David Polden writes: On 27 March, after 11 consecutive weeks of huge demonstrations, and the start of a general strike, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to pause (just for a month) legal changes which threaten the independence of judges, including the supreme court.
Among the demonstrators were military reservists who said they would not volunteer for service if the laws were passed.
Meanwhile, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank there have been…
On 14 January, Israeli Defence Force (IDF) soldiers attacked Palestinians protesting against the stealing of Palestinian land in Masafer Yatta by a settler. Masafer Yatta is a community of 12 Palestinian villages to the south of Hebron in the Occupied West Bank.
Witnesses said the soldiers fired tear gas at them and at their homes, suffocating dozens of people, according to the Palestinian WAFA news agency. The soldiers then set up checkpoints on the roads to prevent supporters and…
Palestine Action (PA) has claimed more successes (including eight acquittals) in its direct action campaign against the British subsidiary of Israel’s largest weapons company, Elbit Systems, which supplies military drones to the Israeli Defence Force for use against Palestinians.
Defence procurement minister Alex Chalk confirmed on 24 November that Elbit Systems UK had been removed from a £160mn contract to deliver crew training for the new Dreadnought-class submarine that is…
The British embassy in Israel will not be moving to Jerusalem.
During the Conservative party leadership contest in the summer, both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak expressed support for the move.
While prime minister, Truss ordered a review, but, on 2 November, a spokesperson for Rishi Sunak told the London-based New Arab news site: ‘There are no plans to move the UK embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv.’
The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians had warned in…
On 13 October, 30 Palestinian detainees ended a 19-day hunger strike aimed at the release of all Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli prisons, including those held in detention without charge or trial.
In their statement, the 30 (who had been joined by another 20 prisoners on 9 October) said that they had won the release of ‘the sick and the elderly during the next two months’.
Adameer prisoner support: www.addameer.org/…
On 4 November, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) reported escalating violence in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem with repeated military raids on Palestinian cities, routine use of excessive force, attacks by Jewish settlers and violations against healthcare workers and facilities.
In mid-October, with the rising tide of Israeli violence and Palestinian resistance, Electronic Intifada wondered: ‘Is Palestine on the brink of a full-scale revolt?’
According to…
On 21 September, British prime minister Liz Truss let it be known she is considering moving the UK embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Israel illegally annexed Palestinian East Jerusalem in 1980 (which it followed by illegally annexing Syria’s Golan Heights in 1981), just as Russia is now annexing Ukrainian territory.
To register your opposition to this official encouragement of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, please sign the petition from War on Want (020…
On 18 August, Israeli troops raided the offices of six Palestinian human rights groups in the occupied West Bank, confiscating computers and other equipment.
The six groups, which Israel labelled terrorist organisations in 2021, were: al-Haq (the West Bank affiliate of the International Commission of Jurists); the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association; the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees; the Union of Agricultural Work Committees; the Bisan Centre for Research…
On 20 June, the British branch of Elbit, Israel’s largest arms company, announced it was closing its offices in Kingsway, Central London.
This was five months after Elbit, which produces 85 percent of the military drones Israel uses for attacks on Palestinian territory, announced the sale of its Elbit Ferranti factory in Oldham.
Both these closures are due to a sustained direct action campaign by Palestine Action (PA). In the case of Elbit’s London offices, they’ve been the…
As thousands of Palestinians demonstrated in Gaza and the West Bank against US president Joe Biden’s visit to the Middle East in mid-July, the British Muslim human rights group CAGE released a report on bias in British education: Understanding Ukraine and Palestine solidarity in UK Schools.
In Bethlehem, Palestine, Palestinian journalists turned up to Biden’s press conference with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas wearing T-shirts featuring the face of Shireen Abu Aqleh,…
Palestine Action (PA) has organised at least five more actions in the last two months. PA activists have had charges against them dropped – and they’ve also had house raids.
The first action in the latest run came on 24 January, when PA raided the UAV Engines factory in Shenstone, Staffordshire. UAV is a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, the Israeli arms company that produces 85 percent of Israel’s military drones, used in attacks on Palestinians in Gaza.
PA activists occupied the…
Palestine Action (PA), the direct action group, has claimed three recent victories, including winning both of its first two court cases.
On 10 January, the Israeli drone-maker Elbit Systems announced that it had sold off a UK factory which had been disrupted over a long period by PA.
Just 10 days later, three PA activists walked free from Birmingham magistrates court after the crown prosecution service (CPS) dropped charges of criminal damage, aggravated trespass and resisting…
There were two Palestine solidarity events in Montgomeryshire in September.
On 5 September, the Llanidloes – As Sawiya Friendship Association (LLASFA) held an ‘Oak and Olive’ event at Compton’s Yard Community Gardens in Llanidloes to raise money for olive tree-planting in Palestine. (As Sawiya is a Palestinian town in the middle of the West Bank.)
The sun shone and the beautiful gardens were filled with a wonderful atmosphere of warmth and international friendship.
The…
UK tractor manufacturer JCB breached international human rights guidelines. It failed to carry out human rights checks over the potential use of its equipment in war crimes, the demolition of homes in occupied Palestine.
That was the finding of a government-funded watchdog, the OECD National Contact Point, in November.
Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights found JCB products had been used by Israeli forces in at least 60 out of 266 demolitions in one year:
…
A Palestine Action (PA) activist was released from Foston Hall prison after a 37-day hunger strike soon after our last issue went to the printers, on 23 July.
Yogi Bear had been remanded to prison on 17 June after refusing to accept extremely restrictive bail conditions following a PA occupation of the Arconic Factory in Birmingham. (See PN 2655.) They were released after the conditions were reduced to simply remaining in one fixed abode, which they were willing to accept.…
