1. PSL: On the International Day of Solidarity with Palestine, we
remember the Nakba
2. Army oppression continues in Azzun with assault, kidnapping, and
shooting
3. Israeli Army Violence at Roadblock Removal in Izbat at Tabib
4. Apartheid Masked: Demonstrations for the protection the fundamental
rights of Palestinians turned ugly
5. Stop the Wall: Declaration of Principles and National Rights
6. Al-Haq: A Foundation not an Afterthought: Upholding International
Law at Annapolis
7. In the buildup to Annapolis, Israel continues with Human Rights
violations and killings in Tulkarem
8. Once Again, Settlers Attack Cordoba School in Hebron
9. Settler Riots in Al Funduq
10. Strong Repression Continues in the Qalqilya Region as the Israeli
Army Invades Azzoun
11. Indymedia: New York Rights Activists Escalate Protests Against
Leviev Over Palestine

---------------
1. PSL: On the International Day of Solidarity with Palestine, we
remember the Nakba

November 28th, 2007

By: Richard Becker

Palestinian right of return still a fundamental demand

The struggle in Palestine can be complex and confusing even for the
closest of observers.

Like all great struggles, it has had many twists and turns, and will
have many more. But the root cause of the conflict-- the forcible
expulsion of a people from their homeland--is neither ambiguous nor
confusing. Sixty years ago, this is precisely what happened to the
Palestinians in "The Catastrophe," known as "Al-Nakba" in Arabic.

Al-Nakba, one of the key events in modern Middle Eastern history,
began on Nov. 29, 1947. That day, the United Nations General Assembly
passed Resolution 181 to partition the British Mandate (colony) of
Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. The United Nations
made this decisive step without consulting the Palestinian Arabs, who
at the time comprised two-thirds of the population.

Most of the Jewish population was made up of settlers who had arrived
in the previous three decades, mainly from Europe. More than 100,000
were survivors of the Nazi genocide.

While the U.S. and British imperialists had done little before or
during World War II to aid the Jewish victims of fascism, they used
the horrors of Hitler's death camps to rally support for the
establishment of the state of Israel after the war.

The Palestinians--who had had nothing to do with European anti-Semitism
or genocide--were not consulted before the U.N. vote. There was no
plebiscite or vote of the people. If there had been, the outcome would
not have been in doubt: One unitary state would have been the
overwhelming choice. The U.N. vote was an illegitimate act and a
violation of the Palestinians' right of self-determination.

The two-thirds majority required to pass Resolution 181 was only
achieved through intense U.S. pressure. The vote ended up 33 to 13
with 10 abstentions. The Truman administration leaned heavily on its
neocolonies and client states, particularly the Philippines, Liberia,
Haiti and Thailand, all of which initially opposed the resolution.

Without those four votes, the resolution would have failed. For narrow
and short-term interests, the Soviet Union voted for the resolution.
This represented a betrayal of the Arab anti-colonial struggle and one
that did great harm to the socialist cause in the region. Later, the
Soviet Union would become a major ally of the Arab national liberation
movement.

The forced displacement of a people

The U.N. vote led to celebration among the Zionists, the settler
movement working to create an exclusively Jewish state in Palestine.
Despite owning just six percent of the land, Resolution 181 awarded
them 56 percent of Palestine. On the Palestinian side, there was anger
and rebellion. As all parties knew ahead of time, partition meant war.

Fighting broke out immediately.

In January 1948, the better-armed Zionist military forces began to
carry out "Plan Dalet." The point of the plan was to terrorize and
drive out the Palestinian population. Before Plan Dalet, Palestinian
villagers left their homes during battles, but typically went only as
far as the next village.

On April 9, 1948, a Zionist paramilitary organization, the Irgun,
massacred the entire village of Deir Yassin, raising "Plan Dalet" to a
new level of brutality. When the dust had cleared, more than 200
Palestinian children, women and men lay dead. The massacre was meant
as a warning to all Palestinians.

While the Jewish Agency formally "condemned" the Deir Yassin massacre,
on the same day it incorporated the Irgun paramilitary into the
official military Joint Command.

Twelve days after Deir Yassin, Zionist forces launched a lethal attack
on the Palestinian areas of the mixed city of Haifa. They rolled
barrel bombs filled with gasoline and dynamite down narrow alleys in
the heavily populated city while mortar shells pounded the Arab
neighborhoods from overhead. Nearly the entire Arab population fled.

Within a week, similar tactics led 77,000 of 80,000 Palestinians to
flee the port city of Jaffa.

By May 15, 1948, when Israel's independence was proclaimed, 300,000
Palestinians were living and dying in abominable conditions of exile
in Lebanon, Gaza, Syria and the Jordan Valley. By the end of that
year, the number of dispossessed Palestinians had grown to 750,000.

In the 1948 war, Israel, with its superior economic and military
resources and support from the Western powers, conquered 78 percent of
Palestine. The Israeli military strategy was to not only conquer land,
but also to drive out as much of the Palestinian population as
possible from that land.

Nearly 80 percent of the Arab population was forcibly "transferred" to
make way for the new Israeli state. Their farms, workplaces and homes
were stolen, forming an indispensable foundation for the new Israeli
economy and state.

In the 1967 "Six-Day War," Israel seized the remainder of historic
Palestine: the West Bank and Gaza. This created 300,000 more refugees,
many of whom were second-time exiles, having already fled the Israelis
19 years earlier.

None of those driven out in 1948 and 1967, nor their descendants, now
numbering more than six million, have ever been allowed to come back
or been compensated for their loss. This injustice remains despite
U.N. Resolution 194, passed in December 1948, stating unequivocally
that all refugees must be allowed to return and have their homes,
lands and other property restored to them. The U.S. and Israeli
governments have ignored the U.N. resolution for more than half a
century.

While forcibly preventing the return of any exiled Palestinians, the
new Israeli state proclaimed that any person living anywhere in the
world who had proof of one Jewish grandparent, regardless of whether
they or their family ever stepped foot in the Middle East, had the
"right of return" to Israel. Those "returning" would be granted
immediately citizenship in the new exclusivist state.

Right of return remains key demand

Six decades after Al-Nakba, the right of return remains a key issue
despite the Israeli and U.S. leaders' constant efforts to dismiss it.

It is obvious why the cause remains so vital for Palestinians. If a
people are deprived of their land, their very existence as a people is
threatened. Defending the right of return is a key element in the
struggle to maintain the unity of the Palestinian people between those
who remain inside historic Palestine and those families that have been
illegally expelled.

Israeli opposition to Palestinian return is not really because there
is "no room" for the Palestinians in Palestine, as Zionist ideologues
often claim. That argument is blatantly racist. Palestinian
demographer Dr. Salman Abu-Sitta has pointed out that most of the more
than 500 demolished Palestinian towns and villages remain unoccupied
today. They were destroyed and their residents driven away for mainly
political purposes--the creation of an exclusivist state.

Nor is this some long-resolved issue buried in the sands of time.
Hundreds of thousands of people forcibly exiled in 1948 and 1967 are
alive today. Many hold among their dearest possessions the keys to
their homes in Palestine. Some of those houses, particularly in the
demolished villages, were bulldozed into the ground. Many others,
however, especially in cities like Haifa, Jaffa, Jerusalem and
elsewhere were expropriated and turned over to Israeli settlers, who
live in them to this day.

Today, 46 percent of the six million Palestinian refugees reside
inside historic Palestine, the 1948 borders of Israel, or the West
Bank and Gaza. Another 42 percent live within 100 miles of its
borders, in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria. (Roane Carey, ed., The New
Intifada, Versa, 2001)

Put another way, nearly nine out of 10 Palestinian refugees could be
home in the time in takes many people in this country to commute to
work.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian families live in extreme poverty
in 59 refugee camps, with no prospect of a better future. For them,
the right of return is not abstract or academic, but an issue that
speaks to their very survival. The situation is especially dire in the
camps of Lebanon and Gaza, which are home to more than one million
people.

The return of the exiled Palestinians would not mean, as is commonly
claimed by the supporters of Israel, that the Jewish population would
be forced to leave.

But it would mean that Israel could not continue as an apartheid-style
state, with special rights for one group, serving the interests of
imperialism in a key strategic region of the world.

This goes to the heart of why Israeli and U.S. ruling circles so
adamantly oppose the Palestinian right of return. It also speaks to
the need for all people who stand for justice and self-determination
to defend the right of return as a fundamental democratic right.

---------------
2. Israeli Army Violence at Roadblock Removal in Izbat at Tabib

November 28th, 2007

The people of Izbat at Tabib, together with Israeli and international
activists, partially removed a new roadblock cutting off their access
to route 55, the road linking Nablus and Qalqilya.

Work started to remove the earth mound roadblock at approximately
11.30am. Within ten minutes the Israeli army arrived, who threatened
to use force if the workers did not evacuate the area within ten
minutes. Defiantly, the workers continued until more soldiers arrived
on the scene and threw two sound bombs into the crowd, reducing a
nearby elderly woman to tears.

The army advanced towards the crowd and arrested two Israeli
activists, though both have now been released.

The roadblock was erected eleven days ago at the turnoff from Izbat at
Tabib onto road 55, and has made the normally simple journey to
Qalqilya, where many people work, into a long and arduous trek. 20,000
people from the villages of Isla, Jayyus, Azzun, Izbat Abu Hamada and
Khirbet Sir are affected, as all use the turnoff to get to Qalqilya.

The roadblock is part of an ongoing crackdown in the Qalqilya region.
Many new roadblocks have been erected in the last few days in the run
up to Annapolis. From Al Funduq down to Isla, the new roadblocks, and
system of curfews throughout the region, have made travel all but
impossible.

Since 2000, the Izbat at Tabib roadblock has been put in place many
times. Villagers have removed the roadblock before, and will continue
to do so until they get their basic right to freedom of movement in
their home region.

---------------
3. Army oppression continues in Azzun with assault, kidnapping, and
shooting

Israeli Army Abducts Two Young Men From Azzun, Shoots Three Teenagers
Critically Injuring One, and Assaults Human Rights Workers

Nov. 27

Approximately 10 military vehicles invaded and took over the
residential streets of Azzun Tuesday mid-afternoon, abducting two
young men, terrorizing the residents, and shooting 3 teenagers with
live ammunition. Residents report that over 200 Israeli soldiers,
including Special Forces, entered the old city quarter around 2:45 pm
from different directions, positioning themselves at various points on
the narrow lanes, firing live bullets and throwing sound bombs while
closing in on the home of the young man they sought. IOF foot soldiers
entered first, followed about 30 minutes later by a series of military
trucks and jeeps, as well as two undercover Palestinian minibuses with
further special forces inside.

Human Rights Workers (HRWs) at the scene were able to approach the
vicinity but were held back at a distance by Israeli soldiers posted
at street ends. At about 3:20 pm, one HRW saw approximately 10 Israeli
soldiers exiting from a laneway, two young handcuffed and blindfolded
Palestinian men being forced along at gunpoint. IOF soldiers prevented
the HRW from filming, then again assaulted another HRW further down
the lane who had been assaulted by the same soldier the previous day.
Soldiers then threw a sound bomb at close range at HRWs moving from
the scene.

HRWs saw a convoy of military vehicles leaving the dense area
approximately 20 minutes later, after which they were able to speak
with the family of the two abducted young men.

Members of the Mourad and Behah Suhail Rachid Oduan family report that
between 25 and 30 Israeli soldiers forcibly entered the home during
the incursion, shooting live ammunition sporadically throughout the
various rooms of the home, ransacking the house as they moved. The 23
year old sister of Mourad, 24, was asleep alone in one bedroom when
soldiers entered firing. Evidence of the shots were visible in the
various sizeable pocket-marks in walls and ceiling, shattered window
panes, as well as in the holes left in clothing and other items in the
room.

The sister and mother report that soldiers hit them and held them at
gunpoint while continuing their search for Mourad.

Mourad and his younger brother, Behah, 20, were asleep in two
different bedrooms when Israeli soldiers entered firing. While Mourad
was the man IOF soldiers sought, they nonetheless, confused about his
identity, abducted both he and his brother who resemble one another.
Further bullet holes, some as wide as 1.5 inches in circumference,
betrayed the soldiers' random and excessive firing in the different
bedrooms. As with the first bedroom, soldiers ransacked the rooms,
overturning boudoirs and causing considerable damage to the walls and
belongings within. A bedroom door was riddled with bullet holes, at
least 7 bullets having penetrated the two inch thick door.

Mourad was hauled from his sleep and kicked and beaten in front of his
mother and sister, blindfolded and handcuffed and taken away, along
with Behah who received similar abuse.

Approximately 1 hour his abduction, Israeli forces left Behah at the
gate to Azzun, having interrogated and beaten him while blindfolded in
their custody in the military jeep. Chaffed wrists from the handcuffs
and a swollen lip evidence some of the abuse the 20 year old received
at the hands of IOF soldiers.

The whereabouts of Mourad remain unknown. The family confirmed that
this hour long invasion was the fourth raid on their home in the past
two months, the previous three coming in the late hours of the
evening, the IOF unsuccessful in their search for Mourad. Previous
raids have lasted for up to six hours, soldiers again ransacking and
shooting liberally throughout the home.

Azzun residents confirmed that during the same IOF invasion, three
teenage boys were shot while in the street: one, 16, was hit in the
shoulder chest area and remains in critical condition. A second, 13,
was shot in the midriff near his hip, while the third, also 13, was
shot both in his arm and his calf. All were taken to hospital for
emergency treatment.

Azzun remains a village besieged by senseless IOF violence, daily and
nightly invasions, arbitrarily-imposed roadblocks, continual
abductions and beatings of young teenage boys, imposed under an
unending spate of terror by Israeli soldiers and their unpredictable
collective punishment. The people of Azzun are faltering, their
economy in shambles, and work and study continually disrupted by the
ongoing IOF harassment.

---------------
4. Apartheid Masked: Demonstrations for the protection the fundamental
rights of Palestinians turned ugly

On Tuesday, the 27th of November, non-violent demonstrations calling
to uphold the fundamental rights of Palestinians turned ugly. In
demonstrations across the West Bank, from Ramallah, to Bethlehem, to
Hebron, protesters were set upon by Palestinian police for stating
their opinions.

The non-violent protesters came from all walks of life. One of the
Ramallah demonstrations that was organized by the Grass Roots Anti-
Aparthied Wall Campaign and dozens of Palestinian civil society
organizations from throughout the West Bank, Gaza, and inside Israel.

The demonstration called for a process of negotiation "aimed at the
implementation of the rights of our people, and the establishment of a
timeline for such implementation, not negotiation on the rights
themselves." The people present, as well as the things they chanted,
were consistent in supporting a just peace and national unity.

In Ramallah 200 people were detained, and 30 people were injured.
Police began attacking and arresting people for holding signs, and
speaking their mind. Signs and banners were confiscated, and
journalists, or even people filming with their cellphones, were
particularly targeted for violent oppression by the police. Live fire
was used to threaten the demonstration, and police drove by with
machine guns raised.

In Bethlehem 50 people were detained, and the police used water
cannons to subdue the crowd. Here, like elsewhere, journalists were
specifically targeted. In Hebron 37 year old protestor Hisham Barad'i
was killed. According to Palestinian news agency Maan medical sources
said that Palestinian security forces shot Barad'i in the heart during
a 2500 strong demonstration organized by the Islamic group Hizeb Ut-
Tahrir.

Click here for the orinigal document:
www.apartheidmasked.org/?p=303

---------------
5. Stop the Wall: Declaration of Principles and National Rights

November 2007

Out of our serious concern for our national cause and legitimate
rights, which have been under direct and systematic attack from the
Israeli Occupation and the United States, who wish to liquidate the
Palestinian struggle by taking advantage of the split that has
weakened us in the face of the huge pressure that they and their
allies have brought to bear;

We the undersigned, political and mass movements, civil society
federations and networks, private sector institutions and national
figures, inside and outside Palestine, assert the following:

First: that the inalienable rights of our people must be the central
principle for any Palestinian political action. These fundamental
rights should never be a subject for negotiation and must not be
compromised:

1. The right of refugees to return to their homeland and properties,
from which they were expelled, in accordance with United Nations
Resolution 194. This right is a basic human right that is not
negotiable and therefore cannot be based on an 'agreed upon solution';

2. The right to self-determination, an end to the military occupation
and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state enjoying
full sovereignty;

3. Occupied Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine, free from colonies
and colonial settlers;

4. The departure of all Israeli settlers from our land, which was
occupied in an act of aggression in 1967, and the removal of the
apartheid wall and all the colonies, which are illegal and stand in
defiance of international law and international agreements.

Second: that any political step or negotiations at a local, regional
or international level should be under international supervision,
based on principles of justice and international law, and aimed at the
implementation of the inalienable and historical rights of our people,
and the establishment of a timeline for such implementation, not
negotiation on the rights themselves.

1. Because the Annapolis meeting is not based on these principles, and
because it does not aim for the implementation of international law,
we call on the PLO and the Palestinian Authority not to participate in
this meeting; we further call upon Arab countries to boycott Annapolis
and not to facilitate the United States' desire to expand its
aggression in the region and its attempt to crush all the forces
opposed to its domination in the region.

2. In the event that the PLO and PA decide to attend the Annapolis
conference, they must not bow to the American and Israeli demands for
concessions on these fundamental rights under any circumstances, under
any justification.

3. We warn all individuals and organizations who attempt to meddle
with the inalienable rights of our people and to promote normalization
with the occupation and it institutions under slogans of "peace" and
"dialogue". These normalization efforts and initiatives must be widely
boycotted by Palestinian society, and all normalizers must be exposed
and shamed.

4. We call for a boycott of all bilateral, regional and international
conferences or meetings not based on the principles stated above, now
or in the future.

5. We stress the unity of the Palestinian people in all parts of our
homeland and in the diaspora, and the unity of our national rights and
cause

Third: We categorically reject any attempt to recognize Israel as a
"Jewish state", as this would necessarily mean:

1. Exempting Israel from the crimes of ethnic cleansing perpetrated
against our people over the past sixty years;

2. Waiving the right of return of Palestinian refugees to their
homeland and their properties, from which they were expelled in 1948
and in the years after;

3. Justifying and reinforcing the Israeli system of racial
discrimination and apartheid against Palestinian citizens of Israel,
as a prelude to expel them from their homeland on the pretext of
preserving the Jewish State;

4. Reinforcing the Zionist ideology which is based on racism, ethnic
cleansing and colonialism.

Therefore, we consider that any recognition of this kind is equivalent
to conceding the right of return, which would entrench the exile and
dispossession of our people and put an end to our cause. Anyone
contemplating taking this path will bear the resulting historical
responsibility.

Fourth: We assert the need to embark on serious and immediate action
to find a solution to the recourse to armed internecine conflict in
Gaza, through national dialogue, in order to end the division in
Palestinian society in order to:

1. Reunite the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in one entity, and to
agree to start preparations for early legislative and presidential
elections based on the National Accord document;

2. In parallel with the above, start implementing the Cairo Agreement
regarding the reform of the PLO through activation of the Preparatory
Committee for the election of the Palestinian National Council with
the participation of all Palestinian national and Islamic forces.

(to see the long list of signatories click here:
http://www.stopthewall.org/downloads/pdf/Declaration%20of%20Principle...
)

---------------
6. Al-Haq: A Foundation not an Afterthought: Upholding International
Law at Annapolis

26 November 2007

Joint Letter to Negotiating Parties by Palestinian Civil Society
Organisations

As Palestinian human rights and civil society organisations, we the
undersigned, are deeply concerned by the lack of a clearly articulated
legal framework for the upcoming diplomatic negotiations between
Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to be held at
Annapolis on 27 November. While the process of negotiation is
inherently political, the legitimate demands of the Palestinian people
to dignity, territorial sovereignty and self-determination as
enshrined in binding international law may not be made the subjects of
negotiation.

Following 40 years of occupation of the West Bank, including East
Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, and numerous rounds of failed
diplomatic initiatives, international law must at last be understood
to be the essential over-arching framework for negotiations.
International law not only provides a means of dispassionately
assessing Israel's existing policies and practices in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (OPT), but also limits the discretion of the
negotiating parties, and their sponsors, in deciding certain
fundamental issues. Under the terms of Article 4 of the Fourth Geneva
Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of
War of 1949 (the Fourth Geneva Convention), the Palestinian civilian
population of the OPT are "protected persons." By virtue of this
status, they are entitled to certain protections that may not be
undermined or disregarded in political agreements. This is clearly set
forth in Article 47 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which
establishes:

Protected persons who are in occupied territory shall not be deprived,
in any case or in any manner whatsoever, of the benefits of the
present Convention by any change introduced, as the result of the
occupation of a territory, into the institutions or government of the
said territory, nor by any agreement concluded between the authorities
of the occupied territories and the Occupying Power, nor by any
annexation by the latter of the whole or part of the occupied
territory.

This provision seeks to address the obvious imbalance of power between
the occupied and the occupier in any negotiation process. It
recognises that an Occupying Power can, by virtue of its occupation,
seek to legally validate through "negotiation" the unilateral
imposition of facts on the ground that violate international
humanitarian law and harm the civilian population. As noted by the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in its authoritative
commentary to the Fourth Geneva Convention, there is in the case of
occupation, "a particularly great danger of the Occupying Power
forcing the Power whose territory is occupied to conclude agreements
prejudicial to protected persons." This danger is clearly present in
the context of the current negotiations, and is most obvious in
relation to Israel's settlement policy.

Throughout the 40 years of the occupation, Israel has used its
effective control over the OPT to implant some 149 settlements,
currently home to over 470,000 settlers, which control over 40% of the
West Bank, including essential agricultural and water resources. The
current planned route of the Wall will incorporate some 69
settlements, home to 83% of the settler population, on 12.8% of the
West Bank, including East Jerusalem, that will remain on the western
side of the Wall. Under Article 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention,
an Occupying Power is prohibited from transferring parts of its
civilian population into occupied territory. Israeli settlements in
the OPT are in flagrant violation of this prohibition. Further, the
construction and expansion of settlements, and their associated
infrastructure, requires the extensive appropriation and destruction
of property, and severe movement restrictions which are further
violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law.

In March 2006 Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated his intention
to make the Wall the new border of the State of Israel, incorporating
settlements in the OPT and annexing Palestinian land. To accept
Israel's retention of the settlement blocs as part of a negotiated
solution clearly deprives the Palestinian civilian population of the
benefits of the Fourth Geneva Convention, as it would validate
Israel's violations thereof. As such any agreement recognising the
settlements is in flagrant violation of Article 47.

In the event that negotiations were to lead to recognition of Israeli
settlements in the OPT as part of the State of Israel, this would
amount to the endorsement of the acquisition of territory by force.
The illegality of the acquisition of territory by force is a norm
accepted and recognised by the international community as a peremptory
norm of international law -- a norm from which no derogation is
permitted.

The right of all peoples to self-determination is also considered a
peremptory norm of international law. The retention of settlements and
their associated infrastructure by Israel would not only amount to the
illegal annexation of territory, but would also fragment the West
Bank, including East Jerusalem, into isolated geographical units. This
would severely undermine the meaningful exercise by the Palestinian
people of their inalienable right to self-determination by limiting
the possibility of a contiguous territory and the ability to freely
dispose of natural resources, both of which are required for the
meaningful exercise of this right.

Under Article 53 of the Vienna Convention on the Laws of Treaties, "a
treaty is void if, at the time of its conclusion, it conflicts with a
peremptory norm of general international law." This therefore casts
severe doubt on whether a negotiated solution that accepts Israel's
retention of settlements and de facto annexation of territory would be
valid under international law.

Other State parties accessory to the negotiations are also obliged to
duly consider their international law obligations in relation to these
negotiations. Under common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions, the
High Contracting Parties "undertake to respect and to ensure respect
for the present Convention in all circumstances." As specified by both
the ICRC and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), this provision
entails an obligation on all State parties, whether or not they are a
party to the specific conflict, to take all possible steps to ensure
that the provisions of the Convention are respected. In respect of the
current negotiations, it is important to note that the ICJ, in its
Advisory Opinion on the Wall, found all States to be under "an
obligation, while respecting the United Nations Charter and
international law, to ensure compliance by Israel with international
humanitarian law as embodied in [the Fourth Geneva] convention."
Similarly, and as also noted by the ICJ, under customary international
law all States have the duty not to recognise or to assist in the
creation or maintenance of illegal situations. Such illegal situations
would clearly include the acquisition of territory by force, the
denial of the right to self-determination and the construction of
settlements in occupied territory.

To date, all diplomatic initiatives have ignored international law as
the essential foundation of any solution to Israel's occupation of the
OPT, thereby allowing for the proliferation of violations. To cite but
a few examples, in spite of former negotiations, Palestinians saw,
inter alia, the imposition of draconian movement restrictions and
unrestrained settlement construction and expansion, during the Oslo
Process. Similarly, since the "Road Map" was initiated in 2002,
Palestinians have seen the further entrenchment and expansion of
settlements and the unilateral creation of a de facto border between
Israel and the would-be Palestinian state through the building of the
Wall.

Most recently, on 19 September 2007, Israel declared the Gaza Strip an
"enemy entity," and began the imposition of further sanctions on the
already beleaguered Palestinian civilian population therein. Having no
basis in international law, the designation of the Gaza Strip as an
"enemy entity" represents a clear effort by the Israel, the Occupying
Power, to negate its responsibility for the welfare of the civilian
population of the Gaza Strip under the terms of Fourth Geneva
Convention. The sanctions, which further exacerbate an already dire
humanitarian situation, further amount to unlawful reprisals and the
collective punishment of the civilian population of the Gaza Strip.

In this context, we urge the parties to approach the upcoming
negotiations with a renewed sense of purpose, giving due recognition
of the international legal obligations incumbent upon them, including
UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions addressing
Palestinian refugees. The task which they face is a heavy one, as any
final agreement must reflect a commitment to the principles of
international law, justice in addressing wrongful acts, and respect
for human rights. The fundamental rights of the Palestinian people are
matters of binding international law, not political bargaining chips.
Their implementation must not be left to Israel's beneficence, but
rather established as the foundation of any just and durable solution
to the conflict.

Al-Haq

Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights in Gaza

Addameer Prisoner's Support and Human Rights Association

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights

Defence for Children International - Palestine Section

Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center

Palestinian Center for Human Rights

Palestinian Counselling Center

Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO)

Ramallah Center for Human Rights Studies

Women's Studies Center

(to see original document click here: http://www.alhaq.org/etemplate.php?id=342
)

---------------
7. In the buildup to Annapolis, Israel continues with Human Rights
violations and killings in Tulkarem

November 26th, 2007

Sunday saw the assassination of a young man, Mohammed Qawzah, known as
"Azzalayim," from Tulkarem refugee camp. Azzalayim, 23, believed he
had been granted amnesty and pardon by Israeli authorities, but was
shot dead at a coffee shop near his Tulkarem refugee camp home Sunday
afternoon. A Tulkarem source reported that Qawzah had been told by
soldiers that he was no longer on the 'wanted' list, that it was safe
for him to return home.

Also injured at the same time was, 23 year old Mushir Al-Mansuri, a
friend of Qawzah's, shot in the shoulder and leg and taken to a West
Bank hospital. It is unknown thus far whether the Israeli army is
pursuing this man or whether he has been granted pardon, it is known
however that the deceased was on an amnesty list released by Israel a
few weeks ago.

Like many West Bank areas, Tulkarem residents suffer regular Israeli
army invasions and kidnappings. Most of the residents have either
themselves been imprisoned in Israeli jails or have close family
members who have been or currently are imprisoned, held in a cycle of
administrative detention which can be extended indefinitely to upwards
of 5 years in many cases without ever being officially charged.

One Tulkarem camp resident, Umm S, told her family's story from a
corner of her well-kept home, relating the whereabouts of her 4 sons
and 1 daughter: "One was martyred; one has been in prison for 6 years;
another was taken 4 months before, after being shot by Israeli
soldiers in his leg and chest, and then arrested in his home; and 1
was released after 5 years in administrative detention." The daughter
has spent a year and a half in Israeli prisons. She is 19.

The friend of the family acting as translator cited this one family as
an example of families across Palestine: at least 2 immediate family
members in prison, usually in administrative detention.

"In the 1st Intifada, the army took our sons and fathers. In this
Intifada, they take anyone."

Referring to the Annapolis summit to begin on Tuesday, he continued:
"Israel does not take this summit seriously, but we do, because our
brothers and sisters are in jail."

The translator related his own family experience: "My son is in an
Israeli prison. He is 16 years old and has been imprisoned for 1.5
years."

That would make the boy 14.5 years old upon arrest. The father himself
was held in Israeli prisons for 4 years from 1984, and his brother is
currently in prison for the long-term.

B, who also translated the stories, has his own story, imprisoned at
16 for 2 years. He had joined the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the Fatah-
offshoot resistance fighters, at 14 after his cousin was shot and
killed in front of him by the Israeli army. Sentenced to 5 years, he
had an Israeli lawyer who got him out after 2 years and on 7,000
shekels bail.

He related his arrest: "I was caught leaving my home and taken to the
DCO. The Israeli soldiers beat me severely on my kneecaps, then took
me straight to jail. They never gave me medical attention. I couldn't
stand up to use the bathroom on my own for one month."

Post-incarceration, B renounced participation in the Brigades, opting
to pursue education: "I quit Al Aqsa because I wanted to educate
myself," he confessed with determination.

Given that he has lost friends and family to the Occupation forces,
lost two years of his young life to the prison system, his pledge is
convincing, though the future obstacles from the Israeli soldiers and
Occupation seemingly unavoidable.

Annapolis nears, but life in camps like Tulkarem continues to grind
under Occupation, camp residents continuing to crawl through a mire of
unfulfilled peace and amnesty pledges. Life on West Bank roads barely
crawls, the number of "flying checkpoints" increasing as the summit
nears, the length of lines increasingly in tandem with the hype.

In Tulkarem late Sunday night, Israeli Special Forces disguised as
veiled Muslim women, continued with their policy of middle of the
night abductions, climbing onto the roof of one home and arresting a
man, alleged to be a Hamas member, and his wife, the couple taken to
an unknown location.

---------------
8. Once Again, Settlers Attack Cordoba School in Hebron

November 26th, 2007

Once again settlers have attack Cordoba school in central Hebron. When
the teachers and pupils arrived at the school yesterday morning they
found their garden vandalized and big rocks lying on the pathway
leading to the school.

The school is situated opposite the illegal settlement of Beit
Hadessah and has been subjected to repeated attacks from the settlers
for many years. In August this year the school was set on fire by
Israeli settlers, and has been under renovation for three months in
order to deal with the damages. It is only ten days since the
renovation was finished and the school has been attacked again.

The Israeli Occupation Force have an army post 200m from the school.
Despite that fact that they are obligated under international law, and
the Olso accords, to protect both the Palestinians and their property,
the army have done very little to prevent the settlers from keep
attacking the school.

---------------
9. Settler Riots in Al Funduq

November 25th, 2007

Last night settler riots ravaged the West Bank town of Al Funduq,
causing an estimated $25,000 worth of damage. The riots began at
approximately 8pm, after a congregation of 300 settlers from Qedemim,
who had come to pray at the site of a recent shooting, turned violent.
The settlers then proceeded to surround Palestinian homes, throwing
stones, smashing windows, damaging cars, and beating local men who
were walking in the vicinity of the riots. Human Rights Workers (HRWs)
arrived at the scene at approximately 10:30pm to find the Israeli
Military and police firing live ammunition at Palestinians. Making no
attempt to stop the riots, they instead turned their attentions to the
HRWs and local Palestinians, firing sound bombs, flares and live
ammunition. Seven Palestinian men were beaten and one was arrested.

The settlers continued their riot unhindered until 1am, smashing the
windows of approximately 20 houses, 10 cars, 1 truck, and a
Palestinian bulldozer. Water pipes in the village were cut, and once
again the marble factory was attacked, causing $7,000 worth of damage.
This follows the raid on Monday 19th when settlers broke $17,000 worth
of marble.

The marble factory, and Al Funduq, have borne the misfortune of being
the site of a settler shooting on Monday night. Israeli soldiers have
admitted to villagers that the shooter did not come from Al Funduq but
last night's riots, and the previous attacks, can be read as part of a
strategy to collectively punish the village for the shooting. The
curfew of Al Funduq continues, and the three recently erected earth
mound roadblocks that seal off all passage to the north are still in
place.

The people of Al Funduq have always coexisted peacefully with local
settlers, who even came to village for shopping. Street signs are in
Hebrew and Arabic. They are being punished for an incident in which
they played no part.

Today the Israeli army have moved into the nearby town of Haja. A new
system of roadblocks continues to obstruct movement between villages
and hinder economic activity in the region. The collective punishment
of the Qalqilya region shows no sign of abating.

---------------
10. Strong Repression Continues in the Qalqilya Region as the Israeli
Army Invades Azzun

November 23rd, 2007

The village of Azzun was invaded once again by the Israeli Army on
Friday 23rd November. Two international Human Rights Workers (HRWs)
were beaten and had their cameras stolen as they attempted to document
the incursion.

At approximately 11am soldiers entered the village, shooting sound
bombs and firing live ammunition. They continued in this manner
through the streets in a clear attempt to intimidate the local
population. When approached by the two HRW's and questioned as to the
reason for the invasion, one soldier replied, "This is Israeli land...
This is Jewish land. Go away". He then asked the HRWs whether they
understood the term 'Shoot To Kill', advising that this was the policy
under which they were operating.

As the HRWs refused to leave the area and continued to document the
proceedings, the soldiers became increasingly threatening, with one
soldier saying, "We have been nice. Soon we will not be nice". Upon
repeated questioning one of the soldiers claimed that the army were
searching the village for the suspect in the shooting of a settler
that took place near the village of Al-Funduq on the night of Monday
19th November.

The soldiers then proceeded to lead the HRWs up a quiet side street
where upon command the seven soldiers swiftly turned, split up and
grabbed the HRWs, punching and kicking one and wrestling the other to
the ground, stealing their cameras. The commander of the team then
aggressively pointed his machine gun at the heads of the HRWs, telling
them to go away.

This is but one incident in a spate of repressive measures being
levelled at the village of Azzun and others in the Qalqilya region,
that includes ongoing curfews, army invasions, mass arrests and road
closures.

These actions are suspected to be part of a strategy to garner High
Court approval for a four kilometre wall to be built along the highway
from Izbat Al Tabib to Kafr Laqif - a wall that will effectively seal
the main gate of Azzun forever and impede travel for Palestinians
throughout the region - for which the markings already exist. Locals
fear that Israeli army repression will continue in the village of
Azzun in order to fulfill this aim.

As shown by the robbery of HRWs filming the incursion, the army
clearly don't want evidence of their activities being made public.

---------------
11. Indymedia: New York Rights Activists Escalate Protests Against
Leviev Over Palestine

By Adalah-NY

New York, New York, Nov. 20 - The Madison Avenue jewelry store *LEVIEV
New York* was again the site of protests by human rights activists
angered by Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev's settlement construction
in Palestine, and other abusive practices in Angola and New York City.
Tuesday evening's protest, on the second day the store was open to the
public, followed a noisy, surprise protest at *LEVIEV New York's* gala
opening on November 13 which derailed the evening for the celebrities
and socialites in attendance.

In a loud, festive protest this evening, 40 New Yorkers chanted,
danced Palestinian Dabka and performed street theater. Protesters were
faced by a cordon of police officer who leaned against the LEVIEV
store windows, blocking any view of the expensive jewelry in the
showcase. No customers entered the store during the hour and a half
protest. Protesters focused on Leviev's companies' construction of
five illegal settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West
Bank, Leviev's close ties with the repressive government of Angola
where he mines diamonds, and Leviev's massive New York City
development projects with his former US partner Shaya Boymelgreen,
which have been plagued by construction problems, and have frequently
utilized underpaid, non-union workers in hazardous conditions.

Protesters chanted, "You sparkle, you shine, but settlements are still
a crime," and "How fancy, how pretty, Leviev out of New York City."
They paused to hear the tale of the "gems of injustice" which featured
dancing cardboard diamonds. A performance of the Palestinian national
dance, dabka, to the song "Wayn ya Ramallah" was interrupted
prematurely by an NYPD officer who appeared unappreciative of
Palestinian culture. Since no customers were willing to enter the
store during the protest, protesters handed pedestrians on Madison
Avenue gift bags which included soil from Palestine and a thank you
note saying, "Dear valued customer, with every purchase you make from
*LEVIEV New York*, you help Lev Leviev to seize a handful of
Palestinian land in order to build more illegal Israeli settlements."

Riham Barghouti, a spokesperson for Adalah-NY, explained that "This
new campaign is a strong local response to the Palestinian call for
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. It shows the willingness of more
individuals in the US in general and in New York City in particular to
carry out effective action to oppose the building of Israeli
settlements on confiscated Palestinian land, and other Israeli human
rights violations."

The protestors' call for a boycott of Leviev's businesses comes days
before the US government hosts Israeli and Palestinian leaders at
Annapolis, Maryland for negotiations. Israel's rapidly expanding
settlements, viewed worldwide as a violation of international law and
an obstacle to peace, will be a major topic at the negotiations.
Leviev's Danya-Cebus and LIDAR companies are building homes in the
West Bank settlements of Zufim, Mattityahu East, Maale Adumim and Har
Homa. Previously, Danya Cebus built homes in Ariel settlement. The
five settlements in which Leviev has built homes seize vital
Palestinian water resources and agricultural land, and are
strategically located to divide the West Bank into disconnected
enclaves, making the creation of a viable Palestinian state difficult
or impossible.

The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth has also reported that Leviev
is a primary donor to the right-wing Israeli organization the Land
Redemption Fund. The Fund spends its large budget to secure
Palestinian land for Israeli settlement expansion, allegedly with the
aid of deceit and strong arm-tactics. Journalist Meron Rapoport
revealed today in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz Daily that Leviev was
a guest of honor two years ago at a major event in Jerusalem for Elad,
an Israeli organization which promotes the "Judaization" of
Palestinian East Jerusalem. Elad refuses to reveal the names of its
donors.

Leviev, Israel's richest man, burst onto the New York City scene by
buying up a large number of properties and buildings in Brooklyn and
Manhattan over the last five years. He came under fire, along with his
former US partner Shaya Boymelgreen, from the Laborer's Union and
ACORN for the working and safety condition at his development
projects. Brooklynites are concerned that these problems will carry
over into the duo's planned Gowanus Village project.

Protest organizers announced plans to flyer outside *LEVIEV New York*
this Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year, and to organize a
large protest in the coming weeks. "We will return as often as
necessary until New Yorkers understand that Leviev's triangle trade is
built on human rights abuses and the destruction of marginalized
communities in New York City, the Palestinian towns of Bil'in and
Jayyous, and in Angola," said Ethan Heitner, a spokesperson for Adalah-
NY.

For more info see Adalah-NY: The Coalition for Justice in the Middle
East:
www.mideastjustice.org