Congress mulls closing PLO mission in Washington in light of UN bid
Haaretz 16 Sept — Congress considers cutting PA aid; former terrorism finance analyst at U.S. Treasury accuses PA President Abbas of being corrupt, recommends that Abbas presidential budget be scrutinized and power of PA PM Fayyad be increased … The Americans were frustrated that years of financial aid, currently comprising 600 million dollars annually, intended to promote peace negotiations and stability did not yield many material results.
Israeli report calls for continued aid to PA
WASHINGTON (Reuters) 16 Sept — Israel is urging the international community to continue aid to the Palestinians just as US lawmakers are contemplating an aid cutoff if the Palestinians press for statehood at the United Nations. An Israeli government website on Thursday carried a report saying the Palestinian Authority already faced economic and fiscal woes, in part due to a decline in donor aid. “Israel calls for ongoing international support for the PA budget and development projects that will contribute to the growth of a vibrant private sector, which will provide the PA an expanded base for generating internal revenue,” said the Israeli report.
And more news from Today in Palestine:
Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing
Israel moves to retroactively okay settlement houses built on Palestinian land
Haaretz 16 Sept — Israel announced on Thursday the initiation of a municipal plan that would retroactively legitimize structures in one of the largest West Bank settlements, and which were built on private Palestinian land. … Over 58% of Ofra’s structures are built on private Palestinian land, a fact which has delayed potential construction plans.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-moves-to-retroactively-okay-settlement-homes-built-on-palestinian-land-1.384822
IOA plans to uproot Jahaleen Arabs out of E. Jerusalem
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 16 Sept — The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has issued a military order Thursday of removing the Jahaleen Arabs out of their homes in the city so as to build and expand new settlements, Hebrew sources revealed. In an interview with channel 1 in the Israeli television, the spokesman of the Israeli “civil” administration said that the Jahaleen Arabs residing in Alaizariah suburb in occupied Jerusalem will be moved out of their homes because they pose “security threat” to the area. He added that new Israeli settlements will be built on the hundreds of thousands of square meters of the lands of the Jahaleen Arabs that they currently use as pastures for their livestock. Dozens of Bedouin families are dwelling in the area, but they said they don’t know where to go in case the IOA carried out the order.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7COoWJcr%2feYiO0YjzWjpAK5DxtWpRdZWybCO%2bqmGA%2bta6orMmN8BDCHMVhIvPBkJ5%2btCO3PFUPgmATbvrsHK9skkqKsNaonI9Y5hdydW6l1U%3d
Group: Israel’s Bedouin relocation may bring violence
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 16 Sept — An advocacy group for Arab-Israelis warned Thursday that Israel’s plan to rehouse Negev Bedouin communities demonstrated neglect and could spark violence … Mossawa Center said in a statement that the plan was “unilateral” and “neglects” the rights of Bedouin citizens of Israel … The Haifa-based center said the plan involves “forcibly moving two-thirds of the Bedouin population in the Negev to cramped towns which cannot support the traditional agricultural lifestyles of the Bedouin community.” Mosawwa said a protest outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s house after the decision would be followed with more demonstrations.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=420677
In would-be Palestinian state, a dose of reality / Tom Perry
JORDAN VALLEY (Reuters) 15 Sept — In another world, the tented village at al-Hadidiya might mark the farthest reaches of a future Palestine. Instead, the herding community living here talk about the limits of that dream … Even if Palestinian leaders win UN recognition of statehood this month, the people of al-Hadidiya say it will not improve their lives, squeezed by the rules of Israeli occupation … “Remaining on the land is our first and last goal,” said Abdul Rahim Bisharat, the community’s official representative, his head covered by the black-and-white scarf long a symbol of the Palestinian struggle. “The weak-spirited people left, the last of them in 2008. Those who remain have taken a decision: no more forced expulsion.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=420439
Israel razes three buildings, roads in Jordan Valley village of Aqaba
NABLUS, (PIC)– Israeli bulldozers tore down three structures as well as main roads in a Palestinian village in the northern Jordan valley as the Israeli army has declared the area a closed military zone. Journalists were prevented from taking photos as the force raised the home and two shacks of a local there in Aqaba village near Tubas on Thursday morning. Excavated also were the western road to the village and a street and telephone poles near the demolition site. Aqaba municipality head Sami Sadiq told our correspondent that all residents of the village have received demolition notices, including the local mosque, school, nursery, and health clinic.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7EC%2bU44%2bpdo7DDxJaua3dQLRLj98h77hCoU7Hn1nGVsK558CGoLtBk9PjOe3%2frr1A5vKvfoRMhViFoSiUSOXwH54z0LKWDre%2fUlnGbeaYPNs%3d
Israel announces suspensions of OPT demolitions and promptly demolishes several structures
AIC 14 Sept — During the first days of September, the Israeli military administration announced its decision to temporarily suspend demolitions in the occupied Palestinian territory, in recognition of the double standard applied for years to Palestinians and Jewish settlers. Nevertheless two days after the international media picked up this news, the same Israeli authorities ordered several demolitions in the regions of Hebron, Nablus and Jerusalem.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/news/3820-israel-announces-suspension-of-opt-demolitions-and-promptly-demolishes-several-structures-
Violence – from settlers and Israeli forces
Settlers assault Palestinian child after kidnapping him south of Jenin
JENIN (PIC) 16 Sept — A gang of young Jewish settlers attacked on Thursday night a young Palestinian boy in a village to south of Jenin. They then took him to the dismantled Haumash settlement and assaulted him before releasing him late at night. Locals said that a group of settlers ambushed Khalil Hamamrah, 16 years, at the fringes of the village, they kidnapped and assaulted him before the IOF transferred him to the PA’s liaison office.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7hxNMF9QAcy99Z2KkPRO4oH6mHVCzEcSB1s0sujhdGayIgQ94kt1kujaKKpS4pY1rZ27iZP3HpYT3FqnpSTovqaU%2bvxJdbG0DyTLj8aiuTjc%3d
Israel storms Nablus village after settler assault
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 16 Sept — Israeli settlers assaulted a Nablus village Friday morning, leading to clashes with Israeli forces injuring 11 Palestinians. After the settlers were removed by Israeli police, Israeli forces raided Qusra village injuring six villagers with rubber bullets, a Ma’an correspondent said. Forces surrounded a house sheltering European press agency cameraman Alaa Bedarneh [who] was filming the earlier settler attack, the correspondent reported. Three children inside the house suffered tear gas inhalation during the military raid, and Bedarneh was injured in the hand, he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=420705
PNN reveals settlers’ crimes against Palestinian citizens
PNN 15 Sept — When Israeli settlers increase their attacks against Palestinian citizens in the West Bank, they usually observe their movements first before attacking them in remote areas. Iyad Sanafra is one of many Palestinians who endured the settlers’ aggression. Snafra, a Palestinian worker from Balata refugee camp in Nablus, was coming home on Wednesday exhausted after a long day of work in Qalqiliya. Instead of meeting his family, Snafra was attacked by a group of violent settlers near Yitzhar settlement near Nablus, and Snafra was taken to the hospital. According to medics, Sanafra’s upper jaw was broken and he is now staying in the operating room.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10676&Itemid=64
Weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (8-14 Sept)
* IOF continued to attack Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip – Two fishermen were wounded. IOF arrested and interrogated 8 fishermen, including two children, but released later. * IOF continued to use force against peaceful protests in the West Bank. Dozens of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation. *IOF conducted 51 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. IOF arrested 23 Palestinians, including 10 children. IOF arrested and interrogated 3 Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip, but released them later … * IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. IOF demolished an under-construction house and shop of car parts in Beit Ummar town, north of Hebron. IOF handed notices to 8 Palestinian families ordering them to evacuate their farms in Hebron. Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian civilian vehicles traveling on the main roads, and a Palestinian civilian was injured. Israeli settlers uprooted 222 trees. Israeli settlers attempted to burn two cars in Burqa village, east of Ramallah. [details follow]
http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7705
Detention
IOF troops storm Ramle jail, ransack ward and damage captives’ belongings
RAMALLAH (PIC) 16 Sept — The IOF troops have stormed Wednesday night the patients’ ward at the Ramle jail and carried out provocative inspection in the captives’ room after detaining them at the kitchen. Yasser Nazzal, who is serving an imprisonment term in the jail, said to his lawyer that the IOF troops stormed the rooms Wednesday night and dismantled the captives’ beds and mixed their belongings together in a very aggressive and provocative manner without paying any attention to the bad conditions of the captives, some of whom are disabled, adding that the operation continued till 10 a.m. the following day.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7IfDrGTtUk8OnUgiVIKwNKTPFmIo50b6NjHUN8Iguv5XeMlIO9xxJJYr1soNB0dg0Gq5SoRbK%2bkkLyD%2fDQVEtsU%2fKMIQx6dsOVzY%2bvjNx%2bOE%3d
Report: Palestinians from Galilee charged with terror offense
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma‘an) 15 Sept — Israeli police filed charges against five Palestinian-Israelis from a Galilee village on Thursday, accusing the group of plotting attacks on their local police station, Israeli media said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=420357
War criminals
UK amends law to protect Israelis from prosecution
LONDON (Reuters) 15 Sept — A British law limiting citizens’ rights to seek the arrest of foreign politicians for alleged war crimes took effect on Thursday, removing a thorn in British-Israeli relations … Under the old law, private individuals could start criminal prosecutions, including for international war crimes, by applying to a magistrate for an arrest warrant. Israel demanded Britain change the law in late 2009 after reports that former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni would have risked arrest on war crimes charges over the 2008-9 Gaza offensive, had she not canceled a visit to London.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=420649
Gaza
Video: Israel continues plighting [?] Gaza fishermen
PressTV 16 Sept – Israel’s Navy continues patrolling the Gaza Strip’s coastline around the clock to enforce Tel Aviv’s all-out blockade on the coastal sliver and a related 3-mile (4.82-kilometer) fishing limit, Press TV has reported. The strict surveillance, which includes recurrent use of violence, has left hundreds of Gazan fishermen jobless, Press TV’s correspondent Yousef al-Helou reported from the enclave.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/199400.html
Fighter dies of wounds suffered in January 2009
IMEMC 16 Sept — Palestinian medical sources reported that a fighter of the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, died on Friday at dawn of serious wounds suffered during the three week Israeli war on Gaza that started on December 27, 2008. The fighter was identified as Khaled Suleiman Kaware’, from Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip
http://www.imemc.org/article/62042
Turkish charity to build orphanage in besieged Gaza
Turkish Cansuyu Relief and Solidarity Association will build an orphanage in Jabalia city in Gaza Strip. Foundation of the orphanage was laid with a ceremony on Friday. The Chairman of the association Mustafa Koylu said that Cansuyu had been helping people in Gaza since Israel’s embargo began, adding that they distributed food and clothes to poor families. Koylu said that the orphanage would cost 1.1 million USD, and serve 600 orphans.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=78951
Activism / Solidarity
Palestinians march in Bil‘in in support of UN bid
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 16 Sept – Bil‘in residents marched in the Ramallah-area village in the weekly anti-fence, anti-settlements protest on Friday carrying and chanting slogans in support of Palestine’s bid to seek membership in the United Nations … Similar protests took part in several other West Bank villages where residents hold weekly demonstrations against the barrier Israel is building on their land. The protests took place in Ni‘lin and Nabi Saleh, in the Ramallah area, and in Ma‘sara, in the Bethlehem area. A number of protesters were hurt in the various incidents.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17370
Video: Nabi Saleh weekly demo 16 September 3:51 minutes
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2011/09/16/nabi-saleh-weekly-demo-sept-16-2011-video/
In Pictures – Friday 16 Sept demos in West Bank
Nabi Saleh (including arrest of Ashraf Abu Rahmah, gassing of asthmatic Bahaa Tamimi), Ma‘sara – and settler attacks in Qusra
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2011/09/16/september-16-2011-a-friday-of-demos-in-west-bank-palestine/
Video: Battle over Israel’s separation barrier
NY Times Sept — Produced by Stephen Farrell — Israel has been building a barrier around and through the West Bank since 2002. Israel’s government says it protects against terrorism. Palestinians argue it is an attempt to seize territory. Focuses on Bil‘in in particular. [very odd that the Times, like other media, insists that the wall is necessary for security and never mentions that hundreds of Palestinians go through, around and over the barrier all the time to work in Israel, and don’t carry bombs though they easily could if they wanted to.]
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/09/15/world/middleeast/100000001055777/battle-over-israels-separation-barrier.html
Subway station billboard battle is latest flareup in Israeli-Palestinian conflict
NY Daily News 16 Sept — A subway station billboard war is the latest flareup in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The dispute began with posters urging an end to U.S. military aid for Israel, prompting a City Council member to demand an end to the ads – and spawning an upcoming series of counter-ads.
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/09/16/2011-09-16_mideast_conflict_goes_underground.html
Hundreds rally in New York for Palestinian rights
NEW YORK (Reuters) 16 Sept — Hundreds of people rallied in New York City on Thursday in a show of support to the Palestinian people. The rally comes one week before Palestinian leaders are expected to call for full UN membership during the United Nations General Assembly. Demonstrators from various groups including the International Action Center, Code Pink, Al-Awda, Socialist Action, Jewish Voice For Peace, and NYC Queers Against Israeli Apartheid braved the rain to show their support for the Palestinians. The rally began in Times Square and demonstrators later marched through Midtown Manhattan to the United Nations.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=420690
Naksa Day protester loses battle in military court
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 16 Sept — 26-year-old Khaled Zwahre is crouched in front of an Israeli army jeep, clapping encouragingly to his two friends backed against the vehicle. It is June 5, or Naksa Day, 2011, marking the “setback” of 44 years of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Around 300 Palestinians are gathered with Zwahre at the Qalandiya checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem … On Wednesday Zwahre was given a six-month jail term, a 5,000 shekel fine, and a four-year suspended sentence under which he will be immediately re-imprisoned for a repeat offense. The Ramallah-based odd jobbing painter was found guilty of participating in an unauthorized demonstration, obstructing an officer on duty, and throwing stones. “We admitted the first charge,” Zwahre’s lawyer Nery Ramati told Ma‘an. “Every demonstration in the territories is unauthorized.” … No one else at Qalandiya that day was charged, the lawyer said, but Zwahre annoyed the border police, and was an easy target while sitting in the road.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=420659
Statehood bid
Abbas: Palestinians to seek full UN membership
Haaretz 16 Sept — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Friday that the Palestinians plan to approach the United Nations Security Council for full recognition, clarifying that they are seeking to delegitimize the occupation, not Israel, by taking the UN route for Palestinian statehood. He stressed that Israel is a legitimate state, but that by continuing to build in the settlements and rejecting the internationally recognized borders of a future Palestinian state, they are engaging in illegitimate activity.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/abbas-palestinians-to-seek-full-un-membership-1.384943
Netanyahu: Israel will agree to upgrade of Palestinian status, not statehood
Haaretz 16 Sept — Netanyahu decides to address the UN General Assembly next Friday, the day the Palestinians will submit their statehood bid … Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassadors of five key EU members Thursday to rebuke them over their countries’ policy on the Palestinians’ bid for UN recognition as a state.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/netanyahu-israel-will-agree-to-upgrade-of-palestinian-status-not-statehood-1.384716
Trappings of state in place as Palestinians head to UN
RAMALLAH (AFP) 15 Sept — At the headquarters of the Palestinian postal service in the West Bank city of Ramallah, excitement is growing over the bid to see UN membership for a Palestinian state. The post office has already inked a deal to begin extricating its delivery system from Israeli supervision, and is eagerly preparing for the reality that could emerge after the Palestinians go to the United Nations next week to seek full membership for their state.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/September/middleeast_September280.xml§ion=middleeast&col=
VIDEO: Taking the pulse on the streets of Tel Aviv and Ramallah
NBC Nightly News 16 Sept — Palestinians are planning to make a push for recognition as an independent state at the United Nations next week. While Israelis and Palestinians are divided on the subject, there is some nuances in their opinions. NBC’s Paul Goldman and Lawahez Jabari took to the street in Tel Aviv and Ramallah, respectively, to check the pulse of both Jews and Arabs on the looming U.N. vote.
http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/16/7795099-taking-the-pulse-on-the-streets-of-tel-aviv-and-ramallah
IDF boosts W. Bank presence ahead of UN bid
Ynet 16 Sept — The IDF Central Command is raising its alertness level in the West Bank ahead of next week’s expected Palestinian bid for statehood recognition in the UN. Reserve troops from three regiments were mobilized in the last week alone in a bid to reinforce troops deployed in the West Bank.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4123131,00.html
UNRWA chief on statehood and beyond
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 13 Sept — As the debate intensifies over the bid for recognition at the UN of a Palestinian state, questions are being raised about UNRWA, the UN agency mandated to bring education, health, relief and social services to as many as five million refugees pending a resolution of their plight. What will the future hold for refugees following the statehood discussions? And what about the continuation of services provided to refugees? For answers, Ma‘an turned to the Commissioner General of UNRWA, Filippo Grandi.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=419802
Palestinians seek statehood, but Gaza is forgotten
GAZA CITY (AP) 16 Sept — In the Palestinians’ high-profile bid to seek statehood at the United Nations, half the future nation they envision has been all but forgotten. Residents of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip are watching frustrated from the sidelines as the West Bank-based leadership pushes for the long-held dream. The move for U.N. recognition has created a quandary for the Islamic militant Hamas, which violently overran Gaza three years ago and set up a rival government there. They can’t publicly oppose the idea of statehood, but they are wary of giving a boost to their West Bank rival, internationally backed President Mahmoud Abbas. They also don’t want to appear to recognize Israel, as the move implicitly does by calling for a state only on territories captured in 1967.
http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110916/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_palestinians_gaza
Palestinian factions: PLO step to seek seat in the UN threatens the cause
DAMASCUS (PIC) 16 Sept — The Damascus- based central leadership of the Palestinian factions alliance has strongly criticized Thursday the PLO move to seek a seat at the UN, stressing that the step was far from any national strategy for liberation and resistance.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7mOEzUtXaJfgguFCroXWRRhcA3CACQofWkQPeygpzmX5SyGRpz%2fnmXqarRB%2fD9XDsae3Y0JMABMSIMD3XBJDJMCldWJkmsv9zE0vpfwq3HUM%3d
China press warns US against Palestinian UN veto
BEIJING (AFP) 16 Sept — A Chinese state-run newspaper on Friday warned of a spike in tensions in the Middle East if the United States vetoed the Palestinian bid for membership of the United Nations next week … “If the US chooses to fly in the face of world opinion and block the Palestine UN bid next week, not only will Israel become more isolated but tensions in the region will be heightened even more,” said the China Daily. “The majority of the international community deems an independent state as the inalienable right of the Palestinians,” the English-language daily said in an editorial, echoing Beijing’s official position on the issue.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=420735
Israel’s relations with Egypt, Jordan, Turkey
Israel summons Egypt ambassador over conflicting peace treaty remarks
Haaretz 16 Sept — Foreign Ministry source says Yasser Rida asked to explain Egypt Prime Minister’s remarks that peace treaty should be revised; earlier, Egypt military council said treaty should be preserved.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-summons-egypt-ambassador-over-conflicting-peace-treaty-remarks-1.384911
Obama to meet with Erdogan over damaged ties with Israel
Reuters 16 Sept — U.S. President Barack Obama will meet Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan at the UN General Assembly in New York next week and urge him to repair relations with Israel, as tensions continue to rise between the two key U.S. allies in the region. White House National Security Council spokesman Ben Rhodes told reporters that Obama also anticipated a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the president’s three-day U.N. visit which starts late on Monday.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/obama-to-meet-with-erdogan-over-damaged-ties-with-israel-1.384949
Anti-Israel protest marks Turkey football clash
ISTANBUL (AFP) 16 Sept — About 300 anti-Israel protesters gathered Thursday in central Istanbul as Turkish football side Besiktas took on Maccabi Tel Aviv in a Europa League match. Demonstrators chanted: “Murderer Israel, get out of Turkey” and “Destruction of Israel, freedom for Palestine” while holding aloft Palestinian flags on Taksim square … Tight security measures were in place ahead of the match in the Turkish city
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=420679
Israel ambassador returns to Jordan after protests
JERUSALEM (Reuters) 16 Sept — Israel’s ambassador to Jordan returned to Amman on Friday after he was temporarily withdrawn over fears that demonstrations outside the embassy would turn violent, a foreign ministry spokesman said. Hundreds of Jordanian protesters demanded on Thursday their government close the mission and scrap a peace treaty with Israel.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=420724
Why Jordan’s king lashed out at Israel
Haaretz 16 Sept — …it appears Abdullah was reacting to a statement from Israel. Specifically, he was reacting to something said by Maj. Gen. (res. ) Uzi Dayan, a Likud member and chairman of the national lottery, Mifal Hapayis … “Ultimately,” [Dayan] said, “the best thing is a Palestinian Hashemite kingdom headed by the king of Jordan,” with its capital in Amman and consisting of three provinces: the current kingdom of Jordan, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. He later confirmed this to Haaretz. Thus Dayan effectively told the surprised audience that Jordan should be the Palestinian state, with the West Bank and Gaza as its provinces
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/why-jordan-s-king-lashed-out-at-israel-1.384722
Other news
PA did not buy military equipment from Israel, says official
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 16 Sept — The Palestinian Authority did not purchase military equipment from Israel as claimed by Israeli reports, Thursday said Adnan Damiri, spokesman for the Palestinian security forces. He said in a press release that the PA did not buy any military equipment from Israel in the past or the present, and all equipment of the Palestinian security forces were bought or delivered from Europe or Russia and they enter the Palestinian Territory, with a prior and complicated Israeli administrative approval, through Israeli ports. He said Israel usually impedes delivering the military equipment to the PA and usually withholds them.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17365
Palestinians skirmish over renaming of blocked Hebron street
PNN 15 Sept — In a bizarre incident outside of the entrance to the Israeli settlement inside the southern West Bank city of Hebron, Palestinians with spray paint skirmished over whether to rename al-Shuhada Street Apartheid Street. “This is the street of the martyrs!” yelled one youth — al-Shuhada means “the martyrs” — after tearing down a sign belonging to the organizers of the event. “It is for all the injured and dead. This street is for all their brothers and sisters, for all Palestinians. We will not change the name.” The youth, who would not give his name, then used black spray paint to cover tags reading “Welcome to Apartheid Street,” writing :”al-Shuhada Street” next to them. Organizers of the event identified him as Azmi al-Shoukhi and said they were sure he was a collaborator with the Israeli army.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10673&Itemid=56
South Africa: Development Squad to represent country in Palestine
allAfrica 15 Sept — The South African Development team is in camp ahead of two international friendly matches against the Palestine National team. The matches will be played on Wednesday, 21 September in Ramallah and on Sunday, 24 September 2011 in Bethlehem and is in support of the war-torn nation of Palestine.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201109160153.html
Ghana renews diplomatic relations with Israel
Ynet 15 Sept — Nearly four decades after severing ties in wake of Yom Kippur War, Israeli Embassy reopens in Accra — “It’s hard to describe the sense of pride we felt, standing here with a local orchestra playing the anthem and seeing the flag flying in the background,” newly appointed Ambassador to Ghana Sharon Bar-Lee told Ynet on Wednesday.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4122599,00.html
Former IDF chief reveals new details of Israel’s nuclear program
Haaretz 16 Sept — Tzvi Tzur preceded Yitzhak Rabin as chief of staff and was Defense Minister Dayan’s deputy in the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War .,, There were visits by the Americans, who came to Dimona to check us out. There was total pressure. To pass the review was an extremely difficult problem, until the Americans themselves decided that they did not want to make a mockery of themselves and canceled the visits. It was a very acute yearly visit.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/former-idf-chief-reveals-new-details-of-israel-s-nuclear-program-1.384889
Why are Israelis moving to Germany?
Haaretz 16 Sept — Thousands of Israelis, among them many artists, have chosen to live in Berlin because of its relaxed atmosphere and relatively low cost of living, even if it means living in a country with a fraught history.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/why-are-israelis-moving-to-germany-1.384831
Analysis / Opinion
Israel does not want a Palestinian state, period / Gideon Levy
Haaretz 15 Sept — On Wednesday, a coalition of Israeli peace organizations published a list of 50 reasons for Israel to support a Palestinian state. Assuming that you only accept five of them, isn’t that enough? What exactly is the alternative, now that the heavens are closing in around us? — What will we tell the world next week, at the UN? What could we say? Whether in the General Assembly or the Security Council, we will be exposed in all our nakedness: Israel does not want a Palestinian state. Period. And it doesn’t have a single persuasive argument against the establishment and the international recognition of such a state. So what will we say, that we’re opposed?
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/israel-does-not-want-a-palestinian-state-period-1.384559
Diplomatic maelstrom / Issacharoff and Harel
Haaretz 16 Sept — Israel is facing its most complex strategic challenges in decades. The return of Israeli envoys from the region’s three most important countries is only the beginning.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/diplomatic-maelstrom-1.384826
Analysis: Turkey tough talk boosts Mideast stature
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) 16 Sept — Treated to a hero’s welcome in Egypt this week and flexing his military muscle in the eastern Mediterranean, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is basking in growing popularity in an Arab world being transformed by revolution and war. After years of being cold-shouldered by the club of European countries it has sought to join, Ankara has been strengthening its role as regional leader while also unleashing invective against Israel — a move which has rapidly bolstered its standing in the Muslim world.
http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/world/12005386013142/analysis-turkey-tough-talk-boosts-mideast-stature/
Twilight Zone: An organic bond / Gideon Levy
Haaretz 16 Sept — Six years ago, Anna Weekes-Majavu donated a kidney to a Palestinian toddler. Since then, the South African-born peace activist has been prevented by the Israeli authorities from seeing the child whose life she saved.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/twilight-zone-an-organic-bond-1.384830
groups.yahoo.com/group/f_shadi (listserv)
www.theheadlines.org (archive)
