News
International Middle East Media Center
One Injured; Four Arrested During Bil’in Weekly Protest
IMEMC – 23 Jul 2010 – Friday July 23, 2010 – 18:56, Villagers of the central West Bank village of Bil’in, along with their international and Israeli supporters, protested the Israeli wall on Friday.
Anti-wall Protest In Ni’lin, Protesters Suffer Tear Gas Inhilation
IMEMC – 23 Jul 2010 – Friday July 23, 2010 – 18:48, The Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements in the village of Ni’lin, near Ramallah, organized their weekly nonviolent protest against the construction of the annexation wall on the village’s land.
Israel To Release Freedom Flotilla Ships
IMEMC – 23 Jul 2010 – Friday July 23, 2010 – 18:27, After a number of Turkish requests for a return of the ships used in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, Israel has agreed to comply.
US Upgrades Diplomatic Ties With Palestinian Authority
IMEMC – 23 Jul 2010 – Friday July 23, 2010 – 18:01, Palestinian upgraded to ‘general delegation’ in Washington giving it quite a few new privileges.
Two Nonviolent Anti-wall Protests In Bethlehem
IMEMC – 23 Jul 2010 – Friday July 23, 2010 – 17:58, Two anti wall protests were organized on Friday in the villages of al-Ma’asara and Wad Rachal near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem.
PCHR: 2 Palestinians dead, 18 wounded in W. Bank and Gaza
IMEMC – 23 Jul 2010 – Friday July 23, 2010 – 17:51, Two Palestinians were killed and eighteen others wounded during a week of Israeli military operations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights reports.
Ramallah: Settlers burn olive trees under military guard
7/23/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – Soldiers protected Israeli settlers as they set fire to olive trees in Saffa village near the West Bank city Ramallah on Thursday, witnesses reported. Residents and firefighters rushed to the scene, eyewitnesses said, but Israeli soldiers would not allow them to access the land. Yousef Karajah, member of the popular committee against the….
Islamic Jihad man killed in south Gaza
7/23/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – A fighter with the Al-Quds Brigades was killed in southern Gaza on Thursday night, the Islamic Jihad movement announced, saying the death came as the young man performed a “Jihadist mission.” In a statement mourning the loss of Hatem Mohammad Al-Bardawil, 22, the brigades explained that he was “killed in a missile shelling….
Settlers erect Hebron outpost, arrests during clashes
7/23/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Dozens of settlers began building a new illegal outpost in Hebron’s Al-Buweirah neighborhood between the city center and the Kiyrat Arba settlement on Friday. Witnesses said mobile homes and sheds were placed on the site by morning, with one resident saying “dozens of settlers installed themselves in the area.” Local and international protesters….
Gaza crossings sealed
7/23/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli crossings authorities announced the closure of Gaza goods terminals on Friday, resulting in a two day closure including the regularly scheduled weekend day on Saturday. Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh said he was informed that crossings would be closed until Sunday. Since Israel announced its new conditions for the siege on Gaza….
Al-Aqsa Foundation concerned over mosque-storming simulation
7/23/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli forces carried out a simulation drill modeling the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Wednesday evening, the Al-Aqsa Foundation told the Hamas-affiliated Voice of Palestine news site. Foundation officials described a series of military drills in the Ben Shemen forest area west of Jerusalem, saying officials were concerned by the move and….
Egypt seizes 3 Gaza tunnels
7/23/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Egyptian forces took control of three smuggling tunnels along the Gaza border, Egyptian security sources said Friday. The seizures were part of a new campaign underway to expose tunnels used by Palestinians to smuggle goods into Gaza, which proliferated exponentially as Israel’s four-year siege intensified during 2008-9. Two tunnels, used to smuggle….
1 injured, 2 detained at Al-Ma’sara anti-wall rally
7/23/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – “European Solidarity” was the theme of Friday’s anti-wall protest in Al-Ma’sara village south of Bethlehem, which saw one person injured and two detained. The popular committee against the wall reported more than 100 demonstrators, including a six piece drumming band, and a strong French contingent at the weekly rally. Protesters sang and danced….
Report: Israeli army rehearses war with Lebanon
7/23/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – The Israeli army said it would stage a drill as part of intensive preparations for a potential war with Hizbullah and Syria, Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post reported Thursday. The army is reportedly preoaring for missile attacks on main roads and bases, and anticipates villages in southern Lebanon will be the main….
Top Gaza student studied with oil lamp, mobile phone
7/23/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Gaza’s top Tawjihi student felt like she broke the siege against her with determination and the light from her mobile phone, she told Ma’an the day she received the news of her success. Asma Amin Tubasi from Rafah remembers her father telling her to stop studying using the old oil lamp after a….
Former European Parliamentarian detained in Bil’in
7/23/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli soldiers arrested former European Parliament vice president, Luisa Morgantini, and three others, in the West Bank village of Bilin on Friday during what organizers called a non-violent protest. Morgantini was leading a 50-strong Italian delegation at the weekly march from the village center to the separation wall, which cuts off residents….
Israeli army approves 50 armored vehicles for PA
7/23/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – The Israeli military has recommended the Israeli government allows the Palestinian Authority to import 50 armored vehicles from Russia, Israeli press reported Friday. Russia first offered the vehicles in 2005, in what some called an attempt to bolster the rule of Fatah, but the plan did not work through in the wake….
Unclear Israeli border policies cause delays
7/23/2010 – Jericho – Ma’an – Israeli soldiers deployed at the Allenby Border Crossing sent eight buses loaded with Palestinian passengers back to Jericho on Thursday evening. The refused passengers, which police said were mostly women and children, arrived at the Allenby bridge in stages, but were not told they had been refused permission to exit the West Bank….
Travelers stuck at Allenby crossing depart
7/23/2010 – Jericho – Ma’an – Palestinian officials facilitated the passage of travelers to Jordan who had been delayed by Israeli authorities on Thursday. Eight buses of mostly women and children were turned back from the Allenby Bridge on Thursday evening and sent back to Jericho by Israeli soldiers. Crossings director Nathmi Muhana said the Palestinian Red Crescent were….
PLO missions upgraded in France, US
7/23/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Palestinian diplomatic missions enjoyed upgrades to their statuses in France and the US this week, Israeli press reported. The French government officially upgraded the Palestinian general commission in Paris to the status of Palestine Mission on Thursday, Israeli daily Haaretz said Friday. The head of the mission, as an ambassador, will present….
Report: Israel to return 3 ships from Turkish flotilla
7/23/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Israel will release three of the six Turkish-owned ships seized by Israeli naval forces as they attempted to break Israel’s four-year siege and deliver aid to Gaza, Israeli press reported Friday. The ships have been stationed at Ashdod port since they were commandeered in a raid in international waters which saw nine….
Egyptian security: 20 tunnel-bound cars seized
7/23/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Egyptian authorities seized 20 cars which were to be smuggled into Gaza, security sources said. The cars, without plates, were found in a warehouse in Ad-Duhneyeh near the Rafah crossing on the Egypt-Gaza border. The sources added that the cars were stolen from citizens in the Egyptian city Al-Arish. Tunnels have provided a….
Dahlan: ’Big zero’ from indirect talks
7/23/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Six rounds of indirect Israeli-Palestinian talks have resulted in a “big zero,” Fatah leader Muhammad Dahlan said Friday. In an interview with the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya channel, Dahlan said three days of meetings with the PLO Executive Committee, Fatah’s Central Committee and the party’s Revolutionary Council concluded that Palestinians will resume direct negotiations only….
Haniyeh tells high schoolers: Our only enemy is Israel
7/23/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh gave an ominous congratulations to Gaza students on Thursday, saying his government was ready to “cut off” Israel’s intelligence efforts edging into the Strip. Speaking at a ceremony to honor high school students who had successfully completed the national exams known locally as the Tawjihi, Haniyeh stressed the….
Hamas: PA forces detained 7 members
7/23/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Hamas party officials accused Palestinian Authority security forces of targeting its affiliates and making seven politically-motivated arrests in the West Bank last week, a Friday statement said. The party statement said members were detained from the Jenin, Nablus and Qalqiliya areas….
Hizb Al-Tahrir rallies across West Bank
7/23/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – The Islamist movement Hizb Ut-Tahrir held dozens of marches and rallies across the West Bank after Friday prayers, a party statement said. The organization claimed that Palestinian Authority security forces arrested thousands of its members en route to the party’s annual meeting one week ago, adding that further arrests were made at an….
Fatah Revolutionary Council praises Abbas
7/23/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – Fatah’s Revolutionary Council affirmed its support for President Mahmoud Abbas’ position that he will not resume direct talks with Israel until progress is achieved in proximity talks. As the council closed its fourth session, a statement commended Abbas’ efforts to achieve national conciliation in signing the Egyptian unity paper, and condemned Gaza’s Hamas….
Gaza Summer Games puts in world record bid
7/23/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – For the second summer in a row, the UN Relief and Works Agency made a visually stunning bid for the Guinness Record Books, gathering 250,000 children in Gaza for what could be the world’s largest simultaneous basketball bounce. Following one year on the heels of the 2009 summer triumph when 6,000 of Gaza’s children from 119 schools brought their homemade kites…. Related: Thousands of Gaza children fly kites on Beit Lahiya beach
UN: Gaza aid must go overland
Palestine Note 23 Jul 2010 – DM Barak warns Lebanon to stop ships Washington – The United Nations announced Friday that aid bound for Gaza must be delivered overland, news agencies reported. The decision was reportedly prompted by Israeli promises to stop…
Tel Aviv exhibit paints Israel’s fascist future
Palestine Note 23 Jul 2010 – Washington — In a new art exhibit in Tel Aviv, viewers become witness to a future Israel where right-wing religious extremists have ousted opponents and democracy. Creator Even Kama says the world he depicts is not…
Fatah leader Dahlan: Indirect talks have been a ‘big zero’
Palestine Note 23 Jul 2010 – Washington — Indirect talks between Israeli and Palestinian leadership have added up to a “big zero,” according to Fatah Central Committee member Mohammad Dahlan, Ma’an News Agency reported Friday. US Middle East envoy George Mitchell (left)…
Israeli decision to take toll on Gaza auto market
Palestine Note 23 Jul 2010 – By Mariam Hamed Gaza – Israel’s decision to allow Israeli cars into the Gaza Strip for purchase has the potential to hurt local dealers, Maher Abu Alouf, Direct of Coordination and Liaison in Gaza, said last…
Israelis protest ultra-Orthodox ‘draft-dodgers’
Palestine Note 23 Jul 2010 – Washington — Demonstrators gathered outside Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s Tel Aviv home on Friday to protest what they call discriminatory exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service. Ynet News reported : The protest marks a decade…
Gaza children set ball-bouncing world record
Palestine Note 23 Jul 2010 – Washington — With 6,000 basketballs and 250,000 Gazan summer campers, the UN Relief and Works Agency has set another world record, this time for most balls simultaneously bounced, Ma’an News Agency reported Friday. [Illustration: Courtesy UNRWA]…
Report: Soldiers guard settlers as they torch olive grove
Palestine Note 23 Jul 2010 – Washington – Witnesses reported to Ma’an News Agency Friday that Israeli soldiers guarded settlers as they set fire to a grove of olive trees in the Saffa village near Ramallah Thursday. Olive tree [Hoyas meg -…
Israeli army investigator: Flotilla was ‘preventable’
Palestine Note 23 Jul 2010 – Washington — Israeli Maj-Gen Giora Eiland said in an interview Friday with Reshet Bet radio that May 31 flotilla raid was preventable, the Jerusalem Post reported . “Three months before the flotilla there were many courses of…
UN names team to probe flotilla raid
Palestine Note 23 Jul 2010 – Washington — The UN Council on Human Rights has appointed a team to investigate the May 31 flotilla raid, Ynet News reported Friday. The Mavi Marmara, the largest of six ships boarded by Israeli troops on…
Clashes break out at illegal outpost in Hebron
Palestine Note 23 Jul 2010 – Washington – “Dozens of settlers” have installed themselves at a new illegal outpost in the Al-Buweirah neighborhood in Hebron, which has resulted in clashes between the military and Hebron residents, Ma’an News Agency reported Friday. Israeli…
Ex-VP of EU Parliament arrested in Bil’in protest
Palestine Note 23 Jul 2010 – Washington – Former Vice President of the European Parliament Luisa Morgantini was arrested with three others at an anti-wall protest in Bil’in Friday, the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee reported in a press release . Louisa Morgantini was…
Israel to return seized Turkish ships
Palestine Note 23 Jul 2010 – Washington – Israeli officials said Friday that three Turkish ships seized by Israel during the May 31 raid of a convoy of aid ships bound for Gaza will be returned to Turkey, Reuters reported . The Mavi…
Greece wants role in MidEast peace
Palestine Note 23 Jul 2010 – Visiting PM offers country as mediator for Israel, calls to end occupation Washington – Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou told Israeli newspaper Haaretz Friday that Greece could aid Israel in mediating conflicts between the Jewish state…
UN names flotilla inquiry panel
AlJazeera 23 Jul 2010 – Three-person team expected to travel to Israel, Turkey and Gaza to investigate raid.
Ban Ki-moon: Two-State Solution Is Essential For Israelis And Palestinians
PNN – Donn Bobb- United Nations Radio – The two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will benefit both Israelis and Palestinians. That is the message of UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon send to the…
Video: Gaza Children Set Their Second World Record
PNN – Gaza — PNN – More than 7,200 children in Gaza on Thursday simultaneously bounced basketballs, putting them on track to set their second world record in as many years, as part of…
One Injured; Four Arrested During Bil’in Weekly Protest
PNN – Ramallah — PNN – Villagers of the central West Bank village of Bil’in along with their international and Israeli supporters protested the Israeli wall on Friday. Around 100 protesters marched from the…
Soldiers Use Tear Gas to stop Nil’in wall protest
PNN – Ramallah – PNN- The residents of the village of Ni’lin near Ramallah, central West Bank, organized their weekly non-violent protest against the construction of the wall on their land. The villagers, accompanied…
One injured; One Arrested As Troops Attack Anti Wall Protests Near Bethlehem
PNN – Bethlehem — PNN – Two anti wall protests were organized on Friday in the villages of Al Ma’ssara and Wadi Rahal near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem. The villagers were…
PCHR: Two killed; 18 Injured This Week
PNN – Ghassan Bannoura — PNN- This week Israeli military attacks on Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza left two dead; 18 injured, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights said in its…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (15-21 July 2010)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
UNHRC names flotilla probe c’tee
Jeruslalem Post 23 Jul 2010 – Israel decides to return ‘Mavi Marmara’ and other ships to Turkey.
Israel to return Marmara to Turkey
Jeruslalem Post 23 Jul 2010 – Turkey agrees ships will not participate in future flotillas.
‘Fled soldier wants to continue’
Jeruslalem Post 23 Jul 2010 – Father: “We believe the IDF will show understanding.”
Spanish flotilla activists sue Israel
Jeruslalem Post 23 Jul 2010 – Israeli ambassador to UN urges int’l community to stop new flotilla.
Israel urges UN to stop Lebanese ships
Jeruslalem Post 23 Jul 2010 – Navy and Shayetet go on high alert in preparation for ships’ arrival.
International Solidarity Movement
Israeli soldiers detain former European Parliament Vice President in Bil’in
7/23/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – Member – and former Vice President – of European Parliament, Luisa Morgantini, detained by soldiers in Bil’in – Israeli soldiers detained the former Vice President of the European Parliament, Luisa Morgantini, in Bil’in this afternoon, injured one Israeli activist. , and arrested another. Sixty nine-year-old Morgantini, an Italian Member of the Euopean Parliament (MEP) has long been an outspoken….
One in 7 Israeli drivers sends text messages while driving, study says
Ha’aretz – Some 94 percent of Israeli drivers engage in other activities while behind the wheel which – although they are not necessarily against the law – are distracting, according to the…
Netanyahu brokers deal to block new legislation on conversions to Judaism
Ha’aretz – Cabinet and Jewish movements agree to freeze controversial bill that would give Chief Rabbinate a monopoly on Jewish conversions in Israel.
Israel to UN: North Korea arms proliferation destabilizing the Middle East
Ha’aretz – Israel expresses concern over North Korea’s ballistic missiles, encourages UN Security council to strengthen efforts to respond to these dangers.
Ahmadinejad warns Medvedev of joining ‘U.S. plot’ against Iran
Ha’aretz – Russia joined U.S., Western allies last month in imposing a fourth UN Security Council resolution and additional sanctions against Iran
Germany and Israel fail to agree on submarine sale
Ha’aretz – Germany funded more than 80 percent of the cost of Israel’s first three Dolphin submarines in the 1990s.
UN rights body names team to probe Gaza flotilla raid
Ha’aretz – Foreign ministry official calls the UN decision hasty and ‘part of the UN Rights Council’s obsession against Israel.’, Turkey has formally asked Israel a number of times to free vessels;…
Spanish activists to sue Israel over deadly raid on Gaza flotilla
Ha’aretz – 83-page document accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his forum of top six cabinet ministers and the Israel Navy for crimes against humanity during May 31 interception of Mavi Marmara.
U.S. upgrades diplomatic ties with Palestinians in bid to woo Abbas
Ha’aretz – Palestinian mission in Washington granted title of ‘general delegation’ and given permission to hang PLO flag at entrance.
Aid for Gaza must be delivered by established land routes, UN says
Ha’aretz – Israel’s UN envoy and defense minister urge Lebanon and the international community to prevent two aid ships from sailing to Gaza from a Lebanese port.
International labor report’s omissions reveal pro-Israel bias
Uruknet July 23, 2010 – Every June, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) releases its Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights. According to a press release that accompanied the 2010 publication (which reports on events in 2009), “the Middle East remains among the regions of the world where union rights are least protected.” The report describes repression meted…
Israel Gets Brutal With Media
Uruknet July 23, 2010 – Palestinian activists are being jailed, Israeli activists are under surveillance, and the Israeli military is increasingly targeting journalists who cover West Bank protests. The Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Israel issued a statement recently condemning what it sees as a change in Israel Defence Forces (IDF) policy in their treatment of journalists covering the growing…
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (15-21 July 2010)
Uruknet July 23, 2010 – Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (15 — 21 July 2010): Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed two activists of the Palestinian resistance and wounded eight civilians, including five children and a woman, in the Gaza Strip. In the Gaza Strip, on 21 July…
Video: Gaza children set world record for basketball
Uruknet July 22, 2010 – Children in the Gaza Strip have earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. Seven thousand five hundred kids all bounced basketballs at the same time for five minutes. The world record was shattered at Gaza’s old international airport, which has been bombed several times by Israeli forces since 2001. The event, organised…
This Time We Went Too Far’ — Book Review
Uruknet July 22, 2010 – Quite simply, this is a cracker of a book and very timely. In explaining how Israel’s war on Gaza in 2008/9 was not the defensive action it is always painted, Norman Finkelstein recalls the 1947 UN partition of historic Palestine and remembers how, in 1957, US President Eisenhower forced Israel to withdraw from Gaza by…
Israel celebrates Irgun hotel bombers
Uruknet July 22, 2010 – In the midst of its campaign against Hizbollah and Hamas “terrorists”, Israel has been accused by Britain of feting Jewish “terrorists” whose bomb attack killed 28 Britons 60 years ago today. The accusation, which reopens the debate about the use of politically-inspired violence in the region, follows the unveiling of a plaque commemorating the attack…
Reviewing the Apartheid Wall after Six Years, An insight into the Colonial Project
Uruknet July 22, 2010 – On the Sixth anniversary of the advisory opinion given by International Court of Justice (ICJ)on the Wall the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) is pleased to offer a short assessment of the moral and legal victory that was won in 2004 and its aftermath. One would have hoped that as a result of the legal opinion…
Zahalka: Implementing the Absentee Property Law in Jerusalem is a ‘declaration of war’ on Palestinian existence
Uruknet July 22, 2010 – Knesset Member, Jamal Zahalka, who heads the National Democratic Alliance bloc in the Israeli parliament, considers the implementation of Israel’s Absentee Property Law in East Jerusalem as “a declaration of war on the Palestinian presence in the city.” This comes after Israeli Attorney General, Yehuda Weinstein, informed the Supreme Court that the Absentee Property Law…
An End to the Occupation Is Compulsory for the Achievement of Women’s Rights in Palestine
Uruknet July 22, 2010 – Haneen Zoubi inhabits a challenging position within the Israeli Knesset on two counts, as a Palestinian and as a woman. Whilst numerous civil rights groups decried the revoking of Zoubi’s passport as an act of racism, feminist groups are pointing out that the decision is also a sexist one, since no similar actions have been…
Israel refuses to stop using internationally banned phosphorus bombs
Uruknet July 22, 2010 — The Israeli government has refused to provide the United Nations assurance to discontinue its illegal usage of internationally banned white phosphorus bombs, which it used heavily in its latest war on the Gaza Strip, causing hundreds of Palestinian deaths, in addition to serious environmental damage. Israel submitted an official report to the UN this week…
Lebanese PM calms fears over naming Hizbollah in Harari inquiry
The National 23 Jul 2010 – Saad Hariri says potential indictment of Shia group’s members by tribunal over killing of his father will not cause unrest in Lebanon.
Hizbollah to be implicated in Hariri assassination
The National 23 Jul 2010 – The disclosure that the party is likely to be implicated in the death of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri could send Lebanon sliding back to chaos.
AIC Upgrades Website Infrastructure
Alternative Information Center – The Alternative Information Center (AIC) is currently upgrading its website infrastructure. We will be back online by Tuesday 22 June 2010.
Gaza’s Children Bounce Their Way into Record Books at UN Summer Sporting Event
WAFA – GAZA, July 23, 2010 (WAFA)- More than 7,200 children in Gaza today simultaneously bounced basketballs, putting them on track to set their second world record in as many years, as part of an annual
Carter Center Calls for End to East Jerusalem Deportations
WAFA – ATLANTA, GA, July 23, 2010 (WAFA)-The Carter Center expresses deep concern about the revocation of Jerusalem residency rights for three members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC): Muhammad
Ban Urges Israeli, Palestinian Leaders to Take ‘Bold Steps’ Towards Peace
WAFA – LISBON, July 23, 2010 (WAFA)- With the coming weeks critical in moving towards direct Israeli-Palestinian talks, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the leaders of both sides to surmount
EU plans to adopt ‘toughest ever’ sanctions against Iran
Daily Star 23 Jul 2010
UN rights council names team to probe Israel’s flotilla raid
Daily Star 23 Jul 2010
Obama presses Iraqi leaders to end deadlock on cabinet
Daily Star 23 Jul 2010
Mubarak keeps Egypt guessing on future
Daily Star 23 Jul 2010
Israel urges UN to halt Lebanese aid ships bound for Gaza Strip
Daily Star 23 Jul 2010
Alliance calls on Hizbullah to commit to Lebanese state
Daily Star 23 Jul 2010
Panels Focus on New Versus Traditional Tools, Role of Women as Eighteenth International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East Continues
Relief Web 23 Jul 2010 – Source: UN Department of Public Information
United Nations Human Rights Council Panel to investigate Israeli raid on Gaza flotilla established
Relief Web 23 Jul 2010 – Source: UN Human Rights Council
Eighteenth International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East Opens as Participants Highlight Need to End ‘Information-exclusion’
Relief Web 23 Jul 2010 – Source: UN Department of Public Information
OPT: Protection of Civilians Weekly Reports, 14 – 20 July 2010
Relief Web 23 Jul 2010 – Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Tourists Now in Their Land of Birth
IPS Beyond the pernicious well-documented aspects of the Israeli Occupation, all sorts of niggling fragments of Israeli control over Palestinian life, and individual petty cases of nastiness leave new Israeli talk of “gestures” towards peace hollow.
Israel Gets Brutal With Media
IPS Palestinian activists are being jailed, Israeli activists are under surveillance, and the Israeli military is increasingly targeting journalists who cover West Bank protests.
Officers, leftists hurt during West Bank rally
YNet News – Border Guard officers, protestors lightly hurt in Umm Salamuna; Palestinians say….
Spanish activists sue Israeli leaders
YNet News – Passengers who were onboard Turkish-owned ship which attempted to reach Gaza….
Tal Brody named goodwill ambassador for Israel
YNet News – Former basketball player and Israel Prize laureate receives letter of….
Israel warns of N. Korea missile proliferation in Mideast
YNet News – Israel has told the UN Security Council’s North Korea sanctions panel that ballistic missile proliferation by Pyongyang is destabilizing the Middle East and urged …….
UN says aid to Gaza should be delivered by land
YNet News – The UN said Friday that groups seeking to deliver aid to Gaza should send it by land, after Israel said it would prevent two ships seeking to break a blockade of the …….
Ahmadinejad: Iran aims to put man in space by 2019
YNet News – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday that Iran would send its first manned shuttle into space by 2019, Iran’s English-language Press TV reported. In February …….
Turkish FM: Return of vessels by Israel basic step
YNet News – Israeli Ambassador to Turkey Gabby Levy is expected to inform the local authorities on Friday that Israel will return the Turkish boats which took part in a Gaza-bound …….
Barak: Lebanon must stop Gaza flotilla
YNet News – Israel has urged the Lebanese government to prevent the departure of a Gaza-bound ships from its territory. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Friday that according to …….
Israel: UN probe into flotilla raid pointless
YNet News – An official in Jerusalem said Friday that the UN Human Right Council’s decision to appoint a team of international experts to investigate the commando raid on a …….
Palestinian Information Center
Holocaustabation
PIC 23 Jul 2010 – Zionism is a poisoned political ideology and its brat child, Israel , is a stark expression of racism and criminality just as Nazism was more than six decades ago.
Jewish settlers set up new settlement outpost to the east of al-Khalil
PIC 23 Jul 2010 – A large number of Jewish settlers from settlements around the southern West Bank city of al-Khalil on Friday moved into the Boweerah neighborhood to the east of the city.
Jewish settlers burn and uproot trees belonging to Palestinians in the West Bank
PIC 23 Jul 2010 – A number of Jewish settlers on Thursday uprooted more than 50 olive trees near the village of Burin to the south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
Abbas: a decision on direct talks within a week
PIC 23 Jul 2010 – The de facto PA president, Mahmoud Abbas, said on Thursday that he will take a decision on whether or not to move to direct talks with the Israeli occupation within a week.
Gaza hospital suffers interruption in electricity supply
PIC 23 Jul 2010 – The electricity crisis resulting from the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip is effecting every aspect of life in the strip even hospitals are not immune to its detrimental effects.
IOA: security coordination with Abbas militias the best ever
PIC 23 Jul 2010 – Commanders of the Israeli occupation troops have hailed the militias of Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah for the security-coordination it make with the IOF troops..
The Islamic bloc wins elections of the engineering syndicate
PIC 23 Jul 2010 – The Freedom list of the Islamic bloc has won the elections of the Engineering syndicates in the Gaza Strip for another three years after all rival blocs decided to withdraw..
Haneyya: Occupation is our only enemy
PIC 23 Jul 2010 – Ismael Haneyya, the Palestinian prime minister, said on Thursday that the Israeli occupation is the only enemy for the Palestinian people, renewing his commitment to national reconciliation.
Askool: High school results of this year was unprecedented
PIC 23 Jul 2010 – Dr. Mohammed Askool, the Palestinian minister of education, said on Thursday that high school results of this year were unprecedented considering the unjust Israeli siege..
Activists: Shalit Law an attempt to legitimatize violation of prisoners’ rights
PIC 23 Jul 2010 – Human rights activist condemned the Israeli Shalit Law that the Israeli occupation authorities are planning to implement on Palestinian captives in Israeli occupation jails.
Lebanon braces for report on assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri
LA Times 24 Jul 2010 – A U.N. tribunal is expected to blame Hezbollah for the 2005 killing of the Sunni politician, stirring fears of sectarian clashes. The Shiite militia’s leader says the group was not involved. Reports that a U.N. tribunal will blame the Shiite Muslim militia Hezbollah for the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri have triggered fears of violence in this small, unstable country.
Israel Extends Negotiations on Conversion Law
New York Times 23 Jul 2010 – The prime minister delayed consideration of a proposal, assailed by American Jews, to restrict conversions.
Did State Department official get his Zionist swill about Lincoln from mytho-historian Michael Oren?
Mondoweiss – This is funny/tragic. I may not get the whole story here, but it’s the blogosphere, and sometimes you just have to lift a corner of the rock. A week ago Andrew J. Shapiro, an assistant secretary of State for political-military affairs, served up a warm bucket…
I worry about what Don Graham, EJ Dionne, and David Ignatius owe ’seminal’ Marty Peretz
Mondoweiss – Former deputy attorney general Jamie Gorelick took off a day from defending BP to send out this appeal for money for a Harvard fund in Marty Peretz’s name. Oh and other signatories are Don Graham of the Washington Post, Al Gore, and columnists David Ignatius and…
Aslan says 2-state solution is dead, and Indyk calls him a liar
Mondoweiss – “The future of relations with the Muslim world” was the UN-sponsored event hosted at the New York Times building in central Manhattan on 21 July. Filled with journalists from Egypt, China and Turkey and the foreign policy establishment, roughly 150 people came to hear Roger Cohen,…
By TNR’s lights, George W Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld are liberals too!
Mondoweiss – Says Adam Kirsch at the New Republic : The desire to defend and to extend American freedoms is what leads many Jews to be left-liberals; but it is only a different interpretation of what that same defense requires, and who freedom’s enemies really are, that leads some…
Ameer Makhoul’s day in court
Mondoweiss – I have known Ameer Makhoul since the day he came to my office at the Galilee Society to be interviewed for the position of director of our then new and ambitious project called ITTIJAH, the Arabic acronym for Union of Community-Based Arab Associations. I knew of…
World Champions Could Join Flotilla II
Al-Manar 23 Jul 2010 – European pro-Palestinian activists are reportedly asking internationally-renowned sports champions to join a potential Gaza-bound relief convoy. The European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza (ECESG) is seeking to ensure the attendance of Iker Casillas, Spanish goalkeeper who wrested the 2010 World Cup on the…
Israeli Occupation Army Killed 3 Palestinians in Two Days
Al-Manar 22 Jul 2010 – A Palestinian man was killed and a second injured by Israeli gunfire in the occupied West Bank on Thursday morning, Palestinian security officials said. They told Ma’an Agency that an Israeli occupation force opened fire on the two at 4:30 a.m. at the entrance of…
Peers question future of ME peace after visit to Jerusalem
Middle East Monitor 22 Jul 2010 – The delegation members who took part in MEMO’s fact finding mission to Occupied Jerusalem, the West Bank and Israel earlier this month held a press conference this morning to discuss their visit. Lord Nazir Ahmed, Lord Raymond Hylton and Baroness Jenny Tonge each focused on a…
Former Vice President of European Parliament Arrested in Bil’in
Joseph Dana 23 Jul 2010 – From The Popular Struggle Coordination Committee website: Israeli forces arrested Lusia Morgantini, the former Vice President of the European Parliament, and three others during the weekly anti-wall demonstration in the West Bank village of Bil’in earlier today. All were released once the soldiers realized who was…
Fencing in the Streets of Europe and Stone Throwing in the West Bank
Joseph Dana 22 Jul 2010 – During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, fencing was a popular past time in the central Europe. Early Zionist youth clubs such as Beitar participated in fencing events and based youth activities around the sport. Perhaps because of the popularity of fencing , street sword duals…
Criminalization of Popular Struggle Continued; Abdallah Abu Rahmah Sentenced
Sabr 23 Jul 2010 – From the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee. Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s first trial from 2005 had reached conclusion yesterday, with his sentencing to two months of imprisonment and a six months suspended sentence for participating and organizing demonstrations and for walking the streets of his village during a…
Israeli court rejects Raed Salah appeal
Sabr 23 Jul 2010 – Jerusalem – Ma’an – Israel’s High Court rejected a petition on Thursday appealing Raed Salah’s five month sentence for spitting on a border guard in 2007. The leader of the Islamic Movement in northern Israel will begin his sentence on Sunday. The incident occurred during a…
Group: Sick detainee refused treatment
Sabr 23 Jul 2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli authorities have refused to allow Jamal Abu Al-Hayaja, 51, visits from his daughter, Gaza’s prison committee reported Wednesday. Al-Hayaja, from Jenin, was sentenced to life imprisonment and has served eight years, four months of which was spent in solitary confinement. His…
Israel releases 3 detainees
Sabr 23 Jul 2010 – Bethlehem — Ma’an — Israeli authorities on Wednesday released three detainees who have completed their sentences. Foad Al-Khafsh of the Detainees Society said As-Sumu village mayor Musa Abu Al-Hadayel was released after spending 19 months in an Israeli prison. It was not clear why he was…
Spaniards file Israeli raid case
BBC 23 Jul 2010 – Three Spaniards arrested by Israel during a raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla are filing a court case against the Israeli prime minister.
Iran to put man in space by 2019
BBC 23 Jul 2010 – Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his country plans to send its first manned shuttle into space by 2019, state media says.
Articles
The Hariri Assassination
Rannie Amiri, CounterPunch 7/23/2010
Israel’s Fingerprints Surface
In the Middle East, the link between political machinations, espionage and assassination is either clear as day, or clear as mud.
As for the yet unsolved case of the February 2005 murder of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, mud might be giving way to daylight.
A crackdown on Israeli spy rings operating in Lebanon has resulted in more than 70 arrests over the past 18 months. Included among them are four high-ranking Lebanese Army and General Security officers—one having spied for the Mossad since 1984.
A significant breakthrough in the ongoing investigation occurred in late June and culminated in the arrest of Charbel Qazzi, head of transmission and broadcasting at Alfa, one of Lebanon’s two state-owned mobile service providers.
According to the Lebanese daily As-Safir, Qazzi confessed to installing computer programs and planting electronic chips in Alfa transmitters. These could then be used by Israeli intelligence to monitor communications, locate and target individuals for assassination, and potentially deploy viruses capable of erasing recorded information in the contact lines. Qazzi’s collaboration with Israel reportedly dates back 14 years.
On July 12, a second arrest at Alfa was made. Tarek al-Raba’a, an engineer and partner of Qazzi, was apprehended on charges of spying for Israel and compromising national security. A few days later, a third Alfa employee was similarly detained…. more.. e-mail
Rebuilding a demolished Palestinian home
Ellen Davidson, Ma’an News Agency 7/22/2010
Rubble covers the tile floor at the site of the demolished home we are beginning to rebuild in the East Jerusalem section of Anata, a Palestinian town divided between occupied “East” Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.
Activists from the United States, Britain, Germany and Iran, reinforced daily by local Palestinian and Israeli activists, have gathered here for the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions’ eighth annual summer rebuilding camp. They will spend two weeks rebuilding a Palestinian home that has been destroyed by Israeli authorities.
This year’s house, belonging to the Hamdan family, was first demolished in 2005. In 2007, ICAHD activists began rebuilding the home, but because it was located near a section of the separation wall under construction around Anata, battles of stone-throwing, tear gas, shooting and arrests erupted between the Palestinian residents resisting their virtual imprisonment behind 8 meter concrete blocks and the Israeli army and police.
Feeling endangered, ICAHD suspended the effort for an alternative site. In 2008, the ICAHD camp came back to the Hamdan home and completed its reconstruction. The house, however, was demolished again within a few months. Since our rebuilding constitutes political acts of resistance to occupation and not “humanitarian gestures,” we try to rebuild every home that is re-demolished.
As we cleared the rubble from the foundation this morning, I noticed the tile floor that remained underneath. I was struck by the fact that the tiles were the same pattern as those we used last summer, when I participated in the ICAHD effort to rebuild a house a short distance away…. — See also: Israeli Committee Agianst House Demolitions more.. e-mail
The chief rabbi owes Judge Goldstone an abject apology
Allistair Sparks, Business Day, South Africa 7/21/2010
AFTER carrying out its own investigation into last year’s Gaza War, the Israeli military has finally confirmed several of the most serious incidents committed by its troops in that 22-day assault, which a United Nations commission of inquiry, headed by our own Judge Richard Goldstone, reported on last September.
In a low-key report released two weeks ago that seems to have escaped the attention of the entire South African media, perhaps because of its preoccupation with the Fifa World Cup at the time, the military has confirmed that three of the most serious findings of Goldstone’s egregiously vilified report were true.
It has confirmed the fatal shooting by a marksman of an unarmed man (the Goldstone commission said a man and a woman were killed) walking with a group of Palestinians waving a white “surrender” flag; the shelling of a mosque during a prayer service, causing casualties among the worshippers; and the ordering of a criminal investigation into a fatal air strike on a house where about 100 members of an extended Palestinian family, the Samounis, were sheltering on the advice of the Israeli Defence Force.
The Samouni case caused particular outrage worldwide because Israeli forces prevented Palestinian paramedics from entering the house for days after the strike.
When Red Cross workers eventually got into the house, they found four emaciated Samouni children, who had been trapped there for days with their mothers’ corpses. In all, 30 Samounis died.
The Israeli military has also indicted a battalion commander for authorising Israeli troops to use a Palestinian man as a human shield when entering a Gaza house. more.. e-mail
International labor report’s omissions reveal pro-Israel bias
Electronic Intifada: 23 Jul 2010 – The International Trade Union Confederation’s annual survey released in June describes repression meted out to Palestinian workers and trade unionists by both the Israeli authorities and the Palestinian factions. But ITUC’s omissions and brevity both disguise the complexity of life for Palestinian workers, and reveal some of the union confederation’s own biases. Sarah Irving analyzes for The Electronic Intifada.more
Human Rights Watch flotilla stance mirrors that of US, Israel
Electronic Intifada: 23 Jul 2010 – Despite the alarms sounded by its most staunch critics, Human Rights Watch has been mostly silent on the horrific Gaza Freedom Flotilla attack. When they have spoken out, they have been notably timid, essentially sharing the same positions as the US government, Israel’s closest ally.more
Women prepared to break the siege of Gaza
Electronic Intifada: 23 Jul 2010 – BEIRUT (IPS) – The Maryam , an all-female Lebanese aid ship, currently docked in the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli, is getting ready to set sail for Gaza in the next few days. The ship, which aims to break Israel’s siege on the Palestinian territory, will carry about fifty aid workers, including some US nuns keen to deliver aid to the long-suffering women and children of Gaza.more
Haneen Zoabi: The largest threat to Zionism is democracy
Electronic Intifada: 22 Jul 2010 – Having been stripped of parliamentary privileges for participating in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, Haneen Zoabi describes the “fascist atmosphere” inside Israel. Max Blumenthal interviews for The Electronic Intifada.more
Writing the Last Chapter
Palestine Chronicle: 23 Jul 2010 – By Raid Khoury The plight of the Palestinian Arabs has been well documented and their cause kept alive by the indestructible spirit of this courageous and proud people. Those who were supposed to disappear from history refused to go away. They endured, struggled, and resisted all attempts to make permanent their dispossession and occupation. The story of Palestine and its people has been written, and narrated in many books, but Ramzy Baroud’s “ My Father was a freedom fighter ” is not just another book telling the story of Palestine as a sub-plot of 20th century political history, but a unique and necessary Palestinian-centered narrative. Most accounts of the Palestinian experience inevitably focus on the rise and fall of empires, international political intrigue, great power rivalry, and changing global political landscapes with the Palestinians appearing almost always as mere spectators at best, and sometimes a dispensable nuisance. Ramzy Baroud’s books…more
If Kosovo, Why Not Palestine?
Palestine Chronicle: 23 Jul 2010 – By John V. Whitbeck On July 22, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion on the following question posed to it by Serbia: “Is the unilateral declaration of independence by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo in accordance with international law?” By a 10-4 majority, the court ruled that, because “general international law contains no applicable prohibition of declarations of independence”, Kosovo’s declaration of independence in February 2008, coordinated with and supported by the American and most EU governments and subsequently recognized by 69 countries, “did not violate general international law.” The clear implication is that no declarations of independence violate international law and that all are therefore “legal”. Because the court’s majority chose to rephrase the question before the court (addressing violation of, rather than accordance with, international law in circumstances in which international law is silent) and to respond with wording which has permitted the…more
Madness of McCarthyism – A Primer for Israel
Palestine Chronicle: 23 Jul 2010 – By William A. Cook ‘We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men.’ — (Edward R. Murrow) The State of Israel has just passed a “loyalty oath” required of all prospective citizens living in Israel illegally to swear allegiance to a “Jewish democratic state.” Concurrently, “an academic backlash has erupted in Israel over proposed new laws, backed by the government of Binyamin Netanyahu, to criminalise a handful of Israeli professors who openly support a campaign against the continuing occupation of the West Bank.(Guardian 7/11/10). It would appear that Israel is in…more
‘This Time We Went Too Far’ — Book Review
Palestine Chronicle: 23 Jul 2010 – By Stuart Littlewood ‘This Time We Went Too Far’. By Norman Finkelstein. OR Books, 2010. Quite simply, this is a cracker of a book and very timely. In explaining how Israel’s war on Gaza in 2008/9 was not the defensive action it is always painted, Norman Finkelstein recalls the 1947 UN partition of historic Palestine and remembers how, in 1957, US President Eisenhower forced Israel to withdraw from Gaza by threatening sanctions and in the 1967 war Israel re-occupied it. The book then takes us through the warm-up for the 2008/9 war and the subsequent whitewash. In the three years following Israel’s withdrawal to Gaza’s perimeter in 2005, we are reminded that about 1,250 Gazans, including 222 children, were killed by the Israeli army while 11 Israelis were killed by Palestinian rocket fire. In January 2006 Hamas won the Palestinian elections fair and square, and the US and Israel reacted…more
The U.S. Plan to Get Back in Bed with Indonesia’s Kopassus Killers
Dissident Voice: 23 Jul 2010 – The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) condemns the Obama administration’s decision to resume engagement with Indonesia’s notorious Kopassus special forces. “Slipping back into bed with Kopassus is a betrayal of the brutal unit’s many victims in Timor-Leste, West Papua and throughout Indonesia. It will lead to more people to suffer abuses,” said John M. Miller, National Coordinator of ETAN. “Working with Kopassus, which remain unrepentant about its long history of terrorizing civilians , will undermine efforts to achieve justice and accountability for human rights crimes in Indonesia and Timor-Leste (East Timor).” “For years, the U.S. military provided training and other assistance to Kopassus, and when the U.S. was most involved Kopassus crimes were at their worst. While this assistance improved the Indonesian military’s deadly skills, it did nothing to improve its behavior,” Miller added. “Engagement with Kopassus would violate the Leahy Law, which prohibits military assistance to units with…more
Myth-Debunking Snopes Obscures Israel’s Role in 9/11
Dissident Voice: 23 Jul 2010 – Snopes.com , officially known as the Urban Legends Reference Pages, has since its humble inception in 1995 come to be regarded as one of the most trusted debunkers of conspiracy theories on the internet . Described by one of its many fans — it apparently has over 6 million visitors per month — as “the grand-daddy of all fact-checking sites,” Snopes is downright cavalier, however, in its attitude to facts surrounding Israel’s role in the 9/11 attacks. In its large section on urban legends relating to 9/11, Snopes purports to debunk a claim that “four thousand Israelis employed by companies housed in the World Trade Center stayed home from work on September 11, warned in advance of the impending attack on the World Trade Center.” A click on the link under “Israelis” brings the curious reader to an entry titled “ Absent without Leave ,” in which the “four thousand Israelis” have…more
Author Iain Banks joins boycott
Tales to Tell: 22 Jul 2010 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, , FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, ISM London are delighted to learn that the Gorillaz and the Klaxons have both cancelled upcoming shows in Israel, a move that Israeli broadsheet Haaretz links to Israel’s recent massacre aboard the Freedom Flotilla headed for Gaza. Read the rest of this post, ISM London , are delighted to learn that the Gorillaz and the Klaxons have both cancelled upcoming shows in Israel, a move that Israeli broadsheet Haaretz links to Israel’s recent massacre aboard the Freedom Flotilla headed for Gaza., Read the rest of this post more
Exclusive Intifada Interview with Archbishop Theodosios (Atallah) Hanna
Intifada-Palestine: 23 Jul 2010 – Intifada Exclusive Interview with his Eminence Archbishop Theodosios “Atallah Hanna” Archbishop of Sebastia Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Of Jerusalem “For those who use the Bible to support Israel need to differentiate between God promise and Balfour promise, because the occupation is the result of a promise given to the Israelis by Lord Balfour and not by God.” Archbishop Theodosios Elias Harb: Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Eli Wiesel has claimed in varies publications that Jews, Christians and Muslims are able to build their homes anywhere in Jerusalem and that only under Israeli sovereignty had freedom of worship for all religions been assured in the city. How do you respond to that? Archbishop Theodosios: The facts on the ground say exactly the opposite, more and more Muslims and Christians are having great difficulties in entering the city. We see thousands are denied the entry to their holiest sites. The Israelis authorities are…more
Israel’s Friends at Westminster Legislate to Protect Vilest Criminals
Intifada-Palestine: 23 Jul 2010 – wanted for war crimes? By Stuart Littlewood Israelis wanted for war crimes can sleep easier thanks to their friends and admirers in the British Establishment. Yes, our brand-new coalition government intends providing a safe haven for the vilest of criminals. When Israel’s ex-foreign minister Tzipi Livni, and other architects of the terror campaign against Palestinian civilians, recently cancelled trips to the UK for fear of being arrested under universal jurisdiction laws on charges of war crimes, it sparked a diplomatic row. Britain’s then foreign secretary-in-waiting, William Hague, an avid Friend of Israel since boyhood, said: “We cannot have a position where Israeli politicians feel they cannot visit this country. The situation is unsatisfactory [and] indefensible. It is absolutely my intention to act speedily.” He found it “completely unacceptable” that someone like Livni felt she could not visit the UK. He didn’t explain how welcoming Livni with open arms was possible…more
FRANKLIN LAMB: Anyone really serious about allowing Palestinians their civil rights?
MyCatBirdSeat.com: 23 Jul 2010 – “In Palestine our home was stolen and in Lebanon I cannot own one. Worse than this, it bothers me and my family that Zionists can now sell my land in Palestine to foreigners while as a Palestinian in Lebanon I cannot buy a temporary home” — Darwish [A school teacher in South Lebanon] Palestinians forced to flee their homes in — 1948 Shatila Palestinian Refugee Camp, Beirut “Some members of Parliament prefer that the camps explode and then they will insist that “Palestinian security problems must be resolved before Parliament can consider giving them civils rights”—meaning several more years of delay.That would be a disaster for all concerned.” — Ahmad’, Resident of Al-Buss refugee camp, Tyre, Lebanon Following some initiial optimism after MP Walid Jumblatt’s June 15 introduction of draft legislation that would exempt Palestinians from the Kafkaesque work permit process, grant them the right to own a home outside…more
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