ummtaalib

So far in 2021....

Green Blood - The Occupation's war against our Trees The massive expansion of illegal Israeli settlements has produced a war on objects older than the settler colony of “Israel” itself.Read more about the “mass executions” of trees in Palestine: MetrasGlobal (@metras_global) • Instagram photos and videos

Teachers’ unions in LA, San Francisco, Seattle and Vermont are speaking out against Israel’s apartheid rule over Palestinians. IMEU (@theimeu) • Instagram photos and videos

IOF started to evacuate Palestinians near the house of the prisoner Muntaser Al Shalaby demolishing it with explosives Our Voice Matters (@our.voicematters) • Instagram photos and videos

Humsa is forcibly displaced, Humsa lives the Nakba again ..Yesterday, during the day, the occupation pressured the citizens of Humsa to get into military vehicles in order to transport them outside the community. They brought female soldiers in order to force the women onto cars if they refused. The residents of Humsa decided to refuse to get into military cars and refused to leave, even the delegation of the Consul and diplomats from the European Union who arrived at the community were prevented by the Occupation forces from entering the entrances to Humsa. Eye On Palestine on Instagram: "🇵🇸#Palestine || Humsa is forcibly displaced, Humsa lives the Nakba again .. Yesterday, during the day, the occupation pressured the…"

What is the "Israel Defence Force"? The Israel defence force is the armed forces of Israel, comprising the Israeli army, navy, and air force. The IDF was established on May 31, 1948, just two weeks after Israel’s declaration of independence. Since its creation, its guiding principles have been shaped by the country’s need to defend itself from its numerically superior neighbours. The primary element of this doctrine is the belief that Israel cannot afford to lose a single war. IDF planners believe that this goal can be attained only through a defensive strategy that utilizes the rapid mobilization of overwhelming force to take the war to the enemy.... However Palestinians call it IOF - Israel OCCUPATION Force

From the remains, Gaza Remains "No pebble will be left unused.”The occupation is hell-bent on razing Gaza to the ground, but Palestinians are salvaging material from that very destruction to rebuild their beloved city. MetrasGlobal (@metras_global) • Instagram photos and videos

Pepper Spray Two weeks ago during an art event in Sheikh Jarrah, Israeli settlers attacked four young girls with pepper spray. Pepper spray is a weapon used by the Israeli settlers along with the Occupation Forces to oppress Palestinians. More about it: MetrasGlobal (@metras_global) • Instagram photos and videos

Water network destroyed in Al-Jawaya village Eye On Palestine on Instagram: "🇵🇸#Palestine || The Israeli occupation forces destroyed the water network in Al-Jawaya village, east of Yatta this morning. The Israeli…" The Israeli occupation forces destroyed the water network in Al-Jawaya village, east of Yatta this morning.The Israeli government relies on trying to cut off and destroy the basic necessities of life, the most important is water, as the residents of southern Hebron need water more, especially during the summer season.The occupation is following all these apatahied processes to force the people leave the land and give it to the settlers who are attacking the people by unbelievable way recently. [ Via Alliance For Human Rights]

UPDATE The agreement to leave the Givat Eviatar settlement will still allow a Jewish religious seminary to be constructed in some months' time, according to reports - source

Eye On Palestine on Instagram: "🇵🇸#Palestine || This morning, the occupation forces have changed the location of the concrete cubes from the main entrance of Sheikh Jarrah…"

Why the UK needs to challenge Israel's annexation of the West Bank Once again, the Israeli authorities are demonstrating their complete disregard for international law. The UK government has condemned Israel's plans to illegally annex parts of the occupied West Bank, but it needs to urgently match fine words with effective actions: at a minimum, it should ban Israeli settlement goods from UK markets and prevent UK companies from operating in the settlements. Read more at Amnesty International This was posted in July 2020. Incidents have escalated since then...

Israeli police used 'ruthless excessive force' against Palestinian protesters - new research Amnesty International Posted 24 Jun 2021, 3:51pm ‘Discriminatory crackdown’ allowed Jewish supremacists to freely organise their own violent demonstrations ‘Tonight we are not Jews, we are Nazis’ - Jewish supremacists circulated extremist social media messages to organise attacks on Palestinians ‘This discriminatory crackdown was orchestrated as an act of retaliation and intimidation to crush pro-Palestinian demonstrations’ - Saleh Higazi Israeli police committed a catalogue of violations against Palestinians in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem - including using unlawful force against peaceful protesters, sweeping mass arrests, and subjecting detainees to torture and other ill-treatment - during and after recent armed hostilities in Israel and Gaza, Amnesty International said today. Amnesty researchers spoke to numerous witnesses and Amnesty’s Crisis Evidence Lab verified 45 videos and other forms of digital media to document more than 20 cases of Israeli police violations between 9 May and 12 June. Hundreds of Palestinians were injured in the crackdown and a 17-year-old boy was shot dead. Read more...

Gaza under Attack Isr*eli warplanes struck several locations across the Gaza strip tonight, breaching the ceasefire for the fourth time.Local sources said Isr*eli strikes shook Bader and Al Sudaniyyah in the besieged strip.Isr*eli media reported that the Isr*eli army bombarded targets in Gaza in response to incendiary balloons fired from Gaza. The balloons, as the Isr*eli army claimed, caused fire in settlements surrounding Gaza.Multiple isr*eli air strikes hit north-west Gaza: early reports say one Pal-estinian person is killed & one injured . Our Voice Matters (@our.voicematters) • Instagram photos and videos

Stories from Gaza LET’S TALK PALESTINE (@letstalkpalestine) • Instagram photos and videos

The blockade of Gaza LET’S TALK PALESTINE (@letstalkpalestine) • Instagram photos and videos

Troublespots in Marriage & other Relationships Life is not a bed of roses. We have been told we will be tested and tests often come in the form of relationships being hit with trouble. Sometimes the problems are perpetual and sometimes, solveable. The perpetual problems never get solved and we have to cope with them because we cannot change others. With wisdom we can try to make the best of the situation and with Allah’s favour it can improve. In the solvable problems we can reach out and try to solve the problem. We face challenging situations in life but then Allah ta’ala told us He will put us in these situations so we should recognise these tests and accept them. Accepting them makes it easier on the heart because it is not personal any more i.e. we will recognise it’s a test from Allah ta’ala and not personal hurt from someone. Tests are hard as that is what tests are otherwise, they would not be tests. With a growth mindset we can overcome them. We can choose how we deal with it. Our Deen teaches us our responsibilities and we are accountable for what we choose to do i.e. if you yell, you choose to do so. Even if he made you angry (which is natural), you can control the anger and not yell. Expressing it negatively is your choice. What we do influences others as well so we are accountable for that too. Allah ta’ala mentions in the Qur’an that he will not burden us more than what we can bear (Qur’an 2:286) and at the same time if we still mess up after having good intentions, we will still be rewarded as long as effort has been made. Allah ta’ala also mentions that He will not change the condition of people until they first change that which is in their hearts (Qur’an 13:11) so when we change the condition of our hearts, Allah ta’ala will change the condition of our situation. Allah ta’ala did not say everything will remain the same so we should not have that expectation. He is watching and seeing how His servants are going to deal with the situation He has put them in. When we accept our new reality and there is effort on our part, He will help us. Therefore, acknowledge the difficulty and your limitations. Let go of the previous reality and embrace the new one. Don’t get fixated on the Dunya and on expectations. Marriage, children, wealth, health, etc. will be according to what Allah ta’ala has destined for each of us. Remember that what is written for us WILL come to us. We have suffocated and restricted ourselves due to our expectations and setting up fake boundaries. Relationships are tests and that is why there are rules in our Deen. We are taught to be good to the creation. We have to learn to communicate better by being better listeners instead of being on the defensive. This leads to compromises and solutions.Therefore, in all circumstances, we should make effort and this is Ihsaan and we have to become الْوَاصِلُ - the secure connectors.

الْوَاصِلُ- The secure connector Nabi sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam said, “Al-Waasil is not the one who recompenses the good done to him by his relatives (i.e. doing salaam, giving gifts, being nice to each other), but Al-Waasil is the one who keeps good relations with those relatives who had severed the bond of kinship with him.” [Bukhari] This Hadith is regarding the beautiful quality our Nabi sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam wanted us to have; that of being a Waasil, one who maintain ties with those who severe them. It is hard, but do-able and brings a lot of Barakah in the marriage, home and in all relationships. Psychologists call the Waasil a “Secure connector” We can be of the secure connectors. It requires reflection, i.e. why is this person behaving in this manner, and it requires self-reflection, i.e. why am I behaving in this manner? A Waasil is a balanced person who sees the weakness in his/her own self and in others without putting others down (meaning the Waasil will explain the other person’s behaviour to himself). Why and how is a Waasil able to do this? By practicing self-care both physically (by getting exercise, enough sleep, etc.) and spiritually (through ‘Ibaadah). This is a very important concept as one cannot be patient and help others in their relationships without drawing from Dhikr. When something breaks, it takes effort to fix. We find out the materials of the thing that is broken and Google to find out how best to fix it. When relationships break, we need to fix it and not let it fester. Keeping connections with those who severe ties is much more difficult than returning the good done to us. Activity: crumple up a piece of paper and tightly screw it up into a ball. Then unfold it and try to smooth away the creases. The paper will not be the same even if the creases are ironed out, the paper will tear at the creases. If this is done repeatedly, the paper will be useless. Similarly, a relationship becomes irretrievable if hurt is caused repeatedly. Spoken words are powerful. They have the power to heal, save or destroy a relationship. It is therefore very important to be mindful of one’s speech. We should be gentle with people when interacting because we do not know the major part of any person’s life and personality. According to psychologists, each person’s childhood experiences have a tremendous impact on a person which continues throughout life. It forms the roots of who they are and how they react in situations, how they respond to others and how they express love. We should restrain words and choose them carefully only when the heart is in a good place i.e. there is no negative feelings in the heart like pride, jealousy, envy, anger, resentment, etc. Make Intention to become الْوَاصِلُ

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to be self-aware of one’s own emotions as well as the emotions of others (empathy) while being able to control and manage one’s own emotions. EI has three components: · Self-awareness · Self-management When one is aware of, understands and acknowledge one’s emotions, then one can manage them better. We need to know what we are feeling and why we are feeling this way in order to figure out the best way to react. · Empathy Empathy is the ability to be aware of the emotions of others and understand from their perspective. When we study the Seerah and Hadith we see that the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam was an extremely emotionally intelligent person. There are lessons for us in becoming emotionally intelligent people in the way he understood his own emotions, acknowledged and managed them and the way he interacted with everyone around him, teaching them to be emotionally intelligent people. The personality of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam was such that every person felt he/she was the most beloved to him. ‘Amr ibn Al-‘As RA reported, I said, “Which person is most beloved to you?” The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam, said, “Aisha.” I said, “I mean among men.” The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam said, “Her father.” I said, “Then who?” The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam said, “Umar ibn al-Khattab,” and he mentioned some other men. [Bukhari] He felt such love from the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam he thought he would be high on the list. If we do not have this in our life then we can at least make others feel loved. “The one who severs his family ties will not enter Paradise.” [Bukhari Muslim] “Verily, the believers are like a structure, each part strengthening the other,” and the Prophet clasped his fingers together. [Bukhari Muslim] “The parable of the believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body reacts with sleeplessness and fever.” [Bukhari Muslim] There are many more Hadith that can be quoted. To summarise, it is that quality which enables us to confront situations and problems with patience, understanding and insight (delving deeper into why a person is behaving in a certain manner). It is not something one is born with. It has to be learnt and for us, our Nabi sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam who was an extremely emotionally intelligent person, is our role model. It is important to be an emotionally intelligent person to save our relationships. We should be gentle with people when interacting because we do not know the major part of any person’s life and personality. How they were brought up by their parents, how their friends made them feel, how their teachers spoke to them, etc. defines a person. The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam said to Aisha RA, “O Aisha, Allah is gentle and He loves gentleness. He rewards for gentleness what is not granted for harshness and He does not reward anything else like it.” [Muslim] “Every good deed is charity. Verily, it is a good deed to meet your brother with a cheerful face, and to pour what is left from your bucket into the vessel of your brother.” [Tirmidhi] Therefore, we should treat people gently.

The Occupation of Water Amnesty International The legacy of Israel’s 50-year occupation of the Palestinian territories has been systematic human rights violations on a mass scale. One of its most devastating consequences is the impact of Israel’s discriminatory policies on Palestinians’ access to adequate supplies of clean and safe water. Soon after Israel occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, in June 1967, the Israeli military authorities consolidated complete power over all water resources and water-related infrastructure in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). 50 years on, Israel continues to control and restrict Palestinian access to water in the OPT to a level which neither meets their needs nor constitutes a fair distribution of shared water resources. In November 1967 the Israeli authorities issued Military Order 158, which stated that Palestinians could not construct any new water installation without first obtaining a permit from the Israeli army. Since then, the extraction of water from any new source or the development of any new water infrastructure would require permits from Israel, which are near impossible to obtain. Palestinians living under Israel’s military occupation continue to suffer the devastating consequences of this order until today. They are unable to drill new water wells, install pumps or deepen existing wells, in addition to being denied access to the Jordan River and fresh water springs. Israel even controls the collection of rain water throughout most of the West Bank, and rainwater harvesting cisterns owned by Palestinian communities are often destroyed by the Israeli army. As a result, some 180 Palestinian communities in rural areas in the occupied West Bank have no access to running water, according to OCHA. Even in towns and villages which are connected to the water network, the taps often run dry. While restricting Palestinian access to water, Israel has effectively developed its own water infrastructure and water network in the West Bank for the use of its own citizens in Israel and in the settlements - that are illegal under international law. The Israeli state-owned water company Mekorot has systematically sunk wells and tapped springs in the occupied West Bank to supply its population, including those living in illegal settlements with water for domestic, agricultural and industrial purposes. While Mekorot sells some water to Palestinian water utilities, the amount is determined by the Israeli authorities. As a result of continuous restrictions, many Palestinian communities in the West Bank have no choice but to purchase water brought in by trucks at a much high prices ranging from 4 to 10 USD per cubic metre. In some of the poorest communities, water expenses can, at times, make up half of a family’s monthly income. The Israeli authorities also restrict Palestinians’ access to water by denying or restricting their access to large parts of the West Bank. Many parts of the West Bank have been declared “closed military areas”, which Palestinians may not enter, because they are close to Israeli settlements, close to roads used by Israeli settlers, used for Israeli military training or protected nature reserves. Israeli settlers living alongside Palestinians in the West Bank – in some cases just a few hundred meters away - face no such restrictions and water shortages, and can enjoy and capitalize on well-irrigated farmlands and swimming pools. In Gaza, some 90-95 per cent of the water supply is contaminated and unfit for human consumption. Israel does not allow water to be transferred from the West Bank to Gaza, and Gaza’s only fresh water resource, the Coastal Aquifer, is insufficient for the needs of the population and is being increasingly depleted by over-extraction and contaminated by sewage and seawater infiltration. The resulting disparity in access to water between Israelis and Palestinians is truly staggering. Water consumption by Israelis is at least four times that of Palestinians living in the OPT. Palestinians consume on average 73 litres of water a day per person, which is well below the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended daily minimum of 100 litres per capita. In many herding communities in the West Bank, the water consumption for thousands of Palestinians is as low as 20 litres per person a day, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). By contrast, an average Israeli consumes approximately 300 litres of water a day. 50 years on, it is time for the Israeli authorities to put an end to policies and practices which discriminate against Palestinians in the OPT and to address their desperate need for water security. The Israeli authorities must lift the restrictions currently in place which deny millions of Palestinians access to sufficient water to meet their personal and domestic needs as well as to enjoy their rights to water, food, health, work and an adequate standard of living. Devastating toll on communities in the Jordan valley In September 2017 Amnesty International researchers met with residents of the Jordan Valley and witnessed first-hand the catastrophic impact the water restrictions have had on people’s daily lives. Ihab Saleh, a squash and cucumber farmer living in Ein al-Beida, a Palestinian village of about 1,600 people located in the northern part of the West Bank, is one of hundreds of thousands of people whose lives and livelihoods have been destroyed by Israeli water restrictions. Over the past 25 years he has seen the local spring gradually dry up after the Israeli company Mekorot drilled two wells near the neighbouring Palestinian community of Bardala, to serve Mehola, an Israeli settlement. The amount of water the Israeli authorities allocate to the village has been decreasing over the years, he says, and has been fully cut off on numerous occasions. Despite an agreement to compensate the Palestinian villages of Bardala and Ein al-Beida, since the mid-1970s, Israel has significantly reduced the amount of water available to both communities. In addition to the farming villages, many Bedouin communities in the Jordan Valley face severe restrictions as a consequence of Israel’s control of Palestinian natural water resources. Often the land they live on is designated by Israel as a “closed military area”. Not only is their access to water limited, they also live under the constant threat of forced evictions through demolition orders on their homes and properties. Two families living beside highway 90 near the village of Ein Al-Beida have had their houses and property destroyed twice in the last two years. Most recently, in December 2016, the Israeli army destroyed two home structures and all of the water tanks belonging to the families. In al-Auja, a village of about 5,200 people, 10 kilometres north of Jericho in the Jordan Valley, the situation is much the same. In 1972, Mekorot sunk a well and established a pumping station, close to the Wadi Auja spring. According to residents, the spring used to provide a plentiful supply of water to the village and surrounding agricultural land via a series of irrigation channels. Due to water shortages, farmers in Al-Auja were forced to diversify from their traditional livelihoods, and now grow crops that are less water-intensive and also less profitable. While in the past they grew mainly citrus fruit and were capable of exporting them, they rely now on less water intensive vegetable crops such as zucchini, cucumber and squash, which can sustain a cultivation period of three to four months through the winter season. Many residents of Al-Auja have also been forced to find work in farms located in three neighbouring Israeli settlements, which have unrestricted access to water. Read more.... Israeli settlements’ access to water Swimming Pool in Ma’ale Adumim. With water supply roughly four times greater than that provided to Palestinian communities, Israeli settlements such as Ma'ale Adumim stand in stark contrast to their Palestinian neighbours. © Amnesty International An Israeli settlement date farm close to the village of Al-Auja, in the Jordan Valley, 21 September, 2017. Hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of goods produced in Israeli settlements built on occupied Palestinian land are exported internationally each year, despite the fact that the vast majority of states have officially condemned the settlements as illegal under international law. © Amnesty International Lush vegetation in the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim. With a population of 37,670, the settlement is one of the largest in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. © Amnesty International The right to water has been recognized as being derived from the right to an adequate standard of living, and therefore implicitly contained in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other instruments. The right to water includes availability of sufficient water for personal and domestic uses, physical access within or in the immediate vicinity of each household, affordability, and adequate quality of water. States must prioritize, as part of their immediate obligations, access for everyone to the minimum essential amount of water that is sufficient and safe for personal and domestic uses to prevent disease. States have to adopt the necessary measures directed towards the full realization of the right to water, including by taking positive measures to assist individuals and communities to enjoy the right. Under international law, Israel, as the occupying power in the OPT, has well defined responsibilities to respect the Palestinians’ human right to water. It must not only refrain from taking actions that violate this right or undermine the Palestinian population’s opportunity to realize the right, but also protect the Palestinian population from interference by third parties in their enjoyment of the right to water, and it must take deliberate, concrete and targeted steps to ensure that this right is fulfilled and fully realized.