News
International Middle East Media Center
Israel Ban Popular Struggle Leader From Traveling
IMEMC – 1 May 2010 – Eyad Burnat, a leader in the popular struggle against the Israeli wall, was Banned by Israel’s military from crossing the West Bank borders into Jordan on Saturday.
PHRF: “52 Palestinians Gassed in Tunnels Since beginning of 2010”
IMEMC – 1 May 2010 – The Palestinian Human Rights Foundation (PHRF) reported Friday that since the beginning of this year, 52 Palestinian residents were killed in border tunnels after the Egyptian Authorities gassed the tunnels while the residents were in them.
Settlers Uproot 30 Olive Trees Near Qalqilia
IMEMC – 1 May 2010 – Israeli settlers uprooted on Friday at least 30 Olive trees that belong to residents of Kefir Qaddoum town, near the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia.
Jerusalemite woman says expelled to West Bank
5/1/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – A Jerusalemite woman whose residency card was confiscated on Thursday said she was concerned that the practice was a continuation of an Israeli policy to expel Palestinians from areas under Israeli control. Referring to the 13 April Israeli military orders no. 1649 and 1650, which expanded the definition of “infiltrator” to include any individual in Israeli-controlled areas residing without legal permission, the woman, Maysoon Ahmad Nabhan Mussa, 40, said she was targeted in an expanded effort to ethnically cleanse Israel of Palestinians. Mussa lives with her husband in the West Bank, and was called into Jerusalem’s Ministry of the Interior on Thursday, where ministry workers demanded she hand in her Jerusalem residency card. Having moved to the West Bank after her husband, now working for the Palestinain Authority’s Intelligence service,was denied permission to travel to Jerusalem, Mussa found herself without residency rights at all.
Egypt declares state of emergency at Gaza border
5/1/2010 – Al-Arish – Ma’an – Egypt has declared a state of emergency along its border with the Gaza Strip, Egyptian security sources said, after learning that Palestinians planned to break out. The move comes days after four Palestinians died and six were injured inside a smuggling tunnel under the border. Medics accused Egyptian forces of spraying a chemical as part of a crackdown on smuggling. Egypt denied using gas, but confirmed placing explosives inside a tunnel. Cairo has recently escalated its crackdown on the besieged Palestinian enclave, cooperating with Israel’s blockade. Smugglers say officials are seizing goods almost daily, and regularly shutting down tunnels. [end]
Prisoner rejects deportation order
5/1/2010 – Nablus – Ma’an – A Palestinian prisoner requiring an organ transplant has rejected a two-year expulsion order handed down by an Israeli military court, a lawyer with the International Solidarity for Human Rights said Saturday. Zuheir Lebadah, from the West Bank city of Nablus, requires an urgent kidney transplant for his failing kidneys, the lawyer said, and has a neurological disorder that dulls his ability to sense heat unless severely burned. Appealing for his release on the grounds of his deteriorating health and the urgent need for surgery, the lawyer said Lebadah refused to accept the order, that would see him deported abroad. The detainee told the lawyer that the Israeli Prison Service in Ramleh prison had repeatedly denied a request for amedical transfer to undergo the surgery.
Israeli forces disperse Beit Ummar rally
5/1/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli forces deployed riot dispersal means toward a group of farmers and their families on Saturday afternoon, as they gathered at the gates of the Karmei Tsur settlement in protest over the destruction of crops. According to the Palestine Solidarity Project, those participating in the rally gathered demanding access to their lands inside the fence surrounding the settlement to inspect 20 almond trees cut down by settlers during the week. Two army jeeps arrived at the scene and Israeli soldiers told gathers to leave the premises, firing tear-gas canisters toward the crowd shortly after the verbal warning.”Six soldiers with automatic weapons at the ready then rushed through the gates, whilst their colleagues fired more gas at the retreating villagers,” a PSP statement read. The PSP statement further said Mohammad Awad, member of the popular committee, was thrown to the ground and beaten by two soldiers for filming the rally.
Female detainee released from isolation cell after 5 months
5/1/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – The Israeli Prison Service ended the solitary confinement term of a female detainee in Ramleh prison, after she spent five months in an isolation cell, the Higher Committee to Support Detainees said Friday. Wafa Al-Lubs’ lawyer appealed to the Israeli Central Court to release her from solitary confinement on 17 March, but was denied. The lawyer called for convincing evidence to support the IPS’ decision to keep Al-Lubs in isolation for five months, said committee chief Riyad Al-Ashqar. On April 25, the court accepted the appeal and demanded that Al-Lubs be released from isolation and be allowed to have contact with other female prisoners, Al-Ashqar said. Al-Lubs, 26, is from the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip and was detained at the Erez crossing on 20 May 2005, and was banned from receiving family visits, Al-Asqar added.
Former detainee dies of cancer in Al-Ahli Hospital
5/1/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Palestinian Prisoner’s Society announced on Saturday that former detainee Fayez Abed Al-Mahdi Salem Ziadat died of cancer in a Hebron hospital on Saturday. Head of the Hebron branch of the society Amjad An-Najjar said the society “accuses the Israeli Prison Administration of knowing prior that prisoners suffer from a number of illnesses, but neglecting to offer them treatment even at critical stages. [The IPS] would reject their demand for treatment, within a systematic and planned policy. This is what happened with Fayez Ziadat.”Ziadat was detained on 15 February 2006 after being pursued by Israel for six years when the elite Duvduvan unit of the Israeli army apprehended him, An-Najjar said. Ziadat was later charged with leading the Al-Aqsa Brigades, affiliated with Fatah, and carrying out a number of attacks against Israeli soldiers.
Egypt detains Palestinian teenager entering via tunnel
5/1/2010 – Al-Arish – Ma’an – Egyptian authorities on Saturday detained a Palestinian teenager suspected of attempting to enter Egypt through Gaza’s tunnel complex along the border. Egyptian security sources said the teenager, identified only as 16-year-old BJ, was caught as he exited the tunnel in the Salah Ad-Din area. The teenager was transferred for questioning and returned to Gaza soon after because he was a minor, the sources said, but added that he was made to guide Egyptian authorities through the tunnel through which he had attempted to enter. Two weeks prior, Egyptian security released 17 Palestinian minors who had attempted to enter through the tunnel complex to their families in Gaza through the Rafah crossing, after they too were made to give security an overview of the tunnels used along the Egyptian border. Separately, authorities are preparing to receive four alleged Egyptian smugglers who infiltrated Israel through the Sinai borders.
Oxfam organizes Gaza May Day event to highlight unemployment
5/1/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Local partners with Oxfam in Gaza organized a May Day event in Gaza to highlight the state of labor in the coastal enclave under the ongoing Israeli blockade. The Democracy and Worker’s Rights Center, a Palestinian NGO focusing on worker’s rights across the occupied Palestinian territories, and Sawt Al Amel, an Palestinian-Israeli NGO, representing 500 Gaza workers suing their former Israeli employers for back wages and withheld pensions, arranged the rally in Gaza City to shed light on workers’ increasingly becoming dependent on aid, a statement read. Adnan al-Alian, a father of eight who worked for nine years in the Erez Industrial Zone, says he now has no way to provide a decent life for his family, the statement read.”I’ve had no work except when I was given the opportunity to participate in a single three month cash-for-work program last year. I rely on food aid assistance to get by.”
320 stranded Palestinians allowed into Gaza
5/1/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Some 320 Palestinians stranded at the Egypt-Gaza border over the past week have been allowed to transit, while seven Palestinians left Gaza, the de facto crossings authority said Saturday. The authority’s weekly report said the majority of those entering Gaza were patients who completed treatment in Egyptian hospitals, while those who left had coordinated their travel with Egyptian authorities. The sole pedestrian transit border with Israel, the Erez crossing in northern Gaza, was partially operating during the week, according to the report. Some 848 individuals left Gaza during the week, 530 of whom were Gaza residents, 264 international passport holders and 54 Palestinians with either Israeli citizenship or an ID card. Entering over the same period were 876 individuals, including 569 Gaza residents, 262 international passport holders and 45 Palestinians with either Israeli citizenship or ID cards.
PA forces fatally shoot suspected armed robber in Hebron
5/1/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Palestinian Authority forces shot dead a suspected armed robber at the northern entrance of the West Bank city of Hebron on Saturday. Palestinian security sources told Ma’an that the suspect was attempting to flee the scene of an armed robbery by car toward the northern entrance of Hebron. PA forces immediately deployed at the entrance and ordered the driver to stop his vehicle as he approached the Palestinian Ras Al-Joura checkpoint. After refusing to halt, sources said, PA forces opened fire at the car and identified several hits. A PA security official, who wished to remain anonymous, told Ma’an that “PA forces opened fire at a car attempting to drive into security men at a checkpoint in Hebron, after the driver refused to stop in accordance with the force’s request.” Four suspects were in the car, who had reportedly robbed a clothes store on Al-Mahed Street in Bethlehem,. . .
Gaza authorities urged to investigate PFLP arrests
5/1/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said Thursday it was deeply concerned by measures taken by security services in the Gaza Strip against a number of members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.”The right to freedom of opinion and expression is guaranteed under the Palestinian Basic Law and relevant international conventions,” the PCHR said in a statement detailing recent arrests of PFLP members allegedly at the hands of Hamas-aligned security forces. The PCHR called upon the government in the Gaza Strip to investigate these measures and to prevent their re-occurrence. On Tuesday, the PFLP condemned the performance of the government and security services in the Gaza Strip – the latest of which involved the imposition of new taxes on various sectors – and called upon Hamas to “stop these measures and alleviate the suffering of civilians.
NGO to distribute laptops to Palestinian refugees
5/1/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – A non-profit organization that helps make computers available to children, in partnership with the UN will provide laptops to nearly half a million refugees in the occupied Palestinian territories, the UN’s news site reported Thursday. Under the partnership, the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) charity will distribute XO laptop computers in schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the UN’s news agency said.”Core to our mission is providing the world’s most isolated and vulnerable children access to modern forms of education and the opportunities that follow,” said Nicholas Negroponte, OLPC chairman and founder, the UN wrote. “The XO laptop has a special place in children’s education in regions that are disrupted by ongoing political unrest and violence.” Related:In photos: Children in Gaza receive new laptops
In photos: Children in Gaza receive new laptops
5/1/2010 – Palestinian schoolchildren inspect new laptops at a school in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on 29 April 2010. The UN’s news site said UNWRA teamed up with he One Laptop per Child, a non-profit organization that helps make computers available to children, to provide laptops to nearly half a million refugees in the occupied Palestinian territories. UNWRA launched the campaign to distribute some 200,000 laptops to students in Rafah in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, a spokesman said. MaanImages / Hatem Omar [end] Related:NGO to distribute laptops to Palestinian refugees
Sha’ath: No set date to begin peace talks
5/1/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Despite US officials’ remarks that proximity talks would begin next week, Fatah central committee member Nabil Sha’ath said there had been “no appointment or dates” scheduled for the talks. US envoy George Mitchell “has a lot to do to curb the Israelis’ stubborn stance toward resuming the peace process,” Sha’ath said. Basically all that Mitchell did was attempt to reach an agreement with the Israelis on disputed issues. But did the Israelis agree? We do not know.””I’ll put it frankly: there will be no progress so long as there is the extremist Israeli government headed by that man, [Benjamin] Netanyahu,” the official added.”If Israel stopped settlements in Jerusalem, the negotiations would resume.”Concerning the coming government reshuffle and reports that Fatah will try to seize several ministries, Sha’ath confirmed that “Actually, Fatah is demanding key ministries,. . .
Clinton: Peace talks to start next week
5/1/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday the peace process would get back on track next week.”Ultimately, we want to see the parties in direct negotiations and working out all the difficult issues that they must,” Clinton told reporters in Washington after meeting with Kuwait’s foreign minister on Friday.” The Middle East will never realize its full potential, Israel will never be truly secure, the Palestinians will never have their legitimate aspiration for a state unless we create the circumstances in which positive negotiations can occur,” Clinton was quoted as saying by The Associated Press. [end]
Az-Zahhar: No deal without Hamas
5/1/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Senior Hamas leader in Gaza Mahmoud Az-Zahhar said Saturday that any political stages concerning the question of Palestine must include the movement or “there is no agreement.”All talks and agreements made with Israel must include the Islamist movement, Az-Zahhar said following a meeting with a South African delegation at the office of de facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.” Hamas has given a full explanation on its stance on reconciliation and its desire to achieve it. It is paramount that the siege be lifted, the crossings opened and that elections be held with its outcome accepted by all,” Az-Zahhar told reporters following the meeting. The senior Hamas leader said the South African visit was “evidence of the country’s support for the Palestinian issue. There are good relations between the Gaza government and South Africa. These relations are developing and growing. . .”
Fayyad on May Day: Non-violence supports political track
5/1/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – The Palestinian people will continue to struggle for their national project through three interrelated tracks, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Saturday at an event marking May Day. During a speech at the headquarters of the General Palestinian Labor Union, Fayyad said the three tracks were political, non-violent resistance and building state institutions. The political track, Fayyad said, represented the PLO’s efforts to achieve political gains at all levels, leading to the realization of ending the Israeli occupation, and living in dignity and freedom in a sovereign Palestinian state. Non-violent resistance against the separation wall and settlements, he said, will supplement the PLO’s political role and pave the way for the establishment of a Palestinian state on land occupied by Israel in 1967, including East Jerusalem which “remains the eternal capital of the state of Palestine.
Fatah: Hezbollah not involved in leader’s murder
5/1/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Fatah officials in Lebanon said Saturday that reports of Hezbollah involvement in the murder of senior party leader and PLO deputy in Lebanon Kamal Medhat in a roadside bomb last year are “baseless.”Responding to reports by the Kuwaiti newspaper As-Siyasa which quoted sources implicating Hezbollah in the assassination, movement officials in Lebanon said the allegation could “mislead readers. We don’t know what these sources are,” a statement read. Medhat and three body guards were killed in a blast near the Mieh Mieh Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon in March 2009. At the time, Fatah officials said the explosion was aimed at former PLO leader in Lebanon Abbas Zakki, and confirmed that the murder was a targeted assassination. The newspaper alleged that Ibrahim Al-Khatib, a Fatah member in Lebanon, was recruited by Hezbollah to carry out the blast.
Report: Arab League backs indirect talks
5/1/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – The League of Arab Nations endorsed a return to talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators on Saturday, Reuters reported. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa told reporters after a meeting of Arab officials in Cairo that the regional body would back indirect negotiations between Palestinian and Israeli officials. The Arab League backed the last attempt at US-brokered peace talks in March, which were swiftly derailed on the eve of the PLO’s endorsement when Israel announced the building of an Israeli-only housing unit in East Jerusalem during US Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to kick start talks.
PA report: 274 fugitives arrested at Allenby in 2010
5/1/2010 – Jericho – Ma’an – During the first third of 2010, Palestinian Authority forces detained at the Allenby Bridge crossing into Jordanarrested 274 fugitives, a report released Saturday said, recording a transit of more than270,000 travelers in both directions. The PA police report recorded 277,801 travelers in total, of which 146,065 continued their travel abroad, while 131,736 entered the West Bank from Jordan via the Allenby Bridge crossing. The figure included 2,906 international passport holders traveling in both directions through the crossing and 1,768 Palestinians with Israeli ID cards. Additionally, 607 Palestinians were sent back by Israeli authorities for security reasons. Chief of PA crossings police Mustafa Ghannam said security forces facilitated the large number of travelers as well as offering assistance to patients and individuals with physical disabilities.
Palestinian gas authority sets fuel prices
5/1/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Palestinian Petroleum General Authority set new fuel and gas prices to come into effect on Saturday morning. The price of diesel per liter was set at 5. 64 shekels, while that of two types of benzene was priced at 6. 32 shekels. Additionally, the consumer will pay 58 shekels for a 12-kilogram gas canister, the authority determined. [end]
Video series depicts life under occupation, humanizes Palestinian experience
Palestine Note 1 May 2010 – A couple of days ago, I was intrigued by a preview I saw for “Sleepless in Gaza and Jerusalem,” a reality show about life in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. To show the reality of life under…
Peaceful demonstrations in Gaza
Palestine Note 1 May 2010 – While plenty of reports of violence come from Gaza, Ashley Bates and Maurice Jacobsen meet one of the leaders of Gaza’s non-violent protest movement Under a tent canopy on a farm in Gaza’s Jabalia region on…
Berkeley Israel divestment bid fails
Palestine Note 1 May 2010 – The UC Berkeley Student Senate this week failed to override a veto of a plan to divest from two US firms that sell weapons Israel uses in its occupation of Palestinian territory. The proposal, which originally…
Arab League backs return to talks
Palestine Note 1 May 2010 – Saturday the Arab League gave its blessing for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to resume indirect peace negotiations with Israel, AFP reports. PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erakat told reporters in Cairo that if Israel moves to…
Clinton: Israeli-Palestinian peace talks start next week
Palestine Note 1 May 2010 – The first round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in a decade will begin next week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced late Friday. The indirect, “proximity” talks will be mediated in a kind of shuttle diplomacy by…
The south reduced: How the news promotes a mistaken view of the world
Palestine Note 1 May 2010 – I am not good at flying kites. But during a recent visit to the Olympic Village of Beijing, I felt compelled to do so. Despite the cold and late hour, there were many kite runners around…
Mubarak’s war on Islamists
Palestine Note 1 May 2010 – On Wednesday, an Egyptian court convicted 26 men of spying for Hezbollah and plotting attacks on Egyptian soil on behalf of the Lebanese militant group. The men, including Lebanese, Egyptians, Palestinians, and one Sudanese, received sentences…
Syrian FM: US destabilizes the region, not Syria
Palestine Note 1 May 2010 – Syrian FM Walid Moallem said Saturday that US arms supplied to Israel do more to destabilize the region than any weapons Syria has supplied to Hezbollah, Haaretz reports. The US supplies Israel with a considerable cache…
BBC pictures: Gaza’s bodybuilders
Palestine Note 1 May 2010 – BBC ‘ s In Pictures looks at the past week’s annual bodybuilding championship. The blockade has made bodybuilding more difficult, since access protein supplements and gym equipment is near impossible, BBC says some items are smuggled…
Settler violence continues without sufficient condemnation
Palestine Note 1 May 2010 – Settler violence in West Bank Palestinian communities is being a daily event, Ynet News reports. Their violence is known as a “price tag” for government threats to limit or remove West Bank settlements. Settler graffiti: Many…
GAZA-RAFAH BORDER: EGYPT DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY
Palestine Note 1 May 2010 – EGYPTIAN BORDER AUTHORITIES ARE ON HIGH ALERT AFTER LEARNING PALESTINIAN PLAN TO BREACH THE CROSSING Egyptian authorities have declared a state of emergency along the Gaza border after receiving reports that Palestinians plan to break out…
America needs to take charge
Palestine Note 30 Apr 2010 – Special Envoy George Mitchell banned the term “peace process” from common usage by his team because he recognized that it had become synonymous with failure and with a managerial approach to the conflict. He now needs…
National Public Radio’s pro-Israeli bias
Palestine Note 30 Apr 2010 – Since established in 1970, NPR ignored its public trust in favor of privilege, corporatism, militarism, imperial wars, and Israel’s vilest crimes, including collective punishment, illegal occupation, targeted killings, land theft, dispossessions, home demolitions, crop destruction, mass…
Schumer’s mission from God
Palestine Note 30 Apr 2010 – You know the old definition of chutzpah? A guy kills his mother and father and pleads for mercy on the grounds that he is an orphan. I think we are ready for a new definition. It…
Israel Hayom: Israel concerned that Fayyad becoming more extreme, weakening Abu Mazen
Palestine Note 30 Apr 2010 – Israel Concerned: Fayyad becoming more extreme, and weakening Abu Mazen Shlomo Cezana, Israel Hayom, April 30 2010 The political rivalry between Abu Mazen and Salam Fayyad is causing the latter to become more extreme in his…
IDF Chief Gabi Ashkenazi’s final battle
Ha’aretz 1 May 2010 – About the MESS Report …
U.S. rules out meeting with Ahmadinejad at UN nuclear talks
Ha’aretz 1 May 2010 – Iranian leader set to speak at UN nuclear non-proliferation talks Monday; Jewish groups urging walkout.
Obama declares May Jewish American Heritage Month
Ha’aretz 1 May 2010 – Obama says the U.S. is a stronger, more hopeful country because so many Jews have made it their home.
Indirect peace talks to begin next week, Clinton says
Ha’aretz 1 May 2010 – U.S. Secretary of State: Ultimately we want to see Israel, PA in direct talks, working out all difficult issues.
Turkey and Brazil mediating Iran nuclear deal, diplomats say
Ha’aretz 1 May 2010 – U.S. had hoped to have a final draft on sanctions ready in May, but fuel swap talks could run into June.
U.S.: We will continue to defend Israel in the UN
Ha’aretz 1 May 2010 – White House denies reports the U.S. promised to allow UN censure of Israel to draw PA back to peace talks.
Report: Kuwait shuts down suspected Iran spy cell
Ha’aretz 1 May 2010 – Security forces detain 7 men suspected of providing Iran intel on local U.S. military bases, Kuwaiti tagets.
U.K. comedian slams BBC over apology for anti-Israel skit
Ha’aretz 1 May 2010 – In 2008 Frankie Boyle had said that the Mideast was a cake being punched to pieces by a very angry Jew.
Egypt raises alert fearing Gaza border breach, Hezbollah reprisal
Ha’aretz 1 May 2010 – Cairo reportedly on alert over fears Hezbollah may avenge the recent jailing of 26 of its operatives.
Iran is going nuclear while Israel gets a bashing
Ha’aretz 1 May 2010 – A bizarre reversal has put Israel’s nuclear program at the top of the UN’s non-proliferation agenda.
Nasrallah: Hezbollah has a right to amass weapons
Ha’aretz 1 May 2010 – Syria FM Walid Moallem accuses U.S. of destablizing the region by supplying Israel with weapons.
Thousands take to Berlin streets to block neo-Nazi march
Ha’aretz 1 May 2010 – Far right protest confined to parking lot as locals stage sit-ins to prevent city-wide parade.
Steven Spielberg, Coen brothers urge release of jailed Iranian filmmaker
Ha’aretz 1 May 2010 – Film industry luminaries sign petition urging Tehran to free opposition supporter Jafar Panahi.
Netanyahu: Israel ready for new peace talks – any time, any place
Ha’aretz 1 May 2010 – Prime minister lauds Arab League endorsement of Palestinian return to negotiations with Israel.
3,000 European Jewish intellectuals urge end to Israeli settlements
Ha’aretz 1 May 2010 – JCall, a new leftist Jewish group, describes itself as ‘the European J Street.’
Even Israel’s biggest lovers are growing impatient
Ha’aretz 1 May 2010 – No one can accuse the 3,000 Jewish intellectuals who signed the letter of being Israel-haters or self-hating Jews.
Hundreds attend funeral of former Mossad man Zadok Ofir
Ha’aretz 1 May 2010 – Former Mossad man Zadok Ofir, one of Israel’s most prominent intelligence officers during its battle against Palestinian terror in the 1960s and 1970s, was laid to rest in Kibbutz Einat’s cemetery on Friday. …
Syria sees victory in tourism boom
The National 1 May 2010 – Damascus says an overwhelming number of tourists leaves country with a positive image despite US calling it state sponsor of terrorism’.
Israel’s Arab MPs face backlash over Libya visit
The National 1 May 2010 – Six Arab members of the Israeli parliament returned last week from a visit to Libya at the personal invitation of its leader, Muammer Qadafi, to a storm of protest in Israel.
Israeli Minister of Interior Prevents Ittijah Director from Leaving the Country
Alternative Information Center – Tuesday, 27 April 2010, On April 22, 2010 the Israeli Border Police prevented Mr. Ameer Makhoul, the Director ofIttijah — Union of Arab Community-Based Associations inside Israel,from leaving the country. Makhoul, who also serves as the…
March of the Return: Thousands of Palestinians 48 Commemorate Nakba on “Israeli Independence Day”
Alternative Information Center – Wednesday, 28 April 2010, On 20 April, the day on which the Israeli state commemorated its 62nd anniversary according to the Hebrew calendar, thousands of Palestinian citizens of Israel marched to the ruins of the destroyed…
JCALL Calls to Demonstrate Wisdom — What Wisdom?
Alternative Information Center – Saturday, 01 May 2010, The uncompromising policies of the Netanyahu government which, by continuing with the Judaisation of Jerusalem, are willing to mock even the Obama administration, raise protests amongst the big organized Jewish communities in…
Israel Ban Community Organizer From Traveling
PNN – Ghassan Bannoura – PNN- The Israeli military refused to allow Eyad Burnat, a leader in the popular struggle against the Israeli wall, to cross the West Bank borders into Jordan on Saturday….
Opinion: More Youth Representation Needed In Local Elections
PNN – Fadi Abu Sada — chief Editor – PNN – Heated debate had started recently all around West Bank communities regarding the local municipal elections slated for next July. While Different political groups…
We Are Different brings joy to Palestinian children
PNN – Hiba Lama — PNN Exclusive- Every Friday for the past seven months a group of twelve young Palestinian men and women head out to a Different location in rural areas of the…
Palestinian workers mark May Day without social security
PNN – Khalil Al Assali — PNN Exclusive – workers Unions General Federation still insists on marking May Day every May first of every year, it’s the only time of year when you see…
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2250.shtml
Stop The Wall – The escalation of violent practices of the occupation forces against the weekly protests in Ni’lin continues. The occupation forces are now regularly invading Ni’lin on Fridays and stay stationed between the homes of the residents. Nevertheless, the village youth fight back effectively. [
Nabi Saleh: rally in the occasion of workers day
Stop The Wall – On the occasion of May 1, the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in Nabi Saleh organized a rally after Friday prayers. Guest speakers stressed the importance of the popular resistance of the full participation of all segments of the Palestinian people, in particular the Palestinian workers. [
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (22-28 April 2010)
PCHR 28 Apr 2010 – Israeli Occupation Forces Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) ¬? Two Palestinian civilians were killed in the West Bank in a new extra-judicial assassination…..
Israel: We need more Iron Dome systems
Jeruslalem Post 2 May 2010 – 2 batteries to be deployed soon; IDF wants a dozen more.
US: Progress on Iran sanctions
Jeruslalem Post 1 May 2010 – Jewish groups urge walkout on Ahmadinejad’s NPT summit speech.
Egypt catches wind of Palestinian plan to break out of Gaza
Jeruslalem Post 1 May 2010 – Egypt declares a state of emergency on its border with Gaza.
Planning panel to meet next week on east J’lem housing units
Jeruslalem Post 1 May 2010 – J’lem c’tee to deliberate plans for a limited number of housing units in the area.
US officials: Progress on Iran sanctions resolution
Jeruslalem Post 1 May 2010 – Ahead of UN’s NPT summit, Jewish groups urge walkout on Ahmadinejad’s speech.
Israel asks US to fund more Iron Dome batteries
Jeruslalem Post 1 May 2010 – 2 batteries to be deployed soon; IDF wants a dozen more.
Liberal US Jewish leaders unite against conversion bill
Jeruslalem Post 1 May 2010 – Israel Beiteinu legislation can potentially ‘divide community or alienate Diaspora Jewry.’
Is the US-Israel crisis over? Barak says yes
Jeruslalem Post 1 May 2010 – Barak: “I feel strongly that these differences are behind us.”
Organ-harvesting allegations still posted on UN Web site
Jeruslalem Post 1 May 2010 – Web site claims “Israeli physicians, rabbis and IDF may be involved.”
IDF prepares for Road 443 security plan
Jeruslalem Post 1 May 2010 – Road to be opened to Palestinian traffic.
Diplomacy: Forcing the peace?
Jeruslalem Post 1 May 2010 – Maybe the US dedication to Israel is sincere.
Egypt declares emergency on Gaza border
Jeruslalem Post 1 May 2010 – Cairo reportedly catches wind of plan to break out of Strip.
‘ME may become nuke-free zone’
Jeruslalem Post 1 May 2010 – Egypt, US discuss pact which would include Israel, Iran.
World Bank: Political, Security Situation Fragmenting Palestinian Economic Space
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2010 (WAFA)- The continuing volatility of the political and security situation in the West Bank and Gaza (WBG) and tight restrictions on movement and access, including the
Courageous Women’s Award Nominee Honoured by Another Brave Woman
RAMALLAH, May 1, 2010 (WAFA)- Nida Awine, A courageous woman, was honored by another that matches her courage
PRC: Mass Transfer a Natural Outcome of Israel’s Creed
, May 1, 2010 (WAFA)- “This simple fact is a natural outcome of
OCHA: 1 Palestinian Killed, 49 Injured in a Week
, May 1, 2010 (WAFA)- Israeli forces killed
Palestinians hold May Day jobs protest in Gaza
Relief Web 1 May 2010 – Source: Agence France-Presse
Frequently Asked Questions: The Threat of Deportation from the West Bank
Relief Web 1 May 2010 – Source: Gisha
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory 22-28 April 2010
Relief Web 30 Apr 2010 – Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
Man who swam into Egypt returned
YNet News – Mentally ill Eilat resident, 44, arrives at Taba crossing after spending 10 days….
Report: US, Egypt negotiate Mideast nuclear-free zone
YNet News – Citing unnamed US officials, Wall Street Journal reports White House seeking….
Envoys: Turkey, Brazil brokering Iran nuclear deal
YNet News – UN diplomats say China, Russia ready to give Brazilians, Turks time they need to….
Syria: Scud warning ‘slander campaign’
YNet News – Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on Saturday accused Washington of a “slander campaign” after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Damascus over supplying …….
Egypt raises alert level on Rafah border
YNet News – Egypt on Saturday raised its alert level in two areas of conflict between Cairo and terror organizations threatening Israel as well: The Rafah crossing and the southern …….
Palestinian Information Center
Palestinians need real freedom, not a deformed state
PIC 1 May 2010 – It is becoming amply clear that the PA in Ramallah is implicated in the gradual implementation of conspiratorial designs devised by the U.S. and Israel to liquidate the Palestinian national cause.
Abu Sha’ar expresses solidarity with suppressed Palestinian workmen
PIC 1 May 2010 – Dr. Taleb Abu Sha’ar expressed his solidarity with Palestinian workmen especially in Jerusalem who suffer harsh living conditions as a result of the ongoing Israeli violations.
Despite worsening health condition prisoner Lubada refuses deportation offer
PIC 1 May 2010 – Zuhair Lubada, a prisoner in Israeli occupation jails suffering from kidney failure, has refused an Israeli offer to release him on condition that he would be deported to Jordan for two years.
South African deputy foreign minister arrives in Gaza
PIC 1 May 2010 – Ibrahim Ibrahim, the deputy foreign minister of South Africa, has arrived in Gaza Strip on Saturday via the Rafah crossing at the head of a seven-member delegation.
Ex-prisoner dies of cancer contracted during detention in IOA jails
PIC 1 May 2010 – Liberated Palestinian prisoner Fayez Zeidat, 48, was proclaimed dead of cancer on Saturday in Al-Khalil.
Haneyya: We refuse an alternative homeland
PIC 1 May 2010 – Palestinian premier Ismail Haneyya has renewed assertion that this government and the Hamas movement refuse a substitute homeland for Palestinians.
Bahar: Israel’s intent to expel human rights organizations exposes its democracy
PIC 1 May 2010 – Ahmed Bahar said that tabling a draft law in the Knesset calling for expelling many human rights organizations which uncover facts about war crimes further vindicated Israel’s lies about democracy.
Prefabricated homes aboard flotilla to Gaza
PIC 1 May 2010 – Prefabricated homes and relief material would be among the assistance sent to Gaza Strip aboard a flotilla of ships, the European campaign to end the siege on Gaza said in a statement on Saturday.
Khudari calls in Lebanon for official Arab action to lift siege on Gaza
PIC 1 May 2010 – Independent Palestinian MP Jamal Al-Khudari has called for official Arab action to lift the catastrophic siege on the Gaza Strip and for reactivating the peoples’ role in this regard.
Anti-wall marches in W. Bank villages go on despite Israeli military escalation
PIC 1 May 2010 – Hundreds of Palestinian citizens and foreign activists participated on Friday in the peaceful weekly marches organized in West Bank villages against the segregation wall and settlement activities.
Intimidation In Iran Keeps Protesters From Rally
New York Times 1 May 2010 – A planned demonstration failed to materialize on Saturday, apparently the result of intimidation and a large police presence.
U.S. Says It Will Open Israeli-Palestinian Talks
New York Times 1 May 2010 – Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will not be in the same room, many experts agree that the chances of a breakthrough are small, and some say the exercise is just a warm-up.
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…
Eyeless In Gaza
Palestine Monitor – Israel’s siege of Gaza is itself an act of war. But Israeli naval attacks began shortly after the discovery by the BG (British Gas) Group of what appear to be quite sizeable natural gas fields in Gaza’s territorial waters. Industry journals report that Israel is already…
JCALL Calls to Demonstrate Wisdom — What Wisdom?
Alternative Information Center – Saturday, 01 May 2010, The uncompromising policies of the Netanyahu government which, by continuing with the Judaisation of Jerusalem, are willing to mock even the Obama administration, raise protests amongst the big organized Jewish communities in the Western world. In the United States a lobby named…
March of the Return: Thousands of Palestinians 48 Commemorate Nakba on “Israeli Independence Day”
Alternative Information Center – Wednesday, 28 April 2010, On 20 April, the day on which the Israeli state commemorated its 62nd anniversary according to the Hebrew calendar, thousands of Palestinian citizens of Israel marched to the ruins of the destroyed Palestinian village of Miska (http://www.palestineremembered.com/Tulkarm/Miska/index.html) under…
Israeli Minister of Interior Prevents Ittijah Director from Leaving the Country
Alternative Information Center – Tuesday, 27 April 2010, On April 22, 2010 the Israeli Border Police prevented Mr. Ameer Makhoul, the Director ofIttijah — Union of Arab Community-Based Associations inside Israel,from leaving the country. Makhoul, who also serves as the head of thePopular Committee for the Defense of Political Freedoms,…
US aid for Palestinian roads facilitates hateful Israeli system of separate roadways
Mondoweiss – Great piece of investigative reporting by Nadia Hijab and Jesse Rosenfeld in the Nation showing that many new Palestinian roads in the West Bank paid for by our government (U.S. that is) and other international donors are only serving Israeli settlement expansion by consolidating an Israeli…
Which side are you on, J Street?
Mondoweiss – A couple of news items relating to the self-described “pro-Israel, pro-peace” lobby J Street over the past few weeks have shown that it’s siding with the wrong people if it is honestly interested in a just and lasting solution to the situation in Israel/Palestine. On one…
Freeman: Israel is useless to US power projection
Mondoweiss – The other day Stephen Maher published a piece on Electronic Intifada saying that American thirst for hegemony in the region, and not the Israel lobby, is the prime motivator of US policy in Israel and Palestine. What follows is an excerpt of a private email exchange…
More Arizona contradictions, this time from an Is-lobbyist
Mondoweiss – Writer Peter Beinart worked for AIPAC during the last presidential cycle, doing private events AIPAC refused to allow me to attend. Well he was on Hardball tonight taking the side of Mexican-Americans in Arizona. They are, he said, emblematic of “politically vulnerable minorities historically in our…
Articles
Chomsky: What’s At Stake in the Issue of Iran
Noam Chomsky, Pravda4/29/2010
In an interview with the German publication, Freitag, Noam Chomsky talks about U.S. pressure on Israel and Iran and its geopolitical significance. “Iran is perceived as a threat because they did not obey the orders of the United States. Militarily this threat is irrelevant. This country has not behaved aggressively beyond its borders for centuries. Israel invaded Lebanon with the blessing and help of the U.S. five times in thirty years. Iran has not done anything like this,” he says.¬¥
Barak Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 while sending more troops to Afghanistan. What happened to the “change” that was promised?
Chomsky: I am one of the few who is not disappointed with Obama because I placed no expectations on him. I wrote about Obama’s positions and prospects of success before the start of his campaign. Saw your website and it was clear to me that this was a moderate Democrat in the style of Bill Clinton. There is of course a lot of rhetoric about hope and change. But this is like a blank sheet where you can write anything. Those who despaired at the recent moves of Bush sought hope. But there is no basis to expect any one time to examine properly the substance of Obama’s speech.
His government has treated Iran as a threat due to its uranium enrichment program, while countries that possess nuclear weapons such as India, Pakistan and Israel did not suffer the same pressure. How do you evaluate this way of proceeding?
Chomsky: Iran is perceived as a threat because they did not obey the orders of the United States. Militarily this threat is irrelevant. This country did not act aggressively beyond its borders for centuries. The only aggressive act occurred in the ’70s under the Shah’s government, when, with U.S. backing, they invaded two Arab islands….more..e-mail
A Cloud over Jerusalem
Uri Avnery, Dissident Voice5/1/2010
Everyone has the right to change his or her mind. Even Danny Tirzeh.
Colonel Tirzeh was responsible for planning the wall that “envelopes” Jerusalem — the one that cuts the city off from the West Bank in order to turn it into the United Capital Of Israel For All Eternity.
And now, suddenly, Tirzeh pops up as the main opponent of the wall he himself planned. He wants to move it, so as to leave the lands of al-Walaja village on the “Israeli” side.
The Colonel has ceased acting on behalf of the Israeli army and now represents private entrepreneurs who want to build 14 thousand housing units for 45 thousand Jewish souls. All this, of course, for the greater good of Zionism, the Jewish people, Israel’s Eternal Capital, and many tens of millions of shekels.
Colonel Tirzeh is not just anybody. He is a symbol.
For years I kept meeting him in the halls of the Supreme Court. He had become almost a fixture: the star witness, the expert and the moving spirit in scores of hearings dealing with the Separation and Annexation Wall.
He knows everything. Every kilometer of the Wall and the Fence. Every hill, every stone. He always carries with him a large bundle of maps which he lays before the judges, earnestly explaining why the Wall must pass here and not there, why the security of the state demands that the Palestinian villages be separated from their land, why leaving an olive grove in the hands of its owner would expose Israeli soldiers to mortal danger.more..e-mail
Organic Agriculture A Key to Food Security in Palestine
George Kurzum, This Week in Palestine4/29/2010
In spite of the regulated and intensive closure of the Gaza Strip as well as the wide scale devastation the Israeli military forces have inflicted on agricultural land, Gaza farmers have generated growing revenues. Organic agriculture has spread its wings in Gaza homes and the Ministry of Agriculture has employed farmers to cultivate land in evacuated settlements with organic crops and palm trees. It has also started to manufacture organic fertilizers (compost) and distribute them to farmers. Chemicals and other agricultural supplies are no longer imported from Israel. This trend among farmers in Gaza aims to produce quality organic food that is chemical free.
The local production and consumption cycle
In order to achieve actual food security and make food available to the wider sector of the Palestinian population, priority should be given to meeting our basic food needs and to developing an effective food production strategy. This can be done through encouraging local organic agriculture and the use of local non hybrid seeds and local or green fertilizers and natural agricultural remedies that are made of local plants. The new food production strategy will secure the flow and recycling of capital inside the country because farmers will produce agricultural supplies locally within the same cycle of production and consumption, thus reaching a reasonable level of self-sufficiency, independence, and food security on the national level.
Competition with foreign markets
Export, as many Palestinian economists and politicians say, is important, but more important is securing the basic needs for food from local production. In addition, agriculture for exportation depends largely on having a variety of products and cultivating organic products. Since the demand for chemical-free products in foreign markets is increasing, Palestinian farmers could excel and compete with international markets if they depend largely on inherent local agricultural strength and engage more actively in natural organic agriculture.more..e-mail
loaded opposition
In Gaza: 29 Apr 2010 – One can imagine that were US soldiers to open fire with live ammunition on American protesters, this would not be acceptable. Likewise for Canada and most democratic nations. Yet somehow there is a void, a gaping hole in the media into which fall most potential reports on Israeli soldiers shooting with live ammunition on visibly unarmed demonstraters. When Palestine is too far away, too “over there” and mired in “age-old conflict” for mild news viewers and readers to understand, perhaps the simple comparison of “would we accept this for ourselves?” is more apt. Would we accept that a young man in his early twenties is shot dead for prancing on his land, gleefully laughing in the faces of armed (Israeli) soldiers, delighting in accessing land that had been unilaterally cut off from him and its owners… should be shot dead for it? Sure, it was a shot in the…
Eyeless In Gaza
Palestine Monitor: 1 May 2010 – Israel’s siege of Gaza is itself an act of war. But Israeli naval attacks began shortly after the discovery by the BG (British Gas) Group of what appear to be quite sizeable natural gas fields in Gaza’s territorial waters. Industry journals report that Israel is already appropriating these Gazan resources for its own use, part of its commitment to shift its economy to natural gas, notes Noam Chomsky. A Middle East Peace That Could Happen (But Won’t) – In Washington-Speak, “Palestinian State” Means “Fried Chicken” T he fact that the Israel-Palestine conflict grinds on without resolution might appear to be rather strange. For many of the world’s conflicts, it is difficult even to conjure up a feasible settlement. In this case, it is not only possible, but there is near universal agreement on its basic contours: a two-state settlement along the internationally recognized (pre-June 1967) borders — with “minor and…
The New Dark Age 