Violence against Palestinian citizens of Jerusalem is increasing — B’Tselem

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Violence / Raids / Arrests

Police violence against Jerusalem’s Palestinian citizens increases
MEMO 23 Aug — The Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories said on Thursday that Israeli police violence against Jerusalem’s Palestinian citizens is increasing. B’Tselem confirmed that it has documented dozens of incidents in which police officers used excessive violence. Commenting on the assault on Talal al-Sayyad by Israeli police using electric-stun guns, B’Tselem said that such attacks are classified as increasing and deliberate violence by the Israeli police. “Israeli police spray huge amounts of pepper gas at the faces and eyes of Jerusalem citizens and they also use stun guns which are only supposed to be used against dangerous persons,” added the human rights group in a written statement. B’Tselem has documented many attacks and filed complaints with the authorities but has faced “official Israeli inaction regarding investigations against police officers”. Talal al-Sayyad was attacked by Israeli police using stun guns, which caused a neurological spasm, when he tried to protect some children from attack by officers using the same weapon in a park in west Jerusalem.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/4205-police-violence-against-jerusalems-palestinian-citizens-increases

Group: Palestinian hospitalized after Israel police beating
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 23 Aug — A Palestinian man from East Jerusalem is in hospital after he was severely beaten by undercover Israeli police forces, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said Thursday. Mohammad Mahmoud Abdullah, 20, from al-Issawiya, is in Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital with fractures to his skull and ribs and an injured eye, the PPS said in a statement. Abdullah told PPS that Israeli police handcuffed and blindfolded him before attacking him. They also took photos with him before detaining him, he said, according to the group.  Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld did not return a call seeking comment.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=513954

Video: Palestinian man repeatedly tasered by Israeli police in front of his children
Haaretz 24 Aug — Watch a video of the incident that took place in Tel Aviv’s Meymadion Water Park — A Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem complained to the Justice Ministry department that investigates police misconduct on Thursday after a police officer shocked him five times with an electric stun gun in front of his five children on Tuesday. The Palestinian, 42-year-old Talal Siad of the A-Tur neighborhood, was shot while out with his family at a Tel Aviv water park celebrating the Id al-Fitr holiday. Siad checked himself into the hospital suffering from burns and nausea. The incident took place after Tel Aviv police were called to Meymadion Water Park to control a brawl. Officers used pepper spray to subdue one of the participants. Siad, who was not involved in the brawl, attracted the officers’ attention by telling them they were using the irritant too freely … The officers wanted to arrest the boy who was seen naked in the closed-circuit television system. He fell down and they sprayed him in the face. “I saw them repeat that action several times, and then got up with my 3-year-old in my arms and shouted at them to stop. I told the policeman, ‘What are you doing? You’re killing those kids,’ and he told me to leave. I said, ‘You’re being unreasonable, you go away.'” In response, Siad said, the policemen threatened him with the Taser. “I shouted, ‘Do you want to shoot me?’ and then he shot me in the stomach,'” Siad added.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/palestinian-man-repeatedly-tasered-by-israeli-police-in-front-of-his-children.premium-1.460398

Soldiers attack family in Jerusalem, elderly woman wounded
IMEMC 23 Aug — Palestinian medical sources in Jerusalem reported that an elderly Palestinian woman was wounded, on Wednesday evening, after Israeli soldiers attacked her and her family, in Atarot area north of Jerusalem, and kidnapped two family members. The Palestinian News & Info Agency, WAFA, reported that Israeli soldiers attacked members of Al-Bazian family and hurled gas bombs at their home. Resident Sobeh Al-Bazian, 66, suffocated after inhaling gas and was moved to Hadassah Israeli Hospital in the city. The soldiers went on to kidnap two members of her family. Bilal Yousef al-Bazian, the son of Sobeh, said that the attack was unprovoked and fast, as the soldiers attacked the young men of the family and sprayed them with gas before kidnapping Talal Yousef al-Bazian, 40, and Yousef Zuheir al-Bazian, 23. Bilal added that soldiers attacked his mother who tried to defend her sons, and her grandson, “but the soldiers did not show any respect to her age; they threw her on the ground and sprayed her with gas”. His mother was hospitalized suffered suffering bruises and pain in her back.
http://www.imemc.org/article/64109

Profiles of child arrests in Beit Ommar
PSP 23 Aug — In 2011, 370 children from the village of Beit Ommar were arrested and imprisoned by Israeli forces. According to figures from the Palestinian ministry, this made up approximately half of all child arrests in the West bank for that period. These children, all under the age of eighteen, were usually snatched from their homes in midnight raids by the IDF in terrifying circumstances, intended to provoke fear in the children and their families. Here we will examine the cases of three such children who were taken in circumstances such as these.
Mohammed Yousef Awad was arrested on April 1st, 2011. Soldiers smashed the doors and windows of his family home and threw tear gas canisters in. Through loud-hailers they ordered the inhabitants out into the night and, when Mohammed emerged, they beat him, bound his hands and blindfolded him, before taking him away into the night. Police dogs were also present to prevent his escape. Such a scene seems excessive for all but the most hardened criminal or dangerous terrorist. Mohammed, however, was a thirteen year old child. He spent five months in prison.
http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/2012/08/23/profiles-of-child-arrests-in-beit-ommar/

Medics: Settler runs over child in Hebron
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 22 Aug — An Israeli settler on Wednesday ran over a Palestinian child in Hebron’s Old City, medics said. Red Crescent official Nasser Qabaja told Ma‘an the girl was taken to an Israeli hospital by an Israeli ambulance at the request of her parents. Qabaja said she was moderately injured. An Israeli military spokeswoman said Israeli forces had evacuated the girl and that the matter was in the hands of the Israeli police. [IMEMC says it appeared to be a ‘ramming’ attack]
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=513787

Palestinian victim of hate attack leaves hospital
AFP 23 Aug — The Palestinian victim of a hate attack in Jerusalem last week was released from hospital on Thursday, as Israeli police carried on a probe into the violence which nearly cost the teenager’s life. A spokeswoman for Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital told AFP that Jamal Julani, 17, was released since his condition was satisfactory. Julani and three cousins, residents of Israeli-annexed Arab east Jerusalem, were attacked by dozens of Israeli youths early last Friday in Zion Square in Jerusalem’s busy bar and entertainment district. Press reports said hundreds of onlookers failed to intervene. After the attack, Julani was rushed unconscious to hospital.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP that eight suspects have so far been detained, seven aged between 13 and 17 and one 19-year-old. One of two female suspects has been released to be kept under home arrest, while the others remain in custody as the police investigation continues, Rosenfeld said. “Further arrests will be made,” he added.
Prior to leaving hospital, Julani was visited by Israel‘s parliamentary speaker Reuven Rivlin, who apologised for the unchecked racial violence in Israel. “I came in the name of the state of Israel to apologise and express my anger over what happened,” he said. “This evil comes from insufficient education. Unfortunately, more and more youth think that hate and racial violence are permissible,” said Rivlin. “Up until today, we looked the other way, we said it’s marginal youth, it will pass, we paid lip service. But it is time to stop blurring things,” his office quoted him as saying…
President Shimon Peres said he was “full of shame” over the incident, and Education Minister Gideon Saar ordered that classes and discussions on the attack be held in schools next week.
http://news.yahoo.com/palestinian-victim-hate-attack-leaves-hospital-163548692.html

Jerusalem lynch victim ‘not afraid’
Ynet 23 Aug — Arab teen who was brutally attacked by Jewish teens released from hospital, says ‘not afraid to return to Zion Square’ — …The teen learned the details of the attack from the media and from people who visited him at the hospital. “I am not afraid of going downtown. I will continue to visit the Zion Square area – where I was attacked. I plan to live my life as usual; I didn’t harm anyone,” he said. The teen’s parents, who have six other children, said he would begin the school year as planned. “I won’t allow my children to walk around the (Zion Square) area. They are not looking to take their revenge or beat anyone up. All we want is for our son to meet his younger brothers. They haven’t seen each other in a week.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4272366,00.html

PA minister: Settler violence undermines peace process
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 23 Aug — Israeli violations against Palestinians are encouraging violence and harming the peace process, the Palestinian Authority minister of religious affairs said Wednesday.  Mahmoud Habbash’s remarks came as he visited the family of victims who were targeted by settlers in a Molotov attack a week earlier near Hebron in the southern West Bank. Representing the president, Habbash told the family of the victims that Mahmoud Abbas would follow up with their case and intended to pay for their pilgrimage to Mecca … Habbash was accompanied by the head of PA general intelligence and the commander of the national security forces as well as the governor of Bethlehem. The attack near al-Arrub refugee camp injured two four-year-olds and their parents. The victims have been hospitalized in Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem and are receiving treatment for burns.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=513611

Israeli forces arrest 9 across the West Bank
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 22 Aug — Israeli forces arrested nine people overnight Tuesday, Israel’s army and local Palestinian sources said.
Three people were detained in Nablus, five in Beit Awwa, Hebron, and one person in Hebron city, an Israeli army spokeswoman said. Ramadan Mustafa Shaheen, Eyad Issa Marouf, 22, and Mahmoud Gamal al-Samhan, 22, were arrested at around 2 a.m. as Israeli forces raided several homes in Nablus, witnesses told Ma‘an. Clashes erupted between locals and Israeli soldiers near the Ein Beit el Mai refugee camp, west of Nablus, witnesses added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=513633

IOF troops kidnap child from his home
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 23 Aug — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnapped a Palestinian child from his home in the Old City of Al-Khalil [Hebron] on Wednesday, local sources said. They said that the 13-year-old Hamza Sharaf was taken to the Kiryat Arba settlement’s police station on the charge of throwing stones at IOF soldiers. Meanwhile, IOF soldiers installed roadblocks at entrances to various Al-Khalil villages.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7ylkMho%2fJNsTs4z%2b6dM%2bZnsvOqcYrPUfjBNoyo%2fXYdasJhxdvAgJ7iyYtLWaE2NEkvX7mzPN%2bq38dEpK2PRkk7tdoo4dbYK1y5eWDjCsvWUE%3d

IOF arrests four Palestinians
RAMALLAH (PIC) 23 Aug — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested at dawn Thursday four Palestinians from the West Bank and took them to an unknown destination.
In Bethlehem, a large Israeli military force broke into the village of Battir west of the city, where they set up a barrier at its entrance. The IOF soldiers stormed a number of houses and arrested Abdul Auana, 24, and took him to an unknown destination, the PIC reporter said.
In Jenin, members of a special unit in the Israeli army, disguised in plain clothes, arrested Tariq Ibrahim Abu Shadouf, 22, after they sneaked into the town of Burkin [Burqin] southwest of the city, local sources affirmed.
In Al-Khalil, local sources reported that the Israeli occupation forces arrested Massoud Mustafa Akhalil, 19, from the town of Beit Ummar north of the city, after searching his house and damaging its contents, and took him to the Etzion army camp.
On the other hand, occupation forces set up a checkpoint in Beit ‘Anoun northeast of Al-Khalil, checking the citizens’ vehicles and identities.
In Tulkarm, Israeli forces arrested a young man from the village of Saida, northwest of the city, Asim Wasif, 22 , after storming his house and searching other houses in the town.
Furthermore, IOF summoned the liberated prisoner Salah Abdul Ghani for questioning at the intelligence headquarters.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7zmlWWphK1JnvhHVym5Y5XCv1FF%2fpoeXUzNZkav9NIkphB3wwpVwkqeRIuP3eLm2c6Q9yIThrBJupEmODiT3NO%2fhYCSXc1YmM5Nz8AOp82Ks%3d

Eight months after bloody olive harvest battle, still no justice in sight / Amira Hass
Haaretz 22 Aug — Soldiers allegedly watched as Palestinians and Israelis were clubbed in olive field, but probe hangs in the air — On Friday, October 21, 2011, A., 61, joined Combatants for Peace and international activists to accompany olive harvesters in the West Bank village of Jalud. For ten years, Israelis had prevented villagers from reaching their groves. This time, the villagers hoped their escorts would afford them and their harvest a measure of protection.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/eight-months-after-bloody-olive-harvest-battle-still-no-justice-in-sight.premium-1.459838#

Jerusalemite faces decades in prison
IMEMC 22 Aug — Samer Issawi was freed from Israeli prison after last year’s exchange of a captured Israeli soldier for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. But today he is awaiting hearings in two Israeli courts, Ofer military court in the occupied West Bank and Israeli Magistrates Court in Jerusalem. According to Samer’s father, his son is one of nine prisoners arrested after being freed in last year’s prisoner exchange deal.
…in October of last year Issawi was released along with 476 Palestinian prisoners as a result of an Egypt-brokered deal between Hamas and the Israeli government. Prisoners rejected movement restrictions. Jerusalemite prisoners refused to sign the pledge at first, rejecting a condition that restricted their movement to inside Jerusalem. “The Egyptian ambassador in Tel Aviv visited the prisoners,” recounted Tareq Issawi, Samer’s father. “He told them that these are just formalities and there will be no restrictions on their movement.”
After the ambassador’s promise, Samer signed the deal and was released. But on 7 July 2012, he was arrested in a location between the Palestinian village of Hizma and the Jewish-only settlement Adam, an area within the boundaries of the municipality of Jerusalem. Israel claimed that Samer broke the deal by leaving Jerusalem. “What is Jerusalem for the Israelis?” wondered Tareq. “Whenever it suits them, they change their definition of Jerusalem! Kufr Aqab is within the jurisdiction of the municipality of Jerusalem.
http://www.imemc.org/article/64100

7 detainees injured in Ramon Prison, several sent to solitary confinement
IMEMC 23 Aug — The detainees clashed with the soldiers for approximately two hours after the army tried to force them to undergo a strip search in Ramon prison. Seven detainees were injured, and several detainees were sent to solitary confinement. Palestinian Minister of detainees, Issa Qaraqe‘, reported that the soldiers punched the detainees and hit them with batons before using gas against them. The army also cut power and water supplies before completely isolating sections 6 and 7; the army said that the two sections will remain isolated for a minimum of two days.
http://www.imemc.org/article/64105

Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing

Army to confiscate lands near Tulkarem
IMEMC 24 Aug — Israeli soldiers handed, Thursday, several residents of the Kufr Jamal village, south of the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem, military orders informing them that the army intends to confiscate large areas of their farmlands. The Palestine News & Info Agency, WAFA, reported that the soldiers came to villagers’ lands while they were planting them, and handed them warrants and maps setting the lands that the military intends to confiscate. The soldiers also told the residents that they will be coming back in the coming few days in order to “tour again in the area to mark the lands that will be confiscated”. The lands in question are in Basin #6, privately owned Palestinian lands planted with fruits and vegetables. They are located close to the illegal Kochav Yair settlement that was built on lands that belong to residents of Falamia and Jayyous villages.
http://www.imemc.org/article/64115

New Israeli demolition orders against six homes in Al-Khalil
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 23 Aug — The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Wednesday handed six Palestinians demolition orders issued against their homes in the towns of Beit Ummar and Shiyukh Al-Aroub, north of Al-Khalil city.
A reporter for the Palestinian information center (PIC) said Israeli soldiers told two Palestinian natives in Beit Ummar that their homes under construction would be razed at the pretext they were unlicensed.
Other four citizens in Shiykh Al-Aroub town also received Israeli threats to demolish their homes.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7qI8axabZ90uebv%2bJ%2fg%2fRKovq4%2blNibZZpmYxEIh3JjpPsuQLW%2bfAmeglHeNk5oO1pgSeof%2bjhi8pQZ1RSyxtCj2ZpCe50tWsbabaDT7BNwQ%3d

Report: Israel to evict Jericho farmers
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 22 Aug — Israeli authorities on Wednesday handed out eviction orders to farmers near Jericho in the central West Bank, the PA’s official news site reported. Farmers in Deir Hajla and al-Zour were ordered to evacuate 3,000 dunums of land within 45 days, Wafa reported. Ahmad al-Fares, head of the agriculture department in Jericho, said the land belonged to the Waqf, the Muslim religious trust, and had been leased to farmers for decades.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=513758

Army confiscates Palestinian tractors in the Jordan Valley
IMEMC 23 Aug — On Wednesday, Israeli soldiers invaded Bardala village, in the northern plains area of the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank, confiscated three agricultural tractors that belong to Palestinian farmers, and imposed heavy fines on the owners. Aref Daraghma, head of Wadi Al-Maleh village council, reported that the army claimed that the residents “have no permission to plant in the area”. Daraghma added that, over the past two months, the army confiscated more than 24 Palestinian tractors in the area, and also confiscated 14 water tanks used by the residents for irrigation. The army also imposed very high fines on the villagers. Furthermore, Daraghma stated the Israeli violations in the area are aimed at forcing the residents to abandon their lands, especially since the lands are close to an Israeli military base, and the army is likely trying to confiscate them under the pretext of “military and security considerations”.
http://www.imemc.org/article/64113

Soldiers destroy Palestinian car in Hebron
IMEMC 21 Aug — Palestinian sources reported that Israeli soldiers smashed, Sunday, the windshield of a Palestinian car that was parked in the center of Hebron city, in the southern part of the West Bank, and used a metal barrier to smash its doors. The car was parked at the entrance of the Old City of Hebron; Israeli soldiers smashed its windshield after claiming that “the car was parked near a settler’s outpost” in Ash-Shuhada Street.  The soldiers further used a metal barrier in smashing the doors and trunk of the car before forcing its owner to move it to a different location, away from the illegal settler outpost.
http://www.imemc.org/article/64089

Settlers plant Palestinian land illegally annexed 3 months ago
IMEMC 23 Aug — A group of Israeli settlers planted, on Thursday morning, Palestinian land that they illegally took over three months ago, near Al-Khader town, in the Bethlehem district. Coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the Wall in Al-Khader, Ahmad Salah, said that the settlers were seen planting 5 dunams of farmland that they illegally occupied three months ago, the Palestine News & Info Agency (WAFA) reported. After noticing Salah and members of the Committee who were touring the area, the settlers ran away, but returned later on in a larger group accompanied by dogs, and forced them away. Salah added that the land belongs to resident Suleiman Hammad Salah, and is located in Ein Al-Qassis area, west of Al-Khader. Salah added that the Ein Al-Qassis area is subject to frequent attacks by the settlers who recently stepped-up their assaults against the resident sand their lands in order to expand and construct illegal outposts. He also stated that the residents are facing obstacles in harvesting their grapes due to the escalated attacks carried out by the settlers.
http://www.imemc.org/article/64111

Settlers ‘attempt to set fire’ to cars in Nablus village
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 22 Aug — Settlers attempted to set fire to two cars and wrote racist slogans in a Nablus village on Wednesday, a Palestinian Authority official said. Ghassan Doughlas, who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma‘an that settlers from Itamar raided the village of Awarta and poured petrol over cars belonging to Nidal Qawariq and Eyah Qawariq. The settlers also sprayed racist slogans on several walls in the village but failed to ignite the petrol before fleeing, Doughlas said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=513651

Settlers ‘break into’ Solomon’s Pools near Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 22 Aug — A group of settlers broke into Solomon’s Pools near Bethlehem on Wednesday, a local committee coordinator said. Over 70 settlers accompanied by Israeli forces entered the area via the northern section of Um-Rukbeh, Ahmad Salah said. The settlers were from Efrat and have been known to perform religious ceremonies at the pools area, Salah added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=513667

West Bank outpost residents: Migron deal endangers settlement enterprise
Haaretz 23 Aug — Residents of the West Bank outpost of Givat Assaf have sent a letter to neighboring residents of the outpost of Migron, blaming them for harming the settlement enterprise and saying that their actions will bring about the evacuation of additional West Bank outposts. Givat Assaf is located near Migron on privately owned Palestinian land, with the exception of a small residential area that they claim was recently purchased. The outpost was set to be evacuated by the end of June, but the state has requested that the High Court of Justice postpone the evacuationto the end of January. The letter, sent by the residents of Givat Assaf to the residents of Migron ahead of the High Court’s final decision on the evacuation of Migron on Tuesday, shows the different approaches taken by the settlers – one that favors a compromise with the state versus another, which is more militant.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/west-bank-outpost-residents-migron-deal-endangers-settlement-enterprise.premium-1.460317

Report: ’42 years later, Al-Aqsa Mosque still targeted’
IMEMC 22 Aug — The Higher Islamic Committee and the Islamic Waqf Department in occupied Jerusalem, issued a statement commemorating the 43rd anniversary of burning the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem by an Australian [Christian] fundamentalist, and said that the Mosque and all holy sites in Palestine are still facing ongoing and escalating threats by Israeli extremists and fundamentalists. The Al-Aqsa Mosque was burnt on August 21, 1969, by Australian extremist, Michael Rohan, who set the mosque ablaze and the fires totally consumed the historic Salah Ed-Deen Bench, and the southeastern roof of the mosque. 1500 square/meters of the total 4400 square/meters of the mosque were burnt. The Committee and the Waqf department said that the assaults are ongoing and escalating as extremist groups continue to break into the mosque while Israel continues its excavations under the mosque shaking its foundations.
http://www.imemc.org/article/64099

Arson attack on Islamic center in Jaffa on Eid
MEMO 22 Aug — The headquarters of the Yaffa Islamic Club has been attacked by Jewish settlers who set fire to the inside of the building on Shivtei Israel Street in Jaffa. The arson attack took place on Sunday, the day of Eid commemorating the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. As with other Muslim organisations around Israel, occupied Palestine and the rest of the world, the club had arranged for an Eid celebration to take place after the evening prayers. Instead, the club’s members found themselves having to clear up after the attack by settlers, who had issued threats to the building in advance. Despite this, the Israeli police have not apprehended or charged anyone over the attack. Witnesses told the local media that they believe the arsonists to be the same people who issued the warning notice.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/4190-arson-attack-on-islamic-centre-in-jaffa-on-eid

Could a new regime in Syria be good for the Golan Heights?
MAJDAL SHAMS, 21 August 2012 (IRIN) – While conflict rages just kilometers away in Syria, the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights remains quiet. But there are signs that the 17-month old conflict has touched the area’s Arab residents. In Majdal Shams, the area’s largest Arab village, blood-red graffiti reads: “Stop killing the Syrian people.” When the conflict in Syria began last year, the Golan Heights was still largely supportive of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is accused of killing thousands of Syrians in the fight against the rebels. Now, locals say it’s about a 50-50 split. But while the Druze communities become increasingly divided over the conflict in their homeland, they say they are determined to stay united in the face of the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights. And some Arab residents feel that a change in Syria’s government could put the Golan back on the national and regional agenda.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96146/ISRAEL-SYRIA-Could-a-new-regime-in-Syria-be-good-for-the-Golan-Heights

Restriction of movement

A day at the beach / Gideon Levy
Haaretz 23 Aug — Ask any prisoner what he dreamt about behind bars, and he’ll answer: the sea. Now they were here, thousands of the trapped, rejoicing in their freedom — At first it seemed like a fantasy, a summer daydream, but there they were: thousands of Palestinians frolicking on Tel Aviv’s beaches. I thought perhaps I was hallucinating: An Israeli lifeguard was yelling through the megaphone in Arabic, fearing for the safety of the bathers from Jenin and advising them to drink lots of water. Municipal inspectors in their orange shirts were sweeping the beach, probably the first time in history that Jews have cleaned up after Arabs. It was a sea of Arabs on the seashore of the first Hebrew city, with nary a Border Policeman, riot policeman, Shin Bet agent or special forces troops in sight … The elderly among them couldn’t believe their eyes: There were public faucets with freely flowing water. Middle-aged men who had built Israel, renovated its homes and cleaned its streets were returning to it after they hadn’t been here for decades. Women looked in wonder at the first bikini they’d ever seen, while any number of kids were seeing the sea for the first time, even though they live only an hour’s drive away … To make sure this wasn’t some sort of summer delusion, I contacted the coordinator of government activity in the territories to ascertain what this was all about. The COGAT spokesman said that in honor of the Muslim holiday of Id al-Fitr, Israel had issued 130,000 entrance permits to residents of the territories … Israelis who came to the beach also couldn’t believe their eyes: there they were, Palestinians as real people. Not illegal laborers and not terrorists … And guess what? This rare spectacle went on for several days this week, and nothing happened, other than the momentary happiness of these people …
Tomorrow they will return to their depressing reality, to their lives of occupation and unemployment behind the roadblocks, and nothing will remain of their day at the Tel Aviv beach except a sweet, fading dream. So really, why can’t it happen twice a year? In fact, why not every day, damn it?
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/a-day-at-the-beach.premium-1.460104

Haaretz editorial: A vision of the End of Days?
24 Aug — The tens of thousands of Palestinians who were in Israel this week went home happy. Their happiness should also be ours — Israel allowed some 130,000 Palestinians into the country this week to celebrate Id al-Fitr. Tens of thousands of West Bank residents had the rare opportunity to visit their families in Israel, swim in the sea and tour the country. The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories and the Civil Administration thereby took a courageous step, which, though they tried to conceal it from the Israeli public, deserves great praise. The operation passed uneventfully. It enabled residents of the territories to leave their giant prison, if only for a moment, and get a taste of freedom in the country that occupies them, and which they are normally forbidden to enter. This holiday brought joy to tens of thousands of people who were able to swim in the sea for the first time, meet their families and vacation like human beings. The sights on Tel Aviv’s beaches, which thousands of Palestinians visited, were moving indeed.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/a-vision-of-the-end-of-days.premium-1.460418

Palestinian artists invited to present their work across the bridge that both connects and separates them from Jordan
MEMO 23 Aug — Since the second Intifada, Atarot Airport between Jerusalem and Ramallah has been closed and the Israeli authorities have prohibited Palestinians from using Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport. This leaves the King Hussein Bridge as the only international exit from the occupied West Bank for Palestinians … Sadly, crossing back over to the occupied Palestinian territories is a luxury reserved for people with Palestinian identity documents. Yet another deterrent to undertaking the journey across the Jordan is the effort it actually takes to cross the bridge. It should only take about two hours to get to the other side, but lengthy delays are routine. Repeated passport and baggage checks and seemingly endless orders to get into and out of buses are inevitable. In the summer, the heat and flies make the journey very unpleasant.
The growing distance between Palestinians living on either side of the river, an issue exacerbated by what happens on the bridge, is the issue that a new curatorial project, “The River has two Banks”, will address. The idea behind the project is to bring two communities together who share history and culture, but have been divided by political circumstances.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/blogs/culture/4202-palestinian-artists-invited-to-present-their-work-across-the-bridge-that-both-connects-and-separates-them-from-jordan

Gaza / Sinai

IOF gunfire targets fishermen and farmers in Gaza
GAZA (PIC) 22 Aug — Israeli artillery and gunboats fired projectiles and machine guns at Palestinian houses and fishing boats in the Gaza Strip at dawn Wednesday. Local sources told PIC’s correspondent that the occupation artillery had fired a shell at Palestinian agricultural land in Juhor al-Dik village, southeast of Gaza City, pointing out that the shell exploded without causing casualties. The sources added that the Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of Gaza City and forced them to abandon their boats and to halt fishing.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7MWmHhvHU7N7anHqH9TcOCMw7Ee8isMQp6qT03UorLiNjx4sCg1rSRIEOza2RN9CXGfF7nFcqU%2fm9U%2fiQVhVl7Fegh4GJxTYxmVYcT2rHvVs%3d

Witnesses: Israeli forces fire artillery shells near Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 22 Aug — Israeli forces fired artillery shells near an area of central Gaza on Wednesday, witnesses said. Explosions were heard near the Wadi Gaza area in the central Gaza Strip, with no injuries reported, spokesman of the ministry of health in Gaza Ashraf al-Qudra said. An Israeli army spokeswoman told Ma‘an there had been no military activity in the area.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=513637

Egypt resumes demolition of Gaza tunnels
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 23 Aug — Egyptian troops resumed the demolition of tunnels under their border with the Gaza Strip on Thursday morning, witnesses and security officials said. An Egyptian security official told Ma‘an the army was using explosives to destroy certain tunnels, after filling them with earth. In recent weeks Egypt has demolished tunnels east of Rafah and is now moving west. The security source said the Egyptian army was expected to continue its demolition work for a significant period “in order to fight any element of terrorism.” … Prices have risen in Gaza since the first demolition of tunnels earlier this month, as traders had come to depend on the route while under an Israeli blockade.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=513948

Official: Radah, Kerem Shalom crossings to partially reopen
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 22 Aug — The Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, and the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing with Israel, will partially reopen on Wednesday, a Palestinian official said. “The Egyptian side told us first that the Rafah crossing will operate Wednesday morning in both directions, but on Tuesday evening the Egyptians informed us the land port would operate only for passengers coming into Gaza,” border official Raed Fattouh said. The Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel would operate on Wednesday to allow the entry of humanitarian aid, domestic-use gas and some commercial merchandise, the Gaza official added. Both crossing terminals had been closed during the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=513612

Egypt to re-open Rafah crossing three days a week
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 23 Aug — Egyptian authorities have decided to re-open the Rafah crossing three days a week starting next week, the director of the pedestrian crossing said Thursday. “The Egyptian authorities informed us that the crossing will be re-opened in both sides on Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays,” Ayoub Abu Shaar, the director of the Palestinian side, said in a statement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=513829

Festive psychological torture in Gaza
InGaza blog by Eva Bartlett — Sun Aug. 19 1:05 pm I’ve been back in Gaza 4 days now and now hear the familiar roar of a Zionist warplane over Deir al Balah where I live. I was wondering where they were, knew they hadn’t gone away. Now, with the passing war-roar, things seem sickeningly normal here. Five minutes later another passes over, again north to south. Now for the expected sonic boom or real bomb blast…A minute later and the dissipated roar returns, circling perhaps. Five minutes later, another passing of the warplane’s roar, south to north. Apprehension, apprehension (although in truth, most Palestinians are so accustomed to these intrusive fly-overs they don’t think twice).  In Gaza, when one hears a plane’s engines, it is never that of a passenger plane. What’s going to happen, and when? This time? Here again? I recall a year ago during Ramadan when, in the early hours of the morning, we watched rooftop as numerous IOF warplanes flew over us and on to bomb eastern Gaza, returning soon after to bomb the coast a few hundred metres away from us. Emad tells me that the shock waves of a recent blast in the area blew his brother’s door off its hinges. His brother lives one floor below us.
http://ingaza.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/festive-psychological-torture-in-gaza/

Analysis: A tunnel-free future for Gaza?
GAZA CITY, 23 August 2012 (IRIN) – This month’s border attack in the Sinai Peninsula, which killed 16 Egyptian soldiers, has bolstered calls to shut down a network of underground tunnels between Egypt and the isolated Gaza Strip. The tunnels have been used for years to smuggle goods into Gaza and, Egypt alleges, fighters into the Sinai. But Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, sees this as an opportunity. Publicly and in discussions with Egyptian officials, Hamas has been pushing to use the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza for commercial trade. Ghazi Hamad, deputy minister of foreign affairs, has said a free trade zone might soon “liberate Gaza“. “Once the Rafah crossing operates as a hub for goods, the tunnels will become history,” Azzam Shawwa, a former Minister of Energy in the Palestinian Authority (PA), told IRIN.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96155/Analysis-A-tunnel-free-future-for-Gaza

Cairo and Tel Aviv reach understanding on army deployment in Sinai
IMEMC 23 Aug — An Egyptian security source told the Ma‘an News Agency that the ongoing negotiations between Tel Aviv and Cairo led to an understanding regarding the deployment of Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula. The talks are being held at the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing; several Israeli officials recently objected to the deployment of more Egyptian soldiers in Sinai as such deployment violates the Camp David Peace Agreement between the two countries. But a number of Israeli officials said that all movements and deployment of Egyptian forces in Sinai, to counter armed groups, were coordinated with Tel Aviv. The Egyptian source told Ma‘an that Egyptian and Israeli security officials held more than six meetings over the period of three consecutive days.
http://www.imemc.org/article/64110

Political / Economic News

Official: Israeli power company demanding payment before meeting
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 23 Aug — The Israeli Electric Corporation is demanding partial payment for unpaid bills in the West Bank before agreeing to a meeting to discuss the debt, an official said Thursday. The Israeli Electric Corporation is owed 415 million shekels ($104 million) by the Jerusalem Electricity Company which supplies power to West Bank cities Bethlehem, Jericho and Ramallah and East Jerusalem. The Israeli company has threatened to cut off power to the West Bank cities unless the bill is paid by Sept. 1, said Hisham al-Omari, the director of the Jerusalem Electric Company. On Wednesday, al-Omari said a meeting was planned for later this week to set a payment schedule to postpone blackouts in the West Bank.  But al-Omari told Ma‘an on Thursday that the Israeli company was refusing to schedule the meeting until some of the debt is paid.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=514020

Israel’s foreign minister calls for help in ousting Palestinian president
JERUSALEM (AP) 22 Aug — Israel’s foreign minister urged the international community to help oust Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas whose policies he called “an obstacle to peace” in a letter released Wednesday. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman wrote to the Quartet of Mideast mediators — the U.S., the U.N., the EU and Russia — this week calling for new elections in the Palestinian Authority in order to replace Abbas, accusing the Palestinian Authority of being “a despotic government riddled with corruption.” “Despite Mr. Abbas’ delays, general elections in the Palestinian Authority should be held and a new, legitimate, hopefully realistic leadership should be elected,” he wrote …
Meanwhile, Fatah spokesman in Gaza Fayez Abu Aita said continuous incitement against Abbas would not deter him from his political program to establish independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital …
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also sought to quickly disassociate himself from the letter. An official in the prime minister’s office, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the letter does not represent the government’s position.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/israels-foreign-minister-calls-help-ousting-palestinian-president-175355860.html

Abbas waging ‘diplomatic terror’: Israel’s Lieberman
AFP 22 Aug — Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas is waging “diplomatic terror” against Israel, which is as dangerous as the violent threat posed by Hamas, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Thursday. It was his second personal attack on the Palestinian president in days and came after he called for world powers to force elections in the Palestinian Authority in a bid to replace him and revive the stagnant peace process. Speaking to Israeli public radio, Lieberman accused the Palestinians of using two forms of “terror” to attack Israel, with Hamas managing the armed version, and Abbas — or Abu Mazen as he is commonly known — taking the diplomatic track. “There is a division of labour between (Hamas premier Ismail) Haniya and Abu Mazen,” he said.
http://news.yahoo.com/abbas-waging-diplomatic-terror-israels-lieberman-000134641.html

Israel accused of interfering in Palestinian affairs after letter to EU
Guardian 22 Aug by Martin Kalman — Palestinian leaders have accused Israel of interfering in internal Palestinian affairs and launching “a deliberate campaign of distortion, hatred and incitement”, after the Israeli foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, called for elections to replace the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas … Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh described the text as “incitement” liable to create an “atmosphere of violence and instability” … Hanan Ashrawi, an executive committee member of the PLO, which handles diplomatic contacts with Israel, said the letter demonstrated Israel’s “arrogance, manipulation of facts, and outright racism. Rather than complying with international law and signed agreements, the Israeli government has launched a deliberate campaign of distortion, hatred and incitement.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/22/israel-palestinian-affairs-avigdor-lieberman

Fatah MP urges end to contacts with Israel after Lieberman letter
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 23 Aug — A Fatah lawmaker on Thursday called on the Palestinian leadership to refuse to meet with Israeli officials until their ministers halt threats to President Mahmoud Abbas. Palestinian Legislative Council member Ashraf Juma, from Abbas’s Fatah party, said all factions should unite in condemning Lieberman’s remarks. Palestinian politics must take account of these remarks and find a new way to deal with Israel’s policies, he told Ma‘an, alluding to the ongoing efforts to open negotiations with Israel. Instead, “the Palestinian people should organize mass rallies to support Mahmoud Abbas,” Juma said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=513896

Former minister calls for election boycott
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 22 Aug — Palestinians should refuse to participate in elections while public freedoms are suppressed, former minister and detainee Wasfi Qabha said Tuesday. Qabha, a former Hamas Minister of Prisoner Affairs who is detained in Israel’s Hadarim jail, criticized the Palestinian Authority’s decision to hold elections in the West Bank without implementing national reconciliation first.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=513626

Activism / Solidarity / BDS

South Africa approves ‘Made in Palestinian Territories’ tags
AFP 22 Aug — South Africa‘s cabinet on Wednesday said it had approved the placing of Occupied Palestinian Territory labels on imported goods from Jewish settlements. The trade minister was given the nod to issue a notice requiring that products are marked so that buyers knew their origin is not Israel, government spokesman Jimmy Manyi told a press briefing. “This is in line with South Africa’s stance that recognises the 1948 borders delineated by the United Nations and does not recognise occupied territories beyond these borders as being part of the state of Israel,” he said. The plan has already met protests in South Africa and been slammed by Israel’s foreign ministry. Local Jewish leaders said Wednesday the community was outraged over what they called “discriminatory, divisive” measures.
http://news.yahoo.com/south-africa-approves-made-palestinian-territories-tags-165541596.html

PA thanks South Africa for move to label settlement goods
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 23 Aug — The Palestinian Authority applauded South Africa on Thursday after its cabinet voted to identify goods made in the occupied West Bank as separate from normal Israeli products.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=513875

Israel angered by South African move on settlement goods
JERUSALEM (Reuters) 23 Aug — Israel accused South Africa on Thursday of behaving like an apartheid state by requiring Israeli goods made by West Bank settlers to be labeled as originating from occupied Palestinian territory. The rhetoric is likely to strain Israel’s relations with South Africa, whose ruling African National Congress fought to end the apartheid regime. The ANC had strongly backed the Palestinian cause while Israel was one of the few countries to have strong ties with South Africa’s white-minority government, which relinquished power in 1994 … “Unfortunately it turns out the change that has begun in South Africa over the years has not brought about any basic change in the country, and it remains an apartheid state,” Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said in response to Pretoria’s move.
http://news.yahoo.com/israel-angered-south-african-move-settlement-goods-135329413.html

US: Israeli probe into Rachel Corrie’s death ‘wasn’t credible’ / Amira Hass
Haaretz 23 Aug — U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro tells Corrie family that Israel’s investigation into their daughter’s death was unsatisfactory; family is in Israel awaiting verdict in civil suit against Israeli government ... The U.S. government’s position is not new to the Corries, but their attorneys said that hearing it only a few days before the verdict was “important and encouraging,” because it signals to the Corrie family that the U.S. government will continue to demand a full accounting from Israel about their daughter’s killing, regardless of how Judge Oded Gershon rules.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-israeli-probe-into-rachel-corrie-s-death-wasn-t-credible.premium-1.460091

Israeli Racism / Discrimination

Poster calls on Arab men to keep out of Jerusalem, away from Jewish girls
972mag 22 Aug by Haggai Matar — Following the recent lynch-style attack on Palestinian youths in Jerusalem, racist extremists are starting a campaign calling on Arab men to keep out of popular Jerusalem hangouts and avoid dating Jewish girls — for their own good. The new racist poster, written in both Hebrew and Arabic by the extremist Kahana-style NGO “Lehava,” has been circulating in Facebook in recent hours and is gaining hundreds of “likes” and “shares.” … The poster fits into a growing trend of narrating anti-Arab racism as a means to “protect our daughters” — a form of discourse promoted by politicians and ministers also in relation to African asylum seekers … Many comments on the picture thread on Facebook show great enthusiasm for the text, and some people have already volunteered to help hang it up around Jerusalem. However, other comments were much more critical, and some have compared its content to Nazi agendas. At least two mock posters have already been made in response, one translating the text into German and aiming it at Jewish men:
http://972mag.com/campaign-calls-on-arab-men-to-keep-out-of-jlem-away-from-jewish-girls/54263/

A good Jew hates Arabs / Zvi Bar’el
Haaretz 22 Aug — Hatred of Arabs is part of the test of loyalty and identity that the state gives its Jewish citizens – a loyal Israeli will leave an Arab to die, because ‘he’s an Arab.’ … The haste with which some are tying the violence perpetrated in Jerusalem last week to the corrupting influence of the occupation is superfluous. The horrifying quote from one of the teenage suspects, that Julani, nearly beaten to death, “could die for all I care – he’s an Arab,” is not a result of the occupation. It’s an inseparable part of the culture, which may have been fashioned somewhat by the occupation. But to hate Arabs and to want them dead; to stand aside, as dozens of passersby did in this case without intervening; to arrest a sick Palestinian, as one policeman has done, and leave him to die – that’s already a worldview.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/a-good-jew-hates-arabs.premium-1.459832#

In wake of lynch, Arabs fear the streets
Ynet 22 Aug — Arab Israelis say they try to avoid walking around at night for fear they would be attacked by racists –  A brutal assault allegedly perpetrated by dozens of Jewish teens last week has reawakened long-harbored feelings of fear among Arab Israelis across the country. The tension was primarily felt in Jaffa, Safed and Haifa, cities where Jews and Arabs live side by side. “What happened in Jerusalem could happen here in Jaffa; there are enough racist Jews here,” Ali Mahamid, 22, told Ynet. “I’m afraid to walk down the street alone, especially in certain neighborhoods, because someone could attack me for no reason.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4271568,00.html

Arab Israelis have ‘nowhere to hide’ if war breaks out
Ynet 21 Aug — Shortage of shelters in Arab communities throughout Israel concerns residents amid reports of possible strike in Iran; some say will flee to relatives in territories if missiles fall
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4271224,00.html

Integration of  migrants’ children into schools harms Israeli students, state says
Haaretz 23 Aug — In response to High Court petition, Education Ministry cites award-winning Tel Aviv school as example of the ‘failure’ of the attempt to integrate migrants children to Israel’s educational system.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/integration-of-migrants-children-into-schools-harms-israeli-students-state-says.premium-1.460178

Other news

Official: Muslim-Christian unity must be more than a slogan
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 22 Aug — Unity between Muslims and Christians in Palestine must become common practice and not just be a slogan, the governor of Ramallah and al-Bireh said Wednesday. Layla Ghanam made the comments while welcoming a church delegation offering congratulations for the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, a statement said. “Religious Muslim and Christian holidays are considered national holidays for all Palestinians. This shows how cohesive and united our people are, and we are proud of this,” the PA official added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=513684

Palestinian women racers find freedom on the track
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories (AFP) 23 Aug — With her bright orange pedicure, Michael Kors handbag and skinny jeans, Maysoon Jayyusi hardly looks like a Palestinian speed racer — until she gets behind the wheel. The minute she starts up her SUV, she’s off — coursing ahead of the rest of the traffic, weaving among bewildered locals in the crowded streets of the West Bank city of Ramallah. It’s easy to see why the team she heads — the Middle East’s first female speed racing team — has been dubbed the “Speed Sisters”. The group of six women, Muslims and Christians from their 20s to mid-30s, have battled sceptical parents, the realities of the Israeli occupation and a sometimes disapproving public to become local stars and even the subject of a documentary.
http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/news/article/-/14638271/palestinian-women-racers-find-freedom-on-the-track/

Palestinian town gets new mayor, aged 15
Guardian 22 Aug by Harriet Sherwood — Bashaer Othman has taken over the municipal offices of Allar in the West Bank hills as part of a youth empowerment programme — She could have spent the long, hot summer holiday hanging out with friends or helping at home. But instead, 15-year-old Bashaer Othman is making speeches, signing documents, chairing meetings, attending civic functions and meeting citizens as mayor of Allar, a small Palestinian town high in the West Bank hills. Every morning, Bashaer heads off to the municipal offices, where she has full control – except for financial matters – as part of an unusual summer experiment aimed at empowering young people.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/22/palestinian-mayor-aged-15-allar?INTCMP=SRCH

Fields of heaven: A joint Israeli-Palestinian farm may take root in West Bank
[with video] Huff Post 22 Aug by Harvey Stein — For the last year or so, I’ve been spending time with unlikely friends: a loose group of West Bank Palestinians and Jewish settlers, most of them neighbors, living within a few miles of each other … the West Bank has become, more and more, a seemingly permanent patchwork of Israeli settlements and nearby Palestinian towns and villages. The neighbors share many of the same roads, but almost never meet face-to-face … Nahum was born in Hebron, in the West Bank, and so has lived his whole life in the West Bank … Ziad was in prison for five years during the first Intifada (1987-1993) … Ziad and Nahum originally met at events organized by Rabbi Menachem Froman, the “settler rabbi for peace.” … This spring, Nahum, Ziad and Shaul, another settler, came up with a concrete idea to manifest their lofty ideals: they decided to start a small organic farm business together. While many Jews and Muslims here believe their religions have exclusively bequeathed them the land, these guys assert a higher wisdom, “The land doesn’t belong to us, we belong to the land.” They’re calling the project Fields of Heaven. The guys went on a first visit together to the wadi (valley) next to Ziad’s town, where they plan to start the farm [so it’s on Palestinian land… of course]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harvey-stein/fields-of-heaven-israeli-settler-palestinian-farm-project_b_1822594.html

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