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This sort of stuff annoys me. I recently took a trip to israel and was fortunate enough to be able to visit the Gaza strip, wh ere the sheer poverty that the palestinian people live in is overwhelming compared to the affluence of the israeli population outside the heavily patrolled borders. For many years now, israel has been getting away with it's own little Dirty-tricks holocaust, while preaching to people at Yad Vashem memorial about how we mustn't forget the lessons of nazi germany. I hate this, as it provides ammunition for the anti-semitic few, who immediately point out jewish hypocrasy to bolster their arguments. And they're right - this is hypocrasy. Under both Ben Netanyhu's Likud administration and Ehud Barak's supposedly more tolerant (but in fact even more rejectionist) Labor government Israel is a near-fascist state. Israeli settlers erected a shrine to a settler who killed twenty-seven muslims as the were praying in the Ibrahimi (Abraham) Mosque. The vast sums of military and financial aid supplied by the US and the ideological support given by the media in the West simply allow the Israelis to get away with murder. This email from the human right organisation B'Tselem shows how land in Israel is being taken off the Arab residents (even those who are Israeli citizens) and given to jewish settlers. Some Jewish Israelis spent long periods of time away abroad, while th eir houses stand empty, but if Arabs leave Jerusalem for even a short while, they lose their right to live in the city and their houses are turned over to settlers.
On 22 April 1999, the Israeli High Court of Justice will hear a petition concerning the legality of Israel's policies with regard to residency rights of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem. The petition has been brought by five human rights organizations.
Israel's policies have caused thousands of Palestinians to lose their status as residents of Jerusalem, as well as the social welfare benefits to which they are ent itled. All Palestinians who live abroad for a period of time are liable to lose Jerusalem residency. In addition, Palestinians who move to the West Bank, even meters outside the municipal boundaries will also lose residency. This policy clearly discriminates between Palestinians and Jews, as Jews can move to settlements in the West Bank without endangering their status.
Given the upcoming High Court hearing, the government is likely to be more susceptible to criticisms at this time, and perhaps amenable to an out-of-court settlement
For more information on residency rights in Jerusalem, visit B'Tselem's web site at www.btselem.org.