News
International Middle East Media Center
Turkey Will Not Send A New Ambassador To Israel
IMEMC – 16 Jun 2010 – The Star newspaper in Turkey reported Wednesday that the Turkish government decided not to send a new ambassador to Israel unless it cooperates with the International Investigation Committee in charge of investigating the deadly Israeli attack against the Freedom Flotilla in international waters.
Soldier Who Killed Gaza Woman, Her Daughter, Will Face Charges, Israel Says
IMEMC – 16 Jun 2010 – Israeli daily, Haaretz, reported that the Israeli soldier who shot and killed a 64-year-old Palestinian woman and her daughter, 35, during Israel’s offensive against the Gaza Strip, 18 months ago, will be facing charges.
Israeli Media Report That Officers Shot Palestinian Lying On Ground
IMEMC – 16 Jun 2010 – The official Israeli version of an incident last Friday, in which a Palestinian motorist from East Jerusalem was killed by Israeli border officers after a motor vehicle accident, has been challenged by a new report released today by the Israeli paper Haaretz.
Abu Zuhri: “Nothing New In Fatah Statements”
IMEMC – 16 Jun 2010 – Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, spokesperson for the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, said Wednesday that the statements of Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of the Central Committee of the Fatah movement, contain nothing new to consider.
Israeli Military Kills One Person Near Eilat
IMEMC – 16 Jun 2010 – The Israeli army killed one man on Wednesday morning after spotting a group of people, some of them armed, apparently attempting to infiltrate through the border from Egypt, some 40 kilometers away from Eilat.
Fighters Survive An Assassination Attempt in Gaza
IMEMC – 16 Jun 2010 – A group of fighters survived, late on Tuesday night, an Israeli assassination attempt in Khuza’a, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas: “Israel’s Probe Committee, is a Deception and Manipulation”
IMEMC – 15 Jun 2010 – Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyya, stated that Israel’s decision to investigate its own attack against the Freedom Flotilla in international waters is an attempt to deceive the world, adding that the executioner cannot perform the role of the prosecutor and the judge.
Israeli fire near barrier injures Gaza teenager
6/16/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli forces shot a teenage boy in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday afternoon. Wa’el Al-Kafarna, 16, was moderately injured by a gunshot wound to the right leg, medics said. Al-Kafarna was walking near the Erez crossing when a soldier opened fire, medics at Kamal Udwan Hospital told Ma’an. An Israeli military spokesman confirmed….
Settlers storm Hebron homes, residents say
6/16/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Dozens of Israeli settlers living on the notorious Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron raided the homes of several Palestinian residents in the nearby Jabal Jales village at midnight and destroyed farmland, residents said Wednesday. Shaker Az-Zaru At-Tamimi, 61, said similar raids are a daily occurrence. He appealed to international institutions and human rights….
Israel army kills alleged infiltrator
6/16/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli forces shot dead one person early Wednesday along Egypt’s Sinai border area, an Israeli official said. The security official said Israel’s army fired on a group of several men who had entered Israel near the southern city of Eilat. Israeli soldiers at the scene of the deadly shooting found a suspicious bag….
Former prisoner detained shortly after release, says center
6/16/2010 – Salfit – Ma’an – A former Palestinian prisoner was detained by Israeli forces on Monday, after completing a three-year sentence in March, the Detainees’ Center said. Raed Al-Omlah, 24, was detained by Israeli forces from his home in Beit Awla, west Hebron after a home raid, his brother Mahmoud told the center. The center further said Al-Omlah’s….
UN: Israel removed some checkpoints
6/16/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – A senior UN official said Israel has dismantled 20 percent of its West Bank checkpoints in the past year, according to the Associated Press. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN humanitarian affairs office in Jerusalem, said Israel has removed 121 checkpoints, easing Palestinian movement between villages and towns, but 505 checkpoints and….
Israel allows kitchenware into Gaza
6/16/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli authorities will soon allow kitchenware into Gaza, Palestinian coordination official Raed Fattouh said Wednesday. The move comes as the result of a court decision following a lawsuit filed by Palestinian traders, Fattouh told Ma’an. Eight truckloads of kitchenware will be delivered via the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south in addition to….
Activists say video shows ’execution’ on board Gaza flotilla
6/16/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Pro-Palestinian activists say a video recently released online shows a US citizen being shot dead on board an aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip. The original clip, which aired on the Turkish TV network Cihan, allegedly shows soldiers firing at a passenger identified as 19-year-old Turkish-American Furkan Dogan. The video, which….
Beit Ummar child summoned to Israeli intelligence
6/16/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli forces handed a child a summons notice Wednesday, during a detention campaign targeting the Hebron village of Beit Ummar. Seven-year-old Muhsen Yousef Muhsen Awad was ordered to appear before Israeli intelligence services at Kfar Etzion detention center, spokesman for the Palestine Solidarity Project Muhammad Ayyad Awad said. He added that Israeli forces….
Amnesty criticizes proposed flotilla inquiry
6/16/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Amnesty International has criticized Israel’s proposed investigation into its military action against a Gaza aid flotilla on 31 May as lacking in transparency and unlikely toensure accountability over the nine deaths of activists during the operation. The Israeli cabinet approved a three-man Israeli commission, with two international observers, to examine Israel’s military action….
B’Tselem issues annual report
6/16/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has published its annual report on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, covering the 16-month period from January 2009 to April 2010. The report surveys the events since the beginning of Operation Cast Lead. One and a half years after the operation, B’Tselem says, the allegations regarding breaches of international humanitarian law…. Related:B’Tselem’s Annual Report 2009-2010
Jihad wing says Israel attacked overnight
6/16/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – The Islamic Jihad movement’s military wing said Wednesday that a group of its operatives survived an Israeli missile strike in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khuza’a late Tuesday. The Al-Quds Brigades said in a statement that “A squad stationed near the eastern border was attacked by an Israeli surface-to-surface missile east of….
UN ordered to compensate Gaza companies
6/16/2010 – London – Ma’an – A private international arbitration commission in London has ruled that the UN should compensate three Gaza construction companies who could not complete UN projects because of the siege. Muhammad Abu Sa’da, a solicitor representing the Al-Hajjar Brothers, Thiqar, and Al-Ghad Al-Jadid companies, told journalists Thursday that the arbitration commission decided they were entitled….
Israel army says Gaza soldier may be charged
6/16/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Israeli military says it may pursue charges against a soldier who allegedly killed two Palestinian women waving white flags during Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip that began in December 2008.”The findings of the Military Police Criminal Investigations Division investigation in question have been passed along to the Office of the….
UK charity to sue Israel over flotilla raid
6/16/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – A UK-registered charity said on Tuesday it will file suit in Britain on behalf of activists detained by Israel two weeks ago after a fatal Israeli raid in May on an aid convoy en route to Gaza, Agence France-Presse reported. Mary Nazzal-Batayneh, president of the Palestine Legal Aid Fund (PLAF), told AFP….
Wednesday sees 40 fires across Ramallah district
6/16/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – Palestinian civil defense forces contained 40 fires that erupted throughout the Ramallah and Al-Bireh district on Wednesday, a report read. Among the incidents were a fire in a child’s bedroom in the Qalandiya refugee camp and a home fire in Al-Bireh, the report noted, adding that civil defense crews were deployed across the….
Egypt finds corpse after shooting near Israel border
6/16/2010 – Al-Arish – Ma’an – The body of an Egyptian citizen was found Wednesday near the Israel border, Egyptian sources said shortly after Israeli officials confirmed opening fire at a group of people in the same area. The deceased was a member of a smuggling group that attempted to enter Israel, the sources said. His body, found near….
Teen released from Israeli custody
6/16/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli authorities released a 16-year-old after being held in Israeli detention at the Ofer prison near Ramallah on Tuesday, his family said. Mu’taz Ash-Shuyoukhi was sentenced to three-months detention and made to pay a penalty of 2,000 shekels for joining marches, demonstrations, and throwing stones at Israeli soldiers, his parents added, accusing….
UN envoy: Flotilla tragedy reflects failed policy
6/16/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – A top UN official stressed Tuesday the need for a fundamental change in the situation in Gaza, noting that the recent tragedy involving an aid flotilla intercepted by Israel is just another reminder of why the blockade is unsustainable and must end.”The flotilla crisis is the latest symptom of a failed policy….
UN chief proposes extending Golan force
6/16/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has recommended that the United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Golan Heights be extended for another six months, deeming its continued presence in the region as essential. The UN Disengagement Observer Force was established in May 1974 following the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces after the 1973….
Blair applauds plan to ease Gaza blockade
6/16/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Tony Blair, the Quartet’s envoy to the Middle East, on Tuesday hailed the Israeli cabinet’s expected approval of a plan to ease the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Blair told the Israeli daily Haaretz that the plan, which will likely come before the cabinet for approval Wednesday, is “a very important step….
Children of settlers to begin learning Arabic
6/16/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli settlers will soon add Arabic to their middle school curricula, Israeli news media reported Wednesday. A course to be taught at schools constructed in the illegal Israeli settlement of Efrat will enable some 3,000 students to communicate with their “neighbors,” the Israeli daily Maariv reported. According to the report, the settlement will….
US Jews gather for anti-Zionist assembly
6/16/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Over 200 American Jewish participants and political partners will meet to focus on efforts for divestment from Israel and boycott campaigns a the first national anti-Zionist Jewish Assembly on Saturday in Detroit, a statement read. “We are anti-Zionist because Zionism established and maintains a Jewish-only homeland in the land of Palestine…. Related:The 2010 U.S. Assembly of Jews Confronting Israeli Apartheid and Racism
Fatah: Israel plans to separate West Bank from Gaza
6/16/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – Fatah said Israel aims at cutting off the Gaza Strip from the West Bank and “end the Palestinian national project,” a party spokesman said Wednesday. Ahmad Assaf said the movement denounced all interim solutions “affecting the territorial integrity of an independent Palestinian state on the borders of 1967.”Israel has taken advantage of….
PLO slams Jerusalem settlement expansion
6/16/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The PLO mission to the US denounced Israel’s approval of 1,600 new homes in an East Jerusalem settlement on Wednesday, a statement read, describing the move as “provocative.”Israel gave the building plans the final green light on Tuesday, despite the move derailing indirect peace talks in March when it was announced during….
Turkey forms flotilla committee
6/16/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday it has formed a committee to look into Israel’s raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship, the Associated Press reported. The panel headed by Turkey’s foreign and justice ministers will “assess the national and international dimensions” of the raid and prepare the ground for a possible international investigation….
Hebron court sentences 3 collaborators to life
6/16/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – The Palestinian Authority has sentenced three Palestinians convicted of collaborating with Israeli intelligence. Hebron’s Court of First Instance on Tuesday sentenced the three, two men and one woman, to life in prison with hard labor. One of them, an unidentified former security officer from the Hebron area, was present at sentencing. He was….
FIDA: Hamas shut down peaceful demonstration
6/16/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Security forces in the Gaza Strip halted a peaceful demonstration in Rafah on Tuesday, officials said. The Palestinian Democratic Union (FIDA) condemned Hamas for interfering in the march, which it described as peaceful. The leftist Palestinian faction noted that “the incident coincided with the fourth anniversary of the Hamas coup.”FIDA further alleged….
Sha’ath: Hamas not asked to recognize Israel
6/16/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Fatah did not place conditions on Hamas to recognize Israel as part of a unity deal tipped to end rivalry between the two movements, Fatah Central Committee member Nabil Sha’ath said Wednesday.”We did not place conditions on Hamas to recognize Israel, nor accept the conditions of the [Middle East] Quartet,” Sha’ath told….
Fatah: PA shuffle delayed by ’political preoccupations’
6/16/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – An anticipated Palestinian Authority cabinet shuffle has been stalled due to ministerial differences, said the head of Fatah’s parliamentary bloc and Central Committee member Azzam Al-Ahmad on Wednesday.”President [Mahmoud] Abbas agreed on the cabinet reshuffle, but said it was delayed by had he described as ‘political preoccupations’,” the official told Ma’an. Al-Ahmad….
Kicking Turkey out of NATO!
Palestine Note 16 Jun 2010 – Both the Israeli government and its cutouts here have been sticking it to Turkey lately. (See this silliness from the House today and this from Rep. Gary Ackerman, chair of the House Subcommittee on the Middle…
Potential for genuine reform
Palestine Note 16 Jun 2010 – The visitor from Washington, who represented an independent democracy foundation, asked two questions to a group of Jordanian intellectuals: “Where do you see the potential for genuine reform in Jordan and the Arab region? If we…
WATCH LIVE: J Street Israel-Palestine discussion
Palestine Note 16 Jun 2010 – Washington – J Street founder Jeremy Ben-Ami and The Atlantic correspondent Jefferey Goldberg discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in New York City at 7pm. Watch it live on Palestine Note. Streaming live video by Ustream Liberal pro-Israel…
Report: Israel lists Turkish charity as terror group
Palestine Note 16 Jun 2010 – Washington – Israel has branded Turkish charity Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) a “terrorist organization,” AFP news agency reported Wednesday. IHH works along side the US and other international aid bodies in the Haitian relief effort. Above,…
Turkey announces flotilla probe
Palestine Note 16 Jun 2010 – Ties with Israel set to be frozen Washington — Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoƒülu announced Wednesday that Turkey will launch its own investigation of the Israeli raid on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla May 31, Haaretz reported…
Dershowitz backing Republican Schakowsky challenger
Palestine Note 16 Jun 2010 – New York – Pro-Israeli hard-liner Alan Dershowitz plans to raise funds for a Republican running against Illinois democrat Jan Schakowsky over her views on Israel, Politico’s Ben Smith noted on Wedesday. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, left, with…
Israeli ministers delay blockade vote
Palestine Note 16 Jun 2010 – Washington – Following international pressure to ease its blockade of Gaza siege since the the flotilla raid May 31, Israeli ministers are now expected to vote on measure to ease the blockade Thursday. The vote was…
Lebanon debates Palestinian refugee rights
Palestine Note 16 Jun 2010 – Washington — Lebanon’s parliament met on Tuesday to debate new legislation that would grant basic civil rights to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees living in the country, Al-Jazeera reported . The proposed bill would allow Palestinians…
Deal Breakers: Seven reasons why Israel will not lift the Gaza blockade
Palestine Note 16 Jun 2010 – Following the Flotilla deadly attack, several reports were circulated indicating that Israel will succumb to international pressure and lift the Gaza blockade. With so many deal breakers dominating the scene, I don’t see this happening anytime…
Jordan: Israel thwarting peaceful nuclear program
Palestine Note 16 Jun 2010 – Washington — Jordan’s King Abdullah II has accused Israel of “underhanded” attempts to block its moves towards peaceful nuclear energy, BBC News reported . King Abdullah II of Jordan speaking at the World Economic Forum. The King…
UN official: Blockade is a policy failure
Palestine Note 16 Jun 2010 – Washington — Top UN Middle East peace official Robert Serry called for an end to the Gaza blockade, saying the flotilla debacle was a symptom of the Israeli policy flaws, Ma’an News Agency reported Wednesday. Special…
Trade org: PA should negotiate new trade deal with Israel
Palestine Note 16 Jun 2010 – Washington – The Palestine Trade Center ( PalTrade ), a trade development organization funded by the Norwegian government and supervised by the World Bank, issued a report Wednesday calling for the Palestinian Authority (PA) to “reconsider” the Paris…
UN to compensate Gaza companies
Palestine Note 16 Jun 2010 – Washington – A London-based international arbitration commission has ruled in favor of three Gaza companies seeking financial compensation from the UN, Ma’an News Agency reported Wednesday. Children stand in rubble created by Israel’s 22-day assault of…
Charges over Gaza white flag killings
Palestine Note 16 Jun 2010 – Israeli soldier faces charges in deaths of 2 women By Jared Malsin New York – The Israeli military said on Wednesday it is considering bringing charges against one of its own soldiers for shooting to death…
Democrats united in support of Flotilla raid
Palestine Note 16 Jun 2010 – MJ Rosenberg reprints dozens of Democrats’ statements on the Gaza flotilla fiasco today in his Media Matters piece. He doesn’t bother with the Republicans, which are worse, but also to be expected. And the Democrats he…
The three panels: Investigating the Flotilla fiasco
Palestine Note 16 Jun 2010 – Israel is trying to address the massive criticism it is facing over the flotilla fiasco by empowering not one, but three different investigative panels. It’s not likely to work. The military investigation , which was the first…
Settler kids to learn Arabic
Palestine Note 16 Jun 2010 – Washington – The West Bank settlement Efrat will reportedly add Arabic to its middle school curriculum, Israeli daily Maariv reported Wednesday. The standard US textbook for Arabic is “Al-Kitab,” seen above. The Arabic course would instruct…
Painting the true picture of America
Palestine Note 15 Jun 2010 – Washington, DC – My country is facing many challenges. It now stands literally at an unprecedented and dangerous crossroads. America is being torn this way and that by those on the left and the right; by…
Innovation goes full speed ahead in the Arab world
Palestine Note 15 Jun 2010 – Cairo – When it comes to the Muslim world, the media often focuses on foreign policy, terrorism and the differences between the Muslim world and the West. But in the book 1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in…
Lebanese women not satisfied with second class
Palestine Note 15 Jun 2010 – Beirut – On 18 May, Samira Souedian, the Lebanese widow of an Egyptian, was refused the right to pass Lebanese citizenship to her four children by the Lebanese Court of Appeal, despite previously winning her case…
Blogging: from spectator to global citizen
Palestine Note 15 Jun 2010 – Tunis – My first experience with writing started with blogs. Through blogging, my view of the world started to change; I was no longer dependent on the censored lens of the mainstream media. My window to…
#Flotilla: information that leads to change
Palestine Note 15 Jun 2010 – Riyadh – The ships seized by Israeli armed forces en route to Gaza have made headline news these past weeks. Much of the coverage has focused on the ships from the flotillas that were unsuccessful in…
Israel delays Gaza embargo decision
AlJazeera 16 Jun 2010 – Security cabinet adjourns meeting on allowing entry of building materials and other goods.
Lebanon MPs debate refugee rights
AlJazeera 16 Jun 2010 – Parliament to study proposal allowing Palestinians to work and own property.
Reconciliation rollercoaster
AlJazeera 16 Jun 2010 – Hamas and Fatah unable to agree on whether to end Gaza siege before ending own impasse.
Irish Singer Concert In Israel Canceled
PNN – Malak Behrouznami — PNN – Legendary songwriter, performer and peace activist, Tommy Sands scheduled performance at the Israeli Festival “Bloomsday Concert Sunday June 20 has been cancelled. The appearance was canceled after…
Man Killed After Crossing the Gaza Border
PNN – Gaza – PNN – The Israeli Army killed a Palestinian crossing the border from Egypt early Wednesday morning near the city of Eilat. There had been a group of men crossing the…
Israeli Troops Arrest Seven Civilians From The West Bank
PNN – Bethlehem — PNN – Israeli troops arrested on Wednesday seven Palestinian civilians during pre dawn invasions targeting a number of West Bank communities. Local sources reported invasions to northern and southern West…
Audio: Interview With Mark Braverman
PNN – Mark Braverman is the author of Fatal Embrace: Christians, Jews, and the search for peace in the Holy Land. He is an activist for justice and self described Palestinian Jew who grew…
U.S. Envoy Mitchell Arrives In Region As Israel Approves New Settlers’ Homes
PNN – Ghassan Bannoura — PNN – The District Planning Committee of the Jerusalem municipality in Israel approved 1600 new settlers’ homes in East Jerusalem, on Wednesday. The new homes will be built in…
Electricity Shortage in Gaza: Who Turned Out The Lights?
PNN – Gaza — PNN- Gisha , the Israeli Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, published today a new position paper: Electricity Shortage in Gaza: Who Turned out the Lights? about Gaza’s current electricity crisis…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (03— 09 June 2010)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Israel fears Lebanese ‚Äòfast’ flotilla
Jeruslalem Post 16 Jun 2010 – IDF continues to track Iranian ships en route to Gaza.
Fatah: No need to end violence against Israel
Jeruslalem Post 16 Jun 2010 – PA will not demand that Hamas recognize Israel to establish a unity gov’t.
MK levels anti-Israel accusations abroad
Jeruslalem Post 16 Jun 2010 – Afo Agbariya accuses Israel of aggression at European Parliament.
Minister consoles Terkel on age
Jeruslalem Post 16 Jun 2010 – “Israel can gain a lot from its veteran citizens.”
Analysis: Does the age of Terkel c’tee members matter?
Jeruslalem Post 16 Jun 2010 – Critics have attacked the Gaza flotilla investigative committee.
UN report: Road blocks down 19%
Jeruslalem Post 16 Jun 2010 – 246 obstacles were removed, increasing West Bank access for Palestinians.
News in Brief – June 17, 2010
Jeruslalem Post 16 Jun 2010 – Brush fire in Jerusalem; standards set for bottled mineral water.
Zionist start-up
Jeruslalem Post 16 Jun 2010 – Two out of work olim have turned Israel advocacy into a way of life through their marketing firm Upstart Ideas.
IHH plans new flotilla for Gaza
Jeruslalem Post 16 Jun 2010 – Head of group claims to newspaper IDF hit list found on ‘Mavi Marmara.’
International Solidarity Movement
Harassment and crop destruction in Hebron
6/16/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – Tel Rumeida raid, 14 June – The Israeli army conducted a night raid the on the mosque Othman Ibn Afan in Tel Rumeida, Hebron, 14 June 2010. At 9. 30 pm local residents and mosque visitors witnessed approximately 14 heavily armed soldiers waiting outside the mosque, ultimately for the purpose of detaining several men. The men….
Netanyahu urges restraint in segregated West Bank school row
Ha’aretz – Police fear mass Haredi protests over High Court decision to jail defiant Ashkenazi parents who refuse to desegregate an ultra-Orthodox girls’ school in the settlement of Immanuel.
Court: Israelis suspected in ‘Nigerian scam’ can be extradited to U.S.
Ha’aretz – Seven Israelis are suspected of scamming tens of millions of dollars from U.S. pensioners in a so-called Nigerian scam over the course of four years.
Migrant worker faces deportation after marrying in Israel
Ha’aretz – Immigration police arrested Charlene Ramos two days after her wedding celebration, saying that marriage is grounds for revocation of legal work permit.
Riots in Jaffa as ultra-Orthodox Jews protest graves ‘desecration’
Ha’aretz – Five police officers, ten demonstrators lightly hurt in protest violence after rabbi leads mass prayers to curse developers of luxury housing project.
Eden halts mineral water bottling over microbe contamination
Ha’aretz – Bottling suspended after tests show bacteria exceed levels set by state regulators.
Gaza flotilla probe panel to hold first meeting on Wednesday
Ha’aretz – The three-man panel plus two foreign observers will investigate the events surrounding the IDF’s deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla last month.
Arab MK to EU: Israeli leaders must be tried at The Hague
Ha’aretz – MK Afu Aghbaria, speaking at a hearing of the European Parliament, also said 700 Gazans have died at border crossings due to Israel’s actions.
U.S. Jewish groups skip meet with Turkish officials
Ha’aretz – ADL National Director Abraham Foxman says ‘there comes a point at which it becomes useless to have a conversation.’
U.S. announces new sanctions to curb Iran nuclear program
Ha’aretz – U.S. Treasury imposes sanctions on a state-controlled bank, companies that are fronts for the state shipping line and the air force and missile commands of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
International lawmakers may probe Israeli decision to censure Arab MK
Ha’aretz – The Inter-Parliamentary Union is set to discuss recommendation to strip Balad MK Hanin Zuabi of privileges over Gaza flotilla participation.
Israel delays decision on easing Gaza blockade
Ha’aretz – Israeli cabinet expected to vote on Thursday to significantly ease restrictions in the coming days on what can enter the Gaza Strip., The Turkel committee, including three Israeli members and…
Israel adds Turkish organizers of Gaza flotilla to terror watch list
Ha’aretz – Israel calls Lebanese and Iranian attempts to break siege ‘hostile’; IHH tells European Parliament members it has assembled six ships for flotilla to sail next month.
Ahmadinejad: Iran will punish West for new nuclear sanctions
Ha’aretz – Iranian president criticizes U.S., saying its citizens and press are not allowed to speak out against Israel and its ‘crimes.’
IDF to charge soldier with killing two Palestinian women during Gaza war
Ha’aretz – Soldier suspected breaking rules of engagement by opening fire on 65-year-old woman and her daughter.
Israeli troops kill drug smuggler on Egypt border
Ha’aretz – IDF says it shot dead one of a group of armed men attempting to cross desert border into Israel.
Gazan boy gets shot by IOF
16 Jun 2010 – Gaza, June 16, (Pal Telegraph) Palestinian medical sources said today that a boy was transferred to a hospital in Gaza after being shot by Israeli gunfire while he was near Beit Hanoun’s border – Erez – northern Gaza Strip. Dr. Muawiya Hassanein, director general of Emergency sectors in Gaza’s hospitals, said that Wael Al-Kafarna (16) was shot in his right…
Israel to ease Gaza blockade
16 Jun 2010 – Gaza, June 16, (Pal Telegraph – AP) Israel will significantly ease its blockade of the Gaza Strip today, officials said, in an effort to blunt widespread international criticism after a deadly Israeli commando raid on a blockade-busting flotilla. Senior cabinet ministers are meeting to limit restrictions to a short list of goods, such as cement and steel, which Israel says…
Palestinian family in Hebron appeals for their son’s protection
16 Jun 2010 – Hebron, June 16, (Pal Telegraph) A Palestinian family is expressing it’s fears for the safety and well being of their son Dawood Rajabi (19 years) believing that the Israeli soldiers will kill him, after they took him into custody and transported him to an unknown destination and assaulted him severely.
IOF detains 2 in Hebron, hands interrogation warrant to a child
16 Jun 2010 – Hebron, June 16, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli occupation forces arrested early today two young men from the town of “Beit Amer”, north of Hebron, and a 7 year old boy was given a warrant to be present at the Israeli intelligence center for interrogation. Ayad Awad, spokesperson of the Palestinian Solidarity Draft in the town, said that the Israeli occupation forces…
Israel lets in housing appliances into Gaza
16 Jun 2010 – Gaza, June 16, (Pal Telegraph) Chairman of the goods entry into the Gaza Strip Committee, Raed Fattouh, said today that the Israeli occupation authorities will allow the entry of housing appliances to the Palestinian merchants in Gaza after they have filed complaints against Israel in Israeli courts about it, saying that they pay big amount of money for these appliances…
Fatah blamed for delay in West Bank elections
The National 16 Jun 2010 – Municipal elections due next month have been postponed because Fatah movement is in disarray and feared a low turnout’.
Hysteria in Egypt’s streets over English exam failures
The National 16 Jun 2010 – Annual English test in Egypt’s high schools that is vital for educational progress catches pupils unaware with idiomatic phrases
Israel discusses easing Gaza blockade
The National 16 Jun 2010 – The security cabinet considers international plans to significantly ease its blockade.
Music Festival 22 June Bethlehem
Alternative Information Center – L’Alliance Francaise de Bethleem & Alternative Information Center (AIC) Invite you to Music Festival Tuesday 22 June from 8pm At the AICafe in Beit Sahour Two…
Ashton: Lifting Gaza Siege should Help to Bring Peace
WAFA – STRASBOURG, June 16, 2010 (WAFA) – EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission Catherine Ashton said Wednesday that lifting of the
Ki-moon Proposes Six-Month Extension of UN Force in Golan Heights
WAFA – NEW YIORK, June 16, 2010 (WAFA)- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has recommended that the United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Golan Heights be extended for another six months, until
Israel Gaza Commission Criticized over Transparency, Accountability
WAFA – LONDON, June 16, 2010 (WAFA)- Amnesty International today criticized Israel’s proposed investigation into its military action against a Gaza aid flotilla on May 31 as lacking in transparency
Israeli Army to Charge Soldier Killed two Palestinian Women
WAFA – TEL AVIV, June 16, 2010 (WAFA) – Israeli soldier is to face charges over the shooting of two Palestinian women during Operation Cast lead in Gaza a year and a half ago, on Wednesday, daily Haaretz
Israel Police Shot Palestinian Instead of Arresting Him, Hass Writes
WAFA – TEL AVIV, June 16, 2010 (WAFA)-“East Jerusalem man who ran over Border Police officers was reportedly shot twice in the face from close range while lying on the ground,” Amira Hass wrote today, in
Turkey set to freeze relations with Israel after raid – report
Daily Star 16 Jun 2010 A Turkish newspaper reported on Wednesday that Turkey would halt military cooperation with Israel and not send back the ambassador it withdrew after a deadly Israeli commando operation to stop a Gaza aid convoy. The Turkish…
Ahmadinejad under fire for opposing veil crackdown
Daily Star 16 Jun 2010 TEHRAN: Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came under fire from other hardliners on Wednesday for opposing a social crackdown targeting dress and behavior, mainly of women.In a televised interview at the weekend, Ahmadinejad said that he was “…
Israelis face jail for opposing desegregated girls school
Daily Star 16 Jun 2010 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: A group of ultra-Orthodox Israeli parents of European origin are facing prison for refusing to obey a court ruling ordering them to let their daughters study with Jewish girls of Middle Eastern descent.Israel’s supreme…
Israel’s army mulls charging soldier over Gaza war killings
Daily Star 16 Jun 2010 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: The Israeli military is considering bringing charges against a soldier suspected of shooting dead two women who were waving white flags during the Gaza war, the army said on Wednesday. If charges are filed,…
Israel/Gaza: Weak Mandate Undermines Flotilla Inquiry
Relief Web 16 Jun 2010 – Source: Human Rights Watch
Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission: Speech to the European Parliament on the situation in Gaza
Relief Web 16 Jun 2010 – Source: European Commission
OPT: Media campaign seeks to raise funds for UNRWA programmes
Relief Web 16 Jun 2010 – Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
In a new position paper, Gisha asks: Who Turned out the Lights in Gaza?
Relief Web 16 Jun 2010 – Source: Gisha
RIGHTS-MIDEAST: ‘Gaza Blockade Must Go’
IPS RAMALLAH, Jun 16 (IPS) – Under intense international pressure Israel declared last week that it would ease its crippling blockade on Gaza by permitting an additional but limited number of daily items, including food, into the coastal enclave.
Israeli Flotilla Attack May Violate International, Maritime Laws
IPS UNITED NATIONS, Jun 15 (IPS) – When two widely-divergent investigative panels launch their probes on the recent Israeli attack on a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, one of the disputed issues under scrutiny would be the legality of forcibly boarding a vessel in international waters.
Turkish group IHH says next flotilla to sail late-July
YNet News – After its last flotilla was intercepted off Gaza coast by Israeli commandos,….
Haredim plan mass protest following Emanuel ruling
YNet News – Ultra-Orthodox public seeks police approval for rally in Jerusalem’s Yirmiyahu….
IDF opposes exemption program for haredi fathers
YNet News – Finance Ministry unveils plan to provide haredi men over age of 22 with two kids….
Israeli WWII veterans to be honored by Britain
YNet News – British Ministry of Defense to award 32 disabled IDF veterans with medal on….
Second Iranian ship to set sail this weekend
YNet News – Iranian Red Crescent says ship carrying humanitarian aid, toys for Gaza Strip to….
‘IDF wants obedience, not war criminals’
YNet News – Soldiers who took part in Gaza operation amazed to hear of trial of Givati….
Suspected Hezbollah financier arrested in Paraguay
YNet News – Lebanese national suspected of funneling money to Shiite group in South….
Palestinian teen charged with murdering Jewish lover
YNet News – Indictment filed against 17-year-old Palestinian accused of stabbing Hanania….
Police prepare for haredi riots
YNet News – Some 10,000 police officers are preparing to deploy Thursday throughout Israel beginning in the early morning hours in preparation for what haredim have dubbed “the …….
US extends sanctions list aimed at Iran’s nukes
YNet News – The Obama administration on Wednesday expanded US sanctions on Iran, slapping additional companies and individuals with penalties meant to curb Iran’s nuclear and missile …….
Minister urges haredi restraint in Emmanuel ‘tragedy’
YNet News – Minister of Religious Services Yakov Margi (Shas) on Wednesday urged the religious-Sephardic public not to take part in a mass rally scheduled to take place in Jerusalem …….
Turkey sets up committee to look into Israeli raid
YNet News – Turkey said it has formed a committee to look into Israel’s deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship. The Foreign Ministry said Wednesday the panel headed by the foreign …….
Lebanese flotilla organizers found to have Hezbollah ties
YNet News – A Palestinian businessman who revealed himself recently as the organizer of another aid flotilla to Gaza has been found to have ties to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan …….
Palestinian who ran over officers had long criminal record
YNet News – The terrorist who ran over Border Guard officers in east Jerusalem’s Wadi Joz neighborhood was arrested three months ago after attempting to assault police officers in …….
Soldier to be charged with killing two Gazan women
B’tselem 15 Jun 2010 – Riyeh Abu Hajaj (64) and her daughter, Majda Abu Hajaj (37), were killed in Operation Cast Lead after leaving their home on army orders, waving white flags. Following the event, first reported by B’Tselem, the media now report that the soldier who fired iickTimeQTSystem
Palestinian Information Center
Turkey is determined to cut off relations with Israel
PIC 16 Jun 2010 – A Turkish newspaper said on Wednesday that Ankara will stop military cooperation with Israel and will not return its ambassador, who was recalled after the Freedom Flotilla massacre.
European campaign: New flotilla to Gaza in second half of July
PIC 16 Jun 2010 – The European campaign to end the siege on Gaza has declared intention to send another aid flotilla to Gaza Strip in July.
IOA renews administrative custody of physics professor
PIC 16 Jun 2010 – The Ofer military court has renewed the administrative detention of Dr. Essam Al-Ashqar, the physics professor at the Najah university, for three more months, the lawyer of Tadamun institute reported.
European campaign: Role of the UN must not be limited to delivering aid
PIC 16 Jun 2010 – The European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza confirmed it was not against the role played by the UN in distributing aid from the Freedom Flotilla in Gaza in principle.
Israel summons seven-year-old boy and releases another after being tortured
PIC 16 Jun 2010 – Child captive Moataz Azmy Shuyoukhi was released from jail by Israeli authorities on Tuesday night following a three month stay in Ofer prison after paying a fine of 500 dollars.
Jerusalemite MPs table urgent request to suspend their banishment
PIC 16 Jun 2010 – Three Jerusalemite deputies affiliated with the change and reform bloc along with a former minister tabled an urgent request with the Israeli higher court asking for suspending their banishment order.
Hamdan: All efforts to end the division obstructed by Abbas
PIC 16 Jun 2010 – Osama Hamdan stated that there are many offers and initiatives made by Arab and regional countries that could lead to the national reconciliation, but they are always thwarted by Mahmoud Abbas.
US stops financing Egypt’s iron wall in Rafah area
PIC 16 Jun 2010 – The Israeli army radio reported that the US stopped financing the construction of the iron wall on the borders between Egypt and the Gaza Strip and summoned its engineers.
Israel approves 1, 600 new settlement units in east Jerusalem
PIC 16 Jun 2010 – The Israeli interior ministry’s planning and building committee approved the plan to build 1,600 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo settlement, east of occupied Jerusalem.
Abu Zuhri: Fatah did not change its position towards the reconciliation issue
PIC 16 Jun 2010 – Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that Azzam Al-Ahmed’s latest remarks about taking Hamas’s observations on Egypt’s reconciliation paper into account after the signing have nothing new.
U.S. announces unilateral Iran sanctions
LA Times 17 Jun 2010 – Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveils a list of Iranian organizations and individuals to be targeted in an effort to build pressure on Iran over its nuclear program. The Obama administration Wednesday added several dozen Iranian individuals and organizations to its sanctions blacklist, its first steps to intensify pressure after new international sanctions were adopted last week by the United Nations Security Council.
U.S. Imposes New Penalties on Iran
New York Times 16 Jun 2010 – Sanctions were imposed on Iranian companies and individuals with links to nuclear and missile programs.
Iran Says West Backs Terrorists
New York Times 16 Jun 2010 – Iran accused Britain, France, Sweden and other Western nations on Wednesday of supporting an exiled group that Iranian officials say planned terrorist acts in the country, state media reported.
Music Festival 22 June Bethlehem
Alternative Information Center 3 – L’Alliance Francaise de Bethleem & Alternative Information Center (AIC) Invite you to Music Festival Tuesday 22 June from 8pm At the AICafe in Beit Sahour Two…
First Bullets, Now Bulldozers: Nabi Saleh Pays The Price For Protests
Palestine Monitor – The village has been targeted with demolition orders in an attempt to repress the popular struggle. Nine homes are due to be demolished next month. Reporting and photography from Nicky Elliott. The Ayoub family in their home which is slated for demolition next month. My arrival…
Chomsky in Lebanon
Mondoweiss – After being denied entry to the West Bank by Israel, Noam Chomsky spent some time in Amman and then made his way to Lebanon. He took a tour of the south which coincided with the 10-year anniversary of the Israeli withdrawal from most of occupied Lebanon….
Terry Gross has no empathy for Palestinians
Mondoweiss – Tomorrow night, Terry Gross, the longtime host of Fresh Air on National Public Radio, will submit to questions in an event at Town Hall in New York , hosted by Brian Lehrer, a talk-show host at WNYC. Both radio personalities bend over backwards for Israel. Maybe someone…
‚ÄòDemocracy’ Means the U.S. and Israel Approve
Mondoweiss – Thomas Friedman sure knows how to flip reality on its head. In his New York Times op-ed column today , Friedman hops on the bandwagon of bashing Turkey for “joining the Hamas-Hezbollah-Iran resistance front against Israel.” Friedman accuses Turkish Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan of no longer…
Henochowicz posts photo of her face
Mondoweiss – Emily Henochowicz will be dealing artistically for the rest of her life with the fact that the Israelis shot out her left eye on May 31. She begins that process with some musings here , and the post is accompanied by a photo of her stitched socket….
Rough days ahead
Mondoweiss – The Times Square “rally” by the fearsome five : Rangel, Maloney, Engel, Nadler and Quinn, made for grim watching, but had its farcical side as well. Watching them on Youtube reminded me of some of the lonelier moments I, and I’m sure, most of us have had…
Gaza Internal Security Break into Offices of Five NGOs; Confiscate Belongings:Al Mezan Condemns the Assaults, Calls for Respecting the Law
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights –
Flotilla Activists Detained in Israel without Access to Lawyers, Al Mezan Calls for Investigation, Accountability, and End of the Siege of Gaza
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights –
TURKISH STATEMENT ON FLOTILLA INVESTIGATION
Irish4Palestine – The following is from the Turkish Foreign Ministry:Regarding the Investigation Commission of Israeli Raid against the Freedom Flotilla Israel’s declaration that it will establish a commission, composed of Israeli citizens and two foreign observers, in order to investigate the Israeli raid against the Freedom Flotilla does…
US expands sanctions on Iran
BBC – The US announces additional measures against Iran, days after fresh UN sanctions, amid fears over its nuclear programme.
Syria warns of backlash on Israel
BBC – Israel’s deadly assault on a ship carrying aid to Gaza increases the chances of a regional war, Syria’s president tells the BBC.
Israel extends Gaza embargo talks
BBC – Israel’s security cabinet extends talks on the possible easing of Gaza’s blockade into a second day, amid international pressure.
Turkey’s Policy Toward Iran Is Worth Emulating
Antiwar.com – The sad truth is that if Iran wants a nuclear weapon, it will likely eventually get one. So the United States should quit wasting valuable political capital beseeching, threatening, and horse-trading with China, Russia, and other UN Security Council members to incrementally ratchet up likely futile…
Israeli Attack May Violate International, Maritime Laws
Antiwar.com – When two widely divergent investigative panels launch their probes on the recent Israeli attack on a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, one of the disputed issues under scrutiny would be the legality of forcibly boarding a vessel in international waters. The two commissions…
(en) Britain, Anarchist Class War Cambridgeshire trouble-making rag FEN TIGER page 8 – Reviews: PUTTING THE CLASS INTO CLASS WAR + Antifa
A-infos – Report & Reflections on the 2009 UK Ford-Visteon Dispute by Past Tense (56a Infoshop: London, 2009) —— A Ford Motor company spin-off called Visteon announced it was closing three factories in the UK and sacking six-hundred and ten workers on the 31st March, 2009. The same…
Articles
Former CIA agent Bill Christison advocated for Palestinians
Steve Terrell, The New Mexican6/15/2010
Bill Christison, a former CIA agent who moved to Santa Fe 30 years ago and became a fierce critic of U.S. foreign policy, is dead.
Christison, 81, died Sunday. He suffered a “rapidly advancing neurological condition,” his wife of 33 years said Tuesday.
The Boston-born Princeton graduate joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1950 as an analyst. He worked on Soviet affairs and nuclear proliferation. In the 1970s, Christison was a principal adviser to the CIA director for Southeast Asia, South Asia and Africa. His final position was director of the agency’s Office of Regional and Political Analysis.
He met his wife, who also worked for the CIA, during a tour in Saigon in the 1970s.
Kathy Christison said that when her husband was ready to retire, he was ready to leave Washington, D.C. — both to get away from the hot and humid summers and from the agency, which she said frequently tries to rope in retired employees for consulting work. Los Angeles was too smoggy and Arizona was too hot. They had friends — also ex-CIA — who lived in Santa Fe, so they bought a house and moved here in December 1979.
The political views of the couple began to change. “It was a slow evolution,” said Kathy Christison, who said she voted for Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.
“Bill used to say that the end of the Cold War is what made him start thinking differently,” she said. “There was supposed to be a ’peace dividend,’ but that just never came to be. He just began to realize that the U.S. should not be the only superpower.” The fall of the Soviet Union, she said, just prompted the U.S. to “essentially advance its imperial interests.” — See also:Kathleen and Bill Christison: Palestine in Pieces: Graphic Perspectives on the Israeli Occupationmore..e-mail
The Anti-Empire Report
William Blum, killinghope.org, Axis of Logic6/11/2010
The worst thing that ever happened to the Jewish people is the Holocaust. The second worst thing that ever happened to the Jewish people is the state of Israel.
Things internationally are so dispiriting there’s nothing left to do but fantasize. I picture Turkey, as a member of NATO, demanding that the alliance come to its defense after being attacked by Israel. Under Article 5 of the NATO charter an armed attack on one member is deemed to constitute an armed attack on all members. That is the ostensible reason NATO is fighting in Afghanistan — the attack against the United States on September 11, 2001 is regarded as an attack on all NATO members (disregarding the awkward fact that Afghanistan as a country had nothing to do with the attack). The Israeli attack on a Turkish-flagged ship, operated by a Turkish humanitarian organization, killing nine Turkish nationals and wounding many more can certainly constitute an attack upon a NATO member.
So, after the United States, the UK, Germany, France and other leading NATO members offer their ridiculous non-sequitur excuses why they can’t … umm … er … invoke Article 5, and the international media swallows it all without any indigestion, Turkey demands that Israel should at least lose its formal association with NATO as a member of the Mediterranean Dialogue. This too is dismissed with scorn by the eminent NATO world powers on the grounds that it would constitute a victory for terrorism. And anti-Semitism of course.
Turkey then withdraws from NATO. Azerbaijan and five other Central Asian members of NATO’s Partnership for Peace with Turkic constituencies do the same. NATO falls into a crisis. Remaining member countries begin to question the organization’s policies as never before … like please tell us again why our young men are killing and dying in Afghanistan, and why we send them to Kosovo and Iraq and other places the Americans deem essential to their endlessly-threatened national security.
When Vice President Biden tells the eminent conservative-in-liberal-clothing pseudo-intellectual Charlie Rose on TV that “We have put as much pressure and as much cajoling on Israel as we can…”….more..e-mail
Fox in the henhouse: can we trust Israeli security companies?
Gordon Duff, Redress6/16/2010
Did Israel give us the disease to sell us the cure?
Gordon Duff argues that recent evidence proving that Israel fabricated video scenes from the Freedom Flotilla attack should serve as a wake-up call to alert the world to the activities of Israeli agents worldwide — many of whom work in companies contracted to “guard” international airports — and the real possibility that they could use their positions to stage the next “terrorist” attack.
This week we learned that Israel had staged scenes from the Freedom Flotilla attack using actors and common Hollywood special effects, called “double negative”. The actors were shown standing among peaceful humanitarian workers, waving weapons around. This became a problem when the stage Israel used wasn’t quite the same. We ended up with a film showing our Israeli “terrorists” walking through solid steel time and time again. Israel’s film industry has been suffering of late. Even the phony Bin Laden videos have given over to audio. The new Bin Laden they use was doing Marlboro commercials in Egypt before they took him on. “With the ‚Äònews cycle’ such as it is, a new massacre or terrorist bombing could happen at any time. As Israel needs one quickly, it is quite possible we may get one.”
It is a given that Israel has destroyed any credibility it once had. It is one thing when a cheap set-up job is leaked but this one was sent out special delivery with “Government of the State of Israel” stamped all over it. This was pure suicide. Only idiots that want to be fooled — politicians in the pocket of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Fox News — were really taken in. Frankly, with no integrity to sacrifice in the first place, humiliation is impossible anyway. With the “news cycle” such as it is, a new massacre or terrorist bombing could happen at any time. As Israel needs one quickly, it is quite possible we may get one.more..e-mail
First Bullets, Now Bulldozers: Nabi Saleh Pays The Price For Protests
Palestine Monitor: 16 Jun 2010 – The village has been targeted with demolition orders in an attempt to repress the popular struggle. Nine homes are due to be demolished next month. Reporting and photography from Nicky Elliott. The Ayoub family in their home which is slated for demolition next month. My arrival in Nabi Saleh tells me a lot about the village nestled deep in the West Bank, north of Ramallah. As the servees enters village land we pass a synagogue and a forest villagers are forbidden from reaching. We get out of the sunshine-yellow minibus to a view of scorched land, burnt when tear-gas canisters ignited the dry grass below the olive trees. Standing outside my hosts house, one of the nine slated for demolition, Bassem Tamimi must knock on his own door which his mother always keeps locked for fear of the soldiers. Bassem Tamimi with his threatened house, built in in 1964. When…
Quicksand: US and the Middle East — Book Review
Palestine Chronicle: 16 Jun 2010 – By Jim Miles Quicksand – America’s Pursuit of Power in the Middle East. Geoffrey Wawro. Penguin Press, New York, 2010. From first impression to last impression this book, like its title Quicksand, is deceptive. Even the first physical impression, the physical structure of the book itself – its glossy pages and high quality binding – is designed to impress the reader. Initially the history is written powerfully and revealingly, highlighting information that I have not encountered within other histories of U.S. imperial adventures in the Middle East. However as the story unfolds, particularly in the final third of the book, a different sense akin to déjá vu surfaces, as the history becomes more of a current events crisis without the in-depth analysis and critique that should have accompanied it. The end result is that instead of discussing the general Middle East geopolitical context and the power of the Israeli lobby…more
End the Gaza Siege
Palestine Chronicle: 16 Jun 2010 – By Stephen Lendman Millions worldwide demand it. So does the Arab League, according to an Al Jazeera June 13 report quoting Amr Moussa, Arab League secretary-general, saying: “This blockade….must be lifted and must be broken and the Arab League decision is very clear in this regard.” On June 13, Moussa commented after visiting Gaza for talks with Hamas Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh, Haaretz reporting he’s the highest Arab official to do so since Hamas’ 2006 election, after which an Israeli/West embargo followed, then the June 2007 siege. Moussa entered through Rafah after Egypt reopened it following the Freedom Flotilla massacre, saying it will continue indefinitely. According to Haaretz: “Palestinian and Arab League officials said (his) visit (aimed to give) momentum to reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah.” Hamas Health Minister Basim Naeem said it indicated that “the boycott between Gaza and the Arab nation was broken, (and that the trip…more
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The New Dark Age 