Samara is the name of a new Palestinian-Egyptian dance troupe that has started a craze in the Gaza Strip. Rami Almeghari reports for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Egyptian song and dance lift Gaza weddings 

“Khosh amadid” quickly became the new catchphrase for many Lebanese when thousands of signs reading “welcome” in Farsi went up in areas around the country. The occasion was Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s two-day visit to the country last week. Matthew Cassel comments for the Electronic Intifada. Read more about Ahmedinejad in Lebanon: shifting regional power balance 

Situated just a few yards away from the Haram al-Sharif in the Souq al-Qattanin, the Cotton Market in the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem, the Centre for Jerusalem Studies is both an assertion of the city’s Palestinian identity, and an example of the threat that identity faces. Read more about Jerusalem center promotes Palestinian heritage 

EREZ CROSSING, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - Crossing through the metal-caged tunnel that leads from the Israeli side of the boundary into northern Gaza towards the Palestinian checkpoint, several groups of young Palestinian men and boys can be seen scavenging through piles of rubble. Read more about Scavenging lures Gazans to dangerous "buffer zone" 

Last week, the Dutch National Crime Squad raided and searched the headquarters of Riwal in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, following criminal complaints lodged by the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq. Read more about Dutch company raided over involvement in occupation 

As US-sponsored peace talks have stalled over the issue of settlements, Israel’s national police force has revealed that it is turning to the very same illegal communities in its first-ever drive to recruit officers from among the settlers. Read more about Israeli police recruiting from settlements for first time 

London, UK (IRIN) - The first day of the Palestinian olive harvest officially began on 15 October, and Rani Ali and his family — like hundreds of others — were out among their olive trees, starting to bring in what looks to be a good harvest. Read more about Occupation affects every aspect of olive oil production 

Negotiations between two unequal parties cannot succeed. Success in Palestinian-Israeli negotiations requires a reasonable balance of power, clear terms of reference and abstention of both sides from imposing unilateral facts on the ground. None of that existed in the talks that were re-initiated in September. Mustafa Barghouthi comments. Read more about The international community's final test 

The Electronic Intifada contributor Arwa Aburawa spoke to Ra’ed al-Mickawi from Bustan, a green Bedouin organization, and Alice Gray an environmental expert based in the West Bank to find out more about the role of greenwashing in the Israeli occupation of the Naqab desert. Read more about JNF plants trees to uproot Bedouin