The latest on the prisoner release

Report: Turkey will host all exiled Palestinian prisoners
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 14 Oct — Turkey will take in the 40 Palestinian prisoners set for exile abroad as part of an exchange deal between Hamas and Israel, Turkish media reported on Friday. Israel refused to deport the prisoners — part of the first round of 450 set be released this week — to Egypt, Lebanon or Syria, according to the report in Turkish daily Hurriyet.

PNN obtains names of 450 Palestinian prisoners to be freed
PNN 14 Oct — According to Gaza-based activist Hani Silman Salameh, the following list has been confirmed by the Israeli Prisons Authority. It matches the handwritten lists televised by Hamas-affiliated al-Aqsa TV in the Gaza Strip and the lists on the al-Aqsa TV website. The names, places of origin, dates of arrest, and release status [released, exiled abroad, exiled, released with conditions] of the 450 prisoners to be freed are:

Israel-Palestinian swap due in Sinai next week
TEL AVIV (Reuters) 13 Oct — Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit will be freed from five years of solo captivity in the Gaza Strip sometime next week in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. The swap is expected to take place on Egyptian territory at locations somewhere in the Sinai Desert, as yet undisclosed. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has facilitated other prisoner swaps, has offered its services and is discussing this with Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers … No details of the timing and choreography have been made public. But the approximate mechanics of the exchange can be sketched from details gleaned from Palestinian and Israeli sources. The handover will begin with carefully timed, simultaneous moves somewhere in Egypt. But Shalit and the men and women for whom he is being traded are not likely to even come close to seeing each other.

Hamas: Barghouti part of prisoner exchange until ‘last minute’
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 14 Oct — Palestinian officials on Thursday jousted over the terms of a prisoner exchange deal agreed between Hamas and Israel …  many prominent figures in Israeli jail were left out of the deal, and some 200 of those freed will not be able to return to their homes. On Thursday, sources close to Hamas told Ma’an that Israel reneged on an agreement to release charismatic Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti “at the last minute.”

Jewish terror victims group to petition Israel High Court against prisoner exchange
Haaretz 14 Oct — …The petition is to be submitted early next week, only after Israel officially releases the names of prisoners to be included in the first stage of the swap. Individual families of terror victims may also submit petitions, in addition to that of the Almagor Terror Victims Association. High Court approval of the petitions against the release, or the refusal of President Shimon Peres to pardon them, could thwart implementation of the exchange deal. However, in the past the courts have turned down petitions by families seeking to prevent the en masse release of prisoners, and presidents have rubber-stamped such releases.

Shalit captors to keep quiet after prisoners exchanged
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 14 Oct — One of the groups that helped capture Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit said Friday his location and circumstances of capture would not be revealed even after next week’s exchange of prisoners. Popular Resistance Committees spokesman Abu Mujahed said the circumstances of Shalit’s capture would be kept secret, despite earlier promising to release a video of the captive. Hamas leader Ismail Radwan, meanwhile, said the Islamist movement was satisfied with the swap deal … Radwan added that Hamas did not have any knowledge of the place Shalit was being kept. It is a security matter and the PRC has the final say to reveal or not reveal where he was kept, he said

Tel Aviv: ‘Price tag’ in Rabin memorial
[with video of vandalism] Ynet 14 Oct — First reprisal following Shalit deal? Man whose parents were murdered in terrorist attack arrested on suspicion of vandalizing Yitzhak Rabin monument in Tel Aviv: Words ‘Price Tag’ ‘Free Yigal Amir’ sprayed in scene … The security guard told Huldai he was caught as he was trying to escape by taxi. He said Schijveschuurder told him he committed the act in protest of the release of terrorists as part of the Shalit deal.

Detained in the ’70s –what Nael Barghouti missed
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 14 Oct — When Israel arrested Nael Barghouthi, CDs, Windows and Walkmans had not been invented yet … There was no such thing as DNA fingerprinting. Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year presidency had yet to begin. Moammar Gadhafi, however, was already ruling Libya. The Berlin wall was still standing … After more than 12,000 days behind bars, Nael has spent more of his life in prison than free. Accused of being a Fatah operative, he is known as the dean of prisoners … South African apartheid was dismantled during Nael’s imprisonment, but the veteran prisoner will return to a West Bank fractured by a huge new wall and splintered by Israeli-only roads connecting dozens of new Jewish-only settlements.

And more news from Today in Palestine:

Haniyeh: Gaza paid ‘dear price’ to free prisoners
GAZA CITY (Reuters) 14 Oct — …Ismail Haniyeh said Friday that “Our people today will harvest the fruit of one destination of Jihad and steadfastness. “Gaza has paid a dear price of blood and martyrs and agonies in actions the occupation had carried under the slogan of freeing Shalit,” Haniyeh told a crowd of worshipers before prayers in a Gaza City mosque. “The great Palestinian people paid all that price in order to free the prisoners because we believe that the value of man is derived from the value of the homeland.”

Ahead of prisoner swap, disappointment
DHEISHEH REFUGEE CAMP, WEST BANK (WaPo) 14 Oct — During the fleeting moments Amoune Abed Rabou thought her son would be among the hundreds of Palestinian inmates Israel has agreed to release next week in exchange for an abducted soldier, she wept with joy. The jubilation was short-lived for the 73-year-old, one of many Palestinians in the West Bank who say the militant group Hamas, which negotiated the prisoner swap, favored its own at the expense of its rival, Fatah. The overwhelming majority of the 450 prisoners Israel has agreed to free next week are Hamas members, a Palestinian official familiar with the details of the swap said Friday. Abed Rabou’s son Issa, a Fatah prisoner, is not on the release list, she learned Wednesday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/ahead-of-prisoner-swap-disappointment/2011/10/14/gIQABR3bkL_story.html

1,000 Palestinian prisoners to be freed, 4,200 to remain / Richard Silverstein
Tikun Olam 14 Oct — The joy and celebration of 450 Palestinian families and one Israeli are welcome and long overdue.  Their release will be followed by a second of 550 prisoners in a few weeks (Maan has the entire list here).  But we should also spare some words and sympathy for the 4,000 Palestinian prisoners who will be left behind …  But there is one prisoner in particular I want to mention tonight. He is someone I’ve written about extensively: Dirar Abusisi.  The one the Shabak claims is Hamas’ rocket engineer, the one who supposedly knew where Gilad Shalit was hidden [and the one abducted from a train in Ukraine].  Abusisi isn’t going home … What’s important about the news that he is on hunger strike is that this further disproves the charges of the Shabak about Abusisi.  Remember they claimed he was the go-to guy for Hamas’ rocket program
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2011/10/13/1000-palestinian-prisoners-to-be-freed-6000-remain/

Hamas rejects criticism of prisoner swap terms
GAZA CITY (AFP) 14 Oct — Gaza’s Hamas rulers on Friday rejected criticism from the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority over the terms of a prisoner swap deal signed with Israel this week. Under the deal’s terms, Hamas will free captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners — 205 of whom will be exiled from their West Bank homes in a move slammed on Thursday by the Palestinian Authority’s top diplomat, Riyad al-Malki. Of that number, 163 will be sent to Gaza, while another 42, two of them women, will be deported to destinations as yet unknown. But Hamas leader Ismail Radwan shrugged off the criticism. “The number is small and does not even represent five percent of the total number, and is being done voluntarily, with their personal agreement,” he told AFP, referring to those who would not be allowed to return to the Palestinian Territories. “These exiled prisoners will be able to return to Gaza when they want, and as for the others, they will be transferred to Gaza, which is part of the liberated homeland,” Radwan said. “Those serving long sentences had two choices: to die in prison or be freed under the agreement which involves the exile of a small number of them,” he said. He said the Palestinian Authority itself had accepted the deportation of 13 Palestinians in 2002 under terms of a deal which ended the 38-day siege of Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/October/middleeast_October265.xml&section=middleeast&col=

Hamas prisoners divided on swap
Ynet 14 Oct — Detainees reportedly furious after Shalit prisoner deal not brought up for a vote – Hamas rift worsens: The disagreements and tensions within Hamas over the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap are reportedly pitting group detainees against each other in Israel’s prisons. A website affiliated with Fatah reported Friday that great tensions emerged between Hamas prisoners from the West Bank and their counterparts from the Gaza Strip as result of the swap’s characteristics.  As it turned out, most released prisoners who will not be allowed to return to their homes and instead be expelled to various countries abroad are West Bank residents, while most Gaza detainees would be allowed to go home. Moreover, the report said, as opposed to Hamas’ declarations that any swap would be brought up for the prisoners’ approval, no such vote was held.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4135026,00.html

The Israeli academic who played a critical role in the Shalit deal
Haaretz 14 Oct — A great many diplomats and intelligence officials from Egypt, Germany, France, Turkey and other countries tried for more than five years to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas for Gilad Shalit’s release. Yet the breakthrough in July that led to the deal came from Gershon Baskin, the Israeli co-director of the Israel Palestine Center for Research and Information. He became the intermediary between senior Hamas officials and Israeli envoy David Meidan.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/the-israeli-academic-who-played-a-critical-role-in-the-shalit-deal-1.389789

Shalit deal 38th between Israelis and Arabs
PNN 13 Oct — …Egypt first began to exchange prisoners with Israel in February 1949 and the last known exchange was between Hezbollah and Israel in July 2008, which freed Samir al-Qantar. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) was the first Palestinian group to exchange prisoners with Israel, first in July 1968: a captured Israeli plane was forced to land in Algeria and its passengers were taken hostage, then released in exchange for 37 Palestinian prisoners. The deal was supervised by the International Red Cross.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10749&Itemid=56

Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Apartheid

Israel’s new settler build cuts off Bethlehem and Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (AFP) 14 Oct — Israel has formally submitted plans for a new settlement neighborhood of 2,610 homes in annexed East Jerusalem, Peace Now said on Friday. East Jerusalem’s first new district in 14 years, Givat HaMatos, lies within Bethlehem’s original municipal borders and will cut off the West Bank city from East Jerusalem, the group said.
Peace Now said building up the neighborhood, standing between Israeli settlements Gilo and Har Homa, was “a game changer that significantly changes the possible border between Israel and Palestine.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=429214

Israel hands Palestinians demolition orders of water wells, greenhouses
SALFIT (WAFA) 13 Oct — The Israeli authorities Thursday handed a number of Palestinian farmers demolition orders of several water wells and green houses and stopped construction work of rehabilitating an agricultural road in an area in Kufr Al-Deek, a town in Salfit, according to mayor of Kufr Al-Deek, Jamal Al-Deek. One of the farmers, who was handed a demolition order, said that most of the farmers who received the demolition orders are the ones benefiting from a project recently implemented with the funding of the Dutch Government as part of the land rehabilitation projects in the area.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17761

Video: A Palestinian mayor explains how Israeli army starves his village of water / Philip Weiss
The video is of Haj Sami Sadeq, who is mayor of a little village in the occupied Jordan Valley … Israel vows never to give up the Jordan Valley. And there are two Israeli army bases near Al-Aqaba. Israel has seized village lands on all sides. And what comes through plainly in the video is that little Al-Aqaba is being ethnically cleansed: The entire Palestinian village is under a demolition order … Sadeq is in a wheelchair because he was shot on his family lands 30 years ago, by an Israeli soldier. Sadeq wasn’t doing anything, just visiting his parents that day.  He is as gentle a person as you will ever find. And listen to him describe the fact that the Israeli army bases have wells and water– their confiscated lands are green — while Aqaba cannot get permission to drill a well.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/10/a-palestinian-mayor-explains-how-israeli-army-starves-his-village-of-water.html

Videos: Home Front: Portraits from Sheikh Jarrah
Just Vision 12 Oct — Home Front is a new series of four video portraits chronicling the resolve of a neighborhood, and the support it receives from the most unexpected of places. 1) A Palestinian teenager whose family is forced to give up part of their home and live under the same roof as a family of settlers. 2) An American-born Israeli mother who to her own surprise becomes involved in the demonstrations after her children are arrested for
protesting 3) A Palestinian community organizer from Sheikh Jarrah who spearheads the involvement of local women in the movement while facing the risk of losing her own home to the settlers. 4) A former Israeli soldier from a religious background who only several years after his combat service in the West Bank finds himself taking on a leading role in the protests.
http://www.justvision.org/homefront

The daily discrimination of life in Silwan
[photos] Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 13 Oct — …Many Municipal services are offered exclusively to Israeli settlers living in Silwan, while many native Palestinian residents, despite paying taxes, are offered nothing by the Municipality. Streets are cleaned after Jewish holidays, and settler garbage containers are emptied by Municipal workers more than once a day. Many Palestinian neighborhoods, meanwhile, receive no garbage collection. Construction work in settlement areas are undertaken quickly and smoothly, with holes covered so as to avoid accident. Holes in Palestinian areas, however, are left uncovered, posing serious danger to local’s safety.
http://silwanic.net/?p=21107

Jewish extremists destroy tombstones in historic cemetery in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (WAFA) 13 Oct — Al Aqsa Institute for Waqf and Heritage revealed Thursday that a number of Jewish extremists set fire to a large tree and destroyed about fifteen graves in ‘Ma’man Allah’ historic cemetery in East Jerusalem, according to a press release by the institute … The institute asserted that it is clear that this destruction is new, in addition to the dozens of other graves that have been destroyed before. Russian slogans, which their meanings are unknown, were found on some of the graves.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17764

Settlers

Settlers enter Palestinian land in Khallet al-Naleh and Artas
PNN 15 Oct — On Friday, Israeli settlers broke into Khallet al-Nahleh and Artas [also I’rtas, أرطاس ], two villages south of Bethlehem in an alleged attempt to expand the nearby settlement of Efrat. Awad Abu Swei, a spokesman for the PA Ministry of Agriculture, said that “hundreds of settlers” entered Palestinian land through gaps in the wall. “Dozens of vehicles transporting settlers entered to the area under the protection of Israeli forces,” claimed Abu Swei. “These incursions have increased lately, because [the settlers] intend to lay claim to Jabal Tareq mountain and expand the Efrat settlement.” He also said that there is a plan to build a settlement in the Khallet al-Nahleh area named Givat Aytam, according to a settler website.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10758&Itemid=62

Settlers brawl with Palestinians near Qalqiliya, Israeli troops arrest three near Jenin
PNN 13 Oct — On Thursday morning, Israeli settlers from Kedumim settlement assaulted Palestinian citizens from the village of al-Jeet, near the central West Bank city of Qalqilya, while they were picking olives. A spokesman from the ‘We Will Not Die in Silence’ campaign, which says it aims to defend Palestinians against settler attacks, said the settlers threw rocks and were protected by the Israeli army.
In other news, the Israeli army arrested three men from the same family in Qabatya village, south of Jenin, on early Thursday morning. According to a source in the PA, Israeli forces stormed the village, raided the houses of Rami Abdullateef Zakarneh, 24, Shadi Zakarneh, 25, and Samer Zakarneh, also 25.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10750&Itemid=64

Israel forces – incursions, attacks

PCHR Weekly Report 6-12 October: 1 Palestinian dead, 3 wounded, 17 adults and children abducted by Israeli troops
IMEMC 14 Oct — During the past week, Israeli forces have persisted in firing at Palestinian fishermen and farmers in the Gaza Strip, and Israeli forces have continued to use force against peaceful protests in the West Bank, wounding a Palestinian woman and a British human rights defender … Israeli forces conducted 38 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, during which they arrested 28 Palestinians, including 11 children. [details follow, full PCHR report here]
http://www.imemc.org/article/62280

Israeli forces ‘block olive harvest in Nablus’
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 14 Oct — Israeli forces blocked villagers in Nablus from harvesting olives on lands near Israeli settlements on Friday, locals told Ma‘an. Israeli troops told harvesters in Qaryut and Azmut villages that security coordination had expired and blocked them from picking olives … International activists accompanying farmers said forces told them in nearby village Burin that the area was a closed military zone and shut down the harvest. “There are dozens of olives on the top of the hill (near the Israel settlement of Yitzhar),” one activist said, “but villagers were only given four days permission to do two weeks’ work.”
Ghassan Doughlas, the Palestinian Authority official monitoring settler activity in the northern West Bank, said Israeli settlers came into olive groves in Azmut, north of Nablus, and Jit to the east. Settlers clashed with locals as they tried to harvest olives, he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=429172

Military occupation suppresses Kafr Kadum march in solidarity with striking detainees
IMEMC 14 Oct — The Israeli military attacked participants at the weekly Kafr Kadum march, a village near the West Bank town of Qalqilya. The march was organized by Fatah against the Israeli authorities who have closed the main street of the village. The march started from the mosque of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab after the Friday prayers, with the participation of a hundred people under the slogan “Empty Stomach Friday,” to show support for the political prisoners who have been on a hunger strike for over two weeks.
http://www.imemc.org/article/62284

Israeli forces raid residential areas south of Jenin
JENIN (WAFA) 13 Oct — Security sources told WAFA that Israeli forces raided villages and towns of Yabad, Arraba, Kafreet, Kafrai, Fahma, Jaba, Aja, Qabatya and Maythalon, and patrolled their military vehicles in alleys and streets of these towns and villages in provocative steps. No arrests reported.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17763

Israeli soldiers attack youth from Jerusalem at al-Walajeh entrance
PNN 15 Oct — On Thursday night, a Palestinian youth from Jerusalem named Ahmed Ibrahim Kanter was severely beaten at the entrance to the village of al-Walajeh, northwest of Bethlehem. A secure local source said that Israeli soldiers stopped Kanter as he entered al-Walajeh from Bethlehem and “attacked him viciously.” Kanter was transported to Hussein Hospital in Beit Jala, where his condition was described as moderate.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10757&Itemid=64

Prisoners’ strike / Detention

VIDEO: Palestinian hunger strike continues despite Israeli prisoner swap
Real News 14 Oct
http://palsolidarity.org/2011/10/palestinian-hunger-strike-continues-despite-israeli-prisoner-swap/

Human rights centre: Health of hunger strikers deteriorating
GAZA (PIC) 14 Oct — The centre for prisoners’ studies called on Imams to give support to the Palestinian captives in occupation jails, who have been on hunger strike for the 18th day running, during their Friday sermon. Director of the centre, Raafat Hamdona, himself a former captive, said in a statement on Friday that the health of the hunger strikers is worsening, with some of them taken to clinics for treatment. He added that some of them are not capable to stand and they lost on average 12 Kgs each.
Link to Palestinian Information Center

Locals: Israeli forces detain 6 in dawn raids
JENIN (Ma‘an) 14 Oct — Six people were detained by Israeli forces in dawn raids in the West Bank on Thursday, witnesses said. Shadi Talal, Samer Zakarneh and Rami Abdul Latif were detained from Qabatiya village south of Jenin, locals told Ma‘an … Forces also seized Yousef Ekhlil, 40, Muhamad Bahar, 17, and Ahmad Sleibi, 16, from Beit Ummar, north of Hebron at dawn on Thursday, an official said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=429157

Rights group: Teenage detainee’s health at risk
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 14 Oct –The Israeli prison service is responsible for the life of a teenage prisoner detained in Hebron last week, a detainees’ center said Thursday. Majed Jaradat, 17, is being held at Etzion prison in Israel, the center said in a statement. He was last detained when he was 13, and was shot in his leg, hand and stomach. After his release he was treated at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, but the center said he has not fully recovered from his injuries and is at risk in jail.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=429161

Arab League: ICC should probe detainees’ status
CAIRO (Reuters) 14 Oct — The Arab League on Thursday called on the United Nations General Assembly to request a probe into the legal status of Palestinians in Israeli prisons. The UN General Assembly is expected to pass the request to the Hague International Criminal Court. Palestinian Authority Minister of Prisoner Affairs Issa Qaraqe told a news conference in Cairo that he hoped the court would issue an advisory opinion on the legal status of both Palestinians and other Arabs held in Israeli prisons.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=429155

Gaza

PCHR: Blockade must be lifted after swap deal is concluded
IMEMC 13 Oct — The Palestinian Center for Human Right (PCHR) confirmed Thursday morning that once the prisoners swap deal is concluded, the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip must be removed, adding that the collective punishment Gazans are undergoing must be ended as well.  The PCHR stated that the blockade on the Gaza started after the Palestinian resistance captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. on June 25, 2006. Since then, the Israeli military has tightened its restrictions on Gaza terminals, hindering the movement of the residents and the import/export of goods.
http://www.imemc.org/article/62276

Captors of Shalit have been warned of increased drone activity
GAZA (PIC) 14 Oct — Israeli occupation drone activity has noticeably increased over the Gaza Strip since Thursday evening, despite the conclusion of a prisoner exchange deal,  prompting concern that Israelis might have other intentions. Quds Press quoted a source in Gaza as saying that drones do not leave the skies of Gaza and that they noticed the presence of more than one drone over a small area of Gaza City. Those drones are able to send detailed pictures to Israeli occupation intelligence agents in operation rooms around the Gaza Strip. A security source warned that the drones could be on a mission to foil the exchange at the last moment, by trying to discover where Gilad Shalit is being kept and carry out a rescue operation. The source urged Shalits captors not to relax their security measures, but to be extra vigilant.
Link to Palestinian Information Center

14,000 new births recorded in Gaza over the last two months
MEMO 14 Oct — Statistics released by Gaza’s General Administration for Civil Affairs at the Ministry of Interior and National Security confirm that 14,590 births were recorded in Gaza during the third quarter of this year. 7,420 of these were males and 7,170 were female … 862 overall deaths occurred in Gaza during the same period; from the beginning of July until September. 491 of these have been male and 371 have been female.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/2946-14000-new-births-recorded-in-gaza-over-the-last-two-months

Gaza court sentences man to death for bomb attack
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 14 Oct — A Gaza court sentenced three men to hang this week, days after a West Bank court sentenced a security officer to death by firing squad. Bilal Saad al-Masri, 22, from Beit Lahiya and Jihad Abdullah al-Saba, 23, from Sheikh Zayed, were convicted of detonating an explosive in Gaza City in February, killing a 27-year-old and injuring five. The Permanent Military Court sentenced the pair to death by hanging for ‘terrorism’ charges Wednesday … On Tuesday, the same court sentenced an unnamed Sheik Radwan resident, 36, to death by hanging on charges of ‘treason’ … The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said Thursday it was “gravely concerned” about the continued use of the death penalty by Palestinian courts
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=429092

Acrylic eyes for little Zain is a blessing, says mother
The National 13 Oct — DUBAI // Rola Al Dalo discovered just two days after giving birth to her daughter why her baby never opened her eyes … Zain has microphthalmia, a rare genetic birth defect where a child is born with underdeveloped eyeballs …During summer last year, Ms Al Dalo contacted the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), and Zain was one of five children chosen to have treatment in the UAE …Lana Suleiman also made the trip from the territories for treatment….
http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/health/acrylic-eyes-for-little-zain-is-a-blessing-says-mother

Gaza musicians find themselves confined to stag parties
EI 13 Oct — Iyad Zumlot looked cheerful as he welcomed male spectators in the street next to his home in the al Falluja neighborhood of Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. The next day was the 23-year-old pianist’s wedding; and he was receiving people for the traditional party Gazan grooms hold on the eve of their marriage.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/gaza-musicians-find-themselves-confined-stag-parties/10482

BDS

Al-Haq submits formal objection to Dutch contract to Hermes
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 13 Oct — The human rights group, Al-Haq, has instructed Van den Biesen Boesveld advocates, Amsterdam, to submit a formal objection against the decision of Stadsregio Arnhem Nijmegen, a Dutch local authority, to award a one billion Euro public transport concession to Hermes, the Dutch subsidiary of French multinational company VeoliaTransdev, according to a press release issued Thursday. The objection is based on Veolia’s involvement in Israel’s violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17756

Political / Diplomatic / International

IDF commander opposes cutting PA funds
Ynet 13 Oct –WASHINGTON – Judea and Samaria Division Commander Brigadier-General Nitzan Alon, cautioned it would be a mistake to cut off financial aid to the Palestinian Authority over its push for statehood, in an interview with the New York Times on Wednesday. Alon believes the United States Congress’ decision to halt all funding to the PA due to their bid for recognition at the United Nations will lead to regional instability.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4134816,00.html

Chavez meets Abbas, calls for Palestinian state
CARACAS, Venezuela (Ma‘an) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday welcomed his counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in the capital … Before meeting Abbas at the presidential palace in Caracas, Chavez reiterated his support for a Palestinian state… Chavez said he hoped to establish a joint Palestinian-Venezuelan committee headed by the foreign minister that would be responsible for agriculture and trade cooperation.  He also said Venezuela would fund the construction of an eye hospital to Ramallah.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=428786

PA cuts ties with pro-Palestinian US lobby over criticism of UN statehood bid
Haaretz 14 Oct — The Palestinian Authority has cut ties with a major U.S. pro-Palestinian lobby on Thursday, in what seemed to be continued fallout over the group’s conspicuous criticism of a Palestinian move to gain recognition in the United Nations. The American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP) had been a key link between the Palestinian leadership and the U.S. administration in recent years, especially due to the lobby’s moderate political stance, and as a result of the friendship between the lobby’s head, Dr. Ziad J. Asali, and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/pa-cuts-ties-with-pro-palestinian-u-s-lobby-over-criticism-of-un-statehood-bid-1.389886

Fatah official says meeting with Hamas chief ‘positive’
CAIRO (Ma‘an) 14 Oct — Fatah leader Azzam al-Ahmad said Wednesday that his meeting in Cairo with Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal was “positive” and that reconciliation talks would restart “soon.” … During the meeting, Mashaal phoned President and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas and expressed his full supported the president’s recent bid for full UN membership, al-Ahmad said. The Hamas chief also congratulated Abbas on his speech to the General Assembly in New York on Sept. 23 and said the president’s address represented the Palestinian people, al-Ahmad added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=428893

High-level meeting between Abbas and Meshaal to ‘speed up reconciliation’
MEMO 14 Oct — A senior member of Fatah’s Central Committee has said that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will meet the political leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal “to speed up national reconciliation”. Speaking to official Palestinian radio, Saeb Erekat said that the meeting will take place soon to speed up the implementation of the reconciliation agreement signed in May.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/2944-high-level-meeting-between-abbas-and-meshaal-to-qspeed-up-reconciliationq

Erekat denies plans to meet Israelis in Jordan
RAMALLAH (Reuters) 14 Oct — PLO official Saeb Erekat denied on Thursday that Palestinian and Israeli delegates would soon meet in Jordan to discuss restarting peace talks, reiterating demands that Israel stop building settlements before negotiations can resume.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=429058

Air Force commander says Egypt doesn’t need permission to increase troop levels in Sinai
MEMO 14 Oct — The commander of the Egyptian Air Force has said that his country is not expecting any amendments to the Camp David treaty from Israel in order to allow Egypt to increase the number of its forces deployed in the Sinai Peninsula. “Sinai is our land,” said Air Marshal Reda Hafez, “and we do not need permission from anyone to increase the number of our troops on our land.”
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/2942-air-force-commander-says-egypt-doesnt-need-permission-to-increase-troop-levels-in-sinai

Human interest / Heritage

Reem el-Hamed Ahmed : Black, proud and Palestinian / Arthur Neslen
Ma’an 13 Oct — Minorities can easily be overlooked in the heat of national struggle. No-one knows exactly how many Palestinians of African descent exist in Palestine. But they have lived on the land since the days of the slave trade, at least. They may not be singled out for particularly discriminatory treatment by Israel. However, within their own society, the picture is sometimes less clear. Reem el-Hamed Ahmed was a founding member of perhaps the only support group for Palestinians of African descent in Israel/Palestine … Reem’s day job was behind the counter at a post office in Kfar Qassem, where her family had lived since her grandfather moved there from Ramle after the World War I. His wife — Reem’s grandmother — was shot dead by Israeli troops in the 1956 massacre, which claimed the lives of 49 other Palestinian civilians, for nominally breaking an unpublicized village curfew … Many Afro-Palestinians arrived as slaves in the Ottoman period but some also fled Sudan in the Islamic period. Reem thinks her family might have been among these. Their numbers may be small, but black Palestinians make up significant minorities in towns such as Jenin, Tulkarem and Jericho.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=428800

‘Heritage and tourism’ festival to be held in Hebron
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 11 Oct  — The Hebron-France association for Cultural Exchange is organizing a crafts festival in Hebron on October 15, a statement said. The festival will take place in the old city and handicrafts from local villages will be displayed. The festival is open to children and adults, locals and foreigners. An ‘educational garden’ dedicated to children is also set to be inaugurated in the presence of EU officials and the mayor and governor of Hebron.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=428097

Analysis / Opinion

Poll says 65% of Palestinian support UN bid
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 13 Oct — The poll, published by the Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD), said that 37% of Palestinians believe that the UN initiative advanced the Palestinian cause, while 40% did not see it to have changed anything. According to the poll conducted between October 2 and 4 on a sample of 1200 Palestinians and which had a 3% margin of error, the level of support for the UN bid did not increase since the June poll, when 64% voiced support for the initiative.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17759

September 2011 monthly media digest
MEMO 14 Oct — September sees the Palestinian Statehood bid take centre stage in the global media; Sheikh Raed Salah wins damages from the British government and the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra causes a stir at home and abroad … Early this month, just hours before the Palmer report was published, Turkey announced that it would be expelling the Israeli ambassador and suspending military agreements with Israel over the country’s refusal to apologize for killing 9 Turkish citizens aboard the Mavi Marmara in 2010 … The Price Tag campaign continued in full force this month as hardline settlers targeted a mosque in the town of Qusra, near Nablus.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/media-review/monthly-digest/2932-september-2011-monthly-media-digest

Hamas and Netanyahu share spoils of swap deal / Hugh Naylor, Vita Bekker
National 13 Oct — TEL AVIV // Hamas and the Israeli government of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu are both likely to score political points from the deal to swap 1,027 Palestinian detainees for a captured Israeli soldier … Commentators said yesterday that Hamas is likely to win support from Palestinians at the expense of the Palestinian Authority and Fatah, its longtime rivals. The Islamist movement that rules the Gaza Strip yesterday hailed the accord as a “national victory”.At the same time, the deal may bring political gains for Mr Netanyahu after his cabinet approved it in a 26-3 vote. Mr Shalit has become a household name for most Israelis, and his return home could help the prime minister to regain some of the support he has lost amid months of mass protests over the cost of living.
http://www.thenational.ae/featured-content/home/middle-media-teaser/hamas-and-netanyahu-share-spoils-of-swap-deal

US Congress ruining decade of work in Palestine / Daoud Kuttab
Ma‘an 13 Oct — …The hold US Congress members placed on funding for Palestinians covers many other areas that are critical to the nation-building process that the entire world (including the US and Israel) is in favor of. It includes, for example, support for educational programs, like model schools and preschool education. In a young society such as the Palestinians’, where the majority of the population is under 25, what is invested in children yields dividends in the future.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=428877

Analysis: Why the president was right / John Quigley & Gabi Fahel
Ma‘an 13 Oct — President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision to request UN membership for Palestine at the Security Council is the right decision.  It is the right decision if you believe in two states. It is the right decision if you believe in one state. It is the wrong decision if you believe in the status quo … Abbas has clearly exhausted every bilateral avenue to responsibly move the peace process forward and he has now prudently reached the conclusion that international consensus is not enough. He has concluded that it is now time for active international engagement beyond the confines of the bilateral negotiations box.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=428860

We need help / Neri Livneh
Haaretz 14 Oct — Racism, violence, murder: things here are going from bad to worse, and it’s not hard to spot the link — I wanted to write about four youths, two of them minors, who go out to a pub on Rosh Hashanah and, when they leave, top off their evening by allegedly beating to death a homeless person and hurting another homeless man who was fortunate enough to get away. I wanted to say that there just can’t be a connection between the surging violence, the total disrespect for the lives of those who don’t appear to belong – either because of the color of their skin, their religious faith or their economic situation, the complete indifference that young thugs show for the lives of those who look different from them – and the “price tag” operations carried out by settlers … The distorted justification that “price tag” operations and ordinary acts of humiliation committed by IDF soldiers and settlers toward others who do not fit into those groups, can supply to hotheaded and poorly taught teenagers is obvious.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/we-need-help-1.389957

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