VTJP News & Articles 9/2/2010
Occupied Palestine
and Israel: News and Articles
News
International Middle East Media Center
Israel Continue To Violate Right To Education In Palestine
IMEMC - 2 Sep 2010 - Thursday September 02, 2010 - 18:10, A report by the al-Mezan Center for Human Rights shows that Palestinian students are routinely denied the right to education due to the Israeli occupation.
Another Attack Against Settlers In Ramallah, Two Wounded
IMEMC - 2 Sep 2010 - Thursday September 02, 2010 - 17:59, Two Israeli settlers were wounded, Wednesday night, in a drive-by shooting near the central West Bank city of Ramallah.
Palestinian Authority Claims Arrests Of 300 Hamas Members In Response To Killing Of Settlers
IMEMC - 2 Sep 2010 - Wednesday September 01, 2010 - 17:30, In the largest arrest campaign since it's inception in 1994, the Palestinian Authority, run by the Fateh party, sent security officers all over the West Bank Wednesday morning to arrest known members of the rival Hamas party, after Hamas' armed wing claimed responsibility for the killing of four Israeli settlers Tuesday night. According to the Palestinian Authority, at least 300 were arrested and taken to Palestinian police stations and prisons.
Israeli Settlers Attack Families And The Military Abducts Two In Hebron
IMEMC - 2 Sep 2010 - Wednesday September 01, 2010 - 16:37, Israeli troops abducted two Palestinian brothers and settlers attack another house in the West Bank city of Hebron on Wednesday morning.
Palestinian Fighters Open Fire On Settlers Near Hebron, Killing Four
IMEMC - 2 Sep 2010 - Tuesday August 31, 2010 - 19:23, On Tuesday night, four Israeli settlers were killed just outside Kiryat Arba settlement near Hebron, in the southern West Bank, when Palestinian fighters allegedly fired at their car.
Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinian Farmers Near Salfit
IMEMC - 2 Sep 2010 - Tuesday August 31, 2010 - 17:39, A group of Israeli settlers opened fire at a group of Palestinian farmers while working on their lands near the village of Deir Istiah, near Salfit In the northern West Bank, Palestine News Network reported.
East Jerusalem Neighborhood Attacked By Israeli Soldiers; At Least 4 Detained
IMEMC - 2 Sep 2010 - Monday August 30, 2010 - 17:35, The Silwan neighborhood, which has been the site of an Israeli municipal plan to rid the neighborhood of its Palestinian residents, came under fire once again on Monday when Israeli forces invaded to abduct Palestinians that they claim took part in clashes with settlers last Thursday.
Israeli Forces Invade Rafah; Clashes Reported
IMEMC - 2 Sep 2010 - Monday August 30, 2010 - 17:09, Late Sunday night, Israeli tanks, bulldozers and armored vehicles invaded the southern Gaza Strip, east of Rafah, and began bulldozing land in the an-Nahda neighborhood.
53 Israeli Artists Boycott New Cultural Center In Ariel Settlement
IMEMC - 2 Sep 2010 - Monday August 30, 2010 - 14:18, Dozens of prominent artists in the Israeli theatre community – including actors, playwrights and directors -- have signed a pledge that they will not perform in a newly-constructed cultural center in the Israeli settlement of Ariel. The pledge could cause the artists to be booted from the government-funded guild for theatre professionals, but they argue that this act of conscience is more important than their salaries.
Israeli Universities Condemn 'Witch Hunt' By Right-wing Groups
IMEMC - 2 Sep 2010 - Sunday August 29, 2010 - 16:09, In a joint statement released by Israel's largest and most prominent universities, the academic leadership challenged a foreign-funded campaign to undermine academic freedom in the name of Zionism, led by radical Israeli rightists and Christian fundamentalists.
Ma'an News
Settlers harass family near settlement
9/2/2010 - HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Approximately 50 Israeli settlers attacked the home of a Palestinian family near the illegal Kiryat Arba settlement on Wednesday, reportedly in response to the killing of four Israelis one day earlier. A witness told Ma'an that the settlers threw empty bottles and stones at the home of Younis Idrees....
Report: Settlers to break construction freeze
9/2/2010 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an/Agencies) -- Israeli settler leaders told the country's media that they intend to violate a construction ban on private homes in West Bank settlements and build in protest of a shooting incident that saw four settlers killed. Hamas' armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, claimed to have carried out the....
PA official: Settlers vandalize cars after Hebron shooting
9/1/2010 - NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Israeli settlers broke car windows Tuesday evening and cut down olive trees hours after four Israelis were killed in a shooting near a West Bank settlement in Hebron, an official said. Ghassan Doughlas, who heads the Palestinian Authority file on northern West Bank settlement activity, told Ma'an that several....
Hamas claims Ramallah attack
9/2/2010 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Hamas' armed wing has claimed responsibility for the second shooting attack in two days which injured two Israeli citizens near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday evening. In a statement, the Al-Qassam Brigades declared "full responsibility for Ramallah operation caused of injuring two Zionist settlers critically." At around....
Israel seals off Hebron following shootings
9/2/2010 - HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Wednesday sealed off parts of the southern West Bank district of Hebron in the wake of an attack against Israeli settlers in the area which killed four. Deputy mayor of Bani Na'im Raja Ziadat, a village close to the illegal Kiryat Arba settlement, where the attack....
Hizb Ut-Tahrir: Affiliate detained for 50 days without trial
9/1/2010 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Hizb Ut-Tahrir movement said Wednesday that Palestinian Authority Preventive Security have a supporter in custody in Salfit after 50 days without trial or indictment. The pan-Islamist movement said Shahir Assaf from the Biddya village in the northern West Bank district was detained on 12 July "from the street without an....
Protests against talks continue in Ramallah
9/2/2010 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- "What happened in Hebron proved our point; we need a unified Palestinian position," Palestinian National Initiative leader Mustafa Barghouthi said following a mass rally in Ramallah on Wednesday. The protest, planned immediately after PA forces quashed a news conference on 25 August, was coordinated by leftist Palestinian factions, independent parties and....
Report: Barak proposes deal on Jerusalem
9/1/2010 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israel is prepared to return parts of East Jerusalem within the framework of a peace deal, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday. Speaking to the Israeli daily Haaretz, Barak said a "special regime" for managing the city's holiest sites, many of which are found in East Jerusalem, would....
Negotiators to push mechanism to end siege
9/2/2010 - PARIS (Ma'an) -- "Ending the siege is the fastest way to unity," Fatah Central Committee member and delegate to the Washington peace talks Nabil Sha'ath explained as the motivation behind a new plan to open the Gaza Port. The official told Ma'an that a proposal had already been cobbled together....
Hamas: PA detains 150 supporters after attack
9/1/2010 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian Authority security forces detained 150 Hamas members including senior figures across the West Bank in an arrest campaign hours after a deadly attack in Hebron, Hamas said Wednesday. Hamas said in a statement that several recently released female prisoners and supporters were summoned to PA intelligence facilities for questioning, particularly....
PA: Hamas impeding Hajj draw in Gaza
9/1/2010 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Religious Endowments says Hamas is impeding the Hajj draw in Gaza to ensure party members are allocated places. In a statement, the ministry insisted that the draw was being carried out by a computer program developed by the party "and it may choose Hamas leaders and....
Fatah splinter group: Hebron shooting 'natural response'
9/1/2010 - GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Former Fatah splinter group and Islamist party Al-Ahrar said Tuesday's shooting, which left four Israelis dead, was a "natural response to the Israeli occupation's crimes against the Palestinians and holy places,"Calling for more attacks, the group said the Hamas-affiliated military wing's "success in....
Israel opens 2 Gaza crossings
9/1/2010 - GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli authorities announced Wednesday that two Gaza crossings would be partially opened for the transfer of aid and goods, a Palestinian liaison official said. Raed Fattouh said Palestinian crossings officials were informed of the partial opening of the Kerem Shalom and Karni crossings, in southern and northern Gaza respectively, for....
3 injured, 12 detained in Hebron brawls
9/1/2010 - HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Palestinian Authority police dispersed three fights which led to three injuries and 12 arrests in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, a report read Wednesday. Police were called to the site of the brawls in Bab Az-Zawya and Ein Sara in the city, as well as the Adh-Dhahiriya village, with....
In photos: Jenin village hosts heritage museum
9/1/2010 - MaanImages / Haytham Othman - In the village of Haddad, in the northern West Bank governorate of Jenin, dioramas depict the lifestyle, dress and work tools of Palestinians through history. The Haddad Museum houses dozens of scenes, each replicating a different facet of life with minute detail; gathering artifacts old, antique and ancient to illustrate the lives....
Clinton, Netanyahu condemn Hebron killings
9/2/2010 - WASHINGTON (Ma'an) -- In remarks to the press ahead of a bi-lateral US-Israel meeting the night before the launch of peace talks, the killing of four Israeli settlers in the West Bank became the focus, with all sides condemning the killings. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke....
Egypt seizes Hamas official in northern Sinai
9/1/2010 - EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma'an) -- Egyptian authorities on Tuesday detained a Hamas internal security official while en route to Egypt. Identified only by his initials, S. A. , 30, from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, was found in a taxi in the northern Sinai when he was arrested. Police say he confessed under interrogation to paying....
Abbas meets Clinton ahead of Washington talks
9/1/2010 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas held several high-profile meetings Tuesday in Washington, two days before the official relaunching of direct talks with Israel. Abbas met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Jordan's King Abdullah II. The president is also due to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Wednesday morning before....
EU's Ashton condemns shooting, urges restraint
9/1/2010 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The EU's Foreign Affairs and Security chief Catherine Ashton strongly condemned an attack against four Israelis residing on illegal West Bank settlements on Tuesday by Hamas combatants, a statement read. Extending her sympathies to the family and friends of those killed, Ashton said "With this unacceptable attack, the enemies....
Peres to meet pope in Italy
9/1/2010 - TEL AVIV (Ma'an/Agencies) -- As peace talks launch in Washington, Israeli President Shimon Peres will reportedly travel to Italyfor a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the latter's summer residence. The current status of peace talks will be foremost on the agenda, a statement the president's office said, as....
Civil defense crews save passengers, put out fires
9/2/2010 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Civil defense crews rescued passengers and drivers from the wreckage of several car accidents on Wednesday, a report read. Crews evacuated a woman from a taxi after it collided with a jeep on the Hebron-Jerusalem, forces said. In Hizma, between Jerusalem and Ramallah, forces evacuated a passenger and driver after their....
Butcher arrested for 'misleading consumers'
9/1/2010 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Palestinian Authority Ministry of Economy officers on Wednesday detained a butcher in the central West Bank district of Ramallah and Al-Bireh for misleading customers into buying frozen meat which he said was fresh. Head of the consumer protection department Abed Al-Hameed Mezher said the butcher defrosted meat and sold it to....
Ha'aretz Defense page
Mitchell: Netanyahu, Abbas agree to meet every two weeks
Ha'aretz - U.S. envoy to Mideast describes bilateral meetings at start of direct peace negotiations as 'productive.'
Netanyahu: Israel ready to go a long way for peace
Ha'aretz - Prime Minister speaks at ceremony marking official launch of direct Mideast peace talks at the White House.
Settlers defy peace talks with new construction across West Bank
Ha'aretz - Yesha council says settlers will start building in at least 80 settlements, breaking a government freeze that ends on September 26.
Barak: Rogue officers came close to sabotaging race to lead IDF
Ha'aretz - Scandal over forged document 'deeply harmed' public trust in the military, defense minister says, hinting at broad conspiracy within the IDF., Government calls on all Iranians to attend 'Al-Quds Day' protests to 'liberate Palestinian land from Zionist regime.
IDF warns of wave of violence as Hamas vows to sink peace talks
Ha'aretz - Army and police on high alert after second West Bank shooting in two days mars opening of Israel-PA talks in Washington; Hamas promises more attacks.
Hamas claims responsibility for second West Bank shooting attack in two days
Ha'aretz - 'The attack was a message to those who pledged there would be no more attacks,' says Islamist group as violence flares again in the eve of peace talks in Washington.
Obama to Netanyahu, Abbas: Don't let the chance for peace slip away
Ha'aretz - Prime Minister Netanyahu says seeking 'historic compromise' ahead of working dinner with Abbas, Jordanian King Abdullah and Egypt's Mubarak at the White House to launch direct Mideast peace talks.
Hamas leader Zahar rejects PA peace talks with 'brutal occupier'
Ha'aretz - Gaza strongman Mahmoud Zahar said the movement would resist peace efforts and criticized the Palestinian president for joining the negotiations.
Obama: 'Senseless slaughter' in West Bank won't stop peace talks
Ha'aretz - Standing alongside Netanyahu after the two met privately at the White House, Obama condemns killing of four Israelis, says U.S. support of Israel's security is unwavering.
Netanyahu urges West Bank settlers: Respect the rule of law
Ha'aretz - Prime Minister gets briefed on investigation into deadly West Bank shooting on Tuesday, tells settlers to show restraint.
Report: U.S. threatens to shun military drill with Turkey if it bans Israel
Ha'aretz - Turkish daily Hürriyet reports that the U.S. relayed its position to Ankara after invitations for a joint drill were sent out to several countries, but not to Israel.
PA carries out 'one of largest arrest waves of all time' in West Bank
Ha'aretz - Crackdown on Hamas operatives in the region, in which more than 300 were arrested, follows deadly terror attack near Hebron.
Barak: Israel ready to cede parts of Jerusalem in peace deal
Ha'aretz - Ahead of start of direct peace talks in Washington, Defense Minister Ehud Barak says Jerusalem's Arab neighborhoods will be part of a Palestinian state; a 'special regime' to govern holy sites.
Settlers: We'll violate settlement freeze in response to attack
Ha'aretz - Four Israelis were killed Tuesday in a shooting attack near Hebron, on the eve of the resumption of direct Mideast peace talks in Washington.
Uruknet
Preparing for the 28th Anniversary of the 1982 Massacre at Sabra-Shatila
Uruknet September 1, 2010 - I certainly understand and share your sadness and feeling of hopelessness after your visit to Shatila Camp. Most people i take there leave feeling much the same as you. In the Palestinian Refugee camps in Lebanon tomorrow begins the 'black month' during which the World commemorates the September 1982 massacre at Sabra-Shatila—this year being of...
Bedouin families told to leave by June
Uruknet September 1, 2010 - Israeli authorities issued warrants ordered Bedouin families lodging in tents and sheds on land between Jericho and Jerusalem to leave the area by June 2011. Ahmad Ka'abna, who was issued a warrant, said around 600 households would face evacuation if the order is enforced. Resident Fayiz Ka'abna, who supports a family of 11, asked "We...
Would Israelis like things to be better?
Uruknet September 1, 2010 - Based on the past months of popular struggle in the West Bank which have included countless demonstrations, arrests, house raids, injuries and trips to the military courts, I find myself asking whether Israelis would like things to be better. The question is simple enough: do people here want to create a change so that the...
Bedouin future at stake in the Negev
Uruknet September 1, 2010 - Nuri al Uqbi’s small cinderblock home in a ramshackle neighbourhood of Hura, a Bedouin town in Israel’s Negev desert, hardly looks like the epicentre of a legal struggle that some observers say threatens Israel’s Jewish character. Inside, the 68-year-old Bedouin activist has stacks of bulging folders of tattered and browning documents, many older than the...
"Bureaucratic weapons worse than bombs"
Uruknet September 1, 2010 - Firas al-Maraghi from the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem has been on hunger strike outside the Israeli embassy in Berlin since 26 July. Al-Maraghi is striking in protest of the Israeli Ministry of Interior's refusal to include his German-born daughter and wife on his Jerusalem residency permit. In all all too familiar...
Mitchell's Quick-fix Fake Peace
Uruknet September 1, 2010 - On the eve of the silliest peace talks in history, the big question is this. What makes Obama's envoy George Mitchell, a negotiator of high repute, say there is 'no role' for Hamas? The talks are silly because they seek to overturn what the United Nations has already decided for resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict and...
Lifta's legacy under threat
Uruknet September 1, 2010 - There are few villages in historic Palestine which invoke the memories of the Nakba (the 1948 dispossession of the Palestinian people) as does Lifta. Beautifully built and dressed in crafted Jerusalem stone, Lifta hugs the slopes straddling the highway leading from west Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. Its remaining houses look like jewels of a necklace,...
Crackdown after West Bank shooting
Uruknet September 1, 2010 - Palestinian security forces have swept through the West Bank, arresting more than 150 Hamas members, after the group's military wing claimed responsibility for killing four Israeli settlers, according to senior Palestinian security officials. The crackdown on Wednesday comes on the eve of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians in Washington, and appears to be an...
What is Hamas thinking?
Uruknet September 1, 2010 - But are any of these reasons to murder four people in cold blood? Was it necessary to prove that the Hamas-less conference in Washington was a charade? Couldn’t it collapse under its own weight? What is Hamas thinking? It has shown that "armed Palestinian resistance is present" all right, but also that it can act...
Israeli Shin Bet electrocuted child prisoners to extract confessions
Uruknet September 1, 2010 - Following a visit yesterday to some young prisoners being held at the Megiddo Prison, lawyers for the Ministry of Detainees have stated that the young prisoners testified under oath that they had been interrogated and systematically electrocuted and tortured by Israeli intelligence officers in settlements near to Palestinian cities. According to Salim Redouane who was...
62 days and counting - Jerusalemite MPs still seeking sanctuary in International Red Cross offices
Uruknet August 31, 2010 - 62 days ago (1st July 2010) three elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council walked into the International Red Cross headquarters in Jerusalem and they have not left since. A fourth colleague, now in detention, was also served with an expulsion order. The three in question have spent the last 9 weeks confined to the...
Diana Buttu: direct talks bound to fail
Uruknet August 31, 2010 - ...The funny thing about Netanyahu's statement on preconditions is that the preconditions are actually Israeli, rather than the other way around. They're making it a precondition that Palestinians have to accept that Israel is going to continue its settlement activity. And if the Palestinian side says no to settlement activity, then somehow that is a...
Video: Israeli settlements to be determining issue in peace talks
Uruknet August 31, 2010 - The building of new Israeli settlements on Palestinian territories will be one of the key and determining issues in upcoming peace talks that will be held in the US capital Washington DC. Israel has been criticised by all sides, including the US, for its illegal construction of thousands of homes, which have been separated by...
Israeli settlers build new settlement in Hebron
Hebron, September 2, (Pal Telegraph) Hundreds of Israeli settlers started last night building a new settlement on the territory of the farming village of “Baq’a”, east of Hebron in the West Bank. A villager named Mar’i Jaber (local witness), said that large numbers of Israeli settlers raided the village in the evening, with amounts of cement, sand, wood and water...
Gazan dies due to tunnel collapse
Gaza, September 1, (Pal Telegraph) A Palestinian young man was killed due to the collapse of a tunnel linking Egyptian territory and the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. According to Dr. Muawiya Hassanein, director of ambulance and emergency Sectors in Gaza, that the young gazan, Abdul Latif Abu Toyoor (16 years), arrived to the hospital of Abu Yousef Al...
IOF arrests two Peace activists during a demo
Jerusalem, September 1, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli police arrested two foreign peace activists and Israelis during a demonstration by more than two hundred of these activists in the town of Silwan, South of Al Aqsa mosque, in solidarity with the residents of the town and to condemn the regular attacks of Israeli settlers on them.
Israelis end settlement freeze desicion 'unofficially'
Jerusalem, September 1, (Pal Telegraph) The Board of settlements in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank declared the end of the settlement freeze as of Wednesday, before twenty-six days from the date of expiry of the decision taken by the Israeli government.
Israeli settlers go on attacking spree in Hebron
Hebron, September 1, (Pal Telegraph) Tens of Israeli settlers started throwing stones at Palestinian vehicles which were passing today near the settlements of Kiryat Arba and Beit Hagai overlooking the street of Hebron - Beer Sheva- which is called Line (60) of settlements.
The National
Palestine Note
Settlers begin construction after shootings
Palestine Note 2 Sep 2010 - Washington - Israeli settlers, who live on West Bank installations considered illegal under international law, announced Wednesday that they would defy the settlement construction freeze after Hamas militants shot dead four settlers near Hebron, one of...
Abbas calls for peace after second shooting
Palestine Note 2 Sep 2010 - Washington - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for peace and condemned a second drive-by shooting targeting settlers in the West Bank in remarks from the White House Wednesday evening, Ma'an News Agency reported . Israeli ambulance [Mantiochous...
Abbas, Netanyahu begin talks
Palestine Note 2 Sep 2010 - Leaders hint at contenious issues ahead in opening comments Washington - After an opening (video of remarks to be found here later today) by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu gave his remarks...
WATCH LIVE: Sec. Clinton kicks off direct talks
Palestine Note 2 Sep 2010 - Washington - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hosts a re-launch of direct talks between Israeli and Palestinian leadership at the US State Department in Washington, DC Thursday. Watch the opening remarks live at 10am EST. The...
To be a Fly on the White House Old Family Dining Room Wall. . .
Palestine Note 2 Sep 2010 - Originally posted on the Washington Note This is the roster of who is coming to dinner tonight: President Obama President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt King Abdullah of Jordan Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel President Mahmoud Abbas...
Call It what It Is: Murder
Palestine Note 1 Sep 2010 - I am not usually inclined to use this space for what others might call a "rant." But this day, I feel there are some points that need to be made. Today, Hamas claimed responsibility for the...
Middle East peace requires real courage from both sides
Palestine Note 1 Sep 2010 - On the eve of a long-hoped-for meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, members of the Hamas terrorist organization killed four members of the Israeli terrorist settler movement. The murders of...
Israel's Bedouins call for intervention from Obama
Palestine Note 1 Sep 2010 - Washington - The Bedouin village of Al-Arakib in the Negev Desert in Israel has been demolished by Israeli forces four times, and Israel's marginalized Bedouin community is calling on President Barack Obama for intervention as peace...
Bedouin land fight
Palestine Note 1 Sep 2010 - Claim for native title threatens Jewish state Nuri al Uqbi's small cinderblock home in a ramshackle neighbourhood of Hura, a Bedouin town in Israel's Negev desert, hardly looks like the epicentre of a legal struggle that...
Jamais Vu!
Palestine Note 1 Sep 2010 - Salvador Dali once said "that the first man to compare a woman's cheek to a rose was obviously a poet, the first one to repeat it was possibly an idiot." Much of our political, social and...
Barak offers divided Jerusalem plan
Palestine Note 1 Sep 2010 - Washington - Israeli Defense Minister outlined for Haaretz Wednesday his plan for dividing Jerusalem. Jerusalem is one of the contentious "final status" issues before Israeli and Palestinian leadership. [Premasagar - Flickr] Haaretz's Avi Shavit asked DM...
Four Israelis killed
Palestine Note 1 Sep 2010 - The killing of four Israelis is horrifying. As an American Jew, these deaths are gut wrenching, heartrendingly painful. That the timing of the killing was so close to upcoming peace talks is of little matter. These...
Where are we going this time?
Palestine Note 1 Sep 2010 - The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas and the Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu are in Washington this week for meetings with President Barack Obama in a bid to kick-off a new round of direct negotiations that some...
Obama says shootings won't derail peace talks
Palestine Note 1 Sep 2010 - Washington - After meeting with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Barack Obama announced that the deadly violence in Hebron Tuesday would not stop the peace negotiations in Washington and reiterated the US' commitment to Israeli...
More protests in Ramallah as talks kick off
Palestine Note 1 Sep 2010 - Washington - Despite the disbanding of a rally in protest of direct talks with Israeli leadership last week, a protest has convened in Ramallah Wednesday against the talks, as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gets ready for...
Netanyahu urges restraint from settlers as violence breaks out
Palestine Note 1 Sep 2010 - Washington - Tensions are running high on settlements in the West Bank after four Israeli settlers were gunned down Tuesday. As settler groups threaten to resume building at 6pm Jerusalem time Wednesday, and reports of harassment...
Obama to meet with Netanyahu, Abbas
Palestine Note 1 Sep 2010 - Washington - Following their bilateral meetings with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet separately with US President Barack Obama at the White House Wednesday....
Settlers to defy freeze after shooting
Palestine Note 1 Sep 2010 - Washington - Israeli settlers have vowed to resume building at 6pm Wednesday in response to the gunning down of four settlers Tuesday by members of Hamas' militant wing, The Guardian reported . Israeli marchers are escorted by...
Bibi: "I came to Washington to reach historic compromise"
Palestine Note 1 Sep 2010 - Second shooting rocks West Bank Washington - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House Wednesday night: "I came to Washington to reach a historic compromise," news agencies reported. Sify...
The Power and weakness of boycott
Palestine Note 31 Aug 2010 - Recently, Norway announced that a major Israeli company and a subsidiary were to be excluded from its national wealth fund's investment list. The reasons were past activity in building settlements in the West Bank and working...
Is the Israel lobby blocking Obama’s nominee for ambassador to Turkey?
Palestine Note 31 Aug 2010 - My interview with the Ambassador Charles Freeman (whose nomination to chair the National Intelligence Council was stymied by Israel lobbyists ) was published on Friday . Freeman said a lot of compelling and thoughtful things in our talk...
Want that Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, Mr. President? Perform a c-section
Palestine Note 31 Aug 2010 - After more than 20 months of trying, the Obama administration will this week convene direct Israel-Palestinian peace talks in Washington D.C. Even if it is well founded (and it is), the administration must be understandably irked...
Violence used to block peace
Palestine Note 31 Aug 2010 - Four Israeli settlers were murdered Tuesday, the day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are set to meet in Washington DC to kick start direct peace talks. The murders of two...
Four settlers gunned down in Hebron, Hamas praises attack
Palestine Note 31 Aug 2010 - Washington - Four Israeli settlers were shot to death near Hebron Tuesday, Ma'an News Agency reported . Hamas militants, like those seen above, were not responsible for the attack on a car carrying four Israeli settlers Tuesday,...
The Media Line
Lieberman: Construction Should Resume when Freeze Ends
The Media Line 25 Aug 2010 - In yet another show of Israeli diplomatic discipline and unity of message, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was quoted by Israeli media as saying that there is no reason that Israel cannot return to construction projects in...
Iran Offers to Sell Arms to Lebanon
The Media Line 25 Aug 2010 - Speaking of freezes, after nearly daily revelations of new home-grown weapons systems, Iran's latest weapons story is their offer to sell a few to Lebanon. The move is in apparent reaction to moves by the United...
Report: Israel Boosts Spying on Algeria
The Media Line 25 Aug 2010 - An Algerian newspaper has reported that Israel is using its satellites"Ofek 6" and "Ofek 7" to spy on vital Algerian military installations. The Algeria News newspaper says that the satellites were trying to obtain images of...
Aljazeera
Middle East peace talks open in US
AlJazeera 2 Sep 2010 - Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, lauds Israeli and Palestinian leaders for taking 'an important step' for peace.
Israel academics snub settlements
AlJazeera 31 Aug 2010 - More than 150 Israeli academics say they will stop working in Jewish settlements in occupied West Bank.
Palestine News Network
Jerusalem Post
Netanyahu: Israel prepared to go long way for real peace
Jeruslalem Post 2 Sep 2010 - PM tells DC gathering Israel wants good neighbors, to shape a new reality for both peoples; Abbas declares peace in Palestinian, entire region's interest; Clinton says talks in US interests but won't impose solution.
'Hamas won't let the PA reach a peace agreement'
Jeruslalem Post 2 Sep 2010 - Yishai says renewed negotiations will lead to nowhere, as Hamas won't honor Abbas's agreement; Shas declares opposition to building freeze.
Barak: 'Galant Document' is a 'warning sign for democracy'
Jeruslalem Post 2 Sep 2010 - Defense minister expresses concern that generals "have an illegitimate influence" on government decisions; official appointed to prevent future incidents.
PA official: 'We will hit Hamas with an iron fist'
Jeruslalem Post 2 Sep 2010 - Fatah official Dahlan says negotiations are doomed to fail, because Americans are biased in Israel's favor; PA police vow to crack down on Hamas.
Report: Lebanon asks Interpol to catch Mossad 'spy'
Jeruslalem Post 2 Sep 2010 - Former Lebanese general accused of collaborating with Israeli intelligence.
UN: Palestinians lose $800m a year due to blockade
Jeruslalem Post 2 Sep 2010 - Palestinian trade deficit with Israel cited as principal barrier to sustainable economic growth.
State stops probe of Lieberman case leaks
Jeruslalem Post 2 Sep 2010 - Touting ‘journalistic immunity,’ state is unable to investigate Internet newspaper.
Settlers launch reprisal actions for shooting attack
Jeruslalem Post 1 Sep 2010 - Settlers throw rocks at Palestinians in Hebron, while 40 youth try to set fire to Palestinian field near Beit Hagai - home of the shooting victims.
Hamas claims responsibility for W.Bank terror attack
Jeruslalem Post 1 Sep 2010 - Shot fired at a vehicle near Rimonim Junction injuring two, one in serious condition; Abbas in Washington denounces latest Hamas attacks.
2 injured in West Bank terror attack near Rimonim Junction
Jeruslalem Post 1 Sep 2010 - The day after deadly Kiryat Arba attack, shots were fired at a vehicle injuring two, one in critical condition; Security forces are on the scene searching for terrorist's vehicle.
Netanyahu: Israel committed to 'secure and durable' peace
Jeruslalem Post 1 Sep 2010 - PM says after meeting with Obama that he seeks "peace that will end the conflict with the Palestinians once and for all, that will last generations."
Hamas leader rejects compromise with Israel, resists peace
Jeruslalem Post 1 Sep 2010 - Mahmoud Zahar criticizes Abbas for joining negotiations, says he has no right to represent Palestinian people, claims the "enemy of Palestinian people is Zionist enemy."
Settlers begin construction in settlements all over W.Bank
Jeruslalem Post 1 Sep 2010 - Residents hold signs saying "They shoot, we build." Hundreds of Likud activists arrive in Ariel showing support for end of construction freeze.
Mubarak calls for int'l security force in West Bank
Jeruslalem Post 1 Sep 2010 - In NY Times op-ed, Egyptian president says settlements and peace are incompatible; no lasting peace if Gaza excluded from agreement.
Netanyahu urges settlers to show restraint and respect law
Jeruslalem Post 1 Sep 2010 - Clinton condemns attack, praises prime minister "for seeking different future for children of Israel."
US to Turkey: No military exercise unless Israel there too
Jeruslalem Post 1 Sep 2010 - Report: Washington tells Anakara that it wont participate in joint exercise if Israel not invited.
UN prosecutor: No indictments drafted in Hariri probe
Jeruslalem Post 1 Sep 2010 - Assassination tribunal may file charges by end of year; considering Hizbullah video footage "implicating" Israel.
'There hasn't been a group like this since Rabbi Akiva'
Jeruslalem Post 1 Sep 2010 - Hundreds gather to mourn 4 victims of Kiryat Arba terror attack; funerals to be held in Jerusalem, Ashdod, Petah Tikva.
'We were very peaceful activists, but the IDF came to kill'
Jeruslalem Post 31 Aug 2010 - MK Hanin Zoabi talks to UNHRC Gaza flotilla probe, says "IDF viewed activists as terrorists."
Report: Egypt confiscates weapons en route to Gaza
Jeruslalem Post 31 Aug 2010 - Artillery shells, anti-aircraft missiles and other weapons reportedly found in warehouses and sides of mountains in the Sinai were headed for underground smuggling tunnels.
WAFA - Palestine News Agency
Palestinian, Israeli Families: Bring us Peace
WAFA - RAMALLAH, September 2, 2010 (WAFA)- Parents Circle – Families Forum called, today, on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas to not let extremists from both sides
PSC: You Can Help Break the Siege on Gaza
WAFA - RAMALLAH, September 2, 2010 (WAFA)- In just a few weeks, a Viva Palestina aid convoy, supported by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, will leave London and travel through Europe, Turkey, Syria and
Ashton: Direct Negotiations Outcome Crucial
WAFA - BRUSSLES, September 2, 2010 (WAFA)- Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission said, today, that the outcome
PLO: Palestinians Want Freedom
WAFA - RAMALLAH, September 2, 2010 (WAFA)- “Freedom means control of our borders.” PLO Negotiations Affairs Department said today. Freedom means having our government located in our historic capital—the
Abbas in White House: It is Time to Achieve Peace
WAFA - WASHINGTON, September 1, 2010 (WAFA)- “It is time to make peace, it is time to end the occupation that began in 1967, and for the Palestinian people to achieve their freedom, independence and
UNCTAD: Palestinian Economy in Modest Growth amid Israeli Occupation
WAFA - NEW YORK, September 2, 2010 (WAFA)- The occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) recorded marginal economic growth last year, and unemployment remained high, with Israel’s closure policy in the West Bank
Palestinian Students Compete, Win in Special Ramadan Spelling Bee
WAFA - JERICHO, September 1, 2010 (WAFA)- Alumni of the English Access Microscholarship program (“Access”) and the Youth Exchange and Study program (“YES”) organized a spelling bee, to provide the
Inalienable Rights Committee Welcomes Start of Negotiations
WAFA - NEW YORK, September 1, 2010 (WAFA)- The Bureau of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People welcomed, yesterday, the decision of the Israeli and Palestinian
Inter Press Service
EGYPT: Military Court Sentences Civilian Workers
IPS An Egyptian military court handed down sentences Monday in the trial of eight civilian factory workers who led a protest against deteriorating safety conditions in an army-owned factory. Rights groups say the trial should never have taken place.
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
International Solidarity Movement
400 days and counting: nonviolent Bil'in activist Adeeb Abu Rahmah to remain incarcerated
9/2/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - 2 September 2010, Ramallah, WEST BANK - A military court of appeal yesterday (1st Sept. 2010) rejected a petition calling for the release of Adeeb Abu Rahmah, a leading activist from the West bank village of Bil'in, imprisoned in Israel's Ofer military detention centre since 10th July 2009. The decision comes 8.... Related: Video: Adib Abu Rahma protest - Bil'in - 8-2-08
50 settlers attack Palestinian family following Hebron shooting; Israeli soldiers stand and watch
9/1/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Just after midday a large group of settlers from an illegal outpost near to where four Israeli settlers where shot and killed last night, carried out an attack on an innocent Palestinian family. At about 12. 30 between 50 and 70 Israeli settlers emerged from the Givat Gal outpost near the illegal settlement of Kiryat....
Ha'aretz
Diplomacy page
Mitchell: Netanyahu, Abbas agree to meet every two weeks
Ha'aretz 2 Sep 2010 - U.S. envoy to Mideast describes bilateral meetings at start of direct peace negotiations as 'productive.'
Netanyahu: Israel ready to go a long way for peace
Ha'aretz 2 Sep 2010 - Prime Minister speaks at ceremony marking official launch of direct Mideast peace talks at the White House.
Settlers defy peace talks with new construction across West Bank
Ha'aretz 2 Sep 2010 - Yesha council says settlers will start building in at least 80 settlements, breaking a government freeze that ends on September 26.
Barak: Rogue officers came close to sabotaging race to lead IDF
Ha'aretz 2 Sep 2010 - Scandal over forged document 'deeply harmed' public trust in the military, defense minister says, hinting at broad conspiracy within the IDF., Government calls on all Iranians to attend 'Al-Quds Day' protests to 'liberate Palestinian land from Zionist regime.
IDF warns of wave of violence as Hamas vows to sink peace talks
Ha'aretz 2 Sep 2010 - Army and police on high alert after second West Bank shooting in two days mars opening of Israel-PA talks in Washington; Hamas promises more attacks.
Hamas claims responsibility for second West Bank shooting attack in two days
Ha'aretz 2 Sep 2010 - 'The attack was a message to those who pledged there would be no more attacks,' says Islamist group as violence flares again in the eve of peace talks in Washington.
Obama to Netanyahu, Abbas: Don't let the chance for peace slip away
Ha'aretz 2 Sep 2010 - Prime Minister Netanyahu says seeking 'historic compromise' ahead of working dinner with Abbas, Jordanian King Abdullah and Egypt's Mubarak at the White House to launch direct Mideast peace talks.
Hamas leader Zahar rejects PA peace talks with 'brutal occupier'
Ha'aretz 2 Sep 2010 - Gaza strongman Mahmoud Zahar said the movement would resist peace efforts and criticized the Palestinian president for joining the negotiations.
Obama: 'Senseless slaughter' in West Bank won't stop peace talks
Ha'aretz 2 Sep 2010 - Standing alongside Netanyahu after the two met privately at the White House, Obama condemns killing of four Israelis, says U.S. support of Israel's security is unwavering.
Netanyahu urges West Bank settlers: Respect the rule of law
Ha'aretz 2 Sep 2010 - Prime Minister gets briefed on investigation into deadly West Bank shooting on Tuesday, tells settlers to show restraint.
Report: U.S. threatens to shun military drill with Turkey if it bans Israel
Ha'aretz 2 Sep 2010 - Turkish daily Hürriyet reports that the U.S. relayed its position to Ankara after invitations for a joint drill were sent out to several countries, but not to Israel.
PA carries out 'one of largest arrest waves of all time' in West Bank
Ha'aretz 2 Sep 2010 - Crackdown on Hamas operatives in the region, in which more than 300 were arrested, follows deadly terror attack near Hebron.
Barak: Israel ready to cede parts of Jerusalem in peace deal
Ha'aretz 2 Sep 2010 - Ahead of start of direct peace talks in Washington, Defense Minister Ehud Barak says Jerusalem's Arab neighborhoods will be part of a Palestinian state; a 'special regime' to govern holy sites.
Settlers: We'll violate settlement freeze in response to attack
Ha'aretz 2 Sep 2010 - Four Israelis were killed Tuesday in a shooting attack near Hebron, on the eve of the resumption of direct Mideast peace talks in Washington.
The Guardian
Ha'aretz
National page
Boy, 5, critical after suspected hit-and-run
Ha'aretz - Police investigating after boy found with serious head and stomach wounds on Jerusalem street.
Two Israelis wounded in second West Bank shooting attack in two days
Ha'aretz - Hamas claims responsibility for both Wednesday and Tuesday's shooting attacks, saying they are in response 'to crimes of Israeli occupation.'
Committee advocates building ZAKA headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah
Ha'aretz - Terror victims' memorial group wants Jerusalem City Council to approve construction of the massive complex in contested neighborhood.
Spying and sabotage: Rivalry between Nazareth's Arabic media heats up
Ha'aretz - Police suspect that the newspaper Kul Al Arab copied articles directly from the computers of its rival A-Sonara and used viruses to shut down its website.
It's official: Last month marked Israel's hottest August
Ha'aretz - According to meteorologists, August 2010 was hotter on average than those in 1981-2000 and also than the average August in the past ten years.
Rabbi at terror victims' funeral: Jews want peace, evildoers seek to destroy us
Ha'aretz - Thousands attend funeral of four Israeli civilians killed in a shooting attack near Hebron Tuesday. Hamas has claimed responsibility.
School janitor arrested for allegedly abusing student
Ha'aretz - 37-year-old janitor accused of sexually abusing a student for three years; alleged victim claims the abuse was preceded by threats.
School year to open as planned, as labor court revokes looming school strike
Ha'aretz - In late-night debate, court rules strike declared by Secondary School Teachers' Association unlawful, ordering its members to refrain from disrupting school year opening.
Barak vows to 'exact price' for deadly West Bank shooting attack
Ha'aretz - Rightist MKs to Netanyahu: Suspend peace talks in wake of deadly West Bank shooting; U.S.: Attack is a tragedy.
First Bollywood movie about Jesus' childhood to start filming in Israel
Ha'aretz - Director Singeetham Srinivasa Rao said his production will be narrated in four languages and feature an all-Indian cast of child actors and seven devotional songs.
Comptroller releases scathing report on IDF appointments
Ha'aretz - State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss describes the current process of appointing major generals as 'negotiations between the chief of staff and defense minister.'
Teens suspected of beating U.S. Jew to death in Jerusalem
Ha'aretz - Suspects allegedly attacked Lance Wolf, 60, because he refused to give them a cigarette; Victim lay bleeding for 50 minutes before anyone called for help.
Two brothers suspected of stealing donations for transplant patients
Ha'aretz - The suspects ran an organization to raise for funds for patients in need of liver, heart transplants; the two have admitted to irregularities but deny stealing money.
Man arrested after girl, 8, found naked in cemetery
Ha'aretz - Police find child's clothes near the scene of suspect's arrest after witness reports seeing her in his car.
MK Oron: Artists have a right not to perform in West Bank settlements
Ha'aretz - 300 demonstrators gathered outside Habima Theater in Tel Aviv to protest the theater's decision to stage performances in the West Bank settlement of Ariel.
Israeli archaeologists discover shards of ancient disposable cutlery
Ha'aretz - A Tel Aviv University excavation team found the tools around a fireplace littered with charred animal bones.
Netanyahu: Only Likud can forge lasting peace with Palestinians
Ha'aretz - Prime Minister addresses Likud party members ahead of Washington talks and the Jewish new year, says he hopes to find brave Palestinian partner.
Court: Police could have prevented 2006 death of 20-year-old woman
Ha'aretz - Inbal Amram was kidnapped in 2006. She died minutes before being found, after police repeatedly failed to respond to missing person reports by her family.
Israel archeologists uncover 2,000-year-old cupid in City of David dig
Ha'aretz - Israel Antiquities Authority says added inlaid semi-precious stone is of the 'Eros in mourning,' one of a group of visual motifs linked with mourning practices.
Defense officials: Eizenkot will not retire from IDF
Ha'aretz - Statements contradict widespread reports that Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot planned on retiring after rejecting offer to serve as deputy IDF chief.
Relief
Web
YNet
News
B'tselem
PA must investigate demonstration dispersal
31 Aug 2010 - According to B’Tselem’s investigation and the media, on 25 Aug. ’10, Palestinian security forces dispersed a procession held in Ramallah by participants of a non-violent political conference, and assaulted a human rights professional.
Stop The Wall
Daily Star
Palestinian Information Center
Los Angeles Times
Obama says time ripe for Mideast peace accord
LA Times 1 Sep 2010 - Meeting separately with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders, on the eve of Israeli-Palestinian talks, he calls on them to seize the moment to craft a two-state plan. President Obama began a new effort Wednesday to coax Israelis and Palestinians toward peace, telling Middle East leaders on the eve of renewed negotiations that with sustained American help, a comprehensive deal can be sealed within a year.
Hamas accuses Palestinian Authority of raids against it after killing of 4 Israelis
LA Times 1 Sep 2010 - Officials of Hamas, which claimed responsibility for the drive-by shooting, accuse the Palestinian Authority of raiding the homes of 250 Hamas members. An authority official denies the allegation. As Israeli and Palestinian leaders opened peace talks Wednesday in Washington, tensions heightened back home in the aftermath of a shooting attack that killed four Israelis a day earlier.
New York Times
Clinton Expresses Confidence in Mideast Talks
New York Times 2 Sep 2010 - The Israeli and Palestinian leaders opened direct peace negotiations Thursday as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged full support.
Leaders Call for Peace as Mideast Talks Begin
New York Times 2 Sep 2010 - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority appeared together with President Obama.
Palestinians Hunt the Killers of 4 Israelis
New York Times 2 Sep 2010 - Palestinian troops rounded up dozens of men suspected of ties to Hamas as Israeli settlers held a mass funeral for two women and two men who were shot dead in their car on Tuesday night.
Misc
HEBRON REFLECTION: “Captain, Where Is Your Sense of Decency?”
Christian Peacemaker Teams - Palestine - I wondered what was going on in your heart. I had often encountered you on the streets before this day, and most often I observed you as a decent policeman trying to do your job. This day I saw something so different in you.
HEBRON: Israeli Military and Policemen Shut Three Palestinian Shops
Christian Peacemaker Teams - Palestine - Israeli soldiers and police weld shut three Palestinian shops near a regular “Open Shuhada Street” demonstration site, leaving one injured, one expelled, four imprisoned (and thousands still under military occupation).
HEBRON REFLECTION: Shuhada Street: Keeping the quiet (when there’s no peace to be kept)
Christian Peacemaker Teams - Palestine - Honest words between a soldier and peacemakers shed light on the difference between “keeping the peace” and making it.
AL BWEIREH, PALESTINE: Settlers “heat up the air”; outpost dismantled
Christian Peacemaker Teams - Palestine - Roadblocks are emblematic of a decade of military and settler harassment of Palestinians in Al Bweireh. Will the new one be more than a bump in the road for the Hill 86 settlement outpost?
PALESTINE: Ongoing action alert: Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions
Christian Peacemaker Teams - Palestine - CPT-Palestine invites you to join people from all over the world in boycotting Israeli goods and cultural events, divesting from all companies that profit from the occupation of Palestine, and pushing for international sanctions on Israel.
Palestinians protest the PA cabinet's announcement of an "indefinite" delay in municipal elections
Palestine Monitor - What happened in Hebron proved our point; we need a unified Palestinian position," Palestinian National Initiative leader Mustafa Barghouthi said following a mass rally in Ramallah on Wednesday. The protest, planned immediately after PA forces quashed a news conference on 25 August, was coordinated by leftist...
As talks resume, two-thirds of Israelis support settlement building
Mondoweiss - And other news from Today in Palestine: Land and Property Theft and Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing Abbas demands a freeze on Israeli settlement activity (AFP) AFP - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas Wednesday publicly demanded a freeze on all Israeli settlement activity at the launch of landmark US-mediated peace...
Palestinian guns – redux
Mondoweiss - Many people reacted strongly with disapprobation to my " Hamas attack was wrong " post yesterday. Nearly everyone agrees that murdering civilians is wrong, but some question whether the settlers are civilians in the first place. The settlers are racial supremacists whose race pride, irrational hatred...
‘Do you know how hard I work to control the rage inside of me?’
Mondoweiss - Yesterday on this site, responding to the murders of the four settlers in the West Bank Tuesday, Seham, a Palestinian-American, offered a list of settler attacks on Palestinians . David Samel, who has taken a strong stance against violent resistance , responded in a comment: Seham, I have...
I know a ton of old lefties, wheat-grass drinkers, and painters in falling-down houses that went to Bard, but
Mondoweiss - the lobby never sleeps. Dear Friends and Colleagues, The Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program and Foreign Affairs magazine cordially invite you to the opening of this year's James Clarke Chace Memorial Speaker Series: "The Demonization of Israel: Its History and Politics" Martin Peretz Editor-in-Chief, The...
Help! CNN runs reports produced by propaganda outfit headed by former AIPAC president
Mondoweiss - Check this out. Israel 21c is a pro-Israel p.r. organization . "A Focus Beyond," its motto, says it all. ISRAEL21c – a New Paradigm for Pro-Israel Communications ISRAEL21c’s mission is to focus media and public attention on the 21 st century Israel that exists beyond the conflict....
Articles
The Stalled Voyage of St. Mariam
Rannie Amiri, CounterPunch
8/27/2010
Why is Israel Terrified of a Ship Full of Women?
“We will not even bring cooking knives.” – Samar al-Hajj, coordinator of the all-women Lebanese aid vessel Mariam
The bloody wake left by the Mavi Marmara after the May 31 Israeli commando raid has not deterred 50 female activists from trying to break the four-year-old siege of Gaza. To hear Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak speak of their planned relief effort, one would think the very existence of Israel was at stake.
The women plan to set sail aboard the Saint Mariam, a Bolivian-flagged cargo ship named in honor of the Virgin Mary, a figure sacred to both Christians and Muslims. Although they intend to depart from Tripoli, Lebanon, the crew is not only composed of multi-faith Lebanese but foreign nationals as well, including a group of nuns from the United States. So as not to give Israel pretext to attack, Hezbollah deliberately did not sponsor the mission nor were any members allowed to participate.
Its cargo? Books, toys, medical instruments and supplies, and most importantly, anticancer medication.
The ship cannot sail directly from Tripoli to Gaza since Lebanon and Israel remain technically at war (and Israel controls Gaza’s territorial waters) and thus must pass through a third country first. The Mariam was scheduled to leave for Cyprus last Sunday but authorities in Nicosia, capitulating to Israeli pressure, prohibited use of its ports for vessels departing to Gaza. Without the green light from Cyprus, Lebanon’s Transport and Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi was forced to cancel the voyage until another country with whom Lebanon enjoys maritime relations could be found. Negotiations with Greece are now under way. more.. e-mail
The State and Local Bases of Zionist Power in America
James Petras Ph.D, Information Clearing House
9/1/2010
Any serious effort to understand the extraordinary influence of the Zionist power configuration over US foreign policy must examine the presence of key operatives in strategic positions in the government and the activities of local Zionist organizations affiliated with mainstream Jewish organizations and religious orders.
There are at least 52 major American Jewish organizations actively engaged in promoting Israel’s foreign policy, economic and technological agenda in the US (see the appendix). The grassroots membership ranges from several hundred thousand militants in the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) to one hundred thousand wealthy contributors, activists and power brokers in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). In addition scores of propaganda mills, dubbed think tanks, have been established by million dollar grants from billionaire Zionists including the Brookings Institute (Haim Saban) and the Hudson Institute among others. Scores of Zionist funded political action committees (PAC) have intervened in all national and regional elections, controlling nominations and influencing election outcomes. Publishing houses, including university presses have been literally taken over by Zionist zealots, the most egregious example being Yale University, which publishes the most unbalanced tracts parroting Zionist parodies of Jewish history (Financial Times book review section August 28/29 2010). New heavily funded Zionist projects designed to capture young Jews and turn them into instruments of Israeli foreign policy includes “Taglit-Birthright” which has spent over $250 million dollars over the past decade sending over a quarter-million Jews (between 18-26) to Israel for 10 days of intense brainwashing (Boston Globe August 26, 2010). Jewish billionaires and the Israeli state foot the bill. The students are subject to a heavy dose of Israeli style militarism as they are accompanied by Israeli soldiers as part of their indoctrination; at no point do they visit the West Bank, Gaza or East Jerusalem (Boston Globe August 26, 2010). They are urged to become dual citizens and even encouraged to serve in the Israeli armed forces. In summary the 52 member organizations of the Presidents of the Major American Jewish Organizations which we discuss are only the tip of the iceberg of the Zionist Power Configuration.... more.. e-mail
Israel Threatens War with Lebanon
Stephen Lendman, Dissident Voice
8/31/2010
Palestine is belligerently occupied. Threats continue against Iran and Syria as well as Lebanon, specifically Hezbollah, elected partner in the nation’s unity government, bogusly designated a US State Department Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), what Israel also calls it, repeating veiled and overt warnings, suggesting violence or an impending attack.
Why not, after so many earlier in 1978, 1982, 1993, 1996, and 2006. Also numerous incidents besides:
– refusing to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 425 by occupying South Lebanon belligerently and illegally for 18 years until mostly, but not entirely, withdrawing in May 2000 – still holding Sheba Farms, the 14-square mile water-rich land near Syria’s Golan, also illegally occupied since 1967; in addition, Ghajar, the Lebanese village bordering Golan;
– during its occupation, using a proxy Christian South Lebanon Army as enforcer, UNIFIL Blue Helmets giving them and the IDF free reign instead of maintaining peace, how UN forces always operate, as paramilitaries against people they’re supposed to protect; and
– for over 40 years, repeatedly violating Lebanon’s territory, often daily, including 12 Israeli jet overflights on August 19.
Hezbollah: Israel’s Pretext for Incursions, Violence and War
Hezbollah was born out of Israel’s 1982 Lebanon invasion, its horrific war slaughtering around 18,000 people, mostly civilians, including in the Sabra and Shatila camps, what journalist Robert Fisk called “one of the most shocking war crimes of the 20th century.” more.. e-mail
Why Israel imprisoned my best friend
Electronic Intifada: 2 Sep 2010 - And just as Israel has gradually increased restrictions of where we can go, the boundaries of what is permissible to do as a Palestinian have narrowed markedly. We have reached a point where peaceful protest is unacceptable to the Israeli state and military legislation has been constructed to criminalize and throw in jail anyone who dares to publicly voice dissent. Mohammed Khatib comments.more
"Solidarity with the entire Palestinian people"
Electronic Intifada: 2 Sep 2010 - The BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights recently published Rights in Principle -- Rights in Practice , which examines a rights-based approach to crafting durable solutions for Palestinian refugees. The Electronic Intifada contributor Adri Nieuwhof interviews BADIL director Ingrid Jaradat Gassner on the organization's work and the new book.more
"Bureaucratic weapons worse than bombs"
Electronic Intifada: 1 Sep 2010 - Firas al-Maraghi from the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem has been on hunger strike outside the Israeli embassy in Berlin since 26 July. Al-Maraghi is striking in protest of the Israeli Ministry of Interior's refusal to include his German-born daughter and wife on his Jerusalem residency permit. Bridget Chappell interviews al-Maraghi for The Electronic Intifada.more
Bedouin's legal fight threatens Jewish state
Electronic Intifada: 1 Sep 2010 - Nuri al-Uqbi's small cinderblock home in a ramshackle neighborhood of Hura, a Bedouin town in Israel's Negev desert, hardly looks like the epicenter of a legal struggle that some observers say threatens Israel's Jewish character.more
Lifta's legacy under threat
Electronic Intifada: 1 Sep 2010 - There are few villages in historic Palestine which invoke the memories of the Nakba (the 1948 dispossession of the Palestinian people) as does Lifta. However, Lifta's architectural legacy is under threat as Israel moves to Judaize the formerly pluralistic Palestinian village.more
Palestine’s students excel in new maths program
In Gaza: 24 Aug 2010 - AL ZAHARA, Central Gaza Strip, Aug 24, 2010 (IPS) – In a bright and spacious classroom, with plants overflowing in the courtyard outside, six students lean forward at their desks looking at the 10-digit addition they are asked to make. One student stands before the numbers on the chalkboard and a red and yellow-beaded abacus. But her attention is on the abacus she visualises in her mind. The Al Zahara private school in central Gaza is the first to incorporate a specialised programme for mental development based on math computations . “It originated in Malaysia in 1993,” says Majed al-Bari, director of the school and the first to bring the programme to Palestine. “The Universal Concept Mental Arithmetic System (UCMAS) was developed to use both sides of the brain,” says Bari. “The analytical left side and the creative right side.” Using a simple abacus, the UCMAS programme combines visual with textile,...more
Mitchell's Quick-fix Fake Peace
Palestine Chronicle: 1 Sep 2010 - By Stuart Littlewood –London On the eve of the silliest peace talks in history, the big question is this. What makes Obama's envoy George Mitchell, a negotiator of high repute, say there is 'no role' for Hamas? The talks are silly because they seek to overturn what the United Nations has already decided for resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict and drive a bulldozer through the building blocks of justice. It might be music to Zionist ears, but to people of good will it’s a cruel, futile and immensely damaging ploy. The talks are also silly because they bring together two people who by no stretch of the imagination could qualify as partners for peace. And they sit down under the auspices of a third party with an appalling track record in the Middle East and whom no-one trusts to act fairly. So Mitchell has been dealt a terrible hand. The former...more
Claim for Native Title Threatens Jewish State
Palestine Chronicle: 1 Sep 2010 - By Jonathan Cook - Hura, the Negev Nuri al Uqbi's small cinderblock home in a ramshackle neighbourhood of Hura, a Bedouin town in Israel’s Negev desert, hardly looks like the epicentre of a legal struggle that some observers say threatens Israel's Jewish character. Inside, the 68-year-old Bedouin activist has stacks of bulging folders of tattered and browning documents, many older than the state of Israel itself, that he hopes will overturn decades of harsh government policy towards the Negev’s 180,000 Bedouin. For the past few months, Mr al Uqbi has been in court pursuing a case that has pitted his own expert witnesses against those of the state. Mr al Uqbi claims the right to return to a patch of 82 hectares in the Negev, close to the regional capital, Beersheva, that he says has belonged to his family for generations. But as both the government and the judge in...more
The Real 'Crisis': Yale's Pro-Israeli Conference
Palestine Chronicle: 31 Aug 2010 - By Stephen Lendman On August 25, Yale University ended a three day global anti-Semitism 'crisis' conference promoting the notion that Israeli criticism is "anti-Semitic," no matter how justified. Boola boola, for shame, mighty Yale displaying the same type anti-Islamic hatred virulent throughout America, raging daily in headlines over the proposed New York City Islamic cultural center, falsely called a mosque, but does it matter? What matters is racism, hate-mongering, and persecuting Muslims for political advantage - on display at Yale for a three day propaganda hate fest. Imagine what's taught in its classrooms. The Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism (YIISA) Calling itself "dedicated to the scholarly research of the origins and manifestations associated with antisemitism globally, as well as other forms of prejudice, including racisms, as it relates to policy," YIISA presented its "Global Antisemitism: A Crisis of Modernity conference, at a time the supposed "crisis" is...more
Defence of Apartheid Israel Unjustifiable
Palestine Chronicle: 31 Aug 2010 - By Iqbal Jassat – Pretoria I wonder whether pro-Israeli apologists ever sense the sheer hopelessness of their desperate attempts to shield the apartheid regime from legitimate and necessary criticism. Having had the misfortune of reading the misguided views of Benjamin Pogrund [Sunday Independent, August 29], I am convinced that his angry attempt to admonish South Africans vis-à-vis their negative stance against Israel, reflects poor judgment. By calling into question the actions of striking people within the public sector, he then demands that due to the unacceptable behavior accompanying the strikes, South Africa has no right to stand in judgment of poor little Israel. Apart from the total lack of logic in his futile attempt to exploit the legitimate grievances of strikers, Pogrund displayed his unashamed loyalty to a pariah state that has been stripped of all morality due to its aggressive policies of oppression, occupation, racism and unending wars of...more
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