News Highlights:
- Israeli forces open fire on Palestinian farmers and international volunteers in northern Gaza near Khan Younis; 4 farmers have been shot since January 27th, 2009 while working in their fields.
- Palestinian Muslim and Christian leaders denounce the Israeli settlement expansion in east Jerusalem, most recently in the Al Bustan neighbourhood whose residents just received home demolition orders from Israeli authorities.
- Amnesty International. calls for an arms embargo on Israel and Palestinian groups, and calls on the U.S. to stop supplying weapons to Israel.
- Israeli human rights group Btselem and Human Rights Watch say Israel is preventing them from entering Gaza to conduct independent investigations.
Feature:
A live interview with Ali Mallah from CUPE Ontario about the recent resolution passed over the weekend by CUPE Ontario workers to boycott Israeli universities. Ali gave background about CUPE’s leading role in the boycott movement and detailed the harassment being inflicted upon them by the Zionist lobby and even Canadian government officials. Ali, who is also VP of the Canadian Arab Federation, also told us about the slander campaign being launched against CAF leaders, specifically by Canadian cabinet minister Jason Kenney. Kenney has even threatened to cut funding given to CAF to help new immigrants. Ali concluded by calling on people to resist these attempts to silence the growing movement criticizing Israeli government policies.
Focus on Zionism:
Excerpts of a February 24th, 2009 report from the International Solidarity Movement in Palestine about the Israeli blockade and military curfew on Jayyous village in the occupied West Bank.