Israeli forces shoot four protesters at Ni’lin anti-wall demonstration
Ma’an News Agency 2/21/2009
Ramallah – Ma’an – Four protesters were injured in clashes that followed a peaceful demonstration against the Israeli separation wall in the West Bank city of Ni’lin on Friday. The demonstration proceeded from the village towards the lands that are slated to be confiscated by the Israeli barrier. Israeli forces used tear gas on the demonstrators, dozens of whom were mildly suffocated from inhaling the gas. Four were shot with live ammunition. According to witnesses, clashes between stone-throwing Palestinian youths and Israeli soldiers raged late into the night throughout the town and on the main street. Israeli forces also closed roads leading to the village, with military jeeps deployed in the southern area near the town. Following this, demonstrators threw rocks at the cars of passing Israeli settlers.

Lebanon rockets wound Israelis
Al Jazeera 2/21/2009
A rocket fired from Lebanon has landed in northern Israel, wounding three people and prompting Israel to respond with an artillery barrage, the Israeli army said. A Lebanese security source said, however, that two rockets had been fired at Israel from near the city of Tyre on Saturday, and that Israel had responded by firing at least six shells into southern Lebanon. The Lebanese army said it found two wooden rocket launchers in the Qleileh-Mansouri area, south of Tyre. There was no immediate claim of responsibility by any group in Lebanon, while the Israeli army confirmed it had responded to the rocket fire with an artillery barrage. Al Jazeera’s Rula Amin, monitoring developments from Beirut, said it was the third time rockets had been fired from Lebanon into Israel since the military assault on the Gaza Strip.

One dead after Egyptian forces fire gas bombs in Rafah tunnels
Ma’an News Agency 2/21/2009
Gaza – Ma’an – One Palestinian was killed and six others injured on Saturday when Egyptian forces fired gas bombs into a smuggling tunnel under the Egypt-Gaza border, south of the city of Rafah. According to witnesses, Egyptian security forces fired the gas into the tunnel in the As-Salam neighborhood. Two others are missing in the tunnels. A Medical source at Abu Yousef An-Najjar hospital in Rafah said that they “received the body of one man and six others injured out of a tunnel south of Rafah. ”Earlier on Saturday, Egypt deployed hundreds of police officers its border with the Gaza Strip fearing that Palestinian protesters would force their way out of the besieged territory. An Egyptian security official told Reuters that hundreds of Palestinians were planning a demonstration at the border, demanding that it be opened permanently.

Abbas refuses to lift ban on Al Jazeera crews at Al Muqata
PNN, Palestine News Network 2/21/2009
Ramallah -- Relations remain strained between Mahmoud Abbas and the Al Jazeera Satellite Channel despite a visit by the Palestinian President to Doha, Qatar. Tensions have mounted over the past two years, hitting a nadir when Abbas publically accused Al Jazeera of being "pro-Hamas" regarding the elected government’s split with his Palestinian Authority. It was during this time that the PA prevented Al Jazeera correspondents in Ramallah from entering Al Muqata, the Presidential Headquarters. The Fateh party, of which Abbas is a member, issued a statement against what it referred to as the "sedition" of the popular news channel. Al Jazeera is widely watched throughout the Middle East and was the center piece of coverage during the recent major Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. Despite its popularity it is a common phenomenon in the West Bank to hear Al Jazeera referred. . .

Obama’s envoy to open permanent office in Jerusalem
Ma’an News Agency 2/21/2009
Bethlehem – Ma’an – US President Barack Obama’s special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, is planning to set up a permanent presence in Jerusalem. Mitchell is beginning a two-week visit to the region on Monday during which he will meet with Israeli and Palestinian officials, in hopes of convincing them to resume peace negotiations after a new Israeli government is formed. Mitchell was quoted saying that he will reside permanently in the region. A team of diplomats at his Jerusalem office will represent him when he is away. Mitchell first visited the region in January, in the aftermath of the Israeli offensive in Gaza that left more than 1,300 Palestinians dead.

Ongoing expulsion of Jahalin near al-‘Eizariya
Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, Stop The Wall 2/21/2009
For the second time this month, Occupation forces demolished tents belonging to five ‘Arab Jahalin families. Soldiers confiscated the remains of the tents and the families’ water tank to ensure that they will not be able to rebuild. On 16 February, at ten in the morning, jeeps and soldiers arrived again at the Jahalin community located east of al-‘Eizariya. Soldiers destroyed tents housing the families of Kayid Salem and his four married sons. These families had their homes destroyed for the first time this month on 3 February. Following the initial demolition, they received two tents from the Red Cross. Members of the community also provided them with several additional tents and rebuilding materials. This time, however, soldiers confiscated the remains of the tents in order to prevent reconstruction. The family water tank was also taken, putting further pressure not only on the Salem family, but on the community as a whole.

Israeli forces seize Palestinian at Al-Hamra checkpoint; hundreds denied passage
Ma’an News Agency 2/21/2009
Jenin – Ma’an – Israeli forces on Saturday seized a young Palestinian man at Al-Hamra checkpoint in the northern Jordan Valley and denied hundreds of others passage through the checkpoint. Eyewitnesses named the detainee as Hamdan Bsharat from the northern West Bank village of Tammun, south of Nablus. Witnesses told Ma’an via telephone that more than 500 people were stopped at Al-Hamra checkpoint and denied passage in or out. Soldiers took the ID cards of some people which means they can no longer travel through any Israeli military checkpoint. The witnesses asserted that Israeli troops treated people harshly forcing them to move from under trees where they had taken shelter from heavy rain.

Gaza blast leaves ’fighters dead’
Al Jazeera 2/21/2009
Two fighters have been killed apparently by Israeli army gunfire in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources say. The two Palestinians were killed early on Saturday in the Juhr al-Deek district of Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, Muawiya Hassanein, director of the local emergency services, told Al Jazeera. Palestinian witnesses said an explosion occurred when the fighters attempted to fire a mortar round towards Israel. Fierce clashes had erupted between Palestinian fighters and Israeli soldiers on Friday when Israeli forces attempted to raid the area, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Gaza, said. The Israeli military denied any firing in the area but said that two mortar rounds were launched from Gaza overnight. No Palestinian faction has claimed the dead fighters as its members. Israeli forces have repeatedly raided areas in the east and south of Gaza during the past few days.

Friday protests continue despite week of raids and arrests
Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, Stop The Wall 2/21/2009
Demonstrations continued in four villages this Friday, despite a week of invasions, raids and detentions aimed at crushing the popular resistance. Protests against the Wall were held in Jayyous, Ma’sara, Ni’lin and Bi’lin, where the people commemorated the fourth anniversary of the weekly protests. The actions in Jayyous and Ma’sara came in the wake of a campaign against participants and organizers. In Ma’sara, key activists and their families were targeted by Occupation forces, who broke into and searched homes while detaining and questioning families several times during the week. However, the demonstration continued as scheduled, as dozens of people rallied in the centre of town before marching toward their threatened lands. This week’s focus was the recent confiscation of 1,700 dunums of land from al-Khader and Irtas for the expansion of the Efrat settlement, and the demonstration concluded without serious incident.

Six Palestinians wounded in Al-Khalil, Ramallah with IOF bullets
Palestinian Information Center 2/21/2009
AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces used live bullets against Palestinian demonstrators in Beit Ummar, Al-Khalil district, and Bi’l’in, Ramallah district, wounding six of them, locals reported. IOF soldiers fired at the demonstrators in Beit Ummar hitting Ziad Allama, 23, in his right thigh and kidnapped Fadi Sabarne, 20. Five other Palestinians were hit with bullets while dozens others were treated for suffocation when IOF troops fired live bullets and teargas canisters at the peaceful weekly march organized by the inhabitants of Bil’in village west of Ramallah to protest their land confiscation to erect the separation wall. The popular anti wall committee received a message of solidarity from the international league for human rights in Germany on the 4th anniversary of the start of the committee’s anti wall activities.

Israeli forces seize three Palestinians in Qalqilia
Ma’an News Agency 2/21/2009
Qalqilia – Ma’an – Israeli forces on Friday morning seized three Palestinians from their homes in the Qalqilia district of the West Bank. Palestinian sources identified the arrestees as Muhammad Inaya, Muhammad As-Sarawi, and Ali Barham. The sources said Israeli soldiers vandalized the interior of each house during the raids. [end]

IOF troops invade different West Bank cities and villages
Palestinian Information Center 2/21/2009
Ramallah, (PIC)-- A large number of IOF troops stormed Saturday different West Bank cities and villages despite the presence of some PA security elements in the invaded areas and imposed a curfew on the town of Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem. Palestinian local sources reported that a number of Israeli military patrols invaded the town amid intensive gunfire which started fire inside a Palestinian house. They added that the invading troops raided at dawn the house of a Palestinian citizen called Maher Jawda and handed his family a summons to appear at the intelligence headquarters in the Etzion settlement. The IOF troops also stormed areas in different part of Jenin without any reported arrests. In the Tamoun town, the IOF troops established a military checkpoint at the entrance to Tubas city and hindered the movement of Palestinian citizens, while children from the town threw. . .

Hamas: Some prisoners freed for Shalit may be settled in Syria
Avi Issacharoff, Ha’aretz 2/22/2009
Some Palestinian prisoners freed in a deal for abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit may be settled in Syria, Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar was quoted by pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat as saying Saturday. Zahar’s statement could be interpreted as addressing Israel’s fears that prematurely released convicted terrorists might take up arms once they return to the Hamas-ruled territory. A Popular Resistance Committee commander, meanwhile, was quoted by Al Hayat as saying that Shalit had been injured during the Israel Defense Forces assault against Hamas in Gaza last month, but refused to disclose his condition. " Every piece of information about Shalit has a price tag on it," Abu Abir was quoted as saying. Jerusalem sources have said that Israel has prepared a new list of Palestinian prisoners it is willing to release and is ready to relay it to Hamas as quickly as possible.

MIDEAST: Border Politics Slows Aid to Gaza
Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani, Inter Press Service 2/22/2009
CAIRO, Feb 21(IPS) - Egyptian authorities are continuing to prevent humanitarian aid from crossing the border into the Gaza Strip, according to local sources. "Until now, only about a quarter of all humanitarian aid to arrive in Egypt has made it across the border into Gaza," Hatem Al-Bulk, journalist and political activist, told IPS. "It’s all piling up in Al-Arish because the authorities are refusing to let it through the Rafah border crossing. "Al-Arish is located some 40 kilometres west of the border in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula. Egyptian Prime Minster Ahmed Nazif declared in parliament Feb. 9 that over the previous six weeks more than 5,000 tonnes of medical supplies and more than 6,000 tonnes of foodstuffs had entered the Gaza Strip via Egypt’s Rafah border crossing. Nazif said that over this period "Rafah was open on a continuous basis for humanitarian considerations.

Egypt beefs up security on Gaza border, fearing breach attempt
Reuters, Ha’aretz 2/22/2009
Egyptian authorities have dispatched hundreds of policemen to the border with the Gaza Strip, fearing Palestinian protesters might try to breach it into Sinai, security officials said on Saturday. One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Egypt has information that hundreds of Palestinians were planning a demonstration demanding that Cairo open its Rafah border crossing with Gaza to normal traffic. The officials said 400 riot police were deployed in the border region as a precautionary measure. The Egyptian government has been criticized in the Middle East for limiting the movement through the border crossing during Israel’s three-week offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip that ended in a ceasefire on Jan. 18. About 1,300 Palestinians were killed during the operation, according to Gaza officials. 13 Israelis were also killed in the hostilities.

Egypt beefs up security along border with Gaza
Reuters, YNetNews 2/21/2009
Hundreds of policemen dispatched to border with Gaza for fear Palestinians may try to breach it; Cairo announces it will open Rafah crossing Sunday for two days - Egyptian authorities have dispatched hundreds of policemen to the border with the Gaza Strip, fearing Palestinian protesters might try to breach it into Sinai, security officials said on Saturday. One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Egypt has information that hundreds of Palestinians were planning a demonstration demanding that Cairo open its Rafah border crossing with Gaza to normal traffic. The officials said 400 riot police were deployed in the border region as a precautionary measure. Later on Saturday Egypt announced it would open the Rafah crossing on Sunday for a two-day period. The Egyptian government has been criticized in the Middle East for limiting the. . .

Egypt to open Rafah crossing with Gaza Sunday and Monday
Ma’an News Agency 2/21/2009
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Egypt has decided to open its Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Sunday and Monday, according to the Palestinian Embassy to Egypt. The representative of the Palestinian Embassy at the crossing, Muhammad Arafat said, “The Rafah crossing will be open in both directions for holders of foreign passports, students and patients. ”Arafat expects that at least 170 people will pass from Egypt into the Gaza Strip in addition to patients and injured people who have been receiving treatment in Egypt. He applauded the Egyptian authorities for facilitating the entrance of people and aid into the Gaza Strip. Egypt has kept the Rafah crossing closed since Israel imposed a blockade on the small Palestinian enclave in June 2007. The crossing has occasionally been opened for exceptional cases.

Egypt freezes trade negotiations with Israel
Ma’an News Agency 2/21/2009
Jerusalem – Ma’an – Egypt has withdrawn its delegation from trade negotiations with Israel, but said the decision had nothing to do with politics, Egyptian sources reported on Saturday. According to the Egyptian government, the delegation was withdrawn for “technical reasons. ” Egyptian officials said the delegation would resume negotiations soon, but they did not give an exact date. Egypt ordered its officials to leave after Egypt failed in its efforts to broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian factions in Gaza because Israel linked that deal to the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The delegation was in Israel for routine quarterly discussions on Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) arrangements between Egypt, Israel and the United States. Hamas leader Ayman Taha said he welcomed Egypt’s decision, calling on Arab states to cut all diplomatic ties with Israel.

Sources: Netanyahu to offer Livni ’full partnership’ in gov’t
Mazal Mualem, Ha’aretz 2/22/2009
Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, who is forming Israel’s next government, is expected to offer his Kadima counterpart Tzipi Livni "full partnership" in a future cabinet, according to sources involved with the negotiations. The sources said Likud is also offering that Kadima join it in drafting the framework for the government’s policies. In a message that political analysts interpreted as designed to increase the trust between the parties, Netanyahu said he would suspend talks with other coalition partners - including the ultra-Orthodox and rightist parties - until after he concludes his talks with Livni. Netanyahu’s associates said he intends to offer Livni two of the government’s most prominent portfolios, from among defense, finance and foreign relations. The associates described this as "unprecedented in its generosity. "

Arab League to probe Gaza war crimes allegations
AP and Roee Nahmias, YNetNews 2/21/2009
Arab League mission headed to Gaza Strip, necessary legal procedures to be taken, spokesman says - An Arab League official says a League mission is headed to the Gaza to investigate allegations that Israel committed war crimes during its recent offensive in the Strip. Human rights groups in Gaza confirmed that a high-ranking delegation on behalf of the Arab League will be visiting the Strip Sunday after arriving via the Rafah crossing, the Ma’an news agency said. League Spokesman Hisham Youssef says the mission will prepare a detailed report for League head Amr Moussa "and take the necessary legal procedures. " Youssef said another League mission leaving for Gaza on Saturday will be accompanied by a second committee that will assess the aid needed to rebuild Gaza. During the day, the Arab League held a session attended by two committees looking into the situation in the Strip.

Arab League to probe Gaza war crimes allegations
Associated Press, Jerusalem Post 2/21/2009
An Arab League official said on Saturday that a league mission was to head to the Gaza Strip to investigate allegations that Israel committed war crimes during its offensive. League spokesman Hisham Youssef said that the mission would prepare a detailed report for league head Amr Moussa "and take the necessary legal procedures. " Critics have accused Israel of using disproportionate force and failing to protect civilians during its three-week offensive, which ended Jan. 18. Youssef said another league mission leaving for Gaza on Saturday would be accompanied by a second committee that would assess the aid needed to rebuild Gaza.

Euromed Assembly Fact Finding Mission to Gaza
Palestine News Network 2/21/2009
Siam Haifa - A delegation of parliamentarians from both sides of the Mediterranean led by Hans-Gert Pöttering, who is both President of the European Parliament and President of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA), will go to Cairo, Gaza, Ramallah, Jerusalem and Amman on 22-24 February to assess the situation following the recent events in the Middle East and contribute to the re-launch of the Peace Process. The delegation will be composed of the chairpersons of the various EMPA committees. Speaking about this parliamentary visit, Hans-Gert Pöttering said: "Our objective is to contribute to get the peace process back on track and to work towards it. We believe in a peaceful and lasting solution for the Middle East made under the auspices of the United Nations and based on a two-state solution.

Qassam rocket hits near Ashkelon; no casualties
Yanir Yagna, Ha’aretz 2/22/2009
A Qassam rocket fired from Gaza hit near the southern city of Ashkelon late Saturday, causing neither casualties nor damage. The rocket strike was the first cross-border attack on Saturday, after Gaza militants fired 10 mortar shells and a Qassam rocket into the western Negev on Friday. Israel Defense Forces troops operating in the Kissufim area identified the explosions and opened fire in the direction of the launchers across the border. The strikes came amid an apparent stalemate in Gaza Strip truce negotiations, following Israel’s demand that a cease-fire be linked to the release of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. [end]

Rocket hits south Ashkelon
Shmulik Hadad, YNetNews 2/21/2009
Terror groups continue to target south; earlier Saturday, mortar shells fired from Gaza Strip - South under fire, again:A rocket landed in south Ashkelon around 10 pm Saturday, prompting residents to take cover in secured rooms. The rocket attack was preceded by a warning siren activated in the southern section of the city. No injuries or damages were reported in the attack. Local resident Alexei told Ynet: "A siren was heard and I immediately entered the secured room. It’s very nerve-racking. "He added that just before the rocket struck he wrote in an online forum that he is concerned about the renewal of attacks on the city. Ashkelon Deputy Mayor, Shlomo Cohen, who is in charge of security in the southern town, also expressed his concern about the continuation of infrequent attacks.

Two Gaza families narrowly escape homemade projectile
Ma’an News Agency 2/21/2009
Khan Younis – Ma’an – Two families said narrowly escaped death when a Palestinian homemade projectile hit their apartments in Al-Farahin, east of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday night. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA quoted the owner of the apartments, Ahmad Abu Duqqa, as saying, “The projectile drilled through the roof causing serious damage. " "Only the heavens prevented a massacre," said Abu Duqqa, "as the projectile hit a bathroom next to my four grandchildren and their mother, who live with us after they fled their home because it is in the range of Israeli fire. ”Palestinian fighters usually fire homemade rockets, often fashioned from metal tubing packed with explosives, into Israel, where they cause much panic but little damage.

Two killed by mysterious Gaza explosion
Ma’an News Agency 2/21/2009
Gaza – Ma’an – Two Palestinian men were killed by an explosion in the town of Juhor Ad-Dik in the middle Gaza Strip on Saturday. The cause of the explosion near the Strip’s eastern border is not known. The Director of Ambulance and Emergency Services in the Palestinian Health Ministry, Muawiya Hassanein, identified the victims as Hikmat and Ahmad Nassar, residents of the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City. The two were reported to be members of the armed wing of Hamas, the Al-Qassam Brigades, but Hamas has not confirmed this. Medical sources at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the townof Deir Al-Balah said the two bodies arrived torn to pieces, seemingly as a result of an explosion. An Israeli military spokesperson said the army has no information about an explosion or any other incident along the border on Saturday morning.

Two Palestinians killed allegedly on way to ’kidnap’ IDF soldiers
DPA, Ha’aretz 2/21/2009
Two Palestinians were killed early Saturday outside Gaza City during what family members said was a mission to kill or capture Israeli soldiers. The family sources said Yaqoub and Ahmed Nassar were affiliated to the radical Islamic Hamas organisation but had cooperated with Israeli intelligence until Hamas discovered this nearly a year ago. Hamas had then assigned the two to carry out a suicide attack against Israeli soldiers on the pretext of fleeing Hamas and trying to cross into Israel. Palestinian medical staff recovered their bodies from Juhr al-Dik, a village near the border with Israel in southeast Gaza city, the sources said. Medical sources had conflicting reports on what caused their death. Some said it was the explosion, but others said the two had been gunned down. An Israel Defense Forces spokesman denied any involvement of Israeli forces in the deaths of the two.

Israel kills two Palestinians near Gaza border
Middle East Online 2/21/2009
GAZA CITY - Two Palestinian resistance fighters were killed on Saturday in an exchange of fire with Israeli forces near the border of the besieged territory, Palestinian medics said. The two men were killed by Israeli shelling and gunfire in the village of Juhr al-Dik southeast of Gaza City, according to Muawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza emergency services, who identified the men as resistance fighters. An Israeli military spokesman said he had no information about any exchange of fire but said that two mortar rounds were fired from Gaza overnight. Both Israel and the democratically elected declared unilateral ceasefires on January 18 after a massive 22-day Israeli offensive on the territory that killed 1,300 Palestinians (mainly civilians) and 13 Israelis. The calm has since been repeatedly tested by Israeli attacks and Palestinian retaliation.

Israeli forces assassinate two Palestinians in northern Gaza
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 2/21/2009
Palestinian medical sources reported that on Saturday at dawn an undercover force of the Israeli Army infiltrated into Juhr Ad Deek area, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and assassinated two fighters. Dr. Muawiya Hassanen, head of the Emergency Unit at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, said that the two fighters, Ahmad and Yacoub Nassar, were hit by multiple rounds in different parts of their bodies. The two slain fighters were moved to al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza Strip. The attack was carried out as undercover forces infiltrated into the north through an area close to the northern borders and ambushed a group of fighters. The assassination comes amidst repeated statements by Israeli leaders to carry further strikes and attacks in the Gaza Strip.

Return to Bil’in
Seth Freedman, The Guardian 2/21/2009
Four years on, nothing has changed in this West Bank village fighting the encroachment of Israeli settlers - Exactly two years ago, I made one of my first post-army forays into the West Bank, travelling to the village of Bil’in where the locals had been fighting a losing battle against the construction of Israel’s separation wall. The demonstration that day marked the second anniversary of the residents’ struggle against the occupiers’ encroachment on their land; there was blood, sweat and teargas spilt, as had been the case during every week of their battle with the IDF. I returned to Bil’in’s olive groves to mark the fourth year of their fight for justice. Despite court rulings in the townsfolks’ favour that demanded the route of the wall be shifted away from their farmland, nothing has changed. The wall still stands, the olive trees are still uprooted, and the border police still meet

Mitchell Could Support PA Unity Gov’t
Alexander Cockburn and Hilary Leila Krieger, MIFTAH 2/21/2009
US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell expressed support for Egyptian efforts to forge a Palestinian national unity government, indicating that America could take a new tack on Fatah-Hamas reconciliation, during a conference call Thursday with Jewish leaders. In sharp contrast to the Bush administration, which opposed a Palestinian national unity government, Mitchell said that should Egypt bring the sides together it would be "a step forward," and that until now divisions among the Palestinians have been a major obstacle to bringing peace to the region, according to representatives of Jewish organizations who participated in the call. The 45-minute call was on the record but not open to the media. Mitchell said that Hamas would still need to adhere to the Quartet’s demands that it halt violence, recognize Israel and accept previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements in such a government, and assessed that the chances of Hamas doing that weren’t good.

Hamas to Obama: No peace without us
Ynet and AFP, YNetNews 2/21/2009
New York Times quotes senior Islamist group figure Ahmed Yousef as saying he drafted letter addressed to US president saying ’Senator Kerry’s visit to Gaza shows new administration not controlled by Israeli propaganda’ -The United States has received a letter from the Palestinian Hamas movement for President Barack Obama, who considers the Islamist group a terrorist organization, a US official confirmed Friday. "I can confirm that it was from Hamas to President Obama," a State Department official said on condition of anonymity, adding that US officials were weighing "how it should be treated. "According to the New York Times, the two-page document was drafted by Ahmed Yousef, the Hamas deputy foreign minister, who asked Obama to engage with his movement, rather than marginalize it. " There can be no peace without Hamas," Yousef said he had written in the letter.

Hamas government writes to Obama
PNN, Palestine News Network 2/21/2009
Bethlehem -- While visiting the Gaza Strip this week United States Senator John Kerry received a letter from the Hamas government addressed to the new US President. Kerry’s visit was the first of its kind since the internal Palestinian split took place dividing politically the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The news of receipt of the letter from Hamas to Barak Obama was confirmed last night by the US State Department. Reportedly the US administration is "considering how to deal with this letter. " A United Nations Relief and Works Agency official in Gaza delivered the letter to Kerry but was unaware that the sender was the Hamas government at the time he handed it over. Member of the Hamas leadership Ahmed Yousef corrected news reports that state the letter is from the "Hamas movement" when in fact it was penned by the Hamas government.

US pledges to cooperate with Netanyahu gov’t
Palestinian Information Center 2/21/2009
RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The new American administration pledged to continue cooperating with the new Israeli government to be formed by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, expressing optimism about the future of peace talks in the Middle East. State department spokesman Gordon Duguid stated that his country is an old and constant ally to Israel and will cooperate with the new Israeli government on bilateral and regional issuesIn a debate organized by the Brookings institution in Washington, Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel, said that Netanyahu might avoid American pressure by seeking peace deals with Syrians and Palestinians. Indyk underlined that the unpleasant track record of Netanyahu in the 90s of the last century suggests that he would be subjected to pressure from the new American administration to move Palestinian-Israeli negotiations forward.

Israel and Hamas holding indirect talks in Paris
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 2/21/2009
Israeli sources reported Thursday that the real indirect prisoner-swap talks between Hamas and Israel are being held in the French Capital, Paris, and not in Egypt. The Israeli side is represented by Ofar Dekel, Israel’s Prime Minister Envoy, who ran indirect German-mediated talks with Hezbollah, while France is running Qatari-mediated talks with Hamas. Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, reported Friday that Qatar promised the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, to put pressure on Hamas in order to lower its demands. Haaretz added that Qatar previously mediated in the case of the captured Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, and received from France a letter that was written by the parents of Shalit; Qatar handed the letter to Hamas. Two days ago, Dekel returned from France after conducting a trip that included detailed talks on Shalit and the prisoner swap deal.

Olmert has given up on Shalit
Zvi Bar'el, Ha’aretz 2/22/2009
Does anyone really believe Gilad Shalit will be released after two and half years in exchange for Israel opening the border crossings to Gaza, but not releasing Palestinian prisoners? This is the slight of hand Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is apparently trying to pull off. Last week, Israel agreed with Egypt that Shalit would be released in exchange for a list of prisoners that included Marwan Barghouti. There was a dispute concerning four other prisoners, including Ahmed Saadat, who planned the murder of the late minister Rehavam Zeevi. Egypt assessed - based on conversations between its intelligence head, Omar Suleiman, and Israel’s chief negotiator, Amos Gilad - that this obstacle could be overcome. Egypt even began preparing for the next phase, summoning Fatah and Hamas for a reconciliatory meeting in Cairo today to create a basis for discussions on opening the Rafah crossing in the future.

Abu Abeer: 'linking truce with the detainees file sabotages Egyptian efforts'
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 2/22/2009
Abu Abeer, a leader of the Salah Ed Deen Brigades, one of the groups that participated, along with Hamas and the Army of Islam, in the abduction of the Israeli corporal, Gilad Shalit, stated that the Egyptian security mediators, headed by Omar Qannawi, said that Israel’s insistence to link the truce with the file of the detainees is sabotages the Egyptian efforts to broker a lasting deal. He also said that Shalit was wounded during Israel’s latest offensive against the Gaza Strip. The A Hayat newspaper, published in London, reported that Abu Abeer said that he believes that the prisoner-swap deal is about to be implemented based on the list of detainees the resistance provided. "Olmert and Barak are talking about painful concessions, such statements are made to prepare the Israeli public for the upcoming prisoner-swap deal", Abu Abeer stated, "We have been holding Shalit for more. . .

Defense officials dismiss claims that Shalit was hurt in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead
Amos Harel Jack Khoury and Avi Issacharoff, Ha’aretz 2/22/2009
Israeli defense officials say claims that kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit was wounded in Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip are not credible. One source said the claims were psychological warfare designed to increase pressure in Israel for concessions during a prisoner exchange with Hamas. The London-based Al Hayat reported yesterday that Gilad Shalit had been wounded during Operation Cast Lead. It quoted a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees. Meanwhile, Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar was quoted in Al Hayat as saying that some Palestinian prisoners freed in a deal for Shalit may be settled in Syria. Israeli defense officials have suggested this as an alternative to returning the prisoners to the West Bank or the Gaza Strip. In yet another media statement, this time in an interview with the Guardian, Deputy Hamas politburo. . .

Abu Abir: Shalit wounded in Israeli war on Gaza
Palestinian Information Center 2/21/2009
GAZA, (PIC)-- Abu Abir, the popular resistance committees’ spokesman, has affirmed that the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was wounded in the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip that continued for more than three weeks. The London-based Al-Hayat newspaper on Saturday quoted Abu Abir as saying that what was announced by Hamas in this regard was not media fabrication. He added that Israel is responsible for Shalit’s safety, but would not divulge the nature of his injury. The PRC official said that there would be no free information on the condition of Shalit, adding, "We will not disclose more information out of keenness on Palestinian interests". A reliable Palestinian source had stated that Shalit was injured in the Israeli raids on Gaza on 29/12/2009 but did not clarify the extent of his injury. Official sources in Hamas refused to confirm or deny the news report but held. . .

Report: Hamas not opposed to deporting freed prisoners to Syria
Ma’an News Agency 2/21/2009
Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Hamas may allow Palestinian prisoners freed in a deal with Israel to be deported to Syria, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Zahhar was quoted by the pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat as saying on Saturday. Zahhar was referring to a proposed Egyptian-brokered prisoner exchange involving the release of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who is held in Gaza. Hamas is demanding the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in return for Shalit, including the elderly, children, women, and Hamas politicians. It is also demanding a number of those accused of violent attacks on Israel. The settlement of some prisoners in Syria could be a way to assuage Israeli security concerns. Israeli political sources have said that Israel has prepared a new list of Palestinian prisoners it is willing to release and is ready to relay it to Hamas as quickly as possible.

Hamas not ruling out expulsion of ’heavyweight’ prisoners
Roee Nahmias, YNetNews 2/21/2009
Mahmoud al-Zahar says Islamist group considering deportation of four arch-terrorists to Syria should they be released by Israel in deal for Shalit, but says decision will be implemented ’only with prisoners’ consent’ -Hamas is not ruling out the possibility that some so-called "heavyweight" Palestinian prisoners will be expelled to Syria should they be released byIsrael in the framework of a possible exchange deal for captive soldier Gilad Shalit. Senior Hamas leader in Gaza Mahmoud al-Zahar told the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar that the Islamist group was "considering the issue of expelling the prisoners from the West Bank. " Any such decision will be implemented with the prisoners’ consent," he said in the interview, published Saturday. On Monday the leading pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat reported that Israel has accepted Hamas’ demand to free eight. . .

Ministry of prisoners deplores escalating deportation of Palestinian detainees
Palestinian Information Center 2/21/2009
GAZA, (PIC)-- The ministry of prisoners’ affairs strongly denounced Friday the Israeli courts for escalating its deportation decisions against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails at the pretext that they hold foreign or Arab passports. In a press statement received by the PIC, the ministry cited as an example that Israeli courts issued lately a decision to deport two Palestinian brothers from Jenin called Omar and Talib Awda to Jordan after they served their imprisonment term despite the fact that they possess Palestinian IDs. The Israeli courts also decided to deport a Palestinian prisoner from Bethlehem called Marwan Faraj to Jordan, but he refused to sign the expulsion decision and the prison administration exercises huge psychological pressure against him to force him to sign the court decision, the ministry added.

’Schalit was wounded during Cast Lead’
Jerusalem Post 2/21/2009
Abu Abir, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, said that kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Schalit was wounded during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, but would not give details regarding the captive IDF soldier’s condition. Abir told the London-based Al Hayat daily that only very few people know where Schalit is being held, Israel Radio reported on Saturday. He reportedly told the paper that Ahmed Jabri, head of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza, is in charge of Schalit. The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the report. Meanwhile in Lebanon, senior Hamas member Mahmoud al-Zahar said that his. . .

Hamas says willing to provide fresh information on Shalit
Ynet, YNetNews 2/21/2009
Moussa Abu Marzouk tells the Guardian Israeli soldier will be released ’only in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners’; adds: Now there is global support for Hamas and not just in the Arab and Muslim worlds -Hamas has called for international pressure on Israel to force the border crossings open to relieve the humanitarian crisis after last month’s war, the Guardian reported on Friday. In an interview with the British paper, Deputy Hamas politburo chief Moussa Abu Marzouk flatly rejected Israel’s demand that captive soldier Gilad Shalit be released in return for lifting the blockade on Gaza, but did signal that fresh information about Shalit might be provided if Israel moved Palestinian prisoners being held in solitary confinement to normal cells, released unwell female prisoners and published information on the Hamas gunmen Imad and Adel Abdullah,. . .

Dr. Zahhar: We have no craving for truce
Palestinian Information Center 2/21/2009
BEIRUT, (PIC)-- Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar, a senior Hamas leader, stated Saturday that the Palestinians do not have a craving for the truce with Israel, adding that the Cairo talks were positive and a comprehensive agreement was reached, but everything stalled after Israel demanded the release of its captive soldier in exchange for the calm. In an interview with the Lebanese Akhbar newspaper, Dr. Zahhar noted that Egypt was upset at the Israeli decision and realized its seriousness. Replying to a question about a new Israeli list of prisoners’ names, the Hamas leader said that there is no new list because all the names mentioned by Israel are part of the swap deal, so there are no positive signs regarding the deal, adding that Israel constantly maneuver to avoid the release of big names. Regarding the reconstruction issue, Zahhar explained that this effort must be coupled with the. . .

PLO says it will cancel negotiations with a right-wing Israeli government
Ma’an News Agency 2/21/2009
Jericho – Ma’an – The Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) top negotiator told US officials on Saturday that it will not negotiate with an Israeli government that rejects the principle of a two-state resolution to the Middle East conflict. Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat made this warning during a meeting with US Senator Joseph Lieberman and the US Consul General in Jerusalem, Jake Walles. Lieberman, a independent from the state of Connecticut, is visiting with a delegation of other senators and congressmen. “Any Israeli government rejects the two-state principle and the previously signed agreements and [rejects] pledges to halt settlements, lift the siege and closure will not be a partner of thePLO and there will be no political negotiations with it,” said Erekat. He said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has officially notified the US, EU, Russia the UN and a number of Arab countries of this stance.

Carter Center representatives meet Hamas lawmaker in Ramallah
Ma’an News Agency 2/21/2009
Ramallah – Ma’an – Representatives of the Atlanta-based Carter Center met with Hamas-affiliated Palestinian lawmaker Ayman Daraghmah in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Friday. Among the topics addressed in the meeting were efforts to reconcile Hamas with its Palestinian rival, Fatah. The Carter Center was represented in Timothy Rothermel, Sarah Johnson, and David Carroll. The Center assisted in overseeing the Palestinian Legislative Council elections in 2006 which Hamas won. Former US President Jimmy Carter has been a leading advocate for engaging Hamas in the Middle East peace process. Darghmah said during the meeting that negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel have not yielded any tangible results, and that the Israeli occupation does not really seek peace. Daraghmah expressed his hopes that reconciliation efforts with Fatah will succeed.

Egypt invites Hamas to attend dialog sessions next Wednesday
Palestinian Information Center 2/21/2009
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Hamas Movement said Saturday that it has received an official invitation from Egypt to participate in the inter-Palestinian dialog sessions to be held on the 25th of this month, highlighting its keenness to render the dialog successful. In a press release received by the PIC, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum stressed the need to get all political prisoners released from PA jails in order to create a climate for success. For his part, Hamas MP Dr. Salah Al-Bardawil asserted that his Movement was ready for national dialog in Cairo and would go to that dialog with "open hearts". He stressed in a press release that a suitable atmosphere must prevail before the initiation of the dialog in order to ensure its success, pointing to Hamas meetings with Fatah in Cairo over the past few days in which ending media campaigns and releasing detainees were discussed.

Sources: Hamas-Fatah talks unlikely until Israel forms government
Ma’an News Agency 2/21/2009
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Dialogue between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah is unlikely to start until Israeli politicians form a government and address the unresolved questions about a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange, sources with knowledge of the negotiations told Ma’an. For the second time in four months, a much-hyped attempt to bring Hamas and Fatah to the negotiating table was shelved this week. Egypt informed Palestinian officials on Wednesday that a conference of rival Palestinian factions, planned to start on Sunday, would be postponed, with no new date set. Egyptian leaders said they wanted to put an Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire in place in Gaza before pressing forward on the intra-Palestinian track. The Palestinian side blames Israel for complicating the ceasefire negotiations just when a breakthrough appeared to be at hand.

Fatah, Hamas optimistic as Egypt reschedules unity conference
Ma’an News Agency 2/21/2009
Summit to open 25 February in Cairo - Azzam Al-Ahmad holds a press conference with Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar - Bethlehem – Ma’an – Egypt has rescheduled a conference aimed at restoring Palestinian unity to 25 February. Officials from Hamas, Fatah, and other factions said they welcomed the resumption of the dialogue. The head of the Fatah bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Azzam Al-Ahmad said, Egypt has informed [Palestinian] president [Mahmuod] Abbas and the factions that it will launch a dialogue on February 25 with all Palestinian groups. " The meeting had originally been planned for 22 February, but was postponed. Egypt at fist said it wanted to broker a ceasefire in Gaza before pressing forward on the internal Palestinian track. Fatah spokesperson Fahmi Az-Za’arir said, “The movement welcomed this development and will. . . "

Egyptians to issue date of dialogue next week
PNN, Palestine News Network 2/21/2009
Ramallah -- Cairo is expected to inform the Palestinian factions and leadership of a new national dialogue to end internal division. The Palestinian national dialogue that had been slated to begin tomorrow was cancelled due to the affects of the Israeli administration pegging the issue of the captured Israeli soldier to that of the ceasefire in Israeli - Palestinian negotiations. That in turn affected the positions in the national dialogue but was then followed by numerous calls from parties to separate the issue of ceasefire with the Israelis from that of Palestinian national reconciliation. The Egyptians, who are mediating both, are now expected to announce a rescheduled date for the national dialogue on 25 February. Warnings came in today from Arab, regional and international players against a continued gap between Fateh and Hamas.

Fatah and PPP argue: Palestinian unity the only response to Netanyahu government
Ma’an News Agency 2/21/2009
Gaza – Ma’an – Rival Palestinian factions must reunite in order to face a likely right-wing government that will emerge in Israel, senior Palestinian officials argued on Saturday. “This attitude shows Israeli public support for the complete destruction of what was left in Gaza …[the election] is evidence that Israeli voters are not satisfied with their [government’s] performance and want more killing and destruction among the Palestinians ,” said Senior Fatah leader Ibrahim Abu An-Naja. Abu Naja called for “unity [among] the Palestinians through a comprehensive national dialogue and what would come out of it of forming a national unity government that is able to face the expected dangerous risks. ”“Designating Benjamin Netanyahu, head of the Israeli Likud party, to form the new Israeli government was not surprising but came along with the attitudes of the. . .

French comedian urged not to entertain Israeli army veterans
Open letter, PACBI, Electronic Intifada 2/21/2009
The following is an open letter to French Comedian Anne Roumanof sent on 19 February 2009 by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel: We know that your stand-up comedy brings laughter and joy to many French-speaking people around the world. As such we are shocked and disappointed to learn that you are going to perform in support of handicapped Israeli veterans and victims of terrorist attacks in Geneva on 2 March 2009. Your performance in this show would constitute an act of support and solidarity with the Israeli army, which is Israel’s main instrument for the systematic oppression and brutal subjugation of the Palestinian people. It would contribute towards "polishing" the international image of an aggressive military force that has a long history of involvement in massacres and the documented ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their land. -- See also: PACBI

Israel takes small step to improve its ’racist’ image
Middle East Online 2/21/2009
SHMURAT HASHARON, Israel – Israel is sending a Jewish-Arab duo to represent it with a song of peace at Europe’s best-known song competition at a particularly fraught moment for relations between the country’s Jews and Arabs. Not surprisingly, the choice has sparked criticism and debate with a gravity that couldn’t be further from the Eurovision competition itself, a festival of flamboyant pop and unapologetic kitsch which draws some 100 million TV viewers every year. Achinoam Nini, a regular on the world music scene known internationally as Noa, and Mira Awad, a local actress and singer, were selected by Israel’s national broadcasting authority. Their selection came a day after Israel launched its Gaza offensive in December. Awad, who will be the first Arab ever to represent Israel at the competition, was roundly criticized for agreeing to go and became the subject of a petition. . .

Tennis / UAE tournament fined record $300,000 for Peer exclusion
and Agencies, By Oren Kessler, Ha’aretz 2/22/2009
The Dubai Championships was fined a record $300,000 by the Women’s Tennis Association on Friday after top Israeli player Shahar Peer was barred from taking part in this week’s event. The tennis governing body said in a statement the fine was the largest levied against a WTA Tour member, and that Peer would be awarded $44,250 - the average prize money she earned per tournament in 2008. Peer’s doubles partner, Germany’s Anna Lena Groenefeld, was awarded $7,950 because she could not compete in Dubai as a result of Peer’s exclusion. Venus Williams won the women’s title yesterday by defeating unseeded Virginie Razzano 6-4, 6-2 to take her 40th career title. Williams beat her younger sister Serena, 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (3) on Friday to win a slot at the final match. The opening set was closely contested, with William’s serve giving her the edge at the beginning,. . .

Dubai group consider appeal
Al Jazeera 2/21/2009
Organisers of the Dubai Championships will decide in the next few days whether to appeal the record $300,000 they have been fined by the governing body of women’s tennis (WTA). The punishment was given after Israeli Shahar Peer was barred from taking part in this week’s tournament because she was denied a visa for the United Arab Emirates. "There is an appeal situation if we want to use it, in the WTA rule book, but we have not gone into detail on it," Colm McLoughlin, managing director of tournament owners and organisers Dubai Duty Free, said. "I recognise the WTA have an issue with their rules. We are looking at it (the fine) and will respond in a few days. "When we assess it, if we decide we have to pay the fine then we will pay it.

Christian protestors urge Peres to apologize for talk show host’s remarks
Hagai Einav, YNetNews 2/21/2009
Arab Israelis upset over satirical remarks about Jesus, protest against talk show host -Dozens of Christians held a demonstration Saturday near Kfar Yasif in the Galilee, to protest a late-night talk show host’s comments about their religion, with some demanding an official apology from President Shimon Peres. Lior Shlein was responding to the reinstatement of Bishop Richard Williamson by the Vatican despite his denial of the full extent of the Holocaust. In the program, Shlein sarcastically denied Christian traditions, saying that Mary was no virgin and that Jesus did not walked on water. The talk- show host said he was doing so as a "lesson" to Christians who deny the Holocaust. The Vatican was outraged at the attempt at humor, and Shlein later issued a formal apology. However, the Christian protestors were apparently not appeased,. . .

Galilee Christians, clergy protest Ch. 10 sketch on Mary
Jack Khoury, Ha’aretz 2/22/2009
A satiric sketch on Channel 10 television prompted dozens of Christians in the Galilee to demonstrate against the channel this weekend, while the heads of local Christian churches published a denunciation of their own. In their denunciation, the clergymen accused the skit of fomenting interreligious hatred. The skit, which aired on Lior Shlein’s nightly program, was called "Like a Virgin," after the Madonna song. It denied that Jesus had walked on water, as stated in the New Testament, and claimed that not only was Mary not a virgin when she gave birth to him, as Christian tradition holds, but that she was promiscuous and had sex with many men besides her husband. These events followed a denunciation by the Vatican on Friday. After the show aired, the local Christian community demanded an apology from Shlein and even threatened a lawsuit. . .

Durban 2 to slam ’racist Israel’
Yitzhak Benhorin, YNetNews 2/21/2009
US delegation making little progress in changing tone of upcoming anti-racism conference, where Israel again expected to face harsh criticism; meanwhile, any mention of Holocaust during event still in doubt - WASHINGTON- The United States is facing difficulties in prompting significant changes in the draft decision being formulated ahead of an anti-racism conference dubbed "Durban 2" to be held April 20th in Geneva, UN sources told Ynet Saturday. As a result, the American delegation at the talks may advise President Barack Obama to boycott the conference, where Israel is expected to be the main target for criticism by the Muslim majority, which with the backing of the Third World will largely present Jewish State as the globe’s only racist country. The draft decision characterizers Israel as a racist occupier, yet this is not the lone issue bothering the US, whose. . .

U.S. weighing participation in ’Durban 2’ conference
Shlomo Shamir, Ha’aretz 2/22/2009
Draft proposals to be brought to the vote at April’s UN World Conference Against Racism in Geneva, Switzerland ("Durban 2") include references singling out Israel for criticism and denunciation as a state maintaining racist politics, say UN sources. The sources also said that at a preparatory meeting held over three days in Geneva saw the phrasing of working papers include proposals referring to the "situation of the Palestinian refugees and the fate of other residents of the occupied Arab territories. " The Wall Street Journal said on Friday that the states involved in phrasing the drafts have yet to reach an agreement on mentioning the Holocaust in the proposals. The phrase in question is: "[the Holocaust] resulted in the murder of a third of the Jewish people. " The United States participated in the preparatory session, raising a wave of speculation among diplomats.

Katyusha strikes village in north, 3 hurt
Amos Harel Eli Ashkenazi Yoav Stern and Jack Khoury, Ha’aretz 2/22/2009
A rocket fired from Lebanon struck northern Israel yesterday, lightly wounding three people and prompting Israel to respond with a brief artillery barrage. The Katyusha landed near a home in an Arab-Israeli town in the Galilee, damaging it. In addition to wounding three members of the Machimar family, the explosion sent two others into shock. Israel retaliated by firing at least six artillery shells into southern Lebanon, causing no injuries. No organization has claimed responsibility for launching the rocket, and Hezbollah denied having fired it. A second rocket landed inside Lebanon. Senior Fatah operative Sultan Abu-al Einin said that none of the organizations affiliated with Fatah are behind the launching. Yesterday’s rocket fire was the third in two months. The two previous incidents occurred during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, which ended last month.

Hezbollah denies firing Katyusha into north Israel
Jack Khoury and Eli Ashkenazi , and Agencies, Ha’aretz 2/22/2009
Hezbollah on Saturday denied having fired a rocket from Lebanon that hit northern Israel earlier in the day, lightly wounding two people. Ibrahim Mussawi, a spokesman for the militant organization, told AFP that Hezbollah had "nothing to do" with the attack, which was launched from a region largely controlled by Hezbollah and its Amal party ally. Three other people were treated for shock after the attack, and a house was damaged, the Israel Defense Forces said. During the IDF’s punishing offensive against Hamas in Gaza last month, three Katyusha rockets were fired into northern Israel within a week, hitting Nahariya and Kiryat Shmona. Hezbollah, which has a large rocket arsenal, was behind the two rocket attacks. In both cases, the organization used proxy Palestinian militant groups to launch the rockets from southern Lebanon.

Two Israelis mildly wounded in the Western Galilee
Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 2/21/2009
Israeli sources reported Saturday morning that two missiles, fired from the Lebanese territories, struck an area in the Western Galilee: two Israelis were lightly wounded, and three others were treated for shock. The sources added that the police and medics arrived at the scene and found out that a 122-millimeter missile detonated in an area close to a home in the western Gallilee. The missile is similar to missiles fired by Hezbollah during the latest war between Hezbollah and Israel. Also, another missile was fired towards Israel but landed and detonated in Lebanese territory. The missiles were apparently fired from Mansouri area, south of Tyre. The sources added that the Israeli Army shelled an area in southern Lebanon, and a military spokesperson said that the army held the Lebanese government and Lebanese Army responsible for the attack, and said that the government and the army should foil such attacks".

Israel shells Lebanon after rocket lands in Galilee - Palestinian factions deny responsibility
Ma’an News Agency 2/21/2009
Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Israel shelled southern Lebanon on Saturday after a rocket landed in its territory in an exchange of fire across their tense border. A rocket fired from Lebanon landed near a house in the Western Galilee, lightly wounding three people. Israel responded by firing at least six artillery shells into southern Lebanon, causing residents to flee the border area in panic. The Lebanese resistance movement Hizbullah denied any connection to the attack. Ibrahim Mussawi, a spokesman for the group, told AFP that Hezbollah had "nothing to do" with the rockets. The Palestinian armed factions based in refugee camps in Lebanon also denied responsibility for the attack. The Secretary of Fatah movement in Lebanon, Sultan Abu Al-Aynayn said Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) factions had nothing to do with these Katyushas labeling the attack an “unconsidered action.

Katyusha hits Galilee community; 3 lightly hurt
Hagai Einav, YNetNews 2/21/2009
Rocket fired from Lebanon lands near home in northern community, lightly injuring three members of the same family ; sources say second Katyusha landed in Lebanese territory, launching may be result of weather-related malfunction; IDF returns fire; Hizbullah denies involvement - A Katyusha rocket fired from Lebanon Saturday morning landed near a home in Israel’s western Galilee region. Three members of the family residing in the home sustained mild injuries in the attack, and two more suffered from shock. The wounded were treated by Magen David Adom paramedics and then evacuated to a hospital in Nahariya. The structure was damaged. Security sources in Lebanon said a second Katyusha landed in Lebanese territory. They said the rocket fire emanated from the area of Mansouri, south of Tyre, and that Israel responded by firing at least six artillery shells into southern Lebanon. . .

Violence erupts on Israel-Lebanon border
Middle East Online 2/21/2009
BEIRUT - Israel shelled southern Lebanon on Saturday after a rocket slammed into its territory in a tit-for-tat exchange of fire across their tense border, sources on both sides said. Israeli public radio said the rocket landed near the Israeli town of Maalot near the Lebanese border. In Lebanon, panicked residents were fleeing the border area, where loud explosions could be heard, a media correspondent said. The Lebanese army said Israel had responded by firing artillery shells. UN peacekeeping troops in Lebanon have set up checkpoints and were preventing people from heading into the area of the clashes, residents said. "The Israeli army considers this a serious incident and believes it is the responsiblity of the Lebanese government and the army to prevent this rocket fire," an Israeli army spokesman said.

Katyusha rocket slams Galilee village
Palestinian Information Center 2/21/2009
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- A Katyusha rocket was fired from southern Lebanon at a western Galilee village in northern Israel on Saturday mildly wounding three Israelis and inflicting material damage to one of the houses. The Israeli radio reported that the three injured persons were carried to a hospital in Nahariya while army and police forces rushed to the scene. The Israeli army retaliated by firing a number of artillery shells at the site from where the rocket was launched, the radio added. It quoted an army spokesman as saying that his command was seriously concerned with the intermittent firing of Katuysha rockets from southern Lebanon, holding the Lebanese army and government responsible for controlling the security conditions in south Lebanon.

ANALYSIS / This week’s forecast for the coalition talks
Yossi Sarid, Ha’aretz 2/22/2009
This morning the coalition negotiations will begin, on orders from the president. The first meeting between Benjamin Netanyahu and Tzipi Livni will not produce a government. One does not descend from a tall tree in a single jump, and Kadima is a party as full of principles as a pomegranate. At the end of the meeting, the two will issue a joint statement: They have decided to meet again in the coming days. But those who cannot bear the tension can read here what the coming event-packed week will bring: You will be the first to know the happy ending. Like in a chess game, much depends on the opening moves. If Netanyahu plans his strategy wisely, he will opt to open with a gambit - a move that tempts one’s opponent to abandon his place at the center of the board. As for the queen, there are those who think it is actually Dalia Itzik, not Livni.

Religion according to Lieberman
Anshel Pfeffer, Ha’aretz 2/22/2009
With all the talk about the anti-Arab rhetoric favored by our new kingmaker Avigdor Lieberman, too little attention has been paid to the challenge he poses for Israelis who have been hoping for a revolution in the moldy status quo of religion and state. But suddenly, it turns out that the principal obstacle to Yisrael Beiteinu’s entry into Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition is its bitter dispute with Shas and United Torah Judaism. Yisrael Beiteinu’s declaration that loyalty should be a condition for citizenship was not the party’s only flagship issue. Another was a law permitting a form of civil marriage, which could be the first crack in the religious establishment’s exclusive control over marriage and divorce in Israel. The party is also pushing for a comprehensive reform of conversion procedures that would take entry into the Jewish world away from the rabbinical courts.

Rains insufficient to make up for dry winter
Hiba Lama, Palestine News Network 2/21/2009
PNN exclusive -- The West Bank is being drenched with rain and battered by high winds. The precipitation that began heavily last night and is forecast to continue through Sunday is still not enough to make up for a dry season overall. After the driest winter on record in 10 years, the West Bank is now being hit with lower than average temperatures. Director of Agriculture in the Bethlehem Governorate Magdi Omar told PNN Saturday that two waves of rainfall this month cannot combat the dryness that destroyed winter crops. The drop in temperatures is now threatening the spring. Engineer Yousef Abu Assad, Director General of Meteorology told PNN that full cloud cover will remain over all of Palestine with rains continuing to fall as temperatures decline to lower than the seasonal average. This comes after the driest winter in 10 years.

Syria, U.S. explore improving ties as Sen. Kerry visits
Barak Ravid and Yoav Stern, Ha’aretz 2/22/2009
DAMASCUS - In a sign that U. S. President Barack Obama is seeking better ties with Syria, several U. S. congressmen have passed through Damascus in the last few days, including Sen. John Kerry, who arrived yesterday and met with President Bashar Assad. The State Department also announced Friday that it had scheduled a meeting next week with Syria’s ambassador to the United States to discuss differences between the two countries - the first such meeting in months. Imad Moustapha is to meet with Jeffrey D. Feltman, the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, in the belief that direct engagement with Syria will advance U. S. interests, State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said. One topic of that conversation is expected to be a new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency stating that additional traces of uranium have been found. . .

US asks for meeting with Syrian ambassador
Reuters, YNetNews 2/21/2009
State Department spokesman says Obama administration wants to discuss concerns over Damascus’ possible nuclear program, support for terror groups, adding ’there remain key differences between our two governments’ -The US government has asked for a meeting with Syria’s ambassador to discuss concerns including Damascus’ possible nuclear program and support for groups that Washington labels as terrorists, a State Department spokesman said on Friday. The request follows areport by UN inspectors on Thursday that graphite and more uranium traces were found in samples taken from a Syrian site that Washington says was an almost built graphite nuclear reactor Israel in November 2007. The Syrian ambassador to the United States, Imad Mustafa, has been asked to meet the acting head of Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department next week, spokesman Gordon Duguid said.

Kerry meets Assad, hails ’important moment of change’
News agencies, YNetNews 2/21/2009
US senator meets Syria’s president as two countries explore possibility of better ties - Syria has indicated it is willing to help achieve a Palestinian unity government that could restart peace talks with Israel, the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee said on Saturday. " Syria could be, in fact, very helpful in helping to bring about a unity government," Senator John Kerry told reporters after meeting President Bashar al-Assad. " If you achieve that, then you have made a major step forward not only in dealing with the problems of Gaza but you have made a major step forward in terms of how you reignite discussions for the two-state solution. . . I think that Syria indicated to me a willingness to be helpful in that respect. " "I believe very deeply that this is an important moment of change, a moment of potential transformation,. . .

Youngest Arab Writer
Amin Abu Wardeh, Palestine News Network 2/21/2009
PNN exclusive -- At fourteen Yasim Al Kamlawi is the youngest Palestinian to be singled-out for her creative writing abilities. This Nablus resident was given a certificate of excellence in the "service of her homeland and its people. "Al Kamlawi has attracted the attention of creative writers and journalists in Palestine and the Diaspora because of her contribution to the issues of childhood and youth. She was given an award last month by Arabic Translators International as a representative of Palestinian youth and now has the unofficial title of "youngest writer in the Arab world. "Her father, Ghassan Al Kamlawi, says, "literature is a paradox in the Palestinian arena in the interest of public policy and issues of life. "He talked about home-schooling his daughter and her love for literature and science.

US says ’can’t delay’ worries over Iran
Middle East Online 2/21/2009
WASHINGTON - The United States "can’t delay" addressing worries over Iran’s suspected nuclear program, the White House said Friday. "This White House understands that -- working with our allies -- that this is an urgent problem that has to be addressed and we can’t delay addressing," spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters. The comments came a day after International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran was continuing to enrich uranium, a key stage in the atomic bomb-making process, but had slowed down the expansion of its enrichment activities. Washington also expressed concern about Syria’s atomic ambitions, and summoned Damascus’s ambassador in Washington to discuss IAEA findings of unexplained uranium particles at a remote desert site. The US envoy to the United Nations, Susan Rice, meanwhile said in a radio interview that the IAEA report "confirms what we all have feared and anticipated, which is that Iran.

ElBaradei: US war against Iran no longer option
Middle East Online 2/21/2009
PARIS - UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei says in an interview to be broadcast Sunday that he believed the possibility of a military solution to the Iran nuclear crisis had been ruled out. "I believe so," he said when asked if he thought that after US President George W. Bush stood down it was no longer likely that there would be a military strike. "Force can only be used as a last option. . . when all other political possibilities have been exhausted. I don’t think we’ve done that yet," he told Radio France International and TV5-Monde. The comments came a day after International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran was continuing to enrich uranium, a key stage in the atom bomb making process, but had slowed down the expansion of its enrichment activities. The IAEA report conceded that, despite six years of intensive investigation, it was no closer to determining whether. . .

Britain’s ambassador to UN: Iran offered deal with US
Middle East Online 2/21/2009
LONDON - Iran offered to stop attacking American and British troops in Iraq if the US dropped opposition to its nuclear programme, a top British official said in comments to be broadcast Saturday. Sir John Sawers, Britain’s current ambassador to the United Nations, told the BBC that Iranian officials had privately admitted their role in roadside bomb attacks on British and US troops, occupying Iraq since March 2003. But the proposed deal, floated in teatime meetings at London hotels, was rejected by the British government. It was not clear exactly when it was suggested from prereleased extracts of the interview, which will appear in a documentary later Saturday. "The Iranians wanted to be able to strike a deal whereby they stopped killing our forces in Iraq in return for them being allowed to carry on with their nuclear programme," Sawers told the BBC.

Schroeder blasted for meeting Ahmadinejad
Assaf Uni, Ha’aretz 2/22/2009
German politicians and Jewish community representatives harshly criticized former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder for meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran yesterday. Schroeder, who is a senior manager at the Russian energy giant Gazprom, arrived in Tehran on Thursday for an unofficial four-day visit, facilitated by an Iranian doctor who heads a Hanover-based neurobiology research institute. By meeting with Ahmadinejad, "Schroeder has harmed the image of the German government and of the whole of Germany," said Stephan Kramer, secretary general of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. Eckart von Klaeden, a senior official from the ruling party, the CDU, said the meeting with Schroeder "serves Ahmadinejad’s election campaign well. "Ahmadinejad will be running for office in June this year.

Iran blocks websites promoting Khatami
Associated Press, YNetNews 2/21/2009
Ally of leader set to run against Ahmadinejad says gov’t trying to pressure reformists before elections -Iranian authorities have blocked two websites promoting the presidential bid of Mohammed Khatami, reformists said Saturday, in a first sign that powerful hard-liners might seek to thwart his challenge to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the June 12 election. Khatami declared on Feb. 8 he would run again for president, setting the stage for a major political showdown in coming months between the popular reformist - who made dialogue with the West a centerpiece of his eight years as president - and the country’s ruling hard-liners. His candidacy poses a serious threat amid popular discontent with Ahmadinejad over the sagging economy, and the action against the Web sites came as Khatami named leaders in charge of his election campaign.

Iraq’s 1.6 million displaced need urgent help
Middle East Online 2/21/2009
GENEVA - More than 1. 6 million Iraqis are still displaced and in urgent need of assistance, the International Organisation for Migration said Friday. The Iraqi displaced were fleeing the violence that directly resulted from the US-led invasion in 2003. "We urgently need a much greater level of humanitarian response and funding to meet the challenges," said Rafiq Tschannen, the IOM’s chief of mission in Iraq. "The future of Iraq depends on the resolution of the displacement crisis," he added. The displacement -- sparked by a wave of violence following the bombing of a Shiite holy shrine in Samarra, north of Baghdad, in February 2006 -- has now slowed to a trickle, the IOM said in a report. Despite that, the future of the Iraqis forced from their homes was "as uncertain as ever without greater humanitarian intervention," it said.

Sadr renews call of local alliances with Iraq PM
Middle East Online 2/21/2009
KUFA, Iraq - Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Friday renewed the idea of alliances with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s supporters to govern Iraq’s provinces after their win in local elections. "The forces which won these elections should turn a new page, forget the past so as to serve the Iraqi people," he said in a message read out in the main mosque of the central city of Kufa. Ties between the two Shiite leaders soured when the prime minister sent in the security forces to dislodge Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia from the southern port city of Basra and the slum district of Sadr City in Baghdad. And Sadr was a strong critic of the security pact which Iraq signed with the United States in November authorising American troops to stay in the country for another three years. "The victors should surpass the narrow interests of their party.


Articles

Livni’s Message: Divide and Conquer
Mohannad El-Khairy, Palestine Chronicle 2/21/2009
      On February 2, 2009, then foreign minister Tzipi Livni, one of the architects of the 2008-2009 Gaza Massacre and Israel’s recent election winner, addressed a gathering that draws together both Israeli and international participants from the highest levels of government, business, and academia to discuss Israel’s pressing national, regional and global strategic issues -- known as the Annual Herzliya Conference.
     As her theme centered on how the world around Israel is changing, on how its threats are evolving, and thus how the state was presented with fresh ’opportunities’, she said something that keeps replaying in my mind:
     "Being used to feeling secluded in the Middle East, with the whole Arab world against us, we look around and suddenly notice other countries alongside Israel - Arab, Islamic countries, who no longer view Israel as the enemy, countries who understand that Iran is the main enemy, seeing Iran as no less a threat than we do. Radical Islam is a threat of which these nations understand the meaning better than others do, because they are familiar with the same radical elements at home. And these nations are on the same side as us."
     Broadly speaking, the massacre in Gaza has further bisected the Arab governments along two major ideological lines: One that directs surrendering government to abide by Zionist orders --referred to as “moderates” in Western lexicon; and a second that follows a more pragmatic approach by insisting on appropriate reaction and practical solutions to addressing Israeli Apartheid policies in Palestine.

Gaza War Strengthened Israel’s Far Right
Roni Ben Efrat, Palestine Chronicle 2/21/2009
      The results of the elections to Israel’s 18th Knesset clearly bolstered the far Right, which won 65 of the parliament’s 120 seats. This outcome is partly due to the paralysis that beset Ehud Olmert’s government. Almost three years ago he received a mandate to advance the peace process, but he squandered it on two wars. The lack of progress toward peace has had the effect of strengthening Hamas. It has also encouraged chauvinistic trends in Israel, as expressed in wall-to-wall support for the Gaza War. Israelis turned their backs on the notion that the conflict with the Palestinians must be solved by diplomacy.
     Avigdor Lieberman, who heads a party called "Israel Our Home," became the elections’ main attraction, advancing from 11 to 15 seats and shoving the venerable Labor Party back into fourth position. His campaign slogan went: "No loyalty, no citizenship!" If he weren’t Jewish, Lieberman would be an anti-Semite. Hatred for Arabs was his strongest card, pulling in thousands of the like-minded.
     The Lieberman surge is largely a result of the Gaza War. His rival parties, Kadima and Labor, timed the offensive prior to elections largely in order to gain popularity, but Lieberman reaped the fruits. The intoxication of force, the abandonment of all restraint –sheer murder – well suited the party of Strong Man Lieberman, who means to teach the Arabs a lesson they won’t forget.

Fascist Rule in Israel
Stephen Lendman – Chicago, Palestine Chronicle 2/21/2009
      On February 10, Israel held parliamentary elections for 120 seats in its 18th Knesset. The process repeats every four years unless the body calls an earlier election by majority vote. The prime minister may also ask the president to request one early that will proceed unless the Knesset blocks it. Parliamentary terms may be extended beyond four years by special majority vote. Israel has no constitution. Under Article 4 of its Basic Law: The Knesset:
     "The Knesset shall be elected by general, national, direct, equal, secret and proportional elections, in accordance with the Knesset Elections Law." Every Israeli citizen 18 or older may vote, including Arabs who are nominally enfranchised, may serve in the parliament, but can’t govern or in any way influence policy.
     Knesset seats are assigned proportionally to each party’s percentage of the total vote. A minimum total is required to win any seats. Jewish parties alone are empowered. Arab parliamentarians have no decision-making authority. They’re also constrained by the 1992 Law of Political Parties and section 7A(1) of the Basic Law that prohibits candidates from denying "the existence of the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people."

A Netanyahu - Lieberman governing coalition should be a clear signal that there is no Israeli Partner for Peace
Palestinian National Initiative, Palestine Monitor 2/21/2009
      Ramallah 20-2-2009 Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi was in Bilin this morning to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the West Bank City’s popular nonviolence movement. It was at the demonstration, attended by hundreds of Palestinian, Israeli and international peace activists, that the doctor first learned of Israeli President Shimon Peres’ decision to approve Netanyahu as the next Prime Minister.
     In a statement before the assembled press, the doctor suggested that Israel has been dragged into new lows of racism and xenophobia. "The next Israeli coalition is not only racist and undemocratic," he said, "but also unwilling to even consider a lasting peace based on justice and international law. Today marks the official death of the peace process and a guarantee that Israel will remain in a state of brutal Apartheid - the only one of its kind in this new century. A Netanyahu-Lieberman led Israeli governing coalition should be a loud and clear signal to the international community that there is no Israeli Partner for Peace.
     As the doctor spoke, Israeli soldiers began firing a barrage of teargas into the crowd of protesters, several were injured.

Israel’s Biggest Danger
Fareed Zakaria, Middle East Online 2/21/2009
      Arab Israelis - who make up 20 percent of Israel’s total population - face discrimination in many aspects of life, including immigration, land ownership, education and employment.
     NEW YORK – Even before a new coalition could emerge, Israel’s latest election was historic. It marked the collapse of Labour, the party that can plausibly claim to have founded Israel and produced its most celebrated prime ministers, from David Ben-Gurion (as head of Labour’s predecessor, Mapai), through Golda Meir to Yitzhak Rabin.
     The last vestige of old Labour is Shimon Peres, who – with fitting irony – is the country’s president only because he quit the party. Israel’s political spectrum is now dominated by three right-wing groups: Likud, Kadima (the Likud offshoot founded by Ariel Sharon) and Yisrael Beytenu, a party of Russian immigrants. But while most commentators focus on the future of the peace process and the two-state solution, a deeper and more existential question is growing within the heart of Israel.
     It’s a question posed by the election’s biggest winner: Avigdor Lieberman. His Yisrael Beytenu party won 15 seats, placing third but gaining enormous swing power in the Israeli system. Whether or not the new government includes him, Lieberman and his issues have moved to centre-stage. As fiercely as he denounces the Palestinian militants of Hamas and Hizbullah, his No. 1 target is Israel’s Arab minority, which he has called a worse threat than Hamas. He has proposed the effective expulsion of several hundred thousand Arab citizens by unilaterally re-designating some northern Israeli towns as parts of the Palestinian West Bank.

Journalist Robert Fisk talks about the necessity of reporting war from the front lines
Stefan Cristoff, Palestine News Network 2/21/2009
      Montreal / Beirut - Reporting independently from the front lines of war is an increasingly rare engagement for journalists working for major international media outlets.
     From Iraq to Afghanistan, reporters are increasingly embedded with advancing Western forces on the front lines, operating without independence.
     When Israeli military forces launched an invasion into the Gaza Strip, international journalists were barred entry into the territory by the Israeli government for the majority of the conflict. This despite a ruling from the Israeli Supreme Court that called on the government to allow international reporters into the territory. Major international media outlets, including CNN and the BBC, ended up reporting from hilltops in Israeli-controlled territory kilometres away from the actual conflict.
     British journalist Robert Fisk has offered fiercely independent accounts of conflicts throughout the Middle East for decades. Stationed in Beirut, Lebanon, Fisk reports for the U.K.-based Independent newspaper and is widely read around the world. Fisk spoke with Hour to offer comments on the media response to the recent war in the Gaza Strip. Often historical context is not included in daily reporting on the Middle East. Could you offer some historical perspectives to the recent war in Gaza?

The Cleanser: Lobby Whistles Up Cordesman to 'Prove' Israel Waged a Clean War in Gaza
Norman Finkelstein, CounterPunch 2/19/2009
      Anthony H. Cordesman, a leading military analyst from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, has published a “strategic analysis” of the Gaza massacre.(1) He reaches the remarkable conclusion that “Israel did not violate the laws of war.” The report is based on “briefings in Israeli [sic] during and immediately after the fighting made possible by a visit sponsored by Project Interchange, and using day-to-day reporting issued by the Israeli Defense Spokesman.” Cordesman omits mention that Project Interchange is funded by the American Jewish Committee.
     Cordesman’s faith in the pronouncements of Israeli notwithstanding, respected Israeli analysts exhibit less confidence. “The state authorities, including the defense establishment and its branches,” Uzi Benziman observed in Haaretz, “have acquired for themselves a shady reputation when it comes to their credibility.” The “official communiqués published by the IDF have progressively liberated themselves from the constraints of truth,” B. Michael wrote in Yediot Ahronot, and the “heart of the power structure”—police, army, intelligence—has been infected by a “culture of lying.”(2) During the Gaza massacre Israel was repeatedly caught lying among many other things about its use of white phosphorus.(3) Recalling Israel’s train of lies during both the 2006 Lebanon war and the Gaza massacre, Human Rights Watch senior military analyst Marc Garlasco rhetorically asked, “How can anyone trust the Israeli military?”(4)

Free Speech and Fatwa
Aijaz Zaka Syed – Dubai, Palestine Chronicle 2/21/2009
      This appears to be a year of anniversaries. If it was Iran’s Revolution last week, the media spotlight this week has been on the fatwa the late Ayatollah Khomeini issued against Salman Rushdie 20 years ago.
     A great deal has been said and written over the past two decades for and against the Satanic Verses as well as the fatwa condemning its author for his cheap offensive targeting the Prophet. And today as the world revisits the storm Rushdie’s little, dirty book and Iran’s fatwa unleashed back then, a lot of chest thumping and hand wringing is going on in the West.
     Rushdie’s defenders are back with a vengeance and both the rabid right and liberal Left have joined forces to take on the ‘extremist Islam’ that is apparently a clear and present danger to the hallowed ideals and values of great Western civilization. At a time when anything to do with Islam and Muslims looks fair game, the Rushdie saga appears to offer another great opportunity to all Islam bashers. Some cleverly cloak it in a critique of Iran and all the troubles it appears to be unleashing across the Middle East.
     Some target the alleged inherent intolerance of Islam and its followers in the name of debating free speech. The rest simply do not need an excuse to open another front in the ‘war on Islamist terror’. Seems we are the world’s favorite punching bag. Just try using the same freedom against the Jews and see the instant results.

Rebuilding of Gaza hinges on Hamas-Fatah reconciliation
Amira Hass, Ha’aretz 2/22/2009
      An apolitical group of community activists, businessmen and academics in the Gaza Strip is worried that Fatah-Hamas rivalries will undermine the Strip’s reconstruction.
     Both Fatah, which controls the West Bank, and Hamas, which controls Gaza, have announced separate plans to repair the damages of last month’s Israeli operation in Gaza. The new association plans to urge them to either form a joint leadership for the reconstruction effort or establish a steering committee comprised of "respected, professional and noncorrupt community representatives" to oversee the work.
     An international conference to raise funds for the reconstruction will take place in Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt early next month, and representatives of 80 countries are expected to attend. But the Palestinians will be represented only by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, as Hamas has not been invited. The Gaza activists fear that this will merely deepen the rift between the rival parties.
     Several Arab countries that have pledged large sums for reconstruction have conditioned the donations on a Fatah-Hamas reconciliation. For now, however, both the Fatah government in Ramallah and the Hamas government in Gaza have prepared their own plans and are demanding that international donors coordinate solely with them.

U.S. Trade Unionists Support South African and Australian Dockers’ Boycott of Israeli Cargo
Palestine Monitor 2/21/2009
      "For the sake of the hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I cannot be silent."— Martin Luther King Jr., Beyond Vietnam, April 4, 1967
     We salute the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) in Durban, and Western Australian dock worker members of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), for refusing to handle Israeli cargo.
     Theirs is a courageous response to Israel’s attack on Palestinians in Gaza that, since December 27 alone, have left some 1,400 dead and 5,000 wounded — nearly all of them civilians.
     This action is in the best tradition of dock workers in Denmark and Sweden (1963), the San Francisco Bay Area (1984) and Liverpool (1988), who refused to handle shipping for apartheid South Africa; Oakland dock workers’ refusal to load bombs for the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile (1978); and West Coast dock workers’ strike against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (2008).
     The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) rightly "calls on other workers and unions to follow suit and to do all that is necessary to ensure that they boycott all goods to and from Israel until Palestine is free."
     COSATU’s appeal is particularly relevant for workers in the United States, whose government stands behind Israel’s war against the Palestinians, and without which Israeli apartheid cannot continue. -- See also: Sign the Petition: Labor for Palestine