Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Overnight, Jewish settlers set fire to the entrance of a mosque, a car, and a construction vehicle in Burqin village nr. Salfit, moderately damaging the mosque and destroying the 2 vehicles. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction material in the demolished Erez industrial zone, forcing them to flee. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids and house searches nr. Hebron, Tulkarm. (PCHR 12/8, 12/15; OCHA 12/16)

Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and New Gingrich address the conservative Republican Jewish Coalition, criticizing U.S. Pres. Barack Obama for his weak and confused foreign policy and mistreatment of Israel. Neither endorses a 2-state solution, even though the Republican Party platform officially supports this. Romney pledges that his 1st trip as pres. would be to Israel. Gingrich promises that he would move the U.S. emb. fr. Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Republican candidates Michele Bachmann, John Huntsman, Rick Perry, and Rick Santorum also address the forum and promise new approaches to the Middle East but do not go into detail. (NYT, WP 12/8)