Occupy Wall Street not Palestine!

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Written by BNC Secretariat BNC Secretariat

Published: 15 October 2011 15 October 2011

Occupy Wall Street not Palestine!
We are part of the world’s 99% yearning for freedom, justice and equal rights!

If a people one day wills to live                     fate must answer its call
And the night must fade                               and the chain must break
– Abou-Al-kacem El-Chebbi (Tunisia)

Occupied Palestine, October 13 -The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC), the largest Palestinian civil society coalition struggling for Palestinian rights, is proud to stand in solidarity with the movements struggling for a new world based on democracy, human rights and economic justice. From New York to Athens, from Madrid to Santiago, from Bahrain to Rome, these huge mobilisations provide a much needed reminder of something that Palestinians have always known – that another world, a dignifying one, is possible and ordinary people can create it.

Our aspirations overlap; our struggles converge. Our oppressors, whether greedy corporations or military occupations, are united in profiting from wars, pillage, environmental destruction, repression and impoverishment. We must unite in our common quest for freedoms, equal rights, social and economic justice, environmental sanity, and world peace. We can no longer afford to be splintered and divided; we can no longer ignore our obligations to join hands in the struggle against wars and corporate exploitation and for a human-friendly world community not a profit-maximizing jungle.

The Occupy Wall Street movement and its counterparts across the US, Europe, Latin America and elsewhere are — at least partially — inspired by the Arab Spring for democracy and social justice. Leaders of the Arab popular revolts tell us that they, in turn, were largely inspired by our own, decades-old struggle against Israel’s occupation of our land, its system of discrimination that matches the UN’s definition of apartheid, and its denial of the right of Palestinian refugees to return home.

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Diplomatic Stalemate and Democratic Revolts: Making Sense of a Middle East in Transition

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Written by Institute for Christian-Muslim Understanding Institute for Christian-Muslim Understanding

Published: 06 October 2011 06 October 2011

Israeli occupation hitting Palestinian economy: costs Palestianians 85% of gross domestic product

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Written by Harriet Sherwood in Ramallah Harriet Sherwood in Ramallah

Published: 30 September 2011 30 September 2011

Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza deprives the Palestinian economy of almost £4.4bn a year, equivalent to about 85% of the nominal gross domestic product of Palestine, according to a report published in Ramallah .

Economy minister Hasan Abu Libdeh says that Palestinians are prevented from achieving their potential

[PHOTO:
Palestinian farmer Mussa Samamreh, right, inspects the broken branches of his olive trees near the village of Shuweike, which local residents say were destroyed by Israeli settlers. Photograph: Abed al-Hashlamoun/EPA]

Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza deprives the Palestinian economy of almost £4.4bn a year, equivalent to about 85% of the nominal gross domestic product of Palestine, according to a report published in Ramallah .

As well as its detrimental effect on the Palestinian economy, the "occupation enterprise" allows the state of Israel and commercial firms to profit from Palestinian natural resources and tourist potential, the report said.

"No matter what the Palestinian people achieve by our own efforts, the occupation prevents us achieving our potential as a free people in our own country," said Hasan Abu Libdeh, economy minister in the Palestinian Authority, introducing the report on Thursday. "It should be clear to the international community that one reason for Israel's refusal to act in good faith as a partner for peace is the profits it makes as an occupying power."

Without the occupation, the Palestinian economy would be almost twice as large as it is and would be able to reduce its dependence on donor funding from the international community, according to the report.

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Palestinian children woken in night to be photographed by soldiers

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Written by Harriet Sherwood Harriet Sherwood

Published: 28 September 2011 28 September 2011

Youngsters in West Bank village were forced out of bed for Israeli military 'mapping' exercise
"The photos were taken for what the army calls 'mapping': the army did not have any basis for suspecting any particular minor they awoke to photograph, but they wanted to build a reservoir of pictures they could later use for identification purposes, should the minor be involved in stone-throwing or other violent activity. In response to a report on the issue which was broadcast on Channel 10 News, the army said that 'it uses a variety of means to maintain order and security'."

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