Israeli army hands out demolition orders to Palestinian homeowners near Bethlehem: The Israeli army handed out military orders to villagers from Al Khader village, south of Bethlehem in the southern part of the West Bank, to prevent them from continuing to construct their homes. Sources in the village said that the military orders include seven homes that are currently under construction. In addition to the seven homes, the Israeli army demolished a water well used by farmers in Al Khader, and told some farmers that their water wells will be destroyed soon.  Palestinians living in the Israeli-occupied West bank are only permitted by the Israeli occupiers to dig water wells five meters deep, while Israelis can dig 75 meters.

Demolition decimating Palestinian village: Al-Walajeh village was once a quiet but busy place. Just four kilometers from Bethlehem and 8.5 km from Jerusalem, its rolling hills filled with fruit trees, natural forests, and blooming vegetation made it a prime farming location. Easy access to large and consistent markets led its inhabitants to relative economic prosperity. Life was good. Today, however, al-Walajeh village is a different place altogether. "The demolishing of houses is a weekly event here in al-Walajeh," Sheerin Alaraj, al-Walajeh Village Council member, told IPS.

Another ill Palestinian dies after being denied exit from Gaza for treatment: Just two days after a twelve-year old Palestinian child died after being prevented by Israeli forces from exiting Gaza, a 21-year old man with testicular cancer has also died after being denied exit.  Nael al-Kurdi died a slow and painful death, the agony made all the worse because it could have been prevented.  He was one of eleven plaintiffs on a lawsuit challenging the Israeli closure of all entries and exits into Gaza, but the Israeli court ruled against him and six of the others.

Gaza siege puts public health at risk as water and sanitation services deteriorate warns Oxfam

Jerusalem's Israeli mayor announces plan for annexation of East Jerusalem: The Israeli mayor of Jerusalem (the city has two mayors: one Israeli, one Palestinian) Uri Lupolianski announced Wednesday that his municipal government would engage in a 'development plan' for East Jerusalem, a plan which Palestinian residents of Jerusalem claim is actually annexation of Palestinian land for Israel.

Report: Israel's 'prisoner release' is mainly prisoners whose sentences are nearly complete: The Ahrar Center for prisoner studies indicated in a report released Wednesday that the Israeli list of 441 prisoners set to the released to prove Israeli 'goodwill' in advance of a peace summit next week is limited to short term prisoners.  In addition, the 441 prisoners that are supposed to be released include no female prisoners, prisoners from Jerusalem, Arab-Israelis (Palestinians with Israeli citizenship), or long-term prisoners.

Barghouthi: Israel kidnaps more than it intends to release: Dr. Mustafa Al-Barghouthi, a lawmaker and the secretary-general of the Palestinian national initiative, on Wednesday said that the IOA is exercising the policy of "revolving doors", explaining that the number of Palestinian people kidnapped by its troops during the last two months was more than the number of prisoners it promised the PA to release. Israel arrests more than 20 Palestinians in West Bank: Israeli troops arrested more than 20 Palestinians early Thursday during military operations in West Bank cities of Ramallah and Nablus, Palestinian security sources said.

Israeli army orders five Hamas members to be held without charge: The Israeli army sentenced Khalid Tafesh, a Palestinian legislator with the Hamas party, to six months of imprisonment without charge. A resident of Zaa'tarah, Tafesh had been kidnapped by the Israeli army from his home a few days earlier. He was released a year ago after four years imprisonment in the Israeli jails and was elected as a legislator with the Hamas bloc.

Israeli Army Invades Azzoun, Eight Men Arrested: Eight men were arrested in the village of Azzoun today as a result of an early morning raid by Israeli soldiers. Israeli jeeps entered the sleeping village at approximately 2:30am, shooting sound bombs and ordering residents to evacuate their houses, forcing families with babies as young as 2 months old ...

Israeli military forces invade several parts of the West Bank, kidnapping four: Israeli Forces kidnapped a Palestinian from Deir Debwan town in east of Ramallah city.  Security sources reported that the forces intercepted a car bearing a Palestinian license plate at 1:00 am and kidnapped the driver, identified as Joda Adel, 28.  Adel was detained with three another civilians in the Beit El settlement, which was built on the central West Bank city of Al Bireh.

Hamas: Abbas's security forces have become occupation tools: Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, the spokesman of Hamas Movement in Gaza Strip, has warned Wednesday that the "bountiful" Israeli military support to the PA security apparatuses loyal to PA chief Mahmoud Abbas confirms beyond reasonable doubt that those apparatuses became agents of the Israeli occupation in quelling the honorable Palestinian resistance.

Palestinian security forces arrest four Hamas members in W Bank: Palestinian security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah movement arrested four members of Islamic Hamas movement in the West Bank on Wednesday, Hamas said in a statement.

IOF Arrests 4 Citizens in West Bank: Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested four citizens in the West Bank cities of Hebron and al-Bira. In Hebron, Israeli soldiers arrested three citizens as they rolled into the city and stormed the citizens' houses. In al-Bira, Israeli soldiers arrested a citizen in the city town of Deir Diwan, Palestinian security sources said. They added that the Israeli soldiers stopped a civilian vehicle inside the town, arresting the driver Thaer Adel 28 for no reason.

The youngest Palestinian political detainee leaves the detention camp: They say life is just stories someone did not have the chance to tell yet. With this in mind, I tried to manage the boredom I felt while waiting in front of the Israeli detention camp of Telmond for the release of Aisha Eliyan, the youngest Palestinian political detainee to be released by the Israeli army this week.

IDF holds massive exercise simulating conquering of West Bank town: In the biggest IDF drill regarding the West Bank area since 1999 and only six days before the top of the Israeli government is scheduled to arrive in Annapolis, OC Central Command infantry forces drilled conquering a West Bank city, Channel 2 reported Wednesday.

"A matter of revenge": Israel denying medical treatment to Gaza: "We had been waiting for an urgent referral to an outside hospital for the past six days, until he died today," said Dr. Ismail Yassin Monday, in response to the death of one more patient at the Gaza Children's Hospital. Tamer al-Yazji, a 12-year-old chicken pox patient, died on Monday on his hospital bed after his referral to an Israeli hospital had been delayed. EI correspondent Rami Almeghari talks to Gaza health care workers and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel about Israel denying Gazans access to health care and the reports of Shabak pressuring patients to inform in exchange for permission to travel.

Palestinian parliament convenes with Hamas lawmakers: The Hamas-dominated Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) held on Wednesday a session with Hamas lawmakers the only attendants. Only 28 lawmakers joined the session out of the 132 members, but Hamas says those who attended also hold authorization from 35 imprisoned Hamas legislators.

Another brick in the wall: Saving schools in the West Bank: The children of Fasayil have to take a dangerous three-mile walk to school – which is why villagers have been building a new one. But will Israel tear it down? Rosie Walker reports.

West Bank Campus Closes After Alleged Torture of Student: Classes at Birzeit University, in the West Bank, were suspended on Tuesday after escalating violence between Palestinian political groups on the campus.Tension has been rising between supporters of President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement and the radical Marxist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine over a West Bank security crackdown in which militants in the Popular Front, known as the PFLP, have been arrested by Fatah-dominated security forces.

Closed Israeli borders squeeze Gaza farmers: BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip — It's harvest time on the sandy hillsides of the northern Gaza Strip, but about the only one picking strawberries on a recent afternoon was 2-year-old Ala Abu Halima, who quietly smushed berry after berry into his mouth.

OBSTACLE COURSE: In West Bank, CheckpointsSplinter Palestinian Economy. Cut Off from Customers, A Farmer Gambles On Almond-Tree Market: QABATIYA, West Bank -- Striding atop a patch of brown earth he rents here, Sadiq Nazal plucks leaves from one of the 200,000 almond-tree saplings he has planted this season in neat rows across a sun-drenched plain. The Palestinian farmer has bet his nursery business on these saplings, but may never get them to market. "Imagine," he says, "if no one buys them."

Report: Syria has decided not to attend Annapolis peace conference: The London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat reported Thursday that Syria has already decided not to attend the upcoming U.S-sponsored Middle East peace conference to be held in Annapolis, Maryland next week. "Syria has decided not to attend the Annapolis conference next week, because the issue of the Golan is not mentioned on the agenda of the meeting," Army Radio quoted the Arabic-language publication as saying.

Rice defends upcoming Annapolis summit: In answer to allegations that the upcoming summit in Annapolis is nothing more than a photo opportunity for George Bush, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice countered that the summit will be dealing with core issues of the conflict.

Barak: Israel mustn't allow itself to be blamed if Annapolis fails: We mustn't allow ourselves to be blamed for the failure of the upcoming Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, because we didn't make enough concessions to the Palestinians, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday at the cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

Likudnik hawks work to undermine Annapolis: Despite near-universal skepticism about the prospects for launching a serious, new Middle East peace process at next week's Israeli-Palestinian summit in Annapolis, a familiar clutch of neo-conservative hawks close to the Likud Party leader, former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, isn't taking any chances. Hard-liners associated with the American Enterprise Institute and Freedom's Watch, a bountifully funded campaign led by prominent backers of the Republican Jewish Coalition, among other like-minded groups, are mounting a concerted attack against next week's meeting which they fear could result in pressure on Israel to make territorial concessions.

The Annapolis illusion: The mountain went into labor, then it gave birth to a rat ," so says the famous Arab proverb. This adage is likely to caricature the outcome of the  upcoming American-sponsored "peace conference," slated to take place on 27 November, in Annapolis , Maryland. Forecasting the failure of the Annapolis meeting is more than speculation. It is a realistic assessment of an event that is not intended to be successful, even if the declared desire suggests otherwise.

Palestinian source: Gaps remain on way to summit: Haaretz has obtained a copy of the joint document as discussed by the Israeli and Palestinian official representatives, and a Palestinian source told the paper he believes the gaps between the two sides are still great. The source, however, said he did not know what changes had been inserted since November 17, the day the document was dated. 

Rice: U.S. will try to close Israeli-Palestinian peace deal in the next year: United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday the U.S. will try to close a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians before President George W. Bush's term ends in January 2009, but she cautioned there is no guarantee of success.

Palestinian source: Wide gaps remain as summit nears: A Palestinian source has told Haaretz that senior Palestinian leaders are concerned by the weak PLO stance in a joint document currently being drafted with Israel, ahead of a peace conference next Tuesday in the U.S. The sources say that the document, a copy of which has been obtained by Haaretz, omits issues that were once presented as a Palestinian counterweight to Israeli demands, such as combating terror. (Click here to view a copy of the document.)

Al Barghuthi: Israel succeeds in imposing facts through Annapolis: In a press conference held in the central West Bank city of Ramallah, Dr Mustafa al Barghuthi, secretary general of the Palestinian national initiative, pre emptively stated Israel as responsible for the failure of the Annapolis peace conference. He accused Ehud Olmert and the Israeli government of misleading of the world and western public opinion in a bid to gain time to pass its plans on the ground   

The Turbulent Winds of the Annapolis Conference: From Israel to Palestine to Amman to Damascus, these are one observer's conclusions from travels through the Middle East capitals.
 
Hamas shrugs off US peace talks: From their isolated powerbase in Gaza, Hamas is already dismissing next week's US peace conference as a failure and says president Mahmud Abbas has no right to negotiate on behalf of all Palestinians.US President George W. Bush called for the meeting in the city of Annapolis, near Washington DC, in July, weeks after the Islamist Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip in a violent rout of forces loyal to Abbas and his secular Fatah.

Saraya aL-Quds calls for protecting the resistance in the West Bank: The Sarya aL-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad group, called today for ensuring protection for the Palestinian resistance fighters in the backdrop of recent Palestinian security services' crackdown on fighters from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

U.S. man refusing to testify in Hamas funding case jailed for 11 years: A former professor accused of providing money to Hamas terrorists was sentenced Wednesday to more than 11 years in prison and fined $5,000 for refusing to testify before a U.S. federal grand jury.

U.S. demands Israel crack down on illegal Iranian pistachio imports: American officials are urging Israel to crack down on Iranian pistachio nut imports which are reaching Israel via Turkey despite a ban on Iranian imports into Israel. U.S. Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Keenum said in a meeting with Israeli officials in Rome on Monday that the pistachio imports must stop, a U.S. official confirmed Wednesday.

Gaza: The Final Solution: On Sunday, 11th November 2007, at about four o'clock in the morning, the pharmacist Salim Madani is in Sufa, the only border post to the Gaza Strip that the government of Israel opens every now and then. They have been waiting for 14 day for a truck loaded with medicines for distribution in the Strip, still stuck on the Israeli side. They have been waiting for permission from the Israeli government so that they may move the load onto another truck so the medicines can move into Khan Yunis on the Palestinian side.

Olive Oil Season: A West Bank Kitchen Stor y :  Sandy Tolan, award-winning journalist, producer and author of The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East, has been reporting from the region for years. For the Kitchen Sisters, Tolan reports on this hidden kitchen story — the olive harvest season. I'd glanced at them through the rental car windshield hundreds of times before, while crisscrossing the West Bank on assignment. They were everywhere — along the ancient hillsides, from Nablus to Tulkarm, Ramallah to Jerusalem, Beit Jala to Bethlehem to Hebron: The ancient olive trees of Palestine.

Report of the distribution of the food baskets in the Gaza Strip during the summer of 2007

Photostory: The month in pictures

Three Nonviolent Protests in the West Bank Tomorrow : in Bil'in, at Apartheid Road 443 and Near Umm Salamuna: The Village of Bil'in is continuing its weekly protest against the Apartheid Wall and the confiscation of land by the Mattiyahu East settlement. The Supreme Court recently ruled that the wall must be moved west to give Bil'in back 250 acres of its land. However, the army thus far seems to be ignoring the order, and the wall still stands. The Supreme Court also recently rejected a petition to stop the construction of another Israeli settlement, Mattiyahu East, on Bil'ins land even further to the west.

Indymedia: New York Rights Activists Escalate Protests Against Leviev Over Palestine: The Madison Avenue jewelry store *LEVIEV New York* was again the site of protests by human rights activists angered by Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev's settlement construction in Palestine, and other abusive practices in Angola and New York City.