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Occupation

Life In The Most Militarized Zone In The World

A special episode dedicated to the most militarized land in the world – one that you may not even have ever heard of. Yet despite the seemingly global indifference, this place – and these people are calling out for recognition – for basic human rights, for an end to a violent and brutal occupation. It's well past time that we listen.

Resistance To US Occupation Of Hawaii Continues

“I have come to understand that the lawful political status of the Hawaiian Islands is that of a sovereign nation-state in continuity; but a nation-state that is under a strange form of occupation by the United States resulting from an illegal military occupation and a fraudulent annexation. As such, international laws (the Hague and Geneva Conventions) require that governance and legal matters within the occupied territory of the Hawaiian Islands must be administered by the application of the laws of the occupied state (in this case, the Hawaiian Kingdom), not the domestic laws of the occupier (the United States).” The U.S. Senate ratified the Hague and Geneva Conventions making both of these treaties part of federal law under Article VI of the federal constitution and which must be faithfully carried out in territory that the United States is occupying.

Ugandan Farmers Emerge Victorious After Monthlong Occupation Of UN Office

After 37 days of occupying a United Nations office in Gulu, Uganda, 234 farmers, youth, mothers with young babies and elderly men packed their gear into trucks and returned to their homes in Apaa — an area of rich farmland and forest in the north of the country. Far from being a quiet and somber event, their departure was marked by an explosion of song and ululation. It was part collective exhale — following a month of cramped conditions, an overflowing pit latrine and daily hostilities from their reluctant “hosts” — and part cry of triumph and hope. The occupiers from Apaa had uprooted themselves and thrust their community upon the only global stage accessible to them. They strategically chose the only office in the entire country that could be occupied without immediate forceful eviction.

Trump Regime To Formally Reject Palestinians’ Right Of Return

According to the body, “there are few, if any, circumstances in which deprivation of the right to enter one’s own country could be reasonable.” Adopted near the end of Israel’s 1948 war, UN Resolution 194 resolved that Palestinian “refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible” – Article 11. In May 1949, UN Resolution 273 granted Israel UN membership conditional on accepting and implementing UN Resolutions 181 (partitioning Mandatory Palestine into Jewish and Arab states) and 194, granting Palestinians their universally recognized right of return.

UN Chief Suggests Deploying Armed Forces To Protect Palestinians From Israel

“The combination of prolonged military occupation, constant security threats, weak political institutions, and a deadlocked peace process provides for a protection challenge that is highly complex politically, legally and practically.” The protection of Palestinian civilians could be improved by the deployment of UN-mandated armed forces or unarmed observers, a beefed-up UN civilian presence or expanded UN assistance, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote in a report on Friday. The United Nations General Assembly requested the report in a resolution adopted in June that condemned Israel for excessive force against Palestinian civilians and denounced the firing of rockets from Gaza into Israeli civilian areas. The resolution asked for proposals to ensure “the safety, protection and well-being of the Palestinian civilian population under Israeli occupation, including … recommendations regarding an international protection mechanism.

Ten Years In Palestine, Lessons Learned

It has been ten years since I returned to Palestine after living in the US for nearly three decades. Those ten years in Palestine have been truly phenomenal and inspirational despite the pain and agony associated with them. For example, they are bracketed by an attack on Gaza in 2008 when we saw hundreds of Palestinian civilians murdered and by the attacks on Gaza and on the freedom flotilla trying to break the siege on Gaza in 2018. In between much pain that I relayed in my weekly email messages including losing 19 of my personal friends killed by the Israeli colonization army. But also in between we have much to be proud of in Palestinian community achievement with help of others.

Gaza Freedom Flotilla Ship Hijacked by Israeli Occupation Forces

The motor vessel Al Awda (The Return), traveling in international waters towards Palestinian waters, 49 nautical miles from the port in Gaza City, has been contacted by the Israeli Occupation Forces navy and warned. The Israeli navy claims our ship is breaking international law and threatens that they will use “any measures necessary” to stop us. In fact, the only “necessary measures”  would be to end the blockade of Gaza and restore freedom of movement for all Palestinians. At last news from on board, Al Awda maintains her course towards Gaza, where the crew and participants hope to arrive this evening around 21:00 local time. A number of warships have appeared, so an attack, boarding and capture appear to be imminent, and we anticipate that all communications with the vessel will be lost shortly.

Why I Walked Off My Birthright Israel Trip

“I could live with having my home being destroyed once a year,” Awdah Al-hathalean tells me as he paces around the International Community Center of Umm Al-Khair, a Palestinian Bedouin village in the West Bank. “My friend’s house was demolished four times in the last year.” As he walks, I sip sage tea from a small glass cup and look at pictures of Awdah’s uncle. I hadn’t expected to be in Umm Al-Khair that night. But two days earlier I had walked off my Birthright-Israel trip along with seven other Birthright participants. Birthright, which since 1999 has sent more than 650,000 young Jews like me on free trips to Israel, claims to be an apolitical trip intended to put young Jews in touch with our history and culture. Over the course of a week, however, it became clear that Birthright was advancing a political agenda, both hiding and supporting Israel’s military occupation of Palestinians.

Tree Sits Established To Stop Bayou Bridge Pipeline

Deep in the Atchafalaya Basin, one of the largest swamps in North America, tree-sits have been established directly on the path of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline. Water protectors are currently occupying multiple sits on the pipeline easement. We have petitioned, filed lawsuits and demonstrated. We have carried out nearly 50 worksite actions. But despite these efforts, construction of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline has continued. We are left with no other choice but to put our bodies, and our lives on the line to stop this pipeline. The tree-sitters and their support team are living in inhospitable conditions, with limited resources and under close watch of Energy Transfer Partners. THEY NEED YOUR SUPPORT.

Why They Risked Everything To Occupy ICE

On Tuesday, Philadelphia police arrested 24-year-old Jameson Rush, gave him — along with 28 others who had been part of an encampment seeking to shut down a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, office in the city — a citation, and told him that if he got arrested there again he’d be taken to jail and face more serious charges. But as a searing July sun was turning the 8th Street pavement into a convection oven on Thursday morning, Rush — a barista who moved to Philadelphia from northern California last year — was back out there in his bright green safety vest, even though he was exhausted from only getting about one hour of sleep in a small folding chair the night before.

‘Occupy ICE’ Movement Spreads Across Cities Nationwide

SAN FRANCISCO — Protests outside the offices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been cropping up in cities across the country in recent weeks, with demonstrators calling for abolishing the agency. In San Francisco, a small group of about a dozen people were stationed outside the local ICE offices in the downtown on Thursday, amid about two dozen tents and signs reading “F**k ICE” and “Defend the criminalized.” A large banner hanging across the street read “Abolish borders.” “We are here because we are, and are in solidarity with, undocumented immigrants,” an organizer at the protest, who asked to remain anonymous, told HuffPost. “We are calling for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”

From Occupation To Community: The Lessons From OccupyICE Portland

I remember visiting the the OccupyICEPDX encampment during its first week in Portland, Oregon in which activists successfully shut down the local I.C.E. Facility. I was able to have conversations with several activists and assist in carrying heavy items around the camp. The activists told me what made this occupation so successful was once they decided to commit to setting up an encampment around the facility their numbers grew quickly. These rise in numbers is what has helped sustain the occupation. This first visit to me felt like an occupation. Building was still being done, many items were still needed for the camp, and teams in the camp were recently established. But something else was coinciding with this occupation. Something that we can all learn from, it was not until my visit to the camp on June 30th for the nightly vigil that I realized what these lessons were.

We Build Your Homes, But Have No Homes Ourselves: Diary Of A South African Land Occupation

Talitha and Johanna work as maids. They earn R150 per day, which is the price of a gallon of milk, a pound of cheese, a loaf of bread and four oranges (1 Rand is about 5 Rupees). They could just about eat for a day, but that’s about it. They smile at me when I ask them how they manage to get by. Johanna says, ‘barely’. They live in Good Hope Settlement, a congested piece of land in Germiston – just outside Johannesburg (South Africa). Their homes are temporary, called ‘shacks’ in this part of the world. These shelters abut each other. They have no protection from the rain and offer no privacy. The lack of sanitation facilities means that sewage runs through their narrow lanes. It also means that illness is a constant worry.

Jerusalem Can Never Be Taken Off The Table

In a recent interview with Helena Cobban hosted by the Institute for Palestine Studies, Dr. Rashid Khalidi, the founder of the Journal of Palestine Studies, states that the recent declaration by the United States regarding Jerusalem has brought the Jerusalem issue again to the table.  Jerusalem is again gaining more attention internationally and activists in the US and Europe are protesting continuously the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem in recognition of the city as the capital of Israel.  The actions of the of US is also unmasking the intimate relationship with Israel and the undemocratic Arab countries in the Middle East.

As Israel Marks 70 Years, What Have Been The True Costs?

Independence Day celebrations tomorrow should be a moment for Israelis – and the many Jews who identify with Israel – to reflect on what kind of state it has become after seven decades. The vast majority of Israelis, however, are too busy flying blue-and-white flags from their cars, venerating their army as the “most moral in the world” and poring over the latest official statistics in the hope that more Israeli Jews than Palestinians were born over the past year. The Zionist project was intended, so its founders claimed, to provide a sanctuary from persecution for all Jews around the world. But at what cost, both to the native Palestinians on whose homeland a Jewish state was built and to the moral character of those who settled there? And has it really provided the sanctuary it promised?

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Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! 

Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

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