http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=17567
PPSF denounces Israeli court decision to legalise the separation wall in East Jerusalem
Date: 27 / 11 / 2006 Time: 22:30

Ramallah - Ma'an - The Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF) has on Monday condemned the decision by the Israeli supreme court, which endorsed the establishment of the separation wall around Jerusalem.

In a statement received by Ma'an, the PPSF said that "the continuation by the Israeli government of the expansion schemes, the robbery of Palestinian lands and the changing of Jerusalem into a pure Jewish city, all aim to destroy and erase the Islamic and Arab culture and its landmarks from the city, in an attempt to separate it from its surroundings."

The PPSF called on all law-supporting organizations to intervene, so as to bring the "illegal Israeli plots" to an end. They stated that the Israeli court's decision contradicts the decision of the international court of justice, and the Lahay decisions, which had confirmed the illegality of the separation wall under international law.

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=17569
Condoleezza Rice to visit Tel Aviv and Ramallah; Bush may invite Olmert and Abbas to meet him in Amman
Date: 28 / 11 / 2006 Time: 09:52

Ma'an - The United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, intends to visit Israel and the occupied Palestinians territories over the coming days, according to Israeli political sources.

The sources said, on Monday, that Rice intends to show the US administration's support for the ceasefire which the Palestinians and Israelis have agreed upon.

Rice will be accompanying the US president, George W Bush, on his visit to the Jordan capital, Amman, this week where he is scheduled to meet the Jordan monarch, Abdullah II, and the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri Al-Maliki.

Rice decided to visit Tel Aviv and Ramallah after the Israelis and the Palestinians agreed on the ceasefire. The sources describe this ceasefire as having "imposed" on her agenda.

Bush, who planned to meet with Palestinian President Abbas in Jordan, is now thinking seriously about asking the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and Palestinian Authority president Abbas to come to Amman to meet in his presence. However, the Jordanian side is showing reservations as they are worried that such a meeting might draw attention away from the essential reason for Bush's visit, which is the Iraq issue.

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=17577
Israeli MK criticises Israel's collective racism towards its Arab citizens
Date: 28 / 11 / 2006 Time: 11:30

Jerusalem - Ma'an - Dr. Dov Hanin, a member of the Israeli party 'Democratic Front for Equality and Peace' (Hadash) in the Israeli Knesset, has expressed his anger about the discriminatory accusations made by Israeli public bodies about the Arab citizens of Israel.

Dr. Hanin participated in a parliamentary tour on Sunday to northern Israel, and in a visit to the fire department in the town of Afula, some employees asked about the possibility of police patrols accompanying them to the Arab villages for protection from "aggressive actions" in the Arab neighbourhoods.

Dr. Hanin said, "We are witnessing especially since October 2000 [the outbreak of the second Intifada and demonstrations in Arab communities inside Israel] attempts by various companies to avoid entering the Arab villages. These companies make collective lies and racist accusations against the Arab citizens in order to justify this racial escapism".

He added, "This phenomenon is dangerous in all cases and it becomes even more dangerous when it stems from public bodies that are supposed to serve the citizens without discrimination, such as the fire department and the ambulances".

He added that he is in the process of examining what steps could be taken to ensure that the necessary services reach Arab towns, and to take steps against those who obstruct the access to such services.

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=17588
UN: Gaza's teetering tower of debt
Date: 28 / 11 / 2006 Time: 14:01

GAZA CITY, 28 November (IRIN) - Abu Khamis's credit book is seeing a lot of use these days. The scribbled notes account for 45,000 shekels (US$10,000) owed for goods he has advanced to his penniless customers.

"I have two credit books full of debt. I'm getting women coming in and offering to sell their jewellery, even their wedding rings. People simply have no money," the clothes trader, who works in the central market of Gaza's teeming Jabalia refugee camp, said.

After nine months of an international trade embargo on the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which has seen international aid cut off to the Hamas-led government because it has not recognised Israel or renounced violence, the economy of the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) is verging on collapse.

The 160,000 employees of the PNA have received hardly any pay since March, after Hamas won a democratic election in January. Their families have coped by buying fewer goods, cutting back on expensive food such as meat, and by borrowing.

But Khamis's credit line has almost run out. "I can carry on like this for about another month - and then I will have to stop lending," he said. "And it's not just me - it's every shop in Jabalia."

Jameela Khalil's local supermarket has already shut its books. "I sold all my jewels after 22 years of marriage so my family could live in dignity," said the 45-year-old PNA employee.

"That was bad enough. But worse, the owner of the supermarket we have always bought from has stopped giving us goods because our liability has exceeded 4,500 shekels [US$1,000]."

Saeb Bamia, former deputy minister of the National Economy Ministry, said the Palestinian economy was close to collapse. "The constant financial and economic crisis in the PNA will, in a short period, lead to the Palestinian economy collapsing," he said.

Increasing poverty has led to a rise in theft and petty crime, according to Gaza police. Between 45 and 70 percent of oPt's population, depending on the measure used, live in poverty, according to the United Nations.

"Petty crime, such as stealing mobile phones or taking goods from shops, has been increasing for the past eight months," said Police Captain Mansour Al Mokayed.

Palestinians are relying increasingly on handouts from aid agencies, in effect rendering them dependent once again, Bamia said. "The crisis has an impact on a political level. It leads to the creation of a new stage, where the United Nations Relief Works Agency [UNRWA] again plays a central role to meet humanitarian issues and deal with all Palestinians as refugees, but on their land," he said.

UNRWA and the World Food Programme say that together they now feed more than a million of Gaza's 1.4 million inhabitants, including the PNA employees.

Ameera Aroun from Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs admitted the harsh economic situation in oPt - but blamed Hamas.

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=17481
Peace Now, with all respect, by Rashid A. Shahin
Date: 25 / 11 / 2006 Time: 18:16

Peace Now, with all respect
Rashid A. Shahin

The recent report by the leftist Israeli movement, Peace Now, has revealed part of the ugly face of the Israeli state. A group within Peace Now that monitors the Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories reported this week that a large chunk of the land which the Israeli settlements were built on during the long years of Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, were build on private Palestinian property.

The report reveals that about 40 percent of the land which the settlements were built on in the West Bank was private property belonging to the Palestinians. It says that these lands were stolen by the Israeli authorities to build the settlements on. This undermines Israel's official line which, during almost forty years of occupation, used to say that the land used for settlement-building was state-owned land.

Israel simply, and without playing around, was stealing Palestinian private property. This is against not only international law, but also against the simple ordinary laws, and even against Israeli law itself, as there cannot be an Israeli law which allows robbery. As long as these lands were private property, that means that the land is the same as anything else that a person can own, and it is forbidden to steal it.

The Israeli governments that have administered the occupied territories for four decades were practicing the role of gangs of robbers, illegal gangs who practiced forgery without hesitation. They did not hesitate to steal private property of the Palestinians, such as the lands of the poor and simple farmers in the Palestinian villages and rural areas, and in some parts of the cities.

Israel has practiced a policy of deception against the people in Israel and around the world. Through the long years of oppression against the Palestinians in the occupied territories, the lands were confiscated under the watchword of 'security reasons'. Then shortly after each confiscation, the Palestinians and the land owners would notice that the construction of a new settlement had begun.

I did not publish this report, nor any Palestinian society, as the Palestinians may well not have the sufficient evidence and proof, or the necessary facts, and if they do, the world may remain suspicious about the issues they raise. But since this report was revealed by an Israeli group, and from inside the Israeli civil authority offices, there is no way to deny it or to speak suspiciously about it.

The robbery is proven, and the claim that these lands were justly confiscated cannot exist, as the confiscation of lands for security reasons may be allowed only for a short period of time, but not for eternity.

What drew my attention in the last few days, following the announcement of this scandal, was that not enough attention was given to it by Palestinian officials, as though it was not an important issue. However, I believe that the issue is no less important than the separation wall, which Israel is building in the occupied territories, and should be monitored and taken to the International Court of Justice at The Hague, in the same way as the case of the wall was taken, and be judged by that court.

Following this scandal, which was revealed by the Peace Now activists, whom I salute and thank for their efforts in this regard, what are the Palestinian owners supposed to do? What will all the Palestinian legislative bodies do? And finally, what will the Palestinian Authority (PA) do? Personally, I think there is a lot to do in this regard if the intention is there, especially by the PA. Instead of keeping the Palestinians busy by forming a new government - which seems to be faced by endless obstacles preventing its formation - somebody should take action, especially after the stagnant water was moved by the group, Peace Now.