An Israeli military court on Oct. 11 sentenced non-violent protest organizer Abdallah Abu Rahmah to 12 months imprisonment, with a six-month suspended sentence. Abu Rahmah has been in an Israeli jail since December, and was convicted in August of incitement, and organizing and participating in protests in the West Bank village of Bil'in. Ofer military court also ordered Abu Rahmah to pay a 5,000 shekel fine (almost $1,400).

The Israeli cabinet approved an amendment Oct. 10 to the country's citizenship law that would require those seeking citizenship to pledge allegiance to Israel as a "Jewish and democratic state" and promise "to honor the laws of the state." The amendment was approved by a vote of 22-8, and will be entered into law if it is approved by a majority in the Knesset and passes muster with the Supreme Court.

Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman prompted the Palestinian mission to walk out of a UN General Assembly meeting Sept. 28 by saying "a long-term intermediate agreement...could take a few decades." He also called for redrawing the borders of the West Bank. Citing the "utter lack of confidence between Israelis and Palestinians," Lieberman told UN that any durable solution in the Middle East, as in the Balkans and East Timor, would require the separation of populations. "We should focus on coming up with a long term intermediate agreement, something that could take a few decades... To achieve final status agreement, we must understand that the primary obstacle is the friction between the two nations." Lieberman added that "the guiding principle for a final status agreement must not be land-for-peace but rather, exchange of populated territory. Let me be very clear: I am not speaking about moving populations, but rather about moving border to better reflect demographic realities." This notion, he claimed, has been accepted as a "virtual truism" in the academic community, which has coined the term "re-sizing the state." (Press TV, Sept. 29; Checkpoint Washington blog, WP, Sept. 28)

Israeli commandos intercepted a boat carrying Jewish activists who hoped to breach the blockade of the Gaza Strip on Sept. 28. Israeli navy boats blocked the catamaran Irene—dubbed the "Jewish Boat to Gaza"—which was carrying 10 passengers and crew, and diverted it to Israel's Ashdod seaport. The boat's cargo of medical equipment was intended for delivery to the Gaza Community Mental Health Program. Activists on board say they were shoved, manhandled—and in one case shocked with a Taser by the commandos. Yonatan Shapira—a former Israeli helicopter pilot who is well known locally for refusing to carry out his military duties—received Taser shocks while passively resisting arrest by sitting down and embracing another passenger, his brother Itamar Shapira said. (AP, JTA, Sept. 30)

From Human Rights Watch, Sept. 26:

Israel: Extend Settlement Freeze
Renewed Construction Would Have Severe Human Rights Consequences
JERUSALEM — Israel should make permanent and total the partial "freeze" on construction in West Bank Jewish settlements, Human Rights Watch said today. Israel's construction of settlements and their infrastructure violates its obligations as an occupying power and the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank, including unjustly limiting their ability to build homes and access their lands, Human Rights Watch said.

Several thousand Israeli settlers and supporters celebrated to mark the end Sept. 26 to a 10-month moratorium on new construction in their West Bank enclaves. "The building freeze is over," Danny Danon, a lawmaker from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, declared as balloons were released into the air at the West Bank settlement of Revava. "Today we mark the resumption of building in Judea and Samaria!" Netanyahu had urged Israeli settlers to show restraint as the limited building freeze expired at midnight. But at Revava, outside Nablus, residents expressed their defiance at a groundbreaking ceremony where a mixer symbolically poured cement into a hole in the ground amid cheers and the blasting of car horns. The celebration was attended by thousands bused in for the occasion. (Reuters, Sept. 26)

Sponsor governments of the Middle East peace process called on Israel to extend its settlement moratorium. In a statement released Sept. 21, the Quartet—the US, EU, UN and Russia—called upon Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu to extend the 10-month settlement freeze due to expire at the end of September. "The Quartet noted that the commendable Israeli settlement moratorium instituted last November has had a positive impact and urged its continuation," the statement read.

Israel's interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla violated international law, according to a report released Sept. 22 by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). After conducting numerous interviews with eye-witnesses and viewing other evidence, the fact-finding mission determined that Israeli forces committed several international law violations, including violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Fourth Geneva Convention. The mission also determined that Israel's interception of the flotilla was prima facie unlawful. The report recommends judicial remedies and reparations, including medical and psychological care to those who were tortured.