TO DAY IN PALESTINE

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Land Theft and Destruction

A Palestinian woman reacts next to cut olive trees in the northern West Bank village of Burin
Jan, 7, 2010. According to Burin’s mayor, Jewish settlers cut more than 20 olive trees in the village in protest against the Israeli army’s recent evacuation of an unauthorized settlement outpost in the area.
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Mideast-Conflict/ss/events/wl/080601mideast#photoViewer=/100107/481/24086179c1074dd3858e308889c7420d

Israel demolishes 20 houses in West Bank: witnesses (AFP)
AFP - The Israeli army on Sunday demolished 20 houses in the northern West Bank after evacuating some 40 families who were living there, Palestinian witnesses said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100110/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictwestbankconstruction

Israeli municipality orders demolition of Palestinian home in Yafa
The Israeli municipality of Yafa city, occupied in 1948, has issued orders to demolish the two-story home of Mousa Daka, 28, south of Yafa city at the pretext of building without permit.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7GxhP7EO1ORKmlzvUPMD88WvMfTrZ8AmJ5L5X0wi9aiZGR1DUOIHn5wecExX2aUBTu5W3HDThsfRAHi5g489ad%2bphR%2fWt7I5TdIpvepWlElY%3d

Israel considers giving legal status to two illegal West Bank outposts
Chaim Levinson - Haaretz - "After four and a half years of government promises to destroy the two West Bank settlements of Hayovel and Harsha, the High Court of Justice said yesterday that it intends to examine conditions on the ground there, potentially paving the way for their formal recognition."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1141747.html

Netanyahu: Israel will resume West Bank building in 8 months
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday reminded coalition members that Israel’s freeze on construction in West Bank settlements was only temporary, saying: "In another eight months, we’ll start building again."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1141563.html

Clarify Municipality`s Accountability for East Jerusalem Neighborhoods Located Beyond the Separation Barrier
ACRI - Segev`s statement that the Jerusalem Municipality has no role in managing the municipal affairs of Palestinian neighborhoods situated on the other side of the Separation Barrier constitutes an admission that the Municipality is breaking the law. We urge Mayor Barkat to act decisively and to eradicate discrimination in the provision of municipal services and budgets.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=37699

Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment

Israel stages night-time Ramallah raid to arrest an international solidarity activist
The raid was conducted to apprehend Eva Nováková, a Czech citizen, who has been the International Solidarity Movement’s media coordinator for the past few weeks. The raid was held despite a recent statement by president Mahmoud Abbas, who said the PA is considering scaling back security ties with Israel over area A operations. Israeli soldiers raided the Ramallah home of Eva Nováková tonight at 3 am near the Manara square. The operation to apprehend Nováková, the ISM’s media coordinator in past few weeks, was carried out by a force of both soldiers and members of the “Oz” immigration police unit. During the raid, the army occupied a number of rooftops at a location adjacent to the Palestinian Police Ramallah headquarters. She is currently being held in Givon detention center awaiting deportation to the Czech Republic.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/01/10542

Occupation forces raid al-Ma’sara
January 10th, 2010— Upwards of hundred villagers, supported by international and Israeli activists, marched against the Wall in al-Ma’sara on Friday. Following threats to blacklist popular committee members, as well as the ratcheting up the arrests of anti-Wall activists, there have been fears that Occupation forces will target al-Ma’sara. This week, soldiers raided the village of on Friday in response to the weekly protest.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2155.shtml

Hearings for Jamal and Mohammed on January 12
January 9th, 2010— This coming Tuesday, the hearings for Mohammed and Jamal will be held. During Jamal’s court hearing last Thursday (7 January 2010), the judge extended the investigation period until the 12th. His next court hearing in Ofer will be held, and he continues to be held without charge. On the same day, Mohammed will face another hearing, as the military judge ordered Mohammad’s detention order to be shortened.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2154.shtml

Friday protest: Army fails to prevent PLC member from entering Ni’lin
January 9th, 2010— Early Friday morning, the Israeli army closed the two entrances into the village of Ni’lin and prevented anybody from entering, including an Al Jazeera film crew and PLC member Mohammad Mesleh. Mesleh did not let this stop him from joining the weekly protest against the Apartheid Wall in Ni’lin, and walked through the surrounding fields in order to enter.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2153.shtml

A protest deferred
When it comes to calling for an end to the occupation in Gaza, South African demonstrators have more street-cred than others because of their intimate knowledge of injustice and separation.
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-01-08-a-protest-deferred

Israel Ikea Style
http://arabist.net/archives/2010/01/10/israel-ikea-style/

Israeli Apartheid Video Contest
As part of the colonial conflict in Palestine, Israel has instituted a policy of apartheid that separates Palestinians from Israelis and Palestinians from each other, creating an oppressive and racially discriminatory system. It denies basic Palestinian rights to land, education, movement, and housing while devastating the economy, trying to undermine civil society, and forcing continuous displacement upon the majority of Palestinians. You are invited to submit short [less than 5 minutes] videos on the theme of Israeli Apartheid. Videos should reflect the nature, realities, and/or consequences of the apartheid policy in Israel, in the occupied West Bank and Gaza and against Palestinian refugees in the diaspora.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/01/10484?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+%28International+Solidarity+Movement%29

World Arab writers vow to fight Israel’s cultural influence
The Arab Writers Union formed a Damascus bureau meant to prevent the infiltration of Hebrew terms into Arab culture, Israel Radio reported on Sunday, adding that the new group said it would prevent the "normalization" of cultural ties with Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1141565.html

Aggression and Violence

10 policemen suspected of abusing Palestinian
Israel Police special patrol unit officers, detectives detained after allegedly abusing Hebron resident arrested over motorcycle theft.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3832275,00.html

One injured three kidnapped during military invasions targeting West Bank areas
One man was injured and three other civilians were kidnapped, among them two children, on Monday during separate military attacks targeting a number of West Bank communities.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57604

Detainees

IOF holding wounded child in shackles
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) are holding a Palestinian child in hospital while both his feet and hands are shackled despite the seriousness of his condition.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7HXb%2bPYImEm8Pf0QiQENEmZOVUkumkHVZY7G5tW731Mh9rvNjesxkdgMUQhqCEG%2bpuJ4Wen6mc9oPC%2bYod3Ku6G%2bav%2bfc03TGNKwTJoFh%2bRM%3d

Hamas: Seven detained by PA security
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Hamas accused the Palestinian Authority security services of detaining seven of the movement’s affiliates across the West Bank, in a statement issued on Monday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=253443

Human Rights/Siege

Gaza: a child dies because of the siege and a man reported dead at a tunnel site
A Palestinian child was reported dead on Monday after he was unable to leave the Gaza Strip for medical care he needed.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57603

Palestinian dies in tunnel near Rafah
Gaza, January 11, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - A young Palestinian lost his life on Monday when he accidentally fell into a tunnel south of the border town of Rafah. Dr. Muawiya Hassanain, the director of Emergency in the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, declared that Fadi Mahmoud Khalil, 20, died when he fell into one of the smuggling tunnels near Rafah.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/3599-palestinian-dies-in-tunnel-near-rafah

Israel opens two Gaza crossings; no exports allowed
Gaza – Ma’an – Israel opened the Kerem Shalom and Karni border crossings into Gaza on Monday in the south and north respectively, Palestinian border official Raed Fattouh told Ma’an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=253405

Army Installs Roadblocks Near Jenin
Israeli soldiers installed on Sunday at dawn two military roadblocks south of Jenin, in the northern part of the West Bank, and searched dozens of vehicles and residents.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57593

Palestinians turn to jobs building settlements they despise (AFP)
AFP - Like most Palestinians, Ismail Harb resents the Israeli settlements that crown the hilltops of the occupied West Bank, but every day he lines up before dawn to help build them.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100110/lf_afp/mideastconflictpalestiniansettlerconstruction

Gaza student holds graduation party at church
Palestinian student Berlanty Azzam has never thought that her graduation ceremony would take place in a small church far away from her university and friends.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7771

Egypt’s Humanitarian War against Gazans
Israel to build barrier along Egypt border (AFP)
AFP - The Israeli government on Sunday approved the construction of a barrier along the border with Egypt in a bid to curb the infiltration of illegal immigrants, a government official said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100110/wl_mideast_afp/mideastsecurityimmigrationisraelegypt

Moufid Shehab and Egypt’s Gaza Hysteria
nanities, the blog of journalist Sarah Carr, has a very funny translation/commentary on Egyptian Minister of Parliamentary Affairs (and Gamal’s homme a tout faire) Moufid Shebab, who was the public face of the brouhaha over the Gaza convoys. There’s the usual — the “Qatari channel of discord,” the “engineering installations on our eastern borders” to refer to the wall, lamenting that Egyptian media is not patriotic enough, etc. My favorite bit, though, was about the Algerian conspiracy to make Egypt look bad.
http://arabist.net/archives/2010/01/10/moufid-shehab-and-egypts-gaza-hysteria/

Comedian Adel Imam Lashes Out at Hamas; Supports Iron Wall
10/01/2010 Egyptian comedian Adel Imam accused the Islamic Resistance Hamas movement of killing an Egyptian border guard last week, the Al-Quds al-Arabi daily reported Sunday. Imam had called for a popular protest to ‘express the popular outrage at the killing of the soldier when the Life-Line convoy was supposed to cross into Gaza.” However, the daily said that Imam’s colleagues and film stars did not show up at the Haram Theater where the protest was supposed to take place. “Of the known artists, only Mohammed Henidi, Lubluba, and author Yussuf Maati as well as painter Ibrahim Abdul Malak had shown up,” it reported.”
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=119133&language=en

The shameless lies of Mubarak’s official media
The state-run media in Egypt is shamelessly indulging in wild lies about Hamas’s efforts to break the cruel blockade being clamped on more than 1.6 million Palestinians seeking freedom and food.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7T%2fyuZD2C04ZDw8D6l2vxnwvj%2f8gMK5Ab7LxArQXIjbVIC11ufAxo55AQBcqjBDtQmZZQ%2fvOT0XL3o1KaNLaTpSE2ArHLGMtS4KlEscweBiU%3d

Jibril: Egyptian regime conspiring against Palestinians
Ahmed Jibril has accused the Egyptian regime of conspiring against the Palestinian people through building the steel wall along the borders with Gaza Strip.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7FzlDcI5N0SL43melX3LDEXAWIDGCV0dHiWMBoEWFsfsrCeVOt%2fCzEGJ29SGHCbdBRBkVsM5nXNlSex%2fyNSx412bAZfRTXL8WCe%2bO7u2i5VE%3d

Shadow Boxing at Sharm al-Sheikh
As the media focus fades away from Egypt and the unprecedented brawl that occurred in the streets of Cairo, it is likely that the world will yet again be treated to Mubarak’s routine antics at Sharm al-Sheikh. The Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh often serves as the setting for Mubarak to distract global attention from his political failures. It is here that he usually appears in a fake mask to don the appearance of a “peace-maker”, ostensibly to pursue “peace” on behalf of the Occupied Palestinians.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15676

Galloway right to relish Egypt expulsion | Ajmal Masroor
In making an enemy of Hosni Mubarak’s regime, George Galloway has taken a lead western governments should follow. George Galloway was deported from Egypt on Friday as "persona non grata" by the Egyptian authorities, accusing him of undermining Egyptian security. What a bizarre, twisted and demented accusation from a dictatorial regime that has ruled Egypt for over 30 years and which has been an accomplice with Israel to the Gaza blockade causing untold suffering of the Palestinian people.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/11/george-galloway-egypt-expulsion

War on Gaza Remembered
One Year After Israeli Assault on Gaza, Survivors From Samouni Family Remember the Tragedy that Killed 29
One year after Israel’s assault on Gaza, we back to a deadly attack that took place on one Gazan neighborhood. The Samouni family, who live in an agricultural area in the Zaytoun area of Gaza City, lost 29 members of their family in the attack. Anjali Kamt and Jacquie Soohen visited the surviving members of the family in March.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/11/one_year_after_israeli_assault_on

Political Developments

U.S. suggestion of sanctions causes stir in Israel
* Loan guarantees are sensitive U.S.-Israeli issue
* Netanyahu blames Palestinians for peace impasse
* Israel calls U.S. backing for loans "token of friendship"
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE60902O.htm

Key U.S. senators slam threat to withhold Israel loan guarantees
Two key U.S. senators on Sunday dismissed Mideast envoy George Mitchell’s suggestion that Washington withhold loan guarantees to pressure Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1141535.html

Barak tells U.S. Senators: I know your support for Israel will continue
Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday welcomed four visiting U.S. senators to Jerusalem, saying he was confident their support for Israel would continue into the future.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1141558.html

Other News

U.S. to store $800m in military gear in Israel
The U.S. Army will double the value of emergency military equipment it stockpiles on Israeli soil, and Israel will be allowed to use the U.S. ordnance in the event of a military emergency, according to a report in Monday’s issue of the U.S. weekly Defense News.
The report, written by Barbara Opall-Rome, the magazine’s Israel correspondent, said that an agreement reached between Washington and Jerusalem last month will bring the value of the military gear to $800 million.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1141745.html

PA demands apology from Eyptian cleric
The Palestinian Authority on Sunday demanded a public apology from one of the most prominent Islamic scholars, who called for stoning President Mahmoud Abbas to death. Egyptian scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi said that if it is proven that Abbas had instigated Operation Cast Lead against the Gaza Strip, he must be stoned.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1263147861042&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Turkey lashes out at Israel (AP)
AP - Turkey’s prime minister accused Israel on Monday of threatening peace in the region and using disproportionate force against Palestinians.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100111/ap_on_re_eu/eu_turkey_lebanon_israel

Arab MK seeks immunity after meetings in Syria
In request sent to Knesset speaker and Knesset House Committee chairman, Balad lawmaker Said Naffaa claims he does not bear criminal responsibility for his actions. ’What I did, I did as a public servant,’ he tells Ynet.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3832838,00.html

MK suggests Arabs more violent than Russian olim
Knesset committee discusses Israeli society’s image of former Soviet Union immigrants. Minister Landver: People drank vodka here even before aliyah. Yisrael Beiteinu MK Michaeli: Most violence comes from Arab sector.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3832771,00.html

High cost of leaving ultra-orthodox Judaism
And they can face angry rejection from the community they leave behind. Mr Lev says his wife’s family have stopped him seeing his children, fearing he will persuade them to leave the community. But he says he has no regrets, although he is still battling for access.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8435275.stm

Analysis/Op-ed/Human Interest

Those are the Palestinians,by As’ad: Who is scaring whom?
Those are the Palestinians, from The Angry Arab News Service/وكالة أنباء العربي الغاضب by As’ad, Who is scaring whom? (Reuters) http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/01/those-are-palestinians.html
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Mideast-Conflict/ss/events/wl/080601mideast#photoViewer=/100108/ids_photos_wl/r2191444578.jpg

The Transformation of Hamas, Fawaz A. Gerges
Like it or not, Hamas is the most powerful organization in the occupied territories. It is deeply entrenched in Palestinian society. Neither Israel nor the Western powers can wish it away. The good news, if my reading is correct, is that Hamas has changed, is willing to meet some of the Quartet’s conditions and is making domestic political preparations for further changes. But if Hamas is not engaged, and if the siege of Gaza and Palestinian suffering continue without hope of ending the political impasse, there is a real danger of a regional war.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100125/gerges/print

I Am Yusef and This Is My Brother: A Palestinian story about Palestinians
In the war of 1948, thousands of Palestinians were uprooted from their homes never to return, and playwright Amir Nizar Zuabi is determined to tell their stories.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2010/jan/10/amir-nizar-zuabi-interview

The Value of a (Jewish) Life, Joharah Baker
In the course of the last four days, eight Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip by Israeli military forces. Eight people. In comparison to last year’s death toll of over 1,400 during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, this seems like a miniscule number. But each death is its own event, at least it should be. Sadly, however, when the death is a Palestinian one, the event barely bleeps across the radar.
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=21455&CategoryId=3

Israel’s crisis, Philip Weiss
Just back from Israel/Palestine, the overwhelming sense I carry away is that the present state cannot last. Just how it goes down I have no idea. But conditions are so obviously discriminatory, and the knowledge of these conditions now so widespread– among the Christian pilgrims in my Jerusalem guesthouse, among European leaders, and now too among the Israeli elite and American left–that the situation is reminiscent of the delegitimizing of communism in the 70s and 80s. The period of apartheid struggle that Ehud Olmert warned of two years ago is upon us. So too his warning of possible “national suicide."
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/01/the-israel-crisis.html

Should Israel Birthright Include Implication For Occupied Territories?
There was a massive celebration this week for the 10-year anniversary of Birthright Israel. The nonprofit program, which pays for young Jews to come to Israel to connect with their Jewish roots, is a runaway success. But not everyone thinks that’s a good thing. Birthright Unplugged is a program that takes Jewish-American university students to the occupied territories to show them what they say is the reality Birthright Israel ignores in its quest to bring Jews from around the world to Israel. NPR’s Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122416343