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13 injured in Nabi Saleh demo
2/3/2012 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces injured 13 people in the village of Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah, during a Friday demonstration against Israeli land confiscation, witnesses said. A French national sustained an injury from a tear-gas canister, activists said. She was taken to a hospital in Ramallah where she received stitches before being released, they.... Related: 13 injured in Nabi Saleh during weekly non-violent protest
Medics: Israelis attack shepherd in northern West Bank
2/3/2012 - NABLUS (Ma'an) -- A 20-year-old Palestinian shepherd was injured on Friday after being attacked by Israelis in the northern West Bank, medics said. Red Crescent medics told Ma'an that Mahdi Daraghma was beaten by Israelis from the Mehola settlement in the northern Jordan Valley while he was tending his sheep. Daraghma....
Palestinian aids Israeli soldier left behind in raid
2/3/2012 - JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- An Israeli soldier stranded after a raid in occupied territory was escorted to safety by a Palestinian man in the same village the troops had targeted, witnesses and media reports said. The Israeli military said Friday a batallion commander had been suspended from duties for the soldier having been abandoned on enemy turf....
Warning of 'health disaster' due to power crisis
2/3/2012 - GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The health minister in Gaza, Basem Naim, warned Thursday of a health and environmental crisis due to an increase of power cuts and their dangerous implications. Naim said hospitals and health facilities, subjected to 10-hour power cuts every day, may have to close down some sections like operation rooms....
Official: Israeli settlers tour Beit Ummar
2/3/2012 - HEBRON (Ma'an) -- For the second time in two weeks, settlers made a tour of Beit Ummar north of Hebron, according to a spokesman for the town's popular committee. Muhammad Ayyad Awad said that more than 100 Kfar Etzion settlers toured Beit Ummar under the protection of Israeli forces. During the tour....
Report: Panetta thinks Israel may strike Iran this spring
2/3/2012 - WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes there is a growing possibility Israel will attack Iran as early as April to stop Tehran from building a nuclear bomb, US media reported on Thursday. The Washington Post first reported that Panetta was concerned about the increased likelihood Israel would launch an attack over the next.... Related: Israel: Quick Iran curbs may obviate need for strike
Soldiers break up weekly Qalqiliya demonstration
2/3/2012 - QALQILIYA (Ma'an) -- Israeli military forces clamped down on a weekly non-violent demonstration on Friday in the Qalqiliya village of Kafr Qaddum. The demonstration started after traditional Friday prayers and included hundreds of locals, internationals and Israeli peace activists, Murad Eshterwi, media coordinator of the protests, said. Soldiers fired tear gas and sound grenades....
Disobedience campaign to support Jihad leader
2/3/2012 - JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- The PA Minister of Prisoners Affairs said Friday that detainees in Israeli jails have launched a disobedience campaign to support detained hunger-striking Islamic Jihad leader Khader Adnan. Issa Qaraqe said Palestinian detainees are returning food, and refusing outdoor breaks and medical treatment to support Adnan's 49-day hunger strike....
World Bank president meets Fayyad
2/3/2012 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- World Bank President Robert Zoellick met PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah on Wednesday, and stressed the importance of Palestine moving on from a donor-driven economy." World Bank research shows that the economic growth in West Bank and Gaza from 2008-2011 was driven primarily by donor aid, and therefore....
Khamenei warns Israel, US over pressure
2/3/2012 - TEHRAN (Reuters) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday the Islamic Republic would not yield to international pressure to abandon its nuclear course, threatening retaliation for sanctions aimed at Iran's oil exports. Khamenei's defiant speech to mark the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution was the first.... Related: Israel: Quick Iran curbs may obviate need for strike and Report: Panetta thinks Israel may strike Iran this spring
Quartet 'proposes incentives for Palestine entry to talks'
2/3/2012 - TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- PLO official Wasel Abu Yousef said Thursday that the diplomatic Quartet has proposed a series of measures to ease Israeli restrictions on Palestinians in order to restart stalled peace talks, according to news reports. The plan asks Israel to increase Palestinians' work permits for Israel, ease movement restrictions....
Israel: Quick Iran curbs may obviate need for strike
2/3/2012 - MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) -- Iran "will blink" if sanctions aimed at deterring it from building a nuclear bomb are imposed rapidly, meaning outside powers may never need to decide on possible armed action, an Israeli minister said Friday. Speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Germany, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon added that the.... Related: Khamenei warns Israel, US over pressure and Report: Panetta thinks Israel may strike Iran this spring
PA security forces 'arrest state TV journalist'
2/3/2012 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian Authority security services arrested a journalist for the government's official news agency in Ramallah on Tuesday after he criticized PLO officials, a media rights group said. Rami Samara, a journalist for the PA's Wafa news agency, was released after a few hours, the Palestinian media rights....
Rights group: Gaza court upholds death sentence
2/3/2012 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A military court in Gaza on Thursday upheld a death sentence issued last year to a man convicted of treason, a Palestinian rights group said. The High Military Court confirmed the sentence of death by hanging against a 27-year-old from al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, identified only as W....
Mother and son killed in heater accident
2/3/2012 - NABLUS (Ma'an) -- A 40-year-old woman and her young son died of suffocation from a firewood heater on Thursday in the Nablus village of al-Naqura, police said. The heater sucked all the oxygen from the room as the windows and doors were sealed, the police statement said. Omaymah Mahmoud and 10-year-old Muhammad....
Analysis: Anti-Semitism and Israel's inherent contradictions
2/3/2012 - By Ramzy Baroud - In a recent article, columnist Yaniv Halili described British author Ben White as 'anti-Semitic'. He also denounced Arab Knesset member Hanin Zoabi for writing a forward to White's latest book, Palestinians in Israel: Segregation, Discrimination and Democracy. Those of us who can see through such distorted thinking know....
Egypt protesters besiege Cairo interior ministry
2/3/2012 - By Marwa Awad and Tom PerryCAIRO (Reuters) -- Protesters hurled rocks through clouds of tear gas and riot police fired live rounds on a second day of fighting around Egypt's Interior Ministry triggered by the deaths of 74 people in the country's worst soccer disaster. A demonstrator and an army officer were....
Arabs, West re-draft Syria UN resolution to avert Russian veto
2/3/2012 - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -- Arab and Western drafters of a UN Security Council resolution aimed at stopping Syria's bloody upheaval revised their text on Thursday in a last-ditch effort to avoid a Russian veto, though the new draft includes language Moscow has rejected. Morocco circulated the slightly amended draft to the 15-nation council....
Gunmen kidnap two US tourists in Egypt's Sinai
2/3/2012 - CAIRO (Reuters) -- Gunmen in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula kidnapped two American women on Friday in an apparent attempt to hold them for ransom, security sources said. Security in the isolated desert region has deteriorated since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising last February. South Sinai's Red Sea coast....
Syria forces break up Hama protest marking killings
2/3/2012 - BEIRUT (Reuters) -- Syrian forces shot dead one person in the city of Hama on Friday as they broke up a protest marking the anniversary of a 1982 massacre by troops loyal to President Bashar Assad's father, activists said. The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said security forces dispersed demonstrators in the Janoub....
International Palestinian Refugee Conference to take place in Denmark
Palestine, (Pal Telegraph) - The General Secretariat of the Palestinians in Europe Conference, The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) and the Palestinian Forum in Denmark announced that this year the 10th Palestinians in Europe Conference will be held in Denmark. The annual conference successfully gathers Palestinian Refugees from across the world, especially in Europe, in calling for their Right of Return...
Aljazeera
Palestine News Network
IRIN
Inter Press Service
U.S. Leak on Israeli Attack Weakened a Warning to Netanyahu
IPS When Defence Secretary Leon Panetta told Washington Post columnist David Ignatius this week that he believes Israel was likely to attack Iran between April and June, it was ostensibly yet another expression of alarm at the Israeli government's threats of military action.
Chinese Feed Illegal Ivory Trade
IPS The illegal trade in ivory continues in Egypt, with ivory products sold openly in local tourist markets by traders who operate with impunity, a new study by the conservation group Traffic has found.
Stop The Wall
New Demolitions in the Jordan Valley
Stop The Wall - Palestinian Grassroots Anti-apartheid Wall Campaign The occupation forces demolished this morning housing and agriculture facilities in the Jordan Valley area east of the West Bank after dozens of demolition campaigns in the same area last year. The population of the bats of Alhamra area said that the military bulldozers surrounded...
PCHR Latest
PCHR Weekly Report
International Solidarity Movement
Music against the No Go Zone
2/3/2012 - International Solidarity Movement - By Rosa Schiano, 31 January 2012 - il Blog di Oliva - Every Tuesday we demonstrate at the Erez border crossing, in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip. The demonstration started at about 11:00 AM. We headed for the No Go Zone. The No Go Zone is an area taken by Israel that extends along Gaza.... Related: il Blog di Oliva
13 injured in Nabi Saleh during weekly non-violent protest
2/3/2012 - International Solidarity Movement - 3 February 2012, International Middle East Media Center - During the weekly non-violent protest in the village of an-Nabi Saleh on Friday several injuries were reported including that of a French citizen who was struck in the neck by an Israeli projectile. The young woman, reported to be named Amessi, was struck in the neck, initially.... Related: 13 injured in Nabi Saleh demo
61 year old Palestinian woman in intensive care after settler attack
2/3/2012 - International Solidarity Movement - By Fransisco Reeves, 3 February 2012, International Solidarity Movement, West Bank - When your land is occupied by those who harbor hatred towards you emanating from a belief that they are inherently superior to you, each day brings with it a genuine threat to the security of your life and the lives of your loved ones....
Donor Opium: The impact of international aid to Palestine
2/3/2012 - International Solidarity Movement - 3 February 2012, Donor Opium - For twenty years now the international donor community has financially supported Palestinian institution-building, infrastructure development, the economy, public employees' salaries, health and education, social welfare, the police, electricity production, private credit guarantees, and the bigger part of the civil society organizations with regards to democracy promotion, human rights, tolerance.... Related: Video: YouTube - DONOR OPIUM, the impact of international aid to Palestine
Kufr ad-Dik and Burqin march against boars, pollution, and violence by Israelis
2/3/2012 - International Solidarity Movement - By Jonas Weber, 3 February 2012, International Solidarity Movement, West Bank - Burqin and Kufr Ad-Dik face daily obstructions in justice as nearby illegal Zionist settlements encroach on the livelihood of local Palestinians. The villages are surrounded by several hilltop illegal settlements and industrial sites with polluting factories and an army base."This is a microcosm....
Left behind at the scene of the crime: Israel wages war on Bil'in
1/1/0001 - International Solidarity Movement - By Wedad Yassin, 30 January 2012, Sixteen Minutes to Palestine - Weeks ago, Wedad Yassin traveled back to Ein Yabrud, a village near Ramallah in the West Bank, to visit her family and to experience Palestine's rich cultural heritage. Her intention had been to tour through the Al-Khalil district, Ramallah, Bil'in, and.... Related: Sixteen Minutes to Palestine
Ha'aretz
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The
Guardian
Iran military manoeuvres heighten Middle East tensions
The Guardian 4 Feb 2012 - Revolutionary Guards exercises follow threats by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei against US and Israel Iran's Revolutionary Guards are carrying out military exercises amid rising tensions over the country's nuclear programme and rumours of a possible...
Jacqueline Rose: a life in writing
The Guardian 3 Feb 2012 - 'Victimhood is something that happens but when you turn it into an identity you're psychically and politically finished' One day, Jacqueline Rose came across a troubling passage in Proust's A la recherche du temps perdu . The...
Ayatollah Khamenei: Iran will continue nuclear programme – video
The Guardian 4 Feb 2012 - Iran's supreme leader spoke to worshippers at Friday's prayers in Tehran on the anniversary of the 1979 revolution
Khamenei: Iran will help anyone confront Israel
The Guardian 3 Feb 2012 - Supreme leader affirms Iran has helped militant groups attack Israel before and will continue nuclear programme Iran will help any nation or group that confronts the "cancer" Israel, the Islamic republic's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,...
Equality for Palestinians? Israel won't have it | Ben White
The Guardian 3 Feb 2012 - Elected representatives of the Palestinian community in Israel face growing harassment by the state, fellow MKs and the media The presence of a few Palestinian members in the Knesset (MKs) is often touted as a sign...
Iran 'trying to attack Israeli targets in retaliation for scientists' deaths'
The Guardian 3 Feb 2012 - Head of Shin Bet says three attempted attacks by Iran have been thwarted in the past year Iranian agents are attempting to attack Israeli targets around the world in retaliation for covert operations, including the assassination...
Tewfik Mishlawi obituary
The Guardian 3 Feb 2012 - Tewfik Mishlawi, who has died aged 76, was a father-figure and guru to at least three generations of journalists who went to the Middle East. They live in eternal gratitude to him and his daily digest...
Ha'aretz
National page
Relief
Web
Syrian Arab Republic (the): Press conference by Security Council President on work programme for February
Relief Web 3 Feb 2012 - Source: UN Department of Public Information , UN Security Council Country: Syrian Arab Republic (the) , Guinea , Haiti , Libya , occupied Palestinian territory , Senegal While it was currently seized with the ongoing situation in Syria and a range of issues around the world,...
Somalia: Negotiating Medical Aid in Conflict Zones
Relief Web 3 Feb 2012 - Source: Voice of America Country: Somalia , Afghanistan , Niger (the) , occupied Palestinian territory , Sudan (the) Joe DeCapua The medical aid group Doctors Without Borders works in many of the world’s hot spots, including Somalia, Afghanistan and the Palestinian Territories. However, humanitarian...
Lebanon: Denmark donates 1 million kroner for Nahr el-Bared reconstruction
Relief Web 3 Feb 2012 - Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Country: Lebanon , Denmark , occupied Palestinian territory Beirut, Lebanon The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) announced today a new...
Lebanon: Turkey donates USD 250,000 for Nahr el-Bared reconstruction
Relief Web 3 Feb 2012 - Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Country: Lebanon , occupied Palestinian territory , Turkey Beirut, Lebanon The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) announced today a new...
occupied Palestinian territory: WHO Signs Funding Agreement with Norway for Establishment of Palestinian Public Health Institute
Relief Web 3 Feb 2012 - Source: World Health Organization Country: occupied Palestinian territory , Norway Jerusalem: The Head of the WHO West Bank and Gaza Office, Mr. Anthony Laurance, signed a funding agreement today with the Head of Development Section of the Norwegian Representative Office, Mr....
occupied Palestinian territory: Protection of Civilians Weekly Report 25 - 31 January 2012 [EN/AR]
Relief Web 3 Feb 2012 - Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Country: occupied Palestinian territory Key issues Israeli restrictions on Palestinian access to areas near the fence separating Israel and the Gaza Strip continue, resulting in the injury of one Palestinian civilian...
occupied Palestinian territory: Kuwait supports Palestinian housing sector with USD 90 mln
Relief Web 2 Feb 2012 - Source: Kuwait News Agency Country: occupied Palestinian territory , Kuwait GAZA, Feb 2 (KUNA) -- The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) has supported Palestinian housing projects with USD 90 million, said Mohammad Ashtyeh, member of the Fatah movement's Central...
occupied Palestinian territory: Visiting Gaza, Ban reiterates commitment to plight of Palestinians
Relief Web 2 Feb 2012 - Source: UN News Service Country: occupied Palestinian territory 2 February 2012 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon travelled today to the Gaza Strip, where he underlined his commitment to continue working for peace and stability in the Middle East, and voiced his...
occupied Palestinian territory: Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (26 Jan. – 01 Feb. 2012)
Relief Web 2 Feb 2012 - Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights Country: occupied Palestinian territory Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) * A Palestinian civilian was wounded by IOF in Gaza City. - IOF...
occupied Palestinian territory: Foreign Minister Westerwelle: 11 million euro in support of Palestinian refugees
Relief Web 2 Feb 2012 - Source: Government of Germany Country: occupied Palestinian territory , Germany In 2012 Germany will provide a total of 11 million euro to support Palestinian refugees. Commenting on this, Federal Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle issued the following statement in Ramallah today (1...
YNet
News
Argentines seek peaceful resolution in Falklands
YNet News, 4 Feb 2012 - ....
5.7 quake recorded off Vancouver, no tsunami
YNet News, 4 Feb 2012 - ....
Death toll in latest Egypt clashes climbs to 12
YNet News, 4 Feb 2012 - ....
France plans Syria contact group to find crisis exit
YNet News, 4 Feb 2012 - ....
Twins abuse case: Mother arrested, questioned again
YNet News, 4 Feb 2012 - ....
Man suspected of locking his blind father in flat
YNet News, 4 Feb 2012 - Police alerted to Petah Tikva apartment find 80 year old covered in own feces. Officers who have 'seen it all' shocked ....
Shell from British Mandate era found at TA University
YNet News, 4 Feb 2012 - Police sappers neutralize shell, expect to find more weapons at site ....
Don't bow to the Vatican
YNet News, 4 Feb 2012 - Op-ed: State of Israel should not be giving up its sovereignty over holy sites in Jerusalem ....
'Israeli officials abroad on alert due to terror threat'
YNet News, 4 Feb 2012 - Confidential memo shows Israeli security officials' concern that Jewish sites could become target of Iranian terror attack, ABC reports ....
Commander of solider left in PA village suspended
YNet News, 3 Feb 2012 - IDF chief orders full inquiry into the incident, suspends 188th Armored Brigade commander pending investigation's results ....
Katsav meets with wife for first time since jailed
YNet News, 3 Feb 2012 - Gila Katsav, four family members visit former president in prison for the first time since he was jailed for rape ....
Israel's religious majority
YNet News, 3 Feb 2012 - Op-ed: Israel's anti-religious camp needs to internalize decisive results of recent religiosity survey ....
French FM: Prosecute Lee Zeituni's killers
YNet News, 3 Feb 2012 - Alain Juppe says France 'doing everything' to bring Zeituni's killers to justice; stresses Israel must file official motion to enable France to start legal proceedings against two suspects ....
Firefighters oppose gov't reform
YNet News, 3 Feb 2012 - Government aims to dismantle municipal unions, subject Fire Department to Public Security Ministry. Officials say reform will pass despite objections ....
Bibi not doing the math
YNet News, 2 Feb 2012 - Op-ed: Facts and figures are for losers, make no dent in prime minister's socioeconomic ideology ....
Our leftist Holocaust deniers
YNet News, 2 Feb 2012 - Op-ed: Palestinian national tragedy bears no resemblance whatsoever to Nazi extermination machine ....
B'tselem
B'tselem
Sharp rise in administrative detention
31 Jan 2012 - There has been a sharp rise in Israel's use of administrative detention over the past year. Over 300 Palestinians are now being held without charge or trial, for periods ranging from 6 months to several years....
B'tselem
B'Tselem's demands for investigation after Operation Cast Lead
31 Jan 2012 - After the operation B'Tselem wrote to the MAG Corps demanding investigations of the Military Police Investigation Unit (MPIU) into 20 incidents that had taken place during the operation. In each of the incidents, B'Tselem's field research...
Daily Star
Russia, China veto Syria resolution at U.N. security council
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 Russia, China veto Syria resolution at U.N. security council
U.K. condemns 'chilling' Syrian violence in Homs
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 Foreign Secretary William Hague Saturday condemned as "chilling" violence in the Syrian city of Homs, accusing President Bashar Assad of "cold-blooded cynicism."
Obama to Syrians: US stands with you and Assad must go
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 President Barack Obama is telling the Syrian people that the U.S. stands with them following a brutal attack that Syrian activists say killed at least 200 people.
McCain ruffles Beijing with talk of Chinese Arab Spring
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 U.S. Senator John McCain warned China's Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun on Saturday that "the Arab Spring is coming to China" and highlighted the number of Tibetans burning themeselves to death in his country.
Bellemare held secret meeting with Siniora: Al-Akhbar
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 During a farewell visit to Beirut, chief prosecutor for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Daniel Bellemare had a secret meeting with former Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, Al-Akhbar newspaper reported.
New U.N. special coordinator arrives in Lebanon
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 Derek Plumbly, the new United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon, has arrived in Beirut.
Bosnian authorities declare state of emergency
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 Bosnian authorities have declare state of emergency in the capital Sarajevo after it was paralyzed by snow.
Tele Liban employees intensify demand for punctual pay: report
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 Employees at Tele Liban television station are threatening an unspecified "escalation" if their demand for timely payment of wages remains unmet, reported The National News Agency.
Iranian warships dock at Saudi port
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 Iranian naval ships docked on Saturday in the Saudi port city of Jeddah on a mission to project the Islamic republic's "power on the open seas."
Nassib Lahoud extolled as ardent democrat at funeral
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 Politicians, diplomats and religious leaders of different affiliations gathered together Saturday to pay their respects to former MP Nassiab Lahoud, who died Thursday at age 68 after a long battle with illness.
Russia foreign minister to visit Syria for Assad talks
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Damascus on Tuesday for talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Indiana election chief found guilty of voter fraud
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 Indiana's top elections official was convicted of multiple voter fraud-related charges on Saturday, leaving in flux the fate of one of the state's most powerful positions.
LA school reeling from arrest of 2nd teacher
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 A teacher was charged with taking bondage-style photographs of children.
In Lebanon, a refuge for Syria's wounded
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 Abu Hamza was in a crowd of thousands in the Syrian border town of Qusair, shouting for President Bashar Assad to leave power, when a sniper's bullet tore through his leg.
Palestinians call for PM's fall over taxes
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 Hundreds of Palestinian protesters have called for their prime minister's resignation over recent tax and price increases.
Iran mass producing anti-ship cruise missile: TV
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 The Zafar missile, as it is dubbed in the report, "is a short-range, anti-ship cruise missile capable of destroying small- and medium-sized targets with high precision."
Gemayel rebukes Charbel for belittling assassination fears: report
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 Former President Amin Gemayel has criticized Interior Minister Marwan Charbel for dismissing his concerns over an assassination plot targeting his son, the National News Agency reported.
Tunisia to withdraw Syria government recognition
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 Tunisian president says only solution to Syria crisis is for Bashar Assad to leave office.
Militants attack Yemen army base in south
Daily Star 4 Feb 2012 Militants attacked a Yemeni army base in the country's south, a local official said on Saturday, highlighting a security breakdown just weeks ahead of a presidential election
Palestinian
Information Center
Los
Angeles Times
New
York Times
Police Kill 4 Protesters as Egyptians Unleash Fury Over Soccer Riot Deaths
New York Times 3 Feb 2012 - Police in several Egyptian cities battled Thursday night and Friday with thousands of protesters angry at the government’s failure to prevent deaths at a soccer riot.
Two American Tourists Kidnapped in Egypt, Officials Say
New York Times 3 Feb 2012 - Gunmen stormed a bus in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Friday, kidnapping two American tourists and an Egyptian tour guide, Egyptian officials said.
Russia Rejects Draft U.N. Resolution on Syria
New York Times 3 Feb 2012 - Russia said it still had a “number of concerns” over a tentative plan by the United Nations Security Council aimed at stemming the bloodshed in Syria.
Nuclear Inspection Visit to Iran Deemed a Failure
New York Times 3 Feb 2012 - Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the United States in particular would face severe damage to its interests if any strike were carried out against Iran’s nuclear sites.
Israeli Says Iranian Missiles Might Threaten U.S.
New York Times 3 Feb 2012 - A senior official tried to make the point that the Iranian nuclear program is not a threat only to Israel but, as he put it, “a nightmare for the free world.”
Effort to Rebrand Arab Spring Backfires in Iran
New York Times 3 Feb 2012 - Iran invited young activists to Tehran for a conference on the “Islamic Awakening,” but the fact that no one from Syria’s opposition was invited disrupted the whole script.
Egyptian Protesters Unleash Anger After Soccer Violence
New York Times 3 Feb 2012 - Egypt began three days of official mourning after at least 73 people were killed in a soccer brawl that underscored the interim government’s failure to re-establish order.
Gaza Protesters Throw Shoes and Sticks at Ban Ki-moon
New York Times 3 Feb 2012 - Demonstrators in the Gaza Strip threw sticks and slippers at a vehicle carrying the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, on Thursday, accusing him of bias, witnesses said.
Articles
Anti-Semitism and Israel’s inherent contradictions
Ramzy Baroud, Ma’an News Agency
2/3/2012
In a recent article, columnist Yaniv Halili described British author Ben White as 'anti-Semitic'. He also denounced Arab Knesset member Hanin Zoabi for writing a forward to White's latest book, Palestinians in Israel: Segregation, Discrimination and Democracy.
Those of us who can see through such distorted thinking know that White is a principled writer who has never displayed a shred of racism in his work. Zoabi is very well-known civil rights leader with a long-standing reputation of courage and poise.
How could anti-racist endeavors themselves become the subject of accusation by Halili and others like him?
It goes without saying there should be no room for any racist discourse -- Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, or any other -- in the Palestine solidarity movement, which aims at achieving long-denied justice and rights for the Palestinian people.
A racist discourse is predicated on racial supremacy, which is exactly what Palestinians are resisting in Israel and the occupied territories.
But the "Jewish and democratic state" of Israel is riddled with so many contradictions, the kind that no straightforward narrative can possibly capture.
Many scholars and rights groups have discussed the way in which irreconcilable values defined the very character of Israel from the onset.
Who says Palestinian resistance is dead?
Nour Joudah, Electronic Intifada
2/3/2012
For decades, Palestine was the focus of nearly every protest in the Arab world. It was the acceptable outlet of frustration for almost every regime in the region, the bone they would throw their frustrated masses. But it was also the vehicle for mobilization and a training ground for political organizing that became useful for activists later on.
To be clear, none of this is to say that much of the emotion and solidarity was not genuine; most often, it was very much so. However, protests for Palestine or against Israel were also instances of populations of Arab countries projecting their own dissatisfaction in a politically “safe” way in light of the repressive nature of the regimes under which they lived.
Recently, while trading stories with a Syrian friend about protests, she recalled that her first protest as a child had been one for Palestine — in fact most of the protests she had participated in or witnessed growing up as an Arab living in the West were about Palestine. I nodded and smiled, not at all surprised. The reality is that Palestine, for better or worse, was the issue that most Arabs — both living in the Arab world or in their respective diaspora communities — spent a majority of their lives protesting. Adding to the spark
Today in the region, a new culture and spirit of protest is thriving — and it is not one cloaked in one issue projecting onto another. It’s direct, it’s forceful, and it’s brave. These uprisings have been as much, if not more, about people exerting ownership over their own lives and communities as it has been about toppling dictators. It is a myth, and quite frankly disrespectful, to the hundreds and thousands of dissenting leaders and youth who helped build the foundation to these uprisings to discuss them as if they were born out of thin air.
NYT Hypes Israeli Attack on Iran
Ira Chernus, Common Dreams
1/30/2012
It’s an impressive piece of art: the cover of this week’s New York Times Magazine. “ISRAEL VS. IRAN,” spelled out in charred black lettering, with flame and smoke still rising from “IRAN,” as if the great war were already over. Below those large lurid letters is the little subtitle: “When Will It Erupt?” -- not “if,” but “when,” as if it were inevitable. Though the article itself is titled “Will Israel Attack Iran?”, author Ronen Bergman, military analyst for Israel’s largest newspaper, leaves no doubt of his answer: “Israel will indeed strike Iran in 2012.”
Bergman does cite some compelling arguments against an Israeli strike from former heads of Mossad (Israel’s CIA). And he makes it clear that no attack can prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons if it wants them. Everyone agrees on that. The argument is only about whether an attack would delay the Iranian program by a few years or just a few months.
Nevertheless, his article stacks the deck in favor of supposedly persuasive reasons for Israel to act. It’s almost a hymn of praise to what one Jewish Israeli scholar has called Iranophobia, an irrational fear promoted by the Jewish state because "Israel needs an existential threat." Why? To sustain the myth that shapes its national identity: the myth of Israel’s insecurity.
That myth comes out clearly in Bergman’s conclusion: Israel will attack Iran because of a “peculiar Israeli mixture of fear -- rooted in the sense that Israel is dependent on the tacit support of other nations to survive -- and tenacity, the fierce conviction, right or wrong, that only the Israelis can ultimately defend themselves.
Fear of what? Defend against whom? It doesn’t really matter. Israeli political life has always been built on the premise that Israel’s very existence is threatened by some new Hitler bent on destroying the Jewish people. How can Israel prove that Jews can defend themselves if there’s no anti-semitic “evildoer” to fight against?
Electronic Intifada
Who says Palestinian resistance is dead?
Electronic Intifada: 3 Feb 2012 - Nour Joudah 3 February 2012 The Arab uprisings are serving Palestinian youth in much the same way solidarity with Palestinian intifadas historically served activists in other Arab countries.more
In
Gaza
antiquties down a dusty lane
In Gaza: 4 Feb 2012 - Two years ago I wrote about Gaza’s antiquities , many of which were destroyed in the 2008-2009 Israeli war on Gaza. But until a few months ago, I hadn’t had the privilege of seeing one of them. Unexpectedly one day, while interviewing the Ministry of Agriculture on their many projects, I was taken by Tel Umm Amer, an archaeological site preserving fantastic mosaics and the monastery of St. Hilarion (which I wrote about here , thanks to Abeer Jamal’s information): Few outside of Gaza would consider its history much beyond the decades of Israeli occupation. But Gaza is a historical treasure house. Many of those treasures are now in Israeli museums, and those that remain are becoming difficult to preserve due to the Israeli siege. Gaza, set along the historical silk road and on the bridge between Africa and Asia, was host to civilisations, including the Pharaohs, Canaanites, Philistines, Crusaders, Mamluks, Romans...more
Palestine
Chronicle
Haditha: Another Small Massacre – No One Guilty
Palestine Chronicle: 4 Feb 2012 - By Felicity Arbuthnot 'We gather tonight knowing that this generation of heroes has made the United States safer and more respected round the world.' (President Barack Obama, State of the Union address, 24th January 2012.) On the 24th January, the day President Obama delivered his last State of the Union speech to Congress before the election, citing the: “selflessness and teamwork of America’s Armed Forces (their) focus on the mission at hand”, the “selfless” Staff Sgt., Frank Wuterich, leader of the massacre at Haditha, in Iraq, became the seventh soldier to walk free - from the mass murder of twenty four unarmed men, women and children, in three homes and a taxi. It was another chilling, ruthless, cold blooded, up to five hour rampage, revenge for the death a colleague, in a roadside bomb - which had nothing to do with the rural families that paid the price. The youngest...more
Yeshayahu Leibowitz: Reluctant Prophet
Palestine Chronicle: 3 Feb 2012 - By Uri Avnery (On Monday, I was honored to receive the Leibowitz Prize for 'life's work', the prize established by the Yesh Gvul soldiers' peace organization. I was unable to prepare a speech, so I spoke off the cuff and have to reconstruct my remarks from memory .) First, I wish to thank Yesh Gvul for establishing this prize. Then I would like to thank the distinguished jury, who were so gracious as to award the prize to me and to Hagit Ofran, the granddaughter of Prof. Leibowitz, whose work in monitoring the settlements I have admired for years. And then I want to thank all of you for coming to this ceremony. Yet at this moment I think of the one who is not here, and whose absence is so unjust: my wife, Rachel. She was a full partner in all I did during the last 58 years, and should...more
Oil Ahoy: Malvinas in Britain's Imperialist Claws
Palestine Chronicle: 3 Feb 2012 - By Ismail Salami The simmering tensions over the Malvinas Islands or Falkland Islands (off the coast of Argentina in the South Atlantic) have become a matter of great concern as the UK decided to deploy destroyer HMS Dauntless to the islands. The British Royal Navy is planning to send the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless, a state-of-the-art warship, to the region on her maiden mission in a few months, a move interpreted by some experts as a provocation of war. Also known as the Daring class, HMS Dauntless is often regarded the most powerful air-defense warship in the world. This warship is equipped with the SAMPSON Multi Function Radar with the capability to detect hundreds of targets out to a distance of 400 km as well as outer atmosphere objects such as ballistic missiles. Argentine Vice-president Amado Boudou sees the escalating conflict as an excuse to “distract public opinion from...more
Israel Lobby on Campus in Illinois: A Challenge for BDS
Palestine Chronicle: 3 Feb 2012 - By David Green I only recently learned of Illinois Governor Pat Quinn's trip to Israel this past summer (2011) for a 'week-long educational mission where he sealed two important agreements and received briefings from high-ranking Israeli officials, academic experts and business leaders on topics ranging from high-tech development (read Motorola), energy, water conservation and environmentalism (sic) to disaster preparedness, Iran, and U.S.-Israel relations.' This is reported on the website of Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. The reader is expected, of course, to find the high-minded and triumphant tone of this article to be unproblematic. The article states: “The Governor’s educational visit was part of a JUF initiative that, for the past two decades, has brought influential leaders to Israel.” Quinn signed a “formal agreement on academic cooperation between Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) to establish a wide-ranging...more
