Police raid new Palestinian media center and confiscate computers

Violence / Raids / Attacks / Arrests

Police raid new Palestinian media center in northern Israel
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 9 Mar — Israeli police on Monday ransacked the offices of a newly established media center in the city of Umm al-Fahm in northern Israel, journalists said. Police officers raided Q-Press Media Center in the Palestinian city and confiscated all computers in the office, a journalist working there told Ma‘an. Staff members Hikmat Naamnah, Sahir Ghazzawi, Anas Ghanayim, Badir Mahajnah, and Budar Ighbariyya were detained and interrogated following the raid. Q-Press is a newly formed media center focusing on Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=759807

Palestinian succumbs to 7-year-old wound by Israeli troops
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 11 Mar — A Palestinian man from al-Fari‘a refugee camp near Nablus on Wednesday succumbed to wounds he had suffered in 2008 at the hands of Israeli troops, according to Palestinian medical sources. Locals and relatives said Omar Husni Subuh, 45, was shot by Israeli troops who stormed his house in 2008 while they were trying to arrest a gunman affiliated to al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad. He sustained serious wounds and received treatment in Jordan. Ma‘an reported in 2008 that the troops, who were riding in a Palestinian dairy truck, shot 32-year-old Subeh in the stomach and “harshly” assaulted his 22-year-old disabled brother Yousif during clashes that followed the failed arrest raid. The undercover forces had surrounded house of 28-year-old Al-Quds Brigades member Samer Al-Ghoul, but were unable to capture him. Failing to apprehend Al-Ghoul, a large number of uniformed Israeli soldiers invaded the camp to support the special forces, provoking clashes. Israeli troops used bullets and tear gas against local Palestinians during the clashes, and it was during this confrontation that Subeh was shot. Israeli forces continue routine night raids today, regularly using live ammunition. Forty-six Palestinians died from Israeli use of live ammunition in 2014 in the occupied West Bank, 11 of which were children, according to human rights group Defense for Children International-Palestine.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=759833

Palestinian worker injured after being attacked in Tel Aviv
IMEMC/Agencies 11 Mar — A number of Israeli extremists attacked, Tuesday, a Palestinian worker in Tel Aviv, causing various injuries that required hospitalization. The worker has been identified as Mousa Hasan Shawahin, 44, years of age, from Yatta town, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron.  His cousin, Mohammad, said a number of Israelis attacked him while working in Tel Aviv, causing various cuts and bruises to different parts of his body, before he was moved to an Israeli hospital for treatment.

Palestinian Worker Injured After Being Attacked In Tel Aviv

7 Birzeit students injured in clashes during memorial march
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 10 Mar — Seven Palestinian students were injured by rubber-coated steel bullets on Tuesday as clashes broke out near Ofer detention center in Ramallah, witnesses said. Students from Birzeit University had gathered to mark the anniversary of the death of Saji Darwish, 18, who was killed by Israeli forces last year. Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters and rubber bullets at the peaceful march. One student, Bayan Safi, was assaulted before being detained and interrogated at Ofer jail. Two Israeli soldiers were hit with rocks thrown during the clashes, one in the face and one in the leg. Israeli soldiers shot and killed 18-year-old Saji Darwish near the illegal settlement outpost of Givat Assaf last March, after he allegedly threw stones at vehicles belonging to Israeli settlers in the area. Darwish is the 26th youth to be killed by Israeli forces while a student at Birzeit, according to the Birzeit University Public Relations Office.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=759825

Jerusalem blacklisting Palestinian residents suspected of security offenses
Haaretz 10 Mar by Nir Hasson — City seeks to penalize Palestinian suspects beyond criminal proceedings police can initiate. Legal experts: This constitutes abuse of power — For months, police have been giving the Jerusalem municipality lists of hundreds of Palestinian residents suspected of security offenses, the goal being for the city to penalize them beyond whatever criminal proceedings police can initiate. Municipal employees investigate the suspects and their relatives to see whether it’s possible, for instance, to demolish an illegally built house, collect unpaid municipal taxes or close an unlicensed business. Altogether, the lists show, the municipality has carried out hundreds of enforcement activities against the people on them. The lists, which Haaretz has obtained, include hundreds of East Jerusalem residents, some of whom appear on more than one list. Most are Palestinians who were arrested on suspicion of participating in riots in the city since last July; others are considered local leaders. Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem have complained for some time now that if any member of the family is arrested for rioting, other government agencies, including the municipality, the Interior Ministry and the National Insurance Institute, begin hounding the family – for instance, by demanding payment of debts. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has spoken repeatedly in favor of tougher measures against East Jerusalem residents in response to the wave of violence that erupted last summer in response to the murder of teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir and the war with Hamas in Gaza. Until now, however, there has been no proof of selective enforcement against people suspected of security offenses. Legal experts said this constitutes abuse of the city’s powers, because laws are supposed to be enforced according to uniform criteria based on the public interest.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.646107

Jerusalem Municipality denies report of ‘blacklisting’ Arab suspects in violent crime
Jerusalem Post 10 Mar by Daniel K. Eisenbud — The Jerusalem Municipality on Tuesday denied the veracity of a Haaretz report alleging that City Hall is “blacklisting” hundreds of east Jerusalem Palestinians suspected of security offenses “beyond whatever criminal proceedings police can initiate.” … Moreover, the municipality said residents of east Jerusalem have approached City Hall to complain about lack of enforcement against violent offenders, which it said “encourages urban criminal elements to take over private and public spaces and devastate the lives of the residents in the neighborhood.” “Enforcement activities,” the statement continued, “are well welcomed by the public.” In response to the allegations, ACRI, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, sent out a press release delineating purported abuses by the municipality, and demanded that Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein open an investigation into the matter.
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Jerusalem-Municipality-denies-report-of-blacklisting-Arab-suspects-in-violent-crime-393525

Shin Bet involved in police blacklist of Jerusalem Arabs
Haaretz 11 Mar by Nir Hasson — The Shin Bet security service did not deny its involvement in drawing up lists of hundreds of Palestinian residents in Jerusalem who are suspected of taking part in last summer’s unrest in the capital and giving them to the city for heightened administrative scrutiny. “The Shin Bet cooperates with other security and law enforcement organizations to reduce violence and terror,” the agency said in a response to Monday’s expose in Haaretz on the practice, adding that it observed the law and took care to exercise restraint. The Rajbi family, from East Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood, has experienced the punitive consequences of the blacklists. For months, the police and the Shin Bet have been handing the lists to city officials, who then check the names against municipal records, including of city tax (“arnona”) payments, construction permits and business licenses, in order to take action against the individuals and their families …  Souhaib Rajbi, 22, was arrested about two years ago and accused of throwing an incendiary device that hit a police officer. After 15 months in jail he was released without charges. The list specifies action taken against him by city agencies. According to the list, a series of civic enforcement activities were carried out against him and his family. Under the category of “center for collecting fines” it says property valued at 2,271 shekels ($561) was removed from his home. A paragraph titled “supervision of construction” indicates that measures toward issuing a demolition order were taken, and “arnona debt” specifies the removal of property valued at 20,000 shekels from the home … A cousin of the two, whose name is given only as M. because he is a minor, aged 17, is also on the lists. He too was detained for throwing rocks. The list indicates that a demolition order was issued against his family’s home and that as a result of debts to the National Insurance Institute and the municipality a lien was being placed on his bank account.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.646297

Injuries reported during clashes in J’lem, W.B.
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 10 Mar — At least five Palestinians suffered live bullet injuries during clashes that broke out Tuesday morning between Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) and local youths in Kafr Akeb neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem. Eyewitnesses said that IOF stormed Kafr Akeb neighborhood and carried out a raid and search campaign which led to the outbreak of violent clashes. Heavy tear gas bombs and live bullets were fired during the clashes, while the local youths responded by throwing stones and empty bottles. Five young men were transferred to hospital after being shot by Israeli forces with live ammunition in their legs.  Similar clashes erupted since the morning hours in Qalandia refugee camp near Ramallah. Live bullets and tear gas bombs were intensively fired. No injuries were reported during the clashes. Meanwhile, a number of people suffered tear gas suffocation during violent confrontation that erupted in southern al-Khalil [Hebron] for the second consecutive day. Local sources told the PIC reporter that the clashes broke out when IOF soldiers heavily fired tear gas and sound bombs towards local schools near the Ibrahimi mosque. Breathing problems were reported among the school students and teachers after inhaling tear gas fired by the soldiers who were heavily deployed in the area.  Along the same line, a Palestinian vehicle carrying teachers was stopped and confiscated near Yatta town to the south of the city. The teachers were searched and assaulted before being released. The teachers were on their way to Musafer School which is threatened with confiscation in favor of settlement expansion.   On the other hand, IOF handed confiscation notifications to Palestinian residents in the Old City of al-Khalil.  In Jenin, IOF soldiers stormed overnight Burqin town and opened heavy fire at local homes.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=70575

Israel detains 7 Palestinians in East Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 9 Mar — Israeli forces detained seven Palestinians from the al-Tur neighborhood of East Jerusalem on Sunday, a prisoner rights group said. Muhammad Mahmoud, a lawyer with Addameer, told Ma‘an that Israeli forces detained Basil al-Sayyad, Mahmoud al-Sayyad, Mahmoud Ahmad Abu al-Hawa, Said Abu al-Hawa, Omar Abu al-Hawa, Yousuf Abu Jumaa and Judah Abu Jumaa. They were taken to the Russian Compound detention center in West Jerusalem
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=759797

Army kidnaps 18 Palestinians near Bethlehem
IMEMC/Agencies 10 Mar — Israeli soldiers invaded, on Tuesday at dawn, Teqoua‘ town, east of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, and kidnapped eighteen Palestinian youths, including several siblings, after storming dozens of homes and detonating the front doors of some of them, and assaulted many residents. Head of the Teqoua‘ Local Council Tairseer Abu Mfarreh said the soldiers threatened to conduct an even bigger invasion into the town, and to repeatedly invade it, “should Palestinian youths continue to hurl stones at army jeeps, and settlers’ vehicles.” Abu Mfarreh stated more than 200 soldiers invaded the town, and that the soldiers placed the warning on the local council’s main door … The kidnapped have been identified as: 1. Marwan Fuad Sabah, 18.   2. Zakariyya Mohammad Sabah, 19.  3. Ibrahim Yousef Sabah, 17.  4. Ja’far Yousef Sabah, 19.  5. Ma’moun Salim Sabah, 19…..
http://www.imemc.org/article/70860

Army invades Bil‘in, breaks into homes
IMEMC 10 Mar by Saed Bannoura — Dozens of Israeli soldiers invaded, on Tuesday at dawn, Bil‘in village, west of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and stormed several homes before searching them. Eyewitnesses said the soldiers surrounded the village before invading it, and stormed homes belonging to several residents, including Ashraf Khatib, Mahmoud al-‘Abed Samara, Abdul-Fattah Burnat, his brothers Hashem and Mohammad, in addition to the homes of Na‘im Burnat and his sons Basem and Nash‘at. In addition, soldiers stormed the home of resident Mohammad Ash‘al, and handed him a military warrant for interrogation.
http://www.imemc.org/article/70859

Arrests, gas injuries reported in IOF assaults across West Bank
WEST BANK (PIC) 11 Mar — A number of Palestinian civilians were apprehended at dawn Wednesday in a round of arbitrary assaults launched by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) across cities of the West Bank. A drove of IOF patrols stormed Nablus city and scoured a number of civilian family homes, local sources told the PIC. A Jordanian family living in the area said the IOF broke into their house, located in al-Sha‘biya neighborhood, east of Nablus, and nabbed the 24-year-old university student Mos’ab Mohy al-Din. Meanwhile, al-Khalil-based locals, said the IOF patrols raided the city via a flock of over 10 military jeeps and raked through the neighborhoods of al-Salam, al-Hawouz, al-Jelda, Ras al-Jura, and al-Rama. A round of arbitrary home break-ins was reportedly carried out by the IOF squads in the process. The attack culminated in the apprehension of the Palestinian citizen Abudllah Abu Daya from al-Khalil’s town of Halhoul. A spate of violent clashes, meanwhile, rocked the West Bank city of Ramallah and culminated in the abduction of four Palestinian youths from the northern village of Nabi Salah. Local sources said a state of panic overwhelmed children and women after the IOF soldiers, accompanied with sniffer dogs, stormed the village and ravaged a number of civilian houses. Heavy volleys of tear gas canisters and stun grenades have randomly been discharged by the IOF soldiers all along the assault. A number of civilians reportedly choked on tear gas in the process. Earlier, on Tuesday, a bunch of Israeli settler vandals, crammed in a herd of buses, stormed al-Khalil’s village of Sourif. The fanatic settlers were reportedly escorted and shielded by IOF troops all along the assault.  The Israeli occupation troops further raided Tarkoumya town, in al-Khalil, and rummaged through Palestinians’ houses. A series of makeshift roadblocks was randomly pitched in the process.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=70591

PA holding 50 Islamic militants, fearing terror attack will give election to Likud
Haaretz 10 Mar by Amos Harel, Jack Khoury, and Reuters — Hamas officials call it the biggest round-up in years, say security coordination with Israel constitutes treason — Palestinian Authority security services have arrested some 50 members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the West Bank over the last two days, acting out of apparent fear that a terror attack in the coming days would give the Israeli election to Likud. There’s a well-known precedent for this: the firebombing of a bus in Jericho on the eve of the 1988 Knesset election, which killed five Israelis, including a mother and her three children. In later years, that incident was cited as having cost the Labor Party the victory by shifting votes from Labor to Likud at the last moment. Shimon Peres, who was Labor’s prime ministerial candidate at the time, claimed the attack had cost the left two or three Knesset seats, and that if not for this attack, Labor would have won the election. Israeli security sources said the wave of arrests, which took place in towns and villages throughout the West Bank, was ordered by PA President Mahmoud Abbas. Most of those arrested belong to Hamas, but some belong to Islamic Jihad. In both cases, most of those arrested belong to the two organizations’ military wings.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.646100

Palestinian gunmen block main road near Balata camp
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 11 Mar – A group of Palestinian gunmen and youths shut down the main road near Balata refugee camp east of Nablus on Wednesday morning, protesting the detention of fugitives taken into custody during a recent crackdown by Palestinian security services in the Nablus district. Local sources say the gunmen demanded that the PA free those arrested, claiming that they willingly turned themselves in upon an agreement sponsored by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and the governor of Nablus Akram Rajoub. According to the agreement, those arrested but not proven guilty of any breaches of the law should have been released, protestors said. The protesters, including a number of gunmen, set fire to used tires in the middle of al-Quds Street preventing vehicles from using the road for more than an hour, after which Palestinian security forces intervened and opened the road. Wednesday’s incident marks ongoing tensions that have resulted from an ongoing security campaign in Balata refugee camp by Palestinian security forces. The clampdown began at the start of February, which Rajoub said would continue until 18 wanted criminals were detained …  The most populated refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, Balata houses an estimated 23,000 on less than a kilometer of land. The densely populated camp has historically shown high levels of unemployment, overcrowded classrooms, and lack of basic services such as access to clean water and effective sewage systems, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians in the Near East. The cramped environment of the camp makes it difficult for security forces to enter covertly, and entrance of Palestinian security or Israeli forces into the camp often results in violent clashes.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=759834

The climate of violence, threats and humiliation in the West Bank
Egyptian Streets 9 Mar by Hayley Pearce — Some say Gaza is an open air prison, referring to the limits imposed on what goes in and out. While we don’t often see the West Bank in the same way, its residents talk of feeling locked up. As well as cyclical violence between settlers and Palestinian residents, more ‘mundane’ humiliation of low pay, power shortages and checkpoint crossings is a regular occurrence. On February 26, Hebron resident and shop owner Abdulraouf al-Mohtaseb suffered an attack at the hands of a group of around 12 to 15 Jewish settlers. The incident coincided with extreme right-wing politician Baruch Marzel’s visit to Abdulraouf’s shop during his tour of the West Bank, part of Otzma Yehudit’s campaign for the upcoming Israeli Knesset elections. The February 26 attack, which was caught on camera by Israeli TV [see video with story], left Abdulraouf, his son and his neighbour with injuries as well as destroying much of their stock. The video shows nearby IDF soldiers intervening to break the fight up, but this was not before Abdulraouf endured a blow to his head, arm and leg and his son sustained injuries to his arm, leaving him with cuts and bruises. According to IMEMC coverage, the soldiers then took Abdulraouf and his neighbour away.
http://egyptianstreets.com/2015/03/09/the-climate-of-violence-threats-and-humiliation-in-the-west-bank/

Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Judaization / Restrictions on movement

Israel demolishes EU-funded shelters in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (AFP) 10 Mar — Israeli authorities on Tuesday demolished an EU-funded shelter in Arab east Jerusalem, the European Union said, denouncing the move. “We condemn today’s demolition of temporary shelters funded by the European Union… as part of its response to the needs of the affected communities,” an EU statement said. EU funds have helped to pay for some 200 temporary buildings used as shelters in villages inhabited by Bedouin communities in the West Bank, just outside Arab east Jerusalem.Israel occupied east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it, in a move never recognised by the international community. The structures demolished on Tuesday were small metal constructions put up on the outskirts of Arab neighbourhood ‘Issawiya, an AFP correspondent said. The area was empty of residents following the demolition by bulldozer. A spokeswoman for the Jerusalem municipality said the process was initiated by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. A spokeswoman for the authority told AFP the structures were in a national park within the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem municipality, which had been informed of the violation and demolished the structures. A spokesman for Regavim, a rightwing lobby group, said the move was unusual. “This doesn’t happen every day, and it certainly doesn’t happen to EU buildings,” the spokesman told AFP. Israeli authorities regularly demolish structures inhabited by the Bedouin in the West Bank, and have tried to move communities into housing planned by the state. Activists say Israel is deliberately displacing the Bedouin in order to build settlements in the area of the West Bank just outside east Jerusalem. That effective annexation of a corridor running through the middle of the West Bank would make the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state impossible.
http://news.yahoo.com/israel-demolishes-eu-funded-shelters-jerusalem-234526417.html

IOF razes seven houses in northern Jordan Valley
JORDAN VALLEY (PIC) 10 Mar – Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) razed Tuesday morning seven Palestinian houses in the northern Jordan Valley. Eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter that the IOF stormed the area long with three army bulldozers and announced it a closed military zone.  The eyewitnesses revealed that the Israeli bulldozers completely destroyed seven houses which were providing shelter to more than seventy individuals mostly women and children who have now become homeless. The demolition process has been implemented amid the presence of many pressmen and foreigner activists. The IOF soldiers, however, barred the journalists from approaching the area during the destruction process.  The IOF notified the houses’ owners of the demolition order one month ago under the pretext that the houses were built on lands owned by Israel. The owners, for their parts, confirmed having official documents that prove their ownership of the lands.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=70581

Israeli forces demolish factory, animal barns near Jenin
JENIN (Ma‘an) 11 Mar — Israeli forces demolished a recently built factory and a number of livestock barns in two Palestinian villages in the northernmost West Bank district of Jenin on Wednesday morning. Palestinian security sources told Ma‘an that excavators under the protection of Israeli military vehicles stormed the village of Barta‘a al-Sharqiyya south of Jenin and tore down a 650-square-meter metal structure housing a stone factory that was soon to begin operating.  The factory is owned by Jabir Awad Qabaha, and sources said the factory was completely equipped and ready to be inaugurated.
In a separate incident, Israeli military vehicles and two bulldozers stormed the village of Zabda west of Jenin, where the bulldozers demolished small metal structures that local farmers had been using as livestock farms. The Israeli authorities claim that the structures, belonging to Walid Matar Abu Kbash, had been built without permission from the Israeli authorities.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=759835

Israeli forces level land east of Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 10 Mar – Israeli forces leveled vast areas of land in the East Jerusalem town of al-‘Issawiya on Tuesday morning, a local committee member told Ma‘an. According to Muhammad Abu al-Hummus, member of a local follow-up committee, large numbers of Israeli troops and municipality inspectors escorted bulldozers and excavators into the southeastern outskirts of the town, where they demolished stone walls and steel structures used by local farmers as storehouses and livestock barns. Abu al-Hummus said the bulldozers “deliberately” ruined the dirt roads used by farmers to access their fields. The land is located in an area Israeli authorities have earmarked for a national park, in a controversial plan known as “11092”, which aims to turn 700 dunums of land in the Palestinian towns of al-‘Issawiya and al-Tur into Israeli parkland. A statement from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in 2013 previously stated that “the plan is part of the Israeli government’s plans to create a Jewish demographic majority in the occupied city.” … The land leveled on Tuesday is owned by the Abu Asab, Ubeid, Dari, Abu al-Hummus and Ulayyan [families] among others.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=759814

For second time in two days, soldiers bulldoze lands near Bethlehem
IMEMC/Agencies 10 Mar — Israeli soldiers bulldozed large areas of Palestinian lands in Kisan village east of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, to build an “industrial zone” that would serve near illegal Israeli colonies. Hussein Ghazal, head of the Kisan Village Council, told the WAFA News Agency that the soldiers bulldozed, during early morning hours, large areas of Palestinian agricultural lands near the northern entrance of the village. The lands belong to residents of Sa‘ir town near Hebron, and members of the ‘Obeyyat family in Bethlehem. Ghazal said the destruction targeted large areas of Palestinian farmlands, and that Israel intends to bulldoze and uproot more than 600 dunams (148.26 acres) to build an industrial zone that would serve illegal Israeli colonies. He added that the Israeli plan would completely isolate the village, as it will become fully surrounded by Israel’s illegal colonies.
http://www.imemc.org/article/70858

Soldiers uproot farmlands in Nablus, invade Hebron communities
IMEMC/Agencies 9 Mar by Saed Bannoura — Israeli military bulldozers uprooted large areas of Palestinian farmlands, east of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and uprooted more than 300 olive trees. Army invades a construction company in Hebron, and nearby towns. Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official in charge of Israeli Settlements file in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, said the soldiers bulldozed dozens of dunams of farmlands, in the al-Lahaf area, east of Nablus. Daghlas added that the soldiers uprooted and cut more than 300 olive trees, and bulldozed large areas planted with wheat and barley.  The lands belong to many Palestinians … In addition, soldiers stormed a construction company, belonging to resident Fuad ash-Shamessly, in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and violently searched before confiscating several files and documents.  The soldiers also invaded a number of neighborhoods in the city, in addition to the towns of Doura, Halhoul, Yatta and as-Sammoa‘ [al-Samu‘].
http://www.imemc.org/article/70849

Official: Settlers establish 8 mobile homes in Nablus area
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 10 Mar — Israeli settlers on Tuesday set-up several mobile homes on private Palestinian land opposite the illegal settlement of Yizhar south of Nablus, a Palestinian official said. Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement-related activities in the northern West Bank, told Ma‘an that settlers installed eight mobile homes on the outskirts of the village of Urif. There are over 500,000 Israeli settlers living in settlements across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in contravention of international law.  Some settlers act without approval to expand settlements or create new ones in the West Bank, building outposts that are illegal even by Israeli government standards. In some cases, these settlement outposts are “legalized” by Israel, and in rare cases they are dismantled.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=759818

‘Students for the Temple’ storm Aqsa Mosque
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 10 Mar — Extremist Jewish settlers called “Students for The Temple” stormed Tuesday the Aqsa Mosque from al-Magharebah Gate under tight security measures by Israeli Special Forces. The settlers organized provocative tours in the facilities of the holy Mosque amidst large numbers of Palestinian worshipers who responded by chants of Allahu Akbar. The PIC reporter quoted a worker at the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf as saying that the settlers’ tour guide carried banners representing the alleged Temple of Solomon and offered explanations of the myth claiming that the alleged Temple was in the place of the Aqsa Mosque. Many of the Palestinian worshipers have recently maintained vigil at the Aqsa Mosque including students of Jerusalemite schools.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=70583

ISIL, Israel and cultural cleansing / Marwan Bishara
Al Jazeera 9 Mar — When discussing ISIL’s cleansing of pre-Islamic history, we must also consider Israel’s erasure of Palestinian culture — “How on earth one manages to mention Israel when discussing #ISIS destroying #Nimrud…smh, unbelievable! @marwanbishara.” This was one of the reactions I got to my interview about the historic context of the bulldozing of archeological sites in Iraq’s Hatra, Nimrud, and the destruction of various statues in Mosul museum by militants of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group. It’s a rather predictable response from a Zionist, but it also shows how so many are in denial over their past and cannot see why the horrors in Iraq and Syria – as ugly as they might be – are neither new nor the exception … [Some historians] argue that the only way to erect a Jewish state was to undo what’s been there before it, hence destroying or erasing much of the Palestinian landscape. – Reconsecration of Palestine – In his book, Sacred Landscape: The Buried History of the Holy Land Since 1948, Meron Benvenisti, an Israeli political scientist and former deputy mayor of Jerusalem, writes: “The fate of the sites sacred to Muslims in the State of Israel can serve as an example of how victors arrogate for themselves sites that are sacred to their vanquished enemy and adapt them to their own needs, whether for worship or for secular purposes, even turning them to uses that are clearly sacrilegious. If they find no use for them, they leave them deserted and crumbling, and do not allow members of the defeated people to restore them, lest that serve as a ‘precedent’ for their return to the old landscape.”
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/03/isil-israel-cultural-cleansing-150309103525975.html

One Palestinian’s quest for a US visa
Al-Monitor 10 Mar by Daoud Kuttab — After being granted a scholarship to study in the United States, a Palestinian media lecturer struggled to reach the US Consulate in Jerusalem, where he was shocked to see Palestinians and Israelis being treated equally — …After Mahmoud’s paperwork was finalized and his documents arrived from the United States, all that remained was an interview at the US Consulate General in Jerusalem, but there was a problem: Jerusalem was beyond the wall, and the only way to reach the city was to get a permit from Israel. Mahmoud and his wife applied for permits, and she was immediately approved. His application was held up; the requirements for security clearance for Palestinian women are usually much lower than those for men. As the interview neared, Mahmoud still had no permit. He began thinking about a plan B. A work colleague from Jerusalem offered to drive him into the city using the settler road, where soldiers don’t usually check every car, but that worried Mahmoud …  The experience at the consulate thoroughly surprised Mahmoud. Waiting in line for interviews were both Israelis and Palestinians. Everyone was treated the same. Commenting to Al-Monitor afterward, Mahmoud noted that this was the only place in Israel and Palestine where Israelis and Palestinians are treated equally: “No discrimination, no separate road or checkpoint. Everyone waited for their turn, and all were given equal treatment.” What surprised Mahmoud most was when a Palestinian security guard working for the consulate asked an Israeli wearing army fatigues to respect embassy policy and change. The soldier obliged immediately.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/03/jerusalem-palestinians-israel-discrimination-travel-us.html

Prisoners

Lawyer: Israeli forces assault prisoners in Ofer
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 10 Mar — Israeli “Nahashon” forces on Monday evening assaulted a group of Palestinian detainees awaiting trial at Ofer military court, a lawyer for the prisoner and detainees affairs commission said. Khalid al-Araj said Israeli forces used batons and police dogs, and struck prisoners all over their bodies. Al-Araj said that Mohammad Badir from Abu Dis suffered several fractures in different parts of his body, and Khader al-Hreimi from Bethlehem suffered fractures in the face and head. Others suffered injuries but were not identified. Badir was later taken to solitary confinement, and not to hospital, he added.  He added that a complaint was filed to the court in Ofer on the assault.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=759810

Palestinian prisoners to suspend escalatory steps
RAMALLAH (PIC) 10 Mar — Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation jails announced on Tuesday the suspension of escalatory steps they decided earlier to protest the Israeli Prison Service’s (IPS) unjust punitive measures. In a statement, the Palestinian Prisoner Society disclosed that the Palestinian detainees are going to defer the protest steps which were supposed to begin on Tuesday due to an initial agreement between prisoners’ leaders and the IPS.  The Society elaborated that the initial agreement involved a number of terms including increasing the allocations for the canteen, monthly visitation for one hour instead of half an hour every two months, returning of transferred prisoners into Section 4 in Nafha and Section 5 in Raymond, and allowing prisoners to buy some of their living needs.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=70580

Palestinian refugees — Lebanon

Palestinians risk life and limb to escape Lebanon
SIDON, Lebanon (Daily Star) 11 Mar by Mohammed Zaatari — In an alleyway in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, coffee vendor Abu al-Gadab clicks together his cups. He has just received news that seven residents of the camp were aboard a migrant boat that capsized off the Italian coast Monday. Emigration is not new to the Palestinian refugees of Lebanon. The practice dates back to the ’80s and various political, social and economic factors have contributed to the outflow. Following the 1948 Nakba, thousands of Palestinians who had fled or been forced from their homes sought shelter in Lebanon. They and their descendants still reside in camps across the country. The camps are largely impoverished and have little in the way of infrastructure. Palestinians lack basic human rights in Lebanon, and the Lebanese government has placed rules over which jobs they can occupy. They are allowed to work labor jobs in construction and agriculture. Escaping this reality is a dream for many Palestinians, and their hope of returning to their own land seems increasingly far-fetched … As the openness of Western countries to Palestinian immigration has declined, refugees continue to search for ways to leave the country. The result has been the emergence of a number of fraudulent businesses, who tell hopeful emigrants that they can provide them with visas in return for money. However, refugees soon find out that they’ve been scammed, and that the proposed trip involves an illegal and highly dangerous sea voyage.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2015/Mar-11/290340-palestinians-risk-life-and-limb-to-escape-lebanon.ashx

Palestinians to launch security measures in Beirut camps
SIDON, Lebanon (Daily Star) 10 Mar by Mohammed Zaatari — As the security plan for Beirut’s southern suburbs is being mulled, following implementation of similar initiatives in Tripoli and the northern Bekaa Valley, Palestinian factions are looking to increase security in camps across Lebanon. The Higher Palestinian Security Committee, which supervises the status of Palestinian camps in Lebanon, has begun preparations to deploy its own joint security force in the refugee camps of Burj al-Barajneh and Shatila, also located in Beirut’s southern suburbs. The move comes as part of an effort to scale up a security plan in the south Lebanon refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, outside of Sidon, and to expand operations to other camps across the country. The security plan for the Palestinian refugee camps began with the largest, Ain al-Hilweh, in the summer of last year. The initiative has seen mixed results.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2015/Mar-10/290210-palestinians-to-launch-security-measures-in-beirut-camps.ashx

Gaza

Israel navy fires on Gaza shore, ground forces shoot at farmers
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 9 Mar — Israeli naval boats fired several shells at the shores of Gaza City on Tuesday, while Israeli ground forces opened fire on farmers in the eastern Gaza Strip, witnesses said. Locals told Ma‘an that Israeli war boats fired five shells near the al-Zahra area. No injuries were reported. Meanwhile, Israeli military vehicles deployed east of Gaza City opened fire on farmers working on their land near the the border. The al-Mezan Center for Human Rights reports that Israeli forces have opened fire at the Gazan border 29 times since the Aug. 26 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Palestinian militant groups, killing at least two Palestinians and injuring 35, including nine children. On Saturday, Israeli naval forces shot and killed Palestinian fisherman Tawfiq Abu Riyala off the coast south of Gaza City.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=759817

Gaza fishermen: A life under attack (Photos)
GAZA CITY (Al Jazeera) 10 Mar by Patrick Strickland, Dylan Collins — Abu Mohammad el-Hissi spent his whole life working on fishing boats before eventually becoming head of the Gaza-based Palestinian Fishermen’s Society.  Due to the eight-year Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza, the 70-year-old Hissi says Palestinian fishermen can no longer make a decent living. “This work isn’t enough to provide for a family,” he told Al Jazeera. Whether or not fishermen bring in a big catch, operating the boat each day requires roughly 800 litres of fuel. “This runs fishermen about 4,200 shekels ($1,080) and sometimes they don’t catch nearly enough to cover the operational costs,” Hissi said. Although Israel agreed to respect the fishing zone as six nautical miles in the August 26 ceasefire agreement that put an end to last summer’s 51-day war in Gaza, fishermen and human rights groups alike accuse Israel of regularly violating that condition. An Israeli military spokesperson said the amount of space allotted to fishermen is determined by “security threats” such as “shipments of weapons, some of them headed for Gaza”.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2015/03/gaza-fishermen-life-attack-150310063651354.html

Rafah Crossing: a source of continuous agony for Gazans
Middle East Monitor 10 Mar — IMAGES — Thousands of Palestinians stormed the Rafah Crossing when it was opened yesterday morning. The Palestinians were in urgent need to travel either to seek medical attention, for studies, work or other reasons.  After 45 days of its continuous closure, the Egyptian authorities announced that they would reopen the crossing for two days started yesterday. More than 500 pilgrims who had visas to travel to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in February have now missed out on the opportunity to go as their visas have expired. Rafah Crossing is the only window for about 1.8 million Gaza residents to the outside world …  According to the records of the interior ministry in Gaza, more than 10,000 residents are registered for urgent leave. On Monday, only 361 were allowed through the crossing. Resident Hussein Fojo, 43, said he waited for many hours in the travel lounge on the Palestinian side, hoping to leave to reunite with his family in Egypt. His attempts were unsuccessful. “I came to Gaza four months ago for a one-month visit,” he told the Anadolu Agency. “Because of the closure, I am stuck here. I lost my job.” Sa’diyyeh Abdul-Khaliq, an elderly lady who is in need of treatment for a liver disease, managed to get on the bus to Egypt. She said: “I hoped I could travel. I have been trying for four months. This illness cannot be treated in Gaza so I am forced to head to Egypt.”
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/17428-rafah-crossing-a-source-of-continuous-agony-for-gazans

Egypt shuts down Rafah crossing after 2 days
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 11 Mar — Egyptian authorities shut down the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after it was opened exceptionally on Monday and Tuesday for humanitarian cases. The crossings and borders department of the Gaza Ministry of Interior said in a statement that 1,010 passengers managed to leave the Gaza Strip for Egypt in two days, while 1,433 traveled into the coastal enclave. Those who were given priority to leave to Egypt were patients receiving treatment abroad, holders of foreign visas and holders of Egyptian and foreign passports. The statement added that 63 passengers were denied entry to Egypt without being given explanations. Thousands of passengers are still on a waiting list hoping that Egypt will reopen the crossing again. The crossing was opened Monday and Tuesday after it had been closed for two months. This two-day opening marks the fourth time the crossing has been opened since October 2014 when a suicide attack killed 30 Egyptian troops in the Sinai Peninsula.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=759830

PA health ministry sends medical supplies to Gaza
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 9 Mar  — A large convoy of medical supplies is expected to reach the Gaza Strip on Tuesday afternoon, the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health said. The convoy of 12 trucks set out from Nablus on Monday and is said to be carrying 140 medical packages worth 11 million shekels ($2.7 million). PA Minister of Health Jawwad Awwad told Ma‘an that the convoy was sent “by directive of the President and the Prime Minister.” He said the shipment contains medicine for heart disease, cancer, digestive and respiratory conditions, and also includes diabetes medication and antibiotics.  He said it also contains reagents for laboratory tests, as well as supplies for operation rooms and emergency departments. Ten percent of the shipment’s worth was donated by the Islamic Relief in Washington. The Gaza Strip, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007, suffers a severe shortage of medical supplies. The conflict between Hamas and Israel last summer saw more than 11,000 Gazans injured. Tension between Hamas and the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority has been detrimental to the supply of aid.  In December, the Ministry of Health accused Hamas officials in Gaza of stealing medicines and supplies sent to the coastal strip. The ministry also said that assistance to Gaza caused serious shortages in the West Bank.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=759805

Ministry: 1.5 million tons of cement needed to rebuild Gaza
GAZA (PIC) 10 Mar — A minimum of a million and a half tons of cement is required to reconstruct what had been destroyed by Israel’s last summer offensive on blockaded Gaza, Head of the Consumer Protection Department at the Palestinian Ministry of Economy, Imad al-Baz, said Monday. Addressing the economics committee at the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) during a session held in Gaza, Imad al-Baz said the quantity of cement dispatched to Gaza so far has reached 45,000 tons only. He said most of the cement delivered by the UNRWA has been allotted to rebuilding the UN-run schools and facilities destroyed in the Israeli war in addition to refugees whose homes were damaged in the same aggression. Al-Baz stressed the need to respect the official tariffs delineated by the Ministry of National Economy, estimated at some 520 shekels per every single ton and 26 shekels per a cement bag. He said the ministry issued instructions to never hand the cement bags to refugees except after checking their identity cards and having them sign a delivery notice. The ministry warned a tougher line would be adopted against any attempts to use the refugees’ cement bags as bargaining chips.
http://english.palinfo.com/site/pages/details.aspx?itemid=70567

Qatar to rebuild 1,000 homes in Gaza
GAZA CITY, Palestine (Reuters) 11 Mar — A Qatari official visiting a Gaza neighborhood heavily bombed in last summer’s war with Israel said Tuesday the Gulf Arab state had begun a project to rebuild 1,000 homes as part of a $1 billion aid pledge. Mohammad al-Amadi, head of the Qatari Committee to Rebuild Gaza, said that earlier in the day Israel had allowed four truckloads of cement into the Gaza Strip so that the planned construction of the dwellings could begin. The Israeli military agency that oversees policy related to civilian supplies to the Islamist Hamas-ruled Palestinian enclave said such shipments are handled by the Palestinian self-rule body under “a joint mechanism for reconstruction” established jointly by the United Nations, Israel and the Palestinian Authority. “Today we are starting the $1 billion [effort],” Amadi said as he stood in the rubble of a hospital destroyed during the 50-day Gaza war. Palestinian and U.N. officials said 130,000 houses had either been demolished or damaged in the densely populated coastal territory. In all, some $5.4 billion was pledged at the meeting, but little of that has reached the Gaza Strip.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/Mar-11/290346-qatar-to-rebuild-1000-homes-in-gaza.ashx

Gaza women protest in front of UNRWA headquarters
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 9 Mar — Dozens of women took part in a sit-in protest on Monday in front of UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza to demand that the international community accelerate the reconstruction of Gaza. The protest was organized by the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO) and also called for an end to the eight-year Israeli blockade on the coastal territory.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=759803

On International Women’s Day, women’s suffering is doubled and unprecedented due to consequences o the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip
PCHR 8 Mar — Women’s suffering doubled in the Gaza Strip in particular due to the consequences of the latest Israeli offensive, as they have been enduring hard and complicated living conditions. During the 50-day Israeli offensive, women were exposed to the risks of death or injury because of the Israeli excessive use of lethal force as well as the blatant Israeli violations of the principles of distinction and proportionality under customary international humanitarian law.  According to documentation of human rights organizations, 293 women  were killed (18% of the civilian victims during the Israeli offensive). Moreover, 2,114 women were wounded, dozens of whom sustained permanent disabilities. Women’s suffering was not limited to killings that affected them or their families, but it increased because they were forcibly displaced from their houses and were forced to resort to UNRWA shelters amidst inhumane conditions that lack the minimal basic services, including clean water, potable water and environmental health services. Besides, in UNRWA shelters, there was no privacy and there was an unprecedented state of overcrowding in sleeping places. All this added more responsibility and complication to the lives of these women. In spite of protection that is supposed to be offered to civilians, especially women and children, in UNRWA shelters, women were subjected to indiscriminate attacks in those shelters. As a result, 2 women were killed and about 70 others were wounded, while family members were killed or injured in very terrifying scenes.
In the West Bank, women’s suffering continues due to the Israeli violations against the Palestinian civilians. Women experience harsh conditions because of the Israeli arbitrary practices of killing acts and/or house raids, arrests, including arrests against women and girls, house demolitions, and restrictions on the freedom of movement by permanent and temporary checkpoints. All these measures have increased women’s suffering and negatively affected their life. At the internal level, women’s suffering has not stopped due to the ongoing gender-based violence, which increased because of the deterioration of economic, social and living conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory. According to PCHR’s documentation, 16 women were killed last year in different contexts related to gender-based violence.
http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10893

Police official vows to end lawlessness in Gaza
Xinhua 10 Mar — A senior police official vowed on Tuesday that the police finalized all the security preparations to put an end to the growing lawlessness and crimes in the Gaza Strip. Ayman Batniji, police spokesman in Gaza, told a news briefing following the recent increase of crimes in the Gaza Strip that his police and other security apparatuses took all the needed measures to put an end to instability in Gaza. “All the crimes in the past few weeks show that there are no organized crime or criminal organizations in the Gaza Strip,” said Batniji, adding that “the crimes were committed individually due to the hard living condition.” Over the past few weeks, a series of crimes were committed in the Gaza Strip, where two people were killed, several public and private properties were destroyed and money exchange employees were robbed. “Most of the suspected believed to be involved in these crimes were detained,” said Batniji. However, such crimes are unprecedented mainly under Hamas rule, which has been controlling the enclave since 2007.
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/911242.shtml

4 resistance fighters injured by accidental explosion in Gaza City
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 10 Mar — Four Palestinian resistance fighters were injured in an accidental explosion at a military training base in southern Gaza City on Tuesday morning, medics said.  Gaza medical sources told Ma’an that one of the fighters sustained serious wounds and the other three were moderately injured.
http://www.maannews.com/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?id=759812

UN inquiry on Gaza war crimes seeks delay of report to June: statement
GENEVA (Reuters) 9 Mar —  U.N. investigators looking at possible war crimes committed by all sides during the Gaza war last year have asked to postpone publication of their report from March until June to consider further evidence received, a U.N. statement said on Monday.  Their report on violations by Israeli armed forces and Hamas militants in Gaza during the July-August conflict was due to be issued to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 23.  In a statement, Council President Joachim Ruecker said that he backed the request for a deferral to June 2015 to finalize a comprehensive report by the team of investigators. The 47-nation Council is expected to approve the postponement before its ongoing main annual session ends on March 27.  The commission of inquiry’s former chairman, William Schabas, stepped down last month after Israeli allegations of bias due to consultancy work he did for the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Israel wants the report shelved.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/09/us-israel-palestinians-rights-idUSKBN0M51RP20150309

UN envoy proposes 3-5 year Gaza truce to aid reconstruction
Haaretz 9 Mar by Barak Ravid & Jack Khoury — Robert Serry says Hamas did not rule out the proposal, but laid down its own conditions – including the lifting of the Israeli and Egyptian blockade — The outgoing United Nations representative to the Middle East has proposed a three-to-five year truce in the Gaza Strip in order to enable the rehabilitation of territory following the summer’s 50-day war. Robert Serry raised the proposal to the Hamas leadership in Gaza last Monday, during his final visit to the territory. Serry is winding up his seven-year term as UN special coordinator for Middle East peace, and will be replaced by former Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov.  “The rehabilitation of Gaza will take years and for that we need time and a commitment from all concerned parties for a long-term ‘reconstruction hudna,’ to which all Palestinian factions should be committed,” he said. At the end of the visit, Serry issued a statement to the press which received minimal attention in Israel because it was eclipsed by media coverage of the election campaign and of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress. A senior Israeli official said Israel was familiar with the proposal, but that it had not been officially presented to Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.646047

Israel, Hamas deny reports of truce proposal in exchange for lifting Gaza blockade
Jerusalem Post 9 Mar by Herb Keinon & Khaled Abu Toameh — Israeli and Hamas officials denied on Monday a report that Hamas had offered Israel a protracted truce in return for ending the blockade of the Gaza Strip. According to the report on the Walla website, senior Hamas officials met with Western diplomats – including outgoing UN Middle East envoy Robert Serry and the Swiss consul to the Palestinian Authority, Paul Garnier, who is one of the Western officials who meets regularly with Hamas – about the hudna (temporary truce) and indicated interest in a cease-fire of at least five years in exchange for Israel’s lifting the Gaza blockade. The report stated that a number of understandings were even reached on the nature of the cease-fire. But Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said flatly that the report was untrue, adding that Hamas did not discuss the issue of a truce with anyone. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri also denied the report. He said that some international parties had made such a proposal to Hamas. However, Hamas never replied to the proposal, he claimed. “This is an issue that should be dealt with through discussions and national consensus,” Abu Zuhri said. On the Israeli side, one government source said the Prime Minister’s Office is “not familiar” with the report, and “no one has approached us with anything.” The official said that a prerequisite to any long-term solution to the situation in Gaza is the demilitarization of the coastal strip.
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Hamas-denies-offering-truce-to-Israel-in-exchange-for-lifting-Gaza-blockade-393391

Secret history of Hamas’ co-founder / Ramzy Baroud
Asia Times 9 Mar — This is not my geography teacher, or, more accurately it is not at all how I remember him. A series of APA images published by the British Daily Mail and other newspapers showed Hamad al-Hasanat lying dead in a mosque, surrounded by a group of Hamas fighters. On top of his lifeless body, as worshipers came to offer a final prayer before burial, rested an assault rifle. Hasanat was buried among the refugees of the Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in the central Gaza Strip. He died on March 2, at the age of 80. “Hammad al-Hasanat co-founded the terrorist group (Hamas) on December 14, 1987,” wrote British tabloid Daily Mail by way of introducing the black Palestinian leader. I say “black”, although skin color was never an issue worth discussing within the Palestinian Gaza political context …  Hasanat was not a militant, even though an assault rifle was laid on his chest in preparation for burial. But, when stacked in the right order, historical circumstances could turn a kindly geography teacher, in the words of the condemnatory Daily Mail, into a “cofounder of a terrorist group”.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-01-090315.html

Children in Gaza make a powerful tribute to Japan’s tsunami victims
[with photos] Huffington Post 10 Mar by Charlotte Alfred — Palestinian children living in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip face myriad problems of their own. But on Monday they gathered to highlight the sufferings of others with a powerful tribute to the victims of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake unleashed a massive tsunami that engulfed Japan’s coastline and triggered a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima power plant. This Monday, over 1,000 school children gathered to fly kites decorated with Japanese words and images in the south Gaza city of Khan Younis to mark the fourth anniversary of the disaster. The kite-flying event was organized by the United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and held jointly with the Japanese city of Kamaishi, which was devastated by the tsunami. UNRWA has organized a commemoration in Gaza of Japan’s triple-disaster each year since 2012.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/10/gaza-kites-japan-tsunami_n_6838752.html

Despite Hamas restrictions, Gaza actresses seek stage
GAZA CITY (Al-Monitor) 5 Mar by Asmaa al-Ghoul –…“Abu Ayed Diaries” is a drama series produced in the Gaza Strip and shown on Hona al-Quds TV. The 15-minute episodes tackle everyday problems in Palestinian society through the story of a family, and mainly focus on issues between spouses Abu Ayed and Um Ayed. Each episode has been filmed in a different house – mainly owned by friends of the crew – because of the lack of studio space and production resources. The problem of this oppression of actresses goes even further: Caution is advised during shooting when dealing with the three actresses. They keep their veils on even in the house that is supposed to be their home, which is not customary. Female actresses are not even allowed to approach male actors. Zuhair al-Balbissi, starring as Abu Ayed, told Al-Monitor, “There is a clampdown on the industry, especially on set, due to societal norms. Real life cannot be depicted as is. We can’t film a woman inside her house without her veil on, and we should stay away from bedrooms at all costs. If a mom wants to greet her son after a long [trip], she is content with a handshake, and even this can be banned.” For her part, actress Hiba Abdel Qatah, playing Um Ayed (her first role), told Al-Monitor that besides social limitations, the channel has limitations of its own. “I was wearing trousers in one of the episodes. They made me re-film it and wear a [long] skirt instead.”
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/02/women-actresses-gaza-limitations-veil.html

Gaza sisters turn heritage into a source of living
Middle East Monitor 9 Mar — Six Palestinian sisters from the Gaza Strip have taken the art of Palestinian embroidery and turned it into a source of income in spite of the crippling Israeli blockade which is entering its eighth year.  Noor, Nadrin, Budoor, Basma, Aya and Heba are The Six Flowers. The gifted sisters learned the basics of embroidery while at school, an art that they practiced throughout college and which they used to make gifts for their friends and family. Budoor told Quds Net: “We wanted to have our own project and, as sisters, we decided to have our own logo that unites us and represent our work at exhibitions and to the public.” Both Noor and Nadrin are university graduates. Noor graduated from the Faculty of Computer Science while Nadrin studied Interior Design at Al-Aqsa University. After graduating, both sisters were unable to find jobs in Gaza and decided to join their sisters in the project … The sisters not only make traditional pieces, they created items for modern use including iPad and laptop covers, table cloths and bags. They use social networking sites such as Facebook to market their products and try to participate in exhibitions held in the Gaza Strip. Their dream is to have a shop dedicated to the sale of their items and to employ Palestinian women to help them earn a living.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/17396-gaza-sisters-turn-heritage-into-a-source-of-living

The painting of Gaza’s seaport
Gaza City – As the sun meets the Mediterranean sea on the horizon of the besieged Gaza Strip, the people of Gaza City like to take strolls to the end of the port, enjoying candy floss and other street food sold along the way. … Until recently, the dull grey of hundreds of concrete slabs mixed with the more colourful boats used by Gaza’s fishermen to create a scene that was not entirely pleasing to the eye. Now, after an initiative led by the Tamer Institute for Community Education, the concrete outshines the boats. In January, Tamer began work on a plan to paint the walkway of the port, inviting local artists and youth to work together on the project … “We had over 100 kids coming to paint the port. Overall, we were really surprised by the public response to the project,” Ashour continued. The concrete was first painted in bright, playful colours. Pinks, purples, yellows, blues and burgundies are all on display. Then, in the second phase of the project, the youth and local artists were invited to use the pastel slabs as canvasses. They were allowed to paint images, phrases, song titles, poetry, and sayings like “Gaza Resists” along the wall.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/painting-gazas-seaport-1459289844

After Banksy, the parkour guide to Gaza – video
The Guardian 10 Mar — In response to graffiti artist Banksy’s Make this the Year YOU Discover a New Destination Gaza tourist video, the territory’s parkour team show us what real life is like there and their dreams beyond the border. To the sounds of Palestine’s biggest female hip-hop artist, Shadia Mansour, join Abdallah AlQassab and the rest of the free-running team as they flip, somersault and leap their way round the ruined city
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/video/2015/mar/10/banksy-parkour-gaza-shadia-mansour-video

Other news / op-eds / reviews

Lieberman suggests decapitation for disloyal Arabs
IMEMC/Agencies 9 Mar — Israeli Foreign Minister and the head of Yisrael Beiteinu Party, Avigdor Lieberman, lashed out at Israel’s Arab citizens, Sunday, threatening to cut their heads off with an axe. “Those who are with us deserve everything, but those who are against us deserve to have their heads chopped off with an axe,” Lieberman said during an election rally in the western city of Herzliya, according to Al Ray correspondents (Andalou). Meanwhile, he added that there was no reason for Umm el-Fahm, an Arab city in northern Israel, to continue to be part of his country. Born in Moldova, Lieberman is one of the only foreign ministers in the world who does not live in territory officially recognized as his own country …  During Sunday’s rally, Lieberman said that those who raised the black flag of what is called the “Nakba Day” in mourning over the establishment of Israel, did not deserve to belong to the state of Israel.
http://www.imemc.org/article/70855

Bibi in big trouble: New poll shows Israeli PM in danger of losing bid for fourth term
Salon 10 Mar by Luke Brinkler — Center-left Zionist Union alliance pulls ahead of Netanyahu’s Likud — Corroborating other surveys showing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to score a big polling bounce following his controversial March 3 congressional address on Iran, a new poll released Tuesday finds the prime minister in grave danger of losing his bid for a fourth term ahead of national elections in one week.  The poll, from the Knesset Channel, puts the center-left Zionist Union ahead of Netanyahu’s Likud party, with the Zionist Union on track to win 24 seats in the 120-seat parliament to Likud’s 21. The centrist Yesh Atid party is projected to win 14 seats. Haaretz notes that if the Zionist Union joins forces with Yesh Atid and smaller left-leaning and Arab parties, it could form a government with 56 seats. Combining with smaller right-rightist and ultra-Orthodox parties, Netanyahu is on track to assemble 55 seats at most. The Zionist Union is a coalition of Isaac Herzog’s Labor and Tzipi Livini’s Hatnuah parties. If the coalition manages to form a government, the two plan to rotate the prime ministership, with Herzog serving as premier for the first two years of the government’s term and Livni serving for the latter half. Both Herzog and Livni harshly criticized Netanyahu’s congressional address denouncing a potential Iranian nuclear deal, arguing that the speech further isolated Israel on the international stage.
http://www.salon.com/2015/03/10/bibi_in_big_trouble_new_poll_shows_israeli_pm_in_danger_of_losing_bid_for_fourth_term/

Netanyahu says sees ‘worldwide’ effort to topple him
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Reuters) 10 Mar — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks on Tuesday there was a “huge, worldwide effort” to ensure he loses next week’s closely contested election. Army Radio, which aired what it said were comments he made Monday to activists of his right-wing Likud party, interpreted them as referring to foreign funding for advocacy groups campaigning for a change of government in Israel. Political parties in Israel are banned from accepting money directly from overseas donors during an election campaign. But such funding is allowed under Israeli law for non-profit organisations espousing political viewpoints, and U.S. consultants have advised Israeli candidates for years. “It is a very tight race. Nothing is guaranteed because there is a huge, worldwide effort to topple the Likud government,” said Netanyahu, who received rousing applause in the U.S. Congress last week during a speech against a potential nuclear deal with Iran sought by the administration of President Barack Obama.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/Mar-10/290262-netanyahu-says-sees-worldwide-effort-to-topple-him.ashx

Israel elections: Arab voters face defining moment with joint list party poised for unprecedented Knesset showing
IBT 9 Mar by Lora Moftah — The coming Israeli election is seen as a defining moment for Israel’s Arab minority, which, for the first time ever, is fielding a joint ticket of parties that some expect to become the third-largest faction in the parliament. The prospect of the Joint Arab List winning an unprecedented number of Knesset seat could be the first step toward greater political mobilization for Israel’s Arab community as it seeks to address what many say is widespread discrimination against them in Israeli society, experts say. Israeli Arab politicians are hoping to move their community from the sidelines of the political arena after years of declining voter turnout by Arab citizens, who constitute 20 percent of the 8 million population. “The Arab population does not want to turn inward and be isolated,” said Ayman Odeh, the leader of the joint Arab ticket, in an interview with Newsweek. “All we have to do is become determined to get involved in the political game, and the right wing will be in big trouble.” Polls show Odeh’s Joint List political faction, which represents the first-ever alliance of Israel’s four Arab parties, winning 13 seats or more in the 120-seat Knesset, putting the group in third place behind the center-left Zionist Union and the right-wing Likud party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Reuters reported. Typically Arab parties win around 11 seats combined in the parliamentary body and have never been included in any Israeli government coalition.
http://www.ibtimes.com/israel-elections-arab-voters-face-defining-moment-joint-list-party-poised-1841076

Arab Israeli TV host chosen to light Independence Day beacon answers critics
Ynet 9 Mar by Itamar Eichner — INTERVIEW: Lucy Aharish says lighting the torch will be ‘a slap in the face to all the racists’ who called her a ‘stinking Arab.’ —  Lucy Aharish, Arab Israeli television host and reporter, woke up on Saturday morning and saw that someone had been trying to reach her by phone for hours. “I called back. It was Yitzhak Zunshine, the head of the Hasbara Center,” Aharish said in an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth. “I asked what the urgency was and he responded: ‘I wanted to congratulate you. You were chosen to light a torch on Independence Day.’ I fell silent. I, usually very talkative, could not speak a word. Tears came to my eyes. It was the last thing I thought would happen,” said Aharish.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4634868,00.html

Qabatia storm drainage project prevents flooding (slideshow)
ANERA [charity] 3 Mar –Every year, the 22,700 residents of Qabatia, in the West Bank, face the same challenge – rainwater flooding. Just two years ago, Qabatia and its surrounding area suffered 50 million shekels (more than $13 million) in losses from water damage to private and public property, with 300 homes damaged. The flooding impacted everyday life, preventing children from reaching schools and patients from reaching clinics and hospitals. With funds from USAID, ANERA’s Palestinian Community Infrastructure Development (PCID) project extended the existing storm water drainage channel by about 1,360 meters to serve a further 13,625 residents. This channel will divert and discharge storm water via a safe route, thereby increasing the safety of the public and their properties during the winter seasons.
http://www.anera.org/stories/qabatia-storm-drainage-project-prevents-flooding-slideshow/

Palestinian feminists in Jerusalem’s shadow
JERUSALEM (Middle East Eye) 8 Mar by Lubna Ahmad — “My name is Um Osama. I don’t know exactly how old I am, but I guess I am 75 years old. I was born before 1948. I was four years old when we were displaced from our land in Be’er Sheba. [now Be’er Sheva] “First, we found refuge in Khuza‘a village. Later, when things got worse and many people were killed by the Israeli army, we moved to Gaza, leaving everything behind us, even our personal things. We left wheat fields, watermelon patches and other vegetables that my father used to grow … “During the war of 1948, my father went with his two donkeys to his farm land to harvest the wheat. At that time, everyone tried to go back to their homes. My father was shot in his fields with his two donkeys. He never came back . . . During the funeral my mother had to tell everyone that she is pregnant, so people wouldn’t think later on that she had an affair with another man.” When the baby was born, Um Osama’s family named him Awad, which means compensation in Arabic because they felt he was somehow compensation for the loss of their father. “We were five children. Two of them died and two survived the war and are living in Gaza.” Um Osama has been selling goods on the main path that leads to the Aqsa mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem, for the last 20 years. She managed to get herself a spot on the stairs under the house that Ariel Sharon, the former prime minister of Israel, bought in the heart of the Palestinian part of the Old City. A large Israeli flag flies each day over her head. Um Osama is harassed on a daily basis by Israeli police, soldiers and municipality inspectors who try to push her out of the Old City. Despite all the difficulties she has faced, for decades she has not moved from her corner.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestinian-feminists-jerusalem-s-shadow-1923151757

Arab League to submit Security Council application for ending occupation
IMEMC/Agencies 9 Mar — Representing Arab and Islamic countries, the Arab League intends to submit to the UN Security Council, Monday, a new draft proposal calling for ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine and Arab territories. The proposal calls for a full Israeli withdrawal from all territories Israel occupied following the June 4 1967 war, including the Golan Heights and areas in southern Lebanon, in addition to the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The proposal reportedly offers recommendations regarding a “just solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees,” but does not offer details regarding implementing all related United Nations resolutions on the issue, completely ignored by Israel.
http://www.imemc.org/article/70847

IS claims execution of Arab Israeli accused of spying: video
BEIRUT (AFP) 10 Mar — The Islamic State released a video Tuesday purporting to show a young boy executing an Arab Israeli who it claimed infiltrated the group in Syria to spy for the Jewish state. In the video, a youth identifying himself as 19-year-old Mohammed Said Ismail Musallam recounts how he was recruited by Israeli intelligence. Dressed in an orange jumpsuit that is standard in videos of IS executions, he is shown kneeling in front of the boy, who appears to be no more than 12 years old, and a man standing at his side. The man, speaking in French, issues threats against Jews in France, before the boy walks around in front of the hostage and then shoots him in the forehead using a pistol. The boy, who shouts “Allahu Akbar” (“God is greatest” in Arabic), then shoots the man four more times as he lies on the ground.  In February, Musallam’s father denied in comments to AFP the IS claim that his son was an Israeli agent. “My son is innocent; IS accused him of working for Mossad because he tried to run away,” Said Musallam said, claiming that his son had travelled to Syria to join the jihadists … “He is absolutely not religious,” Musallam said earlier, adding that perhaps his son had been recruited through the Internet.  Dabiq, the IS online English-language magazine, said Mohammed had been tasked by Israel with gathering information on IS bases and weapons and on Palestinians volunteering to fight for the group in Syria.  A spokesman for Israel’s Shin Bet security service told AFP Mohammed had left home on October 24 “on his own initiative”, implying that he had not been sent by Israel.
http://news.yahoo.com/claims-execution-arab-israeli-accused-spying-video-194019309.html

Can Israeli survive without the Palestinian Authority? Ilan Goldenburg & Nicholas Heras
Foreign Policy 10 Mar — Why the threat to dissolve the government in the West Bank could put the region on the edge of anarchy — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s obsessive focus on Iran ignores a greater and much more immediate threat to the security of Israel: the dissolution of the Palestinian Authority and the West Bank’s potential transformation into an ungoverned space that could become a haven for terrorism. The current state of relations between the Israelis and the Palestinians is grim and threatens an end to the decades-long negotiations process started by the Oslo Accords … The Palestinians argue that if Israel is going to choke them financially, they might as well hand responsibility for West Bank security back to Israel. While this gambit could be a bluff, meant simply to force Israel to hand over the tax revenues, the Palestinian leadership has a tendency to threaten and bluff for the purpose of leverage — until it decides to finally follow through. The threat to dissolve the Palestinian Authority is no different from the previous threat to join the ICC: It is a useful tool that the Palestinians have been deploying for some time, but it may one day soon become reality. Abbas has not yet indicated how he plans to proceed … The dissolution of the PNSF would come with real costs for Israelis as well as Palestinians. Thousands of Israel Defense Forces soldiers would likely be deployed in the event of a Palestinian security dissolution, and their long-term presence in former Palestinian Authority-controlled areas would likely cost billions of dollars to Israeli taxpayers. The Palestinian Authority’s 2014 budget was $4.2 billion, roughly half of which was funded by international donors that would not be willing to foot such a bill if the costs were borne by Israel. For an Israeli public that is increasingly decrying socioeconomic strain at home, the additional cost of a return to a full occupation of the West Bank would be an unwelcome burden to bear. But much more unbearable would be the emotional cost of having young Israelis resume security responsibilities for the entire Palestinian territory. This would be a tragic development for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/03/10/can-israel-survive-without-the-palestinian-authority-west-bank-mahmoud-abbas/

BOOK REVIEW — Israel: The original terrorist state
Tablet 9 Mar by Adam Kirsch — Bruce Hoffman’s riveting new history of pre-1947 Palestine reviews the violent birth of the modern Jewish homeland — Today, the phrase “Palestinian terrorism” immediately conjures up Arab violence against Jews—suicide bombings in buses or restaurants, Hamas rockets launched from the Gaza Strip. Seventy years ago, however, a reader who encountered those words in a headline would have thought of terrorism not against Jews but by them. From 1944 until 1947, Palestine witnessed a series of assassinations, abductions, and bombings, perpetrated by Jewish terrorists against the occupying British. During that period, some 140 British soldiers and policemen were killed, along with dozens of civilian bystanders. In the end, the terrorists got what they wanted, when Britain announced its intention to withdraw all its forces from Palestine and leave the fate of the country up to the fledgling United Nations. “Does terrorism work?” asks Bruce Hoffman on the first page of Anonymous Soldiers: The Struggle for Israel, 1917-1947, his riveting and deeply researched new history; and the answer, in this case, would seem to be yes. Of course, there were many factors leading to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 …  Still, it is possible that none of these factors would have succeeded in winning Israel’s independence, if the Jewish campaign of terror hadn’t raised the cost of the British occupation so high. In writing Anonymous Soldiers, Hoffman made use of the previously classified archives of MI5, the British intelligence agency, and the book mostly tells the story of Palestine from the British point of view. As we read the memoranda and committee reports, the urgent telegrams from Jerusalem to London and the orders and reprimands that flowed back in return, we see something remarkable: the inner workings of a world power as it is utterly defeated by a few thousand determined militants.
http://tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/books/189264/israel-original-terrorist-state