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Jerusalem governor: 'Palestinians facing ethnic cleansing in cleansing in Jerusalem'
International Middle East Media Center
10 May 2009 - Jerusalem governor at the Palestinian Authority, Adnan Al Hesseini, stated Saturday that Jerusalem and its Palestinian natives are subjected to ethnic cleansing and blatant racism as they are facing expulsion as Israel is demolishing their homes, and replacing them with settlers.
Popular Committee Against the Siege calls on the Pope to visit Gaza
International Middle East Media Center
10 May 2009 - The Popular Committee Against the Siege demanded Pope Benedict XVI to visit the Gaza strip during his tour in the region in order to observe the destruction and devastation inflicted during the Israeli offensive, and to observe the suffering of the residents.
Arab Foreign Ministers to file a lawsuit to the ICJ against Israeli violations
International Middle East Media Center
9 May 2009 - Arab Foreign Ministers decided on Friday to start preparations to file a lawsuit against Israel for its violations against the Palestinians and their homes in East Jerusalem.
Netanyahu: 'We will never cede the Golan Heights'
International Middle East Media Center
9 May 2009 - Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that Israel will never withdraw from the Golan Heights as the area is considered a "strategic advantage" in case of a military conflict with Syria, Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported.
UN Experts to visit Gaza to probe war crimes
International Middle East Media Center
9 May 2009 - UN experts are planning to visit Gaza in the coming period to probe claims of Israeli military war crimes committed during the offensive against the Gaza Strip in which more than 14000 Palestinians, mainly civilians, were killed and thousands were wounded.
Israeli escalates settlement construction in the occupied West Bank
International Middle East Media Center
9 May 2009 - Israeli sources reported Friday that Israel recently escalated its settlement activities in Palestinian areas east of the Annexation Wall in the occupied West Bank. These activities included new outposts, and new structures in existing settlements.
Four injured, two kidnapped as Israeli troops attack nonviolent protest near Bethlehem
International Middle East Media Center
8 May 2009 - Palestinian, Israeli, and international protesters conducted a nonviolent protest on Friday at Al Ma’ssara village near the southern west Bank city of-Bethlehem.
Five injured in the weekly Ni’lin protest
International Middle East Media Center
8 May 2009 - Israeli soldiers on Friday attacked Palestinian and international peace activists holding the weekly non-violent protest against the Wall in Ni’lin village, west of the central West Bank city of-Ramallah. Five protestors were injured and dozens were treated for the effects gas inhalation.
Bil’in Demonstrators Call on International Health Institutions to 'Stop the Occupation Flu'
International Middle East Media Center
8 May 2009 - Palestinian, Israeli, and international protesters walked through the streets of Bil’in on Friday wearing surgical masks to protect themselves from the "Occupation Flu" which first infected Palestinians sixty-one years ago.
11 arrested during nonviolent protest against illegal settlements in Hebron
International Middle East Media Center
8 May 2009 - Eleven nonviolent protestors were detained and several others were injured during a nonviolent protest against Israeli settlements and outposts in the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Friday morning.
Quartet envoy: 'Peace talks should address Jerusalem'
International Middle East Media Center
8 May 2009 - Quartet envoy to the Middle East, Tony Blair, stated Thursday that peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians must address core issues, including the future of Jerusalem, and that the Quartet would pressure Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to resume final-status peace talks.
Hamdan demands Arab Countries to drop Peace Initiative
International Middle East Media Center
8 May 2009 - Hamas representative in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, demanded the Arab countries to retract the Arab Peace Initiative as it drops the Right of Return in compliance with the demands of Israel and the United States.
WATCH: Leftists clash with settlers at illegal outpost
Ha’aretz
8 May 2009 - Activists: IDF declared closed military zone but evacuated only Palestinians, leftists, not settlers.
IDF soldier killed in West Bank shot with own weapon
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - Canadian-born Sgt. Noam Adin Rechter-Levy was killed during clash with Palestinians near Ramallah.
Lebanon arrests five more suspected of spying for Israel
Ha’aretz
8 May 2009 - Officials say arrests based on information extracted from ex-Lebanese general.
U.S. slams Hezbollah actions in Egypt, urges group to disarm
Ha’aretz
8 May 2009 - U.S. comments come after UN report shows Hezbollah planned to carry out clandestine ’hostile operations’ in Egypt.
UN chief slams Hezbollah for activities in Egypt
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - New United Nations report says Hezbollah engaging in clandestine activities beyond Lebanon.
Nine Bedouin ’terror suspects’ have charges reduced
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - Group earlier suspected of plotting attacks indicted of disorderly conduct, endangering lives on highway.
Gaza militants fire mortar, anti-tank missile at IDF troops
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - No casualties; soldiers were operating south of Gaza; on Wed. , IAF bombed Gaza tunnels after mortar salvo.
IDF troops kill Palestinian near Hebron holy site
Ha’aretz
6 May 2009 - Soldiers say they opened fire when man refused to heed orders to halt; IDF soldier lightly hurt from shrapnel.
Israelis close land to Palestinian farmers near illegal settlement
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Around a dozen farmers from the village of Beit Ummar with lands in Safa close to the illegal Israeli settlement of Bet Ayin were denied access to their fields on Saturday after Israeli forces declared the area a closed military zone. The farmers were accompanied by eight international solidarity activists and five Israeli human rights activists. After less than ten minutes of being in the fields, farmers were ordered off their lands by Israeli soldiers and border police in four jeeps. Israeli forces showed the villagers a closed military zone order and demanded they leave the area. As the farmers were leaving, dozens of Israeli settler children screamed, "death to all Arabs" in unison from the top of the hill where Bet Ayin settlement is located. Over the past month, Israeli forces have continuously declared the agricultural lands close to the settlement closed military zones.
Gaza convoy joined by 12 European parliamentarians
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Twelve European parliamentarians have joined the "Hope" aid convoy to Gaza, which leftthe Italian port of Genoa last Sunday, said Hamdi Sha’ath, who heads the Palestinian governmental committee in charge of hosting delegations, on Saturday. Sha’ath said in a statement released by the committee’s information office that the convoy would include 120 foreign solidarity activists headed by member of Italian Senate Fernando Rossi. Parliamentarians from Britain, Italy, Greece, Scotland, and Switzerland have also joined the aid convoy, which is expected to arrive at Alexandria port in Egypt by mid-May, before heading to Gaza by land. According to Sha’ath, the convoy includes 15 ambulances, 12 vehicles for people with special needs, and 13 other vehicles. The convoy will also bring 50 copies of special computer software to help the blind, as well as electric wheelchairs.
What’s happening at Kerem Shalom?
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - GAZA CITY, 10 May 2009 (IRIN) - Kerem Shalom is currently the only entry point for commercial and humanitarian goods from Israel into Gaza, and as such has become a life-line, but how does it work? A small crossing without the facilities to allow large numbers of trucks to enter, Kerem Shalom lies inside Israel, 3km from the Gazan town of Rafah on the Egyptian border. The only people authorised by Israel to physically access Kerem Shalom are employees of Shaiber Company, a private Gaza company with permission from Israel to access Kerem Shalom to retrieve imports. The company declined to comment. The Gaza authorities cannot access Kerem Shalom. Israeli truck drivers dump pallets of goods in an open area and withdraw, and then Palestinian truck drivers from Gaza enter and retrieve the goods, according to senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad and Gaza traders.
Israeli police seize 60 Palestinians attempting to enter Israel
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - At least 60 Palestinians were arrested on Saturday near the southern Israeli town of Ein Gedi en route to Tel Aviv to find work, according to Israeli news reports. The Palestinians were inside a vehicle container, which was searched by an Israeli Agriculture Ministry unit on Highway 60, near Ein Gedi, the Israeli news agency Ynet reported on Sunday morning. The Palestinians were subsequently handed over to Israeli police for questioning. [end]
PA: Explosives discovered at Qalqiliya homes and mosques
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Quantities of homemade explosives were found in homes and mosques in Qalqiliya, a city in the northern West Bank, on Saturday, according to Palestinian Authority security services spokesperson Adnan Dmeiri. Dmeiri said at a news conference held at the PA Information Ministry on Sunday that the explosives were primitive, which increases the danger to residents, as "they could explode at any moment, endangering citizens. " He also insisted that the Palestinian Authority will not allow manufacturing and storing of explosives in residential neighborhoods, whatever the justification, because it endangers residents’ lives. Dmeiri did not name any particular faction thought to be responsible for storing the explosives, however, he highlighted that statements were found near the explosives bearing the signature of Hamas’ militant wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades.
Israeli soldiers seize Palestinian boy near Bethlehem
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - A 15-year-old Palestinian boy from Bethlehem was arrested by Israeli forces south of Jerusalem on Sunday. According to Israeli news reports, the boy was carrying a knife and confessed that he was planning "a stabbing attack. " [end]
Israeli forces detain Hebron woman for 'carrying knife’
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Hebron - Ma’an - The Israeli military said it detained a young Palestinian woman in possession of a knife near the Ibrahimi Mosque in the West Bank city of Hebron. Palestinian sources identified the woman as Wuroud Jawad Abu Sneineh, who was attempting to cross one of the Israeli military checkpoints in the area en route to her house in the Abu Sneineh neighborhood. She is being held at an unknown location. Israeli forces frequently arrest young women near the Mosque on the grounds that they are carrying knives. [end]
Israel plans to consolidate hold on Jerusalem with parks
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - The Israeli government has a secret plan to surround the Old City of Jerusalem with parks, tourist attractions and hiking trails in a bid to consolidate its occupation of area, which it occupied in 1967, an Israeli NGO has revealed. The organization Ir Amim ("City of Nations"), dedicated to promoting coexistence in Jerusalem, released a report on the plan on Sunday, on the eve of the pope’s visit to the city. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the plan which was hatched in 2008 by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and the mayor of Jerusalem, has been a secret until now and was not subject to any form of public scrutiny. Ir Amim says the plan "integrates with statutory program 11555, approved by the Jerusalem Municipality in November 2007, designed to accelerate development in one of the most important archaeological sites in Israel.
Gaza projectile lands in Israel
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - A homemade projectile allegedly fired from Gaza landed in an open area in Israel’s Negev Desert on Sunday evening, according to news reports. No injuries or damage resulted. There has been no claim of responsibility yet from any Palestinian armed group. Since the end of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip in January, the military has responded with airstrikes to each individual projectile and mortar fired from Gaza. After a lull in violence in April, Palestinian fighters and Israeli forces exchanged fire in several incidents last week.
Netanyahu to visit Egypt’s Sharm Ash-Sheikh on Monday
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to head to Sharm Ash-Sheikh on Monday where he will meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. This will be Netanyahu’s first international visit since he formed his new government. Israeli Minister of Infrastructure Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, and the head of Israel’s National Security Council, Uzi Arad, will join Netanyahu in his visit with Mubarak. Netanyahu will meet with Israeli President Shimon Peres on Sunday evening before he goes to Sharm, and the latter will update him on the results of his visit to the US. Both will prepare to receive Pope Benedict XVI, who is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Monday. The Israeli daily newspaper Maariv reported that Netanyahu’s bureau was exerting efforts to arrange a meeting between Netanyahu and Jordanian King Abdullah II, hoping the meeting will be held by this weekend, prior to Netanyahu’s visit to Washington.
In Bethlehem, preparations are underway for hosting pope
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Bethlehem, the city of the Nativity in the southern West Bank, has been preparing to host Pope Benedict XVI, who is scheduled to visit on Monday, 13 May after he visits Israel. The city is being prepared in all aspects for the historic visit. Streets are being refurbished; welcome posters are being hung on the main road to the Nativity Church where the pope’s convoy is expected to pass. Furthermore, preparations are ongoing at Ayda refugee camp in the northern part of Bethlehem, where Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will host the pope, along with the camp’s residents at a public hall, since Israel banned the construction of a platform near the separation wall, which snakes around the camp. The pope was in Jordan on Sunday. He is scheduled to visit the place believed to be where Jesus Christ was baptized along the eastern bank of the Jordan River.
Embassy: 500 Gaza patients to be treated in Egypt
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Cairo - Ma’an - The Palestinian Embassy in Egypt says it is working to allow 500 Palestinians to leave Gaza to receive medical treatment in Egypt over the next few days. A medical consultant at the embassy, Hussam Tuqan, explained that on 16 and 17 May this number is expected to enter Egypt, noting that the patients received permits from the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. He added that the embassy staff is following up to ensure that the Rafah border crossing is opened to allow the patients into Egypt. Ambassador Nabil Amr Deputy Ambassador Barakat Al-Farra, Minister of Health Fathi Abu Moghli are working with the Egyptian Ministry of Health on the project. Most of the patients will go to hospitals specializing in certain areas, including Ar-Ramad Eye Institute, Al-Ahli Bank Hospital, specialized in neural surgery, the Egypt Red Crescent hospital specialized in bone surgery, and As-Salam hospital for cancer, among others.
Hamas: PA security forces arrested eight affiliates
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - The Hamas movement claimed on Sunday that Palestinian Authority security services arrested eight Hamas affiliates in the West Bank on Saturday. Hamas identified the arrestees in a statement as Alaa Rajab from the town of Anabta, east of Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, Mahdi Mabrouk from Tulkarem, Sheikh Isam Rummana, imam of Birzeit Mosque in Birzeit, near Ramallah in the central West Bank, and Abdul-Aziz Rantisi, a student at Birzeit University. The statement added that in Jenin, in the northern West Bank, PA security arrested Sheikh Khalil Al-Hajj from the village of Jalqamus, Firas Abu Shadouf from Burqin, Husam Ma’tuq from Marda, near Salfit, and Diya As-Sa’id from Hebron in the southern West Bank.
Fatah official says conference attendees will number 1,550
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Nablus - Ma’an - The preparatory committee for Fatah’s sixth conference has completed preparations and decided eligible participants would number some 1,550, said Ahmad Ghneim, who is a member of Fatah’s Central Committee. Ghneim asserted in a statement that the conference would be held in an Arab country that he did not name. He also said that the committee would continue with its duties until the conference is held, which he said would be as soon as possible. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is also the general commander of the Fatah movement, was expected to announce within the coming few hours when and where Fatah’s sixth conference will be held. He is also expected to note the number of eligible members to attend the conference, according to Haytham Al-Halabi, secretary of the Fatah movement in Nablus in the northern West Bank.
Police launch security campaign in Tubas
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Tubas - Ma’an - Palestinian police launched a security campaign in Tubas district villages in the northern West Bank began on Sunday. Deputy Director of Tubas district police Khalid Azzam asserts the security campaign means police and security services are intenton keeping order and pursuing fugitives. Police appealed to residents to cooperate with security services and contact them either by dialing 100, or visiting their website in order to enhance police efforts to achieve stability and security. [end]
Birzeit police seize marijuana seedlings near Ramallah
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Ramallah - Ma’an - Palestinian police in the central West Bank town of Birzeit seized marijuana seedlings late on Saturday planted near the main crossroads of Turmmus’ayya village, east of Ramallah. Director of the public relations and media office in Ramallah police department Major Farid Al-Ladawdeh explained that the Birzeit center received a phone call from people close to the police, through which they were told that there were seedlings in the area. A police force headed to the place and found them, he said. Al-Ladawdeh added that residents of the village expressed their distress regarding such practices and confirmed that they saw the seedlings and thought they were normal plants. Meawhile, Palestinian Authority police confiscated 1,159 poppy plants and seeds growing in the gardens of nine residents of a village south of Nablus on Saturday, said the deputy head of the police department, Ahmad Abu Ar-Rub.
Gaza’s new interior minister issues first orders
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Hamas’ newly appointed Minister of Interior and National Security in Gaza Fathi Hammad began issuing orders to improve the security forces on Sunday. Hammad was appointed in April to replace Said Siyam, who was assassinated by Israel during the military offensive on Gaza in January. Siyam was the most prominent Hamas leader to be killed during the three-week campaign. Hammad’s directives on Sunday included an order to treat civilians with dignity at checkpoints, in the streets, and even when entering their houses. He also cautioned security personnel not to drive at high speeds in the streets. In addition he ordered his officers to respond positively to requests from journalists, giving the information needed. Since taking full control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, Hamas has consolidated its hold on the territory, appointing a complete cabinet and. . .
Police: Nablus women grew opium for years without knowing it
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Nablus - Ma’an - Palestinian Authority police confiscated 1,159 poppy plants and seeds growing in the gardens of nine residents of a village south of Nablus on Saturday, said the deputy head of the police department, Ahmad Abu Ar-Rub. Abu Ar-Rub said in a news conference in Nablus that "the PA police department released those allegedly accused after finding that they did not have any relationship with planting drug crops. " He said the cultivation "was done by women who spontaneously passed over planting them between each other for many years because this kind of plant has beautiful flowers. " Head of the anti-drug department in Nablus Jamal Al-Hihi said that "this kind of drug is planted often, and mostly in Afghanistan, Columbia and Lebanon. ""Planting a dunum of it will produce one kilogram and a half of drugs; the price of the kilogram is 30,000 US dollars.
Israeli truck driver carjacked near Hebron-area checkpoint
Ma’an News Agency
5/10/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - Four masked Palestinian men carjacked an Israeli truck driver transporting poultry to Jerusalem on Sunday, according to Israeli news reports. The driver was reportedly overpowered around the Yatir checkpoint near the Green Line and the southern West Bank city of Hebron, before the carjackers fled with the truck. The driver was unharmed, according to the Israeli news agency Ynet, which reported that police are investigating the incident. [end]
Iran court hears US reporter appeal
Al Jazeera
10 May 2009 - Appeal hearing brought forward for US-Iranian journalist sentenced for spying.
Obama renews Syria sanctions
Al Jazeera
8 May 2009 - Obama administration says "serious concerns" remains despite engagement with Damascus.
Report on Bethlehem faults Israel
Al Jazeera
7 May 2009 - UN office says just 13 per cent of West Bank city’s land is available for Palestinians.
Peres condemns UN Gaza report
Al Jazeera
6 May 2009 - Israeli president blasts report on UN Gaza attacks as "outrageous".
Israel rejects nuclear pact call
Al Jazeera
6 May 2009 - The region’s only reported atomic power refuses to sign non-proliferation treaty.
SRI LANKA: Unions Strike Landmark Deal to Protect Migrant Workers
Inter Press Service
COLOMBO, May 8 (IPS) - Trade unions from Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait came together with their Sri Lankan counterparts here to strike an unprecedented agreement on the welfare of migrant workers.
POLITICS: Obama Aide Puts Israel’s Nukes in the Diplomatic Mix
Inter Press Service
LONDON, May 8 (IPS) - Last month in Prague, President Barack Obama vowed that he would seek a world without nuclear weapons. On Tuesday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller spelled out that this policy would apply to Israel, as well.
MIDEAST: Palestinians Rebuild With Mud
Inter Press Service
RAFAH, May 7 (IPS) - Jihad el-Shaar is pleased with his mud-brick house in the Moraj district of Gaza. The 80-square metre home is a basic one-storey, two-bedroom design, with a small kitchen, bathroom and sitting room, made mostly with mud and straw.
Protests for the Ma’sara prisoners
Stop The Wall
9 May 2009 - Nearly 20 people were injured in protests against the Wall this Friday, several of which were held in solidarity for the five activists who were arrested in al-Ma’sara last week. In addition to a large demonstration in the Bethlehem area, the demonstrations in Ni’lin and Bil’in also called for their release. The people of Bi’lin themed the weekly action around "Occupation Flu", and a demonstration was also held in Jayyus. [
Checkpoint assaults in Jenin, Qalqilya
Stop The Wall
8 May 2009 - In separate incidents last week, soldiers in isolated ghettos in Jenin and Qalqilya assaulted Palestinians passing through checkpoints. These attacks reflect a wide-spread practice of harassment, itself part of a broader strategy aimed at furthering silent transfer and cleansing particular areas of their Palestinian populations. [
(07-05-2009) Attorney General’s Office informs Israeli Supreme Court that No Investigation will be Conducted into Suspected War Crimes Committed in Gaza in 2004; During Hearing Justices Make Pol
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
PCHR
Palestinian and Israeli Human Rights Organisations Release Joint Fact Sheet Calling for an End to International Donor Complicity in Israeli Violations of International Law
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
PCHR
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 23 - 28 April 2009
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
PCHR - During the reporting period, 20 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children, were wounded by IOF and Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Al-Ma’asara village continues demonstrations despite increased army repression
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - On the 8th of May, 2009, residents of the southern West Bank village of- Al-Ma’asara conducted their weekly demonstration against Israel’s annexation barrier, despite increased repression from Israeli forces. - At last week’s demonstration, five nonviolent Palestinian organizers were arrested, and they continue to be held in an Israeli prison. - This Friday, Israeli soldiers created at least three flying checkpoints on the roads leading to the village in an attempt to stop participants from reaching the demonstration. - Soldiers turned back all Palestinian cars and only allowed settler vehicles to pass. - Five military jeeps and two police cars were also stationed at the entrance to Al-Ma’asara, much further into the village than during past Friday demonstrations. - Israeli and international solidarity activists who were able to reach the village by going around the checkpoints were showed papers that declared the entire village a closed military zone.
Israel bans Palestinians from hosting pope next to West Bank fence
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 7 May 2009 A Palestinian official says the Palestinian Authority has scrapped plans to host Pope Benedict XVI next week on a stage near the West Bank separation fence. Palestinian say they had hoped that receiving the pope next to a towering cement wall and military watchtower inside the Aida refugee camp would highlight their suffering under Israeli occupation. But Palestinian lawmaker Essa Qaraqie said Thursday that the location had been changed to a United Nations school after Israeli military officials forbade them to erect the stage near the barrier. The pope’s convoy will, however, still pass close to the barrier. The pontiff’s visit to the region will include trips to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. In Israel, he will hold mass in Nazareth and Jerusalem, as well as visiting the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Fayyad calls for end to land expropriation
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 8 May 2009 - Palestinian prime minister attends Friday prayer in east Jerusalem, promises residents to thwart Netanyahu government’s plan to confiscate property in Abu Dis area. Battle over east Jerusalem lands heating up: Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Friday took part in a prayer held on disputed lands in the Abu Dis area, where protest tents have been set up following the Israeli demand to expropriate lands. Fayyad participated in the prayer held by Kadi Taysir Tamami, head of the Palestinian Authority’s Sharia courts, near Area E1, which is the focus of a dispute between the Palestinians and Israel, which seeks to build the community of Keidar and connect between Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim. Hundreds of Jerusalem residents attended the prayer. The Palestinian prime minister stated that "the PA will not agree to all the Israeli plans", and promised that they would not succeed.
Bil’in demonstrators call on international health institutions to 'Stop the Occupation Flu'-
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 8 May 2009 - Palestinian, Israeli, and international protesters walked through the streets of Bil’in on Friday wearing surgical masks to protect themselves from the "Occupation Flu"- which first infected Palestinians sixty-one years ago. It has caused the deaths of thousands of Palestinians, injured hundreds of thousands and has put millions in prisons, including Israeli prisons but also the prisons created by the wall in the West Bank and the siege on Gaza. Protesters carried banners that read, "Stop the Occupation Flu"- and called on international health and human rights institutions to intervene in order to save the Palestinian people from this dangerous disease which is spreading in the region and is threatening the rest of the world. Protestors also carried Palestinian flags and photos of the martyr Bassem Abu Rahmah, Bil’in’s most recent victim of the "Occupation Flu"-, who was killed by the Israeli army three weeks ago.
Israel prepares red carpet welcome for Pope Benedict XVI
Ha’aretz
9 May 2009 - Israel is planning the visit by Pope Benedict XVI down to the last detail, even holding dress rehearsal Sunday to prepare for the pontiff’s arrival at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Monday. ...
Israel has secret plan to thwart division of Jerusalem
Ha’aretz
9 May 2009 - The government and settler organizations are working to surround the Old City of Jerusalem with nine national parks, pathways and sites, drastically altering the status quo in the city. The secret plan was assigned to the Jerusalem Development Authority (JDA). ...
U.S. puts October deadline on Iran talks
Ha’aretz
9 May 2009 - The United States has set October as its target for completing the first round of talks with Iran on its nuclear program, according to confidential reports sent to Jerusalem. ...
Netanyahu to urge Egypt, Jordan to help counteract Iran
Ha’aretz
9 May 2009 - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will tell Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah II at meetings this week that they need to work with Israel to counteract the Iranian nuclear threat. ...
Muslim Brotherhood: Obama’s Egypt trip ’useless’
Ha’aretz
9 May 2009 - Egypt’s most powerful opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, on Saturday called President Barack Obama’s upcoming trip to Egypt useless unless the U.S. shows dramatic change in its policies toward Arab and Islamic countries. ...
She’s Israeli, he’s an Arab. War has made them like mother and son
The Guardian
9 May 2009 - An unlikely pair of peace campaigners brought their message to Britain last week. Sarfraz Manzoor discovers how the deaths of loved ones brought them together It is a friendship as remarkable as it is unlikely: Robi...
Peace in our time for the Middle East? | Ben White
The Guardian
9 May 2009 - There is growing speculation about a revamped peace plan for the Middle East. But what will it contain - or achieve? Recently, and in the last week in particular, there has been a flurry of speculation...
The Pope must have a message for the Middle East | Tariq Ramadan
The Guardian
9 May 2009 - Benedict XVI’s visit to the Middle East may be a ’pilgrimage’, but it is also a political opportunity In order to avoid controversies, official voices from the -Vatican have been trying to explain that the pope’s...
The paradox of Israel’s pursuit of might | Max Hastings
The Guardian
9 May 2009 - Forty years ago, I was enraptured by Israel’s courageous sense of mission. For me today, as for many, that idealism has palled I first visited Israel in 1969. It was a time when much of the...
Mother, grandfather on trial for murder of 4-year-old Rose Pizem
Ha’aretz
9 May 2009 - The trial of the mother and grandfather alleged to have killed four-year-old Rose Pizem last year commenced Sunday morning at the Petah Tikva Magistrates Court. ...
Barak: Defense budget cuts will harm Israel’s security
Ha’aretz
9 May 2009 - Disagreements over steep budget cuts proposed by the treasury are posing the first potential crisis for the new government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. ...
OPT: Prince Mash’al gives go-ahead to largest OIC aid convoy to Gaza
ReliefWeb
10 May 2009 - Source: Organization of the Islamic Conference
World Bank Global Food Crisis Response Program project status 30 Apr 2009
ReliefWeb
8 May 2009 - Source: World Bank
18th EU-Japan Summit joint press statement
ReliefWeb
8 May 2009 - Source: European Union, Government of Japan
European Parliament resolution of 7 May 2009 on the Annual Report on Human Rights in the World 2008 and the European Union’s policy on the matter
ReliefWeb
8 May 2009 - Source: European Union
OPT: The Governments of India, Brazil & South Africa (IBSA), through UNDP, fund the construction of a multipurpose sports centre in Ramallah
ReliefWeb
8 May 2009 - Source: UN Development Programme
Al-Jazeera presents ’evidence’ of spies in Lebanon
YNetNews
10 May 2009 - Broacast shows satellite equipment belonging to three recently-arrested suspects and allegedly used for communicating with Israeli intelligence
Ahmadinejad’s rivals: 12-year-old, Saddam lookalike
YNetNews
10 May 2009 - Registration for Iranian presidency race completed. Koresh Mouzuni, 12, dreams of leasing Hawaii to Jews ’so that they don’t kill the children in Gaza’, promises not to make his father a minister
Barak warns of deep political crisis over budget cuts
YNetNews
10 May 2009 - Shortly before weekly cabinet meeting, defense minister says there are disputes between Labor ministers, Treasury in regards to ’basic matters related to the State’s security and future and the social human fabric’
Gush Katif evacuees: Still waiting for compensation
YNetNews
10 May 2009 - Three and a half years after Gaza pullout, commission of inquiry into status of area’s former residents finally set to begin work. ’People are paying the price of the disengagement every day,’ says head of evacuees’ council
60 Palestinians seized en route to Israel
YNetNews
10 May 2009 - Men arrested near Ein Gedi on their way to Tel Aviv in search of work. ’When we felt we had reached the roadblock, the container stopped and the flow of air was halted completely. We felt people were about to suffocate,’ one of Palestinians tells Ynet
US aid to Israel to continue despite crisis
YNetNews
10 May 2009 - American administration asks Congress to approve security aid to Jewish state as part of 2010 budget. ’This is an expression of the ongoing US commitment to Israel’s security,’ says outgoing Ambassador Meridor
Testimony: Settlers throw stones with soldiers present
B’tselem
9 May 2009 - According to a testimony given to B’Tselem by a resident of the Wadi a-Nasara neighborhood of Hebron, on 3 April 2009, dozens of settlers, accompanied by soldiers, entered the neighborhood. The soldiers allowed the settlers to throw stones at homes and pa
Settler youngsters attack ambulance in Hebron
B’tselem
6 May 2009 - On 11 April, a Palestinian ambulance was transporting a patient to her home in the Israeli-controlled area of Hebron. According to testimonies, children and youths from nearby settlements threw rocks at the ambulance and soldiers at the scene did not inte
Obama charts active role in Middle East peacemaking
Daily Star
8 May 2009 - The impending arrival of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will start an unpredictable engagement by President Barack Obama in trying to shift the Middle East from a tense standoff to Arab-Israeli peacemaking. Netanyahu, due at the White House May 18, has signaled he intends to resist a key plank in Obama’s program:
US renews sanctions against Syria despite thaw
Daily Star
8 May 2009 - The Obama administration has renewed sanctions against Syria due to "serious concerns" over its behavior, despite sending two envoys to Damascus this week to try to improve ties, US officials said on Friday. "The president felt it was necessary," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood.
Pope voices ’deep respect’ for Islam at start of Holy Land tour
Daily Star
8 May 2009 - Pope Benedict XVI underlined his "deep respect" for Islam on Friday in Jordan, on his first trip as pontiff to an Arab state, and stressed that religious freedom is a fundamental human right. Speaking after a red carpet welcome from King Abdullah II and Queen Rania at Queen Alia Airport at the start of an eight-day tour of the Holy Land.
Arab League seeks UN court ruling on Jerusalem violations
Daily Star
8 May 2009 - Arab League foreign ministers said Thursday they will ask the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) to rule on Israeli violations in Occupied Arab East Jerusalem. At the end of an extraordinary meeting at Arab League headquarters in Cairo the ministers said in a statement they decided to set up a committee of international law experts to prepare a case against Israel.
Germany urges Israel not back away from peace process
Daily Star
8 May 2009 - Germany urged Avigdor Lieberman, wrapping up his first visit to Europe as Israel’s foreign minister Friday, not to back away from the peace process with the Palestinians, the Foreign Ministry said. During talks with Lieberman late Thursday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Israel.
Palestinians in Gaza turn to drugs to escape increased trauma and hardship
Daily Star
8 May 2009 - Palestinians struggling to cope with the Israeli blockade of Gaza and the trauma of war are turning to painkillers and tranquillizers at a rate that risks triggering a wave of addiction. There is also evidence of mounting recreational drug use as Gaza drifts in limbo, with no clear political future.
For Christian enclave in Jordan, tribal lands are sacred
Los Angeles Times
10 May 2009 - Pope Benedict XVI has sought better ties between Christians and Muslims. But in Fuhays, Jordan, devotion to the land comes first. Michel Hattar’s father was a priest in Jerusalem in 1947 when word arrived from the rocky Jordanian hills that he must renounce his vows and marry to protect his tribe’s land and inheritances.
Pope Benedict arrives in Jordan
Los Angeles Times
8 May 2009 - Benedict, after being greeted by King Abdullah, says his three-day visit will give him a chance to ’speak of my deep respect for the Muslim community’ and call for religious freedom. Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Jordan today on a three-day pilgrimage to bless a tiny Catholic population and improve the Vatican’s relations with a Muslim world greeting him with aloofness, anger and a slight hope that he may advance peace in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Pope arrives in Jordan
Los Angeles Times
9 May 2009 - Beginning his Middle East tour, Pope Benedict is given a red-carpet welcome in Amman, where he is greeted by King Abdullah. He says he has a ’deep respect for the Muslim community. ’ Pope Benedict XVI, arriving Friday in Amman on the first leg of a Middle East pilgrimage, expressed a "deep respect for the Muslim community" to King Abdullah II, who greeted him at the airport.
Parks Fortify Israel’s Claim to Jerusalem
New York Times
9 May 2009 - A $100 million effort to develop parks outside the Old City of Jerusalem may strengthen Israeli claims to the land.
Reporter’s Hearing in Iran Moved Up
New York Times
9 May 2009 - The earlier date for Roxana Saberi’s appeals court hearing could complicate her defense by giving her second lawyer less time to review the case.
Obama to Speak From Egypt in Address to Muslim World
New York Times
8 May 2009 - White House officials would not say exactly where in Egypt the president would give his highly anticipated June 4 speech.
Only 13% of Bethlehem land available for Palestinians
Times of India
Times of India - NEW YORK: Continued expansion of Israeli settlements and their outposts, along with other measures, have significantly reduced the availability of land for Palestinians restricting their livelihoods and development, a new report by the UN humanitarian affairs agency has said. Israeli expansionist measures have reduced to 13 per cent the availability of land in Bethlehem for Palestinian use...
Israel ’using tourist sites to assert control over East Jerusalem’
The Guardian
The Guardian - Peace groups say government’s secret plans with settler groups could prevent two-state solution - Israel is quietly extending its control over East Jerusalem in alliance with rightwing Jewish settler groups, by developing parks and tourist sites that would bring a "drastic change of the status quo in the city", according to two Israeli groups.
Four injured, two kidnapped as Israeli troops attack nonviolent protest near Bethlehem
International Middle East Media Center
8 May 2009 - Palestinian, Israeli, and international protesters conducted a nonviolent protest on Friday at Al Ma’ssara village near the southern west Bank city of-Bethlehem.
Five injured in the weekly Ni’lin protest
International Middle East Media Center
8 May 2009 - Israeli soldiers on Friday attacked Palestinian and international peace activists holding the weekly non-violent protest against the Wall in Ni’lin village, west of the central West Bank city of-Ramallah. Five protestors were injured and dozens were treated for the effects gas inhalation.
Bil’in Demonstrators Call on International Health Institutions to 'Stop the Occupation Flu'
International Middle East Media Center
8 May 2009 - Palestinian, Israeli, and international protesters walked through the streets of Bil’in on Friday wearing surgical masks to protect themselves from the "Occupation Flu" which first infected Palestinians sixty-one years ago.
11 arrested during nonviolent protest against illegal settlements in Hebron
International Middle East Media Center
8 May 2009 - Eleven nonviolent protestors were detained and several others were injured during a nonviolent protest against Israeli settlements and outposts in the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Friday morning.
Quartet envoy: 'Peace talks should address Jerusalem'
International Middle East Media Center
8 May 2009 - Quartet envoy to the Middle East, Tony Blair, stated Thursday that peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians must address core issues, including the future of Jerusalem, and that the Quartet would pressure Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to resume final-status peace talks.
Hamdan demands Arab Countries to drop Peace Initiative
International Middle East Media Center
8 May 2009 - Hamas representative in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, demanded the Arab countries to retract the Arab Peace Initiative as it drops the Right of Return in compliance with the demands of Israel and the United States.
Army says soldier killed near Ramallah was shot when he gun discharged during scuffle
International Middle East Media Center
8 May 2009 - Israeli army sources reported that the Israeli Canadian-born soldier, who was shot and killed on Thursday morning in an invasion to a town near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, was killed when his weapon discharged when he scuffled with Palestinian residents.
Israel delays transfer of salaries into Gaza
International Middle East Media Center
8 May 2009 - The Israeli Authorities delayed on Thursday the transfer of 50 Million NIS into the Gaza Strip meant to pay the salaries of government employees. The transfer was blocked after extremist settlers blocked the Eretz Crossing.
Obama official admits Israel has nuclear weapons
International Middle East Media Center
8 May 2009 - An Obama administration official has provoked the anger of the Israeli government by implying that Israel has nuclear weapons.
New government headed by Fayyad likely be declared next week
International Middle East Media Center
8 May 2009 - Palestinian sources reported Thursday that a new government headed by Dr. Salaam Fayyad, could be declared as early as next week.
Peace Now files petition against illegal outposts
International Middle East Media Center
8 May 2009 - Israeli Peace Now Movement filed on Thursday a petition to the High Court demanding Israel’s Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, and Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Gadi Shamni, to issue orders immediately stopping construction in Halamish - Neve Tzuf illegal settlement.
PCHR Weekly Report: 3 Palestinians killed, 14 injured by Israeli forces this week
International Middle East Media Center
7 May 2009 - According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, during the week of 29 April - 06 May 2009, two Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of the collapse of a tunnel bombarded by Israeli forces. - Israeli forces also killed a mentally disabled Palestinian civilian at the entrance to the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.
IDF soldier killed in West Bank shot with own weapon
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - Canadian-born Sgt. Noam Adin Rechter-Levy was killed during clash with Palestinians near Ramallah.
Lebanon arrests five more suspected of spying for Israel
Ha’aretz
8 May 2009 - Officials say arrests based on information extracted from ex-Lebanese general.
WATCH: Leftists clash with settlers at illegal outpost
Ha’aretz
8 May 2009 - Activists: IDF declared closed military zone but evacuated only Palestinians, leftists, not settlers.
U.S. slams Hezbollah actions in Egypt, urges group to disarm
Ha’aretz
8 May 2009 - U.S. comments come after UN report shows Hezbollah planned to carry out clandestine ’hostile operations’ in Egypt.
UN chief slams Hezbollah for activities in Egypt
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - New United Nations report says Hezbollah engaging in clandestine activities beyond Lebanon.
Nine Bedouin ’terror suspects’ have charges reduced
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - Group earlier suspected of plotting attacks indicted of disorderly conduct, endangering lives on highway.
Gaza militants fire mortar, anti-tank missile at IDF troops
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - No casualties; soldiers were operating south of Gaza; on Wed. , IAF bombed Gaza tunnels after mortar salvo.
IDF troops kill Palestinian near Hebron holy site
Ha’aretz
6 May 2009 - Soldiers say they opened fire when man refused to heed orders to halt; IDF soldier lightly hurt from shrapnel.
Gaza boats under attack; three attacks in two days
Ma’an News Agency
5/8/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Israeli war boats opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats near the coast of Tel As-Sultan in the southern Gaza Strip Friday afternoon, six hours after an attack on a boat off the northern coast. An early morning attack on a Gazan shipping boat was reported off the As-Sudanieh coast north of Gaza City. No injuries were reported from that attack but damage was done to the boat. The attacks mark the third in two days after four men were seized from their fishing boat which came under attack at noon Thursday. The men remain in Israeli custody. [end]
Israeli raid sees three Bethlehemites taken for questioning
Ma’an News Agency
5/8/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Three Palestinians were taken from their Bethlehem-area homes by invading Israeli troops before dawn Friday. Israeli sources said the three were listed as "wanted" by Israeli intelligence and noted they were taken to investigation centers for questioning. They have not been identified. [end]
Israel partially opens one crossing into Gaza; 70 trucks to transfer goods
Ma’an News Agency
5/8/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - The Kerem Shalom crossing point will be the only pathway open for the transfer of goods into the Gaza Strip Friday, as the larger Karni and Nahal Oz fuel transfer sites will remain closed, said Crossings Authority spokesperson Raed Fattuh. Israel is expected to allow 70-80 truckloads of commercial and humanitarian goods into the Strip during the day. [end]
Illegal antiquities dealer arrested near Tubas
Ma’an News Agency
5/8/2009 - Tubas - Ma’an - The Tubas antiquities authority arrested an amateur antiques hunter and smuggler Friday after receiving information on stolen antiquities. When investigators searched the homes of the alleged smuggler they found excavation tools and preservation materials used for hunting and extracting ancient artifacts from sites around Palestine. The Wadi Al-Far’a resident, just south of Tubas, was arrested and his tools seized. He will be charged with smuggling Palestinian antiquities and tried in court, said Tourism and Antiques officer Hassan Na’irat. [end]
Maintenance to Gaza power station postponed
Ma’an News Agency
5/8/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - The Gaza power station postponed its scheduled electricity cut Friday, and told residents the maintenance operation would set for a later date. The cut was set for Friday afternoon, but logistical considerations and lack of supplies necessitated a postponement. The repairs are supposed to be conducted yearly, and are carried out by ABB and Seimins technicians. Power station officials said preliminary maintenance was beig conducted and would continue until the end of May. The Gaza power plant sustained heavy damages in 2006 when the site was bombed by Israeli aircraft and was never brought back to full capacity. Further damage to the electricity grid was sustained during Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip during Israel’s Cast Lead operation that saw 22 days of air-raids and shelling as well as a ground invasion.
Hamas leader denies reports of imminent truce with Israel
Ma’an News Agency
5/8/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Hamas leader Ismail Radwan denied reports published in China View Thursday that Hamas was close to a ceasefire deal with Israel. The Chinese news agency quoted sources close to Hamas as saying leaders had contacted Egyptian mediators Thursday telling them they were ready to negotiate a ceasefire deal for a limited period in return for an Israeli promise to halt attacks against Hamas members in Gaza. The initial report also noted that Hamas was expected to announce a ceasefire Friday. Radwan told Ma’an by phone that the report was "totally not true" and added that "any truce should include the opening of all crossings, lifting the siege imposed over Gaza and freezing the Israeli attack against civilians. "
Papal message of peace mixed with concern for politics in Jordan
Ma’an News Agency
5/8/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Pope Benedict XVI will land in Jordan Friday afternoon and begin his week-long visit to the Holy Land. While the pope’s visit to Israel and Palestine has raised dozens of political issues around the occupation, ideological control over East Jerusalem and a low-level war for favor, in Jordan the pope’s message of peace has spoken louder than the surrounding politics. "My primary intention is to visit the places made holy by the life of Jesus, and to pray at them for the gift of peace and unity for your families," the Holy Father told people of the region in a statement preceding his visit. There is some concern in Jordan, however, over the willingness of the Pope to engage Israeli politicians during his visit to the region. Pope Benedict XVI is the first to announce his travel to the State of Israel and the Holy Land; previous pontiffs noted they would travel to the Holy Land.
Youth protest construction of illegal outpost; settlers throw burning rags at internationals
Ma’an News Agency
5/8/2009 - Hebron - Ma’an - Israeli soldiers detained five Israeli citizens working as peace activists protesting the establishment of an on illegal settlement east of Hebron in the West Bank. The Israeli activists, along with a dozen international activists and Palestinians were demonstrating near the land of Issa Jaber in the Al-Buwaira area of Hebron. Protesters built small booth, mirroring a hut constructed on the land last month by Israeli settlers on Palestinian-owned land. According to the group Youth Against Settlements, the settlers are trying to impose a "de facto" situation on the land and create an illegal settler outpost on the area and effectively annex the land. According to the youth, Israeli soldiers arrived shortly after 10am, when the hut was built. The soldiers took positions around the settlers, who were pelting the protest hut with stones, heavy tools and gas-soaked rags set aflame.
Al-Aqsa Brigades attack Israeli patrol near Silwad
Ma’an News Agency
5/8/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - The Imad Mughniyya branch of Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Brigades fired at an Israeli army patrol near the West Bank village of Silwad Thursday evening, the group claimed. Locals from the north-of-Ramallah village said Israeli forces stormed the area overnight and broke into several homes without making any arrests. In a statement the brigades said members opened heavy fire on an Israeli jeep and then took cover. "Israeli forces rushed to the spot," they said, noting that all members were already safe by the time the response came. Israeli sources confirmed the attack and said no one was injured. [end]
Israeli forces detain two at flying checkpoint near Jenin
Ma’an News Agency
5/8/2009 - Jenin - Ma’an - Israeli troops detained two from the town of Jaba south of Jenin as they passed through a military checkpoint. The men, identified as 33-year-old Farhat Alawneh and 35-year-old Rabi’a Fashafsheh were detained late Thursday night as they travelled towards their homes in Nablus after work in the Jenin area. According to the parents of the men they were stopped by troops, forced to leave their car on the roadside and taken to an unknown location. [end]
Hamas: PA security forces arrested 32 members in West Bank last week
Ma’an News Agency
5/8/2009 - Salfit - Ma’an - Palestinian security forces arrested 32 Hamas members and affiliates over the past seven days, a statement from the party said Friday. Those detained were identified as:From Nablus:Ja’far Rayhan,NajehMadi,Belal Ramadan, 15-years-oldFrom Salfit: Mahmoud RashadFrom Qabatyia:Ziad Abed Ar-Rahmman and Majdi YasinFrom Hebron:A’dnan Shuman,Tamer A’ssaf,Khalid Azzam,Muhanad Neirukh,Qais Al- Karaki,Amin Ashour,Rami Abu Doush,Eid Abed Al-Ghani HalahlaFrom Ramallah:Basher A’bed,Murad as-Sanuri,Humam mar Al-Hadidi,Sa’id Qasrawi,Qeidar Suleiman,Maher NourFrom Qalqiliya:Abed An-Naser As’ad Ghanem,Rashad SuwanMahdi Dahmus,Useid Nassar,Amir Dahbur,Mohammad Radwan,Saleh Hasaneen. . .
Bil’in: Eight injured as 'Occupation Flu spreads'
Ma’an News Agency
5/8/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - "Stop the Occupation flu," chanted protesters wearing surgical masks as they marched through the streets of Bil’in towards the Israeli separation wall that cuts the village off from its land. "The Occupation flu first infected Palestinians sixty-one years ago. It has caused the deaths of thousands of Palestinians, injured hundreds of thousands and has put millions in prisons, including Israeli prisons but also the prisons created by the wall in the West Bank and the siege on Gaza," protesters shouted from beside the wall. The Occupation flu, said organizers, has already killed 100 times more than the most recent flu outbreak of H1N1 or swine flu. "It is an epidemic here," one protester said. Demonstrators called on international health and human rights institutions to intervene in order to save the Palestinian people from the "dangerous disease which is spreading in the region and is threatening the rest of the world.
Coloring Jerusalem: Hebronites begin mural project to honor capital
Ma’an News Agency
5/8/2009 - Hebron - Ma’an - The Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Hebron hosted Palestinian artist Sameeh Abu Zakyeh for a workshop on art and expression entitled "coloring Jerusalem" in honor of Al-Quds Capital of Arab Culture 2009. The workshop took place at the Manafeth community center and was attended by 40 men and women who began a joint artistic project to color Jerusalem on the walls of Al-Husein Ben Ali School. The project will continue throughout the year and aims to paint all the faces of the capital on the walls of homes, mosques, churches and gates in an effort to increase people’s knowledge about the ancient city, its culture and history. [end]
Israeli soldiers injure dozens at West Bank anti-wall protest
Ma’an News Agency
5/8/2009 - Ni’lin - Ma’an - Israeli soldiers injured dozens of Palestinian protesters on Friday in the West Bank village of Ni’lin, which hosts weekly marches against the separation wall. At least five Palestinian demonstrators were treated for non-tear-gas-related wounds, while dozens suffered light injuries from gas inhalation during the protest that began shortly after noon prayers on Friday. Israeli news sources reported that one demonstrator had lost a finger during the march, although that claim could not be immediately substantiated by Ma’an. Witnesses noted hundreds of tear-gas canisters launched from several Israeli posts, including one set up near the main route leading into the village, where shells littered the road and sent droves of Palestinians and internationals fleeing through the streets. A few stun grenades also exploded within meters of a number of protesters,. . .
Israelis fire artillery shells at open areas in eastern Gaza
Ma’an News Agency
5/8/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Israel’s military fired a number of artillery shells toward the eastern border with Gaza on Friday, local witnesses told Ma’an. "Israeli forces present near [the] Nahal Oz [crossing] shelled areas east of Gaza; no injuries were reported," said one source in a statement to Ma’an. Meanwhile, other forces arrived near the border and warships continued firing near the coast. Jets and flying drones were also spotted in the area. [end]
Gaza forces prevent Fatah official from traveling to Jordan
Ma’an News Agency
5/8/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Senior Fatah official Ibrahim Abu An-Naja told Ma’an that de facto security forces hadprevented him from leaving Gaza on Friday. He was supposed to leave to travel to Jordan to attend the meetings of the preliminary committee for Fatah’s sixth conference, expected to be held on Saturday. Abu An-Naja added that "a post affiliated with the de facto security forces present at Beit Hanoun stopped me for 20 minutes" and searched his luggage, as well as asked him to answer questions from the department of Internal Security. "I called senior Hams official Ghazi Hamad, who promised to follow up the issue but never responded," he added. Abu An-Naja denounced the act, saying that "this so sad, how a Palestinian citizen could be not allowed to travel? How could we allow ourselves to allow the world to record such acts with each other? "***Get breaking news from Palestine: Click here to follow Ma’an on Twitter.
Gaza Aid Convoy Launched
The Palestine Telegraph
Prince Misha’l Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah, launched a convoy of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people in Gaza as part of a project of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) at the headquarters of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and...
Eight injured by Israeli fire in Bil’in
The Palestine Telegraph
West Bank, May 8 (Pal Telegraph) -On the weekly action of civilian resistance; tens of Internationals and Palestinians gathered to protest Israeli occupation.
Gaza 2009: The Moment of Truth
The Palestine Telegraph
Gaza, May 8 (Pal Telegraph) - Gaza has returned to its pre-massacre state of siege, confronted with the usual, conspiratorial, "international" indifference after 22 long days and dark nights, during which its brave people were left alone to face one of the...
Cover Up of Israeli War Crimes in Gaza: Ban Ki-Moons Moral Failure
The Palestine Telegraph
Jordan, May 8 (Pal Telegraph) - Late last week, according to the BBC Arabic news website, a report was submitted to the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon about the scale of destruction Israel inflicted on UN installations in Gaza. This was also...
Palestinians seek papal pressure on Israel
The Palestine Telegraph
Palestine, May 8 (Pal Telegraph) -Palestinian officials are using Pope Benedict XVI’s visit next week to spotlight their disputes with Israel, and in doing so, are drawing criticism that they are playing politics with an event meant to bridge differences in the...
Obama renews Syria sanctions
Al Jazeera
8 May 2009 - Obama administration says "serious concerns" remains despite engagement with Damascus.
Report on Bethlehem faults Israel
Al Jazeera
7 May 2009 - UN office says just 13 per cent of West Bank city’s land is available for Palestinians.
Peres condemns UN Gaza report
Al Jazeera
6 May 2009 - Israeli president blasts report on UN Gaza attacks as "outrageous".
Israel rejects nuclear pact call
Al Jazeera
6 May 2009 - The region’s only reported atomic power refuses to sign non-proliferation treaty.
US: Israel must back two-state deal
Al Jazeera
5 May 2009 - Vice-president says settlement building must stop, but commits to support for Israel.
SRI LANKA: Unions Strike Landmark Deal to Protect Migrant Workers
Inter Press Service
COLOMBO, May 8 (IPS) - Trade unions from Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait came together with their Sri Lankan counterparts here to strike an unprecedented agreement on the welfare of migrant workers.
POLITICS: Obama Aide Puts Israel’s Nukes in the Diplomatic Mix
Inter Press Service
LONDON, May 8 (IPS) - Last month in Prague, President Barack Obama vowed that he would seek a world without nuclear weapons. On Tuesday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller spelled out that this policy would apply to Israel, as well.
MIDEAST: Palestinians Rebuild With Mud
Inter Press Service
RAFAH, May 7 (IPS) - Jihad el-Shaar is pleased with his mud-brick house in the Moraj district of Gaza. The 80-square metre home is a basic one-storey, two-bedroom design, with a small kitchen, bathroom and sitting room, made mostly with mud and straw.
MIDEAST: Israel Hit by Doubts Over U.S.
Inter Press Service
JERUSALEM, May 6 (IPS) - Almost a full fortnight before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is received at the White House, and already political nerves here are all a-jangle. Is a showdown with Israel’s staunch ally about to materialise?
Checkpoint assaults in Jenin, Qalqilya
Stop The Wall
8 May 2009 - In separate incidents last week, soldiers in isolated ghettos in Jenin and Qalqilya assaulted Palestinians passing through checkpoints. These attacks reflect a wide-spread practice of harassment, itself part of a broader strategy aimed at furthering silent transfer and cleansing particular areas of their Palestinian populations. [
(07-05-2009) Attorney General’s Office informs Israeli Supreme Court that No Investigation will be Conducted into Suspected War Crimes Committed in Gaza in 2004; During Hearing Justices Make Pol
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
PCHR
Palestinian and Israeli Human Rights Organisations Release Joint Fact Sheet Calling for an End to International Donor Complicity in Israeli Violations of International Law
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
PCHR
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 23 - 28 April 2009
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
PCHR - During the reporting period, 20 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children, were wounded by IOF and Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
It takes a village
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 7 May 2009 - Montreal’s ties to illegal Israeli settlement - In April, Palestinian activist Bassam Ibrahim Abou Rahme was killed by Israeli military forces after being shot at close range by a teargas canister, becoming the 18th Palestinian to have been killed for protesting against the Israeli wall being built in Bil’in, a farming village. "Bassam was a leader from the Bil’in movement against Israeli apartheid. Everyone in the village loved Bassam, who regularly worked with Israeli activists," remembers Abdullah Abu Rahme, a Bil’in resident and activist. Local residents have held weekly demonstrations every Friday in attempts to alert the world to their cause. Rahme says Bil’in has been severely impacted by the construction of the security wall, which will annex around 50 per cent of village lands, mainly farm lands.
Settlement expansion seeing biggest boost since 2003
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 7 May 2009 - West Bank construction has been accelerating for several months, putting Israel on a collision course with a U. S. administration taking a hard line on settlement expansion. A new outpost, new roads, and other building projects have raced ahead in and around the settlements, often without legal permits, producing the biggest construction drive since 2003, according to Dror Etkes of the Israeli advocacy group Yesh Din. That group monitors construction in the West Bank. The construction, which has sped up even more since Benjamin Netanyahu’s government took office this spring, is to be a main issues in U. S. President Barack Obama’s meeting with Netanyahu at mid-month. Vice President Joe Biden called on Israel on Tuesday to stop building in the settlements and to dismantle existing illegal outposts. However, left-wing groups monitoring events in the territories say the construction has accelerated in recent months, not halted.
Obama accuses Syria of supporting terrorism, undermining U.S.
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday he had renewed sanctions against Syria because it posed a continuing threat to U.S. interests. ...
Obama to deliver speech to Muslim world in June
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - U.S. President Barack Obama, who has pledged to rebuild U.S. relations with the Muslim world, will give a key speech on the issue in Egypt on June 4, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Friday. ...
Pope expresses ’deep respect’ for Islam at beginning of Mideast trip
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - Pope Benedict XVI began a delicate trip to the Middle East on Friday by expressing "deep respect" for Islam and calling for a three-way dialogue of Christians, Muslims and Jews to help peace. ...
’Lieberman sees us Europeans as a bunch of cowards’
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - An expert on German foreign policy accused Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman of "seeing Europeans as a bunch of cowards" Thursday, despite Lieberman’s efforts to avoid media exposure of his visit. ...
Netanyahu: Israel will never withdraw from Golan
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a group of Russian-language reporters Thursday that Israel will never withdraw from the Golan Heights. ...
Allow Hamas some ’ambiguity’ too | Abderrahim Sabir
The Guardian
8 May 2009 - If Israel can be ’constructively ambiguous’ ahead of Netanyahu’s meeting with Obama, Hamas should be granted the same right During his preliminary trip to Washington to smooth his prime minister’s first encounter with President Obama , the...
Gaza: pursuit of the laws of war | Tom Porteous
The Guardian
8 May 2009 - If the UN fails to further investigate crimes committed during the conflict it will ensure stalemate, and more suffering for civilians The Israeli government and its supporters have lashed out at the report of the UN...
Netanyahu’s three-step solution | Simon Tisdall
The Guardian
7 May 2009 - The US expects Israel to participate fully with its Middle East gameplan - but Bibi’s counter-offensive is already taking shape Israel is under siege. More precisely, Binyamin Netanyahu’s government faces excruciating pressure on all sides as...
Bethlehem is silently strangled | Seth Freedman
The Guardian
7 May 2009 - The Israeli military occupation of the town just outside the bubble that is West Jerusalem is a microcosm of life across the territories As reported in today’s Guardian, the military chokehold on Bethlehem is depriving the...
ANALYSIS / Netanyahu is beginning to look worried
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - This week, for the first time since he took office, Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu has been looking worried. People who have spoken with him found him short-tempered, almost testy. The problems piling up on his desk are burying the sweet victory of his return to the Prime Minister’s Bureau: His approaching visit with U.S. President Barack Obama is looking less and less like cause for rejoicing amid the ill winds emanating from Washington. Before that he has Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to deal with, and in between, a budget that skimps on education, welfare and health, and is cruel to children at risk, the unemployed, demobilized soldiers, widows and new mothers. ...
Swine flu victim flies to Israel after diagnosis
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - A seventh confirmed case of swine flu infection was discovered in Israel, the Health Ministry announced on Friday, as a woman who was diagnosed with the virus during her stay in the United States flew to Israel on May 3. ...
Israeli Americans proud one of their own named ambassador to U.S.
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - Some call him the new Moshe Arens, others compare him to Benjamin Netanyahu - either way Michael Oren has become one of Israel’s most prominent English speakers since being named the new ambassador to the United States this week. While many in the local Anglo community celebrated their fellow immigrant’s success, friends and companions reminisced this week about different aspects of the eclectic scholar-turned-diplomat’s personality. ...
Tel Aviv scalpers cashing in on Depeche Mode concert
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - Scalpers are charging up to NIS 800 per ticket for Sunday’s Depeche Mode concert in Tel Aviv. The same tickets cost less than NIS 300 in January. ...
OPT: UN fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict holds first meeting in Geneva
ReliefWeb
8 May 2009 - Source: UN Human Rights Council
US House Committee approves Iraq, Afghanistan war funding
ReliefWeb
7 May 2009 - Source: Voice of America
Endorsement of role of parliaments, inter-parliamentary organizations in advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace process caps Cyprus meeting
ReliefWeb
7 May 2009 - Source: UN General Assembly
Feature - Pills that are Gazans’ little helpers
ReliefWeb
7 May 2009 - Source: Reuters - AlertNet
Lawmakers must engage in Palestinian question since constituents will always confront harsh realities of Middle East peoples, Cyprus meeting told
ReliefWeb
7 May 2009 - Source: UN General Assembly
UNRWA emergency appeal progress report, Jan - Jun 2008
ReliefWeb
7 May 2009 - Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
Lebanon’s political, security situation markedly improved, after being taken to ’brink of civil war and back’ one year ago, Security Council told
ReliefWeb
7 May 2009 - Source: UN Security Council
IDF officer killed in traffic accident
YNetNews
8 May 2009 - Captain Faraj Haib, of Bedouin scout unit, hit by commercial vehicle while driving mini-tractor
US renews sanctions on Syria
YNetNews
8 May 2009 - State Department says Obama has ’serious concerns about Syrian behavior, activities in world’
UN team to probe Gaza war
YNetNews
8 May 2009 - Human rights experts preparing to investigate alleged IDF ’war crimes’ call for Israel’s cooperation
Lebanon arrests three Israel ’spies’
YNetNews
8 May 2009 - Two brothers among detainees in alleged spy ring case, in which 16 people have been arrested so far
Fayyad calls for end to land expropriation
YNetNews
8 May 2009 - Palestinian prime minister attends Friday prayer in east Jerusalem, promises residents to thwart Netanyahu government’s plan to confiscate property in Abu Dis area
Minister urges pope to condemn Shoah deniers
YNetNews
8 May 2009 - Days before Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Israel, Religious Services Minister Yakov Margi sends letter asking him to unequivocally condemn anti-Semites during visit to Yad Vashem. Meanwhile, 80,000 policy, security guards prepare for visits, receive specific instructions to maintain appearance as world watches
7th case of swine flu diagnosed in Israel
YNetNews
8 May 2009 - As World Health Organization urges gov’ts to stay alert for possible pandemic of H1N1 virus, warns ’third of world’s population could be infected’, tests show woman who returned to Israel from US had contracted flu and recovered
3 policemen indicted for assaulting Palestinian in Tel Aviv
B’tselem
5 May 2009 - On 3 May ’09, indictments were filed against three policemen, charging them with assaulting Tareq Abu Laban, in Tel Aviv, in June ’08. According to Abu Laban, the three forced him into a police car and beat and abused him severely during a ride in it.
State Attorney’s Office to Police: Forbidden to fire tear-gas canisters directly at demonstrators
B’tselem
3 May 2009 - The SAO’s directive follows several warnings by B’Tselem to law-enforcement authorities in the West Bank about the life-threatening danger inherent in firing tear-gas canisters at people. A demonstrator in Bi’lin was recently killed when struck by a tear-
Obama charts active role in Middle East peacemaking
Daily Star
8 May 2009 - The impending arrival of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will start an unpredictable engagement by President Barack Obama in trying to shift the Middle East from a tense standoff to Arab-Israeli peacemaking. Netanyahu, due at the White House May 18, has signaled he intends to resist a key plank in Obama’s program:
US renews sanctions against Syria despite thaw
Daily Star
8 May 2009 - The Obama administration has renewed sanctions against Syria due to "serious concerns" over its behavior, despite sending two envoys to Damascus this week to try to improve ties, US officials said on Friday. "The president felt it was necessary," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood.
Pope voices ’deep respect’ for Islam at start of Holy Land tour
Daily Star
8 May 2009 - Pope Benedict XVI underlined his "deep respect" for Islam on Friday in Jordan, on his first trip as pontiff to an Arab state, and stressed that religious freedom is a fundamental human right. Speaking after a red carpet welcome from King Abdullah II and Queen Rania at Queen Alia Airport at the start of an eight-day tour of the Holy Land.
Arab League seeks UN court ruling on Jerusalem violations
Daily Star
8 May 2009 - Arab League foreign ministers said Thursday they will ask the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) to rule on Israeli violations in Occupied Arab East Jerusalem. At the end of an extraordinary meeting at Arab League headquarters in Cairo the ministers said in a statement they decided to set up a committee of international law experts to prepare a case against Israel.
Germany urges Israel not back away from peace process
Daily Star
8 May 2009 - Germany urged Avigdor Lieberman, wrapping up his first visit to Europe as Israel’s foreign minister Friday, not to back away from the peace process with the Palestinians, the Foreign Ministry said. During talks with Lieberman late Thursday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Israel.
Palestinians in Gaza turn to drugs to escape increased trauma and hardship
Daily Star
8 May 2009 - Palestinians struggling to cope with the Israeli blockade of Gaza and the trauma of war are turning to painkillers and tranquillizers at a rate that risks triggering a wave of addiction. There is also evidence of mounting recreational drug use as Gaza drifts in limbo, with no clear political future.
Salah exposes new Zionist plans to Judaize Jerusalem
Palestinian Information Center
8 May 2009 - The prominent Muslim leader in the 1948-occupied Palestinian lands Shiekh Raed Salah has exposed on Thursday an Israeli scheme which targets the Muslim identity of Jerusalem.
Hanna: No peace without Jerusalem
Palestinian Information Center
8 May 2009 - The prominent Palestinian Christian figure archimandrite Atallah Hanna has called on the Arab countries to immediately mobilize to save the occupied city of Jerusalem..
Hassanein: kidney patients in Gaza suffer due to the siege
Palestinian Information Center
8 May 2009 - Medical sources in the besieged Gaza Strip have warned that the number of kidney patients in Gaza was increasing rapidly as a result of the Israeli closure of the Strip’s crossing points..
Barhoum: Talks on the Arab peace initiative waste of time
Palestinian Information Center
8 May 2009 - Fawzi Barhoum, the spokesman of Hamas Movement in Gaza Strip, has strongly deplored talks on reviving the Arab peace initiative..
Mishaal: Palestinian constants should not be compromised
Palestinian Information Center
8 May 2009 - Khaled Mishaal, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, said Thursday that no one is entitled to compromise the Palestinian national constants or negotiate them..
Arab Foreign Ministers decide to file a lawsuit against occupation
Palestinian Information Center
8 May 2009 - Arab Foreign Ministers meeting in Cairo on Thursday decided to file a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice against the Israeli occupation for its drive to Judaize Jerusalem.
Hamdan calls for withdrawing the Arab initiative
Palestinian Information Center
8 May 2009 - Osama Hamdan, the representative of the Hamas Movement in Lebanon, has asked the Arab countries to drop the Arab peace initiative rather than drop the Palestinian refugees’ right of return.
Awad castigates Ban Ki-moon for blocking further probe of Israeli war crimes
Palestinian Information Center
8 May 2009 - Mohammed Awad, the secretary general of the Palestinian cabinet, has denounced the UN Secretary General for neglecting the international report that condemned Israeli war crimes in Gaza Strip.
Disabled Palestinians stage sit-in at the Rafah border crossing
Palestinian Information Center
8 May 2009 - The government committee against siege has called for the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and to allow entry of electric wheelchairs and other medical equipment to the disabled.
Mousa: Netanyahu’s peace conditions unacceptable
Palestinian Information Center
8 May 2009 - Amr Mousa, the Arab League Secretary General, has lashed out at Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s conditions for peace during an AIPAC speech, describing them as "unacceptable".
Jordan first stop on pope’s Holy Land visit
Los Angeles Times
8 May 2009 - Pope Benedict XVI is to arrive today in Amman, the Jordanian capital. His words will be carefully parsed in the region, where he is viewed with aloofness, anger and faint hope. Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Jordan today on a three-day pilgrimage to bless a tiny Catholic population and improve the Vatican’s relations with a Muslim world greeting him with aloofness, anger and a slight hope that he may advance peace in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Pope, Hope in Hand, Arrives in Mideast
New York Times
8 May 2009 - Pope Benedict XVI, who has made missteps that angered Jews and Muslims, arrived in Jordan on Friday to begin a regional visit.
World Briefing | Middle East: Egypt: Uranium Traces Are Studied
New York Times
6 May 2009 - The International Atomic Energy Agency is investigating traces of highly enriched uranium it found at a nuclear research site in Egypt, according to a report by the group, obtained by Reuters.
World Briefing | Middle East: Gaza Militants and Israel Exchange Fire
New York Times
6 May 2009 - Militants in Gaza fired mortar shells into a field in southern Israel, and Israel retaliated with airstrikes on three smuggling tunnels along Gaza’s border with Egypt, the Israeli military said.
Palestinian fighter killed in Gaza
International Middle East Media Center
7 May 2009 - The Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, stated on Thursday that one of its fighters was killed on Wednesday evening during what the brigades described as a "special mission".
Israeli soldier killed by ’friendly fire’ near Ramallah
International Middle East Media Center
7 May 2009 - Israeli military sources reported on Thursday at dawn that one soldier was shot and killed during an invasion into Bir Zeit city, north east of the central West Bank city of Ramallah.
Peace Now files petition against illegal outposts
International Middle East Media Center
8 May 2009 - Israeli Peace Now Movement filed on Thursday a petition to the High Court demanding Israel’s Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, and Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Gadi Shamni, to issue orders immediately stopping construction in Halamish - Neve Tzuf illegal settlement.
PCHR Weekly Report: 3 Palestinians killed, 14 injured by Israeli forces this week
International Middle East Media Center
7 May 2009 - According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, during the week of 29 April - 06 May 2009, two Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of the collapse of a tunnel bombarded by Israeli forces. - Israeli forces also killed a mentally disabled Palestinian civilian at the entrance to the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.
United Nations Report: Israeli army 'negligent’ and 'reckless’ in Gaza
International Middle East Media Center
7 May 2009 - The four-member Board of Inquiry appointed by the United Nations to investigate Israel’s attacks on UN facilities during its December-January invasion of the Gaza Strip has released a report of its findings.
The Israeli military kidnaps 16 civilians during attacks targeting the West Bank
International Middle East Media Center
7 May 2009 - 16 Palestinian civilians were kidnapped by Israeli troops during predawn military invasion targeting West Bank cities on Thursday.
Small number of patients and aid supplies enter the Gaza strip via Rafah
International Middle East Media Center
7 May 2009 - 20 Palestinian patients in addition to 420 tons of food supplies were allowed into Gaza on Thursday via the Rafah Border Crossing with Egypt.
Navy forces kidnap fishermen near Gaza City while jet fighters bombard open areas
International Middle East Media Center
7 May 2009 - Israeli naval forces kidnapped on Thursday midday Palestinian fishermen off the Gaza City shore while jet fighters shelled open areas in the city.
Abbas to present Obama with a plan to resolve Middle East conflict
International Middle East Media Center
7 May 2009 - Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported that Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, stated Wednesday that he along with the Egyptian President, Mahmoud Abbas, are planning to present the US President, Barack Obama with a comprehensive vision of a solution to the Middle East conflict.
Netanyahu to offer Autonomy, not a state
International Middle East Media Center
7 May 2009 - Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Aharonoth, reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to inform the US president, Barack Obama, that his government would support the establishment of an autonomous Palestinian Authority, but will not accept a two-state solution.
Mousa: 'Netanyahu’s preconditions are unacceptable'
International Middle East Media Center
7 May 2009 - Arab League Secretary-General, Amro Mousa, stated that the statements of Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his preconditions for "peace" are unacceptable, and that the Arabs will not accept a partial solution.
Abbas to ask Fayyad to form a new transitional government
International Middle East Media Center
7 May 2009 - Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, stated the he intends to ask Dr. Salaam Fayyad, to form a new transitional government. The President added that he does not believe that reassigning Fayyad would negatively affect internal Palestinian unity talks, especially Hamas-Fateh talks.
UN chief slams Hezbollah for activities in Egypt
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - New United Nations report says Hezbollah engaging in clandestine activities beyond Lebanon.
IDF soldier killed during West Bank raid
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - Army probing whether death near Ramallah was caused by ’friendly fire’ incident or shooting by gunman.
Nine Bedouin ’terror suspects’ have charges reduced
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - Group earlier suspected of plotting attacks indicted of disorderly conduct, endangering lives on highway.
Gaza militants fire mortar, anti-tank missile at IDF troops
Ha’aretz
7 May 2009 - No casualties; soldiers were operating south of Gaza; on Wed. , IAF bombed Gaza tunnels after mortar salvo.
IDF troops kill Palestinian near Hebron holy site
Ha’aretz
6 May 2009 - Soldiers say they opened fire when man refused to heed orders to halt; IDF soldier lightly hurt from shrapnel.
Defense official: Israel has no territorial claims to Ghajar
Ha’aretz
6 May 2009 - Senior army officers meet to discuss UN proposal for Israeli withdrawal from divided Lebanon border village.
IDF bombs three Gaza tunnels, after militants fire shells at Negev
Ha’aretz
6 May 2009 - Four people wounded in Gaza attack, none in Negev; strike comes despite Hamas declaration rocket fire has ceased.
Israel pushing forward on plans to exit Lebanon border village
Ha’aretz
5 May 2009 - Senior army officers from Israel, Lebanon and the UN to meet in two weeks at border crossing.
Palestinian, Israeli NGOs condemn 'donor complicity' in Israeli rights violations
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - "By agreeing to reconstruction without specific, binding assurances from the State of Israel, international donors are effectively underwriting Israel’s illegal actions in the occupied Palestinian territory," a report released Thursday by local rights groups said. The report continued, "International law - including, international human rights law, international humanitarian law (IHL), and the law of state responsibility for wrongful acts - places specific, binding obligations on the State of Israel (based, inter alia, on its duties as an Occupying Power) with respect to the maintenance and development of normal life in occupied territory. By repeatedly restricting their action to providing aid, without holding Israel accountable for its specific obligations, international donors are relieving Israel of its legally binding responsibilities.
Farmers barred from lands in two Ramallah-area villages
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Ramallah - Ma’an - Palestinian farmers in two villages near the West Bank city of Ramallah have been barred from working on their land in order to make way for the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements. According to senior officials in the Palestinian People’s Party, two farmers from the villages of Ras Karkar and Al-Janiya have been told by the Israeli military Coordination office that they are not allowed to work their land, which lies near the settlement outpost of Zen Ra’nan. The order was issued on the pretext of security for the settlers in the area. According to the officials, dozens of dunams of land are now under threat of being seized to make way for settlements. The PPP condemned the order which they said "will give the settlers freedom of movement to confiscate more lands expanding attacks on the trees and other plants in the area.
Israeli navy seizes four Gaza fishermen, fires on boat
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Israeli warships surrounded and seized a fishing boat and four fishermen on the coast near Gaza City Thursday afternoon. Eyewitnessed said several boats obstructed the path of the shipping vessel, which was on its way out to sea when the naval ships opened fire on the boat. The boat belongs Abd Al-Mu’ti Al-Hbeil, who is believed to be one of those detained. The three others have not been identified. No injuries have been reported. [end]
Israel prevents Palestinian official from travelling to South Africa
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israel blocked a top Palestinian official from travelling to South Africa on Thursday where he intended to join celebrations for the election of African National Congress (ANC) leader Jacob Zuma’s election as president. Abdul Rahim Mallouh was turned back at the Israeli-controlled Allenby Bridge border crossing, which is the only means for Palestinians from the West bank to leave the country. Mallouh, a member of the executive committee of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), had been designated by President Mahmoud Abbas to represent Palestine at the celebration on Saturday. Israel has stopped Mallouh at the border in the past. The PFLP issued a statement condemning this. "This systematic policy will not stop the struggle of the Palestinians to gain their rights and will not harm relations between Palestine and South Africa.
Zahhar: Hamas wants to reinstate PLC
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Hamas has demanded that it be allowed to keep its majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) by allowing lawmakers jailed by Israel to vote by proxy, senior leader Mahmoud Zahhar said. In an interview with an Egyptian magazine, Zahhar said that Fatah rejected this request, instead proposing a "safety net" though which Fatah could veto decisions made by the Hamas majority. Zahhar did not say whether Hamas accepted or rejected this counterproposal. He said that the PLC’s function was cancelled when Israel jailed 40 of its members, and further destroyed it by assassinating Hamas Interior Minister Sa’id Siyam in January. He also confirmed that the two rival factions had agreed at the last round of talks in Cairo on 27 and 28 April that they would not sign an accord until agreement had been reached on all issues.
Abbas to anounce new government next week
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Ma’an has learned that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will announce the formation of a new government headed by current caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad early next week. According to credible sources, the government will include ministers representing Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) factions. Several ministers in the current government will keep their posts. Abbas announced on Tuesday on a visit to Egypt that he would ask Fayyad to head the new government. Fayyad tendered his resignation in March in a move he hoped would pave way for a unity government including Fatah and its rival Hamas. Fatah and Hamas have engaged in three rounds of talks this year in hopes of forming unity government. Expectations are extremely low for another round set for later in May. Abbas first appointed Fayyad, a moderate economist favored by the West,. . .
Hundreds of refugees stage sit-in at UNRWA offices; demand expanded services
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Hundreds of Palestinian refugees gathered in the UNRWA centers at Gaza refugee camps across the Strip Thursday, demanding an improvement in their living situation following a war and two years of siege. The joint action was organized by the Palestine People’s Party (PPP), which printed banners demanding emergency aid be doubled and delivered to an expanded list of Gazans including the unemployed and those needing urgent medical attention. PPP Central Committee member Raed Abu Zaid spoke to crowds at the Dir Al- Balah center and called for Gazans to increase their pressure on the agency to help more. He also praised the efforts of UNRWA chief John Ging, but urged for more given the dire situation in the Gaza Strip. Following a one hour sit-in the protesters handed a list of their demands to Ging’s office.
European ’Hope Convoy’ bringing aid for the blind to Gaza
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - A European anti-siege convoy bound for the Gaza Strip next week is bringing, among other supplies, 25 copies of special computer software to help the blind. According to the Secretary General of Palestine Charity Union in Austria, Hani Ibrahim, the Hope Convoy, which left Italy for the Egyptian port of Alexandria on Sunday, is also bring a variety of medical supplies. The software will be distributed to universities, colleges and rehabilitation centers in Gaza. Each copy costs 25,000 euro. The software translates files and text from the computer screen into spoken English and Arabic words, allowing blind and weak-sighted people to surf the internet, use email and other computer applications. Ibrahim says the program is "essential for such cases living under siege for the third year, and it enables them develop their education and offers them independence.
Nakba commemorative events set
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Ramallah - Ma’an - The High National Committee for commemorating the 61st anniversary of the Nakba (the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in 1948) met on Thursday in its office in the West Bank City of Ramallah. Representatives of ministries, political factions and committees from the refugee camps attended the meeting. The officials agreed on the necessity of efforts on all levels for a successful national program of commemorative events. On Thursday 14 May, there will be a central rally in Ramallah marking the Nakba. The committee affirmed this year’s actions will include all generations’ organizations. The group urged Palestinians to participate in media and cultural activities, rallies meetings, and seminars. The final program will be officially announced at press conference that that at the Ministry of Information in Ramallah on Sunday.
Al-Qassam brigadesman killed during 'special mission' in northern Gaza
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - One fighter from Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades died Thursday during what leaders called a "special mission" in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun. A statement from the group identified the man as 23-year-old Tala’at Ismail Al-Afefi, who reportedly died while carrying out a resistance attack from Gaza’s "playground of death. "On Wednesday Israeli aircraft injured four in an airstrike on smuggling tunnels in the Rafah border area, at the southern end of the Strip. In their statement the brigades reaffirmed their "commitment and determination to continue the resistance against the belligerent occupation forces. "
Israeli soldier killed by own fire near Ramallah as troops detain six Palesinians
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - A gunshot to the head killed an Israeli officer in the West Bank during a nightly raid of Palestinian areas. Israeli media confirmed Thursday afternoon that the soldier was believed to have been injured by a shot from his own weapon. Israeli forces entered the West Bank in what they called a "Duchifat Reconnaissance Unit operational activity," or raid, and seized five Palestinians from their homes near Ramallah, Bethlehem and Nablus; when they entered Birzeit, a university town just north of Ramallah, the soldier was shot. According to early reports"the circumstances of the incident are being investigated," and no Palestinian gunman was mentioned or suggested, hinting at an internal investigation into Israeli military operations. Six Palestinians detained - Israeli forces broke into the student resident buildings just off the Birzeit campus and took six students from their beds.
Rafah woman injured by Israeli fire
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - A Gazan farmer woman was injured by Israeli fire south of Rafah on Thursday, and taken to Abu Yousef An-Najjar hospital in for treatment. The woman, identified as 35-year-old Randa Shaloufeh, was working her land near the Israeli-Gaza border when soldiers fired at her. Farmers are increasingly fearful of such attacks and many have let their land go to seed despite the Strip’s dire economic situation. [end]
Gaza heats up; three militant groups launch attacks on Israeli targets
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Israeli soldiers came under attack near the southern Israeli-Gaza border early Thursday, Israel Radio said. The troops were reportedly hit with a number of mortar shells and anti-tank projectiles, though no damages or injuries were reported. Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades, claimed to have launched five mortar shells at Israeli targets and sites in the western Negev Wednesday morning. A homemade projectile was sent over the border wall in the evening, though no militant group has claimed the launch. The projectile reportedly landed outside of Ashkelon and caused no injuries. Also Wednesday night the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said they fired mortar rounds at the Israeli military. Israeli attacks also increasingAlready in the first week of May there have been two airstrikes and two shooting incidents.
Report: Settlement construction fastest since 2003
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - Israel is expanding illegal West Bank settlements at the fastest rate since 2003, the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din said on Thursday. The group told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that Israel set up a new settlement "outpost," paved new roads, and has been "racing" to finish construction in and around the settlements over recent months. The construction has reportedly sped up since the new Israeli government, headed by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, took office in March, despite growing international calls for construction to stop. According to Haaretz’s report, accelerated construction is taking place throughout the West Bank, east and West of Israel’s separation wall. The reports attributes the increase in part to reduced vigilance in the late days of the government of Ehud Olmert.
Israel: Gazans using fake medical papers to leave Strip and look for work
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israeli Intelligence forces marked an increase in fake medical papers and documents being submitted to Israeli border officials by Palestinians in Gaza. The permits allow the patients to enter Israel. The permits are issued by Israeli authorities, who claim most of the patients are "not sick," and only want to enter the area to find work in Israel or the West Bank. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reports Gaza’s jobless rate at 40. 6% for 2008. With no construction materials permitted into Gaza there are no construction jobs. The Israeli report noted concern that Palestinian fighters would use the "fake papers" to carry out attacks.
International pressure sees Netanyahu okay cash transfer into Gaza
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israel will allow 12. 1 million US dollars in physical cash into Gaza next week, partially alleviating a shortage that has prevented payment of government salaries and allowances. The announcement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite his previously voiced opposition to such transfers, came one day after the EU announcement that it had managed to get a "limited amount" of cash into the Gaza Strip to pay long overdue social benefits to 24,000 of Gaza’s poorest families. The payments, due in March, were funded by the Italian government through the EU’s PEGASE program. They were unable to deliver their donation, however, because Israel has refused to let cash into the Strip. According to Netanyahu’s office the amount being transferred in "is the minimum required. "The transfer will come a week after Palestinian Authority employees in the West Bank receive their paychecks.
UN’s Ban meets Israel’s Peres over UN report on Israeli acts in Gaza
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon met Israeli President Shimon Peres in New York Wednesday to discuss the United Nations Board of Inquiry report that probed incidents "affecting the world body’s personnel, premises and operations during the recent conflict in Gaza. "On Tuesday Ban sent his personal review of a UN report, separate from the Human Rights Council investigation mandated by the UN Human Rights Council currently underway, which investigated only Israel’s culpability in the destruction of UN property and resources during the war on Gaza. The report found that Israel intentionally fired at UN targets causing severe damage and death, A UN report investigating the destruction of UNRWA and UN properties and equipment during the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. The UN report suggested court action against Israel for the willful destruction of UN property, but did not go as far as accusing the country of war crimes.
Blair promotes peace process in Bethlehem
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Quartet Envoy to the Middle East Tony Blair visited the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Thursday to promote his view that the peace process may be renewed soon. Blair reiterated remarks he made on Tuesday that the next few weeks will be critical as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak all meet with US President Barack Obama. After the three Washington meetings, Blair said on Tuesday, the Quartet (a grouping of the EU, UN, US and Russia that Blair represents) is likely to meet to agree on a new framework for peacemaking based on the two state solution. He also noted that the new Israeli government is still formulating its policy vis-à-vis the peace process. Blair was speaking after meeting Bethlehem Governor Salah Ta’mari and local security chief A’mran Abu Hadeed.
Netanyahu to meet Mubarak in Egypt on Monday
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israel’s right wing new Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Egypt on Monday in his first trip abroad in his current term as head of government. Netanyahu will hold talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm Ash-Sheikh. Observers say the trip signals the importance Israel places on its relations with Egypt, one of only two Arab states with which it has full relations. Egypt is also strategically critical since it is the broker in indirect negotiation between Israel and the Hamas-run government in Gaza. The visit also precedes by a week Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, where US President Barack Obama is expected to ask him to renew peace talks with the Palestinian Authority based on a two-state resolution to the Middle East impasse.
Mash’al: Outside intervention threatens unity
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Success of conciliation talks rests on three points, Hamas’ leader in exile Khalid Mash’al told videoconference participants in Gaza City on Thursday. The videoconference was organized by the Gazan center for Research, Study and Training (Ibda’a) and gave Mash’al a platform to explain his stance on conciliation to a group of citizens. The issue of the new transitional government, the security services and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) are the central issued, Mash’al confirmed, but working out these issues will require some serious efforts to eliminating "external conditions," he said. He suggested the remaining "dialogue issues" be dealt with as a package. Sides must realize that division came about when external factors staged a coup that undermined the elected government, he said.
Hamas: Arabs should withdraw peace plan
Ma’an News Agency
5/7/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Hamas called on Thursday for Arab States to withdraw a 2002 peace initiative that offers Israel full diplomatic relations if it withdraws to its 1967 borders, arguing that Israel has responded to the offer only with more violence. Israel responded to the Arab Peace Initiative with "tanks and airplanes, beginning with invading the West Bank killing hundreds, expelling Palestinians from Jerusalem expanding settlement, and building the Wall, concluding with the latest massacre of the civilians and children of Gaza," said Hamas Spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum in a statement. These remarks came a day after the London-based newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported that moderate Arab states were drafting a revised version of the plan that would cancel the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in what is now Israel.
UN: Israel is found guilty
The Palestine Telegraph
Gaza Strip, May 6 (Pal Telegraph) - A United Nations inquiry into the war in Gaza has found that Israel was to blame for at least seven direct attacks on UN operations - including schools and medical centres.
NAKBA 2009 - Melbourne remembers
The Palestine Telegraph
Australia, May 6 (Pal Telegraph) - For this year’s Nakba commemoration, Australians for Palestine and Women forPalestine are presenting something rather different from the usualexhibitions and public lectures.
Gaza aid convoy in the Mediterranean
The Palestine Telegraph
Italy, May 5, 2009 - The climax to the Seventh Palestinians in Europe conference was the launch of the long anticipated "Hope for Gaza convoy’. The convoy is moving to Gaza and recently is in the Mediterranean carried by a shipping boat....
Hamas is ready for Peace
The Palestine Telegraph
Gaza, May 5, (Pal Telegraph) - In a speech delivered by, Hamas Premier in Gaza; Ismail Hanya showed full readiness for dialogue with Europeans for peace. The speech was delivered for thousands of Palestinians living in Europe within the seventh annual International...
UN probes Israel’s interrogation of Gaza patients
The Palestine Telegraph
Gaza, May 4, (Pal Telegraph) - The UN’s Committee against Torture is investigating Israel’s interrogation of Palestinian patients, who sought treatment outside the Gaza Strip.
Report on Bethlehem faults Israel
Al Jazeera
7 May 2009 - UN office says just 13 per cent of West Bank city’s land is available for Palestinians.
Peres condemns UN Gaza report
Al Jazeera
6 May 2009 - Israeli president blasts report on UN Gaza attacks as "outrageous".
Israel rejects nuclear pact call
Al Jazeera
6 May 2009 - The region’s only reported atomic power refuses to sign non-proliferation treaty.
US: Israel must back two-state deal
Al Jazeera
5 May 2009 - Vice-president says settlement building must stop, but commits to support for Israel.
Israel says security vital to peace
Al Jazeera
5 May 2009 - Government wants peace but will not compromise security, PM tells US Israeli lobby.
MIDEAST: Israel Hit by Doubts Over U.S.
Inter Press Service
JERUSALEM, May 6 (IPS) - Almost a full fortnight before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is received at the White House, and already political nerves here are all a-jangle. Is a showdown with Israel’s staunch ally about to materialise?
Q&A: ’We Eat Hatred Here’
Inter Press Service
TEL AVIV, May 6 (IPS) - Beit Daniel is an Israeli pluralist religious organisation promoting coexistence between Jews and Muslims in the Holy Land. Executive director Rabbi Meir Azari speaks here to IPS about the war in Gaza, the importance of compromise, and the moral dilemmas of Israel.
POLITICS: U.N. Inquiry Critical of Israeli Attacks in Gaza
Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, May 5 (IPS) - A detailed 184-page report critical of Israeli attacks on U. N. personnel and buildings during the Gaza conflict last December-January has been meticulously stripped down to a 27-page document - mostly due to political sensitivities and on security grounds.
(07-05-2009) Attorney General’s Office informs Israeli Supreme Court that No Investigation will be Conducted into Suspected War Crimes Committed in Gaza in 2004; During Hearing Justices Make Pol
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
PCHR
Palestinian and Israeli Human Rights Organisations Release Joint Fact Sheet Calling for an End to International Donor Complicity in Israeli Violations of International Law
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
PCHR
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 23 - 28 April 2009
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
PCHR - During the reporting period, 20 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children, were wounded by IOF and Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
It takes a village
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 7 May 2009 - Montreal’s ties to illegal Israeli settlement - In April, Palestinian activist Bassam Ibrahim Abou Rahme was killed by Israeli military forces after being shot at close range by a teargas canister, becoming the 18th Palestinian to have been killed for protesting against the Israeli wall being built in Bil’in, a farming village. "Bassam was a leader from the Bil’in movement against Israeli apartheid. Everyone in the village loved Bassam, who regularly worked with Israeli activists," remembers Abdullah Abu Rahme, a Bil’in resident and activist. Local residents have held weekly demonstrations every Friday in attempts to alert the world to their cause. Rahme says Bil’in has been severely impacted by the construction of the security wall, which will annex around 50 per cent of village lands, mainly farm lands.
Settlement expansion seeing biggest boost since 2003
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 7 May 2009 - West Bank construction has been accelerating for several months, putting Israel on a collision course with a U. S. administration taking a hard line on settlement expansion. A new outpost, new roads, and other building projects have raced ahead in and around the settlements, often without legal permits, producing the biggest construction drive since 2003, according to Dror Etkes of the Israeli advocacy group Yesh Din. That group monitors construction in the West Bank. The construction, which has sped up even more since Benjamin Netanyahu’s government took office this spring, is to be a main issues in U. S. President Barack Obama’s meeting with Netanyahu at mid-month. Vice President Joe Biden called on Israel on Tuesday to stop building in the settlements and to dismantle existing illegal outposts. However, left-wing groups monitoring events in the territories say the construction has accelerated in recent months, not halted.
Syria: No need to amend Arab peace initiative
Ha’aretz
6 May 2009 - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said Thursday there was no justification for amending a 2002 Saudi peace offer to Israel after reports earlier in the week that Arab states were revising the initiative. ...
Abbas to form new government without Hamas deputies
Ha’aretz
6 May 2009 - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas plans to ask his prime minister within the coming week to form a new government without the Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers, signaling a breakdown in unity talks with the Islamic militant group. ...
Egypt official ’reminds’ Israel of its war crimes against Arabs
Ha’aretz
6 May 2009 - The Speaker of the Egyptian Parliament on Thursday "reminded" his counterpart in Jerusalem of "war crimes" Israel had committed against Arabs in response to a letter from him comparing Iran’s president to Adolf Hitler. ...
Kibbutzniks block Gaza crossing to prevent transfer of cash
Ha’aretz
6 May 2009 - Kibbutz Movement activists on Thursday blocked the entrance to the Erez border crossing to prevent the transfer of cash to the Gaza Strip. ...
German paper: Berlin pressures firms to limit Iran trade
Ha’aretz
6 May 2009 - The German government is increasing pressure on companies to curb business with Iran and even tried to stop a business conference attended by the Islamic Republic’s oil minister, Handelsblatt daily said on Thursday. ...
Netanyahu’s three-step solution | Simon Tisdall
The Guardian
7 May 2009 - The US expects Israel to participate fully with its Middle East gameplan - but Bibi’s counter-offensive is already taking shape Israel is under siege. More precisely, Binyamin Netanyahu’s government faces excruciating pressure on all sides as...
Bethlehem is silently strangled | Seth Freedman
The Guardian
7 May 2009 - The Israeli military occupation of the town just outside the bubble that is West Jerusalem is a microcosm of life across the territories As reported in today’s Guardian, the military chokehold on Bethlehem is depriving the...
The UN on Gaza: partial and partisan | Robbie Sabel
The Guardian
7 May 2009 - For Ban Ki-moon to disown the UN report on Gaza speaks volumes about the credibility of its claims of Israeli misconduct There is an asymmetry peculiar to the laws of armed conflict. Hamas knowingly and deliberately...
Steve Bell on pro-Israeli group’s bid to halt policy shift
The Guardian
6 May 2009 - Aipac urges Congress members to sign letter to Barack Obama calling for Israel to set pace of negotiations with Palestinians
Petah Tikva man accused of raping woman while posing as rabbi
Ha’aretz
6 May 2009 - A Petah Tikva man was arrested early on Thursday on suspicion raping a woman who regularly came to his house to get his blessing, after he presented himself as an eminent rabbi. ...
Shari Arison, Mideast’s wealthiest woman, to divorce husband
Ha’aretz
6 May 2009 - Bank Hapoalim owner Shari Arison announced Wednesday she will divorce her husband of six years, Ofer Glazer. The announcement comes amid a dispute between Hapoalim and the Bank of Israel, which is demanding the dismissal of Hapoalim chairman Danny Dankner. ...
Police: IDF soldiers invented school to cheat army out of thousands
Ha’aretz
6 May 2009 - Hundreds of soldiers defrauded the Discharged Soldiers Department by pretending to be students of a fictitious educational establishment, cashing in their education benefits, police said Wednesday. ...
Agriculture Ministry allowed sale of arsenic-tainted poultry
Ha’aretz
6 May 2009 - From 2003 to 2006, a growth stimulant containing arsenic was fed to chickens and pigs raised in Israel, according to a report issued Wednesday by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss. This happened with the knowledge of the Agriculture Ministry, the report said. ...
Israel confirms fifth case of swine flu
Ha’aretz
5 May 2009 - The Health Ministry announced on Wednesday that a woman quarantined at a Nahariya hospital has indeed contracted swine flu, bringing to five the total number of Israel who have so far been diagnosed with the disease. ...
OPT: PCHR Annual Report 2008
ReliefWeb
6 May 2009 - Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
Ban sends report of UN probe into Gaza incidents to Security Council
ReliefWeb
6 May 2009 - Source: UN News Service
Israel gives Palestinians access to Hebron street
ReliefWeb
6 May 2009 - Source: Agence France-Presse
Transcript of press conference by UN SG Ban Ki-moon at UN Headquarters, 5 May 2009
ReliefWeb
5 May 2009 - Source: UN Secretary-General
Israel rejects blame in UN report for Gaza deaths
ReliefWeb
5 May 2009 - Source: Deutsche Presse Agentur
OPT: Israel’s cash limitations threaten Gaza banks
ReliefWeb
5 May 2009 - Source: Reuters
Palestinian unity, rebuilding of Gaza vital to maintain calm - UN envoy
ReliefWeb
5 May 2009 - Source: UN News Service
UN chief alarmed at Hizbullah actions in Egypt
YNetNews
7 May 2009 - Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen says Ban concerned over Shiite group’s admission it provided support to Gaza terrorists from Egypt, reiterates call to disarm all Lebanese militias
Deputy FM: No link between Iran, Palestinians
YNetNews
7 May 2009 - ’We must try to resolve the Palestinian issue as if the Iranian threat does not exist,’ Ayalon tells Bar-Ilan University. Adds: Annapolis was a mistake
UN says Israel gnawing at Bethlehem sovereignty
YNetNews
7 May 2009 - Humanitarian agency report claims Israel limiting movement to east Jerusalem, says security barrier will cause long-term harm to 21,000 Palestinians
Netanyahu: Cancel budget cuts affecting the weak
YNetNews
7 May 2009 - PM instructs Treasury to omit State budget bill articles that would hurt Holocaust survivors, handicapped; earlier Histadrut chief Eini says will ask Labor chief Barak to quit coalition if problematic articles are not canceled
Palestinians scrap plan to host pope near barrier
YNetNews
7 May 2009 - Committee organizing West Bank portion of Benedict XVI’s visit moves stage from towering concrete section of security barrier to UN school ’after huge Israeli pressure’; Jerusalem says PA trying to politicize papal visit
Palestinian president to form new government
YNetNews
7 May 2009 - Aide to President Mahmoud Abbas says current power-sharing talks between Fatah, Hamas ’could last for years’, says Abbas to ask his prime minister within coming week to form new government without Hamas. Meanwhile, next round of Egyptian-brokered talks to take place on May 16
3 policemen indicted for assaulting Palestinian in Tel Aviv
B’tselem
5 May 2009 - On 3 May ’09, indictments were filed against three policemen, charging them with assaulting Tareq Abu Laban, in Tel Aviv, in June ’08. According to Abu Laban, the three forced him into a police car and beat and abused him severely during a ride in it.
State Attorney’s Office to Police: Forbidden to fire tear-gas canisters directly at demonstrators
B’tselem
3 May 2009 - The SAO’s directive follows several warnings by B’Tselem to law-enforcement authorities in the West Bank about the life-threatening danger inherent in firing tear-gas canisters at people. A demonstrator in Bi’lin was recently killed when struck by a tear-
Obama envoys seek to repair Syria ties
Daily Star
7 May 2009 - An Obama envoy in Syria to try to repair strained ties assured Damascus Thursday that the US was committed to pursuing a comprehensive Middle East peace that would include the Syria-Israel track. The visit to Syria by Jeffrey Feltman, the State Department’s top Middle East envoy.
Abbas plans new government that will exclude Hamas
Daily Star
7 May 2009 - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas plans to ask his prime minister within the coming week to form a new government without the Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers, signaling a breakdown in unity talks with the Islamic group. Months of power-sharing talks between Abbas’ Fatah movement and Hamas have gone nowhere.
Blair: Palestinian-Israeli peace talks must address core issues
Daily Star
7 May 2009 - Renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians must tackle core issues including Jerusalem, Middle East envoy Tony Blair said, raising the specter of a clash with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Unless you’re dealing with the core issues, then the negotiation, I don’t know what it’s about," Blair.
’Time is not in Israel’s favor,’ Livni warns
Daily Star
7 May 2009 - Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni addressed the Council of Foreign Relations in New York City on Tuesday, outlining her support for a tough approach toward Iran. She also stressed the importance of the peace process with the Palestinians and cooperating with "moderate" Arab forces.
Hamdan calls for withdrawing the Arab initiative
Palestinian Information Center
7 May 2009 - Osama Hamdan, the representative of the Hamas Movement in Lebanon, has asked the Arab countries to drop the Arab peace initiative rather than drop the Palestinian refugees’ right of return.
Awad castigates Ban Ki-moon for blocking further probe of Israeli war crimes
Palestinian Information Center
7 May 2009 - Mohammed Awad, the secretary general of the Palestinian cabinet, has denounced the UN Secretary General for neglecting the international report that condemned Israeli war crimes in Gaza Strip.
Disabled Palestinians stage sit-in at the Rafah border crossing
Palestinian Information Center
7 May 2009 - The government committee against siege has called for the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and to allow entry of electric wheelchairs and other medical equipment to the disabled.
Mousa: Netanyahu’s peace conditions unacceptable
Palestinian Information Center
7 May 2009 - Amr Mousa, the Arab League Secretary General, has lashed out at Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s conditions for peace during an AIPAC speech, describing them as "unacceptable".
Bahar: British gov’t decision against MP hostile to Palestinian people
Palestinian Information Center
7 May 2009 - The acting speaker of the Palestinian legislative council has described the British government’s decision to ban entry of Hamas MP Dr. Younis Al-Astal into its territory as "hostile".
Hamas denies deployment of elements to halt firing of missiles
Palestinian Information Center
7 May 2009 - Hamas Movement on Wednesday refuted press reports that it deployed elements along the Gaza Strip borders to block the firing of locally made missiles at Israeli settlements adjacent to the Strip.
IOF soldiers kill Palestinian near Ibrahimi Mosque
Palestinian Information Center
7 May 2009 - Israeli occupation forces shot and killed a Palestinian young man near the entrance to the Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil city on Wednesday evening, local sources said.
Four citizens wounded in Israeli air raid
Palestinian Information Center
7 May 2009 - Four Palestinian citizens were wounded Wednesday evening when Israeli warplanes launched two air raids on the Palestinian-Egyptian borders south of the Gaza Strip at the pretext of targeting tunnels.
Change and reform bloc asks Britain to stop contra-democratic practices
Palestinian Information Center
7 May 2009 - The change and reform parliamentary bloc has expressed dismay at the British decision to ban entry of Palestinian MP Dr. Younis Al-Astal to the United Kingdom.
Awkaf minister warns of unprecedented IOA scheme against Jerusalem, Aqsa
Palestinian Information Center
7 May 2009 - Dr. Taleb Abu Shaar, the minister of Awkaf and religious affairs in Gaza, has warned of a new IOA scheme aimed at building 13,000 new housing units in occupied east Jerusalem.
World briefing
Los Angeles Times
7 May 2009 - Egypt: Inspectors find traces of enriched uranium / Myanmar: American caught after Suu Kyi visit / Zimbabwe: 15 activists freed on bail / Iran: Roxana Saberi ends hunger strike EGYPT
Addressing U.S., Hamas Says It Grounded Rockets
New York Times
4 May 2009 - Khaled Meshal, the leader of Hamas, said the militant group was seeking a state only in the areas Israel won in 1967.
World Briefing | Middle East: Egypt: Uranium Traces Are Studied
New York Times
6 May 2009 - The International Atomic Energy Agency is investigating traces of highly enriched uranium it found at a nuclear research site in Egypt, according to a report by the group, obtained by Reuters.
World Briefing | Middle East: Gaza Militants and Israel Exchange Fire
New York Times
6 May 2009 - Militants in Gaza fired mortar shells into a field in southern Israel, and Israel retaliated with airstrikes on three smuggling tunnels along Gaza’s border with Egypt, the Israeli military said.
Israeli MK: 'The Pope, holocaust denier, not welcome in Israel'
International Middle East Media Center
6 May 2009 - Member of Knesset, Michael Ben Ari, of the National Union right wing religious party, stated Tuesday that the Pope Benedict XVI, scheduled to arrive in the region next week, is not welcome in Israel as he is "a holocaust denier and a former member of the Nazi’s Youth Movement".
Hamas legislator: 'P.A Security Forces in the West Bank act in collaboration with Israel'
International Middle East Media Center
5 May 2009 - Hamas legislator, Dr. Ismail Al Ashqar, stated Tuesday that the Palestinian Security Forces in the West Bank, loyal to Fateh movement, are collaborating with Israel by targeting resistance fighters and shutting down charitable institutions.
OIC Aid Convoy to depart to Gaza Wednesday
International Middle East Media Center
5 May 2009 - Ambassador Atta al-Mannan Bakheet, Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs at the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), stated that an aid convoy, containing 40 aid trucks, would be heading to the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
Israeli Interior Minister started process of revoking citizenship of four Arabs
International Middle East Media Center
5 May 2009 - Israeli Interior Minister, Eli YIshai, is acting on a decision he made to revoke the Israeli citizenship of four Arabs under the pretext that they visited "enemy states" in the 1970’s. He also claimed that the four were "directly or indirectly involved in hostile activities against Israel".
More demolition orders in Jerusalem, Palestinian-home owners appeal
International Middle East Media Center
5 May 2009 - The Israeli Jerusalem Municipality on Tuesday issued more demolition orders to Palestinian-home owners in Jerusalem’s old city and around it.
Military kidnaps five civilians from different parts of West Bank
International Middle East Media Center
5 May 2009 - Five Palestinian civilians were kidnapped during pre-dawn Israeli military invasions which targeted several parts of the west Bank on Tuesday, Palestinian sources reported.
The Palestinian Embassy in Cairo: 30 patients went back to Gaza on Tuesday
International Middle East Media Center
5 May 2009 - The Palestinian Embassy in Cairo announced that 30 Palestinian patients were allowed by the Egyptian army to inter the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
Mashal: 'Hamas declared a temporary ceasefire'
International Middle East Media Center
5 May 2009 - Khalil Mashal, head of the Political Bureau of the Hamas movement, stated in an interview with the New York Times that his movement decided to stop the firing of homemade shells into adjacent Israeli areas in the current stage.
Haaretz: 'P.A Security forms Special Forces to uncover Hamas, Hizbollah, operatives'
International Middle East Media Center
5 May 2009 - Israeli Newspaper, Haaretz, claimed in its Tuesday edition that the Palestinian Authority under the control of President Mahmoud Abbas, formed undercover security forces to uncover cells for Hamas and Hizbollah operatives.
Settlers uproot, cut, dozens of trees near Ramallah
International Middle East Media Center
5 May 2009 - Palestinian sources reported on Monday evening that a group of extremist settlers uprooted and cut dozens of olive and fig trees belonging to residents of Sinjil village, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah.
Israeli police detained 280 Palestinian workers in 24 hours
International Middle East Media Center
5 May 2009 - Israeli Radio reported Monday morning that Israeli policemen detained 280 Palestinian workers in 24 hours- after claiming that they were illegally staying and working in Israel.
Netanyahu reiterates demand to recognize Israel as a Jewish State
International Middle East Media Center
5 May 2009 - Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, reiterated his demand that the Palestinians must first recognize Israel as a Jewish State before resuming the peace process.
Israel pushing forward on plans to exit Lebanon border village
Ha’aretz
5 May 2009 - Senior army officers from Israel, Lebanon and the UN to meet in two weeks at border crossing.
Barak: IDF did not mean to shoot at UN facilities in Gaza
Ha’aretz
5 May 2009 - UN investigators meeting in Geneva to assess IDF conduct; Ban: UN report on Gaza war not legally binding.
Israel to pay terror victims with money allocated to PA
Ha’aretz
5 May 2009 - Judge says evidence indicates PA responsible for attack that killed a young Israeli couple in 2001.
PA working to root out Hamas, Hezbollah secret agents
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - Israeli security sources: Palestinians to be more effective in attacking Hamas infrastructure than IDF.
Syria looks to Lebanon War for tips on arming Hezbollah
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - Sources: Syria intent on maintaining military strategy based on air defense and anti-tank weapons.
Bat Ayin settlers seek new outpost in wake of terror attack
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - Brother of slain Bat Ayin youth said killing of his brother’s assailant was act of defense, not vengeance.
Jerusalem publishes plan to boost housing for city’s Arabs
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - Mayor says ’master plan’ to comprise 23,550 new housing units; Palestinians call outline insufficent.
UN to press Israel to exit Lebanon border village
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - While in Lebanon, UN peacekeeping chief says hopeful deal can be reached soon on divided town of Ghajar.
Ill 60-year-old prisoner moved from hospital to detention; Israel renews administrative sentence
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Hebron - Ma’an - Israeli authorities transferred ailing 60-year-old detainee Ahmad Al-Qiq from the Ar-Ramlah Hospital to the Ofer Detention Center near Ramallah despite the move meaning he can no longer receive adequate care, his family said Monday. Once he arrived at Ofer Al-Qiq’s administrative detention order was renewed for another four months, meaning he will continue to be held without charge and without seeing a judge. This is the third time his administrative detention sentence has been renewed. During Al-Qiq’s last four months he was transferred between Israeli prisons between four and six times despite his delicate health condition. [end]
Israeli plan for Jerusalem centers on destruction of Palestinian life in capital
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Mayor for the Israeli-run Jerusalem municipality hopes to make "Jerusalem the greenest city in Israel," largely at the expenses of Palestinian residents. Jerusalem municipal Mayor Nir Barkat revealed his "master plan" for the city on Monday, which includes the ominous pledge for the "Development of eastern Jerusalem," where most of the Palestinian population lives. Also of concern to Palestinian residents is his intention to create five new metropolitan parks, particularly given the current demolition orders on nearly 100 Palestinian homes in the Silwan neighborhood of the city to make way for the construction of green space. Equally distressing is the issue of Israeli "Conservation and preservation of historic buildings," since this often means the judization of Islamic or ancient historic sites.
UN inquiry faults Israel for bombing its buildings in Gaza
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israel intentionally fired at UN targets causing severe damage and death, A UN report investigating the destruction of UNRWA and UN properties and equipment during the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip found last week. The report, which is separate from the Human Rights Council investigation mandated by the UN Human Rights Council and is currently underway, investigated only Israel’s culpability in the destruction of UN property and resources during the war on Gaza. The UN report suggested court action against Israel for the willful destruction of UN property, but did not go as far as accusing the country of war crimes. The investigators on the first report were mandated by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon himself, though he appears to have elected to not act on the findings of the team.
Israel continues illegal sentences of Hamas PLC members; extends three terms
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Nablus - Ma’an - Israeli military courts announced longer prison terms for three Hamas lawmakers and added time to the sentence of head of the Palestinian Legislative Council Aziz Ad-Dweik Tuesday afternoon. Before a military judge the sentence of Jerusalem governorate lawmaker Muhammad Abu Teir and Hebron governorate lawmaker Nayef Arjoub sentences were increased to four years from three and half with no further charges being laid against them. Bethlehem governorate lawmaker Mahmoud Al-Khatib’s term was increased to three and a half years up from three years. Israeli military court officials also brought PLC Leader Aziz Ad-Dweik into the building to "renew" his trial and increase his sentence. He has been imprisoned since June 2006 without charge. Hamas leader Faze’a Sawafta said the detentions were illegal and aimed at restricting the chance for democracy in Palestine.
Birzeit University union urges PA to release professor, two students
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Ramallah - Ma’an - The employees union at Ramallah’s Birzeit University called on the Palestinian Authority (PA) on Tuesday to release a professor and two students it said were arrested for political reasons. The union said in a statement that PA forces seized mathematics Lecturer Maher Nour from his home in Ramallah. The two students were not named. The union said it was an "unacceptable way of storming teachers’ dorms and searching them. ""The university was a place for democracy and political freedom," said the union, calling on the PA to leave the academy out of politics. The statement said that the two students had been involved in recent student council elections, which were won by Fatah. It said it had been "proud" of the elections as a symbol of democracy but that the arrests were a violation of this.
UN seeking to bolster Palestinian unity talks
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - UN Special Coordinator for Middle East Peace Robert Serry urged support on Tuesday for Egypt’s efforts to bring about a Palestinian unity deal and international plans to rebuild the Gaza StripSerry met on Tuesdayin Cairo with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and Intelligence Minister Umar Sulaiman, the powerful official who oversees indirect talks between Israel and Hamas. "We urgently need Palestinian reconciliation, and recovery and reconstruction in Gaza, if the fragile calm is to be solidified," said Serry in a statement. "Egypt’s reconciliation efforts need full support, and I urge all Palestinian factions to put national interest first and find a way forward so that the suffering of ordinary people and the many political challenges can be addressed.
Israeli prison service ban family visits to Palestinian prisoners at Ashkelon jail for one week
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Nablus - Ma’an - Palestinian families are to be banned from visiting their relatives detained in Israel’s Ashkelon facility as a punishment for inmates refusing to wear the new orange-issue uniform, the prison service announced Tuesday. Prisoners in the Ashkelon jail, many of who are detained without charge, declared a one-month hunger strike against the Israeli decision to issue orange prison uniforms replacing the street clothes inmates currently wear. Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners Affairs said the Red Cross was informed of the ban on visits, and that in response Israel said they would reduce the initial one-month ban on visits to one week. [end]
Smugglers kill Egyptian soldier at Israel border
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Smugglers killed an Egyptian soldier at the Israel-Egypt border on Monday, security sources said. The soldier was identified as 21-year-old Muhammad Ramadan who was shot once in the abdomen near the Wadi Al-Azariq near sign number 23 just south of the international border. Several Egyptian soldiers have been similarly slain over the past two years, and others have been kidnapped by smugglers seeking to avoid arrest. At the same time Egyptian officers have seized dozens, mostly North Africans, attempting to sneak themselves or illegal goods into Israel. [end]
Social allowances for 24,600 Gazans paid by Italy Monday; three months late
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Three-month overdue social allowances for poverty-stricken Gazan families were finally be ready for pickup Monday, seeing over 24,600 families receive their quarterly government allowance. The funds, from the Government of Italy distributed by the European Union’s PEGASE program, were made available following months of physical-cash shortage in the Strip as Israeli authorities continue to refuse the regular shipment of cash into the financial system. The payment was made in coordination with the European Commission and the Ministry of Social Affairs of the Palestinian Authority (PA). According to a statement from the group a "limited amount of cash" was transferred into the Strip so the allowances could be paid. The allowances are 1,000 shekels (around 200 US dollars) and are paid four times a year to the most disadvantaged.
Netanyahu: With the help of Obama and Abbas we can surprise the world
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu is ready to resume peace talks with no preconditions, he told attendees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington via video link Monday. The statement,coming one day before Israeli President Shimon Peres is set to meet American President Barak Obama, contradicts earlier what Netanyahu had earlier described as his position on peace talks, and generally steering clear of endorsing a two-state solution in favor of a vague plan of economic development. Indeed, even though he said he was seeking peace with Palestinians, the Prime Minister made no mention of a Palestinian state during his speech. Netanyahu suggested a "triple track toward peace between Israel and the Palestinians: a political track, a security track and economic track.
Abu Mujahid: No Egyptian proposal to resume Shalit negotiations
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - The captors of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit have not received any invitation from Egypt to resume negotiations over a proposed Israeli-Palestinian prisoner exchange, spokesperson of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) in Gaza Abu Mujahid said on Tuesday. "These negotiations must be kept secret," Abu Mujahid told the press asserting that any deal would have to meet the captors demands to release at least 1,000 Palestinians from Israeli prisons, 450 of who have been specified by factions in Gaza. The rest are requested to include elderly prisoners, women and children. [end]
All three Gaza crossing points to be open for commercial and humanitarian deliveries
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - All three Gaza crossing points will be open for commercial and humanitarian deliveries for second time this week, said crossings official Raed Fattouh on Tuesday. Fattouh said Kerem Shalom was expected to allow the passage of 125 trucks of humanitarian aid and goods for the commercial and agricultural sectors. He added that the Gazan side was told the Karni crossing would open for part-day to allow 45 trucks of grain and fodder through though it was not yet open early Tuesday. Nahal Oz was also expected to be open for the shipment of an unknown quantity o9f industrial diesel and cooking gas. [end]
PA secures legal injunctions against 29 Israeli home demolition orders in East Jerusalem
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Jerusalem - Ma’an - Orders for the halt of 29 home demolitions in East Jerusalem were processed Tuesday, Presidential Advisor for Jerusalem affairs Hatem Abdel Qader confirmed. The orders on homes in the Old City, Shu’fat, Jabal Al-Muqaber At-Tur, Ras Al-Amoud and Wad Aj-Joz have all been frozen, including the order to demolish a school in Jabal Al-Mukaber. The Palestinian Authority official added that legal advisors and a team of lawyers are working to halt all home demolition orders in East Jerusalem. He appealed to any resident of the area who is served a demolition warning to bring it to the attention of the office immediately. [end]
Bethlehem: Pope visit venue may be moved away from separation wall
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Under pressure from Israel the Catholic Church and the Palestinian Authority (PA) may back down from plans to host Pope Benedict XVI in full view of Israel’s 30-foot-high concrete separation wall in Ayda Refugee Camp in Bethlehem. Instead, a committee in the camp making preparations for the visit may be forced to hold a welcoming ceremony for the pontiff in the Ayda Boy’s School. The committee was set to meet on Tuesday evening to weigh the request to move the event. The requests likely came as a response to Israeli orders to the preparatory committee to shut down the papal visit to the camp. Two weeks ago soldiers raided the camp during a previous preparatory committee meeting and harassed members who were told the planned venue was in Israeli-controlled Area C and organizers therefore needed a permit to hold events there.
Blair sees new US-backed peace ’framework’ emerging
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Ramallah - Ma’an - International Envoy Tony Blair said on Tuesday that a new "framework" for Middle East peacemaking may emerge in the coming weeks as Israeli and Palestinian leaders visit Washington. "We’re about to get a new framework. I can only speculate right now about what that framework will be. The reason I say people should be more hopeful is that this is a framework that is being worked on at the highest level of the American administration, in the rest of the international community," said Blair, speaking at a briefing with Palestinian journalists in Ramallah. The former UK Prime Minister said, "I think we’ll know better in a few weeks time where we’re coming out on this. But those are the three areas [the West Bank, Gaza, and the political process], I anticipate, will form the substance of what then I think will be an agreed way forward.
Ahmadinejad to meet Hamas, Jihad leaders in Syria
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pledged support for Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation on a visit to Damascus on Tuesday. Ahmadinejad is planning to meet the leaders of 10 Palestinian groups including Hamas during his visit to Syria’s capital, according to AP. Speaking at a joint press conference with Syrian President Bashar Assad, Ahmadinejad said, "Syria and Iran have been from the very beginning united and in agreement to stand on the side of the Palestinian resistance," adding, "They will continue to do so. We see that the resistance will continue until all occupied territories are liberated. "Hamas and Islamic Jihad will be among the Damascus-based Palestinian factions represented at a meeting later on Tuesday with Ahmadinejad. at a meeting later in the day, Khaled Abdul-Majid of the Popular Struggle Front said.
US vice president urges Israel to freeze settlements
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - Israel must commit to a two-state solution and halt settlement construction, US Vice President Joe Biden told the US’ largest pro-Israeli lobby group in Washington on Tuesday. "Israel has to work for a two state-solution -- you’re not going to like my saying this -- but not build more settlements, dismantle existing outposts and allow Palestinians freedom of movement. . . and access to economic opportunity," Biden told the annual conference of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), according to Reuters. Biden’s comments were firmer and more concrete than remarks made by US President Barack Obama so far in his term. Biden also said the Palestinian Authority "must combat terror and incitement against Israel. "
Hamas denies using Abbas’ villa in Gaza as detention center
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - De facto government police denied news reports claiming government officials have converted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ villa in Gaza City into a detention center for Fatah-affiliated prisoners, spokesperson Islam Shahwan said Monday. The accusations surfaced in the Sunday edition of the Israeli daily newspaper Ma’ariv, which named several Fatah affiliates who Hamas was detaining in civilian residential buildings. Reports then proliferated to several secondary news agencies. The news followed earlier news of a secret prison being established in the wake of Israel’s war on Gaza, which destroyed the main prison compound in Gaza. Hamas officials responded late Monday night saying the "report was false, and everybody could check. "Shahwan noted that no civilian residential buildings were re-appropriated and certainly not as detention centers.
PA dismisses 91 officers and sends 482 to court in anti-corruption move
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Nablus - Ma’an - "The time of corruption is over," Palestinian Authority spokesperson Adnan Ad-Damiri said Monday as reports emerged that 91 PA police officers were dismissed and 482 others were sent to court for infractions while on duty. "No one will be above the law even if they are members of the PA," Ad-Damiri said during a speech on the current internal division at Al-Quds Open University’s Nablus campus. He stressed the need to unite in order to establish a liberated Palestinian state, adding that Israel is the only side who benefits from internal division. [end]
Zaki: Abbas will form new government if Cairo talks fail
Ma’an News Agency
5/5/2009 - Beirut/Bethlehem - Ma’an - If Palestinian factions do not strike a unity deal this month, President Mahmoud Abbas will form a new will form a new government that will lay out a new approach to Hamas, the PLO representative in Lebanon, Abbas Zaki said on Tuesday. He made this remark in a meeting with the UN’s special representative in Lebanon, Michael Williams. The full spectrum of Palestinian factions, including main rivals Hamas and Fatah, are will in meet in Cairo on 16-19 May in what has been presented as a last-ditch attempt to restore Palestinian unity. Egypt has hosted three rounds of talks this year with no success. Abbas dissolved a Hamas-Fatah unity government in June 2007 following a Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip. Hamas, the winner of parliamentary elections, still holds power in Gaza. A Fatah-led caretaker cabinet governs the West Bank.
Two die in air raid on Gaza tunnels
Al Jazeera
2 May 2009 - Israeli bombings near Rafah said to be in response to Palestinian rocket fire.
Iranian jets ’hit’ Iraqi Kurd areas
Al Jazeera
2 May 2009 - If confirmed, the Sulaymaniya raid would be the first by Iran targeting the region.
Hezbollah slams Hariri death probe
Al Jazeera
1 May 2009 - Nasrallah calls investigation into Hariri’s death dishonest and political.
OPT: Gaza citizens at risk from rubbish, rubble, unexploded ordnance
IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
GAZA CITY Thursday, April 30, 2009 (IRIN) - Unexploded ordnance (UXO) and the uncontrolled dumping of rubbish pose the greatest environmental and public health risks to residents of the Gaza Strip, according to the UN Development Programme (UNDP). A further study is planned by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
MIDDLE EAST: Regional efforts to prepare for swine flu
IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
DUBAI Wednesday, April 29, 2009 (IRIN) - Middle East countries are taking precautionary measures against swine flu as the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the global influenza pandemic alert level to Phase 4 after the influenza A /H1N1 virus infection claimed more than 150 lives in Mexico and spread to several other countries.
POLITICS-US: AIPAC Conference Pushes Hard Line on Iran
Inter Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 5 (IPS) - The annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the powerful and hawkish pro-Israel lobby, wrapped up on Tuesday with a speech from Vice President Joe Biden, capping three days that were primarily devoted to the threat of a nuclear Iran.
EGYPT: Viral Time Bomb Set to Explode
Inter Press Service
CAIRO, May 5 (IPS) - It is a health crisis of alarming proportions. Up to nine million Egyptians have been exposed to hepatitis C, and tens of thousands will die each year unless they receive a liver transplant.
RIGHTS-IRAN: Damaging Forced Confessions
Inter Press Service
NEW DELHI, May 4 (IPS) - Iranian political refugees living in India say there is an all too familiar ring about the supposed confessions of arrested journalist Roxana Saberi, which they expect to see footage of on television soon.
RIGHTS-IRAQ: U.N. Report Paints Grim Picture
Inter Press Service
NEW YORK, May 4 (IPS) - Iraqi prisons are torturing detainees, locking people up for months without charges and, in most cases, allowing the perpetrators of these human rights abuses to escape justice, according to a new United Nations report.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/1934.shtml
Stop The Wall
3 May 2009 - After arrests and injuries on Workers Day, the Bethlehem branch of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) and the popular committees against the Apartheid Wall in al Ma’sara and the district call on trade unions around the globe to increase solidarity and join the BDS call. [
Four al-Ma’sara popular committee members arrested
Stop The Wall
2 May 2009 - This week, anti-Wall demonstrations held to commemorate the first of May were met with violence and organizers arrested. Occupation forces attacked a May Day festival and demonstration in al-Ma’sara, injuring nine people and arresting the village popular committee. Soldiers also fired upon residents in Bi’lin and tried to break the protest in Ni’lin, where they occupied homes in the early morning. [
(04-05-2009) PCHR welcomes the Spanish National Court’s decision to continue investigating suspected Israeli war criminals
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
PCHR
PCHR Strongly Condemns Israeli Plans to Confiscate 12,000 Donums of Palestinian Land in Order to Link the Illegal 'Ma’ale Adumim' and 'Qedar' Settlements
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
PCHR
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 23 - 28 April 2009
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
PCHR - During the reporting period, 20 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children, were wounded by IOF and Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Israeli forces occupy Ni’lin homes to shoot at demonstrators
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 1 May 2009 - On Friday, 1 May 2009 at 11. 15am, an hour before the weekly Friday demonstration against the Apartheid Wall begins, Israeli forces entered the village of Ni’lin through the fields. Soldiers attempted to forcefully occupy two homes, for use as shooting posts. During their attempt, a 10 year old girl was injured by a sound grenade thrown near her leg as soldiers tried to enter her home. Another 22 individuals were injured during the demonstration; 4 were shot with rubber coated steel bullets, 4 were hit by tear-gas canisters and 12 suffered from serious tear-gas inhalation and had to be treated by medics. Israeli forces tried to enter the family home of Ahmed and Sami Amireh. Only the women and children were present in the home, when 3 soldiers entered through their front gate. "They [were] bringing water and food" said one of the women in the family. "I asked them what they wear doing in our garden and they said they wanted to stay on our roof the whole day" she explained.
Palestinian patients ’interrogated before leaving Gaza for treatment’
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 4 May 2009 - An Israeli medical human rights group said today that an increasing number of Palestinian patients from Gaza were being interrogated by Israeli security services before being allowed to leave the strip for treatment. Physicians for Human Rights-Israel said at least 438 patients had been summoned for interrogation by the Shabak, the Israeli general security service, at the Erez crossing out of Gaza between January 2008 and March this year. It took evidence from several patients and found they were "forced to provide information as a precondition to exit Gaza for medical care". The group said the ratio of applicants being interrogated rose from 1. 45% in January last year to 17% in January this year. Their research also suggested the number of interrogations increased sharply from the beginning of this year, after Israel’s three-week war in Gaza.
Police negligent in probing fence protest casualties
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 5 May 2009 - The death of Palestinian Bassem Ibrahim in Bil’in two-and-a-half weeks ago might have been prevented had the police carried out orders to investigate previous incidents in which protesters against the separation barrier were hurt by grenade canisters, a senior Justice Ministry official told the police on Monday. Ibrahim, 30, died when a border policeman fired a canister directly at him and hit him in the chest during a protest at Bil’in on April 17. The protest was one of the weekly protests held by villagers, Israelis and pro-Palestinian demonstrators from abroad against the route of the fence that separates the villagers from much of their agricultural land. According to a statement issued by the Justice Ministry, Yehoshua Lemberger, deputy state attorney for criminal affairs, has asked the police to review the guidelines for dispersing protesters.
Life is blind
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 5 May 2009 - In this series of personal testimonies, PCHR looks at the aftermath of Israel’s 23 day offensive on the Gaza Strip, and the ongoing impact it is having on the civilian population. Mahmoud Mattar spent his 15th birthday in February this year, lying in the intensive care unit of Egypt’s Sheikh Zayid hospital. He is one of the 1,606 children who were injured during Israel’s military offensive on Gaza, some of who sustained horrific disabilities, head and spinal injuries, facial disfigurement, burns and amputation. On Wednesday 7 January 2009, Mahmoud Mattar, then 14, was struck by a rocket near his home in Sheikh Radwan, Gaza City, that left him permanently blind and with extensive injuries. It was around 09:30 in the morning and Mahmoud was at home with his mother and siblings when an Israeli aircraft fired a missile at al-Taqwa mosque, 150 metres away.
Sheikh Jarrah residents charged with refusing to leave their homes
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 5 May 2009 - The court cases of Maher Hannoun and Afed El Fatah Gawi, charged with contempt of court for refusing to leave their homes, were yesterday postponed until the 17th May. Hannoun, 51, and El Fatah, 87, are residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem where a spate of houses are threatened with eviction in Israel’s latest attempted purge of the Palestinian people. Support for the families of Sheikh Jarrah has been rife amongst international and Israeli activists. They joined friends and family of Hannoun and Gawi outside the court yesterday in a show of solidarity, waving banners and cheering as the accused walked out of court with their freedom intact, albeit temporarily. Inside the courtroom were representatives from the US and French consulate, who sympathise with the families cause and along with the Czech consulate, are pressuring Israel to stop these evictions.
UN accuses Israel of Gaza 'negligence or recklessness’
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 5 May 2009 - A United Nations inquiry today accused the Israeli military of "negligence or recklessness" in its conduct of the January war in Gaza and said the organisation should press claims for reparations for deaths and damage. The first investigation into the three-week war by anyone other than human rights researchers and journalists held the Israeli government responsible in seven separate cases in which UN property was damaged and UN staff and other civilians were hurt or killed. However, the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, rejected the report’s call for a full and impartial investigation into the war, and refused to publish the complete 184-page report. Only Ban’s own summary of the report (pdf) has been released. Israel rejected the inquiry’s findings, even before the summary was released, as "tendentious" and "patently biased".
Mondoweiss: Code Pink activists interrupt Shimon Peres during AIPAC speech
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - Mondoweiss - Today, Shimon Peres kicked off the AIPAC conference with a special address. Phil noted some observations below. Initial buzz from the speech in and around the conference center is that Peres neglected to mention the need to establish a Palestinian state as part of the peace process. This is shaping up to be an important tension between the Obama and Netanyahu administrations. During his speech, Peres was briefly interrupted by activists from Code Pink. The photo below is of Desiree Fairooz standing on a table in front of Peres as he speaks. Below is the press release they sent out after the action: WASHINGTON " During Israeli Pres. Shimon Peres’ speech today at the annual AIPAC (American Israeli Political Action Committee) policy conference at the Washington Convention Center, CODEPINK members raised banners saying "Want Peace? End the Occupation," "What About Gaza? ," and "No Money for War Crimes. ".
Peres to Obama: No choice but to compare Iran to Nazis
Ha’aretz
5 May 2009 - The world has no choice but to compare the threat posed by Iran to that of Nazi Germany, President Shimon Peres told U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday, adding that Israel must support U.S. overtures to Iran. ...
Religious Zionists challenge value of visiting Nazi death camps
Ha’aretz
5 May 2009 - The mood was especially jubilant because most of the youths had a newfound appreciation for Israeli statehood. They had just arrived from Eastern Europe, where they had spent several emotional days touring death camps. ...
UN demand for IDF compensation in Gaza could reach $11 million
Ha’aretz
5 May 2009 - A United Nations demand for financial compensation for Israeli strikes on UN facilities in Gaza could come to $11 million, a government official in Jerusalem said Tuesday in response to a UN report that criticized Israel for the attacks. The incidents occurred during Operation Cast Lead in January. ...
French FM tells Lieberman: Settlement construction must end
Ha’aretz
5 May 2009 - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman Tuesday that restarting Middle East peace talks is urgent and that building new Israeli settlements must end. ...
Assad: Syria-Iran ties serve stability and strength of Mideast
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - Syria’s President Bashar Assad defended its long-standing alliance with Iran on Tuesday and said a "strategic" relationship between the two countries contributed to Middle East stability. ...
UN chief rejects further inquiry in Gaza
The Guardian
5 May 2009 - One of the more striking features of today’s UN inquiry into the Gaza war is the secretary general’s prompt rejection of one of its key findings. In its 11th and final recommendation, the board of inquiry...
There is hope for Barack and Bibi | Petra Marquardt-Bigman
The Guardian
5 May 2009 - Though there is speculation of a clash with Netanyahu, Obama’s good-faith gestures could mark a turning point with Israel The meeting between Israel’s new prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US president Barack Obama later this month...
UN accuses Israel of Gaza ’negligence or recklessness’
The Guardian
5 May 2009 - Inquiry finds Israel responsible for deaths, injuries and damage to UN buildings A United Nations inquiry today accused the Israeli military of "negligence or recklessness" in its conduct of the January war in Gaza and said...
UN report accuses Israeli military of negligence in Gaza war
The Guardian
5 May 2009 - Inquiry finds Israel responsible for deaths, injuries and damage to UN buildings A UN inquiry accused the Israeli military today of "negligence or recklessness" in its conduct of the war in Gaza. The summary of the...
Woman hospitalized in Nahariya with Swine Flu-like symptoms
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - A 60-year-old woman has been hospitalized under quarantine in Nahariya while she undergoes examinations for swine flu. ...
Israel begins revoking citizenship of four Arabs
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - Interior Minister Eli Yishai has begun the process of revoking the citizenship of four Israeli Arabs who left Israel to live in states defined by Israel as "enemies" in the 1970s, his ministry announced Tuesday. ...
Peretz: Barak forcing us to consider forming new party
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - Ehud Barak’s predecessor at the Defense Ministry and the Labor Party chairmanship, Amir Peretz, is not ruling out forming a new faction in the wake of the serious divisions that have pitted Barak against long-time party stalwarts opposed to his policies. ...
Rowing champ seriously hurt after accident in polluted Yarkon River
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - Israeli rowing champion Yasmin Feingold, 20, was seriously injured early yesterday evening when her boat overturned in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon River, submerging her head in its polluted water and causing her to lose consciousness. ...
Israeli Arabs sue bus company for refusing to let them board
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - Four Israeli Arabs on Monday sued the Dan bus company for allegedly barring them from boarding a vehicle because of their ethnicity. ...
OPT: UN- Israel caused damage, deaths in six incidents in Gaza Strip
ReliefWeb
5 May 2009 - Source: Deutsche Presse Agentur
OPT: Israel’s cash limitations threaten Gaza banks
ReliefWeb
5 May 2009 - Source: Reuters
Palestinian unity, rebuilding of Gaza vital to maintain calm - UN envoy
ReliefWeb
5 May 2009 - Source: UN News Service
Cyprus hosts UN International Meeting in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace, 6-7 May
ReliefWeb
5 May 2009 - Source: UN General Assembly
Lebanon: Saudi Arabia donates US$25 million for Nahr El Bared
ReliefWeb
5 May 2009 - Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
Syria: Khan Dannoun sewage project improves the lives of the camp inhabitants
ReliefWeb
5 May 2009 - Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
Press conference by Security Council President on work programme for May
ReliefWeb
5 May 2009 - Source: UN Department of Public Information
Food Security in Palestine
ReliefWeb
5 May 2009 - Source: Palestine Monitor
French FM urges Lieberman to restart Palestinian talks
YNetNews
5 May 2009 - 150 people chant anti-Israel slogans outside French foreign ministry ahead of FM’s arrival; ’Lieberman, get lost, no fascism here,’ they say
US wants Israel in non-proliferation treaty
YNetNews
5 May 2009 - Assistant secretary of state neglects to mention Iran as she promotes anti-nuclear arms agreement
Peres: Israel should back Obama on Iran
YNetNews
5 May 2009 - President meets with US President Obama in Washington after earlier meeting with Secretary Clinton, says Israel will be ’loyal supporter’ of efforts to engage Tehran through diplomacy. Hours earlier Vice President Biden said Israel must accept the two-state solution, freeze all settlement construction
Barkat attempts to sort out irregular construction in east Jerusalem
YNetNews
5 May 2009 - Jerusalem’s mayor says 13,000 homes to be created for Palestinians by 2030 while skepticism abounds
Ban says Israelis also hurt in Gaza war
YNetNews
5 May 2009 - UN secretary-general attempts to soften inquiry board’s harsh conclusions regarding Israel’s conduct during operation against Hamas
Iran: The UN has run its course
YNetNews
5 May 2009 - Ahmadinejad launches harshly-worded assault on United Nations during visit to Damascus, says: ’The organizations established after WWII cannot solve the world’s problems. ’ Iranian leader also meets with Syrian counterpart Assad, Hamas politburo chief Mashaal
MKs on planned education cut: Our future in danger
YNetNews
5 May 2009 - Sa’ar says cutting education his ministry’s budget will ’promote illiteracy as Israel’s strategic goal’; MK Ganaim: Cut will send us back to Stone Age
Biden: Israel must accept two-state solution
YNetNews
5 May 2009 - Just hours before President Peres’ White House visit, US vice president uses AIPAC conference as platform to demand Israel ’work for a two-state solution" not build more settlements, dismantle existing outposts and allow Palestinians freedom of movement’
Soldiers abuse young Palestinians in Hebron District
B’tselem
29 Apr 2009 - According to testimonies given to B’Tselem, on 26 April, soldiers randomly detained six young men in Dura, took them to the Adorayim army base, and held them until daybreak, during which they beat and humiliated them and deprived them of sleep, food, dri
Testimonies: Soldiers abuse Palestinians in the Jordan Valley
B’tselem
27 Apr 2009 - On 2 April, soldiers at the Almog checkpoint barred four Palestinians from crossing, despite the army’s declaration of free access to the Dead Sea. According to testimonies, the group drove to a nearby hilltop instead, where the soldiers later found them
Gates promises to keep Arab allies in the loop on Iran front
Daily Star
5 May 2009 - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday Arab fears of a possible "grand bargain" between Iran and the United States were unwarranted and that Washington would not abandon its long-time regional allies. Seeking to reassure Arab governments about a potential shift in the regional balance of power.
Ahmadinejad, Assad vow support for resistance
Daily Star
5 May 2009 - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad slammed Zionism as "occupation" and "aggression" Tuesday as he delivered his latest diatribe against Israel on a visit to key Middle East ally Syria. "The Zionist occupiers are destructive microbes, because Zionism itself is occupation, aggression, the use of assassination and annihilation," he told.
Khamenei publicly rebukes Ahmadinejad over removal of senior official
Daily Star
5 May 2009 - Iran’s supreme leader publicly rebuked the president over his removal of a top official, a rare show of discontent with the hardline Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by the country’s most powerful figure. The rebuke, issued in the press Monday, quickly raised questions whether the supreme leader is backing off.
Dozens of candidates sign up for Iran’s presidential vote
Daily Star
5 May 2009 - Dozens of hopefuls, including four women, threw their hat into the ring on Tuesday on the first day of registration for June’s presidential election, expected to be a test for Iran’s dominant conservatives. Fifty people have so far signed up to stand in the June 12 vote, including four women, after Iran opened up the five-day candidate registration period.
Ban accuses Israel of lying about attacks on UN schools
Daily Star
5 May 2009 - The UN chief on Tuesday accused Israel of lying about attacks on United Nations schools and other facilities during the Gaza military campaign - including one reported to have killed more than 40 people - and formally demanded compensation. Ban Ki-moon said a UN investigation found conclusively that Israeli weaponry.
Biden presses Israel to halt settlement expansion
Daily Star
5 May 2009 - The United States stepped up pressure on Israel’s new right-leaning government on Tuesday to accept the goal of a Palestinian state and halt expansion of Jewish settlements on occupied land. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far shied away from publicly supporting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Meshaal: Hamas wants to be part of the solution
Daily Star
5 May 2009 - Hamas’ top political leader, in a message to the Obama administration, said the group is determined to be part of a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The group’s exiled leader, Khaled Meshaal, said in an interview with The New York Times published Tuesday that Hamas has halted its rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
Addressing U.S., Hamas Says It Grounded Rockets
New York Times
4 May 2009 - Khaled Meshal, the leader of Hamas, said the militant group was seeking a state only in the areas Israel won in 1967.
News Analysis: Israel Faces a Hard Sell in Bid to Shift Policy
New York Times
3 May 2009 - The new government wants to reorient Israeli foreign policy away from a prospective Palestinian state and toward the rising threat from Iran.
2 Killed as Israel Hits Egypt-Gaza Tunnels
New York Times
2 May 2009 - The Palestinians who were killed were the first fatalities in the conflict with Israel since early March.
Two Palestinians injured by military fire in the Gaza Strip
International Middle East Media Center
4 May 2009 - Palestinian medical sources reported that one Palestinian man was moderately wounded on Sunday at night by Israeli military fire targeting an open area east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. -Another Palestinian was injured in a separate attack in northern Gaza.
Israeli forces arrest nine Bedouins as ’terrorists’ for throwing stones, toppling poles
International Middle East Media Center
3 May 2009 - According to Israeli police, nine Bedouin Arabs from the town of Shfaram in Israel have been arrested as a ’terrorist cell’ for throwing stones at Israeli cars while Israel was invading Gaza in January.
Israeli soldier claims he was attacked by Palestinian with knife
International Middle East Media Center
3 May 2009 - An Israeli soldier claimed to have been "attacked by an Arab" while getting off the bus in the Israeli city of Ramat Gan. He said the man stabbed him in the neck with a knife, but he was not badly injured by the attack.
Israeli settler bulldozes Palestinian orchards near Bethlehem
International Middle East Media Center
3 May 2009 - Local sources reported that a lone Israeli settler took a bulldozer and completely destroyed 5 acres of Palestinian almond groves and vineyards, damaging at least 70 more acres, in Al Khadr village near Bethlehem.
U.S. Plans to drop charges against alleged Israeli spies
International Middle East Media Center
3 May 2009 - The U.S. Government announced Friday that it plans to drop all charges against two long-term lobbyists of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), after a U.S. Congressmember was implicated in the case. The move came just two days before the opening of the AIPAC Annual Convention in Washington, DC, at a time when polls of the US population show increasing discontent with the level of US government aid given unconditionally to the state of Israel.
Four settlers, including two settler-soldiers, arrested after attacking a Palestinian village
International Middle East Media Center
3 May 2009 - Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported on Saturday night that four Israeli settlers, including two soldiers on leave, were arrested by the army after attacking Khirbit Safa village, near the southern West Bank City of Hebron.
Al Asra Society calls for ensuring medical treatment for an ailing detainee from Khan Younis
International Middle East Media Center
3 May 2009 - The Al Asra Media Center, part of the Al Asra Society for Defending the Detainees, called on Saturday on international organizations and the Red Cross to intervene in order to ensure medical treatment to a detainee from Gaza who is currently in critical condition at the Al Ramla Prison hospital.
Bodies of two Palestinians located in tunnel shelled by the Israeli air force
International Middle East Media Center
3 May 2009 - Palestinian medial sources reported on Saturday that medics and rescue teams located the bodies of two Palestinians under the rubble of a tunnel that was shelled by the Israeli air force earlier on Saturday. Also on Saturday, the army shelled several areas in the Gaza Strip and bulldozed farmlands.
Fighters fire mortars at undercover forces invading Jabalia
International Middle East Media Center
2 May 2009 - The Salah Ed Deen Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committee, reported Saturday that its fighters fired three mortar shells at undercover forces invading an areas east of Jabalia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Obama to meet Peres at the White House
International Middle East Media Center
2 May 2009 - White House spokesperson, Robert Gibbs, stated that the US President, Barack Obama, is scheduled meet Israel’s President, Shimon Peres, at the White House next Tuesday.
Palestinians mark International Workers Day in Jerusalem
International Middle East Media Center
2 May 2009 - Under strict Israeli measures and ongoing violations against Arab neighborhoods in occupied Jerusalem, hundreds of Palestinians marched in Jerusalem marking Mayday in the heart of Jerusalem, in Mount Olive, expressing determination and steadfastness of the Palestinians in the city.
Haniyya: 'Unity talks achieved some progress, but did not achieve the needed breakthrough'
International Middle East Media Center
2 May 2009 - Prime Minister of the dissolved Hamas government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyya, stated Friday that the latest round of internal talks in Cairo achieved some progress but did not achieve the needed breakthrough on core issues.
Option-shmoption
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - Israel’s ambiguity has failed to attract international support or deter Iran’s drive for nuclear weapons.
Poll: Most Jewish Israelis back attack on Iran
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - ADL poll finds a majority of those who favor strike would maintain their support even if U.S. opposed strike.
IDF troops shoot, lightly wound Palestinian in Gaza Strip
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - Troops opened fire on man after he was spotted walking near the security fence on border with Israel.
’Israel won’t allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons’
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - Michael Oren, slated to be next Israeli envoy to U.S. , reportedly makes remarks at AIPAC conference.
Police: Ramat Gan stabbing was likely terror attack
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - IDF soldier sustains moderate to serious wounds in incident in Ramat Gan; says assailant was an Arab.
IAF hits Gaza tunnels; Palestinians say 2 die
Ha’aretz
2 May 2009 - Dead are believed to be the first fatalities since an air strike against Gaza tunnels in March.
’IDF staged drills over Gibraltar, in preparation for Iran strike’
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - Despite L’Express report, Israel has denied rumors it is planning to attack Tehran over its nuclear program.
Nine Bedouin suspected of plotting terror attacks
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - Shfaram cell formed in response to Gaza war was allegedly planning series of attacks on central highways.
Israel may withdraw from Lebanese village of Al-Ghajar
Ma’an News Agency
5/3/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to announce this week that Israeli forces will withdraw from the northern part of Al-Ghajar village on the border with Lebanon. An Israeli political source in Jerusalem said on Saturday that Netanyahu wanted to respond to a US request, and that the measure could be a goodwill gesture toward Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora prior to Lebanese parliamentarian elections in June. Withdrawal from Al-Ghajar village is expected to take place only after Lebanese elections. Some of the village’s Israeli settlers are expected to appeal to the Higher Court of Justice against the withdrawal decision, which might be discussed in a meeting for the Knesset security and political committee on Wednesday. Israel occupied Al-Ghajar in 1981, and it was settled by Israelis.
Israeli interior minister okays enlarging West Bank settlement
Ma’an News Agency
5/3/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai has decided to approve recommendations by a special committee within the Israeli Interior Ministry to expand the illegal West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Adumim by 12,000 dunums (12 million square meters). Expansion will include 6,000 housing units to be built between the Ma’ale Adumim and Qedar settlements, it was announced on Sunday morning. Yishai examined the committee’s recommendations last week, saying, "The decision will be pro-Israeli, despite expected international reactions. "The expansion of Ma’ale Adumim will further separate the northern West Bank from the south, and isolate Jerusalem from the West Bank as a whole. The special committee had originally approved the plan in late April, despite objections from the United States. The plan would link Ma’ale Adumim, the largest settlement in the West. . .
PRC: Israeli unit expelled from attempted cross-border raid
Ma’an News Agency
5/3/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - The militant wing of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) on Sunday morning claimed to have launched a mortar shell toward an Israeli Special Forces unit. According to the statement from An-Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades, the Israeli unit was attempting to cross the border near Khan Younis in southern Gaza, but was repelled by a mortar shell. The statement went on to say that the shelling occurred specifically in the Al-Qarara village, where the Israeli unit attempted to cross over into Gaza. [end]
Israeli forces apprehend two Palestinians near Bethlehem
Ma’an News Agency
5/3/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israeli forces on Sunday morning apprehended two young Palestinians from the Bethlehem district. Local sources said an Israeli force raided the city of Beit Sahour, east of Bethlehem, and detained 29-year-old Nidal Bannoura after ransacking his home. Separately, another Israeli force stormed the village of Battir, west of Bethlehem, and seized 20-year-old As’ad Ash-Sheikh. Both detainees were taken to an unknown location. [end]
PA minister: Ending Hamas rule is a national, moral and religious duty
Ma’an News Agency
5/3/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - The Palestinian Authority minister of Agriculture and Social Welfare on Sunday told an Israeli radio station that "ending Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip is a national, moral and religious duty. " The minister, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, added that removing Hamas from power in the Gaza Strip "should be accomplished as soon as possible. " The comments came during an interview with Israeli journalist Gal Burger. Ma’an telephoned Burger and asked for further details, and he said Al-Habbash did not preach toppling Hamas by military force. However, Burger said other Palestinian officials had already demanded that, but he refused to name those officials. Al-Habbash’s remarks follow the failure by Hamas and Fatah to reach an agreement in Cairo, and in light of talks about the Palestinian president planning to ask an independent figure to form a new government soon.
Boars released by settlers attack barns, beehives near Nablus
Ma’an News Agency
5/3/2009 - Nablus - Ma’an - Boars set free by Israeli settlers on Sunday damaged sheep barns and beehives in the northern West Bank village of Salem, east of Nablus. According to Ja’far Ishtayya, deputy mayor of Salem, "Boars attacked three homes and sheep barns, owned by Theib and Ziad Hasan, as well as 32 beehives owned by Taha Hamdan. The boars also attacked a car owned by Baha’ Hussein on his way out of the village. "Ishtayya appealed to the Palestinian Authority to work out a solution for the boar attacks, highlighting swine flu fears, as well as physical damage caused by the animals. [end]
Report: Israel staged air force drill over Gibraltar
Ma’an News Agency
5/3/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - Israel’s air force conducted an exercise over the British colony of Gibraltar, on the coast of southern Spain, the French weekly L’Express reported on Sunday. According to the report, the exercise was carried out nearly 4,000 kilometers from Israel, perhaps to prove that Israel can strike as far away as Tehran, Iran. [end]
Israeli cabinet approves creation of three new ministries
Ma’an News Agency
5/3/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - Israel’s cabinet on Sunday approved the creation of three new government ministries, according to Israeli news reports. The three will deal with strategy, intelligence and information, and will be led by Moshe Yaalon, Dan Meridor and Yull Edelstein, respectively, the Israeli news agency Ynet reported. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said that "the creation of the new ministries is not meant to curtail the responsibilities of other ministries. "[end]
Palestinian police arrest alleged murderer
Ma’an News Agency
5/3/2009 - Jerusalem - Ma’an - Palestinian Authority police on Saturday arrested a man accused of murdering a 28-year-old man from the village of Qatanna on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Detectives from the PA’s Jerusalem district police, accompanied with a government prosecutor, had examined the victim at a hospital in the central West Bank city of Ramallah. The attorney ordered that the body be sent for autopsy. The man accused of the murder, a 31-year-old Palestinian from Qatanna, was arrested. He was handed over to PA preventive security. According to police, a fight had erupted between the alleged killer and the victim, where the latter had shot the former in the head and left leg. Then, the alleged killer grabbed a gun he had stolen from an Israeli settlement, emptying all the rounds into the victim, police said.
PFLP wing fires at Israeli army unit in northern Gaza
Ma’an News Agency
5/3/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - The militant wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, claimed responsibility on Sunday for targeting an Israeli army engineering unit east of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. The group said in a statement that they fired at the Israeli unit using machine guns, asserting that the attack "comes in retaliation for Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people. " [end]
Nine Bedouin Palestinians arrested for planning attacks
Ma’an News Agency
5/3/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - Police in Israel, in coordination with the country’s Shin Bet intelligence agency, arrested nine Bedouin Palestinian men suspected of planning attacks on Israel, according to a gag order lifted Sunday. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the men are residents of Shraram, all in their 20s, and were detained within the last few days. They are accused of plotting attacks on Israeli civilians on national highways, the newspaper reported. They allegedly planned to topple electrical poles, block traffic and throw stones and tires on central Israeli highways, police said. The group was reportedly formed in late December 2008, in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The suspects have admitted to their involvement in the cell, police said, and were responsible for toppling two poles along a highway, lightly injuring an Israeli woman.
De facto police ban loud celebrations in light of exams
Ma’an News Agency
5/3/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - De facto police in the Gaza Strip announced on Sunday that they will ban street celebrations without licenses due to upcoming final exams in the Palestinian territories. The police said in a statement they will give out licenses for celebrations on the condition that hosts agree they will end by 11pm. Loudspeakers will also have to be turned to low to provide an appropriate atmosphere for students in the Gaza Strip to study, the de facto police statement added.
Gaza airstrike victims laid to rest
Ma’an News Agency
5/3/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Two Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes were laid to rest after a solemn funeral procession in the city of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Hamdan Al-Astal and Khalil Abu Jarad were killed when Israeli warplanes bombed smuggling tunnels along the Egyptian border in the city of Rafah on Saturday. The air attacks followed three months of relative calm in Gaza. Dozens of family members and local residents marched in the procession, which followed a funeral prayer at the city’s main mosque. The two were buried in the main cemetery in Khan Younis. [end]
Israeli soldier stabbed near Tel Aviv
Ma’an News Agency
5/3/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - An Israeli soldier was stabbed after disembarking a bus in Ramat Gan, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv on Sunday. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, a man stepped off the bus immediately after the soldier and stabbed him in the neck with a knife. The soldier told rescue workers that the attacker "was an Arab," according to the same report. Police are still searching for the assailant, who fled the scene. While there is speculation that the attack may have been an act of political violence, authorities have not yet pronounced the incident a "terrorist attack. " There has been no claim of responsibility from any Palestinian group. [end]
Hamas confirms: Mash’al reelected as leader
Ma’an News Agency
5/3/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Hamas confirmed on Sunday that Khalid Mash’al has been reelected as the leader of its Political Bureau after a series of secret elections. Three leaders from Gaza, Mahmoud Az-Zahhar, Khalil Al-Hayya and Nizar Awadallah, have also been elected to the Political Bureau, Hamas sources confirmed. The news of Mash’al’s reelection first leaked to Ma’an on 27 April. Hamas is refusing to release the names of its leaders in the West Bank who are joining the political bureau, citing security reasons. In March, Israel seized ten senior Hamas leaders in an overnight sweep. Hamas has also confirmed that Muhamad Nazzal, formerly a prominent member of the Political Bureau, was replaced in the election by Osama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon. Other changes were made to the makeup of the Political Bureau, but Hamas is refusing to disclose the full list, fearing Israeli assassinations and arrests.
Abbas to tell Obama: No negotiations without two-state goal
Ma’an News Agency
5/3/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will tell US President Barack Obama that renewed peace negotiations with Israel are conditioned on its acceptance of the two-state model. "We will go the Washington on May 28 to talk with the US administration about our conditions to resume peace negotiations with Israel in the future," Abbas said after meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Sunday, according to AFP. "Our conditions and demands are based on the two-state solution and Israel’s halt of settlement building as well as house demolitions. These are our demands and the demands of the Americans themselves to resume the talks," he said, according to AFP. Abbas also said that King Abdullah raised "important issues" and suggestions for Abbas’ meeting with Obama. Obama invited the leaders of Palestine, Israel, and Egypt to the US over the coming month in a bid to resume formal peace talks.
Two die in air raid on Gaza tunnels
Al Jazeera
2 May 2009 - Israeli bombings near Rafah said to be in response to Palestinian rocket fire.
Iranian jets ’hit’ Iraqi Kurd areas
Al Jazeera
2 May 2009 - If confirmed, the Sulaymaniya raid would be the first by Iran targeting the region.
Hezbollah slams Hariri death probe
Al Jazeera
1 May 2009 - Nasrallah calls investigation into Hariri’s death dishonest and political.
UN says Egypt pig cull real mistake
Al Jazeera
29 Apr 2009 - Agency says no reason for slaughter as flu is spread from human-to-human.
OPT: Gaza citizens at risk from rubbish, rubble, unexploded ordnance
IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
GAZA CITY Thursday, April 30, 2009 (IRIN) - Unexploded ordnance (UXO) and the uncontrolled dumping of rubbish pose the greatest environmental and public health risks to residents of the Gaza Strip, according to the UN Development Programme (UNDP). A further study is planned by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
MIDDLE EAST: Regional efforts to prepare for swine flu
IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
DUBAI Wednesday, April 29, 2009 (IRIN) - Middle East countries are taking precautionary measures against swine flu as the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the global influenza pandemic alert level to Phase 4 after the influenza A /H1N1 virus infection claimed more than 150 lives in Mexico and spread to several other countries.
MIDEAST: 60,000 Palestinians at Risk in Jerusalem, UN Warns
Inter Press Service
JERUSALEM, May 1 (IPS) - A report published Friday by a United Nations agency has warned that the problems facing the people of Silwan, who are facing eviction from their homes, are replicated throughout East Jerusalem.
LEBANON: Generals’ Release May Influence June Election
Inter Press Service
WASHINGTON, Apr 30 (IPS) - On Wednesday, a judge at the Hague-based "Special Tribunal for Lebanon" (STL) ordered Lebanon to release four senior Lebanese generals imprisoned since 2005 on suspicion of involvement in killing former prime minister Rafiq Hariri in February of that year.
ENVIRONMENT: Israel Stripping West Bank Quarries
Inter Press Service
RAMALLAH, Apr 30 (IPS) - Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din is taking the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), the Israeli civil administration and a number of Israeli mining companies to court.
MIDEAST: A Former ’Terrorist’ Speaks Out
Inter Press Service
JENIN, Northern West Bank, Apr 30 (IPS) - A former high-level Palestinian resistance fighter, who spent years on the run from Israel’s security forces, has just been appointed to the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs, and made honorary theatre director.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/1934.shtml
Stop The Wall
3 May 2009 - After arrests and injuries on Workers Day, the Bethlehem branch of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) and the popular committees against the Apartheid Wall in al Ma’sara and the district call on trade unions around the globe to increase solidarity and join the BDS call. [
Four al-Ma’sara popular committee members arrested
Stop The Wall
2 May 2009 - This week, anti-Wall demonstrations held to commemorate the first of May were met with violence and organizers arrested. Occupation forces attacked a May Day festival and demonstration in al-Ma’sara, injuring nine people and arresting the village popular committee. Soldiers also fired upon residents in Bi’lin and tried to break the protest in Ni’lin, where they occupied homes in the early morning. [
Military Court in Hebron Sentences Civilian to Death, PCHR Urges President not to Ratify Sentence
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
PCHR
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 23 - 28 April 2009
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
PCHR - During the reporting period, 20 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children, were wounded by IOF and Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Five Palestinian farmers and two internationals detained while trying to work lands near Israeli military camp
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 30 April 2009 - On the 30th of April, five farmers from the village of Asira ash-Shamaliya and two international solidarity activists were detained while trying to farm their lands close to an Israeli military camp. - Asira ash-Shamaliya is a Palestinian village north of the city of Nablus. - An Israeli military camp was built more than ten years ago on the mountain between the village and Nablus. - Lands close to the military camp belong to several Palestinian farmers, who until recently have been too afraid to access their lands due to constant army harassment. At around 9pm, the five farmers and solidarity activists arrived at the fields with a tractor, a donkey, and a horse. - As soon as the farmers appeared, an army jeep drove up along the military road which connects the camp to nearby Checkpoint 17. - Three soldiers got out and ordered the farmers and internationals to give them their IDs.
Palestinian youth shot by Israeli settlers while working his land
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 27 April 2009 - On Monday, the 27th of April, 17-year-old Mohammad Farraj was shot by Israeli settlers while working his lands in Madama, southeast of the city of Nablus. - At around 12:00pm, Mohammad was alone picking almonds on his land near the illegal Israeli settlement of Yizhar. - At least one settler drove up along the nearby settler-only road and shot him in the chest from about 200 meters away. - Mohammad heard three or four shots, and at least one bullet hit him, entering his upper shoulder and exciting through his back. Mohammad was found wounded by other villagers in the area, who took him in a taxi to the local clinic. - From the clinic, he was transferred by ambulance to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus. - Once at Rafidia, he underwent an emergency operation and was connected to blood tubes. - His condition was described by doctors as moderate.
Trying to ease friction, Lieberman extends term of envoy to Egypt
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman opted to extend the posting of Israel’s ambassador to Cairo until August, in order to avoid any friction that might be caused by the appointment of a person close to the minister as Israel’s envoy to Egypt. ...
German detectives: ’Dr. Death’ probably not dead
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - BERLIN - German investigators have doubts over a media report that Nazi war criminal Aribert Heim, known as "Doctor Death," died in Egypt in 1992, Der Spiegel magazine said. ...
Israel’s next ambassador to U.S. tells AIPAC: We won’t let Iran get nuclear weapons
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - WASHINGTON - Pouring rain did not prevent more than 6,000 people from attending Sunday’s opening of the annual AIPAC conference in Washington, which is considered one of the city’s 10 biggest political and media events. ...
Wikipedia editors say ’problematic’ coverage of Israel reflects discourse
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - Wikipedia’s coverage of Israel-related issues is "problematic," leading Israeli internet researchers claimed Sunday at the Wikipedia Academy 2009 Conference dealing with the world’s largest encyclopedia. The conference was organized by Wikimedia’s volunteer-based Israel chapter and Tel Aviv University’s Netvision Institute for Internet Studies. However, the Web site’s leading manager said it merely reflected public discourse. ...
Leading German politician says Netanyahu government won’t harm ties with EU
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - He is one of the leading members of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union party, a possible successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel and minister-president of North Rhine-Westphalia, the country’s most populous and richest state. In speaking with Jurgen Ruttgers, 57, one gets the impression he is also a committed, almost blind, friend of Israel, at a time when the attitude toward Israel in a number of European capitals has become noticeably cooler. ...
Israel’s budding autocracy | Dimi Reider
The Guardian
30 Apr 2009 - The arrest of members of a pacifist NGO is symptomatic of a country that is becoming militarised at an alarming pace The first raids took place at about 7am on Sunday. Across the country, activists in...
Israel bombs tunnels on Gaza-Egypt border
The Guardian
2 May 2009 - Israel says its aircraft have attacked three smuggling tunnels on the Gaza-Egypt border. There were no reports of injuries. Yesterday’s air strikes came hours after Gaza militants fired two mortar shells at southern Israel, causing no...
Letters: Reality of gaining access to Gaza
The Guardian
1 May 2009 - Bill Rammell is disingenuous when he says that the UK does not control access to Gaza (Letters, 28 April). He knows the Egyptians require those wanting to cross the border to have a letter from their...
US government to drop espionage charges against Aipac officials
The Guardian
1 May 2009 - Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman accused of providing US defence secrets to Israeli embassy in Washington The US government is to drop espionage charges against two officials of America’s most powerful pro-Israel lobby group accused of...
One more suspected case of swine flu in Israel
Ha’aretz
2 May 2009 - A 3-year-old girl has been hospitalized in Jerusalem after displaying flu-like symptoms upon her return from Mexico, the Health Ministry relayed Sunday, sparking fears that one more Israeli could have contracted swine flu. ...
Man convicted of burning girlfriend to death after financial dispute
Ha’aretz
2 May 2009 - A Haifa district court convicted Ivtor Avshalomov Sunday of murdering his life-partner, Larissa Davidov. ...
Third Israeli diagnosed with swine flu
Ha’aretz
2 May 2009 - Doctors at Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center on Saturday quarantined a 34-year-old man who recently returned from Mexico and was diagnosed with swine flu. The man’s 27-year-old partner, who was with him in Mexico, is also under quarantine but has not yet been positively identified as having the virus. ...
Ex-IDF chief named to head Ministry of Strategic Affairs
Ha’aretz
2 May 2009 - The Cabinet on Sunday approved the creation of three new government ministries, to oversee affairs of strategy, intelligence and public relations. ...
Israel set to quit divided Lebanon border town
Ha’aretz
2 May 2009 - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to announce this week that Israel is interested in withdrawing from the northern part of the village of Ghajar on the border with Lebanon. ...
Over 24,600 Palestinian families facing hardship in the Gaza Strip to collect social allowances due in March 2009
ReliefWeb
3 May 2009 - Source: European Commission, Palestinian National Authority
OPT: Israeli forces open fire at Gaza farmers - eyewitnesses
ReliefWeb
2 May 2009 - Source: Deutsche Presse Agentur
OPT: Israeli air strikes kill 2 in Gaza tunnel
ReliefWeb
2 May 2009 - Source: Reuters
OPT: Logistics Cluster Gaza crisis consolidated situation report, 25 Apr - 01 May 2009
ReliefWeb
2 May 2009 - Source: Logistics Cluster
Secretary-General appoints Marta Santos Pais of Portugal as Special Representative on Violence against Children
ReliefWeb
1 May 2009 - Source: UN Secretary-General
OPT: Palestinian refugees - the regional perspective
ReliefWeb
1 May 2009 - Source: Chatham House
Health Action in Crises - Highlights No. 256, 27 Apr - 03 May 2009
ReliefWeb
1 May 2009 - Source: World Health Organization
OPT: First Israeli strike in 2 months hits Gaza tunnels
ReliefWeb
1 May 2009 - Source: Reuters
Another swine flu patient released from hospital
YNetNews
3 May 2009 - Tel Aviv resident recovers just day after being admitted to hospital; his partner also released after testing negative for disease. Doctor says swine flu cases in Israel ’very mild’
Yishai vows to settle Jews in east Jerusalem
YNetNews
3 May 2009 - Interior minister tells Jews who purchased property in Silwan village that they have right to land because ’City of David is bedrock of our existence’; PA official retaliates: ’Israeli gov’t is gov’t of settlers’
Assad urges US to talk to Hamas, Hizbullah
YNetNews
3 May 2009 - In interview with French TV, Syrian president says Damascus ready to help broker contacts with terror groups, says isolating them ’counterproductive if Washington wants to seek regional peace’
Iran slams US-Israeli ’nuclear cooperation’
YNetNews
3 May 2009 - Papers submitted by Tehran’s delegation to upcoming conference on Non-Proliferation Treaty say Washington in clear breach of accord by developing new atomic weapons, providing nuclear aid to ’Zionist regime’ and India; Western diplomats: Iran on the offensive to keep focus away from its nuclear program
Report: Syria tightens control on media, Internet
YNetNews
3 May 2009 - 225 Internet sites blocked last year, including several Arab newspapers and portals, Amazon, Facebook and YouTube, author of report on censorship in Syria says, adding ’internal and external conditions combined to make it easier to violate individual rights’
Japanese court sends Israeli to prison for possession of drugs
YNetNews
3 May 2009 - Y, one of three ultra-Orthodox youths caught with 90,000 ecstasy pills, hopes to serve 8-year term in Israel
Soldier stabbed in suspected terror attack; sustains mild to moderate wounds
YNetNews
3 May 2009 - IDF soldier sustains light to moderate wounds after being knifed while getting off bus in central Ramat Gan by man who eyewitnesses say ’looked like an Arab’; assailant flees scene on foot, security forces launch manhunt; investigators increasingly convinced attack nationalistically motivated
Future ambassador to US: Israel won’t allow nuclear Iran
YNetNews
3 May 2009 - During annual AIPAC convention, Michael Oren says he doesn’t believe Israel will allow Tehran to develop nuclear weapon; MK Sheetrit: Anyone who supports an Israeli strike in Iran is mad
Policemen sentenced to prison for incident exposed by B’Tselem
B’tselem
27 Apr 2009 - The Jerusalem District Court sentenced two additional border policemen for their involvement in the 2002 abduction and killing of "Imran Abu Hamdiya, a Palestinian from Hebron.
Testimony: Settlers assault young pregnant Palestinian
B’tselem
22 Apr 2009 - On 10 April, Roqaya al-Hazalin, together with a group of women and children, were grazing sheep near their village, in the Hebron District. According to her testimony, four armed settlers with sticks approached them. The other shepherds she was with ran a
Netanyahu favors Israeli withdrawal from Ghajar - report
Daily Star
3 May 2009 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu favors an Israeli withdrawal from a village on the Lebanese border and will discuss the issue with cabinet ministers this week, an Israeli government source said on Sunday, according to media reports. Israel’s Haaretz newspaper said the United States was pressing Netanyahu for a pullout from Ghajar.
Lieberman to press Europe to delay peace push
Daily Star
3 May 2009 - Israel’s ultra-nationalist Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman leaves on Sunday on his first official trip abroad, aiming to reassure the Europeans amid rising tensions over the stalled peace process. The minister, who has triggered controversy over his virulently anti-Arab stance, will tell the Europeans to be patient while Israel’s new cabinet draws up.
Nearly 20,000 infected with HIV in Iran
Daily Star
3 May 2009 - At least 19,435 Iranians have been infected with the HIV virus, with more than 1,000 new cases recorded since December 2008, the ISNA news agency reported Sunday, quoting the Health Ministry. Of those infected, 1,875 are already confirmed as having AIDS, it said.
Israeli air strikes kill 2 Palestinians in Gaza tunnels
Daily Star
3 May 2009 - Israeli warplanes bombed tunnels beneath the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on Saturday killing two Palestinians. Palestinian fighters also fired several mortars at Israel from the coastal territory, medical workers said. The workers, who reached the area hours after the attacks, said.
Iran execution of woman draws Amnesty’s ire
Daily Star
3 May 2009 - Iranian authorities executed on Friday a 23-year-old woman convicted of a murder allegedly committed when she was still a teenager, the rights group Amnesty International said, expressing outrage over the execution. Delara Darabi was found guilty of murdering a relative during a burglary she carried out along with a friend at the age of 17.
Hamas vows to resist any fresh IOF aggression on Gaza
Palestinian Information Center
3 May 2009 - The Hamas Movement has vowed Sunday to confront any Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip with all available means, pledging not to surrender or concede any of the national constants..
Abu Marzouk: Palestinian negotiators committed unforgivable mistake
Palestinian Information Center
3 May 2009 - Dr. Mousa Abu Marzouk, the deputy political bureau chairman of Hamas, has expressed fears that Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu might insist on the idea of a "Jewish" state.
Bardawil: Habbash statement reflects state of tension
Palestinian Information Center
3 May 2009 - MP Dr. Salah Al-Bardawil said that the statement of Mahmoud Habbash, the minister in Ramallah’s illegitimate government, reflected the state of tension which he and his government were experiencing.
Khater: IOA wants to turn Jerusalem into a closed Jewish ghetto
Palestinian Information Center
3 May 2009 - Dr. Hassan Khater, the secretary general of the Islamic-Christian front, charged that the IOA wants to turn Jerusalem into a Jewish ghetto after getting rid of all its non-Jewish inhabitants.
Hamas renews election of Mishaal as political bureau chairman
Palestinian Information Center
3 May 2009 - Hamas has completed its internal elections process and renewed chairmanship of Khaled Mishaal for its political bureau for the fourth consecutive time, a responsible source in the Movement said.
IOF soldiers fire at Palestinian farmers
Palestinian Information Center
3 May 2009 - Israeli occupation forces on Sunday opened machinegun fire at Palestinian farmers who were tending to their lands in Farahin area east of Khan Younis district, south of the Gaza Strip.
Haneyya asks Europe to lift Hamas from 'terrorism' list
Palestinian Information Center
3 May 2009 - Ismail Haneyya, the premier of the PA government, has asked the European countries to lift Hamas from the list of "terrorist" organizations, highlighting that Hamas is a national liberation movement.
PA in Ramallah plans to build 52 new prisons in West Bank
Palestinian Information Center
3 May 2009 - The PA in Ramallah under Mahmoud Abbas, whose term in office expired last January, is planning to build 52 new prisons in various West Bank areas, senior security sources revealed on Saturday.
PFLP: Formation of expanded gov’t without consensus endorses split
Palestinian Information Center
3 May 2009 - Dr. Rabah Mihana, the politburo member of the PFLP, has said that the reported establishment of an expanded PA government without national consensus would only deepen the internal Palestinian rift.
Two Palestinians killed in IOF raid
Palestinian Information Center
3 May 2009 - Palestinian medics on Saturday evening retrieved the bodies of two citizens who were buried under the rubble of one of the tunnels at the Egyptian-Palestinian borders following an Israeli air raid.
Rights groups denounce execution in Iran
Los Angeles Times
3 May 2009 - Human Rights Watch says authorities ignored a judge’s stay of execution. Delara Darabi, 23, was hanged after being convicted of murder in an unfair trial, the rights groups say. Human rights groups on Saturday condemned Iran for executing a 23-year-old woman who they maintained had received an unfair trial when she was convicted of murder as a juvenile.
Israel warplanes strike Gaza border tunnels
Los Angeles Times
3 May 2009 - The military attacks the conduits for weapons smuggling from Egypt after militants fire mortar rounds into southern Israel. Two Palestinians are killed. Israeli warplanes on Saturday bombed tunnels beneath the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, killing two Palestinian men, after militants fired mortar rounds into Israel from the coastal territory, according to the Israeli military and Palestinian medical workers.
Israel picks historian Michael Oren as ambassador to U.S.
Los Angeles Times
3 May 2009 - The New York-born dual citizen, a prize-winning author who is well connected in U.S. political circles, is likely to be an effective advocate for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A New York-born and Princeton-educated historian and commentator on Middle East affairs has been chosen Israel’s next ambassador to Washington, Israeli news media reported Saturday.
2 Killed as Israel Hits Egypt-Gaza Tunnels
New York Times
2 May 2009 - The Palestinians who were killed were the first fatalities in the conflict with Israel since early March.
American-Born Academic Appointed Israeli Ambassador to U.S.
New York Times
2 May 2009 - Michael Oren has worked at a conservative research institute and has taught at leading universities.
Rights Groups Condemn Iran for Execution
New York Times
2 May 2009 - Iran has executed a woman convicted of murdering her father’s cousin when she was 17, Iranian news media reported Saturday.
The Jerusalem municipality hands out more demolishing orders to Palestinian-owned homes
International Middle East Media Center
4 May 2009 - The Israeli municipality handed out a new wave of demolishing orders on Monday to Palestinian families in Jerusalem old city and around it.
The Israeli military kidnaps ten Palestinians during invasions targeting West Bank communities
International Middle East Media Center
4 May 2009 - Ten Palestinian civilians were kidnapped during Israeli military invasions targeting a number of west Bank cities on Monday.
Israel to Gaza patients: Be a TRAITOR and you can get Medication
International Middle East Media Center
4 May 2009 - Israel’s Shin Bet internal security service has increased its interrogations of people seeking to leave Hamas-run Gaza for medical treatment, a rights group said in a report on Monday.
Israeli Interior Minister confirms support to illegal settlement outposts in Silwan
International Middle East Media Center
4 May 2009 - Hatim Abdul-Qader, Jerusalem Affairs Advisor to the Palestinien Prime Minister, sated that Israel’s vice Prime Minster, Interior Minister, Eli Yisha, stated during a Sunday night meeting with extremist settler groups at a Palestinian home illegally captured in Silwan town, in East Jerusalem, that his government will approve all settlement plans provided by settlers groups.
Israeli troops kidnap a Palestinian from Beit Sahour
International Middle East Media Center
4 May 2009 - Israeli soldiers carried out on Sunday at dawn a fast invasion into Beit Sahour town, near Bethlehem, and kidnapped a 29-year old Palestinian man after breaking into his parents’ apartment, and the apartments of his three uncles.
Soldier stabbed near Tel Aviv
International Middle East Media Center
4 May 2009 - Israeli sources reported Sunday that a Palestinian man stabbed an Israeli army soldier in the neck as the soldier was getting of a bus in Ramat Gaza city, near Tel Aviv.
Two Palestinians injured by military fire in the Gaza Strip
International Middle East Media Center
4 May 2009 - Palestinian medical sources reported that one Palestinian man was moderately wounded on Sunday at night by Israeli military fire targeting an open area east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. -Another Palestinian was injured in a separate attack in northern Gaza.
Israeli forces arrest nine Bedouins as ’terrorists’ for throwing stones, toppling poles
International Middle East Media Center
3 May 2009 - According to Israeli police, nine Bedouin Arabs from the town of Shfaram in Israel have been arrested as a ’terrorist cell’ for throwing stones at Israeli cars while Israel was invading Gaza in January.
Israeli soldier claims he was attacked by Palestinian with knife
International Middle East Media Center
3 May 2009 - An Israeli soldier claimed to have been "attacked by an Arab" while getting off the bus in the Israeli city of Ramat Gan. He said the man stabbed him in the neck with a knife, but he was not badly injured by the attack.
Israeli settler bulldozes Palestinian orchards near Bethlehem
International Middle East Media Center
3 May 2009 - Local sources reported that a lone Israeli settler took a bulldozer and completely destroyed 5 acres of Palestinian almond groves and vineyards, damaging at least 70 more acres, in Al Khadr village near Bethlehem.
U.S. Plans to drop charges against alleged Israeli spies
International Middle East Media Center
3 May 2009 - The U.S. Government announced Friday that it plans to drop all charges against two long-term lobbyists of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), after a U.S. Congressmember was implicated in the case. The move came just two days before the opening of the AIPAC Annual Convention in Washington, DC, at a time when polls of the US population show increasing discontent with the level of US government aid given unconditionally to the state of Israel.
Four settlers, including two settler-soldiers, arrested after attacking a Palestinian village
International Middle East Media Center
3 May 2009 - Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported on Saturday night that four Israeli settlers, including two soldiers on leave, were arrested by the army after attacking Khirbit Safa village, near the southern West Bank City of Hebron.
Syria looks to Lebanon War for tips on arming Hezbollah
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - Sources say Syria intent on maintaining a military strategy based mainly on air defense and anti-tank weapons.
Jerusalem publishes plan to boost housing for city’s Arabs
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - Mayor says ’master plan’ to comprise 23,550 new housing units; Palestinians call outline insufficent.
UN to press Israel to exit Lebanon border village
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - While in Lebanon, UN peacekeeping chief says hopeful deal can be reached soon on divided town of Ghajar.
Gaza smugglers kill Egyptian soldier near Rafah border
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - Smugglers flee into Egypt after guards begin shooting at them, some 12 miles south of border.
Poll: 66% of Israeli Jews back attack on Iran
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - ADL poll finds a majority of those who favor strike would maintain their support even if U.S. opposed strike.
Second IDF soldier stabbed in central Israel in two days
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - Soldier lightly hurt, incident apparently not terror-related; police arrest suspect in Ramat Gan stabbing.
Police arrest suspect in IDF soldier stabbing in Ramat Gan
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - Eye-witnesses said the soldier had gotten off a public bus when another man ran stabbed him and fled.
If Israel acquiesces on Iran, world will follow suit
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - Israel’s ambiguity has failed to attract international support or deter Iran’s drive for nuclear weapons.
Gazans pressured to collaborate in exchange for medical treatment
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israel’s intelligence services are increasingly pressuring Palestinian patients from Gaza to spy and inform on other Palestinians if they want to enter Israel for medical treatment, a report released on Monday by an Israeli rights organization said. Data and 30 testimonies collected by Physicians for Human Rights - Israel (PHR-I) and presented at the UN Committee Against Torture in Geneva, indicates a rise in the number of Palestinian patients interrogated and forced to provide information, usually at the Erez border crossing into Israel. According to PHR-I, Israel’s General Security Service (GSS, known as Shabak) interrogated minors; photographed patients against their will; harassed, accused, cursed and intimidated patients during interrogations. Patients that did not cooperate were returned to Gaza without receiving a permit to exit for medical treatment, the report said.
Palestinian injured in Israeli shelling in southern Gaza Strip
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - At least one Palestinian was injured on Sunday evening after Israeli artillery shelled an open area east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Dr Muawiya Hassanein, director of Ambulance and Emergency Services in the Palestinian Ministry of Health, said one injured man was delivered to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, having sustained moderate wounds. Separately, Palestinian sources and eyewitnesses said that Israeli forces fired machine guns again toward eastern Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. There was no word on casualties. The sources said helicopters were also seen flying over the area. [end]
Settlers chop down Palestinians’ olive, fig trees near Ramallah
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Ramallah - Ma’an - Dozens of Israeli settlers chopped town Palestinians’ olive and fig trees in the village of Sinjil, north of the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday. Sinjil’s Mayor Imad Abdullah Masalmeh explained that the settlers cut the trees owned by the sick father of four disabled children, Shawqi Hussein Ghafari. The settlers also cut down olive trees owned by Ali Hussein Fuqaha, Adib Ali Fuqaha, Hussein Farhan Dar Khalil, and the family of Muhammad Yousef Khalil. The mayor explained that this village is frequently attacked by settlers, pointing that five settlements and outposts encircle the community. He added that the municipality formed a committee to defend the land from settlers and the expansion of settlements. He said large swaths of the town are threatened with confiscation as a result of settlement expansion.
World Press Freedom Day: Israel drops to ’partly free’
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israel’s press was downgraded to "partly free" by the annual US-funded Freedom House rankings of media freedom around the world on Sunday. Tying with Benin, Israel was dropped from "free" for the first time in the ranking’s history due to its policies of self-censorship over military matters, and particularly the Government Press Office’s decision to ban reporters from entering the Gaza Strip during the country’s devastating assault that began in late December 2008. "Restrictions on journalists and official attempts to influence coverage during the Gaza conflict led to Israel’s Partly Free status," Freedom House said. Israel was ranked 71 this year. Meanwhile, Palestine’s ranking stayed the same, at "not free," due to press restrictions and assaults against journalists by both the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip government and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, which is dominated by Fatah.
Israeli troops apprehend Gaza boy after shooting him
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Israeli forces apprehended a young Palestinian after injuring him east of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. Local sources said Israeli troops seized 12-year-old Ayman Shamiyya after shooting him while he was playing. There was no word about how serious the boy’s injuries were. [end]
Israel arrests 282 'illegal' Palestinians
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - Israeli Border Guard police have arrested 282 Palestinians residing "illegally" inside Israel, according to Israeli media on Monday. In raids that began on Saturday, Israeli forces seized and transferred the Palestinians to Palestinian Authority-controlled areas. Some 21 Israelis suspected of employing Palestinians were also arrested. [end]
Refugee camps’ committees to shut down West Bank UN offices
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Nablus - Ma’an - Popular committees in West Bank refugee camps will close down the offices of UNRWA, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, in protest of alleged reductions in aid. Ibrahim Saqr, the director of Nablus refugee camps’ committees, said that that the decision to strike came after the UN once again rejected the committees’ demands. He also said that the shutdown was a "first step" in a program of protest. On Thursday the committees will shut down the offices of UNRWA’s regional directors as well as warehouses. The committees shut down UN offices in early April in the same dispute. [end]
Spain to continue investigation into 2002 Israeli bombing of Gaza
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - Spain’s National Court plans to proceed with an investigation of Israeli officials for possible war crimes against humanity over the 2002 killing of a Hamas fighter and 14 civilians. Judge Fernando Andreu announced on Monday that the inquiry would continue over the recommendations of prosecutors, who called on him last month to stop the investigation on the grounds that Israel was still investigating the bombing. Andreu said on Monday that he found no evidence of such an investigation, according to AP. The case was opened in January at the request of Palestinian relatives of victims of the attack. Nine children were among the dead. Under the principle of universal jurisdiction, crimes such as genocide, terrorism or torture can be prosecuted in Spain even if they were perpetrated elsewhere.
Three Palestinian boys injured by ordnance in Gaza
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Three Palestinian boys were injured on Sunday evening when ordnance left by Israeli military forces exploded near the eastern cemetery in Gaza City. The victims were evacuated to Kamal Udwan Hospital, where medics said they sustained moderate to light injuries. [end]
Israeli troops set fire to wheat and barley fields in Gaza
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Israeli troops on Monday morning set fire to Palestinian-owned fields of wheat and barley in Juhor Ad-Dik, in the southeastern Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses told Ma’an that the fire devoured several fields at the eastern border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, which Israeli forces have labeled a military zone. Firefighters hurried to the area and began extinguishing the flames. [end]
Fatah affiliates target Israeli soldier near Gaza City
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - The militant wing affiliated with the Fatah movement claimed to have targeted an Israeli soldier at the border near Kissufim in southern Gaza on Monday. The group, the Al-Aqsa Brigades, said in a statement to Ma’an that Brigades fighters "targeted an Israeli soldier while he was located at the border line near Kissufim. " The statement added that "this attack is a normal response to all the Israeli crimes committed against Palestinians and the latest assaults on Jerusalem. "[end]
Israeli court orders prisoners to pay compensation for 2002 Netanya bombing
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Tulkarem - Ma’an - An Israeli court has awarded 9 million shekels (2. 16 million US dollars) in damages to the Park Hotel in the city of Netanya over a March 2002 bombing attack. The lawsuit names seven Palestinians who are all currently jailed in Israel, along with the Palestinian Authority (PA), the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), and Hamas. Thirty Israelis were killed in the attack. Earlier reports indicate that Israel has already frozen 7 million shekels of the PA’s tax revenue in an attempt to coerce it into paying the fine. The 30-page accusation specifically identifies the seven Palestinians, all from the West Bank city of Tulkarem, as being responsible for the attack. The court gave the families of the detainees 30 days to respond. Abdel Basset Odeh from Tulkarem, a member of Hamas’ armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, blew himself up in the hotel on 27 March 2002.
Gaza border crossings with Israel to open Monday
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Israeli authorities decided to open all three commercial crossings to the Gaza Strip on Monday for shipment of fuel and food products, said Raed Fattouh, Palestinian crossing points official. Fattouh told the press that the Kerem Shalom crossing in the southern Gaza Strip will allow the passage of more than 100 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, as well as food products. Karni crossing, according to Fattouh, will also be open and allow passage of 45 trucks loaded with wheat and fodder. Meanwhile, limited quantities of industrial fuel and cooking gas will be shipped through the Nahal Oz crossing, he said. [end]
Israeli court freezes NIS 7 million in PA tax revenue
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - An Israeli central court has ordered the freezing of NIS 7 million of tax revenue Israeli authorities have collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. The decision, according to Israeli sources, was taken on 1 May, after a court hearing related to a case filed by an Israeli family seeking NIS 600 million from the Palestinian government as compensation for the deaths of two Israelis who were killed near the illegal West Bank settlement of Givat Zeev in 2001. The judge determined that tax money under control of the Israeli government does not guarantee any future verdict regarding compensation. He explained that the case had political dimensions, but cannot be taken as a motive to dismiss the case, especially because there is information which proves the Palestinian Authority was responsible for the killing.
Israel closes Karni and Nahal Oz, keeps Kerem Shalom open
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Despite assurances that three Gaza Strip crossing points would open for fuel and food on Monday, Israel kept two closed. The Kerem Shalom crossing in the southeastern Gaza Strip opened on Monday. Crossings official Raed Fattuh told Ma’an that the other two remained closed for unknown reasons. [end]
PA calls for UN investigation into Jerusalem demolitions
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Ramallah - Ma’an - The Palestinian cabinet on Monday held its weekly session headed by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, where officials called on the United Nations to examine Israeli plans and assaults in Jerusalem. Cabinet members criticized Israel’s mass land confiscations and the establishment of new settlements, as well as the enlargement of existing ones. The cabinet highlighted that Israeli authorities have demolished dozens of homes in the Old City of Jerusalem and have kicked out residents. Worshippers, both Muslims and Christians, are deprived of accessing holy places in Jerusalem, the cabinet highlighted. They also pointed out that Israeli authorities stole an Umayyad-era artifact from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and put it in the courtyard of Israeli Knesset. The Palestinian cabinet welcomed the UN’s call for Israel to stop house demolitions in Jerusalem and in. . .
Hamas blames Arab and Islamic countries for Gaza siege
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Hamas condemned on Monday all Arab leaders for bring responsible for the results of the Israeli blockade over the Gaza Strip, calling on Islamic leaders to begin anew and oppose Israeli practices against Palestinians. Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement to Ma’an, "It is impossible to see our people in Gaza dying in cold blood as a result of this siege, and all the other leaders are standing by and overseeing these people and their suffering without doing anything. " "Until this moment the Arab reaction doesn’t equal the Gazan massacre and there is not any justification that the Israeli flags fly in the air of the Arab countries while the siege imposed over Gaza is not lifted," he said. Barhoum added, "I am surprised why the Arab summits in Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt and Saudi Arabia couldn’t take any real decision to lift the siege imposed over. . .
Peres gives nod to Arab peace plan
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israeli President Shimon Peres said on Monday that he hoped the 2002 Arab Peace initiative would be turned into the basis for a final agreement between Israel and its neighbors. "Israel wasn’t a partner to the wording of this initiative. Therefore it doesn’t have to agree to every word," Peres said of the Saudi-backed plan which offers Israel full diplomatic relations if it pulls back to its 1967 borders. "Nevertheless, Israel respects the profound change, and hopes it will be translated into action. I trust that the leadership of [US]President Obama will pave the way to both to a regional agreement and meaningful bilateral negotiations," Peres said in a speech to the annual conference of the US’ most powerful pro-Israeli lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
Palestinian Authority police improving
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - One thousand new recruits joined Palestinian police forces in recent days, including experts in family affairs, the internet, and fraud crimes. Police services were also provided with 280 new police vehicles. But Palestinian police commander Hazim Atallah feels several tasks are yet to be accomplished by police services. "It is insufficient that relations amongst police officers be based on good will, but we rather believe inspection and monitoring are the highest levels of trust," said police commander. A report by the monitoring department gave Palestinian police an evaluation of 91%, and commander Atallah considered that a medal of honor, as in previous reports police got only a 14% evaluation. Atallah attributes the recent success to appointment of young specialists and academics who perform within the scientific method with clear goals and objectives.
Employees union: PA Salaries to be paid Thursday
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Nablus - Ma’an - Palestinian Authority salaries will be paid by Thursday at the latest, according to Amjad Abu Ra’d, the head of the Employees Union in Nablus. Abu Ra’d said that the union received confirmations from the Palestinian Ministry of Finance saying that salaries will be paid on time and will be available in banks before the 7th of this month. [end]
Fatah denies rumors Abbas picked sixth conference delegates
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Fatah Central Committee Secretary Hakam Bal’awi denied rumors on Sunday that Palestinian presidency chose members to join Fatah’s sixth conference. He said in a statement, "This is false and the whole buzz is a lie aimed at incitement because the president’s office and related authorities and institutions have a quota of members, following decision of the Preparatory Committee. "Media outlets had published various numbers of members joining the conference, including news that President Mahmoud Abbas had worked to include a number of members related to him in that conference, numbering some 120 delegates. [end]
Hebron police forces arrest two alleged kidnappers
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Hebron - Ma’an - The police investigations department in Hebron arrested two suspects over an alleged kidnapping on Sunday. The investigation center said in a statement received by Ma’an, "The police force directly moved to the spot as soon as they received a report on a citizen who was kidnapped and in less than two hours the kidnapped was released and the two kidnappers were seized by the forces. "Brigadier Ahmad Atawneh, the head of public relations at the Hebron police department, said that while investigating the two kidnappers they admitted their crime, saying that the issue was over a financial dispute between them and the person who was kidnapped, as well as the victim’s family.
Strong winds knock down 270-year-old Tulkarem palm tree
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Tulkarem - Ma’an - Hajj Abu Ala Al-Eteili wept when he awoke to find that high winds knocked down a 270-year-old palm tree in his garden in the West Bank city of Tulkarem on Monday morning. Al-Eteili told Ma’an that that the tree was knocked down in the early morning hours. He said his father and grandfather were born during the tree’s lifespan. He said that he had cared for the tree his entire life and had taught his children to care for it. "Today I am mourning my tree. I am so upset to lose it," said Al-Eteili. Strong winds knocked down trees across the West Bank on Monday morning and also damaged several greenhouses. [end]
Israel plans to transfer animal vaccines to Gaza Strip
Ma’an News Agency
5/4/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - Israel’s Agriculture Ministry is planning to transfer 75,000 doses of vaccinations for livestock to the Gaza Strip, according to Monday news reports. The vaccinations will be used to prevent the spread of disease for sheep, cattle and chicken in Gaza. [end]
UN probes Israel’s interrogation of Gaza patients
The Palestine Telegraph
Gaza, May 4, (Pal Telegraph) - The UN’s Committee against Torture is investigating Israel’s interrogation of Palestinian patients, who sought treatment outside the Gaza Strip. The move by the UN committee comes as several rights groups have condemned the way Israel is...
The Milan Declaration: Return is a right, no Consent and no Concession'
The Palestine Telegraph
Italy, May 4, (Pal Telegraph) - The Seventh Palestinians in Europe conference concluded with distinct success under the theme "Return is a right, no Consent and no Concession" on 2nd May 2009 in Milan, Italy.
Israel to Gaza patients: Be a TRAITOR and you can get Medication!
The Palestine Telegraph
Gaza Strip, May 4, (Pal Telegraph) - Israel’s Shin Beth internal security service has increased its interrogations of people seeking to leave Hamas-run Gaza for medical treatment, a rights group said in a report on Monday.
Investigators To Set Agenda For Gaza Fact-Finding Mission
The Palestine Telegraph
Geneva, May 4, (Pal Telegraph) - UN investigators begin a weeklong meeting in Geneva Monday in preparation for a fact-finding mission to the Gaza Strip and Israel. The experts are going to the region to look into allegations of war crimes and...
A stage for war and peace
The Palestine Telegraph
Canada, May 3, (Pal Telegraph) British playwright Caryl Churchill is no stranger to political theatre. Works like Cloud 9 and Top Girls are widely studied surrealistic explorations of the problems of gender and sexuality. But what is surprising about her latest play...
Two die in air raid on Gaza tunnels
Al Jazeera
2 May 2009 - Israeli bombings near Rafah said to be in response to Palestinian rocket fire.
Iranian jets ’hit’ Iraqi Kurd areas
Al Jazeera
2 May 2009 - If confirmed, the Sulaymaniya raid would be the first by Iran targeting the region.
Hezbollah slams Hariri death probe
Al Jazeera
1 May 2009 - Nasrallah calls investigation into Hariri’s death dishonest and political.
OPT: Gaza citizens at risk from rubbish, rubble, unexploded ordnance
IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
GAZA CITY Thursday, April 30, 2009 (IRIN) - Unexploded ordnance (UXO) and the uncontrolled dumping of rubbish pose the greatest environmental and public health risks to residents of the Gaza Strip, according to the UN Development Programme (UNDP). A further study is planned by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
MIDDLE EAST: Regional efforts to prepare for swine flu
IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
DUBAI Wednesday, April 29, 2009 (IRIN) - Middle East countries are taking precautionary measures against swine flu as the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the global influenza pandemic alert level to Phase 4 after the influenza A /H1N1 virus infection claimed more than 150 lives in Mexico and spread to several other countries.
RIGHTS-IRAN: Damaging Forced Confessions
Inter Press Service
NEW DELHI, May 4 (IPS) - Iranian political refugees living in India say there is an all too familiar ring about the supposed confessions of arrested journalist Roxana Saberi, which they expect to see footage of on television soon.
RIGHTS-IRAQ: U.N. Report Paints Grim Picture
Inter Press Service
NEW YORK, May 4 (IPS) - Iraqi prisons are torturing detainees, locking people up for months without charges and, in most cases, allowing the perpetrators of these human rights abuses to escape justice, according to a new United Nations report.
MIDEAST: Environment Emerges as a Major Casualty
Inter Press Service
GAZA CITY, May 4 (IPS/IFEJ) - Countless fruit groves across the Gaza Strip are now gone, entire farms bulldozed. The remains of thousands of destroyed homes emit toxic asbestos, while dilapidated infrastructure dumps raw sewage into the Mediterranean Sea. An already deepening environmental crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip has...
POLITICS-US: AIPAC Conference Comes Amid Turmoil
Inter Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 3 (IPS) - The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Washington’s powerful and hawkish pro-Israel lobby, kicked off its annual policy conference this weekend during a period of unusual turbulence both for the organisation and for the U.S. -Israel relationship.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/1934.shtml
Stop The Wall
3 May 2009 - After arrests and injuries on Workers Day, the Bethlehem branch of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) and the popular committees against the Apartheid Wall in al Ma’sara and the district call on trade unions around the globe to increase solidarity and join the BDS call. [
Four al-Ma’sara popular committee members arrested
Stop The Wall
2 May 2009 - This week, anti-Wall demonstrations held to commemorate the first of May were met with violence and organizers arrested. Occupation forces attacked a May Day festival and demonstration in al-Ma’sara, injuring nine people and arresting the village popular committee. Soldiers also fired upon residents in Bi’lin and tried to break the protest in Ni’lin, where they occupied homes in the early morning. [
(04-05-2009) PCHR welcomes the Spanish National Court’s decision to continue investigating suspected Israeli war criminals
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
PCHR
PCHR Strongly Condemns Israeli Plans to Confiscate 12,000 Donums of Palestinian Land in Order to Link the Illegal 'Ma’ale Adumim' and 'Qedar' Settlements
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
PCHR
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 23 - 28 April 2009
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
PCHR - During the reporting period, 20 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children, were wounded by IOF and Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Two Palestinians shot during settler riot in Saffa
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 2 May 2009 - For three days in a row settlers from the right-wing extremist settlement Bet Ayn have entered the land of Khirbet Saffa, an area of Beit Ommar Municipality, shooting at Palestinian homes and damaging agricultural land. On Friday, May 1, approximately 20 settlers set fire to fruit trees belonging to residents of Saffa. Israeli soldiers arrived and chased the settlers away, but then prevented residents from accessing the land to put out the fire, which continued for hours. Soldiers used tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets on Palestinians who gathered in the area to defend the land. On Saturday, May 2, at approximately 10:30am, settlers again entered privately-owned Palestinian land. They left shortly after, but later at approximately 4:30pm returned in a group of 30 individuals who came within 75 meters of Palestinian homes.
PCHR strongly condemns Israeli plans to confiscate 12,000 donums of Palestinian land in order to link the Illegal 'Ma’ale Adumim' and 'Qedar' settlements
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 4 May 2009 - The (PCHR) strongly condemns the Israeli Ministry of the Interior’s decision to expand the illegal West Bank settlement of "Ma’ale Adumim"- and to confiscate 12,000 donums (12 million square meters) of Palestinian land. In the context of policies aimed to establishing a Jewish majority in occupied East Jerusalem - thereby consolidating its illegal annexation - the Israeli Minister of Interior, Elli Yishai, decided to adopt the recommendations of a special committee established by his ministry to link "Qedar" settlement with the larger "Ma’ale Adumim" settlement, east of Jerusalem. Under the Israeli Ministry of Interior’s plan, at least 12,000 donums of Palestinian land will be annexed to "Ma’ale Adumim", linking it with the smaller "Qedar" settlement, which is located nearly 3 kilometers to the east.
Palestinians demonstrate against Susiya settlement expansion
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 5 May 2009 - Over one hundred Israeli and Palestinian members of Combatants for Peace gathered peacefully in the Palestinian village of Susiya on 5 May to mark the installation in the village of solar panels and a wind turbine which will provide electricity to the Palestinian village in the South Hebron Hills. After viewing the panels and turbine, and listening to leaders of the nonviolent resistance in the South Hebron Hills, the group walked towards a house that settlers from the nearby Susiya settlement had built on Palestinian land. Soldiers met the group and read aloud an order declaring the area closed. The group then returned to the village and remained for two hours, talking together and learning about the effects of the occupation on the area. The original village of Susiya was established in the 1830’s when Palestinians from the South Hebron region purchased the land on the outskirts of the region.
Gazans demonstrate in Gaza City for May Day
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 1 May 2009 - Thousands of Palestinians, mainly supporters of the 3 main Palestinian leftist parties (PFLP, DFLP, PPP) gathered in Gaza City for the Workers Day demonstration, which was celebrated this year on Thursday the 30th of April because of the holiday on Friday. Many children and young men participated, but almost no women. The supporters of the 3 different parties were marching all together, without forming separate blocks, giving a clear sign of unity of the left and of the Palestinians in general. In the same day, two Palestinian civilians, workers in the tunnels in Rafah area, were killed in an accident when one of the tunnels collapsed. Because of the siege imposed by Israel and Egypt, Palestinians are forced to dig tunnels in order to cross the borders to Egypt and bring the necessary food, fuel and other goods in Gaza Strip.
Release the Palestinian activists arrested in al-Ma’sara
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 4 May 2009 - After arrests and injuries on Workers Day, Palestinian workers and activists call on trade unions around the globe to increase solidarity On May 1, people from the village of al-Ma’sara and the neighbouring villages in Bethlehem area commemorated Workers Day with a march in protest against the Apartheid Wall. The Wall continues to encroach on their land and isolates their villages. The demonstration and Workers Day festival was organized by the popular committees of the Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign in al Ma’sara and Bethlehem district, in cooperation with the Bethlehem branch of the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU). Israeli Occupation forces repressed the mobilization and fired on the crowd with tear gas, sound bombs and rubber coated steel bullets. Nine people were injured, among them the head of the PGFTU, Shaher Sa’ad.
Lieberman to push EU to upgrade Israel ties
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, on his first official trip abroad, said he had traveled to Europe to exchange opinions on Israel’s new policies and push for a planned upgrade in EU relations, which some officials in the bloc have threatened to put on hold. ...
Dozens killed in attack on fragile Turkish-Kurd region
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - Unidentified gunmen armed with rifles and grenades attacked a wedding party in southeastern Turkey on Monday, killing at least 44 people, local officials said. ...
Israeli envoy taunted with anti-Semitic slurs in Madrid
Ha’aretz
4 May 2009 - A torrent of anti-Semitic epithets met Israel’s ambassador to Spain, Rafi Shotz, Saturday evening as he walked home from a Real Madrid-Barcelona soccer match in the Spanish capital. Shotz said the three perpetrators, patrons of a pub, shouted slurs like "Jewish dog" and "dirty Jew" until they were driven off by Spanish police escorting Shotz. ...
WATCH: American officials address AIPAC pro-Israel lobby
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton...
Lieberman: This government will reach peace with Palestinians
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Monday that he was confident the current Israeli government could reach peace with the Palestinians, but stopped short of endorsing the two-state solution sought by Europe and the United States. ...
Letters: Reality of gaining access to Gaza
The Guardian
1 May 2009 - Bill Rammell is disingenuous when he says that the UK does not control access to Gaza (Letters, 28 April). He knows the Egyptians require those wanting to cross the border to have a letter from their...
End Palestinian demolitions in Jerusalem, UN tells Israel
The Guardian
1 May 2009 - Report increases pressure over displaced families but mayor says planning policy even-handed The United Nations has called on Israel to end its programme of demolishing homes in East Jerusalem and tackle a mounting housing crisis for...
Lieberman begins European tour in attempt to sway EU policy on Israel
The Guardian
4 May 2009 - Initiative by ultra-nationalist foreign minister comes at low point in relations between EU and Israel Israel’s new ultra-nationalist foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, kicked off his first tour of European capitals today amid Israeli threats to shun...
Antisemitic alarm bells | Antony Lerman
The Guardian
4 May 2009 - The outcry over Caryl Churchill’s play is rendering the word ’antisemitism’ meaningless There are already many words on record denouncing Caryl Churchill’s play Seven Jewish Children as antisemitic. We can now add to them the official...
Israeli Arabs sue bus company for refusing to let them board
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - Four Israeli Arabs on Monday sued the Dan bus company for allegedly barring them from boarding a vehicle because of their ethnicity. ...
Netanyahu: Lands administration reform will reduce housing prices
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - "The [Israel Lands Administration] reform will enable the general public to become the owners of the apartments and houses that they live in, and will end the dependence on inefficient and burdensome Bureaucratic mechanisms," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monda after a ministerial committee approved the changes to the ILA. ...
Second IDF soldier stabbed in central Israel in two days
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - An Israel Defense Forces soldier was hospitalized on Monday with lights wounds, after he was stabbed in the central city of Ra’anana. ...
Heat wave across Israel causes fires, airport delays
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - Israeli airports on Monday experienced delays and closures due to the extreme weather conditions affecting the country. ...
Depeche Mode fans count down to group’s Israel concert
Ha’aretz
3 May 2009 - British rock band Depeche Mode, which is scheduled to perform in Ramat Gan on May 10 to kick off their upcoming world tour, will record the concert and sell it as a live album, the group announced at a news conference on Monday. ...
OPT: Members of UN human rights probe into Gaza conflict meet in Geneva
ReliefWeb
4 May 2009 - Source: UN News Service
OPT: MCC blankets, relief kits build friendships in Gaza
ReliefWeb
4 May 2009 - Source: Mennonite Central Committee
OPT: Reflections on the role of UNRWA
ReliefWeb
4 May 2009 - Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
OPT: New data about GSS (Shabac) unorthodox methods at Erez Crossing
ReliefWeb
4 May 2009 - Source: Physicians for Human Rights
OPT: The silent population
ReliefWeb
4 May 2009 - Source: MIFTAH
Over 24,600 Palestinian families facing hardship in the Gaza Strip to collect social allowances due in March 2009
ReliefWeb
3 May 2009 - Source: European Commission, Palestinian National Authority
OPT: Israeli forces open fire at Gaza farmers - eyewitnesses
ReliefWeb
2 May 2009 - Source: Deutsche Presse Agentur
OPT: Israeli air strikes kill 2 in Gaza tunnel
ReliefWeb
2 May 2009 - Source: Reuters
US answers Assad - ’Stop supporting terror first’
YNetNews
4 May 2009 - State Department rejects Syrian president’s call urging Washington to negotiate with Hamas and Hizbullah, suggests Damascus use its influence over aforementioned organizations in positive manner
Bat Ayin shooter suspected to have been on drugs
YNetNews
4 May 2009 - Court remands arrest of two soldiers involved in violent clashes near Palestinian village on Saturday. Evidence one had used narcotics, other not authorized to handle firearm
Hamas bans weddings ’to help students concentrate’
YNetNews
4 May 2009 - Officials in Gaza say massive weddings held in street disrupt students preparing for final exams
Homegrown terror - Bedouins strengthen ties to Palestinians
YNetNews
4 May 2009 - Has high levels of unemployment led to a generation of wayward youths, or is this another step in the radicalization process? Experts weigh in on terrorism in the Bedouin community
Siniora cites spy arrests as Israeli reason to withdraw from Ghajar
YNetNews
4 May 2009 - Lebanese PM says rumored IDF pullout from Arab border town is ’expression of anger and confusion’ following spy ring arrests, while UN peacekeeping chief says UNIFIL hopeful for withdrawal
Dichter: Spain fails to distinguish terror from anti-terror measures
YNetNews
4 May 2009 - Former Shin Bet chief slams Madrid judge’s decision to pursue legal action against Israeli officials involved in 2002 killing of Hamas leader Salah Shehade, says ’non-judicial’ motives clearly at play
PM: Recognition of Israel basis for peace
YNetNews
4 May 2009 - Netanyahu says on Knesset’s Herzl Day that ’Zionism won’ due to establishment of Jewish State
Israel: Spanish probe a ’cynical move’
YNetNews
4 May 2009 - Foreign, Justice ministries say ’PCHR using Spanish legal system to promote move against Israel’
Soldiers abuse young Palestinians in Hebron District
B’tselem
29 Apr 2009 - According to testimonies given to B’Tselem, on 26 April, soldiers randomly detained six young men in Dura, took them to the Adorayim army base, and held them until daybreak, during which they beat and humiliated them and deprived them of sleep, food, dri
Testimonies: Soldiers abuse Palestinians in the Jordan Valley
B’tselem
27 Apr 2009 - On 2 April, soldiers at the Almog checkpoint barred four Palestinians from crossing, despite the army’s declaration of free access to the Dead Sea. According to testimonies, the group drove to a nearby hilltop instead, where the soldiers later found them
Lieberman skirts Palestinian state issue during Europe tour
Daily Star
4 May 2009 - Israel’s foreign minister, whose anti-Arab statements have frayed diplomatic nerves, committed himself on Monday to Mideast peace, but did not endorse the idea of a Palestinian state as sought by the US and the EU. As he kicked off a European tour in Rome, hardline politician Avigdor Lieberman skirted around the issue of a Palestinian state.
Peres vows to resist ’Iran’s nuclear threat’
Daily Star
4 May 2009 - Israeli President Shimon Peres vowed Monday, on the eve of talks with US President Barack Obama, that Israel would not yield to Iran’s nuclear threat and voiced hope for peace with the Palestinians. Peres, who will be the first top Israeli to meet Obama since the new US administration took office.
Tehran set for showdown with West at talks on nuclear treaty
Daily Star
4 May 2009 - Iran has attacked the United States ahead of a major meeting on the troubled global anti-nuclear arms treaty, slamming US cooperation with Israel and India while ignoring President Barack Obama’s offers of dialogue. Four working papers prepared for the meeting by Iran and obtained by show Tehran is redoubling.
Israeli restrictions prevent Palestinian police from pursuing criminals
Daily Star
4 May 2009 - When Nasser Qaout went to investigate strange sounds in his sheep pen late at night, a gang of armed thieves shot him in the leg and made off with half his flock. He and Palestinian police know who the thieves are - and even where they are - but a year-and-a-half later, they’re still in their homes about 5 kilometers down the road.
Obama’s outreach to Muslim world worries Israelis
Daily Star
4 May 2009 - A solid majority of Jewish Israelis worry that President Barack Obama’s outreach to the Arab and Muslim world will come at their expense, a new poll showed Monday. Israelis also strongly back stopping Iran’s nuclear program, even if Israel has to attack Iran without American approval, according to the survey.
Time to say 'No' to Israeli fascism
Palestinian Information Center
4 May 2009 - Israel and her supporters are making rabid efforts to enhance the ugly image of the new Israeli government.
Hamad: Opening the Rafah crossing point is an urgent necessity
Palestinian Information Center
4 May 2009 - Dr. Ghazi Hamad, the head of the crossing points’ authority said on Monday that his department can facilitate the departure of 3,000 Palestinian citizens if the Egyptian authorities cooperate.
Agriculture ministry condemns IOF burning of wheat, barley crops
Palestinian Information Center
4 May 2009 - The agriculture ministry in the Gaza Strip on Monday denounced the Israeli occupation forces for targeting wheat and barley crops in eastern and northern areas of the Gaza Strip.
Khudari: IOA judaization rapidly, seriously escalating
Palestinian Information Center
4 May 2009 - MP Jamal Al-Khudari, the head of the popular committee against the siege, on Monday championed Arab, Islamic and international stand against the IOA accelerated steps to judaize occupied Jerusalem.
Hamas expresses indignation at Arab stand toward Gaza siege
Palestinian Information Center
4 May 2009 - Hamas on Monday said that nothing justified retaining a strangling siege on one and a half million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip for more than two years.
Bardawil: Success of dialog waiting for American green light to Abbas
Palestinian Information Center
4 May 2009 - MP Dr. Salah Al-Bardawil has said that "important" progress was made in the fourth round of national dialog talks in Cairo but success of the entire dialog was hinged on American green light.
Anti siege committee asks Palestinians in Europe to intensify media efforts
Palestinian Information Center
4 May 2009 - The higher committee against the siege has highly appreciated the Palestinians living in Europe for their insistence on their right of return to their homeland Palestine.
Tafakji: IOA pursues new policy to eliminate O. Jerusalem landmarks
Palestinian Information Center
4 May 2009 - The IOA has endorsed new rules regulating construction in occupied Jerusalem that would primarily bloc Jerusalemites from building in their own city, Khalil Al-Tafakji, the land expert, said.
Palestinian citizen wounded in IOF tank shelling
Palestinian Information Center
4 May 2009 - A Palestinian man was injured when Israeli occupation forces fired tank shells at Abasan area east of Khan Younis district south of the Gaza Strip late on Sunday evening, medical sources reported.
Mousa: Trial of West Bank deputies aims to absent Hamas from political arena
Palestinian Information Center
4 May 2009 - Hamas MP Yehya Mousa has charged that the Israeli occupation authority’s renewal of Palestinian West Bank MPs’ trial proved that a "bunch of gangsters" were ruling the "Zionist entity".
Rights groups denounce execution in Iran
Los Angeles Times
3 May 2009 - Human Rights Watch says authorities ignored a judge’s stay of execution. Delara Darabi, 23, was hanged after being convicted of murder in an unfair trial, the rights groups say. Human rights groups on Saturday condemned Iran for executing a 23-year-old woman who they maintained had received an unfair trial when she was convicted of murder as a juvenile.
Israel warplanes strike Gaza border tunnels
Los Angeles Times
3 May 2009 - The military attacks the conduits for weapons smuggling from Egypt after militants fire mortar rounds into southern Israel. Two Palestinians are killed. Israeli warplanes on Saturday bombed tunnels beneath the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, killing two Palestinian men, after militants fired mortar rounds into Israel from the coastal territory, according to the Israeli military and Palestinian medical workers.
Leader Says Hamas Will be 'Part of the Solution’
New York Times
4 May 2009 - Khaled Meshal, the leader of Hamas, said that it would stop firing rockets at Israel and added that the movement was seeking a state only in the areas Israel won in 1967.
News Analysis: Israel Faces a Hard Sell in Bid to Shift Policy
New York Times
3 May 2009 - The new government wants to reorient Israeli foreign policy away from a prospective Palestinian state and toward the rising threat from Iran.
2 Killed as Israel Hits Egypt-Gaza Tunnels
New York Times
2 May 2009 - The Palestinians who were killed were the first fatalities in the conflict with Israel since early March.
Four settlers, including two settler-soldiers, arrested after attacking a Palestinian village
International Middle East Media Center
3 May 2009 - Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported on Saturday night that four Israeli settlers, including two soldiers on leave, were arrested by the army after attacking Khirbit Safa village, near the southern West Bank City of Hebron.
Al Asra Society calls for ensuring medical treatment for an ailing detainee from Khan Younis
International Middle East Media Center
3 May 2009 - The Al Asra Media Center, part of the Al Asra Society for Defending the Detainees, called on Saturday on international organizations and the Red Cross to intervene in order to ensure medical treatment to a detainee from Gaza who is currently in critical condition at the Al Ramla Prison hospital.
Bodies of two Palestinians located in tunnel shelled by the Israeli air force
International Middle East Media Center
3 May 2009 - Palestinian medial sources reported on Saturday that medics and rescue teams located the bodies of two Palestinians under the rubble of a tunnel that was shelled by the Israeli air force earlier on Saturday. Also on Saturday, the army shelled several areas in the Gaza Strip and bulldozed farmlands.
Fighters fire mortars at undercover forces invading Jabalia
International Middle East Media Center
2 May 2009 - The Salah Ed Deen Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committee, reported Saturday that its fighters fired three mortar shells at undercover forces invading an areas east of Jabalia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Obama to meet Peres at the White House
International Middle East Media Center
2 May 2009 - White House spokesperson, Robert Gibbs, stated that the US President, Barack Obama, is scheduled meet Israel’s President, Shimon Peres, at the White House next Tuesday.
Palestinians mark International Workers Day in Jerusalem
International Middle East Media Center
2 May 2009 - Under strict Israeli measures and ongoing violations against Arab neighborhoods in occupied Jerusalem, hundreds of Palestinians marched in Jerusalem marking Mayday in the heart of Jerusalem, in Mount Olive, expressing determination and steadfastness of the Palestinians in the city.
Haniyya: 'Unity talks achieved some progress, but did not achieve the needed breakthrough'
International Middle East Media Center
2 May 2009 - Prime Minister of the dissolved Hamas government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyya, stated Friday that the latest round of internal talks in Cairo achieved some progress but did not achieve the needed breakthrough on core issues.
Four injured, dozens suffer gas effects in Ni’lin weekly protest
International Middle East Media Center
1 May 2009 - Israeli soldiers on Friday attacked Palestinian and international peace activists holding the weekly non-violent protest against the Wall in Ni’lin village, west of the central West Bank city of Ramallah. Four protestors were injured and dozens were treated for the effects gas inhalation.
Army attacks a nonviolent protest near Bethlehem; four injured six kidnapped
International Middle East Media Center
1 May 2009 - Scores of villagers from Al Ma’ssara near the southern west Bank city of Bethlehem protested the Israeli wall being built on their lands on Friday.
Bil’in: Four injured and dozens suffered teargas inhalation
International Middle East Media Center
1 May 2009 - The residents of Bil’in, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, gathered on Friday after the midday prayer along with international and Israeli activists and marched in recognition of May Day. The protesters carried Palestinian flags and banners calling for labor rights.
UN demands Israel to freeze pending demolishing orders of East Jerusalem homes
International Middle East Media Center
1 May 2009 - The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs called on Israel to freeze demolishing orders against dozens of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem. The Office added that the Palestinians can only build on 13% of Jerusalem’s lands while the Jewish settlements occupy more than 35% of Jerusalem.
Israel enforces new punishments against Palestinian workers
International Middle East Media Center
1 May 2009 - As the World marks Mayday, the International Workers Day, Palestinian workers are facing further restrictions imposed on them by the Israeli occupation authorities and are subjected to further restrictions and abuse.
Two IDF troops arrested during clashes between settlers, Palestinians
Ha’aretz
2 May 2009 - Four settlers arrested during clashes at end of mourning period for Bat Ayin terror attack victim.
Palestinians: 2 killed in IAF strike on Gaza tunnel
Ha’aretz
1 May 2009 - IAF bombs Gaza arms tunnels in response to mortar attacks for which PFLP claimed responsibility.
Report: Lebanon arrests suspected spy for Israel
Ha’aretz
2 May 2009 - : Surveillance equipment found in man’s home; Arrest comes after 3 others admit to spying.
Palestinians hurt following spat with West Bank settlers
Ha’aretz
1 May 2009 - Samaria council officials say they do not know how Palestinians were injured, as the settlers "never went near them."
Is Netanyahu bringing Israel closer to a ’second Holocaust’?
Ha’aretz
1 May 2009 - PM believes he is tasked with saving Israel and the Jewish people from ’inevitable’ destruction by Iran.
’Galilee Freedom Fighters’: Israeli Arab terror suspects are our operatives
Ha’aretz
30 Apr 2009 - Shadowy group says other cells still planning attacks; 7 Israeli Arabs held over plot to kidnap troops.
U.S. defense chief: Military strike won’t halt Iran nuke program
Ha’aretz
30 Apr 2009 - Defense Secretary Gates: Sanctions make more sense, attack would send program further underground.
Peres: Bombing Iran may not be the ’best solution’
Ha’aretz
29 Apr 2009 - President says attacking Iran nuclear sites would only postpone its ability to build atom bomb.
Female Israeli soldier beats Azzun Atama woman; village isolated behind separation wall on edge
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Qalqiliya - Ma’an - Forty-year-old PalestinianSundus Mahmoud Ahamd sustained moderate injuries after being hit with the rifle butt of a female Israeli soldier as she tried to reach her home on the far side of the separation wall from Qalqiliya to the village of Azzun Atama on Friday. Soldiers shut down the village shortly after the incident and barred media from crossing the military checkpoint erected on the main road. For Sundus to travel into town from her Azzun Atama home she must wait at a gate, or access point,in the Israeli separation wall. From her hospital bed Sundus recounted her attempt to travel into Qalqiliya from her isolated home on the far side of the separation wall. "A woman with short blonde hair was guarding the gate," she said, "It’s the same gate I pass through every day to go into town and return through to get home.
Palestinian farmer injured by Israeli fire near Khan Younis
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Israeli fire injured a Palestinian farmer in the southern Gaza Strip village of Khuza’a east of Khan Younis on Saturday. The 35-year-old Nafith Abu T’eima sustained light injuries following several gunshot volleys from a passing Israeli militarized jeep, and was hit in the neck with shrapnel. He was tending his lands at the time of the incident and evacuated to hospital. Hundreds of farmers with agricultural land on the eastern border of the Gaza Strip have been unable to tend their fields because of incessant intimidation similar to Saturday’s incident. Dozens of farmers have left their land untouched since the Israeli war on the area and even before, fearing injury or death at the hands of Israeli soldiers.
Israeli forces breach Gaza borders in four attacks Saturday; four injured
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Following three months of near-silence on the borders Israeli forces launched four separate attacks on targets in the Gaza Strip Saturday injuring four. Targets included a group of resistance fighters, a farmer and smuggling tunnels. Israeli forces entered the Gaza Strip at 7am on Saturday morning in response to projectile fire from the northern Strip and clashed with forces from the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, the An-Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades. The group said in a statement that fighters fired three mortar shells across the Israeli fence near Jabaliya; Israeli media reports confirmed two projectiles landed in the western Negev Saturday morning. They reported no injuries. According to the Brigades Israeli forces then entered the Strip and clashed with the fighters, who forced the soldiers to retreat.
Arsonists torch Hebron Old City Rehabilitation Office
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Hebron - Ma’an - Unidentified arsonists set fire to the old offices of the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee in the central Old City on Saturday, destroying it completely. Charred stone walls are all that are left of the one-story building, which was ordered evacuated by Israeli military officials at the start of the second Palestinian Intifadah in 2000. The office, working on the reconstruction of the Old City areas taken over by right-wing extremist Israeli settler groups in the late sixties, since moved to an office near the Ibrihimi Mosque. Since 2006 the Old City has been slowly recovering from efforts to drive out residents. The reconstruction office has helped coordinate initiatives to re-cobble the stone streets and re-paint shop shutters as well as encourage Hebron residents to return to the once-bustling Old City to do their grocery shopping.
Rogue settler bulldozes 150 dunums of land under cover of dark
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - An Israeli settler destroyed at least 10 dunums of Palestinian land and damaged at least 140 more when he drove a bulldozer over agricultural land near the town of Al-Khader on Friday. The settler, who appeared to be acting alone, left the illegal West Bank settlement of Efrata with a bulldozer in the early hours of Friday morning and dug a road down the center of a large swath of a land growing almond trees and grapevines, crushing hundreds of plants under the wheels of the vehicle. The land, in the Abu Bkir area just outside the center of town, is privately owned by several Al-Khader families. Locals said the settler appears to be attempting to confiscate the land and impose "de facto" realities preventing Palestinians from using it. The Al-Khader municipal council is preparing a suit against the man that will be filed in the Israeli courts in the coming days.
Israeli forces apprehend 50-year-old father and son near Hebron
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Hebron - Ma’an - Israeli forces detained two Palestinians from the southern West Bank town of Sa’ir north of Hebron and several military checkpoints were erected at the main entrances to the town bringing traffic to a standstill on Saturday morning. Local sources said Israeli forces stormed the home of 50-year-old Muhammad Imtour and detained him a ong with his 28-year-old son Imad. [end]
Mada Report: 257 violations of media freedoms in Palstine during 2008
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - The West Bank and Gaza witnessed 257 violations of media freedoms during 2008. Of those, 147 were committed by Israeli settlers and military, and 110 by Palestinian security services and armed groups in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The statistics came from the annual report from the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (Mada), which was released Friday. The report said all violations "flagrantly" violated "freedom of opinion and expression, as guaranteed in article 19 in both of the Palestinian Basic Law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other international charters and resolutions of the United Nations, such as resolution 1738 of the UN Security Council in 2006. "The report counted 51 Israeli arrests and detainments, and the closure of four media broadcasting stations across the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Israel: Two projectiles launched Saturday; Friday reports false alarm
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Two homemade projectiles launched from the Gaza Strip landed in the western Negev in Israel, said Israeli sources on Saturday morning. According to the sources, the projectiles landed in an open area in Shaar HaNegev; no casualties were reported. On Friday, Israeli military command denied that a homemade projectile landed in western Negev despite several media reports to the contrary, asserting that a false alarm was heard in the area. [end]
PFLP affiliates fire on Israeli watchtower near Gaza crossing
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Armed Palestinians affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility on Saturday for targeting Israeli military cameras and a watchtower in Gaza. Palestinian snipers opened fire on the military posts near the Nahal Oz crossing point, according to a statement from the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the PFLP. "The attack comes within a continued confrontation against the [Israeli] occupation," the statement added. [end]
Israel arrests two soldiers for instigating settler rampage
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Hebron - Ma’an - Four settlers, including two who are also Israeli soldiers, were arrested on Saturday for their involvement in clashes with Palestinians in the West Bank. Two Palestinians were shot with rubber-coated bullets amid the clashes with settlers that erupted in the Kharbat Safa village near the West Bank city of Hebron on Saturday. A number of settlers from the illegal Israeli settlement of Bet Ayn attacked residents of the village, leading to the two injuries, both reportedly shots fired by the Israeli army. According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, both settlers and Palestinians were seen throwing stones during the clashes. "One of those who was injured sustained a bullet wound in the back, while the other was hit in the thigh and both were transferred to local hospitals in Hebron," a paramedic told Ma’an.
Two Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike on southern Gaza
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike carried out against smuggling tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah on Saturday. "The bodies of the two who were killed were received in the local Abu Yousef An-Najjar Hospital," said Mu’aweiyah Hasaneen, the head of Emergency and Ambulance Services within the Gaza Strip Health Ministry. The two Palestinians were identified as Jehad Abu Jarad and Hamdan Al-Astal, both in their 20s. A third Palestinian is possibly still missing, Hasaneen added. Following three months of near-silence on the borders, Israel’s air force carried out three airstrikes aimed at underground tunnels on the Al-Barazil area of southern Gaza on Saturday, during which five Palestinians were lightly injured, and were also transferred to Abu Yousef An-Najjar Hospital for treatment.
Israeli archeology department refuses to return artifact from Al-Aqsa compound
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Jerusalem - Ma’an - Head of the Israeli archeology department Shai Friedman refused to return an Umayyad-era artifact "stolen from the Umayyad Palaces in the southern part of the Al-Aqsa compound a month ago," said Palestinian lawmaker Hatim Abdul Qadir. According to the Jerusalem affairs official, the ancient stone was transferred to the courtyard of the Israeli Knesset on Friday, and Israeli officials have stonewalled requests to have the stone returned to the Al-Aqsa compound. Abdul Qadir has threatened to file a suit at the International High Court of Justice against the Israeli archeology department for stealing artifacts belonging to Palestinians. He added that a representative of UNESCO would be invited to attend hearings in court.
Obama to meet Israeli president Tuesday; Palestinians see little hope for change
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - US president Barack Obama is scheduled to meet with Israeli President Shimon Peres in the White House on Tuesday. Obama will also meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas by the end of May, according to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. Aides to Netanyahu have expressed concern over requests the new US president might make of the Israeli leader given Obama’s policies on settlement building and a two-state solution. The Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz quoted a diplomatic source in Jerusalem as saying "Netanyahu’s recent support for settlement construction and his attitude to peace negotiations with the Palestinians may spark a hot encounter between Netanyahu and Obama. " Some speculate that the fireworks could begin as early as the first press conference hosted by the two leaders. A number of Netanyahu’s aides are scheduled to travel to Washington. . .
Haniyeh addresses conference of Palestinians in Europe
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - Palestinian Prime Minister of the Hamas-run government based in the Gaza Strip Isma’il Haniyeh on Saturday addressed the seventh conference of Palestinians living in Europe through videoconference. In his remarks, he called on the European community to remove Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups from the so-called "terrorism list. " The conference was held in Milan, Italy, and Haniyeh asserted in his speech that his movement "has always been interested in openness to European countries. "Haniyeh called on European human right groups to send a fact-finding committee to the Gaza Strip to see firsthand alleged war crimes committed by Israeli forces during the 22-day military offensive that began in December 2008. He also highlighted that his government hopes to end rivalry with the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
Hamas: PA seized 146 affiliates during April
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - The Hamas movement on Saturday accused Palestinian Authority securitydepartments in the West Bank of seizing 146 affiliates and three Islamic Jihad members during the month of April. In its monthly report, the movement also accused the PA of "eliminating all resistance factions, deleting the culture and thought of resistance. "It added that the PA had kidnapped women to pressure their husbands to force them to surrender, giving examples of the wives of ex-prisoner Ahmad Abu Al-I’zz and the widow of Mustafa Nofal. The Hamas report also accused the PA of torturing political prisoners, among them Riyad Walweel, who is over 60, preventing his family from visiting him. The movement affirmed that many of the prisoners "were transferred to hospitals for treatment after being tortured. " The report concluded by accusing PA security forces of breaking into a number. . .
New Palestinian police station built near Tulkarem
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Tulkarem - Ma’an - Palestinian police in Tulkarem on Saturday inaugurated a new police station in the village of Bal’a, east of Tulkarem, in coordination with Israeli authorities. According to Director of Tulkarem police Ma’roof Al-Barbari, the station will be manned with 30 police officers and four patrols. They will cooperate with neighboring police stations, particularly the one in the town of Anabta, he said. According to Al-Barbari, the Bal’a station marks the completion of police stations in the district, and there will be no need for any more stations in the near future. [end]
PPP to consider participating in new Palestinian government
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Qalqiliya - Ma’an - The leftist Palestinian People’s Party (PPP) will consider joining a hypothetical Palestinian government to be announced soon, its secretary-general, Bassam As-Salhi, said on Saturday. "The party will think deeply on participating in any Palestnian government, the forming of which will be announced within the coming period of time," As-Salhi said in an interview on Saturday. "Participating in any new government is not one of the party’s most pressing priorities, instead it is placing priority on agreeing to a Palestinian strategy that would empower the Palestinian stance in confronting the Israeli government," he added. He also said the PPP would prioritize bringing Palestinians to rally around the Palestine Liberation Organization, as well as unifying Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
PFLP objects to forming government without agreement
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) objects to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ intention to form a government without a national Palestinian agreement, a member of the group’s politburo said on Saturday. In a statement to Ma’an, PFLP politburo member Rabah Muhana said such an act "will complicate Palestinian division, hindering the dialogue. " He added that "forming such a government will create a negative atmosphere that does not benefit the Palestinian interest," and explained that "it comes within the arguments between Fatah and Hamas empowering the state of division between the two sides, and will increase the suffering of the Palestinians. " He stressed that the Front’s stance is in support of "forming a temporary national consensus government with a specified mission, and that will manage the transitional stage and urgent issues,. . .
Fatah official: Abbas’ new government will also rule Gaza
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - A Fatah lawmaker on Saturday said that "the new government which President [Mahmoud] Abbas intends to form will be responsible for both the West Bank and Gaza. " The lawmaker, Fatah-affiliated Palestinian Legislative Council member Faisal Abu Shahla, said that "Hamas’ intention to form a similar government is tantamount to a coup, and the deepening of division. " Abu Shahla told Ma’an that "this government will not be [just] for the West Bank, as some people are saying, but will rather take responsibility for the Palestinians in Gaza, including for delivering salaries, social affairs and medical treatment abroad. " He noted that Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has submitted his resignation at the beginning of March to facilitate the dialogue, and for the betterment of forming a national unity government, adding that "this issue was two months ago, and. . .
Good news from Gaza: No pigs, no H1N1 flu here
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Gaza - Ma’an - The Veterinary Department of the de facto government health ministry in the Gaza Strip announced Saturday that the Strip is free of the H1N1 swine flu, noting that there are no pigs in the coastal area. Unofficial statistics from the ministry recorded no presence of wild pigs in Gaza over at least the past ten years, there are also no pig farms in Gaza. A report from the ministry, however, recommended it take precautionary measures to ensure hospitals are ready to deal with the flu if a case does occur. [end]
MOH: No H1N1 in 800 Bethlehem-area pigs; no guarantee for wild boars in north
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Worries over the safety of two pig farms in the Bethlehem-area suburbs of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour have been eased after tests of all animals at both farms came back negative for H1N1, more commonly known as swine flu. Director of the Ramallah Ministry of Health’s Veterinary Medicine Services Department in Bethlehem Dr Labib Badr said all 800 pigs were tested and found free of the flu, and also assured that the owners of the farms were briefed on proper care and clean-up methods to ensure no flu can be transferred to humans from the animals. There is no guarantee, added Badr, that the over one thousand wild pigs living in the hills of the northern West Bank which regularly attack farms and farmers in the Jenin, Nablus, and Tubas areas, do not have the flu. The ministry has no control over the areas where the wild pigs live and are unable to take measures against the boars, Badar said.
Bethlehem religious leaders suggest holding mass weddings in Manger Square
Ma’an News Agency
5/2/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma’an - Media spokesperson of the Roman Orthodox Patriarch Father Issa Musleh and Bethelem Mufti Sheikh Abed Al-Majid A’ta made a joint call to hold mass weddings in Bethlehem’s Manger Square in an effort to relieve families of the burden of large dowries. The call was made when the religious leaders participated in a Mawwal Radio broadcast addressing the issue of high wedding and dowry costs, which have increasingly prevented young couples from marrying in both the Christian and Muslim communities. "The gesture will serve the youth," said Father Musleh, "It will be the first move to empower the idea of social solidarity among all of the Palestinians under the auspice of the local clergymen. "Both leaders said the idea has been raised from community members, and noted that if the move has support from families as well are religious and political leaders there is no reason it cannot go forward.
Two die in air raid on Gaza tunnels
Al Jazeera
2 May 2009 - Israeli bombing campaign near Rafah said to be in response to Palestinian rocket fire.
Iranian jets ’hit’ Iraqi Kurd areas
Al Jazeera
2 May 2009 - If confirmed, the Sulaymaniya raid would be the first by Iran targeting the region.
Hezbollah slams Hariri death probe
Al Jazeera
1 May 2009 - Nasrallah calls investigation into Hariri’s death dishonest and political.
Lebanon frees Hariri suspects
Al Jazeera
29 Apr 2009 - Four generals imprisoned over ex-Lebanese PM’s assassination released after four years.
UN says Egypt pig cull real mistake
Al Jazeera
29 Apr 2009 - Agency says no reason for slaughter as flu is spread from human-to-human.
OPT: Gaza citizens at risk from rubbish, rubble, unexploded ordnance
IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
GAZA CITY Thursday, April 30, 2009 (IRIN) - Unexploded ordnance (UXO) and the uncontrolled dumping of rubbish pose the greatest environmental and public health risks to residents of the Gaza Strip, according to the UN Development Programme (UNDP). A further study is planned by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
MIDDLE EAST: Regional efforts to prepare for swine flu
IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
DUBAI Wednesday, April 29, 2009 (IRIN) - Middle East countries are taking precautionary measures against swine flu as the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the global influenza pandemic alert level to Phase 4 after the influenza A /H1N1 virus infection claimed more than 150 lives in Mexico and spread to several other countries.
MIDEAST: 60,000 Palestinians at Risk in Jerusalem, UN Warns
Inter Press Service
JERUSALEM, May 1 (IPS) - A report published Friday by a United Nations agency has warned that the problems facing the people of Silwan, who are facing eviction from their homes, are replicated throughout East Jerusalem.
LEBANON: Generals’ Release May Influence June Election
Inter Press Service
WASHINGTON, Apr 30 (IPS) - On Wednesday, a judge at the Hague-based "Special Tribunal for Lebanon" (STL) ordered Lebanon to release four senior Lebanese generals imprisoned since 2005 on suspicion of involvement in killing former prime minister Rafiq Hariri in February of that year.
ENVIRONMENT: Israel Stripping West Bank Quarries
Inter Press Service
RAMALLAH, Apr 30 (IPS) - Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din is taking the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), the Israeli civil administration and a number of Israeli mining companies to court.
MIDEAST: A Former ’Terrorist’ Speaks Out
Inter Press Service
JENIN, Northern West Bank, Apr 30 (IPS) - A former high-level Palestinian resistance fighter, who spent years on the run from Israel’s security forces, has just been appointed to the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs, and made honorary theatre director.
Four al-Ma’sara popular committee members arrested
Stop The Wall
2 May 2009 - This week, anti-Wall demonstrations held to commemorate the first of May were met with violence and organizers arrested. Occupation forces attacked a May Day festival and demonstration in al-Ma’sara, injuring nine people and arresting the village popular committee. Soldiers also fired upon residents in Bi’lin and tried to break the protest in Ni’lin, where they occupied homes in the early morning. [
Checkpoints along the Wall to be computerized
Stop The Wall
30 Apr 2009 - Earlier this week, Occupation authorities announced their intentions to computerize the permit system that controls West Bank Palestinians’ access to ’48 Palestine. This move increases the control exercised over the Palestinian population, adding to the hardships faced by workers and further sealing off Jerusalem. These high-tech additions also create space for the growth of particular sectors of Israeli industry, in turn increasing their strength in the international defense and homeland security markets. [
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 23 - 28 April 2009
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
PCHR - During the reporting period, 20 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children, were wounded by IOF and Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Five Palestinian farmers and two internationals detained while trying to work lands near Israeli military camp
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 30 April 2009 - On the 30th of April, five farmers from the village of Asira ash-Shamaliya and two international solidarity activists were detained while trying to farm their lands close to an Israeli military camp. - Asira ash-Shamaliya is a Palestinian village north of the city of Nablus. - An Israeli military camp was built more than ten years ago on the mountain between the village and Nablus. - Lands close to the military camp belong to several Palestinian farmers, who until recently have been too afraid to access their lands due to constant army harassment. At around 9pm, the five farmers and solidarity activists arrived at the fields with a tractor, a donkey, and a horse. - As soon as the farmers appeared, an army jeep drove up along the military road which connects the camp to nearby Checkpoint 17. - Three soldiers got out and ordered the farmers and internationals to give them their IDs.
Palestinian youth shot by Israeli settlers while working his land
International Solidarity Movement
International Solidarity Movement - 27 April 2009 - On Monday, the 27th of April, 17-year-old Mohammad Farraj was shot by Israeli settlers while working his lands in Madama, southeast of the city of Nablus. - At around 12:00pm, Mohammad was alone picking almonds on his land near the illegal Israeli settlement of Yizhar. - At least one settler drove up along the nearby settler-only road and shot him in the chest from about 200 meters away. - Mohammad heard three or four shots, and at least one bullet hit him, entering his upper shoulder and exciting through his back. Mohammad was found wounded by other villagers in the area, who took him in a taxi to the local clinic. - From the clinic, he was transferred by ambulance to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus. - Once at Rafidia, he underwent an emergency operation and was connected to blood tubes. - His condition was described by doctors as moderate.
Israeli team heads to India to examine swine flu drugs
Ha’aretz
1 May 2009 - A Health Ministry delegation will head to India on Sunday to examine the quality of generic alternatives to Tamiflu, an antiviral drug being stockpiled around the world to treat swine flu. ...
Netanyahu candidate Michael Oren tapped as U.S. envoy
Ha’aretz
1 May 2009 - A university professor who advocates for Israel to unilaterally withdraw from the West Bank is set to be appointed the country’s next ambassador to Washington. ...
Obama to meet with Peres at White House on Tuesday
Ha’aretz
1 May 2009 - President Barack Obama will meet President Shimon Peres on Tuesday at the White House, spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Friday. ...
Haniyeh urges Europe: Remove Hamas from terror group list
Ha’aretz
1 May 2009 - Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Saturday urged the European community to remove Hamas and other Palestinian groups from their list of recognized terror groups, Ma’an news agency reported. ...
Ahmadinejad’s opponents accuse him of faking support
Ha’aretz
1 May 2009 - Opponents of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused him Saturday of faking his support by bussing in students and soldiers to attend his public appearances. ...
Israel’s budding autocracy | Dimi Reider
The Guardian
30 Apr 2009 - The arrest of members of a pacifist NGO is symptomatic of a country that is becoming militarised at an alarming pace The first raids took place at about 7am on Sunday. Across the country, activists in...
Photographer Ryuichi Hirokawa’s best shot
The Guardian
29 Apr 2009 - I took this in 2002, at Al-Ram checkpoint on the West Bank. All the checkpoints had been closed by Israeli troops and these women were demonstrating to have them opened, so that food and medical supplies...
Members of US Congress sceptical of Palestinian aid plan
The Guardian
29 Apr 2009 - Obama administration has asked Congress to allow aid even if members of Hamas become part of government The Obama administration, already on treacherous domestic political ground with its outreach to Iran, Cuba and others, has opened...
Hezbollah spy thriller grips Arab world
The Guardian
29 Apr 2009 - Bugged cars, mini-bars and the ’party of God’ " no wonder the arrest of four alleged moles has the Middle East abuzz It’s the first rule of espionage not to get caught - and of counter-intelligence...
Elderly Bat Yam man said to have stabbed himself to death
Ha’aretz
1 May 2009 - The body of a 72-year-old man was discovered by police in his Bat Yam apartment on Saturday. ...
Israel honors Aboriginal Australian who protested against Nazis
Ha’aretz
1 May 2009 - An Aboriginal Australian was recognized in Israel this week for having led a protest against Nazi persecution of the Jews less than a month after the Kristallnacht pogrom in 1938. William Cooper was honored Tuesday with a tree-planting ceremony in his honor. ...
Israel confirms third case of swine flu
Ha’aretz
1 May 2009 - Health officials in Israel have confirmed Saturday that a third individual has been infected with the H1NI virus, otherwise known as "swine flu". ...
Israeli soccer team penalized for fans’ anti-Muslim chants
Ha’aretz
1 May 2009 - Defending soccer champion Beitar Jerusalem was penalized a point and ordered to play a home match in an empty stadium after fans shouted anti-Muslim slogans. ...
Two more suspected swine flu cases as Health Ministry raises alert
Ha’aretz
1 May 2009 - Two more Israelis are suspected of falling victim to swine flu as authorities on Thursday issued new recommendations to the public in a bid to contain the virus. ...
OPT: Israeli forces open fire at Gaza farmers - eyewitnesses
ReliefWeb
2 May 2009 - Source: Deutsche Presse Agentur
Israel launches second day of air strikes in Gaza
ReliefWeb
2 May 2009 - Source: Reuters
OPT: Logistics Cluster Gaza crisis consolidated situation report, 25 Apr - 01 May 2009
ReliefWeb
2 May 2009 - Source: Logistics Cluster
Secretary-General appoints Marta Santos Pais of Portugal as Special Representative on Violence against Children
ReliefWeb
1 May 2009 - Source: UN Secretary-General
OPT: Palestinian refugees - the regional perspective
ReliefWeb
1 May 2009 - Source: Chatham House
Health Action in Crises - Highlights No. 256, 27 Apr - 03 May 2009
ReliefWeb
1 May 2009 - Source: World Health Organization
OPT: First Israeli strike in 2 months hits Gaza tunnels
ReliefWeb
1 May 2009 - Source: Reuters
OPT: UN human rights investigators leaving for Gaza next week
ReliefWeb
1 May 2009 - Source: Deutsche Presse Agentur
Settlers clash with Palestinians, 2 wounded by IDF fire
YNetNews
2 May 2009 - Clashes erupt near Gush Etzion as settlers approach village of Umm Safa, residence of terrorist who murdered Israeli teenager with ax. Two Palestinians wounded as IDF troops try to quell ensuing violence. Four settlers detained for questioning
IAF strike on Gaza tunnels kills 2
YNetNews
1 May 2009 - Aircraft launch two separate attacks on smuggling tunnels shortly after Qassam rocket lands in Negev; direct hits identified; Palestinians say one injured
Lebanon: 1 more arrest in ’pro-Israel’ spy-ring case
YNetNews
2 May 2009 - Just ahead of elections, Hizbullah says exposed another link in alleged pro-Israel espionage case
Pope: I go to Holy Land as ’pilgrim of peace’
YNetNews
2 May 2009 - As prelude to tour of Israel pope says Middle East ’plagued by violence and injustice for 60 years’
Cancer patients trapped in Gaza while factions duke it out
YNetNews
2 May 2009 - Eight Gazans dead since Hamas-Fatah clash dissolved medical referral committee responsible for gaining entrance into Israel for terminal patients
Michael Oren to be appointed Israel’s ambassador to US
YNetNews
2 May 2009 - Prime Minister Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Lieberman agree on appointment of Dr. Oren to succeed Salai Meridor. Change expected to take place in coming weeks, ahead of Netanyahu’s upcoming visit to Washington
3rd case of swine flu diagnosed in Israel
YNetNews
2 May 2009 - Thirty-four-year old man confirmed as infected with H1N1 virus after returning from Mexico; said to be doing well. Three additional Israelis suspected of having contracted swine flu hospitalized. World Health Organization says 615 people have been infected by flu in 15 countries
2 mortar shells land in western Negev; IAF strikes Gaza tunnels
YNetNews
2 May 2009 - Israeli fighter jets target three arms smuggling tunnels in Strip’s south several hours after mortar shells hit Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council
Iran hangs woman for murder committed when minor
YNetNews
2 May 2009 - Tehran media reports 23-year-old woman convicted of murder at 17 executed. Human rights groups ’outraged’ by act
Policemen sentenced to prison for incident exposed by B’Tselem
B’tselem
27 Apr 2009 - The Jerusalem District Court sentenced two additional border policemen for their involvement in the 2002 abduction and killing of "Imran Abu Hamdiya, a Palestinian from Hebron.
Testimony: Settlers assault young pregnant Palestinian
B’tselem
22 Apr 2009 - On 10 April, Roqaya al-Hazalin, together with a group of women and children, were grazing sheep near their village, in the Hebron District. According to her testimony, four armed settlers with sticks approached them. The other shepherds she was with ran a
7 Iranians plead guilty in US court to terror charges
Daily Star
30 Apr 2009 - LOS ANGELES: Seven men have pleaded guilty to terrorism charges for raising funds for an Iranian opposition group that the United States has designated a foreign terrorist organization, authorities said. The seven, all of Iranian origin, entered the guilty pleas on Wednesday.
Egypt admits pig cull won’t curb swine flu
Daily Star
30 Apr 2009 - CAIRO: Egypt on Thursday said its cull of 250,000-400,000 pigs was a general health measure rather than a precaution against swine flu after the UN said there was no evidence the animals were spreading the disease. "We’re at stage five, the matter is now human not animal," health ministry spokesman Abdel-Rahman Shahine.
Politics, security must be decoupled from Gaza aid
Daily Star
30 Apr 2009 - As we near the end of the fourth month since hostilities in Gaza ended, it is increasingly apparent that massive needs are going unmet, and reconstruction is stalled. Donors have pledged money for humanitarian aid and for reconstruction, but on the ground the flow of goods compared to the needs is wholly inadequate.
Gov’t against siege urges Egypt to facilitate entry of Hope convoy into Gaza
Palestinian Information Center
2 May 2009 - The government committee against the siege on Saturday urged the Egyptian authority to facilitate the entry of the European "Hope" convoy through the Rafah crossing point.
Salah: IOA built more than 100 synagogues round the Aqsa Mosque
Palestinian Information Center
2 May 2009 - Sheikh Ra’ed Salah, the leader of the Islamic Movement in the 1948 occupied Palestine, has said that the IOA was intensifying its judaization campaign of occupied Jerusalem.
Haneyya: Formation of new gov’t in West Bank further hampers national dialog
Palestinian Information Center
2 May 2009 - Ismail Haneyya, the PA premier, has asserted that former PA chief Mahmoud Abbas’s formation of a new government in the West Bank would put more hurdles before inter-Palestinian conciliation talks.
NSB shells infiltrating IOF unit
Palestinian Information Center
2 May 2009 - The Nasser Salahuddin Brigades, the armed wing of the popular resistance committees, on Saturday fired three mortar shells at an IOF unit that infiltrated east of Jabalia, in northern Gaza.
European campaign criticizes world slackness in dealing with Gaza siege
Palestinian Information Center
2 May 2009 - The European campaign to lift the siege on Gaza Strip has criticized the world community’s slackness in dealing with the "oppressive" Israeli siege on the Strip that has been ongoing for three years.
MP Mansour: IOA won’t break Palestinian laborer’s determination
Palestinian Information Center
2 May 2009 - MP Mona Mansour said that the Palestinian laborers are experiencing real suffering as a result of the IOA daily practices and crimes that target weakening their determination and morale.
Haneyya: The siege will not divert our attention from the onslaught on Jerusalem
Palestinian Information Center
2 May 2009 - Ismail Haneyya, said that the effects of the Israeli siege on Gaza will not divert the attention of the people of Gaza from the Zionist onslaught on occupied Jerusalem..
UN report: 60,000 Jerusalemites at risk of their homes being demolished
Palestinian Information Center
2 May 2009 - Sixty Thousand Palestinians living in occupied Jerusalem are at risk of their homes being demolished according to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Human Right Watch calls for an end to the Gaza Siege
Palestinian Information Center
2 May 2009 - HRW called on US Secretary of State, in a letter on Thursday, to "speak out forcefully against Israel’s blockade of Gaza as unlawful collective punishment against the civilian population."
IOF troops wound 14 anti-wall demonstrators
Palestinian Information Center
2 May 2009 - IOF troops wounded on Friday fourteen anti-wall demonstrators in the village of Bilin and Bethlehem, that is in addition to tens of cases of suffocation as a result of inhaling teargas.
Clinton sees China, Iran inroads in Latin America
Los Angeles Times
2 May 2009 - The U.S. secretary of State says Bush administration policies led to the two nations’ gains in the Western Hemisphere. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton charged Friday that China and Iran have made "quite disturbing" gains in Latin America, the result of Bush administration efforts to isolate its adversaries in the hemisphere.
Nosratollah Amini dies at 94; Iranian lawyer, politician became Mossadegh’s personal attorney
Los Angeles Times
2 May 2009 - Nosratollah Amini, an Iranian lawyer and politician who became the personal attorney of Mohammad Mossadegh, the nationalist prime minister deposed in a U.S. -backed coup in 1953, died April 20 at Potomac Hospital in Woodbridge, Va. He was 94 and had pneumonia.
World briefing
Los Angeles Times
2 May 2009 - Israel: Stamps to mark pope’s visit ISRAEL
U.N. Seeks End to Razing of Homes in East Jerusalem
New York Times
1 May 2009 - The call for the cessation came in a new report that reflects growing international concern over developments in the contested city.
Culling Pigs in Flu Fight, Egypt Angers Herders and Dismays U.N.
New York Times
1 May 2009 - The decision to