Bedouin village faces demolition due to new Jewish neighborhood
Fifty years after moving to the Yattir area, members of the Alqian Bedouin tribe are in danger of being removed from Attir-Alhiran. The land is earmarked for a new Jewish neighborhood. In an effort to halt the eviction and enable the construction of a permanent community for them, villagers recently revealed a document, once classified as confidential, proving that it was the state that permitted them to settle on the land.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=925222&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7

PA security forces attack West Bank refugee camp
Hundreds of the Palestinian Authority's (PA) security personnel on Sunday attacked the el-Ein refugee camp, located in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Palestinian security sources indicated that the attack was part of a so-called crackdown against armed groups in the Nablsu region, adding that no group should consider itself immune from such operations. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) accused the security services of hunting down its members, and stressed the need to differentiate between resistance fighters and criminals.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51582

Gaza's Interior Ministry criticizes West Bank arrests
The Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry in Gaza on Sunday criticized the Palestinian Authority's (PA) actions across the West Bank, mainly the recent arrest campaign in the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51589

Seven Hamas members arrested across West Bank
Hamas media sources on Monday reported that Fatah-affiliated security forces had arrested seven members of the movement across the West Bank.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51605

Israeli Army Invades School in Azzoun
This morning an Israeli jeep containing 4 Israeli soldiers invaded the school grounds of the Azzoun High School - contravening international law. Jeep #401 entered the school grounds at approximately 8:30am, at the end of the second lesson, driving through the school yard, all the way up to the steps of the main school building.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2007/11/18/azzoun-school-invasion/

Severe Military Repression at Bil'in Demonstration, Members of French Parliament Present
Today saw a large demonstration in Bil'in against the apartheid wall attended by members of the French Parliament. 200 Palestinian, Israeli and international demonstrators marched from the village down to the apartheid wall, where the procession was met by the Israeli army. Extreme force was used to try and push the demonstration back to the village. Despite facing a barrage of tear gas, rubber bullets and sound bombs the protestors managed to stay in the area close to the apartheid wall for about an hour and a half. Four People, two Palestinians, one Israeli and an American, were detained by the army, but were later released.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2007/11/16/servere-military-repression-at-bilin-demonstration-members-of-french-parliament-present/

A wall runs through it
"Highway 45, the eastern ring road between Anatot and A-Zayim, was built with a confiscation order, before becoming part of the security fence route in the Jerusalem envelope. The road is divided in the middle by a wall, in order to separate Israeli and Palestinian traffic. The highway can be operated only when there is both Israeli and Palestinian traffic. This solution was also proposed by the security establishment in the Civil Administration's committee for highways and during the process of land confiscation. The National Roads Authority has completed only the Israeli side. The National Roads Authority must complete the highway on the Palestinian side in order to allow traffic, at this stage, to the villages of Anata, Hizma and A-Zayim.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/925404.html

UNRWA disappointed over Israeli approval of Gaza power reduction
The United Nations' Agency for Palestine refugees expressed concerns on Saturday over Israeli Attorney General Menahem Mazuz's approval of reducing electricity supplies to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-11/17/content_7096610.htm

Israeli Army Deny Hebron Man Passage to His Home
The 18th of November a Palestinian man was refused to pass checkpoint H56 in central Hebron because he was carrying a bottle of cooking gas to his home. Checkpoint H56 is situated on the border between the PA-controlled area in Hebron (often referred to as H1) and the area which is under direct control of the Israeli Occupation Force (referred to as H2). Palestinians living inside H2 are checked by IOF soldiers every time they enter the area, something that can be very troublesome and cause unpredictable delays.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2007/11/19/israeli-army-deny-hebron-man-passage-to-his-home/

Palestinian prisoners comprise half of inmates in Israeli jails
Palestinian security prisoners make up almost half of all prisoners held in Israeli prisons. Some 9,800 Palestinian security prisoners are incarcerated in Israeli prisons and the Prisons Service is expecting that their number will grow by nearly 800 to 10,580. Of the current prisoners, about 470 are residents of Israel, including East Jerusalem, and 81 are foreigners. The vast majority, 8,469, are residents of the West Bank, and 762 are from the Gaza Strip.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/925644.html

Hamas says ready to establish independent state if Israel ends occupation
The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said on Saturday that it will be ready to establish a Palestinian state if Israel completely ends its occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-11/18/content_7097319.htm

Olmert: Israel will freeze settlement activity and evacuate outposts
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday indicated that his administration would freeze all West Bank settlement activity and abandon all currently-existing illegal outposts.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51607

Israel: We won't negotiate at Annapolis
Senior government officials said Saturday night that negotiations themselves would not take place at Annapolis, but rather that the negotiating process would begin "immediately" afterward. No date or venue was given for these negotiations.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195127527605&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Annapolis - Dead on Arrival: 6 Minute Video
Jamal Dajani reports from the streets of Palestine. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators prepare for the Peace Conference in Annapolis. Why is the public on both sides not excited? Does the US have a hidden agenda?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za8N6B0cGzk

FM Livni's remark on Palestinian state angers Arab MKs
Arab MKs hit back Sunday after Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said that that the future Palestinian state would provide a solution to Palestinians worldwide - including Israeli Arabs - in their struggle for national expression. "It must be clear to everyone that the State of Israel is a national homeland for the Jewish people," Livni said, adding that the national demands of Israeli Arabs should end the moment a Palestinian state is established.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/925328.html

Talking in circles, Provocations and misunderstandings abound, but Israel as a state for Jews only remains the heart of the problem
While on his way to Jerusalem for another round of talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, the chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei (Abu Alaa) and members of his negotiating team were held at an Israeli army checkpoint and kept waiting for nearly half an hour. The affront, which may have been deliberate, infuriated the former Palestinian Authority prime minister, who demanded that preparatory peace talks be moved to a third country.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/871/re61.htm

Annapolis meet may end without joint declaration
Israeli and Palestinian sources have suggested the Annapolis peace summit could end without a joint declaration, as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas prepare to meet Monday in an effort to achieve a breakthrough in the drafting of the document.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/925408.html

Op/Ed: Israel rarely honors agreements
A festive day for peace: Israel is planning to announce a freeze on construction in the settlements as compensation for refusing to discuss the core issues. The Palestinians are ecstatic at all the good-will gestures Israel is throwing their way. First came the release of prisoners, now a freeze on construction, and the prime minister has already spoken with the settler leaders and informed them of the decision. They said it was a "difficult meeting," as it always is, winking at each other deviously. Undoubtedly, Israel wants peace. But a tiny detail seems to have been forgotten: Israel has signed a series of binding agreements to freeze settlement activity, which it never intended to fulfill. Of the 40 years of occupation, only during three has construction been stopped despite all the agreements and promises to do so. There is no reason to believe that Israel will behave differently this time.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/925054.html

Large Non-Violent Demonstration Tomorrow At Huwwara Checkpoint
There will be a large non-violent demonstration tomorrow at 3.30pm against Huwwara checkpoint, just south of the West Bank city of Nablus. Palestinians, joined by internationals, will deliver a message to the Israeli army: We have had enough of the seven years of curfew that have been imposed on Nablus.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2007/11/18/large-non-violent-demonstration-tomorrow-at-huwwara-checkpoint/

Photostory: Bil'in, the art of shaking off
In January 2005 the people of the West Bank village of Bil'in began holding weekly demonstrations demanding access to their farmlands that had been cut off by the Israeli separation barrier. During that time of popular and nonviolent struggle the response by the Israeli army intensified and grew increasingly violent. The separation barrier has stagnated the agriculturally-based economy in Bil'in and has become a symbol of Israeli oppression and colonization in the West Bank. Photographer Adam Beach documented the Bil'in demonstrations.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9058.shtml

Blair unveils huge jobs plan to bolster Middle East peace talks
Multimillion dollar package to create employment and trade: Tony Blair will announce an array of new economic projects today aimed at generating jobs for tens of thousands of Palestinians, revitalising the occupied territories and creating momentum for the peace talks due to start next Monday.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,2213166,00.html

Let them drive, Why can't Palestinian residents of Israel drive despite strict security checks?
Imagine a father, and imagine a physically disabled son. Imagine the need for physiotherapy, hospitalization, and even just going to the local shopping mall. Imagine that you have to do all that without a driver's license. This isn't the case because the father doesn't know how to drive, or because he is suffering from some kind of disability. It's not even because his license expired, but rather, it's because he's a Palestinian Arab.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3472829,00.html

Austrian bishops barred from Jewish holy site in Jerusalem for wearing crosses
Thirteen Austrian bishops were barred from praying at Jerusalem's Western Wall last week by Jewish religious authorities when they refused to take off their crosses, according to Austrian officials. On a planned visit on Thursday to the wall — the holiest place where Jews can pray — the bishops were given an ultimatum by the rabbi of the site: Either remove the crosses or stand behind a fence several meters (yards) from the site. The bishops refused the request and watched people praying from behind the fence, according to an Austrian official.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/12/africa/ME-GEN-Israel-Bishops-Banned.php

Arab family helps Jewish mother in West Bank
 "All of my belongings were out the door in 30 minutes," she told CTV News, describing her eviction from public housing. "I didn't know what to do." It was then that Ahmed Dabash, a Palestinian taxi driver, saw the commotion of police, cardboard boxes and Steqa in the street. She was crying, Dabash recalls, so he stopped and asked if he could help. He was the only person to do so. "At first, she didn't know I was an Arab," he said. "She was afraid." Yet Dabash convinced Steqa to look beyond what she may think of "the other side", and brought her from Jerusalem to his family's home in Soor Baher, an Arab village on the cusp of the West Bank, where few Israelis venture.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071118/arab_help_071118/20071118?hub=World

IT'S a miserable time to be a Gazan
Hopes were high in 2005, when Israel unilaterally withdrew its troops and 9,000 Jewish settlers, and the international community lined up to help the Palestinians make Gaza a model for their potential state.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/weekinreview/18erlanger.html?ex=1353042000&en=31fa16b77216f132&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Majority of Americans still support apartheid: Survey: Majority of Americans are still strong supporters of Israel
NEW YORK - Fifty-six percent of Americans view Israel as a strong and trusted ally of the U.S., with a similar number agreeing that Israel is serious about wanting to reach an agreement with the Palestinians.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=925637&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1

Cut Israel Off
It is long past time for American politicians to quit carrying water for the state of Israel and its powerful U.S . lobby. Congress' craven obedience to the lobby is a disgrace. America's strategic interests in the Middle East lie with the Arab countries. Israel is a strategic and economic liability. The U.S. government's slavish support of Israel brands us as a hypocrite and is responsible for most of the hostility toward the U.S.  Americans have been brainwashed into believing that it's the Arabs, and the Palestinians in particular, who don't want peace. That is a big lie. The Palestinians made an enormous concession when they agreed to settle for a state on 18 percent of Palestine. Saudi Arabia proposed several years ago a peace plan in which all of the Arab countries would recognize Israel in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories. The Israelis rejected it out of hand, just as they reject Arab efforts to have the Middle East a nuclear-free zone.
http://www.antiwar.com/reese/?articleid=11920

8 percent of new IDF recruits have a criminal record
The Israel Defense Forces is adopting measures aimed at preventing the downward spiral in the number of dropouts and rejected conscripts. According to data from the Human Resources Directorate of the army, 18 percent of conscripts drop out during their first year in the IDF and as many as 28 percent of youth eligible for conscription are exempt each year.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=925673&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7