terrorist donkey killed, ohio professor detained in israel, Ramallah diary from my sister, and 10,000 palestinian prisoners

While the world focuses on Lebanon, the Israelis work work work away in Gaza and the West Bank...

24 Palestinians were killed in Gaza yesterday. 70 were wounded.
Israeli troops killed on twenty-four Palestinians, including three children, on Wednesday, and injured at least 70 residents in Al Sha'af in Al Shijaeeya neighborhood, east of Gaza City
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20380&Itemid=1

911 in Nablus
In Nablus last week 6 were killed and 80 wounded.
http://www.thecornerreport.com/index.php?p=644&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1#more644

IDF kills 4 Palestinians in Jenin and Gaza
(TODAY)
http://www.albawaba.com/en/news/201279

I heard that the Palestinians are going to release the Israeli soldier. The 1 Israeli (soldier!) who is being held prisoner by Palestinians, meanwhile 9,599 Palestinians (men, women, children, civilians, etc) are currently imprisoned by Israel. Oftentimes these prisoners are snatched from their
homes in the middle of the night, or while cultivating their fields etc., or they are taken by undercover Israeli squads who invade cities and usually kill a civilian or two while making the arrest.They are tortured in these Israeli detention and interrogation prisons.
There are currently 425 children behind bars currently.
Children as young as FIVE years old have been detained.
and as I write this the Israeli army is kidnapping people left and right....here is the ticker.....
Army takes a child as prisoner from Azaria, near Jerusalem 15:47
Army invades Beit Furiq and takes three prisoners 15:46
Army takes four prisoners from Yatta and Hebron 15:45
Army takes one prisoner from Al Khader village

Palestinian detainees tortured, facing bad mental and health conditions
http://sumoud.tao.ca/?q=node/view/691

I refused and he hit me about 14 year old Taher Ouda
http://www.dci-pal.org/english/display.cfm?DocId=458&CategoryId=3

There were so many stories about children detained and tortured from the Defense for Children International Website that you should just go yourself to the list: http://www.dci-pal.org/english/doclist.cfm?categoryid=3

Speaking of detainees Akron University professor Ghazi Falah has been held since July 8th!
http://www.newsnet5.com/news/9518934/detail.html?subid=10101081
The following website has just been set up to draw attention to the plight of Prof. Ghazi Falah (geography professor at the University of Akron and the editor of Arab World Geographer), who has been detained in an Israeli prison without access to his lawyer since July 8.
http://muehlenhaus.com/ghazi/
Please take a moment to send a letter to the US and Canadian embassy officials in Israel as well as to the Israeli authorities (click on "You can help Ghazi here") to help ensure his fair and humane treatment. His friends, colleagues and family are very worried about him.

Two things you should check out on Electronic Intifada:
Ramallah to Rice "Screw your new Middle East!"
Huge demo in Ramallah against that war monger Rice! Go to and you will see a picture of my sister!!! : )
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article5250.shtml

Terrorist Donkey Joins Family in Death
Palestine, 25 July 2006
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article5225.shtml

And lastly here is a diary entry from Ramallah.....

Hi all,

Keef kum? I am exhausted we had a protest today because Condi Rice came to Ramallah today. Can you fucking believe that? She has the nerve to show her face here after all this shit the US has unleashed on the world once again. But it was amazing, there were 1,000 people there from all the different factions, political groups PFLP, DFLP, Fateh, Hamas, independents, communists, women's organizations, al Haq, Mubadara, ISM, students, etc. Of course all the journalists ran like lemmings to the one woman there whose face was totally covered and holding a photo of Nasrallah.

The CIA took over Ramallah with their security and blocked us from coming anywhere near the Muqata where she was. The Palestinian police were there in their role as police-dogs. Things actually got somewhat violent... very depressing.

We went up to visit friends in Haifa a few days ago to see them, make sure they are ok, etc. It was so strange. Haifa is a ghost town, totally dead. Every Israeli has hit the road and gone away to Jerusalem, Aqaba, New York. We felt like the only people still left were our Palestinian friends there, and the Russian immigrants.

Several times, the air raid sirens went off and people went for cover. To us, it was somewhat ridiculous. I know that must sound funny, maybe even insensitive. But compared to what's happening in Lebanon and Gaza, it's goddamn paradise up there in Haifa. I mean, every now and then the sirens go off and a rocket will hit somewhere. And it's scary because someone will probably be injured or die from it but it's so minimal. I mean, it's so..so nothing..so exaggerated in the news. We'd hide for a few moments, and then come out again and continue as normal. Can you imagine anyone in Gaza or Lebanon having that privilege? It just didn't feel dangerous there or unsafe to us. Even Ramallah on any given day of the week, is scarier than that with the Army entering, shooting and blowing up things, or under-cover Israelis kidnapping people from the middle of town. And you know Ramallah is the best place to be in the West Bank people still have food here, fuel, work...

It' summer the time of film festivals. Good news this week a few of us were invited to the Locarno Film Festival. I noticed the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs listed as a co-sponsor. They are carpet bombing Gaza and Beirut and then go and sponsor film festivals in Europe as if everything is normal. We of course protested to Locarno and said we would pull our films out if they chose to work with a government organization the same government that is carrying out ethnic cleansing, and suffocating and massacring our friends and family. Thankfully, Locarno took our concerns seriously and dropped them.

Ramallah is more or less quiet. While all eyes (or at least some eyes) are on Lebanon, the land confiscations continue, the Wall comes to completion and the checkpoints only grow more permanent. Kalandia was closed several times this week. Emily, you won't recognize it when you come. Nablus is under attack. A Five year old girl and a nine-month old baby were just killed in Gaza. The land shrinks. People are really, really depressed. They have managed to squash us into the ground and most people no longer have the energy to hope anymore.

I love you all.
Emily everyone misses you and constantly asks about you. Ta alee!!!

xo,
a

ps. Just got a call from a friend. The Army was in town last night - I didn't even know! - they went to his families house and blew up the door to their neighbors house and then ran amok all over the camp shooting and harrassing everyone.