Action Alert! Jamaeen Non-Violent Demonstration to Protest Settler Arson
Last week, settlers from Kfah Tappuah settlement near the West Bank village of Jamaeen trespassed on the Palestinian villagers' land 2km from Jamaeen village, burning approximately 30 dunums of vital agricultural land hosting olive trees. The village of Jamaeen lies just south of Nablus and, like the many other villages in the Nablus and Salfit region, depends on olive production. Thus, the loss of trees was a substantial blow to the local villagers.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2007/10/30/action-alert-jamaeen-non-violent-demonstration-to-protest-settler-arson/

Bedouin Village facing demolition near Bir Nabala
In September this year, a village north of Jerusalem was divided in two when the Israeli government completed another section of the Apartheid Wall. The Israeli government intends to destroy the greater part of the village, which lies to the east of the wall in territory officially recognized by Israel as part of the Jerusalem municipality, to build housing, industry and transport facilities. The Apartheid Wall has separated the village members, leaving 45 people on land claimed by Israel and 18 on the other side in Palestinian territory near the village of Bir Nabala.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2007/10/30/bedouin-village-facing-demolition-near-bir-nabala/

Thirteen Palestinians fleeing Iraq drown after boat capsizes
Last weekend, 13 bodies, most likely of Palestinian refugees from Iraq, were recovered on the coast of Italy after their boats, carrying at least 127 persons in search of safety, had broken apart. These tragedies highlight the failure of the international community to protect Palestinian refugees.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9070.shtml

Israeli Strike Kills 4
Israeli aircraft hit a Hamas-run police station in Khan Yunis, killing at least four people, Palestinian security and hospital officials said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/world/middleeast/31briefs-israelistrike.html?ex=1351483200&en=96f9e9656259535d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Israeli rocket fire kills four Gaza policemen
In the evening of 30 October 2007, Israeli warplanes fired rockets at a police station in the southern Gaza Strip and killed four policemen in the police force of the dismissed government in Gaza. Israeli military sources commented on this crime by saying that "the air strike that [has been] relatively rare recently is an indication that Israel will not continue to exhibit restraint towards the firing of mortars at Israeli population centers." PCHR expresses concern over the Israeli escalation in the Gaza Strip, and calls upon the international community to intervene to stop these crimes. This week alone, the Centre has documented the death of 15 Palestinians in the Strip as a result of Israel aerial and land bombardment that disregards the civilian nature of targeted areas.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9073.shtml

Gaza Police: "12 officers killed in October"
The deposed Palestinian Ministry of the Interior on Wednesday announced that 12 members of the Gaza-based Palestinian police force had been killed during the month of October.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51201

IDF reservist paratrooper killed in Gaza clashes; four others wounded in the Strip and in Nablus
One IDF soldier was killed yesterday and four others were wounded in three separate incidents in the Gaza Strip and Nablus. The dead soldier was identified as Ehud Efrati, 34, a resident of Beit Yehoshua and a reservist in the paratroopers.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/918262.html

Israeli under-cover unit infiltrates Bethlehem, kidnapping one
An under cover unit of the Israeli army on Wednesday morning infiltrated the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, kidnapping one resistance leader.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51215

Israeli border police seize Palestinian youth near Hebron
Israeli border police on Wednesday seized a Palestinian youth in the old city of Hebron, in the southern West Bank.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51214

Nafha Society slams the abduction of two women by Israeli forces
The Nafha Society for Defending the Rights of Detainees and Human Rights issued a press release on Tuesday slamming the Israeli army's abduction of two women, from Qalaqilia in the northern part of the West Bank.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51191

Ambulance stopped at checkpoint in Hebron
Today in the old city of Hebron, an ambulance carrying a Palestinian woman to her home was delayed by Israeli soldiers for two hours at the entrance to the Israeli occupied area of Beit Romano. Traveling from Jerusalem following intensive surgery, the woman, Ms. Abuhaikal from Tel Rumeida, was forced to wait in the ambulance for a further two hours – unable to walk with 39 stitches in her abdomen – as Israeli soldiers denied the ambulance entry to the occupied area. The ambulance was forced to drive through the occupied zone to reach her residence, as Tel Rumeida is blocked to Palestinian cars with concrete road blocks – the only entries being for Israeli settlers through Israeli occupied zones.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2007/10/30/ambulance-stopped-at-checkpoint-in-hebron/

Israeli army invades Ramallah; shopping malls attacked
The Israeli army on Wednesday morning invaded the central West Bank city of Ramallah, attacking shops in the city centre before leaving.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51205

Israeli army launches Rafah incursion
A column of Israeli tanks, accompanied by a bulldozer, on Wednesday morning launched an incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, media sources and eyewitnesses reported.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51208

Israeli army invades village near Salfit, kidnaps six civilians
The Israeli army on Wednesday morning invaded the village of Qarawit Banni Hassan, located near the northern West Bank city of Salfit, searching homes and kidnapping six civilians.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51209

Hamas: Israel arrests its members after PNA releases them
The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said on Wednesday that Israel arrested its members as soon as they were released from the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) jails.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-10/31/content_6984178.htm

Settlers flood Palestinian orchards with sewage
Palestinian sources in Nablus, in the northern part of the West Bank, reported on Tuesday that Israeli settlers of the illegal settlement of Alon Moreh, flooded Palestinian orchards with sewage water causing damage to dozens of olive trees.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51192

Lawmakers condemn police's 'unrestrained use of violence'
Tuesday's events in Peki'in drew angry responses from many MKs, particularly from Arab political parties. One of the most harsh was that of MK Majali Wahabi of Kadima, who demanded the dismissal of Northern District Police Chief Major General Shimon Koren for the "unrestrained use of violence against civilians." Wahabi, who lives in the neighboring village of Beit Jann, also called for the appointment of an inquiry commission to investigate the incident.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=918891&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7

Arab MKs: Bid to bar trips to enemy states is 'racist'
Israeli Arab lawmakers responded angrily Wednesday to proposed legislation that would prevent anyone who travels to a country classified as an enemy state from serving as a Knesset member. The Knesset plenum approved proposals for two bills on this issue in preliminary readings on Wednesday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=918985&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7

U.S. ups pressure on Israel to quit W. Bank outposts
The U.S. has renewed pressure on Israel to evacuate illegal outposts in the West Bank and has asked Jerusalem to broaden efforts to help West Bank Palestinians in the run-up to the Annapolis peace summit next month.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/918696.html

Palestinian opponents to Annapolis: We'll elect new president
Palestinian 'opposition' to hold conference in Damascus next week to protest Annapolis conference. Senior Palestinian official: We're considering electing alternate governing body to PLO.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3465913,00.html

Islamic Jihad: Syria 'anti-summit' postponed until Annapolis date set
Islamic Jihad Deputy Secretary-General Ziad al-Nahla announced Tuesday the postponement of a conference planned by Palestinian organizations refusing to participate in the U.S.-led Mideast peace summit later this year.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=918598&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1

US may give $150 million to bolster Abbas
The Bush administration in the US has requested Congress to provide the Palestinian Authority with $150 million to bolster the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51187

Veteran Palestinian lawmaker urges peace
The Palestinian people have plunged into a deep depression with unemployment and poverty at record levels, and peace between with Israel is the only answer, a longtime Palestinian lawmaker said Monday. Palestinians are experiencing "one of the most difficult phases in our history," said Hanan Ashrawi, an elected member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and an active voice in the Mideast peace process.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071030/ap_on_re_us/palestinians_poverty_1;_ylt=Au8O5of4qfBMUNTi89oBoX0UvioA

Foreign force mooted as way to Palestinian deal
Western and Israeli officials are exploring whether sending an international force to the Palestinian territories could overcome Israeli security concerns to remove one of the main obstacles to peacemaking. Some advisers close to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert see a big international force as possibly the only way to satisfy Israel's security needs during the time it would take to create a Palestinian force able to combat and disarm militants.
http://wap.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L31326800.htm

Hamas postpones rival peace conference
A "Palestinian national conference" called by the radical Islamist Hamas to rival a US-sponsored international Middle East peace meeting has been postponed, Syrian-based Palestinian groups said Tuesday. The radical movement originally slated the conference for November 7 in Damascus but Palestinian organisations based in Syria said the conference would now be held at the same time as the US-sponsored meeting.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071030/wl_mideast_afp/mideastsyriapalestiniansdiplomacy_071030201745;_ylt=Ah_7d4pxWkByw8qnalqTYLeaOrgF

Hamas: Terawi's statements a 'declaration of war' on resistance
The West Bank arm of the Hamas movement on Wednesday branded statements made by the Palestinian Authority's (PA) Intelligence Chief, Toufic Terawi, a 'declaration of war' against the Palestinian resistance.
http://www.imemc.org/article/51207

Hamas denies ambitions to seize West Bank
Hamas leaders in the West Bank denied on Wednesday any intention to seize the territory, as threatened by a senior colleague in the Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iRfdhhGiHPutNOcKV12INonehTUw

Israel's Barak warns of nearing Gaza military operation
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday warned of an impending military operation in the Gaza Strip against Palestinian militants and rocket infrastructure. "Every day that passes brings us closer to a broad operation in Gaza," Barak told reporters in northern Israel while visiting the army's biggest exercise since last year's war in Lebanon.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071030/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictgazabarak_071030154243;_ylt=ArG1eHmIOP5wwTOHYNQb_MEUvioA

Gaza Strip's industry withers under increasing Israeli sanctions
GAZA: The economy of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip lies in ruins, hemorrhaging tens of million of dollars and clocking up record redundancies, experts said Tuesday as Israel froze power cuts to the territory. With imports limited to essential humanitarian supplies, Gaza has not exported industrial produce for months, and most expect this autumn's seasonal harvest to rot rather than reach markets in Israel and abroad.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=86387

Palestine Versus the Palestinians? The Iron Laws and Ironies of a People Denied
An iron law of the conflict over Palestine has been the refusal by the Zionist movement and its backers, first Great Britain and then the United States, to make room for the existence of Palestinians as a political community. This non-recognition is rooted in historical forces that predate the existence of the Zionist movement and the Palestinians as a people. Consequently, there is a tension between identity and territory, with obvious repercussions for the following questions: Who are the Palestinians? What do they want? And who speaks for them? This essay calls for a critical reappraisal of the relationship between the concepts "Palestine" and "Palestinians," as well as of the state-centered project of successive phases of the Palestinian national movement.
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=107&ItemID=14174

Desmond Tutu Likens Israeli Actions to Apartheid
In Boston, complaints were lodged with Old South Church in the weeks prior to the event, in an effort to halt the conference.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/29/4872/

Kris Peterson: 'Welcome To Gaza!'
As I discovered, getting into Gaza is a convoluted, Kafkaesque process and is virtually impossible if you are unable to provide a "good" reason to the Israel Defense Force.
http://palestinechronicle.com/story-10310751437.htm

Hamilton Declaration: An Open Letter to Abbas
We stress that any attempt to establish peace and security in the land of Palestine can only be successful if it is firmly based on natural justice and the principles of international law.
http://palestinechronicle.com/story-10310750739.htm

Palestinians Resist Media Demonization
"In order for democracies to become democracies, there needs to be a balance between the public sphere and the state," Baroud said.
http://palestinechronicle.com/story-10310751118.htm

Documentary: Occupation 101
http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2007/10/30/documentary-occupation-101/

Forty years on, people displaced from the Golan remain in waiting
The situation of tens of thousands of Syrian Arabs displaced from the Golan Heights forty years ago is still far from resolved. They fled their homes in disputed circumstances during the Six Day War in 1967, when Israel seized the Golan, a strategic strip of land overlooking the Jordan Valley and the Sea of Galilee. Since then, Israel has prevented the displaced from returning to their homes. In 1981, Israel formally annexed the area, but this annexation has not been recognised internationally. The Syrian government estimates that around 305,000 people remain displaced today, a figure which includes the descendants of those displaced in 1967. Forty years on, the Golan's internally displaced population has largely integrated in their current places of residence across Syria. But while they do not face particular humanitarian risks, many continue to express a wish to return to the Golan. The issues of the restitution of their property and compensation for lost or destroyed property are also unresolved. A more immediate concern is that many displaced Syrians continue to be prevented from maintaining ties with their relatives living in the occupied Golan. Regular contact between Syrians living in Israeli-occupied Golan and their displaced family members is not possible, with the exception of specific cases facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
http://wap.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IDMC/c3ee781bbf71bb52130ace59701aa64b.htm