News
International Middle East Media Center
Medics Locate Body Of Fighter Killed Last Week
IMEMC – Saturday April 03, 2010 – 02:11, Palestinian medics located on Friday evening the body of an Islamic Jihad fighter who was killed during clashes with Israeli soldiers in the southern part of the Gaza Strip last week.
Settlers Attack a 89-year-old woman, her 50-year-old daughter in Jerusalem
IMEMC – Saturday April 03, 2010 – 02:02, Israeli settlers attacked on Friday Rifqa Al Kurd, 89, and her daughter Nadia, 50, in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, in East Jerusalem, the Maan News Agency reported.
Troops Use Tear Gas To Suppress Bilins Village Anti Wall Weekly Protest
IMEMC – Friday April 02, 2010 – 17:29, The villagers of Bilin, central West Bank, along with international and Israeli supporters protest the Israeli-built wall on villager’s lands.
Villagers Protest The Israeli Wall In Deir Istiya In Northern West Bank
IMEMC – Friday April 02, 2010 – 17:10, Local politicians joined the villagers of Deir Istiya in northern West Bank in their protest against the Israeli wall on Friday.
Dozens Treated For Tear Gas Inhalation At The Niln Anti Wall Protest
IMEMC – Friday April 02, 2010 – 17:04, Dozens for protesters were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation when Israeli troops attacked the anti wall protest in the village of Nilin central West Bank.
One Detained, Journalists Injured, Cars Damaged As Troops Attack Anti Wall Protest Near Bethlehem
IMEMC – Friday April 02, 2010 – 16:33, One international supporter detained by Israeli troops, three journalists were injured and cars damaged by military fire at the weekly anti wall protest at Al Massara village near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem.
For The First Time Since Three Years, Israel To Allow Construction Materials Into Gaza
IMEMC – Friday April 02, 2010 – 13:05, Israeli paper, Maariv, reported Friday that for the first time since the siege was imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip more than three years ago, the Israeli government decided to allow the entry of construction materials starting next week.
PCHR Weekly Report: 2 Palestinians killed, 18 wounded by Israeli forces this week
IMEMC – Friday April 02, 2010 – 12:37, In its Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory for the week of 25-31 March 2010, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) found that two Palestinian brothers were killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip. 18 Palestinians, including 3 children and a journalist, were wounded by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Three Children Wounded As Army Bombards Gaza
IMEMC – Friday April 02, 2010 – 12:27, The Israeli Army carried, and during late night hours and on Friday at dawn, a series of air strikes targeting a several areas in the Gaza Strip. Medical sources reported that three children aged eighteen months, 4 and 11, were wounded.
Israeli Court Decides Not To File Charges Against Soldier Who Killed Nonviolent Protestor in Bilin
IMEMC – Friday April 02, 2010 – 05:20, Despite a video clearly showing the death of Bassem Abu Rahma, who was shot in the chest by a gas bomb, an Israeli court decided Thursday that the killing that took place during a nonviolent protest against the Annexation Wall in Nilin near Ramallah, was not intentional.
Woman dead after struck by settler car
4/2/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – A 21-year-old was killed instantly Friday when a settler struck her with his car west of Ramallah, the latest in a rapid series of violent incidents. The woman, identified by relatives as Summar Saif Radwan, was killed on the road leading to Al-Lubban Al-Gharbi, sandwiched between Israel’s separation wall and the settlements of Ofarim and Bet Arye. The woman was pronounced dead at the hospital. Shortly before the woman was struck, settler groups near Nablus announced their intention to rally at the Huwwara military checkpoint, protesting what they described as “state neglect,” according to the Israeli press, following an attack on a settler the day before. The day saw two additional settlers injured by Palestinian rock-throwing, as village leaders in the north described at least two zones taken over by settlers marking Passover with outdoor celebrations.
Gaza: All crossings closed
4/3/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Commercial crossings into Gaza will close Friday and Saturday, Israeli officials told Palestinian liaison officers in the coastal enclave, representative Raed Fattouh said. Although the crossing was closed an extra day for Passover, several new items were permitted for transport while the total number of truckloads entering the area remained low. Calculations of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said a total of 612 truckloads of goods entered Gaza during the week of 21-27 March, below the average of 721 for March 2009, and about 22% of pre-siege levels. According to OCHA, 90% of the imported goods were food and hygiene items, while media reports highlighted the new provisions allowing clothing and shoes into the Strip via commercial crossings. During the week, imports of industrial fuel increased slightly over the week before, OCHA said, although. . .
Despite closures, anti-wall rallies continue
4/3/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – For the third week in a row, Palestinians, Israelis and internationals marched toward Israel’s separation wall in violation of military orders declaring the areas closed. In Al-Ma’asara, a foreign national protesting land confiscation was detained for attacking a soldier, the Israeli military said, while organizers reported three internationals detained. An army spokesman said the area was declared a temporary closed military zone, making the rally illegal. Witnesses said villagers tried to access their lands cut off by Israel’s wall and were met with tear-gas canisters and rubber-coated bullets. In Bil’in, where soldiers issued an order declaring the area a closed zone from March until August, dozens suffered the effects of tear-gas inhalation when Israeli forces fired tear-gas canisters at what a military spokesman said were 80 demonstrators.
Israeli rules on Easter access to Jerusalem unclear
4/2/2010 – Jerusalem – Ma’an – Rumors abound about whether or not Palestinian Christians from the West Bank will be able to access Jerusalem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre over Easter, as crossings into the city remain locked and a general closure prevails on the West Bank. Access restrictions will be implemented by several arms of the Israeli military, police and Border Police units, many of which overlap or cancel each other out. The Israeli military imposed a general closure on the West Bank on the start of Passover that will last until 7 April. According to a military spokesman, Palestinians issued permits for family visits and religious services will not be subjected to the general closure as of 1 April for a period of two weeks. The Ministry of Defense said 10,000 Palestinians in the West Bank and 500 Palestinians in Gaza were issued permits for the Easter holidays.
Settlers enter village lands north of Tulkarem
4/2/2010 – Tulkarem – Ma’an – The tiny village of Khirbet Hamam was closed off Friday as dozens of settlers gathered in the area, just east of Nazlat Isa to the north of the Tulkarem governorate. Locals said settlers from Hermesh and Mevo Dutan arrived in several large passenger vans and decamped in the area. Village officials said they performed what appeared to be religious ceremonies, but frightened residents when shots were fired in the air. Residents living a few hundred meters away from the gathering said the group formed a circle and started dancing, singing, and firing bullets into the air.”They have no regard for how this makes us feel,” one woman said. Two days earlier, villagers said, a group of settlers blocked the way from Khirbet Hamam to Nazlet Isa, locking them into the area. An Israeli military spokesman said he was unfamiliar with any event in the area, and noted that the military was not asked to secure any events near the village.
Egypt releases 17 Palestinians to Gaza
4/2/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Egyptian authorities on Friday released 17 Palestinians who were detained for sneaking into Egypt last week, officials said, including 12 boys who were questioned about tunnel locations, leading to at least three closures. The boys, and five others, were returned to Gaza via the Rafah crossing without charge. Following their detentions on Monday, Egyptian police found what they said were three weapons smuggling tunnels and detained two smugglers. On Thursday, Egyptian forces said they found a weapons cache containing hundreds of explosives. Separately, Egyptian security detained a Palestinian traveler who allegedly smuggled 12 grams of narcotics into Gaza via the Rafah crossing. . . . . Related:‘Dead’ Gaza boy returns home alive
Reports: Former US officials meet Hamas leaders
4/3/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Several high-profile former US officials, some with close ties to the Obama administration, met with leaders of Hamas in recent months, an American newspaper reported Friday. White House officials and participants in the talks have emphasized that the meetings were not sanctioned by Washington, nor has there been any change to US policy toward Hamas, The Wall Street Journal reported. The newspaper was apparently basing the report on a 23 February meeting in Doha, Qatar during which US foreign service officer Rachel Schneller appeared on a panel with Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan. Al-Jazeera blogger Clayton Swisher reported Friday that both officials sat down for a cup of tea at the Al-Jazeera Cente for Strategic Studies in a meeting that had the blessing of the US State Department. Related:U. S. Ex-Officials Engage With Hamas
More calls for Israel to lift secret gag order
4/3/2010 – New York – Ma’an – Another press freedom group has called on Israel to rescind a gag order preventing news media from reporting that a journalist, Anat Kam, 23, has been held under house arrest for almost four months. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Friday threw its support behind a group of Israeli journalists who on 12 April will challenge the secret ban in court, joining other free media advocates against censorship.”CPJ supports more transparency in this and any case when the facts are as nebulous as they are,” said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, who heads the New York-based group’s Middle East and North Africa program.”We’re happy to see an Israeli media organization challenging the gag order,” Abdel Dayem told Ma’an, applauding Israel’s Channel 10 television, which plans to approach the courts even sooner now that foreign news agencies and newspapers have reported the story.
Israeli judge criticizes Palm Sunday detentions
4/2/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – During a court appearance for the Palm Sunday detainees, released on bail Thursday, an Israeli military judge rebuked the country’s army for the detention of Palestinians engaged in a peaceful protest. Judge Dahan of the Ofer Military Court voiced his criticism of the actions taken by police and prosecution, saying in his decision that “There is no dispute that the march was not violent, and that no harm was done to anyone or to property, except for the force used by police officers during the arrests.” Activist Mohammed Khatib said of the ruling in a statement, “When referring to the repression of demonstrations, Israel always claims that it is the demonstrators’ so-called violence that compels the Army to use such measures. . . but today even their own judge, in what is most clearly the court of the Occupation, acknowledged that any protest, any form of resistance, is met with an iron fist.”
Dead Gaza boy returns home alive
4/2/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – A Palestinian teenager reportedly killed by Israeli forces has returned home alive and well, his family said Friday. The Health Ministry in Gaza reported Tuesday that Muhammad Zen Ismail Al-Farmawi, 15, was killed when Israeli forces opened fire on a Land Day rally near the defunct Yasser Arafat International Airport in Rafah. At the time, Israel’s military repeatedly denied involvement. It turns out Al-Farmawi was among 17 Palestinians detained by Egyptian forces shortly after the infiltrated the Egyptian side of Rafah via one of Gaza’s numerous underground smuggling tunnels. The detainees, among them 12 minors, were returned to security forces at the border on Friday. They had been questioned about tunnel locations, leading to at least three closures, Egyptian security sources said. Relatives expressed “overwhelming happiness” that their son was unharmed during the violence, our correspondent reported from Rafah. Related:Egypt releases 17 Palestinians to Gaza
Gaza police: Collaborator arrested
4/3/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – The general investigation unit of the the de facto police in central Gaza detained a suspected collaborator on Friday, saying the man provided information to Israel. During the course of their investigation, a police statement said, the man confessed and detailed the information he had passed along to Israel. According to the police statement, most of the information centered on the activities of resistance factions. The detention comes after a series of accusations launched between Hamas and Fatah’s Muhammad Dahlan, who initially accused the de facto government of detaining Al-Qassam Brigades fighters allegedly involved in the assault on Israeli forces entering Gaza that killed two soldiers and two fighters. Hamas officials had earlier been said to have cracked down on projectile launches and operations against Israeli incursions into Gaza, but maintained the rhetorical right of Palestinians to use violence in the face of occupation.
Corpse found week after Gaza clashes
4/3/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Palestinian medics found a body late Friday near the site of recent clashes along the Israeli border fence in southern Gaza. The corpse, discovered in Khuza’a, east of Khan Younis, was identified as Jihad Ei’tah Ad-Dughmah, 23, by medics at An-Nasser Hospital. Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades said the man was killed in clashes eight days earlier during which two Palestinians and two Israelis died. Last Sunday, Israeli forces discovered the body of Suleiman Abu Arafat, another Islamic Jihad-aligned fighter who was killed in the incident, which left two Israeli soldiers and 10 Palestinians injured. [end]
Israel: Gaza projectile lands near Ashkelon
4/2/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israel’s Army Radio reported Friday that Ashkelon police have not been able to locate the remnants of a projectile they said was fired from Gaza after the area’s Color Red siren was sounded. The Israeli news site Ynet said investigators announced the projectile was a “Qassam rocket. . . launched from the Gaza Strip.” There were no reports of damage or injury. The launch followed an overnight Israeli airstrike that injured three children when missiles struck a dairy factory in the north of the Gaza Strip. A second factory and police headquarters were also targeted, witnesses said. Medics said debris from the strikes damaged buildings, and flying shrapnel caused moderate injuries to three children aged one, four, and 11. . . . .
Egypt guard injured in clash at border
4/2/2010 – Al-Arish – Ma’an – An Egyptian guard was shot by a smuggler amid clashes along the Israel-Egypt border on Friday, security sources said. The officer was identified as Salameh Ibrahim, 22. He was hospitalized in Rafah with a bullet wound to the leg. Fierce clashes erupted after Egyptian forces discovered a group of African migrants approaching a fence at Israel’s border. Egyptian authorities were investigating the incident. [end]
Fayyad: Facts on ground to force state
4/3/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Prime Minister Salam Fayyad spoke confidently about the inevitability of a Palestinian state by 2011 on Friday, during an interview with Israel’s Haaretz newspaper. The August 2009 plan of the 13th government to establish institutions to support a Palestinian state “is our vision, and a reflection of our will to exercise our right to live in freedom and dignity in the country [where] we are born,” Fayyad told the daily.”If for one reason or another, by August 2011 [the plan] will have failed. . . I believe we will have amassed such credit, in form of positive facts on the ground, that the reality is bound to force itself on the political process to produce the outcome,” he continued.” I envision that we will be so mature in terms of positive facts on the ground, and along the way have grown on our Israeli neighbors, we will have begun a process of transformation from a concept, to a possibility, to a reality.”
Haniyeh seeks to preserve consensus in Gaza
4/2/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Unity efforts in the Gaza Strip were initiated under de facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, he said Friday. Factions within Gaza were contacted by Hamas government leaders in what Haniyeh called efforts to preserve consensus inside Strip and form a single position against what he called the recent Israeli escalations against Gaza residents. Maintaining their stance in support of resistance, Hamas officials last week denounced factions’ launch of projectiles at Israeli targets in response to continued Israeli airstrikes and incursions, saying Gaza would “not be drawn into a cycle of violence.” Officials accused Israel of using Gaza as a way to draw attention from the continued construction of settlement homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. . . . .
U.S.: Military action will not solve Mideast conflict
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – France, U.K. condemn Israeli strike on Gaza amid rising tensions over recent bout of violence.
IDF trying to boost China ties ahead of Iran sanctions vote
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – IDF to present the Chinese with Israel’s view on Iran’s drive toward nuclear military capability.
Shin Bet: Terror-related attacks on the rise in March
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Report notes 125 attacks as opposed to 53 in February, while Gaza and Jerusalem see most drastic rise.
Hamas footage hints at extent of group’s role in Gaza clashes
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Video shows part of last week’s Gaza border clash, in which two Golani Brigade soldiers were killed.
Palestinians: IDF drops leaflets over Gaza warning of imminent attack
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Army denies ‘wait for response tomorrow’ notices; navy fires at Gaza fishing boat in off-limits waters.
Hezbollah: Israel planning to destroy Al-Aqsa mosque
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Syrian President Assad and Lebanese Druze leader meet after 5-year feud, discuss ‘importance of resistance against Israel.’
Egypt discovers massive arms cache destined for Gaza
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Security forces find 100 anti-aircraft missiles, 40 RPGs and 40 others explosive devices in Sinai depot.
IDF won’t investigate death of Bil’in activist from tear gas grenade
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – A year after activist Bassem Abu Rahmeh was killed by the IDF, the military prosecution decided not investigate his death.
Hamas releases footage of ‘Gaza clashes’
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Military wing of Hamas shows documentation of incident wherein two IDF soldiers were killed.
IDF soldier laid to rest after killed by friendly fire
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – IDF St.-Sgt. Gabriel Cepic was killed by friendly fire near Kissufim during pursuit of infiltrators.
Israeli troops shoot dead Palestinian boy in West Bank
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Sixteen-year-old killed by IDF rifle fire during violent protest outside Nablus, medics say.
IDF denies killing Palestinian teen on Gaza border
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Army rebuffs Palestinian media claims that it killed 15-year-old as he tried to enter Israel.
IAF conducts first missile-defense system test
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Just how well will the air force’s multi-layered technology protect Israel from rocket attacks?
Barak: Hamas will pay for shaking equilibrium on Gaza border
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 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 2 Apr 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 2 Apr 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 2 Apr 2010 – Hamas is satisfied with media coverage of the recent Gaza clashes, but it still isn’t interested in inciting war.
Amos Harel / Israel’s border with Egypt is like the Wild West
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 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 2 Apr 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 2 Apr 2010 – Security forces injure five and detain three African migrants who tried infiltrating the Egyptian border into Israel.
Behind the SunRobbed Freedom and Absence Rights: The reality of Palestinian detainees in the Israeli occupation jails
Uruknet April 2, 2010 – Candles down the road, burning candles, living martyrs, the forgotten and prisoners of freedom, all are names Palestinian people call prisoners with; theses names reflect part of the bitter reality of those prisoners behind Israeli bars. In theory, it is somewhat true that in 2009 there was not direct mortality among the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli…
Mohammad Bakri in intensive care! Please send him your love and affection!!
Uruknet April 2, 2010 – Dear Friends and supporters: We received news that the great Palestinian filmmaker Mohammad Bakri was transferred to the Rambam hospital in Haifa last night, after he suffered a severe heart attack on 31 March 2010, and was admitted immediately to the emergency department at the Rambam Health Care Hospital in Haifal for immediate treatment, where his…
Journalist on the run from Israel is hiding in Britain’Haaretz’ writer fled to London fearing charges over expos on Palestinian’s killing
Uruknet April 2 2010 – An Israeli journalist is in hiding in Britain, The Independent can reveal, over fears that he may face charges in the Jewish state in connection with his investigation into the killing of a Palestinian in the West Bank. Uri Blau, a reporter at Israel’s liberal newspaper, Haaretz, left town three months ago for Asia and is…
Israeli Court Decides Not To File Charges Against Soldier Who Killed Nonviolent Protestor in Bilin
Uruknet April 2, 2010 – Despite a video clearly showing the death of Bassem Abu Rahma, who was shot in the chest by a gas bomb, an Israeli court decided Thursday that the killing that took place during a nonviolent protest against the Annexation Wall in Nilin near Ramallah, was not intentional. The brother of Abu Rahma slammed the decision and…
Israel threatens new Gaza offensive
Uruknet April 2, 2010 – Israel has warned that it could launch a fresh military assault on the Gaza Strip if Hamas does not stop rocket and mortar attacks from its territory. The threat on Friday came just hours after a series of air raids across Gaza, which Israel said were in response to rocket fire the previous day, injured at…
Three Children Wounded As Israeli Army Bombards Gaza
Uruknet April 2, 2010 – The Israeli Army carried, and during late night hours and on Friday at dawn, a series of air strikes targeting a several areas in the Gaza Strip. Medical sources reported that three children aged eighteen months, 4 and 11, were wounded. Medical sources reported that three children were mildly wounded when the army bombed “Dalloul Milk…
Settler violence heats up; young Palestinian woman killed
Uruknet April 2, 2010 – A 21-year-old was killed instantly when a settler struck her with his car west of Ramallah on Friday, the latest in a rapid series of incidents marking a rise in settler violence. The woman, identified by relatives as Summar Saif Radwan, was killed on the road leading to Al-Lubban Al-Gharbi, sandwiched between Israel’s separation wall and…
Israel And Apartheid: By People Who Knew Apartheid
Uruknet April 1, 2010 – 1. Andr Brink, one of South Africa’s leading authors, whose opposition to the apartheid regime resulted in his novels becoming the first books in Afrikaans to be banned by the government. This extract is from his memoir, A Fork In The Road.
Holy Fire At “300” Checkpoint
Uruknet April 1, 2010 – Following the call of Orthodox organisations in Palestine, Palestinian Christians tried to celebrate the Holy Fire last Saturday in Jerusalem by crossing the ‘300 checkpoint (separating Bethlehem from Jerusalem). More than 150 demonstrators joined the rally, asking for freedom of religion and movement and protesting against the restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities. As the protesters approached…
US Recants Claims on “High-Value” Detainee Abu Zubaydah
Uruknet April 1, 2010 – The Justice Department has quietly recanted nearly every major claim the Bush administration made about Abu Zubaydah, the alleged al-Qaeda leader who was the first suspected terrorist subjected to the torture of waterboarding and other White House-approved “enhanced interrogation techniques.” In a federal court filing, Justice backed away from the Bush administrations statements that Zubaydah had…
Settler Violence Report, January-February 2010
Uruknet April 1, 2010 – … On 26 January, approximately fifteen settlers from the settlement of Maon and the outpost of Havat Maon invaded the village of At-Tuwani, south-west of Hebron, and attacked Palestinians. According to the statement released by the associations Operation Dove and Christian Peacemaker Teams, the settlers were accompanied by Israeli soldiers in three army jeeps and the settlement…
An Iranian socialist replies to Yoshie Furuhashi
Uruknet April 1, 2010 – …Yoshie says “What they care about is their republic.” Whose republic? The Iranian governments republic? To save the republic from the citizens of Iran? Is that why many people, such as worker activists, housewives and journalists, are imprisoned to save the republic for the elite? Which kind of republic belongs to the ruling elite and…
Christian celebrations take place in the West Bank
Jerusalem, April 2 nd , (Pal Telegraph) The Orthodox Church celebrated on Thursday the “Great Holy Thursday”, There are special characteristic rituals that the Church of Jerusalem carry on this holy day. As His Beatitude the Patriarch of the Holy City, Theophilos III Servicing Mass of St. Basil the Great in St. Jacob cathedral adjacent to the courtyard of Al-Qeyameh Holy…
IOF threatens to esculate raids on Gaza
Gaza, April 2 nd , (Pal Telegraph) Over a week passed on the killing of two Israeli soldiers and wounding at least 4 others in clashes with Palestinian resistance in Khan Younis, northern Gaza. The First Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom warned that the continued firing of rockets and local missiles from the Gaza Strip on Israeli towns bordering with Gaza,…
Abbas Zaki is released
Ramallah, April 2 nd , (Pal Telegraph) The member of the Central Committee of Fatah, Abbas Zaki, assured that the Popular Resistance approved by the movement in its sixth conference will continue, although the policy of Israeli detention did not sway us to participate in the demonstrations. He said in a press conference held by the province in Ramallah after being…
Jewish extremists take over Al-Aqsa gates
Jerusalem, April 2 nd , (Pal Telegraph) The active Jewish settlement societies active Doubled their efforts in the acquisition of Jerusalemites real estates in the old town and Silwan, and the districts of Sheikh Jarrah, Ras al-Amud, Mount of Olives and have done in the past two days media and advertising propaganda campaigns in support of Jewish settlement in the heart…
Settlers occupying a land in Nablus
West Bank, April 1 st , (Pal Telegraph) The chairman of a village council in Deir al-Hatab, Abdul Karim Hussein, reported today, that dozens of settlers from “Alon Moreh” settlement put a number of caravans and mobile homes in addition to tents and water tanks near a water well that is not far more than 500 meters from the village of…
Hamas dismisses Israel’s threat of another Gaza invasion
The National 2 Apr 2010 – Officials ignore warning by senior Israeli minister of ‘another major military operation’ as half a dozen targets around the Gaza strip come under attack.
Christians around the world mark Good Friday
The National 2 Apr 2010 – Thousands of Christian pilgrims gather in Jerusalem while dozens of devout Filipinos are nailed to crosses to mark Good Friday.
Iran talks to China over nuclear dispute
The National 2 Apr 2010 – Tehran’s top nuclear negotiator meets officials in Beijing as US reports say China has dropped its opposition to new UN sanctions against Iran’s nuclear programme.
When will Israeli crackdown on Haaretz make the news?
Palestine Note 2 Apr 2010 – The Washington Post is covering the house arrest of former IDF soldier Anat Kam, for allegedly passing classified documents to Haaretz regarding assassinations of Palestinian militants in the West Bank. The Independent relates Kam’s arrest to…
Brilliant Krauthammer: Defends Israel without mentioning It
Palestine Note 2 Apr 2010 – As I have written in the past, Charles Krauthammer only cares about one issue: Israel. Every single one of his political views (including his shift from Mondale Democrat to right-wing Republican) is motivated by his desire…
Israeli forces in action good Friday: Friend arrested, car windshield smashed…
Palestine Note 2 Apr 2010 – They finally released our 10 friends yesterday from Israeli jails on bail pending “trial”. Those kidnapped from the peaceful march in Bethlehem area on Palm Sunday attended a press conference in Ramallah and passed by Beit…
The crisis of Jewish democracy
Palestine Note 2 Apr 2010 – The masks are off, and the reality of the Israel-Palestine conflict is becoming apparent for all to see. This is not, in fact, a conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Arabs. It is a conflict…
What do American Jews think about Obama?
Palestine Note 2 Apr 2010 – Ed Koch was mayor of New York City (elected in 1973) and, although long retired, his words still get picked up, especially when they are incendiary. Otherwise, I would not even bother addressing his recent column….
ISRAEL THREATENS NEW GAZA OFFENSIVE
Palestine Note 2 Apr 2010 – AFTER OVERNIGHT AIR STRIKES, GAZA RETURNS ROCKET FIRE, HANIYEH CALLS FOR INTERVENTION Early Friday morning, the Israeli airforce launched a missile assault on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for Qassam rocket attacks in past weeks. Israel…
Lebanon Prepares for Summer Tourist Invasion
The Media Line 31 Mar 2010 – Years after the war with Israel, the ‘Switzerland of the Middle East’ makes a major bounce back. Lebanon’s tourism industry saw a major rebound in 2009, the World Tourism Organization announced this week.The tourism monitoring group…
Hamas Set to Carry Out Executions
The Media Line 31 Mar 2010 – Rights groups call on the de facto Gaza government to halt the announced hangings. A number of Palestinian and international human rights groups have called on Hamas not to go through with over a dozen executions…
Another European Fund Divests from Israel
The Media Line 1 Apr 2010 – Sweden’s largest pension funds have elected to remove Israeli defense electronics company Elbit Systems from its investment portfolios over its involvement in the construction and operation of the Israeli separation barrier erected around the West Bank….
Israeli air raids wound children
AlJazeera 2 Apr 2010 – Israel threatens more attacks following overnight air raids on Gaza Strip.
Alternative Information Center
Open Letter to German Left Party (Die Linke)
Alternative Information Center – Thursday, 01 April 2010, Dear Friends, This letter is being sent to you by citizens of the state of Israel who are active in various Left groups and on a variety of topics throughout Israel and…
Fourth International Political Field Seminar
Alternative Information Center – Wednesday, 31 March 2010, Fourth International Political Field Seminar Bridges Instead of Walls! 9th May 2010 – 15th May 2010 Organized by the Alternative Information Center Introduction In an increasingly globalized world, it is often the…
Israel’s Inclusion in Economic Organization a Threat to Democracy
Alternative Information Center – Sunday, 28 March 2010, Membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which includes 30 of the world’s most developed countries, does not provide money or any special economic benefits. Yet it is easy…
Palestine Network Founder Dr. Saad Saad Completes 5 Volunteer Surgeries in Jerusalem
PNN – Thursday, 01 April 2010
Palestinians: IDF drops leaflets over Gaza warning of imminent attack
PNN – Thursday, 01 April 2010
Swedish fashion chain H&M under pressure
PNN – Thursday, 01 April 2010
Britains Arab apologists
Jeruslalem Post 3 Apr 2010 – It’s almost as if Israel is too much like the UK to appeal to exotica seekers.
Obama vows to up Iran pressure
Jeruslalem Post 2 Apr 2010 – US president maintains Teheran has become further isolated since he took office.
Pressure via sanctions ‘ineffective’
Jeruslalem Post 2 Apr 2010 – In Beijing, Iran’s nuclear envoy says Iran, China want return to negotiations.
IDF quells W. Bank, J’lem riots
Jeruslalem Post 2 Apr 2010 – Several protesters arrested; military denies rioters claim that it used live ammo.
IDF quells several riots in W. Bank, J’lem
Jeruslalem Post 2 Apr 2010 – Several protesters arrested; military denies rioters claim that it used live ammo.
‘Kassam attack’ apparently a false alarm
Jeruslalem Post 2 Apr 2010 – IAF bombs four Gaza targets after rocket lands near Ashkelon Thursday.
Editorial: Rebuilding relations
Jeruslalem Post 2 Apr 2010 – Israel must enable Washington to discover nature of Palestinian rejectionism.
Normalization with Israel? Not here
Jeruslalem Post 2 Apr 2010 – Why trade unions in only 2 Arab countries with peace deals with Israel are spearheading campaigns against normalization.
Israel fears new wave of Hamas attacks
Jeruslalem Post 1 Apr 2010 – Massive arms cache, including 100 anti-aircraft missiles, discovered in Sinai As Kassam lands in Negev, Russia urges Islamists to put a stop to rocket fire
Villagers of Bilin Break Military Closure for Third Week
WAFA 2 Apr 2010 – RAMALLAH, April 2, 2010 (WAFA)- The weekly protest in Bilin this week headed out after the Friday prayer to protest the wall and settlements, despite military orders three weeks ago declaring the
PCHR Concludes Human Rights Training Course in Gaza
WAFA 2 Apr 2010 – GAZA, April 2, 2010 (WAFA)- The Training Unit in the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) concluded Thursday a training course in the field of human rights and gender issues, which was
OCHA: Reduced Tensions in East Jerusalem; 11 Palestinian Injuries
WAFA 2 Apr 2010 – JERUSALEM, April 2, 2010 (WAFA)- Following several weeks of demonstrations and intense clashes in and around the Old City of Jerusalem, the situation calmed this week, leading to a significant
MSD: Demolitions in Jerusalem Increased to 110: 102 Housing Units
WAFA 2 Apr 2010 – JERUSALEM, April 1, (WAFA)- Al-Maqdese for Society Development (MSD) said that Israeli demolition operations in East Jerusalem in 2009 increased to 110: 102 housing units (located in 85
Palestinian Journalists Repeatedly Targeted by Israeli Army Gunfire during March
WAFA 2 Apr 2010 – PARIS, April 1, 2010 (WAFA)- Reporters Without Borders deplores the frequency of press freedom violations by the Israeli army, which routinely fire on Palestinian journalists. At least eight
Occupation Isnt Beautiful: Activists Demonstrate for Stocking AHAVA
WAFA 2 Apr 2010 – NEW YORK, April 1, 2010 (WAFA)- Over two-dozen Palestine solidarity activists demonstrated outside of two Rickys NYC cosmetics stores in Manhattan, yesterday evening. Activists called on the store
Israeli Soldiers Ransack Palestinian Homes in Tuba village
WAFA 2 Apr 2010 – HEBRON, March 31, 2010 (WAFA)- Israeli Special Police Forces entered the Palestinian village of Tuba, in South Hebron Hills immediately east of Ma’on settlement, and destroyed household
Solution for Israel in New Government, Researchers Say
WAFA 2 Apr 2010 – RAMALLAH, March31, 2010(WAFA)- Researchers and academics participating in a workshop that the political situation faces an impasse that can be surpassed by a new government instead of the
LEBANON: ‘Roumieh Prison Breeds Criminality Not Reform’
IPS BEIRUT, Apr 1 (IPS) – Lebanons notorious Roumieh prison, the scene of a stand-off between inmates and security personnel this month, is no stranger to rioting, escapes, corruption and abuse.
EGYPT: Death Sentences Rise With Poverty
IPS CAIRO, Mar 31 (IPS) – Egyptian courts are handing down death sentences with “alarming frequency” as the state attempts to use capital punishment to stem rising crime rates.
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (25-31 March 2010)
PCHR 31 Mar 2010 – Hisham al-Dgahma’s house, which was demolished by Israeli military bulldozers during an incursion into ‘Abassan village, east of Khan Yunis, 26 March 2010 Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)….
PCHR Concludes a Human Rights Training Course in Gaza
PCHR 31 Mar 2010 – Ref: 37/2010 PCHR Concludes a Human Rights Training Course in Gaza On Thursday, 01 April 2010, the Training Unit in the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) concluded a training course in the field of human rights and gender issues, which was organized in cooperation with the Fares al-Arab Society in Gaza City. The 20-hour….
International Solidarity Movement
Two arrested in Al Maasara
4/3/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – 2nd April – Demonstrators gathered today in Al Masara, near Bethlehem, in commemoration of Land Day, marking the anniversary of mass confiscation of Palestinian land in 1976. Palestinians, Israelis and internationals marched peacefully towards the village’s land. However, Israeli military, police and border police blocked the road with barbed wire, at which point the demonstrators stopped and began chanting resistance anthems. Speeches were given by representatives of the non-violent popular struggle committee. The soldiers then announced that the area had been declared a Closed Military Zone (CMZ), removed the barbed wire and moved on foot and in jeeps towards the protesters, throwing percussion grenades and tear gas canisters directly at them. Two protesters were arrested after asking to see a copy of the CMZ order.
Obama: Evidence shows Iran is developing nukes
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – U.S. president says intends to up pressure against Iran’s potentially destabilizing nuclear program.
Despite Obama’s sanctions, Ahmadinejad can keep smiling
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Without U.S. permission to attack Iran, Israel will also have to get used to the notion of a nuclear Iran.
Vatican preacher compares attacks on pope to anti-Semitism
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Father Cantalamessa at Good Friday service: Shifting personal guilt to a collective guilt reminds me of anti-Semitism.
Palestinian PM to Haaretz: We will have a state next year
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Fayyad hopes Israel will celebrate Palestinians’ sovereignty, accuses Netanyahu of succumbing to settlers.
Who will a Palestinian boycott of settler economy really hurt?
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – PA has been burning settlement-made goods, and now there’s a proposal to ban Palestinians workers.
Qassam hits Israel after Russia urges Hamas to stop rocket fire
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Russia to Hamas: Rocket fire against Israel must stop; Meshal: Hamas wants to maintain Gaza calm.
Israeli who trained Colombia guerillas wins appeal against extradition
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Yair Klein was tried in absentia in 2001 for training ‘death squads’ linked to drug trafficking.
Diplomats: Western powers to begin drafting Iran sanctions next week
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Iran nuclear negotiator meets Beijing officials; China says it prefers peaceful diplomacy to nuclear row.
U.S. Sen. Kerry: Syria is committed to peace
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Kerry adds, however, that Washington is concerned about weapons flowing to Hezbollah.
New evidence emerges on fate of Raoul Wallenberg after WWII
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – The fate of Wallenberg, who saved thousands of Jews, has remained one of the great mysteries of WWII.
Shin Bet arrests Israeli Arab who threw explosives at Jewish towns
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Kabat Jabarin, 31, told investigators that he carried out attacks after Temple Mount clashes.
Fighting Iranian fire with fire
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Study by top U.S. strategic expert examines military options for dealing with Iran’s nuclear program.
Kusturica to set new film in Israel and West Bank
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Director’s new film is a comedy about two Palestinian brothers trying to smuggle their father’s body from Jerusalem to Ramallah.
Four cups of wine not on menu for Mormon seder in Utah
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Israelites who migrated to the New World were the ancestors of American Indians, according to the Book of Mormon.
A nuclear Iran / How far will the world go?
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Six powers agree on new sanctions; sources in Jerusalem: U.S., EU secretly preparing for nuclear Iran.
Israeli journalist Anat Kam under secret house arrest since December
The Guardian 2 Apr 2010 – Woman faces treason trial after allegedly leaking documents that suggest military breached court order on West Bank assassinations An Israeli journalist has been under secret house arrest since December on charges that she leaked highly sensitive,…
Britain calls for peace as violence escalates in Gaza
The Guardian 2 Apr 2010 – Three children injured in Israeli air strikes after Palestinian militants step up rocket attacks Israeli jets and helicopters have attacked Gaza, injuring three children and hitting what the Israeli military said were weapons manufacturing and storage…
Thousands of pilgrims converge on Jerusalem to mark Good Friday
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – The cobblestone alleyways of Jerusalem’s Old City became moving forests of wooden crosses as Christian pilgrims and clergymen commemorated the day of Jesus’ crucifixion, Good Friday. …
Petah Tikva man suspected of kidnapping, raping 16-year-old girl
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – A Petah Tikva man was arrested on Wednesday over allegations he had kidnapped and raped a teenage girl, police allowed for release on Friday. …
Israel deports three Swedish activists with Palestinian roots
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – Israeli authorities on Thursday deported three Swedish citizens who arrived in the country earlier that day in a delegation of seven young people with Jewish and Palestinian roots. …
IDF soldier confesses to series of arsons in Holon
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – An Israel Defense Forces soldier was arrested on Thursday after he confessed to a series of arsons in Holon. …
Jerusalem police step up safety measures ahead of Easter
Ha’aretz 2 Apr 2010 – With the calendars of Eastern and Western Rite churches aligning this year, Christians the world over will celebrate Easter Sunday this week. Ahead of the holiday, churches will hold Good Friday services to mark Jesus’ crucifixion and burial. …
US: No military solution to conflict
YNet News 2 Apr 2010 – US says Israel has right to self-defense, but stresses that talks are only solution to Mideastern conflict; State Department spokesman urges sides to embark on proximity talks, ‘focus on substance’
Violent day in West Bank
YNet News 2 Apr 2010 – Several clashes reported across Judea, Samaria Friday: Some protestors reportedly hurt by IDF forces during violent rallies; US national detained by troops; elsewhere, Israeli female sustains light wounds in stoning attack
Obama: Iran aims to acquire nukes
YNet News 2 Apr 2010 – US president tells CBS television all evidence indicates that Tehran aiming to acquire nuclear capabilities; Obama adds he plans to ‘ratchet up pressure’ on Iran with help of ‘unified international community’
Britain concerned over Gaza escalation
YNet News 2 Apr 2010 – Sky News reports British Foreign Office expresses concern over IDF’s attacks in Gaza Strip, calls up actors in region to show restraint
Ex-US diplomats meet with Hamas officials
YNet News 2 Apr 2010 – Former high-profile US diplomats meet with Hamas officials in meetings not sanctioned by American government. Administration confirms it is updated as to content of meetings, but emphasizes no change in policy towards Hamas. Hamas: Message reaching its target. US: It would be negligent not to listen
Iran envoy says China agrees sanctions ineffective
YNet News 2 Apr 2010 – After meeting with Chinese officials, Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili says, ‘In our talks with China, it was agreed that tools such as sanctions have lost their effectiveness’. Asked if China backs sanctions on Iran over nuclear program, he says, ‘It’s up to China to answer that’
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. [
Nabi Saleh: collective punishment targets entire neighbourhoods
Stop The Wall – The residents of Nabi Saleh confirmed that the occupation forces deliberately launched stun grenades inside the homes to intimidate the population. In fact, the occupation forces are constantly striving to create conflict between the people in order to weaken the popular resistance from the inside. [
Israel warns of new Gaza assault after air strikes
Daily Star 2 Apr 2010 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel on Friday threatened wide-scale military action against the Gaza Strip after launching a string of air strikes in response to rocket fire from the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave. Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom warned of a new offensive on the coastal territory unless the attacks were halted. “If this rocket
Obama urges Chinese president to help pressure Iran
Daily Star 2 Apr 2010 BEIJING/WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama urged his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao to help ratchet up pressure on Iran over its nuclear activities, but Hu did not openly commit to new sanctions on Tehran, according to official reports on Friday.Obama and Hu discussed the growing international push to curb Iran’s nuclear plans
Palestinian premier sees statehood by August 2011
Daily Star 2 Apr 2010 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad predicts a Palestinian state will be established by August 2011 through “positive facts on the ground,” in an interview published on Friday in an Israeli newspaper.”The birth of a Palestinian state will be celebrated as a day of joy by the entire community of nations,” Fayyad told the Haaretz daily.
ElBaradei takes reform campaign to Egypt’s Nile Delta
Daily Star 2 Apr 2010 MANSURA, Egypt: Hundreds of Egyptians cheered former UN atomic watchdog chief Mohammad ElBaradei Friday as he took his political reform campaign to the streets of the Nile Delta town of Mansura.”Oh, ElBaradei – Egypt wants democracy!” and “There are thousands of alternatives in Egypt, ElBaradei is proof,” chanted supporters of
Desertification ‘spreading like cancer’ in Middle East, Egypt conference told
Daily Star 2 Apr 2010 ALEXANDRIA, Egypt: The desert is making a comeback in the Middle East, with fertile lands turning into barren wastes that could further destabilize the region, experts said at a water conference on Thursday.”Desertification spreads like cancer, it can’t be noticed immediately,” said Wadid Erian, a soil expert with the Arab League, at a conference on Thursday
Christian pilgrims flock to holy city for Good Friday
Daily Star 2 Apr 2010 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Thousands of Christian pilgrims from around the world thronged the narrow cobblestone alleys of Jerusalem’s Old City to pray along the route tradition holds Jesus took to his crucifixion on Good Friday.”For me this is a very special visit, this is the first time for me here,” said Andrea Schroetter, a pilgrim from Germany.
Sfeir urges Lebanese to embrace their country, president
Daily Star 2 Apr 2010 BEIRUT: Lebanese Christians across the country marked the religious Good Friday holiday with morning masses. Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir led prayers in the outer courtyard of the Patriarchate’s residence in Bkirki, along with Bishop Roland Abou Jawdeh, Bishop Samir Mazloum and several other religious figures. The Good Friday ceremony,
Cash transfers up 9 percent to $721m in first half of 2009
Daily Star 2 Apr 2010 BEIRUT: Cash electronic transactions to and from Lebanon totaled $721 million in the first half of 2009, constituting an increase of 9.2 percent from $660.2 million in the same period of the previous year, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group. A total of $482 million were transferred electronically to Lebanon in the first half of 2009
How do we make Israel understand?
Daily Star 2 Apr 2010 It does not happen to us often, but we are at a loss for words. What can we say to Israel, which is threatening yet another war on Gaza and appears ready to pres on yet again with its policy of folly?It nearly leaves us speechless: This massive military power – the largest in the region and one of the 10 greatest armies in the world – is unable to keep a lid
Victims of Israeli cluster bombs await prosthetics as funds dry up
Daily Star 2 Apr 2010 TYRE: Nearly four years after Israel littered southern Lebanon with mines during its devastating war on the country, teenager Mohammad al-Hajj Mussa can barely bring himself to speak of the day he lost his legs. On August 11, 2006, the lean, dark-haired boy was riding behind his father on a motorbike to deliver food to a nearby town badly hit
Free trade beats out free Egyptians
Daily Star 2 Apr 2010 After the imprisonment of Egyptian opposition leader Ayman Nour in 2005, the Bush administration suspended plans for free-trade agreements with Egypt. The Obama administration has now effectively reversed this policy just ahead of Egypt’s May parliamentary elections. During a March 21-23 visit to Egypt, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said
Tribunal preparing for trial within a year
Daily Star 2 Apr 2010 Editor’s note: The following are excerpts of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s annual report, which was released Saturday. The Daily Star is publishing excerpts of the report until Wednesday.PART II – MAIN ACTIVITIES OF THE TRIBUNAL BETWEEN MARCH 2009 AND FEBRUARY 2010 A. Chambers 1. Introduction 95. The Tribunal’s Chambers are
Palestinian Information Center
Haneyya callas on the international community to bridle Israeli escalation
PIC 2 Apr 2010 – Ismail Haneyya, the Palestinian Prime Minster, called on the international community to intervene to stop the Israeli escalation against the Gaza Strip..
A settler runs over and kills a woman to the north of Ramallah
PIC 2 Apr 2010 – Sources in the village of Allebban to the north of the southern West Bank city of Ramallah the 21-year-old Samar Radwan died as a result of being run over by a settler.
Occupation ill-treats captives in Hadarim jail and close the library
PIC 2 Apr 2010 – Palestinian captives at Hadarim prison said that the prison’s administration continues to breach their rights on the pretext that the captives there initiated the strikes..
New Israeli plan to build another synagogue near the Aqsa Mosque exposed
PIC 2 Apr 2010 – Palestinian rights sources have exposed Thursday a new Israeli plan to build a synagogue near the Aqsa Mosque similar to the Hurva synagogue with the aim to impose facts on the ground..
3 Palestinian children wounded in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza
PIC 2 Apr 2010 – Israeli occupation airforce carried out a number of airstrikes on different areas of the Gaza Strip after midnight Thursday night wounding three Palestinian children between..
Badie calls for halt of negotiations; more support for resistance
PIC 2 Apr 2010 – Dr. Mohammed Badie, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, has called on Arab leaders to halt all direct and indirect negotiations with the Zionist enemy..
Palestinians support anti-normalization activists in Egypt
PIC 2 Apr 2010 – The Palestinian Media Federation (PMF) has hailed the stand of Egyptian Journalist Syndicate (PJS) that publicly rejected normalization with the Zionist entity..
Occupation police raid two cultural centres and assault staff in Silwan
PIC 2 Apr 2010 – Israeli occupation police raided on Thursday evening the Wadi Hilwa Information Centre and the Mada Centre for Creativity, in the Wadi Hilwa neighbourhood of Silwan village near the Aqsa Mosque
Thousands of Zionists hold rally at the Ibrahimi Mosque
PIC 2 Apr 2010 – More than 10,000 Zionist settlers gathered on Thursday evening at the Ibrahimi Mosque in al-Khalil to celebrate the inclusion of the Mosque onto the list of Jewish heritage sites in Palestine.
Jewish settlers occupy a water spring in Nablus
PIC 2 Apr 2010 – A group of extremist Jewish settlers occupied on Thursday a water spring near Nablus and setup a number of caravans around it in an attempt to create a new settlement, according to local sources.
Christians converge on Jerusalem for Good Friday
LA Times 2 Apr 2010 – The cobblestone alleyways of Jerusalem’s Old City became moving forests of wooden crosses as Christian pilgrims and clergymen commemorated the day of Jesus’ crucifixion, Good Friday.
Two Iranian teens, two reactions to their father’s jailing
LA Times 1 Apr 2010 – Prominent economist Saeed Laylaz was taken to notorious Evin Prison amid last year’s postelection unrest. Now his son believes speaking out is futile, and his daughter can’t imagine doing otherwise. ‘Daddy, don’t you confess!” she implored over the phone, the outburst of an impulsive teen.
Israel Mounts Air Attacks in Gaza
New York Times 2 Apr 2010 – The attacks on Friday, which Israel said were in response to rocket fire, caused no injuries but damaged buildings.
World Briefing | Middle East: Gaza: Hamas Presses for Calm
New York Times 2 Apr 2010 – Leaders of Hamas indicated Friday that they were trying to keep attacks on Israel in check, in what appeared to be an effort to keep recent acts of violence from spiraling into open conflict.
Senator Kerry Urges Syria to Re-engage With U.S.
New York Times 1 Apr 2010 – The meeting is an indication that the United States is moving to re-engage with Syria as the Obama administration works to resuscitate Middle East peace talks.
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…
Rajmohan Gandhi Visiting the West Bank
Palestine Monitor – 2 Apr 2010 – The Palestinian National Initiative cordially invite you to participate in the visit of Mr. Rajmohan Gandhi, the grandson of the notable Indian leader and peace activist Mahatma Gandhi. Mr. Rajmohan Gandhi will be travelling to the Palestinian Territories on April 4, 2010. The grandson of the…
Meetings To Decide Further Industrial Action In West Bank Education Sector
Palestine Monitor – 2 Apr 2010 – The decision on whether to restart university strikes in the West Bank will be re-evaluated after a meeting on Friday, according to Dr Amjad Barham, head of the council of the Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees. The council association will meet to…
When will Israeli crackdown on Haaretz make the news?
Mondoweiss – 2 Apr 2010 – The Washington Post is covering the house arrest of former IDF soldier Anat Kam, for allegedly passing classified documents to Haaretz regarding assassinations of Palestinian militants in the West Bank. The Independent relates Kams arrest to the flight of Uri Blau, a Haaretz reporter, to London….
Damned as anti-Semite, Geo Marshall predicted that Israel would become US tarbaby
Mondoweiss – 2 Apr 2010 – Mark Perry is doing great work. The man who broke the Petraeus story now publishes “Petraeus wasnt the first,” in which he defends the reputation of former Army chief of staff and Secy of State George Marshall, who warned that Partition would create endless trouble for…
Land Day Commemorations in France in Support of BDS
Alternative Information Center – 2 Apr 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,…
Biliin as an Allegory: The Party is Over, Declares Netanyahu
Alternative Information Center – 2 Apr 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…
Israel’s Inclusion in Economic Organization a Threat to Democracy
Alternative Information Center – 2 Apr 2010 – Sunday, 28 March 2010, Membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which includes 30 of the world’s most developed countries, does not provide money or any special economic benefits. Yet it is easy to see why the Israeli government attributes great importance to…
Fourth International Political Field Seminar
Alternative Information Center – 2 Apr 2010 – Wednesday, 31 March 2010, Fourth International Political Field Seminar Bridges Instead of Walls! 9th May 2010 – 15th May 2010 Organized by the Alternative Information Center Introduction In an increasingly globalized world, it is often the case that quantity of information is privileged over quality. We…
Open Letter to German Left Party (Die Linke)
Alternative Information Center – 2 Apr 2010 – Thursday, 01 April 2010, Dear Friends, This letter is being sent to you by citizens of the state of Israel who are active in various Left groups and on a variety of topics throughout Israel and Palestine, including human rights, ecology, peace, support for refugees, social…
Articles
The Lobby v. America
Ramzy Baroud, CounterPunch 4/2/2010
Netanyahus Lies and the Politicians Who Swallow Them
As I listened to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu address an animated crowed of supporters on March 22, I felt physically sick. The man has already displayed time and again a complete lack of moral sense or ethical framework in his words and actions. In his recent arguments, he once again twisted history, manipulated facts and fabricated his own selective, self-interested and highly questionable narrative. Netanyahu, a colonialist from a faraway land, also had the audacity to convince himself and a few others that he had legal, moral and historic rights over my land. While I am the son of a Palestinian family rooted in Palestine since time immemorial, Netanyahu is the son of an immigrant from Lithuania. While he giddily robs more Palestinian land in Jerusalem, I live in exile.
Netanyahu was addressing the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The powerful lobby group encompasses a large conglomerate of rightwing Zionist politicians and lobbyists and is seen by many as the most instrumental platform that influences and, to a large degree, controls – US foreign policy regarding Palestine, Israel and the entire Middle East.
AIPAC is dangerous for many reasons. For one, its not a lobby group in the conventional sense – meaning a group of well-paid lobbyists harassing US Congressmen with telephone calls with the hope of advancing the agenda of their benefactors (in this case, the state of Israel). The pro-Israel lobby has actually grown and morphed into a political body that is embedded within all branches of the US government, as well as the media, academia and elsewhere. It is no secret that the neo-conservative cliques of politicians who engineered, steered and to an extent continue to influence US war policy are in fact a mere component of the same lobby.
While Jewish communities in the US may not be united in their support of the largely rightwing and hawkish Zionist lobby groups, both major political parties in the US and all branches of the government stand in complete support of Israel….more..e-mail
Ramallah is not Palestine
Sandy Toalan, Le Monde Diplomatique, Israeli Occupation Archive 4/1/2010
Despite condemnation over Jerusalem and Gaza, Israel has boasted of improved conditions in parts of the West Bank. Yet Ramallah, with its coffee bars and restaurants, is far away from Area C, with its refugee camps, roadblocks, military patrols and harassment, where nothing much has changed
In Ramallah, on a sliver of land inside the occupied West Bank, its possible to imagine what Palestinian freedom might feel like. Major Israeli roadblocks and checkpoints are down or unmanned, allowing drivers who used to be stalled, fuming, to travel nearly unimpeded from Jericho, up the ancient hills to Ramallah, and on to Nablus in northern Palestine. Inside this fragment of a fragment of land, the economy is picking up, as shipments of soap, olive oil, vegetables, soft drinks and even local beer move smoothly to their West Bank destinations. Bloomberg has noticed that the area shows an annual growth rate of 7%.
Here, in the political and commercial centre of the West Bank, a relative sense of ease and prosperity has emerged as new shops and bars serve well-educated and discerning customers. World-class vibrant beats in the evenings and fine-dining at all times, reads the Facebook page for Orjuwan, a popular Ramallah lounge. Preserving essential ingredients of traditional Mediterranean cuisine from Palestine and Italy, our classic dishes are reinvented to gourmet standard in a fine dining experience
Welcome to Liberty Enclave, where residents experience a taste of prosperity and rising quality of life in this small but significant part of Palestinian West Bank society. Unencumbered by scores of roadblocks, or by delays caused by the arbitrary decisions of teenaged soldiers, these Palestinians can now enjoy a modicum of freedom to move about and do business….more..e-mail
Moving beyond the peace process
Dina Ezzat, Al-Ahram Weekly 4/1/2010
Dina Ezzat reports on the regional challenges and opportunities that were the focus of this weeks Arab summit.
Contrary to the expectations of many, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi proved more or less the perfect chair for the Arab summit that convened under his presidency in Sirte on Saturday and Sunday. “He was exceptionally disciplined,” commented one Arab diplomat who attended the summit.
The Libyan leader declined to attack other Arab leaders, whether present at the summit or not, and was uncharacteristically silent when it came to unpredictable demands. The latter, though voiced tactfully, were left to Arab League Secretary- General Amr Moussa.
Moussas most challenging proposal to the Sirte summit was his call to adopt a new Arab neighbourhood policy that will allow for new regional arrangements bringing together the Arab League with other Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, southern European and African states.
“I suggest that you decide to establish an Arab Neighbourhood Zone that includes these states,” Moussa told participants.
With the support in Sirte of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the secretary-general of the Arab League suggested that the first phase of the policy should be the accession of Turkey to the proposed regional alliance.
Closer cooperation with Turkey, or with Chad, Senegal and the countries of the Mediterranean and southern Europe, is not a subject of disagreement among Arab countries…..more..e-mail
Four Palestinians injured during Land Day protests in Gaza
Electronic Intifada: 2 Apr 2010 – Four nonviolent demonstrators were shot at close range with live ammunition by Israeli soldiers during six simultaneous protests throughout the Gaza Strip commemorating Land Day. Three of those injured come from Khozaa, a village east of Khan Younis in Gaza’s south. The fourth, from Deir al-Balah, was participating in a peaceful demonstration east of Meghazi, central Gaza.
Film review: Pastoral resistance in “This Palestinian Life”
Electronic Intifada: 2 Apr 2010 – This Palestinian Life , a 28-minute documentary, surveys rural resistance in occupied Palestine: in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, in the Jordan Valley, and in the south Hebron hills. The film was made by Egyptian-German journalist Philip Rizk, who lived in Palestine from 2004 to 2007, talking with those struggling under the daily violence and oppression of Israel’s occupation, and recording their stories. Max Ajl reviews for The Electronic Intifada.
Activists burst AIPAC conference’s bubble
Electronic Intifada: 1 Apr 2010 – Outside the Washington Convention Center, together with activists from CodePink, Veterans for Peace, Military Families Speak Out, Avaaz, Jewish Voice for Peace and the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, we tried to bring a little reality to the AIPAC policy conference bubble. We carried signs and banners calling for respect for international law and human rights, an end to the siege of Gaza, Israeli apartheid and US taxpayer funding of war crimes.
IOF assaults on Land Day demos: 4 youths shot at close range
In Gaza: 30 Mar 2010 – Four non-violent demonstrators were shot at close range with live ammunition by Israeli soldiers during six simultaneous protests throughout the Gaza Strip commemorating Land Day. Three of those injured come from Khozaa, a village east of Khan Younis in Gazas south. The fourth, from Deir al Balah, was participating in a peaceful demonstration east of Meghazi, central Gaza. The Khozaa demonstration neared the border shortly after 12 noon. Israeli jeeps stopped along the Green Line border, their number increasing quickly. Israeli soldiers exited their jeeps and assumed sniper positions on a raised dirt mound and along the border fence. Jemah Najjar, 22, was the first to fasten a Palestinian flag to the border fence in todays demonstration. He was also the first injured in the Khozaa region, roughly 10 minutes after he had placed the flag on the fence, he estimates. Israeli soldiers repeatedly opened fire on the very visibly…
Savage Decade
Palestine Chronicle: 2 Apr 2010 – By Deepak Tripathi The inaugural decade of the new century will be remembered for two phenomena above all: the savagery of human nature, and the United States, the world’s sole hegemon, going rogue, and taking other nations with it. As we were about to leave the twentieth century, and many in the West were enjoying unprecedented prosperity, the prospect of a clash of ideologies was becoming a reality. Instead of the ‘menace’ of communism, the neoconservatives and the religious Right in the United States had found another enemy in radical Islam. It was one of the supreme ironies that the confrontation would be between President George W Bush and the ideology that his father George HW Bush and Ronald Reagan had promoted in their fight against Soviet communism when they were in the White House during the last phase of the Cold War. Having seen off the ‘Soviet threat’, the…more
A Truthful Voice of the Palestinians Resonating Throughout the World
Palestine Chronicle: 1 Apr 2010 – Dear Friends, Readers and Supporters of the Palestine Chronicle, As we launch the first bi-annual fundraiser for 2010, the drums of war are again threatening the civilian population of Gaza. Now, more than ever, there is an urgent need for a voice that speaks the truth from Palestine. We believe that peace and justice in Palestine is key to peace and stability in the entire Middle East – even the world – thus the nature of our content. We take great pride in the fact that the Chronicle has never accepted (nor sought) funding from any governmental, political or factional group or organization. We are adamant regarding our independence. But this also presents the challenge of supporting ourselves, and thats why we come to you, twice a year, to ask for your financial support to back us for another six months. Our goal is to raise $12,000 in the month…more
The Lobby vs. America: Netanyahu’s Lies and the Spineless Politicians
Palestine Chronicle: 1 Apr 2010 – By Ramzy Baroud As I listened to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu address an animated crowed of supporters on March 22, I felt physically sick. The man has already displayed time and again a complete lack of moral sense or ethical framework in his words and actions. In his recent arguments, he once again twisted history, manipulated facts and fabricated his own selective, self-interested and highly questionable narrative. Netanyahu, a colonialist from a faraway land, also had the audacity to convince himself and a few others that he had legal, moral and historic rights over my land. While I am the son of a Palestinian family rooted in Palestine since time immemorial, Netanyahu is the son of an immigrant from Lithuania. While he giddily robs more Palestinian land in Jerusalem, I live in exile. Netanyahu was addressing the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The powerful…more
The New Dark Age 
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