News
International Middle East Media Center
African Immigrant Dies, 28 Detained, At Egypt-Israel Border
IMEMC – Sunday April 11, 2010 – 01:54, An African immigrant trying to infiltrate to Israel through the border with Egypt died of a heart attack, while 28 others were detained by the Egyptian Border Police.
Al Ma’ssara Village Near Bethlehem Protest The Israeli-built Wall
IMEMC – Friday April 09, 2010 – 16:32, Residents of Al Ma’ssara village near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem protest on Friday midday the Israeli-built wall on their lands.
Israeli court to hear petition on home demolitions
4/10/2010 – Jerusalem – Ma’an – The Israeli Central Court is expected to hear a petition on Sunday filed by Palestinian families whose homes were slated for demolition in occupied East Jerusalem. Citing alleged discriminatory policy implemented in West Jerusalem and toward Israeli residents in East Jerusalem, the petition will argue that demolition orders issued by Israel’s municipality amount to negligence against Palestinian neighborhoods, lawyers said. Moreover, the petition contends that Israel’s building policy in East Jerusalem favors settlement building rather than creating sustainable infrastructure for Palestinian residents, another form of alleged negligence, and that these settlements are either built illegally on Palestinian land or their residents are illegally evicted. Rasem E’beidat, one of many who called for the petition to be reviewed Sunday, said the court’s decision would be significant. . .
Qaraqe: Israeli prisons suppressing hunger strike
4/10/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs Issa Qaraqe said the Israeli Prison Service has applied punitive measures to 36 Palestinian female prisoners in the Ad-Damun prison in response to a general hunger strike. Qaraqe said the IPS has reduced the detainees’ recess to one her per day, prohibited them from sending letters to their family, and further enforced restricted access to the cantina, where prisoners can buy stationary and other goods, because they have participated in a hunger strike which began on 7 April. Moreover, the minister said the prison administration has transferred a number of prisoners from the Nafha prison to Ber Sheva prison in response to the hunger strike. Detainees said they would escalate their protest if the IPS did not respond to their demands, which began in April against humiliating treatment of relatives visiting detainees and banning Gaza prisons. . . .
Israel releases detained B’Tselem field worker
4/10/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli forces released a Palestinian human rights worker late Friday, hours after an arrest in the occupied West Bank village of Bil’in, near Ramallah, his colleagues said Saturday. Haitham Al-Khatib, a field worker for the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem and a cameraman for the Popular Committee Against the Wall, was detained for entering a closed military zone, the army said. B’Tselem, however, rejected the military’s explanation. Israel’s closed-zone order, instituted last month to stop the weekly anti-wall protests in Bil’in and neighboring Nil’in, does not apply to residents of the West Bank villages, a B’Tselem spokeswoman said. An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed that the army’s closed-zone order does not apply to residents. According to the Popular Committee, Friday’s arrest was Al-Khatib’s third since 2009.
11 detained at anti-wall rally south of Bethlehem
4/10/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli forces detained at least 11 people south of the central West Bank city of Bethlehem on Friday afternoon. Eight of the detainees were participating in a protest against Israel’s wall in Safa, a village next to the illegal Gush Etzion settlement. A Palestinian journalist and two foreign nationals were among those detained at the scene, according to witnesses, who said 11 were seized in total. An Israeli military spokeswoman said 14 rioters who violated a closed military zone order were arrested during a “violent and illegal riot.”They threw rocks at security forces and set fire to adjacent lands, she said. All 14 were transferred to the custody of Israeli police for questioning, the official added.
Fatah marks Deir Yassin massacre
4/10/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Marking the 62nd commemoration of the Deir Yassin massacre, Fatah called on the international community to bring its perpetrators before a war crimes tribunal, a statement read Saturday. The movement further termed Israel’s separation wall, settlements and home demolitions war crimes, and demanded that “racist” killings and laws discriminating against Palestinians be considered the “continuation of the genocide that begun 62 years ago.”The statement, issued by Fatah’s Culture and Information Office, said Israel’s “massacres and killing of innocent people, and the terrorism used by Israeli armed organizations to evacuate Palestinians from their land have failed.”Quoting Palestinian resistance fighter Abdul Qader Al-Husseini, who was killed during the Battle of Qastal in April 1948 on the road between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the statement said “the Palestinian people have resisted the invaders, with their modest abilities. . .”
Gaza in darkness: PA, Hamas trade barbs over fuel shortage
4/10/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an report – As Gaza experiences a wide-scale blackout on Saturday, various factions have accused one another for bearing responsibility for the ongoing fuel shortage that has left the coastal enclave functioning below the population’s needs. The Palestinian Information Center, affiliated to Hamas, published headlines accusing Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak for the extensive blackout.”The Israeli war minister has instructed Fayyad to tighten the noose around the Gaza Strip,” one PIC headline read. Speaking to PIC, Gaza government spokesman Taher Al-Nunu said Fatah was responsible for the power outage, adding that the movement in Ramallah was “stealing sums of money donated by the EU to fuel shipments, giving them as increments to its employees.”Ghassan Al-Khatib, spokesman for the Fayyad government, said the PA pays approximately 90%. . .
In Gaza, Abu Zaida mourns ‘tragic isolation’
4/10/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Sufian Abu Zaida, a member of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council, on Friday described the situation in Gaza as disastrous, the result of the factional division plaguing the occupied Palestinian territories.”Gaza is separated from the world, in tragic isolation, and its residents live in a state of depression, smiles wiped from their faces,” Sufian Abu Zaida told Ma’an in Gaza, which he visited this week for the first time since 2007.” We have to take two parallel steps, the first of which is to restart efforts to ratify Egypt’s proposal and proceed with conciliation. The second is for all parties to stop complicating people’s lives,” the Fatah official said, “by creating an atmosphere for conciliation. . . and end the mutual ‘betrayal’ rhetoric.” Abu Zaida arrived in Gaza on Thursday on a seven-day visit to the besieged coastal enclave.
Students erect Israeli wall on US campus
4/10/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – For eight hours on Thursday, students at Princeton University in the US were greeted by a 16-foot wall, made of wood and Styrofoam, representing Israel’s separation wall, local media reported. The Daily Princetonian, a college newspaper, reported Friday that the display was a protest by the Princeton Committee on Palestine and Amnesty International against the wall, which weaves in and out of the occupied West Bank. PCP and AI members spent months planning, building, and painting the wall, which was marked with the words “peace not apartheid.”PCP president Yoel Bitran told the publication that the group wanted to “give Princeton students the opportunity to imagine what it would be like to grow up or go to school in a place surrounded by a prison of concrete and metal.”He said that while “most students understand that Israel’s policies in the occupied territories … Related:Princeton Students Build Wall to Protest Israeli Apartheid
212 Palestinians return to Gaza through Rafah
4/10/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – The de facto border crossings administration said Saturday that 212 residents returned to Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt on Thursday. The majority of Palestinians returning to the coastal enclave were patients having completed treatment and individuals stranded in Egypt, the committee’s report said. Mahmoud Mussa Ash-Sheikh Khalil was repatriated for burial in Gaza, the report added. The northern Erez crossing with Israel was partially open on Thursday, with 27 individuals departing the Gaza Strip, among them five residents, 11 foreign nationals and 10 Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, the committee noted. Entering Gaza through the northern crossing were 46 individuals, of which 31 were residents, five were foreign nationals and 10 were Palestinian with Israeli citizenship. On Friday, the Erez crossing was only partially functioning, the committee said, reporting. . .
PPP official says settlers pelt car with metal object
4/10/2010 – Nablus – Ma’an – A member of the Palestinian Peoples’ Party said Saturday that an Israeli settler threw a large metal object on his car as he drove along the Ramallah-Nablus road. Khaled Mansur told Ma’an that while he passed the Shilo settlement on his way to Ramallah, an Israeli settler drove by and threw the object on the car, and then drove away. Mansur said he did not sustain any injuries, but that the car was damaged as a result of the incident. [end]
African migrant dies of heart attack; 25 detained
4/10/2010 – Al-Arish – Ma’an – An Ethiopian migrant who was detained by Egyptian police on Thursday died of a heart attack on Saturday while in Egyptian custody. Egyptian security sources identified the deceased as Yousif Muhammad Jaberta, 28, and said his body was transferred to the Al-Arish Hospital. Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities detained 25 African migrants attempting to enter Israel illegally, the sources added. The migrants told police that they had paid 1,000 US dollars each to an international human trafficking gang to guarantee their transit into Israel, sources said. Last Saturday, Egyptian authorities detained 20 African migrants in two separate incidents, caught attempting to breach the barbed-wire fencing along the Egypt-Israel border. In March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the government will commence construction on a border wall along Egypt “to close the. . .
PA economy minister signs French financial protocol
4/10/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – A financial protocol signed on 8 April by French Minister of Industry Christian Estrosi and the Palestinian Minister of National Economy Hassan Abu Libdeh aims to support the development of the Palestinian private sector and the Bethlehem Industrial Park. The protocol provides for a 5 million-euro grant from the French government, which will facilitate loans from local financial institutions to Palestinian private companies or French-Palestinian joint ventures, specifically small and medium enterprises, a statement from the French government said. The mechanism will enable businesses to get loans to carry out their projects, reduce the risk taken by the local banking sector when granting loans, and encourage French exporters to establish trade relations with the occupied Palestinian territories, according to the statement.
Ambassador meets with Norwegian Palestine Committee
4/10/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Palestinian ambassador to Norway met with the country’s Palestine committee during its 28th conference on Saturday, a statement read. Ambassador Yasser An-Najjar address the Norwegian Palestine Committee, calling for an end to Israeli confiscation of lands and the siege on Gaza, adding that the PLO and the Palestinian people will never give up their land and rights for an independent state. An-Najjar told conveners that the international community should assist in achieving a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state. Committee head Lina Al-Khatib said the committee stands with the Palestinian people in their struggle against Israel’s occupation, and is working to ensure a full boycott of Israeli goods in Norway. She added that the committee works to spread awareness in Norway on the Palestinian cause.
Police: 11 fugitives detained at Allenby Bridge
4/10/2010 – Jericho – Ma’an – Palestinian security forces arrested 11 fugitives attempting to travel via the Allenby Bridge over the past week, police said. All were wanted by security departments and courts, among them suspects wanted on fraud and other criminal charges, according to a statement from the Jericho police Saturday.” The crossing is witnessing a noticeable rise in the numbers of travelers, reaching 19,499. Among them were 8,734 residents, 127 foreigners, and 108 Palestinians from inside Israel with blue identity cards,” police said. Meanwhile, the number of those traveling to Jordan stood at 10,281 residents, 757 foreigners, 45 holders of Israeli ID cards, 20 patients whose travel was coordinated and transferred by Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulances. Some 89 Palestinians were prevented from leaving for “security reasons,” according to the statement.
PJS tells stations to finalize permits before deadline
4/10/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Palestinian Journalist Syndicate called on all the local stations that have yet to complete licensing procedures to ensure they are finalized before 15 April, the deadline set by the Ministry of Telecommunications. On Thursday, PJS chief Abed An-Nasser An-Najjar met with the minister, Mashhur Abu Daka, to confirm the one-month deadline would soon end, placing stations in three categories: those broadcasting without licenses; those that have obtained permits but have not paid the appropriate fees; and those that have done neither. The PJS called on stations in the last two categories to contact the union if they require assistance in finalizing the necessary procedures within the deadline to avoid closure. Local stations could face another wave of closures for failing to obtain the required licenses from the Ministries of Telecommunications, Interior and Information.
Conjoined Gaza twins die in Saudi
4/10/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Gaza conjoined twins Retal and Retaj Abu A’si passed away on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia relatives confirmed. Earlier, Saudi Arabia’s Health Minister Abdullah Ar-Rabi’a said it was impossible for surgeons to separate the twins, and that their survival rate was low, following numerous medical tests that revealed severe bacterial infection, inflammation of the chest, and an inoperable heart condition. The twins passed away in the King Abdullah Aziz Medical City in Riyadh, where the health minister had earlier paid a visit to them in the intensive care unit. The two girls were born in Gaza in March and were joined at the heart, digestive system, respiratory system and the liver. Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz offered the conjoined twins free medical care and coordinated their travel out of Gaza for surgery.
Al-Jazeera bans Palestinian stations from airing match
4/10/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an -Al-Jazeera Sports has banned Palestinian stations from re-airing a Real Madrid vs. Barcelona football match on Saturday, despite Palestinian enthusiasm for the sport. Al-Jazeera’s legal adviser Abdallah Al-Jallad informed station owners of the ban.”We would like to inform you that broadcasting rights for programs on Al-Jazeera sports are encoded. . . and are reserved. They cannot be screened in public under the law. . . so we demand that you do not broadcast them. We appeal for your full cooperation so that we are not obliged to take the needed legal procedures,” the letter, of which Ma’an obtained a copy, read. Saturday’s match will test Palestinian football fans’ resolve, who are often prohibited from traveling to matches abroad as they are deemed “security threats,” or because they cannot afford travel expenses.
IDF order will enable mass deportation from West Bank
Ha’aretz 10 Apr 2010 – A new IDF order aimed at preventing infiltration is going into effect, may affect thousands of Palestinians.
Hamas releases footage of ‘Gaza clashes’
Ha’aretz 10 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 10 Apr 2010 – Army rebuffs Palestinian media claims that it killed 15-year-old as he tried to enter Israel.
Gaza’s first Siamese twins pass away
10 Apr 2010 – Gaza, April 10, (Pal Telegraph) Close relatives of Gaza’s first Siamese twins confirmed their death in a hospital in Riyadh city, capital of Saudi Arabia. We reported today that Saudi Arabia’s Health Minister, Chairman of the Medical Surgery to separate twins Siamese, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabe’a, announced that Gaza’s first Siamese twins (Rittal and Retag) can not be separated. Rabe’a said,…
Newspaper ban continues in Palestine
10 Apr 2010 – Gaza, April 10, (Pal Telegraph) “Al Quds, Al Ayam, Al Hayatt” are the names of three Palestinian newspapers which were widely spread in the Gaza Strip, but siege and division led to the absence of these newspapers in the strip to the extent that many journalists and media workers in the strip saw the return of these newspapers for distribution…
Gaza’s first Siamese twins cant be seperated
10 Apr 2010 – Gaza, April 10, (Pal Telegraph) Saudi Arabia’s Health Minister, Chairman of the Medical Surgery to separate twins Siamese, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabe’a, announced that Gaza’s first Siamese twins (Rittal and Retag) can not be separated. Rabe’a said, after visiting the children in the intensive care unit at King Abdulaziz Medical City for National Guard in Riyadh yesterday, ” We found that…
70% of Gaza sinks into complete darkness
10 Apr 2010 – Gaza, April 10, (Pal Telegraph) Engineer Walid Saad Sayel, said in a press release today, “The power outage on two thirds of the population of Gaza is catastrophic, all must place their responsibility to save Gaza’s residents because they are human beings before everything, especially when their need for electricity is equivalent to their need for water and air, but…
Israel raids Bethlehem
10 Apr 2010 РBethlehem, April 10, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli occupation forces raided today Bethlehem in the West Bank, Palestinian sources said. Security sources reported that the Israeli soldiers blockaded the house of the citizen Fayez Hamida and then break into it. The sources added that the IOF withdrew and no detentions were recorded.
Palestinians being driven from East Jerusalem homes
The National 10 Apr 2010 – For decades, Jews and Palestinians have fought over who has the legal right to reside in the small area of Karm al Jaouni.
Fox & Judith Miller condemn Israeli media censorship
Palestine Note 10 Apr 2010 – I have to give FOX NEWS a loud sustained shout out for going after the Israeli government for arresting an Israeli reporter who leaked classified information to Ha’aretz. The reporter then disappeared, which the press knew…
Israel knows apartheid has no future
Palestine Note 9 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. In…
Egypt rules against France Telecom
AlJazeera 10 Apr 2010 – Court verdict favours Egypt’s Orascom in dispute over country’s biggest telecom firm.
Several wounded in Iran blast
AlJazeera 10 Apr 2010 – Reports say blast led to escape of three prisoners from jail in city of Ilam.
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…
Settler Violence Report, January-February 2010
Alternative Information Center – Thursday, 01 April 2010, Hebron and South of West Bank – On 9 January, approximately 30 settlers‚Äîsome of them armed‚Äî coming from the Bat Ayin settlement, north-west of Bait Ommar, attacked a group of farmers from…
Netanyahu pulls out of US nuclear summit
PNN – Saturday, 10 April 2010
US denies denying visas to Dimona scientists
Jeruslalem Post 11 Apr 2010 – State Department criticism of Palestinian incitement welcomed by Jewish groups.
German shipyard building subs for Israel sold to UAE group
Jeruslalem Post 10 Apr 2010 – Defense officials concerned deal could impact on future procurement of new missile ships from the company.
Olmert: Unconnected to latest affair
Jeruslalem Post 10 Apr 2010 – Former PM denies any involvement in Holyland real-estate corruption scandal.
‘Illegal barriers deny access to Palestinian fields’
Jeruslalem Post 10 Apr 2010 – State responds to petition by Palestinians from Silwad, represented by Yesh Din.
Kaczynski was good friend of Israel
Jeruslalem Post 10 Apr 2010 – Netanyahu: Kaczynski was a Polish patriot and a great friend of Israel.
Abdullah to US to talk peace process
Jeruslalem Post 10 Apr 2010 – Jordan’s king set to urge Washington to pressure Israel, Palestinians.
Abdullah to US to talk peace negotiations
Jeruslalem Post 10 Apr 2010 – Jordan’s King set to urge Obama to pressure Israel, Palestinians to renew process
Israel laments Polish President’s death
Jeruslalem Post 10 Apr 2010 – Netanyahu: Kaczynski was a Polish patriot, a great friend of Israel, an active leader.
Turkish Architect Devotes herself to Reconstruction in Palestine
WAFA 10 Apr 2010 – ISTANBUL, April 10, 2010 (WAFA)- Turkish architect Filiz Erol, a graduate of the University of Westminster’s architecture department, is taking part in the reconstruction of an abandoned neighborhood
Palestine, Jordan Discuss Cooperation in Municipal Sector
WAFA 10 Apr 2010 – AMMAN, April 10, 2010 (WAFA)- Minister of Local Government, Khaled Qawasmeh discussed on Saturday with Jordanian Minister of Municipal Affairs Ali Al Ghzawi scopes of cooperation, as well as
Abdullah to Discuss with Obama Resumption of ME Talks
WAFA 10 Apr 2010 – AMMAN, April 10, 2010 (WAFA)- King Abdullah II of Jordan left Amman on Saturday in a visit to the United States for talks with President Barack Obama on efforts under way to ensure a resumption of
Palestinian Journalist Arrested in Bil’in while Documenting Demonstration
WAFA 10 Apr 2010 – RAMALLAH, April 9, 2010 (WAFA)- Palestinian Journalist and videographer Haitham Al Khatib from the West Bank village of Bil’in west of Ramallah was arrested by Israeli Occupation forces while
MIDEAST: Belgian Bank Financing Illegal Settlements
IPS BRUSSELS, Apr 10 (IPS) – Dexia, a major Belgian-French bank, is continuing to finance Israeli authorities in the occupied Palestinian territories almost a year after it indicated that it would cease providing loans to illegal settlements.
Five new arrests as activists dismantle illegal settlement foundations
Stop The Wall – Earlier today Israeli occupation forces arrested the following five members of the local committee against the Wall and Settlements in Khirbet Safa. Five international activists, who were detained are already released. The arrests came during a protest against a settlement outpost under construction on the Beit Ummar lands. [
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)….
International Solidarity Movement
An Nabi Salih demonstrates in the face of rapacious repression
4/10/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) used tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets, skunk, and percussion grenades to suppress the popular struggle in An Nabi Salih. Despite the repression, over 100 villagers joined by 30-40 Israelis and internationals demonstrated for over seven hours against Halamish settlement expansion and it’s usurpation of farmland and An Nabi Salih’s freshwater spring. IOF injured over fifteen people. The injuries included the following: severe tear gas inhalation, a lacerated scalp, a broken arm and various rubber-coated steel bullet wounds. The usual and jovial pre-demonstration atmosphere was experienced in the radiant sun; a welcomed respite for those who frequent An Nabi Salih on Friday afternoons. After 3 months of weekly demonstration, the zeal for and dedication to justice has not left the villagers and the outsiders who join the residents of An Nabi Salih.
Israeli army fires at peaceful protesters in Al Atatra border area, North Gaza
4/10/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – This demonstration, which took place on the 6 April, is one of several weekly demonstrations happening in different places alongside Gaza’s border with Israel. They are held in protest against the arbitrary decision by Israel to instate a 300 metre buffer zone as no-go area for Palestinians where shoot to kill policy is implemented. In fact, people have been shot with worrying regularity as far as 2 kilometres away from the border. The organisers of the demonstrations are an association of residents activists of Beit Hanoun called the ‘Local Initiative’and an umbrella called ‘Popular Campaign Against the Buffer Zone’, encompassing farmers and residents living near the border and a number of leftwing political parties. About 200 participants gathered at noon at Al Atatra, near Beit Lahiya and marched towards the border.
Lech Kaczynski, a staunch friend of Polish Jewry
Ha’aretz 10 Apr 2010 – During Kaczynski’s presidency, which began in 2005, Poland’s relations with Israel strengthened.
The Arab position on the Holocaust
Ha’aretz 10 Apr 2010 – An untold number of Jews did not reach Mandatory Palestine because of the position taken by the Arabs.
Israel missing a chance at nuclear global legitimacy
Ha’aretz 10 Apr 2010 – Israel’s nuclear opacity is perceived by many as a political anachronism that is hard to accept.
‘The people of Israel share the grief of the people of Poland’
Ha’aretz 10 Apr 2010 – Israeli officials send condolences to Poland after Polish President Lech Kaczynski killed in plane crash.
Israeli-Arab singer cancels U.K. show following death threats
Ha’aretz 10 Apr 2010 – Mira Awad was scheduled to perform on Israel’s Independence Day in London alongside Achinoam Nini.
Gaza’s first conjoined twins die in Saudi Arabia
Ha’aretz 10 Apr 2010 – The two-week-old twins suffered from severe bacterial chest infections, according to Saudi health minister.
Israeli tourist killed during Bolivia bicycle tour
Ha’aretz 10 Apr 2010 – 28-year-old Israeli woman fell into a chasm while biking on the ‘Road of Death’ in Bolivia.
Jordan’s Abdullah to U.S. in bid to revive peace process
Ha’aretz 10 Apr 2010 – King to urge United States to ramp up pressure on Israel over building in East Jerusalem.
Authorities must decide on Olmert and Holyland affair
Ha’aretz 10 Apr 2010 – The trial of Ehud Olmert, the former mayor of Jerusalem and prime minister of Israel, is being conducted in an atmosphere that is nothing short of extraordinary. Its start was postponed to allow the defense to find a replacement for one of their number, who was appointed state attorney general. Next came a carefully timed attack on the prosecution, in the form of the publication of negative remarks about the judicial branch made by a key member of the prosecution team. Last week brought an even bigger surprise: a request, this time by the prosecution, to suspend deliberations on the Investment Center case because of a new investigation involving some of the defendants and witnesses. Proceedings have been suspended until May 6. …
The real scandal of the Anat Kam affair
Ha’aretz 10 Apr 2010 – Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. If any among you – ministers, Knesset members, generals, senior officials – has never leaked a state secret, let him cast the stone. And let the journalist who never been in possession of a confidential document and refrained from publishing it continue to throw stones at his colleagues. …
Haaretz answers four key questions on the Anat Kam case
Ha’aretz 10 Apr 2010 – 1. Does Haaretz’s insistence on protecting its reporter and his sources in the Anat Kam affair endanger state security? …
Israel to mark Holocaust Day with Yad Vashem ceremony, nationwide sirens
Ha’aretz 10 Apr 2010 – Events for Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Day will begin Sunday evening with an official ceremony at 8 P.M. in the Warsaw Ghetto yard at Yad Vashem, in the presence of President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and chairman of the Yad Vashem Board, Rabbi Meir Lau. The ceremony will focus on the preservation of the memory of the Holocaust. …
Anat Kam’s lawyers negotiating with prosecution on plea bargain
Ha’aretz 10 Apr 2010 – Defense attorneys for Anat Kam, who is suspected of passing on secret documents to Haaretz reporter Uri Blau, have already began negotiating with the prosecution for a plea bargain, Haaretz has learned. …
Spain aims to revive Mideast peace talks
Relief Web 10 Apr 2010 – Source: Agence France-Presse
Naked leftist irks settlers
YNet News 10 Apr 2010 – Leftist activist undressed in religious settlement during Shabbat protest, angry residents say
Olmert: I’ve never taken a bribe
YNet News 10 Apr 2010 – Former PM says he was surprised to be linked to real estate bribery scandal in Jerusalem
Fire damages basement at PM’s Office
YNet News 10 Apr 2010 – Firefighters contain blaze at Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem; no injuries reported
2 inmates escape during Iran prison blast
YNet News 10 Apr 2010 – Ilam police chief says rocket-propelled grenade damaged prison’s wall, allowing two inmates who had been sentenced to death to flee
Palestinian Information Center
International experts: Israel owns 300 nuclear warheads
PIC 10 Apr 2010 – The London-based IISS has estimated that Israel was currently in the possession of 200 nuclear warheads while another magazine said Israel owned between 200 to 300 warheads.
Hebrew media: Barak, Fayyad responsible for Gaza power crisis
PIC 10 Apr 2010 – Ehud Barak has instructed Salam Fayyad to tighten the noose on the Gaza Strip through gradually reducing the payment for industrial fuel for Gaza’s sole power station, the Hebrew radio said.
Khudari: 1,000 containers of goods at Israel’s ports are exposed to damage
PIC 10 Apr 2010 – MP Jamal Al-Khudari has warned that 1,000 containers of different goods belonging to Palestinian merchants in Gaza and stacked at Israel’s ports for more than three years are vulnerable to damage.
Palestine power company warns of humanitarian disaster in Gaza
PIC 10 Apr 2010 – Walid Sayel on Saturday warned of a humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip after its only power station stopped operating as a result of the depletion of fuel supplies.
Abu Sha’ar warns of Israeli plan to double Judaization activities in J’lem
PIC 10 Apr 2010 – Dr. Taleb Abu Sha’ar warned of an Israeli scheme aimed to multiply the Judaization projects in occupied Jerusalem and make the Palestinian natives a minority in their city.
IOF troops storm Bethlehem, detain 2 Palestinians in Al-Khalil
PIC 10 Apr 2010 – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed the West Bank city of Bethlehem at an early hour on Saturday while the militia of the PA in Ramallah remained indoors.
Bil’in anti-wall protestors defy Israeli military orders for fourth week
PIC 10 Apr 2010 – The Bil’in anti-wall march renewed protests against the Israeli segregation wall defying military orders which four weeks ago declared the village a closed military zone on Fridays.
IOA refuses to allow a medical team to examine Abul Haija
PIC 10 Apr 2010 – The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has refused to allow a team of doctors to check on the condition of Sheikh Jamal Abul Haija, who is serving 9 life sentences plus 80 years in IOA jails.
European campaign denounces threats to foreign activists
PIC 10 Apr 2010 – The European campaign to end the siege on Gaza has denounced the threats against foreign activists who announced their intention to take part in the sea voyage to besieged Gaza Strip next month.
Askool: Ki-moon’s intent to visit Shalit father political hypocrisy
PIC 10 Apr 2010 – Dr. Mohamed Askool, the minister of education, said that Ban Ki-moon’s intention to visit the father of Gilad Shalit while ignoring 8,000 Palestinian prisoners is a kind of “political hypocrisy.”
The Saturday Profile: Mohsen Sazegara Challenges Iran With YouTube Views
New York Times 9 Apr 2010 – Mohsen Sazegara, a figure in the Islamic Revolution, is taking on the system he helped create from his basement in Virginia.
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…
A ‘constellation of Jewish groups’ (J Street to David Project) seeks to block any accountability for cruel occupation
Mondoweiss – 10 Apr 2010 – The battle is joined inside the Jewish community over boycott/divestment/sanctions, specifically the Berkeley student bill calling for divestment from two companies. Below Sydney Levy and Yaman Salahi, on behalf of Jewish Voice for Peace , ask, “Why are American Jewish groups so intent on defending illegal Israeli…
The lobby squirts squid-ink at Steve Walt
Mondoweiss – 10 Apr 2010 – This is a good fight. Robert Satloff of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy adopts an Alfred-E-Newman like cluelessness in saying, What possible attachments to foreign countries can Steve Walt be talking about—Morocco? Jordan? Turkey?—when he criticizes the Washington Institute and Dennis Ross, who once…
Neocon offers disinformation about Occupation in ‘LA Times’
Mondoweiss – 10 Apr 2010 – Anonymous writes : I think you’ve followed Robert Pape’s work quite closely. It is very important. Neocon Max Boot has now taken it up in the LA Times : Yet by 2004 the intifada was over. Suicide bombings have not been a serious threat to Israel since. This…
The Cooper Union question: Was Arab anti-Semitism the same as Nazi anti-Semitism?
Mondoweiss – 10 Apr 2010 – Last night at Cooper Union, George Packer sought to expose some possibly embarrassing sources of Tariq Ramadan’s political commitments by reading a quotation from Ramadan’s grandfather, Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. Packer asked Ramadan why he had failed to address the import of…
Bili’in as an Allegory: The Party is Over, Declares Netanyahu
Alternative Information Center – 10 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” ‚Äì that…
Israel’s Inclusion in Economic Organization a Threat to Democracy
Alternative Information Center – 10 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…
Settler Violence Report, January-February 2010
Alternative Information Center – 10 Apr 2010 – Thursday, 01 April 2010, Hebron and South of West Bank – On 9 January, approximately 30 settlers‚Äîsome of them armed‚Äî coming from the Bat Ayin settlement, north-west of Bait Ommar, attacked a group of farmers from the village working the land in the area of Wadi…
Articles
IDF order will enable mass deportation from West Bank
Amira Hass, Haaretz, Israeli Occupation Archive4/11/2010
A new military order aimed at preventing infiltration will come into force this week, enabling the deportation of tens of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank, or their indictment on charges carrying prison terms of up to seven years.
When the order comes into effect, tens of thousands of Palestinians will automatically become criminal offenders liable to be severely punished.
Given the security authorities’ actions over the past decade, the first Palestinians likely to be targeted under the new rules will be those whose ID cards bear home addresses in the Gaza Strip ‚Äì people born in Gaza and their West Bank-born children ‚Äì or those born in the West Bank or abroad who for various reasons lost their residency status. Also likely to be targeted are foreign-born spouses of Palestinians.
Until now, Israeli civil courts have occasionally prevented the expulsion of these three groups from the West Bank. The new order, however, puts them under the sole jurisdiction of Israeli military courts.
The new order defines anyone who enters the West Bank illegally as an infiltrator, as well as “a person who is present in the area and does not lawfully hold a permit.” The order takes the original 1969 definition of infiltrator to the extreme, as the term originally applied only to those illegally staying in Israel after having passed through countries then classified as enemy states ‚Äì Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria.
The order’s language is both general and ambiguous, stipulating that the term infiltrator will also be applied to Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, citizens of countries with which Israel has friendly ties (such as the United States) and Israeli citizens, whether Arab or Jewish. All this depends on the judgment of Israel Defense Forces commanders in the field. Related:Source— See also:Sourcemore..e-mail
‘The worst diplomatic crisis in decades’
Sayed Dhansay, Ma’an News Agency4/10/2010
“The worst diplomatic crisis in decades.”These were the words used by Israeli ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, recently to describe the perceived rift between Israel and the Obama administration over Israel?s illegal settlement policy in occupied East Jerusalem.
It started when American Vice President Joe Biden visited Israel at the beginning of March to launch “proximity talks” between Israel and the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) of Mahmoud Abbas. After 14 months of stalled negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians following Israel’s devastating attack on Gaza, Abbas had finally received the go-ahead from the Arab League to restart talks with Israel.
Though the US routinely uses its veto power to shield Israel at the UN and has never taken concrete measures to curb its colonization of Palestinian land, official US foreign policy purports to favor a two-state solution based on the 1967 lines.
On the very first day of Biden’s visit however, Israel announced the construction of 1,600 new settlement homes in yet another illegal housing project in occupied East Jerusalem. The controversial announcement attracted a storm of international criticism, triggered riots across the occupied West Bank and was seen as an insult and affront to Biden. Prominent columnist Akiva Eldar questioned in the Israeli daily Haaretz how Israel could “spit in Biden’s face” in such a manner.
The Middle East quartet also weighed in, denouncing the Israeli move with a strongly worded statement, while one of America’s top defence officials, General David Petraeus, also entered the furor. In an unusually stark political comment from a military official, Petraeus warned that Israel’s intransigence was harming American interests and endangering the lives of American soldiers throughout the Middle East.more..e-mail
Noam Chomsky, Gilbert Achcar: On the Legitimacy of the State
Stephen R. Shalom, Israeli Occupation Archive4/9/2010
An excerpt from Noam Chomsky and Gilbert Achcar, Perilous Power: The Middle East and U.S. Foreign Policy. Dialogues on Terror, Democracy, War, and Justice, edited by Stephen R. Shalom (expanded edition), Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers, 2009, pp. 143-148.
Shalom: There has been much debate regarding the legitimacy of the Israeli state. To what extent is Israel a legitimate, or an illegitimate, state?
Chomsky: I don’t think that the notion of legitimacy of a state means very much. Is the United States a legitimate state? It’s based on genocide; it conquered half of Mexico. What makes it legitimate? The way the international system is set up, states have certain rights; that has nothing to do with their legitimacy. Every state you can think of is based on violence, repression, expulsion, and all sorts of crimes. And the state system itself has no inherent legitimacy. It’s just an institutional form that developed and that was imposed with plenty of violence. The question of legitimacy just doesn’t arise. There is an international order in which it is essentially agreed that states have certain rights, but that provides them with no legitimacy, Israel or anyone else.
Achcar: We could put the question in another way. If one tries to define the origins of the Israeli state, the formula that comes to mind is the title of a famous piece by Maxime Rodinson, Israel: A Colonial-Settler State? It points to a fact that is built into the history of the state; of course, one could say the same of many states. (Chomsky: Most.) But then you have the factor of time: Israel is a very recent colonial-settler state, and it is based on the expulsion of the original inhabitants of Palestine, not on genocide like the United States. Ironically, states based on genocide are in a more comfortable position. Not from the moral point of view, of course, but from the political point of view, in terms of the existence of a challenge to their legitimacy. In the case of expulsion, those expelled continue to challenge the state’s legitimacy; in the case of genocide, those who might be challengers have been wiped out…. Related:Perilous Power: The Middle East and U.S. Foreign Policy. Dialogues on Terror, Democracy, War, and Justice— See also:Perilous Power: The Middle East and U.S. Foreign Policy. Dialogues on Terror, Democracy, War, and Justicemore..e-mail
Israel Shapes Its New Message
Palestine Chronicle: 10 Apr 2010 – By James Gundun – Washington D.C. The US-Israeli spat has reached a temporary conclusion. Israel has no intention of halting construction of settlements in East Jerusalem, as both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat recently revealed. The White House correspondingly went silent for Passover and the peace process remains frozen until further notice. Whether US officials have truly pressured Israel to the limit or we’re watching an elaborate show remains uncertain, though many indications lean towards stagecraft over statecraft. A new ‘crisis’ looms in the near future, whenever Jerusalem comes to a head again, or Gaza, or something completely new. But whatever the case, America and Israel have transitioned from defending themselves to damage control. Having won its battle, Israel is already deep into a re-branding campaign. One example was a recent Haaretz report by Zvi Bar’el explaining how a third intifada plays into Israel’s hands…more
The Dark Underbelly of Israel’s Security State
Palestine Chronicle: 10 Apr 2010 – By Jonathan Cook -Nazareth What is misleadingly being called in Israel the ‘Anat Kamm espionage affair’ is quickly revealing the dark underbelly of a nation that has worshipped for decades at the altar of a security state. Next week 23-year-old Kamm is due to stand trial for her life — or rather the state’s demand that she serve a life sentence for passing secret documents to an Israeli reporter, Uri Blau, of the liberal Haaretz daily. She is charged with spying. Blau himself is in hiding in London, facing, if not a Mossad hit squad, at least the stringent efforts of Israel’s security services to get him back to Israel over the opposition of his editors, who fear he will be put away too. This episode has been dragging on behind the scenes for months, since at least December, when Kamm was placed under house arrest pending the trial. Not…more
Can Lebanon Come in from The Cold
Palestine Chronicle: 10 Apr 2010 – By Franklin Lamb More than six decades after their expulsion from Palestine, Lebanon’s unwanted refugees just might be granted some basic civil rights. Part I: Hiba’s Story, Ein el Helwe Palestinian Refugee Camp, Lebanon Granting even the most elementary and normally taken for granted civil rights to Palestinians in Lebanon won’t be easy and it may not be pretty. Yet there is undeniable and growing Lebanese and international resolve for Lebanon’s politicians to end a dark bleak chapter in Arab brotherly relations. The disturbing paradox of Lebanon depriving its refugees of the most elementary civil rights, some of which are even granted Palestinians by their arch-nemesis, the Zionist occupiers of their own country, is increasingly being condemned in Lebanon. In addition, there is the gaping contradiction between the sweet words and the clarion trumpeting calls by groups wanting to liberate Jerusalem and all of Palestine and enforce the internationally mandated…more
The New Dark Age 
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