Fighter killed, four residents injured in clashes with Israeli forces in Beit Hanoun
Islamic Jihad movement issued a press released on Monday at night stating that one of its fighters, member of the Al Quds brigades, was shot and killed during clashes with under-cover Israeli forces near the agricultural college, north of Beit Hanoun, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51955

Israeli tanks enter southern Gaza Strip
About 30 Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles moved into the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, sparking clashes with Palestinians that killed three militants, medics and residents said.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L11211726.htm

Undercover Israeli forces kidnap Palestinian activist
On Monday evening, undercover Israeli forces abducted a Palestinian activist from the West Bank city of Ramallah.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51961

Israeli ground troops kill four in Gaza Strip raid
About 30 Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles pushed as far as 4 kms (2.5 miles) into the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Tuesday, sparking clashes with Palestinians that killed four militants, medics and militants said.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L11485133.htm

IOA blocks baby with a hole in the heart from leaving Gaza for urgent treatment
A Palestinian child, who was born almost two weeks ago with a hole in the heart, has been denied an Israeli permit to leave the Strip and receive urgently needed treatment for his case, medical sources reported. They said that the baby's condition was worsening as he is suffering problems in the liver and swelling in his body.

See Gaza and weep
In the run-up to Annapolis Stuart Littlewood went to Gaza on an unusual mission. He joined a party of priests bringing moral support to the Christian community and to its Muslim citizens, all suffering horribly under Israel's collective punishment and cruel siege.
>http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/MMAH-79S46G?OpenDocument&rc=3& emid=ACOS-635PFR

Palestinian Medical Relief Society calls for an immediate end to the murderous siege of Gaza
People are dying in Gaza. Patients die in their hospital beds because they are denied permits to access life-saving treatments abroad. Patients with such permits die at the Erez crossing because the Israeli military denies them exit, despite their permits.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/SIRU-79R4EN?OpenDocument

UN says Gaza fuel shortage adding to health crisis
United Nations officials called for swift action on Monday to end a fuel and electricity shortage, partly caused by Israeli sanctions, that has aggravated a health crisis in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L1016080.htm

U.N. says Gaza fuel shortage adding to health crisis
United Nations officials called for swift action on Monday to end a fuel and electricity shortage, partly caused by Israeli sanctions, that has aggravated a health crisis in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL101608020071210

Report: Israeli forces besiege Azzoun village
The International Solidarity Movement has reported that Israeli forces have again invaded the village of Azzoun, where several members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) are stationed.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51953

Government must delay IDF operation in Gaza, says Ayalon
Minister Ami Ayalon send letter to Prime Minister Olmert, Defense Minister Barak calling them to put off any large-scale operation in Gaza. 'Such action may weaken Abbas, strengthen Iran, Hamas'
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3481065,00.html

Spokesperson of President Abbas warns of Israeli settlements expansion
Spokesperson of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rodaina, warned on Monday of the recent Israeli settlements expansion on the occupied Palestinian lands in the West Bank.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51949

Abbas: Israeli plans for new settlement building is a blow to Annapolis agreement
The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with British State Minister for International Development, Douglas Alexander, on Monday, to discuss development in the Palestinian areas and the new efforts to move the peace process since last months Annapolis conference.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51945

Palestinian negotiators to urge settlement freeze during talks
Palestinians will attend peace talks this week despite a plan by Israel to build new homes in East Jerusalem, but will focus on demanding a settlement freeze, senior Palestinian officials said on Tuesday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=933478

Rice hopes Israeli building will not "cloud" talks
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Monday she hoped Israel's plans to build homes on occupied land would not "cloud" peace talks with the Palestinians and cautioned that time was running out to end the conflict.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N10437194.htm

EU criticises Israel settler plan
A senior EU official has criticised an Israeli decision to build more houses in occupied East Jerusalem, joining the US in condemning Israel.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7136984.stm  

Mideast negotiations to launch on time despite settlement activities
Palestinian and Israeli crews will launch negotiations on Wednesday despite complexity resulted from an Israeli tender to expand a West Bank settlement, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Monday.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/10/content_7226543.htm

Lieberman: Gov`t can't discuss outposts, ignore Negev building
Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Wednesday that Israel cannot discuss the issue of illegal settlement outposts in the West Bank, while ignoring illegal construction in the Negev and Galilee.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=933467

Poll: Few West Bank settlers willing to leave homes for cash
Only a small minority of settlers would leave their West Bank homes voluntarily if the government were to pay them compensation, a poll revealed Friday.  Earlier this week, Defense Minister Ehud Barak endorsed a proposal to offer cash to settlers living on the eastern side of the separation fence Israel is building along and inside the West Bank. Barak reasons it could reduce forced evacuations if Israel reaches a peace accord with the Palestinians and agrees to cede West Bank land.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/932344.html

UN appeals for 462 million dollars in Palestinian aid
The United Nations appealed for donors to raise a record sum of 462 million dollars to meet humanitarian needs in the Palestinian territories in 2008. "In addition to continuing fatalities from direct Israeli-Palestinian conflict, 2007 saw a dramatic increase in deaths and injuries due to internal Palestinian violence," said a statement released by some 40 UN organisations and non-governmental groups operating in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071211/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictpalestinian unaid_071211122153

PFLP: The movement is committed to its goals
The Popular front for the liberation of Palestine issued a statement stating that its main goal since the deterioration of the political and economic situation in Palestine is to unite the various Palestinian factions and convince Fatah and Hamas to work together.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51944

Military Operation in Gaza Splits Views in Israel
Israeli adults are divided on whether to use force in order to depose the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip, according to a poll by Shvakim Panorama released by Israel Radio. 41.4 per cent of respondents support a large military operation in Gaza, while 38.7 per cent are opposed.  In addition, 38.7 per cent of respondents call for Israel to put Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas back in power in the Gaza Strip, while 39 per cent disagree.
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/29288

The Har Homa test
It is difficult to think of a place more suitable than Har Homa for holding the first test in the spirit of Annapolis. The comparison between Har Homa Crisis No. 2 and the development of Har Homa Crisis No. 1 can teach us whether the Israeli-Palestinian peace process has indeed started a new track or whether all the players are stuck on the old line.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/932716.html

Hamas - If we can kill them, we can talk to them
Call their bluff. Hamas this week inched one notch further toward some form of accommodation with a reality it cannot bring itself to stomach. Israel should do no less. In an open letter to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Ahmed Youssef, senior political advisor to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, wrote at the weekend that the Bush administration cannot at once "preach about exporting democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan and ignore the democratic process in Palestine." "Many people make the mistake of presuming that we have some ideological aversion to making peace," continued Youssef. "Quite the opposite; we have consistently offered dialogue with the U.S. and the E.U. to try and resolve the very issues that you are trying to deal with in Annapolis."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/933031.html

Gazans' Passage to Mecca Seen as an Insult to Abbas
Egypt and Saudi Arabia's cooperation with Hamas to allow 2,000 people to leave Gaza last week for a pilgrimage to Mecca is causing local and international friction.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/11/world/middleeast/11mideast.html?ex=1355029200& en=9e9165274b7b1524&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Israeli anti-Arab racism 'rises'
An Israeli civil rights group has said racism against Arab citizens of Israel has risen sharply in the past year. In a report, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said expression of anti-Arab views had doubled, and racist incidents had increased by 26%. Christian or Muslim Arab citizens of Israel make up 20% of the population. But the civil rights quoted polls suggesting half of Jewish Israelis do not believe Arab citizens of Israel should have equal rights.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7136068.stm

Turkey is committed to Palestinian industrial project.
The General Turkish council to Jerusalem Orogan Ozur, stated on Monday that preparations are well underway to start the implementation of an agreement signed in mid-November in Ankara between Israel, Palestine and Turkey.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51948

Israeli human rights groups defend 'tattling'
Many Israelis often berate Israeli rights organizations for reporting alleged violations to international institutions. Physicians for Human Rights: ' We prefer to do our dirty laundry at home, but if there is no washing machine we go to the laundromat'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3481233,00.html

Artists add protest work to Bethlehem's wall
A little girl with pigtails in a pink dress pats down an Israeli soldier standing spread-eagle against the wall. Down the road, another soldier has stopped a donkey for questioning and is checking its ID. Nearby, a large rat holding a slingshot appears ready to launch a few stones as he gazes up at Israel's towering concrete wall separating Bethlehem from Israel.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/world/story/22919.html

Human rights activists protest at New York store owned by settler leader
A group of boisterous protesters confronted wealthy holiday shoppers along Madison Avenue in New York City this weekend, holding a rally in front of Lev Leviev's New York jewelry store.
http://rinf.com/alt-news/war-terrorism/us-israel-collude-against-iran/1956/

Bethlehem tourism looking up for Christmas
Tourism to Bethlehem has risen 60 percent in the run-up to Christmas, despite Israel's separation barrier turning the birthplace of Christ into a "big prison", its mayor said on Tuesday. In his annual address as the small West Bank town -- whose economy has been decimated by violence -- prepares for Christmas, Victor Batarseh said tourism to Bethlehem had grown 60 percent in the past three months.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071211/wl_mideast_afp/mideastpalestinianchristmastourism_071211123954

The first intifada 20 years later
The first Palestinian intifada (uprising or shaking off) erupted dramatically on 9 December 1987 after twenty long years of brutal Israeli military occupation. The Palestinians had had enough. Not only had they been dispossessed of their homeland and expelled from their homes in 1948 to make way for the boatloads of European Jewish immigrants flooding into Palestine on a promise of a Jewish state, they had been made to suffer the indignities of a people despised and rejected by the whole world. Sonja Karkar comments for EI on the anniversary of the beginning of the first intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9155.shtml

How Iran became a top Jewish issue. Is it still 1938?
"Rabin did not trust AIPAC," he recalled. "This is the root of it all. They knew these guys were hard-liners. So, when Rabin became prime minister, he wanted to yank their franchise. He read them the riot act."
http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c39_a1318/News/International.html

Rice Fails to Convince Lavrov on Iran
After seeing Rice, Lavrov told reporters: "It fully confirms the information that we have: that there is no military element in their nuclear program. We hope very much that these negotiations with Iran will continue."
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/12/10/016.html

War with Iran may be unavoidable: Israeli ambassador
"At the current rate of progress Iran will reach the technical threshold for producing fissile material by 2009," he told the British newspaper. "This is a global threat and it requires a global response. It should be made clear that if Iran does not co-operate then military confrontation is inevitable. It is either co-operation or confrontation."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847289613&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

US, Israel collude against Iran: Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff
Admiral Michael Mullen met his Israeli counterpart Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi and War Minister Ehud Barak in Tel Aviv on Monday, Israeli sources said.
http://rinf.com/alt-news/war-terrorism/us-israel-collude-against-iran/1956/