and other news from Today in Palestine:
Today in Palestine list for Saturday, 7 May
Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Settlers
Occupation gives notice to 50 families to leave Jerusalem
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC) 6 May — In the latest of a series of measures by the Israeli occupation to empty Jerusalem of its indigenous population, the occupation authorities gave eviction notices to about 50 families from the Saraya‘a clan who live in the Abu Hindi valley east of the occupied holy city. Locals sources said that IOF troops on Thursday raided the Saraya‘a clan’s camp and gave notice to the residents of Bedouin camp to leave within two weeks. The clan lives in a camp which separates the Kidar and Maaleh Adumim settlements and refuse to leave their place of residence.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcO
Once again, Israel threatens to raze wells, structures in Ramadin village
Al-Khalil, (PIC) 7 May — Israeli civil servants escorted by Israeli troops stormed Ramadin village in Wadi Attina area, south of Al-Khalil city, and handed its residents military orders to demolish nine artesian wells and a number of barns and homes. The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) had destroyed hundreds of dunums of agricultural lands and pastures last month in this village in addition to stone barriers and agricultural roads built by action against hunger foundation (ACF) operating in Spain.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd
Israeli forces evacuate Khirbet Umm Nir
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 7 May — Israeli forces evicted around 110 Palestinians from a small village south of Hebron on Thursday, residents said. Usama Al-Habour told Ma’an that soldiers demolished 12 tents and barns from Khirbet Umm Nir, east of Yatta, for the third time in two months. The residents had been given a deadline to leave their homes, but Israeli forces arrived before the deadline had passed and demolished the structures, he added. Spokesman of the local popular committee Rateb Al-Habour said soldiers fired tear gas at villagers, injuring Issa Al-Habour, 67, and Fatima Al-Habour, 61. They were taken to Abu Al-Hasan Al-Qasem Hospital in Yatta.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=385319
Israel to demolish electric line near Nablus
West Bank, (Pal Telegraph) 7 May — Israeli occupation authorities handed Saturday a notice to a village mayor for the removal and demolishing of an electric powerline that provides seven houses in Jaloud village, in the south-west of Nablus. Local sources confirmed that Israeli officials handed the military order to Abdallah Al-Haj Mohammed, the head of Jaloud village council, for the demolition of a powerline that provides electricity to 30 people in that area.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/9111-israel-to-demolish-electric-line-near-nablus.html
Activism / Solidarity
The weight of nationalism in Nabi Saleh / Joseph Dana
Photo: Civilian house in Nabi Saleh after being tear gassed by Israeli soldiers 972mag 7 May — Israeli soldiers were inside the village long before the demonstration began on Friday, creating an uncomfortable air of uncertainly amongst villagers. Adding to the uncertainty were the aggressive comments of one particular group of soldiers who had taken over a rooftop in the middle of the village. ‘Soon’, one of the arrogant soldiers barked at an elderly villager in horribly accented English, ‘I will make your house go boom.’ It was not clear if the solider meant that he would blow his house up or attack it with tear gas and stun grenades. Regardless, the elderly man was clearly shaken by the soldier’s violent comment.
http://972mag.com/the-weight-of-nationalism-in-nabi-saleh/
Video: Ni‘lin town – struggle against the Annexation Wall – 06.05.2011
During the Ni‘lin Town protest today 06.05.2011,dozens suffered from inhaling the poison tear gas, The Israeli occupation army used live ammunition against the demonstrators, no injury were recorded. On the other hand they shot a lot of tear gas bombs which caused fire in the fields and burned more than 4 olive trees.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHlSSmvGfxY&feature=youtube_gdata
Video: Three injured in Beit Ommar demonstration
PSP 7 May — Three members of the Beit Ommar National Committee against the Wall and Settlements were injured this afternoon in a demonstration near the Israeli Karmei Tsur settlement. Yousef Abu Marya, age 36, had his wrist broken in two places by Israeli soldiers, while Ahmed Abu Hashem, age 42, and Mousa Abu Marya, 33, sustained leg injuries.
http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/2011/05/07/three-injured-in-demonstration-near-karmei-tsur/
Clashes reported in village near Nablus
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 7 May — Clashes erupted in the northern West Bank late Saturday at a weekly rally against settlements. Residents of ‘Iraq Burin, south of Nablus, suffered tear-gas inhalation as soldiers fired gas canisters and stun grenades. Palestinian official Ghassan Doughlas said soldiers deployed to prevent the march from reaching an area slated for confiscation.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=385631
Arab marches marking Nakba to head to Palestine borders:
BEIRUT, (PIC) 7 May — A wide-ranging march to be launched in Lebanon will head for the border with occupied Palestine to mark the Nakba (disaster) on May 15, the step was announced in the Lebanese press association in the presence of Hamas representative Ali Baraka and march coordinator Hani Suleiman. The march, staged by Lebanese and Palestinian organizations, is timed to coincide with similar Arab marches designed to peacefully blockade Israel, which was established on the usurped land of Palestine.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcO
Video: French group to send aid delegation to Palestine
PressTV 6 May — Excitement charged the atmosphere at this recruitment rally in Paris held by the group Welcome Palestine, whose aid delegation will arrive shortly after Turkey’s next flotilla, which is set for mid-June. Many of the attendees already have airplane tickets for July 8th, when between 500 to 1,000 activists will converge at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, forcing a showdown with Israeli authorities. Such an attention-grabbing group may not be permitted to even leave the airport, but participants say they are tired of hiding their activism and are demanding the right to circulate freely.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/178617.html
Assault and threat to Freedom Flotilla activists
6 May — Cliff Hanley, a 61-year-old artist from Southville who was one of the participants of the Freedom Flotilla on board the Mavi Marmara ship last May, was physically and severely attacked on Thursday 21st April on the daily Peace Vigil on the Centre in Bristol [England] … Over the next few days Cliff’s situation got gradually worse and he was checked into a hospital on Sunday the 29th April with a brain hemorrhage and since then he is in Intensive Care Unit due to his critical situation.
http://www.ihh.org.tr/ozgurluk-filosu-aktivistlerine-tehdit-ve-saldiri/en/
Ehud Barak acknowledges the impact of BDS / Joseph Dana
7 May In an interview yesterday with the liberal daily Haaretz (Hebrew), Defense Minister Ehud Barak acknowledged the impact of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement on Israel and the unsustainable nature of Israeli Occupation. Barak believes that a UN declaration of Palestinian statehood without a prior Israeli political initiative will paint Israel into a corner previously occupied by South Africa during the apartheid era. His admonition is pungent and scathing … It will start coming at us like a glacier, from all corners. There are people in the European Council that deal with export and import, and they are capable, without any government decision, of inflicting significant damage on the Israeli economy. We will see this taking place in academia, we will see this taking place in dockworker unions, consumer groups, and this will seep into governments.
http://josephdana.com/2011/05/ehud-barak-acknowledges-the-impact-of-bds/
Gaza
Hamas breaks up Salafist bin Laden rally in Gaza
GAZA (Reuters) 7 May — Dozens of Salafists — conservative Islamists who have clashed with Hamas — gathered in Gaza City’s main square holding up posters of bin Laden and chanting “We warn you America, we warn you Europe.” Some banners read “We are all your soldiers Osama” and “Osama is alive inside us.” Hamas police forces cordoned off the square, stopped protesters from marching through the streets and ordered them to leave.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110507/ts_nm/us_palestinians_binladen
Forget the blockade, eat at Abu Hussira
GAZA CITY 7 May // Newcomers could be forgiven for being confused by the half dozen or more seafood restaurants on Abu Hassira street, all bearing a variation of the same name: Abu Hassira. But only this one venerable seafaring family has managed has a loyal clientele spanning all political stripes and most income brackets, as well the handful of foreigners working in this Palestinian enclave … Mr Abu Hassira has kept up the family seafaring tradition and owns a fleet of three large fishing vessels and six smaller ones. But the days of fishing the vast expanses of his grandfather’s Mediterranean are long gone; Israel allows Gaza fisherman only three miles beyond the shoreline.
http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/middle-east/forget-the-blockade-eat-at-abu-hassira
Extra-judicial executions
Hamas leader condemns ‘extra-judicial’ killings
RAMALLAH (AFP) 7 May– Hamas leader Khalid Mash‘al on Friday condemned ‘extrajudicial executions’, in the wake of the killing of Al-Qa‘eda leader Osama bin Laden. “While we disapprove of the methods of Al-Qa‘eda, particularly actions directed against innocent civilians, we are opposed to the United States or any other party having recourse to extrajudicial executions,” Mash‘al said in a statement to AFP.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=385440
Why is Hamas so much against these killings? See this article from 13 Dec 2007:
More than 600 Palestinians killed in extrajudicial killings since 2000
…Extrajudicial executions or ‘targeted killing’ (as Israeli politicians like to define the practice), is clear evidence of state terrorism. It is execution without trial. It is a policy of killing outside the boundaries of any legal framework … Between the eruption of the second Palestinian intifada on 28 September 2000 and June 2006, the IOF attempted 252 extrajudicial killing operations. According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), the IOF killed 603 Palestinians during these crimes … Extrajudicial killings produced 603 victims total. *319 of the victims were intentionally targeted by the IOF. *212 were civilians and passersby unintentionally killed in the process. They constitute 35% of all victims. *68 children were among the victims. Presumably, they were also unintentionally killed during the execution of these crimes, whether they were playing in the streets, passing by, or with their families in targeted houses or vehicles. However, these cases escalated, bringing the overall number of people killed by such actions to 664 from December 2000 to June 2007 [(not that they stopped after this time) Incidentally, my introduction to Palestine, the day after I arrived, was the funeral procession of Muhammad Ishteiwi Abiyat of Beit Jala, blown up in a booby-trapped phone booth by Israeli forces]
http://electronicintifada.net/content/more-600-palestinians-killed-extrajudicial-killings-2000/3299
Detention / Exile
Soldiers arrest Hamas leader at Jenin checkpoint
JENIN (Ma‘an) 7 May — Israel’s army arrested a Hamas leader Saturday in the occupied West Bank, prisoners advocates said. Khaled Al-Haj, 45, was passing through a military checkpoint at the entrance of Araba when he was arrested, the Ahrar prisoners center said. Al-Haj served as a spokesman for Hamas, and he was recently released from prison. Soldiers had apparently installed the checkpoint to catch Al-Haj, specifically, the center said in a statement … Al-Haj is considered a prominent party official. He served as the movement’s spokesman in Jenin and represented Hamas in the factional coordinating committee that eventually led to a unity deal last week. He has spent years in Israeli custody, including three without charge under Israel’s ‘administrative detention’ policy. It allows Israel to jail Palestinians for six-month periods which can be extended. According to the Ahrar center, the arrests were intended to thwart the unity deal.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=385640
Campaign ‘to bring Nativity deportees home alive’
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) — A spokesman of the Palestinians deported to Europe in 2002 on Saturday urged Palestinian leaders and institutions to support a campaign “to bring Nativity Church deportees back home alive.” … Ja‘arah said organizers would show solidarity with deportees Tuesday commemorating the 10th anniversary in exile. Traffic and work will stop for one minute across Palestine to draw attention to the deportees and their suffering both in the Gaza Strip and in Europe … one of the deportees to Europe, Abdullah Dawood, 48, former director of Bethlehem intelligence service, died in Algeria in March 2003.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=385497
Palestinian report: Shalit deal nearing
Ynet 7 May — Shalit deal in cards? Sources in Cairo are expressing great optimism and claiming that a prisoner swap for abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit may be finalized by the middle of June, Palestinian newspaper al-Manar reported Saturday … A Cairo source told the paper that new Israeli chief negotiator, David Meidan, will arrive in the Egyptian capital in the coming days and hold meetings with senior Egyptian officials regarding the swap.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4065754,00.html
Sit-in outside PA jail to demand release of political detainees
NABLUS, (PIC) 7 May — Palestinian families of political detainees staged a sit-in on Saturday morning outside Al-Juneid military prison in Nablus city. The families had told a reporter for PIC they would hold a sit-in outside the prison on the day of their weekly visit to see their sons, pointing out that their sons would refrain from leaving their cells today until the demands for their release are met. “It is time to turn the page of political detention after the Palestinian reconciliation agreement was signed,” a parent said
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd8
Racism
Government quietly funds KKK-like organizations / Yossi Gurvitz
972mag 7 May — The LHVH (“Preventing assimilation in the Holy Land”) organization made a lot of headlines in recent months, much due to the very active MK Tzippi Hotovely (Likud). It is hyperactive in preventing “miscegenation marriages” and preventing the pure daughters of Israel from soiling themselves in contact with non-Jews. It is also rather quick to support the lynching of non-Jews (Hebrew), even if the lynching has nothing to do with assimilation/”miscegenation”. In this weekend’s Haaretz supplement, Uri Blau and Shay Greenberg show (Hebrew) that LHVH, which is an admittedly Kahanist organization, receives indirect funding from the government. It is funded by the Khemla association, which in turn receives funds from the Welfare Ministry.
http://972mag.com/government-quietly-funds-kkk-like-organizations/
Political / Diplomatic / International
Hamas chief: We will coordinate all decisions regarding Israel with Fatah
Haaretz 7 May — Hamas leader Khaled Meshal said Saturday that his movement will make all decisions regarding the struggle against Israel, including if and when to use violence, in coordination with the West Bank leading faction Fatah, The Wall Street Journal reported [subscribers only].
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/hamas-chief-we-will-coordinate-all-decisions-regarding-israel-with-fatah-1.360332
DFLP officials discuss unity with Egypt FM
CAIRO (Ma‘an) 7 May — Representatives of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine met Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Al-Arabi Thursday to discuss the formation of a Palestinian unity government … DFLP representative Nayef Hawatmeh praised Egypt’s role in brokering the reconciliation, which he said was in the interests of all Palestinians. He said it was important that Cairo continued to oversee the agreement to ensure its success … The Egyptian foreign minister pledged that Egypt would continue to sponsor the deal and support the implementation of the agreement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=385302
UN chief to Netanyahu: Do not withhold tax revenues from PA
Reuters 6 May — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says Hamas-Fatah reconciliation in infant stages, tells Israel to revoke decision to withhold over 100 million dollars from PA; calls on Israel to ‘make decisive moves toward historic agreement with Palestinians’.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/un-chief-to-netanyahu-do-not-withhold-tax-revenues-from-pa-1.360292
Israeli minister calls for re-occupying West Bank
NAZARETH, (PIC) 7 May — An Israeli minister has called on his government to re-occupy the West Bank in the event the Palestinians declared their state unilaterally without coordination with Israel. Yisrael Katz, the minister of transport, was quoted by Haaretz on Saturday as saying that unilateral steps on the part of the Palestinian Authority ran contrary to the Olso accords, which Israel “respected”. The minister said that if the PA insisted and went ahead in such a unilateral step then Israel should re-occupy all Palestinian cities.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd8
Democratic senators to Obama: Cut PA aid
WASHINGTON (Ynet) 7 May — Obama pressured by own party members: Following the recent Hamas-Fatah unity deal, 29 Democratic senators sent a letter to President Barack Obama Friday, urging him to end American aid to the Palestinian Authority should Hamas join the PA government. Now, along with Republican senators endorsing the move, there is a clear majority in support of cutting the massive [? $550 million] aid offered by the Administration to the Palestinians.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4065802,00.html
Former Mossad chief: Israel air strike on Iran ‘stupidest thing I have ever heard’
Haaretz 7 May — In first public appearance since leaving post as Mossad chief, Meir Dagan warns of regional war if Iran is attacked; says fall of Assad regime would benefit Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/former-mossad-chief-israel-air-strike-on-iran-stupidest-thing-i-have-ever-heard-1.360367
Other news
Palestinian suspected of collaborating with Israel shot dead in West Bank
Reuters 7 May — Such killings have become rare in the West Bank since Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas came into power — Masked gunmen shot and killed a Palestinian man they thought was an Israeli collaborator in the West Bank on Friday, medical and security sources said. Mohammad Khawaldi, 30, was shot in Jalazoun refugee camp near the city of Ramallah, his body riddled with bullets, a medic who transferred the corpse to a hospital told Reuters.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/palestinian-suspected-of-collaborating-with-israel-shot-dead-in-west-bank-1.360299
Go Palestine
The Ramallah Friends School Connection — A summer experience for Diaspora Palestinian youth and youth allies (ages 14-17) Experience Palestine - By pairing up with a Ramallah teen and living with their family, participants will have the unique experience of seeing the Palestinian perspective through a ‘typical experience’. By experiencing life, work, language, and cuisine, participants will be make a life-long connection that will extend beyond their stay.
http://www.summerinpalestine.org/
Analysis / Opinion
The sea and the mountain states / Gideon Biger
Haaretz 6 May — It is about to happen … But apart from the political discussion, there is a geographic question to be asked: Can a state that is divided into two parts, in the midst of which is another state, continue to exist for a prolonged period? As things stand, we are about to see a new state on the map of the world whose most unique feature will be that it consists of two parts, without territorial contiguity on land or by sea. Beyond all the political differences of opinion, and whether it is good or bad for Israel, the question arises of whether it will be able to survive. A short survey of similar cases in the past does not leave room for optimism on this issue.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/the-sea-and-the-mountain-states-1.360118
Israel’s separation wall — the death of Palestinian statehood / Kathleen Christison
MEMO 5 May — Walls are the very embodiment, the essential symbol, of separateness and apartheid, and in Palestine, the Separation Wall gives a literal, concrete form to the Jewish exclusivism and separation represented by Israel’s governing political philosophy of Zionism. As such, the Separation Wall represents an end to any possibility of independent statehood for Palestinians in any part of their native land. The Wall facilitates the achievement of Zionism’s primary objective-the establishment and maintenance of an exclusivist Jewish state in Palestine-by separating Palestinians from the Jewish population and aiding in the slow ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/articles/guest-writers/2306-israels-separation-wall-the-death-of-palestinian-statehood
Palestinian unity and a new Middle East / Ramzy Baroud
CP 6-8 May — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response to the Hamas-Fatah deal in Cairo was both swift and predictable … But frankly, at this juncture of Middle East history, Israel is almost negligible. It no longer has a transformative influence in the region. When the Arab people began revolting, a new dimension to the Arab-Israeli conflict emerged. As the chants in Cairo’s Tahrir Square began to adopt a pan-Arab and pro-Palestinian language, it became obvious that Egypt would soon venture outside the political confines of Washington’s patronizing labels, which divide the Arabs into moderates (good) and radicals (bad). A day after the handshakes exchanged by chief Fatah representative, Azzam al-Ahmed, and Hamas’s leaders, Damascus-based Dr. Moussa Abu Marzoug and Gaza-based Mahmoud Al Zahar, the forces behind the agreement in Cairo became apparent.
http://counterpunch.org/baroud05062011.html
Palestinian factions pushed together by regional events / Michael Young
National 5 May — …The regional constraints faced by the main Palestinian organisations, Fatah and Hamas, are likely to reframe the debate over Hamas’s participation in a Palestinian government, regardless of the movement’s position on a settlement with Israel. Hamas has budged little on its ultimate stance toward peace with the Israelis. But the movement’s ambition to become the primary Palestinian interlocutor has suffered setbacks … The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and his Fatah movement have also had to recalibrate … Who gains most from reconciliation, Fatah or Hamas? It is too early to tell, but the downfall of the Mubarak regime may prove a blessing in disguise for Mr Abbas, while instability in Syria, and the potential negative repercussions for Iranian interests, could be devastating to Hamas.
http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/palestinian-factions-pushed-together-by-regional-events
U.S./ U.K.
Video: Muslims going to anti-prejudice conference kicked off plane
7 May — Memphis Imams Masudur Rahman and Mohamed Zaghloul had boarded a flight Friday morning when they were told the pilot wouldn’t fly with them aboard. They were going to Charlotte — to attend a conference intended to “address prejudice against Muslims.” … After that [3rd] security check, he said a Delta employee at the gate informed him that the pilot of the flight would not allow him on board. He says the employees in the airport were very apologetic — even angry — and said they tried repeatedly to convince the pilot that he was wrong. Rahman said he was even told that the gate agents asked the passengers if they felt uncomfortable about the two Muslim men, and reported back to the pilot that the people on board the plane were not concerned.
http://gawker.com/#!5799583
‘Jewishness’, scare tactics, and a sense of humour / Lauren Booth
London, (Pal Telegraph) 5 May — Cloak and dagger antics outside a campus in central London, Tuesday night. As the University of Westminster caved into threats of disturbance from UK based Zionists. Why? Because, Gilad Atzmon, world renowned saxophonist, author and anti-Zionist raconteur, had put together a panel to debate the following; ‘Jewishness and Israeli criminality.’ To a packed venue just round the corner from the campus the discussion, began with breathtakingly robust opening statements. Consider, as you read, the immense pressure not to take part placed on each panelist. The threats against the university of Westminster of disturbance or even violence if the talk took place. And, should you read a hackneyed report (in the Jewish Chronicle or some such useless organ). Return to this page to revisit the precise nature of the debate.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/world/uk-news/9091-lauren-booth-jewishness-scare-tactics-and-a-sense-of-humour.html
Video: Peace activists take FBI witch hunt to May Day parade
5 May — Peace activists targeted by the FBI raids on September 24, 2010 and their friends joined thousands in the annual May Day Parade last Sunday as the first group in the Free Speech Zone. They parodied the FBI raids with an FBI puppet and a covey of witches. The nine Minnesotans are joined with 14 others, mostly from Chicago all of whom have been subpoenaed at various times to report to the Federal Grand Jury in Chicago. All 23 have refused to appear and they are awaiting further action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPchFRNVqoI&feature=youtube_gdata
www.theheadlines.org (with archives, including the list for Thursday 5 May which didn’t make it onto this site with everyone so busy this week)
