http://www.vtjp.org outpost Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:09:22 -0500 http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2189.shtml http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2189.shtml Tens of Israeli settlers have returned to the sight of the springs at Qarawa Bani-Hassan; a village 14 Km west of Salfit, known for its beautiful landscape and water springs. This time, the settlers are supported by the Occupation army and bulldozers, and also by Israeli volunteers from Tel Aviv and Herzliya. They have brought construction materials to the spring and have started what looks like the first steps to building yet another settlement, and stealing more Palestinian land. [ Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:55:51 GMT +0500 Stop The Wall http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2188.shtml http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2188.shtml Weekly protests against the Wall are continuing as old struggles reappear in Bethlehem. On Friday, in addition to the ongoing actions in Beit Jala and other areas, the villages of al-Ma’sara, Bil’in, Nabi Saleh and Ni’lin held their weekly demonstrations. Protestors faced tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds, and one young boy was seriously injured in Nabi Saleh. [ Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:55:51 GMT +0500 Stop The Wall http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2187.shtml http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2187.shtml Clashes continued much of today between Palestinian demonstrators and Occupation forces on the lands near old Cremisan in Beit Jala, leading to 11 injuries, 8 from tear gas inhalation and three more from rubber-coated bullets. Occupation forces fired on demonstrators as they resisted the ongoing bulldozing, which is affecting a wide, planted stretch of land. The targeted land will be used to continue building the Apartheid Wall. [ Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:55:51 GMT +0500 Stop The Wall http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2186.shtml http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2186.shtml A 14-year-old Palestinian boy was critically injured during a demonstration Friday in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, north of Ramallah. Ehab Fadel Barghouthi was shot in the head with a rubber-coated steel bullet; doctors said the bullet entered his forehead above his right eye and penetrated his brain. [ Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:55:51 GMT +0500 Stop The Wall http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2184.shtml http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2184.shtml Despite the stormy weather, anti-Wall activists rallied in demonstrations across the West Bank. Soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators in Bil’in, Nil’in, al-Ma’sara and Nabi Saleh. Prior to the demonstration, Occupation forces also invaded al-Ma’sara, delivering more threats to the local popular committee. [ Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:55:51 GMT +0500 Stop The Wall http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2181.shtml http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2181.shtml Protests were held across the West Bank on Friday, with the biggest taking place in Bil’in where more than 1,000 demonstrators marked 5 years of resistance in the village by tearing down the Wall. Weekly anti-Wall protests were also held in al-Ma’sara and Ni’lin, where soldiers attacked demonstrations with tear gas and rubber bullets. Protests also continued in Nabi Saleh, where villagers have rallied against the Halamish settlement. [ Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:55:51 GMT +0500 Stop The Wall http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2180.shtml http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2180.shtml Last week, Occupation forces act on their intentions to re-establish a military base in Beit Sahour. Despite the protests of residents, soldiers declared the area a closed military zone, bringing in heavy machinery to begin work. Also around Bethlehem last week, activists planted olive trees near the Wall in a symbolic display of steadfastness and a refusal to be uprooted from their land. [ Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:55:51 GMT +0500 Stop The Wall http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88378 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88378 GAZA CITY Wednesday, March 10, 2010 (IRIN) - A half-finished two-story building in central Gaza City is one of the few places providing support to amputees, most of them civilian victims of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, as they try and come to terms with their injuries. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN ME http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88368 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88368 NAIROBI Tuesday, March 09, 2010 (IRIN) - Global funding shortfalls for fighting AIDS could make it impossible for developing countries to implement new World Health Organization treatment guidelines, activists have said. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN ME http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88350 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88350 CAIRO Monday, March 08, 2010 (IRIN) - Egypt is moving to curb the spread of avian influenza (H5N1) after a recent upsurge in infections, the Egyptian Health Ministry says. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN ME http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88352 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88352 CAIRO Monday, March 08, 2010 (IRIN) - “It is a day I don’t want to remember. Whenever it comes to my mind, it sends shivers down my spine,” said Aya Abdel Aati, aged 17, recalling the painful experience of her circumcision at the age of 12. She says she bled for several days. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN ME http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88353 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88353 SANAA Monday, March 08, 2010 (IRIN) - A mine risk education campaign aimed at targeting a sizeable portion of the roughly 238,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in three Yemeni governorates - Saada, Hajja and Amran - started on 7 March. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN ME http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=73277 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=73277 NAIROBI Friday, March 05, 2010 (IRIN) - Here are the most popular new articles on the IRIN website over the last 24 hours. Updated hourly. This feature was launched on 18 July, but will display the latest, most popular items of today. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN ME http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88309 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88309 SANAA Thursday, March 04, 2010 (IRIN) - Saada Governor Taha Abdullah Hajer has urged aid agencies to help develop an information database on the tens of thousands of people displaced by intermittent fighting between the Yemeni army and Houthi-led Shia rebels in northern Yemen since 2004. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN ME http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88294 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88294 DAMASCUS Wednesday, March 03, 2010 (IRIN) - Thousands of people have fled drought-affected eastern Syria and those that remain are struggling to survive on limited food stocks, according to a UN report released at the end of February. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN ME http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88284 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88284 GAZA CITY Tuesday, March 02, 2010 (IRIN) - More than 4,036 houses in the Gaza Strip were totally destroyed or beyond repair in the aftermath of Israel’s 23-day conflict with Hamas from 27 December 2008 to 17 January 2009, according to an April 2009 UNRWA and UN Development Programme assessment. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN ME http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88271 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88271 DAMASCUS Monday, March 01, 2010 (IRIN) - Only a tiny fraction of the estimated two million Iraqi refugees and asylum-seekers in the Middle East end up being resettled in a third country. Why is this, and how does the system work? Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN ME http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88255 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88255 SANAA Sunday, February 28, 2010 (IRIN) - Hundreds of schools in the northern Yemeni province of Saada have reopened after five months of closure following an 11 February ceasefire between Yemen's army and Houthi-led Shia rebels, according to local officials. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN ME http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88235 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88235 SANAA Thursday, February 25, 2010 (IRIN) - Cereal production in Yemen has declined for the second consecutive year due mainly to a lack of rainfall, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Abdulmalik al-Thawr. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN ME http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88222 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88222 GAZA CITY Wednesday, February 24, 2010 (IRIN) - Sami al-Qouqa, a 30-year-old former fisherman from al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza, lost his left hand when his fishing boat came under fire from an Israeli gunboat on 12 March 2007, in an incident documented by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN ME http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88203 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88203 CAIRO Tuesday, February 23, 2010 (IRIN) - A new report by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Egyptian government says the number of children living in income-poor households is increasing, causing poorer living conditions and a greater deprivation of their rights as children. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN ME http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50617 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50617 RAMALLAH, Mar 10 (IPS) - Iran and Israel appear to be spoiling for a fight, going by recent belligerent statements emanating from several regional capitals. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:45:00 GMT +0000 Inter Press Service http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50605 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50605 UNITED NATIONS, Mar 9 (IPS) - Male leaders fail to break the Mideast impasse. Enter women from Israel and the Palestinian territories working together. And… it would have been nice to say they succeeded where the men failed. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:45:00 GMT +0000 Inter Press Service http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50600 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50600 SHEIKH JARRAH, Occupied East Jerusalem, Mar 9 (IPS) - Amid the wave of violence that swept through the occupied Palestinian West Bank, including East Jerusalem, over the last few days, there are signs that the Israeli left may be emerging from its collective coma. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:45:00 GMT +0000 Inter Press Service http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50587 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50587 BRUSSELS, Mar 8 (IPS) - For the first time since September 2006, Mahmoud Abu Rahma, a leading figure in the Palestinian human rights group Al Mezan, has been granted permission to travel outside Gaza. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:45:00 GMT +0000 Inter Press Service http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50579 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50579 JERUSALEM, Mar 8 (IPS) - Was it Yasser Arafat's biggest political error? A decade ago, the deadline for the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel as envisaged in the 1993 Oslo peace accords thrust itself into the fruitless Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:45:00 GMT +0000 Inter Press Service http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50557 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50557 SILWAN, Occupied East Jerusalem, Mar 5 (IPS) - Outside the Bedouin-style protest tent in the heart of this Palestinian neighbourhood, the anger is palpable, but controlled. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:45:00 GMT +0000 Inter Press Service http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50550 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50550 UNITED NATIONS, Mar 4 (IPS) - The status of women in a predominantly male-chauvinistic Arab world continues to fluctuate from one extreme to another. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:45:00 GMT +0000 Inter Press Service http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50540 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50540 RAMALLAH, Mar 4 (IPS) - Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, with its ubiquitous closures, checkpoints, military raids and arrests, has decimated the Palestinian economy in the West Bank and Gaza. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:45:00 GMT +0000 Inter Press Service http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50534 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50534 WASHINGTON, Mar 3 (IPS/TerraViva) - Last year, Kuwaitis elected their first female members of Parliament. Yet in countries like Yemen, child marriage remains common and personal status laws still discriminate against women in matters concerning marriage, divorce and child custody. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:45:00 GMT +0000 Inter Press Service http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50528 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50528 BEIRUT, Mar 3 (IPS) - Pollution, oil spills and difficult living conditions are some of the challenges that fishermen in this eastern Mediterranean country face daily. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:45:00 GMT +0000 Inter Press Service http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50524 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50524 GAZA CITY, Mar 2 (IPS) - At 14, Nour plays the piano, and she knows the facts around her. That the average age for marriage is 18, likely to a man found by parents, her place would be within that home, and a woman has on average 6.5 children. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:45:00 GMT +0000 Inter Press Service http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50521 http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50521 UNITED NATIONS, Mar 2 (IPS/TerraViva) - Against the backdrop of a two-week U.N. meeting on gender empowerment, the London-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has blasted the government of Saudi Arabia for its feudal system of justice where women continue to be victimised because of their gender. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:45:00 GMT +0000 Inter Press Service http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/4705-eu-parliament-votes-to-monitor-israeli-probe-into-war-crimes http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/4705-eu-parliament-votes-to-monitor-israeli-probe-into-war-crimes Brussels, March 10, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - The European Parliament on Wednesday urged its 27-member states to monitor the Israeli and Palestinian probes into alleged war crimes committed during last year's late-winter conflict in Gaza. The resolution backed the findings of a UN-appointed expert panel chaired by South African Judge Richard Goldstone, which concluded that both sides committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during the war that began in December 2008 and ended in January 2009. The parliamentary move, which would give the EU an unprecedented role in evaluating the progress of Israel's war crimes probe, was sharply criticized by Israel. "We find this resolution flawed and counterproductive," said Yoel Mester, spokesman for Israeli mission to EU. "While other players are striving to support the peace process and to start the proximity talks between Israel and Palestinians, it is regrettable that the European Parliament chooses to concentrate on a highly controversial issue." In December, the EU accused Israel of trying to divide the bloc to stop it from passing a resolution calling for Jerusalem to be the shared capital of Israel and for a future Palestinian state. The measure was adopted despite Israel's opposition. The European Union also has criticized Israel over its suspected role in the slaying of a Hamas militant in Dubai and the killers' alleged use of forged EU passports. The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton also recently asked to be allowed to visit the Gaza Strip, which remains under Hamas control. The European Parliament measure, passed by 335-287, said Ashton should monitor actively the implementation of recommendations included in the Goldstone report. In January, the UN General Assembly gave the two sides five more months to finalize their own investigations into war crimes allegations during the conflict, in which 13 Israelis and almost 1,400 Palestinians were killed. On Monday, Israel's Foreign Ministry said it would allow Ashton and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon into Gaza. Israel has routinely banned foreign officials from crossing into Gaza since Hamas' violent takeover of the strip in 2007, maintaining that such visits bolster the Islamic militant group. The European Parliament also said it was "concerned" about "pressure placed on NGOs involved in the document's preparation." Jewish leaders said they were "deeply disappointed" and puzzled by the motion. "The clause referring to NGO is very puzzling," Arie Zuckerman, a senior executive of the European Jewish Congress, said, adding it was "an apparent reference" to a recent Israeli publicity campaign targeting the New Israel Fund for its role in the preparation the controversial report accusing Israel of war crimes in Gaza last year. "Europe, which preaches to Israel and to the whole world about freedom of expression, is now calling to stifle criticism ensured by freedom of expression because it's directed at the Goldstone report," said Zuckerman. He added: "How is the campaign the business of the EP?" Contacted by Haaretz, Professor Naomi Chazan, the president of the New Israel fund, which describes itself as a nongovernmental organization championing human rights in Israel, said she was not available for comment on this. The campaign against the fund was launched by the Im Tirtzu movement, which describes itself as centrist Zionist. It cited a study which calculates that 92 percent of footnotes sourcing negative information to Israeli sources in the Goldstone report come from NIF grantees. The European Parliament's resolution was a softened version of an earlier draft which called for implementing the Goldstone report. The draft was scrapped after European Jewish Congress Moshe Kantor warned party leaders that the resolution would damage EU-Israel relations. The final resolution said EU member states should "demand the implementation of the Goldstone report's recommendations and accountability for all violations of international law." Kantor told Haaretz last week that if the European Parliament adopts the Goldstone report, it will be the "strongest endorsement the document has received so far." Zuckerman said the European Parliament "gave indirect endorsement to Hamas" by passing Wednesday's resolution on the Goldstone report, and added it "damaged the peace process with the Palestinians." "The fact that over 45 percent of MEPs voted against the resolution is cause for some satisfaction," Kantor said. "The resolution passed by only a narrow margin, and not the consensus that was expected." The European United Left-Nordic Green Left (EUL-NGL) - which has 25 MEPs - meanwhile, said it welcomed the European Parliament's resolution. MEP Kyriacos Triantaphyllides from the group said: "For the first time, a resolution voted in the European Parliament acknowledges Israeli's violations of international humanitarian law." The party called "for the immediate adoption of its findings by EU Member States and the implementation of its recommendations," demanding, "that no upgrading of EU - Israel Association Agreement is conceded given the violations committed by Israel.   Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:47:34 GMT +0000 Palestine Telegraph http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/4701-israel-kidnaps-palestinian-in-jenin http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/4701-israel-kidnaps-palestinian-in-jenin Jenin, March 10, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation force detained today a Palestinian citizen from Rumana village west of Jenin. Security sources said to WAFA news agency that Israeli occupation force detained Mohammed Kamel Igbarieh, 25 years, at a military checkpoint at the entrance of the village. They added that Israeli occupation forces have stepped up today their patrols in Sanur, Maithaloun, and Seres towns south of Jenin, while no detentions were reported.   Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:29:17 GMT +0000 Palestine Telegraph http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/4698-biden-to-visit-ramallah http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/4698-biden-to-visit-ramallah Ramallah, March 10, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will visit Ramallah today to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Biden is expected to discuss with Abbas on a strategy for ensuring the Israeli surrender of the West Bank and East Jerusalem to the PA. The settlement issue is certain to dominate the meeting in Ramallah, which Biden hopes will facilitate the indirect talks Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to hold after a 14-month hiatus in peace negotiations. Criticism of Israel's green light for the construction of 1,600 new settler homes in East Jerusalem mounted today as Biden prepared to meet Abbas and Prime Minister of the Fatah-led government, Salam Fayyad. Earlier in the morning, Biden held talks in Jerusalem with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the representative of the Middle East diplomatic "quartet." Source: Various agencies   Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:26:43 GMT +0000 Palestine Telegraph http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/4694-un-joins-biden-in-condemning-israel http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/4694-un-joins-biden-in-condemning-israel World, March 10, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - The UN secretary-general on Tuesday condemned Israeli plans to build 1,600 homes on the West Bank, where Palestinians seek to own their own state. Ban Ki-moon repeated comments made earlier by Barack Obama's deputy Joe Biden. "The secretary-general condemns the approval of plans for the building of 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem by the Israeli Ministry of Interior earlier." UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said. "Ban reiterates that settlements are illegal under international law. Furthermore, he underscores that settlement activity is contrary to Israel's obligations under the Roadmap (peace plan), and undermines any movement towards a viable peace process." Agencies   Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:15:33 GMT +0000 Palestine Telegraph http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/4684-european-meps-call-on-eu-to-play-greater-role-in-peace-process http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/4684-european-meps-call-on-eu-to-play-greater-role-in-peace-process Brussels, Belgium, March 9, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Six MEPs who participated recently in the largest delegation of European parliamentarians to visit Gaza met this morning with Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament, and called on the European Union to play a greater role in the Israel-Palestine peace process. The group met with Buzek in advance of his meeting with the EU's Foreign Policy Commissioner Catherine Ashton, who will travel to Gaza in mid March. The delegation of 50 European MPs visit the destroyed areas of Gaza The group stressed to Buzek that Europe must play a more significant political as well as humanitarian role. They urged the EU as well to talk to all parties in the region, even when the people elect leaders Western governments don't like. The EU must play a central role, they said, in helping to secure reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, and in ensuring that the siege on the Gaza Strip is lifted. The delegation members present at the meeting were MEPs Malika Benarab-Attou (France), Nessa Childers (Ireland), Bairbre de Brún (Northern Ireland ), Roberto Goebbels (Luxembourg), Alexandra Thein (Germany) and Helmut Scholz (Germany). Also participating were Arafat Shoukri, chair of the European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza, which organized the delegation, and campaign member Mazen Kahel, director of the French Palestinian Forum. President Buzek agreed at the end of the meeting to convey the remarks of the delegation to Baroness Ashton, expressing his keen interest in seeing the European Parliament play a helpful role.   Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:01:43 GMT +0000 Palestine Telegraph http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/4682-clashes-erupt-between-israeli-police-and-palestinians http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/4682-clashes-erupt-between-israeli-police-and-palestinians West Bank, March 9, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- A Palestinian was injured when clashes erupted on Tuesday morning between Israeli police and residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Local sources in the neighborhood said: "Deputy Jerusalem Mayor David Hadari raided the neighborhood to establish a chamber at Refqa Al-Kurdi's house, an old woman whose house had already been confiscated by the municipality." Residents in the neighborhood confronted the deputy mayor and his escort, where disputes took place, and Israeli police had to protect the deputy mayor out of the neighborhood.  It was reported that groups of settlers, with a municipal decision, had seized a part of the elderly Refqa Al-Kurdi's house last December. Commenting on the decision, Hatem Abdel Qader, Fatah's Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, told reporters that if the decision was implemented, he would move his office from the Ram town, to the east of Jerusalem, to the neighborhood-where the woman's house is, to encounter any Israeli decision. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:53:08 GMT +0000 Palestine Telegraph http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/4677-israel-conducts-limited-invasion-in-al-burij-camp http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/4677-israel-conducts-limited-invasion-in-al-burij-camp Gaza, March 9, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation forces invaded today a limited area to the east of Al-Burij camp in central Gaza Strip. According SAFA news agency, a force of two Israeli vehicles, four bulldozers and an infantry unit invaded the border area, where the bulldozers razed agricultural land near the border of 1948 Palestine. The Israeli occupation forces bulldoze the lands of the eastern and northern borders to establish a closed security zone up to one kilometer deep.   Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:10:34 GMT +0000 Palestine Telegraph http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/palestinian-refugees/4675-a-precis-of-israeli-violations-during-february-2010 http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/palestinian-refugees/4675-a-precis-of-israeli-violations-during-february-2010 Palestine, March 9, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - The Department of  International Relations /PLO has issued this "Précis of Israeli Violations during February 2010."   No. Violation Notes 1. Willful Killings 3 Palestinian citizens were killed during Israeli bombardment  against the Palestinian civilian  communities in Gaza. 2. Wounds 79 Palestinian citizens, including participants in peace demonstrations against the apartheid wall were wounded. 3. Judaization of            Jerusalem 1- The Israeli authorities continued inviting bids to  construct 1,149 settling houses in Occupied Jerusalem. 2- Palestinian Muslim worshippers' access to Al-Aqsa Mosque (compound) was prevented by the Israeli Occupation police, while Israel allowed Jewish access to the same area. 3- The Israelis carried out excavations under Al-Aqsa Mosque (compound), causing large and dangerous cracks of 7 meters long in its northern wall. 4- The Israeli Occupation police broke into Al-Amal Charitable Society for the Care of Cancer Patients in occupied East Jerusalem, on the pretext of unpaid property tax (known as "arnona" in Israel and "zakah" (a major pillar of Islam) in Palestine. 5- Israel's Ministry of the Interior issued a six-month travel ban on the Palestinian map expert Khalil Tafakji, and the Israeli police issued a six-day ban on access to the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood for Palestinian Jerusalemite teenager Tariq Al-Ghawi. The Al-Ghawi family is living in a tent after being forced out of their home by Israeli settlers. 6- The Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem revealed its intent to close Bab Al-'Amoud (Damascus Gate) area and the market from Bab al-'Amoud to the Al-Buraq Wall for more than two years, under the pretext of developing the infrastructure of the Old City of Occupied Jerusalem. 4. Gaza 1- For the third consecutive year, 1.5 million Gazans are still living under the Israeli siege, the living conditions of whom have seriously deteriorated. 5. Palestinian Prisoners 626 Palestinians were arrested, 265 of whom were workers in Israel and arrested during an Israeli police campaign  in the area surrounding the Occupied East Jerusalem and another 76 were detained on an Israeli checkpoint near to Beit 'Oor village /Ramallah city. The Palestinian prisoners are being used as lab rats and exposed to Israeli medical experiments. Palestinian resources assured that more than five thousand experiments are being carried out on the bodies of the Palestinian Prisoners. As a result, the health conditions     of 1,500 Palestinian prisoners have deteriorated with lack of proper medications. 6. Settlers 1- The Israeli Occupation Authorities approved plans to build 1,149 settling houses, 600 of which to be constructed on lands  confiscated from Hizma village near to the north Occupied East Jerusalem, and 549 to be constructed on Beit Safafa's lands near to occupied Jerusalem. 2- Israeli extremist settlers expropriated 510 dunums of Palestinian lands in Sinjil village near to Ramallah city, and Jaloud village near to Nablus city. 3- The Israeli Sha'are Tikva settlement raw sewage flooded  for two days into the  playground of the  adjacent 'Azzun 'Atma village secondary school  near to Qalqilya town. As a result, the students were not able to use the school. 4- Groups of Israeli extremist settlers had cut 640 olive and grapes trees in different Palestinian villages. 5- The Israeli occupation authorities had ruined six Palestinian agricultural wells and five agricultural structures in Ethna village near to Hebron city under at the pretext adjacent to the apartheid wall. 7. Apartheid Wall (A.W.) Construction The weekly Peaceful demonstrations against the A.W. were repressed by the Israeli troops. Israeli Occupation troops attacked Palestinian farmers and International solidarity members while planting Palestinian lands under the threat of confiscation in Beit Ommar town near to Hebron city. Israeli Occupation troops arrested a number of International peace activists and Palestinian journalists in Bal'ein weekly demonstration against the apartheid wall. 8. House Demolitions 17 Demolition orders were issued to demolish Palestinian homes in Occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank. 2- 6 Palestinian homes were demolished in Gaza Strip. 9. Media 1- The IOF arrested the Palestinian journalists  Ahmad Al-Khuseib, Nasir Al-Shiyoukhi and Arafeh 'Ameirah, and broke into the journalist Shihab Kawasmi's home in Wadi Al-Jouz. 2- The Chinese press agency cameraman Nidal Ishtayeh was wounded in Bourin village near to Nablus city, while the journalist Raed Al-Atrash was wounded in the Israeli Al-Container barrier area. 3- The IOF troops attacked many Palestinian Journalists while covering the Israeli incursion against Shu'fat refugees camp in the Occupied East Jerusalem. 10. Religious Places 1- The Israeli Government took the decision to annex the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, Rachel's Tomb  and Bilal Mosque in Bethlehem as part of the "Jewish Heritage Trail." 2- Tens of Israeli extremist Jews broke into Na'ran synagogue in Jericho, Kafl Haris village near to Salfit town and Yousif tomb in Nablus city, to perform Talmudic prayers.                                                                                                                                                                               Editor: Abdul Rasoul Tom Translator: Suha El-Khateeb (S.H.K.) Department of  International Relations /PLO Ramallah- Palestine March 8, 2010 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:02:57 GMT +0000 Palestine Telegraph http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/4673-women-celebrate-international-womens-day-byworking http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/4673-women-celebrate-international-womens-day-byworking Gaza, March 8, 2010 (Pal Telegraph; by Fares Akeram and Sami Ajrami) -- Halima Ghaben, 47, doesn't care about competing with men at a market in Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip. A mother of eight, she sells strawberries to make money for the family. In a challenge to Gaza customs that a woman's place is in the home, Halima goes further than her house. Every morning, she jogs three miles to her truck farm, where she plants strawberries on land rented from her father-in-law, harvests whatever she can carry and heads for the market. "I pay a rental of 300 Jordanian dinars (US$422) a year for the land, plus other expenses for irrigation, buying seedlings and fertilizer," she said when sitting on a plastic case behind a round silvery tray full of the red strawberries. "It's expensive but we succeed in handling it." Clad in black gown, Halima is not sick of calling on people to buy four kg of strawberry for 10 Israeli shekels (about US$3), cheaper than any other place in Gaza. Until Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza after Hamas seized full control of the coastal enclave in 2007, Halima could simply sell her crop to a merchant who would export them to Europe. Though the prices of strawberries went down due the inability to export and high prices of seedlings, Halima did not give up her business that she has been building for years. Her daily journey starts after making breakfast for her husband, who lost his job as a construction worker in Israel in 2001. Sometimes, farming work keeps Halima there until sunset -- weeding on the farm and selling in the market. She spends several hours until the daily harvest is completely sold. After a tedious day, Halima returns home with some greens, lentils, beans and other household items. She then cooks for the family using a gas stove that turns the kitchen's walls black. "If I don't go out to work, the family will starve," she said. "Nobody helps us and my two elder sons are still looking for jobs while helping me in the farm." She is happy when it is strawberry season. Halima's story is not rare. In Gaza markets, you would find women selling rabbits, poultry, eggs and herbs, as well as mint, parsley and basil. "What I do here is better than begging or living a low life," a woman selling home-made white cheese said reluctantly. Zainab al-Ghunimi, a lawyer and a women's rights activist, blamed the Israeli siege for more women forced to work unwillingly. "The siege, poverty and unemployment of thousands of workers let many women go to seek work randomly and sometimes they are not professionally or mentality qualified for work." Women form 14 percent of the workforce in Gaza, she said. But women like Halima may not recognize themselves employed in order to benefit from aid for the poor, she added. Source: Xinhua Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:00:08 GMT +0000 Palestine Telegraph http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2010/mar/10/rachel-corrie-court-case-israel http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2010/mar/10/rachel-corrie-court-case-israel Court begins hearing civil suit brought against Israeli government over death of US activist killed by Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:17:11 GMT +0000 The Guardian Gaza http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/10/david-kimche-obituary http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/10/david-kimche-obituary Israeli spymaster with a key role in Africa and the Middle East Known as "the man with the suitcase" and a master of disguise, the British-born Israeli spy-master and diplomat David Kimche, who has died aged 82 of cancer, was renowned in clandestine circles from Zanzibar to Tehran. He often slipped in and out of countries, leaving profound political changes in his wake, and more recently became active in Israeli-Palestinian peace initiatives. Officially Kimche was deputy head of the Israeli intelligence and counterterrorism agency, the Mossad, until 1980, then director-general of Israel's foreign ministry for seven years. Yet this only hints at his influence. He was largely responsible for Israel's diplomatic and military overtures to Africa from the late 1950s, nurtured the young Idi Amin and secretly visited Arab leaders in Morocco and Egypt. He prepared the groundwork for the Camp David accords (1978) and the Egypt-Israel peace treaty of the following year. Other involvements included Israel's ill-fated plan to install a Christian potentate in Beirut in 1982, and the Iran-Contra scandal of 1985. Kimche was born in London to a Swiss family. After reputedly working for British intelligence during the second world war, he emigrated to Palestine in 1946 and fought in the 1948 war of independence. He then took a PhD in international relations from Jerusalem's Hebrew University. In 1953 he was invited to join the Mossad. Brilliant and urbane, if somewhat detached, he was posted to Africa and Asia, where he masqueraded as a British businessman. When Egyptian pressure barred Israel from the conference of non-aligned nations in Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955, Kimche and his colleagues responded by cultivating ties with non-Arab states bordering the Middle East. He compared Israel's struggle against imperialism with Africa's yearning for freedom. Yet sentiment and idealism were not his only weapons. He brought Kenyan Mau Mau rebels to Israel for military training, established national security agencies across the continent and helped Ghana spy on its ally, Egypt. He also located Mossad listening stations in the Horn of Africa and allegedly backed coups, including the overthrow of the Sultan of Zanzibar in 1964. Numbered among Kimche's presidential allies, and often friends, were Ivory Coast's Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Chad's Ngarta Tombalbaye, Nigeria's Ibrahim Babangida and Ethiopia's Mengistu Haile Mariam, enabling thousands of Israeli kibbutz workers to initiate medical, agricultural and environmental projects across Africa. Thousands more Africans studied at Israeli educational institutions. Israel in turn won blocking votes in the UN. Kimche was disappointed when 34 African nations cut relations after the 1967 six-day war and the 1973 Yom Kippur war. He nonetheless maintained unofficial channels that served Israel well when the diplomatic tide turned after 1991. As the Mossad's chief recruiting officer, Kimche trained agents, and he retained a proactive approach when invited by Yitzhak Shamir, then foreign minister, to become director-general of his department. He armed Maronite clans in Lebanon's escalating civil war in the 1970s, helped engineer Yasser Arafat's departure from Beirut in 1982, and supplied Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala with captured PLO weapons later that year. But his masterplan began to go awry in September 1982, with the assassination of the newly elected Maronite president of Lebanon, Bashir Gemayel, and the Sabra and Chatilla massacre that took place shortly afterwards. He negotiated a US-mediated treaty with Lebanon, signed in May 1983, although Beirut abrogated the agreement within a year. In 1985 he told the US national security adviser Robert McFarlane that moderate elements in Iran might help free Americans captured in Lebanon. To encourage this process, Israel agreed to sell arms to Ayatollah Khomeini's Iran. The profits would sponsor CIA-backed Contra guerrillas in Nicaragua. Initially Iran received hundreds of anti-tank missiles, and one of the hostages, the Rev Benjamin Weir, was freed. Further deliveries were botched, however, and another hostage, the CIA agent William Buckley, was killed. Kimche was blamed and relieved of involvement. He was also implicated in "running" Jonathan Pollard, a US naval officer arrested in 1985 for spying on America. After leaving the ministry in 1987, Kimche pursued business interests but maintained a public role. In 1997 he co-founded the International Alliance for Arab-Israeli Peace, known as the Copenhagen group. The following year he protested against the slowing down of the peace process by the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu. He berated Israeli leaders for treating Arab citizens unequally and particularly criticised his former protege Ariel Sharon. In 2003 he co-launched a campaign promoting Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories and later that year was revealed as a key architect of the Geneva accords, the unofficial Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative. Kimche chaired the Glocal Forum, a Zurich-based institute that addresses the challenges of globalisation, and was president of the Israel Council for Foreign Relations. His books include The Six-Day War: Prologue and Aftermath (1971), and The Last Option: The Quest for Peace in the Middle East (1988, updated 1992). To the end, he remained devoted to the belief that Israelis and Palestinians could co-exist peacefully. He is survived by his wife, Ruth, and four children. • David Kimche, intelligence executive and diplomat, born 1928; died 8 March 2010 Middle East The Mossad Israel Palestinian territories Egypt Lawrence Joffe guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:50:40 GMT +0000 The Guardian Israel http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/10/rachel-corrie-civil-case-israel http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/10/rachel-corrie-civil-case-israel Richard Purssell describes 'shocking event' in Haifa court on first day of civil suit brought by Corrie family against Israel A British witness told a court today about how he had watched an Israeli military bulldozer run over and kill the American activist Rachel Corrie while she was trying to stop Palestinians' homes being demolished in Gaza. Richard Purssell, who was also a volunteer activist in Rafah at the time, seven years ago, described the "shocking and dramatic event" in an Israeli court in Haifa on the first day of a civil suit brought by Corrie's family against the Israeli state. Twenty-three-year-old Corrie, from Olympia, Washington, in the US, went to Gaza for peace activism reasons at a time when there was intense conflict between the Israeli military and the Palestinians. The Corrie family lawyer, Hussein Abu Hussein, said he would argue that her death was due either to gross negligence by the Israeli military or that it was intended. If the Israeli state were found responsible, the family would press for damages. Purssell, a Briton, now working as a landscape gardener, said he volunteered with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) to witness events in the occupied Palestinian territories for himself. In Rafah he had been hoping to prevent the Israeli military from demolishing Palestinian homes. The organisation was strictly non violent, he said. "Our role was to support Palestinian non-violent resistance." On the day of her death, 16 March 2003, Corrie was with seven other activists, including Purssell, in Rafah, close to the Israeli-guarded border with Egypt. They saw an Israeli military armoured Caterpillar D9 bulldozer approaching the house of a Palestinian doctor. Purssell described how the bulldozer approached at a fast walking pace, its blade down and gathering a pile of soil in its path. When the bulldozer was 20 metres from the house Corrie, who like the others was wearing an orange fluorescent jacket, climbed on to the soil in front of it and stood "looking into the cab of the bulldozer". "The bulldozer continued to move forward," Purssell said. "Rachel turned to come back down the slope. The earth is still moving and as she nears the bottom of the pile something happened which causes her to fall forward. The bulldozer continued to move forward and Rachel disappeared from view under the moving earth." The bulldozer continued forward four metres as the activists began to run forward and shout at the driver. "It passed the point where Rachel fell, it stopped and reversed back along the track it first made. Rachel was lying on the earth," Purssell said. "She was still breathing." Corrie was severely injured and died shortly afterwards. The Israeli military says it bears no responsibility for Corrie's death. A month after her death the military said an investigation had determined its troops were not to blame; the driver of the bulldozer had not seen her and had not intentionally run her over. It accused Corrie and the ISM of behaviour that was "illegal, irresponsible and dangerous". Hussein will argue at the Haifa district court that witness evidence shows that the soldiers did see Corrie at the scene, with other activists well before the incident, and that they could have arrested her or removed her from the area before there was any risk of injury. Before the hearing began, Craig Corrie, Rachel's father, said the family had been on a "seven-year search for justice in Rachel's name". He added: "I think when the truth comes out about Rachel the truth will not wound Israel, the truth is the start of making us heal." Cindy Corrie, Rachel's mother, said the family was still waiting for the credible, transparent investigation Israel first promised regarding her daughter's death. "I just want to say to Rachel that our family is here today trying to just do right by her and I hope that she will be very proud of the effort we are making," she said. She said the family had met the staff of US vice-president Joe Biden on Tuesday to talk about the case. Three other witnesses, two more Britons and an American, who were all at the scene in Rafah when Corrie was killed will give evidence at the Israeli court. It is not clear if any Israeli military officials will speak. The hearing is scheduled to run for at least two weeks. Rachel Corrie Israel United States Protest Rory McCarthy guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:17:11 GMT +0000 The Guardian Israel http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/10/israel-joe-biden-east-jerusalem-settlements http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/10/israel-joe-biden-east-jerusalem-settlements Intentional or not, the announcement of new settlements in East Jerusalem may push the US into a tougher stance towards Israel It's not the first time that Israel has stiffed Barack Obama over his attempts to kick-start Middle East peace negotiations. But the sudden, highly inflammatory announcement of plans to build an additional 1,600 homes in occupied East Jerusalem , in the midst of a visit to Israel of US vice-president Joe Biden, was certainly the most brutally contemptuous rebuff so far to American peacemaking. It may be that Binyamin Netanyahu , Israel's rightwing prime minister, was unaware in advance of the provisional decision by a Jerusalem district planning committee , as he claims. But the announcement was promulgated by his interior ministry, which thereby gave it an official stamp of approval. If Netanyahu did not know, then why not? Despite the evident embarrassment and considerable political damage caused by the decision, Netanyahu has so far made no move to repudiate it. Lesser figures, such as welfare minister Isaac Herzog and Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev were deployed on firefighting duties on Wednesday, dutifully uttering conditional words of contrition. "We have to express our apologies for this serious blunder," Herzog said. But protestations of innocence by interior minister Eli Yishai, head of the Shas religious party in Netanyahu's coalition and no great advocate of American attempts to forge a two-state peace settlement with the Palestinians, are hard to credit. "There was certainly no intention to provoke anyone, and certainly not to come along and hurt the vice-president of the United States," Yishai said. These are weasel words. Is it to be believed that Yishai, like Netanyahu, was unaware of what his own ministry was doing? Did he have no idea the planning decision was pending? Did he, as an experienced politician, not foresee the destructive political implications of this ambush? Like Netanyahu, Yishai presumably regards Jerusalem as Israel's eternal and indivisible capital. Another day on, it seems he was determined to rub Biden's nose in that insupportable idea. The Americans, until now, have been too polite, or too weak, to say it, but Netanyahu spent most last year deliberately frustrating Obama's pledge to mediate a resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict and with it, an end to the Israel-Arab confrontation that has scarred the region for generations. Netanyahu resisted direct talks, rejected a full settlement freeze, flaunted his uncompromising views on Jerusalem, pooh-poohed a Syria opening, and, at the same time, endlessly reiterated his supposed willingness to talk to the Palestinians "without conditions". Simultaneously, Israel's leader tried, with some success, to shift the US conversation on to Iran, which he says poses an existential threat to his country and the region. All in all, it was an Oscar-standard performance in obfuscation, prevarication and disingenuousness. To the achingly smart, but politically less pugnacious Obama, Netanyahu's behaviour was intellectually insulting. The fact he has put up with it until now may be a measure of Israel's clout in Washington, especially on Capitol Hill. This could change. Obama's problem, and not just in the Middle East, is that he is liked but not feared. After a first year in office devoid of substantive achievement, Washington insiders say the president must show he is ready to fight, to get down and dirty, to drop his professorial aloofness and get publicly passionate and angry about the things he believes in. At home, this could apply to healthcare reform . Abroad, the new approach may single out Israel-Palestine. Biden's visit, though reassuring and conciliatory on the surface until the east Jerusalem bombshell dropped, may mark the start of this tougher approach. Many Obama supporters in the US and Europe, and in the post-Cairo Muslim world, will wish it so. The vice-president, whose attack dog qualities were unleashed on the subjects of Russia and Ukraine last year, certainly did not mince his words, once he realised the extent of the insult. "I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in east Jerusalem," Biden said. "The announcement ... is precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now and runs counter to the constructive discussions that I've had here in Israel." In the last part of this sentence Biden seems to be suggesting that Netanyahu told him one thing to his face and did another behind his back. Little wonder he kept Israel's first couple waiting for dinner. It doesn't seem to realise it, but Israel cannot afford to keep on behaving in this disobliging manner towards its friends. Whether it is blatant disregard for international rules concerning the protection of civilian life, as in Gaza; whether it is calculated insults aimed at neighbours, as with Turkey; or whether it is the theft of passports and identities from friendly countries and the lawless assassination of its enemies, as in Dubai, it goes too far. Now, Netanyahu has deeply angered his country's best and most powerful friend – again. The coming message to Bibi: don't over-reach. • Comments on this article will remain open for 24 hours from the time of publication but may be closed overnight Middle East Israel Joe Biden Binyamin Netanyahu Palestinian territories Barack Obama United States US foreign policy Simon Tisdall guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:24:57 GMT +0000 The Guardian Israel http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/10/jerusalem-hebron-israel-palestine http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/10/jerusalem-hebron-israel-palestine Growing Israeli and settler control has set Jerusalem on the same path as the West Bank's most divided city The recent escalation of tensions in Jerusalem with clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli police in and around the Old City appear to signify the emergence of a disturbing new trend: the Hebronisation of Jerusalem. This presages not only the triumph of the radical settler groups in taking over culturally sensitive parts of the city, but also further violence and turmoil. More importantly it also interrupts the delicate moves towards the resumption of negotiations between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority/PLO. Why Hebronisation? Hebron , just south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, is a city – despite pockets of wealth – characterised by poverty, lack of investment, increasing criminality, the breakdown of municipal services and the absence of any recognised national and local leadership. Since the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Israeli settler groups in Hebron have acted with increasing impunity in a city with an overwhelming Palestinian majority. This is largely due to restrictions imposed by the Israeli government to promote the settler presence in the heart of Hebron's Old City. The declaration last week that the Tomb of the Patriarchs (the presumed site of Abraham's burial place) located in the al-Ibrahimi mosque has been added to a list of protected Jewish sites has underlined this projection of Israeli power into the planned Palestinian state. The acceptance of the Israeli settlement movement in Jerusalem into the Israeli political mainstream, its capture of some of the city's key institutions and geographical locations, its support from the highest echelons of the Israeli bureaucracy, judiciary and army, its funding by wealthy US and other external sources all point to a culture of impunity that suggests more than a passing resemblance to Hebron. The creation of no-go areas for Palestinians in parts of Jerusalem and the closing of market streets as a result of settler harassment has not occurred to the same extent as in Hebron, but the signs that this can happen all too easily are already discernible in areas targeted by the settlers. A recent report published by Chatham House – Jerusalem: The Cost of Failure – argued that this Hebronisation of Jerusalem also comprised a mixture of exclusion, unilateral withdrawal from certain peripheral areas by Israel and the so-called "warehousing" of the remainder of the Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem. Current trends, it suggested, would result in the physical removal of much of the Palestinian population from the central parts of East Jerusalem. Despite this dire scenario, the report also held that for the foreseeable future the Israeli government was in a strong enough position to contain the negative impact of these developments. The chief result has been to deprive the Palestinians of East Jerusalem of any effective and coordinated resistance to the settler activity. Consequently, in the short-to-medium term (two to five years) the Israeli government will have an almost free rein in the city to complete the Hebronisation process. There are two caveats to this prognosis. The first is the challenge to Israeli authority in the city from the Islamic Movement , a group based in northern Israel. Its present community action, based around efforts to bring Palestinian Muslims from Israel into Jerusalem to "protect" their heritage, is just about tolerable to the Israeli government. When and if it is able to transform itself into a force that threatens Israeli hegemony in the city, more drastic action may be taken. As the movement is based within Israeli itself, it is not something that Israel can suppress in the same way as it has acted against Hamas in the occupied territories. The second caveat is the role of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious sites in the area referred to as the Holy Basin . A critical issue that will provoke reaction in the streets of East Jerusalem is an Israeli infringement of the Islamic rights to the Haram al-Sharif and associated places. As seen last weekend and also in October 2009, street protests and rioting have already broken out over perceived threats to the Haram al-Sharif, partially, but not exclusively, mobilised by the Islamic movement from inside Israel. A miscalculation by the Israeli government, or the flexing of muscles by a settler group, could provoke a furious and possibly uncontrollable response. This bleak prognosis can to some extent be avoided. By reaffirming the illegality of Israeli policy in East Jerusalem, the recommendations put forward in a recent leaked EU heads of mission report would go a long way towards halting the slide to both consolidating the Israeli presence and the further fragmentation of East Jerusalem. The recommendations include promoting the establishment of a PLO representative in East Jerusalem, the prevention of financial transactions by EU member states that support settlement activity or the export of products from settlements to the EU member states and the support of Palestinian civil society. Nevertheless, by themselves, it is unlikely that these actions would be sufficient in the time available to prevent the scenarios outlined above. The focus of diplomatic activity should be on two key areas. First, the seriousness of the situation should be impressed upon the US and the president's special envoy to the Middle East, Senator George Mitchell (as the key actors with any leverage on the Israeli government) and the Quartet. A significant point that could be made is that until the concerns of all those living in Jerusalem are addressed, Israel's security is as much at risk as the livelihood and well-being of the Palestinians. Second, the international community needs to convince the current Israeli government that the activities of radical settlers in destabilising the status quo of the religious sites and acquiring strategic tracts of land will lead to further violence not only in Jerusalem but across the region. Israeli policies in support of returning to a negotiated peace process and support for such groups are contradictory. • Comments on this article will remain open for 24 hours from the time of publication but may be closed overnight Israel Palestinian territories US foreign policy Middle East Human rights Mick Dumper guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:39:26 GMT +0000 The Guardian Israel http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/10/israel-homes-plan-biden-apology http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/10/israel-homes-plan-biden-apology Visiting vice-president seeks to keep peace process on rails after Israel says it will expand East Jerusalem settlement The US vice-president, Joe Biden, has said the Palestinians deserve a "viable" independent state with contiguous territory, hoping to reassure them of America's support after Israel announced plans to expand a Jewish neighbourhood on occupied Palestinian land in East Jerusalem. After a day of meetings with Palestinian leaders, Biden repeated his strong condemnation of the plan and said the US was committed to brokering a final peace deal in the Middle East – something that has eluded successive American presidents. "The United States pledges to play an active as well as a sustainable role in these talks," Biden said. He stressed the Palestinians needed an independent state that is "viable and contiguous", meaning the territory should not be broken up by Israeli settlements and sending a signal that the US expects Israel to withdrawal from the West Bank as part of a deal. Standing alongside the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, Biden urged both sides to not to act in a way "that inflame tensions or prejudice the outcome of talks". "It's incumbent on both parties to build an atmosphere of support for negotiations and not to complicate them," he said. Abbas said Israel's continued expansion of settlements, especially in Jerusalem, threatened the negotiations before they got off the ground. "We call on Israel to cancel these decisions," Abbas said. "I call on the Israeli government not to lose a chance to make peace. I call on them to halt settlement building and to stop imposing facts on the ground, and to give the efforts of the Obama administration and Senator Mitchell the chance to succeed." Earlier an Israeli cabinet minister apologised for the timing of the settlement announcement but not for its substance. "This should not have happened during a visit by the US vice-president," the welfare minister, Isaac Herzog, told Army Radio. "This is a real embarrassment and now we have to express our apologies for this serious blunder." Aides to the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu said he had been blindsided by the project's announcement by the interior ministry, run by Shas, an ultra-orthodox nationalist party that is a key member of his governing coalition. The approval of the plan cast a cloud over Biden's visit, just hours after he pledged strong support for the Israeli government . It was announced a day after the Israeli defence ministry confirmed 112 apartments would be built in Beitar Illit, a settlement on the occupied West Bank. Ramat Shlomo, built 15 years ago, is on land captured in the West Bank in 1967 and annexed to Israel in a move not recognised by the international community. Israel's interior minister, Eli Yishai, who heads the Shas, said the timing was coincidental. "There was certainly no intention to provoke anyone and certainly not to come along and hurt the vice-president of the United States," Yishai told Israel's Channel One television. "Final approval [for the project] will take another few months. I agree that the timing [of the announcement] should have been in another two or three weeks." Israel Middle East United States Joe Biden Palestinian territories Rory McCarthy Haroon Siddique guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:23:16 GMT +0000 The Guardian Israel http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/09/israel-jerusalem-settlement-homes-biden http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/09/israel-jerusalem-settlement-homes-biden • 1,600 homes to be built in East Jerusalem settlement • Vice-president says the deal undermines trust Joe Biden, the US vice-president, condemned a plan by Israel to build 1,600 homes on occupied Palestinian land in an East Jerusalem settlement. The Israeli interior ministry's approval of the plan cast a cloud over a visit to the country by Biden just hours after he pledged strong support for the Israeli government. In an unusually strong statement issued after he arrived 90 minutes late for a dinner with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden said: "I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units." He said the blueprint for Ramat Shlomo, an ultra-Orthodox settlement in an area of the West Bank annexed to Jerusalem, "undermines the trust we need right now and runs counter to the constructive discussions I've had in Israel". The approvals came just a day after the Israeli defence ministry announced that 112 apartments would be built in Beitar Illit, a settlement on the occupied West Bank. The new building comes at a delicate moment in the long-stalled peace process after Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed to start indirect negotiations. The interior ministry said the Ramat Shlomo approvals had been passed by the Jerusalem district planning committee. A spokeswoman said there were 60 days to appeal against the decision. Ramat Shlomo, built 15 years ago, is on land captured in the West Bank in 1967 and annexed to Israel in a move not recognised by the international community. Israel's interior minister, Eli Yishai, who heads a religious party in Netanyahu's governing coalition, said the timing of the plan's approval was coincidental. "There was certainly no intention to provoke anyone and certainly not to come along and hurt the vice-president of the United States," Yishai told Israel's Channel One television. "Final approval [for the project] will take another few months. I agree that the timing [of the announcement] should have been in another two or three weeks." Two years ago, when the Israeli government approved 1,300 homes in the same settlement, then US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, criticised the move as having a "negative effect" on peace talks. Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said the announcements were "destroying our efforts" in peace negotiations. "With such an announcement, how can you build trust?" he said. "It's a disastrous situation." Earlier in the day, Biden said Israel and the Palestinians needed to "take risks for peace". But his talk of a "moment of opportunity" obscures a reality in which the two sides are a long way apart. Although the peace process has been under way for nearly two decades, there have been no direct negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders since Israel's war in Gaza a year ago. Palestinian officials refused to hold direct talks unless Israel halted all settlement construction, in line with the demands of the US administration and of the US road map. But Netanyahu, agreed only to a temporary, partial curb to settlement building. It did not include East Jerusalem, or public buildings, or homes where construction had already started. In talks with Netanyahu, Biden appeared to focus not on the struggling peace process but on Iran, saying Washington was committed to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. "There is no space between the US and Israel when it comes to Israel's security," Biden said after their meeting. "We are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons," Biden said. In private, he is also believed to have cautioned the Israeli government against any unilateral military strike on Iran, and to have tried to win Israeli support for the US administration's policy, which is moving towards sanctions against Iran. Netanyahu made clear the Israeli government hoped for a tougher sanction regime against Iran. "The stronger those sanctions are, the more likely it will be that the Iranian regime will have to chose between advancing its nuclear programme and advancing the future of its own permanence," he said. Netanyahu frequently cites the need to address Iran's nuclear ambitions as his priority in government and Israeli leaders have pointedly not ruled out a military option. Israel Palestinian territories Middle East US foreign policy United States Joe Biden Binyamin Netanyahu Rory McCarthy guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:34:14 GMT +0000 The Guardian Israel http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/09/israel-policy-economic-oecd http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/09/israel-policy-economic-oecd Economic pressure is a powerful tool when it comes to Israel, and the OECD is undermining the EU's firm stance Despite all the diplomatic disquiet over Israeli policy towards the Palestinians, actions speak far louder than words when it comes to Israel's international status. In May, the country seems set to be ushered into the OECD , following years of campaigning from successive Israeli governments. Such a move would be another step in welcoming Israel in from the cold, and demonstrates certain states' willingness to overlook Israel's questionable behaviour as an occupier in favour of enhanced fiscal and political ties. In January the OECD's incumbent secretary general implied that Israel's admission is all but guaranteed, and there seems little objection to the decision from the organisation's 30 member states. For Israel's part, accession to the OECD is of great advantage, both in terms of global prestige and practical economic benefits. Israel's credit rating will be upgraded as a result, and Israeli firms will find it much easier to raise capital on the back of the vote of confidence issued by the OECD's leadership. The only fly in the ointment is a dispute over information submitted by Israel to the OECD as part of its application for membership. Data provided by Israeli officials included figures related to Israel's settler population, which contravenes OECD policy not to take account of a state's economic activity beyond its recognised borders. A leaked report reveals discord among OECD statisticians, who maintain that the data should either include everyone residing in the West Bank – Palestinians as well as settlers – or no one at all. The row has the potential to derail Israel's acceptance to the OECD because revamped numbers could leave Israel short of the organisation's stringent entry criteria. However, according to the report, the proposed solution allows Israel to first gain membership to the OECD, and then be granted a year's extension to submit new figures – by which point Israel's status as a fully-fledged member will grant it the power to veto demands for updated statistics. There have been several attempts to block Israel's membership on the basis of its alleged discrimination against its Arab minority, but so far the pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Instead, the message is being sent to Israel by the OECD that money rather than morals is the dominant factor in their decision-making process. Such a stance flies in the face of EU intransigence over Israel's behaviour towards those Palestinians living under occupation. The EU has indefinitely suspended plans to upgrade Israel's association agreement with the union, pending developments in the peace process and signs that settlement expansion is coming to an end. As it stands, all Israeli exports to Europe are exempt from tariffs, with the exception of produce originating from settlements. On top of the political face lost by Israel over the issue, the financial impact of the EU's decision is designed to increase pressure on the Israeli government and encourage it to make concessions over its settlement policy. The approval of Israel's membership to the OECD weakens the position of the EU over such key matters. Likewise, it encourages Israel's leaders to believe that they can get away with continuing to flout international law with impunity, safe in the knowledge that as one door closes another is flung open for them to walk through. The carrot and stick approach to coercing Israel to comply with its ethical obligations can only work if there is a concerted, united effort from the outside world, rather than the current batch of disjointed, piecemeal attempts. Even as Israeli leaders declare their intention to enter into serious negotiations with their Palestinian counterparts, approval continues to be granted for further settlement construction, and peace efforts are undermined before they have even begun. Maintaining the status quo of grandiose, conciliatory statements at political level and counterproductive action on the ground is made all the more easy by the likes of the OECD refusing to stand up to Israel's tactics of deception. Economic pressure is one of the most powerful tools in the outside world's arsenal when it comes to the Israel-Palestine conflict. It is to Israel's benefit to shed its status as a pariah state and to become closer to countries with whom it can trade and forge financial links. The Israeli economy is heavily reliant on exports, and anything which threatens the viability of Israeli businesses selling their products overseas will go down badly with both the public and, ultimately, the politicians for whom they vote. Calling for an outright boycott of Israeli goods and services is an extreme way of exerting influence over government policy, and should be entertained only as a measure of last resort . In the meantime, it is incumbent on organisations such as the OECD and EU to flex their muscles in a fashion that is measured yet firm. That seems to be the approach that the EU is taking of late, but the OECD seems to be falling short of its own responsibilities. If, as expected, Israel's membership is ratified in May, it can only be hoped that the OECD's opposition to Israel's misdeeds comes late rather than never. • Comments on this article will remain open for 24 hours from the time of publication but may be closed overnight Israel International Trade Palestinian territories European Union Middle East Seth Freedman guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:45:34 GMT +0000 The Guardian Israel http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/09/joe-biden-middle-east-talks http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/09/joe-biden-middle-east-talks In talks with Binyamin Netanyahu, US vice-president stresses need to prevent Iran obtaining nuclear weapons The US vice-president, Joe Biden, promised the Israeli government today that it had the strong support of Washington and said the US was committed to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. "There is no space between the US and Israel when it comes to Israel's security," Biden said, after meeting the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem. Their talks appeared to focus on Iran and its nuclear ambitions, rather than on the new round of low-key, indirect peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians that was agreed yesterday. Biden, who is the most senior US official to visit Israel since Barack Obama was elected last year, said addressing Iran's nuclear programme was a priority. "We are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons," he said. In private he is also believed to have cautioned the Israeli government against any unilateral military strike on Iran, and to have tried to win Israeli support for the US administration's policy, which is moving towards sanctions against Iran. Earlier, before a meeting with the Israeli president, Shimon Peres, Biden said Iran had become more isolated since the Obama administration came to power. Netanyahu made clear today the Israeli government hoped for a tougher sanctions regime against Iran. "The stronger those sanctions are, the more likely it will be that the Iranian regime will have to chose between advancing its nuclear programme and advancing the future of its own permanence," he said. Netanyahu frequently cites the need to address Iran's nuclear ambitions as his priority in government and Israeli leaders have pointedly not ruled out a military option. Biden, who was later due to meet the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, repeated the US goal for a two-state peace agreement that would see the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. Yesterday, the US special envoy, George Mitchell, announced that Israel and the Palestinians had agreed to new, indirect talks, although discussion on the "structure and the scope" was only beginning. The peace process has been under way for nearly two decades, but there have been no direct negotiations between the two since Israel's war in Gaza a year ago. Few on either side hold out much hope for the new "proximity talks". Just before the announcement, the Israeli defence ministry said it had authorised the construction of 112 apartments in the Jewish settlement of Beitar Illit, on the occupied West Bank. That came despite a temporary, partial curb on settlement building announced by Netanyahu last November. The Palestinians have insisted there would be no return to direct talks unless there was a full halt to Israeli settlement construction, in line with the obligations of the US road map. All settlements on occupied territory are illegal under international law. Binyamin Netanyahu Joe Biden Israel Palestinian territories Middle East United States US foreign policy Obama administration Rory McCarthy guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:01:21 GMT +0000 The Guardian Israel http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88032 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88032 GAZA Monday, February 08, 2010 (IRIN) - Hassan al-Err, aged 67, and his seven-member family are moving into a mud house built by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip, because other building materials are not available. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88005 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88005 GAZA Friday, February 05, 2010 (IRIN) - Nearly half a million children in Gaza returned to overcrowded and dilapidated schools on 1 February, many attending in a shift system, with missing textbooks, stationery or uniforms. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87991 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87991 AMMAN Thursday, February 04, 2010 (IRIN) - Governments in the Middle East must put aside political differences, rethink water management and revise strategy and policy in using water otherwise the region will face a dire future, scientists have warned at an international conference in Jordan. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87954 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87954 GAZA Tuesday, February 02, 2010 (IRIN) - Mona al-Samouni, 12, is depressed and has nightmares about the day - just over a year ago - when she witnessed her parents and a number of relatives being shot by Israeli soldiers in their home in Zeitoun, southeast of Gaza City. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87904 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87904 GAZA Thursday, January 28, 2010 (IRIN) - Thousands of Gazans made homeless by Israel’s 23-day military assault on the Gaza Strip which ended just over a year ago, are still in tents and damaged buildings; cold weather and recent flash floods have exacerbated their plight, say aid workers and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87809 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87809 TEL AVIV Wednesday, January 20, 2010 (IRIN) - Heavy rain and flooding has forced hundreds of people from their homes in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza authorities. About 115 homes were damaged and the sewage system was reported to be overflowing. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87790 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87790 JOHANNESBURG Tuesday, January 19, 2010 (IRIN) - The best search and rescue workers have stamina, a phenomenal sense of smell, and sharp hearing - they usually also have four legs. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87582 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87582 CAIRO Monday, December 28, 2009 (IRIN) - More than 1,000 people from 42 countries who have vowed to travel from Cairo to the Gaza Strip on 31 December in a bid to highlight and break the Israeli economic blockade, will be prevented from carrying out their mission, according to the Egyptian authorities. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87539 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87539 TEL AVIV Wednesday, December 23, 2009 (IRIN) - The construction of a desalination plant intended to supply some 50 million cubic metres of water annually to Palestinians living in the West Bank has again been stalled. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87520 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87520 HAWARA/TEL AVIV Tuesday, December 22, 2009 (IRIN) - Three hundred olive trees in Shaer's plot near the village of Jit in the West Bank's Nablus region are almost bare: There will be hardly any olives for his family this year, let alone any for sale Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87349 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87349 TEL AVIV Monday, December 07, 2009 (IRIN) - Nearly seven months after the first H1N1 influenza cases were registered in Israel and the West Bank, five cases of the disease were confirmed in the Gaza Strip on 6 December, according to the Palestinian health authority. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87197 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87197 NAIROBI Thursday, November 26, 2009 (IRIN) - From the first goat sales about five years ago, creative NGO fundraisers have expanded a range of animal and farm-related "gifts" for sale online to benefit developing countries. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87201 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87201 TEL AVIV Thursday, November 26, 2009 (IRIN) - The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has announced that restrictions on the West Bank's population in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) will be eased during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha between 26 November and 2 December. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87092 http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87092 DUBAI Wednesday, November 18, 2009 (IRIN) - More people have died from H1N1 influenza in Iran than in any of the 22 countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region, according to WHO’s 14 November update. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:57 GMT +0000 IRIN http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860996,00.html http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860996,00.html IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi urges international community to 'keep all options on table' vis-?-vis Iran, says Israel faces unprecedented combination of threats; Army chief speaks at NY function, raises $20 million dollars for IDF soldiers Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:32:01 GMT -0200 YNet News http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860975,00.html http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860975,00.html Major routes to be blocked intermittently to accommodate vice president's schedule Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:59:44 GMT -0200 YNet News http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860934,00.html http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860934,00.html EU endorses UN report on Gaza war, calls for probe into alleged war crimes, removal of Israeli imposed blockade on Strip Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:13:23 GMT -0200 YNet News http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860894,00.html http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860894,00.html Education minister convinces defense officials to allow students to visit Jewish sites formerly off-limits Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:14:22 GMT -0200 YNet News http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860713,00.html http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860713,00.html During joint Ramallah press conference with Abbas, American vice president says Israel's east Jerusalem construction plan 'undermines trust needed for negotiations'; calls on both sides to refrain from 'inflaming' tensions. Yishai apologizes for 'real embarrassment' caused to Biden Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:42:22 GMT -0200 YNet News http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860805,00.html http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860805,00.html Parents of Rachel Corrie, who was crushed by IDF bulldozer while trying to block demolition of Palestinian homes in 2003, seek $324,000 in damages. 'The truth will not wound Israel,' father says Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:04:54 GMT -0200 YNet News http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860782,00.html http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860782,00.html United Torah Judaism MK joins president in his meeting with leader of Lithuanian stream of ultra-Orthodoxy, says he received instructions to resign from coalition. Dozens of haredim protest, throw stones outside meeting's location Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:24:41 GMT -0200 YNet News http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860712,00.html http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860712,00.html Unprecedented coalition emerges to keep work immigrants' children in Israel. Advocates include educational institutions, youth movements, academics, student unions and social groups. Inter-ministerial committee to decide on matter by end of March Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:32:29 GMT -0200 YNet News http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860733,00.html http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860733,00.html Following alleged plot to murder artist who drew cartoon depicting Prophet Muhammad with body of a dog, Swedish newspapers publish it to take stance for freedom of speech. 'A threat against him is, in the long term, also a threat against all Swedes,' one paper says Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:31:51 GMT -0200 YNet News http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/03/2010310124817810475.html 2010310124817810475 Vice president condemns Israel for plan to construct 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:56:47 GMT +0000 Aljazeera http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/03/201031042646747585.html 201031042646747585 Case concerns Rachel Corrie's death during protest against Palestinian home demolitions. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:50:37 GMT +0000 Aljazeera http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2010/03/20103109518872958.html 20103109518872958 Tantawi, Sunni Islam's most senior religious figure, stirred controversy with ban on niqab. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:17:07 GMT +0000 Aljazeera http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/03/20103914564229782.html 20103914564229782 Middle East rivals announce plans to develop nuclear energy to meet energy need. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:40:43 GMT +0000 Aljazeera http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/03/20103975228357270.html 20103975228357270 President offers to hold talks with southern separatists after vowing to crush them. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:36:16 GMT +0000 Aljazeera http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/03/201039143257811559.html 201039143257811559 Rival political parties adjourn talks on national defence strategy to April 15. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:27:22 GMT +0000 Aljazeera http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=112558 http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=112558 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel on Tuesday approved the construction of 1,600 new settler homes in occupied East Jerusalem, announcing the move as US Vice President Joe Biden met top Israeli officials to boost renewed peace efforts. The move infuriated the Palestinians, who consider settlements to be a major hurdle in long-hobbled attempts Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:02:13 GMT +0000 Daily Star http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EGUA-83EPGS?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P EGUA-83EPGS Source: UN Human Rights Council Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:18:50 GMT +0000 Relief Web http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EGUA-83EMQU?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P EGUA-83EMQU Source: UN Secretary-General Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:49:18 GMT +0000 Relief Web http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MUMA-83E8V6?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P MUMA-83E8V6 Source: Reuters - AlertNet Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:50:38 GMT +0000 Relief Web http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MUMA-83E8DE?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P MUMA-83E8DE Source: Kuwait News Agency Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:25:25 GMT +0000 Relief Web http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EGUA-83DTRZ?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P EGUA-83DTRZ Source: UN News Service Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:58:21 GMT +0000 Relief Web http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/SKEA-83DECV?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P SKEA-83DECV Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:31:45 GMT +0000 Relief Web http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MUMA-83D3PE?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P MUMA-83D3PE Source: Government of Israel Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:25:26 GMT +0000 Relief Web http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MYAI-83D2LF?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P MYAI-83D2LF Source: Reuters - AlertNet Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:29:27 GMT +0000 Relief Web http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EGUA-83CT3B?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P EGUA-83CT3B Source: UN Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:22:04 GMT +0000 Relief Web http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58181 http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58181 Wednesday March 10, 2010 - 16:20, Palestinians organized a nonviolent protest Wednesday in central Gaza the Israeli built wall around the costal enclave. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:02:09 GMT +0000 IMEMC http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58180 http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58180 Wednesday March 10, 2010 - 16:06, A group of armed Israeli settlers attack on Wednesday the village of Bureen northern West Bank and destroyed a car there. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:02:09 GMT +0000 IMEMC http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58179 http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58179 Wednesday March 10, 2010 - 15:52, Israeli tanks opened fire on Wednesday afternoon at residents’ homes and farm lands located close to the eastern Gaza Strip boarders. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:02:09 GMT +0000 IMEMC http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58178 http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58178 Wednesday March 10, 2010 - 15:10, The United Nation secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, condemned the latest Israeli decision to build 1,600 new settlers homes in East Jerusalem. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:02:09 GMT +0000 IMEMC http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58177 http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58177 Wednesday March 10, 2010 - 13:09, Palestinian Minister of Detainees, Issa Qaraqe’, stated that detainee Irena Sarahna from Ukraine, and married to a Palestinian from the Duheisha refugee camp in Bethlehem, was officially informed by the Israeli Authorities that she will be deported to her country within a month. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:02:09 GMT +0000 IMEMC http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58176 http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58176 Wednesday March 10, 2010 - 12:43, Palestinian Legislator, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, called on the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank to void its approval for holding talks with the Israeli government on Benjamin Netanyahu. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:02:09 GMT +0000 IMEMC http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58175 http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58175 Wednesday March 10, 2010 - 09:38, The Israeli Authorities decided to pardon ten fighters of the Al Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of Fateh movement. A list containing the names of the fighters was handed to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:02:09 GMT +0000 IMEMC http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58174 http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58174 Wednesday March 10, 2010 - 08:47, The International Police Agency, Interpol, managed to identify suspect number 27, believed to be involved in the assassination of Hamas leader, Mahmoud Al Madbouh, in his hotel room in Dubai in January. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:02:09 GMT +0000 IMEMC http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58173 http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58173 Wednesday March 10, 2010 - 02:27, U.S. Vice President, Joe Biden, stated that Israel’s Interior Ministry’s decision to build 1600 homes for Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem undermines the efforts to restart the Middle East peace process. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:02:09 GMT +0000 IMEMC http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58172 http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58172 Wednesday March 10, 2010 - 01:40, Directly after finishing his first term as a Prime Minister (1999-2002), Benjamin Netanyahu turned into “an independent figure” who became accustomed to giving lectures and is paid millions of US dollars that are directly deposited in his private bank account. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:02:09 GMT +0000 IMEMC http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155495.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155495.html Britain's Miliband: This is a bad decision at wrong time; Biden: Palestinians deserve viable state. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:42:22 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Diplomacy http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155516.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155516.html Meeting comes ahead of expected Thursday vote on resolution calling for release of captured IDF soldier. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:42:22 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Diplomacy http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155507.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155507.html Jewish leaders 'deeply disappointed' by endorsement, which passed with 335 votes in favor versus 287 against. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:42:22 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Diplomacy http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155500.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155500.html Family meets with members of Biden entourage; U.S. wants Israel to hold a more thorough investigation. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:42:22 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Diplomacy http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155508.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155508.html Dalal al-Mughrabi died while carrying out 1978 attack on Haifa-Tel Aviv highway in which 35 were killed. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:42:22 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Diplomacy http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155504.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155504.html There is a deep reason the majority of Israelis and Palestinians can't move toward the two-state solution. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:42:22 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Diplomacy http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155493.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155493.html Many Hungarian Jews thought to have perished at hands of Nazi backed fascist party during World War II. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:42:22 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Diplomacy http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155492.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155492.html Everything you need to know about Israelis, you'll see from your motorcade window. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:42:22 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Diplomacy http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155490.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155490.html The Moderate Sheik came under pressure to resign after shaking the hand of Shimon Peres in 2008. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:42:22 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Diplomacy http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155460.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155460.html Israel plans to build 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem; U.S., UN condemn move. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:42:22 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Diplomacy http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155417.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155417.html Christian Democrats block joint motion for resolution demanding report's implementation. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:42:22 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Diplomacy http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155257.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155257.html There are ostensible super-patriots who revel in shots across the bow of the American ship of state. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:42:22 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Diplomacy http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155406.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155406.html Gordon Brown: These individuals are true British heroes and a source of national pride for all of us Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:42:22 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Diplomacy http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155171.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155171.html Vice president says timing of plan to build new homes undermines trust ahead of proximity talks. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:42:22 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Diplomacy http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155486.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155486.html IDF authorizes UN sapper unit's entry into Gaza to deal with unexploded arms from Operation Cast Lead. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:22:11 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Defense http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155463.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155463.html Ashkenazi spoke at Friends of IDF dinner; Protestors outside held signs condemning 'Israeli war crimes.' Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:22:11 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Defense http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155181.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155181.html Iran concluded that the danger of an Israeli strike of nuclear sites has been neutralized. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:22:11 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Defense http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154937.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154937.html Three Israelis injured after tractor slammed into their car; IDF believes incident not terror-related. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:22:11 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Defense http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154876.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154876.html State Department says move does not violate freeze; Palestinians: Israel trying to sabotage talks. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:22:11 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Defense http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154670.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154670.html Economics Min. drafting law he hopes will pass this month; PA already moving against settlement-made goods. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:22:11 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Defense http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154675.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154675.html Hebron teenager had been held for nine days for alleged stone-throwing, after family unable to pay NIS 2,000. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:22:11 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Defense http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154417.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154417.html Car swerves off course head-on into IDF armed jeep near Ofra settlement in West Bank. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:22:11 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Defense http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154428.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154428.html Gaza in anarchy as extremist groups challenge Hamas regime, military chief tells Damascus leader. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:22:11 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Defense http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154343.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154343.html Army uses reports by Hamas and Islamic Jihad to justify mosque attack during Operation Cast Lead. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:22:11 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Defense http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154342.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154342.html IDF cancels part of massive combat training exercise to calm tensions along northern border. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:22:11 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Defense http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154339.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154339.html I love my father, but his movement is arrogant and evil, says Hamas leader's son who spied for Israel. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:22:11 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Defense http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1153850.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1153850.html It's not uncommon for secret agents to take up a career in journalism as a cover for clandestine work. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:22:11 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Defense http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1153619.html http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1153619.html Soldier updated his status with details of the time and place of the West Bank operation. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:22:11 GMT +0500 Ha'aretz Defense http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=4533c072e20edb6b4883f7b6cecebd01 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/world/middleeast/11biden.html Palestinian leaders meeting with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. condemned a decision by Israel on new housing, but still spoke of participating in peace talks. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:13:27 GMT +0000 NY Times http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=f74e5b7e6ffa95f320320a0a1d4599b2 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/world/middleeast/10jerusalem.html The removal of a Palestinian family has touched two nerves: the fate of East Jerusalem and the grievances of refugees from the 1948 war. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:20:59 GMT +0000 NY Times http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=33620318d37e80f4661c86284f8afc4f http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/world/middleeast/11military.html Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will discuss military cooperation and Iran’s nuclear program, officials said. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:53:54 GMT +0000 NY Times http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=6529c6fe54877560c82c44a212c08d5b http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/world/asia/11afghan.html As his visit overlapped with that of the U.S. defense secretary, the Iranian president said the U.S. occupation was doomed to fail. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:20:38 GMT +0000 NY Times http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=bf99ae95445b90ae5d034151e32e1eee http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/world/middleeast/10nukes.html Israel, widely believed to have nuclear weapons and possessing no oil, said on Tuesday that it intended to develop civilian nuclear plants for energy. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:50:20 GMT +0000 NY Times http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=6b58698422916bbd52c5277d30e7449a http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/world/middleeast/10briefs-Iran.html Iran’s judiciary last year charged 12 officials at the Kahrizak detention center in Tehran for involvement in the deaths of three protesters held there in July. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:20:30 GMT +0000 NY Times http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=d73d99d728acc626f9505f9bf92f4a46 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/world/middleeast/10kimche.html Mr. Kimche was involved in some of the country’s most delicate foreign escapades, including the Iran-contra affair. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:50:14 GMT +0000 NY Times http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=f1db1fe35e826b94555f381948034bdd http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/science/09enrich.html Making the leap from reactor-grade nuclear fuel to bomb-grade is like the rich getting richer: really fast. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:45:14 GMT +0000 NY Times http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=5cc3a729628afae9a89e6bd74c608d5e http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/world/middleeast/09briefs-Israel.html Israel will announce plans this week to build a new nuclear reactor to diversify its energy sector, officials said Monday. Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:31:07 GMT +0000 NY Times http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=e3ad81b9e6696a5e32ae137a517e058d http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/world/middleeast/09briefs-Iran.html Some lawmakers criticized President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s 2010-11 budget, saying planned cuts in subsidies could set off runaway inflation. Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:30:46 GMT +0000 NY Times http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=e71f6d38fc2af333f10d837ffb9893b6 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/world/middleeast/07sanctions.html A Times analysis shows that the U.S. has awarded companies with more than $107 billion in contracts and loans while they were doing business with Iran. Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:05:14 GMT +0000 NY Times http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=a017ad555bc26e8f9e82eee093303970 http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/iranian-filmmaker-speaks-out-on-prisoners/ Abbas Kiarostami, a celebrated Iranian filmmaker, published an open letter in a Tehran newspaper on Tuesday calling for the release two directors recently detained by the authorities. The filmmaker provided The Lede with an English translation of his letter. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:42:54 GMT +0000 NY Times http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=5c55408e548520ce7b7ebd18157f8b70 http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/israelis-against-israeli-settlements/ Plans to move more Israelis into Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem have been met with opposition from Israelis who favor the establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in that part of the city. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:30:36 GMT +0000 NY Times http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=36bf6649a9a4fa2705c8cc53e815d3df http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/06/ahmadinejad-calls-911-a-big-fabrication/ Perhaps concerned that his repeated suggestions that the Holocaust might not have happened have become less shocking over time, Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad upped the ante on Saturday, telling intelligence officials in Tehran that the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 was staged. Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:35:32 GMT +0000 NY Times http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/ONn2mLu7stw/la-fg-biden-israel10-2010mar10,0,5902804.story http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/ONn2mLu7stw/la-fg-biden-israel10-2010mar10,0,5902804.story Hours after he avows U.S. support, officials there announce plans for new housing in a disputed area. In the midst of a high-profile trip by Vice President Joe Biden, Israel unveiled plans for new housing in disputed Jerusalem on Tuesday, a surprise step that embarrassed and angered the highest ranking Obama administration official yet to visit the country. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:13:00 GMT +0800 LA Times http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/JH2rxE6bPiE/la-fg-obama-iran10-2010mar10,0,5977552.story http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/JH2rxE6bPiE/la-fg-obama-iran10-2010mar10,0,5977552.story With the apparent failure of Obama's initiative to open negotiations, the administration turns toward support of the opposition and a focus on sanctions targeting the powerful Revolutionary Guard. After keeping a careful distance for the last year, the Obama administration has concluded that the Iranian opposition movement has staying power and has embraced it as a central element in the U.S.-led campaign to pressure the country's clerical government. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:54:00 GMT +0800 LA Times http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/U6A3yXOVzeg/la-fg-israel-press-wars10-2010mar10,0,7223711.story http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/U6A3yXOVzeg/la-fg-israel-press-wars10-2010mar10,0,7223711.story Israel's three big newspaper barons are in a cutthroat feud. No matter who wins, some say, readers lose. Media Titan to Rivals: Drop Dead! That's tabloid shorthand for the Darwinian clash unfolding between Israel's three biggest newspaper barons. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:00:00 GMT +0800 LA Times http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/SGSaU1T34OM/la-na-jihad-jane10-2010mar10,0,6440895.story http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/SGSaU1T34OM/la-na-jihad-jane10-2010mar10,0,6440895.story American Colleen R. LaRose, 46, is accused of using the Internet to recruit and assist Muslim terrorist operations in Europe and Asia. Using e-mail, YouTube videos, phony travel documents and a burning desire to kill "or die trying," a middle-aged American woman from Pennsylvania helped recruit a network for suicide attacks and other terrorist strikes in Europe and Asia, according to a federal grand jury indictment unsealed Tuesday. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:00:00 GMT +0800 LA Times http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/-FYEUWC4bJc/la-me-david-kimche10-2010mar10,0,1048535.story http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/-FYEUWC4bJc/la-me-david-kimche10-2010mar10,0,1048535.story He rose through the ranks of the Mossad intelligence agency in the 1950s and later served as director-general of the Foreign Ministry. He was Israel's point man in the Iran-Contra scandal. David Kimche, the Israeli spy-turned-diplomat who played a key role in the Iran-Contra scandal that rocked President Ronald Reagan's administration, has died. He was 82. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:00:00 GMT +0800 LA Times http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/WFnY0Llbs8Y/la-me-senate9-2010mar09,0,7819600.story http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/middleeast/~3/WFnY0Llbs8Y/la-me-senate9-2010mar09,0,7819600.story Website posts text contradicting Tom Campbell's claim of writing on behalf of donor Sami Al-Arian before 9/11. Terrorism and the Middle East are continuing to roil the Republican Senate contest after a letter written by former congressman Tom Campbell emerged that appeared to contradict statements Campbell and his aides had made about his dealings with a radical Muslim professor. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:05:00 GMT +0800 LA Times