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Land Theft & Destruction / Ethnic Cleansing / Restriction of Movement / Apartheid & Occupation

Anti-corruption commission pursues PLO land theft BETHLEHEM
(Ma’an) —

The Palestinian Authority’s anti-corruption commission is working to retrieve PLO-owned land registered to individual PLO leaders, commission chief Rafiq Natsha said Wednesday. So far in 2012, the commission has recovered around 400 dunums of PLO -owned land, Natsha told Ma’an. In the past, the PLO’s land was registered as the private property of PLO leaders, some of whom have voluntarily approached the commission to return it, Natsha told Ma’an. Other PLO leaders are claiming they own the land and have refused to return it, he said. They have been asked to produce deeds to prove their ownership, and those who failed to do so have been taken to court and forced to cede the land to the PLO.
link to www.maannews.net

Huge Judaization ceremony south of al-Aqsa Mosque

The Israeli occupation authorities are preparing for a huge ceremony in light of the Judaization plans targeting the Umayyad palaces area south of al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalemite sources revealed.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

Army To Demolish Home Near Ramallah

Israel soldiers invaded, on Thursday morning, Dir Nitham village, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and handed a resident a military order informing him that the army intends to demolish his home.
link to www.imemc.org

Palestinian Authority : Israel violating Oslo deal on water prices

The Palestinians never thought they’d still buy water from Israel 17 years after the interim accord. But they do, and are still subjected to Jerusalem’s arbitrary pricing regime. Two pipes for two peoples, part 2.
link to www.haaretz.com

West Bank settlers stealing tons of soil from Palestinian land

Haaretz has learned that the practice of stealing soil in the West Bank is common in dozens of settlements, and the authorities are doing nothing to combat it.
link to www.haaretz.com

’Police fail to prosecute Palestinian trees vandalism’

Human rights group says 162 complaints filed by Palestinians over alleged orchard vandalism by settler last seven years have yielded only one indictment.
link to www.ynetnews.com

New army checkpoint at Hebron refugee camp

HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli forces set up a checkpoint early Thursday at the entrance of al-Fawar refugee camp south of Hebron, backing up traffic, witnesses said. Soldiers stopped cars and searched them while scrutinizing the identification documents of drivers and passengers, according to commuters. Israel’s military did not immediately return calls seeking comment. Meanwhile a group of Israeli settlers in Hebron has been caught stealing olives from Palestinian farmland, local activists said and a video uploaded to YouTube appeared to confirm. The Palestinian group Youth Against Settlements released the video of settlers at work on the olive trees "in line with the Israeli plan to control Hebron."
link to www.maannews.net

Palestinian Authority : Israel violating Oslo deal on water prices

This past summer, Palestinian water authority officials were hoping that the water crisis would ease up in the Hebron area and the Gaza Strip, after an agreement was reached over the purchase of additional water from Israel.
link to www.haaretz.com

Israeli & Egyptian Siege on Gaza

Egypt seals Gaza tunnels

For years, many Palestinians relied on goods transported through tunnels running from Egypt to Gaza. The Egyptian authorities have been shutting them down and it is believed that nearly 35 per cent are now closed. Cal Perry reports this new crackdown is causing an economic crisis.
link to www.youtube.com

IOF launch surveillance balloon southeast of Gaza city
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Wednesday evening launched a new military surveillance zeppelin over Juhr Addik district to the southeast of Gaza city.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

Miles of Smiles bring cars modified for disabled people to Gaza

EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — Around 150 cars adapted for disabled people are being delivered to the Gaza Strip as part of a Miles of Smiles aid convoy. Egyptian authorities coordinated the entry of around 51 adapted cars and dozens of activists to Gaza through the Rafah crossing last week, an Egyptian Red Crescent official told Ma’an. The rest of the vehicles will be delivered in two batches, he said. Nine trucks of clothing will be delivered to Gaza for students and children with special needs next week, donated by Islamic Relief Worldwide, he added. The Palestinian Legislative Council in the Gaza Strip welcomed the Miles of Smiles activists last week, a statement from the Interior Ministry said. Deputy PLC speaker Ahmad Bahar said the convoy proved the worldwide support for Palestinians’ rights to dignity, independence and freedom. "This convoy, which is composed of people from different Arab and Islamic capital cities and from the world’s countries, reflects the unity of the Arab and Islamic nation concerning Palestine and Jerusalem, and represents a significant step on the path of supporting Jerusalem and liberating al-Aqsa Mosque," Bahar added. Essam Youssef, who led the 16th Miles of Smiles convoy, said more convoys would flock to Palestine.
link to www.maannews.net

Israeli Terrorism

Jewish settler runs over Palestinian boy in hit and run
An illegal Jewish settler ran over a Palestinian child with a car in an apparent hit and run attack in the city of Al-Khalil Thursday morning, the Palestine Information Center reports. Eyewitnesses said the 10-year-old Munketh Al-Jabari sustained injuries and bruises all over his body and was taken to hospital. They said the settler appeared to deliberately hit the child. Jewish settlers from the Al-Khalil area threw rocks at a Palestinian car this week, injuring its driver and breaking one of his ribs.
link to english.al-akhbar.com

Israeli settlers increase their attacks on Palestinian Christian sites

At the same time that thousands of Christian Zionist tourists descended on Jerusalem last week to display their unequivocal support for Israel, local Christian leaders say they fear a recent increase in attacks on their holy sites signals the potential for future, more extreme violence. “Today, they attack holy sites in the night. Tomorrow, they will attack the holy sites while they are filled with people, and then [it] will end [with them] bombarding churches and mosques while people are praying,” Rifat Kassis, coordinator of Kairos Palestine, a Palestinian Christian activist organization, told The Electronic Intifada. “If we fail to see this from now, and to stop this from now, then the whole international community is complicit with this,” he warned.
link to electronicintifada.net

Settlers Attack Burin village Near Nablus

Israeli settlers invaded, on Wednesday evening, the Burin village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and attacked several residents returning home from their olive orchards. Two youths injured by army fire.
link to www.imemc.org

Further Night Raids in Beit Ommar

At 3 a.m. October 10th Israeli occupation forces entered the village of Beit Ommar and broke into the house of Jamil Al Alamy. The soldiers searched the family home and gave them an order for the son, Iyad Jamil Al Alamy, to meet at the military base in the colony of Gush Etzion. The son is 23 years old and he is currently studying at the Palestine Polytechnic University in Hebron. The occupation forces also went to the Safa area in Beit Ommar and they gave the same kind of order to Abdelkader Akhalil (50), Waael Abdul Hamid Akhalil (42) and two other men living in the same area. In total, five orders were given out this night. Night raids happen on weekly basis in Beit Ommar and they are often resulting in arrests of Palestinian children and youth. According to Prisoner Club Hebron and Center for Freedom and Justice 160 residents of Beit Ommar have been arrested the last nine months.
link to palestinesolidarityproject.org

Israeli settlers increase their attacks on Palestinian Christian sites

As part of the wider pattern of of “price tag” violence and arson, Israeli settlers have been attacking Palestinian churches and monasteries.
link to electronicintifada.net

Israeli conscripts, settlers storm Aqsa mosque

A big number of Israeli male and female conscripts stormed the holy Aqsa mosque in occupied Jerusalem on Wednesday morning.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

SMC condemns the Israeli attacks against al-Aqsa mosque

The SMC in Jerusalem held an urgent meeting, on Wednesday morning, to discuss the recent Israeli attacks against al-Aqsa mosque during this week, where several decisions have been taken.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

PA denounces religious incitement to kill Palestinians

The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denounced a rabbinical ruling which incites people to kill Palestinians. In a press statement, the ministry said that it holds the Israeli government fully responsible for this "terrorist" ruling and called on Tel Aviv to stop sponsoring and supporting such acts.
link to www.middleeastmonitor.com

Illegal Arrests

PA extends the detention of Quds press reporter for 15 days for the second time

The PA Magistrate’s Court in Nablus extended on Wednesday the detention of Quds Press correspondent in Nablus Mohamed Anwar Mona, 30, for 15 days for the second time in a row.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

Nabi Saleh journalist ’arrested in Israeli raid’
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities arrested a Palestinian journalist from the Ramallah-area village of Nabi Saleh on Thursday and took him to an unknown location, locals said. Soldiers raided the home of Mohammad Atallah al-Tamimi, 24, and destroyed its contents before arresting the journalist, who works for the Tamimi press agency, residents said. The detainee is also active with the village’s popular committee media office, they said. An Israeli army spokeswoman said she had no record of the incident. The local popular committee said in a statement that it held Israeli forces responsible for the journalist’s well-being, and it condemned a series of arrests and invasions of the village. "All these policies aim to pressure the Palestinians and kill Palestinian resistance, but we will never stop. We will keep fighting and struggling against the occupation," the statement said. According to a Palestinian media advocacy group, Israeli forces have committed 559 violations against media freedoms in the West Bank and Gaza in the last four years.
link to www.maannews.net

IOF troops launch arrest campaign in West Bank
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) launched a large-scale search and arrest campaign in a number of West Bank cities and village at dawn Thursday, local sources said.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

Israeli forces arrest seven Gazans at Erez crossing in 2012
Israeli occupation forces arrested seven Palestinian from the Gaza Strip at Erez (Beit Hanun) crossing since the start of 2012, the Palestine prisoners’ center for studies said on Thursday.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

Other Prisoner News

The prisoner Sharawna plans to step up his hunger strike
The prisoner Ayman Sharawna, on hunger strike for the past 100 days, has informed his lawyer that he would step up his hunger strike, in response to the Israeli procrastination to release him.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

PA courts extend detention of eight Hamas supporters
The PA magistrate and primary courts in Nablus have extended the detention of eight supporters of Hamas for 15 days including four brothers and a journalist.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

Serious deterioration in the health of prisoner al-Amour
The Ramla Prison Hospital administration stated that the detainee Riyadh Dakhlallah al-Amour, 43, was transferred to the emergency department at the hospital ’Assaf Harofe’.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

Protests / Solidarity / Activism / BDS

European Parliament must reject new trade deal with Israel
Human rights are supposed to be at the core of all the EU’s activities. Why, then, is it boosting economic cooperation with Israel ?
link to electronicintifada.net

Watch : Registration opens for World Social Forum Free Palestine in Brazil, Asa Winstanley
In this video, Palestinians call for participation in the World Social Forum Free Palestine. Happening in Porto Alegre, Brazil at the end of November, the social forum is now open for registration.
link to electronicintifada.net

Tadamon ! Part of Culture Shock : Apartheid 101 & BDS on campus
Tadamon presents as part of QPIRG Mcgill’s Culture shock series : Wednesday, October 17th – 6pm Lev Bukhman room, SSMU Building 3480 McTavish (metro Peel) Tadamon ! (solidarity in Arabic) is giving an interactive workshop that looks at the true nature of Israel as an Apartheid state.
link to www.tadamon.ca

Rabbi Brant Rosen : BDS “akin to the Montgomery Bus Boycott”, Annie Robbins
"I’ve come to believe that solidarity should ultimately be driven by values, not tribal allegiances. It should be motivated by the prophetic vision that demands that we stand with the powerless and call out the powerful. Of course, in the case of Israel, this form of solidarity presents a very painful challenge to many Jews. I understand that. But at the very least, shouldn’t we be talking about this challenge and what it represents for us ?"
link to mondoweiss.net

Baltzer : BDS Movement Strategic, Flexible, Diverse and Inclusive
Below is an article in The Jewish Week covering the talk our National Organizer Anna Baltzer gave this past weekend in New York on "The Jewish-American Relationship with Israel at the Crossroads" with Norman Finkelstein. You can read Anna’s remarks here.
link to blog.endtheoccupation.org

Let’s unite our struggles to challenge legacies of US and Israeli ethnic cleansing
Israel’s law against equating its foundation with ethnic cleansing mimics Arizona’s ban on Mexican studies.
link to electronicintifada.net

Racism and Discrimination

Lawyers to boycott Israeli courts over body searches
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Palestinian lawyers will boycott Israeli courts in protest over being subjected to physical searches before entering the courtroom, the Ministry of Prisoner Affairs said Thursday. Lawyers walked out of Israel’s Salim military court on Thursday in protest over the searches by Israeli forces, which they said violated international law, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry said Israeli prison authorities were trying to restrict the work of Palestinian lawyers to target Palestinian prisoners and their right to legal representation. Lawyers have the right to access court without harassment or restrictions, the ministry added.
link to www.maannews.net

Israeli Army Radio Presenter : I Hope Next U.S. President Will “Hate Arabs”, Richard Silverstein
Kobi Arieli, a prominent ultra-Orthodox radio presenter for Galey Tzahal (Army Radio) told his co-host that he hoped that the upcoming U.S. presidential election would bring to office a president who “hates Arabs.” The statement may’ve been intended in that sort of “light-hearted” way bigots have of thinking they’re telling a joke when they’re speaking cold, brutal truth. Even more chilling was the reaction of Irit Linor, his co-host, who let loose a peal of laughter at his comment at the end of which she closed the segment by saying “Very nice.” This is precisely the sort of casual, everyday racism one comes to expect of a society which has lost all sense of democratic values. A society in which racist, supermacist theological values have triumphed.
link to www.richardsilverstein.com

Israeli leader of movement to expel African asylum-seekers driven by fear of miscegenation, David Sheen
According to accepted wisdom - or more accurately, received wisdom from Israeli public relations officials - most Jewish Israelis don’t abhor non-Jewish Arabs for racial reasons, they only resent them for violently resisting Jewish mass immigration to Palestine. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is often portrayed in the American media as a contest over land and other precious resources, but not so often as a battle to defend the Jewish genome.
link to mondoweiss.net

Yishai : Israeli border prisons ready to detain 10,000 African ’infiltrators’
Israel’s interior Minister, Eli Yishai, has said that special detention centres to house African ’infiltrators’ along the border with Egypt are primed to accommodate approximately 10,000 individuals by the end of the year. During a visit to Saharonim Prison in the Negev on Thursday, Yishai was quoted by Hebrew Radio as saying that the aim behind detaining the ’infiltrators’ is to force them to leave Israel voluntarily, so as to restore calm and security, and maintain the Jewish majority in the country.
link to www.middleeastmonitor.com

ADL pulls out of interfaith dialogue over letter urging rethink of U.S. aid to Israel
Withdrawal announced in protest at letter sent by Christian leaders to Congress, urging a reevaluation of U.S. military aid to Israel.
link to www.haaretz.com

For Abe Foxman’s ADL, “interfaith dialogue” means Christian leaders must shut up about Israeli crimes, Ali Abunimah
ADL objects as US Christian leaders call for Congress to review aid to Israel, suggest it may violate US laws.
link to electronicintifada.net

Political Developments / Other News

Sayyed Nasrallah : Islamic Resistance Sent Surveillance Drone South Palestine
Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah announced Thursday that the surveillance drone, which flew over occupied Palestine reaching the southern part, was sent by the Islamic resistance in Lebanon.
link to www.almanar.com.lb

Israel’s air traffic halted after unidentified craft spotted over country’s center
Flights in and out of Ben-Gurion International Airport postponed until all-clear received from Air Force ; new details emerge regarding incident in which UAV penetrated Israel’s airspace over weekend.
link to www.haaretz.com

Israel closes air space
The Israeli Air Force was on maximum alert on Wednesday due to the "infiltration of objects into Israeli airspace" which was closed as a result. All air traffic in and out of the country’s Ben Gurion Airport was suspended for some time. The alert came just days after an unmanned drone, believed to have been launched by Hezbollah, was shot down by Israel over the Negev Desert. A number of military reconnaissance aircraft were scrambled and anti-aircraft missile batteries were deployed in case the "objects" were hostile. There has been no confirmation of what they actually were. In fact, according to Israel military radio, the alert turned out to be a false alarm, and the airspace was reopened for civilian traffic after several minutes. Palestinian sources report increased activity by the Israeli air force over the occupied West Bank and the 1948 Armistice ("Green") Line during the alert.
link to www.middleeastmonitor.com

Israel plans espionage against Morsi’s Egypt
Israeli plans for spying on Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi have been published by the Palestinian news agency Sama. The plans, it is claimed, were prepared by the Mossad and Aman spy agencies. Dubbed ’Green Crescent’, the plans were designed to spy on the president’s public and personal activities, even making note of how long he sleeps and the amount of time he spends with his family and neighbours. It is known that Mossad has compiled a comprehensive file about Morsi, but he is now under more extensive scrutiny since he took full control of the country. His close associates in the presidential team are also believed to be included in the observations. Mossad, it is alleged, is seeking to recruit a spy from within the president’s team to learn what is said behind closed doors where even the bugging devices cannot reach. One of Mossad’s priorities is to know the extent of Egyptian links with the Hamas government in Gaza. Relations with Iran and Turkey are also being watched closely.
link to www.middleeastmonitor.com

Palestinians foresee no change after Israeli elections
Early election announcement finds Palestinians pessimistic about prospect of change in Israel’s political map, analysts say peace process will take backseat
link to www.ynetnews.com

Hamas : Bringing forward elections prove the fragility of the Israeli situation
The Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas" considered the early Israeli elections as evidence of the fragility of the situation inside the Israeli entity.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

Abu Obeida : the joint resistance operations are more painful to the occupation
Ezzedeen Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, stated that the joint operations to respond to the Israeli escalation are "more painful to the enemy".
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

Abu Seir : The capture of soldiers is the magical solution to free our prisoners
Palestinian ex-detainee Samer Abu Seir said the last prisoner swap deal proved that the capture of Israeli soldiers are the magical solution for the liberation of Palestinian prisoners.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

MP Masri : Liberating prisoners comes before liberating Aqsa
Hamas MP Mushir Al-Masri said that his movement prioritizes the liberation of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation jails over that of liberating the Aqsa mosque.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

Hamas to pay September salaries on Sunday
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Employees of the Hamas government in Gaza will receive their September salaries on Sunday, the deputy prime minister said Thursday. Ziyad al-Thatha said in a statement that civil servants’ salaries would be available on Sunday in banks across the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank said Tuesday that the ongoing financial crisis was limiting its abilities to pay government employees on time. At a cabinet meeting in Ramallah, ministers said they would continue to exert their utmost efforts to provide the necessary funding for employees and pay September salaries as soon as possible.
link to www.maannews.net

UNESCO chief says US funding cuts ’crippling’ organization
PARIS (Reuters) — UNESCO is in its "worst ever financial situation" after its biggest contributor the United States froze funding last year, the director general of the United Nations’ cultural agency said Thursday. The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization was plunged into crisis in October 2011 when Washington, an ally of Israel, cancelled its grant in protest at the body’s decision to grant the Palestinians full membership.
link to www.maannews.net

NATO commander to visit Israel
Admiral James Stavridis’ visit is scheduled at the height of a joint exercise carried out by the Israeli and U.S. armies.
link to www.haaretz.com

Jordan : US forces plan shield against Syria
From the edge of a steep mountain overlooking a desert compound built into an old rock quarry, machine gunfire echoes just outside hangars where U.S. special operations forces are training Jordanian commandos.
link to news.yahoo.com

One of Israel’s most influential rabbis arrested for bribing police officer
Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto, said to have ties to businessmen Nochi Dankner, Rami Levi, Ofer Nimrodi, and Ilan Ben Dov, is suspected of paying an officer for information regarding a police investigation.
link to www.haaretz.com

Analysis / Op-ed / Human Interest

Podcast : West Bank village faces irreversible damage in Israel’s wall plan
Israel’s plans for the wall in the West Bank could irreversibly damage the village of Battir and destroy the heritage of its Palestinian residents ; BDS news, and more !
link to electronicintifada.net

It’s All About Israel
Editorial note : This is the second part of a three-part article. Part I is here. Part III will appear on Friday. It was and is a matter of high principle for the neoconservatives that the US unconditionally support Israel in its struggle against the Arab world.
link to original.antiwar.com

Israeli man who impersonated Palestinian woman is linked to Free Gaza debacle and photo hoax
In a strange and alarming twist, an Israeli man who impersonated a Palestinian woman online, emerges in the midst of the Free Gaza controversy.
link to electronicintifada.net

Palestine Pays Hefty Price for Eid
Hundreds of thousands of entry permits are expected to be granted to Palestinians during Eid al-Adha, but the move is likely to hurt Palestine economically as well as undermine the standing of the Palestinian Authority as the effective power.