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International Middle East Media Center
Protestors Wounded During Bil’in’s Nonviolent Anti-wall Protest
IMEMC – 18 Jun 2010 – The villagers of Bil’in organized their weekly nonviolent protest against the Wall despite Israeli declaration of the area a closed military zone.
Nonviolent actions in Bethlehem against the wall
IMEMC – 18 Jun 2010 – In Bethlehem, Palestinians protested Israel’s construction of the wall on their land by marching after the Friday prayer from the mosque to their lands.
Scores Wounded In Nonviolent Protest In Ni’lin
IMEMC – 18 Jun 2010 – The villagers of N’ilin, together with International supporters marched after the Friday prayer to their confiscated land where Israel is building the wall.
As Mitchell Tries To Launch Talks, Israel To Demolish 22 Homes in Jerusalem
IMEMC – 18 Jun 2010 – Amidst efforts to create a positive atmosphere for peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Israel to discuss demolishing 22 Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem.
PCHR Weekly Report: 1 civilian killed, 1 child wounded by Israeli forces
IMEMC – 18 Jun 2010 – In its weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the Occupied Territories of Palestine, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights found that during the week of 10-16 June 2010, Israeli forces killed 1 Palestinian civilian and wounded 1 child in Jerusalem.
Irish Singer’s Concert In Israel Canceled
IMEMC – 17 Jun 2010 – Legendary songwriter, performer and peace activist, Tommy Sands’s scheduled performance at the “Festival Bloomsday Concert ” Sunday June 20 has been cancelled.
WHO: Medical equipment still banned from Gaza
6/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Spare medical parts and replacements are, in practice, barred from entry into Gaza, or only arrive “after great delays,” a World Health Organization spokesman told Ma’an on Friday. Following the release of a report from the WHO on Gaza City’s Ash-Shifa Hospital, the spokesman emphasized that beyond the impeded access to parts, engineers….
Blockade enters fourth year; crossings closed
6/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – As Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip entered its fourth year last week, imports declined even amid an Israeli cabinet decision to ‘liberalize’ the siege announced on Thursday. Crossings were closed on Friday, in keeping with Israel’s siege policy since August 2009, before which crossings opened six days a week. Crossings liaison official….
Stop work orders delivered to Beit Safafa family
6/18/2010 – Jerusalem – Ma’an – Staff of the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem accompanied by border guards entered the home of the Salah family in Beit Safafa on Thursday, and delivered stop work orders. The orders, known locally as “demolition orders,” demand that home owners appear before a magistrates court to defend allegations, in this case that the family….
Lawmaker’s detention extended for 77th time
6/18/2010 – Nablus – Ma’an – An Israeli military court has extended the detention of a Palestinian lawmaker for the 77th time. Legislative Council member Jamal At-Tirawi (Fatah) will remain behind bars until 30 June at the earliest, his family said Thursday. Israel’s Salem military court reviewed At-Tirawi’s ongoing jail term twice this week, his relatives added. The lawmaker….
UNRWA: Measure Israeli decision in deeds
6/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Spokesman for the UN Relief and Works Agency Chris Gunness warned BBC TV audiences on Thursday, that Israel’s decision to ease the siege on Gaza should be measured in deeds, not in words.”There have been many many false dawns,” Gunnesss said about Israeli promises to improve on violations of international law….
Lebanese aid ship ’Miriam’ christened
6/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – A group of Lebanese women on Thursday christened the boat on which they hope to arrive in Gaza the “Miriam” in honor of the Virgin Mary, Agence-France Presse reported Friday.”Mariam has begun to achieve its goals and aims, as Israeli officials expressed fear and sent out warnings and threats before deciding to….
Israeli forces conduct search campaign in north
6/18/2010 – Jenin – Ma’an – Two flying checkpoints were installed south of Jenin on Friday morning, hours after soldiers entered the Al-Yamoun village northwest of the city and deployed in the streets. Forces appeared to be searching for someone, locals said, noting no arrests were made, but checkpoints were installed for several hours on the roads between Arraba….
UN committee concerned about oPt human rights situation
6/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The UN Special Committee on Israeli Practices in the Occupied Territories is concerned about the human rights situation in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.”Victims of the systematic and often arbitrary restrictions on human rights and basic freedoms have the right to see….
Foreign nationals detained in Bil’in
6/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli forces detained three foreign nationals at a demonstration near Ramallah on Friday afternoon. Activists present at the anti-wall rally in the Bil’in village said two Israeli citizens and one British national were seized. An Israeli military spokesman confirmed that three foreigners were detained, two of whom he identified as Israeli citizens….
Report: Israel police investigating journalist
6/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli police are investigating reporter Ilana Hammerman of Israel’s Haaretz daily for allegedly helping three Palestinian girls enter Israel and disturbing a police officer, The Jerusalem Post newspaper reported Friday. Hammerman wrote an article entitled “If there is a heaven” in which she described how she brought 18-year-old Palestinian girl Aya and her two cousins…. Related:JPost: Police investigating Ha’aretz reporterandThe lives of others
Israel army: 6 detained at Nil’in protest
6/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Six people were detained during an anti-wall rally in the West Bank village of Nil’in on Friday, Israel’s army said….
Full text: High Level Cooperation Council declaration
6/18/2010
– JOINT POLITICAL DECLARATION ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THEHIGH LEVEL COOPERATION COUNCIL AMONG TURKEY, SYRIA, JORDAN AND LEBANON: We, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Republic of Lebanon, Recognizing that the relations among Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon are characterized by….
Abbas proposes new strategy to end Gaza siege
6/18/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – President Mahmoud Abbas has reiterated his demand that Israel lift its siege on the Gaza Strip, speaking Friday with US envoy George Mitchell in the West Bank city of Ramallah. As part of that initiative, Abbas proposed that Gaza and the West Bank be permitted to trade goods, and called on the Obama….
Hebron man released from Israeli detention
6/18/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – The Hebron Detainees Center said a resident was released from Israeli prison on Thursday, following a 45-month stint in Israeli detention. Yousef Ayed Al-Faqih from Dura village returned home to the south-of-Hebron village, following his release. His detention was said to have been for “security reasons….
Second round of mortars fired at Israel in 12 hours
6/18/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an -The Popular Resistance Committees’ Salah Din Brigades launched three mortar shells toward Israel from the Rafah area of Gaza at 11:55am on Friday, a statement from the group said. An Israeli military spokesman said one shell landed in Israel around noon, with no injuries reported, while a statement from the brigades said….
Anti-tank mines found in garage near Hebron
6/18/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Palestinian sappers defused 22 land mines found at a hardware garage south of Hebron on Thursday, officials said. After receiving a tip-off that suspicious objects were being stored in the garage, police dispatched explosive experts and evacuated the area. According to a police report, the mines were of an anti-tank variety. They were….
South Korea delivers $20 million to PA
6/18/2010 – Ramallah- Ma’an – The Republic of Korea affirmed its support to the Palestinian Authority on Thursday, with an announced contribution of 20 million US dollars over the coming five years. The decision was announced following the completion of a series of consultations with the PA Ministry of Planning under Ali Al-Jarbawi, officials said. Al-Jarbawi welcomed a….
PLO mission to US: Lift ’cruel and illegal’ Gaza siege
6/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – A decision made under intense international pressure to increase the flow of goods into the besieged Gaza Strip is wholly insufficient and little more than a cosmetic gesture intended to placate world opinion, PLO officials say.”As US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently observed in the wake of Israel’s deadly raid on….
Palestinians divided on blockade changes
6/18/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Palestinian analysts disagreed with officials on Thursday, over the issue of Israel’s cabinet decision to change the methods by which the siege on Gaza was implemented, apparently to allow in a greater number of goods including construction materials. While officials in the PA, the Quartet and the UN all welcomed the announcement described….
Hamas: PA detained 5 affiliates from West Bank
6/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Five Hamas members were detained by Palestinain Authority police, a statement from the party said, adding that the men were taken from their homes in the Nablus and Qalqiliya governorates….
Conciliation between Fatah, Hamas close
6/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – President Mahmoud Abbas will hold a meeting with the conciliation committee Friday night, followed by a meeting with the Fatah Executive Committee on Saturday, in anticipation of a unity announcement. Sources told Ma’an that the committee, lead bybillionaire and independent Palestinian political figure Munib Al-Masri, has nearly come to a deal with leaders….
Fatah leader mourns Saramago passing
6/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Head of the International Relations Committee of Fatah Dr. Nabeel Shaath lamented the death of Portuguese writer and Nobel Prize of Literature Jose Saramago on Friday.” Comrade Jose Saramago showed the world that the Palestinian Cause is universal and can be joined by anyone who adheres to the principles of freedom, equality, peace….
Ma’an goes offline during scheduled maintenance
6/18/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Beginning early Saturday, all Ma’an Network operations will shut down for 24 hours while previously scheduled technology maintenance is performed overnight. Ma’an IT specialists plan to move the servers hosting the West Bank-based TV and radio network’s webpage, which will ultimately decrease load time and improve access. The temporary outage will affect Ma’an’s….
Limited praise for Israel’s looser blockade
Palestine Note 18 Jun 2010 – Israel’s decision to slightly ease the Gaza blockade drew a very caveated reaction from around the world. Britain’s foreign office said “further work is needed”; Catherine Ashton, the European Union foreign policy chief, urged Israel to…
Secretary Clinton: $60 million for refugees
Palestine Note 18 Jun 2010 – Washington — Speaking from Washington, DC two days before World Refugee Day, US Secretary of State Clinton announced $60 million for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), AlertNews reported . “This contribution…
Elton John keeps Israel tour date
Palestine Note 18 Jun 2010 – Washington – A number of musical acts – Elvis Costello, Gorillaz Sound System, Klaxons, the Pixies, Devendra Banhart – have canceled their Israeli tour dates this summer either as a personal statement against Israeli policies or…
Knesset bill aims to muzzle rights groups
Palestine Note 18 Jun 2010 – Washington — An English translation of a soon-to-be-voted Knesset bill on sheds light on the new efforts in the government to limit human rights organizations in Israel, news blog Promised Land reported Friday. The Knesset is…
Report: Hezbollah to stay off Lebanese flotilla
Palestine Note 18 Jun 2010 – Washington – Shia Islamist movement Hezbollah announced Friday
that it is not taking part in the Gaza aid convoy setting sail from Lebanon, Haaretz reported Friday. A young man holds up a Hezbollah flag at a…
English translation of the new anti human rights organizations Knesset bill
Palestine Note 18 Jun 2010 – Israeli legislators increase their efforts to put limits the work of human rights organizations, and even ban them altogether. Last month I reported here on a new Knesset bill which, if passes, will enable the state…
Bob Roberts: A conservative Christian for the Palestinians
Palestine Note 18 Jun 2010 – By Sarah Harlan Washington – Pastor Bob Roberts proves Israel-centric evangelism isn’t the end of the story for conservative Christianity in America. A powerhouse in evangelical America, Bob Roberts has made humanitarian work and multi-faith outreach…
Iraq: Mental illness becoming an epidemic
Palestine Note 18 Jun 2010 – Washington — As mental illness plagues more and more Iraqis, hospitals and physicians struggle to provide care, The Washington Post reported Friday. A car bomb explodes in downtown Baghdad. After years of war and sectarian violence,…
Abbas: US must effect ‘complete end’ to siege
Palestine Note 18 Jun 2010 – Washington – Following his meeting in Jerusalem Thursday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, US Middle East envoy George Mitchell continued his shuttle diplomacy in Ramallah Friday with the Palestinian leadership. US…
Reconciliation update: Unity deal reportedly imminent
Palestine Note 18 Jun 2010 – Sources say Fatah-Hamas unity announcement could be made Saturday Nablus philanthropist and head of the Palestinian Authority’s reconciliation committee Munib al-Masri has “nearly come to a deal with leaders from Hamas in the West Bank, Gaza…
Jewish flotilla calls on Israel to be better state
Palestine Note 18 Jun 2010 – Washington – Organizer of a German Jewish naval aid convoy bound for Gaza told German news agency DPA its intentions are not to betray Israel. The Turkish-owned Mavi Marmara was part of a six-ship convoy attempted…
WATCH: Lebanese grottoes vie to be world wonder
Palestine Note 18 Jun 2010 – Washington — The Jeita grottoes, a system of underwater caves just outside Beirut, is vying to be one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, Yahoo News reported on Friday. The Jeita Grottoes, a finalist for…
Egypt refuses to impede Iranian ships
Palestine Note 18 Jun 2010 – Washington — Egypt denied Israel’s requests to impede several Iranian ships setting sail for the Gaza Strip over the next few days, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Dar news reported via Ynet Friday. According to an original report in…
Finding Palestine’s Gandhi in ‘Budrus’
Palestine Note 18 Jun 2010 – “If only the Palestinians believed in nonviolence.” That’ the common refrain regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the US. How many times have we heard, “Oh, if you just practiced nonviolence, you’d have you state in no…
Demolition orders issued to Jerusalem family
Palestine Note 18 Jun 2010 – Washington — Israeli officials of the municipality of Jerusalem presented a Beit Safafa family with home demolition orders Thursday, Ma’an News Agency reported . Demonstrators protesting evictions in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Israeli officials issued demolish notices…
Immanuel row: State calls on court to spare mothers
Palestine Note 18 Jun 2010 – Washington – After Ashkenazi Haredim marched in Jerusalem and near Tel Aviv Thursday in protest of the Israeli High Court’s decision to jail ultra-Orthodox parents from the Immanuel settlement, the attorney general has called on the…
Illinois Methodists vote to ‘divest from occupation’
Palestine Note 17 Jun 2010 – New York – At its annual conference this week, the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church voted to divest from companies that are said to profit from Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory. A statement…
Israel announces easing of Gaza blockade – but only in English
Palestine Note 17 Jun 2010 – New York – The Israeli Prime Ministers Office reportedly issued two separate press statements on a cabinet decision to ease the blockade of Gaza, indicating two completely different messages. In English , a statement from the Israeli…
Mideast night beat: Collapse of civilization edition
Palestine Note 17 Jun 2010 – Today in Palestine, Israel, the broader Middle East, and beyond. Spain’s former prime minister, Jos?© Maria Aznar says in an editorial that if Israel collapses, all of Western civilization will go with it. [Ynet] Methodists in…
Israel jails Ultra-Orthodox fathers
AlJazeera 18 Jun 2010 – Action follows refusal by Ashkenazi parents to comply with court ruling on school integration.
Abbas holds talks with US envoy
AlJazeera 18 Jun 2010 – Palestinian president urges George Mitchell to press Israel to lift its blockade on Gaza.
Nonviolent Actions In Bethlehem Against The Wall
PNN – Bethlehem — PNN – In Bethlehem, Palestinians protested Israel’s construction of the wall on their land by marching after the Friday prayer from the mosque to their lands. Dozens of residents from…
Scores Wounde
d In Nonviolent Protest In Ni’lin
PNN – Ramallah — PNN – The villagers of N’ilin, together with International supporters marched after the Friday prayer to their confiscated land where Israel is building the wall. Abu Amira, member of the…
Troops Attack Bil’in weekly; Three Injured And Three Arrested
PNN – Ramallah — PNN – three Palestinians were wounded and three arrested, as troops attacked the weekly anti wall protest in the central West Bank village of Bil’in. Bil’in villagers along with Israeli…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (10-16 June 2010)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
‘Next flotilla will be stopped’
Jeruslalem Post 18 Jun 2010 – Israel tells the UN Lebanese flotilla will not be allowed into Gaza.
Haifa Wehbe asks to join Gaza flotilla
Jeruslalem Post 18 Jun 2010 – Hizbullah concerned pop star’s “nudity” may affect female activists.
Haifa Wehbe prevented from joining flotilla
Jeruslalem Post 18 Jun 2010 – Hizbullah concerned pop star’s “nudity” may affect female activists.
Iran: Sanctions reflect double standard
Jeruslalem Post 18 Jun 2010 – Teheran calls for investigation of Israeli nukes.
Police investigating Ha’aretz reporter
Jeruslalem Post 18 Jun 2010 – Hammerman described helping Palestinian teens into Israel without permits.
Son of Israel Supreme Court justice killed in hit-and-run
Ha’aretz – Schneier Cheshin, son of Mishael Cheshin, was struck while riding his bicycle at the Kesem Junction. The driver, a 26-year-old man, surrenders to police.
Turkish plane causes near collision at Ben Gurion airport
Ha’aretz – Pilot apparently ignored air control orders to halt take-off due to incoming Romanian aircraft.
Ultra-Orthodox parents evading jail-time in segregated school row to spend Shabbat at home
Ha’aretz – Israel Police seeking arrest for 22 mothers and two fathers who failed to show up for two-week jail sentence, after being charged with illegally segregating their Ashkenazi daughters from Sephardi…
Israel to UN: Lebanon Gaza-bound flotilla could affect regional security
Ha’aretz – Lebanon aid ship Miriam to set sail to Gaza Sunday; Israel’s UN envoy says Israel will use all necessary means to prevent ships from violating the naval blockade on Gaza.
Former Spanish PM: If Israel goes down, we all go down
Ha’aretz – Jos?© Mar??a Aznar announces new pro-Israeli initiative Friends for Israel which aims to defend Israel’s right to exist and defend itself.
VIDEO / IHH leader tells Gaza flotilla activists to ‘throw IDF soldiers into the sea’
Ha’aretz – New footage released by the Foreign Ministry shows IHH leader Bulent Yildirim rallying dozens of passengers on board the Mavi Marmara as they chant ‘millions of martyrs marching to Gaza!’
Obama welcomes ease of Gaza blockade, urges Israel to expand goods inflow
Ha’aretz – Mideast envoy Blair: Efforts underway to reopen Gaza crossings; EU: Israel must make sure many, many more goods enter territory., U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates tells congressional commitee that Russia…
Israel announces let-up to Gaza siege – but only in English
Ha’aretz – Prime Minister’s office issues two statements, one in English announcing plan to ease blockade, one in Hebrew omitting to mention the decision.
Turkey reportedly freezes defense deals with Israel
Ha’aretz – According to Turkish paper, Turkey may not resend its ambassador to Israel and is considering downgrading ties to ‘charge d’affairs’ level.
WHO: Medical equipment still banned from Gaza
Uruknet June 18, 2010 – Spare medical parts and replacements are, in practice, barred from entry into Gaza, or only arrive “after great delays,” a World Health Organization spokesman told Ma’an on Friday. Following the release of a report from the WHO on Gaza City’s Ash-Shifa Hospital, the spokesman emphasized that beyond the impeded access to parts, engineers are unable…
Bloody Sunday, Bloody Monday
Uruknet June 17, 2010 – Six Londonderry men and seven teenagers were shot dead by soldiers of the British Parachute Regiment on Sunday 30 January 1972. Five of the wounded were shot in the back. The Widgery Tribunal was convened rapidly. The dead and wounded had been in a march with over 7000 people protesting against internment without trial. The…
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (10-16 June 2010)
Uruknet June 17, 2010 – Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (10 — 16 June 2010): Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed 1 Palestinian civilian and wounded 1 Palestinian child in the West Bank. They also wounded 4 Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. In the West Bank, on…
HRW to Lebanese Parliament: Seize Opportunity to End Discrimination agains
t Palestinians
WAFA – BEIRUT, June 18, 2010 (WAFA) – Members of Lebanon’s parliament should vote to end restrictions on Palestinian refugees’ rights to own property and work, Human Rights Watch said today. The
ANERA: $250,000 for Gaza Development
WAFA – WASHINGTON, June 18, 2010 (WAFA)- American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) announced $250,000 in new funding for Gaza development projects. The money, raised by ANERA from private donors, will be
UN Team Calls for End to Systematic Rights Violations by Israel in Occupied Territories
WAFA – NEW YORK, June 18, 2010 (WAFA)- A three-member United Nations body has called for an end to human rights violations by Israel in the occupied territories of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and
Ki-moon Hopes Easing of Israeli Blockade will Help Improve Lives in Gaza
WAFA – NEW YORK, June 18, 2010 (WAFA)- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday he hopes Israel’s announcement that it will ease the blockade on the Gaza Strip to allow more civilian goods to enter
ISESCO Prizes to Scientists from 6 Countries including Palestine
WAFA –
Abbas tells US envoy Israel’s blockade on Gaza must be lifted
Daily Star 18 Jun 2010 OCCUPIED RAMALLAH: Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas on Friday told US envoy George Mitchell that Washington must press Israel to lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip. “President Abbas insisted during the meeting on the need for…
Iran says UN sanctions show world powers applying double standard
Daily Star 18 Jun 2010 TEHRAN: Iran’s top security body on Friday railed against the latest UN sanctions imposed over Tehran’s nuclear program, saying they show world powers are applying a double standard. The Supreme National Security Council said that US…
Iraq refugee woes persists despite resettlement
Daily Star 18 Jun 2010 HASAKEH, Syria: More refugees from violence-racked Iraq are being resettled but the country’s displacement problem is not going away, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said on Friday. “Many have been living in limbo for…
Iran top cleric criticizes Ahmadinejad on veil crackdown
Daily Star 18 Jun 2010 TEHRAN: A leading hardline cleric on Friday defended Iran’s crackdown on improperly veiled women, after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he opposed the clampdown. “Nobody has the right to prevent the police from acting against bad hijab […
Feeding the inmates through the bars: Humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank
Daily Star 18 Jun 2010 The killing in “self-defense” of unarmed civilians during Israel’s assault in international waters on a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid supplies to Gaza calls attention, once again, to the terrible situation of civilians living trapped under unbearable…
Allawi, Maliki puncture US hopes of new cabinet
Daily Star 18 Jun 2010 Iraq’s two main contenders to head a new government remained at odds over any compromise on Friday, denting US hopes that three days of talks by a top envoy had advanced the prospects of a deal….
British, French leaders hail ties as they mark WWII appeal
Daily Star 18 Jun 2010 LONDON: The leaders of France and Britain hailed their nations’ battle-forged ties Friday as they marked 70 years since Charles de Gaulle’s stirring radio appeal for the French to resist Nazi occupation. In a ceremony in…
Gaza convoy activists claim Israeli soldiers using debit cards stolen in raid
The Guardian 18 Jun 2010 – Boarding party troops in deadly flotilla raid confiscated cards and spent on them, claim campaigners who were on board Israeli troops have been accused of stealing from activists arrested in the assault on the Gaza flotilla…
Hizbullah ‘bans’ Lebanese singer from all-woman Gaza mission
The Guardian 18 Jun 2010 – Sultry performer Haifa Wehbe reportedly told to stay off the Mariam, one of the latest ships running Israeli blockage Israeli naval forces are on alert as an all-female ship prepares an attempt to break the blockade…
Palestine’s Speed Sisters on track for race equality
The Guardian 18 Jun 2010 – All-female, British-backed drivers line up for their team debut alongside men in Ramallah event When Suna Aweidah pulls on her red overalls and slips behind the wheel of her car next Friday, she will empty her…
Roy Greenslade: How a Turkish paper landed flotila pictures scoop
The Guardian 18 Jun 2010 – Journalistic scoops sometimes walk in off the street. That’s just what happened earlier this month in Istanbul, as Der Spiegel reveals. On 4 June, an agitated man with a bald head and a grey beard arrived…
Occupied territories: “Systematic and continuing human rights violations must stop,” says UN Committee on Israeli practices
Relief Web 18 Jun 2010 – Source: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
U.S. Will Contribute $60 Million to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
Relief Web 18 Jun 2010 – Source: Government of the United States of America
$250,000 for Gaza Development
Relief Web 18 Jun 2010 – Source: American Near East Refugee Aid
Lebanon: Seize Opportunity to End Discrimination Against Palestinians
Relief Web 18 Jun 2010 – Source: Human Rights Watch
Israeli Concessions on Gaza Fall Short of a New Policy
IPS Israel’s announcement Thursday that it would ease the restrictions on goods entering Gaza has been received by NGOs and the international community as a move in the right direction, but as not going far enough in lifting the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip.
EU Considering Aid to Israeli Military
IPS A leading Israeli supplier of warplanes used to kill and maim civilians in Gaza is in the running for two new scientific research grants from the European Union.
German legislator: Stop ‘thriving Holocaust industry’
YNet News – Extreme right leader carries hate speech against Israel; calls to cut ties,….
Russia’s Medvedev criticizes Iran sanctions
YNet News – In interview to Wall Street Journal, Russian president slams additional….
Israel to UN: Lebanon flotilla provocation
YNet News – WASHINGTON — Israel has warned the United Nations that the security situation in the Middle East may be undermined as result of a the Lebanese flotilla planning to head …….
Poll: Globe backs Iran strike
YNet News – WASHINGTON — United global front against Iran? The residents of several Arab countries, headed by Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon, support tough sanctions against Iran as well …….
Abbas to Mitchell: End siege
YNet News – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and US special envoy George Mitchell met in Ramallah Friday afternoon and discussed the peace process between Israel and the …….
New footage from Marmara ship: ‘Millions of martyrs to Gaza’
YNet News – VIDEO – “If we show fear, they will win once again.” The Foreign Ministry published on Friday a new video filmed by one of the activists on the Marmara ship before the …….
Report: Egypt refuses to stop Iranian ships
YNet News – Egypt rejected Israel’s request not to assist the Iranian ships slated to sail to the Gaza Strip in the coming days, Kuwaiti paper al-Dar reported on Friday. The report …….
Palestinian Information Center
Istanbul and Gaza to be twin towns
PIC 18 Jun 2010 – The Municipal Assembly of Istanbul accepted a proposal Thursday from Saadet (Felicity) Party, or SP, members to declare Istanbul and Gaza “sister cities.”
Israel announces let-up to Gaza siege – but only in English
PIC 18 Jun 2010 – An article by Barak Ravid in Haaretz revealed that the PM’s office issued two press releases “one in English announcing plan to ease blockade, one in Hebrew omitting to mention the decision.”
IOF quell anti-wall demonstrations
PIC 18 Jun 2010 – IOF troops on Friday quelled West Bank weekly demonstrations organised by local Palestinian residents and foreign sympathisers to protest the building of the apartheid wall..
Khader: Fatah has succeeded in destroying the national project
PIC 18 Jun 2010 – Husam Khader said that it was Fatah which decided to postpone local elections because it was not ready and that national reconciliation had nothing to do with the postponement.
Despite its declaration of easing the siege, occupation closes Gaza crossings
PIC 18 Jun 2010 – A Palestinian official said that the Israeli occupation authority has closed all the commercial crossings with the Gaza Strip despite the announcement of a government decision to ease the siege.
Israeli occupation plan demolition of tens of Palestinian homes in Jerusaelem
PIC 18 Jun 2010 – The Israeli occupation authority will decide on Monday on the planned demolition of 22 Palestinian homes in the Silwan suburb of occupied Jerusalem according to Haaretz newspaper.
Greek teachers renovate elementary school at Jabalya refugee camp
PIC 18 Jun 2010 – The Greek Teachers Union has decided to fund the renovation of a school in the Gaza Strip after a union delegation visited the besieged coastal Strip and witnessed the living conditions..
European Parliament calls for international end to blockade on Gaza
PIC 18 Jun 2010 – The European Parliament called for an international inquiry into Israel’s attack on a humanitarian flotilla, the opening of all crossing points to and from Gaza and an immediate end to the blockade.
Iranian clerics lash out on veiling
LA Times 19 Jun 2010 – One top leader criticizes Ahmadinejad for suggesting a cultural campaign would better address the issue of ‘badly-veiled women,’ not morality police. Hard-line Iranian clerics determined to reverse the trend of what they regard as “badly veiled women”
U.N. Leader Criticizes Israel’s Panel on Flotilla
New York Times 18 Jun 2010 – Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that the investigation of Israel’s attack on a flotilla headed for Gaza lacked international credibility.
Iran Security Officials Call West’s New Sanctions Illegal
New York Times 18 Jun 2010 – Iran condemned as “illegal” sanctions imposed on it by the United Nations, saying the resolution proved that the body cannot be an appropriate source to protect people’s rights and security.
Why is this happening in a church basement?
Mondoweiss – On Tuesday night in the basement of the Advent Lutheran Church on the Upper West Side in NY, an ad hoc group of Jews sponsored a forum about “Jewish perspectives” on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign (BDS), with a panel of four Jews, two for…
The ‚ÄòAssociated Press’ really ought to say Rachel Corrie’s name, it’s on boats and books and movies
Mondoweiss – Pretty good piece on Israel’s isolation by Aron Heller of AP , includes a lot about boycott, but includes this: A small French cinema chain postponed a showing of an Israeli comedy and replaced it with a documentary about an American student crushed to death by an…
6/18/10: Today in Palestine
Mondoweiss – Land theft and destruction/Ethnic cleansing PLO: New Settlers Homes In Jerusalem Is A Blow To Peace Efforts Ramallah — PNN – Israel’s plans to construct new settling homes in East Jerusalem, is a severe hit against the International and American efforts to resume real Peace negotiations,…
Roger Cohen needs to get over his inhibitions and extend his historical imagination to Palestinians
Mondoweiss – I had been thinking the same thing about Roger Cohen as in this earlier post here : How can this obviously thoughtful man who writes so beautifully about the fight against oppression in Iran so studiously skirt the real issues in Palestine? Look today at his lovely…
Bill Bennett & his neocon sidekick say reelecting Obama means the end of Israel
Mondoweiss – Yesterday on his nationally syndicated Morning in America radio program Bill Bennett interviewed the well known writer on military affairs, Bing West. West is a former Marine and former Ass’t Secretary of Defense in the Reagan Administration. He is also a member of the Council on…
Uri Saguy tells all, ctd: Provides an insider’s account of Barak’s “missed opportunity” with Syria in 2000
Coteret – Uri Saguy continues to to reveal details of Israel’s diplomatic history with Syria. In April, Maariv relayed an interview he had given to veterans’ publication, in which hedescribedthe role played by Ron Lauder inbrokeringNetanyahu-Assadnegotiations in the ’90s. Last Friday in an extensiveinterviewgiven to Yediot’s Uri Misgav,…
More About Captured Presumed Mossad Terrorist
Palestine Think Tank – Following the capture in Poland of the suspected Israeli terrorist attached to mossad, Uri Brodsky, on last 4 June 2010, who was arrested by the Polish Police on a German arrest warrant related to the acquisition and/or falsification of at least one German passport which was…
The Collapse of Israel’s Old Narrative
Palestine Think Tank – This extraordinarily potent moral imperative would make of Israel a nation apart from other nations—one for whom any demand for normalcy, or criticism of intent or deed, would be tantamount to a dangerous betrayal of sacred writ and an ominous expression of old, lurking hatreds. Heroism…
Nima Shirazi — World Cup Domination & Entertaining the Empire: One Aim Changes Everything
Palestine Think Tank – That there are US troops stationed in over 175 countries around the world is a stunning fact in itself – although well-known by now if you’ve been paying attention at all for the past decade. At this point, there’s probably an ‘App’ for that. But again,…
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 –
FROM GAZA TO IRELAND AND BACK
Irish4Palestine – From Ireland’s Bloody Sunday martyrs to those of Palestine link After 38 years, the martyrs of Bloody Sunday have been vindicated in an investigation that has spanned more than a decade. The Bloody Sunday Inquiry released its ten volume report on 15 June 2010, exonerating the…
UN SLAMS ISRAEL HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Irish4Palestine – UN team calls for end to systematic rights violations by Israel in occupied territories 18 June 2010 — A three-member United Nations body has called for an end to human rights violations by Israel in the occupied territories of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and…
Russia criticises Iran sanctions
BBC – President Medvedev criticises US and EU sanctions on Iran, as the US warns Iran could fire ‘hundreds’ of missiles at Europe.
Israel jails ‘school row’ fathers
BBC – Dozens of ultra-orthodox Jewish men are jailed in Israel for defying a school integration ruling, but 22 mothers get a reprieve.
Stephen Lendman — Gaza Flotilla Massacre: Goldstone Commission II Essential
Sabbah report – By Stephen Lendman* | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz The Flotilla attack was a well-planned act of premeditated murder in international waters, the Netanyahu government (on June 14) announcing an inquiry commission this writer discussed in a same-day article. It explained the planned whitewash of a grievous…
Flotilla Check: Facts and Israeli Lies
Sabbah report – Flouting international demands for an independent investigation of its deadly attack on a humanitarian aid flotilla in international waters, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has formed an internal commission composed of three Israelis and two, non-voting international observers. The commission chair, retired Israeli Supreme Court justice…
Articles
Mideast changing, and Ankara knows it
Ramzy Baroud, Ma’an News Agency6/17/2010
“Even despots, gangsters and pirates have specific sensitiveness, (and) follow some specific morals.”
The claim was made by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a recent speech, following the deadly commando raid on the humanitarian aid flotilla to Gaza on May 31. According to Erdogan, Israel doesn’t adhere to the code of conduct embraced even by the vilest of criminals.
The statement alone indicates the momentous political shift that’s currently underway in the Middle East. While the shift isn’t entirely new, one dares to claim it might now be a lasting one. To borrow from Erdogan’s own assessment of the political fallout that followed Israel’s raid, the damage is “irreparable.”
Countless analyses have emerged in the wake of the long-planned and calculated Israeli attack on the Turkish ship, Mavi Marmara, which claimed the lives of nine, mostly Turkish peace activists.
In “Turkey’s Strategic U-Turn, Israel’s Tactical Mistakes,” published in the Israeli daily Haaretz, Ofra Bengio suggested Turkey’s position was purely strategic. But he also chastised Israel for driving Turkey further and faster “toward the Arab and Muslim worlds.”
In this week’s Zaman, a Turkish publication, Bulent Kenes wrote: “As a result of the Davos (where the Turkish prime minister stormed out of a televised discussion with Israeli President Shimon Peres, after accusing him and Israel of murder), the myth that Israel is untouchable was destroyed by Erdogan, and because of that Israel nurses a hatred for Turkey.”
In fact, the Davos incident is significant not because it demonstrates that Israel can be criticized, but rather because it was Turkey — and not any other easily dismissible party — that dared to voice such criticism.more..e-mail
Debating Gaza
Catherine Ashton, EU high rep. for foreign affairs and security, Ma’an News Agency6/18/2010
What happened on the seas outside Gaza was unacceptable. We said so immediately, loud and clear. Nine people died in international waters under circumstances that demand an inquiry.
This must be an inquiry that Israelis, Palestinians and above all the people of Turkey can believe in. Israel has announced the creation of an independent commission with the participation of two senior international members as observers. This is a step forward. But the EU will follow closely the conduct and findings of the commission before drawing further conclusions.
The military attack on the flotilla has captured the world’s attention. The loss of life has been tragic. But we need to remind ourselves why the flotilla was heading for Gaza in the first place. That underlying cause is the terrible plight of Gaza, which is now back on peoples’ radar. I have seen it myself, three months ago, as the first politician allowed to enter into Gaza from Israel for more than a year. What I saw was shocking.
Living next to one of the most modern countries in the world, people carry goods by horse and cart. Israel rightly boasts an excellent education system and world-class universities. Next door, many children are denied basic schooling. The blockade denies Gaza the bricks and cement which the UN needs to build new schools, hospitals, housing and sanitation. It is bizarre situation where flour, beans and margarine are allowed in but vinegar, chocolate and fresh meat are not.
The blockade hurts ordinary people, prevents reconstruction and fuels radicalism. The blockade is also not completely effective, but in the wrong way. Many goods are smuggled in through illegal tunnels. They do not go to those in need but to those with money and clout. The blockade empowers Hamas. It gives outsiders with a very different agenda from ours a chance to escalate tensions. On top of all this: the suffering of Gaza does not make Israel more secure. This cannot go on. Things must change.more..e-mail
The lives of others
Ilana Hammerman, Ha’aretz2/18/2010
Bearing witness at the Bethlehem checkpoint before dawn.
They come from Yatta, Sussia, Hebron, Halhul, Bani Na’im, Tekoa, Husan, Batir. Those from Yatta set out at 2 A.M. and arrived here at 3:30, to get a place at the head of the line. The Hebronites left home at 3 A.M. Those from Husan and Batir, which are closer, started out at 3:30. More and more taxis and panel vans pull up and unload dozens of people into the dark of the night. By 5 A.M. around 2,000 to 2,500 people have already gathered here.
The hundreds of early arrivals occupy the first few dozen meters of the line, pressing into a very narrow passage created by two fences made of bars that tower above human height. Some young people who have just arrived scramble wildly up the fence from the outside, drape themselves over the top and hang there for a bit before sliding down and shoving themselves forcefully between the people in the line. Some of the latter protest with shouts and try to release their arms, which have been trapped by the dark, winding human snake, in order to push the intruders back. But in vain. The sheer force of gravity pulls them inexorably down, until they are finally crushed amid the writhing mass of humanity.
Sometimes knapsacks, bundles and plastic bags fly through the air along with the fence climbers. Someone in the dense crowd below tries to catch the objects before they land on people’s heads and shoulders, even as the agile throwers scuttle up the fence, then slide down the other side, implanting themselves in the crowd.
The lights that shine along the passageway illuminate the garbage-strewn stone path to the right of the fence, and here and there also the forehead, cheek or chin of a face that is being squeezed against the iron bars, or a nose that angles out a bit, and fists whose fingers grip the bars tightly…. — See also:Report: Israel police investigating journalistmore..e-mail
Gaza students call on Tiesto to cancel Israel concert
Electronic Intifada: 18 Jun 2010 – Dear Tiesto, we write to you to appeal to you to be on the just side of history, to have your voice with the oppressed. Like many other internationally renowned musicians and singers who decided not to entertain apartheid Israel such as Elvis Costello, Gil Scott-Heron, the Klaxons and Gorillaz Sound System, the Pixies, Carlos Santana and David Banhart, we expect you to follow suit and refrain from doing so.
Israel’s ‘Final Solution’
Palestine Chronicle: 18 Jun 2010 – By George Polley You live in a home your family has lived in for generations. On the e
dge of the village you own a plot of land on which you raise olives and grow vegetables to feed your family. You remember your grandfather working that land, and smile. He was a good man who loved his family and you miss him. One day you return from your olive grove carrying a sack filled with olives that your wife will press. You have saved out a couple dozen of the best for your wife and children to eat in the evening, before retiring for the night. As you turn the corner and start toward your home you notice the family gathered in front of it with all of their belongings surrounding them. They are weeping. Nearby is a contingent of soldiers holding guns. “What is going on?” you shout. One of…more
Top Ten Myths about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Palestine Chronicle: 18 Jun 2010 – By Jeremy R. Hammond Myth #1 — Jews and Arabs have always been in conflict in the region. Although Arabs were a majority in Palestine prior to the creation of the state of Israel, there had always been a Jewish population, as well. For the most part, Jewish Palestinians got along with their Arab neighbors. This began to change with the onset of the Zionist movement, because the Zionists rejected the right of the Palestinians to self-determination and wanted Palestine for their own, to create a “Jewish State” in a region where Arabs were the majority and owned most of the land. For instance, after a series of riots in Jaffa in 1921 resulting in the deaths of 47 Jews and 48 Arabs, the occupying British held a commission of inquiry, which reported their finding that “there is no inherent anti-Semitism in the country, racial or religious.” Rather, Arab attacks…more
What Sort of Christians become Zionists?
Palestine Chronicle: 18 Jun 2010 – By Stuart Littlewood – London ‘We categorically reject Christian Zionist doctrines as a false teaching that corrupts the biblical message of love, justice and reconciliation.’ — The Jerusalem Declaration. Not all Jews are Zionists. Many reject the Zionist project and fight against it. So why on earth would a non-Jew wish to be one? Indeed, how could a genuine Christian seriously consider becoming a Zionist? It has puzzled me for a long time. The two ideas are incompatible, are they not? So consider for a moment Anglican Friends of Israel, as an example. Their stated aims include: • To support the people of Israel and to secure defensible borders for the State of Israel. • To recall the Church to G-d’s Covenant with the Jewish people and to call the Church to affirm the centrality of Israel to the Jewish faith. • To call Anglicans to repentance for the wrongs…more
Anti-Palestinism is Hate Speech
Palestine Chronicle: 17 Jun 2010 – By Ahmad Amr I bet you’ve never heard of anti-Palestinism? In Israel and the United States, defaming and delegitimizing the Palestinians is a national sport; but have you ever heard anybody complain about it? Why didn’t Americans get worked up when 1,400 Palestinians were incinerated with Israeli phosphorous bombs? Why did the murder of 300 children in last year’s assault not touch a nerve? Why did it take three long years and the slaughter of eight Turks and a Turkish-American citizen to notice that Israel has incarcerated 1.5 million Palestinians in a concentration camp? What if you were Palestinian shell shocked by decades of the world’s collective indifference? What would you tell your children? Is there any way to explain to a child why his people were ethnically cleansed to make room for a State as Jewish as England is English? Why do pundits and politicians in the West get…more
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