Issue no 63

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Issue No : 63 30th September, 2013

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Egypt›s coup leaders grateful for Israeli support

By: Shazia Arshad

Haneyya praises Tunisian President›s calls to lift the siege

on Gaza

Palestinian youths express anger against Israeli aggression in Jerusalem

Israeli plans to establish a Jewish temple on one-

sixth of Aqsa space

Coup government threatens Gaza with «military options»

Ministers’ statements on borders expose depth of racism and extremism in

Israeli politics

Mashaal: Jerusalem and Al- Aqsa can only be restored with resistance

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CONTENTS

News of Palestine

Articles & Analyses

Egypt›s coup leaders grateful for Israeli support 11

Palestinian youths express anger against Israeli aggression in Jerusalem 4

Israeli plans to establish a Jewish temple on one-sixth of Aqsa space 5

One-third of Palestinian homes in Jerusalem are threatened with demolition 6

Coup government threatens Gaza with «military options» 7

Haneyya praises Tunisian President›s calls to lift the siege on Gaza 8

13 Palestinian female prisoners call for highlighting their plight 9

Ministers’ statements on borders expose depth of racism and extremism in Israeli politics 10

Israel Insider

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News of Palestine

28/09/2013Thousands of Palestinian youths took to the streets on Friday pro-testing against continued Israeli aggression against Jerusalem and al-Aqsa mosque. Most Pal-estinian cities and villages in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank took part in these protests after the Friday prayer.Clashes erupted between pro-testers and the Israeli forces in several places; protesters in the Gaza Strip headed to Beit Hanoun crossing where Israeli forces fired tear gas at them, four protesters were injured in Jerusalem and had sustained moderate wounds, dozens were wounded in confron-tations with Israeli occupation forces near Hawara roadblock to the south of Nablus city, and 30 others were wounded in Al-Khalil confrontations including a five-year-old child who lost his eye-sight after being hit with a rubber-coated bullet.Meanwhile, the Israeli authori-

ties have imposed severe restrictions on Muslim worshippers who want to perform their obligatory Friday prayer in the Noble Sanctuary. According to Israeli media reports, the police are only allowing Palestinian men over 50 years old and carrying Israel iden-tity documents to enter mosque along with women and children. On the other hand, dozens of set-tlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque dur-ing the last week accompanied by a large number of Israeli policemen and special troops who fired tear gas and stun grenades at the Palestinian worshipers; it appears as if the Israe-lis are determined to provide a «safe passage» through which extremist Jews can enter the Noble Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa, which is Islam›s third holiest site, to perform Talmudic rituals. This route extends from the Moroccan Gate to various parts of the main mosque hall. Earlier on Tuesday, hundreds of stu-dents, Jerusalemites and residents of the 1948 territories gathered in the Aqsa mosque since the early morn-

Palestinian youths express anger against Israeli aggression in Jerusalem

Mashaal: Jerusalem and Al- Aqsa can only be restored with resistance

ing hours, following Jewish calls to break into the mosque court-yards, on the eve of Sukkot. Al-Aqsa Foundation said in a state-ment on Tuesday that the presence of worshipers, students and leaders of the Islamic movement in Al-Aq-sa mosque has been thwarting the settlers› incursions expected today.For his part, head of Hamas›s polit-ical bureau Khaled Mashaal urged Fatah faction, the Palestinian au-thority and the political factions not to get busy with side battles, to uti-lize the common ground between them and make Jerusalem a top priority for them over other issues.In an interview conducted by Al-Jazeera, Mashaal highlighted that the Palestinians would be able to restore Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque only through armed re-sistance, recalling that the Muslim conqueror Salahuddin Al-Ayou-bi had liberated Jerusalem with armed force.

Source: Agencies

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26/09/2013A Palestinian activist special-ized in affairs of the occupied city of Jerusalem said the set-tlement activities in the city have significantly escalated since the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations about two months ago under U.S. auspices.

The activist Rasim Obeidat pointed that the settlement ac-tivity in occupied Jerusalem has been escalated, adding that the occupation approved the construction of thousands of settlement units in addition to the increased number of settle-

Israeli plans to establish a Jewish temple on one-sixth of Aqsa space

ment projects that are approved by the Israeli authorities.

He told Quds Press that «these projects are being approved publicly, and the Palestinian Authority knows about it... We are witnessing in Jerusalem the construction processes on the ground. It is no longer a secret.»

He confirmed that the occupation authorities have approved the construction of 4,000 housing units in many Palestinian towns and neighbourhoods in the east-ern part of occupied Jerusalem, since the return to negotiations.

The Palestinian activist warned

that the occupation authorities, in light of the negotiations, are working on creating a new re-ality inside the Aqsa mosque, through the daily incursions of the settlers under the Israeli po-lice protection, and the preven-tion of the Muslims from enter-ing the mosque.

He pointed out that the Jewish Yishai Society is planning to establish a synagogue on the one sixth of the space of the Aqsa mosque, and stressed that Jerusalem is exposed to a com-prehensive attack, even in the field of education.

Source: PIC

4,000 housing units in Jerusalem were approved since the return to negotiations

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Palestinian Cultural

Organization Malaysia

One-third of Palestinian homes in Jerusalem are threatened with demolition

26/09/2013An international human rights organisation has revealed that one-third of the Palestinian-owned houses in Jerusalem face demolition under the pre-text that applications for build-ing permits were incomplete. This, claims Euro-Mid Ob-server for Human Rights, is a way for the Israeli authorities to continue their demographic war against Palestinians in the Holy City. Israel gives Jerusa-lemite Palestinians the right to use just 13 per cent of the area of occupied East Jerusalem to

meet the needs of their growing population.

A report from Euro-Mid shed some light on the widespread Is-raeli settlement programme in Jerusalem. It mentioned that the financial committee of the Israeli-controlled Jerusalem municipal-ity decided to support 1,500 new settlement units in the city at the end of August. The human rights group also pointed out that Isra-el’s bulldozers are still razing Pal-estinian homes in Al-Tour neigh-bourhood because the authorities plan to set up the «National Israeli

Park».

According to the UN, poverty is getting worse among Pal-estinians in Jerusalem. Euro-Mid noted that the unemploy-ment rate rose to 78 per cent in 2012 compared with 64 per cent in 2006. More than 40 per cent of Palestinian Jeru-salemites now live below the official poverty line; one of the reasons is the disparity in wage rates between Israeli and Palestinian labourers.

Source: MEMO

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26/09/2013

Egypt›s foreign minister in the coup-led «interim» govern-ment has threatened the people of Gaza with «military op-tions» if it is felt that Hamas or other parties are endanger-ing national security. «Egypt›s response will be harsh,» Nabil Fahmy told London›s Al-Hayat newspaper.

In response, the media adviser to the prime minister in Gaza said that he was «surprised» by Fahmy›s statement. «The minister›s threat contradicts Egyptian history and its role in protecting the Palestinian people, because Palestine is of great value to Egypt,» said Taher Al-Nunu. He called upon all «wise men» in Egypt to bear their national responsibility to-wards the Palestinian people.

Last weekend, a prominent Is-raeli intelligence commentator Yossi Melman, predicted that the Egyptian army will work in coordination with the United States, Israel and the Pales-tinian Authority to topple the rule of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip.

Coup government threatens Gaza with «military options»

Meanwhile, Political analyst Ibrahim al-Madhoun stated that there are indications that con-firm the Egyptian regime›s bad intentions towards the Palestin-ian cause and the Gaza Strip in particular.

He pointed out that the Egyptian incitement has moved from me-dia informal incitement to for-mal incitement which proves that the Egyptian media campaign against Hamas was a directed, political incitement campaign.

The tunnels› demolition, the

Israel predicts Egypt will assist to topple Hamas rule

closure of Rafah crossing, and canceling the free trade zone came in context of tightening the siege on Gaza and not re-quired Egyptian security mea-sures.

He confirmed that Hamas movement has not and will never intervene in the Egyptian internal affairs, stressing that all the Egyptian formal and in-formal charges were fabricated as part of the ongoing incite-ment against the movement.

Source: Agencies

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Haneyya praises Tunisian President›s calls to lift the siege on Gaza

Rafah to stay closed until Abbas back in control, says ambassador

28/09/2013Prime Minister Ismail Haneyya praised Tunisian President Mon-cef Marzouki’s statements at the General Assembly of the United Nations calling on Egyptian au-thorities to lift the siege on the Gaza Strip.

Haneyya said Saturday in a statement to ALRAY news agen-cy that “this position reflects the honesty of the Tunisian president and people.

Marzouki had demanded on Thursday evening, in his speech before the General Assembly, the Egyptian authorities to lift the siege on the Gaza Strip «I hope the Egyptian authorities

will remove all restrictions on the movement of persons and goods in and out of Gaza.»

Marzouki added that «this strug-gling zone [Gaza Strip] has suf-fered enough; the Palestinian people have suffered enough from Israeli occupation and [the West Bank] settlements.»

Meanwhile, the Palestinian ambas-sador in Cairo, Barakat Al-Farra, has said that the Rafah crossing will be kept closed until the «legiti-mate» Palestinian Authority is back in control in Gaza and President Mahmoud Abbas›s guard can be posted on the border.

The Under Secretary at the Ministry

of Foreign Affairs in the Hamas-led Palestinian government in Gaza expressed his amazement at Al-Farra›s remarks. «This is a strange statement which in-dicates the lack of any sense of national responsibility towards all Palestinians,» said Ghazi Ha-mad, «as well as a determination to increase the suffering of Pales-tinians in Gaza and kill any hope that they have.» He called upon the PA in Ramallah to put an end to Al-Farra›s tendency to slander the people of the Gaza Strip and incite Egyptians against them.

Source: Agencies

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13 Palestinian female prisoners call for highlighting their plight

Abu Sisi is still isolated

26/09/2013Thirteen Palestinian female pris-oners are still held in Hasharon Israeli prison suffering very dif-ficult detention conditions amid the deafening silence of human rights institutions and interna-tional community.

The director of Ahrar center for prisoners› studies, Fuad al-Khuf-fash, said that that the Palestinian female prisoners suffer very dif-ficult detention conditions due to the IPS deliberate medical negli-gence, ill-treatment, humiliating strip search, and being deprived

of family visits.

Hasharon Israeli prison was built during the British Man-date years, and is known for its poor ventilation, clamminess and insect infestations. Besides housing the Palestinian female prisoners, the complex contains also juvenile Israeli female pris-oners.

On the other hand, Waed As-sociation for prisoners› affairs confirmed that the prisoner Di-rar Abu Sisi is still isolated due to the continuing deviousness

of the Israeli Prison Services (IPS) in not implementing the agreement it signed to end the prisoner›s hunger strike.

The agreement states that Di-rar be moved from his solitary confinement to live with three other prisoners in Eshel Prison in better detention conditions. The Captive Movement threat-ened to take escalatory steps in case Dirar›s isolation file is not closed.

Source: Agencies

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Israel Insider

27/09/2013Israel›s housing minister, Uri Ariel, has claimed that the state›s borders «extend from the Jordan River to the western border», which is, of course, the Mediterranean Sea. He told an Israeli news channel that he rejects the establishment of an-other state «based on the 1967 borders».This, along with Israel›s colo-nial-settlement policy is entire-ly consistent with «the teach-ings of the Torah» he believes.The extreme right-wing minis-ter was speaking at the opening of a synagogue on an illegal Israeli settlement-colony in the occupied West Bank. «You are the good people who represent the Torah,» he told the settlers.This statement is just one of many racist and extreme state-ments made by Uri Ariel; he said recently that a Jewish tem-ple should be built in place of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and that the establishment of a Palestinian state is just «a myth». More-over, during a press conference the Israeli Minister held at the Shilo colony in the occupied West Bank, he said that the Is-raelis have built many temples, but they need to build what he called «the real temple on Temple Mount», which was a reference to the Noble Sanctu-

Ministers’ statements on borders expose depth of racism and extremism in Israeli politics

ary of Al-Aqsa, wherein stands Al-Aqsa Mosque.In a related context, Naftali Bennett, the leader of the Jewish Home Party and Israeli Minister of the Economy, expressed his belief that the establishment of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River will cause Israel «100 years of continuous war, will flood the Jew-ish state with millions of Palestinian refugees, and will increase international isolation».Moreover, Bennett posted on his Facebook page that he believes that such a Palestinian state will be poor and hostile, «such as the state established in Gaza in 2005», the actions of which are still «hostile and extremely dangerous». Bennett called on 7 of the 11 Likud MKs to stop negotiations; subsequently, the members sent a letter to the Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, Danny Danon, who is also Deputy Minister of Defence, urging him to hold a meeting for Likud Party members.It is worth noting that Danon has now called for the immedi-ate cancellation of the Oslo Accords, the announcement that the agreement has failed, and the acknowledgement that it was a mis-take. He is on record of telling the New York Times that 20 years down the line from Oslo the Israelis and Palestinians are still in negotiations. «True peace seems far away,» he insisted, «just as it was before the disclosure of the secret talks in Oslo.» The Israeli government, stressed Danon, must put an end to this «foolishness» immediately. Source: MEMO

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By: Shazia Arshad *The Egyptian army and Is-rael have grown much clos-er in the weeks since the coup d›etat. In a Ha›aretz report, Amos Harel, sug-gested that the Egyptian and Israeli relationship now was in fact stronger than it was during the rule of Mubarak. Following the coup, it was Israel that the Egyptians turned to ensure that the American govern-ment and the new Egyp-tian coup regime would reach an understanding. Although the toppling of the democratically elected government was widely accepted as a coup, Is-rael prevented the use of the term and encouraged America to accept events as a regime change. In do-ing so, Israel ensured that American financial sup-port to Egypt could con-tinue, as acceptance of a coup would mean that aid would have to be suspend-ed under American law. Israel›s role in securing

travel of Palestinians in to and out of Gaza, including those who need access to urgent medical treatment. The Rafah crossing had allowed freer movement during the presidency of Mohamed Morsi, much to Israel›s chagrin.

Egypt›s new political di-rection has also left Hamas out in the cold, this time much to Israel›s delight. Prior to the coup, with in-creasing support from the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt Hamas› strength in Gaza had increased and Hamas used the oppor-tunity to oppose Assad›s civil war in Syria. With

continued US aid for Egypt›s army has made it possible for a stronger bond between the two to develop. Events in Egypt since the coup have demonstrated how grateful Egypt›s army are to Israel. Indeed, the Egyptian army›s particular focus on the Sinai and Gaza has won favour with the Israelis. Gazans in particular have been bearing the brunt of the warmer rela-tionship between the two re-gimes. In recent weeks, the Egyptian army have closed all tunnels between Egypt and Gaza and restricted the border crossing at Rafah. The closure of the tunnels has had a significant impact, forcing Gaza to turn to Is-rael and import fuel through Israel at six times the cost. The tunnel economy, which has provided basic needs for Gaza›s blockaded residents, has been shut down and will cause further financial stress to the Gazan economy. The restrictions on the Rafah crossing have limited the

Articles & Analyses

Egypt›s coup leaders grateful for Israeli support

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the opposition to Assad, Hamas relied on Egypt, but with the turn of events, Hamas now face increasing isolation. To further weak-en Hamas, the Egyptian army circulated rumours of Hamas›s involvement in terrorist activities in Egypt. Last week›s attempted as-sassination of the Egyptian interior minister was used to implicate Hamas, when local media sources sug-gested that they had been involved in the bomb at-tack. Despite the clear fallacy of the claim, the rumours have worked to suppress Hamas in Gaza, as the Israeli›s have wanted to do for some time now.

In the Sinai, the Egyptian army have been circulat-ing rumours of terrorist activity too. With claims that Islamist terror groups are active in the region, the army have increased their presence with more troops, tanks and helicopters in the region. Under the Isra-el-Egypt peace treaty the Egyptians require Israel›s agreement for them to be able to do so, and in yet another example of the Egypt-Israel bond growing stronger, the Israeli›s have

sanctioned the increase. The Egyptian army have reported killed 100 activ-ists in the Sinai, wounded and arrested hundreds of others. Further reports have indicated that the Egyptian army is currently developing buffer zone in the Sinai to prevent weap-ons smuggling into and out of Gaza. Reports suggested that the buffer zone would be a military controlled area and that the residents currently there were being forced from their homes with no warnings.

The Egyptian army have been able to mount a coup against the democratically elected Egyptian presi-dent, ensure that America continues to bank roll the country and strengthen their grip on power since the coup thanks to the work, and the words, of the Israelis. Whilst they may not be making the strength-ening of their relationship public, the Egyptians want to ensure that the Israeli›s know how grateful they are for their support. In this vein, the army›s attacks to protect Israel›s interests are sure to increase.

””

The Egyptian army have been able to mount a coup against the demo-cratically elected Egyptian president, ensure that Amer-ica continues to bank roll the coun-try and strengthen their grip on pow-er since the coup thanks to the work, and the words, of the Israelis.

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Issue no 63

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