News stories by Pierre Klochendler, page 12

At the Rambam medical centre here in Israel’s third largest city just 30 odd kilometres from Lebanon, they are working around the clock, racing against time.

It's 5am. The late autumn dawn is about to break. But for 3,500 Palestinian workers, a hard day's work began hours ago.

Embarrassing, damaging or actually helpful? Israeli reactions to the explosive WikiLeaks revelations run the full gamut.

The Palestinian Prime Minister ventured into Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem bypassing Israeli security authorities who tried to stop him. The city's Israeli mayor, who also wanted to venture into the eastern of part of 'his' city, was unable to because of objections from those same Israeli authorities.

A Swedish attempt to bridge conflicting historical narratives has failed to bring Israeli and Palestinian educators together in teaching the other side's views on history.

'As a democracy Israel aspires to complete equality of all its citizens,' said Dr. Shlomo Alon, head of the education ministry's Arabic and Islam education division as he launched a programme at the beginning of the new school year to make classes in Arabic compulsory in all Jewish public schools. But just a month later, the commitment to 'complete equality' looks like it's taking a back seat.

The fate of the just resumed Palestinian-Israeli peace-building efforts is being kept under a tight wrap by all parties. So far, so good.

Thousands of Israelis have protested in a central park here demanding that their government revoke its decision to deport 400 children of migrant workers.

Rightwing Israeli groups financially supported by Jewish and fundamentalist Christian groups from abroad are on a campaign to undermine free thought in Israeli universities. Collaterally, a move is under way by right-wing parties in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, to limit the freedom of action of civil and human rights-minded NGOs.

On the eve of the start of Ramadan last week, Israeli police demolished the Bedouin village of al-Araqib in the Negev desert. It was the third time within two weeks that the village had been razed.