Violence / Raids / Attacks / Clashes / Illegal arrests

Settlers attack 7-year-old girl in south Hebron hills

BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 25 Apr — Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian family in the south Hebron hills on Thursday, injuring a seven-year-old girl, a peace group said. At midday on Thursday, two settlers riding a quad bike attacked four children and their mother with stones as they were returning from school to the villages of Tuba and Maghayir al-Abeed, Operation Dove said. A seven-year-old was hit by a stone and fell while attempting to escape, injuring her head. She required five stitches for her wound. The family was attacked while using the only available path without requiring a military escort, which usually accompanies children from Tuba and Maghayir al-Abeed to their school due to the threat of settler violence. The settlers were reportedly from the illegal outpost of Havat Maon, one of the most radical settlements in the occupied West Bank.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=692696

Video: Israel border police detain 6-year-old child in Hebron

HEBRON, Occupied Palestine (ISM, Khalil Team) 23 Apr — At approximately 7 am this morning, Rami Rajabi, a six-year-old child, was 20 meters away from checkpoint 29 when he threw several pebbles in al-Khalil (Hebron). As Rami walked away towards his school, three Israeli soldiers burst out of an alleyway, grabbed his arm, and detained him in the street. Rami then burst into tears and was clearly terrified, the Israeli soldier tightly gripped his arm and began to pull him back towards checkpoint 29. ISM activists tried to intervene, trying to convince the soldiers to release the child. The soldiers dragged him back to the checkpoint where local Palestinians implored the soldiers to release the boy. While ISMers were filming the incident, Israeli Border Patrol watched on as a settler from a nearby illegal settlement to aggressively confront the ISMers, calling one activist a “killer” and tried to grab the camera.

http://palsolidarity.org/2014/04/video-israel-border-police-detain-6-year-old-child-in-hebron/

Photographer injured in Nabi Saleh protest

RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 25 Apr — A Palestinian photographer was injured and dozens of others suffered excessive tear-gas inhalation in clashes in Nabi Saleh village near Ramallah on Friday. Witnesses said that Anadhol news agency photographer Muath Meshaal was shot with a rubber-coated steel bullet in the foot from close range, and was taken to Palestine medical complex for treatment. Israeli forces had dispersed a weekly protest in the village as it neared the entrance.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=692883

Army invades Al-Ma‘sara near Bethlehem

IMEMC Friday at dawn 25 Apr by Saed Bannoura — Several Israeli military jeeps invaded the al-Ma‘sara village, near Bethlehem, broke into and searched the home of Hasan Breijiyya, coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements. The Radio Bethlehem 2000 has reported that the soldiers threatened more escalation and violence against the village and its people unless they stop their popular, nonviolent, resistance activities against the illegitimate Apartheid Wall and settlements.

http://www.imemc.org/article/67636

Video: Border Police forces beat Palestinians in Hebron

Ynet 23 Apr — A video posted by Palestinians on social networks shows Border Police forces accosting two Palestinians on the streets of Hebron. The incident occurred a day after the shooting attack near Hebron on Passover eve, in which Chief Superintendent Baruch Mizrahi was murdered. The video shows the officers, who were patrolling the city at the time, attacking what appear to be a father and son, and throwing stun grenades at them. The border policemen were also filmed kicking the Palestinian, with one officer beating him with his gun barrel. The same officer was then removed from the scene by one of his friends.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4512197,00.html

Israeli forces raid Kfil Haris overnight for religious visit

SALFIT (Ma‘an) 25 Apr — Israeli forces stormed the village of Kifl Haris on Friday in order to escort a large group of Jewish Israelis to the village as they visited three religious sites in the northern West Bank village. Israeli forces erected checkpoints throughout the village and blocked major intersections throughout the raid, which began around midnight and lasted until sunrise. During this time, locals were prevented from moving freely through the streets, and they said that the members of the visiting Jewish group “provoked” locals who did venture out. The soldiers escorted hundreds of religious Jews, who locals said yelled in the streets of the village and chanted anti-Arab slogans during their visit. An Israeli army spokesman confirmed the visit, saying that the military has “coordinated the entrance of several hundred Israeli civilians” to Joshua’s tomb. A number of tombs exist in Kifl Haris that are believed to be the graves of local holy people but which some Jews believe to be the tombs of biblical figures Joshua, Caleb, and Nun. Palestinians who live in the area, however, consider these shrines to be the graves of the prophet Dhul-Kifl, the Sufi saint Dhul-Nun, and another shrine built by Saladin. Visits by Israeli Jews to sites in areas under Palestinian control across the West Bank often cause tensions with locals, as these visits are accompanied by large armed escorts. Palestinians are restricted from visiting holy sites in Israel, meanwhile, without hard-to-obtain permits from government authorities.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=692814

Price tag assault cemetery in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (WAFA) 23 Apr – Female Jewish settlers of the so called “Price Tag” group on Wednesday assaulted a cemetery in Jerusalem and sprayed racial graffiti on a grave. The cemetery of al-Yussufiya, which was assaulted, is adjacent to eastern wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=24979

Jenin refugee camp hit by wave of Israeli raids and killings

Mondoweiss 24 Apr by Alex Kane — …Majd Lahlouh was the first man from the camp to die while peace talks between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel began in July 2013. But he would not be the last man from the Jenin refugee camp to perish. Since July 2013, when PA and Israeli negotiating teams began to meet, 7 Palestinians from Jenin’s camp have been killed by soldiers–about 12 percent of the total of Palestinians shot dead since the talks began. The Jenin refugee camp expects more deaths to come. Alongside the hundreds of people already buried, workers at the cemetery have dug graves with no bodies in them yet. “Every night they violate the respect of the camp,” said Jamil Sbaih, a Palestinian student and one of my guides throughout the camp who lives in a nearby village. The 16,000-strong camp has long been hit by Israeli raids seeking to break the back of a camp that puts up fierce, often armed, resistance to the soldiers who routinely come to arrest or kill. It was the site of the most famous battle of the Second Intifada, when the Israeli military killed some 52 people (22 of them civilians) and demolished large parts of the camp, which severely damaged hundreds of homes and made 4,000 people homeless, according to a Human Rights Watch investigation.

http://mondoweiss.net/2014/04/refugee-israeli-killings.html

Israeli forces arrest 14 in West Bank, including ex-detainee

HEBRON (WAFA) 23 Apr – Israeli forces on Wednesday arrested 14 people, including an ex-detainee, from the West Bank districts of Nablus, Hebron, Bethlehem and Jenin, according to local and security sources. In Hebron, the Prisoner Club told WAFA the Israeli forces raided Fawwar refugee camp and arrested 30-year-old Mohammad al-Najjar – an ex-detainee who launched a hunger strike over his administrative detention last year – after brutally storming his home, breaking down the doors and forcing the family to stay in one room while searching the house. Army forces also set a checkpoint at a main road leading to the refugee camp and arrested a 40-year-old from the nearby town of Yatta. In a separate incident, army forces raided the village of Deir Samit and arrested a 29-year-old after storming his home and sabotaging its contents. Forces also raided the nearby towns of Dora and Tabaqa and arrested a youth, 35, after breaking through his home and sabotaging the contents. Israeli army also raided the nearby village of Beit Ummar and arrested a 36-year-old after raiding and searching his home. He was led to Etzion military compound located to the north of Hebron. Army also raided several villages in Hebron district and set military checkpoints at roads leading to them, checking the identity cards of passengers and drivers which caused a traffic jam, yet no arrests were reported. Meanwhile in Nablus, security sources said Israeli army raided the village of Burqa, to the south of Nablus, and arrested six local residents after storming and searching their homes. In Bethlehem, forces raided the village of Abidiyya and arrested a youngster, 23 years of age, after storming his home. Meanwhile in Jenin, forces arrested two youngsters, 22 and 23, after storming and searching their homes in the nearby village of Burqin.

http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=24978

Israeli forces hit West Bank, 4 detained

HEBRON (Ma‘an) 24 Apr 13:15 — Israeli forces raided the West Bank overnight Wednesday and ransacked several homes before detaining four people, locals said. Witnesses told Ma‘an that 30 Israeli military vehicles raided the village of Deir Samit south of Hebron at 3 a.m. and broke into several homes. The operation continued until daybreak, with several people detained.

In Nablus, Israeli soldiers detained Jihad Idreis Hassan, 23. Israeli soldiers fired gunshots and rubber-coated steel bullets during the arrest, injuring Hassan. He was evacuated to hospital for treatment. Yousif Jabir Abu Siyam, 23, was also detained.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said one person was detained in Nablus, one in Ramallah, and two in al-Jalazun refugee camp for “involvement in illegal activity.” Israeli military forces routinely raid the occupied West Bank and detain Palestinians, usually on the pretext of security questioning.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=692494

Israel forces detain teenager at Allenby Bridge crossing

NABLUS (Ma‘an) 24 Apr 14:00 — Israeli forces detained a Palestinian teenager at the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and the occupied West Bank on Thursday, Palestinian security officials said. Salam Salah Muflih, 18, was detained by Israeli forces while traveling to Jordan. It is unclear why the teenager from Nablus was detained. The Allenby Bridge is the principal land connection between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the outside world.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=692563

Detainees

200 administrative detainees start hunger strike

IMEMC 24 Apr by Saed Bannoura — The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that 200 detainees, held by Israel under arbitrary Administrative Detention orders, without charges or trial, started an open-ended hunger strike protesting their continued illegitimate imprisonment. The PPS added that the striking detainees are held in 3 prisons; 80 in Ofer, 55 in the Negev Detention Camp, and 65 in Majeddo. It further reported that the Israeli Prison Administration started countermeasures in an attempt to curb the strike, including transferring several detainees to different tents in the Negev Detention Camp.

http://www.imemc.org/article/67628

To break strike, Israel transfers detainees from Ofer Prison

IMEMC/Agencies 24 Apr — The Ahrar Center for Detainees’ Studies and Human Rights has reported that the Israeli Prison Administration decided to move several detainees, including detained legislators, from the Ofer prison to Hadarim and Ramla prisons … Fuad al-Khoffah, head of the Ahrar Center, stated that the Prison Administration decided to transfer all Administrative Detainees to different prisons. Al-Khuffash added that among the detained legislators who will be moved to Hadarim and Ramla prisons are Mohammad Jamal Natsha, Abdul-Jabbar Foqaha, and Mohammad Maher Bader. He further stated that the prison administration tried to present what it called offers to the detainees, in an attempt to stop their strike, but the prisoners say they are determined to go ahead with their planned strike, demanding an end to their illegitimate imprisonment. The detainees decided to hold their strike after extensive talks between detained leaders of all factions.

http://www.imemc.org/article/67630

Gaza under double blockade

Israeli forces target 2 armed group members, wounding 13 Palestinians including 5 children, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip

GAZA (Palestinian Center for Human Rights) 25 Apr — In an extra-judicial execution attempt, Israeli forces targeted 2 members of an armed group on a motorbike, wounding them and another 13 Palestinian civilians, including 5 children, in a densely-populated area in the northern Gaza Strip. According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately 16:45 on Wednesday, 23 April 2014, an Israeli drone fired 2 missiles at a motorbike near Beit Lahia Sport Club in al-Manshiyah Street in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia, which is a densely-populated area. As a result, the two persons on the motorbike were wounded by shrapnel throughout their bodies; one of them was in critical condition. It was found out later that they are members of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades – Martyr Nedal al-‘Amoudi Brigade. Due to the scattering shrapnel, 13 civilian bystanders, including 5 children, sustained shrapnel wounds throughout their bodies, and they were transferred to hospitals to receive medical treatment. Their wounds were described between minor and moderate. (PCHR keeps the names of the wounded) The attack caused minor damages to 7 stores and around 10 houses in the vicinity of the targeted area. Moreover, Palestinian civilians living in the street, especially children and women, were terrified. It should be mentioned that this street is known as one of the most densely-populated areas in Beit Lahia. Israeli forces declared later, via the Israeli media, that the Israeli Air Force targeted, as they described, a Palestinian cell that intended to launch rockets at the Israeli towns, while PCHR’s investigations confirmed that when they were targeted, they were not in a position to fire rockets.

http://palsolidarity.org/2014/04/israeli-forces-target-2-armed-group-members-wounding-13-palestinian-civilians-including-5-children-in-beit-lahia-in-the-northern-gaza-strip/

Israeli military: 3 rockets from Gaza Strip hit southern Israel

BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 23 Apr 19:14 — Three rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel on Wednesday, causing no injuries or damage, the Israeli military said. The rocket attacks come hours after Israel bombed the northern Gaza Strip, injuring seven Palestinians in what an Israeli military spokesman called a “counter terror operation” that did not hit its target. The rockets were fired from Gaza towards Hof Ashkelon and the Shaar HaNegev regional council, the Israeli military said in a statement. “One rocket hit the Erez Crossing compound,” the statement added. The Israeli bombing occurred during a Gaza City press conference announcing a major reconciliation deal between the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Hamas.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=692437

Israeli tanks enter Gaza border area, navy fires at fishermen

GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 24 Apr 10:09 — Six Israeli military tanks on Thursday entered a border area in the southern Gaza Strip, witnesses said. The tanks crossed into Gaza in an area called al-Qarara, north of Khan Younis, and leveled agricultural fields before leaving. Three helicopters were seen hovering at a low altitude during the incursion.

Meanwhile, Israel’s navy opened fire at fishermen off the coast of northern Gaza, locals said.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=692499

Israeli forces open fire after northern Gaza explosion

GAZA (Ma’an) 24 Apr 19:17– An explosive device was detonated on the Gaza border on Thursday evening in an attack apparently targeting patrolling Israeli soldiers, the Israeli military said. The explosion occurred east of Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip, and Israeli forces subsequently opened fire in the area after the explosion. Witnesses said the incident occurred near the eastern cemetery in Jabaliya. Spokesman for the Gaza Strip Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qidra said that no injuries arrived in any hospitals.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=692710

Israel: Stop shooting at Gaza civilians

JERUSALEM (Human Rights Watch) 25 Apr — The Israeli military should immediately stop shooting at Palestinian civilians inside Gaza. Israeli military forces have killed 4 and wounded more than 60 civilians near the perimeter fence with Gaza since the beginning of 2014, according to UN figures. There have been no reports of armed Palestinian fighters shot in the same areas this year. Human Rights Watch investigated seven incidents between January 2 and March 1, in which Israeli forces shot civilians in the vicinity of the fence. Four were killed, including a high school student on a picnic and a woman with an intellectual disability who was lost. Five others were wounded, including two journalists and two demonstrators planting olive trees, none of whom posed a threat to the soldiers or others. The Israeli military has not claimed that any of the victims in the seven cases were engaged in military operations or that armed groups were in the area when the shooting occurred. “Month after month, Israeli forces have wounded and killed unarmed Palestinians who did nothing but cross an invisible, shifting line that Israel has drawn inside Gaza’s perimeter,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/04/24/israel-stop-shooting-gaza-civilians

Photo Essay: Farming on the Frontlines in Gaza

Newsweek 23 Apr by Jošt Franko/VII Photo Mentor Program — In Gaza, with the Israeli border within sight, Palestinian farmers lead worn-torn lives, dealing farming fields on the frontlines. Trying to make a living cultivating crops like strawberries, oranges, grapefruits and olives, their task became even more difficult after a military blockade in 2007 made it impossible to export their products. Up to 80 percent of agricultural yields from Gaza and the West Bank used to be sold abroad, but a ban on exports has devastated the Gazan economy. At the same time, essential supplies including fuel and electricity are strictly regulated by Israel. Farmers are most likely to be settled in small communities like Rafah, Khan Younis and Beit Hanoun, which are now known as frontlines, where missiles most likely to be fired and lives taken. In these struggling farming towns, the Israeli army has bulldozed land and sniper fire is a familiar occurrence. More than 35 percent of Gaza’s agricultural land is in so-called buffer zones. Officially, these restricted-access areas extend 300 meters into Gaza. In reality, they can extend up to 1,500 meters from the border fence and are enforced with lethal means. In addition to declining agricultural production here, existing water shortages are exacerbated by heavy pollution, leaving just 10 percent of the water supply potable. (All images from October and November 2013.)

http://www.newsweek.com/photo-essay-farming-frontlines-248321

Restrictions on movement



Israel prevents PLO committee members from leaving Gaza

GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 24 Apr — Israeli occupation authorities refused to allow four members of the Palestine Liberation Organization central committee from Gaza from entering the West Bank on Thursday. The four members were part of a delegation of 17 members of the PLO central committee traveling to take part in committee meetings starting next Saturday in Ramallah. The members blocked from traveling by Israel were identified as: Walid al-Awad, member of the Palestinian People Party politburo, Saleh Zeidan, member of Democratic Front politburo, and two leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Kayid al-Ghoul and Rabah Muhanna.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=692682

‘The Shin Bet was very nice, and therein lies their racism’

972blog 23 Apr Text by Rami Younis Photos by Shiraz Grinbaum — Majd Kayyal, the Palestinian journalist from Haifa who Israel detained incommunicado when he returned from Lebanon, speaks to +972 about what it’s like visiting Beirut as a Palestinian, his Shin Bet interrogation and why Israel wants to deter Palestinian citizens of Israel from visiting the Arab world ... So how was detention? How you were treated? I’ll surprise you. They were very nice, and therein lies their racism. Nice and racism don’t not sound like two things that go together. On the surface, but every behavior has a reason, and here, the reason is conceptual: how they see me. In front of them sits a “white boy” with green eyes from an educated family, and in their understanding, I am closer to them on the human scale, the same Zionist scale that categorizes people in Israel. Though I’m not a whole person like them, I’m more of a person than a detainee or a prisoner who arrived from Gaza or the Occupied Territories, for example. Think of the “not-so-nice” attitude the rest of our people get from them and there you have racism at its best.

http://972mag.com/the-shin-bet-was-very-nice-and-therein-lies-their-racism/89988/

Activism / Solidarity / BDS

Boycotting the architects of Israel’s occupation

Electronic Intifada 25 Apr by Abe Hayeem — A nine-year-long campaign to hold Israeli architects responsible for their role in dispossessing Palestinians reached a significant stage on 19 March. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) approved a call for its Israeli equivalent to be suspended from the International Union of Architects. This decision echoes an important precedent. In 1978, RIBA protested against apartheid in South Africa by severing its links with the South African Schools of Architecture … It is appropriate that the world body of architects takes action against the Israeli Association of United Architects (IAUA). Members of the IAUA have designed many of the settlements that Israel has built — and is continuing to build — in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as Israel’s apartheid wall.

http://electronicintifada.net/content/boycotting-architects-israels-occupation/13344

Divestment passes at University of California at Riverside

Electronic Intifada 25 Apr by Nora Barrows-Friedman — Last night, the student senate at the University of California at Riverside voted to support a resolution sponsored by Students for Justice in Palestine calling on the university to pull its investments from US companies profiting from Israel’s occupation … This was the second time that a divestment resolution passed at UC Riverside. In March 2013, the student senate voted in favor of divestment. Immediately after the vote, Zionist groups and Israel advocates had begun calling and emailing the student senators, claiming that the divestment resolution was “divisive” and that it “misrepresented” the student body. In April 2013, the student senate voted to rescind the divestment resolution. Activists with Students for Justice in Palestine at Riverside and the wider SJP-West coalition vowed to “come back fighting.” And this time, despite intense intimidation by anti-Palestinian individuals and groups reported by student activists to The Electronic Intifada, and despite the insistence by Zionist individuals testifying against the resolution during the hearing that it should be defeated, the senators voted in favor of a “resolution of neutrality and disassociation from US corporations profiting from occupation.” A one-minute video of the moment divestment was passed was posted to Facebook.

http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora-barrows-friedman/divestment-passes-university-california-riverside

New campaign resource boosts efforts to burst Soda Stream’s bubble

Electronic Intifada 23 Apr by Maureen Clare Murphy — As the campaign to boycott SodaStream gains momentum, supporters have a new resource to use in their advocacy and education work. The slick website burstthebubble.org, launched by Jewish Voice for Peace’s Seattle chapter, makes the case in plain language for why the carbonated beverage device manufacturer should be boycotted. SodaStream’s attempts to brand its product to consumers concerned with social responsibility is busted in a series of short videos which are simple and effective.

http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/new-campaign-resource-boosts-efforts-burst-sodastreams-bubble

SodaStream stock jumps on rumor of Starbucks investment

TheMarket/Reuters 25 Apr — Neither’s saying but the share reached $47.29 in New York — Shares in SodaStream International jumped for the second time in a week on Wednesday amid new reports that the maker of home carbonation machines was in talks to sell a stake to a major American beverage company. SodaStream shares rose as much as 14.5% to $47.29 in New York after the Israeli business newspaper Globes reported that Starbucks was in advanced talks to buy 10% of the home soft drink maker. Globes cited unnamed sources close to the deal … A tie-up with Starbucks could help SodaStream penetrate the American market, where its devices are found in only 1% of homes, compared with 25% of homes in European countries such as Sweden.

http://www.haaretz.com/business/.premium-1.587022

Bill Gates refuses to accept responsibility for aiding Israel’s prisons

Electronic Intifada 25 Apr by Michael Deas — Thousands of people took to the streets across Palestine last week to salute the struggle of the more than 5,000 Palestinian political prisoners that remain in Israeli jails (photos here). Demonstrations in solidarity with political prisoners were also held in cities across the world, from Buenos Aires to Brussels. Protests were held at the London headquarters of G4S, the British private security company that helps Israel run its prison system, and at the London, Johannesburg and Seattle offices of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s largest charitable foundation, over its $170 million investment in G4S.

http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/michael-deas/bill-gates-refuses-accept-responsibility-aiding-israels-prisons

Reconciliation

Palestinian elections to be held in six months, agreement states

IMEMC 24 Apr by Saed Bannoura — The agreement signed on Wednesday, April 23, 2014, between the delegation of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Hamas movement, calls for forming a unity government, implementing the Cairo and Doha agreements, and holding general elections within six months … The recent agreement came following two days of extensive talks that were described as positive. It includes the following main points; 1. Full implementation of the unity agreements previously signed in Doha and Cairo as the core base for reconciliation and unity. 2. President Abbas would instantly start talks on forming a transitional National Unity Government, a government that would be declared within five weeks, as agreed upon, and would be based on the Doha and Cairo Declarations. 3. Elections; the agreement affirms holding parallel Legislative, Presidential and National Council elections, on a date that would be decided by Abbas after holding talks with all factions. The elections would be held at least six months after the transitional unity government is formed….

http://www.imemc.org/article/67626

Haniyeh phones Abbas for first time since reconciliation deal

GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) — 25 Apr — Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh phoned President Mahmoud Abbas for the first time Friday after the announcement of a new inter-Palestinian reconciliation deal. Haniyeh emphasized the importance of implementing the agreement according to the set timeline. The Hamas leader said that it was critical to ensure that there was a political and financial safety net to protect the deal, and to improve trust between the two sides. The agreement would reintegrate Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, into the PLO, which currently controls the West Bank. The move ends seven years of Palestinian political division, but Israeli authorities denounced the PLO for reconciling with Hamas, which it deems a terrorist group. Israeli officials subsequently halted talks and said they would refuse to deal with any Palestinian government backed by Hamas. PLO leaders have maintained, however, that any government that emerges from the deal will honor previous PLO commitments, including to the peace talks and recognition of Israel. Also Friday, US President Barack Obama said that the decision was “unhelpful” for the peace process. In his first public comments on the issue since Israel halted peace talks with Palestinians on Thursday, Obama lamented the lack of political will to make “tough decisions” on either side. But he said his administration would not give up on Secretary of State John Kerry’s peace push, despite the latest setbacks and Israel’s declaration that the Palestinian move had scuppered the American initiative. Obama’s statements come a day after Israel halted all peace negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organization over the major reconciliation deal. Although Hamas has accepted the idea of a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders, it has said it would not explicitly recognize the state of Israel. Israel, however, has never explicitly recognized the right to exist of a Palestinian state.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=692904

Palestinian prime minister offers to quit government

Reuters 25 Apr — Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah offered his resignation on Friday, the official news agency WAFA said, a move which may pave the way for a unity government agreed between President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas … “I present my resignation, and the government is in your excellency’s hands whenever you wish,” WAFA quoted the prime minister telling Abbas … The reconciliation pact agreed between Hamas and Abbas’s Fatah party on Wednesday envisions agreeing upon a government of independent technocrats within five weeks and holding elections six months later.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4513304,00.html

Palestinians to consider ‘all options’ in response to Israeli decision to halt talks

News Agencies 24 Apr — The Palestinian leadership will consider “all options” in response to Israel’s decision to suspend peace talks and impose new sanctions on the Palestinians, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Thursday … “Benjamin Netanyahu and his government used the Palestinian division as an excuse not to make peace. Now they want to use the Palestinian reconciliation as an excuse for the same purpose. This is very stupid. The only logical conclusion is that the Netanyahu government doesn’t want peace,” Erekat accused.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4513089,00.html

Hamas official: Violence against Israel to be discussed in unity talks

Ynet 24 Apr by Attila Somfalvi — Ghazi Hamad tells Ynet that Hamas and Fatah have still to discuss policy on Israel, but group would accept state within ’67 borders — Hamas has not yet decided whether it will maintain its preferred policy of violent resistance to Israel following the announcement of a unity agreement with Palestinian rival Fatah, a senior official in the organization told Ynet on Thursday. Ghazi Hamad, Hamas’ deputy foreign minister in its Gaza government, was speaking a day after the two organizations signed a far-reaching reconciliation agreement, ostensibly ending more than six years of brutal internecine fighting. “We will discuss this – among other issues – at the negotiations between Fatah and Hamas,” Hamad said. He said, however, that Hamas is certain that Israel lacks any desire to reach an agreement with the Palestinians.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4512908,00.html

West Bank newspapers allowed again in Gaza

GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 25 Apr — Spokesman for the Gaza Strip prime minister Ismail Haniyeh announced on Friday that newspapers from the West Bank would be allowed again in Gaza beginning from next week. Issam al-Daalees said in a statement distributed by the prime minister’s office that “the return of the newspapers is part of the decisions that have been taken by the government in Gaza to prepare the atmosphere on the ground for reconciliation.” He also expressed hope that the government in Ramallah would allow newspapers produced in Gaza to be distributed in the West Bank.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=692809

US lawmakers vow to defund PA over pact with Hamas

Haaretz 25 Apr by JTA — Law forbids funding groups on America’s terror list, which includes Hamas; top Democrat: ‘At this point the law is clear, their actions are clear and the path forward is clear.’ … U.S. funding for the Palestinians currently stands at about $400 million annually. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that it was not yet clear whether the unity agreement would require a funding cut-off, because the nature of the resulting government had yet to take shape.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.587377

Everyone seems to be weighing in on this issue. Here is a small sampling.

Hamas optimistic that Palestinian reconciliation will stand

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (Al-Monitor) 24 Apr by Adnan Abu Amer — The Palestinians in the Gaza Strip rejoiced on April 23 after Fatah and Hamas signed a reconciliation agreement, hoping this time will be different. Previous agreements, including the latest in Doha in 2012, have produced little progress. The positive atmosphere was evident, accompanied by a number of signs of strengthening reconciliation efforts on the ground. One such indication was Hamas’ release of 10 Fatah-affiliated detainees who had been accused of security violations. A delegation of leaders from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) led by Azzam al-Ahmad, Fatah’s official in charge of reconciliation efforts, arrived in Gaza on April 22. They held shuttle talks with Hamas, headed by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. A key interest for Hamas in the reconciliation deal is ending its crippling isolation, according to a Hamas leader who participated in the reconciliation efforts. He told Al-Monitor, “The living conditions in Gaza have reached an unprecedented level of suffering, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel with regard to the deteriorating relationship with Egypt. This has sped up the reconciliation.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/04/palestine-reconciliation-hamas-hopes-end-isolation.html

Why Fatah-Hamas reconciliation might just work this time

972blog 23 Apr by Samer Badawi — Unlike previous efforts, the current Palestinian reconciliation agreement appears to have been cemented from within; and it might just offer a lifeline to Gaza — Just as word emerged early Wednesday of an imminent unity accord between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seized upon the news to issue his Palestinian counterpart an ultimatum: Make peace with Hamas, and you can forget about peace with Israel. In lockstep, Netanyahu’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman immediately dubbed any intra-Palestinian reconciliation a veritable “termination of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.” If that was a bluff, the Palestinians did not flinch. By the end of the day, the rival factions had announced a way forward on deals they had previously inked in Doha and Cairo. There would be elections within six months, and in the interim, a unity government — with Mahmoud Abbas the “prime minister” at its helm. Welcome to the post-Oslo world. It’s not as if Netanyahu and Co. didn’t see it coming. After all, it was the Israeli government, which controls Palestinians’ access to Gaza from the West Bank, that had waved Fatah delegates through the Erez crossing a day earlier. The rationale must have been simple. One week ahead of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s deadline for a so-called “framework agreement,” the Israeli premier is hell-bent to pin Kerry’s failure on Abbas — even if that means pushing the latter closer to Israel’s sworn enemy, Hamas.

http://972mag.com/why-fatah-hamas-reconciliation-might-just-work-this-time/90021/

Gaza wants back in from the darkness as Hamas feels the isolation

The Guardian 25 Apr by Peter Beaumont in Gaza City and Patrick Kingsley in Cairo — Toppling of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has left territory out in cold as residents consider life under Palestine unity government — In his haberdashery, Saleem Salouha tracks the ups and downs of his business against events beyond his control. The good times for his shop in Gaza City were when Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood were in power in Egypt. The bolts of cloth stacked behind Salouha came via the network of smuggling tunnels under the border at Rafah. Gazans had money too to buy his goods in the middle of a mini-economic boom. All that, however, ended last July when Morsi was deposed in a military coup and the new regime deemed the Brotherhood a “terrorist” organisation. Egypt accused Hamas, the Brotherhood’s sister group that rules Gaza, of contributing to the security crisis in northern Sinai and closed down the smuggling tunnels. Now Salouha orders the same goods, but they are brought through an Israeli crossing, pushing up prices by 30%, even as half his customers have withered away. “It is a double blockade,” Salouha says, referring to the long-term Israeli policy of limiting goods to Gaza since Hamas assumed control in 2007. He adds bitterly: “Israel and the Egyptians are competing with each other.” The story of the Salouha shop, in business since 1962, offers a microcosm of what has happened to Gaza and Hamas since Morsi was ousted. It explains too why, after seven years governing Gaza at odds with its rival Fatah on the West Bank, Hamas might just be serious this time about moves to reconcile the often toxic Palestinian divisions. And if it is not serious, why Hamas views the agreement, signed this week, as an expedient move.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/25/gaza-back-in-hamas-isolation-egypt-unity-palestinian

Palestinian reconciliation: Real unity, or tactic? / Amira Hass

Haaretz 24 Apr — Abbas may be using the agreement with Hamas to pressure Israel and the U.S. by demonstrating that he has other options — …The reconciliation, therefore, is a way to strengthen the Palestinians internally in preparation for the next confrontations with Israel (popular, diplomatic, political, and perhaps even military, if and when Israel chooses the military escalation option). Reconciliation is also consistent with the increasing demands to hold public elections for the PLO’s legislature. The rival movements have come to realize over the years that neither can bring about the absolute political downfall of the other, as had been hoped at various stages after Hamas won the 2006 elections. At the same time, the dual-government arrangement was being increasingly perceived as a petty fight over government positions and narrow personal interests rather than a battle of differing worldviews, and this was causing a steady erosion of confidence in the existing Palestinian political system. Both sides understand this, which is why reconciliation efforts were always welcomed by the general Palestinian public, both here and abroad. All these factors bode well for the success of the new reconciliation effort. But there are other motivations at work that might undermine the unity pact. Malki’s remarks on the Palestinian commitment to negotiations reflect Abbas’ position. There is reason to believe Abbas is using the reconciliation (like his repeated announcements about dismantling the PA and the tactical applications to join various UN conventions) as a way to pressure Israel and the United States by demonstrating that he has other options, even if he isn’t thrilled about using them. There is reason to believe that the Hamas regime, which has suffered several severe political and economic blows this year, is using reconciliation as a way to soften Egypt’s policy toward it, and perhaps gain some easing of the blockade that Cairo has imposed on the group and on the Gaza Strip. Many Palestinian observers predict that the collapse of the PA – assuming Israel sticks to its policy of weakening it – would help strengthen the position of Hamas and its government. If Hamas joins the PLO, it will become a major force within it, and if it doesn’t join, it will be perceived as a true and legitimate representative of the Palestinians. These mutual suspicions about the motives of the other party could end up scuttling reconciliation once again.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.587004

Other news



Photos of the week: returning from Beirut, returning to Iqrit

Activestills 25 Apr — This week: Majd Kayyal returns to his home in Haifa after protesting for his right for movement, Palestinian residents of Umm al-Fahm protest against ‘price tag’ mosque arson, Israelis protest for housing and animal rights, and for their right to get high.

http://972mag.com/photos-of-the-week-returning-from-beirut-returning-to-iqrit/90036/

Aid trickles in to starving residents of Yarmouk in Syria

BEIRUT (The National) 25 Apr by Phil Sands — After a two-week halt, food has once again begun to trickle into the besieged Damascus neighbourhood of Yarmouk but supplies fall far short of what is needed to feed thousands of trapped civilians, according to aid officials. For five hours on Friday and two-and-a-half hours on Thursday, the UN was allowed access to the labyrinth-like district in the Syrian capital’s southern suburbs, just enough time to deliver food parcels for 732 families, or approximately 3,660 people. There are 18,000 civilians in Yarmouk and a UN parcel can feed a family of five people for 10 days. “It’s not enough,” said Chris Gunness, a spokesman for UNRWA, the United Nations agency overseeing the relief effort in Yarmouk, of the latest aid drop. “Demand for food is overwhelming. There are widespread reports of children with malnutrition, of people eating animal feed. It is beyond desperate,” he said.

http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/aid-trickles-in-to-starving-residents-of-yarmouk-in-syria

Israeli-Arab MK fined for assaulting man during 2006 demonstration

Haaretz 24 Apr by Revital Hovel — The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court fined Knesset member Mohammed Barakeh (Hadash) 400 shekels on Thursday for attacking a man during a demonstration against the Second Lebanon War in 2006. The court also ordered Barakeh, the chairman of the small Arab party, to pay the man 250 shekels [about $72] in compensation. Barakeh said he would appeal the conviction to the Tel Aviv District Court.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.587276

Christian leaders tell youth to ‘tear up’ Israel army forms

JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 25 Apr — Orthodox Archbishop Atallah Hanna and former Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah on Friday urged Christian youth not to enlist in the Israeli military and to ignore Israeli “propaganda” encouraging them to do so. The statement came after a meeting between the two religious figures on Friday, which followed reports on Tuesday that Israeli authorities would distribute military enlistment papers to Palestinian Christian youth who are citizens of Israel in order to encourage them to voluntarily sign up for military service. The leaders called upon Christian youth who have received the enrollment papers to “tear them up and throw them away and not to engage with them in any way.” The leaders also stressed the “firm national position of the Christians in refusing to join a military that exercises violence against the rights of the Palestinian people.”

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=692816

Palestinians in Israel condemn plan to recruit Christians

HAIFA (Ma‘an) 23 Apr — Several Israel-based organizations on Wednesday condemned a new campaign to recruit Palestinian Christian citizens of the country to serve in the military. In a joint statement, more than 15 Palestinian youth movements and community organizations said the Israeli move was an effort to divide Palestinian citizens of Israel from their own people. The groups said they would “struggle against (the campaign for) enlistment in the Israeli army” to ensure that such divisions would not occur. “We are confident that young Arabs will reject all recruitment plans. This dangerous escalation by the Israeli institution will only make young Arabs more loyal to their people and their national identity.” The groups urged all Palestinian organizations of influence, in addition to the leadership of Palestinian towns within Israel, to play an active role in raising awareness about “plans for Israelization” of Palestinians by recruiting them to join the military. The statement comes a day after army radio reported that Israel would adopt a new policy of actively recruiting Christians.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=692223

‘Exiled’ IDF soldier finds new home on kibbutz

Ynet 24 Apr by Israel Moskovitz — Twenty-one-year-old Sergeant Adham Saab dreamt of volunteering to serve in the IDF since the age of 10, but it was just two years ago, one month after beginning his service, that his dream became a nightmare when he was attacked in his village by more than 10 men who disapproved of his choice to serve. Saab is a member of Israel’s Bedouin community. Exempt from required military service, some Bedouin youths still volunteer for service, where they gain training that can be used to find jobs after finishing the army … “A month after joining, I came home from boot-camp. On Friday, after I left for a family feast, I was attacked by more than 10 people,” Saab said, recounting the moments of terror.” They cursed at me and yelled, ‘bastard soldier’ and then they hit me in the head with a metal bar and I lost consciousness,” said Saab. “I haven’t been back to my village since the attack.” “It was decided that I would live in the Soldier’s Hostel in the center of Israel so that no one would attack me… my family left the village after a few months and moved to the North,” said Saab. Tzvika Levi, responsible for organizing living situations for Lonely Soldiers on kibbutzim, met with Saab about his situation.” “I knew that I had to find Adham a warm home on a kibbutz. It’s inconceivable that a young Arab who volunteered to serve in the IDF would be in life-threatening danger in Israel. I found him a warm and loving family on Kibbutz Nir-Eliyahu,” said Levi.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4513003,00.html

Spring time in Tulkarem as farms fight chemial factories

Middle East Monitor 22 Apr by Jessica Purkiss — It is spring on the Tanib farm and the eskadenias or loquats – small sweet orange fruits – and the strawberries are perfectly ripe. Workers and volunteers who have travelled far and wide to take part in a two week campus on the farm grounds are busy harvesting. The volunteers are helping with turning the farm organic. Tea drank in the breaks of a hard days labour is made on a bio gas cooker and dried fruits served as snacks have been made in a solar powered dryer. The fresh produce grown on the farm tastes beautifully sweet, but the dust that covers their skin is a bitter reminder of a situation that is far from organic. The farm lies in Tulkarem, a northern West Bank governorate that is home to 12 Israeli chemical factories. The land of the Tanib family lies directly behind one of these factories which reportedly manufactures 22 different, unknown chemicals, and is also hemmed in on the other side by the separation wall, which has annexed over half of the farm’s original land.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/middle-east/11047-spring-time-in-tulkarem-as-farms-fight-israeli-chemical-factories

Israeli forces treat choking toddler near Ramallah

BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 25 Apr — Israeli forces on Friday treated a young Palestinian girl who was choking near Ramallah in the central West Bank, an army spokesman said. He said the 39-day-old infant had an accident in her home near el-Bireh and was unable to breathe. The mother evacuated her to a nearby army post where medics offered initial care, he said. The spokesman said the girl was transferred by Palestinian medics to a hospital in Ramallah.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=692897

Arab-Israeli women break ground on pro soccer team

PETAH TIKVA, Israel (AP) 24 Apr — When the Israeli women’s soccer team Hapoel Petah Tikva lost a number of its players to Israel’s national team ahead of World Cup qualifiers, founder Rafi Subra made a decision that set the team apart from many of its rivals — he recruited from the Arab villages of northern Israel. Arab Israelis, who complain of decades of discrimination in day-to-day life, are rare in the Israeli Women’s Premier League — a small league that is often overlooked in the local sports scene. Meanwhile, the men’s premier league is full of Arab-Israeli players.

http://news.yahoo.com/arab-israeli-women-break-ground-pro-soccer-team-073152931–spt.html

Firefighters beaten by settlers in Beit El

Ynet 22 Apr by Noam (Dabul) Dvir — A team of firefighters who were called to extinguish a garbage can on fire at Beit El settlement on Monday night were beaten with rods and stones by local youth settlers, according to the firefighters, who filed a complaint to the police. As the firemen were working to put out the fire at Shivat Haminim St. in the settlement, several youth arrived at the scene and claimed that the firefighters’ vehicle was blocking the road. While shouting at them, the settlers started attacking the firefighters. Two of the firemen suffered head injuries and lacerations and were taken to Hadassah Medical Center at Mount Scopus in Jerusalem. The Judea and Samaria District police said Tuesday morning that two suspects have been arrested and their vehicle towed. “The investigation continues and additional arrests are expected to be made.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4511816,00.html

Police search home of rabbi in West Bank settlement where rioters ransacked IDF post

Jerusalem Post 23 Apr — Police searched the home of Rabbi Yosef Elitzur in Yitzhar on Wednesday, Israel Radio reported. Elitzur is the head of the yeshiva in the West Bank settlement where residents ransacked an IDF post earlier this month. At the end of the search the police reportedly seized a computer. The rabbi was not home during the search, according to the report. The Od Yosef Hai Yeshiva in Yitzhar released a statement in response to the search, saying it was “ridiculous” and that it was “another attempt by the regime to silence and intimidate, but the Torah cannot be silenced.” The army seized the Od Yosef Hai Yeshiva in the settlement on April 11 in response to the settler violence targeting the security forces.

http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Police-search-home-of-rabbi-in-West-Bank-settlement-where-rioters-ransacked-IDF-post-350177

Ya’alon: IDF prioritizes demolitions of illegal homes in settlements with violent record

Jerusalem Post 23 Apr by Tovah Lazaroff — Rights group slams defense minister, IDF for “collectively punishing” communities — Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon has prioritized the demolition of illegal homes in West Bank Jewish communities whose members commit acts of violence against security forces, according to a senior security source … The IDF executed this policy earlier this month after an army jeep was vandalized in the Yitzhar settlement. In response, the IDF razed four illegal structures there.

http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Yaalon-IDF-prioritizes-illegal-home-demolitions-in-settlements-with-violent-record-350220

50,000 Holocaust survivors in poverty, 50% isolated

Ynet 23 Apr by Omri Efraim — New report says 1/3 of Israel’s survivors requested aid, 60% of needy living on only 3,000 shekels a month — Fifty thousand of the country’s 193,000 Holocaust survivors live beneath the poverty line while one-fifth have had to cut back on food and medicine in the last two years due to financial difficulties, a report by the Foundation for the Benefit of the Holocaust Victims in Israel released Wednesday said. The report, released just days before the Holocaust Memorial Day, said that 36 percent of survivors in Israel live alone and 10,000 are childless.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4512415,00.html

Google Street View bug ‘Arabizing’ Tel Aviv

Haaretz 25 Apr by Elihay Vidal — An odd bug in Google Street View is causing the online service to show most street names in Tel Aviv with their names in Arabic instead of Hebrew or English, which are the default options for most Israeli devices. If you go on a virtual tour around Tel Aviv’s northern neighborhoods this weekend, it is likely that instead of Kikar Hamedina you may end up at هـ بئي. And if you wanted to see Rothschild Boulevard, where the 2012 social-justice protests began, don’t be surprised if you end up with photographs of -شارع روتشيلد.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.587345

IDF revolution – seismic shift in training methods

Ynet 22 Apr by Yoav Zitun — A third Lebanese war or a ground operation in Syria are just a step away in terms of the IDF’s new training patterns for ground troops, enlisted and reservists alike: A site with 300 hundred structures simulating a Hezbollah village, new state-of-the-art bullets, and instead of the old man-shaped cardboard cut outs as targets – “smart” targets (including ones that represent women and children).

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4511661,00.html

Analysis / Opinion / Film review



Analysis: If peace talks collapse, expect a search for out-of-the-box ideas

AP 26 Apr — With peace negotiations on the brink of failure, Israeli, Palestinian officials come up with creative suggestions, including plans of joint custody of Jerusalem’s old city, unilateral pullout, single state of Israelis, Palestinians — Nine months of US-driven diplomacy have left Israelis and Palestinians less hopeful than ever about a comprehensive peace agreement to end their century of conflict. Although a formula may yet be found to somehow prolong the talks past an end-of-April deadline, they are on the brink of collapse and the search is already on for new ideas. US Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts have exposed vast differences: On sharing Jerusalem, resolving the situation of millions of descendants of Palestinian refugees, and even borders, the sides seem nowhere close to agreement … Beneath the surface there is a powerful force at work: A growing current in Israel says that one way or another, the country must separate itself from the Palestinians with a real border. If not, the occupied territories and Israel will eventually come to be seen as one entity, with 12 million people, half of whom are Arabs – hardly the Zionist vision of a Jewish state. Here are some directions the discourse may take:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4513348,00.html

Fatah, Hamas battle for control of mosques / Ahmad Melhem

Summary: Fatah is tightly controlling mosques in the West Bank, claiming to shield them from political interference, but its adversaries accuse it of using mosques for its own political purposes — RAMALLAH (Al-Monitor) 23 Apr — The mosques in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are still an arena of political conflict between the governments of those areas and religious parties of various orientations. The Palestinian Authority (PA) became aware of the mosques’ political importance after Hamas’ victory in the 2006 legislative elections. Back then, the mosques were used to disseminate political ideas. The authorities sought to terminate that phenomenon after the split in 2007.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/04/palestine-conflicts-mosques-west-bank-gaza.html

There’s no security like a US visa / Gideon Levy

Haaretz 24 Apr — Israel is ready to become a fairer country: In exchange for joining America’s visa waiver program, Israel will agree to give “equal” treatment to U.S. citizens of Palestinian origin at its borders. The Israeli government has declared that in exchange for free entry to the United States in time to catch the sale at Macy’s and take a stroll down Fifth Avenue, it is ready to stop discriminating, interrogating, abusing and deporting. In exchange for ending the humiliation that comes with having to wait in line at the U.S. consulate, Israel is ready to end the humiliation that comes with being profiled in the security inspection at Ben-Gurion Airport. No more security threats, no more danger of terrorism lurking within every Palestinian, even if they’re American. It turns out that there is something that trumps our cult of security and the hush-hush god of secrecy: a visa waiver. Now what will the Shin Bet, our guardian on the wall, have to say now that the gates are open at Ben-Gurion, and every Mohammed from Virginia and Ahmed from California can walk right in? Security has been the justification for profiling and discrimination; what will become of security now? This poetic justice was achieved thanks to none other than Deputy Foreign Minister Ze’ev Elkin, who knows a thing or two about discriminating against Arabs. It was him, the right-wing nationalist, believe it or not, who made this happen – and all in exchange for realizing the American dream, which is of course much bigger than most Israeli dreams. This irony should teach other nations around the world a thing or two about dealing with the stubborn, condescending state in the Middle East.

http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.586954

Palestinian orphans suffer discrimination

GAZA CITY (Al-Monitor) 25 Apr by Rasha Abou Jalal – “I don’t know why I’m here. I don’t know who I am or how I got into the world.” With these words, Louay, 24, started his interview with Al-Monitor, expressing his anger at his unknown parents who left him outside a mosque one night, never to return. Louay, not his real name, is a young man who grew up in an orphanage in Gaza City, and was considered an orphan until a family adopted him at age 6. Louay has encountered negative perceptions from society, an issue he has failed to grasp. About 160 persons of unknown parentage are in the Gaza Strip, according to Hazem al-Nuaizi, the supervisor of the Mercy Orphanage Association, the only Gaza Strip shelter that accommodates orphans. Those children are generally born out of casual relationships, and abandoned largely because of shame and the cultural taboo of sex outside of marriage. Louay, who at first hesitated to talk to Al-Monitor, said that he has faced difficulties in life to prove himself in society. He encountered many difficulties in his job search, and girls refuse to marry him … Society’s negative perception pushed Firas al-Bulasi, 20, from Fawwar refugee camp near Hebron in the West Bank, to commit suicide on March 4. He had grown distressed as a result of being called a “bastard.” Bulasi was born out of an illicit relationship between a couple whose identity is unknown. Walid Shbeir, a sociologist, told Al-Monitor that the tribal nature of Palestinian society makes it difficult for illegitimate children to integrate into society. “These societal characteristics make it very easy to determine each individual’s lineage and roots. So it’s very difficult for illegitimate children to melt in society,” he said.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/04/palestine-foundlings-suffer-discrimination.html

Israel’s Oslo paradox / Akiva Eldar

Al-Monitor 24 Apr — This is not the first time, and perhaps not the last, that the idea of dismantling the Palestinian Authority (PA) and “returning the keys to Israel” is being bandied around in the diplomatic vacuum. Already in August 2008, in the days of the Ehud Olmert government, Sari Nusseibeh, president of Al-Quds University, told me the following: “I suggested that the [Palestinian] Authority announce that if we don’t reach an agreement by the end of the year, it will dissolve itself and return the keys to Israel.” Nusseibeh, who partnered with former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon in the agreement termed “The People’s Voice” (two states based on the ‘67 borders, with no right of return for the Palestinians), asserted, “We have 160,000 civil servants. Half of them are security personnel who don’t provide us with any security. We spend a fortune on rifles that are used to fight each other.” He also said he had begged European leaders to stop financial assistance to the PA, since it had turned out to be leveraging the continued occupation instead of ending it. He said that according to international law, on the day after the PA is dismantled, Israel will have to go back to funding the occupation on its own, the way it did during its military rule in the territories that preceded the Oslo Accord. A senior officer in the civil administration confirmed to me at the time that Nusseibeh’s assessment was correct. He said he suffered from nightmares in which then-PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad announced he has fired all the PA’s employees, including the security forces. Before bidding him farewell and shutting the door to his office, Fayyad handed him the keys to the hospitals, schools, welfare services and the planning and building entities. It would be interesting to know what that officer, who was just promoted to a very senior post in the defense establishment, thinks of the reaction of Naftali Bennett, chairman of the HaBayit HaYehudi Party and economy minister, to the “returning the keys” threat by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Bennett, speaking to reporters on April 20, joked, “With such threats, who needs good wishes?” Bennett is the last person who should be laughing. An end to the 20-year PA chapter is also an end to the interim agreement that divided the West Bank into three areas….

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/04/israel-military-control-west-bank-dismantling-pa-cost.html

The Temple Mount, capital of the Kingdom of Israel / Zvi Bar’el

Haaretz 23 Apr — For the settler movement and its supporters, Jewish sovereignty over the Temple Mount is just the first act in a larger messianic drama — Real Jews don’t demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as the Jewish state. Real Jews compel the government to build them a Jewish state. “The terrorists are still holed up on the Temple Mount. The prime minister and the public security minister still tie the hands of police officers and prevent them from entering buildings where the terrorists are holed up,” the Hebrew-language website Har Habayit Hadashot (Temple Mount News) told its readers on Sunday. “We are still not fulfilling the strictest commandment (the Passover sacrifice) even after the Temple Mount has been in our possession for 50 years.” Of course, the blame for the violation of this strict commandment falls not on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas but rather on Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch, who is not acting against “the rioters who act disruptively to ruin our festival in the place that is the most sacred to the Jewish people,” as Adi Mintz, a senior official of the Yesha Council of settlements, wrote in an open letter to Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. He added, “the police instead of arresting them [the rioters]… prohibit Jews from ascending to the mount. This is foolish and unwise behavior.” In the letter, Mintz compares Aharonovitch’s appointment as public security minister to the appointment of the Roman emperor Caligula’s horse, Incitatus, as a consul.

http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.586728

Some drama off-camera in Mideast conflict film

AL-EIN REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (AP) 23 Apr — An American director’s short film about an Israeli army raid in a Palestinian refugee camp ends with a surprise — literally involving a rabbit, though not one pulled from a hat. The story told in “The Warren” is meant to question the ways Israelis and Palestinians see each other as a result of their long-running conflict. The diverse cast and crew — Arabs and Jews, locals and foreigners — struggled with those issues off camera as well during several days of filming in the al-Ein camp, a former militant stronghold near the West Bank city of Nablus. In identity-bending twists, those playing Israeli soldiers included a conscientious objector who quit the Israeli military to protest its practices in the West Bank; a former conscript whose unit patrolled the camp a decade ago; and six members of the Palestinian security forces who put on Israeli army uniforms as extras in the film, and were also asked to protect the two Israelis … The 10-minute film follows the soldiers as they raid and ransack the house and at times hold the residents at gunpoint. The tension escalates when the soldiers fire a stun grenade into a crawl space after hearing a noise and then ask the family patriarch to go into the suspected hideout. Eventually, the elderly man emerges with his back to the soldiers, then slowly turns around, holds up a rabbit and hands it to the soldiers. “We stop the film the moment the surprise comes out,” said director James Adolphus, 36, an American documentary maker. “It’s about creating dialogue after the curtain comes up.” … The director said he hopes to show the short on the international film festival circuit to raise money for a full-length feature telling the story of Israeli soldiers and Palestinians in Nablus in 2002 — a time when Israel reoccupied the West Bank in response to Palestinian bombing and shooting attacks. [Teaser here ]

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/some-drama-camera-mideast-conflict-film

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