Israeli
settlers say they will not budge, no matter what's decided in
Annapolis
"We know the Arabs say
this is their land, but nobody can stop the will of God. We are
growing and growing and all the other nations are going out",
roared the Mayor of Beit El settlement, near Ramallah. And
Mayor Moshe Rosenbom, who was one of sixteen families that seized the
land to create Beit El on Palestinian land sixteen years ago, is not
alone in his fervor.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51693
Strong
repression continues in the Qalqilya as Israel army invades
Azzoun
When approached by the two
HRW's and questioned as to the reason for the invasion, one soldier
replied, "This is Israeli land…This is Jewish land. Go away".
These actions are suspected to be part of a strategy to garner
High Court approval for a four kilometre wall to be built along the
highway from Izbat Al Tabib to Kafr Laqif - a wall that will
effectively seal the main gate of Azzoun forever and impede travel
for Palestinians throughout the region - for which the markings
already
exist.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2007/11/23/strong-repression-continues-in-the-qalqilya-as-the-israeli-army-invades-azzoun/
Palestinian
villagers protest on Road 443
Residents
of a number of villages in the Ramallah area organized a protest
joined by a number of International and Israeli peace activists at
Highway 443, on Friday after the noon prayer.
Troops fired several rounds of rubber-coated steel bullets and tear
gas at the protestors, however no injuries were reported. For seven
years in a row, Israel prohibits Palestinians
from using this 200-mile road which is built on the land of
Palestinian villages, and allows only Jewish
settlers to use it.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51688
Israeli
settlers assault young Palestinian men at al-Hamra checkpoint,
southeast of Jenin
Eyewitnesses
reported that a group of Israeli settlers stopped a local car holding
a Palestinian license plate near al-Hamra checkpoint carrying a
number of young men. Settlers forced them out of the car at gunpoint
and started to beat them. Then they pushed them on the ground,
insulted them with offensive words and threatened to kill them. The
assaulted young men were taken to a nearby clinic and were treated
for light injuries after the settlers released
them.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51696
Arabs
and leftists overrun Jewish farm
[interesting
parallel-universe article] Arabs in the southern Hebron Hills and
leftists from the Christian Peace Task Force [Christian Peacemakers
Teams?] overran the agricultural area of the Maon Farm Friday
morning, uprooted 50 olive trees [most unlikely, but maybe this is
projection] and began to plow the fields until the army interfered.
The soldiers arrived within an hour after Jewish residents in the
area saw the invasion, and several Arabs and leftists were being
interrogated. The incident is the latest in a series of attempts to
[re]claim Arab possession of the area, although the Maon Farm has
been farming the fields for 10 years. [see following article for
history of the 'Maon Farm' and much
more]
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/136979
Book
Review – Dark Hope: Working for Peace in Israel and Palestine
by David Shulman
"I am an
Israeli. I live in Jerusalem. I have a story, not yet finished, to
tell." This is the opening line of David Shulman's powerful and
memorable book, Dark Hope, a diary of four years of political
activity in Israel and the Palestinian territories with Ta'ayush . .
. "It began some two weeks ago when Palestinians from [the
village of] Twaneh noticed a settler —almost certainly from Chavat
Maon, the most virulent of the settlements in the area—walking
deliberately through their fields in the early morning. Shortly
afterward the animals got sick and the first sheep died. Then the
shepherds found the poison scattered over the hills, tiny blue-green
pellets of barley coated with... deadly rat poison from the
fluoroacetate family.... The aim was clear: to kill the herds of
goats and sheep, the backbone of the cave dwellers' subsistence
economy in this harsh terrain, and thus to force them off the
land."
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/20856
Uneasy
neighbors in occupied West Bank
ARIEL/MARDA,
West Bank (Reuters) - The rolling hills inland from Israel's busy
coastal strip are dotted with towns and villages nestled under towers
rising above the olive groves. Look closely, though, and one sees
differences. Some towers are the minarets of mosques, others are
concrete lookout posts for Israeli troops guarding Jewish settlements
in the West Bank. These are uneasy neighbours and the future of the
settlers, who have built on land occupied by Israel in 1967, is among
the "core issues" Palestinians and Israelis must resolve if
they are ever to make peace in negotiations to be launched at next
week's U.S.-hosted Middle East conference in Annapolis,
Maryland.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/B716882.htm
CPT:
Hebron reflection: Which toys for which boys?
from
23 October: A common Eid gift for boys is a toy gun. Some are water
pistols; some shoot little plastic pellets; some are ominously like
the real thing. Palestinian children do not need to watch television
or play violent video games to become attracted to guns. Palestinian
children pass armed soldiers at checkpoints every day when traveling
to and from school. They regularly see armed settlers in the streets
between the settlements and the synagogue. For the Israeli
military, it appears that real guns in the hands of Israelis are
acceptable, but toy guns in the hands of Palestinian children are
unacceptable. A few weeks ago CPTers saw heavily armed Israeli
soldiers ordering Palestinian shopkeepers to remove the toy guns from
their shops.
http://www.cpt.org/hebron/hebron.php
Jailed
legislator calls for more attention to detained legislators
Dr.
'Omar Abd er-Raziq, former Minister of Finance in the Palestinian
government, called upon international and human rights organizations
to intervene to release the jailed Palestinian lawmakers in Israeli
detention centers. MP Abd er-Razeq, who is currently detained in one
of the Israeli jails, released his call last Thursday during an
Israeli military Court session at Salem's military base, near Nablus
saying "It is a shame that specialized justices are absent in
such a session," adding that this court is a "crime against
humanity, because those on trial are legitimate elected members of
Parliament."
http://www.imemc.org/article/51699
The
Gaza Strip: Disengagement two years on
Two
years ago, Israel completed its unilateral
withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. We all remember the intense media
campaign shamelessly portraying the settlers as dispossessed victims
of a bold move for peace. Among others, Harvard economist Sara Roy
argued that Israel's version of disengagement would bring disaster to
an already desperate Gaza. Today, we are witnessing emergence of an
unparalleled economic catastrophe in the Gaza Strip and with it, the
evaporation of the last remaining hopes for a Palestinian
state.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9118.shtml
Cancer
patient becomes 18th medical victim of Gaza siege in three
weeks
A 69-year-old cancer patient has
died after Israeli authorities refused him permission to leave the
Gaza Strip for treatment, medical sources said. Spokesman for the
Popular Resistance Committee, Rami Abdo, said that Ali Abdullah Awada
from the Nuseirat refugee camp died on Saturday morning, after
frantic attempts by his family to take him abroad for treatment
failed. He is the 18th patient to die during the
last three weeks because of the Israeli siege on the coastal enclave.
As well as the difficulty of getting Israeli permission to travel
abroad for medical treatment, hospitals in the Gaza Strip are running
out of
medicines.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=26456
Two
brothers killed by Israeli army in northern Gaza
after
the Israeli army opened fire on them near the Eritz checkpoint (Beit
Hanoun crossing). They were identified as Ra'fat and Talal Abu
Shraina, 40 and 41. Witnesses said that both Ra'fat and Talal, were
rushing towards their farm land after they were informed that the
Israeli army bulldozers were razing the
land.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51697
Breaking
news: Palestinian fisherman seriously wounded by Israel nazy fire off
Gaza coast
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Series
of internal attacks rip through Gaza, one boy injured
Local
medical sources announced that Fadi Abu Etawi, 18, was wounded with
shrapnel after a mysterious blast occurred overnight in the central
Gaza Strip refugee camp of aL-Buraij. A few hours later, a local
Palestinian charity organization was blown up in the nearby refugee
camp of Maghazi, leaving no injuries but damages to the charity
building. Nobody claimed responsibility. In Gaza City,
an explosive device was detonated in an abandoned room, just close to
the Aldaraj neighborhood's police post, leaving no
causalities.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51700
Islamic
Jihad demands that Hamas stop all political arrests
The
movement demanded explanations for the arrests of Mahmoud Hijazi,
representative of the National Struggle Front, and Mohammad Al
Zamily, representative of the Palestinian People Party, eight days
ago. Several other groups in Gaza slammed the
arrests and demanded Hamas to release all political detainees. The
National Action Committee in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza
Strip, stated that Al Zamily and Hijazi were tortured and that their
health conditions have
deteriorated.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51690
Checkpoint
Jerusalem Blog: Hip-hop makes a hesitant return to Gaza
RFM
and D.A. aren't giving up yet. The two Gaza rap
bands joined forces on Thursday night for Gaza City's
first rap show in years. "We wanted to do the show to show
that we aren't afraid," said Faisal Minshawi, one of the members
of RFM. Gaza hip-hop is more akin to the early
political rap of Public Enemy, N.W.A and Tupac. One of RFM's
best-known songs is a criticism of those who always blame Israel
and the U.S. for their problems and
never take a courageous stand.
http://www.kansascity.com/451/story/373824.html
5-minute
video – Gaza's Reality
Not new, but
here in case you missed it. Would you be able to live like
this?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15693.htm
Arabs
give boost to U.S. summit
CAIRO
-- Saudi Arabia and other key Arab
nations Friday agreed to attend a U.S.-sponsored peace conference.
The political risk for Arab nations is a meeting that produces more
rhetoric and picture-taking than it does timetables and other
measures needed to secure Israeli agreement to an independent
Palestinian state. The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and
Egypt, who are viewed by their populations as beholden to Washington,
worry that their images will suffer if emissaries fly home with few
or no Palestinian gains. That sentiment is particularly strong in
Saudi Arabia, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel
and is uneasy about sitting with Israelis at a
high-stakes
gathering.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-arab24nov24,1,1100628.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
Hamas
'shocked' at Arab endorsement of Annapolis
Hamas
on Saturday condemned a decision by Arab powers to endorse next
week's U.S.-hosted Israeli-Palestinian peace conference, saying the
talks would favour the Jewish state's policies rather than
Palestinian demands. Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri called the
announcement "a great shock for Palestinians because it opened
the door for direct normalisation with the occupation (Israel) amid
(its) continued escalation and aggression". "The
Palestinian people had awaited an Arab consensus for breaking the
siege," Abu Zuhri said in a statement, referring to a Western
aid embargo and Israeli military crackdowns on Gaza since
Hamas swept to power in 2006
elections.
http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL24663244.html?rpc=401&
Dismissed
PM Haniyeh demands that Arab states help lift the siege of
Gaza
Meanwhile, speaker of the
Palestinian parliament, Ahmad Bahar of Hamas, wondered angrily, in
reference to Arab states' acceptance of U.S invitations to the
summit, "I really wonder how come you comply with Washington's
invitations, while you never respond to calls by Gaza's patients, who
die on daily basis, due to the Israeli
siege".
http://www.imemc.org/article/51703
Top
Hamas official predicts wave of violence after Annapolis
Hamas
can make the rockets it fires at Israel much
deadlier by packing them with more explosives, a senior official in
the Islamic militant group said in a statement Saturday. The
official, Ahmed Yousef, made the threat just two days before the
start of a U.S.-hosted Middle East peace
conference in Annapolis. Yousef also said Israel has
rejected repeated truce offers by Hamas. Hamas, which refuses to
recognise Israel, is excluded from the Nov. 27
conference.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=927476&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1
Saudis
to join Mideast talks; Syria wavers
If
Syria's primary demand is met, that the conference also address the
dispute over the Golan Heights, Syrian land that Israel has
occupied since 1967, the conference could be the first chance in
years to begin a dialogue aimed at a comprehensive Arab-Israeli
peace. Arab leaders have taken the unusual step of uniting as one
bloc — they are generally a politically divided lot — to accept a
chance to address the Israeli-Palestinian problem, which they have
long said is central to bringing calm to the volatile Middle East,
and to helping ensure their own domestic security. There is a saying
in the Middle East, that there can not be war without Egypt —
but there can not be peace without Syria. The Syrians
know well the spoiler role they can play in the region and have used
that as leverage — knowing that the conference will not be as
credible if the chair for Damascus is empty.
Saudi and Syrian attendance was seen as
essential.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/24/world/middleeast/24mideast.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Annapolis
summit to address occupied Syrian lands, says Syrian foreign
minister
Syrian FM Walid Almo'alem
stated yesterday that the U.S has agreed to include the issue of the
occupied Syrian Golan Heights into the next week Annapolis's peace
summit. Almo'alem, however, maintained that Damascus is
yet to decide on participation, the Syrian News Agency reported.
"Syria will declare whether it will
participate, once it receives the conference's agenda", the
Syrian FM confirmed.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51698
The
hand that will rock Annapolis – by Zvi Bar-el
even
when Olmert states publicly that Annapolis should
be called a meeting and not a summit - that is, a forum at which no
substantive decisions will be made - Arab states still have good
reason to attend. That good reason is called Syria. Until this week,
Syria was still on the list of extremist states,
almost part of the axis of evil, even though it is not "formally"
included therein. There is one thing that Washington (and
Israel) will not easily be able to revoke: You cannot invite Syria
to Annapolis and the next day accuse
it of being part of the axis of evil. As matters look now, Annapolis
will be better for Syria than it
will be for the Palestinians, and this, too, is no secret to the
other Arab states. In fact, according to Washington's approach, which
holds that the Middle East is monolithic and that any movement in one
part of the region immediately affects another (one of the reasons
cited for the war against Iraq was that it would ensure peace
throughout the Middle East), it is precisely progress in the Syrian
arena that should take
precedence.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/927199.html
Devout
Muslims and Jews mull dividing holy Jerusalem
From
opposite sides of the wall that once divided Jerusalem, Israeli
Shlomo Yirmiyahu and Palestinian Yakoob Arrajabi watched in 1967 as
the Jewish state seized the Arab east of the city in a blaze of
gunfire.Now, as their leaders prepare for talks about peace, the two
devoutly religious men are trying to imagine the future of their home
town, which stands at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
and is treasured as holy by both. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
wants East Jerusalem as the capital of a future
state but splitting the city is a highly divisive issue for
Israelis.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUKNOA34802320071123?rpc=401&
Airtime
for Israel's Arabs
They make up
one-fifth of the population, but are rarely seen on TV. A programmer
adds shows and alters popular ones in a push to change that — A
children's talk show, produced by an Arab-run company in the northern
city of Nazareth, has aired weekly since late summer, albeit during a
daytime slot when viewers are scarce. In what may prove a riskier
television venture, Keshet Broadcasting is readying a drama written
by Sayed Kashua, a noted satirist, that offers a wry take on the
challenges and foibles of an Arab family loosely based on his own.
One subplot will be a budding romance between a Jewish man and an
Arab woman -- incendiary stuff for Israeli television. Even the
show's title, "Arab Work," walks the edge by playing on a
Hebrew phrase used to refer to slipshod
work.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-arabtv23nov23,1,6068697.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
Israel
lulled by the good life
Israel
is going through one of its rare periods of relative
calm. Israelis have flocked back to outdoor cafes and restaurants, no
longer so fearful of suicide bombers. The most important reason for
the new mood is the "success" of the barrier that has been
constructed to separate Israel from the West Bank
. In highly populated areas such as Jerusalem, it is
reminiscent of the Berlin Wall. . . The younger
generation, she says, is increasingly hostile to cutting a deal with
the Palestinians. The public has convinced itself that the withdrawal
of the small number of Israeli settlers from has been a disaster. The
Hamas coup has reinforced a stereotype that as soon as Israeli backs
are turned, Palestinians descend into extremism and
violence.
http://www.newstatesman.com/200711220030
Recipes
of the West Bank olive harvest
The
annual West
Bank olive harvest holds special significance for Palestinians.
Read recipes and stories about some of the traditional dishes enjoyed
in conjunction with the olive oil season. (You might also consider
getting some oil, olives, za'atar and other foods from Jenin
for yourself and for gifts at http://www.canaanfairtrade.com/
)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16530921
Leaving
home for the homeland
An increasing
number of Jewish Iranians are emigrating to Israel because
of growing tensions at home. Rory McCarthy reports from
Jerusalem
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2216067,00.html
Darkness
falls on the Middle East – by Robert Fisk
It's
difficult to describe what it's like to be in a country that sits on
plate glass. It is impossible to be certain if the glass will break.
When a constitution breaks – as it is beginning to break in Lebanon
– you never know when the glass will give way. People
are moving out of their homes, just as they have moved out of their
homes in Baghdad . . . the world in the
Middle East is growing darker and darker by the
hour. Pakistan . Afghanistan. Iraq. "Palestine
". Lebanon. From the borders of Hindu Kush to
the Mediterranean, we – we Westerners that is – are creating (as
I have said before) a hell disaster. Next week, we are supposed to
believe in peace in Annapolis. . . .
http://news.independent.co.uk/fisk/article3191532.ece
Debate
rages across U.S. on academic freedom
American
universities are engaged in a furious debate over whether
anti-Zionist academics should be allowed to teach Middle East
courses. In the most recent case, Nadia Abu El-Haj,
professor of anthropology at Barnard University,
a subsidiary of New York's Columbia University
, won a battle for tenure in the face of fierce lobbying
from several pro-Israel
groups.
http://www.thejc.com/home.aspx?ParentId=m11s19&SecId=19&AId=56753&ATypeId=1
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