Israeli settlement stops dumping sewage in Palestinian fields following protest

Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing

Village of Sabastiya celebrates successful campaign against sewage dumping on their land
ISM 7 Apr — Residents of the village Sabastiya near Nablus have confirmed that the pipe which pumps raw sewage onto their land from nearby illegal settlement Shave Shomron has been shut off. The raw sewage poisoned both olive and apricot trees belonging to the village. The residents of Sabastiya have been demonstrating against the dumping since March this year and are now celebrating the success of their campaign. On the three occasions that the villagers demonstrated against the sewage since March they have been joined by both Israeli and international activists. The demonstrations held on Fridays consisted of villagers marching towards Shave Shomron and praying on a field nearby. The Israeli army consistently broke up the peaceful demonstrations by shooting tear gas, rubber coated steel bullets and stun grenades at the unarmed demonstrators, including medical staff and journalists. Sabastiya is an ancient village located just 10 km north of Nablus.
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/04/village-of-sabastiya-celebrates-successful-campaign-against-sewage-dumping-on-their-land/

Qusin villagers prevented from planting olive trees on their land by Israeli army
ISM 7 Apr — On Saturday 6 April villagers from Qusin, east of Nablus, accompanied by international and solidarity activists attempted to plant olive trees on land denied access to them by the Israeli Army. After successfully planting several trees, and proceeding closer to the military road that cuts through Palestinians lands, the Israeli Army prevented the group from planting any further trees and violently detained one person, dragging them across rocks … The village of Qusin has been suffering as a result of wide scale land confiscation by the Israeli occupation. This was their fifth action, previous actions related to a quarry located on Palestinian land, where local illegal settlements are dumping rubbish some of which may be toxic according to samples of labels taken from the scene.
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/04/qusin-villagers-prevented-from-planting-olive-trees-on-their-land-by-israeli-army/

IOF soldiers expel farmers from east Yatta land
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 7 Apr — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) expelled Palestinian farmers and shepherds from Um Khawas areas to east of Yatta town, south of Al-Khalil, on Saturday afternoon. Local sources said that the soldiers assaulted the farmers and shepherds and pointed guns at them and forced them out of the land after quarrels. The sources noted that foreign peace activists intervened to prevent the soldiers from arresting a number of farmers. They said that the soldiers threatened to fire live bullets at the farmers and ordered them out of the area at the pretext that it was “state land.”
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7iDvJo6YPgCyRiCUnZimhs3DpyLONtLy7ynnvdCIzcK6t8b7D01TezjhcfVFwFAHhdRMzTKgSy2HY4Q8HK6r1is3XRn4wkYNrd1r9c%2fpqTls%3d

Palestinian land annexed by settlements increased by 182% in two decades
BETHLEHEM (PIC) 7 Apr — Data published by a Palestinian research institute specialized in monitoring settlement activities in the occupied West Bank revealed that Palestinian land annexed by settlements has increased by 182 per cent in the past two decades. Applied Research Institute Jerusalem (ARIJ) noted in a report that the area annexed by Israeli settlements has increased from 69 km² in 1990, to 194.7 km² in 2012. The number of Israeli settlers went from 240,000 in 1990 to more than 693,000 in 2012, – an increase of 189%, ARIJ added.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7NINT4d7f1qLJ1zd5fcrvdzzboqWiDR%2f%2fBfpJM8ueh0%2fTTKtxzXWm6G%2bmomCGlQYzFoKEgU9Ao%2fubBZsg44KiYaSw0PIx0lRROG%2baGe2C9Wc%3d

Violence / Raids / Attacks / Clashes / Arrests / Threats

Protection of Civilians weekly briefing 26 Mar – 1 Apr
UN OCHA — Key issues:  Nearly 100 Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces in protests held across the West Bank to commemorate the 37th anniversary of Land Day; ten Israeli soldiers and two Israeli civilians were also injured during the demonstrations.  Situation in Gaza remains tense; fishing limit remains at 3NM, undermining the livelihoods of nearly 3,500
fishermen and their dependents — A total of 124 Palestinians, including 54 children, were injured in clashes with Israeli forces across the West Bank. This represents a significant increase compared with the past two weeks and compared to the weekly average of injuries since the beginning of 2013. Fifteen Israeli soldiers were also injured during this week’s clashes, according to the IDF….
http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ochaopt_weekly_breifing_notes_2013_04_05_english.pdf

Woman hurt by plastic-coated bullet in al-Khader
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 7 Apr — A Palestinian woman was hit by a plastic-coated bullet in her back during clashes between young Palestinian men and Israeli forces in the Um Rukbeh area in al-Khader south of Bethlehem Sunday. Medics identified the victim as Amneh Ali Khader Salah from al-Khader. She was shot in the courtyard of her house…
Several Palestinians were also injured on Saturday in clashes in al-Khader. Popular committee coordinator Ahmad Salah said that a number of youngsters were injured with rubber bullets, and one of them was taken to the hospital. He added that Israeli forces fired a tear gas canister into a house, causing injuries to an 80-year-old woman and her young granddaughter. They were both taken to the hospital.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583003

Israeli soldiers severely injure two south of Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM (WAFA) 7 Apr —  Two Palestinians were critically injured on Sunday during clashes with Israeli soldiers in the town of al-Khader, south of Bethlehem, said local sources. They told WAFA that both were hit with live ammunition; one in his chest while the other was shot in the head. Their injuries were described as serious and both were transferred to Beit Jala hospital to receive medical care.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=22075

Israeli soldiers break into homes, shops in Al-Khalil
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 7 Apr — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed Al-Khalil [Hebron] city and nearby villages and broke into houses and shops on Sunday morning.Eyewitnesses told the PIC that IOF soldiers in five patrols burst into three suburbs in the city and forced their way into houses and shops and searched them. They said that other IOF soldiers stormed the nearby villages of Beit Ummar and Halhul for the same purpose. The witnesses said that the soldiers confiscated computers from homes and shops stormed in Namera suburb in Al-Khalil city.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7h8DGDKQIiprLt8l8Yx9Ozal42lMvgx5LU%2f2l6zk9Bv0ZG%2fwKxzcD%2fbQA70ItJvkW7c7TspeMd2uCC0mrEoi7QexaqpE5%2baoC0hqj%2bqLZT78%3d

Settlers spray graffiti on Bethlehem-area mosques
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 7 Apr — Settlers sprayed racist graffiti on two mosques in a village near Bethlehem early Sunday, locals said. The graffiti on the Tuku [or Taqu‘, Takoa] village’s Bilal bin Rabah mosque included a threat that Palestinian stone-throwers would “pay the price” unless they stopped. They sprayed similar slogans on the Salah al-Din al-Ayoubi mosque. Settlers also slashed the tires of two cars that were parked in the street, locals said. Residents also said Israeli soldiers had guarded the settlers who participated in the vandalism.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583067

A present to ISM from our zionist neighbors
[photo] ISM 6 Apr — The ISM team based in Hebron woke up last week to find that their zionist settler neighbours had left a present for them on their doorstop. A tyre, a large piece of cloth and a stone were organised onto a pile just outside the apartment door, which according to our Palestinian neighbours, symbolises that they plan to set fire to the apartment. Settler intimidation and violence towards ISM activists is not unusual , especially in central Hebron where roughly 500 settlers are “protected” by thousands of Israeli soldiers.
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/04/a-present-to-ism-from-our-zionist-neighbours/

Four Palestinians, including a child, kidnapped in West Bank
IMEMC 6 Apr — Saturday April 6, 2013; Israeli soldiers kidnapped three Palestinians, including a 10-year-old child, in Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, and one Palestinian in the West Bank city of Bethlehem … In Bethlehem, soldiers invaded the Aida refugee camp, broke into the home of resident Ahmad Al-Amir, and kidnapped his son, Mohammad, 23. Also on Saturday, Palestinian medical sources reported that dozens of Palestinians have been injured by rubber-coated metal bullets and due to the effects of teargas inhalation, during clashes with Israeli soldiers in Abu Dis town, east of occupied East Jerusalem.
Israeli soldiers also kidnapped seven Palestinians identified as Mahmoud Khaled Jaffal, Laith Sami Awwad, Morad Rabee’, Mustafa Abu Roomy, Sami Ash-Shamaly, Montaser Gheith, and Mohammad Khalaf. All were moved to the Maale Adumim Police station before being moved to Ezion detention center.
http://www.imemc.org/article/65302

Israel arrests 4 Jihad leaders in Hebron
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 7 Apr — Israeli forces early Sunday detained five Palestinians including four Islamic Jihad leaders in Hebron, residents of the southern West Bank town said. Soldiers raided three houses in Hebron and detained Amer al-Muhtaseb, Ahmad al-Ewiwi, and Arqam Ahmaro, according to locals … In Beit Ula village, Israeli forces detain Diaa Ezz al-Din al-Amleh, who is affiliated to Islamic Jihad. Soldiers also detained Anas al-Hour from Surif village.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=582994

3 Palestinians detained in Jerusalem area
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 6 Apr — Israeli forces on Friday detained three Palestinians in clashes in the Issawiya neighborhood in the Jerusalem district, an activist group reported. The Wadi al-Hilweh information center said that special forces assaulted and detained three young men, and transferred them to al-Maskobiyeh detention center. The group added that Israeli forces forced reporters out of the area. Witnesses said that a special forces unit wearing tradition Palestinian scarfs infiltrated the neighborhood in a white van before confronting the young men. Around a dozen suffered minor injuries, an AFP correspondent reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=582674

South Hebron Hills Popular Committee member arrested during nonviolent action in Khelly Valley
Operation Dove, At-Tuwani — On April 6, Border Police officers and army soldiers arrested a member of the nonviolent South Hebron Hills Popular Committee, while he was harvesting on his private owned land in Khelly Valley, nearby the village of At-Tuwani, during a nonviolent action. The goal of this action was to affirm the right of the Palestinians to enter their land despite the Israeli Military Administration restrictions, which until today do not have any legal support. Since 9:00 am the soldiers and the Border Police, in coordination with Ma’on security chief, prevented the Palestinian shepherds from grazing their flocks down in Khelly Valley. An old woman and his nephew were stopped as well while trying to reach the valley … Palestinians have been facing problems in Khelly since 2004, when around one hundred cherry trees were planted by the settlers on part of the valley nearby Ma’on. Since then the Israeli administration has been confiscating Palestinian land step by step in order to annex it to Ma’on. At the end of 2011 Khelly Hill was declared ‘State Land’ and some residential buildings were built on it.
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/04/south-hebron-hills-popular-committee-member-arrested-during-nonviolent-action-in-khelly-valley/

IOF prevents Palestinian from leaving his village for carrying Palestinian flag
JENIN (PIC) 7 Apr — Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) detained on Saturday evening a Palestinian man at a military checkpoint at the entrance to the town of Ya‘bad, south of Jenin, and prevented him from leaving the town under the pretext of carrying a Palestinian flag. Mohammed Daoud Mitanni, from Ya‘bad, was detained at a military checkpoint at the town’s entrance after searching his vehicle and finding the Palestinian flag in it … The soldiers had tried to confiscate the flag but the Palestinian citizen refused to hand it over. He was then detained for more than an hour under the sun and ultimately the soldiers refused to allow him to leave the town and forced him to return.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s75gawhVaDVM6rWf6CfmwX028dNJRkc8b%2fmERoeBWkJGPMxXybsFbC14B72iaTikWp%2bsecwL0qLoKqnFeIu7AUIqrjGBEbOEz%2f4rJXJm1Frug%3d

IDF detains teen with explosives near Nablus
Ynet 7 Apr — An IDF unit detained a 16-year-old Palestinian boy near Huwara, south of Nablus. The teen was in the possession of several firebombs and what are most likely two improvised explosive devices.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4365158,00.html

Prisoners / Hunger strikers / Court actions

Israel court postpones hearing into case of sick prisoner
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 7 Apr — An Israeli court on Sunday postponed a hearing into the case of prisoner suffering pulmonary failure. No date was set for Muhammad al-Taj’s next hearing, said Palestinian Prisoners Society lawyer Iyad Mahamid and prisoners ministry lawyer Suleiman Shahin. The court ordered the appointment of a medical committee to assess al-Taj’s condition at a clinic in Ramle prison. The lawyers said al-Taj was not fit to be moved to a different prison and the journey could be dangerous. Al-Taj was not brought to the court, the lawyers said, adding that the Israeli Prison Service presented an incomplete medical report that did not explain that the prisoner’s condition is life-threatening.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583093

Lawyer: Issawi’s pulse dangerously low
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 7 Apr — Samer Issawi’s pulse is dangerously low after being on hunger strike for over eight months, his lawyer said Sunday. Medics at Israel’s Kaplan Medical Center notified Issawi that he risks brain damage and sudden death after he started refusing supplements in his water on Saturday. Issawi is taking only sugar in his water and his pulse has dropped to 30 beats per minute, his lawyer Jawad Bulous told reporters. The prisoner started refusing supplements after an Israeli guard refused to allow him to sit by a window in his hospital room. Doctors had advised Issawi to expose his body to sunshine. Guards chain Issawi’s leg to the bed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Bulous said, adding that Issawi considered the shackling an act of spite.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583241

Families of prisoners create memorial grave near PA HQ
RAMALLAH (PIC) 7 Apr — Some families of prisoners and ex-detainees on Saturday afternoon rallied outside the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah city to urge it to immediately act to save the lives of patients and hunger strikers in Israeli jails. During the rally, the protesters established a symbolic grave in Al-Umam square near the PA headquarters to always remind the PA leadership and the world of the issue of the Palestinian prisoners, especially the patients who face death in Israeli jails. Amid intensive PA security presence, the protesters marched from the central area of Ramallah towards the square carrying pictures of prisoners … For his part, ex-detainee Thaer Halahela demanded PA president Mahmoud Abbas to assume his responsibility and move to save the lives of patients and hunger strikers in Israeli jails. Halahela said the detainees suffer and face death while the PA does not care for what happens to them in Israeli prisons.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7XLfCyIdjh9gajD58SHFLLXOzkMDJLRr5jpHXcAFy428f2Y8ll48kX8EBL2FM9DjXFFTr23bN3lIiTb6SV3iLbrIIk2olx%2bsbNIYMA7A4ZPw%3d

‘We do not want new martyrs,’ PA official says
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 6 Apr — The Palestinian Authority prisoners minister said Saturday that the Israeli government would be held responsible if another prisoner died in custody, after two died in separate incidents in a month. “We do not want any new martyrs. The Israeli government is responsible for any explosion that might happen,” Issa Qaraqe said in a meeting with the UK consul general, Sir Vincent Fean.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=582728

Israeli military court sentences cartoonist to five months in jail
JENIN (PIC) 6 Apr — The Israeli military court in Salem, north of Jenin, has sentenced Palestinian cartoonist Mohammed Sabana to five months imprisonment on the charge of contacting ‘hostile parties’. Family members told the PIC reporter on Saturday that the court passed the sentence on Friday and charged Sabana with making such contacts during his visit to Jordan. They said that the charges were unfounded, adding that the sentence was illegal and proved the summary trials conducted against Palestinian citizens. The relatives affirmed that Sabana was not involved with any political party or organization and was just an activist who employs his cartoons in exposing the Israeli occupation’s crimes.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7hGvDmCsSzR5lUPlFzfFWnuXwHKFiEPBZy%2bT3G4V7nTd9mBuSFfnrNaTblsMI6PJLiquw7P67hPyxDqlH0ZJNKUi6%2boVAfdj813LbwlcNVj0%3d

State to recompense Bedouin injured in military zone
Ynet 7 Apr — The Beersheba District Court ruled that the State will recompense a Bedouin resident from the Negev who was injured when a rocket dud exploded in a military zone close to the Shivta training base in 2003, with NIS 853,000 ($235,000). The court, which forced the State, the Defense Ministry and the Israel Land Administration to pay damages, determined that the Defense Ministry was negligent in maintaining the fire practice area and that it did not take the necessary measures to protect the civilian population.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4364756,00.html

Israel releases Gaza prisoner after 27 years
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 8 Apr — Israel on Monday released a prisoner from the Gaza Strip after detaining him for 27 years. Ibrahim Baroud returned to Gaza early Monday morning, before Israel closed the Erez crossing in response to rocket fire. Baroud was freed after completing his sentence. He was detained in 1986 for affiliation to Islamic Jihad and spent seven years in solitary confinement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583360

Why do survivors of massacre by Israeli soldier face imprisonment?
Shefr Amr (EI) 4 Apr by Sawsan Khalife‘ –  Seven Palestinian men in Shefa Amr, a city in the Galilee region of present-day Israel, are anxiously awaiting the verdict of a protracted court case. The men have been put on trial over the 2005 killing of an Israeli soldier who had carried out a massacre. Despite ample evidence that the killing was an act of self-defense, the seven men fear they will be convicted of murder. On 4 August 2005, Eden Natan Zada — wearing an Israeli military uniform — boarded a bus heading from Haifa to Shefa Amr. When the bus reached the Marashan neighborhood at the entrance of Shefa Amrr, Zada walked to the front, indicating that he wished to disembark. As the door of the bus opened, he shot the driver, Michel Bahouth, before opening fire on the passengers. As well as Bahouth, Zada killed two sisters in their early twenties, Hazar and Dina Turki, and a local man, Nader Hayek. Before he was able to murder anyone else, Zada was confronted by a crowd and killed.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/why-do-survivors-massacre-israeli-soldier-face-imprisonment/12344

Gaza siege

IOF soldiers open machinegun fire at Palestinian farmers
KHAN YOUNIS (PIC) 6 Apr — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened machinegun fire at Palestinian farmers and their farms to the east of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, on Saturday morning. The PIC reporter said that soldiers mounting jeeps and military watchtowers in the vicinity of Kissufim army base opened their machinegun fire at farmers and their fields near to the border fence east of Khan Younis. He said that most of the farmers could not reach their fields as a result of the shooting, adding that medical sources did not report any casualties.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s757cCPn4od%2bTGAnh9%2fvfRLX3I%2fDqReCp5Rr7yEc634x6VKsVPTMs6wVzxgb7J7HQcJav6Au2u1WQJyt8B5yc1%2fZJOD%2ficIM1XtLSe0jVY47g%3d

Israel ignores its many violations in Gaza, complains about some rocket attacks
GAZA (PIC) 6 Apr — Despite its documented violation of the truce in Gaza several times before, Israel complained to the UN Security Council about recent Palestinian projectile attacks. Israel’s representative to the UN Ron Prosor filed a complaint denouncing the projectile attacks from Gaza and threatened another war on its people in order to protect Israel’s citizens. Before the latest alleged fall of rockets in Israeli empty areas, the Israeli army had violated the Egyptian-brokered truce with the Palestinians many times and killed four Palestinians in Gaza and injured many others during different military attacks. The Israeli navy had also harassed and attacked Gazan fishermen with no reason several times.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7tLDeMCnFO%2bruSCvPzAY32CCvek4XzzsSD5XqZ2vlDXoJ35OZayUeZgys5AXh%2bMtstVXMbqnTWPUKsVKHMS0s7f5iw2lgSvWYViFw1F6%2bo%2bc%3d

Police: Gaza rocket fired at Israel
JERUSALEM (AFP) 7 Apr — A rocket fired from Gaza crashed into southern Israel on Sunday, without causing casualties or damage, shortly after the arrival of US Secretary of State John Kerry on a peace bid, police said. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP the rocket landed in an uninhabited sector of the Negev desert, as Kerry started a three-day visit to Israel and Palestine.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583315

Gaza crossing closed after rocket fire
Ynet 7 Apr — The spokesperson for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories stated that following Sunday night’s rocket fire the Kerem Shalom Crossing will be closed down for wares transport. In addition, Erez Crossing in the northern Gaza Strip will only open for humanitarian cases. Sunday night three rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip. One exploded in open terrain in the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council, the other two fell in Palestinian territory.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4365206,00.html

Report: Hamas, Israel exchange messages via Cairo
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 6 Apr — Israel and Hamas have exchanged messages through Egypt after a rise in tensions along the Gaza border, the Al-Quds newspaper reported Saturday. Israel bombed the Gaza Strip early Wednesday after militants fired rockets toward southern Israel following the death of a Palestinian with cancer in Israeli custody.
Through Cairo, Israel relayed that it holds Hamas responsible for all attacks from the Gaza Strip, Al-Quds reported. Israel also informed Hamas that it would respond to every ceasefire violation with military action and by restricting crossings and the permitted fishing zone, the report said. Israel said Hamas should inform Egyptian mediators if it is unable to control the Gaza Strip in order to reconsider the ceasefire.
Hamas responded to Israel’s messages, also via Cairo, and said it had tightened control of its border areas and informed all factions to abide by the ceasefire. Hamas said it had arrested Salafi militants responsible for firing rockets at Israel, Al-Quds reported. According to the report, Hamas informed Cairo that it cannot exercise complete control of Gaza, especially after the death of Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh in Israeli custody.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=582776

Hamas police disperse demo by Salafist mothers
GAZA CITY (AFP) 7 Apr — Hamas police on Saturday dispersed a protest in the Gaza town of Rafah by Salafist women to demand the release of members of the hardline Islamist movement, an AFP correspondent said. Witnesses said the women, who numbered around 30, were veiled and accompanied by children, carried a banner which read: “Where are human rights organisations when our children are arrested?” Police dispersed the demonstration without incident. According to sources close to the Salafists, Hamas arrested several members of the movement following rocket attacks on Israel. The interior ministry denies any arrests for “resistance against the occupation.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583019

Israel allows Gaza to export truckload of flowers
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 7 Apr — Israeli forces decided Sunday to partially reopen Gaza’s Kerem Shalom crossing to allow the export of one truckload of flowers for export to Europe. Another 320 truckloads of goods for the commercial and agriculture sectors were allowed inside the coastal enclave, according to Palestinian border official Raed Fattouh. Fattouh told Ma‘an that the shipments would include 20 trucks loaded with gravel for the private sector. Limited quantities of construction material will also be allowed for international projects. Israel shut down the crossing on Friday and Saturday for the weekend.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583054

Egypt forces seize fuel bound for Gaza tunnels
EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma‘an) 7 Apr — Egyptian authorities on Sunday seized two trucks carrying diesel they suspected would be smuggled into the Gaza Strip. The trucks were pulled over in El-Arish, in Sinai, carrying 3,150 liters of state-subsidized fuel without an invoice or permit, an Egyptian security officer told Ma‘an. Egyptian forces arrested both drivers, he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583169

Hamas accuses West of spying in Gaza
AFP 6 Apr — A senior official in Hamas’ interior ministry, Mohammad Lafi, accused Western intelligence organizations of operating in Gaza. He claimed he has a list of names of collaborators, and mentioned a few suspects have already been arrested. Among the Western countries mentioned Lafi listed the US, Britain, France and Germany. He also accused the Arab countries but didn’t refer to them by name.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4364599,00.html

Considering the fact that Palestinians from the West Bank make it into Israel ‘illegally’ all the time to seek work and do no harm, why is this so alarming?
IDF security failure as Gaza man reaches Netivot
INN 7 Apr — A man from Gaza managed to get past several layers of IDF security and to reach the Israeli city of Netivot shortly before Passover, Yisrael Hayom reports. The man was unarmed and apparently did not plan to carry out a terrorist attack. His infiltration has caused great concern in the defense establishment regardless, as it is feared that he could have shown terrorists a way of entering Israel. In addition, military commanders are concerned that the man may have been a terrorist doing reconnaissance. According to the report the man apparently entered Israel in the afternoon. He crossed over in the Nachal Oz region … After crossing the barrier the Gaza man managed to catch a ride from an Israeli driver to the city of Netivot. There, he turned himself in to police. The IDF is investigating the incident.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/166824#.UWJmW1ei-a4

Gaza hairstyle crackdown sees heads shaved
Sky News 7 Apr — Police in the Gaza Strip have launched a crackdown on young men with long or styled, spiky hair, grabbing them off the streets and shaving their heads, according to a human rights group. The Palestinian Center For Human Rights said a number of men had been beaten and detained by police who stated that their hairstyles were “indecent”. House painter Ayman al Sayed said his shoulder-length hair was shaved off by police on Thursday. He said he had just finished work in Gaza City and was waiting for a shared taxi when a police jeep approached. The 19-year-old said he was thrown into the back with more than 10 others while police officers shouted and swore at them. When they arrived at a police station, the detainees were lined up and an officer began shaving their heads. He shaved two lines, from front to back and from one ear to the other, telling the young men they could finish the job at a neighbourhood barber shop. Those who resisted were beaten, Mr al Sayed said. “The only thing I want to do is leave this country,” he added. “I am scared. They just take you from the street without reason. I don’t know what they are going to do next.”
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/gaza-hairstyle-crackdown-sees-heads-shaved-015833484.html#ITRDg9n

Hamas ban on Western garments, hair styles criticized in Gaza
GAZA, April 6 (Xinhua) — …Ayman Batniji, a police spokesman, told Xinhua that the police arrested some young men for violating the general morals and traditions. “They are alleged of disturbing young women in the streets and imitating aspects that contradict the Palestinian society’s habits.” He said the recent measures were carried out after the police had received some public complaints, while stressing these measures “are not part of an organized campaign.” … Many young men in the Gaza Strip said they had been violently stopped by policemen and had been badly beaten during interrogation. However, their testimonies were denied by Batniji. “The measures are basically advice without violence or punishment… The police ask the detainees to sign a paper promising not to wear this kind of jeans and having such kind of haircuts.”
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-04/07/c_132288328.htm

Rawan Yaghi heads to Oxford
Mondoweiss 5 Apr by Annie Robbins — Exciting news here at Mondoweiss. The BBC reports 19 year old Gazan writer and Mondoweiss contributor Rawan Yaghi, known by her many Twitter followers as @MyFreePal, is headed off to Oxford University this fall. Rawan is the recipient of the Jesus College Junior Members’ Scholarship, a pioneering student-funded initiative which finances a full undergraduate degree at Oxford University for a student from Gaza. There’s no one more deserving of this honor than Rawan. She’s a powerhouse… We first became acquainted with Rawan’s unadulterated talent when two of her essays, A Little Girl and From Beneath, were part of the Mondoweiss series Gaza Two Years Later. The series featured a number of young Gazan bloggers and writers reflecting on the two-year anniversary of the Israeli attack on Gaza in the winter of 2008/09. The essays were extraordinary and we decided to merge them into the Mondo Awards, a writing competition with entrants from around the world that by coincidence, we were featuring at the same time. Rawan, at 17, was awarded top score along with Rebecca Vilkomerson in a tight competition.
https://mondoweiss.net/2013/04/rawan-heads-oxford.html

Sightseeing under siege: a ‘tourist map’ for Gaza
GAZA CITY (IPS) 3 Apr by Eva Bartlerr — “We wanted to help foreigners in Gaza, so we created an English map of Gaza City,” said Amir Shurrab, one of the minds behind the foldable Gaza Tourist Map. At the time a lecturer for the University College of Applied Sciences in Gaza, Shurrab led a team of Geographic Information System professionals and students in mapping Gaza City street by street in 2009. “GIS drawing is usually aided by satellites, but the Israeli occupation authorities prevented us from using the nearest satellite,” said Shurrab. “So we used one further away. We also wanted to share Gaza’s beauty and culture, to show a different face from what is seen in the media.” The map, also available on the Internet, is a cheery rendition of Gaza City’s highlights, and also optimistically depicts fishing boats in Gaza’s sea, an irony for Palestinian fishermen daily targeted with shooting, shelling and abductions by the occupying Israeli navy.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/sightseeing-under-siege-tourist-map-gaza/12337

Solidarity / BDS

Irish academics’ union votes to cease all cultural and academic collaboration
EI 4 Apr by Asa Winstanley — At its annual congress today, an Irish lecturers’ union voted to for a comprehensive academic boycott of Israel, described by activists as the first such move of its kind in Europe. In a unanimous vote, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland called on members to “cease all cultural and academic collaboration with Israel, including the exchange of scientists, students and academic personalities, as well as all cooperation in research programmes.” The motion also called for the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to “step up its campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against the apartheid state of Israel.”
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/irish-academics-union-votes-cease-all-cultural-and-academic-collaboration

UC Riverside student government rescinds divestment measure aimed at Israeli occupation profiteers
Mondoweiss 5 Apr by Alex Kane — Student advocates for Palestinian rights at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) suffered a setback last night after the student government passed a resolution that rescinded a measure calling for divestment from companies linked to the Israeli military. The Associated Students of UCR vote was 10-2 in favor of rescinding the pro-divestment measure, with two abstentions. The vote means that the original measure passed in favor of divestment has been erased.Last night’s vote came nearly a month after the original pro-divestment measure overwhelmingly passed at UC Riverside. The divestment bill, which targeted companies like Caterpillar that profit from Israel’s system of control over Palestinians, passed 11-5. “I was pretty disappointed,” said Shadi Matar, the president of UCR’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) group and a non-voting member of the student senate at the school. “The senators buckled under all this pressure.” E-mails from Zionist individuals and organizations like Stand With Us to the student government successfully pressured student senators to reconsider their vote, said Matar. Supportive e-mails were also sent from SJP members and other allies after the vote, and prominent figures like Desmond Tutu and Roger Waters urged UC Riverside students Wednesday to affirm their original vote in favor of divestment. Both Matar and the outgoing student president of UCR’s Hillel said that two elected officials from California also weighed in against divestment.
https://mondoweiss.net/2013/04/government-occupation-profiteers.html

Why I’m supporting a cultural boycott of Israel / Iain Banks
Guardian 5 Apr — This week writer Iain Banks announced he has cancer and may have just months to live. Here he explains why, in 2010, he decided his novels would no longer be published in Israel — I support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign because, especially in our instantly connected world, an injustice committed against one, or against one group of people, is an injustice against all, against every one of us; a collective injury. My particular reason for participating in the cultural boycott of Israel is that, first of all, I can; I’m a writer, a novelist, and I produce works that are, as a rule, presented to the international market. This gives me a small extra degree of power over that which I possess as a (UK) citizen and a consumer. Secondly, where possible when trying to make a point, one ought to be precise, and hit where it hurts. The sports boycott of South Africa when it was still run by the racist apartheid regime helped to bring the country to its senses because the ruling Afrikaaner minority put so much store in their sporting prowess … A sporting boycott of Israel would make relatively little difference to the self-esteem of Israelis in comparison to South Africa; an intellectual and cultural one might help make all the difference
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/apr/05/iain-banks-cultural-boycott-israel

Palestinian refugees outside Palestine

2 Palestinians killed in Syria camp shelling
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an)  Apr — A Palestinian man and a woman were killed in Syria late Saturday, bringing the Palestinian death toll to 1,206 since the conflict began, an activist group said. “Sharif al-Khartib who carries the Palestinian nationality and lives in Hindarat refugee camp was shot dead in al-Awaijeh area in Halah,” the working group for Palestinians said. “Khulod al-Qadiyeh was killed in shelling on Khan al-Shiekh refugee camp,” it added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583009

160,000 Palestinian refugees below poverty line in Lebanon
BEIRUT (Ma‘an) 6 Apr — Around 160,000 Palestinians are living below the poverty line in refugee camps in Lebanon, the ambassador to Beirut says. Nearly 13,000 Palestinian refugees are living in extreme poverty in Lebanon, Ashraf Dabour told Ma‘an. Palestinian refugees are banned from entering 75 professions in Lebanon. “Practicing any of these careers is considered a breach of Lebanese law,” Dabour said. The Lebanese parliament amended a law restricting Palestinian refugees’ access to work. “However, the Lebanese cabinet has not put that amendment into effect,” the Palestinian ambassador said … Dabour said the Palestinian health sector in Lebanon owed hospitals around $2 million. “There are some medical procedures which our health security program in Lebanon can’t afford, and I hereby urge Arab and Palestinian businessmen to help our people in refugee camps in Lebanon.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=582832

Political, economic developments

Officials: Kerry offers Abbas incentives to negotiate
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 7 Apr — US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday offered President Mahmoud Abbas incentives to return to direct negotiations with Israel, Palestinian sources said. At a meeting in Ramallah, Kerry offered to release all Palestinian funds and to ensure Israel does not withhold Palestinian tax revenue in the future, Palestinian officials told Ma‘an. Washington’s top diplomat also offered to extend the Palestinian Authority’s jurisdiction, particularly in Area C — the 60 percent of the West Bank under full Israeli control. The PA only has full jurisdiction of around 18 percent of the West Bank. Kerry also proposed allowing Palestinians to build more freely in Area C of the West Bank, the officials said.
Abbas responded that Palestinians seek a return to direct talks, but that Israel must stop illegal settlement building and release Palestinian prisoners first, according to the officials … He told Kerry that settlements could not be tolerated, particularly Israel’s planned E1 settlement project which would divide the West Bank and isolate Jerusalem, Wafa reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583317

Mohammad Mustafa expected as next Palestinian PM
Ramallan (Gulf News) 7 Apr by Nasouh Nazzal —  It is widely speculated that Mohammad Mustafa, the chairman of Palestine Investment Fund, will replace Salam Fayyad as the Palestinian premier with Fatah officials confirming that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will remove Fayyad from his position soon. Senior Fatah officials have said that the matter of Fayyad’s removal has been kept from the public, but the mounting criticism his government has faced for failing to deliver to the Palestinain people has had led to disappointment with his performance. Fatah cadres believe their movement is the only loser in the current balance of power in the Palestinian territories, as Hamas has been in total control of the Gaza Strip and Fayyad is seen as being in control of the West Bank, leaving Fatah “empty-handed.” “Fatah has been left with no authority at all. All claims that Fatah had been in control of the West Bank are baseless and wrong,” said Dr Najat Abu Baker, a Fatah leader in the West Bank in an interview with Gulf News. “Fayyad who is not a Fatah cadre has been in total control of the entire West Bank.” … The Western- and US-backed Fayyad government has been in place since Hamas took control of Gaza Strip following a Palestinian brief civil war in 2007. Fatah sources said that the issue of firing Fayyad had been discussed with the US President Barak Obama during his latest visit to the region. “The Americans did not approve of firing Fayyad but did look at other possible candidates,” said the sources … Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has passed Mustafa’s name to its Islamist rival Hamas via an Arab mediator as part of the ongoing efforts to achieve Palestinian internal reconciliation. “Neither Fatah nor Hamas was happy with the performance of Fayyad’s government where the two factions agreed on firing Fayyad,” said the sources.
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/palestinian-territories/mohammad-mustafa-expected-as-next-palestinian-pm-1.1167818

Baird’s visit to West Bank amicable as five-year aid package wraps up
Ramallah (Globe & Mail) 6 Apr by Campbell Clark — They didn’t settle their “profound differences.” But during Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird’s visit to the West Bank, Canada and the Palestinian Authority agreed to move on and work towards a new aid package. The tone was far less bitter than the sharp rhetoric used last November when Canada campaigned against a Palestinian bid for observer-state status at the UN. At the time, the Harper government warned of consequences if the Palestinian bid went ahead and Palestinian officials said they would rally the Arab world against Canada … At the height of the battle over the UN bid, there were looming questions about whether Canada might cut its aid, a $300 million package over five years. But in Ramallah, Mr. Baird discussed the Palestinians’ aid priorities and said he would work on details and take a proposal for a new multi-year aid program to the federal cabinet.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/bairds-visit-to-west-bank-amicable-as-five-year-aid-package-wraps-up/article10826936/

Other news

Hacker group ‘Anonymous’ takes down dozens of Israeli websites
IMEMC 7 Apr — Late Saturday night, hackers affiliated with the worldwide network known as ‘Anonymous’ attacked hundreds of Israeli websites as part of a campaign targeting Israel for their occupation of Palestinian land and attacks against Palestinian civilians. On Saturday night, a group calling itself ‘The N4m3le55 cr3w’ announced that they “have gathered 600 websites and 100 plus servers we will be attacking”, and promised that the total number of sites that would be taken down and/or defaced would number more than thirteen hundred. As of Sunday morning, hundreds of Israeli websites, including the Bank of Israel, Tax Authority, the Kadima party and the Central Bureau of Statistics, were down, and hundreds more had been taken down by their owners as a precaution against attack. While the Israeli government claimed that Distributed Denial of Service (dDoS) attacks were the only tools that the hackers would be able to use to get at the Israeli websites, other sources claim that the hackers have been able to infiltrate websites with malware and Trojan horses. [List of Israeli sites affected, according to Anonymous]
http://www.imemc.org/article/65303

‘Anonymous’ vows to wipe Israel off cyberspace
PressTV 7 Apr — Israeli websites have come under massive cyber attacks in solidarity with Palestinians following a warning by the hacker group Anonymous that threatened to ‘erase’ Israel from the internet. Anonymous has vowed to ‘erase’ Israel from the internet by disabling Israeli websites during an operation called ‘Op-Israel.’ “You have NOT stopped your endless human right violations. You have NOT stopped illegal settlements. You have NOT respected the ceasefire. You have shown that you do NOT respect international law,” Anonymous said in a statement referring to the Israeli regime. “This is why on April 7, elite cyber-squadrons from around the world have decided to unite in solidarity with the Palestinian people against Israel as one entity to disrupt and erase Israel from cyberspace,” the Anonymous statement added, listing 1,300 Israeli websites as targets. The Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Sunday that the hackers also attacked almost 19,000 Israeli Facebook accounts
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/04/07/296946/cyber-attacks-hit-israeli-websites-again/

Israel to arrest Palestinian activists as response to cyber attacks
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 7 Apr — President Mahmoud Abbas’ adviser for communications and information technology Sabri Saydam Sunday said that Israel decided to respond to the cyber attacks against it by arresting several Palestinian activists. Hackers around the world have been organizing to target Israel in a mass cyber attack on Sunday, April 7, according to the Israeli daily, Haaretz. Sydam told WAFA that nothing indicates that Palestine has anything to do with the hackers hacking Israeli sites, stressing that this is a cyberspace battle and internet space is open to all.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=22070

Two-thirds of elderly suffer from chronic disease, says Statistics Bureau
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 7 Apr – Approximately 70.7% of the elderly aged 60 and over in the Palestinian Territory suffered from at least one chronic disease during 2010, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said Sunday. The percentage was 46.5% in the Palestinian Territory in 2000. Of those, 71.6% were in the West Bank and 68.7% in the Gaza Strip, it added. It said on the eve of the World Health Day that in 2010, 18.1% of persons aged 18 years and above are suffering from at least one chronic disease in the Palestinian Territory compared to 11.5% in 2000. The fertility rate in the Palestinian Territory reached 4.4 births per woman in 2010, compared to 5.9 births per woman in the year 2000, said the report. Regarding 2010 data, 22.3% of persons 18 years and above in the Palestinian Territory are reported as smokers, divided into 41.9% males and 2.3% females. The percentage was 27.5% in the Palestinian Territory in 2000. It said that 15.1% of youth aged 15-29 in the Palestinian Territory were smokers; 28.7% of males and 0.9% of females. Around 52.5% of married women 15-49 years of age in the Palestinian Territory use a family planning method; 55.1% in the West Bank compared to 48.2% in Gaza Strip, while the percentage was 51.4% in the Palestinian Territory in 2000. PCBS said 0.8% of deliveries in the Palestinian Territory occurred at home or in other unsafe places
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=22068

Union: University staff to strike
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 6 Apr — Staff at government universities will start a 3-day strike on Sunday to protest the Palestinian Authority’s failure to meet their demands, their union said Saturday. Staff will also strike for three days the following week, and will go on open strike from April 21 if their demands are still not met, the union for university staff said in a statement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=582843

Hamas denies news about training FSR in Syria
GAZA (PIC) 6 Apr — The Hamas Movement categorically denied a British news report by The Times newspaper claiming that resistance fighters from Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, went to Syria to train the free Syrian army. “What has been reported by the British newspaper The Times is unfounded and untrue, and we reiterate that the Movement’s position is not to interfere in the conflict in Syria,” a Hamas official source stated. The source emphasized that his Movement’s sympathy with the Syrian people and its support for its just demands do not mean that it would get involved in Syria’s internal war.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7kiedtCpbi8d2GNaEj8XBfoqFEHrA8HPNN9xUnEvriLMWUJ3tCG2bdluI7otZUZXzW89i%2bptHtq6CGqzmzAAlAIRRmosEAlvDguk06GQL98E%3d

Syrian troop redeployments raise concerns over Golan Heights security
Guardian 7 Apr by Martin Chulov — The Syrian government has withdrawn large numbers of troops from the Golan Heights in a move that has cast doubt over the future of a UN peacekeeping force on the strategically vital plateau and increased the risk of an intervention by Israel in the conflict. Western diplomats said the Syrian redeployments near the Golan ceasefire line were the most significant in 40 years, with at least several thousand soldiers thought to have been moved in recent weeks to battle fronts closer to Damascus. Rebel groups have moved into the vacuum, and Israel fears that jihadists will use the area as a staging ground for attacks on territory it controls. Meanwhile, the United Nations observer force on the Golan Heights, Undof, finds itself in an ever more vulnerable position, with states whose peacekeepers comprise the mission known to be reconsidering their commitment
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/07/syria-golan-heights-security

Syrian conflict threatens to spill over from Golan into Israel
Golan Heights (Guardian) 7 Apr by Harriet Sherwood — IDF exchange fire with rebels and UN reduces peacekeeping activities in buffer zone as Israelis warn jihadists gaining foothold — From the Golan Heights, the war in Syria is both audible and visible. The sound of shelling and gunfire carries across the spring-green valleys; plumes of smoke can be seen rising from the ground. Not only is the fighting getting closer and more intense, it has sporadically begun to spill across the United Nations-monitored buffer zone to the plateau captured by Israel in 1967 and occupied since. In recent months, several shells have landed in the Golan; last month an Israeli army patrol came under gunfire.Israel’s response each time has been swift. In the past couple of weeks, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have twice returned fire across the ceasefire line with Tamuz guided missiles.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/07/syria-conflict-spill-over-golan-israel

Analysis / Opinion / Reviews

John Kerry seeks to bring Turkey into the Israeli-Palestinian peace process
Haaretz 6 Apr by Zvi Bar’el — The U.S. wants to use Erdogan’s connections to Hamas to get Meshal to recognize Israel and declare an end to the armed struggle; Egypt opposes any moves by Turkey to mediate Mideast talks … Egypt is still resistant to bringing Turkey into the peace process. Erdogan has become very close to the Hamas leadership in general and to politburo head Khaled Meshal in particular, while pulling away from PA President Mahmoud Abbas. In Egypt, it is the intelligence community, rather than President Mohammed Morsi, that has the lock on relations with Hamas and Fatah. That, together with the rift between the Egyptian military and Hamas (over army claims that Hamas figures were involved in last year’s terror attack on the border near Rafah), are further obstacles to Turkey’s bid to take a role in the peace process. In order to realize its intention to bring in Ankara, Washington will need the blessing of both the Egyptian army and of Abbas, who at this stage sees no reason to bring Erdogan on board.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/john-kerry-seeks-to-bring-turkey-into-the-israeli-palestinian-peace-process.premium-1.513823

Israeli journalist is accused of inciting violence after backing Palestinian stone-throwers / Harriet Sherwood
Observer 6 Apr — A prominent Israeli journalist, Amira Hass, has been subjected to a wave of hate mail and calls for prosecution for incitement to violence since writing an article defending the throwing of stones by Palestinian youths at Israeli soldiers. Hass, who has lived in and reported on the occupied Palestinian territories for 20 years, argued that “throwing stones is the birthright and duty of anyone subject to foreign rule”, and suggested that Palestinian schools should offer “basic classes in resistance” … Hass argued that stone-throwing was “an action as well as a metaphor of resistance”. She wrote: “Steadfastness (sumud) and resistance against the physical, and even more so the systemic, institutionalised violence is the core sentence in the inner syntax of Palestinians in this land. This is reflected every day, every hour, every moment, without pause… The levels of distress, suffocation, bitterness, anxiety and wrath are continually on the rise, as is the astonishment at Israelis’ blindness in believing their violence can remain in control forever.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/06/israeli-journalist-amira-hass

The inner syntax of the storm / Gideon Levy
Haaretz 7 Apr — The storm that was unleashed by Amira Hass’ important opinion piece, “The inner syntax of Palestinian stone-throwing,” was a welcome one. It laid bare at once the hypocrisy, or the ignorance, of large swaths of Israeli public opinion. Hypocrisy, because the up-in-arms crowd ignores the original, fundamental, institutionalized and methodical violence of the very fact of the occupation and its mechanisms. Ignorance, because the implication is that the impassioned naysayers might not know just how cruel is the military tyranny in the territories. In addition, those who accused Hass so furiously of “crossing lines” and “inciting murder” did not read her piece all the way through. It contains not incitement to murder, but rather a straight-on, fair and courageous apprehension of the Palestinian liberation struggle that is absent from the Israeli dialogue … The commentary was published a few days after Jews read from the Haggadah, which tells the story of a different people’s freedom struggle, a struggle that included much more terrible calamities than rocks thrown at the deniers of liberty. Generations of Jews read this text in awe and wonder, telling it to their children. But they are not willing to apply the same basic rule − the same internal justice, according to which resistance, including violent resistance, is the birthright and duty of every vanquished nation, as Hass wrote — to everyone, and not just the Jews. Rooted deep in the Israeli experience is the idea that what is permitted to the Jewish people is prohibited to others.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/the-inner-syntax-of-the-storm.premium-1.513860

Analysts: Jerusalem deal boosts Jordan in Holy City
AMMAN (AFP) 3 Apr — A Jordan-Palestinian deal entrusting King Abdullah II with the defense of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem appears to be aimed at engaging Amman in future peace talks with Israel, experts say. The deal signed between the Jordanian monarch and President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday confirmed a verbal agreement dating back to 1924 that gave the kingdom custodianship over the city’s holy sites. But its timing, hot on the heels of a March 20-24 regional tour by US President Barack Obama, has intrigued analysts with some linking it to the deadlocked peace process and others seeing it as a possible shield against future action by Israel.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=581765

Book review: Rashid Khalidi shows how US got hired as Israel’s lawyer
EI 7 Apr by Rod Such — Rashid Khalidi’s latest book, Brokers of Deceit: How the US Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East, is a detailed examination of the role the world’s most powerful nation has played in reinforcing Israel’s subjugation of the Palestinian people. Khalidi demonstrates that the US failed to play the role of “honest broker” in peace talks, acting more like Israel’s lawyer. The US not only cemented an ever tighter alliance with Zionism but in some ways became Israel’s junior partner when it came to negotiations with the Palestinians. With the connivance of the corporate media and the Orwellian abuse of language, the US tried to portray itself as a genuine mediator but in fact played a deceitful role, effectively preventing a peaceful and just settlement, Khalidi argues.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/book-review-rashid-khalidi-shows-how-us-got-hired-israels-lawyer/12350

groups.yahoo.com/group/f_shadi (listserv)
www.theheadlines.org (archive)