Palestinians in E. Jerusalem are detained in greatest number, 770, since Second Intifada

West Bank / Jerusalem

Jerusalem faces largest surge in arrests since 2nd Intifada
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 27 Aug by Charlie Hoyle — Palestinian communities in Jerusalem are experiencing the largest upsurge in detentions since the Second Intifada, with a marked increase in Israeli police brutality and the collective punishment of entire neighborhoods, local organizations say. The mass detentions began following widespread demonstrations in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shufat following the murder of teenager Muhammad Abu Khdeir on July 2. Since then, over 770 Palestinians have been detained in East Jerusalem, according to Addameer prisoner rights group. The arrests in Jerusalem took place parallel to a wide-reaching detention campaign in the West Bank, which saw between 800-1,000 Palestinians detained following the kidnapping of three Israeli youths on June 12. Although the majority have been released, police brutality, the bail conditions set for detainees and a system of closures on Palestinian neighborhoods have made life difficult for individuals and whole neighborhoods alike. Around 70 Palestinians detained are still in police custody, with many transferred to detention cells in Lod after the Russian Compound in Jerusalem reached full capacity. “It’s collective punishment for all Jerusalem residents,” Mahmoud Qaraeen from the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan told Ma‘an. “The clashes and demonstrations following the killing of (Muhammad) Abu Khdeir made the police angry, and they imposed collective punishment on all of East Jerusalem.” Israeli police have regularly closed off the neighborhoods of Issawiya and Silwan during the campaign, preventing residents from entering or exiting. Even workers from electricity and water companies have not been granted access, Qareen says. Over 90 percent of the arrests happen during the night and the Wadi Hilweh Information Center reports that most of the time Israeli police officers do not know who they are coming to arrest. “They are not knocking,” Qareen says, “they break the doors and enter.” “They break into the house and ask the mother or father: “Where are your children?” If they say they are sleeping, they ask their names, then choose which one to arrest.” Three weeks ago Israeli forces raided the Abbasi family house and couldn’t decide which young family members to detain, so took all three to the police station, Qareen says. Once detainees are released they can face heavy fines and Addameer says that the majority of detainees, mostly young men, face months of house arrest or are banned from certain areas of East Jerusalem, sometimes the areas in which they live. Qareen says the campaign is deliberately intended to keep the Palestinian community “quiet.” Police brutality  The Association for Civil Rights in Israel has documented multiple cases of police brutality during the arrest campaign, and have called for an immediate review of the policy of officers wearing ski-masks during detentions. In one arrest on July 11, masked police officers possessing no identification tags broke into the home of a 22-year-old resident of Issawiya at 3 a.m. and vandalized the house … ACRI also documented an incident in which the daughter of a Palestinian family opened the door to a masked officer in East Jerusalem, and was rifle-butted without provocation. “Without faces and names, policemen are simply a group of unidentified, unknown gunmen barging into homes in the middle of the night – a practice characteristic of tyrannical regimes,” ACRI Attorney Yusef Karram said….
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723567

Clashes in Jerusalem as Palestinians rally in solidarity with Gaza
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 27 Aug – Israeli forces on Tuesday night quelled rallies and celebrations across East Jerusalem showing solidarity with the Gaza Strip after a ceasefire agreement was announced. Witnesses told Ma’an that Palestinians took to the streets in Beit Hanina, Shu‘fat, al-Tur, Shu‘fat refugee camp and al-‘Isawiya to show solidarity with Gaza. No sooner did the rallies began when clashes broke out with Israeli troops who quelled the demonstrators using tear gas, stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets. Young Palestinians responded with stones. Dozens were hurt in Shu‘fat camp after the Israeli troops fired tear-gas canisters haphazardly at houses and stores. In al-Tur, a Palestinian woman, Hala Mahmoud Abu Sbeitan, 50, was hit in the head by a high-velocity tear-gas canister. She was evacuated to hospital for stitches after she suffered a head wound.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723667

Clashes in Jerusalem, West Bank
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 26 Aug — Clashes erupted late Monday between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians in Wad al-Juz, Silwan and Jerusalem. A Ma‘an reporter said Israeli forces detained a youth from Wad al-Juz after assaulting him. Witnesses said Israeli forces blocked a street in Wad al-Juz, raided neighborhoods, fired stun grenades randomly between houses and sprayed Skunk water at houses and cars. Clashes also broke out in Ein al-Luza; Israeli forces blocked the road in the area and fired stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets at houses and vehicles. In Shu‘fat neighborhood in northern Jerusalem, youths threw a Molotov cocktail at the light rail in the area. Israeli forces assaulted Taha Ibrahim Abu Khdeir with batons and the butts of their rifles.
Muhammad Hussein Mustafa Abu Maria, 16, was injured with a live bullet during clashes in al-Dhahr area south of Beit Ummar. An Israeli settler opened fire hitting Abu Maria in his right hand and through his waist. He was taken in a Red Crescent ambulance to Alia Hospital in Hebron where his injuries were reported as moderate. Three other youths were injured with rubber-coated bullets and dozens choked on tear gas. Israeli soldiers fired rubber-coated bullets at the house of Fawzan Muhammad al-Jaar; no injuries were reported. Youths threw Molotov cocktails inside the fence of a settlement. It caught fire and reached the surroundings of some houses. Soldiers could not put out the fire until a fire engine arrived.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723382

The Israelis arrest two young men from Silwan
SILWAN, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 26 Aug — The Israeli forces arrested on Tuesday early morning hours two young men after raiding their homes in Silwan. Wadi Hilweh Information Center was informed that the Israeli forces arrested the 23-year old Omar Ibrahim Abbasi and 22-year old Abdullah Khalil Abbasi; note that the forces breached-in their homes and blew the front doors.
http://silwanic.net/?p=52440

Israeli police ban 4 Palestinians from entering Al-Aqsa
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 25 Aug — The Israeli police have banned four Palestinian youths from entering the al-Aqsa compound for one month, a prisoner rights group said Monday. A lawyer from the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said that the Israeli police released four Palestinians from Jerusalem on the condition that they not enter al-Aqsa for one month. Mufid al-Hajj added that the four were sentenced to house arrest for a week, a bail of 10,000 shekels and a fine of 500 shekels.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723269

Shepherds detained for crossing a road
QAWAWIS, Occupied Palestine (ISM) 26 Aug –While shepherding approximately 1 km south of Qawawis, a village south of al-Khalil (Hebron), on Sunday 24th near the illegal settlement and army base of Suseya, three shepherds were stopped by the Israeli army and detained for 20 minutes. The three shepherds were just on their way back from grazing their sheep in the fields outside of the village when the Israeli army arrived in a jeep, stopping the shepherds who were attempting to cross the street. After shortly talking to one of the shepherds, the soldiers drove the sheep down the hill without any explanation. As the sheep began to run away, one of the shepherds asked to look for them, but was refused by one of the soldiers. The soldiers accused them of passing over into land prohibited for Palestinians. It is an open area with no sign marking any borders. One of the soldiers claimed to have explained to the shepherds where the border of the ‘prohibited’ land was located in the morning, however ISM volunteers accompanied the shepherds in the morning and know that this did not happen. After being detained for roughly 20 minutes and their documents checked, the soldiers threatened to arrest them the next time they are seen “trespassing”. Afterwards the shepherds were allowed to collect their sheep and continue their way home. Qawawis is located in a “Firing Zone”, surrounded by a growing number of expanding illegal settlements and illegal outposts. For most of the families living there, the income depends on shepherding. The shepherds report that they are regularly harassed and attacked by both the Israeli army and settlers from nearby illegal settlements.
http://palsolidarity.org/2014/08/shepherds-detained-for-crossing-a-road/

VIDEO: 15 tear gas grenades and 5 stun grenades fired at schoolchildren
HEBRON, Occupied Palestine (ISM) 25 Aug — Today in al-Khalil (Hebron), Israeli forces fired 15 tear gas grenades and canisters, as well as five stun grenades at children as they waited to go to school. Each morning and afternoon the children of al-Khalil, some as young as four years old, are forced to cross through a checkpoint manned by Israeli border police.This morning, the second day of school after summer break, four young teenagers threw stones at the checkpoint and Israeli forces present threw two stun grenades. An ISM volunteer who was present at the checkpoint stated, “I was standing with my fellow ISM’er next to two young boys who were both under six years old. We were all very close to the stun grenades. We tried to comfort them when they [the stun grenades] exploded close by, but what could we say? They were both terrified. We walked with them down closer to their school and they began to run. At that moment, a tear gas grenade was fired and there were no children throwing stones. The smoke was thick and I began choking, it felt like I couldn’t breathe. I can’t imagine what this sensation would have been like for a child, and there were so many present. From there the situation just seemed to get worse, with so much tear gas in the air, children were unable to reach their schools.” One young boy spoke to an ISM volunteer, with his eyes still red from tear gas, he pointed towards the checkpoint and said, “The soldiers from Gaza are here!” Tear gas drifted into the courtyard and many children and teachers choked and spluttered in the playground. School was delayed for over an hour. At one point a Red Crescent ambulance had to be called as two teachers and two children, aged 10 and 12-years-old, required medical treatment for excessive tear gas inhalation.
http://palsolidarity.org/2014/08/video-15-tear-gas-grenades-and-5-stun-grenades-fired-at-schoolchildren/

Right-wing Jews perform prayers in central West Bank village
SALFIT (Ma‘an) 25 Aug  – Dozens of right-wing Israeli settlers raided the northern West Bank village of Kifl Haris in Salfit district in the central West Bank overnight escorted by Israeli troops and performed Jewish prayers. Locals told Ma‘an that the settlers arrived at the shrine of Muslim prophet Thul-Kifl which the Jews identify as the Biblical prophet Ezekiel. They spent the night at the place, located in the center of Kifl Haris, performing Jewish prayers before leaving in the early morning hours.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723160

Israeli forces break into shop in Hebron, damage property
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 25 Aug – Israeli troops broke into a shop in al-Salam Street in Hebron in the southern West Bank and damaged its contents on Monday morning, locals said. Witnesses told Ma‘an that Israeli military forces broke into the store all of the sudden and started to damage properties and goods inside before they confiscated some and left.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723096

Palestinians protest closure of Hebron checkpoint
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 26 Aug — Dozens of Palestinians demonstrated in Hebron’s Old City on Tuesday to protest the closure of a military checkpoint by Israeli forces, witnesses said, after it was burned down by a firebomb. A sit-in protest was held in front of a checkpoint in al-Shuhada street in the city, which has been closed since Friday. Israeli forces reportedly told Palestinian residents to “look for another way to cross the street,” locals said. The checkpoint is the only access point for students of the Qurtuba school. Israelis soldiers fired stun grenades at protesters to disperse them. The checkpoint was destroyed last week when local Palestinians hurled a Molotov cocktail at the structure. Israeli soldiers said the checkpoint would be opened after maintenance work was completed.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723388

Israeli forces detain 4 Palestinians in Jenin and Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 27 Aug — Israeli forces detained overnight four Palestinians in Jenin-area villages in the northern West Bank and Bethlehem in the south, officials told Ma‘an. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society in Bethlehem said Israeli forces raided the village of Tuqu‘ in the east and detained two teenagers after ransacking and inspecting their homes. They were named as 15-year-old Nasim Mahmoud al-Sabbah and 18-year-old Yasin Hussein al-Sabbah.  In Jenin district, Palestinian security sources told Ma‘an that Israeli troops stormed the village of al-‘Araqa and detained 19-year-old Muhammad Kanaan Talal. Another Israeli force stormed Jaba‘ village and detained 25-year-old Murad Yousif. Sources in the village say Yousif is a supporter of the Islamic Jihad movement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723660

Israeli army arrests 19 Palestinians in West Bank
JENIN (WAFA) 26 Aug – Israeli forces on Tuesday arrested 19 Palestinians during predawn raids in the West Bank districts of Jenin, Nablus, Bethlehem and Hebron, according to local and security sources. In Jenin, army forces stormed the city while firing live bullets and acoustic bombs and arrested five Palestinians, 48, 38, 32, 43, and 30. Meanwhile, Israeli forces stormed the nearby town of ‘Arraba and arrested three Palestinians, ages 48, 21, and 20, after raiding and searching their houses. Israeli soldiers also raided a house in the nearby village of Beit Qad and interrogated one of its resident, 66.
In the meantime, Israeli army arrested three Palestinians, including a teenager, from the village of Hosan, to the west of Bethlehem, while they were trying to pass a checkpoint stationed at the entrance of the village.
Meanwhile in Nablus, army arrested three Palestinians in the city, two in the nearby village of Beit Furik, and one Palestinian in the village of Beita.
In Hebron, Israeli soldiers arrested a youngster, 23, at a checkpoint near the village of Beit Ummar. Army also arrested a local resident in the nearby town of Bani Na‘im. Meanwhile, Israeli forces stormed the town of Yatta, to the south of Hebron, and raided and searched several house, yet no arrests were reported.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=26370

Israeli forces detain Fatah official in Tulkarem refugee camp
TULKAREM (Ma‘an) 25 Aug – Israeli forces raided Tulkarem refugee camp in the northern West Bank early Monday morning and detained a top Fatah official from his home in the camp. Palestinian security sources told Ma‘an that several Israeli military vehicles stormed the camp at 4 a.m. before troops ransacked the home of Hisham Muhammad Abu Zgheib, 37 and detained him. Abu Zgheib is secretary-general of the Fatah movement in the camp.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723171

Israeli forces detain 12 PFLP leaders in West Bank
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 26 Aug — Israeli forces detained 12 leaders from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine overnight Monday, sources in the group told Ma‘an. Ahmad al-Haj Muhammad Abu al-Nimr and Zahi Khatatba were detained in the Nablus town of Furik, while Kamal Ibrahim Abu Tharifa, Youssef Abd al-Haq Abu Shaddad and Moussa Salama were arrested in Nablus. Amjad Hamayil, 37, was arrested from his house in Beta during a raid. In Jenin, Israeli forces detained Fadaa al-Zugheibi, Muhammad al-Zugheibi, Abdullah al-Afif, Alam Sami Masad and Jaafar Abu Salah. Mustafa Orabi Nakhla, or Abu Wadee, was detained from al-Jalazun refugee camp in northern Ramallah. The arrests of PFLP political leaders come a week after a senior official from the party was issued an order by Israel to leave Ramallah. Khalida Jarrar told Ma‘an that dozens of soldiers raided her house in Ramallah last week and delivered a deportation order “by an Israeli court” to Jericho for an unspecified period of time.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723342

Palestinians rescue settlers after West Bank attack
Ynet 25 Aug by Akiva Novick — A Jewish family driving through a Palestinian village in the West Bank on Saturday night was pelted with rocks by the residents of the village. But after losing control of their car and flipping over, they were surprised to find that the passersby that came to offer them their help were also Palestinians. Yedaya Sharchaton, 25, and his wife Hadassah, 24, were traveling with their one-year-old daughter Nitzan from Jerusalem to their home in Yatir, south of Hebron.  Shortly after midnight, while driving through the Palestinian village Beit Umar, Palestinians hurled large rocks at the family’s car. One of the rocks, the size of a melon, broke through the windshield and hit Yedaya in the face as he drove. He lost control of the car that veered sideways, hitting the safety barrier, flipping over and landing in a ditch on the side of the road … While the family was trapped in the car, Hadassah noticed Palestinian passersby walking towards them, and became afraid. But there was no reason to fear. The Palestinians, who noticed she was frightened, calmed her down: “Lady, don’t worry. We came to help you,” they told her. “I have a baby in the backseat, take her,” she told them.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4563835,00.html

Gaza

Skies calm over Gaza as long-term truce takes hold
[with video] GAZA CITY (AFP) 27 Aug by Adel Zaanoun — The skies over the Gaza Strip were calm Wednesday as a long-term ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians took hold after 50 days of the deadliest violence in a decade. Millions in and around the war-torn enclave enjoyed a welcome night of peace during which there were no strikes on Gaza, nor Palestinian rockets fired at Israel, the Israeli army said. “Since the truce came into force, there has been no IDF activity in Gaza, and no rocket fire on Israel,” a military spokeswoman said 12 hours after the guns on both sides fell silent. In Gaza, where celebrations erupted once the truce took hold at 1600 GMT on Tuesday, the festivities continued late into the night as its 1.8 million residents revelled in the end of seven weeks of bloody violence. The conflict, which began on July 8 when Israel began Operation Protective Edge in a bid to stamp out cross-border rocket fire, has claimed the lives of 2,143 Palestinians and 70 on the Israeli side. UN figures show nearly 70 percent of the Palestinian victims were civilians, while 64 of the Israelis killed were soldiers. The Palestinians said it was a “permanent” truce, while a senior Israeli official described it as “unconditional and unlimited in time”. Washington gave its full backing to the Egyptian-mediated deal, with US Secretary of State John Kerry calling on both sides “to fully and completely comply with its terms. “We strongly support today’s ceasefire agreement,” he said early Wednesday, while UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon voiced hope that the ceasefire in Gaza would set the stage for talks on a final Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. Britain also welcomed the truce, hailing Egyptian efforts to end the violence …
In Gaza itself thousands flooded onto the streets in celebration, some firing joyfully into the air, among them gunmen from Hamas, AFP correspondents said. Chanting and clapping, they surged through the battered streets, bellowing songs of victory as a man swathed in a huge green Hamas flag threw handfuls of sweets into the air. “Thank God the war is ended. I can’t believe I’m still alive with my kids!” 32-year-old Maha Khaled told AFP. “It was a very harsh war. I never thought that we would see peace at the end.” Cars jammed the streets, their horns honking incessantly, as beaming women and children flashed victory signs and crowds of young men bounced up and down on rooftops, waving flags. As night fell, there was no letup in the celebrations as the rhythmic thud of drums beat a celebratory pulse and a performer breathed fire to entertain the ecstatic crowd…
http://news.yahoo.com/long-term-gaza-ceasefire-goes-effect-174726669.html

Hamas declares victory, celebrations across Palestine
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 26 Aug 20:30 — Immediately after the Gaza ceasefire went into effect Tuesday evening, Hamas urged Gazans to take to the streets and “celebrate victory and the fulfillment of the Palestinian people’s demands.” In a news conference at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that “Israeli settlers who live around Gaza can go back to their homes after the ceasefire agreement went into effect.” He announced victory and congratulated the Palestinian people and the Arab nation for the victory which he said the Palestinian resistance achieved. “The Hamas movement won’t abandon the Palestinian people after the battle came to an end.” Gunmen fired gunshots into the air celebrating victory, and Palestinians took to the streets across the West Bank.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723576

Abbas announces Israel-Gaza ceasefire
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 26 Aug 18:52 — President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday announced a long-term ceasefire agreement between Israel and Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip. In a short televised address, Abbas said the agreement would go into effect at 7 p.m….
For his part, deputy chief of Hamas’ politburo Mousa Abu Marzouq wrote on his Twitter account that “talks have ended. We have reached understandings crowning our people’s steadfastness and our resistance’s triumph. We are awaiting a statement setting the zero point and end to the aggression.”
A well-placed Palestinian source confirmed that Gaza border crossings would be open in tandem with an extended ceasefire. The source explained that Egypt would issue a statement calling for a comprehensive and mutual ceasefire together with opening Gaza’s crossings for the entry of construction material. The Gaza fishing zone will also be increased. In addition, the source said, Israel has pledged to stop targeted assassinations against Palestinian resistance activists and faction leaders. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that a round of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians would start in Cairo a month later to discuss unresolved issues.
Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, have accepted the newly reached ceasefire agreement which Israel also accepted, the source highlighted. Spokesman of the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees Abu Mujahid also told Ma‘an that a permanent ceasefire agreement would go into effect this evening.  He said the agreement would be based on the 2012 truce and would include opening Gaza crossing points permanently. He said opening crossings would mean an end to the Gaza siege, reconstruction of the enclave, removing the “no-go zone” and enlarging the Gaza fishing zone.
Israel’s Channel 10 TV quoted Israeli officials as saying they agreed to a ceasefire and that Prime Minister Netanyahu had notified all security cabinet members about the agreement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723559

Senior Hamas official: Israel agreed to open Gaza crossings
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 26 Aug — Israel has agreed to open Gaza crossings to allow the flow of humanitarian aid and construction material, senior Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouq said Tuesday. Speaking to Ma‘an, Abu Marzouq added that three more Gaza crossings will be operated in addition the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings, which are already operating.  Asked about the fishing zone, he said that Gaza fishermen would be allowed to reach as far as 6 nautical miles and the zone would be increased gradually [why?] until it is 12 nautical miles by the end of 2014. Reconstruction of the war-torn Gaza Strip will be discussed during a conference in Egypt next month, added Abu Marzouq. The Palestinian national consensus government will be in charge of implementation. The Hamas official added that the ceasefire agreement was sponsored and would be monitored by Egypt only. Another round of negotiations will start a month from now to discuss unresolved issues, Abu Marzouq said. Furthermore, Israeli, European and American restrictions and opposition to money transfers to Gaza for salaries for employees of the former Hamas-led government in Gaza have been canceled. The national consensus government is supposedly working on proceedings to arrange payment of salaries. Abu Marzouq pointed out that Israel agreed to stop targeted assassinations of resistance activists and said that a ceasefire agreement could have been reached earlier if Israel agreed to this demand sooner. As for the Rafah crossing, Abu Marzouq said Egyptian and Palestinian officials would meet soon to discuss what is needed to open the crossing permanently. The Gaza buffer zone has also been removed, he added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723584

Gaza ceasefire holds as sides weigh gains
JERUSALEM (AP) 27 Aug by Peter Enav & Ibrahim Barzak — An open-ended cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip was holding Wednesday, as many people on both sides of the conflict wondered what was gained during 50 days of fighting. The Gaza war – the 3rd round of fighting since the Islamic militant group Hamas seized power in 2007 – left more than 2,200 people dead, caused widespread destruction in the densely populated coastal territory, and paralyzed large parts of southern Israel during much of the summer. After more than seven weeks of fighting, the two sides settled for an ambiguous interim agreement in exchange for a period of calm. Hamas, though badly battered, remains in control of Gaza with part of its military arsenal intact. Israel and Egypt will maintain a blockade tightened seven years ago, despite Hamas’ long-running demand that the border restrictions be lifted. Early Wednesday, the Israeli military said there were no reports of violations since the cease-fire went into effect at 7 p.m. (1600 GMT) Tuesday. Hamas declared victory, even though it had little to show for a war that killed 2,143 Palestinians, wounded more than 11,000 and left some 100,000 homeless.On the Israeli side, 64 soldiers and six civilians were killed, including two by Palestinian mortar fire shortly before the cease-fire was announced. Thousands of residents of southern Israeli communities in range of Hamas rocket and mortar fire fled their homes in favor of safer areas, amid increasing bitterness over the government’s conduct of the war. Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had deliberately not put the cease-fire to a vote in his security Cabinet because of opposition from ministers who wanted to continue the fighting.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_PALESTINIANS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Let these be the last ones….
Ten Palestinians, including two underage brothers, killed in Gaza
IMEMC 26 Aug by Saed Bannoura — …The sources said the two brothers (children) were killed after the army fired a missile at the family car, in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, minutes before the month-long ceasefire came into effect. The slain children have been identified as Omar and Mohammad Husam al-Breem. In Rafah, also in southern Gaza, three Palestinians were killed, and many injured, by an Israeli missile. The three have been identified as Yousef Ghannam, Ahmad Kamel Jarboa‘, 26, and Mohammad Saleh ar-Ribaty, 18 … In addition, two Palestinians have been killed when the army fired a missile into the Sha’af area, east of Gaza City. They have been identified as Shadi ‘Oleiwa, 26, and Salem Mohammaden, 26.
http://www.imemc.org/article/68967

Israelis killed by mortar before ceasefire named
Ynet 27 Aug by Ilana Curiel — The two Israelis killed by mortar fire on Tuesday on Kibbutz Nirim have been named as Ze’ev Etzion (55) and Shahar Melamed (43). Etzion was the kibbutz’s security chief and Melamed was his deputy. The incident occurred Tuesday evening, a mere hour before the start of a ceasefire, which brought an end to 50 days of fighting in which 70 Israelis and more than 2,000 Palestinians were killed. The three casualties of the attack were kibbutz members who were escorting a work crew to repair the electricity infrastructure – damaged in earlier salvos. According to eyewitnesses, the three did not find cover in time because of the short interval between the siren and the explosions. The damage caused to the kibbutz’s electric grid – left unrepaired – meant its residents will spend another night in the dark.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4564574,00.html

7 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 26 Aug 14:03 — An Israeli airstrike on Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip killed 22-year-old Muhammad Zaanin and injured several others, bringing Tuesday’s death toll to seven. A Ma‘an reporter quoted witnesses as saying that an Israeli reconnaissance drone fired a missile at a group of people in Beit Hanoun killing Zaanin instantly.
Six Palestinians were killed earlier in Israeli airstrikes, witnesses said. In the latest airstrikes, two employees from a local electricity company were killed when Israel targeted their car. The victims were identified as Tamer Hamad and Muhammad Thaher.  Another two unidentified Palestinians were killed when an airstrike targeted a group of people in the al-Shuja‘iyeh neighborhood of Gaza City. A fire broke out in the area following the attack.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723455

2 Palestinians killed, 20 injured in Israeli airstrikes
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 26 Aug 09:50 — Two Palestinians were killed and 20 injured early Tuesday as Israel continued air raids on the Gaza Strip, medics said. Muhammad Muin Abu Ajwa and Hasan Omar al-Sawwaf were killed in airstrikes targeting central Gaza City. At least 20 others were injured in an airstrike on a mall in western Gaza. Five of the injured were medics, witnesses said. Israel’s air force also destroyed a housing tower at dawn consisting of some 100 apartments and dozens of commercial stores. The homes of Hussam Shaldan in al-Zaytoun and the al-Eimawi family house in al-Sabra were completely destroyed after being targeted by drones.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723363

Journalist dies of injuries from Gaza strike
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 25 Aug 19:17 — Journalist Abdullah Murtaja succumbed Monday to wounds he sustained in an airstrike in the al-Shujaiyya neighborhood in Gaza City two weeks earlier. Two other journalists were killed in the same airstrike in eastern Gaza City. Ashraf al-Qidra, a health ministry spokesman, said that Murtaja died of blood loss from the injury.  Murtaja was a reporter for the al-Aqsa TV channel. Seventeen journalists have been killed since the beginning of the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723263

25 injured in central Gaza City attacks
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 25 Aug 21:41 — Dozens were injured in Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza City late Monday, medics said. Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesman of the Ministry of Health, said that 25 Palestinians were injured in airstrikes targeting a house near al-Zahraa school in central Gaza City. A witness told Ma‘an that “a missile destroyed a house in the area injuring several; many of them are women and children.” Medical sources said that many were still under rubble. Several houses and a mosque were damaged by the airstrikes.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723288

Names of Palestinians killed in the war on Gaza since 8 July
IMEMC 26 Aug by Saed Bannoura —  This list is constantly updated due to the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza since July 8th. The following 1,596 names have been confirmed – the actual death is at least at 2,137. The number includes 577 children, 263 women, and 102 elderly, since July 8, while more than 11,100, including 3n374 children, 2,088 women and 410 elderly, have been injured. This site, ‘Beyond Numbers’, has pictures of many of these victims.
http://www.imemc.org/article/68429

Scorched earth: Israel obliterates two more Gaza high rises
Electronic Intifada 26 Aug — Israel perpetrated the destruction of two more high-rise buildings in the Gaza Strip overnight, making hundreds more people homeless and destroying dozens of businesses. The video above shows the moment the al-Basha residential tower was brought down by Israeli bombs. Israeli occupation forces also bombed the so-called “Italian” tower, leaving only part of the building standing. These are the second and third high-rises Israel has destroyed since Saturday, when it brought down the twelve-story Zafir 4 residential tower in Gaza City’s Tal al-Hawa neighborhood. Italian tower This video shows the moment the Italian tower was bombed and collapsed. The building had sixteen stories, according to Ma’an News Agency, and housed a mix of family homes and businesses. In this video report, which shows the aftermath of the destruction, Muhammad al-Astal of Al-Quds newspaper interviews former residents. “All of a sudden they called residents and said you have half an hour to evacuate the tower,” one man says. “As you see, I left with nothing but my night clothes.” Dozens of surrounding houses have also been evacuated for fear that what remains of the badly damaged tower will collapse onto them.  Home to many businesses After Israel issued its warning that the al-Basha tower would be destroyed, one of its evacuated occupants, the Palestinian journalist Saud Abu Ramadan, spoke to fellow journalist Jehad Saftawi on a live stream from Gaza that was monitored by The Electronic Intifada. Abu Ramadan said that he and many others had received calls from Israeli occupation forces warning that the entire fourteen-story tower was under threat. He said that the building, in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood, housed offices of lawyers, doctors and a number of news agencies including Bloomberg News and agencies from Spain and Japan. A short time after Abu Ramadan spoke, the building was destroyed.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/scorched-earth-israel-obliterates-two-more-gaza-high-rises

Israel tells Palestinian prisoners: We bombed your homes and killed your families
GAZA (Al-Akhbar) 26 Aug by Ibtisam Mahdi — “We killed your brother and destroyed your family home.” The words hit the prisoner, Said Abu Shaluf, like a slap to the face. A few hours after bombing his home, Said was summoned by the Israeli prison administrators. They informed him that they killed his 31-year-old brother Abdel Rahman and destroyed their family home. This is Israel’s latest attempt to break the spirit of Palestinian prisoners, who dared to challenge the Israeli authorities through hunger strikes in more than one struggle, in a long line of struggles, for dignity. —  Abu Shaluf’s family tried to avoid informing their imprisoned son about the death of his brother Abdel Rahman or the destruction of their home by Israeli bombs, especially out of concern for his psychological state inside prison. But the Israelis beat the family and the media, where news is usually muddled yet moves quickly, delivering the devastating news in an insensitive manner. Since that day, the family learned that Said is in a very difficult psychological state, and he is refusing to eat even though his prison mates are trying to comfort and console him. This has naturally compounded his mother’s pain. Abu Shaluf’s story is not unique. Before him, a 31-year-old prisoner called Basel Arif, who was serving two life sentences, was informed that Israeli forces killed four of his cousins in the massacre in al-Shujayeh neighborhood, east of Gaza City.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/israel-tells-palestinian-prisoners-we-bombed-your-homes-and-killed-your-families

Official: 3 Israel-Gaza power lines damaged
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 25 Aug — Three Israeli power lines that provide the Gaza Strip with electricity were damaged Monday, the director of public relations in Gaza’s power plant said. Jamal al-Dardasawi told Ma‘an that the power schedule went down from six hours to four hours after three Israeli power lines were damaged; two of them were broken from the Israeli side. Al-Dardasawi added that repairing these lines depends on the approval of an Israeli company. He added that the company was working with the power authority and specialized parties to repair the lines.
Al-Dardasawi said that an Egyptian company that provides electricity to Rafah will work on repairing the lines from inside Egypt from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, which will cause a blackout in Rafah during this period.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723233

Epidemic feared in Gaza sheltering centers as skin infections spread
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 27 Aug — Displaced Gaza residents in sheltering centers are suffering from dangerous skin infections which could become a epidemic as a result of water shortage, the Ministry of Health says. Speaking to Ma‘an, the director of the chronic diseases department said about 50 percent of Gazans who live in sheltering centers suffer from skin problems such as fungal infections, scabies and lice.  The main reason for such infections, added Dr Kamal Shakhra, is the severe water shortage. The Palestinian Ministry of Health has shipped truckloads of medicines for skin conditions from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip. In addition, a delegation of four dermatologists from the West Bank has been checking hundreds of people in the sheltering centers. The severe water shortage and the fact that too many people sleep in small rooms helps spread the diseases quickly, so a dermatologist should be available in each sheltering center day and night, added Dr Shakhra.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723645

Illustrated poetry: ‘O rascal children of Gaza’
Sixteen Minutes to Palestine 24 Aug by Sami Kishawi — Rafah-born author and poet Khaled Juma wrote a heartbreaking tribute to the children of the Gaza Strip amidst the missiles striking his hometown. At least 506 Palestinian children have been killed since Israel commenced its latest invasion of Gaza on July 8, 2014.
http://smpalestine.com/2014/08/24/illustrated-poetry-oh-rascal-children-of-gaza/

WATCH: Short film ‘Gazonto’ by John Greyson imagines Toronto bombed like Gaza
Electronic Intifada 24 Aug — In his compelling new video Gazonto, Canadian filmmaker John Greyson reimagines Israel’s massive bombardment of the Israeli-occupied and besieged Gaza Strip as if it were an attack on his home city Toronto. Greyson imagines specific attacks on Palestinian homes, schools, mosques, hospitals and other institutions that Israel perpetrated since 7 July as if they had occurred on real-life Toronto sites including a well-known café, CBC TV, the University of Toronto and the Scarborough Injury Rehab Centre. The film uses the device of a simulated video game to show how the horrifying effects of Israeli violence against Palestinians are rendered distant or invisible while the violence itself is celebrated. The “video game” wherein the viewer is addressed as if they are the “player” also forces us to think about complicity and what those of us in Canada, the United States and other countries arming and supporting Israel can do to end such lethal intervention. Gazonto asks viewers a simple question: what would happen to Toronto, or to your city, if, like Gaza, six thousand places had been heavily bombed in just a few weeks?
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/watch-short-film-gazonto-john-greyson-imagines-toronto-bombed-gaza

Why did Netanyahu take aim at Gaza’s tallest towers? / Samer Badawi
972mag 26 Aug — The answer has nothing to do with alleged militants — The third of three Gaza towers felled by Israeli F-16s housed, among other offices, a media consultancy representing several international news organizations. But when Al Basha Tower was hit early Tuesday morning, that consultancy had already been driven out by Israeli shelling, which had destroyed its eighth-floor office on July 30. “The first time we were hit, it was a random Israeli shell,” said Saud Abu Ramadan, who has owned the office since 2007 and works as a stringer for American, Spanish, and Japanese news outlets. “But this time,” the 50-year-old Abu Ramadan told +972, “the IDF called building occupants and told us to leave.” Unprecedented in their scale and impact, Israel’s attacks over the last 50 days have made a random shelling seem like a free pass. But with three high rises leveled in the last three days, some observers of Netanyahu’s war are asking why. Why have the Israelis upped the ante – from shelling a building randomly to executing what amounts to a demolition order?  The answer has nothing to do with alleged militants-in-hiding. After all, Israel deliberately encouraged the buildings’ occupants to leave. According to residents, the military called several of them and told them to flee along with hundreds of others in neighboring buildings, also rumored to be on the strike list. If there were some massive clandestine operation that “required” Israel to destroy a whole building, it could have done what it had no qualms doing before – killing entire families to extrajudicially “target” a single suspect. But this time, there was no attempt to strike without warning. No, Israel wanted the world to watch as the towers fell. If that sounds all-too-familiar, it should. The parallels with America’s 9/11, which killed close to 3,000 people, would end there. Except that it was Netanyahu himself who used the 2001 attacks to fashion his tactics against the Palestinians. Speaking to a New York Times reporter the day of the attacks, Netanyahu called them “very good” for U.S.-Israel relations, and, within just six months, his country’s government was using them to justify its massive invasion of the West Bank, which killed nearly 500 Palestinians. The death toll echoed Netanyahu’s comments, made just before 9/11, that Israel had to deliver “blows that are so painful that the price will be too heavy to be borne.” Fast forward 12 years. To understand just how ineffective Netanyahu’s scare tactics, however sadistic, have been, consider this: The 2002 assault on the West Bank, dubbed “Operation Defensive Shield” and executed by Ariel Sharon, killed 55 Palestinian children; in “Operation Protective Edge,” Netanyahu has already killed 10 times as many. And yet, even with such savagery, the Israeli premier has not brought Gaza to heel. With his approval numbers dropping dramatically (just 38 percent of Israelis are “satisfied” with his performance, according to the most recent poll)  it’s little wonder that Netanyahu is taking aim at towers. Bringing down buildings is about ratings, not military gain.
http://972mag.com/why-is-netanyahu-taking-aim-at-gazas-tallest-towers/96027/

Israel’s extermination of whole families in Gaza reflects genocidal impulse / Rania Khalek
Electronic Intifada 27 Aug — Eighty-nine families that existed seven weeks ago in Gaza have been exterminated by Israel. On Sunday 24 August an Israeli missile tore through the home of Issam Jouda in Gaza’s Tal al-Zatar neighborhood east of Jabaliya without warning, killing Issam’s wife Rawiya and their four children —  Taghrid, Tasnim, Usama and 
Muhammad. According to the Palestinian health ministry , the Joudas were the eighty-ninth family wiped out in Gaza since the Israeli army started bombarding the besieged coastal enclave on 7 July. A ceasefire that took effect on Tuesday evening may stop the flow of blood, but it will not heal the raw wounds of the families of more than 2,100 people killed, nor of the more than eleven thousand injured and 100,000 whose homes were destroyed. Between 7 July and 21 August, the UN documented 140 families in Gaza partially or completely annihilated by Israeli attacks. Many were crushed beneath the rubble of their homes. Eight members of the Wahdan family, for instance, were killed in their house in Jabaliya refugee camp after being instructed by Israeli forces to stay put. Others were summarily executed in broad daylight by invading Israeli forces in the catastrophically devastated Shujaiya neighborhood. This was the fate of several members of the Shamaly and al-Areer families according to testimony collected by journalist Max Blumenthal. The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights has recorded at least 990 people killed inside their homes in Israeli attacks, including 324 children. That’s almost half of all people killed in the Israeli assault. This is no accident. Israel’s systematic targeting of entire families in Gaza this summer is part of a deliberate military strategy that seeks to terrorize the civilian population into submission in an effort to break their will to resist Israeli conquest. In recent days, Israel escalated this practice by leveling residential high-rise apartment buildings. But the wholesale slaughter of families is also part of Israel’s ongoing destruction of Palestine. Genocide Michael Ratner, President Emeritus of the Center for Constitutional Rights argues that Israel’s acts in Gaza constitute more than just war crimes and crimes against humanity. He says they are genocide, adding his voice to the growing chorus of those who see the slaughter in Gaza as part of an ongoing, systematic process of annihilation. “These are clear violations of the Geneva conventions and war crimes,” Ratner told The Electronic Intifada. “But you can’t look at this as an isolated attack on Gaza because there’s a history going back to Zionists charting out and destroying five hundred plus villages in 1947-48,” he said, referring to the Nakba — the premeditated ethnic cleansing of 750,000 indigenous Palestinians by Zionist militias seeking to establish an ethnically exclusive state with a Jewish majority. “If you look at it historically it’s hard to escape [Israeli author and historian] Ilan Pappe’s conclusion that it’s ‘incremental genocide,’” said Ratner. Ratner noted that the common response to such accusations is that Israel has not killed enough Palestinians for its actions to qualify as genocide. However, “You don’t have to kill a large number of people to commit genocide,” he explained….
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/rania-khalek/israels-extermination-whole-families-gaza-reflects-genocidal-impulse

Netanyahu saw his chance to run away from Gaza, and he took it / Barak Ravid
Haaretz 26 Aug — All Israel’s prime minister wanted in the end – after all the promises, and the rhetoric – was to achieve a cease-fire with Hamas at just about any price — Without a formal discussion, without a vote, in laconic telephone updates with members of the security cabinet – that is how the government of Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu in August 2014 approved a cease-fire agreement with a terror organization. The same Benjamin Netanyahu who ran for election five years ago, after Operation Cast Lead, on the platform that the mission had not been accomplished, that Hamas rule had to be destroyed and that he was the only one who could do it … The Egyptian cease-fire proposal that Israel accepted on Tuesday did not deliver a single achievement. The only thing that the prime minister’s spokesmen could boast about on Tuesday was the denial of achievements to Hamas, such as the dissolution of its demands for a sea port, an airport and salary payments. But all those demands will be raised during the negotiations with Hamas that will resume in Cairo next week. In return for unlimited quiet, Israel agreed to immediately open the border crossings with Gaza to humanitarian aid and to extend the fishing zone to a distance of six nautical miles. Israel also agreed to the immediate entry of construction materials for the rebuilding of Gaza, without any guarantee from either Egypt or Hamas for the establishment of a monitoring mechanism to ensure that the cement and concrete is not used for the rehabilitation of the tunnels project. The Egyptian proposal didn’t include any statement, not even a hint, regarding Israel’s security demands. There was nothing about the demilitarization of the strip, the re-arming or the issue of the tunnels. When reading the thin Egyptian document to which Benjamin Netanyahu agreed, John Kerry’s draft – which was rejected by the cabinet with a disdain that bordered on humiliation of the secretary of state – suddenly looks like the proposal of the year.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.612637

Lessons from a futile war / Gideon Levy
Haaretz 27 Aug — Over the past 50 days, Gaza has told Netanyahu that Israel can no longer live eternally by the sword — This was the most brutal war Israel has ever waged, and it ended yesterday exactly where it started. En route, it inflicted countless wounds. Those of the Palestinians bleed more, but those of the Israelis are deeper. The 50-day war ended with no victors, but only Gaza celebrated last night, and with some degree of justice. There was no justice in this war; both sides committed war crimes. Nevertheless, its first lesson must not be forgotten: the limits of (military) power. Our smart bombs and our hundreds of planes didn’t help us. They didn’t win the war, and couldn’t have won it. The brilliant Palestinian analyst Mouin Rabbani wrote on his Facebook page yesterday, “When an army reaches the point of destroying apartment buildings as if it were a municipal engineer, it can no longer be considered a serious army.” Hamas grew stronger, despite Israeli propagandists’ pathetic attempts to deny this. And (decimated) Gaza also grew stronger: Its fate, at least for a time, will now preoccupy Israel and the world; had it not been for its rockets, nobody would have bothered with it. Gaza paid with much blood. Israel also bled, though less. But Israel’s debit sheet also includes a further decline in its international standing, and even worse, open wounds to its weakening democratic regime, which won’t heal quickly. Hamas has become a representative organization, even to Israel, and an exemplar of steadfast resistance, at least to its own people. But the test of this war is still before us. This useless war might yet produce benefits, if wars ever can produce benefits, if Israel learns its lessons. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who lost popular support in this war, will deserve history’s admiration: Unlike his colleagues, he at least knew when to end this horror, and he did so last night, displaying impressive leadership. Perhaps he’ll learn that he not only has the power to end wars, but to turn over a new leaf.  Israel can win this war only by complying with its enemy’s just demands: truly opening Gaza to the world and beginning negotiations over the future of the occupied territories. No more “understandings” that will quickly bring the next “operation,” but a new approach to Gaza, Hamas and the entire Palestinian people. No more photo ops with Mahmoud Abbas, but serious negotiations aimed at making peace with the Palestinian unity government. It’s doubtful Netanyahu either can or wants to do this. But over the past 50 days, the Western and Arab worlds have both told him this is the only way; there is no other. Over the past 50 days, Gaza has told him Israel can no longer live eternally by the sword.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.612639

Are Gaza mosques a legitimate target? / Ilene Prusher
Haaretz Jerusalem Vivendi blog 26 Aug — Among the many buildings the IDF hit in airstrikes on Gaza on Monday were two mosques: one which the IDF said was used [to] store weapons and another it said [was a] “meeting point for terror activities” in the northern Gaza Strip. The two mosques join the long and still growing list of Gaza’s religious, historic and cultural institutions that [have] been damaged or destroyed during the war that began seven weeks ago. .Before Monday’s air strike, at least 63 mosques were totally destroyed in IDF attacks – those which were only damaged bring the count to over 200 – according to a running tally by the Islamic Waqf, whose figures have been provided by the Palestinian Authority. Other buildings of historic significance as well as archeological sites have been hit as well, which the PA’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities says violates multiple international agreements. To name a few: the Hague Convention and Regulations of 1907, the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, and the Hague Convention and Protocol of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict … From the Palestinian point of view, it looks like the IDF couldn’t care less if it destroys cultural or historic buildings in Gaza, or if it demolishes several dozen mosques in the process of waging war against Hamas. Many Palestinians argue that in this war every mosque has been treated as if synonymous with Hamas, and therefore, fair game …  From the Israeli viewpoint, however, Hamas has turned Gaza’s mosques into legitimate targets by storing weapons in them, using them as place from which to fire at Israel, and as places to hide entrances to tunnels … We have become used to seeing radical groups blow up houses of worship and signs of cultural and historic significance. We watched the Taliban blow up the Buddhas of Bamyan in 2001, and we have watched as the Islamic State destroys ancient religious sites and even mosques of fellow Muslims – Shi’ites – in northern Iraq and in Syria. But Israel clearly doesn’t want to be in the company of such extremism. As such, Israel should consider cooperating with a UN panel, even one it feels is biased against it, and stop barring groups such as HRW and Amnesty from entering Gaza. In short, Israel should be ready to explain why it hit every target it did. Otherwise, it will go down as destroyer of many cultural and religious institutions, which, I want to believe, is far from its intentions.
http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/jerusalem-vivendi/.premium-1.612515

With truce, Israel talks to Hamas and Islamic Jihad / Zvi Bar’el
Haaretz 27 Aug 00 The significance of the cease-fire is that Israel has recognized militant groups as an inseparable part of the Palestinian polity — The cease-fire agreement doesn’t give Hamas any victory photos or immediate gains. Though Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shalah and Hamas representative Izzat al-Rishq both heaped praise yesterday on the Palestinians’ heroism and their ability to stand fast against the Israeli army, Shalah listed the war’s achievements as “keeping the Palestinian problem from being forgotten,” “thwarting the Zionist enemy’s initiatives” and “destroying his deterrent capabilities.” It’s hard to find any significant differences between the current agreement and Egypt’s original proposal, unless there’s a secret annex that hasn’t been published. Opening Gaza’s border crossings, allowing humanitarian aid and construction materials to enter and expanding the coastal fishing zone to six miles were already agreed on a month ago. There’s no commitment yet to building a port and airport in Gaza, and even opening the Gaza-Egypt border crossing at Rafah was left to separate talks between the Palestinians and the Egyptians. At this stage, the agreement largely replicates the understandings reached after the last Gaza operation in 2012. Thus ostensibly, Israel can say it achieved its goals: quiet in exchange for quiet and destroying the tunnels. But this is just a preliminary agreement. The important agreement will come in another month, when both sides return to Cairo to negotiate over core issues like a port and airport, prisoner releases and Gaza’s reconstruction. Over the coming month, the cease-fire’s stability will be tested, and that is the innovation in yesterday’s agreement: The truce is of unlimited duration. Thus for the first time, Israel has agreed to a confidence-building process with the Palestinian government to which Hamas and Islamic Jihad are also parties. The negotiations won’t be direct, but this is clearly a pan-Palestinian agreement with Israel. Thus Israel has not only recognized the Palestinian unity government, but also acknowledged that Gaza and the West Bank can no longer be separated.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.612631

‘I don’t like you, death’ – Samih al-Qasim’s final poem / Patrick Strickland
Electronic Intifada 25 Aug — The summer sun beat down on Thursday, 21 August as thousands of Palestinians set out on a silent march in al-Rama, honoring the recently deceased poet and activist Samih al-Qasim. The 76-year-old al-Qasim, who battled cancer for three years, died late on Tuesday, 19 August. Placards bearing verses of al-Qasim’s poetry and Palestinian flags bobbed above the marching crowd, which eventually arrived at the town’s main amphitheater. Al-Qasim’s relatives, prominent religious figures and politicians all spoke. Adham Toubie, 18, also from al-Rama, said that al-Qasim’s death is a “huge loss” for Palestinians everywhere. “His loyalty to Palestine, to our Arab identity, is known by everyone,” he told The Electronic Intifada … One of the funeral’s most powerful moments was when a delegation of Syrians from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights arrived. Dozens of men and women from the Druze religious community raised Palestinian and Syrian flags as they marched into the amphitheater, chanting in unison. They sang out: Your soul is returning to Damascus, Syria / Syria lives on in your gleaming poetry / The Arabs forgot the Golan and Palestine / Syria continues to say your land is returning / Samih, O’ symbol of culture and literature / Your leaving is the biggest tragedy of Palestine. Much of al-Qasim’s poetry was markedly Palestinian, nationalist and anti-colonial. Lesser known works dealt with the subjects of love and the hardships of daily life, among others. In his final poem, he addressed death directly: I don’t like you, death / But I’m not afraid of you / And I know that my body is your bed / And my spirit is your bed cover / I know that your banks are narrow for me / I don’t love you, death / But I’m not afraid of you.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/patrick-strickland/i-dont-you-death-samih-al-qasims-final-poem

Abbas to ask UN to set timetable for Palestinian state along 1967 lines
Haaretz 24 Aug by Jack Khoury — Palestinian officials have said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is planning to ask the UN to set a timetable for the end of the Israeli occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines, with its capital in East Jerusalem. The official told the Associated Press that Abbas would present his proposal as part of a “day after” plan following the end of the current war in the Gaza Strip. According to the Qatari News Agency, an agreement over the matter was reached in Abbas’ meeting with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Hamas’ political chief Khaled Meshal, in Doha on Friday. Haaretz reported earlier Sunday that Abbas is planning to announce a major diplomatic initiative this week, which sources in Ramallah say will entail asking the world powers and United Nations — including the International Criminal Court — to take responsibility for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.612264

New law would demote Arabic language in the name of ‘social cohesion’
972blog 26 Aug by Orly Noy — A group of MKs from Yisrael Beiteinu, Likud and Jewish Home recently submitted a bill that calls to rescind the status of Arabic as an official language in Israel. On its own, the bill is neither out of the ordinary nor surprising, as it joins a long list of draft laws that were brought before the Knesset plenum over the past years, including the Citizenship Law, the Nakba Law, the Loyalty Law, the Basic Law that declares Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people, and so on. After several decades of dispossessing its Palestinian citizens from their lands, the state is now moving on to dispossess them of their culture, including their language, identity and sense of belonging … What I find interesting about the current proposal is its wording: “Passing this law will contribute to social cohesion in the State of Israel and to building a collective identity necessary to foster mutual trust in society and preserve the values of democracy.” I won’t waste my time writing about the so-called “values of democracy” that this bill seeks to promote. However, it is important to look closely at its other goals: social cohesion, building a collective identity and mutual trust in society. The authors of the draft law are actually saying, unanimously, that excluding Arabic – and thus the people who speak the language – is a condition for social cohesion in Israel, and that a collective Israeli identity does not include Arabic-speaking citizens. It seems to me that in today’s political context, it is no coincidence that this is seen as a form of “social cohesion.” The Jewish public in Israel has spent the last two months celebrating that oh-so-evasive “social cohesion,” whose bedrock is made up of unrestrained militarism and growing nationalism.
http://972mag.com/new-law-would-demote-arabic-language-in-the-name-of-social-cohesion/96048/

Bomb shelters expose rifts in Israeli society / Moria Paz
Boston Globe 24 Aug — For Israelis, a defining feature of the ongoing war with Hamas has been the bomb shelters. At the launch of a rocket or mortar in Gaza, a siren would be heard in Israel … When the siren blares, civilians are expected to run to the nearest shelter and to remain there until 10 minutes have passed since the last explosion … A look at what goes on in and around these shelters reveals important insight into contemporary Israel, insight that has been lost in the media focus on the hour-by-hour fighting between Israel and Hamas and is now ignored in the heated debates over the terms of the truce. Israel, in short, is approaching a fault line. But the country is reaching this rift not due to Hamas but as a result of its own internal divisions, divisions that are revealed even in how Israelis use bomb shelters. And while the state devotes its resources to occupying Gaza and the West Bank, four different subsections of the Israeli population, described below, are suffering in distinct ways. They include: Children — … Parents in the south of Israel, more experienced with constant rocket attacks, have come up with a way to mitigate at least some of the added anxiety at night: They simply put their children to sleep in the shelter. A bedtime routine for children that involves pajamas, a story, and then being put to sleep in a bomb shelter marks a society that has completely normalized a state of war.
Women — In the Rabbinical Court Administration in Ashdod, a city in the southern part of Israel under frequent rocket attack, a sign was posted outside the shelter indicating that it was reserved only for men. Women were thus left exposed to incoming rocket fire. After the government intervened, the sign was swiftly removed, and women were finally allowed to enter the shelter. Nonetheless, the initial prohibition from the only protected space in this public building during rocket attacks is staggering, even if it was a private initiative (as the court maintained once objections were raised.) The episode suggests that the shift within parts of Israeli society to exclude women from the public sphere is almost complete.
Minorities — Women are not the only segment of society who are subject to exclusion. Israel did not offer public bomb shelters for the Bedouin, a semi-nomadic Arabic people mostly living in the Negev desert of Israel. Why? Because they live in an area classified as “open space,” according to the official government response to an urgent petition demanding protection for Bedouin villages. Without shelter coverage, the state recommended that members of this Arab minority, almost a quarter of million people, shield themselves under drainage tunnels during bombing episodes. If they live far away from such tunnels, the state advised that they spread out from one another as far as they can, in order to minimize the chance of a large loss of life. A polity has indelibly splintered when it opts not to protect a subsection against rocket attacks.
The majority — The war has drastically deepened the already intense fissions in Israel over the Palestinian occupation. Heated public discussion of state policy is a good thing, suggesting that Israel is still a vibrant democracy. But this summer, the public discourse has taken a dramatically violent turn. And so, from verbal clashes between long-time neighbors in shelters to fistfights in the street and death threats online, it is becoming increasingly clear that important pillars of democracy — such as demonstrations and public debates — have become clouded by violence and hatred. Where this will lead is still unknown. But history suggests that a democracy enters a danger zone when expressing dissent can put one’s life in jeopardy. These four snapshots from the shelters suggest that Israel is a polity that is losing its way — a state of affairs that will persist long after the end of the war. That, however, is not to say it is too late for Israel to reverse course. This, in fact, is the time for change.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/08/24/bomb-shelters-expose-rifts-israeli-society/oe4r7XNR7JusxABDzxUqAI/story.html

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