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Monday, March 1, 2010
Sheikh Yousef Disowns His Son
IMEMC - Monday March 01, 2010 - 23:35, Hamas leader, Sheikh Hasan Yousef, imprisoned by Israel at the Negev detention camp, has officially disowned his son who converted to Christianity and also collaborated with the Israeli security, Shabak, several years ago.
Report: Israel Kills Four Palestinians, Detains 300 In February
IMEMC - Monday March 01, 2010 - 17:18, Israel's military had killed four Palestinians and detained 300 others during the month of February 2010, the International Solidarity association for Human Rights reported on Monday.
Four civilians detained by Israeli troops during raids targeting West Bank
IMEMC - Monday March 01, 2010 - 16:12, Four Palestinian civilians were detained by Israeli troops on Monday during military invasions targeting a number of West Bank communities.
One Killed, Three Injured Due To Israeli Shelling Targeting Northern Gaza Strip
IMEMC - Monday March 01, 2010 - 15:48, One Palestinian fighter was killed and three civilians were injured, on Monday, due to separate shelling attacks targeting the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia.
Protest Continues At Osh Ghrab; Met With Military Aggression
IMEMC - Sunday February 28, 2010 - 16:21, Despite recent storms in the Bethlehem area, protest was held at the site of the former military base of Osh Ghrab, east of the town of Beit Sahour. The protest resulted in a display of force from the Israeli military.
Marking Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre; Hamas Calls For Intifada
IMEMC - Friday February 26, 2010 - 22:10, As the Palestinians marked the 16th anniversary of the Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, the Hamas movement issued a statement calling for a new Intifada to protect the Holy Sites and counter ongoing attacks carried out by Israeli soldiers and settlers.
PRC: Israeli shelling kills Gaza fighter
3/2/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli shells killed a member of the Popular Resistance Committees' (PRC) military wing in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip and injured a second on Monday. Abu Atayam, the spokesperson of the PRC's An-Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, said 20-year-old Muhammad Ghabein was killed while on an "observation mission," and monitoring Israeli activity at the Gaza border. Witnesses said four shells were fired at the area. Medical sources at the Kamal Udwan Hospital said a second man was injured by the border area shelling. Locals in the village said several shells were fired at a residential area. An Israeli military spokesman told Ma'an "earlier this afternoon an IDF force identified a squad of Palestinian terror operatives preparing to plant an explosive device along the security fence in the northern Gaza Strip. The force on the scene fired tank shells toward the terror squad. One operative was killed by IDF fire and two were injured. "
Rafah crossing opens after two months of closure
3/1/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah crossing on Monday, allowing Palestinians to both enter and exit Gaza for the first time in two months. Shortly before noon, two buses had already passed into Egypt from the Strip. The increased movement at the crossing is expected to continue for three days, officials said. The de facto government crossings committee said the first bus transferred patients into Egypt, which arrived at 9:30am. The committee said it hoped the three days of open crossings would clear much of the waiting list of patients, students and family members waiting to cross the border. The committee said 7,000 are expected to travel into Egypt during the coming days. . . . .
Report: University inaccessible for Palestinian prisoners
3/1/2010 - Salfit - Ma'an - Palestinian detainees at the Hadarim detention center have been prevented from applying to universities for over a year, the Palestinian Detainees' Center said Monday. Citing the cases of Abu Bilal Shihab, Wael Fanoun, and Sameh Al-Shobaky, the center said the men had been banned from accessing higher education institutes and progressing with their studies since December of 2008. According to the center, the detained students were denied their right to family visits for two months, and prevented from purchasing foodstuffs from the detention center's canteen for a month. Dozens told the center that the Israel Prison Service (IPS) has used solidarity confinement as a punitive measure, claiming security concerns, the center said. Detainees also told the center that the IPS undertakes haphazard searches of prisoners' cells and has banned the access to books and other reading materials, as well as glass drinking glasses. . . . .
Medics: Child hit by Israeli military jeep
3/1/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - A Palestinian child was struck down by an Israeli military jeep on Monday near the Al-Hamra checkpoint, north of Nablus, witnesses said. Palestine Red Crescent medics later identified the girls as Dalal Abu Sa'da, 6, from Beit Dajan east of Nablus, and said she sustained moderate to serious injuries after she was hit by an Israeli military jeep. Witnesses said the child was taken to an Israeli hospital to undergo treatment for her injuries. An Israeli military spokeswoman, however, denied military involvement in the incident, saying as far as the Israeli army was concerned, the incident was a civilian car accident. The spokeswoman added that a Magen David Adom ambulance transferred the child to the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem. The spokeswoman said the ambulance service informed the army that a military jeep was not involved. . . . .
ICRC: Personal photos, clothing permitted into Israeli prison
3/1/2010 - Tulkarem - Ma'an -Israeli authorities informed the Red Cross office in Tulkarem on Sunday that parents of Palestinian detainees would be permitted to bring their children limited personal affects when they visited during the month of March. Officials in the Tulkarem office of the ICRC said the rules immediately applied to inmates at the Megiddo prison, and that parents would be permitted to give the following articles to their children: 3 pairs of underwear, 3 pairs of socks, 3 t-shirts, 1 pair of brown pants without pockets, 5 family photos. [end]
Protesting Israeli prison policies, families to halt visits in April
3/1/2010 - Tulkarem - Ma'an - Families of Palestinians in Israeli prisons will halt visits to loved ones in April, protesting discriminatory and punitive policies enforced by the Israeli prison administration, Palestinian Minister of Prisoners Affair Issa Qaraqe announced Monday. In solidarity with Gaza families who have been prevented from visiting their sons and daughters at all, and in protest of the Israeli policy of limiting visits to prisoners as punishment, families in the West Bank will cease visits entirely for the month of April, Qaraqe said. The minister's comments came during a visit to several families of long-term prisoners in the Tulkarem district, where he was inaugurating Prisoners Freedom Street in the city. According to the minister, at least 1,200 of prisoners with immediate family in the West Bank, and 900 others in Gaza, have been denied visits from their family for the past three years. . . . .
Israel arrests 2 Hebron children for stone throwing
3/1/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - Two brothers were detained by Israeli forces in Hebron and taken to the Ofer detention center on Sunday, for allegedly throwing stones at Israeli soldiers. One brother was released from Israeli custody, while the other will stand before an Israeli military tribunal, their father said. The father, Fadel Al-Muhtaseb, said "a number of Israeli forces detained my children Hassan, 12 and Amir, 7, while they were on Ash-Shalala Street in Hebron. Amir was released ten hours after his detention. " Al-Muhtaseb said he was informed of his children's detention by residents, who said they were taken to an unknown location. When he returned home, he found Amir standing outside the front door. "I received a phone call from one of the detainees in Ofer prison who told me Hassan was there and he will be put before an Israeli military court on charges for throwing stones at Israeli soldiers," the father said.
US Senator John Kerry presses Israel on Gaza access
3/2/2010 - Chicago - Ma'an - US Senator John Kerry raised the issue of Israel's closure of the Gaza Strip during his meetings this week with Israeli and Palestinian officials in the Middle East, his spokesman said on Monday. The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman "did raise Gaza access issues in all of his meetings," said spokesman Frederick Jones on the phone from Washington. "Senator Kerry has long called for heightened access for humanitarian goods and foodstuffs," he added. After his visit Kerry reportedly demanded that Israel allow pasta into Gaza, after learning that spaghetti was one of dozens of items Israel bans from the besieged enclave. Since Hamas took full control of Gaza in June 2007, Israel closed its borders with the Strip, effectively trapping the territory's 1. 5 million inhabitants inside and curtailing imports and exports.
Fatah: Yatta leader sentenced to 22 years in Israeli prison
3/2/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - A prominent member of the Fatah movement in Yatta was sentenced to 22 years, in addition to ten years probabtion, by an Israeli court, the party's office in the Hebron town announced on Monday. According to a party statement, Issa Khalil Nawaj'a was detained on 22 March 2007, six years after Israeli officials issued an arrest warrant for him. The statement did not mention the crime Nawaj'a was wanted for. The Fatah movement in Yatta denounced the sentence and called for the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. [end]
One Gaza crossing partially open
3/1/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - The Kerem Shalom crossing will be partly open for the delivery of 84 truckloads of aid and commercial goods to Gaza on Monday,Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh said. Along with the limited goods, quantities of domestic gas and industrial diesel will also enter the Strip, while three trucks carrying flowers will leave Gaza under a Dutch government program supporting strawberry and carnation farmers in the besieged coastal region. Last week, the final shipment of strawberries exited Gaza, as the strawberry season came to a close. On Sunday, Israel delivered very limited quantities of gas and diesel via the Kerem Shalom crossing, over-ruling an earlier decision to close the terminal due to the Jewish Purim holiday. The holiday ends at sundown on Monday. . . . .
Egyptian police detain Gaza child inside smuggling tunnel
3/1/2010 - Al-Arish - Ma'an - Egyptian security arrested a Palestinian child working inside a smuggling tunnel in the Salah Ad-Din area in Rafah on Monday, reportedly extracting him from the subterranean passage beneath Egyptian soil. Egyptian security forces were searching the area when they located 14-year-old Mustapha Shukry as he hooked up pallets of goods to transport machinery in the tunnel. The security unit removed the child, searched the tunnel for additional workers then began setting up explosives that would destroy the passage, they said. [end]
US ’concerned’ at settlement expansion
3/2/2010 - Chicago - Ma'an - The US State Department voiced concern on Monday over a reported Israeli plan to expand a settlement on Palestinian land in the West Bank. "We've relayed our strong concerns to the government of Israel, that this kind of activity, particularly as we try to relaunch meaningful negotiations is counter-productive and undermines trust between the parties," said State Department spokesman Philip Crowley, as quoted by AFP. The Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Friday that the government approved 600 new units of housing in Pisgat Ze'ev, a settlement near Ramallah in what Israel regards as East Jerusalem. "We have seen reports that plans for 600 housing units in Pisgat Ze'ev in east Jerusalem, originally deposited in 2008, have advanced in the approval process, although we understand that the total number of units has been reduced from the original plan," Crowley told reporters in Washington.
EU: Israeli heritage list ’hinders peace efforts’
3/1/2010 - Chicago - Ma'an - The Eu criticized on Monday Israel's decision to list shrines in Bethlehem and Hebron as national heritage sites. The spokesperson of Catherine Ashton, the EU's high representative for Foreign Affairs and security policy said in a statement, "The High Representative regards the recent decision by the Government of Israel to add sites in Hebron and Bethlehem to the list of Israeli national heritage sites as detrimental to attempts to relaunch peace negotiations. ""The European Union calls on Israel to refrain from provocative acts," the statement added. The decision to lay claim to sites in Palestinian territory sparked Palestinian demonstrations and international criticism. Bashar Jaafari, Syria's ambassador to the UN, speaking on behalf of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), also condemned the "illegality and illegitimacy" of the Israeli decision, as quoted by Al-Jazeera.
Report: Gaza police chief’s car bombed
3/2/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - A bomb was detonated in the car of the Gaza police operations chief on Monday morning, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) said. "At approximately 06:00 on Monday, 01 March 2010, unknown persons detonated a bomb in a car belonging to Talal Banat, 44, chief of police operations in Gaza, when it was parked near his house in al-Nasser Street in the north of Gaza City," PCHR said in a statement. "The car was heavily damaged, but no casualties were reported. The police arrived at the area soon and initiated an investigation," the statement added. The group condemned the attack as a sign of a "state of security chaos and proliferation of weapons" in the Palestinian territories. . . . .
Gaza military court extends detention of UK journalist
3/2/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - A Gaza government military court extended the detention of British journalist and filmmaker Paul Martin on Monday for an additional15 days as an investigation into alleged "security breaches" continues. Spokesman for the de facto government's Ministry of Interior Ihab Al-Ghussein said the military prosecutor agreed to extend Martin's detention pending further investigations. Al-Ghussein said the journalist is being treated in accordance with international law, adding that Martin had been put in touch with his wife. Martin was detained on 14 January a Gaza courtroom when he arrived to testify at the trial of a Palestinian who was accused of collaborating with Israel. Martin reportedly interviewed the accused man for a documentary. The journalist is the first foreign national to be arrested since Hamas took full control of the territory in 2007.
Dahlan: Dubai put Israel on the defensive
3/2/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Israel has been put on the defensive by the exposure of the assassination of a Hamas leader in Dubai, Fatah leader Muhammad Dahlan said on Monday. Dahlan said Israel was clearly responsible for the "ugly murder" of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh and that the Hamas commander had been targeted by the Israeli spy agency Mossad several times. He also praised Dubai police for their role in exposing the alleged assassination. "This is a shift in Arab security work, with Israel as the weaker party this time," he told reporters in his Ramallah office. Al-Mabhouh was found dead in his Dubai hotel room on 20 January. Dubai has accused Mossad of sending a 27-member hit team traveling on European passports to kill him. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied any involvement. Dahlan also revealed a proposal to implement Palestinian reconciliation under the supervision of the Arab League.
In Hebron, PA cabinet criticizes Israeli heritage list
3/1/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - In what was billed as a move to support the city, the Palestinian Authority cabinet held its weekly session in the Hebron Municipality Hall on Monday, protesting Israel's decision to include the Ibrahimi Mosque on the list of its national heritage sites. Under pressure from settlers, Israel listed Hebron's Ibrahimi Mosque and Bethlehem's Rachel's Tomb as national "heritage sites" slated for renovation last week, sparking Palestinian protests. In Hebron, caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the cabinet relocation was intended to mark an official Palestinian presence in the heart of Hebron as a means to counter Israel's controversial heritage list decision. Cabinet member Muhammad Ash-Shtayeh told reporters that the appointed government will "offer what we can to Hebron and its residents. He announced, "We will not allow for Israel to steal our history. We will take measures to force Israel to retreat from their decision.
Lieutenant General Keith Dayton: United States Security Coordinator
3/1/2010 - American Lieutenant General Keith Dayton heads the United States Security Coordinators Team (USSC) in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. The USSC’s raison d'ętre, since its creation in 2005, has been to “reform” the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) security forces. In the years following its creation, the USSC trained and equipped five Palestinian National Security Force (PNSF) battalions, tasked with maintaing law and order within the West Bank. The USSC operates on the principal that the presence of a professional and effective security force is an essential attribute of any future Palestinian state. This precept is not shared by all parties in Palestine. Detractors say the PNSF are in fact a tool of Fatah used to suppress opposition in the form of other political parties or Palestinian resistance movements. Dayton has commanded the training post since December 2005. In 2009, he was asked by US President Barack Obama’s special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, to serve a further two years.
Abbas in Sharm Ash-Sheikh for talks with Mubarak
3/1/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Sharam As-Sheikh on Monday to meet with his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak, during an official visit that will last two days. Following talks with Mubarak, Abbas is tipped to meet with the Arab Peace Initiative (API) Committee on Tuesday, the Ramallah government's WAFA news agency reported. Foreign Ministers of Arab states who are members of the API committee will hear a recount from Abbas of the latest political developments in the occupied Palestinian territories, the US proposal for proximity talks, settlement activity and the terms of peace talks, WAFA wrote. The president recently returned from meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris where he told his French counterpart that he fears a return to violence if peace talks fail to lead to the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state.
Hamas, Fatah trade barbs over stalled PLC session
3/2/2010 - Ramallah/Gaza - Ma'an - Hamas members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) said they were prevented by the Palestinian Authority from attending an emergency session of the body in Ramallah, on Monday which was called for by Hamas-affiliated PLC Speaker Aziz Dweik. Dweik said 31 Hamas deputies, as well as Hassan Khreisha, an independent PLC member, responded to the call for an emergency session but were denied entry into the PLC's meeting room by caretakers of the building, claiming they did not have the authorization to permit the lawmakers entry. In response Dweik held a news conference outside the building, saying those responsible for stalling the meeting were further stalling the work of the PLC and achieving national reconciliation. "We were surprised to find the door leading to the meeting room closed and were were not allowed entry. "
PA forces launch security campaign in Tulkarem villages
3/1/2010 - Tulkarem - Ma'an - Palestinian Authority security forces launched an extensive security campaign in two Tulkarem villages before sunrise on Monday morning, police announced. Brigadier Amin Fawalha said the campaign would start in the Illar and Seida villages, and target suspected criminals, thieves and a number of individuals "wanted" by PA security. The campaign further aimed to seek out illegal car workshops and garages, as well as unlicensed cars. The campaign was undertaken in conjunction with tax and customs officers, targeting store owners selling expired and smuggled goods, as well as settlement produce, Fawalha added. [end]
Jenin teen says rabbit gave birth to tiny elephant
3/1/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - A 19-year-old rabbit raiser in Jenin said he was "shocked and terrified" when his newest animal gave birth to what he described as a tiny baby elephant on Sunday. "I was concerned when I saw a black baby elephant next to nine white baby rabbits," Alawna told Ma'an, adding that the creature died only five hours after it was born. He said he was baffled as to how the elephant was produced. The mother rabbit, Alawna explained, is a Dutch breed which he bought six months ago from a farmer in the northern West Bank village of Jaba in Jenin district. [end]
Al-Asheqeen bandleader: A dream come true
3/1/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Mohammed Diab, a singer and leader of the renowned Palestinian band Al-Asheqeen spoke with Ma'an on Monday about his London-based musical group, his career, and his first trip to the occupied Palestinian territories. Diab, born in a Syrian refugee camp, said "it was like a dream come true to be in Palestine. I can't believe it myself. I love Palestine - it is a very beautiful country and words are not enough to describe what I am feeling right now. " "Palestine is a special nation, totally different from any other," he told Ma'an's editor-in-chief, Nasser Lahham. "I say to all Palestinians refugee camps abroad [the right of return] is so close. A day will come when all Palestinians will arrive to the homeland. I have traveled to Holland, across the UK and Lebanon, and wherever I go, they call on me to sing my national songs, which speak of Palestine, incarceration, and Palestinian suffering under occupation. " . . . .
Palestinian universities on strike Monday
3/1/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - The Syndicate of Palestinian Universities Union announced the suspension of classes in West Bank institutions on Monday, because of what the union called a lack of response to employees' demands by the Palestinian Council for Higher Education. The strike is the third in a week, following two student-lead strikes over a Palestinian Authority Ministry of Education decision to convert most of its tuition grants into loans. The head of the syndicate, Amjad Barham, said the union would organize a series of protests following what he described as a failure of the Council for Higher Education to respond to the demands of employees. "We don't favor crippling the academic movement, but we were obliged to do so because the ministry of education and the Council for Higher Education continue to put off our demands," the official said.
Federation of Arab Journalists approves new Palestinian union
3/1/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - The Cairo-based Federation of Arab Journalists (FAJ) approved the election of a new union of Palestinian journalists, a statement sent to the Ramallah government-run WAFA news agency read Sunday. "This is a step in the right direction," the statement from Egypt said,affirming the decision of the newly elected Palestinian Journalists Syndicate to act as a temporary body until the West Bank-Gaza split is resolved. The statement reportedly denied a recent report in Sama, a local Palestinian news station, which claimed the FAJ refused to recognize the results of elections held in Ramallah on 6 February because the Gaza Strip was excluded. The FAJ explained that a previous statement on 17 February had expressed concern about unity of Palestinian journalists, but stressed that it had been meant to highlight the expectation that union represents all journalists despite political rivalries.
Civil Defense rescues 3 trapped in flooded car
3/1/2010 - Qalqiliya - Ma'an - Palestinian Civil Defense Forces in Azzun rescued three residents trapped in car before it was swept away by flood waters in Wadi Qana, east of Qalqiliya on Monday, a spokesperson said. A rescue crew arrived at the scene to find the residents trapped in a car with half a meter of high water surrounding them, the spokesperson said, adding that they were able to pull the car to safety. The passengers and driver were reported to be in good health, the spokesman said. The Civil Defense called on residents to abandon their cars if they breakdown during floods and to find a high area to seek safety. [end]
Report: IDF tank fires at Gaza militants, killing one
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Popular Resistance Committees says of Beit Lahia resident killed on a military intelligence mission.
39 army raids, 28 arrests: Just another day in the West Bank
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - In 2009 Israelis enjoyed unprecedented security as Palestinians suffered more settler violence than ever.
Palestine is full of heroes
Uruknet March 1, 2010 - Although people in our modern times have been educated to believe that having the 'right' ideas, methods or ideologies is what causes revolutions, history teaches us that drastic changes usually happen when the majority of the people rally behind a certain leader, more than behind an ideology. While Palestinian society continues to be torn apart by...
Israel arrests 2 Hebron children (12 and 7 years old) for stone throwing
Uruknet March 1, 2010 - Two brothers were detained by Israeli forces in Hebron and taken to the Ofer detention center on Sunday, for allegedly throwing stones at Israeli forces. One brother was released from Israeli custody, while the other will stand before an Israeli military tribunal, the father said. Fadel Al-Muhtaseb, father said "a number of Israeli forces detained my...
America's Permanent War Agenda
Uruknet March 1, 2010 - Post-9/11, Dick Cheney warned of wars that won't end in our lifetime. Former CIA Director James Woolsey said America "is engaged in World War IV, and it could continue for years....This fourth world war, I think, will last considerably longer than either World Wars I or II did for us." GHW Bush called it a "New...
The Musa’ab Yousuf Story: a classic example of Israeli disinformation
Uruknet March 1, 2010 - In addition to its protracted war of terror against the Palestinian people, Israel has long waged an unrelenting campaign of psychological warfare against the Palestinian will, aimed at debilitating the domestic front across the occupied territories. The Israeli media, which often operates in sync with the Israeli occupation army and intelligence agencies, readily and routinely parrot...
Egyptian police detain Gaza child inside smuggling tunnel
Uruknet March 1, 2010 - Egyptian security arrested a Palestinian child working inside a smuggling tunnel in the Salah Ad-Din area in Rafah on Monday, reportedly extracting him from the subterranean passage beneath Egyptian soil. Egyptian security forces were searching the area when they located 14-year-old Mustapha Shukry as he hooked up pallets of goods to transport machinery in the tunnel...
Russell Tribunal aims to hold the international community to account
Uruknet March 1, 2010 - Today, the first session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine (RTP) will be held in Barcelona. The RTP is a peoples' tribunal focusing not on Israel's obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL) such as the Fourth Geneva Convention, but on the obligations of the international community of signatory states which sustain and enable Israel's continuous violations...
More details emerge on assassination of Hamas leader in Dubai
Uruknet March 1, 2010 - More details are emerging on the murder of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, who was killed in Dubai on January 20 in what is widely thought to be an Israeli security service operation. Dubai Police Chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim claims to be "99 percent, if not 100 percent" certain that Mossad, the Israeli secret service organisation, was...
39 army raids, 28 arrests: Just another day in the West Bank
Uruknet March 1, 2010 - "The year 2009 was the quietest for Israelis from the security point of view and the most violent for the Palestinians from the point of view of attacks by settlers in the West Bank." Just as he was saying this - as an example of one of the absurdities that characterize the political situation - Palestinian...
Palestinian Cafe Owner Faces Threats for 'No Uniform' Policy
Uruknet February 28, 2010 - In spite of all the hardship, Palestinians living in Israel and the occupied territories find ways to survive. Sometimes, amidst the political and ethnic tension and fear, they even find ways to live well. This may be a fair description for a restaurant/cafe in Haifa called 'Azad'. Haifa is the only city in North Israel known...
Protest Continues At Osh Ghrab; Met With Military Aggression
Uruknet February 28, 2010 - Despite recent storms in the Bethlehem area, protest was held at the site of the former military base of Osh Ghrab, east of the town of Beit Sahour. The protest resulted in a display of force from the Israeli military. On Sunday residents of the town of Beit Sahour were joined by Palestinians from the surrounding...
Israeli soldiers disturb and assault B'Tselem’s video photographers in the West Bank despite army’s declaration that filming is permitted
Uruknet February 28, 2010 - In early 2007, B'Tselem launched a camera distribution project in which it supplies video cameras to Palestinians living in areas in the Occupied Territories where confrontations commonly occur. The project’s objective is to aid Palestinians under occupation to bring the reality of their lives to the attention of the Israeli and international public, expose violation of...
Al-Hadidiyeh, February 2010: Israel effectively pressuring Palestinian Bedouin community to leave the Jordan Valley
Uruknet February 28, 2010 - The Jordan Valley is classified as Area C and is, therefore, under complete Israeli control. Israel has imposed harsh restrictions on building and movement there that apply to Palestinians alone, effectively pushing them to leave area. The Civil Administration does not allow Palestinians to build in Bedouin areas in the valley and systematically demolishes the temporary...
Israel forces Palestinians out of Jordan Valley
1 Mar 2010 - Al-Hadidiyeh, March 2, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- The Jordan Valley is classified as Area C and is, therefore, under complete Israeli control. Israel has imposed harsh restrictions on building and movement there that apply to the Palestinians alone, effectively pushing them to leave area. The Civil Administration does not allow the Palestinians to build in Bedouin areas in the valley and...
IOF sets up two checkpoints in Hebron
1 Mar 2010 - Hebron, March 1, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation forces set up today morning two main checkpoints on the northern and southern entrances of Hebron where they stopped cars and citizens and checked out their ID cards. Eyewitnesses said that the Israeli occupation forces established a military checkpoint at the main entrance of north Hebron. They added that Israeli soldiers...
Israeli invasion to Sheikh Jarrah to seize land
1 Mar 2010 - Jerusalem, March 1, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli employees of Jerusalem municipality have broken into Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood today morning in order to measure and take photos for a land owned by Kamal Ebedat. "Large number of the municipality Israeli employees stormed Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood today morning, measured and took photos for the land" Jmal Ataia, activist in Sheikh Jarrah...
IOF arrests 4 prayers in Jerusalm
1 Mar 2010 - Jerusalem, March 1, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Israeli occupation police arrested four prayers in the occupied Jerusalem, as they left Al-Aqsa Mosque after performing the dawn prayer on Monday. The police, surrounding the mosque for the second day, arrested the four men near Bab Hetta and took them to a police station near Bab Al-Khalil. The names of the young people...
IOF invades Jenin and detains Palestinian
1 Mar 2010 - Jenin, March 1, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation forces invaded today dawn a number of villages west of Jenin in the West Bank. Local sources told the SAFA news agency that Israeli soldiers detained Mujahid Gasser, 22, after storming his house in the eastern area of Jenin. The sources said that Israeli occupation forces detained Khaled Sawalha during a...
Jewish extremists storm Al-Aqsa Mosque
1 Mar 2010 - Jerusalem, March 1, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Extremist Jewish groups renewed calls on Monday - for the second consecutive day - to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque and pray there, during Purim : a Jewish holiday. Failing to break into Al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday, the groups decided that they would try again, calling for a mass march in the mosque yard. Hundreds of Jewish...
American father struggles to reunite with Gazan wife and son
1 Mar 2010 - Kansas City, US, March 1, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - In Gaza, a 1-year-old boy sees pictures of his daddy and says, "Baba." In Kansas City, Baba toils away in his car-repair shop. He longs to embrace the son he has never met, whose wartime birth made the news, and to reunite with his wife. Texts and cell phone photos from...
Palestinian singer visits occupied territories
Palestine Note 1 Mar 2010 - Mohammed Diab, lead singer of the Palestinian band Al-Asheqeen, made his first visit to the occupied Palestinian territories, reports Ma'an News Agency . During his visit Diab met with a member of the PLO's executive committee and...
US disapproves of East Jerusalem housing expansion
Palestine Note 1 Mar 2010 - The U.S. State Department declared Monday that it does not approve of housing units being built in East Jerusalem and worries that this will only hinder negotiations between Israel and Palestinians, reports Haaretz . Excerpt: The Jerusalem...
America's permanent war agenda
Palestine Note 1 Mar 2010 - Post-9/11, Dick Cheney warned of wars that won't end in our lifetime. Former CIA Director James Woolsey said America "is engaged in World War IV, and it could continue for years....This fourth world war, I think,...
The nation of Israel? Wait and see
Palestine Note 1 Mar 2010 - Back in 2005, I called attention to a curious petition, filed the year before with Israel's High Court of Justice. The petitioners were thirty-eight citizens of Israel, most of them Jews but a number of them...
East Asian Jews call West Bank home
Palestine Note 1 Mar 2010 - Kiryat Arba is home to many East Asians who belong to the Bnei Menash , a sect of Judaism that believe they are one of the ten lost tribes of Israel who were exiled from Israel over...
A zionist renaissance and its implications on peace
Palestine Note 1 Mar 2010 - Over the course of the last eight years I have had a chance to study Zionism and Jewish history while at university and in my spare time as a journalist. Without a doubt it has had...
Israel to Reconsider ‘Hostile Spouse' Ruling
The Media Line 28 Feb 2010 - Israeli court to hear arguments that the Citizenship Law uses a security pretext to discriminate against Arabs. Israel's High Court of Justice is set to hear arguments against a law that places limitations on the ability...
Middle East Facing Serious Brain Drain
The Media Line 28 Feb 2010 - Study: One in three young Arabs would leave the Middle East if they could. A new study shows that given the chance one out of every three youth in Arab countries in the Middle East would...
Afghans Move to Protect Rare Bird
The Media Line 28 Feb 2010 - The world's 'least known bird' added to Afghanistan protection list. Afghanistan's National Environment Protection Agency added one of the world's rarest birds recently rediscovered in the country's mountainous east to a new list of protected species...
Iran Exposes Nukes
The Media Line 27 Feb 2010 - Analysts baffled after Iran leaves nuclear stockpile exposed to aerial attack. Iran has exposed the majority of its nuclear fuel stockpile to an aerial attack by moving it from a deep, underground plant to an above-ground...
Australian Newspaper Quotes Official: We Punished Israel with UN Vote
The Media Line 28 Feb 2010 - A daily newspaper in Sydney is quoting an unnamed Foreign Affairs Ministry official as saying Australia's abstention in Friday night's General Assembly vote on the Goldstone report was intended to be a message to Israel "not...
Palestinian Gambit in Shrine Debate: Cabinet Meeting Held in Hebron
The Media Line 28 Feb 2010 - The Palestinian cabinet is to hold a symbolic meeting in Hebron Monday in the latest Palestinian response to Israel's inclusion of two religious shrines located in the West Bank on its heritage list. The maelstrom was...
Israeli Daily: Mission to Gain Chinese Support for Iranian Sanctions
The Media Line 28 Feb 2010 - [Analysis] That two top level Israeli leaders went to China on a diplomatic mission – and that one is Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon is not unusual. What marks last week's official visit as being out-of-the-ordinary...
'Target Jordan' says al-Qaeda agent
AlJazeera 28 Feb 2010 - Posthumous video by suicide bomber details spy agency's collaboration with US.
Russia open to Iran sanctions
AlJazeera 1 Mar 2010 - Moscow weighs "smart" sanctions as IAEA says not sure all Iran nuclear activities peaceful.
Israeli Forces Invade al-Aqsa Compound in Jerusalem's Old City
Alternative Information Center - Sunday, 28 February 2010, This morning (Sunday 28 February), about two hundred Israeli armed policemen invaded the compound of the al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem to attack a non-violent sit-in, organized by Palestinians...
Seven held as Israelis storm mosque
PNN - Monday, 01 March 2010
U.S. Senator John Kerry Visits Rawabi, the First Palestinian Planned City
PNN - Monday, 01 March 2010
Hamas man 'drugged and suffocated' in Dubai
PNN - Monday, 01 March 2010
Rain and tear gas fail to stop anti wall demonstrations
PNN - Monday, 01 March 2010
Barkat to unveil Silwan plan
Jeruslalem Post 1 Mar 2010 - Mayor regards ‘Gan Hamelech’ redevelopment as pilot plan to regulate east J'lem building.
Kerry backs 'biting' sanctions on Iran
Jeruslalem Post 1 Mar 2010 - US senator meets PM, says US, Israel "talking from the same page" on Iran.
Kerry: No imminent flashpoint between Syria and Israel
Jeruslalem Post 1 Mar 2010 - Senator spoke to Assad from Jordan before coming to Israel.
Noam Schalit urges UN to help bring Gilad home
Jeruslalem Post 1 Mar 2010 - Captive soldier's father meets with senior UN official in Jerusalem, notes Goldstone report.
4 Palestinian women escape into reality
Jeruslalem Post 1 Mar 2010 - They’ve had enough of war, they’ve had enough of politics, and they are looking for an escape from their daily realities.
MKs blast Balad head for accepting invite
Jeruslalem Post 1 Mar 2010 - Jamal Zahalka to speak as part of Israel Apartheid Week.
PA: Keep Hebron cave off heritage list
Jeruslalem Post 1 Mar 2010 - In protest, PA moves weekly cabinet meeting from Ramallah to Hebron.
PA: Int'l community must keep Hebron cave off heritage list
Jeruslalem Post 1 Mar 2010 - In protest, PA moves weekly cabinet meeting from Ramallah to Hebron.
Right of Reply: Pro-Israel campus activities have never been
Jeruslalem Post 1 Mar 2010 - This week, alumni of pro-Israel advocacy training and of Taglit-Birthright are organizing Israel Peace Week on more than 30 campuses.
MIDEAST: New Call to Past Adds to Troubles
IPS JERUSALEM, Feb 28 (IPS) - When last December Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, delivering to an international conference in Herzliya outside Tel Aviv what has become the equivalent of Israel's 'State of the Union' address, chose to focus not on Iran's nuclear ambitions or on the prospects of Middle East...
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
PCHR Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)
With my life and soul I will free you Palestine - Demonstrators in Gaza
3/1/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Internatonal Solidarity Movement - Thirty activists from the Local Initiative Beit Hannoun and the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) participated in the weekly demonstration asking for Palestinian land to be returned to its rightful owners. The activists gathered at the site of the University College for Agriculture which now lies in rubble following air attacks during operation Cast Lead. The activists walked towards the Erez border chanting "Down with the Occupation" and "With my life and soul I will free you Palestine". The activists reached 50 meters from the border and there Saber Zanin, Director of Beit Hannoun Local Initiative, spoke about the hardships farmers face on a daily basis as they attempt to plough and farm their land. Farmers risk being shot at either by Israeli snipers or from the automated tower machines which line the Gaza-Israel border zone.
International call to action in solidarity with Sheikh Jarrah
3/1/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Join us 6 March in solidarity with Sheikh Jarrah - WHAT: A global call to action in solidarity with the residents of Sheikh Jarrah / WHERE: Around the globe and into the streets / WHEN: 6 March 2010 / WHY: Sheikh Jarrah is a unique community in occupied East Jerusalem. The plight of this community is emblematic of the larger Palestinian struggle for Justice. The familes in Sheikh Jarrah have been evicted by a racist govermentand settlers now occupy their homes. The Palestinians of Sheikh Jarrah face daily harassment from both the settlers occupying their homes and the Isreli military. This is a call for global direct actions. The organizers of the weekly demonstrations in Sheikh Jarrah are asking for global solidarity as they plan for massive demonstrations in Jerusalem and greater Israel. They are calling for demonstrations and vigils at Israeli consulates and embassies abroad. Related: Just Jerusalem
Israeli rights group to Pixies: Don?t perform in Israel
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Boycott! urges academics, artists to shun Israeli institutions to protest government's West Bank policies.
What will happen if we are defeated
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Anyone interested in contributing to peace had better not invite the Israelis to ponder scenarios of defeat.
Iran, Syria may talk a big talk, but too scared to act
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Axis of evil needn't lose sleep over the 007-style Dubai hit, but shouldn't forget about Mughniyeh assassination.
David Bankier, renowned Holocaust scholar, dies of cancer at 63
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Bankier's work on German public's opinion of Jews between 1933 and 1939 considered breakthrough study in field.
Border Control / The outposts are still in
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Under the cover of the partial and temporary freeze, the outposts are putting down deeper roots.
Report: Syria willing to consider gradual approach to peace
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Israel needs to be ready to recognize that Syria is entitled to every inch of the Golan, says Syrian FM.
U.S. bemoans plan for new West Bank houses
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Jerusalem planning committee approves building of neighborhood near Pisgat Ze'ev north of Jerusalem.
Russia: We will consider 'smart' Iran sanctions
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Iran FM says Israel unlikely to strike it's nuclear sites since it was weak, but might do 'something crazy.'
Farrakhan: Obama is targeted by U.S. Jewish lobby, Zionists
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Nation of Islam leader says Jews control U.S. economy, 'bloodsuckers of the poor' being rewarded.
Universities across the globe mark Israeli Apartheid Week
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Three Israeli speakers headline events during the week; campuses in 40 cities participate.
Noam Shalit urges UN to implement Goldstone report
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Shalit to UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs: Goldstone calls for Gilad's release.
'Israelis no longer allowed in Dubai after Hamas hit'
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Police chief Tamim says local police will train in recognizing the physical appearance of Israelis.
Turkmenistan snubs former Mossad agent as Israel envoy
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - In new humiliation to Lieberman, Iran's neighbor refuses credentials to ex-spy expelled from Moscow in '90s.
As the West woos Syria, Assad aligns himself with Iran
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Hamas and Hezbollah's presence at recent Damascus meet shows greater deterrence to Israel and West.
The peace process as therapy for Israel, Palestinians
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - The current U.S. reading must be replaced with one that looks at a Middle East scarred by multi-layered traumas on both sides.
Dubai police chief bars all suspected Israelis entering UAE
The Guardian 1 Mar 2010 - New restrictions after death of Hamas operative in Dubai blamed on Mossad agents with European and Australian passports Dubai's police chief has said travellers suspected of being Israeli will not be allowed into the United Arab...
British journalist arrested in Gaza faces two more weeks in detention
The Guardian 1 Mar 2010 - Film-maker Paul Martin is first foreign journalist to be arrested in Gaza since Hamas seized control A British journalist who has been held in Gaza for two weeks without charge faces a further fortnight in detention...
Growth that Palestine can believe in | Sam Bahour
The Guardian 1 Mar 2010 - A rise in GDP may look good on paper, but it obscures the public's daily hardship and the need for real political changes A serious misconception is being propagated by the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah. Media,...
New immigrants: State must translate official documents
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Shortly after arriving in Israel, new immigrants are obliged to sign a plethora of official documents that they do not understand - since they are presented only in Hebrew - which can land them in legal trouble later. ...
40-year-old man stabbed to death in Haifa
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - A 40-year-old man was stabbed to death on Michael Street in Haifa overnight Saturday. ...
Israel approves plan to let sponsors beam messages onto Western Wall
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Most people go to the Western Wall to pray, but now some will also head there to pay. ...
Jerusalem mayor to retroactively legalize East Jerusalem buildings
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat is to hold a press conference Tuesday in which he will unveil his plan for solving some of the capital's thorniest construction issues, in Silwan in East Jerusalem. ...
Man arrested for allegedly strangling wife to death
Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Police arrested a man on Monday for allegedly chocking his wife to death in their home in Lod. ...
Job Creation Programme Helps to 'Green Palestine'
Relief Web 1 Mar 2010 - Source: European Commission Humanitarian Aid department, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
UN HUMANITARIAN CHIEF ARRIVES IN JERUSALEM
Relief Web 1 Mar 2010 - Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
UNHCR Iraq Fact Sheet January 2010
Relief Web 1 Mar 2010 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees
OPT: Rafah crossing opens after two months of closure
Relief Web 1 Mar 2010 - Source: Medical Aid for Palestinians
OPT: Improving Awareness and Respect for Human Rights
Relief Web 1 Mar 2010 - Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
US slams new east Jerusalem homes
YNet News 1 Mar 2010 - State Department says approval of 600 housing units in Pisgat Ze'ev is 'counter-productive'
Nasrallah: Arabs must help Palestinians
YNet News 1 Mar 2010 - Hezbollah leader lashes out at Arab states, tells them to learn from Iran, Syria
Beinish urges all-out war to protect judges
YNet News 1 Mar 2010 - Speaking at memorial for murdered judge, Supreme Court president says violence against judges should resemble war on 'other kinds of terror'
Senator Kerry endorses paralyzing Iran sanctions
YNet News 1 Mar 2010 - Visiting senator says Iran will make great mistake should it misinterpret US intentions
Hezbollah links Mossad spy to 2004 assassination
YNet News 1 Mar 2010 - Al-Manar: Lebanese man arrested for aiding Mossad admitted he helped kill Ghaleb Alawi
IDF: Gas mask distribution unrelated to security situation
YNet News 1 Mar 2010 - Launch of gas mask distribution project across nation not part of emergency, army official says
Iran says moved uranium stockpile back underground
YNet News 1 Mar 2010 - Envoy to IAEA says Tehran drew what it needed to refine uranium up to 20 percent purity; dismisses reports that moving stockpile above ground might have been aimed at provoking Israel
Phony website counters Israel's PR campaign
YNet News 1 Mar 2010 - Information Ministry believes Palestinians or radical leftists behind launching of website containing footage of Palestinian casualties, IDF soldiers' funerals. 'This site offers a different, more complete picture of the issues at hand,' homepage reads. Ministry plans to file police complaint
Hariri: Lebanon won't be foreigners' battleground
Daily Star 1 Mar 2010 DOHA: Prime Minister Saad Hariri vowed on Monday that Lebanon would not be a scene for foreign powers to settle their struggles at its expense while stressing the need to strengthen national unity against Israeli threats. "When Israel threatens us to bomb Dahyieh [Beirut's southern suburb] or south Lebanon or Hizbullah, we should as a Cabinet work
Jordan denies any role in Mughniyeh killing
Daily Star 1 Mar 2010 AMMAN: Jordan on Monday dismissed posthumous video claims by a double-agent who killed seven United States intelligence officers that Amman was involved in the assassination of two Hizbullah and Al-Qaeda commanders. Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, in a video made before his suicide attack, accused his home country of involvement
Dubai murder suspects hiding out in Israel: police
Daily Star 1 Mar 2010 ABU DHABI: Dubai's police chief said on Monday the suspects in a Hamas chief's assassination in the emirate are now hiding out in Israel to avoid arrest and urged the country to wage its wars at home.Mahmud al-Mabhouh, a founder of the military wing of Hamas, was found dead in his Dubai hotel room on January 20. Police on Sunday said he had been drugged then suffocated.
IAEA chief can't confirm Iran nuclear work peaceful
Daily Star 1 Mar 2010 VIENNA: The chief of the UN nuclear watchdog agency said Monday he cannot confirm all of Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful, carefully choosing his words after tensions were sparked by his recent suggestion that Tehran may be working on a secret arms program.Members of the 35-nation International Atomic Energy Agency board were closely
Iranian authorities free six journalists, ban two opposition publications
Daily Star 1 Mar 2010 TEHRAN: Iranian authorities banned a reformist daily and a moderate weekly magazine on Monday, news agencies reported, a day after the release of six detained journalists.The Students news agency ISNA said the press supervisory board had decided to ban Etemad newspaper "for repeatedly violating the press law." The press supervision body
Indian premier: Palestinian state key to stability
Daily Star 1 Mar 2010 RIYADH: India's Premier Manmohan Singh said on Monday that an independent Palestinian state was key to Middle East stability and discussed energy and regional security during a visit to Saudi Arabia."There is no issue more important for peace
British journalist to be held in Gaza 15 more days
Daily Star 1 Mar 2010 GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip: A Gaza court extended the detention of a British journalist held in a jail in the Hamas-run Palestinian strip for another 15 days after military prosecutors said that they needed more time to interrogate him, officials said on Monday.
Fayyad's Cabinet stakes claim to Hebron amid shrine furor
Daily Star 1 Mar 2010 HEBRON, Occupied West Bank: The Palestinian Cabinet moved its weekly meeting to Hebron on Monday, a symbolic protest against Israel's addition of a shrine in the occupied West Bank city to its list of national heritage sites.
Cairo to release suspects in bazaar bombing case - MENA
Daily Star 1 Mar 2010 CAIRO: Egypt's state security prosecutor on Monday ordered the release of seven people accused over a deadly bazaar bombing in February 2009 that killed a French tourist, the official MENA news agency said.Three Belgians, two Palestinians and two Egyptians have been ordered released, the MENA agency said, without providing further details.
In Egypt, women's battle against the divorce stigma takes to the internet radio airwaves
Daily Star 1 Mar 2010 CAIRO: When her divorce finally came through after a painful four-year procedure, Mahasen Saber became the target of reproving looks and gossip in Egypt's conservative society.But she fought back, and in a bid to counter the prejudice attached to being no longer married, the young Egyptian mother decided to take to the high-tech airwaves on the internet
Inside view is worth risk, reporters in Iran say
LA Times 2 Mar 2010 - Journalists are monitored and may be deported or jailed if they anger the government. But those inside say it is worth the risks and frustrations to have a 'more nuanced understanding.' This is what it's like to be a reporter in today's Iran: To cover the recent anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, you had to wear a bright yellow bib identifying you as a journalist and sit in a designated area where you could hear and see President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speak, but not the thousands of protesters nearby.
Iran relations with IAEA turn contentious
LA Times 1 Mar 2010 - Tehran has responded to an unusually critical report on its nuclear program by assailing the U.N. agency's new director-general, Yukiya Amano. The shift could undermine cooperation. Iran has dramatically shifted its public tone toward the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, dropping its previous deference while harshly criticizing the agency's latest report and its new director-general as an incompetent and biased lackey of the West.
Hamas Says It Is Extending Briton’s Stay in Detention
New York Times 1 Mar 2010 - A Hamas military court in Gaza decided to extend the detention of a British journalist for another 15 days of interrogation on suspicion of unspecified security offenses.
Slain Hamas Operative Was Drugged, Dubai Police Say
New York Times 1 Mar 2010 - A police statement gives new details about a January assassination that has been widely attributed to Israel’s intelligence service, though Israel has not acknowledged involvement.
Now Hofstra asks: ‘How will Goldstone influence the war against terrorism?’ I don’t know– bring us to our knees?
Mondoweiss - 1 Mar 2010 - Is anyone ever going to do a pro-Goldstone event? Here’s a news release from Hofstra University about upcoming lectures by an Israeli journalist: The Hofstra Cultural Center and Hofstra Hillel will present two lectures in March 2010 by one of Israel’s leading TV journalists Michael Tuchfeld....
American Jewish apathy threatens Israel lobby
Mondoweiss - 1 Mar 2010 - New York Jewish Week’s James Besser on the Gallup poll showing only 53 percent of US Democrats have a favorable view of Israel: Talk to a a random sample of Jewish leaders, and in private, at least, most will lament what they say is a growing...
Canadian liberal leader says calling Israel ‘apartheid’ state is anti-Semitic
Mondoweiss - 1 Mar 2010 - Michael Ignatieff’s statement recalls the campaign against Jimmy Carter, who dared to use that word in his book title. Note that Israeli leaders/war-makers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert have both used "apartheid" word in Israel: The activities planned for the week will single out Jewish and...
‘Israeli Apartheid Week’ arrives, and so do attacks
Mondoweiss - 1 Mar 2010 - The sixth annual “Israeli Apartheid Week” kicked off today, starting what will be two global weeks of action across the world meant to highlight Israel’s apartheid system and to build the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. The global event has come under attack, of course, with...
Dubai puts wind under the wings of… Goldstone
Mondoweiss - 1 Mar 2010 - Wow, I missed this. Fallout from Dubai assassination is hurting Israel’s push against Goldstone!! "Australia Abandons Israel." You see, Australia abstained on the vote in the UN calling for further investigation of the Gaza onslaught, stemming from the Goldstone Report. And France and England switched their...
Israeli Forces Invade al-Aqsa Compound in Jerusalem's Old City
Alternative Information Center - 1 Mar 2010 - Sunday, 28 February 2010, This morning (Sunday 28 February), about two hundred Israeli armed policemen invaded the compound of the al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem to attack a non-violent sit-in, organized by Palestinians in the city in protest of an imminent invasion of...
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
EU Commission Allocates €58 Million To Relief Palestinians in the country and in Lebanon
IMEMC - Wednesday March 03, 2010 - 03:42, Kristalina Georgieva, of the European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, stated Tuesday that the European Commission decided to allocate €58 million to help the Palestinians affected by the ongoing conflict in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and in refugee camps in Lebanon.
Abu Rodeina: “Hamas Is Not Invited To Arab Summit”
IMEMC - Wednesday March 03, 2010 - 02:40, Nabil Abu Rodeina, Spokesperson to the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, stated Tuesday that the Hamas movement has not been invited to the summit of the Arab League in Libya, and that this issue was not one of the topics discussed by president Mahmoud Abbas during his trip to Tripoli.
Israeli Military Starts To Install A New Wall Section Near Bethlehem
IMEMC - Tuesday March 02, 2010 - 18:22, Israeli troops started, on Tuesday, to build a new section of the Wall at the town of Beit Jala located in southern West Bank near Bethlehem city.
The Israeli Military Detains 19 Civilians During Invasions At West Bank Communities
IMEMC - Tuesday March 02, 2010 - 17:26, Nineteen Palestinian civilians were detained by Israeli troops, on Tuesday, during invasions targeting a number of West Bank communities.
12-year-old Child To Be Prosecuted As An Adult By An Israeli Military Court
IMEMC - Tuesday March 02, 2010 - 13:19, The Israeli Authorities decided to file charges against a 12-year-old Palestinian child from the southern West Bank city of Hebron after arresting him and charging him with throwing stones at the Israeli military.
Israeli forces detain four civilians in Beit Ummar
3/3/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - Israeli forces forcibly entered the homes of four civilians in Beit Ummar on Tuesday, shortly before detaining the men, a spokesman of the Palestinian Solidarity Project reported. Muhammad Awad identified the men as Khalil Muqbel, 35, Muhammad Sabarneh, 25, Jawad Brigheeth, 24 and Yousef Al-Alami, 22. Young men from the town have been targeted by Israeli forces increasingly over the past months, as locals have ramped up efforts to protest the confiscation of village land by the nearby expanding settlement of Karmi Zur. On Thursday, Awad reported five detentions of Beit Ummar residents, noting in his most recent statement, that Israel's Ofer military court had sentenced 18-year-old Muhammad Ali Khalil to 26 months in prison and a fine of 5,000 shekels (1,317 US dollars), while 20-year-old Habis Hisham Abu Maria, also from Beit Ummar, was released last week following the completion of his own 26-month sentence and paying a 3,000 shekel (790 US dollar) fine. . . . .
Gaza: Students protest against Al-Aqsa raid
3/3/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Thousands of school and university students marched on Gaza City on Tuesday, in condemnation of the recent raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Khalil Al-Hayya, a Palestine Legislative Council deputy, had called on Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza Strip to march in protest against the raid on Islam's third holiest site. Students marched from the Islamic University to the PLC building in Gaza City, where Al-Hayya spoke of continued settlement expansion in Jerusalem, refugees, and bringing about an end to division to unite against attacks on holy sites. Students called for an end to Palestinian political disunity and the protection of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and other religious sites in the occupied Palestinian territories. . . . .
PCHR: Israel responsible for Al-Aqsa clashes
3/2/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an-Al-Aqsa Mosque disturbances are a central reason for the escalation of tensions between Israel and Palestine, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) said Monday in a public condemnation of the latest breach of the holy compound. While Israeli reports of the incident placed blame for Sunday's clashes squarely on Palestinians, PCHR investigations confirmed eyewitness accounts and local news coverage contending that hundreds of Israeli settlers and their supporters, escorted by Israeli security forces, had entered the mosque compound, sparking clashes. PCHR condmened the breach in the "strongest possible terms," and further slammed Israel's "usse of excessive force by Israeli Occupation Forces against Palestinian civilians who gathered inside the Mosque and/or attempted to prevent the provocative entry of settlers into the mosque. "
Egypt opens Rafah crossing for second day
3/2/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Patients, international passport and visa holders will have priority travelling via the Rafah border crossing on Tuesday, officials said, as the crossing remains open for the second consecutive day in, breaking a two-month closure. De facto government crossing liaison committee said it was working with Egyptian authorities to extend the initial three-day opening to four, to ensure the transit of those registered for travel in and out of Gaza. Movement through the crossing has been unhindered, according to early reports from the committee, with one bus arriving in Egypt at 10am. On Monday, 13 buses left Gaza, according to the committee, with 11 passing through into Egypt, and two sent back from the border for reasons that were not immediately clear. Ten ambulances carrying patients also passed through the borer. Since the border's initial opening, 1,000 individuals left Gaza, 98 entered, and 120 were denied entry into Egypt, the committee said. . . . .
Israel: Palestinian suspected in Petah Tikva stabbing
3/3/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - A Palestinian man stabbed an Israeli citizen in Petah Tikva and fled the scene, Israeli police said. Police said the unidentified man, aged 60, was offered first aid at the scene and transferred to a hospital for further treatment. The incident was believed to have been nationalistically motivated, police officials added. [end]
Israel mayor holds off on plan to raze Jerusalem homes
3/2/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Israeli mayor of Jerusalem delayed on Tuesday a plan that would demolish dozens of Palestinian homes to make way for a park and tourist attraction. Soon after Nir Barkat unveiled his sweeping plan for the Silwan neighborhood, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged him to "allow more time for efforts to reach an understanding with the residents of Silwan. " "The prime minister asked me to make every effort to reach an agreement with the residents. Of course, I responded positively to his request," Barkat told reporters on Tuesday. The controversy concerns dozens of houses Israel wants to demolish in an area called Bustan, in the heart of Silwan, a Palestinian neighborhood abutting Jerusalem's Old City which Israel occupied in the 1967. Neither Jerusalem's Palestinian residents nor the international community recognize Israeli sovereignty in the area.
Students escalate strike action in West Bank universities
3/3/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - The Union of Student Councils denounced on Tuesday the Ministry of Education's handling of their demand to halt the transfer of grant money into loans, declaring a series of strikes across West Bank universities. The head of the Al-Quds University student union, Anas Abu Ar-Rab, said strikes will take place on Wednesday and Thursday, strike action will continue until the Ministry of Education reverses their decision on scholarships, as well as on a number of student relating issues. Student action began at the beginning of February, as meetings between council representatives and the Ministry of Education failed to resolve students' demands. On Monday, the Syndicate of Palestinian Universities announced the suspension of classes in West Bank institutions, with employees striking over a demand for an increase in salaries in relation to the cost of living, and for their inclusion on the government's retirement and pension scheme. . . . .
PalTel gets A4 paper as two Gaza crossings open
3/2/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - The Kerem Shalom and Karni crossings will be partly open for the delivery of goods to Gaza on Tuesday, Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh said. Approximately 93 to 103 truckloads of aid and commercial goods, including two trucks of A4 paper for the telecommunications company PalTel, will enter at the southern crossing at Kerem Shalom. Schoolbooks, however, remain on the banned list, with scant supplies entering Gaza via Rafah and the tunnel system. UNRWA Spokesman Christopher Gunness commented in September on the issue, noting "subjects [taught in UNRWA schools] such as human rights and the Universal Declaration [of Human Rights], are underpinned by universal values which are informed by toleration and the need to resolve conflict peacefully. "He added that anyone who has an interest in seeing the conflict resolved also has an interest in seeing Gazan children educated.
UN Human Rights Council kicks off 13th session
3/2/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The UN Human Rights Council kicked off its 13th session on Monday, which will run until 26 March, and is expected to address the issue of a council review, as well as discuss the progress of recommendations made in the Goldstone report on war crimes committed during Israel's war on Gaza. Seventeen delegates addressed the council at the start of the session, notably Maria Otero, American under-secretary for democracy and global affairs, who reaffirmed the "renewed commitment" of the United States for the "defense of human rights and human dignity around the globe. " As she outlined the agenda of the US with respect to the council, Otero noted the country's concern over what she called the "disproportionate attention the Council pays to Israel, which is the only country that has its own agenda item," mainly, the discussion of the Goldstone report, and what rights. . .
Abbas urges Arabs to protect Jerusalem
3/3/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday urged delegates to the Arab summit scheduled later this month to challenge Israel's designation of West Bank landmarks as "Israeli heritage sites. "Following a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, the president said "Arabs and Muslims must protect Jerusalem's holy places, and its residents, because they too are evicted from their homes and stripped of their identities. " "We hope to rescue Jerusalemites before it is too late," he added, speaking in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm Ash-Sheikh, where he met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for talks on developments in the occupied territories and efforts to resume negotiations with Israel. Abbas also denied reports that Syria has rescheduled a visit to Damascus over concerns on the Palestinian Authority's policies, as well as indications Libya would not seek to invite the president to attend the Arab summit, scheduled for late March.
Haniyeh: Greater efforts in 2010 to free prisoners
3/3/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Deposed Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Monday that 2010 would witness increased efforts to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. He urged those intending to participate in the Arab summit in Libya in late March to reiterate the importance of Palestinian detainees, and to bring attention to their plight. Speaking at a news conference at the de facto Ministry of Prisoners and Prisoners' Affairs headquarters in Gaza City, Haniyeh suggested a fund be established to cover prisoners' needs. For his part, Palestinian Legislative Council member Ahmad Bahar urged the Arab Parliament Union in Cairo to add the issue of prisoners to its agenda, and to call for their release. . . . .
Dutch students, gov’t team up with Nablus for excavation
3/2/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - A 5,000 year old city is the focus of a UNESCO, Nablus and Dutch government initiative seeking to boost the Palestinian Department of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage's resources and technical experience, a statement said. A 300,000 euro donation from the Netherlands to UNESCO will support continued excavations and preservation at the Tell Balata Archaeological Site. Under the initiative, students from the University of Leiden will participate to provide technical expertise, officials said at the signing ceremony on Monday. Dutch representative to Palestine Jack Twiss Quarles van Ufford called the initiative a step in support of caretaker Prime Minster Salam Fayyad's plan to build state institutions ahead of the declaration of a Palestinian state in 2011. " The creation of institutions can only be sustainable if it goes hand in hand with the strengthening of the. . . "
Sheikh Tamimi: Jerusalem is being ’Judaized’
3/2/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - Chief Islamic Judge Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi on Tuesday called on Muslim and Christian leaders to take immediate action against what he described as Israel's attempts to "Judaise" Jerusalem. In remarks at a meeting with Christian leaders at his Al-Eizariya office in East Jerusalem, the sheikh paid particular attention to Israeli plans in Jerusalem by "the so-called municipal council" to demolish over 90 Palestinian homes in the Al-Bustan neighborhood. Tamimi alleged that Israel sought to remove the occupied part of the city's indigenous residents to give it a "Jewish look. "He warned of the addition of further Christian and Muslim sites to the Israeli heritage list, following the inclusion of the Ibrahimi Mosque, Rachel's Tomb and the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem -- all sites located in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Abbas aide: Hamas not invited to Arab League summit
3/2/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Hamas has not been invited to participate in this year's Arab League Summit in Libya,President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesman said on Tuesday. Nabil Abu Rdeineh told Ma'an radio that an invitation has not been extended to the Islamist movement, nor was it a topic of discussion during Abbas' recent trip to Tripoli, Libya. However, the spokesman said that national reconciliation was on the agenda during the tour. Concerning Abbas' recent visit to Egypt, where he met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Abu Rdeineh said "there is an agreement that an Arab united stand and position should be taken to face all challenging issues. . . the Arab League Summit in Libya must succeed. Abbas was in Egypt to discuss proposed US-mediated indirect talks with Israel and national reconciliation. He is due to meet with the Arab foreign ministers members of the Arab Peace Initiative. . . .
In photos: PA police destroy illegal cars in Tulkarem
3/3/2010 - Palestinian Authority security forces launched an extensive security campaign in two Tulkarem villages before sunrise on Monday morning, which aimed to seek out illegal car workshops and garages, as well as unlicensed vehicles. Fifty cars were impounded and destroyed by PA police. Brigadier Amin Fawalha said the campaign would start in the villages of Illar and Seida, and target suspected criminals, thieves and a number of individuals "wanted" by PA security. The campaign was undertaken in conjunction with tax and customs officers, targeting store owners selling expired and smuggled goods, as well as settlement produce, Fawalha added. [end]
Hamas founder disowns son who helped Shin Bet
3/3/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Hamas leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef announced on Monday that he and his family had severed ties with their son, who apparently has admitted to collaborating with Israeli intelligence agents. In a letter from his cell at Israel's Negev prison, Sheikh Yousef wrote that "my family (wife and children) announce our complete disownment of the one who was once our eldest son, who is called Mus'ab, who is now in America. " Mosab Hassan Yousef, who had previously converted to Christianity, served for over a decade as the Shin Bet intelligence agency's "most valuable source" in Hamas' leadership, the Israeli daily Haaretz first reported Wednesday. Yousef said the decision to sever ties was due to "our principled position and our understanding of our religion and what our faith orders. "He said his son "disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger and questioned his book," and. . . .
Hamas: PA security detained three supporters in West Bank
3/2/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Palestinian Authority security forces detained three Hamas supporters across the West Bank, the movement reported on Tuesday. The alleged detentions followed accusations of three seizures on Monday night. According to a statement, the most recent activity targeted supporters in the Jenin and Tulkarem governorates. [end]
Police: Abduction suspect remains at large
3/2/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - Palestinian police detained three men suspected of carrying out the abduction of two civilians in the southern West Bank, as investigators attempt to track down a forth suspect, a police report said. An anonymous tip lead police to the rescue of two Yatta men being kept against their will inside a residential building, police said. Officers raided the home, found the victims but were unable to apprehend the abductors, they said. The two abduction victims were transferred to a local hospital, a police report said. A forth suspect remains at large, police said. [end]
PA police seize million shekels worth of narcotics in February
3/3/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Palestinian Authority police confiscated a considerable quantity of narcotics across the West Bank in February, estimated to be worth 1 million shekels, a police report said Tuesday. In over 51 cases last month, police seized 940 grams of hashish, 558 grams of heroin, 285 ecstasy pills, and 227 grams of cocaine, the report said. Drug-taking paraphernalia was also confiscated, according to police. The number of alleged narcotics dealers arrested during February was 161, who were referred to the general prosecution to commence legal proceedings against them. The anti-narcotics unit added that 32 drugs awareness lectures were held last month, which were attended by 1,800 students and employees, the report said. . . . .
Report: Rainfall inches close to historical average
3/3/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - A quarter of the winter's rainfall pelted the West Bank last week, and brought annual numbers closer to the historical average, a report from the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Agriculture said. Released Tuesday morning, after a soggy week, the ministry report found the West Bank received 83% of its historical annual rainfall levels, with Tulkarem topping the list with 99% of the historic average of 602. 4 mm. Hebron saw a relative drought, with only 68% of the historic average, due in part to a dry end to February. The ministry gave the following: Jenin- 438/468 - 94%, Tulkarem - 599. 1/602. 4 - 99%, Qalqiliya - 541/624 - 87%, Tubas - 385/431 - 89%, Nablus - 488/ 660 - 74%, Salfit - 514 / 698 - 74%, Ramallah - 573/ 615 - 93%, Jerusalem - 421/ 554 - 76%, Jericho - 127/166 - 77%, Bethlehem - 436/ 518 - 84%, Dura - 423/ 507 - 83%, Hebron 406/ 595.
Jordan jails 6 for plotting to fight Israel during Gaza war
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - Five suspects arrested in April, May 2009, with the other, still at large, tried in absentia.
Is Israel really a target for chemical warfare?
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - In their latest blog, Harel and Issacharoff ponder Israel's decision to distribute gas masks to all citizens.
IDF recording license plates of Israeli anti-fence protesters
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - Document lists vehicle registration numbers of Leftists in effort to forbid their entry into West Bank.
Video: UN envoy: Gaza an open-air prison
Uruknet March 2, 2010 - John Holmes, the United Nation's humanitarian chief, has revisited the Gaza Strip, a year after Israel's assault on the territory ended. He told Al Jazeera that it was disappointing how little has changed since the war and that there has been no real possibility of reconstruction, mainly because of Israel's siege of the Strip. He said...
12-year-old Child To Be Prosecuted As An Adult By An Israeli Military Court
Uruknet March 02, 2010 - The Israeli Authorities decided to file charges against a 12-year-old Palestinian child from the southern West Bank city of Hebron after arresting him and charging him with throwing stones at the Israeli military. The child was identified as al-Hasan al-Mohtasib, 12. His 7-year-old brother was also detained but was released later on. Their father, Fadel, said...
Under blockade, coastal Gaza now a fish importer
Uruknet March 2, 2010 - Under a sea blockade, the coastal Gaza Strip has now become a seafood importer. Its desperate fishermen — cut off from plentiful fishing grounds by Israeli patrol boats — have turned to sneaking into Egyptian waters in tiny motorboats to buy their catch and bring it home. Others bring in fish by land, in ice-packed plastic...
Video: Palestinian Political Prisoners and Popular Resistance
Uruknet March 2, 2010 -- The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) is planning to demolish tens of Palestinian homes in the Silwan neighborhood of occupied Jerusalem, south of the Aqsa Mosque, in order to build a public park. Sources in the IOA-controlled Jerusalem municipality said that the fanatic mayor of occupied Jerusalem Nir Barakat is expected to announce in a press conference...
IOA plans demolition of tens of Palestinian homes in Silwan
Uruknet March 2, 2010 -- The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) is planning to demolish tens of Palestinian homes in the Silwan neighborhood of occupied Jerusalem, south of the Aqsa Mosque, in order to build a public park. Sources in the IOA-controlled Jerusalem municipality said that the fanatic mayor of occupied Jerusalem Nir Barakat is expected to announce in a press conference...
Frustration, Suffocation and CrisisStrife, siege on Gaza continue one year after Israeli bombardment
Uruknet March 2, 2010 - The Gaza Strip was already spiraling under years of siege long before the F-16 fighter planes, Apache helicopters, tanks, warships, unmanned aerial vehicles and armed soldiers waged a 23-day war on the Strip in winter 2008-2009. The agricultural sector, which used to provide 50 per cent of Gaza’s food needs, had been steadily failing as a...
PCHR Condemns Storming al-Aqsa Mosque and Holds IOF Responsible for Escalation in the OPT
Uruknet March 1, 2010 - The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns with the strongest terms storming the yard of the al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem by hundreds of Israeli settlers and their supporters, escorted by Israeli security forces. PCHR further condemns the use of excessive force by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) against Palestinian civilians who gathered inside the Mosque...
Funding Israeli Militarism, Belligerence and Occupation
Uruknet From birth, Israel was a regional menace until America became its benefactor in the late 1960s. Now it’s a global one, powerful with a large standing army and the latest weapons and technology, nuclear armed and ready to use them. It’s belligerent on the slightest pretext or none at all, and a threat to world peace and security because US...
Two Suspects Entered U.S. After Killing in Dubai
Uruknet March 1, 2010 — At least two suspects in the killing of a Hamas official in a hotel here in January traveled to the United States afterward, according to a person familiar with the investigation. That disclosure broadened the scope of an international investigation that has fostered diplomatic tensions and cast a harsh light on the methods of Israel’s intelligence...
Raji Sourani, Director of PCHR, Prevented from Testifying before Russell Tribunal on Palestine
Uruknet March 1, 2010 Because of the total closure imposed on the Gaza Strip by the Israeli Government, Raji Sourani, the Director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), was prevented from travelling and thus unable to testify before the Russell Tribunal on Palestine. Today, 1 March 2010, the first international session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine will be...
Building international solidarity during Israeli Apartheid Week
Uruknet March 1, 2010 - In March 2005, a group of activists from the Arab Student Collective at the University of Toronto launched the first Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW). The aim of the week was two-fold. On one hand, it sought to break the wall of silence and misrepresentation around what was happening in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip...
'Israelis no longer allowed in Dubai after Hamas hit'
Uruknet March 1, 2010 - Dubai's police chief said on Monday that travelers suspected of being Israeli will not be allowed into the United Arab Emirates even if they arrive with alternative passports. Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim says the move comes after the killing of a Hamas operative in Dubai, blamed by the Emirates authorities on Israel's Mossad spy agency....
Norman Finkelstein describes visit to Gaza in new book
2 Mar 2010 - US, March 2, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) -This month OR Books publishes Norman Finkelstein's important new book about the Gaza conflict, ‘This Time We Went Too Far.' What follows is an excerpt from the book, Chapter 5, "Inside Gaza." Norman Finkelstein (left) during his trip to Gaza To preserve my sense of purpose, and keep the Palestine struggle from becoming a...
Hamas extends detention of British filmmaker
2 Mar 2010 - Gaza, March 2, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - A Hamas military court in Gaza decided Monday to extend the detention of a British journalist for another 15 days of interrogation on suspicion of unspecified security offenses. The journalist, Paul Martin, a freelance filmmaker, was arrested Feb. 14 at the trial of a Palestinian accused of collaborating with Israel. Martin planned to...
Israel opens 2 Gaza crossings
2 Mar 2010 - Gaza Strip, March 2, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Israeli occupation authorities opened on Tuesday Karem Abu Salem and Al-Montar crossings, in part to allow food aid and limited quantities of fuel into the Gaza Strip. Raed Fattouh, Palestinian border crossings official, said that Israeli occupation authorities would allow entrance by 93-103 trucks carrying aid and goods for commercial and agricultural sectors,...
IOF kidnaps 4 Palestinians in West bank
2 Mar 2010 - West Bank, March 2, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation forces kidnapped today four Palestinians in the West Bank after storming their homes. Palestinian sources said that the detentions were made in Hebron and Bethlehem and then the four young men were taken to an unknown place. The Israeli occupation forces invaded Bait Omar in Hebron and kidnapped two Palestinians:...
Arab parliamentarians to visit Gaza
2 Mar 2010 - Damascus, March 2, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Mohammad Abu Hudeib, president of the Political and National Security Committee of the Interim Arab Parliament, said that a delegation of Arab parliamentarians is to visit the Gaza Strip in April. "The parliament decided in its meeting last weekend in Damascus to form a delegation of top Arab parliamentarians to visit the besieged Gaza...
Israel to demolish 88 houses in Jerusalem
2 Mar 2010 - Jerusalem, March 2, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Jerusalem Mayor, Nir Barkat, will to formally divulged today plans for the wholesale redevelopment of a section of Silwan neighborhood, involving the demolition of almost "88 illegally built Palestinian homes" and the relocation of those residents in new buildings, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Abbas to meet Mubarak in Sharm El-Sheikh
2 Mar 2010 - Egypt, March 2, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will meet Egyptian President - Hosni Mubarak in Sharm El-Sheikh today to formulate a united stance on restarting the peace process with Israel. Fatah Central Committee member Azzam Al-Ahmad told Radio Palestine the officials would discuss how to restart indirect talks with Israel, as proposed by the United...
Palestinians in Jordan Valley struggle to keep their land
1 Mar 2010 - Al-Hadidiyeh, March 2, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- The Jordan Valley is classified as Area C and is, therefore, under complete Israeli control. Israel has imposed harsh restrictions on building and movement there that apply to the Palestinians alone, effectively pushing them to leave area. The Civil Administration does not allow the Palestinians to build in Bedouin areas in the valley and...
Israel invades Sheikh Jarrah to seize land
1 Mar 2010 - Jerusalem, March 1, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli employees of the Jerusalem municipality invaded the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem today. "A large number of Israeli municipal employees stormed Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood this morning, measuring the land owned by Kamal Ebedat and taking photos," Jmal Ataia, an activist in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, said. One week ago, the municipality...
Raising the bar for peace
Palestine Note 2 Mar 2010 - President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu may soon embark on yet another round of peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis. Each leader, in his own way, faces daunting challenges, in part because he must answer to...
'Growth Palestine can believe in': Palestine's GDP upshoot is deceptively encouraging
Palestine Note 2 Mar 2010 - According to Sam Bahour, the leadership in Ramallah is misrepresenting the West Bank's economic growth as a "development towards statehood." True, the OPT collectively had a 7% GDP growth last year, but that growth only applies...
Israeli army wants me
Palestine Note 2 Mar 2010 - The Israeli army invaded our neighborhood at 1:30 AM Tuesday morning waking up my mother, wife and sister. Heavily-armed soldiers blocked roads during "the operation". When my family opened the door, they demanded to see me....
Barkat delays Silwan redevelopment, Arabic media snooze
Palestine Note 2 Mar 2010 - Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat, last seen trying to dodge a lawful court order to tear down an illegal apartment complex in East Jerusalem, made what was expected to be a controversial announcement this morning regarding the...
Funding Israeli militarism, belligerence and occupation
Palestine Note 2 Mar 2010 - From birth, Israel was a regional menace until America became its benefactor in the late 1960s. Now it's a global one, powerful with a large standing army and the latest weapons and technology, nuclear armed and...
Americans for peace now:Middle east peace report
Palestine Note 2 Mar 2010 - Vol. 11, Issue 20 Believe in Israel, Believe in Peace Silwan Scheme Deferred: Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said today that he will delay his efforts to promote a dangerous plan to demolish a number of Palestinian...
Leading Hedge Fund Chief: Gulf Should De-Peg
The Media Line 1 Mar 2010 - Major international investor says Gulf countries should abandon dollar peg to avoid being exposed to weak American economy. The chairman of the world's largest currency hedge fund called on Gulf countries to de-peg from the dollar...
Bounced Saudi Check? Go to Jail, Do Not Collect $200
The Media Line 1 Mar 2010 - Saudi government introduces new measures to clamp down on an abundance of rubber checks. The Saudi government has introduced new measures that will make bouncing a check punishable by jail in an effort to tackle the...
The New Front: 'Econo-Jihad'
The Media Line 1 Mar 2010 - After an 11-year study, researcher says jihadi ideology increasingly focuses on economic targets. Economic terrorism is becoming the preferred tactic of radical Islamic thinkers and terror organizations, an 11-year study of public Islamist discourse has found....
Obama Administration in New Rebuke of Israel
The Media Line 1 Mar 2010 - For the second time in two weeks, the Obama administration has publicly expressed its displeasure with Israeli policy. Reacting to word that the Netanyahu government has approved 600 new housing units in the Jerusalem suburb of...
Israelis Banned from Emirates
The Media Line 1 Mar 2010 - Israelis, including those who also hold a second citizenship, will not be allowed to enter the United Arab Emirates. The announcement was made by Police Chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim, who heads the investigation into the assassination...
Son of Hamas Leader Who Helped Israel Disowned by Father
The Media Line 1 Mar 2010 - Following the revelation that he helped Israel fight Hamas terrorism, Mosab Yousef has been disowned by his father, Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a leader of the terrorist organization. Last week, the Israeli daily Ha'aretz published the story...
Iran targets opposition media
AlJazeera 2 Mar 2010 - Two publications run by reformist politician Mehdi Karroubi's family shut down.
Israel delays Silwan demolition
AlJazeera 2 Mar 2010 - Redevelopment of East Jerusalem district that Palestinian residents opposed is put off.
Dubai: Israeli premier faces arrest
AlJazeera 2 Mar 2010 - Police chief says Netanyahu and Moassad boss to be arrested over Hamas leader murder.
News from Within Podcast: Impact of Settlements on the Bethlehem Municipal Region
Alternative Information Center - Monday, 01 March 2010, Sergio Yahni, Program Director of the Alternative Information Center, spoke with Victor Batarseh, the mayor of Bethlehem, about the impact of settlements on the Bethlehem municipal region.
'We need citizenship law because of Palestinian terror'
Jeruslalem Post 2 Mar 2010 - At High Court, state defends current law; Gal-On’s attorney: It’s not about security, it’s about demographics – Purim is over, it’s time to give up the charade.
'Arabs may have targeted Mabhouh'
Jeruslalem Post 2 Mar 2010 - Hamas man: Jordanian, Egyptian agents tracked terror chief before murder.
Israel, US to share airline terror intel
Jeruslalem Post 2 Mar 2010 - MOU signed by Transportation Minister and US Homeland Security.
‘World must push Israel on heritage list’
Jeruslalem Post 2 Mar 2010 - To protest Israel's move, PA holds cabinet meeting in Hebron, not Ramallah.
West Bank housing starts rise, despite moratorium
Jeruslalem Post 2 Mar 2010 - Work began on 593 Jewish homes from October through December, CBS report shows.
Golan apples sent to Syria
Jeruslalem Post 2 Mar 2010 - Red Cross kicks off annual transport of Druse farmers’ fruit across the border.
Deputy Jerusalem District Attorney allowed to resume post
Jeruslalem Post 2 Mar 2010 - Korb started his “vacation” on February 14, after it was published that he told students “most judges are asses.”
IDF still waiting to receive full budget to return gas masks
Jeruslalem Post 2 Mar 2010 - “There are ... some budget problems, but I believe that we will reach every Israeli citizen over the next three years,” says OC Home Front Command.
World must get Patriarchs' Cave off ‘heritage list’
Jeruslalem Post 2 Mar 2010 - To protest Israel's move, PA holds cabinet meeting in Hebron, not Ramallah.
EU Contributes around €23 M for Palestinians Salaries, Pensions
WAFA 2 Mar 2010 - JERUSALEM, March 2, 2010 (WAFA)- Today, the European Union (EU) made its third contribution this year to the Palestinian Authority's payment of its civil servants salaries and pensions, both in the
Book, Poster Entitled: Childhood under Fire
WAFA 2 Mar 2010 - GAZA, March 2, 2010 (WAFA)- Gaza Community Mental Health Progarmme “GCMHP” in partnership with Israeli human rights organizations, including GISHA – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement and
EC Mobilizes €58 M in Humanitarian Aid for Palestinians in OPT, Lebanon
WAFA 2 Mar 2010 - JERUSALEM, March 2, 2010 (WAFA)- The European Commission (EC) has allocated €58 million in humanitarian aid to support operations in favour of the most vulnerable people affected by the ongoing
Israel Pressures Bedouins to Leave Jordan Valley, B’Tselem Says
WAFA 2 Mar 2010 - TEL AVIV, March 2, 2010 (WAFA)- The Jordan Valley is classified as Area C and is, therefore, under complete Israeli control. Israel has imposed harsh restrictions on building and movement there that
Cabinet Convenes in Hebron to Express Rejection of Including Palestinian Sites as Israeli Heritage
WAFA 2 Mar 2010 - HEBRON, March 2, 2010 (WAFA)- Chaired by PM Salam Fayyad, the Cabinet held Monday its weekly meeting in the West Bank city of Hebron city today to express its total rejection of Israeli’s unjust
MSD Demands Israel to Stop Settlement Activities in Jerusaem
WAFA 2 Mar 2010 - JERUSALEM, March 1, 2010 (WAFA)- Al-Maqdese Society for Development (MSD) demanded the Israeli authorities to stop all settlement activities in Jerusalem. Commenting on the Israeli plans
Haaretz: Turkmenistan Snubs Former Mossad Agent as Israel Envoy
WAFA 2 Mar 2010 - TEL AVIV, March 1, 2010 (WAFA)- For the past four months Turkmenistan has been stalling over the appointment of a former spy and close confidant of Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman as
Outpost Erected in West Bank for third Time
WAFA 2 Mar 2010 -
MIDEAST: New Call to Past Adds to Troubles
IPS JERUSALEM, Feb 28 (IPS) - When last December Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, delivering to an international conference in Herzliya outside Tel Aviv what has become the equivalent of Israel's 'State of the Union' address, chose to focus not on Iran's nuclear ambitions or on the prospects of Middle East...
Rain and tear gas fail to stop demonstrations
Stop The Wall - Despite the stormy weather, anti-Wall activists rallied in demonstrations across the West Bank. Soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators in Bil’in, Nil’in, al-Ma’sara and Nabi Saleh. Prior to the demonstration, Occupation forces also invaded al-Ma’sara, delivering more threats to the local popular committee. [
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
PCHR Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)
With my life and soul I will free you Palestine - Demonstrators in Gaza
3/1/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Internatonal Solidarity Movement - Thirty activists from the Local Initiative Beit Hannoun and the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) participated in the weekly demonstration asking for Palestinian land to be returned to its rightful owners. The activists gathered at the site of the University College for Agriculture which now lies in rubble following air attacks during operation Cast Lead. The activists walked towards the Erez border chanting "Down with the Occupation" and "With my life and soul I will free you Palestine". The activists reached 50 meters from the border and there Saber Zanin, Director of Beit Hannoun Local Initiative, spoke about the hardships farmers face on a daily basis as they attempt to plough and farm their land. Farmers risk being shot at either by Israeli snipers or from the automated tower machines which line the Gaza-Israel border zone.
Israeli trucks cross into Syria in annual 'apple invasion'
Ha'aretz 2 Mar 2010 - Quneitra crossing into Syria opened Tuesday for 6-year long annual tradition of Golan apples shipment.
Who will blink first in Iran's nuclear poker game?
Ha'aretz 2 Mar 2010 - If diplomacy and sanctions fail will Netanyahu, Obama call their bluff or act upon their heated statements.
Austria Jews slam controversial far-right presidential candidate
Ha'aretz 2 Mar 2010 - Austrian presidential candidate Rosenkranz has criticized Holocaust-denial law calling it a curb on free speech.
Panel of justices on Citizenship Law turns raucous
Ha'aretz 2 Mar 2010 - Debate arouses over law preventing Palestinians married to Israeli Arabs from receiving Israeli citizenship, residency.
Beirut publisher releases Arabic translation of Amos Oz autobiography
Ha'aretz 2 Mar 2010 - Translation funded by E. Jerusalem Khoury family in memory of their son killed in 2004 terror attack.
Assad: U.S.'s misguided Mideast policy empowered Iran
Ha'aretz 2 Mar 2010 - Former National Security Council officials say Assad told them Syria's ties with Iran, Hezbollah not negotiable.
Canada students counter 'Israel Apartheid Week' with controversial campaign
Ha'aretz 2 Mar 2010 - 'Size Doesn't Matter' campaign taking place in 23 campuses across Canada, highlights Israel's achievements.
U.S. official: World sees need to sanction Iran
Ha'aretz 2 Mar 2010 - UN official says Security Council could discuss new round of Iran sanctions in two months.
Egypt: Israel West Bank heritage list risks peace
Ha'aretz 2 Mar 2010 - Egypt FM says Cairo does not recognize Israeli actions in the Cave of the Patriarchs, al-Aqsa mosque.
Iran, Syria may talk a big talk, but too scared to act
Ha'aretz 2 Mar 2010 - Axis of evil needn't lose sleep over the 007-style Dubai hit, but should worry about Mughniyeh killing in Damascus.
Palestinian archeology gets int'l boost ahead of 2011 statehood plan
Ha'aretz 2 Mar 2010 - Netherlands supports upkeep of 5,000-year-old West Bank city to advance Palestinian cultural identity.
Netanyahu: Israel will never cede Jordan Valley
Ha'aretz 2 Mar 2010 - PM tells Knesset committee that area's strategic location makes pullout impossible, even in peace deal.
Hamas: Jordan or Egypt likely behind Dubai hit
Ha'aretz 2 Mar 2010 - Dubai to FBI: Check up on credit cards used by suspects in Hamas hit; UAE probing Israeli involvement.
Holocaust survivors watch Jewish renegades kill Nazis
Ha'aretz 2 Mar 2010 - Tarantino screened his Inglorious Basterds at the Museum of Tolerance for an audience full of survivors.
Israeli embassy complains over 'antisemitic' postcards from Spanish children
The Guardian 2 Mar 2010 - Spokesman voices anger after Valencia primary schoolchildren sent 'disturbing' messages about war, money and killing children Israel has complained to the Spanish authorities after its embassy in Madrid received postcards from nine-year-old schoolchildren accusing it of...
Jerusalem mayor unveils demolition plan
The Guardian 2 Mar 2010 - Israeli prime minister tells mayor to delay redevelopment and hold discussions with the Palestinian residents under threat Jerusalem's mayor today unveiled a sweeping plan for an area of East Jerusalem that would see at least 22...
El Al pilot accidentally takes sleeping pill during flight
Ha'aretz 2 Mar 2010 - An El Al pilot took a sleeping pill by mistake about two weeks ago on a flight from Kiev, Ukraine. The pill eventually made him ill, forcing him to leave the cockpit during the flight. ...
Israel's apartheid doesn't stop at the West Bank
Ha'aretz 2 Mar 2010 - Here is a civics lesson about the Zionist heritage, which has recently basked in the limelight of another government decision. ...
Author David Grossman receives lifetime achievement award
Ha'aretz 2 Mar 2010 - The Composers, Authors and Publishers Society of Israel (ACUM) has chosen author David Grossman as one of the recipients of this year's lifetime-achievement awards, the organization announced yesterday. ...
Ministry orders Holocaust education for all students, not just on Poland trip
Ha'aretz 2 Mar 2010 - All 11th graders will take part in preparations for Holocaust-education ...
U.S. 'appreciates' Netanyahu delay of East Jerusalem demolitions
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - The United States appreciates the intervention of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which postponed a planned demolition of houses in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, a State Department official told reporters on Tuesday. ...
Increased humanitarian aid to Gaza after IDF operation 27 Feb 2010
Relief Web 2 Mar 2010 - Source: Government of Israel
UN HUMANITARIAN CHIEF VISITS GAZA, CALLS FOR CROSSINGS TO RE-OPEN
Relief Web 2 Mar 2010 - Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Middle East: Commission mobilizes €58 million in humanitarian aid for most vulnerable Palestinians in oPt and Lebanon
Relief Web 2 Mar 2010 - Source: European Commission Humanitarian Aid department
OPT: East Jerusalem Humanitarian Overview February 2010
Relief Web 2 Mar 2010 - Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
EU contributes around €23 million for Palestinians salaries and pensions
Relief Web 2 Mar 2010 - Source: European Union
Israel, US join forces against airline terror
YNet News 3 Mar 2010 - As part of new agreement, countries to practice scenarios of terrorist incidents on civilian planes. Israeli development warning of aircraft hijacking tested successfully, already raising interest in United States
Lieberman: See you at court
YNet News 2 Mar 2010 - Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman slams police in wake of new allegations; FM says he'll show up at Supreme Court Wednesday morning to file petition over probe leaks, invites journalists to attend
UN urges Egypt to stop shooting at migrants
YNet News 2 Mar 2010 - Egyptian forces deliberately kill asylum seekers on Israel border, UN human rights chief says
IDF unveils recon system
YNet News 2 Mar 2010 - (Video) Field Intelligence Corps release first-time footage of 'spot and strike' in action
Leftists: Lieberman must quit
YNet News 2 Mar 2010 - Foreign minister urged to resign over latest revelations; MK Oron: Olmert quit over lesser charges
Palestinians fire on IDF post near Ramallah
YNet News 2 Mar 2010 - Military post on Route 443 comes under fire from passing Palestinian vehicle. No injuries reported
Mabhouh aide: Assassinated Hamas man smuggled weapons
YNet News 2 Mar 2010 - Mabhouh 'never stopped thinking about how to fight occupation,' aide says. Dubai police submit official request for arrest of Netanyahu, Mossad Chief Dagan
Barkat: Silwan plan 'win-win' for all
YNet News 2 Mar 2010 - Jerusalem mayor convenes press conference, says plan will be implemented after talks with residents. 'Philanthropic groups, foreign governments' to assist evacuees
Legislation to restrict HR organizations
B'tselem 27 Feb 2010 - Continuing the trend of delegitimizing human rights organizations in Israel, MK's from the Right and Center are promoting a bill that will ostensibly ensure transparency, but will effectively impede the freedom of action of these organizations.
Soldiers prevent filming in West Bank
B'tselem 27 Feb 2010 - Although the army states that filming in the Occupied Territories is permitted, B'Tselem's staff and volunteers have been harassed, and even assaulted, by soldiers and officers while filming in the West Bank. Repeated complaints to military officials have
Netanyahu: Jordan River Valley Israel's regardless of peace deal
Daily Star 3 Mar 2010 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel won't pull out of a key part of the West Bank even if there's a peace deal with the Palestinians, the premier told a parliamentary committee Tuesday. Benjamin Netanyahu was referring to the Jordan River Valley, along the eastern border of the West Bank. Israel considers control of the border vital to block the flow of arms from Jordan to the Palestinians.
Iran says new UN nuclear chief biased but leaves door ajar
Daily Star 3 Mar 2010 Iran's atomic chief on Tuesday accused the new UN nuclear watchdog head, Yukiya Amano, of taking sides against Tehran's atomic program but said he hoped the Japanese official would modify his stand. Ali Akbar Salehi's criticism came as Moscow and Beijing - two veto-wielding powers at the UN Security Council - were divided over imposing new sanctions on Tehran.
ElBaradei calls for key changes in Egyptian Constitution
Daily Star 3 Mar 2010 CAIRO: Former UN atomic chief Mohamed ElBaradei, emerging as Egypt's highest-profile dissident, has called for constitutional changes in his first statement since forming an opposition group, newspapers reported on Tuesday. ElBaradei demanded an end to Egypt's emergency laws and judicial oversight over elections as well as the easing of restrictions on presidential candidacies, in the statement.
Moroccan police dismantle six-member 'terror network'
Daily Star 3 Mar 2010 RABAT: Moroccan police have dismantled a terrorist network that was "active in several towns" of the North African kingdom, the state security service announced Tuesday. The network included six members who "were planning to commit terrorist acts inside the national territory," the security service said in a statement, without saying when the arrests took place.
Turkey ready to mediate fresh Syria-Israel talks
Daily Star 3 Mar 2010 CAIRO: Ankara is ready to mediate between foes Israel and Syria provided there is a "political will" on both sides, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in Cairo on Tuesday. "If there is a political will on both sides, then we are ready for indirect Turkish mediation between Syria and Israel," Davutoglu said. The Turkish foreign minister was speaking at a news conference
Dubai to tighten up inspection of Western passports Emirate seeks Netanyahu's arrest over hotel murder
Daily Star 3 Mar 2010 Dubai's police chief said on Tuesday that Western passports will be closely inspected following the murder of a senior Hamas militant in the Gulf emirate but that Jews would not be singled out. "We respect all people and all religions, whether they are Muslims, Jews, Christians or others," Dahi Khalfan told AFP, when asked about remarks attributed to him
Clinton offers to help parties resolve row over Falklands
Daily Star 3 Mar 2010 BUENOS AIRES: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered Monday to help Britain and Argentina resolve a simmering row over a south Atlantic archipelago but balked at an Argentine request for US mediation. Clinton gave no sign Washington would prod ally Britain into dropping its refusal to respond to Argentina's new campaign for dialogue on the sovereignty
Hungry Chile looters ransack, burn stores
Daily Star 3 Mar 2010 CONCEPCION, Chile: Looters pillaged shops and torched two stores in Chile's second city as quake survivors ramped up a desperate search for food, angered by security forces trying to bar their way. "It's full, they have water, food, diapers, but the police won't let us go inside," complained a man standing next to a Concepcion supermarket after a curfew
Ten die in blast in south Yemen town - ministry
Daily Star 3 Mar 2010 SANAA: Ten people, including two children, were killed and 15 wounded in a pre-dawn explosion in a residential area of the Yemeni town of Taiz on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry said. The blast struck at 5 am local time in a building where fireworks and carbon products were stored, the ministry's news website, 26sep.net, said citing a security source.
Apple transfer starts in rare Golan-Syria crossing - ICRC
Daily Star 3 Mar 2010 GENEVA: Up to 10,000 tons of apples are to be sent from Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to Syria, after long-time foes Israel and Syria approved the transfer, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Tuesday. "The transfer of apples across the demarcation line is one of the very few crossings that take place from the Golan into Syria proper," said the ICRC in a statement.
Iraqi VP says his country wants better ties with Syria
Daily Star 3 Mar 2010 Iraq's vice president said in Damascus on Tuesday that his country wanted to improve relations with its neighbor, after ties soured following last year's massive bomb attacks in Baghdad. In a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad, Tarek al-Hashemi delivered "a message from the Iraqi government expressing its commitment to developing bilateral relations in all fields,
Debunking Israeli Hasbara
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - In a much-appreciated effort aimed at highlighting and exposing Israeli racism and terrorism against the Palestinians, many university campuses around the world are marking Israel’s apartheid week.
Haneyya asks Arab summit to adopt question of Palestinian prisoners
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - Ismail Haneyya called on the Arab summit scheduled to open in the Libyan capital by the end of this month to activate the issue of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation jails.
IOA plans demolition of tens of Palestinian homes in Silwan
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) is planning to demolish tens of Palestinian homes in the Silwan neighborhood of occupied Jerusalem, south of the Aqsa Mosque, in order to build a public park.
IOF soldiers raid southern Gaza, cut trees and round up 19 in WB
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - Israeli occupation forces (IOF) raided agricultural areas east of Khan Younis to the south of the Gaza Strip at an early hour on Tuesday, local sources said.
Sayel asks Blair to find drastic solution for Gaza power crisis
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - Walid Sayel, the board chairman of Gaza electricity generation station, has appealed to the international quartet committee topped by Tony Blair to find a drastic solution to the Gaza power crisis.
Australian team to investigate use of forged passports
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - The Australian government has requested visas for three police investigators to visit Israel to probe the use of forged Australian passports in the assassination of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh.
Christian MP dismayed at blocking Dweik from entering PLC
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - Hussam Al-Tawil, the independent Christian PLC member said that PLC speaker Dr. Aziz Dweik is entitled to enter the PLC premises in Ramallah and to exercise his duties as chairman of the council.
New subsidence in OJ as a result of IOA digging
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - AFEH has warned of a series of land collapse in the Silwan suburb of occupied Jerusalem south of the Aqsa Mosque as a result of the ceaseless digging by the IOA.
Dweik denounces obstruction of PLC session
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - Dr. Aziz Dweik has strongly denounced those responsible for blocking the PLC emergency session on Monday that was supposed to discuss Israeli attacks on Islamic holy shrines.
Speakers of Arab parliaments to visit Gaza next month
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - A delegation of Arab parliament speakers is to visit the Gaza Strip next month in line with Arab attempts to break the siege on Gaza, Dr. Mohammed Abu Hudaib said.
Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker arrested in late-night raid
LA Times 3 Mar 2010 - Tehran's top prosecutor says the detention of award-winning director Jafar Panahi is unrelated to his reformist politics. Panahi's son said computers and other personal property were confiscated. One of Iran's most acclaimed film directors has been detained amid an ongoing government crackdown against the opposition, an official said Tuesday.
U.N. Official Condemns Gaza Blockade
New York Times 2 Mar 2010 - The senior U.N. official for humanitarian relief said the blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt amounted to the collective punishment of 1.5 million Palestinians.
Middle East Letter: Water Crisis Grips Syria
New York Times 2 Mar 2010 - Hundreds of thousands of farming families have moved to urban areas -- a shift that has economic and political implications.
Two Suspects Entered U.S. After Killing in Dubai
New York Times 2 Mar 2010 - At least two suspects in the killing of a Hamas official in a hotel here in January traveled to the United States afterward, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
You be the judge
Mondoweiss - 2 Mar 2010 - Steven Gutkin, AP : JERUSALEM — Jerusalem’s mayor unveiled a plan Tuesday to demolish dozens of Palestinian homes to make room for a tourist center in one of the disputed city’s most volatile neighborhoods, drawing criticism from Palestinians and the United Nations. Ethan Bronner, New York Times :...
How would Washington Post respond if soldiers came for a columnist at 2 in the morning because of his writings?
Mondoweiss - 2 Mar 2010 - Today in the Washington Post Richard Cohen says that Jimmy Carter "waved the bloody shirt of racism" when he said that Israel was practicing apartheid in the Occupied Territories. Cohen is blinding himself and his readers to the harsh conditions of the occupation. Consider Mazin Qumsiyeh...
Red herring in Mamilla case
Mondoweiss - 2 Mar 2010 - Martin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center has lately produced a 1945 article in the Palestine Post– later the Jerusalem Post–describing Muslim plans to build a commercial center on a portion of the Mamilla Cemetery that Hier now covets for his… Museum of Tolerance. Hier is...
Rahm: Just hanging on?
Mondoweiss - 2 Mar 2010 - There was finally a shake up over at the White House this weekend. No, Rahm neither resigned nor was axed. Instead, Social Secretary Desiree Rogers became "the first high-level departure from Obama’s senior staff." WaPo spends more than enough ink presenting reasons for the departure of...
Hooray for the ‘NY Times’
Mondoweiss - 2 Mar 2010 - The Times publishes a piece on the collective punishment of the Gazan people by Fares Akram, a wonderful investigator who lost his father in the Gaza onslaught. Related posts: I think Edward Rothstein of the ‘Times’ is a Zionist, and Roger Cohen of the ‘Times’ isn’t,...
News from Within Podcast: Impact of Settlements on the Bethlehem Municipal Region
Alternative Information Center - 3 Mar 2010 - Monday, 01 March 2010, Sergio Yahni, Program Director of the Alternative Information Center, spoke with Victor Batarseh, the mayor of Bethlehem, about the impact of settlements on the Bethlehem municipal region.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Arab League Supports Indirect Israeli-Palestinian Talks
IMEMC - Thursday March 04, 2010 - 01:25, The Arab League expressed on Wednesday its support to holding indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians, hoping that the stalled peace process could be renewed.
Israel Release Hamas’ Spokesperson In Tulkarem
IMEMC - Thursday March 04, 2010 - 00:47, The Israeli Authorities released on Wednesday Sheikh Abdullah Yassin, the spokesperson of the Hamas movement in Tulkarem, in the northern part of the West Bank.
Troops Attack Protesters At A New Wall Section Construction Site Near Bethlehem
IMEMC - Wednesday March 03, 2010 - 18:00, Israeli soldiers attacked, Wednesday morning, home and land owners from Beit Jala town, near Bethlehem southern West Bank, when they protested the destruction of their land to build a new section of the separation wall.
Israeli Troops Injure And Detain Two Palestinians During Military Operation In Southern West Bank
IMEMC - Wednesday March 03, 2010 - 15:40, Two Palestinian men were injured and taken by Israeli troops during an overnight invasion targeting the villages near Jenin city, northern West Bank.
Military Post Comes Under Fire; Soldiers Detain Nine Palestinians From Central West Bank
IMEMC - Wednesday March 03, 2010 - 15:21, Invasions targeted the central West Bank village of Nabi-saleh and nearby refugee camp, this Tuesday.
Dubai Seeks Netanyahu’s Arrest
IMEMC - Wednesday March 03, 2010 - 12:19, Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai police chief, stated that he would ask the state prosecutor to issue arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the head of the Israeli Mossad, Meir Dagan.
Jordan Imprisons Six Residents For Attempting To Enter Gaza, Fight The Army in 2009
IMEMC - Wednesday March 03, 2010 - 11:47, A Jordanian Court ordered, on Tuesday, the imprisonment of six Jordanians who attempted to form an armed wing that would try to enter the Gaza Strip and carry out a number of attacks against Israeli army during the war on Gaza.
Netanyahu & Livni Trade Accusations Over “Concessions”
IMEMC - Wednesday March 03, 2010 - 10:34, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud Party, traded accusations with Israel’s opposition leader of the Kadima Party, Tzipi Tivni, over what they described as “concessions made to the Palestinians.”
Israeli military court extends Hebron boy’s detention
3/3/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - A Hebron child had his detention extended on Wednesday as he stood before an Israeli military tribunal at the Ofer prison, for allegedly throwing stones at Israeli forces. The father of Al-Hassan, 12, Fadl Al-Muhtaseb told Ma'an that his son had not been indicted for any crime but nonetheless had his sentence extended. "My child was brought to court with both his hands and feet cuffed. He was very scared of the many soldiers around him. It is ironic that the judge extended his detention until Sunday until an indictment is issued against him," he said. Al-Mutaseb was asked to pay a fine of 5,000 shekels, which was then reduced to 2,000 shekels. "What law allows a child to be tried in court and then asks his father to pay a fine? I will not pay the fine, and you have to release my child. This is the law of Israel's occupation," the father said.
Israeli bulldozers return to Beit Jala
3/3/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Dozens of Palestinians and foreign solidarity activists rallied near Bethlehem on Wednesday, in protest of the bulldozing of olive trees near a section of Israel's wall, which weaves through the occupied West Bank. Witnesses said Israeli forces used limited force against protesters who attempted to prevent the bulldozers from approaching the trees, planted in Beit Jala. Several demonstrators were dragged on the ground as they refused to leave, but no serious injuries were reported. Marwan Sha'ban of the local Popular Committee Against Settlements in Bethlehem said "we came here with our solidarity friends to say: stop attacking the land, uprooting trees, and forcing people out of their houses. "Sha'ban termed any construction on privately owned land as illegal, but said the Beit Jala construction flaunted the law, noting previous remarks by Fayyad Nasser, a lawyer who represents the Beit Jala municipality.
Israeli bulldozers enter Beit Jala for wall construction
3/3/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli forces enforced a closed military zone in Beit Jala, Bethlehem, on Tuesday, to assist bulldozers in overturning land in the area to make way for further construction of the separation wall, witnesses said. The bulldozers began operating on lands near the Cremisan Monastery road, said Leila Awad, whose home is the only one in the area. Awad told Ma'an she was surprised to see Israeli bulldozers, accompanied by police, enter her land and begin uprooting olive, walnut and lemontrees. Israeli forces previously confiscated one and half dunums of her land, Awad said, to build a tunnel connecting Jerusalem settlement blocs with the Kfar Etzion settlement in Bethlehem. The remainder of her land was confiscated to build the rest of the separation wall, only five meters from her home, she added. Awad said her family of nine is threatened with eviction. Journalists and cameramen were prohibited from accessing the area, as Israeli forces enforced a closed military zone. . . . .
Nazzal: Israel to approve 30,000 housing units on occupied land
3/3/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Israeli authorities aim to approve the construction of a 30,000 housing unit for religious Israelis in the industrial area of Atarot and Qalandiya, after excavating the site, the follow-up director of the popular committee against the wall and settlements said Tuesday. Mohammad Nazzal said the plan was uncovered by an Israeli journalist, who detailed his findings on Israeli TV. The decision, Nazzal said, was reached between the Israeli mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, and members of Knesset, the Israeli parliament. The new plan is a renewed attempt to "Judaize" Jerusalem and strip Palestinians of their rights in Jerusalem and the West Bank, Nazzal asserted. Atarot, near the West Bank village of Ramallah, is an Israeli industrial site in occupied East Jerusalem. The Israeli government exercises its authority in the area, despite lacking legal sovereignty over it.
Haniyeh rejects West Bank local elections
3/3/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - De facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday rejected Palestinian Authority (PA) plans for local elections in the West Bank as a step that would deepen political divisions. Speaking to lawmakers at the war-damaged Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) building in Gaza, Haniyeh urged the PA "not to carry out any procedures that would deepen the division. " He aked the PA to hold off on the elections planned for June until such time as a simultaneous vote can be held in Gaza, and to leave the existing municipal councils in West Bank in office. "We refuse to hold local elections before achieving national reconciliation," Hanieyh said. Hamas was successful in local elections in 2005, winning control of several municipalities. The group then swept to power in 2006 parliamentary elections. Tensions with the rival Fatah movement persisted and in June 2007 Hamas took full control of the Gaza Strip, shutting down security forces linked to Fatah.
Medics: Palestinian teen killed in tunnel collapse
3/3/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - A Palestinian teenager was killed on Wednesday when a tunnel collapsed along the Egypt-Gaza border, medics said. The victim was identified as 18-year-old Ahmad Sobhy An-Najjar. Medics at Najjar Hospital in Rafah told Ma'an the teenager was pronounced dead on arrival. The smuggling industry, necessitated by the ongoing blockade led by Egypt and Israel, is notoriously dangerous. On Saturday, five workers sustained moderate injuries when a smuggling route collapsed. Witnesses said the tunnel was in the As-Salam neighborhood southeast of Rafah, and said the collapse was a result of floods. [end]
2 Islamic Jihad leaders injured, detained near Jenin
3/3/2010 - Jenin - Ma'an - Two leaders of Islamic Jihad's armed wing were injured and detained early Wednesday morning by Israeli forces, storming villages west of Jenin. Ma'an's correspondent said numerous Israeli forces and special units, assisted by helicopter cover, raided the villages of Al-Yamun, Kafr Dan, and Silat Al-Harithiya at 1am and imposed a curfew in an attempt to detain Al-Quds Brigades combatants Alaa Zayoud, 33, and Bajis Hamdiyya, 32. Israeli forces surrounded the Hamdiyya home in Al-Yamun, and Zayoud's home in Silat Al-Harithiya, as well as several homes belonging to their relatives. However, the combatants were found in a home in Kafr Dan, which was surrounded by Israeli forces, locals told Ma'an's correspondent. Clashes ensued, locals said, between Israeli forces and the combatants. Both were injured and detained in the incident.
Za’noon appointed speaker of Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union
3/3/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Palestinian National Council (PNC) speaker Salim Za'noon was appointed the head of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Unionon Tuesday, replacing Sheikh Ahmad Al-Esa'y. The appointment came during the opening session of the union's 16th conference, held in the headquarters of the Egyptian parliament, attended by speakers of Arab parliaments, national parties, as well as representatives of diplomatic missions and NGOs. Za'noon delivered a speech applauding Egypt for hosting the conference, pinpointing the importance of the role of the AIPU and calling for more cooperation in order to maintain it. Furthermore, the new AIPU head urged the union to play a more significant role in countering the threats encompassing Palestine, particularly the recent Israeli decision to include the Ibrahimi Mosque and Rachel's Tomb, both in the West Bank, and the walls of occupied East Jerusalem's Old City, on a list of Israeli heritage sites.
Tulkarem radio host ordered held for 50 days
3/3/2010 - Tulkarem - Ma'an - An Israeli military court sentenced the director of a Ma'an-affiliated Tulkarem radio station to 50 days in prison and a 1,500 shekel penalty. Omar Bleidy, owner and sometimes host of the Tulkarem station Kul An-Nas (All the People) was seized from his home by Israeli soldiers on Tuesday night. Witnesses said soldiers surrounded Bleidy's house before detaining him. Bleidy has not been charged with any crime, and the reasons for his detention remain unclear. The local station broadcasts a variety of general interest programs, news and music. Kul An-Nas is a member station of Ma'an Network. Bleidy was among ten detained overnight, according to Israeli media, with one detained from Jenin, two from the Ramallah area and six from the Bethlehem municipality. Israeli media said all ten were "wanted" by Israeli officials. Reports from the Bethlehem-area town of Ad-Doha and the Duheisha refugee camp confirmed the reported six detentions from the area.
Gaza ministry says Israeli forces raided prison
3/3/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - The Prisoners Affairs Ministry in Gaza said Wednesday that Israeli forces raided the Hadarim detention center and searched prisoners' cells on Tuesday. In a statement, the ministry said Israeli forces raided center and forced prisoners to strip. They were searched "provocatively" and verbally abused, according to the ministry. The statement condemned "this attack and harassment," which it suggested was designed to break the will of the prisoners, "instill fear into their hearts and humiliate them more and more. "The ministry expressed solidarity with all detainees and said it would soon announce the launch of activities to stand by detainees and out a spotlight on their difficulties and suffering. The statement finally called on human rights organizations to intervene. . . . .
Al-Aqsa Brigades shoot at Israeli outpost in Ramallah
3/3/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, affiliated with Fatah, claimed responsibility for opening fire overnight at an Israeli military outpost west of Ramallah, in the West Bank, a statement read. An Israeli military spokesman told Ma'an that live fire was opened at an outpost near Route 443. No damages or injuries were reported, he said, adding that forces found bullet shells near the scene and searches were carried out. Knesset Member Yariv Lenin, of the Likud, told the Israeli daily Yedioth Aharonot that "again we see Israeli citizens driving like sitting ducks. MK Micheal Ben Ari, of the National Union party, said the incident was "an advert for what will happen if the court decision [to allow Palestinians to use the 443] road is implemented. The judges must understand that first of all they have to concern themselves with the security of Israeli citizens, and not freedom of movement for those who take advantage of it.
Bahar takes control of parliament
3/4/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Palestinian Legislative Council speaker Azziz Dweik on Wednesday handed power to his first deputy, Ahmad Bahar. "This comes as the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah forbade Aziz Dweik from entering the council's headquarters," a statement from the PLC said. Dweik had called for an emergency session of the legislative body to be held on Monday, but was prevented from accessing the PLC's meeting rooms in its Ramallah headquarters. Dweik, elected PLC speaker under the Hamas bloc in 2006, was imprisoned by Israel in 2007 and released in 2009. The term of the PLC ended shortly after his release, but some experts say his term does not expire until elections are held. President Mahmoud Abbas, whose term -- extended to coincide with the term of the PLC -- expired in January, met with Dweik on Monday, when the speaker requested a PLC emergency session.
Hamas women rally in Gaza for West Bank shrines
3/3/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - The Hamas women's movement staged a peaceful demonstration outside the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) building in Gaza on Wednesday protesting Israeli infringement on Palestinian religious sites in the West Bank. The group's spokeswoman, Umm Muhammad Ar-Rantisi said, "The events in Jerusalem and at the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron show that Israel plans to take over Jerusalem and dominate our holy sites. "She urged the Palestinian government in Gaza to "remain strong" in opposition to Israeli occupation and take concrete steps to defend religious sites from what she termed a "fierce attack" by Israel. In February Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ignited protests by adding shrines in Bethlehem and Hebron to a list of Israeli national heritage sites. While Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron (also known as. . . .
Israeli forces detain 8 Palestinians
3/3/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Eight Palestinians were detained overnight in Tulkarem and Ramallah on Wednesday, Ma'an's correspondent said. In the town of Ateel, north of Tulkarem city, three Palestinians were detained, identified as Abdul Nasser Amin As-Suwais, 44, Saher Muhammad Yassin, 35, and Aysar Theeb Hamdan, 35, a member in the Palestinian intelligence. As-Suwais served 15 years in a number of Israeli prisons and was released in 2009. He has been detained on more than ten occasions, Ma'an's correspondent said. As-Suwais' family said nearly 10 Israeli military vehicles surrounded the house and a number of intelligence officers arrived carrying files, taking him to an unknown location. An Israeli military spokesmen said those detained were "operatives involved in suspected terror activities. "Raid on anti-wall movement stronghold.
Gaza: Palestinian women’s union rally for equality
3/3/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - The Union of Palestinian Women in Gaza rallied in front of the Al-Azhar University on Wednesday, calling for the defense of women's rights. Amal Hamad, the UPW's coordinator, said that "today, Palestinian women in Gaza protest against Israeli attacks in Jerusalem and against holy sites. This is the result of internal conflict. "Hamad called on President Mahmoud Abbas to defend women's rights and bring an end to "honor killings. " The women gathered at the protest stressed the need to oppose all attacks against institutions and freedoms, calling for the reopning of the UPW's headquarters in Gaza, as well as a return to unity to protect holy sites. The rally was joined by numerous Palestinian politicians, with Saleh Zeidan, politburo member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, calling for the enforcement of laws protecting women's rights and equality.
In photos: Confrontation in Beit Jala
3/3/2010 - MaanImages / Luay Sababa - Israeli border police clash with Palestinian protesters at a demonstration against the separation wall in the West Bank city of Beit Jala, near Bethlehem, on 3 March 2010. Bulldozers continued work on Wednesday near Route 60 on the edge of town. Israeli authorities were operating in an area that includes over 2,000 olive trees, all owned by Palestinians in the predominantly Christian city between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The operation threatens 35 family homes, municipality officials said. On Tuesday, Israeli forces enforced a closed military zone order to assist the ongoing operation. Journalists and photographers were prohibited from accessing the area, as the frequently employed designation also applies to press coverage.
Islamic Jihad military wing condemns Jenin raid
3/4/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - The military wing of Islamic Jihad on Wednesday condemned Israel for targeting its fighters in West Bank villages. Two commanders of the Al-Quds Brigades were injured and detained early Wednesday by Israeli forces that stormed villages west of Jenin. "What happened at dawn on Wednesday. . . was the largest military campaign in the area in four years," Abu Ahmad, spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigades, said in a statement. Ma'an's Jenin correspondent said numerous Israeli soldiers and special forces, backed by helicopters, raided the villages of Al-Yamun, Kafr Dan, and Silat Al-Harithiya at 1am and declared a curfew in an attempt to detain combatants Alaa Zayoud, 33, and Bajis Hamdiya, 32. Israeli forces surrounded the Hamdiya home in Al-Yamun, and Zayoud's home in Silat Al-Harithiya, as well as several homes of relatives.
Gaza official in favor of importing Egyptian fuel
3/3/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Gaza's sole power plant is in favor of importing gas from Egypt to run its generators, which officials said Tuesday would be more cost effective and environmentally friendly. Walid Sayil, executive director of the power plant, said the use of industrial diesel at present was neither economical nor safe for the environment, and called on the International Quartet to find a solution for the ongoing electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip. Rolling blackouts are experienced throughout the coastal enclave, resulting from a fuel shortfall caused by the siege imposed on Gaza by Israel, Sayil noted. The power plant has ceased functioning on several occasions since the beginning of 2010, with the Gaza Energy Authority citing an unresolved fuel payment dispute between the EU and the Palestinian Authority. Sayil called on the international community, Arab states, the Islamic conference organization, and human rights groups to exert pressure on the EU to resume funding fuel deliveries needed to operate the power plant.
2 Gaza crossings partially open
3/3/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - The Kerem Shalom and Karni crossings will be partly open for the delivery of goods into Gaza on Wednesday, Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh said. Approximately 79 truckloads of aid and commercial goods, including one truck for the telecommunications company PalTel and two trucks for the electricity company, are scheduled to enter at the southern crossing at Kerem Shalom. Fattouh added that limited quantities of domestic gas and industrial diesel will also enter Gaza at the crossing. Additionally, 110 truckloads of wheat and animal feed will pass into Gaza via the Karni crossing, to the north, he said [end]
Rafah crossing open for 3rd day
3/3/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Egyptian authorities announced on Wednesday that the Rafah crossing will remain open until Thursday, as Palestinians travel through the Gaza-Egypt border for the third consecutive day after a two-month closure. However, the de facto government's crossings committee said individuals would be able to travel through the crossing until Friday. The committee added that visa holders and Gaza residents will be allowed to transit the crossing on Thursday, while on the following day, international passport holders will be permitted travel. On Wednesday, patients, foreign nationals and visa holders were permitted transit through Rafah. On Tuesday, the de facto crossings committee said 933 travelers left the Gaza Strip, while 202 residents entered. . . .
Report: Settler lightly hurt by stones near Hebron
3/3/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - A settler was injured on Wednesday after being struck by stones southwest of Hebron, news reports said. The Israeli news site Walla! reported that an Israeli citizen was lightly hurt and taken to a hospital to receive treatment. Israeli forces were searching the area for a Palestinian suspect, the report added. [end]
Israeli soldier reveals military plans on Facebook
3/3/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Israeli forces called off a raid into the occupied Palestinian territories after a soldier posted details on the social networking site Facebook, Israel's Army Radio reported Wednesday. The soldier was relieved of combat duty shortly after he described in a status update how his unit planned a "clean-up" arrest raid, including its time and place, Army Radio was quoted as reporting by the Israeli daily Haaretz. "On Wednesday we clean up Qatanah, and on Thursday, god willing, we come home," the soldier reportedly wrote on his page, referring to a village near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. He also named his unit, the report said, but was turned in by friends who saw the online posting. . . . .
EU commission allocates 58 million euros to Palestinians
3/3/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - The European Commission allocated 58 million euros in humanitarian aid to support operations in favor of the most vulnerable people affected by the ongoing crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories and to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, a statement read Tuesday. The funds are channeled through the Commission's Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO), under the responsibility of Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva, who said "[t]his humanitarian financing shows that Europe cares. Our help for the helpless is crucial to saving lives and reducing suffering in humanitarian hotspots around the world. ""Humanitarian aid is crucial in saving lives and alleviating suffering until longer term solutions are found. It goes to those most in need, irrespective of their nationality, religion, political affiliation or ethnic origin," Georgieva said.
EU contributes 66 million euros to UNRWA
3/3/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - An agreement pledging 66 million euros toward UNRWA's general fund was signed Wednesday by EU representative Christian Berger and UNWRA Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi. The EU contribution is the largest single donation to UNRWA's core budget, which supports the agency's regular activities in education, health, relief and social services and camp improvement, a statement read. The grant will fund these essential services to Palestinian refugees throughout Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Speaking to reporters in UNRWA's warehouse in Jerusalem, Grandi thanked the EU for its continuous support to the Palestinian refugee agency. "This donation towards our core programmes is yet another demonstration of the commitment of the European Union to our human development work, bringing education in particular to the next generation of Palestinians. "
Police shut down ’unlicensed’ Hebron radio stations
3/3/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - Palestinian Authority police shut down two radio stations in Hebron on Wednesday for allegedly failing to acquire the necessary broadcasting permits. Ramadan Awad, Hebron's chief of police, said the PA Ministry of Communication informed his department that the Al-Yamamah and Al-Baladiyah radio stations were operating illegally, without licenses. The station owners and directors were asked to follow regulations in order to renew broadcasting, Awad said, adding that they had been informed several times prior to the shutdown, but had failed to respond. [end]
University workers stage sit-in
3/3/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Palestinian university employees in the West Bank and Gaza staged simultaneous sit-ins at the offices of university presidents and college deans on Wednesday. In a memorandum penned by the protesters, university staff expressed dismay at "the continued ignoring of the Ministry of Higher Education to settle our demands and issues," and called on presidents and deans to back their conditions. On Monday, the Syndicate of Palestinian Universities announced the suspension of classes in the West Bank because of what the union called a lack of response to employees' demands by the Palestinian Council for Higher Education. Demands include an adjustment to salaries for an increased cost of living in the West Bank, and being included in the government pension system, as civil service employees. "We denounce the way in which the Ministry is dealing with our cause. . . "
Islamic Jihad leader: Hamas to ratify Egyptian proposal
3/3/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - A top Islamic Jihad leader said Wednesday that Hamas is preparing to ratify the Egyptian document, which would finally end inter-factional rivalry. Nafeth Azzam told Ma'an's Egypt correspondent that there is "great optimism over progress on Palestinian reconciliation. . . Hamas is about to ratify the Egyptian proposal. The preoccupation of the Palestinians with internal disputes is leading Israel to confiscate more Palestinian lands and attacking Islamic sites in Jerusalem," Azzam said, as he entered Egypt via the Rafah crossing.
PFLP official: Secret unity talks underway
3/3/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Confidential talks are underway betweenrival Palestinian factions, aimed at restoring national unity, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine politburo member Jamil Majdalawi told Ma'an on Wednesday. Talks began in February, aimed at overcoming the obstacles faced in ratifying the Egyptian-sponsored unity deal, Majdalawi said, adding that the dialogue has remained out of media speculation to ensure its success. Majdalawi further said that Hamas has taken a positive role in these "ongoing secret dialogues. "The Islamist movement has maintained that it will not ratify the agreement until adjustments have been made, while Fatah, which has already signed the proposal, has called on Hamas to sign and then discuss amendments. On Wednesday, senior Islamic Jihad leader Nafeth Azzam said there is "great optimism over progress on Palestinian reconciliation. . . Hamas is about to ratify the Egyptian proposal. "
PA goes live with electronic networking
3/3/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Palestinian Authority ministries and government institutions will soon be connected via electronic networking, according to a draft agreement signed on Tuesday. The agreement, ratified by the PA Ministries of Telecommunication and Finance, will be implemented in several phases, initially by connecting all major institutions via an Ethernet network, followed by government institutions and their branches in all the districts. This process has several advantages, including transparency, easy access to information, better performance by ministries, and administrative supervision," said Telecommunications Minister Mashour Abu Duqqa, who attended the signing ceremony. While only West Bank ministries will initially take part in the project, Abu Duqqa told Ma'an that future plans include a network for universities and schools, in which universities in Gaza will be able to participate. "
Respected Danish journalist admits 'I was a Mossad agent'
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - It's not uncommon for secret agents to take up a career in journalism as a cover for clandestine work.
IDF calls off West Bank raid due to Facebook leak
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - Soldier updated his status with details of the time and place of the West Bank operation.
Israeli PM: Israel must keep military presence in West Bank’s Jordan Valley, even with peace
3/2/2010 - Antiwar.com - AP - Israel won't pull out of a key part of the West Bank even if there's a peace agreement with the Palestinians, the prime minister told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday. Benjamin Netanyahu was referring to the Jordan River Valley, along the eastern border of the West Bank. Israel considers control of the border vital to block the flow of weapons from Jordan to the Palestinians. Netanyahu told the parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that keeping the Jordan Valley was an "essential condition to ensure security and ensure that a peace deal holds," according to a meeting participant who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, rejected Netanyahu's comments. "He knows that this is a nonstarter for any peace agreement," Erekat said. Palestinians claim all of the West Bank — which Israel captured from Jordan during the 1967 Mideast war — as part of their future state.
VIDEO - ‘Gaza is an open-air prison’
3/2/2010 - P U L S E - John Holmes, the United Nation’s humanitarian chief, has revisited the Gaza Strip, a year after Israel’s assault on the territory ended. He told Al Jazeera that it was disappointing how little has changed since the war and that there has been no real possibility of reconstruction, mainly because of Israel’s siege of the Strip. He said the blockade resulted in misery for the Palestinians. “They’re living in a kind of open-air prison. They’re still suffering this kind of collective punishment they’ve been suffering for three years now. " "
In the Pursuit of Accountability for ‘Operation Cast Lead’; An Analysis on the follow-up GA Resolution adopted on 26 February 2010
3/3/2010 - Al-Haq - Al-haq Commentary - On 26 February 2010, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a follow-up Resolution to the Goldstone Report. The follow-up Resolution does not apply the Goldstone Report’s recommendations on avenues for achieving accountability. Instead it persists in calling upon the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of the last resolution. Furthermore, the resolution prolongs the accountability process by extending the three-month recommended deadline for the responsible parties to carry out domestic investigations in compliance with international standards, to an additional five months. Nevertheless, the follow-up Resolution is a second opportunity for the responsible parties to ensure that the perpetrators of international crimes during ‘Operation Cast Lead’ are held to account. The implementation of the follow-up resolution is crucial to the effort to end impunity. . . .
On the Israeli Government’s New Decision Classifying Communities as National Priority Areas (PDF)
3/3/2010 - Adalah - February 2010 - Adalah Position Paper - Introduction - On 13 December 2009, the Israeli government approved Decision No. 1060, entitled “Defining Towns and Areas with National Priority. ”1 The decision classifies various regions in Israel and settlements in the occupied West Bank as National Priority Areas (NPAs). Around 40% of the residents living in the areas in Israel designated on the NPAs map are Arab citizens of Israel. While this figure appears to indicate a significant move by the Israeli government toward the more equitable division of state resources in Israel, this is not the case. Rather, the decision is likely to lead to continued neglect and discrimination against Arab towns and villages in Israel. According to the new decision, a town located within an NPA region is not automatically entitled to the enormous additional budgetary allowances and benefits previously granted to NPA towns and villages.
European Court of Justice: Israeli Settlement Goods do not Fall into Israeli Customs Authority
3/2/2010 - Al-Haq - Al-Haq would like to highlight and commend the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), rendered on 25 February 2010, confirming that products originating from Israeli settlements do not fall into Israeli customs authority and therefore do not benefit from preferential treatment under the EC-Israel Association Agreement (C-386/08 Brita GmbH v. Hauptzollamt Hamburg-Hafen). According to the EC-Israel Association Agreement signed between the European Community and Israel in 1997, Israeli goods benefit from preferential treatment, i. e. tax-exemption when imported to the EU market. A similar agreement was signed between the European Community and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which gives duty free access to goods from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. According to these two agreements, the origin of goods entering the EU is to be determined by the authorities of the exporting party.
Israeli army nixes raid after Facebook leak -radio
3/3/2010 - Reuters AlertNet - JERUSALEM, March 3 (Reuters) - The Israeli military called off a raid in Palestinian territory after a soldier posted details, including the time and place, on social networking website Facebook, Israel's Army Radio reported on Wednesday. The soldier -- since relieved of combat duty -- described in a status update how his unit planned a "clean-up" arrest raid in a West Bank area, the radio station said. Facebook friends then reported him to military authorities. The Israeli military spokesman's office had no immediate comment. Israel says raids in the West Bank are aimed at detaining militants suspected of planning attacks on Israelis. Palestinian officials say the incursions undermine efforts by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority to enforce law and order in the territory.
2 suspected Dubai assassins escaped to US
3/3/2010 - Press TV - At least two of the 26 suspects sought for the assassination of a Hamas leader in Dubai reportedly entered the US shortly after the killing. Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh was killed in a Dubai hotel back in January. Now, the Wall Street Journal says records shared between international investigators show that one of the suspects entered the United States a day later, using an Irish passport. The second suspect entered the US on a British passport in February. Dubai police have already identified the two US companies that issued credit cards to the suspects. The Wall Street Journal quoted a person familiar with the situation that there aren't records of either man leaving the US, though investigators can't be sure the two are still in the country.
Dubai police chief offers to teach Mossad better spy-craft
3/3/2010 - Earth Times - Dubai - Dubai's chief of police has offered to teach Israel's spy agency, the Mossad, how better to use disguises in their operations, in remarks published Wednesday. Dahi Khalfan Tamim has earlier said Dubai police were all but certain that the Mossad was responsible for the murder of leading Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, found suffocated to death in his hotel room on January 20. "If the Mossad wants to learn how to disguise (agents) and change (their) appearances, we can send them a trainer from Dubai police to teach them," Tamim told the regional daily al-Sharq al-Awsat. Israel has said there is no proof that Mossad was involved. "Mossad. . . is using methods that are 20 years old," Tamim said. "The way the team disguised is stupid and naive. They are still using wigs!" Tamim added that one of the 27 suspects police had identified had disguised himself by wearing sportswear, though "it was clear his body was not fit for sports. "
Netanyahu: Israel will not change status quo at West Bank holy sites
3/3/2010 - Earth Times - Jerusalem - Israel will not make changes to the status quo at the Cave of the Patriarchs, a shrine in the occupied West Bank sacred to both Muslims and Jews, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday. Israel has placed the ancient building in the southern West Bank city of Hebron on a list of "national heritage" sites which it wants to renovate, sparking outrage amongst Muslims. " We have no intention here to change prayer arrangements or to change the status quo," he told a special Knesset (parliament) session called by the opposition to debate his government's policies. " The Cave of the Patriarchs is among the first sites of the people of Israel. (It is) the grave-site of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs; Abraham, Isaac, Sarah, Rebeccah and Leah, and not far from there is Rachel's Tomb. These are part of our heritage," he said.
Arab nations pave way for indirect Mideast talks
3/3/2010 - Yahoo! News - AP - CAIRO – Approval by Arab nations opened the door Wednesday for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to enter four months of indirect, American-brokered peace talks with Israel. The talks, likely to begin later this month, would break a 15-month freeze in peace negotiations and hand the Obama administration a first diplomatic achievement in the Israeli-Palestinian arena. However, another round of fruitless negotiations, following years of stymied peace efforts, could also prove perilous for both Israelis and Palestinians. In nearly two decades of stop-and-go talks, failure has routinely triggered violence, In the current circumstances, the chances for a breakthrough are dim. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds more hardline views than his predecessor, Ehud Olmert, with whom Abbas failed to reach an agreement in 2008.
US bank in Dubai killing ties cards to partner
3/3/2010 - Yahoo! News - AP - DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The U. S. bank linked by Dubai police to the slaying of a top Hamas commander said Wednesday that prepaid credit cards allegedly used by the hit team were provided through a partner company, and that the bank's own procedures did not flag the card users as suspicious. Authorities in Dubai had earlier tied MetaBank to its partner Payoneer Inc. , though neither police nor the companies had clarified the relationship or described how the alleged assassins acquired the cards. Payoneer works with MetaBank to provide credit cards that employers can top up to pay their employees. MetaBank, part of Storm Lake, Iowa-based Meta Financial Group Inc. , said in an emailed statement Wednesday that the cards police say were involved in the Dubai killing were issued through that employee payment program, not through one of its retail bank branches.
Police head to Israel for Hamas murder passport probe
3/3/2010 - Herald Sun, Australia - A TEAM of Australian police will head to Israel to investigate the use of Australian passports by the assassins of a Hamas commander in Dubai, the Courier Mail reports. The Courier Mail reports Israeli officials said last night the Australian Federal Police (AFP) sought and was granted approval for three officers to travel immediately to Israel to interview three Australians whose passports were misused by the killers of Mahmoud al Mabhouh. The AFP officers were to interview dual Australian-Israeli citizens Nicole McCabe, Adam Korman and Joshua Bruce, whose passport details were used, with substituted photographs, by the assassination team. Members of Israel's Mossad spy agency were suspected of carrying out the January 20 murder, in which Mabhouh was drugged with a fast-acting muscle relaxant and suffocated with a pillow. Israeli officials said the three Australians would be interviewed, not as suspects, but "as witnesses to a crime. "
U.S. ’appreciates’ Netanyahu delay of East Jerusalem demolitions
3/3/2010 - Ha'aretz - The United States appreciates the intervention of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which postponed a planned demolition of houses in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, a State Department official told reporters on Tuesday. Netanyahu urged Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat earlier Tuesday to reconsider the plan to avoid sparking further tensions. The prime minister said, however, that he would not intervene with the administrative matters of the city, nor undermine the mayor's authority. According to the plan, most of which was reported in the New York Times a few days ago, Barkat is seeking to reach an agreement with the residents of 89 illegal buildings slated for demolition in the Palestinian area known as Al Bustan or Gan Hamelech. Barkat promised the prime minister that he would try to reach an agreement with the residents and would put off implementing the plans.
Dubai asks FBI to investigate terror ties to US
3/2/2010 - Press TV - Amid ongoing investigation of the terrorist murder of a Hamas commander in Dubai, the UAE police have asked the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to look into alleged ties of the suspects to Americans. Dubai police asked the FBI to investigate US-issued pre-paid credit cards used by 13 of the terror suspects in the killing of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, Dubai daily The National reported Tuesday. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has identified 27 suspects, mostly European passport holders, who entered the country in order to carry out the terrorist murder of al-Mabhouh in his hotel room on January 19. "Thirteen of the 27 suspects used pre-paid MasterCards issued by MetaBank, a regional American bank, to purchase plane tickets and book hotel rooms," the daily quoted police as saying. According to the Police, the credit cards bore the same names as the fake passports used by the suspects to enter Dubai.
Biden to speak directly to Israelis from Tel Aviv
3/2/2010 - Ha'aretz - U. S. Vice President Joe Biden will address the Israeli public directly next week during a speech he is scheduled to deliver at Tel Aviv University, focusing on American commitment to Israel's security, Iran's nuclear program and the peace process. Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Monday in Jerusalem that Biden is seeking to ensure that Israel and the United States are in alignment on the issue of preventing the Iranian nuclear threat. Kerry, who is privy to the details of efforts to impose sanctions on Iran, hinted Monday at a press conference in Jerusalem after a meeting with the prime minister that Biden's visit to Israel, and that of other senior administration officials, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Michael Mullen, aims at restraining Israel against the possibility of unilaterally attacking Iran.
Report: Syria willing to consider phased Golan pullout
3/2/2010 - Ha'aretz - Syria is willing to consider peace and gradual normalization with Israel, according to Gabrielle Rifkind of the Oxford Research Group, who met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem in December. Speaking with Haaretz over e-mail, the conflict resolution specialist said that following an Israeli withdrawal from half the territory it holds on the Golan Heights, the two states would declare an end to the state of enmity between them as a first step. According to Rifkind, who met the minister along with a group of conflict resolution experts, Muallem suggested that Syria was prepared to consider a phased approach to the return of the Golan Heights. "There could be stages of withdrawal, the timing of which could involve a form of normalization," he reportedly said. "Half of the Golan could lead to an end to enmity; three quarters of the Golan, to a special interest section in the U. S. embassy in Damascus: a full withdrawal would allow a Syrian embassy in Israel. "
An Israeli Affront Against Germany
3/1/2010 - Der Spiegel - Following the assassination of Hamas militant Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, German state prosecutors are considering murder charges in the case. Investigations in Dubai and the West are strongly pointing to Mossad involvement in the targeted killing. One should not speak ill of the dead, the Prophet Muhammad once intoned. But Mahmoud al-Zahar, 64, the leader of the Islamist Hamas movement in Gaza Strip, is now forced to make a small exception. Sitting on the ground floor of his home in Gaza City's Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, he talks about his comrade Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, who was liquidated by a hit squad in a Dubai hotel on Jan. 20. How could al-Mabhouh have been so careless and booked his flights over the Internet, asks the co-founder of Hamas? "That was more than stupid. " Shortly after al-Mabhouh's death, when Hamas leaders began pointing the finger at Israel, many observers wrote it off as just another Middle East conspiracy theory.
U.S.-Israeli Arms Cooperation Quietly Growing
12/25/2009 - Forward - Washington — Leaders in Washington and Jerusalem have publicly locked horns over the issue of West Bank settlements. And Israeli public opinion has largely viewed America’s new administration as unfriendly. But behind the scenes, strategic security relations between the two countries are flourishing. Joint Exercise: Israeli soldiers train near the coastal city of Ashdod in October, part of the largest missile defense dry run ever held. Some 1,400 American soldiers were also involved. Israeli officials have been singing the praises of President Obama for his willingness to address their defense concerns and for actions taken by his administration to bolster Israel’s qualitative military edge — an edge eroded, according to Israel, during the final year of the George W. Bush presidency. Among the new initiatives taken by the administration, the Forward has learned, are adjustments in a massive. . . .
Native Indian Genocide: Parallels in Palestine
Uruknet March 3, 2010 - "One of the greatest crimes against humanity occurred right here in the United States of America. Support for the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People is a start to right this great wrong," declared the American Indian Movement in a press release on 24 September 2009. Perhaps my natural sense of outrage and revulsion at...
Gaza: the hardest jobsPicking Pebbles to Live Somehow
Uruknet March 3, 2010 - They come by the hundreds every day to sand dunes and rubble sites to sift for pebbles, stones and sand that can be used in making concrete blocks. They lean into trash bins across the Strip, and wade through piles of rubbish scavenging for plastics, metals, and any bits worth reselling. They venture dangerously close to...
No Such Thing As Liberal Zionism
Uruknet March 3, 2010 - If the only way to maintain a Jewish state is by exiling millions of Palestinians for generation after generation, and keeping millions more disenfranchised in walled enclaves in the Occupied Territories where they can be massively bombed into compliance should they resist their collective exclusion from equal participation in governing their own homeland, in what sense...
"I can't live without this place"
Uruknet March 3, 2010 - "The Israeli police used a bullhorn and shouted 'death to Arabs!' toward me once," Abed Rabbeh remembers, his hands wrapped around a small ceramic cup of tea. "Another time, they tried to tell me that my grandfather was born in Dheisheh refugee camp and that I have no roots in this land." His face breaks into...
Judge tries to hide his shame while extending Palestinian child's detention pending trial
Uruknet March 3 2010 - The trial of a child turned into a farce when, to laughter from those assembled in the courtroom, the lawyer Leah Tsiml took a balloon out of her purse and gave it to Hassan, aged 12, to play with during his trial. This move prompted the judge to lower his head and hide his shame behind...
Israel "blackmails Gaza's patients to turn them into collaborators"
Uruknet March 3, 2010 - In a message to Israel’s Attorney General, human rights organizations have criticized Israeli intelligence agencies for blackmailing Palestinian patients in Gaza, exploiting their vulnerability in order to pressurise them into collaborating with the occupation authorities. According to the organizations, a number of patients have been given false promises that they would be allowed to leave the...
"This Time We Went Too Far"Truth and Consequences in the Gaza Invasion
Uruknet March 3, 2010 - Public outrage at the Gaza invasion did not come out of the blue but rather marked the nadir of a curve plotting a steady decline in support for Israel. As polling data of Americans and Europeans, both Gentiles and Jews, suggest, the public has become increasingly critical of Israeli policy over the past decade. The horrific...
Some thoughts on the Leveretts in Iran
Uruknet March 3, 2010 - Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett traveled to Iran and some other countries in the Middle East. They visited Tehran University and talked to the students there to find out about the political atmosphere of the country. They didn’t see any of the imprisoned students, obviously because they are held in the prisons. They didn’t see...
Jerusalem Mayor plans to raze Palestinian homes for tourist park
Uruknet March 3, 2010 - Jerusalem's mayor yesterday unveiled details of a controversial and long-expected plan to demolish Palestinian homes and make way for an Israeli-sponsored tourist park in a neighbourhood of the city's Arab eastern sector. Mayor Nir Barkat agreed to a last-minute request from the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to delay implementation of the plan to allow further attempts...
New birth defects seen in Gaza due to Israeli weapons
Uruknet An increase in birth defects among newborns in the Gaza Strip - first documented in the Palestine Telegraph - has become apparent, despite claims to the contrary by some doctors at Al-Shifa Hospital. Pregnant women say they are living in constant fear. Noha Abu Laban, 37, a resident of Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip, is in her final...
Israeli Terror at Rights Activists House
Uruknet March 3, 2010 - he Israeli army invaded our neighborhood at 1:30 AM Tuesday morning waking up my mother, wife and sister. Heavily-armed soldiers blocked roads during "the operation". When my family opened the door, they demanded to see me. They were told I have already left to the US. After many more questions, they left a paper that states...
Iran upholds student protester death penalty:report
Uruknet March 3, 2010 – An Iranian appeals court has confirmed a death sentence handed down to a 20-year-old student over anti-government riots in late December, several opposition websites reported on Wednesday. Mohammad Amin Valian was found guilty of Moharebeh (waging war against God) for throwing stones at security forces during bloody protests on the Shiite mourning holiday of Ashura in...
Pundits say Israeli action on holy sites may spark another Intifada
3 Mar 2010 - Jerusalem, March 3, 2010 (Pal Telegraph; reprinted from the Christian Science Monitor, by Josh Mitnick) - Amid spreading Palestinian protests against Israel's decision to declare shrines in two West Bank cities as Israel heritage sites, the Palestinian cabinet held a solidarity meeting Monday in the city of Hebron near one of the sites while some here worried about a new Palestinian intifada ....
U.S. calls Israeli expansion in E. Jerusalem 'counter-productive' (again)
3 Mar 2010 - Washington, March 3, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - The United States criticized Israel on Monday for authorizing more Jewish settlements in annexed Arab east Jerusalem, describing the move as "counter-productive." "We've relayed our strong concerns to the government of Israel, that this kind of activity, particularly as we try to relaunch meaningful negotiations is counter-productive and undermines trust between the parties,"...
Netanyahu: Israel won't give up Jordan Valley
3 Mar 2010 - Jerusalem, March 8, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israel won't pull out of a key part of the West Bank even if there's a peace agreement with the Palestinians, the prime minister told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday. Benjamin Netanyahu was referring to the Jordan River Valley, along the eastern border of the West Bank. Israel considers control of the border...
Israel raids towns in Hebron
3 Mar 2010 - West Bank, March 3, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Israeli occupation forces raided early Wednesday different areas in Hebron in the West Bank. No arrests were reported. Security sources said that Israeli occupation forces raided Saeer and Al-Shyoukh towns, northeast of Hebron, and patrols roamed the streets. Israeli occupation forces raid almost on daily basis neighborhoods of Hebron, and carry out raid...
IOF raids eastern Rafah in Gaza
3 Mar 2010 - Gaza Strip, March 3, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Israeli occupation forces carried out Wednesday morning a limited incursion near the Karem Abu Salem crossing, east of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip. Security sources said that a number of military vehicles and armored bulldozers entered the area and started combing the area near the Karem Abu Salem crossing. Tens of Israeli Special...
IOF adds new surveillance and radar systems to better detect 'moving targets'
3 Mar 2010 - Jerusalem, March 3, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Editor's Note: This is a chillingly impersonal report reprinted from The Jerusalem Post, written by Yaakov Katz. Israel has augmented its defenses along the Gaza border with new surveillance and radar systems capable of better detecting infiltrating Palestinian terrorists. On Tuesday, the Israeli Ground Forces Command unveiled its newly upgraded Combat Collection Corps,...
IOF conducts limited incursion in Beit Lahia
3 Mar 2010 - Gaza, March 3, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) -Several Israeli military vehicles partly entered on Wednesday morning north of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip. Local sources said that three tanks and two bulldozers moved 150 meters into the area, and began maintenance work on the border fence and razing citizens' land. Israeli occupation forces conduct incursions on daily basis,...
UN official calls for end of Gaza siege
3 Mar 2010 - Gaza, March 3, 2010 (Pal Telegraph; by Fares Akram) - The senior United Nations official for humanitarian relief took a tour of Gaza on Tuesday, a year after Israel's war here, and declared keen concern for what he called the collective punishment of 1.5 million Palestinians due to the blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt. "What we are seeing here...
Palestinians suspect Israel's hand behind double scandal
The National 3 Mar 2010 - Senior presidential aide shamed in video, then Hamas founder's son claims he was a Shin Bet spy.
Refugees in Syria wooed in Iraqi election struggle
The National 3 Mar 2010 - Many who fled their homeland are disillusioned over claims of corruption, but parties fight for their support.
Popping the Washington Post's Rahm bubble
Palestine Note 3 Mar 2010 - Former Washington Post "White House Watch" maven and current DC Huffington Post Bureau Chief Dan Froomkin powerfully deconstructs and pops the Rahm Emanuel bubble that the Washington Post has been puffing up. The first puff came...
Enough already, Lieberman - - Nahum Barnea in Yedioth Ahronoth
Palestine Note 3 Mar 2010 - Nahum Barnea at his best Enough Already, Lieberman Yedioth Ahronoth (p. 1) by Nahum Barnea (news analysis) -- It would seem that the time has come to say to Foreign Minister Lieberman, with all due respect,...
Palestine and Israel: It's about land, not religion
Palestine Note 3 Mar 2010 - Journalist and Middle East expert Nir Rosen debunks the myth that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is grudge pitting Islam against Judaism in the Washington Note . Rosen speaking at the Center for American Progress Rosen responds to Efraim...
Flexible Afghanistan war objectives: And the agony grinds on
Palestine Note 3 Mar 2010 - Washington and its willing mouthpieces in the media have for years been trying to sell us the preposterous war in Afghanistan. While they attempt to convince us that the war is predicated on a faultless military...
Netanyahu does it: kills two-state solution dead
Palestine Note 3 Mar 2010 - This is from Ha'aretz today: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel would never agree to withdraw from the Jordan Valley under any peace agreement signed with the Palestinians." The Jordan Valley is the area...
PLC speaker shake up: Dweik hands over power to deputy
Palestine Note 3 Mar 2010 - Palestinian Legislative Council speaker Aziz Dwiek has handed power to Ahmad Bahar, his first deputy, Ma'an News Agency reports. Dweik's term expired in 2009, but he continued to lead the legislative body until he was forced...
The MidEast Makes Aviation History
The Media Line 3 Mar 2010 - First flight to allow both cellphones and wireless Internet takes off. One might expect a new groundbreaking service or technological innovation on a passenger airline to come first from the big leagues.British Airways and Air France...
Iran: Highest Opiate Use in the World
The Media Line 3 Mar 2010 - U.S. State Department report claims Iran has the globe's highest rates of opiate drug abuse. Iran suffers from the highest levels of opiate drug use in the world, a U.S. government report has claimed.The 2010 International...
White House Praises Netanyahu After Two Rebukes
The Media Line 2 Mar 2010 - Following two public rebukes in two weeks, the Obama administration has found something to praise Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for: pressuring Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat into backing-off from his well-planned and aggressively-promoted launch of a development...
Dubai to Issue Arrest Warrants for Israeli Prime Minister, Spy Chief
The Media Line 2 Mar 2010 - Dubai's police chief said on Tuesday that he will seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Meir Dagan, head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency. Dahi Khalfan Tamim said he is "almost certain" that...
Turkey Prepared to Resume Mediation Between Israel and Syria
The Media Line 2 Mar 2010 - Turkey is prepared to resume its role as intermediary between Israel and Turkey according to its foreign minister. Speaking in Cairo where he met with his Egyptian counterpart on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said both...
The Israeli Assault on Bethlehem
Alternative Information Center - Wednesday, 03 March 2010, The city of Bethlehem and its immediate surroundings are isolated by the Separation Wall Israel built on its lands and are further surrounded by the settlements of Gush Etzion to its west...
Repression of the Popular Struggle Continues: Israeli Army Arrests Five During Nabi Saleh Night Raid
Alternative Information Center - Wednesday, 03 March 2010, In an expansion of its campaign of repression against the Palestinian popular struggle, the Israeli Army raided the village of Nabi Saleh tonight and arrested five youths from their beds. At around...
Palestinian village known for protests sees cultural rebirth
PNN - Wednesday, 03 March 2010
Palestinians excluded from bulk of occupied West Bank
PNN - Wednesday, 03 March 2010
Palestine’s New Network
PNN - Wednesday, 03 March 2010
'Talks with PA brewing, but not on yet'
Jeruslalem Post 3 Mar 2010 - Addressing the Knesset after Netanyahu, Livni blasted the PM.
Israel, US welcome Arab talks support
Jeruslalem Post 3 Mar 2010 - Officials: Indirect communications fruitless without actual negotiations.
'Talks with PA brewing, but still not happening'
Jeruslalem Post 3 Mar 2010 - Addressing the Knesset after Netanyahu, opposition leader Tzipi Livni blasted the premier.
Lieberman vows to remain foreign minister
Jeruslalem Post 3 Mar 2010 - Ben-Simon: Labor must quit coalition.
Facebook details cancel IDF raid
Jeruslalem Post 3 Mar 2010 - The status update on soldier’s page was revealed by other members of his unit.
Analysis: What did Teheran ask of Hizbullah?
Jeruslalem Post 3 Mar 2010 - To complement its upgraded arsenal, Hizbullah recently spelled out a new military posture toward Israel.
UN coordinator demands Israel reopen Gaza crossings
Jeruslalem Post 3 Mar 2010 - John Holmes: "Blockade" of Gaza is "unacceptable."
Israel, US welcome Arab backing of talks
Jeruslalem Post 3 Mar 2010 - Officials: Indirect communications fruitless without actual negotiations.
IPI Indicates Stability in West Bank in January
WAFA 4 Mar 2010 - RAMALLAH, March 3, 2010 (WAFA)- Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said the overall Industrial Production Index (IPI) reached 111.71 in January 2010, compared to 111.19 in December 2009.
ISESCO Calls on UNESCO to Stop Israel’s Falsification of Islamic History
WAFA 4 Mar 2010 - RABAT, March 3, 2010 (WAFA)- The Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Dr Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, sent a letter to Mrs Irina Bokova wherein
Knesset Takes Steps to Silence HR Organizations
WAFA 4 Mar 2010 - TEL AVIV, March 3, 2010 (WAFA)- Human rights organizations in Israel are facing a dangerous trend of restriction of their activity, which has even gone so far as to challenge the very legitimacy of
UN Official: It's Existence not Life for Palestinians in Gaza
WAFA 4 Mar 2010 -
SYRIA: Severe food shortages in parched eastern region
IRIN DAMASCUS Wednesday, March 03, 2010 (IRIN) - Thousands of people have fled drought-affected eastern Syria and those that remain are struggling to survive on limited food stocks, according to a UN report released at the end of February.
PHOTO GALLERY: Mud brick houses in Gaza
IRIN GAZA CITY Tuesday, March 02, 2010 (IRIN) - More than 4,036 houses in the Gaza Strip were totally destroyed or beyond repair in the aftermath of Israel’s 23-day conflict with Hamas from 27 December 2008 to 17 January 2009, according to an April 2009 UNRWA and UN Development Programme assessment....
MIDEAST: Piano Sounds Good in Gaza Too
IPS GAZA CITY, Mar 2 (IPS) - At 14, Nour plays the piano, and she knows the facts around her. That the average age for marriage is 18, likely to a man found by parents, her place would be within that home, and a woman has on average 6.5 children.
MIDEAST: Picking Pebbles to Live Somehow
IPS GAZA CITY, Mar 2 (IPS) - They come by the hundreds every day to sand dunes and rubble sites to sift for pebbles, stones and sand that can be used in making concrete blocks. They lean into trash bins across the Strip, and wade through piles of rubbish scavenging for...
Palestinian Organizer Assaulted at an Israeli Checkpoint
3/3/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Popular Struggle Co-ordination Committee, 2 March - Mahmoud Zwahre, a prominent member of the alMaasara Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, was brutally assaulted at the Israeli Container Checkpoint near Bethlehem this morning. Zwahre was on his way to a Ramallah meeting when his car was stopped. He was held for nearly two hours, during which he was kicked, punched and beaten using a rifle butt. Mahmoud Zwahre of the alMa'sara Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements was detained at the Container Checkpoint near Bethlehem this morning on his way to a meeting in Ramallah. Zwahre was detained after a Border Police officer positioned at the checkpoint recognized him from the weekly demonstrations held in alMa'sara for the past 3. 5 years. He was held for almost two hours, during which he was subjected to an aggressive search through his possessions and his. . .
Picking pebbles to live somehow
3/2/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Eva Bartlett, Inter Press Service - They come by the hundreds every day to sand dunes and rubble sites to sift for pebbles, stones and sand that can be used in making concrete blocks. They lean into trash bins across the Strip, and wade through piles of rubbish scavenging for plastics, metals, and any bits worth reselling. They venture dangerously close to the border fence to unlock metal and steel rods from their demolished home heaps. They are Gaza's recyclers, and in a Strip where unemployment hovers at nearly 50 percent and poverty soars over 80 percent, environmental considerations are far from their minds. They do this work out of necessity. Yousef, 14, leads two of his younger brothers in their daily hunt for concrete materials off the highway between Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah. “We live in Khan Younis and it takes about 30 minutes to get to this site.
Officials bypass Netanyahu to plan Peres-Abbas meeting
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - Talks have recently been underway to arrange a summit between the two in Rome this April.
Australia cops, In Israel to probe Dubai passports, involved in hit-and-run
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - Australian media report three officers hit Tel Aviv bicyclist, who was unhurt but wants an apology.
Israeli novel with parallels to Dubai killing a hit in Germany
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - Thriller's plot centers on Israeli secret service mission to assassinate top Hamas activist in hotel.
Peace not wanted
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - It's time for our leaders take off the masks they've been hiding behind and tell the truth for a change.
Netanyahu would meet Assad 'any time, any place'
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - Statement by PM's Bureau comes in response to Haaretz report that Syria is prepared to make 'gradual peace.'
Israel-PA peace talks could begin Sunday
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - Arab League: Complete settlement freeze is precondition for progress in Mideast negotiations.
Egypt criticizes UN report on migrant deaths along Israel border
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - UN report 'full of mistakes and incorrect allegations', says Egypt; 19 migrants were killed at border in 2009.
Libya demands U.S. apology for remark on Gadhafi's call for jihad
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - U.S. envoy summoned by Libya; first official U.S. trade mission in years visited Tripoli last month.
Mitchell to arrive in Mideast amid hopes for renewed peace talks
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - Netanyahu welcomes Arab League decision to support indirect Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.
Germany urges UN: Vote against Iran for Human Rights seat
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - German FM: Iran on council would be an affront to human rights; Scientists, filmmakers slam abuses.
U.S. and EU: 'Provocative' Iran is inviting tough sanctions
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - Brazil president: International community should not 'push Iran into a corner' over its nuclear program.
Lieberman fraud probe spotlights 'incompetent' envoy
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - Ambassador appointed by Foreign Min. despite 'having no clue' how to run an embassy forced to take leave.
Dubai seeks Netanyahu's arrest over killing of Hamas man
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - Police chief also demand arrest of Mossad head, says Israel 'almost certainly' behind Dubai hit.
IDF's newest heroes: Women spotters on Gaza border
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - Dozens of terrorists have been hit after being identified by the 18- and 19-year-old female spotters.
Mahmoud Abbas given four months to try indirect peace talks with Israel
The Guardian 3 Mar 2010 - Arab governments back talks between Palestinian president and Israel, brokered by the US Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has been given four months by Arab governments to try indirect peace negotiations with Israel, brokered by the...
Israel's historic roots are real | Jeremy Sharon
The Guardian 3 Mar 2010 - Palestinian protests against the restoration of Jewish heritage sites are part of a campaign of delegitimisation against Israel Speeches and comments made by Binyamin Netanyahu of late have been rather heavy on their biblical and historical...
Murderer sues state to play Sony PlayStation behind bars
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - The Israel Prison Service policy barring prisoners from having advanced models of Sony's PlayStation video game console has motivated a convicted murderer to file a court petition to reverse the decision. ...
Comptroller probing charges of discrimination in Haredi schools
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss is examining allegations of ethnic discrimination in the ultra-Orthodox school system, he announced this week at a joint meeting of the State Control Committee and the Knesset's Education, Culture and Sports Committee. The investigation is expected to last several weeks. ...
Cops raid Bank Hapoalim head office in T.A., seize documents
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - Police have raided Bank Hapoalim headquarters in Tel Aviv and seized company documents, apparently in connection with a fraud investigation of former bank chairman Danny Dankner. ...
Yossi Sarid / Lieberman will be remembered as a disgrace to Israel
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - This time, the burden of proof is not on the police or the prosecution; it is Avigdor Lieberman who must prove to the public that the cloud of suspicion that envelops him from head to toe is false. The police have already recommended indicting him on serious charges - from taking bribes to money laundering, from fraud to witness tampering. Were there such a thing as a court of public opinion in this country, there would be no need for a real court. ...
'PM won't replace Lieberman even if he's forced to resign'
Ha'aretz 3 Mar 2010 - "Even if [Avigdor] Lieberman is forced to resign, Bibi won't name a replacement as foreign minister," one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's associates said Wednesday, referring to the premier by his nickname. ...
Exchange of Notes for the Community Empowerment Grant Aid to the Palestinian Territories (The Project for Support for the Public Activities of the Communities in Jordan Valley)
Relief Web 3 Mar 2010 - Source: Government of Japan
UN humanitarian chief notes no real progress in rebuilding Gaza
Relief Web 3 Mar 2010 - Source: UN Radio
EU contributes €66 Million to UNRWA's Core Budget in 2010
Relief Web 3 Mar 2010 - Source: European Commission, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
Press Conference by Security Council President, 2 March 2010
Relief Web 3 Mar 2010 - Source: UN Department of Public Information
'Israel Apartheid Week' events commence
YNet News 3 Mar 2010 - Leftist, Muslim groups launch campaign equating Israel to apartheid regime in South Africa. Jewish intellectual Noam Chomsky tells Ynet Israel should not be defined as 'Jewish state'. Israeli diplomats: Activity no cause for alarm
Hamas: Indirect talks more futile than direct negotiations
YNet News 3 Mar 2010 - In interview with Kol al-Arab, senior Hamas figure expresses pessimism vis-?-vis Arab League decision, says 'this will prove to entire world that Israel does not intend to give Palestinians their minimal national rights'
Ex-envoy who leaked information to FM: Discrepancies in police version
YNet News 3 Mar 2010 - Former ambassador to Belarus tells Channel 1 envelope containing document outlining significant details regarding investigation against Lieberman had already been opened when he received it. 'An ambassador is not a mailman,' Ben-Arieh says
60% of Americans: Only force can stop Iran
YNet News 3 Mar 2010 - Fox News poll shows most US citizens believe only military option will prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear arms but US security experts call on Obama to oppose attack
Clinton: US hopes indirect Israel-Palestinian talks soon
YNet News 3 Mar 2010 - In Brazil, secretary of state says US 'very pleased' with Arab League endorsement of 'proximity talks' between Israel, PA. Officials says Mideast envoy Mitchell expected in region soon
Romania: Israeli Nati Meir jailed for fraud, tax evasion
YNet News 3 Mar 2010 - Former member of Romanian parliament jailed for charging people to help them get jobs in Israel that didn’t exist and evading $813,000 in taxes
Study: Mideast women win more rights, hurdles remain
YNet News 3 Mar 2010 - 15 of 18 Arab countries record increase in women suffrage, literacy. Kuwait, Algeria, Jordan lead transformation while Yemen, Iraq, Palestinian territories show decline in women's rights over past five years
Arab foreign ministers give indirect Palestinian-Israeli talks 'final' chance
Daily Star 4 Mar 2010 CAIRO: Arab foreign ministers agreed on Wednesday to back one last round of indirect Palestinian-Israeli talks despite skepticism over Israel's readiness to revive peace efforts, Arab League chief Amr Moussa said. The move, which came after months of US-led shuttle diplomacy, was swiftly welcomed by Israel but was slammed by the Islamist Hamas movement
US, EU say 'provocative' Iran invites more sanctions
Daily Star 4 Mar 2010 VIENNA: The United States and European Union accused Iran of breaking nuclear transparency rules by escalating uranium enrichment without proper UN surveillance and said its "provocative" behavior invited tougher sanctions.They spoke at a tense meeting on Wednesday of governors of the UN nuclear agency, a day after the UN Security Council said
Suicide blasts kill 33 ahead of Iraq polls
Daily Star 4 Mar 2010 BAQUBA, Iraq: Three suicide attacks, including one by a bomber who rode in an ambulance to hospital before blowing himself up, killed 33 people in central Iraq on Wednesday, just days before nationwide elections. The blasts in Baquba, the deadliest to hit the country in nearly a month, also wounded 55 people and spurred security forces to clamp an immediate curfew
Two Iranians, five Italians arrested for smuggling arms to Iran
Daily Star 4 Mar 2010 MILAN: Two Iranians and five Italians were arrested Wednesday in Italy on suspicion of trafficking arms to Iran in violation of international sanctions, a top anti-terrorist prosecutor said. "It is an investigation of considerable importance as it concerns the entire international community," Armando Spataro told a news conference, adding that it had begun in June 2009.
Israel silent on Dubai call for Netanyahu arrest
Daily Star 4 Mar 2010 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israeli officials remained doggedly silent on Wednesday in the wake of a Dubai police decision to seek the arrest of the Israeli prime minister and the head of its spy agency over the murder of a top Hamas militant in the Gulf emirate. Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office nor the Foreign Ministry would comment on Dubai police chief
Ukraine Parliament passes no-confidence motion against PM
Daily Star 4 Mar 2010 KIEV: Ukraine's Parliament on Wednesday passed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, forcing her and the Cabinet to resign in a victory for new President Viktor Yanukovych. A majority of 243 deputies voted for the no-confidence motion brought by the Regions Party, led by Yanukovych, who defeated Tymoshenko in presidential elections last month.
China, US work to repair frayed ties
Daily Star 4 Mar 2010 BEIJING: Two top US envoys sat down for fence-mending talks with China Wednesday pressing for cooperation on Iran and to overcome a setback in relations over key issues such as trade, Tibet and Taiwan. US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and senior White House Asia adviser Jeffrey Bader were in Beijing to put ties back on track,
Resheq: Abbas’s negotiations with IOA big sin
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - Ezzet Al-Resheq on Wednesday criticized the Arab follow up committee’s decision to allow indirect talks between the PA in Ramallah and the Israeli occupation authority (IOA).
IOF troops wound two Quds operatives, round up 9 including 4 brothers
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - Israeli occupation forces (IOF) critically wounded two operatives of the Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, in Kufr Dan village west of Jenin in a pre dawn raid on Wednesday.
Dweik: Assigning Bahar to run the PLC session for a single day
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - Dr. Aziz Dweik, the speaker of the Palestinian legislative council, said on Wednesday that he assigned his first deputy Dr. Ahmed Bahar to run the PLC session in Gaza only for a single day.
Haneyya gov't: Israeli attacks herald the war of the shrines
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - The Palestinian government in Gaza has said that the Israeli occupation authority's attacks herald the initiation the war of the shrines in a bid to control them.
Hayya: IOA exploiting Palestinian division to judaize holy shrines
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - Dr. Khalil Al-Hayya, political bureau member of Hamas, has said that the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) was exploiting the state of internal Palestinian rift to judaize mosques and holy shrines.
Khater: IOA wants to empty Palestinian lands
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - Political bureau member of Hamas Sami Khater said that the recent wave of Israeli attacks on holy shrines in the West Bank is an integral part of the Israeli coalition government's policy.
IOA blackmailing sick people
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - Human rights groups condemned the Israeli occupation authority's practice of blackmailing Palestinian patients to recruit them as agents for its intelligence.
Netanyahu insists on having presence in Jordan Valley in any future settlement
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu has said that his army should maintain a military presence in the Jordan Valley east of the West Bank even after a settlement is reached with the Palestinians.
UN official calls for lifting Gaza siege
PIC 3 Mar 2010 - John Holmes, the UN coordinator of humanitarian affairs, said that the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip has led to serious deterioration in the humanitarian conditions in the Strip.
Time was up for Israeli burglar's widow
LA Times 3 Mar 2010 - Nili Shamrat of Tarzana was caught after she sold clocks back to the Jerusalem museum that her late husband, Na'aman Diller, stole them from in 1983, investigators said. When prolific Israeli burglar Na'aman Diller discovered he was dying of cancer in 2003, he decided to leave his widow a collection of some 100 artifacts of decidedly questionable origin.
U.S. Circulates New Draft Proposal for Iran Sanctions
New York Times 3 Mar 2010 - The proposed new sanctions would both broaden the scope and intensify three previous rounds of sanctions enacted since 2006.
A Skeptical Arab League Backs Indirect Peace Talks
New York Times 3 Mar 2010 - The move could help restart direct discussions between Palestinians and Israelis that broke down more than a year ago, when Israel invaded Gaza.
Israeli Raid Canceled After Facebook Leak
New York Times 3 Mar 2010 - Israel's Army Radio reported on Wednesday that a raid on suspected militants in the West Bank planned for Wednesday was called off because a soldier posted details of the operation on Facebook.
Iran Arrests Filmmaker Who Backed Opposition
New York Times 3 Mar 2010 - Iranian authorities raided the home of Jaffar Panahi early Tuesday morning and arrested him, his wife and daughter, along with 15 guests, the opposition Web site Jaras reported.
Memo From Dubai: Police Strive to Guard Dubai’s Image After Killing
New York Times 3 Mar 2010 - The Dubai police staged an aggressive response after the January killing of a Hamas operative, underscoring the city-state’s determination to protect its image — and economy — from any further damage.
Op-Ed Columnist: Loosey Goosey Saudi
New York Times 3 Mar 2010 - Saudi Arabia dips a toe into modernity, even as it questions whether Israel is taking a step back.
At J Street, two young Jews said they needed to talk about privilege (and so do I)
Mondoweiss - 3 Mar 2010 - Last fall during a social justice panel at J Street’s policy conference, a Wesleyan senior named Emily Hoffman said that she needed to talk about "privilege" in the Jewish community, and Alana Alpert , a rabbinical student, promptly echoed her: "I often feel the same way." I...
Nonviolent protests are also taking place in Gaza
Mondoweiss - 3 Mar 2010 - Those people out there who still wonder where the Palestinian Mandela or Gandhi is should start paying attention to the numerous peaceful actions going on throughout Palestine. Non-violent resistance to the Israeli occupation, akin to the weekly protests in Bil’in and Ni’lin against the illegal wall,...
In Spain, anti-Zionism spills over into anti-Semitism
Mondoweiss - 3 Mar 2010 - Scary article in the Telegraph about Spanish children’s postcards to the Israeli ambassador saying things like, "Jews kill for money," "Leave the country to the Palestinians" and "Go somewhere where they will accept you." This is scary, and also a reminder of the extent to which...
Haaretz: In Iranian-Israeli brinksmanship, Obama is powerless
Mondoweiss - 3 Mar 2010 - Aluf Benn in this morning’s Ha’aretz describes an increasingly dangerous poker game being played out over Iran’s nuclear program. With war now being threatened, "the stakes are constantly rising with the expectations that one of the players will recognize his weakness, blink and leave the table."...
Chas Freeman: This time apartheid has western complicity
Mondoweiss - 3 Mar 2010 - Impolitic as it is to mention this, in rejecting the analogy with apartheid in South Africa, the Washington Post’s Richard Cohen is not only denying realities on the ground in Palestine but also the principal and most awkward difference between the two cases. South Africa’s whites...
Repression of the Popular Struggle Continues: Israeli Army Arrests Five During Nabi Saleh Night Raid
Alternative Information Center - 3 Mar 2010 - Wednesday, 03 March 2010, In an expansion of its campaign of repression against the Palestinian popular struggle, the Israeli Army raided the village of Nabi Saleh tonight and arrested five youths from their beds. At around 2AM tonight a large contingent of Israeli military jeeps invaded...
The Israeli Assault on Bethlehem
Alternative Information Center - 3 Mar 2010 - Wednesday, 03 March 2010, The city of Bethlehem and its immediate surroundings are isolated by the Separation Wall Israel built on its lands and are further surrounded by the settlements of Gush Etzion to its west and south-west, Jerusalem to the north and two isolated settlements...
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Dahlan: “No Good Will Come Out From Talks With Israel”
IMEMC - Friday March 05, 2010 - 02:54, Mohammad Dahlan, member of the Central Committee of the Fateh movement, told the Maan News Agency that direct or indirect peace talks with the current Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu are fruitless.
Israeli Military Detains Eight Palestinian Residents From The West Bank
IMEMC - Thursday March 04, 2010 - 16:19, Eight Palestinian civilians were detained, on Thursday, by Israeli troops during morning invasions targeting West Bank communities.
Israeli Tanks Open Fire At Residents' Homes And Farmlands In Northern Gaza
IMEMC - Thursday March 04, 2010 - 16:05, Israeli tanks stationed at the boarder of Israeli and the Gaza Strip shelled, on Thursday at midday, residents homes and farm lands at the Beit Hannon town in northern Gaza Strip.
Fundamentalist Settlers Praise Goldstein, Celebrate His Massacre
IMEMC - Thursday March 04, 2010 - 13:15, Israeli Ynet News obtained a video showing fundamentalist Jewish settlers celebrating the memory of terrorist Dr. Baroch Goldstein, and praising his crime that targeted Muslim worshipers at the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron in February 25, 1994, killing 46 worshipers and wounding dozens.
Anti Wall Protest Continue At Beit Jala Town, Southern West Bank.
IMEMC - Thursday March 04, 2010 - 13:07, Residents of Beit Jala town, southern West Bank, along with Israeli and international supporters chained themselves to olive tree in protest of the Israeli built wall on their land.
Indirect Palestinian-Israel Talks Could Resume As Early As Sunday
IMEMC - Thursday March 04, 2010 - 10:09, Israeli paper, Haaretz, reported Thursday, that indirect Palestinian-Israeli talks could be resumed as early as this coming Sunday.
Israel to raze 8 family homes near Hebron
3/4/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - Israeli soldiers handed over house demolition orders to eight families in the West Bank village of Beit Ar-Rush Al-Fauqa, southeast of Hebron, on Thursday, onlookers said. Palestinians in the town said the orders were issued on the grounds that the structures were built without Israeli permission in Area C, a part of the West Bank under full Israeli military control. The homes slated for demolition belong to Ibrahim Taha Fayyad Al-Ihriebat, Tawfiq Mohammad Fayyad Al-Ihriebat, Amjad and Sami Mohammad Abed , Husein Al-Ihriebat, Munir Hassan Ismail, Zayed and A'ef Omer Ihreibi Kashur, Nasser Ihreibi Kashur, and Ra'fat Nasser Kashur. According to a detailed United Nations report released in December, Israel's planning regime makes Palestinian construction effectively prohibited in about 70% of all of Area C, or about 44% of the total West Bank.
Rights group: Israel penalizing Nakba commemoration
3/4/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - An Israeli parliamentary law committee has approved a proposal for a bill that would impose economic sanctions on organizers of Nakba commemorations. The term, meaning catastrophe in Arabic, describes the displacement of some 750,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled by Zionist militias during the founding years of the State of Israel. Nakba commemorations are important events in Israel, where some 335,000 Palestinian citizens continue to be denied their right to return to their original homes, lands and communities, or receive compensation for their losses, and are forced to live as internally displaced persons within their own country. " Palestinian citizens of Israel have experienced the Nakba not only in 1948 but every day since then," the human rights group Badil said in a statement on Wednesday.
Three injured by Gaza security forces
3/4/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Three members of the Al-Khaldi family were wounded by a security officer in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday, in what appeared to be a personal dispute. According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), based on statements by eyewitnesses, a member of the An-Namrouti family, who works as a bodyguard for a Hamas leader, fired at members of the Al-Khaldi family who were near their house in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. As a result, three members of the family were wounded. They were identified as: Rami Abdul Rahim Al-Khaldi, 35, wounded in the feet; Wajdi Rasmi Al-Khaldi, 24, wounded in the left elbow; and Mousa Mohammed Al-Khaldi, 24, wounded in the right shoulder. The injured were evacuated to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, and medical sources described their wounds as moderate.
UN chief: Gaza blockade must end
3/4/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - The UN's top humanitarian relief coordinator and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad jointly urged an end to the Israeli siege of Gaza during a meeting on Thursday with high-level UN officials in Ramallah. Following his visit to Gaza, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem where UN coordinator John Holmes spoke pointedly about the effects of the siege on the coastal enclave, Fayyad asked the official to encourage more pressure to ensure Israel obliges by international law. "We hope to achieve our goals [of a state] and boosting the credit of the political peace process via indirect negotiations with Israel," Fayyad told Holmes, "but the process requires more intervention from the international community to force Israel to keep up its commitments. " He added that Palestinians still need to see a "total and comprehensive halt of settlement construction especially in Jerusalem a halt to West Bank invasions, and a break of the siege on Gaza. "
Israeli contractor revokes hundreds of work permits
3/4/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - More than 400 Palestinian work permits were revoked by a private Israeli security company that operates guard posts in a number of settlements throughout the occupied West Bank, officials said Thursday. The General Federation of Workers' Unions in Palestine accused the company, which it did not name, of confiscating permits from Palestinians working in the illegal settlements of Kiryat Sefer, Modi'in, Benyamin, and Karkur, all west of Ramallah. Hussen Khalifa, a member of the union in Ramallah, said the unnamed Israeli company confiscated the permits as a penalty for the Palestinians' supervisors, who apparently failed to pay fees on time. Shaher Sa'd, secretary-general of the federation, condemned the move. Sa'd demanded that private contractors "stop pursuing Palestinian workers," whom he said are continuously exploited and suffer daily abuse at crossings.
Israel high court: Sa’adat to stay in solitary confinement
3/4/2010 - Chicago - Ma'an - Israel's Supreme Court rejected a motion on Thursday asking for Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Secretary-General Ahmad Sa'adat to be moved from solitary confinement in prison. The Israeli news website Ynet reported that the judges accepted the prosecution's claim that Sa'adat, when he is not held in solitary confinement, passes messages to the PFLP's armed wing. Sa'adat is serving a 30-year prison sentence for a PFLP gunman's assassination Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi in 2001. He has been in solitary confinement since last year. In June he staged a nine-day hunger strike in protest of this treatment. After being jailed by the Palestinian Authority in connection with the killing, Sa'adat was seized by Israeli commandoes in a raid on a prison in Jericho in 2006. Sa'adat is now one of several senior prisoners Hamas is demanding released. . .
Arab League backs return to peace talks
3/4/2010 - Chicago - Ma'an - The Arab League gave its blessing on Wednesday for President Mahmoud Abbas to begin indirect peace negotiations with Israel mediated by the US. At a meeting in Cairo requested by Abbas, the council of Arab foreign ministers gave the talks a four-month time limit to achieve results. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) must now accept the proposal. The group's leadership is expected to meet later this week to discuss the issue. " The committee [of foreign ministers] does not object to indirect negotiations and, if nothing is achieved four months from now, the issue will be taken to the UN Security Council," said Yusef Ahmed Syria's ambassador to the Arab League, as quoted by the BBC. US-backed peace negotiations were broken off in late 2008 as Israel launched a war on the Gaza Strip that left some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead.
Nativity Church deportees seek Abbas support
3/4/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - President Mahmoud Abbas should do more to alleviate the plight of Palestinians who were deported during the Second Intifada, a spokesman for a group of exiles said Thursday. Fahmi Kan'an, speaking on behalf of the so-called Nativity Church deportees, said Abbas and other Fatah leaders ought to intervene. In a phone interview, Kan'an added that it had been nine years since the move, and that the issue should be resolved immediately, particularly in light of reports that indirect peace negotiations were set to renew. The deportees, exiled to Europe following a standoff between the group and Israeli forces in 2002 that saw negotiations mediate their release and expulsion, face increasing difficulties in their host countries, some of which have threatened to expel them over the years. On 10 May 2002, Israeli forces surrounded the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where Palestinian operatives had taken shelter.
Report: Peace talks to begin this week
3/4/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Peace talks between the PLO and Israel could begin on Sunday, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported a day after the Arab League threw its support behind a US initiative to restart negotiations. The Americans are reportedly hoping both sides will agree to talks ahead of US Vice President Joe Biden's arrival on Monday, which is the same day the country's Mideast envoy, George Mitchell, will arrive in Ramallah, chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat told the Arabic-language newspaper Al-Quds. The US also applauded a vote by the foreign ministers of the Arab League in Cairo on Wednesday that they would support the American initiative for indirect negotiations, but on a four-month deadline. President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, said the Arab world only supported talks on the condition that the US would offer certain guarantees, interpreted as agreeing to restrain its use of vetoes at. . .
Dahlan: Talks will waste time while settlements expand
3/4/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Fatah Central Committee member Muhammad Dahlan cast doubt on the benefits of resuming peace talks between the PLO and Israel after reports that US-mediated "proximity talks" could start on Sunday. "There is no benefit from either direct or indirect negotiations with the Israeli government as it continues settlement construction and attacks the holy sites of Palestine," Dahlan said in an interview on Thursday. On Wednesday the Arab League gave its blessing to renewed peace negotiations at the request of President Mahmoud Abbas. US Middle East envoy George Mitchell, who offered to shuttle between the two sides in the talks is expected in the region within days. US Vice President Joe Biden is also scheduled to visit on Monday. Dahlan's comments indicate a split within Abbas' own party on the decision to resume talks with Israel.
Gaza fighters claim cross-border shooting
3/4/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Fighters affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said they fired on Israeli farmers north of the Gaza Strip on Thursday. In a statement, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades said their snipers fired on "a group of settler farmers north of Beit Hanoun. "The leftist group said the cross-border attack was "in response to [Israel's] repeated crimes against Jerusalem and Hebron. " An Israeli military spokesman said he was not aware of an attack on soldiers or civilians, after an initial inquiry. There were no immediate reports of injury or damage. On Monday, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees said a fighter was killed by Israeli shelling in northern Gaza. The army confirmed the shelling, which it said came after PRC fighters attempted to plant an explosive device near the border. . . . .
Rafah crossing open for 4th consecutive day
3/4/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Egyptian authorities announced on Thursday that the Rafah crossing would remain open an extra day, as Palestinians traveled in and out of the Gaza Strip for the fourth consecutive day. The de facto government crossings authority said in a statement that the terminal would be open on Thursday starting with bus 22. This week's opening was the first in two months, as a joint Israeli and Egyptian blockade has locked down the besieged enclave since 2007, preventing its residents from traveling. On Wednesday, some 1,100 travelers departed the coastal strip and 207 entered, while 60 were refused entry, authorities said. Patients, international passport and visa holders were given priority on Tuesday. On Monday, 13 buses left Gaza, with 11 passing through into Egypt, and two sent back from the border for reasons that were not clear.
Exile in Rome: Waiting to feel alive again
3/4/2010 - Rome - Ma'an - Former Palestinian intelligence officer Khalid Abu Nijmeh lives in exile following his deportation after the Nativity Church standoff in 2002, he sat with Ma'an Chief Editor Nasser Lahham in Rome on Thursday, to discuss as a deportee. In an Italian coffee shop, where Khalid never quite looked at home in, he spoke about the three years it took him to learn to speak the language. "When I first came to Italy, I was surrounded by guards and translators, I was hardly allowed to mingle with the people of the city," he said. Khalid spent the first years after the standoff at the Nativity Church alone in Rome, thinking about the 40 days he and 38 other resistance fighters sought sanctuary in the Bethlehem church while Israeli forces tracked the men down in the thick of the Second Intifada. The Palestinian Authority negotiated a deal, seeing 13 of the men sent to Europe and another 26 marooned in Gaza.
Parents of prisoner with cancer appeal for release
3/4/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - The family of a 27-year-old Palestinian prisoner suffering from leukemia appealed to the Palestinian Authority (PA) on Thursday to pressure Israel to release him. Tareq Mahmoud Al-Asi's medical condition has deteriorated rapidly, his parent's said, since he was diagnosed in prison. He is serving a 20-year sentence that began in 2005. Al-Asi's lawyer said his case was "dangerous" and that he is not getting adequate treatment at the Ramla prison Hospital. [end]
In photos: Protests continue in Beit Jala
3/4/2010 - MaanImages / Luay Sababa - 1-6: Palestinians and foreign activists replant uprooted olive trees during a protest against Israel's separation wall in the West Bank village of Beit Jala, near Bethlehem, on 4 March 2010. Israeli forces were uprooting the trees to extend Israel's contentious West Bank separation wall. 7-17: A day earlier, Israeli border police clashed with Palestinian protesters as bulldozers continued work near Route 60 on the edge of town. The area includes over 2,000 olive trees, all owned by Palestinians in the predominantly Christian town between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. [end]
Number of Erez travelers inches up from February
3/4/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an- The Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel opened on Thursday, to allow a limited number of permit and passport holders into Israel, the Gaza border administration said. For the past year, the crossing has been open once a week or less, with international aid workers, and patients being transferred to West Bank and Israeli hospitals the only travelers permitted through the terminal. The crossing was shut during Israel's War on Gaza last year. The border administration counted 194 individuals leaving Gaza Saturday, 128 of them residents (22 for treatment, 15 companions, 2 visitors, 11 workers, 78 others) 52 international passport holders and 14 Palestinian citizens of Israel. The total number of those returning to Gaza reached 196, 133 of them residents (24 returned from treatment with 22 companions, 1 visitor, 2 workers, 84 other), 48 of them international passport holders and 15 Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Hebron police seize unexploded ordnance
3/4/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - Palestinian police in Hebron were called to the scene where a suspicious object was found on Thursday, later determined to be a tear-gas canister apparently left behind by the Israeli army. Colonel Ramadan Awad, the Hebron police chief, said reports of suspicious objects and weaponry discovered by civilians in the southern West Bank city have increased in recent weeks due to increased efforts to recycle scrap metal. Colonel Awad urged residents who find similar objects to continue alerting police, whose sappers are trained to handle abandoned ordnance. [end]
Blast kills 1 in northern Israel
3/4/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - A large explosion in northern Israel killed one person and injured 10 others, news reports said. Initial reports indicated that the explosion was linked to Israeli criminal groups, rather than a politically motivated attack. The Israeli daily Haaretz reported that a bomb placed in a motorcycle exploded in a suburb near the coastal city of Haifa. [end]
Hamas: Return to talks a betrayal of the nation
3/4/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Gaza's deputy Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) speaker Ahmad Bahar called a return to negotiations with Israel a "waste of the Palestinian cause," saying the outcomes of any talks would "not meet any standards of legitemacy. " The statement on Thursday followed rumors that indirect talks with a US envoy shuttling between Israel and the PLO could start as early as Sunday, after the Arab League gave the go-ahead on Wednesday for talks within a four-month timeframe. Bahar said a return to talks before Palestinian unity is achieved would be tantamount to "eliminating national rights," and would not be recognized by Palestinians. " Returning to the negotiations is a violation of the promises President Mahmoud Abbas made, he vowed to not return to negotiations until settlement construction freezes," Bahar said.
UK mulling curb on war crimes arrest warrants
3/4/2010 - Chicago - Ma'an/Agencies - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown plans to block private groups from seeking the arrest of foreign officials for war crimes following a diplomatic dispute with Israel, he wrote in the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper. In November, a London magistrate's court issued an arrest warrant for former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni at the request of lawyers representing Palestinians killed in Israel's recent war on Gaza. The warrant was withdrawn when Livni canceled a planned trip to the UK. She has not attempted to visit Britain since. Livni was foreign minister during the 2008-2009 war which left some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead. A UN-mandated fact finding mission to Gaza led by renowned South African judge Richard Goldstone found evidence that Israel and Palestinian militias committed war crimes during the conflict.
PA police go in print and online
3/4/2010 - Jericho - Ma'an - Police with the Palestinian Authority launched Field Magazine Monthly in Jericho on Thursday, a publication and companion internet site designed to spur communication between the public and the forces, officials said. The public relations department at the Jericho police facility said the publication would highlight articles by officers working at the Al-Karamah border (Allenby Bridge). Following the start of circulation, police said, www. palpolice. ps will open a comments section for citizens, where complaints and suggestions can be submitted, and will be reviewed and addressed by trained officers. The magazine and its website will offer advice on smooth passage through the Allenby Bridge, hours, regulations and an overview of security procedures, officials explained. It will also have information on the training of officers, and on how to apply for the academy.
PA sends medicine to Gaza
3/4/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - The Palestinian Authority (PA) Health Ministry in Ramallah successfully arranged a delivery of badly-needed medicine to the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip, a Thursday report said. The International Committee of the Red Cross coordinated the entry to Gaza with the Israeli military, he said, noting the shipment will be followed by 16 truckloads of medicine and laboratory medical equipment to Gaza, for which arrangements were being made. Ministry spokesman Omar An-Nasser said the delivery included Anti-D Immunoglobulin, antibodies that prevent an immunological condition in infants, as well as specially requested medicine for a Gazan child named Anas Abu Arabia, following an appeal from the boy's father. Gaza's hospitals and health sector have suffered under two and a half years of an Israeli-led blockade that has prohibited shipments of dozens of types of medicine and equipment.
Top Fatah official visits Gaza
3/4/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Senior Fatah leader Sakher Bseisu returned to the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip on Thursday, from his West Bank residence in Tulkarem, a spokesman said. Fatah official Salah Abu Khaltah said this will be Bseisu's second visit to Gaza since the Sixth Fatah Conference, held in Bethlehem during the first weeks of August 2009, where he was elected to the party's Central Committee. Bseisu will hold talks on "organizational affairs" while in Gaza, Abu Khaltah said, though it was not clear whether he would meet any officials from Hamas or the Gaza-based government. Abu Khaltah denied reports that Hamas and Fatah are engaged in secret negotiations to end their deadlocked three-year power struggle. " The Fatah movement has no information on media reports on meetings to be held away from media outlets," he said. "The movement and its Central Committee did not designate anyone in Fatah to hold any such talks. "
PA minister vows to continue radio clampdown
3/4/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Palestinian Authority (PA) Telecommunications Minister Mashhur Abu Daqa vowed on Thursday to continue an apparent clampdown on unlicensed local radio stations in the West Bank. " The ministry will close any unlicensed local station," Abu Daqa said in a phone interview. Daqa's ministry stirred controversy by urging police to enforce a ban on unlicensed broadcasters, closing two such stations in Hebron on Wednesday. He said the owners of local stations are obligated to get their legal affairs in order and pay fees to the PA, or face a shutdown. "Any station that does not cooperate will be closed without any exception. "He also dismissed statements from Information Ministry officials who said they opposed the clampdown on free speech grounds. Daqa said his ministry is in charge of the airwaves, not the Information Ministry.
Report: Dead Sea water level rose 8 cm this year
3/4/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - For the first time in years, the water level of the Dead Sea rose eight centimeters in a matter of months, the Israeli Water Authority announced on Wednesday. According to the report, published Thursday by the Israeli daily Haaretz, years of drought-like conditions saw the water level of the Mideast landmark plummet some 15 meters. But thanks to heavy rains this winter, levels rose back to the "red line," a measure used by subterranean aquifers, for the first time in years, as mountain and coastal aquifers regained prior levels. The Dead Sea, famous for its unusually high salt and mineral content, sits between the West Bank, Israel, and Jordan. [end]
Israel, Yemen, the Gold Watch and Everything!
Uruknet March 4, 2010 - So what’s the hubbub, bub? Why all this activity concentrated in and around Yemen? Well, Israel has always salivated over controlling that region. In an article appearing in "The Yemen Times" on October 26, 2008 titled "Israeli Strategy to occupy Al-Mandab Strait" Najeeb Al-Ghurbani writes: "The first President of the Zionist government David Goryon expressed his...
Moment of truth: time to boycott Israel's entire range of injustice
Uruknet March 4, 2010 - Words always matter, and names always have a life of their own. But perhaps Palestine and Israel form a context in which words become positions more dramatically than in many others. The authors of the "Moment of Truth" Kairos document, which is the Christian Palestinians' statement to the world about the occupation of Palestine and a...
Fundamentalist Settlers Praise Goldstein, Celebrate His Massacre
Uruknet March 4, 2010 - Israeli Ynet News obtained a video showing fundamentalist Jewish settlers celebrating the memory of terrorist Dr. Baroch Goldstein, and praising his crime that targeted Muslim worshipers at the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron in February 25, 1994, killing 46 worshipers and wounding dozens. The setters were dancing and singing a special song meant to praise Goldstein and...
Israeli Tanks Open Fire At Residents' Homes And Farmlands In Northern Gaza
Uruknet March 04, 2010 - Israeli tanks stationed at the boarder of Israeli and the Gaza Strip shelled, on Thursday at midday, residents homes and farm lands at the Beit Hannon town in northern Gaza Strip. Residents said that they had to leave their farms during the attack. They reported damage to property but no injuries. In other news in Gaza,...
Opposing Israel Lobby is Not Same as Supporting Palestinian Rights
Uruknet March 4, 2010 - ...A political program based on the premise that the Lobby determines U.S. foreign policy "against our vital national interests" starts off badly and gets worse. It is misguided not only in the assertion that Israel’s interests have undermined U.S. interests, but in the realist manner in which "national interests" are understood from the perspective of economic...
Human rights groups condemn Israel for blackmailing patients
4 Mar 2010 - Gaza, March 3, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - In a message to Israel's attorney general, three human rights organizations criticized Israeli intelligence agencies for blackmailing Palestinian patients in Gaza, exploiting their vulnerability in order to pressure them into collaborating with the occupation authorities. According to the organizations, a number of patients have been given false promises that they would be allowed...
UN official arrives in Gaza
4 Mar 2010 - Gaza, March 4, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes arrived in Gaza today, as part of his four-day visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. Mr. Holmes witnessed firsthand the conditions in Gaza, one year after the end of operation "Cast Lead," which ran from 27 December to 18 January,...
Gazan dies in Rafah tunnel collapse
4 Mar 2010 - Gaza Strip, March 4, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- A young Palestinian was killed Wednesday evening when a tunnel collapsed in south Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. Muhammad Subhi Al-Najjar, 18, was killed in a tunnel collapse near Alqeshout neighborhood in Rafah. It was reported that the young man, living in Al-Brazil neighborhood, was dead by the time he was taken...
Maariv: Israel wants US to apply ‘Cuban model’ to Iran
Palestine Note 4 Mar 2010 - The goal: Adopting the Cuban model Eli Bardenstein, Maariv, March 4 2010 [page 6 | Hebrew original here ] Israel is concerned that the UN Security Council decision on intensifying sanctions against Iran will be postponed, and the...
Israeli heritage, Jewish heritage or both?
Palestine Note 4 Mar 2010 - The most worrisome aspect of the decision by the Israeli government to recognise various West Bank-based sites as part of Israel's heritage is the continuous mix and duplicity between the state of Israel and the Jewish...
The problems of the Middle East
Palestine Note 4 Mar 2010 - What's Really Wrong With the Middle East It's not a question. It's a statement of fact. Brian Whitaker spills the beans and explains why in his book of the same title, with an emphasis on "really."...
Livni arrest warrant prompts UK law change
Palestine Note 4 Mar 2010 - British PM Gordon Brown has announced a proposal to stop political groups from securing arrest warrants for visiting foreign officials, reports Haaretz . His announcement comes after a pro-Palestinian group secured an arrest warrant in December for...
Even the best laid plans: Ex-CIA operative discusses the failings of the Dubai assassination
Palestine Note 4 Mar 2010 - Robert Baer, former CIA field officer and writer, offers his musings on the assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh in Dubai to the Wall Street Journal . According to Baer, political assassinations aren't nearly as simple as...
Abbas' consequential choices
Palestine Note 4 Mar 2010 - Ask Mahmoud Abbas, the beleaguered Palestinian president, about the law of diminishing returns and he would probably explain it far better than an experienced economist! And he should. The past year has seen his political fortunes...
Egypt orders retrial in diva murder
AlJazeera 4 Mar 2010 - Appeals court orders retrial for businessman convicted of Lebanese singers' murder.
The Israeli Occupation as an Apartheid System
Alternative Information Center - Wednesday, 03 March 2010, During the sixth International Israeli apartheid week, the Alternative Information Center is hosting events and lectures. On 2 March, Hazem Jamjoum of the Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights...
Israel Penalizing Nakba Commemoration
Alternative Information Center - Thursday, 04 March 2010, The Israeli Parliamentary Law Committee has recently approved a law proposal the (“Nakba bill”) that, if passed by the Knesset, would impose economic sanctions on the organizers of Nakba commemorations. Every year...
Italian Professors Call for Academic Boycott of Israel
Alternative Information Center - Thursday, 04 March 2010, A group of Italian professors recently published a letter calling for the academic boycott of Israel “against university and cultural discrimination of Palestinians.” The document—called “Right to study and academic freedom in...
Raid aborted after soldier leaks it on Fbook
PNN - Thursday, 04 March 2010
Palestinians suspect Israel's hand behind double scandal
PNN - Thursday, 04 March 2010
'Son of Hamas' who spied for Israel
PNN - Thursday, 04 March 2010
ElBaradei gains momentum in Egypt
Jeruslalem Post 4 Mar 2010 - He’s not yet declared presidential candidacy, but state media is already critical.
Lieberman: There was no illegal Belarus tip-off
Jeruslalem Post 4 Mar 2010 - FM rejects latest claims against him, slams cops.
'My party stays in gov't if I'm indicted'
Jeruslalem Post 4 Mar 2010 - Lieberman defiant; Likud source: FM’s pledge ends chances of Kadima joining gov’t.
Talks won’t start where they left off
Jeruslalem Post 4 Mar 2010 - On eve of Biden’s visit, J’lem concerned Iran will use Hizbullah to distract from nukes.
FM: Illegal tip-off suspicions baseless
Jeruslalem Post 4 Mar 2010 - Lieberman: "Nothing to come out" of reports Belarus envoy told him of investigation.
Syria: Israel trying to frame us
Jeruslalem Post 4 Mar 2010 - Damascus blames Israel for uranium traces; US, EU, urge Syria to drop nuclear secrecy.
What did Teheran ask of Hizbullah?
Jeruslalem Post 4 Mar 2010 - To complement its upgraded arsenal, Hizbullah recently spelled out a new military posture toward Israel.
Bashar Assad: What you see is what you get
Jeruslalem Post 4 Mar 2010 - Syria’s president is not a ‘pragmatist’ but fiercely anti-Israel, which is why efforts to lure him out of Iran’s orbit aren’t working.
Hamas spy unafraid, criticizes Islam
Jeruslalem Post 4 Mar 2010 - Mosab Hassan Yousef, disowned by father for helping Shin Bet, is unafraid of death.
WFP Launches Food Security Atlas of OPT
WAFA 4 Mar 2010 - RAMALLAH, March 4, 2010 (WAFA)- The United Nations World Food Programme has released a socio-economic and food security atlas of the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) which maps out Palestinians’
Exchange of Notes for CEGA to Palestinian Territory
WAFA 4 Mar 2010 - RAMALLAH, March 4, 2010 (WAFA)- The Government of Japan has decided to extend a community empowerment grant aid (the Project for Support for the Public Activities of the Communities in Jordan
EU Launches Training Programme for Palestinian Assistant Prosecutors
WAFA 4 Mar 2010 - RAMALLAH, March 4, 2010 (WAFA)- Today the European Union (EU)-funded project for Empowering the Palestinian Judicial System, Seyada II, announced the launch of a one-year training programme aimed at
MIDEAST: Occupation Turns Palestinian Women Into Breadwinners
IPS RAMALLAH, Mar 4 (IPS) - Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, with its ubiquitous closures, checkpoints, military raids and arrests, has decimated the Palestinian economy in the West Bank and Gaza.
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory( 24 Feb.- 03 Mar. 2010)
PCHR
Small group of U.S. Jews fights for right to bear arms
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - Increasing number of Jewish Americans buying guns amid fears of growing anti-Semitism.
If Netanyahu wants peace, he knows what to do
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - It will be fatal to new peace talks if understandings between the PA and the previous government are ignored.
UN official: 'Israel creating a generation nourished on despair'
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - Outgoing relief coordinator leaves Gaza dejected over Israeli 'collective punishment'.
U.S. House panel votes to recognize Armenian genocide
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - Non-binding resolution passes 23-22, despite pressure from the Obama administration and Turkey to drop the matter.
Lieberman to U.S.: Embargo Iran like Cuba
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - Foreign Minister's initiative, which his deputy will present next week, not coordinated with Netanyahu.
Hamas bans men from working in women's hair salons in Gaza
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - Campaign to impose strict Islamic customs on 1.5 million Gazans ignites controversy among citizens.
U.S. Jewish leaders: Israel's envoy to UN should stay on another term
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - ADL director Abe Foxman and AJC chair David Harris among figures publicly calling to renew Shalev's term.
UN official: Israel siege on Gaza encourages Hamas smuggling
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - In an exclusive interview with Haaretz, John Holmes pessimistic about future of change for Gaza.
Hamas: Abbas selling Palestinians illusions of peace with Israel
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - Hamas official calls on PA leader to 'step aside' and stop offering 'compromise after compromise.'
U.K. to change law in wake of warrants against Israeli officials
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - Move follows pro-Palestinian group's attempt to arrest MK Tzipi Livni in U.K. for alleged war crimes.
Syria hints Israel planted nuclear traces on its territory
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - U.S. and EU urge Syria to grant IAEA access to officials and sites that may shed light on nuclear activities.
Polish activists use Hitler poster to warn against abortion
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - Anti-abortion group Pro said it was entirely legitimate to make a link between abortion and Nazi crimes.
Six essential cookbooks every Jewish kitchen must have
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - Dalia Carmel's two-bedroom home is filled with 1,500 volumes of cookbooks - just a fraction of the 10,000 she once had.
China rejects Iran sanctions, pushes for diplomatic solution
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - China Foreign Ministry spokesman: Diplomatic efforts on Iran nuclear standoff haven't been exhausted.
Anti-Islamist leader scores major win in Dutch polls
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - Wilders, who compares Islam to fascism, the Koran to Adolf Hitler's 'Mein Kampf,' could be next Dutch PM.
Hamas bans men from working in female hair salons
The Guardian 4 Mar 2010 - Police announce latest move in campaign to impose strict Islamic rules on Gaza residents Gaza's Islamic Hamas government has banned men from working in women's hair salons. It is the latest step in a campaign to...
The lingering of an absurd imperial reflex | Pankaj Mishra
The Guardian 4 Mar 2010 - The west's moral didacticism now grates more than the realpolitik of China and the east There were chuckles and sniggers in Qatar last month when Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, warned that a military...
How to handle Hamas | Adam Ingram
The Guardian 4 Mar 2010 - The Northern Ireland peace process will be relevant to the Middle East only if Hamas recognises Israel and puts aside arms The recent assassination of a founder of Hamas' armed wing, allegedly involved in the smuggling...
Hopes high for an Oscar as'Ajami' crew heads for Hollywood
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - The Israeli filmmakers behind the Oscar-nominated picture "Ajami" arrived in Los Angeles yesterday to attend this Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony at the Kodak Theater. ...
Jewish residents of East Jerusalem home offer trade-off
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - The Israeli activists who settled recently in a disputed building in East Jerusalem on Thursday offered a compromise to the State Prosecution, according to which they would seal off the top levels of the building they claim is theirs in exchange for the right to live there. ...
Person killed when motorcycle explodes in Haifa suburb
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - One person was killed on Thursday evening when a motorcycle exploded next to a bus in the Haifa suburb of Kiryat Ata. ...
Israeli abuse survivor speaks out and finds a save haven
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - Basima (not her real name) is a 26-year-old maid at a Jerusalem hotel frequented by western tourists. She's been on the job for only three days, and already her bubbly demeanor has earned her many friends. In an assertive tone, Basima shares her story of surviving domestic abuse, but her body stiffens as she sees another employee approaching. "Don't tell him about my children," she whispers. ...
Head scientist vows to toe the line on Darwin and global warming
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - Education Ministry chief scientist Dr. Gavriel Avital has committed to toeing the line set by Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar as to how evolution and global warming are taught in schools. ...
OPT: Protection of Civilians Weekly Report, 24 February - 2 March 2010
Relief Web 4 Mar 2010 - Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
UN HUMANITARIAN CHIEF URGES CHANGE OF POLICY ON THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Relief Web 4 Mar 2010 - Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Follow-up to the World Conference on Human Rights: report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HRC/13/26)
Relief Web 4 Mar 2010 - Source: UN General Assembly, UN Human Rights Council
"Better Lawyers, Better Justice": European Union Launches Training Programme for Palestinian Assistant Prosecutors
Relief Web 4 Mar 2010 - Source: European Commission, European Union
Dahlan against talks: Israel just wants to gain time
YNet News 4 Mar 2010 - Palestinian opposition to PA president's intention to renew dialogue mounts. Fatah spokesman: It suits Netanyahu's strategy of stalling while appearing to negotiate
Turkey to recall US envoy following 'genocide' bill
YNet News 4 Mar 2010 - Despite Clinton's efforts, congressional panel votes to label as 'genocide' World War One-era massacre of Armenians by Turkish forces. Erdogan: Turkey blamed for crime it didn't commit
Lieberman: Gov't to vote on civil marriage bill Monday
YNet News 4 Mar 2010 - Foreign minister addresses criticism against his reforms in marriage, conversion, and voting abroad
Hamas bans men from women's hair salons
YNet News 4 Mar 2010 - Ban part of ruling group's campaign to impose strict Islamic customs. 'Next thing you know, they will ban doctors from treating women,' hairdresser says
Beit Yonatan residents offer to seal off part of building
YNet News 4 Mar 2010 - Jews living in east Jerusalem building offer to voluntarily seal off top floors if they are allowed to remain in bottom ones. 'Issue has become a national one,' they say
Hamas: Abbas has no mandate for talks with Israel
YNet News 4 Mar 2010 - Senior Hamas figure: Resuming talks is selling illusions to Palestinians, legitimizes settlement; 18 years of talks achieved nothing
Change in UK arrest warrant law far off
YNet News 4 Mar 2010 - Guardian says amendment to law which allowed for issuing of arrest warrant against Livni postponed until after general election. Israeli ambassador to London: Change needed to solidify Britain's role in Mideast peace process
Early Iraq voting shattered as series of deadly blasts kill 17 people
Daily Star 4 Mar 2010 BAGHDAD: A string of deadly blasts shattered an early round of voting in Iraq Thursday, killing 17 people and highlighting the fragile nature of the country’s security gains ahead of crucial parliamentary elections this Sunday. Iraq security forces were out in full force, trying to protect early voters in an election that will determine who will lead the country through the crucial period of the US troop
Iran threatens to withdraw nuclear counter-offer
Daily Star 4 Mar 2010 Iran may withdraw a counter-offer it made to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in response to proposals from the major powers for the supply of nuclear fuel, its IAEA envoy warned on Thursday. “Iran’s proposal for a simultaneous exchange on Iranian soil of our low-enriched uranium for fuel enriched to 20 percent is still on the table but it will not stay there forever
Egypt appeals court overturns death sentence of suspects in Tamim murder
Daily Star 4 Mar 2010 CAIRO: An Egyptian appeals court overturned Thursday the convictions of a leading ruling party member and a former policeman sentenced to death for the murder of a Lebanese pop diva. The cassation court ordered a retrial for ruling party member Hisham Talaat Mustafa and Mohsen al-Sukkari, the ex-policeman, who had both been convicted by a lower court
Syria accuses Israel of planting traces of uranium at site of air strike
Daily Star 4 Mar 2010 VIENNA: Syria suggested on Thursday that Israel dropped uranium particles onto Syrian soil from the air to make it look as if a covert nuclear weapons plant was being built there, officials at an IAEA meeting said.Damascus has strongly denied US intelligence that a complex in the Syrian desert bombed to ruins by Israel in 2007 had been a nascent nuclear reactor
Israelis, Palestinians set for indirect negotiations
Daily Star 4 Mar 2010 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday Israel hoped to begin indirect talks with the Palestinians next week during a visit by Washington’s Middle East envoy.Palestinian officials said they wanted the US-mediated talks to focus initially on defining the borders of a state they hope to establish in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Yemen arrests 11 Al-Qaeda suspects in Sanaa raid
Daily Star 4 Mar 2010 SANAA: Yemeni security forces arrested 11 men in the capital Sanaa on suspicion of plotting attacks for Al-Qaeda, killing one man during the operation, a security source said on Thursday.“The 11 men are currently under interrogation. They were planning to assassinate security officials and target interests in Sanaa,” the source told AFP,
Cabinet approves draft municipal electoral law
Daily Star 4 Mar 2010 BEIRUT: The Cabinet endorsed Thursday the amended municipal electoral draft law and transferred it to Parliament as ministers concluded another round of administrative appointments, this time nominating the Banking Control Commission’s members. Wednesday’s approval of nominations by only one tipping vote in favor helped ease rising tensions among political parties
Cash inflow leads ABL to slash interest rates
Daily Star 4 Mar 2010 BEIRUT: The Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) decided to slash interest rates on the Lebanese pound to 6.5 percent and is expected to make similar steps on other currencies. The move is part of a bid to absorb the excessive cash and deposits which flooded into Lebanon the past two years and experts believed that Lebanese banks can no longer digest
Mediterranean Union signals potential
Daily Star 4 Mar 2010 The newly created Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), a regional body which counts Lebanon among its ranks, took a decisive step on the path to its edification on Thursday by naming the Jordanian Ahmad Masa’deh as its first secretary general. Observers are perplexed by the fact that the UfM’s first leader should come from a country that has no access to the Mediterranean.
LAU creates web database of prominent women
Daily Star 4 Mar 2010 BEIRUT: In a move aimed at bridging Lebanon's notable divide between the genders, a database providing biographical information about influential Lebanese women was launched on Tuesday. The "Who is She in Lebanon" database was created by the Lebanese American University's Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW)
Amr Moussa visits Al-Taif Forum for award ceremony
Daily Star 4 Mar 2010 BEIRUT: During his recent tour of Lebanon, Amr Moussa found time to visit the Al-Taif Forum headquarters on Riad al-Solh Square, where Bahia Hariri and the Forum’s advisory committee bestowed upon him the Arab-Lebanese Friendship Trophy. Among the hundreds gathered on February 17 for the ceremony and ensuing reception were Ali Saade,
Israeli prison guards launch larges search operation in Hadarim
PIC 4 Mar 2010 - Special forces affiliated with the Israeli prisons authority launched the biggest search operation of a number of prisoners' cells in Hadarim jail for many years..
Khafsh: IOA deliberately detains intellectuals
PIC 4 Mar 2010 - Fuad Al-Khafsh has charged the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) with deliberately arresting Palestinian intellectuals and scientists to force them leave the country.
IOF round up 8 Palestinians, renew administrative custody of Jihad leader
PIC 4 Mar 2010 - Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed a number of villages and cities in northern West Bank at an early hour on Thursday that ended with rounding up eight Palestinian citizens.
Nunu: Abbas wants to offer concessions with Arab cover
PIC 4 Mar 2010 - Mahmoud Abbas is pressuring Arab countries to support negotiations with Israel without halting settlement activity and without any commitment to Palestinian rights, Taher Al-Nunu said.
Haneyya: No cover for negotiations
PIC 4 Mar 2010 - Palestinian premier Ismail Haneyya said that his government would not support any negotiations with the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) whether secret or public and whether direct or indirect.
Khudari calls for practical steps to end the siege
PIC 4 Mar 2010 - MP Jamal Al-Khudari, the head of the popular anti siege committee, welcomed the statement by John Holmes, the UN coordinator of humanitarian affairs, that demanded an end to the siege on Gaza.
Hamas bans men from women's hair salons
LA Times 4 Mar 2010 - Gaza's Islamic Hamas government on Thursday banned men from working in women's hair salons, the latest step in its campaign to impose strict Islamic customs on Gaza's 1.5 million people.
Egypt Overturns Death Sentence in Star’s Murder
New York Times 4 Mar 2010 - The retrial of a wealthy former legislator over the murder of a Lebanese pop singer raised questions about what role political connections played in the appeal.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Five Killed In Crash With Israeli Military Hummer Vehicle
IMEMC - Saturday March 06, 2010 - 02:07, Five Palestinian were killed on Friday evening and two others were injured when their vehicle accidentally slammed into a military hummer at the Silwad Bridge, by the entrance of Ofer near the central West Bank city of Ramallah.
Five Youths Injured at Ni'lin Protest Including 11 Year Old Boy
IMEMC - Friday March 05, 2010 - 16:15, After midday prayers villagers of the village of Ni’lin, near Ramallah, were joined by Israeli and international protestors in their weekly protest of the separation wall built on land confiscated from the villagers.
Weekly Protest in Bi'lin Marks International Week Against Racism
IMEMC - Friday March 05, 2010 - 16:13, This week’s protest in Bi’lin was joined by international and Israeli peace activists, and groups representing the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine political party and the Freedom Theatre in Jenin.
Protest Continues in al-Ma'sara
IMEMC - Friday March 05, 2010 - 15:39, Following midday prayers, the villagers of al-Ma’sara marched, in their weekly tradition, towards the construction site of the separation wall, that annexes them from their farmlands.
Eleven Injured As Troops Attack Anti Wall Protest At Al Nabi Saleh Village, Northern West Bank
IMEMC - Friday March 05, 2010 - 15:18, Eleven people, amongst them two internationals, were injured, on Friday, by Israeli military fire when troops suppressed an anti wall protest at the al-Nabi Saleh village, northern West Bank.
Clashes Reported at al-Aqsa & Ibrahimi Mosques
IMEMC - Friday March 05, 2010 - 14:51, Following Friday prayers, clashes have occurred at both al-Aqsa mosque, Jerusalem, and Ibrahimi mosque, Hebron.
Israeli High Court Refuses Appeal To Remove Saadat From Solitary Confinement
IMEMC - Friday March 05, 2010 - 12:07, The Israeli High Court rejected, on Thursday, an appeal to remove the detained Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Ahmad Saadat, from his solitary confinement and claimed that he still instructs PFLP resistance fighters while in prison.
PCHR Weekly Report: “Palestinian Killed, 17 Wounded, as Army Continues Its Violations”
IMEMC - Friday March 05, 2010 - 11:05, The Palestinian Center For Human Rights (PCHR), based in Gaza, issued its weekly report on the period between February 24 and March 3, revealing that the army killed one Palestinian, wounded 17, and kidnapped 50 residents.
Facebook Post Leads To Cancelling Israeli Invasion
IMEMC - Friday March 05, 2010 - 10:21, The Israeli army had to cancel an invasion into a West Bank village to kidnap Palestinians after an Israeli soldier posted on his facebook page details regarding the invasion, its timing and the targeted areas.
Barcelona Tribunal: “Israel Carried Severe Violations To The International Law”
IMEMC - Friday March 05, 2010 - 09:45, The Russell Tribunal on Palestine, held in Barcelona, started its activities on Thursday with a criticism to the Israeli government for committing severe violations against the International Law and the basic rights of the Palestinian people.
Palestinian boy seriously hurt at protest
3/5/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - A Palestinian boy was seriously wounded in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah, after he was shot in the head with a rubber-coated bullet, activists said. Ehab Fadel Barghouthi, 14 was among at least three injured when Israeli forces opened fire during a demonstration against the confiscation of land for Israel's separation wall. He remains unconscious and in critical condition in the intensive care unit of the Ramallah hospital. Barghouthi was shot with a rubber-coated bullet that struck him in the forehead above his right eye and entered his skull, the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee reported. He was evacuated to a Salfit hospital unconscious, and from there to Ramallah. In a statement, the committee said border guard officers fired from the rooftop of a house they took over, and were in no immediate danger.
Top Islamic judge among injured in Hebron rally
3/5/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - Tayseer At-Tamimi, the chief Islamic judge in Palestine, along with others were hurt after inhaling gas while leaving the Ibrahimi Mosque after performing Friday prayers in the southern West Bank city of Hebron. Israeli soldiers fired tear gas at the Muslim leader as he exited the mosque, witnesses said. He was transferred to the Al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron for treatment. Israeli soldiers also fired on others while they were leaving the landmark. In protest on the Israeli decision to include the Ibrahimi Mosque on a list of Israeli heritage sites, hundreds of Palestinians flocked to the southern West Bank city to perform Friday prayers. Clashes erupted between locals and Israeli forces, who beat several journalists, onlookers said. An Israeli military spokeswoman said 400 Palestinians clashed with Israeli forces in the city, for which soldiers used riot-dispersal means.
Union: 3 fishermen detained by Israeli navy
3/5/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli navy guards detained three Gazan fishermen just off the shores of Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Friday, the head of the local Fishermen's Union said. Nizar Ayyash identified the three fishermen as Nafeth Al-Aqra, Muhammad Nabil and Muhammad Al-Aqra, all from central Gaza. He said they were taken, along with their vessel, to an unknown location. An Israeli army spokeswoman said naval officers fired warning shots in the air at the boat, which was reportedly leaving the three-nautical-mile fishing zone off the Gaza coast. When the boat neither halted progress nor returned to shore, naval boats detained the men for questioning, the spokeswoman said. The official also confirmed that the boat was taken to the port in Ashdod while the men were questioned. On Wednesday, The Associated Press reported that fishermen, "cut off from plentiful fishing grounds by Israeli. . . "
Israeli forces raid Al-Aqsa compound
3/5/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - Dozens of Palestinians were injured as Israeli forces entered East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound following the weekly Friday prayers, firing tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades. At least 15 Israeli police officers were also injured by rocks thrown by Palestinians, Israeli news reports said. Some 200 police officers appeared on the scene, clashing with worshipers in the Haram Ash-Sharif, or noble sanctuary, which houses the mosque. Forces were seen striking Palestinians with batons, injuring a number of elderly worshipers, and closed off gates into the Old City even before clashes erupted, preventing some worshipers from reaching the site. The number of injuries amount to more than 60, among them a woman who sustained injuries after being shot with a bullet in the eye, while others sustained injuries to the feet, chest and hands when attacked with rubber-coated bullets.
Protests: Troops fire tear gas at journalists, ’Ghandi’
3/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Delegations from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Freedom Theater in Jenin joined over 100 anti-wall ralliers in Bil'in on Friday, to mark Global Week Against racism. As the group finished Friday prayers and marched toward the site of the separation barrier, which cuts villagers off from their agricultural and village lands, the group was met with tear-gas canisters, organizers said. "The occupation forces fired tear gas towards the citizens of Bil'in, foreign peace activists and peace-loving Israelis," a statement from the popular committee said. First to be hit with the tear gas, organizers noted, were actors from the Jenin Theatre group dressed as figures from the anti-facism struggle around the world, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, jr. The statement alleged that Israeli troops "deliberately fired tear gas towards. . . "
Egypt FM adds voice against restart of peace talks
3/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said he believed Palestinians should not enter into direct talks with Israel in light of the current controversy over heritage sites. Speaking from Cairo after a meeting of the Committee for the Arab Peace Initiative, Abul Gheit said delegates shared his sentiments, a stark contrast to the announcement of the Arab Foreign Ministers meeting, which gave its blessing for talks to continue. "The committee will not remain silent over all what is going on," Abul Gheit said, adding his voice to detractors from Fatah, some PLO factions and Hamas, who are against the resumption of peace talks with Israel. " The Arab Follow up Committee will not make any concessions and will not support direct negotiations unless Israel changes its positions," he said, and recommended that Palestinians move to make Israel take responsibility for its actions.
European aid groups ask Foreign Ministers to send Gaza delegation
3/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - A group of 17 European human rights groups and NGOs are calling on EU foreign ministers and the body's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Baroness Ashton to visit Gaza in mid-March, Amnesty International reported Thursday. The request comes after Israeli officials denied Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin entry into Gaza, forcing the official to travel south to Egypt, and into the coastal enclave via the Rafah border terminal. According to Martin, he and his 10-member delegation were given "no good reason" for being denied entry into Gaza, where he wanted to "see for myself" the destruction of last year's war on the area and the continued siege. Aid groups, including Amnesty International, are requesting that foreign ministers take a "united stance not to bow to Israel's recent practice of refusing entry to Gaza by foreign high-level representatives, and to make. . . "
Bethlehem University marks Israeli Apartheid Week
3/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Students at Bethlehem University on Thursday initiated a campaign to ban Israeli goods from the campus in an event marking Israeli Apartheid week. The students identified Israeli products used in cafeteria food, office and cleaning supplies and are requesting that the university administration "clear the campus of of all items produced by the racist apartheid state. " Students who signed the petition received a sticker, "Let us resist Israeli apartheid: Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions," in an effort to raise awareness of the campaign, organizers said. The action is part of a week of activities organized by students a the university and local Bethlehem NGOs. The events kicked off with a presentation from the Handala Center in the Al-Azzeh refugee camp, which launched its own campaign to rid the camp of Israeli products.
Israeli intelligence detain Gaza businessman
3/5/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli intelligence agents detained a Palestinian businessman at the Erez border crossing into Israel on on Thursday night, Palestinian security sources said. The man, a Gaza resident with a rare permit to travel in and out of the Strip via the crossing, was detained leaving Gaza and taken to an investigation center at the facility. An Israeli spokeswoman at Erez said an arrest was made by the Shabbak (intelligence services) but could provide no further details. Palestinian sources identified the man as Ahmad Salim Abu Eida, who, according to his family, was moved to the Migdal detention center. [end]
Egyptian forces discover 3 smuggling tunnels
3/5/2010 - Al-Arish - Ma'an - Egyptian forces discovered several tunnels on Friday, all apparently used for smuggling goods into the Gaza Strip. Egyptian security sources told Ma'an that authorities found one of the tunnels in Rafah, used predominately for smuggling cars. "After receiving information on a tunnel used to smuggle cars, the Salah Ad-Din terminal was raided and Egyptian forces arrived at the scene of a smuggling tunnel 120 meters from the borders, the opening of which was designed to transfer cars," a source said. "Digging such tunnels is very expensive," the Egyptian security source added. " This is the third time in which Egyptian authorities have taken over smuggling tunnels of such a kind," the source said. "They have previously seized two tunnels for smuggling cars, during the last year, when dozens of cars were smuggled into Gaza. "
Israeli forces arrest Hebron man, release another
3/5/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - Israeli authorities arrested a young man from Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, and released another whose term of imprisonment ended on Thursday. Mohammad Ayad Awad, spokesman for the Palestinian Solidarity Project, said Muntaser Diab Sa'eed A'tieyah Awad, 21, was arrested after soldiers broke into his home accompanied by sniffer dogs on Thursday night. They ransacked its contents and arrested Muntaser before transferring him elsewhere, Awad said. Israeli media reported that four Palestinians were detained overnight. Meanwhile, Adham Mohammad Azmi Ikhleiliel, 20, was released after two years in jail and a 2,000-shekel fine. . . . .
Despite UN call, Israeli siege on Gaza continues
3/5/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - No commercial goods or humanitarian aid will enter Gaza on Friday, Palestinian crossings liaison official Raed Fattouh said, as Israeli forces decided to shut all terminals. Although the crossings are scheduled to open six days a week, the Kerem Shalom crossing was opened only once on a Friday in the past seven months, for an emergency fuel delivery in early February. The continued closure came after UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes visited the Strip, and called for an end to the blockade. In an interview with the Israeli daily Haaretz, Holmes said the blockade only encouraged an underground economy and strengthened the de facto government in Gaza, rather than undercutting the authority of Hamas officials. The smuggling industry, he said "relieves the pressure [of the siege] in a sense, [but] it isn't good at. . . "
Presidency denounces latest raid on Al-Aqsa
3/5/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - The Palestinian presidency has denounced a Friday raid on the yards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, during which forces fired rubber-coated bullets on the worshippers. Mahmoud Abbas' office demanded an end to "this Israeli adventure, which could spark a religious war in the region. ""Israeli forces are crossing every red line in an attempt to avoid restarting peace negotiations, especially following the decision by the Arab follow-up committee of the Arab League to resume the peace talks," the Office of the President said in a statement. "President Abbas is following up the events and their developments at Al-Aqsa and is carrying out contacts to put an end to these provocations," the statement added. The presidency called on the international community to curb such incursions, which it said could have dangerous consequences not only in the Middle East, but to international security and peace in general.
6 British parliamentarians enter Gaza
3/5/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - A British delegation of six parliamentarians arrived in Gaza through the Rafah crossing on Friday, received by a UN convoy which will take the group around the coastal enclave during its three-day visit. The Gaza crossings administration under the de facto government confirmed the program of the group, noting scheduled visits to schools, hospitals and homes destroyed during Israel's Operation Cast Lead last winter. "Observing first-hand what suffering the Palestinians in Gaza live under" was the request under which the delegation entered the area, where it was granted entry by Egyptian and de facto government border officials. [end]
Erekat: Violence is Israeli response to peace overtures
3/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Violence at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is Israel's answer to the Arab League's offer to renew peace negotiations, chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erakat alleged on Friday, as dozens of Palestinians and Israeli police officers were injured in Jerusalem. "We see this aggression against our people and holy sites as the Israeli response," Erekat said in a statement, condemning a raid on the yards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, during which Israeli forces fired rubber-coated bullets at protesting worshipers. An estimated 200 police officers fired tear gas, rubber-coated bullets, and stun grenades as Palestinians threw rocks, witnesses said. The raid, which left as many as 60 Palestinians and 18 Israeli police officers injured, was sparked by confrontations at the Haram Ash-Sharif, or noble sanctuary, which houses the mosque, the third holiest site in Islam that is also revered by Jews.
Hamas: PA continues political arrest campaign
3/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Hamas officials released a statement accusing Palestinian Authority forces of detaining three of the party's affiliates from locations across the West Bank overnight Thursday. The three were reportedly from Nablus and Hebron, although the arrests could not be independently verified by Ma'an. Continued accusations of politically-motivated detentions come as Hamas and Fatah remain in a unity-talk stalemate. A hint of progress came in February when Fatah Central Committee member Nabil Sha'ath entered the Strip for the first time since the Hamas takeover, and was warmly welcomed by de facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. A subsequent Fatah delegation, however, was denied permission by the local government to visit the coastal area, and the delegation was reduced to a single member, who entered Gaza on Thursday. . . . .
Gaza police to enforce ban on male salon workers
3/5/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - De facto government police will begin enforcing an Interior Ministry recomendation to prohibit men from working in women's hair salons, a Friday statement said. Reports of the ban surfaced Thursday, as observers marked the move as the latest in a series of laws restricting personal freedoms in the coastal enclave. Over the past four months, women have been prohibited from riding motorcycles, and men have been banned from removing their shirts at the beach. The latest ban targeting women's hair salons was signed by de facto Minister of the Interior Fathi Hammad, set to be enforced by theGaza government's police. A separate statement from the local police in Gaza said those violating the ban would be "tracked and punished. " The decisions mark a departure from the stated policy of the Hamas-run government, which has said it would not work to impose Islamic rule on the people of Gaza.
6 Palestinians killed in accident with IDF jeep
Ha'aretz 5 Mar 2010 - Palestinian vehicle swerves off course head on into IDF armed jeep near Ofra settlement in West Bank.
IDF to release new findings defending Gaza war strike
Ha'aretz 5 Mar 2010 - Army uses reports by Hamas and Islamic Jihad to justify mosque attack during Operation Cast Lead.
Israel treading carefully to avoid war with Syria
Ha'aretz 5 Mar 2010 - IDF cancels part of massive combat training exercise to calm tensions along northern border.
Shin Bet's Hamas spy hires bodyguards after Haaretz story
Ha'aretz 5 Mar 2010 - I love my father, but his movement is arrogant and evil, says Hamas leader's son who spied for Israel.
Targeting Israeli Apartheid
Uruknet March 5, 2010 - Reports like the Cape Town, South Africa-based Human Sciences Research Council's (HSRC) May 2009 one titled, "Occupation, Colonialism, Apartheid" highlight what many others understand, including former UN Special Human Rights Rapporteur for Occupied Palestine, John Dugard, stating in January 2007: "Israel is clearly in military occupation of the OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territories). At the same time,...
Resistance and discord
Uruknet March 5, 2010 - The anger was very clear on the old man's face as he marched in a demonstration in Gaza to protest against the Israeli government's decision to annex several historic and religious Palestinian sites in the West Bank. But Haj Ammar, 82, was directing his anger at Fatah and Hamas whom he holds responsible for Israel's continued...
Israeli forces raid Al-Aqsa compound
Uruknet March 5, 2010 - Dozens of Palestinians were injured as Israeli forces entered East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound following the weekly Friday prayers, firing tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades. At least 15 Israeli police officers were also injured by rocks thrown by Palestinians, Israeli news reports said. Some 200 police officers appeared on the scene, clashing with worshipers...
‘Eyewitness Gaza’ Report Back in House of Commons
Uruknet March 4, 2010 - UK members of the parliamentary delegation to Gaza, organised by the European Campaign to end siege in Gaza and the Palestinian Return Centre presented 'Eyewitness Gaza' in Westminster on Monday evening... 'Gaza was worse than I ever thought' said Sir Gerald 'it was incredible and callous destruction'. With the trauma inflicted on Palestinian children, sir Gerald...
Sink The Boats
Uruknet March 4, 2010 - It is well known that fisherman in Gaza are among the worst affected by the Israeli blockade. Il Manifesto correspondant Michele Giorgio met with a former Israeli Navy officer, now working with Breaking The Silence, who gave a first hand account of how they were trained to police fishermen. It’s an unusual atmosphere to discuss the...
Video - Israel: Mossad support 'soars' after murder
Uruknet March 5, 2010 - "Don't mess with Mossad". T-shirts with hard-hitting messages relating to the Israeli spy agency have been selling like hot cakes throughout Israel. And the agency's official website has reported a "soaring" number of people applying to be agents. The drastic increase in popularity follows the murder of a Hamas leader in Dubai, in which Mossad has...
Israeli repression in Palestine is escalatingMazin Qumsiyeh: “The Israeli army wants me”
Uruknet March 4, 2010 - The Israeli army invaded Mazin Qumsiyeh’s neighborhood in Beit Sahour, a suburb of Bethlehem, on 2 March in the night, waking up his mother, wife and sister. Heavily-armed soldiers blocked roads during "the operation". When his family opened the door, they demanded to see Mazin Qumsiyeh (*). They were told that Mazin already left to the US....
Israel Is an Apartheid State and That is Why They Are Losing Legitimacy
Uruknet March 4, 2010 - Before Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) even began members of the Ontario Legislature and the Canadian Parliament are falling all over each other to denounce it. I can't remember another time when elected legislators formally denounced a student activity like this. Perhaps during the 1950s when McCarthyism was rampant but that was before my time. Last week...
Human rights groups condemn Israel for blackmailing patients
Uruknet March 4, 2010 - In a message to Israel's attorney general, three human rights organizations criticized Israeli intelligence agencies for blackmailing Palestinian patients in Gaza, exploiting their vulnerability in order to pressure them into collaborating with the occupation authorities. According to the organizations, a number of patients have been given false promises that they would be allowed to leave the...
Occupation Turns Palestinian Women Into Breadwinners
Uruknet March 4, 2010 - Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, with its ubiquitous closures, checkpoints, military raids and arrests, has decimated the Palestinian economy in the West Bank and Gaza. The World Bank (WB) warned over a year ago that unless Israel eased its restrictions on movement and access in the West Bank the Palestinian economy would further deteriorate. In...
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory( 24 Feb.- 03 Mar. 2010)
Uruknet March 4, 2010 - Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting period (24 February – 03 March 2010): Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed one Palestinian resistance activist in the Gaza Strip, and wounded 17 others, including a woman, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. On 01 March 2010,...
RACHEL CORRIE THE TERRORIST
Uruknet March 4, 2010 - Israel never ceases to amaze. I have just read the most delusional piece of Israeli fantasy ever printed, and that’s saying something! The upcoming trail regarding the murder of Rachel Corrie has the Zionist Religious Fanatic Nut jobs in a dither, they are dragging out the smear brush to demonize Rachel and her Family, whilst polishing...
Palestinian girl missing in Switzerland
5 Mar 2010 - World, March 5, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) -In a phone call to the Palestine Telegraph, a Palestinian man told us that he had called Swiss authorities to advise them about the fate of his daughter. The Palestinian father is very sad and suffering due to his missing daughter - who according to him - has been either kidnapped or killed. Talal...
60 Palestinians injured in clashes at Al-Aqsa Mosque
5 Mar 2010 - Jerusalem, March 5, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Sixty Palestinians were injured during clashes erupted today with Israeli policeat Al-Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem. Israeli police responded by spraying tear gas and shooting rubber bullets at the Palestinian youths who they said were throwing rocks. Palestinian medical sources said at least 60 Palestinians were injured by tear gas and rubber-coated bullets,...
Nabil Shaath: Panamanian president attacked the int’l law and the Palestinian people
5 Mar 2010 - West Bank, March 5, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - The member of the Central Committee of Fatah movement, the official of International Relations and the former Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath, strongly condemned the remarks of Ricardo Martinelli the President of Panama who said that Israel "is the monitor of the capital of the world, united Jerusalem, and author of sovereignty" "...
Israel lobby switch on Armenian genocide
Palestine Note 5 Mar 2010 - Ha'aretz reports that Israel's ultra-right foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, believes the US embargo on Cuba is a good model for dealing with Iran. Lieberman said Thursday that he doubted the United Nations would follow through with...
Mossad’s little helpers
Palestine Note 5 Mar 2010 - Not much has been left to the imagination in the assassination of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai on January 19. The entire operation has unfolded on closed circuit television cameras in front of millions of...
European journalist: ‘I was a Mossad spy’
Palestine Note 5 Mar 2010 - The annals of journalism are full of writers who doubled as intelligence operatives. The legendary Kim Philby wrote for The Economist . The CIA routinely used journalists as operatives in the Third World. Foreign journalists are even...
The Silwan/Bustan drama - two new articles from the Hebrew press
Palestine Note 5 Mar 2010 - Earlier this week I blogged about Mayor Barkat's efforts to implement a grandiose settler-friendly development scheme in the Bustan area of Silwan (which Barkat calls the "Kings' Garden"). Today there are two important pieces in the...
Israel lobby gets congress to stick it to Turkey
Palestine Note 5 Mar 2010 - Yesterday the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed the Armenian genocide resolution. That is the bill, kicking around for years, that recognizes the Armenian genocide as precisely that - genocide. The Turkish government has always strongly opposed...
'Sleepless in Gaza... and Jerusalem' is a fresh take on Palestinian life
Palestine Note 5 Mar 2010 - By Sarah Harlan - Palestine Note March 5, 2010 The premier episode of the 90-part series " Sleepless in Gaza... and Jerusalem " launched on YouTube Monday. "Sleepless" is a video diary following the lives of...
Clashes at Jerusalem's Aqsa mosque
AlJazeera 5 Mar 2010 - Israeli forces fire tear gas to disperse Palestinian protesters at holy site.
Egypt president to undergo surgery
AlJazeera 5 Mar 2010 - Mubarak temporarily delegates presidential power to the county's prime minister.
Italian Professors Denounce Complicity of Israeli Academic Institutions in the Occupation
Alternative Information Center - Thursday, 04 March 2010, A group of Italian professors recently published a letter denouncing “university and cultural discrimination of Palestinians.” The document—called “Right to study and academic freedom in Palestine”—expressly quotes the AIC bulletin Academic Boycott...
Protest Against Swedish Clothing Store Chain H&M, Which Plans to Open Outlets in Israel
Alternative Information Center - Thursday, 04 March 2010, On 11 March, the Swedish clothes and fashion chain, H&M, will be opening the first of six planned stores in Israel. The familiar red H&M sign will be viewed in the Malcha...
Conclusions of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine
Alternative Information Center - Friday, 05 March 2010, These are the conclusions of the Jury pertaining to the Barcelona session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine. However, the contents are subject to the normal processes of editing and corrections before...
Palestinians suspect Israel's hand behind double scandal
PNN - Thursday, 04 March 2010
Abbas: Stop the Israeli escapade
Jeruslalem Post 5 Mar 2010 - In wake of east J'lem clashes, PA president again warns of religious war in ME.
6 dead in W. Bank car crash
Jeruslalem Post 5 Mar 2010 - Palestinian vehicle crashes into IDF Hummer near Ofra; 4 soldiers lightly hurt.
5 dead in W. Bank car crash
Jeruslalem Post 5 Mar 2010 - Car swerves into opposite lane, crashes into IDF Hummer; 4 soldiers lightly hurt.
Hadassah president, HMO D-G reach deal
Jeruslalem Post 5 Mar 2010 - Prof Mor-Yosef's tenure to be extended beyond December, 'Jerusalem Post' learns.
'Turkey didn't seek Israel's help'
Jeruslalem Post 5 Mar 2010 - Official says this time, Ankara didn't look to J'lem on Armenian genocide vote.
Apartheid Week: 'An ad campaign, not a movement'
Jeruslalem Post 5 Mar 2010 - "In 10 years, people are going to think about Israel and apartheid as somehow connected," says Toronto Jewish leader.
Sheikh Jarrah Jews sing Purim praises of Baruch Goldstein
Jeruslalem Post 5 Mar 2010 - Video surfaces on Internet features songs hailing Hebron massacre killer.
'Soon 2-state solution won’t be possible'
Jeruslalem Post 5 Mar 2010 - UN humanitarian coordinator says Israel has stymied Palestinian nat'l aspiration.
UN Humanitarian Chief Urges Change of Policies in OPT
WAFA 5 Mar 2010 - JERUSALEM/NEW YORK, March 5, 2010 (WAFA)- On the fourth day of his mission in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian
Fateh: Israeli Instigations not to Derail us off Peace Track
WAFA 5 Mar 2010 - JERUSALEM, March 5, 2010 (WAFA)- Member of the Fateh's Revolutionary Council, Dimitri Diliani said today that Fateh will continue to lead defensive efforts to protect Islamic and Christian
EU Delegation Visits Special Police Forces HQs in Ramallah
WAFA 5 Mar 2010 -
Dozens Suffered Gas Inhalation in Bil'in
WAFA 5 Mar 2010 - RAMALLAH, March 5, 2010 (WAFA)- Dozens suffered from gas inhalation as troops suppressed a march against the Israeli occupation organized Friday in the West Bank village of Bil’in west of Ramallah by
Presidency Condemns IOF Assault on Al-Aqsa Mosque
WAFA 5 Mar 2010 - RAMALLAH, March 5, 2010 (WAFA)- The Presidency condemned the Israeli occupation Forces (IOF) assault on the worshipers at Al-Aqsa Mosque esplanade after Friday prayer. In a statement, the Presidency
Clashes in East Jerusalem Lead to Palestinian Injuries, OCHA Reports
WAFA 5 Mar 2010 - JERUSALEM, March 5, 2010 (WAFA)- This week (February 24 - March 2) saw a significant increase in the number of Palestinian injuries due to clashes that took place in East Jerusalem. Overall, 29
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory( 24 Feb.- 03 Mar. 2010)
PCHR
Protest of the Friends of the IDF dinner at the Waldorf, NYC
3/5/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - On March 9th 2010, The Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, a registered 501-(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that provides support and services to members of Israel's national army, will be holding a gala $1,000 a plate fundraiser at the Waldorf Astoria. The keynote speaker will be Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, IDF Chief of General Staff, who was responsible for the prosecution of last year's Operation Cast Lead against the people of Gaza. At the same time as the dinner, a broad coalition of local groups will stage a mobile protest outside the hotel to highlight the crimes committed by the IDF during Operation Cast Lead and Israel's ongoing illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip. WHO: A broad and diverse tri-state coalition, including peace and Palestine solidarity groups as well as grassroots community organizations and religious institutions.
Hebron’s women march in protest to the Judaization of the Ibrahimi mosque
3/5/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - 3 March - Today over a 100 Palestinian women marched Hebron's streets to resist Ibrahim's mosque becoming an Israeli Heritage Site. The Women's Empowerment Project gathered women from Hebron district to march from Hebron's Muncipality down to the mosque. The exclusively female crowd chanted and held banners while peacefully, but decisively demonstrating. At the checkpoint, the women had to wait for approximately 20 minutes before being allowed entrance into the mosque. An overall elated atmosphere affirmed this was a powerful demonstration, illuminating the power of women, while simultaneously empowering women to take resistance out on the streets. On 21 February 2010, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced the Israeli government's intention to designatethe Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil (Hebron) to become an Israeli Heritage Site.
Activists work to stop wall construction and uprooting of olive trees in Beit Jala
3/5/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Beit Jala Popular Committee, 4 March - In the early morning on March 2, 2010, Israeli bulldozers started uprooting ancient olive trees in the garden of a Palestinian family in the town of Beit Jala, North-West of Bethlehem, in order to make room for the construction of yet another section of the Apartheid Wall. Wednesday morning, the family, which had already lost a significant portion of its lands when Israel seized them to build the "by-pass road" 60 that connects the equally illegal settlements, found the little playground for the children in the garden destroyed and three olive trees directly in front of the house chopped off. A red cross was painted two meters away from the front door to signal where the Wall is designed to pass. The remaining olive trees had been marked with yellow-tags, to be uprooted another day.
Turkish filmmaker takes aim at U.S. and Israel
Ha'aretz 5 Mar 2010 - Most expensive Turkish production set to tell story of Palestine, by man accused of anti-Semitism.
Vandals deface former Nazi concentration camp
Ha'aretz 5 Mar 2010 - Anti-Semitic graffiti discovered at Austrian memorial Mauthausen; police are investigating.
UN official to Haaretz: Israel 'nourishing despair' in Gaza
Ha'aretz 5 Mar 2010 - Failed Israeli policies creating 'gangster-friendly economy', John Holmes says.
Irish FM urges EU to pressure Israel to end Gaza blockade
Ha'aretz 5 Mar 2010 - Gaza blockade enriches Hamas and stifles voices of moderation, Martin says.
Netanyahu's test
Ha'aretz 5 Mar 2010 - New talks doomed if understandings between the PA and the previous government are ignored.
Jews with guns - not only in the Israel Defense Forces
Ha'aretz 5 Mar 2010 - Increasing number of Jewish Americans buying guns amid fears of growing anti-Semitism.
IN PICTURES / Are boycotts and sanctions really effective?
Ha'aretz 5 Mar 2010 - History proves that international sanctions often achieve the precise opposite of what they intend.
Turkey recalls ambassador from Washington
Ha'aretz 5 Mar 2010 - U.S. House panel votes to recognize Armenian genocide; Non-binding resolution passes 23-22.
Oscar hopes high as 'Ajami' crew heads for Hollywood
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - The Israeli filmmakers behind the Oscar-nominated picture "Ajami" arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday to attend this Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony at the Kodak Theater. ...
Israeli abuse survivor speaks out and finds a safe haven
Ha'aretz 4 Mar 2010 - Basima (not her real name) is a 26-year-old maid at a Jerusalem hotel frequented by western tourists. She's been on the job for only three days, and already her bubbly demeanor has earned her many friends. In an assertive tone, Basima shares her story of surviving domestic abuse, but her body stiffens as she sees another employee approaching. "Don't tell him about my children," she whispers. ...
Israel: End Crackdown on Anti-Wall Activists
Relief Web 5 Mar 2010 - Source: Human Rights Watch
Government of Kuwait Donates $1 Million to ANERA
Relief Web 5 Mar 2010 - Source: American Near East Refugee Aid
USAID FrontLines - February 2010
Relief Web 5 Mar 2010 - Source: US Agency for International Development
Palestinians, Israelis clash ahead of talks
Relief Web 5 Mar 2010 - Source: Reuters - AlertNet
Political developments top UN envoy's talks with Lebanese Prime Minister
Relief Web 4 Mar 2010 - Source: UN News Service
Turkey warns US over Armenian 'genocide' vote
YNet News 5 Mar 2010 - Foreign Minister Davutoglu cautions Obama administration of negative diplomatic consequences if it doesn't impede American resolution on World War I-era killing of Armenians. US Secretary of State Clinton says will 'work very hard to ensure the resolution does not go to the house floor'
Police vow 'firm hand' against Jerusalem rioters
YNet News 5 Mar 2010 - Police officials accuse Arab youth of taking advantage of decision not to restrict age of worshippers on Temple Mount so as not to harm freedom of worship. Some 20 police officers, 60 Palestinians injured in clashes Friday. 'Any attempt to cause disturbances will be handled highhandedly,' source threatens
5 Palestinians killed in road accident
YNet News 5 Mar 2010 - Car carrying Palestinian passengers collides with military vehicle north of Ramallah. Woman and four children killed, one person seriously injured. Four soldiers sustain light wounds
Abbas: Israel crossed red lines in Jerusalem
YNet News 5 Mar 2010 - Palestinian president's office issues special statement following Temple Mount clashes, says Friday's events 'aimed at damaging the chances to resume the peace process.' PA calls on US to intervene in order to 'stop the adventure which may spark a religious war in the region'
Iran: Bushehr plant to be ready in spring
YNet News 5 Mar 2010 - Energy official says Islamic Republic's long-delayed nuclear facility will be launched within a few months
Dubai police chief: You think Peace Now killed Mabhouh?
YNet News 5 Mar 2010 - Dahi Khalfan Tamim explains how he reached conclusion that Mossad agents were responsible for Hamas commander's assassination
Aharonovitch: Hamas ignited Temple Mount riots
YNet News 5 Mar 2010 - Three arrested for stone throwing following clashes which left 60 Palestinians, 20 officers hurt. Internal security minister points finger at Palestinian group, Islamic Movement. Palestinians: Boy badly injured by rubber bullet
Once again, the PA is betraying our people
PIC 5 Mar 2010 - The PA decision to resume “indirect talks” with Israel is undoubtedly a clear expression of its moral and political bankruptcy. It is also an expression of its inability to lead the Palestinians.
IOF troops quell demonstration near the Ibrahimi Mosque
PIC 5 Mar 2010 - Seven Palestinians suffered breathing difficulties as IOF troops fired teargas at a peaceful demonstration near the Ibrahimi Mosque in the southern West Bank town of al-Khalil.
Israeli military jeep hits Palestinian car killing mother and her four children
PIC 5 Mar 2010 - An Israeli military hummer jeep hit a car on the Silwad bridge at the Ofer entrance near Ramallah on Friday evening killing 5 passengers and injuring two others.
Fifty worshipers injured in the Aqsa Mosque
PIC 5 Mar 2010 - Najeh Bkeirat, head of the department of manuscripts at the Aqsa Mosque, said that 700 occupation soldiers stormed the Mosque after the Friday prayers and injured 50 worshipers, 3 of them seriously.
Promoting the Dome of the Rock as Jewish heritage
PIC 5 Mar 2010 - A Russian website published a long report entitled "Israelisation of Islamic heritage, but this time in Russia"
Barak responds to Arab League overtures by expanding settlements
PIC 5 Mar 2010 - As a first response the Arab decision to return to "peace negotiations" Ehud Barak took a decision to build 112 new housing units in the Elit settlement in the southern West Bank.
he PLC strongly condemns British government's attempts to protect war criminals
PIC 5 Mar 2010 - The Presidency PLC, on Thursday condemned intentions by the British PM Gordon Brown to propose a change of the law that allows judges to consider universal jurisdiction cases brought by individuals.
Zionist court refuses to end isolation of Saadat
PIC 5 Mar 2010 - The Waed Society for prisoners and ex-prisoners has condemned the Israeli occupation's high court decision to reject an application to end solitary confinement of the PFLP's chairman Ahmad Saadat.
Khudari: occupation denies Gaza 85% of its needs
PIC 5 Mar 2010 - MP Jamal al-Khudari, chairman of PCAS that the Israeli occupation only allows 15% of the Gaza Strip's needs to enter the strip through one border-crossing which is partially open.
Washington rewards Israeli occupation for its crimes
PIC 5 Mar 2010 - DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and Israeli Transport and Road Safety Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday announced a new agreement to enhance information sharing about civil aviation..
Hamas bans men from women's hair salons
LA Times 4 Mar 2010 - Gaza's Islamic Hamas government on Thursday banned men from working in women's hair salons, the latest step in its campaign to impose strict Islamic customs on Gaza's 1.5 million people.
Palestinians are expected to join Israel in indirect peace talks
LA Times 4 Mar 2010 - The Arab League endorses the U.S. proposal, paving the way for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to say yes. A year after peace talks collapsed, Israelis and Palestinians appear headed back to the negotiating table -- just not the same table.
Violent Clashes in Jerusalem, West Bank
New York Times 5 Mar 2010 - Clashes erupted between Muslim worshipers and Israeli riot police at a disputed hilltop compound following an Israeli decision to include two West Bank shrines on a list of national heritage sites.
Memo From Jerusalem: Hoping Sanctions Work but Readying Gas Masks
New York Times 5 Mar 2010 - Amid complex questions about how effective a strike against Iran would be, Israel and the U.S. share an interest in pushing for tough sanctions.
Egypt Overturns Death Sentence in Star’s Murder
New York Times 5 Mar 2010 - The retrial of a wealthy former legislator over the murder of a Lebanese pop singer raised questions about what role political connections played in the appeal.
Dubai-Mossad t-shirts now available
Mondoweiss - 5 Mar 2010 - here from Israeli company that markets Israel promotion products. Thanks to Shmuel. Related posts: Racist and sexist Israeli military shirts show the mindset that led to war crimes in Gaza Will Dubai get Gaza to the ICC? WSJ: Israels underestimated Dubai police
Tail wags the Turkey
Mondoweiss - 5 Mar 2010 - MJ Rosenberg on the Armenian genocide-Turkey flap in House Foreign Affairs: That battle is now being carried to Washington. The Israelis are trying to teach the Turks a lesson. If the Armenian resolution passes both houses and goes into effect, it will not be out of...
Ivy League mag publishes dual-loyal dithyramb to IDF-Rambos vs swarthy Arabs
Mondoweiss - 5 Mar 2010 - My cup runneth over. The University of Pennsylvania alumni magazine publishes a memoir by Joel Chasnoff, who graduated from the school 14 years ago and thanks to an ethnocentric family background that caused him to think, "It wasn’t fair that we American Jews called Israel our...
‘JVP’ takes on the ‘epic battle’ inside the Jewish community
Mondoweiss - 5 Mar 2010 - The other night I went to a fundraiser for Jewish Voice for Peace that left me so charged that when I walked out of the apartment and on to a downtown New York street I heard myself singing an old Woody Guthrie tune. What was the...
‘JPost’ and ‘BBC’ say the lobby worked against Armenian genocide resolution before
Mondoweiss - 5 Mar 2010 - The Jerusalem Post says that the Turks didn’t ask Israel for help to block the Armenian genocide resolution in the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee – as they did on a similar measure in 2007 : In years past Ankara had looked to Israel, and Jewish groups...
The Israeli Occupation as an Apartheid System
Alternative Information Center - 5 Mar 2010 - Wednesday, 03 March 2010, During the sixth International Israeli apartheid week, the Alternative Information Center is hosting events and lectures. On 2 March, Hazem Jamjoum of the Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights discussed about Israeli apartheid system in the AICafé. On this...
Israel Penalizing Nakba Commemoration
Alternative Information Center - 5 Mar 2010 - Thursday, 04 March 2010, The Israeli Parliamentary Law Committee has recently approved a law proposal the (“Nakba bill”) that, if passed by the Knesset, would impose economic sanctions on the organizers of Nakba commemorations. Every year in May, Palestinians and supporters of their right of return...
Protest Against Swedish Clothing Store Chain H&M, Which Plans to Open Outlets in Israel
Alternative Information Center - 5 Mar 2010 - Thursday, 04 March 2010, On 11 March, the Swedish clothes and fashion chain, H&M, will be opening the first of six planned stores in Israel. The familiar red H&M sign will be viewed in the Malcha shopping center in Jeruslaem, a municipality which has to continuously...
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Clashes Reported In East Jerusalem
IMEMC - Sunday March 07, 2010 - 02:37, Israeli sources reported Saturday evening that one soldier was mildly wounded during clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian residents at the entrance of the Shufat refugee camp. Clashes were also reported in al Esawiyya town,in east Jerusalem.
Abu Zuhri: “Egypt Denied Me Entry”
IMEMC - Saturday March 06, 2010 - 13:19, Spokesperson of the Hamas movement, Sami Abu Zuhri, stated Saturday that the Egyptian Authorities prevented him from entering the country to testify in an Egyptian court death of his brother who was killed in an Egyptian prison.
Mitchell Starts Middle East Tour Saturday
IMEMC - Saturday March 06, 2010 - 12:53, U.S. Special Middle East Envoy, George Mitchell, will start his Middle East tour on Saturday evening as he will be holding separate meetings with Israeli officials in Tel Aviv, and Palestinian officials in Ramallah.
Five Killed In Crash With Israeli Military Hummer
IMEMC - Saturday March 06, 2010 - 02:07, Five Palestinian were killed on Friday evening and two others were injured when their vehicle accidentally slammed into a military hummer at the Silwad Bridge, by the entrance of Ofer near the central West Bank city of Ramallah.
Beit Ummar rally teargassed by Israeli forces
3/6/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an -Dozens of Beit Ummar residents joined in protest at the eastern entrance of the village on Saturday, calling for an end to land confiscations and closed zones that prevent farmers from accessing agricultural lands. Palestine Solidarity Project spokesman Mohammad Ayad Awad said the group was met with tear gas when they reached the gate of the village. "Israeli soldiers fired soundand gas bombs on the rally, organized by the national committee against the wall in cooperation with the Palestinian solidarity project," Awad said. An Israeli military spokeswoman said a group of "60 rioters, not just Palestinians, were hurling rocks and blocking the main road in the Judea and Samaria region [the West Bank]," and that Israeli forces responded with "riot dispersal methods. "The incident continued for nearly an hour, as residents refused to leave the area and demanded their right to protest.
Prisoner paralyzed from Israeli guard beating, father says
3/6/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - A beating by Israeli prison guards has caused a Palestinian man in Israeli custody to became completely paralyzed, the Wa'ed Society for Detainees said on Saturday. The prisoner, identified as 33-year-old Muhammad Abu Libda from the northern Gaza town of Jabaliya, was in good health when he was detained, his father said, adding that injuries he sustained in the Ashkelon prison were never properly treated. Muhammad's father said his son participated in a prisoners strike in 2004, and was beaten by guards who accused him of inciting the event. According to Abu Mhuammad, his son had his third and fourth vertibrates damaged during the beating, and has spent the last six years in the prison hospital. Saber Abu Karsh, the prisoners society director, said doctors confirmed Saturday morning that Muhammad was fully paralyzed, and the director accused Israeli prison doctors of failing to provide the necessary treatment.
Settler attack sparks clashes near illegal outpost, soldiers injure 3
3/6/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - Israeli settlers living in an illegal outpost on the village lands of Iraq Burin attacked a group of locals in the area, sparking clashes, Palestinian security forces said. Armed Israeli border police arrived shortly after the attack began, the report said, ultimately injuring three civilians who were transferred to hospital by Red Crescent ambulances for treatment. An Israeli military spokeswoman said the clashes took place "at the illegal outpost at Bracha" southeast of Iraq Burin, built on 44 dunums of private Palestinian land, according to Peace Now, an Israeli NGO. "The area is a closed military zone," the spokeswoman said, noting the arrival of Israeli soldiers sparked an escalation of clashes in the area. "Palestinians burned tires and hurled rocks," she said, slightly injuring one soldier who was treated in the field.
Clashes erupt in East Jerusalem, 1 Israeli officer injured
3/6/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - An Israeli border guard was lightly injured when confrontations erupted on Saturday evening in the Shu'fat refugee camp, north ofoccupied East Jerusalem. Clashes ensued between Israeli forces and Palestinians at the main entrance to the camp where Israeli forces reportedly used riot dispersal means, including rubber-coated metal bullets, tear-gas canisters and sound bombs. Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld, said the officer was injured when Palestinians threw stones and bottles. Confrontations further erupted in Al-Isawiya between Israeli forces and young Palestinian men. Ma'an's correspondent said the incident was related to the raid of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by Israeli forces on Friday. Rosenfeld said that masked Palestinians began hurling stones toward Israeli officers deployed in the area.
Fatah, Hamas prisoners ratify unity deal inside Israeli jail
3/6/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Palestinian prisoners in Israel's Ofer Detention Center said Saturday that Islamic Jihad mediation had successfully brought about the ratification of a unity deal between Hamas and Fatah detainees in the jail. The Center for Prisoners' Studies quoted prisoners, who said "the signed written agreementvowed that all parties end the state of separation between the all groups and representatives of the two rival movements," noting that the document was signed by members of all factions represented in the detention center. The agreement will be implemented this week in Section 4 of the Ofer prison, and will gradually be implemented across the main six sections of the prison, detainees said. Prisoners said the Israeli Prison Service had agreed to no longer segregate prisoners according to political affiliation, as it negatively impacted prisoners' lives.
Gaza study: 88% of women denied inheritance rights
3/6/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - A study by the Women's Issues Center in Gaza City found that 88% of women in the coastal enclave are denied their rights around inheritance, and 67% of them are unwilling to speak out and change the situation. The study, released Wednesday, was the result of a conference held earlier in the hear titled Women and Inheritance, which was intended to discuss what women's organizations called a trend in denying women through social pressure, their rights to inheritance under Islamic law. The numbers are based on 202 identified cases of women eligible for inheritance money who did not receive their due portion, or any at all, researchers said. The final statistics, however, are based on only 100 cases, after others refused to confirm details out of fear or pressure, the group said. Center board member May Nayef said the denial of financial rights was just one of the types of violence. . .
Egyptian police detain 8 migrants fleeing Israel
3/6/2010 - Al-Arish - Ma'an - Eight African migrants fleeing Israel were detained on Saturday, Egyptian authorities said, alongside four others attempting to enter the country. Egyptian security patrols deployed at the Egyptian border, near the Kerem Shalom crossing, and detained the eight trying to re-enter Egypt across the barbed-wire fence. Six Eritrean nationals, an Ethiopian and Sudanese national were identified. The migrants told Egyptian security that they attempted to flee Israel, unable to cope in the country. They had previously been detained by Egyptian security when they attempted to enter Israel the previous year, they said. Additionally, four Ethiopian nationals were detained trying to enter Israel, also near the Kerem Shalom border crossing into Gaza, in search of work, they told Egyptian security officers. . . . .
Al-Quds Brigades leaders turn themselves in to PA security
3/6/2010 - Jenin - Ma'an - Two leaders of the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, turned themselves in to Palestinian Authority Preventative Security Services in Jenin on Saturday. The move followed an Israeli incursion into a number of towns west of Jenin on Wednesday, attempting to locate the two leaders, identified as Ala' Sha'aban Zayoud, 25, and Bajes Adel Hamdia, 32. Relatives of the leaders told Ma'an they have been on Israel's "wanted" list for over eight years on charges of commanding the brigades, and have survived five assassination attempts. [end]
Dahlan: PLO to announce stance on proximity talks Sunday
3/7/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Fatah's Central Committee held a meeting Saturday to review the US-proposed proximity talks as a prelude to peace talks, committee member Muhammad Dahlan said. The meeting, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, discussed a statement issued by the Follow-up Committee for the Arab Peace Initiative, that slammed the Arab Foreign Ministers committee statement that gave the go-ahead for peace talks within a four-month timeframe. The follow-up committee questioned the move to re-start talks when the Arab Peace Initiative had already been approved by local actors. "The committee has reached a detailed stance that will be presented to Palestinian factions during the meeting of the PLO's Executive Committee on Sunday", Dahlan told the Palestinian Authority WAFA news agency. The follow-up committee's rejection of a return to talks joined Dahlah's own voice condemning the idea, as. . .
Mitchell arrives Saturday for pre-talks
3/6/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - US President Barack Obama and his Middle East Envoy George Mitchell can "save what can be saved" when the latter arrives in Ramallah on Saturday ahead of rumored talks, presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh said. Mitchell is expected to meet with both Palestinian and Israeli leaders to discuss terms for the resumption on indirect talks, four days after the Arab League gave the go-ahead for talks within a four-month timeframe. Though Abu Rdeina said he Palestinian Authority "was completely aware that Netanyahu's government wasn't ready for peace," it appears that the officials will move forward with the talks, despite a growing list of Palestinian and Arab officials who have voiced concern over the initiative. A report in the Israeli daily Haaretz on Friday said documents obtained by the paper from the United States explained that the Obama administration would "expect both parties to act seriously and in good faith. "
Erekat seeks backing of key states before PLO decides on peace talks
3/6/2010 - Jericho - Ma'an - Palestinians are seeking international guarantees that Israel will be held accountable under international law during a US-lead peace process that could start within days, according Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat. The negotiator met with US, French, British and American officials on Friday, in an attempt to rally support, noting in a statement that the decision of the nations would effect the PLO decision on whether or not to proceed with talks. He said the decision would be made in the next two days, during the PLO's Executive Committee and Fatah Central Committee meetings. It is time the international community follows the Quartet's "land for peace" principle, Erekat saud, and establishes a just and lasting peace in Palestine by binding Israel to its obligations under international law, Erekat said in a statement, summing up his briefings to the international officials.
PLO observer updates Security Council president on Jerusalem
3/6/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Permanent Observer of Palestine to the UN Riyad Mansour met with the current president of the UN Security Council on Friday and asked that he brief the council on events in Jerusalem when it sits next on the Middle East. Mansour spoke with Emmanuel Issoze-Ngonde, permanent representative of Gabon to the UN and March president of the UNSC, in Geneva, and explained what he called a "fragile situation" in Jerusalem following the invasion of Israeli forces into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Friday following prayer. "Soldiers entered the Noble Sanctuary [the compound] firing tear gas, rubber coated metal bullets and sound grenades at worshiping Muslims. This sort of conduct underscores the belief of many Palestinians that Israel is trying to take over their holy sites," Mansour told Issoze-Ngonde, a statement said.
Sha’ath slams Panama president’s Jerusalem remarks
3/6/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Fatah Central Committee Member Nabil Sha'ath sharply condemned on Saturday President of Panama Ricardo Martinelli's remarks in which he referred to Israel as the "guardian" of the holy city of Jerusalem. "Martinelli's comments did not only insult the Palestinian people, the Arab, Islamic, and Christian world, but also insulted international law," Sha'ath said in a statement. "After Martinelli became president of Panama, the whole policy of the republic changed and it became the only country in Latin America to vote in favor of Israel in the UN. Once again, the president of Panama is challenging its neighboring countries and international law during his visit to Israel. "He toured holy sites in the Palestinian Territories escorted by Israeli officers. The republic of Panama has the right to establish diplomatic relations with any country in the world including Israel,. . . " "
DFLP in Damascus: Peace talks dangerous
3/6/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Resuming negotiations with Israel would be "dangerous" in light of the ongoing Israeli policy of settlement and "judaization of Palestine,"said Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP)Secretary-General Nayif Hawatmeh in Damascus. The speech came as the party marked its 41st anniversary on Friday at a crowded festival at Al-Yarmouk refugee camp near Damascus, three weeks after the party marked its annual celebration. Hawatmeh attended the celebrations with representatives of other Palestinian factions and Syrian political parties. He spoke out in favor of dialogue between Palestinian factions, saying "Dialogue is ongoing in the Gaza Strip between the major Palestinian factions including Fatah, Hamas, DFLP, PFLP, and Islamic Jihad. They want to restart a comprehensive dialogue aimed at ending rivalry and rebuilding Palestinian national unity. "
Yousef: Proximity talks a cover for Israeli crimes
3/6/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - The de facto Ministry of Foreign Affairs undersecretary, Ahmad Yousef, said Saturday that US-sponsored proximity talks with Israel are a cover for Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people. "If we were politically in agreement [with the Palestinian Authority], the occupation would not have dared to storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound or include the Ibrahimi Mosque and the Bilal Mosque [Rachel's Tomb] on the Jewish heritage list," Yousef told Ma'an. Yousef further called on Egypt to invite all Palestinian factions to convene in Cairo to discuss the impasses reached in signing a unity deal. " Palestinian reconciliation is a strategic choice, and division should end as soon as possible," he added. The PLO is due to announce its stance on indirect talks with Israel on Sunday, after President Mahmoud Abbas consulted with a number of Arab foreign ministers, the Arab follow-up. . .
Hamas police seize Red Crescent headquarters office equipment
3/6/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Sources in Gaza reported the confiscation of Red Cross files, computers and equipment when de facto government forces broke into the organization's headquarters in Gaza City on Thursday. During a Friday night meeting, the parliamentary working group on freedoms monitoring, Palestinian Legislative Council member Majed Abu Shmalah condemned the move, and called for international intervention to prevent further theft from health facilities. "The Palestinian Ministry of Health in the West Bank has taken care to ensure Gaza hospitals get all the medicines and equipment they need," a statement from the group said, and called the seizure of medical equipment an urgent matter that must "be put to an end. " The meeting also tackled the issue of diplomatic passports for Palestinian officials. The group said officials, including PLC members, must be granted passports "only if they deserve them," and "according to the law".
Asira Al-Qibliya target of latest ’law and order’ campaign
3/6/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - Palestinian security forces destroyed 56 illegal cars on Friday as part of what a report called the forces campaign to impose law and order in the northern West Bank. Police said the latest focus of the crackdown was Asira Al-Qibliya, a village west of Nablus. Head of the Nablus police department Omer Al-Bzur said officers had been instructed to carry out daily tours of the village, checking the registration of vehicles and monitoring activity looking for men and women wanted by the local authorities. Over the past two months, he said, police have destroyed 1,200 illegal vehicles in the Nablus district. [end]
Fatah condemns Hamas assaults against its official
3/6/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - The Fatah Revolutionary Council condemned on Saturday the refusal of the de facto government to allow the one of the council members to exit the Gaza Strip. The council's office released a statement saying Amal Hamad, member of the council and the Palestinian Women's Union, had her identity card confiscated as she traveled to the Erez checkpoint in northern Gaza for travel through Israel to the West Bank on Thursday. The statement called the decision to detain Hamad "strange," but noted that it corresponded with the de facto government decision to bar a delegation of West Bank Fatah officials from entering Gaza the week before. " Such irresponsible behavior weakens opportunities to achieve reconciliation," the statement read. In the same statement, the council condemned the gunfire directed at the home of Revolutionary Council member Muhammad Juda An-Nahhal by Hamas gunmen earlier in the week.
PA police: Allenby traffic slows, 8 fugitives detained
3/6/2010 - Jericho - Ma'an - Palestinian Authority security forces deployed at the Allenby Bridge crossing into Jordan detained eight fugitives on Saturday, and facilitated the movement of 13,000 travelers during the past week, a report said. The police report described last week's travel as moderate, with traffic in both directions down over the February average. Mustafa Ghannam, chief of the PA border police, said 5,265 residents, 76 foreign nationals, 34 Israeli ID card holders were registered upon entering through the crossing. Those leaving, he said, reached 6,916 West Bank residents, 67 international passport holders and 46 Israeli ID card holders. Ghannam added that 17 patients were transferred in Palestine Red Crescent ambulances across the border into Jordan. Israeli authorities banned travel for 27 West Bank residents for "security reasons," he said.
Fatah: Gunmen open fire at party leader’s car in Gaza
3/6/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Unidentified gunmen opened fire at a Fatah leader's car on Friday, in the western Gaza City district of Tel Al-Hawa, while it was parked opposite the home of a Fatah Revolutionary Council member, a party statement said. According to Fatah, at 10 pm, Sulaiman Ar-Rawwagh was visiting Revolutionary Council member Abu Juda An-Nahhal in his home, when "heavy gunfire was heard around the house. When both leaders went out to check, they found Ar-Rawwagh's car riddled with bullets. "The statement added that shots were fired at the home, and not just at the car, with no injuries reported. Witnesses said the shots were fired by a Skoda and two motorcycles which fled immediately after the assault. "This assault is part of the security chaos in the Gaza Strip, perpetrated by suspected groups attempting to arouse tension in the Palestinian territories, while Egypt exerts considerable. . . "
Voter registration begins ahead of local elections
3/6/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - The Central Election Commission announced on Saturday that it has begun voter registration ahead of local elections in July. Hanna Nasir, CEC chairman, said registering voters will continue until 16 March. Nasir told a news conference that many Palestinians remain unregistered to vote, particularly those who recently attained voting age. Over the last three years, he said, 350,000 Palestinians in the West Bank have failed to register to vote, while in Gaza the total was 150,000. In order to ensure voter turnout, 773 registration centers will be opened in the West Bank and 254 in Gaza. However, Nasir said the CEC would not be able to update Gaza's voter records due to national division. A statement issued by the CEC said the body was committed to undertaking President Mahmoud Abbas' call for local elections.
PA police destroys 360 illegal cars in Nablus
3/6/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - Palestinian Authority police impounded and destroyed 360 illegal vehicles on Saturday during a crackdown in Nablus, the West Bank. In the town of Bita, 250 illegal cars were destroyed while in Qasra 110 cars were totaled. Police destroyed 56 illegal cars on Friday as part of what a report called the forces campaign to impose law and order in the northern West Bank. Police said the latest focus of the crackdown was Asira Al-Qibliya, a village west of Nablus. Head of the Nablus police department Omer Al-Bzur said officers had been instructed to carry out daily tours of the village, checking the registration of vehicles and monitoring activity looking for men and women wanted by the local authorities. Over the past two months, he said, police have destroyed 1,200 illegal vehicles in the Nablus district. . . . .
Six Palestinians killed in accident with IDF jeep
Ha'aretz 7 Mar 2010 - Car swerves off course head-on into IDF armed jeep near Ofra settlement in West Bank.
Report: Hamas admits losing control in Gaza
Ha'aretz 7 Mar 2010 - Gaza in anarchy as extremist groups challenge Hamas regime, military chief tells Damascus leader.
Settlers assault Palestinian village
Uruknet March 6, 2010 -- Jewish settlers escorted by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) attacked the village of Irak Burin, south of Nablus city, on Saturday, local sources reported. The sources said that the heavily armed settlers came from the nearby Brakha settlement and attacked their village. They added that IOF soldiers backed the settlers in confrontations with the villagers, who were...
Palestinian prisoner paralyzed from Israeli guard beating, father says
Uruknet March 6, 2010– A beating by Israeli prison guards has caused a Palestinian man in Israeli custody to became completely paralyzed, the Wa’ed Society for Detainees said on Saturday. The prisoner, identified as 33-year-old Muhammad Abu Libda from the northern Gaza town of Jabaliya, was in good health when he was detained, his father said, adding that injuries he sustained...
Israel Nourishing Despair in Gaza: UN
Uruknet March 5, 2010 - Israel’s choking blockade on the Gaza Strip is nourishing despair among the 1.6 million population in the impoverished enclave, a top UN official warned Friday, March 5. "For the most part (of Gaza) there are people who just want to live ordinary lives, and they are being undermined by what's happening," John Holmes, the UN Under-Secretary-General...
'Israel Violates International Law With EU Complicity'
Uruknet March 5, 2010 - Things are worsening for Israel from moral and legal perspectives. In fact, one year after the Goldstone Report on its 'war crimes’ during its war on Gaza and amidst growing suspicions of its direct responsibility in the assassination of a Palestinian leader in Dubai, an international court has now concluded that Israel is violating international law...
IOF Critically Injures Boy in An Nabi Salih
Uruknet March 5, 2010 - Demonstrators in An Nabi Salih were met with tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and sound bombs. The IOF also fired skunk, a putrid-smelling chemical spray. One international was hit with a metal tear gas canister in the arm. Four Palestinians were injured, including a young man Ehab Fadel Beir Ghouthi, 14, from Beit Rima, who was...
Israel: End Crackdown on Anti-Wall ActivistsPeaceful Advocates Detained on Spurious Charges, Denied Due Process
Uruknet March 5, 2010 - Israel should immediately end its arbitrary detention of Palestinians protesting the separation barrier, Human Rights Watch said today. Israel is building most of the barrier inside the West Bank rather than along the Green Line, in violation of international humanitarian law. In recent months, Israeli military authorities have arbitrarily arrested and denied due process rights to...
HRW: Iran: Free ‘Mourning Mothers’ SupportersAt Least Six Recently Detained Without Charge
Uruknet March 5, 2010 - The Iranian Judiciary should immediately release six women arrested in January and early February 2010, apparently in connection with their peaceful activities on behalf of the Mourning Mothers, Human Rights Watch said today. Mourning Mothers is a civil society group established in June 2009 by mothers whose children lost their lives in state-sanctioned violence following Iran's...
Policy of provocation
Uruknet March 5, 2010 - Palestinian officials have warned that recent Israeli provocations, including government-backed attempts by Jewish religious extremists to claim a foothold at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, are creating an incendiary situation in the occupied territories. Visibly frustrated by Israel's utter disregard for Palestinian objections to Israeli encroachment on Muslim holy places in Hebron, Bethlehem and East Jerusalem, Palestinian Authority (...
Petition to stop destruction of Muslim Cemetery for "Museum of Tolerance"
Uruknet March 5, 2010 - Petitioners request that the Government of Switzerland, in its capacity as depository of the Fourth Geneva Convention, consider this issue in the context of resuming the High Contracting Parties’ Conference to the Fourth Geneva Convention. Please sign this important Petition and pass it on to others to prevent Israel from continuing its ethnic cleansing not only...
Once again, the PA is betraying our people
Uruknet March 5, 2010 - The PA decision to resume "indirect talks" with Israel is undoubtedly a clear expression of its moral and political bankruptcy. It is also an expression of its inability to lead the Palestinian people. The PA leadership had been saying ad nauseam that it won’t resume "peace talks" with Israel until and unless Israel agrees to freeze...
Gaza: for the children
Uruknet March 5, 2010 - Arab Abu Ghazel, northern Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip: we are roughly 1 km from the norther border, in an area which was doused by bombs during Israel’s winter 2008-2009 massacre of Gaza. the area, with the norther border near, the sea a few kilometres away, and the eastern border within earshot, is regularly inundated with the...
IOF injures Palestinians in WB
6 Mar 2010 - West Bank, March 6, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Four Palestinians from Iraq Burin village, south of Nablus in the West Bank, were injured by Israeli rubber bullets, when they confronted a group of settlers attempting to break into the village. Eyewitnesses said that there were many cases of suffocation as a result of Israeli occupation forces firing tear gas bombs at...
Ashton to visit Gaza in mid-March
6 Mar 2010 - Cordoba, March 6, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- EU foreign affairs Chief, Catherine Ashton, said she was palnning to go on a 7-day tour to the Middle East in mid-March, during which she will visit Gaza to appraise the situation after the recent Israeli offensive. "I have asked to go to Gaza," Ashton told reporters in Cordoba Saturday. She will meet with...
Palestinian prisoner paralyzed due to medical negligence at Israeli jail
6 Mar 2010 - Palestine, March 6, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Wa'ed Society for Prisoners and Ex-prisoners confirmed today that the prisoner Mohammed Abdel Aziz Abu Lebda from Jabalya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, who has been held in Al-Ramla prison for ten years, suffers from complete paralysis as a result of medical negligence by the prison administration against him and 40 sick prisoners....
IOF injures 4 Palestinians in Hebron
6 Mar 2010 - West Bank, March 6, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Four demonstrators were injured Saturday morning during a march in solidarity with Al-Aqsa Mosque and shrines in the northern part of Hebron, the West Bank. Israel occupation forces deliberately fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the participants in the march. Tens of foreign and Israeli peace activists participated in the march organized...
IOF opens fire at Gazan workers
6 Mar 2010 - Gaza, March 6, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation forces opened fire today at Gazan workers near Erez crossing northern Gaza Strip, no casualties were reported. Witnesses confirmed to SAFA news agency that Israeli soldiers stationed in the observation towers in the area of Beit Hanoun fired bullets toward the workers who were collecting scrap metal from the destroyed buildings...
Ireland: Israeli blockade unacceptable
6 Mar 2010 - Dublin, March 6, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Ireland's foreign minister yesterday called the Israeli blockade of Palestinian-ruled Gaza inhumane and unacceptable and he urged the European Union and other countries to increase pressure on Israel to end it. Michael Martin, who visited Gaza last week, was the first EU foreign minister to enter the Mediterranean coastal strip in over a year,...
Israeli jeep kills 6 Palestinians in road accident
6 Mar 2010 - West Bank, March 6, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Medical sources announced the death of a man, his wife and four of their children on Friday night. The incident occurred when the taxi, in which they were traveling, collided with an Israeli military vehicle on Route 60 near Silwad town, north of Ramallah, central West Bank. Palestinian sources indicated that the deceased...
We are building a state while under occupation to end the occupation
Palestine Note 6 Mar 2010 - WASHINGTON, DC - Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad forthrightly brought his case for building a Palestinian state to Israeli political and military leaders, and they applauded. The new Palestinian attitude towards how to end the occupation...
Muslim right to the Jewish past
Palestine Note 6 Mar 2010 - JERUSALEM - The decision to include the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb on the list of National Heritage Sites would, at first glance, appear to be one about which every Jew should be pleased....
The language of leaders: Lincoln as a model
Palestine Note 6 Mar 2010 - WASHINGTON, DC - Angry rhetoric now characterises the relationship between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The Tomb of Rachel in Bethlehem and the Cave of the Patriarchs/Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron,...
Can Muslim and Jewish narratives co-exist?
Palestine Note 6 Mar 2010 - JERUSALEM - In his book, Longitudes & Attitudes (2002), journalist Thomas Friedman, citing Middle East expert Stephen P. Cohen, suggests that the true clash in today's world is not "between civilisations" (as argued by Samuel Huntington)...
Using Qur’anic narratives in pursuit of peace
Palestine Note 6 Mar 2010 - NEW YORK - I consider the Israeli-Palestinian conflict the single biggest obstacle to eliminating Muslim-Jewish antipathy. Although this dispute is fundamentally about the distribution of assets and the power to control decisions, it is frequently portrayed...
Mubarak undergoes surgery, hands over power (temporarily!)
Palestine Note 6 Mar 2010 - Hosni Mubarak temporarily handed over power to his prime minister, Ahmed Nazif, while he recovers from gallbladder surgery in Germany . Mubarak traveled to Germany to meet with German chancellor Angela Merkel -- but also to undergo...
Thousands march in Jerusalem rally
AlJazeera 6 Mar 2010 - Demonstrators protest eviction of Palestinians from their homes in favour of Jewish settlers.
Egypt president surgery successful
AlJazeera 6 Mar 2010 - Hosni Mubarak had temporarily handed over power to PM before his gallbladder operation.
News from Within Videocast: The Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem
Alternative Information Center - Friday, 05 March 2010, The US-based Center for Constitutional Rights is petitioning various United Nations offices, of Palestinian families whose ancestors are buried in the Mamila Cemetery. The cemetery better known as Mamilla, has been a...
Clashes at Jerusalem's Aqsa mosque
PNN - Saturday, 06 March 2010
Mahmoud al Mabhouh 'was betrayed by someone in Hamas'
PNN - Saturday, 06 March 2010
Mamilla cemetery Public Petition Campaign
PNN - Saturday, 06 March 2010
10 dead in weekend car crashes
Jeruslalem Post 7 Mar 2010 - Palestinian vehicle crashes into IDF Hummer; 3 die near Dead Sea; man dies in TA.
Israel Beiteinu bills on conversion, civil union up for vote
Jeruslalem Post 7 Mar 2010 -
Pessimism prevails at IBA, J'lem Journalists Association
Jeruslalem Post 7 Mar 2010 - JJA to protest outside PMO in the aftermath of meeting with Eyal Gabai.
Status of Israeli women improves little over decade
Jeruslalem Post 6 Mar 2010 - Israel Women’s Network report shows women still earn less, are less influential than men.
Key findings of the IWN Women in Israel Report
Jeruslalem Post 6 Mar 2010 -
PLO expected to vote on resuming talks
Jeruslalem Post 6 Mar 2010 - Mitchell meets Barak; Biden en route for first trip to region as VP.
Thousands rally at Sheikh Jarrah
Jeruslalem Post 6 Mar 2010 - Israeli and Palestinian activists protest eviction of Arab families.
Egypt completes restoration of Maimonides synagogue
Jeruslalem Post 6 Mar 2010 - Dignitaries from Israel and abroad fly in for Sunday’s rededication.
‘Hamas losing control over Strip’
Jeruslalem Post 6 Mar 2010 - Senior operative in Gaza reportedly sends letter to Masha’al warning of security anarchy in Strip
OPT: Kuwait Donates $1 Million to ANERA
WAFA 6 Mar 2010 - WASHINGTON, March 6, 2010 (WAFA)- ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid) announced Friday a donation of $1 million from the government of Kuwait to fund ANERA's work with children in
Six Palestinians Killed in Accident with IOF Jeep
WAFA 6 Mar 2010 - RAMALLAH, March 6, 2010 (WAFA)- Six Palestinians were killed Friday night in a traffic accident with an Israel Occupation Forces jeep at the entrance to the Ofra settlement near Ramallah. A women and
HRW: End Crackdown on Anti-wall Activists
WAFA 6 Mar 2010 - JERUSALEM, March 6, 2010 (WAFA)– Israel should immediately end its arbitrary detention of Palestinians protesting the separation [wall], Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Friday. Israel is
MIDEAST: Palestinian Homes on 'David's Garden' Spared for Now
IPS SILWAN, Occupied East Jerusalem, Mar 5 (IPS) - Outside the Bedouin-style protest tent in the heart of this Palestinian neighbourhood, the anger is palpable, but controlled.
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory( 24 Feb.- 03 Mar. 2010)
PCHR
Israeli forces Critically Injure Boy in An Nabi Saleh
3/6/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - ISM, 5 March - Demonstrators in An Nabi Salih were met with tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and sound bombs. The IOF also fired skunk, a putrid-smelling chemical spray. One international was hit with a metal tear gas canister in the arm. Four Palestinians were injured, including a young man Ehab Fadel Beir Ghouthi, 14, from Beit Rima, who was hit with a rubber-coated steel bullet in the head. He was taken to a hospital where he underwent emergency surgery. He is listed in critical but stable condition. An expectant air hung over the village of An Nabi Salih. This feeling was heightened as IOF soldiers gathered on a hilltop near the edge of the village. Despite this sentiment, An Nabi Salih decided to selebrate International Women's Day. The popular committee of An Nabi Salih invited the mothers, daughters and sisters of the surrounding villages to join their demonstration for unfettered access to their farmlands and spring.
Demonstrators Block Route 60 Near Beit Ummar
3/6/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Popular Struggle Coordination Committee - Demonstrators protesting the deceleration of the Cave of the Patriarchs and Joseph's Tomb as Israeli heritage sites, manged to block the main road from Jerusalem to Hebron. In response to the inclusion of the two holy sites in the list of Israeli heritage sites, and fearing that this step paves the way for the cementing of Israeli hold over these places, a demonstration called by the Beit Omar National Committee managed to occupy Route 60 - the main road between Jerusalem and Hebron - and stop all movement in it. A military checkpoint at the entrance of Beit Ummar control access to Route 60, which, on the vicinity of the village, is fenced off. As demonstrators descended from the village, they toppled the fence between the village and the road. Protesters then continued to gather on Route 60, waving flags and chanting slogans.
Israel: end crackdown on Anti-Wall activists
3/6/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Human Rights Watch, 5 March - Israel should immediately end its arbitrary detention of Palestinians protesting the separation barrier, Human Rights Watch said today. Israel is building most of the barrier inside the West Bank rather than along the Green Line, in violation of international humanitarian law. In recent months, Israeli military authorities have arbitrarily arrested and denied due process rights to several dozen Palestinian anti-wall protesters. Israel has detained Palestinians who advocate non-violent protests against the separation barrier and charged them based on questionable evidence, including allegedly coerced confessions. Israeli authorities have also denied detainees from villages that have staged protests against the barrier, including children, access to lawyers and family members. Many of the protest