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Source: PACUSA via El Taller International - Tunis

TO DAY in PALESTINE

Mardi, 29 septembre 2009 - 20h24

Tuesday 29 September 2009

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Land Theft and Destruction

Settlers chop down Nablus olive grove on eve of harvest
Nablus – Ma’an – Dozens of chainsaw-wielding Israeli settlers cut down more than 150 olive trees in to the northern West Bank village of Burin, south of Nablus on Monday. The assault came a few days before Palestinian farmers throughout the country begin harvesting their olives.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=228238

Zionism calls it reform

"First, the privatisation means that land previously managed by the state after it was expropriated from Palestinians by past Israeli governments will become the property of private owners. This despite the fact that these mass expropriations were carried out ostensibly for a "public" purpose, and therefore should revert to their original owners once the original reason for the state’s expropriation is no longer relevant. The reform will also "lead to privatisation of property of some of the lands of destroyed and evacuated Arab villages, as well as many properties belonging to Palestinian refugees" – property currently held by the state’s Custodian of Absentee Property. As Adalah, the Arab rights legal centre, put it, this privatisation of land "will lead to a total break of the link between the land and its original owner", while "the sale of absentees’ property" is not only a breach of the Geneva convention, but also "contravenes" Israel’s own Absentee Property Law." [end]
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/09/zionism-calls-it-reform.html

Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment

Palestinian fishers in Gaza Strip demonstrating for right to earn living without daily harassment
Gaza / Maher Ibrahim – Fishers in the Gaza Strip are asking the international community for protection against daily Israeli aggression both at sea and on the shore. The fishing industry has been effectively destroyed, Rami Abdo said today, by the Israeli war on the Strip and the continuation of aggression and harassment. Fishing boats and nets are often confiscated and destroyed, fishers are arrested.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7133

Gaza peace protester is imprisoned in own home
NAZARETH // Nine months after he helped to organise protests against Israel’s attack on Gaza, Samih Jabareen is a prisoner in his home in Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, an electronic bracelet around his ankle to alert the police should he step outside his front door.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090928/FOREIGN/709279814/1002

Ni’lin village demands release of Mohammad Othman during Friday demonstration
September 26th, 2009— This week in Ni’lin, several hundred demonstrators marched to the Wall where they were met with tear gas as well as rubber and live bullets. Youth carried pictures of Mohammed Othman, arrested last Tuesday, demanding his release. Three people were arrested near the end of the demonstration.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2076.shtml

Palestinians and Israelis Follow Thoreau, but Is Anyone Watching?
Sometime in 1846, Henry David Thoreau spent a night in jail because he refused to pay his taxes. This was his way of opposing the Mexican-American War as well as the institution of slavery. A few years later he published the essay "Civil Disobedience," which has since been read by millions of people, including many Israelis and Palestinians. Kobi Snitz read the book. He is an Israeli anarchist who is currently serving a 20-day sentence for refusing to pay a 2,000 shekel fine.
http://original.antiwar.com/neve-gordon/2009/09/27/palestinians-and-israelis-follow-thoreau-but-is-anyone-watching/

Click to see pictures - Who is scaring whom?
Look those pictures: and you wonder why I have such faith in Palestinian resistance? What heroic defiance.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/09/who-is-scaring-whom.html

CODEPINK Women for Peace & the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement
The Israeli assault on Gaza at the end of December 2008 and into January 2009 was a tipping point for many with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For CODEPINK it no longer felt possible to sit on the sidelines and do nothing while white phosphorous bombs rained down on the people of Gaza — bombs paid for by American tax dollars. CODEPINK led several humanitarian delegations to Gaza, in March and June of 2009, where we witnessed the devastating wake of Operation Cast Lead, and saw the debilitating effects of a two-year blockade on the people of the Gaza Strip. We also went to Israel where we met with Palestinians and Israelis who were working for a just peace for both their peoples, and who invited us to join their struggle.
http://codepink4peace.org/blog/2009/09/codepink-women-for-peace-the-boycott-divestment-and-sanctions-movement/

Violence and Aggression
IOF shelling wounds twins in central Gaza
A Palestinian teen and his twin sister were wounded on Monday when an Israeli army shell slammed into a field where they were working east of Maghazi refugee in central Gaza Strip.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7WGz6hwr3YoNmv4xhhmfNAzxe%2f%2b4HjzYHoj9owR1BpdPdk3kE0e14ELoX7TgZy0DYkfn4S8yDCHnW7vfkYyiT80DJC85iP%2be1yZ8AZn1q0M4%3d

Reports From The Field: Israeli Army Raids House; Injured Child Prisoner Released
In a new series, Palestine Monitor will publish articles by Palestinian reporters from around the occupied Territories. These reporters were trained in journalism by Palestine Monitor in a project supported by the NoVA Center For Social Innovation, and provide unique insights into life under occupation.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7154

Israeli Attacks on Al Aqsa

PCHR Condemns Israel’s Granting of Permission for Settlers to Enter al-Aqsa Mosque and Use of Excessive Force against Palestinian Civilians
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the Israeli government’s decision to allow Jewish settler groups to enter the yards of the al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem. PCHR further condemns the use of excessive force by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) against Palestinian civilians who attempted to prevent the provocative entry of settlers into the Mosque. PCHR reminds of similar incidents that took place 9 years ago when the former Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, entered the yards of the al-Aqsa Mosque. This incident sparked the outbreak of the al-Aqsa Mosque, in which thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed or wounded. PCHR calls upon the international community to immediately intervene and pressurize Israeli occupation authorities to stop all settlement activities in occupied Jerusalem.
http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2009/104-2009.html

Arab officials condemn Aqsa raid
Israel comes in for criticism for failing to prevent Jewish settler entry to mosque.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/09/200992875015908688.html

Hezbollah slams attacks on Aqsa as affront to Muslim nation
Hezbollah in Lebanon condemned the vicious attack carried out by Israeli settlers and troops on the Aqsa Mosque on Sunday morning as a big insult to the Arab and Muslim nations.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7G24fC4pVmGA3GBae6nYhM9A2rnjZ3U5iV4fOs5KStdmj8Gwedd2JWkpZWiMRNG1LqZ5hhPT8PbacnDIpWJqEy6DUhU7%2facLchtuhswlBoN4%3d

J’lem archbishop: Israel targeted mosque today, church tomorrow
Jerusalem – Ma’an – Archbishop Atallah Hana, one of the highest-ranking Christian clergy in Jerusalem, has said that Sunday’s violence near the Al-Aqsa Mosque is a dark indication of Israel’s plans for the city.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=228050

PA condemns ’state terror’ at Al-Aqsa
Ramallah - Ma’an - The Palestinian Authority joined a chorus of institutions and leaders condemning what officials termed a provocative visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem on Sunday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=228065

PLO slams ’provocative attack’ on Jerusalem worshipers
Bethlehem - Ma’an - The top Palestinian negotiator, Dr Saeb Erakat, on Sunday condemned what he termed Israeli violence against worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem earlier the same day.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=228063

Hamas: Al-Aqsa violence a product of New York summit
Gaza – Ma’an – Hamas urged the Palestinian Authority to immediately stop negotiations with Israel in protest of the violence at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on Sunday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=228067

Varol: Storming the Aqsa Mosque was a test to gauge Muslims’ reaction
ISTANBUL, (PIC)— Dr. Ahmet Varol, theTurkish expert in the affairs of Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque, has warned Sunday that the Israeli attempt to invade the Aqsa Mosque was a trial that could be followed with more vicious and serious steps in the coming days.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7%2bARoRMHSNdxQGcGTBXmMBjrxmMvVFSjbGHXoQzn%2b9cKGPDiJ9%2b%2fyBTJYeUbHm%2brEIWwCOGQFAcnxMtlkoQoxTe1qtZzT3%2fsm4NY3bivcBa8%3d

Detainees

Ministry of detainees holds IOA fully responsible for life of prisoner Mansour
The ministry of prisoners held the IOA fully responsible for the life of prisoner Akram Mansour after he was transferred to Beersheba hospital as a result of the deterioration of his health.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7abilqG1w5hXhLxbeHDlAAMvrEM8%2b8KTbbjgz5UKLVp5tbQhywheuHIqVujTnN%2bYQoXp4lSjfHc2jslpGa9HSFCcw59UPvRl2CFiAOSKT4hs%3d

Special military courts for Palestinian children created to bolster Israeli image
Gaza / PNN – The decision of the Israeli administration to try Palestinian children in separate courts is an attempt to remove a stain from the image of the occupying forces, says Nasser Ferwana.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7126

War Crimes

Human Right’s Watch to US: Endorse Goldstone Report on Gaza
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HRW/dea31ff607e0f0112a5650b9e56a5702.htm

A permanent moral stain
Israeli criticism of the Goldstone Commission report ignores a basic fact: The pattern of action taken by Israel in the Gaza Strip had already been determined the day after the Second Lebanon War. Indeed, in the summer of 2006, it became clear once and for all that Israeli society would no longer be prepared to face a war of choice that exacted victims on its side. That is, Israel wants military victories, but it refuses to pay the human price they entail. Hence, a sober decision - the result of cold, political calculation - was made to conduct a campaign to punish Gaza with no Israeli losses.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1116944.html

Humanitarian Issues/Siege
Man dies of wounds sustained in Jabaliya explosion
An investigation into the causes behind the explosion revealed leaking gas canisters were to blame for the incident, according to Gazan de facto civil defense personnel. Investigators also found that damages were particularly acute because 90 percent of materials needed for firefighting had been used up during the assault on Gaza over the winter.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=228147

Inside Gaza’s tunnels
We are driven through a maze of dimly-lit tents in the dead of night on a bumpy dirt road in Rafah, south of Gaza.
The trip came unexpectedly while accompanied by Ahmed, a top Hamas official and former Qassam Brigades militant after a visit to his boss close to the area. “Would you like to see the tunnels?” he asked casually as we were driving.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2009/09/27/t15.html

The Gaza Siege Stinks…literary
Those with intimate knowledge of us Arabs know how obsessed we are with fragrance. Good fragrances to us are the trucker hats to suburbanites, the cool sneakers to the urbanites. While most do it for cosmetic reasons; others do to cover up the sweat on a hot summer day; and few do it for religious reasons. If you notice many venders of fragrance especially the oily ones tend to be on the religious side. I know I am an addict to fragrance being an Arab and all. Not to brag, but I own at least twenty different bottles of fine cologne, I am loyal consumer and a collector. When I first planed to visit Gaza, I thought I would buy lots of fragrance as gifts. I was lucky in my choice of gifts as it turn out Gaza has a shortage of fine fragrances. The cologne and perfumes I gave to family and friends were treasured.
http://www.kabobfest.com/2009/09/the-gaza-siege-stinks%E2%80%A6literary.html

Israeli Racism

This is Zionism
"This year, a new private Israeli academic institution launched, the Carmel Academic Center. Among its offerings within the department of business administration was an accountancy concentration. But one week before classes began, the school cancelled it. Why? Too many Arabs. That’s right. Only three Jews registered and the rest were Israeli Palestinians. Not wanting to develop a reputation for being in bed with Arab lovers, the entrepreneur who founded the school pulled the plug. Here are some internal conversations published by the Alternative Information Center. Israeli Channel 2 broke the original story:" [end]
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/09/this-is-zionism_27.html

Refugees

Lebanese citizenship not an option - PLO chief
There is no alternative to Palestinian nationality for Palestinians living in Lebanon, Palestine Liberation Organization commander Sultan Abu al-Aynayn said Saturday in agreement with President Michel Sleiman’s speech at the UN summit. "The president’s statement is a debt the Pa lestinians have to pay," he said. Aynayn also guaranteed that the Palestinian situation.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=106888

Nahr El-Bared Palestinians Refugees, endless ordeal
Lebanon, September 28, 2009 (Pal Telegraph)-Many of them left with little more than the clothes on their backs, fleeing a war they didn’t understand, finding shelter that they thought was temporary for a few days, weeks or months - but not years.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/palestinian-refugees/2417-nahr-el-bared-palestinians-refugees-endless-ordeal

The Egyptian complicity in Gaza massacres. Video of Egyptian guards shooting at Palestinian refugees
Palestine, September 28, 2009 (Pal Telegraph)-This is exclusive ISM Gaza Strip footage about the Egyptian complicity in the Gaza massacres. It was taken in the evening of 28th of December 2008 (the second day of the Israeli operation"Cast Lead"). It shows Palestinian young men that try to flee in Egypt after the first Israeli airstrikes against the tunnels in Rafah that killed at least 2 Palestinians. Soon the Egyptian guards start to shoot and some of the Palestinian young-men respond by throwing stones. In the second video there is an ambulance trying to rescue somebody. There were rumors that a Palestinian was shot dead that night, that Palestinian resistance fighters responded to the Egyptian shooting, that an Egyptian guard was also killed. You can also here an explosion, most probably an attempt of the Palestinian resistance to break the border wall.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/component/content/article/2428-the-egyptian-complicity-in-gaza-massacres-video-of-egyptian-guards-shooting-at-palestinian-refugees

You can watch the videos here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igbsaOwkneM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yisQdctRaaI

You can also read the following Ma’an articles about the incident of that day:

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=207309&MARK=Rafah

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=207308&MARK=Rafah

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=207307&MARK=Rafah

Political Developments
PA officials: Netanyahu seeking crisis in Jerusalem
Ramallah – Ma’an – Palestinian officials say they expect the current Israeli government to take the region into a period of renewed confrontation, especially in light of Sunday’s violence at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=228111

Haniyeh: PA should stop stifling resistance
Gaza – Ma’an – In light of Sunday’s incident at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, de facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Monday urged the Palestinian Authority to allow West Bank residents to resume attacks on Israel.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=228124

With us or against us? I can’t believe that you would ask
"The PA has reached the point where it has to decide whether it is working with us or against us," senior figures in the defense establishment have said." Oh, no. No. They are working with you, I swear. They are working with you, I assure you. They are your loyal and subservient servants. Don’t get mad at your puppets. You are all they have. [end]
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/09/with-us-or-against-us-i-cant-believe.html

Dahlan, O Dahlan

Muhammad Dahlan is back. He is now threatening a Third Intifada. He calls for the protection of the Aqsa mosque. The man, as you can see from picture above, is very pious and has Sufi tendencies. He said that if Israel continues in its provocations, he will order his armed gangs to kill more Palestinians.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/09/dahlan-o-dahlan.html

Fatah, Hamas Close to Reconciliation

27/09/2009 Egypt is exerting immense pressure on Hamas and Fatah to accept a plan that calls for holding presidential and parliamentary elections in the first half of 2010, representatives of the two parties said over the weekend. Although Hamas and Fatah have accepted the plan in principle, each side has expressed reservations about some of its ideas.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=104760&language=en

A Palestinian mini-state linked to Iran strike - Nasser Lahham
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israel has been holding secret meetings with Arab leaders over the past several months with the aim of establishing a miniaturized Palestinian state and in hopes of gaining Arab acquiescence in a first strike on Iran.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=228061

Other news

Universities open in Gaza Strip, high losses in construction projects and development
Gaza / PNN – As the academic year begins, universities in the Gaza Strip are suffering from the cessation of construction projects and development at a value of 50 million USD, says Jamal Al Khudari. The Chairman of the Popular Committee against the Siege and member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Al Khudari said today that Palestinian universities have lost some 50 million dollars.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7136

Four films reflect the realities of Palestinian women: documentary screening in Ramallah
Ramallah / PNN – Four Palestinian documentaries are screening in Ramallah early next month. Produced in collaboration with the European Union, the films were translated into English and reflect the reality of Palestinian women.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7154

The New Israel Lobby

This is apparent when one considers the results of a Global Marketing Research Services poll in July of self-identified American Jewish Democratic Party supporters, which found that 55 percent believe President Obama is naïve to try to set up a Palestinian state, whereas only 27 percent take the opposite view. Moreover, they believe by a margin of 52 percent to 37 percent that Jews should be allowed to build homes and move into existing communities in eastern Jerusalem and the West Bank. No amount of spinning can conceal the fact that, on these two major issues, clear majorities of Jewish Democratic supporters disagree with Obama. J Street is entitled to its views, but not to its pretension that it represents a large slice of liberal Jewish opinion on Israel. Clearly, it doesn’t.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/magazine/27letters-t-THENEWISRAEL_LETTERS.html

Analysis/Op-ed

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown: Don’t Israel’s nuclear weapons count?
Influential Europeans – including many Muslims – recently debated freedom of expression with the Danish editor who commissioned the cartoons of Prophet Mohammed which led to riots. Held in Berlin, it was a good, at times blazing, debate.
Freedom of expression, we were given to understand, is one of the valves in Europe’s heart that must remain open to keep our continent alive and healthy. In good faith I exercise that freedom in this column. Let us see if readers and interest groups will support my right to write what follows even if they violently disagree with my observations.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/yasmin-alibhai-brown/yasmin-alibhaibrown-dont-israels-nuclear-weapons-count-1794275.html#

Get me rewrite– Washington man is trapped in Gaza. Sorry, no story
Remember the journalists imprisoned by North Korea? Big story. The hikers held by Iran. Ditto. Well why isn’t Hani Almadhoun a story. He may not be in prison, but his situation is hardly different: he’s a grants administrator for the Jerusalem Fund in Washington, and he’s been trapped for over three months in Gaza, because of his ethnicity. The Salt Lake Tribune has the story. But who else?
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/09/get-me-rewrite-washington-man-is-trapped-in-gaza-sorry-no-story.html

Celebrate ‘Times’ photographer Rina Castelnuovo
I keep forgetting to post perhaps the most important event in journalism about Jewish identity in the last couple weeks, the NYT’s publication of Rina Castelnuovo’s amazingphotograph from Hebron, which has been widely republished in the Arab world. The Times could do a further service by having Castelnuovo blog about how she took this picture… As well as do more thorough reporting on how Jews could become so brutalized, a story Americans still aren’t hearing.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/09/celebrate-times-photographer-rina-castelnuovo.html

Disease in the Holy Land
"His most important contribution to Israel’s establishment was in turning Zionism from a theory alien to many American Jews into a pragmatic program to rid the Holy Land of disease." Yes, he wanted to rid the Holy Land of Palestinians. [end]
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/09/disease-in-holy-land.html

Aqsa Attack Begs Questions of Atonement
Today marks the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest of days in the Jewish tradition. This day, dedicated to fasting and worship is meant to allow all Jews to atone for their sins - against Judaism, Jews and other human beings. This day of reflection for Jews is meant to purge them of their sins through confession, fasting and prayer before the eyes of God. Israel literally shuts down for 24 hours, including streets, radio and television stations, shops and borders. For the Palestinians, Yom Kippur means those in Jerusalem can’t get to the West Bank, those in the West Bank can’t get to Jerusalem and those outside the country have to wait a day to return home until the borders reopen.
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=20629&CategoryId=3

Reflections on a Yom Kippur closure - Mazin Qumsiyeh
Today, Bethlehem University was forced to close because the Israeli authorities imposed a "closure" of the West Bank because of Yom Kippur holiday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=228172

Expectations

I expected to be depressed today. Hamza’s work had not panned out, my one hope that something good could happen in a Strip under siege…I knew when I returned to the Al Bateran families their problems would be just as massive as before, worse even with time. I knew Saud would not have found the meds he needs to ward of behaviour problems from his schizophrenia, and Fathiya would be admirably by his side but suffering from his moods swings and their biting poverty.

http://ingaza.wordpress.com/2009/09/27/5874/

I am opposed to Palestinian terrorism
I am really opposed to Palestinian terrorism. I am strictly and fiercely opposed to Palestinian terrorism as practiced by the US-trained, US-funded gangs loyal to Salam Fayyad and Abu Mazen, and acting at the behest of Israel. You should join me in condemning terrorism. [end]
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/09/i-am-opposed-to-palestinian-terrorism.html