Paul Goldman / NBC News

Abu Nidal, 70, stands on his land in the Palestinian village of Al-Walaja. Construction of the Israeli security barrier can be seen in the background.

AL-WALAJA, West Bank –  Palestinian activists are calling for a “Global March to Jerusalem” this Friday to mark Land Day, an annual event that commemorates the killing of six Arabs who were protesting the Israeli practice of expropriating Arab land to build Jewish settlements on March 30, 1976.

Since then Palestinians have commemorated March 30 as Land Day and have turned it into a general day of protest against what they see as discriminatory practices by the Israeli government.

But 70-year-old Abu Nidal doesn’t need a special calendar day to remind him of the Israeli occupation and their confiscation of his land. Nidal just needs to wake up every morning and look outside his window to see how the Israelis are confiscating his land.

 He lives in the village Al Walaja, nestled in the hills between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Half of the village of just over 2,000 is considered to be part of Jerusalem and the other half is part of the West Bank. So now the Israeli security wall snakes through the village.

“Land Day is like a music record being played over and over,” he said. “I live out of despair with no future in sight, I see no light only darkness.”

'Global March to Jerusalem': Israel's borders on high alert as huge protests loom

When the Israelis sent huge yellow bulldozers to the village in 2010 to start working on the separation wall, no one bothered to check on whether or not the wall ran through Nidal’s farm land – which it does. And it has not only been 86 olive trees that were up rooted by the approximately 26-foot high concrete barrier, but also Nidal’s family graveyard.

Paul Goldman / NBC News

Parts of the Israeli security wall are still under construction, while others are already snaking through the West Bank village Al-Walaja.

It was his grandmother’s wish that every family member be buried on their 11-acre farm land. But the Israelis have a different plan for the confiscated land. They are planning to build not only the wall, but a recreational park for Israelis on the other side of the wall.
As it stands now, Nidal can only look at his mother and grandmother’s graves from a distance with the dreadful knowledge that soon the wall will be his only view.

“It’s not only a question of land confiscation, but also of making our life so miserable that we will have to pack up our lives and leave,” Nidal said. “But, of course, I want to be buried alongside my mother.”

This Friday when demonstrators take to the streets commemorating Land Day, Nidal won’t join them; his battle is being waged in the Israeli courts. But he pointed out that his case doesn’t have much of a shot. “The court is Israeli, the judge is Israeli and the lawyers are Israelis.  It’s a losing battle.”

Nidal’s story is just one out of many. There are approximately 2,300 Palestinians living in the village of Al Walaja and everyone I talked to had a similarly desperate story. The common theme to all the stories is the feeling they live in a prison surrounded by a wall and Jewish settlements.
 

Menahem Kahana / AFP - Getty Images

Palestinian schoolgirls walk past Israeli border policemen standing guard outside a Palestinian house in the center of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on Thursday after dozens of Jewish settlers took over the Palestinian property overnight, claiming they have legal ownership.

RAMALLAH, West Bank – Palestinian organizers are calling for massive demonstrations on Friday to mark Land Day, an annual event that commemorates the killing of six Arabs who were protesting Israeli land policies on March 30, 1976.

Tens of thousands are expected to participate in what organizers have billed a "Global March to Jerusalem." The plan is to have protesters from neighboring countries march up to the Israeli border to "demonstrate solidarity with Palestinians and to protect Jerusalem," according to organizers.

The future status of Jerusalem is at the heart of the Palestinian movement and is the theme for the global Land Day. East Jerusalem is regarded as the likely capital of a future Palestinian state.

For Palestinian farmer, a constant reminder of Israeli occupation

For many Palestinians, Land Day is an annual opportunity to demonstrate that Palestinians inside Israel, the West Bank and Gaza are united and share common goals. 

This year will mark 36 years since Israel’s practice of expropriating Arab land to build Jewish settlements provoked protests by Arab residents in the Galilee and Negev. In addition to the six people who were killed, over 100 wounded during the ensuing violence. Since then Palestinians have commemorated March 30 as Land Day and have turned the day into a general protest against what they see as discriminatory practices by the Israeli government. So it seemed an appropriate date for activists to hold their march. 

Menahem Kahana / AFP - Getty Images

An Israeli settler looks out the window of an occupied Palestinian house as an Israeli soldier stands guard in the center of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on March 29, 2012. Dozens of Jewish settlers took over the Palestinian property overnight, claiming they have legal ownership.

"The Global March to Jerusalem represents three things," said Barghouti. "First of all, the unity of the Palestinian people, and their struggle to achieve freedom and end occupation, for Palestinians in and out of Palestine; second, it affirms the centrality of the issues of land and Jerusalem to achieving Palestinian freedom; and third, it provides international solidarity with the Palestinian cause."

'Absolutely peaceful'
The organizers plan to send convoys of vehicles to approach Israel's borders simultaneously from four neighboring countries: Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon. According to organizers, more than 600 institutions from 64 states have been involved in planning the march. Protests are also planned outside Israeli embassies in Europe and Arab countries. Organizers say they are hoping for 1 million people to demonstrate in various protests all over the world.

"The event is meant to be a non-violent protest that will include parliament members, citizens and religious figures from all over the world – including Jews, Israelis will also protest with us," Saied Yaqin, one of the march organizers, told NBC News.

Organizers of the march insist the protests will be orderly.

"This march is absolutely peaceful and non-violent, and we will try everything possible to prevent violence," Barghouti said. "Of course, if they use violence against us, the world should protest. But the march is absolutely peaceful and nobody will try to provoke violence."

But Israeli Defense Forces aren’t taking any chances.

A statement released by the IDF said they are "prepared for any eventuality and will do whatever is necessary to protect Israeli borders and residents."

Israel has also issued a stern warning to Arab countries and Palestinians to refrain from approaching the border.

Soldiers along the border have been instructed to be on high alert and they will reportedly have crowd-dispersal means at the ready and will also deploy marksmen. According to a Haaretz report, a so-called "skunk" device is being prepared that sprays a harsh-smelling substance at demonstrators. 

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Paul Goldman / NBC News

Children shoot hoops in Jerusalem as part of the PeacePlayers International program.

By Paul Goldman, NBC News

JERUSALEM -- "Shlomi, throw me the ball."

"Assi, it's your turn, pass and dribble."

"Mahmud, great pass. What a basket."

This might sound like a normal basketball game but it's not. The unique endeavor can be best described as an "oasis of coexistence" in Israel where Jews, Muslims and Christians play not only on the same court but in mixed teams.

In 2001, American brothers Sean and Brendan Tuohey founded PeacePlayers International with the premise that children who play together can learn to live together.

It seemed quite obvious during my visit to practice that the Tuohey brothers were succeeding. Here on the court at the "Hand in Hand" bilingual school in Jerusalem, Israelis and Palestinians were laughing together, hugging each other and, most importantly, shooting the ball together.

"At first the kids and their parents were hesitant with some kids even crying," says Karen Doubilet, who is the PeacePlayers International's Middle East managing director. "But the transition is very fast, now they jump in joy and hug each other when they meet on and off the court."

'They are like me'
After experiencing so much hatred between Israelis and Palestinians, it was refreshing and exciting to see how naturally these kids reacted and played with each other.

Malak Ayub, 12, is a Muslim girl from the East Jerusalem village of Shoafat.

"Before I came to this program I thought Israelis only wanted to do bad things to us but now I see that they are like me, they want to play together," she said.

One of Malak's best friends is Hadas Prawer, a 14-year-old Israeli from the neighborhood of Mevaseret, which is located west of Jerusalem. I asked Hadas what she tells her friends when they hear she plays with Palestinians.

"I don't care what people think or say, I'm having fun and that's it," she said, before turning around and giving Malak a huge hug.

The traditional Hanukkah 'Sufganiyot' -- the Jewish ball-shaped doughnuts -- were waiting on the sidelines as a reward for the kids' hard work. All the children were wearing T-shirts with the US AID logo on the back, indicating the backing by the US.

"Basketball is huge, especially with the girls," Doubilet added. "Most of these kids don’t have a constructive framework and we give them this activity almost for free. The relationships here will no doubt shape the way Israelis and Palestinians think of each other in the future".

About 550 young people aged from six to 18 enrolled in this program in the past year, bridging communities in Israel like Jaffa, Tamra and Jerusalem where Jews and Muslims live next to each other. 

Haled Sabah is a 20-year-old Palestinian from Shoafat. He joined the program seven years ago and is now one of its coaches.

"I see some racism on both sides but when kids play on the same team they just see each other simply as people," he said. 

Palestinian Wajee Tameise and Israeli Mashka Litvak donate blood together as part of the "Blood Relations" project.

By Paul Goldman, NBC News Producer

TEL AVIV – The grief and sorrow on both sides of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is torturous. Families from both sides have been left to mourn their lost loved ones after years of armed conflict. Young kids that died on the West Bank streets fighting Israeli soldiers and young Israeli kids that boarded a deadly bus not knowing a suicide bomber was sitting next to them.

It is natural for family members of victims to feel a mix of incredible emotions: anger, grief and a desire for revenge. 

Out of all those emotions one amazing organization was born: The Parents Circle Family Forum. Its members all had immediate family killed in the conflict.  But instead of hanging on to hatred and revenge, they have all worked to spearhead a reconciliation process between Israelis and Palestinians.

This week, while leaders from both sides are at the United Nations and the world is focused on the Palestinians bid for statehood, more blood was exchanged on the streets of Israel.  But this time the blood was given willingly through intravenous tubes.

The family forum organized the “Blood Relations” project during which about 50 Israelis and Palestinian who had lost loved ones in the conflict donated blood.

Palestinian Wajee Tameise and Israeli Mashka Litvak sat next to each other while they made their donations. Tameise lost his brother to the conflict in 1991. Litvak also lost her brother, Arnon Litvak, who died during an army battle in 1970 and her father, Moshe Litvak, who was killed during the 1947 war for independence.

Their blood donations will be shared by both Israeli and Palestinian hospitals with the message "Will you hurt someone who has your blood running through their veins?"

“We want to be part of any future political agreement,” said Ali Abu Awwad, one of the project’s managers. “There is a need for an ongoing dialog towards peace, whatever the result of the Palestinian quest for an independent state is.” 
 

By Andrea Mitchell and Catherine Chomiak, NBC News

U.S  officials are working feverishly to persuade the Palestinians to back down from what is still only a threat to go to the United Nations Security Council with their demand for immediate statehood.

On Friday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he will request full membership at the United Nations when the General Assembly convenes next week.

One official told NBC News after Abbas's announcement that "this is a negotiation. They say they are doing it until they say they aren't doing it."

The U.S. has been resolute in its opposition to the proposed action and is engaged in frantic last-minute diplomatic discussions to try to head it off.

Just Thursday, Secretary Clinton reaffirmed the administration’s view, saying, "we believe strongly that the road to peace and two states living side-by-side does not go through New York. It goes through Jerusalem and Ramallah and it is our absolute conviction that we need to get the parties back to the negotiating table."

Clinton also recently dispatched two top Middle East diplomats to the region. U.S. envoys David Hale and Dennis Ross have met with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. On the Palestinian side, they have met with Abbas and others.

History or histrionics in UN’s Palestine vote?

 According to an official, the diplomats are offering alternatives to UN action, including a fast track to new talks between the two sides and further pressure on Israel to stop its settlements policy. 

Their efforts may be paying off, as the Palestinian Authority has not yet taken the first procedural step needed to introduce a statehood resolution to the Security Council. 

The Palestinians would have to first send a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon requesting that a resolution be brought to the Security Council. Ban in turn would write to the Security Council. A member of the council would then have to bring it up on behalf of the Palestinians. A resolution would then have to be drafted, debated and amended before it could be brought to a vote.

The United States has said that it would veto such a resolution if it passes in the Security Council.  In order for a resolution to pass it must have nine votes of the council’s 15 members. If the resolution were to get nine votes, the U.S. or another of the five permanent members could exercise veto power.

If the Palestinians either do not or cannot get the Security Council to vote on their resolution, they would seek the same status from the 193-member United Nations General Assembly. They will have overwhelming support in that body, and that would give them important leverage.

However, the U.S. position remains that UN action will not bring about a two-state solution with both sides living in peace and security. “We all know that no matter what happens or doesn’t happen at the UN, the next day is not going to result in the kind of changes that the United States wishes to see,” Clinton said.

Andrea Mitchell is NBC News' chief foreign affairs correspondent. Catherine Chomiak is NBC News' State Department producer.

Palestinian UN vote: What is it? Why now?

Palestinians are planning to make a push for recognition as an independent state at the United Nations next week.

While Israelis and Palestinians are divided on the subject, there is some nuances in their opinions. NBC's Paul Goldman and Lawahez Jabari took to the street in Tel Aviv and Ramallah, respectively, to check the pulse of both Jews and Arabs on the looming U.N. vote.

"For Israel it’s a good thing because I think we should separate ourselves and having there own country will eventually mean less trouble for us," said Yoav Glazer in Tel Aviv.

But Gabi Halevi felt that the Palestinians push for recognition should be done in a differently. "They should negotiate with Israel secretly, in a discreet way, not through the rule of the U.N. I don’t think this will be good for them."

Click on the video above to hear more opinions on the UN vote.

Marco Longari / AFP - Getty Images

Palestinians take part in an anti-US demonstration in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday. Dozens of Palestinians chanted slogans against the pressure by the US government on the Palestinian Authority to convince them to step down from the UN bid for membership state.

By Yara Borgal, NBC News

RAMALLAH, West Bank – The dusty miles of hillsides and olive groves, Arab villages, Jewish settlements and Israeli military checkpoints that make up the West Bank of the River Jordan are a world removed from the Vatican City. But one of the oddities of the Palestinians' latest efforts to build their own state is that the two might well end up on an equal diplomatic footing.

One likely outcome of the Palestinian plan to take their case to the United Nations next week would see them elevated to the status of  “non-member observer’’ – the same status held by the pope’s city state.

If they are lucky, it might be the best thing the Palestinians can achieve. 

Seeking a different status
Currently the Palestine Liberation Organization holds only “observer entity status” in the U.N.  If that status were to change to a full member, Palestinians would gain full voting rights at the U.N.

However, in order for the General Assembly to admit Palestine as a full member state, U.N. Security Council approval is needed. The U.S., which opposes the Palestinian request, has veto power and the State Department has made it clear the U.S. will use it.

“Washington has unfortunately declared that it’s going to veto our request,” said Dr. Mohammad Shtayyeh, a senior Palestinian official and an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

“We will try again. Israel was vetoed twice, Jordan was rejected more than once, Portugal was rejected five times, Japan was rejected six times and so on.  History has taught us that this issue is not a one shot; it’s a process.”

Option B
Another option for the Palestinian Authority is to by-pass the Security Council and the U.S. veto and take its statehood request directly to the General Assembly, where approval requires a two-thirds majority vote –129 out of 193 member countries.

According to Palestinian officials, 122 countries have already recognized Palestine, but they hope to gain the support of up to 150.

If the General Assembly approves the request, it would grant only limited U.N. recognition as a non-member observer state – so Palestinians would not have the right to vote.

However, it would allow the Palestinians to join dozens of U.N. bodies and conventions, including the International Criminal Court. That would give Palestinians the opportunity to file charges against Israel for alleged violations of international law – such as the continued settlement building.

‘A different mechanism’
The Palestinians have long aspired to establish an independent, sovereign state within the 1967 borders.

However, frustration from decades of on-and-off peace talks that have failed to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has led the Palestinians, represented by the Palestinian Authority, to pursue new strategies.

Shtayyeh pointed out that it has been 18 years since the Oslo Accords, which were supposed to set the stage for a resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. “Unfortunately, almost two decades later, the Israeli occupation of Palestine is entrenched and Israel’s occupation has turned into de facto annexation,” he said.

“All that we are looking for is a new mechanism to end the conflict.  We are not going into violence, we are not going into armed struggle, we are not taking any unilateral steps. We are going to a multilateral forum that has 193 countries and we are asking this international community to speak loudly for a two state solution,” said Shtayyeh.

He added that the move isn’t meant as a challenge to America.

“We are saying to Washington and to the international community these peace talks have been ongoing for 20 years and they have not achieved their goal,” said Shtayyeh. “The goal is the same; we just simply need a different approach, a different mechanism.”

The Palestinians also argue that their U.N. plan fits with the deadline set by the Middle East Peace Quartet –  the E.U., U.S., Russia and U.N. – to reach a two-state solution by September 2011.

“Even President Obama was hoping to see Palestine admitted to the United Nations in his speech last September to the General Assembly, so everybody wants this to happen,” said Shtayyeh.

Strong opposition from Israel
Israel has made it clear that if the Palestinian request is passed, it will not change anything on the ground. The checkpoints, separation wall and settlements will still all be there. The creation of a Palestinian state on the basis of 1967 borders is something, they say, no Israeli government will accept because it threatens Israel’s security.

However, the Israelis view this step as far from being a meaningless gesture. They worry about the legality of their occupation and the settlements in the West Bank being put to the judgment of the International Criminal Court. In theory, it might lead to Israeli officials being dragged repeatedly before the International Criminal Court at the Hague – something they obviously don’t want.

The Israeli government, like the U.S., believes U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state will set back the peace process. Peace, they insist, can only be achieved through talks.

Israel and the U.S. have urged the Palestinians to reconsider going to the U.N., warning of dire consequences.

Some Israeli right wing officials have called for the suspensions of the transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority, the cancellation of all previous agreements and the annexation of territory containing settlement blocs in the West Bank to the state of Israel.

The United States has threatened to stop all financial aid to the Palestinian Authority if they proceed with plans to ask the U.N. for recognition of an independent state.

Realizing what’s at stake, the Palestinians have stated that they still intend to submit an application for recognition of Palestinian statehood to the Security Council as a first step.

RAMALLAH, West Bank – Ten years since the shattering events of 9/11 changed the world, many Palestinians remain focused on what is unchanged: their dream of a sovereign state alongside Israel is still just a dream.

Many believe the last decade was actually a huge setback for their cause – especially because of America's subsequent war on terror.

“I think 9/11 was a turning point for Muslims and Arabs all over the world,” said Palestinian journalist Malak Hasan. “Since then the West is more compassionate with the Israelis than with the Palestinians. They think that we are only terrorists and deserve what is happening to us.”

Many here say that sense of prejudice has built barriers between the Arab and Western world and has created suspicions and misconceptions on both sides.

Shadi Issa holds both U.S. and Palestinian passports, but said he still has difficulty traveling. 

“It's very bad. We cannot travel freely,” he said. “When I travel anywhere in the world I feel that people are looking at me. They ask me questions like, ‘Where are you from? Why are you here?’ Even if I'm going on vacation,” Issa added.

Nahed Freij is a business consultant and another frequent traveler. When asked if she gets the same treatment and how she feels about it, she replied matter of factly: “It’s discrimination.”

Still ten years on, there is no lack of compassion for those who died on 9/11. “We were all victims, because when people die, everyone is a victim,” said Rasha Sansur, among the crowds shopping in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

But ask around and you're also likely to hear Palestinians give credence to the many conspiracy theories that surround 9/11.

“The Mossad knew about it and the CIA knew about it. There were 3,000 Jews in the building who didn't go to work that day, it was not a random thing. Someone told them,'' Ashraf Abu Iram was quick to say during a conversation in the middle of a busy street in
Ramallah.

Still, Palestinians this month are focused on New York, not as much on the commemorations for 9/11 as to events a few blocks away.
At the United Nations headquarters on Sept. 20, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to ask the General Assembly to recognize an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. 

“Lately we are focusing on our state, we are thinking about the vote in the U.N., it is the most important thing for us now,” said 23-year-old Sama Anfus.

But the fact that the United States has vowed to veto the move only confirms in most Palestinian minds that the legacy of 9/11 in this part of the Middle East is one of division and discord.  

Adel Hana / AP

Palestinians ride motorcycles while waving yellow Fatah and green Hamas flags along the streets during a rally celebrating the signing of a reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas, in Gaza city, Wednesday.

By Martin Fletcher, NBC News Correspondent

On paper, it sounds marvelous; but peace in our time, it isn't. Peace, that is, among the Palestinians.
 
To agree to a unity deal between his Fatah movement and rival Hamas, West Bank leader and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wanted the two factions to combine their security services into one. A state, Abbas says, can't have two militaries, each loyal to a different master. But Hamas refused and the compromise is that each Palestinian party will have its own security services.

In other words, while agreeing to unite after nearly five years of bitter conflict, including an all-out war in Gaza in May 2007, each side remains prepared for the day after.

But with the Palestinian Authority building the institutions of a state, and collecting guarantees from dozens of countries that they will support the Palestinian application for independence and a full seat in the United Nations in September, it is imperative that Palestinians are united. Or at least, appear so.

After all, Israel's argument against a Palestinian state, for now, has been that the Palestinians are so divided that they can't claim to be a responsible member of the family of nations.

The agreement between Fatah and Hamas scuppers that objection.

So now Israel has raised another objection. They say Hamas is a terrorist organization, recognized as such by Europe and the United States, is sworn to Israel's destruction, and so cannot be part of a legitimate national government. And if it is, that government should not be recognized.

It’s either peace with Israel or peace with Hamas, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said within two hours of the unity agreement's announcement. Abbas chose Hamas.

The problem with Israel's objections is that the Palestinians have been very successful at selling Prime Minister Salam Fayad's construction of Palestinian institutions and getting the world to agree to one key point: The Palestinians want to reform and only Israel stands in the way.

However, with the assassination of Osama bin Laden, the Palestinians, in this case Hamas, shot themselves in the foot allowing Israel to claim, as its ambassadors have been told to do worldwide at every opportunity, that despite appearances, nothing's changed. Hamas could not have been more helpful to Israel.

Ismail Haniya, Hamas leader in the Gaza strip, condemned America for assassinating bin Laden, calling him "a holy Arab warrior."

Israel poured oil onto this fire by broadcasting a video on Israel’s channel 10 showing an imam in Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque eulogizing bin Laden. He told the worshippers: "The dogs of the West murdered one of the lions of Islam."

The dogs would be America. The lion of Islam would be bin Laden. The speaker added about President Barack Obama: "You should know that you will soon swing from a rope."

Assuming the video is genuine, and nobody so far has doubted it, there must be a lot of red faces in Ramallah. This is not the face of Palestine that Fatah leaders want the world to see.