Israeli soldiers cut down 100 olive trees at night in occupied village– in name of security

Soldiers cut [down] 100 olive trees in Ya‘bod
IMEMC — [Thursday November 14, 2013] Israeli soldiers invaded Ya‘bod village, near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and cut [down] more than 100 olive trees that belong to the residents despite a pending petition filed by the owners with the Israeli Supreme Court. Head of the Ya‘bod Village Council Samer Abu Baker told the Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) that the cut trees are along the Jenin-Tulkarem road, near the illegal Israeli settlement of Mabo Dotan. He added that the attack took place during late night hours, on Wednesday at night, and again earlier on Thursday morning.  “Just like thieves, they arrived quickly and cut the trees”, Abu Baker said, “They wanted to commit their crimes before their Supreme Court even renders its decision”. The Israeli Military ‘justified’ its assault by citing “security considerations”, similar to its first attack against the orchards in the area in 2002, WAFA added.[Ma‘an: “The army recently said it would be cutting all trees that are 20 meters close to the main road extending 3 kilometers from the Dotan military roadblock to Jericho area for what it explained as “security considerations”.]
http://www.imemc.org/article/66412

Gaza one year after the last Israeli assault, still under blockade

Sewage floods Gaza streets as lack of fuel plunges strip into darkness
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 15 Nov by Alex Shams — Sewage has flooded the streets of a central Gaza City neighborhood as an ongoing fuel shortage and the shutdown of the besieged region’s sole functioning power plant has caused the failure of the strip’s main waste water treatment plant. Residents of the al-Sabra neighborhood in al-Zaytoun in central Gaza City were surprised Wednesday night to find the streets of their neighborhood flooded with refuse and waste, compounding the suffering of Gaza residents amidst escalating power outages. Fuel shortages have caused daily life in the Gaza Strip to grind slowly to a halt, as power plants and water pumps are forced to shut down, cutting off access to basic necessities for Gaza residents. Even transportation across the 41-km long territory is becoming impossible, as drivers wait for hours at a time for access to small amounts of gasoline. But the flood of sewage through central Gaza has made even crossing the street a nightmare for local residents …
Ma‘an spoke with Al Zanoon in a telephone interview to get a sense of how Gazans were coping under increasingly difficult circumstances. “The electricity goes off for 12 hours at a time, and then comes back on for six, and then back off again for 12,” Al Zanoon explained.  Even though many Gaza City residents, businesses, and public institutions have generators in case the electricity goes out, the lack of fuel means that these cannot operate. As a result, every aspect of daily life is shutting down. “After 8 p.m. no one is in the street anymore. Everywhere there is fear, there is no life. At night, there are no lights on the street, no cars outside, there is nothing.” …
The lack of fuel means that water is also an increasingly scarce resource across the Strip, available to many residents for only two hours a day. “In al-Zaytoun, where I live, the municipality water station distributes water from 2 to 4 a.m., so everyone stays up all night to take advantage of the water when it comes on,” Al Zanoon said. “But then sometimes if there is no electricity, it doesn’t come. And so everyone sits there waiting until the early morning, and nothing comes.” “The people are the victims. No one can even think about politics anymore.” “All they think about is how can we get the water to work? How can I wash my children? That’s what people are talking about, they can’t think about political issues.” “What are we guilty of?” “People don’t even think about the nation anymore, all they can think about is how to survive and how to solve their own problems. People are terrified,” he added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647697

Israeli forces shoot, injure man in southern Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 13 Nov — Israeli forces shot and injured a man east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, witnesses said. A number of Israeli vehicles, including six bulldozers and a number of tanks, entered a border area in southern Gaza and began leveling Palestinian land. Israeli forces fired shots in the area, injuring one man, locals said.
Meanwhile, Israeli gunboats opened fire at fishermen off the southern coast of Gaza, locals told Ma‘an. No injuries or arrests were reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=646905

Israeli forces shoot, injure man in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 13 Nov — A man was shot and injured by Israeli soldiers east of al-Maghazi refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening, medics told Ma‘an. Mahmoud Abd al-Issa, 25, was shot in the chest by Israeli forces and taken to al-Shuhada hospital before being moved to al-Shifaa hospital, medical sources said.  Al-Issa is reportedly in a moderate condition.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647199

One year following the Israeli offensive on Gaza: Justice for Palestinian victims still denied
Palestinian Center for Human Rights — 14 November 2013 marks the first anniversary of the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, codenamed “Operation Pillar of Defense,” which lasted for 8 days. This offensive, like the preceding one, was characterized by brutality and the perpetration of systematic serious violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes. One year following this offensive, Palestinian victims are still denied justice before the Israeli judiciary. In the period from 14 to 21 November 2012, Israeli forces launched a large-scale offensive on the Gaza Strip. During the eight-day offensive, Israeli forces carried out thousands of airstrikes, attacks by gunboats, and artillery shelling. Missiles with warheads weighing more than 1,000 kilograms were used in attacks on residential areas, flattening multistory homes and killing residents within the buildings.  The extensive attacks targeted civilian facilities throughout the Gaza Strip, including civilian governmental institutions located in densely-populated areas … There was no safe place and the threat of death was felt by everyone with no exceptions. The situation became more tragic when Israeli forces dropped leaflets onto Palestinian communities in the northern Gaza Strip and Gaza City ordering civilians to leave their homes … During the eight-day offensive, 171 Palestinians were killed. Of the victims, 102 were civilians, comprising 60% of the total number of victims. 35 of the civilian victims, or 34%, were children, while 14 of the civilian victims, of 14%, were women. The total number of people wounded was 648. Of the wounded, 625 were civilians, including 214 children and 93 women. Among the wounded civilians were 16 people with various disabilities. Entire families were wiped out as their houses were directly targeted with missiles with warheads weighing hundreds of kilograms. The most horrible of these attacks was targeting the al-Dalu family’s house in Gaza City on 18 November. The four-story house and a number of neighboring houses were destroyed, and 12 civilians (5 children, 5 women and 2 young men) were killed and 6 others were wounded…
Israeli forces also targeted 233 public facilities, including 88 educational establishments; 83 worshiping sites and cemeteries; 19 health facilities; 3 syndicates; 2 sports facilities; 4 media institutions; 41 service facilities; 6 recreational facilities; 4 banks; and 182 industrial, commercial and agricultural facilities…
PCHR lawyers submitted 246 civil complaints to the Israeli Ministry of Defense (according to the Israeli legal requirements) in order to initiate compensation claims on behalf of Palestinian victims of Israeli violations. These complaints were related to killing 72 Palestinian civilians and wounding 104 others, and destroying 75 houses during “Operation Pillar of Defense.”  PCHR submitted also 79 complaints to the Israeli Military Advocate General (MAG) demanding opening criminal investigations into these violations and bringing the perpetrators before justice. In response to the 79 complaints submitted to the MAG, PCHR received 26 replies only, which were all negative.
http://www.imemc.org/article/66407

Residents fear new war as Gaza marks 2012 anniversary
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 14 Nov — Palestinian families say they live in constant fear that renewed fighting will break out, as the Gaza Strip prepares to commemorate the first anniversary of Israel’s war on the coastal territory. Israel’s military bombarded the Gaza Strip for eight days in November last year, killing over 170 people and injuring at least 1,000. Extensive damage was caused to civilian infrastructure as Israel hit over 1,500 sites, with media buildings targeted and several journalists killed and wounded. Six Israelis also died in the cross-border violence. “Today everybody here is busy with the war anniversary, but I am afraid of a third war. I am still paying debts until this moment after I re-built my house,” Beit Lahiya resident Abu Alaa Hijazi told Ma‘an. Israel destroyed a five-story building belonging to Hijazi when an airstrike targeted neighboring properties. Suffering huge financial losses from the destruction of his property, Hijazi was forced to work as a laborer, having previously worked as a project manager. He has huge debts to pay following reconstruction work on his damaged home. “If a war occurs again, I will escape from the area,” he says. Every time he hears an Israeli plane flying overhead he fears for what may happen …
Amnesty International says that tens of thousands of Gazans fled their homes during the conflict, with hundreds still displaced because their homes were destroyed by Israeli strikes. A year on, Israeli restrictions on importing construction materials mean most Gazans have been unable to rebuild their damaged homes. “The fear of more bloodshed hangs like a dark cloud over men, women and children who feel trapped in a cycle of violations fueled by a climate of impunity,” said Deborah Hyams, researcher on Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories at Amnesty International. “The world continues to look the other way when it comes to the blockade on Gaza, which collectively punishes 1.7 million civilians. This stark violation of international law has been allowed to continue for more than six years,” Hyams added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647342

One year after Gaza war | | Israel Air Force strikes Gaza in retaliation for mortar fire
Haaretz 14 Nov by Gili Cohen & Jack Khoury — Israel Air Force planes bombed two rocket launchers in the Gaza Strip yesterday, hours after Gazan militants fired mortars and two Qassam rockets toward Israel, an IDF spokesman said. Nobody was hurt and the rockets and mortars fell harmlessly in open fields. Witnesses to the air strike in Gaza said the bombs fell in open areas in the Beit Hanoun area in the northeast of the strip, causing no casualties. The attacks coincided with the first anniversary of what Israel dubbed “Operation Pillar of Defense,” an eight-day battle between with Gaza’s Hamas fighters. During the conflict Israel killed Ahmed Jabari, the second-in-command of Hamas’ military wing. Hamas political leaders and military commanders who had been hiding underground for years gathered  yesterday for a military parade in Gaza marking the anniversary of the battle, which Hamas had declared a victory.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.558134

Gaza farmers succeed in tending to olive harvest — with international support
Electronic Intifada 13 Nov by Joe Catron — During the recent olive harvest, which lasted from the end of September through October, dozens of Palestinian volunteers joined farmers in their groves near the tense barriers of the Gaza Strip. The volunteers worked during a week at the height of the harvest season, from 20 to 27 October, in two of the farming districts most often targeted by Israeli forces: Beit Hanoun, around the Erez checkpoint in northern Gaza, and al-Qarara, a town in the Khan Younis area of the southern Gaza Strip. Along with others near the ‘buffer zone’ separating Gaza from present-day Israel, these areas face regular incursions by Israeli forces, which often send tanks and bulldozers to level farmland. Even more frequent are the bursts of gunfire aimed at farmers or others near the barrier erected by Israel. These attacks have claimed vast tracts of productive farmland stretching hundreds of meters into the Gaza Strip, converting them to wasteland or fields of low-maintenance crops, most of which are wheat … But the destruction of olive trees in the Gaza Strip is largely complete. For years Israel has used armored Caterpillar D9 bulldozers, accompanied by tanks, to clear away olive trees in the ‘buffer zone’. Farmers in the area, who face the constant threats of both gunfire and leveling of land, have little reason to plant any crop needing regular attention or significant resources, much less crops that require years of careful cultivation and maintenance. ‘I want to plant more olive trees, and other things, but cannot,’ Abu Taima said. ‘For now, I plant wheat.’ With exceptions — most notably a 28 October airstrike on an olive grove near Soudanya in the north of Gaza — the Strip’s olive harvest passed more quietly than most agricultural activities in the territory.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/gaza-farmers-succeed-tending-olive-harvest-international-support/12925

Israeli navy captures two Gaza fishermen, including one injured by gunfire
GAZA (ISM) 13 Nov by Rosa Schiano — On the morning of Sunday, 10th November, brothers Saddam Abu Warda (age 23) and Mahmoud Abu Warda (age 18) were captured by the Israeli navy in Palestinian waters off the Gaza Strip. They were released later in the evening and their boat was confiscated.  Mahmoud was injured by a bullet in the right side of his abdomen. We went to visit the two young fishermen in their home in the town of Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip … “We cast our nets into the sea at a distance of about 500 meters from the forbidden fishing area,” Saddam told us. “We were far away from the Israeli gunboats.” The two fishermen were on a small boat, or hasaka, without an engine. Saddam told us that an Israeli gunboat approached their boat. The soldiers shouted for them to leave in less than five minutes. “We had to cut our nets in order to flee,” Saddam said. “The soldiers came closer to us and started shooting at our boat.” Without a motor, the two fishermen could not escape … The Israeli port of Ashdod now holds three boats belonging to Saddam’s family. In the past, in fact, other members of the Abu Warda family had been arrested and seen their boats confiscated. Now they have none left … Saddam’s family has 15 members. Fishing is their only source of livelihood. The other eight brothers are also fishermen. They don’t have any other source of income, and they don’t believe they will get their boats back.
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/11/israeli-navy-captures-two-fishermen-including-one-injured-by-gunfire/

Qassam member dies in operation accident
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 14 Nov  — A 22-year-old man died as a result of an accident during a militant operation in Gaza on Thursday, medics and a military group said. Hamas’ military wing al-Qassam Brigades announced the death of one of its members, Foad Muhammad al-Siqli, who medics said arrived to the hospital in critical condition and soon passed away. Al-Silqi is reportedly from the Shija‘eya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647471

Al-Quds Brigades threatens ‘battle of ghosts’ with Israel
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 13 Nov — A spokesman for a Palestinian militant group Wednesday warned Israel of an upcoming “battle of ghosts.” Following a military parade in Gaza conducted by al-Quds Brigades – the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement – a spokesman for the group condemned peace negotiations as an impossible method for liberating Palestine and its people. The only appropriate place to meet with Israel is on the battlefield, the spokesman said. “Nightmares will become a reality in Gaza and inside (Israel’s) cities,” he said. “The next battle will be a ghost battle.” “The balance of power leans towards the enemy because of Western support and Arab collusion,” he said. “That will not hold us back – our goal will remain to free Palestine, all of Palestine.” Some 2,000 armed men participated in the parade.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647102

Gaza’s unmarried couples defy social traditions
GAZA CITY (Al-Monitor) 13 Nov by Abeer Ayyoub — Not being able to get basic goods, not having electricity for more than 11 hours a day and not being able to travel easily are familiar hardships the more than 1.7 million Palestinians in Gaza face, but these are not the only frustrations. In addition to the strain on Palestinians’ lives due to the ongoing Egyptian-Israeli siege, unmarried couples in Gaza are also struggling to maintain their relationships because they cannot easily meet in public.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/11/gaza-couples-relationships-marriage.html

Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Judaization

Israel fast-tracks construction of national park between two Palestinian villages
Haaretz 14 Nov by Nir Hasson — The cabinet on Thursday ordered that a plan to build a national park on the eastern slope of Mount Scopus be expedited, along with other construction plans outside the Green Line … Advancing these plans is apparently seen as a way to compensate the right for the release of Palestinian murderers late last month in the framework of the renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. At the end of September, an employee of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority was recorded admitting that the purpose of establishing the Mount Scopus park at a site between the villages of Isawiyah and A-Tur is to block Palestinian development there, rather than to preserve nature. Opponents of the plan note that the site in question has no unique natural or archeological value that would justify its declaration as a national park. The INPA argues that the park will preserve the landscape that links Jerusalem with the Judean Desert. There is a raging dispute over the national park plan between the Prime Minister’s Office and Environmental Protection Minister Amir Peretz, who vehemently opposes it … The area of the park is the only place in which the two Arab villages adjacent to it can expand, opponents of the plan say.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.558090

Israeli bulldozers demolish house in Negev village
BEERSHEBA (Ma‘an) 13 Nov — Israeli bulldozers early Wednesday demolished a house in a Negev village, a Ma‘an reporter said. Police forces accompanied the bulldozers to al-Sayyed village, where they destroyed the home of Nafeth Hassan Salem al-Sayyed. Locals told Ma‘an that al-Sayyed, 20, planned to use the house as the venue for his upcoming wedding. The house was build specifically for the wedding ceremony, locals said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=646963

Protest against demolition orders in Izbit Tabib
Izbit Tabib, Occupied Palestine (ISM Nablus Team) 14 Nov — Several years ago the village of ‘Izbit Tabib east of Qalqiliya was served with demolition orders by the Israeli Army. The orders would mean destruction of 33 houses (73% of the village) and the village school. Two houses have already been demolished and the school which has 52 students is vital to the village and its future. The villagers have been striving to get the order quashed in the Israeli courts, but the threat remains and hangs over the village like a black cloud. Yesterday the villagers organised  a demonstration against the threat and were supported by representatives of the Palestinian Authority, groups of international activists, Israeli activists and a TV camera team. The school children joined the protest and made several speeches.
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/11/protest-against-demolition-orders-in-izbit-tabib/

Settlers invade Palestinian orchard near Nablus
IMEMC — A number of extremist Israeli settlers invaded, on Wednesday [November 12, 2013] a Palestinian orchard east of Qarawat Bani Hassan village, west of the central West Bank district of Salfit. Head of the Qarawat Bani Hassan village council Abdul-Hamid Mer’ey stated that the settlers brought some citrus trees and planted them in the attacked land, close to their illegal settlement, in an attempt to claim that they have been harvesting the land for a long time. He added that the attack is part of numerous attempts to illegally annex Palestinian lands in the area to adjacent illegal Israeli settlements and that the residents filed several appeals in Israeli courts and managed to limit the illegal annexation of their lands. Khaled Ma’aly, a Palestinian researcher specialized in Israeli settlement activities, stated that Salfit is seriously impacted by Israel’s illegal settlements, built on private Palestinian property. He added that Israeli recently approved a plan meant to ensure the expansion of the Novim illegal settlement, built in 1986 on lands that belong to residents of Qarawat Bani Hassan and Deir Estia.
http://www.imemc.org/article/66401

Settlers dump toxins on Palestinian lands near Salfit
IMEMC — [Wednesday November 13, 2013] A number of extremist Israeli settlers invaded Palestinians lands close to the ‘Samaria Highway’ settler road, near Bruqin village, west of the central West bank district of Salfit, and dumped toxins. Head of the Bruqin village council, lawyer Nafeth Barakat stated that a number of residents saw the settlers parked near the lands before dumping toxins in the Al-Baq’an area of the village. He said that the toxins, mainly whitish and slimy with a heavy toxic smell, were dumped only 150 meters away from Palestinian homes, and that the residents contacted the Palestinian police who in turn called experts to examine the dumped materials.  Barkat further stated that the toxins led to the death of ten sheep that belong to a local farmer identified as Mohammad Samara.  Palestinian researcher Khaled Ma’aly stated that there are dozens of small and large factories that produce toxins in the industrial Ariel settlement, and Burkan settlement, surrounding the village, and that those settlements frequently flood Palestinian lands with wastewater in Salfit area, Bruqin and Kufr Ad-Deek. Ma’aly added that those factories are also causing air pollution in the entire area.
http://www.imemc.org/article/66404

Twilight Zone: Uprooted in 1948, residents of Ikrit vow to return to their village
Haaretz 16 Nov by Gideon Levy & Alex Levac — Once a month, the former residents and their families are permitted to attend Mass in the village church, and although 65 years have passed, they have not lost hope of living there again — Alone with his thoughts, he stands in this very simple church, stroking its walls, new wooden chairs and ancient paintings. Prof. Imad Kassis comes here often. Last Friday, he was back again, together with dozens of people from the village of Ikrit [or Iqrit] and their descendants, to mark the 65th anniversary of their expulsion. Kassis, an Israeli, teaches pediatric medicine at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. He was born 10 years after the expulsion, yet he still comes here, time after time. He doesn’t forget, he doesn’t forgive and he especially doesn’t give up. He is convinced that the former residents and their descendants will be back someday in their ancient Catholic village, situated high in the mountains of the Upper Galilee, across from the heights of Lebanon. There aren’t many injustices like this expulsion, and there aren’t many idiocies like Israel’s refusal to allow the villagers to return home. They didn’t fight in 1948, they were promised they’d be allowed to return within a few days and their displaced persons are all Israeli citizens … Now, third-generation refugees — 15 young people — have established an outpost in the village church; they have been living here, under the radar, for more than a year.  [See photos of Iqrit at PalestineRemembered.com]
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/twilight-zone/.premium-1.558241

Occupation: Peace agreement with Jordan allows Jews to pray inside Al-Aqsa
AMMAN (PIC) 13 Nov– Knesset member Zvulun Kalfa from the Jewish Home Party said that Jews have the right to pray at the Aqsa Mosque, according to the “peace agreement” signed between Jordan and Israel. He also denied that the occupation authorities had asked Jordan to allow Jews to pray inside the Aqsa Mosque. “The Jordanian Kingdom should allow Jews to pray at the Aqsa without the need for submitting an application for that,” he claimed. Kalfa’s remarks came commenting on statements by the Jordanian adviser to the Islamic and Christian holy places in the city of Jerusalem Abdul Nasser Nassar who said that “Amman refused to allow Jews to pray inside Al-Aqsa Mosque,” after the occupation authorities submitted a request for that, according to Maariv newspaper. Nassar added he will not allow the extremist Jews to pray at the Aqsa Mosque, and considered this request “an Israeli attempt to divide the mosque in order to Judaize the city of Jerusalem.”
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s783l39qrak1WU0RwvK7ox8LOTlM1iYP7uIscyV7JZLeLDOMMfBMVdNIJE8S3H%2f4Ls76sTz7MD0Op2V3M3Q7eN%2bMtJRwi7k3aJ1Mt9vgXDGUQ%3d

Israeli rightists, intelligence officers tour Aqsa compound
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 13 Nov – Israeli intelligence officers and rightists entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard Wednesday under protection of Israeli police officers, eyewitnesses said. Onlookers said dozens of “settlers” and intelligence officers toured the southern mosque, the Marawani mosque underground and the Dome of the Rock. Separately, one of the rightists verbally assaulted a Palestinian girl who studied in the Al-Aqsa Mosque school.  A heated argument erupted as a result between Jewish and Muslim worshipers before Israeli police officers seized the identity card of a young Palestinian man.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=646920

AFEH denounces intentions to film Jewish drama series near Aqsa Mosque
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 14 Nov — Al-Aqsa Foundation for endowments and heritage (AFEH) denounced the intention of American and Israeli film companies to produce and film a Jewish drama series in the excavations adjacent to the Aqsa Mosque. These companies, including the Keshet production company, are planning to produce and film a new drama series for American network NBC in occupied Jerusalem, most of the filming will take place in the excavations and the tunnels in Silwan. The foundation said in a statement that the series consists of six episodes in the first phase, and added that it represents part of the methods and techniques used by the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem to Judaize the city and to change its Islamic and Arab landmarks.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7CSl7%2bGEAju4GiPoOwuUaOS9DiLG2ALAAvLbPBZQXR88iFy5uc42pJMBUJJI0Fsoh11n60PCd%2b0eEAXM1%2fESNLxfzZvek46d7V%2fxaRK90iUM%3d

Violence / Raids / Suppression of protests / Clashes / Illegal arrests

14 injured as Israeli forces disperse West Bank protests
[photos] JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 15 Nov — Israeli forces dispersed a weekly nonviolent protest in the Qalqiliya village of Kafr Qaddum on Friday, injuring at least 14 Palestinians. Four people were hit by rubber-coated [steel] bullets and dozens of people suffered smoke inhalation after Israeli forces fired tear gas at villagers, locals said. Eight people were injured after being hit directly by tear gas canisters. Israeli forces also fired tear gas and stun grenades at worshipers in the village mosque, who responded by throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers. Six children aged between 5-8 were detained for several hours during the clashes before being released.
In Nabi Saleh clashes broke out as demonstrators commemorated the 1st anniversary of the death of Rushdi Mahmoud Hassan al-Tamimi, who was killed by Israeli forces last year during a Gaza solidarity demonstration in Nabi Saleh. Palestinian and international activists took part in the march and laid flowers on al-Tamimi’s grave. Protesters then walked to the spot where he was shot, with Israeli soldiers firing tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets, damaging the car of photographer Majdi Ishteyyah. Israeli soldiers also assaulted photographer Bilal al-Tamimi and prevented him from taking photographs, declaring the area to be a closed military zone.
There were clashes in al-Ma‘asara, near Bethlehem, Beit Ummar and central Hebron, with protesters throwing rocks and firebombs and Israeli forces firing tear gas and rubber-coated bullets. No injuries were reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647688

Israeli forces assault 7 family members in their home near Hebron
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 15 Nov — Israeli forces assaulted seven members of a Palestinian family, including the elderly parents, in Arrub refugee camp near Hebron on Friday. Locals said that Israeli soldiers tried to raid the house of Mohammad Mahmoud Abu Dawoud, and when family members tried to stop them from entering the house the troops beat them severely. Troops also caused property damage to the residence, destroying furniture throughout the five-story apartment building the family lives in. Medics in the Palestinian Red Crescent said that homeowner Abu Dawoud suffered several bruises, while his wife Nathmiya, 60, suffered broken ribs as a result of her beating by Israeli soldiers. She subsequently fainted. Ibrahim Mahmoud Abu Dawoud, 20, suffered a broken finger, while Fadi Abu Dawoud suffered a broken nose, and Yousef Abu Dawoud suffered bruises in different parts of his body.  Ibrahim Mohammad Abu Dawoud was hit in the head with a rifle butt, and Ahmad Mohammad Abu Dawoud was injured in the head after a stun grenade exploded near him.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647709

Teenager shot, injured in Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 13 Nov — A teenager was shot and injured by Israeli forces in clashes near Rachel’s Tomb [or the Bilal bin Rabah mosque] north of Bethlehem, locals told Ma‘an. Witnesses said that the teen was shot with a live bullet in the foot and taken to Beit Jala governmental hospital for treatment.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647159

Israeli forces shoot teenager in the foot near Hebron
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 15 Nov — Israeli soldiers shot a Palestinian teenager in the foot in clashes near Dura south of Hebron. Moussa Abu Rayoush, 17, was shot in the foot and taken to the hospital with moderate injuries, locals said. In the clashes, Palestinian youth threw rocks at Israeli soldiers, who fired rubber-coated steel bullets, live ammunition, and tear gas at protestors.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647707

Israel raids home of soldier stab suspect, detains brother
JENIN (Ma‘an) 14 Nov — Israeli forces on Thursday detained the brother and a friend of the Palestinian teenager suspected of stabbing an Israeli soldier to death on Wednesday, relatives said. A large Israeli military force raided the home [in Bir al-Basha] of 16-year-old suspect Hussein Sharif Ghawadra after midnight, damaging the main gate of the property and releasing sound bombs, Ghawadra’s father told Ma‘an. “The Israeli army treated all of us in an aggressive way, and wreaked havoc in the house. They destroyed the windows and the doors. They removed the water tanks, and detained my son Mutasem, who is a university student. They also detained Hussein’s friend, Jamil Mohammad Ghawadra, and assaulted my wife, my son Tawfiq, and I.” Israeli forces also threatened to demolish the home, according to Ghawadra’s father, and asked the family to remove all of their furniture from the house. Intelligence officers interrogated him about Hussein’s life and his motivations for stabbing an Israeli soldier. Hussein Sharif Ghawadra, 16, stabbed soldier Eden Atias while traveling on a bus in Afula, northern Israel. Ghawadra told Israeli police that he entered Israel illegally to work, and if he couldn’t find employment he would kill an Israeli in revenge for the imprisonment of two of his relatives in Israeli jails, according to Haaretz.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647250

Parents of accused Palestinian killer shocked to hear the news
Haaretz 14 Nov by Jack Khoury — Abu Ashraf, father of the 16-year-old Palestinian who allegedly stabbed an Israel Defense Forces soldier to death on Tuesday, said he did not know how to respond to the telephone call he received in the afternoon. “Your son was involved in a stabbing attack targeting a soldier,” he was told on the phone, and he says he became hysterical. Abu Ashraf was asked to go to Qalqilyah to cooperate with the investigation. “I got there as fast as I could. When I went inside, someone kicked me, and I didn’t understand what they wanted from me …
Abu Ashraf lives with his family in a small, poor West Bank village of about 1,000 residents called Bir al-Basha, about eight kilometers south of Jenin, along the Jenin-Nablus road, which cuts the village in two. Most of the residents try to make a living by farming or construction. Abu Ashraf used to have permission to work in Israel, but it was revoked years ago.  A dirt road leads to the unkempt two-story home where Abu Ashraf lives with his family. His wife was hysterical. Another son, 17, was in the house. Five other sons and six daughters had left the house in fear of being arrested. The mother did not understand what had happened, and was surprised when soldiers surrounded her house and conducted a comprehensive search, confiscating a computer and other items as other village residents watched.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.557931

Report: Israel arrests 70 Palestinian workers
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma‘an) 15 Nov — Israeli forces overnight Thursday arrested 70 Palestinians working in the country illegally, Israeli media said. Israeli forces raided the northern towns of Shfaram, Kfar Menda, Ilut and other Palestinian majority areas and arrested laborers working on construction sites and agricultural fields, Ynet reported. Around 67 of those arrested will be questioned and returned to the occupied West Bank. The arrests come in response to the killing of an Israeli soldier on Wednesday by a young Palestinian who was residing in the country illegally, Ynet said. Around 30,000 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank work in Israel, mostly in the field of construction, with an additional 30,000 working in Israeli settlements, Israeli workers rights group Kav LaOved says. Palestinians face an arduous journey to cross into Israel to work, having to wait for hours at crowded checkpoints and often sleeping outside near crossings to avoid delays.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647590

Settlers torch Palestinian home in revenge attack
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 14 Nov — Settlers set fire to a Palestinian home in the Ramallah village of Sinjil overnight Wednesday, in an apparent revenge attack following the killing of an Israeli soldier, PA security sources said. The attackers torched the front of the Dar Khalil home in Sinjil and spray-painted the words “Regards from Eden, Revenge!” in Hebrew in blue on a wall outside the house. “I woke up at 2 a.m., and four or five people came out of a white car and started breaking windows, then poured gasoline, then threw fire into the house,” mother-of-five Ruweida Dar Khalil told AFP. “My kids were sleeping. I was scared to death. My kids almost died. I couldn’t even touch the doorknob it was so hot.” Dar Khalil said the children, the eldest aged seven, were returned home after being taken to hospital. “I need protection,” she said. “I’m scared to sleep inside my home.” An Israeli police spokesman said an investigation had been opened.
Later on Thursday, racist slogans including “death to Arabs” were discovered spray-painted on a fence in Nazareth Ilit, the northern Israeli city where [the soldier] Atias grew up and was buried. And in Jerusalem, dozens of Jews were holding a demonstration against the killing, calling for “death to the terrorists” and “death to Arabs,” an AFP correspondent said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647284

Palestinian family targeted by arson in ‘revenge’ for Israeli’s murder
972mag 14 Nov by Mairav Zonszein — A 16-year-old Palestinian stabs a 19-year-old Israeli soldier to death in his sleep. That night, a completely unconnected Palestinian family’s home is set alight while they sleep, in revenge for the murder — A Palestinian home in the West Bank village Sinjil was firebombed early Thursday morning in an apparent revenge attack for the murder of an Israeli soldier yesterday by a Palestinian teenager. Seven family members were inside at the time. Graffiti left on the house read, “Regards from Eden, Revenge.” There is no known connection between the Khalil family and the family of the alleged murderer from Jenin … The IDF did not find it necessary to directly condemn the fact that Israeli civilians decided to take revenge on an innocent family while they slept in their home. Peace Now has demanded (Hebrew link) the police relate to the act as attempted murder. (A request submitted to the IDF for further comment went unanswered at the time of this report. If and when it responds, this post will be updated.)
http://972mag.com/palestinian-family-targeted-by-arson-in-apparent-revenge-for-israelis-murder/81858/

Jewish settlers threaten Jenin inhabitants
JENIN (PIC) 16 Nov — Inhabitants of Jenin city and its refugee camp have received threat messages over the past couple of days from Jewish settlers. Local sources told the PIC reporter on Saturday that settlers sent random messages to citizens and young men in Jenin city and refugee camp saying that they will pay the price for the killing of an Israeli soldier at the hands of a youngster from Jenin a few days ago. They quoted some of those messages as saying that Jenin had turned into “a den for terrorists and killers” and others saying “death to Palestinians” and “we will teach you a lesson”.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7%2b68VY901UX7N0zjyK%2b6P9%2f%2bD1el77T7rkTyJrwvZcPUWkdOf%2fP%2fJSfShmcXceeEF5ztzVlsjCdvAKLwROLc06Z6Vf4nfNKTltuLapcB28xU%3d

Murderers of colonel ‘wanted to give a gift to Palestinians and prisoners’
Haaretz 15 Nov by Gili Cohen — Retired IDF colonel Seraiah Ofer was bludgeoned to death outside his Jordan Valley home in October to “bring a gift to the Palestinian people and the Hamas prisoners in honor of Id al-Adha,” confessed the two Palestinians arrested for the murder, according to the Shin Bet security service. Investigators said Thursday that Oudeh Haroub, 18, and Bashir Haroub, 21, told their interrogators they originally intended to rob Ofer, but when they learned he was a former senior army officer, they decided to kill him. The suspects, who live in the village of Dir Samet near Hebron, told investigators they began staking out the isolated, undeveloped Brosh Habika resort, which the Ofers [founded], late at night for about two weeks before the murder. They wanted to steal his weapons and other valuables, they said in their confession.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.558191

Israeli forces detain 2 Fatah members in East Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 13 Nov — Israeli forces on Wednesday detained two Fatah members form their homes in East Jerusalem.  Israeli police and intelligence officers detained Ahmad al-Ghoul, head of the Fatah Youth Movement, from his home in Silwan. Fatah activist Musa al-Abbasi was also arrested during a raid.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=646929

15 Palestinians kidnapped in Hebron, 5 in Jenin
IMEMC 14 Nov — …The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that dozens of soldiers invaded the Ath-Thaheriyya [or al-Dhaheriyya] town, south of Hebron, and kidnapped eleven Palestinians … Soldiers also invaded Beit ‘Awwa nearby town, and kidnapped Yousef Rasmy Masalma, Luay Samir Masalma, and Mahmoud Issa Masalma. Another resident, identified as Ali Al-Bakry, was kidnapped from his home in Hebron city. Furthermore, soldiers invaded Be’er Al-Basha village, south of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and kidnapped Mo’tasem Jaradat, 22, and his brother Arafat, 23, in addition to Tawfiq Sharif Ghawadra, 19. The army alleges their brother stabbed and killed an Israeli soldier in Al-Affoula on Wednesday. Soldiers also invaded the Al-Jalama village, near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and kidnapped Abdullah Yassin, while resident Ahmad Mahmoud Abu Al-Haija was kidnapped in Al-Yamoun town, near Jenin. In addition, dozens of soldiers invaded Ya‘bod town, near Jenin, and violently broke into and searched two homes after forcing the families out. Clashes took place between the invading soldiers and local youths.
http://www.imemc.org/article/66410

Israeli forces injure 3 with live bullets in clashes in al-Eiseriya
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 15 Nov — Three Palestinians were injured when Israeli forces opened fire with live bullets on protesters east of Jerusalem on Friday evening. Clashes broke out between Palestinian protesters and Israeli occupation forces in al-Eizariya on Friday evening, and Israeli forces opened fire with live ammunition and tear gas canisters in order to disperse the crowds. A medic told Ma‘an that three youngsters were shot in their legs and were subsequently taken to al-Eizariya Emergency Center.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647706

Israeli forces detain 4 teenagers near Ramallah
Ma‘an 15 Nov — Israeli forces on Friday detained four teenagers from Silwad village north of Ramallah after clashes broke out in the village. Majd Saleh Hamid, 16, Mohammad Ziyad Hamid, 12, Abdullah Khalid Hammad, 17, and a fourth unidentified teen were detained, locals said. Hundreds of people held a demonstration earlier on Friday during which they threw rocks at Israeli army vehicles and settlers cars. Israeli forces raided the village and fired rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters in response. No injuries were reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647693

Israeli forces detain Hebron man
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 15 Nov — Israeli forces on Friday detained a Palestinian man in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, locals told Ma‘an. Witnesses said that Israeli soldiers entered the Beit Amra neighborhood of Yatta and raided the house of Abu Qbeita. The soldiers arrested Qaher Najeh Abu Qbeita, 29, and took him to an unknown location, locals said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647630

PCHR Weekly Report: Two Palestinians killed, 7 wounded by Israeli troops this week
IMEMC — Israeli attacks in the West Bank: In the West Bank, in an excessive use of force, on 07 November 2013, Israeli forces killed 2 Palestinian civilians at Za’tara checkpoint, south of Nablus, and the Container checkpoint, northeast of Bethlehem, in the West Bank …  On 11 November 2013, a Palestinian child was wounded by Israeli forces during a demonstration organized in Nabi Saleh village, northwest of Ramallah, in commemoration of the 9th anniversary of President Yasser. On the same day, a child was also wounded in Hebron. During the last week, Israeli forces conducted 68 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, abducting at least 46 Palestinians, including 8 children. The detainees include a number of political leaders of Hamas. Israeli forces established dozens of checkpoints in the West Bank. At least 10 Palestinian civilians, including 5 children and a woman, were abducted at checkpoints in the West Bank.
Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip: In the Gaza Strip, on 10 November 2013, a Palestinian fisherman was wounded by Israeli forces in the northern Gaza Strip.  On 13 November 2013, 2 Palestinian civilians were wounded by Israeli forces in border areas in the southern and central Gaza Strip … In the context of targeting fishermen in the sea, Israeli gunboats stationed in the sea opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats 4 times, during which the abovementioned fisherman was wounded and fishing boat was confiscated. Israeli forces also detained 2 fishermen for one day.
Israeli settlement activities: Israeli forces have continued to support settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. Full Report
http://www.imemc.org/article/66415

Detainees / Hunger strikes / Court actions

22,000 administrative detention orders since al-Aqsa Intifada
OSLO (PIC) 14 Nov — Human rights network, based in Oslo, said that the Israeli authorities have ssued around 22,000 administrative detention orders against Palestinian prisoners since al-Aqsa Intifada on 28 September 2000. UFree Network confirmed that almost 150 Palestinians are held in administrative detention in the jails of Negev, Megiddo, Ramon and Ofer, the organization said. The administrative detention is a detention without charge or trial, based on secret evidence no one is allowed to check, not even the prisoner’s lawyer. According to Israeli military orders, administrative detention could be renewed more than once for 6 months each time. Meanwhile, Ahrar center for prisoners studies confirmed that the administrative detention of former head of the Students Union in Bir Zeit University Fadi Hamad, 27, [has been extended for] a new six months.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s73aY7fQkh7WFpqJsurEHceD5vU%2bCaPcFTa7P%2fCjzPZ6YJNQ45PLoqF9GwMGowVVqKKhfNvi8lUdK8vTm6gPGvQmEMI7DYWqITXusQ7KV3k84%3d

FHI demands IOA to immediately release Akram Al Fosaisy
VIENNA,(PIC) 13 Nov — Friends of Humanity International expressed its profound concern towards the deteriorating conditions of the Palestinian prisoners Akram Al Fosaisy in the Israeli Jails. The organization demanded the Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) to release him at once. The human rights organization has clarified that life of Akram Yousef Muhammad Al Fosaisy (30 years old) from Ethna near Hebron in the West Bank; is seriously exposed to real danger since he has spent his 45th day of Hunger Strike. The Palestinian prisoner Akram Al Fosaisy started his Hunger Strike as a protest at the policy of administrative detention, in addition to not being accused or even legally sentenced by the Israeli Authorities.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7EyHUcrKFwZAoFJ1D0cH8Lv0Mmtq9c8iTIbuf9PhA9tz3PzNb8vAFsMHlFye2cPv3BCP3rrTBNG2TPheLea%2fU1AMLWN47cKtPMsyFNvRab7s%3d

Barghouti rejected involvement in soldier’s murder, prosecutors say
Haaretz 15 Nov by Chaim Levinson — Imprisoned Palestinian militant Marwan Barghouti refused to take part in the planning or financing of the kidnapping or murder of Israeli soldier Tomer Hazan in September, according to the indictment filed yesterday in Shomron Military Court against the suspects. Brothers Nidal, Salaam and Nur al-Din Amar asked Barghouti for his help, but he refused, states the indictment. The three brothers are accused of planning the murder in advance. Nidal Amar, a Palestinian resident of Beit Amin near Qalqilyah who worked in a Bat Yam restaurant with Hazan, picked up the soldier on September 20 and the two took a taxi to the West Bank settlement Sha’arei Tikva, near Amar’s village.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.558190

Press freedom

Jailed by Israel for his cartoons, Mohammad Saba‘aneh speaks out
RAMALLAH (Electronic Intifada) 13 Nov by Patrick O. Strickland — More than 300 persons came to the opening night of cartoonist Mohammad Saba’aneh’s Cell 28 exhibition at Ramallah’s Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center in the occupied West Bank on 6 November. “I think it’s very important for Palestinian artists to talk about the Palestinian prisoners because it’s a very human issue,” Saba’aneh told The Electronic Intifada. Originally from the village of Qabatiya near Jenin, 34-year-old Saba’aneh started drawing all the pictures on exhibition while he was in jail, completing them later. He spent five months in prison after being arrested by Israeli occupation forces this past February. After two months of internment without charge, Israel charged him with drawing cartoons in a book they alleged had some association with Hamas. The photographs on display deal solely with issues regarding Palestinian political prisoners. The themes include family visits, longing, loneliness, solitary confinement, prisoner transfers, education in prisons and healthcare in prisons.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/jailed-israel-his-cartoons-mohammad-sabaaneh-speaks-out/12924

RSF condemns secret arrest of Palestinian journalist
JERUSALEM (AFP) 15 Nov — Reporters Without Borders on Thursday condemned Israel’s arrest and continuing detention of a Palestinian journalist working for the Arabic-language Al-Quds newspaper in Jerusalem. Mohamed Jamal Abu Khdeir was arrested on Nov. 6 on charges of endangering Israeli national security, the watchdog said. On Wednesday, authorities extended his detention until Nov. 18, and his family and lawyer have not been able to visit him in prison, the group said. A gag order was also placed on coverage of Khdeir’s case in Israeli media on Nov. 10, and will remain in place until Nov. 19.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647603

Journalists protest police ‘violations’ of press freedom
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 14 Nov — A group of journalists on Thursday organized a protest calling on Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah to investigate various journalists’ claims to have been mistreated by Palestinian police. During a demonstration held in front of a government building in Ramallah, journalists demanded police put an end to “violations” of media freedom in Palestine. In a letter to a Palestinian Authority spokesman Ehab Bseiso, the demonstrators cited two journalists’ allegations of police abuse. The letter denounced the detention of journalist Sami al-Sa‘ei by Tulkarem security forces. Al-Sa‘ei claims to have been detained for 12 hours without reason. Additionally, according to the letter, Director of Bethlehem Radio 2000 George Qanawati was detained, insulted, and beaten by the police due to his criticism of PA security forces on his radio program.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647522

Activism

Apartheid wall smashed on anniversary of independence declaration
[photos] BIR NABALA & RAFAT, Occupied Palestine (ISM Ramallah Team) This morning, November 15, 2013, 25 years after Yasser Arafat declared independence of the Palestinian state, a group of Palestinian activists undertook a direct action against the annexation wall and fence, supported by both Israeli and international activists. At approximately 6:30 am groups of Palestinian, Israeli and international activists traveled to a section of the annexation wall in Bir Nabala. Sledgehammers and other tools were donated by local popular committees and these were used to begin to smash through the wall … The apartheid wall and fence was declared illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2004
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/11/apartheid-wall-smashed-on-anniversary-of-independence-declaration/

PHOTOS: Palestinians destroy separation barrier in two West Bank villages
Activestills 15 Nov — During the early hours of Friday morning, Palestinians in two Palestinian villages took part in a “direct action” to destroy parts of the separation barrier. In Bir Nabala, located on the other side of Route 443, Palestinians used hammers to break open a hole in the wall, while Palestinians in Rafat (near the Ofer Military Prison) cut through 20 meters of the security fence bordering their village.
http://972mag.com/photos-palestinians-destroy-separation-barrier-in-two-west-bank-villages/81937/

Racism

To Korea without shoes or jacket | | East Jerusalem athlete loses luggage to Israeli airport security
Haaretz 14 Nov by Amira Hass — A young Palestinian from East Jerusalem was compelled to board a flight at Ben Gurion Airport last week without his shoes, coat, laptop, camera and carry-on hand luggage, which had been seized by security personnel. Mohammed Juda, 22, is an athlete and expert in Taekwondo, the Korean martial art. After excelling in Taekwondo contests in Turkey two years ago, he received a scholarship for a month’s course at the International Taekwondo Academy at Kyung Hee University. He told his family after the November 7 flight to Seoul that security officers had ordered him to undress, interrogated him and then confiscated his personal effects. He said he was left completely naked and feeling deeply humiliated. Juda was told his hand luggage would arrive at Seoul Airport two days later, But, as of Tuesday – six days after the flight – they had not yet arrived.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.557924

Palestinian refugees in Syria

4 Palestinian refugees killed in Syria
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 13 Nov — Four Palestinians were killed during clashes in a Syrian refugee camp Wednesday, a Syria-based Palestinian group said. According to a report by the Workforce for Palestinians in Syria, four refugees living in Yarmouk camp died as a result of a bombing that targeted the al-Ouroba neighborhood … Refugees in Yarmouk camp were reportedly awaiting the delivery of food and medical aid from UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, at the time of the attack. Meanwhile, houses were destroyed in an attack on Khan al-Sheikh refugee camp southwest of Damascus, the Workforce for Palestinians in Syria said in a separate report. Residents of the camp are suffering from a serious food and medicine shortage, the report said. At least 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in the ongoing Syria conflict.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=646859

Other news

From revenge attacks to demolition threats: A week in photos November 7-13
Activestills 14 Nov — This week: An arson attack in response to the killing of an Israeli soldier, the Wall encircles Al Walaja, Palestinians observe the anniversary of Yasser Arafat’s death, a Palestinian prisoner is released, activists protest the demolition of Bedouin villages, animal rights activists take action in supermarkets, checkpoints divide Hebron, and Susiya lives under threat of demolition.
http://972mag.com/from-revenge-attacks-to-demolition-threats-a-week-in-photos-november-7-13/81896/

PLO negotiators resign over settlements
RAMALLAH (AFP) 14 Nov — The Middle East peace process suffered a fresh blow after the entire Palestinian negotiating team resigned in protest against continued Israeli settlement building. Negotiator Mohammed Shtayyeh told AFP the resignation move Wednesday was in response to “increasing settlement building (by Israel) and the absence of any hope of achieving results.” “Until now, president Abbas has not accepted our resignation,” he added … A PLO official told Ma‘an on Wednesday that the US-brokered talks were suspended in practice, with no date set for a new round of negotiations.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=647269

Israel agrees to return stolen organs of dead Palestinians
Al-Arabiya 14 Nov — Israel has agreed to return organs of dead Palestinians harvested by its forensic pathologists during autopsies, Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh told Ma‘an news agency on Wednesday. Head of Israel’s Abu Kabir forensic institute, Jehuda Hiss, had admitted harvesting organs from dead bodies without the permission of their families. “We started to harvest corneas … Whatever was done was highly informal. No permission was asked from the family,” Hiss said in an interview with an American academic in 2000. The interview was released in 2010 and part of it was aired by Israel’s Channel 2 TV. The Channel 2 report said forensic experts harvested bones, corneas, heart valves and skin from dead Israeli soldiers, citizens, Palestinians and even foreign workers. The Israeli army admitted to organ harvesting but said the practice was no longer performed. “This activity ended a decade ago and does not happen any longer. “We’d glue the eyelid shut,” he said. “We wouldn’t take corneas from families we knew would open the eyelids,” Associated Press reported.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/11/14/Israel-agrees-to-return-stolen-organs-of-dead-Palestinians.html

Three Palestinian films nominated for Asian Pacific Screen Awards
Electronic Intifada 15 Nov by Maureen Clare Murphy — Three Palestinian films are nominated for best film in three different categories at the Asian Pacific Screen Awards, a prestigious annual event in Brisbane, Australia. Hany Abu-Assad’s Omar (watch the trailer above) is up for Best Feature Film, while Annemarie Jacir’s When I Saw You is nominated for Best Children’s Feature Film and Mahdi Fleifel’s A World Not Ours is being considered for Best Documentary Feature Film. Omar received the most nominations of any film this year, with Adam Bakri nominated for Best Performance By An Actor and Ehab Assal for Achievement in Cinematography. Prizes will be awarded at the awards ceremony on 12 December.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/three-palestinian-films-nominated-asian-pacific-screen-awards

New Zealand deports Israelis for fear of illegal employment
Ynet 13 Nov by Itamar Eichner —  New Zealand’s immigration authorities have started stepping up their enforcement in recent weeks and have been deporting Israelis from the country immediately upon landing. The reason: Fear of Israelis arriving at the country to work illegally in shopping malls carts. Last week at least six Israelis were not allowed to enter New Zealand, Yedioth Ahronoth learned. They were taken to a lengthy questioning session at the airport, at the end of which they were put on the first flight back to the destination from which they came.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4453172,00.html

Analysis / Opinion

Then they came for the mobsters | | The case against detention without trial
Haaretz 14 Nov by Aeyal Gross — First Palestinians, then asylum seekers and now members of crime rings; the ease with which individuals can be jailed without due process proves how far we are from upholding human rights — When they placed the Palestinians under administrative detention, I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Palestinian. When they jailed asylum seekers for three years without trial, violated the High Court of Justice ruling ordering their release and devised a protocol enabling their arrest and detention without trial as criminal suspects, I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t an asylum seeker … And when they come to place me in administrative detention as a suspect in a crime I perhaps didn’t even commit, no one will be left to speak up for me. I paraphrase Martin Niemöller’s famous poem ‘First They Came for the Communists’ as a reminder that custody without trial, now being proposed in the sphere of criminal law, is not new … The wholesale use of administrative detention and custody without trial against Palestinians and asylum seekers, respectively, are warning signs. The idea that administrative detention can replace the protocols of criminal prosecution, which contain protections for the rights of suspects and defendants, is outrageous. [See Israeli police want law to jail mobsters without trial]
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.557883

The life and death of Juliano Mer-Khamis / Adam Shatz
London Review of Books 21 Nov — On the afternoon of Saturday, 4 April 2011, Juliano Mer-Khamis walked out of the Freedom Theatre in the Jenin refugee camp and got into his old red Citroën. It was four o’clock, the sun was hot and the street crowded. He put his baby son, Jay, on his lap, placing the boy’s fingers on the steering wheel; the babysitter sat next to them. As he set off, a man in a balaclava came out of an alleyway and told him to stop. He had a gun. The babysitter told Juliano to keep driving, but he stopped. The gunman shot him five times, then walked back down the alley. He left his mask in the street. Jay survived; the babysitter escaped with minor injuries. When Israeli soldiers arrived, less than thirty minutes later, Juliano was dead. They took his body to Israel, along with his car, computer, wallet and other effects. Juliano was the founder of the Freedom Theatre. He was an Israeli citizen, the son of a Jewish mother and therefore a Jew in the eyes of the Jewish state. But his father was a Palestinian from Nazareth, and Juliano was a passionate believer in the Palestinian cause. He would often say he was ‘100 per cent Palestinian and 100 per cent Jewish’, but in Israel he was seldom allowed to forget he was the son of an Arab, and in Jenin he was seen as an Israeli, a Jew, no matter how much he did for the camp.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n22/adam-shatz/the-life-and-death-of-juliano-mer-khamis

Why does US treat ex-prisoners from Ireland and Palestine differently? / Bill Chambers
CHICAGO (Electronic Intifada) 12 Nov — With the Department of Homeland Security’s recent arrest of former Palestinian prisoner and current community leader Rasmea Yousef Odeh for alleged immigration fraud, it is helpful to review the history of the targeting of former political detainees by US authorities when there is a US-sponsored peace process underway … What conclusions can we draw in comparing the domestic context during the Clinton administration’s peace process in Ireland and the attempt of the Obama administration to broker peace in Palestine? For Clinton, all Irish political parties and the paramilitary groups they represented were eventually included in the peace negotiations with very few exceptions. Irish activists in the US were typically under surveillance, but not targeted for arrest and deportation unless they were former political prisoners. The targeting of former political prisoners occurred either before the peace process was underway or after 11 September 2001 when they were swept up in the ‘war on terror’. During the Israeli-Palestinian peace process under Clinton and the current efforts under Obama, there has never been a genuine attempt to include all Palestinian groups. Nor has there been an attempt to distinguish between a political party and the resistance group that party may be associated with. Unlike Irish activists in the 1980s and ’90s, Palestine activists critical of US policy toward Israel have not only been under surveillance, but have been actively targeted for repression.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/why-does-us-treat-ex-prisoners-ireland-and-palestine-differently/12923

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