TODAY in PALESTINE

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Christmas and Christians in the Holy Land

PLO releases Bethlehem Christmas video
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 22 Dec — The PLO’s negotiations affairs department and Palestinian Government Media Center released a video on Saturday about the realities of Bethlehem ahead of Christmas. The video, titled Justice is Possible and Hope is Justified, reflects the "current reality of Bethlehem, the birthplace of the Prince of Hope," an emailed statement said.
link to www.maannews.net

The terror lurking in a Christmas tree

Dissident Voice 23 Dec — Israel tries to ban non-Jewish celebrations by Jonathan Cook — ...who would imagine that Israeli Jews could be so intimidated by the innocuous Christmas tree ? This issue first came to public attention two years ago when it was revealed that Shimon Gapso, the mayor of Upper Nazareth, had banned Christmas trees from all public buildings in his northern Israeli city. "Upper Nazareth is a Jewish town [although it is about 1/5 Palestinian] and all its symbols are Jewish," Gapso said. "As long as I hold office, no non-Jewish symbol will be presented in the city." ... But Gapso is not alone in his trenchant opposition to making even the most cursory nod towards multiculturalism. The city’s chief rabbi, Isaiah Herzl, has refused to countenance a single Christmas tree in Upper Nazareth, arguing that it would be "offensive to Jewish eyes" ... A recent report in the Haaretz newspaper, on an Israeli Jew who grows Christmas trees commercially, noted in passing : "hotels — under threat of losing kashrut certificates — are prohibited by the rabbinate from decking their halls in boughs of holly or, heaven forbid, putting up even the smallest of small sparkly Christmas tree in the corner of the lobby." In other words, the rabbinate has been quietly terrorising Israeli hotel owners into ignoring Christmas by threatening to use its powers to put them out of business.
link to dissidentvoice.org

This Christmas, remember Palestine’s Christians

Ma‘an 23 Dec by Mairead Corrigan-Maguire — ...To simply take the case of Bethlehem — although Christians live in many other areas of Palestine and Israel – one sees that from an historic high of 80 percent in 1947, Christians now make up only around 20 percent of the population. The past decade alone has seen over 10 percent of Christians leaving their homeland. While there have been attempts by some with anti-Islamic or pro-Israel agendas to place the blame for this on "Muslim extremism," Palestinian Christians are the first to point out that is an untruth. A poll found that an overwhelming majority of Bethlehem’s Christians blamed the Israeli occupation and its effect on the local economy for this migration. "If there was no political problem, the economic situation would be good, so the problems are linked," says Hanna Eissa, the deputy minister of Christian religious affairs in the Palestinian Authority.
George Rishmawi of the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement has said that "Christians are part of the Palestinian social fabric … and of Islamic culture. Palestinians do not differentiate between Muslims and Christians," and that "Israel makes no distinction between Christians and Muslims about land grabs." Rishmawi cites Jabal Abu Ghneim as an example ; most of this land, confiscated by Israel for the illegal settlement of Har Homa, is Christian land ... Today there are 22 of these settlements established on Bethlehem’s land, while the illegal separation wall that surrounds most of Bethlehem steals a further 980 acres and restricts freedom of movement and trade.
link to www.maannews.net

New Bethlehem mayor wants the gift of hope

Bethlehem, West Bank (AP) 22 Dec — Bethlehem’s first female mayor, Vera Baboun, can’t walk through the main square of the biblical town without being stopped by admirers. "This is our new mayor, who is turning Bethlehem into one of the greatest cities in the world," a tour guide hollered to a group of Christian tourists passing by the Church of the Nativity, built over the grotto where tradition says Jesus was born. Starting with Christmas celebrations — the high point of the year in the town — Baboun is hoping to turn things around in the troubled city. For the past seven years, the Islamic Hamas militant group had a strong presence in Bethlehem’s leadership, prompting a cutoff of international aid funds. But members lost their seats in October elections that brought in Baboun, who is Christian, as the mayors traditionally are.
link to www.detroitnews.com

Christians in Israel : Strong in education

Ynet 23 Dec — On Christmas Eve of 2012 the Christian population in Israel numbers 158,000 and comprises 2% of the Israeli population, according to data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) on Sunday. A whopping 80.6% of Christians are of Arab ethnicity while the rest are originally from the former Soviet Union having made aliyah together with their Jewish family members under the Law of Return ... In terms of child-birth, in 2011 the average number of children born to a Christian mother stood at 2.2, and was the lowest birth rate among all religious groups in Israel ... The CBS noted that when taking into account the data recorded over the years, Christian Arabs fared the best in terms of education in comparison to any other group receiving an education in Israel.
link to www.ynetnews.com

Daily Mass, generous deeds : Bethlehem Catholic lives Christmas all year

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (CNS) 20 Dec — A Bethlehem Franciscan said watching the actions of one of his parishioners reminds him of the meaning of his vocation. Franciscan Father Rami Asakrieh said that, with their devotion to their faith and commitment to giving, Anton Mousallam and his family inspire him. Because of the economic and political situation in Bethlehem, few people are able and willing to give of themselves as the Mousallam family does, Father Asakrieh told Catholic News Service. "If somebody reminds you of your vocation because of his example, you have to be more faithful," Father Asakrieh said. "It gives you hope and courage to be faithful to your vocation." Although many people feel the spirit of giving at Christmas, Father Asakrieh said the spirit of giving is something Anton Mousallam and his family live by every day of the year.
link to www.catholicnews.com

Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Restriction of movement

Settlement round-up : Thousands new homes planned for East Jerusalem, West Bank

972blog 22 Dec by Hagit Ofran and Lior Amihai — A breakdown of the myriad of settlement plans being aggressively pursued in recent weeks — The past few weeks may have been confusing for those who try to keep track of Israeli settlement activity. So many plans and approvals, some of which are lethal for the two-state solution, make it clear that the Netanyahu government has decided to push forward as many plans as possible in order to determine facts on the ground before the elections in Israel, as long as there is no “threat” of any renewal of the peace process. Following are the details of the recent developments in settlements:1. E1 and 3,000 new tenders 2. Plans for 6,600 units in East Jerusalem 3. Givat Hamatos 4. Tenders in Efrat, Karnei Shomron and Givat Ze’ev 5. A Palestinian family is threatened with eviction in Sheikh Jarrah
link to 972mag.com

Israel to demolish Palestinian homes in Jerusalem

IMEMC/Agencies 23 Dec — Israeli soldiers, and personnel of the Jerusalem City Council, distributed Sunday new orders against a number of Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem. Local sources reported that the army invaded As-Sowwana neighborhood, near the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, and imposed a tight siege on the area before posting the warrants on the doors of several homes under the pretext that they were built without construction permits.
link to www.imemc.org

Abbas says E1 settlement project will never happen

RAMALLAH 22 Dec (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that Israel’s plan to build the E1 settlement project on the outskirts of East Jerusalem "is a red line and we will not allow it to happen." Speaking at the opening session of the Fatah Advisory Council, Abbas said that "we are holding contacts on all levels to stop this Israeli project that aims to sabotage the peace process."
link to english.wafa.ps

New wave of radical Israeli settlers digging in for the long haul in the West Bank

Itamar settlement (Telegraph) 22 Dec — Israel’s plans to step up settlements on the West Bank have drawn the harshest criticism yet from Barack Obama’s administration. But, as Nick Meo finds out, those living in the settlements are not going anywhere — High on a windy limestone plateau in the ancient biblical land of Judea and Samaria is the settlement of Itamar, a Jewish bastion deep in what today is hostile Arab territory ... "We are returning to the land that was given to the Jews as an everlasting inheritance," Mr Goldsmith said. A heavy-set man who is intensely proud of the settlers’ mission, he is acutely aware that not everyone in Israel admires his fervour. "Today the word settler has become a dirty word, and many people think we have got horns," he joked. The Israeli-Arab conflict, a matter of agonised complexity to most of the world, is very simple to him. "Unfortunately the Muslim world sanctifies violence and killing," he said. "They are violent people by nature and it is we who have suffered." Mr Goldsmith insists that Itamar was empty land before the settlers moved in — local Arabs say it was full of their flocks and olive trees — and he is proud of the settlement’s achievements.
link to www.telegraph.co.uk

Israeli forces stop Ramallah governor for hours
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 22 Dec – Israeli forces on Saturday evening stopped for several hours the cars of the governor of Ramallah and her escorts near the entrance to the village of Sinjil north of Ramallah. A spokesman from Layla Ghannam’s office said the governor was being escorted by an official delegation in Sinjil to offer condolences to a bereaved family when three army patrols stopped the cars. "When the soldiers learned that it was an official PA delegation, they savagely collected everybody’s identity cards," Samir Tayyim told Ma‘an. Responding to the incident, Ghannam said it was a political message from the Israeli occupation’s government to the leadership of the Palestinian Authority. Israeli leaders, she added, have already threatened PA leaders and hope to topple the PA.
link to www.maannews.net

The calendar of the people of south Mount Hebron
The Villages Group 23 Dec — Dear friends, The solar year of 2012 will be ending soon. The villagers of the South Hebron Hills have a different calendar. It is a calendar that counts the days since a house, a mosque or a rabbit pen has been demolished over its dwellers, obviously constituting a security threat to the Jewish State... That calendar counts the days on which agents of the Civil Administration show up before sunrise, escorted by army and police, in order to implement demolition orders issued by the ruling power’s ignorance ... This darkness is lit up by the people themselves as they rise every morning to a new day, and some of them manage to smile. This darkness is lit, as well, by people who live elsewhere and their hearts have not turned blind.
https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups=#!topic/newprofile/RTxrouRAVGI

Violence / Incursions / Clashes / Arrests

5 Palestinians hurt as Israeli troops fire at funeral near Hebron

HEBRON (Ma‘an) 22 Dec — Israeli soldiers opened fire and injured five young Palestinian men Saturday north of Hebron in the southern West Bank as clashes erupted when soldiers attacked a funeral procession. Muhammad Ayyad Awad, a spokesman of a local popular committee against the wall and settlements, said hundreds of residents took part in a funeral procession of Ahmad Ibrahim Salim Adi in Beit Ummar ... Awad added that when the mourners arrived at the cemetery near the main street, Israeli soldiers stationed at the town’s northern entrance started to fire tear-gas canisters at them. After that, young men threw stones at the soldiers who fired live bullets and rubber-coated bullets. Omar Mahmoud Awad was hit by a live bullet to the thigh, and Nizar Ali Awad received a gunshot to his lower back, according to Awad ... Three other young men were hit by rubber-coated bullets and were also evacuated to a Hebron hospital, added Awad. An Israeli soldier was hit by a stone in the head during confrontations, according to Awad.
link to www.maannews.net

shepherds’ near Herodionnice touch, in fields near Bethlehem at Christmastime : Settlers ’attack

BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 22 Dec – Dozens of Jewish settlers on Saturday assaulted Palestinian shepherds in the village of Beit Taamar east of Bethlehem, a spokesman of a local popular committee against Israel’s wall and settlements said. Hasan Breigiyeh told Ma‘an that settlers from Nokdim settlement, where outgoing Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman lives, attacked local shepherds near Herodion. The settlers, according to Bregiyyeh, stabbed some sheep.
link to www.maannews.net

Palestinian cab driver shot in Jerusalem
IMEMC 23 Dec — Israeli sources reported, Sunday morning, that a Palestinian taxi driver was shot by Israeli soldiers near a military base in Jabal Al-Mokabbir area in occupied East Jerusalem. The sources claimed that the cabbie drove through a military roadblock, and rammed a soldier with his car. The Israeli TV reported that “the soldiers defended themselves”, and added that the soldier who opened fire testified that he "tried to stop the taxi but the driver rammed him, causing fractures to his legs." The TV added that the soldier opened fire at the Palestinian taxi driver wounding him in his legs ; the soldier and the wounded Palestinian were moved to a hospital in Jerusalem. [JTA article : Police believe the incident was nationalistically motivated ; authorities said they knew the driver. "I lost my mind," the driver reportedly told police after the incident. "I wanted to drive into the station."]
link to www.imemc.org

Soldiers kidnap five Palestinians in Hebron
IMEMC 23 Dec — Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Friday at night and on Saturday, five Palestinians in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, while several Palestinians have been injured after being attacked by the soldiers while trying to reach their land in Yatta, south of Hebron ... The Palestinian Red Crescent in Yatta reported that resident Mohammad Yousef Al-Batsh, 55, was violently attacked by the soldiers and was beaten on the head, arms and shoulders.
link to www.imemc.org

Ransacking and arrests in Sarra and Tell
ISM 22 Dec — Hundreds of Israeli soldiers raided the neighbouring villages of Sarra and Tell, south of Nablus, broke into seven homes and arrested three people in the early hours of Thursday morning. A family in Sarra, a village of around 5,000 inhabitants, told us how 50 Israeli soldiers violently entered their home at 1:00am. The soldiers first forced the family of seven, including two children of ages three and ten, to stand outside the home in the cold, and then later locked them in one room inside the house. This while soldiers ransacked their house and deliberately smashed electronic appliances, furniture and tiles. A flight of stairs leading to a garage was entirely destroyed, furniture was overturned, doors were dislodged and broken and stored wheat was mixed with oil. One person was arrested and taken to the Huwwara Military Camp. No reason was given for the raid or the arrest. The mother who had one of her sons arrested expressed concern at the fact that when persons are taken away by the military they might be kept in prison for weeks, months or even years. Israeli law allows the military to keep Palestinians in administrative detention for years, without informing them of the charges against them.
link to palsolidarity.org

Israeli soldiers kidnapped 900 children in 2012
IMEMC 22 Dec — The Palestinian Ministry Of Detainees reported that this year witnessed a sharp increase in Israeli violations against Palestinian children, and said that Israeli soldiers kidnapped this year 900 Palestinian children comparing to 700 kidnapped last year. The Ministry said that following the latest aggression on Gaza, and the upgrade of Palestine’s status at the UN, Israeli soldiers stepped-up their assaults, especially against Palestinian youths and children.
It said that 95% of the kidnapped children were attacked, beaten and abused during their arrest, and added that most of the children were kidnapped from their homes between the hours of 2 and 4 at dawn, and that the army violently broke into their homes by smashing through the doors, and caused damage to the furniture and property during violent searches. The children were cuffed and blindfolded, and the soldiers violently attacked and insulted their parents who attempted to defend them and prevent their arrest. [longish article ; more details on what happened to the children after their arrests]
link to www.imemc.org

Gaza

Gaza official says two Palestinians wounded by Israeli fire
AP 23 Dec — A Gaza health official says two men have been wounded by Israeli fire in the central Gaza Strip. The official, Ashraf al-Kidra, says Israeli forces fired at the men east of Deir al-Balah late Sunday. Their identities were unclear. The official initially said the men had been killed, but he said that the two were found to be seriously wounded. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
link to www.edmontonjournal.com

Russian plane with aid for Gaza lands in Sinai
EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma‘an) 22 Dec — A Russian plane loaded with aid for the people in Gaza arrived to el-Arish airport Friday evening, an Egyptian security source said. The airplane, which belongs to the Russian government, carried 43 tons of humanitarian aid to be distributed to Gaza on Saturday. The Red Crescent in northern Sinai was unloading the plane Saturday.
link to www.maannews.net

OIC warns of crisis in Gaza
GAZA (PIC) 22 Dec — The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has warned of the collapse of Gaza’s health sector which continues to suffer shortages of two-thirds of medicines in hospitals and medical centers in the Strip. The Organization said, in its monthly report monitoring the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and issued on Saturday, that there is shortage of more than 305 medications out of 478, in addition to the shortage of medical supplies and most of the humanitarian needs.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

Turkish medical aid en route to Gaza
EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma‘an) 23 Dec — Turkey has donated 70 tons of medical aid to the Gaza Strip, an Egyptian security official said Sunday. Twelve vehicles carrying medicine and hospital equipment have arrived in el-Arish in Egypt’s Sinai and will be transferred to Gaza on Tuesday through Rafah crossing, the security officer told Ma‘an.
link to www.maannews.net

updated figures
Gaza government : 184 were killed and 1399 were injured in aggression
GAZA (PIC) 23 Dec — The Palestinian government in Gaza announced that the total number of people killed in the Israeli aggression, which lasted from the 14th to 21st November, hit 184, while the number of the wounded reached 1399 ... In a presentation of the damage to the agricultural sector, the government pointed to the destruction of about 37 thousand fruit trees, as about 1,000 dunums had been targeted and bombed by the Israeli jets and artillery shells. The results indicate that the direct and indirect agricultural losses hit $93 million so far.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

VIDEO : Gaza’s children haunted by nightmare of war
Dissident Voice 23 Dec — A UNICEF report indicates vast majority of Gaza’s children are struggling to cope with war trauma and PTSD. This is the first of a two-part series on the psychological toll the war and siege has taken on Gaza’s most vulnerable population. TRNN explores the Oum el Qurra school in the Tar el Hawa neighborhood in Gaza city where many of the students were still being pulled out of class for counseling one month after Israel’s eight day assault. Mental health workers, psychologists and therapists are overwhelmed by lack of resources. The second part will explore what methods are being used to treat, rehabilitate and recover children and adults from war trauma. Ahmed Deeb and Nosier Abdullah contributed to this report.
link to dissidentvoice.org

TIME magazine photos of the year
Tikun Olam 22 Dec by Richard Silverstein — Time Magazine has named the best photos of 2012 and the first one is an image from Israel’s war against Gaza last month featuring a surviving member of the massacred Dalou family tenderly kissing the limb of a dead relative. I’ve also included the back story offered by the photographer :
link to www.richardsilverstein.com

Weaving a racist narrative on Gaza : the CBS’s contribution / Labib Mohammad ElAli
New Socialist 23 Dec — As awareness around BDS grows, it will be critical to build a nuanced understanding of the alarming shift in some major Canadian institutions towards even greater complicity in Israeli colonialism, atrocity and mass oppression. Where this is the case, it is often done through a silencing of any criticism of Israel, coupled with the sophisticated weaving of a false and racist narrative that demonizes Arabs and any other victim of Israeli brutality.
During the week of Israeli raids on Gaza earlier last month, CBC radio’s flagship Toronto morning radio show, Metro Morning, participated in that silencing with remarkable consistency. All the segments referenced in the analysis below are available online.
... Tuesday, November 20 : By this date, in a war triggered and escalated by Israel through the targeted killing of children, 137 Gazans had been killed, the majority of them civilians. In response, rockets from Gaza killed a total of 3 Israelis. For its first interview from Palestine or Israel since the beginning of the raids, Metro Morning chose to interview Laura Hochman for its segment, We Are Doing OK. Laura was volunteering on an Israeli army base, and was interviewed to let Canadians know that she and those around her were alright. In the context of what was unfolding in Gaza, the timing and theme of the segment bordered on the perverse.
link to www.newsocialist.org

Gaza rocket lands in open area near Ashkelon
Ynet 23 Dec — A rocket fired from the central Gaza Strip landed in an open area near Ashkelon for the first time since the end of Operation Pillar of Defense. Israel has detected at least one failed mortar firing attempt in the past week. The rocket likely landed inside the Gaza Strip.
link to www.ynetnews.com

Prisoners

Minister : Sharawneh suspends hunger strike after 176 days
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 23 Dec — Ayman Sharawneh suspended his hunger strike on Sunday after 176 days because doctors warned he risked death, the minister of prisoner affairs said Sunday. Issa Qaraqe told Ma‘an that Sharawneh would suspend his protest for one week but will resume the strike if Israel does not release him. Sharawneh was rearrested after his release in the Oct. 2011 prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas. A lawyer for the prisoner rights group Addameer visited Sharawneh in Ramle prison clinic on Tuesday and said the 36-year-old was in immediate danger of death. Sharawneh had lost his vision and was suffering severe kidney, liver and leg pains, the lawyer said.
link to www.maannews.net

Group : Hunger striker refuses to pay bail
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 22 Dec — The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court decided on Thursday to amend its previous decision that abides Samer al-Issawi to pay bail, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said. The decision was made after al-Issawi told the court that he would not pay any bail, the group said. The detainee has been on hunger strike for over 140 days in protest of his arrest without charge or trial.
link to www.maannews.net

11 young men from Jerusalem start a hunger strike as a sympathy with the prisoners in the Israeli prisons
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 22 Dec — The young men are Ahmad Qarain, Mousa al Abassi, Bashar al Mashni, Dahud Abu Labde, Fadi Marag’a, Samer Abu Eisha, Jihad al Khatib, Hussam Dandis, Ahmad al Ja’ba, Yassin Sbeh and Hani al Asouli
They set 2 solidarity tents in the center of the Red Cross in al Sheikh Jarrah Jerusalem and they named the tents "Tent of the Yarmuk" and the "Tent of Nahr al Bared" as a references to the Palestinian refugee camps, especially those who are sleeping in the cold assuring they will return to their lands
The men asked from the International Organizations to push the Israeli government to save the lives of the prisoners who has been striking over food [hunger-striking] for the last few months before it is too late, they mentioned 6 prisoners : Samer al Essawi, Ayman Sharawne, Tarek Ka’dan, Yousef Sha’ban and Ja’far Eiz al Din, that are suffering from a bad health situation
link to silwanic.net

Israeli court extends detention of female detainee
TOBAS (PIC) 22 Dec — An Israeli court in Salem military camp extended the detention of Eman Bani Odeh, 22, from Tamon town in Tobas for more questioning. The court turned down a request by her lawyer for releasing her on bail and decided that the Arab American University student should be held in custody until her interrogation was over as deemed by the prosecution. Eman was taken from her home on 7/12/2010 at the hands of Israeli occupation forces (IOF) after storming and searching her home in Tamon. She was held in the Jalama detention center. The IOF had arrested Eman’s brother Anas one month earlier. Eman’s trial was adjourned till 10/1/2013.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

Refugees

Iran says to send humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Syria
DUBAI (Reuters) 22 Dec — Iran plans to send humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Syria living in an area recently seized by Syrian rebels, Iran’s ambassador to Syria was quoted as saying on Saturday. Iran has been a staunch supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad of Syria who has been battling to put down a 21-month uprising against his rule, and Tehran has also long cast itself as a champion of the Palestinian people.
link to www.maannews.net

Nine Palestinians killed in Yarmouk refugee camp in new round of violence
LONDON (PIC) 23 Dec — The violence resumed in Yarmouk refugee camp of Syria on Saturday and resulted in the killing of nine Palestinian refugees. Consequently, the Palestinian death toll rose to 806 victims killed during attacks on different refugee camps in Syria.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

More than 700 Palestinians killed in Syrian conflict
AFP 23 Dec — More than 700 Palestinians have been killed in Syria since the beginning of the conflict last March, Zacharia al-Agha, a Palestine Liberation Organization official in charge of refugees said Sunday. "We have asked the Syrian authorities not to let Palestinians be drawn into the conflict," he told journalist in Cairo.
link to www.ynetnews.com

Syria denies bombing Yarmouk refugee camp
AFP 23 Dec — Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said the Syrian army did not attack the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp. He reiterated previous calls by the Syrian government to keep the Palestinians out of the internal conflict. A week ago, 25 people were killed in a bombing of the refugee camp and a few days later an additional attack was reported.
link to www.ynetnews.com

Hamas condemns Lebanese remarks on refugees
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 23 Dec — Hamas in Lebanon condemned the remarks of some Lebanese officials urging against aid for refugees from Syria’s Yarmouk refugee camp and not allowing Palestinians into Lebanon. In a statement, the Hamas refugee center in Lebanon said : "We appreciate the Lebanese hosting refugees from Yarmouk camp, but we are worried of the remarks of some Lebanese directions which call to close the borders and not to welcome refugees. We consider the remarks as racist and do not build a relationship of brotherhood between both nations."
link to www.maannews.net

Solidarity

All we want for Christmas is freedom for Palestine
ISM 22 Dec — Holiday’s Greetings and a Happy New Year from Palestine, and a chance to make your Christmas donation for our work to continue in 2013 ! The International Solidarity Movement is approaching the end of its twelfth year of solidarity with the Palestinian people. What started as a few activists participating in actions against the Israeli occupation has developed into a movement of constant growth and change ... For our work to continue, we need your help. Please go to our web page and make a donation. Your contribution will go a long way in making sure all this can happen. Any amount helps. In addition, please consider joining the ISM in 2013. Thank you.
link to palsolidarity.org

Factions

Risheq denies Sunday Times’ claims about Hamas cells in West Bank
GAZA (PIC) 23 Dec — Izzat al-Rishq member of Hamas political bureau, denied the allegations reported by the British Sunday Times newspaper, quoting Hebrew sources, claiming that "Hamas could seize power in the West Bank". The British Sunday Times newspaper claimed that "Hamas sleeper cells in the West Bank had been ordered by Khaled Mashal, its political leader, who is based partly in Egypt, to prepare for a struggle to take control," which was denied by Izzat al-Rishq on his Facebook page, on Sunday afternoon.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

PA arrests one of Hamas supporters and summons 5 others
BETHLEHEM (PIC) 22 Dec — The General Intelligence Service arrested in Bethlehem a liberated prisoner four days ago and extended the detention of another for two additional weeks. The Preventive Security apparatus also summoned two students at the Faculty of Al-Daawa Al-Islamiya in Qalqilya, and the journalist Ahmed Khassib, the al-Aqsa TV cameraman, in Ramallah, to its headquarters on Sunday, for the second time after his release on Thursday afternoon. The Aqsa TV cameraman had been arrested by the Authority’s Preventive service after storming his house in the town of Beitunia, west of Ramallah. He was released after the intervention of the Red Cross. Meanwhile, the Preventive Security in Tulkarem continued to hold two activists and insisted on summoning two others despite being recently released from its jails.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

Fatah : Hamas must declare position on festival
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 23 Dec — Fatah on Sunday called on Hamas to announce whether it will allow a Fatah festival in Gaza City’s main square. Fatah spokesman Usama al-Qawasmi criticized Hamas for not granting Fatah permission to use al-Katiba square for its 48th anniversary celebrations on Jan. 1. Hamas has agreed to let Fatah celebrate its 48th anniversary in the Gaza Strip, but says it is still deciding where the festival will be held. Fatah is insisting on holding the celebrations in al-Katiba square, where other factions usually hold rallies.
link to www.maannews.net

Political & Economic Developments

PA employees to continue strike
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 23 Dec — Palestinian Authority employees will strike on Thursday after receiving only part of their November salaries, their union said Sunday. Public sector staff were paid between 1,500 and 4,000 shekels ($400 - $1070) on Sunday as partial payment of November wages. Head of the union Bassam Zakarneh said government employees were paid only a quarter of the money owed to them and some could not afford food or transport. The PA has not set a date to pay the remainder of November salaries or wages for December, he noted.
link to www.maannews.net

Fayyad : Arab states evading commitments to PA
JENIN (Ma‘an) 23 Dec — Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Sunday criticized Arab states for evading their financial commitments to the PA. Arab countries have yet to follow through on a pledge in March to provide a financial safety net of $100 million monthly to the PA to mitigate Israeli sanctions, which were imposed in November. During a visit to Jenin, Fayyad called for an urgent Arab summit to address the PA’s financial crisis.
link to www.maannews.net

EU contributes more than €7m to November salary disbursement
JERUSALEM 23 Dec (WAFA) — The European Union (EU) Sunday contributed approximately €7.4 million to the payment of the November salaries and pensions of more than 84,000 Palestinian civil servants and pensioners in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, said a press release by EU ... EU Representative John Gatt-Rutter said, "I would like to underline once again the risks of jeopardising the major achievements of PA in state-building if the current financial difficulties are not addressed by a common effort of the PA, Israel and donors."
link to english.wafa.ps

EU contributes €11 million to needy Palestinians
JERUSALEM 22 Dec (WAFA) - The European Union contributed around €11 million to help poor and vulnerable Palestinian families in the West Bank and Gaza, an EU statement said Friday. The contribution, the fourth this year, will go to almost 55,000 Palestinian families in need, over half of them live in Gaza.
link to english.wafa.ps

CEC announces local election results
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) — The Central Elections Commission said Sunday that vote-counting had concluded in local elections held a day earlier. Voting took place in 24 municipalities that did not take part in October elections. In another 23 municipalities, seats were awarded to uncontested joint lists. Preliminary results were announced at a news conference in Ramallah.
link to www.maannews.net

4 wounded in clashes over local election result
SALFIT (Ma‘an) 23 Dec — Four people were wounded on Saturday when a fight broke out over local election results in Marda in the northern West Bank. Clashes erupted in Marda, north of Salfit, when results were announced. The wounded were taken to the Yasser Arafat Hospital in Salfit and Palestinian security forces imposed a curfew on the town, locals said.
link to www.maannews.net

Elections Cmte. presents Supreme Court with motion to ban MK Zoabi
Ynet 23 Dec — The Central Election Committee filed a motion with the Supreme Court to ratify the disqualification of Knesset Member Hanin Zoabi (Balad) from the upcoming election. The Supreme Court is expected to convene this week and discuss the request.
link to www.ynetnews.com

MK Barakeh in court over 2005 assault charges
Ynet 23 Dec — Hadash Chairman Mohammad Barakeh arrived in the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court Sunday to testify in proceedings held against him for allegedly assaulting a police officer in 2005. Barakeh said : "I can’t believe someone in my position has to be dragged to court like this. This is a cynical play by the prosecution."
link to www.ynetnews.com

Israeli Racism / Discrimination

Racist reporting gets free hand in Israeli press
972mag 23 Dec by I’lam : Media Center for Arab Palestinians in Israel — Examples of racism are abundant in the Israeli press. Both individual journalists and the media outlets that publish them must be taken to task for stereotyping Palestinians, and in some cases, inciting violence against them .. .In our most recent monitoring, we were able to highlight five dominant patterns regarding racial incitement in the media : lack of objectivity and racist opinion pieces ; generalizing in the service of legitimizing the occupation ; portraying Arabs as primitive ; incitement of religious tensions ; and incitement of violence against Palestinians. The full report can be read here.
link to 972mag.com

Asylum seekers arrested in Tel Aviv raid after authorities announce holiday reprieve
972blog 23 Dec by Rami Gudovitch — Immigration authorities announced a halt to arrests during the holidays. But just before the announcement went into effect, and as holiday preparations and celebrations got underway in south Tel Aviv, asylum seekers found themselves under arrest and at risk of deportation.
link to 972mag.com

Other news

’124-year-old’ Arab-Israeli woman dies
Ynet 22 Dec — Mariam Amash of the Arab-Israeli village of Jisr a-Zarka died Saturday morning. According to the Interior Ministry’s population registry, she was 124 years old. The listing was based on a birth certificate issued by Turkish authorities who ruled the region at the time. Amash, whose identification card states that she was born on "00.00.1888," had 10 children of her own and some 300 descendants. If Amash was in fact 124 years old at the time of her death, that would make her the oldest women ever documented ... Over the course of her life Masha made the pilgrimage to Mecca five times and prayed five times a day. "I always thank god for what he has given me, and I hope I will be given more years. Instead of telling me ’May you live until 120,’ people will say ’May you live until 150.’ I don’t know if I will reach that age," she told Ynet in March.
link to www.ynetnews.com

Analysis / Opinion / Reviews

A week in photos : December 13-19
20 Dec — Solidarity with Palestinian prisoners, anti-immigrant protests, Hamas marks 25 years in the West Bank, and more. Activestills images tell the stories of the week.
link to 972mag.com

Book review : Can’t bear to read : ’Our Harsh Logic’ / Ira Chernus
Truthout 21 Dec — When you were in school I bet that, at least once, you wrote a book review without ever reading the book. Well, that’s what I’m doing now - not because I’m lazy, but because I physically cannot get myself to open the book. The book is Our Harsh Logic, a collection of testimonies by Israeli soldiers who have served in the occupation army in the West Bank and Gaza ... I have read plenty about the occupation. That’s why I can’t get myself to open this book. I know what I’m going to find - not the details, but the general idea. And I know that many of the details will probably be more upsetting than I expect to find. That’s always been my experience, as a critic of the occupation since it began in 1967 : As bad as I think it is, the truth is always worse. If you want to get an idea of what I mean without reading the book, check out these excerpts offered by one of its editors, Oded Na’aman, on Tomdispatch.com. So how do I review this book without opening it ? One way is just to scream, at the top of my lungs, "NOT IN MY NAME !!!"
link to truth-out.org

Two years of Arab Spring : Tunis, Cairo ... Ramallah ? / Amira Hass
23 Dec — The inspiration for the Arab Spring came from young people in the street, but it seemed to bypass the West Bank and Gaza. Haaretz tracks down the Palestinians still talking about a revolution — "Hold your head high because you are a Palestinian." This was Fatah’s official slogan for the local council elections in the West Bank. The message imitated the chant sounded by demonstrators in Cairo’s Tahrir Square : "Hold your head high because you are an Egyptian." The Palestinian version has also been on the lips of young people : for example, when they demonstrated against the intention of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to meet Shaul Mofaz in Ramallah. In contrast, during a Hamas rally in Ramallah staged at the time of Operation Pillar of Defense last month, the demonstrators chanted a variation of the main revolutionary Arab call : "The people want missiles to be fired," and not as an ironic description of the Israeli people’s desires. [If you can’t access Haaretz, read this in a New Profile message.]
link to www.haaretz.com

Israeli settlement plans should shake up American policymakers / Michael Cohen
972mag 20 Dec — E1 should be a serious wake-up call for American policymakers, Michael Cohen argues below. If the controversial building project in the West Bank goes forward, he writes, it’s time to start saying what everyone in Washington knows – the two-state solution will die and the U.S. risks supporting a future of apartheid ... This is why E1 construction is such a hot button, not simply because of the damage it would do to the creation of a Palestinian state, but also because it brings to the fore this exact issue, which U.S. policymakers have done their best to ignore as they mouth the latest platitude about the need for negotiations toward a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.