The Electronic Intifada 6 July 2012
During the month of June, Israeli air strikes on Gaza killed more than a dozen Palestinians and injured more than 70. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “Between 20 and 23 June, the Israeli air force launched a series of air strikes, targeting metal workshops, civilian structures, motorcycles carrying armed Palestinians, military bases and open fields.” One victim, 12-year-old Mamoun al-Dam, was killed in an Israeli missile strike while picnicking with his family. During this time, one Israeli soldier was killed by a Palestinian gunman.
Also during June, Palestinian prisoner Akram Rikhawi continued his open-ended hunger strike, now going on 86 days, in protest of Israel’s refusal to release him on humanitarian grounds. Samer al-Barq and Hassan Safadi also renewed their hunger strikes after Israeli violated the agreement ending the mass hunger strike in the prisons by extending the orders to detain the men without charge or trial — a practice known as administrative detention.
Palestinians also marked for the 45th year the Naksa, or setback — the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip which began after Israel captured the territories during the 1967 War.
This month Israel also began rounding up African refugees and deporting them en masse; “Israel belongs to the white man,” declared Eli Yishai, Israel’s interior minister.
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Thaer Halahleh (right) in the West Bank village of Kharas near Hebron following his release from Israeli prison after a 78-day hunger strike. At Halahleh’s left is Khader Adnan, who inspired a wave of hunger strikes among Palestinian political prisoners.
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A Palestinian woman mourns Naim al-Najjar during his funeral in the West Bank village of Idhna, near Hebron, 17 June. Al-Najjar and another man were shot dead by an Israeli truck driver in the occupied West Bank.
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Palestinian boys inspect the damage at a dairy factory in Gaza City after it was hit during Israeli air strikes the previous day, 4 June.
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Relatives of Ahmed Nassir mourn during his funeral in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, 2 June. Nassir killed an Israeli soldier before being shot dead himself in a rare cross-border attack.
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A Palestinian boy wounded during Israeli air strikes on Gaza City, 20 June.
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A relative of Thaer al-Baik collapses during the man’s funeral in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, 21 June. Al-Baik, 30, and another member of Hamas’ armed wing suffocated in a tunnel at a Hamas training camp after it was hit in an Israeli air strike, according to reports.
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Palestinian mourners pray over the body of Hadeel al-Haddad during her funeral in Gaza City, 20 June. The girl was killed the previous day when a rocket fired by Palestinian fighters fell short of its target in Israel.
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Palestinians in the refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in north Lebanon take part in a funeral procession for 15-year-old Palestinian Ahmad Qassim, who was killed at a Lebanese army checkpoint in the camp.
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Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus demonstrate in solidarity with Palestinian hunger striker Mahmoud Sarsak. Sarsak, a footballer with the Palestinian national team, refused food for nearly three months before Israel agreed to release him when his current detention orders expire.
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A protest and press conference is held outisde the Nablus home of Hassan Safadi who renewed his hunger strike after Israel extended orders to hold him without charge or trial, 28 June.
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Residents of al-Mufaqarah village in the West Bank’s South Hebron Hills pause to pray after being forbidden to continue building the local mosque. The original mosque was demolished last November.
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Palestinian policemen confront demonstrators during a protest against a meeting between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Deputy Israeli Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, 30 June.
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Palestinian protesters hold flags and banners during a demonstration against the Israeli occupation and to mark Naksa Day, the 44th anniversary of the 1967 Six Day War, at the entrance of the old city near the settlement of Beit Romano in the occupied West Bank town of Hebron, 5 June.
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Graffiti in Hebrew reading “Death to Arabs,” “revenge” and “Hello from Gilad’s farm” (an illegal settler outpost) spray-painted on a wall in the “coexistence” community of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam (Oasis of Peace), west of Jerusalem, on 8 June. Vandals rampaged overnight, slashing car tires and spraying graffiti.
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A Sudanese activist hangs a poster of an African refugee with the slogan “Refugee, not an infiltrator” as part of a campaign against the deportation of refugees, Tel Aviv, 13 June.
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An Israeli activist says goodbye to a South Sudanese youth as he sits in a bus taking him from Tel Aviv to Ben Gurion airport to be deported to South Sudan with another 120 persons on a flight leaving the same night, 17 June.
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A Palestinian protester during a weekly demonstration against the wall and settlements in the occupied West Bank village of Nilin, 15 June.
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A Palestinian family observes Israeli soldiers during clashes with Palestinian protesters in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh near Ramallah, 22 June. Used tear gas canisters used against previous demonstrations against the occupation and settlements are strung together for display outside the home.
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Palestinians in Gaza City celebrate the victory of Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi in Egypt’s first free presidential elections, 24 June.
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Activists march in Tel Aviv during a protest marking 45 years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, 9 June.
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Palestinians harvest wheat in al-Sawiya village near Nablus in the occupied West Bank, 14 June.
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A Palestinian employee works at the al-Arz ice cream factory in the occupied West Bank City of Nablus, 19 June.
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A Palestinian baker prepares bread at his bakery in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, 13 June.
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Palestinian boys read verses from the Quran during a class on how to read Islam’s holy book at a mosque in Rafah, southern occupied Gaza Strip, 14 June.
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Palestinian girls sit for their final high school exams, known as tawjihi, in Gaza City, 9 June.
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Palestinians enjoy the steam bath at the 400-year-old traditional Turkish bath Hamam al-Shifa in the occupied West Bank City of Nablus, 27 June.
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Palestinians in Gaza City enjoy the beach, 27 June.
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Young couples wearing traditional dress take part in a wedding during the opening of Heritage Week in Birzeit village near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, 27 June.
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Palestinians celebrate during a mass wedding party for 19 grooms in the village of Silwad near the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, 28 June.
APA imagesThe Electronic Intifada welcomes photographic contributions from readers. If you have high-quality images for consideration for the next edition of the Month in Photos, email info A T electronicintifada D O T net.
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