Video: Daily life in Hebron: Lost two babies due to closure of Shuhada Street
Uploaded by HebronVoices on Aug 27, 2011 –This video is the second part of “Visiting Our Neighbours. We published the first part earlier this month. It is an interview of a Palestinian woman living at Shohada Street in Hebron. She explains how she lost two babies as a result of the closure and delays of ambulance services due to restrictions on movements. She talks about her life in Hebron.
And more news from Today in Palestine:
Land and resources theft & destruction
This Thursday, a protest against the illegal settlement of ‘City of David’ in Silwan obliges settlers to delay a concert planned there
[photos] Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 28 Aug — Palestinian residents from Silwan and Solidarity activists conducted a protest in front of the settler-center “City of David”, objecting to the concerts that have been held by the settlers for the past three weeks in Silwan. The timing of the concerts is considered suspicious according to the residents, for they take place at the time of Ramadan Muslim prayer, “Taraweeh”. The loud concerts in the heart of Silwan are perceived as an attempt to domineer and confuse the prayers. In addition, at the time of the concert a military check-point is put up on the northern entrance of Wadi Hilweh neighborhood, preventing worshipers to reach al Aqsa Mosque.
http://silwanic.net/?p=19569
Silwan group warns of Israeli plan to seize land
JERUSALEM (WAFA) 29 Aug – Extremist Israeli settler groups are planning to seize Palestinian land in East Jerusalem neighborhoods in order to isolate them from the Old City, Monday said the Committee for the Defense of Silwan. It said that the takeover of land has reached its high point with plans to build Talmudic parks around Jerusalem’s Old City Wall, particularly the area near Al-Aqsa Mosque. The goal of these groups is to isolate Al-Aqsa Mosque from its surroundings in preparation for dividing it. Based on the plan, the settlers seize “abandoned” Palestinian land, plant it with trees, surround it with fences and close roads leading to it from neighboring areas to prevent Palestinians from reaching their land, it said.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17172
Palestinians thirsting for justice in water-starved occupied territories
STOCKHOLM, Aug 26 (IPS) – In the strife-stricken Middle East, oil has always been in the realm of politics. But in the Israeli-occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank, oil has been supplanted by water. Shaddad Attili, head of the Palestinian Water Authority, told IPS that the Palestinians have not only been deprived of water as a basic human right but that water is also being used as a weapon of war by the Israelis. “Water is a humanitarian issue. It should be taken out of politics,” he said, pointing out that everyone in the region, including the Israelis, the Jordanians, the Lebanese and the Palestinians, should all be rightfully entitled to a basic human need. Expressing strong feelings of anger and frustration, he said the deliberate destruction of water cisterns, wells and other essential water infrastructure by Israel continues – and targets the most vulnerable Palestinian communities.
http://www.mecaforpeace.org/news/palestinians-thirsting-justice-water-starved-occupied-territories
WikiLeaks: US Embassy officials got upclose view of marginalization and removal of Bedouins in Negev in ‘5 (and said nothing publicly) / Philip Weiss
Mondo 29 Aug — Once again, we see American Embassy officials in Israel learning intimately about an outrage back in 2005– the Judaization of the Negev, the Israeli program to move Bedouins into a few approved townships– and did we hear a word publicly about the outrage, no. Why do we have a State Department? Here is the State Department Human Rights report from 2005. Its description of Bedouin conditions lacks the understanding reflected in this cable: That Bedouins are being relocated, that Jewish settlement in the Negev is being encouraged, that there are no high schools in the unrecognized Bedouin villages. The Israeli side of the story is presented carefully in the report.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/08/wikileaks-us-embassy-officials-got-upclose-view-of-marginalization-and-removal-of-bedouins-in-negev-in-05-and-said-nothing-publicly.html
Expansion of impoverished Israeli Arab town angers Jewish neighbors
Haaretz 29 Aug — Intense pressure and clashes of interest are apparently thwarting efforts to rescue the impoverished town of Jisr al-Zarqa. Local planning authorities have determined that the densely populated Arab town should be expanded to include hundreds of acres appropriated from neighboring well-established communities such as Ma’agan Michael, Beit Hanina and Caesarea. However, residents of these communities are threatening mass departure from the area should the plans go through.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/expansion-of-impoverished-israeli-arab-town-angers-jewish-neighbors-1.381230
Settlers
Police: Palestinian run over by settler car
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 29 Aug — Omar Abdel Hadi Ismael, 18, was seriously injured on Monday after being run over by a settler car in the village of Halhul in Hebron, police said. Police visited the victim in Al-Ahli hospital and have opened an investigation into the incident. Locals were advised to take extra precaution and avoid contact with settlers.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=416898
Video: Jewish colonists plant 200 vines on Palestinian land
Uploaded by HebronVoices on Aug 27, 2011 — Jewish colonists planted 200 grape vines on Abu Haikal land in Tel Rumeida, Hebron, Palestine on 11 Aug 2011. The operation was carefully planned. Large areas of grass were cleared 2 weeks beforehand. Police arrived too late to prevent the operation. The video shows colonists from the illegal colony across the road setting up a new irrigation system and digging holes. 15 colonists arrived in a co-ordinated operation and planted the vines in less than 10 minutes. Israeli soldiers made no move to stop them even though the land has been declared a Closed Military Zone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUl6t2cStog&feature=feedu
IDF gears for outpost removals
Ynet Aug 28 — Military brief circulated among Judea and Samaria sector regiments outlines IDF planned course of action for soldiers taking part in removal, eviction of illegal outposts. IDF spokesman: Brief does not indicate eviction plans … The brief elicited an angry reaction among settlers who claim that at a time when security forces are busy managing the southern front, military officials still managed to find the time to distribute a brief dealing with the removal of illegal outposts.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4114554,00.html
Israeli forces
Israeli forces assault Palestinian, arrest five, and raid villages in West Bank
WEST BANK (WAFA) 28 Aug – Israeli occupation forces arrested on Sunday five Palestinians in Nablus, assaulted another on Qalandia checkpoint and raided Al-Yamoon, a village west of Jenin, according to local sources. Palestinian police said that Israeli forces arrested five Palestinians while passing Beit Furik checkpoint, east of Nablus…
The statement said that the Israeli forces severely beat Palestinian Ashraf Abu Rahmeh from Bil‘in, a village west of Ramallah, while he was at Qalandia checkpoint, north Jerusalem.
Local sources in Nablus city said that Israeli forces raided Alma‘ajeen, a neighborhood northwest of Nablus city, and arrested Adel Dwekat, 25, from one of the buildings.
In a related matter, the occupation forces raided Al-Yamoon village, west of Jenin, and took one of the newly built houses as a military base. The Israeli soldiers searched the area and retreated without any incidents.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17166
Israeli forces detain 3 in Jenin
JENIN (Ma‘an) 29 Aug — Clashes broke out early Monday in the northern West Bank city of Jenin as Israeli forces detained three at dawn. Palestinian security officials told Ma‘an Israeli forces entered a number of homes, and Palestinian youths gathered to threw stones at the soldiers. The army responded with tear gas, and Yousif Abu Saleim, 28 and Muhammad Abu Samara, 23, were transferred to Jenin public hospital for gas inhalation, the officials said. Israeli forces detained two men in Jenin’s old city, identified as 34-year-old Alaa Fathi Sadiq, and 22-year-old Muhin Abu Ubeid. An Israeli army spokeswoman said three people were detained in the area overnight, two from Jenin and another from southwest of the city. They were all taken for “security questioning,” she said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=416809
Israeli Army reopens road near Ramallah, restricts entry into Nablus
Arab News 27 Aug — RAMALLAH: Israeli forces on Saturday opened a road near the West Bank city of Ramallah after nine years of closure, Palestinian and Israeli sources said. Ramallah Gov. Laila Ghannam said that the Israeli army opened road 466 near Ein Seinya, to the north of Ramallah. The Israeli army closed the road in 2002 under the pretext that Palestinian fighters used it to launch attacks against Jewish occupiers.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces placed military checkpoints at all entrances of Nablus. Palestinian witnesses said that the Israeli soldiers manning the checkpoints restricted the entry of Palestinians into the city. Nablus Gov. Jibrin Al-Bakri said that the Israeli measures will “badly affect Nablus’ economy.” The city is the “economic capital” of Palestinian territories. Al-Bakri said the restrictions will bar the Palestinian residents from entering the city to buy Eid Al-Fitr gifts, sweets and clothes.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article494393.ece
Blockades / Closures
New WikiLeaks cable shows Israel’s West Bank blockade / Noam Sheizaf
972mag 27 Aug — In a 2009 cable, American diplomats complain that Israel is not issuing work visas for Palestinian companies’ foreign employees — While most people who follow the news from Israel and the Palestinian territories know well enough that Israel blocks travel to and from Gaza, it is always surprising how few are aware that all exits and entries to the West Bank are also controlled by Israel. In fact, while Gaza has a land border with Egypt, which allows a certain flow of people and goods, the Israeli blockade on the West Bank is absolute. Palestinians who wish to travel outside the West Bank must obtain a special permit from the Israeli security authorities. Those wishing to travel to the United States must have two permits – one to visit the Jerusalem consulate to obtain a visa, and the other to leave Israel. The same goes for international visitors to the West Bank – every one of them has to be approved by Israel.
http://972mag.com/wikileaks-jerusalem-201126720/
News Video: ‘Gaza convoy foils Israeli blockade’
Press TV 29 Aug — In an exclusive interview with Press TV, Sheikh Walid El Saadi, leader of the Africa to Gaza Aid Convoy, tells us about his 60-day journey across rough African terrain to reach the impoverished Palestinians in Gaza. Press TV: You arrived in yet another difficult time for Gaza, but can you tell me the feeling for your African convoy about being there now? El Saadi: Indeed. Successfully yesterday, thanks God, we arrived in Gaza last night after a long journey. Sixty days driving from the city of Durban in South Africa right through Africa to Al Arish, to Egypt where we had a little bit of difficulty to cross last night because it was late and Gaza wasn’t safe – they said it was being bombed. But we insisted that we will come inside Gaza, yesterday, even if the Israelis are bombing … But the most important part of our trip was to conscientize Africa about what’s happening in Gaza, what’s happening in Palestine, the Holy Land.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/196296.html
‘Miles of Smiles’ convoy arrives at Rafah border
EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma‘an) 29 Aug — European aid convoy “Miles of Smiles” was poised to enter the Gaza Strip on Monday before Egyptian authorities close the southern Rafah crossing for four days during the Eid holiday. President of Egyptian Red Crescent, Major General Jabir Al-Arabi said 100 activists of different nationalities — including Britain, Jordan, Egypt and South Africa — accompanied 16 ambulances and five tons of medical supplies to the border port of El-Arish. In Cairo, Egyptian medics added 15 tons of medical supplies to the convoy, he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=416847
Violence
Gaza teen dies from injuries suffered in Gaza airstrikes
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 29 Aug — A teenager in Gaza died on Monday after being seriously injured in an Israeli airstrike on Beit Lahiya 10 days earlier, medics said. Haitham Marouf, 14, died in the intensive care unit of Ash-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, medical officials said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=416937
Police brutality in Silwan: 16 years old and traumatized / Sophie Crowe
[photos] On 19 August, 16-year-old Yazen Abbasi was brutally beaten by a gang of soldiers after noon prayer outside the mosque in Ras al-Amud, a neighbourhood in Silwan in East Jerusalem. Yazen, waiting for his family outside the mosque, was startled by the loud bang of a firework set off. Unknown youths threw it in the direction of an assemblage of soldiers, his older brother, Hussein, tells The Palestine Monitor. Yazen was peering over a wall, looking for the source of the firework, when three soldiers attacked him from behind. “Witnesses told us the soldiers beat him with batons and the butts of their rifles,” Hussein notes, “before army commanders arrived and joined in until about ten soldiers were involved.” … He was released at 19:00 that evening and taken to hospital where doctors discovered severe damage to his left eye.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/?p=1610
Nablus man wounds 8 in Tel Aviv
JERUSALEM (AFP) 29 Aug — Eight people were wounded early Monday when a Palestinian crashed a stolen taxi into a group of border guards outside a Tel Aviv nightclub, then attacked them with a knife, Israeli police and media said. Four border guards and two would-be club goers were hurt in the attack which took place outside HaOman 17 nightclub in south Tel Aviv, police spokeswoman Luba Samri told AFP, saying one was critically injured, two others were in serious condition, and the rest sustained light wounds. “At 1:40 am (2240 GMT) the attacker, a young man of 20 from (the northern West Bank city of) Nablus, stole a taxi in Tel Aviv,” Samri told AFP, saying the taxi driver had been lightly wounded in the hand when he was dragged out of his car.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=416779
PA condemns attacks against civilians
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 29 Aug — The Palestinian Authority Monday condemned attacks against all civilians, including the incident in Tel Aviv on Monday morning in which a Palestinian in his 20’s, from the northern West Bank city of Nablus, ran an Israeli policeman over and stabbed eight people late Sunday night near a nightclub south of Tel Aviv, according to Israeli police … The PA condemned this attack as well as the ongoing Israeli aggression against Palestinians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, and reaffirmed its intention to seek membership and recognition of a Palestinian state within 1967 borders and with Jerusalem as its capital in the United Nations. Tt said that “no attempts to divert attention will stop us from achieving our goal.”
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17171
Cross-border tensions – Gaza/Egypt/Israel
Rocket fire on southern Israel continues
Ynet 29 Aug 19:17 — A Qassam rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip and exploded in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council on Monday evening. No injuries or damages were reported … The last rocket to be fired from the Gaza Strip was fired at Israel’s south on Sunday night. It landed in an open area in the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council, no one was hurt and no damages were reported. Also Sunday, a Grad missile landed in the Bnei Shimon Regional Council not far from Beersheba. Once again, no injuries or damages were reported. The radical Islamist Tawhid al-Jihad terror group took responsibility for the attacks.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4115387,00.html
Egypt reportedly mulling buffer zone on Israel border in wake of recent bloodshed
Haaretz 28 Aug — Egypt is considering setting up a buffer zone on its border with the Gaza Strip following recent bloodshed, the independent newspaper Al Masry Al Youm reported Sunday. The plan includes removing smuggling tunnels running across the 14 kilometer long border with Gaza. Security agencies are poised to start demolishing the tunnels used in smuggling arms and goods, said the report — citing heavy digging equipment spotted for removing the tunnels.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/egypt-reportedly-mulling-buffer-zone-on-israel-border-in-wake-of-recent-bloodshed-1.381183
High alert in Israel’s south; IDF and Egypt deploy reinforcements
Haaretz 29 Aug — IDF chief Benny Gantz ordered the deployment of reinforcements around both the southern Gaza Strip and the Egyptian border on Sunday night, due to intelligence reports suggesting an imminent attack by the Islamic Jihad. The reinforcements were coordinated with the Egyptian army. Although security sources estimate that the Islamic Jihad is planning the possible attack, a security official made clear that the IDF will hold Hamas responsible for any terrorist attack originating from the Gaza Strip.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/high-alert-in-israel-s-south-idf-and-egypt-deploy-reinforcements-1.381318
Report: Israel allows 1.500 Egyptian troops into Sinai
Ynet 29 Aug — 1,500 Egyptian soldiers deployed across the Sinai Peninsula on Monday following an agreement between Israel and Egypt to increase the number of Egyptian troops in the peninsula’s areas B and C, the London-based al Hayat newspaper reported on Monday. According to the report, the sides are currently negotiating an agreement to deploy additional troops in the area.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4115259,00.html
Israeli officials: Palestinians in Gaza got anti-aircraft missiles from Libya
Haaretz 29 Aug — Palestinians in Gaza have acquired anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets from Libya during its six-month civil war, enlarging but not significantly improving their arsenal, Israeli officials said on Monday.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/israeli-officials-palestinians-in-gaza-got-anti-aircraft-missiles-from-libya-1.381395
Detention – by Israel
PACE called to further support Palestine’s imprisoned legislators
OSLO (PIC) 29 Aug — The European network to support the Palestinian prisoners (UFree) has called on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to take a “clear and firm stance” as Israel continues to hold 19 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) prisoner.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7hsbn3Q%2fMwjBxo5BHmbVEdvDQffqQNgmSULVNA0IzvFexCtJoZxAiEdc9%2fMZ22yzQ%2fSojxiJLq9bLc83dZOhav2H113%2fNByZfPQ0yZLGhJpw%3d
MADA demands freedom for Palestinian journalists
PNN 29 Aug — The Palestinian Centre for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) has condemned the continued incarceration of five Palestinian journalists by Israeli authorities. The five journalists come from across the West Bank and work for a wide variety of Arab media agencies. Their names are: Walid Khalid (‘Palestine’ newspaper), Nawaf Al-Amer (‘Al-Quds’ television), Samer Allawi (‘Al-Jazeera’, a satellite news channel), Osaid Amarneh (‘Al-Aqsa’ television) and Amer Abu Arafeh (‘Shab’ news agency). Two of the men, Khalid and Al-Amer, have been sentenced to administrative detention whilst Allawi, who was the head of Al-Jazeera’s Afghanistan Bureau before his arrest on 9th August, has yet to be charged.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10639&Itemid=63
Lawyer: Female detainee humiliated after surgery
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 27 Aug — Israeli prison guards humiliated a female detainee from the Gaza Strip who underwent hand surgery, the PA Ministry of Detainees’ Affairs reported Saturday. Prison guards tried to cuff Wafa Samir Al-Lubs, 26, to her hospital bed by her hands and legs, the ministry said in a statement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=416469
Detention – by PA
Jailed professor released on bail
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 29 Aug — A political science professor imprisoned after a Nablus university accused him of incitement and defamation was released on bail on Monday. Lecturer and writer Dr Abdul-Sattar Qassim, 62, was detained on Thursday after a Nablus court charged him with incitement and defamation, following allegations by An-Najah University President Rami Al-Hamdallah … The Palestinian Authority Attorney General on Monday denied media reports that Qasim was freed by a presidential order, saying the judicial decision was made independently.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=416859
Detention – by Hamas
150 prisoners released in Gaza for Eid holiday
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 29 Aug — The Hamas-run ministry of interior in the Gaza Strip released 150 detainees Monday morning for the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, a statement said. Nasser Suleiman, director of police rehabilitation centers, said that 87 convicts have been released permanently, six on probation and 55 temporarily to spend the Eid holiday with their families. Prisoners on temporary release will return to prison on September 3rd, he said. …
Ten Fatah affiliates are among those released, a statement from the Gaza interior ministry said. They were imprisoned on criminal charges, the Hamas ministry said, but Haniyeh ordered their release as a good will gesture to create a positive atmosphere for reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah. Hamas hopes that Fatah will reciprocate the gesture by stopping the political arrests of Hamas members in the West Bank, the ministry added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=416836
Activism / Solidarity
Israeli police attack non-violent protest in Al-Walaja; five abducted
A group of several dozen residents of Al-Walaja village, near Bethlehem, held a march and rally on Saturday calling on Israel to end the takeover of their land for the construction of the Annexation Wall. They were joined by a number of Israeli peace activists, four of whom were abducted by Israeli troops along with one Palestinian. The rally in Al-Walaja was held just days after the Israeli High Court denied the villagers’ petition to re-route the Annexation Wall to prevent the takeover of half of the village land.
http://www.imemc.org/article/61903
Vittorio Arrigoni murderers to be tried in September
by Michele Giorgio (translation by Daniela Loffreda) August 28, 2011 The trial for the two Palestinians implicated in the 15 April kidnapping and murder of the Italian journalist and activist should begin on 8 September 2011 — In recent days we have truly felt the loss of Vittorio Arrigoni. The man we loved to call ‘Vik’ spoiled us with accurate real time information on what was happening in Gaza, without neglecting the smallest of details … Did things really go as they seem? There are many unresolved mysteries and few certainties. In any case, the hypothesis that Vittorio’s murder was directed by external forces is not to be discarded. Perhaps we will finally know more on 8 September when the first hearing shall take place for at least one of the assassins … The government of Gaza has yet to make an official announcement about the inquiries made over the last months
http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2011/08/28/vittorio-arrigoni-murderers-to-be-tried-in-september/
Japan, EU contribute to private sector project in Gaza
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 29 Aug — The Japanese government and European Union have contributed over $2.5 million to the sixth payment of a private sector project in the Gaza Strip, an EU statement said Monday. The Palestinian Authority’s ‘Private Sector Reconstruction in Gaza,’ program is the first large-scale initiative supporting the private sector in Gaza, the statement said. Japanese and EU contributions are being channeled through the European Union’s mechanism for support to the Palestinians, PEGASE, and will support 32 Gaza businesses.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=416881
Gaza PM welcomes Turkey delegation
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 29 Aug — Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh urged Turkey’s continued support for Palestinians during a meeting with a Turkish delegation to Gaza on Monday … Delegation head Mustafa Akh, the mayor of Keçiören Municipality in Turkey, lauded the warm welcome and pledged continued support. Keçiören, in Ankara province, is twinning with northern Gaza town Jabaliya, which will improve services on both sides, Haniyeh said. Haniyeh said the delegation’s arrival in the coastal strip, which comes amid a visit by South African and Sudanese groups, signified Gaza “as the meeting point of the fulcrum of the nation of Palestine.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=416831
International assassinations
Man gets death in killing of Iran physicist
AP 28 Aug — A man was sentenced to death on Sunday in the killing last year of a Tehran physicist, an assassination that authorities blamed on Israel’s Mossad spy agency, the official IRNA news agency reported.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4114866,00.html
Israel: No plan to assassinate Gaza prime minister
Jerusalem (PNN) 29 Aug — The Israeli Minister for Education, Gideon Sa’ar, has denied claims made by an Egyptian newspaper that Israel planned to assassinate the Gazan Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh. The newspaper in question, Al-Ahram, had claimed that the assassination attempt was seen as a response to the deadly attacks last week near Eilat which Israel blamed on Hamas, of whom Haniyeh is a leader. The plan was only scrapped due to diplomatic pressure by Egypt, according to the newspaper. Sa’ar has since categorically denied the reports in an interview with the Israel-based Hebrew Radio. But according to the newspaper, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has informed the various factions in Gaza that it is ‘only a matter of time’ before Israel assassinates Haniyeh.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10636&Itemid=64
UN statehood bid
Three-quarters of world recognizes Palestine
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 28 Aug — As Palestinian leaders prepare to seek membership of the United Nations, some 124 of the world body’s 193 member states have announced their recognition of Palestine as an independent state. A full list of the countries that have recognized Palestine can be viewed here. Their total population is over 5.2 billion people, equaling 75 percent of the world’s people.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=416575
UN chair for Palestine made in Jenin
JENIN (Ma‘an) 29 Aug — Thirty-five men from Jenin have made a chair to send to the United Nations in New York in hopeful anticipation of the state of Palestine gaining a seat in the world body … It was made in Jenin and two keys symbolizing refugees’ right to return were sent from Jerusalem, said Al-Qaqwasmi, who supervised the design of the chair … He said the olive-wood chair was made in 48 hours to represent 1948, the year of the Nakba when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee their homes as the state of Israel was established. The chair was designed to fit into a suitcase, and will travel around the world before arriving at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=416906
September report to remain secret
Ynet 28 Aug — Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to keep controversial report criticizing Israel’s readiness for upcoming Palestinian statehood bid under wraps. Chairman Mofaz: This is a political outrage
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4114928,00.html
Hasbara
Israeli diplomats train on ‘Twitter PR’
Ynet 29 Aug — Staff members in Israeli missions worldwide are learning how to bolster their messages on the internet and social networks in preparation for September’s UN vote on the Palestinian statehood bid.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4114989,00.html
Political / Diplomatic / International
PM: Cabinet will rule on changes in Egypt peace deal
Agencies 28 Aug — The cabinet will have to approve any changes in the deployment of forces around the Egyptian border and in the Sinai Peninsula, as well as any amendments to the Israel-Egypt peace deal — should they be required, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. “Israel has to deal with complex security challenges that have to do with the changes the region is undergoing — and we are dealing with them,” he said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4114747,00.html
Turkey denied Netanyahu effort to delay release of Gaza flotilla report
Haaretz 29 Aug — Turkey claims Netanyahu attempting to buy time, add that they prefer an unfavorable report over waiting another two fruitless months; Palmer Report due to be published on Friday September 2.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/turkey-denied-netanyahu-effort-to-delay-release-of-gaza-flotilla-report-1.381253
UK gov’t removes minister’s ‘land grab’ claim
LONDON (JPost) 28 Aug — A British government minister has been forced to backtrack after referring to the West Bank security barrier as a “land grab” and claiming that Israel deprived the Palestinians of water. Alan Duncan, minister for international development and Conservative MP, made the comments in a video posted on the Department for International Development (DfID) website last month. The video highlighted how Britain plans to tackle poverty in the Palestinian territories over the next four years. The video was removed last week by the government department after the Israeli Embassy and community officials expressed concern.
http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=235654
Ashton lays first stone for West Bank Security Compound
New Europe 29 Aug — On 26 August, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton participated in the laying the ceremonial first stone for construction of a Security Compound in Jenin, West Bank, with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. The EU is co-financing €9.24 million to contribute to the security reform of the Palestinian Security Authority. The EU is currently supporting Palestine, including the improvement of the rule of law, infrastructure, capacity-building for different judicial institutions and is also providing support for the Palestinian Civil Police, along with the activities of civil society in the fields of human rights and security, to the tune of more than €40 million.
http://www.neurope.eu/articles/Ashton-lays-first-stone-for-West-Bank-Security-Compound/108089.php
Other news
Gaza, West Bank to live in different time zones
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 28 Aug — For the first time in history, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip will live in different time zones. Clocks were pushed back an hour at the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on August 1 in the West Bank and Gaza. The Palestinian Authority cabinet decided Tuesday to revert to summer time (+3 hours GMT) at the end of Ramadan. The cabinet announced that the Eid Al-Fitr holiday which marks the end of Ramadan would begin Tuesday. But the Hamas government’s civil services bureau in Gaza announced Saturday that the government would continue to work on winter time (+2 hours GMT) after Eid Al-Fitr.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=416597
Rio cartoonist inspires Arab rebellions from afar
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) 29 Aug — His cartoons are edgy, bold, and a thorn in the side of the Arab world’s tottering authoritarians — a gift to protesters from the unlikely setting of an apartment in beach-side Rio de Janeiro. Carlos Latuff, a 42-year-old leftist whose only family link to the Middle East is a Lebanese grandfather he never knew, has become a hero of the tumultuous Arab Spring with rapid-fire satirical sketches that have helped inspire the uprisings.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=416929
WikiLeaks: US Embassy asked State Department to vet IDF chief Gantz in 2008
Haaretz 29 Aug — State Department told embassy they had ‘no credible information of gross violations of human rights’ by Benny Gantz, then the IDF attache in Washington.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/wikileaks-u-s-embassy-asked-state-department-to-vet-idf-chief-gantz-in-2008-1.381229
‘Israel major organ harvesting center’
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Minister of Detainees and Ex-detainees Issa Qaraqi‘ on Sunday accused Israel of harvesting parts from the bodies of dead Palestinian martyrs without the consent of their families … The minister said that Israel holds the remains of Palestinian martyrs “to conceal the crimes it committed against the martyrs bodies and to punish their families.” … He added that “Israel is holding the remains of 338 Arab and Palestinian fighters in the secret Israeli cemeteries known as the Cemeteries of Numbers.” … On December 2009, the chief Israeli pathologist and the director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir, Professor Yehuda Hiss, admitted of harvesting parts from the bodies of dead Palestinians without the consent of their families.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article494983.ece
Parents clash with ultra-Orthodox who shut down Beit Shemesh girls’ school
Haaretz 28 Aug — Haredi residents of city determined to prevent girls’ school opening; parents: our mayor is scared to stand up for us — Violent confrontations erupted Monday afternoon between hundreds of parents of students at a religious school for girls in Beit Shemesh and a group of ultra-Orthodox protesters, who arrived at the school on Sunday night and who have refused to move. The protesters object to the presence of the girls in the area, although they themselves live in a different part of the city.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/parents-clash-with-ultra-orthodox-who-shut-down-beit-shemesh-girls-school-1.381369
Analysis / Opinion
It’s time for Israel to give ground to a Palestinian state / Sonja Karkar
Brisbane Times 29 Aug — …The statehood bid has jolted Israel out of its long-held dream. Hence the panic-stricken arguments against it. A comparison with Israel’s own unilateral move in declaring statehood after the UN’s intention to partition historic Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state cannot be avoided. It underscores that Palestine was never a land without a people and that Israel’s existence was imposed on Palestinians, robbing them of their homes and land and destroying their proud and millenniums-old society.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/politics/its-time-for-israel-to-give-ground-to-a-palestinian-state-20110828-1jgfv.html
Do Muslims and Jews have equal freedom of religion in Israel? / Aziz Abu Sarah
972mag 28 Aug — …Would Israel ever limit Jewish worshipers in high holidays period from entering the Western wall? I doubt it. It could be the start of a civil war. Jews around the world would be enraged by such a decision regardless of any security justification. It would be considered as a collective punishment and a non democratic action. But when it comes to Muslims, the standards in Israel are a little bit different.
http://972mag.com/do-muslims-and-jews-have-equal-freedom-of-religion-in-israel/
Whitey on the moon / Dina Omar
… Scott-Heron’s correlation between space adventures and structural racism or poverty in the US is comparable to the correlation between the examples of asymmetry between the Israelis and Palestinians. Historically, Israeli ‘social justice’ has been achieved at the expense of Palestinian social justice. The Whitey on the Moon structure is useful in this way: “can’t pay no doctors bills but whitey’s on the moon.” Palestine has a refugee population of over six million but Israelis want more affordable housing. Palestinians have a sixteen percent unemployment rate in the West Bank and an over forty percent unemployment rate in Gaza because of the occupation but Israelis rally for more jobs to remedy their five percent unemployment rate. There are over five thousand Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails but protesters demand the release of Gilad Shalit….
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/2469/whitey-on-the-moon-
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