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International Middle East Media Center

Viva Palestina Faced With 2,000 Riot Police In The Port Of Al-arish
IMEMC 5 Jan 2010 - Wednesday January 06, 2010 - 02:59, To all friends of Palestine, Our situation is now at a crisis point! Riot has broken out in the port of Al- Arish. This is a press release by Viva Palestina.

Death Threat Sent To Barak Over “Settlement Freeze”
IMEMC 5 Jan 2010 - Wednesday January 06, 2010 - 00:19, Israeli TV, Channel 10, reported Tuesday that a death threat letter was sent to Israel’s Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, over the claimed 10-month freeze on settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Israeli military kidnaps eight Palestinian civilians from the West Bank
IMEMC 5 Jan 2010 - Tuesday January 05, 2010 - 18:57, The Israeli military kidnapped on Tuesday eight Palestinian civilians during invasions targeting a number of West Bank communities.

Israel To Build More Jews-only Apartments In East J'lem
IMEMC 5 Jan 2010 - Tuesday January 05, 2010 - 10:32, Four new residential buildings in East Jerusalem was approved by the Jerusalem planning and building committing on Monday, Israeli daily Haaretz reports. The four buildings, which will house a total of 24 apartments, will be constructed in an area east of the borders of Jerusalem's Old City.

Palestinian Medics, Firefighters, Rescue Settlers From Fire
IMEMC 5 Jan 2010 - Tuesday January 05, 2010 - 06:53, Palestinian medics and firefighters rushed to an area near Tiqua’ village, in the Bethlehem District, to rescue a group of Jewish settlers after a mechanical error set their bus ablaze, near the Tiqua’ settlement, east of the Palestinian village.

Arab Child Hurt By Explosive Near Shfa-Amr
IMEMC 5 Jan 2010 - Tuesday January 05, 2010 - 02:42, Israeli sources reported Monday that a 13-year-old Arab child was hurt when an explosive, apparently dropped by the Israeli army during training, detonated as he carried it.

Ma'an News

Galloway convoy blocks entrance to Egyptian port following riot
1/6/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - Over 2,000 riot police were called to the scene of the Galloway convoy's camp site at the port of Al-Arish on Tuesday Kevin Ovenden, Viva Palestina convoy leader, said in a statement on the organization's website. "This late afternoon we were negotiating with a senior official from Cairo who left negotiations some two hours ago and did not return. Our negotiations with the official was regarding taking our aid vehicles into Gaza," he wrote. "We have now blocked the entrance to the port and we are now faced with riot police and water cannons and are determined to defend our vehicles and aid. " Spokeswoman for the convoy, Alice Howard, told Ma'an that the delegation was due to arrive at the Rafah crossing with their vehicles carrying humanitarian and medical aid on Tuesday, 2pm local time. "The Egyptian authorities have by their stubbornness and hostility towards the convoy, brought us to a crisis point," Ovenden added. 

Tibi: Israel trains dogs to attack at ’Allahu Akbar’
1/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Palestinian-Israeli lawmaker Ahmad Tibi on Monday alleged that the Israeli military trains dogs to attack anyone saying Allahu Akbar, Arabic for "God is great. "According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, Tibi told Knesset members on Monday that at a canine unit ceremony held the day before, parents of the soldiers witnessed demonstrations proving these allegations. "IDF [Israeli forces] dogs are trained to pounce and attack any Arab who shouts Allah Hu Akbar, as a Pavlovian reaction," said Tibi. "So here I say: Allahu Akbar. Are there any dogs here to attack me? " The Israeli military denied the charges, telling Haaretz in a statement, "One of the canine unit's many capabilities is to train the dogs at locating the enemy when dressed both in uniform and as civilian. This is an ability that has proven itself in many cases. " . . . . 

Mossad chief: Time to overthrow Abbas
1/5/2010 - Bethlehem – Ma’an Report – Israeli spy chief Efraim Halevy berated the Palestinian Authority (PA) and President Mahmoud Abbas during an interview with Army Radio on Tuesday. " The PA is useless and nothing but students of Israel and the US. As soon as the US and Israel stop funding the PA it will fade away. Abbas and his PA should know that and know to behave modestly with their threats against Israel," Halevy said during the program Good Morning Israel, hosted by Ghazi Burqai. “Abbas is unnecessary and it is time to overthrow him. Israel has to find alternatives. ”Halevy, who also heads the Strategic Research Unit at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, added that the alternative to the PA would be Hamas, asserting that Israel had begun "opening lines [of communication], putting in plain words that Hamas is better than Abbas, his government and his authority. " 

PA asks Israel to shut down Negev prison camp
1/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Palestinian Minister of Prisoners Affairs Issa Qaraqe called on Israel on Tuesday to shut down the Negev prison camp, in which 3,000 Palestinians are held, citing dismal conditions. Qaraqe's demand follows an Israeli environmental report that warned of the existence of toxic and dangerous materials in the area, which may cause cancer, adding that the Negev is used as a dumping ground for the Dimona nuclear plant. The minister expressed concern for the heath and lives of the Palestinian detainees in the Negev prison, a large number of whom are exposed to the elements of the desert in a closed military area that "lacks humanity" he said. In 1996, the prison was closed after a series of complaints launched by international human rights organizations alleging that it was not a safe area to detain Palestinians. 

Israel okays new Jerusalem settlement buildings
1/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli authorities approved on Monday the construction of four new settlement apartment buildings Palestinian land in occupied east Jerusalem. According to Israeli media, the country's Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee approved the new structures, intended to house 24 settler families adjacent to a Jewish religious school, in the heart of the annexed Palestinian capital. The project was initiated by Jewish American gambling tycoon Irving Moskowitz, who caused a diplomatic storm last year when he obtained a permit to bulldoze East Jerusalem's historic Shepherd hotel in order to build a settlement. Last week, the US, Europe, and other world powers condemned a plan announced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to add 700 apartments to settlements in the vicinity of Jerusalem. 

Mossad chief: Time to overthrow Abbas
1/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an Report - Israeli spy chief Efraim Halevy berated the Palestinian Authority (PA) and President Mahmoud Abbas during an interview with Army Radio on Tuesday. "The PA is useless and nothing but students of Israel and the US. As soon as the US and Israel stop funding the PA it will fade away. Abbas and his PA should know that and know to behave modestly with their threats against Israel," Halevy said during the program Good Morning Israel, hosted by Ghazi Burqai. "Abbas is unnecessary and it is time to overthrow him. Israel has to find alternatives. "Halevy, who also heads the Strategic Research Unit at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, added that the alternative to the PA would be Hamas, asserting that Israel had begun "opening lines [of communication], putting in plain words that Hamas is better than Abbas, his government and his authority. " 

Witnesses: Israeli tanks operating in Gaza
1/5/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli tanks and bulldozers advanced into the Khuza'a area east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning, witnesses said. Four tanks and two bulldozers razed farmland in the area, residents reported. Farm workers were seen fleeing the advancing forces for fear of being shot. Israeli troops regularly operate in the border areas of the Gaza Strip. On Monday night, Palestinian fighters said they narrowly escaped a missile fired by an Israeli warplane in the northern Gaza Strip. The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) reported the airstrike. In a statement received by Ma'an, the group said that they fired a rocket-propelled grenade at an Israeli military watchtower along the border in northern Gaza. An Israeli military spokesman said based on an initial investigation, officials were unaware of any airstrikes. 

PA asked to nullify sales of church land to Israel
1/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Greek Patriarch Theophilios III will make the traditional journey from Jerusalem to Bethlehem for Christmas on Wednesday, but a group of prominent Orthodox figures is planning to protest his visit over sales of West Bank church land to Israel. The Council of Arab Orthodox Institutions and Organizations in Palestine, which is organizing the protest, is also asking the Palestinian Authority (PA) to cancel the controversial land deals. Council officials said on Sunday that they met with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in hopes that the PA will intercede and cancel the deals, and in particular one involving the sale to an Israeli contractor of land from the Mar Elias Monastery, the site where clergy from Bethlehem traditionally meet the patriarch on 5 January, the orthodox Christmas Eve. Attending the meeting with Fayyad were Deputy Tourism Minister Marwan Toubasi,. . . 

PA vows to protect protesters, patriarch at Orthodox Christmas
1/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Palestinian Authority will guarantee freedom of religious expression and ensure events for the eastern calendar Christians continue without incident, Governor of Bethlehem Abdul Fattah Hamayil announced Tuesday. "Nobody will be allowed to spoil" the Christmas events set to take place on Wednesday morning , Hamayil said, noting those who wish to express their opinions and participate in protests will also be permitted to express their beliefs and concerns. The announcement followed meetings between the Council of Arab Orthodox Institutions and Organizations in Palestine and the PA, over a protest organized by the groups to boycott the Christmas march over land sales by the Greek Orthodox Church to Israel. The groups met with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Monday in an effort to get the PA to step in and cancel the land sales. 

Israeli officers cancel UK trip over arrest fears
1/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israel cancelled the departure of a military delegation to Britain last week after authorities there said they could not guarantee the officers would be safe from arrest. The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Tuesday that the delegation included a colonel, lieutenant colonel and a major. Approached by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affiars, the UK government said it could not promise the three would not face arrest. Israeli officials are facing increasing international legal action over allegations of war crimes committed during last winter's three-week Israeli offensive on Gaza. Hundreds of women and children were among 1,400 Palestinians who were killed in the attack. Thirteen Israelis also died. After the war, A UN Fact Finding Mission led by South African jurist Richard Goldstone produced a 575-page report claiming both Israel and Palestinian militias violated the laws of war. 

Galloway convoy plans Gaza entry
1/6/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - A long-delayed British-led aid convoy expects to enter the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing from Egypt at 2pm local time on Tuesday, the convoy's spokeswoman Alice Howard told Ma'an. Early Tuesday morning, Egyptian authorities withheld the passports of 157 Gaza-supporters travelling with the convoy at the Al-Arish airport. Among those whose travel documents were seized was British Member of Parliament George Galloway. Those that arrived in Al-Arish were told that the remaining 400 volunteers due to enter Gaza with the convoy on Tuesday would not be allowed to transit, the Viva Palestina organization said. The passports were stamped with entry and exit stamps, but were then returned to their holders with the exit stamp removed, the campaigners said. Despite the setback, the convoy carrying medical and humanitarian aid intends to enter Gaza on Tuesday. 

’When I left the house there were 22 people dead’
1/5/2010 - Part 10 of a series recounting the findings of South African jurist Richard Goldstone's UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict. -- Bethlehem, Ma'an -- According to Israel, its army's rules of engagement for the Gaza assault emphasized distinction as one of four "guiding principles that applied in an integrated and cumulative manner: military necessity, distinction, proportionality and humanity. "  It defines the principle of distinction in the following terms: "Strikes shall be directed against military objectives and combatants only. It is absolutely prohibited to intentionally strike civilians or civilian objects (in contrast to incidental proportional harm). "Richard Goldstone's UN fact-finding mission investigated 11 incidents in which serious allegations of direct attacks with lethal outcome were made against civilians. 

Israeli court orders activist held three more days
1/5/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - An Israeli military court in Ramallahextended the detention of Stop the Wall Campaign activist Jamal Juma on Monday for a further three days, he said following the hearing. "This case is not only about me. It is an attack on all those that are standing up against the wall and the occupation," Juma said in a statement released by the Stop the Wall campaigners. On Monday, a demonstration was held outside the Ofer prison where Juma's court hearing was held. Fifty people, including diplomats, Palestinian, Israeli, and international supporters crowded into the hearing, which was held in a mobile home in the prison compound. Juma stated that the detention conditions are below "human dignity," creating and deteriorating health problems of the detainees. He concluded, pointing at his shackles and the orange uniform, "just like those they use in Guantanamo. " 

Israel opens one crossing; limited export allowed
1/5/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli authorities opened the Kerem Shalom crossing with Gaza on Tuesday for the delivery of humanitarian aid and commercial merchandise, as well as for the export of strawberries. Palestinian crossing official Raed Fattouh told Ma'an that between 66 and 77 truckloads of humanitarian aid and commercial merchandise will enter Gaza via Kerem Shalom while two trucks transporting Gaza strawberries as well as one with flowers will be exported to Israel and other countries. Fattouh added that limited quantities of domestic gas and industrial diesel for Gaza's sole power plant would also be transported through Kerem Shalom. Meanwhile, the Karni crossing to the northeast remains closed. On Monday, Israeli authorities informed Palestinian crossing officials that the Nahal Oz fuel terminal would remain closed indefinitely. . . . . 

Israeli forces seize 8 Palestinians in night raids
1/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Israeli military said on Tuesday it detained eight Palestinians during overnight raids in the West Bank. A military official said one man was arrested in Biddya south of Qalqiliya, one in Jaba, southeast of Ramallah, two in Beit Duqqu, southwest of Ramallah, one in Hizma south of Ramallah, one in Biddu southwest of Ramallah, and one in the town of Beit Awwa near the city of Hebron. The detainees were not immediately identified. In addition, Israeli media reported that three Hebron residents were arrested near the Old City of Jerusalem on suspicion that they were planning to stab an Israeli officer. [end] 

Family calls for release of detainee held for 27 years
1/5/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an -The family of Palestinian detainee Sami Younis called for his name to placed on the list of prisoners set for release should an exchange deal prove successful. Younis, from the village of Ara in Israel, was sentenced to life in prison on 5 January 1983. Held for 27 years, Younis is the father of three girls and a boy. [end] 

Number of Palestinians serving life reaches 112
1/5/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Former detainee and expert in prisoner affairs Abdel Naser Farawneh said on Tuesday that the number of detainees serving life sentences in Israeli prison has reached 112. Sha'ban Husanah, 40, was detained on 5 January 1990 and sentenced to life, accused of being affiliated to the Islamic Jihad movement and resisting the occupation. Husanah is single and from Gaza City. [end] 

Egypt opens Rafah crossing for third day
1/5/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah crossing into Gaza for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, Gaza Ministry of Interior spokesman Ihab Al-Ghussein said. Al-Ghussein said the Ministry had coordinated with Egyptian authorities to allow the transit of holders of international passports, students, patients and other travelers who have arranged their passage with Egypt. The crossing is expected to remain open on Wednesday. Five buses taking those with international passports in addition to six buses with all other passengers entered Egypt on Tuesday, Al-Ghussein said. Approximately 937 passengers traveled to Egypt while 166 entered Gaza via the Rafah crossing, the spokesman added. According to the Gaza Ministry of Interior, the number of Palestinians who have registered to enter Egypt via Rafah reached 7,000 of which 600 are patients. 

Israel detains six Palestinians ’planning attacks’
1/5/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - Israeli forces detained two Palestinians in the Old City of Hebron, suspected of planning an attack against Israel, Ma'an's reporter in the city said on Tuesday. Local sources identified the detained as Ibrahim Abu Fara, 21 and Aahid Hamdan, 22, both from the village of Surif, northern Hebron. Additionally, Israeli forces detained Jamal Az-Zeir, 21, from Dura, southern Hebron, and took him to an unknown location, the sources added. Israeli media reported on Tuesday that three Hebronites were detained Monday evening near Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. According to the Israeli website Ynet, the suspects told investigators that they planned to carry out a stabbing attack against "a Jew or a security officer. " The three Palestinians were taken away for investigation, the daily reported, adding that a knife was found in the vehicle they were travelling in. 

MADA condemns arrest of freelance journalist by PA forces
1/5/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) condemned the Monday arrest of freelance journalist Mustafa Sabri by the Palestinian Preventative Security (PPS). Sabri was detained from his house in Qalqiliya by the PPS and taken to their headquarters, Sabri's wife told MADA. The journalist has been arrested and summoned by the PPS several times over the past three years, MADA said in a statement. "MADA renews its demands to stop all the harassments and violations against the media freedoms in the occupied Palestinian territories, and also demands the release of Sabri," the organization said. -- Link: MADA

PFLP: Suspension of negotiations no longer sufficient
1/6/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine called for a review of the Oslo process and negotiations that stem from its premises, blaming the recent Israeli decision to okay construction of tens of new settlement homes in East Jerusalem. In a statement, the party lamented what it called the "extent of Israeli disregard for the Palestinian side, the Arab side and international law," and said Palestinians require a renewed position, stronger than the settlement construction halt for peace talks position currently held by the Palestinian Authority. The PFLP said the Palestinian priority should be on the creation of a unified leadership, the revival of the national struggle with the PLO as the sole representative of the Palestinian people. Within that framework, it said, a new strategy for dealing with Israel must be formulated. . . . . 

Qatari PM: Palestinian unity key to peace
1/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - After meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Qatar's Prime Minister said on Monday that a Palestinian unity government is crucial to Mideast peace. "The most important thing is how we can create a unity governments between the Palestinians so they can concentrate how to deal in the peace process," said Prime Minister Hamad bin Jasim bin Jabir Ath-Thani, speaking alongside Clinton at the State Department in Washington. For her part, Clinton said the US is working to renew long-stalled peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis. "We both share the goal of an independent and viable Palestinian state, and we are committed to doing what we can to help re-launch peace negotiations that would lead to a two-state solution," she said. "We believe that President Abbas is a partner for peace and can help deliver that to the Palestinian people," the US official also said. 

Erekat: We want peace, but not at any price
1/5/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an -Palestinians would not return to peace negotiations with Israel "at any price," PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Tuesday morning. "Peace as a strategic choice for us [but it] can't be at any price. As Palestinians, we confirm that we want to restart negotiations," Erekat told Voice of Palestine radio on the phone from Qatar, where he is accompanying President Mahmoud Abbas on an official visit. Abbas met with the Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa Ath-Thani, in Doha on Tuesday. The official PA news agency WAFA said the talks focused on relations between the two countries and efforts to revive the peace process. "Pressure must be put on the side that wants to restart negotiations while continuing to commit violations. The current Israeli government hasn't opened page one of the Road Map, and yet they talk about peace and resuming negotiations," Erekat added. 

Hamas meets with prisoner deal mediator in Gaza
1/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The German intermediary in negotiations toward a proposed prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas is expected in Gaza on Tuesday, news reports said earlier in the day. The mediator, Gerhard Conrad, is set to receive the response of Hamas officials to the latest offer for a swap in the ongoing talks which seek to secure the release of some 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held in Gaza. Conrad returned to Germany for the holidays and has now resumed the shuttle diplomacy between Gaza and Israel. Hamas is expected to reject Israel's latest proposal, said to demand that certain prisoners be exiled rather than returned to their homes in the West Bank. Israel is also said to be refusing to release senior prisoners including Fatah leader Marwan Barghouthi and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) leader Ahmad Sa'adat. 

Mash’al tells Saudi loyalty lies with Arabs
1/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Hamas leader in exile Khalid Mash'al assured Saudi Arabian his movement's loyalty to Arab states, the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya reported from an official visit between Saudi and Egytian officials Tuesday. "I asked Khalid Mash'al whether the movement stood with Arabs or with others," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal told the paper, reportedly referring to Iran. Al-Faisal said the comments were made Sunday during a visit by Mash'al to Saudi Arabia. "Mash'al insisted that Hamas was an Arab movement and that the Palestinian question was an Arab issue," he told Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the resort town of Sharm Ash-Sheikh. The comments came during a series of diplomatic visits between Arab leaders with the view to re-starting regional peace talks. . . . . 

6.3 million Euros for PA wages and pensions comes from EU
1/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - European Union made a 6. 3 million Euro contribution to the Palestinian Authority on Tuesday, for the payment of civil servant salaries and pension benefits, a statement from the EU announced. The money fulfills part of the committment of the group of states to contribute to the maintenance of public services and government functioning in the West Bank. The salaries also go to thousands of PA workers in Gaza. The cash was transferred the EU's PEGASE program, including 1. 5 million Euro from Ireland, and 500,000 from Luxembourg. The cash will reportedly go to the payment of 80,021 civil servants. "The European Union fully appreciates the difficult budgetary situation that the Palestinian Authority continues to face, and reiterates its commitment to support Prime Minister Fayyad's effort to maintain regular salary payments, as a way of ensuring the continuous delivery. . . " 

PA defense crews assist in rescue of settlers in bus fire
1/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Palestinian rescue crews intervened Sunday when an Israeli settler bus en route to a West Bank colony broke down and caught fire Sunday night. The crew assisted Israeli first response teams in putting out the blaze, which witnesses said began and the rear of the bus and quickly spread throughout the vehicle. The four passengers and driver were all evacuated safely. The bus was en route to the West Bank settlement of Noqedim, where Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman lives, and caught fire near Mount Herdion east of Bethlehem. Israeli and Palestinian ambulances rushed to the scene of the fire. General Director of the Civil Defense in Bethlehem Ibrahim Ayesh said said his crews were dispatched when a citizen reported the fire on the emergency hotline. He said crews continued with their work when they arrived at the scene and realized the bus was a settler vehicle, because the incident was a humanitarian action. 

Ramallah MoH to start H1N1 vaccinations
1/5/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - The Ramallah-based Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday that vaccination against the H1N1 virus will begin on Wednesday at the ministry and in UNWRA health centers across the occupied Palestinian territories. The ministry emphasized in a statement that the vaccination is essential for those within the high-risk category, which includes pregnant women, children under the age of five and patients suffering from pre-existing chronic illnesses. The exact times of vaccination clinic openings will be announced shortly, the ministry said, adding that medical staff and pregnant women will be the first to be inoculated. The H1N1 vaccine has no dangerous effects but patients may expect flu-like symptoms and swelling and redness where the injection was taken, both of which will disappear between 24 to 48 hours, the ministry added. . . . . 

PA arrests Hebronite digging for antiquities
1/5/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - The Palestinian Authority (PA) police arrested on Monday evening a local caught illegally excavating for antiquities in Bani Naim in the Hebron area. The tourism branch of the police caught the suspect "red handed" and was detained for further investigation, the Public Relations office of the police department said in a statement on Tuesday. The suspect's equipment used during the digging was confiscated by the police, the statement added. The suspect is due to appear before Palestinian court of first instance, the police concluded. [end] 

Fayyad: PA will clear West Bank of settlement products
1/5/2010 - Salfit - Ma'an - Before tossing goods made in Israeli settlements into a fire on Tuesday, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad affirmed the dedication of the Palestinian Authority to ridding local markets of the goods, and ridding the West Bank of the settlements entirely. The products being tossed were all found in the Salfit municipality, southeast of Nablus. They were found on trucks and in shops in the district, and would have been for sale to Palestinians. Much of the time goods from settlements are discounted or spoiled. In his speech, Fayyad explained the long-term destruction the settlement project has on Palestine, and the damage to the Palestinian national project of ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state. Purchasing settlement goods supports the industries built on confiscated Palestinian land, which Palestinians seek as part of an eventual state. 

Al-Aloul: Fattah will respect Journalist Syndicate elections
1/5/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - Fatah will respect the decision of the members of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate and the results of their upcoming election, member of the Fattah Central Committee Mahmud Al-Aloul. The statement came following the arrest of freelance journalist Mustafa Sabri, a member of the syndicate, who was was detained from his house in Qalqiliya by the Palestinian Authority police. Al-Aloul met with the syndicate in Ramallah, and assured them that the movement felt they were a historic force and a Palestinian institution, and would not stand in the way of free elections for the group on 5 January. [end] 

PSE drops: Al-Quds Index down 0.31% on Tuesday
1/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Stocks fell on the Palestine Securities Exchange in the West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday. At the close of trading the Al-Quds Index stood at 498. 62, decreasing by 1. 53 points (0. 31%). Trading volume was 507,659 shares for a total value of 548,439. 04 USD in 265 trades. The shares of 23 companies were traded. The share prices of four companies rose, while 14 declined. The four gainers were MIC by 4. 48%, PLAZA by 3. 95%, NCI by 3. 33%, BPC by 1. 05%. The top five losers were AZIZA by 4. 44%, PCB by 3. 75%, LADAEN by 3. 33%, PIIC by 2. 78%, WASSEL by 1. 72%. [end] 

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