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Source: PACUSA via El Taller International - Tunis

TO DAY in PALESTINE

Vendredi, 11 septembre 2009 - 21h01

Friday 11 September 2009

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Land theft and destruction/Settlements

Wild boar attacks persist in Salfit
Salfit – Ma’an – More than 100 wild boars descended on a farming area west of Salfit Saturday, destroying several small agricultural structures and crops, locals said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=216139

Settlers flock to new outpost on Shabbat eve
Some 30 right-wing activists on Friday flocked to a new outpost named Mitzpe Ami, set up near the West Bank settlement of Kedumim just before sunset. Following a riot which broke out in the area and after most of the activists were evacuated, a Border Guard force remained in the area to guard a small number of activists who decided to spend the night there.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3755165,00.html

Report; Israeli forces delay evacuation of latest settlement outpost
Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - Israeli soldiers postponed the evacuation of a new illegal settlement until the close of the Jewish holy day on Saturday, following reports of angry Zionist settlers throwing stones at the soldiers ... According to the Israeli daily paper Haaretz, "Until the Sabbath ends, the Border Patrol will provide security for the outpost."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=216012

Assad: Golan issue non-negotiable
In speech marking Syria’s Army Day, President Bashar Assad says, ’Occupation and peace are two contradictory matters’; expresses confidence that land captured by Israel decades ago will be handed back: ’The Syrian Arab Golan will remain Arab...and will fully return to the nation’
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3755265,00.html

Fayyad: East Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine
Bethlehem – Ma’an – East Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine, and the future state must have full sovereignty over it, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said near Ramallah on Saturday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=216090

Violence / Incursions

Settlers attack Palestinian vehicles near Nablus
Dozens of extremist Israeli settlers of the Shavot Ami illegal outpost, installed on Palestinian lands west of the southern West Bank of Nablus attacked dozens of Palestinian vehicles and hurled stones at them.Local sources reported that several vehicles were damaged, but no injuries were reported. Israeli soldiers and policemen were present in the area but did not attempt to stop the settlers. Ghassan Douglas, in charge of the settlements file at the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, warned of the severity of these attacks, and added that Friday attack came parallel with a statement issued by settler leaders in the West Bank calling for more violence against the Palestinians and their properties.
http://imemc.org/article/61257

Wild boar attacks persist in Salfit
More than 100 wild boars descended on a farming area west of Salfit Saturday, destroying several small agricultural structures and crops, locals said ... For years locals have attributed the boar attacks to the machinations of hostile nearby Israeli settler groups. One resident, Mahmoud Bani Namera, said he was sure that was the root of the most recent attack.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=216139

Detention

Israeli police arrest 154 ’illegal’ Palestinians
Israeli authorities detained 154 so-called illegal Palestinian workers Saturday, according to news reports. The Hebrew-language daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the 154 Palestinians were "illegally residing in Israel," and that some were deported to areas loosely administrated by the Palestinian Authority. The newspaper also said that several of the detainees were first taken for questioning, and that only some were deported across the Green Line. Twelve Israelis suspected of employing or aiding what the newspaper called illegal aliens were also arrested.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=216101

PICD condemns the re-arrest of journalist Mustafa Sabri
The Palestinian Security Forces arrested journalist Mustafa Sabri only three days after he was released from a Palestinian prison. Sabri was apparently arrested for his political affiliation. The Palestinian Institute for Communication and Development (PICD) slammed the arrest and demanded the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank to release him.
http://imemc.org/article/61255

Detainees in Salem detention facility conduct hunger strike
Palestinian detainees in the Israeli Salem detention facility have conducted a two-day hunger strike in protest to the ongoing violence practiced against them by the Israeli prison guards and the bad living conditions. One of the lawyers of the Palestinian Prisoners Society stated that the Israeli guards attacked recently room number 3 in the facility and beat up all the detainees in that room.The army claimed that the detainees were talking loudly, and that the soldiers wanted to stop the noise.
http://imemc.org/article/61256

Report: Israel kidnapped 312 Palestinians last month
A Palestinian report said that the IOF troops kidnapped 312 Palestinian citizens during last July at a rate of 11 Palestinians everyday.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7Rb6ui893tx1UOU8nCHg0Fc%2fJn0AB2leikRLLULmNj%2f8jIRso6IzdGgUCEdL81W9PE%2fojVtby%2fvfR14gcfN01dVPNFhZ0XpbC1gj7UFP4vqc%3d

Siege and Humanitarian Issues

MOH: Gaza warehouses out of supplies, ’medical disaster’ at hand
Gaza – Ma’an – Ministry of Health warehouses are running out of 80 different kinds of cancer, psychiatric and post-operative medications and 125 different kinds of medical supplies relating to thalassemia and dialysis treatments.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=216126

Amid the ruins in Gaza, Palestinians wait for rebuilding to start
Reporting from Jabaliya, Gaza Strip — Each morning, Thaeer Alsheikh sits beside the ruins of his family’s two-story house, destroyed by Israeli forces in the final days of the 22-day Gaza Strip offensive in the winter. He can’t explain why he comes. He doesn’t do anything while here. He says it just makes him feel better.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gaza-rebuilding1-2009aug01,0,6786050.story?track=rss

War Criminals
Torture in Israel and Physicians´ Involvement in Torture
Physicians for Human Rights-Israel - " Over the past year, PHR-Israel has held extensive correspondence with the Ministry of Health and the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) on the subject of the roles and responsibilities of doctors regarding the interrogation of detainees in general and interrogations involving torture in particular. As will be made clear in the attached Position Paper, PHR-Israel calls for the removal of doctors from facilities in which torture is employed, in order to protect them from breaches of medical ethics, and seeks to increase the awareness of medical communities regarding this issue. "

http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=34872

Solidarity / Activism / Boycott / Sanctions / Divestment
Jews plan Israel’s boycott
The JC has revealed plans developed by Jews For Justice For Palestinians (JFJFP) to cause maximum damage to Israel by extending boycotts.
http://www.thejc.com/articles/jews-plan-israels-boycott

Political developments
Mashaal: Hamas to commit to immediate ceasefire
Hamas politburo chief tells Wall Street Journal his organization is prepared to cooperate with any US initiative promoting peaceful resolution to Israeli-Arab conflict, if White House can secure settlement freeze and lifting of blockade imposed on Gaza Strip
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3755145,00.html

PLO closure in Tunisia part of campaign against Qaddumi in retaliation for accusations
Ramallah / PNN – The Palestinian presidency is closing the Political Department offices of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Tunisia. The move comes as part of efforts against Farouk Qaddumi, the PLO Executive Committee member who publically suggested that Mahmoud Abbas and deputy Mohammad Dahlan conspired to kill the late president Yasser Arafat. It was the broadcasting of those accusations that led the Palestinian Authority to target Al Jazeera last month.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6315

Report: Fatah to propose updated platform
Al-Watan daily reports leak of new platform draft to be voted on at Bethlehem congress next week calling for boost in ’fight against settlements, separation fence, Judaization of Jerusalem’; includes new clauses aimed at ending standtill in negotiations, such as tasking UN with handling of Palestinian-Israeli conflict if talks fail
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3755259,00.html

Saudi Arabia rebuffs US on ties to Israel
Following talks with American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal says his country is not interested in taking steps suggested by Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell until Jewish state accepts Arab demands to withdraw from all Palestinian territories
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3755188,00.html

The Conference (Hamas and Fatah)
Exile Palestinians arriving for critical sixth Fatah conference
Ramallah - The upcoming sixth party conference of the Palestinian movement Fatah saw the arrival of hundreds of the movement’s senior members-in-exile into the West Bank, officials said Saturday. Hundreds of other Fatah members from the Gaza Strip, controlled by rival movement Hamas, have so far been denied the right to attend the conference, which was last held in 1989. The two parties are at odds, although a reconciliation process is underway.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/279861,exile-palestinians-arriving-for-critical-sixth-fatah-conference.html

Official: Fatah personally threatened Hamas lawmakers
Senior Fatah leader At-Tayib Abdul Rahim personally threatened Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Legislative Council members with arrest, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum claimed on Friday. Barhoum said the Fatah leader threatened to arrest the parliament members if the Hamas-backed de facto government failed to allow Fatah members to leave the Gaza Strip for an upcoming Fatah conference in the West Bank.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=215963

Hamas says to arrest Gaza Fatah members upon return
GAZA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) — Gaza rulers of Hamas on Saturday vowed to arrest and prosecute Fatah members who sneaked out to the West Bank through Israeli-controlled borders. "Anyone who sneaked out from Gaza illegally and with arrangement with the Israeli occupation would be arrested and sent for trial upon return," Hamas Interior Ministry said in a statement.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-08/01/content_11809638.htm

De facto gov’t summons 29 Fatah delegates
Gaza – Ma’an – The Hamas-backed de facto government summoned dozens of Fatah members in the northern Gaza Strip for questioning on Saturday , Ma’an has learned.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=216104

Fatah activists sneak out of Hamas-ruled Gaza
Two dozen Fatah activists have sneaked out of Hamas-ruled Gaza in recent days, including a woman who said she hitched a ride with farmers on a donkey cart Friday to get past Hamas troops at a border checkpoint — Travelers leaving Gaza have to present their documents at a Hamas checkpoint about a mile away from Gaza’s Erez crossing into Israel. Several hundred yards closer to Erez, in an area off-limits to Hamas, another checkpoint is staffed by Abbas loyalists who coordinate with Israeli border officials by walkie talkie to direct the flow of passengers ... Jadallah said others posed as medical patients on their way to treatment in Israel, including a woman delegate who got in a wheelchair and was pushed by three fellow Fatah activists. Others bypassed the Hamas checkpoint by walking through orange groves.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3755168,00.html

Hamas threatens Fatah ahead of party congress
(AFP) Islamist group says Fatah members who will defy ban on leaving Gaza to attend faction’s first congress in 20 years in Bethlehem Tuesday will be prosecuted; Fatah says eight delegates from Strip already in West Bank
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3755302,00.html

Hamas to detain Gaza Fatah members who snuck out on return
Gaza – Ma’an – The Hamas-run de facto government in the Gaza Strip announced the decision that Fatah leaders who snuck out of the Strip to the West Bank to partake in the movement’s sixth conference would be detained if they come back to the Gaza Strip. Fatah members who snuck out will be charged with violating a governmental decision, said a spokesman of the de facto government’s interior ministry Eyhab Al-Ghussein on Saturday
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=216058

Fatah Central Committee will meet today over expanded conference list
The Fatah Central Committee will go ahead with its scheduled Saturday meeting over final preparations for the movement’s sixth conference set to begin Tuesday, the committee said. The main topic of the meeting will be the increase in the number of participants as earlier ratified by the preparatory committee. The preparatory committee increased the number of participants from 1,550 to 2,450, from an original decision to limit the number to 650.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=216033

Sha’ath: No Fatah leaders from Gaza would be shock to party
A boycott by Fatah members in Gaza of the Sixth Fatah Congress would be a political and national shock for the movement, member of Fatah Central Committee Nabil Sha’ath said Saturday. Responding to the announcement late Friday by secretaries general of the movement in the Strip to allegations of illegal additions to the members roster to boost votes for the Central Committee, Sha’ath said he “insisted” on the participation of Gazan members “not just for voting.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=216050

Report: Fatah to propose updated platform
Al-Watan daily reports leak of new platform draft to be voted on at Bethlehem congress next week calling for boost in ’fight against settlements, separation fence, Judaization of Jerusalem’; includes new clauses aimed at ending standtill in negotiations, such as tasking UN with handling of Palestinian-Israeli conflict if talks fail.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3755259,00.html

Hamas: PA security arrest three supporters
The Palestinian Authority’s security services arrested three Hamas supporters in the West Bank on Friday, a statement from the party said. Those detained were from the Nablus, Qalqiliya, and Tulkarem districts in the northern West Bank.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=216063

Political Developments

Hamas: We Recognize Israel Within the 1967 Borders
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Hamas’ leader in exile Khaled Meshaal announced unambiguously the group’s recognition of Israel along the 1967 borders of international consensus, and promises not to impede negotiations for a final settlement. Speaking to the American news outlet, Meshaal declared "We, along with other Palestinian factions in consensus, agreed upon accepting a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines…this is the national program. This is our program. This is a position we stand by and respect."
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1027

Mash’al: Hamas willing to cooperate with US, others
Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - The Hamas movement is willing to cooperate with the United States in achieving a comprehensive peace deal with Israel, its leader in exile Khaled Mash’al said in an interview.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=215926

Report: Fatah to oppose recognizing Israel as Jewish state
The Palestinian Fatah faction plans to oppose recognizing Israel as a Jewish state and consider opening a strategic dialogue with Iran, according to details from a proposed draft of its political platform that were leaked to the Arab press on Saturday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has conditioned the establishment of a Palestinian state upon recognition by the Palestinians of Israel as a Jewish state.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1104415.html

Jerusalem "key" to settling Mideast conflict: Fayyad
RAMALLAH, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) — Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Saturday that resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and achieving peace depend on the issue of Jerusalem. "Jerusalem is the key to peace, security and stability," Fayyad told a seminar at Birzeit university in Ramallah.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-08/01/content_11810394.htm

Assad: Return of Golan to Syria is non-negotiable
Syrian President Bashar Assad said Saturday that the return of the Golan Heights from Israel was non-negotiable, and he expressed confidence that the strategic plateau captured four decades ago would be handed back.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1104411.html

Palestinian Resistance

Azzun Atma villagers add site for weekly protest against Wall
Qalqiliya – Ma’an – The Palestine People’s Party (PPP) organized a rally against the Israeli separation wall in the village of Azzun Atma, where the planned route of the wall will surround the village on four sides with a small access gate under Israeli control ... The rally at Azzun Atma marks the fourth site of regular popular resistance activites against the wall on Fridays, joining the ranks of the vilalges of Bil’in, Na’lin and Al-Ma’sara.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=215942

Other news

Israel fourth from bottom of peace index
Countries which ranked higher in the 2009 Global Peace Index included Sudan, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, North Korea, and Iran. Israel was also given a very low score for the perceived level of “respect for human rights.” Israelis were also given low marks for their “perception of distrust in others”.
http://www.thejc.com/articles/israel-fourth-bottom-peace-index

PLO founder Al-Hout critically ill
Shafiq Al-Hout, an original founder of the Palestine Liberation Organization, was said to be critically ill on Friday. Al-Hout is member of the Palestinian National Council and a PLO Executive Committee representative in Lebanon. The Palestinian figure has represented the PLO at the United Nations General Assembly since 1974.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=215977

Man spends night in prison as courts crack down on no-smoking law
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Following the decision of a Bethlehem magistrate last month, a man was fined 28 US dollars and imprisoned overnight for lighting a cigarette in a local courtroom. The unidentified man was detained for 24 hours then tried before the magistrate court and fined for violating the no smoking law, said Bethlehem prosecutor Ala’a Tamimi.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=216144

IDF abuse probe widens
Commander of armored corps regiment interrogated in connection with shocking abuse case; senior IDF official says conduct at regiment reminiscent of ’criminal subculture’
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3754967,00.html

Rep. Cantor and 24 Fellow Republicans to Visit Israel, Palestinians
WASHINGTON — One of President Barack Obama’s top congressional critics said Friday he hoped to reassure staunch US ally Israel of unbending US support during a visit to the Middle East next week. Representative Eric Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in national US politics, said he worried Obama has pressured Israel too much and demanded too little from the Palestinians in return and not done enough to confront Iran.
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/cantor_GOP_israel_visit/2009/07/31/242586.html

Analysis / Opinion

On the Fatah convention and on Palestine
By Mazin Qumsiyeh. Bethlehem is abuzz with security preparations for the Fatah conference on Tuesday. The locals I’ve talked to were either indifferent or worried about reaching school or work or perhaps doing shopping during the days of the conference ... A big segment of the Fatah cadres who are real resistance fighters from abroad or underground will not be able to attend. It is suspicious that Israel is allowing so many others to enter...
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=216086

Virtue in Gaza–but blindness in the West Bank
So I guess the frequency in which this fed into my google reader today means it’s big news: Fateh woman manages to ‘escape’ from Hamas to participate in Bethlehem conference. But honestly, I don’t care. It’s surreal that this woman witnessed the barbarity of the last war and the slow starvation of her population yet went to such extremes to participate in a conference hosted by people that supported the killings and the siege. And when was the last time that Abbas or Fayyad spoke about the conditions of Gazans? I hear them speak about the settlements, which is great but when is the last time that anyone within any "key leadership" position in Fatah mentioned any of the dozens of issues affecting Gazans or demanded an end to draconian Israeli policies there? I found the agenda for their conference and control F didn’t find any mention of "Gaza." "siege," or "humanitarian catastrophes." Shame.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/08/virtue-in-gaza-but-blindness-in-the-west-bank.html

Rubble rousing
By Amira Hass Haaretz - " In the past three weeks about 30,000 tons of broken concrete have piled up in the area of the dismantled settlement of Gan Or, between Khan Yunis and Rafah in the Gaza Strip. On July 9, some six months after the conclusion of the Israel Defense Forces` assault on Gaza, the United Nations Development Program began clearing the rubble from Gaza. The task of pulverizing the pieces of broken concrete will begin in eight days. "
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1104188.html

A night in Bilin
Over the last few weeks, the residents of Bilin have been subjected to constant night raids by the Israeli military, in retaliation to their weekly nonviolent demonstrations, now in their fifth year, against the Apartheid Wall, which has stolen over half of their land. So far, 17 youths have been arrested, some as young as 16 years of age, usually for their participation in the demonstrations. Many of the boys will not see their family again for months. With the situation getting critical, local activists of the Bilin Popular Committee called for a night demonstration to protest against the raids.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10688.shtml

Na’alin nonviolent resistance: unity is the secret of our success in continuation of struggle
Na’alin / PNN – The people of western Ramallah’s Na’alin Village demonstrated again Friday as part of an ongoing campaign of nonviolent resistance against settlements and the Wall in the West Bank.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6316

"Jerusalem as Capital of Arab Culture" events coming to Nablus featuring poetry and mosaic
Nablus / PNN – Events for “Jerusalem as Capital of Arab Culture” are moving to the northern West Bank next week. Beginning on the tenth of this month Nablus will host seven days of the best of Palestinian culture, stunted only by the constraints of occupation.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6322

Casting call

"Peace Walk Productions is shooting a short prequel Heavenâ’s gates which will be followed by a feature film. The feature A Seed of Hope - When a Palestinian suicide bomber finds out she is pregnant moments before the act, she abandons her mission and becomes a fugitive. To find a way out of the country for her and her unborn child Naama must learn to trust love again...We are looking to Cast the following roles: - Naama: Female, 20s, relentless, angry, independent, dark features: a young woman who lost her boyfriend and her dream for a better life, and now is looking for vengeance..."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/08/casting-call.html

Palestinians are encouraged by goodwill of partners — diplomat
GENEVA, July 31 (KUNA) — Palestinian diplomat Samah Atout told the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) that Palestinians are encouraged by the goodwill of partners and the support of friends. Nevertheless, she said "we were unable to advance on a number of points and we hope that these differences can soon bridged." Atout stressed that the resolution was far from perfect and reflected the harsh reality that notwithstanding the high ideals of the UN, and the goodwill and support of the majority of the international community, there remains much work to uplift the plight of the Palestinian people and realize their legitimate and noble aspirations for meaningful statehood