Now settlers are stealing Palestinian…. soil

Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Occupation

Israel takes by force a Palestinian house in al-Khalil for settlers
RAMALLAH (PIC) 12 Oct — Israeli daily, Haaretz, reported on Friday that the Israeli “defense ministry” has instructed the Civil Administration to hand over a Palestinian house in Ras neighborhood in al-Khalil in favor of an Israeli Association after an Israeli court decided that the purchase of the Palestinian house by Israeli settlers was legitimate and legal … The Web site expected that the settlers will take control of the house which was named many names “the brown house”, the “House of Peace” and “the disputed house.”
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7pQpo6NQZqB2648RO2pWMDDjr4S7il6M9MxmZ2GjBnR3kGQRZkgGLvVcZz5aGZy27xoasD82kLCU%2bZ9KRt6MD4as%2fVYAN7oNzXmdlPYgMtjc%3d

Rights groups raise alarm over settler attacks on olive trees
[with two videos] BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 12 Oct — As the West Bank olive harvest season begins, two Israeli rights groups released reports this week criticizing Israeli authorities for failing to protect Palestinians from settler violence, or investigate attacks. Over the past week, Palestinian farmers have reported almost daily attacks on harvesters and olive groves in the West Bank. Israeli rights group B’Tselem said on Thursday it had documented five of the attacks since Sunday … Meanwhile, rights group Yesh Din said on Thursday that of 162 attacks on Palestinian trees since 2005, only one case had led to charges. The group said 124 files were closed on grounds of “perpetrator unknown,” 16 because of “insufficient evidence” and two on ground of “absence of criminal culpability.” Others are still under investigation, or information was not provided, while case files were lost for two incidents.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=528317

B’Tselem suspects army not prepared to protect Palestinian olive harvesters
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 12 Oct — B’Tselem human rights organization has documented a number of attacks carried out by the Israeli settlers and targeting farmers and olive groves throughout the West Bank. The organization stated that the events raise suspicion that Security forces were not prepared to protect Palestinian olive harvesters and their property from settler violence. The accumulation of incidents since the start of the olive harvest suggests that security forces were not adequately deployed to fulfill their duty to protect Palestinian olive harvesters and their property from settler violence, according to the organization’s report.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7aUBU6yjRXwh0619%2bgKdFGxAR%2bA%2fkuyiZKU6OU5OP7rbYjAcjkwYwZTr7pta4%2fYJyKqspjhB6Qnw5BsTavTTj1Amf2LIpX84ybCXvJWaF7jc%3d

Israeli settlers steal olive crops in Hebron
HEBRON 11 Oct (WAFA) – Israeli settlers from Ramat Yishai settlement, built illegally on Tel Rumeida land in central Hebron, Thursday stole Olive trees crops from land that belongs to Palestinians under the protection of Israeli army, said witnesses. hey told WAFA that a number of armed settlers broke into a land that belongs to a number of Palestinian families under the protection of the Israeli army and picked the Olive trees in the land
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=20841

Settlers attack and injure Palestinians harvesting olives in Tel Rumeida
ISM 12 Oct — In two separate incidents on Wednesday 10th and Friday 12th October 2012  settlers from the illegal settlement in Tel Rumeida, Hebron stole olives from two trees belonging to Jawad Abu Eisheh and attacked his family whilst they attempted to harvest from their land … On Thurday 11th October 2012 three International Solidarity Movement volunteers accompanied Jawad to his land to record any further criminal activity from the illegal settlement as Jawad and his family carried on harvesting their olive trees. Jawad has permission from the Civilian Military Commander, Rami Ferris, to harvest his olives at this time. Jawad and the volunteers were stopped at the Gilbert checkpoint by an Israeli soldier who said that Jawad could not harvest any olives today and that no international volunteers could accompany him to his land….
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/10/settlers-attack-and-injure-palestinians-harvesting-olives-in-tel-rumeida/

Witnesses: Settlers attack olive harvesters in Hebron
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 12 Oct — A group of settlers attacked Palestinian farmers who were harvesting olives in central Hebron on Friday, witnesses told Ma‘an. Wajdi Thabet Abu Aisheh, 25, fell as he was attacked by settlers in Tel Rumeida and was transferred to hospital with moderate injuries, Jawad Abu Aisheh said.
North of Hebron, a local activist said a group of settlers toured the town of Beit Ummar, and performed prayers at an Islamic cemetery. Popular committee spokesman Mohammad Ayad Awad said a settler tried to attack him while he was taking photos, but an Israeli soldiers guarding the group prevented him. Many farmers were harvesting olives in the area with their families, but avoided any confrontation with the settlers, he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=528344

Settlers attack Palestinian farmers in Kufr Qaddoum, destroy olive trees
PNN — On Friday 12th October, dozens of settlers attacked a group of Palestinian farmers in Kufr Qaddoum, destroyed olive trees and stole the olives that were gathered in the early hours of the morning. Local sources in the village said that a group of settlers destroyed 45 olive trees belonged to Nidal Ahmad Aqel and Abdul Razeq Mahmoud Amer and another group of settlers stole olives from the Mohammad Fathi Amer’s olive trees.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/politics/2870-settlers-attack-palestinian-farmers-in-kufr-qaddoum-destroy-olive-trees

West Bank settlers ‘stealing soil’ from Palestinians
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma‘an) 12 Oct — Israel’s Civil Administration is ignoring the theft of soil from Palestinian land enclosed in illegal West Bank settlements, Israeli media reported Friday. Israel’s Haaretz daily reported that Almon settlement, near Jerusalem, has many large plots of private land within its fences and some are missing tons of soil worth 2,000 shekels per truckload. Other locations where the alleged theft is taking place include Ibei Hanahal outpost, Givat Avigail, Beit El, Maaleh Mikhmash, the Shiloh Valley, and in Susiya, on lands belonging to the village of Yatta. The report said police were aware of the phenomenon yet do nothing about it. A police official quoted in the report said there was no formal way of enforcing laws against this kind of theft.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=528378

Israeli police forms ‘Jewish Terror’ branch in the West Bank
IMEMC 12 Oct — Israeli daily, Haaretz, reported that the government of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, decided to form a unit that has the sole responsibility of dealing with “Jewish Terrorism”, and that this unit will be countering attacks carried out by extremist settlers … It also stated that the Police will be appointing a commander, instead of a superintendent, to head the army in the West Bank, and will be increasing the number of officers operating in the unit in addition to investing more technological resources, so that the unit will only be in charge of countering Jewish terrorism. The inauguration was conducted Wednesday with the participation of Israel’s Public Security Minister, Yitzhak Abranovitch, and Israeli Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino.
http://www.imemc.org/article/64382

Israel’s West Bank settlers: We’re here to stay
KFAR TAPUACH, ISRAELI-OCCUPIED WEST BANK (VOA) 11 Oct — The walls of Daniel Pinner’s home in the Israeli settlement of Kfar Tapuach are lined with books.  Among the political, cultural and religious texts are books by the late Meir Kahane, an American-Israeli rabbi who preached the idea of a “greater Israel” — one that includes the West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. Kahane’s political party, Kach, also promoted the idea of expelling the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who lived in the captured areas, a position that prompted the Israeli government to outlaw it in 1988 as a racist organization. Kahane was assassinated in New York two years later, but many of his ideas are still popular among some Israeli settlers, including Daniel Pinner.
http://www.voanews.com/content/israeli-settlers-here-to-stay-/1524714.html

Report: Netanyahu agreed to full Golan Heights withdrawal
Ynet 12 Oct — Yedioth Ahronoth reports that in late 2010 PM, Barak conducted secret indirect talks with Assad; US documents reveal Israel agreed to return to June 4, 1967 lines in exchange for peace deal; negotiations were interrupted by uprising against Syrian president … According to American sources, Netanyahu and Barak agreed to withdraw to the 1967 lines in exchange for a comprehensive peace deal that would include an Israeli “expectation” for the severing of ties between Syria and Iran. However, the sources said, the burgeoning deal did not include an explicit commitment by Assad to severe ties with the Islamic Republic.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4291337,00.html

Netanyahu denies agreeing Golan pullout for peace
JERUSALEM (Reuters) 12 Oct — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied a newspaper report on Friday that said he had agreed in principle to hand back land annexed from Syria as part of secret US-mediated peace talks that broke off last year. Syria has long set a complete withdrawal from the Golan Heights as a condition for making peace with Tel Aviv. Israel captured the strategic plateau in a 1967 war, then annexed it in 1981 in a move not recognized internationally.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=528352

Violence / Raids / Illegal arrests / Suppression of protests

PCHR Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (4-10 October 2012)
11 Oct (full report after the summary) — IOF extra-judicially executed a Palestinian man and wounded a second in the southern Gaza Strip. 8 civilian bystanders were wounded, including 4 children and 1 woman. IOF continued to carry out airstrikes and land attacks on civilian objects in the Gaza Strip. 5 Palestinians were wounded, including 2 children, in shellings, east of Khan Yunis. 2 mosque minarets and a tar factory sustained damages, east of Khan Yunis. IOF continued to target fishermen in the Gaza Strip. IOF opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats four times, arrested 4 fishermen, and confiscated their boats. … IOF conducted 46 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and limited incursions in the Gaza Strip. IOF arrested 8 Palestinians, including the wife of a Palestinian prisoner IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank, and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. A Palestinian laborer was wounded when Israeli settlers fired at him in the West Bank. IOF prevented the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee from carrying out rehabilitation works in the Old City. 220 olive trees and 20 vineyards were destroyed in Bethlehem and Nablus. Israeli settlers chased Palestinian farmers from their land, as they began to harvest olives for the harvest season.
http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8889

Israel attacks in Gaza Strip after rocket fire
JERUSALEM (Daily Star) 13 Oct –  The Israeli air force launched attacks at three sites in the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning, the military said, hours after a rocket fired from the enclave exploded near a house in southern Israel.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Oct-13/191262-israel-attacks-in-gaza-strip-after-rocket-fire.ashx

Second police attack on Ras al-Amoud primary school in a week
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 13 Oct — Israeli police and undercover officers attacked a group of school children in Silwan on Tuesday, 9 October. Officers entered the grounds of Ras al-Amoud primary school and hit, swore at and attempted to arrest a number of students, said Issam al-Abbasi, secretary of the Silwan Parents’ Committee. The attack is the second on the school in the past week: the week before, an undercover unit harassed students just outside school grounds … The Parents Committee has appealed to the Jerusalem Municipality and the Ministry of Education to keep police and armed forces away from the school, but the problems persist, with undercover officers in particular, continuing to visit the school of 2,000 students, from 7 to 15 years old.
http://silwanic.net/?p=29693

Occupation forces attack funeral procession in Beit Ommar
PSP 11 Oct — On 10th of October a funeral procession burying the late Ihmid Abu Maria was attacked by Israeli soldiers. The cemetery in the village has been closed off by the Israelis for years. Large, heavy stones are partly blocking the entrance to the burial site. As the mourners, this morning, tried to enter the cemetery occupation soldiers attacked the civilians with tear gas, sound grenades and rubber bullets. Some of the people were suffocating from inhaling gas. These acts by the occupation forces are an attempt to limit the number of people participating in funerals. The Israelis partly succeed in this as people with heart diseases and people suffering from other kind of health problems no longer participate in funerals due to fear of tear gas. Israel has also stated that they will make the cemetery into a road leaving the residents of Beit Ommar no place to bury their loved ones.
http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/2012/10/11/occupation-forces-attack-funeral-procession-in-beit-ommar/

Israeli occupation arrests Palestinians from Hebron and Nablus
PNN 11 Oct — On Thursday 11th October, Israeli occupation forces arrested a Palestinian at dawn, after they raided his house in the village of Beit Ola west of Hebron Governorates in the West Bank. Security sources said “Israeli army raided the house of Raed Abed Al-Afo al-Amlah, 27, in the village and arrested him.”
In the village of Durah, Israeli soldiers searched several houses and intensified its presence in the western and southern areas of the village.
Israeli patrols also raided Ein Sarah and Ra’s al-Jourah neighborhoods, and also raided the villages of Samou‘, al-Thahriya and Halhoul in the same Governorate.
In Nablus Governorate, our reporter said that Israeli forces arrested an old Palestinian from Aqraba village east of Nablus. Eyewitnesses said that an Israeli military force raided the house of Usama Khader Jeriyeh, 60, searched his house and rummaged with the contents before arresting him. The eyewitnesses also said that the force raided several other houses in the village and searched them.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/politics/2863-israeli-occupation-arrests-palestinians-from-hebron-and-nablus

IOF arrests 10 youths in Jerusalem
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 13 Oct — Local sources in occupied Jerusalem reported that the Israeli occupation forces arrested ten youths from different districts in the holy city. The sources said that the Israeli troops raided Shu‘afat refugee camp, the neighborhoods of Ras Khamis, Ras Shihadeh and Sawwanah, the town of Silwan and the Old City on Thursday night. They also searched a number of houses using sniffer dogs and arrested a group of youths and children.
Meanwhile, an Israeli Court in Jerusalem has extended the detention of the two brothers Sarhan and Khaldoun from Silwan, until next Sunday.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s76SsD0JcPRIq69FEnn%2fjx2dsVsz6Z8ex0WnpxhWm4YhRNCpY7NtsUMnfMYKUEt2dkfczKHk6%2bReoSX6KJiFupYdxXs9L2U4Z%2fu6%2ft1z9Tew0%3d

IOF quells  W. Bank marches against settlement and wall
RAMALLAH (PIC) 13 Oct — The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Friday afternoon violently suppressed the weekly peaceful marches held in West Bank villages against the segregation wall and settlement activities. In Kafr Qaddum village east of Qalqiliya city, the IOF attacked the protesters who chanted slogans demanding the opening of the main road of the village. The troops kidnapped two young men Ahmed Abdul-Fatah and Ahmed Badea during clashes with the protesters in the village.
The IOF also quelled the weekly anti-wall march of Bil‘in village in Ramallah city and showered foreign activists and Palestinian protesters with tear gas grenades…
The IOF also used violence against the anti-wall march of Ma‘sarah village near Bethlehem and the anti-settlement march of Nabi Saleh village near Ramallah.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7OTCgUtxHQ920iL1lJpjxQ%2bdLMKw50ofiW4i9TT4xae2sswFx6w%2fAELUQRkgIT8O4NNwxEWwcNfex%2boHAlq6pxX5SyKd2Ie4o1UbkuY3bGco%3d

Detainees

Twilight Zone — When Palestinian jail hurts more than Israeli incarceration / Alex Levac & Gideon Levy
Haaretz 12 Oct — Although he served some nine years in Israeli jails, Zakaria Zubeidi’s belly is full. But he’s not blaming Mahmoud Abbas — …Skinnier than ever – he lost seven kilograms in hunger strikes – Zakaria Zubeidi, the “cat with nine lives,” was finally released on bail after being detained for five months in the Palestinian Authority’s Jericho prison without trial. He was indicted on suspicion of taking part in a shooting attack on Jenin Governor Kadura Musa last May. After dozens of meetings with Zubeidi – a majority of them while he was still No. 1 on Israel’s most-wanted list, as commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the camp – we found him more reserved than ever this time. Incarceration by the Palestinians was for him apparently far worse than his nine years in Israeli lockups; being arrested by his Palestinian brethren wounded him emotionally.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/twilight-zone/when-palestinian-jail-hurts-more-than-israeli-incarceration.premium-1.469661

PA refuses to release the journalist Walid Khalid on bail
NABLUS (PIC) 12 Oct — PA Preventive Security Service in the city of Nablus refused to release the liberated prisoner, Walid Khalid, West Bank office director of the newspaper “Felestin”. The journalist was arrested on September 18, 2012, during a large-scale arrest campaign waged by the PA security apparatus against members and supporters of Hamas in the West Bank, which came few days after his release from Israeli jails where he had spent 17 years.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7DaOziPKVfROckIxlPuLeCPRJ5SSIZB8NyDMKXji9fZ%2fsBVwtgW8aviddwhk7YSOJ9w7maHNV0D9mF9zJYiLsD%2f%2brLfi0P9zgqrjJHMCpa0g%3d

Society: Cell raids spark clash in Israel’s Shata jail
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 12 Oct — Israeli prison guards stormed the cells of Palestinian prisoners on Friday, prompting clashes as the detainees hit back, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said. The clash in Shata prison, in northern Israel, was prompted by a cell raid of more than 70 officers, the society said. Some prisoners fought back against the guards with chairs, it continued.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=528323

After 10 months of administrative detention, Israeli occupation releases PNN reporter Abu Warda
PNN 11 Oct — On Wednesday evening 10th October, Israeli occupation authorities released the journalist Amin Abdul Aziz Abu Warda after he spent 10 months of administrative detention in Majdou prison … Israeli forces arrested 48 year-old Abu Warda in 28/12/2011, after they raided his house in al-Quds Street in Nablus Governorate, and he was interrogated for more than 40 days and when Israeli authorities had no specific charges against Abu Warda, Israeli authorities transferred him to administrative detention. While being in jail, Abu Warda was writing more than 200 stories and news reports about the situation of prisoners’ and made scientific studies and research. It’s worth noting that Abu Warda has an MA degree in Media Studies and prior to his arrest he was studying for a PHD in Malaysia. Abu Warda works as an instructor in the An-Najah National University and as a reporter for PNN and the Gulf Emirates newspaper.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/prisoners/2864-10-months-later-israeli-occupation-releases-pnn-reporter-abu-warda

Prisoners’ Society condemns Hamas assault on released prisoner Jaradat
PNN — On Friday 12th October, head of Palestinian Prisoners’ society, Qadoura Fares condemned the assault of members of Hamas security services on the released prisoners Hilal Jaradat, 48, who spent 27 years in Israel jails and was deported to the Gaza Strip. Fares said in a press release, that this dangerous violation will negatively affect the captive movement, which unites Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/prisoners/2869-prisoners-society-condemns-hamas-assault-on-released-prisoner-jaradat

Gaza blockade

Fuel crisis breakthrough in Gaza
MEMO 11 Oct — Diesel fuel is expected to flow again to Gaza through the tunnels from Egypt in the coming days. The news was revealed by a member of the board of directors of the oil companies’ syndicate in the Gaza Strip, Mohammed Al-Abadla. Speaking to the local media, Mr. Al-Abadla said that agreements have been reached with the tunnel operators and suppliers in Egypt to ease the fuel crisis in the beleaguered Gaza Strip. He explained that the diesel will be pumped through following the end of Cairo’s austerity measures and the distribution of fuel to Egyptian dealers, which have had a negative effect on supplies to Gaza.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/4439-fuel-crisis-breakthrough-in-gaza

Mashaal: Islamists must admit difficulties of governing
DOHA, Qatar (Ma‘an) 11 Oct — Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal on Monday said Islamists must admit the challenges of governing states. Speaking at a conference in Doha on Islamists and democracy, Mashaal said Hamas’ experience as an Islamist political party was unique as it was foremost a national liberation movement … Mashaal said Hamas entered the political arena and joined the Palestinian Authority in 2006 partly to try and correct the mistakes of the Oslo peace process, a statement from ACRPS said. He acknowledged that the party had struggled to reconcile its transition to government with its role as a resistance movement. “Islamists must admit that being in government is much more complicated than what they had imagined; this applies to Hamas as well,” he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=527260

Israeli racism

Haaretz editorial: Discrimination against Arab women
12 Oct — The rate of workforce participation among Arab women is only 28 percent, compared to 80 percent for nonreligious Jewish women. The barriers preventing Arab women from looking for work are many, but one of the main ones is their exclusion from the job market. That is what emerges from an analysis published this week by Prof. Eran Yashiv of the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies, based on new unemployment data generated by changes in how the Central Bureau of Statistics conducts its employment survey … The government should start by setting an example: Today, only 8 percent of government employees are Arabs. That is even less than the goal the state set for itself – 10 percent – and well below their share in the population.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/discrimination-against-arab-women-1.469568

Jerusalem court issues injunction barring state from detaining Sudanese migrants
Haaretz 11 Oct — Following petition filed by human rights groups, court blocks Interior Minister from rounding up and incarcerating the migrants starting next week. The Jerusalem District Court on Thursday barred the state from detaining Sudanese migrants until it makes a final ruling on the issue..
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/jerusalem-court-issues-injunction-barring-state-from-detaining-sudanese-migrants.premium-1.469537

Political and other news

A Week in Photos: October 4-10
by Activestills
http://972mag.com/a-week-in-photos-october-4-10/57592/

Palestinian activist: Situation of refugee camps in Syria is worsening
ISTANBUL (PIC) 12 Oct — Tariq Hamoud, the coordinator of the international working group for Palestinian refugees in Syria, confirmed that the Syrian security forces had attacked a farm belonging to Hamas movement in the area of “Drousha” on the outskirts of Damascus … He expressed to “Quds Press” agency his concern about the increased suffering of the Palestinian refugee camps in Syria, saying: “The information about the launch of a security crackdown against the leaders and members of Hamas in the Palestinian refugee camps in Syria are not precise, but the situation in the camps, in general, is getting worse and is deteriorating.”
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7V9pCg3EX13AjRol6mmJ7CwXXzJyC32bEdQURj1Gg%2bA6AiLxDys%2f6nSVwysRwrx4qL5IsDFoSjXT4xGdAgvgmTW9%2bmZgOCWiGqfvrWVqFYqc%3d

PA seeks recourse for Israeli telecom restrictions
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 12 Oct — The Palestinian Authority communications minister says she hopes to take Israel to international courts for its restrictions on the Palestinian telecommunications sector. Safa Eldin said Wednesday that Israel’s restrictions on the communications and information sector were costing the Palestinian Authority millions of dollars each year. Meanwhile Israeli companies are being permitted to operate in Palestinian markets and profit.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=528095

West Bank, Gaza university staff to strike
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 11 Oct — University staff will go on strike Tuesday over ongoing wage disputes with the Ministry of Education, a union chief said Thursday.  Amjad Barham, head of the union for university professors and staff, told Ma‘an that staff in the West Bank and Gaza would strike on Tuesday and for two days the following week.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=528054

The EU accelerates trade with Israel despite human rights abuses
MEMO 13 Oct — The EU’s 500 million citizens account for about 60% of Israel’s total trade. Europe is Israel’s largest source of imports and its second biggest export market, second only to the United States. That’s a lot of bargaining potential when it comes to addressing Israel’s bullish behaviour in the Middle East. A boycott of Israeli goods for example, could finally push Israel to stop its breaches of international law. But instead of exercising this negotiating clout, the EU is actually planning to boost trade between them through the Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA). They would rather maintain, or make worse, the status quo than address human rights violations.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/blogs/politics/4449-the-eu-accelerates-trade-with-israel-despite-human-rights-abuses

More than half of contributions to Israeli politicians come from foreign donors
Haaretz 12 Oct — Netanyahu raised 96.8 percent of his NIS 1.2 million in campaign contributions from foreign donors, according to the State Comptroller’s Office — More than half of the contributions to politicians in the past two years – 53 percent of the NIS 13 million – came from people who live overseas, cannot vote in Israel and are not directly impacted by the elected officials’ decisions, Haaretz has found … a relatively small group of about 550 foreign contributors are responsible for the big money behind Israel’s politicians.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/elections/more-than-half-of-contributions-to-israeli-politicians-come-from-foreign-donors.premium-1.469542

Report: Arabs prefer Science studies
Ynet 11 Oct — The [Israeli] Arab post-primary education system has higher ranks of students majoring in the science fields of physics, chemistry and biology than Jewish education system, the Central bureau of statistics (CBS) said Thursday.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4291097,00.html

PA plan would boost trade with Arab countries
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) — The Palestinian Authority economy minister hopes to boost revenues for the occupied territories through increasing trade between Palestine and Arab states. Jawad al-Naji told Ma‘an on Friday after participating in talks at the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation that opening Arab markets to Palestinian products would boost the economy. The Organization for Islamic Cooperation-sponsored conference was held in Turkey.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=528390

Analysis / Opinion

Palestinians will pay the price for Israel’s early election / Dr. Daud Abdullah
MEMO 12 Oct — In most countries, elections are purely internal affairs. In Israel, though, things are different; elections often have horrible consequences for the Palestinians living under the brutal Israeli occupation. The election in early 2013 will be no different. Reacting to Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement of an early election, veteran Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat admitted that they may have to pay the price. This, he explained, will probably entail an escalation of settler attacks, further expansion of settlements and another full-scale onslaught on the Gaza Strip. Israeli politicians thrive on malevolence toward the Palestinians. In reality, such escalation has already started. In Jerusalem, settler incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque have now become a daily spectacle….
http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/resources/commentary-and-analysis/4447-palestinians-will-pay-the-price-for-israels-early-election

Jerusalem-born thinker Meron Benvenisti has a message for Israelis: stop whining / Ari Shavit
Haaretz 11 Oct — The notion of a Jewish-democratic state is an oxymoron and the two-state solution will never work. ‘This country is a shared land, a single homeland,’ he says … “I do not accept the allegation that Israel is an apartheid state. Even what is happening in the territories is not exactly apartheid. But what is taking shape here is no less grave. This is a master-nation democracy; in German, a “Herrenvolk democracy.” We are a country that behaves like a full-blooded democracy, but we have a group of serfs − the Arabs − to whom we do not apply democracy. The result is a situation of extreme inequality. There is a society here of settlers who dispossess others by seizing their place and pushing them out and creating a unilateral power system of migrant rule. That system cannot survive. Ultimately, the good Israelis will not be able to sustain the tension between their liberal values and the brutality of the reality amid which they live. They will leave. They are already starting to leave.…”
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/jerusalem-born-thinker-meron-benvenisti-has-a-message-for-israelis-stop-whining.premium-1.469447

Defence official admits that Israel cannot eradicate Hamas
MEMO 12 Oct — Major-General (Res.) Amos Gilad has admitted that Israel cannot eradicate Hamas entirely. But, the Director of Policy and Political-Military Affairs and Chair of Security at the Israeli Ministry of Defence warned, Israel can hit all Hamas institutions in case it has missiles and is able to use them. His warning came as Israel’s Intelligence Minister, Dan Meridor, said that the current calm in the Gaza Strip and West Bank “is misleading”. Quoted by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Gilad explained that Israel is determined to destroy any deterrence factors possessed by both Hezbollah and Hamas if the two groups have long-range missiles which threaten the lives of Israeli citizens.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/4445-defence-official-admits-that-israel-cannot-eradicate-hamas

The Israeli Lobby and the road to war / Justin Raimondo
Antiwar 12 Oct — Editorial note: This is the third in a three-part series. Part I appeared here, and the second part here. Israel is like a spoiled child who has grown stronger, more willful, and outright dangerous under the nurturing care of its US parent – a parent who has lost all authority and can no longer restrain its juvenile delinquent progeny. The US-Israeli “special relationship” has destabilized the Middle East and made war much more likely than it would be otherwise. Israel can act in the knowledge that there will be no consequences for its actions, that it will not be held accountable or blamed – in public – in any way for what follows. This, in turn, has energized extremist movements inside Israel, who demand more and yet more of the United States – and come to resent Uncle Sam for supposedly restraining the Israelis from achieving what they believe is their just due.
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2012/10/11/the-israel-lobby-and-the-road-to-war/

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