West Bank security barrier to be adorned with pro-Israel art
Israel Hayom 2 Nov — The Israeli side of the security barrier that separates Israel from parts of the West Bank may soon become a venue for artistic displays. As part of an initiative put forth by Public Diplomacy Minister Yuli Edelstein (Likud), Israeli artists and schoolchildren will paint pictures on the wall displaying information on terrorist attacks that originated in Palestinian Authority-controlled areas and on attacks that were prevented due to the existence of the barrier.
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=6291
Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing
New documents reveal early Palestinian attitudes toward Zionist settlements
Haaretz 4 Nov — Petitions sent by locals to the Ottoman sultan in Istanbul reveal the complexity of early encounters between local villagers and new European immigrants … As in so many incidents that enfolded in the early years of Zionism, often researchers have only had access to the version of events written by the Jewish side …
A huge gap is evident concerning the concept of land and property. As far as the Jews were concerned, purchasing the land from its owners — usually landowners who lived elsewhere — gave them full control of all rights concerning the land. The local Fellaheen and Bedouins saw things differently, however. They believed that the fact that they had lived and cultivated the land for centuries granted them rights on the land. Thus, for example, in 1890, a Bedouin tribe who cultivated the lands that would later be Rehovot, wrote: “Lately, the supreme [Ottoman] government has sold the place to certain people of the land. We did not protest since the new owners of the land clearly knew that the place was cultivated and handled by us for many centuries… but, still in this condition, the land was suddenly sold to a group of foreign Jews [Asralin] who arrived with funds… They began to expel us from the land we lived on… the farm, which was ours since the times of our fathers and grandfathers, was forcefully taken from us by the strangers who do not wish to treat us according to the accepted norms among tillers of the soil, and according to basic human norms or compassion. In short, they will not accept us, even as their slaves.”
http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/new-documents-reveal-early-palestinian-attitudes-toward-zionist-settlements.premium-1.475085
Family leaves East Jerusalem home after settler attack
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 5 Nov — Jewish settlers on Monday attacked a Palestinian family in East Jerusalem, forcing them from their homes, the family said. Mahmoud Abu al-Hawa told Ma‘an the settlers smashed the windows of his home in al-Tur and ransacked his elderly mother’s room, causing her to pass out, he said. An Israeli court has ruled that a relative of al-Hawa sold the home to the Elad settler association, he said. The 7-member family left their home on Monday fearing further settler attacks, al-Hawa said. The home is in a building overlooking the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israeli settlers now control two apartments in the building.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=534166
IOF demolishes house in OJ
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 5 Nov — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) demolished a Palestinian house in occupied Jerusalem on Monday at the pretext of construction in agricultural land. Local sources said that IOF soldiers escorted municipality bulldozers that razed the house of Emad Abu Laban in Tur suburb along with the surrounding fence and a number of trees in addition to water tanks. The sources pointed out that soldiers assaulted the house owners when they objected to the destruction of the fence and the trees and tanks.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation authority served two demolition notices to owners of two Palestinian homes near Yatta village in al-Khalil.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s75xckOFX4AdYzMMM8Pi9blaZ6RuOXGh9Qg5UYKecjFH%2bJ%2bGxorHrQBZCPPqOKdeOocZm281JCWCoR6FhtnItZYl3mgjODCE3DemO%2bw8J3jg8%3d
Administrative demolition orders were issued to 10 houses in Silwan and 4 barracks were demolished in Nabi Samuel village
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) posted 4 Nov — Jerusalem Municipality officers, accompanied by Israeli forces, delivered administrative demolition orders to 10 houses in Al-Bustan neighborhood and Bir Ayyub in Silwan on 31 October, claimed that the houses were built without permits … Abu Diab noted that those seven houses were built before 2000, and some of them were constructed twenty years ago. He also pointed out that the owners of three of those houses pay building irregularity fine. Abu Diab explained that the Jerusalem Municipality has been aiming to deliver more administrative demolition orders to houses in Silwan for a long time, which are more serious than judicial demolition orders, as the name of the owner is not mentioned in the former and as the owner cannot object in the Israeli courts. the administrative orders also allow the municipality bulldozers to demolish the house 24 hours after being handed it to the owner,
http://silwanic.net/?p=30246
Israeli authorities raze Palestinian home
NAZARETH (PIC) 4 Nov — The Israeli authorities razed a Palestinian home in Jet village north of 1948 occupied Palestine at the pretext of lack of construction permit. Palestinian sources said that Israeli bulldozes escorted by a large number of policemen and border guards sealed the village at an early morning hour on Sunday. They said that the police forces encircled the home of Tayseer Nasser and knocked it down
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7WdL9%2fvVwbRU4hO1LyrJtguErr5RvuJka%2fKjO9rLoCylXQ3S4%2fxlmgymR5%2f9q%2b%2bXSdLhF28ZDLhMAl1bjOBqTVzrRax%2fnyCVwcKb1rhurAXg%3d
Israel’s High Court cancels mistaken ruling that barred Palestinian family from its home
Haaretz 6 Nov by Amira Hass — The petition by settler association Regavim to prevent habitation of a house the family had lived in since 1993 contained misinformation … Regavim is an association “dedicated to prevent illegal elements taking control of the national land resources.” The house was built on private land, but Regavim’s petition argued that since it is close to the main road, it constitutes a “security threat,” adding that it is “in the final stages of construction.” It appears that in fact, the house was built in the beginning of the 1990s when residents believed that due to negotiations with Israel, the constrictions on Palestinian construction would be lifted.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-s-high-court-cancels-mistaken-ruling-that-banned-palestinian-family-from-its-home.premium-1.475429
Settlers begin expanding outpost near Hebron
HEBRON 4 Nov (WAFA) — Jewish settlers Sunday began expanding a settlement outpost east of the village of al-Karmel, south of Hebron, according to a local activist. Ratib Jabour, from the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Yatta, told WAFA that settlers from the settlement of Avigal, built illegally on land belonging to a local family, began expanding the outpost and placing of new mobile homes.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=20979
Committee: Settlers destroy dozens of trees in Hebron
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 5 Nov — Settlers from Kiryat Arba uprooted dozens of olive trees in Hebron on Monday, a local agricultural committee said. Over 70 olive and plum trees were destroyed by settlers on land belonging to Hamad al-Zaro, the committee said. Since 1967, 800,000 olive trees have been uprooted by Israeli forces, resulting in a loss of around $55 million to the Palestinian economy,
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=534171
Settler guard uses army vehicle to help build outpost
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma‘an) 4 Nov — A security official stationed in a settler outpost south of Hebron used an army-issued vehicle to help with illegal building, Israeli media reported on Sunday. While all Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, Israel makes a distinction between officially sanctioned communities and outposts built without formal government authorization. The Avigail outpost in the south Hebron hills is thus formally illegal under Israeli law. While the Israeli military provides security for the outposts, building is technically illegal activity. According to the Haaretz report, the Avigail security coordinator was filmed by Taayush activists using his army vehicle to transport construction material to the outpost.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=533753
Likud candidate breaks into Aqsa plazas
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 4 Nov — Likud candidate for the parliamentary elections Moshe Feiglin along with a group of settlers broke into the holy Aqsa mosque on Sunday under heavy police protection. The Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage said in a statement that Feiglin entered the Aqsa through Maghareba gate in the company of a group of settlers and strolled inside it. It said that Israeli security forces prevented Palestinians from approaching the areas in which the Likud candidate and settlers walked, adding that worshippers inside the mosque could only chant slogans against the tour.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7rPFIP%2bCxlWJ2O8JK9l%2fS7nYOeOlyd68qOnxvRziJN6%2bxkBE1uoQKNEXsfxS%2bUtKZfGk65OntEltWTZHNODYa3P7IF14TPIaFmCbg41N%2fF64%3d
Restriction of movement
Bilin father prevented from visiting 5-year-old son in Israeli hospital because of activism against settlements
Mondoweiss 5 Nov by Hamde Abu Rahme — Carmi al Khatib is a 5 year old boy from the Palestinian village of Bil‘in. Soon after his birth it was discovered he had Leukemia and began treatment in Israel and fortunately, after years of illness, managed to overcome the cancer and survived. However, very recently, Carmi was hospitalised again suffering from a rare
disease known to his family from birth which is now causing further difficulties and complications. His mother, Khawal is with him at the hospital and, up until recently, so was his father Haitham al Khatib … Haitham’s most recent permit, issued for a month to visit his son expired about two weeks ago. Since expiring he has tried and failed to get another permit to see his son in hospital. The CA stated that the General Security Services (GSS) declared him a threat to the state and refused to renew his permit. Carmi will be in hospital until the end of November. Sign petition to Israeli govt to let Haitham visit his son
https://mondoweiss.net/2012/11/bilin-father-prevented-from-visiting-5-year-old-son-in-israeli-hospital-because-of-activism-against-settlements.html
The exclusion of Imad al Din al Abassi from the [Aqsa] mosque for 6 months
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 5 Nov — The Israeli Magistrate court excluded the 24 years old Imad al Din al Abassi today from the mosque after arresting him for 2 weeks charging him in throwing stones in the Aqsa mosque last month
His family said that he was released under a house arrest condition for 3 weeks and 6 months away from the mosque and a 3000 NIS bailing out, and his father had to sign another bail out for 20,000 NIS in case and he steps in to the Aqsa.
http://silwanic.net/?p=30284
Palestinian artists launch art festival to protest Israel’s barrier
West Bank (Reuters) 4 Nov — Palestinian artists showcased their art work at West Bank’s Qalandia International Festival on Thursday framed as part of a creative reaction to the Israeli barrier that separates Palestinian villages from each other. Israel has said the barrier, a mix of electronic fences and walls that encroaches on West Bank territory, is meant to keep suicide bombers out of its cities. Palestinians call the barrier — whose course encompasses Israeli settlements in the West Bank — a disguised move to annex or fragment territory Palestinians seek for a viable state.
http://talesofacitybythesea.com/2012/11/04/palestinian-artists-launch-art-festival-to-protest-israels-barrier/
Gaza siege
Soldiers shoot dead 20-year-old man near Gaza border
GAZA (Reuters) 5 Nov — Israeli soldiers shot and killed a 20-year-old Palestinian man who approached a fence near Gaza’s border with Israel, medics said on Monday. An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed the shooting took place after darkness fell on Sunday, saying troops opened warning shots when a man walking in a riverbed failed to heed orders to leave the buffer area. Palestinian medics said the victim, Ahmad al-Nabaheen, was unarmed and mentally unfit. Relatives told the Palestinian Center for Human Rights he suffered from epileptic seizures. He often strayed to border areas and had been detained by Israel two months ago, but released when authorities discovered his condition, PCHR said. Medics had to wait around six hours for permission to pick him up from the spot near al-Bureij refugee camp. They suspected he died of injuries for which he might have been treated.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=533909
Israel navy fires at Palestinian fishing boats
GAZA (PIC) 5 Nov — Israeli navy boats opened heavy fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coasts of Gaza and Rafah cities at dawn Monday, Quds Press reported. It said that the fishermen abandoned their boats and returned back to the shore without finishing their work.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7I36bKCUpIAVCSEy%2fOidm3A0o5WplGrlkyuNQEG7pu6EsaDNTkDBgrDqV93C8SlRrLXihj60QM0byDPv84Vz8PU%2bsoYXrJ%2fFvKoijSmAqerg%3d
PCHR condemns new Israeli attack against Palestinian fishing boat
5 Nov — The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns IOF’s assault on a fishing boat boarded by Palestinian fishermen and international solidarity activists who were aiming to lift the siege by crossing the IOF imposed 3 nautical-mile limit on Palestinian fishermen since the past six years … At approximately 08:00 hrs on Sunday, 04 November 2012, a Palestinian fishing boat boarding five local fishermen and three international activists, identified as: Mano Pinida (Spanish), Rosa Schiano (Italian) and Sarah Kats (French), sailed off from the Gaza seaport. At approximately 09:30 hrs an IOF gunboat attacked the fishing boat with water cannons for approximately 45 minutes….
http://www.imemc.org/article/64512
Qatari fuel for Gaza blocked by unrest in Sinai
EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma‘an) 4 Nov — Fuel donated by Qatar for the Gaza Strip has been held up in Egypt’s Sinai due to unrest, Egyptian security officials said on Sunday. Seven trucks of fuel were set to leave Egypt via Israel’s al-Auja crossing, escorted by security officers from Suez, but the delivery had to be abandoned after Bedouin blocked roads in central Sinai, the security sources said. The officials noted that Hajj pilgrims from Gaza were still returning to the strip from northern Sinai city el-Arish despite the security situation.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=533618
Turkey tries Israeli military over flotilla killings
ANKARA (Reuters) 5 Nov — Turkey puts four former Israeli military commanders, including the head of the army, on trial in absentia this week for the 2010 killing of nine Turks on a Gaza-bound aid ship. The trial, which begins in Istanbul on Tuesday, will further test relations between the one-time strategic allies and has been dismissed by Israel as a “show trial” and “political theater”. Relations between Israel and what was once its only Muslim ally, crumbled after Israeli marines stormed the Mavi Marmara aid ship in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and killed nine Turkish activists on board.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=534223
Fatah: Security forces prevent member leaving Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 5 Nov — Gaza’s security forces stopped a Fatah central committee member from traveling to the West Bank, the party said on Monday. Amal Hamad waited at the Palestinian side of the Erez crossing for two hours before she was turned back, the Fatah statement said. She was meant to travel to a central committee meeting in the West Bank, the party said, accusing the government of deliberately trying to weaken the Fatah movement in Gaza.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=534059
Gaza sewer crocodile captured
Al Jazeera 5 Nov — Authorities say the animal will be returned to the zoo after escaping and living in the sewers for two years … “It came as a baby and now it is huge and the more it grows the more dangerous it becomes for the residents of the area and their livestock,” al-Ankah said. One of the farmers in Beit Lahia had already reported that the crocodile ate two of his goats when they were grazing near one of the sewage basins.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/11/2012115173754869573.html
Israeli violence, raids, illegal arrests
Report: 14 martyrs, 300 prisoners and escalation of Judaization last month
GAZA (PIC) 4 Nov — The Information and Policy Advice Center of the Ministry of Planning in Gaza issued its monthly report which monitors the most prominent Israeli violations and abuses against the Palestinian people during the month of October 2012. The report pointed to the martyrdom of 14 Palestinians, all from the Gaza Strip during the serious escalation that the Strip witnessed last month … Dr. Mazen al-Sheikh, Director General of the Information Center, noted that the Israeli occupation forces carried out 4 military incursions into the Gaza Strip, and bulldozing operations. It also carried out nearly 180 incursions in the West Bank’s cities accompanied by arresting 300 citizens, during the month of October, including 9 Gazans. The IOF also arrested 103 Palestinians from the city of Jerusalem, including 17 children, in addition to five women and five journalists and 70 others from al-Khalil, including 9 children and 3 women.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7o1%2bMZVid7AHqML%2f1I4RCeh75BpcVIgaz%2f%2bXv3G2gzGVarEhO4ylvOgd3URK6Ik9QQlf%2bmsHpHM5qCPTNoLR7%2fcpgAdDL1C6HRc7jrw4eVKQ%3d
Israeli army raid four Palestinian villages inside firing area 918, South Hebron Hills
Operation Dove 3 Nov — FRIGHTENING NIGHT FOR PALESTINIAN FAMILIES The 1st of November Israeli soldiers irrupted in Al-Fakheit, Al-Majaz, At-Tabban and Al-Mirkez, villages of the ‘Firing Area’ 918. Contemporaneously the soldiers surrounded the villages, internationals’ phones started to ring continuously. One by one the first news from the Palestinians arrived to the internationals and pushed them to move quickly toward the area … According to testimonies of Al-Fakheit, Al-Majaz and At-Tabban, collected on the field by internationals, around 7:00 pm in every village almost 30 soldiers got off helicopters, pushed the people out from their houses, even children and babies inside the cradles. The soldiers took pictures of each family and each building. They checked also the IDs. The Israeli army gave them a document which accuses the local inhabitants to help illegal workers who travel toward Israel, drug and arms dealers … During the raid, Israeli soldiers threatened the Palestinians inhabitants, urging them to leave their own land and ordering them to shut up when the Palestinians tried to ask the reason of the night raid. The total length of the action was two hours….
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/11/israeli-army-raid-four-palestinian-villages-inside-firing-area-918-south-hebron-hills/
Jewish extremists ‘spray graffiti, damage cars’ in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 4 Nov — Suspected Jewish extremists damaged Palestinian vehicles and sprayed pro-settler graffiti in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Shu‘fat on Sunday, Israeli police said. Six cars were found with slashed tires and nationalist slogans, including ‘price tag’, were found in the area, Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld told Ma‘an. Police have opened an investigation into the incident, which has “nationalistic motives,” Rosenfeld added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=533876
Israeli forces detain at least 12 in West Bank
JENIN (Ma‘an) 4 Nov — Israeli forces detained at least 12 Palestinians overnight Sunday across the West Bank, locals and the army said. Eight Palestinians were detained in Qalqiliya village Azzun, they said. Locals officials said soldiers searched 32 homes before the arrests.
An Israeli army spokesman said in addition to the detentions in Azzun, forces detained two people in Ramallah-district camp Jalazun and another in Birzeit.
Forces also raided the home of imprisoned Islamic Jihad leader Bassam al-Saadi in Jenin, and detained his 50-year-old wife Nawal, relatives told Ma‘an. The arrest came shortly after al-Saadi’s administrative detention was renewed by Israeli authorities, relatives said.
Near Bethlehem, Israeli forces detained four Palestinian youth from Beit Fajjar on a nearby road.
On Sunday evening, forces detained Ibrahim Gamal Zaqzaq, 20, in Zabuba village northwest of Jenin, locals said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=533931
Israeli forces ‘detain Palestinian singer’
JENIN (Ma‘an) 4 Nov — Israeli forces detained a popular Palestinian singer returning from a concert in Ramallah on Saturday night, along with three members of his band, locals said. Basil Jabareen, from Taybeh near Jenin, and his band were seized at an impromptu checkpoint erected near Sinjil, between Nablus and Ramallah, they said … Locals said Jabareen had previously been interrogated by Israeli intelligence officers during Ramadan this year, but released after three hours.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=533581
Illegal arrests by the PA
PA security rounds up seven Hamas supporters
WEST BANK (PIC) 5 Nov — Palestinian authority’s security apparatuses rounded up seven Hamas supporters in five West Bank provinces, local sources said. They said that the detainees were rounded up in Al-Khalil, Ramallah, Nablus, Tobas, and Qalqilia. The sources pointed out that the detainees included journalists, an engineer, a student, and liberated prisoners.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7W3PjojmJUaUut4OoAZwpNTzXOyeiirrTyJ1KkXUQfXyH1QnjYYfUasOTqv24sEhOSTiv02jQ%2bMIdyeUTx%2fPw8t3ya53uUMcrsrsGtglbJmA%3d
PA security forces kidnap ill citizen, his wife appeals for help
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 4 Nov — The Palestinian authority preventive security forces on Saturday evening kidnapped a Palestinian citizen suffering from health problems named Iyad Surour after a violent raid on his house in Al-Khalil city. His wife Umm Shaaban said her husband Surour uses four types of medicines for the treatment of hypertension and its symptoms. Umm Shaaban noted that her husband had been detained for 11 months by the PA intelligence agency before the Israeli occupation forces kidnapped in January 10, 2012 and jailed him for 27 months. She added that the health of Iyad started to deteriorate after his exposure to torture and maltreatment at the hands of PA intelligence interrogators during his last detention.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s725fFjHNUzOj%2fwddQ%2bKovYV4rGbveo0l%2bbMcxZn0KPtoIE54hoS3YhKUQJatHuEvxme%2fp18m%2fUTbZDEveHzjoF6jUZ2XKqoRvbvbxpJ5ZYno%3d
Hamas: PA arrests 63 Hamas supporters last month
WEST BANK (PIC) 5 Nov — Hamas Movement confirmed in its monthly report that the Ramallah authority continues the policy of political arrests against its cadres, while the occupation continues to detain the former political detainees released from PA jails. Hamas reported the PA abuses during the month of October, pointing that the PA security services had arrested in the previous month 63 cadres and supporters of Hamas in the occupied West Bank including 27 ex-prisoners liberated from the Israeli occupation jails and 14 university students.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7OSUH9s3d%2fn8iDMs37425nXBKmStsChHv3utkfgpZUH9pyKcXT8PBPUo3W%2fle16NEFhaxJaZoRendmZhqMYSkbNtvmjJiVT1LjtbdguohWOU%3d
Prisoners
Hebron teen ‘wrongly jailed for five months on rape charge’
TEL AVIV (Ma‘an) 5 Nov — Israel jailed a Palestinian teenager for almost six months on rape charges, even though eyewitnesses and DNA evidence did not link him to the crime, Israeli media reported on Monday. The 16-year-old shepherd from the south Hebron hills, identified only as A., was jailed for 171 days after a female settler in the area was raped in March, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported. The woman identified him in a line-up, but other eyewitnesses and a DNA test failed to link him to the crime, the report said. During the trial, the military judge asked police to provide more evidence, and they finally traced the woman’s stolen phone to different suspects, it continued.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=534074
Israeli cops who botched rape case to receive ‘certificates of appreciation’
Haaretz 6 Nov — The police officers involved in the investigation of a wrongly imprisoned Palestinian teen, who was recently released from jail because his DNA did not match the evidence from the rape he was accused of committing, will receive certificates of appreciation Wednesday for their efforts in the case, the commander of the Samaria police said Monday. Commander Itzik Rahamim said he wants to support his officers in light of Monday’s Haaretz article exposing the police missteps
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israeli-cops-who-botched-rape-case-to-receive-certificates-of-appreciation.premium-1.475426
UFree: Continues isolation of Abu Sisi to cover up for his kidnap
(PIC) 5 Nov — The European network for the defense of Palestinian prisoners (UFree) has condemned the Israeli occupation authority’s decision to extend the solitary confinement of detainee Dirar Abu Sisi … Abu Sisi has been held in solitary confinement in Israeli jails ever since his kidnap from the Ukraine on 18/2/2011. UFree described the decision as a “desperate attempt” to cover up for the kidnap crime that was carried out on European territory. It held anew the Ukraine and the European Union responsible for the kidnap crime as a result of laxity in protecting people in their land, their suspicious silence over the incident, and the reports charging European intelligence with complicity in the crime
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7VSO7DP2BGCso0a%2b%2bE%2fplUDKlDS5yFkXw0zIM5SKYn%2ftus2swhy5JEV%2boDApKvbxUEItFXfHbmAttrrkQiZeTsXlxfpEdxbFwaU0yBzUKdOY%3d
After spending 2 years in house arrest, Mahdi al Abassi turns himself in to spend 7 months in prison
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 5 Nov — Mahdi Amin al Abasi turned himself in on Thursday to spend 7 months in prison after he was charged in throwing stones at the police
http://silwanic.net/?p=30290
IOA holds Palestinian activist in administrative detention
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 5 Nov — The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) held Palestinian activist Osama Shahin in administrative detention, without charge, after arresting him a week earlier. Shahin, 28, is held in Ofer jail to the west of Ramallah, relatives said.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7eLDRcAJ51uMiSJzffHo6Vly29fIdrhu9w9A862nWzMg06gVOIRTpENy%2b1elqTnW4TqfvNobM1WVYNvaR1q%2f8iGDr6pVhNSK9dgW6MoE5B0s%3d
Hamas leader Raafat Nasif to be released next Sunday
TULKAREM (PIC) 4 Nov — It is scheduled that Israeli occupation authorities will release next Sunday the Hamas leader Jamil Raafat Nassif, 45, who has served 45 months in Israeli jails under administrative detention, without charge or trial.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s76PjF5xZjKydsiIjwN2weanpvLSyaRGT2OAKtDbwb0Nr2SmvnkxYW4Y69BZMkbBYB01WQM89q2Be79zxi7afoapZ%2bjyEqk87H7TY6u0yn2A8%3d
Refugees
Sixteen killed in al-Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria
IMEMC/ Agencies 4 Nov — Activists in the Syrian opposition stated Sunday that the Syrian army bombarded a location, where armed fighters were believed to be hiding, in the al-Yarmouk Refugee Camp, near Damascus, leading to the death of at least 16 persons.
http://www.imemc.org/article/64503
7 Palestinians killed in Damascus
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 5 Nov — Syrian government forces on Monday shelled a bus killing seven Palestinians in Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, locals said … Activists told Reuters that Syrian opposition forces had killed seven members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command in Yarmouk on Monday. PFLP-GC has supported Assad’s crackdown on the 19-month revolt against his rule, and rebels announced last week they had begun arming Palestinians to wrest control of the camp from the faction. On Sunday, opposition campaigners said the Syrian army shelled rebel positions inside Yarmouk killing at least 20 people.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=534179
Political, other news
Former Arab League chief makes first visit to West Bank
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 4 Nov — The former secretary-general of the Arab League arrived in the West Bank on Sunday to meet Palestinian officials. In his first visit to Palestine, Amr Moussa told reporters in Ramallah he was coming to take part in discussions over the situation in Palestine. Moussa arrived in Ramallah with a delegation of Arab dignitaries, including former Jordanian prime minister Abed al-Salam al-Majali, by Jordanian helicopter, a Ma‘an reporter said. The delegates are due to participate in an economic summit in Nablus. Moussa told reporters the trip was part of regional discussions “to learn how to rebuild the Arab political system, in order to support Palestine.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=533600
Lieberman seeks to tackle PA’s UN bid
Ynet 4 Nov — Foreign minister to convene Israeli ambassadors in Europe in an attempt to convince as many nations to oppose PA bid
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4301006,00.html
Palestinians reject Netanyahu call to drop UN initiative
RAMALLAH (Reuters) 5 Nov — President Mahmoud Abbas will press ahead with a bid to upgrade Palestine’s status at the United Nations, a senior official said on Monday, brushing off a request by Israel to halt the initiative … Commenting on Netanyahu’s call to talk now, Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah said any direct talks must await the UN vote, which the Palestinians look certain to win in the face of Israeli and US objections to the unilateral move.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=534052
Arab League head backs Palestinian membership
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) 5 Nov — The Arab League chief says the time is right for the Palestinians to have their U.N. membership upgraded. Nabil Elaraby’s comment followed talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. ‘‘It’s time for Palestine to be member state at the U.N.,’’ Elaraby told reporters. He noted that 100 nations have recognized Palestine as a state.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middle-east/2012/11/05/arab-league-head-backs-palestinian-membership/kR3FbhlFLsfqwlLT0bmXjN/story.html
Spokesman says to release proof Arabs, Israel sabotaging Abbas
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 4 Nov — The president’s spokesman said late Saturday that the Palestinian Authority will release proof that Arab countries, Palestinian groups and Israel have held secret talks to sabotage the president’s bid for a UN upgrade.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=533506
Despite UAE funds, no date set for PA salary payments
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 4 Nov — The Palestinian Authority finance minister said Monday it was too early to set a date for the payment of October’s government salaries. The donation of $42 million from the UAE, announced Sunday, will help the PA with payments, but it has many financial obligations alongside public sector salaries, Nabil Qassis told Ma‘an … Public sector workers have staged a series of strikes in recent weeks to protest the late and partial payment of their salaries.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=533980
PA to open trade centers in Jordan, Algeria, Malaysia
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 5 Nov — The Palestinian Authority economy minister said Sunday he was moving forward with his plan to establish three commercial centers for Palestinian products abroad … The facilities will promote Palestinian industries in an effort to boost trade relations.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=533850
Arafat exhumation set for Nov. 26 over poison report
RAMALLAH (Reuters) 5 Nov — The body of late leader Yasser Arafat is set to be exhumed on Nov. 26, eight years after his death, as part of an investigation to see if he was murdered, a diplomat said on Monday. Two senior Swiss forensic experts are already in the West Bank to discuss plans for the exhumation, which is complicated on a technical, legal and political level.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=534131
Rights group says presidential guard threatens employee
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 4 Nov — The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said Sunday one of its field workers had been threatened by members of the Palestinian Presidential Guard while working in Ramallah. PCHR employee Shareef Aasi received reports that PhD graduates staging a sit-in outside the presidential compound on Thursday were being harassed by the presidential guard in order to disperse them.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=533766
Rami Levy joins Nablus economic summit, factions outraged
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 5 Nov — An Israeli businessmen who owns supermarkets in Jewish settlements on Sunday took part in a meeting of senior political and economic figures in Nablus. Rami Levy, founder of a popular supermarket brand bearing his name, was part of a delegation of Israeli business leaders that joined the talks, held at the home of Palestinian business magnate Munib al-Masri. The former secretary-general of the Arab League Amr Moussa, former Jordanian PM Abdelsalam al-Majali, UN special coordinator for the peace process Robert Serry and several other Arab, Turkish and European figures also attended the conference … Several Palestinian factions condemned the participation of the Israeli delegation. Fatah official in Nablus, Mahmoud Ishtayeh, said that their attendance at the meeting, above all Rami Levy, gives legitimacy to Israeli settlements in the West Bank at a time when official government policy is to boycott settlement products.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=534046
Tunisian party to sue Israel over Abu Jihad assassination
TUNISIA (PIC) 5 Nov –Tunis’ Wafa Party announced on Sunday its intention to sue the occupation state for the killing of Khalil al-Wazir, known as Abu Jihad, in the Tunisian capital city of Tunis, 25 years ago. Abderraouf al-Ayadi, head of the Tunisian Wafa Party, confirmed to the PIC that the legal action will be presented only before a Tunisian court especially that the crime was committed in the Tunisian lands, stressing that only the PLO is able to sue Israel in international courts.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7Z3acc9izhyZ8Us%2bhWBmwGswZ8%2fc5VHa8uhbef2WX0jtZWqENB0G6G4cM5h%2b6PmXdPjUsQTcVxR1%2bC%2fKdh%2fZFUk7ZURsV1m72lp2L1TjHzO8%3d
IDF recruiting computer-savvy Diaspora Jews to serve as cyber fighters
IMRA 2 Nov –Yediot Ahronot military affairs correspondent Yossi Yehoshua reports in the November 1 edition that the IDF is now actively recruiting computer savvy Diaspora Jews to serve in the IDF. “We face great challenges in the cyber area and we are fighting for every soldier with the appropriate potential. In the first stage we are seeking youth in Jewish communities who are appropriate for the position. Our representatives who visit the Jewish communities will approach them and will
already begin the selection process overseas”, explained a senior officer responsible for manpower. Youngsters who meet the high standards and can get the necessary security clearance will be invited to move to Israel and serve as “cyber fighters”.
http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=58821
Slideshow: Obama’s debt to the Middle East: promises kept, broken, and in progress
Al Bawaba UAE 4 Nov — In the final 48 hours before the presidential campaign transfers to the people meter – or the vote – we ask the incumbent President Barack Obama to be held to account on behalf of the Middle East. Did he honor his promises and pledges to the troubled region, disappointed by his predecessor’s Middle East work? What’s left on his Middle East tab worth of debt, should the man enter a second term, or else should he depart owing?
http://www.albawaba.com/slideshow/obama-middle-east–449251
Israeli racism, discrimination
Report: African torture victims held under devastating conditions in Israel
Haaretz 5 Nov — A report released Monday by the Hotline for Migrant Workers and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel shows that the conditions under which tortured African migrants are being held could prove devastating. “They are being held without treatment, without appropriate services and while ignoring studies showing that lengthy incarceration can have a particularly destructive effect on survivors of slavery and torture,” the report says.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/report-african-torture-victims-held-under-devastating-conditions-in-israel.premium-1.475391
‘Israel trying to render migrants invisible’
Ynet 5 Nov — Tents exposed to the desert elements, crowded cement barracks, shortage in medical and social care, no education or employment services, no privacy or communication with relatives and no recreational activities – these are the conditions thousands of illegal African migrates will meet if they are detained at one of the the facilities currently built by the State in southern Israel. Human rights activists claimed Monday that these conditions will render the migrates “invisible,” cutting any link they may have to the outside world.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4301505,00.html
Netanyahu claims success in halting African ‘infiltrators’
JERUSALEM (Reuters) 4 Nov — Israel has stopped the passage of Africans slipping into the country through its border with Egypt, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday after months of intensive counter-measures on the once porous desert frontier … Israel brands the vast majority of the Africans to be illegal job-seekers, and in June launched a deportation drive against a few thousand from South Sudan and Ivory Coast. That campaign was fueled by a spree of anti-African street violence.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=533663
A love that knows no boundaries / Gideon Levy & Alex Levac
Haaretz 3 Nov — Infuriating inefficiency at the Interior Ministry exacerbates saga of two Israeli-African couples who are trying to make a life here against all odds — On June 14, the Interior Ministry came out with a new regulation, according to which an Israeli citizen can only apply to arrange residency status for a foreign-born partner if the latter entered the country legally. Many African partners of Israeli citizens (the couples need not be married, but have to show they are indeed living as couples) were told to leave the country within 14 days, and the terror of being arrested and deported gripped them immediately … No migrant from Africa has entered Israel legally. This also goes for the tens of thousands of people that Israel cannot deport because it is a signatory to international conventions that bar it from doing so.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/twilight-zone/a-love-that-knows-no-boundaries.premium-1.473975
Abbas
Abbas called ‘traitor’ in Amman conference on Palestinian refugees
AMMAN (PIC) 4 Nov — De facto president Mahmoud Abbas was strongly denounced and described as a traitor by the speakers during the conference on “the Palestinian refugees and the Arab spring” that was held on Saturday in the Jordanian capital Amman. Among the speakers was Ahmed Nofal, a professor of political science at the Jordanian university of Yarmouk, who called on Fatah faction to hold Abbas accountable for his betrayal of the Palestinian cause in general and the issue of Palestinian refugees in particular. Nofal challenged Abbas to visit any Palestinian refugee camp anywhere inside or outside Palestine after he stated his position clearly against the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and lands. He noted that Jordan is directly affected by Abbas’s position in this regard because he implied his acceptance of resettling the refugees in their whereabouts.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7ccVpgG%2fkOpFXS9iz5BN%2fbxSHNC0PBDlwtgRnJ2BkZi6lHHKyyhSlfTPuxtQ2lIqT2mNH8z4tOc3bmYPzuWiBsZHJUKdlafY%2bnJYuhoJ9a2s%3d
Bahr demands prosecution of Abbas for his concessions on national rights
GAZA (PIC) 5 Nov — First deputy speaker of the Palestinian legislative council Ahmed Bahr called for holding a popular trial against de facto president Mahmoud Abbas for his latest remarks against the national rights and constants. Bahr called in a news conference held at the PLC headquarters in Gaza on Fatah faction to state their position unequivocally and repudiate the concessions made by Abbas regarding the right of return and the right to resist the occupation.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7sElfccPrLBm04LgzVDJA%2b3Z0SdxptXbaEvKegNNpk9AAZoaGPFTGfE7f2gpqADQ8aKJ3qQpLB3BqLgjZH1%2byibETrHx9Nk3sKT4MdpeYcg0%3d
Photos: Palestinians carrying signs “I am Palestinian Abbas does not represent me”
Demotix 3 Nov — Palestinian boy holds the key their home in Israel, which abandoned 48, while carry placards inscribed “I am a Palestinian Abbas does not represent me” during a protest in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
http://www.demotix.com/news/1569578/palestinians-carrying-i-am-palestinian-abbas-does-not-represent-me
Fact Sheet: The Right of Return and Palestinian refugees
IMEU 5 Nov — All refugees have a right to return to areas from which they have fled or were forced, to receive compensation for damages, and to either regain their properties or receive compensation and support for voluntary resettlement. This right derives from a number of legal sources, including customary international law, international humanitarian law governing rights of civilians during war, and human rights law. The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in Article 13(2) that “[e]veryone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and return to his own country.” This is an individual right and cannot be unilaterally abrogated by third parties….
http://imeu.net/news/article0023194.shtml
Advisor to Abbas says president did not give up right of return
RAMALLAH 3 Nov (WAFA) – Nimr Hammad, political advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas, said the president did not say in his interview with Israel’s Channel 2 television station that he gave up the right of refugees to return to their homeland … he added, Abbas said “I am from Safad and I lived there until I was 13 years old and when the independent Palestinian state will be established, Safad will be part of Israel.” “What was said is what is going to happen when the state of Palestine is established alongside Israel,” said Hammad, “and therefore the president never mentioned the word giving up the right of return.”
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=20971
Netanyahu skeptical of Abbas comments on refugee return
JERUSALEM (Reuters) 4 Nov — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced skepticism on Sunday at President Mahmoud Abbas’ remark on Israeli TV that he did not seek to permanently return to his native Safed. Abbas’s comments on Thursday that he had no permanent claim on the town, from which he was driven during a 1948 war, were seen as hinting he was dropping a demand for a right of return of Palestinian refugees to homes now in Israel. “I watched President Abbas’s interview at the weekend, and I heard that since then he has already managed to recant,” Netanyahu told his cabinet, urging Abbas to return to direct peace negotiations, suspended since 2010, to clarify his positions.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=533690
groups.yahoo.com/group/f_shadi (listserv)
www.theheadlines.org (archive)
“Israeli Public Diplomacy Minister proposes art project for separation wall ”
http://scheincommunications.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/turd_polish_thumb.jpg