and other news from Today in Palestine:
Palestinians will defend themselves
Palestinian villages launch defense campaign
Ynet 19 Sept — Popular Committees set up security unit to tour Ramallah-Nablus route, provide immediate response to ‘Price Tag’ operations, promising to ‘intervene in a non-violent manner’— In the wake of a wave of ‘price tag’ acts that have been targeting Palestinian villages over the past two weeks, the Palestinians have launched a new defense campaign Monday, dubbed ‘Refusing to die quietly’, intended to secure the Ramallah-Nablus route and provide immediate response to “price tag” activities.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4124447,00.html
Youth organization sets up settler monitoring group
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 18 Sept — Young activists have set up a coordination center to monitor Israeli settler attacks in Hebron ahead of the Palestinian bid for membership of the UN. The group, including Palestinian and international volunteers, human rights activists, lawyers, journalists, and university students, will work around the clock to follow up rights violations against Hebron citizens, grassroots organization Youth Against Settlements said Saturday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=421058
PA calls for ‘vigilance and caution’, Palestinians await week of settler provocation
PNN 19 Sept — As Israeli settlers prepare armed marches on West Bank cities in advance of Friday’s Palestinian statehood bid presentation at the UN, Palestinians say they are wary of increased attacks but unafraid … Meanwhile, settlers quoted by Yedioth Ahronot said they “won’t hesitate to use live ammunition” against Palestinians who approach illegal settlements in the West Bank, but in an effort to “make it clear to everyone who this country belongs to,” they will take the initiative and march on Tuesday from the settlements of Beit El, Kiryat Arba, and Itamar to the nearest Israeli army District Coordination Offices (DCO). Each of DCOs, however, is near a major Palestinian city: Ramallah, Hebron, and Nablus, respectively.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10678&Itemid=56
Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Exile
Israel plans 10 new settlements in the Negev
IMEMC/Agencies 19 Sept — The Israeli government is planning to approve a new project that aims at building 10 new Jewish-only settlements in the Negev, by displacing thousands of Bedouins from the area. The project was described as the largest in recent years, and was formulated by the office of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Ministry of Housing. The plan also calls for establishing suburban settlements in Arad area in the Negev, the Arabs48 news website reported … The plan is said to include a project that aims at moving military bases from the center of the country to the Negev, and constructing houses for regular soldiers and their families. The Arabs48 added that the project will be submitted for approval in the coming few weeks, and that the 10 new settlements would include nearly 1500 units
http://www.imemc.org/article/62052
IOA serves demolition notices to four Bedouins in Jordan Valley
NABLUS (PIC) 18 Sept — The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) notified four Bedouins in Wadi Al-Malih area to the north of the Jordan Valley on Sunday that their homes would be razed within three days. Local sources said that two Bedouins in each of Khirbat Tal Hima and Farsiya were served those notices, adding that Israeli occupation forces delivered the notifications.
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/ioa-serves-demolition-notices-to-four-bedouins-in-jordan-valley/
Water wells threatened of demolition
JVS 19 Sept — On 14.09.2011 the Israeli army entered the village of Al-Fara‘a and threatened to demolish six wells. At 7am, ten army jeeps arrived at a farming area of Al-Fara‘a (Area A), located approximately 20 kilometres northeast of the town of Nablus. The people of Al-Fara‘a showed the army the well construction permits issued by the Palestinian Authority, but were told these were not recognised (by the occupiers) and ensured that the wells would be destroyed. The soldiers took pictures of the wells and noted down the exact GPS coordinates, a necessary step towards the issuing of a demolition order … There are only 28 wells in the district of Tubas, which provide water for domestic and irrigation use in the districts of Tubas and parts of the district of Nablus. These wells cost between 50-100 thousand dollars each to build. If demolished, the farmers will lose their means of subsistence and over 40 thousand people will suffer from water shortages. Three wells had been destroyed in Nasaryah the previous day, and another three were demolished last week in the same village. The farmers of Al-Fara‘a are now expecting the IOF to return with a demolition order and destroy their wells.
http://www.jordanvalleysolidarity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=343
Palestinians protest racial closure of North West Jerusalem area
JERUSALEM (WAFA)18 Sept — Tens of Palestinians from North West Jerusalem demonstrated on Sunday in protest of the occupation’s tight closure caused by the separation wall, transforming it into ‘Bestenun’ area, northwest of Jerusalem. The protesters, who come from 11 villages and localities, raised banners and signs denouncing depriving them from using street 44, in spite of the Israeli high court decision allowing them to use it. They stressed that they are besieged and denied the freedom of movement, in favor of the settlers who live in the area … Jerusalemite Husam al-Sheikh said that the occupation forces created an alternative road for the Palestinians through dangerous and unsafe tunnels, which became ‘death tunnels’ due to its lack of health and traffic safety conditions, while freedom of movement over these tunnels is given to the settlers.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17396
Adnan Ghaith banished from Silwan again, one day after return home
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 17 Sept — Silwan Fatah secretary-general Adnan Ghaith has been returned to Ramallah by Israeli court order, with a new ban issued on his entering his home city of Jerusalem. A relative reported that Ghaith had been arrested on new, fabricated accusations. Ghaith had returned home just one day before, having completed the 8-month “exile” sentence placed on him by the Israeli military. The Israeli Magistrates Court sentenced Ghaith to a new period of banishment, limited to the Silwan area this time as opposed to the whole of Jerusalem city
http://silwanic.net/?p=20204
West Bank settlement celebrates opening of controversial cultural center
Haaretz 19 Sept — Knesset speaker calls inauguration of the Kiryat Arba cultural center a “political and Zionist response” to the pressures of the international community on Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/west-bank-settlement-celebrates-opening-of-controversial-cultural-center-1.385398
Violence, provocations from Israeli forces
Wadi Hilweh youth arrested and beaten by police
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 19 Sept — Israeli forces detained two youth from Wadi Hilweh district of Silwan yesterday. Murad al-Bana, 18, and Yazan Siyam, 16, were taken from the street by a passing military patrol. The two were transferred to Salah al-Din Street police station, where they were severely beaten by Israeli officers. The boys were later released, told by police not to stand on Salah al-Din Street on the grounds that it is “forbidden”.
http://silwanic.net/?p=20354
IOF soldiers fire gas canisters at women
PIC 19 Sept …In Salfit, 20 Palestinian women were treated for breathing difficulty after the IOF soldiers fired teargas canisters at a wedding they were attending on Sunday. Local sources told the PIC that the women were returning in a bus to their village of Deir Ballut from the wedding in Shibteen village when the soldiers fired the gas at them, describing the act as “savage” and unjustified since no attack was recorded on the soldiers at the time.
http://realisticbird.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/palestine-arrests-including-women-and-child-and-settlers-enter-al-aqsa-mosque/
Midnight military offense sparks clashes
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 19 Sept — A calm night in Silwan was turned to chaos by an Israeli military patrol early Sunday morning, 18 September. A jeep-mounted loudspeaker blaring high-pitched, offensive messages awoke residents at approximately 2am, sparking confrontations as people poured into the street. Violent clashes spread throughout Bir Ayyub and Ein al-Louzeh districts of Silwan. Wadi Hilweh remained relatively calm over the weekend, due largely to minimal settler movements. One incident was reported, however, of a settler using offensive language in an attempt to provoke Palestinian pedestrians.
http://silwanic.net/?p=20351
Settlers
East Jerusalem settlers beef up security fearing Palestinian violence
Haaretz 18 Sept — Police warn of march on Jewish homes in East Jerusalem neighborhood; residents say they’re prepared to shoot.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/east-jerusalem-settlers-beef-up-security-fearing-palestinian-violence-1.385073
Report: Settlers plan march to Palestinian towns
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma‘an) 18 Sept — Israeli settlers are preparing to march on Israeli army command offices and Palestinian towns in the West Bank starting Tuesday afternoon, Israeli media reported on Sunday. Dubbed “sovereignty marches,” settlers are protesting the Palestinian bid for full membership at the UN, Israeli news site Ynet said. Far-right activist Itamar Ben-Gvir told the site that settlers were “going to go out and make it clear to the Arabs who the home owners are.” … The news site quoted a settlement security officer saying they were prepared to use live ammunition on Palestinian demonstrators, as settlers felt the Israeli army were “too trusting” of Palestinian security to deter potential marches on the settlements.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=421137
Witnesses: Settlers uproot over 500 trees in Salfit
SALFIT (Ma‘an) 19 Sept — Israeli settlers uprooted over 500 olive and fig trees in Deir Istiya village in Salfit on Monday morning, witnesses said. Onlookers said residents of the Revava settlement chopped down trees using a chainsaw in Qarawat Bani Hassan village near Deir Istiya. The village mayor said the field belonged to Daoud Yousef Harb, a resident of Deir Istiya. Farmer Harb Rayan, who worked on the land, told Ma‘an that over 500 trees were uprooted and the 23-acre field was completely destroyed. Rayan blamed settlers from the nearby Revava settlement, noting that tire tracks from settler jeeps were left in the dirt.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=421568
Palestinian injured by Jewish settlers hit and run
SALFIT (WAFA) 19 Sept — A Jewish settler Sunday night ran over a Palestinian man from Jama‘een, a village north of Salfit in the northern West Bank, causing him critical injuries, said medical sources. Witnesses said the settler intentionally ran over Ahmad Ali at the southern entrance of the village and fled the scene. Ali was transferred to hospital for treatment and his condition was described as stable.
In a related matter, Jewish settlers ran over a disabled Palestinian on Sunday and abducted another on Saturday night in the West Bank.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17398
PA: Settlers shoot at homes in Burin village, Nablus
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 19 Sept — Settlers opened fire on Palestinian homes late Sunday in the village of Burin in southern Nablus, Palestinian Authority officials said. PA settlement affairs official Ghassan Doughlas told Ma‘an that armed settlers shot at the village after midnight on Sunday. The home of Said Najjar was hit in the attack, Doughlas said. Local guard committees witnessed the attack and contacted Palestinian officials.
In a separate incident on Sunday, settlers tried to raid the village of Awarta in Nablus. Israeli forces prevented the settlers from entering the village in a standoff which lasted 3 hours, witnesses said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=421501
Jewish settlers build new road south of Hebron, seizing Palestinian land
HEBRON (WAFA) 19 Sept — Jewish settlers Monday built a new dirt road and surrounded it with barbed wire, adjacent to the Israeli settlement of Sosiya, which was built illegally on Palestinians’ land south of the town of Yatta, in southern Hebron, according to witnesses. The Popular Committee Coordinator in Yatta, Rateb al-Jabour, told WAFA that the new road’s length reached almost 2.5 kilometers which took about 10 dunums of Palestinian land. He said that settlers also destroyed a number of olive trees, while they were opening the road, adjacent to Khirbet Um Nir, in Hebron governorate, [in the] south of the West Bank.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17408
Foundation: Rightists enter Al-Aqsa Mosque
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 18 Sept — Religious and right-wing Israelis entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Sunday, the Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage said. Israeli police looked on as around 18 religious and far-right Israelis entered in the morning and another 40 entered in the afternoon, the foundation said in a statement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=421324
Settler suspected of IDF base vandalism
Ynet 19 Sept — Israel Police’s International Crime Investigations Unit arrests a 27-year-old right-wing activist on suspicion of involvement in West Bank IDF base vandalism incident in early September; Event evidently a ‘price tag’ response to demolition of settlement homes
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4124334,00.html
Israeli settler rabbi slams ‘price tag’ violence
JERUSALEM (AFP) 19 Sept — A prominent settler rabbi on Monday slammed so-called “price tag” acts of violence against Palestinians and the Israeli army, saying they undermined Jewish presence in the occupied West Bank. “We condemn the actions termed ‘price tag’ against the IDF [Israeli army], mosques and innocent Arabs,” says a petition penned by Rabbi Yaakov Medan, one of the heads of the Har Etzion yeshiva, or Jewish seminary, near the southern town of Bethlehem. “These deeds are totally unacceptable from a moral and national perspective, and endanger the entire settlement movement in Judea and Samaria,” it reads, using the biblical term for the West Bank.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=421732
‘The Israeli army would never leave here; we are safe’ –Settlers react to Palestinian statehood bid / Sophie Crowe
Pal. Monitor 19 Sept — Over 300,000 Israelis live in settlements inside the West Bank – illegally under international law. What will happen to them if the UN accepts the Palestinian bid for statehood on 23 September? Will they stay, leave or fight?– …David Wilder is not worried. “We are not unfamiliar with difficult situations,” he says. “We can handle this.” … Tamar Asras agrees with Netanyahu. She is the media officer for the settlements of the Matei Binyamin Israeli regional council, which comprises the area around Ramallah and includes 42 settlements. By international law, a country must have 14 km as a buffer zone with a neighboring state, she notes.[?] Should the 1967 borders be the final border between Israel and Palestine, Israel would have no way of protecting itself from the mountainous region of the West Bank. “That would mean millions of Arabs looking down over us,” she says. “It would be suicidal.”
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/?p=1959
Activism / Solidarity
Video: Kufr Qaddoum holds funeral for illegal occupation
ISM 17 Sept — The people of Kufr Qaddoum demonstrated on Friday, September 16th, against the illegal settlement Qadumim, which is situated west of the village. They demanded access to their main road which passes adjacent to the settlement and leads out from the village. The demonstration started at 1:30 pm and consisted of around 300 villagers and four internationals from the ISM. The demonstrators carried a coffin covered by the Israeli flag which symbolized the funeral of the Israeli Occupation in spirit of the Palestinian Authority’s bid for statehood at the UN this month. The coffin was then burned.
http://palsolidarity.org/2011/09/20185/
Israelis and Palestinians celebrate independence together, Thursday, September 22, 6 PM
Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity 19 Sept — Combatants for Peace and the Solidarity movements invite you to celebrate Palestinian independence in a festive assembly of Palestinians and Israelis. An independent Palestinian state is an opportunity for all of us – an opportunity to be liberated from the Occupation, an opportunity to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian demand for liberty and self-determination, an opportunity for peace between the two peoples who share this land. Join the multitude of Israelis and Palestinians who see an independent Palestinian state as a full member of the United Nations as a reason to celebrate rather than as a threat! The event will take place this Thursday, September 22nd, at 6 PM, in the Orthodox Club in Beit Jala.
http://www.en.justjlm.org/592
Gaza siege
Palestinian killed in Gaza tunnel collapse
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 18 Sept — A young Palestinian was killed and another injured on Sunday morning, after a tunnel under Gaza’s border with the Egyptian city of Rafah collapsed. The Ambulance and Emergencies Committee in Gaza identified the deceased as Jihad Irbati … Medics say over 160 Palestinians have died in the network of underground tunnels since Israel imposed a siege on the Gaza Strip in 2006.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=421088
Medics: 2 injured as gas canister explodes in Rafah tunnel
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 19 Sept –Two Palestinians were injured on Monday when a gas canister exploded inside a smuggling tunnel running under the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. Five Palestinians were in the tunnel at the time of the explosion, with two receiving critical injuries
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=421513
Israeli troops attack northern Gaza
PressTV 19 Sept — Israeli troops have launched an attack on the northeastern Gaza Strip on the eve of the presentation of the Palestinians’ proposal for membership in the United Nations. The assault targeted an area in the northeast of Gaza City on Monday, a Press TV correspondent reported. Residential buildings were struck during the offensive, but there are no reports of any casualties so far.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/200059.html
Surgery in Dubai for Gaza’s innocent child victims
National 20 Sept – DUBAI // Bisan Al Sallaq, an 11-year-old girl from Gaza, cannot wait to see her friend Oday Al Jamal at a Dubai hospital today. Oday, also 11, underwent four hours of orthopaedic surgery yesterday to treat injuries from a Gaza bombing in 2005. “I was very worried about him and so I am happy he is OK,” said Bisan. It was Oday’s fourth operation after a blast tore off his right leg and left him with severe abdominal burns and a scarred and injured left leg.
http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/surgery-in-dubai-for-gazas-innocent-child-victims
Gaza: Khan Yunis revisited / Julie Webb-Pullman
[photos] Scoop 19 Sept — When Kia Ora Gaza was in Gaza almost a year ago, some of the team visited poor families and orphans in Gaza’s second-largest city, Khan Yunis. At that time I reported on the dire situation faced by families there, some of whom had been living in these conditions since 1948. Yesterday I returned. The intervening year has not seen an improvement, but rather, even more homeless, living in even worse conditions, as a result of even more attacks by Israel, compounded by that state’s refusal to permit the necessary building materials in to replace the houses they have been destroying for over 60 years now.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1109/S00167/julie-webb-pullman-gaza-khan-yunis-revisited.htm
Detention
PA: Israeli soldiers detain 2 children in Hebron
HEBRON (Ma’an) 18 Sept — A Ma‘an correspondent identified the detainees as Amjad Nidal Taha, 13, and Husam Hussein Abu Sneina, 12. He said they were detained at a checkpoint known to locals as Talat Abu Hadid located near the Ibrahimi mosque. The two boys were on their way to the Ibrahimyya school, near the mosque.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=421317
Israel arrests 9 Palestinians in West Bank
WEST BANK (WAFA) 19 Sept — Israeli soldiers Monday arrested nine Palestinians, including two teenagers, in several areas in the West Bank, according to security sources.
In Jenin, Israeli soldiers arrested three Palestinians early at dawn, after raiding their houses and ransacking their contents…
In Bethlehem, Israeli soldiers stormed a neighborhood and raided a house, searching it and arresting a Palestinian man.
In south Hebron, soldiers stormed Al-Oroub refugee camp, arresting five Palestinians including two teenagers, after searching their houses…
Other soldiers raided Al-Dhahiriya, a town southwest of Hebron and handed a Palestinian man a notice to appear at the Israeli intelligence office.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17403
IOF soldiers arrest Palestinian woman, six other Jerusalemites
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 19 Sept – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested a Palestinian woman from occupied Jerusalem alleging that she was planning to smuggle mobile phones to Palestinian prisoners. An IOF statement on Sunday said that the woman, who was not named, was detained in Afula, in northern occupied Palestine 1948, with four mobile phones in her possession, which she was planning to smuggle to Palestinian prisoners. The statement noted that a former Palestinian prisoner was also arrested with the same charge, adding that they would appear at Nazareth central court on Monday.
Meanwhile, Israeli security forces arrested six Jerusalemite youths in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem on Sunday at the pretext they threw stones at Jewish settlers’ houses in the Islamic suburb late last week.
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/iof-soldiers-arrest-palestinian-woman-six-other-jerusalemites/
IOF soldiers detain Hamas leader
JENIN (PIC) 19 Sept — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) detained Hamas leader Abdul Jabbar Jarrar after breaking into his home in Jenin city at dawn Monday, local sources said. They said that the IOF soldiers encircled the home of Jarrar before storming it and taking him to an unknown location. Jarrar, who works as a teacher, was previously held in Israeli prisons for several years as well as in PA jails in Ramallah.
http://mideastnews-danmike.blogspot.com/2011/09/iof-soldiers-detain-hamas-leader.html
Refugees
Hamas asks Baghdad to protect Palestinian refugees
DAMASCUS (PIC) 18 Sept — Hamas strongly denounced the Iraqi security forces for storming the Baladayat compound, mainly inhabited by Palestinian refugees, in Baghdad and arresting a number of them at dawn Saturday. The movement asked the Iraqi government in a press release on Sunday to assume its responsibility in protecting those refugees until their return to their homeland.
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/hamas-asks-baghdad-to-protect-palestinian-refugees/
Statehood bid
Poll: Palestinians support UN bid, fear consequences
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 18 Sept — A majority of Palestinians support the bid for Palestine’s membership of the UN, but expect a negative backlash, according to the results of a survey released Sunday. While 84% of Palestinians support the bid, 87% believe the US will react negatively, and 90% think Israel will respond by worsening the conditions of Palestinians, the September study by Ramallah-based research institute Near East Consulting said. Furthermore, 53% believe the vote will have a negative impact on the Palestinians, at least in the short term, and 70% are concerned about the rights of refugees.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=421205
Video: Palestinian song ‘Blue Chair’ mocks PA’s UN statehood bid / Linah Alsaafin
EI blog 17 Sept — A group of Palestinian youth activists who were sick of the western media portraying the Palestinians as a collective entity regarding the Palestinian Authority’s UN bid have produced a satirical video and song titled “Blue Chair”. In its simple sing-song lyrics, the video highlights sarcastically the fact that supporters of statehood have become obsessed with “magical” chairs rather than basic human rights. The lyrics, translated from Arabic, are below.
http://electronicintifada.net/blog/linah-alsaafin/blue-chair
Palestinian marching bands celebrate ahead of statehood bid
BETHLEHEM (Reuters) 18 Sept — Palestinians gathered in Bethlehem’s Manger square on Sunday to watch local marching bands playing in support of an expected Palestinian statehood bid at the UN later this week.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=421357
Holy Land clerics bless Palestinian UN bid
JERUSALEM (AFP) 18 Sept — Priests in the Holy Land used their sermons on Sunday to give their blessing to the Palestinians’ bid for United Nations membership. The retired Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, the first Palestinian to hold the post since the Crusades, was to preach in the Roman Catholic church in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. A joint statement by Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran priests pledged their “support for the diplomatic efforts being deployed to win international recognition for the State of Palestine… on the June 1967 borders with Jerusalem as our capital.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=421319
Hamas’ Haniyeh slams Abbas over UN bid
Ynet 18 Sept — Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh came out against the Palestinian campaign to achieve UN recognition on Sunday describing the move as a “political adventure which does not reflect national or Arab consensus.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4123918,00.html
High-stakes diplomacy to avoid diplomatic showdown
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) 19 Sept — Top Palestinian and Israeli leaders held talks in New York amid frantic diplomatic efforts to avoid a showdown over a Palestinian bid to seek full UN membership as a state. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak held an unannounced meeting a day ahead of the UN General Assembly
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=421441
Palestinian president Abbas meets UN chief, reaffirms push for statehood
Haaretz 18 Sept — Earlier Monday Abbas said ‘all hell has broken out’ over statehood bid; UN Secretary General Ban K-moon calls on Israeli and Palestinians to resume negotiations … Abbas has said he will present his application to the Security Council on Friday. With a U.S. veto looming at the Security Council, the Palestinians have said they could also go to the UN General Assembly to request an upgrade in their standing from an “entity” to “a non-member state” — a move they say is likely to pass with support from at least 126 members of the 193-member body.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinian-president-abbas-meets-un-chief-reaffirms-push-for-statehood-1.385388
PA rep: We’ll drop membership bid if EU recognizes us
BERLIN (Ynet) 18 Sept — Palestinian Authority envoy in Germany Saleh Abdel-Shafi claimed Sunday that the Palestinians will drop their bid to achieve full UN membership in exchange for European Union recognition of the PA as a UN observer state at the General Assembly. “We are still negotiating with the Europeans,” Abdel-Shafi told the Financial Times Deutschland.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4123889,00.html
Abbas predicts very difficult time for Palestinians after UN bid
Haaretz 19 Sept — PA President arrives in New York ahead of UN General Assembly; Palestinians deny reports that Netanyahu agreed to compromise on wording of Israel as a Jewish state in Mideast Quartet statement …
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/abbas-predicts-very-difficult-time-for-palestinians-after-un-bid-1.385323
Abbas: No new PA cabinet until situation ‘stable’
NEW YORK (Ma‘an) 19 Sept — The Palestinian Authority cabinet resigned in February, but Abbas swiftly reappointed Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and tasked him with reforming the Ramallah cabinet. Despite several announcements that the new cabinet was imminent, it has not yet been formed. Since February, the resigned cabinet has been acting in a caretaker capacity.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=421627
Norway FM: We will recognize Palestinian state
DPA 18 Sept — Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store believes negotiations can ‘solve’ matters between Israel and the Palestinians, but that the Palestinians have a ‘right to go to the UN’.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/norway-fm-we-will-recognize-palestinian-state-1.385141
Saudi Arabia supports Palestinian bid
RIYADH (WAFA) 19 Sept — Saudi Arabia completely supports the Palestinian bid to gain full United Nations membership of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, and puts all its political and diplomatic means under the Palestinian disposal to enable the bid to succeed, Monday said the Palestinian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Jamal Shobak
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17402
BBC poll: 49% support Palestinian bid to UN
LONDON (WAFA) 19 Sept — A BBC poll, jointly conducted with GlobeScan and surveying residents of 19 countries, Monday showed that 49% of the respondents supported the Palestinian bid to gain full United Nations membership of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, while 21% said their government should oppose it … The BBC said that the participants’ support for the Palestinian bid was strongest in Egypt, where 90% were in favor and only 9% opposed; however, the lowest level of support was in India, with 32% in favor, 25% opposed and many undecided … The Chinese were among the most enthusiastic supporters, with 56% in favor and just 9% opposed. US and the Philippines both had 36% against the resolution, but 45% of Americans and 56% of Filipinos backed recognition, said the BBC….
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17407
US Republicans submit resolution supporting Israel’s right to annex West Bank
Haaretz 19 Sept — U.S. Representative Joe Walsh (R-IL), introduced on Monday a resolution (with 30 co-sponsors) to support Israel’s right to annex the West Bank in the event that the Palestinian Authority continues to push for vote at the United Nations … He was quoted as saying that “it’s clear that the United States needs to make a very strong statement. I would argue that the president should make this statement, but he’s not capable of making it. So, the House needs to make this statement, if the [Palestinian Authority] continues down this road of trying to get recognition of statehood, the U.S. will not stand for it. And we will respect Israel’s right to annex Judea and Samaria.”
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-republicans-submit-resolution-supporting-israel-s-right-to-annex-west-bank-1.385394
Palestinian analysts continue to debate, oppose PA ‘statehood’ bid / Ali Abunimah
EI blog 19 Sept — short summaries, links to articles by Joseph Massad, Omar Barghouti, Samah Sabawi, Raja Khalidi, Khaled Elgindy, and to Facebook pages.
http://electronicintifada.net/blog/ali-abunimah/palestinian-analysts-continue-debate-oppose-pa-statehood-bid
Netanyahu’s ‘speech of truth’ at the UN / Akiva Eldar
Haaretz 19 Sept — No Palestinian leader can allow himself to give up at the outset on the right of return and alienate himself from Israel’s Palestinian citizens — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised that in his speech at the United Nations on Friday, he will “tell the truth.” This is no trivial matter when it involves a politician who invented an encounter with British soldiers that happened before he was born … The following lines are an attempt to formulate Netanyahu’s truth ahead of one more speech of a lifetime.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/netanyahu-s-speech-of-truth-at-the-un-1.385259
Observer editorial: A Palestinian state is a moral right
17 Sept — …The reality is that what those opposing the moves at the UN are demanding is that Palestinians adhere to a non-existent peace process in the good faith that at some time it might be revived in the future under American guidance. They also require Palestinians to refrain from moves that would expose the double standards of the White House and Congress which, while supporting a two-state solution in words, has not only failed to deliver one but now threatens actively to block that outcome. Palestinians, this newspaper believes, are right to be wary of the vague promise that things might be better in a revived peace process at some unspecified time in the future … already the strategy has shed important light on a Middle East peace process in which a United States that has long cast itself as an impartial broker (while vetoing every criticism of Israel raised at the UN) is a far from neutral referee, even as its influence in the region has appeared diminished.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/sep/18/observer-editorial-palestine-statehood
Obama’s historic opportunity / Gideon Levy
Haaretz 18 Sept — It is difficult now to understand Obama’s America. The man who promised change is turning out to be the father of American conservatives. With regard to Israel, there is no difference between him and the last of the celebrants at the Tea Party. We did not expect a great deal from Hillary Clinton; she can continue to recite hollow speeches about negotiations-shmegotiations – but Obama? … The riddle remains unsolved: How is it that the supposedly new America is continuing to sing the same old songs from its evil past? How is it that Obama is behaving as if he does not understand that the Palestinians will no longer agree to live another four decades without civil rights, certainly not in view of all that is taking place around them in the awakening Arab world?
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/obama-s-historic-opportunity-1.385084
Racism
Watch: Saadia – Roots in Homeland
“Where is Se’adya?” is a propaganda film made in Israel in the early 50’s. You need to see it to believe it. It’s been out in Hebrew for a while now, but today I saw it for the first time with English subtitles. I don’t imagine that the theme of civilizing the savages can have a cruder expression. (The “civilized/civilizing” are, naturally, the Ashkenazim. The dark savages are the Mizrahim.) – Racheli Gai of New Profile
http://kedma.co.il/block/archives/1906
Egypt / Turkey – Israel
Israeli diplomats return to Egypt
Ynet 19 Sept — Israeli Embassy in Cairo slowly resuming activities 10 days after riots outside its gates forced Jerusalem to recall Israeli diplomats … According to al-Ahram, four diplomats – a consul, an advisor and the chief of security and his deputy – have taken office in a new building. The report did not disclose its location … Ministry sources said that while Ambassador Yitzhak Levanon will not be returning to Egypt at this time, Monday’s developments were “a positive step.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4124473,00.html
‘Random’ Egypt arrests after Israeli Embassy attack
CAIRO (Reuters) 19 Sept — Egyptian rights groups have accused Egyptian authorities of carrying out random arrests after this month’s attack on the Israeli embassy in Cairo, citing it as another example of a return to the ways of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=421683
How Egyptian-Israeli border incidents used to be handled / Issandr El Amrani
Arabist 16 Sept — In the coverage of the current state of Egyptian-Israeli relations, there is often a lack of historical memory of previous border incidents involving Israelis shooting Egyptian border guards. By some accounts, there are have been over 50 deaths of Egyptian guards or soldiers at the hands of Israelis (as well as a much smaller number at the hands of Palestinians) since the Camp David treaty was signed. Under Mubarak, these were most often swept under the carpet, so it’s not altogether surprising that anger over the latest shootings was intense when Mubarak was no longer there: it’s as if Egyptians were making up for lost time.
http://www.arabist.net/blog/2011/9/16/how-egyptian-israeli-border-incidents-used-to-be-handled.html
Egypt bans export of palm fronds ahead of Jewish holiday of Sukkot
Haaretz 19 Sept — Egypt has barred the export of palm fronds – used ceremonially in the upcoming Sukkot holiday – to Israel and to Jewish communities abroad, the Agriculture Ministry has learned. The move by the Egyptian government comes just weeks before the fall holiday when the lulavs are in demand. In the past, Israel has imported about 700,000 palm fronds a year prior to Sukkot, representing about 40 percent of the total demand for them every year here.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/egypt-bans-export-of-palm-fronds-ahead-of-jewish-holiday-of-sukkot-1.385247
Israel to withdraw police representative in Turkey
Haaretz 19 Sept — Public Security Minister’s decision motivated by lack of working relationships and concerns for the police representative’s safety.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-to-withdraw-police-representative-in-turkey-1.385341
Turkey: We thwarted Israeli NATO request
Ynet 18 Sept — Speaking to CNN Turk, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu claims Ankara had previously threatened to veto Israeli request to open NATO Mediterranean Dialogue initiative office in Brussels
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4123953,00.html
Turkish FM walks out on Ayalon speech in NYC
Ynet 19 Sept — Ahmet Davutoğlu leaves international anti-terror conference as Israeli deputy FM gears to address participants — Ayalon’s personal history with the Turkish official was muddied in 2010, when he summoned Turkish Ambassador to Israel Ahmet Oğuz Çelikkol to the Foreign Ministry to reprimand him over an anti-Israel Turkish TV show and made him sit on a chair lower than his own – an act perceived as a deliberate humiliation of Ankara’s diplomat.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4124506,00.html
Anti-Israel Turks erroneously hack into Palestinian sites
Ynet 19 Sept — Turkish hackers post anti-Israel messages on dozens of websites, only to learn that sites belong to Palestinians … The confusion was caused due to the fact that the Palestinian sites, which have a .ps web suffix, use Israeli web servers.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4124201,00.html
Turkey eyes Egypt as new regional ally
Ynet 19 Sept — Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu says new power alliance will be ‘a true axis of democracy,’ claims Israel can’t blame anyone but itself for isolation
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4124130,00.html
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