Mondoweiss Online Newsletter

NOVANEWS

• Revival of Geneva Initiative features divisive figure: Bernard-Henri Levy

• Israeli military and settlers attack homes of Palestinians involved in the recent prisoner swap

• Rafeef Ziadah: ‘I am an Arab woman of color and we come in all Shades of Anger, beware’

• ‘J Street’ distances itself from board member who met with Hamas officials

• Seymour Hersh: Obama’s Iran policy is a ‘political game’ to ‘look tough’

• Huckabee and Allen West to speak at Hebron Fund settlers gala in Queens

• The problem with ‘occupation’ in the occupy movement

• ‘Normalcy’ in the Gulf means billions of US arms sales to face down Iran

• In 1950, Doubleday censored frank account of Deir Yassin massacre from prominent American’s book

• Should have seen this coming – Dershowitz defends Paterno

Revival of Geneva Initiative features divisive figure: Bernard-Henri Levy

Nov 22, 2011

Philip Weiss

Bernard-Henry Levy

The Swiss are trying to revive the Geneva Initiative 8 years after its first iteration andwill do so at a public conference later today.

Events in 2011 have shown that the will of the people can bring about political change. The Geneva Initiative, which is the joint-product of Israeli and Palestinian civil societies, remains a concrete and realistic proposal for a peace settlement in the Middle East.

They give the Initiative a new twist — Geneva 2.0 — and Yasser Abed Rabbo of the PLO will be there to advocate for the two-state-solution but so will a surprise speaker:

An old conflict in a new context – the Arab Spring and its impact on Israelis and Palestinians

Bernard-Henri Lévy, French philosopher and writer

I am told that B-H L is anathema to many Palestinians for his writings and comments critical of Islam. And he is beloved by the Israel lobby. But will that help the Geneva Initiative gain adherents?

Israeli military and settlers attack homes of Palestinians involved in the recent prisoner swap

Nov 21, 2011

Kate

Israeli envoy in Cairo to discuss second stage of exchange deal
CAIRO (PIC) 21 Nov — An Israeli envoy arrived in Cairo on Sunday aboard a private plane to discuss the second stage of the Egyptian-brokered Hamas-Israel prisoners’ exchange deal, the German news agency DPA said.
link to Palestinian Information Center

West Bank settlers attack ex-prisoner’s house
Al Jazeera 20 Nov — Dozens of Israeli settlers have attacked a house in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron in protest against the release of a man in the recent Israeli-Palestinian prisoner swap. Israeli soldiers on Saturday clashed with the settlers as the army moved in to try to keep the would-be assailants away from the house. They were trying to get at Hani Jaber, who had been freed after 18 years in an Israeli jail for killing a settler from Kiryat Arba. Residents of that Jewish settlement adjacent to Hebron had put a $100,000 price tag on Jaber’s life after he was set free. The 35-year-old had been sentenced to two life sentences for the killing. “Today, since this morning, the settlers have been attacking us frequently and they were pointing at this house and saying this was the house of the killer Hani Jaber and we were confused,” said resident Arif Jaber. “About half an hour go, around 250 settlers attacked the house,” he said. [as of 21 Nov, Jaber has been issued a summons to report to Israeli intelligence for questioning]
link to www.aljazeera.com

Israeli intelligence summons released prisoners
WEST BANK (WAFA) 21 Nov – Israeli intelligence Monday summoned four Palestinian ex-prisoners from Salfit, Jenin and Hebron who were released in the Gilad Shalit swap deal for interrogation, according to security sources and family members. he Israeli army raided the city of Salfit north of the West Bank, inspected the houses of Ra‘ed Hassan and Imad Fatouni, and handed them notices to report to Israeli intelligence, said security sources. Sources added that Israeli forces also broke into a house of released prisoner Sami Jbareen, who was exiled to Turkey, and summoned his brother to Israeli intelligence.
link to english.wafa.ps

Israeli troops ‘ransack’ ex-prisoner’s home
JENIN (Ma‘an) 21 Nov — Israeli forces ransacked the home of a released prisoner early Monday near Jenin in the northern West Bank, witnesses said. A large force of soldiers and an intelligence officer surrounded the home of Sheikh Abdul Rahmad Salah early Monday morning near the al-Marah neighborhood, Salah’s family told Ma‘an. Salah, who was freed by Israel in October in a captive swap deal, was questioned for two hours as soldiers tore apart his home, relatives said, adding that their furniture was destroyed in the raid.
link to www.maannews.net

Prisoners Society head meets freed detainees in Turkey
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 20 Nov — The head of the prisoners society met with prisoners exiled to Turkey after a prisoner swap deal, the society said Sunday. Qadura Fares assured detainees they would return to Palestinian soil, a press statement said. “There will be a day where you meet with your families and people in your homeland, and your well-being will win over the Israeli occupation’s attempts to distance you from your homeland,” the release quoted him saying. Eleven detainees were exiled to Turkey in mid-October, after Hamas agreed to free captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for the freedom of over 1,000 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails.
link to www.maannews.net

Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Threats to Palestine culture and history

Hagit Ofran: The eviction of one Palestinian family might cause the next political crisis over East Jerusalem
[aerial photo] HuffPost 17 Nov — August 2nd, 2009. The Ghawi and Hannun families ofSheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem are waking to the sounds of police and trucks and movers. In a few hours, their houses will have become the home to settler families, and they will be kicked out to the street. Those images are flashing back to me as I think of what could happen in two weeks in Silwan. We’ve seen those pictures in the past: Palestinian family out, Israeli settlers in … In Silwan there is a fight over nationality, history and also religion. For the Palestinians, it is a Palestinian neighborhood, next to Al-Aqsa Mosque where thousands of Palestinians have been living for ages. The settlers are trying to make it into “The City of David,” using archaeology and tourism to change the public domain in Silwan. The visitors center of the “City of David” tourism site was built by the settlers next to the house of the Sumarin family. If taken by the settlers, the Sumarin house would give them a large contiguous area at the very entrance to Silwan and dramatically change the character of the neighborhood.
link to www.huffingtonpost.com

Residents build protest tent in stand against Sumrain eviction
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) — Residents of Silwan erected a tent in Wadi Hilweh today, 20 November, in protest to Israeli authorities’ plans to evict the local Sumrain family. The eviction, scheduled to take place on 28 November, poses a major strategic gain for the settler movement in Silwan. The Sumrain family has been ordered to pay 2 million NIS to the “execution office,” despite the fact that payment would not even halt or slow the eviction process. Once the family has been evicted, it is expected that the “execution office”  will transfer ownership of the property to the Elad settler organisation, which has spearheaded the settlement movement in Wadi Hilweh.
link to silwanic.net

Presidential adviser: Settlers target Jerusalem homes
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 21 Nov — Israeli settler organizations have been given the green light by the Israeli government to take over a number of central Jerusalem homes belonging to Palestinians, a presidential legal adviser said on Sunday. Ahmad Ruweidi said the Israeli government had waited until the timing was right politically to implement court decisions evicting Palestinians from a number of homes near the Old City. An eviction order for the Silwan house of the Sumarin family on Nov. 28 is the beginning of a campaign against Palestinian properties, he said in a press statement.
link to www.maannews.net

Fatah: Taking over Jerusalemite properties declaration of war against holy city
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 20 Nov – Palestinian National Liberation Movement, Fatah, Sunday considered the Israeli government granting the settlements’ associations the right to take over Jerusalemite  properties a declaration of war against the holy city of Jerusalem and a dangerous stage in Judaizing all that belong to Palestinians in East Jerusalem. Osama al-Qawasmi, Fatah spokesperson, described, in a press release issued by Fatah office of information and culture, this Israeli decision as ‘political insanity’, saying, ‘The Israeli government’s violations of the Palestinian national rights and the international law and its absolute rejection to recognize the Palestinian people’s rights reached the extent of political madness’.
link to english.wafa.ps

‘Segregated country’: Israel plans Orthodox-Jewish-only ‘cities’ in Palestinian area / Philip Weiss & Annie
Mondo 21 Nov — Today the New York Times says Islamists want to take part in the new Egyptian government, and how scary that is. Well, is anyone paying attention to Israel’s new plans for a “segregated” Jewish development in northern Israel, in an area home to many Palestinians? This is actual Judaization, taking place before our eyes. FromPalestine Monitor: “The small village of Harish has become a hot spot of contentious debate since plans were unveiled to build an ultra-Orthodox only city in the predominantly Palestinian region. Harish is a village in the Wadi Ara, a region in northern Israel that falls in the Haifa District and ‘The Triangle’ in Israel. Wadi Ara is home to roughly 120,000 Palestinians and 10,000 Jews.” From Ynet: Minister plans segregated housing: ” The conference was held in Jerusalem under the banner ‘Segregated Country.'”
link to mondoweiss.net

Legislation guaranteeing settlement construction for ‘natural growth’ on the agenda
AIC 21 Nov — On Sunday (20 November) Israel’s Ministerial Legislative Committee postponed but did not reject discussion of proposed legislation that would guarantee yearly construction in West Bank settlements to account for “natural (population) growth.”
link to www.alternativenews.org

Has the settler movement sacrificed Gaza in favor of annexing the West Bank? / Eyal Clyne
972blog 21 Nov — A. Is the annexation of the West Bank imminent? “Yesha Council” and “My Israel” have recently circulated a propaganda video clip as part of a campaign addressing the old Israeli-left argument, that “if a two-state solution is not established soon, Israel will lose its Jewish demographic superiority“. In the clip they demonstrate how by deducting the estimated Gaza Strip population from their demographic calculations, the Jewish majority can remain safe and sound between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, even if Israel were to annex the West Bank. This campaign may indicate a new direction for the Israeli right-wing given the way Israeli right-wing commentators, researchers, mathematicians, journalists, bloggers, activists, political groups and prominent public figures have quickly adopted and rejoiced over this new trophy.
link to 972mag.com

Palestinians reject Israeli claims of media incitement
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 21 Nov — Palestinian officials Monday rejected Israeli claims of incitement broadcast on the state-run Palestine TV and radio stations, arguing instead that the incitement is actually found in the Israeli media and school textbooks. An Israeli TV channel claimed the Palestinian media incites to violence when it makes reference to cities inside Israel and presents documentaries about their Palestinian history. Ahmad Zaki, director of Voice of Palestine radio, defended reference to the Palestinian history of cities, stressing that the Palestine Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), which includes the official TV and radio, will continue to broadcast documentaries on Palestinian cities inside Israel despite of the Israeli campaign against it. He accused the Israeli media of incitement and falsifying facts as it continues to refer to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem as Yerushalayim despite the signed agreements.
link to english.wafa.ps

PCBS: Settlements biggest obstacle to use of agricultural holdings
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 20 Nov — PCBS President, Ola Awad, announced the final results of the first agricultural census in the Palestinian Territory in 2010, in which 2010 data indicated that 7,835 agricultural holdings in the West Bank were constrained in using agricultural holdings parcels due to the expansion and annexation wall, said the press release. It added that 12,797 holdings were constrained in using agricultural holdings parcels by settlements, and 7,292 holdings were constrained by military barriers, while 7,971 holdings in the Palestinian Territory were constrained in using agricultural holdings parcels by land being in closed military areas.
link to english.wafa.ps

Gaza warns of devastating floods if Israel opens dams
GAZA (PIC) 20 Nov — Gazan agriculture ministry and civil defense have warned of devastating floods if Israel carried out its threat to open Gaza valley dams. Col. Yousef Al-Zahhar, the head of the civil defense squad in Gaza, told the PIC on Sunday that the resulting floods would damage 100 houses and hundreds of bee hives other than the fact that 100 square kilometers of cultivated land would be inundated in Mighraka in central Gaza. He said that the livestock in the area would be drowned, noting that most of the people in the area are Bedouins who win their sustenance based on rearing livestock. The ministry of agriculture, for its part, held the Israeli occupation authority responsible for consequences of such a step, recalling in a statement on Sunday that the IOA last year deliberately opened those dams without prior notice causing millions of dollars in damages.
link to Palestinian Information Center

Settlers / Right-wing extremists

Lieberman: Demolition of illegal West Bank outposts will end Netanyahu cabinet
Haaretz 21 Nov — The coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will unravel if Israel goes ahead with either the planned demolition of two illegal West Bank outposts or the handover of Palestinian tax money to the Palestinian Authority, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Monday.
link to www.haaretz.com

Right-wing Israeli group creates booklet listing businesses that employ Palestinians
IMEMC 21 Nov — A grandson of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, best known for his belief that Arabs should be ethnically cleansed from historic Palestine, is leading a movement to document and boycott all businesses in Israel that employ Palestinians. The plan was discovered when 19-year old Meir Ettinger was reported to the police for walking around the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem and asking merchants whether they employ Arabs. One Palestinian merchant became suspicious that Ettinger may be planning an attack against himself or other Palestinians working at the market, and called the Israeli police.
link to www.imemc.org

Jewish extremist breaks into mosque in Jaffa
TEL AVIV (WAFA) 21 Nov – A Jewish radical Monday broke into Hasan Beik mosque in the city of Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, with an intention to perform Jewish prayer in the Muslim mosque, said a local official. Ahmad Mashharawi, member of Tel Aviv Municipal Council, told WAFA that the Israeli police apprehended the Jewish man after a number of Muslim worshippers noticed him and contacted the police. He expressed concern that the police will not charge the Israeli fanatic with anything, rather claim that he is insane and therefore could not be held accountable for his actions … Mashharawi stressed that attacks against Islamic and Christian holy places are on the rise in Jaffa, the latest of which was the vandalism of Muslim and Christian cemeteries in October.
link to english.wafa.ps

Funeral disrupted by clashes in Hebron town
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 20 Nov — A funeral procession in the West Bank town of Beit Ummar erupted into clashes between Israeli forces and locals on Sunday, after a soldier in an unmarked vehicle fired towards the group.  Locals said a man, who they believed to be an Israeli settler, unexpectedly opened fire at mourners from the main road to Hebron at Beit Ummar’s entrance.
link to www.maannews.net

Hebron: Zionist paraders harass Palestinians; seven Internationals detained
EI/AIC 20 Nov — Over 1,000 American and International Zionists joined 700 extremist settlers in Hebron this weekend to celebrate the reading of the Torah portion detailing Abraham’s biblical purchase of Hebron land, and to assert sovereignty over the Palestinian residents of Hebron. On Friday, many Zionist visitors camped in tents on Israeli-controlled Shuhada Street. Inebriated from the Shabbat festivities, the visitors harassed local Palestinians throughout the night. On Saturday, soldiers stationed themselves through the streets of Hebron’s Old City, forcing the shutdown of Palestinian shops, while swarms of visitors were treated to an extensive settler-guided tour championing the Jewish roots of Old Hebron. In what was advertised by the Hebron Committee as “the most unforgettable Jewish experience of a lifetime,”  throngs of young, mostly American males clapped and chanted ‘Am Yisrael Chai’ (‘life to the people of Israel’) and other nationalistic chants, while  Palestinian residents were forced to the sidelines of their own streets and kept there by soldiers.
link to palsolidarity.org

VIDEO: Settler tour, Hebron
20 Nov — harassing and arresting internationals     Soldier: “Your religion – what is?”  International: “It’s my secret.” [As it should be!]
https://picasaweb.google.com/116081746904281083323/SettlerTour#5677047781045094834

Settlement’s waste water destroys olive trees
SALFIT (WAFA) 20 Nov – Waste water from Revava settlement, which is established on the land of Deir Estia, near Salfit in the northern West Bank, completely destroyed 20 olive trees and flooded another 100 trees in Palestinian land around the settlement, Sunday said a local official. Nazmi Salman, mayor of Deir Estia, said the waste water is threatening hundreds of dunums (1 dunum=1000 square meters or 1/4 acre) of land planted with olive trees in the western valley area to the west of the town, adding that farmers couldn’t harvest the 100 olive trees that were flooded. Dawoud Fares, owner of the damaged trees, was repeatedly assaulted by settlers before, including a physical attack and the arson of almost 300 olive plants in his land, added Salman.
link to english.wafa.ps

Gaza

‘Arab Spring’ convoy arrives at Gaza border
EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma‘an) 21 Nov — A convoy of 100 activists arrived at the Rafah crossing on Egypt’s border with Gaza on Monday to deliver medical aid to the besieged coastal enclave, the Egyptian Red Crescent said. Jaber al-Arabi, who heads the Red Crescent in north Sinai, said in a statement that the organization had received the aid and transferred it to the border. He said around 100 Egyptian and international activists were on board the “Arab Spring convoy,” headed by Safwat Hijazeen. The activists brought four tons of medicine and medical equipment for hospitals in the Gaza Strip, al-Arabi added.
link to www.maannews.net

Miles of Smiles convoy donates $60,000 to Jordan field hospital in Gaza
MEMO 20 Nov — The latest Miles of Smiles convoy to Gaza has donated $60,000 to the field hospital established by Jordan in the aftermath of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip in 2009. According to the coordinator of the convoy Miles of Smiles 7, participant NGOs donated the money to the hospital to purchase much-needed medical equipment. Dr. Essam Mustafa pointed out that Miles of Smiles 6 had donated an electrical generator to the hospital two months earlier valued at $40,000.
link to www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk

Detention / Court actions

Hamas: Israel arrested 64 Palestinians over the past week
RAMALLAH (PIC) 20 Nov — The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested 64 Palestinian citizens in the West Bank over the past week including 14 children, a press release by Hamas issued on Saturday said. It pointed out that the biggest number (17) was arrested in Al-Khalil followed by (12) in Bethlehem, (10) in Qalqilia, (6) in each of Nablus and Ramallah, (4) in in each of Jenin and Salfit, (3) in occupied Jerusalem and one in each of Jericho and Tulkarem. The report said that three of those arrested were journalists while five were recently released from PA security prisons.
link to Palestinian Information Center

Israeli forces make multiple arrests in Bethlehem area
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 21 Nov — Israeli forces detained at least six men in the West Bank early on Monday, witnesses and the army said. Locals told Ma‘an that Israeli military vehicles raided the village of Tuqu, southeast of Bethlehem and Duheisha refugee camp, east of the city, detaining six men.
link to www.maannews.net

Israeli forces arrest Palestinian sergeant in Jenin
JENIN (WAFA) 21 Nov — Israeli forces, Monday at dawn, arrested Palestinian sergeant Tareq Husain, 29, from the tourism and antiquities police near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, according to a police report. The report said that an Israeli military force, composed of 12 military vehicles, stormed the town of Borqeen, west of Jenin in the northern West Bank, and arrested the sergeant after raiding his house, vandalizing and tampering with its contents where they dug holes all over the house.
They also stormed the town of Qabatiya as well as the Martyrs’ Triangle intersection off the Jenin – Nablus road.
link to english.wafa.ps

Ministry: Patients in Israeli jail suffering after ward move
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 21 Nov — Invalids in an Israeli prison hospital are facing worsening conditions which harm their health, the prisoner affairs ministry in Ramallah said Monday. The ministry report said sick inmates at Ramla prison hospital had deteriorated since their transfer to a new section of the prison. Ministry lawyer Fadi Abedat said the conditions described by prisoners amounted to preparing an early grave. Yasser Nazzal, 46, said prisoners with disabilities could not move freely in their new ward, and invalids were prevented from taking breaks outdoors, both of which were taking a psychological toll, the report said.
link to www.maannews.net

Ministry: Detainees allege soldier mistreatment in custody
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 19 Nov — Palestinians in Israeli military detention in the occupied West Bank have complained of abuse by Israeli soldiers while in custody. The Ministry of Prisoners Affairs in Ramallah says inmates at Etzion military detention center, south of Bethlehem, complained to a ministry lawyer that they had been beaten by troops and put in stress positions for hours in cold conditions. Prisoners say they are not provided with sufficient or hygienic blankets for the winter weather, a report from minister lawyer Hussein al-Sheikh said. They also allege that forces goad them with inedible food. “When the detainees complained, the officer in charge told them mockingly that the center ran out of sugar, and so they sugared the tea with salt,” the report said.
link to www.maannews.net

Hamas says 2 members arrested by PA
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 19 Nov — Palestinian Authority security forces detained two Hamas members in the West Bank on Saturday, the party said. A Hamas statement said two men were detained from the Nablus village of Talluza. One of them, Mohammad Janajra, is a member of Talluza village council, the document said. A computer was confiscated and some money taken from Janajra’s house, it said.
The arrests came as Hamas and Fatah officials prepared to meet in Cairo in the latest bid to end years of political disunity in the occupied territories.
link to www.maannews.net

Israel not to prosecute commander for killing 21 Palestinians in Gaza
TEL AVIV (WAFA) 21 Nov – Israeli Military Prosecutors Office decided Monday not to prosecute former Givati Brigade commander, Ilan Malka, who is responsible for killing 21 members of al-Samuni family during an air strike that targeted the city of Gaza, according to Maariv newspaper. It said that Malka approved bombing a building in Zaytouna neighborhood in Gaza, killing 21 Palestinians and injuring another 19.
link to english.wafa.ps

IDF soldier jailed 10 days for throwing stone at Palestinian
Haaretz/DPA 21 Nov — The Palestinian man was filming the soldier stationed in Hebron on behalf of the Israeli human rights group Betselem when the initial incident took place.
link to www.haaretz.com

Political / Diplomatic / International

Sources: Hamas and Fatah agree on Mamoun Abu Shahla for new Prime Minister
PNN 21 Nov — The Palestinian TV station al-Wattan TV said on Monday that the leaders of Fatah and Hamas had agreed on new prime minister, a Gazan businessman named Mamoun Abu Shahla. The news was also confirmed by the Raya Radio news network. Abu Shahla is an accountant and businessman born in Acre in 1943 and educated in Gaza, Egypt and the United states. He has worked between Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Libya and United states for 22 years and holds a British passport. Abu Shahla, his wife and four children have lived in Gaza for five years. Abu Shahla runs an infrastructure contracting company, a computers and information technology company, and a hospital supply company … The news has not been confirmed by the Palestinian Authority.
link to english.pnn.ps

Prof. Qasem: The internal rift will end only if the PA ends its ties with Israel
RAMALLAH (PIC) 20 Nov — Professor of political science Abdulsattar Qasem downplayed the chances of reaching a genuine national reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah factions if the Palestinian authority (PA) did not end its security cooperation with Israel and its financial dependence on the West. Qasem told Quds Press that Hamas and Fatah could repeat the past mistakes if the real causes of their dispute were not addressed from the roots, mainly with regard to the agreements the PA signed with Israel. “I believe there is great potential for achieving the reconciliation if the real causes of the division and strife between Fatah and Hamas factions have been tackled,” the professor underlined.
link to Palestinian Information Center

Report: US envoy to meet Abbas over unity govt
JERUSALEM (AFP) 21 Nov — A top US diplomat is to hold emergency talks with Palestinian and Israeli leaders over the next two days regarding plans for a Palestinian unity government, the Israeli newspaper Maariv said Sunday. A spokesman for the US consulate in Jerusalem confirmed that Deputy Secretary of State William Burns would meet President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. Maariv said the visit was an “urgent” mission ahead of a meeting at the end of this week between Abbas and Hamas leader Khalid Mashaal that will finalize plans for the implementation of a reconciliation deal.
link to www.maannews.net

UN envoy singles out Israel over talks deadlock
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) 21 Nov — The UN Middle East peace envoy on Monday singled out Israel’s settlement building for criticism as he highlighted deadlocked efforts to bring Israelis and Palestinians into direct talks. “Provocations continue to damage confidence,” special envoy Robert Serry told a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East. “In particular, Israel continues to engage in settlement activity, including in highly sensitive areas, and demolitions of Palestinian structures are ongoing.”
link to www.maannews.net

Jordan king backs Abbas in unity and peace talks
Ramallah (Reuters) 21 Nov — King Abdullah of Jordan made a rare trip yesterday to theWest Bank to display support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is seeking to make peace with his Islamist rivals Hamas, and push for a resumption of peace talks with Israel.
link to www.gulf-times.com

Even with unity agreement, Islamic Jihad to boycott upcoming elections
PNN 21 Nov — Islamic Jihad leader Ahmed al-Modalal told PNN on Sunday that the Gaza-based movement would not participate in any upcoming elections, even if Hamas and Fatah formed a unity government, citing the Oslo Agreements it still refuses to recognize. Al-Modalal told PNN that the position of Islamic Jihad may change after the group studies the situation. He said that his movement supports national reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas and said Islamic Jihad would not be an obstacle to it.
link to english.pnn.ps

Israel to continue freeze on Palestinian tax money, says senior official
Haaretz 21 Nov — Netanyahu and senior ministers decide to further withhold money in light of Palestinian efforts to form unity government … The decision by the eight cabinet ministers seems ironic in light of the fact that Netanyahu and most of the ministers, apart from Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, believe that it is in Israeli interests to transfer the funds to the Palestinians. However, Netanyahu does not have a majority in the security-diplomatic cabinet to approve the money transfer.
link to www.haaretz.com

Economy minister calls for suing Israel over withheld funds
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 21 Nov – Minister of Economy Hassan Abu Libdeh Monday called for suing Israel over withholding Palestinian tax funds and to demand compensation for losses caused by this measure. Israel refused to release more than $100 [million] in tax revenues it collects monthly on goods imported by Palestinians that enter through its ports, after Palestine won membership in UNESCO and over reconciliation plans. Abu Libdeh told WAFA that the Israeli decision “was a clear violation of a trade agreement that allows Israel to collect taxes, which it is supposed to transfer to the Palestinian Authority for a 3% commission.”
link to english.wafa.ps

Israel boosts diplomatic mission to Turkey
Ynet 1 Nov — Foreign Ministry names Joseph Levy-Safri chargé d’affaires of Israeli Embassy in Ankara but tension between nations remain high … Safri, 39, a conflict resolution attorney, enjoys high esteem in diplomatic circles and most recently he has served as part of Israel’s mission to Uruguay.
link to www.ynetnews.com

Israel ups patrols around gas fields
Tel Aviv (Reuters) 21 Nov — Israel has gradually boosted naval patrols around its east Mediterranean natural gas fields for fear of guerrilla attacks and as maritime rivalry with Turkey deepens, an Israeli official said yesterday.
link to www.gulf-times.com

Syrian refugees to seek shelter in Israel?
Ynet 20 Nov —  As Syria slides into what appears to be a civil war, the permanent presence of President Bashar Assad’s army along the border with Israel has granted him some peace and quiet on the part of the area’s Syrian residents. Nonetheless, the IDF believes the tyrant’s days are numbered and is not ruling out the possibility that the riots will reach the border area, including extreme scenarios in which Syrian refuges will seek shelter in Israel of all places.
link to www.ynetnews.com

Other news

Ministry shuts down broadcasts of Israeli-Palestinian radio station
Haaretz 19 Nov — Israel Police and the Communications Ministry cut off the broadcasts of Kol Hashalom radio station on Saturday, claiming that they are pirate broadcasts. Kol Hashalom’s operators claim that their offices, which are located in the Palestinian Authority, are not subject to Israeli law, but Palestinian law, and therefore the Communications Ministry does not have the authority to shut it down. Kol Hashalom has been broadcasting for the past seven years from East Jerusalem, using broadcasting equipment in Ramallah and an operating license from the Palestinian Communications Ministry. The station was established by Israeli peace activists working together with Palestinian peace activists.
link to www.haaretz.com

PCBS: Unemployment up to 16.8% in third quarter
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 21 Nov — Unemployment rate in the Palestinian Territory increased from 24.0% in second quarter of 2011 to 26.8% in the third quarter, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said Monday. The PCBS labor force survey showed that the highest unemployment rate in the West Bank was in Tulkarm, while the highest in Gaza was in Rafah.
link to english.wafa.ps

IBSA inaugurates sports center in Ramallah
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 19 Nov – India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) inaugurated Saturday along with Ramallah Municipality a multipurpose new $1 million sports center in Ramallah. The project, built on property donated by the Ramallah Municipality, consists of the construction of a 2450 square meter multipurpose sports hall comprising an indoor basketball, volleyball, football, handball and tennis court. It will seat over 400 spectators for sporting events and competitions.
link to english.wafa.ps

Other Israeli news

Netanyahu freezes bills to limit funds for Israeli human rights groups, sources say
Haaretz 20 Nov — New legislation that would cap foreign governments’ contributions to ‘political’ NGOs, said to be stalled indefinitely; sources close to bills’ sponsors say move prompted by foreign pressure.
link to www.haaretz.com

Panel fails to name new justices to Israel’s Supreme Court bench
Haaretz 21 Nov — Candidate list to be reopened with room for a more diverse group of candidates, particularly those from Jewish families of Middle Eastern or North African background.
link to www.haaretz.com

Protest against exclusion of women from Jerusalem’s public spaces brings dance to the street
Haaretz 20 Nov — A Jerusalem dance company will join the series of protests against the exclusion of women from public spaces in the capital by removing the curtains that hide the company’s rehearsal hall from the street so passersby will be able to see the male and female dancers. The company, Kolben Dance Group, the last professional dance company left in the city, holds its rehearsals at the Gerard Bechar Center in the Nahlaot neighborhood of downtown Jerusalem, which is home to many ultra-Orthodox and Orthodox people.
link to www.haaretz.com

Mossad – Foreign Ministry row over
Ynet 20 Nov — During talks mediated by Netanyahu, FM Lieberman and intelligence agency chief Fredo agree to resume working relations following dispute over authority … As reported in Yedioth Ahronoth, Lieberman had ordered his office not to cooperate with Mossad over claims that the agency had overstepped its authority with regards to Israel’s foreign relations. The Foreign Ministry said Mossad has also refused to share information at its disposal despite being privy to all the information disclosed by Israeli embassies abroad.
link to www.ynetnews.com

Analysis / Opinion

Video – Amira Hass: Israel & Palestine – Fear of the Future
21 Nov — Paul Hamel — A talk by Israeli journalist, Amira Hass on the 5th of October 2011 in the McLeod Auditorium of the Medical Sciences Building on the campus of the University of Toronto. Hosted by Canadians for Justice & Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), KAIROS, the Health Studies Program at the University of Toronto, the Near Eastern Cultural and Education Foundation (NECEF) and Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights-Ryerson University (SPHR).
link to vimeo.com

Lack of Palestinian voice in American media / Mousa al-Shanteer
PNN 22 Nov — Every day, we Americans wake up to the same daily routine. FOX Morning News gives us a dose of biased conservative jargon and CNN Evening News is there to conclude the day with misleading politically motivated news coverage. And unfortunately, we’re perfectly fine with the way things are.  Rarely do we stop to analyze what we hear and think about the truth behind what the American media wants us to believe. We tend to accept everything we hear as fact. Pure, unbiased, common fact. And that’s why it’s hard to blame ourselves for falling prey to the ideologies advan