Mustafa Barghouti: 65 years later, the Deir Yassin massacre continues today

Deir Yassin anniversary

Deir Yassin massacre remembered
Reflect on the Beautiful Lives Lost Counterpunch 9 Apr by Raouf J. Halaby – Even though April 9, 1948, is a day of infamy for Palestinians, few commemorative ceremonies will be held. Sixty-Five years ago today organized Jewish terrorist groups, including the Irgun and Stern gangs, attacked the Village of Deir Yassin, a village whose population numbered some 600 people; 112 women children and old men were brutally butchered in a massacre that has been likened to the Babi Yar Nazi massacre of Jews in Kiev, Ukraine. Add insult to injury, some of the survivors were stripped, loaded on flat truck beds, paraded in a demeaning triumphal drive through Jerusalem’s Jewish neighborhoods, driven out of town, and shot to death. Under the cover of dark, 55 surviving children were loaded on trucks and dumped in a Jerusalem alleyway. Close to 600 villages were bulldozed and permanently wiped off the map.  Some ironies: the Israelis would change the name of the village to Kfar Shaul, move Holocaust survivors into homes that were not destroyed, build a mental institution on the site, and the site itself is within full view of the Holocaust Memorial, a site just recently visited by Barack Obama.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/04/09/deir-yassin-massacre-remembered/

Deir Yassin Massacre – April 9, 1948
Occ. Palestine 9 Apr by Reham Alhelsi — …The Zionist terror militias that committed the massacre were the Haganah, Irgun and Lehi. These terrorist gangs got most of their financing from the US, just like today, and in one case, the Lehi (Stern) terror gang contacted Albert Einstein and asked his help in raising money in the US. Einstein’s reply came one day after the massacre of Deir Yasin: he refused to help “calling the Stern Gang terrorists and misled criminals”[11]. The Haganah, as the armed unit of the Jewish Agency, was headed by the political leader of the Jewish Agency David Ben-Gurion who became the first prime minister of the Zionist entity. Irgun was headed by Menachim Begin who became the 6th prime minister of the Zionist entity. Lehi was headed by Yitzah Shamir who became the 7th prime minister of the Zionist entity. According to Menachim Begin: “The massacre was not only justified, but there would not have been a state of Israel without the victory at Deir Yassin.”[12] and after the massacre, he sent the attackers of Deir Yasin: “Accept congratulations on this splendid act of conquest. Tell the soldiers you have made history in Israel.” No one was ever punished for this and other massacres.
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/deir-yassin-massacre-april-9-1948/

Palestinians mark 65th anniversary of Deir Yassin massacre
IMEMC 9 Apr — In Palestine and around the world on Tuesday, Palestinians and their supporters held vigils and events to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the massacre of over one hundred Palestinian civilians in Deir Yassin village, in what is now Israel. April 9th, 1948 marks the date of one of a number of massacres committed by Jewish militia members trying to establish the Israeli state on Palestinian land. The massacre created an atmosphere of terror, that led many more towns and villages of Palestinians to flee from their homes. The Alternative Information Center in Bethlehem describes the Deir Yassin massacre as follows:
http://www.imemc.org/article/65311

Barghouti: Deir Yassin massacre has not ended
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 9 Apr — The massacre at Deir Yassin in 1948 is still going on today, lawmaker Mustafa Barghouti said Tuesday, as Palestinians mark the 65th year since Jewish militias murdered over 100 Palestinian villagers. “What happened 65 years ago in Deir Yassin was a horrible massacre which prepared the ground for the ethnic cleansing of 70 percent of the Palestinian people,” Barghouti told Ma‘an. “The same ethnic cleansing is going on today but in a different way. In 1948 they used direct massacres, now they use airstrikes in Gaza and shoot young Palestinians in the West Bank.”
On April 9, 1948, the Lehi and Irgun Jewish militia groups, the latter headed by former Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin, attacked the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin, despite the fact that villagers had signed a non-aggression pact. Over 100 men, women and children were killed by the Jewish fighters in the village, which was designated as part of the Corpus Separatum plan for Jerusalem as part of the 1947 UN partition plan for Palestine. Survivor statements from the massacre report that villagers were ordered to line up against village walls before being shot by Jewish fighters, according to Deir Yassin Remembered.

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

Israel denies Palestinians equal water access
AL-KHADER, West Bank (Al-Monitor) 9 Apr —  In the small, cement and brick homes on the parched hill of al-Khader, a West Bank village near Bethlehem, the Musa family does not have running water, let alone any to irrigate their arid grape and olive field. Under a baking sun, children roam barefoot on bone-dry soil while women hang faded clothes on wires. Their father, Ahmad Musa, says their only source of water is the expensive tankered water that often requires a long wait. “We use water just for the bare minimum, drinking, cooking and washing,” Musa told Al-Monitor. “Everything else is out of the question.” According to Palestinian rights group al-Haq, some 313,000 Palestinians across 113 communities in the occupied West Bank are not connected to a water network. In 1967, the year Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, water resources were brought exclusively under Israeli control. Al-Haq says since then, Palestinians have been denied access to their rightful share of water and have been severely restricted in their ability to develop their water resources. Musa, a father of six children, says three years ago he tried to build a rainwater cistern in his field, but the Israeli authorities quickly issued it with a demolition order, citing a lack of a building permit. Fearing demolition, he immediately stopped building. According the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the practice of demolishing Palestinian wells and water reserves in the West Bank has intensified in recent years, with over 200 structures demolished between 2009 and 2011. And permits are nearly impossible to obtain. Musa says if they had access to sufficient, affordable water, his family would be able to live off their ancestral field, selling their grapes, olives and fruit in nearby markets. That, he says, is the reason why Israeli authorities prevent them from building a cistern, and why they do not have any running water. “They don’t want us to plant or grow anything, they just want us to have barely enough water for drinking and that’s it,” Musa says looking at the unfinished, empty hole in the ground.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/04/westbank-water-restrictions-israel.html#ixzz2PzT5LEGE

Salfit’s rich agriculture threatened by factory development and settlers’ sewage
ISM posted 9 Apr — Salfit 3 April — Illegal Israeli factory settlements in Salfit are threatening to damage the rich agricultural land of the surrounding villages and are adding a health risk already escalating due to sewage flow from illegal Israeli settlements in Salfit. Salfit municipality representatives said that some of the illegal factory developments in Salfit are banned from existing in 1948 Palestine by Israeli environmental law; however, on Palestinian land in the West Bank, the factories can run without regard to the same environmental risks. Palestinian farmers in Salfit also say that trees are threatened and dying due to the factory  development. The two largest illegal settlements in Salfit are Ariel and Barkan. Both settlements have industrial and domestic establishments. Sewage from those settlements and others in Salfit run sewage rivers in the 18 Salfit villages. Winter rains earlier this year had the sewage flooding roads, forcing village municipalities to bulldoze river trails for the sewage. Municipality representatives in Salfit also noted that the smell and insects from the sewage streams are causing stomach and skin illnesses for Palestinians
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/04/salfits-rich-agriculture-threatened-by-factory-development-and-settlers-sewage/

Israeli military invade South Hebron Hills with tanks for military training
ISM 8 Apr — On 7th April around three kilometres from the Palestinian village of Al Majaz, the Israeli army conducted major training exercise with tanks and automatic weapons, using live ammunition. Al Majaz in the South Hebron Hills is in what the Israeli authorities refer to as ‘Firing Zone 918’, a closed military zone regularly used for training for the Israeli army and eight villages are at risk of eviction and destruction … Between 6.30am and 7.30am at least thirty shots were fired from Merkava tanks – each creating a noise loud enough in the village to wake people and to scare birds from the trees. Hundreds of soldiers moved around the tanks and during this hour there was also a large amount of automatic gunfire.
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/04/israeli-military-invade-south-hebron-hills-with-tanks-for-military-training/

IOF to demolish 8 houses in the northern Jordan Valley
NABLUS (PIC) 9 Apr — Israeli occupation forces notified on Tuesday afternoon 8 citizens from ‘Ain al-Hilweh in Wadi al-Maleh in the Northern Jordan Valley to evacuate the region, claiming it is a military zone where construction is prohibited. Aref Daraghmeh, head of Wadi al-Maleh village council, said in a press statement that the occupation authorities ordered the families who live in tin huts in the village to leave before the next month.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7f0kWhaNzuz%2bxEeZG943%2bvCL8A41kPP6xaU3l98dtJIsjFLemF4OVUQTCXvStwKdlHNadEVUe5A64Wwf6FNRMF1aGSJvxBVw8d%2fyNCKcIMfo%3d

IOF soldiers chop down 350 trees south of Al-Khalil
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 9 Apr — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) chopped down around 350 almond and olive trees near Daheriya town, south of Al-Khalil, on Tuesday morning. Director of public relations in Daheriya municipality Mohammed Raba said that the soldiers chopped down 100 olive trees and 250 almond trees in Midemana area in Daheriya. He said that the soldiers after destroying the trees, owned by two brothers in the village, sprayed poisonous chemicals on them. He said that the two brothers were not notified beforehand of the act.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7LfAHCThb82Q4MsxzqN7dgyuU1wn2O59fap1oGrCzuApfBeaRoZSpUzmis6oVVkcdV13hnNXcjmdYDJvuaAFbBthTFcBml6MgKutDdFNf7Zc%3d

Israeli forces uproot 300 olive, almond trees in Hebron
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 9 Apr — Israeli forces uprooted over 300 olive and almond trees in a Hebron village on Tuesday, a local official said. Agricultural committee coordinator in Hebron Murad al-Jabarin told Ma‘an that Israeli forces destroyed the trees in al-Rahwa village south of Hebron. The village is constantly targeted by Israeli forces, he added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583796

Israeli bulldozers ruin cultivated land lot  in preparation for annexing it
NABLUS (PIC) 8 Apr — Israeli bulldozers ruined vast tracts of Palestinian land owned by inhabitants of Deir Al-Hattab village, east of Nablus city, on Sunday. Abdulkarim Hussein, the head of the village’s municipal council, said that the Israeli bulldozers have been working on the destruction of olive and almond trees over dozens of dunums for the past couple of days. He said that the Israeli occupation authorities want to expand the nearby Elon Moreh settlement, which was established on land owned by people of Deir Al-Hattab, Azmut, and Salem villages, or maybe establish a new settlement outpost.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7flHU5VqvQkGceCE4yMFEIFSkeVMaeoawMOKqz74wufI3bSzcMr1Tfb2gX44o4vjKv2mznI6Um416xcWe%2bR68Nm9tuD8Ss1fQ%2fONtfbMB04k%3d

Olive tree planting in the village of ‘Atuf, Jordan Valley
ISM 8 Apr by Team Nablus — On Monday 8 April the village of ‘Atuf in the Jordan Valley, planted olive trees on their land accompanied by solidarity activists. The group planted twenty-five trees, dedicating them to prisoners and international activists killed by the Israeli authorities. Just prior to the solidarity group’s arrival the village reported that the army had come to the village taking pictures and examining maps. This is a regular occurrence for the village which is in the Jordan Valley, under full Israeli military control, and much of their land has been confiscated or they are forbidden to access it. The village of Tamoun, just next door to ‘Atuf once had 96,000 dunums but now have access to only 36,000. The land is taken by the Army for alleged security or military reasons and the illegal Israeli settlements of Begalot and Roi are both on stolen land from ‘Atuf and Tamoun.
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/04/olive-tree-planting-in-the-village-of-aruf-jordan-valley/

Tree planting met by tear gas and settlers’ death threats
ISM posted 9 Apr — Qaryut 27 Mar by Team Nablus — In commemoration of Land Day, five hundred villagers planted trees on land banned from cultivation for 17 years in the Palestinian village  of Qaryut. The action was met by tear gas by Israeli soldiers and threats from Israeli settlers. On 27 March, this action took place with a relatively large group of about 30 Palestinians including all of the owners of the land, near the illegal Israeli settlement of Eli. The Palestinian tree planters were met at first by verbal harassment from the nearby settlers and death threats if the planters continued their action. Following, Israeli soldiers attempted to disband the group using tear gas on the gathering … Qaryut is a village of 14000 dunum of which 78% has been illegally taken as Israeli land for settlements and agriculture. However, even the 9800 dunum left for the ownership of the native Palestinians is threatened often by bans on cultivation of land, olive tree damage by settlers , and further difficulty provided by key road closures enforced by the Israeli army.
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/04/tree-planting-met-by-tear-gas-and-settlers-death-threats/

Settlers set fire to olive trees near Hebron
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 9 Apr – Israeli settlers on Wednesday set fire into a number of olive trees east of Yatta. Locals told Ma‘an that a number of settlers set fire into 10 olive trees east of Yatta near Maon settlement. The land is owned by Ibrahim Khalil Rabi. Settlers showered farmers with stones while planting and insulted them.  Israeli troops also detained 18-year-old Bajes Ibrahim from Yatta and took him to an unknown location.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=582169

Students celebrate reading week at Solomon’s Pools
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 8 Apr — School children in Bethlehem concluded national reading week on Sunday with a ceremony at Solomon’s Pools. The event, organized by the Tamer Organization for Community Education and the education ministry, included traditional activities and performances denouncing Israeli settlement activities and land confiscation. Sami Imruwwa, director of the ministry’s office in Bethlehem, said the event was held at Solomon’s Pools to reassert Palestinian ownership of the site in response to recent visits by Israeli settlers.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583601

Palestinian family fights to stay in Israeli settlement
Al-Monitor 2 Apr by Linah Alsaafin — In 2005, Israeli settlers had completed confiscating 5,000 dunums [about 1,250 acres] out of the Palestinian Salfit-based village of Mas-ha, which had been 8,000 [2,000 acres] dunums in size. The villagers watched uneasily as Jewish caravans set up on their lands in the mid-1980s, which later fully expanded into the construction of three settlements: El Kana, Etz Efraim, and Sha’arei Tikvah. Almost overnight, Hani Amer lost 27 dunums [about 8 acres] of his land. He now lives on the one remaining dunum, but within the newly demarcated boundaries of the El Kana settlement, a unique case that the Israeli authorities attempted, but failed to correct. Hani’s new neighbors, Jewish settlers, did their best to terrorize him and his family into leaving. They would gather at night, across from one of the four fenced-off areas of Hani’s home, and shoot live ammunition in the air. Sometimes they threw rocks at the windows, but the settlers always would chant and scream racist remarks. The Israeli authorities planned to build the apartheid wall around Hani’s house to isolate him completely from the rest of the village of Mas-ha, and a further delineation between the settlement and the village. One day in 2005, Hani came home from work and found that Israeli bulldozers had already demolished part of his house.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/04/palestinian-family-israeli-settlement.html

IOA blocks travel of MP Hassan Khreisha
RAMALLAH (PIC) 8 Apr — The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) blocked the travel of independent MP Dr. Hassan Khreisha to Jordan en route to attend a meeting for the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly. Dr. Khreisha said in a statement on Monday that the IOA travel ban against him has been in effect for the past five years. He said that the IOA insisted on denying him travel despite the intervention of the European parliament and the UN commission in Jerusalem to allow him to attend the conference scheduled for April 11-12. The MP said that the ban ran contrary to the simplest human right of travel, charging that the ban was an IOA attempt to prevent Palestinian legislators from being heard at world parliaments especially the European ones.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s73GNJaWxpn5rVk6KGQ5D9i7LvdO092d2bo%2boVdeVnzrhpuJVv2XyLJGqCbXZiW0GJm51I%2fpw%2b7p6SWcMFjcTtfgth4yK%2bUCnCDCIGOyQdOTg%3d

Violence / Raids / Attacks / Arrests

UPDATE: Man shot in the face with teargas canister at Hagai roadblock demonstration
Hebron (ISM) 8 Apr by Team Khalil — UPDATE 8th April 2013: ISM activists visited Ameen today at his home in Al Fawwar. He still suffers from intense migraines, struggles to speak, regularly experiences dizziness and a has bloodshot eye. His X-ray shows considerable damage to his jaw, cheekbones, chin and teeth. He relies on heavy medication and is still unable to work. On top of the physical suffering, Ameen is having to pay hefty medical bills to cover the cocktail of painkillers and antibiotics he needs to take on a daily basis. The weekly Friday demonstration [5 Apr] at the Hagai roadblock was attacked by the Israeli military less than one minute after participants started walking down the road. A soldier shot a metal teargas canister directly into the demonstration and hit Ameen Bayed in his face, breaking his right cheekbone and damaging his teeth. He required surgery in a hospital in Hebron city. The video below shows the moment at which he was hit (At 0.42). During the demonstration, soldiers fired large amounts of tear gas directly at demonstrators — against the Israeli army’s own regulations, which state that gas canisters must be fired into the air, not straight forwards. Tear gas canisters can be deadly
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/04/update-man-shot-in-the-face-with-teargas-canister-at-hagai-roadblock-demonstration/

Bethlehem photographer stable after being shot in face
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 9 Apr — A photographer from Bethlehem is in a stable condition after being shot in the face by Israeli forces with a rubber-coated steel bullet on Monday, medics said. Muhammad al-Azza, 23, was shot in ‘Aida refugee camp while covering clashes between youths and Israeli forces. He was taken to the Arab Society Hospital in Beit Jala and underwent surgery on his face. Medics said al-Azza, who works at the Lajee Center in ‘Aida camp, is in a stable condition.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583804

PHOTOS: Israeli troops shoot Palestinian photographer in the face
Activestills 9 April – WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES — Mohammad Al-Azza rests in the hospital the morning after being shot in the face with a rubber-coated steel bullet by Israeli forces in ‘Aida Refugee Camp. Beit Jala, West Bank, April 9, 2013. Al-Azza underwent two surgeries to remove the bullet, which lodged in his cheek below his right eye and fractured his skull. He is expected to make a full recovery. (photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)
http://972mag.com/photos-palestinian-photographer-shot-in-the-face-by-israeli-troops/68897/

IOF soldiers arrest wounded man in Nablus village
NABLUS (PIC) 9 Apr — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested a Palestinian man in Madma village, south of Nablus, after shooting him on Monday night. Eyewitnesses said that they heard the sound of gunfire near the Madma bridge that links between Madma and Burin villages and some of them tried to approach a man who was wounded in the shooting. They said that the soldiers prevented them from approaching then arrested the man, who was not identified. The citizens quoted the soldiers as saying that the man was trying to throw a firebomb at an IOF patrol and that they shot him in response and hit him in his foot.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7d0QWW3P6sTzI%2fKJsM9%2fH1bXhVXu2yoYpl8rb9q0dtcNDaG%2f8eI%2bC%2fDNECkfx3esffcWoOyzUGWwhKq6CmAn7mbExXwnMpg6dsTYINxLpWfk%3d

2 Palestinians injured in clashes in Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 9 Apr – Two Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were injured on Tuesday in clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian youngsters in ‘Aida refugee camp north of Bethlehem, locals said.  The clashes started at noon, and two Palestinians were taken to the hospital after being injured with rubber-coated steel bullets. An Israeli soldier was hit with a rock in the face in the clashes.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=584024

Tear gas canister explodes in Bethlehem school
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 9 Apr — An Israeli tear gas canister exploded in a school near Bethlehem on Tuesday, injuring several people, locals said. The unexploded Israeli canister was found by children at Al-Khansa school in Tuqu‘ and released gas after students began playing with it. Eleven students and two teachers were injured and three students and a teacher passed out after inhaling gas. Deputy in the Bethlehem department of education Salah Balu said there are strict guidelines for teachers and cleaners to check school premises each morning before students arrive.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583843

Female student injured by settler vehicle in Hebron
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 9 Apr — A female student was injured on Tuesday after being hit by a settler vehicle in the Hebron area, medics said. Alaa Diab Hasan received bruises and serious leg injuries after being knocked down by a settler riding a motorcycle near Beit Ummar. A crowd of people prevented the motorcyclist from leaving the area but Israeli forces who arrived at the scene let him go, locals said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583757

Elderly Arab shepherd attacked; settlers offer help
Ynet 8 Apr by Itamar Fleishman — Hassan Barhoush, an 80-year-old Palestinian shepherd from Kafr al-Labad in the West Bank, remains hospitalized at the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv after being severely beaten a week-and-a-half ago by two unknown assailants with rods. Both of Barhoush’s hands were broken in the attack, and he was left bleeding on the ground. Police have launched an investigation into the incident. The elderly man’s son, Husni, told Ynet his father tends his sheep for two or three hours a day and then returns home. “He was walking with his sheep in the direction of the Avnei Hefetz settlement when two people, who were not wearing kippas, approached him. They beat him without saying a word. He yelled, ‘What do you want from me?’ One of them told him they wanted to kill him.” … Police officials said the investigation is focusing on two youngsters who were in the area at the time of the attack. The two do not live in Avnei Hefetz.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4365558,00.html

Israeli forces raid villages in northern West Bank
JENIN (Ma‘an) 8 Apr — Israeli forces raided three villages in the northern West Bank on Monday, locals said. Three Israeli patrols raided Jalbun village, east of Jenin. Soldiers photographed Roman-era archeological sites in the village, locals told Ma‘an. Soldiers also took photographs in Raba village, south-east of Jenin. Meanwhile troops set up a checkpoint at the entrance to Khirbet Yarza, east of Tubas, said local official Ahmad al-Asad. Soldiers patrolled the village and stopped Palestinian cars for inspections, al-Asad told Ma‘an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583446

IOF soldiers round up six Palestinians including minor
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 8 Apr — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) nabbed six Palestinian citizens at dawn Monday in Al-Khalil and Bethlehem including a minor. Local sources said that five Palestinians were rounded up in Al-Khalil city and ‘Arroub refugee camp after storming several houses. They said that the detainees included a 16-year-old minor, who was taken from the refugee camp, while one was detained in Sa‘eer village. IOF soldiers broke into Doheisha refugee camp in Bethlehem and burst into the home of Raed Abu Humaida and arrested his 22-year-old son Hamid, locals said.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7gQn98IYGA5eC8qaN1MjRcmGLJpleUnAUsUxUz8jBuWsntYocdO%2fDW5uDrxAqhenRBlYsgjAP9MP95PRYNPPvlQIpIXwZTOIjoO7EjriCbDU%3d

Clashes in ‘Arroub refugee camp
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 8 Apr — Inhabitants of ‘Arroub refugee camp engaged in violent clashes with an invading force of the Israeli occupation army on Monday morning. Ahmed Abul Khairan, the coordinator of services in the camp, told the PIC that Israeli occupation soldiers fired tear gas canisters and metal bullets at dozens of young men who confronted the soldiers’ storming of the camp.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7fZvEIpc5O6akLYm9BBsJjvnK9lzfP3I1%2bJS5kkHmymmu54lQEGO9OfgUAJrJibwcFZ%2ftAiEB1N2%2ffFGboEP9CImyApQEccnG5w8gsxzRp2U%3d

Israeli forces detain 8 in West Bank arrest raids
JENIN (Ma‘an) 9 Apr — Israeli forces arrested eight people overnight Monday, locals and Israel’s army said. Bilal Samar, 28, Sahib Samar, 22, Jihad Abu Nijma, 21, Alaa Khalof, 19, and a fifth unidentified person were detained in Jenin, locals told Ma‘an. Fadi Abol Asal, 20, was arrested in ‘Anata village in Tulkarem, witnesses said.  An Israeli army spokeswoman said that four people were arrested in Jenin, one in Hebron, and two in Tulkarem. Earlier, Palestinian liaison officials managed to secure the release of a teenager from Israeli prison custody. Asad Rajab, 15, was accused of throwing stones and detained by Israeli forces on Monday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583865

Israeli forces detain 3 in Salfit
SALFIT (Ma‘an) 9 Apr — Israeli forces on Tuesday detained three Palestinians from Haris village west of Salfit, locals told Ma‘an.  Israeli forces raided the houses of Bara Sultan, 17, Rami Sousa, 18, and Ahmad Kolaib, 19, and detained them at 2 a.m.  Ahmad’s brother told Ma‘an that soldiers busted through the front door and thoroughly searched the house before detaining his brother.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=584077

Israeli police arrest 19 workers after almost deadly chase
NAZARETH (PIC) 8 Apr — Israeli police patrols chased a bus carrying Palestinian workers from the West Bank and arrested 19 of them after the bus crashed into a shop on Monday morning. Eyewitnesses said that the bus crashed into a shop selling furniture in Kufr Qassem in the Triangle area in northern Palestine occupied in 1948, adding the driver lost control of the bus. They said that four workers managed to escape but the policemen arrested 19 others, adding that the workers miraculously emerged unharmed from the bus. They said that the chase posed dangers on schoolchildren in the Arab village at a time when they were heading to their schools. Many West Bankers take the risk of entering 1948 occupied Palestine without permit to look for work in light of the scarcity of work opportunities in their hometowns and villages.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7frmjAofthMxqsGS%2bZA5GpJRjdZScXjMyxtowOXu9Thcb6DG%2fq5EGyBBWZp4w6vPjaoOjWV6SHzBd5POucSY84bjly24%2fLwzT%2b5mFs5p%2fQ4M%3d

PA prevents family visits, arrests 5 and summons 6 of Hamas supporters
RAMALLAH (PIC) 8 Apr — MP Samira Halaiqa confirmed that PA security apparatuses in the West Bank refused to allow Change and Reform MPs to visit political prisoners in its jails. Halaiqa told Quds Press on Sunday that the Islamic MPs were prevented to visit political prisoners especially in Jericho prison in total violation of the Palestinian law that gives permission to MPs to check on prisoners’ conditions. Halaiqa noted that these visits came in response to the demands of prisoners’ families to check on their sons’ situation especially in light of the human rights reports about torture in PA jails.
Meanwhile, PA security services arrested five and summoned six of Hamas supporters, and refused to release a news reporter from Ramallah. In al-Khalil, PA security forces launched an arrest and summons campaign against Hamas supporters and cadres in Yatta town, southern of al-Khalil, targeting businessmen, liberated prisoners, doctors, and teachers.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7Y6%2bivQ%2fS8ENwfrCUcJ3zAvOU0l3yMy%2f1f%2bLYKo6eK0T2g7B7AoVUXUZxQoBP8bDYBwvigX8Wvflvhn4kYFRZr7dEeu1MRs8HmOIkfvuzspU%3d

IOF arrests Palestinian woman for allegedly trying to stab a soldier
NABLUS (PIC) 8 Apr — A Palestinian woman, who suffers severe psychological problems, is still being held by the Israeli occupation authorities despite her condition, the Tadamun Foundation for Human Rights revealed. The Foundation’s lawyer stated that the Israeli occupation forces arrested last week a Palestinian woman at Qalandiya checkpoint on the charge of attempting to stab a soldier. The lawyer, Kifaya Al-Abed, said that she met the 28-year-old woman in Hasharon prison, stressing that she suffers psychological problems. The Israeli prison service did not care less about her suffering and refused to provide her with sedatives, the lawyer added.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7WkwDXdOrL0KnjioF1WC4Xv%2fDT%2bPtvSxLZXGH1BG9pxvV0Lx10QmwXio91Am0TQfRwnusivNbf1g84wnYjGGz%2fDyGh2jYFq3bwGBgKoBXxEQ%3d

Prisoners / Court actions

Addameer: Prisons and detention centers [map]
Palestinians from the OPT are currently held in a total of 4 interrogation centers, 4 military detention centers, and approximately 17 prisons. While the 4 military interrogation centers are located inside the OPT, all the interrogation centers and prisons — except for one prison, Ofer — are located within the 1948 borders of Israel, in violation of international humanitarian law. The location of prisons within Israel and the transfer of detainees to locations within the occupying power’s territory are illegal under international law and constitute a war crime. The Fourth Geneva Convention explicitly states that “Protected persons accused of offences shall be detained in the occupied country, and if convicted they shall serve their sentences therein” (Article 76).
http://addameer.org/etemplate.php?id=302

Doctors fear Palestinian hunger striker’s life in immediate danger
972blog 9 Apr by Haggai Matar — Doctors are concerned by the state of Issawi’s heart, which is weakening and losing rhythm, and are assessing that he might also be suffering from brain damage due to severe lack of minerals, in addition to partial failures of his lungs and kidneys. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Club attorney, Jawad Boulus, who visited Issawi in the Kaplan Hospital in Petah Tikva this morning, told +972 that there is a growing risk of sudden death. Issawi, who was released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap and then re-arrested based on covert intelligence which the army prosecution continues to withhold from him and his lawyers, has been on hunger strike since July 29th. He has only been taking water with sugar along with intravenous food supplements. Recently, he has stopped accepting the latter in protest of the Israeli Prison Service policy of handcuffing him to his bed for 12 hours a day, which he says causes him much pain and prevents him from sleeping. Following a drastic deterioration in his condition, Issawi returned to talking mineral supplements on Tuesday morning.
http://972mag.com/doctors-fear-palestinian-hunger-strikers-life-in-immediate-danger/68883/

Issawi family delivers letter to EU demanding his release
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 8 Apr — The family of hunger striker Samer Issawi handed a letter to EU officials on Monday demanding his release from Israeli prison custody, a Palestinian official said … The letter criticized the EU’s “indifference” to the plight of hunger striking Palestinian prisoners, Abdul-Qadir added. Israel is expected to respond to the letter within 48 hours, an EU official said, adding that EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has contacted Israel to start discussions about Issawi’s release. The PA ministry of detainee affairs said Monday that Issawi will boycott future hearings at Israeli courts, with Ofer detention center announcing that a hearing will take place on May 9, a statement said. Issawi is taking only sugar in his water and his pulse has dropped to 30 beats per minute, his lawyer Jawad Bulous said Sunday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583630

PA plans conference on medical neglect in Israeli jails
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 8 Apr — The Palestinian Authority is planning an international conference to address Israel’s medical negligence of Palestinian prisoners, the minister of detainee affairs said Monday. Issa Qaraqe said the conference would be organized in cooperation with local and international human rights organizations. The recent death in custody of a Palestinian with cancer sparked protests in prisons and across Palestine amid allegations Israeli prison doctors neglected to treat the detainee until his last days. Qaraqe announced the conference during a visit to the family of 41-year-old Nahid al-Aqra in Ramallah’s al-Amari refugee camp. Al-Aqra is sentenced to three life terms and is in Ramle prison hospital. Prior to his arrest, al-Aqra’s right leg was amputated due to a bullet wound. He was also shot in his left leg in 2000 and this limb was recently amputated because Israeli prison doctors had neglected to treat the injury, the minister said. Al-Aqra has only been given pain killers, Qaraqe added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583444

Deterioration of prisoner Sorour’s health condition
NABLUS (PIC) 8 Apr — The family of the administrative detainee Abdulqaher Sorour appealed, via Ahrar Center for Prisoners Studies and Human Rights, to all humanitarian and human rights organizations to work for the release of their ailing son. Fuad Al-Khuffash, the director of Ahrar, stated that the prisoner, 40, from the town of Ni‘lin, had undergone a heart surgery since he was 18 years old, and he needs to change a heart valve, however his repeated arrests prevented him from following up his health condition. Sorour was arrested several times by the Israeli occupation forces most recently in 2012, Khuffash said, warning against his serious health condition after his family said that it sharply deteriorated few days before his arrest. Sorour, a father of four children, served as Director of the Office of Speaker of the Palestinian legislative council Dr. Aziz Dweik in 2006.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7vnali9Ke7sx%2bGh1aSRXvXEjibdbSncv0w07azfrbV3G33zETv11fXOkfuEdzFEaJvvqKg2sYpBPB9%2b%2b5RrJ%2bu0jOiPVCYeYZbrIAQaxv9RI%3d

Israeli court refuses to release disabled prisoner
JENIN (PIC) 9 Apr – Israel’s Salem military court in Jenin refused on Monday to release prisoner Wasim Marouf, who suffers from several physical disabilities and health problems, and decided to extend his detention for further interrogation. An informed source said the court extended the detention of Marouf for five days pending further investigation, and set April 11 a date for its next hearing. The prisoner is an invalid unable to talk and suffering from injuries in his head and one of his legs in addition to a neurological disease and kidney inflammation. He was living in an orphanage house in Tulkarem when he was taken prisoner.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7y0%2bRdC3CP44i1ebzfIT5go8Fe5wy5ZYk9k4Qjt6hEmuQIXctXu6jgz6Zdhw3odUooqtIfo1micaDiaedoBdX52pABeOZfEyjRSZxsWgyJH0%3d

Mansour Muqida, paraplegic in Israeli jail, on hunger strike for 8th day
RAMALLAH (PIC) 9 Apr — Paraplegic prisoner Mansour Muqida said he is determined to continue the hunger strike he started eight days ago in protest at the medical neglect policy pursued by the Israeli regime against the jailed patients in the infirmary of the Ramla prison. Muqida told the lawyer of the Palestinian prisoner society who visited the Ramla prison on Tuesday that he is isolated in the infirmary and his health condition is getting unbearable.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7gJqRrIpyIMFGiOxHGca%2byzDs8ypdTqPP%2f9%2bXN5JwZzWxehHuZnkswXGiAl7uiQlFWX5XgIWdwR29R%2fVXW51l%2bnvanH6popuLJ43jXBGI7gY%3d

2 Palestinians enter 11th year in Israeli jail
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 8 Apr — Two Palestinians from Nablus have entered their 11th year in Israeli detention, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said Monday. Wael Tablat was detained on March 30, 2003, and sentenced to life for affiliation to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Orabi Dogan was detained on April 1, 2003, and sentenced to 18 years for affiliation to Hamas, the PPS said in a statement. Raed Amer, head of the PPS office in Nablus, said more than 90 Palestinians from the city were serving life terms in Israeli jails.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583425

Israeli settler gets life for 1997 Palestinian murders
JERUSALEM (AFP) 9 Apr — An Israeli court on Tuesday sentenced an extreme rightwing US-born Jewish settler to two life terms in prison for the murder of two Palestinians in 1997. Jack Teitel, 40, was found guilty in January of murdering a bus driver and a shepherd as well as of two separate attempted murders, illegal possession of weapons and incitement to violence. The religious activist was handed two life sentences by the Jerusalem District Court, one for each of his victims, and will have to pay compensation of 180,000 shekels ($47,000) to each of their families. Teitel was also sentenced to 30 years for the two attempted murders and other offences … The father-of-four from the West Bank settlement of Shvut Rachel has been branded by the Israeli press as a “Jewish terrorist.” He was arrested in 2009. In January, he admitted carrying out a 2008 bomb attack on the home of leading leftwing Israeli professor Zeev Sternhell, wounding him. He also admitted sending a parcel bomb to a Jewish couple that accepts Jesus as the Messiah, wounding their 15-year-old son.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=584047

Israeli court denies parole to Jewish extremist who tried to bomb Muslim school
Haaretz 9 Apr by Revital Hovel — A member of a Jewish underground who was convicted of trying to blow up a Muslim girls’ school in Jerusalem in 2002 will not be released from prison early, after a court overruled a decision by the prison parole board.  The board had approved the early release of Ofer Gamliel, who has served 10 years of a 15-year-sentence for attempted murder in the plot to bomb the East Jerusalem school. The Shin Bet security service objected to his early release, maintaining that Gamliel, a member of the Bat Ayin underground, had not demonstrated true remorse for his actions and that keeping him in prison would serve as a deterrent to others – a position accepted by Court Justice Avraham Tal … Gamliel’s attorney countered that he was being discriminated against, since his accomplice Yarden Morag was released early, in November 2009. (Another accompolice, Shlomo Dvir, is still in prison while his request for early release is being considered.)
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israeli-court-denies-parole-to-jewish-extremist-who-tried-to-bomb-muslim-school.premium-1.514596?localLinksEnabled=false

Gaza siege

Israeli bulldozers enter border area in south Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 9 Apr — Israeli bulldozers entered an area in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Ma‘an’s reporter said. Nine bulldozers conducted a limited incursion east of Khan Younis, entering around 200 meters into the area and digging up local land. Palestinian farmers fled the area for fear of being shot.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583746

Palestinian resistance blasts explosive device in Israeli military bulldozer
KHAN YOUNIS (PIC) 9 Apr — Palestinian resistance elements blasted an explosive device in an Israeli army bulldozer south of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. Eyewitnesses said that the explosion to the east of Abbasan Al-Kabira town, east of Khan Younis city, targeted a bulldozer that was leveling Palestinian land. They said that a number of Israeli armored vehicles rushed to the scene after the explosion. Israeli occupation forces had escorted eight bulldozers that infiltrated 200 meters into southern Gaza earlier on Tuesday.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s72A1Yk7fmzzQ3IlIibfkSfaprr5FgjR31I6FaJuwkpnxhVcFDS4YA6T4lqDhaZ7tKqgkoYW8LNELArJohsFLBqkL0ztewmTGaqWCbq9FP5Tk%3d

Gaza crossing closed for second day
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 9 Apr — Israel sealed its border with Gaza on Tuesday for the second day in a row after militants fired a rocket into the Negev desert on Sunday evening … A rocket fired from Gaza crashed into southern Israel on Sunday, without causing casualties or damage, Israeli police said. Rights groups have criticized Israeli restrictions on civilian travel and goods transfer in response to rocket fire as collective punishment.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583761

UNRWA to resume food aid in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 8 Apr — UNRWA will resume distributing food aid to refugees in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said. The UN agency stopped food deliveries after dozens of protesters forced their way into its Gaza field office last Thursday, demanding reinstatement of a monthly cash allowance to poor families which was halted from April 1 due to budget cuts. UNRWA decided to reopen its food distribution centers after several local bodies reassured UN officials that employees would be safe, the agency said in a statement Monday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583612

Gaza salaries to be released Thursday
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 9 Apr — Finance minister in the Gaza Strip government Ziad Al-Thatha announced on Tuesday that public sector employees would be paid salaries on Thursday. Al-Thatha said in a statement that the salaries would be distributed at the post offices in the sector and Islamic Bank branches. The payments will go to about 50,000 employees, he added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583930

Israeli Racism / Discrimination

Education ministry to ease civics exam for Arab students
Haaretz 7 Apr by Talila Nesher — Teachers in Arab high schools had complained of poor and delayed translations into Arabic, and Jewish bias in study materials — The Education Ministry has acknowledged “problems” with the civics curriculum in Israel’s Arab high schools but has stopped short of excluding material teachers say was poorly and delinquently translated from Hebrew from matriculation exams this summer … The ministry recently granted 15 hours of extra in-class study time for the students taking the civics matriculation exam in Arabic. It also said it would “take their situation into consideration” when grading the exam and pledged to make changes to the Arabic-language civics curriculum…”.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/education-ministry-to-ease-civics-exam-for-arab-students.premium-1.514084?localLinksEnabled=false

Jerusalem police chief warns women: Don’t wear prayer shawls at Western Wall
Haaretz 9 Apr by Yair Ettinger — Jewish Agency head Natan Sharansky, meanwhile is, expected to recommend women pray at an alternate egalitarian site — Jerusalem Police Commander Yossi Parienti warned Tuesday that women joining a prayer session at the central plaza of the Western Wall later this week will be stopped from wrapping themselves in prayer shawls, though he did not specify whether officers planned to arrest those violating these orders. “When women start praying there, wrapped in shawls, they are defying court orders,” Parienti told a press conference convened two days ahead of a monthly service held by the Women of the Wall, a group focused on bringing gender equality to Judaism’s holy site.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/jerusalem-police-chief-warns-women-don-t-wear-prayer-shawls-at-western-wall.premium-1.514588?localLinksEnabled=false

Sa’ar on refugees: We’ll send them back where they came from
Ynet 9 Apr by Boaz Fyler — Interior minister tours African residences in south Tel Aviv; ‘I came here to seek asylum,’ Darfur refugee says; ‘We live in ghetto,’ cries Jewish resident  … Touring the accommodations of the residents and foreign nationals, Sa’ar remarked that “no one should live under these conditions.” At the end of the tour the minister said, “The government’s policy is to return the infiltrators to where they came from or to other countries. “This should be done according to the law and the values of the State. These are human beings.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4366119,00.html

Political / Economic news

Israel’s Livni rules out Turkey role in talks – for now
JERUSALEM (AFP) 7 Apr — Israel’s lead peace negotiator Tzipi Livni on Sunday ruled out Turkey taking an immediate role in reviving talks with the Palestinians, shortly before US Secretary of State John Kerry flew in. Asked if Turkey could play an important role in the peace process — an idea raised by Kerry at a press conference earlier in the day in Istanbul — she told public radio: “The idea is interesting, but it could take time.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583281

Flotilla raid victims to keep pursuing Israel in court
ISTANBUL (AFP) 8 Apr — Pro-Palestinian activists said on Monday they would not withdraw a lawsuit against Israeli commanders for a fatal 2010 raid on their Gaza-bound flotilla, ahead of official compensation talks between Turkey and Israel this week. “We will not discuss compensation or give up on the trials until the blockade over Gaza is removed,” said Musa Cogas, one of the activists who was on board the Mavi Marmara, the largest ship in the flotilla aimed at breaking Israel’s Gaza blockade.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583559

Govt: Turkey delays raid compensation talks with Israel
ANKARA (AFP) 9 Apr — Turkey has delayed the start of talks this week with Israel over compensation that Israel will pay to victims of a deadly 2010 raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla, the government said. “The compensation meeting with Israel has been delayed to April 21 or 22,” Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting late Monday. Arinc, who was due to head the Turkish side during the talks, said the meetings had to be rescheduled because he would be accompanying Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a trip to Kazakhstan this week. The news of the delay came a day after the victims of the raid said they would not withdraw their lawsuit against Israeli commanders despite the official Turkey-Israel compensation talks.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=583782

Israel accused of ‘arrogance’ over Moroccan MPs
RABAT (AFP) 9 Apr — Morocco’s parliament speaker accused Israel on Tuesday of arrogance for having barred two Moroccan MPs in an EU-led parliamentary team from entering the West Bank to meet Palestinian officials. Karim Ghellab, in a statement, condemned what he branded a “discriminatory and arrogant act”. On Monday, Israeli authorities barred the two MPs accompanying EU parliamentarians from crossing into the West Bank, said one of the lawmakers, Mehdi Bensaid. The MPs, whose country belongs to a PACE Middle East sub-committee, were part of the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Bensaid and Chekkaf instead staged a sit-in at the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and the West Bank until the EU visit was due to end on Tuesday afternoon. The other 16 members of the delegation of the Council of the sub-committee were allowed to cross, Bensaid said. Morocco is one of the rare Arab countries to receive Israeli officials despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=584075

Kerry wraps up ‘very constructive’ Mideast trip
TEL AVIV, Israel (AFP) 9 Apr — Top US diplomat John Kerry on Tuesday wrapped up three days of “very constructive” talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, pledging new efforts to help the West Bank economy as he sought to bring the sides back to the table. Speaking to reporters shortly before leaving for London, a cautious Kerry said it was more important to find ways of resuming the long-frozen negotiations correctly rather than “quickly.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=58406

Kerry promises steps to help Palestinian economy
TEL AVIV (Reuters) 9 Apr by Arshad Mohammed — Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday he had agreed to work with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to boost economic growth in the occupied West Bank as he seeks ways to revive Middle East peace talks. Speaking after a three-day visit to the region, during which he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Kerry told reporters he would provide full details of the economic plans next week.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/09/us-palestinians-israel-usa-idUSBRE9380FA20130409

Other news

Palestinian journalists want curbs on Israeli media
RAMALLAH (AFP) 9 Apr — : Palestinian journalists have demanded that authorities restrict the movement of Israeli reporters in the West Bank, a local media worker said Tuesday. A media union urged president Mahmud Abbas in a letter to block Israeli reporters from accessing Palestinian-controlled West Bank territory, in response to Israel’s own restrictions on the movement of Palestinian reporters. “We are for media freedom on both sides, but this can’t be one-way,” Palestinian journalist Nayla Khalil told AFP.
http://www.arabnews.com/news/447539

Hackers target Haaretz’s Hebrew website in cyber attack
Haaretz 8 Apr — Hackers kept up their efforts to disrupt Israeli websites on Monday, continuing the largely unsuccessful cyber attack that began on Saturday night. Computer security experts said that while the hackers have failed to take down any major websites, the attack was still substantial. “Currently, the hackers’ underground message board is logging the activity of some 670 hackers, who are directing their activity toward Haaretz’s website, on the assumption that it is a central pivot to Israeli society,” explained Roni Bachar, a cyber-security expert at the Avnet Information Security.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/hackers-target-haaretz-s-hebrew-website-in-cyber-attack.premium-1.514338?localLinksEnabled=false

Delegation of 30 children from Gaza to visit US soon
GAZA (PIC) 8 Apr — 30 Palestinian children from the Gaza Strip were chosen to visit the US soon to explain the justice of the Palestinian cause, especially the issue of the prisoners. Palestinian ex-detainees, families of prisoners and human rights activists met on Sunday with these children, who were chosen carefully from among 250 others after undergoing a special exam. These children are committed to participating in a special educational program to teach them about human rights principles and how to defend the Palestinian people’s rights before they can fly to the US.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7vPPW%2fxdVVFQR2S85mQsUEmXLu3yWa3jXbZ%2bvcN%2fxbq%2foMFBmil3alYOFTXod6mm3xPdHhj%2bFz556eQGDAwLON3er4ScomkmoYOlBCZHZ1I4%3d

‘Allahu Akbar’ at Israeli ambassador’s Paris residence [with video]
Ynet 9 Apr by Itamar Eichner — A delegation of imams from Israel made a first visit to Paris Embassy. Participants met with leaders of Jewish, Muslim communities throughout country. Ambassador: ‘We must continue working together against extremism’… During the visit, the imams met with their French counterparts in the house of the French ambassador Yossi Gal, and prayed for peace. This was the first time that a Muslim prayer was held in the ambassador’s home. A film showing the prayer was posted online and created a storm of controversy in the Muslim community in France. [too bad it happened to be one of the ‘silent’ prayers. It’s a pity the non-Muslims didn’t get to hear the prayer leader’s Qur’an recitation that happens in prayers said at some other times of the day.]
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4365686,00.html

Opinion / Analysis

Hamas will not commit suicide by recognizing Israel / Khalid Amayreh
PIC 8 Apr — There have been sporadic reports of late suggesting that Hamas might rethink its principled stance of refusing to recognize Israel. The reelection of Khalid Mashaal as the chief of the movement’s politburo may have created a certain impression that Hamas is opting for more pragmatism. Moreover, the United States has reiterated its refusal to talk with Hamas until Hamas recognizes Israel and ends armed resistance to the Israeli occupation. Such rumors are not being circulated in the media for the first time. In fact, we have been hearing such rumors for decades, effectively ever since the creation of the Islamist liberation group in 1987. The circulation of these rumors is not an innocent act, it is intended to create an impression that Hamas is walking in the same path that Fatah walked in when it recognized Israel and signed the hapless Oslo Accords 20 years ago.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7%2fBZlYRLkZNrsEeGoiDGWiU94BrqaDhQ96FM2spUIvfCxi4oRVrEYTFPiVql958Mjk4gGEpvPNS6FXCAJrE7mHxQ5p2CMQ8EmeNnE9InleWY%3d

On ‘occupation denial’ and the case for international pressure on Israel / Noam Sheizaf
972mag 9 Apr — An Israeli decision to continue the occupation is illegitimate, even if it was reached through a democratic procedure. Democracy has no meaning when the population at hand is not allowed to take part in it — “Occupation denial” is the latest trend in the Israeli (and American) conversation regarding the conflict. Conservative scholars are presenting a revisionist reading of the Fourth Geneva Convention, claiming that it never applied to the West Bank and Gaza, while politicians are claiming that the term “occupation” is biased. Yet all those verbal and legal gymnastics won’t change reality: the term occupation does not relate to land alone, but also to the people living on it (and the ones who used to live on it). The undeniable truth is that under Israeli sovereignty, there are currently two distinct populations: one which enjoys all legal rights and privileges, and one which is held under a military dictatorship for 45 years (even if the in the last two decades some elements of the military control are being executed through a Ramallah-based proxy, and with European and American funding).
http://972mag.com/on-occupation-denial-and-the-case-for-international-pressure-on-israel/68937/

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