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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Exile
Palestinian family loses fight for Shepherd Hotel
JERUSALEM (Reuters) 2 Apr by Jihan Abdalla -- Israel's Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a
prominent Palestinian family could not claim ownership of a landmark and
now derelict building in East Jerusalem -- paving the way for a Jewish
settlement project. The Husseini family said the Shepherd Hotel,
now partially demolished, is a symbol of the Palestinian rights to their
land and to East Jerusalem, and criticized the court ruling. The
Shepherd Hotel was built in the 1930s and served as the home of
Jerusalem grand mufti Haj Amin Husseini, who fought the British and
Zionists. It was declared "absentee property" by Israel after it was captured and
annexed to East Jerusalem in 1967. The title was transferred to an
Israeli firm, which sold it in 1985 to Irving Moskowitz, a Florida
businessman and patron of Jewish settlers.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473422
Municipal court cancels demolition order of Silwan protest tent
JERUSALEM (WAFA) 2 Apr – An Israeli municipal court Monday
canceled an administrative order to demolish the protest tent in
al-Bustan area of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, said head
of the Committee for the Defense of Silwan, Fakhri Abu Diab. The Israel
West Jerusalem municipality has ordered demolition of 88 homes in al-Bustan, prompting activists to set up the protest tent to prevent the demolitions, which would displace hundreds of Palestinian families.
Several activities are usually held in the protest tent, including the
Friday prayers.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19441
Israeli forces shut down media launch in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 2 Apr -- Israeli forces raided the Jerusalem office of a university media institute on Monday, shutting down the launch of an
online media network and detaining employees. Plainclothes police
shut down the launch of the Hona al-Quds news site in the al-Khalidiya
neighborhood of Jerusalem's Old City, and confiscated equipment and
files, network director Harun Abu Arrah told Ma‘an. Two employees --
Adel Ruished and Mohannad Izheman -- were detained, and guests attending
the launch were blocked from entering.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473420
Settlement security raze farm land to build road
HEBRON
(WAFA) 2 Apr -- Jewish settlers from Karmi Tzur Monday
razed Palestinian agricultural land near Beit Ummar, a town north of
Hebron, to build a new road, according to a local activist. Yousef Abu
Maria, a member of the National Committee against the Wall and
Settlements in Beit Ummar, told WAFA that the settlement security staff
razed large areas of agricultural land and uprooted dozens of grape and
peach trees to open a passage for the use of Israeli army and
settlers. The new road will block access of area farmers to their land.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19440
Israeli forces demolish 10 Palestinian tents east of Nablus
NABLUS (WAFA) 2 Apr hhh– Israeli forces Monday demolished ten
Palestinian tents used as dwellings and animal barns in an area east of
Beit Furik, a town east of the northern West Bank city of Nablus,
according to the town’s municipality. It said that an Israeli bulldozer
protected by a number of Israeli
military vehicles stormed the area and demolished ten tents used by
farmers as dwellings and animal barns and confiscated two water tanks.
The municipality said that this is the fifth time the Israeli forces
demolish these tents.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19442
Shalabi: I am not a deportee, but among Gaza family
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 2 Apr -- Former hunger-striker Hana Shalabi said Monday she
does not consider herself a deportee, a day after arriving in the Gaza
Strip under a deal to end her detention without charge. "I am happy to
be among family and loved ones" in Gaza, she told Ma‘an from Gaza City's
Shifa Hospital. Shalabi,
from Jenin, ended a 43-day hunger strike on Thursday after reaching a
deal with Israeli authorities that she will be sent to Gaza for three
years before returning home. She arrived in Gaza on Sunday to an
official welcome by various factions and was transferred to hospital,
where her condition was described as no longer life-threatening.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473346
Abu Rajab house AKA Machpelah house
Settlers occupy Palestinian house in Al Khalil
ISM
31 Mar -- Early Thursday morning approximately fifteen to twenty
settlers occupied the house of the Abu Rajab family on Shuhada street
near the Qeitun checkopint in Al Khalil (Hebron). The settlers entered
the house under the protection of the Israeli army and border police who
blocked off access to the house and prevented Palestinians from passing
by the streets while settlers moved freely. Throughout the morning
settlers continued to enter the house carrying food, pots and pans,
cases of alcohol and other household supplies while internationals and
Palestinians attempting to come to the aid of the Palestinians still
inside the house were violently kept at a distance by the army and
border police. All non-settlers, including children from a nearby boys
and girls school were prevented from walking on the street in front of
the house, and were forced to take a long route home through Qeitun
checkpoint.
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/03/settlers-occupy-palestinian-house-in-al-khalil/
Israeli brutality: Violent arrests of Palestinians in Hebron and disappearance of Dutch volunteer
ISM 1 Apr -- A Dutch woman and several Palestinians
were violently arrested today during an attempt to reclaim a Palestinian
house at the entrance of the old city in occupied Al Khalil (Hebron). About 30 Palestinians and international
ISM activists from Canada, Finland, United States and the Netherlands
entered a Palestinian house that was taken over by Israeli army around
eight years ago. The re-occupation of the house was an attempt to return
the house [to] its rightful owner and a response to the takeover of a
Palestinian house on Shuhada street by settlers under the protection of
the Israeli army and border police ... As activists started cleaning the house and preparing to spend the
night there, the Israeli army prepared to invade the house with sound
bombs, skunk water and soldiers in full riot gear ... The soldiers then entered the house and
began to forcefully remove the non-violent protesters by punching,
hitting with batons, kicking, pulling people from their hair and
grabbing them from their throat before pulling them out of the house. "I was dragged out down a flight of
stairs by my ankle by a soldier," said an ISM activist from Canada. "The
soldier had his boot on my face," said an ISMer from Finland.
One Palestinian was beaten until he became unconscious....
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/04/israeli-
brutality-violent-arrests-of-palestinians-in-hebron-and-disappearance-of-dutch-volunteer/
Report: Israeli army orders Hebron settlers [to] evacuate
TEL AVIV (Ma‘an) 2 Apr -- The Israeli army on Monday gave Israeli
settlers 24 hours to evacuate a home they took over in Hebron on
Thursday, Israeli media reported. Israeli settlers seized the
house belonging to the Abu Rajab family and say they have proof they
purchased the property legally, the Israeli daily Haaretz said. Israeli
settlement monitoring group Peace Now said the owners claim that the
property was never sold and filed a complaint with police. Peace
Now says settlers are in any case not allowed to enter the house without
the approval of the Israeli defense minister for the purchase of the property, according to laws applied in the West Bank.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473418
PM to Barak: Delay Machpelah house eviction
Less than five hours after the Civil Administration ordered settlers who moved into the Machpelah house [the Abu Rajab family's house] in Hebron to leave the premises by 3 pm on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Defense Minister Ehud Barak Monday evening to delay the planned eviction in order to give the settlers
ample time to explore all legal avenues and prove they had purchased the house legally. The eviction order drew harsh criticism from rightist Knesset members, who called to overturn the "outrageous" eviction order.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4211524,00.html
Violence
Man dies of wounds from Israeli West Bank raid
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 2 Apr -- A young Palestinian man died on Monday morning from wounds suffered in an Israeli raid on his village near Ramallah last
week, his family told Ma‘an. Rashad Theib Shoukha, 28, was critically injured by a gunshot to the chest during a dawn raid on Rammun village on Tuesday.
His brothers Anwar and Akram were also injured in the raid. An
Israeli army spokeswoman said at the time that an Israeli soldier "was
stabbed during routine activity ... the soldiers responded to the
attackers in self defense, and three were injured." The military said on Monday the circumstances of the incident were still being reviewed.
Relatives said forces did not permit a Palestinian ambulance to evacuate the men,
and that they bled for hours before being taken to Shaare Zedek Medical
Center in Jerusalem. The army said the brothers received medical care
at the scene. Rashad's brothers suffered gunshot wounds to the neck and
thigh, villagers said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473237
Tadamon: IOF soldiers killed 30 Palestinians in March including 3 children
NABLUS (PIC) 1 Apr -- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) killed 30
Palestinian citizens in the past month, mostly in Gaza Strip, including
three children, the Tadamun foundation for human rights said in a report
on Sunday. A Palestinian woman in her thirties and a deported
ex-prisoner to Gaza were among those killed in the Israeli forces’
assassination spree, the report said. Hamza Zayed Jaradat, 12, [and]
Zayed Jomaa Jaradat, 12, from Wadi Al Reem near Hebron, were both killed
by the explosion of a suspicious object left by the Israeli occupation
army in their region. Jamal Abu Aram, 17, from Yatta town near Hebron,
died after confrontations with the occupation forces while [they were]
trying to re-arrest a freed captive released in the last prisoners’
exchange deal.
The report noted that the occupation forces continued their campaign of
arrests during March, where they arrested 300 citizens including dozens
of children, women, and many freed captives who spent so many long years
in occupation prisons.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k
Police: Man attacked in East Jerusalem
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 2 Apr -- An ultra Orthodox man was injured in an axe attack
near East Jerusalem's Damascus Gate on Monday morning, Israeli police
said. He was struck in the head by "an Arab suspect who fled the
scene," Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said. The man was
lightly to moderately injured and taken to Ein Kerem hospital, he added.
Police are searching the area and the investigation is ongoing.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473334
Gaza siege
3 children killed in Gaza fire amid power cuts
GAZA
CITY (Ma‘an) 2 Apr -- Three children were killed on Sunday night when a
fire broke out in their house in the central Gaza Strip, officials said.
The house caught fire as candles used amid power outages in Gaza lit a
fuel store in their house, civil defense officials said. Emergency
services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya identified the victims as Sabri
Raed Bashir and his sisters Nadin and Farah. Their mother also suffered
serious burns ... International aid group Oxfam said last week that 85
fires broke out in
Gaza in January and February due to electricity problems.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473277
Three children burn to death as Gaza energy crisis bites
AFP 1 Apr -- Three Palestinian children were found dead Sunday in a fire in their room caused by a candle being used due to lack of electricity in Gaza,
an emergency services official said ... A fourth child, aged six
months, was badly burned and taken to hospital, added Selmiya. The
children, aged two, five and six, were members of the Bashir family, a
relative said.
The Gaza Strip's sole power station shuddered to a halt a week ago,
http://news.yahoo.com/three-children-burn-death-gaza-energy-crisis-bites-211644795.html
Medics: 19-year-old killed in Gaza tunnel accident
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 2 Apr -- A 19-year-old man died in southern Gaza on Monday
after he fell in a tunnel under the border with Egypt, a medical
official said. Motaz Abu Jazar, from Rafah, worked in the Gaza
tunnel network which provides a lifeline of goods into the blockaded
coastal strip. He fell near the Salah al-Din gate on the southern
border, emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said. Officials
estimate at least 150 Palestinians have died in tunnel-related
accidents. In early March, a one-year-old baby died after falling into
the opening of a tunnel in southern Gaza.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473294
IOF soldiers open machinegun fire at residential quarters south of Gaza
KHAN YOUNIS (PIC) 1 Apr -- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened
machinegun fire at Palestinian citizens and residential quarters east of
Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, on Sunday morning, local sources
said. The PIC reporter quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the soldiers
stationed in Kissufim opened fire at a number of citizens in Farahin
area. He added that ambulance cars headed to the site of the attack to
evacuate casualties if any were suffered. None were reported so far.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k
Projectile explosion injures 4 metal workers in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 1 Apr -- Four scrap metal workers were injured on Saturday afternoon when a homemade projectile exploded nearby, in the southern
Gaza Strip. The workers were stripping metal at a site near the Rafah
smuggling tunnels when the explosion occurred, witnesses said. They were
transferred to Abu Yousif An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah. One suffered
serious injuries, medics said. [from PIC: ... four
citizens were wounded on Saturday evening in Rafah, also south of the
Strip, when a bomb they were trying to cut into small pieces exploded in
them. Local sources told the PIC reporter that
the workers, who collect and trade in scrap metal, were hospitalized
with one of them in serious condition.]
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=472964
Agriculture failing due to Gaza power crisis
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 1 Apr -- Agricultural producers in the Gaza Strip are
struggling with ongoing power cuts since the advent of a fuel-supply
crisis last month. Dozens of farms have reported poultry dying
in their thousands as heating systems fail, and veterinary medicines
have spoiled as refrigeration is cut off. Produce that also
depends on refrigeration has been damaged due to power cuts, with potato
farmers saying they have dumped thousands of tons of potatoes. Farmer
Hamdi Jirjawi told Ma‘an the failure of his 570-ton potato crop cost
him 798, 000 shekels, so he is unable to pay workers' wages.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473030
Video: Gaza fishing industry in dire conditions
Gaza
(Press TV) 1 Apr Ashraf Shannon reporting -- kkThe fishing industry in
the blockaded coastal enclave is feeling the pinch of lack of fuel like
other sectors in Gaza.
Thousands of Gazan fishermen were unable to earn a living in
recent weeks as their boats sit idle in the fishermen' pier.
Egypt's refusal to allow fuel into the Gaza strip has paralyzed the
already battered industry after years of Israeli blockade ... The ministry of agriculture in Gaza says fishermen are the hardest hit sector in Gaza due to lack of fuel.
http://presstv.com/detail/234135.html
Red Cross sends emergency diesel to Gaza
GAZA CITY (AFP) 2 Apr -- The
International Committee of the Red Cross on Monday began transferring
emergency fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip where an electricity crisis
has hit medical services hard. "This
morning we began distributing 150,000 litres of diesel to Gaza’s
hospitals and we will have completed the distribution by the end of the
day," ICRC Gaza spokesman Ayman al-Shehabi told AFP. The
Red Cross said last week it would distribute the emergency supplies to
help local hospitals deal with a dire shortage of fuel as Gaza suffers
through what residents say is its worst electricity crisis ever. The
150,000 litres of diesel will "help 13 public hospitals maintain
essential health services for the next 10 days," the ICRC said in
announcing the move last week.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?
xfile=data/middleeast/2012/April/middleeast_April29.xml
Israel drops leaflets into Gaza warning of no-go zone
GAZA
CITY (Ma‘an) 2 Apr -- Israeli planes dropped pamphlets in the southern
Gaza Strip on Monday morning, warning Palestinians not to enter a no-go
zone on its southern border. The leaflets, signed by Israeli forces
general command, include a map of the zone, a Ma‘an correspondent said.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said the leaflets were dropped in several
locations, and "reiterated to the citizens of the Gaza Strip to keep a
300-meter distance," from the border area.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473256
'Waqaf water' shows Malaysia's concern for Gaza's plight
KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) 30 Mar -- ...Concerned by the hardship faced by
Gaza residents, Malaysia''s Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF) is
out to assist the Palestinians via its ‘WaqafWater4Gaza’ (WW4G)
initiative. ‘Waqaf’ is a charitable donation in the form of property or
money or other valuable items. It is a form of continuous charity or
''Sadaqah Jariah. ’PGPF trustee Tan Sri Dr Shamsudin Hitam said 1.5
million bottles of drinking water (500 ml per bottle) will be given to
the Gaza residents as a symbol of Malaysia''s support for their cause.
http://my.news.yahoo.com/waqaf-water-shows-malaysias-concern-gazas-plight-062604589.html
UNDP grants al-Azhar University €175.000 to build research unit
GAZA (WAFA) 1 Apr -- President of Al-Azhar University in the Gaza
Strip Abdul Khaliq al-Farra signed an agreement with the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP), which will grant the university €175,000 to
build a Water and Environmental Research Unit, Sunday said a statement
by Al-Azhar. The agreement is a part of a German-funded project through the German
government-owned development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW),
added the statement.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19430
Israel starts military training for a new aggression on Gaza
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 1 Apr -- The Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Benny
Gantz, has ordered the start of military training for operations in the
Gaza Strip, Haaretz newspaper said on Sunday. The Hebrew daily quoted
Major Yariv Ben-Ezra, the commander of Battalion 50 of the Nahal
Brigade, which is stationed on the border with Gaza, as saying that the
infantry brigades are scheduled to complete their preparations for these
drills shortly. He pointed out that nature of resistance operations has
changed since the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit last October.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k
Political detention / Court actions
Imprisoned Fatah leader placed in solitary confinement
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 2 Apr -- Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti has been put
in solitary confinement in an Israeli prison after he sent a statement
calling for civil resistance last week. Prisons Authority
spokeswoman Sivan Weizman said Monday that as punishment for issuing the
statement, Barghouti "has been placed in isolation for a week and
denied visits and access to the inmates' canteen for a month." Barghouti's
lawyer Elias Sabbagh said that contrary to Israeli claims, the popular
leader called for non-violent, rather than armed, resistance, "which all
Palestinians agree on."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473239
IOF soldiers kidnap Palestinian child from his father's car
RAMALLAH (PIC) 2 Apr -- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnapped a Palestinian
child from his father’s car while en route to school in Nabi Saleh
village to the north west of Ramallah on Monday morning. Sources in the
village’s popular resistance committee said that the child Anan
Al-Tamimi was taken from his father’s car at the roadblock at the
entrance to the village. They said that the soldiers handcuffed the
schoolchild and took him to the nearby military watchtower.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k
IOF soldiers arrest 16 Palestinians including Hamas leader
RAMALLAH (PIC) 2 Apr -- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up 16
Palestinians in the West bank at dawn Monday including 55-year-old Hamas
leader Mufid Nazzal from Qabatiya village to the east of Jenin ...
IOF troops raided a number of Al-Khalil villages at dawn Monday and installed a number of roadblocks.
Eyewitnesses in Ramallah told the PIC that IOF soldiers stormed the
northern areas of Birzeit, north of Ramallah, in 20 armored vehicles and
broke into hostels for the Islamic bloc and arrested three students
after a big number of them fled the hostels on seeing the vehicles
approaching.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k
Hamas students: Members detained ahead of election campaign
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 2 Apr -- Israeli forces raided the dormitories of several
Hamas-affiliated university students in Ramallah early Monday, the
party's students association said. The association said the
raids followed the bloc's decision to participate in university
elections. Campaigning for the student election was due to start Monday.
Former president of the association Ayman Abu Aram and lecturer
Hamdan Saeed were detained from campus, a statement from the group
said. The group has not participated in university elections for
three years because it made members a target of the security services.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473412
Israeli court extends administrative detention of Nablus lawyer
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 31 Mar – An Israeli military court on Friday extended the
administrative detention of Palestinian lawyer from Nablus Yousif
Abdul-Haq for two more months. Seventy-year-old Abdul-Haq is a
lecturer at Al-Najah National University in Nablus. He is currently
detained at Ofer detention center near Ramallah.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=472688
61 detainees injured in Nafha
IMEMC 1 Apr -- The Palestinian Ministry of Detainees reported Sunday that 61
Palestinian political prisoners, held at the Nafha Israeli detention
camp in the Negev Desert, were injured after the army attacked them in
order to extract DNA samples from them.
http://www.imemc.org/article/63242
MP Haj Ali ends his hunger strike
RAMALLAH (PIC) 2 Apr -- Palestinian MP Ahmed Haj
Ali ended his hunger strike after promises to release him in the coming
days, according to Tadamon foundation for human rights on Monday ... The Israeli occupation forces arrested Haj
Ali, 74, the oldest administrative prisoner, on 7/6/2011 after storming
his house in Nablus, and held him in administrative detention. There
are two other detainees who are still on hunger strike in Megiddo
prison for the past 28 days refusing their administrative detention.
They are suffering from serious health conditions.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k
Israeli court detains Muslim imam for his sermons
NAZARETH (PIC) 2 Apr -- An Israeli court in Nazareth, north of Palestine
occupied in 1948, charged a Palestinian Imam with incitement and
support of a terrorist organization in his Khutbas (sermons). The
indictment list against Sheikh Nazem Abu Salim said that his sermons
encouraged "terrorism and violence" and that he used to distribute
leaflets in his mosque and in the city of Nazareth championing 'Jihad'.
Sheikh Abu Salim, who has been an Imam of Shihabuddin mosque in Nazareth
since 1997, was also accused of establishing a website called Muslim-48
in which he publicized his opinions.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k
Shin Bet: 13 detained over shooting attack
TEL
AVIV (Ma‘an) 2 Apr -- Israel's internal security service says a
Palestinian Authority intelligence officer and two Red Crescent
employees are among 13 people detained on suspicion of trying to attack
Israeli soldiers, Israeli media reported Monday. The Shin Bet
service says 13 residents of Amari refugee camp have been arrested over
an incident on Jan. 20 when shots were fired at Israeli soldiers during a
raid on Ramallah, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported. No one was
injured in the shooting attack, the report said. The Shin Bet said the
suspects planned other attacks on Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, the
report added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473511
Palestinian prisoner deprived of family visits for 12 years
RAMALLAH (PIC) 1 Apr -- Attiya Abu Mousa, a Palestinian prisoner in
Israeli jails, has been deprived of family visits for the past 12 years,
the statistics department at the ministry of prisoners said on Sunday.
It said in a press release that Abu Mousa, who has been in prison for 19
years, is from Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip and is serving a
life sentence in Nafha desert prison. The ministry recalled that Abu
Mousa was affiliated with a Fatah armed wing
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k
The PA and freedom of the press
AG sees 'no problem' with journalist's arrest
RAMALLAH
(Ma‘an) 1 Apr -- The Palestinian Authority attorney general on Sunday
defended his arrest of a newspaper reporter and vowed the PA had "no
problem" detaining journalists accused of breaking the law. Ahmad
al-Maghni told reporters that Yousef al-Shayeb's report on corruption
in the foreign ministry, published in January, "was an affront to
journalism" and contained many falsehoods ... The world's largest
journalists union, meanwhile, called for al-Shayeb's immediate release.
"The protection of sources is universally accepted as an essential tenet of
independent reporting," Jim Boumelha, president of the International
Federation of Journalists, said in a statement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473160
Palestinian court grants bail to detained journalist
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 2 Apr -- A Palestinian magistrate court ruled on Monday to release a journalist jailed for a week over his report in the Jordanian
press, on bail of 5,000 Jordanian dinars. Yousef al-Shayeb will be freed
while investigation of the case is ongoing, the court said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473333
Jailing of journalists 'not based on security complaint'
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 2 Apr -- The recent detentions of three Palestinian
journalists in the West Bank are not based on security complaints but
legal charges filed by individuals, the spokesman of the West Bank
security services said Sunday. "The Palestinian Authority's security
services have no security-related problem with any journalist," Adnan
Dmeiri told Ma‘an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473269
Palestinian arrested over Facebook comments
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 1 Apr -- The public prosecutor in Ramallah has arrested a
woman to investigate a recent post on Facebook, attorney general Ahmad
al-Maghni told reporters Sunday. Al-Maghni said Ismat Abdul
Khaliq posted a number of insulting comments which accused President
Mahmoud Abbas of betrayal and called for disbanding the Palestinian
Authority.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473163
PA frees journalist after questioning
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 2 Apr -- The Palestinian Authority freed journalist Tareq
Khamis after questioning him late Sunday, a spokesman for the PA
security forces told Ma‘an. Adnan Dmeiri said the reporter for
Zaman press was detained in al-Bireh and brought in for questioning in
connection with the case of Ismat Abdul Khaliq, another person arrested
this week. Abdul Khaliq stands accused of criticizing President Mahmoud Abbas on Facebook.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473222
Activism / Solidarity / BDS
Wadi al Nam marks Land Day by protesting Prawer Plan
Pal.
Mon. 2 Apr by Silvia Boarini -- On 30 March, over 2000 Bedouins as well
as Jewish and Israeli activists gathered in the unrecognized village of
Wadi Al Nam, Naqab (Negev), to mark the anniversary of Land Day. Wadi
Al Nam is located south of Beer Sheva and has been earmarked for
demolition by Israel. The village is currently home to roughly 10,000
people whose houses are now in the shadow of an electric plant and have
no access to electricity nor running water. The proximity to the plant,
and the toxic waste it produces, have also been singled out as the cause
of chronic illnesses in children and miscarriages in women. The Friday
demonstration was not only an occasion to commemorate Land Day but also
to keep the momentum going for the anti-Prawer Plan campaign. If
implemented, the Prawer Plan will ‘regulate Bedouin settlement in the
Negev’ by displacing close to 30,000 people.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/?p=4549
Israeli theater must be removed from London festival, top UK cultural figures say
Haaretz 1 Apr -- In an open letter published over the weekend, dozens of prominent
members of the U.K.'s theater and film industries protested the
inclusion of Israel's national theater, Habima, in an upcoming
Shakespeare festival, over what the signatories say was the theater's
"shameful record of involvement with illegal Israeli settlements."
http://www.haaretz.com/culture/
israeli-theater-must-be-removed-from-london-festival-top-u-k-cultural-figures-say-1.421895
Video: Anna Baltzer on United Methodist divestment
2 Apr -- Anna
Baltzer is National Organizer at the US Campaign to End the Israeli
Occupation and author of "Witness in Palestine: A Jewish American Woman
in the Occupied Territories." To learn more about this divestment
resolution being considered by the United Methodist Church in 2012,
visit www.kairosresponse.org.
http://blog.endtheoccupation.org/2012/04/anna-baltzer-on-united-methodist.html
France warns pro-Palestinian activists against West Bank trip
PARIS (Reuters) 2 Apr -- France urged pro-Palestinian activists, who
plan to visit Bethlehem this month in solidarity for residents of the
occupied West Bank, to avoid joining the operation given there was a
high risk of being detained or turned back by Israeli authorities. About
1,200 Palestinian supporters throughout Europe have bought plane
tickets for the visit on April 15 to help open an international school
and a museum at the request of a local organization called "Welcome to
Palestine".
http://news.yahoo.com/france-warns-pro-palestinian-activists-against-west-bank-151859828.html
Olmert disrupted by activists in Chicago (again)
EI 30 Mar by Maureen Clare Murphy -- Chicago gave former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
a proper greeting once again yesterday. Outrageously, the former
Israeli premier was invited to speak at the Chicago Council on Global
Affairs about 'peace'. The Palestine Solidarity Group-Chicago (with which I am an organizer) and the Chicago Movement for Palestinian Rights stated today: Approximately 100 Chicagoans, many of them students,
protested former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s appearance at the
Chicago Council on Global Affairs yesterday. Olmert’s talk, an exclusive
event for ticket-holders only, was also disrupted by a courageous
activist who attended the 45-minute speech focusing on the 'peace
process'.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/olmert-disrupted-activists-chicago-again
Political / Diplomatic
Hamas urges Abbas to form government
GAZA
CITY (Ma‘an) 2 Apr -- Hamas on Monday urged Fatah leader and President
Mahmoud Abbas to consult with factions and form a unity government.
Abbas
and Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal agreed in early February to form a new
government to prepare for elections. They decided that Abbas would head
the administration. Hamas leader Ismail Radwan told Ma‘an that
Abbas has not made any efforts to form a new cabinet, despite his
appointment almost two months ago. "Formal contacts haven't stopped but
in reality there is no real impetus toward reconciliation" Radwan said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473289
Haneyya calls on Egypt to restrain Israeli targeting of Palestinian prisoners
GAZA (PIC) 2 Apr -- Palestinian premier in Gaza Ismail Haneyya has
called on Egypt, in its capacity as the patron of the prisoners’
exchange deal between Hamas and Israel, to pressure Israel into abiding
by articles of the deal. Haneyya, during a visit to liberated prisoner
Hana’a Shalabi in Shifa hospital in Gaza on Monday, said that Israel had
violated articles of the agreement that banned re-arrest of freed
captives in this deal.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k
Abbas lays foundation stone of new embassy in Cairo
CAIRO
(WAFA) 2 Apr – President Mahmoud Abbas Monday laid the
foundation stone for the new Palestinian embassy in the Egyptian capital
of Cairo. The ceremony took place with the presence of senior Egyptian
officials, including the Foreign Minister, Minister of Culture and Mayor of Cairo
... This event came during Abbas’ two-day official visit to Egypt that
started on Sunday. Abbas met the chairman of the Egyptian Supreme
Council of the Armed Forces, Mohammad Tantawi, earlier on Monday.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19443
PLO downplays statements by Israeli official
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 2 Apr -- PLO Executive Committee member Saeb
Erekat Monday downplayed statements by Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor
Lieberman in which he said that the ball of the peace process was now in
the Palestinian court. He described to Voice of Palestine radio the
statements as "broken recorded" not worth responding to them.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19434
Arab nations 'to pay PA if Israel freezes tax revenues'
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 1 Apr -- Arab nations meeting at a Baghdad summit last week
pledged to compensate the Palestinian Authority if Israel freezes
delivery of tax revenues, a senior official told government media. Fatah
official Muhammad Shtayyeh told Voice of Palestine radio on Sunday that
nations agreed at the Arab League summit pay the PA $100 million per
month, roughly the sum of customs taxes collected by Israel on the PA's
behalf under international agreements. Israel froze the transfer of tax revenues to the PA twice in 2011, when
Hamas and Fatah leaders agreed to end their four-year division.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=473015
Israeli racism / discrimination
New round of Israeli soccer-related violence leaves Haifa star in hospital
Haaretz 1 Apr -- Hapoel Haifa’s Ali Khatib was hit in the face on Saturday night
during a melee that followed the final whistle of a soccer match against
Maccabi Petah Tikva. Khatib was reportedly knocked out by the
blow and was treated by Magen David Adom medics before being taken to a
nearby hospital ... Other eyewitnesses, along with footage taken by a television crew,
revealed that the attackers were Maccabi Petah Tikva’s goalie trainer
Ami Ganish and team official Yigal Meman.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/
new-round-of-israeli-soccer-related-violence-leaves-haifa-star-in-hospital-1.421869
Haaretz editorial: It's time to intervene against racism in Israeli soccer
2
Apr -- The State of Israel cannot allow a situation in which a sport
avidly followed by hundreds of thousands of people, among them many
youngsters, turns into an untreatable abscess of racism and violence ... In March alone, there were four recorded violent incidents linked to Israeli soccer ...
Only in Israeli soccer can a club block Arabs from joining its ranks,
and harsh violence is treated solely as a disciplinary infraction, to be
handled by the Israel Football Association's internal court.-
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/it-s-time-to-intervene-against-racism-in-israeli-soccer-1.422040
White tribe, black tribe / Yifat Ben Hay-Segev
Haaretz
2 Apr -- At a time when many involved in the discourse of race insist
that the ethnic gap in Israel is no longer important, and preach in
favor of all-embracing multiculturalism - this expression emerges,
revealing the duality of that discourse, based on inclusion and
exclusion at the same time -- The day after the
Kadima election, Culture and Sports Minister Limor
Livnat was asked how she thought Shaul Mofaz's victory would affect the
political map. She answered decisively that she thought Mofaz did not
stand a chance, because "the white tribe will turn to Yair Lapid and the
Labor Party." Public discourse in Israel is careful when
dealing with issues of race. The fear of telling it like it is is great.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/white-tribe-black-tribe-1.422043
Other news
Israel, Greece conduct joint naval drill amid ongoing tension with Turkey
Haaretz 1 Apr -- U.S. Sixth Fleet also participating in the exercise,
which includes simulation of attack on offshore natural gas platforms --
Israel, the United States and Greece are in the midst of a naval
exercise in the Mediterranean Sea, in what Greek media outlets are
saying is a message to Turkey following frayed ties with both Israel and
Greece.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/
israel-greece-conduct-joint-naval-drill-amid-ongoing-tension-with-turkey-1.421907
Hundreds of Christian pilgrims mark Palm Sunday in Jerusalem
AP
1 Apr -- Tourism Ministry expects 125,000 visitors during Holy Week and
300,000 throughout April a 5% increase from last year -- Hundreds of
Christian pilgrims marked Palm Sunday in the
Holy Land on Sunday, holding masses and processions retracing Jesus'
triumphant return to Jerusalem. Palm Sunday marks the day Jesus
rode into Jerusalem, where he was greeted by cheering crowds bearing
palm fronds, according to the Bible.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/
hundreds-of-christian-pilgrims-mark-palm-sunday-in-jerusalem-1.421947
Analysis / Opinion
Haaretz editorial: UN probe must take West Bank out of Israeli hands
31 Mar -- No UN investigative committee is needed to understand that the West Bank belongs to another people and its lands are not available to a Jewish and democratic state -- Not for nothing is the government going
out of its way to thwart the UN Human Rights Council's decision to investigate the settlements. The
map of "available" land for settlements, revealed in Haaretz on Friday by Akiva Eldar, shows that
while successive Israeli governments have trumpeted their desire to
establish a sustainable Palestinian state alongside Israel, they have
spared no economic effort or legal creativity to thwart this solution.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/un-probe-must-take-west-bank-out-of-israeli-hands-1.421844
Freedom for Jerusalem, the capital of Israel and Palestine / Akiva Eldar
Haaretz
2 Apr -- On the first night of Passover, the festival of freedom, the
song "We were slaves but now we are free" will waft from homes throughout the
country as Jews sit down to celebrate the seder. But every year, these
words lose some of their luster. Every year, more Israelis go from being
free men to slaves. They're slaves to the urge for power and the instinct of fear, slaves to the land, slaves who rule another people.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/freedom-for-jerusalem-the-capital-of-israel-and-palestine-1.422041
Is a college really what the Bedouin need right now? / Merav Michaeli
Haaretz 2 Apr -- ...But the Age of the Negev project will not solve the problem of the
deprivation of the Bedouin's living expanse, with the Prawer Law still
threatening the relocation of most of them - in a manner that will allow the state to register as much land as
possible in its name and concentrate the Bedouin on as little land as
possible, leaving many of them without property, without rights and
without a roof over the heads. And if the Prawer provisions go into effect, the plight of the Bedouin
women will be even worse. These women are the most weakened sector in
Israel. Time is too short to detail their unique statistics here, but a
legal report by Itach-Maaki - Women Lawyers for Social Justice outlines
how the law disregards them entirely and prevents many of them from ever
achieving the right to ownership, recognition of their children's
rights, and the right to shelter for those who need it.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/is-a-college-really-what-the-bedouin-need-right-now-1.422042 |
| For further information contact Shadi Fadda |
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