Palestinians barred from Dead Sea beaches to 'appease Israeli settlers'
And Israeli Jews among others wonder why there is 'anti-semitism'?
Independent.co.uk
By Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem
Saturday, 14 June 2008
Palestinians are being regularly and illegally barred from reaching Dead Sea beaches in the occupied West Bank, according to a Supreme Court petition filed by Israel's leading civil rights organisation.
The Association of Civil Rights (Acri) in Israel is challenging what it says is the frequently imposed ban by the military on Palestinians seeking to swim or relax at beaches in the northern Dead Sea. The salt-saturated sea is the only open water accessible to Palestinians from the otherwise landlocked West Bank.
The petition says that the Israeli military is using the Beit Ha'arava checkpoint on Route 90 - the only open access route in the occupied West Bank for travel to the Dead Sea - to turn back Palestinians, mainly but not exclusively on weekends and Jewish holidays.
Acri says that the ban is to appease Israeli settlers operating concessions along the Dead Sea's northern shore. They fear losing Jewish customers if there are large numbers of Arabs using the beaches in territory seized by Israel during the Six Day War in 1967.
--MORE--
Independent.co.uk
By Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem
Saturday, 14 June 2008
Palestinians are being regularly and illegally barred from reaching Dead Sea beaches in the occupied West Bank, according to a Supreme Court petition filed by Israel's leading civil rights organisation.
The Association of Civil Rights (Acri) in Israel is challenging what it says is the frequently imposed ban by the military on Palestinians seeking to swim or relax at beaches in the northern Dead Sea. The salt-saturated sea is the only open water accessible to Palestinians from the otherwise landlocked West Bank.
The petition says that the Israeli military is using the Beit Ha'arava checkpoint on Route 90 - the only open access route in the occupied West Bank for travel to the Dead Sea - to turn back Palestinians, mainly but not exclusively on weekends and Jewish holidays.
Acri says that the ban is to appease Israeli settlers operating concessions along the Dead Sea's northern shore. They fear losing Jewish customers if there are large numbers of Arabs using the beaches in territory seized by Israel during the Six Day War in 1967.
--MORE--