News
International Middle East Media Center
Fighters Killed In Gaza Explosion Identified
IMEMC – Sunday April 18, 2010 – 10:03, Palestinian medical sources reported that the two fighters who were killed in an explosion in Gaza on Saturday evening, have been identified.
Prisoners demand international inquiry over death
4/18/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – Following the death of a Palestinian prisoner in solitary confinement on Friday, prisoners in Israel’s Ofer detention center said they held Israel accountable for the loss of life. The Fatah prisoners bloc in Ofer sent a message Saturday night, blaming the use of solitary confinement for the death ofRaed Abu Hammad, 26, who was put in a small cell despite complaints of illness. Abdullah Abu Rahma, a Fatah-affiliated Palestinian prisoner held at Ofer detention center, called for the formation of a fact-finding committee to investigate Hammad’s death and to press criminal charges against the state if their officers are found guilty. According to statistics from Palestinian prisoners societies, more than 1,200 Palestinians in Israeli custody suffer from under-treated illnesses, while hundreds of others are subject to solitary confinement on a regular basis.
Central Gaza clashes, 2 dead in nearby explosion
4/18/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – The Palestinian National Resistance Brigades, the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) claimed a group of fighters clashed with an Israeli force after it crossed into Gaza east of Juhor Ad-Dik Sunday morning. The military group said fighters used machine guns and Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPG) to force Israeli troops back out of the Strip, as the soldiers responded with fire, a statement from the group said. An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was unaware of shots fired in the area. In their statement, the DFLP’s military wing said it would “continue to resist Israeli occupation as long as Israeli settlement construction and racial policies continue.” Earlier, the central Gaza Strip saw an unexplained explosion east of the Al-Bureij refugee camp which killed two men on Saturday night, Palestinian medical sources at the Al-Aqsa. . .
Israel sentences PA police officer to 15 years
4/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – An Israeli military court at the Ofer detention center near Ramallah sentenced a Palestinian Authority security officer from Bethlehem to 10 years in prison and another five under probation. The officer was charged and convicted for membership in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, an armed group that claims affiliation to President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement. Among the charges 22-year-old officer in the Palestinian national security forces Salim Hamad Ubayyat faced, were firing at Israeli targets in the West Bank, plans to detonate a booby-trapped car and plans to plant other explosive devices at the Israeli bypass road west of Beit Jala, known locally as the tunnel road. Ubayyat was detained on his way home from work, as he paid a visit to his neighbor in the Wadi Shahin neighborhood east of Bethlehem.
Israeli army reportedly fires flare bombs over Lebanese village
4/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – The Israeli army reportedly fired flare bombs over the Al-Adayssi village in southern Lebanon on Saturday night, Lebanese media reported. According to the online news service NOW Lebanon municipality head Osama Rammal was hosting Development and Liberation bloc MP Ali Fayyad and Hezbollah officials for a dinner at his home when the flare was fired, their correspondent said. Fayyad told the news service that residents witnessed Israel fire another bomb, which did not explode, adding that the incident was the first of its kind in a long time, adding that UNIFIL and the Lebanese army intelligence deployed to the region. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) had told the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) that they received a warning from the Israeli army that it would fire on Rammal’s home if the invitees did not leave, the news site said.
Body of dead prisoner released to family
4/18/2010 – Jerusalem – Ma’an – The body of a Palestinian prisoner who died in Israeli custody on Thursday was released to his family for burial, relatives said Sunday. The 26-year-old Raed Abu Hammad from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Al-Eizariya was announced dead following time in an isolation cell, despite earlier complaints of illness. Abu Hammad’s family said a funeral procession will be held Sunday evening in Al-Eizariya, attended by Minister of Detainees and Ex Detainees Affairs Issa Qaraqe and a number of senior official, and residents. Relatives said earlier that their son’s body had yet to be released, after it was transported to the Abu Kabir forensics facility in Israel for what his parents were told would be continued investigations into the cause for their son’s death. The family was told that Abu Hammad’s body would be returned for burial upon completing the autopsy.
Report: 2 injured in Israeli prison guard raid
4/18/2010 – Gaza- Ma’an – The Coalition for Palestinian rights said Sunday that two Palestinian detainees held in the Ofer detention center near the West Bank city of Ramallah were injured during a prison guard night raid. The rights organization said prisoners from national unity section in the detention center were attacked in their cells and their contents were destroyed, a statement read. Those injured were identified as Maher Khamiesha and Hesham Ighneimat, who were transferred to hospital for treatment, the organization added.”The coalition denounces arbitrary Israeli procedures carried out against prisoners, particularly after detainees announced a hunger strike to achieve their demands,” the statement concluded.
PCBS: Olive pressing output down in 2009
4/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – A Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics report revealed that olive pressing in the occupied Palestinian territories was considerably lower in 2009, compared with previous years. Almost 19,860 tons of olives were pressed in 2009, extracting 4,771 tons of olive oil — a decline in olive press output, which in 2008 saw 17,584 tons of oil extracted from 76,388 tons of pressed olives in 2008, the PCBS statistics indicated, revealing a poor olive harvest in 2009. The highest quantity of extracted oil in 2009 was 1,585 tons from 6,304 of olive pressed in Jenin and Tubas governorates, while the lowest quantity of extracted oil was 103 tons from 389 tons of pressed olive in Jerusalem. The PCBS noted that results showed that the extraction rate increased, reaching 24. 0% in 2009, compared with 23. 0% in 2008. It reached the highest level with 26. 9% in Qalqiliya governorate while the lowest level was in Gaza and Deir Al-Balah governorates at 16. 6%.
Nablus festival marks Prisoners Day
4/18/2010 – Nablus – Ma’an – Tens of thousands joined the Freedom and Spring festival at Jamal Abdul-Nasser Park in Nablus on Saturday, marking Palestinian Prisoners Day with the inauguration of a Freedom sculpture project. Head of the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society in Nablus Raed Omar said the festival runs every year, with proceeds raised going to help support the children of the more than 10,000 Palestinian men incarcerated by Israel for working against the occupation. Events at the park were organized to entertain the children of prisoners, as Omar noted that “children have the right to feel happy and partake in joyful occasions even though their fathers or mothers are detained in Israeli jails.”Representative of the Palestinian ministry of detainees Samir Samaru said the event was also meant to celebrate the committment Palestinians in prison have shown to their people, and marks a chance to celebrate their victories so far, with more to come.
Israeli forces take Huwarra man in overnight raid
4/18/2010 – Nablus – Ma’an – Israeli forces detained a young man from the West Bank village of Huwwara, south of Nablus, after ransacking his home, local officials said. Huwwara Mayor Samir Mur’ib said 21-year-old Shadi Jihad was taken from his home following a raid where soldiers ransacked the place, and noted that the detention followed the seizure of one of Jihad’s relatives, Jihad Nasser Jihad. According to a report from the PLO’s negotiations affairs department, Israeli forces raided the West Bank 15 times over the last two days, and detained 15 civilians including two Palestinian police officers. Witnesses in Bethlehem said Israeli forces entered the Al-Azza and Aida refugee camps overnight, with no reports of detentions.
Single Gaza crossing partly open
4/18/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Limited quantities of aid and fuel will enter Gaza on Sunday, as Israeli forces announced the partial opening of the southernmost crossing between the coastal enclave and Israel, Kerem ShalomPalestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh said 70 truckloads of goods were expected for import, including two full of equipment for the Palestinian cellular communication company Jawwal, and the Palestinian power authority. Limited quantities of domestic-use gas and industrial diesel will also enter the Strip via the crossing, though the fuel terminal at Nahal Oz remains closed, as it has been since December. For export, two truckloads of cut carnations from Gaza farms will be shipped out of the Strip, under a continuing Dutch government program in support of farmers.
Egypt discovers 10 smuggling tunnels on Gaza border
4/18/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Egyptian forces discovered 10 smuggling tunnels on Sunday along the Gaza-Egypt border in the Salah Ad-Din neighborhood of Egyptian Rafah. Security sources told Ma’an that state detectives stormed eight homes along the border area, finding tunnel exits inside their homes. Large quantities of iron construction bars, water pumps, and spare car parts were confiscated in the various tunnels, which are slated for closure, police said. Egyptian authorities will not detonate the tunnels, as protocol usually dictates, but will seal the entrances will boulders because of the damage an explosion would cause to the residential structures. Separately, Egyptian security intercepted four female African migrants attempting to enter Israel along the Egyptian borders.
Palestine to welcome Israeli guides, Israel on fence
4/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – New regulations allowing Israeli tourguides into the West Bank are still pending approval from some sides, an Israeli spokesman for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) confirmed Sunday. The Israeli army, COGAT and the country’s Ministry of Tourism had all approved the move, the official said, but declined to name the offices that were holding back the initiative, adding “we hope it happens as soon as possible.” Not among those holding back the plan is the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism, which was neither consulted nor asked to okay the new regulations. In fact, the only mechanism for information transfer in the tourism field is a Joint Technical Committee, which was notified about the possibility of the new permits for Israelis a few weeks ago, but not asked for comment.
Allenby Bridge closed Monday afternoon
4/18/2010 – Jericho – Ma’an – Palestinian police deployed at the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and the West Bank city of Jericho said Sunday that the terminal would be functioning only until 4pm on Monday afternoon.”The last bus that will leave from Jericho to Jordan via the bridge and vice versa, will leave at set times,” a statement read. The bridge will allow transit in both directions until the afternoon, police wrote. The crossing will be fully functioning on Tuesday from 7:30am to 9pm every day, the statement said, except on Fridays and Saturdays where it will operate from 8:30am to 10:30am. [end]
Haniyeh: Reconcile for the prisoners
4/18/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the de facto government in Gaza, on Saturday said a national reconciliation agreement, possible only if both Palestinian governments unite, would serve the interests of prisoners in Israeli custody.”We must achieve reconciliation, and the Arabs should help us get America’s pressure off the Palestinian people’s back,” Haniyeh said at the Ministry of Detainees and Ex-detainees Affairs in Gaza City. Addressing a Palestinian Legislative Council meeting at the ministry building, Haniyeh also called on Arab and Muslim governments to take responsibility for supporting prisoners and their families. He also called for “the resistance in the West Bank to unite with the resistance in Gaza, which is defending the land.”Ahmad Bahar, the deputy PLC speaker, also demanded that Palestinian forces, factions, and official institutions unite on behalf of. . .
Investigations reveal Gaza executions violated law
4/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Six Gaza-based human rights groups conducted investigations into the Thursday executions of two men convicted of collaboration with Israel, and found the killings to have violated Palestinian law. The slain, identified for the first time in the report, as Nasir Abu Farij and Mohammed Ismail, were the first to be executed in Gaza since 2005, when the practice of enforcing the death penalty was shelved, though retained under law. In the sentencing of the two men, a report said, Gaza’s High Military Court cited the 1979 Revolutionary Penal Code of the PLO. The code, according to the rights organizations is “unconstitutional as it does not constitute a part of the [Palestinian Authority’s] PNA’s legal system and has not been debated and ratified by the Palestinian Legislative Council.”The report also noted that many of the provisions of the code “breach relevant international. . .”
PJS urges station owners to seek assistance at union
4/18/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate called on Sunday for local radio and TV stations who have yet to conclude their permit registration in Palestinian Authority ministries to contact the union for assistance. The union urged owners to submit all the necessary documents to the Ministries of Interior, Telecommunications or Information according to their status and to contact the PJS for legal assistance to avoid station closures. Radio and TV stations were given between 23 March and 15 April to finalize permits, pay fees or regulate their frequencies to avoid interference with other stations or face immediate shut downs. In late February, several stations were closed down as a result of licensing disputes, but were reopened by the PA Ministry of Telecommunications to allow owners to apply for permits within the given deadline.
University union suspends Monday strike
4/18/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – The Palestinian Universities Employees’ Union said Sunday that it would suspend Monday’s strike, representatives said. Union head Amjad Barham said strikes will continue, however, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The announcement was made before a meeting with the union and the Council of Higher Education later on Sunday, to discuss resolving employees’ demands. Barham said he hoped the council would respond to the union’s demand in a “way that is just and fair to all.” Employees demand a salary increase in accordance with the rise in living costs, which was granted to Palestinian Authority civil servants at the beginning of 2010 and inclusion on the government’s pension scheme.
Salafi leader in Gaza: We count over 11,000 members
4/18/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an Exclusive – “We, the Salafists, count more than 11,000 members who carry with them jihadist teachings from both Ayman At-Thawahri and Osama Bin Laden,” said Abu Al-Hareth, leader of the Jund Ansar Allah, during an interview in his poorly lit Gaza home.”Of this number, 70 percent are members of the Jaljalat, a group made up of former Al-Qassam Brigades and Hamas affiliates,” he explained. The Salafist movement shot to public attention in the summer of 2009, when an Imam declared Gaza an “Islamic emirate” during a Friday sermon in southern Gaza. Fierce clashes ensued between Hamas security forces and Salafist affiliates, leaving 16 dead. The group is widely considered an extremist militant bloc, extracting ideas and beliefs from Al-Qaida’s call for Jihad and the implementation of Shariah (Islamic) law globally.
The secret Auschwitz ceremony that Ehud Olmert exposed
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – Why did the event’s organizers – Keren Hayesod – forbid participants from talking to the media?
Poland holds public memorial for crash victims
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – Thickening cloud of volcanic ash over Europe causes some world leaders to cancel plans to attend state funeral.
World leaders, Poles attend funeral for late Polish president
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – President Lech Kaczynski and his wife were killed a week ago along with 94 others in a plane crash in Russia.
Obama cuts funds to promote democracy in Egypt by 50%
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – Some say shift could affect everything from anti-corruption programs to the monitoring of elections.
EU: Half of European flights could operate by Monday
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – France, Germany reopen some airports after volcanic ash cloud wreaks havoc on European air traffic.
Iran nuclear summit urges Israel to sign non-proliferation treaty
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – In speech marking Army Day, Ahmadinejad says Israel is a corrupt microbe on its way to collapse.
U.S. Army chief: Options exist on Iran but diplomacy comes first
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – Defense Secretary charges White House with failing in strategy against nuclear threat.
Gates: U.S. mulling next steps on Iran’s nuclear program
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – Army chief Mullen says strike on Iran’s nuclear sites may have unintended-for consequences.
Report: German mediator in Shalit deal visited Mideast
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – Al Hayat reports the German mediator met with officials in Israel, Hamas, but no new solutions reached.
Im Tirtzu alters memorial prayer in fresh attack on Israeli left
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – Im Tirzu, which labels itself as a centrist party that aims to strengthen Zionism in Israel, has distributed 15,000 pamphlets in synagogues that feature an altered version of the memorial prayer (Yizkor), which takes aim at leftists and conscientious objectors. …
Supreme Court: Two Holyland affair suspects to remain in jail
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – The Supreme Court on Sunday denied appeals filed by businessman Hillel Charney and Avigdor Kelner to be released from prison, after the two were arrested a week ago over suspicions of involvement in the alleged Holyland bribery affair. …
Peres on Memorial Day: Israel yearns for peace, but will defend itself
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – Israel fell silent on Sunday night as sirens wailed across the country to mark Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror attacks. …
Statistics Bureau: 75%of Israeli citizens are Jewish
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – On Israel’s 62nd Independence Day, the number of Israeli citizens in the country stands at more than 7,587,000, of which 75 percent are Jewish, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported on Sunday. …
Israel’s iPad ban sparks media circus among foreign press
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – Nearly a week since the Communications Ministry announced it was banning Apple’s new tablet computer – the iPad – until further notice, technology lovers are still up in arms. Meanwhile, the ministry announced that customs authorities at Ben-Gurion International Airport have so far confiscated 20 of the devices. …
Israeli soldiers attack Palestinian prisoners in Ofer
18 Apr 2010 – Ramallah, April 18, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli occupation forces raided today Ofar prison in west of Ramallah and attacked two Palestinian prisoners.They also damaged the all the contents of the “National Unity Department”, Ahrar center for prisoners‚’ studies and human rights Palestinian reported. Maher Khmaysah and Hesham Ghnimat were injured and transferred to the hospital after being beaten up…
Talks about re-opening prisoners exchange deal
18 Apr 2010 – Gaza, April 18, (Pal Telegraph) Reliable Palestinian sources revealed that the German mediator in the prisoner exchange deal between the ¬´Hamas¬ª movement and Israel, Farhard Conrad, who is vice chairman of the German intelligence service, visited the region recently about two weeks ago and held talks with Israeli officials, also met twice with leaders of ¬´Hamas¬ª in Gaza and visited…
Israel detains Palestinian, notifies other to visit Intelligence office
18 Apr 2010 – Bethlehem, April 18, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli occupation forces detained today a Palestinian youth from Bethlehem and notified other to visit the Israeli intelligence. Israeli occupation forces raided Al-Doha area and detained Mahmoud Azeyah, 26, while notified Amad Al-Barmil, 35, to visit the Israeli intelligence. They also raided Aydah camp and notified citizens to visit the Israeli intelligence. Besides,…
Israel conducts limited incursion in Gaza
18 Apr 2010 – Gaza, April 18, (Pal Telegraph) A group of National Resistance Brigades, the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, announced today that a special Israeli unit conducted a limited incursion at dawn, central of the Gaza Strip near the dumpsite, using RPG and automatic weapons. The group added in a statement, that they responded Special Israeli…
Israel raids areas in Hebron
18 Apr 2010 – Hebron, April 18, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli occupation forces raided different areas in Hebron today, no detention were reported. “Three military jeeps raided Ezna town west of Hebron and traveled in its streets while no detentions were reported” security sources said. Israeli occupation forces raided Ras Al-Jorah, Beer Mahjar and Haram Al-Rama neighborhoods in Hebron.
Israel imposes full closure on WB
18 Apr 2010 – West Bank, April 18, (Pal Telegraph) Sources said that the Israeli occupation authorities have imposed a comprehensive closure that stars from midnight today and includes all the Palestinian territories on the occasion of what they call “Feast of independence” which is the sixty-second of the State of Israel. The sources said that the closure will continue until the midnight of…
Health Ministry warns of crisis in Gaza due to lack of fuel
18 Apr 2010 – Gaza, April 18, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza warned of a humanitarian and health crisis in Gaza due to lack of fuel in Gaza Strip hospitals. The Ministry added in a statement that it suffers from a shortage of 300 liters of diesel needed to operate the generators of a number of emergency services, besides…
Gaza: Two Palestinians killed in blast
18 Apr 2010 – Gaza, April 18, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Two Palestinians were killed on Saturday night near the Gaza – Israel border, witnesses and medics said. Witnesses said they heard a huge explosion in eastern area of Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, adding that two fighters were apparently preparing to plant a bomb in the area, which accidentally exploded due…
Untrammeled settler violence spreads through Nablus region
Uruknet April 18, 2010 – Israeli settlers have strengthened their campaign of colonization and violence in the Nablus region of the West Bank in recent weeks. A mosque was vandalized and three cars torched in a Israeli settler attack on Huwara village on April 14. In the neighboring village of Burin, attacks on Palestinian civilians and homes continue as six mobile…
Boldness vs. Bullets at the Gaza Border
Uruknet April 18, 2010 – The razor-wire and concrete frontier between Israel and Gaza is intermittently interrupted by remote-controlled metal observation towers equipped with motion sensors. When the sensors detect something, the metal petals atop the towers peel back, blooming. A small bloom means the interior camera is peering around. A big bloom occurs when the people controlling the machine guns…
Video: Remembering Deir Yassin
Uruknet April 18, 2010 – Early in the morning of April 9, 1948, commandos of the Irgun (headed by Menachem Begin) and the Stern Gang attacked Deir Yassin, a village with about 750 Palestinian residents. The village lay outside of the area to be assigned by the United Nations to the Jewish State; it had a peaceful reputation. But it was…
Palestinian prisoners demand international inquiry over death
Uruknet April 18, 2010 – Following the death of a Palestinian prisoner in solitary confinement on Friday, prisoners in Israel’s Ofer detention center said they held Israel accountable for the loss of life. The Fatah prisoners bloc in Ofer sent a message Saturday night, blaming the use of solitary confinement for the death of Raed Abu Hammad, 26, who was put…
KAIROS PALESTINE: New Military Order “infiltrates” Palestinian Rights
Uruknet April 18, 2010 – Kairos Palestine expresses its outrage and dismay about a new Israeli military order that will categorize tens of thousands of Palestinians living in the West Bank as “infiltrators” — ostensibly because they lack the proper permits — and give military officers sweeping control over their deportation. We condemn this action and call upon churches worldwide to…
Israeli army reportedly fires flare bombs over Lebanese village
Uruknet April 18, 2010 – The Israeli army reportedly fired flare bombs over the Al-Adayssi village in southern Lebanon on Saturday night, Lebanese media reported. According to the online news service NOW Lebanon municipality head Osama Rammal was hosting Development and Liberation bloc MP Ali Fayyad and Hezbollah officials for a dinner at his home when the flare was fired, their…
Resisting the occupier
Uruknet April 18, 2010 – Let me be clear from the beginning, I am fond of Taliban, fond of the Palestinian Resistance and it has nothing to do with being a Ba’athist or not, this Resistance is just brave. I mean the Palestinians have been resisting for more than 70 years, and the Afghans…their country has been occupied three times, and…
Howling Wind: The Unrepented Genocide
Uruknet April 18, 2010 – …But not a single person has ever faced trial, or censure, or even the slightest personal inconvenience for the murder of more than 2 million Iraqis over the past two decades. The bipartisan perpetrators of these crimes — the leading lights of the Clinton and Bush Administrations — live ensconced in comfort and privilege. Many of…
The Untapped Power of Arabia
Uruknet April 17, 2010 – …The sad reality is that the Arab leaders serve only to assert and perpetuate the division of the Arab World and nation that was planned by the British/French Sykes-Picot secret agreement of 1916. This political, economic and ethnic division had weakened the Arabs, and made them vulnerable for western control, exploitation and occupation. One may ask…
POSTCARD FROM GAZA
Uruknet April 17, 2010 – The problem in Gaza is not the lack of food or the humanitarian crisis. The major problem in Gaza is how to keep his sanity. You come across betrayed people who are completely depressed and betrayed people who actively search for a spark of hope. You come across indigenous crocks who enjoy swimming in the despair…
Israel imposes West Bank lockdown
Uruknet April 17, 2010 – The Israeli army announced Saturday that the West Bank will be sealed off from midnight until Tuesday, ahead of Israeli Independence Day. A statement from Israel’s military said “a general closure will be implemented in the Judea and Samaria region [the West Bank] for the duration of Israel’s Memorial day and Independence day.” On Tuesday at…
Israel: An outpost of empire
Uruknet April 17, 2010 – …Netanyhu’s government has nothing to worry about—if the U.S. was serious about reigning in the plans for settlements, it could threaten to withhold some of the $3 billion in aid headed to Israel this year alone. In fact, the precedent was set in December 2009, when the Netanyahu government initially responded to U.S. calls for a…
Schools fail a whole generation in Egypt
The National 18 Apr 2010 – As minister aims to make teachers more accountable, pupils suffer under a system that renders attendance optional.
Executions by Hamas condemned as murder
The National 18 Apr 2010 – International criticism intensifies over the deaths by firing squad of two Palestinians convicted of treason in Gaza Strip last week.
Tehran quake is just a matter of time
The National 18 Apr 2010 – Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned the capital city’s 12 million inhabitants of the risks they face in refusing to evacuate.
Seventy percent of Israelis are Jewish – Statistics Bureau
Palestine Note 18 Apr 2010 – The number of Jewish citizens in Israel stands at 75 percent, reported Haaretz newspaper on Sunday quoting the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics. According to the Bureau, there are more 14 cities across Israel today with…
A doctor’s prescription for peace with justice
Palestine Note 18 Apr 2010 – Introduction Americans-whether they are Christian, Jewish or Muslim-hope and pray for Middle East peace and understanding. I’m a very optimistic American Jew. There will be peace. Violence will end. There will be understanding. There are too…
Hamas accuses Dahlan of spying for Israel
Palestine Note 18 Apr 2010 – The Hamas Foreign Affairs ministry has accused Fatah Central Committee member and potential PA Vice President Mohammed Dahlan of gathering information about Hamas member whereabouts for Israel, Fars News Agency reports via Israeli Press TV . Hamas…
IDF uses bereaved families as ‘fig leaf’ to protect settlements
Palestine Note 18 Apr 2010 – Famously unfriendly Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi stood together Friday to prevent the destruction of illegal outpost homes on Givat Hayovel settlement, Haaretz ‘s Gideon Levy reports. Settlement Dozens of…
Palestinian prisoners call for external investigation after inmate’s death
Palestine Note 18 Apr 2010 – Prisoners in the Fatah bloc of Ofer prison are demanding an international inquiry into the death of inmate Raed Abu Hammad at Eshel Prison Friday, Ma’an News Agency reports. Fatah-affiliated prisoner Abdullah Abu Rahma has called…
ISRAELI COURT SENTENCES PALESTINIAN POLICEMAN TO 15 YEARS
Palestine Note 18 Apr 2010 – PA SECURITY OFFICER CONVICTED FOR MEMBERSHIP IN AL-AQSA MARTYRS’ BRIGADE An Israeli military court has sentenced 22-year-old PA security officer Salim Hamad Ubayyat to 10 years in prison and 5 years of probation, Ma’an News Agency…
Gaza fighters clash with Israelis, two Palestinians die in explosion
Palestine Note 18 Apr 2010 – Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine ( DFLP ) says its fighters clashed with Israeli forces after they crossed in to Gaza Sunday morning, Ma’an News Agency reports. The Palestinian National Resistance Brigade fighters, DFLP’s military wing,…
Hizballah’s deputy leader: Israel making up Scud reports
Palestine Note 18 Apr 2010 – Sheikh Naim Qassem, Hizballah’s deputy leader, refuses to confirm or deny reports that his organization received Scud missiles from Syria. In an interview with Al-Sharq Al-Awsat , Qassem said Hizballah is “satisfied” with its current position, and…
Israel arrests Abbas guard
Palestine Note 17 Apr 2010 – Just hours before US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s address to David S. Abraham Center for Peace calling on Israel to “do more for peace,” Israeli soldiers arrested a member of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’…
Global peace and justice groups threaten Israel’s legitimacy
Palestine Note 17 Apr 2010 – Working pro bono for Israeli government agencies, the Tel Aviv-based Reut Institute (RI) provides “real-time strategic decision-making” support in areas of national security and socioeconomic policy. Saying global peace and justice groups threaten Israel’s legitimacy, its…
Jerusalem: occupation, discrimination and colonization / an answer to Jewlicious.com
Palestine Note 17 Apr 2010 – A couple of weeks ago I wrote a response to a post on Jewlicious.com which dealt with the renovations of the Hurva synagogue in Jerusalem’s old city. This was a unilateral move by Israel, which brought…
Prisoners’ day in Palestine
Palestine Note 17 Apr 2010 – Friday, we had demonstrations in a number of locations in Palestine mostly in honor of prisoners (11,000 kidnapped Palestinians held in Israeli jails). The demonstration in Al-Ma’asara went smoothly even though the night before the Israeli…
Principled opposition
Palestine Note 17 Apr 2010 – I am not a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. For a number of years, I had direct contact with many of the international peace and solidarity groups that make it up. There’s…
They hated George Washington, too.
Palestine Note 17 Apr 2010 – Any reasonable person has to be appalled by the increasingly vicious nature of the attacks Republicans, Tea Partiers, Fox News, and radio hate-mongers hurl at President Barack Obama. A new element to the chorus of hate…
Deporting Gandhi from Palestine
Palestine Note 17 Apr 2010 – The Israeli government’s recent announcement of Army order No. 1,650 was just the latest act of provocation in a series of calculated measures to derail any possible resumption of peace negotiations. Under this new draconian measure,…
This week in Middle East conspiracy theories
Palestine Note 17 Apr 2010 – One of the small joys of Middle East coverage is seeing the gems of stories that occasionally show up in local papers. Buried in the morass of reports on which-prince-visited-which-seedy-ex-Soviet-country and how-Hindu-migrant-workers-converted-to-Islam are the voluminous conspiracy…
Annotating the congressional letter affirming US-Israel relations
Palestine Note 17 Apr 2010 – I received a note today reacting to a set of Congressional letters reaffirming US-Israel relations from Sama Adnan , executive director of the new political action committee advocating for Palestinian interests, NewPolicy.org . He notes that 24 US…
Tehran Holds Its Own Nuclear Summit Following Obama Conference
The Media Line 17 Apr 2010 – Iran has responded to President Obama’s nuclear summit in Washington, where the Iranian nuclear threat was a main topic of discussion, with its own nuclear disarmament conference in Tehran. Iran’s Supreme Ruler Ayatolla Ali Khamanei told…
Israel to Syria: Hizbullah is Your Responsibility
The Media Line 17 Apr 2010 – Israel views the Lebanon-based Hizbullah terrorist organization as a Syrian entity and will hold Damascus responsible for its actions according to a report in the U.K.’s Sunday Times. Citing an unnamed Israeli cabinet minister speaking off-the-record,…
Palestinians mark Prisoners’ Day
AlJazeera 17 Apr 2010 – Hamas and Fatah join ranks to honour thousands of prisoners detained in Israeli jails.
Fallen troops ‘silver platter’ upon which we received state
Jeruslalem Post 19 Apr 2010 – Barak announces war monument to memorialize Israel’s 22,684 fallen soldiers and security personnel to be erected on Mount Herzl; nation marks Remembrance Day.
Happy Independence Day wishes from a Palestinian
Jeruslalem Post 19 Apr 2010 – Although Palestinian and Israeli narratives are different, our vision for the future can be one.
Freedom of speech makes for strange bedfellows
Jeruslalem Post 18 Apr 2010 – ACRI, funded in part by the New Israel Fund, stands up for Im Tirtzu‚’s freedom of expression.
IDF looks to cut off PA protest funding
Jeruslalem Post 18 Apr 2010 – Defense officials warn Fayyad public uprising could quickly turn violent.
Iran nuke parley: Israel should join NPT
Jeruslalem Post 18 Apr 2010 – Teheran parade displays missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Mediator meets Gaza officials on Schalit, UK paper says
Jeruslalem Post 18 Apr 2010 – Palestinian sources say latest round of meetings “broke no ground.”
Peres: We seek peace, but know how to defend ourselves
Jeruslalem Post 18 Apr 2010 – As Israel mourns fallen soldiers, president consoles bereaved families, warns world against Iran.
Israel’s population 7.5 million
Jeruslalem Post 18 Apr 2010 – On eve of Independence Day, CBS releases data on national growth.
Barak: Peace requires brave decisions
Jeruslalem Post 18 Apr 2010 – Defense minister speaks at Remembrance Day ceremony in Tel Aviv University.
Turkish NGOs Join Forces to Break Israel‚’s Gaza Embargo
WAFA 18 Apr 2010 – ISTANBUL, April 18, 2010 (WAFA)- A group of Turkish nongovernmental organizations are undertaking a joint effort to break the years-long Israeli embargo on Palestinians through a Humanitarian Aid
Sarid to Wiesel: Jewish Spirit does not Need Sheikh Jarrah
WAFA 18 Apr 2010 – TEL AVIV, April 18, 2010 (WAFA)- The Jewish spirit does not need Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan, Abu Dis and Shoafat to fulfill God’s command to Abraham to ‘Arise, walk through the land in the length of it
Israel Closes West Bank
WAFA 18 Apr 2010 – TEL AVIV, April 18, 2010 (WAFA)- Israel closed the West Bank for Israel’s establishment., The closure
VIVICITTA- Run for Child Rights Ends In Shufat
WAFA 18 Apr 2010 –
UN Human Rights Chief Urges Halt to Gaza Executions
WAFA 18 Apr 2010 – GENEVA, April 17, 2010 (WAFA)—The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged, Friday, Hamas not to carry out further executions and to abolish the use of the death penalty, United
International Solidarity Movement
Palestinians reclaim property through graffiti
4/18/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – The Al-Kurds continued to reclaim what remains of their Sheikh Jarrah home today with an art project. Three graffiti artists from Palestine, Israel and the UK joined Sheikh Jarrah residents and activists for a day of garden beautification. The artists met with residents in the morning while activists prepped the walls for painting.”Sheikh Jarrah” was sprayed in both Arabic and English with an Al-Aqsa style mosque between the two. The Gawi children, evicted from their homes in August 2009, assisted with the creation. Neighborhood kids also made stencils to decorate the doors, walls and pathways of the yard. Nasser Al-Ghawi sits by reclaimed wallSettlers were present in large numbers, upwards of 15 at times, throughout the day. They sat in front of the occupied Al-Kurd home watching as over 40 residents, Israeli and international activists filled the yard to support the evicted families of Sheikh Jarrah.
ISM Returns to Hebron
4/18/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – ISM now have an apartment located just outside Tel Rumeida one of the most troubled areas of Hebron. Tel Rumeida is the only area remaining in Hebron where Palestinians live side by side with the settlers. Palestinian residents of Tel Rumeida face daily harassment by the military, settlers and the Israeli Police. The army severely restricts the movement of the Palestinians by using a number of checkpoints, allowing only Jews to walk down certain streets and preventing Palestinians from driving their cars in the entire Tel Rumeida area. ISM left Hebron about 6 months ago due to the lack of volunteers and therefore a lot of our work currently focuses on building relationships with the residents and representatives of the community. Currently we have met with a number of the residents, the popular committee, the headmistress of the local school, the “Youth Against Settlement”. . . .
Untrammeled settler violence spreads through Nablus region
4/16/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – 16 April – Israeli settlers have strengthened their campaign of colonization and violence in the Nablus region of the West Bank in recent weeks. A mosque was vandalized and three cars torched in a Israeli settler attack on Huwara village on April 14. In the neighboring village of Burin, attacks on Palestinian civilians and homes continue as six mobile homes have been established on Burin’s land, constituting a new settler outpost. On Thursday, April 15, international solidarity activists visited Huwara, a village of 6,500 inhabitants, to express solidarity with the village after the mosque had been defaced by settlers early Wednesday morning. Huwara mayor, Samer Odeh, reported that five to six settlers descended on the village in the early morning hours and spray-painted graffiti on the eight-year-old mosque.
Gates: U.S. mulling next steps on Iran’s nuclear program
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – Army chief Mullen says strike on Iran’s nuclear sites may have unintended-for consequences.
U.S. Army chief: Options exist on Iran but diplomacy comes first
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – Defense Secretary charges White House with failing in strategy against nuclear threat.
Iran nuclear summit urges Israel to sign non-proliferation treaty
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – In speech marking Army Day, Ahmadinejad says Israel is a corrupt microbe on its way to collapse.
EU: Half of European flights could operate by Monday
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – France, Germany reopen some airports after volcanic ash cloud wreaks havoc on European air traffic.
Obama cuts funds to promote democracy in Egypt by 50%
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – Some say shift could affect everything from anti-corruption programs to the monitoring of elections.
World leaders, Poles attend funeral for late Polish president
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – President Lech Kaczynski and his wife were killed a week ago along with 94 others in a plane crash in Russia.
Poland holds public memorial for crash victims
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – Thickening cloud of volcanic ash over Europe causes some world leaders to cancel plans to attend state funeral.
The secret Auschwitz ceremony that Ehud Olmert exposed
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – Why did the event’s organizers – Keren Hayesod – forbid participants from talking to the media?
Im Tirtzu alters memorial prayer in fresh attack on Israeli left
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – Im Tirzu, which labels itself as a centrist party that aims to strengthen Zionism in Israel, has distributed 15,000 pamphlets in synagogues that feature an altered version of the memorial prayer (Yizkor), which takes aim at leftists and conscientious objectors. …
Supreme Court: Two Holyland affair suspects to remain in jail
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – The Supreme Court on Sunday denied appeals filed by businessman Hillel Charney and Avigdor Kelner to be released from prison, after the two were arrested a week ago over suspicions of involvement in the alleged Holyland bribery affair. …
Peres on Memorial Day: Israel yearns for peace, but will defend itself
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – Israel fell silent on Sunday night as sirens wailed across the country to mark Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror attacks. …
Statistics Bureau: 75%of Israeli citizens are Jewish
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – On Israel’s 62nd Independence Day, the number of Israeli citizens in the country stands at more than 7,587,000, of which 75 percent are Jewish, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported on Sunday. …
Israel’s iPad ban sparks media circus among foreign press
Ha’aretz 18 Apr 2010 – Nearly a week since the Communications Ministry announced it was banning Apple’s new tablet computer – the iPad – until further notice, technology lovers are still up in arms. Meanwhile, the ministry announced that customs authorities at Ben-Gurion International Airport have so far confiscated 20 of the devices. …
Gaza: Halt Executions
Relief Web 18 Apr 2010 – Source: Human Rights Watch
US considers options to curb Iran’s nuclear program
YNet News 19 Apr 2010 – Pentagon officials says military strikes among broad range of possibilities weighed by Obama’s national security advisors if diplomacy and sanctions fail
Clinton congratulates Israel: We’ll help shoulder your burdens
YNet News 18 Apr 2010 – In video message ahead of Israeli Independence Day, US secretary of state says, ‘Pursuing peace and recognized borders for Israel is one of our top priorities’
Bill Clinton: I’ll back Obama on new Mideast peace plan
YNet News 18 Apr 2010 – Former US president tells ABC administration ‘must do something to deprive Israel, PA of any excuse not to engage in serious negotiations’
Neturei Karta hold anti-Israel protest on Memorial Day eve
YNet News 18 Apr 2010 – Members of radical anti-Zionist sect clash with police officers in Jerusalem during moment of silence in memory of fallen soldiers. One protestor arrested after torching Israeli flag
Mullen: Options exist on Iran but diplomacy first
YNet News 18 Apr 2010 – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff tells Columbia University forum he’s concerned about ‘unintended consequences’ of attack on Iran’s nuclear sites
US aid cuts hit Egypt’s democracy groups
YNet News 18 Apr 2010 – Washington cuts funds aimed at advancing democracy in Egypt by about 50%; head of a Cairo-based organization says Obama wants change ‘that won’t make Egyptian government angry’
Iran nuclear conference urges Israel to join NPT
YNet News 18 Apr 2010 – Participants slam ‘double-standard’ by nuclear powers that call for disarmament but ignore Jewish state’s atomic arsenal
Peres at Remembrance Day ceremony: Don’t underestimate Israel
YNet News 18 Apr 2010 – Central ceremony opens in Jerusalem’s Western Wall plaza with address by President Shimon Peres, to honor 22,684 fallen in fulfillment of their duty since 1860. ‘There are still those who desire to destroy us, first and foremost the oppressive Iranian regime,’ he says, ‘But they must not dismiss our capabilities’
Iran reveals air defense system
YNet News 18 Apr 2010 – Annual army parade showcases Islamic Republic’s surface-to-surface Ghadr, Sajjil and Shahab-3 missiles, as well as air defense system similar to Russian-made S-300. ‘Our armed forces have so much power that no enemy will harbor evil thoughts about laying its hands on Iranian territory,’ president says
Test flights raise hopes for European air traffic
Daily Star 19 Apr 2010 LONDON: A sprawling cloud of volcanic ash paralyzed air travel across much of Europe and the rest of the world for a fourth day on Sunday, but test flights with empty airliners showed no sign of damage and offered some hope of respite. In Lebanon, media sources at the Rafik Hariri International Airport reported Sunday that some 15 flights headed
Gates says US lacks plan to curb Iran’s nuclear drive
Daily Star 19 Apr 2010 WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned in a secret memo in January that Washington lacked an effective strategy for dealing with Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons push, it was reported Sunday. Citing unidentified government sources, The New York Times wrote that a senior official described it as “a wake-up call
Revealing garb spurs adultery, earthquakes – Iran cleric
Daily Star 19 Apr 2010 TEHRAN: A senior Iranian cleric has claimed that dolled-up women incite extramarital sex, causing more earthquakes in Iran, a country that straddles several fault lines, newspapers reported on Saturday.”Many women who dress inappropriately – cause youths to go astray, taint their chastity and incite extramarital sex in society, which increases
Iran court sentences prominent filmmaker to jail – report
Daily Star 19 Apr 2010 TEHRAN: An Iranian daily says a court has sentenced a prominent critic filmmaker to three-and-a-half years in prison for his role in the post-election turmoil.The pro-reform Sharq daily said Sunday that filmmaker Mohammad Nourizad was convicted on charges of spreading propaganda against the clerical establishment and insulting the country’s leaders.
Israeli minister urges reversal on settlement building curb
Daily Star 19 Apr 2010 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel should consider reversing a limited moratorium on new settlement construction if the Palestinians do not return to US-backed peace negotiations, a minister said in comments published on Sunday. “If another month or two pass, and the Palestinians don’t come to the negotiations, we ought to cancel or reconsider
The common denominator: violation of the sanctity of life
Daily Star 19 Apr 2010 As expected, the seventh anniversary of the fall of Baghdad was marked with silence by the Arab media. The shame of the official Arab failure to protect Arabs from foreign invasion, which let an Arab capital like Baghdad fall under the occupation of racist Zionist forces hostile to Arabs and represented by George W. Bush is still haunting us.
Hamas, Fatah close ranks to call on Israel to free prisoners
Daily Star 19 Apr 2010 GAZA CITY: Hamas and Fatah closed ranks on Saturday to mark Palestinian Prisoners’ Day on Saturday, in the first joint initiative by the bitter rivals since the latter was routed from Gaza in 2007.Representatives of the two factions, joined by members of smaller militant groups, relatives of prisoners and international activists, staged a sit-down protest
Al-Qaeda in Iraq uses new ‘house-bomb’ to kill civilians
Daily Star 19 Apr 2010 BAGHDAD: Al-Qaeda in Iraq is rigging houses and shops with explosives in a new tactic that has killed and maimed civilians in recent weeks and defied the thousands of security forces in Baghdad, officials say.The renting of residential buildings for targeted bombings has forced police and the army to adapt their operations, in a bid to prevent more of the attacks
Yemen bolsters security over attack fears – ministry
Daily Star 19 Apr 2010 SANAA: Yemen has beefed up security measures around embassies and the country’s strategic infrastructure due to the threat of attacks, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday.Without mentioning any specific threats, the ministry said it had instructed security officials both in Sanaa and elsewhere “to reinforce security around vital installations and embassies.”
Palestinian Information Center
Two prisoners wounded during attack in Ofer jail
PIC 19 Apr 2010 – Two Palestinian prisoners were transferred to hospital after Israeli special military units stormed and ransacked on Friday the “national unity” section in Ofer prison..
Palestinian prisoner in Egyptian jail in serious health condition
PIC 19 Apr 2010 – The families of Palestinian prisoners in Egyptian jails called on Egypt to release prisoner Mohamed Al-Sayyed from Abu Zaabal prison after his health condition seriously deteriorated..
Bardawil: The security doctrine of Abbas‚’s militias is to protect Israel‚’s secur
PIC 19 Apr 2010 – Dr. Salah Al-Bardawil said that the doctrine which Mahmoud Abbas‚’s security apparatuses is based upon is represented in protecting Israel‚’s security and eliminating the Palestinian resistance..
IOF troops bulldoze lands in northern Gaza
PIC 19 Apr 2010 – Israeli occupation forces advanced into eastern Jabalia in northern Gaza Strip amidst intensified shooting at noon Sunday, local sources reported.
Ghoul: Gaza to host international conference on prisoners
PIC 19 Apr 2010 – The Gaza Strip is to host an international conference to support the issue of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation jails next October, justice minister revealed on Sunday.
Hamas renews its vow to adhere to resistance option
PIC 19 Apr 2010 – Hamas renewed, on the sixth anniversary of the assassination of its leader and cofounder Abdelaziz Al-Rantisi, its vow to uphold the option of resistance and protect the national rights and constants.
IOF troops persist in daily detention of West Bankers
PIC 19 Apr 2010 – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up four Palestinians in three West Bank districts at dawn Sunday and served notices to others to report to intelligence centers.
IOA to seal off West Bank till midnight Wednesday
PIC 19 Apr 2010 – The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has announced the closure of the West Bank as of Saturday night till midnight Wednesday on the occasion of the so-called independence day..
IOF troops arrest 10 foreign activists
PIC 19 Apr 2010 – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested ten foreign activists east of Yatta village, south of Al-Khalil city, on Saturday night and blocked others from entering Beit Ummar village.
Health ministry: Fuel shortage leading to humanitarian tragedy
PIC 19 Apr 2010 – The Palestinian health ministry has warned of a health and humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip as a result of shortage of fuel supplied to hospitals.
Iran unveils air defense system as U.S. defends policy
LA Times 19 Apr 2010 – At Iran’s annual Army Day parade, various air defense and missile systems are displayed and touted. U.S. officials, responding to a leaked memo, say Iran policy is not being reassessed. Iran unveiled what it described as a new air defense system during an annual military display Sunday as policymakers in Washington confronted new reminders about their limited range of options for responding to Tehran’s apparent arms buildup.
Iran lashes out at U.S. during Tehran nuclear summit
LA Times 18 Apr 2010 – Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calls the U.S. the world’s ‘only nuclear scofflaw’ for its advocating of arms control while having a huge stockpile and for accepting Israel’s atomic arsenal. Iran’s top political and religious authority lashed out at the United States at a nuclear disarmament conference Saturday in Tehran meant to counter a nonproliferation summit in Washington earlier in the week.
Gates Says U.S. Lacks a Policy to Thwart Iran
New York Times 18 Apr 2010 – A secret memo set off a search for new options in dealing with Iran‚’s steady progress toward nuclear capability.
Checkpoints
Palestine Monitor – “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…
Nabi Saleh: Another Friday Of Protest
Palestine Monitor – Around 60 Palestinian, Israeli and international activists joined the non-violent demonsration on Friday in Nabi Saleh, north of Ramallah, against confiscation of Palestinian lands by the nearby Jewish settlement of Halamish. The demonstrators tried to walk downhill to the natural spring that has been forcefully taken…
Will the absurdity of Mamilla open people‚’s eyes?
Mondoweiss – Before going to Rashid Khalidi and Michael Ratner’s talk on the Mamilla Cemetery at Columbia University last week, I had a drink with a friend who is completely ignorant about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — not even on his radar. I gave him the elevator pitch on…
The new nationalism
Mondoweiss – The Times covered the Goldstone bar mitzvah controversy on its front page Saturday. See second paragraph; what does reporter Barry Bearak mean by “countrymen”? “That grandfather is Richard Goldstone, one of this nation‚’s most eminent jurists and head of a United Nations investigation that said it…
In ‚ÄòGreenberg,‚’ it‚’s the dick who plants trees in Israel
Mondoweiss – Last night my father and I went out to a small theater in the Philadelphia suburbs to see Greenberg, the new film by Noah Baumbach. Because of the title and the lead actor, Ben Stiller, I was afraid that the film would be Jew-centric. I don‚’t…
Netanyahu‚’s shtadlanim press Obama with same tired arguments
Mondoweiss – Ilene Cohen writes: The last week has seen Ron Lauder and Elie Wiesel playing the role of the shtadlan. Historically, the shtadlan, a Jew of some influence, was the one called upon to intercede with the gentile authorities on behalf of the Jewish people in times…
Will liberal Zionists come around to BDS?
Mondoweiss – The divestment debate taking place at Berkeley is creating waves. It is not only helping to build diverse and powerful coalitions on campus, but it is also sparking conversations in places that have, at least to this point, been allergic to BDS. Jerry Haber has an…
Articles
A Nation Behind Bars: Palestinian Political Prisoners In Israeli Detention
Reham Alhelsi, My Palestine4/17/2010
While the whole world demands the release of the Zionist soldier Shalit, who was captured by Palestinians while he was on a mission to kill and destroy, the so-called “free world” continues to ignore that the Zionist entity holds a whole nation hostage. The Palestinian people in occupied Palestine have been held hostage by a brutal military occupation, confined to ghettos build on their own lands. Some 2.5 Million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are captives in their own homes, towns and villages, with military checkpoints locking them up, controlling and limiting their movement. 1.5 Million Palestinians are held hostages in the open-air prison Gaza, not allowed to leave even for urgently needed medical treatment. In addition to that, there are over 8500 Palestinians locked up behind bars in Israeli dungeons. These 8500 Palestinians unite occupied Palestine from the River to the Sea; they unite Jerusalem with Yafa, Jenin with Ara, Hebron with Nazareth, Gaza with Akka. These 8500 Palestinians unite families, unite the pain, unite the hope and unite the struggle for freedom. Almost every Palestinian family has had at least one family member detained by Israel. Almost every Palestinian family has been abused by Israeli soldiers while visiting their loved ones. Almost every Palestinian family has known the pain of waiting, the fear of what might happen behind bars, the hope for a near release and a safe return home. Every Palestinian family knows the meaning of detention, has felt it directly through its members. Every Palestinian family knows the meaning of freedom, for we pay the highest price for the sake of this freedom, and we love our freedom, we cherish our freedom and we yearn for our freedom and would always fight for it.
Since 1967, Israel detained some 750,000 Palestinians, including 12,000 women and tens of thousands of children. During the First Intifada 116,000 Palestinians were detained. Since the beginning of Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000, 70,000 Palestinians were detained, including 900 women and 8000 children. On average, 9000 Palestinians are detained yearly, including 700 children. Alone during the first 3 months of 2010 Israel detained more than 1400 Palestinians, including 90 from Gaza (18 were fishermen and 1 child), 400 from Jerusalem and 7 female detainees….more..e-mail
Global Peace and Justice Groups Threaten Israel‚’s Legitimacy
Stephen Lendman, Dissident Voice4/18/2010
Workingpro bonofor Israeli government agencies, the Tel Aviv-based Reut Institute (RI) provides “real-time strategic decision-making” support in areas of national security and socio-economic policy.
Saying global peace and justice groups threaten Israel‚’s legitimacy, its recent series of articles, policy papers, and presentations counter-attacked a combination of damage control and rethink despite legitimate criticism showing Israel delegitimizes itself, and no amount of policy paper makeover will change it. Only Israel can do that, but in its 62 year existence never tried.
In a January 28 brief, RI said Israel “face(s) a dramatic assault on the very legitimacy of its existence as a Jewish and democratic state. While the ideological framework for this delegitimacy was solidified after the first Durban” World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, “the trend (got) a boost by the perceived lack of (political) progress, coupled with Operation Cast Lead in Gaza,” followed by the damning Goldstone Report.
Groups “making the fundamental delegitimacy” claim want to internationally isolate Israel and ultimately turn it into a pariah state by:
— demonizing it in public protests, the media, on campuses, and through events like the annual Israel Apartheid Week and World Social Forum, asking its affiliates to excommunicate Israel;
— promoting the Global BDS Movement (boycott, divestment and sanctions) in areas of the economy, academia, culture, sport, and security; at risk is it achieving equivalency between Israel and apartheid-era South Africa, yet legitimate critics, including Jimmy Carter, accuse Israel of being worse than apartheid; and….more..e-mail
The Myths of Liberal Zionism — Book Review
Dr. Ludwig Watzal, Bonn, Palestine Chronicle2/7/2010
Yitzhak Laor, The Myths of Liberal Zionism (London: Verso, 2010) 162 p.
The book deals with the deep contradictions within Israeli society, the fact that a large majority of the population supports the brutal oppression of the Palestinian people, and the role of Israeli intellectuals and their counterparts in the West, particularly in France, in justifying the ongoing colonial Endeavour in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan (and Iran).
By stigmatizing an anti-racist attitude these “liberal” Israeli intellectuals try to delegitimize any criticism of atrocities the West has wrought upon the people of the East, the Muslims.
According to Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism, the Jewish state was designed as a Western bulwark against the “barbarians” of the East. The “normalization of the Jews”, so the Zionist reasoning, meant going to the Orient, the East and establish their own state in order to solve the European problem of anti-Semitism. “The colonized Jews now tried to free themselves by colonizing others.” This kind of thought finds its famous expression in Ehud Barak‚’s characterization of Israel as a “villa in the jungle”.
According to Yitzhak Laor, a famous Israeli poet, novelist and political activist, “Liberal Zionism” is a myth and a contradiction in terms because Israeli “liberal Zionists” believe that millions of Palestinians can be removed from their land, denied their human rights, fenced in so-called homelands or in huge “ghettoes”, and even killed in the name of a Jewish and democratic state.
The majority of Israelis see themselves as “Westerners” and therefore part of the West. The creation of a “New Man” which finds its expression in the “sabra” cult, can teach much about the “ideological makeup of the new Jewish society” that settled in Palestine, so the author. Laor describes some traits of this “New Man”: courage and sacrifice, boldness and arrogance (“Israeli chutzpah”). Furthermore, the “sabra” is described as “a victim of circumstances, or a victim of cruelty of the generation before him, or the [cruelty] of Jewish history….”more..e-mail
necessity and defiance
In Gaza: 16 Apr 2010 – Mohammed Abu Jerrad, 12, works with his older brother and 4 others to gather their wheat. Although it is still somewhat early for harvesting, the family hopes to harvest their 5 dunams quickly, preferring the early harvest over the possibility that Israeli soldiers will demolish or lit afire their crops, as they have routinely done in the past. [One such incident occured in Johr Ad Dik last May , when Israeli soldiers shot incendiary devices into ripe wheat and barley fields, setting nearly 3 km, 200 dunams, of crops and fruit trees afire.] Abu Jerrad‚’s 5 dunams lie roughly just over 300 metres from the border, along which Israeli military tower and remote controlled machine gun towers loom. From these towers, Israeli soldiers regularly shoot on farmers , workers gathering rubble and scrap metal for construction uses, and civilians on the land. This plot of wheat is on rented land. “We grow…
Tuba: Israeli Police Forces Ransack Houses
Palestine Monitor: 17 Apr 2010 – On Wednesday March 31st, Israeli Special Police Forces entered the village of Tuba in the South Hebron Hills and ransacked two homes. Two white vehicles drove into the village at around 10am. A third vehicle, a van, was parked outside the village. Ommar Abu Jundia, a Tuba resident, came out of his house and was searched by the forces who had by now disembarked and approached on foot. / The house of Ibraheem Abu Jundia after the search on March 31st. Photo courtesy of Christian Peacemaker Teams Abu Jundia was told to remove the rest of his family from the house, which was then searched aggressively by the police. The same thing happened to his brother, Ibraheem. ” They asked me to close the cave and follow them to the other one”, says Abu Jundia. ” They took everyone and started searching the cave.” The lead-up to events on March 31st…
Baroud’s ‘Freedom Fighter’ is an Icon
Palestine Chronicle: 18 Apr 2010 – By Jim Miles My Father Was A Freedom Fighter – Gaza’s Untold Story. Ramzy Baroud. Pluto Press, London, 2010. Ramzy Baroud has written what should become an icon of historical-cultural writing for the people of Palestine. My Father Was a Freedom Fighter is an amazingly powerful and wonderfully well written tapestry of the modern history of Palestine, combining a family history focussed on the individual of Ramzy’s father Mohammed with the overall history of the Jewish-Zionist/Palestinian-Arabic conflict in the area. The latter evolves at two levels: the first as was most visibly seen and understood by Mohammed Ramzy; the second encompasses the larger view of the ‘near’ Middle East as revealed by historical records. It is a highly emotional read, ranging from bitterness and anger to outright laughter – and books seldom if ever make me laugh. The bitterness and anger is obvious from Mohammed’s personal history of dispossession, poverty,…more
A Birthday Present
Palestine Chronicle: 18 Apr 2010 – By Uri Avnery Yesterday I went to the health clinic to get a vaccination. It was a pleasant day, sunny but not too hot. The trip to the clinic and back, including the waiting, took just over an hour. During this time, I had the following experiences: The taxi driver told me that years ago he was living next to Asher Yadlin, the man at the center of a major corruption affair in the 70s, which was uncovered by my magazine, Haolam Hazeh. “How we were shocked then!” he exclaimed, “we did not believe that such a thing was possible! And look what’s happening now!” He meant the scandal around the huge Holyland housing project in West Jerusalem, involving a former prime minister, two former mayors and an assortment of business tycoons and senior officials – a bribery affair a hundred times bigger than the Yadlin business. While waiting at…more
Israel’s Stooges Battle for British Votes
Palestine Chronicle: 18 Apr 2010 – By Stuart Littlewood – London We can already see how disastrously the US election turned out, not just for Americans but the rest of us also. “The US president is simply the voice of the Zionist parasite,” writes a friend in Norway. “It is sickening and frightening that Obama is seen toeing the Zionist line. “Zionism has the US administration and other western governments by the balls.” Well, that’s certainly the way it looks. Last month Israel’s prime minister Netanyahu slapped America in the face by approving more illegal settlements during vice-president Joe Biden’s visit. What did Secretary of State Hillary Clinton do? She repeated the pathetic mantra: “We have an absolute commitment to Israel’s security. We have a close unshakeable bond between the United States and Israel and between the American and Israeli people”. Clinton completed her surrender to the Israeli terror machine by sharing the AIPAC Conference platform…more
Al Qaeda‚’s Top Gun
Dissident Voice: 18 Apr 2010 – Hani Hanjour is the hijacker who flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon on the morning of September 11, 2001, according to the official account of terrorist attacks. “The lengthy and extensive flight training obtained by Hani Hanjour throughout his years in the United States makes it reasonable to believe that he was the pilot of Flight 77 on September 11,” concluded FBI Director Robert S. Mueller. 1 The story is that while Hanjour had difficulties learning to fly at first, he persevered, overcame his obstacles, and became an extraordinary enough pilot to be able to precisely hit his target after performing a difficult flight maneuver. The New York Times , for instance, asserted that “Mr. Hanjour overcame the mediocrity of his talents as a pilot and gained enough expertise to fly a Boeing 757 into the Pentagon.” 2 The Washington Post similarly suggested Hanjour had the requisite skills, reporting…
Global Peace and Justice Groups Threaten Israel‚’s Legitimacy
Dissident Voice: 18 Apr 2010 – Working pro bono for Israeli government agencies, the Tel Aviv-based Reut Institute (RI) provides “real-time strategic decision-making” support in areas of national security and socio-economic policy. Saying global peace and justice groups threaten Israel‚’s legitimacy, its recent series of articles, policy papers, and presentations counter-attackeda combination of damage control and rethink despite legitimate criticism showing Israel delegitimizes itself, and no amount of policy paper makeover will change it. Only Israel can do that, but in its 62 year existence never tried. In a January 28 brief, RI said Israel “face(s) a dramatic assault on the very legitimacy of its existence as a Jewish and democratic state. While the ideological framework for this delegitimacy was solidified after the first Durban” World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, “the trend (got) a boost by the perceived lack of (political) progress, coupled with Operation Cast Lead in Gaza,” followed by…
Expelling Hope: Ending the Youth Scare
Dissident Voice: 17 Apr 2010 – Zero tolerance is not simply the effect of possibly ignorant adults who misunderstand data on youth violence; it is not simply the resulting social policy of ill-spirited adults who carelessly toe the line of pejorative media representations of youth; it is not simply another devastating practice of traditional top-down, corporate models of school governance. ‚… [It is] all of these things, together. — Christopher G. Robbins, Expelling Hope: The Assault on Youth and the Militarization of Schooling , p. 41. Either teachers and administrators work with students and their communities as citizens involved in the construction of the public good, or they reproduce and exacerbate the erasure of the social contract and replace it with the carceral pact. — Robbins, p. 85. [I]f public schooling fails to assume the role of guarantor to democratic public life, can it be presumed that under the demands of an ever complex global society and…
Israel‚’s Stooges Battle for British Votes
Dissident Voice: 17 Apr 2010 – We can already see how disastrously the US election turned out, not just for Americans but the rest of us also. “The US president is simply the voice of the Zionist parasite,” writes a friend in Norway. “It is sickening and frightening that Obama is seen toeing the Zionist line. “Zionism has the US administration and other western governments by the balls.” Well, that‚’s certainly the way it looks. Last month Israel‚’s prime minister Netanyahu slapped America in the face by approving more illegal settlements during vice-president Joe Biden‚’s visit. What did Secretary of State Hillary Clinton do? She repeated the pathetic mantra: “We have an absolute commitment to Israel‚’s security. We have a close unshakeable bond between the United States and Israel and between the American and Israeli people”. Clinton completed her surrender to the Israeli terror machine by sharing the AIPAC Conference platform with a triumphant Netanyahu. Whereupon…
Next Supreme Court Justice to Solidify Right Wing, Neoliberal Control
Dissident Voice: 17 Apr 2010 – On April 9, Justice John Paul Stevens delivered a letter to President Obama stating: Having concluded that it would be in the best interests of the Court to have my successor appointed and confirmed well in advance of the commencement of the Court‚’s next Term, I shall retire from regular active service as an Associate Justice. NBC anchor Brian Williams called him a “liberal lion,” a “lawyer‚’s lawyer.” UPI‚’s Michael Kirkland said he led the Court‚’s “four-member liberal bloc.” AP‚’s Mark Sherman and Calvin Woodward said he “carved a liberal legacy on the high court.” Clinton‚’s acting Solicitor General, Walter Dellinger, called him “the Chief Justice of the Liberal Supreme Court.” Writing in The New Yorker , Jeffrey Toobin said he was a “liberal leader (who‚’s) views suggest a sensibility more than a philosophy.” Others remember him both ways: voting to reinstate the death penalty in 1976 and against “affirmative” preferences…
The New Dark Age 
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