Civilian Deaths | The American Task Force on Palestine

Israel, the masses are coming
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Alex Fishman - (Opinion) June 8, 2011 - 12:00am

There were days when we mocked the “Hatzatzit,” the stone-throwing vehicle developed by the IDF to respond to the first Intifada’s mass demonstrations. How could it be, we wondered, that the great, wise IDF goes back to the Stone Age and confronts civilians so primitively?

Israel has shown its true colours again
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
(Editorial) June 7, 2011 - 12:00am

The 44th anniversary of Al Naksa, or the Six-Day War, was marred by Israeli atrocities when at least 20 Palestinian and Syrian protesters were shot dead by the Israeli army near the occupied Golan Heights. The reasoning? Israel was "left with no choice but to open fire" at the protesters who simply wished to draw attention to an ongoing tragedy. Once again, protesters whose sole aim from this exercise was to create awareness of Israel's unjust occupation not just of Palestinian territories but also of Golan Heights have had to pay the price.

Pro-Syrian Palestinian group kills 11 refugees
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Khaled Yacoub Oweis - June 7, 2011 - 12:00am

AMMAN (Reuters) – Gunmen from a Palestinian faction loyal to Syria shot dead at least 11 Palestinians at a refugee camp near Damascus Monday in a dispute over the group's backing for Damascus, Palestinian sources said Tuesday. Hundreds of angry refugees had tried to storm the headquarters of the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) in Yarmouk camp on the edges of Damascus. They accused the group of sacrificing Palestinian lives by encouraging protesters to demonstrate at the Golan Heights, where several were shot by Israeli forces.

Violence at Palestinian camp funerals in Syria leaves 20 dead
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Roula Hajjar - June 7, 2011 - 12:00am

Funerals in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp near the Syrian capital of Damascus turned violent late Monday as clashes erupted between camp residents and a Syrian-backed Palestinian faction, leading to the deaths of as many as 20 people, according to Palestinian sources and amateur video posted on the Internet.

Violence on Syria border leaves Israel in a no-win situation
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - (Opinion) June 6, 2011 - 12:00am

There's a major difference between what happened yesterday, on what the Arabs call Naksa Day, the anniversary of the beginning of the Six-Day War, and Nakba Day last month, marking the displacement of Arabs when the State of Israel was established. Most significantly, this time the Israel Defense Forces was prepared for clashes at the Syrian border and in the Golan Heights.

Israeli Soldiers Shoot at Protesters on Syrian Border
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - June 5, 2011 - 12:00am

Israeli forces fired at pro-Palestinian protesters on the Syrian frontier on Sunday as they tried to breach the border for the second time in three weeks, reflecting a new mode of popular struggle and deadly confrontation fueled by turmoil in the Arab world and the vacuum of stalled peace talks.

Report: Tension rises between Arabs, J'lem police
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Yair Altman - May 31, 2011 - 12:00am

The friction between the police and Jerusalem's Arab population has escalated considerably over the past 18 months, a report released Tuesday by the Association for Civil Rights indicates. According to the report, roughly 1,200 children were questioned on suspicion of pelting stones and 759 were arrested for suspected violations of a nationalistic nature. Charges were pressed in 226 of the cases. East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Silwan and Issawiya were listed in the report as the most prominent sites of contention.

Israel's PR victory shames news broadcasters
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
(Opinion) May 31, 2011 - 12:00am

The propaganda battle over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has reached a new level of intensity. In 2004 the Glasgow University Media Group published a major study on TV coverage of the Second Intifada and its impact on public understanding. We analysed about 200 programmes and questioned more than 800 people. Our conclusion: reporting was dominated by Israeli accounts. Since then we have been contacted by many journalists, especially from the BBC, and told of the intense pressures they are under that limit criticism of Israel. They asked us to raise the issue in public because they can't.

Harsh West Bank 'honor killing' brings tougher law
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Nasser Shiyoukhi - May 19, 2011 - 12:00am

A 20-year-old Palestinian woman who was thrown into a well and left to die in the name of "family honor" has not become just another statistic in one of the Middle East's most shameful practices. The killing of Aya Baradiya — by an uncle who didn't like a potential suitor — sparked such outrage that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas scrapped laws this week that guaranteed sentences of six months or less for such killings.

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