Israeli police attempt to arrest Jerusalem preschoolers

IMEMC/Agencies 17 Dec — Israeli police, on Tuesday, attempted to arrest two preschoolers during a raid on two homes in the occupied East Jerusalem town of Silwan, according to witnesses. WAFA correspondence reports that police raided the home of Mr. Mohammad Abd al-Raziq, in the Bir Ayoub neighborhood of Silwan, in search of two children aged three and five, for allegedly throwing rocks at them. The officers left the house after threatening the father with arrest … Police additionally raided a Silwan boys’ school, in Ras al-Amoud, under the pretext that they had thrown fireworks at them. No abductions were reported. Meanwhile, police stormed the neighborhood of Ein Lawza, also in Silwan, where they kidnapped Yazan Abbasi, age 11, and Ahmad Abbasi, also 11, as they were leaving school for home. There were no confrontations reported at the time of the incident, nonetheless.

http://www.imemc.org/article/70031

Israeli police detain 3 Palestinian children

JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 15 Dec — The Israeli police detained three Palestinians children from the al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Monday. Witnesses told Ma‘an that the Israeli police detained three Palestinian children aged 10-11. The children were identified as Tawfiq Najib, Mustafa Abu Snineh and Zakariyah al-Bakri.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=747468

Updates

Liquid used in alleged West Bank ‘acid attack’ determined to be vinegar

IMEMC/Agencies 15 Dec — The Jerusalem Post has reported that the acid thrown by a Palestinian on six Israelis in the occupied West Bank, Friday, was actually vinegar, according to Channel 2. The victims were reportedly taken to Hadassah University Medical Center with light injuries and released from the hospital the next day. A Palestinian man from Nahhalin town, near Bethlehem, was shot and seriously injured by Israeli settler fire, after soldiers alleged that he had sprayed an Israeli settler with acid.

http://www.imemc.org/article/70017

Police believe Israeli killed in bungled robbery, not terror attack

Haaretz 16 Dec by Chaim Levinson & Gili Cohen — New information released by the police indicates that an incident earlier this month [2 Dec] in which Avraham Ben Zion, a 63-year-old farmer from Netiv HaGdud in the Jordan Valley, was run over was not a terror attack but a bungled robbery. Three Palestinians from the village of ‘Aqraba were arrested following the incident. They had all been arrested on previous occasions for criminal offenses in Israel. During their interrogation they said that their plan was to lightly strike Ben Zion’s vehicle in an attempt to cause him to step out. When he did so they sprayed his face with tear gas and stole his vehicle. Ben Zion was critically injured when the three suspects ran him over while fleeing from the scene. He later died from his injuries. A fourth suspect was arrested on suspicion of trying to dismantle the stolen vehicle. The case was transferred to the military authorities who will decide on what charges will be brought against the suspects.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.632156

Official: Gush Etzion stab suspect was harassed by settler

BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 16 Dec — A Palestinian woman suspected of stabbing a settler on Dec. 1 was defending herself after being harassed by the man, a Palestinian official claimed Tuesday. Amal Jamal Taqatqa, 22, was shot and critically wounded by soldiers near Gush Etzion on Dec. 1 after allegedly stabbing an Israeli settler. Director of Bethlehem’s military liaison department told Ma‘an that officials requested an investigation into the shooting but it has been delayed due to the political atmosphere. “Is it reasonable that 46 surveillance cameras in Gush Etzion settlement bloc have failed to document what really happened between Amal Taqatqa, 22, from Beit Fajjar and an Israeli settler who claimed that she attempted to stab him?” Khalid Qaddura said. Taqatqa reportedly engaged in a hand-to-hand fight with the settler after he verbally abused her, causing a minor scratch to the settler’s neck, Qaddura said. “At that point, the settlers asked an Israeli soldier who was in the area to shoot the girl, and the soldier immediately shot her in the chest. The girl fell to the ground then tried to get up and run away, but the soldier shot her again in the feet causing her to fall down again then he approached her and shot a last round,” the official added. Whenever an Israeli is injured in an accident it is automatically labeled as “terrorism,” Qaddura said. He urged Palestinians who witness such incidents to film them or record the registration number of the military vehicles involved. Taqatqa is receiving medical treatment at Hadassah hospital and is in a stable condition.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=747559

Israel to demolish Silwan home of Glick shooting suspect

JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 15 Dec — Israel’s Jerusalem municipality on Monday delivered demolition orders for the family home of Mutaz Hijazi, who is suspected of attempting to assassinate far-right Israeli activist Yehuda Glick. Uday Hijazi, Mutaz’ brother, told Ma’an that Israeli forces and municipality officials raided the home in Silwan and delivered a demolition order for their three-story building, claiming that it was unlicensed. The home was built before Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, Uday added. The family first received a demolition order last month but it was frozen until Israel’s Supreme Court issued a final ruling. Undercover Israeli forces shot and killed Hijazi on Oct. 30, hours after the shooting of prominent Israeli extremist Yehuda Glick in Jerusalem. The initial autopsy report showed Hijazi had been shot at least 20 times.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=747356

Israel arrests 10 in anti-Arab extremist swoop

JERUSALEM (AFP) 16 Dec — Israeli police on Tuesday arrested 10 members of extremist anti-Arab group Lehava which has been linked to an attack last month on a Jewish-Arab school. The attack, which incited violence against Arabs and equated them to a “cancer”, sparked a wave of condemnation and came amid months of rising tensions and unrest in Israel and the Palestinian territories. “Ten suspects, members of the Lehava organisation, have been arrested for questioning following incitement and calls for racist acts of violence and terror,” the police said in a statement. The suspects were arrested at their homes in the Israeli towns of Petah Tikva and Netivot, as well as in Jerusalem and Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. Police also seized computers belonging to the suspects. Among those detained was Lehava leader Bentzi Gopstein, who lives in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron. Gopstein’s lawyer said the arrests were political. “The police are acting against Lehava even though it’s a legal organisation fighting against assimilation,” Itamar Ben Gvir said, accusing the “left” of pressuring the police into making arrests. Leftwing MPs have demanded that Lehava be banned as a “terrorist organisation”. Three Lehava members were arrested last week on suspicion of torching a classroom at the Hand-in-Hand school, a rare symbol of coexistence in Jerusalem.

http://news.yahoo.com/israel-arrests-10-anti-arab-extremist-swoop-074639541.html;_ylt=A0LEVicCy5BUyTUAeqIPxQt.

Lawyer: Police must respond to body release complaint

JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 16 Dec — An Israeli central court on Tuesday gave the public prosecution 48 hours to respond to his request for information on the corpses of Ghassan and Odai Abu Jamal who carried out an attack in West Jerusalem last month. Addamer lawyer Mohammad Mahmoud said that he lodged a request to force the police to give him a decision on the fate of the bodies, adding that they had been detained since their death on Nov. 18. The two Palestinians were killed during the attack on a synagogue but police have not released their bodies, accusing their families of rejecting conditions for their funerals.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=747744

Violence / Raids / Arrests

Palestinian killed in clash with Israeli troops in West Bank

Haaretz 16 Dec by Gili Cohen & Jack Khoury — Israeli army says the Palestinian threw a bomb at soldiers; Palestinians say he was shot in the head while on the roof of his home — Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian during a clash at the Qalandiyah refugee camp early on Tuesday. According to the Israel Defense Forces, the man hurled a bomb toward the soldiers. According to the IDF, gunmen opened fire toward soldiers while they were arresting a wanted suspect in the West Bank camp overnight. A firefight ensued, during which a makeshift explosive device was thrown toward the troops. The soldiers fired back at the assailant, killing him. Palestinian sources said no shots were fired toward the Israeli unit. Palestinian medical officials said the man, Mahmoud Abdullah Adwan, 21, was shot in the head while standing on the roof of his home. Another Palestinian was wounded during the clash. No soldiers were wounded in the incident. According to Palestinian sources, the troops sought to arrest Mujahed Hamed, 26, a security guard. This is the fourth incident in which Israeli troops have opened fire at the refugee camp recently, the sources said. Adwan’s funeral is to take place on Tuesday afternoon. Dozens of Palestinians gathered in Qalandiyah following the incident to throw stones toward Israeli security forces, who retaliated with tear gas and stun grenades.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.632064

Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian during Ramallah arrest raid

RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 16 Dec — Israeli soldiers shot and killed a young Palestinian man during a dawn detention raid in Qalandiya refugee camp near Ramallah, medics said Tuesday. Mahmoud Abdullah Udwan, 21, was shot in the head while standing on the rooftop of his family home in the camp, medics said. He was hit as Israeli soldiers ransacked homes to make arrests at around 3 a.m. Clashes broke out as a result of the raid, with youths throwing stones at Israeli soldiers. President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the killing and urged the international community to provide protection for the Palestinian people, a statement from his office said. Despite the confrontations, Israeli soldiers managed to detain 26-year-old Mujahid Hamad, who works with the Palestinian football federation as a security guard at stadiums. Four Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers in Qalandiya refugee camp this year during arrest raids.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=747537

30 Palestinians injured as thousands lay Qalandiya man to rest

[with photos] RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 16 Dec — Over 10,000 people on Tuesday afternoon participated in the funeral procession of Mahmoud Adwan who was killed hours earlier during an Israeli raid on Qalandiya refugee camp. Over 30 Palestinians were injured with rubber-coated steel bullets in clashes that broke out near Qalandiya checkpoint. Most of the injured were taken to Ramallah medical complex while the rest were treated on the scene. Adwan’s body was taken to al-Quds University forensic institute before his funeral started from the camp’s mosque to al-Shuhada cemetery. Participants in the funeral chanted calls for retaliation and raised Palestinian flags as some masked participants fired shots in the air. A general strike was observed in Qalandiya, Kafr Aqab, Samirameis, and the Umm al-Sharayt area north of Jerusalem.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=747736

Five Palestinians injured in Hebron, one kidnapped

IMEMC/Agencies 16 Dec — Media sources in Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, have reported that dozens of soldiers invaded the city, and nearby communities, shot and wounded one Palestinian, and kidnapped at least five others. The sources said more than seven armored Israeli military vehicles invaded Wadi al-Harya area, before the soldiers fired concussion grenades and gas bombs at a number of homes. One Palestinian, identified as ‘Omar ‘Amro, was shot and injured, before the soldiers also kidnapped his brother ‘Ammar. Soldiers also invaded and ransacked a number of homes, near al-Ansar mosque in the Salam Street, and kidnapped Majed al-Haimouni and another member of his family. In addition, several military vehicles invaded the at-Tabaqa village south of Doura town near Hebron, and searched a number of homes before kidnapping former political prisoner Mahmoud Hakam al-Harbiyyat and Riyadh Abu Ras. Late on Monday at night, soldiers stationed at the Container Roadblock, east of Bethlehem, kidnapped a university student from Doura town. Local sources said the soldiers stopped and searched dozens of cars before kidnapping Salah Ahmad al-‘Awawda, 20, a student of the Al-Quds University.

http://www.imemc.org/article/70022

[Family assaulted in their home, require hospitalization]

IMEMC/Agencies 16 Dec by Saed Bannoura — Father, mother and their children hospitalized in Jerusalem after soldiers assaulted them in their home — …In Jerusalem, soldiers invaded a Palestinian home in Ras al-‘Amoud in Silwan town, in occupied East Jerusalem, and attacked a Palestinian family, causing injuries that required hospitalization. The family members have been identified as Khaled Syouri, his wife Haya, their children Khaled and Raed. They were moved to the al-Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives.

http://www.imemc.org/article/70025

Soldiers attack three Palestinians in Jerusalem

IMEMC/Agencies 17 Dec — Israeli soldiers [Tuesday evening?] invaded several Palestinian homes in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem, and violently assaulted three young Palestinian men, causing various cuts and bruises. Local sources said the soldiers assaulted Omar az-Za‘anin, Ramzi az-Za‘anin and Mohammad az-Zaghal, after invading their homes in Jerusalem, adding that the assaulted Palestinians suffered various cuts and bruises. The sources added that the soldiers wanted to occupy the rooftops of the homes of the kidnapped residents, in order to fire at young Palestinian men, during confrontations between the army and local youths.

Clashes continued in various roads and alleys in the Old City, and different parts of occupied Jerusalem, after the soldiers shot and killed, on Tuesday at dawn, resident Mahmoud ‘Adwan in the Qalandia refugee camp, north of Jerusalem.

In related news, soldiers kidnapped on Tuesday evening two Palestinians at a military roadblock, installed near the Ibrahimi Mosque, in the center of the southern West Bank city of Hebron. Local sources said the soldiers kidnapped Maher Abu Sneina and Zahi Abu Sneina, and took them to an interrogation facility in Keryat Arba’ illegal settlement, built on Palestinian lands in Hebron.

http://www.imemc.org/article/70032

Scores suffer effects of teargas inhalation near Hebron

IMEMC/Agencies 16 Dec by Saed Bannoura — Palestinian medical sources have reported that dozens of residents suffered the effects of teargas inhalation after several Israeli military vehicles invaded the Safa area, north of Beit Ummar town and Hebron city. Mohammad Awad, Spokesperson of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Beit Ummar, said that Israeli soldiers fired dozens of gas bombs and rubber-coated metal bullets at local youth who hurled stones at the invading forces. Awad added that local medics provided treatment to the wounded, and that the soldiers chased scores of youngsters into Palestinian agricultural lands, but were unable to kidnap any of them. The army frequently invades the Safa area, an issue which leads to ongoing confrontations and clashes, while extremist settler groups subject residents and Palestinian orchards to frequent attacks, especially since some Palestinian homes are [merely] around 30 meters away from Gush Etzion.

http://www.imemc.org/article/70019

Nine Palestinians kidnapped in Jerusalem

IMEMC/Agencies 15 Dec — Israeli soldiers invaded, on Monday at dawn, various Palestinian neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem, violently searched homes, and kidnapped nine Palestinians. Head of the Jerusalem Detainees Parents Committee Amjad Abu ‘Asab said the soldiers kidnapped four former political prisoners in various neighborhoods in occupied Jerusalem, after searching their homes, adding that the soldiers also confiscated mobile phones and computers from their homes. The four have been identified as Omar Mheisin from Shu‘fat refugee camp, former Fateh Secretary in Jerusalem Omar Shalabi, Nasser al-Hadmy from ‘Aqbat As-Suwwana, and Odai Sonnoqrot from Ras al-‘Amoud. Sonnoqrot is one of the guards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The family of Shalabi said the soldiers searched and ransacked their property, and confiscated some of his belongings. The soldiers also broke into homes in Jabal al-Mokabber and al-Tour in Jerusalem, and kidnapped Mohammad ‘Ata Abdo, 43, ‘Ammar Ahmad ‘Oweisat, 26, Sami Ed’eis, and Nour Khader. In addition, the army invaded the home of Sami Abu Ghalia, secretary of Fateh movement in the Bedouin area, searched his property and his car. In addition, soldiers kidnapped Ibrahim Abu Gharbiyya, member of the Fateh Regional Council in Jerusalem. His son said the soldiers broke into the family home, and attacked several members, including a paralyzed family member, and kidnapped Ibrahim after cuffing and blindfolding him.

http://www.imemc.org/article/70009

The wave of Jerusalem attacks Israelis don’t hear about

972mag 16 Dec by Larry Derfner — If you’d asked me how many East Jerusalem Palestinian bus drivers in the capital had quit their jobs because of the violence they’d faced from Jewish assailants, I’d have said oh, maybe three. When I read in Haaretz on Sunday (truly a must-read) that the number is roughly 100 — or one out of three Palestinian bus drivers in the capital — I was amazed. East Jerusalem Palestinians, on the whole, are poor; driving for Israel’s giant Egged bus cooperative is a very, very good job for an ordinary eastside resident, paying about three times the average East Jerusalemite’s salary. When 100 of these drivers quit their jobs because of the menace of racist Jewish marauders, it means that that menace is overwhelming. I had no idea. And I keep up with the news and I’m extremely alert to stories about Jews abusing Arabs … I didn’t know, we didn’t know. In Israel, any incident of Arab-on-Jewish violence is a big story, while a plague of Jewish-on-Arab violence has to be going on for years and years, like the “price tag” settler attacks, before it qualifies for sustained media attention. The resignations, formal or effective, by the 100 Palestinian bus drivers have come only in the last month, since the driver Ramouni’s hanging death, said Tamir Nir, the Jerusalem city councilman in charge of local transportation. In a Sunday interview on TLV1 radio, he told me that Jewish attacks on Palestinian drivers have become a full-blown phenomenon in the last six months, growing especially intense in the last two. Most of the assaults have been verbal, he added, but “about 40” were physical. However, a Palestinian attorney representing many of the former Egged drivers painted yet a much bleaker picture for Haaretz’s Nir Hasson: ‘“The situation is catastrophic,” said attorney Osama Ibrahem, who represents more than 40 drivers who have been attacked — mainly in the past four months. “Not a day passes without a physical assault,” he said. “I’m not talking about verbal assaults. They don’t even count those; that’s something they’ve learned to live with.” ‘

http://972mag.com/the-wave-of-jerusalem-attacks-israelis-dont-hear-about/100165/

Israeli forces thwart ‘suicide bombing’ planned by 5 suspects

BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 15 Dec — Israel’s army and Shin Bet agency on Monday said they had thwarted a suicide bombing planned by five Palestinian suspects from Tulkarem, a statement said. The five suspects allegedly confessed that Yasmin Shaaban was planning a suicide attack using an explosive belt while disguising herself as a pregnant Israeli woman, the statement said. The suspects also allegedly confessed to planning other attacks, such as shootings, bombing a bus with Israeli soldiers, and kidnapping a soldier. Weapons, ammunition and chemicals used to make explosive were found during the arrests, Israel’s army said. The attack was reportedly to be carried out under the responsibility of both Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The suspects were named as Munadil Muwaffaq Tawfiq Tuquz, hos brother Muatazz, Yasmin Tayseer Abd al-Rahman Shaaban, Abd al-Khaliq Hashim Abd al-Karim Masimi, and Marwan Mahmoud Muhammad Sidqi and were detained in October and November. Both Munadil Tuquz and Shaaban were charged in an Israeli military court in the occupied West Bank with conspiracy to murder and membership of an illegal organization, referring to Palestinian political parties.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=747461

Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Restriction on movement / Apartheid

High Court rules Gazan can’t attend son’s West Bank funeral

Haaretz 16 Dec by Amira Hass — The High Court of Justice on Tuesday turned down an urgent petition asking that a resident of the Gaza Strip be permitted by Israeli authorities to attend the funeral of his infant son, who died the day before in a West Bank town. The petition on behalf of Gazan Bakr Hafi was filed by the Israeli human rights group Hamoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual. Hamoked had been informed by Israel’s Coordination and Liaison Administration for Gaza that Hafi, 44, was prohibited from leaving the Strip on security grounds. Hafi moved to the West Bank from Gaza in 1999, but since Israel has for over 20 years prohibited Gaza residents from residing in the West Bank without special permits, he was deported to Gaza in 2004. Since then he returned to the West Bank twice and was expelled each time, most recently in 2009, even though by then he had been married to a West Bank resident and had two daughters there. After his arrest in 2009 Hafi was interrogated by the Shin Bet security service for several weeks in the Shikma prison, but no charges were lodged against him and he was sent back to the Strip. (In the past, however, he had been charged with theft of a car.) His wife visited him in Gaza in 2012, entering by way of Egypt since she could not receive an Israeli permit to enter the strip by way of the Erez checkpoint. She bore their child, Emir, in Tul Karm in 2013. When it turned out that the boy suffered from a genetic illness, the family requested that the father be allowed to visit him even for just one day … In the urgent petition filed on behalf of Hafi, attorney Nasr Ouda wrote that his client was “denied the right of exercising his parenthood and the right of supporting his wife during their son’s serious illness. The father now requests that the court not deny him the opportunity to see his son for the first and last time, and to be by his wife who has suffered alone for many months, fighting as best she could to overcome her son’s illness.” Although they turned down the petition, Justices Asher Grunis, Elyakim Rubinstein and Zvi Zilbertal suggested that a request by the bereaved mother and daughters to enter Gaza be considered in a positive light by the authorities.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.632171

Israel delivers notices to stop 2 houses under construction in Hebron

HEBRON (Ma‘an) 15 Dec — Israeli forces delivered Monday notices to owners of two under-construction houses in Beit Ummar to stop building. Muhammad Ayyad Awad, spokesman of a local popular committee, said Israeli forces raided the northern Beit Ummar area near the Gush Etzion settlement and delivered notices to Bassam Khalil Abd al-Muhen al-Alami to stop work on his 80-square meter area house which was was first built eight years earlier. Awad added that al-Alami currently lives in this house and that he was notified to attend a court session on Jan. 5, 2015 in Beit El. Khalid Youssif Abd al-Majid Breghith was also delivered a notice to stop building in his house that was constructed of old stones and is used for farming purposes. The house consists of a 60-square meter area and was built four years ago.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=747426

Israel delivers stop-work orders for Bethlehem-area homes

BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 16 Dec — Israeli forces on Monday delivered stop-work orders for four homes under construction in the Bethlehem-area village of Tuqu‘, locals said. Israeli troops raided the area and issued the warrants to Mousa Salim Mousa, Ahmad Muhammad Suleimna, Sahir Salim Hajahja and Mahmoud Ayish Hajahja. The orders state that the houses lack building permits.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=747587

‘Truth commission’ uncovers the history of Bedouin dispossession

972 blog 14 Dec by Tom Pessah — An informal ‘Public Truth Commission’ set out to find exactly what happened to the Negev Bedouin between 1948 and 1960. While Bedouin witnesses told stories of massacres, rape and expulsions, former Israeli soldiers said they were just following orders. Zochrot, an Israeli NGO, is experimenting with ways to bring awareness about the Palestinian Nakba to the Jewish Israeli public. After two years of preparations, they convened an informal Public Truth Commission at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba last week, in order to examine the displacement of Palestinians in the Negev/Naqab by Israeli forces that took place from 1948 to 1960. Why until 1960? Most people are actually unaware of the fact the majority of local Bedouin tribes were driven off their lands into either Sinai, the West Bank, or an isolated reservation east of Beersheba (the “Sayag”) in the 1950s – long after the war ended. But how can “nomads” be driven off “their lands?” Most people also do not know about the Bedouins’ semi-nomadic form of settlement, which included tilling plots of land in particular areas associated with each tribe. The Ottomans had noticed this practice in the 16th century, but Israeli state representatives have continued to deny this in court in order to justify the present-day eviction of entire communities.

http://972mag.com/truth-commission-uncovers-the-history-of-bedouin-dispossession/100053/

From Gaza to Salameh: A Palestinian refugee’s journey home

972 blog 14 Dec by Eitan Bronstein Aparicio — A Palestinian refugee from Gaza journeys to his family’s hometown in present-day Tel Aviv. Standing on what used to be the village cemetery, he feels the ghosts of the past as he must reckon with the current reality. — On International Human Rights Day, he took advantage of his basic rights and returned to Salameh, which today is known as Kfar Shalem. It is the first time he has visited the place where his parents were born. His father was born in 1936 and was 12 when he, along with the rest of the residents of the town, was forced to leave his home and move to the Gaza Strip where they still live today. I won’t mention his name so as not to endanger him. He’s excited as we make our way to Salameh, growing quiet for a long time as we go from the village mosque and the mukhtar’s house. He spends some time on the exercise equipment in a local playground while his four-year-old nephew plays on the slides. The playground was erected on Salameh’s cemetery, of which nothing remains.

http://972mag.com/from-gaza-to-salameh-a-palestinian-refugees-journey-home/100074/

Military blocks main entrance to Hebron neighborhood for 3 weeks, penalty for torched checkpoint

B’Tselem 16 Dec — After Palestinian teens torched the Bab a-Zawiya checkpoint in Hebron on 22 November 2014, the military closed the checkpoint for three weeks, only reopening it to Palestinians on 13 December. The checkpoint, which lies at the entrance to a-Shuhadaa Street in the heart of Hebron, monitors passage of Palestinians from the neighborhood of Tel Rumeidah to downtown Hebron and the city market. Even when the checkpoint is open, they may cross only as pedestrians and Palestinian vehicular traffic is forbidden. This means Palestinians must go on foot from the market, carrying their purchases. The checkpoint was completely closed for several days after the torching. Then, sporadically and at their discretion, soldiers began allowing the elderly and the ill to go through the checkpoint. In addition, there were six days that the military granted passage to students of a nearby school. Most residents of Tel Rumeidah were not allowed through the checkpoint for three weeks. When the checkpoint is closed, there are basically two alternatives to getting from Tel Rumeidah to the market and to downtown Hebron on foot. One is a 10-minute route that traverses a private yard, and the other requires clambering over a hill full of holes and obstacles, an undertaking trying enough for people in good physical condition and impossible for those who are not. [See video included in article] The closing of the checkpoint disrupted the routine of hundreds of people who work, study, shop, and run their daily lives in downtown Hebron. People who are not fully mobile and do not have a car were hard put to get out of the neighborhood. Like the other harsh restrictions imposed by the military on movement of Palestinians in Hebron, the checkpoint serves no security purpose. These restrictions have been in place for twenty years as part of the policy of separation in Hebron. … Closing the checkpoint was collective punishment meted out to hundreds of people for the deed of a few individuals.

http://www.btselem.org/hebron/20141124_bab_a_zawiya_checkpoint_closure

WATCH: a heartbreaking portrait of life in Hebron

972 blog 16 Dec by Moriel Rothman-Zecher — What does life under occupation look like for a teenage Palestinian? A new, powerful short [9-minute] film by filmmaker and activist Yuval Orr attempts to show exactly that, by following 15-year-old Awni Abu Shamsiya as he attempts to maintain some shred of normalcy in his hometown of Hebron. Hebron, where the occupation is in many ways manifested in its rawest form, is the only Palestinian city inside which there is an Israeli settlement. It is a junction of direct and daily conflict between Palestinian civilians, Israeli soldiers and Jewish-Israeli settlers. It is a city where streets are segregated between Jews and Palestinians,and one of the places where freedom of movement is most restricted. It is the site of some of the worst civilian-led massacres, on both sides, since the beginning of Jewish-Arab conflict. No single work can summarize this city and its machinations, in nine minutes or nine days, but Yuval’s film, in zooming in on one day in Awni Abu Shamsiya’s life, gets as close as anything I’ve seen recently.

http://972mag.com/watch-a-heartbreaking-portrait-of-life-in-hebron-in-9-minutes/100172/

WATCH: Olive harvest marred by arson, vandalism and violence

Israeli Social TV 17 Dec — Palestinian farmers from the West Bank village of Yasuf are forbidden from accessing their olive groves for much of the year. When they are given access during the olive harvest, they often find their trees cut down or burned by settlers. But even when they turn to police, the vast majority of their complaints lead nowhere. Social TV looks at the most recent olive harvest.

http://972mag.com/watch-olive-harvest-marred-by-arson-vandalism-and-violence/100182/

Gaza

Israeli forces continue to fire on Gaza farmers

IMEMC/Agencies 15 Dec — Israeli military jeeps opened fire towards Palestinian farmers along Gaza’s southern border region, near the town of Khuza‘a, east of Khan Younis. According to Al Ray correspondence, several Israeli military jeeps opened fire intermittently towards farmers who were harvesting winter crops, in the land just adjacent to the border. Jeeps reportedly resumed heavy fire on farmers to the north of the landfill; no injuries were reported. Though the workers were engaged in the harvest of mature wheat and barley, Israeli forces support their actions with the claim that the area in question is located in a military security zone.

http://www.imemc.org/article/70012

Soldiers invade eastern areas in Rafah, Khan Younis

IMEMC/Agencies 16 Dec — Media sources in Gaza have reported that five Israeli military vehicles carried out, on Tuesday morning, a limited invasion into Palestinian lands east of the southern Gaza Strip districts of Rafah and Khan Younis. The sources said the vehicles came from Karem Abu Salem military base, across the border, and advanced a short distance into the farmlands, while several tanks and armored vehicles were stationed close to the border fence. The soldiers then started maintenance work on the Abu Reeda military gate, southeast of Khuza‘a town, east of Khan Younis. Israel recently started operations to replace a number of military gates of the border fence with Gaza, largely used for limited invasions into Palestinians lands.

http://www.imemc.org/article/70026

Hamas flies drone over Gaza during anniversary parade

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) 14 Dec — The Islamic militant group Hamas staged a show of strength to mark its 27th anniversary Sunday, with a military parade through Gaza including a flyover by a drone. Founded in 1987 shortly after the start of the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, Hamas was inspired by Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood … The Jerusalem Post said the Israeli air force scrambled warplanes to monitor the Hamas drone, which did not cross into Israel. “According to a military source, the jets were prepared to deal with the threat, but returned to base after the air force saw there was no threat to Israeli air space,” the Post website said. An Israeli military spokesman confirmed the drone flight but would not comment on Israeli reaction. On the ground, rocket and mortar launchers trundled through the rain-swept Gaza streets along with thousands of masked, black-clad and helmeted fighters of Hamas’s military arm, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades. Lorries carried larger rockets, such as the locally produced M75, which have a range of 80 kilometres (50 miles), meaning they can reach Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Frogmen of the Brigades’ naval commandos posed in wetsuits and other militants rappelled down the walls of a building.

https://news.yahoo.com/hamas-flies-drone-over-gaza-during-anniversary-parade-191557338.html

Israel world’s second most lethal country for journalists in 2014, watchdog says

EI 16 Dec by Ali Abunimah — Israel is the second most lethal country in the world for journalists after Syria, the watchdog Reporters Without Borders reveals in its just published round-up of violence against journalists for 2014. Overall, “66 journalists were murdered this year, bringing to 720 the number of journalists killed in connection with their work in the past ten years,” the group states … At the top of the grim legal table is Syria, where fifteen journalists died. Among the murders there was the highly publicized beheading of American photojournalist James Foley by the group named “Islamic State.” In second place is “Palestine” – where Reporters Without Borders says seven journalists were killed. But “Palestine” is a misleading term here: all the journalists were killed during the Israeli assault on Gaza … The Committee to Protect Journalists puts the number of Palestinian reporters and media workers killed during the Israeli assault on Gaza at at least fifteen … Reporters Without Borders does not name a single Palestinian journalist in its annual round-up, however, despite Israel’s prolific record of murdering them. As Palestinian journalists Mohammed Omer and Dalia Hatuqa reported, they and their colleagues want accountability for Israel’s killings of media workers. But amid the international impunity Israel still enjoys, Palestinian journalists can count on no greater protection from Israeli violence than the rest of their people.

http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/israel-worlds-second-most-lethal-country-journalists-2014-watchdog-says

Germany donates funds to rebuild Gaza while financing Israeli warships

Anadolu/Reuters/Al-Akhbar 15 Dec — The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) on Monday signed two agreements with the German Development Bank (GDB) worth a total of 25 million euros (approximately $31.3 million) to assist Palestinians in war-torn Gaza as well as struggling Palestinian refugees from Syria who are seeking refuge in Lebanon. Germany also plans to finance part of the cost of four new corvette warships for the Israeli navy. Twenty of the 25 million euros – provided by the GDB on behalf of the German government – will go towards “cash assistance for temporary shelter, as well as major repairs and the reconstruction of homes in Gaza,” the UNRWA said in a statement … The remaining 5 million euros, the UNRWA added, would “provide vital assistance to the most vulnerable Palestine refugees from Syria in Lebanon through targeted cash assistance for food, shelter and winterization needs.”

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/germany-donates-money-gaza-reconstruction-while-financing-israeli-warships

Other news

‘Arab Idol’ breaks isolation of Israel’s Palestinian citizens

Al-Monitor 15 Dec by Daoud Kuttab — Palestinians of the village of Majd al-Krum were glued to their TV sets Dec. 13. One of the villagers, Haytham Khalayleh, was a finalist in the most popular TV show in the region — “Arab Idol.” The interest of a community in stardom of one of their own is not unusual, but the situation of Majd al-Krum is unique. This Palestinian village in the Galilee is part of the State of Israel and its entire population holds Israeli passports and participates in Israeli elections. Khalayleh and fellow contestant Manal Musa participated in “Arab Idol” and reached the MBC studios in Beirut thanks to the assistance of the Palestinian government in Ramallah. Palestinian passports were issued to the two Israeli citizens, which allowed them to enter Lebanon and compete in the singing contest. Makbula Nassar, a Palestinian activist from the Galilee town of Arabba al-Batouf, told Al-Monitor that by appearing on the leading Arab talent show every week for over three months, the Palestinian contestants set a record. “They broke decades of isolation and allowed us Palestinians to connect with our natural Arab surroundings,” she said … Nassar argued that the majority of talented Palestinians from Israel made it big in Europe, not the Arab world. “In the Emirates, our poets were called Israelis and disqualified. In Egypt film directors were not allowed to compete for prizes because they were Israelis. This is the first time that Palestinians from Israel appeared alongside Arab talent and were given the respect they deserve,” she said.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/12/palestinian-arab-idol-israel.html

Arabs betting on a very merry Christmas in Jesus’ hometown

NAZARETH (Haaretz) 16 Dec by Judy Maltz — Behind the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, workers are putting the finishing touches on the man-made Christmas tree that will be lit up on Wednesday evening, at an official ceremony to mark the start of the holiday season … The annual tree-lighting ceremony may be an age-old tradition in other cities around the world, but not here in Jesus’ hometown. In fact, it was only four years ago that Abdu managed to convince officials in Israel’s largest Arab city to hold such an event. “I was introduced to it for the first time while studying law in Kiev,” he recounts. “And I asked myself, How can it be that, of all the places in the world, here in Nazareth we don’t have a big Christmas tree lit up in the center of town?” Despite the flare-up in Jewish-Arab tensions in recent months, the mood in Nazareth these days is overwhelmingly upbeat, with city officials and local businessmen bracing themselves for an onslaught of seasonal tourists as Christmas approaches. “We’ve just been told by the police to prepare ourselves for 100,000 visitors,” says Ali Salam, the city’s newly elected mayor and the first Muslim to hold the position in 20 years. “That compares with 30,000-40,000 in previous years.” He estimates that about 60 percent of the visitors will be Israelis – both Jewish and Christian – with the rest foreigners … Christians make up less than one-third of Nazareth’s 80,000-strong population. Among the various Christian groups here, the Greek Orthodox – who celebrate Christmas on January 7 – are predominant. Still, the Christmas parade, which is the main holiday event of the year and draws tens of thousands, takes place on December 24, the day before the holiday is celebrated by Western Christian churches.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.631937

14-year-old Palestinian girl wins international math competition

HEBRON (Ma‘an) 15 Dec — A 14-year-old Palestinian girl won first place in an international competition for intelligence after solving 240 math problems in six minutes. Dania Husni al-Jaabari from Hebron won first place in The Mental-Arithmetic International Competition in Singapore. Ahmad Ayman Nashwiyeh, 8, also from Hebron, came in second place as he solved 180 problems in six minutes. Some 3,000 participants from more than 15 countries took part in the competition. Dania and Ahmad joined a mental-arithmetic program in Hebron two years ago where students practiced using a two-hand abacus mental-arithmetic teaching system; the system depends on using the fingers of the left and right hands to compute simultaneously, creating stimulation in both the left and right sides of the brain. The governor of Hebron, Kamel Hmeid, congratulated Palestinians and Dania al-Jaabari.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=747419

Arab woman aims to blaze a trail in Israel’s high-tech sector

TEL AVIV (Reuters) 15 Dec by Tova Cohen — Israel is proud to call itself a “Start-up Nation”, with more tech firms listed on Nasdaq than any other country outside the United States and China. But two elements are often missing from that success story: women and Arabs. Doctor Amal Ayoub is hoping to change that. An Arab-Israeli from the town of Nazareth, Ayoub is the founder and chief executive of Metallo Therapy, a biomedical start-up that has developed technology to better monitor the development of malignant tumors. She has brought her company to the brink of commercial success — pre-clinical safety studies and plans for regulatory approval are underway — thanks to investment from the office of Israel’s chief scientist, from health-technology investment fund Arkin Holdings, and from NGT3, an Arab-focused incubator. But it has not been a straightforward path for the 38-year-old mother of two, who got a first degree in physics at Technion — often referred to as the MIT of Israel — and her PhD in biomedical engineering from Ben-Gurion University. “It is difficult for Arabs to be accepted at Israeli organizations,” said Ayoub.”It’s difficult to be integrated into Israel’s high-tech and biotech society.” One of the biggest hurdles she faced was the fact that the country’s leading hot-bed of innovation is the Israeli army — which very few Arab-Israelis, especially not women — join, where relationships built up during national service can form the basis for future success. “Networking is not efficient in Arab society,” Ayoub said, referring to the lack of any similar structure to bring Arab entrepreneurs together for years at a time and develop lasting bonds.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/15/us-tech-israel-arab-idUSKBN0JT1KA20141215

Games: Ramzi’s Rumble: ‘Arabs in games are rarely shown as the good guys’

The Guardian 15 Dec by Kieran Yates — …Developed in June over snatched weekends and evenings, Ramzi’s Revenge sees a young boy Ramzi, who comes home to find his land invaded by settlers. It’s not subtle, but the game is focused on a clear and pointed agenda: to raise the issue of illegal occupation. “At the heart of the conflict is the story of someone big taking something from someone small,” says Chaudhri. “It’s about the systematic injustice being carried out against the occupied Palestinian people. We felt we needed a new approach to telling an old story. Gaming involves people in a much more immersive way. We wanted to experiment with a new medium, to see if that could disrupt and refocus the discussion.” Fortunately, the platform format ensures the game is not as complex as the issue – with only four characters, (Ramzi, Settler, Soldier, and Builder) it has a relatively simple conceit. The aim is to help Ramzi save his land by throwing pebbles at construction workers, dodge their hammers, and squash soldiers.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/15/ramzis-rumble-arabs-in-games-are-rarely-shown-as-the-good-guys

Palestinian envoy makes first address to the ICC

AFP 15 Dec — Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour told member-states of the International Criminal Court in a first address on Monday that the Palestinians plan to join the ICC “at an appropriate time.” Mansour made the address after the Palestinians were given the status of observer state to the assembly of states parties to the ICC but they have yet to formally apply to join the 122-member court. “The time to join will be decided by our leadership at an appropriate time,” Mansour said. The Palestinians have threatened to file a suit against Israel over the 50-day war in the Gaza Strip, in which more than 2,000 Palestinians were killed, most of them civilians. “It is the court where the Palestinian people desire to seek justice for the war crimes and crimes against humanity being perpetrated against them by Israel, the occupying power, in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem,” Mansour said. Israel has denied wrongdoing and argued that Hamas militants used civilians as shields during the war that ended in August. Neither Israel nor the United States have signed on to the Rome statute and become members of the international court.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/palestinian-envoy-makes-first-address-icc-221335999.html

‘The best defense against Palestinian lawfare is offense’

Times of Israel 15 Dec by Elhanan Miller — A small legal team in the Israeli NGO Shurat HaDin — Israel Law Center has been busy compiling damning files against Palestinian Authority leaders, documenting their supposed involvement in terror activities in recent years. The purpose of this endeavor, Israel Law Center chairwoman and founder Nitsana Darshan-Leitner told The Times of Israel this week, is to deter the Palestinian leadership from joining the International Criminal Court (ICC) and legally pursuing Israeli leaders at The Hague, as Palestinians have been threatening to do for months. In September, Darshan-Leitner and her team launched this proactive approach by filing a lawsuit against Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal at the ICC for Hamas’s execution of suspected collaborators with Israel during Operation Protective Edge. On November 10, they filed a second suit against PA President Mahmoud Abbas for attacks carried out by his Fatah movement from Gaza. Both leaders are Jordanian nationals, and therefore fall under the court’s jurisdiction. “The crimes of the [Second] Intifada are crimes against humanity. Daily, systematic rocket fire directed at civilian populations is an international crime,” she said.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/the-best-defense-against-palestinian-lawfare-is-offense/

Palestine, France in ‘final touches’ to UN bid

BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 16 Dec — Fatah central committee member Mohammad Shtayyeh said Tuesday that Palestine and France were coordinating and putting final touches on a UN resolution to end the Israeli occupation. Shtayyeh told Ma‘an that the Palestinian and French missions to the UN were finalizing the resolution, which was set to be presented on Wednesday to the UN security council. Speaking to reporters in Beit Jala, the official said that “the United States does not want a Palestinian state, and does not want to use the veto either. It is avoiding it by preventing us from collecting nine votes.” Also Tuesday, foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki told Ma‘an that Palestine will submit the French initiative if amendments are made to the text. Al-Maliki said he would meet with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Tuesday to convince France to accept suggested amendments to their bid to align it with the Palestinian and Arab positions.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=747759

EU lawmakers renege on unconditional support for Palestinian statehood

Reuters/Al-Akhbar 16 Dec — EU lawmakers stopped short on Tuesday of proposing a joint motion urging EU members to recognize a state of Palestine, settling instead on a compromise resolution that peace talks should progress, converging with Israel’s stance on the matter. Social Democrat, left-wing and Green members of the European Parliament had put forward motions for a symbolic vote on Wednesday to call on the EU’s 28 members to recognize Palestinian statehood without conditions.

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/eu-lawmakers-renege-unconditional-support-palestinian-statehood

US to veto Palestinian resolution

IMEMC/Agencies 17 Dec — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said his country will veto the Palestinian resolution at the United Nations aiming at ending the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine within two years. Kerry declared his expected country’s stance following an extended meeting with Palestinian officials. A Palestinian official said Kerry informed Chief Negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat that Washington will use its veto power to topple Jordanian-backed resolution that calls for ending the Israeli occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian with East Jerusalem as its capital. The official said the meeting with Kerry was very difficult, and that the Palestinians told him that, should Washington veto their resolution; the leadership will file applications to join more international, United Nations institutions, including the Rome Convention regarding joining the International Criminal Court. He added that the Palestinian leadership told Kerry it will be submitting the draft resolution, and that the US Administration is rejecting any reference to the future of occupied Jerusalem, opposes the two-year time-frame for ending the Israeli occupation, and wants the draft to include a recognition of Israel as a “Jewish State.” Prior to his meeting with Erekat in London, Kerry said he held talks with various leaders during his three-day tour in Europe, and that the US believes that any move “should be carefully weighed.” Kerry told Erekat that the White House opposes the draft that was approved by the Arab League, while the State Department admitted there was talk regarding the US never using its veto power against Israel, Israeli Ynet News said.

http://www.imemc.org/article/70033

US urges caution as Palestinians bid for UN vote

LONDON (AFP) 16 Dec by Jo Biddle — The United States called for caution on Tuesday as Palestinians seek to push their hopes for statehood to the top of the UN agenda ahead of Israeli elections. Top US diplomat John Kerry said nothing should be allowed to get in the way of preparations for the March polls, as the Palestinians threaten to submit a draft text Wednesday to the UN Security Council. Speaking to reporters just before he met with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat in London, Kerry said it was “imperative” to help lower tensions. “Many of us share a deep sense of urgency about this,” the US secretary of state told a press conference during a whirlwind trip to Europe. “But we’re also very mindful that we have to carefully calibrate any steps that are taken for this difficult moment in the region,” he said. Amid reports of competing Arab-backed and French-led resolutions, Kerry has been meeting his European and Russian counterparts as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to gauge support for the Palestinian UN push. The Palestinians have said they will submit an Arab-backed draft text to the UN as early as Wednesday which would call for a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian lands within two years. France is putting together a more nuanced version setting a two-year timetable for concluding a peace treaty, without mentioning the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-meet-palestinian-negotiator-london-000611664.html

Hamas leader: Too soon to discuss prisoner swap

BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 15 Dec — Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouq says it’s still early to talk about a prisoner exchange deal with Israel, and Hamas will not consider one until Israel implements a ceasefire deal. Abu Marzouq told Ma‘an TV in an interview airing Monday that reconciliation with Fatah depended on a decision from President Mahmoud Abbas and the will to “immediately implement it” when he says to do so. The official also said that a unified political decision is needed to set the date and mechanism for Palestinian elections, adding that the Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah’s unity government is the “only choice.” Abu Marzouq added that Hamas still remains strong in the West Bank, and that it had the support of Palestinians. He also said Hamas was trying to remove its name from the US terrorist organizations list, and that it supports efforts to achieve statehood recognition at the United Nations. Abu Marzouq’s comments about a prisoner swap follow speculation that the movement holds the body of a soldier killed in fighting over the summer between Israel and Palestinian groups. Hamas says it is waiting for Israel to follow through on talks that were postponed following a ceasefire after a devastating summer war. The talks have been postponed for months.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=747476

Revisiting the British conquest of Jerusalem / Hatem Bazian

Al Jazeera 14 Dec — The day the British entered Jerusalem in 1917, Palestine’s fate was sealed — “…The Ottoman Government, in order to safeguard the religious places from ruin and destruction, has withdrawn its forces from the city and has commissioned officials to take care of the religious places like the Holy Sepulcher and the Aqsa Mosque. Hoping that your treatment will also be similar…” (Isa al-Safari, Filstin al-Arabiyah) On December 11, 1917, a mere two days after the above letter was written, British General Edmund Allenby entered Jerusalem triumphantly through the Jaffa gate, and the city became an occupied territory. On this historic occasion, Allenby reportedly declared that “the wars of the crusades are now complete”. Allenby’s statement is a powerful reminder that the British entry into Jerusalem was a continuation of and a “successful” conclusion to the Crusades. Certainly, Allenby’s statement introduces a critical epistemic connection between the modern British colonial project in Palestine and the Crusades of the 11-14th century. The then Prime Minister David Lloyd George described the capture of Jerusalem as “a Christmas present for the British people”; he had advised Allenby to take the city before the Holidays … The British Occupation in 1917 made it possible to put into action the Balfour Declaration and the plan for building a Jewish homeland at the expense of the Palestinians. The British undertook this project not out of love or concern for Jews – on the contrary some of the strongest supporters of Zionism were ardent anti-Semites, including Lord Balfour himself. Europe’s theoretically constructed racist, bigoted and intolerant attitudes and policies towards Jews were the primary reason for supporting Zionism … The British occupation made it possible for Zionism to get a foothold in Palestine.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/12/revisiting-british-conquest-je-2014121381243881138.html

And now more and more we see this kind of article in the mainstream media:

Keeping the dream of a Palestinian state alive? / Farrah Stockman

Boston Globe 16 Dec — They have threatened it for years. Now, they’re actually doing it: Palestinian Authority officials look poised to push a resolution at the United Nations demanding a timetable for Israel’s withdrawal from the West Bank. Some say the draft resolution will include phrases from President Obama’s own speeches, to make a US veto maximally awkward. It’s the diplomatic equivalent of a Hail Mary pass for a population that has grown cynical about peace talks. At first, I didn’t get it: What could they possibly hope to achieve, besides raising the ire of Israel and the United States? Then I traveled to Ramallah and met Sam Bahour, who explained why Palestinians are tired of talking about peace. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, Bahour moved to the West Bank after the 1993 Oslo Accords, to help create a Palestinian state on the land where his father was born. Although Oslo was billed as an interim solution, it promised to give Palestinians partial control over their own affairs in areas like housing, health, education, and public safety. “Every sphere of Palestinian life is an annex in Oslo,” Bahour said. He was most interested in Annex 36, which gave Palestinians the right to build and maintain a separate and independent telecommunications network. Bahour helped establish Paltel, a telecommunications company that is still the largest employer in the Palestinian territories. But he soon realized that the fine print of the agreement gave Israel the final say on almost everything. “Paltel needed six bands of frequency,” Bahour recalled. “It took [the Israelis] a year to come back to us. They said ‘You can’t have six. You can have 2½.’ And that half was to be shared with an Israeli company so it could service the settlers.” When an Israeli telecommunications company ordered equipment, it cleared customs in three weeks, Bahour said. “When we ordered the same equipment, with the same model number, it sat at the Israeli port for two years.” To this day, Israel has declined to grant the needed frequencies for 3G Internet service to Palestinians, even though the settlements across the West Bank have it. Bahour, who married and had children in the West Bank, had to ask Israeli authorities for a Palestinian residency card so that he’d be able to stay with his family. When he finally received it, he lost the ability to travel freely, to use Israel’s airport, and to drive on Israeli roads in the West Bank.“The day I was classified as a Palestinian, I had to spend 30 percent of my time navigating permits from Israeli authorities,” he said.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/12/15/keeping-dream-palestinian-state-alive/GQqZM43cdKKWdtfgxeNDUK/story.html

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