• Fayyad calls for end to land expropriation

    Ali Waked | Ynet News 8 May 2009 Palestinian prime minister attends Friday prayer in east Jerusalem, promises residents to thwart Netanyahu government’s plan to confiscate property in Abu Dis area. Battle over east Jerusalem lands heating up: Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Friday took part in a prayer held on disputed lands in…

  • Israel bans Palestinians from hosting pope next to West Bank fence

    Ha’aretz 7 May 2009 A Palestinian official says the Palestinian Authority has scrapped plans to host Pope Benedict XVI next week on a stage near the West Bank separation fence. Palestinian say they had hoped that receiving the pope next to a towering cement wall and military watchtower inside the Aida refugee camp would highlight…

  • Al-Ma’asara village continues demonstrations despite increased army repression

    On the 8th of May, 2009, residents of the southern West Bank village of  Al-Ma’asara conducted their weekly demonstration against Israel’s annexation barrier, despite increased repression from Israeli forces.  At last week’s demonstration, five nonviolent Palestinian organizers were arrested, and they continue to be held in an Israeli prison.  This Friday, Israeli soldiers created at…

  • Settlement expansion seeing biggest boost since 2003

    Amos Harel | Ha’aretz 7 May 2009 West Bank construction has been accelerating for several months, putting Israel on a collision course with a U.S. administration taking a hard line on settlement expansion. A new outpost, new roads, and other building projects have raced ahead in and around the settlements, often without legal permits, producing…

  • It takes a village

    Stefan Christoff | Hour 7 May 2009 Montreal’s ties to illegal Israeli settlement In April, Palestinian activist Bassam Ibrahim Abou Rahme was killed by Israeli military forces after being shot at close range by a teargas canister, becoming the 18th Palestinian to have been killed for protesting against the Israeli wall being built in Bil’in,…