Today, the cross-examination of Shimri Tzameret, Adam Maor, and Noam Bahat was scheduled, the other two - Chaggai Matar and Matan Kaminer had theirs already in September. The prosecutor, Captain Yaron Costelitz, had managed to prepare himself by obtaining a considerable number of leaflets and press releases by the various refuser movements, as well as the full text of Shimri’s “prison blog”. Read more about Court martial of five occupation refuseniks 

The Arab news channel Al-Jazeera reported that Israeli forces have launched a major raid on Ramallah. Israeli forces entered the city shortly after 16.30 GMT and imposed a curfew on residents of the center of the city. They surrounded the Abd al-Nasir Mosque and people inside were told to leave in groups of four and present identity papers, the Arab news channel reported. Read more about Israeli forces raid mosque and Al-Jazeera office in Ramallah 

Then the streets started screaming and we were running almost without thinking, down the edges of the street around the people who had lost their fear, around donkey carts loaded full, ran until we fround a corner to turn into and then we ran past families and children, through narrow streets far enough from the main street not to know the worst, far enough that we were the ones spreading the news that the army had come back. When it left, it left not through the streets as it had come, but by creating a path through the homes still standing in Yibneh, demolishing anything in its way and driving over the remains. Laura Gordon writes from Rafah about the invasion. Read more about Eyewitness account of the invasion of Rafah 

A small group of Jewish activists have organized to vigil in a solemn, dignified manner, the only conservative synagogue in Ann Arbor, Beth Israel Congregation. Our group is not completely Jewish — many non-Jewish supporters have elected to stand with us out of their convictions, and we are grateful. Vigils are scheduled for the start of worship services on Saturday mornings — we have completed three vigils so far and look forward to many more. Henry Herskovitz reports. Read more about Michigan Jewish activists hold vigils outside conservative synagogue 

The Israeli army invaded the Rafah Refugee camp last night in an operation that they said would go on for one week. Ambulance drivers, out of desperation resort to rough unpaved roads out of Rafah to try to evacuate the seriously injured casualties, this under threat of Israeli army tank and machine gun fire against anyone trying to circumvent checkpoints. Mona al-Farra reports. Read more about Rafah besieged and under constant attack 

We were sitting outside a small shack at the edge of a Bedouin community in the Northern Gaza Strip region of Al-Sayafa. Abu Housa, one of the Bedouin elders, sat with us speaking in quick, expressive Arabic phrases, spreading his arms and flinging his hands about, the gestures adding emotional context to words that, for the most part, I could not understand. When we first arrived at the community we were quickly invited to sit in the shade of the shack and offered tea, as is customary here. Jacob Pace writes from Gaza City. Read more about Al-Sayafa: A Case Study in Dispossession