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Gaza based Resistance groups fire home made shells into the Negev
IMEMC 26 Nov 2009 - Thursday November 26, 2009 - 17:32, Palestinian resistance fighters fired on Thursday five home made shells from Gaza at the Negev region, southern Israel.

Settlers take over 10 Acers of farm lands owned by Palestinian farmers in northern W.B
IMEMC 26 Nov 2009 - Thursday November 26, 2009 - 17:19, Israeli settlers took over on Thursday 10 Acers of lands owned by Palestinian farmers from Yannon village, northern West Bank.

Israeli soldiers kill a Palestinian man after stabbing two settlers
IMEMC 26 Nov 2009 - Thursday November 26, 2009 - 17:09, A Palestinian man was shot and killed on Thursday evening by an Israeli soldier after he stabbed two Israeli settlers in southern West Bank.

U.S Asked Israel To Release 1000 Fateh Detainees
IMEMC 26 Nov 2009 - Thursday November 26, 2009 - 11:45, Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s Foreign Minister, head of the Yisrael Beiteinu fundamentalist party, stated that the United States asked Israel to release 1000 detainees of the Fateh movement, headed by Mahmoud Abbas.

Freeze Not Cease
IMEMC 26 Nov 2009 - Thursday November 26, 2009 - 00:52, Several fundamental Israeli ministers slammed Netanyahu’s temporary settlement freeze proposal, which was approved by his cabinet, and said that “that this issue a submission to the Palestinian demands”.

Netanyahu Announces 10 Months Settlement Freeze
IMEMC 26 Nov 2009 - Wednesday November 25, 2009 - 22:46, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his government has decided on a 10-month freeze of construction in West Bank settlements,, The temporary 10 months freeze will not include settlements inside Jerusalem city or 3,000 homes under construction in West Bank settlements

Ma'an News

Palestinian shot in Hebron over alleged knife attack
11/26/2009 - Hebron - Ma'an - A Palestinian was shot and wounded after reportedly stabbing and injuring two Israelis outside the settlement of Kiryat Arba in Hebron on Thursday. The incident reportedly took place near a gas station at the entrance to the settlement. Reuters said witnesses saw the alleged attacker arrive at the station, after which Israeli media sources said he stabbed the owner of a convenience store and a woman. An Israeli military spokesman told Ma'an that after the two Israelis (one male, one female) were attacked, a soldier shot and injured the Palestinian, who was taken to Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital in Jerusalem. The spokesman was not able to say whether the soldier was on duty at the time. The wounded Palestinian was not immediately identified. A hospital spokeswoman, Yael Bosem-Levi, said the man was undergoing surgery for "serious" wounds. 

South Africa: Israeli policy reminiscent of apartheid
11/26/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The South African government urged Israel on Tuesday to end practices toward Palestinians that it said were reminiscent of its own history of apartheid. "We call upon the Israeli government to cease their activities that are reminiscent of apartheid forced removals and resume negotiations immediately,"� the government said in a statement. The unusually strong statement criticized the demolition of Palestinian houses and the expansion of Jewish-only settlement on land taken from Palestinians. "We condemn the fact that Israeli settlement expansion in East Jerusalem is coupled with Israel's campaign to evict and displace the original Palestinian residents from the City,"� the statement read. The statement also took note of US and European condemnations of Israel's latest plan to expand by 900 units the settlement of Gilo on Palestinian land south of Jerusalem. 

Senior Palestinian officials condemn Netanyahu’s proposal
11/26/2009 - Ramallah/Jerusalem - Ma'an - Following the chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat's announcement on Thursday that the Palestinian leadership rejected the Israeli Security Cabinet's decision to stall new settlement growth in the West Bank, excluding east Jerusalem, for a 10 month period, senior members of the PLO and PLC declared their support for the leadership's pronouncement, calling on key international figures to end Israeli settlement expansion in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Pursuing a policy of deception - Member of Fatah's Central Committee Mohammad Dahlan accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of pursuing a policy of deception, in news release issued on Thursday. Dahlan added that the Netanyahu's proposal for a 10-month settlement freeze in the West Bank was an erstwhile initiative, and could not be considered a standstill as it excludes east Jerusalem, stressing that ignoring the city will jeopardize the peace process. 

Gaza families upset at jilt from Jericho prisoners conference
11/26/2009 - Gaza - Ma'an - The Gaza Committee of Parents of Detainees called the conference on Palestinian prisoners in Jericho a "great national step" in efforts to gain international recognition for the abuse of prisoners by Israeli officials, but expressed disappointment over their exclusion from the proceedings. Members of the Gaza delegation said they had been promised invitations by conference organizers, but said they never received any sort of request for their attendance. According to organizers however, the conference, which ended Wednesday, was not attended by any delegates from Gaza because they could not secure permits for travel to the West Bank. Delegates were frustrated with the lack of communication from the conference organizers, saying they were promised follow-up via the Ministry of Prisoners Affairs. 

Gunmen open fire on car of Nablus deputy governor
11/26/2009 - Nablus - Ma'an - Unidentified gunmen opened fire on the car of Deputy Governor of Nablus Anan Al-Ateera in the Al-Mareej neighborhood in the west of the city in the early hours of Thursday morning. Palestinian security sources said no one was injured but noted that they were taking the attack very seriously. Officers said the attack was not likely politically motivated, but added that security services had opened an investigation. Al-Teera said she thought the shots outside her window were from Israeli forces in the city, but when she looked out her window she saw bullets hitting her 2009 Hundi, which had six or seven bullet marks when she inspected the vehicle. The deputy governor said the incident had strengthened her resolve to continue in the post, saying she wanted to continue to serve the people of Nablus. 

PA: Israeli troops detain three teens in north
11/26/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli forces detained three young Palestinians from Deir Estiyah in Salfit and another from Qalqilia on Thursday, aPalestinian Authority police said. The Deir Estiyah detainees were identified as Ahmad and Abdel Aziz Abu Hajlah, and Muhammad Sayel Abu Fares, all 15 years old. The PA report added that in Qalqilia, soldiers overran the city and detained Ala Abdullah Elayan. Israel's military said it detained two Palestinians during a cross-border raid southeast of Bethlehem on Wednesday night. The detainees were not immediately identified. Israel holds an estimated 10,000 Palestinians in its prisons. [end] 

One Gaza crossing opened
11/26/2009 - Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli authorities opened the Kerem Shalom border crossing in Gaza, as the Karni and Nahal Oz crossings were closed on Thursday. Palestinian crossings official, Raed Fattuh, said that between 110-120 trucks of commercial produce and humanitarian aid would be allowed into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing. Israel opened the Kerem Shalom and Nahal Oz crossings on Wednesday while Nahal Oz remained closed. [end] 

Israel army vows to ease travel during holidays
11/26/2009 - Tel Aviv - Ma'an/IRIN - Israel's military announced Thursday that restrictions on West Bank Palestinians will be eased during the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha. According to the military, the following policies will be implemented beginning on Thursday morning, until Wednesday, 2 December: - Palestinians will be allowed to enter Israel to visit immediate family members; - Israeli citizens will be able to enter the city of Tulkarem by car via checkpoint 407; - Operating hours of the Awarta checkpoint, south of Nablus, will be extended to 10pm; - A roadblock on the Jenin-Tulkarem road will be removed to enable faster passage between the two cities; - A roadblock near the village of Dhahria will be removed, enabling quick transportation between the villages near the city of Hebron; - More than 50 roadblocks throughout the West Bank will be permanently. . . 

Gaza mortar shells land in Palestinian territory
11/26/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Two mortar shells fired from Gaza landed inside Palestinian territory on Thursday, according to Israel's military. A spokesperson said the military was able to confirm the two shells, both of which landed inside Gaza. There were no reports of casualties or damage. Palestinian paramilitary groups did not immediately claim responsibility for any shelling. [end] 

Chavez: Israel is a murderous arm of the Yankee empire
11/26/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez branded Israel a murderous extension of US power on Wednesday during a visit by Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "We know what the state of Israel stands for - a murderous arm of the Yankee empire," Chavez told joint a news conference, according to Reuters. "What the president of Israel said, we take as a threat. "Reuters also reported that Chavez and Ahmadinejad, on the last leg of a tour of three South American nations, hugged, held hands, and praised each other as fellow revolutionaries. Chavez severed ties with Israel last year over the three-week military offensive in Gaza that killed more than 1,400 Palestinians. Chavez denounced the campaign as a genocide. Palestinians killed nine Israelis during the conflict. The two leaders also signed a number of business and industrial projects. 

Erekat: Palestinian leadership rejects 'dangerous' Israeli proposal
11/26/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Palestinian leaders reject Wednesday's unilateral decision by the Israeli Security Cabinet to delay some new construction in West Bank settlements excluding East Jerusalem for ten months, PLO leader Saeb Erekat announced Thursday. Saeb Erekat, the PLO head negotiator, called on Washington to compel Israel to freeze construction completely so it will be possible to renew peace talks. Late Wednesday night officials in Erekat's office called the Israeli plan a diversion, "What Israel is talking about is a slowdown - not a freeze," one PLO official said. The official noted that Netanyahu's definition of a settlement freeze, in which synagogues, schools, and public facilities expand unabated in the West Bank, was not even being offered in East Jerusalem. Earlier Wednesday, the Israeli prime minister told his political-security cabinet that East Jerusalem would. . . 

Israelis tepid on settlement limits
11/26/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - The Israeli public - left, center-right, and right - expressed little support for the government's decision to slow settlement construction in the West Bank announced on Wednesday. The proposed 10-month settlement construction slowdown is, however, expected to pass through the country's cabinet meeting Sunday based on its full support by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Analysts say it was the leader's insistence that convinced 11 out of 14 members of the Security Cabinet to approve the proposal. The proposal is "one step in the fight direction,"� said Hagit Ofran, who directs a settlement monitoring project for the organization Peace Now, one day after the decision was announced, "but this government has shown it has many words and very little deeds,"� she couched, echoing statements from US special envoy George Mitchell. 

Obama stresses common origins in Eid Al-Adha message
11/26/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama extended his wishes to Muslims around the world on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha and the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca on Wednesday. The Hajj and Eid Al-Adha "both serve as reminders of the shared Abrahamic roots of three of the world's major religions,"� Obama said in his message. "During Hajj, the world's largest and most diverse gathering, three million Muslims from all walks of life - including thousands of American Muslims - will stand in prayer on Mount Arafat,"� the president said, describing a key ritual taking place in Mecca on Thursday. "The following day, Muslims around the world will celebrate Eid-ul-Adha and distribute food to the less fortunate to commemorate Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son out of obedience to God. 

Hamas leaders secretly return to Gaza after Damascus talks
11/26/2009 - Al-Arish - Ma'an - Members of the Hamas delegation sent to Damascus to discuss the Shalit prisoner release deal returned to Gaza on Thursday morning at dawn, according to Egyptian security sources. Egyptian security sources told Ma'an that the Egyptian authorities imposed secrecy on the delegation's return through the Rafah border crossing, which included senior Hamas officials Mahmoud Az-Zahhar, Khaled Abu Sido, Issam Rabbah, and Ashraf Saleh. Hamas leaders from Gaza were in Damascus on Tuesday after holding talks in Cairo with a German official who is mediating in the indirect negotiations with Israel. In Damascus, the Hamas delegation met with senior-most leader Khalid Mash'aland other top Hamas figures who are based their in exile, reportedly discussing whether to go forward with a deal in which resistance groups in Gaza would release caputred Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit held in the Strip in return for1,000 Palestinian prisoners. 

French humanitarian aid permitted into Gaza
11/26/2009 - Al-Arish - Ma'an - Egyptian authorities permitted the entry of humanitarian aid and stationary donated by French charities into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday evening, according to an official for the Arab Doctors' Union, Mustafa Tayeh. In an interview with Ma'an, Tayeh stated that numerous French charities had donated the consignment which included books, pens and school bags, to school children in the Gaza Strip, particularly those children with parents detained in Israeli jails. The French charities' donation included nine tons of medical equipment, which arrived along with the delivery of stationary. Tayeh added that 50 tons of meat for the Eid Al-Adha, donated by the Arab Doctors' Union, will be permitted into Gaza on the second day of the Muslim holiday, as a result of Palestinian and Egyptian coordination. 

Hamas: Return to peace talks would be a national crime
11/26/2009 - Gaza - Ma'an - A return to the negotiations with Israeli would be a national crime, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said on Wednesday. "A return to the negotiating table is a national crime that Palestinians will surly reject,"� AbuZuhri said, reacting to an Israeli announcement of a curb on expansion of West Bank settlements. He also said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement of a freeze which excludes East Jerusalem, the Palestinian capital, is "meaningless. " � The official further said the partial freeze amounted to an American capitulation to Israel, and proof that the US cannot be trusted to be an honest broker. Hamas rejects negotiations with Israel on principle, in contrast with its rival Fatah, which has pursued fruitless peace talks since 1991. Fatah's leadership, including President Mahmoud Abbas, are insisting on a total settlement freeze. . . 

PA minister: No peace deal without prisoner release
11/26/2009 - Jericho - Ma'an - Issa Qaraqe, the minister of detainees and detainees affairs, said on Thursday he would not sign a peace agreement with Israel until all Palestinian prisoners had been released from its jails. Speaking at an international conference in Jericho on the plight of Palestinian prisoners, Qaraqe said children and women in Israel's jails deserved the attention of the international community, which he urged to intervene. He also alleged that Palestinians suffer widespread torture and medical neglect, that the issue was at the top of President Mahmoud Abbas' agenda, and that there would never be a peace agreement with Israel that did not address detainees. Among the participants on Thursday were Sinn Féin member and former political prisoner Patrick Sheehan, former EU vice president Luisa Morgantini, UK lawyer and activist Liam Pepper, US ex-detainees activist Victoria. . . 

Israel pardons former Palestinian fighters
11/26/2009 - Nablus - Ma'an Exclusive - Israel has agreed to remove 26 former Palestinian fighters from its list of "wanted"� men and relax restrictions on others, on the eve of the Muslim Eid Al-Adha holiday, Palestinian sources said on Thursday. The sources indicated that on Wednesday night the Palestinian Authority (PA) handed Israeli officials a list of 93 people it wants removed from the wanted list during a meeting. Israel agreed to fully pardon 26 of the men, and ease restrictions on the movement and rights of others. Twenty-six men who had to report to a PA compound to sleep at night will now be able to sleep at home. Seven will be released from the PA's Juneid prison, outside the West Bank city of Nablus. Since 2007 former Palestinian fighters signed "amnesty"� agreements in which they would hand in their weapons, swear not to fight, and spend a term in a PA jail in exchange. . . 

Abbas plans to stay on until vote
11/26/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - President Mahmoud Abbas vowed on Wednesday to stay in office until elections can be held, but reiterated that he will not seek another term. "At any time we have the election I will go away and will not run," Abbas told reporters in the Chilean capital Santiago, according to Reuters. "If there will be any consensus between us and Hamas after one month or two months, we are ready. . . to conduct the elections immediately," he was also quoted as saying in Chile, on the last leg of a South American tour designed to build diplomatic support. The pronouncement laid to rest speculation that Abbas could quit before an election is held, creating a power vacuum. Abbas' term officially ended in January 2009, but the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah extended his presidency in a move opponents denounced as unconstitutional. 

Expired olive oil and produce confiscated in Hebron
11/26/2009 - Hebron - Ma'an - Palestinian officials confiscated 50 containers of expired olive oil and a significant quantity of expired produce in downtown Hebron, according to the Committee of Local Market Officials on Thursday. The committee, consisting of various Ministry of Economy departments including the Department of Consumer Protection and the Economic Department of the Palestinian security police, conducted an investigation into the produce sold in Hebron markets to ensure that groceries were consumable for the Eid Al-Adha holiday, the committee told Ma'an. The committee added that they will further investigate all Hebron markets on Thursday to guarantee the Palestinian consumer is not at risk of consuming perished produce. The inquiry follows a long line of similar inspections conducted across the West Bank where large quantities of expired goods have been confiscated by the Ministry of Economy. 

Haniyeh: No return to unity talks after Eid
11/26/2009 - Gaza - Ma'an - De facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh told a visiting Swiss delegation on Friday there would be no return to Hamas-Fatah unity talks following the Eid Al-Adha holiday. The announcement followed long on the heels of reports in October that Fatah and Hamas would be invited back to Cairo to continue unity talks. Rumors about "going back to dialogue after the Eid are only media reports; until now and we have not received any official invitation,"� Haniyeh told the civilian delegation. The last talks fell apart, ending with Fatah signing the Egyptian plan as the UN Human Rights Council debated whether or not to accept the Palestinian Authority plea to hold a vote on the postponed Goldstone report. Hamas officials refused to sign the document, saying it prefered to register some reservations before signing. 

Independent: West Bank, Gaza political detainees to be freed for Eid
11/26/2009 - Gaza - Ma'an - Representative of independent Palestinians Yasser Al-Wadiyeh said the de facto Gaza and West Bank caretaker governments agreed to release some detainees affiliated with their rival party ahead of the Muslim Eid Al-Adha. Al-Wadiyeh said the promises from both governments came after "continuous efforts of the independent personalities" in both Palestinian areas. The spokesman said he had also secured a list of names of those prisoners who would be released. [end] 

Hamas visits 35,000 Gaza homes to deliver Eid chocolate
11/26/2009 - Gaza - Ma'an - Hamas officials spent the day visiting the homes of 35,000 families in the refugee camps of the central Gaza Strip on the occasion of the first day of the Eid celebrations, project organizers said. "We expected no success other than making thousands of Palestinians happy," organizer Ismail Ad-Derawi said of the chocolate project. Chocolate is one of the banned items Israel prohibits from entering the Gaza, and most of the available sweets in the Strip are smuggled in via the southern tunnel system, making it too expensive for average families. Locals in the camps said Hamas officials distributed the chocolate to all families regardless of political affiliation. Officials declined to comment on the total volume of chocolate distributed. 

Hajj and Eid Al-Adha
11/26/2009 - PHOTOS - Millions of Muslims of Muslims perform the Hajj, a pilgrimage to the holy shrines in Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia every year. Muslims who can afford to are obligated to make the journey at least once in their lifetime. For Palestinians living under occupation in the West Bank and siege in Gaza, the Hajj can be a rare chance to travel. This year rival Fatah and Hamas authorities cooperated, allowing thousands from Gaza to make the journey. This year Ma'an photographer Khaleel Reash joined the thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza who journeyed to Mecca and Medina, and captured scenes of the holy rites. [end] 

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Uruknet

[uruknet.info] Israel okays 28 new settlement buildings, despite freeze
Uruknet November 27, 2009 - Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday ordered the IDF to issue a temporary freeze order, but at the same time allowed the construction of 28 new public buildings in settlements. Meanwhile, Haaretz has learned that the state is expected to ask the Supreme Court for more time to evacuate illegal outposts. The State Attorney's Office is...

[uruknet.info] Iran nuclear inquiry at 'dead end'
Uruknet November 26, 2009 - An investigation into whether Iran was seeking to build nuclear weapons has reached "a dead end", the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has told members of the UN body. Mohamed ElBaradei, the director-general of the IAEA, made the remarks at a meeting of the group's governors in Vienna, where a resolution demanding Tehran...

[uruknet.info] International Palestine Solidarity Day marked with an urgent call for the international community to stop aiding and abetting Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people
Uruknet November 26, 2009 - To mark this year's UN's International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) on Tuesday 24th hosted a meeting in the House of Commons on the subject of the implementation of the Goldstone Report, bringing Israeli War Criminals to justice and ending the siege on Gaza. One common theme which underpinned...

[uruknet.info] Help save the Palestinian village of Lifta from total destruction
Uruknet November 26, 2009 - Lifta, a most picturesque Palestinian village, lies on the slopes of West Jerusalem below the highway linking it to Tel-Aviv. It has been abandoned since the invading Hagana underground forces backed by the Stern Gang drove the last of its Palestinian inhabitants in 1948 during the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. It was the one single event...

[uruknet.info] Law and Order: The Systematic Use of Administrative Detainment by Israel
Uruknet November 26, 2009 - The recent media attention concerning ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas for the release of the captured soldier Gilad Shalit and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners obscures the historical and contemporary reality of routine imprisonment without trial, illegal detainment, human rights abuses and the discriminatory application of law by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian territory. It...

[uruknet.info] USPCN stands with African American activists against Israeli racism
Uruknet November 26, 2009 - Israel's appalling denial of entry to Palestine for African American activists Dhoruba Bin Wahad and Naji Mujahid comes as no surprise. The state of Israel, inherently racist and exclusionary, has always found common cause with other racist regimes around the world. It was a major military supporter of the South African apartheid regime when that regime...

[uruknet.info] Gaza: one year later, young fisherman still trying to heal 
Uruknet November 26, 2009 - Just as his leg was healing from a gaping bullet wound in his calf, Mohammed Musleh broke it, setting his healing back. Although the re-break happened in April, now in November his leg is still in metal braces. Musleh was initially wounded early in the morning of 5 October 2008 when Israeli soldiers shot at him...

[uruknet.info] Iran seizes Nobel winner Shirin Edabi's medal
Uruknet November 26, 2009 Iran's regime has confiscated the Nobel peace medal and diploma of Shirin Ebadi, the human rights lawyer who is one of its most potent and outspoken critics. Her bank account has also been frozen on the pretext that she owes $410,000 in tax. The seizure of the award, unprecedented in its108-year-old history, caused outrage in Olso where...

[uruknet.info] PA: Netanyahu deceiving world with building freeze
Uruknet November 26, 2009 - A Palestinian Authority official said Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement on a 10-month settlement construction freeze were a show and manipulation aimed at deceiving the international community. Yasser Abed Rabbo, secretary-general of the Palestinian Liberation Organization's Executive Committee, told a press conference in Ramallah that there was nothing new in Netanyahu's statement. "It was...

[uruknet.info] The Paucity of Hope
Uruknet November 26, 2009 - ....Things could not seem worse during the Bush administration for the Palestinians, so Obama was an improvement before his first day in office. Many Palestinians felt President Obama would carry out an evenhanded policy for the first time. His lofty and populist rhetoric during the campaign resonated with a people long trying to appeal to a...

[uruknet.info] The Paucity of Hope" by Yousef Munayyer
Uruknet November 26, 2009 - ....Things could not seem worse during the Bush administration for the Palestinians, so Obama was an improvement before his first day in office. Many Palestinians felt President Obama would carry out an evenhanded policy for the first time. His lofty and populist rhetoric during the campaign resonated with a people long trying to appeal to a...

[uruknet.info] Palestinian woman suffers a stroke after settlers invade her family's house in Sheikh Jarrah
Uruknet 26 November 2009 - On Thursday, November 26, 2009 at 1:00am, five settlers and settler security, who are currently occupying the Gawi family house in Sheikh Jarrah, attempted to take over a section of a house belonging to the Palestinian al-Kurd family. The Israeli police were alerted immediately, however, before they managed to arrive, the settlers started attacking the Palestinians...

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In Gaza
one year later, young fisherman still trying to heal
In Gaza: 26 Nov 2009 - Just as his leg was healing from a gaping bullet wound in his calf, Mohammed Musleh broke it, setting his healing back. Although the re-break happened in April, now in November his leg is still in metal braces. Musleh was initially wounded early in the morning of 5 October 2008 when Israeli soldiers shot at him from a distance of 100 metres. “Doctors told me there was an entry wound of two square centimetres and an exit wound of 10-15 square centimetres. They said the shot fractured my shinbone and severed arteries in my leg,” Musleh testified to B’Tselem , the Israeli human rights group. At the time of his shooting,...

Palestine Chronicle
Tame Israel Lobby with Seven Principles of Public Life
Palestine Chronicle: 26 Nov 2009 - By Stuart Littlewood – London The recent Channel 4 TV Dispatches programme, which probed the antics of the pro-Israel lobby in British politics, has opened up this hitherto forbidden subject to public debate. Basic questions now need answering – for example, why are agents of a foreign military power allowed to meddle in our democratic and parliamentary processes? That was the concern of a group of citizens nearly two years ago. They decided to press the Committee on Standards in Public Life to examine whether there was undue Israeli influence at the heart of British government. The Standards Committee, chaired by newly-appointed Sir Christopher Kelly (the same Kelly who is currently making heavy weather of investigating the way MPs have been fiddling expenses), refused to look into it. His reply, sent in a note from a member of his office staff, said: "I regret that the Committee on Standards in Public Life has no remit to help you in this matter." This infuriated the citizens. The public’s watchdog - the Standards Committee - was formed to uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life. Its remit calls on it "to examine current concerns about standards of conduct of all holders of public office, including arrangements relating to financial and commercial activities and make recommendations as to any changes in present arrangements which might be required to ensure the highest standards of propriety in public life." This, surely, is the kind of plain English even dyed-in-the-wool bureaucrats like Kelly can understand. The...

Turkey Has Role to Play
Palestine Chronicle: 26 Nov 2009 - By George S. Hishmeh - Washington A new bright star seems to have risen above the Arab world, heralding new relationships that could benefit the region as a whole. The Arab change of heart towards Turkey, the successor of the dreaded Ottoman Empire, a colonial regime that ruled the Arab world for centuries and collapsed about 90 years ago, came when the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party was elected five years ago. And for the first time in nearly 100 years, Turkish troops descended on Lebanon as part of a UN peacekeeping force following Israel's occupation of the Shiite-dominated South Lebanon. But what has impressed Arabs recently has been Turkey's protests against Israeli policies, especially its brutal assault on Gaza last December, which left about 1,400 Palestinians dead and, in the opinion of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict's Goldstone Report, amounted to war crimes. In the aftermath, Turkey cancelled joint air force exercises and there have been unconfirmed reports that Turkey may stop buying Israeli arms. Turkey's new focus on its neighbours is also believed to be a reaction to the lackadaisical attitude of the European Union, which has yet to act on Turkey's 10-year-old application for membership in the 27-member organisation. This is over and above US President Barack Obama's symbolic gesture in visiting Turkey in April, which is believed to have underlined Turkey's geostrategic importance, emphasising the country's role as a bridge between East and West and acknowledging its mediation in the...

J Street and the Jewish Tradition
Palestine Chronicle: 26 Nov 2009 - By Bernard Avishai During the first night of the J Street conference, when delegates were just getting settled, a half dozen speakers—activists, rabbis and students—unexpectedly poured their hearts out. The 1,500 people in the hall, the speakers insisted, were not only gathered to represent the majority of American Jews who think US policy should put its weight behind bringing about a two-state solution. We were gathered also to redeem “Jewish values”. You heard a good deal of the phrase “Tikkun Olam”, the repair of the world, that night. And I confess to cringing at times. Was social improvement a peculiarly Jewish desire? Could Tikkun Olam, a kabalistic concept turned into a leftist cliché, cancel out the fact that the Occupation is advanced by zealots of Jewish law, or that rightist, neoconservative ideas are particularly strong (so polls show) among the quarter of American Jews who attend synagogue at least once a month? And yet something in the claim of these J Street speakers seems vaguely true. After all, 78 percent of American Jews voted for Barack Obama. Why, as the neoconservative Commentary Magazine complained in 1969, do Jews not just vote Republican and advance their class “interests”? Wasn’t McCain a more avid “supporter of Israel”? Sure people who have been pushed around as much as Jews might be expected to be for the underdog, including Palestinians under occupation. But suffering, though ingrained in Jewish literature, is not uniquely Jewish either; nor does it necessarily make you peaceful or empathic. Are...

A People's History of Thanksgiving
Palestine Chronicle: 26 Nov 2009 - By Ramzy Baroud This week Americans will observe 'Thanksgiving' commemorating a romanticized era in their nations record, celebrating the supposed solidarity and brotherhood enjoyed by the first settlers and the indigenous people of what is now called the United States. However, this fantastic tale of friendship contradicts the candid remarks of many notable personalities in US history. Few can be as blunt regarding the legacy of the United States toward the native people of this land as the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. In his narrative, "The Winning of the West," Roosevelt spoke about the "spread of the English-speaking peoples over the world's wasted spaces." He wrote: "The European settlers moved into an uninhabited waste...the land is really owned by no one.... The settler ousts no one from the land. The truth is, the Indians never had any real title to the soil." In an interview with the British Sunday Times, on June 15, 1969, former Israeli Prime Minister, Golda Meir made similar claims, stating, "There was no such thing as Palestinians. It was not as though there was a Palestinian people in Palestine considering itself as a Palestinian people and we came and threw them out and took their country from them. They did not exist." While Native Americans and Palestinians were the ancient indigenous peoples of their lands, this was of little or no relevance to the foreign settlers. What really mattered was "Manifest Destiny", what really mattered was "Zionism". Roosevelt goes on: "The world...