Settlers announce plans to take more houses in Beit Hanina and Sheikh Jarrah; Gush Shalom says the government is complicit

Jewish settlers plan takeover of Palestinian houses, says Peace Bloc
JERUSALEM (WAFA) 20 Mar – Jewish settlers are planning to take over more Palestinian homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Beit Hanina and Sheikh Jarrah, the Israeli peace bloc, Gush Shalom, said Tuesday. It said the settlers’ plans were explicitly proclaimed by their leader Aryeh King in an interview with Hagai Segal – a past militant of the ‘Jewish Underground’ which intended to blow up al-Aqsa Mosque, and at present a columnist in the extreme-right paper Makor Rishon. According to King, the settlers intend to take over ‘very soon’ four houses at Beit Hanina, and further take over two additional houses in Sheikh Jarrah ‘at the appropriate operational timing. In letters sent to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Public Security Aharonovitch Gush Shalom stated: ‘The settlers, by themselves, do not have the force needed to invade Palestinian homes in the night, throw the residents into the street, establish themselves in the house and turn it into an armed enclave, surrounded by barbed wire.” It said, “The settlers can only carry out such an abomination if the Israeli police, with the approval of the political echelon, does the dirty work for them
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19337

Land theft / Settlements / Ethnic cleansing / Restriction of movement / Exile

Israel Supreme Court: Settlers can no longer gain possession of land by farming it
Haaretz 21 Mar — Large tracks of West Bank land are farmed by settlers under the aegis of an old Ottoman law – the new ruling will allow the Civil Administration to order their eviction … According to the court ruling it is not enough to invade land and hold it for over ten years – the land needs to be “honestly taken.”
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-supreme-court-settlers-can-no-longer-gain-possession-of-land-by-farming-it-1.419804

The day Jewish settlers’ trees were uprooted by Palestinians / Amira Hass
Haaretz 19 Mar — Occasionally, the Civil Administration does act against Jewish trespassers — Under the supportive supervision of the Civil Administration, and with IDF soldiers providing security, the fine olive trees shown in this picture were uprooted early Thursday morning. It’s a painful sight. But, you may ask, what’s new and different about this story that warrants a few inches of newspaper space? The difference is that these were trees planted by Jews and uprooted by Palestinians.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/the-day-jewish-settlers-trees-were-uprooted-by-palestinians-1.419460

Report: Jewish settlers now control dozens of West Bank springs
Haaretz 20 Mar — UN agency says most of springs are located on private Palestinian land, publishes testimonies by Palestinians who say they are afraid of approaching water sources due to settler violence.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/report-jewish-settlers-now-control-dozens-of-west-bank-springs-1.419624

Ir Amim: Israel to seize 1,235 dunums of Walja village for its Jewish gardens
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 21 Mar — Ir Amim society reported that the Israeli district committee for planning and building approved a plan to annex 1,235 dunums of Palestinian land in Walja village south of occupied Jerusalem to turn them into Jewish gardens. Senior official from Ir Amim Ahmed Sab-Laban said this Israeli plan is part of a scheme called Emek Refaim gardens which is one of the largest Israeli projects related to gardens and green spaces to be built on about 5,600 dunums of Palestinian lands in Jerusalem.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Court rejects 6 Beduin Negev land suits
JPost 19 Mar — Members of the al-Uqbi family argued that they owned land, including at al-Arakib, since Ottoman times — In a precedent-setting ruling on Sunday, the Beersheba District Court rejected six lawsuits brought by Beduin regarding private ownership of some 1,000 dunam of land in the Negev.Seventeen Beduin, members of the al-Uqbi family, filed the six land claims. The complex and often bitter legal proceedings went on for over six years, and discussed in detail the history of the Negev Beduin and land laws dating back to the mid-19th century.
http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=262501&R=R2

Knesset Finance Committee okays huge payout to West Bank settlements
Haaretz 21 Mar — The Knesset Finance Committee Tuesday approved the reallocation of NIS 61 million from the state budget, in a meeting that lasted less than an hour and with only five committee members in attendance. Inter alia, the committee approved an extra NIS 25 million for the Jewish Agency to use beyond Israel’s 1967 borders, including NIS 1.5 million for infrastructure in settlements in the Hebron Hills, NIS 8 million for the Golan Research Institute in Katzrin, and NIS 7.6 million for public buildings in the Jordan Valley and the Binyamin district.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/knesset-finance-committee-okays-huge-payout-to-west-bank-settlements-1.419846

Israel orders construction on house to stop
HEBRON (WAFA) 20 Mar– The Israeli authorities Tuesday issued a notice to stop construction work on a Palestinian house in Halhoul, a town north of Hebron, as a prelude to demolish it under the pretext it was built without permit, according to the Land Research Center (LCR). It said Israeli forces and officers from the Israeli civil administration stormed an area east of the town of Halhoul and placed a notice to halt work at Mohannad al-Aqrat’s 250-square-meter house, which is in the final stage of construction to house his family of five.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19333

Japan inaugurates three projects in Jordan Valley
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 21 Mar – Japan and the Palestinian Authority (PA) inaugurated on Wednesday three projects for community empowerment in the Jordan Valley, according to a press release by representative office of Japan to the PA. The three projects come as part of Japan’s contribution to the PA totaling around $12 million to support the public activities of the communities in the Jordan Valley of the West Bank, including Area C, which is under Israeli occupation.The grant will go for rehabilitation of more than 12 kilometers of internal village roads, upgrading of electric power supply, including installation of electric tower, line and poles. [And how long before Israel demolishes the lot of them?]
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19347

Israel: Crossing procedures improved for Palestinians
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 20 Mar — …The Israeli Civil Administration told Voice of Israel radio it had improved procedures at a number of military checkpoints in the West Bank. A Palestinian official, speaking to Ma‘an on condition of anonymity, said there was nothing new in the announced improvements. “Neither do such procedures give Palestinians the simplest basic human rights endorsed by international conventions,” the official added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469542

WATCH: The Checkpoint
5:13 minutes — A short film by Porter Speakman, Jr. (@porterspeakman) for the “Christ at the Checkpoint Conference 2012”. “The Checkpoint” looks at the system of Israeli checkpoints in the West Banks and the daily routine Palestinians must face going through the Bethlehem Checkpoint — Each morning approximately 2500 Palestinians line up at the Bethlehem checkpoint to go to work. Starting at 2:00 AM.
http://972mag.com/watch-the-checkpoint/38904/

Displacement [exile] of 8 children from Beit Ommar
PSP 21 Mar — On Tuesday, March 20th, 2012, the Israeli occupation military Ofer Court decided the displacement of eight children from Beit Ommar for a distance of not less than 20 kilometers from the town for a period of 6 months, with an emphasis on preventing children from entering the town strictly during this period. The children’s parents protested against this unjust provision in the courtroom, which aims to suppress minor children, terrorize them and also falls within the Israeli occupation authorities’ forced ethnic cleansing policy and deportation. As a result to the families’ protest, the court decided to expel the children’s parents from the courtroom and to postpone the final judgment in the case to next Sunday.
http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/2012/03/21/displacement-of-8-children-from-beit-ommar/

Violence / Aggression / Incursions

WATCH: Officer in Nabi Saleh night raid blames residents for ‘show’ / Haggai Matar
972mag 21 Mar –For the past two weeks the army has been raiding the village of Nabi Saleh almost every night. Last night’s highlights: armed soldiers surround children’s beds, and confiscate computers and school notebooks.It’s little after 2:00 a.m. Soldiers are once again in the streets of Nabi Saleh. Ever since weekly demonstrations against the settlements started in this small village, night raids by the army have become a part of life. In the past two weeks, military action has intensified, and only few nights were soldier-free. At times they try to arrest someone, at times they’re there for a search, and sometimes just to see who is living in each house, taking residents’ pictures and IDs. Bilal Tamimi, a local photographer, recorded last night’s raid with his video camera. It shows the soldiers on the street, trying to prevent him from filming and eventually giving up.  
http://972mag.com/watch-officer-in-nabi-saleh-night-raid-blames-residents-for-show/38912/

Israel’s border police entering East Jerusalem schools in search of stone throwers
Haaretz 21 Mar — Christian organizations dispatch volunteers to accompany children to school, following reported attempts by Border Police to arrest kids off the streets … Palestinians in East Jerusalem complain of increasing Border Police harassment of their children. Officers regularly entering schools to carry out arrests and improvised line-ups, they say, as well as picking up children during patrols in Arab quarters of the city. Parents say children are also harassed outside the school itself. Abed Shaludi related that his wife phoned him one day last week at work and told him their 12-year-old son, Omar, had been picked up by a Border Police patrol.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-s-border-police-entering-east-jerusalem-schools-in-search-of-stone-throwers-1.419851

IOF unit storms school, arrests 11-year-old child
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 21 Mar — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed a school in Ras Al-Amud suburb in occupied Jerusalem on Wednesday morning and arrested an 11-year-old child. Hebrew newspaper Ha’aretz said on its website that the IOF unit took the child from his classroom along with the school’s secretary after the child confessed after beating that the secretary hid him inside the school after throwing stones at an IOF patrol. The paper pointed out that the incident was the fifth of its kind in 2012, recalling that the IOF soldiers detained another child in the same suburb ten days ago.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Palestinian worker loses spleen in savage Israeli police attack
HAIFA (PIC) 21 Mar — A Palestinian worker from Jenin lost his spleen in a violent Israeli police attack on the place where he was working in Haifa, local sources said. They said that a special police force attacked the grapevine yard where Rami Wishahi, 26, was working and savagely beat him. They said that Wishahi underwent an urgent surgery in a Jenin government hospital on Tuesday, adding that he was carried from his Israeli detention center to the hospital after his health deteriorated. They said that Wishahi suffered internal bleeding and ruptured spleen. The sources noted that the Israeli force detained another worker who was in the same place, identifying him as Abdulrahman Freihat, 26, from Yamon village.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Golani Brigade rampages through the pharmacy district of Al Khalil
ISM 19 Mar — The Pharmacy District, once a prosperous part of Al Khalil (Hebron) centered around the now closed pharmacy, is now subjected to the violence and harassment of the Israeli military which continues to abuse residents of this historic area. Monday night International Solidarity Movement activists in Al Khalil received a call that there was trouble in the area at the checkpoint. Four volunteers went there and witnessed around 100 soldiers in full combat gear and military vehicles, including 3 police cars … “While we were there, a fire truck on call for an emergency came to the closed roadblock gate. A soldier on an overlooking roof, just sat there finishing his cigarette, before slowly walking to open the gate. It took four minutes before the fire truck was through, and one of the local residents said that when there were no internationals around, it could take up to half an hour,” said an ISM volunteer.
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/03/golani-brigade-rampages-through-the-pharmacy-district-of-al-khalil/

Israeli forces storm Ramallah-area village, confiscate property
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 21 Mar — Israeli forces Wednesday stormed the Ramallah area village of Nabi Saleh, raided and ransacked several Palestinian houses, and confiscated private property, said a statement issued by the village’s popular resistance committee. It said that Israeli forces raided several houses in the village, including the house of the coordinator of the Popular Committee in the village, Naji al-Tamimi, as well as the house of the detained Palestinian activist Basim al-Tamimi. The Israeli forces confiscated a number of computers, a camera, official documents and copies of magazines discussing the situation in the village issued by the Popular Committee and the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territory, B’Tselem. The statement added that Israeli soldiers threatened the villagers in an attempt to halt the popular resistance campaign and weekly protests against the expansion of nearby settlements.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19342

Israeli group shows rise in Palestinian civilian deaths
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 21 Mar — Israeli forces killed 115 Palestinians last year, including 18 minors, according to a new report released Wednesday by the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem. The death toll of 2011 shows a marked increase on 2010, when Israeli forces killed 68 Palestinians in Gaza and 12 in the West Bank. Further, 47 of the casualties in 2011 were killed while not taking part in hostilities, an increase from 30 in 2010. Some 105 of the victims were killed in the Gaza Strip. Israel assassinated 14 Palestinians last year; four bystanders were also killed during the operations, the report says.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469553

Gaza

Israeli gunboats fire at Palestinian fishing boats
GAZA (PIC) 21 Mar — Israeli gunboats opened heavy machinegun fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of Gaza city on Wednesday morning, local sources said. They told Quds Press that the gunboats at sea fired at the fishing boats which were off the Shati refugee camp shore. The sources said that the fishermen were forced to abandon their boats and return to the beach, adding that no casualties or damages were reported.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Hamas to provide ‘national carpool’
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 20 Mar — Civil servants will offer a free taxi service to residents of the Gaza Strip from Monday in an innovative response by Gaza’s Hamas rulers to the ongoing fuel crisis. Employees are being instructed to provide lifts to residents of the coastal enclave. The service will only be on offer during office hours as the government has also banned the use of official cars after 3 p.m., a statement said. Fuel allowances for official cars will be halved, the government said after its weekly cabinet meeting.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469765

Civil Defence: ’85 fires in Gaza due [to] power circuits in two months’
IMEMC 21 Mar — The Civil Defense department in the Gaza Strip declared that 85 fires broke out in the Gaza Strip in January and February due to power circuits, and power related issues, and that the last two fires were caused by faulty power generators … It also reported that 75 fires broke out due to electrical faults, the interruption of power supply, burnt transformers, faulty electric wires, and candles used to light the homes. 51 more fires occurred in Gaza due to other reasons also related to ongoing and repeated power outages.
http://www.imemc.org/article/63178

Sohaib, 6 years old, injured by an Israeli bullet
ISM 20 Mar — On Saturday evening around 7pm, Israeli soldiers opened fire on the edge of Karm Abu Salem, east of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. Sohaib Sultan, 6 years old, was playing at home with his brothers when he was injured by one of the bullets on the right side of his thigh …The bullet is still in the child’s body … We asked Sohaib, ‘Kif halak‘ (‘How are you?’), and he replied ‘Alhamdulilah’ (‘Praise be to God’). Everything is all right for Sohaib. I was astonished by his answer. Alhamdulilah [the usual Muslim reply], as if nothing had happened, as if his little body was not inhabited by a bullet of 215 mm. Sohaib is a strong child …  His father is worried. “There is nothing that can stop the bullets”, he says, with reference to the panels which constitute the ceiling of their home and part of the walls, which bullets can easily enter.
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/03/sohaib-6-years-old-injured-by-an-israeli-bullet/

EU supports Gaza crossing upgrade
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 20 Mar — The European Union contributed 13 million euros ($17.2 million) to upgrade the sole goods crossing into the Gaza Strip, a press statement said Monday. A further 22 million euros ($29.1 million) of EU funds will be used to build a medium scale wastewater treatment plant in the Tubas area … Work on the crossing under the EU project – which will be conducted by the PA in coordination with Israel – will build and expand infrastructure including loading and inspection areas and warehouses, as well as providing IT equipment.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469445

UNRWA says second phase of building plan agreed
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 20 Mar — UNRWA announced Tuesday that Israel is going to allow them to carry out an agreement of the second phase of a Saudi and Japanese project to build housing for Palestinian refugees. Adnan Abu Hasna, spokesman for UNRWA, said the UN agency is happy to announce the agreement for those projects which will help solve the problem of thousands of Palestinian families especially in the south … Abu Hasna says the agreement is for 733 housing units, including 259 which were demolished by UNRWA several years ago. The agreement will also include construction for 10 schools, he added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469780

Egypt’s Brotherhood eyes end to Gaza blockade
CAIRO (Reuters) 21 Mar — The Muslim Brotherhood aims to open the Egyptian border with Gaza to commerce, a shift that would transform life for Palestinians there but which is hitting resistance from Egyptian authorities reluctant to change a longstanding policy. The biggest party in Egypt’s new parliament, the Islamists are not yet in government but have been seeking ways to ease the impact of restrictions imposed by Israel and Egypt on what passes in and out of the territory run by Hamas, an ideological offshoot of the Brotherhood. Aiming to ease chronic power shortages in Gaza, the Brotherhood recently lobbied the Egyptian government to conclude a deal to supply fuel for the territory’s sole power station.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=470000

Freed prisoners protest for jobs in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 21 Mar — Released prisoners protested in Gaza City on Wednesday demanding that President Mahmoud Abbas fulfill promises to help them find jobs and accommodation. Over 1,000 detainees were released late last year in a prisoner swap agreement between Israel and Hamas, but around 200 were not allowed to return to their homes. Instead, they were sent to Gaza or abroad … “We protest today to demand our rights. We want to have jobs,” protester Abdul Hadi Ghneem told Ma‘an. Many former prisoners are suffering without anywhere to live, and others are in debt, Ghneem said … Other protesters complained that the Palestinian leadership only remembered detainees during festivals and celebrations.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=470025

PA ‘spent $7 billion’ in Gaza since split
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 21 Mar — The Palestinian Authority has spent over $7 billion in Gaza since 2007, Fatah spokesman Ahmad Assaf said Wednesday. The Fatah-led government in Ramallah has continued to meet its obligations in Gaza even though Fatah was ousted from the coastal enclave by Hamas in 2007, Assaf said in a statement. The PA spends around $120 million each month on the Gaza Strip, paying the salaries of around 80,000 civil servants, the Fatah official said. The Ramallah government pays for all health and education needs in Gaza, including teachers’ salaries, books and school maintenance. It also pays Israel around 50 million shekels ($13.37 million) for 120 Megawatts of electricity for Gaza.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=470033

New passports ready for Gaza applicants
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 20 Mar — The passports office in the ministry of interior in the Gaza Strip is ready to begin distributing previously approved passports, officials said Tuesday. [nothing said about how many have been approved, or for whom – see this Ma‘an article for some history on the passport issue]
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469731

Israel hold Gaza Hamas man over planned attack
AFP 21 Mar — Israel’s Shin Bet said on Wednesday it was holding a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip who was allegedly involved in planning a suicide attack and the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier. The domestic security service said Mohammed Abu-Aathara, from the southern city of Rafah, was captured last month as he attempted to sneak into Israel and had admitted belonging to the military wing of the Islamic movement Hamas.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/israel-hold-gaza-hamas-man-over-planned-attack-163718374.html

Hunger strikers

Palestinian hunger striker [Khader Adnan] released from hospital
Haaretz 21 Mar — A Palestinian prisoner who became famous after he went on a 66-day hunger strike was released from the hospital on Tuesday. Islamic Jihad operative Khader Adnan went on a hunger strike in December to protest Israel’s administrative detention policy …Adnan, who continued his hunger strike longer than any other Palestinian detainee before him, was hospitalized at Rebecca Sieff Hospital, Safed, in early February when his doctors said his life was in serious danger. He remained there until yesterday. “Adnan’s condition is very good,” said the hospital’s Dr. Raymond Farah. “He can eat, stand and walk without assistance.” Adnan, 33, had to undergo an operation to fix a bowel obstruction that was caused by the protracted hunger strike. Upon his release from hospital, Adnan was taken to an Israel Prison Service detention center.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/palestinian-hunger-striker-released-from-hospital-1.419850

Medics: Shalabi returned to prison after tests
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 21 Mar — A representative of Physicians for Human Rights said Wednesday hunger-striking prisoner Hana Shalabi returned to jail after undergoing medical tests in an Israeli hospital. Amani Al Dayef, who visited Shalabi in the ward, told Voice of Palestine radio she underwent a CT scan, and was facing heart problems and muscle wasting. Shalabi has refused food, minerals and salts for 35 days to protest Israel’s practice of administrative detention
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469909

Shalabi: Freedom is more precious than life
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 20 Mar — Hunger-striking Palestinian detainee Hana Shalabi said Tuesday she will stay on strike despite pressure to back down after 34 days without food. “It’s true our lives are very precious, but our freedom is even more precious and more powerful than their cells,” Shalabi said, according to her lawyer Jawad Bulus of the Palestinian prisoners society.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469730

Palestinian prisoner on hunger strike for 22 days
GAZA (PIC) 21 Mar — The family of Palestinian prisoner Kifah Hattab has said that he has been on hunger strike for 22 days in Israeli occupation jails but the media and human rights groups were ignoring him. The family told the PIC reporter on Tuesday that 51-year-old Hattab was detained in Israeli jails since 2003 on the charge of forming a ‘terrorist network’, which they categorically denied.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Political detention

IOF soldiers arrest senior Jihad leader
JENIN (PIC) 21 Mar — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested a senior Islamic Jihad leader from his home in Arrabe village, south of Jenin, in a pre-dawn raid on Wednesday. Local sources said that Jaafar Ezzuddin, 40, was previously held in administrative detention and was recently released from Israeli custody. They said that the soldiers searched his home before taking him, adding that he is the brother of a liberated prisoner Tarek, who was banished to Gaza.
IOF soldiers launched a series of arrests in the same town against activists who were involved in activities in solidarity with hunger striker Khader Adnan and Hana’a Shalabi.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Popular Committee: Kafr Qaddum protesters’ detention extended
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 21 Mar — Two protesters who were detained with the use of police dogs in the northern West Bank on Friday have had their detention extended by an Israeli military court, the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee said on Tuesday. Ahmad Shtawi, who was wounded when on Friday when Israeli border police released a dog which locked its jaws on him, will be kept in jail for a further six days, the release said. The detention of Morad Shtawi, who came to Ahmad’s assistance at the Kafr Qaddum village demonstration, was extended by one day. Both men are accused of stone-throwing, the release added. On viewing a video of the injury of Shtawi, the judge said the court was not the appropriate body to review claims of excessive violence, the committee said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469858

Israeli court extends arrest of Palestinian minor
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 21 Mar – An Israeli court extended Wednesday the arrest of injured Palestinian minor Mohammad Rashid for a week under the pretext of preparing his file to be submitted to the prosecution, the Ministry of Prisoners said on Tuesday. Attorney Kareem Ajwa said Rashid, 16, was shot in the foot during an Israeli raid on the town of Yatta, south of Hebron, on March 8. He has been detained in Soroka Hospital, south of Israel, since his arrest … Rashid is still experiencing severe pain throughout his body, particularly in the right foot and pelvis due to his injuries, added Ajwa.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19340

Israeli troops detain at least 7 in West Bank
QALQILIA (Ma‘an) 21 Mar — Israeli forces detained at least seven Palestinians overnight Tuesday, according to security officials. Soldiers raided several homes in Sanniriya village near Qalqiliya, before seizing Abdul Karim Abu Hajla, 25, witnesses told Ma‘an. An Israeli army spokeswoman said two people were detained in both Zatara and Husan, near Bethlehem, two others in al-Bireh, and one person in Kobar.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469910

IOF soldiers arrest Palestinian young woman among six others
NABLUS (PIC) 20 Mar — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up six Palestinians at dawn Tuesday in the provinces of Nablus, Al-Khalil, Jenin, and Ramallah. Eyewitnesses in Nablus said that IOF soldiers broke into the home of Mohammed Al-Khandakji in the western suburb of the city before dawn Tuesday and took away his daughter Amani, 27. The father told Quds Press that the soldiers violently apprehended his daughter and confiscated her personal computer. Amani is the brother of Basem Khandekji, who is serving three life sentences in Israeli captivity and who is central committee member of the Shaab party. The father said that the soldiers called his detained son bad words during the operation, opining that the detention of his daughter was meant to pressure his son who is publishing articles from his prison detailing the suffering of prisoners inside Israeli prisons.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Israel arrests Palestinian in raid near Hebron
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 20 Mar — Israeli forces detained on Tuesday a Palestinian from Beit Ummar after raiding his house during clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the village, local activists said. Muhammad Ayyad Awad, the spokesman of the local popular committee, said three military jeeps raided the area. Samer Mahmoud al-Alami, 23, was struck before soldiers detained him, Awad said.
Israeli forces near Al-Aroub forced a Palestinian to strip during a separate incident, he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469787

Gov’t interrogations decision will prompt increased use of torture / Yossi Gurvitz
972mag 19 Mar — A recent decision to prevent the recording of security interrogation means a return to the norms of the witch trials. The Israeli government recently made permanent a temporary order – in force for 11 years – that permits the police to avoid documenting security interrogations, Haaretz has reported (Hebrew). Regular criminal interrogations are taped; that will not be the case in matters of suspected security violations. We can safely assume that once the police are allowed not to tape an interrogation, they will not tape it. It saves resources, for starters. The government’s decision creates a practical distinction between the rights of criminal suspects and security suspects
http://972mag.com/decision-on-interrogation-recording-will-prompt-increased-use-of-torture/38816/

Prisoners ‘to refuse Israeli DNA tests’
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 21 Mar — Palestinian prisoners in a southern Israeli jail said Wednesday they will refuse the prison authorities extraction of their DNA samples. A police delegation arrived at the jail on Wednesday to begin taking DNA from the prisoners, Gaza-based prisoners group Husam said. The Israeli prison service had notified the 450 Palestinians in Negev jail that DNA samples would be taken, whether willingly or by force, prisoners told Ma‘an. If authorities take samples by force, it will create a crisis in all jails, the prisoners warned. The Palestinian Authority detainees ministry said on Sunday it considers Israel’s use of DNA tests on Palestinian prisoners as a violation of international law.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469817

Israeli court upholds appeal to end discrimination in ‘feast meals’
IMEMC 21 Mar — For the first time in Israel’s history, the Israeli District Court upheld an appeal filed on behalf a Palestinian political prisoner from the northern West Bank city of Jenin demanding an end to discrimination in the distribution of special meals that were only granted to Jewish prisoners during Jewish and Israeli holidays.
http://www.imemc.org/article/63180

New DCI report: Bound, blindfolded and convicted: Children held in military detention (2012)
DCI 21 Mar — On 20 March 2012, DCI-Palestine launched a new report: Bound, Blindfolded and Convicted: Children held in military detention. The report is the culmination of four year’s work by DCI, with the support of the European Union, focusing on verifying reports of ill-treatment and torture of children in the Israeli military detention system. The findings of the report are based on 311 sworn affidavits taken from children between January 2008 and January 2012 … The report found that there is a systematic pattern of ill-treatment, and in some cases torture, of children held in the military detention system, with the majority of the abuse occurring during the first 48 hours. The key findings of the report are presented in the table below: [Around 7,500 Palestinians under-18 years old have been detained by Israel since 2001, an average of nearly two children every day, DCI says.]
http://www.dci-palestine.org/documents/new-dci-report-bound-blindfolded-and-convicted-children-held-military-detention-2012

Women’s Organization for Political Prisoners – Newsletter March 2012
There are at present 8 women political prisoners in the Israeli jails: 6 are held in Hasharon Prison and two in detention centers. Hasharon Prison … Family visits: Alaa Juabi, 18 years old, from Hebron, was arrested on 7 December 2011. Her family has asked, more than two months ago, for permission to visit her but, until now, the Israeli authorities have not answered their request. Without the permission, they are prohibited from visiting her.
http://www.wofpp.org/english/home.html

What Palestinian political prisoners are fighting for / Ameer Makhoul
EI 20 Mar — Khader Adnan’s hunger strike was not in protest of administrative detention but against Israel’s entire colonial system, argues Ameer Makhoul, writing from Gilboa prison.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/what-palestinian-political-prisoners-are-fighting/11076

Racism / Discrimination

Study: Israel’s social protests caused drop in racist incidents against Arabs
Haaretz 20 Mar — Incidents of racism and intolerance between across Israeli ethnic groups are on the decline, a new report published on Monday concluded. According to data compiled by the Coalition against Racism in Israel, is composed of Jewish and Arab human rights groups, the number of reported incidences of racism committed by Jewish Israelis against Arab Israelis fell from 91 in 2009 and 68 in 2010 to only 20 in 2011.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/study-israel-s-social-protests-caused-drop-in-racist-incidents-against-arabs-1.419754

Ethiopians face eviction from J’lem protest site
JPost 20 Mar — Activists fighting racism have been holding vigil at spot near PM’s residence where Schalit tent stood …”The municipality doesn’t want us here because this is a place with a lot of tourism, and we’re putting dirty laundry out to dry, it isn’t good for the holy city,” said Yayauo Tagani.
http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=262555&R=R2

Activism / Solidarity / BDS

Athlete abused by Israeli soldier for carrying Palestinian flag in Jerusalem marathon / Emily Lawrence
EI 20 Mar — Jerusalem came to a standstill on 16 March as thousands of runners gathered to participate in the city’s second annual marathon. But while the marathon was presented as a friendly and innocent international sporting event, in reality it contributed to normalizing Israel’s control over the city and its discriminatory policies towards Palestinian residents of Jerusalem. Among the 15,000 runners was Poppy Hardee, a British woman living in Bethlehem, who decided to run the marathon in protest on behalf of her Palestinian friends who were not granted permission to access Jerusalem for the event. Hardee encountered abuse from Israeli soldiers in the race, with one of them snatching the Palestinian flag that she carried from her hands and spitting on it. Although the race was heavily promoted worldwide and open for international participants, Palestinians were effectively excluded from running.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/athlete-abused-israeli-soldier-carrying-palestine-flag-jerusalem-marathon/11077

Attacked and arrested: Kufr Qaddoum anticipates an even larger demonstration following Israeli violence last week
(with video) ISM 21 Mar — Ahmed Ashtawi’s worst nightmare came true this Friday at the demonstration against the roadblock that cripples Kufr Qaddoum’s access to the rest of the West Bank. The 23 year old traffic police officer, who works his station in Qalqiliya, has a phobia for dogs. “What happened to Ahmed could have happened to any man in this town,” said Ahmed’s cousin, Mahmoud. “We thank God that it wasn’t worse and hope that he will be with us again at the next demonstration.” He was attacked by one of the two attack dogs released by the Israeli border police … The dog was allowed to keep biting Ahmed for almost 15 minutes while other protesters and international activists tried to free him … Now the small village waits for Friday to get to voice their rage against what has happened. “Everyone who has seen the video is very angry, and we will continue the protests with more strength,” said Mahmoud.
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/03/attacked-and-arrested-kufr-qaddoum-anticipates-an-even-larger-demonstration-following-israeli-violence-last-week/

Rachel Corrie & Hana Shalabi: Flowers among thistles of Israeli occupation
ISM-Gaza 21 Mar by Nathan Stuckey– Rachel Corrie was murdered nine years ago by an Israeli bulldozer.  Hana Shalabi has spent the last 34 days on hunger strike an Israeli prison, yet she is accused of no crime … Hana has said that “freedom is more important than life,” and she knows of what she speaks … An Israeli bulldozer did not stop the message of Rachel, Israeli prisons have not silenced Hana, and Israeli bullets will not stop our protests.  Rachel Corrie was only 23 years old when she was killed; Hana Shalabi is 29 years old.  Our protest this week was in honor of these women and all of the strong women of Palestine. At a little after eleven in the morning we set off down the road north from Beit Hanoun and towards the no go zone.
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/03/rachel-corrie-hana-shalabi-flowers-among-thistles-of-israeli-occupation/

El Al ceases cooperation with JNF
20 Mar — Recently, the Recognition Forum (of which Rabbis for Human Rights is a part) wrote to EL AL, criticizing their new program in cooperation with the JNF. The letter … including the following sentence `We assume that you are not aware the JNF uses the trees in the Hiran forest to dispossess the Arab-Bedouin community living there, under state orders, since 1956,` and went on to call on EL AL to pull out of all campaigns connected with the JNF. Yesterday, EL AL issued a formal response … in which they wrote that “without discussing the points you raised, and with no connection to them… EL AL informed the JNF of the cessation of cooperation with them, as you mentioned in your letter.”  Cooperation between EL AL and the JNF will cease as of 1 May, 2012.  
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=52176

Political / Diplomatic news

US ‘concerned’ about sustainability of Palestinian institutions
Haaretz 20 Mar — State Department spokeswoman: A strong Palestinian Authority is in the interest of both the Palestinians and the Israelis — U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Tuesday that the U.S. is concerned about the condition of the Palestinian Authority institutions, which was highlighted in the report prepared by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to be presented Wednesday at a donor meeting on Palestinian aid in Brussels. The report claims that the Palestinian Authority is not sufficiently stable to meet the standards of a well-functioning state.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-concerned-about-sustainability-of-palestinian-institutions-1.419815

A Fatah leader calls for one-state solution
GAZA (PIC) 21 Mar — Dr Abdullah Abu Samhadana, a senior leader of Fatah movement in the southern provinces, stated that the one-state solution should be adopted to remove obstacles from the political process caused by the Zionist occupation. “The so-called two-state solution no longer exists after the occupation government resorted to assassinations and with it they assassinated the whole political process,” Abu Samhadana declared in a press release on Tuesday morning.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk/

Abbas tells Obama: PLO ready for talks
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 20 Mar — PLO official Saeb Erekat said Tuesday that President Mahmoud Abbas insisted Palestinians are ready to return to negotiations if Israel commits to Quartet requirements, in a conversation with US President Barack Obama. Obama called Abbas on Monday to assure him of the US commitment to Middle East peace, the White House said, in their first conversation since meeting in New York as the US vetoed Abbas’ bid for Palestinian statehood at the UN six months ago.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469607

Donors urged to help Palestinians
AFP 21 Mar — Donor nations were under new pressure Wednesday to honour a $1 billion aid pledge to the Palestinians, as the prime minister warned that a fiscal crisis was threatening the government. Salam Fayyad called for a “greater effort” to help the Palestinian Authority bridge a budget gap, stressing that its ability to provide services to its people and “continue to function… has been impaired already.”
http://news.yahoo.com/donors-urged-help-palestinians-193142102.html

Hamas: Fatah prefers US dollars to national agreements
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 19 Mar — Fatah has not implemented any of its reconciliation commitments because it prefers American money to national agreements, a spokesman for the Hamas-led government in Gaza said Monday. Taher al-Nunu said in a statement that Fatah is trying to destroy the reconciliation agreement it signed with Hamas last May. Al-Nunu’s remarks were made in response to comments by senior Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad, who said Hamas was responsible for the ongoing delay in forming a unity government.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469387

Fatah: Iran paid Hamas to block unity deal
GAZA CITY (Reuters) 20 Mar — Iran paid Hamas to block a deal with the rival Fatah movement that would have ended a five-year rift between the two main Palestinian factions, a Fatah spokesman said Tuesday. He said Tehran recently resumed financial aid to Hamas which it had suspended six months ago over the movement’s failure to back their mutual ally Bashar Assad of Syria in his military campaign to crush dissent.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469773

Israel asks to ‘clear Cairo embassy contents’
CAIRO (Reuters) 21 Mar — Israel has asked Egypt for permission to send planes to remove the contents of its Cairo embassy, Egyptian foreign ministry and airport sources said on Tuesday, highlighting deteriorating ties between the two states since Hosni Mubarak was ousted last year. It was not immediately clear what prompted the request but a parliamentary committee issued a statement last week in the wake of Israeli raids on Gaza demanding the Israeli envoy be expelled from Cairo and for a review of ties with Israel. It was not clear whether or not the move would also involve evacuating staff. Israeli diplomats in Cairo could not be reached and Israel’s Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469850

UN cancels Hamas official visit to Human Rights Council after Israeli complaint
Haaretz 19 Mar — Ismail Al-Ashqar was scheduled to appear before the UN’s Human Rights Council in Geneva; Israeli ambassador says Al-Ashqar advocated violence against Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/un-cancels-hamas-official-visit-to-human-rights-council-after-israeli-complaint-1.419579

PLO backs resolution for fact-finding mission
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 20 Mar – PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi Tuesday said in a press release that the PLO supports the proposed United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution calling for sending a fact-finding mission to the Palestinian Territory. The resolution called for the establishment of an independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of illegal settlement activities on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19335

Other news

Germany sells sub to Israel but warns on attacking Iran
BERLIN (Reuters) 20 Mar — Germany said on Tuesday it will sell Israel a sixth military submarine and shoulder part of the cost, although it warned its ally that any military escalation with Iran could bring incalculable risks. German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere said he shared Israel’s fear of a nuclear-armed Iran and he was convinced Tehran aimed to make nuclear weapons, but he called for caution.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469774

Fayyad: Stop using Palestinians to justify terror
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 21 Mar — PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Wednesday condemned the killing of three children and a rabbi at a Jewish school in France, rejecting the suspected gunman’s motive of avenging Palestinian children killed by Israel. “This terrorist crime is condemned in the strongest terms by the Palestinian people and our children … No Palestinian child can accept crimes against innocent people,” Fayyad said in a statement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469956

Bar Refaeli to star in Israel-French comedy about 2010 alleged Mossad hit
Haaretz 21 Mar — Upcoming film to parody alleged Israeli assassination of senior Hamas member Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai.
http://www.haaretz.com/culture/bar-refaeli-to-star-in-israeli-french-comedy-about-2010-alleged-mossad-hit-1.420027

Palestinian aid closer to being released amid heated negotiations in Congress
WASHINGTON (Huff Post) 21 Mar — House appropriators on Tuesday were scrambling to complete a deal that would result in the release of some $150 million in development aid to the Palestinian territories that has been held up for the past six months, numerous officials told The Huffington Post. The aid has been stalled since late last summer, when Congress, led by the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s chairwoman, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), put a stop to all funding to the Palestinian Authority over its attempt to seek statehood at the United Nations.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/21/palestinian-aid-congress-ros-lehtinen_n_1368484.html

Leave Gaza Strip, US tells citizens
WASHINGTON, March 20 (UPI) — U.S. citizens are called on to leave Gaza Strip immediately and be on high alert when traveling to Israel or the West Bank, the U.S. State Department advised. A cease-fire backed by leaders from the militant Islamic Jihad appeared to be holding in Gaza after a rockets were fired into Israel territory last week. “The security environment within Gaza, including its border with Egypt and its seacoast, is dangerous and volatile,” the statement read. “Small clashes continue to occur along the boundary of the Gaza Strip.” The advisory mentioned similar concerns about Israel and the West Bank. The warning comes as European foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton signed a $46 million finance agreement for border-crossing and water infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2012/03/20/Leave-Gaza-Strip-US-tells-citizens/UPI-26851332263463/

UNRWA pledges youth consultation on programs
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 21 Mar — At the conclusion of a conference on young Palestinian refugees, UN agency UNRWA pledged to consult Palestinian youth over its programs to assist refugees. The UN Palestinian refugee agency said at the meeting in Brussels it would put more focus on youth in reforms of its education and health work, and cooperate more with international and UN youth initiatives.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=469859

Analysis / Opinion

Israeli universities becoming Hasbara mills / Yossi Gurvitz
Two universities, Tel Aviv and Haifa, now offer programs in Hasbara. Both feature Neal Lazarus, the man behind the fake ‘gay flotilla’ video. Two Israeli universities, Haifa University and Tel Aviv University, now offer programs in Hasbara. The Haifa course is meant for Israeli students, the Tel Aviv one for foreign students. Both are supported by Israeli ministries: the Haifa one by the Ministry of Propaganda and Diaspora (Ministry of Hasbara, in Hebrew) and the Tel Aviv program by the Foreign Ministry. The Haifa program is public and can be viewed here (Hebrew.) It has also been covered by the Canadian Jewish News. It’s called “Ambassadors in the Net,” and its stated purpose is to prepare students for online Hasbara.
http://972mag.com/israeli-universities-becoming-hasbara-mills/38929/

A planned escalation: Israel prepares for war / Neve Gordon
Pal. Chron. 21 Mar — Recent raids on Gaza were not just about allocating more money to defense – they were also about war with Iran. In response to the recent assassination of Zuhair al-Qaisi, the Secretary General of the Popular Resistance Committees in the Gaza Strip, along with another fighter, Palestinians fired rockets at southern Israel and the Israeli military launched air strikes at targets throughout the Strip.Within hours, the media fanfare began. Israeli news outlets began glorifying the interception missiles by repeatedly showing images of an Iron Dome battery, often with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak standing in front of the defense system.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=19184

The people love Dimona / Yitzhak Laor
Haaretz 21 Mar — The Dimona reactor is missing from discussion of the Iranian nuclear program, just as the back of your neck is missing when you look in the mirror.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/the-people-love-dimona-1.419890

Audio: A special relationship: the United States and Israel
Australian Broadcasting Corp 18 Mar — There is a special relationship between Israel and the United States, it has existed for decades and has arguably defined the US’s policies in the Middle East for decades. So how and why has this special relationship developed and just what impact does it have on Middle East politics today? Guests: Eytan Gilboa, John Mearsheimer, Avi Ben-Zvi, Peter Hahn.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rearvision/new-document/3876790

groups.yahoo.com/group/f_shadi (listserv)
www.theheadlines.org (archive)