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News
International Middle East Media Center
US
State Dept spokesman misrepresents Goldstone Report
26 Oct 2009 - In a
press briefing at the US Department of State Friday, spokesperson Ian
Kelly told reporters that the US government had a problem with the UN
Human Rights Commission Report authored by Richard Goldstone because,
according to Kelly, the report gives "?a one-sided mandate to look into
the Israeli side of it only, without giving an opportunity to the
authorities themselves to look into it".
Soldiers
Detain 3 Palestinians And Five Israeli Activists In Hebron
25 Oct 2009 -
Israeli soldiers detained on Sunday three Palestinians and five Israeli
peace activists during a peaceful protest in support of local farmers
who are subjected to constant attacks and violations by the Israeli
settlers in the Hebron area.
Palestinian
Woman Stabs A Soldier At The Qalandia Terminal
25 Oct 2009 -
Israeli sources reported Sunday that a Palestinian woman for Ramallah
stabbed a soldier at the Qalandia terminal.
Believed
To Be Dead Since 40 Years, Detainee Seen Alive
25 Oct 2009 - The
family of Mohammad Issa Abu Ghaniyya, believed to be dead since 1969,
stated that they were recently informed that some detainees saw their
son alive at the Karmonid Israeli Prison, between Al Lodd and Al Ramla,
north of the country.
Israeli
settlers, lost on Palestinian land, helped home by Palestinian Authority
24 Oct 2009 - Two
Israeli settlers who wandered into the village of Halhul, near Hebron,
were escorted home by Palestinian security guards on Thursday. Due to
the fact that the only time that Israeli settlers enter Halhul and
other nearby villages is to attack Palestinians, there was some concern
among villagers that the two men were there to commit acts of violence.
Fateh
Welcomes Abbas’ Call For Elections
24 Oct 2009 - The
Fateh movement welcomed the statements of President Mahmoud Abbas, head
of the movement, in which he called for holding general and
presidential elections in Palestine on January, 24, 2010.
Unrest
after Israeli raid on Al-Aqsa
10/25/2009 -
Jerusalem - Ma'an - At least 30 Palestinians were injured and 20
arrested when clashes between Israeli forces and youth erupted anew in
the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday, Palestinian and
Israeli officials said. In violence that followed a reported police
raid on the sensitive Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Israeli forces fired
stun grenades, tear-gas canisters and rubber-coated bullets at
protesters. Palestinian youth hurled stones and set tires and piles of
trash ablaze, according to Ma'an's correspondent, who was reporting
from the scene. Among the injured were five Palestinian journalists:
Maysa Abu Ghazaleh, a reporter for Palestine News Network; Diala
Jweihan, a reporter for Quds Net; Mahfuth Abu Turk, a photographer for
Reuters; Ata Iweisat, a photojournalist; and Mahmoud Ilieyan, a
photographer for the Al-Quds newspaper, a medic confirmed.
Israeli
police deploy in Jerusalem’s Old City
10/25/2009 -
Jerusalem - Ma'an - Israeli police deployed heavily around the Al-Aqsa
Mosque and in East Jerusalem on Sunday morning after Muslim clerics
called on faithful to head to the mosque and prevent the entry of
right-wing Jews. Despite the heavy deployment, Israeli police
threatened to respond fiercely to any "riots" at the compound, which
they said would remain open to both Muslims and Jews. Meanwhile, The
Jerusalem Post, an English-language Israeli newspaper, reported that a
religious group calling itself "Eretz Israel Shelanu" was "calling Jews
to properly arise to the Temple Mount. "The visit was thought to be in
commemoration of a visit by Maimonides 843 years ago, the newspaper
added, noting that a number of Israeli lawmakers and rabbis were among
those expected to participate.
PLO
chief urges Israel to reign in incitement
10/25/2009 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Dr Saeb Erekat, the PLO's chief negotiator, on
Sunday called on the US and Europe to demand that Israel end incitement
against worshipers in occupied East Jerusalem. "The international
community must intervene and demand an end to Israeli incitement,"
Erekat said in a statement. "Otherwise we fear that violence may spiral
out of control. "At least 30 Palestinians were injured and some 20 were
arrested following the arrival of Israeli forces at the Al-Aqsa Mosque
in East Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday morning. Nine Israeli police
officers were also hurt in the clashes, which sparked amid
announcements from right-wing Jewish groups and individuals, including
Israeli parliament members, vowing to "ascend" the compound area under
armed guard. "This latest assault on the Al-Aqsa compound is part of a
systematic and deliberate policy of incitement," Erekat continued,. . .
Israel
seals two of three Gaza crossings
10/25/2009 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Israeli authorities decided to open the Kerem Shalom crossing
on Sunday to allow food into the besieged Gaza Strip, a local
Palestinian official said. Raed Fattouh, a Gaza border crossings
representative, said that both the Nahal Oz and Karni crossings with
Israel would remain closed. Fattouh added that the Kerem Shalom
crossing would be open for 85-95 trucks carrying commercial merchandise
and humanitarian aid. However, the military was not expected to permit
any exports on Sunday. Israel and Egypt shut down their borders with
Gaza in June 2007, severely curtailing shipments of civilian goods into
the coastal strip and banning the area's 1. 5 million inhabitants from
traveling. Israel's military said last Thursday it was planning to
close the Nahal Oz fuel terminal, which is the only border terminal
staffed jointly by Israelis and Palestinians, as per previously signed
agreements with the PA.
Mash’al:
Israel wants to divide Al-Aqsa
10/25/2009 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Hamas' top political official, Khalid Mash'al,
warned that Israel could attempt to divide the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound
in Jerusalem in a televised news conference from Damascus on Sunday
evening. "It was the first time Israeli army locked the gates of the
mosque with chains, barring the call to prayer, breaking into its yards
for long periods of time," Mash'al said in remarks denouncing an
Israeli police raid early on Sunday that sparked a day of
demonstrations. "These acts are intended to divide Al-Aqsa and force
their [Jews'] religious rituals on it," he added. Mash'al may have been
alluding to the division of the Ibrahimi Mosque in the West Bank city
of Hebron, half of which is controlled by Israeli settlers. Mash'al
also struck a chord of Muslim-Christian solidarity in his address.
Missing
Palestinian fighter found alive in prison?
10/25/2009 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Muhammad Issa Abu Ghaniyya, born in 1953, missing
since 1969, and presumed dead for decades, may have been seen alive in
an Israeli prison, according to his family. Relatives told Ma'an on
Sunday that several recently released prisoners swear they remember Abu
Ghaniyya, who was left for dead during an operation near the northern
Israeli town of Bisan (Beth Shean in Hebrew) in July 1969. Abu
Ghaniyya's family now believes he was held in Karmonid prison, between
Ramla and Lod, before being transferred to Safad jail. The family also
said a former Palestinian prisoner, currently in Jordan, saw Abu
Ghaniyya's photo, and insisted he saw the man in jail and spoke to him.
The prisoner said Abu Ghaniyya was in a wheelchair and held primarily
in solitary confinement for the past 40 years. His relatives appealed
to Palestinian factions, the Palestine Liberation Organization,. . .
Egypt
to open Rafah crossing next week
10/25/2009 -
Al-Arish - Ma'an - Egypt plans to open the Rafah crossing with the Gaza
Strip three to four days in early November to allow patients, Gazan
students studying abroad, holders of foreign passports, and those with
residency in other countries to travel. Egyptian security sources told
Ma'an on Sunday that the crossing will likely open on either Sunday or
Monday of next week. In order to cross, potential travelers will have
to coordinate their plans with Egypt and with Palestinian authorities
in Gaza, the sources added. Palestinian sources in Gaza noted that more
than 6,000 people have registered with the local government asking
permission to leave Gaza. Another 300 Palestinians are stranded on the
Egyptian side of the crossing, waiting to get in. Ma’an’s Egyptian
sources said that the plan to open the crossing was a part of an effort
to “ease the Israeli siege of Gaza, regardless of the issue of
Palestinian [Hamas-Fatah] dialogue. ”
Israel
says guard stabbed at checkpoint
10/25/2009 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli forces detained a 20-year-old Palestinian
woman on allegations she stabbed a border guard near Ramallah on
Sunday, according to a military spokesperson. Neither the detained
woman nor the border guard were immediately identified. According to
the army spokesperson, the woman was taken in for questioning after a
border guard was found stabbed in the abdomen at the Qalandiya military
checkpoint leading to East Jerusalem. The guard's injuries were
described as moderate. [end]
Palestine
Technical College president attacked
10/25/2009 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The President of Palestine Technical College,
Bassem Qumsiyeh, was assaulted on his way to work in the town of
Al-Arrub, north of Hebron, on Sunday, sources at the institution said.
The sources said two masked men jumped from a car and beat Qumsiyeh
when he was walking to the campus. The attackers then reportedly fled
the scene. Qumsiyeh was hospitalized with bruises on his face and
various other parts of his body, sources said. Palestinian security
officials said they were investigating the incident. [end]
Officials:
Egyptian forces seize weapons near Gaza
10/25/2009 -
Al-Arish - Ma'an - Egyptian security forces said on Sunday that they
discovered and seized a major weapons cache and arrested a suspected
smuggler in near the border with the Gaza Strip. Egyptian security
officials said police stopped the suspect when he was driving in the
area. The suspect, Ahmad Abu Maleeh, 30, from the Egyptian side of the
city of Rafah, told interrogators that he had just driven another
smuggler to tunnel in the area. Security forces also discovered a
tunnel in the same area, and confiscated what they said was a large
quantity of firearms and ammunition. The officials said that the
security presence in the area was increased as a result of the
discovery. Meanwhile, Israel informed Egypt that Israeli border guards
arrested 32 African migrants who managed to cross the Sinai border into
Israel, officials said.
Haniyeh
appeals for Arab, Muslim support for Al-Aqsa
10/25/2009 - Gaza -
Ma'an - De facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called several Arab and
Muslim leaders around the world on Sunday to enlist their support in
ending Israeli intrusions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in
Jerusalem. The Hamas leader asked Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the
secretary-general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, for an
emergency meeting of the organization to discuss these "attacks. "
Haniyeh also called Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, calling
on him to take practical steps to protect Al-Aqsa. The Gaza-based prime
minister also spoke with the Emir of Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa, and
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faysal. Also in Gaza, Hamas staged mass
demonstrations against an Israeli police raid on Al-Aqsa that took
place earlier on Sunday. Speaking at one such rally, senior Hamas
leader Ismail Radwan issued a similar call to Haniyeh's. . .
Sources:
Fayyad taps new economy minister
10/25/2009 - Nablus
- Ma'an - Caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has appointed Dr Hasan
Abu Libda to the Palestinian Authority's economy portfolio. A former
secretary-general of the Palestinian cabinet, Abu Libda served as the
director of the Palestinian Stock Exchange for several years. Informed
sources told Ma'an that Abu Libda had already begun setting up his
office at the Ministry of the National Economy building in Ramallah on
Sunday. He would be replacing Bassem Khoury, who resigned in protest
last month over his government's inaction in Geneva over South African
justice Richard Goldstone's fact-finding mission on Israel's Gaza
assault. [end]
Former
PA minister arrested in Old City
10/25/2009 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Hatim Abdul Qader, the former Palestinian Authority
minister of Jerusalem affairs, was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of
disorderly conduct, an Israeli police spokesman told Ma'an. His arrest
came as clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian youths erupted
anew at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, after officers
and special forces deployed to the compound. Abdul Qader was arrested
in September during similar clashes. The official resigned his post
this summer after registering complaints that the PA was not doing
enough for Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem. He continues to
hold the Jerusalem portfolio for the Fatah movement. [end]
Crew
preps for EU quiz show’s next season
10/25/2009 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Crew members from the Palestinian game show Stars
held a pre-launch workshop in Ramallah on Saturday, where they
discussed this season's premier with representatives of participating
institutions. Funded by the European Union and produced by Ma'an
Network in Bethlehem, Stars was the highest-rated radio program during
Ramadan's competitive lineup last month. At the Ramallah workshop,
Stars producer Ala Ad-Din Al-Abed greeted contestants on behalf of the
network's general manager, Raed Othman, and applauded the EU for its
participation and assistance to unique Palestinian media. The program's
next season will pit university against university in an all-student
competition, so the production crew also met with university leaders to
hammer out last-minute technicalities and set a schedule for the first
round of filming.
Palestinian
academic Riziq Ahmad Faraj dead at 65
10/25/2009 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Riziq Ahmad Faraj, a Palestinian academic and
activist, died in Canada on Sunday of an unspecified disease. He was
65. Faraj co-founded the Palestinian Council in North America, and
published two books about the history of the question of Palestine and
displacement in 2007 and 2009. A holder of three masters degrees in
psychology, French, and German languages, he wrote several articles
about the question of Palestine, and he lectured in several Canadian
universities. He was also a co-founder of the Palestinian-Canadian
Society and the Palestinian Home in Canada. He ran for Canadian
parliament in late 1980s. Born in the Palestinian village of Ras Abu
Ammar, whose residents were forcibly displaced in 1948, Faraj spent his
childhood in Deheisha refugee camp near Bethlehem. In 1966, he
travelled to Jordan to pursue higher education, and was not allowed to
return after the 1967 war.
PSE
drops: Al-Quds Index down 0.69% on Sunday
10/25/2009 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Stocks dropped slightly on the Palestine Securities
Exchange in Nablus on Sunday, as the Al-Quds Index dropped 3. 49 (0.
69%), to close at 502. 68. Trading volume for Sunday was 478,401 shares
for a total value of 1,559,780. 84 US dollars. The shares of 25
companies were traded. The share prices of three companies rose, and
the share prices of 12 declined. The three companies that rose were
PLAZA by 4. 62%, JCC by 1. 73%, and AIG by (1. 27%). The top five
losers were JPH by 4. 26%, PIIC by 3. 17%, LADAEN by 2. 78%, ISBK by 2.
56%, AMB by 2. 50%. [end]
25 Oct 2009 - Guard taken to hospital in moderate condition; Jerusalem police detain 21-year-old assailant for questioning.
IDF soldier hospitalized after beating by officer
25 Oct 2009 - Golani platoon commander caused soldier internal bleeding; officer dismissed from post.
Is Taliban helping Gaza militants make deadlier roadside bombs?
25 Oct 2009 - IDF tests find that bombs deployed on security fence are similar to those used against U.S. in Afghanistan, Iraq.
'Netanyahu didn't mean he backed Israel probe of Gaza war'
25 Oct 2009 - PM's bureau issues statement to clarify comments Netanyahu made in interview with Washington Post.
Ministers to discuss bill to give IDF vets more benefits
25 Oct 2009 - Benefits would include money towards education and a discount on mortgage of first apartment.
IDF threatens to dismiss 'disgraceful' pro-settler troops
25 Oct 2009 - Group of Kfir Brigade soldiers waved anti-disengagement placards during graduation march in Jerusalem.
Palestinian leaders urge Gaza militants to kidnap more IDF troops
25 Oct 2009 - Hamas says release of two Syrian Druze prisoners from Israeli prison last week was part of Shalit film deal.
U.S.: IDF defense drill helping craft Europe missile shield
25 Oct 2009 - U.S. and Israel launched joint drill as world powers try to persuade Iran to curb uranium enrichment.
'Hamas holding intensive negotiations over Shalit'
25 Oct 2009 - Senior Hamas official quoted by Israel Radio as saying negotiators studying remaining issues.
[uruknet.info]
Muezzin of Al Aqsa prevented entry, no call to prayer, minaret damaged,
power cut
October 25, 2009 - A
state of tension and anticipation remains in the lanes of Jerusalem's
Old City Sunday evening. Israeli police and special forces have stormed
Al Aqsa Mosque twice today, closed the gates and prevented people from
performing the noon, afternoon and evening prayers. The assault is
occurring both outside and inside the Mosque and its grounds. The...
[uruknet.info]
Update on Al Aqsa: PNN correspondent injured, official in charge of
Jerusalem file arrested
October 25, 2009 -
Update on Al Aqsa - Journalists and medics were bruised, some suffered
injuries, after being beaten by the police inside and outside Al Aqsa
Mosque. PNN's Jerusalem correspondent Maisa Abu Ghazaleh is among the
journalists who were beaten. Nine additional people have been injured.
Among the arrested is Palestinian official in charge of Jerusalem file,
Hatem...
[uruknet.info]
Mash'al: Israel wants to divide Al-Aqsa
October 25, 2009 -
Hamas' top political official, Khalid Mash'al warned that Israel could
attempt to divide the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem in a
televised news conference from Damascus on Sunday evening. "It was the
first time Israeli army locked the gates of the mosque with chains,
barring the call to prayer, breaking into its yards for long periods...
[uruknet.info]
Taking Flight: Memories of Diaspora
October 25, 2009 -
The following is an excerpt from Ramzy Baroud's forthcoming book: My
Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story. The events are
situated in Baroud's historic home of Beit Daras, one of the nearly 500
Palestinian villages that were completely destroyed by Zionist militias
in 1948. Baroud's father, a very young boy at the time, and...
[uruknet.info]
VIDEO: Unrest after Israeli raid on Al-Aqsa
October 25, 2009 -
Around 30 Palestinians were injured and 20 arrested when clashes
between Israeli forces and youths erupted anew in the Old City of
occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday, Palestinian and Israeli officials
said. In violence that followed a reported police raid on the sensitive
Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Israeli forces fired stun grenades, tear-gas
canisters and rubber-coated bullets...
[uruknet.info]
Israel pulls textbook over reference to 'ethnic cleansing' of the
Palestinians
October 25, 2009 -
The Ministry of Education in Israel has decided to pull a history
textbook because it include a passage that talks about the expulsion of
Palestinians in 1948 for the creation of the state of Israel,
describing it as 'Ethnic Cleansing.' Israeli media sources said the
textbook, which will be taught to secondary classes, would be
reissued...
[uruknet.info]
Hamas official: Reconciliation talks totally frozen
October 25, 2009 -
Hamas declared on Sunday that reconciliation talks with the rival Fatah
movement are now completely on hold after President Mahmoud Abbas set a
date for elections. "The speech that President Abbas delivered on
Friday has cut many of the strings. Now there are no contacts and the
matter is totally frozen," said Salah Bardawil, the spokesperson...
[uruknet.info] UN
nuclear team visits Iran site
October 25, 2009 - A
team from the UN's nuclear watchdog has inspected a controversial
Iranian uranium enrichment plant near the town of Qom. The four
inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited
the facility on Sunday, Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency said.
"The inspectors ... visited the facility in central Iran. They are
expected to visit the site...
[uruknet.info]
Palestinians in Europe: elections without national consensus is recipe
for deepening divide
October 25, 2009 -
In a statement sent by Palestinian institutions and communities in
Europe to PNN, the Presidential Decree for elections was described as a
"recipe for deepening the divide." In the absence of a national
consensus, and the failure of reconciliation attempts, numerous players
have come out against President Abbas' decree to hold both presidential
and legislative elections...
[uruknet.info]
Missing Palestinian fighter found alive in Israeli prison?
October 25, 2009 -
Muhammad Issa Abu Ghaniyya, born in 1953, missing since 1969, and
presumed dead for decades, has been seen alive in an Israeli prison,
according to his family. Relatives told Ma'an on Sunday that several
recently released prisoners swear they remember Abu Ghaniyya, who was
left for dead during an operation near the northern Israeli town of...
Gaza, October 26, 2009 (Pal Telegraph)- Hamas is conducting intense negotiations with Israel over the release of captured Israeli occupation soldier Gilad Shalit, a senior official in the Islamic resistance group said in comments published Thursday, according to Israel Radio.
Palestinian Resistance slams Abbas' call for elections
Damascus, October 26, 2009 (Pal Telegraph)- Islamic resistance movement Hamas, and seven other Damascus-based Palestinian factions, slammed Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' decree on Saturday for holding Presidential elections next January as "illegal," accusing the United States of being behind the call which would...
Clashes erupt anew at the Al-Aqsa Mosque
Occupied West Bank, October 26, 2009 (Pal Telegraph)- Clashes between Apartheid police and Palestinian youth erupted anew at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday, after more officers and special forces were deployed to the compound.
The Lone Palestinian Ranger and Hizb ut-Tahrir
West Bank, October 26, 2009 (Pal Telegraph)- Ali Mohammed Hamdan, member of Hizb ut-Tahrir-Palestine, was the brave, lone soul that dared to confront Tony Blair when he visited the ancient Mosque in Hebron in the West Bank. Tony Blair was also responsible for...
Smiles In Gaza as the Quest for Freedom Continues
Gaza, October 25, 2009, (Pal Telegraph) - Steadfast in their smiles of innocence, children of Al-Maghazi refugee camp , in the middle of the Gaza Strip, enjoyed the launching today of ‘Quest For Smile’, an after-school...
25 Oct 2009 - Jordan and Israel mark 15 years of peace today, but their relations are cooler than ever.
Damascus delays signing on dotted line for EU deal
25 Oct 2009 - As Europe prepares to finalise a partnership deal, Syria is appearing to be playing for time.
Iran accuses West of cheating'
25 Oct 2009 - Iranian official maintains that there is no rationale or legal foundation for the proposal by the IAEA to force Tehran to give away its low enriched uranium in return for nuclear fuel.
Israeli police storm Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque
25 Oct 2009 - Israeli police have entered Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site to arrest a number of Palestinian demonstrators.
Palestinian elections may pose risk to unity
25 Oct 2009 - Analysis Mahmoud Abbas's decision to call for polls to open in January is an attempt to pressure Hamas to sign a reconciliation deal.
Death toll in Egypt train crash reaches 18
25 Oct 2009 - A first class train, filled with passengers, rammed into a nearly empty stationary train on the same track and killed 18.
New lobby group on Israel offers an alternative to hawks
24 Oct 2009 - A left-leaning lobbying group that seeks to overhaul US policy towards Israel kicks off its inaugural conference.
Two passenger trains collide in Egypt
24 Oct 2009 - A passenger train collides with the back of a second one ahead of it on the tracks just outside of Cairo.
Iran deal criticised inside Tehran
24 Oct 2009 - Top Iranian figures criticise a UN-brokered deal to produce nuclear fuel for Tehran from its own partly enriched uranium.
Abbas insists on January election
24 Oct 2009 - The Palestinian president hopes that reconciliation with his Hamas rivals could still be achieved before a January election.
25 Oct 2009 - Inspectors visit Qom plant as pressure mounts on Iran to accept UN-drafted deal.
Clashes erupt at Aqsa compound
25 Oct 2009 - At least 21 injured as Israeli police and Palestinians clash in Jerusalem's Old City.
Deadly train crash in Egypt
25 Oct 2009 - At least 18 people killed after two trains collide southwest of Cairo.
25 Oct 2009 - Jerusalem / Maisa Abu Ghazaleh for PNN – A state of tension and anticipation remains in the lanes of Jerusalem’s Old City Sunday evening. Israeli police and special forces have stormed Al Aqsa Mosque twice today, closed the gates and prevented people from performing the noon, afternoon and evening prayers.The assault is occurring both outside and inside the Mosque and its grounds.The number...
Update on Al Aqsa: PNN correspondent injured, official in charge of Jerusalem file arrested
25 Oct 2009 - Update on Al Aqsa - Journalists and medics were bruised, some suffered injuries, after being beaten by the police inside and outside Al Aqsa Mosque. PNN’s Jerusalem correspondent Maisa Abu Ghazaleh is among the journalists who were beaten. Nine additional people have been injured.Among the arrested is Palestinian official in charge of Jerusalem file, Hatem Abdel Qader.The Democratic Front for the Liberation...
Christoph Schult / Der Spiegel - Palestinians behind bars with no recourse to justice
24 Oct 2009 - Christoph Schult / Der Spiegel - Hundreds of Palestinians are kept behind bars in Israel without charges having been filed and with no access to a fair trial. Not even their lawyers are allowed to look at the evidence. Some governments in the West have expressed their concern, but the Israelis haven’t budged.The cell is only a few square meters in size and...
Palestinians in Europe: elections without national consensus is recipe for deepening divide
24 Oct 2009 - Bethlehem / PNN - In a statement sent by Palestinian institutions and communities in Europe to PNN, the Presidential Decree for elections was described as a “recipe for deepening the divide.” In the absence of a national consensus, and the failure of reconciliation attempts, numerous players have come out against President Abbas’ decree to hold both presidential and legislative elections in January. The...
Mass protest in San Francisco as former Israeli Prime Minister lectures
24 Oct 2009 - PNN – Activists in San Francisco staged a protest on Saturday against the visit of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. With signs reading, “Olmert: War Criminal”, the message was clear. “Killer of Children in Gaza”, read another sign as Olmert was welcomed to lecture at a World Affairs Council event.Dozens of people from the Palestinian, Arab and Islamic communities in the...
Increase in military restrictions at eastern Ramallah checkpoint, arrests
24 Oct 2009 - Ramallah / PNN - Israeli forces arrested two Palestinians from the town of Silwad overnight at a checkpoint at the eastern Ramallah entrance. Witnesses report that the detainees are 23 year old Mohammed Abdul Rahim Adas and 32 year old Wael Abdel Halim Moussa.It is noteworthy that Israeli military actions are on the rise at this checkpoint.Rami Abdel Rahman was arrested in the...
Israeli forces storm Al Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, injuries and arrests
24 Oct 2009 - Jerusalem / Maisa Abu Ghazaleh for PNN – Israeli forces broke through the gate of Al Aqsa Mosque this morning, throwing stun grenades and gas at the Palestinians inside. As of a 10:30 am update, at least 15 Palestinian civilians had been arrested in the courtyards while Israeli forces continued to surround the Muslim holy site. Zahi Anezhat, spokesman of the Islamist Movement,...
25 Oct 2009 - MK Hotovely: If we back away, the violence will increase and spread to other parts of Jerusalem.
Troops sentenced for political sign
25 Oct 2009 - Two IDF recruits jailed, ejected from battalion for displaying pro-settlement sign.
Netanyahu and Barak: We won't let soldiers be probed
25 Oct 2009 - Israel will work to change laws of war in light of terrorist tactics, defense minister says; gov't may establish team to review IDF investigations.
Committee delays Hamas prisoners' bill, but Danon vows to see it pass
25 Oct 2009 - "The time is passing, Schalit is still a prisoner, and every week 2,500 Hamas prisoners receive visitors," complains MK Danon.
Senior Foreign Ministry official Gal tapped for France
25 Oct 2009 - Both Gal and Lieberman deny he submitted his candidacy to become Israel's ambassador to France becaus of disagreements.
Farmers demand more Thai workers
25 Oct 2009 - Protesters say gov't reneging on promise to allow in more foreign labor; 'Treasury trying to do away with agriculture in Israel'
'Force will determine Jerusalem's fate'
25 Oct 2009 - Mashaal: Israel wants to demolish al-Aksa; Jordan: Temple Mt. clashes could derail ME peace, stability.
Guard moderately hurt in Kalandia attack
25 Oct 2009 - Palestinian woman, 21, arrested after stabbing security guard at checkpoint north of Jerusalem.
Limestone bedrock persuaded King David to choose J'lem as his capital
25 Oct 2009 - US geologist: Karst limestone tunnel that fed Gihon spring enabled David's soldiers to infiltrate city.
CAIRO Sunday, October 25, 2009 (IRIN) - In the third of a series of interviews with refugees living in Cairo, IRIN spoke to Abdullah Bare Kahiya, 31, about why he left home, and the prospects he has in this host country.
EGYPT: Swine flu risk for Cairo’s overcrowded schools
CAIRO Thursday, October 22, 2009 (IRIN) - The Egyptian ministries of health and education have ordered all schools in Cairo to halve the number of children in each class to mitigate the possible spread of H1N1 influenza - no small challenge in this overcrowded city of 20 million.
ISRAEL: 1,200 children face deportation
TEL AVIV Thursday, October 22, 2009 (IRIN) - Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai has said he will not grant legal status to some 1,200 children of migrant workers, triggering an anti-deportation campaign led by several NGOs.
WASHINGTON, Oct 23 (IPS) - The Barack Obama administration claims that construction of a second Iranian uranium enrichment facility at Qom began before Tehran's decision to withdraw from a previous agreement to inform the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in advance of such construction. But the November 2007 U.S. intelligence...
POLITICS-US: Pro-Israel Group's Money Trail Veers Hard Right
WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (IPS) - StandWithUs - an "organization that ensures that Israel's side of the story is told" - has become increasingly aggressive in challenging the "pro-Israel" credentials of moderate Jewish-American groups, going so far as to suggest that receiving money from Arab donors and supporters of Human Rights...
25 Oct 2009 - More than 150 people attended the weekly demo against the Apartheid Wall. Protestors held signs with the names of the five Nil’in prisoners, and others called for the freedom of the 11,000 other Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Youth marched with their hands tied, imitating the means soldiers use when they arrest Palestinians. Soldiers constantly tried to capture protestors, and jeep mounted launchers showered the area with gas. Soldiers also targeted medical teams, firing tear gas directly at them. [
Ni’lin demands Palestinian unity
25 Oct 2009 - Six people were injured, including one young man who was shot in the jaw with a rubber coated steel bullet, when more than 200 demonstrators attended the weekly demonstration against the Apartheid Wall in Ni’lin yesterday. This week the demonstration was calling for Palestinian unity, and the protestors demanded a stop to all factional rivalry and unification against the occupation. ‘The Palestinian people are one, the Palestinian people all live under occupation and we can only overcome if we stand strong as one! [
PCHR
information on boycott, divestment and sanctions
International Solidarity Movement
Clashes erupt at Aqsa compound10/25/2009 - International Solidarity Movement - Al Jazeera - Dozens of people have been wounded in clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians in and around the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, a flashpoint site holy to Muslims and Jews. The Red Crescent emergency service said at least 18 Palestinians were wounded in the violence on Sunday. At least three officers were also hurt in the fighting, Israeli police said. The site is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), comprising al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock. An Israeli police spokesman said at least 16 people were arrested, but that calm had largely returned to the area several hours after the clashes broke out. Jivara al-Budairi, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Jerusalem, said the violence in the Old City erupted after the Israeli police fired tear gas and stun grenades at Palestinian students and youths in the area.
Tensions escalate in Sheikh Jarrah as settlers attempt to provoke violence
10/26/2009 - International Solidarity Movement - 23 October 2009 - On Friday 23 October 2009, tensions ran high when 30 settlers conducted a provocative prayer on the street outside the confiscated Gawi family house in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied EastJerusalem. Several heavily armed Israeli police units arrived quickly thereafter but they did not stop the prayer until after one hour. In response to the settler action, the Gawi family and Palestinian neighbours put up a display of resistance by making noise with pans and horns which drowned out the prayer noise. Many internationals arrived on the scene to document the event and discourage any physical attack by the settlers or police. After the visiting settlers had left the neighbourhood, the police withdrew, leaving one unit on the street outside the house all night long. The incident started at 4pm when a large number of settlers arrived at the house. This immediately sparked worries about a potential violent attack. T
J Street convenes in Washington, but can it take on AIPAC?
26 Oct 2009 - The self-declared pro-peace, pro-Israel lobby J Street launched its first conference in Washington on Sunday, with several American political bigwigs and a number of leftist Israeli heavyweights. Absent, however, was the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren, who hemmed and hawed before finally admitting last week that he would not be going. ...
Iran arrests 12 accused of promoting satanism
25 Oct 2009 - Twelve people accused of promoting Satanism have been arrested in northwest Iran, a newspaper reported on Sunday. ...
Swedish paper behind IDF organ theft claims warns against Muslim threat
25 Oct 2009 - The Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, which sparked a diplomatic crisis between Israel and Sweden by publishing an article accusing Israeli soldiers of plundering Palestinians' organs, has fuelled a new row by printing an op-ed claiming that Muslims pose the greatest foreign threat to Swedish society since the Second World War. ...
Livni: Goldstone probe based on 'perverted system of values'
25 Oct 2009 - Kadima Chairwoman and opposition leader Tzipi Livni said that the Goldstone Commission's report into Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip was "based on a perverted system of values." ...
Nice Jewish guys are pinups in new calendar
25 Oct 2009 - A producer of the hit reality TV show "The Simple Life," which stars Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, is now trying to boost the image of nice Jewish guys - one month at a time. ...
25 Oct 2009 - Demonstrations at holy shrine erupt into violence as youths fight battles with riot police Israeli riot police firing stun grenades and crowds of young Palestinians throwing stones clashed in the compound around the al-Aqsa mosque in...
Israel's National Library adds a final twist to Franz Kafka's Trial
24 Oct 2009 - German museum asked to hand back author's disputed manuscript to correct 'historical error' Israel's National Library is calling on a German museum to hand over the original manuscript of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial to correct...
Palestinians plan to boost housing by investing in City hedge funds
24 Oct 2009 - West Bank building projects will benefit if sovereign wealth fund expands its international investments Palestinian house builders on the West Bank could benefit from an influx of cash if plans by the $900m (552m) Palestine sovereign...
In praise of Amira Hass
23 Oct 2009 - Only Amira Hass could have received the International Women's Media Foundation lifetime achievement award by saying her life as a journalist had been a failure. By her standards maybe, but then she sets them high. If...
Israel and Palestine by Avi Shlaim | Book review
23 Oct 2009 - Avi Shlaim's essays address the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, says Ian Black Israel and Palestine: Reappraisals, Revisions, Refutations by Avi Shlaim 392pp, Verso, 16.99 It is hard to think of another issue on which feelings...
Pro-Israel with a twist: J Street lobby group works to loosen big beasts' grip on Congress
23 Oct 2009 - Boost for J Street as Obama adviser attends conference, but Israeli ambassador will be staying away Members of Congress signed up by the score when they were invited to this weekend's "pro-Israel" conference. But then the...
What BNP leader says and what the facts show
23 Oct 2009 - On fascism "I am not a Nazi and never have been." Griffin was convicted in 1998 of inciting racial hatred for articles that denied the Holocaust and praised the Waffen-SS. On immigration "The indigenous people of...
25 Oct 2009 - Three activists with the left-wing rights group Peace Now, at least one of them a professional actor, were arrested on Sunday at the Knesset after they posed as students and asked to interview right-wing MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union). ...
Israel to set up team to review Gaza war probe
25 Oct 2009 - Following much deliberation and evasion, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have devised a plan to resolve pressure on Israel to independently investigate the war crimes allegations made by the Goldstone commission. ...
Hamas: War will settle Jerusalem dispute, not talks
25 Oct 2009 - Following a conflagration of violence at Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Sunday, Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal declared that "Jerusalem's fate will be decided with jihad (holy war) and resistance, and not negotiations." ...
IDF troops who waved pro-settler banner expelled from brigade
25 Oct 2009 - Two Israel Defense Forces soldiers were expelled their brigade and given 20 days in military prison, just a few days after they waved a pro-settler banner during their swearing-in ceremont. ...
Tax Authority raids Maccabi T.A. offices over alleged Ponzi scheme
25 Oct 2009 - The Israel Tax Authority said on Sunday it had launched an investigation into suspicions a former basketball executive found hanged last week invested millions of dollars in players' money in a possible Ponzi scheme. ...
25 Oct 2009 - Source: World Health Organization
OPT: LPDC News Letter issue 02, Fall 2009
25 Oct 2009 - Source: Government of Lebanon
OPT: UNRWA launches Da'am programme
25 Oct 2009 - Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
OPT: Week in review - Reconciliation agreement off the table, again
24 Oct 2009 - Source: MIFTAH
Q+A: Abbas calls Palestinian elections, unity efforts fail
24 Oct 2009 - Source: Reuters - AlertNet
OPT: Ban Ki-moon discusses Gaza, humanitarian and other issues with senior Israeli officials
24 Oct 2009 - Source: UN Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
25 Oct 2009 - Capital's police arrest five teenage residents of Umm al-Fahm for allegedly planning to riot. Juvenile Court judge rules arrest unwarranted
Special team tasked with devising counter-Goldstone policies
25 Oct 2009 - PM Netanyahu, Defense Minister Barak adamant no new probe of IDF's conduct in Gaza war needed; order officials to find ways to deal with report's international implications
Prof. Weiss at rightist event: Build third temple immediately
25 Oct 2009 - In wake of Muslim riots at Temple Mount, leading rabbis, rightists call on Israel 'not to capitulate to Palestinian violence.' Feiglin: Direct link between Jerusalem unrest, Goldstone Report
Cabinet extends financial aid to SLA families
25 Oct 2009 - Housing stipends for families of Lebanese soldiers who withdrew with IDF in 2000 guaranteed for coming year, but 'simple soldiers' demand permanent solution, regulation of their status
Eda Haredit 'officer' suspected of assault
25 Oct 2009 - Yoel Kreus, Jerusalem's haredi 'operations officer' arrested for allegedly spraying woman with mace after she refused to cross Meah Shearim street at his command. Kraus implicates himself after woman files police complaint
Jordan: Israeli 'provocations' at Temple Mount threaten peace
25 Oct 2009 - After riots subside, Jordanian Communications Minister Sharif calls on Israel to prevent entrance of security forces, Jewish extremists to east Jerusalem compound. Islamic Movement: Police threatened women, children who merely wanted to pray
25 Oct 2009
Israeli police storm holiest site in occupied Jerusalem
25 Oct 2009
World awaits answers as UN experts inspect Iran's new nuclear site
25 Oct 2009
Social premium of Fair Trade olive oil offers hope to beleaguered Palestinian farmers
25 Oct 2009
Iran: OPEC has different views on suitable oil-price level
25 Oct 2009
EU donates to Lebanon $64m to improve human rights
25 Oct 2009
Palestinian discord serving Israel
25 Oct 2009
The comedy that lingers over occupation
25 Oct 2009
Palestinian Information Center
JORDAN could do more to protect al-Aqsa Mosque from Israel’s evil designs25 Oct 2009 - The Jordanian government shouldn’t just content itself with receiving “assurances” from the Israeli government that Israel will maintaining the status quo
Hamas: The battle of Jerusalem started
25 Oct 2009 - Hamas stated on Sunday that the battle of Jerusalem has started and it is time for every Muslim to shoulder his share of responsibility in defense of his dignity.
European campaign appeals to Egypt to allow entry of Euro aid
25 Oct 2009 - The European campaign to lift the siege on Gaza Strip has appealed to the Egyptian authorities to allow entry of the European aid convoy "miles of smiles" into Egypt en route to Gaza.
Family of Gaza prisoner concerned about his fate
25 Oct 2009 - The family of the Gazan prisoner Ahmed Abed Rabbo has appealed to all human rights groups to inquire about the fate of their son who has been held in Israeli jails for two years.
Sources: Egypt intends to end its mediation in the Palestinian reconciliation
25 Oct 2009 - High-level Egyptian sources revealed that Cairo would renounce its mediation in the Palestinian reconciliation file completely and would refer it the Arab League.
Haneyya gov't calls for Arab summit to deal with IOA violations of the Aqsa
25 Oct 2009 - The Palestinian government said that the assaults on the Aqsa Mosque are part of an Israeli scheme to control and divide the holy site in preparation for the construction of the so-called temple.
Israeli troops kidnap eight activists in march in support of Al-Khalil farmers
25 Oct 2009 - The Israeli troops kidnapped eight Palestinian and foreign activists during a peaceful march organized in support of the farmers in the village of Imar Ard, south of Al-Khalil city.
Eight Palestinian factions declare rejection of Abbas’s call for elections
25 Oct 2009 - The high follow-up committee of the Palestinian national conference which includes eight factions declared its rejection of Abbas’s call for elections, warning of the consequences of such a step.
Khatib calls for Arab popular pressure on rulers to defend the Aqsa Mosque
25 Oct 2009 - Sheikh Kamal Al-Khatib, the deputy leader of the Islamic Movement in 1948 occupied Palestine, has charged Israel was pursuing a new systematic method in storming the Aqsa Mosque.
Mishaal: No elections before reconciliation
25 Oct 2009 - Khaled Mishaal said that the coalition of Palestinian forces studied the national position towards the unilateral step taken by Abbas and held him fully responsible for the consequences.
24 Oct 2009 - A police official says two passenger trains have collided on the outskirts of Cairo, killing at least 14 people.
Top Iran official says West's nuclear plan a coverup for theft
25 Oct 2009 - The speaker for Iran's parliament says the proposal to ship out most of the country's uranium for refinement elsewhere is a trick by the U.S. to skim nuclear fuel. The powerful speaker of Iran's parliament Saturday derided a Western-backed proposal to transfer the bulk of the country's enriched-uranium stockpile abroad as a trick meant to rob Iran of its nuclear fuel.
Egypt's Brotherhood is knocking
24 Oct 2009 - Despite crackdowns, the popular Islamic opposition group aims to have a say on President Hosni Mubarak's succession. He doesn't seem a radical or a troublemaker, but to the Egyptian government, Abdel Fattah Rizk, a surgeon with a graying mustache and hands pink from scrubbing, is a man to be watched.
Iran delays response to nuclear enrichment proposal
24 Oct 2009 - The United States signs off on the negotiated plan to send Iran's uranium abroad to be turned into fuel for medical research, but Tehran misses the deadline to agree to the deal. Iran said Friday that it would respond next week to a proposal to ship the bulk of its enriched uranium abroad to be turned into fuel for a medical research reactor. The delay plunged into doubt a deal aimed at easing the standoff over Iran's nuclear program.
Israel military to punish soldiers for pro-settler protest
24 Oct 2009 - The group of Israeli soldiers who staged a pro-settler demonstration at their swearing-in ceremony this week might face dismissal from the army, a military statement says. Embarrassed by what it called "a disgraceful disciplinary aberration," the Israeli military announced Friday that it would punish soldiers who staged a pro-settler demonstration during their swearing-in ceremony at Jerusalem's Western Wall.
Israeli police storm Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque
10/25/2009 - The National - Clashes erupted on Sunday between Israeli police and Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the latest violence to shake Jerusalem’s flashpoint site holy to Muslims and Jews. Police said they entered the compound in the morning after Palestinian demonstrators threw stones at visitors to the holy site, known to Muslims as Al-Haram Al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) and to Jews as the Temple Mount. Once inside, police themselves came under stone attack and had to wade through oil that Palestinians had spilled in an effort to make them slip and fall, said public radio. Firing stun grenades to break up the protests, the police left the site after less than an hour and closed access, said Micky Rosenfeld, a police spokesman. Twelve demonstrators were arrested, he added. Witnesses said that some 100 Palestinians remained inside the compound.
VIDEO - Bill Moyers talks with Justice Richard Goldstone
10/23/2009 - PBS - Watch Video / Read Transcript - The UN Human Rights Council released a report on the recent fighting between Hamas and Israel in Gaza. While concluding that both Israel's military and Hamas likely committed war crimes during the fighting, the report was particularly harsh in its condemnation of Israel's actions, saying they were "a deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate, and terrorize a civilian population, radically diminish its local economic capacity both to work and to provide for itself, and to force upon it an ever increasing sense of dependency and vulnerability. "A political firestorm ensued, and some of the criticism was aimed at the head of the investigative mission, Judge Richard Goldstone. Goldstone joins Bill Moyers on the JOURNAL to discuss the report, his critics and why he believes international humanitarian law is an important part of the peace process.
Clashes erupt at Aqsa compound
10/25/2009 - AlJazeera - Dozens of people have been wounded in clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians in and around the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, a flashpoint site holy to Muslims and Jews. The Red Crescent emergency service said at least 18 Palestinians were wounded in the violence on Sunday. At least three officers were also hurt in the fighting, Israeli police said. The site is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), comprising al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock. An Israeli police spokesman said at least 16 people were arrested, but that calm had largely returned to the area several hours after the clashes broke out. Israeli police actionJivara al-Budairi, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Jerusalem, said the violence in the Old City erupted after the Israeli police fired tear gas and stun grenades at Palestinian students and youths in the area.
Netanyahu Today: First Hell Freezes, Then The Settlements
10/24/2009 - Talking Points Memo - M. J. Rosenberg - In an interview in Sunday's Washington Post, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu may go further than any of his predecessors in rejecting a settlement freeze -- this after President Obama went further than any of his predecessors in demanding one. In the fifteen years since Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader, Yasir Arafat signed the Oslo agreement, Israel has never, in principle, ruled out a settlement freeze. On occasion, it has, in fact, implemented a freeze while on several others, Israeli prime ministers said "yes" but with conditions. There has been one constant. Israeli prime ministers tended to go along with the US and Palestinian view that freezing settlements was not a final status issue (i. e, one that would only be resolved in the context of comprehensive negotiations) but a precondition for negotiations like the PLO's cessation of violence, which has been in effect for years.
Palestinians clash with Israeli troops at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem
10/25/2009 - The Guardian - Israeli riot police firing stun grenades and crowds of young Palestinians throwing stones clashed in the compound around the al-Aqsa mosque in the heart of Jerusalem's Old City today. It was the latest flare-up in several weeks of protests around the site, known as the Temple Mount or the Haram al-Sharif. Around two dozen people were injured, mostly Palestinians, but none were seriously hurt. Israeli forces stormed up into the compound behind riot shields and crowds of Palestinians fled, some taking sanctuary in the al-Aqsa mosque. The second intifada of 2000 began with protests in the same area, but these latest clashes have been less violent and so far seem unlikely to trigger a more widespread uprising against the Israeli occupation. Several Palestinians were arrested by Israeli police, among them Hatam Abd al-Qadir, a senior Palestinian adviser on Jerusalem, and Ali Abu Sheikha,
Who speaks for America’s Jews? J Street lobby group works to loosen big beasts’ grip on Congress
10/23/2009 - The Guardian - Boost for J Street as Obama adviser attends conference, but Israeli ambassador will be staying away - Members of Congress signed up by the score when they were invited to this weekend's "pro-Israel" conference. But then the faxes and emails started to roll in, denouncing the organisers as "Jewish Stalinists", the "surrender lobby" and terrorist sympathisers. Some members of Congress scuttled for cover, admitting they had little idea what the organisation behind the conference – an upstart Washington lobby group called J Street, which wants to turn US policy on Israel on its head – stands for. But Washington is learning fast. J Street – the name plays on the first letter of Jew, and that many of the big Washington lobbying firms are on the city's K Street – was launched at the beginning of last year as a "pro-Israel and pro-peace" group, to general ridicule from the big beasts of the Israel lobby, which have kept a grip on Congress for decades.
PHOTOS - 'Return Journey to Al-Aqsa' trip held to back Palestinians in Jerusalem
10/24/2009 - China View - Palestinians express support for yje Al-Aqsa Mosque and their bothers and sisters in occupied East Jerusalem --- Men look at Jerusalem city through binoculars on the Syagha-Madaba city mountains, 30km southwest of the capital Amman, October 23, 2009, during a trip organized by the Jordanians Engineers Association. The "Return Journey to Al-Aqsa" trip, in which engineers and their families gathered at the heights of Syagha to look down at the city of Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa mosque, is to show solidarity with Palestinians involved in clashes with Israeli police at the al-Aqsa mosque in September. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo). . . .
Hamas: Abbas unauthorized to issue decrees
10/24/2009 - China View - GAZA, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- A Hamas official on Saturday said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was unauthorized to issue any presidential decrees. "Abbas's constitutional term has expired and he has no legal capacity to set the date for presidential or parliamentary elections," said Ahmed Bahar, deputy speaker of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). Bahar, whose movement won the parliamentary elections in 2006, called for a legal action against Abbas for "personating the President of the Palestinian National Authority and issuing decrees. "Hamas does not recognize Abbas since its fighters routed his forces and took over control of Gaza in 2007. On Friday, Abbas called for holding the elections on Jan. 24, 2010, just when Hamas' term in the parliament ends. Hamas wants to hold elections but not until internal Palestinian political crisis is resolved.
Al Aqsa Isn’t Calling Us Anymore,She’s Screaming
10/25/2009 - Political Theatrics - Tension flared up at Al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday, October 25, when hundreds of Israeli troops stormed the Islamic holy site, beating worshipers and firing tear-gas shells, rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades. “They are beating people and desecrating the holy place in utter disregard for civility and human decency,” Adnan al-Husseini, the highest-ranking Muslim Wakf official, told IslamOnline. net. “They are clamping a siege to the Aqsa Mosque and preventing Muslims from accessing the place. ”According to eyewitnesses, at least 10 Palestinians were injured, some badly, while others suffered tear gas inhalation. As many as 20 Palestinians were arrested. Yesterday I broadcasted live information for hours over Twitter about the situation in Jerusalem, partially because I knew people would be interested to know and because the mainstream media was completely silent about the issue.
Netanyahu: Palestinans Must Recognize Israel as Jewish State
10/24/2009 - Political Theatrics - Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said, in an interview published Saturday, that his government was determined to complete building a structure of a future Palestinian state by 2011. “We’ve committed ourselves to a path of completing the task of institution building,” he told The Washington Post. He said the institution building meant “the capacity to govern ourselves effectively in all spheres of government within two years. ”. . . . . In another interview with the Post, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Palestinians needed to recognize Israel as a Jewish state in order to resolve their conflict. “Israel is not a bi-national state,” he explained. “It’s the homeland of any Jew. And there is a very broad consensus in Israel that the Palestinian refugee problem should be resolved outside Israel’s borders. “. . . “Jews come here and Palestinians will go there. So choose. That’s the basis of a solution. . . ”
In Israel, a Key Test of Obama’s Retooled Missile Shield
10/23/2009 - Wired - Back in April, the Obama administration announced a big shift in missile-defense priorities: It would move away from ambitious, technologically shaky “boost phase” defenses, and pour more money into fielding anti-missiles that might actually stop an attack from Iran or North Korea. This week, those retooled defenses get a big test – in Israel. This week, the United States and Israel kicked off a major air-defense exercise that will test scenarios including coordinated missile barrages launched from Iran or from Syria, as well as shorter-range rocket attacks by Hezbollah or Hamas. The exercise, Juniper Cobra, is part of a series of biannual war games that dates back to 2001, but it’s worth watching closely for several reasons. First, there’s politics. Brig. Gen. Doron Gavish, commander of the Israel Air Force’s Air Defense Division, said in a press conference that the exercise was not related
J Street absorbs another peace group
10/25/2009 - Jerusalem Post - J Street, on the eve of its first annual conference, announced it will be folding a leading national progressive Israel-oriented grassroots organization into its operation. Absorbing Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, whose name will be phased out, is another sign of J Street's emergence as the dominant voice of the self-described "pro-Israel, pro-peace" movement, as its 1,200-participants-strong convention opens Sunday. Though Israel's Ambassador to the US Michael Oren refused an invitation to attend and several members of Congress backed out of the event amidst criticism over the organization's policies, the 18-month-old lobby and political action committee will still be featuring top administration officials and several opposition party MKs at the four-day event. US National Security Adviser James Jones will be delivering the keynote address on Tuesday, while Kadima MKs Meir Sheetrit and Shlomo Molla will also be appearing.
UN inspectors visit formerly secret Iranian site
10/25/2009 - Antiwar.com - AP News - A semiofficial Iranian news agency says U. N. inspectors have visited a formerly secret uranium enrichment site that has raised Western suspicions about the extent of Iran's nuclear program. It was the world's first look inside the heavily protected plant, which is being built inside a mountainside near the holy city of Qom south of Tehran. The Mehr news agency says the inspectors examined the facility Sunday, more than a month after Iran disclosed the site to the U. N. nuclear watchdog. The inspection comes as the U. S. and its allies wait for Iran's decision on a U. N. -brokered plan to send most of the country's uranium to Russia for enrichment. The West says the deal would ease fears about Iran's ability to make weapons-grade fuel. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Articles
Who’s Afraid of Richard Goldstone?
Ronnie Kasrils, Uprooted Palestinians 10/25/2009
"What Israel’s merciless aggression has opened-up at last is a world-wide process whereby the questioning of the legitimacy of the Zionist project has been unleashed."
Address by Ronnie Kasrils to NADEL (National Association of Democratic Lawyers of South Africa), Cape Town 24.10.09 .
Topic: “Goldstone Report & The Struggle of the Palestinian People”
Justice Richard Goldstone is an internationally respected judge of integrity and credibility. Sober, reserved, most prim and proper, his reputation has been built on impeccable credentials. This has included his investigations into the apartheid-era hit-squads and violence; violations of international law in former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and in connection with the UN Iraq Oil for Food Programme; and of course his outstanding service with South Africa’s Constitutional Court.
Whilst it was expected that the apartheid era security services and generals would be afraid of the man, ironically in the aftermath of the release of the UN Report on Gaza, this life-long friend of Israel, a professed Zionist himself, has been vilified by Netenyahu and the Israeli Government; by the Chief Rabbi of South Africa; and in equally hysterical terms by many fellow Jews. It seems that this unlikely candidate for “self-hating Jew” has become top of their list. Without doubt the Israeli Government and Defence Force, and Zionist apologists world-wide, have come to fear and loathe this quiet, genteel, undemonstrative man who strives to serve truth, justice and the rule of law in the best way he can.
South Africa’s Chief Rabbi, Warren Goldstein, acting like some demented Israeli propagandist has weighed-in to the Goldstone Report on Gaza as “a political strategy for delegitimizing Israel”; alleging that it is “phrased in wild, undisciplined and aggressive language;” and violates the audi alteram partem (right to be heard) rule – injudiciously ignoring the fact that it was Israel that refused to participate and prevented the Goldstone team from setting foot in Israel and the West Bank.... more.. e-mail
Palestine in Pieces
Jeff Gore, CounterPunch 10/23/2009
An Interview with Bill and Kathleen Christison
In 1979, Kathleen and Bill Christison retired from the CIA, where they worked as analysts. Ever since then, they’ve had an unorthodox retirement, to say the least. With only a couple relatively brief interludes, they’ve dedicated what could have been years of relaxation to fighting perhaps the most uphill battle imaginable: trying to bring the plight of the Palestinians to the public eye. The newest addition to the Christison canon is Palestine in Pieces: Graphic Perspectives on the Israeli Occupation, published in August by Pluto Press. During this decade the Christisons have made a habit of visiting Palestine at least once per year; they returned from their most recent trip earlier this month. Since the couple warned against the potentially endless nature of a conversation over the phone, I elected to send them a few questions via email, which they were gracious enough to answer.
Jeff Gore: Kathleen: In a recent interview with Laura Flanders on GRITtv, you said that based on your travels to Palestine over the past half-decade or so, you believe the situation of the Palestinians “has gotten worse, every year.” Given that the interview was conducted before your latest trip, would you still say this today, considering the downgrade or closure of several checkpoints this year, and, according to the New York Times, “a sense of personal security and economic potential...spreading across the West Bank?”
Kathleen Christison: This is an extremely important question. The supposed closure of checkpoints throughout the West Bank and what is being widely touted as an opening of economic potential are a fiction—a huge scam perpetrated by Israel and the U.S., intended to make it look to the world as though Palestinians are now prospering, that the Palestinian economy is thriving and Palestinian society is now content, all thanks to the beneficence and good will of the Israelis. The media—not just the New York Times, but other print and electronic media and various opinion-molders like Thomas Friedman—have fallen for this scam and indeed have been knowingly participating in it. more.. e-mail
In Gaza
dignified
beyond losses
18 Oct 2009 -
*Mahmoud Musleh: “I’ve had three main things destroyed by Israeli
forces: a tile factory on Sikka street (northern Beit Hanoun), another
tile factory on Salah el Din street (Beit Hanoun), and the water well
on my land. My olive trees have been bulldozed many times by Israeli
forces. I’m 70 years old and now I have nothing, like when I was 16.”
*Mohammed Zaneen [eastern Beit Hanoun]: “I had 11 dunams of olive
trees, bulldozed by the Israeli army. I used to earn well over
US$11,000 from the olives. Now my oldest trees are just 4 years old and
produce only a meagre amount. We also have bees. When there...
Palestine Chronicle
Taking
Flight: Memories of Diaspora
25 Oct 2009 - By
Ramzy Baroud [The following is an excerpt from Ramzy Baroud’s
forthcoming book: My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story
. The events are situated in Baroud’s historic home of Beit Daras, one
of the nearly 500 Palestinian villages that were completely destroyed
by Zionist militias in 1948. Baroud’s father, a very young boy at the
time, and his family are fleeing on foot to their new destiny in a
refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, where they remain to this day. Gaza was
and remains a center stage of the struggle against Israeli occupation,
and the ordinary people of the strip are major players that shaped past
events and continue to do so to the present day, despite protracted
sieges, sanctions, and every other attempt at crushing their resistance
and forcing them into submission.] Spring was one of the most beautiful
times of the year in the countryside of Palestine. With everything in
full bloom, apricots, almonds, oranges and lemons, the perfume carried
itself on the wind for miles. As the villagers embarked on this rite of
passage, many captured a long moment to breathe in the fragrance of the
fields and orchards, to snatch a large handful of the earth of Beit
Daras, wrap it in a small piece of cloth and tuck it away for safe
keeping. Deeds and keys were stored safely. Grandpa Mohammed mounted
his faithful donkey with a few of the family’s belongings and young
daughter Mariam. Ibrahim was in his mother’s arms....
Robert
Bernstein: Human Shield for Criticism of Israel
24 Oct 2009 - By Max
Kantar Earlier this week the New York Times published an op-ed article,
Rights Watchdog, ‘Lost in the Mideast’ written by Robert L. Bernstein,
the founding chairman emeritus of Human Rights Watch. The editorial
amounts to one regurgitation of Israeli propaganda after another in an
effort to delegitimize mainstream criticism of Israeli policies in the
international human rights community. The timing of Bernstein's article
is instructive; its publication in the New York Times comes on the
heels of the release of the Goldstone Report as the intellectual
apologists for Israeli crimes in the U.S. go into ultra-hysteria mode
to save the already eroding image of their favorite client state.
Bernstein decries HRW for its supposed anti-Israel bias and unleashes a
tirade of familiar accusations routinely invoked by ‘supporters of
Israel’ to deflect criticism of the Jewish state. To make the case that
HRW--and presumably the international human rights community in
general—has ‘lost critical perspective’ on Israel-Palestine, Bernstein
cites six major points: 1) There is no "moral equivalency" between the
"democratic and non-democratic worlds" 2) HRW spends more time
criticizing Israel than it spends criticizing individual neighboring
states 3) Hamas and Hezbollah use civilians as human shields and do not
fight fairly 4) The government of Iran supports Hamas and Hezbollah and
seeks to destroy the state of Israel and exterminate all Jews 5)
Weapons are making their way into Gaza and Lebanon and might be used to
strike Israel 6) Israel only commits wrongs in self-defense while Hamas
and...