❶ Deputy Premier tells US Consul General the administration’s moves on Jerusalem unacceptable
. . . . . ❶ ― (ᴀ) Egypt’s FM discusses with Tillerson complications of US moves on Jerusalem
. . . . . ❶ ― (ᴃ) Erekat: US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel capital will create serious international chaos
. . . . . ❶ ― (ᴄ) PA calls for Arab, Islamic stance on Jerusalem

• BACKGROUND: Occupied East Jerusalem:  a continuous colonial scheme.” Palestine-Israel Journal of Politics, Economics & Culture.

❷ Israel arrests 3 lawyers, including head of legal unit at Detainees Affairs Commission
. . . . . ❷ ― (ᴀ) Israel releases 5 Palestinian fishermen after hours of detention
. . . . . ❷ ― (ᴃ) Palestinian seriously injured in clashes with Israeli forces near Nablus
❸POETRY by Harun Hashim Rasheed
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
❶ DEPUTY  PREMIER  TELLS  US  CONSUL  GENERAL  THE  ADMINISTRATION’S  MOVES  ON  JERUSALEM  UNACCEPTABLE
Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA
Dec. 4, 2017 ― Deputy Premier Ziad Abu Amr on Monday told US Consul General in Jerusalem Donald Blome during a meeting in Ramallah that moving the US embassy to Jerusalem or US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel are unacceptable and involve risks no one can tell their consequences.
___Abu Amr stressed in the meeting Palestinian rejection of any action or decision taken by the US administration that would affect the status quo in the holy city.
___He said such an action “is offensive and contrary to the role of the US administration as a mediator and sponsor of the peace process, disqualifies it from playing this role, closes every door to the continuation of a serious peace process, and pushes the entire region into more tension and instability.”   MORE . . .
.  .  .  .  .  ❶  ―  (ᴀ)  EGYPT’S  FM  DISCUSSES  WITH  TILLERSON  COMPLICATIONS  OF  US  MOVES  ON  JERUSALEM
Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA
Dec. 4, 2017 ― Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed with his US counterpart Rex Tillerson the regional developments about media reports that United States intention to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
___Over a phone call, Shoukry discussed the complications of the US decision and its possible negative effects on the US efforts to resume the peace process, Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zaid said in a statement on Monday.
___The minister also noted that the legal, religious and historical status of Jerusalem require careful consideration in dealing with this sensitive issue that is related to the national identity of the Palestinian people throughout the ages . . .     MORE . . .
.  .  .  .  .  ❶  ―  (ᴃ)  EREKAT:  US  RECOGNITION  OF  JERUSALEM  AS  ISRAEL  CAPITAL  WILL  CREATE  SERIOUS  INTERNATIONAL  CHAOS 
Palestine News Network – PNN 
Dec. 4, 2017 ― PLO Secretary-General Dr. Saeb Erekat Commented today on News reports Regarding Possible US Recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel saying that this  move will promote international anarchy and disrespect for global institutions and law.
___Erekat said in statement that PNN receive :”Jerusalem is the social, political, cultural, religious and economic heart of Palestine adding that It is also the heart of billions of believers from the three monotheistic religions, including hundreds of millions of Arab Christians and Muslims. It is, therefore, the heart of the Arab World. It is a significant symbol of our region and its fate is key to any efforts leading to a peaceful and stable region”.    MORE . . .
.  .  .  .  .  ❶  ―  (ᴄ)  PA  CALLS  FOR  ARAB,  ISLAMIC  STANCE  ON  JERUSALEM
Al Hourriah Magazine (Freedom)    
Dec. 4, 2017 ― Palestinian Authority (PA) Foreign Minister Riyadh Al-Maliki has called for the Arab League and the Organisation of International Conferences to convene to discuss the dangers facing Jerusalem.
___Directed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Al-Maliki briefed officials about the expected plan of US President Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on Wednesday.
___He explained the consequences of such recognition on Palestine and the Palestinian cause, as well as Palestinian-Israeli and Arab-Israeli relations.
___ “The US will lose its role as a mediator of the peace process if it carries out this step and it will be classified as a supporter of the ambitions of the occupation state [Israel],” Al-Maliki said, blaming the possible “dangerous repercussions” of this step on the US.   MORE . . .

Abdelrazek, Adnan.
“OCCUPIED  EAST  JERUSALEM:  A  CONTINUOUS  COLONIAL  SCHEME.” Palestine-Israel Journal of Politics, Economics & Culture, vol. 22, no. 2/3, July 2017, pp. 126-132.
[. . . .] It has become clear that the illegal annexation of these areas was intended to expand and consolidate the Israeli grip on Jerusalem and turn the city into the capital of the Jewish people, denying others’ political and historical rights. The Palestinian people of the annexed areas (recently more than 300,000 persons) have been subjected to fulfill Israeli administrative and legal control, separating them from their West Bank families, socioeconomic activities and political life. It also kept them outside the Israeli system of citizenship. In other words, the land is Israelized and seized while the Palestinian inhabitants are considered “on hold.” This scheme of colonizing and Israelizing East Jerusalem is apparent in many systematic practices.
[. . . .] According to an Ir Amim report (reference), 66% of building violations in Jerusalem occur in the Jewish neighborhoods, yet 65-70% of house demolitions take place in the Palestinian neighborhoods . . .  as part of an overall policy designed to force Palestinians to leave the city. House demolition policy is viewed as an instrument of collective punishment that the Israeli government uses against Palestinians in East Jerusalem . . .   during the years 2003-05 house demolitions reached one of the highest rates following the second intifada, and again in 2015-16 in response to the so called “individual intifada.”
[. . . .] An interim note: Since the occupation of the Arab city of Jerusalem and the expansion of its municipal boundaries, the city and government authorities have continuously applied colonial policies aimed at weakening the Palestinians’ presence and making formal and arbitrary efforts to reduce their demographic and geographic size in the city. In addition, the Arab residents of the city have been deprived of civil and political rights and cut off from their Palestinian roots in the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories. However, counter trends such as the demographic imbalance to the advantage of the Palestinians and events such as the so-called “individual intifada” and other forms of resistance could shake this colonial scheme or even reverse some of the early decision to “unite” the city with its Arab villages and neighborhoods.     SOURCE . . .

❷  ISRAEL  ARRESTS  3  LAWYERS,  INCLUDING  HEAD  OF  LEGAL  UNIT  AT  DETAINEES  AFFAIRS  COMMISSION    
Ma’an News Agency
Dec. 4, 2017 ― Israeli forces detained early Monday three Palestinian lawyers from Jerusalem, including Iyad Misk, head of the legal unit at the Detainees Affairs Commission, to the north of Jerusalem, according to the commission.
___Misk was detained at his Kufr Aqab home, north of Jerusalem, and was taken to Petah Tekva interrogation center in central Israel, the Commission said. No reason was given for this detention.
___In addition to Misk, Israeli forces also arrested two other Palestinian lawyers identified as Khaled Zabarqa and Firas Sabbah.
___Israeli forces also reportedly arrested a total of 20 Palestinians during raids across the occupied West Bank. . .    MORE . . .
.  .  .  .  .  ❷  ―  (ᴀ)  ISRAEL  RELEASES  5  PALESTINIAN  FISHERMEN  AFTER  HOURS  OF  DETENTION      
Ma’an News Agency
Dec. 4, 2017 ― Israeli authorities on Monday morning released five Palestinian fishermen who had been detained overnight off the coast of the northern Gaza Strip.
___Israeli naval forces detained the fishermen Sunday night and seized their boats, which still remain in Israeli custody.
___Palestinian security sources told Ma’n that the five fishermen — identified as Sami Abu al-Sadeq, Ahmad Abu al-Sadeq, Sayyid al-Halabi and brothers Ayman and Ihab Tulbeh — were released back into Gaza via the Erez crossing with Israel.
___The Israeli army regularly detains and opens fire on unarmed Palestinian fishermen, shepherds, and farmers along the border areas if they approach the so-called ‘buffer zone’, as the authorities have not made clear the precise area of the designated zone.    MORE . . .
.  .  .  .  .  ❷  ―  (ᴃ)  PALESTINIAN  SERIOUSLY  INJURED  IN  CLASHES  WITH  ISRAELI  FORCES  NEAR  NABLUS
Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA
Dec. 4, 2017 ― Israeli authorities on Monday morning released five Palestinian fishermen who had been detained overnight off the coast of the northern Gaza Strip.
___Israeli naval forces detained the fishermen Sunday night and seized their boats, which still remain in Israeli custody.
___Palestinian security sources told Ma’n that the five fishermen . . .  were released back into Gaza via the Erez crossing with Israel.
___The Israeli army regularly detains and opens fire on unarmed Palestinian fishermen, shepherds, and farmers along the border areas if they approach the so-called ‘buffer zone’, as the authorities have not made clear the precise area of the designated zone.   MORE . . .

“POEM  TO  JERUSALEM,”  by Harun  Hashim  Rasheed  (b.  1927)
For the sake of a city that’s imprisoned,
for its Dome and Aqsa Mosque,
for the annihilated sanctuary
where Muhammad’s feet once stood,
for all this city has endured,
and for all it has preserved,
for Mary and Jesus,
for all the beings she has known,
for my city’s sake,
raped and abused,
on its wounded brow
God’s words are effaced.

I call on all our dead
and all our living
with verses from the Bible
if only they could hear
with verses from the Quran
in the name of God
calling the young among them and the very old
calling them from my depths
to every brave fighter
I tell them the struggle is for Jerusalem
I call on them to resolve and have faith
tell them how Jerusalem’s sanctity is wounded
I call upon them all to help Jerusalem
She cannot wait any longer,
she overflows with grief.

From the Atlantic to the Arabian Gulf
I call upon you in the name of God
with the purity of anger I beseech you
for the city with the humiliated eyes
I call you in your name,
I call my Arab people.
―translated by Sharif Elmusa and Naomi Shihab Nye

Harun Hashim Rasheed (b. 1927)
Born in Gaza, poet Harun Hashim Rasheed witnessed, as a child, British soldiers demolishing his and his neighbors’ home in reprisal against Palestinian rebels, an incident which left a deep mark on him as a poet. After obtaining a Higher Teacher Training Diploma from Gaza College, he worked as a teacher until 1954. He then became director of the Sawt Al-Arab broadcasting station in Gaza. After the fall of Gaza to the Israelis in 1967, he was harassed by the Israeli occupation forces and was eventually compelled to leave. He has had a long and illustrious career as a Palestinian poet and literary figure in exile.
From: ANTHOLOGY  OF  MODERN  PALESTINIAN  LITERATURE. Ed. Salma Khadra Jayyusi. New York: Columbia University Press, 1992. Available from Columbia University Press.