Ramadan Kareem to all Muslims!

An update from the land of occupation.

File photo

(BETHLEHEM) - Items for today include a story about the demonstration yesterday in Al-Walaja where Israeli occupation forces apparently used an experimental weapon, links to CNN videos exposing the money grubbing fake "terrorism expert" Walid Shoebat (who was disavowed by his family in my village of Beit Sahour), and a request for financial donations to aid a Palestinian girl through the Harford Catholic Worker group.

In other news is a spreading discontent among Israelis about their countries policies that make the rich richer, and the poor poorer (and no it is not merely a "housing protest").

And in Syria, Bashar Asad forces killed 150 protesters in one day, a record. It seems that rising revolutions will not be stopped by promises of reform and lying politicians anywhere in the world.

Arrests, experimental weapons, and live ammunition for peaceful demonstrators: Al-Walaja popular committee reports that a demonstration against the wall happened yesterday 31 July 2011 at 9 AM with participation by dozens of locals, internationals, and Israelis. The occupation forces fired tear gas, stun grenades, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition. Injuries were reported. Most disturbing was that the Israeli soldiers used a new type of canisters that released an unknown substance in the air. The canisters were cylindrical and black (similar in shape but slightly smaller than stun grenades and produced no sounds). Israeli soldiers carefully removed the two objects from the field using gloves on one and a piece of cardboard on the other (clearly not wanting any remnants left in the field for these experimental weapons). They also tried to find and confiscate any video or photo evidence.

One Palestinian youth was arrested as were three Israeli and two International activists http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9A5_11x_Iw <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9A5_11x_Iw&feature=related> &feature=related. The two Internationals are from the PEDAL group.  The European PEDAL group, a group of cyclists who traveled on bicycles from London to Palestine to link struggles of communities along their path, struggles that range from economic justice to migrant workers' rights to freedom from occupation and colonization (www.100daystopalestine.org). Some people asked to see a picture of the oldest tree in the area that is threatened (like descendants of its planters) by the wall in Al-Walaja. Here it is on Palestine Remembered http://www.palestineremembered.com/Jerusalem/al-Walaja/Picture36498.html

(look around that site for lots of information on Palestine).

Another request: The girl with Cochlear implants hopefully will have specialized evaluation soon. But now I turn to you for help for another girl. Marwa Al-Sharif went to Connecticut 10 years ago (August 2001) to have an Israeli bullet removed from her head. While the operation was successful, some side effects remained including a strange detrimental effect on development of her teeth. Marwa had done well in school since returning to Palestine and just graduated from high school but really requires expensive dental surgeries on all her teeth. We need your donation towards this work which is estimated to cost NIS18,000 (Euro3,800 or US$5,500.) The Hartford Catholic Worker (a nonprofit which helped bring Marwa to the US in 2001) is collecting donations which will be transferred directly to the Palestinian dentist for the work.

Please donate by going directly to http://hartfordcatholicworker.org/about/   and indicate on your donations that it is for "Marwa's Dentistry Work". For detail on her story, visit http://www.qumsiyeh.org/marwa/

CNN exposes Walid Shoebat, a fake terrorism expert (he claimed he is an ex-terrorist which is a lie and he rakes in hundreds of thousands from this scam). Watch this:

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzkrhZldvko

Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74Tzz51VYXg

Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD - Popular Committee to Defend Ush Ghrab (PCDUG) "A Bedouin in Cyberspace, a villager at home. Mazin has been an Associate Professor of Genetics; Director, Cytogenetics Laboratory at Yale University School of Medicine since 1999. He previously held a similar position at Duke University. Professor Qumsiyeh has authored over 110 scientific papers in areas of mammalogy, biology, and medicine including mammalian biology and evolution, clinical genetics, and cancer research. He has published over 100 letters to the editor and 30 op-ed pieces in International, national, regional and local papers on issues ranging from politics to environmental issues. His appearances in national media included the Washington Post, New York Times, Boston Globe, CNBC, C-Span, and ABC, among others. He is the founder and president of the Holy Land Conservation Foundation and ex-President of the Middle East Genetics Association, and Prof. Qumsiyeh won the Jallow activism award from the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee in 1998. Those are just a small list, visit Mazin Qumsiyeh's amazing and informative Website to learn more: qumsiyeh.org.