Human Rights

NOVANEWS   Posted by: Sammi Ibrahem Chair of West Midland Palestine Solidarity Campaign On the occasion of Palestinian Prisoners day, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Maxwell Gaylard called for protection of the rights of Palestinians in Israeli detention, particularly women and children.    Mr. Gaylard stressed that regardless of the causes of detention, the rule of law must be applied to all of the approximately 6,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention, in line with international human rights and humanitarian law. In this regard, Mr. Gaylard noted that the International Committee of the Red Cross continues to play an important role regarding the circumstances of Palestinians held in Israeli detention.  Israel’s policies and practices regarding Palestinian...

NOVANEWS   Posted by: Sammi Ibrahem Chair of West Midland PSC Tamimi's political arrest was extended indefinitely by an Israeli military judge today despite problematic evidence. His trial will open on May 8th.   The arrest of Bassem Tamimi, a 44 year-old protest organizer from Nabi Saleh and the coordinator of the village's popular committee, was extended indefinitely today at the Ofer Military Court. Tamimi will remain in detention until the end of legal proceedings in his case. The indictment against Tamimi, filed two weeks ago, is based on questionable and coerced confessions of youth. He is charged with incitement, organizing unpermitted marches, solicitation to throw stones, disobeying the duty to report to questioning, and a scandalous obstruction of justice charge, for a...

NOVANEWS Hi All, Bahraini pro-democracy activist Zainab Alkhawaja tweeted, "THEY JUST CAME! They took my dad, my dads blood is still on the stairs! They hit my dad so much! They beat him and he couldn't breath." She wrote the above just minutes after three members of her family were beaten and taken away by masked police officers. Stand with Ms. Alkhawaja and demand the release of her father, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja   Mr. Alkhawaja, a prominent human rights activist, was taken along with her daughter's husband, and brother-in-law. They are among an estimated 600 detainees in custody following weeks of protest. In the past two months, Bahraini pro-Zionist regime have been brutally cracking down on pro-democracy protesters. Hundreds have been arrested and dozens killed by securit...

NOVANEWS   Uploaded by aicvideo on Apr 12, 2011 Al Nuaman is a Palestinian village in Southeast Jerusalem. It was annexed to Jerusalem in 1967, yet its people weren't given Jerusalem residency rights. Today, they continue to fight for the right to remain on their lands. For more information, visit http://alternativenews.org  

NOVANEWS   The Israeli campaign of fear and vandalism against the West Bank village of Awarta continues.   A home in Awarta after a search by IsraHelli soldiers The village is under curfew and a military jeep blocked the main entrance. I arrived at 3pm together with Zakaria, and we found an alternative way to enter the village. The first visit we conducted was in the municipality building. The head of the local municipality was there, together with local activists, all of whom described the situation in the village since the murder in the settlement of Itamar. Several facts about the village and various events, as relayed by village residents. The village has a population of 6,000, with some 1,200 families. It borders on the settlement of Itamar. Several of the olive tree plot...

NOVANEWS By: Finian Cunningham Claims of Civilian Killings, Disappearances, Torture, Chemical Warfare Agents and Organ Theft From Victims of State Violence    When Saudi-led military forces intervened in Bahrain on March 14, it was declared by the Bahraini government and its allies among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates that the unprecedented move was a matter of urgency, needed to “restore order and stability” to the tiny Persian Gulf island kingdom. An arcane GCC defence pact was invoked – the Arabian Peninsula Shield – even though legal experts pointed out that such a provision was only applicable in the event of one of the six Gulf states coming under attack from an external enem...

NOVANEWS   By Mazin Qumsiyeh / Jerusalem Juliano Mer Khamis - RIP   We are shocked.  Juliano Mer-Khamis, a friend and fellow peace activist, was murdered in Jenin.  The masked killer/s whoever they were were cowards whose madness will not deter those of us who continue to work for justice and peace for all. If they thought they could kill coexistence and love in the holy land by killing a symbol and a great activist, they are mistaken.  Juliano symbolizes what many of us have worked for: a transformation of our homeland into a pluralistic democratic state where every human being regardless of his religion (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) would be treated with dignity and respect.  Fundamentalist notions of superiority were at odds with this message. His killers will not get...

NOVANEWS   Posted by: Sammi Ibrahem Chair of West Midland PSC by crescentandcross   BERLIN – The United Nations Human Rights Council stands by the Goldstone Report despite its author’s admission that he now questioned his own findings: UNHRC spokesman Cedric Sapey told Yediot Ahronot Monday that the op-ed written by Richard Goldstone, published in the Washington Post on Friday, expressed the judge’s personal opinion and did not represent the other committee members. Sapey explained that the op-ed was not a formally binding document and therefore the committee was not going to respond to it. He further explained that if Goldstone were to send an official letter to the council president – signed by the rest of the committee members – then the council would take necessary meas...

NOVANEWS   Posted By: Sammi Ibrahem Chair of West Midland PSC   By JNews Thursday, 10 March, 2011 London, UK Source: knesset, ACRI, CWP, PHR-Israel,other Israeli outlet Ynet has reported that Israeli Coalition Chairman MKZeev Elkin (Likud) and MK David Rotem (Yisrael Beiteinu) are pushing for legislation that would revoke tax concessions of nonprofits that ‘act against the nation’s policies.’ The new proposal follows close on the heels of the enactment of a new law (full translation below) entitled ‘Duty of disclosure for recipients of support from a foreign political entity’, passed by the Knesset on 21 February and added to Israel’s statute book on 2 March. The new law demands that Israeli NGOs submit and publish quarterly reports on any funding received f...

NOVANEWS Posted by: Sammi Ibrahem Chair of West Midland PSC Briefing Note: Palestinian Prisoners’ RightsMarch 2011 This briefing note is being presented by Adalah, Physicians for Human Rights‐Israel  and Al  Mezan  Center  for  Human  Rights  (Gaza)  to  the  UN  Committee  on  the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, which is holding its meeting on 7‐8 March 2011  in  Vienna  on  the  plight  of  Palestinian  political  prisoners  in  Israeli  prisons  and detention  facilities.  It  is  also  being  presented  to  the  EU  Parliament  Sub‐Committee  on Human Rights in advance of its meeting on 15 March 2011 in Brussels on the question of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, and in particular Palestinian children. The note provides a general overview of rec...