Palestinian and Israeli Security Forces in Beit Jala

Unarmed protesters are arrested and abused as AIPAC & Israel's apartheid state, receives an additional US $205 million from US taxpayers.

Professor Qumsiyeh confronts a Palestinian security forces officer about treatment of Palestinian youths being held in custody.

(BEIT JALA, Occupied Palestine) - A demonstration in Al-Walaja on Sunday morning 23 May 2010, went smoothly. At 11:30 a.m. we went to Beit Jala for the weekly demonstration. Palestinian Security Forces detained children ahead of the demonstration. Then we demonstrated at the site below with mostly internationals and Israelis.

Israelis were arrested for blocking bulldozers, and one reporter was taken via ambulance having fainted from the gas.

Later in the day, some young Palestinians joined the demonstration higher up the hill. After some tear gas shooting from the Israelis in area C, Palestinian security (apparently in coordination with Israeli security) beat some youths. There were two young men who threw stones earlier, but these were not them.

Palestinian security forces also threatened organizers. This is sad and they were accused repeatedly of, "acting just like the Israelis".

Palestinians interrogate activists in Al-Walaja

Prior to that, some activists in Al-Walaja were also called out and hassled by Palestinian security interrogators.

The attacks from the Israeli soldiers at the peaceful demonstration in Al-Masara 21 May 2010 (here no Palestinian security are allowed in the area)

In bad news, Israel is still detaining and imprisoning political activists and denying them due process. Even Moredechai Vanunu who served 18 years in Israeli jails for exposing Israel’s nuclear weapons capability is now back in jail for three months for talking to media! (see: May-22-2010: Email from and MORE about Mordechai Vanunu - Eileen Fleming Salem-News.com)

In good news “Following lobbying efforts by the Italian Coalition Against Carmel-Agrexco, two major Italian supermarket chains, COOP and Nordiconad, announced the suspension of sales of products from Agrexco, the principal exporter of produce from Israel and the illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.” (over 6,200,000 members and annual revenue of €11.8 billion).

And the world is holding its breath as a flotilla of ships with lots of supplied an hundreds of decent people try to break the siege on Gaza again. (see: May-16-2010: 'Israel's Intimidation Tactics Won't Stop Us': First Ship Sets Sail for Gaza!Salem-News.com

See and support: freegaza.org and also flickr.com/photos/freegaz

CALL TO ACTION: Right of Return and One Secular Democratic State event in Bethlehem area to parallel with the Haifa conference (ror1state.org/awda/)

In conjunction with this weekend’s Haifa conference regarding right of return and a one state solution, a two-day parallel event will be held in the Bethlehem area, May 28th and 29th.

The event, to be held at the Alternative Information Center in Beit Sahour, will feature a Friday evening link-in to the Haifa conference.

A panel discussion is scheduled for Saturday. Overnight accommodations are available. For information, contact Mazin@Qumsiyeh.org.

Twilight Zone on Capitol hill (or should I say Israeli occupied Congress of the US). Watch this groveling to AIPAC as an additional US $205 million is given to the apartheid state from US tax payers

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Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD - Popular Committee to Defend Ush Ghrab (PCDUG) "A Bedouin in Cyberspace, a villager at home. Mazin is a Professor in Bethlehem and Birzeit Universities, Chairman of the Board, Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between People, pcr.ps. He has been an Associate Professor of Genetics; Director, Cytogenetics Laboratory at Yale University School of Medicine. 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.