News
International Middle East Media Center
Eritrean Migrant Killed by Egyptian Fire near Border
IMEMC – Tuesday March 30, 2010 – 02:30, The Egyptian Border Police shot and killed an Eritrean migrant on Monday after he reportedly attempted to cross into Israel. His death brings the number of migrants killed by Egypts border police this year in Sinai to 12.
Thousands March In Paris Against Israels Violations In Jerusalem
IMEMC – Tuesday March 30, 2010 – 01:17, Thousands of Arabs and French Nationals held a protest in Paris on Monday at noon and marched in solidarity with Jerusalem chanting slogans against the Israeli violations against the city and its Arab residents, the Arabs48 News Website reported.
Child Kidnapped In Jerusalem
IMEMC – Tuesday March 30, 2010 – 00:32, Israeli soldiers kidnapped on Monday a 16-year-old child from Jerusalem after claiming that he attempted to stab an Israeli Policeman.
Israeli Troops Detain Four Civilians From Different Locations In The West Bank
IMEMC – Monday March 29, 2010 – 19:24, Four Palestinian civilians were detained by Israeli troops on Monday during invasions treating West Bank communities.
Israeli Tanks Shell Residents Homes In Southern Part Of The Gaza Strip
IMEMC – Monday March 29, 2010 – 19:15, Israeli tanks bombarded on Monday midday resident homes close to the southern Gaza Strip borders with Israel.
Israeli Troops Open Fire At A Protest Commemorating Land Day In Bethlehem
IMEMC – Monday March 29, 2010 – 14:38, Israeli troops used tear gas and rubber-coated-steel bullets to suppress a protest at the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem on Monday.
Clashes Reported In East Jerusalem
IMEMC – Monday March 29, 2010 – 13:03, Local sources reported Monday that clashes took place between Palestinian youths and Israeli policemen near the Al Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.
Shoes, Clothes To Be Allowed Into Gaza
IMEMC – Monday March 29, 2010 – 12:51, The Israeli authorities decided to allow the import of shoes and clothes into the Gaza Strip by the end of this week.
U.S. Might Abstain During UN Vote On Jerusalem Settlement Construction
IMEMC – Monday March 29, 2010 – 11:22, The BBC reported on Sunday that the United States might abstain for a possible UN Security Council vote on Israels illegal construction of Jewish settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.
Israeli Troops Attack Palm Sunday Protest In Bethlehem, Detain 15 Including Two Journalists
IMEMC – Sunday March 28, 2010 – 14:02, Fifteen people, including two journalists, were detained by Israeli troops and police officers when the police attacked a Palm Sunday protest near Bethlehem.
Abbas Zaki detained at Ofer for interrogation
3/29/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli forces transferred Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki to the Ofer detention center where he is expected to be detained for four days for interrogation. The other Palm Sunday detainees from Bethlehem, who were detained during a rally protesting Israeli restrictions on Jerusalem, were also taken to Ofer for a four-day interrogation. Zaki’s detention marks the first time a high-profile Fatah official has been detained since the Oslo Accords between the Palestine Liberation Organization PLO and Israel in 1993. Observers expect Israel to repeat such detentions in order to force Fatah to restart peace negotiations without preconditions. [end]
Full Passover closure includes all Gaza crossings
3/29/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli authorities ordered all the Gaza Strip’s crossings closed Monday and Tuesday, Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh. Fattouh told Ma’an that Israel informed the liaison department that both the Kerem Shalom and Karni terminals would be closed Monday and Tuesday, which mark the first two days of the Jewish Passover holiday. The crossings will be reopened on Wednesday, he said. Fattouh highlighted that the Kerem Shalom terminal was partially opened on Sunday as limited quantities of food products and fuel were delivered into the besieged Gaza Strip. Two truckloads of flowers were allowed to be exported. Israel also announced a full closure of the West Bank beginning Sunday at midnight for Passover.
After 2-year delay, clothing to enter Gaza
3/29/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – For the first time in two years, Israel will allow clothes and shoes into the besieged Gaza Strip, an official said Monday. “Ten truckloads of clothes and shoes will be shipped into the Gaza Strip every day,” said Nasser As-Sarraj, assistant undersecretary in the de facto Ministry of National Economy. As-Sarraj told Ma’an that the Palestinian side had tried for over two weeks to convince the Israelis to allow 30 truckloads into the coastal enclave per day, yet they insisted on 10. He explained that the Gaza coordination committee would begin receiving applications from suppliers starting Monday. Priority will be given to goods that have been distrained at Israeli ports since 2007, As-Sarraj said. All of Gaza’s crossings were closed on Monday and Tuesday due to the Jewish holiday of Passover.
Israeli, PA forces disperse Bethlehem rally
3/29/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Palestinian Authority and Israeli forces cracked down on protesters at a Bethlehem rally Monday protesting the continued detention of the Palm Sunday detainees, and marking Land Day. More than 200 protesters joined the demonstration, organized by Fatah and PLO members, over the unprecedented detention of a high-ranking Fatah official on Sunday, Abbas Zaki, the first arrest of a high-ranking Palestinian official by Israeli forces during peace time. Demonstrators included Fatah Central Committee member Jamal Muheisin, Palestinian National Initiative leader Mustafa Barghouti, Bethlehem Governor Abdul Fattah Hamayil, and heads of the popular committees in Bethlehem, Beit Sahour, Beit Jala and Hebron. Zaki’s wife was also present. The march began at the Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque adjacent to Rachel’s Tomb, reaching the Gilo checkpoint that separates Bethlehem and Jerusalem, the site of yesterday’s detentions.
Passover restrictions affect Palestinians
3/29/2010 – Jerusalem/Bethlehem – Ma’an – As the Jewish Passover holiday begins, Israel has enforced tightened military and security measures around Jerusalem, affecting Palestinians across the occupied Palestinian territories. Israeli authorities have imposed a closure on the West Bank, effective Sunday evening, until the end of Passover next Tuesday, restricting Palestinian movement. Lina Baboun, 82, from Bethlehem, told Ma’an she was prevented entry into Jerusalem for an appointment at an eye hospital, despite having the necessary permits for transit. She said Israeli soldiers manning the Gilo checkpoint disregarded her permit authorizing entry, forcing her to return to Bethlehem. In early March, Israeli authorities imposed a lockdown on the West Bank, which saw a woman in labor being forced out of an Israeli ambulance upon being denied entry into Israel, in spite of possessing a permit allowing her transit and being married to an Israeli resident.
Prisoner families to suspend visits for 1 month
3/29/2010 – Nablus – Ma’an – A committee representing relatives of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody announced Monday that family visits would be suspended for one month in protest of Israeli policies. The committee said the strike would start on 1 April and end on 1 May in protest of “Israeli arrogance” toward families visiting their relatives in prison. They also highlighted that several families were deprived of visits, predominantly those of prisoners from the Gaza Strip. In a statement, the committee explained that the strike came in protest of Israel’s confiscation of permits from certain families when they passed through checkpoints in addition to strip searches during prison visits. Meanwhile, Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails say they will go on hunger strikes on 7, 17, and 27 April. . . . .
2 prisoners released after 9 years in Israeli custody
3/29/2010 – Nablus – Ma’an – Israeli authorities released two Palestinian detainees Sunday after nine years of imprisonment. Locals identified the two as Sameh Jibrin, 30, and Rami Al-Qatuni, 31, from Al-A’ein refugee camp west of the West Bank city of Nablus. Both are Fatah affiliates and were released from Israel’s Negev prison. [end]
Egypt detains 11 African migrants en route to Israel
3/29/2010 – Al-Arish – Ma’an – Egyptian authorities detained 11 African migrants as they attempted to enter Israel, security sources told Ma’an. During a patrol in the Naja’ Shabaneh border area, the 11 migrants, including women and a baby, were spotted trying to cross into Israel, sources said. Egyptian security forces fired warning shots toward the migrants, who abandoned their efforts, they added. Egyptian security forces said the migrants confessed to paying an international human trafficking gang 1,000 US dollars each to guarantee their transit into Israel for employment. [end]
Israeli forces detain 16-year-old Jerusalemite
3/29/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Israeli police detained a 16-year-old Palestinian boy in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday, Israeli media reported. According to the Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronot, the teenager was “suspicious looking” and wore a skullcap, and was detained in East Jerusalem’s Sultan Suleiman Street, near an Israeli police station. The daily reported a search revealed a knife on the boy’s person, who told police he was “planning to stab a police officer. “[end]
In photos: The Palm Sunday march
3/29/2010 – MaanImages / Luay Sababa — Over 150 Bethlehem residents, international and Israeli peace activists took part on 28 March in the centuries-old Palm Sunday procession from the Church of the Nativity to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, symbolizing Jesus Christ’s march to Jerusalem. However, as a result of Israeli restrictions prohibiting both West Bank and Gaza Palestinians from entry into occupied East Jerusalem, protesters were only able to reach the Gilo checkpoint, which separates both cities. Israeli forces detained 11 Palestinians and five peace activists. The Palestinians remain in Israeli custody. Israeli peace activist Jonathan Pollack said the detentions were “a clear act of racial discrimination, the Israelis and international were released with a slap on the wrist that same night. ”
Molotovs hurled at Israeli force near Al-Arrub camp
3/29/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Two Molotov cocktails were hurled at an Israeli military force near the Al-Arrub refugee camp between Bethlehem and Hebron in the southern West Bank at midnight Sunday, the army said. The military said there were no injuries, and that Israeli forces began “scanning the area searching for the attackers. ” Ma’an’s correspondent said Israeli forces stormed the camp after a group of young men pelted Israeli cars on the main road with stones. Local sources said a large Israeli force raided the camp firing stun grenades and tear-gas canisters. [end]
Military funeral for Islamic Jihad fighter
3/29/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – A military funeral was held in Khan Younis Monday for a Palestinian combatant of the the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, whose corpse was retrieved from the site of earlier clashes with Israeli forces. Al-Quds Brigades member Suleiman Abu Arafat was killed Friday in the bloodiest fighting in Gaza between Palestinian operatives and Israeli forces since the end of Israel’s Operation Cast Lead 14 months prior. Abu Arafat’s funeral procession began in the An-Nasser Hospital and ended in A’bsan, his hometown, at the Abdul Rahman Mosque for prayer, and then to his burial site at the A’bsan cemetery. The Al-Quds Brigades and resistance factions present at the funeral called for a response to Israel’s increased military operations in the Gaza Strip. Sheikh Abdullah Ash-Shami, an Islamic Jihad leader, warned Israeli forces against an escalation of violence in the besieged coastal enclave. . .
Report: Obama steps up Israel pressure
3/29/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – US President Barack Obama made clear during talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week that he intends to impose a peace deal in less than two years, news reports said Monday. The Israeli daily Haaretz, quoting political sources, reported that Israeli officials view Obama’s supposed demands as just the beginning in a dramatic change in US policy toward Israel, with which the Americans retain strong ties. According to the report, 10 demands posed by Obama include four specifically dealing with Jerusalem, including opening a Palestinian interests office in occupied East Jerusalem, to stop razing Palestinian buildings, and a settlement freeze that includes Ramat Shlomo, the settlement area that sparked US Vice President Joe Biden’s condemnation when it was announced during a visit earlier this month.
Report: Israel copied thousands of passports
3/29/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Britain believes thousands of its passports have been copied by airline staff working for the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, a UK tabloid reported Sunday. News of the World reported that the British MI6 intelligence service believe Britons flying to Israel have been targeted for months and their documents cloned. The British Foreign Office held top-level talks on whether to issue a warning against travelling with certain airlines, the report said. Police officials reportedly believe documents were also copied during searches at a September terrorism conference in Israel. “It was said to be routine but the searches did not apply to all nations,” one of the participants was quoted as saying. “There is now a real concern that some of these high-ranking officers and officials have also had documents cloned. ” On Tuesday, Britain expelled an Israeli diplomat believed to be Mossad’s top agent operating in the country.
Fatah official in Beirut for talks
3/29/2010 – Beirut – Ma’an – Fatah Central Committee member and parliamentary bloc chairman Azam Al-Ahmad arrived in Beirut on Sunday for talks with Lebanese officials. Al-Ahmad, who was sent to Lebanon by President Mahmoud Abbas, met with President Michael Suleiman, handing him a letter from Abbas detailing recent developments in the occupied Palestinian territories and to exchange views with the Ramallah-based leadership. The senior Fatah official will meet with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Sa’d Al-Hariri, and a number of leaders and officials from Lebanese political parties. Charged by Abbas to reorganize the Fatah movement in Lebanon and to coordinate with other Palestinian factions, Al-Ahmad arrived at the President Rafik Hariri International Airport where he was received by the Palestinian Embassy’s charg d’affaires.
CARE, EU Commission train Palestinian cheesemakers
3/29/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – CARE and the Humanitarian Aid department of the European Commission has implemented an emergency food security project in more than 14 localities in the northern West Bank, and in 10 areas in the northern and central Gaza Strip. Among the many activities carried out across West Bank cities benefiting from the project, which include Jenin, Nablus and Tubas, is the cheese project involving 19 groups of women working with 15 tons of local white boiled cheese, distributed to over 1,000 needy families. The Ma’an Network, funded by the EU, was there to film the project and record the stories of successful women throughout the occupied Palestinian territories. Sawsan Sawafta, from the Burkin Charity Association, said she benefited from the training received under the program, learning the best ways to make local white cheese.
PA cabinet approves $3.9 billion budget for 2010
3/29/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an -The Palestinian Authority cabinet approved a 3. 9 billion US dollar budget for 2010, during its weekly session in Ramallah on Monday. The budget will prepare the foundations for the Palestinian state, building institutions and infrastructure. The budget is to be allocated to enhance internal capacity to raise local revenues by 20 percent in 2010, cover 65 percent of the PA’s expenditures and to continue adjusting current ones. Nearly half of the budget’s disbursement will be spent in the Gaza Strip, with an increased allocation for all social sectors including education, health and social affairs. The 2010 budget will see an increased allocation toward resources for the development of expenditure, reaching 670 million US dollars – an increase of 67 percent compared with last year. Net loans for the current budget is estimated at about 250 million US dollars, compared with. . .
Dahlan: Hamas jails fighter involved in Friday clashes
3/29/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Fatah Central Committee member Muhammad Dahlan said Monday the de facto government has detained an operative involved in Friday’s deadly clashes in the Gaza Strip, killing two Palestinian fighters and two Israeli soldiers. The detainee, a member of Hamas’ security forces, has been jailed in Gaza, Dahlan told students at the An-Najjah University, who refused to reveal his name. Dahlan told students at the Nablus university that Hamas has yet to build anything substantial for Gaza throughout its rule over the coastal enclave “except for the total destruction of Gaza and murder. “Friday’s deadly clashes in southern Gaza were the most violent since Israel ended its devastating assault on the coastal enclave 14 months ago. “We have passed the stage for speeches and entered the stage of national action,” Dahlan said, and warned of previous mistakes that could ruin the political future of Palestine.
US college debuts course on Palestinian culture
3/29/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – An American college in Chicopee, Mass. will soon kick off a spring-summer series for adults this April with a non-credit course on Palestinian culture, news reports said. The Springfield, Mass. -based publication The Republican reported Saturday that a course offered by the Elms College will be presented by visiting scholar Ghada Issa, a Fulbright scholar teaching two semesters. “I will act as an ambassador of my country,” Issa told the newspaper. “I will give an introduction [to Palestinian culture] from my point of view as a Palestinian, and let others know about my culture and my people. ” According to the report, the five-week course will cover social life, religion, language, music and traditional Palestinian embroidery. Issa said she will also teach students some basic moves to traditional Palestinian dance. Related:Elms College
Bethlehem: 39 passengers in 7-seat vehicle
3/29/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Palestinian traffic police stopped a vehicle on Sunday to find 37 kindergarten children and two teachers in a seven-passenger van, police reported. A police report explained that the vehicle was unlicensed; neither did the driver have a insurance. Police brought a minibus to take the children home. Bethlehem police director Khalid Tamimi said the driver was held for interrogation, describing his behavior as “reckless. “He asserted that a police campaign to examine vehicles would continue, especially school vans. For his part, Bethlehem traffic police director Fathi Makhamra explained that several illegal cars have recently been seized transporting school children. [end]
Barak: Hamas will pay for shaking equilibrium on Gaza border
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Defense minister visits IDF troops who fought in Friday’s Gaza gunbattle in which two soldiers were killed.
Netanyahu: Israel will respond to any attack
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – PM says Hamas will be made to be held accountable for the attack that killed 2 IDF soldiers in Gaza.
Thousands mourn IDF officer and soldier killed in Gaza
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Major Eliraz Peretz’s best friend: We will avenge your death against those who hurt you.
Hamas is reminding the world it exists
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Hamas is satisfied with media coverage of the recent Gaza clashes, but it still isn’t interested in inciting war.
IAF conducts first missile-defense system test
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Just how well will the air force’s multi-layered technology protect Israel from rocket attacks?
Amos Harel / Israel’s border with Egypt is like the Wild West
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – PM wants to build a fence along the Egyptian border, as tensions rise over the refugee question.
Mother of soldier killed in Gaza: He paid the price of war
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Major Eliraz Peretz and Staff Sergeant Ilan Sviatkovsky die in Gaza clash; another soldier in serious condition.
Egypt police shoots dead two African migrants at Israel border
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Security forces injure five and detain three African migrants who tried infiltrating the Egyptian border into Israel.
Is Gaza now Netanyahu’s biggest problem?
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – While PM focuses on U.S. pressure, four Israeli fatalities in last week near Gaza may prove more urgent.
NATO chief calls for new missile defenses to counter Iran
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – West must cooperate with Russia against ‘growing WMD threat’, Anders Fogh Rasmussen tells allies.
Barak under fire for ministry’s costly Independence Day party
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – State Comptroller report says Barak brought cost of Defense Ministry fete to more than NIS 1.5 million.
Exclusive / Despite row, U.S. and Israel sign massive arms deal
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Israel will purchase three new Hercules C-130J airplanes at cost of nearly a quarter billion dollars.
After delay, Turkey receives first delivery of Israeli-made drones
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Six Heron drones delivered; Diplomatic row between countries delayed execution of $185 million deal.
‘I was stabbed in the back,’ says soldier who used human shield in Gaza
Ha’aretz 29 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 29 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 29 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 29 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 29 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 29 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 29 Mar 2010 – Israel launches attack in response to recent Gaza Strip rocket fire on southern communities.
Israeli Education Ministry recalls human rights bookAmnesty illustrated Human Rights Declaration for children described as problematic
Uruknet March 29, 2010 – The municipality of a well-known Jewish settlement on the occupied West Bank, Ariel, bought 300 copies of an illustrated and simplified edition of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, published by Amnesty International, for distribution among 5-year-olds in kindergartens in the settlement. Before the books could be distributed the Israeli Education Ministry intervened and recalled them…
Journalists Under Attack in Israel
Uruknet March 29, 2010 – Journalists fleeing a country out of fear of arrest, media workers being “attacked and detained” by people who enjoy the full backing of the state, and soldiers accused of attacking journalists? Sounds like Irans post-election scene, but this time its Israel. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency has a good report on the case of Anat Kam:
Holy Land Christians protest against Israeli restrictions during Easter celebrations.
Uruknet March 29, 2010 – The Christian community in the Holy Land is protesting against the denial of freedom of worship by the Israeli occupation police during the forthcoming Easter celebrations. Palestinian Christians have complained that Israeli Police are due to impose restrictions and limit the movement of all Christian worshippers during the celebrations. These restrictions will, in particular, affect Holy…
Revealing maltreatment in Israeli Jails
Uruknet March 29, 2010 – The Palestinian Center for Defending the prisoners, and according to one of the editors who were released from Israeli jails, revealed that one of the prisoners patients was blinded and lost the sense of sight, showing that the prisoner suffered initially from a simple disease in his eye like “Ophthalmology spring,” while the Prisons administration has…
Israeli Troops Open Fire At A Protest Commemorating Land Day In Bethlehem
Uruknet March 29, 2010 – Israeli troops used tear gas and rubber-coated-steel bullets to suppress a protest at the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem on Monday. The protest today was organized in commemoration of Land Day. The event was organized by local political groups and NGOs. People gathered at a local mosque nearby and marched towards the wall that separates…
Report: Israel copied thousands of passports
Uruknet March 29, 2010 – Britain believes thousands of its passports have been copied by airline staff working for the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, a UK tabloid reported Sunday. News of the World reported that MI6 believe Britons flying to Israel have been targeted for months and their documents cloned. The British Foreign Office held top-level talks on whether to issue…
Tuwani versus Havat Ma’on: Microcosm of Israeli Apartheid
Uruknet March 28, 2010 – No catalogue of Israeli oppression and persecution of the Palestinian people can be complete without the ongoing plight of the villagers of Tuwani in the southern West Bank. The small hamlet, which residents say dates back to time immemorial, has been a frequent target of harassment, vandalism, attacks and assaults of all sorts by the neighboring…
BREACHING THE WALLS OF APARTHEID FOR FREEDOM
Uruknet March 28, 2010 – Wow, what a day: over 100 native Palestinian Christians and Muslims and internationals including Israelis, breached the tight security separating the Palestinian cities of Bethlehem from the occupied city of Jerusalem. Donkeys and people arrested! We were initially some 150 strong and started from the Church of Nativity at 11:45 AM carrying palm leaves an banners…
A Thirteen Year Old Girl in Israeli Jail
Uruknet March 28, 2010 – Israeli soldiers detained a thirteen-year- old girl from her home in the Old City of Hebron on Tuesday the 23rd of March. At about 5:45 PM, CPTers followed four soldiers as they entered the girls home and ordered the entire family to the roof. Once on the roof, a fifth soldier from a permanent post on…
Maliki launches campaign to challenge Iraqi election results
Uruknet March 28, 2010 – IRAQS PRIME minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose bloc came in second in parliamentary elections on March 7th, has launched a campaign on several fronts to overturn the outcome of the poll…Mr Maliki has convinced the supreme court to issue a ruling which confers the premiership on the leader of the largest alliance, formed by blocs after the…
TILL THE LAST RUBBLE
Uruknet March 28, 2010 It’s a CD on Gaza without a name and without words. The images speak by themselves. For whom hates Gaza, it’s boring. For whom loves Gaza, it’s heartbreaking. Before the rubble be removed, the Gaza-based Media Group has recorded on a CD forty sites destroyed by the Israeli air force in the Gaza Strip from Saturday 27…
IOF to impose full closure on the West Bank during Passover
Uruknet March 28, 2010- By instructions from the Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and after military estimations on eve of the Jewish Passover, the Israeli Occupation army plans to impose a complete closure on the West Bank areas starting today at midnight and is expected to take effect until next Tuesday. A strong police and army deployment will be seen across…
NGO coalition denounces Israel for obstructing travel of 4 Polish MPs
Brussels, Belgium – March 28, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – The harassment of four Polish MPs at Ben Gurion Airport when leaving Israel after visiting the Occupied Territories (Gaza Strip and West Bank) was an unwarranted insult, the Brussels-based European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza (ECESG) said in a statement today. Arafat Shoukri “The inspection that caused the Polish…
Israeli public are dissatisfied with Netanyahu
Jerusalem, March 29, (Pal Telegraph) A poll of public opinion revealed that the majority of Israelis are dissatisfied with the policy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, by 53% of those who polled compared with 41% satisfied, despite these results the public would prefer Netanyahu more than his rival leader Tzipi Livni. According to the poll in the Maariv newspaper, the…
Revealing maltreatment in Israeli Jails
Gaza, March 29, (Pal Telegraph) The Palestinian Center for Defending the prisoners, and according to one of the editors who were released from Israeli jails, revealed that one of the prisoners patients was blinded and lost the sense of sight, showing that the prisoner suffered initially from a simple disease in his eye like “Ophthalmology spring,” while the Prisons administration…
Israel limits access to Al-Aqsa
Jerusalem, March 29, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) Israel curbed today travel from the West Bank and access to Al-Aqsa mosque compound because Jews began marking the week-long Passover holiday amid heightened tension with the Palestinians. The Israeli police closed Al-Aqsa mosque compound and prevented the people to pray there. They prevented the Muslim men under 50 to pray in Al-Aqsa…
Celebrations in Ein Al Helweh Camp
Lebanon, March 29, (Pal Telegraph) The Palestinian refugee camps in Sidon region, Commemorated the thrity-third anniversary of the Palestinian Land day Festival oratory rally, called and organized by Fatah and the Palestine Liberation Organization, in the hall of martyr Major General Ziad al-Atrash in the camp. It was attended by all factions of the PLO and the “forces of the…
Arab countries miss opportunity to cash in on strained Israeli-US relations
The National 29 Mar 2010 – Analysts say Arab nations have lost the chance to gain political advantage from the souring of the US/Israel partnership.
PLO leadership in power struggle over Lebanese refugee camps
The National 29 Mar 2010 – Conflict between authorities loyal to Ramallah aand camp commanders in Lebanon brings fear that Islamic militants could step in and seize control.
Israelis devise a new oil weapon
The National 28 Mar 2010 – Tel Aviv unveils green technologies strategy for crippling oil-producing states and groups resisting the occupation of Palestinian land.
Words!words!words!
Palestine Note 29 Mar 2010 – “There isn’t one I haven’t heard” or so goes one of the lines in a well-known American musical. Yet, this time the world is imbuing the words with new meaning when it comes to US/Israel relations….
Abbas: No proximity talks
Palestine Note 29 Mar 2010 – In his address to the Arab League summit Saturday, PA President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinian Authority would not participate in US-moderated proximity talks with Israel unless Israel changes its settlement policy, the Jordan Times reports….
The first Jewish president
Palestine Note 29 Mar 2010 – The Jewish holiday of Passover begins tonight and, even for the most secular Jews, it is a very big deal. Polls show that well over 90% of American Jews attend a Passover Seder (the ritual dinner…
HAMAS SEIZES $400K FROM GAZA BANK
Palestine Note 29 Mar 2010 – HAMAS SECURITY FORCES TOOK 1.5M NIS FROM A HAMAS-ADMINISTERED ACCOUNT AFTER THE WEST BANK MONETARY AUTHORITY FROZE IT Hamas security confiscated 1.5m NIS (Israeli shekels – $400,000 USD) from Palestine Bank in Gaza Monday, Al-Arabiya reports…
Plant a tree in Palestine
Palestine Note 29 Mar 2010 – People can talk much, scream a lot, and do little. This, is one of the practical things that you can do to make a change. Plant a Tree In Palestine is a joint effort between PAN (…
Israeli and Palestinian forces break up Bethlehem rally
Palestine Note 29 Mar 2010 – Israeli and PA forces dispersed protesters at a Bethlehem rally Monday, Ma’an News Agency reports. The demonstrators were protesting the continued detention of those arrested during the Palm Sunday demonstration against Israeli restrictions on entry into…
Netanyahu Confers with Cabinet Over Response to Obama
The Media Line 27 Mar 2010 – Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu continues to discuss his proposed response to President Obama in meetings with his inner cabinet on Sunday. The deliberations began when Netanyahu returned to Israel on Thursday from what many Israeli…
Arab Summit Offers Support for Palestinian Position
The Media Line 27 Mar 2010 – The Israeli-Palestinian conflict tops the agenda of the Arab summit meeting in Libya. Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud ‘Abbas told the 2-day conference that no agreement will be acceptable unless it includes an “end to Israeli occupation…
Israeli PM plays down US tensions
AlJazeera 28 Mar 2010 – Netanyahu says row over East Jerusalem settlements is “disagreement between friends”.
Arab leaders condemn Israeli policy
AlJazeera 28 Mar 2010 – Summit in Libya fails to reach consensus on whether Palestinians should resume talks.
Israel restricts Jerusalem access
AlJazeera 29 Mar 2010 – Heavy security in Jerusalem and West Bank as Jews observe Passover holiday.
Alternative Information Center
Biliin as an Allegory: The Party is Over, Declares Netanyahu
Alternative Information Center – Sunday, 28 March 2010, The decision to declare Biliin and Naalin as closed military zones for a period of six months (so far) has meaning that goes far beyond the weekly demonstrations held there for the…
Land Day Commemorations in France in Support of BDS
Alternative Information Center – Sunday, 28 March 2010, On March 30, Palestinian Land Day, there will be a large rally of all the people who refuse the repression and threats from our government against the people who join the Boycott,…
Letter from French MP Patrick Braouezec to PM Francois Fillon Concerning BDS
Alternative Information Center – Sunday, 28 March 2010, Dear Mr. Prime Minister, During the recent celebratory dinner of the Coordination of the Jewish Organizations in France (CRIF) to which you were invited, you stated that the Boycott Divestment Sanctions(BDS) Campaign,…
East Jerusalem house is a home divided
PNN – Monday, 29 March 2010
Israelis devise a new oil weapon
PNN – Monday, 29 March 2010
Israel’s Netanyahu downplays tensions with US
PNN – Monday, 29 March 2010
15 arrested during a nonviolence demonstration on Palm Sunday
PNN – Sunday, 28 March 2010
‘Terrorists will be destroyed’
Jeruslalem Post 29 Mar 2010 – Putin pledges harsh response after terror attack in Moscow; Netanyahu: We share grief.
Ashkenazi: Our freedom has high price
Jeruslalem Post 29 Mar 2010 – IDF chief calls deadly Gaza clash saddening reminder of ongoing fighting.
Ashkenazi: The freedom of Israel has a high price
Jeruslalem Post 29 Mar 2010 – Calls the latest incident in Gaza, that claimed the lives of two soldiers, a saddening reminder of the ongoing fighting. At the moment things are calm, we are closely monitoring events.”
8 Israeli Arabs charged with attacks on soldiers
Jeruslalem Post 29 Mar 2010 – Eight Arab-Israelis from the North were charged in the Haifa District Court on Sunday with planning and carrying out attacks on IDF soldiers and stealing their firearms.
Iran sanctions top concern at G-8 summit
Jeruslalem Post 29 Mar 2010 – Canadian FM Lawrence Cannon says he’ll press nations for tougher action.
When Ben-Gurion said no to JFK
Jeruslalem Post 28 Mar 2010 – The “dont ask, dont tell” compromise served both Israel and the US well.
The Region: The single payer option
Jeruslalem Post 28 Mar 2010 – It seems the Obama administration envisions having Israel pay for everything.
PA purges educators suspected of links to Hamas
Jeruslalem Post 28 Mar 2010 – Exclusive: Firing of hundreds of teachers, thousands of imams intended to undermine movements influence in West Bank.
Barak: Israel alone will decide issues of nat’l importance’
Jeruslalem Post 28 Mar 2010 – In message to DC, says “We are the ones who have exclusive responsibility for Israels fate and future.”
Post-trauma Rehabilitation of Palestinian Ex-detainee Children Programme
WAFA 29 Mar 2010 – JERUSALEM, March 29, 2010 (WAFA)- Since its launch almost one year ago, the Post-trauma Rehabilitation of Palestinian Ex-detainee Children Programme has offered its intervention services to
Spindelegger on Austrias contribution to EU Aid for Palestinian People
WAFA 29 Mar 2010 – VIENNA, March 29, 2010 (WAFA)- ‘The continued blockade of the Gaza Strip and massive limitations in the freedom of movement in the West Bank are having a huge negative impact on people’s everyday
Bethlehem Industrial Park: Signing of Concession Agreement
WAFA 29 Mar 2010 – BETHLEHEM, March 29, 2010 (WAFA)- Mr. Hassan Abu Libdeh, Minister of National Economy of the Palestinian Authority and Chairman of the board of PIEFZA (Palestinian Industrial Estate and Free Zone
PCBS: 55% of Settlers in W.B in Jerusalem
WAFA 29 Mar 2010 – RAMALLAH, March 29, 2010(WAFA) – Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) reported that more than 85% of the Area of Historical Palestine is Under Israeli Control, and 55% of the Total Number
Is Serious Israel-EU Crisis in Works?, Haaretz Asks
WAFA 29 Mar 2010 – TEL AVIV, March 29, 2010 (WAFA)-Israeli government sources said it is likely that after the current diplomatic crisis and pressure by the United States regarding the Palestinian issue, Israel will
Haaretz: Plague of Darkness Has Struck Modern Israelites
WAFA 29 Mar 2010 – TEL AVIV, March 29, 2010 (WAFA)-For 43 years, Israel has been ruled by people who have refused to see reality. They speak of united Jerusalem, knowing that no other country has recognized the
Al-Haq Highlights Israels Violations of Religious, Movement Freedom
WAFA 29 Mar 2010 –
BTFSG: 2 British Companies Buy Produce from Settlememts
WAFA 29 Mar 2010 – BRIGHTON (UK), March 28, 2010 (WAFA)- British companies are still buying produce from Jewish settlements and illegally labelling it as Produce of Israel. Two researchers from the UK found herbs
MIDEAST: Religion Sways Policy, Now in Israel
IPS JERUSALEM, Mar 26 (IPS) – There was a time when Israel was held in contempt by its neighbours for its over-liberal ways. They felt it did not “belong” in the Middle East.
EGYPT: Civil Society Sidelined Ahead of Elections
IPS CAIRO, Mar 26 (IPS) – Egypt’s ruling party is taking measures to restrict the work of non-governmental organisations ahead of crucial parliamentary elections.
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (18-24 march 2010)
PCHR 24 Mar 2010 – A Palestinian is carried into al-Aqsa Martys Hospital in the central Gaza Strip town of Deir al-Balah, as he was wounded by Israeli troops, 22 March 2010….
PCHR Concludes a Human Rights Training Course in Rafah
PCHR 24 Mar 2010 – Ref: 35/2010….
PCHR Receives Professor Tateyama from the Department of International Relations at the Japan National Defense Academy
PCHR 24 Mar 2010 – Ref: 36/2009….
International Solidarity Movement
Racial Discrimination By Israeli Police: Bethlehem Peaceful Protesters Still Detained
3/29/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – Popular Struggle Coordination Committee – While the Israeli and international protesters detained in Bethlehem yesterday have been released, the police extended the arrest of the ten Palestinians, including PLO Executive Committee Member, Abbas Zaki, by 96 hours under military law. A demonstration held in Bethlehem today in support of the arrestees was dispersed by the Army. Fifteen demonstrators have been arrested yesterday by Israeli forces during a peaceful demonstration near Rachel’s Tomb protesting Israeli violations of Palestinian freedom of religion and lack of access to Jerusalem. The demonstrators marked Palm Sunday and demanded to exercise the centuries old Christian tradition of pilgrimage to Jerusalem on that day. In a clear act of racial discrimination, the Israelis and international were released with a slap on the wrist that same night, while the police extended the arrest of all ten Palestinians by 96 hours.
World, China included, will not accept a nuclear Iran, U.S. says
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Turkey PM blames int’l community for failing to impose sanctions over ‘another Mideast country’s’ nukes.
Russia: Moscow attack may be linked to Afghanistan militias
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Officials say female suicide bombers exploded at two Moscow metro stations, killing at least 38.
Swedish pension fund bans investment in Israeli company on ethical grounds
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Fund shuns Elbit Systems because it provides surveillance equipment for West Bank separation barrier.
Israel allows clothes, shoes into blockaded Gaza for first time
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Palestinian officials say 10 truckloads will be arriving Thurs.; Gaza merchants: Amount of goods insufficient.
Likud minister: U.S. pressure bolsters Palestinian hardliners
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Minister Begin describes Washington’s scrutiny on Jerusalem as departing from past U.S. administrations.
Is a serious Israel-EU crisis in the works?
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Israel’s envoys in Europe: EU will go even further in condemning Israel if U.S. pressure continues.
Israel fears Obama heading for imposed Mideast settlement
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Israeli officials say Obama’s demands are the beginning of a dramatic change in U.S. policy toward Israel.
6,000 Ethiopian Jews to attend world’s largest seder in Gondar
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – The Falash Mura tribe, whose Jewish ancestors converted to Christianity, are awaiting permits to move to Israel.
Barak: U.S. ties are ‘pillar and cornerstone’ of Israel’s security
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Axelrod: Obama did not snub Netanyahu in Israel-U.S. talks; Netanyahu: Meet was not ‘greatest disaster’.
Passover Seder, Cup 4: Obama, this year in Jerusalem
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – We built this city, and after us, the Christians built this city, and after them, the Muslims.
Report: U.S. will ‘consider abstaining’ if UN votes on East Jerusalem
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Diplomatic source tells BBC that a U.S. official told Qatari FM the U.S. would not guarantee veto.
Passover – an Obama family tradition
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – For second straight year, President Obama will host a Passover seder at the White House.
Obama makes surprise visit to Afghanistan
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Trip comes months after Obama ordered deployment of additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan.
Syria to Palestinians: Quit Mideast peace talks, resume violence
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Arab League defers vote on resuming peace process; Abbas aide: We won’t listen to ‘special agendas’.
ADL: Carter has reverted to anti-Israel stance, despite recent apology
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – Statement says former president slams White House for ignoring Israel’s seizure of Palestinian lands.
Israel’s pull, or your push? | Marc Goldberg
The Guardian 29 Mar 2010 – The reason diaspora Jews like me are migrating to Israel is not for ‘tax breaks’, but to escape an insidious hostility More and more British Jews are moving to Israel, this fact is reported on by…
Binyamin Netanyahu’s efforts to heal rift marred as Barack Obama branded ‘disaster for Israel’
The Guardian 28 Mar 2010 – Both sides deny snubbing the other in settlement row as insiders launch outspoken press attack on US leader Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, tried to smooth over a breach in relations with the US today, speaking…
Obama’s other difficult partners | Petra Marquardt-Bigman
The Guardian 29 Mar 2010 – Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu is presently seen as the chief obstacle to Middle East peace, but what of the Arab League? It is hardly surprising that Binyamin Netanyahu’s speech at this week’s Aipac policy conference didn’t…
Passover rush begins, 550,000 travelers expected through Ben Gurion
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – The holiday travel rush began in earnest Sunday with some 47,000 passengers going through Ben-Gurion International Airport on about 300 flights. …
Templer descendant prepares to fight Jerusalem for her home
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – On the corner of Emek Refaim Street and Bethlehem Road in Jerusalem stand several huge, venerable pine trees. In 1992, during one of Jerusalem’s memorable snowstorms, one of the pines fell, and its rings could be counted. It was determined, unequivocally, that the trees are 95 years old. …
The plague of darkness has struck modern Israelites
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – One of the harshest of the 10 plagues has smitten the children of Israel this Passover, and they are stumbling about in pitch darkness, bumping blindly into anyone in their way as they head toward the edge of the precipice. Warm friends, cool friends, icy enemies: Jordan and Turkey, Brazil and Britain, Germany and Australia – it’s all the same. …
Israel is sliding toward McCarthyism and racism
Ha’aretz 29 Mar 2010 – “In every generation a man is to consider himself as if he personally experienced the Exodus from Egypt.” That is the central message of the Haggadah, of the seder night and indeed of Passover itself – the Festival of Freedom. …
Lieberman pushing to give IDF vets preference in diplomat course
Ha’aretz 28 Mar 2010 – The cabinet has put off a vote on Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s proposed bill to grant Israelis who served in the Israel Defense Forces or did National Service preference in being accepted to the ministry’s prestigious diplomatic training program. …
500 Ex-detainee Children and 291 Parents Benefit from Intervention provided through Post-trauma Rehabilitation of Palestinian Ex-detainee Children Programme
Relief Web 29 Mar 2010 – Source: European Commission Humanitarian Aid department, Save the Children
Secretary-General Salutes Diligence, Courage of Mine Action Workers, Calling United Nations Efforts A Success Story’, in Message for International Day
Relief Web 29 Mar 2010 – Source: UN Secretary-General
PHOTOGALLERY: Slice of life in Gaza
Relief Web 29 Mar 2010 – Source: Integrated Regional Information Networks
Israeli FM: Abbas wanted Hamas toppled in Gaza war
Relief Web 29 Mar 2010 – Source: Reuters – AlertNet
Egypt police kill Eritrean migrant on Israel border
YNet News 29 Mar 2010 – Border guards shoot at migrants trying to enter Israel, killing 26-year-old Eritrean, injuring two others
Turkey makes case against sanctions on Iran
YNet News 29 Mar 2010 – In meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkish PM Erdogan says, ‘We are of view that sanctions is not a healthy path…best route is diplomacy’
‘Israel to allow clothes, shoes into blockaded Gaza’
YNet News 29 Mar 2010 – Palestinian officials say first 10 truckloads to arrive via Israeli-controlled Gaza border on Thursday in first shipment in almost three years
Seder night in Gaza vicinity: Hoping for peace, quiet
YNet News 29 Mar 2010 – Guesthouses, lodges record many cancelations due to tension, but some won’t let atmosphere change their plans. ‘ Will celebrate with joy, say little prayer for peace and quiet,’ says Eshkol Regional Council resident
Apples and rockets: Daily reality of Quneitra
YNet News 29 Mar 2010 – Assad’s war drums not enough to disrupt routine of Druze brides, apple trucks at crossing between Israel, Syria. Golan Brigade forces enjoy serenity, but also prepared to face escalation
Soldier’s widow: He wanted to build his home in Eli
YNet News 29 Mar 2010 – Defense minister visits relatives of Major Eliraz Peretz, who ask him to reconsider decision to demolish illegal home. Earlier, Barak meets with visits Golani soldiers who lost two peers on Gaza border, tells them ‘you set a personal example, often made to pay a high price’
Stop the Wall Land Day and Global BDS Day Activities
Stop The Wall – Click here to see the full program – including 20 activities all over the West Bank -, which Stop the Wall and the popular committees against the Wall and the settlements are organizing to commemorate Land Day and join in the Global BDS Action Day. [
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2217.shtml
Stop The Wall – Israeli occupation forces arrested 11 Palestinians, including journalists and detained 5 Israelis and internationals. They were part of a protest-procession which moved today from the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem towards Jerusalem under the banner of the call for freedom of religion and freedom of worship. [
Until midterm elections, the US will go through the motions
Daily Star 29 Mar 2010 The Ramat Shlomo construction incident that spoiled US Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel almost three weeks ago brought the Netanyahu government and the Obama administration to a brief but genuine crisis in their relationship. The crisis gave us a glimpse of what is simmering beneath the surface in Washington. When he apologized
Israel restricts access to Al-Aqsa Mosque for Passover
Daily Star 29 Mar 2010 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel on Monday curbed travel from the West Bank and access to Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as Jews began to celebrate Passover holidays amid raised tension with the Palestinians.Four Israeli rightwing activists were briefly detained when they tried to make their way to the Old City in annexed
Hamas policemen ‘hold up’ Gaza bank in broad daylight
Daily Star 29 Mar 2010 GAZA CITY: When gunmen burst into Gaza’s Palestine Bank on Monday and demanded a quarter of a million dollars the branch manager had to give in – he couldn’t say no to the police.The incident in Gaza City took place when police run by the Islamist Hamas movement went to impose a court order unfreezing the assets of a health charity at the
Clinton: White House opposes Armenian genocide label
Daily Star 29 Mar 2010 ISTANBUL: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has assured Turkey that the White House opposes a congressional resolution labeling the World War I massacres of Armenians in Turkey as genocide, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Monday.The ministry issued the statement after a phone call between Clinton and Foreign Minister
Egypt’s neglect of Sinai bedouin spurs smuggling
Daily Star 29 Mar 2010 SHEIKH ZOWAYED, Egypt: Egypt fought a war with Israel to regain control of Sinai, but nearly 40 years later Cairo has an uneasy relationship with the people of the region it suspects is a haven for smuggling and militancy. The feeling of distant unease is mutual. The bedouin, who mostly scratch a living from small plots of poor quality land, grumble about state neglect
Palestinian Information Center
Palestinian youths clash with Israeli troops near Asbat Gate in Jlem
PIC 29 Mar 2010 – Violent clashes broke out between Palestinian young men and Israeli troops near Al-Asbat Gate in occupied Jerusalem this morning after news about Israeli settlers intention to storm the Aqsa Mosque.
Algerian authorities arrest Mossad agent holding forged passport
PIC 29 Mar 2010 – Algerian newspaper revealed on Sunday that the authorities in Algeria arrested a secret agent working for the Mossad, Israels intelligence apparatus, and holding a forged Spanish passport.
Khudari criticizes summit for absenting Gaza reconstruction
PIC 29 Mar 2010 – MP Jamal Al-Khudari has criticized the Arab summit for “absenting” Gaza reconstruction despite presence of a previous resolution that allocated a budget of 2 billion dollars for that purpose.
IOA imposes restrictions on entry to Aqsa
PIC 29 Mar 2010 – The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem on Monday.
National initiative calls for restoring Palestinian unity to face Zionist plots
PIC 29 Mar 2010 – The Palestinian national initiative called for confronting the Zionist schemes by restoring the national unity and activating the popular resistance against settlement, the wall and the blockade.
Hamas: The Arab summits outcome fell short of the Palestinians hopes
PIC 29 Mar 2010 – Hamas stated that the outcome of the Arab summit fell short of the aspirations of the Palestinian people and the Arab masses and did not provide answers to the challenges they are facing.
IOA extends administrative detention of Palestinian scientist
PIC 29 Mar 2010 – The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) extended the administrative detention of Palestinian scientist Isam Al-Ashqar, 52, for four months as he was lying on his sickbed in the prison hospital.
AFEH warns of Jewish fanatic campaign against Aqsa
PIC 29 Mar 2010 – AFEH has warned of a new propaganda campaign launched by Jewish fanatic groups calling for the demolition of the Aqsa Mosque and the building of the alleged temple in its place.
Lieberman: USA demand on halting building in OJ rejected
PIC 29 Mar 2010 – Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman has described the American demand to halt construction work in occupied Jerusalem as “unreasonable”.
IOF incursion in central Gaza
PIC 29 Mar 2010 – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) bulldozed Palestinian land east of Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza Strip on Sunday night, local sources reported.
Rachel Corrie’s family takes case to court in Israel
LA Times 30 Mar 2010 – Corrie was killed by an Israeli bulldozer while trying to protect Palestinian homes. Her family has been met with hostility while pursuing a civil suit after calling the investigation a ‘whitewash.’ The American parents sit stoically in a sky-lit courtroom, listening to testimony about how an Israeli military bulldozer crushed their daughter to death seven years ago.
East Jerusalem house is a home divided
LA Times 29 Mar 2010 – An Israeli court has let Jewish settlers live in the front of a house Palestinians have lived in for half a century. The close quarters make for constant tensions and frequent police intervention. A tiny brick house. A disputed neighborhood. And a Solomon-style court ruling that has placed two sets of strangers — with nothing in common but hatred — under the same flat roof.
A healing visit to L.A. for a boy from Gaza
LA Times 28 Mar 2010 – The 11-year-old, who lost his foot to Israeli shelling in 2006, gets surgery in Los Angeles and TLC from a group of Southland residents. Abdullah Alathamna was 7 years old when Israeli shells crashed into his family’s home in the Gaza Strip, jolting him from sleep. In the blitz of explosions, Abdullah lost his mother, two sisters and his right foot.
News Analysis: Housing Rift Exposes Other Differences in Israel and U.S.
New York Times 29 Mar 2010 – The U.S. and Israel differ substantially on the international importance of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, and on the Palestinians readiness for statehood.
Agencies Suspect Iran Is Planning Atomic Sites
New York Times 28 Mar 2010 – Six months after the revelation of a secret nuclear enrichment site, inspectors and intelligence agencies suspect that Tehran is preparing to build more sites in defiance of United Nations demands.
Mubarak Returns to Egypt; Succession Debate Persists
New York Times 28 Mar 2010 – President Hosni Mubarak arrived back, ending a period of intense speculation over the state of his health but maybe not about his political future.
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…
Israel’s Declaration Of War On INGOs
Palestine Monitor – 29 Mar 2010 – Israel is increasingly prohibiting international workers from crossing its borders. In 2009 it cancelled the B1 Visa, a work permit that allows holders to work legally in areas controlled by Israel, both in the Occupied Territories and in Israel, reducing the status of aid workers to…
Amazing headline
Mondoweiss – 29 Mar 2010 – Maan news : “After two year delay, clothing to enter Gaza” Related posts: Smashing, punching, writing its the amazing Friedman Obamas Amazing Impact: A Day After He Leaves Israel, They Announce More Settlements Amazing Brit Tzedek rabbi says half of Gaza victims are civilians and anticipates the…
Saying no to next year in Jerusalem
Mondoweiss – 29 Mar 2010 – As Jews around the world lock up their leavened bread and Jews in the Israeli army lock down the West Bank, I take far too long to pack a small bag for my annual trip to Cleveland to celebrate Passover. Come Tuesday night Ill be surrounded…
Hows life on the planet of Israeli hasbara, Thomas Friedman?
Mondoweiss – 29 Mar 2010 – Thomas Friedman lives on a different planet, that of Israeli hasbara. In an Op-Ed piece today for the New York Times about Israeli-American relations and different perceptions on the peace process, Friedman repeats standard Israeli talking points. Lets take a look. Friedman writes: The collapse of…
Land Day Commemorations in France in Support of BDS
Alternative Information Center – 29 Mar 2010 – Sunday, 28 March 2010, On March 30, Palestinian Land Day, there will be a large rally of all the people who refuse the repression and threats from our government against the people who join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Campaign. In less than three weeks,…
Letter from French MP Patrick Braouezec to PM Francois Fillon Concerning BDS
Alternative Information Center – 29 Mar 2010 – Sunday, 28 March 2010, Dear Mr. Prime Minister, During the recent celebratory dinner of the Coordination of the Jewish Organizations in France (CRIF) to which you were invited, you stated that the Boycott Divestment Sanctions(BDS) Campaign, endorsed by many local and international organizations, a campaign that…
News from Within Videocast: U.S-Israel Crisis
Alternative Information Center – 29 Mar 2010 – Friday, 26 March 2010, The Israeli press reports that the strife between Israel and the United States concerns something far bigger than the proximity talks with the Palestinians. As far as President Barack Obama and his senior advisers are concerned, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to…
Advice Givers from the Zionist Left
Alternative Information Center – 29 Mar 2010 – Sunday, 28 March 2010, In the Palestinian daily newspaper Al Quds, an article by the Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information) Gershon Baskin, was published in the opinion section on 3 March 2010. The article has nothing new and this is…
Biliin as an Allegory: The Party is Over, Declares Netanyahu
Alternative Information Center – 29 Mar 2010 – Sunday, 28 March 2010, The decision to declare Biliin and Naalin as closed military zones for a period of six months (so far) has meaning that goes far beyond the weekly demonstrations held there for the past five years already. The party is over that…
Articles
My Children, Ralph Nader and the South China Sea
Ramzy Baroud, CounterPunch 3/26/2010
The Starfish Incident
I basked in the warm Borneo sun, following a long run somewhere at the edge of a rainforest. The beach was only partly clean, but the water was most inviting. My children ran excitedly, collecting what I assumed to be shells and whatever other treasures the South China Sea had decided to divulge that afternoon. Their movement, from afar, signaled frenzy and perhaps even a slight panic. I hesitated at first, then ran to investigate.
At the ages of six and four, my girls Zarefah and Iman were already the most kindhearted kids. They were actually going through complete and unmitigated panic, as they had just noticed the starfish which had been cast off by the waves and which were now dotting the shoreline as far as the eye could see. The children became determined to place every single one of them back in the water before they died.
But most all of them were already dead.
My kids didnt know this. And I didnt have the courage to break the dreadful news. I stood in silence, proud to the core, as the girls shaky voices urged everyone around them to help. Then I too was summoned. Dad, what are you waiting for? Please help us before they all die. I tried to absolve myself from what seemed to me a waste of time. But when I saw the tears in Zarefahs eyes, and heard the fright in her voice, I joined in as enthusiastically as the many other beachgoers-turned-environmentalists.more..e-mail
The Mullen-Petraeus Report on the Middle East
Bouthaina Shaaba, CounterPunch 3/26/2010
Bubbles, Mere Bubbles
“The importance of the Petraeus-Mullen briefing lies in its implicit suggestion that an Arab and Muslim stand can be effective…”
Amidst a cacophony of statements, commentary and analyses about the American-Israeli relationship, and the events since Joe Bidens visit to Israel, Mark Perry wrote an article in Foreign Policy magazine on March 13, 2010 titled The Petraeus briefing: Bidens embarrassment is not the whole story. Perry explained that on January 16, 2010, a team of central command officers and officials responsible for American national security in the Middle East made a presentation in the Pentagon to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, headed by Admiral Michael Mullen, about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The team had been sent by General David Petraeus to underline his growing concerns at the lack of progress in resolving the issue. The conclusion of the presentation was that there was a growing perception among Arab leaders that the U.S. was incapable of standing up to Israel. That is why Arabs have started to lose faith in the United States and its promises, and that Israeli intransigence in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was paralyzing the position, role and status of the United States in the region. It added that America was not only viewed as weak, but its military posture in the region was eroding, despite the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of American troops in the region.
Perry says that the briefing given to Mullen, at Petraeus request, fell like a bombshell on the White house. That is why the Obama administration sent Mullen to meet Gabi Ashkenazi…. Related:Petraeus denies saying Israel endangers lives of U.S. troops— See also:Petraeus denies saying Israel endangers lives of U.S. troopsmore..e-mail
Netanyahus outright deceit
Khaled Amayreh in Ramallah, Al-Ahram Weekly 3/25/2010
For Israels hawkish premier, the issue is not halting illegal settlement expansion, but increasing it less conspicuously.
While claiming to have a genuine desire for the resumption of “peace talks” with the Palestinian Authority (PA), Israel has been murdering Palestinian civilians in the streets of the West Bank in a clear overreaction to recent Palestinian protests against Israeli transgressions against Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem.
Eyewitnesses reported that trigger-happy Israeli troops shot had killed two young Palestinians who were trying to access their land near the northern West Bank town of Nablus. Initially, the Israeli army claimed the two tried to attack heavily armed soldiers with pitchforks, a claim rejected by the Ramallah- based Palestinian government that described the killings as “cold-blooded murder”. An Israeli army spokesman later said the circumstances surrounding the two deaths were vague and that an investigation into “the incident” would be carried out.
Ghassan Al-Khatib, head of the Palestinian Government Press Office, accused the Israeli occupation army of murdering Palestinians in order to provoke a new uprising — or Intifada — that would divert the worlds attention from the belligerent discourse adopted by the Netanyahu government. “We look at this as part of the Israeli escalation. It could have been treated in a completely different way. But the Israelis have been escalating, and this is something the prime minister [Netanyahu] has been warning.”
More ominous remarks came from Mahmoud Al-Alul, a senior Fatah leader based in Nablus. He told some 2,000 mourners that, “nobody can imagine that we can stand with our hands tied vis—vis what is happening.” A day earlier, two more Palestinians were killed and others injured when Israeli troops opened fired on Palestinian youths protesting against Israeli provocations at Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of Islams holiest shrines. The Israeli army claimed it used rubber bullets, though they can also prove fatal.more..e-mail
Israel’s blood diamonds
Electronic Intifada: 29 Mar 2010 – Every year, consumers the world over unwittingly spend billions of dollars on diamonds crafted in Israel, thereby helping to fund one of the world’s most protracted and contentious conflicts. Most people are unaware that Israel is one of the world’s leading producers of cut and polished diamonds. As diamonds are normally not hallmarked, consumers cannot distinguish an Israeli diamond from one crafted in India, Belgium, South Africa or elsewhere. The global diamond industry and aligned governments, including the EU, have hoodwinked consumers into believing the diamond trade has been cleansed of diamonds that fund human rights abuses, but the facts are startlingly different. Sen Clinton analyzes for The Electronic Intifada.
“We are defending our culture”: an interview with Samir Joubran
Electronic Intifada: 29 Mar 2010 – Earlier this month the Palestinian group Le Trio Joubran gave a concert in Geneva to support the work of the Association Meyrin-Palestine, which is planning to build a cultural center in Gaza. Le Trio Joubran is comprised of three brothers, Samir, Wissam and Adnan Joubran, who play the oud , a pear-shaped instrument from the Middle East related to the lute. The Electronic Intifada contributor Adri Nieuwhof spoke with Samir Joubran about the trio’s music.
Stuck between a wall and an occupation
Electronic Intifada: 29 Mar 2010 – When Bilal Jadou’s grandmother was sick last year, neither Israeli ambulances or Palestinian ambulances were able to cross the checkpoint to his house. Jadou’s house is on the other side of the sprawling apartheid wall, separated from his community and the West Bank. Nora Barrows-Friedman interviews Jadou from Aida refugee camp, occupied West Bank.
Israeli invasion into southeastern Gaza kills 4, injures 8, destroys a home and ravages farmland
In Gaza: 27 Mar 2010 – On 26 March, fighting erupted between Palestinian resistance and invading Israeli soldiers when IOF jeeps, tanks, and bulldozers invaded, supported by F-16s, Apache helicopters and unmanned drones from above. Two Israeli soldiers were reported killed and 2 more injured. Medics with the Red Crescent report that three Palestinian resistance fighters were killed, along with 1 civilian, Haitam Arafat, 22 years old, shot on his land. Eight more Palestinians were injured, according to Muawiyya Hassaniin, director of emergency services in Gaza. The injured include Osama Abu Dagga, a child of 6 years, shot in the head while in his home 2 km from the border. He is in critical condition. While the invasion was underway, locals reported several F-16 Israeli warplanes, Apache helicopters, drones, roughly 20 tanks and 6 bulldozers. During the Israeli invasion, Palestinian ambulances were unable to reach the injured, delayed and unable to attain coordination from Israeli authorities…
Israel Unveils ‘Green’ Strategy to Defeat Enemies
Palestine Chronicle: 29 Mar 2010 – By Jonathan Cook – Nazareth Under cover of a sudden interest in developing new green technologies, the Israeli government hopes to weaken the Gulf states by making their oil redundant and thereby defeating ‘Islamic terror’. Uzi Landau, the national infrastructures minister, outlined a vision of a world without oil this week to Israels most loyal supporters in Washington as he searched for wealthy American-Jewish investors and White House support for the strategy. His message was that: The West is addicted to oil, and so is bound by states that support terrorism Whoever wants to fight radical Islam and terrorist organizations should know that by purchasing gasoline, he’s giving terrorists increased motivation. Analysts say the plans chief goals are to cripple the large oil-producing Gulf states, particularly Iran, which is seen as Israels main rival in the region, and resistance groups that oppose Israels long-term occupation of Palestinian land. Israel…more
Happy Passover from Gaza
Palestine Chronicle: 29 Mar 2010 – By Sam Bahour In 2010, Jews in Israel and around the world will celebrate Passover beginning on March 30th. Passover is the seven-day holiday of the Feast of Unleavened Bread commemorating the ancient Hebrews’ escape from enslavement in Egypt. (In Israel, March 30th is also Land Day: the day when Palestinians commemorate and protest the confiscation of their lands by the Israeli government; but thats another story.) As Im learning, the Passover holiday begins with the Seder, a traditional ceremonial meal. Its centerpiece is a special Seder plate containing six symbolic foods. Each has its own significance in the retelling of the story of the Hebrews exodus from Egypt. The stack of three matzos, or unleavened bread, a kind of cracker made of plain white flour and water, has its own separate plate on the Seder table. For each of the six traditional items on the Seder plate (as per…more
Talk about US/Israel Crisis
Palestine Chronicle: 29 Mar 2010 – By Dr. Elias Akleh During the last two weeks people were faced with a propaganda campaign trying to convince them that there developed a crisis in the American Israeli relationships due to Israels announcement of approving the building of 1600 Jewish only housing units in occupied east Jerusalem Palestinian suburb of Shufat on the day of Joe Bidens visit to Israel March 9th. Major media sources and many politicians declared this announcement as an Israeli slap on Bidens face, especially after the Palestinian Authority, backed by Arab leaders, had just accepted American mediation in indirect talks (proximity talks as per Hillarys description). The announcement, in reality, was an Israeli gift to Biden that also included a framed document announcing the planting of several trees in Jerusalem in memory of Bidens mother; a loyal supporter of Israel. This was an excellent gift, rather than a slap, for the ardent self-proclaimed Zionist…more
The New Dark Age 
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