Britain’s Foreign Office has stepped in at the last moment, to declare Kadima leader Tzipi Livni is on a ‘special mission’ to London and immune from prosecution (1). Ms Livni, a former member of Mossad, has been accused of war crimes for her hard-line role in Operation Cast Lead. Palestine Solidarity Campaign leads protest at her visit and another act supporting Netanyahu’s government by the UK coalition (2 and 3). 4) Richard Irvine on the change in UK law on war criminals. (see also http://jfjfp.com/?p=25557)

Palestinians are preparing for their hardship to increase if the US Congress follows through its threat to cut aid if Palestinians win statehood recognition. Hamas in particular has been active in pairing poor Gazan families with rich Gulf ones. A detailed report from Irin news of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

One hundred bloggers meet in Tunis for the Third Arab Bloggers meeting. The bloggers, instrumental in creating new life in Arab societies, come from 15 countries – but not Palestine. Eleven of the twelve who planned to attend have been denied entry visas by the new government. No reason has been given

The Arab Awakening has broken all the rigidities of regimes round the southern and esstern Mediterannean. In this (abbreviated) essay, Tony Klug clesely examines the options now facing Israel and the Palestininans – including Hamas which must, he says, ‘openly purge its Covenant of its virulently anti-Semitic content’

Yet another lively political event at an American synagogue when a large audience came to discuss – and oppose – BDS (see post below). For the Israelis on the panel, the idea and practice of BDS made Palestinians both their leaders and their brothers in the struggle for Palestinian liberation

From being an idealistic admirer of Israel, Rae Ablieh, a Code Pink activist, visited the land she loved after Operation Cast Lead. Shock at the destruction she saw set her on a new path – disrupting Netanyahu in his visit to Congress , trying to break the siege of Gaza bearing witness. This is her synagogue address at a Rosh Hashanah service

At a conference in Tehran, Hamas leaders restate their view that Palestinian statehood can only follow Palestinian liberation, 1. Showing great consistency over the years, Khalid Mishaal, in a long interview in Palestine Studies in 2008, describes his tutelage in radical politics and Islam and his beliefs now. His views on violence were not mentioned

Left-wing activists went to Anatot settlement last Friday to support Yassin Rafaeli who has set up a tent inside on land he says he owns. Settlers beat up the protesters claiming they were responding to their throwing stones. A phone record obtained by Ynet show they had intended violence from the start. Reports from Ynet and 972 magazine

Long Netanyahu’s best ally in Europe in blocking UN recognition of Palestine , Angela Merkel is very angry that all her moves to get talks restarted have been thwarted by the announcement of a new 1,100-home Jewish settlement in Jerusalem

To the surprise of many, Monday’s news carried pictures of the occupation of Wall Street, with some banners calling for an end to military aid to Israel and deploring the oppression of Gazans. Blogger Max Ajl reports from the scene, and below, an interview with him . 3rd, a report links J14 with occupy wall street (http://occupywallst.org)

Last week we posted a Washington Post opinion piece by Robert Bernstein attacking the UN and Human Rights groups for their attitude to Israel and Palestine, and a rejoinder by the Economist: http://jfjfp.com/?p=25704. Here Mouin Rabbani of Jadaliyya adds his voice to the outrage. Wikipedia’s entry on Palestine Media Watch is at the bottom

Sari Nusseibeh, professor of philosophy, president of the Al-Quds University and former PLO representative in Jerusalem, examines the political and religious traditions which a ‘Jewish state’ of Israel would either flout – or not wish to be part of

Home Secretary Theresa May made decisions to exclude, arrest and detain Shekh Raed Salah against the advice of her own officials, using evidence from highly dubious sources provided by the contentious Community Support Trust. This posting has the press release from MEMO, a report from the Guardian and a BBC profile of Salah

To collect and store water in the occupied West Bank there is a planning process. Israel has changed the laws to limit representation of local Palestinians in the process. Settler representation is guaranteed by military order. A disturbing document from the Swedish NGO Diakonia, http://www.diakonia.se/about.

A founder of Human Rights Watch has moved from complaints of a general anti-Israel bias to accusing the Arab media of genocidal propaganda and the UN of fuelling anti-semitism and sees no gulf between Mahmoud Abbas and those who make their name through hate speech . 1st, an Economist critique of the article by Robert L. Bernstein, 2nd.

Mahmoud Abbas has urged further Fatah/Hamas talks. Despite its spoken opposition to the UN bid, Hamas has agreed and talks are expected in the near future, to take place in Cairo

The super-rich president and vice-president of the European Jewish Union have launched a rolling 24 hour TV channel to give an ‘independent’ Jewish view of world news which would “give more voice to Israel”. With offices in Brussels, Tel Aviv and Kiev already, they have big plans for a global reach reports Luke Browne, Media Guardian

Reports from AP (1) and Reuters (2) that the Israeli state has approved the building of 1,100 new homes for Jews in East Jerusalem has shocked and angered its partners in the USA and Europe who have pledged support for its stance at the UN. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said settlement expansion was illegal and “corrodes trust and undermines the basic principle of land for peace. We call on the Government of Israel to revoke this decision.”

The Knesset has passed the first stage of a bill bringing eemergency regulations into permanent law. State powers of detention , secret evidence, the burden of proof amongst other judicial procedures wil be changed in favour of state prosecutors and against the ‘suspect’ if the bill proceeds. Report from electronic intifada, followed by a ;position paper on the new bill from ACRI

Edward Said, born in Jerusalem in 1935, Palestinians’ “most powerful political voice” and ‘”the great intellectual of the twentieth century”‘ died on September 25th, 2003. Anthony Alessandrini takes this anniversary to examine the actions and rigorous ideas of this great Palestinian-American, especially on the necessary transformation from national to political consciousness in colonised countries