SELECTED   NEWS   OF   THE   DAY. . . . 

EU  PLEDGES  CONTINUED  SUPPORT  TO  UNRWA
The European Union issued a statement on Saturday pledging that it will continue to support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) after the United States administration’s “regrettable” decision to end all funding to the agency.    ___The EU issued a statement pledging continued support to UNRWA, which implies that the EU may increase funding to the agency if necessary, following the US decision to end funds and after UNRWA’s announcement that it currently faces a budget deficit of $270 million.   More . . .   Related . . . Germany  to  increase  UNRWA  funding  as  a  response  US  decision

ISRAELI  SETTLERS  BREAK  INTO  PALESTINIAN  VILLAGE,  HOLD  JEWISH  RITUALS 
A number of extremist Israeli settlers forced their way early Sunday into the village of Awarta, to the south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus and performed Jewish religious rituals, according to a local official.    ___Hisham Awad, head of village council, told WAFA that a number of settlers broke into the village after midnight under heavy Israeli army protection and performed rituals at a site they claim is holy to them.   More . . .

240  PALESTINIANS  WOUNDED  BY  ISRAELI  FORCES  AT  GAZA  PROTEST
At least 240 Palestinians were injured by live bullets or sustained suffocation from teargas inhalation on Friday as Israeli forces attacked the Great March of Return protests at Gaza border, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.   ___A 10-year-old child and a volunteer paramedic were among the injured persons, the ministry added.   ___The Israeli forces started firing live bullets and rubber-coated steel rounds as thousands of protesters gathered along the border.    More . . .

ISRAEL  THREATENS  TO  USE  NUCLEAR  WEAPONS  TO  ‘WIPE  OUT’  ITS  ENEMIES
Standing next to a secretive Israeli atomic reactor earlier in the week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to “wipe out” his enemies. In a speech that many will see as the Jewish state breaking its long silence over the possession of nuclear weapons, the Likud leader warned that it has the means to destroy its enemies.      ___“Those who threaten to wipe us out put themselves in a similar danger, and in any event will not achieve their goal,” he said on Wednesday during a ceremony to rename the complex, near the desert town of Dimona. The site has long been suspected to be the location where Israel has been developing nuclear weapons.   More . . .

COMMENTARY    AND    OPINION. . . .

PALESTINIAN  CENTER  FOR  HUMAN  RIGHTS:  WEEKLY  REPORT  ON  ISRAELI  HUMAN  RIGHTS  VIOLATIONS  IN  THE  OCCUPIED  PALESTINIAN  TERRITORY  (16–  29  AUGUST  2018)        

• Israeli forces continued to use excessive force against Palestinian peaceful protestors in the Gaza Strip. Two Palestinian civilians were killed, 239 civilians, including 52 children, 6 women, and 5 paramedics, were wounded; 10 of those wounded sustained serious injuries.
• 14 Palestinian civilians, including 4 children, were wounded and in the West Bank in addition to a foreign activist, who was wounded twice.
• Israeli forces continued to open fire at the border areas in the Gaza Strip, but no casualties were reported.
• Israeli forces continue collective punishment policy against Palestinians. A house belonging to Mohammed Dar Yusuf in Kuber village, north of Ramallah, was demolished.   More . . .

IRELAND:  US  CUT  IN  AID  TO  UNRWA  HEARTLESS  AND  DANGEROUS   
Ireland criticized the United States decision to stop all financial contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) saying this decision is heartless and dangerous.    ___”I believe this step is both heartless and dangerous, and will impact negatively on the Middle East region. And I have made my views on this absolutely clear in contacts with the US administration,” said the Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney, on Saturday.    More . . .

“MY  LIBERTY,”  BY  FADWA TUQAN

My liberty―my liberty―my liberty,
a sound I repeat
with angry lips
under the exchange of fire
and flames
I run after it
despite my chains
and follow its tracks
despite the night
and struggle ardently
for my liberty
My liberty
My liberty

And the Holy River
and Bridge repeat:
my liberty
and the two banks reiterate:
my liberty
and the raging wind and thunder,
tornadoes and rain
echo the sound:
my liberty

I shall carve its name
while I resist
on the land
by the walls and the doors
in the Temple of the Virgin
in the altar
and in the field,
on every hill
and every valley
and every curve
and road
in prison
in the torture rooms
and on the gallows
Despite the chains
and the house demolition
I shall carve its name
until I see it again
extending to my Homeland
and flourish
and flourish
until every inch of the land is covered
until every door is opened
by red liberty.
And the night vanishes
and the day breaks
My liberty―my liberty―my liberty

—-From: Aruri, Naseer and Edmund Ghareeb, eds. ENEMY  OF  THE  SUN:  POETRY  OF  THE  PALESTINIAN  RESISTANCE. Washington, DC: Drum and Spear Press, 1970.