16 aug 2014

Palestinian Fatah delegation chief Azzam al-Ahmed (C) heads to second round of Egyptian-mediated indirect talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators aimed at brokering to conflict in the Gaza Strip, on Aug. 12, 2014 in Cairo
Palestinian and Israeli delegations are returning to Cairo, late Saturday, in continuance of indirect talks to reach a long-term ceasefire agreement before the current temporary truce expires at midnight on Tuesday.
Head of Fatah's delegation, Azzam al-Ahmad, told Ma'an that the negotiations session would begin on Sunday.
Additionally, sources close to the delegation said that there is a "real chance for ... a permanent ceasefire agreement after the five-day ceasefire ends".
Islamic Jihad officials have also said that there is a high chance for a major agreement to occur.
Palestinian demands are consistent with the terms of the Oslo Accords signed between Israel and Palestinians in the 1990s. Israel, however, has failed to abide by the agreement, continuing to insist on the ongoing narrative that democratically elected Hamas is a terrorist group.
Ma'an further reports that Israeli authorities have not directly responded to Palestinian demands but have suggested that they would be open to easing the blockade, stressing previously that a long-term agreement should include the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian and Israeli delegations are returning to Cairo, late Saturday, in continuance of indirect talks to reach a long-term ceasefire agreement before the current temporary truce expires at midnight on Tuesday.
Head of Fatah's delegation, Azzam al-Ahmad, told Ma'an that the negotiations session would begin on Sunday.
Additionally, sources close to the delegation said that there is a "real chance for ... a permanent ceasefire agreement after the five-day ceasefire ends".
Islamic Jihad officials have also said that there is a high chance for a major agreement to occur.
Palestinian demands are consistent with the terms of the Oslo Accords signed between Israel and Palestinians in the 1990s. Israel, however, has failed to abide by the agreement, continuing to insist on the ongoing narrative that democratically elected Hamas is a terrorist group.
Ma'an further reports that Israeli authorities have not directly responded to Palestinian demands but have suggested that they would be open to easing the blockade, stressing previously that a long-term agreement should include the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.

Logo for Boat Blockade protest
The Israeli cargo ship ‘Zim’ was set to dock in the Oakland port, on Saturday morning. But activists have claimed credit for an announced delay in the ship’s docking, and are planning to stop the ship wherever it tries to dock.
The U.S. activists are following the lead of trade unionists in South Africa, who successfully blocked Israeli ships from docking on several occasions, to protest Israeli aggression against Palestinians and call for a just and lasting peace.
Activists in Oakland, California are gathering Saturday to carry out direct action to stop the ship from being able to dock at the port. And, activists in Seattle, WA and Vancouver, BC are also planning to blockade scheduled stops in those ports.
The actions could potentially cost Israeli exporters millions of dollars, if their goods are unable to reach their ports of destination. The exact products on board the Zim are unknown, but they are likely to include Sodastream, a do-it-yourself soda-making device that is manufactured in an Israeli settlement on illegally-seized Palestinian land, Ahava dead sea salts, which are seized from Palestinian land in violation of the Dead Sea Agreement, and Osem brand food products, some of which are manufactured and packaged in Israeli settlements on illegally-seized Palestinian land, in the West Bank.
In their organizing materials, protesters say, “Palestine is calling us to action! Palestinian laborers [and the] Palestinian General Federation Trade Union have called on workers around the world to refuse to handle Israeli goods.”
They say that their “Block the Boat” actions are in response to a call by the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, which calls for people around the world to “educate and build awareness among the labor movements of the U.S., and urge them to condemn the Israeli aggression and to boycott Israel.”
The Oakland action ran into some complications when the local branch of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, or ILWU, was unable to take a public stand in favor of the action – reportedly because of an active negotiation between the union and management. But individual union members are supporting the action, and are part of Saturday’s blockade.
One of the organizers of the event, Reem Assil of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, told reporters, “Symbolically, for Oakland we can say, 'Not in our name!' We’re not going to be complicit and an accomplice to the ongoing genocide and massacres going on.”
In 2010, Oakland activists successfully turned back an Israeli ship, while protesting the Israeli siege on Gaza. But that ship was later able to dock in Los Angeles. This time, activists are coordinating via social media and contact lists to ensure that protesters prepared for direct action will be on hand to meet the ship in Los Angeles, Seattle, or Vancouver, BC if it decides to re-route.
The protesters are calling for an end to the Israeli siege on Gaza, and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. Their demands are in sync with the Palestinian core demands, which include equal rights for Palestinian people, the return of Palestinian refugees to their former homes in what is now Israel, and the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prison camps.
The Israeli cargo ship ‘Zim’ was set to dock in the Oakland port, on Saturday morning. But activists have claimed credit for an announced delay in the ship’s docking, and are planning to stop the ship wherever it tries to dock.
The U.S. activists are following the lead of trade unionists in South Africa, who successfully blocked Israeli ships from docking on several occasions, to protest Israeli aggression against Palestinians and call for a just and lasting peace.
Activists in Oakland, California are gathering Saturday to carry out direct action to stop the ship from being able to dock at the port. And, activists in Seattle, WA and Vancouver, BC are also planning to blockade scheduled stops in those ports.
The actions could potentially cost Israeli exporters millions of dollars, if their goods are unable to reach their ports of destination. The exact products on board the Zim are unknown, but they are likely to include Sodastream, a do-it-yourself soda-making device that is manufactured in an Israeli settlement on illegally-seized Palestinian land, Ahava dead sea salts, which are seized from Palestinian land in violation of the Dead Sea Agreement, and Osem brand food products, some of which are manufactured and packaged in Israeli settlements on illegally-seized Palestinian land, in the West Bank.
In their organizing materials, protesters say, “Palestine is calling us to action! Palestinian laborers [and the] Palestinian General Federation Trade Union have called on workers around the world to refuse to handle Israeli goods.”
They say that their “Block the Boat” actions are in response to a call by the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, which calls for people around the world to “educate and build awareness among the labor movements of the U.S., and urge them to condemn the Israeli aggression and to boycott Israel.”
The Oakland action ran into some complications when the local branch of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, or ILWU, was unable to take a public stand in favor of the action – reportedly because of an active negotiation between the union and management. But individual union members are supporting the action, and are part of Saturday’s blockade.
One of the organizers of the event, Reem Assil of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, told reporters, “Symbolically, for Oakland we can say, 'Not in our name!' We’re not going to be complicit and an accomplice to the ongoing genocide and massacres going on.”
In 2010, Oakland activists successfully turned back an Israeli ship, while protesting the Israeli siege on Gaza. But that ship was later able to dock in Los Angeles. This time, activists are coordinating via social media and contact lists to ensure that protesters prepared for direct action will be on hand to meet the ship in Los Angeles, Seattle, or Vancouver, BC if it decides to re-route.
The protesters are calling for an end to the Israeli siege on Gaza, and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. Their demands are in sync with the Palestinian core demands, which include equal rights for Palestinian people, the return of Palestinian refugees to their former homes in what is now Israel, and the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prison camps.

Most of Gaza is currently operating on six hours of electricity per day, the Strip's power authority said in a statement Saturday.
The Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority will be able to continue supplying Gaza with that amount of power each day for another two months, "unless the company is targeted by Israeli attacks again," the statement said.
Meanwhile, the Authority will begin working on a new power line running from an Israeli power company to the northern Gaza Strip to provide 35 additional megawatts of electricity.
The statement said that priority for electricity will always be given to hospitals, civil institutions, and sewage treatment plants in order to provide essential services to Gaza residents.
Gaza's sole power plant came under Israeli shelling on July 29, and as a result of stopped functioning. The damage will take up to a year to fix, the Authority has said.
The damages done to generators, poles, high pressure cables, main power containers, and warehouses across Gaza will cost $35 million to repair, the Saturday statement said.
It said that the Strip is suffering from a 70 percent shortage of its total power needs.
Gaza often experiences power shortages due to the ongoing eight-year Israeli blockade on the Strip, which severely limits imports of goods, fuel, and construction materials.
As a part of any long-term halt to hostilities in Gaza, Palestinians have demanded an end to the blockade, which has crippled the economy and led to frequent humanitarian crises.
The Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority will be able to continue supplying Gaza with that amount of power each day for another two months, "unless the company is targeted by Israeli attacks again," the statement said.
Meanwhile, the Authority will begin working on a new power line running from an Israeli power company to the northern Gaza Strip to provide 35 additional megawatts of electricity.
The statement said that priority for electricity will always be given to hospitals, civil institutions, and sewage treatment plants in order to provide essential services to Gaza residents.
Gaza's sole power plant came under Israeli shelling on July 29, and as a result of stopped functioning. The damage will take up to a year to fix, the Authority has said.
The damages done to generators, poles, high pressure cables, main power containers, and warehouses across Gaza will cost $35 million to repair, the Saturday statement said.
It said that the Strip is suffering from a 70 percent shortage of its total power needs.
Gaza often experiences power shortages due to the ongoing eight-year Israeli blockade on the Strip, which severely limits imports of goods, fuel, and construction materials.
As a part of any long-term halt to hostilities in Gaza, Palestinians have demanded an end to the blockade, which has crippled the economy and led to frequent humanitarian crises.
Entire blocks were flattened in Shujaiyya as Israeli forces bombed and shelled the neighborhood on July 20, in an attack that has been dubbed the "Shujaiyya massacre." At least 70 Palestinians were killed in the area in a single night.
"Life is dead in Shujaiyya. We do not have a house anymore and all the houses around us collapsed and were destroyed."
Another woman from the Shujaiyya neighborhood, Um Rabah, is in a similar situation with 20 members of her family.
"We received calls and texts telling us to evacuate the house … but we could not find any safe place in Shujaiyya," Um Rabah said.
Amid the calm, she and her family have set up a tent in front of their now destroyed house in the neighborhood, where they wait until sunset before heading back to al-Shifa hospital to sleep.
"Where are we going to go in winter? Where are we going to live?" Um Rabah said.
Some of the Palestinians on the grounds of al-Shifa said there was no room for them at the UN schools that housed many of the hundreds of thousands of displaced people during the assault.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs, some 365,000 Palestinians in Gaza are currently homeless and are living at UN schools, with host families, or in other shelters.
The homes of some 100,000 Palestinians have been destroyed or severely damaged by the Israeli assault, an Aug. 15 OCHA report said.
Israel's five-week offensive on the Gaza Strip has left over 1,980 Palestinians dead and nearly 10,000 injured. The vast majority of the victims have been civilians.
"Life is dead in Shujaiyya. We do not have a house anymore and all the houses around us collapsed and were destroyed."
Another woman from the Shujaiyya neighborhood, Um Rabah, is in a similar situation with 20 members of her family.
"We received calls and texts telling us to evacuate the house … but we could not find any safe place in Shujaiyya," Um Rabah said.
Amid the calm, she and her family have set up a tent in front of their now destroyed house in the neighborhood, where they wait until sunset before heading back to al-Shifa hospital to sleep.
"Where are we going to go in winter? Where are we going to live?" Um Rabah said.
Some of the Palestinians on the grounds of al-Shifa said there was no room for them at the UN schools that housed many of the hundreds of thousands of displaced people during the assault.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs, some 365,000 Palestinians in Gaza are currently homeless and are living at UN schools, with host families, or in other shelters.
The homes of some 100,000 Palestinians have been destroyed or severely damaged by the Israeli assault, an Aug. 15 OCHA report said.
Israel's five-week offensive on the Gaza Strip has left over 1,980 Palestinians dead and nearly 10,000 injured. The vast majority of the victims have been civilians.

A Hamadryas baboon (L) looks at the carcass of another baboon inside their cage at the Bisan City tourist village zoo, in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, on August 14, 2014
The lions sit dazed in the shade of their damaged pen, while nearby the decayed carcases of two vervet monkeys lie contorted on the grass of a Gaza zoo.
The animals were caught in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, amid a five-week assault that killed at least 1,980 Palestinians -- the vast majority civilians -- and left 67 people -- 95 percent of whom where soldiers -- dead on the Israeli side.
In one enclosure at the zoo a fly-covered pelican huddles in the corner with a duck. Opposite, a small crocodile sits motionless in an inch of stagnant water, next to the rotting corpse of a stork.
A gazelle shares another pen with a goose.
Around the corner, a baboon picks listlessly at the ground of the tiny pen it shares with the dried-out remains of another monkey.
Everywhere, there is a sickly stench from the animals' cages, which have not been cleaned for weeks due to the intense Israeli airstrikes which made visits by park workers dangerous.
Shadi Hamad, the park's director, said the zoo was damaged and that more than half of the animals died as a result of Israeli air strikes.
An Israeli army spokesman told AFP that the military was looking into allegations that it fired missiles in the Al-Bisan park area.
The zoo -- part of Al-Bisan City -- was built by the Hamas government in 2008 as a tourist village to give Gazans some relief from the hardships of life in the Strip, which has been under an Israeli siege since 2006, and had a cafeteria and tables where families could sit and relax.
The animals were all smuggled through tunnels that connected Egypt to Gaza, before the passages were shut last year with the ouster of democratically-elected Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, a key ally of the Islamist movement Hamas.
Now, Al-Bisan is far from relaxing, with the wire of its enclosures twisted and crushed, debris and dead animals strewn around, and the remains of militant rocket launchers lying nearby.
"Before the war the area was very beautiful. There were trees, lots of greenery, palm trees. It was an area for children, there were playgrounds and areas for families," zookeeper Farid al-Hissi said.
Hissi got his job at Al-Bisan after working in a zoo in Israel and because of his love for animals.
The death of the animals he cared for has clearly left him in a state of shock.
"Eight monkeys were killed, and an ostrich was killed too. The lion's enclosure was wrecked and the zoo was completely destroyed. The Al-Bisan zoo was totally devastated," he said.
The administrative center has been flattened and some of the palm trees lining the avenue from the entrance down to the animal enclosures have been uprooted.
'Makes you sad'
The lions sit dazed in the shade of their damaged pen, while nearby the decayed carcases of two vervet monkeys lie contorted on the grass of a Gaza zoo.
The animals were caught in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, amid a five-week assault that killed at least 1,980 Palestinians -- the vast majority civilians -- and left 67 people -- 95 percent of whom where soldiers -- dead on the Israeli side.
In one enclosure at the zoo a fly-covered pelican huddles in the corner with a duck. Opposite, a small crocodile sits motionless in an inch of stagnant water, next to the rotting corpse of a stork.
A gazelle shares another pen with a goose.
Around the corner, a baboon picks listlessly at the ground of the tiny pen it shares with the dried-out remains of another monkey.
Everywhere, there is a sickly stench from the animals' cages, which have not been cleaned for weeks due to the intense Israeli airstrikes which made visits by park workers dangerous.
Shadi Hamad, the park's director, said the zoo was damaged and that more than half of the animals died as a result of Israeli air strikes.
An Israeli army spokesman told AFP that the military was looking into allegations that it fired missiles in the Al-Bisan park area.
The zoo -- part of Al-Bisan City -- was built by the Hamas government in 2008 as a tourist village to give Gazans some relief from the hardships of life in the Strip, which has been under an Israeli siege since 2006, and had a cafeteria and tables where families could sit and relax.
The animals were all smuggled through tunnels that connected Egypt to Gaza, before the passages were shut last year with the ouster of democratically-elected Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, a key ally of the Islamist movement Hamas.
Now, Al-Bisan is far from relaxing, with the wire of its enclosures twisted and crushed, debris and dead animals strewn around, and the remains of militant rocket launchers lying nearby.
"Before the war the area was very beautiful. There were trees, lots of greenery, palm trees. It was an area for children, there were playgrounds and areas for families," zookeeper Farid al-Hissi said.
Hissi got his job at Al-Bisan after working in a zoo in Israel and because of his love for animals.
The death of the animals he cared for has clearly left him in a state of shock.
"Eight monkeys were killed, and an ostrich was killed too. The lion's enclosure was wrecked and the zoo was completely destroyed. The Al-Bisan zoo was totally devastated," he said.
The administrative center has been flattened and some of the palm trees lining the avenue from the entrance down to the animal enclosures have been uprooted.
'Makes you sad'

The destruction to the zoo has shaken Hissi badly.
"You can see that the cages for the animals are badly damaged. When you see it, it makes you sad because they are in a jail now," he said, standing by the lion enclosure.
A lion and lioness lie in a steel pen inside their enclosure, the roof of which has collapsed from the force of the nearby explosion.
They make little noise, standing only when Hissi tosses in a couple of dead chickens.
And in a filthy three-by-three meter (10-by-10 foot) pen, seven mange-ridden wild dogs zig zag around their enclosure incessantly.
Hissi was insistent there had been no militant weapons inside the zoo.
But buckled rectangular metal rocket launch systems lay among the debris on the edge of the park, near a large building that was also hit by Israeli air strikes. Some appeared still to be loaded with rockets.
Hamad, the park's director, was adamant that the rockets had not been fired from inside the park.
"Maybe there was a base around Al-Bisan village or next to it. But the enemy decided and insisted on punishing Al-Bisan village," said the neatly-dressed director.
"They punished the park for the presence of the rockets nearby but not inside the village," he said.
The Jabaliya area north of Gaza City is home to the Strip's second park, the Jabaliya Zoo, which escaped major damage.
Completed just six months ago, the park's exhibits range from pigeons and a German Shepherd in cages to six lions. All were smuggled through tunnels from Egypt.
Although the park in Jabaliya was relatively unscathed, bombardment had impacted on the animals psychologically.
"It was the noise that really affected the animals here. The sound from the bombing terrified the animals. When the birds heard the shelling they would take flight and flap around the enclosure in panic because they were so scared," said Aamir Abu Warda, director of the Jabaliya park.
"The continuation, the repetition of this killed several birds, and other animals abandoned their young ones, some of which died," he said.
"You can see that the cages for the animals are badly damaged. When you see it, it makes you sad because they are in a jail now," he said, standing by the lion enclosure.
A lion and lioness lie in a steel pen inside their enclosure, the roof of which has collapsed from the force of the nearby explosion.
They make little noise, standing only when Hissi tosses in a couple of dead chickens.
And in a filthy three-by-three meter (10-by-10 foot) pen, seven mange-ridden wild dogs zig zag around their enclosure incessantly.
Hissi was insistent there had been no militant weapons inside the zoo.
But buckled rectangular metal rocket launch systems lay among the debris on the edge of the park, near a large building that was also hit by Israeli air strikes. Some appeared still to be loaded with rockets.
Hamad, the park's director, was adamant that the rockets had not been fired from inside the park.
"Maybe there was a base around Al-Bisan village or next to it. But the enemy decided and insisted on punishing Al-Bisan village," said the neatly-dressed director.
"They punished the park for the presence of the rockets nearby but not inside the village," he said.
The Jabaliya area north of Gaza City is home to the Strip's second park, the Jabaliya Zoo, which escaped major damage.
Completed just six months ago, the park's exhibits range from pigeons and a German Shepherd in cages to six lions. All were smuggled through tunnels from Egypt.
Although the park in Jabaliya was relatively unscathed, bombardment had impacted on the animals psychologically.
"It was the noise that really affected the animals here. The sound from the bombing terrified the animals. When the birds heard the shelling they would take flight and flap around the enclosure in panic because they were so scared," said Aamir Abu Warda, director of the Jabaliya park.
"The continuation, the repetition of this killed several birds, and other animals abandoned their young ones, some of which died," he said.

Israeli Minister of Economy Naftali Bennett said on Friday that "Israel should make unilateral concessions to Palestinians in Gaza without reaching an agreement with Hamas," Israeli newspaper Ynet reported.
Bennett said that "Israel should open Gaza's border crossing and expand the fishing zone unilaterally," and without signing an agreement with Hamas, adding that such an agreement could "harm (Israel's) right to target tunnels."
Bennett said that "Israel should open Gaza's border crossing and expand the fishing zone unilaterally," and without signing an agreement with Hamas, adding that such an agreement could "harm (Israel's) right to target tunnels."

Wounded Palestinian Child - Ministry Of Health, Gaza
The Israeli side presented a 7-stage plan to Egyptian mediators who, in return, handed it to the Palestinian negotiators. Palestinian sources said that the plan is practically filled with threats and attempts to intimidate the Palestinian people.
Palestinian sources say that the document did not include opening the Rafah Border Terminal with Egypt, and has a condition which links the opening of other crossings, with the signing of a detailed agreement between Palestinian officials, without providing a time frame.
The document also refrained from mentioning anything about the allowance of a transfer of funds which would provide salaries to government employees in Gaza, while Israel insists on keeping the so-called “buffer zone” it has effectuated over time, deep into the northern and eastern areas of the Gaza Strip, on the expense of Palestinian lands, homes, farmers and workers.
The proposed plan also rejects the allowance of Palestinian fishers to fish within 12 nautical miles off the Gaza shore, and disregards the release of political prisoners while, at the same time, highlights posts as issues which are not considered a priority, and could be discussed at a later state.
Ma'an News Agency has said that the Palestinians have presented a plan for lifting the siege on Gaza, to include the following points:
1. The unified Palestinian government pays the salaries of the employees and pensioners in the Gaza Strip, and all government ministries should be allowed to operate normally.
2. The Palestinian leadership continues to file international applications to join more UN institutions, and international treaties.
3. Allowing the deployment of 1,000-3,000 presidential guards at the Rafah Border Terminal with Egypt.
4. Moving the conference meant for the rebuilding of Gaza, from Norway to Egypt, in order to facilitate and speed the reconstruction of the region.
5. The Foreign Ministry should be free to sign agreements with countries around the world, and to decide official relations with Latin American countries.
6. Signing an agreement between the State of Palestine and the Egyptian Republic regarding border terminals.
7. Continuance and conclusion of talks regarding the international airport and seaport which would be built in Gaza.
(This airport closed in 2001, after being repeatedly bombarded and bulldozed by the Israeli army).
Spokesperson of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, Yousef al-Hasayna, stated that he expects a comprehensive ceasefire agreement to be signed directly, after the current five-day ceasefire ends Monday, adding that any Israeli violation will be met with fierce retaliation.
Talking to the Ma'an News Agency, Yousef al-Hasayna stated that Egyptian mediators asked Palestinian negotiators to grant a 5-day truce, also implemented by Israel, to offer the chance of Egyptian teams to resolve what has been described as “technical issues”.
Al-Hasayna added that indirect Palestinian-Israeli talks managed to reach a milestone in marathon negotiations which aim to end Israeli aggressions on Gaza, as well as lifting the economically crippling Israeli siege on the coastal region.
He stated that issues which have been resolved are, in fact, facilitating the end of the Gaza siege, allowing the entry of construction supplies into the coastal region, and increasing the allotted Palestinian fishing zone.
As for Palestinian demands in regard to establishing a seaport and rebuilding the Gaza International Airport, al-Hasayna stated that all of these issues would be discussed one month after signing the official ceasefire deal.
Egypt and the United States have supposedly provided “guarantees” which ensure the implementation of the agreement, while al-Hasayna stated that the Islamic Jihad does not trust the United States, because it is “Israel’s partner in the aggression on Gaza, providing Tel Aviv with guns and money”.
“The Egyptians are providing guarantees”, he added, “but the most important guarantee is the resistance.”
He added that Tel Aviv has been trying to impose its own version of a truce, calm versus calm, “but the resistance, the steadfastness of our people, foiled this policy, and managed to become a power that counters Israel’s aggression”.
“Any violation by Israel, any attack, will be met with fierce retaliation”, the official stated.
“The siege on Gaza is an aggression, and ongoing assault, and the resistance has the right to retaliate”.
The Israeli side presented a 7-stage plan to Egyptian mediators who, in return, handed it to the Palestinian negotiators. Palestinian sources said that the plan is practically filled with threats and attempts to intimidate the Palestinian people.
Palestinian sources say that the document did not include opening the Rafah Border Terminal with Egypt, and has a condition which links the opening of other crossings, with the signing of a detailed agreement between Palestinian officials, without providing a time frame.
The document also refrained from mentioning anything about the allowance of a transfer of funds which would provide salaries to government employees in Gaza, while Israel insists on keeping the so-called “buffer zone” it has effectuated over time, deep into the northern and eastern areas of the Gaza Strip, on the expense of Palestinian lands, homes, farmers and workers.
The proposed plan also rejects the allowance of Palestinian fishers to fish within 12 nautical miles off the Gaza shore, and disregards the release of political prisoners while, at the same time, highlights posts as issues which are not considered a priority, and could be discussed at a later state.
Ma'an News Agency has said that the Palestinians have presented a plan for lifting the siege on Gaza, to include the following points:
1. The unified Palestinian government pays the salaries of the employees and pensioners in the Gaza Strip, and all government ministries should be allowed to operate normally.
2. The Palestinian leadership continues to file international applications to join more UN institutions, and international treaties.
3. Allowing the deployment of 1,000-3,000 presidential guards at the Rafah Border Terminal with Egypt.
4. Moving the conference meant for the rebuilding of Gaza, from Norway to Egypt, in order to facilitate and speed the reconstruction of the region.
5. The Foreign Ministry should be free to sign agreements with countries around the world, and to decide official relations with Latin American countries.
6. Signing an agreement between the State of Palestine and the Egyptian Republic regarding border terminals.
7. Continuance and conclusion of talks regarding the international airport and seaport which would be built in Gaza.
(This airport closed in 2001, after being repeatedly bombarded and bulldozed by the Israeli army).
Spokesperson of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, Yousef al-Hasayna, stated that he expects a comprehensive ceasefire agreement to be signed directly, after the current five-day ceasefire ends Monday, adding that any Israeli violation will be met with fierce retaliation.
Talking to the Ma'an News Agency, Yousef al-Hasayna stated that Egyptian mediators asked Palestinian negotiators to grant a 5-day truce, also implemented by Israel, to offer the chance of Egyptian teams to resolve what has been described as “technical issues”.
Al-Hasayna added that indirect Palestinian-Israeli talks managed to reach a milestone in marathon negotiations which aim to end Israeli aggressions on Gaza, as well as lifting the economically crippling Israeli siege on the coastal region.
He stated that issues which have been resolved are, in fact, facilitating the end of the Gaza siege, allowing the entry of construction supplies into the coastal region, and increasing the allotted Palestinian fishing zone.
As for Palestinian demands in regard to establishing a seaport and rebuilding the Gaza International Airport, al-Hasayna stated that all of these issues would be discussed one month after signing the official ceasefire deal.
Egypt and the United States have supposedly provided “guarantees” which ensure the implementation of the agreement, while al-Hasayna stated that the Islamic Jihad does not trust the United States, because it is “Israel’s partner in the aggression on Gaza, providing Tel Aviv with guns and money”.
“The Egyptians are providing guarantees”, he added, “but the most important guarantee is the resistance.”
He added that Tel Aviv has been trying to impose its own version of a truce, calm versus calm, “but the resistance, the steadfastness of our people, foiled this policy, and managed to become a power that counters Israel’s aggression”.
“Any violation by Israel, any attack, will be met with fierce retaliation”, the official stated.
“The siege on Gaza is an aggression, and ongoing assault, and the resistance has the right to retaliate”.

Activists in Belgium protest the sale of Israeli fruit and vegetables.
Major Israeli food exporters are facing an unprecedented wave of cancelations in orders from Europe as a result of Israel’s most recent massacre of Palestinians in Gaza.
SuperValu, the biggest food distributor in Ireland, told the Irish media last week that it has withdrawn Israeli products from its shops.
And Israeli media reports suggest that other major European retailers have taken similar decisions without announcing them publicly.
Israeli fruit and vegetable exporters have faced cancelations from Scandinavia, the UK, France, Belgium and Ireland.
Retailers have become fearful of the rapidly growing consumer boycott of Israeli goods, according to an 11 August article in Hebrew business website The Marker.
A spokesperson for EDOM, a major Israeli fruit grower and exporter that has extensive operations in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, told The Marker:
Importers from Europe are telling us that they can’t sell Israeli produce … One European buyer has told me that he had been blocked in several chains in Denmark and Sweden, and then in Belgium. Last weekend, he told me that mangoes which had been packaged in the Netherlands, as always, and shipped to Ireland, were returned, claiming that Israeli produce would not be accepted …
I’ve heard of major exporters from whom chains in southern France are no longer buying. There is no official boycott, but everyone is afraid of selling Israeli fruits. We can only hope that things do not get worse.
Among the other exporters interviewed for the article is an Israeli pomegranate grower who is quoted as saying that they had been forced to cancel their “entire work plan in the UK” because major retail chains were no longer interested in Israeli goods, and that similar messages had been received from importers in Belgium and Scandinavia.
A separate article published in The Marker on 27 July details how fruit juice producer Priniv had lost a major contract with a business in Sweden after refusing a request to export the produce in a way that would make it easier to conceal the fact it was produced in Israel. Customers in Belgium and France also made similar requests.
Priniv director Ido Yaniv attributes the drop in sales to Israel’s attack on Gaza.
Organized boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaigns have in recent years succeeded in pressuring retailers across Europe to announce that they will not stock produce from illegal Israeli settlements or from companies that operate in settlements. The Tesco chain the UK is the latest to make such an announcement.
But it is now becoming increasingly clear that European businesses are starting to react to growing public support for Palestinian rights and boycotts of Israel in Europe. They are deciding not to sell Israeli produce of any kind — at least for now.
“Disposal” of Israeli goods Ireland’s largest grocery and food retailer distributor SuperValu instructed all of its 232 stores to remove Israeli products from the shelves earlier this month.
In an email to store managers, the chain called on store managers to “remove all stock from available sale and dispose of [it] at store level.”
“It’s mostly fruit and vegetables, carrots and herbs more specifically,” a source from the retailer told the Irish Herald.
Following the Irish Herald story, SuperValu issued a statement saying that it has not officially endorsed the boycott of Israel but did not deny that Israeli products have been removed from its stores.
Major Irish toy store Smyths may have taken a similar decision, temporarily displaying a poster at one Dublin store stating that it had removed products made in Israel from the shelves.
The decisions come as part of a huge upsurge in support of the Palestinian struggle and boycotts of Israel across Ireland.
Protests have been held in retailers across the country and calls for boycott have been made by national trade unions, local councils and even sports stars including Irish and Leinster rugby star Gordon Darcy.
Building the boycott Calls for boycotts of Israeli products, for sanctions and a military embargo to be imposed on Israel have been a key part of the huge mass demonstrations in solidarity with Gaza that have taken place across the world in recent weeks.
Civil society organizations are responding to the attack on Gaza by announcing new boycott initiatives.
In the weeks and months that follow, the challenge for campaigners will be to ramp up the pressure on retailers to remove Israeli products and to make their refusal to do so public.
Campaigns against the sale of Israeli fresh produce have been a major focus of the solidarity movement in Europe in recent years.
BDS initiatives have focused on Israeli companies such as Mehadrin and EDOM that play a key role in the colonization of Palestinian land in the West Bank and profit from the siege of Gaza, as research published by Palestinian farming unions has detailed.
In January, Israeli settler leaders in the Jordan Valley region of the West Bank told the Associated Press that the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign had cost settlers $29 million in lost sales, especially in Europe.
Campaigns against Israeli fresh produce exporters have intensified following the decision by the UK Co-operative retail chain to boycott all companies that operate in settlements, with campaigns also underway in France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Sweden.
In 2011, Israeli export company Agrexco entered into liquidation after boycotts and campaigns in thirteen European countries that saw retailers cut links with the company, blockades of its UK and Belgium warehouses and a huge mobilization against plans for an Agrexco distribution center in Sete in the south of France.
Israeli analyst Shir Hever suggested at the time that farmers leaving Agrexco to export their products through other channels because of the boycott campaign was a major factor behind the company’s collapse.
With thanks to Boycott From Within for translation from Hebrew.
Major Israeli food exporters are facing an unprecedented wave of cancelations in orders from Europe as a result of Israel’s most recent massacre of Palestinians in Gaza.
SuperValu, the biggest food distributor in Ireland, told the Irish media last week that it has withdrawn Israeli products from its shops.
And Israeli media reports suggest that other major European retailers have taken similar decisions without announcing them publicly.
Israeli fruit and vegetable exporters have faced cancelations from Scandinavia, the UK, France, Belgium and Ireland.
Retailers have become fearful of the rapidly growing consumer boycott of Israeli goods, according to an 11 August article in Hebrew business website The Marker.
A spokesperson for EDOM, a major Israeli fruit grower and exporter that has extensive operations in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, told The Marker:
Importers from Europe are telling us that they can’t sell Israeli produce … One European buyer has told me that he had been blocked in several chains in Denmark and Sweden, and then in Belgium. Last weekend, he told me that mangoes which had been packaged in the Netherlands, as always, and shipped to Ireland, were returned, claiming that Israeli produce would not be accepted …
I’ve heard of major exporters from whom chains in southern France are no longer buying. There is no official boycott, but everyone is afraid of selling Israeli fruits. We can only hope that things do not get worse.
Among the other exporters interviewed for the article is an Israeli pomegranate grower who is quoted as saying that they had been forced to cancel their “entire work plan in the UK” because major retail chains were no longer interested in Israeli goods, and that similar messages had been received from importers in Belgium and Scandinavia.
A separate article published in The Marker on 27 July details how fruit juice producer Priniv had lost a major contract with a business in Sweden after refusing a request to export the produce in a way that would make it easier to conceal the fact it was produced in Israel. Customers in Belgium and France also made similar requests.
Priniv director Ido Yaniv attributes the drop in sales to Israel’s attack on Gaza.
Organized boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaigns have in recent years succeeded in pressuring retailers across Europe to announce that they will not stock produce from illegal Israeli settlements or from companies that operate in settlements. The Tesco chain the UK is the latest to make such an announcement.
But it is now becoming increasingly clear that European businesses are starting to react to growing public support for Palestinian rights and boycotts of Israel in Europe. They are deciding not to sell Israeli produce of any kind — at least for now.
“Disposal” of Israeli goods Ireland’s largest grocery and food retailer distributor SuperValu instructed all of its 232 stores to remove Israeli products from the shelves earlier this month.
In an email to store managers, the chain called on store managers to “remove all stock from available sale and dispose of [it] at store level.”
“It’s mostly fruit and vegetables, carrots and herbs more specifically,” a source from the retailer told the Irish Herald.
Following the Irish Herald story, SuperValu issued a statement saying that it has not officially endorsed the boycott of Israel but did not deny that Israeli products have been removed from its stores.
Major Irish toy store Smyths may have taken a similar decision, temporarily displaying a poster at one Dublin store stating that it had removed products made in Israel from the shelves.
The decisions come as part of a huge upsurge in support of the Palestinian struggle and boycotts of Israel across Ireland.
Protests have been held in retailers across the country and calls for boycott have been made by national trade unions, local councils and even sports stars including Irish and Leinster rugby star Gordon Darcy.
Building the boycott Calls for boycotts of Israeli products, for sanctions and a military embargo to be imposed on Israel have been a key part of the huge mass demonstrations in solidarity with Gaza that have taken place across the world in recent weeks.
Civil society organizations are responding to the attack on Gaza by announcing new boycott initiatives.
In the weeks and months that follow, the challenge for campaigners will be to ramp up the pressure on retailers to remove Israeli products and to make their refusal to do so public.
Campaigns against the sale of Israeli fresh produce have been a major focus of the solidarity movement in Europe in recent years.
BDS initiatives have focused on Israeli companies such as Mehadrin and EDOM that play a key role in the colonization of Palestinian land in the West Bank and profit from the siege of Gaza, as research published by Palestinian farming unions has detailed.
In January, Israeli settler leaders in the Jordan Valley region of the West Bank told the Associated Press that the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign had cost settlers $29 million in lost sales, especially in Europe.
Campaigns against Israeli fresh produce exporters have intensified following the decision by the UK Co-operative retail chain to boycott all companies that operate in settlements, with campaigns also underway in France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Sweden.
In 2011, Israeli export company Agrexco entered into liquidation after boycotts and campaigns in thirteen European countries that saw retailers cut links with the company, blockades of its UK and Belgium warehouses and a huge mobilization against plans for an Agrexco distribution center in Sete in the south of France.
Israeli analyst Shir Hever suggested at the time that farmers leaving Agrexco to export their products through other channels because of the boycott campaign was a major factor behind the company’s collapse.
With thanks to Boycott From Within for translation from Hebrew.
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