Homes of Palestinians accused of ramming pedestrians to be demolished

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

Israeli forces raid Jerusalem attacks suspects’ homes ahead of demolition
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 7 Nov — Israeli forces and members of the Israeli municipality on Friday raided the homes of Palestinians killed after they drove their cars into pedestrians in in order to prepare their families’ homes for demolition. The home raids came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the cabinet had approved a decision to demolish the homes of three individuals involved in such attacks since August, in a move sure to inflame popular anger among Palestinians. Israeli forces raided the home of Muhammad Jaabis, 21, in the Jabal al-Mukabbir village of East Jerusalem, where his brother Shaker told Ma‘an that Israeli authorities had taken measurements of his family’s home from the inside and outside, while going up to the roof and drawing maps of the house without informing the family of the reasons. Jaabis was shot by Israeli police more than 25 times on August 4, who said he deliberately ran into an Israeli bus while driving a bulldozer on a busy Jerusalem street. Israeli forces also raided the house of Ibrahim al-Akkari, who was killed Wednesday after he rammed pedestrians with his car in Jerusalem, killing two. In that house, the police detained all family members and kept them in one room as they drew maps of the house and took measurements of the house and its yard. Last week, Israeli authorities also took pictures of the house of Abd al-Rahman al-Shaludi, who ran over pedestrians in Jerusalem on Oct. 22, killing one. Al-Shaludi’s mother said that Israeli forces did not raid the house at the time, but took pictures. The house is located in the al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738304

Video: Israeli forces shoot dead Palestinian youth in Galilee
KAFR KANNA (Ma‘an) 8 Nov — A young Palestinian citizen of Israel died on Saturday morning after being shot in the chest by Israeli police during an arrest raid in a village north of Nazareth. According to locals in the Galilee-region town of Kafr Kana in northern Israel, Khair al-Din Rouf Hamdan, 22, was shot dead after police attempted to arrest his cousin. Israeli police claimed in a statement that the Hamdan had been wielding a knife at the time of the incident and had attempted to stab an officer before being shot dead. Following his death, locals in the village announced a general strike in protest against the killing. Video emerged following the killing that appeared to show Hamdan hitting a police car with a small object. The video footage — which could not be independently verified — subsequently shows a police officer exiting the car and shooting Hamdan at close range, before dragging him into the car.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738407

Palestinian survives a ramming attack near Bethlehem
IMEMC/Agencies 6 Nov — A Palestinian farmer from the al-Khader town, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, managed to escape an attack by an Israeli settler who tried to ram him with his car, near the West Bank city of Bethlehem. The farmer, identified as Mohannad Sa’ad Salah, was trying to cross bypass road #60 when a settler shifted his vehicle towards him and tried to run him over. The Palestinian ran toward police barricades on the side of the road, and escaped the attack unharmed, the Maan News Agency said. Salah said he was heading towards his land, as he does every day, when he noticed a settler driving a red Daihatsu car speeding towards him. The settler’s vehicle struck the barricades, and fled the scene. He added that the incident was not just a traffic accident, as he could see the driver shifting his vehicle towards him, and trying to run him over. Last month, a Palestinian child identified as Enas Dar Khalil, 5 years of age, was killed after an Israeli settler rammed her and her friend with his car and fled the scene.
http://www.imemc.org/article/69625

3 Israeli soldiers injured in hit-and-run south of Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 5 Nov — Three Israeli soldiers were injured in a hit-and-run accident on Wednesday night near the al-Arrub refugee camp on the main Bethlehem-Hebron road. A Ma‘an reporter in the camp said that a car plowed into three soldiers standing on the road, injuring one seriously and the other two moderately. The Israeli military said that the incident was a “suspected attempt to run them over,” suggesting that the incident was deliberate, and added that soldiers were searching the region to locate the vehicle and its driver.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=737893

Hit-and-run suspect turns himself in
IMEMC/Agencies 6 Nov — The Palestinian man suspected of having run over three Israeli soldiers Wednesday evening has reportedly turned himself in to security forces. Earlier, Israeli raids occurred across the southern West Bank, in an attempt to find the man, identified as one Hammam Masalma …  Palestinian security sources said that Israeli troops erected several military checkpoints around Beit Awwa, to the west of Hebron, before ransacking the home of Mr. Masalma, who they believed deliberately attacked the soldiers. Masalma, however, was not at home at the time of the raid and Israeli troops decided to detain relatives Muhammad Jamal Shalash Masalma, Subhi Shalash Masalma, Issa Khalil Masalma and Ismail Subhi Masalma, instead. The Israeli soldiers also ransacked and inspected homes of Jamil Badawi Masalma and Abdul-Qadir Ismail Masalma. Israeli police sources say that they managed to identify the truck driver from the vehicle’s registration data.  Many other homes in the region were ransacked and inspected. According to Ma‘an, Wednesday’s hit-and-run incident on the main Bethlehem-Hebron road was the third such vehicular attack on Israeli soldiers and civilians in recent weeks, although the previous two took place in Jerusalem. Palestinians, however, have reportedly decried the double standards surrounding the events, with note to the fact that Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank regularly run over locals — including many children — but are never accused of terrorism as a result.
http://www.imemc.org/article/69629

West Bank hit-and-run may have been accident — not terror attack
Haaretz 6 Nov by Gili Cohen — Israeli security source releases new information following questioning of suspect, indicating that the three soldiers, wounded Wednesday, may not have been hit deliberately. The Palestinian driver who struck three Israel Defense Forces soldiers in the West Bank late Wednesday apparently did so by accident, and not as a deliberate terror attack, a senior Israeli security official said Thursday after the suspect was questioned. The suspect turned himself in on Thursday morning, and a second suspect was also arrested. The three soldiers have been wounded just hours after one person was killed and 13 wounded in a similar attack in Jerusalem. Two of the soldiers were moderately wounded and one seriously when they were hit by a car. Magen David Adom rescue services were evacuating the soldiers to Hadassah Hospital at Ein Karem with chest injuries, bruises and limb fractures. The incident took place on Route 60 near the town of Al-Arroub in the Gush Etzion bloc. The soldiers were hit by the vehicle when they were standing by a pillbox guard tower. After hitting them, the vehicle drove away to the south.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.625055

Palestinian political factions applaud Jerusalem car attack
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 5 Nov — Several Palestinian political factions on Wednesday praised a car attack in Jerusalem which killed an Israeli border policeman and injured at least 13 other Israelis. Hamas and the DFLP said the attack was a “natural response” to ongoing Israeli crimes against Palestinians in Jerusalem. The Palestinian Arab Front called for an Intifada to to defend Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, while the Popular Resistance Committee said the attack was a “small payback” for Israeli crimes. PRC leader Haitham al-Ashar said that attacks like this were the only way to stop Israel and called on Palestinians in Jerusalem to defend Al-Aqsa.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=737757

Only 35 relatives allowed at Jerusalem car suspect funeral
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 6 Nov – Only 35 mourners were allowed to participate in the burial of Ibrahim al-Akkari, who rammed his car into pedestrians at a tram stop in Jerusalem on Wednesday. Israeli forces delivered the body to the Palestinian family at the Lions Gate cemetery outside the walls of the Old City at 11:30 p.m. Before that, Israeli troops and police officers stormed the cemetery and ordered away all mourners who were waiting. Witnesses said Israeli soldiers fired tear-gas canisters, stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets at the mourners forcing them to leave the cemetery. After the body was delivered to the family, only 35 relatives and a lawyer, Muhammad Mahmoud, who works for the prisoners’ rights group Addameer, were allowed to be at the burial. Funeral prayer, which is usually performed at a big mosque, was performed at the cemetery. After the burial was completed, Israeli troops detained al-Akkari’s brother as he and other mourners were leaving the cemetery. Family members said he was taken to the Russian Compound center for questioning. Fireworks were launched in several Jerusalem neighborhoods during the burial.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738002

Palestinian riot in East Jerusalem as rightists march
Ynet 6 Nov by Hassan Shaalan — Scores of young masked Palestinians threw stones and fired fireworks at Border Patrol officers in the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem, as rightists took to Jerusalem’s street to protest the deteriorated security situation in the Capital.  Dozens of right-wing activists gathered near the Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem – where Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick was shot last week – under the banner: “Marching in our Jerusalem”. The activists held a rally protesting the security situation in the capital, and began to march to the entrance of the Temple Mount, but were prevented by police from reaching the flashpoint shrine … The protesters, chanting “the mosque will burn and the temple rebuilt,” intended to hold a mass prayer near the Temple Mount for the speedy recovery of Glick, who was gravely wounded in the assassination attempt and is still in serious but stable condition.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4589054,00.html

Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick’s condition begins to improve
Haaretz 6 Nov — Glick, who was shot last week, is beginning to communicate with those around him, though he is still sedated and on a respirator — …The 49-year-old right-wing activist has undergone a number of operations since the shooting and his condition is still considered to be critical but stable … Nevertheless, doctors are keeping Glick heavily sedated due to the pain he is suffering. Prof. Petachia Reissman, head of the orthopedic ward at Shaare Zedek, said Glick’s doctors were hoping to bring him back to full consciousness slowly. Glick was shot outside the Menachem Begin Heritage Center last Wednesday night by a gunman on a motorcycle. His suspected assailant, Muataz Hijazi, 32, of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Abu Tor, was subsequently shot by police.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.624996

Israeli teen wounded in Jerusalem attack succumbs to wounds
Ynet 7 Nov by Noam (Dabul) Dvir — An Israeli teen injured in Wednesday’s vehicular terror attack in Jerusalem succumbed to his wounds Friday morning, and will be laid to rest at the Har HaMenuchot Cemetery at 11am in the Givat Shaul neighborhood of Jerusalem. 17-year-old yeshiva student Shalom Baadani from Jerusalem, the grandson of a senior Shas religious figure,had lain in critical condition in the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem since Wednesday with his identity unknown … Baadani is the grandson of a member of the Shas Party’s Council of Torah Sages, Rabbi Shimon Baadani. Among the hospital visitors was MK Eli Yishai.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4589199,00.html

30 injured in clashes as Israeli forces raid Shu‘fat refugee camp
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 7 Nov — At least 30 Palestinians were injured on Friday after Israeli forces raided Shu‘fat refugee camp in East Jerusalem, sparking pitched battles between police armed with guns and protestors with rocks on the street’s of Jerusalem’s most impoverished slum. A spokesman for the Fatah movement in the camp, Thaer Fasfous, told Ma‘an that one man was shot in the head with a live bullet while more than 30 others were hit by rubber-coated steel bullets fired by Israeli soldiers, including four who had been struck in the head. The clashes began after Israeli forces attempted to disperse a large protest that began at the home of Ibrahim al-Akkari, who was killed by police on Wednesday after he plowed his car into a crowd of Israelis, killing two in what authorities described as a “terror attack.” Locals in the camp — many of whom dispute the charge of terror and instead question why Israeli police did not arrest al-Akkari instead of shooting him dead — held a symbolic funeral for man beginning at his home in the camp, replete with a coffin carrying his picture.
The clashes in Shu‘fat came amid protests and clashes across Jerusalem on Friday, which took place amid rising tensions over renewed Israeli limits on Palestinian Muslim access to the holy Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam’s third-holiest site. Thousands of Palestinian youths performed Friday prayers in the streets of Jerusalem after Israeli forces imposed restrictions on entrance to al-Aqsa compound, preventing any men below the age of 35 from entering. Prayers were carried out in Ras al-Amoud, Wadi al-Joz, on Salah al-Din street, and at al-Musrara under the watch of at least 1,300 heavily-armed police, who monitored and photographed the crowds. In Wadi al-Joz people marched in solidarity with al-Aqsa mosque and the people killed n Jerusalem, while at the Al-Aqsa mosque itself women who were allowed in held a large protest and chanted in defense of the mosque.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738312

7 Birzeit students injured in clashes with Israeli forces near Ofer
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 6 Nov — Seven Palestinians were struck by rubber-coated steel bullets on Thursday afternoon during clashes between Israeli soldiers and students from Birzeit University which took place near Israel’s Ofer detention center west of Ramallah. Sources at Birzeit University told Ma‘an that the Student Union suspended classes in the morning and organized a large rally in the center of campus opposing Israeli attempts to divide the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem into Jewish and Muslim sections. Following the rally, students left campus in buses and headed to Ofer detention center near the town of Beitunia. Shortly after the rally began, Israeli forces opened fire on the students with tear gas canisters, and the students began hurling stones at the soldiers in response. The students then ran away and took positions on hilltops around the detention center, before Israeli soldiers started to fire live ammunition and rubber-coated bullets at them, injuring seven. An Israeli military spokeswoman, however, denied that soldiers had opened fire on the students, insisting that they had merely used unspecified “riot dispersal means.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738068

Clashes as Israeli forces escort hundreds of settlers to Joseph’s Tomb
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 6 Nov — Hundreds of right-wing Israeli settlers under heavy military escort visited at Joseph’s Tomb near Balata refugee camp east of Nablus early Thursday morning. Palestinian security sources told a Ma‘an reporter that more than 30 Israeli military vehicles escorted ten settler buses to the site at dawn. The settlers performed religious rites throughout the early morning hours. A group of young Palestinian men gathered in the area hurling stones and empty bottles at the Israeli soldiers, who responded with tear gas canisters and stun grenades. No casualties were reported. Israeli settlers frequently visit Joseph’s Tomb under the protection of Israeli forces, who regularly raid local Palestinian villages and fire tear gas into the neighboring Balata refugee camp during these visits … Palestinians believe that Joseph’s Tomb is the funerary monument to Sheikh Yusef Dweikat, a local religious figure. Others believe that the tomb belongs to the Biblical patriarch Joseph. The area is sacred to Jews, Samaritans, Christians and Muslims alike.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=737937

Jews forbidden from going to Temple Mount, says chief Sephardi rabbi
7 Nov by Yair Ettinger & JTA — Israel’s Sephardi chief rabbi said on Friday that it is forbidden for Jews to go to the Temple Mount. “This is the place to call on the esteemed public to stop this incitement, from here a call is heard, forbidding any Jews from going up to the Temple Mount – From here a call is heard to stop this so that the blood of the People of Israel may stop being spilled,” Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef said. Speaking at the funeral of Shalom Aharon Badani, the second casualty of Wednesday’s terror attack in Jerusalem on Friday, Yosef blamed rabbis that allow Jews to go to the holy site for “adding fuel to the fire.” He used harsh terms to rebuke rabbis who call on Jews to go to the holy site, which contradicts the overwhelming majority of halakhic authorities that forbid entry to the Temple Mount compound to Jews because of its holiness. This is also the position of the Chief Rabbinate …  In recent years, a number of right-wing rabbis have issued halakhic rulings that permit Jews to pray on the Temple Mount, and even encourage them to go there. Ultra-Orthodox rabbis have criticized these rabbis, but Yosef’s comments on Friday are among the strongest public statements made against them. With his remarks, Yosef implied that these rabbis are responsible for incitement.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.625233

Lieberman: My party has not called on Israel to exercise sovereignty over Temple Mount
Middle East Monitor 7 Nov — Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem have always made clear that Israeli attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque, the site also known as Temple Mount in Judaism, are a “red line” that must not be crossed, and it now seems that some Israeli state bodies and officials have picked up on this warning, Arabs48 news website reported on Thursday. According to Arabs48, the Israeli police is one of those bodies after it recommended on Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issue instructions to stop the uncontrolled statements made by his allies in the extreme right-wing over Israeli control of the Temple Mount, especially the statements calling for its temporal and spatial division, also asking him to limit intrusions into the Al-Aqsa compound. In the same context, the president of the Yisrael Beiteinu Party and Israeli foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has called on everybody to act wisely towards the situation in Jerusalem and not to escalate the tensions. Arabs48 quoted him telling Israeli Army Radio on Thursday that: “I am in favour of wise policy. Neither I, nor members of my party have gone up to the Temple Mount. We have not issued calls for Israel to exercise sovereignty there. The problem is that people who incite and who shout only know how to light a flame and to exploit a situation for their own political gains. Calm has to be restored in Jerusalem.”
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/15146-lieberman-my-party-has-not-called-on-israel-to-exercise-sovereignty-over-temple-mount

Clashes erupt across Bethlehem as Israeli forces disperse protests
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 7 Nov — Clashes erupted in a number of villages across the Bethlehem region of the southern West Bank on Friday after Israeli forces attempted to quell marches in solidarity with occupied East Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa mosque. Dozens of marches suffered from excessive tear gas inhalation as a result of the soldiers’ widespread use of tear gas canisters. In the village of Husan west of Bethlehem, clashes erupted on the main street of the town and Israeli soldiers fired tear-gas canisters at Palestinian marches. In the village of al-Ma‘sara south of Bethlehem, Israeli forces suppressed a weekly march against the separation wall and in solidarity with the Al-Aqsa mosque. Clashes erupted between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians as a march set off towards the military checkpoint in near the village after Friday prayers. One Palestinian was injured with a rubber-coated steel bullet during the clashes. In Tuqu‘, southeast of Bethlehem, clashes also erupted after a protest march. Israeli forces fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at protesters in response.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738302

Israel shuts checkpoint near Nablus
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 6 Nov — Israeli authorities on Thursday shut the Huwwara military checkpoint in southern Nablus both ways and detained a Palestinian allegedly possessing an explosive device. Witnesses told Ma’an that Israeli forces completely shut the checkpoint in both ways after suspecting a Palestinian was carrying an explosive device. Israeli news website Ynet reported that sappers detonated the bomb. No injuries were reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738109

Israeli forces conduct arrest raids in East Jerusalem, Abu Dis
[with photos] JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 5 Nov — Israeli forces raided and searched villages and neighborhoods of East Jerusalem and Abu Dis early Wednesday, detaining over a dozen youths. Addameer rights group lawyer Muhammad Mahmoud told Ma‘an that Israeli forces detained 13 Palestinians … Israeli forces raided Abu Dis and searched several houses. The head of a local committee, Bassam Bahr, said that soldiers raided homes after breaking their front doors, searched residents’ vehicles and detained Muhammad Daoud Halabiya, Muhammad Nabil Badr, Raed Ahmad Rabie and Muhammad Saleh Khanafseh. Bahr added that the Israeli authorities also briefly detained Oday Badr, a child, on Monday, and five Palestinian teenagers from Abu Dis. He said that there were several injuries besides the detainees in Abu Dis. He identified them as Adam Hisham Ereikat, injured critically in the head, Hamza Hisham Ereikat, injured in the foot, and Khaled Jamal Khaled, injured critically in the neck. Khaled suffers from diabetes, he added. Bahr added that Yaqub Jamal Badr, 17, Oday Youssef Ahmad Badr, 16, and Bakr Dandis were still in detention. He pointed out that all the detainees are under the age of 20.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=737715

15 arrested in overnight Israeli raids across the West Bank
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 6 Nov — Israeli forces detained 15 Palestinians in arrest raids across the West Bank Wednesday night. The total number includes four around Jenin, four around Nablus, five around Ramallah, one near Bethlehem, and one near Hebron, as well as multiple house raids that did not result in arrests … Local sources across the northern West Bank identified six of the detainees taken in overnight raids in the region. The sources said Israeli troops stormed the village of Madama south of Nablus and detained 18-year-old Suleiman Dawood Qadus. Israeli forces also stormed the village of Burin and detained Ahmad Jamal al-Qit and Hani Omar al-Qit. In Jenin district, Israeli soldiers stormed the town of Yaabad and detained Khalid Fathi Abdullah Abu Bakr, Mahdi Wasfi Hamarsha, and his brother Yahya. Separately, Israeli troops stormed the Nablus-area village of Qusin and broke into home of the director of the Tulkarem police Mousa Abu Diyak. The soldiers inspected the house thoroughly, but no detentions were reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=737958

Army kidnaps 26 Palestinians in West Bank, Jerusalem
IMEMC/Agencies 6 Nov by Saed Bannoura — Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Thursday, 26 Palestinians in Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem, Jenin and Nablus, and took them to several interrogation centers. The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that 13 Palestinians have been kidnapped in Jerusalem city, and several nearby towns … In Burin village, near Nablus, soldiers kidnapped a Palestinian teen identified as Suleiman Daoud Qadous, 18 years of age. In Hebron, soldiers kidnapped five Palestinians, including one who also holds Turkish citizenship, and represents the Palestinians Prisoners Society in Turkey … Also in Hebron, soldiers searched and ransacked the home of Homam Jamal al-Masalma, and assaulted a resident identified as Mohammad Taiser Tmeizy, causing various cuts and bruises. Tmeizy is from Ethna [Idhna] town, west of Hebron; he was stopped at a roadblock while heading back home. In addition, soldiers invaded the Deheishe refugee camp, south of Bethlehem, and kidnapped two Palestinians after violently searching their homes.
On Wednesday evening, soldiers kidnapped Dr. Ahmad Mohammad Abu Saleh, 43, from Doura town near Hebron, after stopping him at a roadblock near Teqoua’ town, east of Bethlehem.
http://www.imemc.org/article/69626

Israeli forces detain prisoner group’s envoy to Turkey
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 6 Nov — Israeli forces detained the representative of the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society to Turkey, Ahmad Abu Saleh, from his home in Hebron on Thursday, the group said. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society and the General Union of Palestinian Communities in Europe condemned the detention of Abu Saleh and said it was an “additional crime” against Palestinians. Head of the General Union of Palestinian Communities in Europe Mazen al-Remhi demanded that Israel release Abu Saleh, who holds Turkish nationality. Al-Remhi called upon the Turkish government to intervene to release him. PPS official Raed Amer said that Abu Saleh was moved to the Russian Compound detention center in Jerusalem.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738097

What the media won’t tell you about East Jerusalem
Palestinian Solidarity Campaign 6 Nov — Palestinians in East Jerusalem live their daily lives under the brutality of Israeli occupation. However, their suffering is ignored by most of the western media. Last week, western journalists turned their focus on Jerusalem only because an Israeli settler, Yehuda Glick, was shot and injured near the Old City on October 29th. However, violence against Palestinians is a constant feature of life in East Jerusalem and it goes unreported by our media.
http://www.palestinecampaign.org/media-wont-tell-east-jerusalem/

Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Restriction on movement / Collective punishment

Israeli forces demolish residential structures, animal sheds in Tubas village
TUBAS (WAFA) 6 Nov – Israeli forces demolished Thursday residential structures, tents and animal sheds in al-‘Aqaba village to the east of Tubas in the northeastern part of the West Bank, said local sources. Israeli forces, escorting a bulldozer, raided the village and demolished residential structures, tents and animal sheds belonging to Daifallah al-Faqih and Khaled Sbeih.  According to the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem, the village is surrounded from the east by an Israeli military base called Kopra and checkpoint for which 50 dunums were seized. It is also surrounded from the south by another military base called Tsephah for which 150 dunums were seized.  The villagers are affected by Tayasir checkpoint which restricts the movement of people who cross the wall gate. This has separated Al ‘Aqaba from the rest of Tubas localities and placed sever constraints on the movement of residents and their access to services outside the village. The village is considered an agricultural area cultivated with different crops. Most of the villagers depend on agricultural production for their livelihood as 80% of them are engaged in agricultural activities. They cultivate land and rear local animals. The total arable land in Al ‘Aqaba village is 2500 dunums, whilst the cultivated area has reached 962 dunums.The Israeli forces seized 2,000 dunums accounting for about 77% of the total area belonging to the village. The area has been declared a closed military zone by Israeli forces. Military training exercises are continuously organized in the area surrounding the village. It is forbidden for the residents of Al ‘Aqaba to get licenses to build houses and use their lands. For this reason people have been forced to migrate from the village to other nearby localities like Tayasir, Tubas and Nablus.
http://www.wafa.ps/english/index.php?action=detail&id=26971

20 structures demolished in Jordan Valley
IMEMC/Agencies 7 Nov — The Israeli army demolished 20 tent homes and animal pens in the Jordan Valley village of Bardala, Wednesday afternoon. Fifty people were rendered homeless, over half of whom are children. The tent homes and animal pens, owned by the Daraghma and Sawafta families were demolished in furtherance of Israel’s goal to deport the Bedouin-Palestinian communities living in the Jordan Valley in order to further develop the area settlements. While demolishing the structures, bulldozers also damaged nearby agricultural fields, destroying crops of vegetables on which local families were reliant for sustenance. Bardala village, located in the northern Jordan Valley, is home to over 1,800 Bedouin-Palestinians.
http://www.imemc.org/article/69638

Army to demolish several stores near Bethlehem
IMEMC/Agencies 7 Nov by Saed Bannoura — Several Israeli military vehicles, and personnel of the Civil Administration Office, run by the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank, invaded on Friday evening the village of Husan, west of Bethlehem, and handed [out] demolition orders against seven stores. Taha Hamamra, member of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Husan, told the Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA), that the soldiers handed the orders to the owners of the seven stores, located at the western entrance of Husan. The stores are close to a settlement bypass road, leading to the Beitar Illit illegal settlement, built on Palestinian lands. They belong to residents Ibrahim Ali Awad Hamamra, and Mohammad Mustafa Sabateen.
http://www.imemc.org/article/69642

Israeli forces block main entrance of ‘Abud near Ramallah
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 7 Nov — Israeli forces blocked the entrance of ‘Abud village northwest of Ramallah with a large cement block on Friday in order to prevent residents from coming in or out of the village, locals said. The move came after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a vehicle belonging to an Israeli settler late Thursday while it was passing the main road near the village. No injuries were reported in the incident. As a result of the closure, villagers were forced to take other ways through near villages to get in or out of the area. Locals said that shutting the main entrance of the village was a form of “collective punishment” for the approximately four thousand villagers in ‘Abud. ‘Abud is located directly beside the Israeli settlements of Ofarim and Bet Arye, which have been built on land confiscated from the village.  Israeli forces maintain severe restrictions on Palestinians’ freedom of movement in the West Bank through a complex combination of fixed checkpoints, flying checkpoints, roads forbidden to Palestinians but open exclusively to Jewish settlers, and various other physical obstructions. At any given time there are about 100 permanent Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank, while surprise flying checkpoints often number into the hundreds.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738247

Gaza

This particular article leaves the compiler of this newslist speechless
Dempsey: Israel went to ‘extraordinary lengths’ to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza
Reuters 7 Nov by David Alexander — U.S. general says Pentagon sent a team to learn from the Israeli military how to limit civilian casualties —  The highest-ranking U.S. military officer said on Thursday that Israel went to “extraordinary lengths” to limit civilian casualties in the recent war in Gaza and that the Pentagon had sent a team to see what lessons could be learned from the operation. Army General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged recent reports criticizing civilian deaths during the 50-day Gaza war this year but told an audience in New York he thought the Israel Defense Forces “did what they could” to avoid civilian casualties … Dempsey was asked about the ethical implications of Israel’s handling of the Gaza war, during an appearance in New York at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. “I actually do think that Israel went to extraordinary lengths to limit collateral damage and civilian casualties,” Dempsey told the group. “In this kind of conflict, where you are held to a standard that your enemy is not held to, you’re going to be criticized for civilian casualties,” he added …  Dempsey said the Pentagon three months ago sent a “lessons-learned team” of senior officers and non-commissioned officers to work with the IDF to see what could be learned from the Gaza operation, “to include the measures they took to prevent civilian casualties and what they did with tunneling.” The general said civilian casualties during the conflict were “tragic, but I think the IDF did what they could” to avoid them. He said he thought his Israeli counterpart would look at lessons learned from the conflict to see what more could be done to avoid civilian deaths in future operations. “The IDF is not interested in creating civilian casualties. They’re interested in stopping the shooting of rockets and missiles out of the Gaza Strip and into Israel,” Dempsey said.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.625194

Memories of war haunt Gaza doctors
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (Al-Monitor) 5 Nov by Rasha Abou Jalal — “It’s pure madness.” This was how the head of the reception department at Gaza’s Shifa Hospital, Ayman al-Sahbani, described the situation experienced by the doctors who dealt with the thousands of wounded during the 50-day Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the health sector has suffered and was still suffering from numerous crises, including shortages of medicine and fuel and delayed salaries for doctors … Sahbani told Al-Monitor, “Whenever I hear the word ‘war,’ I am terrified, because it means going back to seeing children torn apart, missing my children for long periods, living in the midst of blood all the time, and a lack of mental and physical comfort.” … He pointed out that there was a 25% shortage in medication and 50% in medical supplies because the Ministry of Health in Ramallah delayed sending medical shipments to Gaza. “So we didn’t think we could succeed in our mission in dealing with the wounded. But some civilians and private pharmacies donated some medicines and medical supplies, which helped us deal with the wounded. … I still remember very well a man who came to the hospital to donate a small bag containing iodine, needles and sutures. He saved many lives with this handful of medical supplies.” But the horrific stories from the hospital haunt Sahbani. “I cannot forget this: A father and three of his children arrived at the hospital; they were covered in blood. When I started treating the children, one of them said, ‘Please leave me and go save my father.’ So I felt that there was something [wrong] with their father. When I went to the father to treat him, he said to me, ‘Please let me go and save my children.’ Then I started crying. All three children lived but their father [died].”
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/11/gaza-doctors-war-remember-wounded-deaths.html

For 1st time since 2007, Gaza exports goods to West Bank
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 6 Nov — Israel allowed the export of agricultural products from Gaza to the West Bank for the first time since 2007 on Thursday, and officials said more would be allowed in in the coming week. One truck of cucumbers grown in the Gaza Strip was allowed by Israeli authorities to pass through the Kerem Shalon headed for Hebron, seven years after Israeli authorities shut down nearly all exchange between the two occupied Palestinian enclaves … An official at the Israeli liaison offices in Gaza, Bassem Hano, said in a statement that the export of goods from Gaza to the West Bank would continue and was planned to include different vegetables and fruits, in addition to fresh fish. Hano added that the first ton of fresh fish would be exported to the West Bank from Gaza on Sunday. A meeting was conducted by both the Israeli and Palestinian liaison offices in Gaza in which Israel said there will be “facilitation” to develop the economic situation in Gaza Strip. Representatives of the PA and Palestinian farmers took part in the meeting, in addition to representatives of the Israeli ministries of agriculture, economy, customs, and the crossings committee responsible for the Kerem Shalom crossing.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738057

Palestinian government to hold next session in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 6 Nov – The Palestinian national consensus government will hold its upcoming weekly session in the Gaza Strip, the Gaza-based minister of labor said Thursday.  Mamoon Abu Shahla told Ma‘an that “the government decided in its previous session to meet in the Gaza Strip every other week.”  In the upcoming session, he added, the government will discuss several issues related mainly to the reconstruction of Gaza as well as the financial status of the Palestinian Authority.  “About 70 percent of the issues to be discussed will be about the Gaza Strip,” he said. These are crossings, salaries of civil servants and distribution of construction material. The minister added that the government was exerting serious efforts to pay civil servants of the former Hamas-run government who haven’t received salaries in months.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738050

Unidentified assailants target Fatah leaders in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an/AFP) 7 Nov — Unidentified assailants targeted the homes and cars of several Fatah leaders in the Gaza Strip with explosives early Friday, officials told Ma‘an. The explosives also targeted a platform set up to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death of PLO Chairman and Fatah leader Yasser Arafat in al-Katiba square. An AFP correspondent said at least 10 explosions were heard overnight. There were no immediate reports of any casualties from the blasts, which were condemned by both Fatah and its rival Hamas. Fatah spokesman Usama al-Qawasmi said that the explosions targeted the homes of Gaza Governor Abdullah al-Efranji, Fatah MP Faisal Abu Shahla, Revolutionary Council member Abu Juda al-Nahhal, Fatah spokesman Fayiz Abu Aita, and Fatah leaders Abd al-Rahman Hamad, Abd al-Jawad Ziyada, Sharif Abu Watfeh, Jamal Obeid, and Ziyad Matar. Al-Qawasmi said the attacks “aimed to sabotage the commemoration of the anniversary of Arafat’s death.” He and Fatah Central Committee member Hussein al-Sheikh blamed Hamas for the attacks. But the Hamas movement in a statement condemned the incident, calling it a “criminal act.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738248

Fatah leader: Arafat memorial will still be held
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 7 Nov — Fatah leader Abdullah Abu Samahdana on Friday condemned an attack targeting the homes of Fatah leaders as well as a platform set up to celebrate the anniversary of the death of Yasser Arafat. Abu Samahdana said in a statement: “If the PA can not provide security, we in Fatah are able to provide it for Palestinians.” He pointed out that the festival to celebrate the anniversary of Yasser Arafat’s death will still be held despite the attack and that “no one can prevent the celebration.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738238

PA security forces point finger at Hamas for Gaza blasts
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 7 Nov — A spokesman for the Palestinian Authority security services on Friday accused Hamas of responsibility for the attacks targeting the property of Fatah leaders in Gaza, hours after the group’s leaders condemned the incidents and denied any responsibility. Spokesman Adnan al-Damiri said in a statement that all arms and explosives in the Gaza Strip are under Hamas control and alleged that it would have been “unlikely” that 15 explosions occur at the same time in the tiny enclave without Hamas authorities’ knowledge. Al-Damiri added that blowing up the platform set up to celebrate the anniversary of the death of Yasser Arafat in the attacks was an “unethical, un-religious, and unpatriotic act” and was a result of Hamas incitement against the Palestinian leadership and the president in recent days.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738280

Hamas urges PM to visit Gaza despite bomb blasts
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 7 Nov — The deputy head of the Hamas politburo Moussa Abu Marzouq on Friday called upon Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and other ministers in the unity not to cancel their expected visit to the Gaza Strip on Saturday in the wake of a series of attacks on the homes of Fatah leaders in the coastal enclave overnight. Abu Marzouq condemned the attack in a statement, adding that political factions should be cautious about assigning blame. “An urgent meeting between Palestinian factions should be conducted to condemn the attack and to unite behind and support Fatah,” Abu Marzouq said. The Hamas leader’s comments came immediately after the Palestinian Authority said that the ministers’ trip to Gaza had been postponed indefinitely following the strikes
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738259

Israeli media: Sirens sound, rocket lands in Gaza
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 7 Nov — Rocket warning sirens sounded in Israeli towns near Gaza early Friday, Israeli media reported. The Israeli news site Ynet said the rocket did not land in Israeli territory but in the Palestinian enclave.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738230

Thousands rally in solidarity with Jerusalem in Khan Younis
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 7 Nov — Thousands of Palestinians affiliated to the Islamic Jihad movement marched in the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip in solidarity with Jerusalem on Friday. Islamic Jihad leader Khalid al-Batsh said that the “Palestinian intifada in Jerusalem is ongoing,” adding that “one of the results of what Mutaz Hijazi and Ibrahim al-Akkari gave is that Israeli is not sending tourists to visit Jerusalem.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738285

Other news / Analysis / Opinion

The month in pictures: October 2014
Electronic Intifada 6 November
http://electronicintifada.net/content/month-pictures-october-2014/14006

Weekly Report on Israeli human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories (30 Oct – 5 Nov 2014)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) 5 Nov — Israeli forces killed 2 Palestinian civilians in occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli forces continued to use force against peaceful protests in the West Bank. 2 Palestinian civilians, including a child, were wounded during al-Nabi Saleh protest, northwest of Ramallah. 11 civilians, including 3 children, were wounded during other protests. 3 civilians, including headmistress of al-Mukabber Secondary School and a student, were wounded in occupied East Jerusalem. Israeli forces conducted 45 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. 50 Palestinian civilians, including 10 children and 2 women, were arrested 35 of those civilians, including 8 children and a woman, were arrested in occupied Jerusalem. 3 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children, were arrested by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip while sneaking into Israel via the border fence. [continued, with a wealth of detail]
http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10710

Report: European nations threaten to recognize Palestinian state
Ynetnews 8 Nov — A number of the United States’ key European allies are threatening to follow the decision of the Swedish government and unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state if efforts are not made to renew the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, basing the claim on comments made by top US and European officials. “We’re not going to wait forever,” the WSJ cited a senior European official as saying. “Other European countries are poised to follow Sweden,” he added …  US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US supports Palestinian statehood but added it can only come through negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians that resolve status issues and end their conflict. “Some countries (are) responding to the lack of a resolution of a peace process out there,” she said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4589371,00.html

Poll: Majority of Palestinians support 2-state solution
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 6 Nov — A new poll released on Thursday shows strong support among the Palestinian public for the two-state solution amid fears that tensions in Jerusalem could lead to a violent confrontation with Israel. The poll, which was conducted by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion in the second half of October among 1,000 adults living in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, also revealed broad hopes for the possibility of peace in the coming decades, despite pessimism over the short term future. In a series of face-to-face interviews, respondents were asked a number of questions relating to the political situation, Palestinian political parties, and the chances of peace with Israel. 54 percent of Palestinians polled voiced support for the two-state solution “in principle,” while only 31 percent opposed it. Although no option was given, respondents who opposed ostensibly supported a one-state solution for both Israelis and Palestinians to live side-by-side or else a single state for Palestinians only. Support for a two-state solution has stayed relatively consistent, and a Nov. 2013 An-Najah University poll showed nearly equal support among respondents. A majority of Palestinians also expressed optimism over the possibility of peace with Israelis in the future, with 43 percent saying it was “certain” or “likely,” while 26 percent said it was “possible” that there would peace when the respondents’ children had reached adulthood. Only 28 percent said it was “unlikely” or would never happen. The poll also revealed that if elections for president were held today, 36 percent of those surveyed would vote for Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas against 28 percent of Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh. The election questions reflected wider satisfaction with Abbas leadership while discontent with Hamas was growing in the wake of a massive Israeli assault that left nearly 2,200 dead in the Gaza Strip and nearly 110,000 homeless. 28 percent of respondents, however, said they would not vote if elections were held, suggesting wider dissatisfaction with both Fatah and Hamas leadership….
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738029

Police detain employees union officials
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 6 Nov — Palestinian police on Thursday evening apprehended the head and deputy head of the Palestinian government employees union, officials said. The secretary of the union, Mohammad al-Araj, said the union chief Bassam Zakarneh and his deputy Muin Ansawi turned themselves in to the police after receiving a subpoena on Thursday. Al-Araj added that Zakarneh remained in police custody in Ramallah. High-ranking Palestinian officials told Ma‘an that the deputy head of the employees union, Muin Ansawi, was arrested by Thursday evening in Ramallah. A police spokesman and other government officials declined to comment when approached by Ma‘an. Zakarneh and the union had recently called for strikes to protest the government’s “failure to meet the union’s demands.”The official is frequently at odds with the Ramallah-based authorities over labor disputes.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=738173

Israel allows 2 battalions of Egyptian troops to enter Sinai
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 6 Nov — Israel allowed two infantry battalions of the Egyptian army as well as military helicopters to enter the Sinai Peninsula on Thursday, according to Israeli Army Radio news site “Gali Tzahal.” The Egyptian request came following a recent attack on the Egyptian army in the area that killed 30 soldiers, which the Egyptian government has blamed on an militant insurgency active across the region. Since a 1979 treaty that recognized the state of Israel in exchange for the pull-out of Israeli troops from the previously occupied Sinai Peninsula, Egypt has required Israeli permission to station its troops in the area. It only began doing so after the 2011 Revolution. The Gali Tzahal website said that the number of Egyptian forces deployed in Sinai did not exceed the number agreed upon, and that they are on missions fighting “terrorist organizations” in Sinai. The site added, however, that Israel could find itself forced to allow more forces to enter Sinai in order for the Egyptian army to be able to fight these challenges. The Egyptian army has been fighting off an insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula since it overthrew democratically elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 following mass protests against his leadership.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=737984

Star-studded gala raises $33 million for IDF
LOS ANGELES (Ynet) 7 Nov by Yael Walzer — Saban-led Friends of the IDF fundraiser in Beverly Hills draws Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Streisand – and $9 million from Oracle founder — Not one eye in the massive ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel stayed dry when Zur Goldin, the identical twin of a Givati officer killed during Operation Protective Edge, asked the 1,200 guests to stand for a moment of silence in honor of his brother and his fellow soldiers who fell in Gaza. Hollywood royalty answered Goldin’s request with grace at the Thursday night gala in Beverly Hills, which included Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Barbara Streisand, Pamela Anderson, and other well-known entertainment industry figures … Among the star-studded stars at the gala were also notable international businesspersons like founder and executive chairman of Oracle, Larry Ellison – who was the largest donor of the night with a nine million dollar pledge – and founder and CEO of computer giant Dell, Michael Dell.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4589328,00.html

Israeli forces resuscitate electrocuted Palestinian
Ehud Amiton, Tazpit News Agency 7 Nov — B’Tselem VIDEO: Border Guards quick actions save Palestinian’s life in Hebron’s casbah — Border Guard policemen on routine patrol in the Hebron casbah identified Wednesday a Palestinian lying unconscious on the floor. A police officer and a paramedic team quickly ran to the Palestinian, while reporting the incident and calling for additional medical help. Early examination of the boy showed he was not breathing and had no pulse. The Border Guards began to resuscitate him by performing CPR, while removing obstacles in his mouth that had caused him to suffocate. The Border Guards continued their lifesaving efforts for several minutes until the arrival of a Red Crescent medical team. The boy was then brought to the hospital. The spokesperson for the Border Guards told Tazpit News Agency that as it turns out, the Palestinian had been electrocuted. However, thanks to the efforts of the policemen in those first minutes after the boy’s collapse, his life was later saved in hospital.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4589228,00.html

Jordan recalls Israel envoy, says country considering ‘all options’
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 5 Nov — Jordan is open to “all options” in responding to Israeli violations on the Al-Aqsa compound including reconsidering the country’s peace treaty with Israel, an official Jordanian spokesman said on Wednesday. Mohammad al-Momani told Qatari satellite channel Al-Jazeera that the country was working to developing a comprehensive plan to face Israeli aggression in Jerusalem, and was considering re-evaluating the 1994 peace treaty, Jordanian Petra News Agency said. The comments come on the same day that Jordan recalled its ambassador to Israel on Wednesday and moved to file a UN complaint after police clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians inside the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound. Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said Israel’s recent actions at the compound were “way beyond the limits.” “These violations are infuriating the emotions and the sensitivity of 1.5 billion Muslims around the world,” he said ahead of a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Paris.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=737876

Jordanians protest against Israel, urge end to peace treaty
AMMAN (Reuters) 7 Nov by Suleiman Al-Khalidi — Several thousand protesters took to the streets of Jordanian cities on Friday, calling on the government to scrap its peace deal with Israel following escalating violence at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. “Death to Israel,” crowds chanted in several cities, with activists demanding that Israel’s embassy in Amman be closed. “Why are you keeping the embassy of the Jews? It should be demolished with everyone in it,” Sheikh Hamam, head of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood party, said in central Amman. Jordan recalled its ambassador from Israel on Wednesday — the first time it has taken such action since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1994, denouncing what they called “violations” at the al-Aqsa mosque.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/07/us-mideast-palestinians-jordan-idUSKBN0IR1MB20141107

Israel’s ties with Jordan put to the test in face of Jerusalem crisis / Zvi Bar’el
Haaretz 6 Nov — The sword is dangling not just over the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty, but over the interlocking relationship between Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians — Twenty years after the signing of the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty, the warmest, most stable agreement Israel has ever reached with an Arab country is facing one of its most daunting tests. Jordan’s recall of its ambassador for “consultations” on Wednesday as an act of protest is liable to be only the first crack in the vital relations between the two states. The hints dropped by the Jordanian information minister about reviewing the clauses of the agreement, a possible prelude to a freeze in relations, ought to raise great concern because the sword is dangling not just over this agreement, but over the interlocking relationship between Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians. Any deterioration in relations with Jordan could have an impact on the ties between Israel and Egypt. Both countries have an interest in maintaining good relations. There is close security cooperation between Jordan and Israel and trade between the two countries also enables trade with other Arab countries. It is also the diplomatic and economic path that allows the Palestinians to export and import goods, offering some relief for the Palestinians’ economic hardship and extra quiet and security for Israel. Although Jordan in 1988 declared it was disengaging from the West Bank, the crisis in relations brought about by the struggles over the Temple Mount in particular and East Jerusalem in general show the degree to which this disengagement was merely theoretical, and how events in the territories can have an immediate, dangerous impact on bilateral relations. Jordan’s ambassador was not recalled on a whim. The move was coordinated with the United States, in talks held in Paris between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, and follows a long list of what Jordan says are Israeli efforts to Judaize all of Jerusalem and seize control of the holy sites on the Temple Mount. The formal explanation for Jordan’s move is derived from Israel’s obligation to consider Jordan’s preferred status with regard to the holy places, and coordinate any steps taken there with Amman …  But the Temple Mount crisis is not just enraging Jordanian citizens. The kingdom is hosting nearly 1 million refugees, most of them Muslims, and is justifiably concerned that the riots on the Temple Mount will ignite the crowded alleys of the refugee camps, where there is great bitterness over the way the Jordanian government is treating them. A protest against Temple Mount developments might be considered legitimate, but is liable to sweep up anyone who has a complaint against the regime.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.624939

No one left for Bibi to blame — except, of course, Abbas / Larry Derfner
972mag 6 Nov — Israel is in a crisis – the heaviest Palestinian street violence in a decade, the threat of a full-blown third intifada – and here’s how Netanyahu is managing it: by seizing on the last available scapegoat — Outside of the Netanyahu government and its supporters, does anyone believe that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is inciting the rioting and terror in East Jerusalem? Does anyone think the gunmen and killer drivers and adolescent stone-throwers are taking their cues from Ramallah’s 79-year-old bureaucrat-in-chief? Conversely, does anyone think that if Abbas were to call publicly and repeatedly for an end to Palestinian violence in the capital, it would stop? This is a ridiculous notion. Yet this is the message that Israel’s big four, Prime Minister  Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon, Economy Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, keep flogging after every terror attack in East Jerusalem, and in between as well. Blaming Abbas is the beginning and end of this government’s diplomatic strategy for dealing with the current crisis – the heaviest Palestinian street violence in a decade, the threat of a full-blown third intifada … First of all, they’re exaggerating about Abbas’ rhetoric … Abbas is pissed off; he’s departed from his usual role as the voice of non-violence and patience. But whatever he says or doesn’t say, his words count for exactly nothing with the young rebels and Islamic radicals in East Jerusalem. And if we judge Abbas by his deeds, not only isn’t he stoking the violence in East Jerusalem, he’s doing what he’s been doing for the last 10 years – keeping the West Bank amazingly quiet even when Palestinians are at war with Israel elsewhere, usually in Gaza.
http://972mag.com/no-one-left-for-bibi-to-blame-except-of-course-abbas/98456/

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