27 July, 2010 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Israel destroys Bedouin village
IMEMC – 27 Jul 2010 – Tuesday July 27, 2010 – 16:55, 1300 police officers and security personnel guarded the area as bulldozers demolished a Bedouin village near Rahat.
U.S. To Abbas: Go to direct talks to stop home demolitions and freeze settlements
IMEMC – 27 Jul 2010 – Tuesday July 27, 2010 – 16:51, An Internal Palestinian memo issued by the Negotiation department of the Palestinian Liberation Organization warned the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of rescinding his preconditions to direct talks with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamine Netanyahu as political suicide, Palestinian media sources reported.
British PM Cameron criticizes Gaza Flotilla attack
IMEMC – 27 Jul 2010 – Tuesday July 27, 2010 – 16:07, While visiting Turkey, Cameron blasts the Gaza raid while maintaining Israel’s right to its internal inquiry.
France ups ties with Palestinians
IMEMC – 27 Jul 2010 – Tuesday July 27, 2010 – 14:27, France has upgraded its diplomatic ties with the Palestinian Authority
Settlers continue their violent outburst over demolition of illegal homes
IMEMC – 27 Jul 2010 – Tuesday July 27, 2010 – 11:06, Disturbances continued into Monday night with settlers blocking intersections and invading a Palestinian village
Israel razes Bedouin village, 300 residents evicted
7/27/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli police began evicting and demolishing homes Tuesday morning in a so-called unrecognized Bedouin village in southern Israel, local committees and Israeli activists said. All 40 homes in the Al-Araqib village were destroyed and 300 residents were evicted during the raid which began at 4:30 a. m. Approximately 1,500 police officers participated…. Related: Hamas condemns demolition of Bedouin homes
North remains target for settler violence
7/27/2010 – Nablus – Ma’an – Israeli forces entered the northern West Bank village of Beit Furik Monday night, residents reported, and sealed off a military checkpoint at its main entrance. Witnesses said troops patrolling the village after the checkpoint was closed opened random fire. An Israeli military spokesman said he was looking into the report. Beit Furik is….
British PM compares Gaza to ’a prison camp’
7/27/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday likened the experience of Palestinians under Israel’s blockade of Gaza to a prison camp, the British daily The Guardian reported.”The situation in Gaza has to change,” the London-based newspaper quoted Cameron as saying.”Humanitarian goods and people must flow in both directions. Gaza cannot and….
Police release rabbi accused of incitement
7/27/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli police released a settlement rabbi hours after he was detained on suspicion of incitement to violence against non-Jews, Israeli media reported. Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, who lives in the illegal Yizhar settlement in Nablus, was arrested on Monday and taken for questioning over his book The King’s Torah, where he writes that “There’s….
Fatah official: PA to disband government
7/27/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Ramallah-based government led by premier Salam Fayyad will be disbanded and a new Palestinian Authority cabinet will be formed next week, a high-ranking Fatah official said Tuesday. Fatah’s parliament speaker Azzam Al-Ahmad told Ma’an radio that President Abbas would consult with Palestinian factions over the new structure of the PA. Fayyad or….
Businessman detained in Tulkarem
7/27/2010 – Tulkarem – Ma’an – An Israeli raid on the Tulkarem area Tuesday morning saw three residents detained including a prominent businessman, security officials told Ma’an. An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed only one of the detentions, saying a wanted Palestinian was arrested by military officials, but the target of the arrest was not identified. Palestinian security sources said….
Son of PA official detained while father abroad
7/27/2010 – Qalqiliya – Ma’an – Israeli forces raided the house of the Ministry of Civil Affairs Undersecretary Ma’rouf Zahran in Qalqiliya on Monday morning, detaining his 18-year-old son, family members said. The undersecretary was not at home during the raid and remains abroad on an official visit to Turkey. Two of his children and sister were in….
Life on hold as construction material restricted into Gaza
7/27/2010 – Part IV: Narratives Under Siege – Beit Lahia, Palestine‚ÄîSalah Jalal Abu Leila lives in a crowded tent with his family of twelve beside a dusty main street in the Northern Gaza town of Beit Lahia; they have been living here for more than a year: “Our home was completely destroyed in the war. I worked…. Related: Source: PCHR
Gaza to green light Israeli cargo trucks
7/27/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – The Hamas-led Transport Ministry in Gaza announced Tuesday that it would begin allowing merchants to purchase cargo trucks from Israel. Director of the ministry’s Vehicle Engineering Department Hassan Ukasha said the decision came after several trucks were damaged during Operation Cast Lead between December 2008 and January 2009 had yet to be replaced….
Group slams ’discriminatory’ PA passport policy
7/27/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Palestinian Center for Human rights denounced Tuesday what it described as a policy of discrimination by the Palestinian Authority’s Interior Ministry in the issuance of passports to Gaza residents. A statement said the center approached the Interior Ministry in Ramallah with a list of seven Palestinians who said their application had been…. Related: Source: PCHR
Netanyahu makes surprise visit to Jordan
7/27/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a previously unannounced visit to Jordan on Tuesday, meeting with his country’s ally King Abdullah II, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said. A three-hour meeting focused largely on negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, the ministry said in a statement. Netanyahu said Abdullah’s leadership was important for advancing….
Hamas condemns demolition of Bedouin homes
7/27/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Hamas condemned the demolition of 40 Bedouin homes by Israeli forces hours after the demolitions were reported Tuesday morning, calling for an international stand against a “policy of rights violations.” Hamas spokesman for the northern Gaza Strip Abdul Latif Al-Qanoua said the demolitions, targeting a community near Rahat in southern Israel, 30 kilometers…. Related: Israel razes Bedouin village, 300 residents evicted
Mother of long-term detainee dies
7/27/2010 – Jerusalem – Ma’an – Intisar Al-Bazyan, 72, the mother of detainee Ala Ad-Din Al-Bazyan, who is sentenced to life, has died. Relatives and dignitaries will attend her burial Tuesday after prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, our correspondent reported….
Gaza society hosts camp for disabled children
7/27/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – A summer camp for disabled children launched Tuesday in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. The camp, One Nation, One People, hosted 130 children. It was organized by the Friends Society in coordination with Medical Aid for Palestinians. Rafah Mayor Issa Al-Nasharwho, who attended the launch, praised the programs. Society director Mahmoud….
Israel: No survivors at crash site, search continues
7/27/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli search and rescue crews in Romania began searching the site of a helicopter crash that presumably killed six Israeli soldiers and one Romanian, the military said Tuesday. No survivors were located, but search efforts are ongoing, the army said in a statement. Earlier, the military released the names of six men believed….
7 confirmed dead in Israeli copter crash
7/27/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Israeli army said Tuesday it received confirmation of seven deaths at the site of a helicopter crash in Romania. One is a Romanian national. The CH-53 helicopter crashed during a joint-military exercise on Monday, officials said. An Israeli delegation arrived in Romania to verify the information, the army said in a….
Viable Palestinian state by 2012 – Bernard Kouchner
7/27/2010 – Bernard Kouchner, French minister of foreign and European affairs: A little less than three years after the International Donors’ Conference for the Palestinian State, held in Paris on 17 December 2007, the Palestinians – despite numerous constraints and the absence, at this stage, of a political agreement – are laying the groundwork for their State under the….
King Abdullah to carpet Al-Aqsa for Ramadan
7/27/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – King Abdullah of Jordan has informed the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs that he would furnish East Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque with new carpets on the occasion of Ramadan. Jordan’s Petra newspaper reported that “His Majesty will furnish the Al-Aqsa mosque as a Hashemite support initiative” for the ancient structure, adding….
Source: Egypt will allow Iran delegation into Gaza
7/27/2010 – El-Arish – Ma’an – An Iranian delegation is scheduled to arrive in the Gaza Strip in the coming days via the Rafah crossing, an Egyptian security source told Ma’an on Tuesday. The official said Egyptian authorities have received more than one request to enter Gaza from Iranian delegations seeking to deliver humanitarian aid to the Strip’s population….
Fatah lawmakers to assess rumored cabinet shuffle
7/27/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – Palestinian lawmakers affiliated to Fatah are scheduled to hold a meeting Tuesday in Ramallah in the central West Bank to discuss the expected PA government’s reshuffle and other developments. Azzam Al-Ahmad, speaker of the Fatah bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council, will head the meeting which all Fatah lawmakers based in the West….
Hamas to recruit voluntary military service
7/27/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – The Gaza government will begin taking recruits for an internal, voluntary military service in the coming months, the Strip’s interior minister announced Tuesday. Fathi Hammad, speaking at a ceremony inaugurating the new office of the director general for police training, said the recruitment process would be governed by an appointed committee that was….
Fires reported across West Bank
7/27/2010 – Qalqiliya – Ma’an – Palestinian Authority civil defense crews controlled several fires across the West Bank on Tuesday, a report read. Firefighters were deployed at the site of a fire on a 15-dunum olive grove in the Jayyous village near Qalqiliya as well as fires on farmland in Rafat in Salfit and in Beit Fajjar in….
Israel’s secret police exposed
Palestine Note 27 Jul 2010 – Settlers wage vendetta on Shin Bet The arrest by Israel’s 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,…
Kosovo and Palestine
Palestine Note 27 Jul 2010 – Declaring Independence Without Permission Last week, on July 22 nd , the International Court of Justice in the Hague issued an advisory opinion regarding Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia . According to the opinion issued by…
Good news is hard to come by
Palestine Note 27 Jul 2010 – Positive stories from the region are few and far between but they do exist and they do inspire some hope. Palestinians and Israelis spend a lot of time blaming each other. Sometimes, we can’t even remember…
Mubarak, Peres to discuss settlement freeze in Cairo
Palestine Note 27 Jul 2010 – Washington — Israeli President Shimon Peres will travel to Cairo next week to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who is expected to press Peres to extend the settlement freeze, Ynet News reported Tuesday. Shimon Peres…
PA to reshuffle West Bank government
Palestine Note 27 Jul 2010 – Washington — The Palestinian Authority (PA) will reshuffle its ranks next week, Fatah’s parliament speaker Azzam Al-Ahmad told Ma’an News Agency Tuesday. PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad (right) will most likely lead plans to reform the…
‘They want Hamas to fail’
Palestine Note 27 Jul 2010 – Exclusive interview with Gaza gov’t deputy FM Ahmed Yousef Hamas is prepared to accept a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 border but is wary of entering a peace process with an Israeli government they distrust, said…
The profitable side of siege
Palestine Note 27 Jul 2010 – Washington – Israel’s siege of Gaza has been characterized by words like “humanitarian crisis” and “prison camp,” but “profitable” usually is not among them. Gaza tunnel worker [Zoriah – Flickr] Israel imposed the siege on Gaza…
Analysis: Israel’s isolation increases over energy finds
Palestine Note 27 Jul 2010 – Washington — A commercially viable oil field has been discovered in central Israel, Haaretz reported last week. The strike was made by Givat Olam Oil Ltd Company in its “Megev Five” drill near the town of…
Hamas allows trade of Israeli cargo trucks
Palestine Note 27 Jul 2010 – Washington — Hamas’ Transport Ministry in the Gaza Strip has approved the purchase of Israeli cargo trucks. Ma’an News agency reported Turesday: Director of the ministry’s Vehicle Engineering Department Hassan Ukasha said the decision came after…
B’Tselem is the test of Israel’s democracy, says director
Palestine Note 27 Jul 2010 – By Sarah Harlan Washington – Jessica Montell, the director of Israeli human rights group B’Tselem spoke at the New America Foundation in Washington on Monday about the impact of settlements on the West Bank, the implications…
Netanyahu, Abdullah II talk peace in Amman
Palestine Note 27 Jul 2010 – Washington — Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu traveled Tuesday to Amman to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and discussed paths to regional peace, Ynet News reported . “The two leaders discussed the need to hold direct,…
French FM: Viable Palestinian state by 2012
Palestine Note 27 Jul 2010 – Washington — In a letter to Ma’an News Agency Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner throws full French support behind Palestinian state-building and pledges to work for a viable Palestinian state by 2012. Kouchner writes: [T]he…
British PM David Cameron: Gaza is a prison camp
Palestine Note 27 Jul 2010 – New York – British Prime Minister David Cameron said Tuesday that Israel’s blockade has made the Gaza Strip a “prison camp.” David Cameron speaking at the Conservative Middle East Council annual Gala Dinner on 10 June…
Hamas interior minister considers military draft
Palestine Note 27 Jul 2010 – Washington — Hamas’ top security official said Tuesday he is considering expanding the size of Hamas security forces, and conscription is not out of the question, The Associated Press reported . Interior Minister Fathi Hamad hinted at…
Report: Turkey wants to stop Lebanese flotilla
Palestine Note 27 Jul 2010 – Washington – Israeli officials were quoted in Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth Tuesday that Turkey is working to keep a Lebanese aid convoy from attempting it sail to Gaza. The MV Rachel Corrie (above) was one of…
Israel destroys entire bedouin village
Palestine Note 27 Jul 2010 – Community of 300 made homeless New York – At least 1,300 Israeli riot police surrounded the Bedouin town of Al-Arakib before government bulldozers razed the community housing 300 people to the ground. At least one Bedouin…
Egypt police trial adjourned
AlJazeera 27 Jul 2010 – Officers accused of viciously beating a young man to stay in custody until case resumes.
Israel demolishes Bedouin village
AlJazeera 27 Jul 2010 – About 300 residents of a village in the Negev desert have lost homes and possessions.
Cameron urges lifting of Gaza seige
AlJazeera 27 Jul 2010 – British prime minister slams current state of Palestinian enclave as a “prison camp”.
Russia slams EU sanctions on Iran
AlJazeera 27 Jul 2010 – Moscow says EU sanctions on Iran show a disregard for the UN Security Council.
Bedouin village razed by Israel Land Administration
PNN – Today Israel destroyed another Bedouin village in the Negev. 45 structures, housing around 300 people, were demolished in a village unrecognised by Israel. The residents of al-Arakib were joined in their protest…
US Gives Palestine An Ultimatum
PNN – Bethlehem-PNN-US will only support Palestine if Palestinian leaders negotiate directly with Israel. Barack Obama will only guarantee American support for a Palestinian state if Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas agrees to talk…
Settlers cause mayhem in the West Bank
PNN – West Bank – PNN – 11 intersections of roads across the West bank were blocked yesterday when Israeli settlers, angered by the building freeze in the West Bank, protested against the demolition…
Army Officers Relocate To Negev With Israeli Support
PNN – Bethlehem-PNN-Israel plans to relocate army bases from central Israel to Negev and will compensate army officers who follow. The Israeli government announced yesterday that it will provide housing assistance for army officers…
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
LGBT leaders hope for peaceful parade tomorrow
Jeruslalem Post 28 Jul 2010 – Despite scattered threats of protests from a handful of religious activists, organizers of this year’s Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem are cautiously optimistic.
New office begins investigating lost property of ME Jews
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jul 2010 – Pensioners Ministry: Jewish property in Arab countries valued in billions, and is worth 50% more than the property of Palestinian refugees.
‘Suspend J’lem rabbis selection process’
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jul 2010 – Mayor demands appointment c’tee follow ‚Äòclean and galitarian’ procedures.
IDF begins complex task of recovering the dead
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jul 2010 – Rescue and forensic teams heading out to Carpathian Mountains helicopter crash site; Black box found, may provide vital information on cause of Monday’s tragedy.
Grapevine: A different kind of facebook
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jul 2010 – The renewed Israel Museum campus opens, L’Oreal Israel science scholarships are awarded and the 97th anniversary of Begin’s birth is marked.
Analysis: At the scene of the crash
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jul 2010 – There is a lot of respect for the IDF in Romania.
PM pays surprise visit to Jordan
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jul 2010 – Netanyahu, King Abdullah discuss direct talks in Amman.
Egypt’s Election Flurry Intensifies
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jul 2010 – Posters of President Hosni Mubarak’s son have emerged on Cairo streets.
‘Hamas considering a draft in Gaza’
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jul 2010 – Group official says recruitment would be voluntary at first.
International Solidarity Movement
Ahmad Burnat needs your support to get out of prison
7/27/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – Popular Struggle – Dear friend, At 1:30 in the morning on July 19th armed Israeli soldiers drove into our village, Bil’in, under the cover of the pitch black night, and raided the house of my friend and well known activist Wajeeh Burnat, who was featured in the documentary Bil’in Habibti. This time, the raid was….
Settlers riot in Burin, shooting and setting fire to olive trees
7/27/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – At 11:30 yesterday, 26th July 2010, settlers from the Berakha Shomronim settlement began shooting at Palestinians in the village of Burin and setting fire to crops on their land. Trouble flared when Israeli authorities ordered the demolition of a structure in an illegal settler outpost because of the freeze on settlement construction. Israeli police….
Settlers block West Bank roads to protest construction freeze
Ha’aretz – Settlers blockaded 11 intersections across the West Bank on Monday evening in response to the home demolition on Monday at the Givat Ronen outpost.
Netanyahu, Abdullah meet in Amman after year-long rift
Ha’aretz – Prime Minister makes unnanounced visit to Amman, seeks Jordanian pressure on PA to enter direct talks with Israel.
Hamas official says group considering military draft in Gaza
Ha’aretz – Security official: Financial, demographic considerations will affect decision to conscript.
Gaza smuggler set up for life thanks to Israel blockade
Ha’aretz – Smuggler says he made a fortune from work in the tunnels and he expects demand to persist, even as Israel loosens the blockade.
German drone pilots train in Israel, with eye on Afghanistan
Ha’aretz – Speaking on state television, Iranian President Ahmadinejad also list of demands before Iran will resume nuclear talks.
Why was an IDF helicopter training so far away from home?
Ha’aretz – The IAF has begun to understand it must pay a certain price for two very important dividends: experience in challenging situations and building possible future alliances.
Netanyahu: Romania helicopter crash is an immense tragedy
Ha’aretz – IDF announce seven bodies found at site of crash, believed to be six Israeli servicemen and one Romanian who were aboard the helicopter.
U.S. presses Abbas to resume direct peace talks with Israel
Ha’aretz – Internal memo to Palestinian officials urges PA president to resist U.S. pressure, warning that dropping preconditions for face-to-face negotiations with would be political suicide.
Indian ship to join “Audacity of Hope”
27 Jul 2010 – Gaza, July 27, (Pal Telegraph) Indian ship Is set to join the fleet of humanitarian aid named “The Audacity of Hope” which will start in September sailing to the Gaza Strip. “Indian Express” Newspaper said that the fleet of humanitarian aid “The Audacity of Hope,” which inspired by a friend of U.S. President Barack Obama, will include aid ships from…
Israeli data: Israel revoked residency of over 86,000 Jerusalemites since 1967
Uruknet July 27, 2010 – Official Israeli data obtained by the Jerusalem center for social and economic rights said Israel has deprived more than 86,000 Jerusalemite Palestinians of their residency rights in the holy city since it occupied the eastern side in 1967. According to the center, the Israeli interior ministry revoked the residency of 721 Jerusalemites in 2009 and…
When Zionists carried out atrocities, Israeli press calls it “resistance”
Uruknet July 27, 2010 – Interesting to note that a Ynet article profiling one of the Zionists who bombed the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on July 22, 1946, killing almost one hundred people including dozens of civilians, refers to the act as “Jewish resistance.” Of course Zionists were not “resisting” anything when they introduced terrorism as we know it…
Gaza children shelled with flechette bombs
Uruknet July 27, 2010 – “She came in through the front door and it wasn’t clear she was injured. Suddenly a lot of blood came from her nose and she vomited, all of the family saw this — her little brothers were very scared. She had just been playing in the front of the house.” That is how Nihed al-Massry…
JCSER: “Hundreds of Palestinians Losing Residency Rights In Jerusalem”
Uruknet July 27, 2010 – The Jerusalem Center for Social and Economical Rights (JCSER) issued a report detailing the latest numbers of Palestinians who lost their residency rights in occupied East Jerusalem due to Israeli restrictions and measures. Two months ago, the center filed a request in this regard to the Israeli Interior Ministry and recently received a response regarding…
Gaza: Life Put on Hold as Construction Materials Continue to be Restricted
Uruknet July 27, 2010 – Salah Jalal Abu Leila lives in a crowded tent with his family of twelve beside a dusty main street in the Northern Gaza town of Beit Lahia; they have been living here for more than a year: “Our home was completely destroyed in the war. I worked for sixteen years in Israel to build my…
Israel destroys Bedouin village
Uruknet July 27, 2010 – 1300 police officers and security personnel guarded the area as bulldozers demolished a Bedouin village near Rahat. Israeli security personnel and from the Israel Land Administration arrived at the Bedouin village of al-Arakib, near Rahat, Tuesday morning. The village is unrecognized by the state of Israel. When the Israelis arrived they found large bonfires had…
Water shortages frustrate Palestinians in West Bank
Uruknet July 26, 2010 – In the heat of Israel’s typically hot and dry summer season, water is an ever-present source of tension, and this year is no different as residents deal with shortages they say their neighbours do not have. The shortage is so severe in Hebron right now, the West Bank city is rationing water according to location….
Egypt Punishes Gaza More
Uruknet July 26, 2010 – Almost two months since Egypt announced it would reopen its Rafah border terminal with the Gaza Strip, operation of the crossing remains sorely limited. “Rafah has only been opened to passengers and some medical supplies,” Hatem el-Buluk, journalist and resident of Al-Arish, located some 40 kilometres west of Rafah, told IPS. “Everything else, including food…
Palestinian prisoners suffer from hunger
Uruknet July 26, 2010 – A number of prisoners sitting in the prisons of the Israeli occupation said that the food served to them is not fit to eat or for human use or consumption because of its poor processing, dirtiness, very small quantity, and bad kind. Center for studies on prisoners said in a statement issued to the press…
No words to console Gaza child after mother is killed by Israeli shelling
Uruknet July 26, 2010 – The Abu Said family are Bedouin whose isolated farm is located near Gaza’s boundary with Israel in the vicinity of Johr al-Dik. For the last forty years, the family never had any major problems with their belligerent Israeli neighbors. Abu Said, the family patriarch, explained that after the first and second Palestinian intifadas and following…
Lebanon arrests German suspected of spying for Israel
The National 27 Jul 2010 – As Germany is a major contributor of troops, funding and resources in Lebanon, fears that formal charges could hurt bilateral relations have come to the forefront.
Iran ready for talks, president says
The National 27 Jul 2010 – Move by Tehran aims to evade blame for domestic pain resulting from tough new EU sanctions for its controversial nuclear policy.
Hamas weighing military draft
The National 27 Jul 2010 – Top security official of Gaza ruling party is considering expanding its armed forces through volunteers first, and eventually conscripts.
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.
Cameron: Gaza must not Remain Prison Camp
WAFA – TEL AVIV, July 27, 2010 (WAFA)- British Prime Minister David Cameron, harshly criticized Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, telling a group of Turkish businessmen in Ankara that the
U.S. Consulate General, AMIDEAST Host First U.S. University Fair in Gaza
WAFA – GAZA, July 27, 2010 (WAFA)- The U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem, AMIDEAST’s Gaza office, and the Gaza chapter of the Palestinian Fulbright Alumni Association hosted the first-ever U.S.
Gaza Children Attempt Second World Record in One Week
WAFA – GAZA, July 27, 2010 (WAFA)- Fresh from their basketball record last week, this Thursday 29 July, thousands of children in Gaza attending UNRWA’s Summer Games will attempt to smash their own world
Palestinian Village, Nearly $30,000 of Aid Destroyed by Israeli Military
WAFA – JERUSALEM, July, 2010 (WAFA) – Oxfam today called upon the Israeli government to compensate Palestinian villagers after the Israeli army demolished 79 structures in the village of Al Farisiya in the
Upgrading the Status of the General Delegation of Palestine in France to Mission
WAFA – PARIS, July 27, 2010 (WAFA)- The General Delegation of Palestine will now be called the ‘Palestinian Mission, “ announced Monday the French Minister of Foreign And European Affairs, Bernard
British PM calls Gaza ‘prison camp’
Daily Star 27 Jul 2010
Jordan’s king meets Israeli PM in push for direct talks
Daily Star 27 Jul 2010
March 14 rejects Hizbullah pitch to probe false STL witnesses
Daily Star 27 Jul 2010
Saudi king eyes summit in Lebanon
Daily Star 27 Jul 2010
The Israeli right has a new vision — Jews and Arabs sharing one country | Jonathan Freedland
The Guardian 27 Jul 2010 – The one-state solution, once associated with extremists and dreamers, is finding new support in unlikely quarters If David Cameron is feeling a tad frustrated by the lack of progress in the Middle East — breaking with…
David Cameron faces Israeli storm over Gaza comments
The Guardian 27 Jul 2010 – No 10 denies it has raised rhetoric as row heats up over ‘prison camp’ comparison David Cameron was embroiled in an angry diplomatic row with Israel tonight after describing the Gaza Strip as a prison camp…
Cameron Gaza ‘prison camp’ comments divides conservatives
The Guardian 27 Jul 2010 – Some on right applaud David Cameron for standing up to Israel, while others say he is simply courting Muslim support David Cameron’s forthright description of Gaza as a “prison camp” — and its implied criticism of…
Identical letters dated 21 July 2010 from the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council (S/2010/395)
Relief Web 27 Jul 2010 – Source: UN Security Council
Letter dated 9 July 2010 from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the General Assembly – Progress report of the Board of the United Nations Register of Damage Caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (A/ES-10/498)
Relief Web 27 Jul 2010 – Source: UN General Assembly
OPT: Gated community – life inside the West Bank Barrier
Relief Web 27 Jul 2010 – Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
Hundreds homeless as Israel police raze Bedouin village
Relief Web 27 Jul 2010 – Source: Agence France-Presse
Dutch Christian Group Backs Settlements
IPS Sandwiched between giant car and furniture stores on a motorway stop-off, a blue-and-white Star of David flag droops nonchalantly on a stifling summer’s day. The factory-like building beside it could easily be missed by a traveller who blinks too soon, yet the work undertaken here in the Israel Centre is…
IOF attacks Burin villagers in efforts to protect settlers
Stop The Wall – Israeli Occupation Forces arrested four Palestinians and wounded three others after a group of approximately 20 settlers attacked the home of Ibrahim Eid, which is located close to Bracha, a new Israeli settlement in the area. [
Petition: Include woman in Turkel Commission
YNet News – Women’s groups demand that woman be added to commission investigating Gaza….
Settler video shows Border Guard tossing stun grenade in clash
YNet News – (Video) Samaria Settlers’ Committee releases clip showing small portion of clash….
Turkey working to prevent Lebanese sail to Gaza
YNet News – According to Israeli officials, Ankara deems additional flotillas pointless….
Netanyahu, Abdullah discuss rail cooperation
YNet News – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that his secret meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II was “very good”. He said ideas for cooperation in the field of …….
7 bodies found near chopper crash site
YNet News – ROMANIA – The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday afternoon notified the families of the soldiers missing following Monday’s helicopter crash in Romania that search teams …….
Muslim Brotherhood sends support to Salah
YNet News – Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the Islamic Movement’s northern branch in Israel was escorted by hundreds of supporters on Sunday, on his way to Ayalon Prison, where he …….
Hamas may employ Gaza army draft
YNet News – The top security official in Hamas-ruled Gaza said Tuesday he is considering setting up a bigger military force, first with volunteers and eventually with conscripts as …….
Lebanese Ruling Party Expresses Rare Angst over Christian Flight
The Media Line 26 Jul 2010 – Secretary General of the Lebanese Future Movement called on Arabs in the region to protect and nurture Christian minorities. Lebanon’s ruling party has issued a rare call to save the Christian communities of the Middle East,…
6 Israeli Soldiers Die in Crash During Joint Exercise with Romania
The Media Line 26 Jul 2010 – Six Israeli soldiers taking part in joint exercises between the Israeli and Romanian air forces died on Monday when their Sikorsky CH-53 helicopter crashed in central Romania. Four of the Israelis were senior officers. A Romanian…
AP Report: Obama Plays Hardball with ‘Abbas
The Media Line 26 Jul 2010 – The Associated Press is reporting that it has come into possession of an internal Palestinian document that indicates the White House has significantly increased pressure on Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud ‘Abbas to enter direct negotiations with…
Israel razes homes in Bedouin village
LA Times 28 Jul 2010 – In another episode in the long-running dispute between Arab tribes in the Negev desert and the Israeli government, bulldozers knock down 45 homes and residents vow to rebuild. For the sixth time in a decade, farmer Ismail Mohamed Salem watched Israeli bulldozers raze his home in this disputed Bedouin village.
Hurt at Protest In West Bank, U.S. Student Fights Fees
New York Times 27 Jul 2010 – Emily Henochowicz was injured on May 31 after she was struck by a tear gas canister fired by an Israeli border police officer at a protest in the West Bank.
Iranian Exiles Struggle to Stay Involved
New York Times 27 Jul 2010 – The Web keeps Iranian exiles involved, but they can no longer confront the government in Iran, where bloody repression has put lives in danger.
Cameron Urges Change in Gaza
New York Times 27 Jul 2010 – The British prime minister condemned Israel’s partial blockade of Gaza, describing Gaza as a “prison camp,” and urged Turkey and Israel to repair their friendship.
No Words to Console Gaza Child
Palestine Monitor – The Abu Said family are Bedouin whose isolated farm is located near Gaza’s boundary with Israel in the vicinity of Johr al-Dik. For the last forty years, the family never had any major problems with their belligerent Israeli neighbors. Abu Said, the family patriarch, explained that…
Nema Abu Said, a 33-year-old mother of five, killed in Gaza flechette attack
Mondoweiss – And other news from Today in Palestine: Land and Property Theft and Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing Israel demolishes Bedouin village About 300 residents of a village in the Negev desert have lost homes and possessions. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/07/2010727133151458970.html Alert: Thousands of police evacuating and demolishing the village of El-Araqib in…
Jeremy Ben-Ami’s main argument against BDS is it doesn’t affirm Israel’s right to exist as Jewish homeland
Mondoweiss – Here’s something important I’ve missed: a debate of Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions in the July issue of Tikkun magazine, with Jeremy Ben-Ami of J Street and editor Michael Lerner, against, and on the pro side, Maya Wind of the Israeli refusenik group Shministim, Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb and Rebecca Vilkomerson…
Ten years after Camp David, Palestinian capital in Jerusalem is ‚Äòa fantasy’
Mondoweiss – Ten years after negotiations fell apart between Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat at Camp David, Ben White surveys the status of Jerusalem in the Christian Science Monitor : After Camp David, Jerusalem was highlighted as one of the thorniest so-called final status issues blocking an Israeli-Palestinian deal….
Busloads of civilians cheer as Israelis uproot Bedouin village of 200
Mondoweiss – News reports confirm the report we ran last night of Israel’s bulldozing of a Bedouin village in the Negev, uprooting 40 families, 200 people, to make way for what—a forest created with the auspices of the Jewish National Fund? Here’s the shocking report from CNN —shades…
Hoo-ha: Conservative British P.M. calls Gaza a ‚Äòprison camp’
Mondoweiss – The left is driving the discourse, and the mainstream is being forced to contend with our ideas about the conflict. The circle of official agreement on conventional wisdom grows narrower and narrower. Howard Kohr of AIPAC explained this process a year back at AIPAC in his…
Report: Mitchell Tells Abbas Bibi Here to Stay
Al-Manar 27 Jul 2010 – A senior US envoy warned the Palestinian president that he must move quickly to direct talks with Israel if he wants President Barack Obama’s help in setting up a Palestinian state, according to an internal Palestinian document obtained by The Associated Press on Monday. US…
Nima Shirazi — ‘Hope’ Floats: Hey Hollywood, time to put your money where your morality is
Palestine Think Tank 27 Jul 2010 – A coalition of nearly twenty U.S.-based human rights and peace groups has joined the global justice community and numerous foreign governments in vowing to send more humanitarian aid ships to break the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza this coming Fall. The coalition, united under the mantle…
Raid Khoury — On Ramzy Baroud’s “My Father was a Freedom Fighter”
Palestine Think Tank 27 Jul 2010 – The last 100 years have been cruel to the Palestinians, their land selected for a colonial project unlike any other in its attempt to replace an entire population with a foreign colonial population and ethnically cleansed from a land in which they were the original inhabitants….
Bedouin village razed in Israel
BBC 27 Jul 2010 – Around 300 Bedouins living in Israel’s Negev desert are made homeless after police raid their village and raze their homes.
Russia condemns EU Iran sanctions
BBC 27 Jul 2010 – Russia condemns EU sanctions against Iran as “unacceptable”, saying they undermine joint efforts to rein in Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Cameron says Gaza ‘a prison camp’
BBC 27 Jul 2010 – UK Prime Minister David Cameron condemns the blockade on the Gaza Strip during a visit to Turkey, describing the territory as a “prison camp”.
Egypt ‘police death’ trial opens
BBC 27 Jul 2010 – The trial opens of two Egyptian policemen charged with brutality over the death last month of a 28-year-old man, but is quickly adjourned.
Egypt Punishes Gaza More
Antiwar.com 27 Jul 2010 – CAIRO — Almost two months since Egypt announced it would reopen its Rafah border terminal with the Gaza Strip, operation of the crossing remains sorely limited. “Rafah has only been opened to passengers and some medical supplies,” Hatem al-Buluk, journalist and resident of al-Arish, located some…
(en) Palestine-Israel, The joint struggle continue with ambivalence in both the Israeli and the Palestinian authorities.
A-infos 27 Jul 2010 – This week we experienced again the ambivalence towards the joint struggle of both the Israeli and the Palestinian authorities. In Ni’ilin, activists of the popular struggle of the Hamas tendency were taken for interrogation in Ramalla. In Beit Jalla the whole popular comity was arrested by…
Articles
Israeli police outraged as impunity ends
Jonathan Cook, Ma’an News Agency7/27/2010
A decision by Israel’s Supreme Court to double a 15-month jail term for a policeman who shot dead an unarmed Palestinian driver suspected of stealing a car has provoked denunciations from police commanders and government officials.
Yitzhak Aharonovitch, the internal security minister, condemned the judges for “sending a terrible message to police officers.”
On the advice of police lawyers, the accused policeman, Shahar Mizrahi, had appealed his conviction last year in the expectation that the ruling would be overturned by the Supreme Court.
Aharonovitch and Dudi Cohen, the police commissioner, said they would immediately seek a presidential pardon for Mizrahi. “I won’t merely support a pardon bid, I’ll lead it,” Aharonovitch said.
But groups representing Israel’s large Palestinian minority said the outrage at the doubling of the 15-month sentence for Mizrahi reflected the reality that the police force expected impunity when it used violence against Israel’s Palestinian citizens, who comprise a fifth of the population.
At Mizrahi’s original trial last year, the district court judge, Menachem Finkelstein, ruled that the policeman had acted “recklessly” during an operation to stop car thefts in the Jewish town of Pardes Hanna in 2006.
Despite his life never being in danger, Mizrahi had used the butt of his gun to smash the window of a car in which Mahmoud Ghanaim, 24, was seated and shot him in the head from close range. The court also noted that Mizrahi had changed his testimony several times during the investigations. more.. e-mail
VIDEO – Bil’in teen taken in night raid faces jail term
Palestine Note7/25/2010
Bil’in is known for its tenacious, peaceful protest marches against Israel’s construction of the separation wall across the town’s land. The Israeli military routinely suppresses the demonstrations with tear gas and gunfire, and also regularly raids the village at night, arresting protesters.
Eyad Burnat of the Bil’in Popular Committee sent the following message in an email:
On 19 July 2010 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 — who unfortunately was arrested.
Ahmad was taken by jeep to Ofer military prison located outside Ramallah, where arrestees from Bil’in are normally taken. His family witnessed their son and brother being taken away without knowing why. There is still uncertainty why the Israeli army came in 12 jeeps and stormed the family’s house kidnapping the 17 year old that night.
Ahmad has now been held for seven days in Ofer. What we know from experience is that the prisoners in Ofer, especially young boys are put under harsh conditions, with the intention of pressuring them to give information about other villagers. We know that many are denied food and water for extended periods of time and exposed to extreme cold or heat. This coupled with the uncertainty of when he is to be released makes the situation unbearable for his family. All this is done to make the prisoners confess false charges, or to falsely confess that they have witnessed other people i.e. throwing stones.
Today Ahmad was brought in front of a judge…. — See also: YouTube: Night Raid on Bil’in 19-07-2010 more.. e-mail
Analysis: ’Groundhog Day’ for MidEast peace process
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development7/19/2010
For some, it may have felt like the diplomatic equivalent of Groundhog Day. Officials, in Cairo, Egypt for another round of talks in the never-ending Middle East peace process.
Despite a spate of rumors about his failing health, Sunday Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had a busy schedule. First, he met with U.S. Mideast Envoy George Mitchell, then Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and finally Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the Israeli daily Ha’aretz, the meeting between Mubarak and Netanyahu was scheduled to last four hours. Not bad for the 82-year-old Egyptian leader. In any event, the meeting was brief.
The main focus of the talks in Cairo was to convince the Palestinians and Israelis to move from, until now, largely fruitless “proximity” or indirect talks to direct negotiations.
Direct talks were suspended in December 2008 when Israel launched its offensive against Gaza. The 2009 election of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, never a peace process enthusiast, made reviving direct talks all the more complicated.
George Mitchell, a 77-year-old former senator and diplomat, has been trying to coax the two sides back to the table, but the prospects of achieving that, in the words of one Egyptian official I spoke with before the meetings, were “not rosy.”
The Palestinians argue that as long as Israel continues to build settlements in the West Bank, expand the Jewish presence in East Jerusalem, and demolish Palestinian homes in the city, direct talks are impossible…. — See also: Source: CNN more.. e-mail
Israelis rally around officer convicted of killing unarmed Palestinian motorist
Electronic Intifada: 27 Jul 2010 – A decision by Israel’s high court to double a 15-month jail term for a policeman who shot dead an unarmed Palestinian driver suspected of stealing a car has provoked denunciations from police commanders and government officials. Jonathan Cook reports.more
Egypt remains complicit in Gaza siege
Electronic Intifada: 27 Jul 2010 – CAIRO (IPS) – Almost two months since Egypt announced it would reopen its Rafah border terminal with the Gaza Strip, operation of the crossing remains sorely limited. “Rafah has only been opened to passengers and some medical supplies,” Hatem el-Buluk, journalist and resident of al-Arish, located some 40 kilometers west of Rafah, told IPS.more
Gaza children shelled with flechette bombs
Electronic Intifada: 27 Jul 2010 – Nine-year-old Samah al-Massry is now being hospitalized in serious condition, having been hit by shrapnel and flechettes from an Israeli-fired nail bomb that landed 100 meters away, causing internal bleeding to the chest and severe head trauma. Adie Mormech reports for The Electronic Intifada.more
Israel wages war against media and activists
Electronic Intifada: 27 Jul 2010 – NABI SALAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) – Palestinian activists are being jailed, Israeli activists are under surveillance, and the Israeli military is increasingly targeting journalists who cover West Bank protests.more
No Words to Console Gaza Child
Palestine Monitor: 27 Jul 2010 – The Abu Said family are Bedouin whose isolated farm is located near Gaza’s boundary with Israel in the vicinity of Johr al-Dik. For the last forty years, the family never had any major problems with their belligerent Israeli neighbors. Abu Said, the family patriarch, explained that after the first and second Palestinian intifadas and following the start of the siege on Gaza, the threat of being shot by Israeli soldiers forced him to stop cultivating plots of land closest to the border. Twenty years ago, the family could still plough their property near the border, while in recent times they’ve had to retreat 400 meters, with considerable losses to their harvest. Beautiful orchards brimming with fruit once prospered; now even the trees’ roots are gone. In spite of the farm’s unfortunate location, none of the family members were killed or injured during Israel’s 2008-09 winter invasion. However, this year, Israel’s…more
Officer Gets 30 Months for Killing Arab Driver
Palestine Chronicle: 27 Jul 2010 – By Jonathan Cook – Nazareth A decision by Israel’s Supreme Court to double a 15-month jail term for a policeman who shot dead an unarmed Palestinian driver suspected of stealing a car has provoked denunciations from police commanders and government officials. Yitzhak Aharonovitch, the internal security minister, condemned the judges for “sending a terrible message to police officers”. On the advice of police lawyers, the accused policeman, Shahar Mizrahi, had appealed his conviction last year in the expectation that the ruling would be overturned by the Supreme Court. Mr Aharonovitch and Dudi Cohen, the police commissioner, said they would immediately seek a presidential pardon for Mizrahi. “I won’t merely support a pardon bid, I’ll lead it,” Mr Aharonovitch said. But groups representing Israel’s large Palestinian Arab minority said the outrage at the doubling of the 15-month sentence for Mizrahi reflected the reality that the police force expected impunity when it…more
Israel’s Secret Police Exposed
Palestine Chronicle: 27 Jul 2010 – By Jonathan Cook – Nazareth The arrest by Israel’s 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 attempts by one of its agents to enlist the accused to assassinate a Palestinian spiritual leader. Chaim Pearlman, who was arrested a fortnight ago, has been charged with murdering four Palestinians in Jerusalem and injuring at least seven others in a series of knife attacks that began more than a decade ago. Police are still investigating whether he was involved in additional attacks. Although Pearlman was denied access to a lawyer until last Friday, far-right groups have rapidly come to his aid, waging what the Shin Bet officials have described as “psychological warfare” by revealing damaging details about the case. Pearlman has released tape recordings he secretly made of recent conversations with an undercover…more
Settlers Wage Vendetta on Shin Bet
Dissident Voice: 27 Jul 2010 – The arrest by Israel’s 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 attempts by one of its agents to enlist the accused to assassinate a Palestinian spiritual leader. Chaim Pearlman, who was arrested a fortnight ago, has been charged with murdering four Palestinians in Jerusalem and injuring at least seven others in a series of knife attacks that began more than a decade ago. Police are still investigating whether he was involved in additional attacks. Although Pearlman was denied access to a lawyer until last Friday, far-right groups have rapidly come to his aid, waging what the Shin Bet officials have described as “psychological warfare” by revealing damaging details about the case. Pearlman has released tape recordings he secretly made of recent conversations with an undercover Shin Bet agent…more
Iran’s Nuclear Standoff: Who Is the Loser?
Dissident Voice: 27 Jul 2010 – It’s more than eight years that the world’s newspapers are filled with miscellaneous news, reports and commentaries concerning Iran’s nuclear program. Controversy over Iran’s nuclear program has spanned through two administrations in Iran: ex-President Mohammad Khatami’s government and the incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration. The term “Iran nuclear program” returns more than 6 million results in Google web search. Thousands of scholars, journalists, politicians and political pundits have made their own statement regarding this debatable subject. Terminologically, Iran’s nuclear program calls to mind the words holocaust, Israel, Zionism, Axis of Evil, George W. Bush, stretched hands and uranium enrichment. The world is watching the uninteresting continuation of confrontation over Iran’s nuclear program and the opportunist journalists find this tedious charade the best subject to entertain their readers and enrich their portfolio. Iran says that it needs enriched uranium to meet its energy demands and produce electricity. The United States and…more
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The New Dark Age 
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