Action Alert Please donate a future!▶ Gaza Hope

Original @occpal - SEE HERE ...Action Alert ▶ Gaza Hope | Occupied Palestine

Jan 31, 2012

My name is Nader Elkhuzundar, and I’m a 24-year-old Palestinian from Gaza. I have lived in the Gaza Strip since I was a child. I am the oldest of four children. Being the oldest comes with high expectations from my family, and a strong sense of duty towards my country and people. Although living in the Gaza Strip is a challenge; I have been able to pursue educational opportunities in my areas of interest. In 2008 I earned a diploma in Computer Programming with an 81.53 percent grade point average. I also now hold a BSc Management Information Systems (MIS) degree with an 83.48 percent GPA from the University of Palestine, which I received in March 2011. Since graduating from university I have tried hard to secure a job so that I may support my family and advance obtain work experience. I have often received feedback from potential employers saying that I need to further my education in order to obtain a position.

Therefore, I decided to apply to Masters-level programs abroad since the universities here are very limited in what they can offer due to the restrictions on Gaza. Finally, in December 2011 after many months of applying to jobs and various schools; I received an acceptance letter from Goldsmith’s University in London to pursue an MA in Digital Journalism.

My family and I cannot afford to fund an education abroad. After many discussions with friends, family, and academic advisors; I have decided to bring my plea online. I am here with the support of my family and friends, asking for financial support in furthering my education. I am asking you to help me, and help my people. This degree will allow me to help my family come out of a cycle of deprivation and enable me to positively contribute to our National cause. It breaks my heart seeing Gaza in the current state; so much potential is being wasted due to the decades of unjust occupation. The result has been the fragmentation of Palestinians and a pervading sense of helplessness. I believe we can rebound from the current state with strong collective vision for the future. This vision is being formed today with the help of the growing global movement of solidarity with Palestinians with which I regularly engage. Gaining funding for an MA in Digital Journalism will allow me to learn skills to fulfill my dream of becoming a journalist for my country so that I can report to the world our historic path towards freedom and justice.

Thank you so much for reading this and I hope you can help by donating and/or spreading the word and getting other people, friends, and family to do the same.

Cost breakdown:

Estimated Monthly Expenses in GBP
Type	Estimated Cost
Tuition Fees	11,500*
Accommodation+Bills	800**
Transportation	100**
Living Expenses	300**

*Tuition fees for academic year 2012/13 starting in September 2012 according to tuition fees spreadsheet published on the Goldsmiths website.

**Estimated costs.

How to donate:

Bank of Palestine Ltd.,
Branch No. 454, Bank No. 89
Swift Code: PALSPS22
Beneficiary Name: Nader Elkhuzundar
Beneficiary Account No. 2102534

• If you are donating a bigger amount please Contact me.

Q: What if I get the scholarship I have applied for?

The raised money will be donated to multiple organizations based in Gaza like, but not limited to:

1. Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children: a registered Palestinian NGO located in Gaza city, has been working in the field of deaf education and allied services since 1992. Literally thousands of deaf children and adults and their families are served annually at Atfaluna through deaf education, audiology, speech therapy, income generating programs for the deaf, vocational training, parents’, teachers’ and community training and awareness programs, and a host of other services and programs.
2. The Mercy Association for Children: An association that fosters children and children with special needs (up to the age of 18) based in Gaza city that builds and establishes schools‪, educational‪, cultural‪, and entertainment centers, fixes and supports their shelters and improving their living situation in general, helps and supports their families‪, which positively reflects on their kids, raises awareness regarding foster kids and kids with special needs and saves and defends their rights in the society.

Source and more at GAZAHOPE.

Follow Nader at twitter:
Follow @ImNadz

Ma'an & WAFA News Sites Interrupted by Hackers

by Circarre Parrhesia - IMEMC & Agencies

Both the Ma’an News Agency and the Palestinian Authority’s news service, WAFA, have, on Tuesday, suffered from repeated attacks by hackers leading to periods where their news sites have been inaccessible.

Screen grab from Ma'an News' english language site

Comments from the agencies, to the Associated Press, stated that they were unaware as to the source of the attacks, but they do follow recent digital scuffles between Israeli hackers and those that support Palestinians.

On Sunday the website of the National Assembly of Palestinian Martyrs Families, based in Ramallah, was hacked, and prior to this hackers had brought down websites of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Israel's El-Al International Airlines, and the Hebrew language version of Israeli daily Ha’aretz.

International Middle East Media Center

Palestinian Source: Hale Arrives Thursday to Restore Exploratory Meetings

A Palestinian official source disclosed to Aki News Agency that the United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace David Hale arrives next Thursday before the Arab League Peace Initiative Follow-up Committee meetings, which are set for February 5th, to restore Amman meetings.

The source also told Aki that Hale's visit comes amidst international "traffic" in the area. The UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon arrives today, Tuesday, while the Canadian Minister for Foreign Affairs is already visiting the area. Meanwhile in the next two days, the German Minister for Foreign Affairs arrives.

Riyad Al-Malki, the Palestinian Minister for Foreign Affairs confirmed, "President Mahmoud Abbas is giving enough chance for any possibility of resuming the negotiations on the basis of settlement freeze and recognition of the peace process principles." He also said, "In light of the failure of the exploratory meetings between both sides in Amman, he will make the decision along with the Palestinian Authority, taking into consideration the opinion of the Arab Follow-up committee and a number of friendly countries."

Palestinian Source: Hale Arrives Thursday to Restore Exploratory Meetings

Haneyya discusses Palestinian developments with Amir of Qatar

DOHA, (PIC)-- The Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, discussed Palestinian developments with Gaza premier Ismail Haneyya and the accompanying delegation on Tuesday.

Haneyya and the accompanying delegation arrived in Doha on Monday night on a few days visit at the onset of a tour, the second in a month, that would also take them to Iran and a number of Arab capitals.

The Palestinian delegation was received at Doha airport by Qatari state minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Nasser.

Taher Al-Nunu, the government of the Gaza government who is accompanying Haneyya, said that the premier would discuss with the Amir bilateral relations, dangers threatening Jerusalem, and other issues of mutual concern.

Haneyya’s first tour took him to Egypt, the Sudan, Turkey, and Tunisia over a period of two weeks.

Haneyya told a meeting for businessmen in Gaza on Sunday that Qatar was willing to contribute in the reconstruction of Gaza and that he would take with him a group of projects to be discussed in this framework.

Haneyya discusses Palestinian developments with Amir of Qatar

Israel to Open New Police Station in Occupied East Jerusalem

by Circarre Parrhesia - IMEMC & Agencies

The Jerusalem Post, an Israeli daily, has reported, via their website, on Tuesday that the State of Israel intends to open a new police station at the Mount of Olives in occupied East Jerusalem.

View of the Old City, East Jerusalem, from the Mount of Olives Cemetery (shown in foreground)

Israeli Public Security Minister, Yitzhak Aharonovitch, told the Jerusalem Post that 25 police officers will be stationed at the new site from mid-February to increase security at the site, which has been subjected to occasional vandalism within the cemetery, and prevent “stone throwing”.

The Mount of Olives, which came under Israeli control following the 1967 Six Day War, was unilaterally annexed with rest of occupied East Jerusalem, despite prohibition of the move under international law.

The cemetery is part of the Palestinian neighbourhood of at-Tur, home to over 18,000 Palestinian residents of Jerusalem.

It has been the subject of news reports in recent months due to the Jerusalem municipality and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority have announced plans to build a nature park on land belonging to at-Tur and that of the neighbourhood of Isawiyah, including some which is privately owned by Palestinians.

Despite an appeal to the Israeli court system, which issued an injunction against work at the site pending the outcome of the appeal, work began on January 10 with the destruction of a road that links the aforementioned neighbourhoods.

The Israeli Nature and Parks Authority has claimed that the development of the park with prevent illegal dumping in the area and that no major construction is planned, only beautifying of the area.

This has been disputed by Israeli and Palestinian groups who have stated that the area has been marked for construction, and Israeli non-profit organization, Bimkom, have issued a report claiming that intention of the park is to prevent the Palestinian residents of the area from expanding and developing their neighbourhoods.

International Middle East Media Center

No more exploratory talks, says PLO

RAMALLAH: Palestinian leaders have blamed Israel for the failure of exploratory talks aimed at resuming peace negotiations, and said they planned to explore other ways of bringing about a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The talks ended in Jordan on Jan. 25 without achieving any progress and Palestinian officials said President Mahmoud Abbas planned to consult fellow Arabs on his next move.

"In light of the results of the Amman meetings, the Palestinian leadership holds Israel fully responsible for their failure," the top Palestinian decision-making body, the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), said in a statement on Monday.

"These meetings exposed Israel's determination to pursue settlement activity and its rejections of the two-state solution based on the 1967 boundaries," it added in the statement, issued after a meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that peace prospects with the Palestinians looked poor after the Amman talks, at which he said the Palestinians "refused even to discuss Israel's security needs."

The Palestinians want a state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with ARAB East Jerusalem as its capital. They say Israeli settlements could deny them a viable and contiguous country.

The Amman talks were proposed last year by the Quartet of international mediators, after the Palestinians decided to seek United Nations membership for the state they have been seeking, saying Israel was not serious about reaching a peace deal.

The United States and the European Union have been pushing Palestinians to continue to talk to Israel. The European Union has sought Israeli confidence-building measures, including freeing some prisoners and expanding areas of Palestinian control in the West Bank.

The Palestinians have said there will be no more talks and They will consult an Arab League follow-up committee on Feb. 4 on what to do next.

Wassel Abu Yousef, an executive committee member, said the Palestinians decided to hold no more exploratory talks with

Israel in order "not to give Netanyahu a chance to deceive the world by claiming that talks were in progress."

The executive committee also decided to step up efforts to achieve reconciliation with the rival Hamas group.

"The leadership will work to study a number of political and practical options during the coming days and to continue the political campaign it began on the international arena," said the statement, read by Yasser Abed Rabbo, secretary general of the PLO executive committee.

Previous peace negotiations collapsed in late 2010 with the Palestinians demanding that Israel suspend settlement building in the occupied West Bank, including Arab East Jerusalem. UN leader Ban Ki-moon started a Middle East peace mission on Tuesday seeking to add to international pressure on the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships to return to direct negotiations.

The UN secretary general was to hold talks in Amman with King Abdullah II and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, officials said.

On Wednesday, he will hold key meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in occupied Jerusalem and and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah, officials said.
gulftoday.ae

Cyber Attack Brings Down Key Palestinian Websites

Cyber Attack Brings Down Key Palestinian Websites - ABC News:

Officials say cyber attacks have shut down the websites of the two main Palestinian news agencies, the official Wafa and the privately run Maan.

Wafa's chief editor, Ali Hussein, and Maan's technology supervisor, Haitham Moussa, said they don't know who is behind Tuesday's attacks. Hussein says the website of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement was also targeted.

The attacks came several days after hackers disrupted the websites of an Israeli hospital, a leading newspaper and Israel's official cultural festival.

Those attacks were seen as part of a politically motivated cyber attacks against Israeli sites. The Israeli Haaretz daily said at the time that its site was hacked by a group calling itself Anonymous Palestine.

Christelijke Kamerleden laten zich bijpraten door Palestijnen-hater Itamar Marcus ~ by @abuPessoptimis t/ via @occpal

English translation below the Dutch article below

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by AbyPessoptimist | Jan 31, 2012
Follow @abuPessoptimist

Directeur Itamar Marcus van Palestinian Media Watch met de hysterica Pamela Geller (blog: Atlas shrugs) tijdens een conferentie van gerenommeerde islamofoben en Palestijnenhaters (onder wie ook Geert Wilders) in 2008 in Israel

Het wordt steeds duidelijker dat we in de Tweede Kamer in Den Haag een afgezant hebben zitten, of misschien wel meer dan één, van Christenen voor Israel, de groep christen-zionisten in Nederland, die bloembollen als teken van vriendschap afleveren aan de ergste misdadigers onder de Israelische kolonisten. Die vóór het Israelische nederzettingenprogram zijn en die elke vorm van Palestijns verzet – ook geweldloos verzet, ook boycots van goederen uit de nederzettingen en zelfs het aan de kaak stellen van Israelisch onrecht jegens Palestijnse burgers – zien als Palestijnse ophitsing, zoniet Palestijns ‘antisemitisme’.

Hoe wordt dat duidelijk? Door onder meer de volgende uitnodiging die op 24 januari door Kamerlid Voordewind (ChristenUie) aan een aantal leden van de vaste Commissie voor Buitenlandse Zaken werd toegezonden:

Namens Joël Voordewind nodig ik u van harte uit voor een bespreking over de Palestijnse Autoriteit (PA) en het verheerlijken van terrorisme. De aanleiding hiervoor is tweeledig. Enerzijds willen we graag overleg over de aangenomen motie Van der Staaij/Voordewind over de Palestijnse Autoriteit en het verheerlijken van het terrorisme. Een goed voorbeeld daarvan zijn de aanhoudende betalingen van de PA aan veroordeelde terroristen in Israëlische gevangenissen. Tijdens de begrotingsbehandeling probeerden we tevergeefs Minister Rosenthal te bewegen om de PA te bewegen met deze betalingen te stoppen. Anderzijds is Itamar Marcus van de Palestinian Media Watch speciaal voor deze bijeenkomst naar Nederland gekomen om zijn boek ‘Deception’ te presenteren. De bijeenkomst zal plaatsvinden op woensdag 1 februari van 15:00 tot 16:30.

Voor wie niet weet weet wie Itamar Marcus is: hij is in de eerste plaats een kolonist. Hij woont in de nederzetting Efrat die is gebouwd op grond die is afgepakt van het (overwegend christelijke) Palestijnse dorp Al-Khadr bij Bethlehem. Hij is een oud-medewerker van de Israelische veiligheidsdienst Shin Bet, en oud-medewerker van Netanyahu, maar toch vooral de directeur van Palestinian Media Watch (PMW- PalWatch) dat hij in 1996 oprichtte. PMW is sindsdien verantwoordelijk voor een stroom van video’s en publicaties die het onbetrouwbare, leugenachtige, moorddadige en vooral antisemitische karakter moet aantonen van de Palestijnen. En niet te vergeten hun verheerlijking van het terrorisme, een veelgebruikte uitdrukking van PMW, die hier klakkeloos door de Christenen voor Israel onder onze Kamerleden wordt overgenomen.
Ik schreef niet zo lang geleden onder de titel ‘Een leven in dienst van het belasteren van de Palestijnen’ een lang stuk over Itamar Marcus. Daarin gaf ik aan dat Marcus niet alleen uiterst tendentieus is, maar ook volstrekt onbetrouwbaar. Hij blijft bijvoorbeeld tamboereren op de schoolboeken in de Palestijnse gebieden waar van alles mis mee zou zijn. In werkelijkheid werd een aantal jaren geleden een heel nieuw curriculum opgesteld, onder meer met hulp van de Nederlandse overheid, waar volstrekt niets op valt aan te merken. Hij geeft talloze voorbeelden van hulp die de Palestijnse Autoriteit aan ‘terroristen’ in Israelische gevangenschap geeft, waarbij hij niet alleen onbetrouwbare getallen noemt (zie de beantwoording van recente Kamervragen door minister Rosenthal) maar ook volstrekt voorbijgaat aan het feit dat al die ‘terroristen’ zijn veroordeeld door militaire Israelische rechters en op grond van wetten die totaal niets met een aanvaardbaar juridisch systeem uitstaande hebben, zodat hun straffen in veel gevallen ook geen enkele toets der kritiek kunnen doorstaan.
Het heeft weinig zin mijn hierboven genoemde stuk te herhalen. Het komt hierop neer: Er zijn zeker soms aanmerkingen te maken op Palestijnse uitingen (zoals dat ook vrijwel dagelijks het geval is met Israelische uitingen jegens Palestijnen).Maar Itamar Marcus, met zijn vooropgestelde bedoeling de Palestijnen zo zwart mogelijk te maken en zijn onverholen islamofobe instelling, is een totaal onbetrouwbare en zelfs moreel onaanvaardbare bron.

Maar er zijn nog wel twee aanvullingen te geven op wat ik eerder schreef. Die betreffen belangrijke sponsors van PMW. Een ervan is de Michael Cherney Foundation, genoemd naar zijn voorzitter, de in Uzbekistan geboren Israeli Michael Cherney. Cheney wordt door Interpol gezocht wegens betrokkenheid bij grootscheepse witwasoperaties in Spanje. Wikipedia geeft een hele waslijst aan aanwijzingen dat Cheey (ook wel Chenoy) betrokken was, en vermoedelijk is, bij zaakjes van de Russische maffia. Daarnaast wordt zijn naam genoemd in de zaak die de Israelische justitie voorbereidt tegen minister van buitenlandse zaken Avigdor Lieberman. Hij zou Lieberman die een vriend van hem is, hebben omgekocht. (Misschien kan de ChristenUnie over deze zaken even navraag doen bij Marcus? Of anders Kamervragen stellen?)

De andere sponsor is het Central Fund for Israel, dat onder meer projecten (onder andere beveiligingsprojecten, waarbij we moeten denken aan gewapende bewakers, geëlektrificeerde hekken en wellicht zelfs speciaal afgerichte bijtgrage honden) in de Israelische nederzettingen financiert en, volgens een artikel in de New York Times, ook door kolonisten in Israel wordt gebruikt om belastingvrij geld weg te sluizen dat dan weer via een omweg naar hen wordt teruggestort.

En door deze man laten Kamerleden (en ook minister Rosenthal, zie mijn vorige stuk over PMW) zich leiden.
Marcus geeft trouwens morgen ook een lezing voor Christenen voor Israel in Nijkerk.

Abu Pessoptimist: Christelijke Kamerleden laten zich bijpraten door Palestijnen-hater Itamar Marcus.

Christian PM’s receive a catch up by Palestinian Hater Itamar Marcus ~ by @abuPessoptimist

Director Itamar Marcus of Palestinian Media Watch together with the hysterica Pamela Geller (blog: Atlas shrugs) at a conference of leading Islamophobes and haters of Palestinians (including Dutch politician Wilders) in 2008 in Israel

It is increasingly clear that we have a representative seated in the Second Chamber in The Hague, or maybe more than one, of Christians for Israel. The group of Christian Zionists in the Netherlands, whol deliver bulbs of flowers as a sign of friendship to the worst criminals in Israeli settlers. Who are in support of the Israeli settlement program and are against any form of Palestinian resistance – including nonviolent resistance, including boycott of goods from the settlements and even denounce Israeli injustice against Palestinian civilians – which they regards as Palestinian incitement, if not Palestinian ‘antisemitism’.

How does that become clear? For example by the following invitation sent by MP Voordewind (ChristenUie) on Jan 24, 2012 to a number of members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs:

On behalf of Joel Voordewind I invite you to come for discussion on the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the glorification of terrorism. The reason for this is twofold. Firstly we would like to discuss the motion adopted van der Staaij / Voordewind on the Palestinian Authority and the glorification of terrorism. A good example is the continuing payments from the PA to convicted terrorists in Israeli jails. During the budget debate we tried – in vain – to move Minister Rosenthal to move the PA to stop these payments. Secondly, Itamar Marcus of Palestinian Media Watch came to the Netherlands especially for the event for the presentation of his book ‘Deception’. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 1st from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m

For those who do not know who Itamar Marcus: he is primarily a settler. He lives in Efrat settlement built on land that was taken away from the (predominantly Christian) Palestinian village of Al-Khadr, near Bethlehem. He is a former employee of the Israeli security service Shin Bet, and former associate of Netanyahu, but above all the director of Palestinian Media Watch (PMW-PalWatch) that he founded in 1996. PMW has since been responsible for a stream of videos and publications which suppose to show proof of the unreliable, lying, murderous anti-Semitic character of Palestinians. And not to forget their glorification of terrorism, a common used expression by the PMW, who unthinkingly is being adopted by the Christians for Israel among our MPs.
Not so long ago I wrote under the title ” A life in service of slandering the Palestinians “ a long piece about Itamar Marcus. In this post I stated that Mark is not only extremely biased, but totally unreliable. For exmaple he keeps beating the drums about school textbooks in the Palestinian territories with which anything would be wrong. In reality, a number of years ago, a whole new curriculum has been drafted, even including with help of the Dutch government, on which absolutely nothing is to criticize about. He gives numerous examples of aid that the Palestinian Authority grants to “terrorists” in Israeli captivity, in which he not only recalls unreliable numbers (see the answers to recent parliamentary questions by Minister Rosenthal) but completely ignores the fact that all these ‘terrorists’ have been trialed by Israeli military courts based on laws which are totally unrelated to an acceptable legal system, so actually their punishment in many cases, do not pass the test of criticism they might encounter.
It is of no use to repeat my piece as mentioned above. The bottom line is: There are definitely occasions in which some faults of Palestinian expressions (just as it is almost daily the case with Israeli acts against Palestinians). But Itamar Marcus intended goal is to make the Palestinians as black as possible and his openly Islamophobic attitude, is a totally unreliable and even morally unacceptable source.

But there are still two additions to give on what I wrote earlier. These include major sponsors of PMW. One is them is the Michael Cherney Foundation , named after its chairman, the in Uzbekistan born Israeli Michael Cherney. Cheney is wanted by Interpol for involvement in large-scale money laundering operations in Spain. Wikipedia gives a long list of evidence that Cheey (also known Chenoy) was involved , and presumably also in affairs of the Russian mafia. Aside from this his name is mentioned in the case Israeli judiciary prepares against Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. He allegedly would have bribed Lieberman, who is a friend of his. (Perhaps it is possible the Christian Union makes some inquiries on these issues with Marcus? Or perhaps to ask parliamentary questions?)

The other sponsor is the Central Fund for Israel, which includes projects (including security projects, whereby we must think of armed guards, electrified fences and perhaps even specially trained attack dogs) in the Israeli settlements funds and, according to an article in the New York Times, also is used by Israeli settlers to flow out tax free money which by detour is being refunded to them again.
And by this man, MPs (including Minister Rosenthal, see my previous article about PMW) allow themselves to be guided. Worth mentioning: Marcus gives a lecture for Christians for Israel in Nijkerk tomorrow.

Abu Pessoptimist: Christelijke Kamerleden laten zich bijpraten door Palestijnen-hater Itamar Marcus.

Christelijke Kamerleden laten zich bijpraten door Palestijnen-hater Itamar Marcus ~ by @abuPessoptimist | Occupied Palestine

UN chief urges Israel, Palestinians to resume Amman talks

Amman - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday called on Israel and the Palestinian Authority to resume the Jordan-brokered exploratory talks.

'I hope the preparatory talks which have taken place for five rounds of meetings here will continue and lead to serious negotiations to reach agreement for a two-state solution by the end of the year as envisaged by the Quartet,' Ki-moon said.

The UN chief was speaking at a press conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, at the end of talks that covered the outcome of three weeks of discussions in Amman between Palestinian and Israeli negotiators.

Ki-moon was visiting Jordan on the first stop of a regional tour that is also scheduled to take him to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Judeh said that meetings between the two sides in Amman were suspended this week for 'an assessment' of what had been achieved.

The UN Secretary General pledged to do his utmost to convince Israeli and Palestinian leaders to go back to the negotiating table, but urged the two sides to adopt confidence-building measures.

'In the short term, it essential that provocations stop ... and that the parties build confidence,' he said.

'The two parties should show strong political will, courage and vision and think about their better future,' he added.

Ki-moon called on the Israeli government 'to take some good gestures so that the meetings can continue' and on the Palestinians to change their mind and resume the Amman discussions.

Palestinians said that they had withdrawn from the talks after Israel failed to present proposals on the twin issues of security and borders as demanded by the Quartet.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that he would be reporting the outcome of the Amman talks to an Arab League panel due to meet in Cairo on February 4 to decide the next steps.

Monsters and Critics

Soldiers Invade Al-Maghazi Refugee Camp, Kidnap Two in Rafah

by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli soldiers invaded, on Monday at night, the eastern area of the Al-Maghazi refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, and kidnapped two residents east of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

Archive - Palestine-Info

Local sources reported that several tanks, and two military bulldozers, advanced 200 meters into the Al-Maghazi refugee camp, and bulldozed farmlands while the army fired bursts of live ammunition, and several flares; no injuries were reported.

Furthermore, human rights organizations in Gaza reported that Israeli soldiers kidnapped on Monday two Palestinians east of Rafah.

Undercover forces of the Israeli army infiltrated into the area and kidnapped Ahmad Hussein Aathra, 19, a member of the National Security Forces in Gaza, and the son of the advisor of the Gaza-based Minister of Interior. The undercover forces also kidnapped Hajjaj As-Soufi, 17, who was with Aathra.

Israeli soldiers have kidnapped at least seven Palestinians in the Gaza strip this month.

Last week, Israeli soldiers conducted 60 invasions into the occupied territories, leading to several injuries and dozens of arrests. One patient also died of wounds he suffered in an Israeli attack targeting Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

Related
PCHR Weekly Report: 1 dead, 4 wounded by Israeli forces in 60 incursions
Friday January 27, 2012 07:43

International Middle East Media Center

Detainee on Hunger Strike For 47 Days, To Stop Liquids

by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Palestinian detainee, Adnan Khader, head of the Islamic Jihad Movement in the West Bank, declared he will be stepping-up his hunger strike that started 47 days ago, by refraining from drinking any sort of liquids.

Adnan Khader - Image Arabs48

The Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) reported Tuesday that the Israeli Prison Administration (IPA) informed Khader’s lawyer that he had decided to stop drinking liquids after he was prevented from meeting her.

The lawyer stated that the situation of Khader is gradually and dangerously deteriorating, and that the IPA informed her that it will be obliged to administer liquids even if he refuses.

Prison Physicians stated that, should Khader refrain from drinking any liquids, his body will likely collapse within three days, therefore, they have decided to administer liquids.

Khader, from the northern West Bank city of Jenin, started his hunger strike on December 18, one day after he was kidnapped by the army; he never faced charges, and decided to strike to protest his illegal imprisonment. After 47 days of hunger striking, he has decided to escalate his strike and refrain from drinking any liquids.

He was sent to court on Monday, and the prosecution demanded that he remains imprisoned under administrative detention, without chargers; the court decided to delay its ruling in the case until Wednesday.

Israeli Ynet News reported that that IPA formed an external committee, looking into his case, that it had decided to give the detainee liquids, even if it has to administer them medically, and added that this measure is not considered a forcible break of his hunger strike, but to ensure he remains alive.

The committee said that its examination and tests conducted by an expert proved that the detainee “does not have a death wish."

The Palestinian Prisoner Society stated that it is closely following the case of Khader, and voiced an appeal to all human rights groups, and related organizations and officials, to intervene, save his life and ensure his release.

Under the illegal administrative detention orders, Israel can keep a detainee behind bars indefinitely, as such orders can be renewed by a court order, usually for three or six months each time.

Detainees held under administrative detention do not face charges, and are held under the claim of a secret file against them, a file that neither the detainees, nor their lawyers, have access to.

International Middle East Media Center

Group: Iraq police torture Palestinian to death

(MaanImages/File)

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Iraqi police tortured a Palestinian detainee to death in a Baghdad jail, a Palestinian group in the country told Ma'an on Tuesday.

Speaking to Ma'an from Baghdad, Saad Khalil from the Society for Palestinian-Iraqi Brotherhood said Imad Abdul Salam Abu Rabee, 30, died on Saturday in a police detention center.

Rabee's family live in al-Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. He was living with his wife and child in the Iraqi capital, where his brother was also killed last year.

Khalil said Palestinian refugees in Iraq have been targeted for sectarian reasons. International rights group Amnesty International says Iraqi forces use arbitrary detentions and torture to quell dissent.

Thousands of Palestinians have fled Iraq since the US invasion in 2003, although exact figures are unknown. Kahlil said 15,000 Palestinians currently live in Iraq. Before the US invasion, UNHCR estimated there were 34,000 Palestinians in Iraq.

Many Palestinians originally settled in Iraq after they were expelled from Mandate Palestine by Zionist forces in the 1948 war that saw the creation of Israel, while others arrived after Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967.

Maan News Agency

Gaza medical official: Farmer shot near Israel border

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian farmer on Tuesday east of Gaza City, a medical official said.

Emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said the farmer, who was not identified, suffered a gunshot wound while working on his land east of Gaza City.

He was taken from Shajaiya to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City where he was said to be moderately injured, Abu Salmiya said.

Israel's army did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Maan News Agency

Israeli government offers concessions to settlers

By AMY TEIBEL Associated Press

JERUSALEM—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has made two overtures to West Bank settlers in the run-up to his party's leadership race on Tuesday: It's offering financial incentives to encourage people to move to settlements and opening the door to legalizing rogue settler outposts.

The gestures appear to be aimed at appeasing hardline elements in the ruling Likud Party who are sympathetic to settlers. While Netanyahu is expected to win the leadership race, a relatively strong showing by his ultranationalist rival would suggest many Likud voters consider the prime minister too soft on peacemaking with the Palestinians.

The moves threatened to derail tentative new peace efforts with the Palestinians. A round of low-level peace negotiations ground to a halt last week, in large part because of Palestinian objections to Israeli settlement construction. U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon is expected in the region Wednesday in an effort to restart the talks.

The Palestinians rejected Netanyahu's latest moves.

"They are adding obstacles at a time when everyone is intensifying efforts to try to resume peace talks," said Palestinian government spokesman Ghassan Khatib. "I think with every additional settlement activity, the feasibility of having two states is diminished."

Years ago, the Israeli government halted generous financial enticements designed to encourage Israelis to settle in the West Bank, the occupied territory the Palestinians see

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as the core of their future state.

But in this week's government decision, 70 settlements appeared on a new list of 557 communities inside Israel and the West Bank that qualify for housing subsidies. The incentives, according to a statement from the prime minister's office, are "meant to encourage positive migration to these communities."

After suspending benefits unique to the settlements, the government is now encouraging settlers to move to the West Bank under a different program, said Hagit Ofran of the anti-settlement group Peace Now.

"They put in 70 settlements, in effect encouraging them to live there," Ofran said.

The list of qualifying settlements include major enclaves that would likely remain in Israeli hands under a peace deal. But most are located deep inside the West Bank and likely would have to be dismantled.

In a separate move, the government on Monday appointed a committee to examine land ownership issues in the West Bank.

The panel will review a 2005 government report that found several dozen outposts were built not only without state approval, but on privately held Palestinian land. Officials said the report needs to be reviewed because its author, state prosecutor Talia Sasson, later entered politics with a dovish political party, raising questions about her objectivity.

A court-ordered evacuation of Migron, the largest unauthorized outpost, set for next month would not be affected by the formation of the new committee, officials said.

But the panel's makeup aroused suspicions it would legalize at least some of the more than 100 outposts built without government authorization, including dozens Sasson says were erected on privately held Palestinian land.

The committee's head, former Supreme Court chief justice Edmond Levy, spoke out against Israel's withdrawal of settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005. A second panel member, Alan Baker, has represented settlers hoping to legalize unauthorized outposts.

The international community opposes all Jewish settlement activity in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. But Israel distinguishes between the 121 settlements established in accordance with official procedures and the more than 100 unauthorized "outposts" that skirted the process with the help of sympathetic authorities and are considered illegal.

Peace talks with the Palestinians stalled more than three years ago, largely over continued Israeli settlement construction. With Palestinians demanding a settlement freeze, a recent round of meetings between Israeli and Palestinian envoys in Jordan has yielded no breakthroughs.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is under intense international pressure to stay at the negotiating table. A final decision is expected after Abbas consults with Arab League officials over the weekend.

The Palestine Liberation Organization—the umbrella organization for Palestinian groups, dominated by Abbas' Fatah movement—discussed the issue on Monday but stopped short of urging Abbas to halt the contacts.

Israel has said it wants to keep talking.

Also Tuesday, Israeli authorities said they have received permission to force feed a Palestinian prisoner who has been on a hunger strike for more than six weeks.

Prisons spokeswoman Sivan Weizman said 33-year-old Khader Adnan would not be force fed until "medical conditions" warranted it, but provided no further details.

Adnan, a leading member of the Islamic Jihad militant group, says he was kicked, punched and painfully shackled by his interrogators, according to his lawyers. His lawyers say he also wants to be put on trial and not held for months in administrative detention without charges.

DailyBulletin.com

IPS to break Adnan’s hunger strike by force

NAZARETH, (PIC)-- The Israeli prison service has decided to break the hunger strike of detained Islamic Jihad leader Sheikh Khader Adnan by force, the Hebrew radio said on Tuesday.

Adnan earlier on Sunday announced that he would not break his strike, which started 46 days ago, until his release.

Riyadh Al-Ashqar, a researcher with the Palestinian center for the defense of prisoners, held the Israeli occupation authority fully responsible for the life of Adnan after the decision to break his strike by force.

He warned that in past experiences the Israel forced feeding of striking prisoners led to the death of two of them back in 1981 when the prison paramedics forced two feeding tubes into their stomach through their nose but the tubes blocked their windpipe killing them instantly.

IPS to break Adnan’s hunger strike by force

Israel plans to confiscate 650 dunums in occupied Jerusalem

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli planning and construction committee has decided to confiscate 650 dunums of land in occupied Jerusalem to establish two garbage dumps.

A researcher specialized in settlement activity, Ahmed Sub Laban, said that the first junkyard would be established on 500 dunums in the area between Enata and Aisawiya, describing the area as a valley 745 meters deep.

The other plan envisages seizing 150 dunums of land between Kafr Akab and Bir Nabala to the north of occupied Jerusalem to establish another rubbish dump, he added.

Another researcher, Amran Al-Resheq, said that the two garbage dumps would negatively affect the environment, adding that the Israeli occupation authority did not care less about the health of the Arab inhabitants.

Israel plans to confiscate 650 dunums in occupied Jerusalem

IOF soldiers detain liberated prisoner, Hamas leader among others

AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested an ex-prisoner who was liberated in the exchange deal with Hamas movement in Al-Khalil province and a 50-year-old lecturer in Jenin among others on Tuesday.

Eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter in Al-Khalil that IOF soldiers besieged the house of Sheikh Ayman Al-Sharawne, 38, in Deir Samet village, forced his family out in the cold weather, and then took him away.

They said that the soldiers broke furniture during their savage search of his and his family’s homes. Sharawne was sentenced to life in jail in 2001.

IOF soldiers arrested the lecturer Mohammed Al-Sayyed from his home in Jenin city at dawn Tuesday after questioning him inside it. He is a well-known Hamas leader.

Local sources told the PIC that IOF soldiers stormed homes near to the lecturer’s house.

Sayyed, who suffers many diseases, was arrested at the hands of PA security elements for ten times and questioned tens of times.

Local sources said that five citizens including a teen were arrested in Kafr Qaddoum village in Qalqilia, a young man in Balata refugee camp east of Nablus, and man in Tamon village, Tobas province, after searching his house.

IOF soldiers were also seen severely beating a Palestinian man near Daheria village, south of Al-Khalil. Locals said that the man was hospitalized.

For their part, Jewish settlers tried to kidnap a Palestinian man south of Al-Khalil on Tuesday under gun threat but he managed to escape after leaving behind his car, local sources said.

They said that Jewish settlers also assaulted citizens in the Old City of Al-Khalil and Tal Rumaida in downtown on Monday night.

IOF soldiers detain liberated prisoner, Hamas leader among others

IOF soldiers arrest seven Gazans in January including three minors

GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested seven Palestinians from the Gaza Strip on its borders and at the crossings in January 2012 including thee minors, a human rights activist said on Tuesday.

Riyadh Al-Ashqar, a researcher with the Palestinian center for the defense of prisoners, said that the detainees included two 15-year-old children and a 17-year-old minor.

He said that 28-year-old Bassam Rihan was arrested at Beit Hanun (Erez) crossing while heading to the West Bank for medical treatment.

Ashqar said that the others were detained on the eastern borders of the Strip at the hands of special Israeli forces.

He said that despite the IOF withdrawal from Gaza yet its troops still target Palestinians on crossings, inside the Strip, and at sea, recalling that the IOF troops rounded up 40 Palestinian fishermen in 2011.

The researcher noted that the IOF soldiers had earlier detained two cancer patients while on their way for treatment in the West Bank.

He appealed to all international institutions to put an end to Israeli violations of Palestinian rights.

IOF soldiers arrest seven Gazans in January including three minors

Palestinian citizen wounded in IOF shooting

GAZA, (PIC)-- A 44-year-old citizen was wounded east of Gaza city at noon Tuesday in Israeli occupation forces’ shooting, medical sources said.

Adham Abu Salmiya, the spokesman for the emergency and ambulance department in Gaza, said that the citizen was hit with a bullet in his left leg and carried to Shifa hospital.

He said that the citizen’s condition was moderate, adding that IOF troops stationed to the east of Gaza fired at him.

Hundreds of citizens have been injured in similar incidents.

Palestinian citizen wounded in IOF shooting

Palestinian Leadership Holds Israel Responsible for Amman Meetings’ Failure

RAMALLAH, January 30, 2012 (WAFA) -The Palestinian leadership Monday held Israel fully responsible for the failure of Amman exploratory meetings due to its insistence on continuing settlement activities and rejecting the two-state solution.

In a statement issued by the PLO Executive Committee after its meeting, which was held in the presidential headquarters in Ramallah and headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leadership stressed that it will continue to meet, particularly after consulting with the Arab follow up committee, which will meet in February.

It added that it will work to intensify efforts to ensure the success of the national reconciliation process, leading to the holding of elections by mid-year. It expressed hope that all parties remove any obstacle to achieve this goal.

The leadership indicated that it will complete the study of a number of political and practical options during the coming days as a continuation of the political campaign it launched on an international level.

Palestine News & Info Agency - WAFA

Fatah Central Committee Expels Member of Revolutionary Council Mashharawi

Palestine News & Info Agency - WAFA
RAMALLAH, January 30, 2012
– The Fatah Central Committee expelled its member Samir Mashharawi from the movement and from the Revolutionary Council.

This came during the Central Committee meeting held in Ramallah on Sunday.

The committee decided to expel Mashharawi after his repeated statements to the media attacking the movement and President Mahmoud Abbas.

KUNA : Israeli forces arrest two Palestinians S. Gaza

GAZA, Jan 30 (KUNA) -- The Israeli army arrested two Palestinian citizens south of Gaza Strip on Monday, Palestinian sources said.
A special Israeli force penetrated deep inside east of Rafah City and arrested Hajjaj Al-Soofi and Ahmad Abu Aathre, both in their 20s, and took them inside the Israeli territories, the sources told KUNA.
The fate of the arrestees is still unknown nor the cause of their capture.
An Israeli force arrested two Palestinians some 10 days ago.

KUNA : Israeli forces arrest two Palestinians S. Gaza

PA slams Israel settlement plans

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority on Monday condemned Israel's decision to offer financial incentives to encourage Israelis to move to settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Some 70 settlements are on a list of "national priority areas" for housing and development grants, approved by Israel's cabinet on Sunday, the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post reported.

"The decision is designed to encourage positive migration to the communities and to assist in finding solutions to ease the housing situation. The decision will also contribute to economically strengthening these communities," the Israeli prime minister's office said in a statement.

Palestinian Authority Minister for Settlement Affairs Maher Ghonim condemned the decision, noting that most of the settlements targeted for development were east of Israel's wall. The Post reported that 57 of the settlements were east of the illegal wall and included land deep inside the West Bank.

Ghonim said the decision aimed to undermine the possibility of a two-state solution and defied the international community, which condemns Jewish-only settlement building on occupied Palestinian land.

He noted that Israel decided to expand settlements at a time of regional and international efforts to rescue stalled peace talks between Israel and the PLO.

Israeli and Palestinian envoys met five times in Amman in January for "exploratory talks" aimed at resuming full negotiations, but no progress was made.

PLO officials blamed Israel for the deadlock.

"In light of the results of the Amman meetings, the Palestinian leadership holds Israel fully responsible for their failure," the PLO's executive committee said Monday.

"These meetings exposed Israel's determination to pursue settlement activity and its rejections of the two state solution based on the 1967 boundaries," it added in a statement, issued after a meeting in Ramallah.

A committee member said the PLO decided not to return to the talks held in the Jordanian capital, as demanded by Europe and the United States.

The PLO pulled out of the last round of negotiations in September 2010 after Israel refused to suspend settlement building on land which would be a Palestinian state in a two-state solution.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday blamed Palestinians for the lack of progress.

"As things stand now, according to what happened over the past few days, when the Palestinians refused even to discuss Israel's security needs with us, the signs are not particularly good," he told his cabinet.

"But I hope they will come to their senses and continue the talks in order for us to advance to real negotiations."

Reuters contributed to this report.

Maan News Agency

Israeli Shelling Targets Agricultural Land East of Gaza

Palestine News & Info Agency - WAFA - Israeli Shelling Targets Agricultural Land East of Gaza: GAZA, January 30, 2012 (WAFA) – Israeli tanks Monday fired several shells targeting Palestinian agricultural land in al-Zaytoun, a neighborhood in eastern Gaza, according to witnesses.

No injuries were reported.

Palestinian-Israeli Amman Talks are not Negotiations, says Official

Palestine News & Info Agency - WAFA

RAMALLAH, January 30, 2012 (WAFA) – Fatah Central Committee member Azzam al-Ahmad Monday told Voice of Palestine radio that the meetings in Jordan between Israelis and Palestinians were “exploratory talks and not negotiations.”

He noted that the Central Committee meeting on Sunday emphasized that resumption of negotiations with Israel will require halt to settlements and recognition of the 1967 borders.

He said attempts by the Quartet that includes the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia to continue the talks will not lead to any progress in the peace process due to Israeli intransigence.

Ahmad said a united Palestinian-Arab position is needed to confront pressure to resume negotiations in spite of failure of the exploratory meetings.

He added that the meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal planned for early February was only postponed due to Abbas’ heavy schedule.

Israeli Forces Hand Palestinians in Jordan Valley Demolition Orders

Palestine News & Info Agency - WAFA

NABLUS, January 30, 2012 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Monday handed demolition orders to three Palestinian brothers in the Jordan Valley area of Aqraba, said an activist.

Ghassan Daghlas, an activist monitoring settlement activities in the northern West Bank, told WAFA that Israeli soldiers handed the three brothers notices that their tin shacks, which they use as residence, will be demolished.

Aqraba and its environs have been under threat of takeover by the Israeli government for the benefit of Jewish settlements in the area and to empty the Jordan Valley area of its Palestinian residents.

Israeli Army Arrests 14 Palestinians in West Bank

Palestine News & Info Agency - WAFA

WEST BANK, January 30, 2012 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Monday arrested 14 Palestinians from various areas of the West Bank, according to local and Palestinian security sources.

Three Palestinians were arrested from the village of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, and another three were arrested in the village of Taqoa, east of Bethlehem, said sources.

In the city of Jenin, northern West Bank, Israeli soldiers arrested one Palestinian after raiding his house, according to security sources.

The rest were arrested in other areas of the West Bank without giving specific details.

Jewish Settler Takes Over Land near Jenin

Palestine News & Info Agency - WAFA

JENIN, January 30, 2012 (WAFA) – A Jewish settler took over an agricultural land that belongs to a Palestinian in Nazlat Zeid village, located behind the Apartheid Wall, southwest of Jenin, a local source said Monday.

Coordinator of the National Campaign against the Wall, Abdelraouf Barre, told WAFA that a settler broke into the land a week ago, planted olive trees and fenced it under the pretext that he leased the land from the Israeli government.

Barre said that the Palestinian who owns the land was prevented from entering it since establishing the Apartheid Wall because he was not issued a permit.

Jewish settlers of Shaked and Hinnanit settlements continue to break into Palestinian-owned land that falls behind the Wall and which amounts to 120 dunums, complained residents of Nazlat Zeid, Ya’bad and al-Araqa, near Jenin.

Israeli Municipality Demolishes Caravan, Room in East Jerusalem

JERUSALEM, January 30, 2012 (WAFA) – Members of West Jerusalem’s Israeli municipality Monday demolished a residential caravan dwelled by a Palestinian family in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina and a room in a house in nearby Shufat, according to witnesses.

A large Israeli police force and municipal staff used a bulldozer to demolish the two structures, forcing displacement of the family that lives in the caravan and cracks in the house where the room and a retaining wall were demolished.

Witnesses said that in spite of police cordon on the two areas, residents in Beit Hanina clashed with police trying to stop the demolition. One person was arrested.

In Shufat, a bulldozer demolished a 30-square meter room added to an already existing house claiming the room was built without permit.

Palestinians live in caravans, which they believe do not require a building permit, or expand an existing house mainly because residents of East Jerusalem have a difficult time, if at all, getting Israeli municipality building permits.

A recent report by the United Nations condemned Israeli house demolition policy in Jerusalem and the West Bank Area C, which is under full Israeli military control, and said last year demolitions were the highest in recent times.

Palestine News & Info Agency - WAFA

Israeli forces detain 3 near Hebron

An Israeli soldier pictured during an arrest. (MaanImages/File)

HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained three Palestinians in the Hebron district early Sunday, locals told Ma'an.

Soldiers raided Beit Ummar at dawn, detaining two people, spokesman of the town's popular committee Mohammad Ayyad Awad told Ma'an.

Forces ransacked the house of Fathi Fakhri Ikhlil and ordered him and his two sons outside the house for an hour and a half, before his eldest son Nasser, 23, returned from work, Awad said.

The soldiers then detained Nasser before raiding another home in the Wadi al-Sheik neighborhood, he added.

They then detained Muhammad, 20, from his father's home, Awad added. Clashes broke out during the detention raid, with some residents throwing stones at the soldiers, he said.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said one soldier was lightly injured during the detention of the two in Beit Ummar.

Forces also detained Fareed Hmidan al-Owewi, 26, in Hebron city, locals said. The army spokeswoman said she was not aware of a detention in Hebron.

Meanwhile, eyewitnesses told Ma'an Israeli forces shut the military checkpoint at the entrance to al-Fawwar refugee camp southwest of Hebron on Sunday, causing long traffic jams.

The army spokeswoman said she was not aware of any unusual activity at the checkpoint.

Maan News Agency

Detained Jihad leader hospitalized after 43-day hunger strike

A poster supporting Khader Adnan (MaanImages/HO)

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Detained Islamic Jihad leader Khader Adnan is in a serious condition and has been transferred from prison to an Israeli hospital, after refusing food for 43 days to protest his treatment in Israeli jail, a prisoners group said Sunday.

Adnan has refused food, salts and medical attention since his detention on Dec. 17. On Sunday the Palestinian prisoners society said it coordinated a meeting between him and Imam Sulaiman Abu Swif from Yaffa in jail, after which he agreed to a medical check.

The Jihad leader has been transferred to the Assaf Harofeh hospital in central Israel.

He is waiting for the arrival of two Palestinian doctors from local body the Human Rights Doctors Assembly at his request, the prisoners society said.

Lawyer with the society Shirin Nasser said Adnan is in a wheelchair as he cannot walk, and vowed to continue his hunger strike until death.

"While we were speaking, Khader began to vomit water mixed with blue greenish acid. His body is rejecting water and he now has memory problems and he sleeps for a long time. His hear beat seems to be really high and he has severe pain in his head" Nasser said.

He blamed the Palestinian leadership for their neglect of his situation and that of other Palestinians.

The prisoners society said Israeli prison authorities had agreed to their request that Adnan be permitted to speak with his family. Adnan had been placed in isolation and forbidden family visits after his hunger strike, prisoners rights group Addameer reported.

He was issued a four-month administrative detention order on Jan. 8, and is protesting mistreatment in jail and the system of detention without charge, Addameer said.

Adnan faces a hearing at an Israeli military court near Ramallah on Monday, the prisoners society is organizing a sit-in at the site to support him.

Maan News Agency

Israeli soldiers arrest wife of prisoner

RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Israeli soldiers arrested the wife of a Palestinian prisoner who was on her way to visit him on Sunday, the Palestinian prisoner’s association said.

It said in a press release that Samia Mashahra was detained at the Bisan military roadblock while en route to visit her husband in Gilbo’a prison.

The association urged international human rights groups and the Red Cross to assume their responsibility in protecting relatives of Palestinian prisoners and demand whatever necessary measures to guarantee their safety while on their way to and back from visitations.

It expressed absolute concern toward the growing persecution of families of prisoners during visits.

Israeli soldiers arrest wife of prisoner

Israeli court extends detention of Totah, Abu Arafa

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Israeli Magistrate court in occupied Jerusalem has extended the detention of Palestinian MP Mohammed Totah and former Jerusalem minister Khaled Abu Arafa until Thursday.

The Israeli radio said on Sunday that the Israeli prosecution is accusing both officials of violating the order not to reside in Jerusalem after their Jerusalemite IDs were taken from them.

Israeli forces kidnapped Totah and Abu Arafa from their sanctuary at the Red Cross headquarters in Jerusalem on 23rd January where they have spent more than a year

Israeli court extends detention of Totah, Abu Arafa

Jordan's King Assures Hamas On Palestinian State

Jordan's King Assures Hamas On Palestinian State: Jordan’s King Abdullah II has told visiting Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal that Jordan will continue to support the creation of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Meshaal arrived on January 29 for the first visit to Jordan by a Hamas leader in 12 years, since he and four other members of the radical Palestinian group were expelled from Jordan in 1999, reportedly under U.S. and Israeli pressure.

He was accompanied during the meeting with King Abdullah by Qatari Crown Prince Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, as Doha is mediating a rapprochement between Hamas and Jordan.

compiled from agency reports

PLO urges continuing Arab backing to Palestine - Politics - 29/01/2012

CAIRO, Jan 29 (KUNA) -- A Palestinian official called here Sunday on Arab countries to carry on supporting the Palestinian cause, consolidating Palestinian refugees' rights and financing UNRWA.
Addressing a conference on Palestinian refugees, Zakaria Al-Agha, chief of the Refugees Section of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), urged Arab countries to provide financial support to UNRWA, which has received only USD 119 out of a total USD 350 million.
He cautioned against the Israeli continuation of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially in Jerusalem.
He also condemned Israeli occupying authorities for arresting Palestinian members of parliament, and demolishing Palestinian houses.
The conference of supervisors over the affairs of Palestinian refugees in host countries kicked off at the Arab League here earlier in the day.
Delegations from Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Organization of Islamic Cooperation and Arab League were present in the gathering.
For his part, Assistant Secretary General of the Arab League for Palestine and Occupied Arab Territories Mohammad Subeih said the Palestinian people are facing an open Israeli war everywhere in the occupied Palestinian territories.
He said Israel is seeking to cut the number of Palestinians living in Jerusalem to 12 percent from 35 percent now in line with a considered plan.
He added that the Arab side has provided all facilities to Israel for resuming peace negotiations, provided that it should stop its construction of settlements.
Subeih warned that Israeli practices would take the Palestinian cause back to the zero point. (
KUNA

Video: New building in settlement Karmel on Umm El Kheir's land

HEBRON (Ma’an) -- The Land Research Center said on Sunday that the Israel is expanding the Karmel settlement in south Hebron.

Israeli forces have started digging on 10 dunams of the land to the south of the settlement, the center says.

The report added that the land belongs to the al-Hathalin family in Um al-Kher village, which lies just a few meters from the Israeli settlement. Source
This video was filmed by Guy Hircefeld

Israeli Hackers Deface Palestinian Rights Group Website

WAFA

RAMALLAH, January 29, 2012 (WAFA) – The official website of the National Assembly of Palestinian Martyrs Families (NAPMF) was attacked by Israeli hackers, Sunday said a press release issued by the general secretariat of the assembly.

It said that Israeli hackers defaced the site with anti-racist slogans such as “welcome to hell” and pictures that aim to spread terror and panic among Palestinians.

Mohammad Sbaihat , the secretary general of NAPMF said that the Israeli occupation aims through those outrageous acts to obliterate its aggressive and criminal policy of killing Palestinians children, youth, elders, and women, which the site is working on exposing through publishing stories of Palestinians, particularly children who were killed in cold blood by the Israeli occupation.

He stressed that such acts will not deter the assembly from continuing its work, pointing out that he contacted the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in order to reconstruct and fortify the site.

Arab League Meeting to Discuss Exploratory Talks Re-Scheduled, Says Arab Official

Palestine News & Info Agency - WAFA
CAIRO, January 29, 2012 (WAFA) – The Arab League re-scheduled the Arab ministers’ meeting to discuss the recent Palestinian-Israeli exploratory meetings to February 15, the Arab League Deputy Secretary-General, Ahmad Bin Hali, Sunday told reporters.

He said President Mahmoud Abbas called to hold the meeting to consider PLO’s measures after six exploratory meetings between the Palestinians and Israelis failed, which was under the Quartet supervision and was held in Jordan, as well as the Quartet deadline to bring back to the negotiations table expired.

Israeli Police Closes Charitable Associations in Silwan

Palestine News & Info Agency - WAFA
JERUSALEM, January 29, 2012 (WAFA) – Israeli police Sunday closed Silwan Charitable Society, one of its kindergartens, as well as the Islamic Silwan Club in the East Jerusalem town of Silwan, according to Head of the Committee for the Defense of Silwan, Fakhri Abu Diab.

He said that Israeli police surrounded the neighborhood of al-Bustan, in Silwan and several other adjacent neighborhoods and arrested Board Member of Silwan charitable society Khalil al-Abbasi.

He added that Israeli police seeks to Judaize the area and completely remove the neighborhood for the benefit of building Talmudic gardens in addition to several other projects.

The Israeli police stepped up their presence in Silwan and has been on high alert since early morning.

Israel shuts charity, sports club for 'Hamas ties'

Israeli police on Sunday temporarily shut down a charity foundation and sports centre in east Jerusalem, suspected of serving as fronts for Hamas activity, a police spokeswoman told AFP.

The institutions in the flashpoint neighbourhood of Silwan, just below the walled Old City, "were funded by Hamas and used for the movement's covert activities in the village," police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.

The closure order was for 30 days, she said.

Over the past year, Samri added, police closed 10 offices around Jerusalem because of "illegal activity funded by terror groups, usually Hamas."

In recent weeks, Israel has arrested five Hamas lawmakers in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Last week, an Israeli military court ordered that Hamas speaker of the Palestinian parliament Aziz Dweik be held in administrative detention for six months.

Hamas has 74 MPs in the 132-member Palestinian Legislative Council, of whom 24 are currently being held by Israel. Most were arrested over the past 15 months.

Yahoo!

Jordan won''t be alternative home for Palestinians - Hamas chief - Politics - 29/01/2012

AMMAN, Jan 29 (KUNA) -- Seeking to assure Jordanians and open a new chapter in relations with Jordan, Chairman of the politburo of Hamas Khaled Meshal underscored Sunday that Palestinians would not accept any alternative home.
"Jordan will be Jordan and Palestine will be Palestine," Meshal told reporters following his meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah II, referring an Israeli plan to create an alternative home for Palestinian in Jordan.
Jordan has an enormous Palestinian population and many Jordanian descend from a Palestinian origin.
Meshal said his visit to Amman, accompanying Qatari Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, signaled a new chapter in relation between the Palestinian movement and Jordan.
He underscored Hamas' respect of Jordan's security, stability and interests and its keenness to forge distinguished relations with the Kingdom.
"I hope the visit will be followed by chapters of goodwill and strong ties to serve the Jordanian and Palestinian interest," he said.
Meshal thanked King Abdullah II for Jordan's support to Palestinians.
The meeting, held over luncheon, was attended by Sheikh Tamim and Jordanian Crown Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah, the King's advisers and a number of Qatari officials as well as Meshal Deputy Mousa Abou Marzouk and four other Hamas prominent figures.
Meshal arrived earlier Sunday on the first visit to Jordan by Hamas leader in 12 years since he and four other members of the radical Palestinian group were expelled from Jordan in 1999.
The meeting is a part of Qatari efforts to mediate a rapprochement between Hamas and Jordan.
Meanwhile, King Abdullah asserted Jordan's firm support of the Palestinian people's aspirations to an independent state on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He said Palestinian-Israeli peace talks should be based on the two-state solution and UN resolutions, reaffirming that Palestinian statehood is a higher Jordanian interest.
The King also called for Palestinian unity and reconciliation, which would strengthen the Palestinian position, reiterating Jordan's continued aid to ease the plight of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
On the other hand, Jordanian and Qatari leaders discussed bolstering bilateral ties in all fields.
The two sides also reviewed the latest developments in the region, especially Arab uprising and how to cooperate to retain the region's security and stability.
KUNA

Report: Blair to meet with Palestinian, Israeli officials

Tony Blair pictured speaking in Bethlehem in 2010.(MaanImages/file)

JERUSALEM (Ma’an) -- Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair is set to talk with Palestinian and Israeli officials on Sunday in order to boost floundering peace negotiations.

Sources within the Quartet, who preferred not to be identified, said that Blair has already discussed a series of trust-building procedures with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to encourage the Palestinian Authority to resume talks in Amman, Italian news agency AKI reported Sunday.

The release of Palestinian prisoners detained before the Oslo Accords is one such measure to be discussed, the sources said.

PLO officials held five exploratory meetings with Israeli representatives in the Jordanian capital during January. The diplomatic Quartet -- Russia, UN, US and European Union negotiators -- had called for the sides to give their positions on borders and security by Jan. 26.

The PLO said it had done so in early January, and received only a verbal presentation by the Israeli delegate in return. The Israeli presentation "killed the two-state solution, set aside previous agreements and international law," a PLO official told Reuters after the meeting.

The Quartet aims to reach a peace deal by the end of this year.

The last round of direct negotiations collapsed within weeks in September 2010 when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to extend a partial freeze on settlement construction despite pleas and offers of incentives from Washington.

Abbas says the PLO's next move will be decided after consulting with an Arab League committee in Cairo on Feb. 4.

Maan News Agency

Justice and accountability after the Holocaust

Justice and accountability after the Holocaust

“Justice and accountability after the Holocaust” was New Zealand's theme for its observance of United Nations Holocaust Remembrance Day, 27 January 2012. Whatever else Holocaust remembrance signifies, it should be supported by a determination to learn the lessons of history and uncompromising opposition to the commission of further ideologically-driven crimes of inhumanity – whoever the perpetrators may be. The death on 22 January of a young girl from the effects of white phosphorus, illegally used by Israel in its murderous Cast Lead offensive in the Gaza Strip three years ago, is a stark reminder that, for Palestinians, justice is totally denied while an indulgent world continues to protect Israel from all accountability.

January also saw the publication, by the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Occupied Palestinian territory, of its report: “Demolitions and forced displacement in the Occupied West Bank”. The report on conditions for Palestinians under belligerent Israeli military occupation reminds us, for instance, that “almost 1100 Palestinians”, over half of them children, “were displaced due to home demolitions by Israeli forces in 2011, over 80% more than in 2010.” New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key has declared that he believes New Zealand could “learn a lot from Israel” and our Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully has enthusiastically supported the occupying power's application for membership of the OECD. John Key perhaps admires Israel's capacity to garner foreign aid for its economy, especially from the US.

Israel's behaviour is determined by its founding ideology of Zionism. The Zionist state claims to represent all Jews and thereby attempts to implicate all Jews in its justification of its war crimes. Many Jewish people strongly resent this, including those who adhere to pre-Zionist Judaism. The US-based organisation Jewish Voice for Peace, for instance, reminds us in a statement (http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/content/us-military-aid-and-israel) that a large part of US military aid to Israel goes to purchase tanks, helicopter gunships, machine-guns and bullets that are used against Palestinian civilians. “Our tax dollars have been used to destroy homes; uproot trees and crops; seize land from its lawful owners; close all access to food, medicine, and the outside world for small towns in the West Bank and Gaza; staff checkpoints that cut off ambulances and other civilian traffic; and carry out assassinations that kill children in addition to summarily executing political leaders . . .” Israel continues to demolish Palestinian family homes and destroy agriculture and industry throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Earlier this month, Israel's Supreme Court upheld a law passed in 2003 that denies Palestinians from the West Bank or Gaza Strip who are the spouses of Israeli citizens any right to citizenship or residency. Palestinian citizens of Israel, who form 20% of the population, have citizenship but do not enjoy Israeli nationality. Israel's 1950 Law of Return welcomes any Jew immigrating to Israel. But Palestinian refugees are denied their right of return to homes from which they were driven. That right of Palestinian return is enshrined in UN Resolution 194. Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN in 1948, states: (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state, and (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country. Israel denies these rights to Palestinians.

The 1995 European Union-Israel Association Agreement declares as its purpose the promotion of (1) peace and security, (2) shared prosperity through, for example, economic co-operation, free trade and free movement of capital, and (3) cross-cultural rapprochement. That agreement also applied to Israel's relations with the EU’s other Mediterranean partners – including the Palestinian National Authority. Israel continues to enjoy “favoured nation” trading terms with the EU. The failure by the European Union-Israel Association and the OECD to suspend association and membership until Israel complies with international humanitarian law amounts to complicity in the Zionist State's violations. The US also could bring enormous pressure to bear upon Israel by denying aid. And so, with impunity, Israel continues its population transfers, territorial aggrandisement and ethnically discriminatory legislation both within Israel and in territories it occupies.

Progress towards ending state-sponsored human rights violations depends partly upon restraining the perpetrators and an uncompromising requirement upon them to observe tragically hard-won international laws. The world community's failure to render Israel accountable to justice in this regard is an affront to both United Nations Holocaust Remembrance Day and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Leslie Bravery – 28 January 2012 - Palestine Human Rights Campaign www.palestine.org.nz

Scoop News

OCHA: Israel demolished 17 Palestinian homes in the past week

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Israel razed 17 Palestinian homes in the West Bank over the past week, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian land said on Saturday.

The report pointed out that Israel demolished eight homes in Enata village in occupied Jerusalem and displaced 52 individuals including 29 children, noting that one of the demolished buildings was being used as a social center and was knocked down for the fifth time.

The other razed structures were shops owned by eight Palestinian families in the Jordan Valley, the report said, adding that demolition notices were also served in the past week to 16 houses in occupied Jerusalem, Al-Khalil, and Nablus.

It further underlined that 12 Palestinians were injured in the Israeli occupation forces’ quelling of peaceful anti settlement and anti separation wall rallies in the West Bank in the same period.

An IOF soldier shot at and wounded a Palestinian youth at the pretext that he tried to assault him while a 17-year-old minor was hurt when Jewish settlers attacked him while at work near Karmi Tzur settlement in Al-Khalil, the report said.

OCHA