Israeli Police State Crackdowns on Palestinian Demonstrators - by Stephen Lendman
Israel systematically assaults peaceful Palestinian demonstrators.
America's First Amendment guarantees free assembly. No matter. Demonstrators for social, economic and political justice are assaulted and arrested.
For weeks, hundreds of peaceful environmental protesters in front of the White House against a controversial 1,661-mile Alberta, Canada to Port Arthur, TX pipeline have been arrested for exercising their constitutional rights - whatever the issue.
This one's important, involving TransCanada Corporation's history of spills, as well as plans to transport toxic oil from environmentally destructive tar sands.
Nonetheless, Obama backs construction to feed America's dirty oil appetite. To hell with environmental sanity and public health.
Friends of the Earth says the Keystone XL pipeline "will carry one of the world's dirtiest fuels: tar sands oil." Moreover, its route "could devastate ecosystems and pollute water sources, and would jeopardize public health."
If completed, the pipeline will double dirty tar sands oil into America, making its toxic environment more noxious. Bipartisan Washington criminals support it. So does Obama. Only profits and corporate favoritism matter. The public interest be damned as on so many other issues.
Angry protesters reacted peacefully. Their reward - arrests and for some roughed up. It's the same fate global justice, anti-war, and other demonstrators at times face. Too many times, in fact.
Palestinians Face Worse
Palestinians on their own land, in their own country, face much tougher crackdowns. B'Tselem addressed the issue in a new report titled, "Show of Force: Israeli Military Conduct in Weekly Demonstrations in a-Nabi Saleh."
West Bank a-Nabi Saleh is a Palestinian village near Ramallah. For over 18 months, every Friday, residents rally peacefully against Israel's Separation Wall and settlers stealing their land.
As a result, Israeli security forces regularly assault them. On May 13, it was especially violent with use of tear gas, stun grenades, pepper gas spray, and brutal beatings. Numerous injuries resulted.
B'Tselem documented four subsequent demonstrations in June and July. They studied available volunteer-produced video footage, collected testimonies from village residents, and monitored other demonstrations.
Background
A-Nabi Saleh has about 550 residents in a largely farmland area, covering over 2,700 dunams. Since at least 2008, settlers increasingly encroached on them.
