Badil report on Palestinian refugees: 7 million refugees, additional 750,000 internally displaced
Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons (IDP) are the largest and longest-standing unresolved case of refugees and displaced persons in the world. In 2006-2007, there were approximately 7 million Palestinian refugees and 450,000 internally displaced Palestinians representing 70 percent of the entire Palestinian population worldwide (10.1 million). The forced displacement of Palestinians, both refugee and non-refugees, is ongoing in the OPT and Israel as well as in some host countries, in particular in Iraq and Lebanon. Israel refuses to allow the refugees displaced in 1948 to return due to their ethnic, national and religious origins. Military occupation of the West Bank, eastern Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip prevents the return of refugees displaced in 1967 and after.
http://www.imemc.org/article/50423

 
Israel's neo-Nazi gang: a symbol of a deeper malaise
The idea of Israel as a 'home' for the Jews is in fact the central problem afflicting Israeli society – and is ultimately responsible for creating the political and social environment that gave rise to the peculiar phenomenon of neo-Nazi gang activity. The foundation of the State of Israel institutionalises the worst forms of xenophobia. Israel came into existence through the forcible expulsion of the Palestinians. Its preservation has entailed not only the ongoing brutality against the occupants of the Occupied Territories, but also preventing the Arab Diaspora from having the right to 'return' and relegating the one and a half million Arab Israelis to the status of second-class citizens. This is the fundamental source of both racism and racial violence in Israel.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=22316

 
Ida Audeh: Israel takes aim at Palestinian families
Israel's practice of denying family reunification permits and denying entry to foreign passport holders (many of whom are of Palestinian origin) is part of a campaign of ridding the occupied territories (including East Jerusalem) of Palestinians and controlling those it is obliged to retain. Since Oslo, Israel has speeded up implementation of the policy it has followed even before the state of Israel was established -- grab as much land as possible with as few indigenous Palestinians as possible. . . In the summer of 2006, my husband and I had flown into Israel's Ben-Gurion airport after visiting his mother in Jordan . Soon my husband was called in for interrogation and told that we had to return to Jordan. The official who told us this, an Israeli with a New York accent, seemed a little embarrassed to be in this position. He could see from our US passports that my husband's roots in the area predated the establishment of the state he served. I'd like to think that he had the grace to be ashamed of the power he had, by virtue of his being a Jew, to deny another American entry to his geographic birth space, even for a visit
http://www.countercurrents.org/audeh110907.htm

 
Battle for resources in Hebron
Conflict between Palestinians and settlers over water and land is all too apparent in the hills to the south of the West Bank city of Hebron. Settlements often disconnect Palestinians from their land, limit their movement and restrict access to water supplies. The small village of Um al Kahir receives its water through a network of thin pipes once used by the military. These pipes are not sufficient for their needs and villagers are unable to refurbish them. Expensive water is brought in by tankers to supplement the existing supply. In contrast, settlements are connected to the mains network and even their chicken huts have running water and electricity.
http://www.imemc.org/article/50413

 
Israelis bury memory of horror
Jerusalem: Twenty five years after Christian militiamen massacred Palestinian refugees in Lebanon's refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila , Israel seems to have forgotten its involvement in the slaughter.  "Everything happened as if we in Israel wanted to wipe the massacre from collective consciousness and think as little as possible about the army or government's responsibility," said Middle East specialist Abraham Sela. Why did Sharon not see the risk? Why did Israeli soldiers not intervene to stop the massacres? How exactly were Israeli officials involved?  A quarter of a century later, the answers are still unclear. In Israel, the questions are rarely asked and no answers are likely to be forthcoming.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=172797&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17

 
Gideon Levy, Twilight Zone / It's better in Darfur
"It's better in Darfur. The whole world is interested in Darfur, and nobody is interested in us," sighs elderly shepherd Abdul Rahim Basharat (Abu Saker). This is the second time the Red Cross has come to him in recent days. The second time the Civil Administration, which upholds the law, has been seen here, in the middle of nowhere, bulldozing the miserable tent camps of the shepherds and destroying them totally.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/903676.html

 
Israeli forces bar movement of Palestinians between eastern and central West Bank
On Saturday, morning travel between eastern and central areas of the West Bank was halted. These restrictions, introduced for the period of the Jewish New Year celebrations, Rosh Hashanah, are expected to remain in place until Sunday. Eyewitnesses reported that civilians trapped at checkpoints were forced to leave their cars and continue their journeys on foot, some carrying their children in the fierce heat. As Israelis celebrate their New Year, Palestinians are celebrating too, as the holy month of Ramadan began on Thursday. And yet it is ordinary Palestinians who suffer as they are forced to walk in the late summer heat as they fast.
http://www.imemc.org/article/50432

 
Despite restrictions, 50,000 pray at Al-Aqsa
JERUSALEM: Despite age restrictions imposed by Israel and long lines at checkpoints, more than 50,000 Palestinians prayed at the Al Aqsa mosque here on the first Friday of Ramadan. Only men older than 45 and women older than 35, who had also obtained special permits, were allowed to enter the Old City and the mosque, Islam's third holiest shrine. The start of Ramadan coincided with the Jewish New Year, when Israel imposes a closure on the West Bank . Gaza, under Hamas rule, is under much tighter restrictions.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/14/africa/14ramadan.php

 
Living off scraps – the  West Bank's bitter harvest
Many of those who work at Ad Deirat are married men with children of their own – almost all of whom used to work in Israel legally before the intifada began in 2000, and even afterwards, illegally, by sneaking across the border until heavier police enforcement against those without permits made it impossible. "We have no honour," says Ibrahim Daoud, 30, a father of two who was caught while trying to get to a construction job at the Israeli town of Beit Shemesh. "We have three choices, to become a thief, a collaborator or to pick up garbage."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2961305.ece

 
One injured, nine arrested in Gaza Strip incursion
Palestinian medics said a 17-year-old Palestinian was seriously hurt in fighting when two small groups of Israel Defense Forces ground troops entered the Gaza Strip on Saturday.. Palestinian medics said he in a was in serious condition after being shot in the stomach. Palestinian witnesses said the boy was shot in his home in Beit Hanoun, and was not a militant.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/903592.html

 
Fasting for the right reasons
Ramadan is meant to be a month of reflection, so let's hope it will be just that. Before they were Fatah and Hamas loyalists, our leaders were Palestinian and they were united in one cause. It is never too late to reclaim our past. . . The Palestinians have had to endure the ills of the Israeli occupation for over 40 years, including during Ramadan. However, the burden of these hardships becomes that much heavier when they also must endure the inanities of their own leaders. What is the point of fasting in the name of God and Islam for 29 or 30 days, preaching faith and compassion with those less fortunate, only to curse fellow Palestinians and Muslims in the same breath?
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/story-091207222930.htm

 
Lack of Israeli government support delays release of Fatah prisoners
Olmert had planned to ask the cabinet on Sunday to release more prisoners, but the item was removed from the agenda amid fears it would not garner enough support, officials said. Plans to release more prisoners have already been delayed once.  "It's not coming up tomorrow. It's been put off because there is no agreed upon list," one government official said, asking not to be named.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/903776.html

 
Israeli forces seize imam, three sons in Fawwar refugee camp near Hebron
According to the Imam's daughter, Najla Asfur, eight Israeli soldiers ransacked the family's house, arresting 60 year old Sheikh Omran Asdur, and three of his sons. The sons were identified as Amjad, an accountant at the Qatar Charitable Association, Ayman, a nurse at Al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron, and Alaa, an officer in the Preventive Security services. The four detainees were taken to an unknown location. The Israeli military says it is searching for the fourth son.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=25339

 
Prisoners' rights group appeals for aid for detainee denied medical treatment
The Nafha society called on the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations to send medicine to Mahmoud Shabana, who is being held at Megiddo prison in Israel . Nafha says Shabana has severe pain in his back and left leg.  More than one thousand Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails suffering from various illnesses have been denied adequate medical treatment.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=25346

 
Hammad: Building PA institutions will remain in vacuum as long as occupation continues
Tony Blair is expected to hand out a plan to build the Palestinian Authority institutions in the next week meeting of the quartet. The quartet committee included the USA, the EU, UK and Russia. The Palestinian official said that with the continuation of the Israeli occupation to the Palestinian areas Building the PA institutions will remain in the vacuum. He added that Mr. Blair has a very limited influence since the US Administration are the main moderator of the Palestinian Israeli conflict.
http://www.imemc.org/article/50433

 
Erekat wants negotiators to address 'issue' of Jerusalem
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who was heading a delegation to South Africa on Saturday, expressed hope that the international Middle East peace conference planned this fall would bring about a series of meetings centered around the creation of a Palestinian state, Israel Radio reported. According to Erekat, the meetings should empower groups of negotiators who would discuss the core issues of territory, water, borders, the subject of Jerusalem and refugees.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1189411404755&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

 
Yishai: Shas will quit government if Temple Mount is relinquished
His ultra-Orthodox Shas party will leave the government if Israel relinquishes the Temple Mount as part of a peace deal.  Yishai was referring to the possibility of an agreement of principles being reached with the Palestinian Authority based on a plan recently proposed by Vice Premier Haim Ramon, whereby Israel would pull out of 70 percent of the West Bank, and would begin negotiations for a final-status agreement.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/903153.html

 
Not under God's sovereignty
The matter of Jerusalem is without a doubt the hardest nut to crack in reaching an Israeli-Palestinian agreement. The ideas resurfacing before the regional summit in November include the proposal to remove the "sacred basin" in Jerusalem from any sovereign authority, Israeli or Palestinian, and to leave supervision with representatives of the three monotheistic religions. Sovereignty, so it has been said, will be "in God's hands." however, this suggestion is far from providing an answer to the problem.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/903386.html

 
Nicola Nasser: Sustaining Palestinian division
Betting the survival of the PA as well as his own presidency on a faint hope that the U.S. Administration might deliver on their promises to revive the peace process with Israel, Abbas is risking a Palestinian infighting in his power base in the Israeli occupied West Bank in the hope that the continued outbreak with Hamas in the Gaza Strip and outlawing their military wings could help international friends to convince Israel to translate the "diplomatic process" he is conducting with the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert into an honest and serious negotiations over the final status issues, the only diversion to the prevailing status quo that could spare the West Bank a flare up of violence.
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/story-091307110523.htm

 
Zalman Shoval: The Israeli liquidation sale
The fact that all the relevant points appear in various media outlets in almost the same wording shows that this is not the product of one journalist's imagination, but rather, information that comes from someone who knows what he's talking about. Contrary to the past, Israel is currently willing to discuss all the "core issues" – including Jerusalem, borders, settlements, and refugees. In practice we are not talking about a peace agreement or even mutual compromise, but rather, a full endorsement of all Palestinian demands, coupled with the renunciation of major Israeli demands in the realm of security, diplomacy and Jewish life.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3448438,00.html

 
Sheikh al-Tamimi criticizes U.S. report on religious freedom
The report failed to tackle serious violations carried out by the Israeli authorities against both Christian and Muslim in the Palestinian territories. In Jerusalem, for example, while the Israeli authorities allowed Jewish extremist groups to break into the al Aqsa mosque and continued to dig underneath it, Muslims were being prevented from praying there. Likewise in the West Bank city of Hebron, Christians were being denied access to the Church of the Sepulchre. The Israeli authorities had also closed the Ibrahimi mosque (Tomb of the Patriarchs) handing over control of part of it to settlers who were transforming it into a synagogue. Attacks carried out by the Israeli authorities against mosques in Jerusalem, Hebron and inside the 1948 territories had increased.
http://www.imemc.org/article/50436

 
Israeli soldiers go to training academy to learn laser fighting
The commander of the academy Meager Mickey Finklar told the newspaper that the technology used in the academy training course is a new one, adding that the troops trained there are being prepared to fight the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance fighters in light of the experience obtained during the Israeli war on Lebanon in the summer of 2006. The city which was build for the training has buildings that look like  Palestinian and Lebanese ones
http://www.imemc.org/article/50438

 
Ellen Cantarow: Girls! Music! Palestine!
At one point as we drive north, a gigantic menorah rises like a fist in the middle of the road, announcing Israel's messianic dominion. The settlements sprawl throughout the district like so many California red-roofed suburbs, encircling all the Palestinian villages and towns. . . During camp hours everyone seems to forget the occupation. The unemployment of fathers, the long hours worked by mothers who must now shoulder the family's economic burdens; the omnipresent checkpoints; the friends and relatives in prison; other friends and relatives killed, are kept at bay by the pleasures of music.
http://www.counterpunch.org/cantarow09152007.html

 
Report: IAF targets North Korean nuclear shipment to Syria
An American Mideast expert spoke on condition of anonymity in order to protect his sources, who the report said are comprised of "Israeli participants" in the strike. He said the shipment was labeled as cement, but Israel believed it carried nuclear equipment.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/903398.html

 
Syrian envoy: Israel will 'pay price' for IAF action
In the Newsweek interview, the ambassador reverted to Syria's initial explanation of the incident, saying its defense systems detected the IAF jets entering its airspace and fired on them, causing them to dump their ammunition and fuel tanks in order to lighten the craft and escape quickly. No structures were damaged in the incident. He adding that unsubstantiated reports that Israel targeted some kind of nuclear North Korean-Syrian cooperation project were "absolutely, totally, fundamentally ridiculous and untrue." Neither side has explained what exactly happened in the early hours of September 6.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/903774.html

 
Kassem: Syria won't go to war with Israel
Hizbullah deputy chief says conditions not ripe for war between Syria, Israel. Adds that Hizbullah will not undertake attack against Israel as Syrian proxy
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3449569,00.html

 
Two Israelis lightly injured in West Bank shooting
Palestinians open fire at car traveling between settlements, flee scene, leaving man and woman mildly injured. Fatah's military wing claims responsibility for attack
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3449325,00.html

 
Israelis in OPT aren't civilians
Marsha Hurwitz, president of the Columbus Jewish Federation, in an Aug. 13 letter to the editor, wrote, "Suicide bombings in the Palestinian territories are most often carried out against Israeli civilians." This is untrue. There are no Israeli civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. There are only illegal Jewish settlers, who, by Israeli law, are also citizen-soldiers. They are heavily armed with fully automatic weapons. . . The Fourth Geneva Conventions say that all people have a right to resist the foreign invasion and occupation of their land, by any means necessary.
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/editorials/stories/2007/09/15/el_Fattah_SAT.ART_ART_09-15-07_A11_637T50N.html?sid=101

 
Two unknown assailants attack journalism office in Gaza
Palestinian sources reported that two unknown assailants attacked on Friday afternoon Al Watan media office in Gaza City, and sabotaged its property. This is the second attack against this office in one week. The attacked office belongs to Imad Al Efranji, a local reporter from Gaza. Al Efranji stated that this attack aims at silencing the free voices, and added that reporters in the Gaza Strip will not be silenced.
http://www.imemc.org/article/50426

 
Hamas security forces preparing for major IDF operation in Gaza
Senior Hamas official Nizar Rayyan said the group would kidnap Israeli soldiers if the IDF launched a major military incursion into the strip. He added the group was better equipped to face an IDF incursion since it confiscated weapons from Fatah during its June takeover of the Gaza Strip. Hamas troops training included firing automatic rifles and shoulder-held grenade launchers.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/903772.html

 
The Islamophobe who cried Islamist – Daniel Pipes, Giuliani's new adviser
Daniel Pipes is as much a scholar on Islam and Muslims as David Duke is a scholar on Judaism and Jews. Concerned with the interests of Israel above all else, he consistently defines Muslim-Americans exclusively as a function of their position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For Pipes, a "bad" Muslim is a Muslim who challenges his views on Israel and a "good" Muslim is one who agrees with them; in his "scholarly" lingo, the code terms are "Islamist" and "moderate" respectively. Everyone upon whom he bestows the "moderate" badge is either a lone wolf with no credibility in the Muslim mainstream, an apologist for Pipes' own radical views on the Middle East, or both.
http://www.iviews.com/Articles/articles.asp?ref=MM0709-3367