TO DAY IN PALESTINE

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Land Theft and Destruction

Settlers build new outpost, assault old man and teen
A number of Jewish settlers built a new settlement outpost in Jericho district in protest over the Israeli government’s decision to freeze settlement activity in the West Bank for ten months.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7LWYDe1x6HPW0rlbUnU2uikKeT1oTCwuT3u1RGyHcag%2b8kwXMUOhv9Mql7npTTqL2A5hqQ74Xk0u0s8WaaqyFatUwY9Vt1ZP9SFBKmxaDiD4%3d

The Houses of Al-Quds : Ethnic Cleansing in East Jerusalem
In Silwan, a neighborhood of East Jerusalem adjacent to the Old City, Palestinian families sometimes demolish their own homes when the notice comes because they can’t afford to pay the fines levied upon people after the army bulldozes their houses. Sometimes the eviction notice gives them days, and other times a few hours to pull out several generations’ of possessions before the house is demolished. Sometimes people are given 15 minutes to get out of their house before tear gas is fired through the windows.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/01/06/18634453.php

Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment

Jamal Juma`s hearing today at Ofer
MC - Indymedia - Jamal`s attorney, who did not have any access to the report, as mentioned above, argued that the military court has no jurisdiction over Jamal Juma`a, an east-Jerusalem resident holding an Israeli ID card. This claim was not discussed, since the judge ruled that it can only be done during the appeal. Jamal himself argued that he was held for 12 whole days without being interrogated, and later interrogated only once, which proves that there is no real need for additional time to interrogate him.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=37640

Imprisoned leader of Palestinian nonviolent resistance Abdallah Abu Rahmah : "Arrests and persecution do not weaken us"
Take a look at this inspiring message from Abdallah Abu Rahmah, one of many Palestinian leaders of grassroots nonviolent resistance to the Israeli occupation and apartheid being held in Israeli jail.
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/imprisoned-leader-of-palestinian.html

Al Jazeera English : Viva Palestina Convoy Arrives in Gaza
Al Jazeera Wed 6 Jan 2010 @ 2000GMT : Al Jazeera reports on arrival of Viva Palestina Convoy, includes interview with George Galloway and report on earlier fatal clashes at the Rafah border.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8v5tK8i5yI

Press TV : Viva Palestina Convoy Rafah Crossing Interviews
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2M3yUhk5eU&feature=player_embedded

Gaza Freedom March : detained at the US embassy
On the afternoon of 28 December 2009, I was with several persons who accompanied CODEPINK cofounder Jodie Evans to the US Embassy in Cairo to present a letter from Massachusetts Senator John Kerry in which he expressed "strong support" for citizens of his state who were traveling to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and requesting they be given "every courtesy." Ali Abunimah writes about being detained at the US embassy in Cairo.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10993.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

Derry men reach Gaza with aid
Five men from Londonderry, who are part of an aid convoy to Gaza, have arrived over a month after they left the UK.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/foyle_and_west/8446074.stm

Boycott of Israeli settlers’ products picks up speed
RAMALLAH // Haytham Karasha was not overly concerned. The manager of a Ramallah branch of the supermarket chain Bravo, he said his store had not stocked any goods that originated in settlements for more than a year, and even then it was only one item, a chocolate syrup.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100107/FOREIGN/701069844/1002/NEWS

ISRAEL, GAZA : Holocaust survivor explains why she became Palestinian rights activist
Hedy Epstein is what some might see as a contradiction in terms : a survivor of the Holocaust and also a staunch advocate for the Palestinian people. Born in 1924 in Freiburg, Germany, Epstein was 14 when she escaped from Nazi persecution via the Kinderstransport to England. Since her 1948 arrival in the U.S., Epstein has been an advocate for peace and human rights.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/01/israel-gaza-holocaust-survivor-hedy-epstein-explains-why-she-became-palestinian-rights-activist.html

Take Action : Release the Anti-Apartheid Prisoners
In recent weeks, Israel has engaged in a campaign of active repression against leaders of grassroots nonviolent resistance to Israeli occupation and apartheid. Anti-apartheid advocates and boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaigners Jamal Juma’, Adballah Abu Rahmah, and Mohammad Othman have been arrested and are being held in Israeli jail. Jamal and Mohammad are being held without charge, while Abdallah has been slapped with a phony "weapons possession" charge for collecting used tear gas canisters fired at weekly nonviolent protests in the Palestinian village of Bil’in.
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/641/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1977

Engaging in the struggle – not with guns, but with culture
As I continue my journey into the West Bank, I find examples of Palestinian nonviolent resistance in the most unexpected of places. At the Palestinian Heritage Center in Bethlehem, I wander into a lushly decorated traditional living room, floor to ceiling photos and artifacts, a furnished Bedouin tent, a collection of priceless traditional wedding dresses, an exhibition space for old artifacts and a gift shop. Posters attest to the many awards the Center has received for its continuous efforts to revive Palestinian heritage and to promote Palestinian culture., There is even a picture of the Pope wearing a robe embroidered by Bethlehem women.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/01/engaging-in-the-struggle-not-with-guns-but-with-culture.html

Aggression and Violence
Another Palestinian dies after Tuesday’s Israeli airstrike on Gaza
GAZA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) — One of the four injured Palestinian militants died on Wednesday evening after he was critically injured during Tuesday’s Israeli airstrike on southern Gaza Strip, medics said. According to witnesses, an Israeli drone on Tuesday evening fired a rocket on a group of militants that was monitoring the security fence separating between Israel and Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip, killing one and wounding four.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/07/content_12767408.htm

IDF distributes leaflets in Gaza
Several hours after mortar barrage on southern Israel, Palestinians report Air Force dropped flyers warning Strip’s residents to stay away from border fence, avoid cooperating with smugglers in underground tunnels.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3831111,00.html

Army Invades Bil’in, Soldiers Say “we Are Just Doing Our Job”
In a rather familiar scene in the village of Bil’in near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, Israeli troops invaded the village, once again, and stormed the house of Rani Ayoub, a local peace activist. The invasion comes one day after the army raided the village to kidnap some children. The Friends of Freedom and Justice Committee in Bil’in, reported that some 30 to 40 Israeli military jeeps invaded the village before the soldiers broke the home of Ayoub and searched it.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57563

Detainees

Hamas : PA seizes 10 members
Ma’an – Hamas said on Thursday that Fatah-allied Palestinian Authority forces seized 10 members of the Islamist movement from the West Bank., Ma’an could not immediately verify these claims. Hamas identified the detainees as the following :, Sheikh Wajih Qawwas and Ahmad Nazzal, in Qalqiliya, Abbas Ja’ara in Nablus, Bara’ Yousif, a student, in Ramallah, Bilal Salim in Hebron, Sabia Ayyash in Salfit, Sheikh Muhammad Awad Al-Jammal, Muhammad Abu Al-Hayja, Zuheir Musa and Omar Abu Ar-Rab in Jenin.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=252550

Nine detained in night raids
Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Israeli military said on Thursday it detained nine Palestinians during overnight operations in the West Bank. A military official told Ma’an that one Palestinian was taken from Azzun Atma near Qalqiliya, one from Kobar north of Ramallah, four from Masra Al-Qibiliya north of Ramallah and three from Al-Arrub Refugee Camp north of Hebron.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=252542

Egypt’s war against Gazans
Al Jazeera : Clashes on Gaza-Egypt Rafah border
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o75D299ctuc&feature=player_embedded

35 Palestinians wounded by Egyptian security forces near Salahuddin terminal
Palestinian medical sources have reported that 35 Palestinian citizens were wounded by Egyptian gunfire Wednesday evening when dozens of them rallied near Salahuddin terminal in Rafah area.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s752YBrAEOxUPDu46kfto6ftC3N6k5vyGO05C8WG0QYEtZDTSx1MMcAY9JoWh1PKwsBCNoJ6gJWR6MAHoOl6VAg15eQA2ZxAnJCPaPZs9ugf4%3d

Ashaal : Egypt’s steel wall is a crime against humanity
Dr. Abdullah Al-Ashaal, a former assistant to the Egyptian foreign minister, stated that the steel wall built by Egypt is a crime against humanity and violates international law.

http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7JB5hgW46QrnqgYOlcCxhT6J5UEtIIKZRXqWcC7i%2bzBbf2kX8I%2f7rZxSLhfjr%2b2rCTFWWQSPHK3cvWrMcW%2fsvoSJTFqGci8%2bWitp0zWtaeus%3d

Hundreds Protest In Front Of Egypt’s Embassy
Hundreds of Turkish citizens and activists held a protest on Tuesday evening in front of the Egyptian Embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara. The human rights activists, including parliamentarians, protested until dawn hours of Wednesday.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57561

Terror is the price of support for despots and dictators | Seumas Milne
If an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor had gone on hunger strike in support of a besieged people in another part of the world, and hundreds of mostly western protesters had been stoned and beaten by police, you can be sure we’d have heard all about it. But because that is what’s been happening in western-backed Egypt, rather than Iran, and the people the protesters are supporting are the Palestinians of Gaza instead of, say, Tibetans, most people in Europe and north America know nothing about it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/07/egypt-gaza-strip-viva-palestina

Abbas Applauds Mubarak’s Actions

Abbas lauds Egypt’s peace efforts in Mideast
ANKARA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday praised Egypt’s peace efforts in the Middle East, Turkish media reported, as tensions mounted on the borders between Egypt and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/07/content_12767403.htm

Fatah slams Hamas for its protests against Egypt
RAMALLAH, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) — Fatah slammed on Wednesday Islamic Hamas movement for its earlier protests against Egypt. Osama al-Qawasmeh, Fatah spokesman in the West Bank, said in a press statement that earlier Hamas protests against Egypt near the borders "are a provocation and bad use of Gaza people’s suffering."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/07/content_12767404.htm

Israeli Racism/Human Rights/Siege

Knesset rejects bill for equal Arab-Jewish land distribution
The Knesset on Wednesday rejected by a majority vote a bill proposed by Israeli Arab MK Ahmed Tibi (Ra’am Ta’al) which would enforce equal distribution of land between Jewish and Arab citizens. Before it was brought to Knesset, the bill had already been rejected Sunday by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation. Tibi’s proposal was intended to counter a bill passed two weeks ago which states that reception committees of Israeli communities can decide who will reside in their towns. One consequence of that bill is that Israeli Arabs would not be able to live in those towns if the reception committees decide so. On Sunday, Tibi lambasted the ministerial panel as proving that Israel had proven "yet again" that it preferred to "avoid the principle of civil equality."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1140380.html

The state of human rights in Israel/Palestine
The recognition of and respect for human rights are the bedrock of any substantive democracy. Yet, according to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI)’s State of Human Rights Report 2009, they are being applied in a discriminatory manner. The Report, published in December 2009, detailed what Haaretz said was a country in which human rights were ‘on probation’. The Report cited internal Israeli discriminatory policies and cataloged systematic human rights abuses in the Israeli occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/01/the-conditionality-of-human-rights-in-israel-and-palestine.html

Israel prevents 19 sight-impaired Gazans from leaving for cornea implants
Physicians for Human Rights reports that the Israeli authorities prevented 19 sight-impaired Palestinians from leaving Gaza in time for cornea implants at a Ramallah hospital. The delay rendered the corneas, which were harvested from organ donors, useless. They were subsequently thrown away. The Gazans need permission from Israeli authorities to cross Israel in order to enter the West Bank.
http://palestinenote.com/cs/blogs/news/archive/2010/01/07/israel-prevents-dozens-of-sight-impaired-palestinians-from-leaving-for-cornea-implants.aspx

Israeli War Crimes/Criminals and their Enablers
A year after losing a father and sons, a Gaza family copes
Fathiya Abu Jbara lost her husband and two sons in an Israeli air strike on the family home during Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip last winter. The Electronic Intifada correspondent Rami Almeghari reported on the strike a few days after the attack and one year later, visits the family again to see how they are coping.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10990.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

Gaza Children Fly Balloons Carrying Pictures Of Slain Family Members
Dozens of children in the Gaza Strip launched balloons carrying the pictures of their parent and family members who were killed by the Israeli army during Israel’s illegal war against the coastal region one year ago.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57562

Political Developments

Palestinian official denies secret meeting between Abbas, Barak
RAMALLAH, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — A Palestinian official on Thursday denied reports that President Mahmoud Abbas has held an undercover meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. All these reports "aim to tell that there is an ongoing political process and that the Palestinian stance is divided into an open one and a secret one," Yasser Abed Rabbo, an aide to Abbas, told Voice of Palestine radio.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/07/content_12772321.htm

Bahar : All conspiracies aimed to blackmail Gaza people will fail
Dr. Ahmed Bahar stressed that all conspiracies that are aimed to undermine the steadfastness of Gaza people and blackmail them into making concessions would fail.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7u1f9aYeZOYqhaM%2bsyJ4vzayL%2frlfHfuZBlmQoaHOTHItrMUAGfZqtBd%2fe23UO2EzY78yMwhr9%2favXS%2fqsLNokSp9PipglCHK4qVZRgXB3aw%3d

Other News

Injuries reported after explosion in Gaza
Several Palestinians were reportedly hurt in an explosion at a coffee shop in Gaza City on Wednesday evening., Residents reported hearing a blast at the "Tal Al-Qamar" cafe on the ground floor of a 10-story apartment building in the An-Nasser neighborhood of Gaza City.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=252483

Report : Israeli troops training for new Gaza war
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli forces completed a large-scale military drill in the Negev, the country’s Channel 10 news reported, preparing troops for a military offensive against the Gaza Strip. The report, aired Tuesday evening, speculated that the training could even be seen as preparation for a re-occupation of the area.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=252463

Israel successfully tests anti-rocket system (AFP)
AFP - Israel has completed tests on its Iron Dome anti-missile system, designed to provide a response to the thousands of rockets fired at Israel by Hamas and Hezbollah, the defence ministry said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100106/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictisraelrocketdefense

Survey : Israel has ‘severe’ image problem
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Most Israelis believe Israel has a severe image problem around the world and want to help fix it, a survey found. Results of the survey of 495 Jewish Israelis conducted for the Information and Diaspora Ministry were released Wednesday. Some 91 percent of respondents said that Israel has a "severe" or "very severe" image problem in the Diaspora. Ninety percent said that Israel is viewed by those outside of the Jewish state as a country that "suffers of terror and war." Another 80 percent said Israel is looked upon as an "aggressive country."
http://jta.org/news/article/2010/01/06/1010033/survey-israel-has-severe-image-problem

Protests mark start of Orthodox Christmas in Bethlehem (AFP)
AFP - Orthodox Christmas celebrations kicked off in the traditional birthplace of Jesus on Wednesday to the sound of bagpipes and protests by Palestinians accusing church leaders of selling land to Israelis.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100106/wl_mideast_afp/mideastreligionorthodoxchristmas

Analysis/Op-ed/Human Interest

Teacher of a lifetime
Gideon Levy - Haaretz - Cohen told his students about the occupation. He told them that you can`t brutally crush values the way Israel has been doing for 42 years and say we are educating for democracy. He asked them whether they would be willing to live under an occupation. He told them he does not justify terror but understands what leads to attacks. He called on educators to tell students that the occupation is cursed and called on students to serve in an army that protects security, not an army busy with the occupation.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1140873.html

2009 : Some Arabs, Some Jews, By BOUTHAINA SHAABAN
2009 closed with unusual headlines of the press on what is called the Arab – Israeli conflict, headlines which warrant careful thinking because they might imply changing the name of this conflict as a result of the changes which happened to its nature and the parties involved in it. The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth published an article (28/12/ 2009) titled “Holocaust survivor stages hunger strike for Gaza”. The article explained how 85 year old Jewish American activist Hedy Epstein and other grandmothers started a hunger strike in Cairo on Monday, December 28 protesting that Arabs have prevented their convoy going to Gaza from proceeding there to mark the first anniversary of the Arab civilian victims of the Israeli war on Gaza called Cast Lead.
http://www.counterpunch.org/shaaban01062010.html

Boycotting the Occupation
Joharah Baker - MIFTAH - Palestinians in the occupied territories are under so many pressures, it is almost unfair to ask them to completely boycott Israeli products, especially since their foreign alternative is so much more expensive. The most that can be asked of them is to look for a suitable Palestinian alternative such as Juneidi dairy products, made in Hebron. For those living abroad there is really no excuse for buying any kind of Israeli products, originating from settlements or otherwise. There are enough alternatives for them to choose from. However, even Palestinians here are morally obligated to draw an indelible line where settlements are concerned. For one, we would be literally shooting ourselves in the foot if we help to finance the maintenance of settlements on Palestinian land. Secondly, that same foot will not give us anything to stand on in terms of demanding that others boycott settlements.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=37632