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27/09/2020
| | A fever dream of dictators : For the signatories of the Abraham Accords, peace means squashing people`s freedoms in order to unlock unfettered exchanges of technology and weapons. Karim Kattan - +972Mag - On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump,
with much fanfare, hosted a ceremony for the signing of the so-called
peace agreements between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and
Bahrain. With smug smiles plastered on their faces, Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah
bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Foreign Minister of Bahrain Abdullatif Al
Zayani together hailed the dawn of a new period in the region.
According to the poetically-titled Abraham Accords, the
aforementioned heads of state and their representatives will work
together to achieve a “stable, peaceful and prosperous” Middle East.
Peace and prosperity, uttered in the same breath as if they were a
single term, were indeed the keywords of the ceremony and of the
years-long process spearheaded by Trump’s senior advisor and son-in-
law, Jared Kushner. Kushner is no neutral broker: he sits on the
board of his parents’ foundation, which has funded programs in the
Israeli settlement of Beit El. Much has been said about this alleged
peace treaty. It is mostly a strategic realignment of these countries
against Iran and a blueprint for increasing authoritarianism in the
region, which follows decades of clandestine relations and sharing of
intelligence between Israel and the UAE.(rh) | | | A glimpse into the chaos’: How Israel’s COVID-19 policy neglects Palestinian citizens Makbula Nassar - +972Mag - Israel entered a weeks-long lockdown on
Friday to stem a second wave of the coronavirus. As is in other parts
of the world, statistics are showing that minority communities, in
this case Palestinians, are being disproportionately affected by the
pandemic.It is a cliche, and an inaccurate one, to say that the
coronavirus does not distinguish between Jewish and Palestinian
citizens of Israel. Even the struggle shared by Jewish and
Palestinian medical workers in hospitals and clinics is not proof
that we are all in the same boat. If anything, the Arab community is
on a boat that is floating to a particularly dark place. In mere
weeks of the second wave gripping the country, Palestinian citizens
went from constituting 10 percent of patients who tested positive to
the virus, to 30 percent — and the curve is rising sharply. The
English Hospital in Nazareth, which has traditionally treated mostly
Palestinian citizens, has had to open another coronavirus clinic.
(rh)
| | | Israeli occupation forces detain 18 Palestinians from West Bank Wafa - One of the six detainees was identified as a former prisoner
from Jalazone refugee camp, another as a resident of Nilin village,
west of Ramallah, another as a resident of Beit Rima village,
northwest of Ramallah, and two others, including a former prisoner,
as residents of Silwad town, east of Ramallah.
In the northern West Bank, PPS said Israeli occupation forces raided
Jenin refugee camp where they rounded up four Palestinians.
Local sources added that the raid triggered violent confrontations,
during which Israeli soldiers opened fire on local protestors,
hitting one with a live round in the foot and causing dozens others
to suffocate from teargas inhalation. Elsewhere in the northern West
Bank, PPS said that Israeli forces rounded up two Palestinians from
Nablus district and two others from Tubas district. In Bethlehem
district in the south of the West Bank, PPS said an Israeli army raid
into Aida refugee camp, north of the city, resulted in the detention
of a Palestinian. It added that Israeli forces carried out two
separate raids in Hindaza and Marah Rabah villages, east and south of
the city, resulting in the detention of two others. A former prisoner
was rearrested from Hebron district. (rh) | | | Coronavirus is turning Gaza’s nights even darker Mohammed Moussa - +972Mag - Two weeks ago, Palestinians in Gaza were
informed that the coronavirus had begun spreading throughout their
community. A Palestinian woman was preparing to travel from Gaza to
Jerusalem to accompany her daughter for a surgery. On the Israeli
side of the Erez crossing, however, the authorities told her that her
papers were incomplete, and she was forced to go back home. Upon her
return, the woman tested positive for COVID-19. Four of her family
members subsequently tested positive too. My heart turned over when I
heard the news. When the World Health Organization declared COVID-19
a global pandemic in March, many countries declared a state of
emergency. And while the world was learning how to live in
quarantine, we in Gaza — who have been blockaded by Israel and cut
off from the world for 13 years — were already masters at it. (rh) | | | Israel says it won’t return the bodies of slain Palestinians YUMNA PATEL - Mondoweiss - Israel’s security cabinet ruled on
Wednesday that it would not be returning the bodies of Palestinians
killed by Israeli forces to their family for burial, following weeks
of appeals from the family of Ahmed Erekat, who was shot dead at a
military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank in June. Twenty-seven-
year-old Erekat was on his way to his sister’s wedding when Israeli
soldiers shot and killed him at the “container” checkpoint outside
Bethlehem, after accusing him of committing a car-ramming attack on
soldiers stationed at the checkpoint. As part of Israel’s widely-
condemned policy of detaining the bodies of Palestinian “attackers”
to be used as political bargaining chips, Erekat’s body has been held
in a freezer since June, despite immense pressure from the family and
human rights groups to have his body returned for burial.(rh) | | | Many candidates vie for position of Netanyahu`s chief rival Ben Caspit = Al-Monitor - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s
ratings have been plunging in recent months, especially over the
farcical handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his poor
performance in managing the crisis. Within weeks, Netanyahu’s Likud
lost the equivalent of 10-13 Knesset seats (out of 120) in the polls,
but his alignment of right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties still
commands at least 60 seats. (rh)
| | | Intel: Netanyahu knew of US proposal to sell arms to UAE, says NYT Al-Monitor Staff - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was
aware of a Donald Trump administration proposal to sell the advanced
F-35 fighter jet to the United Arab Emirates amid negotiations with
the Gulf country over normalizing ties with Israel, the New York
Times reported Thursday. The news follows similar reports in the
Israeli media and comes weeks after Israel’s Yedioth Ahronot
newspaper reported that a secret clause in the agreement included the
possibility of the UAE being allowed to purchase the F-35s.
Netanyahu’s office immediately denied the Yedioth Ahronot report,
issuing a detailed rebuttal.(rh) | | | Palestinian leaders grasp for unity in Ramallah-Beirut meeting Daoud Kuttab - Al-Monitor - An unprecedented meeting of the
Palestinian leadership took place Sept. 3 in a sign of a possible
reconciliation and agreement on a national strategy. The local heads
of Palestinian factions met in the Ramallah presidential headquarters
with leaders residing abroad joining in by video conference from
Beirut. President Mahmoud Abbas, who called for the meeting, arrived
more powerful than he has been in years due to his steadfast
opposition to unilateral Israeli and US plans, as well as the US-
brokered normalization agreement between the United Arab Emirates and
Israel. (rh)
| | | Palestinian Dentist Dies After Israeli Concussion Grenade Fell Near Him Near the Annexation Wall in Jenin Palestinian Centre for Human Rights - According to PCHR
investigations, at approximately 14:30 on Friday, 18 September 2020,
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) deployed by the Annexation Wall, near
Barta’a checkpoint, southwestern of Jenin, shot stun grenades and
tear gas canisters at Palestinians attempting to cross into Israel
via holes in the annexation wall, some going to work in Israel.
Several stun grenades fell near the late dentists, Nedal Mohammed
Akram Jabarin (54), from al-Marah neighborhood in Jenin, while he was
at least 100 meters away from the gates. Jabarin was going to his
dental clinic in Barta’a village, located behind the annexation wall.
As a result, he suffered a heart attack and was transported to Dr.
Khalil Suleiman Governmental Hospital in Jenin where he was
pronounced dead. Jabarin’s family confirmed to PCHR’s fieldworker
that the deceased did not suffer any illnesses or any health
problems.(rh) | | | Trump wants signing ceremony for UAE deal as close to election as possible PHILIP WEISS - Mondoweiss - Donald Trump wants a White House signing
ceremony for the UAE-Israel deal as close to the election as he can
get it. But the UAE wants it sooner, and it cut the deal to help Joe
Biden with a political headache– by taking annexation off the table.
Meanwhile other Arab countries are trying to figure out what they can
get out of the U.S. if they normalize with Israel. And though the
deal removes Israeli annexation of the West Bank in the short term,
it may make things worse for Palestinians, as Israeli settlers and
rightwingers are demanding compensation for the deal from the Israeli
government. (rh) | | | For previous articles since 2004 go to respective sections | |
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