Farmers in Tubas in the Jordan valley had made it the most productive part of the West Bank, its output of wheat and barley feeding local Palestinian families with enough left over for wider sale. Now their work is seriously impeded by land-mines, checkpoints, the diversion of their water to settlements, the trespasses of armed settlers and escalating demolition of their homes and amenities. An ISM delegation reports.

Since he retired as Mossad chief, Meir Dagan has often argued against a military attack on Iran, denied that Israel was under threat and said that Israel’s coalition rule – with the magnified voice of small (far-right) groups – leads to bad government. This week he launched his new movement Yesh Sicui. Will he be treated as a loose cannon or a leader for the high discontent with the government that Netanyahu heads?

‘If you think resistance in Palestine is dead, you have not been keeping up whatsoever’ says Nour Joudah. While the Arab uprisings and Palestinian resistance have fed each other, the very duration of the latter means there has not been the rupture which prompted the Arab uprisings.

MEMO (Middle East Monitor) has published the full text of the Doha Declaration. For stories on the making of the agreement and reactions to it, see postings below,

Responses that the Fatah-Hamas deal, agreed in Doha, for a unity government of technocrats are unusually high in Arab and international establishment circles. Many Gazans wait to see if this is a deal that will produce results, including the rebuilding of Gaza. Some in Hamas, and Likud as a whole, are hostile Four items on the reactions to the Doha declaration.

The Qatari-brokered deal between Fatah Hamas on 6th February has a limited goal – to prepare for Palestinian elections. It’s newsworthy because it’s happened at all and may be the fruition of previous deals which seemed unproductive. The Qataris have said they will replace any funding withdrawn from the PA in retribution for dealing with Hamas. Displaced PM Salam Fayyad has welcomed the deal.

Even if Khader Adnan were the most wicked man in the world, a state living under the rule of law would charge him and put him on trial. The Israeli military has held him in adminstrative detention since December 17. He is now gravely ill on the 52nd day (6 February) of a protest hunger strike. As well as Amnesty International and the Palestinian Prisoner Society, Physicians for Human RIghts, Addameer, International Solidarity Movement and the Palestinian Center for Human RIghts are amongst the organisations pressing Israel to either release or charge him.

For the best of this item, click on the link in the posting to see the marvellour photos taken by writer Eve Bartlett of the beautiful mosaics, buildings and artefacts in Gaza which have survived Israel’s bombing and blockade and UNESCO’s indifference. The Pharaohs, Canaanites, Philistines, Crusaders, Mamluks, Romans and Greeks have all left their mark – despite Israeli attempts to wipe this from history

Jerry Haber takes issue wth Dov Hoch’s blanket opposition to BDS and asks who is prepared to sacrifice what in order to end the occupation

Hezbollah (or Hizbullah) has added its voice to the hubbub around and about Syria stating it would come to the aid of the Syrian government in the event of any attack from outside.Based in Lebanon, the Shi’ite Hezbollah has long received support from the Shi’ite rulers of Iran and Syria (most Syrians are Sunni). The divisions intersect with military threats to and from Israel. Reports from Naharnet and the Guardian.

Uri Avnery has been awarded the Leibowitz prize for his life’s work for peace. He recalls the life’s work of distinguished scientist and religious believeer Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903-94) who prophesied that Israel would become a nation of work-gang supervisors and secret agents if it maintained the Occupation.

Not only may no-one say Palestine is not free on the BBC, in practice no-one may say anything at all about Palestine. Too hot to handle, or too difficult to understand for the BBC’s experienced journalists who have managed to conduct interviews with many Israeli politicians? Ameena Saleem reports on her long period of monitoring BBC output.

Three of Israel’s most right-wing organisations, Im Tirtzu, Academic Monitor and Isracampus, have named over 1000 of Israel’s most distinguished thinkers, writers and campaigners as being enemies of Israel and exploiting their positions to defame the country. This carries little weight in Israel – it is primarily for the diaspora in which some depend on believing only their support saves the country from extinction.

Last year, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry lodged a complaint of antisemitism with the SBS Ombudsman about the TV series The Promise shown in Australia last December. The Ombudsman for SBS – Special Broadcasting Service, a public broadcasting network– rejected the complaint. Harold Zwier argues that we need a definition of antisemitism which the mainstream can use. SBS adjudication at end.

Amnesty (1) and Addameer (2), the prisoners’ rights and support association, are both now campaigning urgently for Khader Adnan, arrested on 17 December 2011 and on hunger strike since then. He is held under military administrative detention, which means without trial or prisoners’ rights. He is associated with Islamic Jihad, the assumed reason for his several arrests, but has not been charged with any crime.

A statement from BDS Italy about their annual conference reports discussions of strategic thinking on when and how to run an effective campaign and advice from Hind Awwad to ‘work within a broad base of partners and alliances’ . Meanwhile at the grubby end, the American ADL Stand WIth Us and Prof. Gur are pulling out all the stops to smear this week’s BDS conference at The University of Pennsylvania.

The winter issue of Palestine-Israel Journal is devoted to the ‘Arab Spring’. In his essay for the collection, posted here, Tony Klug looks at the different trajectories taken by elements of Arab political life after the containing despotism broke, and, in particular, at the dangers of paranoia, patriotism and lack of flexibility driving policies in Iran, Israel and Palestine.

Calling the expanding rag-bag of conflicting and changing rules and regulations and officers and offices a ‘system’ is to flatter the Occupation authorities. In order to stay on top, measures of control are changed as and how the authorities need to. Machsomwatch women try to help Palestinians make their way through the maze – but does this make ‘the empire of prohibition’ work? Amira Hass reports.

A film that won the best documentary prize at the 2011 Jerusalem film festival — shown last week at the Sundance film festival — tracks the laws and precedents discovered which turned temporary settlement into permanent colonisation. If Israel does live under the rule of law, it is either military or apartheid law as far as Palestinians in the OPT are concerned

On the last stage of his European tour, in which he is seeking to increase diplomatic presure on Israel to stop settlement building, the PA President tells Russia’s RT that Israel might withdraw from a few settlements and try to persuade the world that this has changed the status quo of occupier and occupied. Which it won’t. But he remains willing to negotiate on the two things that matter – borders and security.