News
International Middle East Media Center
Resistance Clashes With Army East Of Gaza City
IMEMC – Friday March 19, 2010 – 03:22, Local sources in the Gaza Strip on Thursday evening that clashes took place between Palestinian Resistance Fighters and Israeli soldiers east of Gaza City, and near the Al Shuhada Graveyard.
PCHR Weekly Report: 31 Palestinians wounded by Israeli forces
IMEMC – Friday March 19, 2010 – 02:47, In its Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) reported that during the week of 11-17 March 2010, Israeli forces used excessive force against Palestinian peaceful demonstrations in the West Bank. 31 Palestinian civilians, including 4 children and 5 women, were wounded by Israeli gunfire. Israeli forces inaugurated a Jewish synagogue 300 meters away from the al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, in addition to conducting 13 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and a limited incursion into the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Military Detains Nine Civilians From The West Bank
IMEMC – Thursday March 18, 2010 – 16:08, Nine Palestinian civilians were detained on Thursday by Israeli troops during morning invasions targeting a number of West Bank communities.
Qassam Shell From Gaza Kills a A Kibbutz Worker, War Jets Bombards Targets In The Strip
IMEMC – Thursday March 18, 2010 – 14:34, One foreign worker was killed on Thursday in the Nativ Ha’asara kibbutz by a Qassam home-made shell fried form Gaza.
Israeli Military Investigator Admits Failures in Military Investigation of Rachel Corrie’s Killing
IMEMC – Thursday March 18, 2010 – 10:14, Today March 17, 2010 the Haifa District Court saw a fourth day of testimony in the civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza. Rachel Corrie, an American human rights defender from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death on March 16, 2003 by a Caterpillar D9R bulldozer. She had been nonviolently demonstrating against Palestinian home demolitions with fellow members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using nonviolent, direct action methods and principles.
15 Palestinians Deported From Jerusalem For 15 Days
IMEMC – Thursday March 18, 2010 – 05:48, The District Court in Jerusalem decided to expel 15 Palestinian natives of East Jerusalem out of the city of a period of 15 days, after they were detained by the police during the recent clashes.
Israel Lifts Closure on East Jerusalem and rest of West Bank
IMEMC – Wednesday March 17, 2010 – 15:56, Israel announced on Wednesday the end of its lockdown on East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, which started last Friday.
Israeli Troops Injure Two Journalists During Clashes With Local Youth
IMEMC – Wednesday March 17, 2010 – 15:10, Two journalists were wounded on Wednesday during clashes between Israeli troops and local youth in different parts of the southern West Bank.
The Israeli Army Opens Fire At Anti-wall Nonviolent Protest Near Gaza City
IMEMC – Wednesday March 17, 2010 – 14:34, Israeli troops opened fire on Wednesday midday at a nonviolent protest against the wall central Gaza Strip.
Israel Approves Two Bids To Build 426 Units For Settlers
IMEMC – Wednesday March 17, 2010 – 11:32, Israel’s TV, Channel 10, reported that Israel announced bids for the construction of 26 additional units for Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem, especially in Abu Ghneim, and east of the Green Line inside the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.
Sonic booms over Gaza after projectile kills Thai worker
3/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – No strikes or injuries were reported after Gaza residents reported hearing what sounded like a dozen explosions across the Strip on Thursday, hours after the death of a Thai worker hit by projectile fire. The Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed to have fired the projectile that killed the foreign worker, in a statement moments after reports from Ashkelon police said a man was injured while working in the greenhouses of the Terra Seva region of the southern Israeli town. Gaza’s director of ambulance and emergency services, Muawiya Hassanein, said no injuries or damages were reported in Gaza, and that officials believed the sounds were the results of sonic booms and not airstrikes. An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed the death of the unidentified man, and said the projectile strike was the third in 24 hours.
Israeli warplanes target southern Gaza
3/19/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli warplanes targeted the southern Gaza Strip early Friday morning, witnesses said, hours after a projectile killed a foreign national in southern Israel. There were no immediate reports of injury after missiles struck at least four targets in the coastal enclave, among them two open areas in Khan Younis, a tunnel along the Gaza-Egypt border, and a factory, Reuters reported. Approached by Ma’an, the Israeli military had no immediate comment. Israeli forces invaded Gaza from the east Thursday evening, witnesses said, clashing with Palestinian fighters east of Gaza City. There were no reports of injury in the violence, which onlookers said was concentrated near the Ash-Shuhada Cemetery. Witnesses reported hearing gunfire and explosions near the graveyard, as well as the sound of fighter jets hovering overhead.
AP photojournalist injured in Hebron
3/18/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – An photojournalist sustained injuries to his back after being struck by a tear-gas canister on Wednesday during clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces. Nasser Shiyoukhi, a photographer for The Associated Press, was critically injured, witnesses said. A Palestine Red Crescent ambulance reportedly transferred the journalist to a nearby hospital, although it was not immediately clear which one. Shiyoukhi was among several photojournalists covering ongoing confrontations around the Tarek Bin Ziab street in southern Hebron when he was struck by the projectile. An Israeli military spokesman told Ma’an that a photojournalist was lightly injured during a riot. Palestinians in the are hurled rocks at Israeli forces, who responded with riot dispersal means, the spokesman said. He added that, in the Israeli army’s view, all journalists and others covering violent events do so at their own risk.
Army: Projectile lands in southern Israel
3/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – A homemade projectile fired from the Gaza Strip landed in southern Israel on Thursday, the Israeli military said. An Israeli military spokesman said there were no immediate reports of injury or damage. The projectile, which was said to have landed in the Eshkol region east of Gaza, was the fourth such attack reported in 24 hours. A Thai citizen died in Ashkelon after he was struck by one of the projectile reportedly fired from Gaza on Thursday afternoon. [end]
Khan Younis fires injure 3, blackouts continue
3/18/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Two fires broke out in Khan Younis on Wednesday night, injuring three civilians including a child,in at least one power-related incident, medics said. Two were injured when a kerosene lamp exploded in their home, Ambulance and Emergency Services director Muawiya Hassanein said. The injuries bring the total number of electricity-related casualties to seven in March alone, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The injured were identified by Hassanein as Adala Ash-Sharqawi, 45, who was moderately injured, and her son Mu’ath, 9, who was admitted to hospital in critical condition. “ The continued deterioration in power supply has increased the reliance of the population on electrical generators run by fuel,” the UN body’s Weekly Protection of Civilians report said,citing the injury of five children of the same family aged five to 15 in Beit Lahiya when a generator exploded in their home last week.
Fresh violence escalates east of Hebron
3/18/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Fresh violence broke out east of Hebron on Thursday morning, with stone-throwing children and teenagers targeted by rubber-coated bullets, witnesses reported. Teenagers and Israeli soldiers faced off in the Wadi Joz area, on the eastern outskirts of Hebron near the town of Bani Na’im. An Israeli military spokeswoman said Israeli security forces were on the scene using “riot disputable mechanisms” against the teens. She said “20 rioters gathered east of Hebron,” and noted the group was “hurling rocks and burning tires;” the number of locals was later estimated at 80. The clash erupted only hours after a military curfew, imposed on Wednesday evening, was lifted. Locals said troops stopped a car of three Palestinians north of the city during the curfew, and detained the riders. The military spokeswoman said she was unaware of a curfew imposed on the area overnight, nor was she aware of any detentions in the area.
DCI: Israel illegally moves detained minors
3/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Defense for Children International issued an urgent appeal for seven children, detained by Israeli forces on 11 February, who were “illegally” moved to a detention center in Israel without parental consent. “On or about 8 March 2010, Israeli authorities transferred at least seven Palestinian children from Ofer Prison, in the West Bank, to Rimonim Prison, inside Israel,” DCI said in a statement on Monday. The organization said the transfer occurred after its lawyers “informed Ofer military court that children were being detained illegally with adult detainees inside Ofer prison. “The actions of the military court, DCI said, “amounts to a further contravention of international law,” citing Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, DCI said the transfer of detainees out of occupied territory is illegal, and a further violation of the rights of the child, since all of those moved were under 15.
Shepherds Field Kindergarten students demand human rights
3/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an -Dozens of small children with the Shepherds Field kindergarten in Beit Sahour marched alongside their parents demanding recognition of the rights of children to live in a world free of violence. The Wednesday afternoon march saw kindergarteners and scout bands parade through the Old City south of Bethlehem with cartoon mascots bearing signs calling on Palestinians and the world to work against the violation of children’s rights. The march ended in the Beit Sahour municipality hall, where children were treated to a play by the mascots teaching them about their rights as children. The play was seen by four kindergarten classes from around the town. . . . .
Gaza residents continue testing Israeli no-go zone
3/18/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli forces opened fire on Popular Committee Against the Buffer Zone march as the group continued to test the military’s policing of the no-go area on Thursday, organizers said. No injuries were reported, but one official said shots targeted civilians after warning shots were fired as the group reached the edge of the buffer zone, some 300 meters away from the Israeli border barrier. An Israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers “identified rioters” in “what is considered a prohibited area” and said they were “hurling rocks” at the soldiers. “A single warning shot was fired in the air,” she said. Mahmoud Az-Zaq, the committee coordinator, said hundreds of protesters gathered in the Al-Farraheen neighborhood east of Khan Younis and walked directly toward the buffer area. Southern Gaza coordinator Saber Az-Z’aneen, said shots targeted some of the protesters after a series of warning shots had been fired into the air.
Detainees: Nafha prison among worst
3/18/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Detainees at Israel’s Nafha jail say their conditions are among the worst in the Israeli prison establishment, the Husam detainees center reported Thursday. Prisoners sent a message on Wednesday night, Husam reported, telling officials that sick detainees are neglected and others are transferred from one prison to another. The Husam center said detainees are consistently complaining about poor treatment in the prisons, especially the Nafha prison, but rarely receive the backing and support they need. [end]
Israeli warplanes target southern Gaza Strip
3/19/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli warplanes targeted the southern Gaza Strip early Friday morning, witnesses said. There were no immediate reports of injury. According to news reports, the strikes targeted two open areas in Khan Younis, a tunnel along the Gaza-Egypt border, and a factory. The strikes came hours after a Palestinian group fired a projectile that killed a Thai citizen in the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon. [end]
In photos: Civil society at work in Qalqiliya
3/18/2010 – MaanImages / Khaleel Reash – 1-3: Palestinian protesters launch balloons during an anti-wall demonstration near a part of the Israeli separation barrier that surrounds the West Bank city of Qalqiliya on 16 March 2010. 4-5: Mutawakil Taha, assistant undersecretary in the Ministry of Information, and Tunisian Ambassador Habib Ben Farah talk to reporters at the protest on Tuesday in the Palestinian city. 6-9: Taha, Ben Farah and Abbas Zaki, a member of Fatah Central Committee, attend a workshop in Qalqiliya after the protest. Palestinians rallied across the occupied territories on Tuesday. 10-11: Rabeh Khandakji, Qalqiliya governor, meets with Taha in Qalqiliya, the site of demonstrations that followed the Israeli inauguration of a new synagogue in occupied East Jerusalem.
Two goods crossings open in Gaza
3/18/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – The Kerem Shalom and Karni crossings will be partially opened on Thursday for the transport of limited aid into the Gaza Strip, Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh said. The official said he expected between 110 to 120 truckloads of aid for both the commercial and agricultural sectors to be transported into Gaza at the Kerem Shalom terminal, along with exports of three truckloads of flowers under a continuing Dutch government program supporting Gaza farmers, and limited imports of cooking gas and industrial diesel. At the bulk goods crossing at Karni, 125 truckloads of wheat and animal feed will be transferred into the Strip, Fattouh said. The imports will likely be the last of the week, with Israeli officials having announced the closure of the crossings every Friday but one since August 2009. . . . .
Checkpoint halts traffic south of Beita, 3 teens detained
3/18/2010 – Nablus – Ma’an – Witnesses reported the installation of a flying checkpoint south of Beita village on Thursday morning, hours after Israeli forces raided the town and detained three teenagers. An Israeli military spokeswoman said troops had entered the village and detained three Palestinians “wanted for suspected involvement of terror activity. “Beita village residents reported several homes targeted by night raids, while Palestinian security sources identified those detained as Ahmad Aref Hamayel, 16, Laith Saleh Hamayel, 16, and Maher Faouzi Ahmad Hamayel, 17. Mid-morning on Thursday, locals reported heavy traffic as the checkpoint on the main road connecting Beita to Highway 60 stopped cars, checking the identity cards of each passenger driving in and out of the village. According to witnesses, cars carrying fruits and vegetables to market were being taken aside for checks.
Young Bethlehem baker dies of burns
3/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – An 18-year-old baker’s assistant from the Al-Azza refugee camp died Wednesday of burns he sustained in February when a burst gas line set a Bethlehem bakery aflame. Abdullah Sami Al-Azza sustained third degree burns to 75% of his body, medics at the Rafidiya Hospital in Nablus said. He was transfered to the special care unit after he was temporarily stabilized at the Beit Jala hospital in the Bethlehem governorate. Medics said Al-Azza underwent several surgeries but damage to his organs was severe and he did not survive the final treatment. He had been kept in the intensive care unit for the duration of his hospitalization. The Palestinian Workers Union called for an investigation into the nature of the accident and cautioned bakeries and restaurants to have their infrastructure checked by health and safety inspectors regularly.
Reports: Al-Qassam leader exiled to Jordan
3/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – An Israeli news site announced the release of an Al-Qassam Brigades leader on Wednesday, on the condition that he be exiled in Jordan. According to the the site, Central Issues, an agreement was struck with Israeli intelligence to exile Saleh Al-Aruri, 43, to three years in Jordan, following three years in an Israeli prison. Al-Aruri was allegedly a leading member in Hamas’ armed wing. The site said he was presented with a decision “in line with what prisoners would have been given” if a prisoner swap had gone forward for the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. According to Israel Ha’Yom, a Hebrew-language Israeli newspaper, the deportation followed an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which is also hostile to Hamas. . . . .
Hamas: Jordan campaigning against improved relations
3/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Hamas affiliates in Jordan told the party’s Palestine Information Center that officials in Amman were waging a campaign to quash local support for the movement in an attempt to dampen relations. According to the site, 18 invididuals collecting donations for Gaza or Palestine, as well as writers advocating improved relations between Jordan and Hamas have been summoned to speak with officials about their conduct. The PIC said “well informed sources” told its reporters that “the measures were part of a new Jordanian policy toward Hamas and the Palestine cause. “ The sources interpreted the act as Jordan “settling its path” and deciding to continue its support of the “moderate Arab axis” and President Mahmoud Abbas, who the site described as “the PA chief whose term in office expired in January last year”.
In Gaza, EU rep condemns ‘any kind of violence’
3/18/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton arrived in Gaza via the Erez crossing Thursday afternoon, ahead of a Quartet meeting in Moscow later in the week. Ashton, whose arrival was punctuated with the launch of a projectile that killed a Thai worker in Israel, will tour the besieged coastal enclave for one day, then head to Russia where Quartet members will convene to discuss the situation in the Middle East. During the one-day visit, Ashton was set to meet Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) PhilippoGrandi, and visit the agency’s food distribution center in Jabaliya, where was scheduled to host a news conference. Ashton was also expected to meet several of the non-aligned political figures in Gaza before she leaves. Following the Moscow conference, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was scheduled to visit the Strip.
Fatah leader: Obama hesitant to confront Israel
3/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – US President Barack Obama appears afraid to challenge Israel, Fatah Central Committee Nabil Sha’ath said Thursday. “I don’t know if President Obama is ready to confront Israel or not. It doesn’t seem like he’s ready,” Sha’ath told Ma’an radio. He said America’s stance on settlement construction, which Vice President Joe Biden condemned during a visit to the region last week, would not be enough to convince Palestinians to return to peace talks. “There is no possibility of continuing negotiations in light of continued settlement policy,” Sha’ath said. Furthermore, little will be accomplished at an upcoming Quartet meeting in Moscow on Friday, he added, even though three of the four members, the UN, European Union and Russia, tend to be vocally opposed to the enterprise. The US typically supports Israel, negating calls for the strong and real stance that is needed against settlements, Sha’ath said.
PA distributes assistance to poor, disabled
3/18/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – The Office of the President distributed financial assistance to a number of needy families and people with disabilities on Thursday, in cooperation with the Al-Bireh and Ramallah governorate. The assistance was provided to 40 families, and distributed by the head of the president’s Office of Humanitarian Assistance, the director of public affairs and the head of the economic and social affairs section. Firas Ghanam, head of the assistance office, said the aid reiterated that the Palestinian Authority is committed to assisting and encouraging needy Palestinian families and those with disabilities. Assistance will be distributed elsewhere in the coming days, he added. [end]
Hamas detains men accused of Fatah propagandizing
3/18/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Security forces acting on behalf of the de facto Ministry of the Interior on Thursday detained a group of men “in charge of a Fatah propaganda campaign,” officials said. Gaza Interior Ministry spokesman Ihab Al-Ghusein said a number of men were seized, many of whom were “working in the former security forces,” referring to the pre-2007 Palestinian Authority. The “propaganda campaign” was allegedly aimed at “defaming the government and spreading rumors in Gaza,” principally using a Fatah-affiliated Web site, Al-Ghusein added, in a statement. Gaza security forces were “monitoring the small group responsible for sreading lies and rumors,” Al-Ghusein said, and accused the PA of directing the group’s movements. “If such acts continue, legal measures will be taken against anyone involved,” he said. Reports of factional violence – Recent reports from the Palestinian Center. . .
PA shuts down Ramallah radio station
3/18/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – The Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology has shut down a local radio station in Ramallah that it had accused of broadcasting illegally. In a statement, the ministry said the decision was implemented in accordance with the minister, Mashhur Abu Daqa, after an “unknown station,” broadcasting out of central Ramallah on the 105. 8 frequency, that interfered with Palestine TV’s broadcasts for three days. “This radio station was discovered thanks to the efforts of the ministry, in cooperation with Voice of Palestine radio, and took the necessary legal procedures to immediately shut it down, preventing it from broadcasting,” the statement said. The ministry added that it would shut down any station that refused to secure licenses before broadcasting. . . . .
Women’s handcraft union shows off tradition
3/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Women hovered expectantly over tables of handcrafted silver pendants next to booths of rich embroidered shawls and olivewood carvings, waiting for the tens of thousands of tourists that visit Bethlehem in the spring to wander in. On display was the art and heritage of Palestine, and renewed efforts at integrating women into the business economy. Neither was getting much attention, but craftmakers and officials were justifiably proud of the event. Supported by caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the Democracy and Workers Rights Center (DWRC) and the Handicrafts Union of Bethlehem, the opening ceremony – with Minister of Tourism Khoulud Da’iebes in attendance – celebrated the achievements of the women in putting together the event, and working to strengthen the handicrafts union. “Two thirds of Palestinian businesses are small and medium sized,” Bethlehem Chamber of. . .
Pharmacists to hold annual conference in Bethlehem
3/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – In preparation for the sixth Palestinian pharmacists conference at Bethlehem’s convention palace, pharmacists held a meeting Wednesday to discuss its agenda. The head of the preparatory committee for the conference, Dr Muhammad Dofash, attended in addition to doctors and pharmacists from the region. They decided to title the conference “Toward Professional Pharmacist Performance. “The conference, sponsored by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, will include specialists displaying their products and the latest medical achievements. There will also be an exhibition for Palestinian and international medicines. A media committee will cover the conference’s events, said Dr Dofash. The conference will bring to mind the role of Palestinianpharmacy in the Arab world. The Union of Arab Pharmacists was founded in Jerusalem in 1966 with the participation of the head of pharmacists in Palestine, Dr.
’Israel will defend itself from Gaza rockets, regardless of Goldstone’
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Deputy FM Ayalon makes comments after Gaza militants launch rocket into Israel, killing one man.
Hezbollah official: Israel strike on Iran could ignite Mideast
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Group’s deputy chief says anyone who attacked Iran would pay the price, whether Israel or the U.S.
IDF troops assaulted after wandering into Hebron’s Arab area
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – 3 soldiers wounded after losing their way in Hebron during physical training exercise.
Lebanon arrests Saudi national for alleged Mossad links
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Man was reportedly communicating with an IDF patrol when he was arrested Lebanon security forces.
IDF vs. democracy and freedom of speech
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – The decision to declare two Palestinian villages a closed military zone on is anti-democratic.
The IDF’s spending list: Useless planes and broken English
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Israel is buying new planes capable of bombing Iran – to be delivered three years too late.
Jordan’s Abdullah: Israel trying to rid Jerusalem of Arabs
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Comment comes as Israel opens Temple Mount after a day of fierce clashes with rioting Palestinians.
Shalit’s father to address UN council on son’s release
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Noam Shalit to demand the execution of the Goldstone Gaza report which calls for his son’s release.
Israeli NGO: Hamas ‘used civilians as human shields’ in Gaza
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Goldstone report showed ‘systematic pro-Palestinian bias’, says Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center.
Report: U.S. positioning ‘bunker-busters’ for possible Iran strike
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Sunday Herald: 387 ‘Blu’ bombs are being shipped to U.S. military base on Diego Garcia in Indian Ocean.
IDF official: Neither Israel nor PA wants violence
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Hamas ‘day of rage’ leads to violence across Jerusalem; police chief: This will not lead to third intifada.
Egypt may try Israeli journalist for sneaking across border
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Yotam Feldman, who also reports for Haaretz, was working on piece for Ch. 10 about illegal immigration.
IDF declares West Bank protest villages a ‘closed military area’
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Police cite military edict restricting movement in Bil’in and and Na’alin until August.
Egypt’s wall along Gaza border nears completion
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Smugglers dimiss attempt to seal off Hamas-ruled Gaza: ‘We’ll just tunnel deeper’.
Settlers’ call sends Palestinian shepherd to IDF beating
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Soldiers reportedly bound and blindfolded civilian, then assaulted him repeatedly.
Iran tried to buy nuclear bomb from Pakistan as early as 1987
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – New documents reveal how a close ally of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei bid $10bn for ready-made weapons.
IDF chief in Turkey to mend damaged ties
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi’s visit is first Turkish trip by an army chief in five years.
Report: Petraeus Warns Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mullen that Israel Is Jeopardizing US Security Interests
3/17/2010 – Democracy Now! – Veteran military and foreign affairs analyst and author Mark Perry reports that CENTCOM commander General David Petraeus dispatched a team of senior military officers in January to brief Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Admiral Michael Mullen on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Perry reports that the briefers told Mullen that “Israeli intransigence on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was jeopardizing US standing in the region. “ — Welcome to Democracy Now!, Mark Perry. Start off by explaining what exactly General Petraeus sent to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. What is his stand? MARK PERRY: General Petraeus sent a briefing team to talk to Admiral Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to give Admiral Mullen a briefing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the facts of the conflict. . . . . he made it very clear that without progress on this issue, it was going to remain a problem in his area of responsibilities. . . . Related:The Petraeus briefing: Biden’s embarrassment is not the whole story
Al-Haq Action Alert: Assault on Palestinian East Jerusalem
3/16/2010 – Al-Haq – On 12 January 2010 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel would never ‚Äòcede control of united Jerusalem nor retreat to the 1967 borders’. Since this assertion by Netanyahu that Israel would never end its military occupation of East Jerusalem and return to the 1967 Green Line, Israeli military forces have gradually increased restrictions on Palestinian residents of occupied East Jerusalem. In recent days, there has been a sudden increase in closures and restrictions imposed most significantly in Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan, and the Old City of Jerusalem. On 28 February Israeli military forces stormed the yards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, in the Old City of Jerusalem, firing rubber bullets and tear gas at worshippers holding a demonstration in the compound. In the weeks following the incident, tensions in the Old City have continued to rise with repeated clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem.
US Imposes Sanctions On Hamas
3/18/2010 – Palestine Note – The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on any company with ties to Hamas’ bank or television broadcast station – The US government has announced it will freeze any assets held by Islamic National Bank or Al-Aqsa Television, both of which are administered by Hamas, whom the US lists as a terrorist organization, BBC reports. The Hamas finance office moved $1. 5 million into the Islamic National Bank in May 2009, says the US Treasury. The Islamic National Bank pays the salaries of Izz ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigade members, the militant wing of Hamas. The Treasury Department statement went on to say that Islamic National Bank does not abide by PA banking regulations. Al-Aqsa television has come under attack for allegedly indoctrinating children through programming to “become armed fighters and suicide bombers,” said Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey. . . . Related:Source: BBC
UC Berkeley student senate passes divestment resolution
3/18/2010 – Kabobfest – For the first time in the University of California history, the UC Berkeley Student Senate has approved a bill to divest from two US companies in response to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and to Israel’s siege and bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The Senate bill directs both the UC Regents and the Student Government to divest from General Electric and United Technologies. General Electric manufactures Apache helicopter engines; United Technologies manufactures Sikorsky helicopters and F-16 aircraft engines. In addition, the bill creates a task force to look into furthering a socially responsible investment policy for the UC system. Student Senator Rahul Patel supported the bill, declaring that “in the 1980s the Student Government was a central actor in demanding that the university divest from South African apartheid. Related:Text of the UC Berkeley Divestment Bill (PDF)
Dearborn student government pushes ‘U’ to divest funds from Israel
3/11/2010 – Michigan Daily – . . . . The student government at the University’s Dearborn campus unanimously passed a resolution last month, asking the University’s Board of Regents to form an advisory committee to investigate what they view as unethical investments of endowment funds into companies that support Israel. But according to University officials and students involved in the issue here in Ann Arbor, it doesn’t seem likely that a similar resolution will be passed in the Michigan Student Assembly any time soon. Currently, the University invests some of its $6 billion dollar endowment in companies like Boeing, Northrup-Grumman and BAE ‚Äî corporations which reportedly provide Israel with support in the form of military weapons and machinery. Hussein Berry, the author of the resolution in Dearborn, said these kinds of University financial investments are unethical and take advantage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Dr. Barghouthi Pledges Support To Beleaguered Jerusalemites
3/18/2010 – Israeli Occupation Archive – Palestine Monitor — 17 March – “I do not have any permission issued by the Israeli authorities to enter East Jerusalem, and I do not recognise the fact that Israel has the power to issue permits to Palestinians to enter their city. We are here on the day in which Israel is establishing facts on the ground, to show that we will never give up Jerusalem. “Dr Barghouthi delivered this message during a press conference held yesterday in front Damascus gate. His speech emphasised the importance of solidarity with Palestinians in the Holy City, who have been affected by the closures and restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities. “Nothing, not the Israeli Army, nor Israeli power can stop us, the Palestinians from reaching our capital Jerusalem. We came here in solidarity with the Jerusalemites. We are with them and will never leave them. The road to peace starts from Jerusalem, and ends in Jerusalem. “ “ Related:Source: Palestine Monitor
Al Mezan Condemns Internal Attacks in Gaza; Gaza Government Obligated to Investigate, Prosecute Perpetrators
3/16/2010 – Al Mezan Center for Human Rights – At approximately 7:45pm on Monday 16 March 2010, unknown persons detonated an explosive device near the eastern wall of the Al Sheikh Redwan Police Station in the al Sheikh Redwan neighborhood. The glass windows s of the surrounding houses were smashed. No causalities or injured were reported. The perpetrators and reasons behind the incident are unknown. In a separate incident, at approximately 1:30pm on Monday 15 March 2010, armed men opened fire on a group of Palestinian resistance fighters in Tal Az-Zatar neighborhood in Jabalia in North Gaza District. In return, the resistance fighters fired back at them and chased them. Grenades were used during the clash. The clash continued for 25 minutes. Then the police surrounded the scene of the clash and arrested all the participants. As a result of this clash, one of the perpetrators was injured by grenade shrapnel.
Storm over Israeli settlements as unreal as the peace process
Uruknet March 18, 2010 – Since Israel announced yet another new settlement in occupied East Jerusalem during the visit of US Vice President Joe Biden last week, Israel has been subjected to a storm of criticism from friend and foe alike. Biden was in Jerusalem to show US support for Israel and to launch “proximity talks” between Israel and the Palestinian…
Palestinian classes held at Israeli army checkpoint
Uruknet March 18, 2010 – Israeli soldiers prevent students and others from crossing a checkpoint between their homes and schools on the edge of the West Bank city of Qalqiliya on 17 March 2010. Some teachers used the checkpoint as a makeshift classroom and held studies despite the closure, which was linked to clashes elsewhere in the occupied territories…
Boys disappearing from Hebron Old City
Uruknet March 18, 2010 – I am most concerned these recent weeks in Hebron. Young teens and even smaller children are disappearing from our neighbourhood in the Old City of Hebron. It’s not by kidnapping. It’s not by trafficking. It’s not an unknown person with a criminal record perpetrating the crimes. Rather, the Israeli military is again pressing its boots down…
’Day of Rage’ Engulfs Palestine
Uruknet March 18, 2010 – On Tuesday tens of hundreds of Palestinians of all political persuasions took to the streets, alleys and sidewalks as widespread rioting and protests spread across East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza and into Israel proper. The worst violence in several years, something of a mini Intifadah or uprising, followed the Islamist movement Hamas calling for a ‘…
Obama: ‘No crisis’ in Israel ties
Uruknet March 18, 2010 – Israeli plans to build more homes near East Jerusalem are not helpful for the Middle East peace process, but the recent row over the issue does not amount to a crisis in US-Israeli relations, Barack Obama has said. In his first public comments on the issue, the US president told the Fox News network on Wednesday…
Sonic blasts over Gaza after projectile kills Thai worker
Uruknet March 18, 2010 – No strikes or injuries were reported after Gaza residents reported hearing what sounded like a dozen explosions across the Strip on Thursday, hours after the death of a Thai worker hit by projectile fire. The Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed to have fired the projectile that killed the foreign worker, in a statement moments after reports…
Dispatches: The Children of GazaPutting a human face to the tragedy — Re-igniting the call for accountability
Uruknet March 17, 2010 – On Monday 15th March Channel 4 aired an episode of Dispatches entitled “The Children of Gaza”. It focused on the lives of a few of the children living in that small strip of Palestinian land whose lives were devastated when, 15 months ago, Israel launched its military attack on their homes, killing many of their parents…
US Department of Justice Asked to Regulate AIPAC as a Foreign Agent of the Israeli Government
Uruknet March 17, 2010 – The US Department of Justice has been formally asked to begin regulating the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as the foreign agent of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A 392 page legal filing presented by a four person IRmep delegation in a two hour meeting with top officials of the Internal Security Section substantiated…
Video: Israeli Apartheid and The Nakba
Uruknet March 17, 2010 – There can be absolutely no doubt that Israel has created an inhuman, illegal and utterly disgraceful Apartheid state, and the international community will never be able to excuse itself if it takes no action against this blatant, ongoing and in-plain-sight crime against humanity. Please join the millions of decent people around the world who are crying…
Winds of a third intifada
Uruknet March 17, 2010 …The continued unbearable pressure by the U.S. and Israel on the PA to maintain security, without any political progress, will ultimately make the PA loose legitimacy and support from the Palestinian street. This will also make a third Intifada the only option and best alternative to a negotiated agreement for Palestinians. Many Palestinians argue that even if…
Gaza: Metals detected in Palestinian children’s hair suggest environmental contamination
Uruknet March 17, 2010 – Many Palestinian children still living in precarious situations at ground level in Gaza after Israeli bombing during “Cast lead” have unusually high concentrations of metals in the hair, indicating environmental contamination, which can cause health and growth damages due to chronic exposure. This is the result of a pilot study conducted by the New Weapons Research…
URGENT APPEAL: Illegal detention of children inside Israel
Uruknet March 17, 2010 – On or about 8 March 2010, Israeli authorities transferred at least seven Palestinian children from Ofer Prison, in the West Bank, to Rimonim Prison, inside Israel. This decision occurred after lawyers for DCI-Palestine informed Ofer military court that children were being detained illegally with adult detainees inside Ofer prison. However, the response of the Israeli authorities…
EU foreign policy chief visits Gaza
Gaza, March 18, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton arrived Gaza City today for an hours-long visit to the Gaza Strip. Ashton’s first stop was a UN-run girls school in the Jabalya refugee camp, in north Gaza city. The English baroness was also due to hold talks with UN officials during her brief visit to the…
Israel arrests 120 in Jerusalem violence
Occupied Jerusalem, March 18, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Israeli occupation forces arrested 120 Jerusalemites during the past 24 hours, in mass demonstrations organized in the Old City and the nearby towns in the occupied Jerusalem, to protest the construction of a Jewish synagogue near Al-Aqsa Mosque. Amjad Abu Assab, spokesman for Jerusalemite detainees’ families, said: “A large group of young detainees…
Israel suppresses student march in Ramallah
Ramallah, March 18, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) — Israeli occupation forces suppressed student march in which hundreds from Al-Nabi Saleh School protest in north-west of Ramallah. Eyewitnesses said that Israeli occupation forces fired tear gas at the students who protest to support the steadfastness of Jerusalem city against the Israeli attacks. When the student march arrived to Al-Bourj area, opposite Halmish…
Israel intensifies military actions in WB checkpoints
West Bank, March 18, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli occupation force erected a sudden checkpoint on Thursday at Aja crossroads Jenin – Nablus Street, in Jenin in the West Bank. It blocked the traffic and checked the citizens’ ID cards. It also tightened its military actions on the Al-Container checkpoint in Bethlehem. Eyewitnesses said that three military patrols stationed in…
Israel arrests 9 Palestinians in West Bank
West Bank, March 18, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Israeli occupation forces arrested early Thursday nine Palestinians during raids on different parts of the West Bank. Security sources said: “Israeli army raided Azzun town, Qalqilya, and Qablan and Beta towns in Nablus, and searched several houses before arresting nine people and then taking them to an unknown destination.” The sources explained that…
EU foreign policy chief condemns Gaza violence
The National 18 Mar 2010 – Catherine Ashton condemns any kind of violence after Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fire a rocket into Israel, killing one man.
EU foreign policy chief to visit Gaza
The National 18 Mar 2010 – Catherine Ashton travels to Gaza in a rare visit by a senior Western official to the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory.
Moderate pro-Israel lobbyists energised by tougher White House rhetoric
The National 17 Mar 2010 – The emerging moderate Israel lobby in Washington seeks to counter hawkish groups that have long dominated the discourse.
Israeli raids target children
Palestine Note 18 Mar 2010 – SILWAN, EAST JERUSALEM, Mar 16, 2010 (IPS) – Three thousand heavily armed Israeli security service forces locked down large parts of the Old City of Jerusalem on Tuesday, as battalions of police fired rounds of tear…
The phoniness of the U.S. census
Palestine Note 18 Mar 2010 – Pro-Census advocates argue that adding the word “ARAB” to the Census form might make many Arabs believe they will be easier targets for discrimination and profiling. They also argue that there is “no difference” between having…
How far is Obama willing to press Netanyahu?
Palestine Note 18 Mar 2010 – The conventional wisdom in Washington ( and, perhaps, Jerusalem ) is that President Obama wants to blow up Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition. The current governing bloc includes Likud and a smattering of right-wing parties (plus…
Biden’s Amman meeting: Another problem for Americans?
Palestine Note 18 Mar 2010 – It began with a short press release issued by the US embassy in Amman late last Thursday and has since mushroomed. The 20 words given about the topic were: “Vice President Biden met with civil society…
Public opinion backs Obama not Netanyahu
Palestine Note 18 Mar 2010 – Wolf Blitzer and Jack Cafferty have it right here except where Wolf characterizes the shift in public opinion as “anti-Israel.” It is not; it is against settlements and for peace and security for Israelis and Palestines….
US IMPOSES SANCTIONS ON HAMAS
Palestine Note 18 Mar 2010 – THE US TREASURY HAS IMPOSED SANCTIONS ON ANY COMPANY WITH TIES TO HAMAS’ BANK OR TELEVISION BROADCAST STATION The US government has announced it will freeze any assets held by Islamic National Bank or Al-Aqsa Television,…
Iran Launches Anti-Sanctions Car Engine
The Media Line 18 Mar 2010 – Tehran responds to United States’ push for tougher fuel sanctions with launch of new kerosene car engine. Iran has revealed a new dual fuel car engine that will run both on gas and kerosene, a move…
Palestinian Authority to Opt Out of US Training Program
The Media Line 17 Mar 2010 – The Palestinian Authority is reportedly planning to drop the American involvement in the increasingly strong US-sponsored Palestinian security forces in the West Bank. According to Jane’s, a security magazine published in London, the Palestinian Authority will…
Rocket Attack from the Gaza Strip Kills Civilian in Israel
The Media Line 17 Mar 2010 – A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit an Israeli greenhouse killing a migrant worker. It was the third rocket in 12 hours at the relatively quiet but tense border. The man was the first person…
President Obama Takes a Swipe at Israeli Minister
The Media Line 17 Mar 2010 – As both the Americans and Israelis move to lower diplomatic tensions, President Obama has taken a personal swipe at the minister in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s cabinet who sparked the current crisis. In an interview with…
Gaza rocket kills worker in Israel
AlJazeera 18 Mar 2010 – Al-Qaeda-linked group claims responsibility for attack that leaves Thai worker dead.
Israel hits Gaza after rocket death
AlJazeera 18 Mar 2010 – Aircraft launch strikes on Gaza after rocket attack kills worker on Israeli farm.
Alternative Information Center
Why Protest Building a Synagogue?
Alternative Information Center – Thursday, 18 March 2010, The Hurva synagogue was destroyed in the 1948 war by the Jordanian army. Before 1948, synagogues were used by Zionist underground forces for illicit activities including hording weapons.* But why is there…
Upcoming AIC Publication: Social Chaos: A Critical Perspective on the Israeli Educational System
Alternative Information Center – Wednesday, 17 March 2010, In April the Alternative Information Center (AIC) will release a new publication entitled Social Chaos: A Critical Perspective on the Israeli Educational System. Social Chaos is a compilation of articles written by…
It is Time to Hear the Palestinian People
Alternative Information Center – Tuesday, 16 March 2010, Israel’s dangerous and arrogant escalation in settlement building, house demolitions and evictions of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem indicates that the government of Netanyahu-Lieberman’s is pushing for overt clash and conflict— and…
“Christ at the Checkpoint” Conference Completes its Work in Bethlehem
PNN – Thursday, 18 March 2010
Rachel Corrie’s Memory, Israel’s Image
PNN – Thursday, 18 March 2010
UN, Russia intent on restarting peace
Jeruslalem Post 18 Mar 2010 – Meeting in Moscow, commit to pushing Israel and Palestine to resume talks
Peres stresses J’lem policy to Ashton
Jeruslalem Post 18 Mar 2010 – President says pattern is to build in suburbs that are “basically Jewish.”
Hamas fans flames of Islamic anger following ‘Day of Rage’
Jeruslalem Post 18 Mar 2010 – Hamas seeks to supplant the West Bank Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad.
Obama: No crisis in Israel-US ties
Jeruslalem Post 18 Mar 2010 – Inner cabinet meets after Israel reportedly pressured to respond to Washington demands.
Clinton to attend Mideast session amid crisis
Jeruslalem Post 18 Mar 2010 – Quartet to discuss frozen Israeli-Palestinian peace process, arms control.
It’s about trust, not settlements
Jeruslalem Post 18 Mar 2010 – Netanyahu didn’t enjoy much trust going into this crisis, and it’s not just with Obama.
Stop channeling Yasser Arafat’s ghost
Jeruslalem Post 18 Mar 2010 – The late Fatah chairman and his dubious legacy continue to play a pivotal role.
On PA television for kids, Israel is only a fairy tale
Jeruslalem Post 18 Mar 2010 – Program teaches children about different areas of Palestine, using a map that includes all of Israel but is simply labeled “Palestine.”
Left plans ‚Äòvigils’ against Silwan march
Jeruslalem Post 17 Mar 2010 – Activists want to counter east J’lem march organized by Marzel on Sunday.
PES President: Europe’s Wake up Call for the Two-state Solution
WAFA 18 Mar 2010 – BRUSSELS, March 18, 2010 (WAFA)- The Party of European Socialists (PES) President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen wrote Wednesday an article entitled: Europe’s wake up call for the two-state solution. It reads
Weekly Trading Report: Launching Activities of London Road Show
WAFA 18 Mar 2010 – NABLUS, March 18, 2010 (WAFA)- Quietness dominated the transactions of Palestine Securities Exchange this week (March 14-18), where investors’ influence by Arab markets ascending was varied. Some of
Gaza: MAG Begins Destruction of White Phosphorus Artillery Rounds
WAFA 18 Mar 2010 – GAZA, March 18, 2010 (WAFA)- A Mines Advisory Group (MAG) explosives team has destroyed the first projectiles in a series of planned activities over the coming three to four months to dispose of all
Ashton Inspects Humanitarian Situation of Gaza Strip
WAFA 18 Mar 2010 – GAZA, March 18, 2010 (WAFA)- The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Catherine Ashton, visited on Thursday the Gaza Strip to inspect the
Testimony of Civil Lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s Family against Israel
WAFA 18 Mar 2010 – HAIFA, March 18, 2010 (WAFA)- Haifa District Court saw Wednesday a fourth day of testimony in the civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in
Oxfam Urges Ashton to Make Lifting Gaza Siege Top Priority
WAFA 18 Mar 2010 – LONDON, March 17, 2010 (WAFA)- As EU foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton prepares to visit the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Oxfam International urged her to make the immediate lifting of the
Israel’s Ongoing Hostile Actions Intend to Make Peace Impossible
WAFA 18 Mar 2010 – RAMALLAH, March 17, 2010 (WAFA)- The Palestine Network called for an immediate suspension of all acts of provocation by Israel, and called upon governments of the world to intervene in order to stop
Reactions on Israeli Violations in East Jerusalem
WAFA 18 Mar 2010 – NEW YORK, March 17, 2010 (WAFA)- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called ifor calm and restraint in Jerusalem following the clashes that took place between the Palestinians and the occupation forces
MIDEAST: ‘Day of Rage’ Engulfs Palestine
IPS QALANDIA, West Bank, Mar 17 (IPS) – On Tuesday tens of hundreds of Palestinians of all political persuasions took to the streets, alleys and sidewalks as widespread rioting and protests spread across East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza and into Israel proper.
WORLD CUP: But South Africa Will Win
IPS JERUSALEM, Mar 17 (IPS) – Less than a hundred days to go, and the world looks on, often more with scepticism than anticipation.
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Armed Clashes in Jabalya and Explosion in Police Station in Gaza City
PCHR 16 Mar 2010 – Field Update Yesterday, armed clashes took place in Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, due to which a gunman was wounded. In a separate incident, unknown persons detonated a bomb near the Sheikh Radwan police station without injuries. These incidents are part of the ongoing state of security chaos and….
Civilian Kidnapped and Tortured by Unknown Persons
PCHR 16 Mar 2010 – Field Update On Sunday, 14 March 2010, unknown gunmen kidnapped Salah Mohammed al-Masri, 38, in Gaza city. They led him to an unknown destination and violently beat him. According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately 21:30 on Sunday, 14 March 2010, Salah al-Masri, an n employee in….
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (11-17 March 2010)
PCHR 17 Mar 2010 – Israeli troops detain an international peace activist during a protest over land confiscation in Beit Ummar village near Hebron….
PCHR Concludes Training Course in Khan Yunis
PCHR 18 Mar 2010 – Ref: 32/2010 Today, Thursday, 18 March 2010, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) concluded a training course in human rights and gender issues in Khan Yunis. The 20-hour course was held in PCHR’s sub-office in Khan Yunis in the period 14-18 March 2010. The number of participants in the course was 27 persons, representing 12 community-based organizations in Khan….
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Ashton, meets with PCHR on her visit to Gaza
PCHR 17 Mar 2010 – Ref: 33/2010 Today, the 18 March 2010, Hamdi Shaqqura on behalf of PCHR participated in a joint meeting with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, Catherine Ashton, on the occasion of her first official visit to the Gaza Strip…..
PCHR Receives World Bank Delegation
PCHR 17 Mar 2010 – Ref: 31/2010 On Thursday morning, 18 March 2010, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) received Ms. Dina Abu-Ghaida, Deputy Country Director of the World Bank; Ms. Miski Burhane, Civil Development Expert in the World Bank Mission to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip; and Ms. Sameera Hillis, Projects Officer in the Human Development Department in the Mission…..
International Solidarity Movement
Israeli Military Investigator Admits Failures in the Military Investigation of Rachel Corrie’s Killing
3/18/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – Rachel Corrie Foundation, 17 March – Today March 17, 2010 the Haifa District Court saw a fourth day of testimony in the civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza. Rachel Corrie, an American human rights defender from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death on March 16, 2003 by a Caterpillar D9R bulldozer. She had been nonviolently demonstrating against Palestinian home demolitions with fellow members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using nonviolent, direct action methods and principles. An Israeli military police investigator, who was part of the team that investigated Rachel’s killing testified today. In his testimony he stated that. He never inspected the site where the killing occurred; nor did he ever sit inside the D9 bulldozer to see for himself the view the driver had and what the field of vision was.
Israel to engage in ‘trust-building’ moves in wake of East Jerusalem row
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Netanyahu delivers Israel’s response to U.S. demands, reportedly offers ‘don’t ask don’t tell on future builds.
ADL: Petraeus wrong to link anti-U.S. attitude to Mideast peace
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Abraham Foxman says Israel is seen as the problem whenever the Mideast conflict comes into focus.
Poll: Nearly half of U.S. voters support total settlement freeze
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Survey shows 75% of American voters agree Palestinians should acknowledge Israel’s right to exist.
Auschwitz sign thieves get jail sentences from Polish court
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Court sends 3 men to 18-to-30 months in jail; alleged Swedish mastermind to be extradited in coming days.
U.S. imposes sanctions on Gaza institutions over Hamas links
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Ban to prohibit Americans from dealing with Strip bank, TV station and freeze their U.S. assets.
Assad: Mideast peace ‘impossible’ with Netanyahu
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Syrian president blames building of new settlements as reason for stalling peace talks, AFP reports.
Clinton urges Russia to delay launch of Iran nuclear plant
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Putin announces Russia would start the reactor it is building at Iran’s first atomic power plant in mid-2010.
Senior U.S. diplomat in Syria in effort to restart peace talks
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Obama last month appointed Robert Ford as the first U.S. ambassador to Damascus in five years.
Biden, in D.C.: It’s great to be where construction boom is a good thing
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Israel’s approval of East Jerusalem housing during Vice President’s visit stirred tensions with U.S.
In Gaza, EU’s top diplomat condemns deadly rocket attack
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – UN Chief: Strike ‘totally unacceptable’, against international law’; Min. Shalom: Israel’s response will be strong.
Dutch politician: Palestinian youth losing faith in two-state solution
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Gerdi Verbeet tells Haaretz about her talks with Palestinian and Israeli leaders during her visit to the region.
Peres to EU: Israel has every right to build in Jerusalem
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – President tells visiting foreign policy chief that Israel’s construction policy hasn’t changed in 40 years.
Obama: No crisis in U.S. ties with Israel
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – U.S. President calls Interior Ministry’s approval of East Jerusalem homes not ‘helpful’ to peace process.
U.S. tough love is the kind Israel needs
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Washington must not just prolong the settlement freeze but pressure Israel to withdraw to its own borders.
What makes American Jewry so vibrant?
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – The absence of a communal hierarchy means that individual rabbis and communal leaders can innovate and try new and transformative programming.
Israel’s Binyamin Netanyahu in climbdown over US demands for peace
The Guardian 18 Mar 2010 – ‚Ä¢ Prime minister agrees to postpone building plans ‚Ä¢ Some concessions made in private, say diplomats The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, last night caved into US demands over the Middle East peace process, opening the…
Hillary Clinton in Russia for nuclear and Middle East talks
The Guardian 18 Mar 2010 – US secretary of state arrives in Moscow to discuss bilateral arms reduction deal and peace in the Middle East Hillary Clinton arrived in Moscow this morning for talks on nuclear arms reduction and the Middle East,…
Israel faces new pressure as Lady Ashton visits Gaza
The Guardian 18 Mar 2010 – Palestinian president appeals to EU foreign policy chief to pressure Israel over settlements Israel faced new international pressure over the deadlocked Middle East peace process today with a visit by Lady Ashton, the European Union’s new…
Eyewitness: Flashpoint in East Jerusalem
The Guardian 18 Mar 2010 – Photographs from the Guardian’s Eyewitness series
Sheikh Jarrah’s peaceful protests | Seth Freedman
The Guardian 18 Mar 2010 – Nonviolent Palestinian protest serves as a magnet for ordinary Israelis alienated by the rock-throwing seen elsewhere News that the villages of Bil’in and Nil’in are to become closed military zones every Friday until August has been…
Barack Obama does not hate Israel, says Binyamin Netanyahu
The Guardian 18 Mar 2010 – ‚Ä¢ Brother-in-law’s remarks cause embarrassment ‚Ä¢ King of Jordan criticises home-building proposals Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, yesterday distanced himself from his brother-in-law’s accusation that Barack Obama is an antisemite who hates Israel. The family back-and-forth…
Jerusalem issue ‘a red line’, says Jordan’s king
The Guardian 17 Mar 2010 – King Abdullah, a close ally of the US and Britain, demanded firm action to stop Israel’s provocative measures and threats against Muslim holy sites King Abdullah of Jordan added to pressure on Israel over its settlements…
Crisis in US-Israeli relations: Barack Obama must not back down | Editorial
The Guardian 17 Mar 2010 – Mr Netanyahu’s coalition went too far even for a pliant US president. And Mr Obama is not that He blinked once and he can not afford to blink again. The most serious crisis in US-Israeli relations…
Jonathan Freedland on US putting more pressure on Israel over Palestinians
The Guardian 18 Mar 2010 – Jonathan Freedland on the US putting more pressure on Israel over Palestinians Jonathan Freedland
Hillary Clinton piles pressure on Israel over East Jerusalem settlements
The Guardian 18 Mar 2010 – US secretary of state says onus is on Israel to restart peace process as Israeli soldiers clash with Palestinians The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, today demonstrated a new-found steeliness towards Israel by making it…
Shas journal: Obama is ‘a stone throwing Palestinian’
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – The official Shas journal “Day to Day” published Thursday an editorial depicting United States President Barack Obama as “a Palestinian stone throwing youth in East Jerusalem, and not a strategic leader.” …
Israeli firm Teva to acquire Germany`s Ratiopharm for $5.1 billion
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – Israel’s Teva (TEVA.TA) (TEVA.O) won the battle for generic drugmaker Ratiopharm, paying $5.1 billion to fix its weakness in Germany, the world’s second-largest generics market. …
Mcdonald’s fined NIS 30,000 for illegally employing minors
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – The Tel Aviv Labor Court fined Alonial LTD – the company that operates the McDonalds fast food chain in Israel – NIS 30 thousand for employing minors on their weekly day of rest, in violation of the law. …
Former PM Olmert ranked most corrupt leader in Israeli history
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – While just over half of Israelis think the Benjamin Netanyahu regime is just as corrupt as Ehud Olmert’s government was, the former prime minister won the contest for most corrupt ever, hands down. …
State to invest NIS 700m in developing Arab towns
Ha’aretz 18 Mar 2010 – The state intends to allocate NIS 700 million for accelerating economic growth in 10 Arab, Druze and Circassian communities who comprise 30% of Israel’s total population of minorities. The final touches are being put on the proposal, which is slated to be submitted to the cabinet for approval on Sunday. …
Israel strikes in Gaza after deadly rocket
Relief Web 18 Mar 2010 – Source: Reuters – AlertNet
Secretary-General Condemns Deadly Rocket Attack from Gaza
Relief Web 18 Mar 2010 – Source: UN Secretary-General
OPT: Protection of Civilians Weekly Report, 10 – 16 Mar 2010
Relief Web 18 Mar 2010 – Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
GAZA: MAG begins destruction of white phosphorus artillery rounds
Relief Web 18 Mar 2010 – Source: Mines Advisory Group
Air Force strikes in Gaza
YNet News 18 Mar 2010 – IDF retaliates for deadly Qassam attack: Air Force hits several Gaza targets, including metal foundry, smuggling tunnel; Vice PM Shalom says Israel to offer strong response to rocket attack that killed Thai worker Thursday
Terror suspect admits scouting for Mumbai massacre
YNet News 18 Mar 2010 – Headley pleads guilty, cooperates with investigators. ‘Jihad Jane’ pleads not guilty to charges of providing material support to terrorists, conspiring to kill in foreign country
Commander’s error prompts Hebron humiliation
YNet News 18 Mar 2010 – Series of errors: IDF probe into assault on troops in Hebron reveals that commander led soldiers on wrong path during jog, ignored troops’ comments; armed soldier who escorted group refrained from firing, disciplinary action considered
Washington Post: Israel, US agree on ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ policy
YNet News 18 Mar 2010 – Israel to refrain from announcing Jerusalem construction decisions in future, Washington Post reports; Clinton, Netanyahu speak Thursday, prime minister proposes trust-building measures to be undertaken by Israel, Palestinians
’We dressed up like settlers’
YNet News 18 Mar 2010 – Killed Hamas man al-Mabhouh describes killing of IDF soldier in interview aired for first time
Hezbollah: Iran strike to ignite Mideast
YNet News 18 Mar 2010 – Assailants will pay ‘heavy price’ for attacking Iran, Hezbollah’s deputy leader warns; any country that allows strike to be launched from local US bases to also face reprisals, he says
IDF troops beaten up in Hebron
YNet News 18 Mar 2010 – Soldiers lose way in city during training session, attacked by dozens of Palestinians
47 MKs to PM: Continue building in Jerusalem
YNet News 18 Mar 2010 – Letter of support to Netanyahu asserts Israel’s right to construct in capital. Petition calls on prime minister to stand firm in face of international pressure for further ‘gestures’
Hamas boosts patrols in wake of lethal rocket attack
YNet News 18 Mar 2010 – Hamas questions witnesses after Qassam rocket kills Thai worker; Deputy foreign minister: Rocket consequence of Goldstone Report
Clinton: Israel rift a challenge
YNet News 18 Mar 2010 – Secretary of state avoids criticism of Israel while speaking in Moscow, calls for resumption of talks between Palestinians, Israelis; meanwhile, Obama Administration mulling introduction of American peace initiative
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2202.shtml
Stop The Wall – This morning, the Israeli occupation forces have attacked residents of Ni’lin who were gathered in a march to protest the military orders against their village and the provocative Israeli construction close to the Palestinian holy places. [
Stop the Wall releases two reports on Brazil’s complicity with Israeli wars and occupation.
Stop The Wall – Stop the Wall sends a message to Brazil’s Lula da Silva during his visit to Palestine: Free trade and arms trade with Israel rule out effective support for human rights and just peace. [
Rocket kills one in Israel as EU foreign policy chief visits Gaza
Daily Star 18 Mar 2010 GAZA: Palestinian militants launched their first deadly rocket attack on Israel in over a year, killing a Thai worker on Thursday in a strike that challenged Gaza’s Hamas rulers and prompted Israel to threaten a powerful response. The rocket tore into a plastic-covered hothouse in the Israeli community of Netiv Haasara an hour after the European
Nigeria’s acting president makes haste in choosing new Cabinet
Daily Star 18 Mar 2010 ABUJA: Nigeria’s Acting President Goodluck Jonathan will nominate a new ministerial team by next week, and is likely to reappoint around half the Cabinet he has just sacked, presidency sources said Thursday. Fast appointment of the ministers could do much to alleviate uncertainty in Africa’s most populous nation after Jonathan dismissed
Clinton in Moscow to clear hurdles to nuclear disarmament treaty
Daily Star 18 Mar 2010 MOSCOW: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Russia on Thursday to clear obstacles to a new treaty cutting arsenals of nuclear weapons and to win Moscow’s backing for tougher sanctions against Iran. Visiting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, also in Russia for a Friday meeting of Middle East mediators, urged Russia and the United States
Iran releases on bail top reformist and filmmaker
Daily Star 18 Mar 2010 TEHRAN: Iranian authorities have released on bail a top reformist jailed since last June, a film maker and a reformist journalist ahead of Iranian New Year celebrations, opposition websites said on Thursday. Mohsen Mirdamadi, former MP and secretary of Iran’s largest reformist party, the Islamic Iran Participation Front, was released after posting bail
Baroud, Murr lash out at Wahhab slurs
Daily Star 18 Mar 2010 BEIRUT: While the Presidency abstained Thursday from retaliating against its critics, both the defense and interior ministers, whose seats were among the president’s allotted share in the Cabinet, said criticism targeted Michel Sleiman’s role in promoting Lebanon’s position on the international arena. Similarly, Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir defended
French companies upbeat about Lebanese economic future
Daily Star 18 Mar 2010 BEIRUT: The huge number of French companies exhibiting at the Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure center (BIEL), for the French week in Lebanon 2010, is nothing less than a great indicator of the country’s ability to once again become the commercial hub of the Middle East. “If it weren’t for the political clashes that have occurred in Lebanon
Big spectacle, little substance
Daily Star 18 Mar 2010 The last week or so of Lebanese politics, if we can call it that, has had several moments of political fireworks, while seeing a few meaty issues arise.Last weekend, of course, saw a three-way drama: Walid Jumblatt gave his “long-awaited” interview and offered a mea culpa, of sorts, to his official Syrian audience. Naturally, the focus was on how Jumblatt explained his
Lebanese protest in front of Parliament for civil marriages
Daily Star 18 Mar 2010 BEIRUT: Bassam Jalgha, 23, has decided he doesn’t want a religious marriage. There’s only one problem: civil marriages are not performed in Lebanon. Jalgha was one of around 200 people who marched on the Lebanese Parliament Thursday to demand politicians amend the law to allow people the option of marrying outside religious establishments.
Tribunal preparing for trial within a year
Daily Star 18 Mar 2010 Editor’s note: The following are excerpts of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s annual report, which was released Saturday. The Daily Star is publishing excerpts of the report until Wednesday.PART II – MAIN ACTIVITIES OF THE TRIBUNAL BETWEEN MARCH 2009 AND FEBRUARY 2010 A. Chambers 1. Introduction 95. The Tribunal’s Chambers are
The law has teeth: building on judicial decisions
Daily Star 18 Mar 2010 Amid the continuing turmoil over the settlements, a little judicial victory for West Bankers was registered at the European Court of Justice on February 25. The case is excerpted on this page, together with a comment by Christopher Lund. Considering the bulldozing-like style of Israeli occupation, both really and figuratively, the little achieved by European judges
Relais & Chateaux hold annual meeting for first time in Beirut
Daily Star 18 Mar 2010 BEIRUT: Earlier this month, the prestigious Relais & Chateux hotel company held their annual meeting in Beirut for the first time in history. Jihane Khairallah Sakr, general manager of Hotel Albergo, invited an intimate crowd on March 7 to meet Jaume Tapies, president of Relais & Chateux, and Jacques Olivier Chauvin, the managing director, with a cocktail and dinner party
Palestinian Information Center
Israeli court banishes 15 Jerusalemites out of the Old City
PIC 18 Mar 2010 – An Israeli court ordered 15 Jerusalemite detainees out of the vicinity of the Old City for 15 days in a bid to abort possible recurrence of protests against the judaization of the holy city.
Sources: Jordan decided against improving relations with Hamas
PIC 18 Mar 2010 – Sources in the Islamic movement have said that Amman was waging a campaign against anyone collecting donations for Gaza or Palestine and was summoning writers advocating improved relations with Hamas.
Palestinian journalist, boy injured in IOF quelling
PIC 18 Mar 2010 – A Palestinian boy and a journalist were injured on Wednesday when Israeli occupation forces fired bullets and gas bombs at demonstrators in Al-Khalil city, medical sources said.
IUMS declares Friday a day of solidarity with Aqsa Mosque
PIC 18 Mar 2010 – The international union for Muslim scholars declared Friday a day of solidarity with the Aqsa Mosque on which general protests will be held afternoon in all Muslim countries.
Protest to be held next Monday against visit of racist Barkat to London
PIC 18 Mar 2010 – Hundreds of Arabs, Muslims and pro-Palestinian activists intend to protest at the visit of head of the Israeli municipal council in occupied Jerusalem Nir Barkat to London next Monday.
Oldest serving administrative detainee freed
PIC 18 Mar 2010 – The IOA has released Nazih Abu Oun, 48, from the Negev desert prison after three years of administrative detention, without trial or charge, Ahrar center for prisoners’ studies and human rights said.
News report: Netanyahu OK’d bids for 426 new units during Biden’s visit
PIC 18 Mar 2010 – Israel’s TV channel ten revealed that Netanyahu concealed the announcement of new tenders for the construction of new 426 settlement units in Jerusalem from Joe Biden during his last visit.
Musleh: European green light for PA to quell freedoms in WB
PIC 18 Mar 2010 – Hamas MP Mahmoud Musleh has charged European donor countries of granting the PA in Ramallah the green light to go ahead in suppressing people and freedoms in the West Bank.
Abu Marzouk champions broad plan to preserve holy sites
PIC 18 Mar 2010 – Dr. Mousa Abu Marzouk has advocated a Pan-Arab plan to support steadfastness of Jerusalemites in their city, warning that statements would be of no value.
Three Islamic leaders freed from Zionist jails
PIC 18 Mar 2010 – The Israeli occupation authorities have freed three Islamic leaders from the West Bank after holding them hostages for prolonged periods.
Gaza rocket kills Thai worker in southern Israel
LA Times 19 Mar 2010 – The latest in a recent spate of attacks causes the first such fatality in the area in more than a year. A group taking responsibility cites the ‘Judaization of holy sites’ in Jerusalem. A rocket launched Thursday from the Gaza Strip killed a Thai farmworker in southern Israel, the first such fatality in the area in more than a year.
Palestinians must not stay on the sidelines, official says
LA Times 17 Mar 2010 – Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the PLO, sees a weakening of the Palestinian Authority over the hobbled peace process and is skeptical that the U.S. will keep the pressure on Israel. Almost overshadowed in the recent days of diplomatic tussle between the U.S. and Israel is the Palestinian Authority, whose leaders have been watching with concern — and perhaps a little amusement. It’s not often Palestinians get to see the U.S. and Israel clash so publicly.
Anger builds over Israel housing
LA Times 17 Mar 2010 – Palestinians clash with police in Jerusalem, and the U.S. puts off a visit. Reporting from Washington and Jerusalem Paul Richter — With anger over Israeli building plans stoking tensions about the future of Jerusalem’s holy sites, violence spilled into the streets Tuesday in a string of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police that injured more than 100 people.
World’s richest man happy to be in Lebanon, not shelling out
LA Times 17 Mar 2010 –
Israel lifts some curbs on Palestinian movement
LA Times 17 Mar 2010 – Thousands of police remain on alert, but closure of the West Bank is called off and access to Jerusalem’s holiest shrine is granted. Israel on Wednesday lifted its tight restrictions on Palestinian access to Jerusalem’s holiest shrine and called off an extended West Bank closure after days of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces.
U.S. Envoy May Head to Israel Sunday
New York Times 18 Mar 2010 – The arrival of George J. Mitchell would indicate a possible thawing of the bitter dispute over Israeli residential building in contested East Jerusalem.
Gaza Rocket Attack Kills Thai Worker in Israel
New York Times 18 Mar 2010 – A foreign agricultural worker was the first fatality from Gaza rocket fire since Israel’s 2009 military offensive.
Israel Seeks to Mend Rift With the U.S.
New York Times 17 Mar 2010 – Israeli officials said they were working on a plan to defuse tensions over building in East Jerusalem.
NPR’s Robert Siegel opens a door I want to go through
Mondoweiss – 17 Mar 2010 – Why is Martin Indyk saving Americans, and Netanyahu, too, from Netanyahu’s brother-in-law’s statement that Obama is “anti-semitic”? On NPR tonight, Indyk was interviewed by Robert Siegel, and described Netanyahu’s “ chevra — the people he lives with—” as hardline Zionist rightwing ideologues. For instance, Bibi’s brother-in-law,…
TNR says it’s Obama who’s endangering Israeli lives
Mondoweiss – 17 Mar 2010 – Sober Yossi Klein Halevi (a favorite of Isabel Kershner’s in the New York Times ) writing in the New Republic about the new blood libel, the idea that Israel’s brutal occupation is in any way, shape, fashion or form, endangering American security: The administration, according to a…
Switcheroo at Khalil Gibran school prompts call for Almontaser’s re-appointment
Mondoweiss – 17 Mar 2010 – Communities in Support of the Khalil Gibran International Academy responds to the news that the current principal of the Arab-language public school, Holly Anne Reichert, is stepping down to make way for a principal at another public school to take over the job: Beshir Abdelatiff. What…
Special relationship is melting in the sun
Mondoweiss – 17 Mar 2010 – Rasmussen poll, reported by Jay Bookman, Atlanta Journal-Constitution : 49 percent of Americans believe that “Israel (should) be required to stop building new settlements in occupied Palestinian territory,” while only 22 percent believe it should not. That represents a strong endorsement of the position taken by the…
Mearsheimer: the lobby can’t hide the fact it is siding with Israel against the US president
Mondoweiss – 17 Mar 2010 – John Mearsheimer at LRB says one great thing about the contretemps is that it has forced the lobby out into the open, taking a stand against the US president and still claiming that it is operating in the American interest: Siding with Israel against the United…
Border Police Critically Injures 14 Year Old in Nabi Saleh Demonstration
Alternative Information Center – 17 Mar 2010 – Saturday, 06 March 2010, The 14 year old boy was critically injured during a demonstration in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh against creeping land grab by the adjacent Jewish-only settlement of Halamish.
Condolences
Alternative Information Center – 17 Mar 2010 – Monday, 08 March 2010, The Alternative Information Center shares in the deep sorrow of veteran staff member Bryan Atinsky, at the tragic and untimely loss of his wife, Dr. Efrat Gamliel-Atinsky, children Noam (5) and Ya’ari (8 months) Gamliel-Atinsky and mother-in-law Esther Gamliel, in a car…
World Education Forum in Palestine Launched
Alternative Information Center – 17 Mar 2010 – Tuesday, 16 March 2010, The Palestinian National Committee in charge of the preparations of the World Social Forum on Education hosted a delegation of the International Advisory Committee of the World Social Forum in Ramallah from March 11 -13. Together they launched the organizing process that…
AIC Participates in Moroccan Social Forum for Another World
Alternative Information Center – 17 Mar 2010 – Tuesday, 16 March 2010, Seven hundred people attended the 5th Moroccan Social Forum, held in Bouznika, near Casablanca, from 5-7 March 2010. The Alternative Information Center (AIC) and the Teachers’ Creativity Centre from Palestine joined the meeting; the friendly and helpful atmosphere among the participants,…
It is Time to Hear the Palestinian People
Alternative Information Center – 17 Mar 2010 – Tuesday, 16 March 2010, Israel’s dangerous and arrogant escalation in settlement building, house demolitions and evictions of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem indicates that the government of Netanyahu-Lieberman’s is pushing for overt clash and conflict— and demonstrates that it has absolutely no real…
Articles
Zionism’s invented state
Sam Bahour, Ma’an News Agency 3/18/2010
Israeli Exceptionalism: The Destabilizing Logic of Zionism, by M. Shahid Alam, Palgrave Macmillan, 272 pp., £55.00
Israeli Exceptionalism arrived in the mail shortly after I completed sending a thank-you note to two other authors and friends, Kathleen and Bill Christison.
The Christisons had just released their newest title, Palestine in Pieces: Graphic Perspectives on the Israeli Occupation and I felt that they deserved a huge thank-you for encapsulating their eyewitness report of Israeli military dispossession and occupation in the warped ideological framework of Zionism.
I felt such a framing depicted a high sense of rarely found political maturity on behalf of American analysts. Israeli Exceptionalism was a natural next read for it peeled the onion of Zionism to reveal how deeply flawed this ideology was and is and how it has become a destabilizing factor which puts people of the region — and arguably beyond — in serious jeopardy.
Israeli Exceptionalism is not only a must read, it is a must-think-about book. To add intellectual spice, every chapter starts with a few quotes of prominent individuals related to the topic at hand. Reading these quotes alone speak volumes of the human tragedy, in thought and lives, that Zionism evoked.
Alam, the author, is a non-Arab professor of economics at Northeastern University in Boston, and he does a fascinating job of creating a repository of references on Zionism by way of narrative and footnotes. Although I think of myself as well-read on the topic, I attest that I learned much from Israeli Exceptionalism, not only in terms of identifying new references, but also in terms of analysis and context.more..e-mail
Rachel Corrie’s Memory, Israel’s Image
Neve Gordon, CounterPunch 3/18/2010
Time for Accountability
Seven years ago, Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by a Caterpillar D9R Israeli bulldozer while nonviolently protesting the demolition of Palestinian homes in Rafah, Gaza Strip, along with other members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). Now her parents, sister and brother are suing the State of Israel and the defense minister, claiming wrongful death.
The suit’s objective, according to Rachel’s mother, Cindy, “is to illustrate the need for accountability for thousands of lives lost, or indelibly injured, by [Israel’s] occupation…. We hope the trial will bring attention to the assault on nonviolent human rights activists (Palestinian, Israeli and international) and we hope it will underscore the fact that so many Palestinian families, harmed as deeply as ours or more, cannot access Israeli courts.”
The State’s attorneys have decided to use any and all ammunition to undermine Corrie’s suit. They claim that there is no evidence that Rachel’s parents and siblings are indeed her rightful inheritors; they argue that she “helped attack Israeli soldiers,” “took part in belligerent activities” and accompanied armed men who attacked Israeli soldiers. In defense of the soldiers, the lawyers even write that the state “denies the deceased’s pain and suffering, the loss of pleasures and the loss of longevity.”
The Israeli state attorneys demonstrate yet again that when winning is everything, shame becomes superfluous.
As Corrie’s civil suit is being heard in a Haifa court, Simone Bitton’s movie Rachel is being shown at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. Rendering, as it were, the trial public, Bitton’s subtle and nuanced movie also presents two narratives, one offered by the state of Israel and the other by the ISM activists and the Palestinian eyewitnesses who were with Rachel on that tragic day.more..e-mail
Spy Takes US/Israeli Secrets to Grave
Robert Parry, Consortiumnews.com 3/15/2010
Extensive evidence now exists that Begin’s preference for Reagan led the Israelis to join in a covert operation with Republicans to contact Iranian leaders behind Carter’s back, interfering with the President’s efforts to free the 52 American hostages before the November 1980 elections.
Last week’s death of Israeli spymaster David Kimche — and the omissions in his obituaries about his most sensitive operations, especially those regarding the United States — are a reminder of how much crucial history is being lost as key figures from this era take their secrets to the grave.
The failure to debrief as many of these people as possible can be blamed significantly on U.S. mainstream journalists who in years past took the lead in collecting, vetting and presenting serious evidence of historical wrongdoing, such as the Pentagon Papers secrets about the Vietnam War and complex political scandals like Watergate.
But in recent years, newspapers like the New York Times and the Washington Post have ignored many national security crimes or even have gone on the offensive against journalists who tried to examine them, such as the ugly assault on investigative reporter Gary Webb over his work on the now-CIA-admitted cocaine trafficking by Ronald Reagan’s Nicaraguan contra rebels.
The problem has been compounded by the timidity of Democratic leaders to conduct thorough investigations of Republican wrongdoing, such as in 1993 when Bill Clinton became President and in 2009 under Barack Obama. In both cases, new Democratic administrations thought that looking forward, not backward, would achieve some measure of bipartisanship. Not likely.more..e-mail
The UK’s misguided advice to Lebanon
Electronic Intifada: 18 Mar 2010 – One would think that the British government — considering its history in the Middle East of colonizing and partitioning the land and overthrowing governments, and its current support of undemocratic and dictatorial regimes while occupying two nations in the greater region — would be wary of sending its representatives to offer advice to Arab nations on how best to achieve their right to self-determination. Matthew Cassel comments.
Palestinian anger fills the streets
Electronic Intifada: 18 Mar 2010 – QALANDIA, occupied West Bank (IPS) – On Tuesday tens of hundreds of Palestinians of all political persuasions took to the streets, alleys and sidewalks as widespread rioting and protests spread across occupied East Jerusalem, the rest of the West Bank, Gaza and into Israel proper.
Storm over Israeli settlements as unreal as the peace process
Electronic Intifada: 18 Mar 2010 – Since Israel announced yet another new settlement in occupied East Jerusalem during the visit of US Vice President Joe Biden last week, Israel has been subjected to a storm of criticism from friend and foe alike. Biden was in Jerusalem to show US support for Israel and to launch “proximity talks” between Israel and the Palestinian Authority of Ramallah. Instead the Israeli announcement caused him and the US administration deep embarrassment, prompting several officials to term it an “insult” and an “affront” and to stir talk of the worst crisis in US-Israeli relations in decades. Hasan Abu Nimah comments.
DFLP’s Saleh Zeidan: Obama’s speech should become action
Electronic Intifada: 18 Mar 2010 – Saleh Zeidan, Gaza-based leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), spoke to The Electronic Intifada correspondent Rami Almeghari about chances for peace in the region following the latest failures and setbacks in United States peace initiatives. This is part of an occasional series of interviews with various political figures and factions in Palestine.
psst… voices calling loud
In Gaza: 16 Mar 2010 – Today, the latest in growing demonstrations in the Israeli-imposed “buffer zone” , demonstrators again protested this lethal Israeli ban (shoot to kill threat) which renders roughly 30% of Gaza’s best agricultural land off-limits and under which in August 2009 the UN’s OCHA reported 33 Palestinian civilians (among them 11 children) had been killed and another 61 civilians (among them 13 children) injured. From January 18 2009 to September 15 2009 alone, ISM reported 7 civilians (among them 4 children) killed and 28 (among them 8 children and 2 women) injured by Israeli soldiers in the border regions. Bearing in mind that the Israeli assaults on farmers and civilians in the border regions have continued , and that these assaults occur far beyond the 300 metres that Israeli authorities say make up the “buffer zone” [the actual off-limits area veering up to 2 km in some areas ], those protesting weekly have serious, valid…
Don’t Buy Into Occupation!
Palestine Monitor: 18 Mar 2010 – Tell H&M not to buy into occupation — Jerusalem is not for sale! Don’t buy into occupation is now launching a second wave of protests against the H&M establishment in Israel. On the 16th of March H&M will open its second store in Israel, this time in Malcha Mall in Jerusalem. This establishment is outrageous, given the Israeli claims for Jerusalem as the “united capital of Israel” and the violent policies of ethnic cleansing of the city that the Israeli state is currently involved in. It ties H&M to a clear political position — support for the Israeli defiance of international law. Jerusalem is being gradually cleansed of its Palestinian population. In the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, Palestinian families are evicted to be replaced by Jewish settlers. Palestinian owned houses are demolished while thousands are built for Jewish citizens. A “Museum of Tolerance” is scheduled to be built on an…
Israeli Military Investigator Admits Failures in the Military Investigation of Rachel Corrie’s Killing
Palestine Monitor: 18 Mar 2010 – On Wednesday March 17, 2010 the Haifa District Court saw a fourth day of testimony in the civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza. On Wednesday March 17, 2010 the Haifa District Court saw a fourth day of testimony in the civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza. Rachel Corrie, an American human rights defender from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death on March 16, 2003 by a Caterpillar D9R bulldozer. She had been nonviolently demonstrating against Palestinian home demolitions with fellow members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using nonviolent, direct action methods and principles. An Israeli military police investigator, who was part of the team that investigated Rachel’s killing, testified today. In…
“New realities, new ideas, new things”
Palestine Monitor: 18 Mar 2010 – Omar al-Qattan is a Palestinian film director and producer based in London. He has made several documentaries, including Dreams and Silence (1991), a portrait of a female Palestinian refugee in Jordan, and Going Home (1995), which follows the return to Palestine of a British ex-army major who witnessed the last days of the Mandate. His production credits include Forbidden Marriages in the Holy Land (1995) and the critically acclaimed Tale of the Three Jewels (1995), both of which were directed by Michel Khleifi. Dreams & Silence (1991) Courtesy: A.M. Qattan Foundation Omar al-Qattan is a Palestinian film director and producer based in London. He has made several documentaries, including Dreams and Silence (1991), a portrait of a female Palestinian refugee in Jordan, and Going Home (1995), which follows the return to Palestine of a British ex-army major who witnessed the last days of the Mandate. His production credits include Forbidden…
Activism is Change, Not academic Squabbles and Bickering
Palestine Chronicle: 18 Mar 2010 – By Ramzy Baroud An activist is a person who feels strongly about a cause and who is also willing to dedicate time and energy towards advancing and realizing this cause. This might be my own limited interpretation of what activism means. I was born and raised in a Gaza refugee camp where the daily struggles of the community included challenging military occupation while attempting to survive under the harshest of circumstances. Activism then involved civil disobedience, general strikes, confronting armed Israeli soldiers with stones and slingshots. But it also involved much more than that. Activists in my refugee camp, whether they’re identified as Islamist, secularist, socialist or any other name, ensured the community remained unified in the face of adversity. They did not always succeed, but efforts were abound. Activists provided sustainable community support to families with sons and daughters that were killed in clashes or incarcerated in Israeli prisons….more
Zionism’s Invented State: Book Review
Palestine Chronicle: 18 Mar 2010 – By Sam Bahour Israeli Exceptionalism: The Destabilizing Logic of Zionism. by M. Shahid Alam. Palgrave Macmillan, 272 pp., £55.00 Israeli Exceptionalism: The Destabilizing Logic of Zionism arrived in the mail shortly after I completed sending a thank you note to two other authors and friends, Kathleen and Bill Christison. The Christison’s had just released their newest title, Palestine in Pieces: Graphic Perspectives on the Israeli Occupation (Pluto Press) and I felt that they deserved a huge thank you for encapsulating their eyewitness report of Israeli military dispossession and occupation in the warped ideological framework of Zionism. I felt such a framing depicted a high sense of rarely found political maturity on behalf of American analysts. Israeli Exceptionalism was a natural next read for it peeled the onion of Zionism to reveal how deeply flawed this ideology was and is and how it has become a destabilizing factor which puts people…more
’Sarah’s Garden’: A Tribute to Sarah Meyer
Palestine Chronicle: 18 Mar 2010 – By Felicity Arbuthnot — London “Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’ But, conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because one’s conscience tells one that it is right.” — Martin Luther King, Jr. I never met Sarah Meyer, who died on March 4th, aged seventy three, but like so many across the globe, struggling to make sense of and draw attention to the crimes of enormity, committed in the name of a tragi-farcical “war on terror”, discovering her exhaustive, meticulous research, especially on Iraq and Afghanistan was finding Wordsworth’s “light to guide; a rod ..” No fact omitted, no stone unturned, in minute detail, her talent was for uncovering truth and…more
The New Dark Age 
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