Silwan defense committee said that the Israeli occupation regime has displaced at least 130, 000 Jerusalemite natives after seizing or demolishing their homes in the holy city.
The Israeli army demolished three homes in the Palestinian village of Hares Wednesday, firing tear gas at families trying to approach their destroyed property. Earlier Wednesday, settlers raided the city and chopped down 100 olive trees, some of which were more than 10 years old, according to villagers. Olives are considered to be a major source of livelihood among Palestinians. Hares lies south of Nablus and is frequently subject to military and settler incursions as well as closures, because of its proximity to illegal settlements. In 1982 Israel confiscated part of the land to establish an Israeli industrial zone.
Occupation demolishes installations in the Negev and Yatta, south of al-Khalil
The Israeli occupation forces demolished on Tuesday, two houses, a sheep barn and a water well, and notified citizens to demolish their homes.
Al-Khalil: Eight villages threatened with demolition
A second Palestinian Nakba is planned to be implemented by demolishing eight villages in southern al-Khalil district and displacing hundreds of their residents by the IOF under flimsy pretexts.
The Israeli occupation authorities have issued eviction notices to five more families in Wadi al-Maleh in the North of the Jordan Valley. The head of the village council, Aref Darghmeh, said that 60 families have been evicted over the past two days. Israel says that its armed forces carry out military exercises in the area and they fear that the houses will be hit by live ammunition.
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces uprooted trees from village lands in Nahhalin near Bethlehem on Wednesday, witnesses said. Israeli forces told villagers the lands were owned by Israel. They said Palestinians were prohibited from reaching them or planting on them. An inquiry to the Israeli civil affairs unit in the West Bank was not immediately returned. A day earlier Israeli authorities demolished three buildings and a water cistern in the south Hebron hills, an international peace group said. Forces bulldozed a two-story house in al-Deirat village owned by Mohammad Musa Mohammad Abu Aram, before flattening a sheep stable, Operation Dove said.
NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli settlers uprooted over 100 olive trees and sprayed racist graffiti in a Nablus village on Wednesday, a Palestinian official said. Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settler activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma’an that settlers from Rechalim sprayed “Death to Arabs” and “Price Tag” on the walls of al-Sawiya village. The olive trees were planted on land belonging to Hamad Salih Mahmoud Hijazi, Salih Naser Gazi and Mustafa Ali.
Welcome to Bir Nabala – a new video by B’Tselem
During the 1990s, the Northwestern Jerusalem suburb of Bir Nabala enjoyed an economic boom due to its central location and the fact that it had easy access to both Ramallah and East Jerusalem and, from there, to cities in central Israel. This central location made the town a meeting place for Palestinian merchants from the West Bank with Israeli merchants, and contributed to the prosperity of businesses and the commerce in the town.
A field trip to the front lines of Area C, Allison Deger
On October 27, 2012, in collaboration with the Jenin Freedom Theatre’s
Freedom Bus, students, activists and journalists took a field trip to al-Walaja, near Bethlehem. The trip to Walaja was followed by the “Ride for Water Justice,” a four-part series of weekly field trips organized by the Palestinian advocacy NGO,
eWash, the Freedom Bus, and al-Juzoor for Health and Social Development. The water rights tour kicked off on November 2, 2012 in Faqoua, a northern West Bank village. The next scheduled field trips will take place later this month in the Hebron Hills and the Jordan Valley, concluding with a video conference with partners in Gaza.
Before the Wall is an ongoing project that aims to portray the last generation of Palestinians born before the completion of the Israeli apartheid wall. These images serve as a somber reminder of the brutal reality in which Palestinians live, imprisoned by an oppressive wall that extends over 700 kilometers and towers up to 8 meters in height.
The annual Palestinian olive harvest is an important cultural and economic event. Nearly half the agricultural land in the Palestinian territories is planted with eight million olive trees – and there are about 80,000 farmers, most of whom operate on a small-scale basis.
Refugees
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Syrian government forces shot dead a Palestinian woman who held a senior position in the Central Bank of Syria, local activists said. Maysa Abu Baker, who was a director at the bank, was shot in a raid on her home, the coordination committee of Yarmouk refugee camp said in a statement. Abu Baker fell into a coma and died in a Damascus hospital, the committee said. It added that Syrian forces loyal to embattled President Bashar Assad also shot dead Mahmoud Ahmad al-Samak in Yarmouk, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Syria.
Israeli & Egyptian Siege on Gaza
The United Nations Fourth Committee has accused the Israeli authorities of obstructing efforts to reconstruct the Gaza Strip, which was devastated during the Israeli war in 2008/2009. Life in Gaza, claims the UN, will not be viable if the siege is not lifted. ”The mission of reconstructing the Gaza Strip has become more difficult for UNRWA because of Israel’s delayed approval of projects,” said the Committee, which is charged with looking into projects for “decolonisation”. “The delays cost UNRWA $5m in addition expenses, which has to be taken from money donated to help refugees.”
Egypt To Continue Demolishing Border Tunnels
Egyptian security sources reported that the army and the police, operating against criminal armed groups in Sinai, will start in the coming days, a large operation that is meant at resuming the demolition of border tunnels with Gaza.
Dreams of owning a home are thwarted by Egypt’s tunnel closures as well as Israel’s ongoing blockade.
OPT: Tunnel closures exacerbate Gaza housing crisis
GAZA 08 November 2012 (IRIN) – Ayman Subhi, like the other 1.6 million residents of the Gaza Strip, is often a victim of international developments beyond his control.
Let’s talk about our work for a moment. There’s a common belief that in order for organizations like ours to be effective, we have to simplify the complexities and nuances involved in our issue. We hope that those who follow our work have already noticed that we don’t subscribe to this belief. In fact, we think the opposite is true. Smart criticism based on the facts is harder to dismiss and in the end, it’s simply more effective. A little nuance can go a long way.
Israeli Terrorism
A young teenager was killed during an Israeli air strike in Gaza on Thursday, according to Ma’an News Agency. Gazan medical spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said that the boy was killed by machine gun fire, either from tanks or helicopters that took part in a raid targeting houses and farms east of Khan Younis. The victim was identified as 13-year-old Hamid Younis Abu Daqqa. A spokeswoman for the Israeli army had no immediate comment on the subject.
Two Palestinian resistance fighters survive Israeli shooting
Two Palestinian resistance fighters survived on Wednesday an Israeli assassination attempt after Israeli tank fire barely missed them.
Several Tanks Invade Khan Younis
The Palestine News Network (PNN) reported that eight Israeli tanks and four armored military bulldozers invaded, on Thursday at dawn, Abasan town, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, and fired smoke bombs and rounds of live ammunition.
Israeli undercover agents arrested two citizens in Silwan town in occupied Jerusalem on Wednesday evening, local sources said.
Clashes erupt after storming Yussef’s Tomb by hundreds of settlers
Hundreds of Israeli settlers stormed at dawn on Wednesday, the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank, and performed religious rituals in Youssef’s Tomb under the protection of the Israeli army.
Palestinian territories
Hundreds of Israeli settlers entered Nablus at dawn on Wednesday to perform Jewish religious rituals in the Tomb of Joseph. The illegal settlers were protected by a heavy Israeli security force presence even though the city is supposed to be under Palestinian Authority control.
Illegal Arrests by Israel and the PA
Israeli forces arrest 2 in Silwan
Israeli undercover agents arrested two citizens in Silwan town in occupied Jerusalem on Wednesday evening, local sources said.
Doctor arrested from his clinic in Jerusalem
The occupation forces arrested on Thursday a Palestinian doctor from his clinic in al-Sahira Gate in occupied Jerusalem.
PA arrests five Hamas supporters, wait for release of another from Israeli jail
Palestinian Authority’s security apparatuses rounded up five Hamas supporters in the West Bank over the past 24 hours and threatened the detention of an entire family.
Other Prisoner News
A Palestinian activist jailed for protesting against Israeli settlements in the West Bank must be released, Amnesty International has urged. An Israeli military court yesterday sentenced Bassem Tamimi to four months in prison and fined him 5,000 Israeli shekels (about US$1,280) for his part in a demonstration against Israeli settlements on 24 October. As part of a plea bargain, the military judge also imposed a three-month suspended sentence that will remain active for three years. “This unjust jail sentence is the latest example of Israel’s harassment of Bassem Tamimi, who has been persecuted solely for peacefully protesting against Israel’s illegal settlements,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Director.
Urgent Alert: Ayman Sharawni, day 129 to the Hunger Strike is still prevented from seeing PHR Israel’s independent doctor. Today is Ayman Sharawni’s 129th day of hunger strike, the longest hunger strike ever reported. His health condition reached extremely critical stages. He has reported to his lawyer that he was told by the medical staff in the hospital during one of his visits there, that he has developed a kidney problem. This is in addition to the other medical complications already reported by PHR-Israel’s volunteer doctor when visiting him on September 10th 2012.
IOF transfers leader alSaadi’s wife to al-Jalama interrogation center
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) transferred on Monday the captive Nawal Said al-Saadi, 52, wife of Islamic Jihad official, prisoner Bassam al-Saadi to al-Jalama interrogation center.
Protests / Solidarity / Activism / BDS / Anti-Normalization
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A media rights group and the Palestinian Authority information ministry on Thursday organized a sit-in in Ramallah to protest assaults against Israeli abuse against Palestinian journalists. The demonstration was organized by IFEX, the Global Network for Freedom of Expression, along with its local affiliate Mada “to end impunity of the aggressors on freedom of expression.” Mada said the goal of the sit-in was to demand accountability from Israel for its “attacks against Palestinian journalists … which constitute a flagrant violation of all international laws and conventions”. It said Israel’s impunity encourages its forces to commit serious violations against the media. The protesters highlighted the case of Jaafar Shtayyeh, who Mada said was attacked Wednesday while covering the demolition of Palestinian homes in Kifl Haris village near Salfit in the occupied West Bank. A Ma’an photographer and Watan TV correspondent were also injured in the clashes.
Egypt’s newly elected Patriarch of Alexandria, Pope Tawadros II, has announced that he will maintain the policy of his predecessor Pope Shenouda III of discouraging Coptic worshippers from visiting Jerusalem until it is liberated. He said that Christians and Muslims will visit Jerusalem together, after its liberation. The issue of Egyptian Copts visiting Occupied Jerusalem has been a continuous challenge for the Orthodox Coptic Pope over the years. Following Pope Shenouda’s death in March, the issue has been at the forefront of the challenges facing his successor alongside other issues arising from the new political situation in post-Mubarak Egypt.
Activists roll out intensive campaign to keep settlement profiteer Veolia at bay in north London, Adri Nieuwhof
Human rights activists in north London campaign to exclude Veolia from a huge $7.5 billion waste contract.
Israeli Racism and Discrimination / Injustice System
NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli settlers uprooted over 100 olive trees and sprayed racist graffiti in a Nablus village on Wednesday, a Palestinian official said. Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settler activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma’an that settlers from Rechalim sprayed “Death to Arabs” and “Price Tag” on the walls of al-Sawiya village. The olive trees were planted on land belonging to Hamad Salih Mahmoud Hijazi, Salih Naser Gazi and Mustafa Ali.
Missteps led to wrongful imprisonment of Palestinian teen for nearly six months. 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.
Officer who heads IDF’s ultra-Orthodox recruitment program causes stir when he quips about female soldier whose performance upset religious troops.
Political Developments / Other News
Lieberman pushes for harsh response to Abbas’ bid to upgrade Palestine to non-member observer state status at United Nations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s forum of nine senior ministers will meet on Tuesday to discuss the Palestinian Authority’s decision to request an upgrade of its status at the United Nations. During the meeting, the country’s most senior ministers will consider a range of retaliatory actions against the Palestinian leadership, an official in Jerusalem said.
Palestinians prepare UN upgrade despite US, Israel warnings
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) — The Palestinian Authority circulated a draft resolution to UN member states on Wednesday that calls for upgrading its UN status to that of an “observer state” despite US and Israeli suggestions that the Palestinians could face retaliatory moves. The draft resolution, which could be put to a vote in the 193-nation UN General Assembly later this month, also reiterates the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to the “two-state solution” in which Israel and an independent Palestinian state would co-exist in peace.
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The UK is pressuring the Palestinian Authority to abandon its bid to upgrade Palestine’s status at the UN, a senior Fatah official said Thursday. ”Until this moment, there is no international pressure on the PA concerning the UN bid (from Europe), except from Britain,” Nabil Shaath told Ma’an. Shaath said London had pressured the PA to drop the bid and allow room for the US to launch new political initiatives, but he did not expect anything new until next year.
Fatah: Oslo Accords will cease to exist after UN bid
Khaled Abu Toameh – “The Palestinian leadership will respond if the Israeli government carries out its threats against the Palestinian Authority,” Saleh Ra`fat, member of the PLO Executive Committee, told the Jerusalem-based Al-Quds daily. The PA would consider itself free of all its commitments under the agreements signed with Israel, including economic and security obligations. (…) The Palestinians would cancel the Paris Economic Protocol if the Israeli government imposed financial sanctions on the PA after the UN vote. “We will stop importing everything that is Israeli.”
Hamas-affiliated MP Yahia Mousa said Wednesday he would not welcome Mahmoud Abbas to the Gaza Strip, after the president was reported to have considered a joint visit with the Turkish premier., “No hello, no welcome, no greeting, your visit is refused. Gaza is the house of the revolution and the revolutionary, and we don’t welcome anyone who sells our homeland,” Mousa posted on his official Facebook account.
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Fatah sources said Thursday that the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip was refusing to allow an anniversary event marking the death of Yasser Arafat. The leadership of Fatah received a notice banning any popular or organizational events to revive the eighth anniversary of Arafat’s death, they said. Events would be held Sunday. Fatah leader Yahya Rabah said the movement would find a way to mark Arafat’s passing.
PM calls Israel-U.S. ties ‘rock solid’, but some Likud politicians warn of tough times ahead for Israel; Blair says he expects Obama to bring ‘new plan’ to peace process. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday congratulated U.S. President Barack Obama’s on his reelection, telling U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro that security relations between the two countries are “rock solid.”
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel said Thursday that Israel must reach an agreement with the Palestinians within four years, Israeli media reported. Israel’s Ynet news site said Olmert, speaking at Columbia University in New York, believes the conflict is the most important issue on the agenda ahead of Israeli elections next year. Olmert said newly elected US President Barack Obama would support Israel but does not care for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a personal level. Israel still “has a friend in the White House,” he said.
Zionist Military Aircraft Violates Lebanese Airspace
Zionist military aircraft had penetrated Lebanese airspace and flown over several areas of the country in blatant violation of a UN Security Council resolution.
Arab League to discuss Israeli attack on Sudan
The Arab League’s annual ministerial meeting to be be held in Cairo next week will discuss the Israeli attack on the Yarmouk Industrial Complex in Khartoum, Sudan. According to the Sudanese Media Services Centre, the League’s Deputy Secretary General, Ahmed Bin Heli, called the attack “a dangerous precedent”. The Arab League, he said, had issued a clear statement condemning this act of aggression. He stressed the importance of Arab coordination in support of Sudan’s position when the issue is raised at the UN Security Council.
BBC survey measures public opinion on 22 countries, places Israel in company of North Korea, ahead of only Iran, Pakistan.
Longstanding NYT articles, op-eds, and editorials are notoriously one-sided for Israel. Palestinian rights don’t matter, only Jewish ones. Life in Occupied Palestine harshness goes largely unreported. Crimes of war and against humanity are ignored. An earlier If If Americans Knew report explained “highly disturbing patterns” of distorted, one-sided coverage. Little changed from then to now. In February 2012, Jodi Rudoren became Times Jerusalem bureau chief. Like earlier ones, she’s Jewish. A previous article quoted Alison Weir asking “(w)ho is Jodi Rudoren?”
THE results of US elections are eccentric. While re-electing Barack Obama to the White House, voters also chose members of the opposing party as their representatives in Congress. Pundits refer to this as division of powers at its best. Today, next to President Barack Obama, Abigael Evans – the four-year-old from Fort Collins Colorado – must be the second happiest person that the presidential election is finally over. Last week, Abigael became an instantaneous American celebrity after her mum posted on a tearful, 22-second clip of her on YouTube declaring: “I am tired of Bronco Bama and Mitt Romney.” As of yesterday her video had received more than 13 million hits.
Hope and change have been the defining slogans of Barack Obama’s political career. In his inimitable way he has now convinced the American electorate twice that he is capable of ushering in a new era in their country’s history. In the Middle East, however, and Palestine in particular, there is little hope of any change during his second term. While the Republican-dominated Congress will continue to challenge his domestic policies, a body of opinion suggests that Mr Obama will have relatively more room to manoeuvre in foreign affairs. Whether he chooses to exploit this fully or not, it goes without saying that Israel’s security, prosperity and strategic advantage over its Arab neighbours will remain the cornerstone of US policy in the region. Both Obama and his rival, Mitt Romney, reaffirmed this time and again throughout their election campaigns.
Bibi’s Big Bluff, GARETH PORTER
A new twist was added to the longrunning media theme of a threat by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to go to war with Iran when news stories seemed to suggest Monday that Netanyahu had ordered the Israeli military to prepare for an imminent attack on Iranian nuclear sites in 2010. Netanyahu backed down after Israeli Defence Forces chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi and Mossad director Meir Dagan opposed the order, according to the reports. But the details of the episode provided in a report by Israel’s Channel 2 investigative news programme “Truth”, which aired Monday night, show that the Netanyahu order was not meant to be a prelude to an imminent attack on Iran. The order to put Israeli forces on the highest alert status was rejected by Ashkenazi and Dagan primarily because Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak had not thought through the risk that raising the alert status to the highest level could provoke unintended war with Iran.
The U.S. State Department recently warned (again) that any move by the Palestine Liberation Organization to enhance the organization’s status at the United Nations would, among other things, put United States aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) at risk. That day may not be far off. PA President Mahmoud Abbas plans to ask the U.N. General Assembly to upgrade Palestine to non-member state status later this month. But is a U.S. aid cutoff such a bad thing? More voices are questioning international aid to the Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, with some even calling for a full boycott of the aid industry. Palestinians do need international assistance. However, after decades of failure it is well past time to devise an alternative aid agenda that goes beyond just helping Palestinians cope with occupation while Israel pulls their land out from under them. An alternative model that makes aid effective must challenge the status quo and support the quest for freedom, rights, and self-determination.
In Malaysia, a small group of community activists are busy at work developing projects that benefit most vulnerable members of Palestinian society in Gaza. Working under the umbrella of Viva Palestina Malaysia (VPM), the group shows solidarity through empowerment projects: interest free loans for small projects, providing employment for women, supplying thousands of solar lamps aimed at ending the persistent darkness for many families, and more.
Over the past 30 to 40 years, artistic responses to the question of Palestine have more or less followed the same path as the political situation. They have moved on from a revolutionary cause (Jean-Luc Godard’s 1976 film Ici et Ailleurs, Here and Elsewhere, with its footage of children in refugee camps training for battle); to a sad and intractable conflict (Emily Jacir’s Where We Come From, a collection of wishes gathered, documented, enacted, embodied or left unfulfilled, from 2001–03); to a diagnosable but seemingly incurable syndrome (Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti’s sound piece Ramallah Syndrome, 2009, about the delusions of normality that crept into the de facto capital of a phantom Palestinian state in the vacuum left behind by the failure of the Oslo Accords peace process).
Where the Wild Things Are
Berlin’s Weekend Gallery recently hosted an exhibit of 13 paintings by Palestinian artist Jad Salman, titled “The Wild Beasts are Hungry.”
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/where-wild-things-are?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29
www.TheHeadlines.Org
Israeli impunity vs UN membership with leverage.
Bring it on.
A Turkish colleague of mine commented that “the Arabs are builders.” Thank you for showing that these are not aborigines in caves. That beautiful house was built with generations in mind. The film almost says ‘how dare they aspire to such a graceful, idiosyncratic home’. No shoddy drywall, no cookie cutter mass-produced ugliness. It required such a big war machine to take it down.
The video is sickening. The Palestinian family probably worked 20 years to get the money to build their own home in their own place and the bots destroy it.
The system is rotten to the core.
And the machine drivers celebrate Sukkot but never think of what it means.
It reminds me of the children’s book “La maison de barbapapa” with the evil machines tearing down buildings.
Can somebody please send this video to Romney? Perhaps he can comment on how superior Hyundai and Caterpillar demolition tractors are to plain old Palestinian brick and mortar homes.