Prime Minister of the dissolved government of Hamas in Gaza, Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyya, stated on Friday that the talks between Palestinian factions, including Fateh and Hamas, in Cairo paved the way for starting national dialogue which could end the internal divisions.

In an interview which was broadcasted by the Ramatan News Agency, Haniyya stated that  the recent talks were very serious and discussed in depth all issues regarding the Palestinian national dialogue.

He added that he hopes that the recent talks made an impact on resuming comprehensive national dialogue.

Egypt started separate talks with the Palestinian factions in August in an attempt to prepare for comprehensive Palestinian talks. The initial talks were concluded after the Egyptian Intelligence Chief, Omar Suleiman, met with Hamas delegates.  

Hamas leader, Mahmoud Zahhar, stated that Hamas delegates will meet with Fateh delegates in Cairo on October 25 in an attempt to end their difference and end the current rift and divisions.

He added that the meeting which was held on Wednesday between Hamas delegates and Suleiman resulted in an initial agreement on the main points that should be agreed upon.

Zahhar said that these points are forming a unity government, reforming the institutions of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), and reforming the security devices with the help of Arab experts who will be in charge of coordination and training.

Israeli sources reported that clashes between Arab and Jewish residents in Akka (Acre) renewed on Friday following violent clashes that took place on the eve of Yum Kippur feast.

The sources stated that dozens of Jewish youth gathered in front of a house of an Arab resident as several masked residents gathered there too.

 The police intervened and dispersed the crowd later on as reported by the Israeli radio.

The Arabs48 news website reported that the clashes renewed on Friday afternoon as dozens of Jewish youth held a procession carrying Israeli flags and headed to an Arab home which was attacked on Thursday.

The website added that the police intervened in order to bar them from attacking the home.

The website also reported that dozens of Jewish youth carried a series of attacks overnight targeting several Arab homes stores.

A police commander said on Friday that dozens of policemen were deployed in the western sector of the town and added that “the situation could explode at any given moment”, he also “right now, it seems to be calm, but it is a matter of time”.

Meanwhile, the Acre (Akka)municipality and several theater officials cancelled a theater event due to the clashes. The cancelation comes only one day after Acre Mayor called on the Jews participating in the event to consider it a national event.

The event is an annual activity held every year following the Yum Kippur Jewish feast, Acre was supposed to host it in the period between October  10 and 15. Several Arab figures said that this event only aims at voiding the Arab culture and history in Akka.

Shimon Lankri, the Mayor of Akka, that the decision to cancel the event was made as the municipality does not want to risk further clashes due to the high tension. The event was scheduled for next week.

Furthermore, Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported that Avi Dichter, the Israeli Public Security Minister, stated earlier on Friday that the police will be firm in dealing with any resident responsible for inciting or the clashes which started on Wednesday.

 He also slammed Jewish and Muslim residents for what he described as “incitement which caused the escalation of the clashes”.

 Dichter added that some of the calls by Jews for the residents to carry arms are also incitement, and stated that the security devices are now checking the calls in mosques asking the Arab residents to take off to the streets, Haaretz reported.

Click on Link to download or play MP3 file || 11 m 0s || 10.00 MB ||

This Week in Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center www.imemc.org, for October 4 through 10, 2008.

LEDE: This week, Israeli military stepped up attacks in the West Bank and its naval forces continue to attack Palestinian fishermen in Gaza, meanwhile, Palestinians are closer than ever to a unity agreement in Cairo, these stories and more are coming up, stay tuned.

Let us begin our weekly report with Non-violent actions in the West Bank where harvesting olive trees becomes a task that needs international support and nonviolent intervention.

Bil’in
At least fourteen protestors were wounded in the village of Bil’in near the West Bank city of Ramallah Friday afternoon.

The residents of Bil’in accompanied by international and Israeli human rights activists marched following the Friday prayer towards the gate in the fence in an attempt to go to their land to harvest the olive trees.

Israeli troops operating at the gate prevented them and showered them with rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas.

Four were moved to the hospital for treatment as their wounds were moderate, while the others suffered light injuries and were treated by field medics.

The protestors carried signs condemning the wall and fence Israel is building on the village’s land, while others carried ladders and tools they use to harvest the olive trees.

The olive harvest started in the early hours of the morning in the village; however, due to the wall the villagers could not harvest the trees behind the wall.

As a result of the construction of the wall in Bil’in, the village lost nearly half of its land. The Israeli high court ordered the army to remove the wall in a way that would allow the villagers to retrieve almost half of the confiscated land, however, the court ruling is still not implemented.

Ni’lin

Meanwhile, in the nearby village of Ni’lin, Israeli forces prevented Palestinian farmers from harvesting their olives.

At least 100 Israeli peace activists came to assist in the harvest in solidarity with the villagers of Ni’lin.

The presence of international and Israeli activists during previous harvest seasons has allowed many Palestinians to harvest the olives, especially in orchards where Israeli settlements or military basis were set up.

According to some of the peace activists, Israeli forces used tear gas and concussion grenades to disperse the farmers and their supporters who were heading to the olive orchards, however, no injuries were reported.

Al-Ma’sara

In the southern part of the West Bank, the Israeli soldiers dispersed international, Israeli and Palestinian activists who assembled in a protest against the wall in the village of Al-Ma’sara near Bethlehem on Friday afternoon.

The protest started after the Friday noon prayer in the village and headed towards the construction site of the wall.

However, Israeli troops halted them and prevented them from continuing towards the wall, and showered them with tear gas and concussion grenades. No injuries were reported.

The villagers of Al-Ma’sara and the neighboring villages have been organizing weekly protests in the past two years in bid to stop the construction of the wall on their land, which is the main source of income for most of the villagers.

For IMEMC.org this is George Rishmawi

Political Report

As Palestinian-Israeli peace talks are stalled, different talks are underway in the Egyptian capital of Cairo. The ongoing talks are intra-Palestinian that are meant to reach a settlement of current Palestinian division. Meanwhile, Israeli foreign minister in charge of the Israeli government, assured this week that Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations should continue.

IMEMC’s Jessica Jussly has more,,

Rival Palestinian factions in Gaza and the West Bank are currently meeting in Cairo under the patronage of Egyptian mediators, in order to sort out internal differences following more than a year of separation between both Palestinian regions.

The talks are focused on ending the rivalry between Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bank, as Hamas sources said this week that an agreement on major points of standoff has been maintained.

Representatives of Fatah and Hamas have both confirmed that they will meet by the end of this month, preceded by a trilateral meeting involving Egyptian mediators.

The main points of conflict include reforming the Palestine Liberation Organization on national and a professional basis, reconstructing the security services in light of the 2006's elections results and returning the situation back prior to June of 2007.

The two parties formed a national unity government in February2007, after meeting in the Saudi Arabia city of Mecca. Four months later, fighting broke out in Gaza, resulting in Hamas's takeover of the coastal region and ejection of Fatah-allied security services from the Strip.

At the Palestinian-Israeli political level, Israeli foreign minister and chairwoman of the caretaker government, assured her Palestinian counterparts that the peace process will continue as planned in the Washington-sponsored Annapolis summit meeting in November of last year.

Her Palestinian negotiations counterpart, Ahmad Qurai (Abu Alla), said that any Palestinian-Israeli talks, excluding the status of the occupied east Jerusalem will not move forward.

Both sides have been negotiating over reaching a two-state solution by end of this year, in accordance with the outcome of theAnnapolis conference. However, commentators believe that such a deal is not possible due to the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert.

For IMEMC .. This is Jessica has

Gaza Report

As the truce deal in Gaza enters its fourth month, the Israeli naval forces continue to shoot at fishermen while on board their ships near the Gaza shores. Meanwhile, sources in Gaza warned this week of an Israeli military invasion of Gaza soon.

More with IMEMC’s Rami al-Meghari in Gaza

This week, the Israeli naval forces shot and wounded a Palestinian fisherman while on board his ship near the Gaza shores. The attacks towards the fishermen have been non-stop since an Egyptian-brokered truce deal between Israel and the Gaza-based Palestinian factions came into effect in June of this year.

A Scottish international activist, who is still present in Gaza from the Free Gaza Boat, which broke the siege on August23, took footage of the Israeli naval vessels, while shooting at fishermen.

The assaults on Palestinian fishing boats come as Israel imposes a crippling blockade on the coastal region, since the Islamist Hamas party took over the area amidst factional fighting with Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in June of last year.

Meanwhile, this week the Israeli soldiers, manning the northern Gaza Strip checkpoint of Eritz, denied entry of a medical crew to Gaza. The delegation is made up of 9 Arab-Israeli doctors, who are supposed to conduct surgeries for stranded patients.

The Human Rights group, Physicians for Human Rights, condemned the Israeli denial of such doctors during this time when Israel continues to close the Gaza crossings'.

The local popular committee for breaking the Israeli blockade on Gaza declared this week that the death toll of patients, who are unable to get medical attention from hospitals outside of the Gaza strip due to the crossings closure, has mounted to 247.

For other news, the spokesman for the Alqassam brigades, the armed wing of the ruling Hamas party in Gaza, Abu Obaida, warned this week of what he believed an imminent Israeli military invasion of Gaza.

The Hamas spokesman believed that underway Israeli military exercises around the eastern parts of Gaza are meant at invading the region, expressing Palestinian resistance factions' 'right to defend any Israeli attacks'.

Earlier this week, Israeli army spokesman, Avihai Der'ay, confirmed in a press statement that current army exercises are routine ones and have nothing to do with any army actions against the coastal territory.

On the internal level, the Hamas-led government halted arrest campaigns against supporters of the rival Fatah party, as national unity talks are underway in Cairo, with the purpose of wrapping up the division profile, once and for all .

For IMEMC.org, this is Rami Almeghari in Gaza.

West Bank Report

This week, the Israeli military stepped up attacks on the West Bank, mainly farm lands, amidst the olive picking season as the Israeli soldiers shot and wounded several residents.

IMEMC’s Mark Turner with the details

This week, the Israeli military tightened security measures imposed on the West Bank by closing the region completely under the pretext of Jewish holidays.

Also, Israeli troops attacked Palestinian farmers while working in their olive farms, erecting a fence around a three-dunum-width farm in the Tulkarem city.

Farmers in the Salfit city reported several Israeli military assaults while harvesting their olives, which is a main source of income for the West Bank population.

The Minister of agriculture, Mohammad al-Agha, warned of what he called ' a systematic Israeli assault on the Palestinian agricultural sector' due to the attacks on olive farmers.

Five farmers in the Qabatiya city complained to the Israeli magistrate court about Israeli settlers' unwillingness to evacuate an illegal random settlement block in the area.

The said settlement was supposed to be evacuated last year, given an Israeli government's decision.

In the meantime, the Israeli military stormed a number of West Bank cities, including Jenin, Tulkarem, Hebron and Bethlehem, rounding up more than a dozen residents.

12 residents were reportedly detained on several checkpoints in the West Bank, as Israel further restricted movement of Palestinians amidst Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur and Sokot.

This week in the city of Nablus, Israeli troops shot and wounded a number of Palestinian residents during clashes between locals and the Israeli soldiers.

On the other hand, Hamas said this week that the Fatah-allied Palestinian security services in the West Bank arrested 17 members and supporters of Hamas in several West Bank cities.

Hamas and Fatah governments have been trading arrests since Hamas took over Gaza in June of 2007 and Abbas outlawed the democratically-elected Islamist party. Abbas called Hamas seizure of Gaza 'a coup against legitimacy'.

Meanwhile this week, clashes broke out between dozens of Arab and Jewish residents in the Israeli-Arab city of Akka. Israeli police revealed that the clashes erupted when an Arab family, drove through a street where orthodox Jewish residents live in Akka, during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.

For IMEMC.org this is Mark Turner

And that was just some of the news this week in Palestine. For constant update check out our website, www.IMEMC.org. Thanks for joining us from occupied Bethlehem. This week's report has been brought to you by Hussam Qassis and George Rishmawi

In a positive development in the national dialogue supervised and supported by Egypt, the Hamas deputy political bureau chief, Mousa Abu Marzouq, held a meeting on Friday with the Palestinian ambassador in Egypt, one of the senior Fateh leaders, Nabil Amro.

The meeting lasted for nearly 90 minutes and was attended by members of the Hamas political bureau, Izzat Al Rishiq, Mohammad Nasr and Khalil Al Hayya.

Amro said that President Mahmoud Abbas is weighing Hamas’ proposal of holding a trilateral meeting which includes Hamas, Fateh and Egyptian officials.

The meeting was described as positive and was also attended by the Abdul-Salam, the son of Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyya.

Amro said that the priority should be to achieving national unity and ending the siege on Gaza, and added that many voices are skeptic about Hamas’ seriousness in national talks as some figures believes that Hamas only wants to improve its relation with Egypt.

“But we have no time, I believe that we should achieve and implement an agreement”, he added, “Gaza is now an isolated, surrounded island”.

He also said that president Mahmoud Abbas has the legitimacy to extend his presidency and added that Arab, regional and international countries are demanding that Abbas remains in office until the Palestinians hold presidential and legislative elections.

Meanwhile, Abu Marzouq of Hamas said that Hamas is really willing to end the political crisis and that the movement “knocked on every door to achieve reconciliation”. He also said that the Quartet committee, Fateh movement and others were betting on breaking the will of Hamas and oust it from power.

“Hamas is not seeking internal divisions; we have a crisis here, but Hamas is going for national talks because it wants national unity, and not because it was pressured to do so”, Abu Marzouq added, “there is an Arab consensus to support the Egyptian efforts, and there is a good chance for success”.

He also said that Hamas agrees with Egypt on forming a national unity government and that Hamas is willing to fully cooperate on this issue, including reforming the security devices.

He added that Hamas welcomes the presence of Arab observers and experts in different committees that are in charge of reforming the security devices and resolving all conflicting issues”.

Abu Marzouq stated that Hamas is not totally against extending the term of Abbas in office, and said that such a decision is political and should be made by following correct legal measures.

The Popular Front For the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) issued a statement on Friday welcoming the Egyptian efforts which aim at ending the internal Palestinian crisis and helping the Palestinian factions restore national unity. 

A spokesperson of the PFLP stated on Friday that national unity is the only means to protect the Palestinian national rights, especially the Right of Return of the Palestinian Refugees, independence and self determination.

He added that comprehensive national talks are the way to end all internal divisions, and that these talks should be focused on the national interests of the Palestinian people instead of the interests of a certain faction.

“Factionalism will only lead to more failure, and more strategies of dominance instead of partnership”, the spokesperson said, “drowning in internal conflicts and divisions only serves the occupation and its collaborators”.  

He called on all factions to push for comprehensive dialogue that does not exclude any faction and respects the political partnership far away from the policies of domination which harm the Palestinian people and their rights.