News
International Middle East Media Center
Resistance Fire Shells At Invading Forces in Gaza
IMEMC – Friday April 09, 2010 – 03:39, The Israeli army reported Thursday evening that one of its armored vehicles was hit by a shell during an invasion into Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. The army said that the vehicle was on its way to recover a military bulldozer that malfunctioned while operating in the area.
Internal Clashes Between PFLP-General Command Members Reported in Lebanon
IMEMC – Friday April 09, 2010 – 02:25, Lebanese sources reported Thursday that internal clashes between members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine — PFLP General-Command took place at a training base in Ein Al Baida area in Lebanon.
Settlers Uproot 15 Olive Trees near Dir Estia
IMEMC – Friday April 09, 2010 – 01:09, A group of extremist Jewish settlers uprooted on Thursday 15 Olive trees in Wadi Qana area, north east of Dir Estia, near the central West Bank district of Salfit.
Young Man Found Dead Inside A Collapsed Tunnel At The Gaza-egypt Borders
IMEMC – Thursday April 08, 2010 – 15:55, A Palestinian young man was found dead on Thursday inside a tunnel at the Gaza Strip boarders with Egypt.
Four Palestinian Civilians Injured By Settlers In Hebron’s Old City
IMEMC – Thursday April 08, 2010 – 14:35, Israeli settlers attacked on Thursday Palestinian residents in Hebron’s old city, southern West Bank, and injured four of them.
Two Youth Injured By Israeli Troops Fire During Clashes In Bethlehem City
IMEMC – Thursday April 08, 2010 – 14:22, Two Palestinian youth were injured on Thursday by Israeli troops during clashes that erupted in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem.
Landau Calls For Cutting Water Supplies In West Bank
IMEMC – Thursday April 08, 2010 – 12:20, Israeli Infrastructure Minister, Uzi Landau, threatened that Israeli would cut water supplies if the Palestinians do not install water treatment plants. His statement disregard the fact that Israel is not allowing the Palestinians to built water treatment facilities.
Israeli settlement school fined for discriminating against non-white Jews
IMEMC – Thursday April 08, 2010 – 12:08, An Israeli-government funded Jewish religious school received a fine Wednesday from the Israeli government for refusing to adhere to a court order made last August requiring the school to end its policy of accepting only Ashkenazi (white European descended) Jews, and not Jews from other racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Erdogan: “Israel Is The Real Threat To Middle East Peace”
IMEMC – Thursday April 08, 2010 – 11:35, Turkish Prime Minister, Receb Tayyip Erdogan, stated that Israel is currently considered the real threat to peace in the Middle East. His statements came as he started his visit to Paris on Wednesday.
Another organ trafficking ring surfaces in Israel
IMEMC – Thursday April 08, 2010 – 10:49, Just months after the Israeli government’s chief pathologist was exposed admitting years of involvement in organ trafficking involving both Israeli and Palestinian civilians without their consent, another major organ trafficking ring has been exposed by Israeli police on Wednesday.
Witnesses: Soldiers look on as setters beat 2
4/8/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Two 19-year-old men were transferred to a Hebron hospital for treatment Wednesday after being harshly beaten by Israeli settlers near the Ibrahimi Mosque, locals said. Witnesses identified the two as Muhammad Abdul Raouf Al-Muhtaseb and Rushdi Al-Muhtaseb, both 19, and said soldiers looked on as settlers attacked the men and did nothing to interfere. On 31 March a similar incident was reported, with A’teiyah Yousef Maswada, 31, transferred to hospital following an attack by some 10 settlers outside of the mosque. Palestinian police reported the attack, and eyewitnesses including Christian Peacemaker Teams corroborated the account, with Israeli police unavailable for comment by phone. Shopkeepers in the area said the man was en route to the Ibrahimi Mosque when he was assaulted, and was described as having a bloody face, CPT reported, noting that witnesses said the man did not go to the hospital.
Medical staff prevented from reaching clinic beyond wall
4/8/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli checkpoint soldiers prevented medical staff from entering the village of Khallet An-Nu’man, north of Bethlehem, where they were headed to work at a CARE-sponsored clinic, the Health Work Committees reported Thursday. The incident reportedly took place early in the morning, with two doctors and two nurses along with their regular driver in a medical vehicle heading to the An-Nu’man clinic, where they work. According to the Health Work Committees, Israeli soldiers at the checkpoint ordered doctors Ahmad Abu Sharkh and Nadia Al-Hih, along with nurses Nehaya Abu Khdeir, Hiam Al-Warasnah, and their driver Ismail Noufal to step out of their car for a search. The medical staff told the committees that they were treated poorly by the soldiers and ultimately turned away from the checkpoint and unable to access the clinic.
Docs raise ‘grave suspicions’ army conducted assassinations
4/8/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Following the removal of the gag order imposed in Israel on the publication of details about the charges against Israeli journalist Anat Kam, the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem reiterated that the case hinges on documents that raise grave suspicions that the Israeli military conducted assassination operations in the West Bank under the guise of arrest operations. This, in contrast to official Israeli statements, was in violation of an Israeli High Court ruling, the group said in a statement on Thursday. The last openly-declared assassination that Israel conducted in the West Bank took place in August 2006. Since then, Israel has declared that whenever possible, its armed forces shall arrest Palestinians that it deems “wanted”. In spite of this, B’Tselem’s research revealed that soldiers in the West Bank often operate as though they are on assassination, not arrest, operations. Related:Kam affair: Grave suspicion of illegal killingsRelated:Kam affair: Grave suspicion of illegal killings
2 reported hurt in southern West Bank clashes
4/8/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Two Palestinians were injured in the southern West Bank on Thursday, onlookers said, when Israeli forces opened fire amid clashes with young Palestinian protesters. Violence erupted as soldiers raided the Al-Ein neighborhood in the Hebron-area village of Beit Ummar, witnesses said, firing live and rubber-coated bullets, as well as tear-gas canisters. Mohammad Awad, spokesman of the Palestine Solidarity Project, said the clashes were centered in the entrance of the village, which is north of Hebron in the southern West Bank. An Israeli military spokesman said the incident was sparked by Palestinian stone-throwers, who he said hurled rocks at a military vehicle south of Bethlehem. Soldiers fired warning shots in the air and used riot-dispersal means without causing injury, he said. . . . .
Israeli forces enter Gaza; army says attacked
4/8/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli forces entered 300 meters into Gaza’s Al-Qurara area north of Khan Younis on Thursday morning, witnesses said, destroying civilian and agricultural lands in the zone. Five Israeli military vehicles entered south of Kissufim military base and canvassed the area, appearing to search for resistance fighters operating near the base, witnesses said. An Israeli military spokesman confirmed a patrol was operating in the central Gaza area.”Palestinians opened fire on the patrol” during a regular military activity involving the search for explosives, he said, adding that no injuries were reported, but damage was sustained to one vehicle. [end]
Israeli raid on Duheisha injures 2, others detained
4/8/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli forces entered the Duheisha refugee camp Thursday morning and detained two, sparking clashes that injured two others who were evacuated to the Beit Jala Hospital, security sources said. Invading forces entered from the Ad-Doha suburb of Bethlehem, shooting live and rubber-coated bullets at young men throwing stones at the troops. An Israeli military spokesman said forces were in the area attempting to carry out the “arrest of a wanted man,” when they saw a Palestinian “holding a fire bomb about 20 meters away and fired at him.” Medical sources said two were in fact injured, and identified them as Abdullah Naief Zaghari, 20, who was shot with rubber bullet in his leg, and Muhammad Abdul Rahman Hasanat, 22, who was shot with a bullet in his head. The forces also detained Ayman Mahmud Oweni, 18, and Walid Abu Marzuq, 22, and took them to an unknown destination.
Ramallah: Children among 6 detained by Israeli forces
4/8/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – Israeli forces detained six young men from Beit Rima village west of Ramallah overnight Wednesday and led them to unknown destination, eyewitnesses said. The six were identified as:Hazem Yoused Ar-Rimawi, 32Eid Tal’at Ar-Rimawi, 19Tareq Abdullah Ar-Rimawi, 16Amjad Khaled Al-Barghout, 14Hakim Hasan Al-Barghouti, 14Amer Al-Barghouti, 19Forces stormed the homes of two others, identified by family members as Mahmud Abdul Rauf Ar-Rimawi and Fahed Al-Barghouti. An Israeli military spokesman confirmed the detentions, saying all, including the 14-year-old children, were detained on suspicion of taking part in “violent and illegal activities.”[end]
Body of tunnel worker found
4/8/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Palestinian medical crews found the body of an 18-year-old tunnel worker on Thursday, after a two-day search following the collapse of the smuggling passage beneath the Egypt-Gaza border. The body was found in the Ash-Sha’ut area of Rafah, and identified as Bilal Abu Riziq, 18, Muawiya Hassanein, director of ambulance services in the Gaza Health Ministry, said. Hassanein added that the body arrived at the Abu Yousif An-Najjar Hospital, where it was identified. He noted the total number of tunnel related deaths since the start of the Israeli siege had reached 132. [end]
Palestinian girl struck by settler car in Hebron
4/8/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – A car driven by an Israeli settler struck a seven-year-old Palestinian girl in occupied Hebron on Thursday, officials said. The girl, Bara’a Hesham Ash-Shrabati, was lightly injured, medics at Al-Ahli Hospital, near the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba, said.”The girl’s condition is reassuring,” one medical official told Ma’an.”She sustained some scratches.” A spokesman for Israeli police operating in the West Bank did not immediately return calls seeking comment. [end]
De facto government: Rafah, Erez crossing traffic slows
4/8/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Permits for conjoined twins and their parents were the only authorizations for exit from the Gaza Strip via Egypt’s Rafah crossing, the de facto government crossings monitor committee reported on Thursday. In addition to the three exit permits, 175 Gaza residents were allowed to return to the strip, a report from the committee said, noting most of the number were patients having finished treatment in the country. At Gaza’s sole pedestrian crossing with Israel, Erez, 234 individuals exited the Strip. According to the committee, those exiting included:126 Gaza residents (45 patients, 42 companions, 19 with work permits, 2 visitor, 4 religious visit, and 14 for other purposes) 74 foreign nationals and 34 Palestinian citizens of Israel. Entering Gaza at Erez were 187 individuals, 127 of whom were Gaza residents (33 patients, 28 companions, 14 visitors, 6 work permits, 40 religious. . .
Israel partially lifts gag on journalist detention
4/9/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israel lifted a months-long censorship order Thursday, confirming for the first time that an Israeli journalist has been held under secret house arrest for almost four months amid allegations she leaked classified military information to an Israeli newspaper. After weeks of exposure in the foreign media and local blogosphere, despite the all-encompassing gag order, authorities announced that Anat Kam, 23, a contributor to the Web site Walla!, was placed under house arrest on 15 December in Tel Aviv pending trial on treason and spying charges. Prosecutors claim she copied hundreds of classified military documents during her mandatory army service years earlier. Two of these documents are believed to have inspired a November 2008 investigation by Israeli reporter Uri Blau detailing Israeli army assassination procedures.
Israel expected to partially lift media gag
4/8/2010 – New York – Ma’an – Israel is expected to lift a court-ordered ban on publishing its months-long detention of an Israeli journalist, Anat Kam, 23, on Thursday, following weeks of exposure in the foreign news media and local blogosphere. Haaretz, the Israeli newspaper at the center of the controversy, reported late Wednesday that officials representing the army, the internal security service, and the state prosecutor would officially ask for the partial removal of the gag order. An appeal by Channel 10 and Haaretz against the ban was scheduled to be heard by a Tel Aviv court on 12 April, but sources familiar with the case said Channel 10 opted to move forward in light of the abundance of foreign news reports. Haaretz unsuccessfully appealed the order a month ago. A contributor to the Israeli Web site Walla!, Kam has been under house arrest since Decemberon treason and spying charges.
Kerem Shalom crossing open for limited Gaza imports
4/8/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – One crossing into Gaza will be opened by Israeli officials Thursday for the transfer of food, aide and commercial goods into the besieged coastal enclave, Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh said. A total of 116-126 truckloads goods including three truckloads of supplies for the Gaza Electricity Company will enter through the Strip’s southernmost crossing, Kerem Shalom, along with limited amounts of domestic-use gas and industrial diesel. The fuel infrastructure at the crossing is insufficient for the transfer of necessary fuel quantities into the Strip, UN and Gaza power officials have said. The transfer equipment for fuel was taken from the now closed Nahal Oz crossing, shut-down since December, when the Palestinian Authority took over responsibility for fuel imports to Gaza from the European Union.
Full text: State of Israel vs Anat Kam
4/8/2010 – District Court of Tel Aviv Jaffa Serious Crime Case 17959-01-10 BEHIND CLOSED DOORS The State of Israel vs Anat Kam (b. 1987) (In house arrest since 15 December 2009) INDICTMENT (for publication) (Top Secret appendixes to this indictment will be served to the court in a sealed envelope. The court is asked to keep it (sic) in the safe). A. The facts of the case: 1. Since August 2005 to June 2007, as part of her military service, the accused served as office clerk in the bureau of GOC Central Command (Hence: GOC). She was promoted to assistant head of bureau in April 2006. 2. As part of her work, the accused was exposed to many documents and presentations in various degrees of classification, authored in the various departments of the General Staff, the Chief of Staff’s office, and the various divisions of the command. The documents contained plans of military operations, summaries of discussions. . .
France, World Bank fund latest municipal projects
4/8/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – A 3. 2 million-euro agreement was signed Tuesday between Consul General of France in Jerusalem Frederic Desagneaux and Ramallah-based Minister of Planning Ali Jarbawi for municipal planning projects. According to French officials in Jerusalem, the French Development Agency, represented by Herv?ɬ© Conan, were joint members in the initiative representing the first stage of a program that will later see World Bank Germany, Sweden, and Denmark contribute a total of 32 million euros for local projects under the Municipal Development & Lending Fund. A statement from the French consulate said 132 municipalities will benefit from the projects long-term, but will be tied to “performance criterion to encourage municipalities to improve their administrative and financial management and to develop their strategic planning.”
PA envoy to Britain: World ready for declaration of Palestinian state
4/8/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Multiple nations are ready to recognize a Palestinian state if it is declared in 2011, Palestinian Ambassador to Britain Manuel Hassassian said Wednesday.” [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s government is trying to dig itself out of an embarrassing situation,” Hassassain said, through “assassinations in the West Bank, shelling in Gaza, as well as land confiscation and home demolition in occupied Jerusalem.” Palestinians must “not give Netanyahu the opportunity to escalate military action as ‘responses’ to Palestinian resistance,” he told Ma’an TV.”The world will not accept scenes like it saw during the Second Intifada.” Hassassain said the next year would see ample opportunity for the United States to intervene and find resolutions to the ongoing conflict, obliging Israel to accept the solutions.
Hamas: Egypt didn’t accept conciliation demands
4/8/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Senior Hamas leader Salah Bardawil denied Thursday reports that Egypt had accepted the movement’s reservations on conciliation, insisting that a prisoner exchange was not included in the conciliation paper.” We do not have any information on these reports that are being leaked every now and then, causing confusion,” Bardawil said in a statement.”A prisoners deal was not in any way part of the Palestinian dialogue, and it will not be because this issue is separate of the fact that Hamas is [already] fighting with all of its strength and resolve to free the prisoners,” he said.”Hamas is responsibly working toward conciliation and does not accept compromise,” the official affirmed.”Such statements are just leaks aimed at further harming ties between Egypt and Hamas,” he added. . . . .
Fatah leader arrives in Gaza
4/8/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Member of Fatah Revolutionary Council Suffyan Abu Zaida arrived in Gaza on Thursday for what is expected to be a seven-day visit to the besieged coastal region, the official said. The visit is the first for the official since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in 2007, but said he has no plans to meet with de facto government officials while he is in the area, calling the trip “family related.” Speaking to Ma’an, however, Abu Zaida said the unofficial visit would have huge ramifications in the context the natural right of Palestinians to move between Palestinian districts freely.” We are one people with one cause and we are carrying one joint national concern, we are facing decisive challenges that might overwhelm the Palestinian cause, and must act together to overcome them,” Abu Zaida said. Born in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Abu Zaida teaches at Al-Quds University and Birzeit University in the West Bank.
Gaza absent as pharmacists convene in Bethlehem
4/8/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The convention center was crowded with doctors, pharmacists and other specialists in medicine, labs and treatments. Large posters were hung welcoming guests and other signs pointed out the names and pictures of pharmacists and their achievements. A woman dressed in the traditional Palestinian gown welcomed guests and spoke of the mission of pharmacists and their responsibilitiestoward their people and country. She spoke of the difficulties facing Palestinian pharmacists, especially in the occupied territories. A pharmacist read aloud Koranic versus for pharmacists known to have been killed in Israeli attacks. Headlined, “Toward the Development of Professional Pharmaceutical Practices,” the 6th Pharmacists Conference opened in Bethlehem on Wednesday. Delegates were expected to discuss pharmaceutical care in the community and the role of the pharmacist.
Only a free press can ensure true security
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – The allegations made by, and against, Anat Kam are serious. They deserve the widest public debate.
In Israel, reality hides under a ‘top secret’ stamp
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Some of the same politicians professing shock at Anat Kam’s alleged misdeeds have themselves passed me classified material.
How the Shin Bet broke its deal with Haaretz
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Security agency pledged not to question Haaretz reporter about sources or use leaked documents in lawsuit.
Harrass the IDF, not whistleblower Anat Kam
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – A security service that destroys journalists’ computers has no place in a democratic state.
Why I was right to publish secret Anat Kam material
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – There are powerful people in Israel who don’t seem to understand what democracy is all about.
Anat Kam has been made a scapegoat, says lawyer
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Anat Kam suspected of ‘serious espionage’ for allegedly giving classified information to a Haaretz reporter.
Haaretz editor: IDF censor okayed Haaretz articles in Anat Kam case
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Haaretz chief editor defends decision to publish series of articles exposing IDF’s lax rules of engagement.
Israeli lawmaker: ‘Strip those who hurt state security of their citizenship’
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Yisrael Beiteinu MK: Anat Kam, the ex-soldier suspected of espionage should be punished in full.
Charge sheet for Anat Kam, accused of espionage for handing documents to Haaretz
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Anat Kam as suspect in serious espionage case, for allegedly handing over classified documents to Haaretz correspondent Uri Blau.
Hamas: We will abduct Israelis over maltreatment of Palestinian prisoners
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Abu Zuhri warns Hamas will seek ‘more friends’ for Gilad Shalit if world ignores Palestinian prisoners’ conditions.
Does censorship in Israel resemble that in Iran?
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Chief IDF censor Vaknin-Gil says gag order on security incident reported worldwide was harmful to Israel.
Snubbed IDF chief won’t fight to stick around
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Barak has announced that Ashkenazi will be replaced in February 2011 after four years in office.
Hamas releases footage of ‘Gaza clashes’
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Military wing of Hamas shows documentation of incident wherein two IDF soldiers were killed.
IDF denies killing Palestinian teen on Gaza border
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Army rebuffs Palestinian media claims that it killed 15-year-old as he tried to enter Israel.
Thousands mourn IDF officer and soldier killed in Gaza
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Major Eliraz Peretz’s best friend: We will avenge your death against those who hurt you.
Mother of soldier killed in Gaza: He paid the price of war
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Major Eliraz Peretz and Staff Sergeant Ilan Sviatkovsky die in Gaza clash; another soldier in serious condition.
Palestinian Christians Barred From Jerusalem for Easter
Uruknet April 8, 2010 – Israeli authorities prevented thousands of Palestinian Christians from entering Jerusalem and accessing Christianity’s most holy sites over Easter in an unprecedented clampdown on religious freedom. “Easter is one of the most significant holy periods for Christians and we as Palestinian Christians were not allowed to worship freely,” Ramzi Zaniniri from The Near East Council of Churches…
A SPECIAL PLACE IN HELL FOR ZIONIST MIND CONTROL
Uruknet April 8, 2010 – According to the twisted logic of the zionist ‘mind’ it’s OK for Canadian schoolchildren to be exposed to sexually explicit ad campaigns promoting tourism to Israel, BUT a book depicting the real life of a young Palestinian child ‘must be removed from reading lists and libraries’.
The un-Christian “Christians” who embrace Israeli apartheid
Uruknet April 8, 2010 – Millions of Christian Zionists think that by blindly supporting Israel’s apartheid policies against the tormented Palestinians, including Palestinian Christians, they are upholding the truth and doing the right thing in the sight of God. Frankly, they are wrong; supporting blatantly unjust policies, including murder, persecution and theft, is never morally correct no matter how many verses…
Obama Puts Out a Contract HitMurder is the New Torture
Uruknet April 8, 2010 – …But there is a more serious problem, I think. Namely, murder seems to be advancing in the U.S. toolkit as a replacement for torture. Both tools, murder and torture, produce exactly the same amount of useful intelligence. Both tools scare the hell out of people abroad and at home. Both tools serve to teach a domestic…
Report: Israel stealing Palestinian tax money
Uruknet April 8, 2010 – Ma’an/Agencies – For the past 15 years, Israel has been channeling hundreds of millions of shekels it had collected in the West Bank into its state coffers, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported Wednesday.According to the newspaper, the move is considered illegal because international law prohibits an occupying power from appropriating the fruit of economic activity in…
Settlers Uproot 15 Olive Trees near Dir Estia
Uruknet April 8, 2010 – A group of extremist Jewish settlers uprooted on Thursday 15 Olive trees in Wadi Qana area, north east of Dir Estia, near the central West Bank district of Salfit. Head of the Dir Estia city council, Nathmi Salman, told the Palestine News and Information Center, WAFA, that the Olive trees belong to resident Nasser Mansour, and…
IDF Soldiers Target Peaceful Protests in the Buffer Zone
Uruknet April 8, 2010 – Patchwork clouds of smoke moved to and fro in the wind above a group of Palestinian youth waving Palestinian flags, standing on top of a low dirt ridge. Beyond it lay the Israeli border. I was near the Nahal Oz crossing, east of Gaza City in the northern segment of the Gaza Strip, close to where…
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (01-07 April 2010)
Uruknet April 8, 2010 – Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting period (01 — 07 April 2010): Shootings: During the reporting period, medical personnel found the body of an activist of the Palestinian resistance who had been killed a week earlier during armed clashes with IOF in the southern Gaza Strip. IOF…
Another organ trafficking ring surfaces in Israel
Uruknet April 8, 2010 – Just months after the Israeli government’s chief pathologist was exposed admitting years of involvement in organ trafficking involving both Israeli and Palestinian civilians without their consent, another major organ trafficking ring has been exposed by Israeli police on Wednesday. According to Israeli police reports, six suspects were arrested in a sting operation of the organ trafficking…
Israel knows apartheid has no future
Uruknet April 8, 2010 –
Report: 6 detained for organ trafficking in Israel
Uruknet April 7, 2010 – Israeli police on Tuesday arrested six men suspected of being involved in an organ trafficking ring, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported Wednesday. Among the suspects are an Israeli army reserves brigadier-general and two lawyers, according to the report…
IOF prevents medical crews from reaching their clinic
8 Apr 2010 – The Foundation of Health Work Committees condemned the assault of Israeli border guards against the crew of the foundation at the entrance of “Khallet Al Nouman” village in Bethlehem, when they were heading to their clinic in the village. The foundation of Health Work Committees considers the unjust actions done by the occupying forces and the repeated intentional attacks on…
IOF shoots 2 Palestinians during a raid on Deheisheh camp
8 Apr 2010 – Bethlehem, April 8, (Pal Telegraph) Two youths were injured and others arrested in clashes between youths and the Israeli occupation forces early today during a raid on Deheisheh Camp south of Bethlehem, conducted by the IOF. Security sources said that Israeli forces stormed the town of Doha, next to the camp, where Clashes occurred between the Israeli army and young…
Hebron: Israeli settlers beat 4 Palestinians
8 Apr 2010 – Hebron, April 8, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked today four Palestinian citizens near Al-Haram Al- Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. According to security sources, dozens of Israeli settlers beat four citizens near Al- Haram Al- Ibrahimi Mosque; two of them were delivered to the Hebron governmental hospital. The four injuries are from Al-Mohtaseb family. They are Abd…
Israel conducts limited raid in Al-Qrara
8 Apr 2010 – Gaza, April 8, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli occupation forces raided today a limited area in Al-Qrara to the northern east of Khan Younis, in central Gaza Strip. According SAFA news agency, nine bulldozers and 18 vehicles invaded 400 meter in Al-Qrara area near the borders with the Palestinian occupied land of 48. The bulldozers razed agricultural lands covered by…
One commercial crossing to open today in Gaza
8 Apr 2010 – Gaza, April 8, (Pal Telegraph) The Israeli occupation authorities decided to open the Kerem Abu Salem crossing partially today letting in food, aid and fuel. Raed Fattouh, the Chairman of goods entry to Gaza Committee, said that the Israeli occupation authorities haave decided to open the Kerem Abu Salem crossing, which is located southeast of the Gaza Strip. to insert…
Gaza: tunnel worker found dead
8 Apr 2010 – Gaza, April 8, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) — A tunnel in Gaza- Egypt border collapsed on Tuesday near Salah Al-Dain Gate in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, while six workers were inside it. Four tunnel workers were trapped inside the collapsed tunnel went out of it towards Egypt, while other two were missing. Palestinian medical sources said that they found the dead…
Syria denies nuclear watchdog access to military sites
The National 8 Apr 2010 – Government counts on regional security issues to provide cover while claiming that investigation by IAEA would violate sovereignty.
US dances around stance on democracy in Egypt
The National 8 Apr 2010 – Mohammed ElBaradei, the former head of the IAEA and a possible presidential contender, is moved away from US envoy to Cairo during mass.
IDF raids refugee camp
Palestine Note 8 Apr 2010 – IDF soldiers raided the Duheisha refugee camp early Thursday morning, detaining two and prompting violence that injured others, Ma’an News Agency reports. The soldiers entered the camp from a Bethlehem suburb, firing life rounds as well…
Gaza crossing opens
Palestine Note 8 Apr 2010 – The Kerem Shalom crossing between Gaza and Israel is open Thursday for the movement of “food, aide and commercial goods,” Ma’an News Agency says. Trucks are Kerem Shalom Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh reports on the…
Distance, not differences, at root of Pakistani integration in Italy
Palestine Note 8 Apr 2010 – Islamabad/Rome – A closer look at the pattern of Pakistani immigration to Italy and integration into Italian society indicates that it’s the distance – and not the difference – between the two cultures that has proved…
Israeli film causes row between Egypt and France
Palestine Note 8 Apr 2010 – Egyptian artists and intellectuals are boycotting a film festival organized by Cairo’s French Center for Culture after it screened an Israeli film, “Almost Normal,” Meedan reports. London Film Festival, 2009 The film festival, “Recontres de l’image,”…
The untold story of Egyptian women’s rights
Palestine Note 8 Apr 2010 – Cairo – In a report published last month on violent crimes committed against women in 2009, Karam Saber Ibrahim, Executive Director of The Land Center for Human Rights, a Cairo-based non-governmental organisation, spoke of a belief…
An Iraqi perspective on the recent elections
Palestine Note 8 Apr 2010 – Nasiriyah, Iraq – The 7 March elections in Iraq remain a topic of interest around the world as both former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and current Prime Minister Nouri Maliki scramble to create coalitions that would…
Israelis and Palestinians Ponder Possible Imposed Peace Settlement
The Media Line 7 Apr 2010 – The notion of the U.S. forcing a resolution on Israelis and Palestinians gains traction as talks fail to resume Israeli and Palestinian leaders have acted coolly to the possibility of an imposed US peace settlement reportedly…
Concern Over Reports of Imminent Obama Plan
The Media Line 7 Apr 2010 – [News and Analysis] Reports that President Obama will present his own plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians are evoking concern, particularly on the Israeli side. The concept has been floating for some time, but…
Israelis Livid Over Palestinian Honor to Master Bomb Maker
The Media Line 7 Apr 2010 – Israelis are expressing shock and anger over the naming of the Ramallah street on which the Palestinian presidential office complex will be built after a notorious terrorist responsible for the deaths of scores of Israeli civilians….
Turkish Prime Minister Continues His Attack on Israel
The Media Line 7 Apr 2010 – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan used his platform at a Paris breakfast to launch his latest verbal assault on Israel. The once close alliance between the Jewish and the secular Muslim states turned sour when…
Israel lifts whistleblower gag
AlJazeera 8 Apr 2010 – Israeli press allowed to report on Anat Kamm’s house arrest for leaking military documents.
Israel PM cancels nuclear talks
AlJazeera 8 Apr 2010 – Netanyahu pulls out of next week’s Washington summit on nuclear security, officials say.
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,…
Bili’in as an Allegory: The Party is Over, Declares Netanyahu
Alternative Information Center – Sunday, 28 March 2010, The decision to declare Bili’in and Na’alin 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…
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…
Israel arrests ‘organ traffickers’
PNN – Thursday, 08 April 2010
Israeli gagging order on ex-soldier case condemned
PNN – Thursday, 08 April 2010
Netanyahu cancels trip to DC Nuclear Security Summit
Jeruslalem Post 9 Apr 2010 – The move came amid US warnings that Turkey and Egypt plan to lead a motion demanding that Israel open its nuclear facilities for international inspection.
US Treasury: PA made courageous effort to curb Hamas funding
Jeruslalem Post 9 Apr 2010 – Palestinian Authority praised for taking “important steps to limit Hamas’s influence” says top US Treasury official.
Shin Bet: Leak poses “direct threat”
Jeruslalem Post 8 Apr 2010 – Allegedly stolen IDF documents include info on weapons, West Bank strategy.
Ahmadinejad: Sanctions won’t deter us
Jeruslalem Post 8 Apr 2010 – Iranian defense minister adds “Israel is no match for Iranian military.”
IDF gets set to lock the data barn
Jeruslalem Post 8 Apr 2010 – The army plans to install new safeguards to prevent soldiers like Anat Kamm from copying information.
Meet Salwa, Lebanon’s anti-sexual harassment mascot
Jeruslalem Post 8 Apr 2010 – Women face widespread verbal and physical abuse in parts of the Arab world. Now, some are hitting back.
US official praises PA’s effort to curb money flow to Hamas
Jeruslalem Post 8 Apr 2010 – David Cohen: PA is ‘courageous’ for taking “important steps to limit Hamas’s influence.”
Messer put on suicide watch in custody
Jeruslalem Post 8 Apr 2010 – Court rejects former Olmert associate’s appeal against remand in bribery case.
PA rebuts terrorist street name critique
Jeruslalem Post 8 Apr 2010 – Palestinian Media Center says “Israel should work on cleaning up its own backyard.”
Principle & Practice of Universal Jurisdiction: PCHR’s Work in OPT
WAFA 8 Apr 2010 – GAZA, April 8, 2010 (WAFA) – Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) presented today its new report, ‘The Principle and Practice of Universal Jurisdiction: PCHR’s Work in the occupied Palestinian
Training Palestinian Judicial Police on Handling of Detainees
WAFA 8 Apr 2010 – RAMALLAH, April 8, 2010 (WAFA)- EUPOL COPPS’ Deputy Head of Mission, Ari Sarjanen, participated in the graduation ceremony of a training programme on Handling of Detainees (Transportation of
Ex Israeli Soldier Accused of Espionage is Made Scapegoat
WAFA 8 Apr 2010 – TEL AVIV, April 8, 2010 (WAFA)- Anat Kam, the journalist and ex Israeli soldier suspected of ‘serious espionage’ for allegedly giving classified information to a reporter from Haaretz regarding the
MIDEAST: Obama Said to Mull Israel-Palestinian Peace Plan
IPS WASHINGTON, Apr 7 (IPS) – Amid still-unresolved tensions over Jewish settlement expansion in East Jerusalem, two major publications reported Wednesday that President Barack Obama is seriously considering proposing later this year a U.S. peace plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (01-07 April 2010)
PCHR 7 Apr 2010 – A Palestinian woman sits near her house which was bombarded by Israeli warplanes in Khan Yunis Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)….
Michigan Peace Team West Bank office raided
4/8/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – Michigan Peace Team, 4 April – At two o’clock this morning, the Israeli Occupation Army forcefully entered a house in Huwara town, south of Nablus. The house, which was empty at the time, is used as an office for the MICHIGAN PEACE TEAM. According to some neighbors, who were watching the scene from their windows during the raid, tens of Israeli soldiers forcefully broke the garden gate and the main door and entered the house using sound bombs. The soldiers caused damage to the furniture of the house and confiscated pro-Palestinian banners and posters. The raid tonight follows the recent Israeli campaign to end Palestinian nonviolent popular resistance, which takes the form of raids, arrest of local activists and organizers, such as Adeeb and Abdullah Abu Rahmah, as well as arrest and deportation of international activists, involved with Palestinian popular resistance, such. . .
UN envoys open talks on Iran nuclear sanctions
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – President Ahmadinaejad: We won’t beg the West to back down over Security Council resolution.
Netanyahu cancels trip to U.S. nuclear summit
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Officials: PM to stay in Israel over fears Muslim nations will demand Israel sign up to anti-proliferation treaty.
Israel UN envoy denounces Palestinian anti-Israel incitement
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – State Dept. bemoans PA glorification of terror after Ramallah street named after Hamas bombings mastermind.
Berkeley’s Israel boycott: The occupation’s new friend
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – From the standpoint of the causes of peace and justice for Palestinians, the Berkeley bill is worse than useless.
Obama and Medvedev sign pact to reduce nuclear arsenals
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – White House: Russia likely on board for Iran sanctions; U.S. official: Russia wants Iran held accountable.
Kyrgyzstan opposition seizes power, dissolves parliament
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Opposition clashes killed at least 75 people and left more than 1,000 injured.
Qatari man sparks security scare on U.S. flight
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Man, rumored to be a mid-level diplomat, was apparently smoking in the toilet and made a remark that was perceived as a threat.
Two die in fire at Israeli engineer`s home in Taiwan
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Israeli and his 8-year-old daughter were injured after their house went up in flames.
Rethinking Judaism in the modern world
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Some traditionalists stand athwart the contemporary world and insist that ancient convictions and practices are all that is required; others are persuaded that we must understand Torah in a new way.
Activists who heckled Israeli quartet cleared of racism‚Äâcharge
The Guardian 8 Apr 2010 – Edinburgh sheriff throws out ‘disproportionate’ prosecution of pro-Palestinian activists protesting about Gaza bombing Five pro-Palestinian activists have been cleared of racism after a court threw out charges that they were guilty of racially aggravated conduct against…
Israel lifts gagging order in Anat Kam spy case
The Guardian 8 Apr 2010 – Agent accused of copying more than 2,000 classified military documents and passing 700 top secret files to journalist Rory McCarthy Jerusalem Israeli authorities’ decision to lift a gag order has revealed the extent of serious spying…
The real moral of the Anat Kam story | Daniella Peled
The Guardian 8 Apr 2010 – Heavyhanded press restrictions by Israel’s Shin Bet have obscured the real scandal of the IDF whistleblower’s case Israeli reporter Anat Kam — whose long period of house arrest has been subject to a stringent gagging order…
Customs refuses to reveal identity of IDF officer caught smuggling
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Customs officials ran a four-day operation this week, code-named “Flowering Spring,” to catch Israelis returning from overseas without declaring goods at Ben-Gurion International Airport. They found some 200 people bringing in items they did not declare to customs – or pay duty on. …
The Holocaust isn’t just about Jews
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – Last week I flew to Eilat with two young officers of the IDF Spokesperson Unit. One of them inquired what book I was reading. It was Carole Angier’s magisterial biography of Primo Levi. …
Second Olmert aide held in new corruption case
Ha’aretz 9 Apr 2010 – A second aide to former prime minister Ehud Olmert was arrested Thursday in connection with a large-scale corruption case, a day after it emerged that another ally of the ex-premier was arrested earlier this week. …
Olmert trial postponed until next month
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – The Jerusalem District Court on Thursday decided to postpone legal proceeding against former prime minister Ehud Olmert by a month, to avoid muddling different corruption allegations together in a single trial. …
Leaked espionage case shows Israel only targets the weak
Ha’aretz 8 Apr 2010 – The Anat Kam affair raises serious suspicions that the law enforcement agencies in question – the Israel Defense Force’s information security unit, the Shin Bet, Israel Police and the State Prosecutor’s Office – are good at coming down hard on the powerless, while overlooking similar suspicions when attributed to senior officials. It’s the “sentinel syndrome”: the weak are persecuted and dealt with a heavy hand, while the deeds of the strong are slighted. …
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (01-07 April 2010)
Relief Web 8 Apr 2010 – Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
The Principle and Practice of Universal Jurisdiction: PCHR’s Work in the occupied Palestinian territory
Relief Web 8 Apr 2010 – Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
OPT: Humanitarian Duty Report 2009
Relief Web 8 Apr 2010 – Source: Palestine Red Crescent Society
I.M.F. Says West Bank Economic Growth Is Imperiled by Israel and Arab States
Relief Web 8 Apr 2010 – Source: New York Times
Senior officials vow to return Blau to Israel
YNet News 8 Apr 2010 – All possible legal steps will be taken to bring journalist Uri Blau to Israel, senior officials say
Israel seeks UN condemnation of Palestinians
YNet News 8 Apr 2010 – Envoy Shalev files complaint over alleged PA plan to name presidential offices after terror mastermind; Palestinians dismiss reports, say no such building exists
Netanyahu won’t attend nuke summit in US
YNet News 8 Apr 2010 – PM cancels trip after discovering that several Muslim states will be seeking to bring up Israel’s failure to sign NPT during Washington summit; ‘These states intend to exploit occasion to slam Israel,’ senior source says
Troops uncover bomb on Egypt border
YNet News 8 Apr 2010 – Cleared for publication: IDF forces operating in south uncover explosive device Wednesday
Ahmadinejad: We won’t beg West
YNet News 8 Apr 2010 – Iranian president slams Obama over pledge to advance UN sanctions against Tehran
Amid Kam affair: IDF upgrades information security
YNet News 8 Apr 2010 – Army introduces stricter monitoring of computerized systems
Palestinian Information Center
IOF troops raid southern Gaza, storm Doheisha
PIC 9 Apr 2010 – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) mounting 15 armored vehicles escorted four military bulldozers in a raid on east of Khan Younis city, south of the Gaza Strip, on Thursday.
Arrest of Israeli officer leading organ trafficking ring
PIC 9 Apr 2010 – The Israeli police said it arrested a senior military officer leading a human organ trafficking ring that deals with other gangs in Europe active in this kind of crimes.
18 Palestinian prisoners held in solitary confinement
PIC 9 Apr 2010 – The prisoners’ center for studies has said that the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) was holding 18 Palestinian prisoners in isolation cells including a woman.
Sayyed: Security coordination with IOA a disaster
PIC 9 Apr 2010 – Abbas Al-Sayyed, one of the Hamas leaders detained in IOA jails, has described the security coordination between the IOA and the PA in Ramallah as a “disaster” that should come to an immediate end.
Nazzal: Resistance is the strategy for liberating the land
PIC 9 Apr 2010 – Mohammed Nazzal, political bureau member of Hamas, has affirmed that resistance would remain his movement’s main strategy in liberating Palestinian lands from Israeli occupation.
Al-Qassam renews adherence to its demands over prisoner swap deal
PIC 9 Apr 2010 – Al-Qassam Brigades renewed its vow to adhere to its demands and principles for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, especially those who serve long-term or life sentences.
IOF claims capturing Palestinian planning attack, settlers assault civilians
PIC 9 Apr 2010 – The IOF command claimed that a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip was captured two weeks ago when he tried to infiltrate into Palestine occupied in 1948 to carry out an attack.
ISESCO calls on UNSC to protect the Aqsa Mosque
PIC 9 Apr 2010 – Archeology experts of ISESCO have called on the UN Security Council to immediately intervene to protect the holy Aqsa Mosque and occupied Jerusalem against the IOA judaization schemes.
Sheikh Arifi calls off his visit to O. Jerusalem
PIC 9 Apr 2010 – Noted Saudi scholar Sheikh Mohamed Al-Arifi decided to cancel a visit he was intending to make to occupied Jerusalem aimed at filming an episode of a TV program he hosts about the holy city.
Israeli minister threatens to cut off water supplies to West Bank
PIC 9 Apr 2010 – Israeli minister of infrastructure Uzi Landau has threatened to cut water supplies to the West Bank if the PA did not stop dumping untreated sewage.
Arrests over Israeli project
LA Times 8 Apr 2010 – Five people are held in an alleged bribery scheme involving Jerusalem real estate. Among those detained is a past confidant of former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The Holyland Park apartment project, its massive towers strung together on a hill, has long been a source of controversy in Jerusalem, where the tradition has been for buildings to flow with the natural contour.
U.S. has considered offering Mideast peace proposal, officials say
LA Times 8 Apr 2010 – President Obama and aides recently discussed such an approach in light of the logjam between Palestinians and Israelis, officials say. The idea has advocates within the administration. President Obama and other U.S. officials have explored whether the administration should offer its own Middle East peace proposal to break the logjam between Palestinians and Israelis, officials said Wednesday.
Israel Lifts Order of Silence in Spying Case
New York Times 8 Apr 2010 – The Israeli authorities on Thursday partly lifted a gag order on a highly sensitive case involving a young Israeli journalist who is being charged with serious espionage.
Protest Leader Ends Silence, Defying Tehran With a Meeting
New York Times 8 Apr 2010 – Mir Hussein Moussavi told a small group of reformists in Parliament that dissent went beyond street protests and that the Iranian establishment continued to lose legitimacy.
I.M.F. Says West Bank Economic Growth Is Imperiled by Israel and Arab States
New York Times 7 Apr 2010 – Restrictions by Israel and a lack of donor support, especially among Arabs, is jeopardizing recent economic growth rates in Palestinian territories.
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…
Two Prisons
Palestine Monitor – 8 Apr 2010 – One of The Palestine Monitor’s photographers, Brady Ng, visited two prisons that have interesting histories, but have ended up in very different states. There is a building in the Russian Compound in Jerusalem that has lived several different lives. Once a hostel meant for Christian pilgrims…
They’ve Stolen Our Road!
Palestine Monitor – 8 Apr 2010 – We sat with Jamal and Susan and in their home in Shufa. Their seven children peeped in from time to time, daring each other to go and speak to the foreigners. Jamal explained how the road to their village has literally been stolen by some Israelis…
NYT protects Israel on ‚Äòlive ammunition’ charge
Mondoweiss – 7 Apr 2010 – An interesting juxtaposition (pointed out by Matt Berkman ): NY Times article on Kyrgyzstan protests : “Earlier in the day, the police used live ammunition, tear gas and stun grenades against a crowd of thousands that massed in front of the presidential office in Bishkek, according to witness…
What settlements look like
Mondoweiss – 7 Apr 2010 – Anyone who wants to understand Israeli settlements should understand how they look to Palestinians. Here are three pictures from Hamde Abu Rahmah’s facebook page . An olive tree has been dismembered to make way for more land confiscation for a settlement in the first shot, in the…
Land Day Commemorations in France in Support of BDS
Alternative Information Center – 8 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,…
Bili’in as an Allegory: The Party is Over, Declares Netanyahu
Alternative Information Center – 8 Apr 2010 – Sunday, 28 March 2010, The decision to declare Bili’in and Na’alin 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 – 8 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…
Articles
Israel knows apartheid has no future
Mustafa Barghouthi, Ma’an News Agency4/6/2010
After decades of military rule over Palestinians and theft of our land, Israeli leaders are increasingly seeing the writing on the wall. They are at least acknowledging reality, if not yet grappling with the consequences.
In 2007, Ehud Olmert, then prime minister, declared: “If the day comes when the two-state solution collapses, and we face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights (also for the Palestinians in the territories), then, as soon as that happens, the state of Israel is finished.” More recently, making a similar point, Ehud Barak, Israel’s defense minister, said “as long as between the Jordan and the sea there is only one political entity, named Israel, it will end up being either non-Jewish or non-democratic … If the Palestinians vote in elections, it is a bi-national state, and if they don’t, it is an apartheid state.”
But when do the “ifs” of Olmert and Barak no longer describe a possible future, but the current reality? Apartheid is here. There is one set of Israeli laws applied to Palestinians in the West Bank and another set applied to Jews in the West Bank. Israeli settlers live illegally in beautiful subsidized housing on stolen Palestinian land while we are relegated to smaller and smaller bantustans.
I believe, even today, in the importance of the two-state solution. But with every passing day I see what can only be described as Israel’s dogged determination to block such an outcome. The time has come to tell Washington that the viability of the two-state solution is being destroyed on Barack Obama’s watch. President Obama inherited this difficulty from his predecessor. But old problems have become Obama problems.
When Washington fails to act decisively towards this festering conflict, it is in fact acting decisively. Billions of American taxpayers’ dollars continue to flow to Israeli coffers. And American diplomatic capital is still spent to shield Israel from world censure.more..e-mail
America let the genie out
Daoud Kuttab, Ma’an News Agency4/8/2010
The taboo was finally broken and the genie is out of the bottle, despite some attempts to force it back. America’s military leaders have had enough and decided to speak out about the liability that a hardline Israel causes to America’s national interest.
Popular American General David Petraeus finally said the words that many have been saying behind closed doors for decades during his address to the senate on 16 March. The statement of the star-studded general, that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is hindering the US ability to advance its interests in the Middle East, puts the American blind support for Israel in direct opposition to the country’s most sacred institution, the military.
To be fair, hints to the effect of Petraeus’ statement have been leaking out of Washington for some time now. President George W Bush and his secretary of state Condoleezza Rice made the opening salvo in this direction when they said publicly that the creation of an independent Palestinian state was in the interest of the United States.
US President Barack Obama made the same statement several times, including in his historic talk at Cairo University. Indeed, that statement is where Obama’s policy started from. But for some reason, American assertions over their interest in the establishment of a Palestinian state, did not resonate in the US or with the Israelis. Some Palestinian and pro-Palestinian forces in the US attempted to build on the sentiment, but for the most part that effort didn’t register in the American landscape.
But when a top US military general responsible for the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans spells it out for the senate, people stop and listen.
In part because many of the right-wing pro-Israel or Christian fundamentalist forces consistently praise the army and have also been pushing for Petraeus to run for president, it is difficult for them to criticize his recent statements.more..e-mail
Can there be Free Elections under Fatah?
Khalid Amayreh, Ma’an News Agency4/8/2010
The American-backed Fatah group has been demanding the organization of general elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as soon as possible, but the demands do not appear to reflect a genuine concern about democracy.
Fatah officials and apologists argue that elections represent the only exit from the present political deadlock in the Palestinian arena, including the enduring rift between Fatah and the Islamic movement, Hamas.
However, in the absence of real guarantees for truly free elections, the raucous blather about elections by Fatah, or any other Palestinian group, remains an expression of deception and hypocrisy.
Today, the PA regime in the West Bank is more or less a police state apparatus. Human rights and civil liberties are virtually non-existent as the PA security agencies exercise absolute control over all aspects of life. People are unceremoniously fired from their jobs at the slightest suspicion regarding their political or ideological orientations. And the justice system is in a state of chronic paralysis due to the often wanton interference by the security apparatus.
Since 2007, hundreds of Hamas-affiliated or simply Islamic institutions have been closed and Islamic-oriented officials sacked and replaced by Fatah loyalists. In many cases, capable and highly skilled teachers and civil servants were dismissed only to be replaced by others whose main qualification was their membership in Fatah.
When the victims appealed to the courts for redress, they were told their dismissal was justified due to “security reasons.” Thus, it seems unflinching loyalty to Abbas is necessary for survival.
Basic rights for Palestinians, however, are also subsumed by the government’s rubric of security coordination with Israel.more..e-mail
“Racism” charges dropped against Scottish solidarity activists
Electronic Intifada: 8 Apr 2010 – Five Palestine campaigners who contested the relevancy of a “racially aggravated conduct” charge in relation to their protest against Israel’s blockade of Gaza had all charges against them dropped today. The campaigners, all members of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC), had interrupted the August 2008 Edinburgh Festival concert by the Jerusalem Quartet.
Israel knows apartheid has no future
Electronic Intifada: 8 Apr 2010 – After decades of military rule over Palestinians and theft of our land, Israeli leaders are increasingly seeing the writing on the wall. They are at least acknowledging reality, if not yet grappling with the consequences. Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi comments.
Two Prisons
Palestine Monitor: 8 Apr 2010 – One of The Palestine Monitor’s photographers, Brady Ng, visited two prisons that have interesting histories, but have ended up in very different states. There is a building in the Russian Compound in Jerusalem that has lived several different lives. Once a hostel meant for Christian pilgrims during the Ottoman period, it later became the central prison of the British Mandatory authorities. Now, it is a tourist attraction, operating as the Museum of Underground Prisoners, commemorating the activities of the Jewish underground — the Haganah, Irgun and Lehi — during the period leading up to the establishment of the State of Israel. What was once the Central Prison in Jerusalem in the Russian Compound is now the Museum of Underground Prisoners, operated during the British Mandate of Palestine. Mandate document. Items on display in the museum. “Palestine Pamphlet (restricted): Terrorist Methods and Booby Traps.” The gallows. In al-Jiftlik, a Palestinian town…
They’ve Stolen Our Road!
Palestine Monitor: 8 Apr 2010 – We sat with Jamal and Susan and in their home in Shufa. Their seven children peeped in from time to time, daring each other to go and speak to the foreigners. Jamal explained how the road to their village has literally been stolen by some Israelis who live in a nearby illegal settlement. We already knew about this, because our taxi-ride to Shufa had been interrupted by a huge earth mound and some concrete blocks in the road. We had to get out and walk the last mile up a steep hill. This stretch of road is now solely for the use of the settlers, who use it to get to their settlement from the main road. The Israeli army will not allow Palestinians to use the road except on foot or on a donkey. Photo: Peter Balaam The road was built in 1950 by the Palestinians. In 1987, the…
Jewish American Organizations Defend Israel’s Humiliation of America
Palestine Chronicle: 8 Apr 2010 – By James Petras “The Government of Israel has insulted the Vice President of the United States, and spat in the face of the President … they wiped the spit off their faces and smiled politely … as the saying goes: when you spit in the face of a weakling, he pretends that it is raining” – Uri Avnery Israeli Jewish journalist, March 13, 2010. “We (Israel) possess several hundred atomic warheads and rockets … most European capitals are targets of our air force … the Palestinians should all be deported. Two years ago, only 7 or 8 per cent of Israelis were of the opinion that this would be the best solution, two months ago, (January 2010), it was 33 percent and now according to a Gallup poll, the figure is 44 percent”. – Martin Van Crevel Israeli, professor of military history at Hebrew University at Jerusalem and top adviser…more
The New Dark Age 