News
International Middle East Media Center
Abbas Bans Settlement Products
IMEMC – Tuesday April 27, 2010 – 02:22, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has issued a ban on products from Jewish settlement in West Bank, Reuters reported on Monday.
Hundreds Of New Settler Homes In Jerusalem
IMEMC – Monday April 26, 2010 – 17:52, The Islamic Christian Commission in Support of Jerusalem and Holy Sites announced on Monday Israel’s intentions to build 321 new settler homes in East Jerusalem.
Settlers – Outpost To Be Authorized As A New Settlement Near Bethlehem
IMEMC – Monday April 26, 2010 – 17:42, In 2001 the outpost of Derech Ha’avot was established on lands owned by Palestinian villagers from Al Khadir, near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem. On September 28, 2008 the Israeli group Peace Now appealed to the Israeli High Court of Justice together with the Palestinian owners of the lands, demanding the enforcement of the law and the evacuation of the “Derech Ha’avot” outpost.
Israeli Troops Detain Five Civilians During Dawn Invasions In The West Bank
IMEMC – Monday April 26, 2010 – 17:33, Five Palestinian civilians were detained by Israeli soldiers on Monday at dawn and Sunday night during military invasions targeting West Bank communities.
Hamas: “Assassination Of Sweity Outcome Of Collaboration Between P.A Forces And Israel”
IMEMC – Monday April 26, 2010 – 12:36, Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, held Fateh movement of President Mahmoud Abbas, and the Israeli Army, responsible for the Monday assassination of Qassam Brigades fighter, Ali Sweity, and said that this assassination is the fruit of collaboration between the P.A and the Israeli army.
Qassam Fighter Killed In Clashes Near Hebron
IMEMC – Monday April 26, 2010 – 12:19, Palestinian medical sources report on Monday morning a fighter of the Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas movement, was killed during clashes with Israeli soldiers who surrounded a home in Beit Awwa town, south of Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank.
Portland protest challenges AIPAC fundraiser
IMEMC – Monday April 26, 2010 – 11:26, A group of protesters in Portland, Oregon, USA, erected mock settlements, a ‘Wall of Shame’, and a checkpoint as part of a protest against the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)’s annual Oregon fundraiser on Sunday.
Hamas fighter killed by Israeli forces
4/26/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli forces besieged the home of a prominent Hamas fighter on Monday morning in Beit Awwa, southern Hebron, and later killed him, witnesses said. Eyewitnesses told Ma’an that Israeli soldiers were seen taking Ali Sweiti’s body after demolishing the home of his wife’s sister, where he was believed to be hiding. Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that the home was detonated with Sweiti inside and that clashes ensued with Palestinians and Israeli forces in the village. Witnesses said the home was encircled until 5am and that seven Palestinian civilians were injured when forces deployed riot-dispersal means including tear gas and rubber-coated bullets. The home was then demolished by bulldozers, they said, adding that a journalist trying to cover the incident was assaulted. Sweiti is survived by two wives and 14 children. The Hamas operative was wanted by Israel for over eight years for affiliation with Hamas’ armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades.
Union calls for inquiry into death of worker in Israel
4/26/2010 – Nablus – Ma’an – The General Union of Workers in Palestine said Monday that a Palestinian worker died under ambiguous circumstances in Holon, near Tel Aviv. The union said Qasem Abdul Jabbar Eshtayeh, 38, from Nablus was working in a garage and was transferred to the Johnson Hospital in Israel. His body will be transferred for autopsy by Israeli police, the union added. Eshtayeh’s family told the union that they refused to have him transferred for the autopsy. The secretary-general of the union, Shaher Sa’d, demanded that the Israeli side follow up with Eshtayeh’s case in order to discover the cause of death as it remains unknown. Sa’d said the union would further launch its own follow-up of the incident with the International Labor Organization to reveal the details of the death, “particularly as it happened in Israel.”
Fatah leader says prevented from leaving West Bank
4/26/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – Israeli authorities reportedly banned member of Fatah’s central committee Tawfiq At-Tirawi from traveling Monday morning through the King Hussein border crossing between northern Israel and Jordan. At-Tirawi told Ma’an that he was not allowed to travel as a VIP nor with locals by bus. After calling the head of civil affairs at the borders, Hussein Ash-Sheikh, At-Tirawi said he was informed that Israel had placed him under investigation.”It seems Israel wants to ban us from speaking too,” he added. But the senior Fatah leader said the ban had nothing to do with scheduled Revolutionary Council meetings in Amman, and everything to do with Israel’s wall, settlements, and peaceful activism against the occupation. At-Tirawi explained that other Palestinian figures were also barred from traveling, but insisted that “this procedure won’t stop us from resistance; rather, it will increase our resilience.
Relatives of slain Hamas leader detained in Hebron
4/26/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli forces detained four men related to a Hamas-aligned militant killed in a raid south of Hebron overnight, a prisoners rights group reported after the attack. Israeli soldiers were seen taking Al-Qassam Brigades affiliate Ali Sweiti’s body after demolishing the home where he was hiding in Beit Awwa, southern Hebron. Hebron detainees center chief Amjad An-Najjar identified the four detainees as Maison Sweiti — a mother of four whose husband was sentenced to life in prison — and her brothers Ahmed, Abed, and Othman. A military spokesman confirmed that four people were detained during the operation. Earlier, Israel’s army stated that “a wanted member of the Hamas terrorist organization was killed during a joint IDF-Border Police-ISA arrest operation in the village of Beit Awwa.”According to a statement, an Israeli force surrounded the building in which Sweiti was hiding and called on him to surrender.
Gaza crossings report
4/26/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – The de facto crossings authority on Sunday issued a report about traffic trends over the past week. The committee said the Rafah crossing was closed since the 5 March, when it opened for four days (1 to 5 March), although it was open both ways for only 48 hours. The committee says thousands of Palestinians are still waiting for the crossing to open in order to cross. An estimated 133 truckloads of aid and goods, including three trucks of sugar and engineering materials for UNRWA, were allowed through Kerem Shalom. Some 477,000 liters of industrial die
sel for the power plant and 195 tons of domestic gas were allowed through, as well. The Erez crossing was partially opened on Sunday. The crossings authority said 220 individuals left Gaza, among them 140 residents, 64 foreign nationals, and 16 Palestinians with Israeli citizenship.
Israeli forces detain 3 in Hebron overnight
4/26/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli forces detained three men from Hebron overnight Sunday, security sources told Ma’an. The sources said Muhammad Khalil Abu Dayyeh, Iyad Jamil Al-Allami from Beit Ummar, and Sharif Aj-Jamal from the Old City of Hebron were detained in home-arrest operations. Those detained were taken to an unknown location, the sources added. An Israeli military spokesman said five Palestinians were detained in the West Bank overnight, one of whom was from Hebron. [end]
Israel army: 3 bombs detonated on Gaza border
4/26/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli forces discovered and detonated three bombs along the Gaza border Monday, the military reported. In a statement, the army stated that its forces prevented an attack by detonating three land mines in a controlled manner. There were no reports of injury or damage.”The presence of Palestinian civilians in the area adjacent to the security fence in Gaza is used by terrorist organizations as cover for their activities, including planting explosive devices, planning terrorist attacks and attempts to kidnap IDF soldiers,” the Israeli military statement said.”For this reason, the IDF considers this a combat zone,” it added. [end]
Report: Palestinians hurl stones at Israel minister’s convoy
4/26/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Palestinians reportedly hurled stones Monday at the convoy of Israeli Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, which was traveling near settlements in the occupied West Bank. He was driving on Road 358 connecting the illegal settlements of Amatzia and Lahav, the Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported, adding that there were no reports of injury or damage. [end]
Abbas signs anti-settlement legislation
4/26/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday signed into law a ban on Israeli settlement goods in Palestinian markets. The move officially makes trade in settlement goods a criminal offense, and follows weeks of deliberations and declarations. Abbas legal advisor Hasan Al-Ouri was quoted by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA as saying the regulations would target “the cancers found in the Palestinian body, which target the Palestinian people’s humanity, soil, and fate.”The most important thing, according to Al-Ouri, is that settlement goods are not found in Palestinian markets where the Palestinian buyer could contribute financially and consequently legitimize the enterprise. There should be no competition between settlement products and Palestinian goods, he added.
Hamas: 25 supporters detained by PA police
4/26/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Hamas said Monday that 25 party supporters and affiliates were detained by Palestinian Authority police across the West Bank. PA police raids targeted supporters in Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron, Jerusalem, and Salfit, a statement said. On Saturday, Hamas condemned what it said was a wave of politically motivated arrests as well asthe dismissal of a Hamas-affiliate, and accused the Ramallah government of ramping up factional tensions. In its statement, Hamas released the names of 12 affiliates allegedly detained by PA security services in the West Bank, adding that all of the 12 were taken forcibly from their homes in the village of Baqat Al-Hatab near Qalqiliya. The statement said computers and personal effects were also confiscated from the 12 party supporters An additional four supporters were also detained, the statement said, from the municipal areas of Qalqiliya, Jenin,. . .
Laborer survives 8-story fall from Israeli worksite
4/26/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – A Palestinian laborer in Israel reportedly suffered a fall from the top of an eight-story construction site in Beit Shemesh on Sunday. Raji Alwana, 23, from Jenin, was hospitalized in Beit Jala Governmental Hospital after an Israeli ambulance dropped him off near a military checkpoint in Al-Jab’a village, in southwest Bethlehem, without providing medical assistance, he said.”I woke up at 3:00am feeling pain in my stomach. On my way to the bathroom, I fainted and fell from the 8th floor in the building where I work and stay in Beit Shemesh. Fortunately, I fell on a pile of earth. I started screaming so that other workers could hear me and help me. They woke up and carried me to the street after they called an Israeli ambulance,” Alawna told Ma’an on Sunday. He added, “Paramedics carried me to the ambulance, and on the way an Israeli police patrol stopped and checked my ID card, and interrogated me briefly.
Full text: Animated Shalit video script
4/26/2010 – Hamas’ armed wing the Al-Qassam Brigades broadcast am animated video, of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, over the movement’s Al-Aqsa satellite TV station Sunday. The video contains a voice-over that sounds much like Gilad, in some cases repeating phrases that the captured soldier used in the last recorded video message to his family and country. The following is a translation of the short video: Gilad Shalit: Mother and father. . brothers and sisters. . my fellow soldiers. . I greet you from my prison cell. . I miss you all. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s photo (voiceover): I promise you Gilad Shalit will be released. Shalit: I regret that the Israeli government and Israel Defense Forces aren’t concerned about my cause. Former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (voiceover): I promise you Gilad Shalit will be released.
Israeli media: ‘Al-Qaeda’ wants to expand to Israel
4/26/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Yemen’s branch of Al-Qaeda intends to infiltrate into Israel disguised as Somali refugees crossing the border from Egypt or as new immigrants from Ethiopia, an Israeli newspaper reported Monday. The Israeli daily Haaretz reported that Shi’ite rebels on Sunday sent a letter to the newspaper, the latest of several, in which they quoted from a letter sent by Al-Qaida to members of a Salafist group in the Gaza Strip that is opposed to Hamas.”We made great efforts to dispatch fighters from to the Gaza Strip but the Hamas government returned them, claiming that they do not need fighters,” Haaretz quoted the letter as saying.”We did not know then that you are in Gaza but thank God we now have a link.” Last week, a Salafi spokesman told Ma’an that followers of Al-Qaeda in Gaza number around 11,000.
Report: Netanyahu didn’t refuse to freeze settlements
4/26/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are scheduled to start by mid-May after President Mahmoud Abbas meets with US President Barack Obama, Israeli media reported Monday. Media outlets reported on Monday that a secret agreement was mad
e between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Obama over construction in Jerusalem. Upon that agreement, the Israelis agreed to start indirect negotiations, reports said. According to the Israeli daily Maariv, both sides agreed to deny that there were any secret agreements if media outlets mentioned them. This is to protect Netanyahu’s coalition government and to go ahead with the peace process, according to Maariv. Maariv claims that Netanyahu’s response to the US demands was not negative as revealed to media, nor completely positive. Netanyahu has not agreed to freeze settlement construction in East Jerusalem; his reply to the US demands was somewhere in the middle, according to Maariv.
Europe as seen by Palestinian students
4/26/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Ma’an Network has produced a series of documentaries entitled “Europe from a Palestinian Perspective” reflecting how Europe is seen by Palestinian students who study at different European universities. The project was funded and sponsored by the European Union. Supervising producer Alaa Al-Abid said the series tried to highlight the success of Palestinian students in Europe after they lived and studied in EU member countries. The series also focused on how this experience would influence those students when they go home and work with Palestinian institutions and organizations. Their experience is reflected in documentaries filmed in Europe by a Palestinian TV crew. According to Al-Abid, this series could be considered a milestone because it contains rich information and personal experiences of Palestinian students who lived in two completely different environments — EU member countries and Palestine.
In photos: Palestinian Dabka competition
4/26/2010 – Young Palestinians perform the traditional Palestinian folk dance, Dabka, during a competition for students organized by the Injaz Palestine Foundation at the Cultural Palace in the West Bank city of Ramallah on 22 April 2010. MaanImages / Rami Swidan. [end]
Oldest woman in Palestine dies at age 117
4/26/2010 – Qalqiliya – Ma’an – The oldest woman in Palestine, Fatima Suleiman, passed away Sunday night at the age of 117 in the Asla village in Qalqiliya, northern West Bank. Suleiman is survived by her husband, Jasser Suleiman, 115, who remains in good health and prays daily. Relatives said Fatima was in good health before her death, and did not need assistance to pray or perform many daily tasks. She is further survived by 140 grandchildren, some of whom are grandparents themselves. [end]
Mouez: A space for freedom in Europe
4/26/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Just after he departed Queen Alia Airport in Amman, Jordan toward the capital of the lights, the questions began. What to do when reaching France? At university, where shall I stay, and live, and other questions, and when the plane landed at the airport in France and he came out of the plane, he said: “I’m now in France, it was a dream when I was in Palestine, and now I’m in France.” It was only four months, but student Mouez Karajeh began to gain a sense of belonging to the place, and moved from a case of alienation to a state of citizenship, and the geographical limits melted. Great difficulties he encountered, which left him no choice but to overcome them all and achieve his dream of completing a masters’ degree in comparative civilizations and international relations. Karajeh coexisted with French life in all its forms, and discovered that it is far from the routine life in Palestine.
Father, 4 children detained for begging
4/26/2010 – Tubas – Ma’an – Palestinian Authority police on Monday arrested a father and his four children on charges of illegal begging in Tubas, a city in the northern West Bank. Authorities were responding to a complaint from local residents that the five were soliciting money in the street, and that the father was using his children for this purpose. [end]
COLONEL GADDAFI ADDRESSES WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL IN WASHINGTON, DC
Palestine Note 26 Apr 2010 – LIBYAN LEADER MUAMMAR GADDAFI COMMENTS ON LIBYAN LEADERSHIP IN THE ARAB WORLD, US-LIBYAN RELATIONS, AND THE HIS ANSWER TO THE PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI CONFLICT By Sarah Harlan Leader of Libya His Excellency Brother Leader Muammar Gaddafi addressed the…
Report: Palestinian-Israeli conflict demands a new strategy
Palestine Note 26 Apr 2010 – While PA Prime Minister Fayyad and other continue to bang away at the two-state solution and an independent Palestinian state, the International Crisis Group has released a new report that says Palestinians are searching for a…
Arabic-language channel on the table in Israel
Palestine Note 26 Apr 2010 – The Israeli Communication Ministry’s Council for Cable and Satellite broadcasting is looking to provide Arabic-language broadcasting to capitalize on Israel’s 1.3 million Palestinian viewership, the Layalina Review reports. Logo for the Al-Jazeera news channel. Al-Jazeera emerged…
More on Schumer’s Kerfuffle with the White House on US-Israel Relations
Palestine Note 26 Apr 2010 – The other day I wrote a piece about Senator Schumer ‘s bashing of Rahm Emanuel, Jim Jones and President Obama for their US-Israel policy that questioned whether the Senator realized just how, well, over the line…
JORDAN FACES POSSIBLE 50,000 ADDITIONAL PALESTINIANS
Palestine Note 26 Apr 2010 – NEW ISRAELI ID LAW HAS OFFICIALS CONCERNED THAT AS MANY AS 50,000 PALESTINIANS COULD BE DEPORTED TO JORDAN The Jordanian government is “deeply concern” about a possible influx of 50,000 Palestinians into Jordan as an effect…
Ma’an photos: Dabke competition
Palestine Note 26 Apr 2010 – Ma’an News Agency ‘s Rami Swidan captures dancers in a student competition organized by the the Injaz Palestine Foundation at the Ramallah Cultural Palace on April 22. Informal dabke Dabke is a traditional Palestinian folk dance…
Gaza: Karem Shalom, Karni crossings partially open
Palestine Note 26 Apr 2010 – Gaza liaison official Raed Fattouh has said Israeli is allowing the Karem Shalom and Karni crossings to partially open Monday, Ma’an News Agency reports. Trucks at Karem Shalom crossing Fattouh said roughly 100 truckloads of aid…
Wedding invitation ……Gazan style!
Palestine Note 26 Apr 2010 – Call me predjudiced…call me biased to the Gazan creataivity genes if you will. You can also let out the secret of my devout conviction of the “mountain vs plain theory”….I have always thought that people of…
Spitzer’s test on political courage and list of those who don’t have it (When it comes to Israel)
Palestine Note 26 Apr 2010 – In Sunday’s Times Elliot Spitzer offers a succinct guide to whether or not your representative is any good. Toughness is not the issue. It’s easy to be tough if the selection of one’s target is driven…
Kahanists organize burning of Obama effigies in ritual bonfires [UPDATED]
Palestine Note 26 Apr 2010 – UPDATE : A Facebook group for this campaign has opened, displaying images of some previous posters on the subject of POTUS. One is posted below, with the text “Barak Hussein Obama Anti-Semitic Jew-hater.” Lag B’Omer is a…
East Jerusalem in ‘de facto’ construction freeze – Israeli officials
Palestine Note 26 Apr 2010 – Two Jerusalem city councilmen said Monday that Israel has frozen East Jerusalem construction despite Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that Israel will not stop building in East Jerusalem, Haaretz reports. One of the officials said the…
Qassam fighter killed by Israelis in West Bank
Palestine Note 26 Apr 2010 – Al-Qassam Martyrs’ Brigade fighter Ali Al Sweity was killed in a clash with Israeli forces surrounding his home south of Hebron Monday morning, IMEMC reports. Al-Qassam fighters Al Sweity has been on Israeli’s wanted list for…
India gives PA $10M to support budget, foster statehood
Palestine Note 26 Apr 2010 – Indian PM Monmuham Singh has fulfilled his promise to PA President Mahmoud Abbas by delivering a $10 million support sum to the Palestinian Authority budget, Ma’an News Agency reports. The contribution comes in “addition to aid…
Police: Former Olmert aide was key player in Holyland graft case
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – Shula Zaken, who served as former prime minister Ehud Olmert’s bureau chief, was a “critical nexus” in the Holyland bribery case, police investigators said Monday. …
Health officials worried by Israel’s first-known case of Mescaline use
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – Two students who were treated for the effects of Mescaline in a Tel Aviv hospital in recent weeks could indicate that the South American drug is entering the Israeli market, Health Ministry officials warned yesterday. …
Refugee children held in unlawful conditions, says state legal official
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – Refugee children are being held in detention in violation of state regulations and in conditions unfit for minors, a Justice Ministry official said. …
Hamas: Israel intent on wiping out Palestinian resistance
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – Militants accuse Israel of ‘elimination plan’ after Hamas strongman killed in Hebron shootout.
Netanyahu: Israel not planning military action against Syria
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – Assad aide: Israeli allegations of a Syrian Scud shipment to Hezbollah undermining Syria-U.S. ties.
Why does the IDF allow officers to live in illegal outposts?
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – How can an officer who breaks the law and ignores court orders serve as a model for his soldiers?
Defense official: Egypt border fence funds could have paid for Iron Dome
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – First missile defense system batteries will soon be delivered to IAF, could be operational by September.
Israel-bound Lufthansa flight makes emergency landing in Greece over fire fears
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – Lufthansa did not release a report on Friday’s incident, unknown to the public until Haaretz obtained details.
Four Haaretz journalists nominated for awards by pro-peace NGO
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – Next Century Foundation short-lists Akiva Eldar, Amira Hass, Benny Ziffer and Bradley Burston for prizes.
Suicide bomber strikes convoy of U.K. ambassador in Yemen
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – One killed, envoy unharmed as explosion strikes convoy en route to capital city Sanaa.
Officials: East Jerusalem construction in de facto freeze
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – Jerusalem source says Netanyahu’s office ordered complete halt to building – despite PM’s public claims.
Israel to share agricultural know-how with struggling African farmers
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – Agriculture Minister Simhon visits Africa to help countries facing food shortages due to lack of rain.
Ahmadinejad: UN Security Council is ‘satanic’
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – Iranian leader claims UN countries with veto power aim to ‘oppress and destroy’ mankind, reports ISNA.
Abbas outlaws goods produced in Israeli settlements
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – PA pushing for international ban on West Bank settlement products; Offenders face jail, fines.
U.S. national security adviser apologizes for Jewish joke
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – James Jones: Joke was off the cuff, distracted from main point that U.S. is devoted to Israel’s security.
Peres to J Street delegation: Good U.S. ties are Israel’s top priority
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – J Street executive director says implementing two-state solution is of existential importance to Israel.
Abbas: I don’t want to declare unilateral stateh
ood
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – PA president says he ‘stands by agreements,’ is prepared to work with Netanyahu to achieve peace.
Obama to Barak: I am committed to Israel’s security
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – Obama ‘drops by’ meeting between Barak and James Jones, asserts commitment to peace process.
Ritual terrorism: Hating Obama as a new form of religion
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – Kahane-lovers plan to burn effigies of Obama to mark the holiday of Lag B’Omer.
After Obama talks, Barak to meet with Clinton, Gates
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – U.S. administration responds cautiously to Israeli announcement of E. Jerusalem construction freeze.
Gaza is the fuel for Muslim world’s anti-Israel struggle
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – The events of the past few days have created two illusions that are dangerous for Israel.
Israeli startup designs program to catch online pedophiles
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – Can software be used to catch online pedophiles? One Israeli startup thinks it can. …
How did Shula Zaken go from Olmert’s bureau chief to corruption suspect?
Ha’aretz 26 Apr 2010 – The first clue that Shula Zaken was involved in something untoward emerged during former justice minister Haim Ramon’s trial in 2006, when it turned out that for some unknown reason, the police had been listening in on phone calls made by Zaken, then-prime minister Ehud Olmert’s all-powerful bureau chief. …
Gaza: Establishing a new educational linking technique
26 Apr 2010 – Gaza, April 26, (Pal Telegraph) The communication between the triangle of students, their parents and their school is no longer, no more need to make an effort in the preparation of school papers and waiting for response that may or may not arrive, after establishing a interdependent and interrelated network that links the Ministry, schools, students and their parents in…
Israel detains 5 Palestinians in WB
26 Apr 2010 – West Bank, April 26, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) -Israeli occupation forces detained today five Palestinians from different cities in the West Bank. Palestinian sources said that Israeli occupation forces raided Nablus, Hebron and Bethlehem and detained five citizens calming that they are “wanted” Palestinians. Israeli occupation forces detained Hilmi Samara, 19, after raiding his house in Salfit, local sources reported. Eyewitnesses…
Clashes as Israeli right-wingers march in east Jerusalem
26 Apr 2010 – Jerusalem, April 26, (Pal Telegraph ‚Äì AFP) Palestinians clashed with Israeli police on Sunday near a march being held by Israeli right-wingers through a tense neighborhood of annexed Arab east Jerusalem. The fighting took place several hundred meters away from where the flag-waving marchers made a statement “affirming Jewish sovereignty over the whole city.” The march had drawn widespread objections…
Palestinian worker dies in mysterious circumistances
26 Apr 2010 – Nablus, April 26, (Pal Telegraph) The General Federation of Palestinian Trade Unions learned today from knowledgeable Palestinian sources, that Qassim Abdul-Jabbar Ishtiyah, 38, from Nablus, died in “Holon” near Tel Aviv, in Israel in mysterious circumstances. Sources said that “Ishtiyah” was Working in car painting in an Israeli “garage”, he is now in “Jenson” hospital in Israel, and the Israeli…
Israel deports Palestinian to Gaza
26 Apr 2010 – Palestine, April 26, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) ‚ÄìIsraeli occupation authorities deported Sunday Ahmed Abu Shalouf from Ber Al-Seba, south of the Palestinian occupied land of 48, to the Gaza Strip. The head of Wa’d association for prisoners and the ex-prisoners, Saber Abu Karsh, said in a statement to SAFA that the occupation deported Abu Shalouf to the Palestinian side of the…
IOF kill Qassam leader in Hebron
26 Apr 2010 – Hebron, April 26, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) ‚Äì Israeli occupation soldiers shot dead toady an important Qassam leader in Hebron. Ali Ismail Al-Suweti, 45, was killed after demolishing the house of the prisoner Mahmoud Suweti in the village of Beit Awa south west of Hebron. Al-Suweti was shot after surrounding the house with a large military force of Israeli jeeps and…
Uruknet
ABBAS CAVES ON “RIGHT OF RETURN” AND MORE
Uruknet April 26, 2010 – You’ve just lost the Right of Return folks!! The brilliant negotiator and head idiot Abbas has sold you out before even getting to the table. First rule of negotiations, begin from a position of power, not a position of weakness! You NEVER come to the table showing you are already willing to give everything away! What’s…
‘You can’t demolish a whole people’
Uruknet April 26, 2010 – Driving cautiously though the narrow and unmended streets of Nazareth, there could be no doubt that we were in a Third World city. Like the other Arab towns in Israel, its cramped houses are jumbled and squeezed together on the rising hillsides, unmitigated by urban greenery. The contrast with the wide, well-kept boulevards and the spacious,…
Gaza’s calm determination
Uruknet To preserve my sense of purpose, and keep the Palestine struggle from becoming a lifeless abstraction, I need periodically to recharge my moral batteries by reconnecting with the actual people living under occupation and by witnessing firsthand the unfolding tragedy. From each trip I invariably carry away a handful of stark images that I fix in my mind’s eye to…
Al-Walaja: Defending Palestinian Land From Bulldozers
Uruknet April 26, 2010 – A sit-in protest was organised in the West Bank village of Al-Walaja (south of Bethlehem) on Sunday against the ongoing construction of the Wall, which was resumed last Thursday. Approximately 200 Palestinian, Israel and international demonstrators tried to block bulldozers uprooting an olive grove, sitting in the place where the bulldozers staged. Israeli soldiers attacked demonstrators:…
Israel’s Big and Small ApartheidsThe meaning of a Jewish state
Uruknet April 26, 2010 – Israel’s apo
logists are very exercised about the idea that Israel has been singled out for special scrutiny and criticism. I wish to argue, however, that in most discussions of Israel it actually gets off extremely lightly: that many features of the Israeli polity would be considered exceptional or extraordinary in any other democratic state. That is…
Hundreds Of New Settlers Homes In Jerusalem
Uruknet April 26, 2010 – The Islamic Christian Commission in Support of Jerusalem and Holy Sites announced on Monday Israel’s intentions to build 321 new settlers homes in East Jerusalem. The new homes which will include a religious school will be constructed at the Palestinian neighborhood of Shikh Jarah outside the wall of the old city. Dr. Hasan Khater, co-founder of…
ONE FAMILY’S PERSONAL NAKBA
Uruknet April 26, 2010 – We constantly hear of the Nakba and what it means to the people of Palestine. The following will bring it closer to home as we describe the impact it has had on just one family‚Ķ. the Sabbah family. Haitham Sabbah is a fellow blogger, one that I proudly refer to as my brother. He is a…
Relatives of slain Hamas leader detained in Hebron
Uruknet April 26, 2010 – Israeli forces detained four men related to a Hamas-aligned militant killed in a raid south of Hebron overnight, a prisoners rights group reported after the attack. Israeli soldiers were seen taking Al-Qassam Brigades affiliate Ali Sweiti’s body after demolishing the home where he was hiding in Beit Awwa, southern Hebron…
Israel Kidnaps Lawyer Representing Jordanian Detainees
Uruknet April 26, 2010 – Israeli soldiers kidnapped on Sunday Shereen Al Esawy, a lawyer representing Jordanian Detainees imprisoned in Israel. Al Esawy was kidnapped at a roadblock, near Jabal Al Mokabbir, in East Jerusalem. The National Committee for Jordanian Prisoners and Missing Prisoners, stated that Shereen was moved to the Al Maskobiyya interrogation center, and added that the army also…
Israel’s Messianic Terrorists
Uruknet April 25, 2010 – Barely a week goes by without news of some act of violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. By any definition, what settlers and other religious activists do to Palestinians is terrorism. But it goes unpunished. Time and again, Muslim graves and mosques are desecrated, harvests torched, sheep rustled, cars stoned and…
Lebanese rally calls for secularism
Uruknet April 25, 2010 – Thousands of protestors have gathered in Beirut to demand a separation of politics and religion in Lebanon. The demonstrators marched on parliament on Sunday chanting “secularism” and waving placards calling for the recognition of civil marriage in the Mediterranean country. The idea of a secular political system has faced stiff opposition from ruling politicians who fear…
Israel expels Beersheba man to Gaza
Uruknet April 25, 2010 – Israeli authorities expelled Ahmad Au’da Abu Shalluf, married to a Palestinian woman from the Israeli city of Beersheba, and deported him to the Gaza Strip on Sunday, witnesses said. Abu Shalluf, born to refugee parents in the Gaza Strip, but living in Israel with is wife for the past several years, was visiting an eye clinic…
The National
Hamas uses animated cartoon to hint at fate of captured Israeli soldier
The National 26 Apr 2010 – Militants use 3D film to put pressure on Israel to negotiate over release of Sgt Gilad Shalit in exchange for captured Palestinians.
Palestinians condemn Israeli army’s illegal’ killing of Hamas militant
The National 26 Apr 2010 – Prime minister says Israel’s policy of incursions and assassinations undermines the PA’s efforts to improve security in the West Bank.
Baalbek tribe repels botched Lebanon army raid
The National 26 Apr 2010 – A gun battle between the army and a Baalbek tribe left at least 10 people wounded, including six soldiers.
International Solidarity Movement
Men and women of Iraq Burin demonstrate against land theft
4/26/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – International Solidarity Movement, 25 April – Palestinian men, women and children, along with international activists met with severe military repression on Saturday, April 24 as the village of Iraq Burin staged another successful demonstration against the Israeli occupation of their lands. Local and international activists gathered under the heat of another beaming midday sun at the southern outskirts of the village, warming up for what has become weekly tradition. Some 80 demonstrators, lead by a shabb (youth) on a magnificent steed, began the march along the steep path to the summit of Iraq Burin’s southern peak toward the fence demarcating the edge of Iraq Burin’s contested farmland, adjacent to the illegal settlement of Bracha. A force of two dozen Israeli soldiers, having occupied the hill’s summit, blocked the demonstrators’ progress.
The Palestinian Political System: Where is it Heading?
Alternative Information Center – Sunday, 25 April 2010, Background Since the early 1960s, the Palestine Liberation Organization has acted as the moral political entity of the Palestinians with the support of the regional powers. The PLO was the umbrella of…
Bethlehem Ghetto Uprising Continues
Alternative Information Center – Monday, 26 April 2010, The Ghetto of Bethlehem is shrinking, the people are resisting but feel abandoned by the self-appointed leadership. Many people complain who come to give their blessings to projects or to plant a…
Call for Support, Immediate Action against Persecution of Political Activists in Palestine 1948
Alternative Information Center – Monday, 26 April 2010, We, as active members, representatives of Human Rights institutions, NGOs, networks and Unions call for the immediate action and support of Mr. Ameer Makhoul, General Director of Ittijah- Union of Arab Community…
Palestine News Network
Jordan braces for possible influx of up to 50,000 Palestinians
PNN – AMMAN // Jordan is deeply concerned that a recent Israeli military order facilitating the deportation of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank could lead to another wave of forced migration to the…
Israel blasts new Shalit cartoon released by Hamas
PNN – Hamas, the Islamist movement which controls the Gaza Strip, has released another animated cartoon depicting captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. It shows Mr Shalit, who was captured by Hamas in June 2006,…
Clashes as Israeli settlers march
PNN – Palestinian protesters and Israeli police have clashed after Jewish settlers marched in the Arab neighbourhood of Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem. The hardline settlers, who live in illegal housing units on occupied…
Stop The Wall
3 detained, 5 injured as al-Walaja residents stop Israeli bulldozers
Stop The Wall – Israeli occupation forces arrested three Palestinians yesterday and wounded thirty others in a brutal attack against residents of al-Walaja as they resisted the construction of the apartheid Wall in their village. [
Jerusalem Post
Officers reprimanded in W. Bank deaths
Jeruslalem Post 27 Apr 2010 – IDF probe had faulted troop preparation with 4 Palestinians’ deaths.
Zahar: We’d never kill captured soldier
Jeruslalem Post 27 Apr 2010 – Says animation of Schalit in coffin does not reflect Hamas’s position.
Right wing MKs promise ‘hot’ summer if demands aren’t met
Jeruslalem Post 26 Apr 2010 – Netanyahu tells Likud faction: Iran trying to distract international public opinion from sanctions.
Scottish activists to protest Israel expo
Jeruslalem Post 26 Apr 2010 – Last week the parliament rejected a petition calling for the exhibition to be cancelled.
New unit to confront ‘price tag’ attacks
Jeruslalem Post 26 Apr 2010 – Border police force will combat settler rioting in West Bank.
PM: Israel plans no Syrian strike
Jeruslalem Post 26 Apr 2010 – Netanyahu called for Likud to postpone internal party elections, for unity.
Shula Zaken arrested at airport
Jeruslalem Post 26 Apr 2010 – Olmert aide returns from US, possibly involved in Holyland scandal.
East Jerusalem construction frozen
Jeruslalem Post 26 Apr 2010 – Freeze proceeds despite Netanyahu’s disapproval.
‘Scud charges aim to harm Syria’
Jeruslalem Post 26 Apr 2010 – Top Assad adviser says “ridiculous” claims affect US-Syria ties.
‘Rabin bribed Lieberman, Ovadia Yosef’
Jeruslalem Post 26 Apr 2010 – Real estate mogul may have handed cash to ministers for Holyland permits.
Hamas hopes film pressures Israel
Jeruslalem Post 26 Apr 2010 – PM spokesman: Cynical manipulation proves Hamas’ character.
Hamas terrorist killed in Hebron
Jeruslalem Post 26 Apr 2010 – Wanted Palestinian barricades himself, exchanges fire with IDF.
Reality Check: Stan’s the Man
Jeruslalem Post 26 Apr 2010 – Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer’s call to restrain executive salaries will undoubtedly prove unpopular with the tycoons, but he calls it as he sees it. Let’s hope Netanyahu comes on board.
The Region: Onwards, Iran marches
Jeruslalem Post 26 Apr 2010 – It has been 15 months since Barack Obama called for ‘good-faith negotiations’ with the Islamic Republic on its nuclear program. Where are we now? Still talking about it.
Making the Tal Law work
Jeruslalem Post 25 Apr 2010 РThe 2009 Tal figures show a step in the right direction – achieved via a greater stress on appropriate tracks to draw more haredim into the IDF and into national service.
Iran: Cosmetics queen of the Middle East
Jeruslalem Post 25 Apr 2010 – Iranian women are some of the world’s top consumers of cosmetics and ‚Äì together with men ‚Äì have made Iran the Middle East’s second-largest market for makeup.
WAFA – Palestine News Agency
President Abbas Draft a Law to Boycott Settlement Products
Settlers Tighten Screw on Palestinian Bedouin Communities
TUBAS (WEST BANK), April 26, 2010 (WAFA)- Between 20 and 30 armed settlers from the Maskiot settlement, supported by the Israeli army and police from the settlement, yesterday erected a tent
Haaretz: Netanyahu Must Stop East Jerusalem Construction If He Wants Peace
TEL AVIV, April 26, 2010 (WAFA)-” The importance of ending the dispute and ensuring Israel’s future, it is necessary to restrain the politicians and real estate developers who are eyeing building
PCBS: WPI Increases by 0.97% and PPI by 0.64% in 2010 First Quarter
RAMALLH, April 26, 2010 (WAFA)- Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said, today, Wholesale Price Index Increased by 0.97% and Producer Price Index by 0.64% during the First
Israeli Court Rejects Palestinian Villagers Petition against Wall Construction
IOF Kills Citizen in Hebron
HEBRON, April 26, 2010 (WAFA)- Palestinian Citizen was killed today, as Israeli occupation forces (IOF) demolished a detainee house in the West Bank village of Beit Awwa, south west of
The Guardian
Gilad Shalit video from Hamas pushes for release deal
The Guardian 26 Apr 2010 – Israel condemns animated clip depicting father of captured soldier waiting in vain for his release Hamas has produced an unusually sophisticated animated film apparently pressing for a deal that would bring about the release of Gilad…
Relief Web
Iraq: Civilians under fire
Relief Web 26 Apr 2010 – Source: Amnesty
U.S. envoy wraps up Mideast visit, back next week
Relief Web 25 Apr 2010 – Source: Reuters – AlertNet
YNet News
Abbas orders ban on settler goods
YNet News – Palestinian president issues law prohibiting trade of goods made in settlements…..
US Congress to advance legislation against Iran
YNet News – House, Senate majority leaders frustrated with repeated delays in international….
Iran’s opposition leader slams ruling clerics
YNet News – Mir Hossein Mousavi criticizes government, clerical leadership; says they….
Netanyahu: No plans to strike Syria
YNet News – Netanyahu tells Likud faction meeting, ‘There is no truth to hints that Israel….
Olmert’s former bureau chief detained
YNet News – Shula Zaken met by National Fraud Unit investigators at Ben-Gurion Airport….
Yishai aide: Resume east J’lem construction discussions
YNet News – Month-and-a-half after Biden debacle, Interior Ministry director-general sends….
Zimbabwe says no uranium deal with Iran
YNet News – African country’s president expresses support for Islamic Republic’s nuclear….
Lieberman: In good company with Rabbi Ovadia
YNet News – Foreign minister addresses claim that he received money from main suspect in….
IDF kills Hamas man near Hebron
YNet News – Israeli forces encircle house of Hamas military wing official Ali Sweiti, call….
Hamas figure denounces Shalit 3D video
YNet News – VIDEO – Senior Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Zahar on Monday condemned the animation video released by Hamas’ military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. The propaganda …….
‘4 Palestinians’ death could have been avoided’
YNet News – A military inquiry into the deaths of four Palestinians in recent West Bank clashes resulted in official notations in the service records of both Shomron Brigade …….
Obama tells Barak US committed to Israel’s security
YNet News – WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama assured a top Israeli official on Monday that the United States has an unshakable commitment to Israel’s security, despite recent …….
Deceptive calm in north: ‘Enemy can strike at any moment’
YNet News – Four years after the end of the Second Lebanon War, the tense atmosphere among IDF forces positioned along Israel’s northern border is evident. Just last week the …….
Ahmadinejad: UN veto power ‘satanic’
YNet News – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday labelled as “satanic” the UN Security Council and the right of veto held by its five permanent members, Iran’s Students …….
Police: Zaken received bribes
YNet News – The Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court ordered Shula Zaken, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s bureau chief, be remanded to police custody for seven days, pending further …….
Daily Star
Israel denies Syria attack plan amid de facto build freeze
Daily Star 27 Apr 2010 Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu denied Monday that Israel was planning a war against Syria, speaking before members of his own Likud Party. “There is no truth to hints that Israel is allegedly planning a move against Syria. I believe this is an attempt by Iran and Hizbullah to distract the international community from the sanctions being prepared against
Christians walk fine line in Gaza balancing act
Daily Star 27 Apr 2010 GAZA CITY: A tiny Palestinian Christian community has had to find a modus vivendi in the Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip, while enduring the same hardships as Muslims in the besieged and impoverished coastal enclave. Caught in the crossfire of the Israel-Hamas conflict which cost 1,400 lives in a December 2008-January 2009 war and wary of
Abbas orders trade ban on Israeli settler goods
Daily Star 27 Apr 2010 RAMALLAH, Occupied West Bank: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday banned trade in goods made by Israelis living in West Bank settlements, stepping up a campaign to build support for an international ban. “President Abbas today issued a law banning trade in goods made in settlements,” Abbas’s legal adviser Hassan al-Awri told Reuters.
Brazil warns sanctions on Iran ‘negative, unfair’
Daily Star 27 Apr 2010 TEHRAN: UN Security Council member Brazil said on Monday that imposing sanctions against Iran would be “negative and unfair,” as world powers increase the pressure to adopt new measures against Tehran. Brazil, a non-permanent council me
mber, also reiterated its support for Iran’s quest for “peaceful” nuclear energy, saying Tehran has the
Palestinian Information Center
Hamas: Resistance to continue until defeat of occupation
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – Hamas reasserted on Monday that its resistance against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land would continue until final defeat of occupation regardless of murders and demolition of homes.
South African parliamentary delegation briefed on Gaza suffering
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – Dr. Ahmed Bahar briefed a delegation of the South African parliament on Monday on the suffering of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas: No elections without national unity
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – Hamas rejected the decision by the illegitimate government of Salam Fayyad in Ramallah to organize municipal elections in the West Bank on 17/7/2010.
Hamas: The PA security cooperation with Israel behind the murder of Suweiti
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – Hamas said that the assassination of Al-Qassam leader Ali Al-Suweiti reflected the extent of security and intelligence cooperation and services provided for Israel by the PA in Ramallah.
PA brags about frustrating resistance operations of Hamas against Israel
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – The PA claimed it was able to thwart resistance operations planned by Hamas against Israeli targets after its preventive security detained a leader of Al-Qassam Brigades in Nablus city.
Bahar slams Fayyad for intending to hold elections in W. Bank
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – Dr. Ahmed Bahar deplored Fayyad for deciding to hold local elections in the West Bank alone without the Gaza Strip and warned that such a step would deepen the rift in the Palestinian arena.
IOF troops assassinate Qassam fighter in W. Bank
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – Israeli troops assassinated at dawn Monday a Palestinian resistance fighter affiliated with the Qassam Brigades called Ali Al-Suweiti during armed clashes with him in Beit Awa area in Al-Khalil.
IOA deports another Palestinian to Gaza
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) deported Ahmed Abu Shalluf from Beer Sheba, south of 1948 occupied Palestine, to the Gaza Strip.
Livni: Israel is isolated
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – Tzipi Livni, the leader of the main opposition Kadima party in Israel, has lashed out at the policy of premier Benjamin Netanyahu saying that it led to the isolation of Israel in the world.
Rizqa: Palestinian people not bound by agreements signed by Abbas
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – Dr. Yousuf Rizqa warned of dealing with the American proposals for the resumption of peace talks between Abbas and Israel, saying that this would undermine the Palestinian cause.
The Media Line
‘Abbas Goes Public with Plea to Obama to Impose Settlement
The Media Line 25 Apr 2010 – Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud ‘Abbas has called on U.S. President Barack Obama to impose a settlement on Israel and the Palestinians. ‘Abbas has made the request in closed-door meetings with American officials before, but on Saturday…
Palestinian Authority Claims it Foiled Hamas Attack
The Media Line 25 Apr 2010 – Palestinian security forces under the control of Prime Minister Salam Faya’d claim to have foiled what might have been a major attack on Israel or Palestinian targets by Hamas. The Israeli news site YNet is reporting…
Los Angeles Times
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on Jewish housing
LA Times 26 Apr 2010 – Nir Barkat explains why he’s against a slowdown in Jewish home construction in Jerusalem.
Israeli forces kill Hamas militant
LA Times 26 Apr 2010 – Ali Sweiti is found dead in the rubble after authorities bulldozed the West Bank building in which he was hiding. He was suspected in the 2004 killing of an Israeli soldier. Israeli forces killed a Hamas militant Monday, bulldozing the house where he was hiding after he refused to surrender during a late-night raid, officials said.
New York Times
Israeli Rightists Stir Tensions in East Jerusalem
New York Times 26 Apr 2010 – A march by Israeli far-rightists through the volatile neighborhood raised passions over the city’s future.
Misc
Al-Walaja: Defending Palestinian Land From Bulldozers
Palestine Monitor –
A sit-in protest was organised in the West Bank village of Al-Walaja (south of Bethlehem) on Sunday against the ongoing construction of the Wall, which was resumed last Thursday. Approximately 200 Palestinian, Israel and international demonstrators tried to block bulldozers uprooting an olive grove, sitting in…
BNC Calls On Trade Unions To Urgently Intervene With Their Government To Stop Israel From Joining The OECD
Palestine Monitor – Occupied Palestine, 22 April 2010 ‚Äì In a few days Trade Unions will commemorate the achievements of the labor movement. The origins of the International Worker’s Day date back to the 1886 Chicago protests where police killed several workers marching to demand their rights. Every week,…
Call for Support, Immediate Action against Persecution of Political Activists in Palestine 1948
Alternative Information Center – Monday, 26 April 2010, We, as active members, representatives of Human Rights institutions, NGOs, networks and Unions call for the immediate action and support of Mr. Ameer Makhoul, General Director of Ittijah- Union of Arab Community Based Associations and Head of the Popular Committee for the…
Bethlehem Ghetto Uprising Continues
Alternative Information Center – Monday, 26 April 2010, The Ghetto of Bethlehem is shrinking, the people are resisting but feel abandoned by the self-appointed leadership. Many people complain who come to give their blessings to projects or to plant a tree for the cameras or to promise support that never…
The Palestinian Political System: Where is it Heading?
Alternative Information Center – Sunday, 25 April 2010, Background Since the early 1960s, the Palestine Liberation Organization has acted as the moral political entity of the Palestinians with the support of the regional powers. The PLO was the umbrella of the Palestinian political system under which all political parties and…
Video footage shows Israel firing on nonviolent protest in Gaza
Mondoweiss – Above is video that International Solidarity Movement (ISM) volunteer Bianca Zammit shot up until the time she was shot by the Israeli military during a nonviolent protest in Gaza . The demonstration opposed an Israeli-imposed buffer zone that is having a devastating effect on farmers in Gaza…
More on apartheid in Israel/Palestine
Mondoweiss – Writing in the The Brown Daily Herald , Jonathan Ben-Artzi responds to a debate on campus over the comparsion between apartheid South Africa and contemporary Israel/Palestine. From his article ” Yes, apartheid “: As an Israeli, I had to start planning for my military service during my…
What South African Community Leaders Should Have Done – The Goldstone Scandal
Mondoweiss – The leadership of South African Jewish community has retreated in shame over the barring of Judge Goldstone from his grandson’s barmitzvah. In a statement released late Friday afternoon it was confirmed that Judge Goldstone would attend the event and that no protests would take place. The…
Earth Day in Israel: Apartheid Showing Through the Greenwash
Mondoweiss – On April 22, as part of the global Earth Day celebrations, homes, offices and public buildings in 14 Israeli cities turned out the lights for one hour in an effort to “increase awareness of the vital need to reduce energy consumption.” The Earth Day celebrations included…
Articles
Israel’s big and small apartheids
Jonathan Cook, Ma’an News Agency4/26/2010
The text of a talk delivered to the fifth Bil’in international conference for Palestinian popular resistance, held in the West Bank village of Bil’in on April 21:
Israel’s apologists are very exercised about the idea that Israel has been singled out for special scrutiny and criticism. I wish to argue, however, that in most discussions of Israel it actually gets off extremely lightly: that many features of the Israeli polity would be considered exceptional or extraordinary in any other democratic state.
That is not surprising because, as I will argue, Israel is neither a liberal democracy nor even a “Jewish and democratic state”, as its supporters claim. It is an apartheid state, not only in the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza, but also inside Israel proper. Today, in the occupied territories, the apartheid nature of Israeli rule is irrefutable — if little mentioned by Western politicians or the media. But inside Israel itself, it is largely veiled and hidden. My purpose today is to try to remove the veil a little.
I say “a little”, because I would need far more than the time allotted to me to do justice to this topic. There are, for example, some 30 laws that explicitly discriminate between Jews and non-Jews — another way of referring to the fifth of the Israeli population who are Palestinian and supposedly enjoy full citizenship. There are also many other Israeli laws and administrative practices that lead to an outcome of ethnic-based segregation even if they do not make such discrimination explicit.
So instead of trying to rush through all these aspects of Israeli apartheid, let me concentrate instead on a few revealing features, issues I have reported on recently.
First, let us examine the nature of Israeli citizenship….more..e-mail
Hunger Strike by Palestinian Prisoners Cuts No Ice
Mohammed Omer, Inter Press Service4/24/2010
GENEVA, Apr 24, 2010 (IPS) – Raed Abu Hammad, 27, was allegedly kicked to death by Israeli prison wardens on Apr. 16. This while Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have been on hunger strike since Apr. 7 to press for better treatment.
Palestinian minister for prisoner affairs in the United States-backed government in the West Bank, Issa Qaraqi, said at a press conference on Thursday that an Israeli autopsy showed that Hammad had been kicked hard in the lower back.
Qaraqi based his statement on a report he had received from a Palestinian doctor who was present at the autopsy.
However, spokesman for the Israel Prisons Service, Yaron Zamir, maintains that results from the autopsy were still awaited. ”The claims made in relation to the prisoner dying after having been beaten are
unfounded, untrue and misleading,” Zamir said in a statement.
Qaraqi, who spoke with IPS over telephone, said that his ministry would be making a formal complaint in the Israeli courts asking for an immediate, in-depth investigation into the cause of Hammad’s death.
Apr. 17, the day after Abu Hammad was fatally kicked, is observed in the Palestinian Occupied Territories as ‘The Day of Palestinian Prisoners’.
The estimated total number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, detention centres is 7,500. Among these are, 330 children under the age of 18 years, 37 female prisoners and 15 members of the democratically elected legislative council and ministries.
The prisoners are distributed in more than 18 prisons and detention centres across Israel and the West Bank, the biggest are the Negev Desert Prison and Ofer Prison, or what was formerly Incarceration Facility 385, close to the Palestinian city of Ramallah.more..e-mail
U.S. Nuclear Option on Iran Linked to Israeli Attack Threat
Gareth Porter, Inter Press Service4/23/2010
WASHINGTON, Apr 23, 2010 (IPS) – The Barack Obama administration’s declaration in its Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) that it is reserving the right to use nuclear weapons against Iran represents a new element in a strategy of persuading Tehran that an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites is a serious possibility if Iran does not bow to the demand that it cease uranium enrichment.
Although administration officials have carefully refrained from drawing any direct connection between the new nuclear option and the Israeli threat, the NPR broadens the range of contingencies in which nuclear weapons might play a role so as to include an Iranian military response to an Israeli attack.
A war involving Iran that begins with an Israeli attack is the only plausible scenario that would fit the category of contingencies in the document.
The NPR describes the role of U.S. nuclear weapons in those contingencies as a “deterrent”. A strategy of exploiting the Israeli threat to attack Iran would seek to deter an Iranian response to such an attack and thus make it more plausible.
The new nuclear option on Iran has emerged after a series of public statements over the past year by senior officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice-President Joe Biden, suggesting the administration would tolerate an Israeli option.
Both the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations had said the United States “reserves the right” to respond with nuclear weapons to the use of chemical and biological weapons in an attack on U.S. forces or its “friends” or “allies”.
A contingency plan called CONPLAN 8022-02, adopted in November 2003, aimed at destroying an adversary’s nuclear weapons or nuclear facilities, included the option of using earth-penetrating nuclear weapons to destroy deeply buried facilities.more..e-mail
Israeli forces shoot two Palestinians, international activist in Gaza
Electronic Intifada: 26 Apr 2010 – At a nonviolent demonstration on 24 April attended by 150 persons against the forceful cessation of farming within what Israel defines as a “buffer zone,” two Palestinian demonstrators and one international activist were shot without warning.
Book review: Edward Said’s commitment in conversation
Electronic Intifada: 26 Apr 2010 – The new book The Pen and the Sword — a collection of five interviews with Said conducted between 1987 and 1994 by David Barsamian, the founder of Alternative Radio — serves partly as a memoriam for Said himself and for the generation he represented. Robin Yassin-Kassab reviews for The Electronic Intifada.
Gaza’s calm determination
Electronic Intifada: 26 Apr 2010 – To preserve my sense of purpose, and keep the Palestine struggle from becoming a lifeless abstraction, I need periodically to recharge my moral batteries by reconnecting with the actual people living under occupation and by witnessing firsthand the unfolding tragedy. From each trip I invariably carry away a handful of stark images that I fix in my mind’s eye to dispel the occasional hesitations about staying the course. When the memories begin to fade I know it is time to return. Norman Finkelstein writes in this excerpt from his new book, This time we went too far
BNC Calls On Trade Unions To Urgently Intervene With Their Government To Stop Israel From Joining The OECD
Palestine Monitor: 26 Apr 2010 – Occupied Palestine, 22 April 2010 ‚Äì In a few days Trade Unions will commemorate the achievements of the labor movement. The origins of the International Worker’s Day date back to the 1886 Chicago protests where police killed several workers marching to demand their rights. Every week, Palestinian human rights defenders march in their villages protesting Israel’s encroachment of their land. The Israeli army also greets them with live ammunition, indiscriminately killing many. Despite these crimes, Israel continues to be rewarded by the international community, this time with the prospects of membership in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) calls on Trade Unions to use the significance of May Day to intervene with their governments to block Israel’s membership to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) until it complies with international law and OECD standards. It is expected…
Al-Walaja: Defending Palestinian Land From Bulldozers
Palestine Monitor: 26 Apr 2010 – A sit-in protest was organised in the West Bank village of Al-Walaja (south of Bethlehem) on Sunday against the ongoing construction of the Wall, which was resumed last Thursday. Approximately 200 Palestinian, Israel and international demonstrators tried to block bulldozers uprooting an olive grove, sitting in the place where the bulldozers staged. Israeli soldiers attacked demonstrators: among them, Dr Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative who declared that “despite the attempt of Israeli authorities to weaken and interrupt the protest, the non-violent struggle will continue weekly rallies to stop the construction of the Apartheid Wall”. Here what’s happened. / Photo: Palestine Monitor Photo: Palestine Monitor Photo: Palestine Monitor Photo: Palestine Monitor Photo: Palestine Monitor Photo: Palestine Monitor Photo: Palestine Monitor Photo: palestine Monitor Photo: Palestine Monitor Photo: Palestine Monitor Photo: palestine Monitor Photo: Palestine Monitor Photo: palestine Monitor Photo: Palestine Monitor Photo: Palestine Monitor Photo: Palestine Monitor Photo:…
Syria’s Scuds, Israel’s Security and One Big Smokescreen
Palestine Chronicle: 26 Apr 2010 – By Ali Jawad In the self-sensationalising world of modern media, some truths are better witnessed than told. Over the past fortnight, major media outlets have converged on Syria’s alleged delivery of scud missiles to the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah. By examining how the story first came to limelight, as well as the manner in which media sources have uncritically covered the story, one can begin to notice the vastly degenerated state of today’s media and its deeply polarising effects. On 11th April, Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai Al-Aam broke the ‘scud missiles’ story. Relying solely on American sources, the author Husain Abdul-Husain claimed that both western and Israeli intelligence had uncovered the training of Hezbollah fighters in Syria in the use of scud and surface-to-air missiles. This, we are told, occurred sometime during last summer. Subsequent to the alleged discovery, the article adds, Israel threatened Syria through official Turkish and Qatari channels…more
The New Dark Age 
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