News
International Middle East Media Center
Troops Detains Six Palestinian Civilians During Dawn Invasions Targeting West Bank Communities
IMEMC – Tuesday April 27, 2010 – 19:48, Israeli soldiers detained six Palestinian civilians during military invasions targeting West Bank communities on Tuesday.
Gaza: Israeli Navy Attack Palestinian Fishing Boats
IMEMC – Tuesday April 27, 2010 – 19:43, Israeli naval forces attacked on Tuesday Palestinian fishing boats off the shoreline of northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya.
Scuffle Reported Between Residents And Israeli Troops In East Jerusalem Neighborhood
IMEMC – Tuesday April 27, 2010 – 19:35, A scuffle erupted between Palestinian residents and Israeli troops in Silwan East Jerusalem neighborhood on Tuesday.
Ariel settlement dumps sewage on Palestinian town
IMEMC – Tuesday April 27, 2010 – 19:27, According to the Palestinian Water Authority, the settlement of Ariel has been pumping its sewage directly into the nearby Palestinian village of Bruqin, creating a dangerous and unhealthy situation for the residents of Bruqin.
Troops Attack Anti Wall Protesters Near Bethlehem And Detain One Boy
IMEMC – Tuesday April 27, 2010 – 19:18, A number of civilians were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation and one child was detained by soldiers when they attacked anti wall protest at the Wallajeh village near Bethlehem, southern West Bank.
Stop-work orders delivered to Yatta-area village
4/27/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Bedouin farmers in the south Hebron hills were served what they said were demolition orders for their tents and animal stables on 13 April, during a raid on the northern part of the partially-settled nomadic village. The village, known as Khirbet Al-Butum in the Yatta-area in the southern tip of the West Bank, is home to several hundred farmers and herders living in tents. The area was visited by soldiers and officials from Israel’s Civil Administration last week, who walked through the area taking pictures, and telling residents that their homes and animal shelters were slated for demolition, Yousif An-Najjar, a resident of the area said. He noted that a demolition orders was also issued for the area’s sole power generator. Those living in the northern part of the village were handed demolition orders, while those in the south were photographed and told their orders were pending.
Dura mayor: 30 detained in civilian home
4/27/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – The home of a Hebron-area civilian was declared a closed military zone by Israeli forces early Tuesday morning, local officials reported. The building, home to 20, located in the city of Dura, southwest of Hebron belongs to Raed Ash-Shahatit, city mayor Mustapha Ar-Rujoub told Ma’an. Ar-Rajoub said all 20 residents, including women and children, were in the home, and said an additional ten men had been arrested and brought into the building in the dawn hours. The additional detainees, Ar-Rajoub said, were taken as they approached or walked near the building.”The whole area has been hijacked by the troops,” the mayor said, noting the area was often a target for Israeli forces. An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was looking into the report. . . . .
Israel set to try Jerusalem official detained Sunday
4/27/2010 – Jerusalem – Ma’an – The trial of Fatah’s Jerusalem affairs official Hatim Abdul Qader began in Israel’s Magistrates Court in Jerusalem on Tuesday, lawyers confirmed. Abdul Qader, who supports Jerusalmites facing eviction and home demolitions, and speaks out regularly against Israeli restrictions on freedom of worship and movement, faces charges of resisting Israeli forces and incitement. Abdul Qadir’s lawyers Jawad Bulus and Ahmad Safiyya are expected ask the court to postpone the trial, as they await the delivery of evidence of the charges against the official. Dozens of Palestinians, international and Israeli solidarity activists protested near the Russian Compound detention center where the trail is being held, demading his release and calling his detention a violation of Palestinian rights and freedoms. Abdul Qader was detained by Israeli police at the entrance to Wadi Hilwa, en route. . .
2 injured after Israeli forces raid Hebron village
4/27/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli forces on Tuesday evening raided the Edna village west of Hebron, where they fired stun grenades at a store causing a fire that injured two people. Sa’dy Abu Zalta and Abdul Karim Faraj Allah were hospitalized for injuries suffered amid efforts to control the fire in the mobile phone store owned by Mahmoud Salimieh. Locals said young village residents threw stones at the Israeli forces. An Israeli security source said border police were pursuing a Palestinian suspected of motorcycle theft in the same area. A border police spokesman did not immediately return calls seeking comment. Meanwhile, approximately 50 Palestinians hurled rocks at Israeli forces in Beit Awwa, a nearby village, a military spokesman said. The forces responded with riot-dispersal means, he added. . . . .
Israeli intel officers call Gazans for info: De facto gov’t
4/27/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – De facto government internal security officials asked Gaza residents to beware of phone calls from Israeli intel collectors attempting to “trick” citizens into revealing data on locations inside the Strip. Sub-department director Abu Abdullah said citizens had reported a series of phone calls, some from unidentified callers and others from individuals claiming to be Israeli intelligence officers. In either case, Abu Abdullah said, the Israeli callers tell citizens “they want to check up on the situation in Gaza, and ask questions that trick citizens into cooperating with apparent investigations.” One young man received a call inquiring about the humanitarian situation in the strip in light of the ongoing power cuts, Abu Abdullah said. He advised residents to disconnect immediately when they discover that the caller is an Israeli intelligence officer, of if they suspect the same.
Workers injured, detained in Hebron
4/27/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – An unspecified number of Palestinian workers were injured and detained by Israeli forces overnight Sunday after their car was pursued by forces in Yatta south of Hebron. Security sources told Ma’an that an Israeli military jeep chased a minibus taking workers home from their employment in Israel. During the pursuit, sources said the car overturned, injuring a number of workers who were detained at the site of the accident. Sources added that the workers were detained by Israeli forces alleging that they did not have the necessary permits to enter Israel. Those detained were taken to an unknown location, the sources said. An Israeli military spokesman said he would look into the reports. Separately, 60 Palestinian workers were stopped at the Qalandiya checkpoint by Israeli border police on Sunday evening, according to the Israeli Army Radio attempting to enter Israel without the required permits.
Children stand trial for stone-throwing
4/27/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Fourteen and 15-year-old brothers stood trial at Ofer’s military court on Monday, facing charges of throwing stones at Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank. The boys, Nadim and Jihad Basim Kawazba from Bethlehem’s Al-Minya neighborhood, were recommended for sentences of three and four months detention but the judge’s decision was delayed when lawyers Eyhab Al-Ghaleith and Iyad Misk requested that the hearing be postponed until Thursday. Both boys were also set to be fined 2,500 shekels (670 US dollars) each, but a final decision on the fine will wait for the reconvening, lawyers said. The boys’ father, Basim Kawazba, said he was prohibited from visiting his sons in the courtroom, saying they looked scared. Basim explained that on Thursday, 50 Israeli soldiers surrounded his home at 3am, entered the building and ransacked it.
Az-Zahhar criticizes armed wing’s Shalit video
4/27/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Hamas leader Mahmud Az-Zahhar criticized the recent video produced by the movements Al-Qassam Brigades and aired on Al-Aqsa TV on Sunday, calling it unrepresentative of the party position. Speaking to the Al-Quds daily newspaper based in Jerusalem, Az-Zahhar particularly objected to the message media outlets took from the short, which showed captured Israeli soldiers Gilad Shalit returned to his father after long years in a coffin.”This does not reflect the official position of the Hamas government,” he said. Hamas sources said the animated film was meant as a message that a prisoner swap would happen “sooner or later” but, and that it was not worth risking the life of the sol
dier if politicians meant what they said about securing his release.”We do not kill Israeli soldiers who are prisoners – our morals and religion forbidus to do so” Az-Zahhar was quoted as saying.
In photos: Testing the no-go zone in Khan Younis
4/27/2010 – Gaza residents demand access to areas deemed a “no-go zone” by Israeli forces, which eat up some 20% of the Strip’s arable lands. Protesters march toward the zone each week, this time in Khan Younis, on 26 April 2010, in the southern Gaza Strip. Israeli forces say the area, inside Gaza’s borders, is used by “terrorists,” and troops have the authorization to fire at any individual entering the zone. Farmers say this effectively bans them from working lands, which Israel says are un-occupied following the 2005 unilateral withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip. The no-go zone extends up to 300 meters into the coastal enclave. MaanImages / Hatem Omar [end]
Prisoners society to hold sit-in on Tuesday
4/27/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – The Palestinian prisoners society is holding a sit-in tent in front of its headquarters in Ramallah for a hunger strike for the families of prisoners on Tuesday. The head of the society, Qadura Fares, told Ma’an radio that the aim of the strike is to let the public know what is going on in Israeli prisons, especially those following up the Palestinian cause and oppose the Israeli government. Fares said everyone knew about the situation in the prisons. On the other hand, he talked about the weak Palestinian interactions concerning what he termed an important and sensitive cause. When asked him about the reasons behind this weakness, he said the interaction is weak for two reasons.”The first reason is the national movement is not able to create the necessary climate and atmosphere to awaken the spirit of citizens, and the forces should revive the spirit of the public,” he said.
Patrolling soldiers clash with Jerusalem teens
4/27/2010 – Jerusalem – Ma’an – Soldiers patrolling the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Wad Hilweh sparked stone throwing from local teenagers on Tuesday morning, sparking fears of fresh arrest campaigns. Jawad Sabbah, a representative from the neighborhood’s information center said similar events on Monday saw four teenagers detained by the invading forces. Tensions remained high in the area following a large pro-settler rally held on Sunday, when settler and their supporters marched through the Palestinian neighborhood. During clashes sparked by the rally, at least thirty were reported injured. [end]
Arabs believe Obama too weak to make Mideast peace
4/27/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Arab world remains deeply sceptical of US President Barack Obama’s ability to achieve a Middle East peace settlement in an increasingly volatile region, according to a vote at the latest Doha Debates. An audience of more than 300 at the Qatar-based Debates, the only forum of its kind in the Arab region dedicated to free speech, voted by 58to 42 percentfor the motion: “This House believes Barack Obama is too weak to make peace in the Middle East.” Although the four speakers agreed that President Obama was well-intentioned toward the Middle East, they and the audience were sharply divided over his ability to secure a peace deal. Philip Weiss, a US journalist and founder of a website focusing on Israeli-Palestinian issues, argued that Obama was seeking “to show even-handedness after decades of being Israel’s lawyer,” but said he feared America was not ready for such a change in emphasis.
MoH: 15 trucks of meds await Israeli authorization for Gaza
4/27/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – The Ramallah-based Ministry of Health said officials were attempting to divert stalled emergency medicine deliveries to Gaza to Red Cross shipments, as they await Israeli-issued permits for transport. A statement from the ministry said 15 trucks laden with 200 skiffs of 130 different types of medications and medical equipment were ready for transport, but delayed by a permit process. At the same time, the ministry expressed concern over reports of “revolutionaries” of stealing medicines sent to Gaza, and being sold to patients rather than handed out free as part of the government health care system. The ministry noted that the continued shipments of medical goods to Gaza was in accordance with the orders of President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. . . . .
EU concerned over escalating rhetoric
4/27/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The European Union is concerned by the public statements that have been exchanged recently between various parties to the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Tuesday.” Such developments go against the efforts of the EU and its key partners, who are working constantly to address the problems that are hampering the Peace Process,” she said in a statement.”The EU has on several occasions reiterated its concern about the lack of progress in the Middle East Peace Process and has called for the urgent resumption of negotiations that will lead, within an agreed time-frame as specified by the Quartet, to the two-state solution.” The EU calls upon all parties to avoid any provocation and move towards lasting peace.” . . . .
Israel protests Egypt envoy’s ‘enemy’ remarks
4/27/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Israeli Ambassador to Cairo Yitzhak Levanon has protested statements made by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday. Aboul Gheit denies that he described Israel as an “enemy state” during a visit to Lebanon, where he reportedly denied that the purposed of his trip to Beirut was to relay messages “from the enemy to a sister Arab state.”[end]
Report: Netanyahu calls Mubarak
4/27/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone conversation with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and updated him regarding his meetings with US envoy George Mitchell, Israeli news media reported on Tuesday. Sources in Jerusalem told the Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth that Netanyahu and Mubarak concluded they would stay in touch and update each other on political matters. Netanyahu reportedly demanded that Mubarak intervene to convince President Mahmoud Abbas to return to indirect peace negotiations with Israel and to give up his condition of obtaining an agreement from the Arab League before going back to talks. [end]
Israeli TV exposes Abbas-Fayyad rift?
4/27/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israel’s Channel 2 aired an exclusive interview with President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday night, where the Palestinian president announced that he was not in favor of the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state. The comments, billed by the Israeli press as contradictory to the plan of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, whose Program of the Thirteenth Government (August 2009), is titled “Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State,” and plans for the declaration of an independent state by 2011. Analysts, however, say the media outlets are taking the comments out of context, noting Abbas continues to work for a negotiated settlement, particularly in light of the US push for peace since US Presi
dent Barack Obama took office. Abbas told the Channel 2 interviewer that “We stand by agreements,” like the Oslo Accords and the Roadmap, both which Palestinians including Abbas charge. . .
Union postpones university strike 48 hours
4/27/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Strike action was postponed an additional 48-hours on Monday evening as union of Palestinian university employees said talks with representatives from the committee for higher education were progressing. Planned school closures for Tuesday and Wednesday were thus averted, university employees union leader Amjad Barham told Ma’an, noting “The council of higher education has been given 48 hours to end all unresolved controversial points.” . . . .
PFLP: Hamas imposing unfair, strict tax laws
4/27/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) called on the de facto government in Gaza to stop their latest practice of levying high taxes on some residents, and using strict measures to impose their collection. In a statement released on Tuesday, PFLP officials condemned the practice, saying falafel vendors and taxi drivers were being forced to pay large sums to keep their businesses running. Of particular offense to the party was the harsh means of collection, which the statement said came “despite the siege Israel is imposing on the Gaza Strip, and despite the destruction caused by the Israeli war machine last winter.”The statement reminded that the “economic institutions and infrastructures in Gaza were destroyed and unemployment and poverty rates increased drastically” since the start of the siege on Gaza, and the numbers spiked following the Israeli war.
Raging bull shot dead in Hebron
4/28/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – A bull escaped Tuesday from a butchery in the West Bank city of Hebron, injuring people and ramming cars. Civil Defense forces were called to the scene, and attempted to coax the bull by surrounding and redirecting it elsewhere, but failed. Palestinian Authority police intervened. They tried surrounding the animal without success, and ultimately shot it dead. [end]
Amir: It’s not impossible to achieve your goals
4/27/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Amir left Palestine with the hopes of achieving his dreams in Brussels, Belgium to better his prospects in influencing the situation in his native country. Studying commercial law at the Free Brussels University, Amir hoped his academic pursuit would not only serve him well, but his colleagues, friends and Palestinian society. He believed that international study would add to Palestine’s social dynamics and offer an insight into international commercial dealings. Amir was drawn to the different cultures throughout Europe and European political and legal philosophy on citizenship, rights and duties. Brussels, he said, was able to offer him something he felt he missed in his native country, and he spoke admiringly of Europe’s ability to rebuild itself, determined to regain its prosperity after World War II. Significantly, Amir says, he returned to Palestine able to convey one important message: It is not impossible to achieve one’s goals and dreams.
Experts: Earthquake would wreak havoc in Palestine
4/27/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – Two top Palestinian disaster science experts warned Tuesday that a natural disaster such as a large earthquake would decimate Palestine’s weak infrastructure. Jalal Ad-Dubaik, head of the earth science center at An-Najah University, and Wasef Erekat, the head of the national committee to control natural disasters, were speaking at the Ministry of Information in Ramallah. Ad-Dubaik stressed that, because earthquakes usually cannot be predicted, it was essential to prepare in advance, and particularly when building new houses or other residential buildings. He also said earthquake preparation was not being treated as a national priority, and suggested forming a committee of volunteer groups to train in disaster readiness, as well as establish a central operations room in each district. . . . .
The new frontiers of Israeli diplomacy, ctd.: Danish parliamentarians humiliated
Palestine Note 27 Apr 2010 – The Foreign Ministry source mentioned Hasbara and one is reminded that time has been found for Ministerial engagement in patently silly public diplomacy schemes . Senior Danish parliamentarians humiliated in Israel; Israeli Ambassador reprimanded in Copenhagen Foreign…
Bethlehem ghetto uprising continues
Palestine Note 27 Apr 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…
Israel’s big and small apartheids
Palestine Note 27 Apr 2010 – The meaning of a Jewish state Below is the text of a talk delivered to the fifth Bilin international conference for Palestinian popular resistance, held in the West Bank village of Bilin on April 21 Israel’s…
Terrorizing immigrants
Palestine Note 27 Apr 2010 – On April 20, Reuters headlined, “Arizona passes tough illegal immigration law,” saying: State lawmakers “passed a controversial immigration bill on Monday (April 19) requiring police in the state (to) determine if people are in the United…
Sheizaf: Settlers and Palestinians to join in protest against the separation barrier south of Jerusalem
Palestine Note 27 Apr 2010 – An unusual protest is scheduled for Thursday in the West Bank: Settlers and Palestinians are planning to march together in protest against a section of the separation barrier Israel is constructing south of Jerusalem. According to…
Jeremy Gruenbaum: “Blame the boomers” …for everything
Palestine Note 27 Apr 2010 – My nephew. Jeremy Gruenbaum, wrote this in response to an excellent piece by Noah Millman in The American Scene, Check it out. I’d like to think Jeremy is wrong about my generation but, in the 24years…
Iran to face ‘boobquake,’ BBC interested
Palestine Note 27 Apr 2010 – When the Ayatollah who gives Friday sermons at Tehran University announced that earthquakes are caused by immodestly dressed women and extramarital sex , people were not amused. Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi claimed that cleavage-bearing women “cause youths to…
Top 10 myths likely to be heard from Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat in Washington this week
Palestine Note 27 Apr 2010 – This week Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat will be in Washington. He will be holding meetings with Members of Congress, Administration officials, think tanks, and the press. These interactions offer an excellent opportunity to hear the mayor’s…
Maariv: Gen. Saguy reveals details of Lauder brokered Bibi-Assad negotiations in the ’90s
Palestine Note 27 Apr 2010 – Netanyahu and Hafez Assad: The agreement that was not reached Ofer Shelah, Maariv, April 27 2010 [page 8; Hebrew original here and at bottom of post] The most fascinating interview you did not read appeared this…
Israeli prank calls to Gaza: Israeli intel officers are calling Gaza residents for information inside the Strip
Palestine Note 27 Apr 2010 – Hamas internal security officials in Gaza are warning residents to be waring of phone calls asking for information “on the ground” in the Strip, Ma’an News Agency reports. According to the de facto government, Israeli intel…
IRAQ ELECTION TURMOIL COULD PROMPT CIVIL WAR
Palestine Note 27 Apr 2010 – A COURT DECISION TO DISQUALIFY CANDIDATES FOR ALLEGED TIES TO THE BAATH PARTY PUSHES IRAQ TO THE TIPPING POINT Iraqi are boiling as a court threatens to disqualify dozens of candidates, including election winner Iyad Allawi,…
Unilateral declaration of statehood: Are Fayyad and Abbas on the same page?
Palestine Note 27 Apr 2010 – Ma’an News Agency suggested Tuesday that PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and President Mahmoud Abbas are in disagreement over the establishment of the Palestinian state. An Israeli channel 2 interview with Abbas Monday night made some…
Digging dangerously: An ‘alternative’ archaeological tour of Jerusalem
Palestine Note 27 Apr 2010 – By Petra Kaya – Special to Palestine Note I was late to meet our guide in the City of David, archaeologist, Yonathan Mizrachi. Yonathan waited by the entrance to the site knowing that due to the…
Nir Barkat’s ‘Top 10 Myths’ about Jerusalem
Palestine Note 27 Apr 2010 – Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat is in Washington this week, and he’s likely to do more story-telling than discuss “the facts,” warns Americans for Peace Now ‘s Lara Friedman. Friedman says the mayor will meet with Member…
ISRAELI PRANK CALLS TO GAZA
Palestine Note 27 Apr 2010 – ISRAELI INTEL OFFICERS ARE CALLING GAZA RESIDENTS FOR INFORMATION INSIDE THE STRIP, ACCORDING TO HAMAS Hamas internal security officials in Gaza are warning residents to be waring of phone calls asking for information “on the ground”…
Palestinian girls win seat at Intel science fair
Palestine Note 27 Apr 2010 – Asil Abu Lil has reinvented the stick, according to the Associated Press in the Washington Post . 14-year-old Abu Lil and two classmates at her UNWRA-run Askar Girls’ School in Nablus have fashioned an obstacle-detecting walking can…
Israel ‘reprimands’ IDF officers over Palestinian deaths
Palestine Note 27 Apr 2010 – IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi reprimanded two senior IDF officers over shooting incidents in March responsible for killing four Palestinians in the West Bank, the Associated Press reports via Haaretz . Ashkenazi said the deaths were…
Palestine Note talks central banking with Jihad al Wazir
Palestine Note 27 Apr 2010 – By Sarah Harlan Monday April 19, Palestine Note was able to sit down with Palestinian Monetary Authority Governor Jihad Al Wazir. Wazir shared background and context on the PMA and the future of Palestine’s central bank…
GADDAFI ADDRESSES WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL IN WASHINGTON
Palestine Note 26 Apr 2010 – LIBYAN LEADER GIVES SOLUTIONS TO THE PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI CONFLICT By Sarah Harlan Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi addressed the World Affairs Councils of America at the National Press Club in Washington, DC Monday. Colonel Gaddafi gave his address…
Israeli troops kill Hamas fighter
AlJazeera 26 Apr 2010 – Palestinian group accuses soldiers of illegal killing following raid on house in West Bank.
Palestinians ban settlement goods
AlJazeera 26 Apr 2010 – President Abbas signs law outlawing sale of goods made in illegal Israeli settlements.
Not all Palestinians buy Fayyad’s vision of state by 2011
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – Palestinian PM pushing ambitious plan to get Palestinian ready for unilateral declaration of statehood.
Two IDF officers reprimanded over deaths of 4 Palestinians
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – Colonel and lieutenant colonel censured over two shooting incidents; first sergeant removed from post.
Gates: Hezbollah has more rockets than most governments in the world
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – U.S. Defense Secretary and Defense Minister Barak discuss Hezbollah Scuds, Iranian nuclear issue.
Uri Blau to hand documents to Shin Bet
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – Anat Kamm on trial for espionage after giving secret army documents to Haaretz journalist Uri Blau.
Poll: More than half of Jewish Israelis support gagging human rights groups
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – More than half of Jewish Israelis think human rights organizations that expose immoral behavior by Israel should not be allowed to operate freely, and think there is too much freedom of expression here, a recent survey found. …
Can Jews be equally loyal to U.S. and Israel?
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – Dual loyalty is an old and nefarious accusation. It has dogged Jews for centuries in any land where they settled and began to feel comfortable – the allegation that their allegiance is to their tribe first and not to their nation.
After impromptu Obama talks, Barak to meet Clinton and Gates
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – U.S. administration responds cautiously to Israeli announcement of E. Jerusalem construction freeze.
Iran eyes ‘new mechanisms’ to settle nuclear dispute with West
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – Iran’s FM returns from trip to Europe, where he sought support against fresh round of UN sanctions.
Jordan narrows down possible site for future nuclear reactor
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – Geological study finds site near Aqaba suitable place to begin nuclear program.
Six Jewish babies born in Dachau reunite 65 years later
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – German television is to air a television documentary which explores the miracle of how these three infant boys and four infant girls slipped through the cracks of the Nazi killing machine.
Syrian newspaper: Arab League may reject U.S. proposal for peace talks
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – Palestinian Authority seeks Arab League approval before resuming proximity talks in mid-May.
Three Palestinian girls win trip to California science fair
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – Nablus teens who invented new cane for the blind are first Palestinians to take part in Intel Corp.’s fair.
German Muslim politician rescinds call to ban veils, crucifixes in schools
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – Aygul Ozkan wins renewed backing after apologizing for suggestion.
Egypt denies calling Israel an ‘enemy state’
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – Israeli envoy to Cairo protested Egypt FM’s statement in which he reportedly dubbed Israel ‘the enemy.’
Lebanon news agency: Website hacked by Israel to post Ron Arad message
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – Message reads: Earn reward of $10 million in exchange for information about Ron Arad.
Clinton: U.S. seeks new ‘tough’ Iran sanctions
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – Iran made no progress during meeting with IAEA, continues to ‘disregard’ global pressure, Clinton says.
Netanyahu: Abbas intends to renew stalled peace talks
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – Prime Minister: I will be glad if Israel-PA negotiations are renewed by next week.
Pushing for a provisional Palestinian state
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – What can be renewed in a peace process where everything has been tried while peace remains elusive?
Egypt releases Israeli arrested after accidentally crossing border
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – Israeli embassy in Cairo had been working to release Shahori, who is married and the father of a 5-year-old boy.
Knesset panel to meet on detained refugee children after Haaretz report
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – The Knesset’s Committee on the Rights of the Child will convene urgently next week on the illegal detention of unaccompanied minors in the Saharonim prison in the south. …
Netanyahu asks Likud to delay internal party elections
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Likud members on Tuesday to accept his request to delay the internal elections in the Likud party, which he heads, saying that there were more important things to deal with at the moment. …
‘Construction on Holyland project likely to be halted’
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – A senior official in the Jerusalem Municipality said on Tuesday that chances are that the construction on the contentious Holyland building project will be halted. …
New arts festival aims to put Jerusalem on global cultural map
Ha’aretz 27 Apr 2010 – Tel Aviv may be considered Israel’s cultural capital, but a new arts festival scheduled to kick off in Jerusalem next month aims to draw attention to the city’s “artistic atmosphere,” one of the event’s organizers told Haaretz on Monday. …
Israel expels first Palestinians under new military edict
Uruknet April 27, 2010 – Israel has deported two Palestinian men to the Gaza Strip under a new military regulation that came into effect two weeks ago restricting the right of Palestinians to live in the West Bank. The new regulation is a charter for ethnic cleansing that could lead to the expulsions of tens of thousands of Palestinians. It is…
Israeli Occupation increases military operations in the West Bank
Uruknet April 27, 2010 – The Israeli Occupation Forces proceeded, on Monday morning, to intensify its presence and expand its activities in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli actions have come against the background of escalating tensions and clashes which broke out yesterday between extremist Jewish settlers and Palestinians in the Arab neighborhoods east of Occupied Jerusalem. The Hebrew radio reported…
Palestinian children stand trial for stone-throwing
Uruknet April 27, 2010 – Fourteen and 15-year-old brothers stood trial at Ofer’s military court on Monday, facing charges of throwing stones at Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank. The boys, Nadim and Jihad Basim Kawazba from Bethlehem’s Al-Minya neighborhood, were recommended for sentences of three and four months detention but the judge’s decision was delayed when lawyers Eyhab Al-Ghaleith…
BNC Calls On Trade Unions To Urgently Intervene With Their Government To Stop Israel From Joining The OECD
Uruknet April 26, 2010 – 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…
Israeli security forces “control the appointment of imams in Israel”
Uruknet April 26, 2010 – The a
ppointment of imams of mosques inside Israel is controlled by the Israeli internal security service. That is the claim made in the Israeli media, referring to Shin Bet’s alleged determination of the appropriate candidates for the positions. According to Haaretz newspaper, “[Israel’s] Interior Ministry employs 60 people whose job is to keep an eye on…
Video: Cementing Our Support with Gaza
Uruknet April 26, 2010 – As the flotilla gets ready to sail to Gaza, the Free Gaza Movement asks for donations to buy cement to fill the hold of their cargo ship in Ireland. It is easy to do. Just go to our front page, click on the bag of cement and how many bags you want to buy. Then sign…
A flotilla to break Israel’s illegal blockade on GazaArafat Shoukri: “Conditions are ripe to make this flotilla the ‘tipping point’”
Uruknet April 26, 2010 – A coalition bringing together a number of organizations is preparing to send in May 2010 a relief flotilla of more than ten ships and cargo-boats to Gaza. Dr. Arafat Shoukri, president of the European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza (ECESG) will participate in this spectacular convoy with his Campaign, which is an NGO. He…
Turkey sees progress in attempt to get Iran and West talking on nuclear standoff
The National 27 Apr 2010 – Turkey’s government says it sees progress in efforts to get both Iran and the West talking again in the row over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
The OECD Takes up Arms: Israel’s Defence Spending and the OECD
Alternative Information Center – Monday, 26 April 2010, This is the third in a series of articles on the possible upcoming acceptance of Israel into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In May, the final vote of the…
Palestinian Popular Struggle against Home Demolitions, Olive Tree Destruction in Bethlehem Area
Alternative Information Center – Tuesday, 27 April 2010, One of the fronts of the popular struggle in the West Bank is now Beit Jala, Bethlehem district. The whole of the Bethlehem district has been surrounded by the Separation Wall and…
Symphony of Incitement in Israel
Alternative Information Center – Tuesday, 27 April 2010, In the past few months, the symphony of incitement against everything that has a whiff of leftism, liberalism, humanism and empathy toward “the other” is becoming louder and more encompassing of the…
Palestinians condemn Israeli army’s illegal’ killing of Hamas militant
PNN – RAMALLAH // Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank condemned the killing yesterday of a Hamas militant near Hebron by the Israeli army as an illegal assassination. Ali Suweiti, 42, a…
Israel jails man for ‘holy semen’ sex abuse
PNN – An Israeli man has been imprisoned for 10 years for tricking women into sexual acts by claiming his semen was holy and had healing powers. Nissim Aharon, a former employee at the…
Palestinians ban settlement goods
PNN – Palestinian officials have passed a new law outlawing the sale of goods made in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The law, under which offenders could face up to five years…
Goldstone Escapes Solomonic Trial
IPS JERUSALEM, Apr 27 (IPS) – He is among the most respected international jurists. But in Israel today, and in much of the Jewish world, he is among the most reviled.
Al-Walaja: 14-year old child beaten and arrested by IOF
Stop The Wall – Nabil participated at a march today on the lands of al-Walaja. Residents walked to the fields where the apartheid wall is being built. The Wall is slated to confiscate more land from the villagers. The occupation forces dragged the child to a military vehicle and sent him to an unknown location. [
Israel concerned about Indonesia-UNIFIL takeover
Jeruslalem Post 27 Apr 2010 – Country with no diplomatic ties to Israel may command UNIFIL’s naval force.
Capital braces for Beit Yehonatan evacuation
Jeruslalem Post 27 Apr 2010 – E. J’lem home measured; occupants: Barkat’s absence being exploited.
Egypt warns of Israel-Lebanon escalation
Jeruslalem Post 27 Apr 2010 – Ambassador Oren says Israel has “no intention of attacking” its neighbors.
Police prepare to confront Olmert
Jeruslalem Post 27 Apr 2010 – Zaken, Dankner are being questioned over Holyland bribery scandal.
PM to meet Mubarak, discuss PA talks
Jeruslalem Post 27 Apr 2010 – Netanyahu tells Likud: ‘The whole world knows we safeguard Jerusalem.’
Watchdog: BBC biased against Israel
Jeruslalem Post 27 Apr 2010 – Portrays Israel as obstructing peace, ignores Palestinian violations.
Egypt lets go Sagi Shahori
Jeruslalem Post 27 Apr 2010 – Israeli biker who inadvertently crossed border armed returns home.
Barak warns against waiting for Iran
Jeruslalem Post 27 Apr 2010 – Defense minister says a nuclear Iran would “change the landscape.”
Watchdog: BBC still biased against Israel
Jeruslalem Post 27 Apr 2010 – Portrays Israel as obstructing peace, while ignoring Palestinian violations.
J’lem City Engineer: Freeze
Holyland
Jeruslalem Post 27 Apr 2010 – As project exhausts building permits. Suspect Yehoshua Pollack released to house arrest.
Egypt warns of Israel-Lebanon war
Jeruslalem Post 27 Apr 2010 – FM Gheit tells UNSC permanent members tensions could turn into armed conflict.
A new style of politics in the West Bank
Jeruslalem Post 27 Apr 2010 – Fayyad: Palestinians have to build their state now and can’t wait for a peace deal with Israel.
Olmert arrives for police investigation
Jeruslalem Post 27 Apr 2010 – Ex-PM, chief suspect in Holyland scandal, arrives for police investigation.
PCBS: 100 Hotels Operates in Palestine
RAMALLAH, April 27, 2010 (WAFA)- “The number of hotels operating in the Palestinian Territory as of December 2009 was 100 hotels with 4,552 rooms and 9,815 beds,” the Palestinian Central Bureau of
Obama: U.S. will never Waver in Pursuit of Two-state Solution
WASHINGTON, April 27, 2010 (WAFA)- “Despite the inevitable difficulties, so long as I am President, the United States will never waver in our pursuit of a two-state solution that ensures the rights
Ban Discusses Middle East Peace Process with Mitchell
, April 27, 2010 (WAFA)- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and United States
U.S Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship
WASHINGTON, April 27, 2010 (WAFA)- President Obama is hosting a Summit on Entrepreneurship that begins today, Monday, in Washington, D.C. A delegation of eight Palestinian entrepreneurs was
When will time run out for a two-state solution? | Yousef Munayyer
The Guardian 27 Apr 2010 – The Palestinians must draw the line on settlements, or the facade of a two-state discussion will continue ad infinitum Among those involved in the Middle East peace process industry there is much talk about ” time running…
Partnership Agreement with the Palestinian Ministry of Education on School Canteens Programme
Relief Web 27 Apr 2010 – Source: UN Development Fund for Women
UN chief discusses Middle East peace process with US special envoy
Relief Web 27 Apr 2010 – Source: UN News Service
Nutrition information in crisis situations – Report number XXI
Relief Web 27 Apr 2010 – Source: UN Standing Committee on Nutrition
Increased humanitarian aid to Gaza after IDF operation 24 April 2010
Relief Web 27 Apr 2010 – Source: Government of Israel
Jerusalem city engineer: Stop Holyland project
YNet News – On backdrop of extensive investigation into real estate project in capital,….
Iran protests UAE ‘occupation’ remarks
YNet News – Islamic Republic’s state TV says country’s foreign ministry summoned United Arab….
Israel protests Egyptian ‘enemy’ claim
YNet News – Following Egyptian foreign minister’s statement on relaying ‘messages from enemy….
Yishai wants to send infiltrators back to Eritrea
YNet News – Interior minister approaches Foreign Minister Lieberman in a bid to examine ways….
Police target Olmert in Zaken, Dankner interrogations
YNet News – Former Prime Minister Olmert’s bureau chief being questioned, however….
Outpost demolition plans leaked to settlers
YNet News – Defense establishment to probe who informed National Union MK Michael Ben-Ari of….
Report: Iran’s uranium supply nearly out
YNet News – WASHINGTON ‚Äì As the United States encounters difficulties pushing sanctions against Iran through the United Nations Security Council, reports of the rogue country’s …….
Gates, Barak: Syria providing Hezbollah with missiles
YNet News – WASHINGTON – Syria and Iran are providing Hezbollah with rockets and missiles of ever-increasing capability, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said Tuesday following a …….
Police block J’lem Day parade in Old City
YNet News – Ever since the Six Day War, various celebrations are undertaken in honor of Jerusalem Day, marking the reunification of the city under Israeli control. Among the most …….
Netanyahu: I’ll meet with Mubarak next week
YNet News – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he planned to travel to Egypt next Monday for a meeting with President Hosni Mubarak. Speaking at a Likud Central …….
US officials: Barkat undermines talks effort
YNet News – WASHINGTON – Defense Minister Ehud Barak met Tuesday with senior US administration officials in Washington, who expressed their surprise over Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat’s …….
Clinton: US seeks ‘tough’ Iran sanctions
YNet News – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday the United States was seeking tough new sanctions to “sharpen the choices that Iran’s leaders face” after weekend talks …….
US wants tougher sanctions to ‘sharpen Tehran’s choices’
Daily Star 27 Apr 2010 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday the United States was seeking tough new sanctions to “sharpen the choices that Iran’s leaders face,” as Brazil offered to mediate to help end the West’s
standoff with Iran over its nuclear program. Iran’s foreign minister and the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) met in Vienna over
Netanyahu sees resumption of negotiations with Palestinians
Daily Star 27 Apr 2010 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas “intends” to renew stalled peace negotiations, suggesting a breakthrough after months of deadlock. In a speech to party faithful of his right-wing Likud faction in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu suggested he hoped peace talks could resume as soon as next week.
Hamas downplays internal dispute over prisoner cartoon
Daily Star 27 Apr 2010 GAZA CITY: Hamas sought to downplay on Tuesday a rare public disagreement between one of its top leaders and its powerful armed wing over a cartoon warning Israel about the possible fate of a captive soldier. Senior Hamas leader Mahmud al-Zahar said the cartoon did not express the “official position” of the movement because it suggested
Morocco dismantles Al-Qaeda-linked cell preparing attack
Daily Star 27 Apr 2010 RABAT: Moroccan security services have arrested 24 people and dismantled an Al-Qaeda linked cell which was preparing to carry out attacks, the interior ministry and police said. “The security services have recently dismantled a terrorist network linked to Al-Qaeda and composed of 24 members,” the North African kingdom’s interior ministry said in a statement.
Palestinian Information Center
Netanyahu versus Hamas
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – It should be amply clear by now that the current Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu combines many of the characters that would make any human being detestable if not evil.
Bahar urges Egypt to demonstrate flexibility in Palestinian reconciliation file
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – Dr. Ahmad Bahar has urged Egypt Tuesday to be more flexible in the file of the Palestinian reconciliation file, and not to close the reconciliation paper before Hamas’s “logical” reservations.
IOF soldiers quell demonstrations in various WB areas
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) violently dispersed a peaceful march in Walaja village, Bethlehem district, on Tuesday in which Palestinian citizens and foreign activists took part.
PFLP: Fatah authority launching war on resistance fighters
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – The popular front for the liberation of Palestine (PFLP) has lashed out at the Fatah-controlled Ramallah authority for waging a war on resistance fighters.
Hamas: Abbas not fit to conclude prisoners exchange deal
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – Hamas said that Mahmoud Abbas, the PA chief whose term in office expired last year, was not fit to conclude an honorable prisoners’ exchange deal with the Israeli occupation authority (IOA).
MP: IOA trial of children in violation of Geneva convention
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – Hamas MP Dr. Yehya Al-Abadsa, the rapportuer of human rights committee in the Palestinian legislative council has denounced the Israeli occupation authority’s (IOA) trial of Palestinian children.
New Israeli plan to build 321 housing units in OJ
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – The Islamic-Christian commission has revealed that the Israeli-controlled municipality of occupied Jerusalem was planning three new housing projects in the holy city.
Prisoners maintain protest steps, go on hunger strike
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – The Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli occupation jails have gone on hunger strike as a fresh protest step against the Israeli atrocities committed against them and their visiting relatives.
IOF detain relatives of Suweiti, other West Bankers
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up four relatives of Ali Al-Suweiti in Beit Awa village, Al-Khalil district, on Monday including a woman.
Zahhar: Assassinating Suweiti slap to Fatah authority
PIC 27 Apr 2010 – Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar said that the Israeli assassination of Qassam commander Ali Al-Suweiti served as a slap in the face of the Fatah authority in Ramallah that is arresting resistance fighters.
Netanyahu’s Quiet Capitulation Sets Up Indirect Talks
The Media Line 26 Apr 2010 – Indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians are apparently going to begin shortly after all. A series of developments enabling the implementation of the American plan begin with word that although not saying it out loud,…
Israel tries new tactics against Palestinian protesters
LA Times 28 Apr 2010 – As civil disobedience has largely replaced suicide attacks and other deadly violence, soldiers respond with tamer weapons. When the Skunk truck arrives, people hightail it.
South Korean is first woman to scale 14 highest mountains
LA Times 27 Apr 2010 – A South Korean mountaineer made history in the Himalayas on Tuesday by becoming the first woman to scale the world’s 14 highest mountains, beating a Spanish rival for the record.
World Briefing | Middle East: Israel: Abbas Signals Readiness for Indirect Peace Talks
New York Times 26 Apr 2010 – Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, told Israeli television that he would present the American proposal for talks to the Arab League this week, and “we hope that the reply will be positive.”
World Briefing | Middle East: West Bank: Israeli Forces Kill a Hamas Militant
New York Times 26 Apr 2010 – The military said that forces surrounded a house where the militant, Ali Suweiti, was hiding, that he refused to surrender, and that he was killed in an exchange of fire.
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…
Israel’s Big And Small Apartheid
Palestine Monitor – 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…
Symphony of Incitement in Israel
Alternative Information Center – Tuesday, 27 April 2010, In the past few months, the symphony of incitement against everything that has a whiff of leftism, liberalism, humanism and empathy toward “the other” is becoming louder and more encompassing of the entire public sphere in Israel. Knesset members and ministers, singers…
Palestinian Popular Struggle against Home Demolitions, Olive Tree Destruction in Bethlehem Area
Alternative Information Center – Tuesday, 27 April 2010, One of the fronts of the popular struggle in the West Bank is now Beit Jala, Bethlehem district. The whole of the Bethlehem district has been surrounded by the Separation Wall and ever-expanding settlements for years. Now, Beit Jala is being hit…
The OECD Takes up Arms: Israel’s Defence Spending and the OECD
Alternative Information Center – Monday, 26 April 2010, This is the third in a series of articles on the possible upcoming acceptance of Israel into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In May, the final vote of the OECD Ministerial Committee will take place on whether to invite…
Israel has been ‘Arizona’ all along
Mondoweiss – I am encouraged by the wave of justified indignation, and spontaneous boycott movement, against the new Arizona law. Indeed, requiring citizens and legal resident to carry proof of their status at all times, and encouraging police to profile passersby who “look suspicious”, runs counter to the…
Which has the better punchline?
Mondoweiss – The joke : or the apology : I wish that I had not made this off the cuff joke at the top of my remarks, and I apologize to anyone who was offended by it. It also distracted from the larger message I carried that day: that the…
Palestinians protest settler attacks in the occupied territories and inside Israel
Mondoweiss – Hundreds of Jaffa residents gather on the main street in the heart of Ajami to protest settler intimidation in Jaffa. (Photo: The Daily Nuisance) Tensions are rising between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel after clashes in Occupied East Jerusalem and…
Orientalism and Double Standards
Mondoweiss – Here’s yet another attack on Muslims for being too sensitive about seeing the Prophet Muhammed depicted or caricatured in the press, along with the usual indictment of the West for caving in and “self-censuring.” But when was the last time you saw the Pope, or Jesus,…
UC divestment spreads – UC San Diego to vote on bill tomorrow
Mondoweiss – UC San Diego will be joining Berkeley in holding a vote on divestment tomorrow evening. The San Diego bill under consideration is slightly different, and organizers seem to have learned from some of Berkeley’s challenges. From the UC San Diego newspaper The Guardian : The resolution was…
Articles
Jerusalem colonization, Western apathy
Ahmed Yousef, Ma’an News Agency4/28/2010
The Israelis are instigating a Jewish holy war staged in Jerusalem. They are playing a superb game of propaganda painting the Palestinians as the real fundamentalists, despite that the Knesset has more active right-wing political parties than any state in the civilized world. It’s a strategy that has caught the West by surprise as they continue to react with template disappointment.
Successive governments have supported colonization for decades; yet Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent moves have all but dispelled the fa?ßade of a secular rationale. Unfettered, expedited settlement construction in Jerusalem, with images of soldiers traipsing through Islam’s third holiest site in army fatigues, mark a new low for the Israelis, yet equally indicate a new level of brazen physical and psychological aggression that will result in a new intifada.
Netanyahu and the extreme right feel it is time to goad Palestinian Christians and Muslims into reacting with force (which has happened with minor riots in the past few weeks). Much of the Arab and Islamic world are limited to flaccid objections, following in the footsteps of the United States and the European Union who similarly are not interested in punitive measures. The “Bibi Plan,” therefore, is for Palestinians to rebel, face overwhelming military might, and lose Jerusalem once and for all under the premise of security concerns.
Yet this time, the violence will take on a distinctly religious t
heme. Although Jewish notions of holy war have been in play since the 1960s, albeit ill-covered by the media, Netanyahu has made official, and partially public, the premise that Jerusalem is proprietary to Judaism; and the use of this territory by gentiles is a privilege and not a right. Extremist religious and nationalist groups that play roles as coalition partners are vocal about this view, but rarely has a ruling party been as emboldened in acting upon this view as the current Likud.more..e-mail
Egyptians View Construction of Gaza Wall As Evidence of Government’s ‘Hypocrisy’
Joseph Mayton, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs4/27/2010
April 2010
ACCORDING to eyewitnesses reports cited by local Egyptian newspapers, the underground steel barrier between the Egyptian and Gazan border was near completion in early February. While the Egyptian government never either confirmed or denied the wall’s construction, pictures and testimonies from the area have said the cement is, literally, pouring into the ground.
For many in this North African nation—the Arab world’s most populous—the move to erect a wall in a U.S. and Israeli-backed attempt to end the smuggling of goods into the besieged Palestinian enclave has left a sour taste in the mouth. Egyptians, especially activists, have noted quite openly on Twitter and other online networks that the wall represents the Egyptian government’s “hypocrisy.”
“We have always been told that Palestinians are our brothers and sisters,” said opposition activist Omar Fagr, “but when we go out to support them, the government here [in Egypt] arrests us and imprisons us. How can they say one thing and then go do another?”
Since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip after ousting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ security services following a bloody, U.S.-backed coup attempt in June 2007, Israel and Egypt have imposed an economic blockade on the 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza. The siege has forced Gazans to find other avenues for obtaining essential goods, such as cooking oil, petrol, butter and other foodstuffs. Smuggling tunnels that run beneath the Sinai desert landscape have become one of the few means of getting supplies to Palestinians, but Tel Aviv and Cairo want this to end, insisting that the tunnels are used to smuggle weapons.
Palestinians involved in smuggling, however, have told the Washington Report that the 100-foot-deep wall will not stop the movement of goods into Gaza.
“We are not going to be stopped by a wall,” said one smuggler, who asked not to be named. “Since when has that done anything—because we are talking about the lives of our families and friends here.”more..e-mail
Living Conditions in the Jordan Valley
Dr. Hisham Awartani, This Week in Palestine4/5/2010
The Palestinian population of Al-Aghwar region is estimated at around 40,000 people, living mainly in Jericho (20,000 residents), 3 refugee camps, and 15 villages. The population has not witnessed any increase during the past three decades despite the fact that the rate of natural growth in this community is one of the highest in Palestine. Evidently, the rate of emigration to other West Bank towns (and to external destinations) has proceeded at such high rates that it totally offsets the increase in natural growth.
Underlying the dynamics of population shifts is a mix of profound socio-economic factors. Living conditions among the Palestinians who dwell in Al-Aghwar region are probably the worst in Palestine. The poverty levels are well in excess of 60 percent, mainly due to severe restrictions imposed on access to land and water resources. Furthermore, this region is particularly vulnerable to the severe losses caused by occasional natural disasters, such as floods, frost, and hail storms.
The economic demise of Al-Aghwar region has worsened considerably in the wake of the severe restrictions imposed on movement to and from other parts of the country since the year 2000. The tourism sector has been almost totally destroyed, which has entailed devastating consequences on many firms, especially hotels, restaurants, and transportation firms.
In addition to sharply declining income levels, the living conditions in Al-Aghwar region have deteriorated further as a consequence of severe setbacks in the quality of vital services available to local inhabitants. Housing conditions are among the worst in the Middle East, whether on account of crowdedness or hygiene. This is a direct result of the very strict restrictions imposed on construction activities, especially outside the boundaries of the existing Palestinian towns. Despite the abundance of water resources in the region, the amount and quality of water available for drinking and house use are unsatisfactory.more..e-mail
US hegemony, not “the lobby,” behind complicity with Israel
Electronic Intifada: 27 Apr 2010 – Many of Israel’s critics blame an “Israel lobby” for the near-total complicity of the US in Israeli annexation, colonization and cleansing programs in the occupied West Bank. However, the lobby thesis does little to explain US foreign policy in the Middle East. Stephen Maher comments for The Electronic Intifada.
Palestinians resist threat of eviction in Jaffa
Electronic Intifada: 27 Apr 2010 – Amidst the crater-filled roads, crumbling art deco houses, Jewish-Israeli filled hummus joints and flashing blue lights of passing cop cars, Palestinian citizens of Israel are struggling to grasp onto the last neighborhood of Jaffa to remain a Palestinian majority — Ajami. Carmelle Wolfson reports for The Electronic Intifada.
Israel’s Big And Small Apartheid
Palestine Monitor: 27 Apr 2010 – 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…
Tony Blair, Very Close to Being Indicted for War Crimes
Palestine Chronicle: 27 Apr 2010 – By Prof. Michel Chossudovsky While on a speaking engagement in Malaysia organized by “Success Resources Company”, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was the object of an articulate protest movement demanding his indictment for war crimes. This was no ordinary protest. Tony Blair has been accused of war crimes in a legal initiative led by the country’s former Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. A War Crimes Tribunal as well as a War Crimes Commission were set up integrated by renowned jurists. Documentary evidence of war crimes committed by Blair and Bush has been carefully compiled and collected since 2006. The prosecution is led by several of Malaysia’s most prominent lawyers. Dr Mahathir in a public statement “expressed disgust at the companies that had sponsored Blair’s visit here. ‘How can you sponsor and get advice from a liar? Do you also intend to lie in carrying out your business?’ he asked.” (…more
Imprisoning Palestinian Women
Palestine Chronicle: 27 Apr 2010 – By Stephen Lendman A July 2008 Fact Sheet Series titled, “Behind the Bars: Palestinian Women in Israeli Prisons” was jointly prepared by the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, the Palestinian Counseling Center (PCC), and Mandela Institute. Along with background information, it covered Israel’s obligations under international law, prison conditions where they’re held, medical neglect, and their educational rights restricted or denied. Relevant International Laws Protecting Prisoners and Civilians in Times of Conflict, Including Women The 1949 Third Geneva Convention applies to prisoners of war, replacing the 1929 Prisoners of War Convention. It broadened the categories of persons entitled to prisoner of war status and precisely defined the conditions and places of their captivity – especially with regard to allowed labor, financial resources, required treatment, and rules of judicial proceedings. It specifically prohibited acts of: — “Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel…more
Born in Deception
Palestine Chronicle: 27 Apr 2010 – By William A. Cook As Israel attempts today to gloss over the reality of its birth 62 years ago with a sweeping public relations campaign extolling the miraculous “resurrection” of ancient Zion in contemporary times, a new nation seeking only peace with its neighbors, it might be enlightening and valuable to examine the truth. On May 14, 1948 President Harry S. Truman received a letter from the Jewish Agency for Palestine announcing the impending proclamation of the independent republic of Israel (Harry S. Truman Library, document filed August 22, 1949). That date marks not only the beginning of the State of Israel but, sub missa voce, the assumption by the State of Israel of the calculated, systematic and determined ethnic cleansing of the indigenous population of the land of Palestine that had been the business of “The Consultancy” and its agents before May 14, as identified by Dr. Ilan Pappe…more
The New Dark Age 
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