Israel approves draft law to displace dozens of villages and tens of thousands of Bedouins in the Negev

Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing

Israel approves plan to displace Negev Bedouins
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 6 May — Israel approved a draft law on Monday to implement a plan which will displace thousands of Bedouins in the Negev desert, an Israeli rights group said. The Ministerial Committee on Legislation approved a bill which outlines a framework for implementing the Prawer-Begin plan, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said. “Today the government approved a plan that will cause the displacement and forced eviction of dozens of villages and tens of thousands of Bedouin residents,” ACRI lawyer Rawia Aburabia said. “All of this while the government simultaneously promotes the establishment of new Jewish communities, some of which are even planned to be built on the fresh ruins of Bedouin villages,” she added.
Bedouins protest — The Regional Council of Unrecognized Arab Villages of Negev along with the High Steering Committee of the Arabs of Negev organized Monday a demonstration near the office of the Israeli prime minister in Jerusalem protesting approval of the recommendations. Knesset member Ibrahim Sarsour addressed the demonstrators confirming that his party, the United Arab List, rejected the recommendations. He expressed concern that the recommendations might be approved as a law and urged the Arab public to use legal means to try and prevent such a step.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=592835

When it comes to displacing Arabs, the Green Line does not exist
972blog 7 May by Amjad Iraqi — The Prawer-Begin Plan is not the first time the state has displaced Bedouins in the Naqab (Negev). But it is a sign of how, 65 years after the state’s establishment, Israel still treats thousands of its Palestinian citizens no differently than those in the territories — On April 25, a bus carrying Bedouin residents of Al-Araqib drove from the Naqab (Negev) in Israel to the Palestinian village of Susiya in the West Bank. The people were meeting for the first time to watch a screening of a new film by Adalah (the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel), documenting the two villages’ stories of eviction and violence by Israeli authorities and Jewish civilians. Al-Araqib and Susiya epitomize the injustice experienced by thousands of Palestinian Arabs both inside Israel and the occupied West Bank. Although they live on opposite sides of the border, the two villages are targets of the same Israeli policy of forced displacement.
http://972mag.com/when-it-comes-to-displacing-arabs-the-green-line-does-not-exist/70631/

Israel forces Palestinian to demolish his home in Jerusalem
IMEMC — Tuesday May 7 2013, A Palestinian man from occupied East Jerusalem had to demolish his own home in order to avoid high fines and expenses after an Israeli court decided to demolish his property under the pretext that it was built without a construction permit. Resident Azzam Al-Afeefy, said that he was forced to demolish his home in the Old City, after an Israeli Court in Jerusalem informed him that should the City Council demolish his home, he will face huge fines, including the large bill for the cost of demolishing his property, and for removing the rubble.
http://www.imemc.org/article/65435

Israeli forces demolish Hebron wells, electric network
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 6 May — Israeli forces on Monday morning damaged agriculture lands and destroyed an electric network and water wells in Beit Ula village west of Hebron, officials said. The bulldozers uprooted trees and were causing continuous damage, a spokesman for the popular committee in Beit Ula said … Mayor Mohammad al-Amleh said Israeli forces destroyed a 700-meter long electric network. Israeli forces aim to leave Beit Ula in “total darkness, and prevent farmers from reaching their lands,” he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=592706

Israel destroys agricultural land, wells in Hebron
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 7 May — Israeli forces on Tuesday destroyed over 100 acres of private Palestinian agricultural land in Hebron, locals said. The mayor of Tarqumiya, Sami Fataftah, told Ma‘an that Israeli forces bulldozed over 100 acres of land planted with olive and fruit trees. Israeli forces also destroyed three water wells used for irrigation and military forces stole “400 olive trees and 700 fruit trees planted 5-7 years ago,” Fataftah added. The water wells belonged to Nayif Mahmoud Shallafa and his brothers Nawwaf and Yousef.
“Yesterday Israeli bulldozers leveled fields and demolished wells in Beit Ula and Nuba, and today they did the same in Tarqumiya. Israel is implementing these policies to force Palestinian farmers to evacuate their lands and leave them to settlers,” the mayor added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593031

Israel issues demolition orders to 11 Ramallah homes
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 6 May — Israeli forces issued demolition orders to 11 homes in a Ramallah village on Monday, homeowners told Ma‘an. Military forces raided the village of Deir Nidham, located around 2km south of Nabi Saleh, and issued demolition orders to Ahmad Tamimi, his sons Abdul-Raziq, Hasan and Mahmoud, and their cousins Kafour, Abdul-Hafizh, Salih, Mustafa and Haitham Tamimi. Israeli forces also issued Abdul-Kashif Tamimi with a stop-work order for his house, which is currently under construction. Around 40 people will be made homeless if the demolition orders are carried out.
The homes slated for demolition are located opposite the Israeli settlement of Hallamish. The majority of the homes were built before the illegal settlement was founded, locals said. Israel is planning to expand the settlement at the expense of the indigenous landowners, locals told Ma‘an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=592916

Settlers uproot olive trees near Hebron
IMEMC — Tuesday May 7 2013, a number of armed extremist settlers of the Susiya illegal settlement, built on lands that belong to the residents of Yatta town, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, uprooted Palestinian olive trees in Wad Um Nir area. Rateb Jabour, Coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Hebron, told the Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) that the settlers attacked Palestinian orchards, and uprooted dozens of olive trees that belong to resident Mohammad Hussein Jabour.
http://www.imemc.org/article/65434

Settlers’ attacks continue in al-Khalil
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 6 May — Israeli settlers have damaged on Monday vineyards belonging to Palestinian residents in Beit Ummar north of al-Khalil. A group of settlers from Karme Tzur settlement to the south of the al-Khalil district town of Beit Ummar sprayed toxic substances on the town’s vineyards. Numerous vines were damaged, local sources confirmed to the PIC. It should be noted that the vineyards of Beit Ummar have been subject to such attacks several times in an attempt to annex the area to Karme Tzur.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7j3icIO6Xgdq0rbnaWYid5T8I%2fYaOBjSjX0SvkcsPYrwNZ5qeiGD%2bXntMwZCV5WCpcyw9i43xx%2b20jjiDT23%2byZ8IjmWpvN07625lk%2fWBzHM%3d

Jewish settlers defile Sheikh Abu Sam’aan Mosque in Qalqiliya
QALQILIYA (PIC) 6 May — A group of extremist Jewish settlers desecrated the historical Mosque of Sheikh Abu Sam’aan in Qalqiliya city and built a fake tomb inside it, according to the Aqsa foundation for endowment and heritage on Sunday. The foundation also said that the settlers spray-painted Hebrew slogans on the exterior walls of the Mosque and left candles they used for their rituals, warning that the settlers want to turn the Mosque into a synagogue.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7jTFfYtIe6tmGeF1Q%2bsPrTDiijVOmxWJOeqUgwjl4pwe4FVEVyy3CrsnScdMbXl6%2bkL07cOmKJjXbd9V5%2bifsl9xJThEbeCISkKkTm%2bNEK8A%3d

Israel’s land grab in East Jerusalem
Jerusalem (The Nation) 17 Apr by Anna Lekas Miller — Decades of Jewish settlement and Arab dispossession have radically changed the demographic makeup of this Palestinian capital — At first glance, the sign on the Jerusalem Light Rail system appears to be in Hebrew, Arabic and English. However, on closer examination the Hebrew name is transliterated — but not translated — into English and Arabic. To get to Sheikh Jarrah — a traditionally Arab and Arabic-speaking neighborhood in the heart of occupied East Jerusalem — you will have to know its Hebrew name, Shimon HaTzadik. The Jewish settler community that has sprouted in Sheikh Jarrah cites the historically significant tomb there of Simeon the Just as a reason to reclaim the area as Jewish land. As far as Jerusalem Light Rail is concerned, there is no such place as Sheikh Jarrah. “It’s hard living here,” Saleh Diab, a Palestinian resident, tells me. Diab lives in the heart of Sheikh Jarrah, just down the street from the ruins of the tomb. Across the street from his home, a Palestinian home is now decorated with Israeli flags, signifying its takeover by settlers, who now enjoy the lemon tree the Palestinian family before them was forced to leave behind. Next door to Diab, the front half of another house is occupied by settlers; the back half remains Palestinian.
http://www.thenation.com/article/173884/israels-land-grab-east-jerusalem#

Israeli settlers establish new settlement outpost
BETHLEHEM (PIC) 6 May — The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) has allowed Israeli settlers to renovate an Israeli military abandoned base in Gush Etzion built on Palestinian lands in Bethlehem as a prelude to establish a new outpost, Hebrew media sources revealed. The abandoned military base, located on a hilltop about half a kilometer from the Palestinian village of Beit Sahur in the Bethlehem district, was an army base during the British Mandate period. The base was transferred to Jordanian control and later to the IOF during the Palestinian second upraising before being abandoned in 2006, the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz stated on Monday. The newspaper pointed out that the Palestinians sought to build a hospital on the base after being abandoned, but the Israeli settlers intervened to confiscate it in order to set up a new settlement.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7fezPWBDiv1HyWr9wLsXgca6eL4Ko0ADzzMrbSWjqY9Q8sPzQRyM1KUF7rQolgC1Yp2R7Ecxj8KxC%2bzbHadtWkPdLxG1cs0vNIH0Yx2LBE5E%3d

Peace Now: PM halting new settlement construction
AP 7 May – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stopped approving new construction in West Bank settlements, two prominent Israli activist groups said Tuesday, in what could be an attempt to clear the way for renewed peace talks with the Palestinians. Anti-settlement group Peace Now, which monitors all new Israeli settlement construction, said Netanyahu has not approved new tenders or announcements of new building plans in the settlements since he won a new term in January’s election. ”It seems that Netanyahu took it upon himself to follow a policy of restraint,” Peace Now said in a statement. It said Netanyahu was likely trying to avoid colliding with the US at a time when US Secretary of State John Kerry is attempting to restart peace negotiations. The group said it did not know how long the freeze on new settlement building would hold, and noted that previously started settlement building is proceeding. The Yesha settlers council, which promotes settlement construction, also claimed a freeze was in place.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4377417,00.html

Israel PM freezes settlement tenders
JERUSALEM (AFP) 7 May — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a freeze on publishing tenders for new West Bank settler homes to avoid hampering US efforts to renew peace talks, Israeli army radio reported on Tuesday. Israel’s Peace Now settlement watchdog also said there had not been any tenders for new West Bank construction published since the start of the year. Neither Netanyahu’s office, nor the housing ministry would comment on the army radio report, which said the premier had gone back on a pre-election pledge to push ahead with thousands of new settler homes if reelected. The decision to build thousands of new settler homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem was taken as a punitive measure late last year after the Palestinians won upgraded UN status, despite strong opposition from Israel and Washington. News of the tender freeze was communicated by Netanyahu to Housing Minister Uri Ariel several days ago, the radio said. Ariel, himself a settler, is number two in the far-right Jewish Home party which lobbies for increased Israeli construction on land seized during the 1967 Six Day War. “I have no intention of revealing details of my discussions with the prime minister,” Ariel told the radio.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593022

Erekat: PLO not notified of settlement freeze
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 7 May — Israel has not notified the PLO of any changes to its settlement activity, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Tuesday, as Israeli media reported a new moratorium on settler homes in the West Bank. “We have not been notified of any changes to Israel’s colonial plans, including ongoing construction in dozens of Israeli settlements in the Occupied State of Palestine, including in and around our occupied capital East Jerusalem,” Erekat said in a statement … “What we need are actions and not words,” Erekat said in response to the report. “We monitor Israeli activities on the ground on a daily basis.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593212

WATCH: Mainstream media ignores alternative memorial ceremonies
Israeli Social TV 6 May — Last month, Israel commemorated Memorial Day. While the mainstream media extensively covered official Memorial Day ceremonies, alternative ceremonies were ignored. Also in the roundup: NGO Zochrot publishes a new map showing hundreds of Arab villages that were destroyed between 1948 and 1967, including a tour to Deir Yassin and a “march of return.”
http://972mag.com/watch-mainstream-media-ignores-alternative-memorial-ceremonies/70328/

Jerusalem Day

Mayor wants ‘sole Jewish rule’ in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 7 May — Israel’s mayor of Jerusalem said Tuesday that Palestinians will never have sovereignty in the Holy City, suggesting that they rename Ramallah as “northern Jerusalem” instead. Speaking to The Times of Israel news site, Nir Barkat said it was in Jerusalem’s DNA to be under “sole Jewish rule” and pressure from the international community to stop building on occupied territory was “illegal.” “The answer is no separation of the city … If the world pushes us there, it’s just a matter of time before things will fall apart,” Barkat told the Times on the eve of Jerusalem Day, a controversial national holiday celebrating what Israelis call the “reunification” of the city. The international community views Palestinian East Jerusalem to be under occupation.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593196

Bennett: No Palestinian state; Jerusalem is ours
Ynet 8 May –  Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett spoke at the Jerusalem Day rally held in the capital and said: “There are those who say they are against dividing Jerusalem, but for a Palestinian state. And I wonder, where exactly will the capital of this Palestinian state be? In Jericho? Bethlehem? Berlin? No Palestinian state will ever be formed.”  Regarding the US attempt to renew peace negotiation, Bennett added: “A people cannot be an occupier in its own land. Jerusalem is ours; no one has the right to divide it.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4377496,00.html

Study: 80 percent of East Jerusalemites live below poverty line
JERUSALEM (AFP) — Eight out of 10 Palestinians in East Jerusalem live below the poverty line, a watchdog said on Tuesday, as Israelis prepared to celebrate capturing the Arab sector of the Holy City in 1967. Almost 80 percent of “east Jerusalem residents live below the poverty line — the worst rate of all time,” the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said in a report. The study, which looked at the effects of Israeli policy on the “basic rights” of Palestinian residents, was published a day ahead of Jerusalem Day, when Israel marks the “reunification” of the city after it captured the Arab eastern sector during the 1967 Six-Day War. Israel later annexed East Jerusalem in a move never recognized by the international community.
Today, the Palestinian population numbers 293,000 in a city which counts roughly 800,000 residents, UN figures show. The study also said that Israel’s West Bank separation barrier was cutting East Jerusalem off from the West Bank, “exacerbating the already dire economic and social conditions for residents.” It said around 90,000 Palestinians with blue Jerusalem identity cards “pass through checkpoints on a daily basis in order to get to work, attend school, obtain medical services (and) visit family.” Hospitals in East Jerusalem were suffering financial difficulties due to the low numbers of patients and medical staff able to reach them from the West Bank, it said. Poor infrastructure meant there was a shortage of “some 50 kilometers (30 miles) of sewage pipes. Residents rely instead on septic tanks, and repeated flooding of these systems causes serious health hazards.” Only 46 percent of students study in municipal schools which are suffering from a “chronic shortage” of classrooms. school leavers who pass the Tawjihi, the Palestinian high school test, often find it difficult to get accepted to Israeli universities, while degrees from some Palestinian universities are not recognized in Israel, ACRI said.
Since 1967, “Israeli governments have expropriated one-third of Palestinian lands in Jerusalem, upon which thousands of apartments have been built for the city’s Jewish population,” it noted.
In 2012, Israel’s Interior Ministry revoked the residency status of 116 Jerusalem Palestinians, bringing the total number over 46 years to more than 14,000 people who “are no longer permitted to live in their city.” [Full Report]
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593229

Violence / Attacks / Raids / Clashes / Arrests

PLO Palestinian Monitoring Group – Monthly Summary of Israeli Violations – April 2013
The following summary tables and overview of events [with details] survey hostile Israeli activities during the period 01 April 2013 to 30 April 2013. The report includes a summary table of events, classified by type, throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in addition to a comparative table surveying events over the past three months. The survey is compiled from the Daily Situation Reports of the Palestinian Monitoring Group (PMG) of the Negotiations Affairs Department (NAD) of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The PMG monitors ground conditions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including Israeli and Palestinian violations. The PMG Daily Situation Reports are a survey of daily events collated from information provided by civil ministries and security agencies of the Palestinian National Authority. The information reported through the PMG process represents data available at the time of distribution only.
http://www.nad-plo.org/userfiles/file/pmg-reports/monthlyr/PMG.Monthly.Sitrep.04.2013.pdf

Police escort settlers at Aqsa mosque compound
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 7 May  — A group of Jewish settlers accompanied by police entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound through the Moroccan Gate early Tuesday, witnesses said. The group of around 40 settlers toured the compound escorted by police officers to commemorate the eve of Jerusalem Day, a national holiday in Israel celebrating the “unification” of the city.
Meanwhile special Israeli forces stormed the compound and assaulted worshipers before they detained two young men. A witness told Ma‘an that the raid was through the Chain Gate and the Moroccan Gate. He added that the agents forcefully dragged worshipers and sprayed them with pepper spray. Two young worshipers were detained and a third sustained wounds and was taken to a clinic inside the compound for treatment. Several others were treated on the spot.
Israeli forces also deployed by the main access gates to the mosque compound, denying all Muslim worshipers under 50 from praying. Female students who study at the compound were also denied access to the mosque. Witnesses told Ma‘an that clashes broke out between Israeli forces and women trying to access the mosque, after soldiers verbally insulted the women and pushed them. One woman was taken to hospital for treatment.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=592980

Clashes as Israelis visit Nablus holy site
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 6 May — More than 1,000 Israeli rightists on Sunday night visited Joseph’s Tomb near Balata refugee camp east of Nablus guarded by Israeli forces, locals said. Clashes erupted between Israeli forces and Palestinians, onlookers said Monday.
More than 30 buses carried hundreds of Israeli settlers to Nablus around 10 p.m. Sunday, alongside Israeli police and soldiers. Palestinians threw stones toward them while Israeli forces fired tear gas and stun grenades. Local officials said three teenagers suffered tear-gas inhalation and were transferred to hospital. They were identified as Fawzi Faysal, 17, Issa Muri Mahmud Hashash, 16, and Ali Hussein Asaad Asaad, 17. Israeli settlers performed prayers until 5 a.m. before leaving the city. An Israeli military spokeswoman said 2,500 Jews visited the holy site overnight.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=592595

Jewish settlers toss firebombs at Palestinian village homes
NABLUS (PIC) 6 May — Dozens of Jewish settlers attacked Jalloud [or Jalud] village, south of Nablus, on Sunday night and tossed Molotov cocktails at citizens’ homes. Bashar Qaryuti, an anti-settlement activist, said on Monday that the settlers were trying to set houses in the eastern flank of the village on fire. He said that inhabitants and civilian guards confronted the settlers and forced them to retreat. He said that an Israeli army unit arrived to the scene and protected the settlers until they withdrew from the village.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7MY0%2fu35b8mMucCfpXLOyHGF6ZHnOb%2flYIcUqfV3Mym6voMSQm2lC7uaag%2bssYkQKgwAGzpz004LAGEWDRLNoUwXjUxAX9GlwLYHX3Fn9P9A%3d

Settlers burn 20 dunams of farmland near Nablus
IMEMC 7 May — A group of extremist Israeli settlers burnt, late on Monday at night, twenty dunams of Palestinian agricultural lands that belong to residents of Burin village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Ghassan Daghlas, in charge of settlements file at the Palestinian Authority in the northern part of the West Bank, reported that the settlers burnt dozens of trees, and hurled stones at Palestinian cars south of Nablus. Daghlas added that the settlers forced two Palestinians cars to stop, and attacked the passengers who ran away fearing for their lives. The settlers then destroyed the two cars and left the scene.
http://www.imemc.org/article/65430

Israeli stabs Palestinian taxi driver in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 7 May — A Palestinian taxi driver was stabbed by an Israeli passenger in Jerusalem on Monday, Israeli police said. Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri told Ma‘an that the motive was reportedly a disputed cab fare. The attack took place in the settlement of Gilo, with the attacker fleeing the scene. The taxi driver was moderately wounded in the incident.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=592984

Settlers use rocks and sharp tools to attack 50- and 65-year-old farmers in Beit Furik
Beit Furik 7 May by ISM Nablus — Two olive farmers from the village of Beit Furik, east of Nablus, are recovering from head wounds in a near-lethal attack by colonial-settlers. Although both survived, they are in need of daily check-ups at a clinic in Nablus and are afraid to return to work on their land. In the early afternoon of Monday 29th April, Fouzi Mousa Nasasra (65) and Abad al-Rahman Khatatba (50) went to put out fires started by settlers from the nearby illegal settlement of Itamar, on their land just a brief walk away from their neighbouring homes. The fire service from Nablus also came to help put out the fire. Afterwards the pair took a rest on their land, which sits on a mountainside. Suddenly three settlers came at them in a surprise attack, with fifteen more in support. They hit them both in the head, with sharp farming tools and stones, repeatedly, causing them to collapse. Fortunately, other villagers saw what was happening and ran to help them, so settlers backed a retreat up the mountainside. Both men needed hospital treatment for serious injuries to the head. Fouzi received 12 injuries to his head on 3 sides and Abad, 5 injuries to his head as he was able to put his hands up to protect himself. The fire, although it was put out, caused damage to approximately 300 olive trees.
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/05/settlers-use-rocks-and-sharp-tools-to-attack-50-and-65-year-old-farmers-in-beit-furik/

ISM condemns Ynetnews misinformation, calls on Ynet to correct false allegations
Hebron (ISM) 7 May by Team Nablus — International Solidarity Movement calls on Ynetnews, a popular Israeli digital newspaper, to correct the false allegations against the recently arrested Swedish human rights activist and a young boy in Al-Khalil (Hebron). Ynetnews reported that the Swedish activist allegedly attempted to take an Israeli soldier’s gun and resisted arrest. Also reported was that the young boy arrested was throwing stones. Both allegations prove entirely false in the Youth Against Settlements full video of the event. Story here. Support our demand to report accurately on events in Palestine. Contact the Ynetnews editor-in-chief at editor-in-chief@y-i.co.il or the Ynetnews editorial department at news@ynetnews.com. Below is the letter sent to Ynetnews editor-in-chief, still awaiting response.
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/05/ism-condemns-ynetnews-misinformation-calls-on-ynet-to-correct-false-allegations/

Increased military presence at primary school where 27 children were recently arrested
Hebron, Occupied Palestine (ISM) 7 May by Team Khalil — On the 20th March, 27 children aged 7 to 16 were arrested on their way to school in Hebron’s old city.For the past three days the Israeli military have had a large, heavily armed and threatening presence outside the four schools on this street, where the children were grabbed at random by Israeli soldiers just five weeks ago. Children have to walk through a checkpoint manned by several Israeli border police each morning in order to reach their schools, often receiving hassle from the soldiers as they do so.
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/05/increased-military-presence-at-primary-school-where-27-children-were-recently-arrested/

Israeli forces detain 10 across Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 6 May — Israeli forces on Monday detained 10 Palestinians across the Bethlehem district, residents said. Locals said forces raided Beit Fajjar village and several homes, detaining five…
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that three Palestinians were detained near the Migdal Oz settlement in Bethlehem, allegedly for carrying knives, Israeli daily Ynet reported.
Israeli forces also detained Ahmad Jamal Nabhan, 23, from Wadi Freha area in Beit Sahour, and Mohammad Awad Ibedat, 21, from the Hindaza area in Bethlehem.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=592574

Israel detains 2 in Jenin, raids detainee’s home
JENIN (Ma‘an) 6 May — Israeli forces detained two Palestinians from villages in the northern district of Jenin, locals said Monday. Israeli forces detained Amjad Khader Noubani, 35, after raiding his home in Qabatiya, locals said. Ihab Adnan al-Jabari, 26, was detained in the al-Yamoun village, as Israeli forces stationed at the village’s entrance from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. Locals also said the home of Faris Sabaaneh, who was detained three days ago, was raided.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=592658

Israeli forces detain 9 in West Bank arrest raids
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained 9 people in the West Bank overnight Monday [early Tuesday morning], Israel’s army and locals said. Israeli military forces raided several homes in ‘Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, arresting Salih Abu Srour, 18, witnesses told Ma‘an.
Israeli forces also raided the nearby ‘Azza refugee camp, arresting Miras Nidal al-Azzah, 19. Israeli troops issued a summons ordering Walid al-Azzah to go for questioning at an Israeli intelligence office. Two other unidentified men also received summons orders.
In Hebron, Israeli forces arrested an unidentified man from the south of the city. Reuters cameraman Mousa al-Qawasmeh told Ma‘an that Israeli troops also raided his home in Hebron and detained his brother Abdul Muaty Qawasmeh, 24. Qawasmeh said that Israeli soldiers pointed their rifles at him and demanded that he remained quiet while entering his brothers’ room to detain him. They brutally dragged him out before searching his room and arresting him, he added.
In East Jerusalem, Mahmoud Juman Audeh, 24, was arrested in Silwan. Israeli forces also raided the village of Sur Bahir, ransacking the home of Al-Aqsa mosque official Sheikh Najih Ibkeirat, and arresting his son Daoud, 29. Firas Jaffal and Faisal Nawafleh were arrested in Abu Dis, locals said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=592964

Gaza siege

IOF arrests a Palestinian citizen accompanying his sick wife at Erez crossing
GAZA (PIC) 7 May — The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested a Palestinian citizen from Gaza at Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing, in the northern Gaza Strip, while he was accompanying his sick wife to undergo surgery at St. John’s Hospital in Jerusalem. Prisoners’ Center for Studies quoted the family of businessman Zuhair Maarouf, aged 52 from the Sheikh Radwan district in Gaza City, as saying that the occupation arrested Zuhair at Beit Hanoun crossing, and extended his detention for 24 hours. He was transferred to Ashkelon detention center. The detainee’s son Yusuf appealed to the Ministry of Detainees and Ex-detainees and the Palestinian Prisoner Society to hire a lawyer to identify the cause of his father’s arrest. “We are contacting the hospital in order to postpone my mother’s surgery which has been stalled due to the arrest of my father,” he added. Arrests of Palestinian citizens at Beit Hanoun crossing have recently increased.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7hBLHpVXULdZZEgz0k0ZAaPZu%2fM1%2f%2bfJrppywzzwPwBrHm%2btd6XcGAw910Lp6ALuUsDMYoRl746BUP1GaIBsSM%2bPh9LRbhgeaZZGGitJPdoE%3d

Egypt uncovers 276 smuggling tunnels under Gaza border
CAIRO (Ma‘an) 6 May — Egyptian forces uncovered 276 previously unknown smuggling tunnels under the border with Gaza on Monday. Egyptian security officials told Ma‘an that 154 tunnels had been destroyed and 94 would be demolished soon. Security forces are struggling to destroy some 28 tunnels constructed under residential properties. All the tunnel openings have been blocked temporarily with rocks, security sources added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=592768

Police disperse PFLP rally in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 7 May — Police ion Tuesday violently dispersed a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine rally in southern Gaza, a party official said. The rally was held to denounce Israeli airstrikes in Syria. PFLP official Jameel Mezher told Ma‘an that three demonstrators were injured when police attacked them with batons. He condemned the security forces’ “policy of repression” and said the PFLP would contact the Hamas-run government to find out why the rally was shut down.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593225

Jordanian aid convoy arrives in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 7 May — A fourth Jordanian aid convoy to the Gaza Strip arrived in Gaza City on Monday evening. The ‘Ansar 4’ convoy, escorted by 31 Jordanian activists, left Amman by air for el-Arish airport in Egypt before heading to the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing. The head of a union of Jordanian agronomists, Mahmoud Abu Ghanima, who lead the convoy, told reporters at Rafah that the convoy was different from the first three others. This convoy, he said, will fund projects in Gaza in addition to bringing humanitarian aid.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593073

Detainees / Court actions

Lawyer: A Palestinian child attempted suicide in an Israeli jail
RAMALLAH (PIC) 6 May — Human rights lawyer Heba Masaleha said one of the Palestinian children detained in an Israeli jail tried to commit suicide as a result of the severe depression he suffers from because of his exposure to maltreatment at the hands of jailers. Masaleha refrained from mentioning the name of the child, but she said she visited him in jail. She stated that the child has been staying in bed for three days without moving or talking to anyone, except about his intention to commit suicide, adding that the child cannot sleep properly at night and already refused to eat food for two days. She affirmed that the prison doctor said the child suffered from a psychological problem, adding that the prison administration also brought an Arab doctor from Nazareth to oversee him without any noticeable improvement in his condition …
In another incident, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnapped a group of Palestinian minors working as a drum band without any reason, according to Bayarek center for prisoners’ affairs on Sunday. The center said that the children were on their way to a Palestinian folkloric festival that was held in the West Bank in solidarity with prisoner Samer Issawi, who ended his months-long hunger strike recently after a deal with his jailers.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7NO96pJsEeRFk9DBGOcbP9sjoNrxT2pVK%2fvUEdUkaOMwg4DZ%2bVGzJ25upm20hcJElFhO7FvnHOo5zzWMbj1vjXYBTRVE4nB92xJRiwMq3SOg%3d

Case closed: When felons roam free due to ‘lack of public interest’
972blog 7 May by Yesh Din, written by Yossi Gurvitz — The High Court of Justice had some sharp words for one settler who invaded private Palestinian lands and then perverted the law to prove they were his. So why did the prosecution close the case for ‘lack of public of interest?’ … One might have thought the public would have some interest in a felon who invaded lands for a long period while harming the livelihood of several families. One might think that an ambitious prosecutor would be rather interested in the precise details of the deal Lessens allegedly made with senior officials in the Kedumim Local Council. One might think that the prosecution, as well as the public, would have significant interest in finding out what position is held today by the person who, according to Lessens, gave him those instructions, and if he still gives such instructions. One might have thought? Better think again.
http://972mag.com/case-closed-when-felons-roam-free-due-to-lack-of-public-interest/70634/

Apartheid imprisonment: Jewish versus Palestinian ‘security’ prisoners
EI 3 May by Charlotte Silver — One need not look further than the rampant number of Jewish Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians that are neither investigated nor, needless to say, prosecuted, to observe the two-tiered justice system that rules over Israelis and Palestinians on both sides of the green line. However, in the rare instances that the State of Israel does prosecute Jewish-Israelis as ‘security’ threats, those individuals are exposed to a entirely different set of conditions and sentencing standards than their Palestinian ‘counterparts’. In a freshly-released paper, attorney Fatmeh El-‘Ajou with Adalah, the legal center for Arab minority rights in Israel, discusses the disparity in mercy granted to Jewish ‘security’ prisoners versus Palestinian ‘security’ prisoners, as measured by the frequent commutation of Jewish Israelis’ sentences. In addition, El-‘Ajou argues that Palestinian security prisoners who are citizens of Israel are frequently excluded from the provisions of negotiated agreements that have become — since the Oslo Accords — the principal means by which Palestinian political prisoners are released from confinement.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/charlotte-silver/apartheid-imprisonment-jewish-versus-palestinian-security-prisoners

Israel wants detainees to pay for their medical expenses
IMEMC 7 May — The Palestinian Ministry of Detainees reported Monday that the Israeli Prison Authority is demanding Palestinian political prisoners to pay for their own medical expenses, and refused to provide them with the needed medical equipment or medications. The Ministry denounced the Israeli decision and said that Israel, as the country that is holding thousands of Palestinian detainees, has the legal and moral responsibility to provide them with the needed care, as stated by the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions regarding civil and political rights …
Hussein Ali Khalil, 24, from Al-Khader town near Bethlehem and sentenced to seven years, was asked to pay 7000 New Israeli Shekels, he is suffering from hearing problems, and complications in his ears. Ahmad Jamil Ash-Shibry, 27, from Nablus and sentenced to 15 years, he was asked for pay money for new lenses for his glasses; he needs to change the lenses every six months due to various complications in his eyes, especially his right eye.
http://www.imemc.org/article/65427

Family appeals to Doctors without Borders to save its son
RAMALLAH (PIC) 6 May — The family of Palestinian prisoner Alaa Weshahi, a 27-year old young man from Jenin refugee camp, appealed to doctors without borders to intervene to save the life of its son and have him released because of his difficult health condition. The family stated that its son is paralyzed as a result of a bullet injury and suffers from different health problems. It added that Weshahi was taken prisoner by the Israeli intelligence agency at the Al-Karama crossing after he returned from a pilgrimage trip in Saudi Arabia, noting that it has lost contact with him since his detention.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7a2J4UK1denrD79K3hLpAPWNkLjojG8XEin9mqUEJCAfm4oDjFDtupgqQAqyI%2fk1nZT59ygFD7MwShF%2bHY2C%2bQmaHZdhv2TtG%2fXzJwuK9KEk%3d

Israel allows children to visit Gaza prisoners
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 6 May — Israel allowed children from Gaza to visit their relatives in Israeli prison for the first time in weeks, an International Committee for the Red Cross official said Monday. Nasser al-Najjar told Ma‘an that 61 families from the Gaza Strip, including seven children headed to the Beit Hanoun pedestrian crossing into Israel ahead of their visit to relatives in the Nafha prison. “The Israeli side allows children under the age of 8 to visit their relatives in jail,” he added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=592600

IPS imposes restrictions on prisoners’ children visits
GAZA (PIC) 7 May — The Israeli Prison Service (IPS) has imposed restrictions on children visits to prisoners from the Gaza strip, the Palestine Center for Prisoners’ Studies revealed. The IPS has prevented children over 8 years from visiting their fathers and brothers detained in Israeli jails after an Israeli ban on family visits to Gaza Strip detainees which lasted for 6 years , Riad Al Ashqar Media Director of the center confirmed. The IPS has agreed to allow Gazan children aged 0-10 years to visit the relatives in Israeli jails, however it did not comply with its commitments as usual.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7bXE6gTqD%2bbd83q0%2f1Dn9sJYXMaAEDnpl0YvP25qaJmulwvfc2Q6LD7OEnmk76WBMXljflQimwQAWMtYSUgi3OYYpoDsy5Ft15WulGeINycI%3d

IOF soldiers break into home of MP Rejoub
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 6 May — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) broke into the home of MP Nayef Al-Rejoub in Doura town, south of Al-Khalil, at dawn Monday. Rejoub told the PIC that the soldiers stormed his house at 0400 am today and asked for IDs of all family members. He said that the soldiers, who had a list of names with them, did not search his home. Rejoub was released from Israeli occupation jails a few weeks ago after two years of administrative detention, without trial or charge.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7RyArIVM9osD0KDpP0wkYNGsy0bOc2WC91QenQWsOtDlfezyAixhANHsJFJ%2fJj4jnvDKC61ZF4jWqP4sRpVXuoe3TDri%2fQ9eCyLO7U%2fF9fn8%3d

Israel to release Fatah lawmaker arrested in 2007
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 6 May — An Israeli military court at Ofer detention center on Monday ordered the release of a Fatah lawmaker detained in 2007, relatives of the official said. Jamal Tirawi, 47, was detained on May 29, 2007, in Nablus and sentenced to 30 years in an Israeli jail for being affiliated with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. His trial was postponed more than 70 times and took over four years. His brother Raed told Ma‘an that Israel had decided to release him after an appeal by his lawyer three years ago.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=592843

and the Israeli version:
Israel to release terrorist behind 2002 attack in Tel Aviv
Ynet 6 May by Itamar Fleishman — The Military Court of Appeals at the Ofer Base annulled on Monday the indictment filed against Jamal Tirawi, who orchestrated the terror attack at the “My Coffee Shop” cafe in Tel Aviv in 2002. The court explained its decision by saying that the State had not kept its commitment not to arrest Tirawi under the amnesty agreement with the Palestinian Authority. In their ruling, the judges criticized the State’s decision to violate the agreement and determined that despite Tirawi’s crimes, it is crucial that the State live up to agreements it had signed. Tirawi, who served as a Fatah member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, was convicted of planning the terror attack in Tel Aviv
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4376978,00.html

The journalist detainee Mohammed Awad declares hunger strike
RAMALLAH (PIC) 6 May — The journalist detainee Mohammed Awad, from Ramallah, has declared an open hunger strike since Saturday protesting his continued arrest by the PA preventive service despite a court ruling ordering his release. The detainee’s family appealed to human rights and media institutions to intervene for his release. The Ramallah court on 17 April ordered the release Awad on bail, however it withdrew its decision under pressure from the PA preventive security.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7ofai6eEKi76Gk61LpE6E1HzAORoedQls6%2feYUiXeVv64nAGNMFB%2f%2b0hlkUCAJexaWCcgFWtei6Ct%2bN%2biwPouKbgIs2wkM4NZLLL5ytyBJdo%3d

Political, other news

Zahhar: We will not swap our land for our land
GAZA (PIC) 7 May — Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Al-Zahhar warned against any Arab and Palestinian moves to waive the Palestinian rights and constants, reiterating his Movement’s rejection of any solutions giving up an inch of the Palestinian land.
The Hamas official made his remarks in a ceremony held on Monday at the Islamic university to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba (tragedy) … “We will not swap our land for our land. Our 1948 occupied land is our land and we will not exchange any part of it for our 1967 occupied land. All the Palestinian land belongs to the Palestinians and we will never accept compromises,” the Hamas official stated.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s72emnUlxMneJt5vrlRBNQV5LztIRzdGNMMfhLmK3cwPe7irn9LTWieAOmWRyXyxQG92fS9IS%2f%2fnamyWWAGGaK7RfCKMevIXQs88nEHhgzMLw%3d

China suggests 4-point proposal for peace talks
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 6 May — The Chinese president Xi Jinping on Monday discussed with President Mahmoud Abbas in Beijing a four-point proposal to reach a compromise for the question of Palestine, the deputy Chinese ambassador to Palestine said. In a news conference at the Chinese embassy in Ramallah, the official said the Chinese proposal focused on an independent Palestinian state, negotiations as the only way to peace, the principle of “land for peace”, and guarantees the international community should provide for the progress of the peace process.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=592825

Yesh Atid blocks referendum on peace deal
Ynet 6 May by Moran Azulay — The Yesh Atid faction, headed by Finance Minister Yair Lapid, decided on Monday to oppose Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett’s initiative to pass a Basic Law requiring a referendum before any peace treaty with the Palestinians is signed. The decision by Yesh Atid, the second largest part in the coalition, effectively buries the proposal … According to the proposal, a referendum will be held only in the event that a peace agreement will call for the withdrawal from land that is under full Israeli sovereignty, such as east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. It does not apply to the West Bank.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4376879,00.html

Egypt’s Morsi reminisces on Gaza ceasefire, speaks of post-revolution ‘dilemma’
AhramOnline 5 May – In an interview with Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has recounted details from behind the scenes of the Israel-Gaza ceasefire agreement of last November, which Egypt had a prominent role in brokering. “We withdrew the Egyptian ambassador [to Israel] immediately, and that was intended to be a signal to say, ‘Let’s de-escalate. Let’s make sure things don’t progress to outright conflict,'” Morsi reflected. “Also, sending the Prime Minister of Egypt [into Gaza], with Egypt’s weight in the region, was to send a signal that this conflict must end and it must not escalate,” he continued. Morsi told the Canadian newspaper in the interview published Saturday that the ceasefire was the product of a mutual opportunity grasped with US President Barack Obama.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/70741/Egypt/Politics-/Egypts-Morsi-reminisces-on-Gaza-ceasefire,-speaks-.aspx

Israeli military service requirement discriminates against Arab citizens
JERUSALEM (Al-Monitor) 5 May by Jillian Kestler-D’Amours — A government move to provide jobs in Israel’s high-tech industry to ultra-Orthodox Jews who haven’t served in the military has raised pointed criticism that Israel is conditioning basic rights on fulfilling army service, and unfairly discriminating against citizens who are exempt from the military. “Military service is kind of a tool that is being used more and more in order to exclude the Arabs, because they don’t do military service,” explained Sawsan Zaher, director of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Department at Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel. “They must do an individual check to see whether the applicant is suitable for the job or not. Putting an arbitrary [military requirement is] saying all Arabs are not welcome to even apply to this job,” Zaher told Al-Monitor.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/israeli-army-service-rights-discrimination.html

A former insider explains how Human Rights Watch panders to the Israel lobby
EI 3 May by Ali Abunimah — …Those of us who observe HRW’s work have long known that it deals with Israel by a different, much softer standard than it applies to any other country. [Scott] Long’s account indicates that HRW observes a sort of fake balance in which it must artificially generate criticism of Palestinians just in order to offset criticism of Israel’s much greater and more frequent human rights abuses and crimes: Human Rights Watch, where I worked for many years, strains all its muscles to be completely objective on Israel/Palestine — an effort that has never gotten it a scintilla of credit from the militant pro-Israel side. Its releases on Israel and Palestine are the only ones in the entire organization that are routinely edited by the executive director himself. An informal arithmetic dictates that every presser or report criticizing Israel has to be accompanied by another criticizing the Palestine Authority or Hamas — or, if that isn’t possible (the PA barely retains enough authority to violate anybody’s rights) at least one of the surrounding Arab states.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/former-insider-explains-how-human-rights-watch-panders-israel-lobby

Golan Druze divided, afraid over Syria
Ynet 5 May by Hassan Shaalan – Most residents of northern Druze village of Majdal Shams believe that a war will break out soon. The explosion shockwaves are very well felt in the border-adjacent Druze village, in which most residents profess they are part of the Syrian people. The latest alleged Israeli attack in Syria caused much controversy in the village. Some residents support the Assad regime, and see the attack as “a terrorist act”. Others condemn Syrian President Bashar Assad and the killing of civilians in the country, and support “eliminating” the regime.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4377281,00.html

Israel, Turkey reach draft deal on compensation
AP 6 May — Israel and Turkey have reached a draft agreement on compensation for the victims of a 2010 Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla. The draft agreement was reached during a meeting in Jerusalem on Monday between Turkish officials, headed by the deputy foreign minister, and Israeli government representatives. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Office said a final agreement was expected soon. It did not reveal details on Monday’s agreement and said “additional clarifications” were needed on a “few issues.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4376943,00.html

Safe public parks for West Bank children
ANERA 6 May — Children growing up in the West Bank village of Ras Karkar had no safe place to play after they finished their homework or chores at home. They ended up playing in the streets or trash-filled fields. In 2012, three adventurous boys, aged 4-6, decided to play in an unused storeroom near their homes. When they didn’t come home, their parents started searching for them with help from the neighbors. Soon the entire village joined the search. After several hours the little boys were found inside an abandoned commercial refrigerator. The kids had crammed themselves inside. But the fridge door had locked them in, its door refusing to budge. They suffocated to death. The tragedy shook the entire population of the district of Ramallah. ANERA is converting vacant, rubble-filled land into beautifully-landscaped safe havens for families to gather and children to play without fear.
http://www.trust.org/item/20130506191826-yj2no/

Storks blamed for power outages in north
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 7 May — Thousands of people in northern Nablus have been losing electricity repeatedly over the past few days after birds damaged cables, causing them to short-circuit, officials said Tuesday. Palestine Electricity Company officials said technicians had been trying to verify the cause of a power outage in the areas of al-Badhan, al-Fara, Talluza, Yasid and al-Nassariya. Surprisingly, they found six large storks dead under the electricity cables.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=593053

Spraying fails: Billions of locusts descend on Negev
Ynet 7 May by Ilana Curiel — The locust attack on the Negev is renewed: Billions of grasshoppers were spotted on Monday in various locations across the south of Israel. Ramat Negev Regional Council contends there is no control over the grasshoppers and that preventive spraying has failed. Head of Ramat Negev Regional Council Shmulik Rifman urgently addressed the agriculture minister and prime minister, requesting “Impose this mission on the army. It is an ecological and agricultural disaster.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4377016,00.html

West Bank opens first modeling school
Ramallah (Reuters) 7 May — Young fashion enthusiasts in the occupied West Bank gathered in Ramallah to witness the first Palestinian Fashion Week. The event was sponsored by a Palestinian modeling agency, a Palestinian magazine and professional photographers. Tamer Halabi, a 27-year-old entrepreneur who opened the first modeling agency in the West Bank called “Modelicious Agency”, said there is a high demand from fashion shops and designers for local, trained female and male models to advertise their designs, especially on their social media pages.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/life-style/fashion-and-beauty/2013/05/07/Picture-perfect-Palestine-opens-first-modeling-school.html

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