This month, Israel's effort to entrench its legalised discrimination and exploitation of Palestinians is highlighted through two separate Israeli Supreme Court rulings; the first upholds the 'Citizenship & Entry Law' which essentially prohibits Palestinian from the occupied territories married to those with Israeli citizenship from enjoying a normal family life, while the second allows the continued exploitation of Palestinian natural resources by Israeli companies citing 'facts on the ground' as justification. Meanwhile, Israel stepped up its campaign against Palestinian lawmakers and the British government raises its voice in defence of Palestinian children.

This month, Harriet Sherwood, together with fellow colleagues at the Guardian wrote a special report and produced a number of short documentaries highlighting the predicament of Palestinian children in Israeli jails. Human rights organizations including B'Tselem and Defence for Children International (Palestine Section) raised serious concerns over the arbitrary arrest and detention of Palestinian children. In the Guardian's documentary, Palestinian minors spoke of solitary confinement in "Cell 36". The film also shows footage of a 14 year old boy being interrogated in the middle of the night, and in the absence of any parent, guardian or lawyer.

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The end of 2011 sees US Republican candidates use pro-Israel rhetoric to win support, Israel withholds essential tax revenues as punitive measure for Palestinian UNESCO bid, Palestinian Christians continue in their struggle for their historic religious rights, Fatah and Hamas take another small step towards recognition and more...

Israeli settlements continue to expand unabated, threatening to cut Bethlehem off "from its historic twin, Jerusalem".

Though the Archbishop of Canterbury declined mention the plight of his co-religionists in the Occupied West Bank parish of Beit Jala who are "preparing for a legal battle to protect their land and homes from further expropriation by Israel", Vincent Nichols, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster not only offered a special prayer for the people of Bethlehem, but urged his congregation to pull the wool from over their eyes. "See more clearly all those things which disfigure our world," he said, "We too live in a land of deep shadow", that shadow "falls particularly heavily on the town of Bethlehem tonight."

This November saw Palestinians gain membership to UNESCO; a human rights report from Israel suggested Israeli medical professionals were facilitating torture; Iran remained the main focus of Western powers; and Sarkozy had a memorable outburst over Netanyahu's lack of trustworthiness.

Media lenses are once again focussing on Iran amid concerns of its 'nuclear capabilities' and its purported threat to surrounding countries. As always, the hype encompassing the on goings in Tehran, by both world leaders and media alike, is fast reaching boiling point, with commentators predicting that some form of direct action as imminent.

October digest briefly looks at the historic prisoner swap, Sheikh Raed Salah judgement, Universal Jurisdiction, the UN bid so far and more

This month, the Hamas Movement managed to secure the release of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the Israeli–French soldier, Sargent Gilad Shalit. In the past, Israeli negotiators have point blank refused any suggestion of releasing prisoners from territories other than the West Bank and Gaza. However, this historic exchange saw the release of prisoners from inside the Golan Heights, Jerusalem and within Israel itself.  The first phase of the exchange saw more than 450 prisoners released while the second phase is due to be confirmed within the next few weeks.