Palestinian Farmers Struggle against Annexation and the Pandemic // Ahmed Erekat was Killed at Israeli Checkpoint in Palestine on way to Sister’s Wedding
By Salena Fay Tramel– Opendemocracy.net It has not been an easy year for Palestinians, if there ever was such a
thing. With the turn of a new decade in January, the U.S. administration
unveiled the paradoxically branded “deal of the century” plan—calling for
Israel to unilaterally annex about a third of the West Bank. Then the
coronavirus slipped through the checkpoints into Bethlehem in March, sending
millions of Palestinians into lockdown. And in April, Israel formed a unity
government with an eye on the immediate annexation of the Jordan Valley in
direct violation of international law.
Today, just weeks
before that land grab is set to be pushed through in July, many Palestinians
worry that it could go largely unnoticed with the world’s attention focused
squarely on defeating the virus and curbing its economic fallout. Palestine is often
presented as an anomaly in global politics. Apologists of the Israeli
occupation of the Palestinian territories have been able to effectively present
a narrative of exceptionalism by emphasising the relatively small size of this
hotly contested corner of the Mediterranean, and insisting that there are
irreconcilable religious divisions.
The fight against COVID-19 has demonstrated
similar dynamics, as the Israeli government has received lavish praise for its
response to the pandemic within its own borders, while letting it spill over
into the occupied territories essentially unchecked....
https://www.juancole.com/2020/06/palestinian-struggle-annexation.htmlAhmed Erekat was Killed at Israeli Checkpoint in Palestine on way to Sister’s Wedding
( Middle
East Monitor) – For Palestinians, Israel’s military checkpoints are made
for its colonial violence and perpetual dehumanisation of the occupied
population. In the latest grotesque spectacle of extrajudicial killing, Ahmed
Erekat, a 27 year old Palestinian man and nephew of the Palestine Liberation
Organisation’s Secretary General Saeb Erekat, was killed by Israeli soldiers after losing control of his
vehicle close to a checkpoint at Abu Dis. Erekat was on his way to pick up his
sister as her wedding was taking place that evening. Israel claims that his
intention was a car-ramming attack.
Yet again, justice
will probably be elusive as Israel’s security narrative will determine the
outcome of any investigation if, indeed, one takes place. Israel does not
question its extrajudicial killings policy, which provides the backing for
state, soldier and settler impunity when it comes to eliminating Palestinians...
https://www.juancole.com/2020/06/colonial-checkpoint-palestine.html