* UN report calls on Israel to halt settling its population in occupied territory. The settlers take over West Bank springs and turn them into touristic sites with Hebrew names. Al-Quds)

* Fayyad: the Palestinian people cannot wait until the end of negotiations. The PA calls on donors to support development in Jerusalem and “C” areas and to contribute to the rebuilding of the Gaza strip. The EU decides to disburse 35 million Euro to the PA to fund desalination plant in the West Bank and renovate Beit Hanoun crossing. (Al-Quds)

* Al-Ahmad: a-Zahhar incited from Tehran for continuation of opposition to “Doha Declaration”. (Al-Quds)

* The government affirms it would not harm the servants` wages despite of the fiscal crisis. (Al-Quds)

* The UN denies that Hamas lawmaker Ismail al-Ashqar would visit the UNHRC. (Al-Quds)

* Asma` al-Assad: “a desert rose” smashed by the conflict in Syria. (Al-Quds)

* Four killed in shooting incident in front of a Jewish school in the French city of Toulouse. (Al-Quds)

A US-Jewish professor calls on boycotting West Bank settlements to preserve the democratic feature of Israel. (Al-Quds)

*The president discusses with the three churches heads the renovation of the Church of Nativity. Al-Ayyam)

* The UN: the absence of a political prospect and financial pressures are threatening the achievements of state building. (Al-Ayyam)

* UN report details violations by Israel in the Palestinian territories and criticizes the PA and Hamas. (Al-Ayyam)

* Clashes between the regime and dissents in the center of Damascus. Moscow calls on Assad to accept “daily humanitarian truce”. (Al-Ayyam)

* Israel: there are military Iranian experts in the Gaza strip and Sinai. (Al-Ayyam)

* A presidential delegation to participate today in funeral of Pope Shenouda. (Al-Hayat al-Jadida)

* The PA moves the battle of settlements to the UNHRC. (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida)

Al-Quds: 1) Brussels- A Palestinian lady displaying several passports during her speech at a conference on activating youth refugees` role to change the Middle East that was organized by the UNRWA; 2) Asma` al-Assad.

Al-Ayyam: 1) A march in Nablus in support of prisoner Hana` a-Shalabi who continues being on a hunger strike; 2) Ashton and Fayyad speaking to journalists in Brussels.

Al-Hayat Al-Jadida: 1) The president during a meeting with the Rome-Orthodox patriarch Theophilus II and the guardian of the holy land Father Pierre Battista Pizzaballa and head of the Armenian-Orthodox bishops archbishop Ires in Ramallah yesterday; 2) A scene of a sit-in in support of Hana` Shalabi in Hebron; 3) Fayyad during a press conference with Ashton in Brussels.  

**Ayed Qteish from DCI, on the escalation of Israeli arrests of children in Jerusalem
Q: Do you have statistics to back this claim?

There is definitely a new assault by the Israeli occupation against children in Jerusalem. During last month, there was a sharp rise in arrests and interrogation of children. Our organization recorded 20 children last month who were brought before the central court in Jerusalem. This is not even the overall number because there are more organizations that do the same work.

Q: What is the recognized age for children?

Children are anyone under 18 so all of those arrested were under this age.


Q: Do your reports detail the methods used by Israeli forces in terrorizing these children?

The reports highlight the testimonies taken from the children in which they talk about their arrest, interrogation and how they were intimidated and terrorized. The reports point to the psychological methods of interrogation such as threatening the child. In Jerusalem, which is under Israeli law, the parent has the right to be present during the interrogation of their child but this doesn’t happen.

*Sheikh Mohammed Hussein, on Jewish singing and dancing in Al Aqsa

Q: Do you know who is organizing these parties?

No doubt, the organizers are extremist groups that are trying to create a new reality on the ground in the Aqsa Mosque Compound and its courtyard as if this were not part of the mosque. Even the government is part of this and has been trying to separate the mosque from the courtyards from 1967, to show that the courtyards are public arenas and not part of the mosque. We insist that the Aqsa mosque includes everything within the wall, which is 144 dunams and anyone who says or does something to contradict this is violating the sanctity of the place.


Q: Does the West Jerusalem municipality have a direct hand in organizing these parties?

No doubt, they support these groups and their events in the Aqsa.


Q: The reports say these parties are taking place in the Jewish quarter; so it is Jews dancing in their Jewish quarter.

No doubt, they try to move these parties and dances to the Aqsa compound to show that this is public place. What they call the Jewish quarter is what used to be called the Sharaf quarter, adjacent to the Aqsa including the Buraq wall.


Q: Do you expect clashes tonight after these celebrations begin?

We hope Israeli security forces realize the significance of anyone impinging on the sanctity of Al Aqsa and will therefore prevent these groups from entering the compound. Or else, our people are vigilant and will never accept for the Aqsa to be a ground for their celebrations and dancing.


*Hilmi Al Araj, director of the defense for freedoms center, on Hana’ Shalabi being transferred to the hospital after the deterioration of her health

Q: Do you have details about Shalabi?

What we know is that she was transferred to the Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba after her health deteriorated; she is now in the danger zone. A doctor from Physicians for Human Rights gave her a medical checkup and reported on her dangerous health condition: she has lost more than 14 kilos, her heart beats are accelerated. She was transferred after much pressure on the Israelis and after her life is being threatened. Until now, prison authorities were not willing to take this step as a means of pressure on prisoner Shalabi to halt her strike. Now Shalabi says she is even more determined to continue her struggle until her goals are met.


Q: Will there be more access to Shalabi now that she is in the hospital?

I don’t think there will be any problem because we have had this experience before with Khader Adnan. Now that she is in hospital, it should be easier. Today a number of lawyers will visit her at the hospital but this should not be instead of a popular campaign in solidarity with Shalabi. The entire nation should be involved in the face of the international silence towards her case.


Q: Do you have any numbers as to how many other prisoners are on hunger strike?

We don’t have exact numbers but according to our center there are 23 prisoners currently on hunger strike, some who are under administrative detention and others who are not but are doing it in solidarity with Hana’ Shalabi. This shows there is a strong move inside the prisons that may lead to an uprising.


Q: Isn’t this new trend of individual strikes in prisons a bit strange?

We don’t like to label things but such battles should always be collective. But the explanation for these heroic individual battles is the escalation of Israeli oppression against the prisoners. So, people exploded on their own. Khader Adnan and Hana’ Shalabi did not strike only in protest of administrative detention but also against their own treatment by Israeli authorities, which was humiliating, inhumane and brutal.


*Mohammed Zeidan, head of the higher Arab follow-up committee inside the Green Line, on Land Day

Q: There is ten days until Land Day; have you made preparations?

We had a meeting to formulate a program to commemorate Land Day, which is a very important date and occasion for our people inside the Green Line and their struggle. We are proud of what our people did back in 1976, standing up to Israeli authorities who were confiscated land. We want to have a big group of events that day. There will be international marches on this day and we are in touch with the organizers of these marches in which people from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan and other neighboring countries will participate. There will be thousands marching towards the borders. For the past few days, we have been carrying out campaigns and talks in schools. All of these activities will peak on March 30. There will be two big marches in the Galilee and in the Negev because there is an attempt to steal more land there and displace 30,000 people. There will be another march in Jaffa.  


*PLO official and negotiator Saeb Ereket on President Abbas’ letter to Netanyahu and other leaders

Q: Did President Obama request from Abbas not to send the letter and retreat from diplomatic steps the PLO may take?

No. The two leaders talked about the peace process. Obama confirmed that in his meeting with Netanyahu they did not only discuss Iran but also talked about the peace process and his commitment to a Palestinian state. President Abbas then told him he would send a letter to the Israeli premier to basically make things clear and ways to get the peace process back on track. The president also confirmed that reconciliation was in the Palestinians’ national interest; other bilateral issues were discussed between Abbas and Obama and that was what the phone call was about. There was nothing about Obama asking Abbas not to send the letter or take “unilateral steps”. We know the only unilateral step taking place is settlements.

Q: One of these steps is to take the settlement battle to the UN Human Rights Council, correct?

This is true. We want to resort to international law and legitimacy. We are an occupied people and settlements are considered as war crimes under international law.


Q: Do you think Qatar can play a role in putting pressure on the party that is hindering the implementation of the Doha Agreement?

I think the Egyptians and the Qataris did their part. Now we have to do ours. This is a Palestinian reconciliation, it is a Palestinian split and it was a Palestinian coup – Hamas needs to understand that being under occupation, there is no justification for the coup and this has to end. I will say again, I hope personal interests that have grown in the past five years in Gaza will not overshadow the national interest of achieving reconciliation. We must pressure as much as we can so we can achieve reconciliation.

*Fatah Central Committee member Tawfiq Al Tirawi, on reaching reconciliation

Q: After Hamas’ position on the reconciliation, is forming a unity government of technocrats still on President Abbas’ priority list?

Fatah has been for the reconciliation from the beginning and the need to end the split. But ending the split needs both sides. The other side, Hamas, sees reconciliation as a kind of tactic which they can benefit from popularly and in the media. This is very harmful to the reconciliation. We made many attempts, the last being the Doha agreement but apparently there were interests in Gaza including political and economic, which some people did not want to let go. As for the unity government, this needs all parties to agree.

Q: The two-week period asked for by Khaled Meshaal is over. Has this changed the leadership’s stance on the formation of the government as a priority?

First of all, Meshaal did not ask for a two-week grace period. What really happened was that Meshaal backtracked under members of his politburo. We knew this was not about a week or two but instead it would be postponed indefinitely.

Q: Is Fatah trying to get other parties, such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, to abide by the Doha Agreement?

Yes, Azzam Al Ahmad is making contacts with officials in Egypt including leaders in the Brotherhood. Fatah and the leadership are trying any way that might help to push the reconciliation along. Saeb Erekat handed the prince of Qatar a letter from President Abbas on this issue yesterday. We want everyone to see who is really hindering the process, especially those who thought Fatah or the president were the hindering party.

*Saleh Zeidan from the DFLP on the reconciliation crisis

Q: Are the leftist parties remaining neutral towards the lack of implementation of the Doha Agreement?

Not at all. We are very disturbed by this and by the media frenzy of accusations between Fatah and Hamas instead of them sitting down quietly to work things out. We believe there is a lack of serious political will to move towards the reconciliation and a lack of maturity from both sides. And this can never lead to positive results. There must be a serious partnership among all those who signed the agreement.  Hamas must adhere to the agreement, but there is always an issue. And there are always those with personal interests – from the PA, from the split, etc.  

Resistance and liberation…questions without vilification
By Ahmad Jamil Azem

Practical positions point to the fact that no Palestinian party can claim that it is able to liberate Palestine through military force. Still, spokespeople from factions such as Hamas still do that.
In the past, the discussions were that resistance movements, especially since the start of the 90s and during the Aqsa Intifada are ‘resistance movements” and not “liberation movements”: that is, military action was aimed at raising the cost of the occupation and keeping the cause alive. There was a growing conviction that bringing an end to the occupation only through arms of the resistance was not possible. Even in the past – in the sixties – Fatah proposed in its early days the theory of “aware involvement” based on dragging the region into war and shaking up the Arab-Israeli conflict on the premise that Arab countries were capable of defeating Israel. However, there was a problem of political decision in this regard and also a question of preparing the field; hence the theory fell through with the defeat of 1967 and was replaced with a theory of a war of popular liberation, which did not last long.
Recent statements from Islamic Jihad leaders indicate that the movement has also become part of the equation for calm: while there is no military resistance in the West Bank, something which Hamas and the Islamic Jihad blame the PA under Fatah for banning, the armed struggle coming out of Gaza was halted upon a decision from Hamas, Jihad and other factions with the justification that Gaza had been liberated. This justification implicitly means that the idea of armed struggle launched from Arab countries is unacceptable and no one should demand it – the Gaza Strip is no better than South Lebanon; besides, they have both been ‘liberated.’
Practically speaking, the factions in Gaza have completely entered into the logic of “you don’t strike, we won’t strike” and “if you return, we will return.” AFP quoted an Islamic Jihad leader by saying that “the rockets in their possession – which could reach a range between 60 and 110 kilometers – would not be used unless Israel targeted high ranking members.” This means the weapons of the resistance have become a deterrent only and not a means of “shaking up’ the cause or guaranteeing it continuation, not to mention for the purpose of liberation. If Israel stops striking, the guns of Gaza will remain silent.
Hamas and its spokespeople will not admit this and vilify anyone who reaches this conclusion on their own. Mushir Al Masri said: “Some people are trying to deliver blows to Hamas by claiming it has retreated from the adoption of resistance; this is the wishful thinking of Hamas’ adversaries. I assure you, this is only a dream put by the devil himself in their minds.”  He said these people should never dream that Hams will relinquish its position in the resistance and realize that Hamas’ strategic option is the option of resistance.
While no one has actually claimed that Hamas halted its resistance or dreams of this, we can see the halt of armed struggle on the ground; Masri does not specify what he means by resistance before he begins vilifying others. If he means armed struggle, then this needs some clarification. And if he means resistance in the comprehensive meaning of the word, then this needs clarification as well.
Reaching a state of deterrence with Israel in Gaza is an achievement for the resistance and should not be underestimated. As for how to liberate Palestine – all of Palestine – this remains a mystery. How will Jaffa, Akka and Haifa be liberated? What are the game plans for this? Just as Hamas declares that the resistance is ongoing and reaffirms the unity of historical Palestine, no one should relinquish armed struggle as one of the legitimate tools for liberation. No doubt, the problem in the past was in the way this tool was utilized more than a problem with the tool itself. But likewise, we should not overdo it in saying that this is the only tool. It should be used in tandem with other tools. Furthermore changing the function of this tool to one of deterrence or even suspending its use altogether at times should not be looked upon as shameful if this is part of a clear strategy.
We should not accuse those who question the liberation strategy as being ‘voices of dissent”; this is a legitimate question and the logical response should be to present a clear strategy.
(http://www.alghad.com/index.php/afkar_wamawaqef/article/28837.html)

Israelis and Palestinians in West Bank Water Wars
By Vita Bekker

Jewish settlers in the West Bank are increasingly using threats, intimidation or violence to block Palestinians from using the Israeli-occupied territory's vital natural springs, a United Nations report said yesterday.
Settlers have taken over 30 springs and are trying to take control of another 26 - most of which are located on land privately owned by Palestinians, the UN's Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
The takeover appears to reflect Israel's efforts to exert more control over the West Bank, territory that the Palestinians want for their future state, the document said.
"Similarly to other Palestinian resources and properties seized by Israeli settlers, the water springs are being exploited to further the economic and political interests of settlers," said the report, based on surveys taken last year.
Israel has faced escalating international condemnation for its approach to the allocation of water in the West Bank, with the French parliament's foreign affairs committee in January accusing Israel of implementing "apartheid policies" on the issue.
Ghassan Khatib, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, said the report was further evidence of increasing claims by Palestinian farmers and civilians about their obstacles in accessing water.
"Independent organisations like OCHA are saying what Palestinians have been shouting and not been taken seriously by the international community," he said. "The Israeli government is the address that should be held responsible for tolerating and encouraging settlers' violations."
The settlers' bid to take over springs is hurting Palestinian farmers' livelihoods, the report said. The springs represent the single largest source of water for irrigation in the West Bank and a major source of water for livestock. Without access, some farmers either stop cultivating their land or pay to obtain water through pipes or by tanker lorries..
The springs are also used for domestic needs by some Palestinian families who do not have running water, or whose access to water is unreliable.
The report said that settlers used "acts of intimidation, threats and violence" to deter Palestinians from accessing 22 of the springs.
In the case of eight other springs, settlers either erected an electronic fence or took control after Israel declared the area of the springs a closed military zone. This was done without notifying the Palestinian landowners or arranging for farmers to be able to enter the area to work, the document said.
Jamil Darawsheh, a Palestinian farmer from Awarta, south-east of the West Bank city of Nablus, was cited by the UN agency as saying he had lost an estimated 10,000 Israeli shekels (Dh9,770) after he was unable to irrigate new olive seedlings. He said members of the hardline settlement of Itamar have harassed neighbouring Palestinian villagers since the second Palestinian Intifada started in 2000, including threatening them and forcing them to leave their fields.
A 31-year-old farmer, who spoke to the UN agency on condition of anonymity, said he and a friend were gathering wood near a spring on land belonging to his relative when they were threatened by more than three dozen settlers. The group then forced the farmer and his friend to sit by the spring until they were fetched by army vehicles that drove them to a police station for interrogation.
"While some farmers … still use the spring to irrigate their crops, many other farmers have avoided coming to this spring as much as possible due to fear from incidents like this," the report said.
According to the report, the settlers were trying to take over access to some springs by illegally making them into tourist attractions, adding picnic tables, benches and rubbish bins, paving a car park and roads leading to the water and putting up signs with the Hebrew name of the spring.
While some of the Hebrew names are similar to their Arab translations, other springs are named after individuals such as settlement founders, Jewish victims of Palestinian attacks or Israeli soldiers killed in combat, the report added.
The efforts to boost tourism in the area add to the "normalisation" of settlements in the eyes of Israelis, the report added.
The UN officials carried out the survey last year by interviewing Palestinian farmers, reviewing land ownership maps, speaking with Israeli settlers at springs during field visits and examining Israeli websites advertising tourism destinations in the West Bank. (The National)

I am a Palestinian-Syrian – and a Syrian-Palestinian
By Majed Kayali

I am a Palestinian-Syrian; that is a refugee in Syria, but in an unconventional way. I did not come to Syria from another country and have not obtained (even though I am almost 60) any type of citizenship. I just “took refuge” in Syria straight from my mother’s womb; it was my first homeland.
Although Syria is a country that praises itself on its Arab nationalism, calling itself the “beating heart of the Arab nation”, I am still a refugee in it. So are my children and my grandchildren.
The problem is that my Palestinian identity, just like all the other Palestinians in Syria, has no legal meaning, nor is it tied to the concept of state. It is more of an identity meaning with political/national sense; it is a hypothetical Palestinian identity waiting to be claimed by something. This is especially true after this identity was confined to the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza (after the inception of the PA).
As for my problem with my Syrian part, it is that I am a mere resident, a guest, outside the legal and political space of Syrian citizenship, without my understanding of the contradiction represented in my being a refugee among my own people.  Perhaps what may soften this existential crisis is that the Syrians themselves are not in the space of citizenship either and whoever is similar to you cannot be unjust to you. We (as refugees) and they are in the space of a virtual or hypothetical citizenship.
For all these reason and for political, cultural, psychological, social and historical reasons, I the Palestinian-Syrian have always felt I am Egyptian sometimes, and Tunisian, Algerian at others or that I am Lebanese many times. But still, my Syrian identity is the only one that stays with me permanently, competing, struggling and mimicking my Palestinianism.
More than half a century ago, I came into the world from two Palestinian refugee parents. I was born in the Bab Qansareen neighborhood, one of the gates to Old Aleppo. I grew up, went to school and worked all in Syria. I had a full life and intimate memories.
There is nothing that separates me from any other Syrian except that accepted my fate of identifying myself as Palestinian, something which I continue to nurture. But this has not made me suppress my Syrian part, which lives in me in equal parts. When the Syrian revolution broke out with such courage, my Palestinianism grew jealous of my Syrianism, which began to overflow right on top of my Palestinian identity. In this time, something wonderful happened. My two parts, which I thought would never merge, came together like never before. They both bonded over the hymn for freedom coming out of my people in Syria. I did not even need a passport for this.
For the past year, I have lived in a newfound passion and hope as if it were a return of the soul. I cried for Syria like I had never cried before for Palestine and I found hope for Syria like never before for Palestine. But in spite of this, my Palestinianism forgave my Syrianism and allowed it to cry, hurt  and feel anger and hope.
As a Palestinian, I could never be neutral towards the revolutions of our peoples against the fear and tyranny that has lost us and oppressed us for so long. Palestine is not just a piece of land or an inherited memory. Palestine is the meaning of freedom, it is the hope for an imagined future; there is no meaning to Palestine without hope and without freedom.
Hence, just a few days ago, on the day of the massacre in Karm Al Zaytoun in Homs, Israel waged an attack on the Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza. I have never felt such anger and frustration in all my years like I did that day. The source of my frustration was not the magnitude of the tragedy that my people in Palestine or in Syria are living today but in the uncanny and painful comparison. My people in Palestine are being killed by Israel. However, Israel is our loathed enemy and does not kill its own people. That day my friends in Gaza asked me what was going on in Homs and my friends in Homs were asking me what was happening in Gaza. And this is how my Palestinian side joined hands with my Syrian side in one hymn. (http://www.amin.org/articles.php?t=opinion&id=17442)