‘Homeless in Your Own Home’: New website focuses on housing issues of Palestinian citizens of Israel

The Mossawa Center launches ‘Homeless in Your Own Home’ blog
Haifa — On May 16th, in honor of the 64th commemoration of Nakba Day, the Mossawa Center launched a blog which features articles and audio-visual content about Arab localities throughout Israel in which Palestinian Arab citizens are facing acute housing problems such as home demolitions, lack of basic services, rent discrimination, etc. While the international media often focuses on housing issues of Palestinians in the West Bank, or maybe even in Naqab/Negev region of Israel, it remains understated how common issues of land, planning and housing are for Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel, including citizens in the North, the Center and mixed cities. The first entry of the blog focuses on the town of Hurfeish, a Druze Arab town near the Lebanon-Israel border. The story highlights the reality of a town in which a majority of its male residents serve in the Israeli military and meanwhile a quarter of their houses are considered ‘illegal’ by the Israeli government due to an old, discriminatory government master plan. The main interview is with a resident named Handa, who is living in an ‘illegal’ house which is facing a demolition order and has no access to basic services, such as electricity, water, waste collection, paved roads, etc.
http://www.mossawacenter.org/files/files/File/Press%20Releases/2012/BLOG.pdf

Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Apartheid / Restriction of movement

Well-known Beit Jala restaurant destroyed by Israel, again
Beit Jala (EI) 21 May by Ryan Brownell — In the early morning of Thursday, 3 May, representatives from several human rights organizations were scheduled to have breakfast in the popular al-Makhrour restaurant near Bethlehem. The purpose for the scheduled workshop was to discuss house demolitions and property confiscation by Israeli forces in Area C, a zone comprising 60 percent of the West Bank that is under full Israeli control. As people arrived for the meeting, though, the first thing they saw was a bulldozer leaving the site, alongside some Israeli officials. The restaurant — which is located beside the village of Beit Jala — had been demolished two hours earlier.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/well-known-beit-jala-restaurant-destroyed-israel-again/11309

Israeli forces destroy crops, seize irrigation equipment
HEBRON (WAFA) 21 May — Israeli forces Monday destroyed crops and confiscated irrigation equipment in al-Baqa‘a, an area east of Hebron, according to local sources. They told WAFA that Israeli forces accompanied by border guards, police and staff from Mekorot, Israel’s national water company, destroyed more than 13 dunums of agricultural land planted with vegetables and confiscated its irrigation equipment. The area targeted by the Israelis is fertile agricultural land located not far from the illegal Jewish settlements Kiryat Arba and Kharseena. Israel wants the area’s Palestinian residents to leave it to eventually incorporate it into the nearby settlement.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19866

Israeli forces ‘demolish East Jerusalem home’
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 21 May — Israeli forces demolished a home in East Jerusalem on Monday on the pretext that it was being built without a permit, Wafa news agency reported. The house in the Mount of Olives was under construction, owner Samih Idris told Wafa, adding that bulldozers arrived without any prior warning and destroyed the structure. Idris said he was also fined by the Jerusalem municipality.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=487963

Israelis seize quarry equipment, vehicles
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 21 May — Israeli forces Monday seized a truck and a bulldozer from a quarry in Rafat, a village near Ramallah, under the pretext of not having a license to operate the quarry, according to the owner Akram Qandeel … He said almost 70 workers make a living from working in the quarry.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19869

Settlers set fire to agricultural land in Hebron
HEBRON (WAFA) 20 May — Jewish settlers Sunday set fire to Palestinian Agricultural land in an area near Khirbet Susiya, a locale south of Yatta in Hebron, according to a local activist. Ratib al-Jabour, coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in southern Hebron, told WAFA that settlers from the Israeli settlement of Susiya, under Israeli soldiers protection, set fire to the harvested barley crops belonging to several Palestinians in the area.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19862

Settlers uproot, destroy trees in Hebron, Nablus
HEBRON, NABLUS (WAFA) 19 May — Israeli settlers Sunday uprooted and destroyed olive and fruit trees in Beit Ummar, a town north of Hebron, and in the Nablus-area village of Bourin, according to local activists. Spokesman of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Beit Ummar, Mohammed Awad, said dozens of Israeli settlers from the nearby settlement of Beit Ein sneaked into Palestinian private land at dawn and uprooted grape, olive and almond trees under the Israeli army protection. The settlers wrote racist slogans and threats, including “death to Arabs”, “expel Arabs and revenge”, “price tag” and “peace from Beit Ein,” said Awad.
He added that Israeli settlers from Karmi Tsur, another illegal settlement built on Beit Ummar village land, raided Palestinian land near the settlement and used toxic substance to destroy dozens of grapes and almond trees.
In Nablus, Israeli settlers raided olive fields in Bourin, a village south of Nablus, and cut down dozens of olive trees.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19857

In remote Palestinian villages, catastrophe becomes routine / Amira Hass
Haaretz 21 May — Demolition orders are the norm in small Palestinian villages; thankfully some ‘nudniks’ won’t let us forget — If it were not for a few nudniks, I wouldn’t have to deal with a report about every work stoppage order for every tent, or demolition orders for bathrooms, or actual demolitions of tents or rooms made out of concrete blocks … So how have these people, and the places about which they speak, become such nuisances? Because of my hesitation as to whether and how I can transform the information into a news item. I can hear in my head the following conversation with a news editor: “But you brought a report about a demolition order last week.” That was about a work stoppage order, and the report wasn’t published. “And two weeks ago Akiva Eldar and Gideon Levy wrote their features about demolition orders.” But those were about different demolition orders. This is the crux of a genuine dilemma: the steady, ever-proliferating stream of demolition orders issued against Palestinian construction are routine. A routine that stems from policy. A routine that reveals or conceals a sequence of personal and group catastrophes, delivered by the Netanyahu government to the Palestinians. That is, a routine of catastrophes.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/in-remote-palestinian-villages-catastrophe-becomes-routine.premium-1.431612

A Jerusalem you don’t know about / Mohammed Aweida
Haaretz 20 May — I want to tell you about my Jerusalem, a Jerusalem you don’t know about. You’re unfamiliar with East Jerusalem, with its many villages, because you’ve never visited. You even changed the names of those villages. Silwan, the village where I was born and where I still live, became the village of Shiloah. A-Tur became the Mount of Olives. Jabal Mukkaber became Armon Hanatziv. It pains me to have to describe to you a place you’ve often been only 100 meters from. And even if you’ve been there, you may not have believed it was Jerusalem. My Jerusalem is villages in ruins, with ugly construction, without infrastructure and without security. In my Jerusalem there aren’t enough schools, there’s no childhood and no adulthood (or matriculation ). It makes no difference which village you’ve entered, the picture is identical everywhere in the city where no Jews live. http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/a-jerusalem-you-don-t-know-about-1.431407

Evictions of Palestinians from their homes and other properties using affidavits
IMEMC 21 May — A recent court case, from May 8 2012, reported by Haarez has highlighted how the Absentee Property Law together with unsupported affidavits has been used to secure the evictions of Palestinians from their homes in sensitive areas of East Jerusalem … One method they use is exemplified by the recent decision of the Israeli Supreme Court to confirm the judgment of a lower Court and evict the families of Ghazi Zalloum and Ismail Wazwaz from their homes in the neighbourhood of al-Qurma in the Old City of Jerusalem. This ruling was based on the Court’s judgment that both properties had belonged to Jews before 1948, the date of the foundation of the State of Israel. It is a good question whether, the principle having now been established, Palestinian families will be able to recover houses they lived in before 1948 which are now occupied by Jewish families, but that’s another story.
The Haaretz report dealt with a second method based on the ‘Absentee Property Law’. Passed in 1950 but not invoked in East Jerusalem until 1977 by PM Menachem Begin, this law states that if it can be proved that a property owner was residing in an enemy country — including any Arab country and the West Bank — at the time East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel in 1967, then s/he loses the rights to his/her property.
http://www.imemc.org/article/63541

A researcher: 66% of Jerusalemites threatened with displacement
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 20 May — A Palestinian researcher revealed that more than two thirds of [?East] Jerusalemites owe money to the Israeli occupation’s different organs and departments. The Jerusalemite activist and researcher, Fakhri Abu Diab, said that Israeli official data showed that there are over 43 thousand debt files in the Israeli official debt collection department , estimated at tens of millions of shekels … He added that the largest proportion of the Jerusalemites’ debts are owed to the Municipal Property Tax “Arnona”, followed by the Insurance Institute that goes to withdrawing citizenship from Palestinians who do not pay the debts. He also warned of the repercussions of the growing indebtedness on Jerusalemites which is becoming a “factor of economic displacement and expulsion that will be used by the occupation to displace Jerusalemites.” He added, “Since the poverty rate in Jerusalem is 78 per cent (according to reports and researches), the Jerusalemites will not be able to pay their debts as they can hardly live.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7lvXlQEJ23pF4CxFJAZ7MdJYPEF1vkwphATrIA1Reo%2bUnR2F1P6WylAXdueE8jtkkkwvuBhw%2frqceWe9uyTeSAKj4BT2jQ8bVz5fQZba4C5o%3d

Right of return and the right to rob / Akiva Eldar
Haaretz 21 May — Today it is Israel that is insisting on the right of return to Sheikh Jarrah and the right to rob the land of Dura Al-Kara … The grandson of a Jewish woman, a man who arrived on Sunday from Kiev, can receive a key to his new house in the heart of Hebron, proof of the fact that we are lovers of peace and moreover, that we are lovers of negotiations. On the other hand, the key around the neck of the elderly refugee from the Talbieh neighborhood in Jerusalem, whose name we changed to Kommemiut, attests to the Palestinian plot to destroy the Jewish state. Fact: They asked the United Nations to recognize the state of Palestine within the 1967 borders, which would live in peace alongside the State of Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/right-of-return-and-the-right-to-rob-1.431603

Quietly, East Jerusalem Palestinians are becoming Israeli citizens / Riman Barakat
972mag 20 May — There has been a trend in recent years of Palestinian permanent residents of East Jerusalem applying for – and getting – Israeli citizenship. Will this trend provide freedom, or further fragment Palestinian national identity? … I believe the trend is the result of a well-planned and consistently applied Israeli strategy to pressure the Palestinian population of East Jerusalem. In 1996, Israel developed the “Center of Life Policy,” under which residents must continuously prove that they reside and work in Jerusalem, as a condition for continued residency status. Palestinian Jerusalemites slowly began to recognize the imminent threat of losing their Jerusalem residency status … These factors have led people to feel that an Israeli passport may provide some measure of improvement in their lives. Most of all, they hope  it will safeguard them against displacement from property, from the land and from the city that they call home.
http://972mag.com/quietly-east-jerusalem-palestinians-are-becoming-israeli-citizens/46298/

Knesset passes bill giving tax breaks to settlement donors
JERUSALEM (JTA) 21 May — The Knesset passed a bill that provides tax benefits to Israelis who donate to West Bank settlements. The bill, an amendment to the Income Tax Act, grants a 35 percent tax break on donations to nongovernmental organizations that encourage settlement anywhere in the country, such as the Negev and the Galilee, and including the West Bank.
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/05/21/3096086/knesset-passes-bill-giving-tax-breaks-to-settlement-donors

Apartheid facts trump another hasbara claim / Joe Catron
21 May — The claim: “The difference between the current Israeli situation and apartheid South Africa is emphasised at a very human level: Jewish and Arab babies are born in the same delivery room, with the same facilities, attended by the same doctors and nurses, with the mothers recovering in adjoining beds in a ward. The facts: Palestinian human rights organization in occupied Palestinian territories called for an end to the discrimination practiced against 1948 Palestinians in Israeli hospitals. Mossawa Center (MC) for Arab citizens in Israel pointed out that Meir hospital in the Zionist settlement “Kfar Saba” in 1948 occupied Palestine had separated between Arab and Jewish mothers in maternity wards.
http://joecatron.wordpress.com/2012/05/21/apartheid-facts-trump-another-hasbara-claim/

Jerusalem Day

Jerusalem Day marchers clash with Palestinians
JERUSALEM (Reuters) 20 May — Right-wing Israeli marchers scuffled with Palestinians as a procession marking the Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem entered the old city’s Muslim quarter on Sunday, police said. Tens of thousands of Israelis turned out to celebrate the anniversary of the capture of the territory in a 1967 war. Fifteen people were arrested after fighting between some marchers and Palestinians who gathered outside the Old City walls, said police. “Ten Jews were arrested for calling out racist slurs and attacking Arabs. Five Arabs (were arrested) for throwing objects and attacking (Israelis),” Jerusalem’s police force said in a statement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=487738

Settlers ride past Beit Ommar on Jerusalem Day
PSP 21 May — On Sunday, May 20th, 2012, around fifty thousand Jews marched to the Old City in Jerusalem to celebrate ‘Jerusalem Day’ … Sections of highway 60 around Beit Ommar were closed so that around five hundred settlers could cycle to Jerusalem for the march. Highway 60 connects Beit Ommar with the rest of the West Bank. Amidst an extremely heavy presence of soldiers and police the main entrance to Beit Ommar was also temporarily closed, almost completely halting Palestinian life as a result. Many of the settlers shouted ostentatiously at Palestinian bystanders (many of whom were waiting for the roads and checkpoints to reopen in order to carry on with their respective journeys). A jeep playing loud celebratory music also accompanied the settlers.
As the procession neared the settlement of Gush Etzion (a few kilometres north of Beit Ommar), an 18 year old Palestinian man, Salah Zaghir, was shot by an Israeli soldier on the suspicion that he may have been carrying a knife and planned to attack a soldier or settler. He is thought to be in a critical condition.
Near Damascus Gate, East Jerusalem, a peaceful pro-Palestinian counter demonstration was forcibly suppressed by border police and horses. Five Palestinians were arrested. Jewish youths provocatively danced in front of local Arab residents and cheered when the pro-Palestinian demonstrators were removed by police.
http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/2012/05/21/settlers-ride-past-beit-ommar-on-jerusalem-day/

Armed border officer chases 10-year-old Palestinian boy for holding flag / Lisa Goldman
[photos & video] 972mag 21 May — During Sunday’s Jerusalem Day events, a Palestinian boy, perhaps 10 years old, was chased down an East Jerusalem street by a very angry officer of the Border Police … an Orthodox Jewish man grabbed the Palestinian flag from the hands of a 10 year-old boy and refused to return it. The boy, enraged, tried to prise it out of the Jewish man’s hands. A Border Police officer, seeing the struggle between a 10 year-old Palestinian boy and a fully grown Jewish man, chased the Palestinian boy rather than ordering the Jewish man to return the flag. Someone made a montage of the incident and posted it on Facebook, with commentary. Note the expression of rage in the Border Police officer’s eyes, as seen in the second photo … Meanwhile, there are some violent reactions on Facebook to the image of the enraged Border Police officer chasing the frightened Palestinian boy … As of this writing, the last response belongs to Amitai Ben-Abba: “200 comments, most calling for IDF soldiers to kill children. Congratulations, you’re a light unto the nations.”
http://972mag.com/armed-border-officer-chases-10-year-old-palestinian-boy-for-holding-flag/46412/

Report: Israeli MKs tour Al-Aqsa to mark Jerusalem Day
TEL AVIV (Ma‘an) 20 May — Two Israeli Knesset members on Sunday toured the Al-Aqsa compound accompanied by over 20 right-wing activists as part of Jerusalem Day celebrations, Haaretz reported. National Union parliamentarians Uri Ariel and Michael Ben-Ari participated in the tour, which was organized by Yehuda Etzion, a former member of militant religious group the Gush Emunim Underground. During the tour, Ben-Ari and other activists kneeled down to pray, before being prevented from doing so by police. Yehuda Etzion was then forcibly removed from the compound after sitting on the ground and refusing to move, the Israeli daily said. Ben-Ari is a known supporter of Meir Kahane, who founded the far-right Kach party now banned under Israeli anti-terrorism laws. Etzion was jailed for five years in the 1980s for plotting to blow up the Al-Aqsa mosque.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=487556

Change and Reform bloc: the storming of the Aqsa Mosque sets off alarm bells
GAZA (PIC) 20 May — The Change and Reform bloc held the occupation fully responsible for allowing and protecting Zionist settlers during storming Al-Aqsa Mosque. The bloc said in a statement, on Sunday, that the Zionist occupation continues committing crimes against the Palestinian people, lands, and holy places. Zionist settles stormed today Al-Aqsa’s courtyards in Jerusalem under IOF protection as an attempt to strengthen what they claimed to be the status of the temple. These repeated Jewish attacks on the Aqsa Mosque reveal the malicious intents to demolish it to establish an alleged temple on its ruins, the statement stated.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7KXHTbyeUEtF8jCkadxDzIyFQYFBNeVlKfQJ%2ft7CN0FbpsW5SE7j9PAs8JczfCHJXBANr3SkY1326fQS7B%2b08wuYkHlB36R5%2fLB4bLTj%2fCTs%3d

Netanyahu: ‘Fatal mistake’ to concede sacred sites
JERUSALEM (Reuters) 21 May — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday it would be a “fatal mistake” ever to give up control over Jerusalem’s holy sites. His remarks, in a parliamentary speech, went a little further than Israel’s longtime policy of viewing Jerusalem, a city at the heart of Middle East conflict, as its “indivisible capital” … Netanyahu said that sites holy to Judaism, Islam and Christianity enjoyed a “wonder of inter-religious peace that is maintained thanks to Jerusalem’s unity under Israeli sovereignty.” “The Temple Mount is in our hands and … it shall remain in our hands,” Netanyahu added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=488096

Gush Shalom: Abolish ‘Jerusalem Day’, a holiday of settlers and racists
“Jerusalem Day” is not a holiday to Israel’s citizens or to residents of Jerusalem. It is a holiday only for the young settlers, who are given by the Jerusalem Police a free hand to hold a provocative “Flag Dance” throughout East Jerusalem – even though in previous years this “dance” developed into an ongoing chain of racist harassment and violence against Palestinian inhabitants.
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/events/1337464383

Violence / Raids

Videos: Settlers firing live ammunition at Palestinians in the presence of soldiers
B’Tselem 20 May — On Saturday, 19.5.2012, around four thirty in the afternoon, a large group of settlers descended on the eastern outskirts of the village ‘Asira al-Qibliya, from the settlement Yitzhar. B’Tselem volunteer photographers filmed the events from two angles. The video shows the settlers, some of whom were masked and armed, throwing stones at Palestinian homes, and fires beginning to burn. One of the masked settlers was armed with a “Tavor” rifle which is only used by infantry soldiers, raising the suspicion that he is a soldier on leave.
http://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20120520_asira_al_qibliya

Settler attack: Palestinian man shot in head in ‘Asira al-Qibliya
ISM 20 May by Maria Erdely — ‘Asira al-Qibliya, a village located south-west of Nablus, was attacked by illegal Israeli settlers yesterday. The attack lasted all afternoon leaving 7 Palestinians injured, of which 5 required hospitalization. Settlers fired live ammunition at the Palestinians, and one man was in critical condition after being shot in the head. Israeli settlers arrived at Asira in the afternoon and before any Palestinians or Israeli soldiers came they began the attack by setting fire to the land. The people of ‘Asira arrived and responded by throwing stones towards the settlers, attempting to force them off the land they were destroying. Three of the 60 settlers were carrying weapons with live ammunition. They began to fire at the Palestinians and 20 year old Nemer Fathir Asaira was shot in the head. Paramedics were prohibited from entering the street so a private car had to evacuate Nemer to an ambulance. Four more Palestinians were seriously injured by stones that were thrown by the Israeli settlers, including an elderly woman, who was hit in the head, Ahmed Jaber Saleh, whose nose and cheekbone were shattered, and his brother whose leg was broken.
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/05/settler-attack-palestinian-man-shot-in-head-in-asira-al-qibliya/

The Israeli undercover forces attacked and arrested Rani G’arib
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 21 May — Even though Rami G’arib lost his eye 2 years ago and he wasn’t part of the latest confrontations, it wasn’t a good enough reason for the Israeli undercover forces, they still attacked and arrested him while he was walking down the main street near the confrontations that happened in the Nakba day. In his interview to the Bukra website Rami said, “I was walking around the village’s street at the same time that the confrontations between the Palestinians and the Israeli forces were happening, suddenly I was tackled by The Undercover Forces, they dropped me to the ground,  one of them put his finger into my eye until my glass eye came out, I couldn’t take the pain so i screamed and they sprayed pepper spray in my mouth and started beating me, they accused me of participating in the confrontations and arrested Me for 24 hours while ignoring the pains i was in, and finally they released me after nothing was proven.” Rami added that he have to put a new glass eye even though he can’t afford it because he haven’t worked since he lost his eye 2 years ago.
http://silwanic.net/?p=26732

Palestinian seriously wounded, kept on ground as soldiers stepped on his hands
IMEMC 21 May — Palestinian medical sources reported Sunday that a Palestinian youth was injured near the Israeli settlement of Etzion, between Bethlehem and Hebron in the occupied West Bank. The soldiers then stepped on his hands to pose for pictures as the youth continued to bleed. The Israeli army claimed that the resident, identified as Salah Sghayyar, 18 years old, attempted to stab an Israeli soldier, but “fell on his knife during a scuffle with the soldier.” Yet, initial media reports indicated that the youth was shot, not stabbed, in the chest.
http://www.imemc.org/article/63533

Old woman, two others treated for gas suffocation
TULKAREM, (PIC)– A Palestinian old woman and two other citizens were treated for breathing difficulty in the Tulkarem town of Saida on Sunday evening following Israeli teargas attacks, local sources said. They said that Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed the town in the afternoon then in the evening and in each time fired gas bombs at young men who threw stones at them. The sources said that two men were treated on the field but the 50[!]-year-old lady was taken to hospital for treatment. They pointed out that the IOF soldiers returned to the town at dawn Monday and broke into houses and questioned inhabitants. Other IOF units broke into the city of Tulkarem at a late night hour on Sunday and on Monday morning, erected roadblocks, and scrutinized IDs.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7rN8ZvzTF8A2KOyohbOjm4oatAisICigqTyD6TO3AUDkIfTKbj95uRBMZkpaTWh%2fIJQ%2b%2fNOb5IW1eWagAp8nF640Xpi05HrK9tKcofIFYVBw%3d

Israeli forces arrest six Palestinians during raids on West Bank governorates
PNN 21 May — …Security sources said that Israeli forces also raided the houses of the two released prisoners Taher Fawzi Qatit and Osama Ezul-Deen Najem, in Serses village, searched them and rummaged with the contents. The Israeli forces also raided the villages of Sanour, Mithloun, al-Jaded and Wad al-Fare’a. In Kufurdan village, west of Jenin, Israeli forces raided the houses of Murad Abed and As‘ad Sholi, searched them and interrogated their owners. In Hebron, Israeli soldiers arrested Jabriel Shaher Abu Haded, 25, and Shadi Abdul Hakim Abu Daoud, 22, after they broke into their houses, searched them and rummaged with the contents.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/politics/1707-israeli-forces-arrest-six-palestinians-during-raids-on-west-bank-governorates

Siege of Gaza

Medics: Farmer shot in south Gaza, moderately injured
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 21 May — A young Palestinian farmer was shot by Israeli soldiers while working on his land in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, a medical official said. Waheed, 22, is in a moderate condition in Nasser hospital after suffering a bullet wound in the thigh, emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said. He was working in fields near al-Qarara, north-east of Khan Younis, when a soldier opened fire from a military watch-tower, Salmiya added.  An Israeli military spokeswoman said she had no record of the incident.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=487635

Medics: Man dies in Gaza tunnel fall
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 20 May — A man was killed in a tunnel under the Gaza-Egypt border on Sunday, a medical official said. Nader Omar Masraah fell inside the tunnel near the southern Rafah border in the Gaza Strip, emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said. Another man was injured when he received an electric shock in the tunnel, and was transferred to Abu Yousef Al-Najjar hospital in Rafah, he added.
On Thursday, 18-year-old Jihad Barakeh died after suffocating in a smuggling tunnel beneath the border, medics said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=487657

Egypt: Yasser Osman — Govt did not delay fuel shipment to Gaza on purpose
20 May — The Qatari fuel cargo heading to Gaza Strip was held up in Suez Canal due to its huge size which requires a lot of procedures, approvals and preparations to pass, Egyptian Ambassador to the Palestinian Authority Yasser Osman told MENA on 20/5/2012. Egypt is not putting off the delivery of the shipment, he said, adding that it will enter Gaza through el-Ouja terminal in the next few days.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201205210704.html

Gaza court rejects death sentence appeal
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 21 May — The supreme court in Gaza on Monday rejected an appeal against the death sentence of a man convicted of killing a family member. The defendant was sentenced to death on Dec. 12, 2010 after he was found guilty of killing his female cousin. Judges unanimously rejected his appeal against the sentence, a court report said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=487991

Detention / Court actions

Military court clears Tamimi of incitement charge
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 20 May — An Israeli military court on Sunday convicted a Palestinian human rights defender of taking part in demonstrations and solicitation to throw stones, but cleared him of the central charge of incitement. Bassem Tamimi, a prominent non-violence activist from Ramallah-district village Nabi Saleh, was also cleared of charges that he obstructed justice and failed to attend legal summons, the Popular Struggle Committee said. Tamimi was detained by Israeli forces on March 24, 2011. He was released on bail on April 24, 2012 but confined to the city of Ramallah and house arrest between Thursday and Sunday. Ofer military court said he will be sentenced this week … Tamimi has been recognized as a human rights defender by the European Union and a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.
The same military court on Sunday postponed a verdict on fellow Nabi Saleh activist Naji Tamimi, who was detained at a Nakba Day rally near West Bank village Ni‘lin last Tuesday, a Ma‘an correspondent said.
Since protests began in Nabi Saleh in December 2009, Israeli forces have detained more than 80 residents, around 10 percent of the entire village, according to the Popular Struggle Committee. Two of Bassem Tamimi’s sons have been injured by Israeli soldiers at protests, and his wife has been detained twice. Israeli’s Civil Administration has ordered the demolition of his home, which was built in 1965.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=487733

West Bank activist convicted over stoning
RAMALLAH (AFP) 21 May — An Israeli court yesterday convicted Palestinian activist Bassem Tamimi of dispatching stone-throwers and protesting illegally, in a case closely watched by the EU … Jonathan Pollak, a veteran Israeli activist who has closely followed Tamimi’s trial, said the solicitation to throw stones was a lesser charge than the broader allegation of incitement, of which he was cleared. “After 13 months in jail it is not possible he would not have been convicted for something in such a high-profile case,” Pollack said. “They had to do something.” But in a court which almost invariably finds against Palestinian defendants, the fact that Tamimi was acquitted on two charges was verging on the miraculous, he said. “In a military court with a 99.74% conviction rate the very fact that he was even partially acquitted could be regarded a miracle,” he remarked.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=506976&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17

Israel transfers former hunger-striking prisoner for interrogation
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 20 May — The Israeli Prisons Service (IPS) Sunday transferred prisoner Tha‘er Halahleh, who went on hunger strike for 77 days protesting his administrative detention, to Ofer military prison for interrogation, said a statement released by the Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs. Minister Issa Qaraqe‘ condemned the Israeli measure since Halahleh, who suffered health issues and significant weight loss, did not fully recover from his long-term hunger strike since he only ended his strike on May 15, and remains in need of further special medical care to restore his health.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19864

Ministry: Prisoners refuse visits to protest shackling
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 21 May — Two Palestinian prisoners who left solitary confinement under the hunger-strike deal are refusing visits from their lawyer in protest against ongoing restrictions by Israeli prison authorities, a PA ministry said Sunday. Ministry of Prisoners Affairs lawyer Rami al-Alami said Hasan Salameh and Ahmad al-Mughrabi refused to meet him in an Israeli jail, as they still receive worse treatment than other prisoners despite the deal.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=487856

Israeli army detains 3 overnight in West Bank
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 20 May — Israeli forces detained three Palestinians overnight Saturday, an Israeli military official said. Locals told Ma‘an that Israeli soldiers detained Salem Badi Der Setawi, 40, in Ramallah-area town Al-Bireh. Forces broke into a number of homes in the town using explosive devices, they said. An Israeli military spokeswoman said one person was arrested in Al-Bireh, as well as others in Anata and Hebron, she was looking into the use of explosive devices during the raid.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=487455

Israel arrests seven Palestinians in West Bank
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 21 May — Israeli forces Monday arrested seven Palestinians from the West Bank cities of Nablus, Hebron and Jenin, according to local sources.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19867

Soldiers arrest 70-year-old man in Nablus, relatives say
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 21 May — Israeli forces arrested two people in Nablus early Monday, including a 70-year-old man, witnesses said. Soldiers detained Sami Mustafa, 70, after raiding his home west of Nablus, his daughter Muna told Ma‘an. He was taken to an unknown destination. A PFLP activist was also arrested in Ein Beit el-Ma’ refugee camp on Monday. Witnesses identified the man as Ridha Khalid, 48.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=487799

Tadamun: Prisoner Lina suffers from severe pains
NABLUS (PIC) 20 May — The international Tadamun (solidarity) society for human rights said female prisoner Lina Al-Jerboni suffers from acute inflammation of the gall bladder causing her severe pain all the time. Spokesman for Tadamun society Ahmed Al-Betawi stated that Jerboni, a prisoner in Hasharon jail, was transferred several days ago to an Israeli hospital for medical tests and taken back to prison without any improvement in her health condition. Betawi said the hospital decided to delay her surgery until the inflammation goes away. Another female prisoner in the same jail named Wuroud Qasim told Betawi that “Lina is screaming loudly in pain and crying all day and night without stop. “She lost more than 20 kilograms; our hearts are torn apart for her condition,” Wuroud added.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s77IlKMgSd9gxVhXdiKq8hSbe0YrHbNBoHkfFGILo3q4DQnzOKMFShZjZjvnJXHYQzW%2brKr6yReKBZdllkkSI2XBWH8uBARw%2fbdDF1HzrMvnI%3d

‘Graves for the living’: my father’s memories of an Israeli jail / Shahd Abusalamah
EI 20 May — Twenty-seven years ago, my father’s eyes saw the sun after being in the dark of Israeli prison for 13 years. On 20 May 1985, my father regained his freedom. “I was sentenced for seven lifetimes plus 10 years and I thought that this prison, Nafha, would be my grave. Thank God I didn’t stay that long there, and I was set free to marry your mother and to bring you to this life,” my father told me, smiling. He considered the 13 years of misery as not that long. Yes, it’s not that long if compared with the life sentence to which he was bound if the deal to exchange Palestinian and Israeli prisoners didn’t happen.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/shahd-abusalama/graves-living-my-fathers-memories-israeli-jail

Zionist injustice system / As‘ad AbuKhalil
Angry Arab 20 May — Do Palestinian prisoners in the Zionist usurping entity receive vacations?  ”Former Israeli president Moshe Katsav went on his first vacation from jail on Sunday since he began serving time for his rape conviction in December.  Katsav, who was convicted of rape and a number of sex offenses, was granted vacation to attend his son’s wedding.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2012/05/zionist-injustice-system.html

Islamic Jihad: Israel detained 5 members
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 21 May — Palestinian Authority security forces on Monday detained five Islamic Jihad members in the West Bank, the party said. Islamic Jihad said in a statement that forces from the Fatah-led PA detained Khaled Abu Zeina from his home in Jenin even though he fell unconscious during the raid. Abu Zeina suffers from heart disease and high blood pressure, the movement said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=488084

Alleged Palestinian kidnap crew indicted
JERUSALEM (UPI) 20 May  — Israeli security agents Sunday announced the arrest of an alleged Palestinian kidnapping team that attempted to snatch Israelis off the streets of the West Bank. The accused militants were nabbed by Shin Bet officers two months ago after allegedly trying to abduct Israeli citizens and use them as bargaining chips for the release of Palestinian prisoners, officials said Sunday. The indictment alleges the nine accused kidnappers tried to grab Israeli motorists on three occasions by zapping them with a stun gun and then stashing them in a safe house or even a cave.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2012/05/20/Alleged-Palestinian-kidnap-crew-indicted/UPI-95921337529110/

Activism / Solidarity / BDS

Stop the Wall Weekly Report 18.5.12
[recap of popular demonstrations for the week] 20 May — Nabi Saleh: During the weekly protest at Nabi Saleh on Friday 18th March, against the wall and settlements, the Israeli Occupation Forces fired tear gas, rubber bullets and skunk water at protesters, injuring two Palestinians, Wa’ad Tamimi (15 years), and Walid al-Tamimi (16 years) and one international activist. A choir from Scotland attended the protest and sang songs of solidarity at the front of the procession. They then proceeded to sit in front of the Israeli soldiers and continue singing until the skunk truck was used to enforce retreat.
http://stopthewall.org/2012/05/20/weekly-report-18512

Young men from Jerusalem dive in the Red Sea while carrying the Palestinian flag
[photos] Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 21 May — Three young men from Jerusalem, Bassem Zidani, Ahmad Bouja and Ismail Al Julani, leaders in the in the Palestinian First AID, annunciated a diving in Em al Rishrash (Eilat) while carrying the Palestinian flag as a part of an initiative  to encourage the Palestinian youth to practice the sport of diving that most of the Palestinians are forbidden from as a result of the difficulties  that Israel is forcing on them.  All of the people that live in the West Bank are forbidden from reaching the Mediterranean Sea and more than 2.5 million Palestinians can’t reach the Red Sea.
http://silwanic.net/?p=26734

Volunteer in Gaza with the ISM
21 May — The International Solidarity Movement is appealing for activists to join our team in the besieged Gaza Strip.  After being barred from Gaza in 2003 following the murders of Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurndall, ISM Gaza was reinstated in August 2008 when ISM and other volunteers traveled aboard the historic, siege-breaking voyage of the first Free Gaza Movement boat. ISM has maintained a constant presence in Gaza since that time, for over three years of Israel’s crippling siege … Those interested in joining the ISM Gaza team are required to attend a preliminary training in their home country and must communicate with the volunteers in Gaza prior to arrival. Entering Gaza is an arduous process that may require some time to be spent in Egypt. All ISM volunteers in Gaza must agree to ISM principles as delineated on palsolidarity.org.
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/05/volunteer-in-gaza-with-the-ism-3/

Occupied Palestine: farce, tragedy, travesty
ISM 20 May by Patrick Keddie — The three snapshots below are composed from interviews conducted whilst working for the International Solidarity Movement in the West Bank from September to December 2011. FARCE Rodni Jaber is a Palestinian woman who lives and works as a farmer in Al-Baqa‘a, a windswept valley situated a few kilometers East of Hebron in the West Bank. Her family is regularly attacked by Israeli settlers and harassed by the Israeli military. In 1998 Rodni’s son Raja was born. A few days after his birth, settlers attacked the house; one settler made a complaint to the police that someone named ‘Raja’ had put a knife to his chest, threatening to kill him. Rodni: “Several days later the soldiers came to arrest my son. So I showed them my son who was 40 days old and I showed them his birth certificate because they didn’t believe he was Raja.” The soldiers left but they contacted the family shortly afterward with a demand. Rodni: “They said that Raja should come to the court and at the age of 50 days I had to take him. They said, ‘where is the defendant Raja’ and I showed them my son.” OK, so that was the end of it then? Rodni: “No — the judge ruled that when he reaches 16 years old he will have to come to back to court!”
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/05/occupied-palestine-farce-tragedy-travesty/

PSP activists join building project in Um Fagara
21 May — On Saturday, May 19th, 2012, locals together with more than 30 Palestinian, Israeli and international activists (from Norway, the USA, Britain and Italy, amongst others) built a single story prefabricated house in the village of Um Fagara (South Hebron Hills). The event was organized by the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee of Al-Tuwani with the aim of peacefully resisting the Israeli occupation by affirming the right to live of the community of Um Fagara. Um Fagara is in area C, under both Israeli military and administrative control. It has been subject to a range of evacuations, abuse and demolitions by the Israeli military in recent years. On 24 November, 2011, the Israeli army demolished two houses, a mosque, a barn and a structure containing the village’s generator. Two Palestinian girls were also [brutally] arrested. They were released several days later.
http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/2012/05/21/psp-activists-join-building-project-in-um-fagara/

Conference about Palestinian prisoners’ situation in Israeli jails
PNN-Ufree 21 May — This Conference on the Plight of Palestinian Prisoners in Israel Prisons was convened by UFree Network and Irish Friends of Palestine on 19th May 2012. We have gathered in Belfast uniting elected representatives, former prisoners and prisoners’ relatives and human rights activists … Click here for more coverage on the conference:
https://www.facebook.com/ufreepnet
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/nonviolence/1703-conference-about-palestinian-prisoners-situation-in-israeli-jails

SA university pulls plug on Israeli Embassy
MEMO 21 May — South Africa’s University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has pulled the plug on the Israeli deputy ambassador to South Africa, Yaakov Finkelstein. This is yet another blow to Israel-South Africa relations that have recently become tense. Finkelstein was due to speak at UKZN later on today, Monday (21 May 2012), but yesterday afternoon, UKZN’s Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Joseph Ayee, sent an email informing his staff that he has cancelled the lecture:
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/africa/3777-sa-university-pulls-plug-on-israeli-embassy

Israel: South Africa’s desire to label West Bank goods is ‘racist’
CSM 21 May — When South Africa requested imports from Israeli settlements be labeled ‘made in the occupied West Bank,’ Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the move ‘bears clear racist characteristics.’ … “When people are asking, ‘is it from the territories, is not?’ It’s mostly a political blow, not an economic blow,” says Alon Liel, a former director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry. “Because of South Africa’s history of apartheid, it attracts attention regarding the legality of the settlements and fixes attention on the ‘A’ word. That is very meaningful because Israel has a soft belly here.”
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2012/0521/Israel-South-Africa-s-desire-to-label-West-Bank-goods-is-racist

Political issues / Diplomacy

PNC calls for dissolving PA and its security agencies
BEIRUT (PIC) 21 May — The Palestinian national committee (PNC) called for dissolving the Palestinian authority (PA) and its security agencies and described them as the stumbling block to resisting the occupation. This came in a statement issued following a meeting held on Friday in Beirut by the PNC, a wide coalition of Palestinian NGOs, trade unions and networks … “There is no escape from the need to dissolve the PA, to dismantle its security apparatuses and to end the financial subordination that leads to the liquidation of the Palestinian cause at the pretext of securing the salaries of 170,000 individuals from the Palestinian people whose number is more than 11 million,” the PNC said.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7t7KaE%2b6iLVxcN7LnCclhday4mhMocN6z0%2fYEp5U%2bBsfHKDrg5KA%2bqqtr%2bYvPG1R1fks84quNyhP5ZqpqzCU6pJqLO0J5LW%2fgvJRdVpmixTQ%3d

Fatah, Hamas meet in Gaza after Cairo deal
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 21 May — Fatah and Hamas are meeting in the Gaza Strip to discuss a deal agreed in Cairo late Sunday, officials present said on Monday. Other factions will also attend the meeting, which is held regularly in Gaza … Under the deal agreed in the Egyptian capital, the Palestinian Elections Commission will begin work in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on May 27, after which President Mahmoud Abbas will immediately begin consultations on a consensus government as previously agreed by party leaders. Members of the new cabinet will be agreed upon within 10 days from the start of consultations. The unity government will operate for six months, during which time it will set a date for general elections.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=487901

Teachers’ political dismissal claims referred to top court
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 20 May — The case of a group of teachers claiming wrongful dismissal was referred to the highest judicial authority in the West Bank on Sunday, lawyers said … Amid the Palestinian factional division since 2007, several teachers in the West Bank have filed suit against the Fatah-led PA over wrongful dismissal, alleging their contracts were terminated due to their political support for Hamas.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=487558

Official: Special judges to hear journalist cases
JERICHO (Ma‘an) 20 May — The Palestinian Judicial Authority will appoint special judges to handle lawsuits directed against journalists in a bid to strengthen freedom of expression, a judge said Saturday.  Izzat al-Ramini, head of the judicial courts’ administration department, made the remarks during a conference in Jericho on justice and the media. The conference conclusions also recommended that the union of journalists should be notified of all legal cases against journalists, and a representative should be present during any interrogation. Several journalists have been arrested in the West Bank in recent months, drawing protests from the journalist syndicate….
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=487474

Mashaal heads delegation to Kuwait
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 21 May — A Hamas delegation led by Khalid Mashaal began an official visit to Kuwait on Monday. The group will meet Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, to discuss developments concerning national reconciliation and Israel, Hamas politburo member Izzat Rishiq said in a statement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=488002

Abbas meets officials in Qatar
DOHA (Ma‘an) 20 May — President Mahmoud Abbas concluded a visit to Qatar on Sunday, after meeting a number of Arab officials over the state of the peace process with Israel.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=487723

Racism / Discrimination

Revealed: Arab cabbies banned from driving BG Airport staff / Dimi Reider
972mag 21 May — Turns out that the Arab cab driver — any Israeli cab driver who happens to be Arab — is deemed so much a security risk simply by virtue of his excessive Arabness that he can’t be allowed to drive staff to and from Ben Gurion Airport. We learn this from an urgent letter sent today by the Association for Civil Rights Israel (ACRI), to the director of the Israel Airport Authority, Yaakov Ganot, demanding he cancels forthwith a directive issued from the office of the director of Ben Gurion Airport to a cab company servicing the employees of Israel’s main international hub. The directive, signed by the airport’s transportation director Shuki Shemer, quite simply bans the company from employing “drivers from minorities, including all routes.” Palestinian citizens of Israel  are commonly referred to as ‘minorities’, a euphemism comparable in sophistication to using ‘coloureds’ instead of ‘blacks’ in American discourse.
http://972mag.com/revealed-arab-cabbies-banned-from-driving-ben-gurion-airport-staff/46411/

Using rape to justify racism / Yossi Gurvitz
972mag 19 May — …In the last two weeks, there were three incidents of rape, all allegedly carried out by non Jews – two allegedly by Sudanese and Eritrean refugees, and one allegedly by a Palestinian illegal resident — and the Israeli government and media lost their minds. Those rape incidents were prominently displayed in the media, and the usual creeps rolled from under their stones … So what’s going on? It’s simple, really. When the Israeli media reports a rape by “foreigners,” it engages in dog-whistling. It informs its readership that something much worse than rape took place: the defilement of the blood and honor of the Jewish people, the defiling of the honor of a daughter of Israel. It’s easy to forget, when you hear Ben Ari, Danon and Yishai’s latest statements, that they were inciting against the refugees long before these rape incidents took place.
http://972mag.com/the-black-haired-youth-stalking-the-golden-haired-girl/46239/

Police distortion of crime data encourages rising violence against refugees / Sigal Rozen
972mag 19 May — … The press similarly reported in early May that “asylum seekers are involved in 40 percent of crimes,” relying on police figures recently presented to the government. This statistic is shocking, but not as shocking as the fact that senior Israel Police officers are willing to tell lies in an effort to gain a chunk of the huge budget that the government has allotted to the war against African refugees. Real police data, presented in a meeting held by the Knesset Committee on Foreign Workers on March 19, indicate that the crime rate among foreigners in Israel stood at 2.24 percent in 2011 (1,223 criminal cases out of a total of 54,497 foreigners) … The 2011 data on Israeli crime has not yet been published, but according to police data reported to the Knesset, the crime rate among the general population in Israel stood at 4.99 percent in 2010.
http://972mag.com/police-distortion-of-crime-data-encourages-rising-violence-against-refugees/46236/

Faculty demands return of Arabic to university of Haifa’s logo
Haaretz 21 May — The University of Haifa has removed the Arabic script from its new logo, which appears as part of special design issued in honor of the 40th anniversary of the university’s founding. The logo now appears with the words “University of Haifa” in Hebrew and English only, whereas the previous university logo included the words in Arabic as well. Several lecturers noticed the missing Arabic script in the new logo, which now appears on official university documents. Arabic and Hebrew are both official languages of the State of Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/faculty-demands-return-of-arabic-to-university-of-haifa-s-logo.premium-1.431588

Discrimination against 1948 Palestinians in Israeli hospitals
NAZARETH (PIC) 20 May — Palestinian human rights organization in occupied Palestinian territories called for an end to the discrimination practiced against 1948 Palestinians in Israeli hospitals. Mossawa Center (MC) for Arab citizens in Israel pointed out that Meir hospital in the Zionist settlement “Kfar Saba” in 1948 occupied Palestine had separated between Arab and Jewish mothers in maternity wards.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7S9P5h8bI6qUmvXh%2f5zKmag2puCwys70pO2VNFsopSGEuc%2fBWIUmFZpa0DQO6EemdRVLfqSRqcWystcwCdnFMmMKcXZj0Usfx%2bp%2bl59t43Vo%3d

Israeli court ruling to help fight gender pay gap
JERUSALEM (Reuters) 18 May — Israel’s high court on Friday put the onus on employers to pay men and women equally in a landmark ruling that may help narrow wage gaps, which are bigger than in most Western countries.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=487040

Other news

Family of Hamas figure seeks to block Israeli movie
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) 20 May — Relatives of a slain Hamas operative seek to block the release of a movie being made in Israel about his 2010 assassination in a Dubai luxury hotel, a family member said Sunday … Ahmed al-Mabhouh said the family learned about the movie from the media and hopes to prevent its release. “We consider this movie … a distortion of our late martyr and reject the Zionist conspiracy against him after his death which everyone knows is a lie,” he said.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gHJDRqTBb0QQBPDQCO2VTS18PPfA?docId=da61d29d53a245dcb2b51836dc8d9477

Sudanese refugees flocking to Israeli Arab, Druze towns
Haaretz 20 May — What started out as a few dozen is now hundreds, says Kafr Manda’s imam … “Any work is a blessing for us, but I don’t know how much longer we can go on,” says Ismail, 26.  “I know people are starting to look at us suspiciously and that bothers me. I see young women walking down the street who, when they see one of us, they run away, and that’s hard. We didn’t come here looking for problems, but to make a living and get away from worse conditions,” Ismail says.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/sudanese-refugees-flocking-to-israeli-arab-druze-towns.premium-1.431385

Palestinian Airlines seeking to expand in Gulf
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 19 May — The Palestinian national airline plans to resume flights between Amman, Jordan, El-Arish, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah, a company official said Friday … Palestinian Airlines resumed weekly flights between Amman and El-Arish on May 9. Al-Beda said flights were going on regularly and without significant obstacles. The tiny Palestinian Airlines has a fleet of three aircraft and about 100 employees. All the staff including pilots, engineers and technicians are Palestinians. It operates out of El-Arish and offers charter services to Saudi Arabia during the annual Muslim pilgrimage season.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=487156

Coca Cola Palestine wins award for sustainable development
RAMALLAH/ISTANBUL (Ma‘an) 20 May — A Palestinian company producing Coca Cola products has won the international group’s first award for sustainable development in Africa and Eurasia.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=487587

Film / Books / Reviews

Watch: Short film ‘Yala to the moon (Yala al Amar)’ by Suhel Nafar and Jackie Salloum
[6 minutes] EI 20 May — Yala to the Moon (Yala al Amar) is a new film by Suhel Nafar (of DAM) and Jacqueline Reem Salloum. It was selected for exhibition in the TIFF Kids International Film Festival (Toronto), London Palestine Film Festival and Boston Palestine Film Festival. Peddling CDs on the streets of the West Bank, Aseel uses her imagination to magically remake the world around her.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/benjamin-doherty/watch-short-film-yala-moon-yala-al-amar-suhel-nafar-and-jackie-salloum

An Arab impostor masquerading as a Jew
Haaretz 21 May — Sayed Kashua’s new novel centers around an Arab lawyer who can pass for Jewish, but who feels like an impostor in both societies … The lawyer, who remains nameless throughout the book, works in West Jerusalem but lives in the Arab neighborhood of Beit Safafa. He drives a black Mercedes to impress his Jewish peers but hires the daughter of a senior Fatah official for his law office to win an Arab ‘seal of approval.’
http://www.haaretz.com/culture/books/an-arab-impostor-masquerading-as-jew.premium-1.431692

Ahdaf Soueif on books on Palestine
Telegraph 21 May — Raja Shehadeh is known in the UK for Palestinian Walks, the book that won him the Orwell Prize in 2008. Now, with his wife, Penny Johnson, he has edited Seeking Palestine (2012), a collection of personal essays and memoirs about Palestine from writers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Israel and the Palestinian diaspora. A reflection of the variety of Palestinian voices speaking in English today.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/authorinterviews/9274956/Ahdaf-Soueif-on-books-on-Palestine.html

Palestine in film
End the Occupation 21 May — To commemorate the 64th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), a US Campaign coalition member, announced the online publication of a guide to Palestinian film and film making. It features information on and access to hundreds of films and film institutions, giving an unprecedented overview of almost every aspect of Palestinian film making.
http://blog.endtheoccupation.org/2012/05/palestine-in-film.html

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