Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Apartheid / Restriction of movement
Absentee landowners? West Bank landowners can’t get to their land
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (CNS) 30 Dec — Jamal Salman stood on one side of the double chain-link fence, on land belonging to his family. On the other side of the Israeli-erected fences, only a few hundred yards away but beyond his reach, was more family land with a grove of olive trees. In November, Salman and more than 180 Bethlehem landowners were informed that Israel had placed their olive groves — more than 1,700 acres of land located beyond the barrier — under the Guardian of Absentee Property, deeming the owners of these lands as “absentees.” This is the last step before formal confiscation … The 73-year-old is leading a campaign of mostly Christian landowners in an attempt to prevent yet more of their land from being confiscated. They are considering challenging the absentee decision in the Israeli Supreme Court, he said.
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1105093.htm
Israel to take over Palestinian land near Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM (WAFA) 29 Dec – Israeli forces Thursday handed Palestinian farmers from al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem, notices that they will take over their agricultural land, according to local sources. Coordinator of the committee against the Apartheid Wall, Ahmad Salah, said one Palestinian farmer found a notice by the Israeli authority to take over two dunums of land belonging to Palestinians. Head of the village Council, Ramzi Salah, said al-Khader is being attacked viciously by Israeli forces to steal more of its land and expel its residents. He said the Israeli government’s decision to declare tens of dunums a closed military area to continue building the Apartheid Wall aims to take over more of the village’s land. Salah said Israel authority intends to build a settlement between al-Khader town and Artas village, near Bethlehem.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=18525
Occupation gives notice of demolition of 13 homes and confiscation of 160 dunams
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 30 Dec — Israeli occupation authorities have handed Palestinians notices of confiscation of 160 dunums (1 dunum=1000 square meters) and demolition of 13 homes in the village of Mneizel to the south east of Yatta in the southern West Bank district of al-Khalil. IOF troops closed all entrances to the village. Rateb al-Jubour, coordinator of the popular committee against the wall and settlement, said in press statements on Thursday that the notices of land confiscation affected residents of the village of Mneizel and the village of Samu‘ with the aim of expanding Karmael settlement … Jubour also said that the village of the Karmael settlement was built next the Palestinian village of Muneizel which has a population of 400 Palestinian who are living in constant fear because of harassment at the hands of settlers.
Link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Israel isolates 125,000 Palestinians from Jerusalem
MEMO 30 Dec — The Jerusalem-based Human Rights Centre has warned that Israel’s municipality has already started to apply its policy of isolating Palestinian districts from the rest of the city. In fact, claims the Centre, the process began two years ago. “The plans of Israeli Mayor Nir Barkat, suggest that the isolation of some Palestinian neighbourhoods are in fact old plans which were raised for the first time two years ago,” the HRC told Quds Press. In a statement, the HRC pointed out that this includes the exclusion of Jerusalem residents through the withdrawal of their residence permits; since the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem started in 1967, 14,266 Palestinians have had their permits withdrawn. The Centre noted that over the past two years it has received complaints from citizens of Jerusalem who live in the neighbourhoods in question that the occupation authorities have not been issuing local tax demands, claiming that they “live outside the wall” and “are, therefore, no longer in Jerusalem”.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/3232-israel-isolates-125000-palestinians-from-jerusalem
Israeli bulldozers demolish house in Naqab village
RAHAT (WAFA) 29 Dec – Israeli bulldozers Thursday demolished a house belonging to a Palestinian Bedouin family north of the city of Rahat, in Naqab [Negev], according to local sources. They said Israeli bulldozers accompanied by Israeli police and special forces demolished a house that houses nine Palestinian Bedouins.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=18526
Israel could demand compensation for Jewish property in Arab lands
MEMO 30 Dec — The Director of Property Management at Israel’s Foreign Ministry is preparing a draft bill which, if passed into law, will see the Zionist state sending claims for compensation for Jewish property in a number of Arab countries. It is believed that the bill will be held back to be used during any negotiations discussing the situation of Palestinian refugees and their right of return. The bill is divided into two: the first will demand that Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Bahrain pay compensation for the properties of 850,000 Jews, with an estimated value of $300 billion. The figures are based on the 1948 census of Jews from each country. At a second stage, Saudi Arabia will be landed with a compensation bill of more than $100 billion for Jewish properties in the kingdom since the time of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him).
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/3233-israel-could-demand-compensation-for-jewish-property-in-arab-lands
MKs eye hurdles against outpost eviction
Ynet 29 Dec – The Ministerial Committee on Legislation will debate a new bill aiming to strip IDF commanders from the authority to evict illegal outposts in the West Bank, Ynet learned on Thursday. The bill states that a military order to that effect does not stand up to legal scrutiny and that such evictions must be court ordered. The proposed legislation has already been criticized as an attempt by the Right to hinder legal proceedings concerning illegal outposts.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4168901,00.html
UK condemns Israel’s ‘provocative’ plans in Jerusalem
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 30 Dec — Britain’s Minister for the Middle East and North Africa Alistair Burt on Friday condemned Israel’s plans to expand an illegal settlement and build a tourism center in occupied East Jerusalem.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=448913
France condemns Israeli decision to build 130 new housing units
PARIS (WAFA) 29 Dec – France strongly condemned the decisions taken Wednesday by the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem to authorize the construction of 130 new homes in the settlement of Gilo and a tourist complex in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem, according to a statement by Bernard Valero, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs spokesperson, on Thursday … France is deeply concerned by the acceleration in provocative announcements and decisions relating to Israeli settlement activities in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, he said.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=18533
Israel denies entry to American PNN editor, soldiers arrest PNN reporter in Nablus
PNN 29 Dec — Israeli authorities forbade entry into the West Bank to Brendan Work, English editor of the Palestine News Network on December 17, after he went to Jordan to renew his visa. Israeli forces also arrested a PNN reporter, Amin Abu Wardah, from his home city of Nablus … Abdul Nasser al-Najjar, head of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, condemned the arrest of Abu Wardah and the denial of Work’s visa, and said he considered the steps part of a bigger campaign aimed at “silencing the Palestinian voice.”
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11005&Itemid=56
Violence and aggression
Settlers ‘attack school children” in Hebron
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 29 Dec — Israeli settlers on Thursday attacked schoolchildren in Hebron city center, witnesses said. Locals told Ma‘an settlers tried to stab Mustafa al-Qadi, a sixth-grade pupil at Qartaba primary school, and hit his friend who tried to defend him. Witnesses said Israeli soldiers watched the incident but did not intervene.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=448839
Laborer ‘attacked by settlers’
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 30 Dec — A Palestinian laborer was attacked on Friday at work in Betar Illit settlement near Bethlehem, medics said. Khaled Hussein Hamamra, 40, sustained facial wounds after a settler attacked him with a sharp tool, said Abdul Halim Jaafra, head of the Red Crescent’s Bethlehem office. Jaafra told Ma‘an the ambulance service was notified of Hamamra’s injuries by Israeli liaison officials. He said a Red Crescent ambulance entered the settlement to treat Hamamra, accompanied by Israeli police. Hamamra was taken to the Beit Jala Government Hospital.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=448950
Armed Israel settlers parade in West Bank town
BETHLEHEM (WAFA) 30 Dec – Around 200 armed Israeli settlers paraded in the town of al-Khader, south of Bethlehem Friday morning and walked around the convention center and nearby Solomon’s Pools, said local activists. Awad Abu Sway, member of the local anti-settlements committee, said the settlers, protected by Israeli soldiers, took pictures of the convention center and the pools and held prayers in the area. The settlers then left the area and went to another neighborhood of al-Khader, where a settlement outpost was erected. Another area activist, Ahmad Salah, said settlers have increased their activities in that area of al-Khader. The Israeli army declared on Thursday dozens of dunums of al-Khader a closed military zone. He said area farmers are regularly harassed by settlers who prevent them from working on their land.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=18535
Jewish settlers invade an archaeological area near Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM (PIC) 30 Dec — A large group of settlers Friday morning invaded the historic Berak Sulaiman and Qasr al-Mo’tamarat (Convention Palace) in the town of al-Khadr to the south of Bethlehem, in the southern West Bank. Local sources said that about 200 Jewish settlers invaded the two areas under IOF protection and they refuse to leave claiming ownership of the land. The sources said that the two sites are rich archaeological sites and the settlers have been trying to appropriate them for a long time claiming that they are Jewish sites and Palestinians have no right to them.
Link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Shepherd ‘injured by sound grenade’ in Beit Ummar
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 29 Dec — A shepherd sustained facial injuries on Thursday when Israeli soldiers threw sound grenades at him during clashes near Hebron, a local official said. Israeli forces raided Beit Ummar and briefly detained and attacked several locals, popular committee spokesman Muhammad Awad told Ma‘an. Soldiers fired tear gas and sound bombs after residents came to defend their relatives, he added. Ayed Mahmud Abu Maryeh, 42, was guarding his sheep when soldiers fired sound grenades at him, Awad said. He was taken to Hebron Hospital with minor injuries to his face, Awad said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=448836
Gaza
1 killed as Israel shells Gaza
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 30 Dec — Israeli forces bombed Gaza City early Friday morning killing one man and wounding five others, medics said. Momen Abu Daf, a member of militant Salafi group Ansar al-Sunna, was killed when Israeli warplanes shelled an area southeast of Gaza City, local sources said. Five others were wounded, including one militant and four farmers, medics said. They were taken to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
The Israeli military said in a statement that its forces “targeted a terrorist squad that was identified moments before firing rockets at Israel from the northern Gaza Strip.” Abu Daf had “orchestrated and executed numerous and varied terror attacks” and “was actively involved in the preparations of the attempted terror attack on the Israel-Egypt border that was thwarted this week,” the army added. That appeared to refer to Israel’s killing on Tuesday of another Salafi fighter, Abdallah Telbani, who the military said had been plotting strikes in which gunmen would circumvent the fortified Gaza border by attacking south Israel from the Sinai.
Two short-range rockets were launched from Gaza into Israel on Thursday and five on Wednesday, the Israeli military said. There were no casualties. The Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=448904
unclear how much of this is ‘fact’, but interesting
Reuters Factbox: Al-Qaeda-inspired groups in Hamas-ruled Gaza
30 Dec — Here are some facts about the constellation of ultra-conservative Islamists known as Salafis, who have challenged Hamas’s rule in the isolated enclave. GROUPS * Jaysh al-Islam (the Army of Islam) is closely linked to Gaza’s powerful Doghmush clan, which worked with Hamas to capture Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006 but broke with it over the Doghmushes’ four-month kidnap of a BBC journalist in 2007. * Tawheed and Jihad (One God and Holy War), linked by Gazan sources to the obscure “Jihadist Salafi” group, that in April abducted and killed a pro-Palestinian activist from Italy, Vittorio Arrigoni … * Ansar al-Sunna (Followers of al-Sunna, the words and deeds of the Prophet Mohammad), which carried out a lethal rocket attack on Israel last year and whose name had been used by, among others, al Qaeda-allied Sunni insurgents in Iraq. * Jund Ansar Allah (Warriors of God), which raided an Israeli border post on horseback. * Jaysh al-Ummah (Army of the Muslim Nation), whose leader, Abu Hafs, was detained by Hamas. * Jaljalat (Rallying Cry), which includes former Hamas members and is suspected of bombing several Internet cafes as part of its especially hard line against Palestinian “apostates.”
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/factbox-al-qaeda-inspired-groups-hamas-ruled-gaza-111621131.html
Witnesses: Israeli tanks shell eastern Gaza Strip
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 30 Dec — Israeli tanks on Friday opened fire on Zaitoun neighborhood south of Gaza City, witnesses said. Locals reported hearing huge explosions. Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said no injuries had been reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=448972
Egyptian medical aid convoy enters Gaza
RAFAH (PIC) 39 Dec — Egyptian authorities announced on Friday that it allowed an Egyptian medical aid convoy to enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing. Secretary General of the North Sinai District and director of the Egyptian Red Crescent local branch, general Jaber al-Arabi said in a press statement that ten tons of medicines and medical supplies donated by the Egyptian Doctors’ Association.
link to www.palestine-info.co.ud
Gaza’s tunnels unleash building boom
Reuters 30 Dec — At last, Nael Zeyara has a steady job in construction, thanks to the smuggling of cement through Gaza’s network of tunnels to Egypt, an underground supply line that boosts the Israeli-blockaded enclave and creates jobs. Zeyara, 30, has been out of work for four years … Thanks to hundreds of tunnels in the sandy soil of the border zone, a construction boom has buoyed Gaza’s otherwise crippled economy, according to a United Nations report. Israel only allows construction materials into Gaza for the use of international relief agencies, including the building of houses and schools. It has recently permitted the import of limited quantities to rebuild some factories destroyed in its largest military offensive in Gaza, in 2009.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4166583,00.html
For Gazans, Operation Cast Lead will never really be over:
The Hamdan family
PCHR 30 Dec — “When I wake in the morning the first thing I do is remember my children. I come and sit outside and picture them where they used to play. I don’t want to go out and interact with other people anymore. I largely stay inside the home.” Talal Hamdan, 47, and Iman Hamdan, 46, are quietly contemplative about life since the loss of their three children Haya, Lama, and Ismail. The children were aged 12, 10, and 5 respectively, when on the morning of 30 December 2008 an Israeli F-16 dropped a bomb in the area they were walking in Beit Hanoun, killing all three. The children were walking with their father to a nearby rubbish site to drop off household waste when Israeli forces targeted the area.
http://palsolidarity.org/2011/12/30-december-2008-the-hamdan-family/
Activism / Solidarity
Several hurt, including photojournalist, in weekly West Bank protests
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 30 Dec – A photojournalist and three people were hurt and many others suffered from tear gas inhalation during the weekly Friday protests in several West Bank areas, according to activists. The weekly protests took place in Nabi Saleh, Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, and Qalandia, all in the Ramallah area, al-Ma‘sara near Bethlehem, Kufr Qaddoum, near Qalqilia, and Kufr al-Dik, near Salfit.
In Nabi Saleh, where protests have been taking place every Friday for the past two years and where a Palestinian was recently killed when a tear gas canister fired by Israeli soldiers hit him in the face, a photojournalist and three other people were injured from tear gas canisters and rubber bullets fired at the protesters. The photojournalist, Issam Rimawi, was hit by a tear gas canister in the leg and another protester was hit in his hand. The others were hit by rubber bullets. Nine people were arrested, including two members of the international solidarity movement, said local activists….
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=18537
Ni‘lin honors its heroes and urges military to ‘stay human’
ISM West Bank 30 Dec — Volleys of tear gas, rubber coated steel bullets and live ammunition is how the Israeli Army met a small demonstration in remembrance of 2 martyrs, in Ni‘lin today. Starting after Friday prayers approximately 25 Palestinians and 6 internationals made their way from the village through olive groves to the Apartheid Wall to commemorate the murder of Mohammed Khawaje and Arafat Khawaje on the 28th December 2008. Mohammed was shot in the forehead with live ammunition and Arafat was fatally shot in the back when attempting to rescue another villager who had been shot by an Israeli sniper.
http://palsolidarity.org/2011/12/nilin-honors-its-heroes-and-urges-military-to-stay-human/
Political detention
Zubeidi: Israel reneged on amnesty deal
29 Dec — Former al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigades commander says Israeli authorities have revoked 2007 clemency agreement. Palestinian security forces accuse him of arms charges … After being awarded clemency, Zubeidi formed the “Freedom Theater” in Jenin. The theater was managed by Israeli-Arab actor Juliano Mer-Khamis until he was killed by unknown assailants in April. The investigation in his murder is ongoing. Last week, the Palestinians alleged that Israeli security forces raided the city and arrested nine Fatah members, including an officer in the Palestinian security forces. Zubeidi said he did not know whether Mer’s murder and the raid were connected. Speaking to Ynet on Thursday, Zubiedi said he did not know why the Israeli authorities decided to revoke his clemency deal
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4168878,00.html
Int’l campaign urges Bensouda to address issue of Palestinian MPs
GAZA (PIC) 29 Dec — The international campaign for freeing kidnapped Palestinian MPs called on the incoming new chief prosecutor of the international criminal court Fatou Bensouda to address the issue of Palestinian lawmakers frequently kidnapped by Israel. Member states of the international criminal court elected Gambia’s Fatou Bensouda as their next chief prosecutor on Monday … The campaign denounced the criminal court’s silence on Israel’s crimes as unacceptable complicity and noted that the kidnapping of Palestinian lawmakers violates international law and the fourth Geneva convention … 20 Palestinian lawmakers affiliated with Hamas Movement are locked up in Israeli jails, most of these MPS were kidnapped many times before.
Link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Protest in Al-Khalil calls for release of political prisoners
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 30 Dec — Muslim Youth Association and the committee representing families of political prisoners demonstrated on Thursday at noon calling for the release of all political prisoners from PA jails in the West Bank without any conditions. They also called for an end to the policy of summoning activists and for reinstatement of those sacked from their jobs because of their political sympathies. Dozens of activists, university students as well as families of prisoners participated in the protest.
The mother of Ahmad al-Za‘tari said that her son is exposed to physical torture causing him to start stuttering when he talks, something which his family noticed in during a court session on Thursday. The family held the PA security responsible for his wellbeing.
The committee said that there were 1,010 cases of political arrest in 2011, 464 of them since the signing of the reconciliation in May. Since the meeting between Abbas and Mishaal about a month ago there has been 110 political arrests and the number of political prisoners still remaining in PA jails is 110 prisoners.
Link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Hamas’ security forces kidnap 16 leaders from Fatah, Gaza Strip
PNN 31 Dec — On Friday, Hamas’ Security forces kidnapped 16 leaders from the north region of Gaza, one day before Fatah commemorates the 47th anniversary of the establishment of Fatah movement …Fatah sources confirmed that the kidnapped leaders: Ra‘ed Salah, Nasser Sahwel and Mohammad Diab started a hunger strike protesting Hamas continuous procedures against Fatah members. Hamas’ Security forces also kidnapped the secretary of Fatah in central Khan Younes, Attef Shaath, from his house, and the secretary of Fatah in the eastern area in Khan Younes, Saleh Abh Hammed, and took them to one of their headquarters at the area.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11013&Itemid=61
International Women’s Peace Service meet with prisoner released in Shalit deal
ISM posted 29 Dec — …Eight years previously, during the Second Intifada, SH – a 27 year old villager of Kifl Haris – had been imprisoned for his political activities against the occupation. He was a member of the Fateh political party and was involved in organising resistance. We spoke to him on 26thDecember, 8 days after his release, in a room full of his family and friends, who were still gathering to celebrate. The house was festooned in flags, bunting and the celebratory poster published by Fateh on his release … For the first seventeen days, SH said that he was held in solitary confinement – seeing only one policeman and his interrogator. He only found out how long he had been held afterwards, as his cell had no windows, meaning he had no concept of night and day. The disorientation was compounded by enforced sleep deprivation – he would be woken by the guard every time he managed to fall asleep,…
http://palsolidarity.org/2011/12/international-womens-peace-service-meet-with-prisoner-released-in-shalit-deal/
Jihad detainee on hunger strike over Israel prison treatment
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 29 Dec — An Islamic Jihad leader detained in Israel on Thursday entered his 12th day on hunger strike in protest over his treatment, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said. Khader Adnan says an Israeli interrogator dragged him to the floor by his beard. The Israeli officer then used Adnan’s beard to polish his shoes, Adnan told the society’s lawyer. Prison authorities had also threatened to stop Adnan’s family visits for two months, the lawyer said. Palestinian Prisoner Society head Qadura Fares says Adnan is a political prisoner targeted because he is a Palestinian leader.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=448788
Political developments
Washington asks Israel to release Marwan Barghouthi for Palestinian elections in May
PNN 30 Dec — According to Israeli army radio, the American government has expressed its desire to see Israel release the Fatah Central Committee member Marwan Barghouthi, sentenced to life imprisonment, to lead Fatah against Hamas in Palestinian elections scheduled for May. The sources said that the American government is worried about the prospects of Hamas winning the elections in the West Bank and Gaza and with current Fatah leader and PA President Mahmoud Abbas signaling his imminent retirement, the need for a new candidate is pressing. Army radio said Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu strongly rejected the idea of releasing Barghouthi
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11012&Itemid=61
Reconciliation committee cancels Gaza meeting
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 30 Dec — A committee overseeing national reconciliation has canceled a meeting scheduled to be held Saturday in Gaza City, committee member Hani Abu Arma said Friday. Abu Amra, a representative of the Palestinian Arab Front, told Ma‘an the meeting was canceled for “technical reasons.” He said he hoped a new date for the meeting would be arranged on Friday evening.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=448986
Dweik: PLC to resume sessions in January
RAMALLAH (PIC) 29 Dec — Speaker of the Palestinian legislative council (PLC) Dr. Aziz Al-Dweik has said that the PLC would resume sessions next February to assume its duties according to the law … Dweik said that the PLC would have to tackle with a number of “difficult” issues such as the legislation and laws that were passed in Gaza and the West Bank over the past four and a half years of internal division.
Link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Hamas’ Mashaal to visit Jordan
Ynet 30 Dec — Jordanian government spokesman denies receiving Qatari request to take in Hamas leaders but suggests issue may be discussed after Mashaal’s visit — Jordanian government spokesman Rakan al-Majali confirmed Friday that Jordan is expecting a visit from Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal and Qatari Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamas al-Thani, the London-based al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper reported.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4169007,00.html
Racism / Discrimination
Israeli intolerance: Palestinian citizens are ‘barred’ from governing coalition / Philip Weiss
30 Dec — At the Daily Beast, Peter Beinart has a fine post on the haredi-secular tensions in Israel being related to the discrimination against Palestinian citizens. He avoids saying what he said at the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations a month back, that Palestinians under occupation must get the vote for the government that controls their lives. But he makes the political point that I have made over and over here: that Arab parties inside Israel are excluded from governing coalitions. So of course they’re right wing. This is the Jim Crow south, this is 1964 and the Democratic Party excluding the Mississippi Freedom delegation of black delegates to the nominating convention.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/12/israeli-intolerance-palestinian-citizens-are-barred-from-governing-coalition.html
Education ministry blasts Israeli Arab school for taking students to human rights march
30 Dec — ‘The students carried signs against racism, house demolitions, etc., which violates the director general’s circular [i.e. ministry regulations],’ ministry tells school.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/education-ministry-blasts-israeli-arab-school-for-taking-students-to-human-rights-march-1.404479
Other news
Palestinian film: Jihad drove Israel away from Strip
Ynet 30 Dec — New movie recreates 2005 shooting attack near Kissufim checkpoint, suggests terror led to Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Director reveals some footage obtained through IDF officer
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4169045,00.html
Fatah official quizzed for blocking meeting between Israeli, Palestinian activists / Amira Hass
30 Dec — Detective tells Fatah that preventing events in East Jerusalem is a blow to Israeli sovereignty, and only the Israel Police has the authority to cancel them.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/fatah-official-quizzed-for-blocking-meeting-between-israeli-palestinian-activists-1.404481
Israel’s population stands at 7.8 million with 2012 around the bend
29 Dec — Year-end Central Bureau of Statistics report shows 166,000 new babies born in Israel throughout 2011, with 17,500 new immigrants arriving … According to the ICBS report, Jews comprise 75.3 percent of the country’s population, with 5.901 million people, with Arab citizens making up another 20.5 percent, or 1.610 million. Another 4.2 percent of Israel’s population, some 325,000 people, is comprised by non-Arab Christians and those whom the Interior Ministry doesn’t classified by religion. The survey also indicated that 2011 saw a 1.8 percent increase in Israel’s population
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-s-population-stands-at-7-8-million-with-2012-around-the-bend-1.404388
IDF report: Home front unprepared for rocket fire
29 Dec — Despite Iron Dome missile defense system, Home Front Command report obtained by Ynet reveals hundreds of thousands of residents have little or no access to fortified spaces
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4168691,00.html
Iron Dome missiles fall off military vehicle, none wounded
29 Dec — IAF chief Ido Nehushtan orders cessation of all maintenance activity in the Israeli Air Defense Command after dozens of projectiles roll of near earlier this week … No one was hurt following the accident, despite the heavy charge of explosive each projectile bears. Some of the missiles were damaged from the two-meter drop, with estimated damages which could reach hundreds of thousands of NIS. .
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/iron-dome-missiles-fall-off-military-vehicle-none-wounded-1.404333
Israel arrests extremists for tracking IDF forces in West Bank
29 Dec — Overnight operation takes place in Jerusalem, settlements of Yitzhar, Itamar, Harsha, and Kiryat Arba; activists: Israel Police has gone mad.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-arrests-extremists-for-tracking-idf-forces-in-west-bank-1.404319
Analysis / Opinion
Shocking Nakba testimony by former Israeli Palmach fighter
29 Dec (ROME) – Ethnic cleansing, massacres, colonization and a great deal of racism are all revealed in this shocking video testimony of Amnon Neumann, who fought with the terrorist force (elite of the Haganah), Palmach, during the Nakba of 1948 … Despite some moments of remorse, the former member of this terror group tells the interviewer that he refuses to talk about the massacres, in particular, because he participated in them. He also tries to portray Palestinian villages as all made of straw and mud houses! Perhaps the selective amnesia that has afflicted almost all Jewish Israelis has not spared Neumann. Warning to Palestinian refugees watching this: it can be really difficult to listen to parts of this testimony. I had to stop the video twice … the nonchalance with which Neumann describes (in clearly sanitized language) the forced expulsion, the killings of farmers tending their grapevines, … is overwhelming.
http://salem-news.com/articles/december292011/palmach-fighter.php
Shooting Israel — Between Israel and the West Bank
30 Dec — He came here believing in a two-state solution, but after living here for four years and photographing West Bank communities, Nick Waplington ‘learned that this is nonsense.’
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/shooting-israel-between-israel-and-the-west-bank-1.404555
groups.yahoo.com/group/f_shadi (listserv)
www.theheadlines.org (archive)
Thanks, Kate. Best wishes for the new year. pat