Israeli security forces fired rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades to break up groups of Palestinian stone-throwers on Friday as annual Land Day rallies turned violent.

Palestinian activists have called for a "Global March to Jerusalem" to mark the day when Israeli Arabs protest against government policies that they say has stripped them of land.

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Arab news channel Al Jazeera reported in a live blog on its website that the Israeli army was "pushing protesters back towards Ramallah with the use of tear gas and water cannons".

It also reported that there are close to 1,000 protestors gathered in Ramallah.

Israeli forces were put on high alert at frontier crossings with Lebanon and Syria but there were no reports of any protesters nearing the border fences, unlike last year when several demonstrators were killed there in Land Day protests.

PhotoBlog: Violence on Land Day as Israeli forces and Palestinians clash

However, violence flared at checkpoints in the occupied West Bank to the north and south of Jerusalem. Witnesses also reported disturbances at gates leading into the Old City, with police looking to limit access to the revered al-Aqsa Mosque.

A Reuters reporter saw two men being carried away injured after scuffles at Jerusalem's Lions' Gate, while police said they had made several arrests at the nearby Damascus Gate.

Jerusalem is a focal point of conflict, as Palestinians want the city's eastern sector, captured by Israel in a 1967 war, as capital of a future state. Israel has annexed East Jerusalem as part of its capital and insists the city remain united.

"We are determined to march together toward Jerusalem, and hopefully we will break through and reach it," said a masked youth, calling himself Rimawi, as he faced off against soldiers in the West Bank city Ramallah, a short distance from Jerusalem.

Flag-waving crowds neared the Qalandiya crossing out of Ramallah, some of them hurling stones at the security forces, but were forced back when border police sprayed them with foul-smelling liquid from a water cannon.

Land Day commemorates the killing by security forces of six Arabs in 1976 during protests against government plans to confiscate land in northern Israel's Galilee region.

Arabs make up about a fifth of Israel's total population. Many complain of discrimination. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently called for improved efforts to integrate Arab citizens into Israel's work force.

Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

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AL-WALAJA, West Bank –  Palestinian activists are calling for a “Global March to Jerusalem” this Friday to mark Land Day, an annual event that commemorates the killing of six Arabs who were protesting the Israeli practice of expropriating Arab land to build Jewish settlements on March 30, 1976.

Since then Palestinians have commemorated March 30 as Land Day and have turned it into a general day of protest against what they see as discriminatory practices by the Israeli government.

But 70-year-old Abu Nidal doesn’t need a special calendar day to remind him of the Israeli occupation and their confiscation of his land. Nidal just needs to wake up every morning and look outside his window to see how the Israelis are confiscating his land.

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 He lives in the village Al Walaja, nestled in the hills between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Half of the village of just over 2,000 is considered to be part of Jerusalem and the other half is part of the West Bank. So now the Israeli security wall snakes through the village.

“Land Day is like a music record being played over and over,” he said. “I live out of despair with no future in sight, I see no light only darkness.”

'Global March to Jerusalem': Israel's borders on high alert as huge protests loom

When the Israelis sent huge yellow bulldozers to the village in 2010 to start working on the separation wall, no one bothered to check on whether or not the wall ran through Nidal’s farm land – which it does. And it has not only been 86 olive trees that were up rooted by the approximately 26-foot high concrete barrier, but also Nidal’s family graveyard.

It was his grandmother’s wish that every family member be buried on their 11-acre farm land. But the Israelis have a different plan for the confiscated land. They are planning to build not only the wall, but a recreational park for Israelis on the other side of the wall.
As it stands now, Nidal can only look at his mother and grandmother’s graves from a distance with the dreadful knowledge that soon the wall will be his only view.

“It’s not only a question of land confiscation, but also of making our life so miserable that we will have to pack up our lives and leave,” Nidal said. “But, of course, I want to be buried alongside my mother.”

This Friday when demonstrators take to the streets commemorating Land Day, Nidal won’t join them; his battle is being waged in the Israeli courts. But he pointed out that his case doesn’t have much of a shot. “The court is Israeli, the judge is Israeli and the lawyers are Israelis.  It’s a losing battle.”

Nidal’s story is just one out of many. There are approximately 2,300 Palestinians living in the village of Al Walaja and everyone I talked to had a similarly desperate story. The common theme to all the stories is the feeling they live in a prison surrounded by a wall and Jewish settlements.
 

 

 

 

RAMALLAH, West Bank – Palestinian organizers are calling for massive demonstrations on Friday to mark Land Day, an annual event that commemorates the killing of six Arabs who were protesting Israeli land policies on March 30, 1976.

Tens of thousands are expected to participate in what organizers have billed a "Global March to Jerusalem." The plan is to have protesters from neighboring countries march up to the Israeli border to "demonstrate solidarity with Palestinians and to protect Jerusalem," according to organizers.

The future status of Jerusalem is at the heart of the Palestinian movement and is the theme for the global Land Day. East Jerusalem is regarded as the likely capital of a future Palestinian state.

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Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian activist, explained some of the reasoning for the march to NBC News during a recent interview in Ramallah. 

For Palestinian farmer, a constant reminder of Israeli occupation

For many Palestinians, Land Day is an annual opportunity to demonstrate that Palestinians inside Israel, the West Bank and Gaza are united and share common goals. 

This year will mark 36 years since Israel’s practice of expropriating Arab land to build Jewish settlements provoked protests by Arab residents in the Galilee and Negev. In addition to the six people who were killed, over 100 wounded during the ensuing violence. Since then Palestinians have commemorated March 30 as Land Day and have turned the day into a general protest against what they see as discriminatory practices by the Israeli government. So it seemed an appropriate date for activists to hold their march. 

"The Global March to Jerusalem represents three things," said Barghouti. "First of all, the unity of the Palestinian people, and their struggle to achieve freedom and end occupation, for Palestinians in and out of Palestine; second, it affirms the centrality of the issues of land and Jerusalem to achieving Palestinian freedom; and third, it provides international solidarity with the Palestinian cause."

'Absolutely peaceful'
The organizers plan to send convoys of vehicles to approach Israel's borders simultaneously from four neighboring countries: Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon. According to organizers, more than 600 institutions from 64 states have been involved in planning the march. Protests are also planned outside Israeli embassies in Europe and Arab countries. Organizers say they are hoping for 1 million people to demonstrate in various protests all over the world.

"The event is meant to be a non-violent protest that will include parliament members, citizens and religious figures from all over the world – including Jews, Israelis will also protest with us," Saied Yaqin, one of the march organizers, told NBC News.

Organizers of the march insist the protests will be orderly.

"This march is absolutely peaceful and non-violent, and we will try everything possible to prevent violence," Barghouti said. "Of course, if they use violence against us, the world should protest. But the march is absolutely peaceful and nobody will try to provoke violence."

But Israeli Defense Forces aren’t taking any chances.

A statement released by the IDF said they are "prepared for any eventuality and will do whatever is necessary to protect Israeli borders and residents."

Israel has also issued a stern warning to Arab countries and Palestinians to refrain from approaching the border.

Soldiers along the border have been instructed to be on high alert and they will reportedly have crowd-dispersal means at the ready and will also deploy marksmen. According to a Haaretz report, a so-called "skunk" device is being prepared that sprays a harsh-smelling substance at demonstrators. 

 

 

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JERUSALEM – The Har Menuchot Cemetery looked like it was painted in black Wednesday. Hundreds of mourners, many of them men dressed in the black suits and broad-brimmed hats worn by orthodox Jews, came to pay their respects for the four Jews killed by a gunman in Toulouse, France, on Monday.

The bodies of 30-year-old Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, his sons, Arieh, 5, and Gabriel, 4, and 8-year-old Myriam Monsenego were laid on stretchers after being flown to Israel from France.

Small white cards were placed on each body indicating their names.

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The announcer asked dignitaries to limit their speeches to five minutes due to the heat and out of respect for the bereaved families.    

In tears, Shlomo Amar, the Chief Sephardi Rabbi of Israel, was defiant. "We will keep on fighting and teaching our youth with our heads high up,” he said. “Our enemy will not defeat us.”

A woman started shouting and other weeping women soon followed. Someone brought a large cotton cloth to cover the victims’ families from the sun.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe sat still with a somber face throughout the speeches; eventually, he spoke in French, which was translated into Hebrew. "The French nation is in shock,” he said. “I came here today to show the French nation's respect. We will do our out most to protect the Jewish community in France. We will not tolerate terror."

Monsenego's grandfather was asked to say a few words, but he couldn’t find the strength to stand up and talk.

Photo Blog: Jerusalem funeral for victims of French school shooting 

But Myriam's eldest brother, Avishai, offered some words. He wailed and had one last plea for his dead sister” "Please give strength to father and mother to overcome this tragedy.”

Then the slain rabbi’s father, Shmuel Sandler, spoke about his son, "You were a magnificent person killed by a barbaric person," he said. Unfortunately, the middle of his speech was interrupted by police using a megaphone asking the owner of a Daihatsu car to move the vehicle because it was blocking the road.

While the bodies were taken to be buried, I spoke to David Naor, a relative of the Sandler familyr. I asked him about the news coming out of Toulouse that the suspected gunman had been found.

“Finding the killer won’t help the dead children,” he replied. “But it helps to know that he won’t kill again.”

ARABEH, West Bank – For a moment Randa Adnan’s dark, defiant eyes, the only part of her face visible behind a white veil, softened with tears.

NBC News was at her home for an interview Tuesday and we had just passed on the news that her husband, Khader Adnan, a Palestinian prisoner, had agreed to end his two-month hunger strike after reaching a deal with Israel’s Justice Ministry that it would release him in April.   

Adnan, 33, had starved himself, refusing food for 66 days, to protest against Israel’s controversial policy of holding suspected Palestinian militants without charge. He was arrested in his West Bank home on Dec. 17 – but neither he, nor his legal team, were ever told the evidence against him.

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The Israeli authorities would say only this of his case: “Adnan’s detention stems from involvement in actions that threaten regional security.”

In 2008, Adnan was convicted of membership of Islamic Jihad, the outlawed extremist group that has killed dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks. But his family insists he has never been party to any violent act.

His wife was overjoyed at the news of his imminent release.

“By God’s will, I am proud of him. Not just as a husband, but as a leader of our people. This is a great victory,’’ she said.

Randa Adnan is the mother of two daughters, with a third child, a son, on the way.

“I swear I felt him kick inside when you told me the news,” she smiled.

Anti-terror tool
Over the past few weeks, Adnan’s case has become a cause célèbre – his face, in graffiti form, has come to adorn security walls all over the West Bank and has been emblazoned on dozens of flags flown at protest marches.

He is just one of some 300 Palestinians held without proper trial in Israel, on the basis of secret intelligence dossiers, a practice known as “administrative detention.” It is a highly controversial practice that is bitterly criticized by human rights groups, but according to the Israeli military, extremely effective in protecting the security of the state.

In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, retired Maj. Gen. Giora Eiland, a former national security adviser to the Israeli government, explained one of the reasons why the legal loophole is used. “The first is that you know someone is planning an attack, but you can't prove it through a legal process. If you relied on the legal process, the suspect would go free, but the risk [to the public] would be very high.  
 
Alan Baker, one of Israel’s leading lawyers and a former senior legal adviser to the Israeli military, explained another reason commonly cited for administrative detention: to protect the highly sensitive sources.

“There are times when you cannot make evidence against some individual public,” said Baker.  In other words, the information is so sensitive that revealing it publicly might threaten the safety of the informant. 

But Adnan’s case, Baker said, might now make the authorities think twice about imposing detention orders. “It’ll keep them on their toes,” he said.

For his part, Adnan’s lawyer, Jawad Bulos, said the deal that will free his client is a “painful compromise.”

Asked whether he thinks the case might encourage other Palestinian detainees to starve themselves in return for freedom, he paused for a moment, pondering the personal stamina that requires. “Adnan was a special man. In all my experience of cases, I have never met anyone quite like him.’’

Adnan will probably spend the rest of his sentence in a hospital. His hunger strike has left him gravely ill. His family still fears he might not recover.
 

 

 

Amid Israeli accusations that Iran is striking out at Jewish targets around the world, Iran’s claims that that it has made major strides towards mastering the production of nuclear fuel and threats to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz, tensions between the two countries are at an all-time high. 

NBC News’ Stephanie Gosk is on assignment in Tel Aviv, Israel. Earlier today she answered a wide variety of reader questions about the rising tension and what people in Israel think about the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Click on the link below to replay the informative chat.

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See Stephanie Gosk's most recent report from Israel on NBC's Nightly News Wednesday evening.

 

GAZA STRIP – In Hamas-ruled Gaza, where Islamic fundamentalism controls every aspect of daily life in the city that has been under an Israeli-imposed siege since June 2007, a group of eight young men from the Nuseirat refugee camp are breaking boundaries by break dancing.

The Camps Breakerz took their moves out onto the rundown streets of Gaza for the first time this month, even though members have been practicing together since 2005.

The dancers released a video on YouTube that shows them doing elaborate dance moves – from spinning head stands to arms stands and flips in “I heart Gaza” t-shirts all over Gaza. 

"When I danced in the street I felt free for the first time in my life. I challenged the conservative society and mainly I challenged the Israeli siege," said Mohammed al-Ghrize, otherwise known as “Funk,” who brought together the Camps Breakerz crew.

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Challenging strict code
Ghrize, a 25-year-old who works as a nurse, was introduced to the world of break dancing at the age of 16 when he lived with his family in Saudi Arabia. Since returning to his homeland in Gaza, he searched for others who shared his passion for dancing. "It took me two years to persuade seven people to establish a break dancing crew, two of which are my own brothers," he said.

Over the past five years Hamas has imposed a strict code of conduct in Gaza, forcing residents to follow strict Islamic law.  The laws have restricted women from social activities like riding on the backs of motorbikes and smoking traditional shisha pipes in public spaces. They have even restricted men from working in women’s hair salons – believing that men cutting women’s hair is immodest.

In a new attempt by the fundamentalist militant Muslim group to crack down on behavior it sees as contrary to its conservative interpretation of Islam, Hamas banned Gaza youth from participating in the Palestinian version of "American Idol."  Their reasoning was because Muslims can only sing and dance to the sound of drums – not any modern instruments.

"Because I know it's very hard for our conservative society to accept our Westernized hobby, we introduced break dancing as a kind of sport," Ghrize explained. “We even managed to convince Hamas to regard break dancing as a sport by performing in their sports events and dancing only to the beats of the drums.”

The group understands that in a society struggling under the ongoing Israeli blockade, break dancing can be viewed as a waste of time and seen as lacking respect for the Gazan reality. The Nuseirat refugee camp where Ghrize lives is home to 66,000 refugees, even though it was initially built to accommodate 16,000 people. And conditions are grim: According to the U.N. 90 percent of the water there is “unfit for human consumption.”

So for the members of the group, dancing is a welcome distraction.  

"We regard our activities as another form of resistance against the occupation; all of our sketches are inspired by our people's tragedies, especially children. Break dancing for us is a way of expressing our freedom.”

Ghrize studied nursing and works at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. “All members of our crew are very well-educated,” he said. 

At the end of video the crew recently released, the dancers names, nicknames, ages, job and special moves are listed. They range from “Chino,” a 22-year-old cook whose specialty is “style break beat,” to “Dark,” a 26-year-old teacher whose specialty is “combos,” to “Fox,” a 15-year-old student who likes “power moves.”

One of the many obstacles the Camps Breakerz faced was finding a place to train, especially after the Nuseirat refugee camp’s community center was destroyed by an Israeli raid during the war on Gaza in 2008.

"We have a dream," Ghrize said, "that one day we will have our own center where we can teach children to break dance and give them a stage to express their feelings."

The Camps Breakerz hope to go to the U.S., where break dancing originated, to meet other break dancers who will help them grow, excel and become an internationally recognized group. They want to eventually be able to compete internationally among the best break dancers in the world.

"I wish I lived in a free liberal country where I can practice the thing I love most without any political or fundamentalist boundaries."

Related link: Gaza youths find escape in free running 
 

 
TEL AVIV, Israel – For decades, Israelis have heard so many tales of the daily humiliations suffered by Palestinians – from being hassled at checkpoints to house demolitions to curfews – that many of them have grown numb.

But Israeli director Shlomi Elkabetz has deployed an unusual storytelling device to draw attention to Palestinian grievances and catch the attention of his Israeli audience: In his new film, the stories of Palestinian suffering come out of the mouths of Israelis, speaking in Hebrew. 

“For three years I have been reading these Palestinian testimonies, which were given to human rights groups, and didn’t really know what to do with them,” said Elkabetz. “At first I was shocked, then I wanted to reject it all, then I wanted to shout and finally I wanted to do something.”

He did. His film “Testimony” uses a combination of dramatic and documentary devices while top Israeli actors stare straight into the viewer’s eyes and act out the Palestinian testimonies. 

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“By using Israeli actors I turn the viewer into a firsthand witness. By looking at a famous actor’s face, who’s speaking in Hebrew, the Israeli viewer becomes the witness himself.”

For many here, the army roadblocks, which dot the West Bank, represent the cruel face of the occupation. Palestinians on their way to work, hospitals and schools are forced to wait for hours in extreme weather just to show their I.D. cards at the checkpoints.

In one scene, Ronit Elkabetz, a famous Israeli actress who is also the director’s sister, explains how she was stopped by soldiers near the town of Jaljulia trying to cross into Israel. “The soldier stopped me and cursed me, I cursed him back. The soldier kicked me in the chest and I fell. He hit me for fifteen minutes,” she says in the film.

I asked the director if it was difficult to recruit Israeli actors for the project. “I can’t say it was a difficult mission; some actors really wanted to take part in this project, but of course there were some who rejected my request.”

Palestinians aren’t alone in feeling the effects of the occupation. Some Israeli soldiers come back from their obligatory service in the IDF in places like the West Bank traumatized by events they witnessed and took part in.

So the film also presents their experience as an occupying force. “For us, they are all terrorists,” one actor portraying a soldier dryly says about the Palestinians. “They ordered us to take him down, I shot him. I killed him.”

The film, which premiered last spring at an Israeli film festival and was subsequently screened at the Venice Film Festival, was released at select theaters in Israel last week.

To critics who say that the film only tells the story from the Palestinian perspective, Elkabetz said in an interview that “the purpose of the film is not to create a balance between the two peoples but to share an experience.”  

Many of the people who attended a recent screening of the film were interested in the director’s purpose in making such a controversial film.

“I will be happy if only two Israelis meet in the street and talk about the film,” said Elkabetz. “I’m of course also hoping my film will be one more step in the changing of the Israeli awareness to the reality out there.”

Watch a clip from the film above.

By Paul Goldman, NBC News

JERUSALEM -- "Shlomi, throw me the ball."

"Assi, it's your turn, pass and dribble."

"Mahmud, great pass. What a basket."

This might sound like a normal basketball game but it's not. The unique endeavor can be best described as an "oasis of coexistence" in Israel where Jews, Muslims and Christians play not only on the same court but in mixed teams.

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In 2001, American brothers Sean and Brendan Tuohey founded PeacePlayers International with the premise that children who play together can learn to live together.

It seemed quite obvious during my visit to practice that the Tuohey brothers were succeeding. Here on the court at the "Hand in Hand" bilingual school in Jerusalem, Israelis and Palestinians were laughing together, hugging each other and, most importantly, shooting the ball together.

"At first the kids and their parents were hesitant with some kids even crying," says Karen Doubilet, who is the PeacePlayers International's Middle East managing director. "But the transition is very fast, now they jump in joy and hug each other when they meet on and off the court."

'They are like me'
After experiencing so much hatred between Israelis and Palestinians, it was refreshing and exciting to see how naturally these kids reacted and played with each other.

Malak Ayub, 12, is a Muslim girl from the East Jerusalem village of Shoafat.

"Before I came to this program I thought Israelis only wanted to do bad things to us but now I see that they are like me, they want to play together," she said.

One of Malak's best friends is Hadas Prawer, a 14-year-old Israeli from the neighborhood of Mevaseret, which is located west of Jerusalem. I asked Hadas what she tells her friends when they hear she plays with Palestinians.

"I don't care what people think or say, I'm having fun and that's it," she said, before turning around and giving Malak a huge hug.

The traditional Hanukkah 'Sufganiyot' -- the Jewish ball-shaped doughnuts -- were waiting on the sidelines as a reward for the kids' hard work. All the children were wearing T-shirts with the US AID logo on the back, indicating the backing by the US.

"Basketball is huge, especially with the girls," Doubilet added. "Most of these kids don’t have a constructive framework and we give them this activity almost for free. The relationships here will no doubt shape the way Israelis and Palestinians think of each other in the future".

About 550 young people aged from six to 18 enrolled in this program in the past year, bridging communities in Israel like Jaffa, Tamra and Jerusalem where Jews and Muslims live next to each other. 

Haled Sabah is a 20-year-old Palestinian from Shoafat. He joined the program seven years ago and is now one of its coaches.

"I see some racism on both sides but when kids play on the same team they just see each other simply as people," he said. 

TEL AVIV – The Israeli towns of Rosh HaAyin, which is mainly Jewish, and its neighbor, Kfar Kassem, a mostly Muslim town, enjoyed a peaceful relationship – until now.

The Israelis have had enough of their neighbors’ call to prayer.

They claim that the traditional call to prayer, which occurs five times a day, is a nuisance and disturbs their daily life. The 4:50 a.m. call is considered especially annoying.

“We hear the call to pray very loud, the situation is unbearable,” a local Rosh HaAyin resident was quoted as saying in the Hebrew version of the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper.

Another resident said, “We must find a way that we will not be disturbed and that they will be able to continue with their rituals.”

The issue is headed to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, this Sunday. 

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Anastassia Michaeli, a member of the Knesset, will put forward a bill proposing a ban on mosques using loudspeakers to announce the call to prayer.

Her proposal stipulates that “religious freedom doesn’t need to harm the quality of life.”

Michaeli, who belongs to the right-wing political party, Yisrael Beiteinu, led by the ultra-nationalist foreign minister Avigdor Liberman, knows her bill will cause outrage among Muslims and among Israeli human rights groups. While Israel is a Jewish state, approximately 17 percent of its 7.4 million people are Muslim, according to a 2008 census. 

But she is adamant her new bill is not a “mosque bill.” Rather, she says, it is a “noise bill” aimed at improving quality of life, indicating that synagogues and churches also will be asked to adhere to laws restricting how much noise they can make. 

Mosques have been using loud speakers to announce the call to prayer in the country for decades, leading some to ask: Why is there a move to ban them now?  

Long list of controversial bills
It seems to be just the latest in a wave of controversial bills that have been introduced during the two years since Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed his right-wing coalition government.

Those bills, which haven’t all become laws yet, but are in various stages of legislation, include: 

-limiting donations from foreign countries to human rights organizations in Israel;

-a defamation law curtailing the media;

-outlawing calls for political boycotts on Israel or the settlements; 

- and the so-called “Nakba Law” that punishes groups that associate Israel’s Independence Day with a day of mourning (Palestinians commemorate the day after Independence Day annually as a “day of catastrophe”).
 
These bills have gotten the world’s attention – including from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She voiced her deep concern about the growing influence of ultra-orthodox groups on Israel’s society during a closed discussion at the Saban Forum at the Brookings Institution in Washington last Saturday, according to media reports.

Clinton criticized the wave of anti-democratic legislation and especially the exclusion of women from public life in Israel in the wake of limitations on women singing in public and growing gender segregation on public transportation.

She said the requirement that women are forced to ride in designated sections on some bus routes in Israel reminded her of segregated busing during the civil rights era in the U.S.

Men and women are segregated on public transportation in some ultra-Orthodox Jewish areas of Israel. 

'We will fight this bill'  
But Patin Issa, a Muslim who is the director of the Kfar Kassem municipality, said the new bill will not add honor to the state of Israel. 

“We will fight this bill, there is a minority here and it is the country’s duty to protect its long heritage and rituals,” Issa told NBC News. He added that this is a very delicate matter that needs to be handled “with silk gloves.”

He said that he is willing to work with the Israeli authorities to find a solution that will work for both sides, but that a one-sided bill is not the answer.