Embassy of the State of Palestine

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says she is “deeply concerned” by reports Israeli armed forces are removing Palestinian children from their homes in night-time raids.

Unlike the previous Labor government, Ms Bishop has refused to condemn Israeli settlements, and has not altered her position following the airing of the disturbing footage on ABC television on Monday night. Nor would the Foreign Minister commit to registering her concerns directly with the Israeli government.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/julie-bishop-deeply-concerned-by-mistreatment-of-palestinian-children-in-tv-report-20140211-32fo6.html#ixzz2t3Ypx3bQ

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat asserted Monday that the Palestinian Authority (PA) would not recognize Israel as a Jewish state – only hours after Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni hinted that the Palestinians might accept the longstanding Israeli demand in order to secure a peace deal.

The Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations
in New York prepares this report on a yearly basis following every session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). This Session bore witness to several historic events. On 18 November 2013, the State of Palestine cast its first vote in the UNGA for the election of an International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) judge. On 27 December 2013, the UNGA adopted a decision by consensus on the “Scale of assessments for the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations”, allowing the State of Palestine to contribute towards the Organization’s expenses. Additionally, on 26 November 2013, the UNGA adopted resolution 68/12 declaring 2014 the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

A controversial lawsuit to outlaw the sanctions campaign against Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is set to resume in the Federal Court in Sydney on Wednesday.

The suit says Jake Lynch of Sydney University, a prominent supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, violated Australia’s race discrimination laws by refusing to support a research application by an Israeli academic.

The case was filed last year by Israeli legal centre Shurat HaDin on behalf of Hebrew University academic Dan Avnon after Lynch declined to sign a form in support of his application to conduct research in Australia.

The SodaStream controversy, which recently caught the attention of media worldwide, has highlighted Israel’s ongoing military occupation and contributed to the growing awareness of global consciousness and social responsibility towards Palestine. It has laid wide open the whole issue of Israeli impunity and the imperative of multifaceted intervention and accountability.

Three in four Palestinian children detained by the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank last year endured physical violence during arrest and interrogation, according to Defense for Children International Palestine research.
Data compiled by DCI-Palestine from 98 affidavits of Palestinian children aged 12 - 17 also showed that night arrests between midnight and 5 am increased to 56.1 percent from 45.4 percent in 2012. In 21.4 percent of cases, Israeli military, police and security agents held children in solitary confinement for an average of 10 days for interrogation purposes.

a joint investigation by Four Corners and The Australian newspaper reveals evidence that shows the army is targeting Palestinian boys for arrest and detention. Reporter John Lyons travels to the West Bank to hear the story of children who claim they have been taken into custody, ruthlessly questioned and then allegedly forced to sign confessions before being taken to court for sentencing.

He meets Australian lawyer Gerard Horton, who's trying to help the boys who are arrested, and talks to senior Israeli officials to examine what's driving the army's strategy.

The program focuses on the stories of three boys. In two cases the army came for the children in the middle of the night, before taking them to unknown locations where they are questioned

On February 5th, PLO Executive Committee member, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi condemned Israel’s latest approval of the construction of 550 settlement units in Occupied Jerusalem and the demolition of Palestinian homes in Beit Hanina and Sur Bahir:
“It is evident that Israel is isolating Jerusalem from its Palestinian environment by means of apartheid walls, checkpoints and rings of settlements. The Palestinian citizens of Jerusalem continue to suffer at the expense of Israel’s policies of ethic cleansing which include home demolitions, annexation of Palestinian land, and the revocation of Jerusalem IDs.”

Jerusalem: The US Secretary of State was accused of supporting "anti Semitic" interests on Sunday after warning that Israel faced an economic boycott if it failed to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
John Kerry made the comment as he held talks with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Munich, where they promised to step up diplomacy on Tehran's nuclear programme.
Ministers in the cabinet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Mr Kerry of effectively endorsing "anti-Semitic" efforts to impose sanctions on the country. "The risks are very high for Israel," Mr Kerry told the conference. "People are talking about boycotts. That will intensify in the case of failure.

Israel's finance minister halted the transfer of government funds to West Bank Jewish settlements on Saturday and ordered a probe into allegations that money meant to support municipalities had been funneled to a pro-settler political group.
The money in question had been earmarked to cover security and building maintenance fees that were incurred when Israel froze settlement building for 10 months during 2009 and 2010, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
But some of the money may have illegally made its way to the Yesha settler's council to be used for political purposes, including activities that run counter to government policy, the ministry said.