Last week, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) began work on its plan to construct a new "national park" in the middle of Issawiya, a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem adjacent to Hebrew University. Israeli activists joined Palestinian residents to unblock the road sealed off by Israeli authorities earlier this week. By Moriel Rothman Issawiya, East Jerusalem- On Friday morning, around thirty Israeli Jews joined Palestinian residents of Issawiya in an attempt to clear a road leading out of Issawiya that was blocked last week by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. Together, we worked with shovels, picks, and bare hands to…

The establishment of national parks in East Jerusalem may sound like a nice idea that fosters the preservation of natural reserves - but in reality, it is a crafty method the Israeli government and its institutions have found to keep East Jerusalem under Israeli control and prohibit Palestinian territorial contiguity, rights and independence.  By Zvi Benninga Since 1967, the overarching objective of the state of Israel regarding Jerusalem has been to secure it as a Jewish city. The borders of the city, which demarcate an area a bit bigger than the city of Paris, were drawn in order to control…

The settler attack on Israelis and Palestinians that I reported on Friday night, which went largely uncovered in mainstream Israeli media, is now being reported on by both Haaretz and Channel 2 news. Both outlets are showing a new video that the activists have publicized, which was not ready when I posted. You can view it here below.  We apologize that there are no English subtitles, but the video mostly speaks for itself. UPDATE: Video has come out with English subtitles: