Israel destroys al-Araqib for the 38th time

Israeli authorities raze Araqib village for 38th time
NEGEV (PIC) 7 May — The Israeli authorities razed the Palestinian village of Araqib in the Negev desert for the 38th time running. Eyewitnesses said that Israeli army and police forces escorted military bulldozers and heavy tractors and encircled the village. They said that the troops tore down the tents that the inhabitants had pitched over their destroyed homes.
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/israeli-authorities-raze-araqib-village-for-38th-time/

Jewish National Fund resumes forestation project in Al Araqib / Mairav Zonszein
972mag 7 May — After having their homes destroyed by the State over 30 times in the last two years, the residents of al-Arakib can do little else but watch as a forest is built on the ruins of their homes … JNF equipment escorted by heavy police presence showed up Monday morning and sealed off the entrance to the village.  Families and activists watched from the village cemetery, the only spot that has been deemed untouchable due to its historic and emotional significance. Residents told +972 that JNF representatives gave their word in private conversations a couple of months ago that they would not plant on a specific plot of land — known as plot 24 — since it is the subject of an ongoing court case, however this morning they prepared this precise piece of land for cultivation.
http://972mag.com/jewish-national-fund-resumes-forestation-project-in-al-arakib/44850/

State of Israel dispossesses Negev Bedouin / Richard Silverstein
Tikun Olam 7 May — Photo: Nuri el Okbi, Negev indigenous activist, imprisoned for ‘being Bedouin without a license’  –  … The government’s plan is based on the wrong assumption that Bedouins have no land ownership rights, and a Supreme Court appeal is now the only way to stop these draconian plans. Therefore, it is highly important to lodge an appeal on the el-Okbi Land Case … In order to be eligible to lodge such an appeal, however, el-Okbi must pay no later than May 10 the punitive ‘court expenses’ which had been imposed on him by the Be’er Sheba Court, as well as rendering various other legal fees – altogether amounting to the sum of 70,000 Shekels (about 20,000 US dollars). This amount Nuri and his family – who have already spent considerable funds on ongoing legal procedures ever since 1973 – are unable to pay from their own resources.
We therefore call upon you to provide an urgent donation and give Nuri el-Okbi a chance to try redressing a blatant miscarriage of justice. Checks should be sent to: Yoav Haas POB 1335 Kfar-Sava, Israel 44113
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2012/05/06/state-of-israel-dispossesses-negev-bedouin/

Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing

Israel to evict Palestinian family from its Jerusalem home
JERUSALEM, May 7, 2012 (WAFA) – A Palestinian family from Jerusalem Monday received an Israeli court eviction order from its house in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem in order to hand it over to settlers, according to the family. The order was issued in the name of Fatima Salamieh, who has been living in her Sheikh Jarrah house since the 1950s. Israeli groups claim the house and the entire area where the house is located is owned by Jews and that they were claiming it back. Several Palestinian families have lost their homes in the same neighborhood and under the same pretext in recent months.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19757

Israeli authorities order construction on road to stop
JERUSALEM, May 6, 2012 (WAFA) – The Israeli authorities Sunday ordered residents of Beit Sorik, a village northwest of Jerusalem, to halt the construction work on one of the village’s agricultural roads, under the pretext of lacking a building permit, according to local sources. They told WAFA that Israeli forces stormed the village, handed the local council in the village several notices to stop the construction work on the two-kilometer road, and confiscated a road roller compactor. Villagers said that the road has been used for hundreds of years by farmers to reach their agricultural lands, which form the only source of livelihood, located on top of mountains and in steep valleys.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19753

Israeli forces demolish water well east of Hebron
HEBRON, May 6, 2012 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Sunday demolished a water well in an area southwest of the town of Bani Na’im, east of Hebron, according to local sources. They told WAFA that forces demolished a water well and uprooted three old olive trees belonging to one of the town’s residents.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19754

Rejecting state request, High Court orders demolition of West Bank outpost to go forward
Haaretz 7 May — The High Court of Justice rejected on Monday an appeal by the state to reconsider the demolition of illegally-built structures in the Ulpana neighborhood, part of the West Bank settlement of Beit El … In their ruling, the justices wrote that it was especially important for the state to honor its obligations to the High Court, adding that, by “accepting the state’s position, according to which the need to revisit policy is a reason to reopen a finalized process, my lead to difficult consequences.”
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/rejecting-state-request-high-court-orders-demolition-of-west-bank-outpost-to-go-forward-1.428776

Israeli officials: Knesset must approve West Bank outpost condemned by High Court
Haaretz 7 May — The Knesset must quickly advance a law to bypass the Supreme Court and approve the West Bank outpost of Ulpana, a senior Likud MK said on Monday, following the High Court of Justice’s rejection of a state bid to forestall Ulpana’s demolition … “The current High Court’s ruling exactly showcases the need for High Court-bypassing laws, to pass flash legislation, and to sanction the neighborhood,” [Likud MK Danny] Danon said, adding that it was “public officials, headed by the Likud government, are the ones to decide on essential issues of values, not the High Court which does not represent the will of the people, but their own views.” “The Ulpana neighborhood will not be evacuated,” he added.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israeli-officials-knesset-must-approve-west-bank-outpost-condemned-by-high-court-1.428779

IDF order in ’97 paved way for construction of flashpoint West Bank neighborhood
Haaretz 7 May by Akiva Eldar — Military order came to light as part of state’s request to delay the evacuation of the Ulpana neighborhood in Beit El — The state’s request to delay the evacuation of the Ulpana neighborhood in Beit El reveals that a military order, giving the settlement jurisdiction over lands outside its borders, was part of the process leading to the construction of those homes.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-order-in-97-paved-way-for-construction-of-flashpoint-west-bank-neighborhood-1.428590

Palestinian students at Israeli college say they were forced to stand to honor war dead / Annie Robbins
Mondoweiss 6 May — Palestinian [‘Israeli Arab’ in Israeli parlance] students were forced to stand to honor an Israeli memorial day ceremony at Western Galilee College in Northern Israel in April, according to new reports. Benches were watered down so the students couldn’t sit, they said, and the doors and gates were locked so they couldn’t leave the premises.
https://mondoweiss.net/2012/05/palestinian-students-at-israeli-college-say-they-were-forced-to-stand-to-honor-war-dead.html

Violence / Raids / Provocations

Woman ‘detained in Hebron after settlers raid homes’
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 6 May — A Palestinian woman was detained in the city of Hebron on Sunday after Israeli settlers raided her house, locals told Ma‘an. A group of Israelis from a nearby settlement entered several homes along Shuhada street in the center of town, residents said. Jamila Hassan Abdul Fattah Al-Shalaldeh was accused of attacking settlers after they entered her home and was detained by Israeli forces, locals added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=483019

University student hit in the eye with an Israeli bullet at protest
RAMALLAH (PIC) 6 May — A 21-year-old Palestinian student was hit in his right eye with a bullet fired by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) while quelling a peaceful pro-prisoners rally near Ofer jail south of Ramallah on Saturday. Local sources told the PIC reporter that Mousa Al-Shi’ani was hospitalized in moderate to serious condition, noting that the IOF refused to allow him treatment in a Jerusalem hospital at the pretext of a security ban.
https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/palhunger-university-student-hit-in-the-eye-with-an-israeli-bullet-at-protest/

‘Undercover Israeli combatants threw stones at IDF soldiers in West Bank’
Haaretz 7 May –Testimony by commander of the Israeli Prison Service’s elite ‘Masada’ unit sheds light on IDF methods in countering demonstrations against barrier — Undercover soldiers hurled stones in the “general direction” of IDF soldiers as part of their activity to counter weekly demonstrations in the Palestinian village of Bil‘in, the commander of the Israeli Prison Service’s elite “Masada” unit revealed during his recent testimony in the trial of MK Mohammed Barakeh (Hadash). Barakeh has been charged with assaulting a border guard in Bil’in who was attempting to arrest a demonstrator.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/undercover-israeli-combatants-threw-stones-at-idf-soldiers-in-west-bank-1.428584

Commander admits: Undercover Israeli officers threw stones at soldiers in Bil‘in / Haggai Matar
[with Gush Shalom video of the demo] 972mag 7 May — At the time, almost nobody believed what the activists had said. The village of Bil‘in was organizing one of its first mass demonstrations against the fence built on its lands, in the very early days of the local popular struggle. Organizers made a special point of making sure that no stones would be thrown at the soldiers at any point of this specific demonstration, in April 2005, even if the soldiers were to attack first – which was and to this day still is the trigger to attacks against them. However, as the demonstration progressed towards the construction site of the fence, several young men of Arab appearance, unknown to organizers and thought to have come from neighboring villages, started throwing stones, giving the soldiers the queue cue they needed to disperse the demonstration with tear gas and make arrests. According to several witnesses, leaders in the popular struggle approached the young men and asked them to stop throwing stones – at which point the strangers pulled out concealed guns and handcuffs and arrested the people who asked them to stop. It would later be made known that these were combatants in the IPS elite anti-riot unit Metzada (“Masada”), lent to the army to infiltrate demonstrations and make them violent. And yet – most Israelis would not believe this story.
http://972mag.com/commander-admits-undercover-israeli-officers-threw-stones-at-soldiers-in-bilin/44802/

Military ‘approves demolition of Awarta convicts homes’
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma‘an) 6 May — The heads of Israel’s military on Sunday decided to demolish the homes of two Palestinians convicted of murdering an Israeli family last year, Israeli media said … The move — recommended by Israel’s internal security service the Shin Bet — will be subject to legal scrutiny in coming weeks by the Israeli parliamentary legal advisers, the report said. Lawyer with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel Tamar Feldman told Ma‘an: “Demolishing the houses of families of convicted criminals, despicable as their crimes may be, is collective punishment, which is absolutely banned under international law.” The army ceased home demolitions as a punitive measure in 2005 after an internal committee ruled there was no evidence the practice was effective as a deterrent, she said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=482839

Gaza

Egyptian authorities block entry of international delegation of investors to Gaza
CAIRO (PIC) 7 May – The Egyptian authorities blocked on Sunday the entry of a 124-member delegation of international investors into Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing despite obtaining prior approval. The Cairo-based Palestinian affairs center said in a statement that the Egyptian security authorities at Rafah border point claimed that the delegation, from 16 countries, did not obtain prior coordination necessary for its entry. The center said that the authorities at the crossing summoned additional forces and threatened to return the participants by force. It held the Egyptian authorities responsible for any harm done to members of the delegation.
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/egyptian-authorities-block-entry-of-international-delegation-of-investors-to-gaza/

Egypt forces seize fuel truck headed to Gaza tunnels
EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma‘an) 6 May — Egyptian authorities on Sunday seized a fuel truck headed to tunnels under the border with Gaza Strip, security officials said. Security forces confiscated 10 thousand liters of fuel carried by the truck in the northern Sinai, the official told Ma‘an. Egypt moved in February to shut down fuel deliveries to Gaza via the tunnel network — used to bring goods into the blockaded coastal strip — sparking a fuel shortage that caused widespread blackouts.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=482995

Israeli agricultural body considers Gaza tomato import
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 7 May — An Israeli agricultural body is considering importing tomatoes from the Gaza Strip in response to a sudden price increase, Israeli media said Sunday … Gaza would be ready to export tomatoes to Israel if there was an official request, Palestinian border crossing official Raed Fattouh told Ma‘an in response. Israeli military forces control the export process of Palestinian products into Israeli markets, Fattouh said, adding that the Palestinian Authority has not received any official request to export vegetables to Israel.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=483089

Israel ‘must lift blockade, not only for tomatoes’
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 7 May — Israel must lift its blockade on Gaza and stop limiting exports to the needs of the Israeli market, the deputy agricultural minister said Monday … Ibrahim al-Qudra told Ma’an that Israel must allow Gaza traders to export all goods rather than allow selective produce to leave the enclave based on the needs of the Israeli economy … “When the crossings are officially opened, we will respond to Israel, but we refuse the control of crossings based on Israel’s personal benefits,” he added. The deputy minister also said that Gaza had exported hundreds of thousands of tons of tomatoes to Israel prior to the blockade, but said Israel closed the crossing to cut off competition to its local produce.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=483254

Gaza: New study shows strong correlation between birth defects and white phosphorus exposure of parents / Fabio De Ponte
4 May — According to a new scientific study there is “a strong correlation of birth defects newborns and parent’s exposure to attacks with white phosphorus”: at the registration at birth 27% of parents with birth defect children declared exposure to white phosphorus while only 1.7% of parents with normal children made the same declaration. The report entitled “Birth Defects in Gaza: Prevalence, Types, Familiarity and Correlation with Environmental Factors”, published today by International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, was carried out by a team of Palestinian and Italian researchers at the Al Shifa hospital, where 28% of total births in Gaza Strip occur.
http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=87802&s2=06

Hunger strikes

Israeli court rules against Palestinian hunger-strikers
JERUSALEM (Reuters) 7 May — Israel’s Supreme Court turned down on Monday an appeal by two Palestinians, who have been on hunger strike for nearly 70 days, to free them from detention without trial. But in its decision, released by the justice ministry, the court said security authorities should consider freeing them for medical reasons. Administrative detainees Bilal Diab, 27, from Jenin, and Thaer Halahla, 33, from Hebron — are in a precarious condition after refusing food since Feb. 29, a doctor from Physicians for Human Rights-Israel said this week.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=483238

In ruling against hunger strikers, Israel High Court shows its fear of security services / Ali Abunimah
EI 7 May — Today, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh, two Palestinian prisoners who have been on hunger strike for 70 days against their detention without charge or trial and are close to death. Yet the judges also appeared to send a signal that Israeli authorities should find a way not to let the men die in custody.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/ruling-against-hunger-strikers-israel-high-court-shows-its-fear-security-services

Dying to live: the stories of our hunger strikers / Lina Alsaafin
EI 7 May — Today, Palestinian prisoners Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh entered their 70th day on hunger strike. Hasan Safadi has entered his 64th day; Omar Abu Shalal his 62nd day; Mohammad al-Taj his 51st day; Ja’far Ezzedine his 47th day; Mahmoud Sarsak his 46th day. I interviewed and spoke with some of the families of these prisoners. I first went to see Hasan Safadi’s family in their house in the old city of Nablus … Hasan’s mother revealed that she doesn’t sleep because she is afraid she’ll see Hasan dead in her dreams. She has collapsed more than once and had to be taken to the hospital numerous times for conducting her own hunger strike in solidarity with her son. I saw her again on Saturday when she came to the solidarity tent set up in Ramallah’s city center, and asked her how her morale was. She nodded and whispered “Hamdulilah” (“Praise to God”) … This diabetic 65-year-old mother, whose oldest son was killed by Israeli soldiers back in 1996, is clearly exhausted: “I don’t want Hasan to know of my hunger strike,” she said speaking softly. “I don’t want him to worry about me. One of my grandchildren wanted to write on his Facebook page about my hunger strike but I forbade him from doing so.”
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/linah-alsaafin/dying-live-stories-our-hunger-strikers

70 days for Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh as their appeal is rejected – take action for 2500 prisoners on hunger strike
Samidoun 7 May — Act now – send a letter to Israeli authorities [addresses supplied] expressing your outrage and demanding full implementation of the prisoners’ demands Tweet now: 70 Days of #PalHunger for #BilalDiab #ThaerHalahleh, 20 Days of Empty Stomachs for 2500 #PalestinianPrisoners. Act now: http://samidoun.ca/?p=1119.
Addameer reported that: Both Thaer Halahleh and Bilal Diab’s petitions to the Israeli High Court regarding their administrative detention orders were rejected today. They are on their 70th day of hunger strike and at immediate risk of death. In complete disregard to their critical medical condition, the Court stated in their decision that “hunger strikes are not relevant to decide on length of administrative detention as such.”
http://samidoun.ca/2012/05/70-days-for-bilal-diab-and-thaer-halahleh-as-their-appeal-is-rejected-take-action-for-2500-prisoners-on-hunger-strike/

IOA offers deportation for Halahle, Dhiab in return for ending hunger strike
RAMALLAH (PIC) 6 May — The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has offered the release and deportation to Gaza for each of Thaer Halahle and Bilal Dhiab in return for ending their hunger strike. Detainee Azzam Dhiab, the brother of Bilal, said that he was surprised at the presence of Askalan jail wardens in his cell on Sunday morning. He said that they asked him to go with them to Ramle prison hospital to convince his brother and Halahle to agree to end their strike in return for their deportation to Gaza. Azzam, who is serving a life sentence and who has been on hunger strike for the 41st day in solidarity with his brother, refused, saying that he would not be used as a pressure tool on his brother. He said that the wardens told him that his brother and Halahle had turned down the offer.
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/palhunger-ioa-offers-deportation-for-halahle-dhiab-in-return-for-ending-hunger-strike/

PFLP leader Saadat refuses to negotiate with Israelis on hunger strike
RAMALLAH (PIC) 7 May — Secretary general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Ahmed Saadat refused an Israeli request to negotiate with him regarding the hunger strike. Saadat told a lawyer from Al-Dameer association that a committee from Shabas, the Israeli prison authority, visited him last Tuesday in order to discuss the issue of the collective hunger strike in Israeli jails. Saadat told the committee members that he would not accept anything less than the demands set by the captive movement and the committee representing the hunger strikers. The PFLP official also told them that he was not the party that is entitled to talk about this issue, reiterating his commitment to the decisions taken by the hunger strike committee.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7Np40qmHkR%2bFm8RKDJCS8HVYPSKroWmfELjN%2fCQW1lz5yL5VOVGv5ujM2sKvYigNN%2fg2knwF5bMElc64FJRrpVjM6nI3NiHGvsFKifw%2bPEXk%3d

MP Natshe asks for doctors to visit and examine him
GAZA (PIC) 6 May — The captive MP Mohammed Jamal Natsheh, after being on an open hunger strike since 20 days, called for the urgent need to send him specialist doctors to see his deteriorating health condition.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7EOWUikp8MjDx5nNpqdUloxYvxrOWJ5nFGHKbMiyNfhE51EmAhbUZcTRddpiQjC06g2XzH0QqIItDn1yzps0oJ3uKOnUyHTWOqncAN%2bkRuX4%3d

Nafha prisoners: We will start second stage of our strike
RAMALLAH (PIC) 7 May – Palestinian prisoners who are on hunger strike in the Israeli Nafha jail said in a message that they would start on Monday the second stage of their hunger strike. They said in a message on Sunday that after 20 days of “legendary steadfastness” they decided to start the second stage of their hunger strike, which, they said, would contain a lot of surprises for the “Zionist enemy” … The prisoners said that the Israeli responses to the strike did not meet the minimum of their demands, affirming that they would proceed in their battle till those demands were met.
https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/palhunger-nafha-prisoners-we-will-start-second-stage-of-our-strike/

Abu Zahri: PA arrest of prisoners’ supporters could abort the strike
GAZA (PIC) 6 May — Hamas denounced the broad arrest campaign launched by PA in occupied West Bank against students from Birzeit and Abu Dis Universities on the backdrop of their participation in a march organized in solidarity with the hunger striking prisoners in the occupation jails, as well as chasing the injured in Ofer prison’s events and detaining some of them. Abu Zahri said in a press statement on Sunday: “These arrests confirm the complicity of PA against the prisoners’ strike and its quest to quell all voices that are in solidarity with the hunger strikers.”
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/palhunger-abu-zahri-pa-arrest-of-prisoners-supporters-could-abort-the-strike/

10 hunger strikers moved to clinics as Fatah eyes deal
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 7 May — Ten detainees in a southern Israeli jail were transferred to medical facilities after 21 days on hunger-strike, prisoners told Ma‘an on Monday. Inmates at Nafha jail in the Negev said prison doctors had diagnosed hunger-striker Shadi al-Rekhawi, from Gaza, with partial paralysis.
On Saturday a representative for Fatah prisoners said detained affiliates accepted half of the proposals made by an Israeli committee in response to the demands of hunger strikers. Fatah-affiliated detainees said Monday that representatives will hold a meeting with prison authorities in Ramon jail, which they described as “the moment of decision” whether remaining Fatah detainees will join the hunger-strike. Around 500 of 3,000 Fatah affiliates are on hunger strike, along with 1,500 detainees linked to other political parties, the representatives said.
But Yousef Rizqa, political adviser to Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh, warned on Monday that Israel was trying to use party affiliations to sow rifts between the hunger-strikers.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=483173

Barghouthi: Prisoners united behind hunger strikers
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 7 May — Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouthi said Sunday that Palestinian prisoners would remain united to support detainees on hunger-strike. Prisoners affiliated to different political factions and in prisons across Israel all support the hunger strikers, who are “fighting a battle for freedom and dignity,” the Fatah leader said in a letter received by Ma‘an. Commenting on negotiating with Israeli prison authorities, Barghouthi said that the hunger strike committee is the only body authorized to take decisions on behalf of the strike action.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=483104

Meeting between Fatah detainees and jailers to end hunger strike
RAMALLAH (PIC [Hamas site]) 7 May –  A meeting took place in Ramon jail Monday morning between Israeli officials from the prison authority Shabas and many Fatah prisoners who were brought from different other prisons in order to discuss the formation of a committee aimed at breaking the hunger strike of Fatah prisoners. A senior Fatah official, who is a prisoner in Ofer jail, said in a leaked letter sent to the Palestinian information center (PIC) that Israeli prison officials embarked in the morning on arranging for their meeting with Fatah leaders in prison. The prisoner affirmed that those leaders would delegate one of them to coordinate with the Israeli prison authority on the steps to be taken to convince or force Fatah prisoners to break their hunger strike.
Informed sources from inside Israeli jails reported that 65 Fatah prisoners ended their hunger strike on Sunday, most notably, prisoner Naser Abu Hamid. after they were pressured by the leadership of Fatah faction. The Fatah leadership threatened those prisoners to freeze their membership and their financial rights for two years if they did not end their hunger strike immediately.
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/palhunger-meeting-between-fatah-detainees-and-jailers-to-end-hunger-strike/

Video: Solidarity to Bilal, Thaer and the hunger strikers from Irish striker Laurence McKeoun
Samidoun 7 May — In 1981, Laurence McKeown took part in the Irish Hunger Strike that was led by Bobby Sands. Laurence endured 70 days without food before ending his fast. Today, 2 Palestinian men, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh, are on day 70 of their Hunger Strike in an Israeli prison. Plus, over 2,000 other Palestinians are about to enter their 4th week on Hunger Strike. As Bilal and Thaer suffer in their protest, Laurence sends them a message of support and solidarity.
http://samidoun.ca/2012/05/solidarity-to-bilal-thaer-and-the-hunger-strikers-from-irish-striker-laurence-mckeown/

Detention

IOF soldiers arrest three students including son of MP, confiscate PCs and cellphones
NABLUS (PIC) 6 May — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested three Palestinian university students from the Najah university in Nablus including the son of MP Omar Abdul Razek … The MP’s wife told Quds Press that IOF soldiers encircled their home in Salfit city at 0200 am local time and blasted their front door. She described the IOF break and entry as savage. She said that the soldiers searched the house using police dogs and confiscated three personal computers and a number of mobile phones before taking away her son Mohammed. The wife said that her son was expected to complete his university studies in economics in two weeks, adding that he was held in Israeli custody for three months last year.
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/iof-soldiers-arrest-three-students-including-son-of-mp-confiscated-pcs-and-cellphones/

IOF rounds up five Palestinians
WEST BANK (PIC) 7 May — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up five Palestinians in various West Bank areas at dawn Monday, PIC reporters said. They said that the IOF soldiers stormed several West Bank cities and villages and arrested five citizens, but no names were available. PIC reporter in Jenin said that IOF soldiers stormed three villages in Jenin, arrested a citizen, and questioned a number of others.
The reporter quoted local sources in Tamon village, Tobas province, as saying that an unprecedented IOF military campaign was witnessed in the village at dawn Monday, adding that IOF soldiers burst into the village from various entrances and broke into 15 houses. The sources said that Omar Bani Odeh was arrested while the homes of seven others of the same family were stormed including one of a prisoner.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7RdfdLxreaJDJRKwp7zfJMc1Os8KrnW9BtsENryy3go9%2bOh%2bDUuNsrN%2fN%2fVB3FKMEMiJh3fM4rPbcCXpxUFZFKpN9BuifP%2bOfKGw%2bZy55m6A%3d

Army kidnapped 29 Palestinians on roadblocks in April
IMEMC 7 May — …Ahmad Tubassy, a lawyer and a legal researcher at the International Solidarity Foundation for Human Rights reported that Israeli soldiers deliberately humiliate the residents at roadblocks, close them at will, and deliberately force the residents to wait in some cases for several hours. Tubassy said that the Israeli army kidnapped 29 Palestinians at the roadblocks after handcuffing and blindfolding them for several hours, and then took them to unknown destinations. He said that these roadblocks are usually installed on main roads and junctions linking different Palestinian cities and towns leading to their isolation. In these cases the roadblocks were mainly around the West Bank districts of Nablus, Ramallah and Bethlehem. Despite repeated Israeli claims of easing restrictions on roadblocks in the West Bank, and claims that it has removed many roadblocks, freedom of movement of Palestinians remains severely restricted especially due to dozens of ‘flying’ roadblocks that the soldiers install and dismantle at will.
http://www.imemc.org/article/63432

Arab League asks UN to hold session on Palestinian prisoners
CAIRO (PIC) 7 May — The Arab League decided to ask the UN general assembly to convene a special session to discuss the issue of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. This came in an extraordinary meeting held Sunday by the Arab League at the level of permanent representatives who listened to a report about the inhumane practices and violations which the prisoners and hunger strikers are exposed to in Israeli jails. The Arab League also called on the UN in its report to invite the international human rights council in Geneva to table [propose consideration of] this issue in its session to be held next June and make a resolution forcing the Israeli occupation state to comply with the fourth Geneva convention and open its jails before international probe committees. The Arab League also decided to form a committee composed of members from Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait and other Arab countries to prepare for an international conference addressing the issue of Palestinian prisoners.
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/palhunger-arab-league-asks-un-to-hold-session-on-palestinian-prisoners/

Otherwise Occupied: One country, two legal codes / Amira Hass
Haaretz 7 May — Palestinian suspects – including minors – can be legally detained for far longer periods than Israelis, and for lesser offenses.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/otherwise-occupied-one-country-two-legal-codes-1.428615

Four brothers jailed by Israel for prisoner solidarity activism / Asa Winstanley
EI 6 May — Late one night in March, Rami Halabi was working on a laptop at his family’s apartment home in Kufr Aqab, on the road between Ramallah and Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank. Suddenly, a group of Israeli soldiers banged on the door and demanded to be let in. They confiscated the iPhone his employer had lent him, and, despite the pleas of his mother, father and sister, they took Rami away to prison. This is a scene all too familiar for many Palestinian families living under the boot of Israeli occupation. But there is one difference for the Halabi family that night: all three of Rami’s brothers were already imprisoned by Israel. In a translated interview with The Electronic Intifada, their mother Samira recounted her plea to the soldiers not to part her from her last free son: “I went to hug my son, and I said, no, you’re not taking this one, you have three already, leave this one!”
http://electronicintifada.net/content/four-brothers-jailed-israel-prisoner-solidarity-activism/11254

The Nakba

Palestine’s exiles find family bonds thru Facebook
SIDON, Lebanon  (AP) — As Jewish forces advanced on their village during the war that surrounded Israel’s creation in 1948, the Palestinian Faour family piled children and belongings into donkey carts and fled, hoping to return home when the fighting stopped. Only some of them got back, and the family is still divided. Some are in the Lebanese city of Sidon as stateless refugees. Others are 80 kilometers (50 miles) away as Israeli citizens in their village of Shaab, across a fenced and hostile border …
Social media have produced a boom in communications between Palestinians in Israel and the Arab world, once connected only through rare letters carried by intermediaries or the International Red Cross. Younger exiles like Maarouf are tracking down and getting to know relatives separated for decades. Many Palestinians say they now know more about their extended families than at any time since the birth of Israel, an event Palestinians mourn every May 15 as the “Nakba,” or catastrophe.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2018153684_apmlpalestiniansfindingfamily.html

Activism / Solidarity / BDS

In Photos: Widespread solidarity with hunger striking Palestinian prisoners
EI 6 May — …In contrast to the deafening silence from world media and governments, there has been widespread support for the mass hunger strike throughout historic Palestine and in exile. Nearly all Palestinian families living under Israeli occupation have been affected by Israel’s regime of arrest and detention and Palestinian political prisoners are celebrated as national heroes.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/photos-widespread-solidarity-hunger-striking-palestinian-prisoners/11255

Popular resistance supports Palestinian prisoners
[roundup of protests] Stop the Wall 6 May — This Friday the demonstrations against the Wall and the settlements across the West Bank were dedicated to the ongoing struggle of the Palestinian prisoners. The protests have supported the brave hunger strike of the prisoners and called for international solidarity.  Al Ma‘sara: occupation forces prevented citizens and peace activists from reaching the territory captured by the occupation authorities in the village Al Ma‘sara, south of Bethlehem, and suppressed the weekly march organized by the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements after Friday prayers at noon.  A solidarity delegation of German professors and students from the University of Birzeit participated in the weekly march….
http://stopthewall.org/2012/05/06/popular-resistance-supports-palestinian-prisoners

The Wall, 10 years on / Part 5, a new way of resistance / Haggai Matar
972mag 5 May — Just as it is a story of suicide attacks, security, annexation, legal questions and political controversy — the story of the separation wall is also that of the popular, unarmed and joint struggle of Palestinians, Israelis and internationals against it. What started in September, 2002 as a small spontaneous action by a few farmers became the heart of Palestinian resistance to the occupation … ‘There was no plan – people just went to protect their trees’  In fact, the whole struggle began quite spontaneously. The year 2002 was the bloodiest of the second intifada, with 47 suicide attacks killing 225 Israelis, and 989 Palestinian casualties (421 of them did not take part in hostilities, according to B’Tselem) … It was in this deadly month of September that bulldozers arrived in Jayous. The original route in this area would later engulf most of the village’s agricultural lands, also leaving one house on the wrong side of the fence. The villagers, whose income depended on agriculture, saw the bulldozers and ran to their groves to protect their trees. They stopped construction work, hugged the trees, got beaten and dispersed, some were arrested — yet the next day they came out again. Almost two years after Israel crushed the popular demonstrations at the dawn of the second intifada and Palestinians turned to arms — nonviolent popular resistance was making its initial comeback.
http://972mag.com/the-wall-10-years-on-part-5-a-new-way-of-resistance/44656/

Court to decide Rachel Corrie case in August
JPost 7 May — The Haifa District Court announced on Sunday that it will give a verdict in August in a civil suit filed by the family of Rachel Corrie, the American pro- Palestinian activist struck and killed by a bulldozer in Gaza … Corrie’s family filed the civil suit against the Defense Ministry in the district court five years ago. They claim that the IDF either deliberately killed Corrie or is at least guilty of gross negligence.
http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=268949

Atuda soldier refuses to enlist after completing studies
Ynet 7 May — IDF soldier who recently completed his medical school through Academic Reserves program refuses to serve in IDF ‘for ideological reasons’; sentenced to prison – for sixth time … Over the past two years, the soldier became an outspoken left-wing activist and took part in leftist demonstrations in the settlements. He also stressed his political views on his Facebook page, where he came out against “the violence shown by security forces against protesters.” He also supported the call to “free Palestine.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4226035,00.html

Security firm G4S provides services to Israeli prisons, police, and army / Adri Nieuwhof
6 May — British-Danish security firm G4S has been severely criticized for its operations in the occupied Palestinian territories and in prisons and detention centers in Israel, including those housing children and “administrative detainees” held without charge or trial. On 17 April Palestinian organizations called for action against G4S for its role in Israeli prisons where Palestinian political prisoners from the occupied territories are held in contravention of international law. The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre in London published Michael Deas’s report on the call and invited G4S to respond. G4S submitted an update with old statements that does not address the criticism of the provision of services to prisons in Israel … Who Profits – a research project of the Coalition of Women for Peace – has provided the information on G4S activities in Israel for the rejoinder below, including its extensive G4S report of March 2011.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/adri-nieuwhof/security-firm-g4s-provides-services-israeli-prisons-police-and-army

LGBT rights in Israel: ‘Pinkwashing oppression or illuminating the Middle East? / Natasha Mozgovaya
Haaretz 6 May — Tel Aviv is the best gay destination in the world. That’s what a worldwide survey hosted in January by GayCities.com and American Airlines showed, and Israeli diplomats in Western countries proudly put the fact on display. Many liberal pro-Palestinian activists saw this as “pinkwashing” the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. The website pinkwatchingisrael.com called upon Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community members to boycott the 20th Annual Equality Forum in Philadelphia, which features Israel this year and has invited Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren to be a keynote speaker.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/lgbt-rights-in-israel-pinkwashing-oppression-of-palestinians-or-illuminating-the-middle-east-1.428480

Ambassador Oren boasts Israel’s record on gay rights but gets facts wrong / Yossi Gurvitz
972mag 7 May — Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren claims “Israel fought for gay rights even before 1967.” Problem is, homosexuality was illegal until 1988. Michael Oren, the American Jew turned Israeli ambassador to the US, is apparently not content with embarrassing himself about Israel’s record regarding its Christian citizens.
http://972mag.com/ambassador-oren-boasts-israels-record-on-gay-rights-but-gets-facts-wrong/44851/

Anti-BDS

New French president says boycott of Israeli goods ‘illegal’, but Paris court acquits more BDS activists / Ali Abunimah
EI 7 May — French president-elect François Hollande has told a Jewish community publication that he opposes the boycott of Israeli goods, even apparently from Israeli settlements in occupied territories, and considers such boycotts “illegal.” Hollande also promised to visit Israel as president and echoed hardline Israel lobby rhetoric about Iran.
His statements published Tribune Juive (Jewish Tribune) on 1 May contrast sharply with the decisions of French judges who on 3 May acquitted another group of French activists on charges related to calling for the boycott of Israeli goods.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/new-french-president-says-boycott-israeli-goods-illegal-paris-court-acquits-more

Ireland: Justice minister slams Palestinian supporters after band cancels Israeli tour
Irish Central 6 May — Ireland’s Justice Minister has launched an astonishing attack on Palestinian ‘cyber bullies’ who forced Irish band Dervish to cancel an Israeli tour. Alan Shatter has claimed that the Irish Palestinian Solidarity Group staged a “concerted” campaign to stop the series of three concerts by the traditional music group. The band canceled their June tour after “an avalanche of negativity and venom” directed towards them on social media sites. Now Shatter, of Jewish origin, has slammed the actions of the IPSG and their attempts to stage a boycott of Israel by Irish acts.
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Justice-Minister-slams-Palestinian-supporters-after-band-cancels-Israeli-tour-150339275.html

Journalism / Freedom of expression

Gaza journalist wins courage award
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 7 May — Gaza journalist Asma al-Ghoul has won an international award for courage in journalism, the International Women’s Media Foundation said. Al-Ghoul, 30, was awarded the 2012 IWMF prize alongside female journalists Reeyot Alemu from Ethiopia, Khadija Ismayilova from Azerbaijan and Zubeida Mustafa from Pakistan. She has worked for Palestinian newspaper Al-Ayyam and her popular blog, AsmaGaza, was discontinued in February for unstated reasons. Her reporting on the Palestinian internal division and social and political issues has earned international acclaim, receiving awards from Human Rights Watch and the Anna Lindh Mediterranean Foundation.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=483357

Abbas lifts ban on critical websites
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 5 May — President Mahmoud Abbas issued formal instructions Saturday to reverse an order censoring news websites linked to one of his fiercest critics. “From this point forward, the attorney general and the judiciary are prohibited from shutting down or blocking websites, and they are instructed to lift any existing bans,” Abbas said of the order. “Freedom of expression and opinion is a natural right enshrined in the (Palestinian) Basic Law,” or constitution, Abbas said. He urged journalists to nevertheless maintain their objectivity.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=482586

MADA welcomes President Abbas’ decision to unblock websites
PNN 7 May — The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) welcomes President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision to unblock eight websites. MADA hopes this is the start of a real improvement in media freedoms in Palestine. This was not the case over the past year, during which MADA observed a reduction in media freedoms. In fact, last year for the first time Palestinian violations exceeded Israeli violations (106 and 100 respectively.)
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/human-rights/1580-mada-welcomes-president-abbas-decision-to-unblock-websites

Arab Spring stirs Palestinian journalists to test limits
RAMALLAH (NY Times) 7 May by Isabel Kershner — Yousef Shayeb, 37, a Palestinian journalist from Ramallah, published an article in a Jordanian newspaper this year charging officials at the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Paris with corruption and espionage. In an interview here last week, he said that he had imagined people might thank him for his exposé. Instead, he spent eight days in a Palestinian Authority jail. Jamal Abu Raihan, a Palestinian blogger, has been in prison for three weeks, after he posted a satirical column lampooning the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, as a donkey on a Facebook page he ran titled, “The people want an end to corruption.” And in recent months, on the orders of the attorney general, the authorities have tried to block Palestinians’ access to a number of Web sites that officials said were supportive of Muhammad Dahlan, a onetime Gaza security chief and now a rival of Mr. Abbas.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/07/world/middleeast/arab-spring-stirs-palestinian-journalists-to-test-limits.html

Racism / Discrimination

African residents in south Tel Aviv targeted by second firebomb attack in two weeks
Haaretz 6 May — Two firebombs were hurled on Saturday night at a house in south Tel Aviv. No injuries were reported, but police are investigating whether the incident is connected to a similar attack a week and a half ago that targeted African residents.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/african-residents-in-south-tel-aviv-targeted-by-second-firebomb-attack-in-two-weeks-1.428469

From asylum seeker to community leader
Haaretz 4 May — As racial tensions mount, Ethiopian refugee Yohannes Bayu warns of a dangerous anti-African sentiment in Israel, and stresses the need for a constructive solution.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/anglo-file/from-asylum-seeker-to-community-leader-1.428178?localLinksEnabled=false

3 ‘Ethiopian’ schools to close next year
Ynet 7 May — Education Ministry to close schools with majority of Ethiopian students in order to promote integration
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4225548,00.html

Other news

Turkel committee to call for stronger civilian review of IDF probes
Haaretz 6 May — The Israel Defense Forces should no longer be the only body to investigate its own conduct when it is charged with ostensible war crimes or various human rights violations, especially against Palestinians. That is expected to be the main conclusion of the Turkel Committee, which is likely to recommend significantly augmenting civilian review of IDF probes. The committee was formed to investigate Israel’s actions in intercepting the flotilla to Gaza in May 2010. The report, the second part of the Turkel Committee’s recommendations, is to be submitted to the prime minister and made public in the coming weeks.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/turkel-committee-to-call-for-stronger-civilian-review-of-idf-probes-1.428427

PA forces launch security crackdown in Jenin
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 6 May — Palestinian Authority forces launched a large scale security crackdown in the Jenin district on Saturday. “Security services are sending summons to all suspects who possibly partook in the shooting at the house of the late Jenin governor Qaddura Musa, and suspects involved in murder, blackmailing or other assaults,” the commander of Jenin’s security forces Radi Asida told Ma‘an. The governor of Jenin died from a heart attack on Wednesday, which officials say was brought on by an attack on his home by gunmen. The perpetrators of the attack have not been found and security services are working around the clock to bring them in, Commander Asida said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=482689

Ex-Fatah fighter denies being arrested in Jenin crackdown
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 6 May — Former Fatah fighter Zakaria Zubeidi said Sunday that he was not arrested by Palestinian Authority forces in Jenin, as mothers in the city protested against a sweep of arrests by PA forces. Israeli media reported on Saturday that Zubeidi was arrested by PA forces as part of the security crackdown in the northern West Bank city.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=482795

Commander: Corrupt officers responsible for security chaos in Jenin
JENIN (Ma‘an) 7 May — Corrupt officers are responsible for the security chaos in Jenin, the district’s commander said Monday.  Radi Asida told Ma‘an that authorities had overlooked the corruption “for some time,” leading to the current state of lawlessness. Jenin Governor Qaddura Musa died of a heart attack on Wednesday brought on by a shooting attack on his home, PA officials said. On Sunday, Asida told Ma‘an that a number of PA security officers had been arrested on various charges as part of a crackdown on the city in the wake of the shooting attack.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=483414

Netanyahu cabinet agrees Israeli elections to be held September 4
Haaretz 7 May — PM says stability must be restored to Israel’s government, and calls for speedy, early elections … After the ministers’ approval, the bill is due to be voted on in the Knesset. The Knesset committee approved the government’s request to bring  dissolution of the current Knesset to a vote. Kadima MK’s, wishing to advance their alternative for the “Tal Law,” voted against the resquest to dissolve. ..
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/netanyahu-cabinet-agrees-israeli-elections-to-be-held-september-4-1.428672

How the settlers embarrassed Netanyahu, again
Haaretz 7 May — Of the 130,000 registered Likud members, only about 9,000 are settlers. But in Sunday night’s Likud party convention they were the majority … the most frustrated veteran [party member] of all was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; he had planned to be unanimously elected president of the convention so that, down the road, he could dictate the way the candidates for the next Knesset would be chosen.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/how-the-settlers-embarrassed-netanyahu-again-1.428581?localLinksEnabled=false

Bob Marley’s heirs threaten to sue right-wing Israeli MK
Haaretz 6 May — Heirs of Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley have sent a warning letter to MK Aryeh Eldad, threatening legal action over the unauthorized use of the song “Iron Lion Zion” for propaganda purposes. In the film clip, which was removed from the Internet in light of the warning, the National Union MK can be seen with his grandchildren, while Marley’s song plays in the background. Added to the words of the famous song were phrases that promote Eldad’s political outlook:
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/bob-marley-s-heirs-threaten-to-sue-right-wing-israeli-mk-1.428496

Human interest stories / Reviews

Life savings sold for 7 shekels in Hebron
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 7 May — Those who think the older generation of Palestinians no longer stash their life-savings in unexpected places seem to be mistaken. An elderly man from Hebron told Ma‘an on Monday how all his worldly wealth almost ended up on the scrap-heap. “I was out pasturing my sheep when my teenage son came to give me seven shekels ($2),” Amir Ayyoub Abu Shakhdam recounted. “When I asked where he got that money from, he said he sold some old tins he found in the house. I lost my head and asked him who he sold it to. He said a peddler who buys scrap.” “I hurried home at once to find that the child has sold the tin in which I kept my life savings.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=483195

Israeli spy flick reimagines Dubai killing
EILAT, Israel (Daily Star) 7 May — The brazen 2010 assassination of a Hamas operative in Dubai, in which Israel’s spy agency was accused, unfurled like a spy movie thriller – and in fact much of it was caught on camera. Now an Israeli movie plays it as a spy caper, complete with a sly seductress played by Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli. The movie “Kidon”, or Spear, gives the plot a twist by having a small-time gang of criminals murder Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in an attempt to frame Israel’s Mossad spy agency. Dubai police accused the Mossad of carrying out the actual hit in a five-star hotel, and released surveillance camera footage of the assassination team tracking al-Mabhouh. A number of countries also cast suspicion on Israel, angrily accusing its intelligence agency of forging passports under their citizens’ names for the killers to use. Israel and the Mossad, as is their policy, never confirmed or denied involvement.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Film/2012/May-07/172589-israeli-spy-flick-reimagines-dubai-killing.ashx

Phil Monsour transcends Palestine’s tragedy in rousing new rock album / Samah Sabawi
EI 7 May — When a profound human experience is expressed through art, the result is often extraordinary. When this experience is inspired by a human catastrophe that has altered the lives of millions over generations, the art becomes a vehicle for resistance. In his latest album, Ghosts of Deir Yassin, Australian rock musician and activist Phil Monsour evokes revolutionary courage. Monsour’s album was written during a trip to Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon. The title track — dealing with Deir Yassin, a Palestinian village destroyed during the Nakba (the wave of ethnic cleansing leading to the foundation of the state of Israel) showcases his talent for transforming the painful into the inspirational. The chorus “You see that we are rising / Our day is surely coming / No longer in the shadows of the ghosts of Deir Yassin” captures the spirit of Palestinian resistance today.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/phil-monsour-transcends-palestines-tragedy-rousing-new-rock-album/11262

DNA links prove Jews are a race, says genetics expert
Haaretz 7 May — In his new book, Legacy: A Genetic History of the Jewish People, Harry Ostrer, a medical geneticist and professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, claims that Jews are different, and the differences are not just skin deep. Jews exhibit, he writes, a distinctive genetic signature. Considering that the Nazis tried to exterminate Jews based on their supposed racial distinctiveness, such a conclusion might be a cause for concern. But Ostrer sees it as central to Jewish identity.
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/dna-links-prove-jews-are-a-race-says-genetics-expert-1.428664

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