Middle East Monitor - The Latest from the Middle East

Chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said on Monday that Israeli settlements are the main obstacle before efforts to revive the peace process, and that the Palestinian Authority is prepared to join 63 international organisations and conventions but is holding back to give Kerry’s efforts a chance.

Speaking at a meeting of a committee concerned with Palestinians exercising their inalienable rights in New York, Erekat said: "In total 6,000 Israeli settlements have been approved between 2009 and 2012. This is an average of 11 settlement units every day."

There is an on-going conspiracy against the Christian presence in the Palestinian territories, said Hanna Issa Hadithah, an activist who supports the Christian presence in Palestine.

"The [Israeli] authorities bear primary responsibility for emptying the land of the Christ of Christians," Hanna Issa said in an interview held in Ramallah.

The European Union yesterday denied reports by Israeli media outlets regarding the postponement of its decision to label Israeli settlement products.

A statement was made by the EU delegation in Israel saying "Contrary to what was recently reported in Israeli media, work on the enforcement of EU legislation with regard to the labelling of settlement products has not been delayed."

US Secretary of State called the Israeli ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, last week demanding an explanation about planned legalisation of four Israeli outposts in the occupied West Bank, Israeli newspaper Haaretz said on Tuesday.

Haaretz reported a senior Israeli official as saying that Kerry personally phoned Oren after he had received a report about the Israeli intentions to legalise the four outposts. The official said that Kerry rebuked Oren.

Al-Tadamun human rights organisation said on Tuesday that the Israeli occupation has renewed the administrative detention of 11 Palestinians, including a former hunger striker and two Palestinian lawmakers.

The Israeli authorities announced on Tuesday that it would return the allowed fishing area off the coast of Gaza to what was agreed upon within the context of last November's truce agreement that ended the war.

Radio Israel said that the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his Defence Minister, Moshe Ya'alon, approved the decision to expand the area in which Gaza fishermen are allowed to fish to six miles off the coast. It was reduced to three miles two months ago.

On Tuesday morning, Israeli authorities destroyed two Palestinian homes in the Khellat al-Ein neighbourhood to the east of the old city of Jerusalem claiming they had been built without permission.

Witnesses said that large numbers of Israeli forces accompanied by two bulldozers approached the area at 6am and besieged the two houses.

Israeli forces responded on Monday night to missile fire they claim originated from the Syrian side of the Golan Heights. No casualties have been reported, a spokesman for the Israeli forces said.

The 11th annual "Palestinians in Europe Conference", organized by the General Secretariat of the Palestinians in Europe Conference and The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC), was held on Saturday in the Belgian capital, Brussels, and was attended by several Palestinian representatives and influential figures, under the theme "The Signs of Return are Blossoming".

The conference is considered one of the biggest Palestinian gatherings held in Europe annually and is an indication of the Palestinians' dedication to their identity, which the occupation is seeking to erase.

On May 7th, 2013, the United States and Russia agreed to hold an international conference to end the war and "prevent the dismantlement of Syria". The agreement was announced by US Secretary of State, John Kerry, and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, after talks in Moscow, before which Kerry met with Russian President, Vladimir Putin.

The scheduled conference aims to revive the Geneva agreement, also known as the "Geneva Communiqué'", reached in June 2012 but has not been put into effect due to the unresolved issue of Syrian President, Bashar Al-Assad's fate.

Author: Norma Hashim
Paperback: 125 pages
Publisher: Islamic Human Rights Commission
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1903718929

Review by Ramona Wadi

Edited and published during the Palestinian prisoners' hunger strike, The Prisoners' Diaries is a distressing fragment of testimonies from Palestinians whose deterioration in Israeli jails has become a fact of life, rather than a blatant violation of human rights. The resilience against the occupation and a lack of global outrage against torture and apartheid practices resonated with irregular frequencies within the international community, as leaders relegate human rights to the vestiges of redundant diplomacy.

Malaysia's former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, said on Sunday that Egypt could achieve great economic renaissance over a short period because of its vast natural and human resources which distinguish it from Malaysia at the time when the latter started its developmental experience.

Mahathir Mohamad expressed his gratitude to the Freedom and Justice Party for inviting him to speak about the Malaysian experience in achieving renaissance and development.

Israeli authorities announced on Monday that they had cancelled the UNESCO mission due to visit the old city of Jerusalem because the Palestinian Authority had failed to keep the mission away from politics, media sources reported.

Israeli radio, broadcasting in Hebrew, reported from sources in the Israeli foreign ministry that the decision was taken after the Palestinian side retracted previous pledges that the issue was not to be politicised.

EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS

On September 30, 2011, Muhammad Al-Durrah was killed in the arms of his father by Israeli army gunfire at the Al-Shohada Junction in the Gaza Strip. This was filmed by cameras from the France 2 news channel.

Since this is a resounding crime and a scandal that reveals the true conduct of Israeli soldiers and their manner of dealing with civilians, Israel has tried to fudge the story.

The failure of the National Salvation Front was apparent since its inception. Its leaders' famous first press conference was delayed for several hours, and when they finally showed up, they were fighting over the microphone. No one will ever forget when Dr. El-Baradei tried to snatch the microphone away from Amr Moussa, saying "Come on Amr, give me the microphone." Despite their eagerness, they were unable to succeed in anything, as they were contentious partners who have never achieved notable political or professional success.