Israeli soldiers and settlers order Palestinian villagers to sing ‘I love Israel’

Violence / Raids / Arrests / Provocations

Troops, settlers force village to recite ‘I love Israel’
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 30 May — Israeli forces and settlers raided a village northwest of Jerusalem earlier this week, and humiliated and abused its residents, a local official said. Residents of al-Nabi Samwil were working on their land on Monday when Israeli forces, accompanied by settlers, arrived and demanded to see villagers’ ID cards, head of the local governor’s office Mohammad Tari told Ma‘an. Israeli officers ordered young men from the village to sing, dance and say “I love Israel.” When the villagers refused they were physically attacked, Tari said. Village resident Eid Barakat said Israeli border police were behind the forced humiliation, which left a number of villagers with moderate injuries. Meanwhile, a group of settlers drove around the village trying to run over youths, and assaulted 16-year-old Ahmad Barakat, Tari added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=490659

Daglas: Settlers have formed special teams to attack the Palestinians
NABLUS (PIC) 29 May — The official of West Bank settlements file, Ghassan Daglas, revealed that settlers have formed special armed groups to carry out organized attacks against the Palestinian civilians in the villages and towns throughout the West Bank. There is a terrorist armed settlers’ organization, in the light of their announcement about the formation of “protection groups” several weeks ago. Their mission is to protect the settlements, however in reality their mission is not to protect the settlements, but to murder and assault on Palestinian citizens and their properties, Daglas told Quds press, pointing out that each band has a particular activity such as burning trees, throwing stones, and other brutal attacks.
Douglas stated that the Netanyahu government is “the government of settlements and settlers,” adding that the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister as well, 12 other  members of Knesset and three ministers are living in settlements in the occupied West Bank …
Daglas affirmed that the “protection committees” formed by Palestinian citizens in Palestinian towns are still working to include all Palestinian towns and villages, although they are targeted by the occupation forces, where the IOF arrested 37 members of the protection committees in Burin village during the past two weeks.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7q6QhwxB2ibWlA49E0DQ8cqMp6NnxTV5dTUPxYH2g3DbTha6YO8IS1w46R52lBnf1wFlbY35ox5uIvWsUjuy8z0u9TpN2utPYsXUPzzW1hRY%3d

Israeli soldiers invade various neighborhoods in Hebron
IMEMC 30 May — Several neighborhoods in the city of Hebron were invaded on Wednesday morning by Israeli soldiers who then proceeded to take photographs of several homes in the area. The WAFA News Agency reported that Israeli soldiers stormed as-Salam Street and the as-Saheb neighborhood in the south of Hebron, invaded several homes and took pictures of the properties. An owner of one photographed houses was identified as Tariq Jawdat al- Batsh.
Furthermore, resident Fahed Odeh, 30 years old, from the village of Tabaka, was attacked and beaten by the soldiers. He suffered concussions and bruises, and was moved to the Hebron Government Hospital in the city.
http://www.imemc.org/article/63621

Palestinian hospitalized after IOF soldiers beat him on his head
AL-KHALIL, (PIC)– Israeli occupation forces (IOF) assaulted and battered a Palestinian man at Kharsa crossing, south of Al-Khalil, on Wednesday, local sources said. They said that 30-year-old Fahd Al-Awawda [= aforementioned Fahed Odeh, apparently] was taken to Al-Khalil government hospital after the soldiers beat him on his head with their rifle butts. His injuries were diagnosed as moderate.
Meanwhile, IOF troops stormed Kharsa and Karsa villages in Al-Khalil province and Al-Salam street in the city and searched vehicles and checked IDs.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7tlsdH5lrXcOFvfYfx%2bzgq4zY3sz6UTWa4dSogic90O9SgoMjqhphzAhpeaZnDL%2f7KBK4bkTTMtpG%2bynmzGhxfgHaJ57MJoWmpwJXp%2b%2bfRGU%3d

Settlers ‘torch land’ in northern West Bank
TULKAREM (Ma‘an) 29 May — Palestinian firefighters on Tuesday extinguished a blaze started by Israeli settlers near Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, civil defense officials said. Fire crews were called to Qaffin to put out a huge blaze which had damaged hundreds of acres of olive groves, the civil defense said in a statement. It said residents of the Israeli settlement Hermesh claimed to have started the fire to clear 100 acres of land [whose?], but that the blaze spread out of control.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=490290

Israeli forces detain Bethlehem man
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 30 May — …Shadi Maali, in his 30s, was detained in central Bethlehem [Wednesday morning], onlookers said. Troops also raided the Car Rental Company and Fawanees sweets shop, confiscating a computer and hardware from surveillance cameras, they said. An Israeli military spokeswoman said she would look into the incident. Meanwhile, she said forces detained five people in the central West Bank overnight, in Ramallah villages Shuqba, Deir Abu Mashal, Kharbatha al-Misbah, and two people in Azzun, near Qalqiliya.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=490624

Hebron: Israeli settlers occupy Palestinian home
ISM 30 May by ‘Sunny’ — On Wednesday, May 23, a group of Israeli settlers forcefully occupied the home of a Palestinian family near the illegal Tel Rumeida colony in the Palestinian city of Hebron. In an incident that lasted 3 hours, settlers forced their way into the house and began physically and verbally abusing the family. The family was evacuated by Israeli soldiers. The settlers then blocked the entrance, preventing the family from entering the premises — …At approximately 5:30 p.m., Muhammed’s wife, Merfat Muhammed Aburmeli, and 4 children, the eldest only 8 years old, were inside their new home located on the same road as the illegal Tel Rumeida settlement. The family was preparing to move furniture into the house. As the preparations were underway a group of 15 to 20 settlers no older than the age of 16 stormed into the house. The settlers immediately confronted the frightened family, insulting them and demanding that they leave the home. The young settlers repeatedly claimed that the land is theirs and that the Palestinian family has no right to live here. As well as the verbal barrage, the settlers began to violently push Muhammed’s wife and her children.
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/05/hebron-israeli-settlers-occupy-palestinian-home/

Left-wing activists clash with settlers, soldiers in West Bank
Ynet 30 May — Approximately 30 left-wing activists clashed with settlers in the West Bank settlement of Tekoa on Wednesday. Shorty after the confrontation began, IDF forces arrived. Police arrested three of the activists after they attacked several soldiers
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4236141,00.html

Gaza siege

Medics: Palestinian hurt by Israeli fire in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 30 May — A Palestinian man was moderately injured Tuesday evening by Israeli fire east of Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip, medical officials said.  The man, 29, who was not otherwise identified, suffered an injury to his right leg, said Gaza medical official Adham Abu Salmiya … Earlier, witnesses said Israeli forces entered the southern Gaza Strip and razed land. Bulldozers entered 200 meters into the enclave in the al-Qarara area and turned over land, locals told Ma‘an. The Israeli army makes frequent incursions to the area.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=490528

Israeli forces ‘seize 4 Gaza fishermen’
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 30 May — Israeli forces detained four Palestinian fishermen off the coast of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning, witnesses said. Israeli warships surrounded two fishing boats off Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza, forcing the fishermen off the vessels and taking them to an unknown destination, a Ma‘an correspondent said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=490619

Israeli army choppers open fire at residential quarters in southern Gaza
KHAN YOUNIS (PIC) 29 May — Israeli army choppers opened machinegun fire at residential quarters and cultivated land to the east of Khan Younis, south of Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. Local sources told the PIC reporter that the Israeli gunships fired at Qarara neighborhoods and land cultivated with wheat, which started fire in the crop.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7uQEIevOz8SNhhI7DSEKzYh4%2fAJaiJgu%2f1iGquNVrxHxuVCPskpZwciYvVNhytG3uHvwjr3Wv6UurkRIohgkVktKc5EV4K%2fadJzl%2fYa23sdg%3d

VIDEO: Israeli bulldozers destroying the Palestinian land in Qarara, northeast of Khan Younis, Gaza
posted by rosaingaza May 29, 2012. This morning I went to Qarara, north east of Khan Younis, south of Gaza Strip. The Israeli bulldozer were destroying the Palestinian land. In the area there were also jeeps and tanks. Then the Israeli soldiers started shooting. I made this video while the bulldozers were destroying the land. This is the Israeli occupation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbv7IiOUJ3U&feature=youtu.be

Egypt prevents aid convoy to Gaza
AMMAN / GAZA (PIC) 30 May — European activists have condemned the Egyptian rejection to implement the obtained regulatory approvals in order to reach the Gaza Strip through the Sinai Peninsula. The General Coordinator of the convoy “Right of Return”, Kevin Aovindan, stated, in a press conference held in trade unions headquarters in Amman yesterday, that the lack of clarity and the contrast in Egyptian officials’ positions prevented the arrival of the convoy to Gaza through the Egyptian borders. Aovindan said that the President of the convoy, the British MP George Galloway was in Cairo until May 15, and he left after he had got the Egyptian official approval for the passage of the convoy to the Gaza Strip through Rafah crossing, however Egypt reneged on its approvals.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian government in Gaza has received new commitments from its Egyptian counterpart to allow Qatari fuel to enter the besieged Gaza Strip during the next few days, after contacts between the Palestinian, Qatari, and Egyptian authorities.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7yRjBH2OkpjqIuze7ZNXQeRMLp5KmrJYZPg8dksMO7o3CzQ0OAaj5x2MCvyjUxqe6Y55hS4DUCAUpe0bTKZKxeOaguwfkYR3OB%2bRymhbZQYY%3d

A walk through a tunnel at the Rafah crossing into Gaza
RAFAH, Egypt (NY Times) 29 May by Ruqaya Izzidien — They stood just outside the gates of the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian side of the border with Gaza, a couple of inconspicuous Bedouin men waiting for people to be denied entry. As the disappointed travelers retreated, the Bedouins whispered from behind the gates: “You want to go to the tunnels? Fifty dollars.” Their gaze fixed on the Egyptian border police officers, who turn a blind eye to the Bedouins so long as they do not mention the tunnels within earshot. Technically illegal in Egypt, the tunnels lie at the heart of life and commerce here. Even though Gaza’s border with Egypt was officially reopened for travelers last year, Gaza still depends on the tunnels for most of the basics, like food, building materials and clothes, as well as luxuries like electronics, cars and even wedding dresses. The underground passageways are concealed in a ‘tunnel village’ that I set out to find. It was not all that hard: on the main road to the Rafah crossing, just turn left at the purple bougainvillea.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/world/middleeast/a-walk-through-a-tunnel-at-the-rafah-crossing-into-gaza.html?_r=1

Marmara anniversary ‘a milestone’ in struggle to end siege
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 30 May — Jamal Khudary, head of the popular committee against the siege, said the anniversary of killings on board the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara should refocus attention on the Gaza blockade … “The Marmara massacre marked a milestone in the Israeli siege of Gaza and showed the Palestinian people that the occupation has partially eased the siege in the face of international pressure”, he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=490840

Karem Abu Salem crossing open for a second day
IMEMC 30 May — Israel opened the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing on Wednesday morning allowing approximately 270-280 trucks into the Gaza Strip loaded with aid as well as supplies for the commercial and agricultural sectors. Raed Fattouh, chairman of the committee for the Coordination of the Entry of Goods into Gaza, said that 12 trucks loaded with cement and construction material, in addition to 52 trucks loaded with gravel will be used in implementing UNRWA construction projects, while 33 trucks loaded with gravel would be delivered for the benefit of projects run by the water authority.  Cooking gas will also be delivered despite certain limitations imposed by Israel, an issue that would render the allowed supplies insufficient.
http://www.imemc.org/article/63624

Amnesty says 4 Gaza men face execution
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 29 May — …The group said Nael Jamal Qandil Doghmosh could be executed at any time, by hanging, even though his family says he was tortured to make him to confess to murder. … According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, two other men face execution by hanging and firing squad. They have been identified only as F.T.W. and J.Z.J. and have no further appeals. A fourth man, identified only as A.M.A., was convicted of collaboration with Israel and murder. He has an appeal pending in a military court.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=490417

Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Apartheid

Palestinians see ‘sharp increase’ in demolitions
BBC 29 May by Jon Donnison, West Bank — “Wood-fired barbecue was our speciality. Delicious,” says Ramzi Kasiyah as he picks his way gingerly over a pile of rubble and twisted metal. Broken glass crackles under his feet. “We had a beautiful terrace. Now I have nothing.” Up until a few weeks ago Ramzi was the proud owner of the Palestinian Al Mukhrur restaurant just outside Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. Now he presides over what looks like a bomb site, a grey scar in a beautiful, small valley, still lush from the winter’s rains. At the beginning of May, Israeli forces flattened the restaurant. Ramzi shows me a mobile phone video of huge yellow diggers smashing through the roof, as he and his staff looked on helplessly. “12 years’ work was gone in 5 minutes,” he says … this is what Palestinians have called ethnic cleansing. The demolition of Palestinians’ homes and businesses carried out by Israel in the West Bank.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18247330

Palestinians to ask UN to recognize West Bank village as World Heritage site
Haaretz 30 May by Barak Ravid — PA seeks to protect Batir village, near Jerusalem, from the planned separation barrier, which is expected to destroy the village’s ancient agricultural terraces … UNESCO’s annual World Heritage convention is due to begin in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 24. The Palestinians, who were accepted as full members of UNESCO in October, will submit the request as an emergency procedure, allowing a swift resolution on a site that may be at risk. …
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinians-to-ask-un-to-recognize-west-bank-village-as-world-heritage-site.premium-1.433219

Palestinians evicted from homes in Jerusalem to make way for settlers’ biblical theme park / Allison Deger
Mondoweiss 30 May — Last week the Jerusalem municipality voted almost unanimously to bankroll a settler-managed sound and light show in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem. The tourist site will be located in the City of David, a biblical theme park privately administered by the rightist Elad Association, also known as the Ir David Foundation.  The theme park already offers an evening “sound and light show [that] is screened against the backdrop of the antiquities,”  as well as family-focused activities geared to visiting Jewish and Christian Zionists–3D movies, a Segway tour, “Jerusalem paintball,” and a pine cone-decorating workshop … In total the Elad Association has Judaized 55% of Silwan through 30 home evictions and has moved over 300 settlers into the neighborhood, according to a video on Silwan by the Alternative Information Center (AIC). In addition to the biblical theme park, the settler group also constructed a Jewish-only housing corridor that connects the City of David to the Western Wall, or East Jerusalem to West Jerusalem.
https://mondoweiss.net/2012/05/palestinians-evicted-from-homes-in-jerusalem-to-make-way-for-settlers-biblical-theme-park.html

Controversy over Jerusalem ‘Museum of Tolerance’ features in the ‘Daily Beast’ / Alex Kane
Mondoweiss 30 May –  The heated dispute over the building of a “Museum of Tolerance” by the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) on top of a historic Muslim cemetery shows no signs of letting up. As work on and around the site near Jerusalem’s Old City continues, an international coalition persists in their efforts to try and stop the building … In late March, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) released video footage suggesting that “continuing excavations” on the site where the “Museum of Tolerance” is being built in Jerusalem still contains “archaeological artifacts and human remains.” The Simon Wiesenthal Center claims that “bedrock has been reached on all portions of the site” were wrong, according to the CCR. In other words, construction on the site has continued to disturb the human remains of some of Jerusalem’s most storied figures and families.
https://mondoweiss.net/2012/05/controversy-over-jerusalem-museum-of-tolerance-featured-in-the-daily-beast.html

Sheikh Khatib slams soldiers’ raising of Israeli flag outside Dome of the Rock
NAZARETH (PIC) 30 May — Deputy head of the Islamic Movement in the 1948-occupied lands Sheikh Kamal Al-Khatib deplored the occupation forces for raising the Israeli flag opposite the Dome of Rock Mosque on Monday, describing it as a grave escalation … He noted that a few years ago, senior Jewish rabbis prohibited the Jews from entering the Aqsa Mosque and recently they turned into encouraging them to storm and defile the sanctity of the Mosque. “Moving from prohibition to encouragement and approval make us realize that an imminent danger is to happen to the Aqsa Mosque,” he added.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7i4eiOYl7yKEOJsSE4mY6HwWsIiWwyjsEYZX8BkkoRUdjExNV8S4bGqDbh94NoGnNdXPCbeIP8DEWcB2vLb2EoHCD4clnmCcJ9sHd%2faWJJeE%3d

Zionist plans to control the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem
NAZARETH (PIC) 29 May — Twenty MPs [MKs] have introduced in the Knesset a bill designed to control the Mount of Olives through a legal guardianship of the cemetery on the mountain where the occupation authorities planted  a large number of fake Jewish graves during the past period aiming to Judaize it. The MPs have launched the so-called Mount of Olives Authority Bill which aims to make the mount the first historical Jewish cemetery in the world, claiming that nobody currently oversees the cemetery of the mountain.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7fOuvfdhb%2bVL9B5NuLnKz2HIpEXgI0a1V9wqCxQANeqiwbeJp%2fB%2b5nZz4uuyvExwBcDBPStK8hmsFRQXvZGk2f2ZdTo03wNCEk69wKPLILJI%3d

Security for Israeli settlers, not for Palestinians / Aeyal Gross
Haaretz 29 May — Perhaps we should begin thinking of the Palestinians, too, as being entitled to security …  If Palestinians are prohibited from entering Israel because they are a security risk to Israelis – in my view, such a sweeping prohibition is wrong – Israelis should be prohibited from entering the territories because they are a security risk to Palestinians. From certain points of view, the security risk to Palestinians from Israelis is more serious than that to Israelis from Palestinians….
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/security-for-israeli-settlers-not-for-palestinians-1.433069?localLinksEnabled=false

Detainees

Prisoners feel betrayed, says official
RAMALLAH, May 30, 2012 (WAFA) – Prisoners who reached a deal with the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) on May 14 that ended their month-long hunger strike feel betrayed by Israel for not keeping its end of the bargain, Minister of Prisoners Issa Qaraqi said Wednesday. He told Voice of Palestine radio that the prisoners are thinking about going back on hunger strike if Israel persists in not honoring the terms of the agreement. According to Qaraqi, Israel reneged on not renewing administrative detention against Palestinian activists without clear evidence that would justify keeping them in detention. He said Israel renewed in the last few days administrative detention against around 30 administrative detainees, some of them lawmakers, without any apparent reason.
Meanwhile, two prisoners, Mahmoud Sirsik and Akram Rikhawi, continue on their hunger strike to protest their conditions in jail. The Palestinian Prisoners Club said Sirsik, who has been on hunger strike for 76 days, and Rikhawi, in his 50th day of hunger strike, are getting weaker every day they stay on strike and their health seems to have sharply deteriorated.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19937

Hamas: Renewal of administrative detention flagrant violation of agreement
GAZA (PIC) 30 May — Hamas has condemned the Israeli occupation authority’s renewal of administrative detention of Palestinian prisoners as flagrant violation of the agreement with those prisoners. The movement said in a statement on Wednesday that the recent renewal of administrative detention against eight prisoners including an MP would not dissuade the prisoners from their struggle to win their humanitarian rights.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7AewsKs5v15mVLB3cs7oroOzBLKorok95KOwaLSwPu4eSjJeOzuMiaxvUKu9U3UXkJig%2bpZLIkwgvlech0au4U6tLLmgenKsymcR15H83%2b7k%3d

Nafha prisoners refuse to receive relatives because of strip search
RAMALLAH (PIC) 30 May — Palestinian prisoners in Nafha jail refused on Wednesday to receive their visitors after they were subjected to humiliating strip search especially women, human rights sources said … The sources pointed out that the relatives were extremely angry at the humiliating behavior against them, and asked human rights organizations to intervene and check such practices.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7%2b%2bH3ieD3NKMLe3zT7XbgU2Ky%2fYKEPCe4bcHu2apU4kQKrIKpRQioJuDW1ODyHNyW3%2f73c0%2bM0JNb18lLKMV4CJBccNMlVRTTkcKuWI5zgr8%3d

Paper: 4,600 prisoners in Israeli jails, including 215 minors
GAZA, May 30, 2012 (WAFA) — A new paper by a researcher on Palestinian prisoners said Wednesday that there are currently 4600 Palestinians held in Israeli jails, including 215 minors. The paper by former prisoner Abdul Nasser Farwaneh said the prisoners include five women, including Lina Jarbouni, from inside Israel who has been serving more than 10 years in prison. The list also includes 302 administrative detainees, one held under the ‘illegal combatant’ law, 27 lawmakers, three former cabinet ministers and one former lawmaker. here are 463 prisoners from the Gaza Strip, 345 from Jerusalem and inside Israel, and the rest are from the West Bank. A total of 535 prisoners have been sentenced to at least one life term, 62 have been in prison for over 20 years and 22 held for over 25 years. There are also prisoners from several Arab countries, including Jordan, Syria and Egypt. he prisoners are held in 17 prisons and detention centers in Israel and the occupied territories. [End]
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19934

Detention of three Silwan youth extended, details of case withheld by court
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 30 May — The detention of three youth from Silwan was extended by the Jerusalem Magistrates Court until 3 June this week, with prosecutors’ request for more time to investigate charges against them granted. Muhannad al-Kawasmi (18), Ahmad Basboos (20) and Alaa’ al-Kaimery (20) will be held in Maskubya Prison in West Jerusalem for another week in response to the prosecution’s request for a further 10 days … Al-Kaimery, al-Kawasmi and Basboos were taken by Israeli forces during a dawn raid on their family homes. A fourth boy, Mansur Shyukhi was taken from his workplace in Silwan. Al-Kawasmi suffers from medical problems after losing his eye in clashes that took place in Silwan in 2010.
http://silwanic.net/?p=26964

Soldiers attack Palestinian detainees in Nafha
IMEMC 29 May — Palestinian Minister of Detainees, Issa Qaraqe‘, stated that Israeli soldiers of the Nachshon Brigade attacked Palestinian political prisoners in sections 13 and 14 of the Nafha prison in the Negev Desert while searching their beds, the Palestine News Network (PNN) reported. Qaraqe‘ said that the soldiers were provoking the detainees in an attempt to incite them, adding that the detainees have threatened to resume their open-ended hunger strike as this attack is a direct violation to Israel’s vow to halt all violations against the detainees.
http://www.imemc.org/article/63615

Israel’s military court sentences Palestinian protest leader to 13 months in jail / Amira Hass
Haaretz 29 May — Palestinian activist Bassam Tamimi was released after he was already arrested for 13 months during his trial, but was given a 17-month suspended sentence for next five years … The Palestinian activist was also given a two-month suspended sentence for the next two years, should he participate in a public protest, and was fined NIS 7,000 for his actions. Military prosecutor Captain Michael Avitan argued that Tamimi’s punishment should send a deterring message both to Tamimi and others.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-s-military-court-sentences-palestinian-protest-leader-to-13-months-in-jail-1.433191

Review: Lifting the veil of secrecy / Shazia Arshad
MEMO 28 May — Judicial Review of Administrative Detentions in the Israeli Supreme Court, by Shiri Krebs Vanderbilt Journal of Transitional Law, Vol. 45, No. 3, May 2012 — Shiri Krebs is currently a JSD candidate at Stanford Law School in the USA; between 2006 and 2010 she served as a legal advisor on international law matters in the chambers of Chief Justice Dorit Beinisch, President of the Israeli Supreme Court. Her paper looks at the system of judicial reviews of administrative detention within Israel, looking at all cases, those of Israeli citizens as well as Palestinian from the West Bank and Gaza, and foreign nationals.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/articles/middle-east/3804-lifting-the-veil-of-secrecy

Stolen lives of the young / Felicity Arbuthnot
Morning Star 30 May — Last week a sobering and highly informative closed-door seminar was held on the plight of Palestinian prisoners, in the elegant surroundings of London’s Westminster Central Hall, a stone’s throw away from the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey – all the affirmation of stability and continuity, in stark contrast to testimony at the proceedings of the meeting … Lord Alf Dubs, who serves on the parliamentary committee on human rights, talked of a visit to the West Bank last year. Unable to visit a prison, he did attend an Israeli military court and was shocked at what he witnessed.
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/119632

Islamic bloc calls for the release of student Akr from PA prisons
RAMALLAH (PIC) 30 May — The Islamic bloc in WB universities and institutions called on the PA security service to release immediately the student political prisoner in Junaid prison in the city of Nablus, Abd Allah Salem Akr, who went on an open hunger strike since Sunday. The bloc urged, in a statement on Tuesday, all the Palestinian students’ movements to press on and call for the student’s release, condemning the silence of human rights organizations and institutions toward his issue.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7y9VHOBtteth4DQMtoKtxbtJndeSdaQqkj7g5n9K3j7Xnrvo00XyAcH3DLvWISCSu2MjUcI1vcyhEUmz9220JJBfLy5bmhOE8dkTyTZvAV3Y%3d

Forum of journalists slam PA security for suppressing press freedom
GAZA (PIC) 30 May — The forum of Palestinian journalists strongly denounced the Palestinian authority preventive security agency for summoning journalist Suhaib Al-Asa for interrogation just one week after his release from an Israeli jail. In a press release on Tuesday, the forum said the PA preventive security ordered Asa to go to its headquarters in Bethlehem on Wednesday morning … The Israeli occupation forces released journalist Asa on Monday after four months in prison because of his press and media activities … It charged that the interrogation of journalist Asa confirmed further the collaboration and exchange of roles between the PA security agencies and the Israeli occupation.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7zAFz7sm9ksKKiFBZ0QwWvG5nmyz44ASmJLNg%2bOVGj3ym0cGz%2fgf5kq96DtzNy%2bYZqxaWraDnDCeRJ6f5CzkYB7FNogzptYDcUoVGRSLMIl0%3d

Repatriation of bodies

Israel to return 91 bodies on Thursday
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 30 May — The Palestinian Authority civil affairs minister said late Tuesday that Israel will return the bodies of 91 Palestinians buried in an Israeli cemetery on Thursday. Hussein al-Sheikh released a list of names agreed with Israel, whose remains will now be handed to the PA in what the minister described as the first stage of the return of 100 Palestinians … Last July, Israel agreed to release the remains of 84 Palestinians killed since 1967, and the PA civil affairs ministry released a list naming those who would be returned. But Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak intervened and blocked the transfer hours after Israel’s military confirmed that Netanyahu had approved the return of the bodies. Hundreds of Palestinians are currently interred in numbered, rather than named, graves in Israel.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=490580

Ceremony planned for return of bodies
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 30 May — A ceremony will be held Thursday at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah to mark the repatriation of the bodies of 91 Palestinians, the minister of detainee affairs said. Israel announced May 14 it would return 100 bodies interred in numbered graves as a “gesture” to President Mahmoud Abbas. Issa Qaraqe said 91 bodies will arrive at the compound at 3 p.m. Thursday, where a military honor ceremony will be held for the deceased, their families, attended by the president and PLO officials. The remains will then be transferred to families, including 12 bodies which will be sent to families in the Gaza Strip. Seventeen bodies will be buried in a mass grave in Ramallah because their families could not be identified, Qaraqe said.
The family of Nasser al-Buz, who is on the list of Palestinians to be returned, told Ma‘an they would demand a DNA test to verify his identity. Al-Buz, who founded the Black Panther military wing of Fatah, disappeared near the Jordanian order in 1989. Wanted for years, he was on his way to Jordan, his brother Ahmad told Ma‘an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=490737

Child anticipates visiting father’s grave for first time
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 30 May — Eleven-year-old Ibrahim Zoul had an exam on Wednesday morning but his mind was far from school, as he had just learned he will be able to place a flower on his father’s grave for the first time … Ibrahim was 2 years old when his father was killed. He only knows him from photographs and stories, but he tells his friends about his dad as if he had lived with him all his life, Mirvat Zoul said. Mahmoud Zoul was killed aged 22 on March 22, 2004, during a militant operation in Jerusalem. Israel kept his body, along with the remains of hundreds of Palestinians. His wife Mirvat works as a coordinator in a national campaign to return all the bodies of Palestinians kept by Israel … “I have been following the news about the cemetery of numbers for a long time and suffering greatly, especially when I hear about floods pulling bodies away or news about dogs tearing them out. All these reports affect us.” [said Mirvat]
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=490738

Members of ‘Savoy’ operation returning after 37 years
PNN 30 May — Israeli authorities will return the remains of seven of the martyrs who bombed [?! attacked with guns and grenades] the Savoy Hotel in Tel Aviv in 1975 on Thursday … Considered one of the most infamous operations in the history of the Palestinian resistance, what is now called “the Savoy operation” was carried out 4-5 March, 1975, when eight members of the PLO landed by boat on a Tel Aviv beach and stormed the hotel near the center of the city, taking hostage the guests of the hotel and demanding the release of 20 Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli counter-terrorism unit Sayeret Matkal killed seven of the perpetrators and captured one. The operation killed three Israeli soldiers, including the former head of Sayetet Matkal, and five hostages. The operation was planned by Khalil al-Wazir, more commonly known as Abu Jihad and the founder of Fatah, and was undertaken as revenge for a Seyaret Matkal raid conducted in Beirut, Lebanon in April 1973 that killed three PLO leaders.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/national/1790-members-of-savoy-operation-returning-after-37-years

Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions

Swiss giant to begin labeling settlement products
IMEMC 30 May — Migros, one of Switzerland’s largest enterprises, has announced that it will start labeling all Israeli settlement products in 2013, following the example of various countries around the globe. Migros spokeswoman stated that this was not a boycott of settlement products, they are merely informing their customers of the source of the products so they can then decide which products they would like to buy.  Migros’ decision is the latest in a string of decisions to mark settlement products by various countries such as South Africa and Ireland.
http://www.imemc.org/article/63618

BDS Switzerland: Migros decision to label settlement products welcome but insufficient
AIC 30 May — Migros has expressed an openness on the issue of lack of transparency of the labeling of products from the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), currently sold as “Made in Israel”. Although BDS Switzerland welcomes this position, which prevents confusion intentionally maintained by the state of Israel, this is unfortunately not enough. The suspension of all trade with Israeli companies established in the OPT, like the recent decision by the British company COOP distribution, shows the ability of large retailers to remain consistent with the ethical codes they have adopted . The international boycott against South Africa of apartheid has demonstrated the impact that civil actions and citizens, including the involvement of big companies, can have on a state that violates human rights. Given the ethical principles defended by Migros and the aura it enjoys in our country, BDS Switzerland, and the 12,000 signatories expect from it a copy and clear positioning for human rights.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/news/economy-of-the-occupation/4446-bds-switzlerland-migros-decision-to-label-settlement-products-welcome-but-insufficient.html

Palestinian envoy opposes pressure over boycott
Irish Times 30 May — THE PALESTINIAN ambassador to Ireland has said that while he personally supports calls for a cultural boycott of Israel, he is opposed to making artists feel pressured to participate in the protest.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0530/1224316913103.html

Political news

Israel’s Barak: Weigh ‘unilateral action’
JERUSALEM (AP) 30 May — There are signs the Israeli government is considering taking unilateral action if peace talks with the Palestinians remain stalled, a move which could involve a withdrawal from parts of the West Bank along the lines of a 2005 pullout from the Gaza Strip. Defense Minister Ehud Barak told a high-profile security conference on Wednesday that inaction is not an option and Israel cannot wait forever to reach an accord. “Israel cannot afford to tread water,” Barak said. If a deal “proves to be impossible, we have to consider a provisional arrangement or even unilateral action.” The statement reflected a growing sense of urgency in Israel about ending its 45-year entanglement with the Palestinians, even if no peace deal is possible … The new twist: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has grown increasingly vocal about the need to separate from the Palestinians, now has a broad coalition freeing him of nationalists who claim biblical rights to the West Bank.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h-hM1XhhRCZZxnnYUFGHR72Vb1bA?docId=3a406a380c1d4c7886d0b9f889b9dbd5

Presidency spokesman: Any Israeli unilateral measure is unacceptable
RAMALLAH, May 30, 2012 (WAFA) – Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh Wednesday told WAFA that any Israeli unilateral measure leading to the establishment of a state with temporary borders is unacceptable. Abu Rudeineh’s statements came in response to earlier statements by the Israeli Minister of Defence, Ehud Barak, that Israel should consider unilateral moves and withdrawal from the West Bank if negotiations with the Palestinians failed … He emphasized that the Palestinians are “committed to a just and comprehensive solution of a state within 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and without Jerusalem nothing will be accepted.”
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19939

Germany asks Israel for gesture on settlements
AFP 30 May — German President Joachim Gauck asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday for a gesture on the issue of West Bank settlements, which the international community define as illegal. “Germany and Europe would be grateful for any sign on the settlements issue. We regard this issue as key for the peace process,” a presidential spokesman quoted Gauck as telling his host. But Gauck assured Netanyahu that the close relationship between the two countries would remain steadfast.
http://news.yahoo.com/germany-asks-israel-gesture-settlements-200913060.html

Meeting between Abbas to finalize the formation of government
PNN 30 May — On Wednesday, 29th May, Palestinian sources said that Fatah and Hamas agreed to hold a meeting between the PA president Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshal in Cairo, to finalize and announce the Formation of the national censuses government. The same sources said that the PA president Abbas will lead the new government and he would decide on a date for presidential and parliamentary elections. Abbas and Mashal are the only persons to choose members of a technocratic government to oversee the election in the Palestinian territories.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/national/1786-meeting-between-abbas-meshal-to-finalize-the-formation-of-government

Official: CEC to register Gaza voters in July
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 29 May — The Central Elections Commission will start updating the electoral roll in the Gaza Strip on July 2, an official said Tuesday. CEC director Hisham Khail told Ma‘an the commission would open 274 centers in schools across Gaza to register voters after high school exams were completed … Nasser said voter registration would take six weeks and Abbas would then decide on a date for presidential and parliamentary elections.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=490339

Hamas accepts election monitors in Gaza Strip
The National (UAE) 30 May by Hugh Naylor — JERUSALEM // A substantial obstacle to repairing relations between Hamas and Fatah appears to have been cleared with the arrival of Palestinian election officials to the Gaza Strip. The Islamist group on Monday lifted a long-standing ban on the Central Elections Commission (Cec) operating in Gaza, granting its officials permission to begin preparing the territory’s 1.7 million residents for general elections. The decision allows the rival Palestinian factions to breathe life into the ailing reconciliation pact they signed more than a year ago in Cairo.
http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/hamas-accepts-election-monitors-in-gaza-strip

Bahar: PLC should convene to endorse new government
GAZA (PIC) 20 May — Acting speaker of the Palestinian legislative council Dr. Ahmed Bahar has said that a new Palestinian government should win confidence of the PLC or else be considered unconstitutional. Bahar said in a statement on Wednesday that any agreement on formation of that new government should be followed by a unified session for the PLC in Gaza and the West Bank.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7XPtk1MJKzRK8tagV1vDHcxIDi8z2AwsqWFbcQjrq%2fTJ2c2SJI3xheglFe%2b4kvBFbEGql%2f%2fZLTkkGrHkkbijj%2f42CA4%2fjFbx61248TAbt59M%3d

Israeli racism / discrimination

Second anti-migrant protest sparks tension in south TA
Ynet 30 May — Anti-migrant activists are again urging government to deport African infiltrators. An Israeli of Ethiopian descent was mistaken for an infiltrator and got hit. But there are voices of sanity: ‘I’m here to protest policy and make sure it doesn’t end in violence,’ one demonstrator says
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4236309,00.html

Kadima MK: Send human rights activists to prison camps
Ynet 29 May — During House Committee debate on illegal African migrants, MK Shamalov Berkovich says some leftists would ‘gladly transfer settlers, haredim and keep infiltrators here’ … “Those hypocrites,” the Kadima member said of human rights activists who are aiding foreign migrants, “I would imprison them all for incitement and for pitting Jews against Jews.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4235732,00.html

Border Guard patrolwomen leave base over sexist policies
Ynet 30 May — Female soldiers charged with patrolling the Cave of the Patriarchs go AWOL, protesting that they don’t receive the same benefits as their male colleagues. Border Guards: We’re looking into improving terms of service for patrolwomen … The soldiers in question patrol the Cave of the Patriarchs for the Border Guards but actually serve under the auspices of the IDF’s Judea and Samaria Division. They patrol both the Jewish and Muslim sides of the cave and are expected to sacrifice themselves to thwart any potential terror attack should the occasion require it.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4236352,00.html

Segregation and discrimination in municipal services of Jerusalem
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 30 May — Institutional discrimination continues in Jerusalem especially in Silwan as Municipality rubbish collection workers continue to collect waste from Israeli settlers in in Silwan, while ignoring the mounting piles of garbage of tax-paying Palestinian residents. Palestinian residents of Silwan are forced to burn their garbage, with Municipality workers stating that they have no order to collect their waste on their weekly rounds. Meanwhile, the City of David settlement in Wadi Hilweh district of Silwan is serviced by both public collection and private waste disposal companies. Palestinian residents of Jerusalem pay taxes to the Municipality but receive no public services in return
http://silwanic.net/?p=26956

Violent Arab ghetto shows Israel’s seamy underside
Reuters 30 May — Arab rapper says crime pollution in mixed Arab-Jewish city of Lod ‘hits everybody; nobody has immunity.’ Head of City Without Violence initiative: When Arabs start to move into Jewish neighborhood, Jews start to move out … Residents, police, government officials, academics and social workers agree conditions in the areas where Arabs live have reached a crisis point, with poor schools and infrastructure fueling crime and drug abuse. Arab residents and analysts say that Israel’s government and the police have ignored the problem because it has stayed within the Arab community and the country’s Jewish population is largely unaffected.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4236260,00.html

Sudanese housekeeper nearly ‘lynched’ in Eilat
Ynet 29 May –  Abdullah Abuya, 40, from Darfur, is lying beaten and injured in his house in Eilat, after he was allegedly attacked by seven young guests at the Club Hotel where he works. “It happened last Saturday,” Abuya told Ynet on Tuesday. “At 7 pm I was asked to deliver towels and soap to one of the rooms. While I was in the hallway, two men stopped me and asked me to give them the towels. I told them that they were reserved for other guests, and that they can call the front desk and ask for whatever they needed. In response, the two attacked me with their fists,” Abuya recalled, adding that after he fell on the floor, “five of their friends joined them and they all beat me together...” According to Abuya, many hotel guest witnessed the attack, which lasted more than 10 minutes, but did nothing to stop the assailants.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4235642,00.html

Israeli suppression of dissent

Jerusalem protesters stopped in their tracks by light rail as Zion Square declared off limits
Haaretz 29 May — Venue has long been the site of protests that have, in essence, mirrored the history of the state … Reuven Abargil, one of the founders of the Israeli Black Panthers, remembers the beating he took in Zion Square …. “The right, the religious and the establishment can protest. There will soon be no place left for us to protest in Jerusalem. Independence Park bothers the American Consulate, the Convention Center disrupts the concerts. What’s left? They want everybody to stay indoors and cry alone,” Abargil said.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/jerusalem-protesters-stopped-in-their-tracks-by-light-rail-as-zion-square-declared-off-limits-1.433033

‘Ban on use of Nazi terms violates free speech’
Ynet 29 May — Justice Committee’s legal advisor says legislation aimed at outlawing public use of swastikas, Holocaust-related epithets ‘ban use of entire category of expressions’
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4235641,00.html

Other news

Israel extends monopoly over oil/gas supply to West Bank and Gaza: PA quiet
IMEMC 30 May — Two Israeli oil companies have signed 2 year contracts which will supply all of the gas fuel requirements of the West Bank and Gaza Strip thus extending Israel’s monopoly and strategic leverage over the Palestinian Authority and the lives of Palestinians … This dependence on Israel for its fuel supply has huge strategic implications for the Palestinian Authority’s freedom of action and the living conditions of Palestinians. And yet, as reported by Charlotte Silver on electronicintifada.net on May 11, the Palestinian Authority appears silent about Israel’s exclusive control over the distribution of fuel to the occupied the Occupied Territories and to the Palestinian population despite the fact that the West Bank and Gaza Strip should be able to import cheaper petrol/fuel from oil-rich neighbors and alleged allies, or tap into gas reserves off the coast of Gaza.
http://www.imemc.org/article/63620

Israeli firms sign fuel deal with PA
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma‘an) 29 May — Israeli firms on Monday announced they had signed a two-year deal to provide oil to the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported. The deal between Oil Refineries, Petrochemical Industries and the PA is valued at 1.9 billion shekels ($491 million), according to the report. ORL said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange the deal is for two years beginning Oct. 1. ORL will provide 50 percent of the Palestinians’ fuel needs in a deal that can be cancelled up to 90 days in advance, Reuters reported separately. This is the first time ORL, Israel’s largest refinery and a subsidiary of Israel Corp, will be selling fuel to the Palestinians.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=490286

‘Reserves on verge of collapse’
Ynet 29 May — Ahead of special Knesset session on Reserve Forces, 15 regiment commanders warn PM, defense minister that continued government’s failures will soon bring about the corps’ collapse … The military, the letter cautioned, “Has forgotten how to train for elementary things, because there it’s not in the budget. We are sorely lacking in training days and the troops are worn out. In five years, you won’t find officers willing to become more than company commanders. You will lose the professional advantage.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4235267,00.html

Christian villages attempt to revive ancient Biblical language
AP 28 May – In both the Galilee and the West Bank, Christian communities are putting a new focus on Aramaic, with a little help from a Swedish television channel — Two villages in the Holy Land’s tiny Christian community are teaching Aramaic in an ambitious effort to revive the language that Jesus spoke, centuries after it all but disappeared from the Middle East … In the Palestinian village of Beit Jala, an older generation of Aramaic speakers is trying to share the language with their grandchildren. Beit Jala lies next to Bethlehem, where the New Testament says Jesus was born. And in the Arab-Israeli village of Jish, nestled in the Galilean hills where Jesus lived and preached, elementary school children are now being instructed in Aramaic.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/christian-villages-attempt-to-revive-ancient-biblical-language-1.432932

Vandals desecrate ancient Tiberias synagogue; authorities suspect Haredim
Haaretz 30 May — The fourth-century Hamat Tiberias Synagogue was desecrated Monday night by vandals who sprayed graffiti on the walls and tore up the mosaic floor. The Israel Antiquities Authority suspects extremist ultra-Orthodox Jews who say the authority damages ancient graves during excavations … Similar acts have been carried out at other archaeological sites … One employee burst into tears yesterday when viewing the vandals’ work. “Afghanistan is right here,” another added … Ben Yosef added that the synagogue was “probably the site where the Jerusalem Talmud was completed”
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/vandals-desecrate-ancient-tiberias-synagogue-authorities-suspect-haredim-1.433220

Haredim protest damage to graves; 6 arrested
Ynet 30 May — Six ultra-Orthodox men were arrested for disrupting infrastructure works taking place near Habakkuk’s Tomb in the Galilee. The offenders claimed they were trying to prevent the desecration of Jewish graves located in the area … According to the police, the protesters called members of the construction crew “robbers” and interrupted their work. The officers who responded on the scene arrested six of the protesters, aged 25-30, all of whom reside in central Israel.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4236339,00.html

U.S.

Glenn Greenwald: Obama’s secret kill list “the most radical power a government can seize”
Democracy Now 30 May — The New York Times revealed this week that President Obama personally oversees a “secret kill list” containing the names and photos of individuals targeted for assassination in the U.S. drone war. According to the Times, Obama signs off on every targeted killing in Yemen and Somalia and the more complex or risky strikes in Pakistan. Individuals on the list include U.S. citizens, as well teenage girls as young as 17 years old. “The President of the United States believes he has the power to order people killed — in total secrecy, without any due process, without transparency or oversight of any kind,” says Glenn Greenwald, a constitutional law attorney and political and legal blogger for Salon.com. “I really do believe it’s literally the most radical power that a government and president can seize, and yet the Obama administration has seized [it] and exercised it aggressively with little controversy.” [Includes rush transcript]
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/5/30/glenn_greenwald_obamas_secret_kill_list

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