Jerusalem Post: The Gush Etzion Charade. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

SELECTED   NEWS   OF   THE   DAY. . .
|  ISRAELI  SUPREME  COURT  RULES  SETTLEMENT  OWNERSHIP  OF  A  500-DUNUM  LAND  IN  WEST  BANK
The Israeli Supreme Court issued a ruling on the ownership of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) of more than 500 dunums of Palestinian land in the Gush Etzion settlement area, south of Bethlehem, Israel Hayom newspaper reported.    ___The newspaper said the judges of the Israeli Supreme Court rejected this week an appeal filed by Palestinians against a previous decision by the Central Court in Jerusalem stating that the ownership of the land by the JNF.    ___The new ruling enables settlers to start work on confiscated land and build hundreds of settlement units there.    More . . .
. . . . Related  Netanyahu: “No Settlement Will be Evacuated” in His Time
. . . . Related  Catholic Lands to be Seized in Jordan Valley  
. . . . Related  Israeli bulldozers demolish house in Jerusalem  |
| SAUDI  ARABIA  TO  CONTRIBUTE  $50  MILLION  TO  UNRWA
Saudi Arabia announced, on Wednesday, it will contribute $50 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).    ___During a press conference, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Rabiah, the Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), told the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Pierre Krahenbuhl, about the contribution.     __UNRWA has faced a financial crisis this past year after the United States announced in mid-January the reduction of financial support . . .   More. . .
. . . . Related  Trump: ‘US troops will remain in Middle East for Israel’
. . . . Related  South African academic conference cancels participation of Israelis
| IOF  BESIEGE  SCHOOL  IN  BETHLEHEM  TO  ARREST  A  STUDENT
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on Wednesday besieged Minya Secondary School, east of Bethlehem, in an attempt to break into the school and arrest a student.    More . . .
. . . . Related  Israeli undercover units nab youth after beating him and his father
. . . . Related  Israeli forces detain 20 Palestinians, including minor

COMMENTARY    AND    OPINION. . . .
|  WHEN  YARA  MET  FADI:  GAZANS  HELP  COUPLE  PICK  UP  THE  PIECES  AFTER  ISRAELI  STRIKE  
By  Ali Adam
“We thought our love was hopeless, but we continued nonetheless,” Fadi al-Ghazali told Al-Monitor, standing in his heavily damaged apartment in the Sheikh Radwan district of Gaza City. As he and his mother went about clearing the rubble in their apartment from the Nov. 12 Israeli airstrike, on the wall hung a wedding gown, an object that has dominated social media as the symbol of the touching love story of Fadi and Yara, a young woman from Syria.    [. . . .] In late September, the Egyptian Embassy finally contacted Yara to tell her that she had been granted permission to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing. After three years of trying, Yara finally arrived in Gaza, on Nov. 8. As Fadi describes it, they can’t remember what their first conversations were about, because when they first met in person, they both “blacked out” from extreme joy and excitement.    More . . .

POEM  FOR  THE  DAY. . . .

“RESISTANCE,”  MAJID  ABU  GHOUSH

I plant my poetry
in the streets,
in every quarter
and every alley,
a poem…resisting the conquerors!
I plant my fingers
in the streets,
in every hole,
in every flower pot:
a finger…resisting the conquerors!
I plant my blood
in the streets,
on every sidewalk,
on every roadsign:
a drop of blood…resisting the conquerors!
I plant my dreams
in the streets,
in the heads of passers-by:
an infant dream…resisting the conquerors!
I plant the names of my loved ones
in the streets,
on every tree, on every wall:
the name of a martyr resisting the conquerors!
I plant the colors of the flag
in the streets,
on every house,
and every window and door:
a color…resisting the conquerors!
I plant my children’s luggage
in the streets
at every roadblock,
at every checkpoint:
a suitcase…resisting the conquerors!
I plant my hands
in the streets,
on every corner:
a firm hand resisting the conquerors!

—From: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Middle East Affairs
Special Programs, Commemorating the Intifada’s Tenth Year, April 10, 1998
Prof. Naseer Aruri