Bil'in! Bil'in!  by Uri Avnery
First of all, a part of the land of Bil'in has been redeemed, but not all of it. The new fence will still be far from the Green Line. The length of the section to be dismantled is less than two kilometers. Second, Bil'in is only one of many villages whose land has been stolen by means of the wall. Third, the wall is only one of the means of occupation, and the occupation gets worse by the day. Fourth, in many other places the Supreme Court has confirmed the path of the fence, even though it steals Palestinian land no less than at Bil'in. Fifth, the Bil'in decision also has a negative side: it gives the court an alibi in the eyes of the world. It confers on the settlers an apparent legitimacy in many other places. . . What is so special about Bil'in, a small and remote village, whose name was known before to just a few outsiders, if any? STEADFASTNESS.  PARTNERSHIP.  NON-VIOLENCE. The non-violence was entirely on the side of the demonstrators.
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1189295338

 
Legal victory in struggle against Wall
For years, residents of Bil'in, along with international and Israeli activists, have led nonviolent resistance actions every week against the encroaching wall and the illegal settlement colonies that expand on a daily basis on their land. Villagers and activists have been tear-gassed, shot at, arrested, and beaten by Israeli occupation soldiers during direct confrontations against the wall and the continued theft of Bil'in land, but the resistance presence has grown into what organizers and Palestinian leaders call a force to be reckoned with. The fact that the illegal wall will be altered in its course is definitely a significant relief to the villagers, the land-owners and the dedicated resistance activists who have stood in defiance of the wall and the soldiers, but is by no means an outright triumph for the movement. The wall is still eating up land at an accelerated rate, and the settlement colonies have been given the green light by the current court ruling to continue the status quo: creating facts on the ground in direct contravention to international law. Settlers still get to keep their illegal, spreading colonies and apartheid matrix systems that slice up the West Bank, as any realization of a so-called "viable Palestinian state" remains an elusive and illogical pipe dream.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article8979.shtml

 
B'Tselem: Fatality statistics for this Intifada through August 31 2007
From 29 Sept 2000 to 31 Aug 2007 : Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces: 4,233; by Israeli civilians: 41; by other Palestinians: 538. Israeli security forces killed by Palestinians: 320. Israeli civilians killed by Palestinians: 704. (These statistics do not include people who died from delays getting medical treatment because of checkpoints, people who killed themselves in suicide bombings, foreigners killed by either side, etc – see site)  In 2007 through August 31: Palestinians killed by Israel security forces: 219. Israel civilians killed by Palestinians: 6; Israeli security forces personnel killed by Palestinians: 1. Total Israelis killed by Qassam rockets: 12, nine of them in Sderot; two of these deaths were in 2007, in May.
These statistics do not include the nonfatal injuries on both sides during this Intifada.
http://www.btselem.org/english/Statistics/Casualties.asp

 
B'Tselem: Ghost Town
[with photos] Israel's Separation Policy and Forced Eviction of Palestinians from the Center of Hebron . Throughout the second intifada, settlers have committed physical assaults, including beatings, at times with clubs, stone throwing, and hurling of refuse, sand, water, chlorine, and empty bottles. Settlers have destroyed shops and doors, committed thefts, and chopped down fruit trees. Settlers have also been involved in gunfire, attempts to run people over, poisoning of a water well, breaking into homes, spilling of hot liquid on the face of a Palestinian, and the killing of a young Palestinian girl. A least 1,014 Palestinian housing units in the center of Hebron have been vacated by their occupants. This number represents 41.9 percent of the housing units in the relevant area. Regarding Palestinian commercial establishments, 1,829 are no longer open for business. This number represents 76.6 percent of all the commercial establishments in the surveyed area.
http://www.btselem.org/english/Publications/Summaries/200705_Hebron.asp

 
Reuters: Israeli settlements in Hebron make life nearly impossible, Palestinians say
The economy in H2, where 35,000 Palestinians and only 800 Israeli settlers live, is almost totally destroyed. A new report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), released on 30 August, said that eight out of 10 Palestinian adults in the old city of H2 are unemployed and an estimated 75 percent live below the poverty line. The International Committee of the Red Cross distributes basic food parcels to some 1,750 families in H2, to help ease the dire situation. OCHA's report refers to "the insertion of settlers into the heart of a densely populated Palestinian city."  Many of the harshest restrictions began after an Israeli settler murdered 29 Palestinian worshippers in 1994. The Israeli military reacted by limiting Palestinian movement in H2. . .
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/7528aab311b56e16321083b7db4dae20.htm

 
IDF denies capturing top Hamas member
The IDF denied involvement Saturday night in what Palestinians claimed was an Israeli capture of a senior Hamas operative involved in the kidnapping of IDF Cpl. Gilad Schalit. If the Palestinian reports are true, Israeli forces penetrated deep into the heart of Rafah late Friday night to nab Mohawah al-Qadi, a senior member of the Hamas's armed wing and a commander in the Executive Force. At first, Hamas officials thought the man was taken by Fatah loyalists. Hamas spokesmen said that only when the Subaru car carrying al-Qadi was seen leaving the Gaza Strip accompanied by helicopters did they consider that the operative had been grabbed by the Israelis.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1188392566134&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

 
Olmert lauds IAF over arrest of top Hamas commander in Gaza
"I want to express my appreciation of the IDF's and Shin Bet's incessant operations that are aimed at impeding the activities of terror groups," he said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3447485,00.html

 
Noam Shalit: Israel's deterrence mustn't rest on my son's back
According to Shalit, the families of the other two soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah militants shortly after Gilad was seized, and his own family, were deeply disappointed with the inability of Israel, "with all its authorities and grand institutions, to bring home the boys that were kidnapped during terrorist activity 14 months ago already."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/902080.html

 
Israeli forces storm a local government building near Jerusalem
Israeli forces stormed the local council building in the village of Bir Nabala, near Jerusalem Sunday morning, local officials said. The troops reportedly confiscated documents and three computers. This was the second time the Israeli forces broke into these offices. The first time was in February 2007,
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=25236

 
Israeli military vehicle strikes ambulance
A Palestinian ambulance was reportedly struck by an Israeli military vehicle in the At-Tur area south of the West Bank city of Nablus Saturday. According to the ambulance driver, Wael Hawwash, "The Israeli military vehicle obstructed the ambulance several times deliberately hitting it, while the ambulance was waiting to evacuate any possible injuries, as the Israeli forces were operating in the area." Earlier on Saturday, more than 12 Israeli military vehicles reportedly invaded the At-Tur area, storming two homes.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=25224

 
Two Palestinians drown off Tel Aviv shores
Two Palestinians from the West Bank town of Qabalan , south of Nablus, drowned in the Mediterranean Sea near Tel Aviv on Saturday. Relatives of the victims said that rescue staffs found the body of Ayman Al-Aqra' 21, while the body of the other man reported drowned, Muhammad Al-Aqra' 21 has not been found yet. [real question is: how did they get there, being over the age of West Bankers allowed into Israel?]
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=25218

 
Israel unlikely to free PA prisoners ahead of Ramadan
"It's a very low likelihood that it will be done before Ramadan," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. A government official had said last week that Israel intended to free the 100 prisoners before the holiday. Officials said the prisoners, all from the Gaza Strip, would have "no blood on their hands" and at least one year left on their sentences.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/902404.html

 
Israeli minister: It is not the time for permanent agreement with Palestinians
A senior Israeli official has held that without a stable negotiation partner, it is not the time for Israel to discuss a permanent agreement with the Palestinians, local newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Sunday. Israeli Public Security Minister Avi Dichter made the remarks on Saturday at the opening of an international terror conference at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, according to the report.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-09/09/content_6691962.htm

 
Gideon Levy: This is how the [Israeli] moderates look
When will Israel learn that civilian suffering does not breed moderation?  Haim Ramon is now the progenitor of the doctrine advocating cutting off the electricity, fuel and water supply to Gaza. As we all know, Ramon is a representative of a centrist party and is considered one of the party's moderates. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is a moderate, too. She also supports the Ramon doctrine. She says that, "It is inconceivable that life in Gaza continues to be normal." In the view of the moderate foreign minister, life in Gaza is "normal" - it seems she has no idea about what life is really like there - and a cutoff of supplies will bring an end to the Qassams. The hungry, thirsty and suffocating populace will exert pressure and, hocus pocus, there will be no more Qassams. These crazy ideas have elicited fewer arguments among us than the proposals to require bicycle riders to wear helmets.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/902119.html

 
Ariela Ringle-Hoffman: Put on the light!
From Yediot Aharonot: The main disadvantage of the Ramon proposal is its utter disregard of past experience, and its being based on the well-known Israel precept that you just need to find one more trick or gimmick. If 'liquidation' of senior leaders does not solve the problem, let us turn to defoliation. When defoliation failed, we turn to shooting from artillery. And if even artillery did not do the trick, than let us turn off the light, cut off the water, stop the fuel tankers in their tracks. In other words: what had we not yet done to these one and half million people in Gaza - hungry, exhausted, and beaten up? Let us quickly think of one more untried scourge and apply it, too, to their backs! . . We should remember that we never stopped the shooting of missiles, in the north or the south, by military means. Remember that if there is a solution, it is always based on agreements. In this case, an Israel-Hamas agreement, an agreement with the elected Palestinian government..
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=22209

 
B. Michael: We're not  terrorists
This is what a Hamas cabinet session would sound like; sounds familiar? "There's no other choice," said the deputy to Prime Minister Haniyeh, "we must boost the pressure exerted on Israel's civilian population." The participants nodded in agreement around the table. "It's impossible," continued the deputy, "that our people are going hungry and suffering unemployment, closures, and endless bombardments from the air, sea, and land – while over there life goes on as usual. The only way to make the Israeli government understand that we are holding it responsible for everything that takes place is to exert more pressure on it by disrupting the lives of citizens there." "He's right," said the police and culture minister as he rushed to back his colleague. "We must set a price tag for every child that is hurt and every bomb that falls on our homes." . . . "I heard what you were talking about," the young man continued hesitatingly, "does that mean we're terrorists?" All those present were overcome by laughter. "God forbid," the prime minister quickly reassured the young man, "God forbid. Only the other side can be a terrorist. It's never our side. This is how it is in nature."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3447096,00.html

 
IDF thwarts Tel Aviv suicide attack
on Sunday, arresting a Palestinian youth who was carrying three explosive devices at the Beit Iba checkpoint on the outskirts of Nablus. The youth was supposed to transfer the bombs to individuals inside Israel, whose job it was to assemble them so they could be used for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. Border Police sappers carried out a controlled detonation of the bombs, which were connected to one another with electric wires.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/902335.html

 
Teachers, lawyers walk out in  Gaza; Hamas government opposes strike order
Teachers refused to work in response to call for a general strike from Fatah and other factions of the PLO. The factions called for the strike after Hamas-affiliated security forces attacked demonstrators participating in outdoor prayer services Friday. Many students did not attend school in both cities and refugee camps. By mid-day, however, it appeared that not all workers complied with the strike, reflecting Hamas' continued strength in the Gaza Strip. Lawyers in Gaza also refused to work, paralyzing much of the judicial system.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=25226

 
Gaza sees a strike against Hamas
The strike included 77 percent of the governmental schools, despite the fact that a large number of students headed this morning for their schools. Health institutions like hospitals and clinics, majority of physicians committed to the strike from the early hours of Sunday, while the Fatah-led Bar association declared strike in all courts and legal institutions in Gaza.
http://www.imemc.org/article/50321

 
Fatah official: Strike, prayers not intended to topple Hamas
Ibrahim Abu An-Naja, member of the Fatah revolutionary council told Ma'an's correspondent in the Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis that today's general strike and Friday's outdoor prayer services are only intended to protest the violent tactics used by the Hamas-affiliated Executive Force. He also vehemently denied that his movement intends to confront Hamas with military action, as he says Fatah rejects the use of military force among Palestinians. People chose to pray outdoors because, An-Naja argued, they became "fed up" with hearing "incitement" against Fatah at Friday prayers in mosques.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=25238

 
Fatah promises to topple Hamas rule
Buoyed by the growing street protests against Hamas, Fatah leaders vowed over the weekend to step up their efforts to end the Islamist movement's rule in the Gaza Strip. Representatives of the two parties told The Jerusalem Post that they were expecting a "hot" Ramadan, which begins later this week, as tensions between Hamas and Fatah continue to mount. "The revolution of the masses in the Gaza Strip will continue until Hamas is brought down," said Ahmed Abdel Rahman, a senior Fatah official and close aide to Abbas.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1188392567594&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

 
EF releases head of dentists' union in Gaza Sttrip after one-night detention
Dr. Ata Juda told Ma'an that he was arrested on the charge of urging dentists to strike, an accusation he denied. He also said that he was treated 'well' and the EF argued with him politely and asked him to continue working, while abandoning the call to strike.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=25242

 
After Executive Force attack, a Hamas-supporting family turns against the movement
The anonymous woman feels hopeless after she was injured in her left leg in the Gaza Strip when she attempted to defend her sons against the EF members, who came to arrest the children at night. The mother says masked EF members "fiercely attacked" her son, and then her when she struggled. The EF men allegedly fired their weapons, seriously wounding the woman in the leg. She says her leg is now permanently paralyzed. She says she is "astonished" that the EF are affiliated with the same movement as Sheikh Yassin, who came to the aid of her son.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=25212

 
20 students beaten, arrested as PA security services break up rally at Hebron University
Clashes erupted at Hebron University Sunday as Fatah-allied Palestinian Authority security services attempted broke up an outdoor rally held by Hamas-affiliated students, the university administration said. The students were protesting a planned tuition hike. The Associated Press reported that the security forces "forbade journalists from taking pictures, confiscating the camera of one photographer." The report also said some journalists were beaten.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=25233

 
Palestinian cleric denied entry into Jordan
Sheikh Raed Salah had headed to Jordan through the Sheikh Hussein border crossing. He was to be the guest of honor at a conference held by the union of Jordanian engineers.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=25239

 
Report: Syria can offer Turkey proof of IAF violation of airspace
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem will present Turkey with evidence backing its claim that the Israel Air Force violated Syrian airspace last week, the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayyat reported Sunday. Israel is maintaining a complete blackout regarding the Syrian charges
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/902095.html

 
Akiva Orr: Barak against Olmert?
Israeli airforce flights over Syria are quite common. Last year they flew 30 feet (!) over Assad`s holiday resort to produce a sonic boom to clarify to him: "We know where you are. We can hit you. Your airforce cannot stop us." All these flights are deliberate, planned, provocations. Usually they are OK'd by Israel`s Prime-Minister as they are a blatant political - rather than military - move. Yesterday`s flight is a mystery. Who OK'd it? It does not look like Olmert. He wants no war with Syria as Israel cannot yet defend itself from rocket barrages like the ones it suffered in 2006 from Hizballah. I discussed this with Haim Hanegbi and we both had the same answer: Ehud Barak did it it – probably without Olmert's knowledge. Barak wants to call new elections which he believes he will win due to his background as Chief of Staff and his commando operations against the PLO in Beirut (1972?) and Tunisia (1988?) Olmert has no military background. Bibi's military background is weak compared to Barak`s. If the Israeli public will be scared of war Barak will win the elections.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=22211

 
Muli Peleg: In praise of non-violence
Many Palestinians and Israelis built a career based on mutual violence and developed their individual identify, meaning of life, and group attachment on the basis of perceiving the other as violent. The negative and satanic image of the enemy flourished as a result of the occupation on one side, and terrorism on the other side. Non-violence threatens and endangers this outline, which has been created and reinforced through hard work for many years. How many Israelis, for example, are familiar with the Palestinian organization for non-violence and democracy, which engages in widespread activity at schools and public institutions? Not many, as such familiarity may crack the collective violent image of Palestinian culture. There is no doubt that similar examples exist on the other side as well – and again, we are trapped in the grim symmetry of the conflict.
http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3444676,00.html

 
Police: Israeli Neo-Nazi ring busted
In a case that would seem unthinkable in the Jewish state, police said Sunday they have cracked a cell of young Israeli neo-Nazis accused in a string of attacks on foreign workers, religious Jews, drug addicts and gays. Eight immigrants from the former Soviet Union have been arrested in recent days in connection with at least 15 attacks, and a ninth fled the country, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/ISRAEL_NEO_NAZIS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-09-09-07-25-50

 
Israeli minister mulls revoking neo-Nazis' citizenship
The Interior Ministry said Sunday that it would consider revoking the citizenship of eight teens suspected of running a neo-Nazi cell in Petah Tikva, if they are convicted. The suspects, aged 17 to 19, confessed to assaulting dozens of people, mainly foreign workers around Tel Aviv's central bus station and Carmel market, causing many of them serious injury. The group was also reportedly planning to celebrate Hitler's birthday at Yad Vashem. The ADL clarified that while the detainees were from the former Soviet Union and religiously identified as Christians, they had immigrated to Israel under the Law of Return which grants "even grandchildren of Jews sanctuary in the Jewish state." MKs from across the political spectrum condemned the incident, and some suggested that the Law of Return be amended in order to prevent similar individuals from immigrating.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/902093.html

 
Book Review: Hamas – A History from Within by Azzam Tamimi
Consistent with the title, Tamimi presents a history that shows Hamas' development from its roots within the Muslim Brotherhood, from its aspects of international cooperation and denial, and from 'within' – the development of the ideas, policies, and implementation of ideas that is rarely seen in western media sources. It is not a fawning sycophantic review, as it also reveals the internal struggles within Hamas between the various people and political institutions involved in its history and development, and further reveals the precarious hold it had on survival, a survival that became ensured only with the advent of more serious Israeli atrocities during the first Intifada. 
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=107&ItemID=13699  

 
Palestinian poet Tamim al-Barghouti places fifth in Abu Dhabi competition
The competition was meant to revive Arabic poetry after what some saw as an era of stagnation. Over nine weeks, the competition attracted 5400 poets. Three hundred finalists were hosted in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. The number was reduced to 35, 5 of whom participated in the final round. The most prominent poem Tamim read was called "In Jerusalem" which was applauded by the audience and the judges.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=25217

 
Taybeh or not Taybeh, that is the question
I'M WRITING this not having sampled the curious delights of a Palestinian beer festival. (Yeah, unlikely I know, but this is in the predominantly Christian village of Taybeh, near Ramallah; home of some pretty impressive Crusader Church ruins, and … the only brewery in the Palestinian territories.) I was really looking forward to going, but having spent half-an-hour moving no more than two yards towards the front of the queue to go through Huwarra checkpoint, I decided life was too short and gave up for the day.
http://blogs.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/a_view_from_palestine/2007/09/taybeh_or_not_taybeh_that_is_t_1.html

 
If you long for za'atar, pickled green olives, Nabali olive oil….
Canaan Fair Trade is a Jenin-based Palestinian firm committed to practicing 'Fair Trade' along its supply chain.  Established in 2004, Canaan markets "Products of Palestine" that are produced by the now more than 1,700 small farmers, organized in informal cooperatives and represented  in the Palestine Fair Trade Association (PFTA www.palestinefairtrade.org).
http://www.canaanfairtrade.com/products

 
What Norman Finkelstein's denial of tenure tells us about academia
The principled view is that faculty members . . . have a responsibility to pursue research addressing relevant questions that are meaningful in the lives of real people, especially the most vulnerable struggling for justice. That kind of research is likely to lead to trouble (because it challenges the prerogatives of the powerful to rule as they please). In other words, academics pursuing their work in responsible fashion (in the principled sense) are the most likely to be labeled irresponsible (in the conventional sense). Such is Finkelstein's fate. Finkelstein's denial of tenure not only was difficult for him, but is tragic for anyone who cares about free and responsible intellectual inquiry. In the United States there are fewer and fewer spaces where truth-telling is possible.
http://www.wrmea.com/archives/August_2007/0708025.html