UNESCO to send fact-finding commission to Jerusalem
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 16 May – UNESCO will send a fact-finding commission on May 20 to investigate ongoing Israeli measures in Jerusalem, the Palestinian minister of foreign affairs said Thursday. Riyad al-Malki told a news conference in Ramallah that the commission would spend five days in Jerusalem before returning to the UNESCO headquarters in Paris to submit a detailed report.
The last time an international commission investigated Israeli procedures in Jerusalem was in 2004. Al-Malki highlighted that Israeli assaults against holy places in Jerusalem were part of a systematic policy crystallized recently. There have been clear attempts to take control of the al-Aqsa Mosque and its squares and gates, he said. President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, has asked the ministry of foreign affairs to call an emergency meeting of the Arab League. The council convened Sunday, added al-Malki, and came up with several decisions related to Jerusalem.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=596282
MK calls for building synagogue inside the Aqsa mosque
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 15 May — Mordechai Eugev, a member of the Israeli Knesset, called on his government to build a synagogue in the Aqsa mosque’s southern area. The Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage said in a press release on Wednesday that the Israeli escalation against the Aqsa mosque was ongoing, the latest being an article by MP Eugev, a member of the fanatic party Habayit Hayehudi, that called for building a synagogue inside it. The statement coincided with the distribution of a detailed map of the alleged temple by Jewish settlers during their storming of the Aqsa mosque.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7iYDlMdmNq0wiec2HI032lauLiigBPg%2bg1g%2fys9uhcNNCN8yjnqsots%2b%2bIXSzIslwtah0Whr5Hatgp%2f0O9d5V92Zlf63OUoHxg4%2bEZ5a0lqo%3d
Israel closes Al-Aqsa Mosque [to non-Muslims]
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 16 May – Israeli police on Thursday closed the Al-Aqsa Mosque, banning non-Muslim visitors from the compound in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told Ma‘an the mosque was closed to visitors at 10 a.m. “to prevent incidents” following a security assessment over the last 24 to 48 hours. On Wednesday, dozens of Israeli right-wingers raided the compound through the Moroccan gate, leading to clashes at the Bab al-Hutta gate as Israeli forces escorted rightists into the mosque area. Jordan’s communications minister on Wednesday condemned Israeli assaults on East Jerusalem, singling out the al-Aqsa Mosque, The Jordan Times reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=596242
Violence / Attacks / Raids / Clashes / Arrests
13-year-old boy shot at and beaten by settlers, leg broken
[with photos] Qaryut, Occupied Palestine (ISM) 16 May by Team Nablus — At about 2 pm on May 16, a 13-year-old boy was shot at and beaten by settlers; he broke bones in his leg running from the shots at him and from being beaten. After falling, the boy was threatened with his life by settlers, but soldiers arrived and stopped the settlers from killing him before threatening the young boy with three guns while he lay injured and immobile on the ground. Initial medical attention was not allowed for three hours as Israeli soldiers took the boy into their custody with the implication that the boy would be treated in the Israeli ambulance. However, three hours later, the boy had to be picked up, untreated, by the Red Crescent and taken to Rafedia hospital in Nablus.
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/05/13-year-old-boy-shot-at-and-beaten-by-settlers-leg-broken/
Settlers attack schoolchildren near Nablus [and try to burn school]
IMEMC 17 May — Thursday May 16 2013, a number of extremist Israeli settlers attacked several schoolchildren in ‘Orif village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Local sources reported that the settlers hurled stones at the students as they were leaving their school in the village. The terrified children ran away, some suffered anxiety attacks, the sources said.
In related news, extremist settlers invaded the Einabous village, south of Nablus, and tried to burn a local school. Eyewitnesses said that local villagers noticed the settlers who ran away leaving behind fuel and matches.
http://www.imemc.org/article/65496
Israeli settler runs over Palestinian girl in al-Khalil
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 15 May — An Israeli settler ran over a 7-year-old Palestinian girl, Hanin Bassem Jabari, near al-Ibrahimi mosque in a-Khalil, Palestinian sources revealed on Tuesday. The sources confirmed that the Israeli settler was driving too fast, heading to Kiryat Arba settlement where he ran over the girl and he left her bleeding. The residents protested following the incident in front of the nearby Israeli military tower, while the girl was transferred to Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital in Jerusalem with moderate injuries.
The injured girl’s family called on the PA to prosecute the Israeli settler.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7NTJSRRV4Sl39oAfI%2fptAHQmhgMEgxkxb6mP1ss%2fzURvc6OaGzxKG9nZxjX%2bjGrd1yTQ%2fcbPTg77WCHcDosTYjV3nD%2f0VjjUt6FMQMINEGUo%3d
Witnesses: Settlers attack northern West Bank town
QALQILIYA (Ma‘an) 16 May — Dozens of settlers attacked Farata town in the northern West Bank on Wednesday evening, leading to clashes with locals, witnesses said. Residents of the Gilad outpost threw stones at homes in Farata, and locals responded by throwing stones at the settlers, witnesses told Ma‘an. Palestinian ambulances arrived in the area but no injuries were reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=596088
Protests an ‘offensive’ against settler attacks, West Bank villagers say
Deir Jarir (EI) 15 May by Andrew Beale — Climbing the hill outside of Deir Jarir, it was easy to mistake the bulldozer’s purpose. In a village surrounded by settlements and an Israeli military base, construction equipment can conjure images of forced displacement and land theft, as this equipment is so often used for these purposes in Palestine. But today, the bulldozers were driven not by Israeli occupation forces, but by Deir Jarir residents. And they were put to very different ends. The fifth weekly demonstration was held on 10 May in the hills between the villages of Deir Jarir and Silwad, roughly 12 kilometers northeast of Ramallah. Demonstrators explained that the bulldozers were clearing a path for vehicles to reach the olive groves, making it easier for farmers to access their fields. The path would also provide an escape route for people running from soldiers and settlers when they inevitably attack the next demonstration…
Almost two months ago, settlers from Amona tried to establish a new outpost in the hills between Deir Jarir and Silwad. They completed construction on one building before local youths burned it down, sparking “price tag” attacks from settlers, who burned ten cars in Deir Jarir, destroyed dozens of olive trees, and beat a 60-year-old man unconscious as he worked his field (“Violent settler attack in Silwad,” Stop the Wall, 11 April).
http://electronicintifada.net/content/protests-offensive-against-settler-attacks-west-bank-villagers-say/12457
Shin Bet to educate Hilltop Youth
Ynet 15 May by Akiva Novick — A new education program approved in the past few days is supposed to focus on Hilltop Youth and convince them to cease from committing “price tags”, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Thursday. The program, which will be named “The Hebrew Shepherd”, will be run not only by the Education Ministry, but also by the Shin Bet Internal Security Service, Social Affairs Ministry and Justice Ministry. Last week the program was approved by the Prime Minister’s Office. “The Hebrew Shepherd” proposal states that the project’s purpose is to “empower and support the Hilltop Youth” through “strengthening the ethical spirit beating in the hearts of the Hilltop Youth and navigating it for the benefit of the State of Israel and of their own.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4380652,00.html
Confrontations in Jenin village after IOF storming
JENIN (PIC) 15 May — Confrontations erupted in Zabuba village, west of Jenin, after Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in six armored vehicles stormed it at dawn Wednesday, local sources reported. They said that the soldiers opened fire during their storming of the village triggering confrontations with the young men. The sources said that the soldiers broke into houses adjacent to the racist, separation wall and burst into downtown and clashed with inhabitants. They said that IOF soldiers combed the nearby villages of Rummane and Tayeba [Khirbet al-Tayiba] at the same time.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s73LBFP%2bWQCoQnurNR60D%2fUecEMAk%2b%2faYLRgaLDDI%2fSOq75wOyg92IabMUM1OqlVULJrJ9h4tbhYgz3q0eyhL0M6KDN57CVwe1LoKEmCYimEo%3d
3 children hurt by landmine in Sinai
El-ARISH, Egypt (Ma‘an) 16 May — Three young Bedouin children sustained serious injuries when a landmine exploded Thursday morning in Sheikh Zuwaid, a Ma‘an reporter said. The landmine was believed to be leftover from a previous conflict. The three children, all brothers, were playing when the landmine exploded. They were seriously injured and transferred to el-Arish’s general hospital, the reporter said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=596244
Soldiers kidnap 20 Palestinians in Hebron
IMEMC 16 May — Thursday May 16 2013, Israeli soldiers kidnapped twenty Palestinians, mainly children, in the At-Tabaqa village, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and started interrogating them in alleged connection with a Molotov cocktail that burnt an Israeli military jeep during Wednesday clashes with the army … The sources added that the army broke into and searched dozens of homes in the village, used military dogs in searching the property, and detained 150 Palestinians at a yard in the village before releasing them except for 20, and released 18 later on after interrogating them.
Also on Thursday, the army kidnapped three Palestinians in the nearby town of Doura, after breaking into their homes and searching them.
Furthermore, two Palestinians have been injured by Israeli fire during clashes with Israeli soldiers invading the Al-‘Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron. The two have been identified as Nayef Ar-Ra’ey, 21, and Ahmad Abu Sabal, 22. Also, the soldiers violently attacked and beat a Palestinian youth, identified as Khader Ash-Shatreet, causing fractures in his feet.
On Wednesday, the army and the police kidnapped 14 Palestinians in Bab Al-‘Amoud, in occupied East Jerusalem, during a procession marking the 65th anniversary of the Nakba of 1948. The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that the army violently attacked the protesters, and kidnapped 14 of them, including PPS head, Nasser Qous, and a journalist identified as Tawfiq Saliba, who was released later on. On Wednesday evening, Israel released Nael Barakat, one of the Palestinians who were kidnapped in Bab Al-‘Amoud, after he suffered internal bleeding resulting from excessive use of force by the Israeli police. He was moved to a local hospital.
http://www.imemc.org/article/65493
Locals: Israel detains woman in Tubas
TUBAS (Ma‘an) 16 May — Israeli forces detained a 24-year-old woman and clashed with Palestinians during a raid on Tubas overnight Wednesday, locals said. Forces raided Khalid Rashid Sawafteh’s home and detained his 24-year-old daughter Sireen Sawafteh. They ransacked the house and confiscated computers, locals told Ma‘an. Palestinians threw stones at the military vehicles and Israeli forces fired tear gas and sound grenades. Omar Abed al-Razaq, 20, was wounded in the clashes and taken to hospital in Nablus.The head of the Palestinian Prisoners Society in Tubas, Mahmud Sawafteh, denounced Israel’s continuous raids, which he said caused fear and panic among residents.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=596155
Nakba Day [continued]
WATCH: Remi Kanazi’s new poem, ‘Nakba’, about his grandmother’s expulsion in 1948
EI 15 May — We will return. / That is not a threat / not a wish / a hope / or a dream / but a promise. In the above video, posted today, on Nakba Day — when Palestinians mark the anniversary of expulsion and exile from their homeland — New York-based poet and activist Remi Kanazi performs a moving new poem entitled ‘Nakba’. In an email to The Electronic Intifada, Kanazi said the poem is an ‘intimate piece that focuses on the dispossession of my grandmother in 1948 and some of the realities the Nakba produced.’
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/watch-remi-kanazis-new-poem-nakba-about-his-grandmothers-expulsion-1948
Illegal mourning: The Nakba Law and the erasure of Palestine
Australian B.C. Religion & Ethics 17 May by Randa Abdel-Fattah — …Whereas the Mabo case rejected the mythology of Australia as an “empty” land, the similar idea that the land of Palestine was, as Israel Zangwill infamously claimed, a “land without a people for a people without a land,” remains an enduring part of Israel’s grand narrative. And yet we know that the creation of the state of Israel resulted in a catastrophe, a Nakba, for the indigenous Palestinian population. From 1948 onwards, Israel has attempted to expunge the pain, history and identity of Palestinians from memory … The Nakba is a historic truth, not a position or freedom of expression. To deny it is not censorship of an idea or opinion or personal ideology. It is a process of cultural genocide. In March 2011 the Israeli Knesset passed amendment no. 40 (2011) to the Budgets Foundations Law (1985) – Reducing Budget or Support for Activity Contrary to the Principles of the State. The so-called “Nakba Law” authorises the Finance Minister to reduce state funding or support to an institution if it engages in an “activity that is contrary to the principles of the state.” Relevantly, the activities include “rejecting the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state” and “commemorating Independence Day or the day of the establishment of the state as a day of mourning.”
http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2013/05/17/3761661.htm
Looking back at Al-Nakba
[with video] Al-Jazeera 15 May by Jane Ferguson — It can be a hard concept to grasp, but soon there will be no originally displaced Palestinians. No one left alive who was around when they were either driven from their homes in 1948, or fled fearing for their lives.
Around five million Palestinians live scattered across the world now – many are the children of the children of the over 750,000 displaced during the 1947 to 1949 fighting which saw Israel declared a state and land annexed. But few are like Husun al-Azza. She is old enough to remember it. When her family fled the village of Beit Jabreen, they had spent 10 days hiding in nearby Roman Era caves, terrified of the Israeli planes which flew low over their homes. The infamous Deir Yassin massacre had happened just a few months earlier and her father was scared of a similar attack. She talks of how leaflets were dropped by the aircraft, saying they should leave or a massacre like Deir Yassin would happen to them. It’s an example of how people like Husun are not only an ageing group of refugees, but witnesses to a part of history that is still disputed by both sides down to the minutest of details. These are details and memories the next few generations lack, although Palestinians are determined to pass along the loud call to return.
http://blogs.aljazeera.com/blog/middle-east/looking-back-al-nakba
VIDEO: ‘My grandmother thought it was temporary’ — Huffpost features Nakba discussion with 5 Palestinians
Mondoweiss 16 May by Philip Weiss — This is incredible. Yesterday Huffington Post had a video conference on the Nakba led by Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, a Palestinian-American, featuring four Palestinians commenting on the history and meaning of the catastrophe. I found it incredible for the deep civility of the conversation. The calmness in the face of tragedy, the reasonableness of all the participants as they say it is time for democracy between the river and the sea, Shihab-Eldin’s grace note about a “Jewish right to a homeland,” and the lovely respect that he shows to the lovely Nina Saah: “Did you think it was temporary? That’s what my grandmother tells me when she left. That she thought it was temporary.” And yes, Nina Saah also thought it temporary. She was separated from her fiancé, her neighbor, and met him by chance in 1963 and then started a family. Also speaking are: Eyad Serraj of the Gaza Community Mental Health Program, Dr. Hatim Kanaaneh who lives in the Galilee and is on set, and Osamah Khalil of al Shabhaka, the Palestinian Policy Network. These three men are composed and even charming in describing a great injustice. This conversation is a reminder: The greatest fear that Israel and the lobby have is that Palestinians will get to speak for themselves. Then the game is over.
https://mondoweiss.net/2013/05/grandmother-discussion-palestinians.html
PHOTOS: Palestinians commemorate Nakba Day in rallies and protests
Activestills 16 May — From Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and throughout the West Bank and Gaza, activists marched to assert a history which is no longer disputed by Israeli historians such as Benny Morris, who despite his shift to the right, still acknowledges that “in the case of Israel, the moment of its birth was also the moment of the destruction and wholesale displacement of Palestinian society.” For more resources on Nakba history, visit the Zochrot (Israeli organization dedicated to raising awareness on the Nakba) website, or the website of the Palestinian NGO Badil.
http://972mag.com/photos-palestinians-commemorate-nakba-day-in-rallies-and-protests/71551/
Thousands mark Nakba Day in the West Bank and Gaza
[with photos] BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 15 May — Thousands of people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Wednesday marked the 65th anniversary of the Nakba, an event which saw hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced from their homes in what is now Israel. Sirens were sounded for 65 seconds in the West Bank to mark the start of celebrations, with thousands of people gathering in Ramallah, Nablus, Qalqiliya and other West Bank cities. “The right to return does not become invalid or ineffective as time passes, because this right is the core of the Palestinian plight,” PLO official Wasil Abu Yousif said while addressing crowds at Yasser Arafat’s tomb.
In Nablus, a minute’s silence was held before demonstrators marched in the city waving black flags and Palestinian flags side by side … In Gaza, faction leaders addressed thousands of people who had gathered in the streets, calling for unity in the Palestinian leadership as a number one priority.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=595860
Clashes break out across the West Bank as Palestinians mark the Nakba
[with photos] Mondoweiss 16 May by Allison Deger — Clashes broke out across the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem, yesterday as Palestinians marked the 65th anniversary of the Nakba. Nakba, or “catastrophe,” refers to the displacement of over 750,000 Palestinians and destruction of over 500 villages during the founding of the state of Israel. In the West Bank, Palestinians mobilized outside of Ofer prison, where last year over 1,000 demonstrated. This year numbers dropped, with only 300 taking part in the actions outside of Israel’s military prison and court, and location of a mass detainee hunger strike last year. The Israeli military fired tear gas and rubber bullets, injuring over 50 protesters. Emergency medics with the Red Crescent Society also reported one demonstrator was shot in the leg with live-fire. Palestinians burned tires and tree branches, and used sling-shots to throw stones and a handful of Molotov cocktails….
https://mondoweiss.net/2013/05/clashes-across-palestinians.html
Clashes, injuries reported in Hebron
IMEMC 16 May — Palestinian medical sources reported that dozens of Palestinians have been injured during clashes that took place with Israeli soldiers in Kharsa village, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron. Israeli army sources said that four soldiers have been injured. The clashes took place after the army invaded the village and violently attacked the residents who marched marking the 65th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba. Meanwhile, the Israeli army said that four soldiers have been injured, after Palestinian protesters hurled a Molotov cocktail at their jeep, setting it ablaze. Two of the soldiers received treatment by medics, and two required hospitalization after suffering moderate injuries.
Furthermore, dozens of Palestinians have been injured by gas bombs and rubber-coated metal bullets during clashes that took place in the Ar-‘Arroub refugee camp, and Beit Ummar, in the Hebron district. Palestinian medics said that 18 Palestinians have been injured by rubber-coated metal bullets, and dozens received treatment for the effects of teargas inhalation in Al-Arroub. Medics treated five of the wounded while the rest required hospitalization. In related news, clashes took place in Beit Za‘ta area, in Beit Ummar town near Hebron; one resident was injured by Israeli fire.
http://www.imemc.org/article/65491
In photos: Gaza marches and rallies mark 65 years of the Nakba
Mondoweiss 15 May by Joe Catron
https://mondoweiss.net/2013/05/photos-marches-rallies.html
Israeli forces clash with protesters at Qalandia
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 15 May — Israeli forces on Wednesday broke up a rally at Qalandia checkpoint to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Nakba. Palestinians were demonstrating peacefully to mark Nakba Day when Israeli forces fired tear gas, sound bombs, and rubber bullets at marchers, injuring several people, official news agency Wafa reported … No injuries or arrests were reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=595837
Pro-Palestinian rally slows Sydney CBD
Australian Associated Press 15 May — As Israel celebrates the 65th anniversary of its creation, several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters have marched down Sydney’s George Street to commemorate the day. About 350 protesters and activists succeeded in shutting down half of Sydney’s main thoroughfare on Wednesday night as they marched in solidarity with the Palestinian people. “Tonight we’re commemorating the day in 1948 that Israel was brought into being by illegitimate means and displaced over 700,000 Palestinians and ethnically cleansed over 450 Palestinian villages,” organiser Lutfi Zayed told AAP … Greens MP David Shoebridge told protesters outside Sydney’s Town Hall that Palestinians were asking for very little. “I find it absolutely astounding just how moderate the demands of the Palestinian people are, continuing passive peaceful resistance to what is one of the most brutal military occupations anywhere on the planet,” he said.
http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/news/pro-palestinian-rally-slows-sydney-104447271.html
Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing
The Shamasneh case: how the Nakba continues legally in East Jerusalem
Times of Israel 14 May by Moriel Rothman — In Jerusalem, there is a family of ten people. They live in a small house on a quiet street, not far from the Jerusalem bustle of cars and tourists and hotels and diplomats, but removed, out of sight. The grandfather and grandmother have been living in the house for over four decades. Their son and their son’s children have known this house as home for their entire lives. The house has a narrow staircase and a low door. On Monday, May 20th, the Supreme Court will meet in its lofty Jerusalem halls, with their swooping marble archways and breathtaking high ceilings, to discuss whether or not this family’s home should be taken from them and given to members of an American-funded organization. This is a legal case- nothing more, nothing less. Israeli law states that a person who can prove pre-1948 ownership of property may take their claim to court and “reappropriate” their house (or may have their claim taken to court for them by said American-funded organizations). This is a question of law, the backbone of democracy, and upholding the law. The law, of course, does not apply when it comes to non-Jews, ie., Palestinians, hundreds of thousands of whom have documents proving ownership of homes within Israeli from before 1948 and are not allowed to set foot inside of Israel, let alone take property claims to the Israeli courts.
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-shamasneh-case-how-the-nakba-continues-legally-in-east-jerusalem/
Report: Forced displacement on both sides of the Green Line
972mag 16 May by Adalah, The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel — A new Adalah report documents the parallels between two Palestinian villages, Al-Araqib in Israel and Susiya in the West Bank, which share a single story of struggle against home demolitions and forced displacement. The report sets out the methods of displacement used by Israel to expel Palestinian communities from their land on both sides of the Green Line, and examines the legal context in which it takes place.
http://972mag.com/report-forced-displacement-on-both-sides-of-the-green-line/71568/
NGO: Israel to ‘legalize’ wildcat settler outposts
JERUSALEM (AFP) 16 May — Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now said on Thursday that the government wants to give retroactive approval to four West Bank settlement outposts it had previously pledged to at least partially demolish. In a written response to a petition Peace Now submitted to Israel’s Supreme Court against the outposts, the state attorney’s office said that settlers had now purchased the private Palestinian land on which they built, paving the way for the government to give its blessing.
“In the response, the government declares its intention to legalize four outposts, in isolated areas,” Peace Now said in a statement, adding that the strategy was an affront to US Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts to revive dormant Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=596256
Settler installs mobile home on Palestinian land near Jerusalem
IMEMC 17 May — The Radio Bethlehem 2000 reported Thursday, May 16 2013, that an armed Israeli settler installed a mobile home in Nabi Samuel village, northwest of occupied East Jerusalem. Resident Eid Barakat, one of the owners of the land, stated that, as the family went to plant their land, they found the mobile home, in their land, with an armed settler sitting in it.
Barakat added that the family fears that the settlers are planning an illegal full takeover of their land that became isolated by the Annexation Wall. Nabi Samuel village, inhabited by nearly 300 Palestinians, is completely isolated and surrounded by the illegal Annexation Wall, and its residents are practically imprisoned in it.
http://www.imemc.org/article/65497
Israeli forces uproot olive tree saplings near Nablus
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 16 May — Israeli forces on Thursday uprooted over 1,200 olive tree saplings and razed land belonging to a Palestinian farmer in the northern West Bank, a Palestinian Authority official said. Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activity, said soldiers uprooted more than 1,200 saplings, dug up over 40 dunums of farm land and demolished a water tank and stone walls in Ras Karker, west of Akraba village near Nablus. The land belongs to Auham Mousa Diryeh, a farmer from Akraba, Daghlas told Ma‘an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=596100
Sawiya night attack by settlers sees property damaged and graves vandalized
[with photos] As Sawiya, Occupied Palestine (ISM) 15 May — In the early hours of Monday morning, a group of Zionist settlers from the Eli and Rechalim colonies attacked the Palestinian village of As Sawiyah, east of Salfit. At about 3am, As Sawiah’s residents were sleeping as settlers attacked, first targeting a garden shop that had trees snapped and pots and plants thrown. The settlers continued to damage property letting down tires of two tractors and a car with spikes. The vehicles are essential to Palestinian farmers for their work and livelihood. Settlers continued in their attack by vandalising two graves near a family home, where they graffitied ‘Revenge for Arabs’ in Hebrew … When faced with attacks on property with varying degrees, the Palestinian people have no legal recourse or protection from the occupying forces. Eli, founded in 1984 and now spread over nine hilltops, has even contravened Israeli planning guidelines in its quest for growth
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/05/sawiya-night-attack-by-settlers-sees-property-damaged-and-graves-vandalized/
Settlers plan to build road in Hebron’s Old City
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 16 May – A group of extremist settlers on Thursday assaulted Palestinian homes and lands in Wadi al-Husayn neighborhood of Hebron in the southern West Bank. A resident, Mazin Daana, told Ma‘an that settlers sprayed signs indicating that they plan to build a new road between Wadi al-Husayn and the Ibarhimi Mosque. Daana highlighted that local residents tried to stop the settlers and interrupt their work, but the settlers pointed their guns at the Palestinians forcing them to step into their homes and close the doors. The settlers then hurled stones at the Palestinian houses to make sure residents will not go out and interrupt them. Before they left, the settlers warned the residents of any attempt to mess with the signs they sprayed.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=596315
Israeli forces demolish Bedouin homes in Negev
NEGEV, Israel (Ma‘an) 16 May– Israeli forces on Thursday demolished homes in a Bedouin village in the Negev. Israeli authorities destroyed the homes in Um al-Hayran after a court in Beersheba ruled they were built illegally, a Ma‘an reporter said. They belonged to the Abu al-Qiean family. Um al-Hayran is one of dozens of Bedouin towns and villages in the Negev that Israel does not recognize. The “unrecognized” villages are not connected to water, electricity or sewerage systems.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=596149
It’s not just settlers who oppose Israel’s plan to relocate Bedouin in West Bank
Haaretz 16 May by Amira Hass — A Civil Administration plan to settle West Bank Bedouin in a new community north of Jericho has met with opposition not only from settlers but from the Bedouin themselves. The Bedouin say the project is part of plan to evict thousands of Bedouin from their tents, that they were not consulted, and that the plan would merge Bedouin of different tribes, which clashes with their tradition. According to a report in Maariv on Tuesday, the defense minister has shelved the plan due to opposition by settlers.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/it-s-not-just-settlers-who-oppose-israel-s-plan-to-relocate-bedouin-in-west-bank.premium-1.524176?localLinksEnabled=false
Detainees
Palestinians decry jailhouse informers
RAMALLAH (AFP) 16 May — Former Palestinian prisoners are speaking out to warn those still held in Israeli jails about a group of undercover informers seeking to trip them up, who are known as “birds.” The network apparently stretches far and wide, with these “birds” tasked with wheedling out confessions that lead to convictions through a mixture of charm, camaraderie and favors. Often these Palestinians pose as militants jailed for anti-Israeli attacks. Ahmed Azzam, 30, says his first exposure to the “birds” was after several unsuccessful Israeli attempts at interrogating him.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=596253
PA: Israeli prisoner attacks Palestinian detainee
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 16 May – An Israeli prisoner, detained over criminal charges, has attacked a Palestinian political prisoner from Bethlehem, the Palestinian ministry of prisoners’ affairs said Thursday. Ministry lawyer Rami al-Alami said Palestinian prisoner Ali Muhammad Atiyeh was “brutally” attacked on May 5 at Eshel prison. Atiyeh sustained wounds, according to the lawyer. The lawyer quoted Atiyeh as saying that while he was waiting to be transferred to another prison, an extremist Israeli settler, held in Eshel over criminal charges, surprised him with a bang on the head using the steel chains he had on his hands causing bleeding.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=596248
Palestinian prisoner loses his memory in Israeli jails
QALQILIYA (PIC) 15 May — The Palestinian prisoner Jihad Abdel Latif Abu Haniyeh, arrested in 2007 and sentenced to 60 years, lost his memory and failed to remember his cell mates’ names, Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) revealed. The prisoner’s family expressed concern over their son’s health status especially that he failed to recognize his parents during their visit. The prisoners who shared him the cell confirmed that the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) provided him with mysterious medicines. The prisoner’s family called on human rights institutions to intervene to save Jihad’s life. The PPS held the occupation fully responsible over the prisoner’s safety and called on the IPS to provide him with the appropriate treatment after being beaten severely on his head.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7PBLlBnX6Wu6F8enoB5saICoVUcj858QhyhVDjYfK4hy8r%2b6cySJS4MOzC0oKQQcTQyTDfwFEZtsYH7iTRt5hLzC%2fnI07oTQILB9BJ1%2b2gTk%3d
IOA extends Palestinian MPs’ detention
NABLUS (PIC) 15 May — Ahrar Center for Prisoners’ Studies and Human rights condemned the Israeli court decision to extend the detention of 4 Palestinian MPs held in the Negev desert prison. Fouad al-Khuffash confirmed in a press release that the Israeli authorities have renewed the arrest of MP Dr. Mahmoud Ramahi, MP Yasser Mansour, MP Ahmed Attoun, and MP Bassem Zaarir for six additional months … Ahrar center’s director stated that 13 MPs are currently held in Israeli jails including 9 administrative detainees without trial or charge.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7EMkJn9vzxQ20hQCxsZDC%2f4JAfzxm55D%2b%2fiGm73fXE28H%2fsGDWbHy%2fjh99aqWv4jEgIvaRbFchvAfukJMGVPD47oNgQswT5VWVwGfyKKM%2frw%3d
IOA extends detention of 66-year-old administrative detainee
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 16 May — The Israeli occupation authorities renewed administrative detention of 66-year-old Sheikh Adel Shanyur, a Hamas leader, for four more months. Shanyur’s wife said that the Negev prison administration informed the Sheikh of the renewal of his administrative detention, without trial or charge, for the second time. She said that her husband suffers weak eyesight in his right eye, adding that he had lost vision in his left eye in former detention years. Sheikh Shanyur is a prominent Hamas leader in Daheriya village and Al-Khalil and had previously served many years in Israeli detention. He was also detained by PA security apparatuses.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7B%2bR%2bwEY9025Avxr0gaN19BtADl%2bDEGAZ%2byKtGY7vwE1nMtrIk5l%2f4ACFDvznKEstH9DV943nFeoMpU5Ssdvy%2ftgXO9JBngI3oVM%2fTxZW%2bHA%3d
PA liaison officials secure release of teens
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 16 May — Palestinian Authority officials on Thursday secured the release of five teenagers from Israeli custody, the PA liaison office in Ramallah said. Israel released Muhammad Qasem, Muhannad Qasem, Nabeel Qasem, Khaleel Issa and Ahmad Nabi after negotiations with PA liaison officials, the office said in a statement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=596174
Palestinian woman with prison legacy feels betrayed by her own
Ramallah, West Bank (CSMonitor) 13 May by Christa Case Bryant — Umm Abdullah, whose husband is on his 14th turn in prison and has been imprisoned herself, is angry with Palestinian officials for cooperating with Israelis to arrest Palestinians — Umm Abdullah’s husband, former Al-Bireh mayor Jamal al-Tawil, was recently imprisoned for what she estimates is the 14th time — although she’s not sure, because she’s lost count. She has also spent time in jail, as has her daughter. Sitting on the regal sofa of her Ramallah home in February, she said she would like to have joined the protests that were sweeping the West Bank that week in support of Palestinian prisoners in the wake of Arafar Jaradat’s death in Israeli custody. But she’s worried that Palestinian Authority security forces, dominated by the secular Fatah faction, will report her to the Israelis as a supporter of Fatah’s Islamist rival Hamas. The last thing she needs is to give Israel a reason to arrest her again, and she resents the PA for essentially spying on Hamas supporters like herself.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/Olive-Press/2013/0513/Palestinian-woman-with-prison-legacy-feels-betrayed-by-her-own
Gaza siege
Gaza border on high alert after kidnappings
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 16 May — Gaza’s Interior Ministry announced a state of alert along its border with Egypt on Thursday after gunmen kidnapped seven Egyptian soldiers and police officers in Sinai. The Hamas-run ministry said security was heightened in case the kidnappers tried to smuggle the Egyptian servicemen into the Gaza Strip. Witnesses told Ma‘an that Egyptian forces closed seven smuggling tunnels in al-Sarsoryeh, east of Rafah, on the Egypt-Gaza border. Large forces of Egyptian soldiers were seen along the border, witnesses said. Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi summoned his defense and interior ministers for crisis talks on the kidnapping, the official MENA agency reported. Early Thursday, gunmen ambushed two minibuses in Wadi al-Akhdar, between el-Arish and Sheikh Zuweid cities, and kidnapped seven Egyptian servicemen en route to Cairo for their monthly vacation, Egyptian security officials told Ma‘an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=596156
Gaza militants fire into southern Israel
AFP 15 May — Militants in the Gaza Strip fired a projectile that hit an open field in southern Israel on Wednesday causing no damage or casualties, police told AFP. Spokeswoman Luba Samri said it struck in the Eshkol region. A military spokeswoman could not say whether the projectile was a mortar shell or rocket. No group immediately claimed responsibility for firing the projectile.
http://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/gaza-militants-fire-southern-israel-police-141144063.html
Gaza pilgrims head to Mecca
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 16 May — Hundreds of Palestinians left Gaza on Thursday to perform pilgrimage to Mecca, an official in Gaza’s Ministry of Religious Affairs said. Some 350 pilgrims left Gaza through the Rafah crossing on Egypt’s border, and flew from El-Arish airport to Saudi Arabia, said Adel Sawalha, director of the ministry’s pilgrimage department.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=596189
‘Gaza Burial’ photo reaffirmed as prizewinner
London (Asharq Al-Awsat) 15 May — The award of the 2012 World Press Photo of the Year to Swedish photojournalist Paul Hansen was reconfirmed this week, after allegations that the picture was a fake were dismissed by forensic analysts. The controversy over the photo, entitled ‘Gaza Burial’, erupted after the prize was awarded in April, when analysts suggested that Hansen had made extensive use of editing software to alter the lighting in the original photo to such a degree as to breach the rules of the competition. The picture, taken on November 20 last year, shows a funeral procession for a Palestinian man and his two young children killed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza. Blogger Dr. Neal Krawertz went further on Sunday, when he suggested it was possible the award-winning picture was in fact a composite image, perhaps constructed from three other pictures. However, an analysis conducted on behalf of the World Press Photo foundation dismissed most of these claims, and found that the placement of pixels in the original file did not differ from those in the image file Hansen submitted for the prize.
http://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/gaza-burial-photo-reaffirmed-prizewinner-170701883.html
Gaza Sky Geeks: supporting tech entrepreneurs in the Gaza Strip
Global Envision 13 May by Laura Mortara — In the isolated Gaza Strip, economic instability is a constant. But a startup accelerator called Gaza Sky Geeks Laboratory plans to help the region capitalize on one of its biggest assets: its technical graduates. Between Gaza’s five universities, more than 2,000 young people graduate with technical degrees every year. Mercy Corps started the Arab Developer Network Initiative (ADNI), with a grant from Google.org a few years ago, and a number of programs supporting young entrepreneurs have come out of it, including Gaza Sky Geeks. The Laboratory will support standout technology entrepreneurs in Gaza, providing a wide range of free services designed to help them turn their ideas into viable investments. Global Envision connected with Reem Omran, co-founder of Gaza Sky Geeks, to talk about the effort–and whether Gaza could become the next IT hub in the Arab world.
http://www.globalenvision.org/2013/05/09/gaza-sky-geeks-supporting-technology-entrepreneurs-gaza-strip
Delivering KFC to Gaza: not fast, but satisfying
GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP (NYTimes) 16 May by Fares Akram — The french fries arrive soggy, the chicken having long since lost its crunch. A 12-piece bucket goes for about $27 here – more than twice the $11.50 it costs just across the border in Egypt.And for fast-food delivery, it is anything but fast: It took more than four hours for the KFC meals to arrive here on a recent afternoon from the franchise where they were cooked in El Arish, Egypt, a journey that involved two taxis, an international border, a smuggling tunnel and a young entrepreneur coordinating it all from a small shop here called Yamama — Arabic for pigeon. “It’s our right to enjoy that taste the other people all over the world enjoy,” said the entrepreneur, Khalil Efrangi, 31, who started Yamama a few years ago with a fleet of motorbikes ferrying food from Gaza restaurants, the first such delivery service here. There are no name-brand fast-food franchises on this strip of 1.7 million Palestinians, where the entry and exit of goods and people remain restricted and the unemployment rate is about 32 per cent.
‘http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/05/16/delivering_kfc_to_gaza_not_fast_but_satisfying.html
Gaza: We will keep coming back
Al-Ahram 14 May — When conscience demands action, nothing can stand in its way. This, the Israeli occupation of Palestine can never understand, writes Bill Dienst — I’ve been coming to Gaza for a long time. My first was in 1985 and this is now my seventh trip to the region. In the 1980s, there were no substantial physical barriers between Gaza and Israel. Many Gazans worked as day labourers in Israel and many spoke Hebrew. Group taxis travelled freely between East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and directly into Gaza City. The society here in Gaza was much more Westernised and secular than it is today. Women wore blue jeans and ponytails; the hijab and the niqab were not nearly as ubiquitous as they are today. It was hardly a perfect relationship between Israelis and Palestinians; more of a privileged class and servant class based on the birth right of whether or not one was born Jewish. But there was abundant interaction between the two societies back then. Then came the first Intifada and thereafter the Oslo “peace process” which was really a “piece process”. This culminated in the division of the two societies and the isolation of Gaza from the rest of the world. There was false hope then and a second Intifada. Gaza was locked down as a consequence and became the world’s largest prison. When I re-entered Gaza some 18 years later in 2003, it was a much different world. The writer is a rural family and emergency room physician from Omak, Washington.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/2600/19/Gaza–We-will-keep-coming-back.aspx
Refugees outside Palestine
Syria crisis threatens Palestinian refugees
Beirut, Lebanon (Al Jazeera) 16 May by Zak Brophy — Pro- and anti-Assad factions seek support of Palestinians in Lebanon’s refugee camps as tensions there rise over Syria — The Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila is perilously wedged along one of Lebanon’s many sectarian fault lines. Black Islamic flags adorn the lampposts when approaching this small slum from Sunni strongholds to the north, while expansive Shi‘a ghettoes border the camp immediately to the south. In recent months, an increasing number of clashes have erupted in and around Shatila, as rival Lebanese factions fight for the loyalty of the socially vulnerable and politically divided Palestinian camps. The Syrian civil war and rising Shi‘a-Sunni discord in Lebanon are exacerbating the pressure. “These [attacks] are concerted efforts to provoke a response,” explained Fathi Abou al-Ardat, secretary for the Fatah movement and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) in Lebanon. On May 12, clashes – described by local residents as the most intense fighting yet – erupted between groups inside Shatila and neighbouring Shi‘a communities. Volleys of gunfire were exchanged for several hours, and the army encircled the camp with armoured personnel carriers. “We know the Palestinians are divided and some groups are exploiting that to stir things up here. We are not taking the bait, but these groups have to know that if they push too hard we will run all over them like we did in 2008,” said Abu Ali, a resident of the Rihaab district, a predominantly Shi‘a neighbourhood on the edge of Shatila
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/05/20135791049958517.html
Political, economic news
Abbas meets Egypt president in Cairo
CAIRO (Ma‘an) 16 May – Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi on Thursday hosted his Palestinian counterpart in Cairo where the two addressed efforts to resume the Middle East the peace process and how to implement Palestinian reconciliation. A statement released by Mursi’s office highlighted that he and President Mahmoud Abbas strongly condemned the ongoing Israeli assaults against the holy city of Jerusalem. They urged the Israeli government to immediately halt “these violations which breach all international conventions.” … Also Thursday, President Abbas met with secretary-general of the Islamic Jihad movement Ramadan Abdullah Shallah in Cairo, an official told Ma‘an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=596339
Erdogan plans Gaza visit for June, will also go to West Bank
WASHINGTON (AFP) 16 May — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday said he would probably make his planned trip to Gaza in June and that he also was expecting to visit the West Bank. Erdogan gave new details of the Gaza trip, which will test Turkey’s relations with Israel after a US-brokered rapprochement, as he appeared at a news conference with US President Barack Obama. “According to my plan, most probably I would be visiting Gaza in June,” said Erdogan, who had earlier said that he would reveal details of the trip, which has been opposed by Washington, after meeting Obama. “But it will not be a visit only to Gaza. I will also go to the West Bank.” The dual stops means Erdogan will hold talks with the Hamas rulers of Gaza and the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas, likely in Ramallah. “I place a lot of significance on this visit in terms of peace in the Middle East. I’m hoping that that visit will contribute to unity in Palestine,” Erdogan said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=596372
Movie review — That elusive seat at the UN table — ‘State 194’, a documentary on the Palestinian struggle
NYTimes 16 May by Anita Gates — The United Nations currently has 193 member nations. The dream of, and the work toward, member status for Palestinians is the subject of “State 194,” an intelligent, evenhanded Israeli documentary by Dan Setton about a two-state solution for coexistence. Mr. Setton, a Peabody Award- and Emmy-winning director and producer, was inspired by a 2009 radio speech by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad of the Palestinian Authority, who left office last month. This is certainly competent filmmaking, sort of like a long “60 Minutes” segment without the confrontational interview style. Speeches, high-level political meetings, street demonstrations and get-togethers with community groups lay out the situation but offer little new insight. Some effort is made to show the growing role of the Internet, including scenes of young people discussing social media strategy at a trendy cafe. Sadly, the overall effect of “State 194” is a fresh wave of frustration and discouragement over a heartbreaking and seemingly insurmountable political standoff and its human toll.
http://movies.nytimes.com/2013/05/17/movies/state-194-a-documentary-on-the-palestinian-struggle.html
Unemployment rate hits 27.5% in first quarter of 2013
RAMALLAH, May 16, 2013 (WAFA) – The unemployment rate in the Palestinian Territory increased from 26.7% in the fourth quarter of 2012 to 27.5% in the first quarter of 2013, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said Thursday. Using International Labor Organization standards, the number of unemployed persons was 271,000, distributed to 152,000 in the West Bank and 119,000 in Gaza Strip. Unemployment rate in Gaza Strip reached 31% compared with 20.3% in the West Bank. The highest unemployment rate was concentrated among youth aged 20-24 years where it reached 41.1%.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=22393
Poor healthcare, education services in Hebron outskirts
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 15 May – Healthcare, education and transportation services in the east Yatta area south of Hebron are very poor and residents blame the Israeli occupation. “One day my daughter accidentally cut her leg, and I had to deliver her on a working animal to the nearest road before I could find a car to take her to hospital. Thus, she bled a lot and her situation worsened,” says Khadra Hamamda, a mother who lives in a tent in the Khirbet al-Makfara. A Ma‘an TV crew noticed that some children go to school on donkeys which are still used as a main means of transportation in Masafir Yatta, Susiya and other outskirts.
The only school in Susiya, a preparatory school which lacks almost all basic requirements, is slated for demolition by Israeli forces. In addition, staff and school children are often harassed by Israeli settlers when they go to and from school. Manar Nawaja, a pupil, told Ma‘an that settlers used to attack her and other children and release their dogs to chase them on their way to school.
The outskirts of Yatta, known locally as Masafir Yatta, consist of 25 small villages and hamlets….
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=595801
OECD report: Israel the member with the highest poverty rate
Ynet 15 May by Omri Efraim — One in five Israelis and one in three Israeli children live in poverty according to a report published by the the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which placed Israel first place in poverty rate among developed nations. The alarming findings show Israel’s poverty rate standing at 21% of the entire population, in comparison to only 13.8% in 1995.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4380310,00.html
Other news
‘Journalist not found’: Newseum has expunged Palestinians murdered by Israel from its website
[with VIDEO] EI 16 May by Ali Abunimah — After caving in to intense Israel lobby pressure, Washington’s Newseum has removed the names of two Palestinian journalists extrajudicially executed by Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip last November from its memorials for journalists killed while doing their jobs. The personal pages for Hussam Salama and Mahmoud al-Kumi on the Newseum website now return “Journalist not found” and their pictures and details have been taken down. The Newseum has refused to answer my questions about its decision-making process regarding the two men. Meanwhile Palestinian journalists and a member of al-Kumi’s family have spoken out against the Newseum’s cave-in, as the video report above from The Real News shows.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/journalist-not-found-newseum-has-expunged-palestinians-murdered-israel-its
Palestinian journalists want curbs on Israel media
RAMALLAH 9 Apr — Palestinian journalists have demanded that authorities restrict the movement of Israeli reporters in the West Bank, a local media worker said Tuesday. A media union urged president Mahmud Abbas in a letter to block Israeli reporters from accessing Palestinian-controlled West Bank territory, in response to Israel’s own restrictions on the movement of Palestinian reporters. “We are for media freedom on both sides, but this can’t be one-way,” Palestinian journalist Nayla Khalil told AFP.
She said that the movements of Palestinian journalists were regularly restricted in West Bank areas controlled by the Israeli army.
The union’s letter to Abbas was “a threat to no one, but we demand equal treatment,” Khalil said.
http://www.arabnews.com/news/447539
Conference press release: Palestinian Shatat Conference convenes in Vancouver for return and liberationh
15 May — In an effort to unite the Palestinian community through adherence to fundamental principles predicated on return and liberation, Palestinian activists and their allies in North America convened on unceded Coast Salish territories at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada from May 3-5, 2013. With the firm belief that Palestinians in the Shatat [diaspora] should be actively engaged and invested in advancing the Palestinian cause as we commemorate 65 years of Nakba, participants discussed various issues, including, among others, accurate and accountable representation, defining the relationship of Palestinians in North America with Palestinians inside Palestine and the refugee camps, and finding methods to confront Zionist settler colonialism inside and outside of Palestine … Conference participants included members of Idle No More, as well as other longtime indigenous activists; conference participants dined on bannock donated by Indigenous chefs and a Wet’suwet’en drum group introduced [Leila] Khaled. According to Omar Shaban, director of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) at UBC, “it is important to recognize, over and again, that this conference was held on unceded indigenous territory, and that the struggle of the Palestinian people in the Shatat is incomplete without recognizing and joining the struggle of the indigenous people of Canada and the United States.”
http://www.palestinianconference.org/conference-release-palestinian-shatat-conference-convenes-in-vancouver-for-return-and-liberation/
The promised city
[with video by Shuchen Tan] Al Jazeera Witness 16 May — A new West Bank eco-town is tempting some Palestinians with promises of a dream city, but it is not without its critics — High on a hill in the West Bank, between Ramallah and Nablus, an extraordinary Palestinian city is being built: Rawabi – meaning hills. It will be the first planned city in the history of Palestine and will become home to some 40,000 Palestinians by the end of 2013, or so it is planned. This project is the brainchild and passion of Palestinian businessman and multibillionaire Bashar Masri … While Masri faces objections from what he calls “radicals on both sides”, he sees the building of this city as the first steps towards creating “facts on the ground”. In his view, it is one way of building the Palestinian state. Masri is clearly a man on a mission and, although not everyone supports it, Rawabi is slowly becoming a ‘fact on the ground’.
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2013/05/2013514104857113718.html
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