Israeli security forces raided the offices of three NGOs in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank before dawn on Tuesday in what Palestinian workers in those offices say was a retaliatory move following a recent vote at the United Nations.

Al-Jazeera reports:

Entering before dawn on Tuesday, troops wrenched open the doors of the Women's Union, the Palestinian NGO Network and Addameer, an advocate for Palestinians in Israeli jails.

The raids were the first of their kind in a Palestinian city since the West Bank government won an initiative at the United Nations General Assembly on November 29 which recognized a de facto Palestinian state.

"This comes in the context of the UN's decision," Allam Jarrar of the Palestinian NGO Network told reporters on Tuesday morning, "boycott Israel" leaflets strewn on the floor of the raided office.

"This a message by the Israelis to the Palestinians, saying that when they take decisions or form patriotic organizations to seek their freedom, the occupation will use aggression to try and stop us," he said.
A statement put out by the group Addameer, which works to secure rights for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, condemned the raid, calling it an "attack on human rights and civil society organizations," and describing it as an "attempt to cripple solidarity with the prisoners movement."

According to the group's statement:

At 3 am this morning, 11 December 2012, the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights office was raided by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). Four laptops, one hard disk and a video camera were taken among other materials. The IOF destroyed the office; desks, ransacked filing cabinets and files and scattered files around the office. At this moment, we are not clear as to what has been confiscated, but in the coming days we will know more about the level of destruction and damage. This is the first raid by the IOF since 2002, when the Addameer office was raided during the invasion of Ramallah.
Agence France-Presse adds:

The Israeli military said it was checking reports of the raids, which Addameer said also targeted the Ramallah offices of the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees and the Palestinian NGO Network. [...]

Although the West Bank city of Ramallah nominally falls under full Palestinian administrative and security control, Israeli forces regularly carry out raids in the city and its surroundings.


(no wonder Palestine says they want Liberty from the Jews)

Great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No wonder Palestine says they want Liberty from the Jews.

Everyone deserves freedom and liberty. Human rights. Israel has no right to do what it is doing. Who the F do they think they are?

they could have had it since '48 the Fools!
But it seems they are Masters at snatching Defeat out of the Jaws of Victory!
Always listening to the wrong People!
Fools!

Not really, because Israel DEMANDS they (Palestinians) recognize Israel's right to exist as a "JEWISH STATE" on their own land.

(That is the only thing that would legitimize Israel's invasion and control of the holy land.)

The only alternative for Israel is to invade and conquer but that is against International law now so all they can do is hope for conflict so they can claim they are defending themselves.

So they constantly stick their noses into Gaza and piss the people off and make life miserable for them, and bulldoze their homes hoping to cause conflict.

A rare moment on Mingle: A Jew bashing thread

Really?! Where?! Who could be so uneducated, biased, prejudiced, crass, and/or misinformed as to do such a thing?

(not to mention gullible ... Al jazerra is probably the most slanted and unreliable source of "news" in the world)

How do you come to that conclusion? I am posting news and facts.

No "Jew Bashing" here.

No, I think the New York Times is.

Besides, how would you know who is telling the truth???

Israel still demands that Palestinians recognize their right to exist as not simply a "State" but as a "Jewish State" and on Palestinian land to boot!

True or not?

That basically means they want to impose their Jewish religious law on people who don't want it.

Good question. Where?

Just because someone does not agree with your political view you start name calling?

OK. Lately where have most of the attacks been staged on Israel from? Keep that in mind arguing for Palestinian freedom. I question their right to exist. Besides, there is only ONE Jewish state and HOW MANY ARAB STATES?

Palestine is lucky they are even tolerate as much as they have been by Israel.

My question is who did they chase into those buildings? Likewise what did they find? I would be thrilled if they found a cache of rockets and some Iranian nationals with them!

So what constitutes an Israeli state on Palestinian land? All of Israel maybe?

Again I see this as a blind justification for racism. Maybe there will be peace when the ARABS THEMSELVES RECOGNIZE ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO EXIST. Until then I count the days that lead to Israel finally saying ENOUGH and wipe Palestine from the map!

If they want peace so bad the Palestinians need to SHOW IT FOR A CHANGE!

That will not satisfy Israel. Israel is asking for the Arabs to recognize Israel's right to exist AS A JEWISH STATE not just the right to exist.

Everyone has a right to exist DUH!!!

It is a legal issue. Israel wants to claim all of the Holy land and they want to rule it under JEWISH LAW.

Arabs don't want peace with Israel if Israel wants to rule them under Jewish law.

It will never happen.

Muslims want their stupid religious laws and Jews want their stupid religious laws.

Religion and government SHOULD NOT BE MIXED.

Same goes for the sovereign Christians who want to create a Christian government for the Republic of America.

It can't happen. Religion is on the way out and should be on the way out.

Al Jazerra's unreliability is FACT, and a well documented one at that. Just reading their posts over time is a easy proof. Politics has nothing to do with it. Showing film of murdered children for news releases and later seeing film of them Positioning the actors is a thing of legend. If only some of you had any investigative skills ...

OH SO ISRAEL SHOULD NOT HAVE A SOVEREIGN RIGHT TO RULE THEMSELVES? THEY DON'T DESERVE STATEHOOD BUT PALESTINE DOES?

Come on. That sounds racist to me. It also sounds self serving. So Israel should not be allowed to maintain their own laws in their own reaches? They should allow Islam to impose their law on them?

Get real! You know your very own argument folds in on itself!

So what do you call The Vatican? That is Sovereign Catholic soil! And on top of that you make it sound like America should allow a theocratic state among the union? Really? Shall I list theocratic nations?

Indonesia, Yeman, Saudi Arabia, Iran, nd I know there are others but I just need to dig them up and list them if you feel I need to add to this. So like I said, ONE JEWISH STATE, ISRAEL vs. HOW MANY ISLAMIC STATES?

Your very own argument is what prevents peace in that region because it is that same hollow racist view people there use to justify their hatred of Israel. A good neighbor does not shoot at your home because they are mad at you!

Then again this whole issue illustrates just how impotent the UN really is!

There is nothing racist about anything I said.

I am simply saying that religion should not be the government.

Maybe you're onto something here.

Maybe you should learn the difference between religion and skin color.

Maybe this will help you.

rac·ism

/ˈrāˌsizəm/

Noun

1.The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, esp. so as to distinguish it as...
2.Prejudice or discrimination directed against someone of a different race based on such a belief.

So, defining the inhabitants of Israel as Ashkenazi Jews (as opposed to Sephardic Jews) is not imposing a racialist stereotype? You make a nonsense of your own argument.