Palestinians prepare for 'Great Return' March in West Bank and Gaza: Main thread

[Solomon2]

That's made up -

Which part exactly is "made up"?

 

[Falcon29]

Which part exactly is "made up"?

That he was declared an civilian, he died at night guarding the border and the incident had no relation to the protests. It was an act of aggression by Israel.

 

[Solomon2]

That he was declared an civilian, he died at night guarding the border and the incident had no relation to the protests -

Alray described him as part of a "group of civilians", neither the Alray nor the Israel Hayom story made mention as to the time of day or connection to the "protests", Israel Hayom reported the strike was in response to machine-gun fire at civilian Israeli targets, and you yourself ran the story of him being a "border guard". So what in the Israel Hayom story was "made up"?

 

[Falcon29]

Alray described him as part of a "group of civilians", neither the Alray nor the Israel Hayom story made mention as to the time of day or connection to the "protests", Israel Hayom reported the strike was in response to machine-gun fire at civilian Israeli targets, and you yourself ran the story of him being a "border guard". So what in the Israel Hayom story was "made up"?

Never heard of that, Hamas's official news agency and every known Palestinian media outlet made it clear what happened. Israel and the IDF are lying, the IDF breached the border and got in a gunfight proceeding to call a drone strike. Now stop wasting everyone's time trying to come up with someone to talk about to make more money by pushing out more posts.

 

[Gomig-21]

Teach them while they’re young. #peace

Solly, hypocrisy much?

You know this back & forth game is easy to play and much easier to find disproportionate atrocities on Israel's side.

How quaint to fly a kite during the peaceful protest. Note sure why it has a Molotov cocktail attached to it, though.

Where's the Molotov cocktail, that thing dangling? Whatever that is, so let's kill 100 people? You can't be serious.

You know how many protests I've seen where much worst things were thrown at police and soldiers and not once has there been the practice of responding by picking off people in the back running for their lives with high-powered rifles, as if they were at some game reserve hunting wild buffalo. This is just utterly disgusting what you're trying to excuse.

Protesters hold a coffin with an Israeli flag and the pictures of Hamas captives Hadar Goldin, Oron Shaul, Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu (REUTERS/Mohammed Salem). #peace.

So they deserve to be killed for this? I thought Israel was a democratic country with democratic values where people were allowed to express their discontent in a peaceful manner? Isn't that what is exactly going on in that picture?

Kinda like this, right?

Should these people be targeted in the back like wild cattle running for their lives for actually advocating complete extermination of Palestinians?

I guess that democratic freedom is solely reserved for Israeli citizens, not the Palestinians..

I am beginning to think this is really not non-violent at all

It certainly began that way until they started getting shot in the back in the most cowardly fashion. But then we should expect them not to do anything in return, of course. God forbid any of the Israeli soldiers get hit by one of these rocks! They might get a GBU-12 in return.

 

[Aramagedon]

Palestinian kids burn american and israeli flags and praise Iranian general Qassem Soleimani:

There are two 1 minute videos, watch on instagram.

View this content on Instagram

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[Aramagedon]

UN human rights experts condemn killings of Palestinians in Gaza by Israel forces

Palestinians carry a wounded protester after he was shot by Israeli forces during the 'Great March of Return' in Gaza on 12 April 2018 [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency]

April 19, 2018 at 11:32 am

experts have condemned “the continued use of firearms, including live ammunition” by Israeli forces “against mostly unarmed Palestinian protesters and observers” for a third straight week in the occupied Gaza Strip, according a press release issued on Tuesday.

“Despite Israel’s commitment to investigate the events of the past few weeks,” the experts said, “security forces continue to use live ammunition and rubber bullets against the protesters, killing and wounding dozens of mostly unarmed protesters, women, men and children alike.”

“We express our outrage over these shootings that may have resulted in unlawful killings and the incomprehensibly high number of injuries sustained,” the experts continued.

According to the press release, “at least” 28 Palestinians have been killed, and more than 1,600 wounded by live ammunition alone, by Israeli forces since 30 March.

Among those killed were “three children and a journalist, who was wearing clearly visible insignia identifying him as a member of the press”, with six other journalists woundedthus far.

Participants in the “Great Return March” protests – which began on Land Day and are set to continue to Nakba Day in May – are, the UN statement notes, “protesting their forced evictions and displacement since 1948 and calling for an end to the 11-year blockade on Gaza”.

Read: B’Tselem dismisses Israel’s investigation into Gaza killings as propaganda

The experts “reiterated Israel’s obligation as occupying power to uphold international human rights law and international humanitarian law, emphasising that in the context of law enforcement, security forces may only resort to lethal force when faced with a situation involving an imminent threat to life or risk of serious injury.”

However, “no evidence has emerged showing that such a situation occurred during the demonstrations that would make the lethal force used legal,” they added.

The UN experts pointed out that the casualties since 30 March “appeared to be in breach of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), The Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (1990) and the prohibitions in the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 against wilful killings and the serious injury of the protected population.”

The experts expressed scepticism that Israel’s “operational probe” into some of the killings would be impartial, noting how “some Israeli officials have suggested the purpose of the investigation is to avoid scrutiny from the international community and the [International Criminal Court]”.

“If Israel will not take credible and effective steps to investigate, and indeed, where it has congratulated its military forces for their use of force, then the international community must fill the investigatory void to ensure respect for international law,” the experts stated.

The team also called for “an immediate end to the 11-year-old comprehensive blockade on Gaza, which is imposing untold suffering on the population”, reaffirming that “collective punishment is prohibited under international law, and there must be international accountability for such actions.”

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/2...ings-of-palestinians-in-gaza-by-israel-forces

 

[Solomon2]

• Thursday, April 19, 2018
• 
  Elder of Ziyon

Hamas instructs the media on how to cover the riots



Hamas is instructing the media in Gaza on how ensure that coverage of the riots at the border aligns with the terror group's propaganda aims. This article was published on Sunday at an Palestinian media outlet:

The Governmental Information Office of the Palestinian Ministry of Information has set specific restrictions on media coverage of the Great Return Movement, which comes in the context of ensuring the objective national coverage of the events and exposing the crimes of the occupation against the Palestinian people.

The Information Office stressed the need to describe the terms of events in the eastern Gaza Strip accurately, and not to use the terms confrontations or clashes, but an attack by the occupation army and its snipers on peaceful and peaceful civil movement.

It called on journalists and the local media to focus on the scene as a whole in accordance with the principles and objectives of the march announced by the National Committee for the March, and to try not to highlight the individual actions that are incompatible with the objectives of the marches.
​

No photos of Molotov cocktails and placing IEDs.

It pointed to the need to focus on "humanizing" stories of martyrs and highlighting the different aspects of the character of the martyr, social and family, and also [highlight] the injuries of children, girls and journalists.

It stressed the importance of not publishing any information related to injuries or martyrs without relying on the official source of the Ministry of Health or its spokesman.​

What more evidence do you need that the "official" casualty reports are lies?

While this memo is aimed at Palestinian Arab reporters, it also shows that Hamas is prepared to act against any Western reporters who violate these "guidelines" as well. Just as they did in previous conflicts.

And from the coverage we've seen so far, too many Western reporters have already internalized Hamas' propaganda goals before Hamas found the need to publicize them.

Hamas doesn't want you to see videos like this of Gazans cutting the fence:

See also Bassam Tawil at Gatestone, who discovered this story.

Here's the memo:


(h/t Daled Amos)

The experts “reiterated Israel’s obligation as occupying power -

Batting zero. They are aware that calling Israel "an occupying power" is an internal U.N. matter not supported by international law.

The UN experts pointed out that the casualties since 30 March “appeared to be in breach of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), The Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (1990) and the prohibitions in the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 against wilful killings and the serious injury of the protected population.”

And since Gaza isn't really occupied what Israel has been fighting counts as an attempted invasion: link

The team also called for “an immediate end to the 11-year-old comprehensive blockade on Gaza, which is imposing untold suffering on the population” -

They're perfectly aware that this is a lie: Israel isn't blockading Gaza more than Egypt is; Israel even facilitates supplies and medical aid to the populace.

Now you see why so many diplomats and politicians run away from Zionists: it's to avoid being embarrassed. But why should they get a pass?

 

[Falcon29]

On 4th Friday of protests in Gaza, 2 dead, over 40 wounded

Gaza City (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces shot and killed a 24-year-old Palestinian protester in Gaza on Friday afternoon, the second Palestinian to be killed during Friday’s protests.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified the slain Palestinian as Ahmad Rashad al-Athamneh, 24. He was killed during protests along the border with Israel in the northern Gaza Strip.

The ministry added that 40 Palestinians were injured with different wounds across the besieged coastal enclave.

Earlier on Friday, 25-year-old Ahmad Nabil Abu Aqel succumbed to a gunshot wound to the head,which he sustained during protests in northern Gaza.

Over 30 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the "Great March of Return" protests began on March 30.

Among the dead were two minors and a journalist.
.....
.....
https://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=780048

 

[Solomon2]

Palestinians fly swastika kite with petrol bomb across Gaza border into Israel
Hamas terrorists are showing their true colors, Israeli army says; April 20 was Hitler's birthday
By TOI STAFF and JUDAH ARI GROSS Today, 7:47 pm

• 
  A kite marked with a swastika, flown across the Gaza border into Israel carrying a petrol bomb on April 20, 2018 (IDF spokesman)
  
  Palestinians at the Gaza border flew a kite marked with a swastika and carrying a petrol bomb into Israel on Friday.
  
  The Israeli army posted photographs of the kite in the air and on the ground inside Israel.
  
  An IDF spokesman, Jonathan Conricus, wrote: “Moments ago, terrorist Hamas sent a Molotov cocktail over the Gaza border into Israel. They flew it with their true colors.”
  
  April 20 was Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s birthday.
  
  
  Palestinians hold a kite adorned with a swastika that is carrying a bombnear the border with Israel east of Gaza City, on April 20, 2018. (AFP Photo/Mohammed Abed)
• 
  Friday marked the fourth weekend in succession that thousands of Palestinians have demonstrated at the border, in mass protests encouraged by the Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers. Originally declared as non-violent “March of Return” protests, the demonstrations are being encouraged by Hamas, which seeks to destroy Israel, and whose leaders say the goal of the protests is to erase the border and liberate Palestine.
  
  
  
  Jonathan Conricus@LTCJonathan
  
  
  Moments ago, terrorist #Hamas sent a Molotov cocktail over the Gaza border into Israel.
  They flew it with their true colors.
  
  9:07 AM - Apr 20, 2018
  The Israeli army says it has faced “terror” at the fence during the weekly protests, including a shooting incident, numerous efforts to breach the fence, stone- and bomb-throwing. In recent days, Gazans have flown kites carrying petrol bombs across the border, and these have caused fires several times in Israeli fields close to the border.
  
  
  A kite marked with a swastika carrying a petrol bomb flying across the Gaza border into Israel on April 20, 2018 (IDF spokesman)
• 
  On Tuesday, one such kite started a fire in a grassy grove outside Kibbutz Be’eri, an Israeli community located some seven kilometers (4.3 miles) east of Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp. It took four teams of firefighters to bring the blaze under control, a spokesman for the local fire department said. The Kan news broadcaster reported that the fire had spread over almost 100 dunams (25 acres).
  
  Gazans filmed the kite crossing the border and starting the blaze, in a video shared on social media.
  
  The kites seem to be the latest phase in the ongoing clashes on the Gaza border, as Palestinians have rioted and protested along the security fence almost daily since March 30.
  
  
  
  
  Palestinians try to use a kite to fly a Molotov cocktail toward IDF troops along the Gaza fence on April 13 2018. (Israel Defense Forces)
• 
  Fridays have been by far the most active days, with over 40,000 people taking part in the first protest, nearly 30,000 taking part in the second and approximately 10,000 participating in the third and most recent, according to the IDF’s figures. As of late afternoon, Friday’s fourth protests involved some 3,000 people.
  
  These violent demonstrations have often included the burning of tires and Israeli flags.
  
  Palestinian flags combined with swastika flags have also been sight.
  
  
  Palestinian flags and a swastika are seen amid the black smoke of Gaza demonstrations, April 6, 2018 (IDF Spokesperson Unit)
• 
  As this month also marks the beginning of Israel’s dry season, an IDF spokesperson on Friday said the military was prepared for the possibility that fires might break out and had therefore coordinated with local fire departments and put firefighting planes on standby.
  
  However, when asked earlier this week specifically about the low-tech threat posed by kites carrying incendiary devices, the army offered scant details about its ability to combat the threat. “The IDF is prepared and ready for various scenarios during the riots organized along the Gaza fence,” the army said in a statement.
  
  
  Palestinian youths fly kites and wave Palestinian and Hamas flags during a Hamas-sponsored summer scout camp, on the beach near the Israeli border fence, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, July 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
• 
  On Monday, the local Eshkol regional council issued a stark warning to residents, telling them to be on alert for these airborne arson attacks.
  
  “In the last 24 hours, there have been several cases of kites flying with Molotov cocktails from the Strip to our territory,” the council said in a statement. “The public is asked to be alert and to report on any unusual incident of fires in the area.”
  
  Last month, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) organized a “Kites of Hope” festival for over 1,000 Gazan schoolchildren from Khan Younis.
  
  The National Forum for the March of Return, one of several Palestinian groups behind the weekly demonstrations, moved its protest tents closer to the border ahead of Friday’s protests, in order, it said, to “affirm our right to return” — a reference to the Palestinian demand that Israel allow tens of thousands of refugees and their millions of descendants to return to their former homes inside Israel. Such a demand would mean the end of Israel as a majority Jewish state.
  
  The protests in Gaza are expected to continue until mid-May, around the time the US is set to inaugurate its new embassy in Jerusalem.
  
  Mid-May will also mark the anniversary of what Palestinians call the Nakba, or catastrophe, which saw hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flee their homes during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence.
  
  According to the United Nations, some 1.3 million of Gaza’s 1.9 million residents are refugees or their descendants.
  
  At previous peace talks, the Palestinians have always demanded, along with sovereignty in the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem and the Old City, a “right of return” to Israel for Palestinian refugees who left or were forced out of Israel when it was established. The Palestinians demand this right not only for those of the hundreds of thousands of refugees who are still alive — a figure estimated in the low tens of thousands — but also for their descendants, who number in the millions.
  
  No Israeli government would ever be likely to accept this demand, since it would spell the end of Israel as a Jewish-majority state. Israel’s position is that Palestinian refugees and their descendants would become citizens of a Palestinian state at the culmination of the peace process, just as Jews who fled or were forced out of Middle Eastern countries by hostile governments became citizens of Israel.

 

[Falcon29]

Breaking: Palestinian Health Ministry reports 4 killed, 645 injured as of latest

Breaking: Video shows Palestinian kid fatally shot in head by Israeli snipers near the border(WARNING GRAPHIC):

https://www.facebook.com/

 

[Solomon2]

Palestinians say four Gazans killed by IDF during border protest
Some 3,000 gather at border clashing with IDF soldiers, sending burning kites over fence to try and set Israeli fields alight
By TOI STAFF and AGENCIESToday, 2:51 pm

• 
  A Palestinian man hurls stones at Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Friday, April 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Some 3,000 Palestinians protested along the Gaza border with Israel on Friday, burning tires and flying flaming kites across the frontier to set Israeli fields ablaze, witnesses and the army said. Soldiers responded with tear gas and live fire, killing four Palestinians, including a 15-year-old, according to the Hamas run-health ministry.

Ahmad Abu Aqel, 25, was shot east of Jabaliya in northern Gaza, health ministry spokesman, Ashraf al-Qudra, said. It also said a 24-year-old and 29-year-old and a 15-year-old boy were killed, but did not provide details on their identity.

Israel’s army said it was looking into the incidents.

In all the Gaza ministry said that some 445 people were injured, including 96 from live fire.

These brought to 39 the number of fatalities from the border demonstrations and clashes dubbed the March of Return, which took place for the fourth time Friday, according to the health ministry figures. The numbers could not be verified by Israel.

Hamas has acknowledged that several of those killed were its members, and Israel has identified other fatalities as members of terrorist groups.

Huge black plumes of smoke from the blazing tires engulfed the area, as Israeli troops fired tear gas and live bullets, witnesses said.

Hundreds were clashing with Israeli forces, an AFP correspondent said.

Palestinian protesters fly a kite with a burning rag dangling from its tail to during a protest at the Gaza Strip’s border with Israel, Friday, April 20, 2018. Activists use kites with burning rags dangling from their tails to set ablaze drying wheat fields on the Israeli side. (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra)

Thousands of Gazans were gathered at various locations along the border in the enclave, calling for tends of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their millions of descendants to be able to “return” to their former lands in what is now Israel, some burning tires or flying kites with flaming rags dangling from their tails.

The kites are part of a new tactic aimed at setting fields on the Israeli side on fire. Most kites were stitched together in the colors of the Palestinian flag. One white kite bore the Nazi swastika.

Palestinians fly a kite with a swastika on and a burning tail over the Gaza border into Israel on Friday April 20, 2018 (IDF spokesperson)

Israel and Egypt maintain a security blockade of the Hamas-ruled strip, which Israel says is needed to prevent Hamas importing weaponry. An Islamist terror group which seeks to destroy Israel, Hamas says the weekly protests are ultimately aimed at erasing the border and liberating Palestine.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman toured the Gaza area, meeting with the troops.

“Thanks to the IDF’s activity, week by week there is a drop in the number of participants in the riots,” he said, praising the soldiers.

The IDF estimated that 3,000 people were taking part, significantly smaller than the 10,000 at last Friday’s demonstration. In the two weeks before, there were an estimated 20,000 and 30,000 protesters, respectively.

“Since the morning there have been violent riots at five sites along the border in which about 3,000 people are taking part,” the IDF said. “They are trying to approach the security barrier, burning tires next to it and trying to send over kites that have burning items attached.”

“Several kites crossed into Israel and were extinguished as needed. IDF troops are responding with riot dispersal means and live fire in accordance with the rules of engagement,” the army said.

Earlier, Israeli military aircraft dropped leaflets near the Gaza border warning Palestinians to keep away from the fence separating the coastal enclave from Israel, the IDF said.

Palestinians display a leaflet on April 20, 2018 near the border fence with Israel. The message on the leaflet reads in Hebrew and in Arabic, ‘Zionists: There is no place for you in Palestine. Go back to where you came from. Do not obey your leaders. They send you to death or captivity. #Jerusalem capital of Palestine’ (AFP Photo/Said Khatib)

That followed reports Wednesday that despite Egyptian pressure on Hamas and other Palestinian groups to halt the mass protests, organizers said they would move protest camps 50 meters closer to the border.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified the slain Palestinian as Ahmad Rashad al-Athamneh, 24. He was killed during protests along the border with Israel in the northern Gaza Strip.

Why are attempts to attack IDF troops, burn Israeli property, and penetrate the border fence still referred as "protests" rather than "assault", "bombing", and "attempted invasion"? We should stop swaying towards Hamas' bending of the English language (detailed above) and swing closer to the truth.

 

[Falcon29]

Israeli settlers raid Ramallah-area village, spray racist graffiti, puncture tires

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Israeli settlers raided a Palestinian town in the central occupied West Bank district of Ramallah before dawn on Friday, puncturing the tires of several vehicles and spraying racist, anti-Arab graffiti across the town.

Residents of the town of Burqa, east of Ramallah, told Ma’an that they woke up to find that settlers from the nearby Migron settlement -- which was illegally built on lands of the village -- had punctured the tires of dozens of vehicles in the town.

Settlers also sprayed racist graffiti on cars and the walls of homes.

Many Palestinian activists and rights groups have accused Israel of fostering a “culture of impunity”for Israelis committing violent acts against Palestinians.

Better known as "price tag" attacks, extremist Israeli settlers use violent acts of retribution on Palestinians and their property to demonstrate their opposition to Israeli restrictions on settlements and their outposts in the occupied West Bank.

In March 2017, Israeli NGO Yesh Din revealed that Israeli authorities served indictments in only 8.2 percent of cases of Israeli settlers committing anti-Palestinian crimes in the occupied West Bank in the past three years.

Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law, with recent announcements of settlement expansion provoking condemnation from the international community.

.........
https://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=780045

 

[HAIDER]

Either two state solution or merge Palastinian in Israel and give them equal citizen rights, vote to select parliamentarian ... not limited seats. Walls eventually falls....

 

[Falcon29]

Either two state solution or merge Palastinian in Israel and give them equal citizen rights, vote to select parliamentarian ... not limited seats. Walls eventually falls....

They should definitely try this in the West Bank, it might work a bit better since technically they are permitted to travel in occupied West Bank but not freely. If they do mass peaceful march to demonstrate against the many checkpoints everywhere in West Bank it will sent a message to Israel that it needs to end the occupation.