

The soldier, who is not named, does not address the Mavi Marmara as he did in the video released Monday. Instead, he says, "This is the Israeli navy; you are approaching an area which is under a naval blockade."

A man with an odd, indistinct accent responds, "Shut up. Go back to Aushwitz."

Then the voice of a woman follows. She states, "We have permission from the Gaza Port Authority to enter."

The third response, which seems entirely disconnected from the events, comes from a man with a heavy Southern accent. "We’re helping Arabs go against the US. Don’t forget 9/11 guys."

Ali Abuminah, founder of the website Electronic Intifada, reported on his blog that the woman’s voice is that of Huwaida Arraf.

Arraf, a Palestinian-American who chairs the Free Gaza Movement, confirmed that it was her voice. But she emphasized that she was on the Challenger 1 boat, not the Mavi Marmara.

"I was by the radio the whole time there was any communication," Arraf told Ma’an. "Mine was the only boat in which I answered and not the captain and they all answered in a very professional manner."

Arraf told Ma’an that while she might have spoken of having permission from the Gaza Port Authority on a previous attempt to break the blockade, she is certain that she did not say it on Monday morning.

"When they radioed us, we were still 100 miles away," she said. "There’s no doubt that this whole thing they put out is fabricated."

Asked about claims that army video had been faked, an Israeli army spokesperson remarked, "There is no basis for the allegations."

But to many, the recordings are just the latest move in the Israeli army’s aggressive campaign to sway public opinion.

Israel seized all recording devices from journalists and activists who were on the flotilla. The army has released its own footage for use in its still-raging war of information being fought on blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and media outlets.

Among several heavily edited clips, the army has released a short video that shows soldiers dropping down onto the Mavi Marmara from helicopters after which a few of them are violently assaulted.

Eyewitnesses, Arraf included, say the army shot at the Marmara and fired stun grenades before boarding. But the clip released by the army includes no footage of the moments prior to the soldiers’ boarding.

Nevertheless, as hundreds of deportees begin to reach their home countries, some in possession of footage smuggled off the boats are filling in the gaps.

A journalist with Al-Jazeera managed to broadcast footage indicating that the Israeli army began shooting at the passengers of the Mavi Marmara before the soldiers boarded, suggesting that passengers who were armed with sticks and chairs were acting in self-defense.

Many journalists are concerned that other footage is being held by Israeli authorities. The Foreign Press Association alleges that the army has used some of this footage as its own.

The association is demanding that the military identify the sources of videos it has released and to stop selectively editing content to back up the army’s version of events.

Rival Israel activists locked horns at Monday’s AIPAC conference in Washington as leading pro-Israel commentator Alan Dershowitz launched a blistering attack on pro-peace group J Street.

J Street representative Hadar Susskind was in the middle of an interview with Haaretz when Dershowitz let fly with a verbal onslaught against the group, which has openly criticized the Israeli government over its West Bank settlement policy.

Dershowitz accused J Street of dividing the Jewish community.

“I reject J Street because it spends more time criticizing Israel than supporting it,” he said. “They shouldn’t call themselves pro-Israel.

The combative Harvard law professor said that he too opposed settlements. But, he said, “I make the 80 percent case for Israel.”

He added: “It’s a shame that J Street has set itself up as an independent lobby.”

The sort of supporters J Street was attracting to its conferences showed that the group was damaging to Israel, Dershowitz said.

“If you invite [former U.S. Secretary of State] Zbigniew Brzezinski you are not pro-Israel,” Dershowitz told Susskind. “You should ask yourself why Norman Finkelstein loves you,” he said, referring to the noted leftwing American political commentator.

Responding to the attack, Susskind told Haaretz:

“No single community speaks with one voice. There are differences – but you won’t force other Jewish organizations to shut down just because of differences of opinion.”

Susskind told Haaretz that some fellow conference delegates had raised eyebrows, asking him what is was doing there.

“I’ve met people here that took part in our conference too. They are all Israel supporters and it doesn’t matter if they are at AIPAC or J Street,” he said.

He added: “We have disagreements with AIPAC that I don’t want to minimize. But we are all on the same side.”

This article was corrected on March 23, 2010. A quote attributed to Prof. Dershowitz was amended from “I spend 80 per cent of my time supporting Israel” to “I make the 80 percent case for Israel.”