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Israeli fire rakes Gaza beach killing 14 people
The Daily Star
6/10/2006
Single strike wipes out entire family -- Seven members of a
Palestinianfamily, including three children, were killed on a day out
at the seaside in the Gaza Strip Friday when they came under fire from
Israeli gunboats and artillery. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
condemned the "bloody massacres. " The deaths on the beachfront in the
Sudaniyya area of the narrow coastal territory raised the death toll
from Israeli strikes to 14 in less than 24 hours with the other seven
killed in air raids, according to medical sources. Around 35 other
people were wounded in the firing off the coast of Gaza... Medical
sources said that all those killed at the beach were members of the
Ghali family from Gaza. ... The victims had been bathing on the coast
on the traditional Muslim day of rest on one of the hottest days of the
year.
Hamas Military Wing Calls Off Israel Truce
The Guardian
6/10/2006
BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip (AP) - Hamas militants called off a truce with
Israel on Friday after a barrage of Israeli artillery shells tore into
Palestinians at a beachside picnic in the Gaza Strip, killing seven
civilians. The declaration raised the prospect of a new wave of
bloodshed. Hamas militants suspended a campaign of deadly suicide
attacks on Israelis with a February 2005 cease-fire, and have largely
stuck to the truce. The Islamic group now leads the Palestinian
government. ``The earthquake in the Zionist towns will start again and
the aggressors will have no choice but to prepare their coffins or
their luggage,'' the Hamas militants said in a leaflet. ``The
resistance groups... will choose the proper place and time for the
tough, strong and unique response. "
'Dad died in my arms'
YNet News 6/10/2006
Wiham Ralia lost his father, a stepmother, 3 sisters and a brother in
IDF artillery strike on Gaza beach; In interview with Ynet he and his
sister speak of their ordeal from a Gaza hospital -- Story of family
eradicated in strike on Gaza beach: Wiham Ralia, 20, and his two
sisters, Latifa, 11, and Hadil, 8, stayed alive after the rest of their
family vanished in Friday's shelling strike on a Gaza beach. "Soon
after the explosions cries were heard and there was a terrible smell of
death. My father died in my arms," Ralia said. Photos of his sister
Hadil weeping by her father's body touched of condemnation worldwide. "When the shells landed, everyone cried and ran away," Hadil told
Ynet.... Baby trams, tables, and ripped umbrellas stained with blood,
were evidence of the horror that took place on the beach.
Massive air strike of northern Gaza: at least two killed and
fifty injured
Ma'an News 6/9/2006
Gaza-Ma'an-Eyewitnesses have confirmed that dozens of Palestinian
citizens have been killed or injured when Israeli war jets attacked the
beach of Gaza on Friday afternoon. Palestinian medical sources in Kamal
Adwan and Awdah hospitals in northern Gaza said that at least two
Palestinians had been killed and approximately 50 injured. The injured
were being treated at the above hospitals. Earlier, eyewitnesses told
Ma'an that at least three Palestinian citizens belonging to one family
had been killed and four members of the Al Quds Brigades, the military
wing affiliated to Islamic Jihad, were injured in an air raid that
targeted the car they were travelling in near the entrance to Jabalia
refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
Dozens of Israeli settlers wreak havoc on streets of
Bethlehem District
Palestine News
Network 6/9/2006
Israeli settlers from Gosh Atzion Settlement to the southwest of
Bethlehem tore through the streets of Bethlehem area villages Friday.
The settlers were protesting their inability to use more of Palestinian
lands for their own streets, as per Israeli forces. To the south and
east of Bethlehem were hit hardest by these settlers, which under
international law, are all illegally present in occupied Palestinian
lands, however with the full blessing, financial and military
compensation of the Israeli government. All Israeli settlements are
illegal under international law. The settlers are complaining that the
route to Jerusalem, which is the slated capital of the future
Palestinian state and is off-limits to most Palestinians, now takes
them 20 minutes on the eastern rural street.
Hamas to Abbas: Cancel referendum
AlJazeera 6/9/2006
The Hamas-led Palestinian government has made a last-minute appeal to
the Palestinian president to abandon a proposed referendum on statehood
that would implicitly recognise Israel. Ismail Haniya, the Palestinian
prime minister, on Friday asked Mahmoud Abbas to back down for the sake
of Palestinian unity after Israel's killing overnight of Jamal Abu
Samhadana, a leader of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) group
who was also appointed by Hamas to serve as a senior security chief.
The Palestinian president will hold a referendum on July 31 on the
statehood proposal, officials say. Abbas signed a decree on Friday to
hold the controversial referendum, sources in his office said. The plan
favours a two-state solution to end the conflict with Israel.
PM Haniyeh's letter to Abbas: a referendum is illegal and
will just further divide the Palestinians
Ma'an News 6/9/2006
Gaza-Ma'an-Palestinian Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh has sent a letter
to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in which he warns of the
consequences of declaring a referendum and of its results on the
Palestinian political reality. In his letter Haniyeh said that the
referendum has no constitutional or legal basis and cannot be carried
out on such crucial and fateful issues. He added that it would have
been better if the Palestinians were asked for their opinion after the
Oslo Accords as that was a very important agreement and formed an
important step in Palestinian life. In his letter Haniyeh said that the
current reality is full of expectations, hopes and pains and "we were
chosen to carry this responsibility together and to steer the 'boat'
together; that demands us to be patient and to cooperate in this
mission".
48 residents of Jenin forced to spend night in Bethlehem
after being refused passage through Za'atarah
Ma'an News 6/9/2006
Bethlehem-Ma'an-Bethlehem governor Salah Tamari hosted 48 Palestinian
citizens from the Jenin area after Israeli forces stationed at the
Za'atarah barrier near Nablus forced them to turn back on Thursday
evening. The governor condemned the Israeli act that meant the
Palestinians were forced to travel to Bethlehem although they were
citizens of Jenin. The citizens, that included men, women and children,
were forced by the soldiers to stay in the bus they had come in from
Beit Shemesh in Israel and drive to Bethlehem. The group had been
working in a farm in the Israeli town of Beit Shemesh. An Israeli
military jeep accompanied the bus all the way to Bethlehem to ensure
they did reach Bethlehem rather than returning to Jenin where they
live.
Death on the beach: seven Palestinians killed as Israeli
shells hit family picnic
The Guardian
6/10/2006
A barrage of Israeli artillery shells rained down on a busy Gaza beach
yesterday, killing seven Palestinians, three of them children. The
attack put further strain on the 16-month truce between Israel and the
governing Hamas movement. Witnesses described several explosions that
also injured dozens of other people who lay on the beach, screaming and
pleading for help. Some ran into the sea for fear of more shells
hitting the sands at Beit Lahia, in the north of the Gaza strip. Among
the dead were three children, aged one, three, and 10. Their sister was
swimming and survived. The beach was packed with picnicking families
enjoying the Muslim day of rest, and the explosions landed among them,
scattering body parts along the dunes.
7 Palestinian civilians killed when IDF shell hits Gaza beach
Ha'aretz 6/10/2006
Seven Palestinians at a family picnic were killed Friday when an errant
Israel Defense Forces artillery shell apparently slammed into a beach
in the northern Gaza Strip. Some 40 others were wounded. A woman and
two young children, aged six months and 18 months, as well as a young
teenager were among the dead, medical officials said. All of the dead
were believed to be related. The IDF apologized for the incident,
saying it "regretted the strike on innocents. "In the wake of the
shelling, the military wing of the ruling Palestinian Hamas party said
that it would renew suicide bombings in Israel, ending the truce that
the group declared last year. "The earthquake in the Zionist towns will
start again and the aggressors will have no choice but to prepare their
coffins or their luggage," Hamas militants declared in a leaflet.
Hamas ends truce after Israeli attack
AlJazeera 6/10/2006
Hamas has observed a 16-month-old truce with Israel -- Palestinian
Islamist group Hamas has shelved a 16-month-old truce with Tel Aviv
after Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip killed 10 people, including
women and children on a family beach outing. "The Israeli massacres
represent a direct opening battle and that means the earthquake in the
Zionist cities will resume and the herds of occupiers have no choice
but to prepare the coffins or the departing luggage," Izz al-Din
al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said on Friday. Israeli
air strikes and artillery fire killed 10 Palestinians on Friday, the
highest Palestinian toll in a single day since late 2004, Palestinian
officials said.... Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, confirmed the
group would renew its attacks.
Ghalia family lost six members in shelling, in 2005 they lost
four
Ha'aretz 6/10/2006
The hardest hit in the Israel Defense Forces artillery strike on a Gaza
beach Friday was the Ghalia family, which lost six members, among them
the father, one of his two wives, an infant boy and an 18-month-old
girl. Less than two years ago, four members of the family were killed
when IDF shell hit the family farm in the northern Gaza town of Beit
Lahia. The military had been targeting the area in response to
Palestinian mortar fire. Ali Ghalia, a Palestinian farmer, had taken
his two wives and nine children on a trip to the beach, and the family
was enjoying a picnic when the IDF artillery shell hit them. "This was
his first day at the beach this summer. He was taking his kids to play.
It's destiny," said Nasreen Ghalia, a sister-in-law of the father.
In pictures: Gaza violence
BBC 6/9/2006
Five photigraphs - Palestinians display a bloodstained sheet on the
beach -- Several Palestinian civilians, including three children, died
from shellfire as they were picnicking on a northern Gaza beach on
Friday.
Settlers in Hebron fire at Palestinian car and attack
civilians
Ma'an News 6/9/2006
Hebron - Settlers in Hebron fired on Thursday evening at a Palestinian
'Mercedes' vehicle in Karm Sour Street moderately injuring the car's
driver, Omar Hinihin. Palestinian security sources reported that
settlers also attacked the civilian Samir Shabanah in front of his
house in the Old City of Hebron and beat him up before taking him to
the Municipality in the Old City. [end]
Temporary checkpoint set up north of Salfit
Ma'an News 6/9/2006
Salfit-Ma'an-Israeli forces erected a temporary checkpoint at the
entrance to Jama'een, a town north of Salfit on Friday. Eyewitnesses
said that the Palestinian citizens were obliged to use other roads
because of subsequent delays. They also condemned the Israeli measures,
particularly the erection of the checkpoints which prevent them from
going easily to their work and jobs. [end]
Three Palestinians arrested on charges of affiliation to
Islamic Jihad and Fatah
Ma'an News 6/9/2006
Bethlehem -- Israeli forces arrested early on Friday morning three "wanted" Palestinians. Israeli sources reported that the Israeli forces
arrested one citizen from Jenin on charges of affiliation to the
Islamic Jihad Movement, while in the city of Nablus, the Israeli forces
arrested another Palestinian youth for his affiliation to the Fatah
Movement. The sources added that the Israeli forces arrested a third
citizen from a village south of the city of Hebron, claiming that he
was affiliated to the Islamic Jihad Movement. [end]
Youth arrested in Nablus on charges of affiliation with Al
Aqsa
Ma'an News 6/9/2006
Nablus-Ma'an-Israeli forces arrested Aboud Bastami, 22, in Nablus city
in the north of the West Bank on Friday afternoon. The Ma'an reporter
said that many Israeli military cars and vehicles raided the Maskh area
of Nablus on Friday and broke into Bastami's house, searched it and
then arrested Aboud Bastami claiming that he is an Al Aqsa Brigades'
member. The Al Aqsa Brigades are the military wing affiliated to Fatah.
Israeli sources said that there was an exchange of fire between
Palestinian fighters and Israeli forces when Bastami was arrested. No
injuries in either side reported. [end]
Two Palestinian projectiles land in Sderot; no injuries
Ma'an News 6/9/2006
Bethlehem -- Israeli sources reported early on Friday morning that two
Palestinian homemade projectiles had landed in the Israeli town of
Sderot after being launched from the northern Gaza Strip. The sources
added that one of the homemade projectiles slightly damaged an Israeli
residential building while the second homemade projectile fell in an
open area. No injuries were reported. The sources reported that the
Israeli forces were expecting Palestinian homemade projectiles to be
launched intensively from the Gaza Strip on Friday after the leader of
the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), Jamal Abu Samhadana, was
assassinated when Israeli jets fired three missiles at a site belonging
to the PRC on Thursday. [end]
Israeli
forces assassinate Abu Jamal Smahdanh in Rafah last night, funerals,
demonstrations and prayers resonate throughout Palestine
Palestine News
Network 6/9/2006
Israeli forces killed Abu Jamal Smahdanh last night in the southern
Gaza Strip city of Rafah. Thousands walked in his funeral and that of
three colleagues today. Some 3,000 Palestinians demonstrated in the
northern West Bank city of Nablus against Thursday night’s Israeli
assassination of Smahdanh. This is no small escalation on the part of
the Israelis to kill such a man. He was not only a high ranking member
of the armed resistance, his right under international law, but also an
elected member of government. He was the General Controller of the
Ministry of the Interior. The General Staff of the Israeli Army
declared a state of maximum alert throughout Palestine in anticipation
of retaliatory reactions in the wake of the assassination of Smahdanh
and three of his colleagues.
Palestinians vow revenge for militant leader's killing
The Daily Star
6/10/2006
RAFAH, Gaza Strip: Thousands of Palestinians vowed Friday to avenge the
death in an Israeli air strike of a militant leader who served as an
adviser to the government. Jamal Abu Samhadana, head of the Popular
Resistance Committees, was killed along with three other militants just
before midnight in a raid on a training camp near the southern Gaza
Strip town of Rafah, near the Egyptian border. He was one of the most
wanted of all Palestinian militants, and Israel said he had been
responsible for the dozens of deaths, including the 2003 bombing of a
diplomatic convoy in Gaza that left three Americans dead. He was also a
close ally of the government and was originally tapped to oversee a new
paramilitary force.
Extra military barriers set up around Salfit
Ma'an News 6/9/2006
Salfit -- Israeli forces tightened their military measures in the
Salfit governorate on Thursday by setting up several military barriers.
The Israeli forces set up one temporary military barrier at the
entrance to Az-Zawiyah, a town west of the city of Salfit, and another
at the entrance to Qarawat Bani Hassan, a town on the way to
Az-Zawiyah, and prevented the passage of Palestinian citizens. The
Israeli forces also tightened their measures at the Za'atara barrier,
east of Salfit, and at the Deir Ballout barrier in the west of the
city, where citizens were forced to wait for several hours. [end]
One resident arrested
from Nablus
International Middle
East Media Center 6/9/2006
The Israeli army invaded the West Bank city of Nablus and arrested one
resident, Friday morning. Several army vehicles and troops invaded the
city, shot live rounds and sound bombs at the residents' houses and
arrested Abod Al Bastami, 22, after searching his house. Some of the
house property and family belongings were damaged, local source. [end]
Settlers protest travel ban for Israeli cars on West Bank road
Ha'aretz 6/9/2006
Some 100 settlers from the Hebron area were making their way on foot to
Jerusalem on Friday morning to protest the closure of a West Bank road
to Israeli traffic. Police recently barred traffic from entering the
road leading to Jerusalem from the West Bank settlements of Tekoa and
Nokdim. Settlers are furious at the fact that the road's closure forces
them to take a long detour in order to reach Jerusalem. Protesters
marched on foot, escorted by 45 vehicles. Some of the demonstrators
managed to reach Jerusalem despite the opposition of security forces.
Police declared the protest "an illegal gathering," and military forces
were trying to prevent additional settlers from joining the march.
[end]
Protest: Let Sderot residents live
YNet News 6/9/2006
New forum initiates hunger strike opposite Defense Minister Amir
Peretz's house, placing 'town for sale' signs on balconies, demand to
apply evacuation-compensation law on Sderot residents who want to leave
Qassam range -- The ongoing rocket fire and life in constant fear have
caused many of the residents of Sderot, who have despaired of the
Israel Defense Forces' operations and "politicians' disregard," to
launch a civil struggle to improve their quality of life. Residents of
the southern town on Thursday announced their decision to establish a
new forum called "Let Sderot residents live," which will struggle to
stop the firing of Qassams at the town. The residents also demanded
that the State apply the evacuation-compensation law on Sderot
residents wishing to leave the town.
Mysterious gunmen kill Palestinian in Khan Younis
Ma'an News 6/9/2006
Khan Younis- Ma'an-Unknown armed men killed Palestinian citizen
Abdurrahman Hassan An-Naqlah, 43, and injured Ibrahim Ramadan Hijazi,
32, in the legs in Khan Younis early on Friday. The Ma'an reporter said
that anonymous armed men in a Mitsubishi Jeep shot at the two men on
Friday morning. The two men were transported to hospital where
An-Naqlah later died. Hijazi was described as slightly injured. No side
has claimed responsibility for the incident and the reasons for the
shooting were not yet clear. [end]
Olmert: Palestinian referendum plan is 'meaningless'
Ha'aretz 6/10/2006
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert dismissed as meaningless Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas' expected call for a referendum on establishing
a Palestinian state, Britain's Independent newspaper reported Friday.
Olmert travels to Europe Sunday for a visit aimed at drumming up
international support for his highly contentious plan to withdraw from
parts of the West Bank and unilaterally draw Israel's borders with the
Palestinians. He meets British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London on
Monday and then flies to Paris for talks with President Jacques Chirac
and others. Olmert, sworn in last month, said the plan Abbas wants to
put to a vote cannot be a basis for negotiation, the newspaper said.
Al-Qaeda rejects Abbas' referendum
YNet News 6/9/2006
Al-Qaeda's number 2 al-Zawahri call on Palestinians to reject Abbas's
referendum on two-state solution -- Al-Jazeera satellite channel
broadcast Friday excerpts of a video tape by deputy leader of al-Qaida,
Ayman al-Zawahri, that criticized a possible referendum over a proposal
calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. "I call on Muslims to reject any referendum on Palestine, because
Palestine is part of the Islamic world and not subject to any
compromise. " "I call upon Muslims everywhere to support the brothers
in Palestine," He said mentioning armed Islamist militants, prisoners
and their families. But he did not mention the Palestinian Islamic
movement Hamas by name as he did in an earlier tape when he criticized
it for participating in elections.
State Department expresses regret over Gaza bloodshed
Ha'aretz 6/10/2006
The State Department on Friday night called for Israelis and
Palestinians to show mutual restraint and avoid actions that could
increase tensions following the shelling of civilian Palestinians along
a beach on theGaza Strip. The U.S. expressed regret for the killing and
wounding of the Palestinians in Gaza and noted that the Israeli
government had also issued a statement of regret and had launched an
investigation, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a
statement. "We call on the Palestinian Authority to prevent all acts of
terrorism, including the firing of missiles and rockets from Gaza," McCormack said. The U.S. has been in contact with Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas and the government of Israel and will continue
to monitor the situation closely, McCormack said.
Ambassador: Terror increased sympathy for Israel
YNet News 6/9/2006
Israel's ambassador to EU explains that Muhammad cartoons affair,
London and Madrid bombings have raised awareness among Europeans to
possibility of 'Muslim intifada' -- BRUSSELS – Israel's Ambassador to
the European Union Oded Eran said in a Ynet interview Thursday that "in
European countries there is greater awareness nowadays to remarks
voiced during sermons in the mosques in their territories and they are
following this issue much closely than in the past. " "If we look at
the way Europe dealt with the issue two years ago, we can definitely
see a change in its approach. On the cartoon issue, European countries
have told the Muslims 'no more. ' They insisted on the freedom of
speech principle and conveyed it in legislation," Eran said.
Abbas cancels his visit to Indonesia
Ma'an News 6/9/2006
Indonesia -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cancelled on Friday
morning his visit to Indonesia because of the internal situation of the
Palestinian people. The Indonesian Foreign Minister said that Abbas had
cancelled his visit scheduled for 23 June 2006. Abbas was scheduled to
meet with the Indonesian president, Susilo Yudhoyono, in order to
discuss the Middle East peace process. [end]
Haniya calls for international law and UN resolutions in
interview with Israeli daily
Palestine News
Network 6/9/2006
In an interview published in the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot,
Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniya, reportedly gave conditions
for a long-term ‘truce,’ with the Israelis. The Hamas member said that
his party's solution is to establish a fully sovereign and independent
Palestinian state on 1967 borders with its capital Jerusalem and the
Right of Return for Palestinian refugees to whatever lands were taken
from them. Each of Haniya's points is exactly in keeping with
international law and long-standing United Nations resolutions. And
although none of these basic requests fall outside of common knowledge,
international law, or common sense if one wants to see any semblance of
'peace,' one does not expect that the Israelis will change their tune
after all these years of occupation and abide international law. [end]
Meshaal backs continued dialogue on subject of Prisoners'
Document
Ma'an News 6/9/2006
Ma'an-The president of Hamas' political bureau, Khaled Meshaal, said
during his meeting with the Syrian foreign minister, Walid Al Muallim,
that he backed the continuation of inter-Palestinian dialogue on the
basis of the Prisoners' Document. Al Muallim confirmed Syria's wish for
all possible efforts to be taken for the sake of strengthening
Palestinian national unity and lifting the blockade imposed on the
Palestinian people. He also reiterated Syria's continued support for
the Palestinians' democratic choice. [end]
Sit-in in Amman protesting Olmert's visit to Jordan
Ma'an News 6/9/2006
Amman -- Dozens of Jordanian citizens arranged a sit-in in a square in
front of the Jordanian Professional Syndicates' headquarters in Amman
on Thursday afternoon in order to express their rejection to the visit
of the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, to Amman. In a common
statement, the National Assembly of the Jordanian Professional
Syndicates and the High Coordination Committee of the Jordanian
opposition parties said: "We consider the visit of Olmert to Amman a
provocation to the Jordanians' feelings who reject relations with
Israel and consider such moves a waste of the interests of Jordan and
the Arab and Islamic nation".
Showdown Over Divestment
Resolution Set for Upcoming Presbyterian Parley
Forward 6/9/2006
A group of Presbyterian activists is ramping up efforts to reverse
their church's policy advocating divestment from Israel, setting the
stage for a showdown over the issue at next week's General Assembly of
the Presbyterian Church (USA). When the more than 500 national
delegates convene June 15-22 in Birmingham, Ala. , for the 217th
General Assembly, they will be presented with a trove of proposals — known as "overtures" — calling on the church to rescind its current
divestment policy. That policy, enacted two years ago at the last
General Assembly, called on the church to begin "phased selective
divestment in multinational corporations in Israel. "A firestorm of
debate has raged within the church's 173 presbyteries.... since the
divestment measure first passed in July 2004.
Annan: Lebanon must respect Israel's hold of Shebaa Farms
Ha'aretz 6/10/2006
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has sent a letter to
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora saying that Beirut should honor
Israeli presence in the disputed border area called the Shebaa Farms as
long as a border demarcation agreement between Lebanon and Syria has
not been signed. The letter was sent on Tuesday and was published by
the Lebanese press on Friday. In the letter Annan told Siniora that "notwithstanding any [diplomatic] steps that might be taken regarding
the Sheba'a farmlands, I would expected that - the Lebanese authorities
will continue to accept and respect the Blue Line in its entirety. "The
Blue Line demarcates the de-facto border between Lebanon and Israel.
Peretz, Halutz vow thorough probe
YNet News 6/9/2006
Defense Minister orders thorough investigation into shelling of Gaza
beach that killed 12 civilians -- The Israel Defense Forces launched an
investigation on Friday to determine the circumstances which led to the
death of 12 innocent Palestinians by artillery shells that exploded on
a northern Gaza beach in the afternoon. Chief of Staff Lit. -Gen. Dan
Halutz ordered a halt to artillery fire into the Gaza Strip until the
conclusion of the probe, after consultations with Defense Minister Amir
Peretz. Peretz said the reluctance of terror cells to continue firing
Qassam rockets into Israel led to the latest escalation, but expressed
his deepest regrets for the incident... "... Israel has no intention of
fighting the Palestinian people but of fighting terror and it will
continue to do just that," Peretz said.
Morocco's King Mohammed proposes mediation to Palestinians
Ha'aretz 6/9/2006
RABAT - Morocco's King Mohammed on Friday voiced concern about chaos in
the Palestinian territories and offered his mediation towards ending
the conflict. Morocco played a role in the 1990s in brokering secret
peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis. In a telephone call to
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Mohammed reiterated
Morocco's support for an independent Palestinian state alongside
Israel, the state news agency MAP added. MAP quoted Mohammed as "expressing his concern about the situation in the Palestinian
territories and informing Abbas about his determination to pursue his
mediation. "
US Consul-General launches "Food for Work" programme in Beit
Fajar
Ma'an News 6/9/2006
Bethlehem-Ma'an-The US Consul-General to Jerusalem, Jacob Walles,
visited Beit Fajar, south of Bethlehem, on Thursday in order to confirm
America's continued nutritional support for the Palestinian people. The
Ma'an correspondent reported that the Consul visited Beit Fajar's
community centre where he met with some of the participants of a
workshop that forms part of a US-led programme entitled "Food for
Work". The workshops offer training on issues such as nutrition,
hygiene and healthcare and the participants receive food in exchange
for taking part. [end]
Bush Overture To Iran
Splits Israel, Neocons
Forward 6/9/2006
Olmert Asks Groups To Keep Low Profile -- WASHINGTON — The Bush
administration's offer to open direct talks with Iran and reward Tehran
if it stops enriching uranium is exposing a policy rift between
neoconservatives on one hand, and the Israeli government and Jewish
organizations on the other. Neoconservative analysts are blasting the
administration, saying that holding talks with the Islamic regime would
serve only to embolden it and undermine the anti-fundamentalist
opposition in Iran. They argue that America's ultimate goal should be
to change Tehran's theocratic regime. "The administration can't have it
both ways. They can't embrace the regime and still talk about liberty
for the Iranian people," said Iran analyst Michael Rubin of the
American Enterprise Institute...
Aide: Abbas to call referendum despite bloodshed in Gaza
Ha'aretz 6/10/2006
Palestinian Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was on Saturday set to order a
referendum on a statehood proposal that implicitly recognises Israel
despite bloodshed that prompted Hamas rivals to vow renewed attacks on
Israelis, officials said. Officials of Abbas's Fatah movement said he
was determined to go ahead despite what he called "a bloody massacre" in Gaza and the Hamas decision to abandon the truce. "Any more delay
will only lead to increased Israeli-Palestinian and
Palestinian-Palestinian bloodshed," said one Fatah official. Abbas is
expected to call for the vote to be held by July 31... Egypt:
'Unacceptable' strike on Gaza civilians contravenes international law..
PLC member Qaraqi' backs the Prisoners' Document as first
Palestinian-led initiative since 2002
Ma'an News 6/9/2006
PLC member Issa Qaraqi' has said that the prisoners' document is the
first Palestinian initiative since 2002 when the Saudi monarch
spearheaded the Arab Initiative in Beirut. Israel rejected this
initiative. In a statement issued on Friday, Qaraqi' said that, in the
current situation where the political horizon is blocked, the
negotiations broken off and Israeli is trying to implement its
unilateral plans, the prisoners' initiative has ended the political
freezing and formed a response to the Israeli allegations that there is
no Palestinian partner. The PLC member also said that the document is
trying to find common ground with the Hamas position and calls for a
commitment to Arab and international law in accordance with the fourth
Geneva Convention.
Abbas's political gambit
Christian Science
Monitor 6/9/2006
A two-state solution is implicit in a referendum that the Palestinian
leader is likely to promote Saturday. -- JERUSALEM – Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas is expected Saturday to issue a decree that
would set in motion a referendum on a document penned by prominent
Palestinian prisoners on statehood that implicitly recognizes Israel.
The Islamist Hamas Party rejects the proposal to take the question to
the streets. Hamas insists that January's election, which swept it to
power, speaks for itself. The call to hold a referendum on the prisoner
manifesto is a bold gambit by Mr. Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, who
has been running low on options since the election of Hamas, which
refuses to deal with Israel or forgo militancy against it.
Fatah Youth condemn imprisonment of their Jerusalemite staff
Ma'an News 6/9/2006
Jerusalem-Ma'an- The Fatah Youth Organization in the city of Jerusalem
has condemned the recent decision of the Israeli Central Court to
imprison a number of the organisation's staff, including the head of
the organization in the city, Yasir Qara'ain, who was arrested a year
ago on charges of working with Palestinian security apparatuses. In a
statement, the organization confirmed that this decision has political
motives and does not take into consideration the legal side to the
Palestinian-Israeli agreements and the peace treaty between the two
sides that arranged for the work of the Palestinian security
apparatuses and recognized them. The organisation also stressed the
legitimacy of the Palestinian security apparatuses as being executive
apparatuses that guarantee Palestinian society's stability and
security.
The People of Bil’in Honour Journalists
International
Solidarity Movement 6/9/2006
At 13:00 today the people of Bil’in started their weekly march to
protest the apartheid wall which is being built on their land. The
march started with around 100 Palestinians and 40 internationals and
Israeli activists who attended in solidarity with the locals to support
their resistance. The people started the march as usual singing and
chanting different Palestinian songs and slogans. The theme of the
protest was centred around a memorial box bearing the names of all the
journalists who were killed by the Israeli occupation forces during the
second intifada. This was erected at the gate in Bil’in as a memorial
to remember those journalists. Once the march arrived to the usual
confrontation point, border police and army were already waiting for
the march to prevent people from getting to their lands.
Khaleej Times: ‘You will be killed for this’
International
Solidarity Movement/Khaleej Times 6/9/2006
The little girl clung to my hand, her backpack falling down one arm as
she tried to climb the steep stairs on her way to school. She was
dressed in a checked uniform with a grey hijab pushed to the back of
her head, her shiny black hair peaking out the front. She was scared.
At the bottom of the steps were two Israeli police vans, a jeep and
several soldiers standing around watching. On a good day when we escort
the children, we are met with just swear words as the settler children
march down to their school across the road from the Palestinian girl’s
school. Their parents walk them to school with Uzis strapped across
their chests, a civilian terrorist squad whose presence has made many
of the original owners, the Palestinians, leave.
Unwelcome Visitors in the Night
International
Solidarity Movement 6/9/2006
Tonight at about 10pm seven Israeli soldiers came to our apartment and
knocked on the door. They wanted to come in, and I told them no, they
couldn’t. They asked why, I told them that we do not allow guns in our
home and that if they wanted to come in, they’d have to leave their
guns outside. One of them said something smelled bad outside. Usually
it’s the plumbing here… it’s not quite as good as Israelis are used to.
I suggested to him that maybe he farted? This caused the soldiers to
laugh, and the soldier denied it. They asked me again to let them in,
and, again, I told them no. Then I closed the window on the door. They
banged on it for maybe about five more minutes and then left. About an
hour later I got a call from someone saying they ransacked a neighbors
house.
Bil'in residents, peace
activists protest against the Wall call for solidarity with journalist
subje
International Middle
East Media Center 6/9/2006
Hundreds of Palestinian residents, Israel and International peace
activists protested on Friday against Israel's annexation Wall in the
West Bank village of Bil'in, near Ramallah, and expressed their support
and solidarity with local and international journalists subjected to
the continuous Israeli violations and attacks. Abdullah Abu Rahma,
coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the Wall, informed the
IMEMC that the protest started by a speech welcoming the journalists
and talking about the dangers and violations they are subjected to.
Mohammad Abu Rahma, member of the Popular Committee Against the Wal,
member of Bil'in village council, spoke about the reporters, the
dangers and violations they are subjected to during their coverage...
The state of insecurity intensifies, resulting in the killing
of three Palestinians, injuring of two and kidnapping of two
Al Mezan Center for
Human Rights 6/8/2006
Three Palestinians were killed, two injured and two kidnapped in
separate incidents, an indication of the ongoing state of insecurity
which threatens the life of citizens and the internal safety within
Palestinian society. According to Al Mezan field investigations, at 6am
on June 8th armed persons in a brown Mercedes kidnapped Jihad Abu
Neqira and Ahmad Abu Neqira in front of Al Najjar Hospital in Rafah;
they were taken to unknown location. On June 7th at approximately 7 pm,
Jawdat Doghmosh, 32, was murdered by an armed person in Al Karama
Towers in north Gaza, at around 11pm armed clashes erupted...
Al Mezan condemns IOF offensive that killed three
Palestinians and injured six
Al Mezan Center for
Human Rights 6/8/2006
The IOF shelled a security post east of Shija’aya neighborhood in Gaza
City on Wednesday, killing three Palestinians and injuring six, among
them a child. The IOF resumed sporadic shelling of different areas in
northern Gaza in an attempt to force citizens from their houses.
According to Al Mezan’s fieldworkers, on June 7th at approximately 8.
30pm, Israeli military tanks fired an artillery missile at a security
post located in Shija’aya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City, killing
Khader Qassem, 20, and Riyad Abu Selaa, 24, and Anwar Abu Selaa, 32 and
injuring Hassan Quzaat, 30, Marwan Al Dahoudi, 38, Saad Marshoud, 50,
Diana Farahat, 5, Ahmad Munir, 22, Munadil Marshoud, 17... at around
12. 05 pm, Israeli military helicopters fired two missiles at a
playground.. in Al Sabrah neighborhood in Gaza City; no causalities..
reported.
ISM Freedom Summer Campaign Approaches - Slander Campaign
Against ISM Stepped-Up
International
Solidarity Movement 6/8/2006
Freedom Summer 2006 is nearly here. Palestinians are continuing to
employ a greater variety of creative, non-violent resistance to the
occupation and you’re invited to participate. Boosted by international
support, including the recent advances in the boycott, sanctions and
divestment campaign, Palestinian non-violent resistance is growing and
needs your support! The International Solidarity Movement’s (ISM)
annual Freedom Summer Campaign is a vital effort that has brought
thousands of international citizens to occupied Palestine. Now it is
time once again to lend your support to Palestinian non-violent
resistance and join the ISM Freedom Summer Campaign set for July and
August!
Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory,01 - 07 June 2006
Palestinian Centre
for Human Rights 6/9/2006
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Escalate Attacks on Palestinian
Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) --*5
Palestinians were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip. *Two of the victims
were extra-judicially executed by IOF. *29 Palestinian civilians,
including 9 children and a woman, were wounded by IOF gunfire. *IOF
have continued to shell Palestinian areas in the northern Gaza Strip,
wounding a number of civilians and damaging civilian property. *IOF
conducted 42 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank,
particularly Nablus, and one incursion into the Gaza Strip. *55
Palestinian civilians, including a child, were arrested by IOF. *A
house was transformed by IOF into a military site. *IOF raided a
hospital in Nablus and arrested a patient from the intensive care
unit...
Haaretz: “Sweden Labels Golan Wines: Made in Occupied Syrian
Land”
International
Solidarity Movement/Haaretz 6/9/2006
Sweden has started to note that wines produced in the Golan Heights
originate in “Israel, occupied Syrian land,” the Golan Heights Winery
has informed the Israeli Embassy in Sweden. Winery sources told Haaretz
that the step is unprecedented and worrisome. The embassy is
investigating claims that the warning is being issued for several wines
on the Web site of the Swedish government’s chain of shops that sell
wine. The chain is the only Swedish body permitted to market alcoholic
beverages. Swedish Jews have protested the step, claiming that the new
way of listing the wines from the Golan Heights is a political move by
a government body. -- See also: Sweden:
'Israeli wine made in occupied territory'
UPDATED: Israel Tunes Out: Denies entrance to piano tuner
from California
International
Solidarity Movement 6/9/2006
Paul Larudee: “This is something small I can do to make life under
occupation just a little more bearable for people, so I do it. ” --
Today an Israeli administrative court issued an injunction preventing
the deportation of Paul Larudee, a 60-year-old piano tuner from El
Cerrito, until a final decision on his case. A hearing date will be set
for the near future. So we will have our day in court, and Paul will be
left in relative peace (no deportation attempts) until then. At least
this way the state of Israel will have to explain why they are denying
Larudee access to the West Bank. Paul Larudee, PhD, is one of those
gifted people who can make a piano sing, and he was on his way to the
occupied West Bank to tune pianos and to support Palestinian
non-violent resistance to the Israeli Occupation. -- See also: Israel
Tunes Out: Denies entrance to piano tuner from California
Lands burnt in Jordan
Valley by Occupation Military Camps
Stop The Wall
6/6/2006
Military camps erected in the Jordan Valley were responsible for the
burning of almost 20 dunums of land on Tuesday the 6th of June. Crops
were burnt from light flares used by Occupation Forces to search for a
missing Soldier, later seen shooting indiscriminately in Al Aqaba
before turning the gun on himself in the village mosque. Villagers were
placed under curfew and fire crews barred from saving the crops. The
Occupation Soldier was discovered missing from the military camp
stationed on the lands of Al Aqaba. Occupation Forces closed the whole
area between Tobas, Tayaseer and Aqaba and set off a series of light
flares. Thrown on to Palestinian fields, the flares set fire to fields
in the east of Tobas in Ein Nun. The crops waiting to be harvested were
destroyed, with firemen arriving at the scene barred entry to the area.
New Flashpoint: Our Struggle for Our Existence in the Jordan
Valley
Stop The Wall
6/8/2006
The presentation is based on dozens of slides showing the reality of
Palestinian life and struggle in the Jordan Valley. Covering all the
basic facts pertaining to the area, the presentation highlights the
central goals of Zionism and its relation to Israeli Apartheid and
Occupation. -- To
Download in English, Press Here. [7 MB]
'MySpace' Teen Persuaded to Leave Jordan
The Guardian 6/9/2006
DETROIT (AP) - A 16-year-old honor student from Michigan tricked her
parents into getting her a passport and then flew off to the Mideast to
be with a West Bank man she met on MySpace. com, authorities say. U.S.
officials in Jordan persuaded her to turn around and go home before she
reached the West Bank. She was on her way home Friday. Katherine R.
Lester is a straight-A student and student council member, her father
said. ``She's a good girl. Never had a problem with her,'' Terry Lester
said.... Katherine apparently contacted the man from Jericho about
three months ago, Jashinske said. Jericho, a city of 17,000, is a
relatively calm area of the volatile West Bank.
UNRWA director warns of deteriorating conditions in the Gaza
Strip
Ma'an News 6/9/2006
Gaza -- Director of UNRWA Operations in Gaza, John Ging, has warned of
a deterioration in the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip,
especially while the world is busy with the political and security
situation in the territories. Ging's statement came after a week of
field visits in many areas of the Gaza Strip in which he personally
assessed the situation on the ground. This international official added
that the general and public societies may collapse if a quick solution
cannot be found, especially in regard to the financial situation as a
result of the siege imposed on the Palestinian territories. Ging called
for the Quartet to implement the mechanism it assigned almost a month
ago in regard to how to send aid to the Palestinian territories. [end]
Zim orders 8 ships for USD 1 billion
YNet News 6/8/2006
Zim continues its buying spree, aimed at doubling its business. After
purchasing 12 ships from the Ofer Brothers Group and leasing 12 more,
Zim signs a huge deal with Hyundai shipyard to purchase 8 container
mega ships -- The board of directors of the Israeli Zim Shipping
Services company approved on Wednesday a huge deal to purchase 8 mega
container ships from the Korean Hyundai shipyard. The new generation
ships, which are the newest trend, are said to dominate the shipping
line market in the near future. According to the contract, Zim will buy
four ships capable of carrying 8,200 containers and four ships capable
of carrying 10,000 containers. The deal is worth USD 1 billion, and
Hyundai will provide the ships in the second half of 2009.
Curfew follows al-Zarqawi killing
AlJazeera 6/9/2006
The Iraqi authorities have placed Baghdad under a partial curfew in the
wake of the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in
Iraq. The curfew bans all vehicles from moving along the streets of
Baghdad and nearby Baquba - where al-Zarqawi was killed - between 11am
(0700 GMT) and 5pm, coinciding with Friday prayers. An Iraqi defence
ministry official said: "The curfew is a measure to keep people in
doors as there could be more bombings like the ones last night,
following al-Zarqawi's death. "Three bombs killed 26 people in
predominantly Shia areas of Baghdad on Thursday. In other developments,
a senior US military spokesman has disclosed that a mortally wounded
al-Zarqawi, still alive after a US air strike on his hideout, mumbled
briefly and attempted to "turn away off the stretcher" he had been
placed on by Iraqi police.
Oil prices rise as Iran accelerates uranium enrichment
The Daily Star
6/10/2006
(AFP) -- SINGAPORE: Oil prices were higher in Asian trade Friday on
reports that Iran has accelerated uranium enrichment, dampening hopes
of a resolution to Tehran's controversial nuclear program, dealers
said. At 10:20 a. m. (0220 GMT), New York's main contract, light sweet
crude for July delivery, was up $0. 20 to $70. 55 a barrel from its
close of $70. 35 in the United States on Thursday. Brent North Sea
crude for July delivery was at $69. 22, up $0. 17. The UN atomic agency
said Iran accelerated enrichment on the same day EU foreign policy
chief Javier Solana visited Tehran to present a package of benefits to
be discussed if Iran would suspend uranium enrichment.
Bush: Iran has 'weeks not months' to weigh incentives
The Daily Star
6/10/2006
French President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair
on Friday said that the international community "cannot accept" Iran's
nuclear program, saying it could lead to the development of nuclear
arms. On another front, US President George W. Bush said on Friday Iran "has weeks, not months" to respond to an offer of incentives to suspend
its nuclear enrichment program. Bush's comments represent the first
clear deadline for Iran to give an answer. In Paris, Chirac and Blair
said both countries in agreement in their aim to bring about a
peaceful, diplomatic solution to the crisis. Failure by Tehran to
suspend the program is threatening the long-term stability of the
Middle East region, they added. "We call upon the Iranian authorities
to cooperate fully with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)
and to suspend their activities connected with enrichment, including
research and development.
Berri seeks Arab mediation to bury hatchet with Syria
The Daily Star
6/10/2006
BEIRUT: Speaker Nabih Berri pleaded from Cairo on Friday for an Arab
initiative that will restore Lebanese-Syrian relations and help Beirut
implement its national dialogue decisions. "With all my heart, I plead
Egypt, the biggest Arab state, to create an Arab initiative to help
Lebanon implement the dialogue's decision and restore its ties with
Syria," Berri said upon his arrival in Cairo. Berri's visit comes a day
before Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz is expected to deliver his
report to UN chief Kofi Annan on the UN probe into the murder of former
Premier Rafik Hariri.
Nasrallah paved way for calm dialogue session
The Daily Star
6/10/2006
A source within the March 14 Forces said that while the national
dialogue has become a means of easing tension among political forces,
the people should not have high expectations about the outcome of the
talks. The source said any solution to the country's problems cannot be
reached now, particularly since the international community's attention
is focused on Iran's nuclear program, Iraq and Palestine. Meanwhile,
regional and Arab support is desperately needed to resolve the
presidential crisis and the issue of Hizbullah's arms, but the
concerned Arab states have said any initiative will only be possible
after a solidification of the region's security. Accordingly, Lebanese
officials must work to ease internal tensions until regional
developments are such that international pressures are relieved.
Survey shows Muslim women want right to vote
The Daily Star
6/10/2006
NEW YORK: Muslim women do not mind the veil but want to vote as they
wish, according to a survey released this week, in which respondents
did not feel oppression in Muslim countries. Lebanon had the highest
proportion of women who feel they should be allowed to make their own
decisions on voting, at 97 percent, followed by Egypt and Morocco, each
at 95 percent. Lowest was Pakistan, with 68 percent, according to The
New York Times reporting on a Gallup poll. None of the 8,000 women
surveyed even mentioned the use of the headscarf or the full-length
burqa in open-ended questions, the Times said. Despite the suffragist
leanings, Muslim women set aside their own issues and said their
countries had greater problems, such as violent extremism, corruption
and lack of unity among Muslim countries.
U.S. House votes to cut $420,000 aid package to Saudi Arabia
Ha'aretz 6/10/2006
The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday took a symbolic jab at
Saudi Arabia, cutting its aid package over accusations that the kingdom
fuels religious extremism and violence, as it passed a $21. 3 billion
foreign aid bill. The bill for next fiscal year, which is $600 million
above the current level but $2. 4 billion less than President George W.
Bush sought, cleared the House easily on a 373-34 vote. The Senate has
not yet taken up its version of the bill. Decrying Saudi Arabia for
teaching intolerance and financing terrorism, lawmakers voted 312-97 to
cut the $420,000 the oil-rich kingdom receives to participate in U.S.
-backed military and counter-terrorism training. "I hope my colleagues
send a strong signal symbolically that enough is enough," said Rep.
Joseph Crowley, a New York Democrat.
Pressures build on Saudi media
BBC 6/9/2006
The media in Saudi Arabia has begun to broach topics such as religious
extremism, women's rights and unemployment that were once strictly off
limits. The changes have provided new insight into what has long been
one of the most closed and conservative societies in the world. In
speeches broadcast on Saudi television, King Abdullah has repeated what
is now the dominant message of his reign - Saudi Arabia must stamp out
the threat of home-grown Islamic extremism. It is a complete switch
after decades of denial that Saudi Arabia had any such problem. It was
the involvement of Saudi citizens in 9/11 that forced the reversal. The
Saudi media changed, too - as for the first time it began to examine
issues that had once been hidden.
Cyprus vetoes Turkey's talks to gain EU entry
The Guardian
6/10/2006
Foreign ministers fail to agree common approach · Muslim country's
reforms and economy in difficulty -- Talks between Turkey and the EU
over the largely Muslim country's entry to the world's biggest trading
bloc headed for collapse at the first hurdle last night after Cyprus
torpedoed a deal to kick-start the stalled negotiations. After signing
up for a late-night compromise on Thursday, designed to allow formal
accession talks with Turkey's foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, to go
ahead on Monday, the republic of Cyprus unpicked the agreement on the
least contentious issue of science and research - the first of 35
negotiating "chapters". ... crisis talks among EU ambassadors got under
way before ending in deadlock.
London chemical bomb suspects freed
AlJazeera 6/10/2006
Some 250 officers were involved in last Thursday's raid -- British
police say they have freed without charge two brothers who were
arrested in an anti-terrorist raid in east London last week, in which
one of them was shot. Mohammed Abdul Kahar, 23, who is recovering from
a gun-shot wound, and Abul Koyair, 20, were released on Friday after
being held for questioning at a high security prison since police
swooped on their house at dawn a week ago. The house in the ethnically
mixed area of Forest Gate in east London that police suspected of being
used for making a chemical bomb was raided by more than 250 officers.
Fall of Mogadishu leaves US policy in ruins
The Guardian
6/10/2006
It was a rout. After months of fighting that left hundreds dead
Mogadishu fell suddenly this week: pick-up trucks with mounted
machine-guns and young warriors scrambled to leave the city. The
victors broadcast a triumphant announcement that the warlords had been
ousted. In their place a relatively disciplined militia promised order
and security after 15 years of mayhem. At a victory rally a militia
leader, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, made another promise: to create an Islamic
state. Mogadishu is now largely ruled by the Islamic Courts Union, a
powerful movement that advocates a strict version of sharia law,
including public executions, and has alleged ties to al-Qaida
terrorists. The Horn of Africa, say some analysts, has just acquired
its own Taliban.
Banks move into Islamic finance
BBC 6/9/2006
Egypt's Hosni Mubarak addresses the meeting in Sharm al-SheikhThe
dramatic growth of Islamic banking and finance appeared to have been
confirmed during the recent World Economic Forum in Sharm al-Sheikh in
Egypt. One of Germany's biggest banks, Deutsche Bank, announced a joint
venture with Ithmaar Bank of Bahrain and Abraaj Capital of Dubai to
launch a $2bn (£1bn) Sharia-compliant financial fund. The banks say the
fund is designed to boost education initiatives and investment in media
and energy companies, and infrastructure in the Middle East. More and
more conventional international banks, such as Citibank, HSBC and UBS,
are converting some of their services to interest-free Islamic finance
models.
Articles
The Issue Is Not Whether Hamas Recognises Israel
By Henry Siegman, MIFTAH 6/9/2006
Israel and Palestine: What hope there may still be for avoiding a complete meltdown in the Palestinian occupied territories, not to speak of the hope of ever achieving a two-state solution, lies not with the initiative by Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority president, to put the two-state formula to a popular referendum but with the ruling Hamas movement’s refusal to play by Israel’s old rules. Those rules have in effect eliminated the prospect of viable Palestinian statehood and were intended to achieve that end.
Hamas is determined that Palestinian recognition of Israel will not come about without Israel’s recognition of Palestinian national rights, and that only an end to the occupation and Israel’s acceptance of the principle that no changes in the pre-1967 borders can occur without Palestinian agreement (a principle enshrined in the road map that Israel pretends to have accepted) will constitute such recognition.
The most widely respected Israeli security expert, Efraim Halevy, believes Israeli and American efforts to overthrow the Hamas regime are misguided. A hawk who headed Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, under five prime ministers and served as Ariel Sharon’s national security adviser, Mr Halevy is convinced these efforts damage Israel’s vital interests.
His view shocked members of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations when Mr Halevy addressed them recently in New York. He has held it for some time. In September 2003, he said Israel should signal to Hamas that if it “enter[s] the fabric of the Palestinian establishment, we will not view that as a negative development. I think that in the end there will be no way around Hamas being a partner in the Palestinian government”. At that time, when Hamas had the support of only a fifth of the Palestinian population, Mr Halevy said: “Anyone who thinks it is possible to ignore such a central element of Palestinian society is simply mistaken.” How much more so today, when Hamas enjoys majority support.
The dreaded blowback from a Palestinian civil war
By Abdel Monem Said Aly, The Daily Star 6/10/2006
At the height of the second intifada, in October 2002, I was one of those who called publicly upon the Palestinian National Authority to dissolve itself. At the time, it seemed to me that the PNA's legitimacy was being undermined by two opposing forces: on the one hand, Hamas and the other radical movements, Islamic and non-Islamic; on the other, Israel.
The first made it impossible for the PNA to fulfill its obligations under Palestinian-Israeli agreements for preventing the use of force against Israel, whether through terrorism or resistance. The second, by building settlements and reoccupying Palestinian territories, made it impossible for the PNA to be the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. It was one of those ironies of history in which two arch enemies work in unison to achieve the same strategic goal: ending the possibility of a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli question.
My appeal at the time was meant to affirm that the Oslo process had in practice come to an end. Israel, the international community and the different Palestinian forces, including Hamas, would once again face the same strategic choices they had encountered before the Oslo process was launched.
Yet the PNA, having failed in substance, nevertheless remained resilient in form. Whether under the leadership of Yasser Arafat or Mahmoud Abbas, the PNA lost its powers to manage both Palestinian lives and the Palestinian cause. The Israeli propensity for unilateral steps, including building the separation wall and the success of Hamas in the Palestinian parliamentary elections, opened the door for a fundamental realignment in the Palestinian situation: the PNA, built upon the legitimacy of the Oslo process, is now led by a force that is in total opposition to this process. In fact, as Hamas became the leader of the Palestinian people, not only did the Oslo process come into question and not only was the two-state solution put to a test, but the entire peaceful approach to the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict may have reached its end.
Constitutional chauvinism
By Azem Bishara, Ha'aretz 6/10/2006
A family is an entire world. But instead of making every effort to guard the right to a family life, the High Court of Justice decision regarding the petitions against the Citizenship Law confirmed the invasion, rending and destruction of this personal world by the state. This is a generalization, since in Israel of 2006 the right to a family life is recognized as a constitutional right, which is entitled to protection from invasive harm on the part of the state. But that is not the case when it comes to Israel's Arab citizens who have chosen to marry partners from among their people who live under Israeli occupation. At least not according to the opinion of the majority in the High Court, which was written by the outgoing deputy president of the Supreme Court, Mishael Cheshin.
Cheshin's opinion states that it is legitimate to prevent the reunification of Arab families, for demographic considerations of maintaining the Jewish majority. That is why its implications go beyond the issue of preventing family unification for security reasons. The security argument raised by the state in the High Court deliberations was not supported by the statistics, in addition to the fact that it is clear to most of the public that this is not the real reason.
The citizens of the state do not have a constitutional right to dictate to the state who can be brought into it as partners, and to change the status quo that prevails in the society, wrote Cheshin. It is hard to believe he failed to see that the unification of Jews with their partners is guaranteed by the Law of Return. That is why Cheshin's words should be read as follows: Arab citizens have no right to a family life in their homeland, if this means granting legal status to their partners in Israel. The reason is that this changes the numerical ratio between Arabs and Jews, thus changing the status quo in Israel.
Whose plan is this?
By Mohamed Hakki, Al-Ahram Weekly 6/8/2006
With more evidence emerging of US war crimes in Iraq, even hawkish critics are asking whose agenda America is following abroad
If you listen to the Bush version of reality, columnist Bob Herbert wrote in The Washington Post last month, the president is all- powerful. In that version, he continued, we are fighting a war against terrorism, which is a war that will never end. And as long as we are at war (forever) there is no limit to the war-fighting powers the president can claim as commander-in-chief. One result is that crimes can be committed and vast cover up operations conducted without the knowledge of the American people. Ten days ago one such crime surfaced as Congressman John Murthe accused the US marines of over two dozen Iraqi civilians in Haditha. A military investigation, he said, would substantiate the allegation.
Soon thereafter, details of the crime began to appear on the front pages of the leading dailies. The New York Times said that 24 Iraqi civilians were "killed during a sustained sweep of a small group of marines that lasted for five hours ... " The victims included women and children killed in two houses, as well as five men standing near a taxi at a checkpoint. Next, The Los Angeles Times said that photographs taken by a marine intelligence team has convinced investigators that the 24 unarmed Iraqis were killed "execution style," after a roadside bomb killed an American in November. The pictures showed wounds to the upper bodies of the victims, including several women and six children. Some were shot in the head and some in the back, congressional and Defence Department officials admitted. One government official said the pictures showed infantry marines from Camp Pendelton "suffered a breakdown in morality and leadership, with tragic results".
Of the dead Iraqis, 19 were killed in three to four houses US marines stormed. Five others were killed near a vehicle. Time magazine, in a report published in March, quoted witnesses, including a nine-year-old girl, Eman Waleed, who said she saw marines kill her grandparents, her mother and father and other adults in the house died shielding her and her eight-year-old brother, Abdul-Rahman. The marines involved initially reported that they had become embroiled in a firefight with "insurgents". "There wasn't a gunfight, there were no pockmarked walls," a congressional aide said. "The wounds indicated execution- style [shootings]," said a Defence Department official.
Afghanistan: Drug Addiction Lucrative for Neolib Banksters, CIA
By Kurt Nimmo, Centre for Research on Globalization - Middle East 5/21/2006
Another Day in the Empire
"An American counternarcotics official was killed and two other Americans wounded in a suicide bombing in western Afghanistan today, while heavy fighting between Taliban insurgents and Afghan police continued in two southern provinces, officials said," reports the New York Times. "We confirm that a U.S. citizen contractor for the State Department Bureau of International Narcotic and Law Enforcement, working for the police training program in Herat was killed in a vehicle-borne I.E.D. attack," Chris Harris, an American Embassy spokesman, told the newspaper. After this mention, the Times moves on to detail the increasing violence between Afghan puppet police and "militants," that is to say Afghans fighting against the occupation of their country, an entirely natural occurrence.
Of course, the Times does not bother to mention that the Afghan opium trade--in fact much of the opium trade in the so-called "Golden Crescent" (Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan)--was cultivated and nurtured by the United States government and the CIA, leading to countless cases of miserable heroin addiction in America and Europe. Reading the Times, we get the impression the Taliban--at one time sponsored by the CIA and Pakistan's intelligence services, so long as they were kicking Russian hindquarter--are responsible for the opium trade all on their lonesome. As usual, the Times twists the story through omission.
"ClA-supported Mujahedeen rebels ... engaged heavily in drug trafficking while fighting against the Soviet-supported government," writes historian William Blum. "The Agency's principal client was Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of the leading druglords and a leading heroin refiner. CIA-supplied trucks and mules, which had carried arms into Afghanistan, were used to transport opium to laboratories along the Afghan/Pakistan border. The output provided up to one half of the heroin used annually in the United States and three-quarters of that used in Western Europe. U.S. officials admitted in 1990 that they had failed to investigate or take action against the drug operation because of a desire not to offend their Pakistani and Afghan allies," and also because selling heroin and spreading misery is highly profitable. In fact, the Soviets attempted to impose an opium ban on the country and this resulted in a revolt by tribal groups eventually exploited by the CIA and Pakistan.
New Chapter in Indonesia-Palestine Ties?
By Anak Agung Banyu Perwita, Palestine Chronicle 6/8/2006
The changes of Indonesia's policy toward Palestine were pushed by the simultaneous development of its international and domestic environments.
The one day visit of Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmud Al-Azhar to Jakarta last week has opened a new chapter of bilateral relations between Indonesia and Palestine. Indonesia has once again shown its commitment by giving financial assistance to support the state of Palestine.
Indonesia originally began to change its policy toward Palestine in the late 1980s. The first indicator of change was signaled by President Soeharto, who, in November 1987, commemorated the International Day of the Struggle of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization). Soeharto further noted that real peace in the Middle East could be achieved only if the Palestinians had their independence, the freedom to establish their own state and the unconditional withdrawal of Israel from all occupied territories.
When Yasser Arafat proclaimed the establishment of the Palestinian state on November 15, 1988, in Algiers, Indonesia's response was immediate. The next day, in an official statement declaring Indonesia's recognition of the Palestinian State, the Foreign Ministry said it was a clear indication of the long held support by Indonesia for the struggle of Palestine and also fitted with the preamble of the 1945 Constitution, which was aimed at abolishing colonialism and creating a world order based on independence, peace and social justice.
EDITORIAL: Palestinian Freedom Fighter Killed
Editorial, MIFTAH 6/9/2006
Israeli military forces assassinated, late yesterday evening, the Secretary General of the Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), Jamal Abu Samhadana, 43, in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younes, fueling an already volatile situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, and threatening to provoke violent response by the PRC, a coalition of the military wings of the various Palestinian political factions, which Abu Samhadana had established and led since the outbreak of the current Intifada in September 2000.
Abu Samhadana had been also appointed by the Hamas-led Palestinian government last April as a senior Interior Ministry security official, a move which was met with condemnation from both Israel and the US, in addition to serious criticism by the Palestinian Presidency, most notably PLO Chairman and PA President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), who viewed the appointment as a challenge to his own mandate and an obstacle to the prospects of resuming negotiations with Israel.
Israel’s assassination and extrajudicial killing of senior Palestinian political figures and activists has become standard policy since September 2000, and was repeatedly condemned by the international community as an illegal practice by the state of Israel, particularly in cases where innocent and unarmed civilian bystanders have been killed or injured in the attacks. |