15 June 2013 — VTJP
News
PA official: Settlers burn 300 olive trees near Nablus
6/15/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — A group of settlers set fire to over 300 olive trees on Saturday in a Nablus village, a Palestinian Authority official said. Ghassan Daghlas, a PA official who monitors settlement activities, told Ma’an that settlers from the illegal outpost of Havat Gilad set fire to olive trees in the Nablus village of Imatin. The blaze destroyed over 300 trees….
Prisoners say special Israeli units raiding wards
6/15/2013 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) – Palestinian prisoners held at Israel’s Ashkelon prison have been assaulted by special Israeli units ransacking their wards several times last week, a lawyer said Saturday. Karim Ajweh, who works for the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, quoted representative of prisoners in Ashkelon Nasser Abu Hmeid as saying that wards 11 and 13 were stormed and “brutally inspected” for several….
Barghouthi: Israeli forces disperse Ramallah march
6/15/2013 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Dozens of Palestinians were lightly wounded on Saturday when Israeli forces dispersed a march in Beit Liqya, west of Ramallah, Palestinian lawmaker Mustafa Barghouthi said. The Palestinian National Initiative leader told Ma’an that the march was organized to commemorate the destruction of the Palestinian villages of Yalu, Imwas and Beit Nuba by Israeli forces in 1967. Dozens of people….
Nablus man dies of heart attack after PA arrests son
6/15/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — A 62-year-old man died on Saturday after suffering a heart attack following the arrest of his son by Palestinian Authority security forces, officials said. Sadi al-Sakhel suffered a heart attack in front of PA intelligence headquarters in Nablus after going there to look for his son Musab, who had been detained by PA forces, security officials told Ma’an….
Police: Man’s death in Hebron suspicious
6/15/2013 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — A man in Hebron died late Friday evening under suspicious circumstances, police told Ma’an. Bassam Abed al-Fatah al-Sarahneh, 40, was found dead in his house al-Fawwar refugee camp. His body was transferred to Abu al-Hussein al-Qasim hospital in Yatta village. Police opened an investigation. Khader al-Tubasi, public prosecutor for south Hebron, was in the site and transferred the body….
Sinai tribes warn of Palestinian intervention in June 30 protests
6/15/2013 – EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) – Chiefs of clans in the Sinai Peninsula have decided to form a popular committee in northern Sinai to protect strategic facilities and public properties during planned protests on June 30, an official said Friday. Abdul-Hamid Salami, chief of al-Fawakhiriya clan in el-Arish in northern Sinai, told Ma’an that clan dignitaries would hold an emergency meeting next Monday with….
Source: Hamas’ Mashaal in Cairo for emergency meeting
6/15/2013 – CAIRO (Ma’an) – Hamas’ chief in exile Khalid Mashaal landed in Cairo after midnight Friday for emergency talks with the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Egypt Muhammad Badie. A senior Egyptian security source told Ma’an that a Hamas delegation from the Gaza Strip headed by Ismail Haniyeh arrived in Cairo as well. The source explained that the sudden….
US gives Israeli minister a ride in V-22 Osprey aircraft
6/15/2013 – WASHINGTON (AFP) — Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon got to fly in a V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft during a US visit Friday, as his country weighs whether to buy the American military plane. Yaalon arrived for talks at the Pentagon in unusual fashion, with the hybrid aircraft — which hovers like a helicopter — floating down for a landing outside the steps of the Defense….
Hamdallah says government to boost development
6/15/2013 – JERICHO (Ma’an) – Jericho and the Jordan Valley are top priorities on the Palestinian government’s agenda due to the strategic, political and economic importance of this area, says newly appointed Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. During a visit to Jericho in the eastern West Bank on Saturday, Hamdallah checked on official high school exams and toured the district’s agricultural-industrial zone. The….
Has the Obama-Kerry charm offensive failed?
6/15/2013 – By Daoud Kuttab – US President Barack Obama and his Secretary of State John Kerry say they are determined to solve the intractable Palestinian-Israeli conflict. They are using the carrot to do it, no stick. It began with Obama’s gushing visit and endless compliments of Israel, where he said all the right words, like “Jewish state”, visited all the places, like Yad Vashem and….
Israel urges tougher Iran sanctions whoever wins vote
6/15/2013 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon has called for tougher sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program regardless of who is elected as its new president, public radio reported on Saturday. The report came as partial results from Friday’s election gave a clear lead to moderate Hassan Rowhani, who headed Iran’s nuclear negotiating team under reformist president Mohammad Khatami in….
Protests in Nablus against high cost of living
6/15/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) – For the first time since the new government was sworn in, Palestinian protestors took to the streets Saturday in Nablus in the northern West Bank urging the government to bring an end the skyrocketing costs of living. The protesters waved banners asking the Palestinian government to reduce the Value Added Tax, to improve prices and to subsidize basic goods. A Palestinian….
Hamas says party working towards national unity
6/15/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Hamas government in Gaza said Saturday that it is working towards implementing national unity and reconciliation with Fatah.”Six years have passed since external interferences fragmented Palestinians, and systematically frustrated the democratic endeavors that led Hamas to win the parliamentary elections,” a statement said.”Six years have passed and the Quartet conditions are still enforced upon us and their….
Egyptian smuggler found dead in Rafah
6/15/2013 – EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — An Egyptian smuggler was found dead in his home in Rafah on Saturday, security officials said. The man, named only as Ahmad S. , was killed over a debt to his partners, reportedly worth millions of dollars, an Egyptian official said. Smugglers working in the network of underground tunnels to Gaza have suffered a decline in profits since the Egyptian army….
Child, 6, killed in road accident near Nablus
6/15/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — A six-year-old child was killed on Saturday in a road accident east of Nablus, medics said. Wael Badran was knocked down by a car near the Askar refugee camp and killed instantly. His body was transferred to a local hospital and police have opened an investigation into the incident. [END]
Early results give Iran moderate clear lead
6/15/2013 – TEHRAN (AFP) — Moderate cleric Hassan Rowhani, bolstered by a late surge in support from suppressed Iranian reformists, took an early lead in the presidential election to find a successor to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, initial results showed Saturday. The first round results gave Rowhani 52 percent of the vote, more than three times as many as his nearest rival, with 18 percent of ballots counted, said the….
France: Syria tops agenda at pre-G8 videoconference
6/15/2013 – PARIS (AFP) — The conflict in Syria topped the agenda in a videoconference on Friday among G8 leaders ahead of their summit next week, and a day after the US stiffened its Syrian policy, Britain and France said. US President Barack Obama and the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Italy spoke via videolink and had “an extensive exchange on the subject of the G8 (summit….
US vows military aid to Syria rebels as battles rage
6/15/2013 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — A US pledge to step up military aid to Syrian rebels because of alleged use of chemical arms by the regime drew criticism from Damascus ally Russia and from UN chief Ban Ki-moon. Syria itself dismissed the accusation as “lies.” The UN secretary general said arming either side in the 27-month war, which has cost tens of thousands of lives, “would not….
Minister: Rowhani wins Iran presidential election
6/15/2013 – TEHRAN (AFP) — Moderate cleric Hassan Rowhani has won Iran’s presidential election, the interior minister announced on Saturday, putting an end to eight years of conservative grip on the nation’s executive. Mohammad Mostafa Najjar said that, with 18. 6 million votes, or 50. 68 percent, Rowhani had won outright. He said 36. 7 million people, or 72. 7 percent of the electorate, had voted in Friday’s election. [END]
Syria officers defect as world leaders prepare to meet
6/15/2013 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — More than 70 Syrian military officers have defected to the opposition and crossed into Turkey, an official there said on Saturday, as world leaders prepared to discuss the Syrian conflict at the G8 summit. The defections followed a US decision to give the rebels “military support” after Washington reviewed evidence showing the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons. But Russia said the regime….
Turkey police evacuate Istanbul protest park
6/15/2013 – ISTANBUL (AFP) — Turkish riot police stormed an Istanbul park Saturday, firing tear gas to evacuate protesters, just hours after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the occupation of the park must end, raising tensions in more than two weeks of anti-government unrest. After using tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters in Taksim Square, police entered the adjoining Gezi Park, clearing it within minutes….
St. John Eye Hospital First to be Awarded International Accreditation
Palestine News Network
Minister Burt Visits Gaza: “Palestinian State without Gaza is Inconceivable”
Palestine News Network
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (05 – 12 June 2013)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
International Solidarity Movement
For Urif the price can never be high enough
6/15/2013 – International Solidarity Movement – 15th June 2013, International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team, Urif, Occupied Palestine – On Tuesday, 11th June, Israeli forces invaded the village of Urif and arrested nine youths between the ages of eighteen and twenty-seven. This incident is believed by the villagers to be related to the ‘price-tag’ settler attacks that the village suffered on 30th April. At around 1am, forty foot soldiers and four….
Israel bars children over eight from visiting fathers in prison
6/15/2013 – International Solidarity Movement – 15th June 2013,The Electronic Intifada, Joe Catron, Gaza City, Occupied Palestine – On 20 May, Obeida Shamali visited his father, Ahmad Abd Alraheem Shamali, in Israel’s Nafha prison. It was the first time they had seen each other since Israeli forces captured Ahmad in August 2008. Palestinian children in Gaza hold a protest outside the International Committee of the Red Cross, demanding the….
Journal: Settler harassment in Tel Rumeida
6/15/2013 – International Solidarity Movement – 15th June 2013, International Solidarity Movement, Saeeda, Hebron, Occupied Palestine – I am an ISM activist living in the occupied city of Hebron. I arrived home late in the evening of Friday, June 14, and outside my door some of the neighborhood kids had built a small fire and were cooking corn. They tried to sell me a piece for a couple of shekels but I….
Ni’lin: Words versus the occupation
6/15/2013 – International Solidarity Movement – 14th June 2013, International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team, Nil’in, Occupied Palestine – On Friday, 14 June, around fifteen residents of Nil’in marched toward Israel’s apartheid wall in the latest of it’s regular protests against the systematic confiscation of their land via the wall and five surrounding Israeli colonies. The wall itself is covered in creative responses to the….
occupied Palestinian territory: Summer Fun Weeks 2013 for refugee children in Gaza begin
Relief Web 15 Jun 2013 – Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Country: Finland, occupied Palestinian territory Thanks to a generous donation from the Government of Finland, on Saturday 15 June the gates were opened to start the UNRWA…
Victory goes best with a drop of ketchup
The National 15 Jun 2013 – Grand Central holds its second annual mini-burger-eating competition.
Dh100m bid to beat children’s disorders
The National 15 Jun 2013 – A new charity programme is aiming to changed the lives of children with development disorders and improve detection rates as thousands of cases are believed to be undiagnosed across the UAE .
Rowhani win is a chance for US to improve Tehran ties
The National 15 Jun 2013 – Election of a moderate president gives Obama administration room for manoeuvre.
Turkish police raid Gezi Park after Erdogan warning
The National 15 Jun 2013 – At a pro-government rally in Ankara Recep Tayyip Erdogan says it is time for the protesters to go home. Thomas Seibert reports from Istanbul
GCC expects little change from Rowhani administration
The National 15 Jun 2013 – Even if the Iran’s new president acts on promises to improve foreign ties, issues will be difficult to resolve.
Rain? Who cares, it’s game on
The National 15 Jun 2013 – Supporters of India and Pakistan’s national teams come to enjoy each other’s company.
Rowhani upsets hardliners, wins Iran election on first ballot
The National 15 Jun 2013 – Hassan Rowhani’s surprise victory, described by one analyst as ‘a shift of historic proportions in Iran’, will be viewed with some relief in western and Arab Gulf capitals. Michael Theodoulou reports
Turkish officials side with Erdogan to advance career
The National 15 Jun 2013 – Ankara’s mayor and the governor of Istanbul see star rise in Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party. Justin Vela reports from Ankara
For the Israeli government, Iran will never change
Ha’aretz – 15 Jun 2013
With a moderate as Iran’s new face, Netanyahu will struggle to draw up support for an attack
Ha’aretz – 15 Jun 2013
Egypt detains man suspected of spying for Israel
Ha’aretz – 15 Jun 2013
Israeli professor to get award from Queen Elizabeth
Ha’aretz – 15 Jun 2013
Israel responds coolly to outcome of Iranian presidential election
Ha’aretz – 15 Jun 2013
U.S. House passes bill to ensure Israel can ‘remove existential threats’
Ha’aretz – 15 Jun 2013
Former Haaretz journalist Ran Kislev dies at age 86
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2013
Indictments for sex crimes in IDF doubled in 2012
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2013
Blockage of foie gras import ban sparks outrage
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Dozens of activists and lawmakers took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Friday to protest minister’s appeal of bill banning liver delicacy.
Shas leader attacks chief rabbinate candidate
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Rabbi Ovadia Yosef calls Rabbi Stav Amar “an evil man”; comment follows Yosef’s move to block Amar bill.
Morsi cuts Egypt’s Syria ties, backs no-fly zone
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Egyptian President warns no place for Hezbollah in Syria.
Henin proposes gay discrimination bill
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Schools will not be able to discriminate against gay pupils if a bill proposed by MK Dov Henin (Hadash) passes.
This company would be happy to have fewer customers
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – The longtime head of international operations of Novo Nordisk, the huge maker of insulin for diabetes patients, came to Israel to see progress in treatment.
The Balad bill
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Balad aims to include its bill in Israel’s set of Basic Laws, which in effect comprises a quasi-constitution.
Tyranny of the majority in Turkey
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – In a country divided between east and west, a park in the center of Istanbul has sparked what activists are calling “Taksim Solidarity,” others the “Turkish Spring.”
A moment of decision for Turkey’s democratic future
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered riot police to clear protestors from Istanbul’s Taksim Square, the heart of the Turkey’s recent nationwide protest movement.
Israel’s modern-day feminists
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – This is why people organize themselves into small groups, such as family, tribe or community, rather than into a greater “humanity.”
Keeping up with the Smiths
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – For Ronnie Scott aka Ronnissey, it’s all about being ‘passionate and truthful’ to the fans as he brings his dead-on tribute to The Smiths for a TA show.
Turkish riot police storm central Istanbul park
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Police raid comes hours after Erdogan warning.
Thousands take to streets of Istanbul, defy Erdogan
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Turkish police raided a square where protesters gathered.
Police investigate alleged ‘price tag’ attack
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – E. J’lem cars set ablaze in second such attack in three weeks, police find words “price tag” found spray-painted on wall nearby.
EgyptAir plane diverted after ‘fire’ threat
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – A note written in English and reading, “This flight will be on fire” was found next to a pencil in one of the plane’s toilets.
‘Canadian Jewish News’ to continue printing
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Paper’s president, Donald Carr, announces despite fear of going out of business, the CJN will publish future editions as usual.
Syrian jets pound rebel-held areas of Damascus
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Rebels beg for arms; US to move F-16s to Jordan-Syria border.
Arabs put (slim) hopes in new Iranian president
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Rohani’s power is “fake,” will have little say in policy.
Journalists find German Nazi in Minnesota
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Report: He is said to have had a hand in the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising.
Nablus man dies of broken heart after son arrested
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – The man, Sa’di al-Sakhel, suffered massive heart attack after Palestinian Authority security agents arrested his son, Musab.
Dozens of Palestinians protest against new PM
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – The protest was the first of its kind against the Hamdallah-lead government, which was appointed earlier this month.
Obama urges CIA to arm Syrian opposition
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – US says Assad’s use of chemical weapons ‘crosses’ a red line, Obama instructs CIA to provide rebels with small, lethal arms.
Weighing in: Scholars react to Iranian elections
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Academics and Politicians have weighed in after initial results showed that Hassan Rohani looked to be heading for victory.
Famous Jewish Dads we love
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Stressed out over what to do for dad this Father’s day? No tips here, but we can offer you a list of our favorite Jewish celebrity dads.
‘US decision to arm Syrian rebels made weeks ago’
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – ‘Washington Post’ quotes officials as saying Obama planned to send weaponry as early as April; Assad’s forces pound Damascus.
Thieves break into IDF base, steal soldier’s rifle
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Unknown assailants infiltrate Naftali camp in North, tie up the soldier on guard duty and steal weapon before escaping.
Egypt army to deploy ahead of anti-gov’t protests
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Military will “not allow violence” at planned protests against Egyptian President Morsi; opposition demands early polls.
Russia says illegal to impose no-fly zone over Syria
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Any attempt to enforce no-fly zone using F-16 jets, Patriot missiles from Jordan would violate int’l law, says Russian FM Sergei Lavrov.
Erdogan delivers ultimatum, park protestors defiant
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Turkish PM warns protesters that if Taksim Square is not evacuated by Sunday, “security forces know how to evacuate it.”
Blair: Syria’s rebels want democracy; help arm them
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – Mideast envoy tells ‘Times’ we must take “more interventionist line” in Syria; says Iran biggest destabilizing force in region.
Ya’alon: Iranian elections will not bring change
Jerusalem Post 15 Jun 2013 – In Hagel meeting, defense minister test-flies V-22 Osprey, part of future US defense package; says doubts Assad on path to victory.
Protest over parking garage plans at Beirut Jesuit Garden
Daily Star 15 Jun 2013 In a city where green spaces are scarce, some people fear that a planned parking garage at a public garden will destroy one of the few public parks in the Lebanese capital.
Egypt arrests man for ‘spying for Israel’
Daily Star 15 Jun 2013 Security forces have arrested an Egyptian on suspicion of spying for Israel, Egypt’s state prosecutor says, adding that it has detained him for 15 days for questioning.
Britain urges Rouhani to set Iran on ‘different course’
Daily Star 15 Jun 2013 Britain calls on Hassan Rowhani to take Iran on a ‘different course’ following his victory in the country’s presidential election.
Iran’s Khamenei congratulates Rouhani: website
Daily Star 15 Jun 2013 Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei congratulates Hassan Rouhani on winning the presidential election, the website leader.ir reports.
Iran’s opposition figure welcomes election results
Daily Star 15 Jun 2013 A leading exiled Iranian opposition figure has welcomed the victory of a moderate candidate Hasan Rowhani in Iran’s presidential vote, which he said could be a positive change for the country.
France ‘ready to work’ with new Iran president: minister
Daily Star 15 Jun 2013 France acknowledges the election of reformist preacher Hassan Rouhani as Iran’s new president, saying it is “ready to work” with him on issues ranging from Tehran’s nuclear drive to the Syria conflict.
U.S. to keep missiles, jets in Jordan amid Syria crisis
Daily Star 15 Jun 2013 The United States will keep Patriot missile batteries and F-16 fighter jets in Jordan after the completion of joint military exercises this month amid the crisis in neighboring Syria, the Pentagon says.
U.S.-bound Egypt plane diverted after threat
Daily Star 15 Jun 2013 An EgyptAir official says a plane from Cairo bound for New York’s John F. Kennedy airport has been forced to make an emergency landing after a passenger discovered a letter onboard threatening to blow up the…
Iran Interior Minister: Rouhani wins presidential election
Daily Star 15 Jun 2013 Reformist Hasan Rouhani wins Iran’s presidential election in the first round, Iran’s Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar says.
Sleiman slams rocket attacks on Baalbek
Daily Star 15 Jun 2013 President Michel Sleiman slams recent rocket attacks on Baalbek, east Lebanon, and says the Lebanese military needs to apprehend those behind such acts.
U.S. says political solution to Syria conflict in jeopardy
Daily Star 15 Jun 2013 The use of chemical weapons by Syrian government forces and the involvement of Hezbollah show Assad’s lack of commitment to negotiations and threaten to “put a political settlement out of reach,” the State Department says, citing…
Two killed in mortar attack on Iranian dissident camp in Iraq
Daily Star 15 Jun 2013 Two people were killed in a mortar attack on an Iranian dissident camp in the Iraqi capital, police sources say.
Reformist Rouhani wins presidential election: Iran
Daily Star 15 Jun 2013 Reformist Hasan Rouhani wins Iran’s presidential election in the first round with more than 50 percent of the vote, Iran’s Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar announces.
Turkish union federation to call general strike after police raid
YNet News, 15 Jun 2013 – ….
Kerry: US condemns rocket attack on Baghdad camp
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Thousands gather around Istanbul square after police raid
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Rabbi Ovadia Yosef slams chief rabbi hopeful
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Italy hopes Rohani’s election will help renew dialogue with West
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Hiding behind Likud
YNet News, 15 Jun 2013 – Op-ed: PM Netanyahu dragging Israel in direction that would make both Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter proud ….
Ulema highlight need to support Jihad in Syria, Palestine
PIC – Muslim scholars on Friday highlighted the plight of the Syrian people, urging able Muslims all over the world to hasten to the aid of their brethren in Syria.
Haj Saadi Alsakhal dies under torture in PA jails
PIC – Haj Saadi Alsakhal died on Saturday in PA Intelligence headquarters in Nablus few hours after his arrest from his workplace, the Families of Political Prisoners Committee in the West Bank said.
Resheq: Mishaal in Cairo at onset of Arab, Islamic tour
PIC – Ezzet Al-Resheq, political bureau member of Hamas, denied press allegations that Hamas leader Khaled Mishaal was on an extraordinary visit to Cairo to deal with security problems.
Four administrative prisoners suspend their hunger strike after Israeli pledges
PIC – Four Palestinian prisoners suspended their hunger strike after reaching an agreement with their jailers to end their administrative detention, according to their families.
Tension in Ashkelon prison
PIC – A state of tension has prevailed in Ashkelon prison due to the Israeli special units’ repeated break-ins and search operations in the prison sections throughout the past week.
MP Halayka: The PA flouts the reconciliation agreements
PIC – Palestinian lawmaker Samira Al-Halayka said that the Palestinian Authority (PA) ignores the reconciliation agreements and the recommendations of the national freedoms committee.
Settlers burn two cars, deface wall of building with racist slurs in J’lem
PIC – Extremist Jewish settlers at dawn Friday set fire to two Palestinian-owned cars and spray-painted racist slurs and threats on the wall of a residential building in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
Israeli military restrictions in Dura
PIC – Israeli Occupation Forces have imposed military restrictions last night in Dura city and its environs searching for wanted persons who opened fire at Njhot settlement built on Palestinian lands.
OCHA: Communities in the Jerusalem periphery at risk of forcible transfer
PIC – OCHA warned of the serious conditions of around 2,300 Palestinians, two thirds of them children, who reside in about 20 small herding communities in the hills east of Jerusalem, in Area C.
FPJ slams Israeli journalists for defiling Aqsa Mosque
PIC – The forum of Palestinian journalists (FPJ) strongly denounced the desecration of the Aqsa Mosque by a group of Israeli journalists on Thursday.
EU Missions Condemn Gaza Death Sentences
WAFA – 15 Jun 2013
Israel Must End Gaza Blockade, says UN Official
WAFA – 15 Jun 2013
UN Chief: Israel Violating International Law
WAFA – 15 Jun 2013
High School Matriculation Exam, Tawjihi, Begins
WAFA – 15 Jun 2013
Palestinian Poet Ghassan Zaqtan Winner of 2013 Griffin Poetry Prize
WAFA – 15 Jun 2013
Iranians’ desire for change fueled presidential upset
LA Times 15 Jun 2013 – The landslide win by moderate Hassan Rowhani was driven largely by voters frustrated with Iran’s sagging economy and his unexpected adoption of the reformist cause. TEHRAN — The stunning landslide election of Hassan Rowhani as Iran’s next president highlighted a deep frustration among many Iranians…
Iran’s next president called ‘diplomat sheik’ by supporters
LA Times 15 Jun 2013 – Hassan Rowhani is a soft-spoken centrist with conservative tendencies who has taken on increasingly moderate viewpoints in recent weeks. TEHRAN — A week ago, many observers viewed Iran’s presidential election as a horse-race among conservative hard-liners hostile to reform. Then came an unexpected surge in…
Iran begins counting ballots in presidential election
LA Times 15 Jun 2013 – Centrist cleric Hassan Rowhani, considered the only moderate in the presidential race, reportedly takes a big lead in early returns. Turnout may have been as high as 80%, officials say. TEHRAN — Electoral authorities were counting ballots Saturday after tens of millions of Iranians turned…
The Lede: After Long Night of Counting, Post-Election Celebrations in Iran
New York Times 15 Jun 2013 – The Lede followed developments in Iran on Saturday, where Hassan Rowhani, a moderate cleric supported by the country’s reformist movement, was declared the winner of Friday’s presidential election.
Russia Faults Proof of Use of Chemicals in Syrian War
New York Times 15 Jun 2013 – The Russian foreign minister says that evidence of chemical weapons use cited by the Americans is unreliable because the samples were not taken by experts or properly monitored until they reached a laboratory.
Iran Moderate Wins Presidency By Large Margin
New York Times 15 Jun 2013 – Iranian state television reported that Hassan Rowhani had more than 50 percent of the vote, enough to avoid a runoff in the race to replace the departing president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Moderate in Iranian Election Leads in Initial Returns
New York Times 15 Jun 2013 – Iran’s interior minister said Saturday morning that preliminary results showed Hassan Rowhani, a cleric, with a strong lead, followed by the mayor of Tehran, Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf.
Aleppo Pounded, Rebels Weigh U.S. Vow of Aid
New York Times 14 Jun 2013 – A rebel stronghold convulsed with some of the heaviest fighting in months, as activists debated how the United States’ decision to send arms would affect their fight to topple the Syrian president.
Meet the Israeli-linked firms that sold Big Brother machines to Mubarak, Qaddafi – and Washington
Mondoweiss – A slide from the National Security Agency powerpoint presentation on the PRISM program. (Image: Washington Post ) The recent exposure of National Security Agency monitoring of Americans’ emails, live voice communications and stored data cast suspicion once again on private surveillance contractors linked to Israeli intelligence services….
Hiding in plain sight
Mondoweiss – On Thursday June 13, 2013 in an interview on IDF Radio the commander of the 53rd Battalion of the Givati Brigade, Yitzhak Pundak, confirmed that forces under his command ethnically cleansed Palestinian villages in 1948. The following day, June 14th, the Associated Press broke a story…
Exile and the prophetic: Atoning for the sins of empire
Mondoweiss – In a historic decision the British government has agreed to compensate thousands of Kenyans who were abused and tortured during the Mau Mau rebellion in the 1950s. Atoning for empire is a way of consolidating empire. If the British can lose an extensive empire, then readjust,…
Chris Matthews takes populist stance against another Establishment war on an Islamic country
Mondoweiss – The US is going down the list of Islamic countries, seeking regime change after regime change, says Chris Matthews. “Next stop, Iran.”
US and Israel are accused of manipulating Hague to acquit accused Serb and Croat leaders
Mondoweiss – A former Israeli diplomat is now the American president of a UN tribunal on the former Yugoslavia, and he’s accused of pressuring other judges to acquit Serbian and Croat accused war criminals, in deference to American and Israeli leaders.
Iran President Proclaims Victory of Moderation
The Foward Breaking News 15 Jun 2013 – Moderate cleric Hassan Rohani won Iran’s presidential election on Saturday with a resounding defeat of conservative hardliners, calling it a victory of moderation over extremism and pledging a new tone of respect in international affairs. Click here for the rest of the article…
Iran Moderate Set To Win Election
The Foward Breaking News 15 Jun 2013 – Moderate cleric Hassan Rohani took a solid lead over conservative rivals on Saturday in preliminary vote counting in Iran’s presidential election in what could be the makings of a surprise victory over favoured hardliners. Click here for the rest of the article…
For Samantha Power, Support for Israel Is Deeply Personal — and Proven
The Forward New 15 Jun 2013 – Samantha Power is quick to point out her son’s Jewish heritage. But the U.N. envoy pick doesn’t rely on atmospherics alone to win over skeptical supporters of Israel. Click here for the rest of the article…
Egypt: Intelligence Agency Arrests Alleged Israeli Spy
allAfrica.com 15 Jun 2013 – [Aswat Masriya]Egypt’s General Intelligence Service arrested on Saturday an Egyptian on charges of spying for Israel’s Mossad.
Iranians hail new president Rouhani
BBC 15 Jun 2013 – Thousands of Iranians take to the streets of the capital, Tehran, to celebrate the election of Hassan Rouhani as their new president.
Jordan to keep US F-16s and Patriots
BBC 15 Jun 2013 – The US says it will leave Patriot missiles and F-16 jets in Jordan, amid Russia warnings against imposing a no-fly zone over Syria.
Contempt of Religion: Weapon Against Religious Minorities
Al-Akhbar Blogs 15 Jun 2013 – Cairo – This month saw three convictions in cases of contempt of religion, a charge that has become the new weapon of persecution of religious minorities, according to rights groups in Egypt. Related Articles: Egypt: Contempt of Religion Cases on the Rise Egyptian comedian summoned for…
Nayla Tueni: The Silent Lebanese MP
Al-Akhbar News 15 Jun 2013 – It appears that Tueni had coupled each one of those 48 affirmatives with negatives, including a firm “no” to attending parliamentary sessions and proposing any legislation. (Photo: Haitham Moussawi) It appears that Tueni had coupled each one of those 48 affirmatives with negatives, including a firm…
Scavenging the Damascus Thieves Market
Al-Akhbar News 15 Jun 2013 – A handout image released by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on 11 June 2013, shows Syrians inspecting the damage in central Damascus following two explosions. (Photo: AFP – HO / SANA) A handout image released by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on 11 June 2013,…
Noam Chomsky Interview: Sykes-Picot Is Failing
Al-Akhbar News 15 Jun 2013 – First of all, Israel was not opposed to Assad. He has been more or less the kind of dictator they wanted. (Photo: Marwan Bu Haidar) First of all, Israel was not opposed to Assad. He has been more or less the kind of dictator they wanted. (…
Shelling kills three in Iranian dissident camp in Iraq
Al-Akhbar News 15 Jun 2013 – A mortar attack on an Iranian dissident camp killed three people in Baghdad on Saturday, police sources said. Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) said two of the camp’s residents were killed and 40 wounded in the attack. An Iraqi died when a stray mortar round hit a residential…
Saudi Arabia jails two women for helping friend leave husband
Al-Akhbar News 15 Jun 2013 – A Saudi court handed two women 10-month jail sentences on Saturday for seeking to help a Canadian woman who wanted to leave her Saudi husband with their children, human rights activists said. The court also banned Fawzia al-Ayuni and Wajiha al-Huaider from leaving the medieval, US-backed…
Russia: Syria no-fly zone would be illegal
Al-Akhbar News 15 Jun 2013 – A SyrianAir passenger plane taxis at Latakia airport on Syria’s northwestern Mediterranean coast on 15 May 2013. (Photo: AFP – Joseph Eid) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday any attempt to enforce a no-fly zone over Syria using F-16 fighter jets and Patriot missiles…
Israel Schemes for a Stake in the Nile
Al-Akhbar Politics 14 Jun 2013 – A picture taken on 28 May 2013 shows the Blue Nile in Guba, Ethiopia, during its diversion ceremony. Egypt will demand that Ethiopia stop construction of a Nile river dam and warned “all options are open” if it harms its water supply, advisers to President Mohamed…
The Ghost of the Latroun Area: 46 Years of Occupation
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Iranians hail new president Rouhani
BBC 15 Jun 2013 – Thousands of Iranians take to the streets of the capital, Tehran, to celebrate the election of Hassan Rouhani as their new president.
Jordan to keep US F-16s and Patriots
BBC 15 Jun 2013 – The US says it will leave Patriot missiles and F-16 jets in Jordan, amid Russia warnings against imposing a no-fly zone over Syria.
Elite soldiers killed in Libyan city
BBC 15 Jun 2013 – Six soldiers from an elite Libyan army unit are killed by masked gunmen in the restive eastern city of Benghazi.
VIDEO: Egypt to cut diplomacy with Syria
BBC 15 Jun 2013 – The Egyptian president, Mohammed Morsi, has announced that Cairo is cutting off diplomatic relations with Syria.
Articles
Permanent negotiations and the international community
Sergio Yahni, Alternative Information Center 6/13/2013
Israel’s consensus is not to resolve the Middle East conflict, but to keep it at a manageable level. To achieve this objective, the Israeli strategy is built on tactical moves to render the Palestinian people and its leadership submissive. In this situation, the international community should decide whether it will continue to accept Israel’s policy of permanent negotiations without outcomes, thus sacrificing the Palestinian people. Sergio Yahni explains.
Israel’s social structure is completely dependent on the ongoing colonisation of the Negev, the Galilee, the West Bank and the Golan Heights. Colonisation provides profits for construction and security companies, as well as housing and labour for the Israeli Jewish poor and middle classes.
Moreover, the conflict generated by colonisation boosts Israel’s police and military exports. The ideology of colonisation, with its associated idea of Jewish supremacy, provides disenfranchised Jewish communities in Israel a sense of belonging, thus preventing acute social conflict and allowing reproduction of the country’s social structures.
A conference at the Hebrew University on Wednesday, organized by the Molad Center for the Renewal of Israeli Democracy, discussed the Arab League’s peace initiative and thus the extent of Israel’s colonial framework.
On the one hand MK Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) and MK Yoni Chetboun (Habayit Hayehudi) defended colonisation in the territories occupied by Israel in 1967; MK Ofer Shelah (Yesh Atid) claimed colonisation of these territories corrupts Israeli society and defended the two state solution as an alternative to the ongoing conflict.
Shelah said the occupation will lead to disaster. “The settlements are an obstacle that just keeps growing”. He warned that Israel is rapidly reaching an international standing similar to that of apartheid South Africa, and concluded that “thinking the world will grow accustomed to this situation is similar to what white people used to say in South Africa”. more.. e-mail
Has the Obama-Kerry charm offensive failed?
Daoud Kuttab, Ma’an News Agency 6/15/2013
US President Barack Obama and his Secretary of State John Kerry say they are determined to solve the intractable Palestinian-Israeli conflict. They are using the carrot to do it, no stick.
It began with Obama’s gushing visit and endless compliments of Israel, where he said all the right words, like “Jewish state”, visited all the places, like Yad Vashem and the Iron Dome, and offered even more money to Israel than the record $3.1 billion annually.
This week, Congress approved a further half-a-billion dollars to Israel for missile research.
Kerry has also turned on the charm offensive, accepting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach to peace — by promoting “economic peace” — and refusing to make public any demands that Israel should carry out international commitments regarding illegal settlement activities.
Despite all this charm, the Israeli government has yet to discuss, let alone vote on, a simple question. Does Israel accept the two-state solution?
Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Danny Danon said that if it came to a vote, the majority of the ministers would vote against the internationally agreed concept of a two-state solution.
No one knows what solution the Israeli Cabinet would support to address the ongoing illegal occupation of Palestinian lands and the military control of the lives of millions of Palestinians.
When Kerry postponed his unprecedented fifth visit to the region in almost as many months, few were willing to say that the Obama-Kerry plan had failed…. more.. e-mail
Why soldiers don’t ’break the silence’ to the IDF
Larry Derfner, +972 Magazine 6/15/2013
When Israeli soldiers admit their past abuses of Palestinians, as they did again this week, the occupation’s defenders often ask: Why didn’t you report this to the army at the time? A personal illustration of why it is a disingenuous question.
I was 37, a new immigrant three and half years in Israel, drafted into the IDF for a month of basic training, and I found myself dumping a truckload of garbage on the edge of a Palestinian woman’s vegetable garden. She was screaming in Arabic at me and the other draftee doing the job, and the IDF driver sitting in the truck was screaming back at her in Arabic. I asked the draftee with me, a new immigrant from Morocco, what the driver was saying – I could pretty well imagine what the woman was saying – and he translated: “Shut up and go back in your house, you old whore.”
This was in 1989, and it was part of a clean-up of our army base near Ramallah in advance of a visit by a general. The other recruit and I were sent out in the truck to pick up all the big, bulky debris on the base that wouldn’t fit into garbage cans and dump it somewhere. The driver took us to this woman’s house, told us to start dumping the junk right there on the edge of the vegetable garden in front, and we did, no questions asked. In the distance some Palestinian boys started yelling “manyak” and throwing stones in our direction – none of them came close to hitting us, the boys cautiously stayed pretty far away. I felt sheepish, I knew that we were doing something wrong, and the other soldier did, too, but we emptied that whole truckbed of junk onto that woman’s garden. We didn’t say a word to the sullen driver, and when we got back to the base, we didn’t tell our commanding officers, either.
In those days my political ideas were not as left-wing as they are now, but they were close; I’d voted for Shulamith Aloni and Yossi Sarid’s Ratz party, I’d taken part in every Peace Now rally at the start of the first intifada, I was totally against the occupation. But at the same time I felt very strongly that it was my duty to Israel and myself to serve in the army like everyone else. I tried as hard as I could in that month of basic training. And the idea of telling one of the officers about dumping the garbage on the woman’s vegetable garden was something I wasn’t ready to entertain…. — See also: Breaking The Silence more.. e-mail
’NY Times’ publishes defense of racial segregation in Israel
Mairav Zonszein And Lisa Goldman, Daily Beast, +972 Magazine 6/15/2013
Imagine that the ‘New York Times’ published an op-ed defending the segregation of white and black schoolchildren at an American amusement park. That’s more or less what happened in Israel recently.
Imagine that Six Flags Great Adventure, a New Jersey adventure park, quietly instituted separate days for black and white schoolchildren. Exposed by the media, the management claimed they had acted in response to complaints from some white parents about the behavior of the black children, saying they behaved badly and cursed at the white children. Senior government ministers, including President Obama, said they were outraged and suggested the incident merited an official investigation. And then a white person wrote an op-ed defending the Six Flags management’s decision. In an article saturated with links and references to right-wing media outlets like Fox News, the Washington Free Beacon and the Drudge Report, the white author claimed that Six Flags’ policy was not racist. And the New York Times published the piece.
A variation of this scenario happened in Israel recently, when local media exposed the Superland amusement park’s policy of segregating Arab and Jewish schoolchildren. The mainstream media and the government, including right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, were outraged. But Shmuel Rosner, a journalist who lives in Tel Aviv, defended the management’s policy in an op-ed for the New York Times, on the International Herald Tribune‘s Latitudes Blog. According to Rosner, the policy is not an expression of racism, but rather pragmatism that reflects a regrettable reality.
Rosner explains that Superland’s management is just trying to “prevent trouble” between Jewish and Arab kids who behave badly toward one another. This is the same argument that elite American universities like Harvard made for imposing quotas on Jewish students as recently as 50 years ago. The deans justified their policy by explaining that letting a department fill up with Jews would exacerbate anti-semitism, so by limiting the number of Jewish students they were actually protecting them. — See also: Source: Daily Beast more.. e-mail
The Deeper Meaning of Mass Spying in America
Palestine Chronicle: 15 Jun 2013 – By James Petras The exposure of the Obama regime’s use of the National Security Agency to secretly spy on the communications of hundreds of millions of US and overseas citizens has provoked world-wide denunciations. In the United States, despite widespread mass media coverage and the opposition of civil liberties organizations, there has not been any mass protest. Congressional leaders from both the Republican and Democratic Parties, as well as top judges, approved of the unprecedented domestic spy program.. Even worse, when the pervasive spy operations were revealed, top Senate and Congressional leaders repeated their endorsement of each and every intrusion into all electronic and written communication involving American citizens. President Obama and his Attorney General Holder openly and forcefully defended the NSA’s the universal spy operations. The issues raised by this vast secret police apparatus and its penetration into and control over civil society, infringing on the citizens freedom of…more
‘Keeping the Population in a State of Constant Uncertainty’
Palestine Chronicle: 15 Jun 2013 – By Tamar Fleishman “Ten minutes of standing in the line leading to the soldiers’ post and three more minutes of standing in the inspection zone, were enough to grasp how they implement the declared objective of ‘keeping the population in a state of constant uncertainty’” — The words of a high ranking Israeli officer. People were taken inside the inspection zone in groups of three. Just before me in line was an elder man who placed the few metal objects he carried in his pockets on a plastic tray that was taken away by the conveyer belt inside the metal detector. He presented his ID and passage permit to the soldiers through the bullet proof window. The soldiers, using the computer on their desk, thoroughly examined his identity; they asked over and over again that he presents the ID and ordered him to push the permit through the slot in…more
Former French FM: War against Syria Planned 2 Years before Arab Spring
Dissident Voice: 15 Jun 2013 – In an interview with the French TV station LCP, former French minister for Foreign Affairs Roland Dumas said: I’m going to tell you something. I was in England two years before the violence in Syria on other business. I met with top British officials, who confessed to me that they were preparing something in Syria. This was in Britain not in America. Britain was organizing an invasion of rebels into Syria. They even asked me, although I was no longer minister for foreign affairs, if I would like to participate. Naturally, I refused, I said I’m French, that doesn’t interest me. Dumas went on give the audience a quick lesson on the real reason for the war that has now claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. This operation goes way back. It was prepared, pre-conceived and planned… in the region it is important to know that this…more
The Israeli Lab and the Palestinian Guinea Pigs
Dissident Voice: 15 Jun 2013 – The Lab is a new groundbreaking Israeli documentary film that redefines our entire understanding of the Jewish State, its aims, its identity and its global destructive role. I honestly believe that this film is the deepest and most important commentary on Israel. In The Lab , Director Yotam Feldman exposes the Israeli military industry and its operation, he interviews some major protagonists within Israel’s ‘security’ trade. He elaborates on the role of the industry within the Israeli society and economy; in the last few years Israeli security exports reached an unprecedented level of $7 billion a year. A full 20% of Israeli exports are military or military related. Approximately 150,000 families in Israel are dependent on that industry. Israel is now the fourth biggest military exporter. In the last decade, every Israeli military operation led to an immediate sharp increase in sales of Israeli military export around the world: weaponry, systems,…more
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The New Dark Age 