‘Continuous settler violence’ stirs EU condemnation, leaves 6-year-old boy sleepless

Israeli Attacks / Raids / Arrests

EU missions condemn continuous settler attacks against Palestinians
JERUSALEM, Sept 5 (WAFA) – The European Union missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah, in a statement Wednesday, reiterated the EU’s condemnation of continuous settlers’ violence and deliberate provocations against Palestinian civilians. EU missions are particularly concerned about the increasing number and the severity of recent incidents against Palestinian civilians by extremist settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, said the statement … EU Missions also expect comprehensive measures by the Government of Israel to prevent settler violence and to protect Palestinian civilians, it said.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=20610

I can’t sleep
ISM posted 6 Sept — 31 of August – Susiya by Abu Sara — “I can’t sleep. As soon as I close my eyes, I see settlers everywhere,” says Amer the six years old son of my friends. Omar leaves his mattress and joins me outside, where I’m watching the beautiful full moon. This evening Amer’s father is absent, he’s still working on the other side of the green line, harvesting onions and can’t afford to come home often. “It looks like there are settlers all around the tent,” Amer continues. “Do you want me to come to bed next to you?” I ask. “Yes, please…” A few days ago six year old Amer watched the demolition of tents in a nearby encampment. Last year he saw his cousins’ encampment set on fire. Tomorrow will be his first day of  school. All this goes on with a world ignoring it, and behaving as if nothing is happening.
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/09/i-cant-sleep/

Settlers assault Palestinians south of Nablus
NABLUS, Sept 6 (WAFA) – A group of Jewish settlers Thursday assaulted a number of Palestinians in Qasra, a village south of Nablus, according to a local activist. Head of the village council Abd al-Atheem Wadi told WAFA that settlers, under Israeli soldiers’ protection, attacked the southern part of the village and pointed their weapons at the residents to force them to leave their land.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=20625

Settlers set Nablus orchard ablaze
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 7 Sept — A group of settlers set fire to an orchard in a northern West Bank village on Friday morning, eyewitnesses told Ma‘an. Residents of Eli settlement entered Qaryut village, torching olive and almond trees, villagers said. The people of Qaryit rushed to the site to douse the flames, they added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=518026

Suspected hate crime: Arab man assaulted in Jerusalem
Ynet 6 Sept — East Jerusalem man claims he was attacked by Jewish youths for being Arab, says attack left him with broken leg. ‘The minute they heard my name, they began hitting me,’ he says … Ibrahim Abu Ta’a, 28, an east Jerusalem resident who works at a local hotel, claims that he was the victim of a racist attack. According to Abu Ta’a, the assault occurred as he dropped off a co-worker after leaving a work event.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4278330,00.html

Settlers burn 130 olive trees in northern West Bank
QALQILIYA (Ma‘an) 7 Sept — Israeli settlers set fire to around 130 olive trees in a northern West Bank village on Friday, locals said. Residents of Immanuel settlement set fire to the lands while residents were at Friday prayers, locals said. Fawzi Al-Ghanem, owner of the land, told Ma‘an that civil defense crews brought the blaze under control but only after his trees had been destroyed. Israeli police also arrived on the scene, which is located adjacent to the Israeli settlement, he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=518068

Jewish settlers drink wine and revel in Beersheba mosque
BEERSHEBA (PIC) 6 Sept — Dozens of fanatic Jewish settlers on Wednesday evening drank wine and partied in the courtyard of Beersheba Mosque in the city in violation of an Israeli official pledge to refrain from holding a wine festival in the Mosque. The settlers deliberately breached the agreement that was reached between the organizers of Karama (dignity) protest and the Israeli municipal council in Beersheba city.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7Ajsx6EO62og13MXRb4KJC5EyLmcygykhYWKwKFW%2baX0%2bga6k2mNbvp0GqTAvbvwCzeBzBq8IPmQxitNmmTOIP5STY7cO5N%2bOQWeXvpOYFNg%3d

Italian minister: Attacking holy sites ‘phenomenon that has to be stopped’
RAMALLAH, Sept 6 (WAFA) – Italian Foreign Minister, Giulio Terzi, said Thursday regarding the arson of a monastery in Latrun, an area west of Jerusalem, by Jewish settlers and attacking holy sites, during a meeting with Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki in Ramallah, “It is a phenomenon that has to be stopped.” He said that “the core element of the Italian foreign policy is the protection of regional minorities in every part of the world,” adding that these actions are forcing the Christian minorities to leave the region where their families reside.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=20627

British minister condemns arson of monastery by settlers
RAMALLAH, Sept 6 (WAFA) – British Minister for the Middle East and North Africa Alistair Burt, in a statement Thursday, strongly condemned the Jewish settlers’ attack on a monastery in Latrun, an area west of Jerusalem. “I strongly condemn the crime against the Latrun Monastery. This was a shocking and deliberately provocative act on a place of worship,” said the release.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=20626

Envoys: Monastery arson damaged Israel’s image
Ynet 6 Sept — Cables sent by Israeli ambassadors in Europe to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem indicate that the recent desecration of a monastery outside Jerusalem has resulted in a major hit to Israel’s image in the continent … Media outlets in Italy criticized Israel’s security forces, who “apprehend terrorists before they leave for their mission but fail to catch a few Jews who are operating right under their noses.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4277885,00.html

‘Price tag’ vandals consistently escape prosecution
Ynet 4 Sept –  Hate messages, arson and no indictments: Dozens of “price tag” acts which have taken place in the past few years have resulted in just a few indictments in what has been described by Yesha Council chairman as a “complete failure by the Shin Bet.” The investigation of the Latrun Monastery arson case, which is being handled by the polcie’s International Crimes Unit, may lead to a different outcome, but the data reveals an obvious trend.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4277043,00.html

Raids and military checkpoints at Hebron
PNN — Friday 7th September, Israeli occupation forces raided several villages and neighborhoods in Hebron south of the West Bank, set military checkpoints on the main entrances and streets. Security sources said that number of military patrols raided at dawn, al-Thaheriyah village south of Hebron. They also raided Ethna, Samou‘ and al-Fawar refugee camp, set military checkpoints at the main entrances and harassed Palestinians.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/politics/2607-raids-and-military-checkpoints-at-hebron

Occupation storms several villages in Jenin
PNN On Friday 7th September, Israeli occupation forces stormed and searched villages south of Jenin, north of the West Bank. Local sources said that Israeli forces raided al-Turah village, south of Jenin, arrested Mohammad Wasef and detained him for several hours for interrogation before releasing him. Israeli forces also raided al-Fundkumiyeh village, broke into two houses and interrogated their residents. Sources said that both Palestinians; Adnan Mohammad Qarariya and Loai Jihad Qarariya were interrogated on spot by Israeli Intelligence officials.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/politics/2609-occupation-storms-several-villages-in-jenin

The IOF arrest 3 children in Al-Khalil, two young men in Bethlehem
AL-KHALIL, BETHLEHEM (PIC) 6 Sept — IOF troops arrested on Thursday at dawn three children from the village of Sa‘ir, north east of al-Khalil and two young men from Duhaisha refugee camp, south of Bethlehem. Local sources in Sa‘ir reported that the children arrested are Nizar Abdel-Rahman Jaradat (14), Feras Yaser Jaradat (15) and Talji Sabri Jaradat (16). While sources in Duhaisha refugee camp said that about nine occupation military jeeps raided the camp and took position in Harat al-Jaafrah. The occupation soldiers raided a number of homes and ransacked them before arresting Jihad Isa Maali and Wisam Abdel-Rahman al-Hasanat.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7iat5bIcj3tz4xYwnItXFVi7OzUyuwp4UVqio7Fg4bxIFncXjx%2b571fs%2fTSh%2bIVRFxUZOev5ZBNQssP7Sr5GtpvjVML6W%2fBmFObx%2bitfUf6o%3d

PA security services arrest five supporters of Hamas in Qalqilya and al-Khalil [and the IOF arrests three liberated captives]
RAMALLAH (PIC) 6 Sept — Palestinian Authority security apparatus arrested four supporters of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Qalqilya and another one in al-Khalil, while the Israeli forces arrested three liberated captives.
Preventive Security Service launched in Qalqilya arrests campaign and detained three citizens after being summoned for interrogation. Meanwhile, the General Intelligence arrested in al-Khalil liberated captive Anas al Hashlamoun from his house after his return from youths’ sit-in, which was organized against the policy of Fayyad’s economic government at Ibn Rushd square.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested Sheikh Ahmed Hassan Awad, 47, after raiding his home in the town of Budrus, near Ramallah. He is a member of Budrus village council and a teacher in the boys school. He had served more than three years in Israeli jails and was a former detainee in PA prisons. The IOF also arrested liberated captive and former political prisoner Jihad Mansour Karajeh, from Safa village in Ramallah district, and liberated captive Samer Ahmed Matar from the town for Edhna in al-Khalil district, who has been wanted for the preventive security apparatus.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7n3LG31vVjA%2f8hIGyS32gEfP8mMJ2Wkxfm03GmsKK0w0MhZWnBzFM1FJDuwG5dd5WvXaZRUAUSDhS%2f7Z%2bV%2bDBZh%2foD9yT049UGSmwbWPnqfw%3d

Gaza

Medics: Israel fire injures 1 at Gaza funeral
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 6 Sept — Israeli forces opened fire east of Gaza City on a funeral procession for two Palestinians and injured one of the mourners, medics said. Soldiers were near the border east of Jabaliya and began shooting toward participants at a funeral at the eastern cemetery and struck one, the officials said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=517904

Medics: New airstrike kills 3 in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 6 Sept — An Israeli airstrike on the northern Gaza Strip killed three Palestinians and injured three others, in the second deadly attack in 24 hours, medics said.  Witnesses told Ma’an that an Israeli warplane fired flechette ammunition near the agricultural college east of Beit Hanoun, killing three people and wounding three others. Villagers who knew the men said they belonged to a small Islamist militant group known as Homat al-Aqsa. Their bodies were taken to a local hospital.
Hours earlier, an airstrike killed three gunmen as they tried to launch short-range rockets on Wednesday. Medical officials and witnesses confirmed that three militants had been killed in the attack near Bureij, in central Gaza. They did not immediately give the dead men’s factional affiliation but said they did not belong to Hamas.
“The Hamas terror organization is solely responsible for any terrorist activity emanating from the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli military said in an initial statement. The statement said the men targeted from the air had previously fired rockets across the border and were preparing to do so again.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s armed wing claimed responsibility for launching an attack from eastern Gaza, saying it was in response to Israel’s escalation.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=517698

DFLP wing claims rocket fire into Israel
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 6 Sept — The armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine said it fired Grad rockets from Gaza into southern Israel on Thursday morning. The rockets were fired into the Negev in response to Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, the National Resistance Brigades said in a statement. An Israeli military spokeswoman told Ma‘an that one rocket landed in the Eshkol Regional Council, causing no damage or injuries.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=517773

Hamas: Gaza attacks meant as ‘test’ for Egypt leader
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 6 Sept — Israel’s deadly attacks on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and Thursday were intended as a “test” of the new Egyptian president’s tolerance for violence in Gaza, Hamas said Thursday. Spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the airstrikes that killed six militants in separate attacks were “unjustified,” and came after Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi delivered a speech affirming his support for the Palestinian cause. “Muhammad Mursi and the Arab League supported the Palestinian people,” Barhoum said of a speech Mursi gave at the regional body on Wednesday. “Israel’s attacks are aimed at testing the Arab position.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=517857

Gaza govt lifts border restrictions for Friday
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 6 Sept — Travelers will be able to use the Rafah crossing on Gaza’s border with Egypt on Friday without registering in advance, the Interior Ministry said Thursday. Since the crossing reopened after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was deposed, Palestinians have had to register at the Hamas ministry before traveling, sometimes weeks in advance. The ministry said in a statement Thursday that the registration process would be scrapped on Friday, allowing Palestinians to cross to Egypt without advance permits. It was not immediately clear if restrictions would continue to be lifted after Friday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=517950

Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing

Settlers, members of Israel’s intelligence break into Al-Aqsa Mosque
PNN — Thursday 6th September, 30 members of Israel’s intelligence community headed by Likud member, Moshe Feiglin, and groups of settlers broke into al-Aqsa mosque since early hours of the morning … Eyewitnesses said that Feiglin and settlers raided al-Aqsa mosque at 8 AM from al-Magharbeh gate and headed to the mosque where they performed their religious rituals and walked in the mosque’s yards. Al-Aqsa Institute described “Israeli continuous incursions and the profanation of the mosque by leaders of Israeli parties, members of Knesset and settlers,  with very dangerous procedures, in which occupation attempts to implicit Jewish presence daily in al-Aqsa mosque, in a step to impose the decision issued earlier to divide al-Aqsa mosque between Palestinians and Jews.”
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/national/2603-settlers-member-of-israels-intelligence-break-into-al-aqsa-mosque

Israel to demolish house, water well and barn
HEBRON, Sept 6 (WAFA) – The Israeli authorities Thursday handed a Palestinian from Beit Ola, a town northwest of Hebron, a demolition order of his house, a water well, in addition to an animal barn, according to a local activist. Coordinator of the popular committee against the wall, Isa al-Omla, told WAFA that Israeli forces handed Jamal al-Omla an order to demolish his 40-square-meter house, a water well, and an animal barn in an area west of the town.
He added that forces also photographed two other water wells and an agricultural land planted with olive and almond trees in the same area, and asked their owners to leave the area and stop working in the land under the pretext that it is an Israeli land.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=20624

Israeli bulldozers demolish Palestinian house in Nazareth
NAZARETH, Sept 4 (WAFA) – Bulldozers of the Israeli Ministry of Interior, under police protection, Tuesday demolished a Palestinian house in Bir al-Maksur, a village in the old city of Nazareth, according to witnesses. They said Israeli bulldozers demolished a house belonging to a Palestinian, leading to confrontations between the village’s residents and the police. Residents threw rocks at the police who responded by firing tear gas canisters towards them and arrested two Palestinians.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=20602

Tough lessons for Bedouin children
Haaretz 6 Sept by Khaled Diab — With their school slated for demolition, the children of Khan al-Ahmar exemplify the complicated situation of Area C, where Israeli authority in the West Bank threatens their educational future … Nujood greets us shyly as we sit with her father, Moussa, sipping sweet Bedouin tea in the family’s simple “garden,” the best the arid circumstances will allow. Despite the early hour, the 14-year-old, who is starting seventh grade, is excited about the prospect of resuming her education. “I enjoyed the summer holiday but I prefer going to school because we study there and learn new things,” Nujood says in a barely audible whisper, betraying an attitude quite at odds with the mixed emotions of most teenagers greeting the new school year … “I want to become a teacher,” she says simply. Her reason? “I want to teach other [Bedouin] children because not everything is available here for them to learn.”
http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/tough-lessons-for-bedouin-children.premium-1.463104

Illegal construction discovered in Beit El
Ynet 4 Sept — During the June evacuation of five contested buildings in Beit El’s Ulpana neighborhood, evicted settlers declared they would not be deterred and would continue to build in the area. It is now safe to say that they have kept their promise. A new structure has erected recently, just a few meters from the buildings that were evicted by order of the High Court of Justice.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4277225,00.html

Israel paying hundreds of thousands of shekels to move West Bank settlers’ mobile homes
Haaretz 5 Sept — The Israeli government is footing the bill, worth hundreds of thousands of shekels, for moving caravans in the now-evacuated West Bank outpost of Migron. The caravans are owned and rented out by an organization called Amana, which supports settlements in the West Bank and other areas of Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-paying-hundreds-of-thousands-of-shekels-to-move-west-bank-settlers-mobile-homes-1.462958?localLinksEnabled=false

Prisoners / Court actions

16 local radio stations unite broadcasting for the striking prisoners
GAZA (PIC) 5 Sept — Sixteen local radio stations in the Gaza Strip and West Bank agrees on Tuesday to unite broadcasting for the striking prisoners in Israeli jails. The Prisoners Committee for the National and Islamic Forces in West Bank and Gaza Strip confirmed that the radio stations’ broadcast will be specialized in prisoners’ issue starting from Tuesday for half an hour, during which liberated prisoners, and official institutions concerned in prisoners’ issue, and striking prisoners” families.
It is noted that four Palestinian prisoners went [have been] on hunger strike in Israeli jails, Samer Barq for 107 days, Hassan Safadi for 70 days, Ayman Sharawna for 67 days, and Sami Issawi for 36 days running.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7AFR%2bg8JgzVnxNP11L8J6qS4c3m7f%2f%2btu2cC19mE%2fix%2bCFqje44w%2bIKTJ0n1gPVzccQPuVpT%2b%2b2LTkj5aoJPMDKjDSKBFKZFh%2bEs%2f4evGFv8%3d

Student groups urge Israel to release Ahmad Qatamesh
PNN 7 Sept — Amnesty International UK (AIUK) Student Societies have teamed up to call upon Israeli Ambassador Daniel Taub to urge his government to release prisoner of conscience Ahmad Qatamesh and end administrative detention of all innocent Palestinian civilians currently held by Israel.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/nonviolence/2605-student-groups-urge-israel-to-release-ahmad-qatamesh

Captive Abu Sisi describes his cell as ‘grave’
GAZA (PIC) 6 Sept — Dirar Abu Sissi, the isolated Palestinian prisoner in an Israeli jail, described his cell in the solitary confinement as his “temporary grave” and urged for increasing efforts to release him from it. This came in a letter leaked by Abu Sissi from his solitary confinement in Ashkelon Prison and distributed by Wa’ed Society for Prisoners and Ex-prisoners … The Israeli intelligence service Mossad had kidnapped Abu Sissi, a deputy director of Gaza power plant, more than a year and a half ago from Ukraine where he had been applying for citizenship to enable his family to leave Gaza, as his wife is Ukrainian.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s76snq9kIC4Iul8oVLvhNWeR26%2bjNBoEUKhZoVRRjSjRxpDxZ20ffeXK9Zq%2bUrHffXCMr7OKf7t%2bdDai33qy0cwEwML3y8ePKebKLQcUqVmNg%3d

Inciting against prisoners’ families’ aid is inciting against PA, says official
BETHLEHEM, September 5, 2012 (WAFA) — Minister of Prisoners Affairs Issa Qaraqe Wednesday said that the recent Israeli media incitement campaign against the Palestinian Authority’s aid to Palestinian prisoners’ families is part of the Israeli incitement against PA and President Mahmoud Abbas. Qaraqe’s statements came as a response to what has been recently broadcasted by Israeli media about PA’s aid to prisoners’ families accusing PA of “supporting terrorists.” He said that this inciting campaign is mainly targeting PA and aims to delegitimize it. “The prisoners and their families are victims of occupation and PA’s laws aim to help the Palestinian children,” said Qaraqe.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=20614

Family of Palestinian who was left for dead wins damages
Ynet 6 Sept — The State is to pay NIS 875,000 in damages to the family of a Palestinian who was left to die on the side of the road by two police officers after he was injured in a car crash. The Central District Court has approved the settlement earlier this week.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4278224,00.html

Palestinians killed elsewhere

Residents: 7 Palestinians killed in Syrian army shelling
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 6 Sept — Seven Palestinians were killed on Thursday as the Syrian army bombed the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, sources in the camp said. Forces loyal to President Bashar Assad bombed Safad and al-Jaouna areas and the al-Basel Hospital, local Yarmouk media reported, adding that residents of the camp would protest the shelling outside the al-Waseem Mosque after evening prayers.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=517947

Migrant boat sinks off Turkey, Palestinians among the dead
AHMETBEYLI, Turkey (Reuters) 6 Sept — At least 61 migrants including Palestinians and Syrians, more than half of them children, died after their overcrowded boat sank just tens of meters off Turkey’s western Aegean coast on Thursday, officials said. Tahsin Kurtbeyoglu, governor of the coastal district of Menderes in Izmir province, told Reuters an initial investigation showed the small vessel sank around dawn due to overcrowding. Its destination was unclear but the small Turkish town of Ahmetbeyli from where it set out is only a few kilometers from the Greek island of Samos. Greece is a common entry point for migrants trying to get into the European Union. [UPDATE from Ma‘an 7 Sept: Around 12 Palestinians survived]
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=517978

Political / Economic News

Bethlehem streets shut over economic protests
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 6 Sept — Youth protests shut down several streets in Bethlehem late on Thursday evening, as rallies against rising living costs continued. Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in the main road, lighting tires outside the presidential headquarters and the entrances to the Old City, while chanting against rising prices. In Beit Sahour, Beit Jala, and Nativity street, groups of Palestinians called for an end to spiraling economic hardship and for a change in government, while blocking traffic, many of whom honked in support. “In Egypt they managed to get rid of (former president Hosni) Mubarak, we also need a change,” one onlooker told Ma‘an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=517988

Nablus protests against Fayyad and the high prices
NABLUS (PIC) 6 Sept — The protests had escalated on Wednesday in the city of Nablus against the wave of price hikes and against Salam Fayyad. Hundreds of citizens set fire to tires and blocked the road to the national hospital near the city center, condemning rising prices and Salam Fayyad. The demonstrators marched in several streets in the city raising and chanting slogans sharply criticizing Ramallah government’s policy, demanding Prime Minister Fayyad to resign and demanding bringing the prices down and supporting citizens in order to enhance their steadfastness. The road traffic also stopped in the city of Nablus during the afternoon in protest at the price rises, as drivers of public vehicles participated in the sit-in.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7p8gby3tBTaAOSejLvm99jKzi4tCnkQl3yZrd8k1qoaY15aXAv0ZSgNHeXspCwT%2ffOo8y7afveWDy%2bnpUgl2iX8IMj9tDWIH9x6vSHfmfcCI%3d

Fayyad ‘ready to resign’
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 6 Sept — Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Thursday announced he would resign if that was the will of the people, amid growing protests across the West Bank over the rising cost of living. Palestinians have taken to the streets for three days in mass demonstrations against price rises and unemployment, and protesters in cities across the West Bank have called for Fayyad’s resignation. In Hebron on Tuesday, protesters burned an effigy of the premier.
Fayyad told Voice of Palestine radio that replacing figures in the government was not the solution to the financial crisis, but that a new economic strategy was needed.  The premier said he could not set a date for paying government workers their August salaries because the Palestinian Authority was waiting on donor funds to arrive.  Fayyad also said the Palestinian Authority needed to be restructured on a democratic basis to address political and economic crises.
The PA is waiting for the US Congress to approve a request by President Barack Obama’s administration to pay $200 million to the Ramallah-based government. A hoped-for $1.1 billion in 2011 reached only $750 million, as pledges from Gulf states in particular fell short. The revenue received from Gaza has dropped from 28 percent to 4 percent of the Palestinian Authority’s budget since Hamas took over the coastal enclave. Meanwhile, 48 percent of the PA’s budget is spent on the Gaza Strip, Fayyad said. Between the national division and Israel’s occupation, the PA cannot cope with the rising prices of imports….
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=517945

Gaza government to pay salaries Tuesday
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 6 Sept — The government in Gaza will start paying August salaries on Tuesday, it announced Thursday. Public sector staff will be able to collect their salaries from banks and post offices across Gaza from Tuesday, a government statement said. The Hamas-led government pays lowest salaries first, and those with higher wages are paid in the following days.
Employees of the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority have joined mass protest across the West Bank in part over the Ramallah government’s failure to pay salaries in full or on time.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=517910

Shtayyeh: PA ‘powerless’ to face financial commitments
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 6 Sept — Fatah leader Mohammad Shtayyeh said Thursday the Palestinian Authority was “powerless” in the face of growing unemployment and piling debts. “The unemployment rate is rapidly increasing, and we face a high cost of living,” Shtayyeh told Ma‘an. “The PA is powerless and incapable of meeting its financial commitments.” … He called for an urgent conference to discuss the economic situation.
Shtayyeh, a career economist and director of the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction, said he supported holding local elections in the West Bank despite opposition.  He stressed that his Fatah party supported national reconciliation with Hamas. “The PLO is the only representative body for the Palestinian people, and Hamas cannot take diplomatic steps without recognizing this fact,” Shtayyah said.
The Fatah leader was reacting to an announcement that Hamas has begun a training program for diplomats in the Gaza Strip where it rules, raising the specter of divisions in the Palestinian national movement spreading to its representation abroad.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=517849

Policy paralysis scuppers Palestinian economic dream
RAMALLAH (Reuters) 6 Sept — Palestinian dreams of building a strong economy to speed up the state’s drive towards independence could soon be plunged into darkness, quite literally. The cash-strapped government of the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Authority, is so behind with its bills that the Israeli company that provides Palestinians’ electricity has threatened to cut the power unless the PA pays outstanding debt of almost $80 million. Poor planning and continued, rigid Israeli controls have caused boom time Palestinian growth rates of 9 percent in 2010 to fall by half, and struggling businesses are accusing the PA of not helping them as they face ruin. Hopes, entertained by Israeli and Palestinian leaders alike, that the US- backed Palestinian Authority could build a viable economy before statehood are fading fast …
Bassim Khoury, head of Palestinian generic drug maker Pharmacare PLC, says he is doing his best to build a major West Bank business, but complains that the odds are against him. Israel limits the import of basic raw materials such as glycerin, a common solvent deemed by Israel to be a “dual purpose” substance that could be used in bomb making, and exports are frequently turned away at Israeli checkpoints.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=517786

Abbas says has backing for new UN upgrade push
CAIRO (Reuters) 5 Sept — The PLO will seek to upgrade its status at the United Nations this month bolstered by the support of Arab countries, Islamic states and the 120-member Non-Aligned Movement, President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday. Previous Palestinian attempts to improve their formal status at the global body — a UN observer “entity” with no voting rights — have failed. The Palestinian Authority foreign minister had earlier said they would ask to be made a non-member observer state at the UN General Assembly later this month. “I am going this month to the UN General Assembly in light of the latest decision in Doha, the Islamic summit and the Non-Aligned Movement summit,” Abbas told reporters at the Arab League.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=517620

Israeli Racism / Discrimination

Police arrest ATV hit-and-run suspect
Ynet 5 Sept — Police arrested on Tuesday a man who is suspected of running over two young [Ethiopian-Israeli] female joggers with an all-terrain vehicle near Kibbutz Givat Brenner last Friday, Ynet has learned …  According to police, the joggers yelled at the driver after he drove recklessly and left them in a cloud of dust. In response, the driver turned around and ran over the teenage girls, who were evacuated to Rehovot’s Kaplan Medical Center with limb fractures … Tigist Bito, 15, who sustained moderate to serious injuries in the accident, said a few days after the incident “all I want is to have my previous life back – to stand up, walk and jog again.” Bito competed in the World Schools Athletics Championships in Malta earlier this year and was considered a rising long-distance star for Israel’s Rio De Janeiro 2016 Olympic team.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4277352,00.html

LIVE BLOG: Refugees trapped on Israel’s border / Noam Sheizaf
972mag 6 Sept — A group of  21 Eritreans has been trapped for seven days between the Israeli and Egyptian fences in Sinai. Until Wednesday, soldiers were ordered to give them some water but no food. Activists who went there over the last several days were prevented from reaching the asylum seekers by soldiers. +972 bloggers track the developments as they come in.
Update: Around 18.30 local it has been made known that the two women and the boy will be allowed into Israel to receive medical treatment. The rest of the asylum seekers will be left on the Egyptian side of the fence. Prime Minister Netanyahu has confirmed that three of the “infiltrators” will be let in, while the rest will turn back. According to initial reports, the rest of the group has been handed to the Egyptian army.
http://972mag.com/live-post-refugees-at-israels-border/55310/

As little as possible / Gideon Levy
Haaretz 6 Sept — The most moral army in the world stands armed over 20 bereft African migrants imprisoned for a week already between the fences of Israel’s southern border, and this army’s soldiers are given the diabolical order to provide them water, but only “as little as possible.” The most moral army in the world, of the Middle East’s only democracy, does not give them food. Soldiers of this army have also in the past day prevented some groups of young and determined Israeli activists from bringing food to those who are trapped … Don’t help, don’t report — army’s orders. The most moral army in the world closed the section of Route 10 that leads to the scene of the crime and declared it a closed military zone in order to prevent these young people, who tried to save something of Israel’s honor, from reaching the place and also to prevent journalists from reporting what is happening there. Haaretz and its correspondent Gili Cohen exposed this disgrace that has been going on for a week now on our southern border. …
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/as-little-as-possible.premium-1.463037

Haaretz editorial — Jerusalem: capital of discrimination
2 Sept — More than 1,100 nonexistent classrooms; a dropout rate that reaches 40 percent at 12th grade; lack of funding for educational advisers and psychologists; parents, not the municipality, being asked to donate money to establish a school library; and an Education Ministry that shirks its responsibilities. These are just a few characteristics of the education system in East Jerusalem, where 80,000 pupils study – or rather, are supposed to study. These characteristics are the result of perennial and intentional funding starvation.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/jerusalem-capital-of-discrimination-1.462094

J’lem: Students stuck in sweltering tents
Ynet 30 Aug –  The new school year kicked off this week but for some, it was a less than comfortable back to school experience as some 90 girls from the Bait Ve’Gan Beit Ya’akov School in Jerusalem were forced to take their classes in tents in the sweltering heat. The girls, ages six to 10 are forced to squeeze in to the tents – which have no proper furnishings or ventilation
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4275062,00.html

Other news

The month in pictures – August 2012
Electronic Intifada Diaries – Live from Palestine 4 Sept
http://electronicintifada.net/content/month-pictures-august-2012/11640

Illiteracy rates drop in 2011
RAMALLAH, Sept 6 (WAFA) – On International Literacy Day, illiteracy rates among individuals aged 15 years and over in the Palestinian Territory fell from 13.9% to 4.7% between 1997 – 2011, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) on Thursday.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=20621

Court rules in favor of dismissed teachers
RAMALLAH (PIC) 5 Sept — The Supreme Court in Ramallah issued on Tuesday, a verdict invalidating the arbitrary dismissal of hundreds of teachers for political reasons following the national division in 2007 and returning them to their jobs. In 2008, nearly 400 teachers were fired from work because of failing a so called “security screening”, and they were even deprived getting jobs in private schools. The dismissed teaches, who protested outside the court, expressed their joy for this resolution, calling for implementing it as soon as possible.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7f0kWhaNzuz%2fSi2BhceuiPerJegQlALI7ZJf1fK33Fn69j7CheBnHQIPOnXCBdI6yYWOQ4xzmC6BUhyGqVUaPgU69qifJnm%2bQ6PdgYpvwhwE%3d

PA says suspects in custody after colonel shot dead in Jenin
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 6 Sept — Palestinian security services have detained suspects believed to be behind Wednesday’s deadly shooting of a top security commander in Jenin, a security spokesman says … Hisham al-Rakh was shot several times Wednesday by unidentified gunmen while driving in a mountainous area near the Jenin refugee camp, in the second high-profile murder of the year in the area.  “The security forces will end this chaos in Jenin soon,” al-Dmeiri told Ma‘an, but he declined to go into detail about the number of detainees, citing a policy not to comment on an ongoing investigation.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=517765

US sued over ‘terrorist’ designation that has robbed Palestinian-American of basic rights for 17 years
EI 6 Sept — …The complaint filed yesterday by a team of attorneys from the Center for Constitutional Rights, the People’s Law Office and a private firm contends that Salah’s fundamental rights are violated by the designation. The US Department of Treasury’s 1995 classification of Salah as a “specially designated terrorist” bars “virtually all economic transactions, even those necessary for survival,” according to a press release issued yesterday. “Muhammad Salah is not permitted to get a job, pay rent or a mortgage, pay for his children’s education, obtain medical care or even buy a loaf of bread without first obtaining approval from the Treasury Department,” the release states. There is no expiry for the terrorist designation or any mechanism to challenge its imposition through the courts. Salah is believed to be the only US citizen classified as such residing in the US.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/us-sued-over-terrorist-designation-has-robbed-palestinian-american-basic

Feds target extreme Israeli rightist
Ynet 4 Sept — FBI said to be following US citizen Akiva Hacohen, who has been charged with organizing attack on military base in West Bank … The American authorities define some of the right-wing activists as terrorists. A State Department report released in July listed the Kahane Chai movement as a terror organization alongside groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and al-Qaeda.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4276919,00.html

Muslim Arab-American Green Lantern adds diversity to superheroes
NEW YORK (Reuters) 6 Sept  — DC Comics introduced a new Green Lantern on Wednesday – a Muslim from Dearborn, Michigan, who leaves behind street racing to join an intergalactic police force. Simon Baz, the muscular protagonist in his early 20s with the Arabic word for courage, “al-shujaa,” tattooed on his arm, is the latest example of superhero diversity in the comic book world. His debut comes after DC Comics unveiled a gay Green Lantern in June and Marvel Comics presented a half-black, half-Latino Spider-Man last year.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=517709

Analysis / Opinion

A lynch could happen in the bubble of Tel Aviv / Ithamar Handelman-Smith
Haaretz 6 Sept — After a gang of Jewish teens brutally attacked a trio of Palestinians in the heart of Jerusalem, Israelis – Tel Avivians especially — were quick to distance themselves from the mob. What they don’t realize is we are all part of the mob … The very attempt at self-assurance by the people of Tel Aviv is despicable. It is the unsuppressed desire to tell yourself that it is not you, but the other person, who is not okay. You are just fine. You are as fine as can be, as far as that goes. In Jerusalem, Be’er Sheva and Bat Ayin – that is where “they are not okay.” They are not okay in Jerusalem and Bat Ayin to the exact same extent that they are not okay in Eilat, Kiryat Shmona, Acre, Tiberias and Shfaram (incidentally, just to be clear, they are not okay in Ramallah, Jenin and Nablus either, but nobody expects them to be. After all, they are Arabs). In Tel Aviv, everyone is “good people.” Every day, our children hear the same Israeli racist incitement against everyone and everything foreign, other or different, but here among us, our children are so okay that they do not even go out and lynch people in the streets. Among us in Tel Aviv, teenagers are being swept away by the same massive wave of racism and ultra-nationalism that is washing over the entire country.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/analysis-a-lynch-could-happen-in-the-bubble-of-tel-aviv.premium-1.463096

A dubious campaign on behalf of Arab Jewish refugees / Shayna Zamkane
Haaretz 7 Sept — This past week, Israel’s Foreign Ministry, under the initiative of Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, launched the “I Am a Refugee” campaign on Facebook. By inviting Jews from Arab countries to share testimonials about their experiences in the years following Israel’s independence, Ayalon hopes to further push the issue of Arab Jewish refugee recognition onto the international agenda. But why launch the Facebook campaign now? On the one hand, some believe that its purpose is to deflect attention from the African refugee problem. In response to an estimated 60,000 refugees from Eritrea, Sudan and South Sudan crossing into Israel, the government intends to build a huge camp in the Negev where it can detain migrants until their status is decided. The idea of a large “concentration camp” has hit a raw nerve among Israeli and American Jews alike…
On the other hand, some suggest that the campaign’s purpose is to undermine Palestinian claims in any future round of peace talks. If roughly equal numbers of Palestinians and Arab Jews were displaced following 1948, and the lost assets belonging to both sides were of similar value, then Palestinian and Arab Jewish claims would appear to cancel each other out. Not surprisingly, this comparison has infuriated the Palestinian leadership. Last weekend, PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi reportedly claimed that “if Israel is their [Arab Jews’] homeland, then they are not ‘refugees’; they are emigrants who return either voluntarily or due to a political decision.”
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/weekend-opinions/a-dubious-campaign-on-behalf-of-arab-jewish-refugees.premium-1.463383

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