

80 year old Palestinian woman stoned by settlers



Settlers stone elderly Palestinian lady

RAMALLAH (WAFA) 31 Oct — A group of Jewish settlers Monday stoned an elderly Palestinian lady as she was picking olives in Mukhmas, a village southeast of Ramallah in the West Bank, according to local sources. The 80-year-old woman was reported to be injured in the head and transferred to hospital for treatment.

And other news from Today in Palestine:

Land, Property, Resources Theft & Destruction / Ethnic Cleansing / Apartheid / Restriction of Movement

Occupy Wall Street, Not Palestine, Ben Lorber

As pro-Palestinian discourse begins to make its voice heard in the worldwide Occupy Wall Street movement, right-wing organizations and individuals in the United States, including the Republican National Committee and the Emergency Committee for Israel, have denounced the protests as anti-Semitic and anti-Israel. As pro-Palestinian discourse begins to make its voice heard in the worldwide Occupy Wall Street movement, right-wing organizations and individuals in the United States, including the Republican National Committee and the Emergency Committee for Israel, have denounced the protests as anti-Semitic and anti-Israel. http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=17208 Occupy the Treasury!

Reclaim the monetary system with the NEED Act – HR 2990. With all the hysteria about government debt and deficit spending, ostensible pretexts for annihilating the public sector, why is no one scrutinizing the source of the problem ~ the monetary system? http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29562.htm Neither Revolution Nor Reform: A New Strategy for the Left

Quietly, a different kind of progressive change is emerging, one that involves a transformation in institutional structures and power, a process one could call “evolutionary reconstruction.” http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29560.htm

Today in Palestine for Monday, October 31, 2011

Land, property theft and destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Apartheid / Restriction of movement

Likud mulls ‘AG bypass’ on West Bank outposts

Ynet 31 Oct — Ministers support PM Netanyahu’s proposal to form review panel to retroactively sanction illegal outposts; suggest government retains independent counsel to go head to head with Attorney General’s Office on the matter

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4142181,00.html

Cabinet advances plans to build new Negev towns

JPost 31 Oct — To the dismay of green groups, the government decided to move forward with an initiative to construct 10 new northern Negev communities in its weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday … The Settlements Division of the World Zionist Organization, which said it will be responsible for planning 10 new northern Negev communities as a result of the cabinet decision, argued that the development will “give life” to the region

http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=243814&R=R2

Khan al-Ahmar homes demolished

[photos] ICAHD 31 Oct — Five family homes were demolished this morning … in the Jerusalem periphery Palestinian-Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar. 15 army jeeps and a bulldozer showed up at the rural community, in the hills east of Jerusalem this morning, and demolished five family homes, displacing 71 people, including some 60 children. ICAHD staff arrived at the community a few short hours after the demolition to find family members mourning the loss of their homes and property. Abu Khamis, a Khan al-Ahmar community activist told ICAHD staff: ‘We will not be forced off our land, if Israel demolishes, we will rebuild’.

http://www.icahd.org/?p=7870

Israel: Charging house demolition victims to pay costs of demolition equipment / Samir

ISM 31 Oct — … The families received the first demolition order 10 days ago and were then told to demolish their own houses. When this did not happened a final demolition order was sent three days ago. Around 10 AM today 15 military vehicles arrived and the army demolished the three houses … Not only did they lose their homes, but they will also be held responsible to pay for the rent of the bulldozer that demolished the houses. Only one woman and one child were present when the demolition happened. All the men stayed away from the location in order not to be held financially responsible.

http://palsolidarity.org/2011/10/israel-charging-house-demolition-victims-to-pay-costs-of-demolition-equipment/

New report says Israeli home demolitions in East Jerusalem violate international law, may constitute a war crime / Zack Resnick

Mondo 31 Oct — Earlier today The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions gave a press conference releasing its new report on Israeli housing demolition policy in East Jerusalem, and announcing that it will submit complaints to the U.N. A press release accompanying the report reads in part:

http://mondoweiss.net/2011/10/new-report-says-israeli-home-demolitions-in-east-jerusalem-violate-international-law-may-constitute-a-war-crime.html

Jordanian farmers to sue Israeli premier for property damage

AMMAN (PIC) 31 Oct — Dean of Jordan Valley farmers Adnan Al-Khaddam said he intends to file a lawsuit against the Israeli premier with international courts and another one locally against his ambassador in Amman because of the fire damage that happened to their agricultural lands in border areas. The Jordanian newspaper Assabil quoted Khaddam as saying that deliberate fires caused by Israeli occupation forces on the Israeli occupied side of Jordan Valley region extended to their side damaging their property, and vast tracts of crops and trees.

Link to Palestinian Information Center

PA: Israel bans 19 people from undertaking Hajj

RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 31 Oct — Israeli authorities on Sunday banned 29 West Bank Palestinians from traveling to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj pilgrimage, a PA official said. Issa Qaraqe, minister of prisoner affairs in Ramallah, said that all of the pilgrims banned from traveling were relatives of prisoners in Israeli jails … The minister slammed the policy, labeling it “aggressive behavior which violates the right to practice religious rites.”

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=433928

Authorities block Silwanic photographer from Al-Aqsa

Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) — Silwanic photographer Ahmad Siyam was prevented by Israeli forces from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound yesterday, Thursday 27 October. Officers cited security reasons for the ban. Siyam was on an assignment documenting the delegation of released prisoners visiting the tomb of Faisal al-Husaini.

http://silwanic.net/?p=21655

Journalists syndicate condemns withdrawal of reporter’s permit to Jerusalem

RAMALLAH (WAFA) 30 Oct — …PJS said Abdul Karim Abu Arqoub, a journalist in al-Quds daily, was stopped and detained at Qalandia checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah without being given reasons; he was later informed that his permit was canceled. The press release said PJS considered the Israeli decision as breaching the freedom of the press and violating journalists.

http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17901

Video: Syrian families divided by Golan fence

BBC 26 Oct — Israeli forces are continuing the construction of a fence started earlier this year to separate the occupied Golan Heights from Syrian territories. Israel says the barrier is aimed at preventing any infiltration by Palestinians or Syrians into Israeli lands. However, Syrian residents say the fence separates them from their families and mother land.Ghada Nassef reports.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15471498

Settler and right-wing Israeli terrorism

Settlers stone elderly Palestinian lady

RAMALLAH (WAFA) 31 Oct — A group of Jewish settlers Monday stoned an elderly Palestinian lady as she was picking olives in Mukhmas, a village southeast of Ramallah in the West Bank, according to local sources. The 80-year-old woman was reported to be injured in the head and transferred to hospital for treatment.

http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17912

Report: Palestinian restaurant set alight in Jaffa

TEL AVIV (Ma‘an) 31 Oct — A Palestinian restaurant in Jaffa was set on fire in a suspected “price tag” attack, Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Monday. A local official said that the terms “price tag” and “Kahane was right” were written on the walls. Jaffa residents reported the incident on Monday morning.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=433937

PARC: Settlers burn 2600 Palestinian olive trees in October

RAMALLAH (PIC) 31 Oct — The Palestinian agricultural relief committee (PARC) said that Jewish settlers had burnt 2600 Palestinian olive trees in October, assessing the Palestinian farmers’ damages as a result at around 156,000 dollars. The committee said in its monthly report issued on Monday that the Palestinians lost on average 3.5 olive trees per hour in October either through incineration or destruction. It noted that 53% of the losses were sustained in Nablus province followed by Salfit province at 24%, adding that most of the attacks were carried out by settlers with some of them committed by Israeli occupation soldiers.

Link to Palestinian Information Center

WATCH: Settler violence during olive harvest not just random fanaticism / Moriel Rothman

972mag 30 Oct — Notes and Stories from the Olive Harvest: Palestinian farmers tell stories of intimidation, vandalism and violence from settler neighbors, as they attempt to harvest their olives … the fact that the army has been somewhat willing to fulfill its legal obligation – established explicitly following a 2006 Supreme Court ruling - to protect Palestinian farmers during the olive season speaks more to successful pressure from media and civil society than it does to any change in policy. According to a report [Hebrew] recently published by the Israeli legal organization Yesh Din, out of the 127 cases Yesh Din has followed since 2005 against settlers guilty of destroying of Palestinian trees, only one has led to an indictment.

http://972mag.com/watc-settler-violence-during-olive-harvest-not-just-random-fanaticism/26672/

Extremist group targets released prisoners

Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 30 Oct — Prisoners returned home to Jerusalem as part of the Israel-Hamas prisoner swap agreement have been targeted by an unnamed Israeli extremist group. The group has placed the freed prisoners under highly invasive surveillance in order to gather intelligence for the Israeli security apparatus. The group claims to “defend the lives of Israelis and Jews”, using a network of private detectives to track the prisoners’ moves and activities. Information gathered is then published to the Israeli media … Maps have been uploaded to the group’s Facebook page showing the residences of the released prisoners.

http://silwanic.net/?p=21696

Elad demands apology from Arabic newspaper

Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) – Settler association Elad has demanded an apology from Arabic daily The Jerusalem News for its reporting on Elad head David Biery’s abduction of 10-year old Silwan resident Mahmoud al-Khaseeb. Khaseeb was taken by Biery, assaulted by an Arab man and delivered to Israeli forces. Video evidence exists of the event.

http://silwanic.net/?p=21631

4th suspect arrested in Tuba Zanghariya mosque torching

JPost 31 Oct — Police say man is 20-year-old from Samaria, who was arrested in W. Bank settlement of Yitzhar; remand extension to be requested … The investigation into the arson is being carried out by the Judea and Samaria police in collaboration with the special LAHAV investigative task force, which was launched to investigate suspected price tag’ attacks..

http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=243886&R=R2

IDF razes four West Bank outpost homes near Bat Ayin

JPost 31 Oct — The IDF destroyed four unauthorized homes that were in the final stages of construction at an outpost just outside of the Bat Ayin settlement in the West Bank early Monday morning. The demolitions come as settlers and right-wing politicians have warned that the army intends to demolish hundreds of unauthorized West Bank settler homes. [so,more ‘price tag’ attacks on the way…]

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?ID=243829&R=R1

Gaza

VIDEOS: Literal buzzkills: What it feels like under an Israeli drone

ISM 30 Oct – Sami Kishawi — Unmanned Israeli drones have been circling over the Gaza Strip for more than a day now. Few people outside of Gaza realize just how psychologically torturing this can be. Not only are the drones loud and incessant, but they also instill fear: the drones are able to fire a projectile at you at any given moment, no warning necessary. An independent journalist by the Twitter handle @WelshInGaza recorded the following footage to give you an idea of what it feels like underneath an Israeli drone during the day and during the night.

http://palsolidarity.org/2011/10/literal-buzzkills-what-it-feels-like-underneath-an-israeli-drone/

Overnight airstrike brings Gaza deaths to 12

GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) — Two militants were killed overnight Sunday as Israeli forces targeted the Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll in the coastal enclave to 12 since Saturday … The Al-Ansar brigades, a military wing of the Al-Ahrar movement, said in a statement that the victims were fighters in the group. They vowed to retaliate for the deaths.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=433884

Army: 2 rockets fired into southern Israel

BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 31 Oct 21:37 — Two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel on Monday afternoon, causing no damage or injuries, the Israeli army said … As yet, no factions in Gaza have claimed the launches. Israeli airstrikes have killed 12 militants in three days, and a volley of rockets from Gaza killed one Israeli on Saturday.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=434108

Gaza militants renew rocket fire at Be’er Sheva, Sderot

Haaretz 31 Oct 19:31 — Palestinian militants in Gaza renewed rocket fire toward southern Israel on Monday, launching seven rockets at Be’er Sheva and Sderot … There were no casualties or damage done in any of the incidents.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/gaza-militants-renew-rocket-fire-at-be-er-sheva-sderot-1.393002

Envoy: Egypt truce halted Israeli incursion into Gaza

GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 31 Oct — Egypt prevented Israel from launching a major military incursion into Gaza and succeeded in halting the ongoing tit-for-tat attacks across the border, the Egyptian ambassador to the Palestinian Authority said Monday. Yasser Othman told Ma‘an that Egyptian efforts would continue until a complete truce is reached in Gaza and Israeli violations stop.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=434040

Netanyahu: No ceasefire, no negotiations

Ynet 31 Oct — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke before the Likud faction on Monday, saying: “There is no ceasefire, no negotiations and the IDF continues its operations. Anytime someone disrupts the peace in the south — our response will be severe, just as it was on Saturday, and I’m telling you — even more severe.”

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4142031,00.html

Netanyahu: We do not seek a deterioration

Ynet 30 Oct — PM says Israel’s policy in Gaza includes two main principles: ‘Kill or be killed’ and ‘Hurt us — on your own head be it’. Unaware army changed its version, Netanyahu mistakenly says terror cell gunned down Saturday was same cell that fired at Ashdod Wednesday

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4141242,00.html

IDF explains terror cells’ rocket attack success

Ynet 30 Oct — Defense officials argue accurate rocket hits resulted from weather, entrenched launcher posts, training and advanced technology – including multi-barrel rockets. But what about the Iron Dome?

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4141429,00.html

Environment official: 95 percent of the aquifer unfit for human use

GAZA (PIC) 31 Oct — Head of the environment authority Yousuf Ibrahim warned that about 95 percent of the water aquifer in the Gaza Strip unsuitable for human consumption due to high levels of salinity … The environment official suggested that the use of rainwater can provide some kind of solution to this problem if the ministry of local government demanded every home and institution to necessarily establish a big tank underground to store rainwater and then pump it directly to the aquifer … “We need 20 years of no use from the aquifer in order to rehabilitate it once again,” the official emphasized.

Link to Palestinian Information Center

Israel to reopen Kerem Shalom crossing

GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 31 Oct — Israeli authorities re-opened the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip on Monday, according to Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh. The southernmost border crossing is the only operating entry point for commercial goods and humanitarian aid into the coastal enclave, which is home to more than 1.6 million Palestinians. Israeli authorities closed the crossing on Sunday, as violence flared along the border.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=433893

UNRWA: Union chief redundancy allegations ‘not true’

GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 31 Oct — The UN agency for Palestinian refugees denied allegations that it intends to fire 2 percent of its employees, after the suspended head of UNRWA’s union said he had proof of planned mass redundancies.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=434009

Union: Strike at Gaza UNRWA school to last until Thursday

GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 30 Oct — UN-run schools in the Gaza Strip went on strike on Sunday, with protests planned to last until Thursday, a staff union said … The strike is in protest against UNRWA’s suspension of the head of the union, Suhail al-Hindi. Hamas sources said the UN agency had accused al-Hindi of meeting with Hamas political officials.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=433616

Detention / Court actions

Israeli court sentences Fatah lawmaker to 30 years

NABLUS (Ma‘an) 31 Oct — An Israeli military court on Monday sentenced Fatah-affiliated lawmaker Jamal Tirawi to 30 years in jail, his brother said, after a trial which ran on for four years. Tirawi’s brother told Ma‘an that the court convicted the elected official of being a commander in Fatah’s military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=433979

Israeli forces detain 9 people across the West Bank

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) 31 Oct — Israeli forces made multiple arrests overnight Sunday and Monday morning in several districts across the West Bank. Palestinian police said in a statement that nine people were detained after their homes were raided in the districts of Jerusalem, Qalqiliya, Bethlehem and Nablus.

Israeli military forces entered the Silwan neighborhood of Jerusalem and detained 14-year-old Abdul-Karim Shoyoukhi and 20-year-old Muhammad al-Qaq, the statement said.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=433976

Israeli prison industrial complex in motion

ISM 30 Oct — Lisa — During a settler tour around the old city in Hebron on Saturday, where dozens of Israelis were guided around in a sort of parade, a Palestinian man named Yousef Salim Issa Al Batch, passed by and was stopped by Israeli police. He had a small fruit knife in his pocket and had forgotten his ID. As a result he was arrested and taken to the police station at the Kiryat Arba settlement at 4:15 PM. Earlier in the day Al Batch had been cutting apples with a small knife and forgot to take it out of his pocket … Although Al Batch has never been arrested before and never been in trouble, the police officer decided to bring him to the police station anyways. Al Batch was released at 8:30 PM after his cousin paid 1,000 shekels in cash to the police.

http://palsolidarity.org/2011/10/israeli-prison-industrial-complex-in-motion/

Gilad Shalit: The Abusisi connection / Richard Silverstein

There has been much soul-searching in the Israeli media and within the intelligence and political echelons about the lessons learned from the Shalit affair. Among them there have been a few references to the Abusisi kidnapping which reinforce the impression that Mossad took him because it believed he had some connection to Shalit … [Abusisi] was abducted because Israeli intelligence thought he could provide information about Shalit and he didn’t. This means that all the other nonsense about Abusisi being Hamas’ chief rocket engineer trained at a Ukraine military engineering academy; or that the Gazan planned, with the support of Hamas’ military wing to create a military academy in Gaza – all this is utter nonsense. They took him because they thought he could lead them to Shalit and he didn’t and he couldn’t. Everything else is hot-air, including the claim that he had any close affiliation with Hamas. Let Israel’s spooks come down off their high horse and admit they screwed up. Abusisi doesn’t belong in prison. He belongs home with his wife and six children.

http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2011/10/30/gilad-shalit-the-abusisi-connection/

Tibi visits Barghouti in prison, calls for his release

JPost 30 Oct — MK Ahmed Tibi (United Arab List-Ta’al) visited Fatah-Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti at the Hadarim Detention Center in Even Yehuda on Sunday and called for his release from prison. “Barghouti is part of the Palestinian struggle, and should be a part of the leadership, instead of sitting behind bars,” Tibi said.

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?ID=243750&R=R1

Israeli forces terrorism – West Bank

With children visible, Israeli military assaults Kufr Kaddoum

ISM 28 Oct – Rana H. — Soldiers fired teargas directly into crowd at peaceful protesters in Kufr Qaddoum. Internationals and Palestinians, including children, were gathered behind barbed wire that runs across their main road, and were not advancing when soldiers began to fire around ten canisters of tear gas at once from a short distance … They continued to shoot tear gas at the approximately 100 protesters for over an hour. Many civilians from the village were affected by the perpetual firing of tear gas. Protesters were holding signs calling on the International community not to support Illegal Israeli settlements when the tear gas began from a distance of only 25 metres. A Swedish International activist was not expecting such an assault on un-advancing protesters. “It was my first time at a protest here and I was shocked that they would fire tear gas directly at a peaceful crowd with children visibly among them.”

http://palsolidarity.org/2011/10/with-children-visible-israeli-military-assaults-kufr-kaddoum/

Israeli Racism / Discrimination

Safed landlord kicks out Druze students

Ynet 30 Oct – Almost a year after rabbis’ letter, racism strikes in Safed once again: Less than a day after four students from the Druze town of Buq’ata in the Golan Heights rented out an apartment in Safed, their landlord ordered them to pack their belongings and vacate the home. The landlord told them he received threats from ultra-Orthodox neighbors demanding he “not rent out the apartment to Arabs.”

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4141544,00.html

Political news

UNESCO grants Palestinians full membership

Haaretz/Reuters 31 Oct — The United Nations’ cultural agency decided on Monday to give the Palestinians full membership of the body, a vote that will boost their bid for recognition as a state at the United Nations.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/unesco-grants-palestinians-full-membership-1.392974

Abbas: Granting Palestine membership in UNESCO supports our right to statehood

AMMAN, JORDAN (WAFA) 31 Oct – President Mahmoud Abbas told WAFA on Monday that voting in favor of Palestine to gain full membership in UNESCO “is for peace and represents an international consensus supporting our legitimate national rights, at the forefront our right to statehood. Abbas expressed his gratitude to all the countries that voted in favor of Palestine’s full membership in … UNESCO. He stressed that “this vote is not against anyone, it is only in support of freedom and justice.”

http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17918

Palestine to apply for full membership in WHO, says Minister of Health

RAMALLAH, (WAFA) 31 Oct — Minister of Health, Fathi Abu Moghli said on Monday that the ministry is preparing to apply an application for Palestine to gain full membership in the World Health Organization (WHO), according to a press release.

http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17922

US: Palestinian membership is premature

AP/DPA/Haaretz 31 Oct — The White House said Monday that UNESCO’s approval of full Palestinian membership is “premature” and undermines the international community’s goal of a comprehensive Middle East peace plan. White House spokesman Jay Carney said that Monday’s vote is also a distraction from the goal of restarting direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-palestinian-unesco-membership-is-premature-1.392996

VIDEO: State Department flack tacitly concedes that US opposition to Palestinian UNESCO membership stems from protecting Israeli interests / Richard Silverstein

Reporter Matt Lee sticks it to State Department spokesflack Victoria Nuland (who is married to neocon analyst Robert Kagan) as she argues that U.S. opposition to the Palestinian bid for UNESCO membership and our immediate defunding of that body arises from our concern for a “rise in tension” it would cause. After Lee repeatedly asks her what “tension” the vote creates except Israeli anger, she ends the interchange charging him with mounting a “polemic.”

http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2011/10/31/state-department-flack-tacitly-concedes-that-u-s-opposition-to-palestinian-unesco-membership-stems-from-protecting-israeli-interests/

US cuts off UNESCO funding after Palestinian vote

WASHINGTON (Reuters) 31 Oct — The United States said on Monday it had stopped funding UNESCO, the U.N. cultural agency, following its vote to grant the Palestinians full membership. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters the United States had no choice but to halt funding because of longstanding U.S. law, saying Washington would not make a planned $60 million transfer that was due in November.

http://news.yahoo.com/u-cuts-off-unesco-funding-palestinian-vote-171801043.html;_ylc=X3oDMTEwOTQ0YWE4BF9TAzIwMjM4Mjc1MjQEZW1haWxJZAMxMzIwMDgyMjQ0

Israel to reconsider cooperation with UNESCO after approval of Palestinian membership

Haaretz 31 Oct — Israel rejects the decision of the General Assembly of UNESCO to grant the Palestinians full membership of the organization, the Foreign Ministry said Monday, and warned that Israel will now reconsider its future cooperation with the body.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-to-reconsider-cooperation-with-unesco-after-approval-of-palestine-membership-1.392983

Israel to mull sanctions on Palestinian Authority following UNESCO vote

Haaretz 31 Oct — Netanyahu to convene meeting with senior ministers to discuss punitive measures against Palestinians after they were granted full membership from the UN cultural body.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-to-mull-sanctions-on-palestinian-authority-following-unesco-vote-1.393029

FM Lieberman: Israel must weigh cutting ties with Palestinian Authority

Haaretz 31 Oct — “We need to collect a price for the diatribes, campaigns and boycotts,” Lieberman said at a Yisrael Beiteinu party meeting at the Knesset. “We cannot leave it without a clear response and without collecting a price.” Lieberman also said that Israel “needs to topple the Hamas regime as possible.”

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/fm-lieberman-israel-must-weigh-cutting-ties-with-palestinian-authority-1.392972

Other news

PA signs cooperation agreement with Germany

RAMALLAH (WAFA) 31 Oct — The Palestinian Authority Monday signed a cooperation agreement with the German government to support two water treatment projects in the northern West Bank cities of Tulkarm and Nablus … The project aims to solve the water shortage problems in Nablus through extending the water pipelines carrying water by a total of 15.6 kilometers, extending the water distribution networks and establishing water tanks and pumps at specified locations in Nablus.

http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17913

Report: Israel seeking to upgrade its nuclear weapons capabilities

Haaretz 31 Oct –Israel is working on improving its nuclear weapons capabilities, according to a report by the independent Trident commission in the United Kingdom that was published in the Guardian newspaper on Monday. According to the report in the Guardian, Israel is extending the range of its Jericho 3 land-to-land missiles so they will have the capabilities of transcontinental missiles … The Guardian also reported that Israel is also striving to improve and expand the capabilities of its cruise missiles, designed to be launched from submarines.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-israel-seeking-to-upgrade-its-nuclear-weapons-capabilities-1.392957

Terror victims’ NGO to publish terrorist database

JPost 31 Oct — The Almagor Victims of Terror Association plans to launch an online database of the terrorists with descriptions of their crimes in an effort to prevent future prisoner swaps, The Jerusalem Post has learned. The head of Almagor, Meir Indor, believes by connecting the names of the terrorists to the specific terror attacks they committed, the public will be less likely to support prisoner swaps in the future.

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?ID=243799&R=R1

73 get suspended terms for Israeli Embassy attack

AFP 31 Oct — An Egyptian military court on Monday handed down six-month suspended jail sentences to 73 people accused of involvement in the attack on the Israeli embassy in September, a military source said. Two other people were acquitted.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4142190,00.html

Tunisia issues arrest warrant for Arafat’s widow

TUNIS (Reuters) 31 Oct — Tunisian authorities issued an international arrest warrant for Suha Arafat, widow of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, as part of a corruption probe into Tunisia’s former first family, the justice ministry said on Monday.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=434041

Analysis / Opinion

Settlers succeeding in hostile takeover of Israel / Gideon Levy

Haaretz 30 Oct — Do you really want to live in a country where the heads of the settlement enterprise allocate its lands, plan its nature sites, rule on its laws and are increasingly controlling its lifestyles? — Phase I was long since declared an unqualified success: The settlers gained control of the occupied territories, using their power and their construction projects to thwart any just arrangement. But anyone who thought they would settle for controlling the West Bank should take a look at Phase II of the plan, which is at its height and already a success story. Now, after the hostile takeover of the West Bank, comes the takeover of the state.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/settlers-succeeding-in-hostile-takeover-of-israel-1.392687

Essays on the latest Quartet initiative

Bitter Lemons 31 Oct — Two Palestinian (‘The Quartet facade’ – Sam Bahour; ‘A serious challenge’ – Ghassan Khatib) and two Israeli (‘Pointless and depressing’ – Yossi Alpher; and ‘A dangerous illusion of conflict management’ – Akiva Eldar)

http://www.bitterlemons.org/index1.php

Israel’s blindness causing its decline / Yitzhak Laor

Haaretz 31 Oct — Netanyahu can call the prisoners he frees “murderers,” and emotionally eulogize Rehavam Ze’evi. He prefers a strong Hamas, since he prefers a dead end. This is why he prefers to leave in prison the two most important Palestinian leaders – Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Saadat – behind bars.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/israel-s-blindness-causing-its-decline-1.392889

groups.yahoo.com/group/f_shadi (listserv)

www.theheadlines.org (archive)

www.TheHeadlines.Org