SELECTED NEWS OF THE DAY. . .
| ISRAEL RAZES LANDS, UPROOTS OLIVE TREES IN AL-KHADER VILLAGE
Israeli military bulldozers razed Palestinian agricultural lands and uprooted olive trees in the al-Khader village, south of the southern occupied West Bank district of Bethlehem, on Thursday. ___Locals said that Israeli bulldozers razed 5 dunams (1.2 acres) of agricultural lands, located between two illegal Israeli settlements of Elazar and Neve Daniel, both built on lands of the al-Khader village, and uprooted olive trees. ___Sources confirmed that the razed and leveled lands belonged to Muhammad Moussa. ___Locals added that razing of Palestinian lands and uprooting of trees is part of an Israeli plan to expand nearby illegal settlements. More . . .
. . . . Related Israeli forces demolish housing structures in Jordan Valley
. . . . Related PA cabinet to form investigation committee into Jerusalem properties issue
. . . . Related Salfit: Israel to confiscate 8 dunums of land for military purposes
| WHO: 14 GAZANS KILLED, INCLUDING 4 CHILDREN, IN TWO WEEKS
The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a special situation report, on Wednesday, in which the latest figures showed that 14 Palestinians, including four children, were killed and 1,434 were injured by the Israeli forces in the past two weeks in the besieged Gaza Strip. ___According to the WHO report, from March 30th, the start of “The Great March of Return” protests along the Gaza borders with Israel, until the 6th of October, 205 Palestinians were killed. ___Out of the total killed, 190 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during the mass protests, while 15 others were killed during various Israeli attacks. More . . .
. . . . Related Gaza’s unemployment doubled since start of Israeli blockade – labor
| UNESCO ADOPTS BY CONSENSUS DECISIONS ON PALESTINE
. . . . (UNESCO) adopted on Wednesday by consensus two resolutions on Occupied Palestine in the framework of its 205th plenary meeting. [. . . .] One resolution stated that, ”The Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls, a site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List and on the List of World Heritage in Danger, is the sacred city of the three monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam. . . all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel . . . are null and void and must be rescinded forthwith.” [. . . .] It also deplored “the ongoing Israeli excavations, works, construction of private roads for settlers and of a Wall inside the Old City of Al-Khalil/Hebron which are illegal under international law and harmfully affect the authenticity and integrity of the site, and the subsequent denial of freedom of movement and freedom of access to places of worship.” More . . .
COMMENTARY AND OPINION. . . .
| WHAT THE CLOSURE OF THE PLO OFFICE IN WASHINGTON REALLY MEANS
Dorgham Abusalim
There have been attempts to shutter the PLO presence in the U.S. ever since it opened a Washington, DC-based Information Office in 1978. But it wasn’t until 1987 that such attempts began to gain steam when Congress adopted the Anti-Terrorism Act, in which it proclaimed the PLO a terrorist organization—this law is in effect to this day . . . In all the commentary on the closure of the PLO office in Washington, little has been said about what it actually means . . . [. . . .] Thirty-six years later, the closure of the PLO office in Washington . . . echoes [Edward] Said’s sobering analysis: “To reduce Palestinian existence as much as possible.” Indeed, the closure of the PLO office is yet another reminder of the long assault by Israel and the U.S., its chief ally, on those elements that constitute the Palestinian narrative: institutions, culture, history, law, and language, to name a few. More . . .
NOTICES FROM ORGANIZATIONS. . . .
| KINDER USA PRESENTS DR. MADS GILBERT: A RETURN VISIT TO GAZA (Dallas, Texas, October 21; Anaheim, California, October 26) For over thirsty years, Dr. Mads Gilbert has worked in conflict zones including volunteering in hospitals under siege in West Beirut, Lebanon during the 80s and Gaza for the last two decades. His perspective as a doctor and activist in such a conflicted time and area makes him the ideal person for our upcoming speaking events. Tickets and Information . . .
POEM FOR THE DAY. . . .
“IN THE SHADOW OF THE HOLY HEIGHTS” BY REJA-E BUSAILAH
- for Haniya Suleiman Zarawneh, killed by the Israelis
at the age of 25, near Jerusalem, January 4, 1988The sun came out that day from the depth of winter
like the rare orphan of good luck —
what else can the light of heaven be
on a day rising from the dead of winter?And she had risen before the sun that day
and like her mother and grandmother before her
she washed by hand and wrung by hand
the linen for spouse and child,and like mother and grandmother
she walked up the wooden ladder
with the pail onto the roof
into the shadow of the Holy Heights —
so clear was the sky
it almost recalled the sight and the scent of the sea down west.Faithfully she hung her labors on the rope
article by article
that the good sun might dry them for her,
she clasped each with a wooden pin
as safeguard against the prankish wind —it was no senseless nature that did it when she was done
just about to come down for other chores,
it was no fiendish Nazi,
it was one of the Chosen
selected her heart for his anointed lead
so that limp went the spring in the covenant
which joined soul and limb —and the good sun shines
and the sheets and the skirts and the nightgowns
and the small socks
and the outfit for the wooden doll
they toss in the wind
and smell like linen hand-washed and sun-dried
they swing lighthearted on the rope
waiting for mother to collect them* Reja-e Busailah has been blind since infancy. At age 7, he and his family were forced marched by Zionist forces from their home in Lydda into exile. He was educated in Cairo and earned a PhD in English from New York University. He is the author of a collection of poetry, “We Are Human,” (1985). He taught at Indiana University for 30 years and is now retired. He recently published his memoir “In the Land of My Birth: A Palestinian Boyhood.”
From BEFORE THERE IS NOWHERE TO STAND: PALESTINE ISRAEL POETS RESPOND TO THE STRUGGLE. Ed. By Joan Dobbie and Grace Beeler. Sandpoint ID: Lost Horse Press, 2012. Available from B&N.
Palestine InSight 