News Highlights:
- July 6th – Israeli forces in Nablus kill a respected Palestinian academic and his son during a military raid near a refugee camp.
- July 6th – Israeli High Court issues temporary injunction to halt work on one section of the apartheid wall near Azzawiya; protests continue by villagers and internationals as Azzawiya will be completely enclosed by the wall.
- July 3rd – Israeli troops in Gaza kill two Palestinian boys, aged 9 and 15; Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza has been under military siege for a week.
- July 4th – Dr. Azmi Bishara, a member of the Israeli Knesset, launched a hunger strike to protest the apartheid wall Israel is building in the West Bank, and in advance of the ruling expected soon from the International Court of Justice; Israel’s Foreign Minister says Israel will not accept the ruling.
Feature:
A special Eyewitness Palestine in a series about the apartheid wall and its impact on Palestinian daily life in the West Bank. The decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague is expected July 9th, and Azmi Bishara, a member of the Israeli Knesset, started a hunger strike on July 3 to draw attention to the horrific consequences of the wall. The full statement he released upon starting the strike was read, and he called upon the international community and the Arab countries to take the necessary steps to stop the building of the apartheid wall. There was also a report by Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery about recent demos against the wall, and explaining how the Israeli Court decisions might be used as a cover by the Israeli government to ignore the ICJ ruling.
Focus on Zionism:
Highlights of a press release from Human Rights Watch, issued July 2nd, criticizing Israeli military attacks on local Palestinian media. The release spoke about the most recent attack in Gaza, which destroyed the offices of AlJeel press agency, in an 11-storey building that also housed the offices for CNN, BBC and AlJazeera.