Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Restriction of movement
Israel orders destruction of village olive grove in retaliation for alleged stone throwing
IMEMC 10 Nov — The Israeli military has issued demolition orders for hundreds of Palestinian olive trees in the village of Ya‘bad, in the northern West Bank, following threats that if kids kept throwing stones at soldiers, the army would destroy the village’s olive trees. The village is located west of Jenin, in the northern part of the West Bank, and depends largely on the annual olive harvest for its income. According to local sources, the military placed notices in Hebrew and Arabic on trees throughout the main olive grove in town, saying that they will be uprooted by military order. Over a million olive trees have been uprooted by the Israeli occupation forces since 2000, and the destruction continues to take place on a regular basis.
http://www.imemc.org/article/66384
Army hands out demolish orders against homes in Al-Eesawiyya
IMEMC 10 Nov — Palestinian sources have reported that Israeli soldiers invaded the Al-Eesawiyya town, in occupied East Jerusalem, and handed destruction orders targeting a home, and a residential building, allegedly for being built without permits. Member of the Follow-up Committee in the town Mohammad Abu Al-Hummus stated that dozens of soldiers, police officers and City Council employees invaded the town and handed out the orders. He said that an order was handed to resident Hasan Abu al-Hummus targeting his home where seven family members live. Soldiers also invaded a residential building of four apartments, took photographs of the building, all apartments, and all of its facilities. The building is also facing destruction under same claims.
Furthermore, dozens of soldiers invaded al-Anayta Road and nearby lands, as Israel intends to illegally confiscate lands to create a trash dump-site.
http://www.imemc.org/article/66387
IOA forces Jerusalemite citizen to raze his own home
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 10 Nov — The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) forced a Jerusalemite citizen to raze his own home in the Old City of Jerusalem at the pretext of lack of construction permit. Samer Zatara, 43, said that he was forced to destroy a big part of his 24-square-meter house on Saturday, adding that otherwise the IOA would bulldoze his house and demand him to pay more than 21,000 dollars in demolition cost. He said that he received an order two weeks earlier to evacuate and raze two rooms and other additions to his home at the pretext of building without permit, adding that he had paid a 3,400 dollars fine for building the two rooms.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7NKvuICxuf3JWWP5jNXOQHta%2fglVYDpA1DV1DT6pHgoeDv1UrHq4K1J1ayfg6MII5h0RkgODdfveUlQYeVihJIkKWOjerVkP84yRsEN82KU8%3d
Settlement expansion in Khalil encroaches on Palestinian land
HEBRON, Occupied Palestine (ISM Khalil Team) 10 Nov — The attempted expansion of Qiryat Arba, the largest settlement in Khalil, threatens to further reassign land boundaries. This would affect the livelihoods of several Palestinian families who have long been subject to harassment and violence. On Tuesday 5th November, international activists were called to the Tamimi family olive groves in Khaled Abudee, which are located in a valley just northeast of Qiryat Arba. Settlers from Havat Gal, the outpost of Qiryat Arba, had entered the land, which belongs to three Palestinian families. They had brought with them equipment to cut down olive trees, but fortunately the Tamimi family managed to prevent any damage being done to the trees. The family called upon Israeli soldiers to remove the settlers but they persistently refused, claiming that they had a right to the land. Israeli authorities arrived on Thursday 7th November in order to mark out the land boundaries, and a high ranked military officer came and confiscated a proportion of the land for governance use, which in practice means that settlers can build there without Israeli government intervention. Fortunately for the settlers, the house they are currently building is located on this piece of land. The families are very upset with this decision made by the Israeli military, and a lawyer from the Israeli NGO Taayush is taking the case to the Israeli court.
The conflict over this piece of land has been relentlessly affecting the families for more than six years. Every year fruit trees have been cut down and poison has also been used to prevent their full harvest. In 2008, eight children were hospitalized after drinking the milk of a goat which had been feeding on these poisoned grounds. Further physical violence has occurred several times, including children being beaten (most recently yesterday)
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/11/settlement-expansion-in-khalil-encroaches-on-palestinian-land/
‘Death to Arabs’ sprayed on Palestinian kindergarten in Hebron
972mag 8 Nov by Mairav Zonszein — Israeli settlers vandalized a Palestinian kindergarten in Hebron, spray-painting “Death to Arabs” on its wall, it was discovered this week. This is the only kindergarten in the Israeli-controlled section of Hebron to which Palestinian parents can send their three- to five-year-old children without them having to pass through an Israeli checkpoint. This is what the children saw when they arrived: … The kindergarten was built over the last few months by volunteers from Youth Against Settlements (YAS), a Palestinian activist group coordinated by Issa Amro. Amro is the same activist whose home was stormed by IDF troops and used as a military training site during the Iftar holiday following Ramadan a few months ago. Earlier this week YAS reported that settlers came to the kindergarten and tried to prevent them from working on it, in some cases pushing and shoving them
http://972mag.com/death-to-arabs-sprayed-on-palestinian-kindergarten-in-hebron/81540/
Settlers bulldoze Palestinian lands near Nablus, install outpost
IMEMC — Eyewitnesses have reported Saturday [November 9 2013] that a number of extremist Israeli settlers invaded Palestinian lands west of the central West Bank city of Salfit, bulldozed them and installed a number of mobile homes in an attempt to expand their adjacent Revava illegal settlement. Head of the Deir Estia town council Ayyoub Abu Hijla stated that the lands are located in the western side of the town, and that the settlers are continually trying to expand their illegal settlement. Palestinian researcher Khaled Ma‘aly said that Revava is one of 23 illegal Israeli settlements in the Salfit District, and was established on lands that belong to Deir Estia residents in 1991, preventing any expansion of the town.
Ma‘aly added that the settlers also bulldozed and uprooted more Palestinian lands close to other settlements near Salfit, including lands near the settlements of Leshim, Brokhin and Borkan, and are building new units there.
http://www.imemc.org/article/66386
Settlers burn and uproot 1905 olive trees during this harvest season
Stop the Wall 8 Nov — The campaign “You are not alone” launched by Palestinian grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign (Stop the Wall) and the Palestinian Farmers Union was carried out for the ninth consecutive year. The initiative supports farmers, whose lands are threatened and who are facing particularly dangerous situations during the olive harvest … This olive season, we recorded a huge rise in attacks launched by settlers against Palestinian citizens, land and property. The daily attacks of the settlers during the olive harvest are an integral part of the Israeli overall policy of occupation, ethnic cleansing and land theft. The kind of attacks, the locations where they are carried out and the coordination between the settlers and the Israeli military are demonstrating the existence of a systematic policy. The attacks are aimed to drive Palestinian farmers from geo-strategic locations in Area C, in order to ensure that the occupied West Bank is effectively fragmented into unviable Bantustans and Israel can ensure full control not only of the natural resources but as well the movement – and with this social, cultural and economic development – of the Palestinians living in the West Bank.
http://stopthewall.org/2013/11/08/settlers-burn-and-uproot-1905-olive-trees-during-harvest-season
Cabinet OK’s razing Bedouin towns to build Jewish settlement in their place
[with videos] 972mag 10 Nov by Noam Sheizaf — After being expelled and relocated in the 1950s, the residents of Umm al-Hiran are about to lose their homes once again – this time to make way for a Jewish national-religious settlement — …There is no better example of how Zionism as a state ideology represents, in practice, the ongoing dispossession of Palestinians. Two Bedouin-Palestinian villages, Umm al-Hiran and Atir (where members of the Al-Qia‘an tribe live), are the location where the kibbutz is planned … Their residents are originally from the western part of the Negev (Palestinians call the same desert Naqab); they were expelled eastward by the IDF following the 1948 war, and a kibbutz called Shoval was built on their land. After several years of moving from site to site, the army finally told those members of the Al-Qia‘an tribe to build their homes in Umm al-Hiran and Atir, and so they did in 1956. Here is the army’s order (via Adala). It is marked “confidential”: Despite the fact that it was the state who told the Al-Qia‘an tribe where to move, the new villages were never made part of a zoning plan, and their residents still lack basic infrastructure like water and electricity. The government is finally deciding to build a proper settlement there – but not for the Palestinian Bedouin (who are citizens of Israel, some of whom even served in the IDF).
http://972mag.com/government-to-confirm-destruction-of-bedouin-village-jewish-town-will-be-built-on-site/81638/
Anti-Prawer protests scheduled for Nov. 30 in Palestine, worldwide
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 10 Nov — Palestinian youth will gather in several cities within historic Palestine and around the world on Nov. 30 to protest against Israel’s Prawer Plan, several youth organizations said in a statement Sunday. The protest event will take place simultaneously in the Negev, Haifa, Ramallah, and Gaza City, as well as in several locations worldwide, and will be named the “International Day of the Negev.” Israel’s Prawer Plan calls for the relocation of 40,000-70,000 Bedouin, the demolition of about 40 villages, and the confiscation of nearly 200,000 acres of land in the Negev Desert. The groups announced the worldwide protest the same day Israeli government officials met in the Negev to discuss plans for the construction of four Israeli neighborhoods in place of the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran, which faces possible destruction.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=645765
IOA blocks travel of 17 Palestinian citizens
RAMALLAH (PIC) 10 Nov — The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) blocked the travel of 17 Palestinian citizens via the Karame crossing between the West Bank and Jordan last week. The Palestinian crossings police said in a statement on Saturday that the IOA cited “security pretexts” for the travel ban, adding that a number of those blocked from travel were detained while others were subjected to field interrogation. It said that around 22,000 citizens crossed the Karame crossing in both directions over the past week, adding that women were among those blocked from travel.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7VZs%2b2%2ft3dA2tPwb4%2bI9r%2bQy5CQ1stwyGXI3v%2f087JPT9XtTKwRvOg0bnGiWhu1UTSm0nWcezwRvP5LN2HgBC6qI8XB576UlOV9V41kB4qg8%3d
Violence / Clashes / Illegal arrests
Family of martyr Habanin: We will prosecute the occupation authorities
RAMALLAH (PIC) 9 Nov — Family of martyr Bashir Habanin [listed as Hananeen by IMEMC on 8 Nov], who was killed by the Israeli forces gunfire on Thursday night at Za’atara checkpoint, said it will prosecute the Israeli authorities for killing him. The martyr’s father told PIC’s correspondent: “The family will contact all human rights institutions in order to file a complaint against the occupation forces and to punish the perpetrators of this crime, which was committed in cold blood.” He added that at dawn on the day of the incident, the occupation forces stormed their house then questioned the family members and searched Bashir’s personal belongings without informing them that he had had been killed at a military checkpoint.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7F1ff%2fjkBzNSNpf5kpEsZS6WDQ7FZ1kfSByuARjveVwRSzVkwDg7xEIml9KsDpYoV86%2fnVL2QzI3QuFKj5k%2bj5IMXzmFvWUEkieor0o6MNCI%3d
PHRC: IOF killing of two youths a war crime
GAZA (PIC) 9 Nov — Palestinian Human Rights Center (PHRC) expressed its deep concern at the killing of two Palestinians on Thursday evening at Israeli military checkpoints in the West Bank, considering it a war crime. In an excessive use of force, on Thursday evening, 07 November 2013, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) killed two Palestinian civilians at Za’tara checkpoint, south of Nablus, and at the Container checkpoint, northeast of Bethlehem, in the West Bank, the center said in a statement on Friday…
Hundreds of mourners joined the funeral march that brought martyr Bashir Sami Hananin, 28, to his final resting place, calling for revenge against his killers. IOF soldiers shot and killed Hananin from Nablus at the Zaatara checkpoint in the south of the northern West Bank city on Thursday evening, claiming he shot at Israeli soldiers using an air pistol. Meanwhile, thousands participated in the funeral of Anas al-Atrash on Friday who was shot and killed by Israeli fire at Container checkpoint northeast of Bethlehem, in the second deadly shooting in 12 hours. A number of masked gunmen fired in the air during the funeral, vowing to take revenge. Violent confrontations erupted following the funeral, where Israeli soldiers fired tear gas bombs and rubber bullets at Palestinian protesters.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7TCYR%2fw7XGqWZu24nerchSuxsm9UD1iQHUhhqi%2fRafQB9lKVlxDvUuYM8eVE4vmN2aOXsg6vFAn9sLlLG7iOlpdpFWlJfnpvC%2bWB98Z9Op50%3d
15 Palestinians have died since the resumption of negotiations
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 9 Nov — A statistics report prepared by Quds Press International news agency showed that fifteen Palestinians died since the resumption of the negotiations, three months ago. The negotiation between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli occupation was resumed in Washington on July 30, for the first time after it had been frozen for three years. Yet the Israeli violations and attacks against Palestinian civilians and their properties and sanctities have continued. The statistical report said that three Palestinians from the Jenin refugee camp died a few days after the resumption of the negotiating sessions, after being shot by Israeli forces. The Israeli occupation forces continued killing and attacking the citizens and destroying the Palestinian properties, indifferent to the ongoing negotiating sessions.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7jhnz6iPjFJDCquBhLepaEjO4mnfUg3MTyQW8Lg%2flR4a5yIBPWS%2f148Q7MPL8zzM3xNx6K%2bEJYmyJeB27IP9jzAVKv1%2bqFh5qemxj3%2fqWQ2s%3d
Dozens injured after settlers attack Palestinian villagers near Nablus
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 9 Nov — Israeli settlers and soldiers attacked Palestinian villagers south of Nablus on Saturday afternoon, leading to dozens of Palestinian casualties from excessive tear gas. Clashes broke out in the village of Burin after settlers attacked Palestinian locals in the village’s eastern neighborhood, said Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian Authority official who monitors settlement activities in the northern West Bank. Israeli forces subsequently joined the clashes on the side of the settlers, launching tear gas and stun grenades at Palestinians and their homes.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=645688
Israeli settlers attack Palestinian vehicles on road near Nablus
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 10 Nov — Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles on the road south of Nablus on Sunday, causing damage to a number of cars, locals said … Hashim Abu Zaitoun, a bus driver, told Ma‘an that a number of Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinian vehicles as they passed near Beta junction. Abu Zaitoun added that the settlers’ attack had destroyed the windshield of his bus as he was passing through the area.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=645919
IOF soldiers clash with civilians in Nablus, Al-Khalil
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 10 Nov — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) clashed with Palestinian citizens in Burin village, near Nablus, on Saturday night after the soldiers entered the northern suburbs of the village. Eyewitnesses said that the clashes extended from the northern areas of the village to its main entrance that is near to Hawara military base. They said that the soldiers chased the protesting youths in nearby groves and fired rubber bullets and teargas at them causing breathing difficulty among citizens in the vicinity of the area.
Similar confrontations were reported in downtown Al-Khalil at noon Saturday after young men continued their protest at the IOF cold-blooded murder of Palestinian youth Anas Al-Atrash to the east of occupied Jerusalem at dawn Friday. Local sources said that the young men threw stones at the soldiers and torched tires on the streets of Bab El-Zawiya suburb and near the settlement outpost Tal Al-Rumaida. They said that the soldiers fired live and rubber-coated bullets at the protesters in addition to volleys of teargas canisters.
IOF soldiers had earlier at dawn Saturday stormed ‘Arub refugee camp to the north of Al-Khalil and patrolled its various suburbs.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7hOErpk9cwzkcfH%2fIxaMZUmpUYoJMB9EjbSq85C9nq685ChNLtDH%2fWKI%2fVzxH55SyVT7nQDlwed3Oaxy%2bJ0Dk%2bHZkptyidSmGQMQALqqEwB4%3d
IOF arrests 4 Palestinians including two boys
AL-KHALIL (PIC) 10 Nov — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested four Palestinians from al-Khalil and Bethlehem … Palestinian security sources said that IOF soldiers arrested two citizens from al-Khalil after raiding their homes, adding that IOF troops stormed the towns of Halhoul, Yatta and Bani Na‘im and erected checkpoints at their entrances. A 15-year-old boy was shot in the leg on Saturday evening during clashes with the army in the area of Bab al-Zawia and the Shalala Street. He was taken to hospital.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s75TiHNjcTEMnNcD8uyXX8mW9JukjJ%2bA8XzXFNyfOEoVbRhVVi39r0ZLHoMLx5Yxo21TFZbMiCy7mFSHX0bT4KdOrhg5dsvoTNvBngAAu2YIw%3d
Israeli forces raid three Palestinian neighborhoods, detain one
JENIN (Ma‘an) 10 Nov — Israeli forces raided Ya‘bad and Jenin late Saturday and a village near Bethlehem early Sunday, detaining one, witnesses told Ma‘an. Two Israeli military patrols stationed on Haifa Street in Jenin raided an agricultural nursery belonging to Iyad Bashir around 10 p.m. and confiscated an agricultural tractor, locals said … Meanwhile, early Sunday, Israeli forces raided al-Ibadiya [or Obaidiya] village east of Bethlehem and detained a teenage boy, family members said. Israeli solders reportedly raided the house of Khalifa Ismael Radaida around 4 a.m., causing extensive damage to the house in the process. The soldiers subsequently detained his son, Abed al-Rahman, 16, and took him to an unknown location, locals said. [PIC says two 16-year-olds were arrested]
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=645800
Hamas: IOF rounded up about 100 Palestinians in one week
RAMALLAH (PIC) 10 Nov — The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up about 100 Palestinians in the West Bank over the past week, a statistics report by Hamas said on Sunday. The report, which named all detainees, said that 97 Palestinians were nabbed at an average of 14 citizens per day. It said that 27 were arrested in Al-Khalil, 21 in Jerusalem, 15 in Nablus, 11 in Ramallah, 7 in Jenin, 6 in Qalqiliya, 4 in Tulkarem, 4 in Salfit, and 2 in Tobas. The report said that two Hamas leaders were among the detainees in addition to four ex-prisoners in PA jails and three liberated prisoners from Israeli occupation jails.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s74ytAJbLnYgHisVeMlzPFv%2bUO%2fV7qtZSUFfTfV3piQnvwye4gjEMw%2bIZZv%2fpSzefNdZi4H8fjDruWc8aZVVYAJ02Rul3RcxnpllT7D43fPLs%3d
Two broken cameras
972blog 10 Nov by Yesh Din, written by Yossi Gurvitz — IDF soldiers confiscate cameras from a Palestinian photojournalist – and turn them over to a settler. They come back broken — One morning last September, Nadel Shafiq Taher Shatiya heard the loudspeakers of the mosque in his Nablus-area village announce that settlers were approaching the village’s land. Shatiya, a photojournalist by trade, grabbed two cameras and raced to the scene. Based on his account, when he arrived, several tractors and settlers – who, according to the reports received by Shatiya, came from the nearby settlement of Elon Moreh – were trying to plough the village’s lands while several dozen Palestinian farmers tried to expel them. A settlement security vehicle showed up, and two settlers stepped out of it (Shatiya believes he can identify them), and started shooting live ammo at the farmers. Some of them took cover; Shatiya kept taking photos. That’s his job. About ten minutes later, a large IDF force arrived at the scene, and did what it usually does: joined the settlers.
http://972mag.com/two-broken-cameras/81684/
Detainees
Prisoners to protest against Israeli medical ‘negligence’
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 9 Nov — Palestinian prisoners held in Israel’s Nafha prison are threatening to begin protests in solidarity with sick inmates, the Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs said in a statement Saturday. The prisoners are calling for the release of inmates with serious illnesses, the statement said. PA prisoners’ lawyer Amer Abu Hamdiyya met with a chief Israeli intelligence official and told him that the prisoners “would not remain silent” while sick inmates continue to suffer, the statement said. The demands come four days after the death of Hasan Turabi, a Palestinian inmate who suffered from leukemia. The Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs blamed his death on Israeli “negligence.”
Several other prisoners’ lawyers were quoted in the statement, detailing individual cases of prisoners currently suffering from serious medical conditions without proper treatment in Israeli jails. According to the statement, Suleiman Abu Ruwais from Nablus went on a hunger strike in 2004 and has suffered from a gastric ulcer ever since, regularly vomiting blood. Only in 2008 was Abu Rawais taken to the hospital, the statement says. Ismail Abu Alafa from Nablus, who has had portions of his stomach removed since Israeli troops shot him in 2004, has not been receiving appropriate medical treatment at a prison clinic, according to the statement. Abu Alafa urgently needs to be taken to the hospital, the statement says. Omar Abu Saada from Tulkarem, who is serving an 11-year prison sentence, suffers from tumors in his throat, has difficulty eating, and needs surgery, the statement says….
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=645598
Health condition of patient captive Natsheh deteriorates
NABLUS (PIC) 10 Nov — Ahrar Center for studies of prisoners and human rights appealed to World Health Organization, Doctors without Borders, and all human rights organizations to intervene to release the patient detainee Nabil Natsheh, 56, from al-Khalil. Director of the Center Fouad Khuffash said that although Natsheh suffers from thyroid cancer, the Israeli occupation authority insists on holding him in administrative detention without charge. The prisoner’s wife stated that the IOA re-arrested her husband on March 27, 2013, six months after his release from administrative detention where he served 16 months.
In another incident, Palestinian human rights sources said that the Israeli prison service transferred Palestinian captive Mutasim Raddad, who suffers from cancer, to Assaf Harofeh hospital after his health condition deteriorated. The sources pointed out that the results of the tests conducted for the prisoner indicate that the cancer has spread in all his body. Ahed Raddad the prisoner’s brother pointed that Mutassim is suffering from several other diseases and that the prison administration refuses to provide him with appropriate treatment.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7fzojzm8mykZcQm8wVuPBvJKqiLWUqEjNi5nYD1olQJtPkZwdrt7ZESDbjqJciAeFXQKJn4UYlrREkO1lDkBlPwnoODTOjqTTpI4SF%2fRDVQM%3d
Gaza under blockade
Rafah crossing closed for the 3rd day, dozens stranded
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 10 Nov — Egyptian authorities kept the Rafah land crossing closed for the 3rd day in a row, stranding dozens of Palestinians on either side who were attempting to cross … Egypt closed off the Rafah crossing to traffic from both sides last Friday, after six days in which the crossing was mostly open.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=645779
Israeli forces attack, detain Gaza fishermen near Beit Lahiya
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 10 Nov — Israeli forces on Sunday detained two Palestinian fishermen off the coast of northern Gaza after firing upon them, a union official said. The head of Gaza’s fisherman’s union said in a statement Sunday that Israeli forces detained Sadam and Mahmoud Saleh Abu Ward west of Beit Lahiya. Israeli gunboats reportedly fired at the two fishermen late Saturday, causing them to lose their fishing nets. They were detained while searching for their nets the following day, the statement said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=645891
Photos: Israeli surveillance balloon over Palestinian farmland in buffer zone near Beit Hanoun
BEIT HANOUN, Occupied Palestine (Corporate Watch, Tom Anderson and Therezia Cooper) 8 November
http://palsolidarity.org/2013/11/israeli-surveillance-balloon-over-palestinian-farmland-in-buffer-zone-near-beit-hanoun-61113/
Gaza students appeal to the world to save their school year
GAZA (PIC) 9 Nov — Students in Gaza appealed to the international community to immediately intervene to save their school year that is threatened due to the continued power outages after the shutdown of Gaza’s power plant … The aggravation of electricity crisis has coincided with the mid-term exams that started about a week ago in the schools and universities of the Gaza Strip. The majority of governmental schools is still without electricity and cannot provide the students with alternatives.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7j99kO%2bQjTJDre55C%2f2HH7kmRrM7dq6FryaTv0eQF2q2LbUfY%2biRtvSfnvsHBOoTuJAA5qX0F2A99zqYPLNjrr1kLJZ1eEF6KrR735O7TG%2fI%3d
Mukhalalati warns of looming health disaster
GAZA (PIC) 9 Nov — Gaza Minister of Health Mofid Mukhalalati warned that the halt [on 1 Nov] of the Gaza Power Plant (GPP), the only power plant in the Strip, signals serious problems in health services … Mukhalalati said power cuts will directly impact the health of many patients in hospitals and medical centers, especially those in the emergency departments, intensive care units, operation theatres, and 476 patients who need kidney dialysis as well as infants in 45 incubators. He added that power cuts will also affect the 5 blood banks, radiology departments, laboratories and refrigerators needed to store vaccines and medication.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7P1NgPxlrRhLykZKBaQY%2b9L1nBxfxVgOphgJYnJbBPTBK2h2wl7fu7MDPyF6hyn4Ok%2b%2fzO1LSiHTJe8%2fnvmCBt0F9zkA5mYrzg16e2RrxS%2b0%3d
‘Gaza Ark’ against Israeli blockade to be launched spring 2014
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 10 Nov — The closure of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip has delayed the launch of Gaza Ark, an improvised cargo ship built by Gaza fishermen set to sail to Europe in protest against the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. Member of the Gaza Strip association of fishermen Mahfouth Kabariti said Sunday that the Gaza Ark was supposed to set sail by the end of 2013, but as a result of the closure of Rafah crossing, the launch has been delayed to spring 2014. He noted that in order to be seaworthy, the Gaza Ark still needed international standard navigation equipment that could only be brought into Gaza via the Rafah crossing. Kabariti added that several donors had supported the idea of Gaza Ark and that many countries were willing to allow it to enter their harbors.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=645783
Palestinian refugees elsewhere
Palestinian delegation arrives in Damascus to ‘rescue’ camps
DAMASCUS (Ma‘an) 9 Nov — A Palestinian delegation arrived Saturday in Damascus headed by a member of the PLO executive committee, Zakariya al-Agha, to study the situation of Palestinian refugees in Syria. In a statement, al-Agha emphasized the need to maintain the Palestinian camps in Syria as neutral zones and to ensure the safe passage of Palestinian refugees … Al-Agha added: “This visit is a continuation of the previous visits to follow up with what we have agreed upon with the Syrian side.” “The delegation will discuss with Syrian officials the issue of missing Palestinian refugees,” noting that the delegation would follow up on the cases of hundreds of Palestinian refugees who are currently missing. The delegation will stay in Syria for several days and will meet with Palestinian factions, the Syrian foreign minister, and the director of the Palestinian file in Syria, Faisal Al-Miqdad. At least 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in the ongoing Syria conflict, and around 250,000 Palestinian refugees have been forced to leave their refugee camps in Syria due to violence in the country.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=645577
Other news
Conference on RoR in Jordan: Palestinian cause has entered most serious stage
AMMAN (PIC) 10 Nov — Participants in the conference of the “Right of Return”, which was held on Saturday in Jordan, unanimously agreed that the Palestinian people will not accept a substitute for their homeland. The second Conference of Return was organized by the Jordanian Engineers Association, in cooperation with the Jordanian Society for the return of the refugees, in the Jordanian Professional Associations Complex. The former head of the Jordanian Senate Taher Masri said: “The Palestinian cause has entered the most serious stages,” pointing to the growing Israeli Judaization and settlement schemes, which aim to obliterate the Arab and Islamic landmarks in Palestine.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s78J0hHa56DAzFRNyjabL2fPYQd5bSxRYIN9McW5cPDLcF0WqJNQUCRf%2bwh1VNYD1WHgzfOrM4vLVkSW6tg0ZtwDmmLLFjhD11zUNq43MfRpY%3d
Abbas meets Sisi and Egypt president in Cairo
CAIRO (Ma‘an) 10 Nov – President Mahmoud Abbas and his Egyptian counterpart Adly Mansour met Sunday in Cairo and discussed the latest political developments in the region, focusing on ongoing peace negotiations between Israel and the PLO … The two also addressed Egypt’s efforts to end the divisions between Palestinian parties Hamas and Fatah and finalize a reconciliation deal between the rival movements. Other Palestinian and Egyptian officials joined the meeting later on. The Palestinian president later held talks with Egypt’s Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, head of the Egyptian armed forces and a major power-broker since the army overthrew democratically-elected President Morsi in a July coup.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=645922
Egypt ‘skeptical’ of peace because of Israeli settlements
AFP 10 Nov — Egypt’s Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy said on Saturday he was growing “skeptical” that an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal will be reached soon because of Israeli settlement building in the West Bank. Abbas “essentially accepted a historic compromise between the Palestinians and the Israelis and is simply asking for a contiguous state with east Jerusalem as its capital,” Fahmy said
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4451338,00.html
How polonium-210 killed Yasser Arafat
6 Nov — Polonium is the ultimate assassin’s weapon that, once inhaled or ingested, causes an excruciating death — So what is polonium and who could have had access to it? Science and technology correspondent Jacob Ward reports on this Al Jazeera exclusive story. [in several parts]
http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/live-news/2013/11/how-radiation-poisoningkilledyasserarafat.html
Fatah, Hamas quibble over Arafat memorial ceremony
AFP 10 Nov — Palestinian movement Fatah has accused Gaza’s rulers Hamas of banning it from commemorating Monday’s ninth anniversary of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s death and arresting several of its members. “We condemn the summoning and arrest of some of our members and demand to stop them immediately,” said the Ramallah-based Fatah party, which was founded by Arafat and is now headed by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas … Its statement on Sunday, Fatah also called on Hamas “to end the division and achieve national unity” and appealed for it to reverse its ban on the commemoration of Arafat, “the symbol of Palestine and all liberation movements in the world.” But Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri blamed Fatah for thwarting efforts of his Islamist movement to hold a joint ceremony.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4451802,00.html
PA security forces fight crime in Jerusalem neighborhoods, towns
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 9 Nov — Palestinian security forces on Friday entered several Israeli-occupied neighborhoods and towns in the Jerusalem area for the first time since the Palestinian Authority was established, a PA security official said. PA security spokesman Adnan Dmeiri told Ma‘an that Palestinian police entered the occupied areas of al-Ram, Beit Hanina, Shu‘fat, ‘Anata, and al-Sawahira Friday and began a crackdown on criminal activity. Twenty-five suspects have been detained so far, Dmeiri said. Dmeiri told Ma‘an that PA police forces intervened given Israel’s neglect of its security responsibilities in the areas. Israel “doesn’t pay attention” to the security situation in these neighborhoods, Dmeiri said. They have become a refuge for fugitives and drug dealers. “As a result, crime spread, endangering civil peace.” Given the rising frequency of armed robbery and property assaults, the PA asked its allies to mediate and convince Israel to allow Palestinian security forces to operate in these Jerusalem areas, Dmeiri said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=645573
Former MI chief Yadlin delayed at Heathrow Airport
Ynet 10 Nov by Itamar Eichner — Former Military Intelligence Chief Amos Yadlin was held up for 45 minutes in London’s Heathrow International Airport, due to a standing warrant for his arrest issued by a Turkish court due to his “responsibility for the Mavi Marmara incident,” referring to the IDF takeover of the 2010 Gaza flotilla, in which nine Turkish nationals were killed. After the airport’s immigration officers made inquiries with the British Foreign Office, they let Yadlin enter the country to continue his visit as planned.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4451523,00.html
Belgium raises Palestinian diplomatic status
BRUSEELS (AFP) 10 Nov — Belgium said Saturday it had raised the standing of a Palestinian diplomatic delegation to the country to “mission” status in a show of commitment to a two-state solution in the Middle East.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=645872
New documentary challenges evangelical bonds with Israel
[with trailer] BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 30 Oct — A new documentary about Palestinian Christians is challenging mainstream evangelical assumptions about the Holy Land in the United States. As evangelical organizations hold events across the US presenting an unbreakable bond between Christians and Israel, first-time director Yasmine Perni tours American churches with a film that instead documents the plight of Palestinian Christians at the hands of Israel. “The (Palestinian) Christians have never been covered like this before,” Perni told Ma’an Saturday. The Stones Cry Out starts by documenting the history of Kifr Biram, a predominantly Christian Palestinian village that was destroyed by Israel after the Nakba … The film moves to an overview of the Six Day War and Israel’s ongoing military occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Footage of the events overlaps with Palestinian Christians’ accounts of their experiences throughout the First Intifada – during which Israeli forces killed over 1,000 Palestinians – and throughout Israel’s 2002 siege on Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity during the Second Intifada. “Most of the Christians abroad were silent (during the siege),” Bethlehem pastor Rev. Mitri Raheb says in the film. He says Christians “like to sing about the little town of Bethlehem in the churches on Christmas Eve, but I felt at that time that actually Bethlehem was abandoned.” Featured prominently in the film, Raheb told Ma’an Friday that the story of Palestinian Christians is little known in the West, and even less “among Evangelical Christians.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=642790
US Christian Zionists plan to take over Palestinian university in Israel
NAZARETH (Electronic Intifada) 6 Nov by Patrick O. Strickland — Palestine solidarity activists are campaigning against plans by Texas A&M University to take over a college in Nazareth, the city in present-day Israel with the highest number of Palestinian citizens. “We find it impossible to support an A&M branch in Israel,” Jala Naguib, an Aggies for Palestine spokesperson, told The Electronic Intifada by email. Aggies for Palestine is a Texas A&M student human rights group. “I believe it is a poor precedent to set in continuing to support a nation that has repeatedly violated human rights and has repeatedly pursued a policy of apartheid towards the Palestinian people,” Naguib added. Texas A&M, the sixth largest university in the United States, intends to raise $70 million to assume control of the Nazareth Academic Institute. Texas Governor Rick Perry and Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp announced the plans to establish an international “peace campus” while meeting with with Israeli president Shimon Peres in Jerusalem in October (“Rick Perry to announce Texas A&M campus in Nazareth,” The Daily Beast, 22 October 2013).
http://electronicintifada.net/content/us-christian-zionists-plan-take-over-palestinian-university-israel/12906
groups.yahoo.com/group/f_shadi (listserv)
www.theheadlines.org (archive)
Kate, why would you have deleted my post.
I merely stated that Israel not only commits War crimes but advertises them.Do you not agree that preventing people from making a living while under occupation is a War Crime??.