TODAY in PALESTINE

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Apartheid, Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing

Israel increases rate of home demolitions as peace talks chug along

In August, a month after peace talks resumed, Israel leveled another small Palestinian community in East Jerusalem, Tel al-Adassa, forcing its residents to leave to the West Bank. They lacked Israeli identity papers, but dated their stay in the vicinity to the 1950s.
Three other small Palestinian communities near here – Ras al-Akhmar, Hadidya and Khumsa – now face the imminent threat of being leveled like Makhul.
Link to csmonitor.com

Gaza to run out of drinking water by 2016!

The Gaza Strip is fast running out of clean drinking water. Unless immediate action is taken, the UN estimates that the underground aquifer on which Gaza relies will be unusable by 2016, and irreversibly damaged by 2020.
http://www.thirstingforjustice.org/?p=1861

Ariel settlement waste water damaging Salfit land

Waste water from Ariel settlement is causing environmental damage to natural areas in Salfit, a Palestinian researcher said Sunday. Ariel settlement fact sheet
Link to maannews.net

Local EU Statement on the construction of the Separation Barrier in the Cremisan Valley

“The EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah are concerned by the construction of the Separation Barrier, east of the Green Line, in the Cremisan Valley (Beit Jala). When completed along the planned route, the barrier will separate 58 families from their agricultural land and children from their school at the Salesian convent, as well as affect the religious site of the Cremisan Monastery.
link to reliefweb.int

Israel beefs up security after hole in separation wall

Israeli army beefed up security measures early Saturday near to a barrier separating the Palestinian town of Abu Dis and Al-Quds (occupied East Jerusalem) after scores of Palestinians made a hole in the wall. Israeli police said it detained 12 Palestinians
link to worldbulletin.net

Violence / Raids / Attacks / Suppression of protests / Clashes / Illegal arrests

Child Shot In The Eye In Hebron

Palestinian medical sources have reported that a seven-year-old child lost his right eye after being shot with a rubber-coated metal bullet fired by an Israeli soldier in Al-Fawwar refugee camp, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
http://www.imemc.org/article/66184

Jewish vandals smash tombstones in Jerusalem Christian cemetery

The four men, two of whom were settlers from the occupied West Bank, were throwing concrete blocks at about 15 tombstones when they were caught by policemen who were nearby, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Link to dailystar.com.lb

Israeli forces block entrances to Yabad village in Jenin

Israeli forces raided the village early Sunday from 5 a.m. to 6.30 a.m. and fired multiple sounds bombs. They subsequently razed olive orchards around the village.
Link to maannews.net

Photos and video: Israeli forces teargas Palestinian demonstrators at Intifada march east of Gaza

The demonstration followed a march from Palestine Square (al-Saha) organized by the Intifada Youth Coalition to commemorate the thirteenth anniversary of the second Intifada and protest Israeli incursions into the al-Aqsa mosque in occupied east Jerusalem.
Link to palsolidarity.org

Woman critically hurt in north Israel work accident

A Palestinian woman was critically hurt Sunday morning in an accident at her work place in an industrial zone in Caesarea in central Israel.
Link to maannews.net

MAG closes file in 2009 killing of Bassem Abu Rahmeh

Four and a half years have passed since the killing of Bassem Abu Rahmeh by a tear gas canister fired at him directly from a short range. The death was documented by three video angles, the state announced it is closing the case citing lack of evidence... Video
http://www.btselem.org/node/138805

Detainees

Ramallah protest calls for release of sick Palestinian prisoners

Another activist Mustafa Bargouthi --- who’s also a politician --- said that 5000 Palestinian prisoners are currently held in Israeli jails, with hundreds of them suffering from diseases. He added that there are particularly concerns about 30 prisoners who are in critical condition.
link to presstv.ir

Soldiers Attack, Detain, A Palestinian Journalist In Jerusalem

Thiab, from Tamra in the Galilee, was stopped by a number of Israeli police officers at the Bab Al-Hadid (Iron Gate), in occupied East Jerusalem.
http://www.imemc.org/article/66187

Negotiations / Diplomacy

Mideast peace process stuck on Palestinian state boundaries: diplomat
"Unless the Americans interfere or a meeting is held between ( Israeli) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the talks are useless," the diplomat said.
link to xinhuanet.com

Israeli-Palestinian talks said to be stuck over land swaps
The US-brokered peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority have reached an impasse due to an Israeli refusal to discuss land-swap and border issues, an Israeli newspaper reported Sunday.
Link to timesofisrael.com

The PA says it won’t allow an intifada against Israel in the West Bank
The sources told the London-based Asharq Al Awsat newspaper that the West Bank "won’t be the scene of chaos to serve any private agendas."
Link to jpost.com

Haiti, Grenada recognize Palestinian State
Grenada and Haiti join more than 130 countries that officially recognize the State of Palestine, the agency said.
Link to upi.com

Gaza / Egypt’s policy

2 soldiers accused of abusing Palestinian detainee
The two are suspected of beating the handcuffed and blinded Palestinian in a Gaza-envelope-area military base.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4434512,00.html

Hamas Concerned Over Losing Grip On Gaza
Link to therealnews.com

Egypt deports 9 Palestinians to Gaza
Egyptian authorities deported nine Palestinians to the Gaza Strip on Sunday, security officials said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=634058

Egyptian border restrictions take toll on Gaza Strip: UN
Palestinian students wishing to study in Egypt or abroad have also been unable to reach colleges.
Meanwhile, ordinary Palestinians, many of whom are reliant on UN aid, have seen prices for basic commodities shoot up.
Link to ahram.org.eg

Egypt border restrictions leave thousands stranded
A Gaza government official says only 14,000 Gaza residents have been able to cross into Egypt over the past three months, compared to 65,000 in the same period last year.
He says at least 5,500 people are stranded in Gaza, including medical patients and students trying to return to universities abroad.
link to miamiherald.com

Stranded Palestinian students protest at Rafah crossing
The stranded students rallied outside the Rafah crossing point, which Egypt opened Saturday after eight days of closure, and then patients joined, witnesses said.
link to xinhuanet.com

Palestinian refugees

Cruel exile for Syrian Palestinians
"They are confronted with limited access to shelter and employment, limited access to local health centres, lack of income and increased cost of living," he said. "The already overpopulated Palestine refugee camps in Lebanon are now feeling the strain on their limited infrastructure."
link to aljazeera.com

Activism / Solidarity / BDS

Israel denies Christian Peacemaker Teams entry to Palestine
Brenneman has been volunteering for a year with Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a faith-based organization that supports peacemaking in conflict areas. CPT has worked in Hebron for nineteen years, where their main activity is walking children to school to protect them from settlers’ attacks.
link to middleeastmonitor.com

SodasStream: the Israeli-run shop dividing Brighton
SodaStream’s headquarters are in Israel, and that their factory at Mishor Adumim is built on illegally occupied West Bank land. As a result, every Saturday afternoon for more than a year now, the shoppers on Western Road have been able to witness an ethical-consuming protest against an ethical-consuming shop
link to theguardian.com

Intel taking over Micron plant in Kiryat Gat
The move is part of a package deal between Intel and the Israeli government. In the government’s original 2011 offer of a grant to Intel amounting to about NIS 1 billion was intended to go mostly towards building a major plant in the country’s northern regions and hiring 2,500 new workers. Intel’s own factory at Kiryat Gat employs 3,000 workers.
http://www.haaretz.com/business/1.549524

Bradford groups get help for dancers, furniture and climate
Grants have been awar-ded to organisations and charities by Bradford on Avon Town Council A £500 cheque will go to Bradford on Avon Friends of Palestine, to help fund a visit by Palestine dancers next month.
Link to wiltshiretimes.co.uk

Former hunger striker due to get married in the UK
The soccer player from the Gaza Strip was imprisoned by Israel without charge or trial since July 2009, before undertaking a 92 day hunger strike to demand his release.
Link to maannews.net

Gaza’s Arab idol winner Mohammed Assaf in European debut
The Gazan winner of the Arab Idol talent competition, a rare symbol of Palestinian unity, is to give his first concert outside the Arab world in The Hague on Sunday.
Link to timeslive.co.za

Veolia, feeling pressure, launches attack on Israel boycott movement
In the 13 September letter, Moldawer launches a shameless and unfounded attack on the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement and one of its founders Omar Barghouti.
Link to electronicintifada.net

Same apartheid drama, on a new stage
Israel’s Ofer military prison, located in the West Bank and notorious for its harsh conditions, is not too far off from the setting of “The Island,” based on South Africa’s Robben Island, the prison complex where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.
link to 972mag.com

Reviews / Analysis / Opinion

Rouhani and Israel The Real Bomb - by URI AVNERY
Rouhani is the very opposite of his predecessor. If the Mossad had been asked to sketch the worst possible Iranian leader Israel could imagine, they would have come up with someone like him.
An Iranian who recognizes and condemns the Holocaust! An Iranian man who offers sweetness and light! An Iranian who wishes peace and friendship on all nations – even hinting that Israel could be included, if only we give up the occupied Palestinian territories!
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/09/27/the-real-bomb/

How 5 Countries Could Become 14
Slowly, the map of the Middle East could be redrawn: an analysis by Robin Wright.
Link to nytimes.com

US / Zionist Lobby

Livni to J Street: 2-state solution in Israel’s interest
"The words Israel and peace are not in contradiction, they must live together," she said. Yet "so do two other words: peace and security." (Forget Justice?)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4434499,00.html

Yachimovitch to PM: Forge ahead in negotiations, we’ll support you
Opposition leader Shelly Yachimovich speaking at the annual conference of J Street in Washington, turned to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said, "Take peace negotiations forward, take responsibility for the future of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. We will support you."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4434549,00.html

Other / Regional News

Rawabi: A Planned Palestinian City for the West Bank
Is economic prosperity the future of peace between the Palestinians and Israel? A multimillionaire Palestinian-American businessman thinks so. He’s raised $1 billion to build Rawabi, a brand-new Palestinian city on the West Bank with the hope that it will create prosperity and that peace will follow.
link to pbs.org

Lebanon tenders encroach on Israeli waters
Lawyers say Israel could lose territory if it does not object to the Lebanese energy exploration tenders in court, or even militarily.
Link to globes.co.il

Iran’s foreign minister: Holocaust is no myth
According to Zarif, Iran is not developing a military nuclear program and has no desire for one. Israel has 200 warheads and is a "source of aggression, instability," he said.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.549555

Syria will respect UN chemical weapons accord, Assad says
"We joined the international agreement against the acquisition and use of chemical weapons even before this resolution was passed," he said when asked if Syria would comply with Friday’s UN resolution.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.549541

Egyptian FM urges Israel to sign non-nuclear treaty
According to Egytian newspaper Al-Youm Al-Sabe’a, Fahmy mentioned Israel and Syria in particular in his call for Mideast countries to declare their support for a region "free from weapons of mass destruction, as well as from nuclear, chemical and biological weapons."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4434080,00.html

42 killed, 63 wounded in violence in Iraq
At least 42 people were killed and 63 wounded in violent attacks in Iraq on Sunday, government sources said.
link to xinhuanet.com

Shin Bet arrests Belgian citizen on suspicion of spying for Iran
Mans told the Shin Bet that in early 2012 he was asked to spy on Israel and was promised about $1 million to do so. He later received various assignments, including to forge business ties and sign deals with Israeli businesspeople, in an effort to secure him continued access to Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.549432

Netanyahu heads to UN: I will tell the truth amid Iran’s sweet-talk
Upon arrival in New York, Netanyahu’s entourage commented on the recent arrest of an alleged Iranian spy. "At the same time as it condemns terrorism on American soil, Iran sends an agent to collect intelligence for a possible attack on a U.S. embassy," Israeli officials reportedly said.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.549421

Foreign Language Oscar: Israel Submits ‘Bethlehem’; Palestine Goes With ‘Omar’
Palestine does not submit a film to the Oscars each year and Omar is notable for being the first feature to be completed independently, with 95% percent of the budget contributed by private Palestinian investors.
link to www.deadline.com

How Turkey blew its chance to lead this troubled region
Two years later, none of these good things has come to pass for Turkey, and it is very short of friends in the Middle East. It has managed simultaneously to make enemies of the four Shia powers to its south and east: Iran, Iraq, Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon – as well as the Sunni monarchies of the Gulf with the exception of Qatar.
link to independent.co.uk