News
International Middle East Media Center
Rendered Homeless, Family Ordered To Pay Its Expulsion Expenses
IMEMC – Thursday March 25, 2010 – 02:44, The Jerusalem Center for Social and Economical Rights (JCCER) reported that the Israeli police handed Wednesday a Palestinian family from East Jerusalem an order to pay 13.000 NIS, demanding family members to pay the expenses of their expulsion from their home.
Mousa: “Withdrawing Arab Initiative, On the Agenda Of Arab Summit”
IMEMC – Thursday March 25, 2010 – 02:09, Arab League Secretary General, Amro Mousa, said that withdrawing the Arab peace initiative is on the agenda of the upcoming Arab League meeting in Libya.
Jerusalem Municipality approves settlement units in Sheikh Jarrah
IMEMC – Thursday March 25, 2010 – 01:30, Israeli occupation’s Jerusalem Municipality has given final approval to a group of settlers to construct 20 housing units in Sheikh Jarrah.
Troops Attack School Students Near Hebron City, Southern West Bank
IMEMC – Wednesday March 24, 2010 – 16:48, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas on Wednesday at school student near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
Israeli Troops Detain 20 Palestinian Workers In Northern Gaza
IMEMC – Wednesday March 24, 2010 – 16:24, Twenty Palestinian workers were detained on Wednesday by Israeli troops at the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Two residents Wounded in Northern Gaza
IMEMC – Wednesday March 24, 2010 – 11:47, Palestinian medical sources reported that two residents were wounded when the Israeli Air Force fired missiles at an area east of Jabalia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Child Released After Forced To “Pledge Not To Harm Israel’s Security”
IMEMC – Wednesday March 24, 2010 – 10:29, The Israeli Police released a 13-year-old girl from the southern West Bank city of Hebron after detaining her for five hours and after she was forced to sign a pledge “not to harm the security of the State of Israel”.
Netanyahu-Obama White House Meeting Ends With No Progress
IMEMC – Wednesday March 24, 2010 – 08:17, United States President, Barack Obama, held a meeting with Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for 90 minutes and discussed the bilateral U.S-Israeli relations and the construction of settlements in East Jerusalem, yet, no progress was mentioned after their extended meeting.
Three Fundamentalist Knesset Members To Tour the Al Aqsa Mosque
IMEMC – Wednesday March 24, 2010 – 02:51, Three Israeli Knesset members of the National Union fundamentalist party stated that they intend to tour the yards of the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
Jerusalem Municipality Approves More Units For Jewish Settlers
IMEMC – Wednesday March 24, 2010 – 01:50, The Jerusalem Municipality approved the construction of 20 more units for Jewish settlers in an area near the Shepherd Hotel, in occupied East Jerusalem.
Israeli forces strike northern Gaza, reports of injured
3/24/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – The Israeli airforce launched two airstrikes on the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya overnight Wednesday, Palestinian sources said. Director of ambulance and emergency services in Gaza, Muawiya Hassanein, said no injuries or damages were reported, though Israeli media quoted a Palestinian source as saying the strike lightly injured two. The same source reported the strikes hit in the Jabaliya refugee camp. Citing the Israeli forces, Yedioth Ahronoth said the strikes were in retaliation for a projectile allegedly launched from Gaza on Wednesday. They said the target was a weapons cache. The report was confirmed by an Israeli military spokeswoman, who said the strikes were “successful. “A military source also confirmed the strikes were in the Jabaliya area.
Witnesses: Israeli forces enter Hebron-area school
3/24/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli soldiers threatened schoolchildren and launched at least one tear-gas canister when they entered the Ar-Rihiya School for Boys in the village south of Hebron Wednesday morning, witnesses said. An Israeli military spokesman said he had no knowledge of forces entering a school, but said troops attending to soldiers involved in a vehicle malfunction were surrounded by “at least 200 Palestinians who gathered around and started throwing rocks. “The spokesman said he received no indication that the 200 were schoolchildren, and noted “riot dispersal mechanisms” were employed. An eyewitness said soldiers evacuated the school and noted at lest one boy suffered tear-gas inhalation. He said he did not know why the forces invaded the school compound, noting there were no clashes in the area during the raid.
Father: 13-year-old daughter detained for alleged rock throwing
3/24/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli police released a child Tuesday night, after raiding her home, taking her from her family and holding her in a detention center for five hour, demanding she sign a pledge “not to threaten Israeli security,” her father said. The child, 13-year-old Suhad Al-Ewaiwi, was accused by Israeli soldiers of throwing stones, her father said, noting she was taken first to the police station at the Ibrahimi Mosque, then transferred to a detention center in the Kiyrat Arba settlement in Hebron. Suhad’s father contacted the Palestinian Prisoners Society shortly after his daughter was taken from their home. Lawyer with the society, Muhammad Shahin, said he called Israeli police, who told him settlers accused the girl of throwing stones at them. The girl told her parents on her release that she had fainted while in the detention center, after more than an hour of questioning by Israeli soldiers about whether or not she had thrown stones.
Rightist Israeli MKs tour Al-Aqsa compound
3/24/2010 – Jerusalem – Ma’an – Three Israeli Members of Knesset toured the entrances of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the gates of the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday, witnesses said. A “large number of Israeli police guarded the lawmakers as they carried out a tour,” witnesses said, identifying the MKs as members of Israel’s right-wing religious National Union party Uri Ariel, Arieh Eldad and Michael Ben Ari. Site officials said the men did not obtain permission to enter the area, and said they believed the rightists were preparing to organize a tour of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. The Hebrew-language news site Yedioth Ahronoth quoted Ariel as saying the aim of the visit was to prove the Jewish nature of the history of Jerusalem, and that “no government has the right to give up the city and to take it away from the Jews. ” Related:Report: Abbas’ wife denied entry to Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa
Report: Abbas’ wife denied entry to Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa
3/24/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The wife of President Mahmoud Abbas was denied access to Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by Israeli authorities on Monday, according to media reports. Mrs Abbas was scheduled to escort the mother of the Chechen Republic’s president to the Al-Aqsa Mosque for prayer, the Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported. The visit was previously approved by Israeli authorities, but permission was later revoked, and the Chechen guest was allowed entry into Al-Aqsa alone, the daily added. Israeli officials told the newspaper that the decision was justified, reflecting an unwavering Israeli policy that denies the Palestinian Authority any official jurisdiction over the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Israel restricts Palestinian access to the third holiest site in Islam, imposing checkpoints, closures and age restrictions on Jerusalem residents and other Palestinians. Related:Rightist Israeli MKs tour Al-Aqsa compound
Report: Galilee men prohibited from entering Al-Aqsa
3/24/2010 – Jerusalem – Ma’an – Israeli police issued prohibitions to two Galilee men from entering Jerusalem’s Old City, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, for a period of two weeks, the Al-Asqa Foundation reported Wednesday. The two,Mahmud Abdul Kareem Hajajra from Al-Hajajra village and Bilal Muhammad Zeidanf from Kufr Manda, were questioned by border police during a visit to Islam’s third holiest site on Tuesday and detained for five hours over tourist photos they had taken, the foundation said. Israeli border and national police representatives were unavailable for comment by phone Wednesday, as the foundation condemned their actions as a violation of their freedom to worship at the site. According to the foundation report, Hajarja and Zeizan were taking photos with their mobile phones. They told police they were taking photos of the mosque, but were accused of cataloging the positions of Israeli police inside the area.
Nativity Church deportee dies in Algeria
3/24/2010 – Algeria – Ma’an – Nativity Church deportee Abdullah Dawood, 48, former director of Bethlehem intelligence service, died on Wednesday in Algeria, his family confirmed. Brigadier Dawood was admitted to the military hospital in Algiers on Saturday to undergo emergency surgery for a heart bleed and a burst coronary artery. His wife, Kifah Harb, arrived in the Algerian capital three days earlier, where her husband remained in the intensive care unit. Dawood, from the Balata refugee camp east of Nablus, was deported by Israeli forces from the Nativity Church in 2002, following an Israeli siege on the church. The brigadier was first deported in 1992 after Israeli forces surrounded the An-Najjah University in Nablus. He returned to Palestine with the PLO following the Oslo Agreement in 1993. Between 2 April and 10 May 2002, Israeli forces surrounded the Nativity Church in Bethlehem during Operation Defensive Shield at the height of the Second Intifada.
PA: No talks till Jerusalem construction stops
3/25/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – There will be no peace or stability without a Palestinian Jerusalem, presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh said on Tuesday. Responding to comments made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the conference of the Israeli lobby group AIPAC in Washington on Monday evening, Abu Rudaineh spoke as President Mahmoud Abbas awaited news from the closed-door meeting between the Israeli leader and American President Barack Obama. As Rudaineh called Israeli settlement in Palestinian Jerusalem “illegitimate,” reports said Washington told Israel that the status of Jerusalem would have to be negotiated, stifling faint hopes of Palestinians that the United States would demand an Israeli pullout to the 1967 borders. At the same time, however, the comments did not encourage continued Israeli settlement in the area.
US seeks ‘clarification’ on Israel’s latest East Jerusalem build
3/25/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – The White House said Wednesday it is seeking Israel’s clarification on a recent decision to build 20 new housing units in occupied East Jerusalem, in the flashpoint Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, on the site of the Shepherd Hotel. White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said the US administration believes Israel’s continued building in Jerusalem is destructive to the peace process, the Associated Press reported. Vietor said the US is urging both Israelis and Palestinians to refrain from acts that could undermine trust, amid efforts to kick start the peace process. The latest announcement to continue building in East Jerusalem, despite international calls for a halt, follow a recent string of declarations by the Israeli government since US Vice President Joe Biden’s recent visit to the region as the American administration launches a freshbid to renew stalled. . .
Arab League to discuss withdrawal of Arab Peace Initiative
3/25/2010 – Bethelehem – Ma’an – Terminating the Arab Peace Initiative will be on the Arab League summit’s agenda in Libya this weekend, its secretary-general, Amr Moussa, said Wednesday. In a statement released before traveling to Sirte, Libya, ahead of the summit, Moussa said it was futile to continue dealing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following recent developments in Jerusalem, and that Israel’s “hardline stance” would not “push” Arab League conveners into “giving up on Jerusalem. “Withdrawal from the Arab Peace Initiative will be put before conveners, with all members participating this year “without exception,”Moussa said, adding that “most countries will be represented by the highest levels of leadership. “”We have been following recent developments in Palestine and Israeli practice in Jerusalem. The Arab submit will review all facts and developments and we will see what the Arab League summit will yield,” Moussa said.
Hamas demands withdrawal of Arab Peace Initiative
3/24/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – The Arab League must respond to comments made by Israel’s premier at the AIPAC conference on Monday over Israel’s building policy in East Jerusalem by withdrawing from the peace initiative, a Hamas lawmaker said. Mahmoud Ar-Ramahi, Palestinian Legislative Council secretary, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s belief that “building in Tel Aviv is the same as building in Jerusalem” came as a surprise to Palestinians, and proved that anyone waiting “on a halt to settlement construction” was “gambling” with the future of a Palestinian state. Delegates at the Arab League summit set to start on 27 March must “take decisive stances,” Ar-Ramahi said, including withdrawing the Arab Peace Initiative and expelling Israeli ambassadors from Arab capitals.
Al Mezan: Israeli attacks hurting civilians
3/24/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights condemned on Tuesday the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, and called on the international community to immediately intervene. ” These new Israeli attacks continue to fail to distinguish between civilians and combatants; they indicate the real intents. The Israeli announced goodwill gestures are only aimed at evading international community’s criticism, but not ameliorating the human rights situation in Gaza,” said center director Issam Younis. In addition to a string of airstrikes targeting sites in the north and south of Gaza for the last week, a statement from Al Mezan cited an early morning incident Tuesday, where ten Israeli tanks and bulldozers moved into Gaza “under sporadic fire” about 200 meters inside the industrial area east of Beit Hanoun. Palestinians removing the rubble from destroyed buildings at the site left. . .
Limited goods enter Gaza via single open crossing
3/24/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli crossing officials announced the partial opening of the southernmost crossing into Gaza on Wednesday, for a limited amount of goods for transfer into Gaza. Palestinian crossings liaison officer, Raed Fattouh, said Israeli officials announced approximately 100 truckloads of goods would be permitted to pass through Kerem Shalom, in addition to limited amounts of cooking gas and industrial diesel. The limited goods transfer precedes what is expected to be an extended closure next week for the Jewish Passover holiday. [end]
EU, Oxfam projects train Palestinian beekeepers
3/24/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Like hundreds of Palestinians, Sami Dar Yaqoub lost his job as a carpenter in Israel and could not find alternative employment to earn a living for his family. It never occurred to him he would become a beekeeper. When Dar Yaqoub, a Kifl Haris native, lost his job he thought of turning his hobby, beekeeping, into an income generator to provide for his family. However, to become a successful beekeeper and produce enough honey for commercial purposes, he needed training. Not long after, Dar Yaqoub heard of such a training program funded by the EU and Oxfam, run by the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees, and that his village in the Salfit governorate would be one of five to receive equipment and training from beekeeping professionals. The project’s coordinator, Younis Yamen, from the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees, explained that the beekeeping project was part of a series of efforts to support the poor.
Turkey condemns Israeli attacks killing 4 Palestinians
3/24/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli slaying of four Palestinians last week, and expressed sadness over the loss of the citizens in a public statement issued Tuesday. The government further expressed concern over media reports saying Israeli forces prevented ambulances from accessing the area, effectively reducing the quality of care Palestinians could receive following the attacks. Turkey condemned latest Israeli attacks on the Palestinians, killing four in the West bank city of Nablus. ” While joint confidence should be built among the parties, amidst repeated warnings and attacks we [the Turkish government] call on Israel to take the necessary precautions to ensure the prevention of these attacks and harassment by settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank. ” Useid Qadus, 16, was shot in the head by Israeli forces during a protest on Saturday, medics said,. . .
Israeli media claims leader bowed to US pressure
3/24/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli news sources said the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ceded to American demands to halt settlement construction and ease the siege on Gaza in Tuesday’s closed-door meeting in Washington. According to the Hebrew-language daily Inyan Merkazi on Wednesday, US President Barack Obama was explicit in his directives to Israel. “The US will not use its veto at the UN Security Council if you do not agree to American demands. We will let you face the international outcry alone. “The daily further reported that Netanyahu swore to meet the following list of demands to: – Noticably ease the siege on Gaza – Remove several military checkpoints in the West Bank – Release hundreds of Fatah-affiliated prisoners – Allow construction material into Gaza – Freeze settlement construction in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, for an indefinite period. The sources noted there were several other American demands that were also met.
Erekat: Settlement decision against peace
3/24/2010 – Bethlehem -Israel was straying further outside of the international consensus and damaging its credibility as a serious partner for peace, chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement on Wednesday. The PLO official’s comments follow Israel’s decisionto build in the flashpoint Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah at the site of the former Shepherd Hotel, in occupied East Jerusalem. Ereket pointed to growing international frustration over Israel’s continued settlement policy in a statement, after two announcements in the past two weeks derailing proximity talks with Palestinian leaders and even destabilized relations between Israel and the United States. “If Israel is serious about negotiations, then why not stop illegal settlement construction as the international community is calling for and the Road Map demands, especially when every effort is being made to start proximity. . .
Hamas cabinet: Summer Time starts Saturday
3/24/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – In a third and final government announcement, Gaza leaders declared Summer Time will start on Saturday, one day after Israeli and West Bank clocks are set to spring forward. The decision also marks a first since the history of daylight savings time in the region, where the Israeli and Palestinian governments all decided, however independently, to change clocks within 24 hours of each other. At 12:01am Friday, clocks in Israel and the West Bank will change to 1:01am, while Gaza clocks will change at 12:01am Saturday morning. In past years, clocks in Jerusalem, Gaza City and Ramallah changed within days or even weeks of each other, causing confusion for the dispersed Palestinian population, particularly during the fall of 2008 and 2009, when Ramadan fasting times differed in each area.
PJS praises decision to reopen radio stations
3/24/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – The Palestinian Journalist Syndicate (PJS) praised the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Telecommunications decision on Wednesday to reopen all local stations forced to shut down over frequency and licensing disputes. The reopening will begin on 23 March and continue until 15 April, to provide stations with the opportunity to arrange for licensing fees and to broadcast on their own frequency, the PJS said. On Tuesday, Minister of Telecommunications Mashhour Abu Daka met with PJS head, Abed An-Nasser An-Najjar, where it was agreed that the stations would be reopened. Abu Daka said that radio stations which interfere with other frequencies are required to install the appropriate filters “urgently, so that the ministry will not be obliged to close them down again, under pressure from other stations. “Such filters must be installed after stations settle their frequency and licensing permits.
BU to discipline students involved in campus brawl
3/24/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Bethlehem University concluded its investigation into a fight that occurred on campus on 5 March, involving students and members of the university’s security staff. A statement from BU said during a two-week investigation into the incident, a special committee interviewed more than 40 witnesses and participants, and viewed photos and video of the incident. The committee, made up of academic deans, faculty, staff, and students, recommended that the University take disciplinary steps involving 10 students. The actions of the security guards were also investigated and employee disciplinary actions will be taken where necessary. Following the incident, BU’s student senate accused the university’s guards of assaulting 17 students on campus. At the time, Anan Jawabra, president of the student senate, told Ma’an that the attack followed an attempt to allow a visitor on campus.
Elevator repair ends in death of worker at Qalandiya
3/24/2010 – Jerusalem – Ma’an – An elevator repairman fell to his death on Tuesday in Qalandiya, north of Jerusalem, police said. The repairman, Abed Ali Abed Al-Fattah Abu Hadid, 36, died whilst he was carrying out maintenance work on an elevator in a Qalandiya bakery. A police report said Palestinian security forces from around Jerusalem inspected the scene, and informed the general attorney of the incident. Statements from witnesses were taken at the bakery, the report added. Criminal intent is suspected, police said. Abu Hadid’s body was transferred to a local Ramallah hospital for a postmortem inspection. The general attorney has ordered that the body be transferred to the deceased’s family, the report said. The incident is the second death involving an elevator repair person since the start of the year. On 15 January, a man was killed in Ramallah when a faulty elevator collapsed in a residential building, crushing the worker attempting to repair it, police said.
PSE showcases trading companies in London
3/24/2010 – Bethelehem – Ma’an – The Palestine Securities Exchange (PSE) has completed its first ever London road show between 17 and 19 March. Showcasing some of its leading listed companies, the PSE arranged a seminar and a parallel series of investor meetings to highlight the real investment opportunity that Palestine offers, a statement read. During the three day event, seven of Palestine’s leading listed companies, as well as the PSE and the local regulator, the Palestine Capital Markets Authority, met with 10 potential and existing investment funds, “eight of whom had never previously considered investing in Palestine. ” The road show is part of a series of high level networking events in cooperation with British counter parties. The mission is supported by the office of the Quartet Representative,Tony Blair and in cooperation with the Portland Trust and the Palestine Britain Business Council (PBBC) in UK.
‘I was stabbed in the back,’ says soldier who used human shield in Gaza
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Trial begins for two IDF soldiers suspected of using children to open bags of explosives in Gaza war.
Israel defends right to arrest foreigners in West Bank
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – State argues legal right to detain non-Israelis, even in areas under Palestinian control.
Court ruling lets settlers shoot in air to repel Palestinians
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Settler found not guilty of mishandling a weapon after firing over the heads of Palestinian shepherds.
Military prosecutor to IDF: Probe shooting death of two Palestinians
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Prosecutor urges internal police, Judea and Samaria division already planning to look into incident.
IDF soldier laid to rest after killed by friendly fire
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – IDF St.-Sgt. Gabriel Cepic was killed by friendly fire near Kissufim during pursuit of infiltrators.
IDF official to Hamas: Don’t repeat mistakes of Gaza war
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – IDF chief of staff: Iran threat rising, Hamas accountable for Qassams, Hezbollah deploying north of Litani.
IAF strikes Gaza City weapons storage facility
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Israel launches attack in response to recent Gaza Strip rocket fire on southern communities.
Would Palestinian state stymie Iran’s plans?
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – U.S. General David Petraeus said Israeli-Palestinian conflict enflames anti-American feelings.
IDF soldier killed by friendly fire on Gaza border
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Golani troops open fire on comrades after mistaking tank soldiers for terrorists.
Can anything douse the flames of West Bank unrest?
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Two clashes between IDF and Palestinians over the weekend are a drop in the ocean of an imminent upsurge.
Egypt frees Israeli journalist who tried to infiltrate border
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Yotam Feldman, who also works for Haaretz, was preparing a piece on illegal immigration for Ch. 10.
Israel hits Gaza tunnel in response to latest rocket attack
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – No casualties or damages reported in Sunday’s Qassam strike, which came days after Thai worker killed in south.
Gaza rocket fired at south Israel, days after deadly strike
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – No casualties or damages reported; four rockets fired over weekend, 12 over course of last week.
West Bank businessman eyes creation of new city – if Israel agrees
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Town will cut West Bank unemployment by 10 per cent, Palestinian developers say.
Palestinians can use route 443, but Israel will seize Palestinian land to ‘secure’ it
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Route 443, connecting Modi’in to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, supposed to open to Palestinians in 10 weeks.
Israeli troops shoot dead Palestinian boy in West Bank
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Sixteen-year-old killed by IDF rifle fire during violent protest outside Nablus, medics say.
IDF soldier released by Jordanian army after crossing border
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Israel retaliates after pro-al-Qaida militants fire five Qassam rockets in 24 hours, killing a Thai worker.
At least 14 wounded in IAF missile strike on Gaza
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Israel retaliates after pro-al-Qaida militants fire five Qassam rockets in 24 hours, killing a Thai worker.
Gaza rocket strikes south Israel for fifth time in 24 hours
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – IAF aircraft attack at least six locations in Gaza, including smuggling tunnels, in response to deadly rocket.
‘Israel will defend itself from Gaza rockets, regardless of Goldstone’
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – IAF strikes six targets in Gaza in response to Qassam rocket attack that killed a man Thursday.
Netanyahu set to announce new settlement building plans following his return from Washington
Uruknet March 24, 2010 – Israel’s Cabinet Secretary, Zvi Hauser, has confirmed that the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will announce new settlement construction plans on his return from Washington. The new settlements are planned for different parts of Jerusalem and the West Bank along the same lines as the recently announced construction at the Ramat Shlomo settlement in Jerusalem. In…
International Campaign in Support of Palestinian Political Prisoners
Uruknet March 24, 2010 – April 17, 2010 marks the 34th anniversary of Palestinian Political Prisoners Day. As this historic and important day approaches, several Palestinian organizations and solidarity partners feel it is a critical time, now more than ever, to shed light on the unsung and sometimes forgotten heroes of the ongoing struggle to liberate Palestine. There are a total…
‘Palestinian Life is Cheap’
Uruknet March 24, 2010 – In early February, 41-year-old Fayez Ahmed Faraj, a father of nine from the city of Hebron, 30 miles south of Jerusalem, in the southern West Bank, was shot dead in his home town by Israeli soldiers after he allegedly tried to stab one of them. After a preliminary investigation the Israeli military authorities stated that the…
Father: 13-year-old daughter detained for alleged rock throwing
Uruknet March 24, 2010 — Israeli police released a child Tuesday night, after raiding her home, taking her from her family and holding her in a detention center for five hour, demanding she sign a pledge “not to threaten Israeli security,” her father said. The child, 13-year-old Suhad Al-Ewaiwi, was accused by Israeli soldiers of throwing stones, her father said, noting…
Who is the British Dog?
Uruknet March 23, 2010 – Israeli officials and politicians sharply criticized the intention of the UK government to expel an ‘unnamed’ Israeli ‘diplomat’ in response to its passports being used in the Dubai assassination of Hamas Freedom Fighter Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. MK Aryeh Eldad (Israel National Union) doesn’t show much respect to the Brits whom he compares to dogs: “I think [the]…
Palestinian organizer tortured in Israeli jail
Uruknet March 23, 2010 –
Gaza: grasping beauty
Uruknet March 23, 2010 – It’s one of those beautiful, sunny days, with a fresh sea breeze and people strolling on the beach…one of those days in which you can almost forget the manifold tragedies that unfold daily in Gaza under siege. Under siege for four years, really, but fully under siege since mid 2007, over 1000 days. One thousand days…
World Water Day: Thirsty Gaza residents battle salt, sewage
Uruknet March 23, 2010 — Activists around the world are marking World Water Day today with school campaigns, films, and concerts — all designed to draw attention to the fact that access to safe drinking water is something 1 in 5 people don’t enjoy, while 40 percent of the world’s population doesn’t have adequate sanitation. An acute example of the human…
Barghouthi: Not even Netanyahu can erase Jerusalem history
Uruknet March 23, 2010 – — Mustafa Barghouthi, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, called the statements of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Washington’s AIPAC conference “lies and fabrications, attempts to falsify Palestinian history.” Speaking out against Netanyahu’s statement calling the construction of Israeli homes on occupied Palestinian land “not a settlement,” Barghouti said no attempt to “Judaize Jerusalem will…
Video: Questions over deadly West Bank shooting
Uruknet March 23, 2010 – The Israeli government denies its soldiers used live ammunition during a demonstration in the occupied West Bank on Saturday. The army issued a statement saying its soldiers only fired rubber coated steel bullets against what they described as a “violent and illegal riot” in the village. However, men died when they were hit by what doctors…
Water Day Doesn’t Quench Growing Thirst of Gazans
Uruknet March 23, 2010 -…The situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate under Israeli military occupation and siege. The refugees are often the hardest hit by rising unemployment and poverty. Access to clean water is one of the many basic needs that UNRWA is no longer able to meet. A recent UNRWA report states that the most common infectious diseases affecting Palestinian…
The US’ choreographed “outrage” at Israel
Uruknet March 23, 2010 – The speeches at AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby group, on Monday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Netanyahu’s subsequent meeting with US President Barack Obama are widely seen as drawing to a close what Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren called the “most severe crisis in US-Israel relations”…
Israel kidnaps 20 Gazan workers
Gaza, March 24, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli occupation forces arrested on Wednesday about 20 Gazan workers near the evacuated Israeli settlement of Dugit in the northern Gaza Strip, local sources said. Gazan worker collects stones from destroyed houses The sources said that Israeli soldiers from special force unit entered in Dugit area and chased a number of workers who…
Al Mezan Condemns the Continued Israeli Attacks on Gaza
Gaza, March 24, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) -The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continued its aggression and airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and its almost daily incursions into the northern and eastern areas near the borders. At approximately 9:30am on Tuesday 23 March 2010, ten Israeli tanks and bulldozers moved under sporadic fire about 200 meters inside the industrial area, east of…
Jerusalem municipality approves 20 apartments
Jerusalem, March 24, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – The Jerusalem municipality gave final approval to a group of Israeli settlers construct 20 apartments in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, in east Jerusalem. The apartments will be built in The Shepherd Hotel area in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood was purchased by American Jewish tycoon Irving Moskowitz in 1985 for $1 million. The…
Israel kidnaps boy and releases girl
Hebron, March 24, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli occupation forces detained a boy early Wednesday after raiding his home in Dura town, southwest of Hebron, and released a girl after kidnapping her from her home in the Old City, in Hebron. Security sources said to SAFA news agency: “Israeli occupation forces arrested the boy Basem Faisal Al-Drabia, 16 years, after…
Israeli air strike hits Gaza
Gaza, March 24, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli warplanes launched an air raid overnight targeted a group of resistance fighters near the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip but there were no injuries, Palestinian sources said Wednesday. Gaza City The attack resulted in cutting the power off form some areas in north Gaza. An Israeli army spokesman said…
Israel ‘playing with fire’ with Western Wall construction
The National 24 Mar 2010 – Benjamin Netanyahu’s government will press ahead with construction at the Western Wall, despite the threat of a third Palestinian intifada and the global Muslim community’s concern over the control of an area sacred to two faiths.
Israel opts to lie low’ after Britain expels its spy chief
The National 24 Mar 2010 – Israeli officials regard rebuff as face-saving exercise by British government concerned by political considerations as it faces an imminent election.
Hundred-strong al Qa’eda terror group arrested, says Saudi Arabia
The National 24 Mar 2010 – Saudi Arabia has dismantled three al Qa’eda cells operating in the kingdom, according to the country’s interior ministry.
Rights Groups: Hamas Liable for Rocket Attacks
The Media Line 20 Mar 2010 – International human rights groups criticize Hamas over continuing Gaza rocket attacks on civilians in Israel. Hamas authorities in Gaza have the responsibility to stop indiscriminate rocket attacks into Israel, international human rights groups said over the…
UN’s Ban Ki-Moon Pledges Continued Support for Gazans
The Media Line 20 Mar 2010 – Visiting the Gaza Strip, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was “distressed” by the rubble from last year’s 22-day Israeli offensive and pledged Palestinians that the UN would “stand with you.” Ban’s visit to Israel…
Netanyahu Heads to Washington — Meeting with Obama
The Media Line 20 Mar 2010 – Hours before he took off for Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu declared that major issues such as Jerusalem, refugees, settlements and borders were all on the table for negotiations with the Palestinians. The clarification came…
Iran ex-leader’s grandson arrested
AlJazeera 23 Mar 2010 – Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s grandson accused of taking part in post-election protests.
Israel launches fresh Gaza air raid
AlJazeera 23 Mar 2010 – Five injured in second such attack in days amid rocket fire from blockaded strip.
UN rights body censures Israel
AlJazeera 24 Mar 2010 – Three resolutions condemning Israeli policies passed in UN Human Rights Council.
Israel urged to work towards talks
AlJazeera 24 Mar 2010 – Obama calls on Netanyahu to build confidence in Israel’s ability to take part in peace talks.
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…
Investor Perception Breakthrough for Palestinian Companies
PNN – Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Britain expels Mossad agent
PNN – Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Netanyahu holds talks with Obama amid settlement row
PNN – Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Netanyahu: Jewish neighbourhoods part of peace deal
PNN – Tuesday, 23 March 2010
200 e. J’lem Jewish homes get early ok
Jeruslalem Post 24 Mar 2010 – PM orders district planning panel to freeze deliberations on construction in capital.
Australian FM: We await probe results
Jeruslalem Post 24 Mar 2010 – Israel concerned about ‘copycat’ effect following UK expulsion of diplomat.
IDF tightens rules of engagement
Jeruslalem Post 24 Mar 2010 – Soldiers in West Bank not allowed to fire toward stone throwers.
Cast Lead warfare misconduct trial opens
Jeruslalem Post 24 Mar 2010 – 2 Givati troops accused of forcing Palestinian child to open suspicious bags.
Libya releases ‘rehabilitated’ Islamists
Jeruslalem Post 24 Mar 2010 – Libya releases over 200 members of a terror group following their completion of a reconciliation program.
New east J’lem plan ‘catches PM off guard’ in US
Jeruslalem Post 24 Mar 2010 – Obama and Netanyahu meet at White House in an unusual pair of low-profile meetings, which, according to the Prime Minister’s Office, are “conducted in a good atmosphere.”
Time to party and protest in Iran
Jeruslalem Post 24 Mar 2010 – Middle-class Iranians have not lost their desire to socialize.
Hillary Clinton’s unfortunate mistake
Jeruslalem Post 24 Mar 2010 – This message to the Palestinian Authority from the US, if not immediately rectified, will have devastating implications for peace.
‘Shin Bet should probe leftist leak’
Jeruslalem Post 24 Mar 2010 – J’lem councilman says Left playing up Sheikh Jarrah permits to scuttle PM’s US trip.
MIDEAST: ‘Palestinian Life is Cheap’
IPS RAMALLAH, Mar 24 (IPS) – In early February, 41-year-old Fayez Ahmed Faraj, a father of nine from the city of Hebron, 30 miles south of Jerusalem, in the southern West Bank, was shot dead in his home town by Israeli soldiers after he allegedly tried to stab one of them….
MIDEAST: Israeli Army World’s Most Moral?
IPS RAMALLAH, Mar 23 (IPS) – Many Israelis like to believe, and the clich?© is repeated regularly in Israel, that their army is the “most moral army in the world.”
PCHR Address 13th Session of Human Rights Council
PCHR 22 Mar 2010 – Ref: 34/2010 On Monday 22, and Tuesday 23 March, 2010, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), addressed the 13 th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva…..
International Solidarity Movement
Israel defends right to arrest foreigners in West Bank
3/24/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – Ha’aretz – The state argued Tuesday that the Israel Defense Forces has as the right to make arrests in Area A on the basis of a 1970 order that does not allow unauthorized persons to stay there for more than 48 hours without permission from the military commander. The state made the argument in Tel Aviv District Court in defense of the decision to arrest Ariadna Jove Marti and Bridget Chappell, two international activists, in Bir Zeit near Ramallah last month. Marti, who is from Spain, and Chappell, from Australia, were arrested on February 7 in Area A, which is under full Palestinian control. They were arrested and were immediately to be expelled from Israel but an appeal to the Supreme Court resulted in their release. In court Tuesday, attorney Omer Shatz and Yiftah Cohen argued in their appeal that the State of Israel has no authority over civilian matters in Area A, and therefore. . . .
Report: Australia may expel Israeli diplomat over Dubai hit
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Australia may follow U.K. in punishing Israel over alleged use of forged passports in Dubai killing.
Netanyahu and Mitchell meeting after tense White House talks
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Mitchell: We are continuing our efforts with good will; U.S. said testing Netanyahu’s will for peace.
Two meetings, but no agreement between Obama and Netanyahu
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Israeli and American leaders could not even agree on a joint statement after their White House talks.
Livni: World must isolate Iran, impose political sanctions
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – World powers hold a conference call to discuss a U.S.-drafted proposal for a new round of Iran sanctions.
UN Human Rights Council passes 3 resolutions condemning Israel
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Human Rights Council slams Israeli policy in the Palestinian territories; U.S. votes against all three.
Israel to U.S.: Latest East Jerusalem building okayed last year
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – U.S. seeks clarification from Israel over plan to allow settler group to build 20 units in Sheikh Jarrah.
Hungarian official suspended over IAF exercise
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Officials disciplined over failure to consult secret services before issuing permit for IAF to enter Hungarian airspace.
The fallacy of Netanyahu’s worldview
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Netanyahu seems to believe there is no tie between how Israel conducts itself and Arab rejectionism.
Lieberman: Israel-U.K. ties ‘of great importance’
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – British expulsion of diplomat over passport forgeries caught Israel’s London envoy unaware.
AIPAC 2010 / Harsh messages wrapped in love
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – The issue of Jerusalem remained in the spotlight, even as AIPAC presented its strategic ‘shopping list.’
Russia, China quietly prodding Iran towards nuclear deal
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Powers launched coordinated diplomatic push in Tehran in early March, Western officials say.
Britain has dealt a blow to Israeli arrogance
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – The U.K. government is entirely justified in its anger over Israel’s Dubai passports fraud.
Lieberman ‘regrets’ U.K. decision to expel Israeli diplomat
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Lieberman: No proof of Israel role in Dubai hit; rightist MK: Israel should expel British official.
Britain issues Israel travel warning amid expulsion over passport row
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Israeli diplomat expelled over ‘passport misuse’ in Dubai; U.K.: Israel showed disregard for our sovereignty.
Why is this night different? Who’s asking?
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – These four Haggadot are four answers to the question of why the Seder night is different from all other nights.
Letters: Israel’s right to defend the nation against terrorism
The Guardian 24 Mar 2010 – While there was in-depth coverage of the legitimacy of Israel’s right to defend its citizens in your reports , comment and letters, little was said about Mahmoud al-Mabhouh . Al-Mabhouh was a senior member of Hamas. A section…
Obama and Netanyahu play hardball over Israeli settlement plan
The Guardian 24 Mar 2010 – News blackout imposed as two leaders engage in tough talks over plans for another East Jerusalem settlement The White House was today seeking clarification from the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, after it emerged that approval…
Mossad expulsion: they still don’t get it | Michael White
The Guardian 24 Mar 2010 – I’m not ‘one of those’ liberals who relentlessly denigrates Israel, but murdering Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was a crime and a mistake The day after mild-mannered David Miliband expelled Mossad’s senior man at the Israeli embassy in London…
Netanyahu’s reluctant gift to Palestine | Hussein Ibish
The Guardian 24 Mar 2010 – US pressure on Binyamin Netanyahu has not achieved a settlement freeze, but it has delivered real gains to Palestinians The Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu is not being honest with his fellow Israelis by insisting that…
Binyamin Netanyahu and Obama meet amid row over settlements
The Guardian 24 Mar 2010 – Leaders hold low-profile talks following Israeli PM’s refusal to halt building in east Jerusalem Barack Obama and the visiting Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, capped a turbulent few weeks for mutual relations with unusually low-profile White…
Israel voices regret at UK expulsion of diplomat
The Guardian 23 Mar 2010 – Public security minister says Britain has made ‘wrong decision’ in response to use of forged passports in Dubai murder Israel said tonight it regretted Britain’s decision to expel a diplomat over the forged passports used in…
Letters: Strong words but little action on Israel
The Guardian 23 Mar 2010 – Strong words from the quartet about Israel’s obstruction of the Middle East peace process ( Report , 20 March); but, as with Obama, words only. As usual, all possible strong action will be taken, short of actual action….
Binyamin Netanyahu defiant ahead of meeting with Barack Obama
The Guardian 23 Mar 2010 – Isareli PM refuses to bow to US demands and freeze building of settlements in East Jerusalem The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, came out fighting against American pressure to end construction of Jewish settlements in East…
David Miliband: ‘Compelling evidence’ Israel was behind misuse of UK passports in Hamas hit
The Guardian 23 Mar 2010 – Foreign secretary confirms Britain has demanded withdrawal of Israeli diplomat following ‘intolerable’ use of identity papers David Miliband said today that there was “compelling evidence” that Israel was responsible for misuse of British passports as part…
Battered Binyamin Netanyahu comes out fighting | Simon Tisdall
The Guardian 24 Mar 2010 – Britain’s expulsion of an Israeli diplomat is another blow to Netanyahu, but he’s defiant in the face of global pressure Britain’s decision to expel an Israeli diplomat following the use of forged UK passports by the…
Supreme Court: No bread for Muslim inmates over Passover
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an appeal from an Arab prison inmate who asked to receive bread instead of matzah with his meals during the upcoming Passover holiday. …
Israeli rabbis warn about fake Passover matzah
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – Israel’s Chief Rabbinate is warning Israeli citizens to be on the lookout for pirate matzah, a vendor said Wednesday. …
As we recall our Passover exodus, think of the flight of African refugees
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – As Pesach comes around again, Jews all over the world are preparing to sit down and remember our journey as Jews, through the desert and into Israel, escaping slavery and oppression in Egypt. A few days before most of us begin our Seder, an alternative event will take place in Tel Aviv, telling a similar story. …
Netanyahu needs to channel his inner Bibi
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – No conclusion is more appropriate for the first year of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s second term in office than the decision to relocate the bomb-proof emergency ward at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. They’re doing it at an exorbitant cost, only to keep United Torah Judaism in the coalition. …
How can so many Israelis back the construction freeze?
Ha’aretz 24 Mar 2010 – According to media reports, the crisis with the United States is just about over. The prime minister acted responsibly and displayed remarkable restraint, avoiding an escalation and going a long way to satisfy the Americans. But there is something that Benjamin Netanyahu and indeed all Israelis should be worried about: the grave damage to the national consensus on Jerusalem. …
Secretary-General, Briefing Security Council on Middle East, Calls for End to Creation of Negative Facts’
Relief Web 24 Mar 2010 – Source: UN Secretary-General, UN Security Council
World TB Day marked by conferences in Gaza City and Ramallah
Relief Web 24 Mar 2010 – Source: UN Development Programme
FEATURE-Struggle for Jerusalem goes on, four decades after war
Relief Web 24 Mar 2010 – Source: Reuters – AlertNet
Q+A-Jerusalem: What’s at stake? Why does it matter?
Relief Web 24 Mar 2010 – Source: Reuters – AlertNet
Assad: It’s either peace or war
YNet News 24 Mar 2010 – Syrian president tells Hebzollah’s al-Manar television, ‘We are in a temporary situation which will either end in war or in peace. There is no other choice apart from these two.’ Israel, he says, is an enemy which only understands the language of force
PA skeptical about US-Israel crisis
YNet News 24 Mar 2010 – Palestinians closely following tensions between Obama, Netanyahu on backdrop of building in Sheikh Jarrah. Senior PA official: Americans are not really ensuring that Israel will stop building; we won’t enter negotiations like this
Israel Prison Service to take over private jail
YNet News 24 Mar 2010 – Internal Security Minister announces NIS 220 million annexation of thwarted private prison to Israel Prison Service. ‘Will significantly improve the prisoners’ living conditions,’ he says
PM’s spokesman: No limits in Jerusalem
YNet News 24 Mar 2010 – In response to US demand for clarifications, Nir Hefetz says ‘Jews and Arabs can buy and sell private assets across the city’
Concerns over Israeli man missing in North Africa
YNet News 24 Mar 2010 – Person carrying foreign passport reported missing by family. Travel warnings issued in past warn against possible kidnapping, terror attacks in northern region of continent
US wants Israel to clarify building plan
YNet News 24 Mar 2010 – As Netanyahu meets with advisors in Washington in bid to reach understandings with Obama administration, White House demands clarifications on 20 new apartments in east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. PM meets with US special envoy Mitchell
National Union MKs tour east Jerusalem, call for more building
YNet News 24 Mar 2010 – Rightist faction tours area around Temple Mount, manages to alarm police who prohibited entry to Jews into area and try to block parliamentary aides from joining Knesset members. Police: We won’t allow Temple Mount to be drawn into disturbances
International Water Day: Chronic shortage in West Bank
23 Mar 2010 – The discriminatory division of the shared water resources infringes the Palestinians’ right to water, to sanitation, and to health. Israel’s policy also infringes the Palestinians’ right to gain a livelihood, in that the water shortage prevents developmen
Israel announces plans for more Jerusalem settlements
Daily Star 24 Mar 2010 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Undeterred by turbulence in its ties with the US and Britain, Israel confirmed on Wednesday plans to expand the Jewish presence in occupied East Jerusalem, with more building freshly approved.In a move sure to anger Palestinians and frustrate Western proponents of a freeze on settlement construction,
Riyadh arrests 113 Al-Qaeda militants ‘planning attacks’
Daily Star 24 Mar 2010 RIYADH: Saudi Arabia said it had arrested 113 Al-Qaeda militants including suicide bombers who had been planning attacks on energy facilities in the world’s top oil exporter.The Interior Ministry said its sweep, among the biggest in several years, netted 58 suspected Saudi militants and 52 from Yemen, which jumped to the forefront of Western security
Gadhafi hosts first Arab summit in bid to ‘rescue’ Jerusalem
Daily Star 24 Mar 2010 SIRTE, Libya: Libya’s maverick leader Moammar Gadhafi hosts his first Arab summit this weekend that aims to “rescue” Jerusalem as Israel defies international calls for a settlement freeze in the holy city. The Saturday-Sunday summit in Sirte is also expected to home in on Sudan where President Omar al-Bashir, although faced with an international
Israelis on trial for using child to scour for rigged bombs
Daily Star 24 Mar 2010 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Two Israeli soldiers went on trial in a military court on Wednesday, accused of using a 9-year-old Palestinian boy to check for booby-traps during last year’s war in Gaza, army radio reported. The two, both staff sergeants in the Givati infantry brigade, are charged with acting “in breach of military norms” for forcing the child at gunpoint
The empty desert of Joseph Biden
Daily Star 24 Mar 2010 American Vice President Joseph Biden’s speech in Israel on March 11 sounded like an official American statement, providing absolute and candid support to all the crimes committed by Israel; since it is an entity which embodies the aspirations of Jewish and non-Jewish Zionists in their crimes against unarmed Palestinian civilians. Biden’s speech was full of anachronisms aimed at polishing the image of Zionism tarnished by the blood of civilians, particularly
China joins big-power talks on new round of Iran sanctions
Daily Star 24 Mar 2010 UNITED NATIONS: China joined five other world powers Wednesday in a conference call to discuss a US-drafted proposal for a new round of UN sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, envoys said.Beijing had declined for weeks to participate in talks on a fourth round of UN sanctions against Tehran but took part in the call among senior foreign ministry
Clinton promises more American help in Mexico drug war
Daily Star 24 Mar 2010 MEXICO CITY: A senior US delegation led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton late Tuesday pledged to boost joint efforts to tackle surging violence by Mexico’s powerful drug cartels. “There is no question that they are fighting against both of our governments,” Clinton said in Mexico City, barely a week after three US consulate-linked killings
Jordan court charges four, including ex-minister in oil bribery case
Daily Star 24 Mar 2010 AMMAN: Jordan’s military prosecutor charged Wednesday a former finance minister and three others with bribery and power abuse in a case of alleged graft at the country’s sole oil refinery, a court official said.”The prosecutor of the state security court charged the four suspects with taking bribes and abuse of power,” the official told AFP. The trial of former Finance Minister
Turk Cabinet to submit charter reforms to MPs this month
Daily Star 24 Mar 2010 ISTANBUL: Turkey’s government will submit to Parliament before the end of the month draft constitutional reforms that have riled the old secular elite, Deputy Premier Cemil Cicek said on Wednesday.The government has said the reforms are designed to bring the Muslim EU candidate country in line with European standards. Critics accuse the ruling AK Party
Assad: Israel only understands force
Daily Star 24 Mar 2010 BEIRUT: Syrian President Bashar Assad stressed on Wednesday that Syria would not stand neutral regarding Lebanese domestic affairs in the event of political alliances against the resistance. “Syria cannot be neutral when it comes to the resistance,” Assad said during an interview with Hizbullah-affiliated television station Al-Manar. Tackling the Middle
Product of Year launched in Lebanon
Daily Star 24 Mar 2010 BEIRUT: Dour Kfoury, CEO of Product of the Year in the Middle East and Lebanon, on Wednesday urged Lebanese manufacturers and business agents to adopt more innovation-related business methods in producing and marketing their products. “Local agents are not importing anything innovative because there is no competition and no demand.
Prioritizing teaching benefits everyone
Daily Star 24 Mar 2010 Striking public-sector teachers in Lebanon are demanding that the Hariri-led government improve their pay and general work conditions. While this situation made the headlines in local newspapers this week, it’s actually similar to many news items from the mid-1990s.It doesn’t matter who has been in charge of Lebanon’s government, or Education Ministry.
Palestinian Information Center
IOF soldiers detain 20 Gazans
PIC 24 Mar 2010 – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) detained 20 Palestinian workers in northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday and took them to an unknown location.
Mansi: Israeli settlement expansion with American blessing
PIC 24 Mar 2010 – Dr. Yousef Mansi has denounced the Jewish controlled Jerusalem municipality for approving the construction of 20 housing units in Sheikh Jarrah in occupied Jerusalem.
MP Abu Juhaisha: Halting negotiations suitable response to Netanyahu statement
PIC 24 Mar 2010 – MP Mohammed Abu Juhaisha has called for halting negotiations with the IOA in response to the statement of Benjamin Netanyahu that asserted retaining occupied Jerusalem as capital of Israel.
Child kidnapped for throwing stones, Israeli attackers of mosque released
PIC 24 Mar 2010 – A 15-year old boy was kidnapped in Al-Khalil city at the pretext of throwing stones at military patrols, while an Israeli court ordered the release of five settlers who attacked a mosque in Nablus.
Radwan slams Abbas for his thirst for talks with Israel
PIC 24 Mar 2010 – Ismail Radwan deplored Mahmoud Abbas for running behind the frivolous negotiations with Israel, while refusing to sit with Hamas in order to bridge the gap and achieve the national unity.
National committee for detainees appeals for saving life of prisoner Sinwar
PIC 24 Mar 2010 – The national committee for the support of prisoners appealed to human rights and medical organizations to send doctors to check and treat the deteriorating health condition of prisoner Yahya Sinwar.
Haneyya gov’t: Escalating IOF attacks reflect aggressiveness, terrorism
PIC 24 Mar 2010 – The Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip has lashed out at the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) for escalating ground and aerial attacks on the Gaza Strip during over the past few days.
Israeli plan to triple settlement activities in W. Bank
PIC 24 Mar 2010 – Council of settlements director Naftali Bennett revealed an Israeli plan to expand settlement construction in the West Bank to three times and raise the number of settlers to one million Israelis.
Israeli MP compares the British with dogs
PIC 24 Mar 2010 – In an unprecedented step in British-Israeli relations, Arieh Eldad, a member of the extreme right-wing National Union party, compared the British with dogs.
Israeli force raids unexpectedly cells of prisoners in Hadarim jail
PIC 24 Mar 2010 – A special Israeli force stormed Tuesday one of the sections in Hadarim prison, where a number of senior Palestinian leaders are locked up, and carried out a surprise inspection of their cells.
Netanyahu takes Israel’s case to Obama
LA Times 23 Mar 2010 – The two leaders are expected to discuss Israeli housing plans and their effect on peace talks. President Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday amid new signs that the two remain deeply divided over continued Israeli construction in disputed East Jerusalem.
Britain expels Israel diplomat over passports
LA Times 24 Mar 2010 – British Foreign Secretary David Miliband says forged passports used by suspects in the assassination of a Hamas figure in Dubai were linked to Israel. The expelled envoy is said to be a Mossad agent. Britain expelled a high-ranking Israeli diplomat Tuesday in retaliation for alleged misuse of British passports by Israeli agents suspected in the assassination of a senior Hamas commander two months ago in Dubai.
Hillary Clinton stands firm on Israel construction
LA Times 23 Mar 2010 – During a visit by Netanyahu, Clinton signals that the U.S. will continue its opposition to building in disputed areas. Netanyahu is expected to declare a strong Israeli right to build in Jerusalem. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gave no ground Monday on U.S. opposition to Israeli construction in disputed areas, signaling that Washington would continue pressing Israel during two days of high-profile events.
Standoff in Iran over subsidy cuts
LA Times 23 Mar 2010 – President Ahmadinejad wants to slash government subsidies for food and fuel by $40 billion and take control of the savings. Rivals in parliament have agreed to half that amount. Conservative rivals of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stood firm Monday in their fight to prevent him from rapidly cutting government subsidies for basic staples and taking control of the billions in savings.
Israel Confirms New Building in East Jerusalem
New York Times 24 Mar 2010 – Construction of a contentious Jewish housing project in a predominantly Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem could start at any time, officials said.
China and Russia Pressed Iran to Accept U.N. Deal
New York Times 24 Mar 2010 – Russia said its envoys and Chinese envoys pressured Iran to accept a plan on uranium enrichment but Iran refused.
Questions Linger in Egypt as Leader Heals
New York Times 23 Mar 2010 – President Hosni Mubarak’s recuperation from gallbladder surgery has eased some anxiety where before uncertainty fueled rumors that he was seriously ill, or even dead.
Checkpoints
Palestine Monitor – 17 Dec 2010 – “The right to freedom of movement provides that people are entitled to move freely within the borders of the state, to leave any country and to return to their country.” Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 12 of the International Covenant…
Barghouti: The first intifada has begun again
Mondoweiss – 24 Mar 2010 – More at The Real News Israeli soldiers killed 4 Palestinian teenagers allegedly carrying garden tools during protests in the northern West Bank this weekend as AIPAC served wine to congressmen and told them about the great economic development in the West Bank. Mustafa Barghouti says: “It’s…
Why isn’t Obama outraged over yet another slap to the face?
Mondoweiss – 24 Mar 2010 – Just before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Barack Obama at the White House yesterday, Israeli news outlets reported that Jewish settlers had recently received a permit from the Jerusalem municipality to construct “20 housing units, shops and a carpark at the Shepherd hotel…
BBC puts US media to shame on E. Jerusalem
Mondoweiss – 24 Mar 2010 – The BBC puts U.S. corporate and public media to shame, violating taboos on Israel. On “BBC World News America” last night, host Matt Frei asked Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen point-blank about the Israeli government’s announcement yesterday (news ignored by other outlets) of ” another settlement…
While Harvard Slept (Goldstone is in exile, and an Israeli official speaks at the Martin Kramer institute)
Mondoweiss – 24 Mar 2010 – Tomorrow evening Norman Finkelstein speaks on the Goldstone report at Harvard Law. Notice that NO Harvard human rights group has co-sponsored the event. Remember that Judge Richard Goldstone was a fixture on the Harvard Law School and Harvard human rights landscape. I’m not sure if everyone…
World Education Forum in Palestine Launched
Alternative Information Center – 24 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 – 24 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 – 24 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…
Why Protest Building a Synagogue?
Alternative Information Center – 24 Mar 2010 – 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 a furor over building it again? First we must recognize…
Upcoming AIC Publication: Social Chaos: A Critical Perspective on the Israeli Educational System
Alternative Information Center – 24 Mar 2010 – 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 AIC co-founder and board member Marcello Weksler, Director of Educational…
Articles
Obama still has no stomach to take on Israel
Johnathan Cook, Ma’an News Agency 3/24/2010
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the United States armed with a mandate from the Israeli parliament. A large majority of legislators from all of Israel’s main parties had supported a petition urging him to stand firm on the building of Jewish settlements in occupied East Jerusalem – the very issue that got him into hot water days earlier with the White House.
Given the Israeli consensus on Jerusalem, there was no way Netanyahu could have avoided rubbing that wound again in his speech on Monday to the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the powerful pro-Israel lobby group.
He told the thousands of delegates: “The Jewish people were building Jerusalem 3,000 years ago and the Jewish people are building Jerusalem today. Jerusalem is not a settlement. It is our capital.”
Citing his own policy as inseparable from all previous Israeli governments, he added: “Everyone knows that these neighborhoods will be part of Israel in any peace settlement. Therefore, building them in no way precludes the possibility of a two-state solution.”
Netanyahu’s speech appeared consistent with the new approach agreed by both sides to end this particular debacle. According to the US media, a policy of “Don’t ask and don’t tell” has been adopted to avoid making East Jerusalem an insurmountable obstacle to negotiations.
It will be telling how the US administration responds to the latest approval by Israeli planning authorities of a housing project at the Shepherd’s Hotel in East Jerusalem – this time in the even more controversial area of Sheikh Jarrah, a Palestinian community slowly being taken over by Jewish settlers backed by the Israeli courts.more..e-mail
Congress, Israel and U.S. National Security
Ralph Nader, CounterPunch 3/24/2010
The Last Lever?
On July 10, 1996, at a Joint Session of the United States Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a standing ovation for these words: “With America’s help, Israel has grown to be a powerful, modern state. …But I believe there can be no greater tribute to America’s long-standing economic aid to Israel than for us to be able to say: we are going to achieve economic independence. We are going to do it. In the next four years, we will begin the long-term process of gradually reducing the level of your generous economic assistance to Israel.”
Since 1996, the American taxpayers are still sending Israel $3 billion a year and providing assorted loan guarantees, waivers, rich technology transfers and other indirect assistance. Before George W. Bush left office a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Israel stipulated an assistance package of $30 billion over the next ten years to be transferred in a lump sum at the beginning of every fiscal year. Israel’s wars and colonies still receive U.S. taxpayer monies.
What happened to Mr. Netanyahu’s solemn pledge to the Congress? The short answer is that Congress never called in the pledge.
In the intervening years, Israel has become an economic, technological and military juggernaut. Its GDP is larger than Egypt’s even though Israel’s population is less than one tenth that of the Arab world’s most populous nation. The second largest number of listings on America’s NASDAQ Exchange after U.S. companies are from Israel, exceeding listings of Japan, Korea, China and India combined. Its venture capital investments exceed those in the U.S., Europe and China on a per capita basis.more..e-mail
No, Mr Shalom, facts do matter
Bassim Khoury, Ma’an News Agency 3/23/2010
The following is a public response to comments made by Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom broadcast on Israeli TV on Monday, by former Palestinian Minister of Economy Bassim Khoury’s decision to resign from his post in October 2009.
Even though I know quite well that for people like you, facts are merely “a matter of opinion” and thus you do not want to be “confused” by them, non-the-less I feel compelled to respond to your latest fabrications aired on Israeli TV on Monday 22 March 2010 because for me, “facts do matter.”
We Palestinians have been at the receiving end of Israel’s atrocities for decades. Your perceived invincibility led you to believe that repeating lies several times transform them to truths. I do not believe that you even managed to convince yourself. Deep down you must realize that the current status quo of occupation and colonization is not sustainable and that Israel must recognize and respect the “Green Line” as a “Red Line.”
After finishing the JEC meeting which you and me co-chaired on 2 September 2009, your statements to the press were full of falsehoods and claims of “discussions” that never took place. You elected to transform this technical meeting into a “media circus” in order to boost your political prospects. Unfortunately, as a minister I was barred from responding to your spins. Thus, I am ecstatic that now as a private citizen I face no such limitations. You should have listened to our meeting’s tapes before making claims that are easily proven wrong. I am sure your side still has a copy, but in case you need one, I can check if we can provide you with it.more..e-mail
US intent on dragging Israel to negotiating table
Electronic Intifada: 24 Mar 2010 – Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the United States this week armed with a mandate from the Israeli parliament. A large majority of legislators from all of Israel’s main parties had supported a petition urging him to stand firm on the building of Jewish settlements in occupied East Jerusalem — the very issue that got him into hot water days earlier with the White House. Jonathan Cook analyzes.
Israeli army forced to investigate weekend’s killings
Electronic Intifada: 24 Mar 2010 – RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) – Many Israelis like to believe, and the cliche is repeated regularly in Israel, that their army is the “most moral army in the world.” However, following the Gaza war which left 1,400 Palestinians dead, most of them civilians, some Israelis have begun to question this. Furthermore, the fatal shooting of four Palestinian teenagers in the course of 24 hours over the weekend has forced the Israeli military to investigate the incident amidst contradictory statements issued by the soldiers involved.
PACBI: West-Eastern Divan Orchestra violates boycott
Electronic Intifada: 24 Mar 2010 – A recent article criticizing the Palestinian Campaign For the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel’s (PACBI) position on the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (WEDO) is based on false premises, misunderstanding and/or misrepresentation of the PACBI boycott criteria, and a misconception of the recent history of civil resistance in Palestine. Since the article insinuates that PACBI’s position on WEDO is inconsistent with its own principles, the record needs to be set straight.
EU boosts ties with Israel, ignores settlements and occupation
Electronic Intifada: 23 Mar 2010 – BRUSSELS (IPS) – Diplomats representing the European Union (EU) have drawn up a new plan for strengthening their relations with Israel despite the expansion of illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Spain, the current holder of the EU’s rotating presidency, is eager that work proceeds on formally upgrading the Union’s political and commercial ties with Israel over the next few months.
grasping beauty
In Gaza: 23 Mar 2010 – It’s one of those beautiful, sunny days, with a fresh sea breeze and people strolling on the beach…one of those days in which you can almost forget the manifold tragedies that unfold daily in Gaza under siege. Under siege for four years, really, but fully under siege since mid 2007, over 1000 days. One thousand days of compromises on basic human rights and necessities for the human beings living here. Compromises which deny the ill —the seriously ill —medical care, deny students proper study materials or access to study abroad, deny access to work outside a jobless Strip, deny dreams and hopes, breath and life. But on a day like this —far from the border regions where IOF soldiers fire on unarmed Palestinians, where workers scrounge for recyclables, where farmers look at land beyond their reach (but within Gaza) thanks to the Israeli-imposed “buffer zone” —one can temporarily forget all…
The Jerusalem ‘Compromise’
Palestine Chronicle: 24 Mar 2010 – By Jonathan Cook – Nazareth Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the United States this week armed with a mandate from the Israeli parliament. A large majority of legislators from all of Israel’s main parties had supported a petition urging him to stand firm on the building of Jewish settlements in occupied East Jerusalem — the very issue that got him into hot water days earlier with the White House. Given the Israeli consensus on Jerusalem, there was no way Mr Netanyahu could have avoided rubbing that wound again in his speech on Monday to the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the powerful pro-Israel lobby group. He told the thousands of delegates: “The Jewish people were building Jerusalem 3,000 years ago and the Jewish people are building Jerusalem today. Jerusalem is not a settlement. It is our capital.” Citing his own policy as inseparable from all previous…more
Who is the British Dog?
Palestine Chronicle: 24 Mar 2010 – By Gilad Atzmon — London Israeli officials and politicians sharply criticized the intention of the UK government to expel an ‘unnamed’ Israeli ‘diplomat’ in response to its passports being used in the Dubai assassination of Hamas Freedom Fighter Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. MK Aryeh Eldad (Israel National Union) doesn’t show much respect to the Brits whom he compares to dogs: “I think [the] British are behaving hypocritically and I don’t want to offend dogs on this issue, since some dogs are utterly loyal,” Eldad told Sky News. MK Michael Ben-Ari took it one step further. “The British may be dogs, but they are not loyal to us, but rather to an anti-Semitic system..” Both Israeli Parliament members Eldad and Ben-Ari seem to agree that Britons are dogs, yet they are somehow annoyed by their dogs’ disloyalty to the Jewish state. One may wonder why do the Israelis expect their ‘British dogs’ to…more
Israel and Aid
Palestine Chronicle: 24 Mar 2010 – By Ralph Nader On July 10, 1996, at a Joint Session of the United States Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a standing ovation for these words: “With America’s help, Israel has grown to be a powerful, modern state. …But I believe there can be no greater tribute to America’s long-standing economic aid to Israel than for us to be able to say: we are going to achieve economic independence. We are going to do it. In the next four years, we will begin the long-term process of gradually reducing the level of your generous economic assistance to Israel.” Since 1996, the American taxpayers are still sending Israel $3 billion a year and providing assorted loan guarantees, waivers, rich technology transfers and other indirect assistance. Before George W. Bush left office a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Israel stipulated an assistance package of $30 billion over the…more
The New Dark Age 
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