Author: David Crump

Author, Speaker, Retired Biblical Studies & Theology Professor & Pastor, Passionate Falconer, H-D Chopper Rider, Fumbling Disciple Who Loves Jesus Christ

My Friend Anas Abu Srour is Arrested for Being a Palestinian in the West Bank

Terry and I first met Anas this past March as we sat talking with his young, pregnant wife, Maysan. We were visiting with Maysan in her father’s home inside the Aida Refugee Camp.

Maysan’s father is our good friend, Sayid, who was once shot in the shoulder by an Israeli soldier while standing inside his own home. Yes, such things happen often to those living under Israeli military occupation.

Maysan has begun a new, thriving dental practice in Bethlehem. She and Anas were eagerly expecting their first child, a daughter, who happened to arrive while we were still visiting in Aida.

Anas is the director of the Aida Youth Center, the organization which Terry and I have worked with closely over the years.

As the Center’s director, Anas is committed to providing educational opportunities and improving the lives of the many children growing up inside a refugee camp on the outskirts of Bethlehem.

Now Anas has been arrested simply for being a Palestinian man living in the West Bank.

Below is the account of what happened yesterday as posted by another friend, Munther Amira, on Facebook.

Please join us in praying for Anas’ swift and safe return from Israeli detention (all emphasis is mine):

We are deeply troubled by the news that our colleague and friend Anas Abu Srour, 35, has been arrested by the Israeli occupation army. Anas is the Executive Director of the Aida Youth Center in the Aida Refugee Camp, and is a vital member of the community. He is also a father to a newborn baby, a husband, son, and friend.
Anas traveled in his vehicle from his home in Aida Camp in the city of Bethlehem to the central West Bank city of Ramallah this morning, Tuesday November 28th. After completing an English-language exam in Ramallah, Anas sent a text message to his wife Maysan around 11:45 am, telling her that he was on his way home to Bethlehem. That was the last that Maysan heard from him.
After 12 grueling hours of not knowing anything about Anas’ whereabouts, we were informed shortly after midnight local time by the Palestinian Authority Liaison Office that he had been abducted by Israeli army forces. The Israeli military did not inform the Palestinian Authority of any details about Anas’ arrest, including where he was arrested from, on what charges, and where he was taken to.
We are extremely worried about Anas’ wellbeing. The current climate in the occupied West Bank is a terrifying one for Palestinians, particularly for Palestinian men like Anas, who are being rounded up and arbitrarily detained by Israeli forces. Since October 7th, detainees and prisoners have reported an increase in the systematic torture by Israeli forces against them, including beatings, verbal and physical harassment and assault, and being stripped naked during the arrest and interrogation process. Israel has also been enforcing the mass arbitrary imprisonment of thousands of Palestinian men, women and children under its policy of administrative detention, which Israel uses to detain Palestinians for months on end without charge or trial.
We are confident that Anas has not committed any crime, and that he was arrested for one reason and one reason only: that he is Palestinian. We demand the immediate release of Anas from Israeli custody, and the release of all Palestinian prisoners being wrongfully imprisoned by the Israeli occupation.
Please share this widely, and help us put pressure on the criminal Israeli occupation to #FreeAnasAbuSrour

What it’s like to live in the occupied West Bank amid Gaza war

Here is a brief (30 minute) documentary explaining what it is happening now in the West Bank as tensions flare during the Gaza war.

I feel that this information is especially important for American audiences as I find Christian news networks devoting more and more of their resources to spreading right-wing, Israeli propaganda.

CBN is especially guilty of this. I have recently watched several stories on their network accusing Palestinians in the West Bank of harrassing, attacking and terrorizing Jewish settlers.

Anyone who has lived in this area will recognize the absurdity of such claims. It is noteworthy that the so-called Christian journalists telling these stories never produce any evidence to substantiate their claims — no recordings, no films, no interviews — only bald assertions.

This documentary provides everything needed to arrive at an informed judgment about what it means for Palestinians to live under Israeli occupation, and who is attacking who in the West Bank.

The video is age restricted, so I cannot embed it into this post. Instead, copy the web address below (minus the quotation marks) into your web browser. It will take you to YouTube where you can watch it directly on your computer or phone.

“https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk8jRFu3HRg”

Ben Norton Catalogues the Many Times Israeli Leaders Have Openly Announced Their Plans for Ethnic Cleansing in Gaza

Independent journalist Ben Norton has compiled a litany of statements made by Israeli leaders, both political and military, loudly proclaiming their goals for ethnic cleansing in Gaza.

They make no bones about it. Israel’s final objective is to eradicate all Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Carpet bombing the people is a piece of their strategy.

And they are accomplishing their goals. Thus far, 1.5 million people have been displaced. Over 11,000 have been killed; 4,500 of them children; over 20,000 are missing.

The USA and other western powers remain silent.

Peter Beinart: Only Palestinian Freedom Assures Israel’s Safety

Mr. Beinart was once a staunch Jewish Zionist — read his book The Crisis of Zionism.

More recently, he has changed his mind. Now he strongly advocates for Palestinian human rights and an end to the Occupation.

Today he was interviewed by Amy Goodman at Democracy Now where he criticizes Israel’s slaughter of innocent Palestinians. Take a listen:

A Christian Look at the War Against Gaza: Episode Nine with Dr. David Crump

Rob Dalrymple has become a good friend of mine, so it was fun to do this interview with him. We began with a few technical difficulties, but it smooths out quickly.

We discuss several different but related topics: Palestinian life in the Occupied Territory of the West Bank; Christian Zionism and its relation to the modern state of Israel; the current war against Gaza; and the ethical demands for citizenship in the kingdom of God today.

I hope you find this conversation interesting, challenging and educational. I pray that it will move you to action in protesting the current war, calling for a ceasefire and negotiations.

Call you elected representatives and ask them to please demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Israeli Minister Avi Dichter Admits Israel’s Goal is Ethnic Cleansing

Avi Dichter is Israel’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. In this interview he candidly admits that the final goal of Israel’s bombardment campaign is the ethnic cleansing of the entire Palestinian population from Gaza.

Nakba is the Arabic word for “catastrophe.” It is the standard reference to the first ethnic cleansing of Palestine during the war of 1947-49 when upwards of 750,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes.

To refer to the current war in Gaza as a second Nakba is to admit that Israel intends ethnic cleansing once more.

This war is about vengence, destruction and the elimination of as many Palestinians as possible. This ethnic cleansing will continue apace in the West Bank as it proceeds in Gaza.

Israeli Citizens Promote Genocidal Mindset

The video speaks for itself. When it is combined with the numerous statements of Israeli politicians who have be advocating for genocide, it is not hard to see why Israel behaves as it does.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_Ivo9HNUGs

Does Israel Have a Right to Defend Itself? No, not Against Palestinians.

Journalist Ian Sinclair has an interview with Marjorie Cohn, an expert on International Law. It is posted in an article at ScheerPost.

In fact, given the current relationship between Israel and the Palestinians, including those in Gaza, Israeli has no “right” to defend itself against Palestinian attacks according to International Law.

Here is an excerpt of that article:

. . . For an armed attack to give rise to the right of self-defence, it must be directed from outside the territory under the control of the defending state. A state cannot invoke the right of self-defence to defend against an attack which originates inside a territory it occupies. Because Israel has continued to occupy Gaza, it has relinquished its right to claim self-defence in response to the Palestinian attacks.

In its 2004 advisory opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) established the non-applicability of “self-defence” under Article 51 in the situation between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Israel remains an occupying power in Gaza despite its unilateral removal of settlements. After the 2006 election of Hamas, Israel imposed a blockade against Gaza which is specifically listed as an act of aggression under UN general assembly resolution 3314.

An occupying force has a duty to protect the people it occupies; it cannot claim self-defence against the occupied. Actions taken by Palestinians to resist the blockade are not “acts of aggression” so they do not allow Israel to claim it is acting in self-defence.

Aside from the illegality of targeting and killing civilians, what does international law say about Palestinians resisting the occupation, including with armed force?

Whether the use of force in the first instance is lawful is a separate question from how that force is carried out. For targeting and killing civilians and taking hostages, Hamas leaders can be charged with war crimes.

The Palestinians, however, have the right to self-determination and the right to resist Israel’s occupation of their territory, including through armed struggle.

In 1983, the UN general assembly reaffirmed “the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for their independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial domination, apartheid and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle.”

Gaza, together with the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is part of the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967. The Occupied Palestinian Territory is a single territorial unit over which the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination is enshrined in international law, according to the ICJ’s Wall decision.

The legal test for occupation is “effective control,” which exists if the military forces of the adversary could assume physical control of any part of the country at any time. . . 

You can read the entire article here.