Former Israeli soldier seeks Palestinian citizenship and baffles both sides of the conflict

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"In an odd twist to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian saga, a former Israeli soldier has embarked on a new fight: He wants to renounce his Israeli citizenship and move to a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank.

Andre Pshenichnikov, a 23-year-old Jewish immigrant from Tajikistan, was recently detained by Israeli police for residing illegally in the Deheishe Refugee Camp near Bethlehem. There he told police that he wants to break all ties with Israel, give up his Israeli citizenship and obtain a Palestinian one instead.

Pshenichnikov is currently traveling in Europe for two months. When he returns, he hopes to move to the West Bank.

It’s incredibly rare for Israelis to seek to live under Palestinian rule. There are only a few known cases of Jewish Israelis who have done so, mostly ones who have married Palestinians, as well as a journalist for the Israeli daily Haaretz who moved to Ramallah and reports from there. None are known to have renounced Israeli citizenship — though some Israelis living abroad have. Nor are any known to have sought Palestinian residency instead. People are not allowed to be dual citizens."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/former-israeli-soldier-seeks-palestinian-citizenship-and-baffles-both-sides-of-the-conflict/2012/06/14/gJQAQ6tfbV_story.html

[azurnoir]

1. baffling indeed

more from the article

Tareq Abu Sheikha, who rented Pshenichnikov a room for a month, said he was “suspicious and not honest.”

Abu Sheikha said Pshenichnikov presented himself as a Russian foreign activist and was even seen throwing stones at Israeli soldiers during demonstrations. But he was also heard speaking in Hebrew on his phone and carried his old military I.D. card with him.

“We don’t have a problem with any Israeli coming to be one of us. We’ll be honored and give them an I.D. card, but this young man was suspicious and he lied and that’s why we handed him to the Israelis,” he said.

so what is going on here, maybe he was talking to mother?
but why carry his military ID, in case of arrest perhaps, that way IDF knows who they're arresting?

[Crunchy Frog]

2. I don't understand why it would be illegal for him to live there.

Is this under Israeli law? Do they want certain areas to be Judenrein?

[oberliner]

4. Palestinian law

He did not go through legal channels to become a Palestinian citizen.

The Palestinian Authority were the ones who deported him.

And what's with the use of Nazi-era German terminology?

[Scurrilous]

3. Israeli Soldier Goes on Hunger Strike in Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners

<snip>

"An Israeli Defense Forces soldier, currently serving time in a military prison for his refusal to serve in the IDF and participate in Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territories, has begun a hunger strike in solidarity with scores of Palestinian administrative detainees.

Amira Hass at Haaretz writes:

Yaniv Mazor, a 31-year-old Jerusalem resident, was sentenced last week to 20 days in jail over his refusal to fill any position, be it combat or otherwise, in what he said was the occupying army. He was transferred to the IDF’s Tzrifin prison on Monday, launching his hunger strike the following day.In a phone conversation with his attorney Michael Sfard on Friday, Mazor said that he had “become appalled over the last few months by the hunger strike initiated by Palestinian administrative prisoners, but I couldn’t do much about it.”

“I decided to start a hunger strike in solidarity (with the Palestinians), and in order to raise awareness on the issue of administrative detention, and not to prompt my own release,” Mazor added.

This courageous and rare move from an Israeli solider comes on the heels of massive hunger strikes from Palestinian prisoners in recent months. The strikes have put pressure on Israel to improve conditions for Palestinian prisoners and end the country’s widespread use of administrative detentions."

http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2012/06/17/israeli-soldier-goes-on-hunger-strike-in-solidarity-with-palestinian-prisoners/