"Against the background of Netanyahu’s approval of the construction of 1500 new settlements in east Jerusalem last December, European countries that are traditionally among Israel’s closest allies (Germany, the UK, France and Portugal) publicly expressed their displeasure with Israel’s blunt disregard for Peace Process efforts. In a similar vein, EU High Representative Catherine Ashton described the Israeli settlement policies as “extremely troubling”. And - only adding to this growing tension between Israel’s roughshod foreign policies and the EU’s pledges for two-state-diplomacy - Israeli foreign policy is rather unlikely to follow a more accommodating course following the outcome of the latest Israeli parliamentary elections at the end of January 2013."
— The infallibility of David? On anti-semitism and criticising Israeli foreign policy | openDemocracy
"Parmi les aspects les plus inquiétants de ce documentaire, l’épisode de l’assassinat du premier ministre Yitzhak Rabin par un extrémiste juif en 1995, qui a pris le Shin Bet par surprise, et qui fait dire à l’un de ses anciens patrons qu’il y aura d’autres assassinats politiques entre juifs si, un jour, Israël choisit de se retirer des territoires occupés palestiniens. Et cette stupéfiante conclusion d’un de ces ex-patrons de la lutte antiterroriste, à qui l’auteur lit une phrase prophétique du philosophe Yeshayahou Leibowitz, qui avait prédit dès 1967 qu’en choisissant l’occupation et la colonisation après sa victoire, Israël perdrait son âme et irait au désastre. L’un des anciens chefs du Shin Bet réfléchit, et dit qu’il est d’accord « avec chaque mot » prononcé par ce philosophe, aujourd’hui disparu, longtemps considéré comme un affreux gauchiste. Il ajoute, avec le sourire : « Quand tu quittes le Shin Bet, tu deviens un peu gauchiste… »"
— « The Gatekeepers » : les guerriers de l’ombre d’Israël plaident pour la paix | Rue89
"And suddenly I realize, I am a “free Arab” – and I would argue that we in Israel are the most free Arabs in the world. Now I don’t mean that Arab citizens of Israel have more rights than Arabs elsewhere in the Middle East. That’s a provocative claim to be explored another time. No, what I mean is that we Middle Eastern Jews – who grew up speaking Arabic, who still sing songs in Arabic and watch movies in Arabic and speak Arabic with our non-Jewish neighbors – are the most free Arabs in the world. Don’t believe me? Watch this. “Fuck you, Netanyahu. And you too Peres. You are sons of whores who belong behind bars.” Under Hosni Mubarak – and now under the new management of that teddy bear Morsi – I could get several years in jail for “defaming the president.” Here hurling nasty insults at political leaders is a sport everyone plays – and prime ministers and presidents actually get convicted of crimes by independent judges."
— Free Arabs - 1. Mizrahi Jews are the Ultimate Pan-Arabs
"
During the summer, Susiya residents pay nearly $10 per cubic meter of water – about five times what Israelis pay. Imraizig is the programme manager for ACF’s clean water initiative in Susiya, and he is working to help residents get water affordably by building a filling station closer to the village. However, he told us, settlers have contaminated Susiya’s existing wells, and his requests for construction permits to replace them have thus far been denied.
A view from Palestinian Susiya toward nearby Susiya Settlement. Villagers in Susiya face constant harassment from settler groups and threats of eviction from Israeli forces. Heather Kathryn Ross
Soldiers’ testimonies recorded by Breaking the Silence verify Imraizig’s claim. A lieutenant in Civil Administration, who chose to remain anonymous, told BTS: ‘Poisoning wells, that happens [in the South Hebron Hills] plenty. There was this story of settlers throwing dead chickens into the Palestinians’ well… There was nothing to do. We brought them water tanks,’ the soldier said. ‘Most of those wells aren’t legal and they should actually be destroyed, but wells are not destroyed mostly. For their benefit.’
"
— Breaking the silence: Israeli soldiers with a tale to tell — New Internationalist
"There is a revolution growing inside of us, an immense dissatisfaction and frustration that will destroy us unless we find a way of canalizing this energy into something that can challenge the status quo and give us some kind of hope. The final drop that made our hearts tremble with frustration and hopelessness happened 30rd November, when Hamas’ officers came to Sharek Youth Forum, a leading youth organization (
www.sharek.ps) with their guns, lies and aggressiveness, throwing everybody outside, incarcerating some and prohibiting Sharek from working. A few days later, demonstrators in front of Sharek were beaten and some incarcerated. We are really living a nightmare inside a nightmare."
— Gaza Youth Breaks Out (GYBO)
"Il y a des preuves claires permettant d’appuyer des poursuites pour les crimes suivants (…) : homicide intentionnel, torture ou traitements inhumains, fait de causer intentionnellement de grandes souffrances ou des blessures graves”, écrivent les experts dans le rapport. “Les auteurs des crimes les plus graves ayant été masqués ne peuvent pas être identifiés sans l’assistance des autorités israéliennes”, soulignent-ils. Ils demandent ainsi au gouvernement d’Israël de coopérer pour permettre leur “identification en vue de poursuivre les coupables”."
— Flottille : il existe des “preuves claires” pour poursuivre Israël, selon l’ONU - LeMonde.fr
"Chomsky: No, that’s quite false, I don’t regard myself as a critic of Israel. I regard myself as a supporter of Israel. The people who are harming Israel, in my opinion, as I said many times, are those who claim to be supporting Israel […] Let’s go back a step. You said I am calling for the destruction of Israel or some words to that effect. Well, I don’t think it should exist as a Jewish state, [just as] I don’t think the United States should exist as a Christian state […] Insofar as [Israel] is not a state of its citizens but a state of a special category of its citizens, I object to it in principle. […] Though I was opposed to the existence of a Jewish state [before 1948], […] once it was formed in 1948, my position has consistently been that Israel should have the rights of every state in the international system, no more and no less. Now Israel demands more and I don’t agree with it."
— Keeping the Record Straight: About Noam Chomsky’s Trip to the Middle East in May 2010
"Everything that happened on board the Turkish flotilla six weeks ago remains a matter of controversy — who shot first, how aggressive the passengers were, how violent the commandos became, whether the action was justified in international waters. The cargo proved unquestionably humanitarian in nature — hospital beds, medicines, clothing — but the goal of the flotilla was to challenge Israel’s authority over what goes in and out of Gaza."
— Israeli Military Finds Flotilla Killings Justified - NYTimes.com
"Que des pays étrangers s’ingèrent dans les affaires libanaises, on s’en doutait. Le Liban est, depuis longtemps, un champ d’affrontements de puissances régionales, de l’Iran à Israël, de la Syrie à l’Arabie saoudite. Plus inhabituel est le fait qu’une grande puissance reconnaisse ouvertement qu’elle mène une action permanente contre l’une des principales forces du pays, force qui participe, par ailleurs, au gouvernement. Ces pratiques américaines rappellent les interventions des Etats-Unis en France ou en Italie durant la guerre froide contre les partis communistes. Le Hezbollah, qui a rendu public son nouveau programme le 1er décembre 2009, est la seule force libanaise qui maintient une milice armée."
— 500 millions de dollars contre le Hezbollah - Les blogs du Diplo
