Spanish gov’t builds solar renewable-energy project for Palestinian village — now slated for destruction

and other news from Today in Palestine:

Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Apartheid / Restriction of movement

Jerusalem political activist ordered out of West Bank for seven months
IMEMC 1 Feb — After interrogating him at a Police station in occupied Jerusalem, on Tuesday, the Israeli Police issued an order forcing Palestinian activist and intellectual, Rasem Obeidat, to remain in his residential area in Jerusalem for seven months. He will not be allowed out of Jerusalem, and will only be allowed into certain areas in the city.
http://www.imemc.org/article/62932

IOA serves demolition notices in Al-Khalil village
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 1 Feb — The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) served demolition notices to owners of 14 houses in Daheria village to the south of Al-Khalil on Tuesday. Bajes Al-Tal, in charge of popular committees in the village, said that the targeted houses were in the eastern area of the village. He said that the IOA claimed that the building of those houses was made without permit, noting that the village was in area C in which Israel enjoys full control. Tal said that most of those houses were inhabited by many Palestinians while some of them were still under construction.
Link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

Israel plans to demolish solar panels in village near Hebron
MEMO 1 Feb — The Israeli occupation authorities have issued notice of their intention to demolish a renewable energy project which generates electricity and represents the only source of lighting for the houses in a Palestinian village near Hebron in the occupied West Bank. The people of Al-Mnazel received the demolition notice advising of Israel’s plans to destroy the solar panels which provide them with electricity. The project was established a couple of years ago with funds from the Spanish government … Mr. Al-Jabour added that the Israeli occupation authorities have also given Khalil Al-Nwaja’, who lives in Al-Mnazel, notice that his home will be demolished. The tents and caravans, claim the Israelis, do not have a licence.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/3336-israel-plans-to-demolish-solar-panels-in-village-near-hebron

Israel tells Palestinian farmers it plans to seize their land
BETHLEHEM (WAFA) 1 Feb – The Israeli military authorities informed Palestinian farmers from Nahalin, a village west of the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, that it plans to expropriate more than 430 dunums of their land and gave them 45 days to file an objection, Osama Shakarneh, head of the Nahalin village council, said Wednesday. He said the farmers found notices on their land put there by the Israeli authorities informing them that they should leave their land and remove everything on it because the land will soon be expropriated. The notices, he said, gave the farmers 45 days to file a complaint at Ofer military camp, near Ramallah, or else the army would evict them and force them to pay costs of their eviction.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=18875

Silwan residents get more demolition orders
JERUSALEM (WAFA) 1 Feb – Israeli authorities Wednesday handed several Palestinians in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan notices to demolish their houses under the pretext of building without permit, according to a local activist. Fakhri Abu Diab, head of the Committee for the Defense of Silwan, said that Israeli police accompanied by staff from the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem handed several Palestinian homeowners in Bir Ayyoub and al-Bustan areas of Silwan demolition orders to their houses. He said the Israelis used insults and provoked the residents when handing them the demolition orders.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=18869

US criticizes Israel plan to subsidize West Bank settlement construction
AP 31 Jan — Comments by top State Department official come after Netanyahu cabinet announces plan to encourage immigration into 557 ‘national priority’ settlements, which reportedly include 70 in the West Bank  — …the full list …reportedly includes 70 settlements, most of them deep inside the West Bank in areas that Israel would likely have to evacuate to make way for a Palestinian state. The incentives, according to the Prime Minister’s office, are “meant to encourage positive migration to these communities.”
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-criticizes-israel-plan-to-subsidize-west-bank-settlement-construction-1.410271

Arab town, both Israeli and Palestinian, divided by shopping
Haaretz 1 Feb — Bartaa, straddling the Green Line, has brought together Palestinians and Israelis in a de facto economic free zone, but with some unable to cash in, the village is still split.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/arab-town-both-israeli-and-palestinian-divided-by-shopping-1.410313

Settlers

Woman hurt in settler attack near Nablus
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 1 Feb — A 60-year-old woman was seriously injured Wednesday after Israeli settlers threw rocks at her car near the illegal Yitzhar settlement, a PA official said. Maysar Majeed, from Sarra village west of Nablus, suffered a head injury and was taken to Rafidea Hospital
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=457118

All Israeli schools can now join West Bank ‘heritage’ tours, education minister says
Haaretz 1 Feb — The controversial program has until now been part of the Jerusalem school curriculum, but Education Minister Sa’ar says response has been high and schools are interested in bringing students to see Hebron … “The response to this these tours has so far been high, and has been carried out by choice by the interested schools,” Sa’ar told the Knesset. “A Jewish community has existed in Hebron for so many years, even when the people of Israel were all in exile. According to our faith, Jews will always live in Hebron. We must not allow this illusion to be created among Arabs that it will ever be possible to uproot Jews from Hebron.” 
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/all-israeli-schools-can-now-join-west-bank-heritage-tours-education-minister-says-1.410413

400 Israelis enter Nablus village overnight
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 1 Feb — Hundreds of Israelis entered the northern West Bank village of Awarta overnight Tuesday escorted by Israeli soldiers. Head of Awarta village council Sami Awwad told Ma‘an several buses of Israelis and a large force of soldiers arrived in the village at around 11 p.m. and stayed until 5 a.m … They visited two sites Jews believe to be the tombs of biblical figures Eleazar and Itamar, the army official said. The Muslim shrines of the Seventy Sheikhs, Uzayr and the Mufadel are located in Awarta.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=456998

Key settlement outpost slated for evacuation
RAMALLAH (IRIN) 1 Feb — Israel’s High Court of Justice has ordered Israeli settlers in the Migron outpost in the West Bank to leave by March 31 in response to a 2006 petition filed by seven Palestinian landowners and Israeli pressure group Peace Now.  “The prime minister is trying to implement the court’s decision peacefully,” by reaching an agreement with the Migron settlers which would include moving them from their homes to new housing on adjacent Israeli “state land”, Mark Regev, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told IRIN. According to the court’s ruling of Aug. 2, 2011, the outpost is on privately-owned Palestinian land.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=457153

Violence / Incursions by Israeli forces

IDF leaves behind soldier in West Bank village after operation, witnesses say
Haaretz 1 Feb — The Israel Defense Forces accidentally left behind a soldier Wednesday night after an operation in a West Bank village near Ramallah, eyewitnesses said. According to Palestinian residents of Budrus, IDF forces entered the village with five vehicles, rousing local residents. The vehicles left after several minutes, leaving behind a soldier. One villager told Haaretz that the soldier was frightened and asked two elders to assist him in leaving the village. The elders accompanied him to the separation fence, in an attempt to avoid a confrontation with some of the village youth, where they were met by the soldier’s officer, along with two other soldiers.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-leaves-behind-soldier-in-west-bank-village-after-operation-witnesses-say-1.410469

Israeli forces attack memorial march
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 1 Feb — Israeli forces on Tuesday fired tear gas and sound grenades at a memorial march in Beit Ummar near Hebron. Residents of Beit Ummar held the march to mark the first anniversary of the death of local teenager Yousef Ikhleil, who was shot dead by Jewish settlers. The march was organized by the local popular committee, which demanded Ikheil’s killer be brought to justice. Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and sound bombs and attacked marchers with rifle butts, witnesses said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=456906

Palestinians, Israeli officers hurt in Jerusalem clash
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 1 Feb — Palestinian youths sustained injuries overnight in a confrontation with Israeli soldiers and police officers in al-Isawiya in occupied East Jerusalem, a Ma‘an reporter said. One young man sustained serious injuries, witnesses said. Confrontations began Tuesday afternoon in the center of al-Isawiya after Israeli forces broke into the home of Ayyoub Ubeid and detained him under the pretext that he hurled stones at Israeli soldiers in the town.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=456967

Left behind at the scene of the crime: Israel wages war on Bil‘in
30 Jan — Weeks ago, Wedad Yassin traveled back to Ein Yabrud, a village near Ramallah in the West Bank, to visit her family and to experience Palestine’s rich cultural heritage. Her intention had been to tour through the Al-Khalil district, Ramallah, Bil‘in, and Jerusalem. However, she was denied entry to Jerusalem. Nevertheless, Yassin explored Bil‘in, site of the weekly demonstrations against Israel’s apartheid wall, and came across this jam‘iyya or association dedicated to “enhancing and reviving Palestinian culture along with documenting Israeli crimes”. Included is a series of photographs from Yassin’s visit to this center. Each of the shells, bullet casings, and projectiles featured in these images were collected over time by the members of this jam’iyya after they were used against unarmed protesters during the demonstrations in Bil‘in. Israeli forces continue to use live ammunition, rubber bullets, and USA-made tear gas canisters against the Bil‘in activists on a regular basis and have designated the area a military zone to allow soldiers to treat the civilians as hostile combatants.
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/02/left-behind-at-the-scene-of-the-crime-israel-wages-war-on-bilin/

Israeli forces arrest Palestinian, raid Hebron
PNN 1 Feb — Israeli forces arrested on Wednesday, a Palestinian after they attacked his house in Hebron city, south of the West Bank. They have also strengthened the military checkpoints and have increased their raids around the governorate …Israeli soldiers set up a military checkpoint at the entrance of al-Fawar Refugee camp south of Hebron and erected military checkpoints at the entrances of Edthna village west of Hebron and Samou’ village in the south. They stopped the vehicles, searched them and checked the IDs. In Tarqumiyah village, west of Hebron, Israeli police put several military checkpoints at the village’s entrance, and issued fines to the Palestinian vehicles.
The Israeli Army transferred [transformed?] some of the Palestinians’ houses to military barracks in the southern area of Hebron. They took the houses of Musleh Abu Subeih and A’aref Wazouz in the close area of Tal’it Abu Haded. Some of the Israeli soldiers occupied Palestinians’ houses; using their roofs to set up military equipment to observe the surrounding area.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/israeli-attacks/765-israeli-forces-arrest-palestinian-raid-hebron

Gaza

Refugees intend to take up UNRWA schools to pressure it to rebuild their homes
GAZA (PIC) 1 Feb — Angry Palestinian citizens threatened to occupy the UNRWA schools in the Gaza Strip if this UN organization failed to reconstruct their homes it had demolished eight years ago in refugee camps and kept promising to rebuild them since then. The refugees staged protests outside UN offices in Gaza city and Nuseirat refugee camp demanding the refugee agency to hasten to rebuild their homes and not to reduce its humanitarian services. For his part, UNRWA spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna stated that this issue is a major priority for UNRWA, which has made contacts with the Israeli authorities to allow in construction materials for the homes of these citizens.
Link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

Gaza electricity company calls for new measures to end crisis
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 1 Feb — The director of a state-run electricity company in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday called for new initiatives to end the energy crisis in the coastal enclave. Maher Ayesh made the comments during a meeting organized by the Hamas run company entitled “Ending the electricity crisis requires agreement.” Israel continues to supply the Gaza Strip with water and 70 percent of its electrical power, the rest being supplied by neighboring Egypt or local power plants.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=457145

6 projectiles fired at southern Israel
TEL AVIV (Ma‘an) 1 Feb — Six projectiles were fired at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday with no reported injuries. The projectiles landed in the Shaar Hanegev regional council at around 9 p.m., Israeli news site Ynet reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=457218

Six more misconceptions about Gaza
Gisha for AIC 1 Feb – In a previous post, we attempted to delineate some of the common misconceptions or simplifications about Gaza, which, broadly speaking, are heard most often in Israel. This week, we’d like to list a few more that usually come at us from abroad.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/component/content/article/34-opinion/4103-six-more-misconceptions-about-gaza

Political detention

IDF arrests Palestinian prisoner released in Shalit swap
Haaretz 31 Jan — Mamun Ismyail Salame Stut’s arrest makes him the first released prisoner to be recaptured since the prisoner swap; according to an IDF spokesperson, Stut was arrested for being a security threat
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-arrests-palestinian-prisoner-released-in-shalit-swap-1.410197

Hamas leader ‘detained in Jenin’
JENIN (Ma‘an) 1 Feb — Israeli forces on Tuesday detained a Hamas leader from Jenin in the northern West Bank, locals said. Muhammad as-Sayyed, a lecturer at Al-Quds Open University, was detained during a dawn raid on his home. Locals said several homes in the neighborhood were also raided. As-Sayyed, 50, has poor health and is almost blind, locals added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=456833

Detainees join hunger strike to support Jihad leader
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 1 Feb — Islamic Jihad detainees in Israeli prisons on Wednesday went on hunger strike in solidarity with Jihad leader Khader Adnan, prisoners’ relatives said. Adnan was hospitalized on Tuesday after 45 days on hunger strike in protest over his treatment by Israeli prison authorities and his detention without charge. On Tuesday he started to refuse liquids after Israel banned a visit from his lawyer … Earlier Wednesday, Jihad leader Ahmad al-Mudalal criticized the UN chief’s silence on the issue, noting that Ban frequently demanded the release of Gilad Shalit during the Israeli soldier’s captivity in Gaza.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=457064

Israel ‘detains 85 people’ in Hebron in January
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 1 Feb — Israeli forces detained 85 people from towns, villages and refugee camps in the Hebron district in January, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Institute said Wednesday. Soldiers raided homes in the southern West Bank district, often accompanied by dogs, head of the institute Amjad al-Najjar said in a statement. People were ordered out of their homes during the night despite freezing temperatures and heavy rainfall, and parents were beaten in front of their children, al-Najjar said … The 85 detentions included 11 people suffering chronic diseases and 11 children, the institute said … Since 1967, Israel has detained more than 750,000 Palestinians, including women and children, Palestinian Authority reports say. Around 40 percent of Palestinian men living in the occupied territories have been detained by Israel at some point in their lives.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=457111

Army kidnapped 320 Palestinians in January
IMEMC 1 Feb — Israeli soldiers kidnapped more than 320 Palestinians in several parts of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and occupied East Jerusalem during the month of January, a Palestinian researcher stated. Researcher Riyadh Al-Ashqar, specialized in detainees’ affairs, stated in his report that four elected legislators, 53 children, eight women, and one former detainee, were among the kidnapped in January.
http://www.imemc.org/article/62941

Freed Palestinian prisoners adapt to Qatar exile
Doha (BBC) 1 Feb — …A two-bed flat not far from the cornice in Qatar’s capital, Doha, is now home for 47-year-old Ibrahim Shammasina from Ramallah. His new living room is twice as large as the cell in the Israeli jail where he spent 19 years. “A minute of freedom is worth more than all the possessions in the world,” says Shammasina. “Prison, it’s a grave – as if you’re in a grave but still alive.” Shammasina was sentenced to 23 years in jail for his role in the 1990 murder of three Israelis and a further 20 years for planning a kidnapping. Despite spending almost half his life in prison, he does not regret his actions. “When there is an occupation, you’re forced to,” he says. “It’s your duty, the duty of every Palestinian, to resist the occupation. If I didn’t resist, I would just have surrendered.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16638652

Europeans call on Israel to release Palestinian lawmakers
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 1 Feb — A group of European Parliamentarians on Wednesday called on Israel to release 26 imprisoned Palestinian lawmakers, official news agency Wafa reported. The group, composed of 26 members of the European Parliament, urged “the EU and its Member States to take immediate action” to release all imprisoned members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, a letter said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=457144

Refugees

Analysis: The Middle East’s ‘invisible refugees’
DUBAI (IRIN) 31 Jan — Among the migrants who found themselves caught up in Libya during last year’s war was a group of people whom one University of Oxford researcher calls “invisible”: refugees who travel to third countries for work or better education … The conflict in Libya has highlighted potential gaps in the protection of Palestinian refugees who have migrated to a third country and raised complex questions about who should protect them – and how – in the case of crisis. It is a question of increasing relevance as the situation in Syria,home to half a million Palestinian refugees, becomes more unstable. Palestinians targeted Though some estimates are as low as 30,000, the Palestinian Authority estimates there were up to 70,000 Palestinian migrants or refugees – the line between them is blurry – in Libya when hostilities broke out in February 2011 between supporters of Libya’s leader Muammar Gaddafi and armed rebels trying to oust him from power. Some Palestinians were specifically targeted – their homes were ransacked and people disappeared – in the rebel capital Benghazi and elsewhere, by both sides in the conflict, Fiddian-Qasmiyeh said. Those working in the civil service or studying at military colleges were seen to be close to the regime.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94762

Racism / Discrimination or the lack thereof

Tel Aviv votes to name Jaffa streets after Arabs
Haaretz 1 Feb — There are currently 14 streets among the 400 in Jaffa that are named in recognition of Arabs, plus one square, although Jaffa’s population is nearly one-half Arab.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/tel-aviv-votes-to-name-jaffa-streets-after-arabs-1.410296

Coexistence at Zefat College
Ynet 31 Jan – Coexistence wins at Zefat Academic College: Despite Arab-Jewish tensions in the northern town of Zefat in the past year, students at the local college proved that they believe in coexistence, voting for a united Arab-Jewish list in student elections. Even though the college features an Arab majority, and although an all-Arab list ran in the elections, more than 50% of students opted to cast their votes for the mixed list.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4183357,00.html

Israel to deport South Sudan refugees following formation of independent state
AP 31 Jan — Interior Ministry sets March 31 as end of collective protection to some 1,000 South Sudanese asylum seekers … Speaking Tuesday, Haddad said the South Sudanese will be offered voluntary deportation and around $1,300. After March 31, Haddad says they will be deported. Earlier this month, the Population and Immigration Authority announced that Ivory Coast nationals would no longer receive group protection starting February 1.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-to-deport-south-sudan-refugees-following-formation-of-independent-state-1.410208

Political developments / Diplomacy

Abbas: ‘We seek real, comprehensive peace’
IMEMC 1 Feb — On Wednesday evening, Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, stated during a press conference, held in Ramallah, with the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, that the Palestinian leadership seeks a comprehensive peace agreement with Israel, but will not accept to hold talks while Tel Aviv continues its settlement activities in the occupied territories.
http://www.imemc.org/article/62942

Netanyahu rejects demands of settlement freeze
IMEMC 1 Feb — Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, told the visiting United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, that Israel will continue the construction of settlements, and that any chances for a construction freeze would only be possible through direct peace negotiations.
http://www.imemc.org/article/62940

Netanyahu ‘has not agreed to hand back Jordan Valley to Palestinians’
MEMO 31 Jan — A spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister has denied claims that Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to hand back control of the Jordan Valley to the Palestinians. A report in Israel’s Maariv newspaper had claimed that Netanyahu’s envoy to the recent talks in Amman with the Palestinian Authority, Yitzhak Molcho, had intimated that Israel would not impose its own authority on the region as long as “tight security arrangements” are in place. The Prime Minister’s office described this as “a tendentious and distorted leak from the content of the talks”.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/3332-netanyahu-qhas-not-agreed-to-hand-back-jordan-valley-to-palestiniansq

UN chief calls on Israel to make ‘goodwill’ gestures toward Palestinians
Barak Ravid/Reuters 1 Feb — United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon kicked off a series of meetings Wednesday with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, beginning in Jerusalem with President Shimon Peres. Ban told Peres that Israel must make some confidence-building gestures toward the Palestinians, in order to carry on with the direct talks between the sides in Jordan. According to senior Israeli officials, Ban told Peres that Israel should take steps to assist the Palestinians and illustrate that the Palestinian state is already being built on the ground.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/un-chief-calls-on-israel-to-make-goodwill-gestures-toward-palestinians-1.410382

Islamic Jihad has low expectations for UN chief visit
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 1 Feb — Islamic Jihad has low expectations of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s visit to the region, Jihad leader Ahmad al-Mudalal said Tuesday. Al-Mudalal told Ma‘an: “We don’t count too much on the United Nations – it was one of the key contributors in the tragedy of our people for over 60 years.” The UN has failed to stop Israel’s theft of Palestinian land, killings of Palestinians, illegal settlement building and “Judaization” of Jerusalem, al-Mudalal said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=456986

Haneyya, Qassam insist on retaining Mishaal as Hamas leader
DOHA (PIC) 1 Feb — Palestinian premier Ismail Haneyya has renewed Hamas’s insistence on retaining Khaled Mishaal as supreme leader of the movement. Haneyya told London-based Al-Hayat newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday that Hamas maintains a balanced relations with each of Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries … Asked whether Hamas was planning to move from Syria to Qatar or to any other country, Haneyya said that nothing was being discussed within Hamas institutions on this issue.
Link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

Haniyeh meets Qatari emir
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 31 Jan — Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Thursday[Tuesday] met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, a spokesman for the Hamas-led government said.  Taher al-Nunu said the leaders discussed the role of Qatar and the Arab League in addressing Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza and protecting Jerusalem.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=456878

PFLP member slams Arab attendance at Israeli conference
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 1 Feb — A Popular Front official in Lebanon condemned Wednesday the participation of Arab and Palestinian delegations in a conference held by an Israeli policy institute. Marwan Abdul Al described the decision by Palestinian and Arab groups to participate in the the Annual Herzliya Conference Series as “shameless.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=457047

Germany upgrades Palestinian diplomatic status
Ynet 1 Feb – Germany has upgraded the Palestinian diplomatic representation in Berlin from a delegation to a mission headed by an ambassador, visiting German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle announced Wednesday. The decision followed similar steps in recent months by France, Spain, Portugal and Ireland. It was seen as a boost to the Palestinian quest for international recognition.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4184116,00.html

In West Bank meeting, Canadian ministers take firm line with Palestinians
RAMALLAH (Globe & Mail) 30 Jan — … It was chutzpah of the highest order. Adopting a harder line than any of Canada’s allies, Mr. Baird told Mr. Maliki, then repeated it in front of reporters, that it was “profoundly wrong” to take the case for Palestinian statehood to the United Nations, and it is far preferable to resume negotiations with Israel than insist that Israel halt settlement construction before resuming direct talks.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/in-west-bank-meeting-canadian-ministers-take-firm-line-with-palestinians/article2320300/

‘The people are suffocating’: West Bank economy struggles under pressure from US Congress
Ramallah 30 Jan — “Does this look like the city of Ramallah?” asks Jawad Tamimi, in the doorway of his store on the main street of downtown Ramallah. The scene is very nearly normal: Sidewalks crowded with pedestrians. The aroma of roasting meat wafts from kebab stands. Yellow minibuses line up around a gritty parking garage. What’s different? “No one carrying bags,” Tamimi points out. “No one buying anything.” Thus does the United States Congress make its power felt. If only every tenth Palestinian passerby totes a shopping bag, pita sandwich or other evidence of commerce, a major reason is that $147 million of promised aid is being held back by members of the House of Representatives.
http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2012/01/30/the-people-are-suffocating-west-bank-economy-struggles-under-pressure-from-u-s-congress/

Netanyahu wins Likud primary following tense day of voting
Haaretz 1 Feb — Prime Minister wins primaries by a landslide, with 85 percent of the votes accounted for; Netanyahu beat his far-right rival 75 to 24, about the same as their last contest in 2007.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/netanyahu-wins-likud-primary-following-tense-day-of-voting-1.410327

Other news

Syndicate calls on PA to stop harassing journalists
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 1 Feb — The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) Wednesday called on the Palestinian Authority to respect freedom of the press and to stop harassing journalists for expressing their views, according to a statement. It denounced the arrest of two journalists in Ramallah on Tuesday without any legal proceedings over what they wrote on their Facebook page. The two were released hours later.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=18872

Hackers attack Palestinian news sites
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 1 Feb — Hackers temporarily shut down two Palestinian news websites in the occupied West Bank late Tuesday, the latest targets in a string of hacks on Mideast websites. There was no immediate indication of who was behind the attacks on Wafa, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, and several websites affiliated with Ma‘an Network including its news page. The attacks follow a string of tit-for-tat hacks of Israeli, Saudi and Iranian websites over the past month.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=457088

France supports Bethlehem company
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 31 Jan — France’s consul general opened a printing and packaging company in Bethlehem on Monday, a statement from his office said … France has financed the company to “meet a demand that was not fulfilled so far by any Palestinian company,” a release from the French Consulate said, adding that the country has established a 5 million-euro grant to finance the Palestinian private sector, and is already financing seven projects.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=456794

Analysis / Opinion

Analysis: Hamas on the move, seeks Palestinian ascendancy
GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) 1 Feb – Political winds from the Arab Spring are filling the sails of the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas, as it seeks a course out of international isolation to the forefront of the Palestinian national movement … Hamas leader in exile Khaled Meshaal, long based in Syria, went to Jordan to see Western-backed King Abdullah, whose father made peace with Israel in 1994. Meshaal may move his headquarters there or to the Gulf emirate of Qatar, which brokered his first visit since Jordan expelled Hamas in 1999. From the Gaza Strip where he serves as Hamas prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh set off for talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Israel’s sworn enemy.
http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120201/ts_nm/us_palestinians_hamas

Video: Israeli film depicts Iranian first-strike nuke attack on Israel / Richard Silverstein
[5 minutes] Tikun Olam 1 Feb — The Israeli power of delusion is evident in this short film called, The Last Day, which purports to film the last moments of an Israeli family before Iran drops a nuclear bomb on Israel and obliterates it. The film, created by Ronen Barany, is shot in faux-documentary style with lots of shots of Israelis in extremis including suitably shaky, off kilter camera angles proclaiming it a product of ersatz cinema verité … This film is a perfect example of how an entire people can be anesthetized and transported into an altered state of reality that shows them to be innocent lambs led to the slaughter; when in fact they are just as much agents of their own destiny as their enemies are.
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2012/01/31/israeli-film-depicts-iranian-first-strike-nuke-attack-on-israel/

Arab intelligence agencies collaborate with Mossad to detain, extradite Hamas activist to Israel / Richard Silverstein
Tikun Olan 1 Feb — In a story reminiscent of the kidnapping of Dirar Abusisi, a Palestinian engineer known for his activities in support of Hamas has been arrested and interrogated for long periods by the Mukhabarat in both the United Arab Emirates and Jordan:
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2012/02/01/arab-intelligence-agencies-collaborate-with-mossad-to-detain-extradite-hamas-activist-to-israel/

Video: Identities of contradiction / Moriel Rothman
30 Jan …It is a 25 minute documentary film based on conversations with Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel in Deir al-Assad, Bineh and Majd al-Krum. I learned so much from making it, and I think the views and insights expressed by the people I talked with in the making of this project cast an important light on an incredibly complex- and, in my mind, under-explored- element of the situation here in Israel/Palestine. “Every Palestinian here, in this country, has two identities. A national identity, Palestinian. And a civil identity, which is an Israeli identity. Of course, this is reality, and we recognize it.”
http://morielrothman.com/2012/01/30/identities-of-contradiction/