Greta Berlin
6 August 2010

They said it couldn’t be done, that Americans couldn’t raise money fast enough to buy a boat to join Freedom Flotilla 2 in the fall. But never underestimate American determination in the face of Israeli intransigence and brutality. The launch of the US Boat to Gaza began last night in New York, and Free Gaza was there to participate.

Listen to Col. Ann Wright’s eloquent speech, then watch our TWITTER page for the next video uploads.

And this is just a beginning, as witnessgaza.com gets ready to go live for events across the US and across Europe.

“The Audacity of Hope” is more than just a book title. It is a call to everyone who believes in justice for Palestine… that there is hope, that civil society will do what governments refuse to do, that we will sail again and again until Palestinians gain the human and civil rights that have been denied to them for 62 years.

WE SAIL UNTIL PALESTINE IS FREE.
—
Greta Berlin,
witnessgaza.com

via Mazin Qumsiyeh

– 3 August 2010
via alexropus

4 August 2010

Today (Wednesday) was another honorable and painful chapter in the struggle of the village of Al-Walaja.  Apartheid soldiers assaulted children and adults protesting peacefully, injured many, and arrested six Palestinians.  The destruction of the beautiful ancient village land was stopped for over 1.5 hours.  I was especially touched by the courage of Omar and his two children, one of them was hit by a soldier with his gun on top of his head.  Please see this video and be both angered and inspired by the courage of the Walajans.  The villagers need our support in many ways especially to demand Israel release those they abducted.  Come join us PLEASE and act.

Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K_-gpgTy_8

Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD

A Bedouin in Cyberspace, a villager at home

http://www.qumsiyeh.org

Professor, Bethlehem and Birzeit Universities

Chairman of the Board, Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between People, http://www.pcr.ps

INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP – NEW REPORT
Drums of War: Israel and the “Axis of Resistance”

Beirut/Jerusalem/Damascus/Washington/Brussels, 2 August 2010: The Israeli-Lebanese border is exceptionally calm and uniquely dangerous, both for the same reason: fear that a new round of hostilities would be far more violent and could spill over regionally.

Drums of War: Israel and the “Axis of Resistance”,* the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines developments since the indecisive 2006 confrontation. It focuses on the de facto deterrence regime that has helped keep the peace: all parties now know that a next conflict would not spare civilians and could escalate into broader regional warfare. However, the process this regime perpetuates – mutually reinforcing military preparations; enhanced military cooperation among Iran, Syria, Hamas and Hizbollah; escalating Israeli threats – pulls in the opposite direction and could trigger the very outcome it has averted so far.

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