AI warns of risk on lives of captives Barq and Safadi Amnesty International warned of the deterioration of health conditions of Palestinian captives Samer al-Barq and Hassan al-Safadi, who are facing the risk of death due to their ongoing hunger strike.

An Israeli court in Jerusalem rejected on Thursday an appeal for the release of Samer Isawi (33 years), who was liberated in the Shalit exchange deal. A court hearing is slated for October.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine condemned the decision of the Zionist occupation court that acquitted the occupation army of all responsibility in its murder of American solidarity activist Rachel Corrie, who was crushed by an occupation bulldozer in southern Gaza in 2003 as she was defending a Palestinian home from demolition.

U.N. official calls Israel’s verdict on Rachel Corrie ‘defeat for justice’ A U.N. official Thursday condemned an Israeli court finding that cleared the army of any blame for the death of U.S. peace activist Rachel Corrie as “a defeat for justice and accountability.”

Comrade Ahmad Sa’adat, the imprisoned General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said that the legacy of the martyr and leader Comrade Abu Ali Mustafa inspires the Front to continue to raise high the banner of resistance and continue on his path to achieve our national goals or die as martyrs.

Former prisoner Samer Abu Seir, who was released from occupation prisons in October 2011 and deported to Gaza as part of the prisoner exchange, called on September 1 for active participation in upcoming events in Gaza in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners who are suffering from fierce attacks from occupation forces. He also called for broad participation in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners who remain on hunger strike in occupation prisons, and with Comrade Mohammad Rimawi, who is suffering from serious health crises.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine warned on August 31, 2012 that the occupation government is fully responsible for the life of Comrade Mohammad Rimawi, imprisoned in the Nafha occupation prison. He was transferred yesterday late at night to Soroka Hospital from the prison.

IOF to impose buffer zone near the Egyptian border Israeli occupation forces (IOF) announced plans to impose a buffer zone at the borders with Egypt in light of the volatile security situation in the Sinai Peninsula, Hebrew media revealed.

Some anti-wall marches of the West Bank on Friday afternoon were dedicated to advocating the issue of slain peace activist Rachel Corrie who was crushed brutally to death by an Israeli bulldozer.

Here’s the website for Bay Area Stop $30 Billion Military Aid to Israel. The group members are not identified, but our own Annie Robbins has played a role. Remember that Muni is in hot water right now over the Islamophobic “Savage” ads that it ran from Pam Geller. A coalition of groups, including the American Muslims for Palestine, the Council of American Islamic Relations, the Asian Law Caucus and Jewish Voices for Peace compelled Muni to run a disclaimer from those ads. And Muni is working on a counter campaign to promote understanding of Muslims.

Solidarity activists disrupt Jerusalem municipality session, chaired by Mayor Nir Barkat, a pillar of discrimination on all levels against Jerusalem’s Palestinian residents. Barkat’s statements reflect a view of Palestinians as a demographic threats. This racism underlies the mob attacks on Palestinian youths in central West Jerusalem.

On August 28th, the day that an Israeli Judge absolved the military of any responsibility in the 2003 killing of peace activist Rachel Corrie as she stood to protect a Palestinian home from demolition, the majority of the small Palestinian village of Khirbet Zanuta was demolished. In the South Hebron Hills, the Israeli military destroyed homes, animal shelters and water wells. Villagers tried unsuccessfully to stop the demolition by sitting on the excavator’s shovel. Eight villages in the region are currently at risk of evacuation because the Israeli military intends to use the area for military exercises.

An Israeli court ruling that Rachel Corrie was responsible for her own death is a manifestation of the disregard for human rights that dominates all Israeli institutions.

Tuesday 28 August was an extraordinary day for the BBC, even by its own low standards of reporting on Palestine. This was the day an Israeli court absolved the State of Israel of any responsibility for the death of Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-old American activist who was crushed to death by an Israeli armored bulldozer in Gaza in 2003. BBC Radio 4’s World at One program ran a seven-minute segment on the court’s decision, including an interview with Israeli government spokesperson Mark Regev. Partway through this interview, the BBC presenter, Martha Kearney, made this astonishing claim: “Clearly Rachel Corrie was one of the casualties of what happened that day, and I know Israeli soldiers died too.”

US scales down military exercise with Israel: report The United States has significantly scaled down a planned joint military exercise with Israel most likely because of disagreements on how to deal with Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Time magazine has reported on its website.

In contrast to former Mossad and Shin Bet chiefs Meir Dagan and Yuval Diskin, Efraim Halevy speaks not in black-and-white but in shades of gray, writes Ari Shavit.

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Gaza Strip is not a threat to Egypt’s security, prime minister Ismail Haniyeh said Saturday. Haniyeh made the comments while meeting with a security delegation in the coastal enclave, a statement said. The Gaza premier applauded Egypt’s treatment of the Palestinian people and Gazans in particular, adding that Gaza can be a source of security and cooperation for Egypt. Relations between Egypt’s new government led by President Muhammad Mursi and Hamas had deteriorated since an attack in which gunmen killed 16 Egyptian soldiers on the Israeli border in early August. Egypt closed the Rafah crossing and moved to seal myriad smuggling tunnels with Gaza on suspicion they might have been used by militants who shot dead the soldiers.

Northern Command officials say Israel is wary that a large-scale conflict will erupt within Lebanon and that Hezbollah would take advantage of the situation on the border.

Ahmadinejad ‘supports Palestinian reconciliation’ BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has stressed his country’s commitment to reconciliation between estranged Palestinian factions, his office said Friday, days after invitations to Iran strengthened a rift between Hamas and Fatah parties. Ahmedinejad told President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday: “We love Palestine, and we are committed to achieve Palestinian national reconciliation as it will contribute to the Palestinian resistance.”

Non-aligned nations ‘to confirm Palestinian refugee rights’ BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The final statement of the Non-Aligned Movement summit will confirm the rights of Palestinian refugees, President Mahmoud Abbas’ diplomatic adviser said Friday. The 120-member Non-Aligned Movement is expected to issue a 680-clause statement on Friday. Majdi al-Khaldi said the closing statement would affirm the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, as outlined in UN resolution 194 and international law.

Abbas declined invitation by Ahmadinejad for formal visit to Tehran Iranian president suggested that reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas be held in Tehran; Abbas said he would consider such a visit in the future.

Palestinian parliamentary delegation meets South African ministers A Palestinian parliamentary delegation has spent the week in South Africa following an official invitation from their South African peers. The delegation met with South Africa’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Ibrahim Ibrahim, as well as the Minister of Public Works. Chaired by Dr. Ahmed Bahar, the senior Deputy Chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Council, the delegation included elected PLC members Dr. Marwan Abu Ras and Gamila El-Shanti, as well as Nafez El-Madhoun, the PLC’s Secretary General.

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority said Friday that recent statements by Israel’s far-right foreign minister were incitement and he should be charged in international courts for his extremism. Avigdor Lieberman has “crossed every red line in his continuous incitement against (President Mahmoud) Abbas when he called for Abbas’ assassination,” the PA information ministry said. Lieberman did not call for Abbas’ assassination but he has urged new Palestinian elections to oust the president in the hopes of finding a more amiable negotiating partner.

Report: Hamas takes on Gaza’s Salafists London’s Al-Sharq Al-Awsat says Gaza government is trying to curb radicals’ terror activities fearing Israeli operation.

Hamas ‘to ban pornographic sites’

Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that controls Gaza, is to block access to pornographic websites to protect social and moral values, local media say.

Analysis / Op-ed

Tunisia – For the past three months, the Arab Maghreb countries have been witnessing a growing number of controversies and scandals concerning cells linked to Israeli espionage activities. It began when an informants network was dismantled in Mauritania early this year. Then Mossad made the headlines in Algeria and Morocco in a string of reports, rumors, and hoaxes. Finally, a new scandal reverberated across Tunisia last week involving a wide network of Mossad operations, including espionage centers using the country as a base to spy across the Maghreb region. Abderraouf al-Ayadi, head of the Wafa Movement which split from the Rally for the Republic (RPR), caused a huge stir last week when he revealed that Mossad has stepped up its activities in post-revolutionary Tunisia.

“On another front, every American is less secure today because he has failed to slow Iran’s nuclear threat. In his first TV interview as president, he said we should talk to Iran. We’re still talking and Iran’s centrifuges are still spinning. President Obama has thrown allies like Israel under the bus, even as he has relaxed sanctions on Castro’s Cuba.”

(Video) Romney’s Jerusalem is ‘the capital of Israel’ ad, Allison Deger Continuing to push daylight between presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s position on Israel and President Obama’s, the Republican National Committee played a one-minute and 35-second campaign ad that, accompanied by dramatic music, re-states that Jerusalem is “the capital of Israel.”

When Mitt Romney walked down the aisle toward the stage Thursday night , among the people whose hands he shook was the conservative billionaire and major political donor David Koch. But it was a moment missed by the tens of millions of viewers at home. While Democracy Now! was there on the floor and captured the handshake on video, the networks cut away just before the handshake to show footage of two enthusiastic young women supporters and then an overhead shot of the convention center. Then, the shot came back to Romney shaking hands further down the aisle as he ascended the stage. Groups in the network of David Koch, and his brother Charles, intend to spend nearly $400 million ahead of the 2012 election.

“Moreover, Obama responded to Israel’s obduracy by offering it F-35 fighter jets and other goodies. The U.S. president has since coddled Israel, extending additional military assistance and vetoing U.N. resolutions criticizing settlement activity. He also opposed the Palestinian initiative for statehood last September, delivering the most pro-Israel American speech ever at the U.N. And though it seems of no importance in Washington, the Palestinians are as far from freedom from Israeli subjugation as ever. Meanwhile, Obama’s opponent, Mitt Romney, who held a big-money fund-raiser in Jerusalem last month, said last December that when it comes to Palestinian-Israeli policy, “I’d get on the phone to my friend Bibi Netanyahu and say: ‘Would it help if I said this? What would you like me to do ?’ ”

I’m on the mailing list of Rabinowitz-Dorf, which works for the Democratic Party (and which was hired to help rehabilitate the Democratic-Party-affiliated Center for American Progress when it got into trouble for running pieces criticizing the Israel lobby). And here are two recent communications from my friend there.

Next week Ethan Bronner, a NY Times reporter who till recently was the Jerusalem bureau chief for the newspaper, is speaking about “My Israel” and his transformative experience with respect to the country, and the $75 donation goes to the New Israel Fund.

Review: tortured optimism in Raja Shehadeh’s “Occupation Diaries”, Sarah Irving

Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority come under sharp criticism in Raja Shehadeh’s Occupation Diaries.

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