Palestinian detainee Khader Adnan has been on hunger strike since Dec. 17, and Physicians for Human Rights now says that his life is at risk. This was also acknowledged by the Israeli Prison Service, which has transferred him from military detention on the West Bank to Ziv hospital in northern Israel, and said he had agreed to take potassium pills. Adnan, believed to be a leader of Islamic Jihad, is refusing all food in protest of his ill-treatment and his arbitrary detention without charge or trial—known as "administrative detention." His wife, Randa, who saw him for the first time since his detention Feb. 7 described his condition as rapidly deteriorating, and that he has lost a third of his weight and his hair. Amnesty International said Israel must release Adnan or charge him with a recognizable criminal offense and promptly try him.

From Haaretz, Feb. 3:

Jerusalem's Armenians outraged as city approves Jews-only parking lot in Old City
Armenian residents of Jerusalem's Old City are protesting a municipal decision to designate a parking lot in the area solely for Jews, although part of it stands on land belonging to the Armenian Patriarchate.

We have expressed our skepticism of the interminable Chicken Little routine about a supposedly imminent attack on Iran. Mixed signals emerge from the headlines this week. First this, from Politico.com, Feb. 2:

Leon Panetta story sparks Israel-Iran speculation
The prospect of war in the Middle East stoked media attention Thursday after a Washington Post editorial writer claimed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes that Israel may attack Iran this spring.

The Zionist propaganda machine (e.g. Palestinian Media Watch, Arutz Sheva, Christian Broadcasting Network, FrontPageMag) is having the predictable field day with the latest indiscretions from Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, who at a celebration (presumably in Ramallah) marking the 47th anniversary of the founding of Fatah, said (apparently quoting a hadith): "The hour [of resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews. The Jew will hide behind stones or trees. Then the stones or trees will call, 'O Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me. Come and kill him.'"

An Israeli government plan to create a greenbelt around Jerusalem is fueling opposition among Palestinians and their supporters. Mayor Nir Barkat's hopes the plan, which focuses on archeological preservation, will boost tourism in Jerusalem, but critics say the parks amount to a land grab that consolidates Israel's grip on occupied East Jerusalem. "People say, 'It's just a park,' but these parks change totally the political scope of Jerusalem and have a direct impact on the lives of Palestinians," says Hagit Ofran, who monitors Jewish settlements for Peace Now. Efrat Cohen Bar, an architect with the progressive Israeli urban planning group Bimkom, which recently conducted a study of national parks in East Jerusalem and evirons, terms them "green settlements"—which serve to keep Palestinians off the land while expanding Israeli control.

Israel's High Court on Jan. 11 voted to reject a challenge filed against provisions of the Citizenship Law, which bar Palestinians married to Israeli Arabs from receiving Israeli citizenship or residency. Six judges voted to reject the challenge, while five voted to accept it. Israel generally grants citizenship to spouses of Israelis in a gradual process, with a somewhat longer process for spouses of permanent residents. However, a 2002 temporary order—which has been repeatedly extended—excluded Palestinian spouses from these processes, barring them from becoming Israeli citizens. Despite a 2006 ruling that the order is unconstitutional, it has continued to have force of law while it was amended by the Knesset to bring it into compliance with constitutional standards. The provision still imposes harsh restrictions on the freedom of Arab citizens of Israel to live with spouses from the Occupied Territories, as well as from so-called "enemy states" (defined as Syria, Lebanon, Iran and Iraq). The new decision upholding it affects thousands of couples.

Amid growing tensions in the Persian Gulf, the US and Israel are preparing to hold the largest missile defense exercise in the history of the Jewish state. Last month, Lt.-Gen. Frank Gorenc, commander of the US Third Air Force, based in Germany, visited Israel to finalize plans for the upcoming exercise, expected to see the deployment of several thousand US soldiers in Israel. The drill will include establishment of US command posts in Israel and IDF command posts at European Command headquarters in Germany.

The Jerusalem city council's district planning committee on Dec. 28 approved plans for a large tourism complex in the flashpoint neighborhood of Silwan, just south of the Old City. The project is to be built on a plot of land currently being used as a parking lot opposite the Dung Gate, main entrance to the Western Wall and the Old City's Jewish Quarter. It would be managed by Elad, a hardline settler organization, which runs the nearby archaeological site at David's City. Local Palestinian activists protested the move. "This project aims to promote settler tourism and religious tourism," said Fakhri Abu Diab, head of the Silwan Defense Committee, who said the city had confiscated local land for the project. "This complex will change the character of the area and will emphasize the idea that Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish people—because it is a political project too."

Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in the West Bank Dec. 11 to mourn the death of a Palestinian protester who died after being hit in the face by a tear-gas canister fired by Israeli troops at the village of Nabi Saleh two days earlier. The body of 28-year-old Mustafa Tamimi was carried in a procession that began in the West Bank capitol of Ramallah ending 10 kilometers north at his home village, which hosts weekly protests against land confiscation for an illegal settlement. Linah Alsaafin, a Ramallah-based blogger reported live from the scene in Nabi Saleh during the Friday protest in which Tamimi was mortally wounded. He "was throwing rocks at the [Israeli army] jeep, the door opened and the canister was fired with precision and intent straight in his face," Alsaafin Tweeted. "To use their term, 'surgical precision.'" (CNN, Dec. 11; Ma'an News Agency, Dec. 9)

At least four Palestinians are dead in new Israeli air-strikes on the Gaza Strip over the past two days. The first strikes came on Dec. 8, targeting cars carrying presumed operatives of Hamas' armed wing and Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, both of whom were killed. Militants responded with a barrage of rockets, some of which landed near Beersheba. No one was hurt in the rocket attacks, but aiir-raid sirens summoned residents of southern Israel to shelters. Another Israeli air-strike followed before dawn on Dec. 9, hitting a Hamas target in Gaza City. The blast flattened a nearby home, killing its owner; the man's 12-year-old son was pronounced dead hours later. The man's wife and five other children were wounded, hospital officials said. (Ma'an News Agency, Dec. 9)