angelburst29 said:
All 100 US senators demand end to UN’s ‘anti-Israel agenda’
_http://www.jns.org/news-briefs/2017/4/28/all-100-us-senators-demand-end-to-uns-anti-israel-agenda#.WQOrB4jyuM8=
All 100 U.S. senators signed a letter, sent to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, demanding that the world body end its “anti-Israel agenda.”
The letter, (pdf. link below) authored by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.), called on Guterres to “ensure that Israel is treated neither better nor worse than any other U.N. member in good standing.”
The former UN undersecretary general who was forced to resign for calling out Israel's treatment of Palestinians as "Apartheid" gave her first interview and said she has "no regrets".
No Regrets for UN Director Responsible for Labeling Israel ‘Apartheid State’
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960210000951
Rima Khalaf said the international community had failed the Palestinian people and called for sanctions against Israel, New Arab reported.
"We are not here for defamation," Khalaf said. "We are here for solving the problem."
Khalaf, bureau chief for the UN's Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in Beirut, famously described Israel's treatment of Palestinians as an 'Apartheid' system in a UN document.
Apartheid is considered a "crime against humanity" under the International Criminal Court's (ICC) law and the matter deserves "serious examination", Khalaf said.
Israel disputed the apartheid charge at the time as a "big lie," and described the report as anti-Semitic.
The ICC has not made a charge of Apartheid against Israel and evidence of dicrimination is not enough in order to bring a charge.
The broader question is whether taken as a whole the entire system constitutes apartheid," said Sari Bashi, Israel/Palestine advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.
The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, originally wanted Khalaf's report to be removed, and when she refused to comply, was forced to step down.
Days after she resigned in March, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas awarded her Palestine's Medal of the Highest Honor.
Her report described a "regime that dominates the Palestinian people as a whole" and the system by which people were segmented and treated differently according to race.
Khalaf, who holds Kuwaiti nationality but is of Palestinian descent, said Israel "can be a Jewish state" as long as every citizen enjoys equal rights in the eyes of the law.
"If this is the case, then the label really doesn't matter," she said. Khalaf is currently living in Jordan, where she once worked in Jordan.
An open-ended mass hunger strike by Palestinians to draw the world's attention to harsh conditions at Israeli prisons has entered its second week, with some of those refusing food experiencing health decline.
Mass Hunger Strike by Palestinian Prisoners Enters 2nd Week
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960210001128
The media committee of the hunger strike, dubbed the Freedom and Dignity Strike, said that several of the hunger-striking inmates had lost 10 kilograms of their weight, Ma'an reported.
A number of the hunger strikers held in the Israeli Ofer prison are suffering from low blood pressure, severe headaches as well as stomach and joint problems, the report added.
It further noted that the Israeli authorities do not allow the Palestinian prisoners to drink cool water and instead force them to drink warm water.
On Sunday, Palestinian churches were expected to ring bells in solidarity with the hunger strikers.
The long-planned mass strike, which is led by a jailed leader of the Fatah Movement, Marwan Barghouti, began on April 17.
The strike initially began with 1,500 prisoners, but now some 2,000 people are believed to be refusing food to denounce the inhumane treatment of the Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
According to figures provided by the Palestinian prisoners’ rights group Addameer in January, 6,500 Palestinians are currently being held in Israeli jails, 536 of them arbitrarily.
Palestinian prisoners have continuously resorted to open-ended hunger strikes in an attempt to voice their outrage at the so-called administrative detention, which is a form of imprisonment without trial or charge that allows Israel to incarcerate Palestinians for up to six months,
Palestinian detainees complain that they have been subjected to assault and torture at Israeli prisons.
As a massive hunger strike among Palestinian prisoners in Israel reached its fourth day, right-wing Israeli activists held a barbecue outside the Ofer Prison in an attempt to break their willpower.
Right-Wing Israelis Try to Break Palestinians’ Hunger Strike With Smell of BBQ
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704201052828918-israeli-bbq-prison-hunger-strike/
The strike was launched by 57-year-old imprisoned Palestinian activist Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five consecutive life sentences for murder. His strike was announced in a controversial op-ed for the New York Times, where he accused Israel of torture.
“Having spent the last 15 years in an Israeli prison, I have been both a witness to and a victim of Israel’s illegal system of mass arbitrary arrests and ill-treatment of Palestinian prisoners. After exhausting all other options, I decided there was no choice but to resist these abuses by going on a hunger strike,” Barghouti wrote.
The prisoners are seeking improved conditions and prisoner rights, such as increased family visits and an end to detention without trial.
Many have speculated that Barghouti is attempting to gain support and position himself to take over as the new leader of the Palestinian people, as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is now 82-years-old and will soon need a replacement.
“Barghouti rose to prominence during the second intifada as the architect and senior leader of al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade. Israeli authorities have long claimed that Barghouti is responsible for several acts of terrorism, and he was finally arrested in Ramallah by Israeli Defense Forces in 2002,” Vice News reported.
“Two years later he was convicted on five counts of murder. He refused legal representation, claiming the trial was illegal and illegitimate, and was sentenced to five consecutive life sentences and an additional 40 years in prison. During the first intifada, Barghouti was a strong supporter of the peace process and non-violent resistance.”
Despite his imprisonment, Barghouti has remained one of the most popular Palestinian political voices.
Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the characterization of Barghouti as a leader, and called the striking prisoners "murderers and terrorists."
The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate denounced the violent suppression of a peaceful sit-in in occupied East Jerusalem, saying in a statement that the attack "will not prevent journalists from delivering Palestinians' message to the world."
13 Palestinian Journalists Injured while Attempting to Cover Jerusalem Sit-in
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960210000707
The group said in a statement Sunday morning that 13 Palestinian journalists were injured while attempting to cover the demonstration, Ma'an reported.
Israeli police had forcibly evacuated a peaceful sit-in organized at the Damascus Gate entrance to the Old City, held to express support for approximately 1,500 Palestinian prisoners who have been on hunger strike in Israeli prisons for the past 14 days.
After marching through the streets, chanting slogans in solidarity with the hunger strikers, demonstrators were chased by Israeli police on horseback, with Israeli police officers also ripping up and confiscating pictures of Palestinian prisoners that protesters were carrying.
Some demonstrators also attempted to march towards Herod’s Gate and Salah al-Din street, but were stopped and suppressed by Israeli forces.
Israeli forces detained four activists, identified by locals as Yassin Subieh, Luay Jaber, Suhaib Saiyam, and Amer al-Qawasmi, after they were physically and verbally assaulted by Israeli police officers, witnesses told Ma'an.
Israeli forces also assaulted at least 13 journalists in an attempt to stop them from covering the attacks on demonstrators, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.
Among the injured was a reporter, Ahmad Gharabla, who was severely bruised on his chest after being assaulted by Israeli police on horseback, while Israeli police also beat Ammar Awad, a photographer, with the butts of their rifles.
Footage published by the Jerusalem-based news outlet al-Quds Network showed mounted police charging at demonstrators and journalists.
According to the statement from the journalists’ syndicate,
Israeli forces also confiscated cameras and other equipment from journalists at the rally.“ This attack is just one of series of attacks committed by Israeli forces against journalists in an attempt to prevent them from exposing Israeli crimes.
These attacks will not prevent journalists from delivering Palestinians' message to the world,” the statement said. Israeli police spokeswoman Luba al-Samri said in a written statement Saturday evening that Israeli police officers deployed in the area dispersed the crowds "without any noteworthy or exceptional events occurring." The assault came days after Reporters Without Borders condemned Israeli forces for violating the rights of Palestinian and foreign journalists, particularly those that cover demonstrations, in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index compiled by the international press freedoms NGO.
“Under Israel’s system of administrative detention, Palestinian journalists can be held indefinitely without trial, without formal charge, and without notifying a lawyer. They are often accused of inciting violence, cooperating with terrorist organizations, or otherwise posing a threat to Israel’s security,” the group wrote in the report, which ranked Israel 91 out of 180 countries according to the level of freedom available to journalists.
The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) documented 249 press freedoms violations committed by Israeli authorities in the group’s annual 2016 report. Israeli violations involved the “injuring and arresting of dozens of Palestinian journalists, raiding, confiscating, and sabotaging media outlets, including the shutdown of 12 Palestinian media outlets and printing houses.”
On Tuesday the United Nations announced that they would be keeping a close eye on the 1,100 Palestinians incarcerated in Israeli jails who recently went on hunger strike.
UN Keeps Watch as More Than 1,000 Palestinian Prisoners Hunger Strike
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704201052798278-un-watches-palestinian-hunger-strike/
The strike began on Monday by Marwan Barghouti, a jailed leader of the Intifada uprisings who is considered a terrorist by Israel. The move is intended to pressure officials into furnishing prisoners with telephone access and better medical treatment and to meet other demands.
The UN is appealing for calm as violence involving the prisoners’ supporters has arisen in the West Bank. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, "We are obviously aware of the situation and following the developments closely … We call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint."
She added that, "as a matter of principle, wherever it may be, we always call for prisoners to be treated in a humane way."
Government officials have shown little interest in meeting the prisoners’ demands, as Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan has said that prison officials will not negotiate with the striking prisoners.
Barghouti, founder of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and former head of Fatah’s armed Tanzim wing, is being kept in solitary confinement at Kishon Prison after being moved from Hadarim Prison. Fatah is a secular, nationalist political party formerly known as the Palestinian National Liberation movement.
Barghouti is serving five life terms for being implicated in four terror attacks, five counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, for which he was sentenced to an additional 40 years.
Following an article Barghouti published in the New York Times explaining the strike,
Israeli prison representatives announced that strikers would be punished.
He wrote, "Palestinian prisoners and detainees have suffered from torture, inhumane and degrading treatment, and medical negligence. Some have been killed while in detention. According to the latest count from the Palestinian Prisoners Club, about 200 Palestinian prisoners have died since 1967 because of such actions. Palestinian prisoners and their families also remain a primary target of Israel’s policy of imposing collective punishments."
Israel Prisons Service spokesman Assaf Librati said on Tuesday that,
"The Prisons Service has started taking disciplinary measures against the strikers, and in addition a number of prisoners have been transferred to separate wings … It is to be emphasized that the [Prisons Service] does not negotiate with prisoners." 
