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Sur Baher Home Demolitions illustrate a vicious spiral of oppression in Palestine

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Jonathan Cook
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That followed new revelations that Israeli's policy of shooting unarmed protesters in the upper leg to injure them another war crime continued long after it became clear a significant proportion of Palestinians were dying from their wounds.

Belatedly after more than 200 deaths and the severe disabling of many thousands of Palestinians snipers have been advised to "ease up" by shooting protesters in the ankle.

B'Tselem, another Israeli rights organisation, called the army's open-fire regulation a "criminal policy", one that "consciously chose not to regard those standing on the other side of the fence as humans".

Rather than end such criminal practices, Israel prefers to conceal them. It has effectively sealed Palestinian areas off to avoid scrutiny.

Omar Shakir, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, is facing imminent deportation, yet more evidence of Israel's growing crackdown on the human rights community.

A report by the Palestinian Right to Enter campaign last week warned that Israel is systematically denying foreign nationals permits to live and work in the occupied territories, including areas supposedly under PA control.

That affects both foreign-born Palestinians, often those marrying local Palestinians, and internationals. According to recent reports, Israel is actively forcing out academics teaching at the West Bank's leading university, Bir Zeit, in a severe blow to Palestinian academic freedom.

Palestinian journalists highlighting Israeli crimes are in Israel's sights too. Last week, Israel stripped one Mustafa Al Haruf of his Jerusalem residency, tearing him from his wife and young child. Because it is illegal to leave someone stateless, Israel is now bullying Jordan to accept him.

Another exclusion policy denying entry to Israel's fiercest critics, those who back the international boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement is facing its first challenge.

Two US congresswomen who support BDS Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who has family in the West Bank have announced plans to visit.

Israeli officials have indicated they will exempt them both, apparently fearful of drawing wider attention to Israel's draconian entry restrictions, which also cover the occupied territories.

Israel is probably being overly cautious. The BDS movement, which alone argues for the imposition of penalties on Israel until it halts its abuse of Palestinians, is being bludgeoned by western governments.

In the US and Europe, strong criticism of Israel, even from Jews let alone demands for meaningful action is being conflated with antisemitism. Much of this furore seems intended to ease the path towards silencing Israel's critics.

More than two dozen US states, as well as the Senate, have passed laws drafted by pro-Israel lobby groups to limit the rights of the American public to support boycotts of Israel.

Anti-BDS legislation has also been passed by the German and French parliaments.

And last week the US House of Representatives joined them, overwhelmingly passing a resolution condemning the BDS movement. Only 17 legislators demurred.

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Jonathan Cook is a writer and journalist based in Nazareth, Israel. He is the 2011 winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. His latest books are "Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East" (Pluto Press) and "Disappearing Palestine: (more...)
 

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