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Raja Shehadeh: The hills are alive
The [Israeli settler] apartment blocks are going up so quickly around the outskirts of the West Bank city of Ramallah that the place seems momentarily to grow before your eyes. It makes it ever more difficult for the Palestinian lawyer Raja Shehadeh to find the original starting points for the walks he has been taking for the past quarter of a century into the Ramallah hills and beyond.
Book review: Raja Shehadeh's Lost Landscapes
Shehadeh dwells on the "cruel paradox" in the Zionist image of Judea and Samaria (the Hebrew names for the West Bank). "The very thing that renders the landscape 'biblical', its traditional habitation and cultivation in terraces, olive orchards, stone building and the presence of livestock, is produced by the Palestinians, whom the Jewish settlers came to replace. And yet the people who ... render the landscape biblical are themselves excluded from the panorama. The Palestinians are there to produce the scenery and then disappear."
The Next Intifada
With his latest statements and unrestrained violence, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, has once again confirmed that the occupation, the oppression and the slow genocide of Palestinians by the Israeli war machine he heads will not stop. The term "occupation" gives the false impression that the situation in the West Bank and Gaza, and indeed in all of Palestine/Israel is somehow temporary. It is common to speak of 40 years of occupation but in reality the occupation of Palestine has been going on for 60 years and there will be no end to it without well-planned, joint, non-violent resistance
Settlers violate court stipulations in wrestle for Palestinian land
Shortly after 4 pm four international human rights workers were alerted, by local Palestinian residents, of the illegal presence of Israeli settlers working on Palestinian land off the main highway between Susya and Karmel settlements. Ownership of this land has been an on-going dispute between the legitimate Palestinian land-owners, who have filed complaints against the settlers for illegally planting grape vines and constructing fences, trying to lay claim to the land, and the military and police-backed settlers themselves. The issue has been brought before Israeli court with the last date for a decision set for September 25th. [if you have trouble reading ISM articles at the moment, they are aware of the link problem and are working to fix it. Try again later.]
Video: 133rd nonviolent demonstration in Bil'in village
The 133rd consecutive demonstration against the illegal apartheid wall in Bil'in took place today [Friday]. The illegal wall segregates Palestinian farmers from their legitimately owned land depriving them of their livelihood and their economic means of survival.
One injured, three kidnapped at weekly nonviolent demonstration in Bil'in
As is the case each week, Israeli soldiers closed the street leading to the land scheduled for confiscation. As soon as the protesters arrived at the military barrier, Israeli troops showered demonstrators with rubber-coated steel bullets, sound bombs and tear gas. Two people, later identified as Haytham Al Khatib and Adeep Abu Rahmah, were injured in the attack. During the protest, another three were kidnapped by the Israeli forces, including two journalists. Witnesses told IMEMC that an Israeli journalist and a Chinese Journalist were kidnapped, adding that an Israeli activist was kidnapped also.
Peaceful protest in Al Walaja village near Bethlehem faces down massive Army presence
Local villagers met with Israeli and international peace activists, and communally held prayers together. Al Walaja, like other Palestinian villages in the outskirts of Bethlehem, stands to lose some 50% of its land to make way for expanding Israeli settlements, the route of the annexation wall and the construction of a new settlers-only bypass road. The initial deployment of Israeli troops had been reinforced by a further seven armoured personnel carriers, in a typically huge overreaction on behalf of the Israeli military to what is, every week, a small, non-violent popular demonstration.
Abbas rejects Israeli-Palestinian population exchange
Abbas said he would refuse any proposal to swap Palestinians living in Israel for Israelis dwelling in the West Bank. Abbas revealed that Israel proposed the idea during recent meetings and he instantly rejected the plan, asserting that if the final status solution included such a stipulation, there would be no solution. The Palestinian president stressed that the outcome he intends is the creation of a Palestinian state on the land occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem which will be its capital. Abbas equally rejected the option of any transitional or interim Palestinian state. [not surprisingly since Israel uses such delays in setting final borders to seize more Palestinian land and settle more of its citizens on it]
Indian sect resumes exodus to Israel
More than 200 members of the Indian Jewish sect Bnei Menashe began arriving in Israel this week to begin the process of obtaining Israeli citizenship. The Bnei Menashe claim to be descended from the Menashe, one of the 10 exiled tribes of ancient Israel. IsraelINN.com said Saturday that the immigrants are the vanguard of as many as 5,000 members of the group living in India. The group sent 200 members to Israel last year; however, the process was halted because India does not allow its citizens to convert to Judaism. The new process has the Bnei Menashe entering Israel on tourist visas and then undergoing conversion. They are then cleared for full citizenship.
Undercover Israeli troops kill one Palestinian, injure another four in Jenin
At around 6:30 of Saturday morning a group of undercover Israeli soldiers infiltrated the city of Jenin, in the city center the undercover troops spotted a car that belongs to resistance men from Al Quds brigades the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad. The Israeli soldiers showered the car with live rounds, killing the leader of the Al Quds brigades in Jenin city Ala Abu Suror, 30, and injuring three of his comrades, one critically ,A bystander was injured during the attack.
Four killed in Gaza since Friday
Palestinian medical sources said that two Palestinian men were killed by the Israeli army fire near Al Mintar commercial crossing in the northern part of the Gaza strip. The Israeli army said that the two men were trying to cross the borders into Israel, Local sources that that the two men were civilian, their identity is yet to be published. Dr. Moawiya Hassanen, head of the Emergency department at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, told the Palestinian News Agency that Israeli soldiers stationed on the northern borders of the Gaza Strip fired shells at a group of residents who gathered near Al Soudaniyya area, north east of Beit Lahia. At least two residents were confirmed dead due to the attack and a third resident was reportedly killed in the shelling. Dr. Hassanen added that ambulances headed to the area but could not retrieve the bodies due to the ongoing Israeli shelling.
Khan Younis in southern Gaza suffers in stench from uncollected garbage
A municipality workers' strike over the nonpayment of their salaries has lasted over a fortnight. As a result of the strike, uncollected rubbish is piled high in the streets creating an intolerable stench for the local inhabitants. Local resident, Muhammad 'Asuli, said that he is worried that disease could be spread through the population due to what he described as "mountains of garbage". Member of the municipal workers' union, Sa'id Astal, said officials are responsible for the terrible situation, as they failed to acknowledge the suffering of workers who had not been paid for nine months.
IDF arrests two Palestinians for aiding infiltrators from Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces' Golani Brigade Saturday evening arrested two Palestinians from Gaza suspected of aiding two Popular Resistance Committee militants who had infiltrated Israel from the Gaza Strip in a bid to carry out a terror attack. IDF troops pursued and killed the armed militants after they were sighted penetrating Israel from Gaza under the cover of fog. Popular Resistance Committees spokesman Abu Abir said the two had planned to carry out a terror attack in the Israeli community of Moshav Netiv Haasara. Accordng to Abir, the infiltration was planned two months ago with the objective of targeting Israeli soldiers and civilians. "We make no distinction between Israeli soldiers and civilians, because the occupying forces make no such distinction," he said.
Hamas unveils more documents revealing collaboration between PA security and enemy
Said Seyam, former Interior Minister, said: "The [former] PA Preventive Security Apparatus and the [former] PA General Intelligence Apparatus spied on the resistance in terms of their training camps, their arms, their cadres and supplied the information to enemy intelligence agencies both Zionist and Western. This was followed by the bombing of a number of positions, cars and homes which were associated with the resistance." He also showed the minutes of a meeting between chiefs of the former PA preventive security and CIA officers in which they discuss ways of spying on Muhammad al-Daif, general commander of the Qassam Brigades. The minutes mention the name John, representing the CIA who suggested a present in the form of a cigarette ashtray which will be bugged.
Fatah: Initial Israeli approval granted for temporary return of exiled Fatah leaders
The spokesperson of the Fatah movement, Ahmad Abd Ar-Rahman, said on Saturday that "there is a possibility that exiled Fatah leaders may return to the [occupied] Palestinian territories, in addition to DFLP secretary general, Nayif Hawatmeh". He added that Palestinian President Abbas has received initial approval from Israel, yet the Israelis are reported to be insisting on any return being temporary, in effect, issuing a visitors' visa
Hamas TV attacks Fatah using cartoon mimicking Disney's 'Lion King'
VIDEO http://youtube.com/watch?v=RHJcKNU4OW8 - The cartoon depicts Fatah members as sneaky rats, brandishing guns and being showered with U.S. dollars, while Hamas is portrayed as a confident, calm lion that resembles Simba in the 1994 Walt Disney Co. movie The Lion King. Hazem Sharawi, an executive with Hamas TV, said the cartoon of the lion vanquishing the rats was broadcast Thursday but quickly pulled off the air for revisions. The piece shows rats trampling over Gaza, burning houses, stepping over homes, uprooting trees, firing at the Dome of the Rock and desecrating the Quran, Their leader is clearly a portrayal of Fatah's former Gaza strongman, Mohammed Dahlan, who has fled Gaza.
Hamas: PA Security Forces arrested several Hamas members in the West Bank
The movement stated that the Preventive Security Force arrested on Friday evening three members of the Islamic Block, part of Hamas, in the Al Najah University in Nablus. They were reportedly fired by the by university administration two days ago; they are leaders of the Islamic Bloc at the University. Meanwhile, in Hebron. Hamas sources said that Palestinian Security Forces arrested two men from Al Arroub Camp, Mohammad Fdeilat and Ibrahim Moqbil. In Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank, Security Forces reportedly broke into a mosque in Nouba village, west of Hebron, and sabotaged its property, according to Hamas sources. In Ramallah, north of Jerusalem, Palestinian security forces arrested Mohammad Abu Libda, head of a Forqan Islamic Society for Quran and Sonna. In a separate incident, Hamas denied reports that its forces in the Gaza Strip arrested 400 Fateh members and tortured them.
Female Fatah members protest desecration of the grave of a man killed by Hamas in June
They organized a march in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahia , to the tomb of Samih Al Madhoun. One of Al Madhoun's relatives told Ma'an, "Hamas killed Samih and mutilated the body. They have also shot at his grave many times, and are continuing their attacks on his grave."
Deception, lies and manipulation of Palestinian public opinion
The current online poll by the Arabic Al-Jazeera is very interesting and illustrative of the attempts of the PA and those behind it (Israel, the U.S., the E.U. and the various puppet Arab regimes) to manipulate Arab public opinion in general and Palestinian public opinion in particular. The important point is that there is a determined and organized effort to distort and shape Palestinian public opinion. Money being handed over to the PA as well as advice and training by the U.S. and various NGOs are being put to work. This is just a small part of a wider media campaign to sell the PA and the American line to the Palestinian and Arab public.
Palestinians on the U.N.
The international community-spurred by renewed US interest-is gearing up for another major push for peace in the Middle East. But polling data suggests that the Palestinians themselves may be wary of such multilateral efforts. Though the Palestinian public strongly supports multilateralism in principle, they show reluctance to submit to multilateral decision making. This appears to be derived from their fear that such decisions would inevitably be controlled by the United States, a country they greatly mistrust.
Al Mizan Center accuses Gaza's Executive Force of attacking journalists and their freedoms
The center called for accountability for those who attacked journalists on Friday in Gaza City. The center has issued a report, stating that the Executive Force arrested four journalists, attacking and assaulting many other journalists. The four men were later released, but two expensive cameras were destroyed during the arrests, according to the report.
Tamimi accuses occupation authorities of trying to turn the Ibrahimi Mosque into a synagogue
Palestinian Supreme Judge, Sheikh Tayseer Rajab At Tamimi, on Friday accused the Israeli occupation authorities of attempting to gradually seize control of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron and transform it into a Jewish synagogue. The Ibrahimi Mosque, also known as the Cave of the Patriarchs, is venerated by the three monotheistic religions and is thought to be the burial site of four Biblical couples. Tamimi said the Israeli military is increasingly dividing the Ibrahimi Mosque by force to protect "aggressors and settlers". He also said that the implementation of electronic gates at the entrance to the mosque prevents worshippers entering for prayer, or the sounding of the call to prayer.
Another Palestinian prisoner dies in Israeli custody
Informed Palestinian sources revealed that a Palestinian detainee in the Israeli prison of Ramla, 22-year-old 'Umar Masalmah from Hebron, died on Saturday evening. Chair of the Palestinian Prisoners' Association, Quddura Faris, said that Masalmah was in good health two days ago. Faris implied wrongdoing in the treatment of Masalmah in the Israeli prison. Faris also stated that Masalmah's family visited him last Thursday and said that he was healthy. Faris demanded an investigation committee to be formed to examine the phenomenon of Palestinian detainees dying in Israeli jails. He added that, a few days ago, incarcerated Palestinian, Shadi Sa'ayda, died in an Israeli prison.
Gideon Levy: Twilight Zone / Prison within a prison
Al-Quds University in Jerusalem presents: the Abu Jihad Political Prisoners Museum. In other words, the Palestinians have established their own version of the Yad Labanim institution - the Israeli sites of commemoration for fallen soldiers. Some 10,000 photocopied and bound letters written by prisoners in Israeli jails; documents and monuments; arts and crafts; a culture of bereavement, heroism and commemoration - the Palestinian narrative, and all of it revolving around the Palestinian prisoner. No other nation has seen a quarter of its daughters and sons incarcerated. There is no Palestinian home without a prisoner or a detainee, whether in the past or the present. And now the museum.
A comprehensive report of Israeli detention camps and prisons
prepared by Abdul-Nasser Farawna, an ex-detainee, a specialist in Palestinian Detainee's Affairs and the head of the census department of the Ministry of Detainees and Freed Detainees, Since 1967, Israel has arrested nearly 700,000 Palestinians and imprisoned them in old prisons that were used by Jordan and the British mandate. Those prisons were expanded in 1970 and later on the Israeli occupation built more prisons and detention facilities in various parts of the country. Most of the prisons are within the areas Israel captured in 1948 (violation of the 4th Geneva Convention).
Israeli court imprisons Palestinian man for attemping to visit his incarcerated brother
The Israeli military court at Ofer sentenced a Palestinian man to five months in prison and 10,000 shekels fine (~$2,400 US) on Friday for entering Israel without a permit. 24-year-old Alaa Ahmad Muhammad Ermeen was en route to the Israeli Negev Prison to visit his brother when he was seized by Israeli police.Ermeen had received permission to visit his brother in jail from the Red Cross. Israeli forces allege that he did not have a valid permit for entering in Israel.
Israeli forces kill 'Israeli Arab' boy, three Palestinian militants
Israeli forces killed a 13-year-old Israeli Arab boy and a Palestinian gunman on Friday during a raid on Saida village, near Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian ambulance crews said. The boy was visiting relatives in the village. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers crossed into the territory and killed two Palestinian gunmen who had opened fired at them near the border fence, an army spokeswoman said in Tel Aviv.
IJ combatants launch projectiles at Israeli town of Sderot
The military wing of Islamic Jihad, the Al Quds Brigades, on Saturday evening claimed responsibility for launching two homemade projectiles at the Israeli Western Negev town of Sderot . The brigades issued a statement revealing that the operation is retaliation for the assassination of leader in Jenin, Mustafa Barbari. Israeli announced that a vehicle was damaged in the attack, but there were no injuries reported.
For 'security reasons', Israel bans paper from Gaza schools
Not a joke, but yes, sick. The Israeli government forbade the entrance of paper for making text books to children from Gaza Strip, denounced Palestinian-Israeli Information-Investigation Center (CIIPI). A released issued by the institution revealed that Palestinian children will attend the classrooms in September without their pens, pencils, books and more if the military command withholds the entry of five supply trucks to the region. The Israeli Defense Ministry is considering if the load is part of the humanitarian aid material that should enter Gaza Strip, blockaded since June 14 when it was taken by the Islamic Resistance Movement
Mesh'al: Abducted Israeli soldier Shalit alive and well
Meshal, the head of Hamas' political office in Damascus, also told CNN that Hamas has confirmed that Shalit is well to his father Noam, and that the group has given the kidnapped soldier a pair of eyeglasses. Shalit was kidnapped in June 2006 during a cross-border raid by Gaza militants, including members of the Hamas military wing. Meshal stated in the interview that Hamas has put forward a list of 350 Palestinians they want released from Israeli jails in return for the abducted soldier, but he blamed Israel for the breakdown of negotiations.
Fighters' families flee Palestinian refugee camp
The families of Islamist militants have been evacuated from a besieged Palestinian refugee camp after a truce was agreed with the Lebanese army, according to a Muslim clergyman mediating between the two sides. The 22 women and 41 children were mostly relatives of Fatah Islam fighters inside the Nahr el-Bared camp. The evacuation clears the way for a possible final military assault to force the remaining militants from the camp.
Amira Hass: Too many authorities
The residents of Gaza are torn between too many authorities: Israel, the occupier that shirks its obligation as an occupying power; the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, which is abandoning its citizens while continuing to try to ostracize the majority movement and make it fail; Hamas, which boasted about "liberating" Gaza and uses Qassam fire and declarations of "resistance" to escape its political and economic failures; the donor states, which use (generous) donations to cover up political powerlessness; and the United States, which is leading the boycott campaign and supports Israel.
Ron Forthofer: Lobbying for a foreign country (Israel)
It is difficult to identify all the pro-Israel PACs because they fly under the radar with innocuous sounding names such as Metro PAC, Badger PAC, Pacific PAC, etc. A key distinction between most groups that lobby within the U.S. and the Israel lobby is that the Israel lobby works on behalf of a foreign country. The situation has changed in the last 10 to 15 years with Christian Zionists adding their own powerful lobby and reinforcing the Lobby in advocating for Israeli government policies. Moreover, the appointments of numerous presidential advisors who are strong supporters of Israeli occupation and expansion make it more difficult in identifying and analyzing the real differences between U.S. and Israeli strategic interests. A much more positive change is the appearance of progressive Jewish groups all around the country that are calling for a just settlement of the Israeli/Palestinian issue.
TAKE ACTION
1. Sign Petition to support Barnard College giving tenure to Dr. Nadia Abu Al-Haj (like Norman Finkelstein, she was targeted by the Israel lobby forces). 2. Oppose $30 Billion in Military Aid Package to Israel by writing to Congress (and write the media) 3. Sign petitions to lift the brutal siege on Gaza (and write the media)
Palestinian-Americans from Arizona and Tennessee finally evacuated from Gaza Strip
The two families united with two busloads full of American citizens who had been prevented from leaving the Gaza Strip by Israeli military authorities. A six-year-old child, a member of the Tennessee family, needed to be hospitalized soon after the evacuation. His illness had been one of the reasons that CAIR earlier this month had contacted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to see to it that all Americans stranded in Gaza were evacuated.
Headlines from Iraq
Headlines from Lebanon
Headlines from the U.S.
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