Israelis rally for Palestinian state
50th anniversary of occupation
TEL AVIV, May 28, (Agencies): Thousands of Israelis rallied Saturday in Tel Aviv in support of a Palestinian state ahead of the 50th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land.
Banners bearing the slogan “Two states, One Hope” featured in the demonstration organised by supporters of a Palestinian state, including the Israeli NGO Peace Now.
NGO head Avi Buskila said the rally was a protest against “the lack of hope being offered by a government perpetuating occupation, violence and racism”.
“The time has come to prove to the Israelis, the Palestinians and the entire world that an important segment of the Israeli population is opposed to occupation and wants a two-state solution,” he added.
A message of support from Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas was read out at the rally.
Harmony
“It is time to live together in harmony, security and stability,” Abbas was quoted as saying.
“Our duty towards future generations is to conclude a peace of the brave.”
Israeli opposition Labour party leader Isaac Herzog attended the rally and threw his support behind a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In 1967, Israel seized the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan during the Six-Day War with neighbouring states.
It later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community.
Israel proclaims Jerusalem as its united capital, while the Palestinians claim the city’s eastern part as the capital of their future state.
More than 400,000 Israelis live in settlements on the West Bank which are considered illegal under international law and a major obstacle to Middle East peace.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is widely seen as the most right-wing administration in Israeli history and is pressing settlement expansion despite international concern.
Some government members have openly advocated annexing the West Bank.
The head of Palestinian Islamic courts on Sunday told judges not to grant divorces over Ramadan, fearing the month-long fast could spark rash words that would be regretted later.
Judge said he based his ruling on “the experience of previous years” when he found that the dawn-to-dusk fast and ban on cigarettes, which began on Saturday, tended to lead to frayed tempers and sharp tongues.
“Some, because they have not eaten and not smoked, create problems” in their marriages, he said in a statement, and they can make “quick and ill-considered decisions”.
Celebrated
According to the Palestinian Authority, 50,000 weddings were celebrated in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 2015, but more than 8,000 divorces were also registered.
Endemic unemployment and poverty are said to be major contributing factors.
There is no civil marriage or divorce in the Palestinian territories, where only religious courts have those powers.
Hundreds of hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners ended their 40-day fast on the first day of the month-long Muslim holiday of Ramadan, after reaching a compromise with Israel for additional family visits, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. Israel prison service spokeswoman
said the inmates declared an end to the strike Saturday morning. She said it came after a deal was reached with the Palestinian Authority and the Red Cross for prisoners to receive a second family visit each per month.
Hundreds of prisoners observed the strike they said was aimed at improving prison conditions.
The hunger strike had evolved into one of the longest such protests with this many participants since Israel’s 1967 capture of territories Palestinian seek for their state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Englander said 1,578 prisoners participated
French ends hunger strike:
A French photojournalist held in Turkey for nearly three weeks has ended a week-long hunger strike, press freedom body Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Saturday.
Photographer Mathias Depardon was detained on May 8 while working on a report in Hasankeyf in the southeastern Batman in the hunger strike overall, some fasting intermediately, and 834 ended their fast Saturday. She said 18 were being treated in hospitals.
Many Israelis view the prisoners as terrorists and have little sympathy for their demands. More than 6,000 Palestinians are currently in prison for offences linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, for charges ranging from stone-throwing to weapons possession and attacks that killed or wounded Israeli civilians and soldiers in bombings, shootings and other violence.
Several hundred are being held without trial in so-called administrative detention. Israel has defended the practice as a necessary tool to stop militant activity, including preventing deadly attacks.
Critics condemn it because there are no charges and judges can extend the detentions. They add that the practice is overused.
Rallied
Palestinians rallied behind the hunger strikers as national heroes, relishing a rare break from deep divisions between two rival political groups, the Islamic militant group Hamas which runs Gaza and Fatah, the movement of Western-backed Palestinian President who administers autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinians hoped the protest would draw the attention of a seemingly preoccupied international community as the Israeli occupation hits the 50-year mark in early June.
Support for the prisoners is an emotional consensus issue; hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been jailed by Israel since 1967. Israel’s public security minister,
alleged that the hunger strike was motivated by a power struggle in Abbas’ Fatah movement. He claimed that imprisoned strike organizer Marwan Barghouti cynically exploited his fellow prisoners to boost his standing in Fatah and promote his position as a possible successor to Abbas. Barghouti’s family has denied such claims.