Ramallah: black balloons commemorate NakbaIsrael is demanding that the UN strike the word "Nakba" from its lexicon after an official statement released by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made specific reference to the Arab word meaning catastrophe—especially in reference to the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their lands with Israel's inception in 1948. Israeli Radio quoted a Ban spokesperson as saying the secretary-general "phoned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to stress his support for the Palestinian people on Nakba Day." Danny Carmon, Israel's deputy ambassador to the UN, told the radio that the term "Nakba is a tool of Arab propaganda used to undermine the legitimacy of the establishment of the State of Israel, and it must not be part of the lexicon of the UN."

Israeli troops attacked a peaceful march commemorating the 60th year of the Nakba in the West Bank city of Tulkarm May 10, injuring ten, including a journalist who was hit with a bullet in his hand. Participants, including international activists, raised Palestinian flags and wrote graffiti on the face of the separation wall protesting the enclosure of village lands at Shofa. Soldiers opened fire and threw tear gas. (WAFA, May 10) Four were injured two days later in a similar scene at Na'lein village, west of Ramallah. (WAFA, May 12)

Clashes continues for a second day in Beirut and the Bekaa Valley May 8, pitting Hezbollah against the Sunni and pro-government Future Movement. Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah charged the government with crossing a "red line" by challenging the independence of the resistance movement.

On May 6, 480 Palestinian Authority police entered the city of Jenin to crack down on criminal gangs and Islamic Jihad cells, under the rubric of the Israeli-approved and fashionably euphemistic "Operation Smile and Hope." Clashes with presumed Islamic militants broke out in the outlying town of Qabatiyah. (LAT, May 7) The following day, Israeli forces occupied the city and refugee camp of Jenin. Major General Diab Al-Ali (AKA Abul Fatah), commander of the PA's National Security service in the northern governates of the West Bank, said the Israeli incursion is meant to obstruct the Palestinian security services' plan to impose law and order, and is a provocation against the Palestinian government and people. (Ma'an News Agency, May 7)

Did anyone catch this one? Can you imagine the media frenzy if it'd been a Palestinian? From Haaretz, May 2:

US envoy cuts short Hebron trip after clash with settlers
The American bodyguards of a Bush administration envoy who was dispatched to the region to monitor the implementation of the road map engaged in a violent confrontation with right-wing Israelis who sought to disturb a visit to Hebron on Friday, Israel Radio reported.

On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day and a week before Israel marks its 60th Independence Day, a group of over 100 prominent British Jews issued a letter proclaiming, "We're not celebrating Israel's anniversary," citing the dispossession of 750,000 Palestinians. Among the signatories are Prof. Haim Bresheeth of the University of East London, who organized the call for an academic boycott of Israel; playwright Harold Pinter; attorney Daniel Machover, who filed a lawsuit against Maj. Gen. Doron Almog, and actor Stephen Fry.

Israel has announced an investigation into the killing of Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana by the IDF in the Gaza Strip following demands by the news agency and rights groups. Shana was killed while filming a central Gaza combat zone, and film from his camera showed an Israeli tank firing in his direction. An autopsy revealed that he had been hit by a kind of dart used in Israeli shells. Some suggest the tank crew targeted Shana knowing he was a journalist. The Israeli military rejected this. "The IDF wishes to emphasize that unlike terrorist organizations, not only does not it deliberately target uninvolved civilians, it also uses means to avoid such incidents," it said in a statement. "Reports claiming the opposite are false and misleading." (JTA, April 21)

From AP, April 20:

Armenian and Greek Christians scuffle at tomb of Jesus on Orthodox Palm Sunday
JERUSALEM - Dozens of Greek and Armenian priests and worshippers exchanged blows at one of Christianity's holiest shrines on Orthodox Palm Sunday, and used palm fronds to pummel police who tried to break up the brawl.