Régis Debray – Palestine: A Policy of Deliberate Blindness
The maps show that the physical, economic and human basis for a viable Palestinian state is disappearing. The two-state solution and Israeli writer Amos Oz's "fair divorce" (a territory shared between two national homes, one smaller than the other and demilitarised but sovereign, viable and continuous) are now empty phrases belonging to the realm of might-have-been. . . *It is true (as Ehud Omert said on Israeli army radio on 20 March 2006) that Israel's strategic border lies on the Jordan: the whole valley has been declared a forbidden area and the intervening area has been nibbled away (cross-river transit is only possible at certain points); *The new east-west bypass roads built at the expense of the old north-south axis clearly chart a territory in the process of annexation, with space for three or four Arab bantustans (Jenin, Ramallah and Jericho). The exhaustion of natural resources in these overcrowded enclaves will eventually lead to massive [Palestinian] emigration (much of the elite, especially Christian, has already left). The gradual encroachment happens out of sight of the cameras, without causing a stir and without an explicit colonial diktat.
http://mondediplo.com/2007/08/05palestine

 
U.N.: Peace is hampered by West Bank settlement growth
The United Nations has issued a stark warning on the eve of Tony Blair's first full working trip as international Middle East envoy that the steady growth of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is undermining the prospects for peace. The humanitarian outlook for the 2.3 million Palestinians is 'dismal' if the rising numbers of Israeli settlers are not curbed, says a hard-hitting report. The report points out that the population of the Jewish West Bank settlements – illegal under international law – is growing at a rate of 5.5 per cent annually, three times the rate in Israel itself. Unchecked, it will lead to unsustainable competition, for resources such as water and land, with a Palestinian population that is itself growing at a rate of 2.5 per cent per year.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2919646.ece

 
Settler aggression at the Jabri family farm 
Video – Hebron Region:  A group of 40 activists, Palestinians, internationals, Israelis, ISM, CPT, the Children of Abraham and Taayush came to the Jabri farm in Hebron for to demonstrate with the family, which faces displacement due to settler expansion. A group of 80 settlers turned up to try and prevent the activists from working the land.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2007/09/02/settler-aggression-at-the-jabri-family-farm/ 

 
Gaza-bound aid unusable after a year on Egypt border
[scroll down page] Around 80 tons of medical aid destined for the Gaza Strip have become unusable after being held up at the border with Egypt for more than a year, a security source at the frontier said last week. The aid consisted of medicine, powdered baby milk and unspecified medical equipment and had been donated by Tunisia, Yemen and Algeria,
http://www.mmorning.com/ArticleC.asp?Article=5035&CategoryID=6

 
Gideon Levy: Children of War
A year ago, a fifth of those killed in the "Summer Rain" operation in Gaza were children; during the past two weeks, they comprised a quarter of the 21 killed. If, heaven forbid, children are hurt in Sderot, we will have to remember this before we begin raising hell. . . But the IDF does not care whether its victims are liable to be children. The fact is that it shoots at figures it considers suspicious, with full knowledge - according to its own contention - that they are liable to be children. Therefore, an IDF that fires at launcher collectors is an army that kills children, without any intention of preventing this. This then is not a series of unfortunate mistakes, as it is being portrayed, but rather reflects the army's contempt for the lives of Palestinian children and its terrifying indifference to their fate.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/899694.html

 
West Bank boys survive on Israeli settlers' garbage
The boys are part of a loose-knit colony of scavengers, nearly 250 people who scramble over fetid hills of other people's trash to eke out a living for their families and themselves. Most are younger than 16; some sleep here during the week to maximize the hours they can hunt for goods to sell. Many are related, from a few large clans.  The scene is reminiscent of the third world, of places like Manila's notorious garbage mountain, but this desperate place is next door to a country with the highest per capita income in the Middle East: Israel. (also in IHT but without photos:  http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/02/asia/pals.php )
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/world/middleeast/02westbank.html?ex=1346385600&en=8a2937eaf77af05e&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

 
Uri Avnery: A bruised reed
At this moment, we [Israelis] are at the height of our power. Our connection with the US, which is still all-powerful, gives us a standing much beyond our natural capabilities. This is the time to change the chips for money, exchange our temporary gains for permanent assets. To give up the occupied territories and make peace, establish good relations with our neighbors, strike deep roots in the region, so that we will be able to hold on when the will and ability of America to protect us at all costs has evaporated. That is even more true if we take into consideration the rise of Islamic radicalism, which is a natural reaction to the actions of the American-Israeli axis. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the main cause for this earthquake, which may one day unleash a tsunami. Both we and the Americans would be well advised to start work soon on removing the causes of this natural phenomenon.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=22098

Two blasts hit Gaza City
Two blasts ripped through Gaza city yesterdaa night with no causalities reported, Palestinian security sources reported. Witnesses said that an explosion was audible at a local market in the Shijaiya neighborhood in eastern Gaza city, while a second hit an open area in north of the city. The Shijaiya blast caused severe damages to a vegetable shop as the interior ministry's executive force, made up of Hamas elements, arrested three suspects during searches.
http://www.imemc.org/article/50193

 
Hamas accuses Fatah's preventive security of torture; Ramadan denies it
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that his group condemns what it described as 'deliberate torture of the group detainees',  in a bid to eliminate the Islamist movement from the West Bank. Hei accused President Abbas's security services of torturing Omar Ahmad, a Hamas member, who was imprisoned by the preventive security apparatus last week. Ibrahim Ramadan, chief of the preventive security in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, rebuffed Hamas's accusations and said that 'Abu Zuhri tells lies that are baseless'.
http://www.imemc.org/article/50199

 
Hamas Executive Force kills youth during demonstration at Rafah Crossing
between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on Saturday during a demonstration to show solidarity with Palestinians stranded in Egypt. Thousands of Hamas supporters demonstrated. Some of the protestors at the demonstration attempted to pass through the crossing into Egypt. The Executive Force shot at the demonstrators to prevent them passing. 16-year-old Ahmad Qudeh received a bullet to his head and was evacuated to the European Hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. He was later pronounced dead.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=25086

 
Executive Force abducts Abbas-appointed dean of Palestine College for Nursing in Khan Younis
Sources said that the apprehension of Jamil Al-Masri and his aides, Khalil Shteiwi and Hamad Najim, took place after President Abbas appointed Al-Masri Dean of Nursing. Former Palestinian Minister of Health, Basim Na'im, had previously appointed another employee, Khalil Shu'ayb, to the position of dean of the college.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=25104

 
Palestinian killed in Khan Younis under 'mysterious circumstances'
Resident Majed Qqaider, 30 was shot dead on Sunday in mysterious circumstances, medical sources and locals said. Medics added that the slain was hit with several bullets in the abdomen and foot, and that severe bleeding rendered him dead. Witnesses said that a group of masked gunmen opened fire at Qqaider, while the latter was driving in the Hadidiya quarter in Khan Younis city. Similar shootings have taken place in Khan Younis over the past several months as sporadic fighting have flared up between the Islamist group Hamas and the secular Fatah party. The city also has seen many family feuds.
http://www.imemc.org/article/50200

 
Israeli helicopter comes under fire from machine gun
Palestinian sources revealed that resistance fighters opened fire at an Israeli helicopter flying low over central Gaza on Sunday. Ma'an was informed by reliable sources that the gun used was a machine gun and not any kind of anti-aircraft weapon. The sources revealed that the helicopter departed from the area and appeared to be undamaged. Spokesperson of Hamas' Executive Force, Islam Shahwan, told Ma'an that the EF had no connection to the operation.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=25098

 
Israeli military court extends detention of 26 Palestinian detainees
The Palestinian Prisoners' Association of Tulkarem reported on Sunday that the Israeli military court extended the detention period of 26 incarcerated Palestinians. The prisoners come from different governorates of the West Bank. The extension periods ranged from 8 to 22 days. [End]
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=25102

 
Waqf official in deposed Hamas-dominated cabinet in Gaza demands halt to 'open-air prayers'
citing illegitimacy of such prayers from an Islamic perspective. [what??] Alreqeb's remarks came in the wake of clashes between Hamas's executive force and Fatah's supporters for the second week consecutively as thousands of Fatah's believers held Friday prayers in open areas, in protest against what they called Hamas's clerics ' incitement campaign during prayers. The Hamas official refuted Fatah's leaders' claims regarding incitement. 
http://www.imemc.org/article/50201

 
Palestinian president revises election law
With Abbas' decree, Palestinians will now vote solely for party lists, while district voting will be eliminated. Hamas swept parliamentary elections last year in large part because of a strong showing at the district level. The decree also requires all presidential and parliamentary candidates to recognize the Fatah-dominated Palestine Liberation Organization as the ''sole, legitimate representative'' of the Palestinian people. [Hmm, this article and the preceding one must be describing the long-awaited spread of democracy]
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Palestinians-Elections.html?ex=1346385600&en=6ecc8eefede1510e&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

 
Fresh airstrike on Khan Younis leaves five passers-by injured
five passersby were reportedly injured as resistance fighters of the al-Quds Brigades, an offshoot of  Islamic Jihad, escaped the attack.  Local hospital sources and witnesses said that the air strike targeted a Volvo-type car in Khan Younis, while driving along the Rafah-Khan Younis road in southern Gaza Strip. An Israeli missile hit the car, while attempting to enter the Maan village on the said road, as those inside survived, yet five passersby were at least wounded. The chief of emergency at the health ministry confirmed that five moderately and lightly wounded arrived at the Naser hospital in KhanYounis.
http://www.imemc.org/article/50203

 
IAF targets car carrying IJ rocket squad; jittery Sderot parents send children to school
Israel Air Force aircraft fired missiles toward the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis Sunday afternoon, shortly after Islamic Jihad militants fired three Qassam rockets at the western Negev. Rescue workers in Khan Yunis said three [innocent] people were slightly hurt in the missile strike. The Qassam rockets fired earlier Sunday landed in open areas north of the western Negev town of Sderot, amid high tensions in the area as students returned to school. The rockets caused no damage or injuries.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/899705.html

 
Palestinian fugitive cuts flowing locks, weds longtime fiancee after Israel halts pursuit
Dheisheh Refugee Camp, West Bank: After Amjad Khalawi stopped running from Israel, the one-time fugitive was free to cut the thick mane that was his disguise and wed his longtime fiancee. with two other sons serving time in Israeli jails, His mother was skeptical that he could truly settle down to a "normal life." "There's no security and I am afraid for my son," she said. "But I hope this happiness will last." Khalawi has recently been hired by Palestinian security affiliated with Abbas' Fatah forces.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/02/africa/ME-GEN-Palestinians-Fugitives-Wedding.php


Abbas: Mideast summit will fail if no prior agreement reached
He said on Sunday he wanted the upcoming Middle East conference to result in a framework agreement for Israeli-Palestinian peace and set a timeline for implementation. "We are concerned that November 15 will come - if this will indeed be the date for this international conference - without arriving at a specific agreement on all the issues, and that this meeting will be described as a failure,"
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=899939&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1

 
Livni warns Rice: Summit could fail due to unreasonable goals
Livni said that all of the parties would serve to benefit from reasonable expectations for the summit. Unreasonable goals would cause the conference to end in failure, she said. Jerusalem officials say Rice seems to be taking the opposite approach, believing that setting the bar high will lead to greater achievements.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/899709.html

 
Humanitarian aid to the Palestinians – Walking the  tightrope
in order to circumvent Hamas and still get aid to the Palestinians, the TIM came into existence, mostly funded by the EU. Through this mechanism - the only one of its kind in the world - PA employees receive "allowances" straight to their bank accounts; money goes to hospitals and schools and the poorest Palestinians receive social allowances
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74067

 
Roger Cohen, IHT: Two steps at one go
A brief document called "Two Steps in One Go" that attempts to fast-forward Palestinian statehood has landed on the desks that matter in the Middle East and is arousing considerable interest. Written by Terje Roed-Larsen, a senior United Nations official immersed in the region for decades, the proposal envisages the creation of a Palestinian state with provisional borders followed by state-to-state negotiations on final- status issues using principles agreed before Palestine's establishment. . . Roed-Larsen said, "The Bush administration is incredibly interested in achieving agreement on the establishment of a Palestinian state before it leaves office." That would mean some time in 2008.  The possibility seems remote.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/19/opinion/edletmon.php

 
Peace without despoilation
Knesset Member Jamal Zahalka, an old friend of mine, once said that he is not particularly afraid of those who cry 'Death to Arabs'. The real threat comes from those who sing 'We Have Brought Peace Upon You'. Causticity and joking aside, there is much bitter truth in those words. . . There is no connection, therefore, between the peace that the Left aspires to and the contacts between the Prime Minister and the Palestinian Authority Chairman. Whoever wants to join the forces in the world that are struggling for liberation from American hegemony and from the control over their lives by big business, will seek ways to talk to the real representatives of the people in Palestine, and not with the profiteers and the corrupted. This requires the construction of a bridge to dialogue with Hamas as well, and a rapprochement with the Islamists within Israel so that they will a part of that effort. I do not know if it is possible, but it is clear that it is necessary.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=22090

 
Lebanon PM welcomes end of siege at Palestinian refugee camp Nahr el-Bared
Troops had been battling Fatah al-Islam militants at the camp since May but took the group's last positions after its remaining fighters tried to flee. Soldiers have begun searching for militants who escaped from the camp. Officials said 37 Fatah al-Islam gunmen and five soldiers died on Sunday. More than 300 people died during the siege. Troops fired celebratory shots to signal the end of the stand-off, which had forced nearly 40,000 Palestinian refugees to flee the camp.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6975020.stm

 
Norman Finkelstein: 'I fully expect to be arrested'
After losing tenure because of an unprecedented campaign of outside interference waged by Alan Dershowitz, who has no academic background in in Middle East or Israeli history or politics , DePaul University has decided to unilaterally cancel Holocaust Industry author Norman Finkelstein's classes and shut down his office. This despite overwhelming approval of his scholarship by his peers at the school, and a remaining one-year contract. When classes start on September 5, Finkelstein promises:  "As usual I will show up for class on the first day and go to my office. I fully expect to be arrested." Finkelstein is the son of Holocaust surviviors.
http://www.muzzlewatch.com/?p=235