NEWS   OF   THE   DAY. . .

ISRAELI  FORCES  SHOOT,  KILL  3  PALESTINIANS  IN  GAZA
Three Palestinians were killed and dozens others sustained injuries during the 25th Friday of “The Great March of Return“ protests alongside the eastern borders of the besieged Gaza Strip.   ___Hundreds of Palestinians had gathered, earlier Friday, alongside the eastern borders of the Gaza Strip to take part in protests under the slogan of “Resistance is our Choice.”   ___Spokesperson of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, Ashraf al-Qidra, confirmed that three Palestinians were killed during protests.   More . . .
Related . . . ISRAELI  FORCES  SUPPRESS  PROTEST  IN  RAMALLAH-AREA  VILLAGE

EUROVISION  2019  TO  BE  HELD  IN  TEL  AVIV  INSTEAD  OF  JERUSALEM        The Eurovision song contest has chosen Tel Aviv to host next year’s competition, despite the Israeli government previously declaring the event would be held in Jerusalem.    ___Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had wanted the international music competition to be held in the holy city as part of the government’s campaign for global recognition of Jerusalem as its capital.    ___Israel won the contest last year with the beatboxing and chicken-dancing artist Netta Barzilai, earning it the right to host the 2019 edition.   More . . .

AZIZ  ABU  SARAH  WANTS  TO  BE  MAYOR  OF  JERUSALEM  AND  IS  SUING  ISRAEL  Calling  ‘bluff’  on  Israel’s  democracy
Jaclynn Ashly
A Palestinian in occupied East Jerusalem is breaking boundaries by suing the Israeli government in hopes of becoming the first Palestinian to run for mayor in Israel’s municipal elections in Jerusalem next month.    ___Aziz Abu Sarah, 38, announced his intention to run for mayor last week, as part of the Palestinian-run Al-Quds Lana (“Jerusalem is ours”) list, which is contending for seats at Jerusalem’s city hall in October.    ___Israeli law forbids Palestinians in East Jerusalem from running for the post of mayor because they are not considered Israeli citizens.    ___Therefore, Abu Sarah has decided to sue the Israeli government in Israel’s High Court over the law.   More . . .
Related . . .  JERUSALEM:  WHERE  THE  OCCUPIER  DEMANDS  LOYALTY  FROM  THE  OCCUPIED

COMMENTARY    AND    OPINION. . . .

THE  OSLO  ERA  IS  FINALLY  OVER,  BUT  IT  ONLY  GETS  WORSE  FROM  HERE
Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man
There is something unsettling about the way the 25-year anniversary since the signing of the Oslo Accords is being marked — neither eulogy nor longing, and without anyone having any clue what lies ahead. There is one thing that is different this year, however. With the exception of Jason Greenblatt, nobody is paying lip service to the illusion of a peace process any more.   More . . .

UN:  GAZA  SITUATION  ‘CATASTROPHIC’  AMID  DEEPENING  AID  CUTS     The UN said on Wednesday that the situation in Gaza was “catastrophic” after 11 years of “economic siege” and warned that Washington’s decision to halt assistance to Palestinian refugees would create “more misery.”   ___Isabelle Durant, the deputy head of the United Nations development agency (UNCTAD), said:
___“The situation in Gaza is becoming less and less livable … It is catastrophic.”   More . . .

NOTICES  FROM  ORGANIZATIONS. . . .

KinderUSA  –  DR.  MADS  GILBERT:  A  RETURN  VISIT  TO  GAZA. Anaheim, CA; Plano, TX.     Dr. Gilbert has a broad range of experience from international humanitarian work, especially in locations where medical and political issues merge. Since the 1970s, he has been actively involved with solidarity work concerning Palestinians, and he has served as a doctor for several periods in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon for NORWAC. His efforts have been central to leading the city of Tromsø, since 2001 a twin town of Gaza.  Information . . .   Dr. Mads Gilbert Video . . .

POEM  FOR  THE  DAY. . .

“PRIDE  AND  FURY,”  BY  MAHMOUD  DARWISH

O homeland! O eagle,
Plunging, through the bars of my cell,
Your fiery beak in my eyes!
All I possess in the presence of death
Is pride and fury.
I have willed that my heart be planted as a tree,
That my forehead become an abode for skylarks.
O eagle,
I am unworthy of your lofty wing,
I prefer a crown of flame.
O homeland!
We were born and raised in your wound,
And ate the fruit of your trees,
To witness the birth of your daybreak.
O eagle unjustly languishing in chains,
O legendary death which once was sought,
Your fiery beak is still plunged in my eye,
Jails with their gates flung wide
Summon me,
And in all the airports of the world
Are found my names and titles –
The lying wind carries me,
Disperses me.
Palestinian –
The name pursues me, lives with me;
Palestinian is my fate,
Clinging to me, reviving me.
Palestinian I am,
Though they betray me and my cause;
Palestinian I am,
Though they sell me in the market
For what they please,
For thousands of millions;
Palestinian I am,
Though to the gallows they drive me;
Palestinian I am,
Though to the walls they bind me,
Palestinian I am,
Palestinian I am,
Though to the flames they cast me.
I – what am I?
Without my name, Palestinian,
Without a homeland to live for,
To protect and be protected by?
I – what am I?
Answer me, answer me.

–From AN  ANTHOLOGY  OF  MODERN  ARABIC  POETRY. Translated by Mounah A. Khouri and Hamid Algar. University of California Press, 1974.