Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel
www.vtjp.org/
For those interested in keeping up with events in Palestine/Israel, there is no better digest than VTJP.

News

International Middle East Media Center

Troops attacked the weekly protest at Nilin; scores suffered the effects of teargas inhalation
18 Sep 2009 - Scores of civilians suffered on Friday effects of teargas inhalation and nausea as Israeli soldiers attacked the weekly protest against the Wall in the central West bank village of Nil'in. 

Dozens suffer effects of tear gas inhalation at the weekly Bilin protest
18 Sep 2009 - Dozens effects of tear gas inhalation on Friday during the weekly protest in the village of Bil’in central West Bank. 

PCHR Weekly report: One Palestinian dead, 6 injured by Israeli attacks
18 Sep 2009 - According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, during the week of 10 - 16 Sep. 2009, one Palestinian died from Israeli-inflicted wounds, and 6 Palestinian civilians were wounded by Israeli gunfire.  In addition, Israeli forces used force against peaceful demonstrations organized in protest of the construction of the Annexation Wall in the West Bank.  

Israeli Prime Minister attacks UN Report on Gaza; Goldstone defends report
18 Sep 2009 - After a United Nations fact-finding mission released a report this week condemning Israel's wanton attacks on civilians during its invasion of Gaza in January, the Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu condemned the report as a "kangaroo court", despite the fact that his government refused to participate in any aspect of the UN investigation. 

Hamas government released 200 prisoners
18 Sep 2009 - Acting on orders by Ismail Haniyya, prime minister of the dissolved government in Gaza, the Hamas- controlled security froes in the Gaza Strip released 200 prisoners as an act of good will as the Muslims mark the Al Fitir Feast. 

Abbas, Mubarak to meet Saturday
18 Sep 2009 - Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, is expected to meet his Egyptian counterpart, Hosni Mubarak, in Cairo this Saturday for talks on the American peace efforts, and the issue of resuming reconciliation talks between Fateh and Hamas movements. 

British trade unions back boycott of Israel
17 Sep 2009 - A Congress of Britain’s largest trade unions, representing 6.5 million workers, have voted overwhelmingly to commit to build a mass boycott movement for disinvestment and sanctions on Israel, until the Israeli government agrees to a negotiated settlement based on justice for Palestinians. 

Ha'aretz Defense page

Ma'an News

The National

Aljazeera

Palestine News Network

IRIN

Inter Press Service

Stop The Wall

PCHR Latest

PCHR Weekly Report

International Solidarity Movement

Ha'aretz Diplomacy page

The Guardian

Ha'aretz National page

Relief Web

YNet News

B'tselem

Daily Star

Palestinian Information Center

Los Angeles Times

New York Times

Misc

In Gaza
last day: Gaza Ramadan day 29
20 Sep 2009 - A collective sigh goes up with sunset: the last day of fasting has finished, life can resume to normal. For many, the month has been trying, difficult to fast during the absurd heat, with added stresses that Muslims around the world may not face to such a degree (near 50% unemployment and 90% extreme poverty, the wreckage of the Israel massacre of Gaza still achingly visible, the Israeli attacks from sea, border regions and air, the closed borders and closed opportunities). For many, not being able to have that calming cigarette, let alone water to re-hydrate, has led to greater nervousness and irritability, fatigue, depression. But that aside, I saw...

Palestine Chronicle
Enough - A Poem
20 Sep 2009 - By Jehan Bseiso For Abu Ali Mahdi, who After 20 years in Israeli prisons Died of heartbreak in his own bed, In Beirut. For Du'aa, and Ala'a and Mohammed, Who spoke to the Al Jazeera reporters about Mama dead and baba dead and no home And no bread. Nobody to break the bread with. And nights so long you forget there ever was light Or day. For Suheir Hammad who makes me proud to be from this land and to have these words, In this language, Lodged in my throat like bricks. For everyone who has ever said enough. Enough. - Jehan Bseiso, American born Palestinian-Jordanian poet, has recently completed her Masters thesis in Literature from the American University of Beirut. She is now working with Doctors Without Borders in Amman, Jordan. You can contact her on: jehan.bseiso@gmail.com .

Rail Firm Pays Price for Link to Settlements 
20 Sep 2009 - By Jonathan Cook - Nazareth An ill-fated light railway under construction in Jerusalem was originally heralded by Israeli officials as a way to cement the city's "unification" four decades after the city's Palestinian half was illegally annexed to Israel. But the only unity generated among Jewish and Palestinian residents after four years of disruptions to the city's traffic and businesses is general agreement that the project is rapidly becoming a white elephant. After engineering problems, rows between the contractors and the municipality and delays caused by archaeological discoveries along the route, completion of the first 14km section of track is not expected until the end of next year at the earliest -- more than 18 months behind schedule. The budget overspend is estimated at more than $500 million. This week, in an indication of the deepening crisis, Israel's Dan bus company was forced to step in to buy the five per cent stake of Veolia, a French company that is supposed to operate the line for the next 30 years. Dan, which is waiting for the Israeli government to approve its bid, has no prior experience of running a rail system. Shmuel Elgrably, a spokesman for the transit system, told the Haaretz newspaper last week that the loss of Veolia had "screwed" the project. Veolia's unexpected withdrawal from City Pass, a French-Israeli private consortium backed in part by public finances, is being claimed as a victory by Palestinian officials and activists whose boycott and lobbying efforts appear to have forced...

Justice This Time Around: Will Goldstone's Report Deliver?
20 Sep 2009 - By Ramzy Baroud 'We may be witnessing the beginning of the end of the era of impunity,' Nadia Hijab, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Institute for Palestine Studies, was quoted by IPS in response to the findings of a 574-page report by a four-member United Nations Fact finding mission. The mission, led by internationally-renowned former South African supreme court justice and chief prosecutor in the international tribunals for Rwanda and Yugoslavia, investigated alleged war crimes committed by Israeli troops in Gaza in a 23-day bloody, unprecedented onslaught against a largely defenseless population. But Hijab was not the only one who expressed optimism. Others did, encouraged perhaps, by the report’s use of terminology unfamiliar in a conflict where empirical experience has shown that Israeli actions, no matter how outrageously violent, will have no meaningful legal repercussions whatsoever. Goldstone’s report, released on September 15, made some important recommendations, following a most thorough investigation that was carefully compiled by the mission – which was organized by the UN Human Rights Council last April. One is that the UN Security Council should set up a team of experts to monitor Israel’s investigations of the war crimes committed in Gaza. If Israel fails to do so, then the situation should be referred to the Prosecutor in the International Criminal Court (ICC). This raises many questions, lead amongst them is: did Israel commit war crimes in Gaza, and, second, is Israel capable of conducting an honest investigation into those crimes, considering the state’s bloody legacy...

Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon: From Deprivation to Violence
18 Sep 2009 - By Dalal Mawad In 1948, one hundred thousand Palestinians fled from Palestine to find refuge in Lebanon. Provisional camps were built at that time to provide them with shelter. Their number has increased over the years to more than 400 000 refugees, 53% of them living in one of twelve camps throughout the country. Today, more than half a century later, they continue to be refugees, awaiting their return while living in the most degrading and demeaning human conditions. Their appalling socio-economic conditions are not only a violation of human rights but are also a danger to Lebanon’s security and stability. Chronic health failure is reported by 19 percent of refugees in Lebanon, a rate higher than in Syria and Jordan. Palestinians rely more widely on UNRWA and NGOs for medical assistance than refugees elsewhere. But, UNRWA, the only safety net available to many refugees for baisc health care, is beset by a lack of funds and available doctors. It is estimated, that among refugees aged 15 to 24 years, more than 40 percent are unemployed. Lebanese law forbids Palestinians from working in 72 professions. These include private sector “free professions” like engineering, medicine, law and all public sector jobs. Even very low skilled jobs like garbage cleaning and guarding buildings have been added to the list of prohibitions. As for the remaining unskilled jobs, Palestinians need to obtain a work permit and very few permits have been issued. Add to that, a law ratified by the Lebanese government that...