This week: commemorations of Land Day across Israel and the West Bank, solidarity marches in the South Hebron Hills, clashes ensue after a prisoner’s death, an Israeli draft refuser, and South Africans march for justice.
Layla Issawi, mother of the hunger striking Palestinian prisoner Samer Issawi, is seen in the Galilee town of Sakhnin during the Land Day demonstration, March 30, 2013. Land Day commemorates the death of six Palestinian protesters at the hands of Israeli forces during mass demonstrations in 1976 against plans to confiscate Palestinian land in northern Israel. (Photo by: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)
The word “Palestine” is written in painted rocks on land belonging to the destroyed village of al-Ruways, March 30, 2013. All structures in Al-Ruways were destroyed and the original residents forcibly displaced to nearby Tamra by Jewish militias in the Nakba of 1948. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)
Palestinian citizens of Israel return to the destroyed village of al-Ruways and mark signifcant locations with signs, March 30, 2013. The return event was organized by the activist group Zochrot, which works to educate Jewish Israelis about the Nakba. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)
An Israeli soldier tries to arrest Palestinian activists during a solidarity march in the South Hebron Hills, March 29, 2013. The march was organized by local South Hebron Hills communities and the “Freedom Bus” movement. Passing through villages located in the “918 Firing Zone”, the event aimed to raise awareness about the eminent threat of house demolitions that hundreds of Palestinians are facing in that area. (Photo by: Keren Manor/Activestills.org)
Activists march in the South Hebron Hills, March 29, 2013. The march was organized by local South Hebron Hills communities and the “Freedom Bus” to raise awareness about villages located in the “918 Firing Zone” and the eminent threat of house demolitions that hundreds of Palestinians are facing in that area. (Photo by: Keren Manor/Activestills.org)
A crowd of journalists stands in front of the Separation Wall during a protest for Land Day, held in front of the Qalandiya checkpoint, West Bank, March 30, 2013. Land Day commemorates the death of six Palestinian protesters at the hands of Israeli forces during mass demonstrations in 1976 against plans to confiscate Palestinian land in northern Israel. (Photo by: Anne Paq/Activestills.org)
Natan Blanc, 19, walks into Tel Ha’Shomer military base near Tel Aviv, where he will refuse to serve in the Israeli army, April 2, 2013. Blanc has been in prison for 116 days for refusing to serve in the Israeli army because he opposes the occupation. On November 19 he arrived at the induction center and declared his refusal to serve. He was immediately jailed for 10 days by an army disciplinary court, and since then has repeatedly refused to be inducted and has had his imprisonment extended a few times. (Photo by: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
Palestinians clash with Israeli army following the death of Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh, a long-term Palestinian prisoner who died of cancer inside an Israeli hospital. April 2, 2013, Al Aroub village, Hebron region, West Bank. (Photo by Guest photographer: Tali Mayer/ Activestills.org)
Around 80 activists joined the third ‘Welcome to Hell’ march, a 17 km march from the township of Gugulethu to Mandela Park. The march aimed to raise awareness of the hell-like reality in the townships of South Africa. This year, the issue of police brutality was the main focus of the march. The march was led by a pastor and joined by the wife of the late Andreis Tatane who was killed two years ago during a police arrest. Although his killing was captured by a television crew the court acquitted the policemen who were involved in his death. (Photo by: Shachaf Polakow/ Activestills.org)
A Palestinian medic helps an injured man during clashes with the Israeli army following the death of Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh, a long-term Palestinian prisoner who died of cancer in an Israeli hospital. April 2, 2013, Al Aroub village, Hebron region, West Bank. (Photo by Guest photographer: Tali Mayer/ Activestills.org)
A general strike was declared in the West Bank city of Nablus following the death of Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh, a long-term Palestinian prisoner who died of cancer in an Israeli hospital on Tuesday, April 2, 2013 Nablus, West Bank. (Photo by: Ahmad Al-Bazz/ Activestills.org)
Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war – the atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel and the massive retaliatory Israeli attacks on Gaza. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing violence.
We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed unleashed by these events has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Hamas’ murderous assault in southern Israel has devastated and shocked the country to its core. Israel’s retaliatory bombing of Gaza is wreaking destruction on the already besieged strip and killing a ballooning number of civilians. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to escalate their attacks on Palestinians.
This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 13 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, the entrenched occupation, and an increasingly normalized siege on Gaza.
We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives.
Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is the leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists and activists can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.