Israel threatens to demolish passage to Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israeli Municipality to demolish Dung Gate bridge
JERUSALEM (WAFA) 26 Oct – Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem said Tuesday that Bab El-Magharbeh (Dung Gate) bridge in Jerusalem’s Old City is in danger of collapse or fire and must be demolished within 30 days. Israeli authorities issued, five months ago, a permit to demolish the Dung Gate bridge and build another one in accordance with Israeli plans which aim to Judaize the area, but the police postponed the demolition for fear of the outbreak of protests by Palestinians. Israeli authorities are working to change the character of Jerusalem’s Old City, including the demolition of the Dung Gate bridge, which is used by Israeli police and security as well as the Jews when entering Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards.

Al-Aqsa Foundation warns against demolishing mosque passage
JERUSALEM (WAFA) 26 Oct — The al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage in Jerusalem Wednesday warned of dangerous repercussions if the Israeli municipality proceeds to demolish Magharbe Gate passage to al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. If implemented, it said, it would lead to the demolition of a section of the Mosque itself.

PLO appeals to UNESCO to prevent demolition of Jerusalem’s Moroccan Gate bridge
MEMO 28 Oct — The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) has appealed to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to provide international protection for places of religious and cultural heritage in Palestine. The appeal was made following Israeli approval for the demolition of the historic Moroccan Gate Bridge adjacent to the Al-Aqsa Sanctuary. The Israelis claim that the bridge is unsafe and must be torn down “within 30 days”. A statement by the PLO’s Department of International Relations called upon UNESCO “to take firm action on Israeli policies aimed at the destruction of the cultural and humanitarian heritage of the Palestinian people, especially Israel’s escalation of its Judaisation policy, which is damaging the heritage of the Old City.”

And more news from Today in Palestine:

Attacks on Palestinian culture, history / Land theft / Ethnic cleansing

East Jerusalem school textbooks are a war of words
LATimes 24 Oct — Israel says some passages incite violence. Parents and teachers are incensed …Two sets of textbooks are vying for the formative minds of thousands of Palestinian students in Arabic-language schools in East Jerusalem. One was written by the Palestinian Authority, and the other is a revised version reprinted by Israeli authorities. It’s a textbook war that underscores the long-running battle of narratives in the Mideast conflict, where the fight over the future is often rooted in understanding of the past, and schoolbooks can play a critical role .. Palestinian parents, teachers and officials, however, say Israel’s edits are politically motivated, essentially erasing all references and symbols relating to Palestinian identity, history and nationalism. [See also Jalal Abukhater’s article cited in Monday’s list]
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-palestinian-textbooks-20111025,0,216250,full.story

Arab schools watchdog draws up educational plan for ‘Palestinian minority’ in Israel
Haaretz 28 Oct — Education Ministry: We will not allow the material to be taught in schools — Among the aims presented in the document: “To deepen the Arab-Palestinians identity as a national identity, taking pride in its culture, and maintaining constant and effective contact with its Arab and Islamic roots. This identity will be based on solidarity among members of the Palestinian people, on the strengthening of the Palestinian memory and narrative, on holding firmly to the historic and political rights of the Palestinian people and on cultural, religious and social pluralism. To instill the values of dialogue with the Jewish Israeli other and the search for a horizon of a joint life in a single homeland, without the control or supremacy of any side.”
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/arab-schools-watchdog-draws-up-educational-plan-for-palestinian-minority-in-israel-1.392362

Palestinian culture driven underground: Al Quds Underground festival
27 Oct By Nigel O’Connor — The Al-Quds Underground festival that concluded in Jerusalem last Saturday, gave audiences a unique opportunity to experience musical and theatrical collaborations between Palestinian and international artists performed in Palestinian residents’ homes within the Old City. Advertised only by word of mouth, the festival – now in its third year – was the creation of Merlijn Twaalfhoven, from the Netherlands. He said the inspiration for the festival came when Jerusalem was named the Arab world’s Capital of Culture in 2009. “I really wanted to do something as part of the celebrations,” he told The Palestine Monitor.  “However, Israel’s authorities did not accept that Jerusalem could be an Arab cultural capital and so potential donors and supporters were not willing to take the risk of supporting anything.  The official events had to be staged in Ramallah and Bethlehem.” Undeterred, Twaalhoven conceived of the “underground” concept.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/?p=2847

Elad can continue to operate City of David, court finds
JPost 26 Oct — The City of David Foundation can continue to operate the City of David Archaeological Park in Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood, despite a petition against the private organization’s right to manage a national park, the High Court of Justice decided on Wednesday. Left-wing group Ir Amim filed the petition in July 2010 to challenge an allegedly secret contract between the Israel National Parks Authority and Elad, a right-wing organization that supports Jewish residents in the predominantly Arab neighborhood of Silwan. Ir Amim charged that Elad’s political agenda was ignoring the Arab history of the site and creating a conflict of interest
http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=243280&R=R2

Israeli occupation distributes demolition notices to Silwan residents
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 28 Oct — Occupation municipality employees on Thursday handed demolition notices to a number of residents of the Lauza neighbourhood in Silwan district to the south of the Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem … The sources added that the municipality employees and the accompanying IOF troops headed towards the Wadi Ysoul in Silwan and took photos of homes, open areas and fields. This new aggression on Palestinian property in Silwan comes after the Zionist high court gave Elad, a settler organisation, control of “government lands” and parks in Silwan.
Link to Palestinian Information Center

The land exchange project  / Sawsan Ramahi
MEMO Briefing Paper 25 Oct — Zionist political thought continues to propose projects based on the eradication of the Palestinians as a people or, at the very least, their marginalisation inside the state of Israel. So-called ‘population transfer’ is a fundamental and unequivocally non-negotiable principle of political Zionism. It has been used to devastating effect for more than sixty years to carry out what historians have called the ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Palestinians from their land … the Zionist establishment has now added a new dimension to its concept of ‘transfer’. This has come to be known as ‘geographical transfer’ and is intended to destroy Palestine as a viable homeland while still referring to it as a land.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/resources/briefing-papers/2983-the-land-exchange-project

Trees before humans: Bedouins in the Negev (Part II) / Silvia Boarini
Pal. Mon. 26 Oct — When David Ben Gurion, from the southern Kibbutz of Sde Boker, declared: “It is in the Negev that the creativity and pioneer vigor of Israel shall be tested,” the first settlers rose to the challenge and the blooming desert became a post-war reality. Today, driving through southern Israel on the wide motorway that cuts through the barren landscape, what stands out is not the camels. It is the forests. Out of nowhere, hundreds of trees planted thick — within straight, geometrical borders — come into view, only to be replaced by the dry and mono-color scenery moments later. A forest in the desert is an awe-inspiring sight, but here it serves the same purpose — and has the same consequence — as an eight-meter high wall erected in the West Bank.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/?p=2775

How not to solve the Bedouin problem / Don Futterman
Haaretz 28 Oct — As in the West Bank, the government’s legal firepower has been tasked not with helping citizens or getting at the truth, but with keeping land out of Arab hands by any means possible — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent order to Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman to find ways to retroactively legalize illegal outposts on privately held Palestinian land should surprise no one familiar with the coalition’s contempt for Palestinians and our legal system: If we can’t have Greater Israel, at least we can have Lesser Palestine. But the government’s legal arsenal is also being deployed against another target – Israel’s Bedouin citizens in the Negev.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/how-not-to-solve-the-bedouin-problem-1.392403

The Negev’s hot wind blowing / Jonathan Cook
MERIP 25 Oct — Over the past 15 months the dusty plains of the northern Negev desert in Israel have been witness to a ritual of destruction, part of a police operation known as Hot Wind. On 29 occasions since June 2010, hundreds of Israeli paramilitary officers have made the pilgrimage over a dirt track near the city of Beersheva to the zinc sheds and hemp tents of al-‘Araqib. Within hours of their arrival, the 45 ramshackle structures — home to some 300 Bedouin villagers — are pulled down and al-‘Araqib is wiped off the map once again. All that remains to mark the area’s inhabitation by generations of the al-Turi tribe are the stone graves in the cemetery … The struggle over al-‘Araqib has played out many times before in other Negev locations since Israel’s founding in 1948. Then, and in the early years of state building, all but 11,000 of the Negev’s population of 90,000 Bedouin were expelled to Egypt, Jordan, Gaza and the West Bank.
http://www.merip.org/mero/mero102511

Settler terrorism

Home near Nablus ‘firebombed by settlers’
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 27 Oct — A family in Nablus says Israeli settlers blew up a room in their home and firebombed their jeep early Thursday. Shaheer Hanini, 40, told Ma‘an the family was woken by two blasts at their home in Beit Furik at around 2 a.m. They found a room at the back of the house burnt out and their jeep, parked in front of the home, on fire … Palestinian Authority settlement affairs official Ghassan Doughlas said the attack marked an escalation in settler violence. He urged the international community to intervene.  Palestinian People’s Party politburo member Nasr Abu Jaish told Ma‘an that the incident was an organized and provocative action targeting civilians. Abu Jaish said parties would meet in Nablus on Thursday to form committees to protect homes and guard communities from further attacks.
David Haivri, an advocate for settlements in the northern West Bank, said his community was unaware of the allegations and doubted their validity. “We think they’re making it up,” he told Ma‘an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=432997

In South Hebron Hills, even sheep are not safe from settlers / Juwaid al-Tamimi
WAFA 27 Oct — The villages of al-Litwani and al-Jawaya, in the south Hebron hills, are suffering from settler attacks and even the sheep are not spared. Settlers from the illegal outposts of Ma’on, Susya, and Karmel, all built on land belonging to the Palestinian village of Yatta, made their latest attack on Thursday and killed 10 sheep. “As always, the settlers attacked the villages under the protection of the army,” said 31-year-old Kamal Ruba‘i. “They detain the citizens to give the settlers time to steal our homes and kill our sheep. And that’s not all, they drove 300 of our sheep to eat the crops we’ve been working in it the whole year.” Ruba‘i said the settlers then stole the sheep.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10814&Itemid=64

Suspected right-wing extremists uproot 20 olive trees belonging to Jerusalem Arab family
Haaretz 27 Oct — Twenty olive trees belonging to an Arab family in Jerusalem were uprooted on Thursday, and a sign saying “Price tag” was posted at the scene. The family, who lives near the grove in Beit Safafa, alerted the police who have launched an investigation. The Abu Dalu family is well known in the neighborhood and has lived there since the Six Day War. The father is a doctor at Hadassah Hospital in Ein Karem, and the family owns a number of assets in the neighborhood. The family members declined to comment on the incident.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/suspected-right-wing-extremists-uproot-20-olive-trees-belonging-to-jerusalem-arab-family-1.392341

Kiryat Arba councilman calls for killing liberated prisoner
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 27 Oct — Kiryat Arba councilman Bentzi Goffstein has called for the killing of a liberated Palestinian prisoner in Al-Khalil, who was recently freed in the prisoners’ exchange deal between Hamas and Israel. Jewish settlers, from the Kiryat Arba settlement built in Al-Khalil city, recently circulated a statement in Al-Khalil in both Arabic and Hebrew calling for the murder of Hani Jaber, who was released after 18 years in jail, with a photo of him attached … Jaber was jailed for killing a Jewish settler who used to pester Palestinian citizens in Al-Khalil especially children on their way to school. The settler used to beat the children, pull the hair of schoolgirls, throw garbage on civilians and insult them, and throw stones at their homes.
Link to Palestinian Information Center

Israeli regime terrorism

PCHR weekly report: 13 abducted in 58 separate incursions this week; settlers attack olive harvest
IMEMC 28 Oct …In 58 separate incursions, Israeli forces abducted thirteen Palestinians. One of those abducted this week [20-26 Oct]  is an organizer in the non-violent campaign against the construction of the annexation wall in Bil‘in village, west of Ramallah. 4 Palestinian civilians, including a child, were abducted at various checkpoints in the West Bank … During the last week, Israeli forces fired at Palestinian workers collecting scraps of construction materials in the northern Gaza Strip … Israeli has continued to construct the annexation wall inside the West Bank territory. During the last week, Israeli forces leveled large areas of Palestinian land in al-Walaja village near Bethlehem. Full report
http://www.imemc.org/article/62382

Palestinian shepherd wounded in IOF shooting
RAFAH (PIC) 27 Oct — A Palestinian shepherd was wounded on Thursday evening when Israeli occupation forces (IOF) fired at him east of Rafah south of the Gaza Strip. Local and medical sources told the PIC that the 32-year-old shepherd was grazing his sheep when the IOF troops fired at him wounding him in his hand and foot. They said that the shepherd, Mustafa Ermaylat, was taken to hospital in Rafah where his condition was described as moderate.
Link to Palestinian Information Center

Press release: Israeli army raid
At-Tuwani, South Hebron Hills (Operation Dove) 28 Oct — In the early morning of October 26 Israeli soldiers in four jeeps entered the village of Jawwaya, raided one of the homes and took the eldest son. According to statements from the Shwaheen family, at 4:30 AM, 15 soldiers burst into their tent and accused them of stealing sheep from the nearby Israeli settlement of Ma’on. The soldiers threw some of the family’s belongings outside the tent, then released their sheep from the pen and drove them away … After the soldiers left, the family found that 21 of their sheep were missing, four more had broken legs, one was blinded, and one was killed. Additionally, two sheep suffered aborted pregnancies the next day. The loss of the sheep represents several years worth of lost income to the Palestinian family.
http://www.operationdove.org/?p=628

Asil Arara, 4, paralyzed in four limbs after being shot in neck by Israeli army
PNN 27 Oct — Specialized medical teams performed nerve surgery on four-year-old Asil Arara on Wednesday night in al-Makased hospital after she was shot in the neck with a bullet fired from the nearby Israeli army training camp of Anatot, near the Palestinian village of Anata, northeast of Jerusalem. … Sami Hussein, head of the neurosurgery department at al-Makased, confirmed she would be quadriplegic if she survived. “The bullet entered the left side of her neck and exited through the other side, above the shoulder,” said Hussein. “It touched the spinal cord, shattered the membrane, and clipped the fourth vertebra.” … The Israeli army’s official spokesperson claimed on Twitter that following an “initial investigation,” it believed the “child’s relative is an arms dealer who accidentally shot the child.” A story in the Hebrew-language edition of the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reported that the shooting may have happened at a wedding … Samiha, Asil’s grandmother, said Asil was playing with her 10-year-old cousin next to the wall near her Anata home, about a hundred meters from the Anatot military camp … The ambulance was delayed at the military checkpoint between Shu’fat refugee camp and Jerusalem for 15 minutes, Samiha recalled.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10808&Itemid=56

Israeli navy detains two Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Gaza
GAZA (PIC) 27 Oct — Israeli navy forces detained two Palestinian fishermen off the coast of central Gaza on Thursday morning, the chief of Palestinian fishermen Nizar Ayesh said. He told the Quds Press that an Israeli frigate fired at the Palestinian fishing boat before steering it and two fishermen on board to Asdod port. The ministry of agriculture in Gaza condemned the incident and held the Israeli occupation authority fully responsible for the lives of both men. It said that the Israeli navy attacked the fishing boat while at work only one nautical mile off the Gaza coast. Israeli warplanes had earlier Thursday raided a container on the Khan Younis beach, south of Gaza Strip, and destroyed it and all fishing equipment inside it.
Link to Palestinian Information Center

PCHR: Israeli blockade limits Gazan fishing potential by 85%
PNN 29 Oct — The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) released a report on Friday saying Israel forbids Gazan fishermen from accessing more than 85% of their potential catch, a result of the Israeli blockade that limits fishing boats to an area of only three nautical miles.
The report comes one day after Israeli airstrikes destroyed a shipping container in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, which Israeli military sources said contained weapons. PCHR claims the container was used to store fishing equipment belonging to 56-year-old Mahmoud Abu Shamaleh. The airstrike took place shortly after the Israeli navy opened fire on a fishing boat, forced 21-year-old Ahmed Taneera and 42-year-old Musa Abu Jayyab to swim toward an Israeli gunboat, and arrested them. The fishing boat was confiscated.
In 2011, PCHR said it has documented 67 attacks against fishermen, injuring eight and arresting 18. Fourteen boats were confiscated and 40 fired upon.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10816&Itemid=64

Funeral procession in Beit Ommar led to shooting of  tear gas
PSP 28 Oct — Loads of teargas was shot into the town of Beit Ommar. Residents of Beit Ommar followed a funeral procession from the mosque in the middle of town to the cemetery close to Route 60 and the Israeli watchtower to bury one of the residents who died of cancer. When the procession arrived at the cemetery, Israeli soldiers surrounded it and Israeli jeeps gathered at the entrance of town. The Israeli soldiers closed the main entrance to town and at some point they started to shoot teargas … At 4:00 pm the Israeli army brought a bulldozer and blocked all the side entrances and exits of the town with cement blocks and closed the gate at the town’s main entrance as a part of the collective sanction policy the Israeli occupation usually imposes on the Palestinian population.
http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/2011/10/28/funeral-procession-in-beit-ommar-led-to-shooting-of-teargas/

Israeli soldiers raid Balata refugee camp in Nablus
NABLUS (WAFA) 27 Oct — Israeli forces Thursday raided Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus in the northern West Bank, according to the camp services committee. It said a number of Israeli military vehicles raided the eastern sections of the camp during the pre-dawn hours shooting in the air and throwing sound bombs around. The soldiers raided 10 homes, searching them and destroying most of their contents.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17890

Israeli forces declare area near Bethlehem closed military zone
BETHLEHEM (WAFA) 27 Oct — Israeli forces shut off the entire area of Um Rokba, an area south of the town of al-Khader, near the West Bank city of Bethlehem, declaring it a closed military zone, Palestinian security sources said Thursday. They said Israeli soldiers patrolled all entrances of the area, setting up checkpoints and prevented Palestinians from entering or leaving the area. A resident told WAFA that the army brought a bulldozer and what appears to be special explosives machine to the area. The army prevented people from even looking out through their windows, he said. More than 15 Israeli military vehicles and three ambulances stormed the area of Um Rokba late Wednesday night after a large explosion was heard followed by a heavy gunfire, according to witnesses.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17888

Detention / Court actions

Israeli forces detain 3 children in Bethlehem village
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 28 Oct — Israeli forces detained three children in Bethlehem-district village al-Asakira on Thursday evening, a Ma‘an correspondent reported. Troops took Ahmad Hussam al-Moty, 9, Abdul Rahman al-Moty, 12, and Mutaz Asakreh, 13, to an unknown destination, the reporter said … A Ma‘an reporter said Israeli forces fired tear gas and sound grenades to distract families of the children who were trying to protect them from seizure. The boys were terrified and beaten by troops, he added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=433151

Prisoner’s family ‘to file suit’ against Israel over isolation
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 28 Oct — The family of a released Palestinian prisoner is seeking to file a lawsuit against the Israeli prison administration after he became mentally unstable after 12 years of isolation in jail.  Oweida Kallab, 48, was released after 24 years but he spent half that time in isolation, the family says. The experience has left him with severe psychological issues and unable to adapt to life outside. His brother Awad told UFree, a European prisoners’ rights network: “My brother has a problem sitting on a chair — he adjusts his body as though he is squatting — after more than a decade in isolation in a tiny space.” … The UN special rapporteur on torture Juan Mendez recently called for a world-wide ban on solitary confinement except in extreme circumstances.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=433136

Occupation renews Saadat’s isolation for another year
RAMALLAH (PIC) 28 Oct — Dameer Institute for welfare of captives said that the Zionist central court in Beersheba decided to extend the isolation of the PFLP Secretary General, MP Ahmad Saadat, based on secret evidence supplied by the Shabak. The organisation said. in a statement on Thursday that the so called secret evidence which was submitted to the court was actually issued last August, which means the decision to renew the isolation of Saadat was taken even before he went through the hunger strike.
By this decision, the Zionist court has annulled a promise made by the occupation prison administration to the hunger strikers after 22 days of hunger strike to end isolation, which means that the captives were deceived by the prison administration just to end their protest.
Link to Palestinian Information Center

Eight arrested in Tsur Baher raid
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 28 Oct — Israeli police, border guards and intelligence agents raided a home in Tsur Baher early Thursday morning, 27 October. Eight men were arrested in the raid on the home of the Attoon and Bkeerat families in the village just south of Jerusalem. They are currently being held at the Russian Compound. Family head Abu Ahmad Attoon told Silwanic that a huge number of Israeli forces stormed the house and arrested 7 members of his family … The Jerusalem Prisoners Committee and the families of the returned prisoners have condemned the arrests as a disgraceful attempt to sour a rare moment of celebration for the Palestinian people. The Attoon family’s experience has been particularly bitter-sweet, as Ahmad Attoon’s brother, Legislative Parliament member Mahmoud Ahmad Attoon, was amongst those free as part of the swap deal.
http://silwanic.net/?p=21626

Donor provides residential land for ex-prisoners
MEMO 28 Oct — A wealthy Palestinian has donated around 120 acres of land in the Gaza Strip where homes can be built for ex-prisoners freed in the exchange deal with Israel. The announcement was made in a statement from the Waed Human Rights Association, which looks after prisoners’ and detainees’ issues. The Association also mentioned that the Abdel-Al family from Gaza has provided the marriage dowry on behalf of freed prisoner Amer Abu Sarhan; he had been serving a number of life sentences before his release last week. These are just two examples of the many offers being made for the benefit of the ex-prisoners by families, individuals and institutions.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/3000-donor-provides-residential-land-for-ex-prisoners

Israeli military court extends activist’s detention
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 28 Oct — An Israeli military judge on Tuesday indefinitely extended the detention of a protester from Bil‘in village near Ramallah, the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee reported. Israeli soldiers detained Ashraf Abu Rahmah on Oct. 21 at a weekly protest in Bil‘in. Abu Rahmah is charged with participating in an unauthorized procession and throwing stones, based on testimonies by two soldiers who claimed to have seen him from 150 meters, the committee says. An employee of the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem and a lawyer, both present at Friday’s protest, testified in court that Abu Rahmah did not throw any stones.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=433145

PA Security arrest 2 Hamas supporters and extend detention of others
WEST BANK (PIC) 28 Oct …In al-Khalil, the preventive security arrested Sheikh Muhammad Eskafi, who is an ex-captive in occupation jails and a well known preacher and Imam. The preventive security also arrested Muhammad Dhouqan, a student at the Najah University in Nablus and the son of prominent figure Ghassan Dhoqan … Preventive security in Nablus continue to hold political detainees despite court rulings that they should be released as in the cases of journalist Muhammad Anwar Muna, Osama Halawa and Awni Shakhshir.
Link to Palestinian Information Center

Hamas Security Forces arrest a reporter in Khan Younis
IMEMC 28 Oct — The Palestine News and Info Agency, WAFA, reported Thursday that the Hamas-run security forces arrested a reporter identified as Salah Abu Salah, 30, in Abasan Al Kabeera town, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. WAFA added that Abu Salah was arrested after receiving an order to head to a security center for questioning, but the security forces went ahead and arrested him from his home after confiscating his computer, some books and documents. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate issued a press release denouncing the arrest of Salah, and the confiscation of his private property.
http://www.imemc.org/article/62380

Activism / Solidarity

Israeli troops suppress West Bank weekly protests; five injured
PNN 29 Oct — Israeli forces suppressed Friday’s weekly protests against the wall and settlements throughout the West Bank, using tear gas canisters and rubber bullets that lead to at least four injured Palestinians and one injured international solidarity activist. In the central West Bank village of Bil‘in, 42-year-old Issa Abu Rahma was shot in the hand with a tear gas canister and dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation …
In al-Ma‘sara, south of Bethlehem, two Palestinians were injured when Israeli soldiers responded with close quarters assaults. Mahmoud Ala‘adin and Mohammed Brijiyeh, the spokesman for the Bethlehem governorate Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, both suffered heavy bruising.
In Kafr Qadum, in the northern West Bank, protesters focused on the closure of the village’s main road. In the ensuing demonstration, Palestinian official news wire Wafa reported that hundreds of Palestinians were joined by international solidarity activists in an attempt to walk down the road, whereupon they were fired on.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10818&Itemid=56

Video: Turkey doubles down on Gaza development
AJ 27 Oct — Since the Israeli army’s attack on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara in 2010, Ankara has become increasingly outspoken in support of Gaza, the blockaded Palestinian territory the ship was trying to reach. The support has come in financial terms as well: the estimated $2m per year the Turkish government donated to Gaza before the flotilla attack, has now jumped to $48m. Al Jazeera’s Nicole Johnston reports from Gaza.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YBfSpuZP_44

In Pictures: The Tent of Nations
PNN 28 Oct –Daoud and Daher Nassar have run the Tent of Nations, an “environmental and educational farm” on a hilltop near the village of Nahalin in the southern West Bank, southwest of Bethlehem, since 2000. Despite sustained pressure from neighboring settlements, lack of electricity and water, the Tent of Nations keeps its doors open to international volunteers, cultural exchanges, and pilgrimage groups throughout the year. On Tuesday, PNN photographer Lo Yuk Fai visited the Tent of Nations to catch a glimpse of what happens on the Nassar brothers’ hilltop:
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10815&Itemid=

Political / Diplomatic / International news

FM: Bosnia-Herzogovina won’t support PA’s UN bid
Ynet 28 Oct — Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who is currently on a state visit to Sarajevo, met Friday with the prime minister of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska (RS), who assured him that “Srpska’s position on the matter is definite and will not change. We will oppose the move.Meanwhile, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki also arrived in Sarajevo in an attempt to sway Bosnia’s vote the Palestinian way.
http://www.r3g32.com/articles/0,7340,L-4140680,00.html

Bosnia presidents ‘cannot agree’ on UN bid
SARAJEVO (Reuters) 28 Oct — Bosnia’s trio of presidents said on Thursday they could not agree on whether to support a Palestinian bid for full UN membership, with Sarajevo potentially holding a key vote in the UN Security Council. Bosnia’s presidency has been shared by leaders of its Muslim, Croat and Serb communities since its 1992-95 war. In a statement after meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in Sarajevo, the triumvirate said it had so far been unable to reach a joint position on the Palestinian application, reflecting the country’s own ethnic divisions … Given the constellation of Security Council members, Bosnia’s vote could be key and potentially force a promised veto by the United States. Thursday’s statement meant Sarajevo would likely abstain.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=433150

UNESCO to vote on Monday on Palestinian entry
PARIS (Reuters) 28 Oct — UN cultural agency UNESCO will vote on Monday on the PLO’s request for membership, part of a wider Palestinian campaign for recognition as a state within the wider United Nations system.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=433259

US handwringing plea to Israel: building settlement units will only help Palestinian statehood bid / Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss 17 Oct — I think they talk about this kind of scolding/enabling within families in the recovery movement… Unable to veto Israeli plans for anything (though happy to veto Palestinian aspirations), the U.S. has come up with a new formulation to try and beg Israel not to build out the East Jerusalem settlement/suburb of Gilo further on illegally-occupied land. From Haaretz (thanks to Ilene Cohen):
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/10/us-handwringing-plea-to-israel-building-settlement-units-will-only-help-palestinian-statehood-bid.html

Abbas says to discuss PA fate with Hamas
Reuters 27 Oct — RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – President Mahmoud Abbas plans to discuss the fate of the Palestinian Authority with his rivals Hamas next month, raising questions over its future with the peace process at a dead end.
http://news.yahoo.com/abbas-says-discuss-pa-fate-hamas-174320546.html

Fatah official: There is no plan to dismantle the Palestinian Authority
Haaretz/Reuters 28 Oct — Mahmoud al-Aloul clarifies that Palestinian officials simply regrouping and working to restore the PA to its former stature; denies reports of contingency plan to dissolve PA within a couple months.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/fatah-official-there-is-no-plan-to-dismantle-the-palestinian-authority-1.392558

Envoy complains to UN over Lieberman ‘incitement’
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 28 Oct — The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations has complained to the Security Council that the Israeli foreign minister’s call for President Mahmoud Abbas’s removal constitutes “incitement” and undermines the peace process .. “We consider (Lieberman’s) statement to be the official policy of Israel,” Mansour’s letter stated, calling on the Israeli government to publicly denounce the comments. The foreign minister’s call for Abbas’s removal is “a clear threat against the life of (the president), whose commitment to peace is unquestionable,” the letter said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=433153

Israel slams Abbas in letter to UN following Gaza rocket fire
Haaretz 28 Oct — Israel sent a letter to the United Nations Thursday slamming Palestinian President Mahmous Abbas for failing to condemn Wednesday’s rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-slams-abbas-in-letter-to-un-following-gaza-rocket-fire-1.392550

Abbas: Arab world was wrong to reject 1947 Partition Plan
AP 27 Oct — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says in interview with Channel 2, ‘it was our mistake, it was an Arab mistake as a whole,but do they (the Israelis) punish us for this mistake for 64 years?’ [Is he serious?]
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/abbas-arab-world-was-wrong-to-reject-1947-partition-plan-1.392560

King Abdullah: ‘Netanyahu seeks the collapse of the Kingdom’
IMEMC 27 Oct — Media sources reported that King Abdullah of Jordan stated that Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is seeking the collapse of the Hashemite Kingdom by transforming it into an alternative country for the Palestinians.
http://www.imemc.org/article/62375

Israel encouraged by Egyptian cooperation
Ynet 28 Oct — Jordan’s King Abdullah thinks likelihood of peace treaty annulment ‘very, very likely’, Egyptian media touts deal as ‘victory’ yet Israel believes direct negotiations over Ilan Grapel’s release, mediation in Shalit deal, mean Cairo is signaling firm interest in continued cooperation
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4140556,00.html

Ilan Grapel lands in Israel
Ynet 27 Oct –  US-Israeli national Ilan Grapel has landed safely back in Israel on Thursday as part of a prisoner exchange deal which saw the release of 25 Egyptian prisoners who were incarcerated in Israel.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4139857,00.html

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