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News
International Middle East Media Center
Swedish
Journalist, Bostrom, Attends Conference In Israel
IMEMC 2 Nov 2009 -
Monday November 02, 2009 - 23:59, As the Swedish Journalist, Donald
Bostrom, arrived Sunday at the Ben Gurion Airport, several Israelis
protested his visit to the country. Bostrom, who wrote an article
accusing Israel of harvesting the organs of Palestinian youths killed
by the army, is a guest of the Dimona Media Conference.
Israel
demolishes two Palestinian owned homes in Jerusalem, damages a third
IMEMC 2 Nov 2009 -
Monday November 02, 2009 - 15:34, The Israeli municipality of Jerusalem
demolished on Monday two Palestinian owned homes and damaged a third.
The
Israeli military kidnaps three civilians from deferent parts of the
West Bank
IMEMC 2 Nov 2009 -
Monday November 02, 2009 - 15:20, The Israeli military kidnapped on
Monday three Palestinian civilians during invasions targeting a number
of west Bank communities.
Israel
releases six Palestinian MP's
IMEMC 2 Nov 2009 -
Monday November 02, 2009 - 15:10, The Israeli military released on
Monday six Palestinian law makers after detaining them for over three
years.
Shabak:
“Many Jewish Terrorists Still On The Loose”
IMEMC 2 Nov 2009 -
Monday November 02, 2009 - 11:16, After a gag order was lifted on the
apprehension of Jewish terrorist, Yaakov Teitel, the Israeli domestic
security service, Shin Bet, stated that there are several Jewish
terrorists who are still on the loose and that they might be plotting
for terrorist attacks.
Two
Palestinians Killed In Gaza Tunnel
IMEMC 2 Nov 2009 -
Monday November 02, 2009 - 07:22, Palestinian medical sources in the
Gaza Strip reported on Sunday evening that two Palestinians were killed
in tunnels located between Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza
Strip, and Egypt.
Report:
Israel creates military court for Palestinian children
11/2/2009 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - An Israeli judge has announced the establishment of
a new military court dealing solely with the sentencing of Palestinian
children. Ma'ariv, the daily Hebrew-language newspaper, wrote that
"from now on, Palestinian children will be brought in front of military
judges under the new structure of a special military court to sentence
children under the legal age of majority to avoid the recent situation
where children have been brought to normal military courts. " ¯ The
sentencing of children under the legal age of majority in regular
military courts constitutes a contravention of the Convention of the
Rights of the Child, which Israel ratified in 1991. The establishment
of the court was announced by Israeli judge Lieutenant Colonel Aharon
Mishnayot. An inauguration ceremony for the new children's military
court was held on Sunday at Ofer Prison in the West Bank, Ma'ariv said.
Israeli
bulldozers demolish two Jerusalem homes
11/2/2009 -
Jerusalem - Ma'an - Israeli bulldozers demolished two Palestinian
houses in the Ath-Thuri neighborhood of Jerusalem on Monday morning,
according to a statement from the Al-Quds Center for Social and
Economic Rights. The center's research and documentation department
reported that a third house was damaged in the event of the
demolitions, and that some 20 people were displaced. A 70-square-meter
[753 square feet] house belonging to the elderly Siham Ahmad
Ash-Shuweiki, where he lived along with 14 other members of his family,
was the first to be torn down, the report said. Ash-Shukeiki reportedly
fainted twice during the demolition, and was hospitalized shortly
thereafter. Beforehand, a large contingent of Israeli police and
municipality workers evicted the family and their belongings, tossing
furniture outside. Forces also evicted the owner of a second
80-square-meter house, Haron Al-Qawasmi, where he lived along with 10
other relatives.
Besieged
Gaza faces increased power cuts
11/2/2009 - Gaza -
Ma'an - The Gaza electric company said on Monday that it will
immediately cut power to come areas because Israel's refusal to allow
the import of spare parts to repair the territory's sole power plant.
The Electricity Distribution Company in said in a statement that Israel
has refused to allow equipment and parts needed to repair the plant and
the electric grid, both of which were battered during the Israeli
military offensive last December and January. The company said that the
power cuts are likely to affect other services including water,
hospitals, childcare centers and schools. The company appealed to the
UN and humanitarian organizations to intervene and ensure that Israel
permits the spare parts to enter Gaza in order to prevent a
"humanitarian disaster. " ¯ The statement added that this potential
crisis would affect all of the Strip's 1.
Israeli
forces shoot mentally disabled man
11/3/2009 - Nablus -
Ma'an - Israeli forces shot and injured a mentally disabled man in the
occupied West Bank on Sunday evening during an arrest raid, Palestinian
and Israeli sources said. Madama village council member Hassan Ziyadeh
told Ma'an that Israeli soldiers shot Ma'moon Amin Nassar, a
34-year-old shepherd, during a raid near Nablus in the northern West
Bank. Ziyadeh said Israeli forces also detained a second man, who he
identified as 19-year-old Taher Yousef Odeh. Israeli forces left the
village shortly after the detentions, he said. The council member
alleged that soldiers beat both men before taking them to an
undisclosed location. An Israeli military spokeswoman said the man, who
she described as mentally unstable, was already known to security
forces operating in the area of Yizhar, an Israeli settlement near
Nablus. She said soldiers used "moderate force" when he threw stones,
refused orders to stop, and refused to identify himself.
Israel
frees six Palestinian lawmakers
11/2/2009 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Israel released six Hamas-affiliated Palestinian lawmakers on
Monday after holding them for more than three years, according to an
organization working for their release. Ma'an's reporters throughout
the West Bank confirmed the news and identified the freed lawmakers as
Ahmad Attoun and Wael Al-Husseini from Jerusalem district, Khalil
Ar-Rabai, Samir Al-Qadi, and Mahir Badr from Hebron, and Mahmoud
Al-Khatib from Bethlehem. Mushir Al-Masri, a Gaza-based Hamas lawmaker
and the head of the International Campaign for the Release of Abducted
Members of Parliament, said in a statement, "The detention of
Palestinian lawmakers was a crime against humanity and the
international community should call Israeli occupation to account for
that violation. " ¯ Al-Masri reiterated that the campaign he heads will
continue to lobby against the detention of members of the Palestinian
Legislative Council (PLC).
Israel
bans lawmaker from leaving West Bank
11/2/2009 - Tulkarem
- Ma'an - Israel prevented the second deputy speaker of the Palestinian
Legislative Council, Hassan Khreisha, from entering Jordan from the
West Bank on his way to Brussels on Monday. In a telephone interview,
Khreisha said that he was traveling to Brussels via Jordan in order to
participate in a meeting organized by the political committee of the
Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly. He added Israeli authorities
gave no explanation for banning him from travelling. It was the fourth
time in seven months the official has been denied the right to travel.
[end]
Report:
Soldier stabbed in northern Israel
11/2/2009 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - An Israeli soldier was stabbed on Monday in the
northern Israeli city of Raanana, the Hebrew-language news website
Walla reported. The soldier was transferred to a hospital for treatment
after he sustained light wounds, according to the report. Israeli
police surrounded Hasharon street, where the soldier was reportedly
stabbed, searching for two suspects who fled the scene on a motorcycle.
Purported eyewitnesses said the suspects were Palestinians. [end]
Egypt
waives visas for Palestinians en route to Gaza
11/2/2009 - Cairo -
Ma'an - Palestinians traveling en route to Gaza will no longer need a
visa to enter Egypt so long as the Rafah border crossing remains open,
Ambassador to Cairo Barakat Al-Farra said on Sunday evening. EgyptAir
sent directives to all international branches informing flight staff to
allow Palestinians with Gaza residency on board without visas, Al-Farra
added. Meanwhile, Egypt's Rafah crossing with the southern Gaza Strip
continued operating in both directions on Monday morning. Sources at
the border told Ma'an that only Egyptians and foreigners would be
allowed to cross, however. Palestinians were allowed to use the
terminal on Sunday, and are to cross again on Tuesday. Twelve passenger
buses and 10 ambulances arrived in Egypt from Gaza on Sunday, said de
facto Interior Ministry spokesman Eyhab Al-Ghussein.
PA
lauds EU court ruling against settlement goods
11/2/2009 - Ramallah
- Ma'an - The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Monday applauded the
decision of the European Court of Justice not to exempt products
manufactured by Israeli settlements from taxes imposed by the EU. Hasan
Abu Libdeh, minister of economy of the Fatah-controlled PA government,
said in a statement that this step will help "implement international
resolutions that ban the commercial exchange of Israeli settlement
products that are manufactured on Palestinian lands. " The recent EU
decision will enhance the PA's efforts to confront increasing
settlement activity, Abu Libda added, noting that such activities are
the major obstacle impeding the reestablishment of peace talks. A
German company, BRITA, has filed for tax exemptions on imports from
Israeli settlements based on the free-trade agreement signed between
Israel and the EU.
UK
student union boycotts Israeli goods
11/2/2009 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Following a landmark referendum, students at the
UK's Sussex University in Brighton this week voted to boycott Israeli
goods. The decision comes in line with the international Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which calls upon Israel to
respect international law and end the occupation of Palestinian
territory. The referendum received messages of support and thanks from
Jewish and Israeli academics and non-governmental organizations that
oppose Israel's occupation. Author and scholar Norman G. Finkelstein
described the referendum result as "a victory, not for Palestinians but
for truth and justice. "According to Iyad Burnat, head of the Popular
Committee Against the Wall in Bil'in, "We hope even more people all
around the world will follow by our example so that we can put an end
to the Israeli occupation and dismantle the apartheid wall.
Israel
opens two Gaza crossings
11/2/2009 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Israel will open Gaza'sKerem Shalom and the Karni crossings on
Monday while the Nahal Oz crossing, which is used for fuel and gas
deliveries, will remain closed, according to a Palestinian official.
Raed Fattouh said Israel decided to allow the entry of 330 calves into
the besieged Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing. The overall
number of calves to enter the Strip ahead of the Muslim Eid Al-Adha is
7,000. Furthermore, 82-92 trucks loaded with commercial merchandize and
humanitarian aid will enter through the same terminal. Fattouh added
that 126 truckloads of wheat and animal feed would enter the besieged
strip through the Karni crossing. On Sunday, Israel opened the Kerem
Shalom crossing while Nahal Oz and Karni remained closed.
Two
Palestinians detained in northern West Bank
11/2/2009 -
Ramallah/Jenin - Ma'an - Israeli forces detained two Palestinians from
the towns of Tubas and Al-Zababda on Monday morning and are being held
at unknown locations. The detentions come after Israeli forces seized
two Palestinians on Sunday evening in the northern West Bank. Security
sources said that Israeli forces detained Mhanna Khaled Sharqawy, 33,
from Al-Zababda town south of Jenin after storming his house at 2. 30
am on Monday and Nour Eddin Hafeth Issa Sawafta, 22, following a raid
on the town of Tubas. In addition, Israeli incursions were undertaken
in the villages of Jaba, Tamoon and Tayaseer, without any detentions.
The information office of the Palestinian police is currently
monitoring Israeli assaults on the northern provinces.
Rights
group: Gaza government must protect tunnel workers
11/2/2009 - Gaza -
Ma'an - The Hamas-run de facto government in Gaza must take effective
steps to protect workers in the territory's tunnel trade, the Al-Mezan
Centre for Human Rights said on MondayThe call comes following the
death of two Palestinians in tunnel collapses in unrelated accidents on
Sunday, bringing the death toll to 120. In a statement released
following the deaths of Mohammed Baraka, 23, and Ahmed Salah Abdeen,
35, The Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights stated that it "calls on the
Gaza Government to take immediate steps to act upon the obligations it
owes to Palestinian citizens in Gaza. The tunnel catastrophe must end.
" ¯According to field investigations conducted by the centre, Baraka
and Abdeen, both from Khan Younis, were admitted to Abu Yousef An-Najar
Hospital but were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.
Tulkarem
men sentenced for Al-Aqsa Brigades membership
11/2/2009 - Tulkarem
- Ma'an - Israeli military courts sentenced two men from the northern
West Bank city of Tulkarem to prison terms on Monday on charges of
belonging to a banned organization. The Salem military court sentenced
Bilal Rajab, 33, to 11 years in prison on the charge of membership in
Fatah's armed wing, the Al-Aqsa Brigades. Rajab was detained by Israeli
soldiers who raided his home in the West Bank city of Tulkarem on 26
October. He has been held in Israel's Meggido prison since then.
Another man, Hasan Tahsin Salameh, was also sentenced to seven years in
prison for membership in the Al-Aqsa Brigades. He is also currently in
Meggido prison. [end]
PSC:
Miliband must endorse Goldstone report
11/2/2009 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The UK's Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) sent
an open letter on Monday to British Foreign Secretary David Miliband,
urging Britain to uphold the Goldstone Report when it is discussed by
the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. The PSC, Britain's largest
organization campaigning for justice for Palestinians, wrote in its
letter to Miliband that "If Britain fails to uphold this report, it
will send a clear message to the rest of the world that it is prepared
to allow war crimes to go unpunished. "It will also be condoning the
ongoing crimes against humanity being committed daily as a result of
Israel's siege on Gaza. Such a failure will seriously undermine this
country's moral authority in the eyes of the world and its own people,
and will be unforgivable as a missed opportunity to work towards a just
peace for the Palestinians.
Israel
says ’Jewish terrorists’ still at large
11/3/2009 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - A senior official from Israel's Shin Bet
intelligence agency told Israel Radio on Monday that a number of
"Jewish terrorists" were still at large and planning future attacks.
The unnamed official's announcement came a day after Israel lifted a
gag order revealing that police had arrested American citizen and
Israeli settler Yaakov Teitel on charges that he killed two
Palestinians and carried out a string of bomb attacks. Disputing claims
from Teitel's attorney the day before, the Shin Bet official insisted
the settler is not mentally unstable, describing him instead as an
extremist, who acted "carefully, decisively and with sophistication,"
according to the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz. The official added
that Teitel and his sympathizers could be considered far more dangerous
than even the so-called Jewish underground and Yigal Amir, who
assassinated former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin some 14 years
ago.
Clinton
backtracks on settlements
11/2/2009 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said
on Monday that Israel has not done enough to curb the expansion of
illegal West Bank settlements, backtracking from earlier comments
praising Israeli restraint. "The Israelis have responded to the call of
the US, the Palestinians and the Arab world to stop settlement activity
by expressing a willingness to restrain settlement activity," Clinton
told reporters in Morocco, where she is to meet Arab foreign ministers.
"This offer falls far short of what our preference would be but if it
is acted upon it will be an unprecedented restriction on settlements
and would have a significant and meaningful effect on restraining their
growth," Clinton also said, according to Reuters. During their meeting
with Clinton in the city of Marrakesh, Arab states' foreign ministers
are likely to express disappointment at Clinton. . .
Rafah
crossing opens for second day
11/2/2009 - Gaza -
Ma'an - For the second consecutive day, Egypt's Rafah crossing with the
southern Gaza Strip continued operating in both directions on Monday
morning. Sources at the border told Ma'an that only Egyptians and
foreigners would be allowed to cross, however. Palestinians were
allowed to use the terminal on Sunday, and are scheduled to cross again
on Tuesday. Twelve passenger buses and 10 ambulances arrived in Egypt
from Gaza on Sunday, according to de facto Interior Ministry spokesman
Eyhab Al-Ghussein. Egypt has cooperated with Israel's military blockade
on the coastal strip that was fully implemented in 2007. Israel almost
never allows Palestinians to enter or exit, but opens its borders for
basic deliveries of international aid several times each week. Egypt,
on the other hand, keeps its sole border crossing tightly sealed except
in rare cases.
Ashrawi:
US treats Israel as a state above the law
11/2/2009 - Ramallah
- Ma'an - Senior PLO official Hanan Ashrawi, spoke of the "serious
slowdown" in the US position on the Israel-Palestine conflict in a
number of recent interviews, stating that the US has succumbed to
Israeli pressure regarding settlements, and the future of Jerusalem.
Ashrawi noted that this change in attitude towards Israel constitutes a
reversal of the promises made by US President Barack Obama who
initially stressed the importance of a settlement freeze as necessary
to reopen the peace process. Ashrawi's comments come after US Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday expressed support the view that a
freeze on Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank should not
be a precondition for renewed negotiations. A member of the PLO's
executive committee, Ashrawi was one of the main early proponents of
the two-state solution to the Palestinian struggle for
self-determination.
PSE
rises: Al-Quds Index up 0.66% on Monday
11/2/2009 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Stocks increased on the Palestine Securities
Exchange in Nablus on Monday, as the Al-Quds Index closed at 501. 71,
marking an increase of 3. 3 points (0. 66%). Trading volume was
348,281, shares traded for a total value of 721,395. 47 US dollars
executed over the course of 228 trades. The shares of 21 companies were
traded. The shares prices of nine companies rose, and those of five
dropped. The top five gainers were PIBC by 4. 92%, GCOM by 4. 65%, ARE
by 3. 64%, PALTEL by 1. 54%, PIIC by 1. 47%. The five losers were ISBK
by 4. 00%, PRICO by 3. 75%, MIC by 3. 39%, NCI by 3. 33%, BPC by 0.
27%. [end]
Heavy
rain causes flooding in Tulkarem
11/2/2009 - Tulkarm
- Ma'an - Heavy rain caused flooding in the northern West Bank city of
Tulkarem on Monday. Palestinian National Security forces helped
evacuate construction vehicles from a road near the local police
headquarters, where the flood waters reached a half-meter in depth.
Security officers also used a truck to ferry schoolchildren across the
floded road. Civil Defense officials also said that some houses in the
Tulkarem area had to be evacuated. There were no reports of casualties.
Deputy police chief Haitham Dughlas urged the public not to allow
children into the streets and to follow instructions from police. He
also said residents should not hesitate to call emergency numbers if
they need assistance.
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Had Teitel been satisfied with acts of murder against Palestinians, he would never have been caught.
Lebanon army dismantles 4 rockets aimed at Israel
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Rockets ready for launching were discovered Wednesday; Katyusha struck northern Israel on Tuesday.
IDF Chief: Israeli inquiry into Gaza war proper response to Goldstone
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Gabi Ashkenazi said Israel can't let anyone control its future, in his first visit to Germany as Chief of Staff.
'Netanyahu didn't mean he backed Israel probe of Gaza war'
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - PM's bureau issues statement to clarify comments Netanyahu made in interview with Washington Post.
Report: Mossad hacked Syrian computer to uncover nuke site
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Mossad agents planted malware on Syrian official's computer while he was at London hotel,
How Israel caught the suspected Jewish terrorist
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - After Yaakov Teitel was arrested in Jerusalem, armed police broke into his home and roused his family.
Settler admits to murder, series of bomb attacks
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Yaakov Teitel suspected of killing 2 Palestinians, attemping to kill Messianic Jew, leftist professor.
Settler leaders: Jewish terrorist does not represent us
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Suspected Jewish terrorist Teitel's neighbors shocked by arrest, declare he is innocent until proven guilty.
Rightists confront 'IDF organ trafficking' reporter at Israel airport
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Upon Swedish journalist's arrival in Israel, rightists at Ben Gurion airport call for his expulsion.
Former IDF chiefs trade barbs over failures in Second Lebanon War
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Dan Halutz blasts Ya'alon's 'obsession' with matter after deputy PM accuses him of arrogance.
Israeli Arabs accuse Israel of 'ethnic cleansing' in Jerusalem
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Umbrella group calls on Palestinians and Arabs to 'defend' Al-Aqsa mosque and East Jerusalem.
Report: Lebanon nabs top militant over rocket attack against Israel
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Lebanese daily reports arrest; Lebanon FM: Israel's cease-fire violations hint it's planning to attack us.
The IDF has become Israel's diplomatic channel to the West
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - In recent months, the similarity of the threat facing Israel and its Western counterparts has grown.
Lebanon warns UN: Israel planning to attack us
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - UN envoy condemns IDF artillery attack and cites repeated Israeli threats, says Lebanese paper
U.S. official: Syria must rethink support of Hezbollah, Hamas if it wants better ties
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Assistant Secretary of State: Dialogue with Syria will not be at the expense of Lebanon's sovereignty.
Barak: Soldiers' political protest harms IDF, Israel
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Defense Minister warns of perils of IDF soldiers protesting settler evacuations within confines of the army.
Trial of suspected Hezbollah cell resumes in Egypt
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - 26 men are accused of planning attacks against tourists and the Suez Canal and possessing explosives.
Aluf Benn / Who decided to go to war in Gaza and why?
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Did the cabinet consider that hundreds of Palestinian civilians would be killed during Operation Cast Lead?
VIDEO / Settlers clash with Palestinian 'security threat' olive growers
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Settlers reportedly uproot dozens of Palestinian olive trees; IDF lets settlers protest inside Palestinian village.
Peres: Unlike Hamas, Israel protects its children
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - President tells schoolchildren that Israel doing everything possible to bring Gilad Shalit back home.
[uruknet.info]
The Gaza Chronicles: Part 2 - What a Siege Looks Like
Uruknet November 2,
2009 - "Gaza is an example of a society that has been deliberately
reduced to a state of abject destitution," Sara Roy wrote in July. It
has led to "mass suffering, created largely by Israel," and aided by
the active participation of the United States, European Union, and
Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. The Israeli policy of...
[uruknet.info]
'Russian who spied on Israel shot dead in Moscow'
Uruknet November 2,
2009 - Shabtai Kalmanovitch, an Israeli immigrant from the former
Soviet Union who served time in prison for spying for the KGB, was shot
and killed while driving in downtown Moscow, news agencies reported on
Monday. According to the Interfax news agency, Kalmanovitch was shot
while driving in his Mercedes in the Russian capital. The report said
Kalmanovitch...
[uruknet.info]
Why has the Egyptian authority burn the Palestinian aid?
Uruknet November 2,
2009 - ... The Egyptian police refused to comment on the looting, but
confirmed that the tons piling there were gathered to be burned down
because all of it was inedible any more; all expired and no more safe
for human consumption.....WHY on Earth such thing has been allowed to
happen? Why tons of food aid to starving people...
[uruknet.info] UK
student union boycotts Israeli goods
Uruknet November 2,
2009 - Following a landmark referendum, students at the UK's Sussex
University in Brighton this week voted to boycott Israeli goods. The
decision comes in line with the international Boycott, Divestment and
Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which calls upon Israel to respect
international law and end the occupation of Palestinian territory. The
referendum received messages of support and thanks...
[uruknet.info]
Lawsuit Probes Role of Psychologists in Terror War
Uruknet November 2,
2009 - The state board responsible for licensing - and disciplining -
psychologists in Louisiana is accused of turning a blind eye to serious
allegations of abuse against one of its members, including complicity
in beatings, religious and sexual humiliation, rape threats and painful
body positions during his service as a senior advisor on interrogations
for the U.S....
[uruknet.info]
Arab anger as Hillary Clinton backs Israel on settlements
Uruknet November 2,
2009 - Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, sought to deflect
the anger and disappointment of pro-western Arab states today after
backing Israel's position that it did not need to freeze settlement
activity as a prelude to resuming peace talks with the Palestinians.
Clinton was due to meet foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and
other key...
[uruknet.info]
Report: Israel creates military court for Palestinian children
Uruknet November 2,
2009 - An Israeli judge has announced the establishment of a new
military court dealing solely with the sentencing of Palestinian
children. Ma'ariv, the daily Hebrew-language newspaper, wrote that
"from now on, Palestinian children will be brought in front of military
judges under the new structure of a special military court to sentence
children under the legal age...
[uruknet.info]
Goldstone sends letter to Berman, Ros-Lehtinen correcting factual
errors in HR 867, which opposes UN Fact Finding Report on Gaza
Uruknet November 2,
2009 - Dear Chairman Berman and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen, It has
come to my attention that a resolution has been introduced in the
United States House of Representatives regarding the United Nations
Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, which I led earlier this
year. I fully respect the right of the US Congress to examine and
judge...
[uruknet.info]
Would Israel arrest a Jewish terrorist with only Arab victims?
Uruknet November 2,
2009 - It's reasonable to assume that if Yaakov (Jack) Teitel had
focused only on attacking Palestinians, he would have encountered few
problems with law-enforcement authorities. His big mistake, it seems,
was targeting non-Arabs as well. Experience - and statistics - show
that Israeli law enforcement is remarkably lax when it comes to
tackling violence against Palestinians. Twelve...
[uruknet.info]
Besieged Gaza faces increased power cuts
Uruknet November 2,
2009 - The Gaza electric company said on Monday that it will
immediately cut power to come areas because Israel's refusal to allow
the import of spare parts to repair the territory's sole power plant.
The Electricity Distribution Company in said in a statement that Israel
has refused to allow equipment and parts needed to repair the plant...
[uruknet.info]
Video: Gaza is Floating
Uruknet November 2,
2009 - "Gaza is Floating" is a short documentary film produced by
LifeSource. It shows the impacts of the siege on Gaza, which was
imposed by the Israeli Occupation, on the sanitation and waste water
sector and how this affects the daily life of the people...
London, November 2, 2009, (Pal Telegraph) - Fateh Spokesman Dr. Fayez Abu Eita held Hamas and it's affiliated militants responsible about the life and safety of Fateh member Dr. Ziyad Asarafandi who has been detained in Hamas jails since five months.
Attacks by Israeli settlers spark more by the army as Palestinians defend themselves in West Bank
Jerusalem, November 1, 2009, (Pal Telegraph)-The media office in the Palestinian Authority police reported on two separate incidents involving Israeli settlers and soldiers in the West Bank yesterday evening.
Palestinians Believe Abbas's Election Decree Ends Chances for Reconciliation
Gaza, November 1, 2009, (Pal Telegraph) - Gamal El-Zahhar, 27, had good reason to be angry last week. Living in Khan Younis in southern Gaza he came to realise that his chances of marrying Shaimaa, a Palestinian girl living in Jordan whom...
On the arrest of Greek diplomat in Sheikh Jarrah
Greece, November 1, 2009 (Pal Telegraph) The Palestinians will not be left...
Entering Gaza: The Hard Way in from Egypt
U.S.A, October 30, 2009, (Pal Telegraph) -Tuesday morning at 8 o'clock is chaos at Rafah Crossing, the Egyptian-controlled entrance to the Gaza Strip. Black-clad Egyptian security forces stand by their trucks, ready if things get out of hand. Aid convoys line up...
The National 2 Nov 2009 - Sakher Habash, founding member of Fatah and intellectual with 'absolute faith in inevitable victory', dies at 70.
Obama betrays hope created by Cairo speech
The National 2 Nov 2009 - Analysis Despite his bold words in Egypt, the US president has deflated expectations of an even-handed approach to the Arab-Israeli peace process.
Syria and Saudi end tariff war
The National 2 Nov 2009 - The end of the tax barriers on the ceramics and olive oil trade indicates improved political relations between Damascus and Riyadh.
Peace talks stumble on settlements
The National 1 Nov 2009 - Washington's apparent support of Israel's stance on settlement construction is seen as 'unhelpful' and disappointing to Palestinians.
AlJazeera 2 Nov 2009 - Clinton tells Tehran to accept UN-brokered fuel plan in full after Iran calls for review.
Clinton urges Israel on peace moves
AlJazeera 2 Nov 2009 - US secretary of state says Israel must match Palestinian gestures towards peace.
US blocks 'Syria torture' lawsuit
AlJazeera 2 Nov 2009 - Canadian who was deported to Middle East country cannot sue US officials, court rules.
Mubarak dodges presidency question
AlJazeera 1 Nov 2009 - The son of Egypt's president refuses to say whether he has presidential ambitions.
Alternative Information Center
The Jewish National Fund: Confiscating Bedouin LandsAlternative Information Center 1 Nov 2009 - The Government of Israel Continues to Confiscate Bedouin Lands. Old-New Partners in Crime: the Jewish National Fund Do not allow the JNF to do this in your name, with your donations, and with American tax...
Second Prison Term for Walaa Kassem Naffaa, a Conscientious Objector, Member of the Druze Religious Community in Israel
Alternative Information Center 1 Nov 2009 - Second prison term for Walaa Kassem Naffaa, a conscientious objector, member of the Druze religious community in Israel . Information and recommended action follow. We have received news of yet another conscientious objector held in military prison...
A Brief Interview with Jamal Juma’a on the Separation Wall and Settlments
Alternative Information Center 2 Nov 2009 - During the recent conference hosted by AIC, “United In Struggle Against Israeli Colonialism, Occupation, and Racism,” I spoke briefly with Jamal Juma’a about his views on the Separation Wall and ongoing settlement construction.
PNN 2 Nov 2009 - Quartet Representative Tony Blair today welcomed the launch of the Wataniya mobile phone operator in Palestine, a flagship project which will increase competition and boost investment in the Palestinian economy. Mr. Blair, who helped broker the agreement that was announced at the May 2008 Palestine Investment Conference in Bethlehem and who has been intimately involved subsequently in efforts to help bring the...
Settler admits to murder, series of bomb attacks
PNN 2 Nov 2009 - A resident of the West Bank settlement outpost Shvut Rachel was arrested last month for suspected murder and for his alleged role in a string of attempted murder plots, according to details of an investigation revealed on Sunday after a gag order on the case was lifted. Yaakov Jack Teitel, 37, is suspected of killing two Palestinians, for rigging the package bomb...
Israeli Attorney General issues final indictment against MK Mohammad Barakeh for demonstrating
PNN 1 Nov 2009 - Nablus / Amin Abu Wardeh for PNN – Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz has issued another indictment against Palestinian member of the Knesset Mohammad Barakeh. Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin pushed for the decision against the Chairman of the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality on Sunday afternoon.Barakeh is being charged with assault after participation in West Bank demonstrations against the Wall during which...
Edward Said Conservatory of Music: a world where children play melodies against the walls of siege
PNN 1 Nov 2009 - Jerusalem / Maisa Abu Ghazaleh for PNN – Music is the language of the people, one of the signs of excellence and growth believes the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music. The programs and projects of the Conservatory clearly aim at improving the musical life for all age and socio-economic groups in the provinces of Palestine. It targets the disadvantaged to discover their...
Attacks by Israeli settlers spark more by the army as Palestinians defend themselves in West Bank
PNN 1 Nov 2009 - Ramallah / PNN – The media office in the Palestinian Authority police reported on two separate incidents involving Israeli settlers and soldiers in the West Bank yesterday evening. In southern Nablus, Israeli forces fired rubber-coated steel bullets and noxious gas at Palestinian youth. The trouble began when settlers attacked Burin Village. When the Israeli army arrived, soldiers went after the Palestinians.Among the injuries...
Sussex University Students' Union first in United Kingdom to boycott Israeli goods
PNN 1 Nov 2009 - Ramallah - Following a landmark referendum, students at Sussex University have voted to boycott Israeli goods. The decision will become part of the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, which calls upon the Israelis to respect international law and end the occupation of Palestine. Besides being penned and assisted by Palestinian, Arabs and international supporters, the referendum received messages of support and...
Central Committee member and former Secretary General of the Revolutionary Council dies at 70
PNN 1 Nov 2009 - Ramallah / PNN – A leader in the Fateh movement has died at 70 years of age in Ramallah. The photo from life.com shows him laying a wreath on the tomb of the late President Yasser Arafat. Sakhr Habash, Abu Nizar, was a Fateh Central Committee Member and the former Secretary General of the Fateh Revolutionary Council.Known as an intellectual in the movement,...
Jeruslalem Post 2 Nov 2009 - US secretary of state: This is a pivotal moment for Iran, acceptance of the proposal would indicate that Islamic republic doesn't want to be isolated.
Arab families: Teital caught only after attacking Jews
Jeruslalem Post 2 Nov 2009 - Brother of taxi driver killed by Teitel: Samir was one of thousands of Palestinian martyrs, and as such, his case is not unique.
Livni besieged over party selection process
Jeruslalem Post 2 Nov 2009 - During rancorous faction meeting, Kadima head was also forced to answer tough questions regarding her proposal to divide the authority of the A-G.
Ir Amim claims proposed Jerusalem neighborhood will encroach on 'green zone'
Jeruslalem Post 2 Nov 2009 -
Clinton moderates her praise for Israel
Jeruslalem Post 2 Nov 2009 - US opposes settlement expansion, but Israeli offer is "significant," secretary of state says in Morocco.
ElBaradei urges Iran to respond to deal
Jeruslalem Post 2 Nov 2009 - Outgoing IAEA head: Sanctions "hurt the innocent;" mixed messages from Teheran on West's proposal.
Pro-Kahane notices posted around J'lem
Jeruslalem Post 2 Nov 2009 - MK Michael Ben-Ari who will attend event in Kahane's memory: "Kahane was my teacher and rabbi."
Teitel family traumatized by terror case
Jeruslalem Post 2 Nov 2009 - Suspected Jewish terrorist's sister-in-law maintains his wife was unaware of what was going on.
Israel frees 6 Hamas cabinet ministers
Jeruslalem Post 2 Nov 2009 - Prisoners had completed their jail term, release not linked to Schalit deal, defense officials stress.
IRIN TEL AVIV Friday, October 30, 2009 (IRIN) - Migrant workers in Israel’s agriculture sector are among the most exploited, according to a 28 October report by Kav LaOved, an Israeli NGO campaigning for the rights of disadvantaged workers in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
LEBANON: Solar power helps schools, hospitals
IRIN AKKAR Thursday, October 29, 2009 (IRIN) - In Lebanon’s remote northeastern district of Akkar, teachers and pupils at the Rajam Issa public school are hoping this winter will be the first when the lights stay on. “Electricity is the lifeline of the school,” said head teacher Ibrahim Salame, complaining of...
SYRIA: Thousands of Iraqi refugees seek resettlement in West
IRIN DAMASCUS Wednesday, October 28, 2009 (IRIN) - Iraqi refugee Leila Johanna Isho is determined to make this her last year in Syria. “Most of our family is scattered across Europe and I have a cousin in Canada so we don’t mind where we move, but we have to move because...
IPS UNITED NATIONS, Oct 31 (IPS) - Is the ongoing controversy over Iran's nuclear programme helping to advance the United Nations' agenda on nuclear disarmament? To a number of diplomats and experts who have participated in past U.N. discussions on the spread of nuclear weapons, the answer is, yes – although...
MIDEAST: Israel Divided Over 'Illegal' Children
IPS TEL AVIV, Nov 2 (IPS) - "Migrant workers bring with them a profusion of diseases - hepatitis, measles, tuberculosis, AIDS and drug addiction: Our critics can be as sanctimonious as they like, but unless we stop the wave of migrant workers, the whole character of the State of Israel, its...
Stop The Wall 2 Nov 2009 - This Friday, in spite of heavy rains, soldiers and tear gas, the people of Bil’in and al-Ma’sara marched against the Wall. In Bil’in, organizers dedicated their protest to jailed activist Adeeb Abu Rahmeh, who was arrested this summer and remains in prison for his role in organizing grassroots resistance. [
Ni’lin resists the Wall under heavy rain
Stop The Wall 2 Nov 2009 - The heavy rain which fell in the West Bank did not prevent the people of Ni’lin village from protesting against the Apartheid Wall. This week, people marched under the slogan of the “Black Wall”, bringing car tires to burn along the base of the Wall. [
PCHR
International Solidarity Movement
Israeli forces raid Al-Ein refugee camp, arrest thirteen11/2/2009 - International Solidarity Movement - 1 November 2009 - Thirteen Palestinian boys were arrested in a raid on Al-Ein refugee camp outside Nablus, Wednesday 27 October. With the exception of one, all boys were aged 17, in their final year of school, and had no previous convictions. Amongst the arrested were two brothers - Yassar, 20 and Ahmad, 17. ISM activists visited the family's home in the camp. Family holding photographs of their two sons, Yassar and Ahmad, arrested during a night raid on El-Ein refugee camp on 27 OctoberYassar and Ahmad's mother speaks frankly of the sudden, unprovoked attack on their small home in the camp. At 2am, as the family slept, Yassar was awoken by the unmistakeable sounds of the Israeli Occupation Forces entering the camp, soldiers knocking on nearby doors and demanding to know the whereabouts of his family. Yassar ran to wake his siblings and parents as he heard a voice at the door saying "this is the house. "
Israeli police demolish Gawi tent for the third time
11/2/2009 - International Solidarity Movement - 1 November 2009 - On Sunday 1 November 2009 at 9:50am, eight Israeli police vehicles and about 20 heavily armed police accompanied by several municipality officers arrived outside the Gawi family house in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem. Despite failing to present a valid court order, they quickly demolished the tent where the Gawi family have been living since they were forcefully evicted from their home on 2 August 2009. The tent and the few remaining family belongings – chairs, mattresses and blankets, water cistern, gas heater and food – were loaded onto three pick-up trucks and taken away. By 10:10am, the demolition and confiscation were completed. The tent destroyed today was built to replace the original protest tent that was in a similar scenario demolished and confiscated last Thursday.
Evicted Sheikh Jarrah families demonstrate outside of US consulate
11/2/2009 - International Solidarity Movement - On Monday 2 November 2009 between 11 and 12am, a quiet demonstration was held outside the USA consulate in East Jerusalem, close to the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. Coinciding with USA foreign secretary Hillary Clinton's visit to Israel, the demonstration asked for the USA to apply more pressure on Israel and stop the home confiscations and evictions of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah. The demonstration gathered about 30-40 demonstrators and was covered by a number of press reporters. In addition to Sheikh Jarrah families, participant organizations included Ta'ayush, Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, International Solidarity Movement, Michigan Peace Team, and Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel. A police vehicle with heavily armed police officers arrived after five minutes and maintained a peripheral position for the remainder of the demonstration.
Would Israel arrest a Jewish terrorist with only Arab victims?
11/2/2009 - International Solidarity Movement - Ha'aretz - It's reasonable to assume that if Yaakov (Jack) Teitel had focused only on attacking Palestinians, he would have encountered few problems with law-enforcement authorities. His big mistake, it seems, was targeting non-Arabs as well. Experience – and statistics – show that Israeli law enforcement is remarkably lax when it comes to tackling violence against Palestinians. Twelve years ago, Teitel confessed to killing two Arabs and then took a break from such activity. Sure, he was detained for questioning after the murder of shepherd Issa Mahamra, but he was released due to insufficient evidence. As with many other cases of murder and violence committed against Palestinians, the story of the shepherd from Yatta and the taxi driver from East Jerusalem disappeared into oblivion – until Teitel returned and attempted to harm Jews, bringing the wrath of public opinion,
British MP: Data suggesting rise in British anti-Semitism is misleading
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Recent data suggesting a significant increase in anti-Semitic incidents in Britain this year may be misleading, according to Labor MP John Mann, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group against Anti-Semitism. ...
U.K., France act to keep Goldstone report out of Security Council
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - A joint French-British UN initiative would call on Israel and the Palestinians to hold immediate, independent investigations into war crimes allegations stemming from the war in Gaza, as part of a bid to send the Goldstone report back to Geneva and out of the hands of the Security Council or the International Criminal Court at The Hague. ...
'I have no proof the IDF harvests Palestinians' organs'
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - A Swedish journalist who caused outrage in Israel with allegations that Israel Defense Forces soldiers harvested organs of dead Palestinians and trafficked in them defended his article on Monday to a largely hostile audience in Dimona. ...
Abbas tells Obama envoy he's adamant on settlement freeze
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - The Palestinian Authority would not resume peace talks with Israel until all construction in the West Bank settlements stopped, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell on Monday in Amman. ...
Clinton says nuclear proposal to Iran `will not change`
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday urged Iran to accept the six-powers proposal on its nuclear program, saying the offer would not be changed. ...
The Guardian 2 Nov 2009 - The consensus is clear that Hillary Clinton stepped in it on her recent overseas trip. Here's Jason Zengerle at TNR , quoting in part Ben Smith of the Politico: It's certainly starting to seem that way. Last...
Lionel Davidson obituary
The Guardian 2 Nov 2009 - Award-winning writer renowned for thrillers such as The Rose of Tibet and The Chelsea Murders Graham Greene called Lionel Davidson, who has died aged 87, the first contemporary storyteller to have recaptured the high adventure of...
Arab anger as Hillary Clinton backs Israel on settlements
The Guardian 2 Nov 2009 - US secretary of state praises concessions by Israel 'Israel can get away with anything,' claims Arab League Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, sought to deflect the anger and disappointment of pro-western Arab states today...
Palestinians must prepare for statehood | Hussein Ibish
The Guardian 2 Nov 2009 - The Palestinian Authority is taking a unilateral approach to institution-building. It's a policy that demonstrates maturity In an article last week, Ahmad Samhi Khalidi derisively dismissed the plan of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to build the...
American-Israeli settler questioned over terror attacks
The Guardian 2 Nov 2009 - Yaakov Teitel 'deeply involved in terrorism in all different levels', police spokesman says Israeli security services were today re-questioning an American-Israeli settler who they say has confessed to attacks including the killing of two Palestinians and...
Palestinians condemn Hillary Clinton over Jewish settlements stance
The Guardian 2 Nov 2009 - Call for return to peace talks rejected after secretary of state praises Israel for offer to curb settlement construction The Palestinian government has accused the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, of undermining progress towards Middle...
Obama must try harder | Richard Silverstein
The Guardian 1 Nov 2009 - After his magnificent speech in Cairo, Obama's Middle East peace policy earns an 'A' for vision but only a 'C' for action Though Obama campaigned as somewhat of a hardliner on issues like Iran and Jerusalem...
Writing Jews out of Jerusalem's history | Jeremy Sharon
The Guardian 1 Nov 2009 - The whipping up of unrest around the Temple Mount is part of an insidious campaign to cast Jewish people as modern interlopers The Temple Mount, or al-Haram al-Sharif to Muslims, must rank as one of the...
The Observer Debate | A year on, has Barack Obama met the hopes of the world?
The Guardian 31 Oct 2009 - Last November, in Chicago's Grant Park, world politics was transformed by the arrival of America's first black president. But has he made good on his groundbreaking promises? Keith Richburg: On one year Time is needed to...
The personal jihad of Melanie Phillips | Ed Husain
The Guardian 31 Oct 2009 - In her McCarthy-style paranoid parallel universe, the Spectator columnist views every Muslim a potential Islamist terrorist Melanie Philips's zealotry and ignorance frighten me. How did we produce a public commentator filled with such anger, venom and...
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - EasyJet inaugurated its first flight from London to Ben Gurion ...
Shin Bet suspects Teitel behind additional murders
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Security forces investigating suspected Jewish terrorist Yaakov (Jack) Teitel, believe he may have committed a number of murders in addition to those he admitted in his interrogation. ...
In wake of family murder MKs seek death penalty for child killers
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Following the apprehension on Monday of the man suspected of killing the Oshrenko family last month, four Knesset members initiated a bill that calls for legalization of the death penalty in murder cases involving children under the age of 13. ...
'Russian who spied on Israel shot dead in Moscow'
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Shabtai Kalmanovitch, an Israeli immigrant from the former Soviet Union who served time in prison for spying for the KGB, was shot and killed while driving in downtown Moscow, news agencies reported on Monday. ...
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone expected to visit Israel
Ha'aretz 2 Nov 2009 - Biz Stone, the co-founder and creative officer of the popular micro-blogging Web site Twitter, is due in Israel later this month. ...
Relief Web 2 Nov 2009 - Source: Grassroots
OPT: Q+A - Peace talks and Israeli settlements
Relief Web 2 Nov 2009 - Source: Reuters - AlertNet
Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the OPT, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources: Draft resolution
Relief Web 2 Nov 2009 - Source: UN General Assembly
OPT: RCA to conduct over 50 cochelor implant surgeries in Gaza
Relief Web 2 Nov 2009 - Source: Emirates News Agency
Greece shuts down migrant detention centre on island
Relief Web 2 Nov 2009 - Source: Deutsche Presse Agentur
OPT: Truckloads of goods enter Gaza from Israel, UN reports
Relief Web 1 Nov 2009 - Source: UN News Service
YNet News 2 Nov 2009 - Former Shas minister: I warned officials against allowing non-Jews to immigrate to Israel
Qassam fired at southern Israel
YNet News 2 Nov 2009 - Anti-rocket alert sounded in Ashkelon; turned out to be technical failure due to stormy weather
Iran: Anti-Semite appointed deputy minister
YNet News 2 Nov 2009 - Mohammad-Ali Ramin is considered most hard-line among Ayatollah regime's Holocaust deniers
Israel releases 6 Hamas legislators
YNet News 2 Nov 2009 - Rumors of progress on Shalit deal spread after Israel frees men arrested in aftermath of his capture
France warns Iran: Avoid delay tactics
YNet News 2 Nov 2009 - French FM: If Iran's reply to nuke offer aims to delay matters we won't accept it
Clinton: Israel must do more on settlement issue
YNet News 2 Nov 2009 - US secretary of state moderates her praise for Jewish state's offer to restrain, but not stop, its building of settlements in Palestinian areas
Daily Star 2 Nov 2009 US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday called on Israel to make greater efforts to ease tensions with Palestinians, on the same day as US Middle East envoy George Mitchell pledged his country's support for regional peace at a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II. Clinton, who is on a tour aimed at re-launching Middle East peace talks, praised efforts.
Karadzic directed 'terror' campaign personally, say prosecutors
Daily Star 2 Nov 2009 Radovan Karadzic sanctioned the shelling of Sarajevo civilians and the massacre of Srebrenica's Muslims, the prosecutor said as the Bosnian Serb leader's genocide trial resumed in his absence Monday. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was told that Karadzic personally directed "a campaign of terror" against Sarejevo and ordered the Srebrenica massacre., Radovan Karadzic sanctioned the shelling of Sarajevo civilians and the massacre of Srebrenica's Muslims, the prosecutor said as the Bosnian Serb leader's genocide trial resumed in his absence Monday. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was told that Karadzic personally directed "a campaign of terror" against Sarejevo and ordered the Srebrenica massacre.
Palestinian prime minister seeks statehood amid diplomatic gridlock
Daily Star 2 Nov 2009 At a time when Middle East peace appears as distant as ever, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has a new strategy for statehood, one that does not rely on US-backed negotiations. "It's a construction agenda, not a destruction agenda. It's an agenda that is all based on the notion of building positive facts on the ground," Fayyad told AFP in an interview.
Israel delays expulsion of children of foreign workers
Daily Star 2 Nov 2009 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed until the end of the school year the expulsion of 1,200 children of foreigners working illegally in Israel, his office said on Sunday. "Children of foreign workers who are having lessons in state-run schools will be able to complete the school year" up to June 2010, the premier's office said in a statement.
Iran wants new nuclear fuel talks amid deepening doubts
Daily Star 2 Nov 2009 Iran wants more talks on a UN-drafted nuclear deal and prefers to import atomic fuel rather than send its own uranium abroad for processing, a senior official said, suggesting terms world powers are likely to rebuff. Western powers have urged Iran to accept a draft deal in which it would send most of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) abroad by the end of the year for further enrichment to turn it into fuel for a medical reactor.
Zig-zagging Iran in no hurry to cut nuclear deal
Daily Star 2 Nov 2009 If Western leaders were still puzzling over Iran's approach to nuclear talks, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad offered a timely tutorial. It came complete with a dismissive sound bite - comparing Iran's foes to a mosquito - a bit of boasting about Iran's prestige and a touch of self-analysis. Iran's president said Sunday that Tehran doesn't trust the West to keep its promises.
Swedish reporter defends Israel organ-harvesting claim
Daily Star 2 Nov 2009 A Swedish journalist who caused outrage in Israel with allegations that soldiers stole organs of dead Palestinians defended his article on Monday to an often hostile audience in southern Israel. Speaking at a media conference in this southern Israeli town and often interrupted by hecklers, Donald Bostrom admitted he had no proof beyond the allegations of the families of Palestinians killed by the Israeli Army., A Swedish journalist who caused outrage in Israel with allegations that soldiers stole organs of dead Palestinians defended his article on Monday to an often hostile audience in southern Israel. Speaking at a media conference in this southern Israeli town and often interrupted by hecklers, Donald Bostrom admitted he had no proof beyond the allegations of the families of Palestinians killed by the Israeli Army.
Palestinian Information Center
Hamas calls on Europe to bear responsibility for its crime against PalestinePIC 2 Nov 2009 - Hamas on the 92nd anniversary of the ill-fated Balfour declaration demanded European states to bear the moral responsibility for the crime they had committed against Palestine.
IOA forces Palestinian to demolish his own home
PIC 2 Nov 2009 - The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has forced a Palestinian Jerusalemite to demolish his own home in Jabal Al-Mukabir in occupied Jerusalem.
Sabri: Israel carrying out the most serious Judaization activities ever
PIC 2 Nov 2009 - Sheikh Ekrema Sabri stated that Israel is carrying out the most serious and widespread Judaization activities since it occupied the holy city.
Islamic Jihad accuses Abbas's militias of kidnapping 170 of its supporters in WB
PIC 2 Nov 2009 - An Islamic Jihad spokesman in the West Bank accused security militias loyal to Mahmoud Abbas, whose term as PA chief expired, of kidnapping 170 of the Movements' leaders, cadres and supporters.
IOA bulldozers knock down Jerusalemite home
PIC 2 Nov 2009 - Israeli occupation authority (IOA) bulldozers on Monday leveled a Palestinian Jerusalemite home in Silwan suburb south of the holy Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.
Barhoum: The Palestinian cause going backwards since Obama took office
PIC 2 Nov 2009 - Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum stated Monday that the Palestinian cause has been witnessing a serious setback since US president Barack Obama took office.
Mansour: Abbas’s security apparatuses harass Hamas MPs in West Bank
PIC 2 Nov 2009 - Hamas lawmaker Mona Mansour said Sunday that Mahmoud Abbas’s security apparatuses resumed harassment of Hamas lawmakers and their families in the West Bank especially in Nablus.
IOA endorses law confiscating property of anyone resisting occupation
PIC 2 Nov 2009 - Israel's ministerial committee on legislation has endorsed a draft law allowing the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) to confiscate the property of anyone convicted of "terrorism".
Friends of Humanity castigates Cairo for barring Euro aid
PIC 2 Nov 2009 - The Friends of Humanity has lashed out at the Egyptian authorities for refusing to allow access for the Miles of Smiles European aid convoy heading to Gaza through Egyptian land.
Qufaisheh: The world cares for Shalit and ignores Palestinian prisoners
PIC 2 Nov 2009 - Hamas lawmaker Hatim Qufaisheh stated that the international community does not care about the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails while its voice is heard when it is related to Gilad Shalit.
LA Times 2 Nov 2009 - Tehran, in an apparent softening, says it has not rejected the deal. Iran said today that it has not rejected a U.N.-backed plan aimed at limiting the country's ability to make nuclear weapons, and it called for a technical panel to review the plan.
Messages from the past become easy to read
LA Times 2 Nov 2009 - USC researchers are producing crisp images of inscriptions and artifacts from biblical Israel and other Near Eastern locales and putting the pictures online. Four thousand years ago, a government bureaucrat in Mesopotamia jotted down a tally of slave laborers on a clay tablet.
Clinton praises Israel stance on peace talks
LA Times 1 Nov 2009 - In the Mideast to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls Israeli offers on Jewish settlement growth 'unprecedented,' but the Palestinians insist on a freeze. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, trying to coax Palestinian leaders to restart peace talks with Israel, said Saturday that Israel was offering "unprecedented" concessions to limit the growth of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
New York Times 3 Nov 2009 - The secretary of state said the Obama administration still wants Israel to freeze construction of Jewish settlements.
Israelis and Obama
New York Times 2 Nov 2009 - Obama is not popular in Israel because he is serious about peace.
Israelis Arrest West Bank Settler in Attacks
New York Times 2 Nov 2009 - Jack Teitel, an immigrant from the United States, was charged with the murders of two Palestinians and two bombings that wounded a professor and a 15-year-old boy.
Clinton Eases Praise of Israel After Arab Concerns
New York Times 2 Nov 2009 - In the face of Arab criticism, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday moderated her praise for Israel’s offer to restrain but not stop building settlements in Palestinian areas.
Clinton Asks Abbas to Return to Talks
New York Times 1 Nov 2009 - The Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas rebuffed an Israeli proposal, relayed by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, to limit building to 3,000 additional housing units.
Netanyahu Backs Nuclear Deal That Iran Rejected
New York Times 31 Oct 2009 - The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, cautiously endorsed U.S.-backed efforts to limit Iran’s nuclear program through shipments abroad of its enriched uranium.
11/2/2009 - The Guardian - US secretary of state praises "concessions" by Israel • 'Israel can get away with anything,' claims Arab League - Hillary Clinton and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference during Clinton's attempt to restart peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Photograph: Dan Balilty-Pool/Getty ImagesHillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, sought to deflect the anger and disappointment of pro-western Arab states today after backing Israel's position that it did not need to freeze settlement activity as a prelude to resuming peace talks with the Palestinians. Clinton was due to meet foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other key Arab states at a G8 conference in Morocco after brief talks in Jerusalem and Ramallah at the weekend. In what appeared to be a significant policy shift she publicly supported the position taken by Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's
American-Israeli settler questioned over terror attacks
11/2/2009 - The Guardian - Israeli security services were today re-questioning an American-Israeli settler who they say has confessed to attacks including the killing of two Palestinians and wounding a professor with a pipe bomb. Yaakov "Jack" Teitel, an American who emigrated to Israel a decade ago, was arrested by police and undercover agents for Shin Bet, Israel's domestic security agency, as he handed out leaflets condemning homosexuals last month. Police said Teitel has a hardline rightwing ideology based on hatred of Palestinians, leftwingers, homosexuals and even the Israeli police. " He is a determined man with very deeply-rooted ideology," Eki Makmel, the deputy commander of an Israeli police Swat team, was quoted as saying. Micky Rosenfeld, an Israeli police spokesman, described Teitel as a "Jewish terrorist", adding: "He was deeply involved in terrorism in all different levels. "
Hillary’s mistakes
11/2/2009 - The Guardian - Michael Tomasky - The consensus is clear that Hillary Clinton stepped in it on her recent overseas trip. Here's Jason Zengerle at TNR, quoting in part Ben Smith of the Politico: It's certainly starting to seem that way. Last week, in Pakistan she talked tough about the Pakistani government tolerating Al Qaeda and then immediately backpedaled. Then, this past weekend in Israel she seemed to indicate that the Obama administration was no longer demanding an immediate settlement freeze from the Israeli government before, a day later, walking back that statement during a luncheon in Morocco. Ben Smith concludes: The early questions about her role in Middle East politics. . . . her inexperience as a diplomat, and her (underestimated by those who didn't cover her on the trail) tendency toward incautious statements has really turned into a liability for the administration. . . . Spencer Ackerman thinks it's Obama's fault -- that there is no clear policy.
Berlin, Israel, Mexico: Walls Across the World
11/1/2009 - The Nation - It's being called "the most ambitious commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall outside of Germany": "The Wall Project" in Los Angeles -- and its political message will surprise many. Artists commissioned by the organizers have promised works that draw analogies between the Berlin Wall and the wall the Israelis have erected along the border with the West Bank, and the wall the US has erected along the Mexican border. That's not exactly the sort of thing Ronald Reagan had in mind when he stood in Berlin in 1989 and said "Tear down this wall!"LA's Berlin Wall anniversary commemoration has been organized by the Wende Museum, a private institution in Culver City, with the support of the City of L. A. It includes "The Wall Across Wilshire," a one-hour event on November 8 at which a replica of the Berlin Wall 60 feet long will be erected blocking Wilshire Blvd.
Truckloads of goods enter Gaza from Israel, UN reports
11/2/2009 - United Nations: International Law - 2 November 2009 – The Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) reports that nearly 80 truckloads of goods entered Gaza from Israel yesterday through the Kerem Shalom crossing. The majority of the trucks contained fruit, cooking oil, dairy products, flour, frozen meat, tea and coffee. More than 100,000 kilograms of cooking gas also made it into Gaza through Kerem Shalom, UNSCO noted. However, the Karni conveyor belt and the Nahal Oz fuel pipelines remained closed. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned in a report released in September that the ongoing Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, now in its third year, has triggered a “protracted human dignity crisis” with negative humanitarian consequences. -- Links: Full Report: Locked In: The Humanitarian Impact of Two Years of Blockade on the Gaza Strip (PDF) and Besieged Gaza faces increased power cuts
Jordan Valley may be hurdle in peace talks
11/2/2009 - Washington Post - Israelis, Palestinians each stake claim to section of West Bank - MASKIOT, WEST BANK -- The backhoes are busy on housing plots for this new Israeli settlement in the Jordan Valley, and young families, under army guard and toting M-16s, have begun cultivating dozens of acres of land with dates, olives and other crops. To the south, a water pipeline from Jerusalem has let veteran farmers double the land irrigated for date trees to 9,000 acres, with a second pipeline and more farmland expansion planned. As the United States tries to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, the Jordan Valley is emerging as a key point of contention: Palestinians envision it as a core part of a future Palestinian state, and Israeli officials forcefully assert a longstanding claim that control over the area is vital to their security.
PM: Unprecedented prosperity among Palestinians
11/1/2009 - YNetNews - Netanyahu tells cabinet that US special envoy to Middle East George Mitchell to stay in Israel extra day 'in order to coordinate effort to jumpstart peace process. ' According to him, Palestinians are presenting preconditions never put on table in 16 years of talks - "The Palestinians should come to their senses and enter negotiations as soon as possible," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Sunday's cabinet meeting. The prime minister also said that US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell will remain in Israel an extra day "in order to coordinate an effort to jumpstart the peace process. "Netanyahu briefed the cabinet ministers of his meeting with Mitchell and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who ensured Netanyahu on Saturday that a settlement building freeze will not be a precondition to renewing negotiations, despite Palestinian demands to the contrary.
Israel releases Hamas MP
11/1/2009 - Yahoo! News - HEBRON, West Bank (AFP) – Israel on Sunday released Hamas MP Hatem Qafisha after a year in detention, allowing him to return to his home in the West Bank city of Hebron. The 49-year-old Palestinian was greeted by members of his family and officials of the Islamist movement Hamas, including parliament speaker Abdel Aziz Doweik. Doweik himself was only released in June after spending three years in Israeli prison, while Qafisha has spent a total of 10 years behind bars in several stints. Hamas won 74 seats in the Palestinian parliament at the last election in 2005, when president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement took only 45 places. Israel arrested dozens of Hamas lawmakers across the West Bank after the Islamists and other Gaza militants seized Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid in June 2006. Shalit remains in captivity to this day. According to Hamas officials, 15 MPs are still held in Israeli prisons, including 12 from the Islamist movement.
VIDEO - South Africans ’fought in Gaza war’
11/1/2009 - AlJazeera - Efforts to prosecute those who may have committed war crimes in Israel's war on Gaza have spread beyond the Middle East. A lawyer in South Africa has identified 75 South African nationals who he says were fighting with the Israeli army in the war earlier this year. Feroze Boda, based in Johannesburg and working on behalf of two local pro-Palestinian organisations, says the soldiers should face court action for their involvement. [end]
South Africa’s legal war over Gaza
11/1/2009 - AlJazeera - The Goldstone report on last winter's Gaza war has become something of a fixture in the media since its publication in September. But for South Africans, it is another investigation carried out by the distinguished judge Richard Goldstone - a commission that exposed the brutality of Apartheid security forces in the early 1990s - that looms large in their minds. That investigation, which came as South Africa moved towards democracy, gave Goldstone hero status in the country. Now a group of South African lawyers are confident that his recent Gaza report has paved the way for a legal case that could see uncomfortable questions about the conflict asked much closer to home. The lawyers are representing two civic organisations, The Media Review Network and the Palestinian Solidarity Alliance. Working from a Johannesburg office, they are building a case known as the Gaza docket which seeks
Israel nabs serial attacker of Arabs, leftist Jews
11/1/2009 - Antiwar.com - AP News - Israeli authorities have arrested a Jewish-American extremist suspected of carrying out a series of high-profile hate crimes, security officials said Sunday. Police and Shin Bet security forces say Jack Teitel, a 37-year-old ultra-Orthodox Jewish West Bank settler, was behind the killing of two Arabs, the targeting of a peace activist and an attack on a breakaway Jewish sect over a period of 12 years. Authorities originally suspected an extremist Jewish underground for some of the attacks. But acquaintances described Teitel, a father of four, as a lone wolf, and authorities say he acted alone. Jerusalem police commander Aharon Franco said Teitel immigrated to Israel from Florida, and that he grew up on U. S. military bases as the son of a dentist serving in the Marines. Franco said a joint police and Shin Bet operation nabbed Teitel earlier this month and he confessed to the crimes and re-enacted them.
Clinton’s Praise of Netanyahu Signals New Tone in Peace Efforts
11/1/2009 - Bloomberg - Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s acceptance of an Israeli position that fell short of a total settlement freeze moved the U. S. closer to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stance, while leaving Palestinians unimpressed and unwilling to resume peace talks. During a four-hour stopover in Jerusalem this weekend -- wedged between visits to Abu Dhabi and Morocco -- Clinton praised Netanyahu’s readiness to exercise “restraint” in limiting new construction on the West Bank. “While their offer falls short of our position, if acted upon, it would provide unprecedented restrictions on settlements and would have a significant and meaningful effect on the ground,” Clinton told Bloomberg News in Marrakech, Morocco, where she starts talks today with Arab foreign ministers. That was a departure from the secretary of state’s remarks in May after Netanyahu’s first Oval Office meeting with President Barack Obama.
Lieberman blames Assad for stalled Israel-Syria peace talks
11/1/2009 - Ha'aretz - Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Sunday blamed Syrian President Bashar Assad for the impasse in Israel-Syria peace talks, after the Syrian leader recently signaled a willingness to return to the negotiating table. " Assad is the one who is trying to escape international isolation and he is demanding preconditions of us," said Lieberman during an interview on Army Radio. Last week Croatian President Stjepan Mesic relayed to President Shimon Peres a message from the Syrian president about the possibility of resuming peace negotiations between the two countries. Following a conversation with the Syrian president, Mesic told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Peres that Assad had stressed that he is interested in resuming negotiations with Israel, but he insisted that the efforts be carried out indirectly, through third-party mediation.
Articles
Jewish directors challenge Israel
Sakhr al-Makhadi at the London Film Festival, AlJazeera 11/2/2009
A series of controversial Israeli films are provoking outrage and plaudits in equal measure at the London Film Festival.
The best documentary award has gone to one of the year’s most controversial films.
Defamation is a polemic by Israeli filmmaker Yoav Shamir. In his expose of America’s Anti-Defamation League (ADL), he claims anti-Semitism is being exaggerated for political purposes. He argues that American Jewish leaders travel around the world exploiting the memory of the Holocaust to silence criticism of Israel.
He gets inside the ADL, which claims to be the most powerful lobby group of its type anywhere in the world. With unprecedented access, he travels with them as they meet foreign leaders, and use the memory of the Holocaust to further their pro-Israeli agenda.
At one point, an ADL leader admits to Shamir that "we need to play on that guilt".
Shamir says his film, Defamation, started out as a study of "the political games being played behind the term anti-Semitism".
"It became more a film about perceptions and the way Jews and Israelis choose to see themselves and define themselves - a lot of the time unfortunately choosing the role of eternal victims as a way of life."
Israel’s national psyche
He wanted to find out how this mentality has become part of Israel’s national psyche.
The film suggests that the attitude is thrust upon children from an early age. School trips to concentration camps in Poland run year-round. more.. e-mail
The Liberty Affair and the Problem with the Truth of History
Alan Hart, AlanHart.net 7/11/2007
As it relates to the making and sustaining of the Arab-Israeli conflict, there is no better or more shocking example of how the truth of history has been suppressed than the Liberty Affair. Israel’s attack, on 8 June 1967, on America’s most sophisticated spy ship; an all-out attack which was originally intended to kill all of the Liberty’s crew and sink the vessel but which, when the attack was called off, had killed “only” 34 American sailors and wounded 172 others.
On 8 June this year I received from America’s Council for the National Interest Foundation (CNI) the text of an op-ed carried by the San DiegoUnion Tribune of that day. It was headlined Forty Years Later, Searching for Truth. The writer of it was Ward Boston, Jr. (Who he is, and what he was, in a moment).
For this posting I am going to reproduce the text of the op-ed; then briefly summarise the results of my own search for the truth as set down in Volume Two of my book Zionism, The Real Enemy of the Jews; and I will conclude by addressing the question: Why the cover-up, by the media as well as the Johnson administration?
Text of the San Diego Union Tribune’s op-ed (my emphasis added):
Forty years ago this week, I was asked to investigate the heaviest attack on an American ship since World War II. As senior legal counsel to the Navy Court of Inquiry it was my job to help uncover the truth regarding Israel’s June 8th1967 bombing of the USS Liberty. more.. e-mail
Electronic Intifada
Legal action against Israel increases over Gaza assault
Electronic Intifada: 2 Nov 2009 - RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - As the legal and moral implications of the UN Goldstone report on Israel's military assault on Gaza continue to mount, Palestinians in Gaza are taking matters into their own hands and preparing civil lawsuits. The Israeli defense ministry's prosecution department has received about 1,500 notices of future civil lawsuits against the Israeli military.
Gaza activists organize to harvest
Electronic Intifada: 2 Nov 2009 - BEIT HANOUN, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - Formed in September 2007, Local Initiative has a number of other mandates: promoting volunteerism; reaching out to marginalized families living in the regions along the Green Line border between Israel and Gaza; giving psycho-social support to children scarred by Israeli military attacks and shooting; financially assisting children with martyred parents; and improving the role of women and youth in society.
In Gaza
Palestinian
volunteerism and defying Israeli occupation policies and attacks
30 Oct 2009 - * Amal
Nassir, Local Initiative volunteer, harvests olives in the Beit Hanoun
border region. 1st published: (IPS) ** - On a quiet October morning,
Fida Zaneen, 19, sings a traditional love song as she pulls olives from
trees in Beit Hanoun’s border region during the annual olive harvest.
“My grandmother taught me the folk songs. They were popular all over
Palestine many decades ago.” Saber Zaneen, 44, and Khalil Nassir, 45,
alternately belt out traditional harvest songs as they, too, strip the
limbs of the green and black fruit in the northern Gaza region. Keeping
Palestinian culture alive is one of the mandates of Local Initiative ,
a Beit Hanoun-based volunteer group...
Palestine Chronicle
Reflections
on Michael Moore's 'Capitalism'- A Review
2 Nov 2009 - The
thrift in me allowed me to wait until Michael Moore's "Capitalism - A
Love Story" came out on second run theatres - it was well worth the
wait. The powerful effect that Moore has on his audience derives from
the personal stories he relates combined with a sense of humour that
highlights the bizarre nature of our capitalist society. The stories of
the evictions, the factory shutdowns, the "Dead Peasants", and the
visuals of corporate towers juxtaposed against abandoned and rotting
houses gives a powerful visceral message to the viewer. The statistical
information flipped past the viewer in a matter of seconds, all that
was needed to underline the numbers behind the emotional reality of
unemployment without much of a future. The opinions of the Catholic
church leaders who characterized capitalism as evil, as opposed to
God's will, and the way of Jesus, emphasized that it went against all
of the main religion's precepts about caring for one's fellow citizen
and the common good. For a country that pledges allegiance "under God"
these contrasting statements are powerful. Another highlighted feature
is his perspective on the political machinations of the power players
between Wall Street and Congress. I knew that there was huge influence,
but as presented by Moore, the controlling cabal appears to be the
Goldman Sachs players, the old Clintonite boys who manipulated the
markets and the politicians to enable their own hundreds of millions in
earnings. Along with that is the story of the rejection of the...
The
Aqsa Moment
2 Nov 2009 - By Ali
Jawad Over recent days, cries of "Al-Aqsa fi khatar" (the Al-Aqsa
Mosque is in danger) have crammed the vestigial, all-too-narrow public
space in the Arab world. Despite the iron-fist policies of unpopular
Arab leaders—buttressed by imperial Western nations—the popular
outbursts witnessed in the aftermath of the sacrilegious storming of
the Al-Aqsa Mosque once again symbolized the very much living spirit
that exists within the Ummah. Shocked by the level of response
exhibited by their populations, "moderate" Arab leaders have timidly
remonstrated before their masters, hoping against all hope that the
fast-teeming popular mutinies at home be somehow quelled through some
benign, retractive gesture by the provocateur-par-excellence.
Government-funded news agencies in the Arab world have meanwhile been
overcome by a sense of disbelief in their reporting, adding that no
other reaction is fitting at a time when "peace talks" are underway.
Yet neither is there any thing 'shocking' about the recent acts of
Israeli occupation forces, nor are such provocations in Al-Quds about
to end. The present phase merely represents the logical climax of the
Zionist, colonialist enterprise surmised decades ago by former prime
minister, Golda Meir: "It doesn't matter how you coat it. Arab
sovereignty in Jerusalem just cannot be. This city will not be
divided—not half and half, not 60-40, not 75-25, nothing. The only way
we will lose Jerusalem is if we lose a war, and then we lose all of
it." ("Middle East: Getting Almost All Points of View", TIME Magazine,
19 February 1973) In...