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International Middle East Media Center
Israeli forces attack non-violent anti-Wall demo in Beit Jala
IMEMC – 5 Jul 2010 – In what has become a weekly non-violent demonstration against the Wall, Palestinian and Israeli peace activists came together Sunday afternoon in the town of Beit Jala, near Bethlehem. Israeli forces launched a barrage of semi-lethal weapons at the demonstrators, injuring both participants in the demo and passers-by, according to eyewitnesses.
Non-violent peace activist sentenced to two years in Israeli prison
IMEMC – 5 Jul 2010 – After spending 11 months in detention with no trial or charges, non-violent anti-Wall organizer Adeeb Abu Rahma faced an Israeli military tribunal which sentenced him to two additional years in prison for organizing peaceful, lawful protests in the village of Bil’in.
Israel Readies To Construct 2700 Units For Settlers In the West Bank
IMEMC – 5 Jul 2010 – Settlement Councils in the Occupied West Bank are preparing plans for the construction of 2700 units for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank direct after the claimed “settlement freeze” by the end of this coming September.
IMEMC – 5 Jul 2010 – Palestinian Prime Minister, Dr. Salaam Fayyad, will be holding a meeting on Monday afternoon with Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, to discuss issues related to the siege on Gaza and Israel’s settlement activities.
Jerusalem Legislator Receives Extended Detention from Israel
IMEMC – 4 Jul 2010 – An Israeli court decided Sunday to extend the remand of Jerusalem lawmaker Mohammad Abu Teir, of the Hamas party, until July 12. The prosecution is demanding the expulsion of Abu Teir from his hometown of Jerusalem.
Gaza fisherman reported injured by Israeli fire
7/5/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Israel’s navy opened fire toward the coast of the Gaza Strip on Monday morning injuring a fisherman, a medical official said. Alam Ghanem Baker, in his 20s, was treated for a bullet wound sustained while fishing off the northern coast near Gaza City, Gaza Health Ministry director of emergency and ambulance services Muawiya….
Thousands missing out on education in Gaza
7/5/2010 – Gaza City – IRIN – Thousands of Palestinian refugee children in the Gaza Strip are unable to receive adequate education, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees found in a recent report. About 39,000 child refugees in Gaza will not attend UNRWA schools in 2010, because the agency is unable to build to accommodate population growth, or rebuild….
Report: West Bank settlements to expand
7/5/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Israeli settlements across the West Bank are set to expand by up to 2,700 housing units when Israel’s partial moratorium on building expires on 27 September, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported Monday. According to the daily, the units were authorized before the temporary construction freeze was enforced, but several settlement networks are….
2 children hurt in Qalqiliya explosion
7/5/2010 – Qalqiliya – Ma’an – Two children were injured Sunday evening when a suspicious object exploded in the Al-Murj area in the northern West Bank district of Qalqiliya, a security source said. Muhammad Ali Sabri, 6, and Ibrahim Abdullah Milhem, 14, were lighting a fire in a rural area near the object, and heat caused the object to….
3 injured as suspected ordnance detonates
7/5/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Three Palestinians including a child were injured Monday when what was believed to be a charge left behind from Israel’s last operation exploded in the Gaza StripBeit Hanoun local initiative coordinator Saber Az-Za’aneen said farmers Muhammad Abdul Jabbar Az-Za’anin, 20, and Adnan Muhammad Az-Za’anin, 37, were injured in the blast, as well as….
Mixed response to Gaza blacklist
7/5/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israel has finally published a list of items banned from entering the Gaza Strip, insisting Monday that the list is “strictly based on security considerations.””Any item not on the controlled item list will be allowed to enter Gaza,” the army announced, noting that so-called dual-use construction items like cement and metal tubing….
Turkey threatens to cut ties with Israel over flotilla raid
7/5/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Turkey has closed its airspace to Israeli military aircraft and renewed threats to sever diplomatic ties, Agence-France Presse reported Monday. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the AFP that Turkey demanded an apology from Israel before relations would be restored, and warned that without an apology, relations would deteriorate further. Israel’s raid….
Report: Lebanon detains suspected Palestinian spy
7/5/2010 – Beirut – Ma’an -Palestinian refugee was detained in the south of Lebanon, suspected of spying for Israel since 2005, the Lebanese Internal Security Forces director told the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper Sunday. General Ashraf Rifi reportedly said the 45-year-old suspect, known only by his initials AK, was detained during an ISF ambush where he was found….
Hamas: 17 supporters detained by PA police
7/5/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Hamas officials said Monday that Palestinian Authority forces recently detained 17 party supporters and affiliates from across the West Bank. The Islamist movement said the detentions were carried outNablus, Qalqiliya, Tulkarem, and Bethlehem. Hamas officials have renewed accusations of politically motivated arrests in the past weeks, following the failure of an independent committee….
Fayyad-Barak meeting ’not over negotiations’
7/5/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak will sit at 1:30 p.m. Monday for discussions unrelated to peace negotiations, an official said. Speaking with Voice of Palestine Radio, director of the state information center Ghassan Khatib said the leaders would discuss ways to end the siege on Gaza…. Related: Hamas, Jihad say Barak meeting a mistake
Egypt: Explosives smuggling into Gaza thwarted
7/5/2010 – Al-Arish – Ma’an – Egyptian security forces thwarted a weapons-smuggling operation into the Gaza Strip on Monday, a security source said. Forces along the border city of Rafah received information that explosives prepared for smuggling through the tunnel complex were being stored in a warehouse 120 meters from the border in the Al-Ahrash neighborhood, the source said….
Settlement workers concerned over livelihoods
7/5/2010 – Jerusalem – Ma’an – Palestinians employed in Israeli settlements in the West Bank are worried about the political stance of the PA, and wondering if the rhetoric will cost them their livelihoods. The Workers Hotline in cooperation with the Palestinian Federation of Trade Unions released a report Monday, documenting recent actions taken by settlement employers seeking to….
ICRC takes detainees’ parents on Gaza beach trip
7/5/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Parents of Gaza detainees were taken on a trip to the beach Monday by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Husam organization for detainees. The trip was organized to offer parents a change of atmosphere and an opportunity to relax, officials said, while representative of the organizations told parents at….
Tulkarem detainee released after 6 years
7/5/2010 – Tulkarem – Ma’an – Israeli troops released on Monday evening detainee Yousef Jihad Kharboush, 24, from Tulkarem after 6. 5 years in jail. Yousef was received by his parents and relatives who hosted a celebration on the occasion of his return home, the Detainees Center reported….
Israel army says investigating dancing soldiers
7/6/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Palestinians in Hebron who complain that the Israeli soldiers patrolling the southern West Bank city rarely intervene to stop settler violence may now know why. Israel’s army says it is investigating the source of a video showing soldiers breaking into choreographed dance on a road in Hebron. The video, which appeared online over….
EU donates part of PA civil service salaries
7/5/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Palestinian Authority has received a financial contribution from the EU toward the disbursement of civil service salaries and pensions. The payments will be disbursed among West Bank and Gaza Strip civil servants, of which one-third are Gaza residents, and help to ensure the delivery of public services provided by the PA, the….
Hamas, Jihad say Barak meeting a mistake
7/5/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials criticized Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday. Islamic Jihad described the move as “far from the Palestinian people’s interest,” a statement read. “This meeting only aims to beatify Barak the criminal because it was he and his crew that attacked the Freedom Flotilla…. Related: Fayyad-Barak meeting ‘not over negotiations’
PA wraps up store-to-store campaign
7/5/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – After visiting most of the shops in the West Bank, Palestinian Authority Minister of the Economy Hassan Abu Lubda said the “store-to-store” campaign promoting the boycott of settlement goods had come to an end. A statement announced the end of the project, which saw hundreds of volunteers coordinated by government and bodies to….
PA backs calls for lifting blockade
7/5/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – At its weekly meeting Monday chaired by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian Authority cabinet welcomed the outcome of the donors meeting in Paris last Thursday. The Paris meeting stressed the need to continue financial support to the PA and praised the reforms accomplished by the government and reiterated its support to the….
UN envoy backs Gaza measures
7/5/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry welcomed Monday the measures announced by the Government of Israel as important steps in the right direction. Serry said in a statement that he hopes that these measures will stimulate commercial activities and allow a substantial increase in the amount of construction….
In photos: PA forces graduate
7/5/2010 – MaanImages / Mustafa Abu Dayeh, Rami Swidan, Pool – The Palestinian Academy for Security Sciences in the West Bank city of Jericho holds a graduation ceremony for officers on 4 July 2010. The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and other Ramallah-based Palestinian officials….
Gaza ministry says PA rejecting passport applications
7/5/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – The Palestinian Authority is refusing most passport applications for residents of the Gaza Strip, officials said Monday. The Gaza-based Ministry of the Interior said in a statement that a shortfall of 100,000 passports had created a crisis for prospective travelers. The ministry accused the Fatah-run government in Ramallah of providing passports to only….
Hasbarapocalypse — Leaked Frank Luntz memo: Israeli public diplomacy in US on Flotilla failed dismally
Palestine Note 5 Jul 2010 – The Israel Project (TIP), an American Hasbara outfit, commissioned Republican political consultant Frank Luntz to examine the effectiveness of Israel’s public diplomacy in the US on the Flotilla debacle. TIP gave the memo to the Prime…
Pyromania in Jerusalem
Palestine Note 5 Jul 2010 – The Jerusalem municipality’s local town planning committee recently approved Mayor Nir Barkat’s plan for development of Silwan’s Bustan: “The King’s Garden” that will turn this residential Palestinian neighbourhood into a park and displace 500 residents. The…
Israel’s attack on Egypt in June ’67 was not ‘preemptive’
Palestine Note 5 Jul 2010 – It is often claimed that Israel’s attack on Egypt that began the June 1967 “Six Day War” was a “preemptive” one. Implicit in that description is the notion that Israel was under imminent threat of an…
ANALYSIS: A ‘black future’ in Silwan
Palestine Note 5 Jul 2010 – ByWilliam McKeithen Washington – The Israeli-controlled Jerusalem Municipality recently announced it will proceed with a plan to raze 22 Palestinian homes in order to make way for a tourism shopping center and an archaeological park. In…
WATCH: Israel investigating dancing soldiers
Palestine Note 5 Jul 2010 – New York – The Israeli military says it is investigating the source of a YouTube video of Israeli soldiers in performing a choreographed dance while on patrol the West Bank city of Hebron . The clip begins…
Fayyad, Barak hold controversial meeting
Palestine Note 5 Jul 2010 – New York – Ramallah based-Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad meet on Monday in Jerusalem with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in the first such high-level meeting in several months. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fyyad shakes hands…
Israel releases Gaza ‘blacklist’
Palestine Note 5 Jul 2010 – Construction materials banned in most cases New York – Israel will maintain a ban on the private delivery to Gaza of construction materials badly needed to rebuild thousands of buildings damaged by Israel’s 2009 military offensive….
Yediot: Lieberman absent from July 4 celebration at Tel-Aviv Embassy
Palestine Note 5 Jul 2010 – US Embassy celebrated independence, Lieberman didn’t show up Lieberman’s office: “He was on a tour of the North and announced he would not attend” Itamar Eichner, Yedioth, July 4 2010 [Hebrew original here Oddly, Foreign Minister…
Leaked Luntz memo: Israel losing US public opinion after flotilla
Palestine Note 5 Jul 2010 – New York – Israel is failing to win US public opinion in the wake of its assault on the Gaza aid flotilla that left nine activists dead, according to a leaked memo by Republican political consultant…
Thousands missing out on education in Gaza
Palestine Note 5 Jul 2010 – Gaza – IRIN – Thousands of Palestinian refugee children in the Gaza Strip are unable to receive adequate education, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). Destroyed buildings in Rafah, in the southern Gaza…
Muslim leaders encourage vacationing in Turkey to offset Israeli boycott
Palestine Note 5 Jul 2010 – Washington – The Jerusalem Post is reporting that Muslims are being encouraged to vacation in Turkey this summer to offset the estimated $400 million loss caused by Israelis boycotting the country. Photo source: Flickr [ Flydime ] According…
Fayyad meets Barak
Palestine Note 5 Jul 2010 – Controversial first meeting since launch of talks New York – Ramallah based-Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad meet on Monday in Jerusalem with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in the first such high-level meeting in several months….
Call to bloggers to unite for Gaza on July 9
Palestine Note 5 Jul 2010 – Washington – Bloggersunite.org is calling on all bloggers to unite on July 9 to blog about Gaza. The site is asking bloggers to make “a simple promise: ‘Gaza, We will not forget You.’” Picture courtesy of…
Mideast night beat: Settlement freeze extension reported
Palestine Note 4 Jul 2010 – Today in Palestine, Israel, the broader Middle East, and beyond. Regardless of today’s ruling , settlers say they’ll build in September regardless of any new building bans passed. English-speaking settlers sprayed “Gas the Arabs” on a Palestinian…
Israel creates new Gaza ‘blacklist’
AlJazeera 5 Jul 2010 – Consumer goods allowed into enclave but tight limits remain on construction materials.
Israel’s Barak meets Palestinian PM
AlJazeera 5 Jul 2010 – Salam Fayyad holds talks with Israeli defence minister in advance of Netanyahu’s US visit.
Thousands march for Shalit release
AlJazeera 5 Jul 2010 – Supporters of captured soldier aim to pressure Israeli PM on prisoner exchange deal.
Gisha Report: Re-opening Gaza Still A Long Way Off
PNN – Tal Aviv — PNN – After the raid on a shipment sending aid to Gaza in May ended in the killing of nine Turkish nationals, Israel’s Security Cabinet announced an easing of…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory ( 24-30 June 2010)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Blair: Flotilla helped ease blockade
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jul 2010 – Quartet envoy tells BBC incident sped adoption of new approach to Gaza.
Syria: The prospect of war grows
Jeruslalem Post 5 Jul 2010 – Assad says Israel-Turkey rift threatens stability of the region.
Barak, Fayyad meet in Jerusalem
Jeruslalem Post 5 Jul 2010 – Leaders discuss Gaza blockade alleviation, IDF-PA cooperation in W. Bank.
Lieberman: No apology to Turkey
Jeruslalem Post 5 Jul 2010 – FM responds to Ankara’s threat to break diplomatic ties with Israel.
Barak: Turkey FM meeting was bad timing
Jeruslalem Post 5 Jul 2010 – Defense Minister says Turks wanted to submit claims against Israel.
Noam Schalit: What matters is outcome
Jeruslalem Post 5 Jul 2010 – 15,000 attend Rabin Square rally; protest outside Barak’s house.
Assad: Obama gov’t is weak
Jeruslalem Post 5 Jul 2010 – Syrian president disappointed with lack of progress on ME peace.
Schalit march reaches Rabin Square
Jeruslalem Post 5 Jul 2010 – Soldier’s parents meet Nili Priel; protest outside Barak’s house.
Study: 1 in 3 Bedouin new moms in Negev suffers de pression
Ha’aretz – In the Arab world, postpartum depression affects 18 percent to 21 percent of new mothers. In the Western world the figure is 10 percent to 15 percent.
IDF soldiers face penalty after uploading Hebron dance video to YouTube
Ha’aretz – WATCH: Video of soldiers, armed and wearing bulletproof vests, patrolling as a Muslim call to prayer is heard. Then the music changes and they break into a Macarena-like dance.
Health Ministry: Israel suffering from severe lack of doctors and nurses
Ha’aretz – According to a ministry a report, the ratio of doctors to citizens in 2025 could drop to 2.69 doctors to 1,000 citizens.
Barak: Israel must present a peace plan with borders to Obama
Ha’aretz – Prior to meeting with Palestinian PM, Defense Minister tells Knesset committee that future border must bring large settlement blocs into Israel but allow for creation of independent, demilitarized Palestinian state.
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra plays in Shalit’s honor at Gaza border
Ha’aretz – Thousands joined the family as they reached Tel Aviv, calling for Gilad Shalit’s release and urging Barak to push forward a prisoner swap deal.
2,700 houses to be built as soon as West Bank settlement freeze ends
Ha’aretz – Haaretz probe shows regional councils across the West Bank are preparing for continued construction as 10-month freeze end date approaches.
Cabinet delays vote on resort plan for Palmahim Beach
Ha’aretz – Netanyahu expresses concerns over compensations for contractors if authorization withdrawn.
Netanyahu heads to Washington hoping to regain Obama’s trust
Ha’aretz – Prime Minister to present U.S. President with outline of new policy ideas regarding the peace process, with goal of transitioning from proximity talks to direct negotiations.
Syria: Turkey-Israel crisis will shake whole Mideast
Ha’aretz – Assad tells reporters that Turkey cannot continued to mediate peace talks as long as it is embroiled in diplomatic tensions with Israel.
EU foreign ministers accept Israeli invitation to visit Gaza
Ha’aretz – Italy: Visit would provide the opportunity for consultations with both the Israeli and Palestinian sides on the ongoing peace negotiations.
Coalition whips to Netanyahu: Don’t renew settlement freeze
Ha’aretz – Representatives of right-wing parties say extension of freeze would subvert ‘autonomy and crucial interests’ of Israel.
Israel ‘black-lists’ chemicals and weapons-making tools from Gaza
Ha’aretz – Official list published Monday includes certain fertilizers which could be used in the manufacture of explosives, parachutes, gliders, flares and fireworks
Fayyad to Barak: Give Palestinian forces more power in West Bank
Ha’aretz – Palestinian PM and Israeli defense minister meet for first high-level talks since U.S. began proximity negotiations; Barak: Netanyahu must give Obama plan for borders.
Lieberman to Turkey: Israel won’t apologize for Gaza flotilla raid
Ha’aretz – Turkey warns Israel: Apologize for Gaza flotilla raid or we’ll cut ties; Barak says he opposed meeting between Trade Minister Ben-Eliezer and Turkish foreign minister.
IDF journal runs essay by Turkey army chief, despite Gaza flotilla row
Ha’aretz – Latest edition of the official IDF magazine ‘Maarachot’ opens with essay ascribed to General Ilker Basburg, chief of the Turkish general staff.
Israel: UN ‘ignored reality’ by blaming us for tensions along Lebanon border
Ha’aretz – UN report cites Israel as responsible for the potential of renewed conflict on northern border due to the government’s recent warning that Hezbollah has received advanced Scud missiles from Syria.
Iran: World has not done enough to curb Zionist atrocities
Ha’aretz – FM Mottaki says Israel would not have raided Gaza flotilla if the UN had taken a stronger stance against ‘Zionist crimes.’
3 children injured as mine exploded
5 Jul 2010 – Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE AR-SA MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Gaza, July 5, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) — Three Palestinian children were critically injured today as a mine exploded…
Israeli armed boats shell fishing boats in Rafah, 1 injured
5 Jul 2010 – Gaza, July 5, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli armed boats shelled today at Palestinian fishing boats in Rafah waters, local sources reported.. Witnesses said that Israeli armed boats shelled Palestinian fishing boats by ten shells on Rafah, south of Gaza Strip, no injuries were reported. In Gaza water, Israeli armed boats opened fire at Gazan fishermen which injured Alam…
Israeli judge: Learn from Nazis
Uruknet July 5, 2010— “We must learn from the Nazi tactics,” Retired Israeli Judge Hadassa Ben-Itto said recently during a conference discussing ways to improve the State of Israel’s PR efforts in the world. The meeting, which was held last week in the English capital, was attended by some 150 senior Jewish legal experts.
The Second World PowerGaza Blockade Update
Uruknet July 5, 2010 – …According to some Palestinian political analysts, this step might even be counterproductive, because it proposes to attempt to legitimise the siege. This is a siege that is a form of collective punishment against a civilian population. As such, it violates Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and is considered illegal by all major human…
The Last Queen of the Night
Uruknet July 5, 2010 – The Last Queen of the Night is not the name of a mythical character, or even an ancient Oriental queen or goddess. It is not the name of a Parisian perfume or chocolate like “After 8.” It is the name of a flower, one that blooms only during the night. A family in Gaza anxiously…
Video: Sand houses defy Gaza shortages
Uruknet July 5, 2010 – Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip has created a shortage of construction materials such as cement. But, some builders have adapted to make use of one thing they have plenty of – sand. Al Jazeera’s Bhanu Bhatnaagur reports…
Fighting Ghosts: An Interview with Husein Al-Samamara
Uruknet July 5, 2010 – Three weeks ago, as I explained in an article at the time, the BBC’s Newsnight broadcast an extraordinary insight into the bleak conditions under which Hussain Alsamamara, a Jordanian terror suspect held under a form of house arrest, is obliged to live. Like a few dozen other terror suspects ‚Äî both British and foreign nationals…
Petraeus emails show general scheming with journalist to get out pro-Israel storyline
Uruknet July 5, 2010 – Last March General David Petraeus, then head of Central Command, sought to undercut his own testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee that was critical of Israel by intriguing with a rightwing writer to put out a different story, in emails obtained by Mondoweiss. The emails show Petraeus encouraging Max Boot of Commentary to write…
General Petraeus’s leaked emails about Israel
Uruknet July 5, 2010 – …Last March General David Petraeus, then head of Central Command, sought to undercut his own testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee that was critical of Israel by intriguing with a rightwing writer to put out a different story, in emails obtained by Mondoweiss. The emails show Petraeus encouraging Max Boot of Commentary to write…
West Bank parliamentarians in solidarity vigil
Uruknet July 5, 2010 – A number of parliamentarians from the West Bank have held a vigil in front of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) compound in Ramallah in solidarity with their Jerusalem colleagues who have been threatened with expulsion from their home city by the Israeli authorities. The vigil was organised by the Islamic bloc parliamentarians….
Israel creates new Gaza ‘blacklist’
Uruknet July 5, 2010 – Israel has eased restrictions on the import of consumer goods to the Gaza Strip, relaxing it’s blockade on the coastal territory while maintaing restrictions on the entry of construction materials. In a statement, Israel said all items would be allowed into Gaza except “weapons, war material and dual-use items”. However, prospects for rebuilding the damage…
Report: West Bank settlements to expand
Uruknet July 5, 2010 – Israeli settlements across the West Bank are set to expand by up to 2,700 housing units when Israel’s partial moratorium on building expires on 27 September, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported Monday. According to the daily, the units were authorized before the temporary construction freeze was enforced, but several settlement networks are reportedly preparing for…
Jordan is not Palestine
Uruknet July 4, 2010 – George Mitchell, the US special envoy to the Middle East, has recently expressed his frustration at the lack of progress in the stalled “peace process”. But it may be time for Mitchell to move aside, as Geert Wilders, the leader of the Netherlands’ third-largest party, seems to have found a ‘creative solution’ to the conflict:…
Enough With the Empty Words
Uruknet July 4, 2010 – Nothing irks me more than politicians who blow off serious situations with hollow phrases on the outrageous assumption that people will actually believe them. Living in Palestine with a career revolved around words, you can imagine how many times I am irked in a day. Today is no different. A quick glance at the headlines…
Study suggests that Gaza siege will have long-term effect on Palestinian health
Uruknet July 4, 2010 – Palestinian health experts who have studied the impact of the Israeli siege on Gaza have said that the siege will have long-term damaging effects on the health of Palestinians. Of particular concern is the fact that the siege has resulted in many cases of malnutrition in children. A series of research papers published in the…
IDF journal runs essay by Turkey army chief, despite Gaza flotilla row
Uruknet July 4, 2010 – The opening essay in the latest edition of the official Israel Defense Forces magazine “Maarachot” is an article ascribed to General Ilker Basbug, chief of the Turkish general staff. The essay, based on a speech Basbug delivered to a NATO conference in March, includes a prologue penned by his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi. The issue,…
Israel’s Attack on Egypt in ’67 was not ‘Preemptive’
Uruknet July 4, 2010 – It is often claimed that Israel’s attack on Egypt that began the June 1967 ‘Six Day War’ was a ‘preemptive’ one. Implicit in that description is the notion that Israel was under imminent threat of an attack from Egypt. Yet this historical interpretation of the war is not sustained by the documentary record. The President…
Turkey in threat to sever ties with Israel
The National 5 Jul 2010 – Rift grows as Turkish foreign minister says airspace ban on military flights may be extended to civilian aircraft.
Talk of prisoner swap raises hopes in Gaza
The National 5 Jul 2010 – Parents of only female Gazan detainee look forward to her release, but Hamas says there have been no new contacts over a deal.
Obama and Netanyahu to mend fences
The National 5 Jul 2010 – The UK and Israel have smoothed out their differences in recent weeks after discord over settlement policy strained the alliance.
Turkey to sever ties unless Israel apologizes
Daily Star 5 Jul 2010 ANKARA: Turkey warned Israel on Monday it will cut relations unless it gets an apology for a deadly raid on Gaza-bound aid ships, but Tel Aviv said it will never say sorry for defending itself. Ankara…
Israel allows Building materials for Gaza projects
Daily Star 5 Jul 2010 KEREM SHALOM, Israel: The state of Israel on Monday gave the go-ahead for the international community to import construction materials into the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in an easing of its blockade that won mixed praise. The…
Palestinian premier meets Barak, lays out demands
Daily Star 5 Jul 2010 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: The Palestinian prime minister said he pressed demands including a halt to Israeli Army incursions in Palestinian West Bank towns in a rare high-level meeting with the Israeli defense minister on Monday. Premier Salam…
Break in Turkish-Israeli ties unlikely – analysts
Daily Star 5 Jul 2010 ANKARA: Turkey’s threats to sever relations with Israel are unlikely to materialize as both countries need each other and Ankara cannot afford new tensions with the West, analysts said Monday.Stoking up a simmering crisis, Foreign Minister…
Court: Poland to decide on extradition of Israeli ‘agent’
Daily Star 5 Jul 2010 WARSAW: A Polish court is to decide Wednesday whether to hand over to Germany an Israeli suspected of being a Mossad agent linked to the January killing of a Hamas chief, despite Israel’s calls for him…
Syria warns of Mideast instability amid Israel-Turkey rift
Daily Star 5 Jul 2010 MADRID: Syrian President Bashar Assad warned Monday the Israel-Turkey crisis could affect stability in the Middle East and undermine Ankara’s role in the region’s peace negotiations.”If the relationship between Turkey and Israel is not renewed it…
Ponytail for men gets the chop in the Islamic Republic
Daily Star 5 Jul 2010 TEHRAN: Iran’s Culture Ministry has given its blessing to a number of “Islamic” haircuts for men, with ponytails failing to make the list, the ILNA news agency reported on Monday. ILNA agency and other agencies carried…
Security tight on anniversary of China ethnic unrest
Daily Star 5 Jul 2010 URUMQI, China: Security forces fanned out to keep China’s Urumqi city in check on Monday, the first anniversary of deadly unrest that laid bare deep-seated ethnic tensions in the far-western Xinjiang region. Urumqi, the regional capital,…
Chinese court sentences US ‘spy’ geologist to 8 years
Daily Star 5 Jul 2010 BEIJING: An American geologist held and tortured by China’s state security agents was sentenced to eight years in jail Monday for gathering data on the Chinese oil industry in a case that highlights the government’s use…
Tehran says Germany, Britain, Emirates deny fuel to its planes
Daily Star 5 Jul 2010 TEHRAN: Iranian officials accused Germany, Britain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday of refusing to refuel Iranian passenger planes due to unilateral US sanctions imposed over its nuclear program. “Since last week, our planes…
Letters: Threat to Palestinian parliamentarians
The Guardian 5 Jul 2010 – Mohammed Abu Tir, Ahmed Othwan and Mohammed Tutah, in addition to the former minister for Jerusalem affairs, Khalid Abu Arafa, have been issued with notices by the Israeli authorities of eviction to leave their homes in…
Israel eases Gaza blockade
The Guardian 5 Jul 2010 – Israel publishes list of banned items to make transporting goods in and out of the Palestinian territory easier Israel today lifted its ban on most consumer goods entering Gaza, but maintained its limits on many building…
Turkey threatens to cut ties with Israel over Gaza flotilla
The Guardian 5 Jul 2010 – Turkish foreign minister says Israelis must either apologise or accept international inquiry into deadly raid Turkey has hardened its stance towards Israel over the “freedom flotilla” taking aid to the Gaza Strip, warning today that it…
Camp David and elusive peace | Petra Marquardt-Bigman
The Guardian 5 Jul 2010 – The blueprint developed at the failed 2000 Middle East summit has not been used. Is Palestinian ambivalence the reason? The deep disappointment I felt when the news came that the talks at Camp David had ended…
OPT: Israel allows construction materials for Gaza projects
Relief Web 5 Jul 2010 – Source: Agence France-Presse
OPT: Thousands missing out on education in Gaza
Relief Web 5 Jul 2010 – Source: Integrated Regional Information Networks
WFP operations in the occupied Palestinian territory, Situation Report, Issue n. 23, 1-31 May 2010
Relief Web 5 Jul 2010 – Source: World Food Programme
OPT: Rafah Crossing remains open for Palestinians, aid
Relief Web 4 Jul 2010 – Source: Government of Egypt
Egypt Practises for Bigger Rigging
IPS Egypt’s recently concluded Shura Council elections were accompanied by widespread reports of serious electoral breaches by the ruling party. According to analysts and opposition figures, such voting “irregularities” bode poorly for upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.
MIDEAST: Peace May Rest on the Future of 88 Houses
IPS Frequent clashes and continuing tension in disputed East Jerusalem could portend a major outbreak of civil unrest, residents fear.
Bethlehem: Activists injured, arrested in protests leading up to the 6th anniversary of the ICJ decision
Stop The Wall – Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested activists and assaulted 15 demonstrators with batons during the weekly protest against the Apartheid Wall and settlements in Wadi Rahal while kilometers away farmers blocked the Tekoa-Efrat settlement road. [
Bi’lin and Ni’lin continue protests against the Israeli Apartheid System
Stop The Wall – The protestors in both marches carried large pictures of the martyrs Yasser Arafat and Ahmad Yassin as a message of Palestinian national unity calling for solidarity across factions to face the Israeli Apartheid system. Banners calling for the boycott of Israel were also carried. [
Mastermind of Park Hotel terror attack: No regrets
YNet News – Abbas al-Sayad, who was sentenced to 35 consecutive life sentences for planning….
Iran presents ‘Islamic haircut catalogue’
YNet News – Islamic Republic’s culture ministry releases pictures of appropriate male: Short….
Gaza goods list: Cement in, gliders out
YNet News – Foreign Ministry releases amended list of products, services Israel will allow….
Noam Shalit at kidnapping site: People fell asleep on the job
YNet News – During visit to Kerem Shalom area near Gaza, captive soldier’s father says, ‘I….
Israeli judge: Learn from Nazis
YNet News – Retired Judge Hadassa Ben-Itto says as part of PR war, Israel should adopt….
Hamas slams Fayyad-Barak handshake
YNet News – Group’s spokesman refers to meeting between Palestinian prime minister, Israeli….
Report: Fuel to Iran jets refused in Europe, Dubai
YNet News – Airports in Britain, Germany, UAE refuse to allow Mahan Air and IranAir planes….
Barak: Timing of meeting with Turkish FM not right
YNet News – Defense minister tells Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee he….
‘Free Palestine’ sprayed on Warsaw Ghetto wall
YNet News – Former Israeli pilot known for signing refusniks’ letter hangs Palestinian flag….
Gazans: We were used as ‘human shields’
YNet News – A series of testimonies in a report probing Operation Cast Lead suggest that IDF soldiers used Gazans as human shields. The report — exclusively obtained by Ynet — …….
US, Europe: Easing of Gaza blockade ‘important step’
YNet News – The United States and Europe welcomed Israel’s announcement Monday it would allow certain construction materials into Gaza as an “important step” toward easing a …….
Syria warns of Mideast instability amid Israel-Turkey crisis
YNet News – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned Monday that the Israel-Turkey crisis could affect stability in the Middle East and undermine Ankara’s role in the region’s peace …….
Fayyad to Barak: Cease all unilateral steps in Jerusalem
YNet News – Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said that during his meeting with Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday he demanded that Israel cease all unilateral steps in …….
Palestinian Information Center
Direct or Indirect talks, what is the difference?
PIC 5 Jul 2010 – The Obama administration is pressuring the weak and disoriented Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership to switch from proximity or indirect talks with the Netanyahu regime to direct talks.
European campaign receives 9,000 requests to participate in Freedom Flotilla 2
PIC 5 Jul 2010 – The European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza said that there has been a large turnout for Freedom Flotilla 2, in terms of activists requesting to participate, and in terms of the number of ships.
IOF troops interrogate worshipers as settlers burn fields
PIC 5 Jul 2010 – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) encircled the grand mosque in Raiheya village, Al-Khalil district, and interrogated worshipers inside it on Sunday evening, local sources told the PIC on Monday.
Israel’s abuse of female prisoners on the rise
PIC 5 Jul 2010 – The Tadhamun Foundation revealed that a special Israeli unit spontaneously raided the cells of female inmates in the Damon prison and proceeded in a barbaric inspection operation a few days ago.
IOF bullets wound fisherman, 3 children injured in blast of IOF ordnance
PIC 5 Jul 2010 – A Palestinian fisherman was wounded off the Gaza city beach when Israeli occupation forces (IOF) aboard gunboats fired at him while at work on Monday, medical sources told the PIC reporter.
Davutoglu to Israel: Apologize or we cut all ties with you
PIC 5 Jul 2010 – Minister of foreign affairs Ahmet Davutoglu warned that Turkey would sever all its relations with Israel if the latter did not apologize for its deadly attack on the Freedom Flotilla aid convoy.
Hamas: Fayyad’s meeting with Barak a lifeboat for the Israeli gov’t
PIC 5 Jul 2010 – The Hamas Movement condemned Monday Salam Fayyad’s meeting with Israeli war minister Ehud Barak as a lifeboat to save the latter and his government from the political mess they got themselves into.
Mishaal sends condolences over Fadlallah’s death
PIC 5 Jul 2010 – Khaled Mishaal sent his sincere condolences over the death of Sheikh Mohamed Fadlallah, describing him as one of the most prominent Muslim scholars who supported the choice of resistance.
Israel to build 2,700 settlement units when alleged freeze ends next month
PIC 5 Jul 2010 – The Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported Monday that there are plans to build 2,700 housing units in West Bank settlements as soon as the nominal settlement freeze ends next September.
Barak holds special meeting with Fayyad
PIC 5 Jul 2010 – Israeli war minister Ehud Barak is to hold a “special meeting” with the (illegitimate) premier of the PA in Ramallah Salam Fayyad on Monday to discuss latest political and security developments.
China’s Xinjiang region quiet a year after ethnic riots
LA Times 6 Jul 2010 – The government takes security and economic measures to prevent a repeat of ethnic clashes in the northwestern city of Urumqi, where Uighurs, a Muslim minority, had clashed with Han Chinese settlers. With more than 50,000 closed-circuit cameras keeping an Orwellian eye on Urumqi’s buses, markets and back alleys, along with thousands of paramilitary officers on patrol and a fresh infusion of economic aid, China managed to slide through the dreaded one-year anniversary of the worst ethnic violence in its recent history without incident.
In Israel, some Holocaust survivors face hard times
LA Times 6 Jul 2010 – A number of aging survivors, poor, with no family, or none willing to help, are finding it hard to get by. A few lucky ones are cared for at a shelter in Haifa. ‘We deserve more,’ says one. Tucked into the hillside of this ancient port city is a sight few Israelis ever imagined they’d see in the Jewish state.
Tax-Exempt Funds Aiding West Bank Settlements
New York Times 5 Jul 2010 – As the United States seeks to end a four-decade Jewish settlement enterprise, the American Treasury helps sustain the settlements through tax breaks on donations to support them.
Israel Details Easing of Its Gaza Blockade
New York Times 5 Jul 2010 – The announcement came amid a flurry of activity apparently intended to show momentum ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with President Obama.
Make Or Break Moment For Arab Unity Over Lebanon’s ’10th Class Citizens’
Palestine Monitor – A debate is raging in the Lebanese government over new legislation that would grant civil rights to Palestinian refugees for the first time in 62 years. Key features of the historic bill, proposed by the Progressive Socialist Party, include the right to housing, employment, social security…
Lebanese civil rights bill for Palestinian refugees presents a chance for unity
Mondoweiss – A debate is raging in the Lebanese government over new legislation that would grant civil rights to Palestinian refugees for the first time in 62 years. Key features of the historic bill, proposed by the Progressive Socialist Party, include the right to housing, employment, social security…
Israel window-dresses the blockade, but nothing really changes
Mondoweiss – As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for a “kiss and make up” session at the White House tomorrow, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced a new list of items that will be banned from entering the Gaza Strip. The decision comes after weeks of international…
[Video] Birthright group visits (Jewish Settlement of) Hebron?!
Coteret – The “Hebron” account at WeJew.com (a kind of Jewish YouTube wannabe) has just (July 5 2010) uploaded a video purportedly documenting a visit of this month of an Australian Birthright group to the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. This site is the stated raison d’?™tre…
Hasbarapocalypse — Leaked Frank Luntz memo: Israeli public diplomacy in US on Flotilla failed dismally
Coteret – Luntz The Israel Project (TIP), an American Hasbara outfit, commissioned Republican political consultant Frank Luntz to examine the effectiveness of Israel’s public diplomacy in the US on the Flotilla debacle. TIP gave the memo to the Prime Minister’s Office, where someone promptly leaked it to Chico…
cartoon of the day
Palestine Think Tank – “Menacing Palestine’s Unity” by Ben Heine
MUST SEE IDF RAID
Irish4Palestine – On Sunday July 4th at 2:30am three IDF jeeps invaded Bil’in village searching for Bil’in resident Jaber Mustafa Abu Rahme. It was unclear why they had come looking for him. They came to the first house with battering rams, knocking again and again, then the commander…
WE INVENTED IT
Irish4Palestine – So you can’t fool us, don’t even try it:link The term ‘occupation’ conjures up painful memories in a land forced to endure centuries of English conquest. The etymological origins of the term “boycott” are being dug back out of the bog of Irish history due to…
Tulkarem detainee released after 6 years
Sabr – Tulkarem — Ma’an — Israeli troops released on Monday evening detainee Yousef Jihad Kharboush, 24, from Tulkarem after 6.5 years in jail. Yousef was received by his parents and relatives who hosted a celebration on the occasion of his return home, the Detainees Center reported.
ICRC takes detainees’ parents on Gaza beach trip
Sabr – Gaza — Ma’an — Parents of Gaza detainees were taken on a trip to the beach Monday by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Husam organization for detainees. The trip was organized to offer parents a change of atmosphere and an opportunity to…
Israel extends detention of Jerusalem lawmaker
Sabr – Jerusalem — Ma’an — An Israeli court has extended the detention period of Palestinian lawmaker Mohammad Abu Teir upon the advice of its attorney general, who is considering an arrangement alternative to expulsion. Defense attorney Fadi Qawasmi said the court’s decision came after a request was…
Abu Teir to face trial Sunday
Sabr – Jerusalem – Ma’an – Lawmaker Mohammed Abu Teir will return to court Sunday in West Jerusalem to appeal his deportation from the city. Abu Teir’s lawyer said trial was delayed on Thursday as the court did not have sufficient time to hear his defense. In Thursday’s…
Israel confirms new Gaza policy
BBC – Israel confirms details of its new policy to allow more goods to enter the Gaza Strip with the easing of its blockade.
Iranian aircraft ‘refused fuel’
BBC – Iran accuses the UK, Germany and the UAE of refusing to refuel its passenger jets, days after tough new US sanctions.
Turks threaten break with Israel
BBC – Turkey threatens for the first time to break diplomatic ties with Israel – hardening its stance over a raid on Gaza aid ships.
Protest concert to support Shalit
BBC – A classical concert in support of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is held in Sderot on the border with Gaza.
To end the occupation, cripple Israeli banks — by Terry Crawford-Browne
Sabbah report – By Terry Crawford-Browne* | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz The international banking sanctions campaign in New York against apartheid South Africa during the 1980s is regarded as the most effective strategy in bringing about a nonviolent end to the country’s apartheid system. The campaign culminated in President…
(en) Palestine-Israel, July 2nd, 3rd and 4th – 10 joint weekly demonstrations
A-infos – From Friday to Sunday, ten locations of persistent joint struggles and demonstrations in Palestinian villages and cities. The Israeli radical left that was mainly involved with “humanistic” help to Palestinians adopt more and more the stile of the anarchists against the wall direct actions and nonviolent…
International Campaign to “Stop the JNF…Stop Greenwashing Apartheid”
BDS – Palestine solidarity organizations around the world have begun to join together to challenge the Jewish National Fund (JNF)—Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael (KKL). Below is a call to join this campaign. read more
Articles
Twilight Zone / A night in Hebron
Gideon Levy, Ha’aretz7/1/2010
Soldiers seized a high-school student, held burning cigarettes to his forehead and hands and cut his cheek with a penknife.
The scars speak for themselves: a scorched hole in the middle of his forehead, like a mark of Cain, two more burn holes on his right hand and one on his left arm. The scratches on his face and arm have already healed. That’s what remains from the night on which soldiers decided to have a little fun with Salah Rajabi, a student in the 12th grade at the Tareq School in Hebron.
It’s not the first time soldiers have beaten him up. There have been no fewer than 12 previous attacks. The most serious of them occurred in 2006, when soldiers broke the boy’s shoulder and he was hospitalized. In December 2008, he was arrested with his two brothers on suspicion of stone throwing and released after 10 days. On another occasion he was arrested and released on bail of NIS 1,000. But this was the scariest attack of all, with the burning cigarettes on his flesh, the penknife that cut into his face and a mysterious pill the soldiers made him swallow by force, which frightened him more than anything else.
Another “Clockwork Orange” night in Hebron, in Israeli-controlled Area H2, which has been almost totally abandoned by the Palestinian residents for fear of the settlers and the Israel Defense Forces. Another display of wildness by soldiers, who thought that undercover of darkness they could do as they pleased. The IDF Spokesman made do this week with an appallingly laconic response: “The complaint that was filed with the police will be transmitted to the office of the military advocate general and after it is examined a decision will be made on how to proceed.” Whatever.
Rajabi, 19, is trying to complete his matriculation exams. He comes from a poor family of 19 children, from two mothers. Every day after school he goes to his sweets stand, peddling cheap baklava in front of his house. He was there on June 14, too. There was no school that day, because of the exams. In the afternoon he went to his stand and by 10 P.M. he had sold all his wares. He then set out to visit his sister, who, like her husband, is deaf and mute. more.. e-mail
The myth of Israeli morality
Lamis Andoni, AlJazeera7/4/2010
The Israeli attack on the international aid flotilla – killing nine and injuring dozens more – is not the first example of non-violent resistance by Palestinians and their supporters being met by force.
Israel has, in fact, at different times reacted with repression or even extreme violence to cultural and political manifestations of Palestinian identity.
But the flotilla carnage is the first direct and officially declared attack by the Israeli army on foreign activists – taking Israel’s reaction to solidarity activities to a new and unprecedented level.
Israeli claims that Turkish activists “resisted” its takeover of the ships do not change the reality that the Israeli army performed an illegal armed operation against activists who challenged the siege of Gaza – not with weapons, but by trying to deliver food and medical supplies to the besieged Palestinian population.
Israeli impunity has already been shown in the cases of Western peace activists Rachel Corrie and Tom Hurndell who were killed while peacefully protesting against Israeli army actions against Palestinian citizens.
An act of fear
But Israel’s reaction was not merely an act of arrogance. It was also an act of fear and weakness in the face of a rising tide of Palestinian and international civic campaigns.
Israeli concerns run so deep that it has been pouring money and energy into a worldwide campaign to counter what it considers to be a drive “aimed at delegitimising” Israel.
But Israel’s own actions, such as the raid on the aid ship, only serve to reinforce the image of a state fully engaged in illegal actions in the occupied territories and beyond. more.. e-mail
Red Team
Mark Perry, Foreign Policy6/30/2010
CENTCOM thinks outside the box on Hamas and Hezbollah.
While it is anathema to broach the subject of engaging militant groups like Hizballah* and Hamas in official Washington circles (to say nothing of Israel), that is exactly what a team of senior intelligence officers at U.S. Central Command — CENTCOM — has been doing. In a “Red Team” report issued on May 7 and entitled “Managing Hizballah and Hamas,” senior CENTCOM intelligence officers question the current U.S. policy of isolating and marginalizing the two movements. Instead, the Red Team recommends a mix of strategies that would integrate the two organizations into their respective political mainstreams. While a Red Team exercise is deliberately designed to provide senior commanders with briefings and assumptions that challenge accepted strategies, the report is at once provocative, controversial — and at odds with current U.S. policy.
Among its other findings, the five-page report calls for the integration of Hizballah into the Lebanese Armed Forces, and Hamas into the Palestinian security forces led by Fatah, the party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The Red Team’s conclusion, expressed in the final sentence of the executive summary, is perhaps its most controversial finding: “The U.S. role of assistance to an integrated Lebanese defense force that includes Hizballah; and the continued training of Palestinian security forces in a Palestinian entity that includes Hamas in its government, would be more effective than providing assistance to entities — the government of Lebanon and Fatah — that represent only a part of the Lebanese and Palestinian populace respectively” (emphasis in the original). The report goes on to note that while Hizballah and Hamas “embrace staunch anti-Israel rejectionist policies,” the two groups are “pragmatic and opportunistic.”
The report opens with a quote from former U.S. peace negotiator Aaron David Miller’s book, The Much Too Promised Land, which notes that both Hizballah and Hamas “have emerged as serious political players respected on the streets, in Arab capitals, and throughout the region….” more.. e-mail
IKEA furnishing the occupation
Electronic Intifada: 5 Jul 2010 – Swedish Radio reported on 23 June that home furnishings retail giant IKEA in Israel discriminately ships to Israel’s illegal settlements but not Palestinian cities in the occupied West Bank. The company’s shipping policies are coming into question following a report by Swedish Radio’s correspondent in Israel. Adri Nieuwhof reports for The Electronic Intifada.
The Last Queen of the Night
Electronic Intifada: 5 Jul 2010 – The Last Queen of the Night is not the name of a mythical character, or even an ancient Oriental queen or goddess. It is not the name of a Parisian perfume or chocolate like “After 8.” It is the name of a flower, one that blooms only during the night. Yasmeen El Khoudary writes from the occupied Gaza Strip.
Make Or Break Moment For Arab Unity Over Lebanon’s ’10th Class Citizens’
Palestine Monitor: 5 Jul 2010 – A debate is raging in the Lebanese government over new legislation that would grant civil rights to Palestinian refugees for the first time in 62 years. Key features of the historic bill, proposed by the Progressive Socialist Party, include the right to housing, employment, social security and hospital treatment. Shatila camp, Beirut The proposal has been greeted enthusiastically by human rights groups, who feel the 435,000 long term Palestinian refugees have been unfairly neglected by the state. Nadim Houry, director of Human Rights Watch in Beirut said “Lebanon has marginalised Palestinian refugees for too long and the parliament should seize this opportunity to turn the page and end discrimination against Palestinians.” UNRWA have reported deteriorating conditions in the 12 major camps across Lebanon with increasing unemployment, poverty and disease. Housing is crumbling and, in a scenario familiar to ‘Area C’ Palestinians in the West Bank, residents are denied the freedom…
Ahmad Sa’adat: A Palestinian Prisoner of Conscience
Palestine Chronicle: 5 Jul 2010 – By Stephen Lendman He’s the 1967-founded Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s (PFLP) General Secretary, one of thousands of Palestinian political prisoners, sentenced in 2002 to 30 years in prison “for a range of ‘security-related’ political offenses,’ ” including his prominence in a prohibited organization, a 1993 document stating that: “The strategic aim of the PFLP’s struggle alongside the other forces of the Palestinian revolution is to liberate Palestine from Zionist colonial occupation. The PFLP aims for the establishment of a democratic state on the entire Palestinian land, with its capital in Jerusalem. This state would guarantee legal rights and equality of opportunity to all citizens, without discrimination on the grounds of religion, sex, belief or color. It would oppose Zionism and imperialism and be oriented towards democratic unity with other Arab countries.” “Achieving this aim presupposes a radical solution for the Palestinian national cause and readiness to wage…more
Guess Who Wants to Kill the Internet?
Palestine Chronicle: 5 Jul 2010 – By Maidhc ?ì Cathail It would be hard to think of anyone who has done more to undermine American freedoms than Joseph Lieberman. Since 9/11, the Independent senator from Connecticut has introduced a raft of legislation in the name of the “global war on terror” which has steadily eroded constitutional rights. If the United States looks increasingly like a police state, Senator Lieberman has to take much of the credit for it. On October 11, 2001, exactly one month after 9/11, Lieberman introduced S. 1534, a bill to establish a Department of Homeland Security. Since then, he has been the main mover behind such draconian legislation as the Protect America Act of 2007, the Enemy Belligerent, Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010, and the proposed Terrorist Expatriation Act, which would revoke the citizenship of Americans suspected of terrorism. And now the senator from Connecticut wants to kill the Internet….more
Targeting Israel’s Legitimacy
Palestine Chronicle: 5 Jul 2010 – By Iqbal Jassat — Pretoria While Kader Asmal’s opinion piece ‘World must deny legitimacy to Israel’ [South Africa’s Mail & Guardian, June 25] was welcomed as a breathtakingly courageous call for action against the Zionist entity, unsurprisingly it has also elicited raging howls of complaints from the usual suspects. However, what I do find quite intriguing is the personal attack David Saks of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies hurls at Asmal. His insulting response as an apologist for Israel is reflective of the increasing difficulty spin-doctors for the usurpers of Palestine have in countering credible and sound analysis. Accusing Asmal of falsehood and of “standard anti-Israel polemic” and then himself indulging in emotive rhetoric without any reference to the key components of Asmal’s brilliant argument to bring an end to Palestinians’ long ordeal, is a total cop-out! Asmal, a veteran of the struggle against apartheid and having been…more
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The New Dark Age 
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