News
Police: Israel detains man at border
7/25/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Palestinian Authority police said Sunday that a Palestinian resident of Tulkarem refugee camp was detained at the Allenby Bridge as he returned from Jordan over the weekend. Police said Muhammad Ahmad Issa, 50, was detained as he attempted to cross into the West Bank. A representative from Israel’s Port Authority did not immediately….
Egypt denies Gaza smugglers damaged border wall
7/25/2010 – Cairo – Ma’an – Egyptian government sources rebuffed rumors Sunday that Gaza smugglers had cut through an underground steel wall built to thwart the smuggling of goods into the besieged coastal enclave. Officials said the wall’s installation was ongoing and would be completed by the end of 2010 “on schedule,” and described security campaigns along the border….
Sheikh Raed Salah begins 5-month jail term
7/25/2010 – Bethlehem- Ma’an – A prominent Palestinian religious leader began a five-month jail sentence Sunday, after being convicted of assault for spitting on an Israeli border guard. An Israeli court in occupied East Jerusalem reduced Sheikh Raed Salah’s term from nine months on 13 July. A lawyer at the hearing described the ruling as “unprecedented.”The head….
Egypt police kill migrant near Israel border
7/25/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Egyptian police shot and killed a Sudanese migrant seeking to cross the border into Israel on Saturday, security sources told Reuters. A 23-year-old migrant was shot in the chest after he ignored orders to stop and fled toward the central Sinai peninsula, the sources added. The unidentified migrant’s body was taken….
Israel army fires tear gas at funeral
7/25/2010 – Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli forces raided a cemetery during a woman’s funeral procession north of the West Bank city of Hebron on Sunday. Soldiers chased the mourners into the cemetery in Beit Ummar and fired tear-gas canisters at them, Palestine Solidarity Project spokesman Muhammad Ayyad Awad said. An Israeli army spokeswoman said the soldiers fired in….
Israel: 4 projectiles fired from Gaza
7/25/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Israeli army said Saturday evening that four projectiles from Gaza landed in Israeli territory over the weekend. Israeli media reported that two homemade projectile landed in the coastal city of Asheklon on Saturday, causing no injuries or damage. Earlier, the Israeli news site Yedioth Ahronoth reported that a projectile landed in Nahal….
Israel partially opens 1 Gaza crossing
7/25/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli authorities are expected to temporarily open one Gaza crossing Sunday for the delivery of food and fuel, Palestinian crossings officials said. Liaison director Raed Fattouh said the Kerem Shalom terminal in southern Gaza would be open for the transfer of 144-155 truckloads of humanitarian aid and commercial merchandise. Limited quantities of….
Report: Shin Bet to summon in Arabic
7/25/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – The Israeli intelligence service Shin Bet will now serve Palestinians with summons orders in both Arabic and Hebrew, Israeli media reported Sunday. The change follows a summons for a 7-year-old child, which his parents did not understand was intended for another person as it was written in Hebrew, the Israeli daily….
Abbas: Israel renewing cycle of violence
7/25/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that Israel’s continued settlement building on what would become a future Palestinian state was impeding a two-state solution and renewing the cycle of violence. In his speech delivered at the summit of the African Union in Kampala, Abbas said Palestinians were clinging to peace “to build a better….
Report: Israel preps to face flotillas
7/25/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israel is preparing to face four Gaza-bound aid flotillas from Lebanon, Libya, Qatar and Oman, all of them organized by Islamic factions, the Hebrew-language daily Maariv reported Sunday. While the timing of the ships’ arrivals is unknown, Israel is on high alert to prevent another deadly confrontation in international waters, the newspaper reported….
Foreign volunteers clean up Jericho
7/25/2010 – Salfit – Ma’an – Volunteers from 10 countries rallied to clean streets and parks in the West Bank city of Jericho on Saturday. Coordinated by the Seeds of Hope group, 140 people helped prepare for celebrations of the 10,000th anniversary of the city’s founding.” We come to help people here and we are pleased to share,” a….
Abbas ’ready to meet’ if Israel agrees on borders
7/25/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – President Mahmoud Abbas says he is prepared to meet with Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu if Israel agrees to the establishment of a Palestinian state on lands occupied in 1967 and halts settlements. Abbas said Saturday evening that no progress was made toward resuming direct talks with Israel in spite of international pressure on….
Japan to continue support for Palestinian state
7/25/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Prime Minister Salam Fayyad met with the Japanese special envoy to the Middle East in Ramallah on Sunday to discuss Japan’s support for Palestinian state-building. The meeting followed up from President Mahmoud Abbas’ visit to Tokyo in February for the Japanese-Palestinian summit, a joint statement said. Both parties restated the importance of building….
US boat to join Gaza flotilla
7/25/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – A coalition of US organizations is raising funds to send an aid boat to break Israel’s four-year siege of Gaza. In a statement on its website, the group said its boat would set sail in September or October as part of a flotilla of ships from Europe, Canada, India, South Africa, and parts….
In photos: Abbas attends Friday prayers
7/25/2010 – MaanImages / Zahran Hammad, pool – President Mahmoud Abbas attends Friday prayers in the West Bank city of Ramallah on 23 July 2010….
PA minister: Pirate stations will be shut down
7/25/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an -Telecommunications minister Mashhur Abu Daqa said Sunday that his ministry would close down local radio and television stations operating without licenses. Abu Daqa said 30 of the 130 stations in the West Bank do not have licenses, and while some have responded to ministerial requests to amend this situation, others have failed to….
Bedouin groom killed by celebratory gunfire
7/25/2010 – Jerusalem – Ma’an – A Bedouin man died Saturday of wounds sustained at his own bachelor party, when guests opened celebratory gunfire in the air to mark the occasion. The 22-year-old groom sustained several gunshot wounds to his upper body at the bachelor party in the southern Negev town of Al-Kseifa and was evacuated to the Soroko….
Leaked Afghan war archive paints bleak picture
Palestine Note 25 Jul 2010 – New York – The internet transparency group Wikileaks released a trove of over 91,000 leaked government and military documents painting a bleak picture of the last six years of the US-led occupation of Afghanistan. US soldiers…
Is Facebook banning Palestinian-related pages?
Palestine Note 25 Jul 2010 – New York – Facebook was accused this weekend of banning at least two pages of Palestinian-related groups. The Turkish charity IHH (Humanitarian Relief Foundation) said in a statement on its website that the social networking site…
Palestinian bishop elected to top Lutheran church post
Palestine Note 25 Jul 2010 – New York – A Palestinian bishop from Jerusalem has been elected to lead the Lutheran World Federation . [Bishop Munib Younan. Photo: www.kirken.no] Bishop Munib Younan, 59, was chosed for the position by a vote of 300…
Bil’in teen taken in night raid faces jail term
Palestine Note 25 Jul 2010 – New York – Protest organizers in the West Bank village of Bil’in are appealing for funds to pay a 10,000 shekel (2,600 USD) bail for for a 17-year-old boy who was seized by the Israeli army…
Israel won’t comply with UN flotilla probe
Palestine Note 25 Jul 2010 – New York – Israel will announce this week that it will refuse to cooperate with a UN-mandated inquiry into its deadly May 31 attack on a convoy of ships carrying aid to Gaza, the Israeli newspaper…
Report: Hamas under Yassin would have cut deal with Israel
Palestine Note 25 Jul 2010 – New York – Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, the cofounder of the Hamas movement would have signed a peace treaty with Israel if it guaranteed the creation of a Palestinian state, his a former Israeli official told the…
Abbas says resisting ‘world pressure’ to start direct talks
Palestine Note 25 Jul 2010 – New York – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday he was resisting pressure from the “entire world” to enter direct negotiations with Israel. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks at the Brookings Institution in Washington in…
Israel jails Sheikh Raed Salah
Palestine Note 25 Jul 2010 – Palestinian-Israeli leader convicted over protest New York – Sheikh Raed Salah, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, began a five-month jail sentence on Sunday for the charge of spitting in the face of an…
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
Pollution prevents Jordan River baptisms
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jul 2010 – Officials consider erecting signs at Qasar al-Yahud saying: Polluted Waters. Entry Forbidden.
A different kind of love
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jul 2010 – Tu Be’av is more than Israel’s Valentine’s Day.
Israel signs agreement on Arrow 3
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jul 2010 – US to provide full funding for development, production of missile defense system.
‘US more likely to attack Iran’
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jul 2010 – Former CIA head Hayden says military action could be justifiable.
“Every Israeli teen must serve country”
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jul 2010 – IDF Chief Ashkenazi: Service mandatory in IDF or other organizations.
Turkey: Iran may talk with EU
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jul 2010 – Davutoglu says nuclear program could be discussed in early September.
Ramat Gan safari vaccinates its lion cubs
Ha’aretz – Most lions nowadays live in eastern and southern Africa; a growing decline in numbers over last two decades has placed importance on lion preservation.
Infant twins injured as multiple fires strike Jerusalem
Ha’aretz – Ten vehicles catch alight near Hadassah Hospital, as forest fire continues to rage near capitol’s Ein Karem neighborhood.
Netanyahu: We want to adopt migrant workers’ children, but retain Jewish majority
Ha’aretz – Cabinet to discuss legal status of migrant workers’ children; ‘Israel has no moral right to deport a single child,’ says Trade Minister Ben-Eliezer.
Mother of 3 slain children: I didn’t know I was giving them to a murderer
Ha’aretz – Itai Ben Dror told justices he killed his three children in order to ‘give them peace and quiet from their mother.’
‘Israel doesn’t have the moral right to deport a single child’
Ha’aretz – Cabinet set to discuss granting legal status to children of migrant workers.
Man suspected of killing his three children, attempting suicide in Netanya
Ha’aretz – Children’s aunt says authorities told the children’s mother she must let them visit their father, despite his history of mental instability.
IDF thwarts attempted West Bank shooting attack
Ha’aretz – Five Palestinians arrested with makeshift handguns, firebombs after IDF patrol noticed suspicious figures near Nablus.
U.S., Israel sign deal to tackle Iran long-range missiles
Ha’aretz – Defense Ministry says the Arrow III, which is still in development, could shoot down weapons of mass destruction outside the atmosphere.
French university cancels writer’s conference due to anti-Israel protest
Ha’aretz – Israeli author Esther Orner says she did not expect such a decision by the University of Provence Aix-Marseille.
U.S. strike on Iran likelier than ever, former CIA chief says
Ha’aretz – Michael Hayden says Iran intends to reach the point where it’s just below having a nuclear weapon, adding that such a step would be as destabilizing to the region as…
Israel allows expansion to Turkel Committee
25 Jul 2010 – Jerusalem, July 25, (Pal Telegraph) The Israeli government ratified today to expand the members of the interior “Turkel” Commission which is investigating the massacre of the fleet of freedom and its proceedings, by adding two additional members to the Committee, following a request made by the President Judge David Turkel. According to the Israeli Channel Ten, the Israeli Government…
Gazans protest against UNRWA in Gaza
25 Jul 2010 – Gaza, July 25, (Pal Telegraph) Dozens of Gazans who own the destroyed houses (By Israel during the war of cast lead against Gaza 2008-2009) and users of the services of the agency for refugees “UNRWA”, demonstrated today before the Agency’s headquarters in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in protest of the delays in reconstruction projects. The…
Firefighters put 24 fires down in Gaza
25 Jul 2010 – Gaza, July 25, (Pal Telegraph) According to the Directorate General of Civil Defense in Gaza today, that the crews of firefighters managed to put out 24 fires during the past week led to 7 cases of injuries. The report released by the Directorate General of Civil Defense revealed that 7 fires were caused by the negligence of the citizens, and…
Palestinian refugees in Brazil files a complaint
25 Jul 2010 – Brasilia, July 25, (Pal Telegraph) The Palestinian residents in Brazil complained about the handling of the Palestinian embassy with their demands and direct actions protesting the difficult living conditions. They accused -in a statement issued to the press- the Palestinian embassy in collusion with local authorities to break up a sit-in they started infront of the embassy by force without…
First corneal transplant surgery conducted in Gaza
25 Jul 2010 – Gaza, July 25, (Pal Telegraph) Eye Specialty Hospital of the Assembly of the public service in the Gaza Strip Conducted the first surgery of corneal transplant to a number of patients referred from the Department of Treatment Abroad, by the Ministry of Health. This is the first step of its kind in Gaza, it comes under the effective contribution to…
IOF raids Hebron, no arrests reported
25 Jul 2010 – Hebron, July 25, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli robust patrols of the army raided before dawn most of the neighborhoods, towns and villages in the governorate of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, without reported arrests. Security sources said that the Israeli occupation forces raided each of “Halhoul”, “Seir”, “Shyookh” and “Ithna” and a number of other villages and towns in Hebron,…
Sheikh Raed Salah is imprisoned ‘again’
25 Jul 2010 – Jerusalem, July 25, (Pal Telegraph) The Chairman of the Islamic movement in the occupied territories of 1948, Sheikh Raed Salah, started from today spending time in prison for five months, according to the decision of the Israeli Central Court in Jerusalem a few weeks ago after the rejection of his appeal, against the backdrop of the events of the Mughrabi…
Report: Israel preps to face flotillas
Uruknet July 25, 2010 – Israel is preparing to face four Gaza-bound aid flotillas from Lebanon, Libya, Qatar and Oman, all of them organized by Islamic factions, the Hebrew-language daily Maariv reported Sunday. While the timing of the ships’ arrivals is unknown, Israel is on high alert to prevent another deadly confrontation in international waters, the newspaper reported quoting unnamed…
Gazans Denied Medical Care under Siege
Uruknet July 25, 2010 – Two recent reports discuss it, a July Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHR-IL) one titled, “A Situation Report on Obstacles Facing Gaza Residents in Need of Medical Treatment,” and a June one titled, “Who Gets to Go,” jointly prepared by PHR-IL, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and the Adalah Legal Center for…
Spanish activists sue Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders
Uruknet July 24, 2010 – Three activists from Spain, who were on board the Freedom Flotilla, filed a lawsuit in Madrid against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders over the May 31 Freedom Flotilla massacre, which left dozens dead and wounded. The three claimants, two of whom are members of a solidarity foundation for Arab rights, and…
IFJ condemns Israeli assaults on journalists
Uruknet July 24, 2010 — The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) called on Israel to investigate acts of violence committed by its occupation forces in the West Bank during their attack last week against a group of Palestinian journalists who were covering demonstrations in the region for three worldwide news agencies. A statement issued by the federation’s headquarters in Brussels…
Liberating Voices: The Agony of the Jordan Valley
Uruknet July 24, 2010 – At 6 am on the 19th of July the Israeli Army, accompanied by 2 bulldozers arrived in the village of Al Farisiya and ordered the villagers to get out of their homes. Such demolitions are only one example of the destruction the Israeli Army has been inflicting this week across the West Bank. Nicky Elliott…
Israeli soldiers attack photographers covering West Bank demonstration
Uruknet July 24, 2010 – Israeli soldiers attacked a group of local photojournalists in the West Bank last week as they were covering demonstrations in the area for three international news agencies, according to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). IFJ has learnt that three photographers were attacked by soldiers on Saturday as they covered a demonstration taking place in…
Israel’s friends at Westminster legislate to protect vilest criminals
Uruknet July 24, 2010 – 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…
Suspect in murder of four Palestinians was Shin Bet agent
Uruknet July 24, 2010 – The arrest by the Israeli internal security service, the Shin Bet, of an Israeli Jew accused of killing at least four Palestinians has thrown a rare light on the secret police, including claims that it tried to enlist the accused to assassinate a Palestinian spiritual leader. Chaim Pearlman, who was arrested on July 13, has…
Anger Rises Over U.S. Tax Dollars for Settlements
Uruknet July 24, 2010 – Anger has arisen in Palestinian areas over reports that millions of tax-exempt dollars from the U.S. are being funneled towards Israel’s illegal settlement building in the Palestinian West Bank — in flagrant violation of international law. This is happening under the nose of the U.S. administration despite its claims of support for a two-state solution…
Palestine: The Forgotten Childhood
Uruknet July 24, 2010 – In 1991 Israel ratified The Convention of the Rights of a Child. The 54 articles of the Convention focus on the human rights of a child which include civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. Despite Israel’s ratification of the Convention, Palestinian children are still victims of human rights abuses in all of these categories….
Israeli policeman who shot suspected Palestinian car thief has sentence doubled
The National 25 Jul 2010 – A decision by Israel’s Supreme Court to double a 15-month jail term for the officer has provoked denunciations from police commanders and government officials.
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.
Japanese-Palestinian Meeting for Palestinian State
WAFA – RAMALLAH, July 25, 2010 (WAFA)- Special Envoy of the Government of Japan for the Middle East Yutaka Iimura, met today, Dr. Salam Fayyad, discussed Japan’s cooperation on Palestinian state-building.
Palestinian Center Wins Antonio Feltirnelli Prize
WAFA – GAZA, July 25, 2010 (WAFA)- Remedial Education Center get Antonio Feltirnelli Prize (2009) for “Remedial Center “ for its excellence in the field of moral and humanitarian work with
EUPOL COPPS’ Training on Forensics for High Judicial Council
WAFA – RAMALLAH, July 25, 2010 (WAFA)- EUPOL COPPS’ second seminar on the judicial evaluation of forensics evidence for Palestinian judges started today in Ramallah, under the auspices of the High Judicial
Distributed Dividends Exceeded $630 M during 2006-2010, PSE Says
WAFA – NABLUS, July 25, 2010 (WAFA)- CEO of the Palestine Securities Exchange (PSE), Ahmad Aweidah, announced towards the end of the period of general assembly’s meetings of publicly listed that the amount
Israel Rejects UN Plan to Probe Flotilla Raid
WAFA – WASHINGTON, July 25, 2010 (WAFA)- Israel has rejected a decision by the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate the Israeli raid on a Gaza aid flotilla two months ago. Commandos
Shin Bet Turns to Arabic after Inadvertently Summoning 7-year-old Palestinian
WAFA – TEL AVIV, July 25, 2010 (WAFA)- The Shin Bet summonses for questioning which Israel soldiers serve Palestinians will be written in Arabic in addition to Hebrew from now on, Amira Hass wrote in
Israel’s harassment of citizens could ignite uprising, warns Arab politician
The Guardian 25 Jul 2010 – • State playing with fire, says member of Knesset • Zoabi cites anti-democracy bills as ‘undermining’ Israel could ignite a third intifada if it continues to push its 1.2 million Arab citizens into a corner, claims…
Once Upon a Time, When Israel Was a Democracy
IPS Once upon a time, Israel for all its shortcomings, was regarded by much of the world as a true and vibrant democracy. Israelis themselves were never shy of parading their country as “the only democracy in the Middle East.”
PM: UN committee similar to Goldstone
YNet News – Netanyahu tells cabinet Jerusalem deliberating whether to cooperate with team….
World protests for release of Iranian woman
YNet News – (Video) Iran promises to reexamine death by stoning sentence handed to Sakineh….
Israel, US sign deal for Arrow 3 development
YNet News – After a successful conclusion to the testing of Iron Dome, Israel and the US signed an agreement Sunday on the development of the Arrow 3, a defense system that will be …….
Nasrallah ties Hariri murder probe to Mossad
YNet News – Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah reiterated claims against a UN investigation on the death of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, following …….
5 Palestinians arrested with weapons
YNet News – Five Palestinians were arrested Sunday evening in the West Bank when reserve soldiers found improvised weapons, two firebombs, and a knife in their possession. The …….
Turkey: Iran favors talks with EU after Ramadan
YNet News – Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Sunday that Iran had expressed willingness to have talks with the European Union about its nuclear program after the end …….
Palestinian Information Center
Nine prisoners suffer in solitary confinement in Ashkelon prison
PIC 25 Jul 2010 – Nine Palestinian prisoners have been removed from the outside world by the Ashkelon prison department and placed in inhumane conditions in complete isolation from the rest of the prison population.
Palestinian refugees in Gaza demand reconstruction of destroyed homes
PIC 25 Jul 2010 – Tens of Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip staged a sit-in demanding reconstruction of their destroyed homes in Rafah city south of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas municipality member tortured in Abbas’s jails
PIC 25 Jul 2010 – Sheikh Sameh Afane was subjected to cruel torture rounds at the hands of the preventive security apparatus to extract confessions that the Israeli occupation failed to secure, sources said.
Israelis demonstrate during cabinet meeting demanding exchange deal
PIC 25 Jul 2010 – Relatives of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit along with dozens of supporters demonstrated on Sunday in front of the Israeli council of ministers demanding expediting a prisoners’ exchange deal.
Mansi: Gaza Strip in need of more than 63,000 housing units
PIC 25 Jul 2010 – Dr. Yousef Mahmoud Al-Mansi revealed in a televised statement Sunday that the Gaza Strip is in dire need of more than 63,000 housing units, especially after the fierce Israeli war against the Strip.
Salah warns of Israeli intent to cause regional war to raze Aqsa Mosque
PIC 25 Jul 2010 – Sheikh Ra’ed Salah warned Sunday that Israel could trigger a regional war that would lead to a global war and use the situation in order to demolish the Aqsa Mosque.
Israel to boycott UN team sent to probe its brutal attack on Flotilla
PIC 25 Jul 2010 – Israel said it would not deal with the team of experts dispatched by the UN international council for human rights to investigate its deadly attack on the Freedom Flotilla aid convoy.
Ghoul asks Red Cross to end its silence on Israel’s violations against prisoners
PIC 25 Jul 2010 – Faraj Al-Ghoul deplored in a letter he handed to director of the Red Cross office in Gaza Stephane Beytrison the agency’s silence towards Israel’s violations against Palestinian prisoners.
Israel plans to build 200 settlement outposts in Sheikh Jarrah area
PIC 25 Jul 2010 – Palestinian sources revealed a new Israeli plan to build 200 settlement outposts in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem including the construction of new stories on a Palestinian house.
Child, foreign activists hurt in IOF quelling of peaceful march
PIC 25 Jul 2010 – Six civilians including a child and foreign activists were hurt on Saturday when Israeli occupation forces (IOF) violently dispersed a peaceful demonstration in Irak Burin village, Nablus district.
Israeli Scientists Develop a Super Wheat for Pasta
The Media Line 24 Jul 2010 – When pasta makers look for wheat, they may soon be looking to the Holy Land. A new type of wheat that is ideal for the making of pasta has been developed in Israel.The new wheat is…
Western Leaders Turn Up Pressure on ‘Abbas to go to Direct Talks
The Media Line 24 Jul 2010 – U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu are being backed-up by western leaders in their efforts to persuade Palestinian leader Mahmoud ‘Abbas to agree to direct negotiations with Israel. ‘Abbas’s phone was ringing…
U.N. Human Rights Council to Investigate Flotilla Affair; Israel Will Not Cooperate
The Media Line 24 Jul 2010 – The United Nations Human Rights Council is expected to announce this week that it will launch a formal investigation into the May 31 Gaza flotilla affair — an announcement that Hamas has already says it welcomes….
Wikileaks blows the cover off the war in Afghanistan
Mondoweiss – Whistleblowing in the age of the internet. From the Guardian : A huge cache of secret US military files today provides a devastating portrait of the failing war in Afghanistan, revealing how coalition forces have killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents, Taliban attacks have soared and…
Facebook prohibits the word ‘Palestinian’
Mondoweiss – The folks at Palestinian Refugee ResearchNet thought they’d create a Facebook page only to discover: Facebook blocks the term “Palestinian”! (H/t Jillian C York .) Are Palestinians the only group so blocked from making pages? Well, not really… after a little fiddling around, I discovered that al-Qaida…
Jacob Weisberg sees the power of BDS, and is scared
Mondoweiss – “Don’t boycott Israel,” says the headline in Newsweek . Jacob Weisberg, editor-in-chief at Slate and author of the piece calls a boycott a “repellent idea” with consequences that are “intrinsically vile.” But pointing out the “sheeplike, liberal opinion” of celebrities like Meg Ryan is unlikely to break…
Israeli BDS bill would turn opponents of the regime into enemies of the state
Mondoweiss – For many years now, Israel has boasted about being “the only democracy in the Middle East.” It has never been a democracy: it has systematically discriminated against its non-Jewish citizens (for example, it was only this week that Arab villages gained access to public transit), and…
Let the apologies to Goldstone begin
Mondoweiss – I missed this. After the Israelis came out with their lame investigation saying that they would indict several officers and soldiers in four cases arising from the Gaza conflict of ’08-’09, a fairminded South African columnist, Allister Sparks, published an important piece a few days ago,…
US Insists ‘No Change in PA Status’ Despite Flag Waving
Al-Manar 25 Jul 2010 – The United States insists that allowing the Palestinian Authority to fly its flag in Washington does not represent an upgrade in its diplomatic status. The PA said Friday that the American government is changing the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) mission’s designation from “mission” to “special delegation.”…
Four Gaza Rockets Hit Southern Occupied Territories
Al-Manar 25 Jul 2010 – Gaza-based resistance fighters fired four rockets into southern occupied territories over the weekend, an Israeli occupation military spokesman said on Sunday. None of them caused any casualties or damage, the spokesman said, adding that since the start of the year around 90 rockets or mortar…
Sheikh Raed Salah Jailed for Spitting at Israeli Occupation Policeman
Al-Manar 25 Jul 2010 – Three and a half years after he spat in the face of an Israeli occupation police officer, head of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement Sheikh Raed Salah reported on Sunday to Ayalon Prison, where he will serve a five-month sentence. Sheikh Salah was…
Seventeen Year Old Child Taken in Night Raid on Bi’ilin Now Facing Jail Time
Joseph Dana 25 Jul 2010 – From Iyan Burnat of the Bi’ilin Popular Struggle Committee: Bil’in was subjected to yet another Israeli Occupation Forces night raid when an unusually heavy number of Israeli soldiers entered the outskirts of the village to arrest a local youth; 17 year old Ahmad Abed Al-Fatah Burnat…
Israel Continues to Violently Repress Unarmed Demonstrations Against the Occupation
Joseph Dana 25 Jul 2010 – This past weekend, just like the past weekends of recent years gone by, various unarmed demonstrations against the occupation took place throughout the West Bank. Palestinians joined by Israelis and International supporters held demonstrations in Wad Rahel, Masara, Nabi Salih, Ni’ilin, Bi’ilin, Hebron, Beit Umar and…
Palestinian Children in West Bank Summer Camp: “Break the Silence, Break the Siege”
Joseph Dana 24 Jul 2010 – This afternoon, I visited a Palestinian summer camp in the southern West Bank city of Beit Umar . The camp is named “The Freedom Flotilla Camp” and contains roughly one hundred youth aged 12 to 17 years old from the city. In addition to normal summer camp…
Nine prisoners suffer in solitary confinement in Ashkelon prison
Sabr 25 Jul 2010 – [ 25/07/2010 – 06:38 PM ] NABLUS, ( PIC )— Nine Palestinian prisoners have been removed from the outside world by the Ashkelon prison department and placed in inhumane conditions in complete isolation from the rest of the prison population, the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) said. The society…
Ghoul asks Red Cross to end its silence on Israel’s violations against prisoners
Sabr 25 Jul 2010 – [ 25/07/2010 – 04:14 PM ] GAZA, ( PIC )— Palestinian minister of prisoners’ affairs Faraj Al-Ghoul deplored in a letter he handed to director of the Red Cross office in Gaza Stephane Beytrison the international agency’s silence towards Israel’s violations against the Palestinian prisoners in its jails….
Sheikh Raed Salah begins 5-month jail term
Sabr 25 Jul 2010 – Bethlehem- Ma’an – A prominent Palestinian religious leader began a five-month jail sentence Sunday, after being convicted of assault for spitting on an Israeli border guard. An Israeli court in occupied East Jerusalem reduced Sheikh Raed Salah’s term from nine months on 13 July. A lawyer…
Iran warns EU against sanctions
BBC 25 Jul 2010 – Iran’s president warns the EU against imposing sanctions, saying his country would cause it to “regret” the move.
Israeli-Arab activist is jailed
BBC 25 Jul 2010 – An Israeli-Arab leader begins a five-month jail sentence for spitting at a policeman during a protest in Jerusalem more than three years ago.
Saying goodbye?
BBC 24 Jul 2010 – Russia shifting relationship with Iran over the nuclear issue
Course of history
BBC 24 Jul 2010 – How golf epitomises the diverse fortunes of Iran and Egypt
(en) Spain, Barcelona: CNT Occupies the Health Department to Protest the Dismissal of 107 workers in the 061 service (ca)
A-infos 25 Jul 2010 – As part of the campaign for the reinstatement of 107 Catalan 061* service workers fired in March, a couple dozen activists from the CNT occupied the headquarters of the Department of Health on the afternoon of July 23 to demand a meeting with the System of…
Articles
VIDEO – Israel: Strategic Asset or Liability?
Pulse7/25/2010
The following is a transcript of Ambassador Chas Freeman, Jr.‘s remarks, which begin around 17:00 in the video.
Is Israel a strategic asset or liability for the United States? Interesting question. In my view, there are many reasons for Americans to wish the Jewish state well. Under current circumstances, strategic advantage for the United States is not one of them. If we were to reverse the question, however, and to ask whether the United States is a strategic asset or liability for Israel, there would be no doubt about the answer.
American taxpayers fund between 20 and 25 percent of Israel’s defense budget (depending on how you calculate this). Twenty-six percent of the $3 billion in military aid we grant to the Jewish state each year is spent in Israel on Israeli defense products. Uniquely, Israeli companies are treated like American companies for purposes of U.S. defense procurement. Thanks to congressional earmarks, we also often pay half the costs of special Israeli research and development projects, even when — as in the case of defense against very short-range unguided missiles — the technology being developed is essentially irrelevant to our own military requirements. In short, in many ways, American taxpayers fund jobs in Israel’s military industries that could have gone to our own workers and companies. Meanwhile, Israel gets pretty much whatever it wants in terms of our top-of-the-line weapons systems, and we pick up the tab.
Identifiable U.S. government subsidies to Israel total over $140 billion since 1949. This makes Israel by far the largest recipient of American giveaways since World War II. The total would be much higher if aid to Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and support for Palestinians in refugee camps and the occupied territories were included. These programs have complex purposes but are justified in large measure in terms of their contribution to the security of the Jewish state. more.. e-mail
Sayanim — Israeli Operatives in the U.S.
Jeff Gates, Veterans Today7/19/2010
Americans know that something fundamental is amiss. They sense—rightly—that they are being misled no matter which political party does the leading.
A long misinformed public lacks the tools to grasp how they are being deceived. Without those tools, Americans will continue to be frustrated at being played for the fool.
When the “con” is clearly seen, “the mark” (that’s us) will see that all roads lead to the same duplicitous source: Israel and its operatives. The secret to Israel’s force-multiplier in the U.S. is its use of agents, assets and sayanim (Hebrew for volunteers).
When Israeli-American Jonathan Pollard was arrested for spying in 1986, Tel Aviv assured us that he was not an Israeli agent but part of a “rogue” operation. That was a lie.
Only 12 years later did Tel Aviv concede that he was an Israeli spy the entire time he was stealing U.S. military secrets. That espionage—by a purported ally—damaged our national security more than any operation in U.S. history.
In short, Israel played us for the fool.
From 1981-1985, this U.S. Navy intelligence analyst provided Israel with 360 cubic feet of classified military documents on Soviet arms shipments, Pakistani nuclear weapons, Libyan air defense systems and other intelligence sought by Tel Aviv to advance its geopolitical agenda.
Agents differ from assets and sayanim…. more.. e-mail
Sarkozy Accused of Working for Israeli Intelligence
Gamal Nkrumah, Centre for Research on Globalization – Middle East7/21/2010
Sarkozy’s bad week
As if his marital challenges were not enough cause for concern, “Sarco the Sayan” has suddenly emerged as the most infamous accolade of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The influential French daily Le Figaro last week revealed that the French leader once worked for — and perhaps still does, it hinted — Israeli intelligence as a sayan (Hebrew for helper), one of the thousands of Jewish citizens of countries other than Israel who cooperate with the katsas (Mossad case-officers).
A letter dispatched to French police officials late last winter — long before the presidential election but somehow kept secret — revealed that Sarkozy was recruited as an Israeli spy. The French police is currently investigating documents concerning Sarkozy’s alleged espionage activities on behalf of Mossad, which Le Figaro claims dated as far back as 1983. According to the author of the message, in 1978, Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin ordered the infiltration of the French ruling Gaullist Party, Union pour un Mouvement Populaire. Originally targeted were Patrick Balkany, Patrick Devedjian and Pierre Lellouche. In 1983, they recruited the “young and promising” Sarkozy, the “fourth man”.
Ex-Mossad agent Victor Ostrovsky describes how sayanim function in By Way Of Deception: The Making and Unmaking of a Mossad Officer. They are usually reached through relatives in Israel. An Israeli with a relative in France, for instance, might be asked to draft a letter saying the person bearing the letter represents an organisation whose main goal is to help save Jewish people in the Diaspora. Could the French relative help in any way? They perform many different roles. A car sayan, for example, running a rental car agency, could help the Mossad rent a car without having to complete the usual documentation. An apartment sayan would find accommodation without raising suspicions, a bank sayan could fund someone in the middle of the night if needs be, a doctor sayan would treat a bullet wound without reporting it to the police. more.. e-mail
Israel’s Right Discovers the One-State Solution
Palestine Chronicle: 25 Jul 2010 – By Uri Avnery — Israel Since I witnessed the rise of the Nazis during my childhood in Germany, my nose always tickles when it smells something fascist, even when the odor is still faint. When the debate about the “one-state solution” began, my nose tickled. Have you gone mad, I told my nose, this time you are dead wrong. This is a plan of the Left. It is being put forward by leftists of undoubted credentials, the greatest idealists in Israel and abroad, even certified Marxists. But my nose insisted. It continued to tickle. Now it appears that the nose was right, after all. This is not the first time that a kosher leftist plan leads towards extreme rightist consequences. That happened, for example, to the ugliest symbol of the occupation: the separation wall. It was invented by the Left. When attacks multiplied, leftist politicians, headed by Haim Ramon, offered…more
Israel’s Friends at Westminster: Protecting Vilest Criminals
Palestine Chronicle: 25 Jul 2010 – By Stuart Littlewood — London 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 “without weakening…more
Mishaal explains Hamas’s strategy in dealing with the Israeli occupation
MyCatBirdSeat.com: 25 Jul 2010 – Palestine Information Center — 22/07/2010 Hamas Chief – Khaled Mishaal DAMASCUS: Khaled Mishaal, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, has explained Wednesday that his Movement follows firm and well-studied strategies in dealing with the Israeli occupation, the internal Palestinian social fabric, and the international community. In an interview with the Jordanian Al-Sabeel newspaper, Mishaal said that his Movement doesn’t reject negotiations with the enemy as an option but he explained that the Israeli occupation is an extraordinary condition being a foreign body implanted in Palestine uprooting millions of Palestinian people out of their homes at gunpoint. Such a situation made negotiation with the Israeli occupation as the only option something unacceptable because it was proven that negotiations without having force to back your stand is a waste of time, he elaborated. “The Palestinian negotiator now is negotiating with the Israelis, coordinating with them in terms of security, and giving them…more
The arrogance of power
MyCatBirdSeat.com: 25 Jul 2010 – By Paul Balles W hen the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, ending the cold war, America breathed a sigh of relief. A problem that should have been addressed at that point was neglected. The question that should have dominated American thinking: Do we really need to maintain the many US military bases abroad? Twelve years after the Soviet collapse, America reportedly had 702 overseas military bases in about 130 countries and another 6,000 bases in the United States and its territories. That report failed to include a number of so-called secret bases and bases in the Middle East. As military historian Chalmers Johnston observed, “…the United States dominates the world through its military power. Due to government secrecy, our citizens are often ignorant of the fact that our garrisons encircle the planet. This vast network of American bases on every continent except Antarctica actually constitutes a new form of empire….”…more
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The New Dark Age 
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