News Highlights:
- Bilin demonstrators call for the release of leading activists, including Mohammad Khatib who was recently on a cross-Canada tour; they also call on the 6th Fateh conference to endorse popular resistance as part of its program.
- Israeli government ministers push for expansion of Jewish settlement on occupied Palestinian land.
- Fateh delegates vote in Bethlehem at the long-delayed general convention, amid skepticism from many Palestinian refugees.
- A new Israeli committee tasked with promoting the representation of Israeli Palestinians in government does not include a single Arab member.
Feature:
A live interview with Mazin Qumsiyeh from Bethlehem, President of the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement and a professor at BirZeit and Bethlehem Universities. Dr. Qumsiyeh spoke with us about the Fateh Convention in Bethlehem, how people on the street felt about the proceedings and what the outcome might mean for future political developments. Mazin offered an independent viewpoint on the Convention, and explained that except for people making money on the event, most Palestinians seemed to dismiss it as irrelevant. There was also discussion of the corruption inside Fateh and how many security personnel were amongst the faces elected to the new central committee.
Focus on Zionism:
The text of an August 8th, 2009 letter from the Bilin popular committee to Amnesty International was read, criticizing Amnesty’s sponsorship of Leonard Cohen’s upcoming concert in Israel which is being handled by corporations with operations in the occupied territories.
Here is an audio file of this show: