Click on Link to download or play MP3 file || 3 m 05s || 2.81 MB ||
Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www.imemc.org, for Monday, February 21 2011.
An estimated 3,000 Palestinians marched through downtown Ramallah, in the central West Bank, on Sunday afternoon to protest the U.S. government’s veto of a United Nations Security Council Resolution condemning Israeli settlements as an ‘obstacle to peace’.
Led by members of the Fatah party, protestors marched through the streets of Ramallah and rallied in al-Manara Square in the center of the city, chanting slogans against U.S. President Barack Obama.
Also on Sunday, the State of Israel demolished tents belonged to villagers of Tana, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus. The tents had been donated by the PA and the Red Cross, following repeated demolitions in the village. Residents have been left homeless and vulnerable to weather, with parts of the West Bank and Israel have experienced heavy rainfall and storms recently.
In East Jerusalem, on Sunday, residents of the Silwan neighborhood erected a tent of mourning dedicated to local deceased victim of settler violence, Husam Hussein Rwidy. The ceremony was attended by a number of representatives of various popular committees and civil society institutions from Silwan, as well as dozens of Palestinian political figures from outside the area.
On Monday, a group of settlers uprooted olive trees and damaged Palestinian farmland near Nablus. The settlers destroyed 270 olive trees using chainsaws and other equipment, according to a PA official.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center, based in Silwan, has published an article raising their concerns over an scheduled project to encircle East Jerusalem with parks to complete the annexation of the entire city and much of the surrounding area in the West Bank.
The Center states that the Israeli ran Jerusalem Municipality has approved the project that will install nine new parks around the East side of the city over the next eight years, that will require the destruction of Palestinian property, and displace dozens of residents.
According to Adalah-NY, performances by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra will be met with protests in six of the seven cities in which it is scheduled to appear during its U.S. tour, during February and March.
Human rights advocates plan to protest the IPO’s role in whitewashing Israel’s apartheid policies against the Palestinian people, with protests scheduled in West Palm Beach, New York City, Newark, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
The growing international movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel has gained momentum in recent years with more supporters worldwide, and performers like Elvis Costello, Gil Scott-Heron, Roger Waters, Devendra Banhart, and the Pixies all refusing to play in Israel.
That sums up our news for today, thank you for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. You have been listening to Palestine Today, from International Middle East Media Center. For more updates, please visit our website at www.imemc.org. This report has been brought to you by Husam Qassis and Ramon M.
