After two years, Israel appoints Greek Orthodox Patriarch
More than two years after he was sworn in as the Greek Orthodox Patriarch in the Holy Land, Theofilos III on Sunday finally won the approval of the Israeli government, putting an end to a lengthy international saga with religious, political and financial elements. Theofilos took office under unusual circumstances. His predecessor, Irineos I, was ousted in May 2005 after allegations that he leased church land in east Jerusalem to Jewish groups interested in expanding their presence in the Arab section. The long-term leases enraged the church's predominantly Palestinian flock. Theofilos, 55, has said he will not recognize any land deals signed by Irineos. He has accused Israel of not recognizing him in an effort to extort his support for the lease of the property, which includes two hotels and several shops. [A Christian leader must be approved by Israel?]
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/935064.html

 
Twilight Zone / 'This village will be erased' – by Gideon Levy
The settler pogrom in Al-Funduk – About 500 people live in Al Funduq. It is a village that has not suffered any casualties and is almost without prisoners in Israeli jails - only stonemasons, grocers and garages that serve the settlers in the area. Five days after Zoldan was killed the village was under total curfew. Afterward, for another eight days, it was put under nighttime curfew. The settlers have to be appeased, don' they? The atmosphere in the local council building is heated. The secretary, Jaber, says that about 400 settlers stormed the village on that black Saturday night. Zakariyah Asade, coordinator of field activities for the Rabbis for Human Rights organization, who lives in the neighboring village of Jit, says that the soldiers illuminated the area with their flashlights for the settlers, so that they could sow their destruction more easily.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/934752.html

 
Move to the Galilee
By moving to Galilee, settlers will turn from national problem to a solution – to the demographic problem of 'too many Arabs' – One of the most well known arguments advanced by settlers is that it doesn't matter whether they would be evacuated or not – after all, once the struggle for Judea and Samaria ends, the battle for the Galilee will get underway. Based on figures published by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday, this argument is well founded. At this point already, 53.1 percent of Galilee residents are Arab, while only 46.9 percent are Jewish, and the gap has been growing consistently for a decade now. Those concerned about Israel's existence as a Jewish state cannot ignore this trend.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3482463,00.html

 
Israeli neighborhood in Arab E. Jerusalem haunts peace talks for second time in a decade
Har Homa is a political statement as much as it is a residential neighborhood, and has been a lightning rod for controversy even before it was built. Built on a hilltop known to Palestinians as Jebel Abu Ghneim, Har Homa is part of a network of Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem that ring Palestinian areas. Palestinians charge the Israeli goal is to cut Arab neighborhoods off from each other and stand physically in the way of making east Jerusalem the capital of a Palestinian state. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/16/africa/ME-GEN-Israel-Contentious-Neighborhood.php

 
At rally, Hamas vows never to recognize Israel
[that is, never to agree that the theft of Palestine was OK] More than 200,000 Palestinians rallied Saturday in Gaza City to mark the Hamas movement's 20th anniversary, where deposed Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh said that whoever declares he will never recognize Israel earns "the people's love." The crowd chanted: "We will never recognize Israel." Haniyeh said that Hamas is willing to negotiate with Fatah, but without the preconditions the rival party is demanding. In a televised message from Damascus, Hamas' political leader Khaled Mesh'al said: "Our people are able to launch a third and fourth uprising until the dawn of victory arrives."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/934798.html

 
Strangling Gaza – by César Chelala
It could, rightfully, be a cause of shame to the world. But the world, besieged by violence and injustice, hardly notices it. The people of Gaza, 1.4 million of them, are slowly and purposely being deprived of basic foods and medicines by the so called civilized countries in the West and there is hardly a protest. And all this happens because the people in Gaza want to be free and independent. Never mind that in the process children and innocent civilians are killed or families dispossessed.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/12/14/5844/

 
Qassam strikes Negev home; toddler lightly hurt
Palestinian militants fired a Qassam rocket that hit a kibbutz home south of the city of Ashkelon on Sunday, lightly hurting a two-year-old boy and causing his mother and six bystanders to go into shock. Both mother and child were evacuated to the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/935028.html

 
Bring us war in Gaza – by Zvi Bar'el
In the end, we will enter Gaza. Not because a 'major blow' or 'wide-scale operation' can really convince a million and a half people living under siege conditions and poverty that they have nothing left to lose and it is worthwhile to rebel against Hamas. This sense of helplessness already exists in any case. For this purpose, unbearable sanctions have been imposed, which are again based on the same distorted conception that failed in Lebanon. The IDF's reentry to the Strip, with all its armor and aerial might, assumes that this time the result will be different - without a convincing explanation.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/934786.html

 
500 Hajj pilgrims leave Gaza Strip through Erez Crossing on Sunday
The convoy will travel through Israel to the West Bank city of Jericho, then onward to Jordan and finally Saudi Arabia by air, the Palestinian Civil Affairs office said. Another 400 are scheduled to leave Sunday afternoon or Monday morning.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=26791

 
Egyptian security forces discover tunnels under border with Gaza Strip
which they say are used for smuggling weapons, although no weapons or people were found in them. The Egyptian officials said they found the tunnels near a school, and destroyed them.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=26799

 
Gush Shalom: A call from Gaza –  Break the siege!
Dr. Sarraj, well-known psychiatrist and human rights activist, lives in the Strip. He has come to Tel-Aviv to discuss with Israeli peace activists protest and people-to-people actions. This is what he reported: Local water is undrinkable. Israel does not let in bottled water. Nor does Israel allow the importation of water pumps. There is no cement. When there is a hole in the ceiling, it cannot be repaired. It is impossible to go on building the children's hospital which has been begun. A medical instrument that goes out of order cannot be repaired, for lack of spare parts. For example: incubators for babies . . . All prices in the Gaza strip have risen sky-high - fivefold and even tenfold. Life is now more expensive in Gaza than in Tel-Aviv.
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/events/1197474415

 
To die with the Philistines? – by Uri Avnery
According to the Biblical story, Samson took hold of the central pillars of the Philistine temple and brought down the whole building upon the Lords of the Philistines, the people of Gaza and himself. A story of suffering, destruction and death. It may be about to repeat itself now, only with the roles reversed: the temple may be brought down by the Palestinians (who took their name from the Philistines), and among the dead will be the Lords of Israel. . . An immediate cease-fire can be achieved. According to all the indications, Hamas, too, is ready for it, provided that it is general [mutual].
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1197802393/ 

 
Palestinian NGOs pull plug on Madrid forum
A major meeting of non-governmental organizations and activists planned for December 14-16 fell into disarray when the Palestinian delegation announced its withdrawal just days before the event. According to the statement, an Israeli establishment delegation was imposed on the forum under pressure from the Spanish government bypassing the forum's international organizing committee. An Israeli civil society delegation, led by the Alternative Information Center (AIC), also withdrew, as did delegations from the occupied Golan Heights, Lebanon and the Basque region. Over a thousand people had been expected at the Forum for a Just Peace. In a letter to the Spanish organizers, provided to the Electronic Intifada, Omar Barghouti wrote that "What saddens and angers me the most is that a great, visionary forum was undemocratically, but successfully, overtaken by those who have always rejected its progressive agenda."
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9163.shtml

 
Hold the Spanish government to account!
Dear all - We are calling upon you to hold the Spanish government to account for their serious attack on civil society over the last week, which today culminated in the forcible closure of the Forum for a Just Peace, which was to be held in Madrid from the 14-16th December. The attack was driven by the Spanish government's desire to impose its political agenda on the conference. Finally, bypassing the international organizing committee the Spanish government arranged for a large number of representatives of Zionist organizations and apologists for Israeli apartheid to be secretly invited. The Zionist delegation included representatives of establishment Israeli political parties that have been historically (up to the moment) responsible for the ethnic cleansing, occupation, colonization and all the war crimes committed by the Israeli army against Palestinian and Arab civilians.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=24052

 
Saudi Arabia may not give Palestinians US$1.4 billion in promised aid
The kingdom of Saudi Arabia normally leads the Arab nations in donations to the Palestinians, but now, with the U.S. And Israel demanding that the money go to the unelected government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, rather than to the democratically elected Hamas government, the Saudis are hesitating on whether to donate the money. The Saudi hesitation has drawn a cloud over the otherwise optimistic leadup to the Paris talks, scheduled to take place on Monday. Of $421 million in support pledged by Arab nations for this year's Palestinian Authority budget, only $80 million has been delivered.
http://www.imemc.org/article/52012

 
European Union provides €433,000 to help facilitate Palestinian trade
The EU signed an agreement Saturday with the Palestine Trade Center and the Palestinian Shippers' Council, to help promote Palestinian trade with neighboring Arab countries and improve market access for Palestinian products. The project, which is worth €432,614, will last for 17 months. The first phase of the project will involve comprehensive research, to assess the capacity of, and identify improvements for, existing trade corridors into Egypt and Jordan.
http://www.imemc.org/article/52013

 
Donors have little choice but to pay up to aid Palestinians, but risks of failure are high
(AP) The international community is being asked to take a very expensive leap of faith in approving a huge new injection of aid to the Palestinians. Even if donor countries at Monday's pledging conference in Paris meet the request for an unprecedented US$5.6 billion (€3.86 billion) over three years, it may still not be enough to stem the economic decline in the West Bank and Gaza. The Palestinian economy can only recover if Israel eases restrictions on Palestinian movement, the World Bank says, but a reluctant Israel, putting its security first, has given no guarantees.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/16/africa/ME-GEN-Mideast-Donors-Dilemma.php

 
Palestinian supreme judge to attend Mecca conference
Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi, who is also head of the Palestinian Council for the Religious Judiciary, is taking part in the Eighth Mecca conference held between December 15th and 17th. Sheikh Tamimi is also expected to update Islamic delegations, who are currently visiting Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, on the dire conditions in the Palestinian territories.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=26794

 
Israeli army probe: 25% of soldiers harass Palestinians
The survey found that 25% of each 1.000 soldiers were involved in or witnessed harassment against Palestinians on the army checkpoints. A part of the harassment was physical.  The spokesperson asserted that the army decided, accordingly, to place the soldiers, aged 18-19 year-old, under intensive 48-hour-long special training. Israeli army harassment of Palestinians at checkpoint has been omnipresent since Israel intensified presence between Palestinian cities, towns and villages over the past few years.
http://www.imemc.org/article/52016

 
Israeli forces seize 24 Hamas members, leaders in Nablus raid Sunday morning
Hamas said Ahmad Al-Hajj, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), and Ahmad Dula, a Hamas official, were abducted. Others included members of the PLC and the Nablus Municipal Council,m and two journalists. Several faculty members of An-Najah National University were abducted, including Dean of Islamic Law, Dr. Khadir Sawandak, and two lecturers, Dr. Mustafa Shunnar and Dr. Ghassan Thuqan, along with Dr. Shunnar's sixteen-year-old son Muntasir.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=26793

 
Palestinian militants in Nablus halting attacks against Israel, going underground
A leading Palestinian militant told The Associated Press Sunday that he is calling off attacks on Israel and taking his group underground, after Israel refused to grant his gang amnesty. Abu Ghazalah, head of the "Knights of the Night" group, loosely affiliated with President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah, said this was part of a deal over the main Fatah offshoot, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. A Palestinian intelligence officer said this was the last Al Aqsa group still on the streets. Of the 45 armed men in his cell, 25 have been killed by Israeli security forces over the past three years. Abu Ghazalah said the rest would leave the Old City of Nablus. Abdullah Kumeil, head of intelligence in Nablus, welcomed Abu Ghazalah's move. "We trust them and their commitment to their decision," he said.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/16/africa/ME-GEN-Palestinians-Militants.php

 
Israeli forces seize five in Battir village near Bethlehem on Sunday
Israeli military vehicles stormed the village in the early morning and searched several houses before detaining the men, who were between the ages of the twenty and thirty. The raid brings the total number of Palestinians abducted from the West Bank to 29 on Sunday alone.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=26800

 
Room at the inn?
Some Bethlehem residents have accused Israel of discouraging tourists from entering the city, but Rafi Ben-Hur, senior deputy director-general of the Israeli Tourism Ministry, insists this is not true. "While the situation is safe we are actively encouraging Christian tourists, through travel agents, to go and visit the town. We see Christians as a bridge for peace between our two communities," he says. The ministry has also recently opened a tourism office at Rachel's Crossing, near Rachel's Tomb, the aim of which is to quicken the passage of tour coaches through the checkpoint by exempting them from searches. It has even introduced a policy of handing out candy to Christian pilgrims.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847330597&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

 
PA security forces seize six Hamas members on Sunday
Hamas released a statement saying that two were seized in Jenin, one in Jerusalem, one in Nablus , one in Salfit, and one in Jericho.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=26802

 
PFLP, DFLP, and Islamic Jihad call on Fatah and Hamas to reconcile
Three prominent Palestinian political factions issued a joint statement to the rival groups Hamas and Fatah on Sunday, calling on them to halt attacks against one another and to release political prisoners before the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha., and saying that the fighting impedes Palestinian and Arab efforts to end the state of division in the Palestinian territories. The statement also condemned the groups' mutual accusatory language, claiming that it has contributed to deteriorating conditions in the Palestinian community.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=26796

 
Where are the suicide bombers? – By Amira Hass
Today, unlike in the past, the atmosphere of support for suicide attacks – which was motivated mainly by the desire to avenge the many civilians that the IDF killed immediately after September 2000 – is not prevalent.  It is an accepted cliché among some so-called radicals that army attacks in which Palestinian civilians are harmed – which are routine occurrences that pass below the Israeli radar – always create 'the next suicide bomber'. The truth is that nearly every Palestinian has many reasons to be fed up with life to the point of suicide and thoughts of revenge, and those thoughts are not linked only to military attacks. Even without killing, the Israeli occupation regime kills – hope, plans, relationships, ways of life. The inescapable conclusion is not that every Israeli attack is likely to create the next suicide bomber.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=23929

 
Privatising Zionism
Increasingly, Israel is handing over its 'Judaisation' project to private firms - leading to a corrosion of accountability – For less than four dollars an hour, the Jewish teenagers removed furniture, clothes, kitchenware and toys from the homes and loaded them on to trucks. As they worked diligently alongside the many policemen who had come to secure the destruction of 30 houses in two unrecognised Bedouin villages, Bedouin teenagers stood by watching their homes being emptied.  When all the belongings had been removed, the bulldozers rapidly destroyed the homes. All those present, Jews and Bedouins, were Israeli citizens; together they learned an important lesson in the discrimination characterising civic life in the Jewish state.
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/neve_gordon_and_erez_tzfadia/2007/12/privatising_zionism.html

 
A celebration for Jews only
As things look at the moment, the festivities marking the 60th anniversary of Israel's independence will be held for the country's Jewish citizens only. The Arab community leaders have informed Ruhama Avraham, the minister in charge of the celebrations, that they are planning to boycott the events planned for the Arab sector. The state has only itself to blame. For 59 years it has discriminated against the Arab population (about half of which lives below the poverty line), treating it as a "strategic threat" and attacking its leaders. Now, as it enters its 60th year, it is trying to convince the Arab populace to join the Independence Day party.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/934784.html

 
They're not Jews
The Falash Mura question is the biggest lie in the history of Ethiopian Jews. Members of this ethnic group have become hostages thanks to some American Jews who want reconciliation with Afro-Americans over the injustices done to them. We, the Jews of Ethiopia, serve as a bargaining chip in this story. It would be a crude lie to claim that the Ethiopians who currently wait at transit camps are Jewish. Chief Rabbi Amar's ruling that those are kosher Jews is unconvincing. My efforts, as a pure Jew who fought hard to be accepted by society, are undermined when after 20 years we suddenly discover that there are thousands more who are seemingly "good Jews" as well – yet all those working to bring them here are lying about their religion.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3481241,00.html

 
Israeli Arabs fight to buy Moshav land
A plan by the Jewish town of Mei-Ami to construct a residential development has come under fire on Sunday, with residents of a nearby Israeli-Arab town demanding the right to purchase some of the new houses, Israel Radio reported. The plan involved the construction of 410 new homes, most of which are slated to be built along a route that runs between Mei-Ami and Umm el-Fahm. The attorney representing Umm el-Fahm's residents told Israel Radio that the area currently owned by Mei-Ami once belonged to an Arab village. He added that the Israeli-Arab town is suffering from a severe lack of land availability.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847352257&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

 
Canadian postmen deliver a message to the Occupation
Postal workers in Canada have voted to boycott the Israeli Occupation and to launch campaign to raise awareness of Israeli apartheid. The Ontario regional constitutional conference approved a boycott motion which also calls for sanctions on the apartheid state and for research to explore Canada's links to the Occupation. One issue likely to attract the union's attention is the vast number of weapons entering Canada produced by Israeli companies.
http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/1582.shtml

 
Merry Christmas, brave Gaza, from 'wimp' Britain
I have heard it said that, in British politics, joining Friends of Israel is a stepping-stone to ministerial rank. As someone who was brought up in the old-fashioned belief that allegiance to a foreign military power is a heads-on-spikes matter, I find this alarming. Why has the pro-Israel lobby been allowed to embed itself so deeply in our political life and thus at very heart of government? Its purpose is to promote Israel's interests in Parliament and sway British policy. Since when were our MPs paid or sworn to act the Israeli stooge and compromise our own national interests?
http://www.redress.cc/palestine/slittlewood20071215

 
Judge drops Al-Arian contempt charge
Dr. Sami Al-Arian is no longer in contempt of court, a federal judge in Virginia ruled Thursday, paving the way for the former University of South Florida professor to complete his prison sentence and depart for Egypt. In February 2003, Al-Arian was accused of acting as a fundraiser for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In December 2005, a federal jury in Tampa acquitted him on eight charges and deadlocked on nine others. In an agreement with federal prosecutors, Al-Arian avoided a new trial by pleading guilty to a charge he conspired to aid the Islamic Jihad. Prosecutors in Virginia subpoenaed Al-Arian anyway, the statement says, to testify about Palestinian charities before a grand jury. When he refused, he was held in contempt of court. Under federal rules, time spent jailed on contempt charges is not credited toward other sentences. Therefore Al-Arian's five-year sentence has been on hold since his contempt status began in October 2006. [A new grand jury can reinstate the contempt charge]
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/dec/14/me-judge-drops-al-arians-contempt-charge/