VTJP News & Articles 2/9/2010
Occupied Palestine and Israel: News and Articles
News
International Middle East Media Center
Shaath: “Hamas Will Release Fateh Detainees, Reopen Headquarters”
IMEMC 9 Feb 2010 - Tuesday February 09, 2010 - 12:46, Member of Fateh’s Central Committee, Dr. Nabil Shaath, stated that the Hamas government in Gaza will be releasing Fateh political prisoners in the coming days, and will also reopen Fateh headquarters it previously shut down.
Israel To Partially Open Gaza Trade Crossings
IMEMC 9 Feb 2010 - Tuesday February 09, 2010 - 11:28, The Israeli Authorities decided Tuesday to partially open its trade crossings with the Gaza Strip to allow the entry of some foodstuffs, and to enable the export of flowers and strawberries.
British Government Promises Israeli Official He Won't Be Arrested During Visit
IMEMC 9 Feb 2010 - Tuesday February 09, 2010 - 10:14, After receiving a letter from the British Foreign Ministry promising that he wouldn't be arrested for war crimes while in England, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon arrived in London on Monday.
Effort To Retroactively Approve Illegal Jerusalem Settlement Backed By Interior Minister
IMEMC 9 Feb 2010 - Tuesday February 09, 2010 - 09:36, A seven-story building constructed by right-wing Israeli settlers on Palestinian land, in East Jerusalem in 2004, is moving toward receiving 'retroactive approval,' with the unexpected support of Israel's Interior Minister, Eli Yishai. This support adds an air of legitimacy to the settler's illegal maneuver.
Hamas Government: “Decision For Local Councils Elections in West Bank, Unconstitutional”
IMEMC 9 Feb 2010 - Tuesday February 09, 2010 - 08:22, The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, stated that the decision of the government of Dr. Salam Fayyad in the West Bank regarding holding local councils elections is unconstitutional, and leads to further divisions.
Female Activist Kidnapped By The Army
IMEMC 9 Feb 2010 - Tuesday February 09, 2010 - 04:54, The Ahrar Center for Detainee Studies stated that the Israeli army detained, on Monday, Montaha Taweel, 45, an activist who works to defend the rights of the Palestinian detainees, and the wife of the mayor of al-Biereh.
Israel Objects To Moscow’s Reception of Mashal
IMEMC 9 Feb 2010 - Tuesday February 09, 2010 - 02:05, The Israeli embassy in Moscow sent a letter to the Russian government expressing dismay over Moscow’s reception of Hamas Political Bureau Chief, Khalid Mashal, and a number of Hamas officials.
Troops Invade Hebron Town & Refugee Camp
IMEMC 9 Feb 2010 - Tuesday February 09, 2010 - 00:24, Israeli soldiers invaded, on Monday, evening the town of Beit Ummar, north of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and the al-Arroub refugee camp in the city.
The Israeli Navy Opens Fire at Palestinian Fishermen Near Gaza's Southern Shore
IMEMC 9 Feb 2010 - Monday February 08, 2010 - 17:23, Israeli navy forces opened fire, on Monday midday, at Palestinian fishermen off the shore of Rafah town, southern Gaza Strip.
Ten Detained By Israeli Troops During Pre-Dawn Invasions Targeting West Bank Communities
IMEMC 9 Feb 2010 - Monday February 08, 2010 - 17:12, Ten Palestinian civilians were detained by Israeli troops, on Monday, during pre-dawn military invasions targeting a number of West Bank communities.
Ma'an News
Israel stays eviction of settlers, despite court order
2/9/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - Israel's Jerusalem Municipality cancelled the distribution of eviction orders for a residential building erected by settlers in occupied East Jerusalem's Silwan area, Israeli media reported on Monday. The building, known as Beit Yonatan, was set to be sealed off after officials persuaded Israel's Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barakat to implement the order, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported. "Barkat pledged to enforce the court order to evacuate the structure, though he added that he was doing so under protest," the newspaper reported. According to protocol, the distribution of eviction notices must be carried out in coordination with the Israeli police. However, police said they were unaware of any such plans. "Contrary to reports, there was no coordination Monday between the Jerusalem Municipality and the district police regarding distribution of evacuation orders in Silwan," a police statement said.
Injuries after fierce clashes at Jerusalem refugee camp
2/9/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - Dozens of Palestinians including journalists were injured as fierce clashes broke out on Monday in Shu'fat refugee camp after Israeli civil and paramilitary police stormed the camp and detained dozens. Confrontations erupted near the military checkpoint at the main entrance to the camp after young Palestinians pelted Israeli soldiers with stones and empty bottles. Soldiers responded by firing tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades. As a result, several correspondents and photojournalists were hurt. Amongst them were Samir Abu Gharbiyya, a cameraman working for the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera International, Amir Abed Rabbo, cameraman of Panet news, and Diala Juweihan, working for Quds Press. Ma'an's Jerusalem correspondent, who was also on the scene, said three Israeli officers sustained injuries.
Israel army raids offices of anti-wall group
2/9/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - The Israeli army raided the offices of the Stop the Wall organization in Ramallah early Monday morning. Ten military jeeps, hummers and an armoured bus belonging to the Israeli military and intelligence services entered Ramallah at 1am, the group said in a statement. Follwing a three-hour search, soldiers confiscated computer hard disks, laptops, and video cameras along with paper documents, CDs, and video cassettes, the organization said. "This is part of the continuous targeting of the popular grassroots movement and the struggle of the Palestinian human rights defenders for Israeli accountability," said Jamal Juma, coordinator of Stop the Wall. But the movement's supporters "will not be intimidated by this," Juma added, insisting that it would continue its efforts until a 2004 ruling by the International Criminal Court on the wall's illegality is enforced.
Israel army closes Beit Fajjar, conducts search
2/9/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Several army vehicles closed off entrances to Beit Fajjar on Monday, shutting down roads to the area from Bethlehem and Hebron, witnesses reported. An Israeli military spokesperson announced that the checkpoints were the result of a pipe bomb tossed by a youth at troops operating in the area earlier, prompting the closure and a search for the alleged attacker. No injuries were reported. Onlookers said a number of army vehicles and soldiers closed the Beit Fajjar junction near the Gush Etzion settlement, as well as roads leading to the Hebron-area Al-Aroub refugee camp and the nearby Beit Ummar village. Travelers reported heavy traffic, and some city-to-city buses were altering their routes. Earlier, the Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Palestinians threw stones at an Israeli vehicle. . .
Israel’s High Court frees 2 foreign activists
2/9/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israel's High Court of Justice on Monday freed two foreign nationals who were detained early Sunday in Ramallah. Ariadna Marti of Spain and Bridgett Chappel of Australia, activists with the International Solidarity Movement, posted a 3,000-shekel bail and will be permitted to remain in Israel while they challenge a deportation order. The High Court accepted that the detentions may have been illegal, because they reportedly involved Israel's special "Oz" immigration unit, which is permitted to handle only cases of foreigners in Israel. Marti and Chappel, however, were in Ramallah, a city supposedly under control of the Palestinian Authority. "The raid and detention of the two is in direct violation of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which clearly forbids any Israeli incursion into Area A for reasons not directly and urgently related to security. "
One Gaza crossing open, no new commodities to enter
2/8/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - No new commodities have been allowed into the Gaza Strip, undersecretary for the Ministry of National Economy Nasser As-Sarraj said on Monday. As-Sarraj told Ma'an that talks focused on allowing the transfer of clothing and shoes into the Strip through its commercial crossings, were nothing more than rumors, adding that the ministry will officially announce the entry of previously prohibited items when Israeli authorities permit it. Meanwhile, Israeli authorities partially opened the Kerem Shalom crossing on Monday, while the Karni crossing in the north remained closed, Palestinian border crossings official Raed Fattouh. Fattouh said that 70 truckloads of commercial merchandise and humanitarian aid will be transferred through Gaza's southern crossing. One of these trucks will be transporting equipment for the Palestinian Telecommunication Company, he said.
Israeli forces detain wife of mayor in Ramallah
2/8/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - Israeli forces detained Muntaha Tawil, wife of Al-Bireh Mayor Jamal Tawil, on Monday, after searching their home in Ramallah. "Heavily armed soldiers and large numbers of military vehicles raided the mayor's home on Monday early morning breaking the doors and damaging the house' interior before they detained Muntaha Tawil, the mayor's wife," an Al-Birreh Municipal Council statement said. Mayor Tawil said his wife's detention would not hinder his ability to provide his constituents with the services they need, adding that Israel often attempts to exert pressure on mayors of Palestinian villages through detentions, forced home searches and summons orders. Tawil is the mother of four and her husband has been detained several time by Israeli forces. Mayor Tawil previously served 13 years in an Israeli prison.
Gaza detainee marks 20 years in Israeli jail
2/8/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - The Information Committee affiliated to Hamas detainees in Israeli jails said that Ashraf Al-Ba'lougi, 38, from Gaza City, marked his 20th year in prison on Sunday. Al-Ba'lougi was detained after stabbing three Israelis in Tel Aviv on the anniversary of the Hamas movement's founding on 14 December 1990. All three victims were killed, the committee said. According to the committee, Israeli forces had also detained Al-Ba'lougi's father and brother following the attack. [end]
Disabled man among 10 seized overnight
2/8/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - One of 10 Palestinians detained in West Bank raids overnight is disabled, local sources told Ma'an late Monday. Yousif Ibrahim Abdul Fattah Al-Mawa'jeh, 43, was paralyzed in an accident, neighbors said, and had received treatment in Iran. A native of Yatta, near Hebron, Al-Mawa'jeh was rounded up along with nine other Palestinians in Qalqiliya, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Hebron at daybreak. The army said a homemade rifle was confiscated during the search of a home in Beit Ummar, north of Hebron. [end]
Report: Abbas agrees to proximity talks
2/8/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an/Agencies - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to proximity talks with Israel, following the proposal of US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell, Israeli media reported on Monday. According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, senior Palestinians had confirmed to the daily that Abbas has agreed, in principle, to the US suggestion of indirect talks. Last week, Abbas said he would consult with Arab allies before responding on Thursday Mitchell's call for proximity talks, according to the British daily The Guardian, which said Abbas indicated that he may be prepared to accept. "If there is any substance in the response from the Israeli side - for example, if they accept the framework of a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders and an end to occupation, with timelines and mechanisms - then there will be progress," Abbas said.
Erakat: Speculation on proximity talks unhelpful
2/9/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erakat on Monday said that recent media speculation concerning US facilitated proximity talks was both premature and unhelpful. "President Abbas has consulted widely with his brothers, the Arab leaders, and our friends in the international community, regarding the obstacles Israel has put in the way of negotiations. These consultations will continue," Erekat said in a statement. The chief PLO negotiator said that Palestinians sides are waiting to hear from the US on "terms of reference, objectives and timelines for proximity talks. Only then will they be considered and only President [Mahmoud Abbas] will announce his decision. Until that time, media speculation is both premature and unhelpful. " Erekat added that while Middle East Envoy George Mitchell's visits to the region have been reciprocated with the intention to overcome. . .
PA cabinet calls municipal, local elections
2/9/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - The cabinet of the Ramallah-based government decided on Monday to hold municipal and local elections in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on 17 July 2010. Directives were given to the Palestinian Central Elections Committee to begin preparations. During its weekly meeting in Ramallah, the cabinet of the caretaker government stressed in a post-meeting statement that "completion of this democratic process is considered a basic component of the PA's agenda set to complete building institutions of the Palestinian state. This is also part of maintaining good governance principles in Palestine. "The cabinet condemned Israel's operation in Shufat refugee camp hours earlier, which left several residents and Israeli forces injured, in addition to violence directed against local and international anti-wall activists.
Unidentified gunmen open fire at Hamas official
2/8/2010 - Qalqiliya - Ma'an -Assailants opened fire on Sunday night at the offices of Hamas-affiliated Palestinian lawmaker Imad Nofal in Qalqiliya, northern West Bank. Unidentified gunmen opened fire from a car, locals said. The gunshots were heard in Qalqiliya's town centre, where Nofal's office is, they said, adding that they fled the scene. Nofal described the attack as "unacceptable" and "unpatriotic," and harming Palestinian interests. "Those who did it at this time want to foil reconciliation attempts which Dr Nabil Sha'ath started when he headed to Gaza Strip and met with Hamas leaders," he said. Palestinian Security Services have launched in investigation into the incident. Several security checkpoints were erected across Qalqiliya to locate the vehicle and the assailants. . . . .
Haniyeh: Egypt wall won’t break our will
2/8/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - De facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Monday that the blockade and walls surrounding Gaza would not force Palestinians to submit to external control. He was speaking at a reception honoring the Interior Ministry in Gaza City. "Gaza is surrounded on three sides; north, east, and south; to make it raise a white flag," Haniyeh said, insisting that Egypt's underground wall would not have the desired effect. "The escalation of the blockade and the siege is aimed at bringing down the government and making the Palestinian people kneel," he added. First exposed by the Israeli daily Haaretz, Egypt has been constructing an underground steel wall to stem the flow of smuggling into the coastal enclave. First constructed to transport weapons, tunnels supply Palestinians with daily needs like food and fuel, necessitated by the ongoing military blockade.
Bardawil: Hamas may allow Fatah to reopen Gaza HQ
2/8/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Hamas leader Salah Al-Bardawil said on Monday that Hamas is "studying the possibility" of allowing Fatah members to move freely, and may reopen the party's headquarters in Gaza. Al-Bardawil told Ma'an that the Islamic movement is "hoping that the security services in the West Bank will take the necessary measures to stop violations against Hamas leaders and supports, particularly in regard to political arrests and the closure of institutions. "He said the issue of inter-Palestinian reconciliation remains at a standstill, despite ongoing efforts to move forward. He also stressed that Hamas remains flexible and would sign the Egyptian document if the movement's amendments were taken into consideration. . . . .
Sha`ath: Fatah HQ to reopen in Gaza
2/9/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Hamas will instruct its government in the Gaza Strip to release detainees held on political grounds and reopen the Fatah party headquarters within the next two days, a top Fatah official said on Monday. Speaking days after his first trip since 2007 to the besieged coastal enclave, Central Committee member Nabil Sha'ath said Fatah officials were already permitted to visit without any special permit. "I informed Hamas that I rejected their security escort or visits to their government offices, and I held meetings freely," he said following a meeting in Cairo with Amr Moussa, the Arab League secretary-general. Sha'ath said Hamas requested that its members receive better treatment in the West Bank, and that he responded, "They have freedom of movement and they have no problems. When someone from Hamas told me a Hamas delegation wanted to visit the West Bank, I said: 'Welcome; I came here with permission from the occupying authorities, so whoever wants to visit the West Bank is more than welcome. "
Gaza journalists win PJS elections
2/8/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - The results of the controversial Palestinian Journalists Syndicate elections were announced late Sunday evening, revealing that journalists in Gaza received the highest number of votes. Voting began on Saturday afternoon despite the reigning confusion over elections methodology. One official said on Saturday he expected the board to reach 63 members, and noted that the new board and outgoing chief would together elect a replacement head for the union body. Participants casted their votes to choose 63 members for the central council out of 82 candidates. Of 780 members eligible to vote, 508 cast a ballot. Journalists in Gaza were unable to attend, as the voting took place in Ramallah. Of the 508 ballots cast, 67 blank votes were discarded. It was decided that members of the syndicate would vote for candidates according to which bloc they represented.
Israeli media: 3 settlers detained in Hebron
2/8/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli police detained three settlers at a so-called illegal outpost near Hebron on Monday, Israeli media reported. The Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the settlers, all minors, were detained near the "Hill 18" settlement outpost. The detainees, who were not identified, were accused of rioting, according to the newspaper. [end]
International donors, Palestinian officials discuss municipal projects
2/8/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Board of directors of the Palestinian Municipal Development Program held a meeting on Monday with international donors in Ramallah in the central West Bank, to discuss developments in municipal services. The conveners included Minister of Local Governance Khaled Al-Qawasmi, member of the board of directors Abdul Ghani Nofal and directors of PMDP as well as representatives of the World Bank, the German Development Bank, the French Agency for Development, the Danish Commission and the German Agency for Technical support. On the agenda was the progress made by the PMDP, which will fund a two-stage project to develop Palestinian municipal services, paying 72 million US dollars over three years on a range of projects to be carried out by various Palestinian municipal councils. . . . .
Mash’al arrives in Moscow
2/8/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Senior-most Hamas leader Khaled Mash'al arrived in Moscow on Monday with a delegation for talks on Palestinian reconciliation and the peace process with Russian officials. Mash'al told the Russian newspaper Vremya Novostei that "it is possible to restore cohesion between the Palestinians if the US desists from obstructing the end of division. "The Hamas leader added that the second obstacle remained "adjustments that were made to the terms of the Egyptian reconciliation proposal. " According to Hamas representative to Lebanon Osama Hamdan, who is among the delegation, "In Moscow Hamas plans to discuss issues related to prospects of inter-Palestinian dialogue and the peace process with Israel. "Hamdan added that Hamas delegates hoped to discuss solutions to issues throughout the region, and talks with Russian officials will not solely be based on Palestinian affairs.
Ha'aretz Defense page
Misc
Israeli police raid Palestinian refugee camp
2/8/2010 - Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A Palestinian refugee camp on the edge of Jerusalem erupted in violence on Monday after Israeli police carried out a raid to arrest tax evaders and Palestinians responded by throwing stones. Eleven people were arrested, some for involvement in the unrest and others for the non-payment of municipal taxes and other bills, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. The violence in Shuafat refugee camp, within the expanded Jerusalem borders that Israel declared after capturing its eastern sector in a 1967 war, was another example of tensions that are always near the surface in a city at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Palestinian schoolchildren threw rocks at police vehicles and Rosenfeld said four officers were slightly hurt. Palestinian officials said 10 Palestinians were injured, none seriously.
Building back in Gaza with Mud Bricks
2/8/2010 - WAFA - Palestine News Agency - GAZA, February 8, 2010 (WAFA) - Hassan al-Err, aged 67, and his seven-member family are moving into a mud house built by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip, because other building materials are not available, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) reported. The two-bedroom house in the Ezbet Abed Rabbo neighbourhood of Jabaliya town, north of Gaza City, is an improvement on the tent in which they had been living - next to the rubble of their former home. Rebuilding homes damaged in last year's 23-day war, has been almost impossible because Israel does not allow construction materials such as cement and steel into the Strip, saying they could be used for military purposes. 'I can't forget how hard the past year has been for me and my family living in a tent in the cold winter and the hot summer,' al-Err told IRIN.
VIDEO - Israel Threatening To Use Nuclear Weapons On Iran
2/7/2010 - YouTube/FoxNews - New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin confirms Israeli official threatened to use tactical nuclear weapons against Iran. [end]
Under Pressure From Settlers, IOF Rebuilds West Bank Watchtower
2/7/2010 - WAFA - Palestine News Agency - TEL AVIV, February 7, 2010 (WAFA)- The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) is rebuilding a military position on a base it evacuated in April 2006 east of Beit Sahour near Jerusalem. Israeli sources said that they are only building a guard tower, Haaretz Israeli Daily reported, today. The building of the military position follows intensive pressure by settlers from Gush Etzion to gain approval for the establishment of a Jewish city on the site of the abandoned military camp and its environs, Haaret added, such a development would link up the neighborhood of Har Homa in Jerusalem and Gush Etzion in the West Bank. Last Friday, settlers held a ceremony at the site, where they learned that the army intended to build a watchtower on the site. According to a report by settler radio station Arutz Sheva on Sunday, Colonel Eran Makub, who is charged with securing the area, announced that the IOF intends to 'rebuild an IOF position at Shadma.
U.S Vows To Bury Goldstone Report At UN
2/8/2010 - International Middle East Media Center - Saed Bannoura - Israeli sources reported Saturday that the United States vowed to Israeli leaders to bury the report of Judge Richard Goldstone on Israel’s war in Gaza last year. The sources added that the Israeli government vowed to respond to the report of Goldstone by forming an independent committee. The United Nations is set to convene soon to discuss the report but did not schedule a date for the discussion. Bur Israel sources said that Israel will not show “any further cooperation” and that the United States will not allow the report to reach the Security Council. Last week, Israel reveled that a series of talks were held between Israeli and American officials in order to define the means to counter the Goldstone report and to bury it. Israel also said that the United States will not hesitate in using its Veto power should the efforts to bury the report fail.
Iran asks UN atomic body to oversee fuel production
2/8/2010 - Press TV - Iran on Monday informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in an official letter that from Tuesday, it will begin enriching higher-grade nuclear fuel. " Today we handed over the letter," Iran's envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, told Press TV. He said Iran has asked the UN nuclear agency to dispatch its inspectors to the country to oversee the process of the 20 percent enrichment work. Iran says as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it is entitled to enrich uranium for civilian purposes. On Sunday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered the country's nuclear organization to take measures to produce the fuel for the Tehran reactor domestically. He, however, stressed that a nuclear swap deal with the West is still possible. Soltanieh said Iran will use its nuclear stockpile to enrich uranium to up to 20 percent to supply the Tehran research reactor which produces medical isotopes. The fuel will be produced at the Natanz enrichment plant.
Uruknet
Building back in Gaza - with mud bricks
Uruknet February 8, 2010 - Hassan al-Err, aged 67, and his seven-member family are moving into a mud house built by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip, because other building materials are not available. The two-bedroom house in the Ezbet Abed Rabbo neighbourhood of Jabaliya town, north of Gaza City, is an improvement on the tent...
Tel Aviv's hydra-headed monster
Uruknet February 8, 2010 - It's surely ironic that the country that complains loudest about terrorism has assassination squads travelling the world in search of prey. The murder of Hamas commander Mahmoud Al Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel room last month is believed to have been carried out by members of the Mossad allegedly using Irish passports. And the fact that...
IRAN: As many as 3 million protesters anticipated at Thursday rally
Uruknet February 8, 2010 - The 22nd day of the Persian calendar month of Bahman, the date 31 years ago when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini declared Iran an Islamic republic, is traditionally a time for official patriotic fervor and the unveiling of national achievements. But on Sunday, a source inside Tehran police headquarters told a friend of the Los Angeles Times in...
Poll result shows that "the majority of Palestinians oppose the resumption of negotiations without the pre-conditions"
Uruknet February 8, 2010 - An independent Palestinian news agency says that the majority of Palestinians are opposed to any resumption of negotiations with the Israelis without pre-conditions. According to a poll conducted by Sama on its website, 836 out of 1356 participants, 62%, said they oppose the resumption of indirect negotiations, as is now proposed, without any pre-conditions set by...
Danny Ayalon’s Arrival Sparks Outrage In London
Uruknet February 8, 2010 - A protest march will be held in London today against the arrival of deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign and British Muslim Initiative are co-ordinating the march, expected to number several hundred, to highlight the ongoing human rights abuses perpetrated by the Israeli government. Ayalon is the first Knesset member to visit Britain...
Israel admits detention of international activists illegal
Uruknet February 8, 2010 - A state prosecutor admitted before the Supreme Court today that the Immigration Police illegally detained the two international activists arrested yesterday in a pre-dawn raid on the International Solidarity Movement’s Ramallah offices. The two will be released on bail. Earlier today, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the release on bail of the two activists who were...
Iran: Student Facing Execution for Throwing Rocks
Uruknet February 8, 2010 - The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran today strongly condemned the prosecution of a young student activist, Mohammad Amin Valian, under the charge of Moharebeh, or "enmity against God," which is punishable by death and called the charges "grossly disproportionate." At least nine other protestors have been sentenced to death in similar unfair trials and...
Video: Gazans recycle rubble to rebuild
Uruknet February 8, 2010 - Palestinians have been forced to innovate ways to rebuild houses destroyed during last year’s war on Gaza. That is because an Israeli blockade is preventing construction materials from getting into the Gaza Strip. Many therefore are collecting rubble from destroyed homes, smuggling in cement from Egypt, and using the two to make concrete blocks. The quality...
Dozens of Palestinians injured as Israelis raid refugee camp
Uruknet February 8, 2010 - Israel police injured dozens of Palestinians in violence that broke out after they raided a refugee camp on the edge of Jerusalem on Monday, a Palestinian news agency reported. Israeli police moved into the camp early on Monday to arrest tax evaders while Palestinians, mostly schoolchildren, retaliated in the afternoon by hurling stones. Over 10 people...
Sheikh Jarrah settlers threaten Palestinians with M-16 for the second time in 8 days
Uruknet February 8, 2010 - Today at around 3PM, a settler named Yoni was caught spray painting a swastika on the Ghawi tent by an Palestinian who was driving by in his truck. The truck driver yelled at the settler, Yoni and called the police. When the police arrived they ignored the settler and accused neighborhood Palestinians of having painted the...
Stop the Wall offices hit in late night raid
Uruknet February 8, 2010 - Late last night Occupation forces raided the Stop the Wall offices in Ramallah. Some 10 military jeeps, hummers and an armoured bus surrounded the building as soldiers searched rooms, turning the office upside down and confiscating computer hard disks, laptops, and video cameras along with paper documents, CDs, and video cassettes. Part of the mounting repression...
Health conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails
Uruknet February 8, 2010 - Since the beginning of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967 the number of Palestinians detained is in excess of 700,000 men, women and children, representing 20% of the Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories. The current number of prisoners and detainees is estimated at between 8,000 – 10,000 spread around...
Palestine Telegraph
Dangerous cracks in Al-Aqsa Mosque discovered
Jerusalem, February 9, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf (endowment) and Heritage warned on Monday of large, dangerous cracks in the northern wall of Al-Aqsa Mosue, confirming that theses cracks were caused by Israel's unrelenting escalation of excavation in the vicinity. Al-Aqsa Foundation warned of the gravity of the cracks occurring in the Al-mutwadeat (ablution) area, where cracks...
Abbas mulls peace talks, expects U.S. reply soon
Tokyo, February 9, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Palestinian leaders have not set specific terms on which they would accept a U.S. offer to mediate indirect peace talks with Israel, and expect clarification on such talks in a week, President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday. The United States has proposed circumventing a dispute preventing the resumption of talks, stalled for more...
Gaza zoo where the zebras were not all they seemed
Gaza Strip, February 08, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) -The two painted mules in Marah Land zoo in Gaza, one of which has now died An emaciated lion, a hyperactive camel, and the only "zebra" in Palestine - this unusual assortment of animals could soon be yours. Mahra Land, a ramshackle zoo in Gaza, is now on the market. The zoo...
Shalit activists to obstruct visits to Palestinian prisoners
Palestine, February 9, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - A few dozen activists for the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who is kept in Gaza, gathered on Tuesday near Hadarim Prison to block family members of Palestinian prisoners from visiting their relatives in jail. Hadar Miller, one of the event's organizers, claimed: "It is absurd that the Palestinian prisoners in...
Friends of Humanity: 2009 is the worst year in the history of Palestinian detainees
Palestine, February 8, 2010 ( Pal Telegraph) - Friends of Humanity International organization, based in Vienna, issued on Saturday a detailed report entitled "Beyond the Sun" on the reality of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails; the organization reported that 2009 was the worst year in history of Palestinian detainees utterly. "In 2009, The Israeli Prison service practiced new methods of torture...
The National
Palestinian reconciliation on a knife-edge
The National 8 Feb 2010 - Hamas leaders outline possible follow-up measures to build up trust, but anger among followers of two factions still runs deep.
The height of Israeli intransigence
The National 8 Feb 2010 - The mayor of Jerusalem has been told to evict eight families from an illegal block built by Jewish settlers. In retaliation, he has threatened to demolish 200 Palestinian homes.
Egypt struggles with population surge
The National 8 Feb 2010 - The country's families minister admits measures have failed to cut the number of children living on the streets.
The Media Line
Arab Censorship Warrior Gets Democracy Prize
The Media Line 7 Feb 2010 - Yemeni developer of software to circumvent online censors wins prestigious European democracy award. A Yemeni academic who developed software that allows netcitizens throughout the world to circumvent government censorship of websites has been awarded the 2010...
Egyptians Rile Over Mosque Cameras
The Media Line 7 Feb 2010 - Egyptians are worried security forces are abusing their powers in monitoring mosques with surveillance cameras. Egyptians are protesting against a plan to install surveillance cameras in thousands of mosques throughout the country. Egypt's Ministry of Islamic...
Tourism Explodes as Syrian Airline Grounded
The Media Line 7 Feb 2010 - Despite skyrocketing tourist numbers, Syrian Air remains grounded due to U.S. sanctions. International tourism to Syria may be burgeoning, but getting there is increasingly difficult due to U.S. sanctions that have essentially grounded Syria's national airline....
Egypt Cracks Down on Muslim Brotherhood, Arrests Key Leaders
The Media Line 7 Feb 2010 - Egyptian security forces have detained over a dozen members of the outlawed but highly popular Muslim Brotherhood, including three of its senior leaders. Reports from Egypt identified one of the detainees as Mahmoud Ezzat, the Brotherhood's...
Ahmadinejad Gives Orders to Begin Enriching Uranium
The Media Line 7 Feb 2010 - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has given orders to his Atomic Energy Organization to go ahead with higher-grade enrichment of its uranium stockpile on its own. Ahmadinejad said the enrichment from 3.5 percent to 20 percent was...
Netanyahu's Visit to Russia Expected to Focus on Blocking Iran
The Media Line 7 Feb 2010 - Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and other leaders during an official visit next week to Moscow. This will be Netanyahu's first official visit to Russia, though he secretly...
Ambassador At Very Large
The Media Line 6 Feb 2010 - Arab states reject senior diplomat whose name refers to large male genitals in Arabic. Up until just over a month ago, His Excellency Miangul Akbar Zeb had lived an esteemed life as one of Pakistan's most...
Egypt-Israel Gas Deal Realized Despite Popular Discontent
The Media Line 6 Feb 2010 - A new deal increasing the export of Egyptian natural gas to Israel has come into effect despite popular protest in Egypt. The Egyptian Mediterranean Gas company, which exports natural gas to the state owned Israel Electric...
Aljazeera
Alternative Information Center
Berlusconi, Israel and the Big Brother
Alternative Information Center 5 Feb 2010 - After the three-day visit of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to Israel and a short visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, a judgement is due. Berlusconi came with a large Italian ministry delegation (Foreign Minister Franco...
Palestine News Network
"Behind the Marathon : Playing together and involving the fathers"
PNN 9 Feb 2010 - Nablus - 08/02/10: On Saturday, about 1.300 children and fathers from 5 villages South of Nablus (Burin, Madama, Einabus, Urif and Assira) participated to a marathon race. More than a sport event, the marathon was a community-based activity that aimed at improving vulnerable children’s psychosocial well-being.The Burin marathon was a fathers’ activity that stood as the launching event for a wider year-long...
The Kairos Document
PNN 8 Feb 2010 - This document is the Christian Palestinians’ word to the world about what is happening in Palestine. It is written at this time when we wanted to see the Glory of the grace of God in this land and in the sufferings of its people. In this spirit the document requests the international community to stand by the Palestinian people who have faced...
Israel bars Palestinian expert on settlements from travel abroad
PNN 8 Feb 2010 - Interior Minister Eli Yishai has banned Palestinian geographer Khalil Tufakji, a resident of Jerusalem, from traveling abroad for six months, citing unspecified security concerns. The ban was issued on the recommendation of the Shin Bet security service and is based on 1948 Emergency regulations. Having been convinced that there is real concern that the exit of Mr. Khalil Tufakji from Israel may...
Israel kidnaps 70 Palestinian workers
PNN 8 Feb 2010 - Israeli occupation forces kidnapped 70 Palestinian workers overnight in the west bank near Bait Aor Al-Tahta village, in west of Ramallah. The workers were hidden in a van as they were not given permissions to work inside 1948 occupied lands. The workers were hiding in a van launched from Jerusalem towards the1948 occupied lands.Shaher Sad, the secretary general of the Palestine General...
Jerusalem Post
Inter Press Service
MIDEAST: Gazans Denied Justice as Rights Take a Beating
IPS RAMALLAH, Feb 5 (IPS) - Gazans hoping for a modicum of justice following Israel’s indiscriminate military assault on the coastal territory during December 2008 and January 2009 - which left 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, dead - could be waiting in vain.
EGYPT: Minimum Wage Not Enough
IPS CAIRO, Feb 4 (IPS) - A stalemate between labour unions and business associations is preventing Egyptian authorities from setting a minimum wage that could improve the lot of millions of citizens living in poverty.
MIDEAST: Raze Illegal Buildings - Unless They Are Jewish
IPS SILWAN, Occupied East Jerusalem, Feb 3 (IPS) - Backed by armed security men, the municipal inspectors race their jeeps through the narrow alleyways and up a hillside crowded with buildings.
MIDEAST: Corrupt Arab Regimes - Who is to Blame?
IPS RAMALLAH, Feb 2 (IPS) - The Mideast continues to be plagued by autocratic Arab regimes where human rights, democracy and freedom of speech are a pipe dream for the average citizen. But who is to blame and what can be done to amend this situation?
Palestinian
Center for Human Rights
International Solidarity Movement
International activists to accompany Gazan farmers
2/9/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - On Tuesday the 9th February 2010, ISM Gaza volunteers will be accompanying farmers from the village of Khuza'a near Khan Younis to their land near the border with Israel where soldiers fired at the farmers recently on several occasions. Several farmers have been shot by Israeli forces while farming their lands. 5 June 2009, Shoka, Rafah: Khaled Ismail Mohammed Jahjuh was shot in his lower spine by the Israeli army. 3 June 2009, Beit Hanoun: Ali Mohammed al-Zummara, 65, injured by shrapnel in the back. 3 June 2009, Beit Hanoun: Saleh Mohammed al-Zummara, 66, injured by a gunshot to the left hand. 3 June 2009, Bedouin village ‘Um An-Nassir': Ahmed Tawfiq Abu Hashish, 17, injured by shrapnel to the left shoulder and foot. 3 June 2009, Bedouin village ‘Um An-Nassir': Saleh Ahmed al-Madani, 17, seriously. . .
Sheikh Jarrah settlers threaten Palestinians with M-16 for the second time in 8 days
2/8/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Today at around 3PM, a settler named Yoni was caught spray painting a swastika on the Ghawi tent by an Palestinian who was driving by in his truck. The truck driver yelled at the settler, Yoni and called the police. When the police arrived they ignored the settler and accused neighborhood Palestinians of having painted the swastika. Palestinians painted over the swastika to prevent further accusations. Later, at 5. 30 the settler came back again and this time accompanied with another settler dressed in army uniform. This time they threatened the 87 years old Rifka Al-Kurd with a M-16 machine gun and said that they would kill her. All this was taped by the Al-Kurd daughter and the recording was shown to the police who arrived 15 to 20 minutes after the incident started. The settler who was carrying the machine gun was arrested, but the one called Yoni managed to escape the scene before the police arrived.
Israel admits detention of international activists illegal
2/8/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - A state prosecutor admitted before the Supreme Court today that the Immigration Police illegally detained the two international activists arrested yesterday in a pre-dawn raid on the International Solidarity Movement's Ramallah offices. The two will be released on bail. Earlier today, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the release on bail of the two activists who were arrested on Sunday during a pre-dawn raid on the Ramallah media office of the International Solidarity Movement. During the hearing, the State Prosecutor admitted that it was illegal for the Immigration Police to receive custody of the two in the Occupied Territories, where it has no legal authority. While the illegality of the detention of the two, Ariadna Jove Marti, a Spanish journalist, and Bridgette Chappell, an Australian student in the Beir Zeit university, by the Immigration Police is now undisputed, the overall legality of the raid remains contested.
Israeli forces fire upon a demonstration in Gaza
2/8/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - The Israeli army fired four shots and shouted abuse at the group of about 40 Palestinians and internationals who, on Monday 8th February ‘10, walked within 50 meters of the Erez border crossing, waving Palestinian flags and chanting demands for justice and an end to the Occupation. Similar demonstrations have taken place weekly for over a month and this is the closest that the demonstrators got to the border, so far. To mark the occasion two Palestinian flags were placed at the furtherest spots the demonstrators reached. ‘ I don’t think a Palestinian set a foot at this place for a long time’, said a participant. The organizers, the volunteers form the ‘Local Initiative’ in Beit Hanoun were inspired by the similar peaceful resistance initiatives in Ni’lin ans Bil’in. Their aim is to support people who have farms in the so called ‘buffer zone’, a 300 metre wide belt of Palestinian land which Israelis declared a no-go area.
Ha'aretz
Diplomacy page
The
Guardian
Building a peaceful future | Seth Freedman
The Guardian 9 Feb 2010 - Plans for a mixed Arab and Jewish neighbourhood in Jerusalem could be a step towards eradicating decades of hostility For all that Jerusalem is perpetually mired in clashes between rival groups of Arab and Jewish residents,...
Christian Aid's anti-Israel blunders | Adam Levick
The Guardian 8 Feb 2010 - By hosting vicious attacks on Israel, Christian Aid is destroying its reputation as a non-partisan charitable organisation Christian Aid, one of the world's largest anti-poverty NGOs, chose 27 January, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, to issue a...
Ha'aretz
National page
Relief Web
YNet
News
Iran says starts work on making 20% atom fuel
YNet News
9 Feb 2010 - Atomic Energy Organization spokesman in Tehran says Islamic Republic started preparatory work on producing high-grade nuclear fuel at 0600 GMT 'in presence of IAEA representatives'. Meanwhile, China urges more talks on nuclear plans
Shalit activists protest family visits for Palestinian prisoners
YNet News
9 Feb 2010 - Some 60 activists from Shalit release campaign protest in front of Hadarim Prison, intend to block families of Palestinian prisoners from visiting their relatives. 'Absurd that they have cell phones, 12-channel television, and Gilad is not afforded even one visit'
Arab students disrupt speech by Israeli envoy to US
YNet News
9 Feb 2010 - Michael Oren, Israeli ambassador to United States, gives speech at University of Californian, is interrupted by students shouting, 'How many Palestinians have you killed?', 'Israel is a murderer'. Ten students detained, Oren continues speech to crowd's applause
Fatah wants US to clarify Israeli talks
YNet News
9 Feb 2010 - Fatah official Nasser al-Kidwa urges Washington to make clear that indirect Mideast peace talks will deal with key outstanding issues including borders, settlements, status of Jerusalem
Livni: Allowing Israelis to vote abroad immoral
YNet News
8 Feb 2010 - Opposition leader slams Netanyahu's plan to submit bill allowing all Israeli citizens who live overseas to vote, says 'Israel's future, character should be determined by people who live here'
Saudis urge firm stance on Israel after handshake with Ayalon
YNet News
8 Feb 2010 - Riyadh appeals to international community on need for 'rigorous position' regarding Israel's 'threats against Lebanon, Syria and Palestinians.' Ex-head of Saudi intelligence downplays significance of Munich encounter with deputy FM
US, France lead calls for sanctions against Iran
YNet News
8 Feb 2010 - After Tehran announces plans to produce higher-enriched uranium, add 10 nuclear sites in a year, US Defense Secretary Gates and French President Sarkozy agree Islamic Republic should face 'strong sanctions' over its nuclear program. Possible targets for sanctions: Iran's central bank, Revolutionary Guards
Hamas sees 'no prospects' for Mideast peace
YNet News
8 Feb 2010 - After meeting with Russian foreign minister Khaled Mashaal says Israeli leaders block negotiations with PA, Syria and Lebanon by 'bringing war and occupation,' leaving Russia's hopes of holding regional peace conference in doubt
Stop The Wall
Stop the Wall offices hit in late night raid
Stop The Wall8 Feb 2010 - February 8th, 2010, Late last night Occupation forces raided the Stop the Wall offices in Ramallah. Part of the mounting repression of the anti-Wall movement, this attack on the Campaign offices comes after arrests of Stop the Wall staff and an dramatically increasing number of grassroots activists struggling against the Wall.
Join the second Global BDS Day of Action!
Stop The Wall8 Feb 2010 - February 7th, 2010, The BDS National Committee (BNC) is calling on you to unite in your different capacities and struggles for a Global BDS Day of Action on 30 March 2010 in solidarity with the Palestinian people and for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel.
Daily Star
Iran tells UN of enrichment plan as new sanctions loom
Daily Star 9 Feb 2010 Iran said Monday it has formally told the UN nuclear watchdog of its plan to produce higher enriched uranium, sparking fresh warnings by world powers of new sanctions against the Islamic Republic. "Iran's official letter about commencing the 20 percent enrichment activity in order to provide fuel for the Tehran reactor has been handed over to the IAEA"
Expect only modest US gains from thaw with Syria: analysts
Daily Star 9 Feb 2010 The Obama team may get modest benefits from ending a five-year chill with Damascus but will find it hard, if not impossible to peel Syria way from hardline ally Iran and break the Arab-Israeli stalemate, analysts said. US President Barack Obama's administration said last week it submitted its nominee for ambassador to Damascus, the fruit of a year-long drive to engage Syria in a bid to promote Arab-Israeli peace
Palestinians want peace talks to focus on borders
Daily Star 9 Feb 2010 Palestinian officials demanded on Monday that any US-backed peace talks with Israel focus on border issues and be given a deadline of up to four months. Washington has proposed circumventing a dispute preventing the resumption of talks, stalled for more than a year since a war in Gaza, by reconvening in the form of "proximity talks" on an indirect basis, under closer US mediation
Egypt arrests 3 top Muslim Brotherhood leaders
Daily Star 9 Feb 2010 The Number two leader of Egypt's opposition Muslim Brotherhood and two other top figures have been arrested by police Monday in a dawn sweep targeting members of the nation's most powerful opposition group across the country. The arrests, part of an ongoing crackdown, come just as the group chose a new leadership and ahead of parliamentary elections set for October
Hamas leader holds talks on Palestinian unity in Moscow
Daily Star 9 Feb 2010 The leader of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas met in Moscow Monday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for talks on efforts to reunify the two main Palestinian independence movements. "We met to pursue our discussions, and our principal goal is to build on efforts brokered by Egypt to secure Palestinian unity," Lavrov told reporters at the start of talks with Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal
Israeli police raid East Jerusalem refugee camp
Daily Star 9 Feb 2010 Israeli security forces on Monday raided a Palestinian refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem, arresting 11 people in an operation police said was aimed at putting "some order" in the area. Dozens of police and border police forces in jeeps entered the densely populated Shuafat camp in the north of occupied and occupied East Jerusalem after midnight, witnesses and police said
Iran reformist leaders deny links to foreigners
Daily Star 9 Feb 2010 Iran's top reformist leaders on Monday rejected the authorities' accusation that the opposition movement had links to foreigners and urged people to attend rallies on Thursday marking the 1979 Islamic revolution. The opposition is expected to revive anti-government protests at the February 11 events, raising fears of further clashes with the security forces
Rights group: Bahrain has resumed torturing detainees
Daily Star 9 Feb 2010 The Gulf kingdom of Bahrain resumed torturing detainees in 2007 after about a decade of not engaging in the "scourge," US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released Monday. As of late 2007, "torture is back in the repertoire of Bahrain's security services" the international watchdog said in the report
Sfeir: We are a nation of 'civilized minorities'
Daily Star 9 Feb 2010 The Maronite Patriarch said Monday the Lebanese National Pact was a covenant among the country's religious minorities rather than a bilateral compromise between Christians and Muslims. On the eve of the anniversary of the Maronites patron Saint Maroun, Sfeir warned Maronites against selling their land and stressed that Lebanon, though not the Maronites' country of origin
Nahas calls for turning Beirut into Arab broadcasters' center
Daily Star 9 Feb 2010 Telecommunications Minister Charbel Nahas pledged on Monday to provide all the facilities required to make Lebanon and especially Beirut a city center for all broadcasters' studios which have the capacity of providing the best technologies and most modern techniques. "Lebanon will make every effort in order to transform Beirut to an open city for broadcasters
Too much ado about a handshake
Daily Star 9 Feb 2010 There are handshakes, and then there are handshakes. One type of handshake took place recently in Europe, at a security conference in Munich, between Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal and Israeli official Danny Ayalon. Naturally, the incident has sparked a commotion in the Arab world, similar to such occasions in the past. Such "scandals" are a dreary waste of time and effort
Ethiopian Airliner's flight recorders sent to France
Daily Star 9 Feb 2010 The flight recorders from the Ethiopian Airlines plane which crashed off the coast of Beirut were transported Monday to France, where investigators hope to unlock the secret of what caused the disaster. A team of specialists left Rafik Hariri International Airport at dawn with the black boxes on Prime Minister Saad Hariri's private plane, the National News Agency reported
Palestinian Information Center
Los
Angeles Times
Iran plans to build 10 more nuclear plants
LA Times 9 Feb 2010 - Despite Western threats of sanctions, Tehran says it will build more nuclear fuel plants and beef up its military. As Iran moved to enrich uranium to a higher level of purity and build new nuclear-fuel plants, U.S. and French defense officials suggested Monday that sanctions were needed to force Tehran to curb its nuclear program.
Iran lawyer haunted by young man's execution
LA Times 8 Feb 2010 - Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh is filled with rage over the treatment of her client, 20-year-old Arash Rahmanipour, who was not defended in court and then was quietly put to death. The defendant met with his lawyer once for 15 minutes before he was sentenced to death and hanged.
Defying the West, Iran's president orders boost in nuclear enrichment
LA Times 8 Feb 2010 - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tells his atomic energy chief to increase uranium enrichment from 3.5% to 20% as talks over a nuclear-fuel exchange sputter. Iran's energy chief says it's simply an 'alert.' In a move possibly meant to deflect attention from his domestic political woes, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday ordered the nation's atomic energy agency to begin enriching uranium to a higher level of purity to serve as fuel for a Tehran medical reactor.
Israeli conservatives attack U.S.-based philanthropy as unpatriotic
LA Times 8 Feb 2010 - Nationalist groups accuse the New Israel Fund of seeking to undermine Israel, alleging that rights groups it has sponsored provided most of the testimony to a U.N. panel on the Gaza war. A U.S.-based philanthropy that funds human rights groups in Israel is under fire amid accusations that its recipients provided the bulk of evidence to a U.N. commission that issued a report highly critical of Israel's Gaza Strip war a year ago.
New York Times
Misc 2
Danny Ayalon's Arrival Sparks Outrage In London
Palestine Monitor - 8 Feb 2010 - A protest march will be held in London today against the arrival of deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign and British Muslim Initiative are co-ordinating the march, expected to number several hundred, to highlight the ongoing human rights abuses perpetrated by the Israeli...
Human Rights Groups Say Israel and Hamas Fail in Investigations
Mondoweiss - 8 Feb 2010 - A chorus of statements from human rights organizations has determined that both Israel and Palestinian authorities have failed to conduct independent, impartial investigations into alleged war crimes committed during last year’s Israeli assault on Gaza. The United Nations’ Goldstone report called on both sides to conduct...
‘New York Times Fails to Disclose Possible Conflict of Interest’–ABC News
Mondoweiss - 8 Feb 2010 - Story itself is a rehash . But the headline is choice, and echoes the EI item that broke the kerfuffle. Related posts: In Political Coverage, ‘The Times’ Fails to Identify the Jewish Right First it was Jayson Blair. Now ‘Times’ fails to identify ‘mishpocha’ as Yiddish In...
Goldberg is neo-segregationist
Mondoweiss - 8 Feb 2010 - Listen to Jeffrey Goldberg on the Ethan Bronner flap, saying his friend should of course stay in Jerusalem: this is a somewhat obvious point except to propagandists, reporters are capable of actually separating out their personal interests from their coverage. I’ve worked with Palestinian reporters in...
Ahmed Moor wants to make aliyah!
Mondoweiss - 8 Feb 2010 - Dear friends, I’m finished with Beirut; I’m moving to Israel. There is a remarkable philanthropic organization called Nefesh B’Nefesh seeking people just like me for “the first ever formal initiative to populate Israel’s northern region with English speaking Olim.” My options are a little limited; I...
Bronner story keeps on ticking
Mondoweiss - 8 Feb 2010 - Gray lady has a thorn in her side. Bernard Avishai says (and I tend to agree) that Ethan Bronner shouldn’t be moved from Jerusalem just because his son joined the IDF. But Avishai then quotes Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn in a highminded (and dual-nationalized) struggle...
Articles
Fear of peace will be the death of Israel
Bradley Burston, Ha’aretz
2/3/2010
SHEIKH JARRAH, Jerusalem - As the grandson of anarchists, I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for fanatics. Expressions of extremism, and passionately reasoned, exquisitely twisted world views make me feel, how shall I put this, at home.
So it was with a certain relish that I approached the cover story of a recent issue of Commentary, "The Deadly Price of Pursuing Peace," written as it was by a talented colleague and friend, Evelyn Gordon.
The thrust of the piece, which Commentary Editor John Podhoretz understandably calls "groundbreaking," is that Israel’s international standing has plummeted to an unprecedented low - and the number of Palestinians killed by Israel has concurrently soared - specifically because of Israel’s having done much too much for peace.
"The answer is unpleasant to contemplate, but the mounting evidence makes it inescapable," she writes. "It was Israel’s very willingness to make concessions for the sake of peace that has produced its current near-pariah status."
The essay has the seamless, compellingly elegant, hyper-lucid, parallel universe logic of a hallucination - or a settlement rooted in the craw of the West Bank. Until I read it, it was difficult for me to comprehend the current runaway-freight recklessness of Israeli authorities and a certain segment of the hard right, bolstered by shady funding from abroad.
It was hard to fathom why Israeli police in this quiet hollow of the Arab half of Jerusalem, would choose to openly flout and violate the rulings of an Israeli court. I was unable to grasp why they would manhandle and arrest non-violent demonstrators - among them the executive director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel - for protesting the official expulsion from their homes of more than two dozen Palestinian families here, driven out and into the street, so that subsidized and sheltered settlers could move in. more.. e-mail
The Israeli-US Unbreakable Relations
Khalid Amayreh, Desert Peace
2/8/2010
Ever since the ill-fated Rogers Plan, proposed and named after former US secretary of state William Rogers in 1969, every American administration made ostensibly exhaustive efforts to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. However, all these efforts failed miserably, apparently due to Israel’s adamant refusal to give up the spoils of the 1967 War.
Another key reason behind the failure of the US peace diplomacy in the Middle East is the US reluctance and consistent refusal to exert meaningful pressure on Israel to abide by international law, which further emboldened Israel and made the Jewish state bask undisturbed in its rejectionism and arrogance of power.
In 1969, Golda Meir, the former Israeli prime minister, who displayed characteristic Zionist arrogance, as well as profound pathological hatred of Arabs, flatly rejected the Rogers Plan, describing it as a “disaster” for Israel and saying that “it would be irresponsible for any Israeli government to support such a plan.”
In1969, Israel’s cabinet formally rejected the plan, and in 1970, 70 American senators and 280 representatives rejected the plan as “being too one-sided against Israel.”
That was 40 years ago; today, the Obama administration is regurgitating more or less the same ideas, centering on the concept of the land-for-peace formula. Other US administrations under presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr, Bill Clinton, and George W Bush employed the same ideas in formulating their respective Middle East initiatives, but to no avail. more.. e-mail
Israel’s Crisis Deepens Over Gaza War Crimes Report
Chris Marsden, World Socialist Web Site, Global Research
2/8/2010
United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-moon threw a lifeline to Israel yesterday, stating that there was not yet enough evidence to say whether Israel or the Palestinians are complying with UN demands to investigate allegations of war crimes during the 22-day Israeli assault on Gaza.
Submissions by Israel and the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority remained incomplete, he said, on the day both were due to respond to last year’s Goldstone report accusing Israel and Hamas of war crimes. Following Goldstone’s report, the UN General Assembly has demanded that both Israel and Hamas launch independent investigations into their conduct during Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009.
Though both parties were cited in the report by Richard Goldstone, a South African judge, Israel faces far more serious charges. It is accused of deliberately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure in a conflict that saw over 1,400 Palestinians killed—compared with 13 Israelis killed—and the full or partial destruction of more than 21,000 buildings and apartments, including more than 200 major factories.
Ban Ki-Moon could have urged the convening of a special tribunal at The Hague. His statement is a de facto rejection of the dossier Israel produced claiming to account for its war crimes, but he still chose to praise Israel for having supposedly diligently investigated the allegations made against it. This statement is extraordinary, given the fact that the release of Israel’s dossier contained an admission that at least one war crime Israel had repeatedly denied had in fact occurred and that evidence confirming another was uncovered just days after its release. more.. e-mail
Jerusalem mayor to raze 200 Palestinian homes
Electronic Intifada: 9 Feb 2010 - Jerusalem's mayor threatened last week to demolish 200 homes in Palestinian neighborhoods of the city in an act even he conceded would probably bring long-simmering tensions over housing in East Jerusalem to a boil. His uncompromising stance is the latest stage in a protracted legal battle over a single building towering above the jumble of modest homes of Silwan. Jonathan Cook reports from Jerusalem.
United solidarity with Gaza
Electronic Intifada: 8 Feb 2010 - Once the Gaza Freedom March arrived in Cairo I repeatedly heard justification that organizers did not want to put Egyptian protesters at risk. Yet, Egyptians regularly protest in Egypt despite the risks. For a group of outsiders to justify the exclusion of our involvement without asking our opinion -- in spite of the good intentions of "protecting" us -- felt paternalistic and demeaning. Philip Rizk comments for The Electronic Intifada.
Justice denied in Gaza
Electronic Intifada: 8 Feb 2010 - RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Gazans hoping for a modicum of justice following Israel's indiscriminate military assault on the coastal territory during December 2008 and January 2009 -- which left 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, dead -- could be waiting in vain. The Israeli government has taken the offensive in the propaganda battle and attacked United Nations-appointed Justice Richard Goldstone's report into war crimes committed during the war.
Danny Ayalon's Arrival Sparks Outrage In London
Palestine Monitor: 8 Feb 2010 - A protest march will be held in London today against the arrival of deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign and British Muslim Initiative are co-ordinating the march, expected to number several hundred, to highlight the ongoing human rights abuses perpetrated by the Israeli government. Ayalon is the first Knesset member to visit Britain since arrest warrants were submitted for Tzipi Livni in December. Livni, along with defense minister Ehud Barak, were spared a legal trial through the diplomatic immunity they enjoyed as ministers on a state visit. Prosecution lawyers argued the Knesset members were implicated in war crimes relating to Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, with Michael Massih QC stating international law "places a direct responsibility not only on those who pull the trigger, but on those higher up the chain of command". Ayalon's last visit to the capital, in October 2009, was marked by a large...
The Useless Logic of Round Numbers: War is Criminal Any Day
Palestine Chronicle: 8 Feb 2010 - By Ramzy Baroud The media's habit of revisiting certain issues at set intervals can be strange and even illogical at times. For example, many news outlets commented on President Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office, as well as on the anniversary of his election win, and then again one year after his inauguration day. With every new round number, more commentators joined in and discussions heated up between proponents and detractors of his government’s performance. I am not exactly sure why we like round numbers. Is it because they make valuations easy, even when the particular number is irrelevant? Some philosophers, Plato included, believed that order and symmetry are innate values in the human psyche. Perhaps. Or, perhaps, in the case of the media, numbers give us the sense, deceptively, that we have a grasp over certain truths. We determine the order in which legacies such as Obama’s should be dissected. After a decided date, the subject can be ignored until the next round number arrives, bringing with it more useless chatter. Of course, this is a delusion. Like much of the media’s behaviour, it has no connection to reality. It’s all a mind game. A lie, even. For victims of US policies in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, and elsewhere, the attention given to round numbers is wholly illogical. The drones flying over Afghanistan and Pakistan, loaded with killing technology, care little for numbers, including the number of lives they destroy daily. Did Gazans starve less when we ‘examined’ Obama’s (...
Is One Iraqi's Self-Hatred Newsworthy?
Palestine Chronicle: 7 Feb 2010 - By M. Shahid Alam An Arab-American of Lebanese descent, fluent in Arabic, Anthony Shadid was one of a handful of unembedded Western journalists reporting from Iraq during the US invasion in 2003. At the time, he was The Washington Post's correspondent for Islamic Affairs in the Middle East. His dispatches from Iraq were about Iraqis, about the destruction visited upon them by a war whose architects claimed that they were bringing democracy to that country. He reported the destruction and mayhem caused by this war by letting the Iraqis speak for themselves: and they spoke of their pain, their anguish, their perplexity and their anger. For his honest reporting, for a job well done, Anthony Shadid received some of the highest accolades of his profession. In 2004 he received the Michael Kelly Award and the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting. Other honors followed, all well-deserved. He had won his spurs for reporting, not cheerleading, neither praising nor denouncing the United States. He was reporting for The Washington Post, a neoconservative newspaper. On Jan 29, I noticed for the first time a report in The New York Times that carried Anthony Shadid’s byline. It was written from Halaichiya, a remote village in the southern tip of Iraq, untouched by the war. The village had not seen any Americans since the invasion, neither troops nor diplomats. Hlaichiya has no electricity. Among its rare signs of modernity, we are told, are a few cell phones, charged by a single generator that “villagers run...
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