❶ Israeli Aircraft Pounds Gaza for Fourth Consecutive Day
. . . . . ❶ ― (ᴀ) Hamas does not call for war, but won’t tolerate Israeli incursions into Gaza
❷ Gaza: The Memories of War Still Haunt Us
❸ Meet the private contractors manning Israel’s checkpoints
❹ Israeli PM to hold seminar on Jewish history following UN Aqsa decision
. . . . . ❹― (ᴀ) Israel resumes weekly Gaza visits to Aqsa after two-week Passover ban
❺ Opinion/Analysis: THE  DEEPER  MEANING  OF  IDF  GENERAL’S  HOLOCAUST  COMPARISON
❻ POETRY by Mahmoud Darwish
❼ #NoWayToTreatAChild
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❶ ISRAELI  AIRCRAFT  POUNDS  GAZA  FOR  FOURTH  CONSECUTIVE  DAY
Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA
May 7, 2016
Israeli aircraft early Saturday pounded the southern Gaza Strip as the worst flare-up of cross-border violence since 2014 entered a fourth day, said WAFA correspondent.
___Israeli F-16 aircraft targeted farmlands in al-Zanna and al-Fakhari localities, east of Khan Younes, causing massive holes and spreading panic among Palestinians.  MORE . . .  
  . . . . . ❶ ― (ᴀ) HAMAS  DOES  NOT  CALL  FOR  WAR,  BUT  WON’T  TOLERATE  ISRAELI  INCURSIONS  INTO  GAZA
Ma’an News Agency
May 6, 2016
Deputy head of Hamas’ politburo Ismail Haniyeh said on Friday that while the movement is not calling for a new war in the Gaza Strip, it will not tolerate incursions by Israel or accept a buffer zone.       MORE . . .

❷ GAZA:  THE  MEMORIES  OF  WAR  STILL  HAUNT  US
Palestine Chronicle
Noor Salha
May 4 2016
It was a memorable and a tragic night at the same time. I wish I could forget those moments and everything that happened to us on that day. But I can’t.
___I cannot forget that day because of the fearful, chaotic, destructive, and deadly atmosphere my family had experienced. We had to leave our own house within a few minutes before it was completely destroyed. Those minutes were not enough even to think about anything other than survival.      MORE . . .

❸ MEET  THE  PRIVATE  CONTRACTORS  MANNING  ISRAEL’S  CHECKPOINTS
Mondoweiss
Allison Deger
May 5, 2016
An Israeli investigation has revealed a 23-year old Palestinian woman and her 16-year old brother were killed last week at an army checkpoint in Jerusalem by civilian security contractors, not soldiers.
___The siblings who were killed, Mariam Abu Ismail and Ibrahim Taha, were en route to Jerusalem on April 27th, having received their first permit to enter Israel from the West Bank. . .  Unfamiliar with the procedures of Qalandia checkpoint, the main military artery into Israel, the two wandered into a vehicle lane where pedestrian traffic is prohibited.   MORE . . . 

❹ ISRAELI  PM  TO  HOLD  SEMINAR  ON  JEWISH  HISTORY  FOLLOWING  UN  AQSA  DECISION
Ma’an News Agency
May 6, 2016
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in a statement Friday that he would be holding an educational seminar for UN personnel on Jewish history, following a recent decision by UNESCO that ignored Jewish ties to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and strongly condemned Israeli violations regarding status quo on the site. . . .
___ . . . I am announcing a seminar on Jewish history for all UN personnel in Israel. I will personally host the lecture at the PM’s Office.”      MORE . . .   
. . . . . ❹― (ᴀ) ISRAEL  RESUMES  WEEKLY  GAZA  VISITS  TO  AQSA  AFTER  TWO-WEEK  PASSOVER  BAN
Ma’an News Agency
May 6, 2016
After a two-week suspension by the Israeli authorities on visitation to Al-Aqsa Mosque from the Gaza Strip, Palestinians were permitted to resume their weekly worship Friday morning.       MORE . . . 

❺ Opinion/Analysis:  THE  DEEPER  MEANING  OF  IDF  GENERAL’S  HOLOCAUST   COMPARISON
+972 Magazine
Dahlia Scheindlin
May 5, 2016
Headlines in Israel are blaring this Holocaust Day over a statement by the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the IDF, General Yair Golan, comparing trends in Israel to those in Germany leading up to the Holocaust. . . .

“If there’s one thing that scares me about Holocaust memory, it’s identifying revolting trends that took place in Europe in general, and Germany in particular, 70, 80, 90 years ago, and finding evidence of them amongst ourselves, today, in 2016.”

MORE . . .

“I  DECLARE,”  BY  MAHMOUD  DARWISH  (1970)
As long as a hand-span of my land remains
As long as I have an olive tree―
A lemon tree―
A well―and a cactus plant
As long as I have but a single memory
A tiny library
A grandfather’s picture―and a wall
As long as Arabic words are uttered
And folk songs are sung
In my land
Scribes of poetry
Tales of Antar Al-Abse
Epics of the war against Persia and Rome
As long as I possess my eyes
Lips and hands
My own-self!
I shall declare in the face of my foe!―
A fierce struggle of liberation
In the name of free men everywhere
Workers―students―and poets―
I shall declare―
And let the cowards―ENEMIES OF THE SUN
Be satiated of the bread of shame
As long as I have myself
As long as myself remain
My words will remain―
Bread and arms―
In the hands of freedom fighters!

From: Aruri, Naseer and Edmund Ghareeb, eds. ENEMY  OF  THE  SUN:  POETRY  OF  THE  PALESTINIAN  RESISTANCE. Washington, DC: Drum and Spear Press, 1970.
Available from Amazon.
About Mahmoud Darwish

❼ #NoWayToTreatAChild
Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP) is a local, independent Palestinian human rights organization committed to securing a just and viable future for Palestinian children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
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