Palestine – Features

….”to consider the facts of life in Israel and Palestine… ‘Rethink your Israel visit’ by Monako Dibetle , Johannesburg, South… Read More »Rethink your Isarael visit

Over 200 male refugees and asylum seekers will appear in the Krugersdorp District Court today to face charges under the Road Traffic Act after they slept on the side of the road for a week.

A police barricade was in place outside the court.

Those arrested allegedly hindered and obstructed traffic on a public road.

The group lived on the verge of the R28 between Krugersdorp and Randfontein for a week after being transferred from a shelter for xenophobia victims in Glenanda, Johannesburg to the Lindela detention
centre in Krugersdorp.

They had refused to register at the Glenanda camp, fearing that the temporary identity cards they would be given would cancel their existing immigration rights.

As a result they were taken to Lindela, a facility which detained foreigners believed to be in the country illegally, then either released or deported them.

But officials discovered that these people were in the country legally and released them to return to their South African homes.

The Department of Home Affairs had validated the documents that allowed them residence in South Africa and says that the refugees were now "on their own".
  
The immigrants stayed on the side of the road, saying they were too scared to return to their communities and would rather be repatriated.

MRN-Sapa

Read More »Refugees to appear in court today

Gaza – Ma’an – Israel violated international law by creating a water crisis in the Gaza Strip, contributing to a deficit of 65 million cubic meters of water needed for basic purposes by Gaza’s 1.5 million residents, a new study by the Palestinian Union of Agricultural Committees shows.

In the year 2007, Gaza residents consumed 86 liters of water per person per day, short of the 100 liters recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the minimum quantity for basic consumption. By contrast Israelis consume 330 liters per person per day, according to the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem.

The Palestinian study was released on Tuesday. Researcher Alaa Matar carried out the study, in connection with the project Right to Live, directed by Sa’d Addin Ziyada.

According to the study, groundwater has become the main water resource in Gaza since Israel has built several small dams to block surface water that used to reach Gaza through river valleys.

In the year 2007, the study says:

– Wells which operated to municipal councils in Gaza provided 83 million cubic meters of water.
– Agricultural wells provided 69.5 million cubic meters.
– Wells which operated to the UN provided another 2.5 million cubic meters.
– Only 1.5 million cubic meters of water were bought from Israeli water company Mekorot.

All of these factors contributed to the 63 million cubic meter deficit.

Sewage

Furthermore, the study finds that 90% of sewage in Gaza is not purified, and 80% of that sewage is dumped in open areas such as Wadi Gaza, the sea shore and sand dunes. Only 20% of sewage goes into underground reservoirs. Sewage pumping and water treatment plants shut down due to problems at electricity generating stations, resulting in the dumping of 50,000 cubic meters of raw sewage into the sea.

International law

Because of its denial of water rights to the Gaza Strip, the study finds Israel in violation of the Hague convention of 1907, and the Geneva convention of 1949. Israel is a party to both of these treaties.

Matar found that Israel violated international law by cutting fuel supplies to Gaza beginning in October 2007, following the Israeli foreign minister’s designation of Gaza as an “enemy entity.” The fuel cuts, along with a reduction in electrical supplies, had a negative impact on Gaza’s water and sewage systems to operate.

Water quality

The study also found that the quality of water in Gaza falls far short of international standards. For example, most of the water wells in Gaza contains 300-600 milligrams per liter of chloride, which is almost double what WHO recommends.

In addition most water wells contain high percentage of nitrate, up to 400 milligrams per liter in some cases. WHO recommends 50 milligrams per liter.

After examining 213 samples from different water resources in Gaza, 144, or 68% of those samples were found unfit for human consumption. In addition, bacteriological tests of 2029 samples in 2007 found that 16.5% of them were polluted.

Finally, the study found that groundwater levels decreased sharply. As a result, the groundwater in Gaza is increasingly brackish, with one cubic meter of sea water polluting every 70 cubic meters of groundwater.

MAAN NEWS AGENCY

Read More »Report Isarael violating international law by creating water crisis in Gaza

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) has since its formative years in the 1980s staunchly called for armed resistance against Israeli occupation and refused to acknowledge or participate in peace talks.

Headquartered in Syria, the PIJ is much smaller than Hamas but both groups find their inspirational roots in the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.Fathi al-Shaqaqi, the group’s leader, was killed in Malta in 1995 in what many believe was an Israeli commando operation. Ramadan Abdullah Shallah, a British-trained academic who lectured in Middle East studies at the University of South Florida, was selected by the leadership to succeed al-Shaqaqi as the group’s secretary-general.

 

Ramadan Abdullah Shallah: I think the biggest threat to the Palestinian people today is the absence of direction. They are losing the sense to decide which way to go in leading this march, this struggle to gain their freedom and independence.

Read More »Two state solution is a disaster