Israel's
Settlement Blocs Carve Up the West Bank For the people of
our small village of Bil'in, which lies west of Ramallah in the
occupied West Bank, the planned negotiations between Palestinian and
Israeli leaders in Annapolis, Maryland evoke mixed feelings. Like all
Palestinians, we pray that our children will not spend their lives as
we did, under Israeli military
occupation. http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2007/11/06/znet-israels-settlement-blocs-carve-up-the-west-bank/
Another
Bedouin family to be evicted as the round-up continues Another
Bedouin family is to be driven from their home as the Occupation
continues its push to ethnically cleanse the areas around the
Jerusalem-Jericho road to make way for settlement expansion. Ibrahim
Dufula Abu Dahuk and around thirty others live to the north of Al
Jeeb village, North West Jerusalem. They have been ordered by the
Occupation court to leave the area within 14 days, as their house is
to be demolished for the construction of the Apartheid Wall. Two
nearby Bedouin communities of around sixty are awaiting judgement on
the case for their expulsion, but it seems likely that they too will
be removed. http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/1557.shtml
Hundreds
of Jerusalemites protest against Israeli policies in the city A
peaceful demonstration of hundreds of residents of East Jerusalem
joined by a number of Israeli and International peace activists
marched on Tuesday to protest the Israeli policies of home demolition
and land confiscation in the city.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51347
Peace
Now: Settlers smuggling caravans to territories Group
issues report showing that settlers bypassing ban on moving caravans
to West Bank by assembling them on site; report also finds population
growth in settlements three times higher than in rest of country.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3468629,00.html
Israeli
army demolishes a house in central Gaza On Wednesday, the
Israeli army demolished a Palestinian-owned house to the east of Deir
Elbalah city in the central Gaza Strip, media reports and witnesses
said. The two-storey house, which is located on the eastern outskirts
of Deir Elbalah belongs to Mohammad al-Kurd and it is the third time
this building has been demolished in the past seven years.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L07353207.htm
Israeli
military kidnaps the father and brother of a 'wanted' Palestinian man
in Jenin In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Israeli
military forces kidnapped the father and the brother of an al-Quds
brigade leader in Jenin who is wanted by the Israeli security forces,
in an attempt to force him turn himself in.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51340
Punishing
Gaza: On September 20, Haaretz reported "The
security cabinet voted unanimously yesterday to increase sanctions
against the Hamas-run Gaza Strip (and declare) the region a 'hostile
entity.' " A further statement read: "We will reduce the
amount of megawattage we provide to the Strip, and Hamas will have to
decide whether to provide electricity to hospitals or weapons
lathes." Israeli officials also decided to punish Gazans by
restricting: -- fuel as well as electricity from Israel to
Gaza; -- the passage of goods and people through border crossings
that are already severely restricted; and -- visits to prisoners
even further than how limited they are already. An increased
monitoring of funds was also announced as well as stating border
crossings would be closed for up to 48 hours in response to (crude
small homemade) Qassam rocket fire, and that Israel would supply
nothing further to Gaza residents "except for (whatever Israel
considers) humanitarian needs." Hamas' response was swift and
sharp. Spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called the cabinet's decision and
sanctions a "declaration of war" and said "we must
unite the ranks to come together in the conflict with the cruel
enemy....This is another attempt to force us to surrender (our
sovereignty)." http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2007/11/06/punishing_gaza
Vital
product - Gone too fast When Samah Mohanna graduated from
pharmacy school five years ago, she wanted to help children. When she
got a job at a Red Crescent Society clinic, she met Azmi who had the
same passion. They both discovered a severe shortage of medications
in Gaza, especially antibiotics. The high rate of unemployment and
poor economic situation means many households cannot afford even
basic medications. In addition, Gaza is cut off from the world
because the main crossing points are
closed. http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/EMAE-78PNBW?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR
Hamas-Jihad
clashes in Rafah leave one resident dead One Palestinian
resident has been reported killed and two others wounded after
mourners, belonging to the Islamic Jihad group, traded gun-fire with
Palestinian policemen in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/EMAE-78PNBW?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR
PLC
member: Palestinian prisoners to protest on eve of Annapolis
summit Issa Qaraq'e, a Palestinian law maker of the Fatah
movement and the head of the Palestinian prisoners committee in the
Palestinian Legislative Council, on Tuesday stated that Palestinian
prisoners are planning to organize protests on the eve of the
Annapolis peace conference. http://www.imemc.org/article/51323
Hamas
accuses Fatah of arrests of its members in W. Bank A
spokesman for Islamic Resistance Movement(Hamas) in the Gaza Strip
Tuesday accused the daily arrests of its activists in the West Bank
by security forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israel,
who termed the arrests as "an implementation" of the first
phase of the Road Map peace
plan. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-11/06/content_7022737.htm
Unknown
gunmen abduct and torture son of Hamas senior official A
group of unknown gunmen kidnapped and attacked Suheib Yousef, 23, the
son of West Bank Hamas leader Sheikh Hasan Yousef, on Tuesday
afternoon. The young man is a student at the Al-Quds campus of Abu
Dis University in East Jerusalem, and was abducted while
participating in an activity on
campus. http://www.imemc.org/article/51328
MI:
If Annapolis fails, Abbas likely to step down Military
Intelligence believes that if talks at Annapolis fail, Palestinian
Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas might step down. Abbas reportedly
views the Annapolis conference as the last opportunity to resuscitate
the peace process. If he does go home in the wake of a failure of the
talks, without a successor acceptable to Fatah, Abbas' departure
would create a lacuna in the Palestinian leadership and increase
Hamas
influence. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=921344&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1
Palestinian
Chief negotiator meets British envoy in Jericho On
Tuesday, the Palestinian Chief Negotiator, Saeb Erekat, met with the
British envoy for the Middle East Peace process, Mike Williams, and
the British General Counsel, Richard McBesy, in Jericho. The three
discussed the latest political developments in the lead-up to a
Summit in Annapolis, in the U.S., which has been scheduled for late
November. http://www.imemc.org/article/51326
Palestinian
official: US decides to send out invitations for Annapolis summit The
U.S. government apparently decided on Tuesday to send out invitations
to would-be attendees of the Annapolis peace summit, stated an
unnamed Palestinian official on Tuesday. The official added
that the Summit will likely be held on November 26th. Speaking to the
Agence France Presse agency, the official revealed "the U.S
Secretary of States, Condoleezza Rice, has informed Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas, during their meeting yesterday, that
Washington is set to send the invitations for the peace
summit". http://www.imemc.org/article/51332
PLO
denies signing a peace document with Israelis A
spokesperson of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) denied on
Tuesday Israeli media reports that PLO has recently signed a document
with the Israeli side, between PLO's secretary, Yasser Abed Rabo and
head of Israeli Meretz Party, Yousi Bellen. According to the Israeli
Daily, Maareef, yesterday, a new document between Abed Rabo and
Belen, has been prepared and that a draft has been presented to top
Palestinian negotiator, Ahmad Qurai and U.S Secretary of States,
Condoleezza Rice. http://www.imemc.org/article/51330
Barak:
Israel to retain control of passage between W. Bank, Gaza Israel
will not grant the Palestinians a direct territorial passage between
the two parts of the Palestinian Authority, Defense Minister Ehud
Barak said Tuesday. The passage between the Gaza Strip and the West
Bank - which may be worked out in the framework of a permanent
agreement with the Palestinians - will remain under Israeli control
and will either run underground or through bridges, Barak
said. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/921346.html
Israeli
Police Impersonate Reporters to Trap Wanted Palestinian Israeli
police posed as a TV news crew to trap a one-time Palestinian
informer, provoking an outcry from critics who said the sting
threatened to put the lives of newspeople at risk. Police said the
target of the operation was Nadim Injaz, a Palestinian man who had
been wanted for making unspecified
threats. http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/Israeli_police_impersonate_reporter_11062007.html
Abu
Teir praises Haniyeh speech Sheikh Mohammad Abu Teir, a
Hamas legislator currently imprisoned in the Israeli Nitsan detention
center, on Tuesday praised deposed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail
Haniyeh's speech of last
Sunday. http://www.imemc.org/article/51322
Bethlehem
municipal workers demand salaries Municipal workers from
the Bethlehem district on Tuesday held a two-hour-long strike, in
protest against non-payment of salaries by the municipal council.
Scores of employees participated in the protest, held in front of the
municipality building in Bethlehem city center, demanding immediate
payment of both their salaries and additional
benefits. http://www.imemc.org/article/51325
Hamas
plans to build $200 million movie production house in Gaza GAZA
CITY - It's a tale worthy of its own movie script: The Gaza Strip's
isolated and cash-strapped Hamas rulers plan to build a $200 million
media city and movie production house that will be part tourist
attraction and part effort to cement control of the territory it
seized by force in
June. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=921285&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1
The
End of the Palestinian National Movement With the
failure of the PA experiment, the Arab states have begun to return to
the scene. The Jordanian government, with the encouragement of
Israel, is establishing a renewed presence in the West Bank,
especially in eastern Jerusalem. There is every reason to expect
further cooperation between the West Bank and the East Bank in
Jordan, which will also have political consequences. As long as the
separation fence between Israel and the West Bank continues to be
built, relations between the West Bank and Jordan will
strengthen. http://www.iris.org.il/blog/archives/2586-The-End-of-the-Palestinian-National-Movement.html
Women
in focus at Palestinian film festival From the tale of a
Lebanese woman with a missing husband and narcoleptic son to a West
Bank girl on the hunt for a birthday cake, a Palestinian film
festival this week is throwing a rare spotlight on women. Billed as
the first annual women's film festival in the Arab world, "Shashat"
-- which means 'screens' in Arabic -- aims to offer alternative
images of women and to provide a forum for female directors in a
region and industry dominated by
men. http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL06320483.html
Report:
Israeli soldiers admit government has spied on international phone
calls since 1973 The Israeli TV Channel 10 released a
report Tuesday revealing that Israeli authorities have been spying on
citizens' phone calls without warrants for over 30 years. In the
report, Channel 10 interviewed Israeli soldiers who described being
part of an organization which was started by the Israeli military in
1973, and remains in place until today. The organization is part of
the Military Censor's Office, which monitors all work by foreign
journalists working inside Israel.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51334
Dutch
"research" group covers for Israeli crimes,
violations Doron Livnat is co-owner of Riwal, a Dutch
company involved in the illegal construction of the separation Wall
in occupied Palestinian territory. In 2004 the Wall was confirmed by
the International Court of Justice as being in violation of
international law. Livnat is also a member of the board of the Centre
for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI), a pro-Zionist
political lobby group based in
Amsterdam. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9077.shtml
Israel:
UN Human Rights Council 'morally bankrupt' Israel's
Ambassador to the United Nations harshly criticized the UN Human
Rights Council on Tuesday, saying its repeated focus on Israel had
rendered it "morally
bankrupt." http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=921099&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1
Don't
Sign for Apartheid in Palestine The French group "Two
Peoples, Two States" calls the public for signing a petition
(based on a "Two States Solution", on the outlines of the
Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abbed Rabbo's "Geneva Initiative",
and the Ami Ayalon and Sari Nusseibeh's "The Peoples Voice"),
which "acknowledge the equal legitimacy of both liberation
struggle movements", and which, in a suspicious way, fails to
call for Israel's full compliance with its obligations under
international law through ending its illegal military occupation, its
denial of Palestinian refugee rights, and its system of racial
discrimination against its own Palestinian
citizens. http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2007/11/06/dont-sign-for-apartheid-in-palestine/
Labor
MKs slam Barak for failing to politically capitalize on Annapolis
Criticism is growing among senior Labor Party officials
about the failure of their party chairman, Defense Minister Ehud
Barak, to take political advantage of the upcoming summit in
Annapolis. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=921345&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7
Rabbis
warn Bush: Annapolis will bring destruction to US Group of
right-wing rabbis writes open letter to US president demanding he
cancel Annapolis summit or risk provoking 'wrath of the almighty.'
Rabbis assert Katrina disaster a result of America's support of 2005
disengagement, say California fires a
warning. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3468489,00.html
When
do we stop sitting shiva for the Holocaust? I marched and
lobbied in DC last June to call for an end to forty years of Israeli
occupation and the US policies that support it. The sign I carried
posed a single question. It is one that urgently begs to be
addressed, debated and answered. I believe it holds significant
implications, not only for Jews, but for the entire Middle East.
"When do we stop sitting shiva for the Holocaust?" EI
contributor Rita Corriel
asks. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9082.shtml
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