17 August, 2010 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Jerusalem residents pray with exiled legislators in Red Cross tent
IMEMC – 17 Aug 2010 – Wednesday August 18, 2010 – 01:06, A number of Palestinian residents of Jerusalem have traveled to the Gaza-Israel border each day since Ramadan began last Wednesday, to break their daily Ramadan fast with legislators who have been threatened with deportation by the Israeli government.
An Israeli female soldier poses in front of Kidnapped Palestinians
IMEMC – 17 Aug 2010 – Tuesday August 17, 2010 – 19:42, Photos of an Israeli female soldier posing in front of Palestinian detainees posted on the social networking site Facebook, were met with anger by Palestinians.
Israeli troops invade southern Gaza; Palestinian fighters fire 5 shells across border
IMEMC – 17 Aug 2010 – Tuesday August 17, 2010 – 17:07, Following a cross-border skirmish between Palestinian fighters and Israeli forces in which one Palestinian was killed on Monday, Israeli forces invaded southern Gaza twice in a 24-hour period.
Baby caught in checkpoint turnstile; face cut, hand fractured
IMEMC – 17 Aug 2010 – Tuesday August 17, 2010 – 15:41, A 10-month old baby was injured Monday when he was caught in a turning metal slatted turnstile in an Israeli checkpoint near Bethlehem, where his face was repeatedly slammed into the iron bars until he fainted and fell to the ground.
Palestinian fighters cross Gaza border with Israel; 1 killed
IMEMC – 17 Aug 2010 – Monday August 16, 2010 – 23:35, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian fighter who apparently crossed the border with Israel and the southern Gaza Strip on Monday. The Islamic Jihad claimed that three fighters had gone to place mortars at an Israeli military site when they were fired upon by Israeli soldiers, killing one of the fighters.
Bedouin village razed for fourth time
8/17/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities on Tuesday demolished an unrecognized Bedouin village for the fourth time, Israeli media reported. The Al-Araqib village was razed two weeks ago for the third time, after residents rebuilt dwellings demolished to make way for a Jewish National Fund park. The efforts to rebuild were prompted by decision by….
Report: Lebanon grants refugees work rights
8/17/2010 – BEIRUT (Ma’an) — Lebanon’s parliament on Tuesday adopted a law granting full employment rights to the 400,000 Palestinian refugees living in the country, a high-ranking official told Agence France-Presse.”Parliament approved a bill lifting former restrictions on employment for Palestinian refugees, who will now have the right to work in any field…. Related: Fatah welcomes new Lebanese law
PRC military wing claims mortar fire injuring 2 soldiers
8/17/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Popular Resistance Committee’s military wing the An-Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades claimed responsibility Tuesday for firing five mortar shells toward the western Negev, injuring two soldiers. The Israeli army said the soldiers were lightly injured by the and that the force opened fire “at the source of the launches….
Gaza: Protesters remove part of security fence
8/17/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Peace activists with the popular committee against the buffer zone removed part of the security fence in Beit Hanoun on Tuesday, officials said. Local committee coordinator Saber Az-Za’aneen said participants removed 10 meters of the fence as Israeli forces opened fire. Az-Za’aneen reported no injuries as….
Man shot at Turkish embassy in Israel
8/17/2010 – Mya Guarnieri – Injaz is a wanted collaborator on the run from PA intelligence – TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — An armed Palestinian man entered Turkey’s embassy in Tel Aviv on Tuesday opening fire and taking at least one hostage, Israeli officials told Ma’an. The alleged shooter, Nadim Injaz, was injured by….
Infant’s hand fractured by checkpoint turnstile
8/17/2010 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — A 10-month old child sustained a hand fracture and bruising on Monday after his arm got caught in a checkpoint turnstile as it continued to rotate, the infant’s mother said. Shirin Qasrawi told Ma’an her son Mu’min was taken to the Al-Maqaseed Hospital in….
Israeli forces detain 7 in Hebron district
8/17/2010 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained six Palestinian men and one woman across the Hebron district overnight Monday, after searching several homes. A source identified the detained woman as Ayat Nasser Abu Markhiyya from Hebron City who was stopped by Israeli forces as she walked by Ash-Shuhada Street. She was taken to a police….
Facebook scandal escalates as group posts new photos
8/17/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — An Israeli human rights group has released pictures of Israeli soldiers and border guards alongside blindfolded and handcuffed Palestinian detainees — some of them dead. Breaking the Silence set up a group on Facebook entitled “the norm denied by Avi Benayahu,” an Israeli military spokesman who described the recent release of photographs…. Related: Breaking the Silence
PCHR: Minister’s son opens fire at Gaza police station
8/17/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The son of a Gaza government minister opened fire at a police station in Gaza last Friday, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights said. Suhayb Al-Kurd, a security officer and son of Social Affairs Minister Ahmad Al-Kurd, opened fire toward the police station in Deir Al-Balah with a Kalashnikov as….
Gaza medics retrieve body of man shot by Israeli forces
8/17/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Medics retrieved the corpse of a Palestinian man Tuesday shot dead by Israeli forces a day earlier near the border east of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. Gaza medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salima said Bassam Barham Ad-Daghma’s body was transferred to the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis….
World Bank grants $5 million to PA to train teachers
8/17/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The World Bank will provide the Palestinian Authority $5 million to fund the Teacher Education Improvement Project after the deal was signed Wednesday by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Dina Abu-Ghaida, acting director for the West Bank and Gaza. The project focuses on training teachers of grades one to four with….
Source: Israel seeks to avoid Quartet stance
8/17/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Israeli government is trying to prevent the release of the Quartet statement on direct talks, and hopes to replace it with a US decision, a source within the PLO told Ma’an on Monday evening. The source said the PLO’s Executive Committee would convene after the Quartet….
Barghouthi says ex-soldier’s pictures ‘inhumane’
8/17/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Palestinian National Initiative leader Mustafa Barghouthi said Tuesday that pictures posted by a former Israeli soldier on her Facebook page of her detaining Palestinians were “offensive and inhumane.”Barghouthi reiterated the Palestinian Authority’s criticism of the photos, saying they reveal “the mentality of the occupier, who is proud to….
Qatar charity donates fuel for Gaza hospitals
8/17/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Qatar Charity donated $118,500 to supply fuel for generators in Gaza’s hospitals, a Hamas-led Ministry of Health official said Tuesday. The Qatari donation will cover 300,000 liters of diesel, which can run hospital generators for up to 20 days, said Bassam Barhoum, who heads the administrative services….
Palestine sends medical relief team to Pakistan
8/17/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Medical crews and an aid convoy have been sent to assist Pakistan’s flood victims, the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Tuesday. Six teams of doctors and nurses were sent asa joint project of the Palestinian embassy in Islamabad and the Pakistani National Disaster Management Authority, ministry officials….
Full text: 17 August UN Security Council brief
8/17/2010 – Reporting period: 21 July- 17 August — For negotiations to succeed, it is crucial to maintain an enabling climate on the ground. Parties should adhere to their Roadmap commitments and obligations under international law. —We are hopeful that leaders on both sides will seize the opportunity and engage in a path of decisive progress towards a….
Fatah welcomes new Lebanese law
8/17/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Fatah said it welcomed the passing of a law in the Lebanese parliament on Tuesday, which granted Palestinian refugees full employment rights a spokesman said. Party spokesman Ahmad Assaf said the decision was “a step in the right direction” and would lessen the burden on Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. The law…. Related: Report: Lebanon grants refugees work rights
Haniyeh: PA waging war against Islam
8/17/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Gaza government Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh accused the Palestinian Authority on Monday evening of waging a war against religion and Islam. Haniyeh, speaking to reporters at the rebuilding ceremony of the police station in Al-Shati refugee camp, said “what is happening in the West Bank is a religious war that…. Related: Hamas sheikh banned from delivering sermons and PA lowers volume on mosques near settlements
Hamas: PA forces detain 4 in West Bank
8/17/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Hamas said Tuesday that Palestinian Authority security services recently detained four party affiliates in the West Bank. The Islamist movement said the detentions were carried out in Ramallah and Nablus. On Monday, Hamas said PA forces in Bethlehem summoned a party-affiliated former minister and accused the Ramallah-based leadership of a “campaign….
New academic year to start after Ramadan
8/17/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The academic year for most schools in the West Bank and Gaza Strip will begin after Ramadan on 14 September, a Palestinian Authority official said Tuesday. Su’ad Al-Qaddumi, the general-director of the PA Ministry of Education, said he would not consider requiring that all schools regardless of affiliation begin….
Tons of expired food seized in Bethlehem, Hebron
8/17/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority customs unit confiscated three tons of expired food across the southern West Bank district of Bethlehem and Hebron, a statement read. Additionally officers detained traders selling illegal cigarettes to merchants in the Ramallah and Al-Bireh district and found a ton of expired cigarettes in Hebron from Jenin. The….
Muslim American rapper growing up in post-9/11 America
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – New York, New York – When Cyrus McGoldrick takes the stage, he’s not himself. McGoldrick raps as The Raskol Khan, often with the Freddy Fuego Sextet, an evolving group of musicians based in Harlem. The name…
Lend Pakistan a helping hand
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – Karachi, Pakistan – “It looks like the number of people affected in this [Pakistani flooding] crisis is higher than the Haiti earthquake, the tsunami or the [2005] Pakistan earthquake. And if the toll is as high…
Mending the Israeli-Turkey fracture
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – Istanbul, Turkey – The government of Israel recently announced its willingness to cooperate with a UN investigation into the raid on the Freedom Flotilla in which eight Turks and a US citizen of Turkish origin were…
Ramadan around the world: Morocco, Pakistan and the US
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – Toronto, Canada – Working with an international, multi-faith team at Search for Common Ground (SFCG), a non-profit conflict transformation organisation, Ramadan impacts not only colleagues who adhere to a diet and lifestyle that affords greater time…
Malaysia moving forward in matters of Islam and women
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – Kuala Lumpur – In early July this year, the Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak announced that two women had been appointed judges in the country’s Syariah Courts. One of two court systems in Malaysia, these…
No room for Arab students at Israeli universities
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – New rules favour former soldiers Measures designed to benefit Jewish school-leavers applying for places in Israeli higher education at the cost of their Arab counterparts have been criticised by lawyers and human rights groups. The new…
Muslims and Arabs are not monolithic, but we sometimes act that way
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – When 68 percent of Americans say they oppose members of a religion building a house of worship blocks from Ground Zero, and a leading Republican candidate for president, Newt Gingrich, compares it to Nazism, there has…
Arab states ranked in Newsweek ‘World’s Best Countries’ List
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – Washington — In a recent Newsweek ranking of the world’s 100 best countries to live in, many Arab states ranked well in terms of quality of life and education, though most fell short in political freedoms….
PA charges 4 for settlement boycott violation
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – Washington — The Palestinian Authority Finance Minister has indicted four Palestinians accused of violating a boycott of goods produced in West Bank settlements, Ynet reported Tuesday. A store owner in East Jerusalem. Merchants in the West…
Poll: Israelis oppose military exemption of religious students
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – Washington — A two-thirds majority of Israelis oppose the recent Knesset decision to exempt rabbinical yeshiva students 22 and older from universal military service, according to a new poll, Ynet reported Tuesday. The poll, conducted by…
Lebanon grants Palestinians work rights
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – New York – Lebanon’s parliament passed a law on Tuesday that would grant Palestinian refugees living in the country the right to work in any profession, ending decades of discrimination. The Lebanese parliament building in Beirut […
Palestinian shot at Turkish embassy
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – Former informant detained in Tel Aviv drama New York – A Palestinian rushed the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv on Tuesday and announced that he was holding hostages. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor also said…
Hezbollah hands over Israeli assassination evidence to UN
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – Washington — Hezbollah has handed over to Lebanese prosecutors and UN investigators evidence it claims implicates Israel in the 2005 assassination of then Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, AFP news agency reported Tuesday. “Following a meeting…
PLO: Israel wants to replace Quartet statement with US one
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – Washington – According to a source within the Palestine Liberation Organization, Israel hopes to prevent the Mideast Quartet from releasing a statement on direct talks in favor of a decision from the US, Ma’an News Agency…
Fmr. US diplomat: Israel has 8 days to bomb Iran
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – Washington — Israel has only eight days to attack an Iranian nuclear power plant before it goes operational and provides the country a “second route” to nuclear weaponization, warned former US ambassador to the UN John…
Israel razes bedouin town for 4th time
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – New York – Israeli government bulldozers, flanked by police, destroyed the Bedouin village of Al-Arakib for the fourth time in as many weeks on Tuesday, Israeli media reported . A Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesset, Talab…
Right-wing group threatens Ben-Gurion University
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – Washington — Right-wing group Im Tirtzu has issued an ultimatum to Israel’s Ben-Gurion University, threatening to drive away donors if it refuses to hire more right-wing professors and alter its curriculum, Ynet reported Tuesday. Ben-Gurion University…
More than Half-Way but Not Full Friends: Israel and Jordan
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – Originally featured on The Washington Note This morning I received an email from former Israel Labor Party Deputy Leader and former Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh . It started “To my Muslim friends – Ramadan Karim”. Ephrahim…
Israeli tanks shell Gaza home in 2nd day of clashes
Palestine Note 17 Aug 2010 – Washington – Israeli tanks shelled a home in southeast Gaza on Tuesday, in a second day of clashes that left one Palestinian dead and two Israeli soldiers injured. Three artillery shells hit the home, witnesses told…
Turkish embassy attacker detained
AlJazeera 17 Aug 2010 – Palestinian asylum seeker is turned over to Israeli authorities.
Palestinians in Lebanon gain rights
AlJazeera 17 Aug 2010 – Latest law allows entrepreneurial business but bar on professions remain.
Hariri probe gets Hezbollah ‘data’
AlJazeera 17 Aug 2010 – Lebanese group says it handed over data that would implicate Israel in the 2005 killing.
Lebanon passes new energy law
AlJazeera 17 Aug 2010 – Green light for offshore gas exploration amid fears Israel could infringe on reserves.
Breaking The Silence: Photos Of soldiers Posing With detainees Are The Norm Not Exception
PNN – Ghassan Bannoura — PNN – The Israeli Human Rights group, Breaking the Silence, released more photos on facebook of Israeli soldiers posing next to detained Palestinians. The group says that this behavior…
Zionist says Ben-Gurion University in BeerSheba hire leftists
PNN – BeerSheba – PNN – Zionist movement threatened to cut off funding for the school if doesn’t change its anti-Zionist bias in the Politics and Government Department. The letter was sent to University…
The Military bombards Homes In Gaza ; Arrest Civilians From The West Bank
PNN – Gaza — PNN – Israeli tanks stationed near the southern Gaza borders shelled on Tuesday Palestinian homes in the town of Abassan near Khan Younis. The shelling targeted a number of homes,…
Troops Fire At Unarmed Protesters In Northern Gaza Strip
PNN – Gaza — PNN – Palestinian farmers along with international supporters protested on Tuesday the Israeli buffer zone near the town of Biet Hanoun in northern Gaza Strip. The protest started on Tuesday…
Israeli Soldier “Nothing Wrong With publishing Palestinian Detainees Photos On Facebook”
PNN – Tall Aviv — PNN – An Israeli ex-soldier told the army radio on Tuesday that she do not think posting images of her with detained Palestinian workers on facebook is something wrong…
Palestinian Fighter Killed In Southern Gaza; Homemade Shells Hit Negev
PNN – Gaza — PNN – A Palestinian fighter was killed, on Monday evening, during clashes with Israeli forces near the southern Gaza Strip borders with Israeli. The Al Qudes Brigades, the armed wing…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Security Officers Fire in Front of Deir al-Balah Police Station
Palestinian Center for Human Rights Field Update On Friday, 13 August 2010, Deir al-Balah Police Station was fired at by a gunman, who was later identified as Suhaib Ahmed al-Kurd, an officer in the Security and Protection Service, who is the son of Minister of Social Affairs in Gaza government. The shooting started after a quarrel between the police and the Minister’s two sons. This
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (05 -11 August 2010)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Rabbis call for fast to mark 5 yrs since disengagement
Jeruslalem Post 18 Aug 2010 – Commemoration of synagogues destroyed in the Gaza Strip backed by many religious community members.
Israel ‘world’s 22nd best country’
Jeruslalem Post 18 Aug 2010 – Newsweek: Jewish state is best in the Middle East.
UN official: Israel should extend freeze
Jeruslalem Post 17 Aug 2010 – Security Council briefing summarizes recent activity in the area.
Hamas: PA waging war on Islam, Allah
Jeruslalem Post 17 Aug 2010 – Allegation follows series of measures taken by the PA against Hamas supporters.
Hamas: PA waging war on Islam and Allah
Jeruslalem Post 17 Aug 2010 – Allegation follows series of measures taken by the PA against Hamas supporters.
Lebanon: Palestinian refugees can work
Jeruslalem Post 17 Aug 2010 – Danny Ayalon hopes move is first step toward citizenship.
Lebanon grants its Palestinian refugees the right to work
Jeruslalem Post 17 Aug 2010 – Danny Ayalon hopes move is first step toward citizenship.
Analysis: ‘In the care of worthy commanders’
Jeruslalem Post 17 Aug 2010 – IDF brass is questioned over “Galant document.”
Anaylsis: ‘In the care of worthy commanders’
Jeruslalem Post 17 Aug 2010 – If the IDF brass is being questioned over the ‘Galant document,’ is this the army in which soldiers will want to serve?
Ashkenazi: I’ll have something to say after Galant affair
Jeruslalem Post 17 Aug 2010 – IDF Chief of General Staff issues a statement slamming “inaccurate press reports.”
Palestinian sparks panic in Turkish Embassy
Jeruslalem Post 17 Aug 2010 – Gunman “threatened to blow up building.”
Gunman taken from embassy to hospital under police custody
Jeruslalem Post 17 Aug 2010 – Injaz flashes victory sign, curses as he was taken away in ambulance; no hostages were taken; police arrest Injaz for illegally residing in Israel as other acts occurred on Turkish territory.
Injaz broke into UK embassy 4 yrs ago
Jeruslalem Post 17 Aug 2010 – Palestinian gunman previously demanded asylum in Europe with toy gun.
Gunman previously broke into UK embassy
Jeruslalem Post 17 Aug 2010 – Palestinian Nadim Injaz demanded asylum in Europe with toy gun.
Diplomats seeking end to embassy stand-off in Tel Aviv
Jeruslalem Post 17 Aug 2010 – Police say Palestinian man also barricaded self at British embassy 4 years ago; gunman calls reporter to denounce “murderous Jews” and “murderous Abu Mazen;” man, lightly wounded, “threatened to blow up building.”
Lebanon passes law allowing oil exploration
Jeruslalem Post 17 Aug 2010 – Spurred by ‘Israeli greed,’ 10-year political deadlock broken.
Gunman holes up in Turkish embassy
Jeruslalem Post 17 Aug 2010 – Report: Palestinian threatened to blow up building.
Hamas blames Israel for mail embargo
Jeruslalem Post 17 Aug 2010 – Gaza government calls on the international community to intervene in postal crises.
‘Israel has days to strike Bushehr’
Jeruslalem Post 17 Aug 2010 – Bolton: Russia to load fuel into reactor on Saturday.
‘Hizbullah gave Hariri footage to UN’
Jeruslalem Post 17 Aug 2010 – Lebanese PM calls for “democratic dialogue” amid int’l probe.
International Solidarity Movement
PACBI: A million dollar festival will not rescue Israel’s image as an apartheid state
8/17/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – PACBI, Occupied Ramallah, 15 August – Once again, the Brand-Israel machine is in high gear, this time organizing a million-dollar international youth extravaganza in Eilat in September 2010 called “Funjoya.” This unabashed propaganda exercise is sponsored by the Israel Ministry of Tourism and the Israeli Student Union, among other official and semi-official bodies. The Ministry of…. Related: PACBI
Court holds state responsible for shooting of Palestinian girl
8/17/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – Haaretz – A Jerusalem court on Monday held the state responsible for killing killing a 10-year-old Palestinian girl in January 2007. In a civil suit, the court ruled that border guards had either been negligent or disobeyed orders in shooting Abir Aramin with a rubber bullet, calling the incident ‘totally unjustifiable’. The judge….
West Bank demonstration reports
8/17/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – An Nabi Saleh — 13/8/2010 – On Friday around 35 Palestinians demonstrated against Hallamish settlement with around 15 Israeli and international peace activists in the village of An Nabi Salih. When the peaceful demonstration started, as usual after the noon prayer, the demonstrators went down to the entrance of the village where soldiers and….
20 injured in bus accident in north Tel Aviv
Ha’aretz – Dan bus driver loses control for unknown reasons, crashes through gate of Israel Museum and into billboard advert.
Education Minister: Any move harming donations to universities must be stopped
Ha’aretz – Gideon Sa’ar responds to Im Tirtzu threat to target political science faculty at Ben Gurion University for their ‘anti-Zionist tilt.’
‘IDF holds document at center of row over appointment of new army chief’
Ha’aretz – Israel Radio quotes testimony given by outgoing army chief as part of investigation into whether leading candidate to replace him orchestrated PR campaign to boost his candidacy.
Three killed, four injured in car accident near Kibbutz Magal
Ha’aretz – Two cars crashed head-on while close to a junction in the highway, after one of the cars strayed out of their lane for reasons not yet known.
Prosecution: Katsav saw women staffers as pool of sexual objects
Ha’aretz – Former president’s defense team reacts to prosecution’s sexual harassment trial closing statement saying it demonizes Katsav, treats him like ‘a serial killer.’
‘I don’t see anything wrong with Facebook images of Palestinian detainees’
Ha’aretz – Former IDF soldier’s pictures, depicting her smiling next to Palestinian prisoners with their hands bound and their eyes covered, caused a global media storm.
IDF soldier posts images of blindfolded Palestinians on Facebook, from ‘best time of my life’
Ha’aretz – Female soldier smiles for camera in front of bound prisoners, before joking online with friends; army calls photos ‘ugly and callous’.
IAF bombs Gaza tunnels in response to mortar fire
Ha’aretz – No immediate report of casualties; two Israeli soldiers lightly hurt earlier in the day in mortar attack launched by Gaza militants.
Hamas: Government control over West Bank mosques is ‘war on religion’
Ha’aretz – Western-backed Abbas government bans all but government-sanctioned officials from preaching or giving religious lessons in the West Bank.
‘Facebook photos of soldiers posing with bound Palestinians are the norm’
Ha’aretz – Rights group Breaking the Silence refutes IDF claim that photos posted by female soldier under the heading ‘the time of my life’ are an anomaly.
Ex-U.S. diplomat: Israel unlikely to strike Iran nuclear plant
Ha’aretz – John Bolton tells U.S. television that Iran on verge of establishing second route for developing nuclear weapons, says Bushehr reactor was ‘significant victory’ for Tehran.
2 IDF soldiers hurt in Gaza mortar strike on Negev
Ha’aretz – Incident comes after IDF tank commander was lightly wounded in an exchange of fire with militants earlier this week.
In Greece, Netanyahu urges patience on new Mideast peace talks
Ha’aretz – In historic first visit by Israeli PM, Netanyahu meets with Greek counterpart George Papandreou.
Israeli soldier use facebook to brag about imprisoning Palestinians
17 Aug 2010 – Gaza, August 17, (Pal Telegraph) The Palestinian Center for Defending Prisoners described the act of an Israeli soldier called “Eden Abrigale” who put pictures of herself sitting or standing or torturing Palestinian prisoners, handcuffed and blindfolded on her “Facebook” page, as “offensive and degrading to the dignity of detainees.”
IOF breaks into Khan Younis, shells houses
17 Aug 2010 – Gaza, August 17, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli artillery shelled demolished houses today morning with three mortar shells in the town of “Abasan”, an Israeli military force broke into the Farrahin area east of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. According to witness, the Israeli missiles hit directly the house of Hashim Daghma, which was demolished by the Israeli occupation forces before, and…
Israeli settlers throw stones at Palestinian car
17 Aug 2010 – Nablus, August 17, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) — Israeli settlers threw stones today at Palestinian car on Nablus-Ramallah road in the occupied West Bank, no injuries were reported. The car of Mohammed Abu Karsh was stoned while he was driving on Nablus-Ramallah road which resulted in breaking the glass of the car. The Israeli settlers continue their attacks of the civilian…
Israel completely demolishes Araqeeb
17 Aug 2010 – Naqab , August 17, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) — A large Israeli Police force broke into and demolished all the homes in the Araqeeb village in the Naqab area in southern Palestine Tuesday morning, for the fourth time in a row. Palestinian sources said the forces broke into the village with bulldozers and razed homes already re-constructed three times in a month….
Israel detains 3 Palestinians in Hebron
17 Aug 2010 – Hebron, August 17, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) — Israeli occupation forces detained today three Palestinians from Yata and Bait Omar near the city of Hebron in the West Bank. Local sources said that Israeli occupation forces detained Samer Abu Ayesh, 19, after raiding his house. Besides, they search the houses and seized his computer and mobile phone. In Yata, they detained…
No Room for Arab Students at Israeli UniversitiesNew Rules Favour Former Soldiers
Uruknet August 17, 2010 – Measures designed to benefit Jewish school-leavers applying for places in Israeli higher education at the cost of their Arab counterparts have been criticised by lawyers and human rights groups. The new initiatives are viewed as part of an ongoing drive by right-wing politicians in Israel to demand “loyalty” from the country’s large minority population of…
Israeli abuse pictures ‘common’
Uruknet August 17, 2010 – Israeli soldiers are routinely taking degrading photographs of dead and captured Palestinians and posting them on the internet, human rights groups have said. The claims come a day after the Israeli military attempted to quell controversy over photographs showing a female soldierposing provocativelywith blindfolded Palestinian detainees…
Is Canada passing information on its citizens to Israel?
Uruknet August 17, 2010 – On 7 April, Freda Guttman, a 76-year-old Jewish Montrealer, received a visit from agents of the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS). She slammed the door on them so it’s not clear if the visit was related to her role in Tadamon!, a Middle East solidarity collective, or her friendship with Canadian activist (and occasional…
Jordan Valley is a microcosm of Israel’s colonisation
Uruknet August 17, 2010 – The Jordan Valley, stretching all the way down the West Bank’s eastern side, is a microcosm of Israel’s discriminatory policies of colonisation and displacement. For 40 years, settlements have been established, military no-go areas declared, and Palestinians’ freedom of movement restricted. There are now 27 colonies in the Jordan Valley — most of them had…
Facebook scandal escalates as group posts new photos
Uruknet August 17, 2010 – An Israeli human rights group has released pictures of Israeli soldiers and border guards alongside blindfolded and handcuffed Palestinian detainees — some of them dead. Breaking the Silence set up a group on Facebook entitled “the norm denied by Avi Benayahu,” an Israeli military spokesman who described the recent release of photographs by an ex-soldier…
Racist Israeli laws divide Palestinian families claims Arab League
Uruknet August 17, 2010 – Racist Israeli laws divide Palestinian families claims Arab LeagueIn a statement issued on 16th August, the Arab League claimed that Israel’s “racist” laws divide Palestinian families. The League’s General Secretariat has renewed its rejection of Israel’s policy which dispossesses Palestinians and violates their basic civil and human rights. It is the law which allows such…
Court finds Israel responsible for child’s death
Uruknet August 17, 2010 – An Israeli court ruled Monday that the state was responsible for the fatal 2007 shooting of a 10-year-old Palestinian girl in a village near Jerusalem. The court ruled that an Israeli border guard shot Abir Aramin in the head with a rubber bullet in Anata village north of Jerusalem, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported. Abir…
Bedouin village razed for fourth time
Uruknet August 17, 2010 – Israeli authorities on Tuesday demolished an unrecognized Bedouin village for the fourth time, Israeli media reported. The Al-Araqib village was razed two weeks ago for the third time, after residents rebuilt dwellings demolished to make way for a Jewish National Fund park. The efforts to rebuild were prompted by decision by the Higher Follow-Up Committee…
Formalizing Israel’s Land Grab
Uruknet August 16, 2010 – Time is running out for Israel. And the Israeli government knows it. The Jewish Diaspora, especially the young, has a waning emotional and ideological investment in Israel. The demographic boom means that Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories will soon outnumber Jews. And Israel’s increasing status as a pariah nation means that informal and…
What Hamas is really afraid of
Uruknet August 16, 2010 – “I wish these pictures reached leftists abroad,” my friend said to herself Tuesday as she watched Hamas police use rifle butts and clubs to beat her friends – activists from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Although my friend has never been a fan of the Fatah government in the West Bank, she…
Eden Abergil, The Product Of A Blindfolded Society
Uruknet August 16, 2010 – Is there anything shocking about the Facebook photos showing the Israeli female soldier Eden Abergil posing in mocking positions next to bound and blindfolded Palestinian men? While her conduct was abominable, I did not find it especially distinct from the documented behavior of Israeli soldiers and Border Police in the Occupied Territories. Below is a…
Gaza’s record-breaking children
Uruknet August 16, 2010 – Gaza’s kids truly are record-breakers. They survived Israel’s 2008-09 winter invasion and every day they put up with a state of war during a so-called ceasefire. Smeared in blood, they’ve crawled through the rubble of shelled buildings, taking care of younger siblings, and tending to languishing parents, often emerging from under the remains of their…
Hikers In Iran
Uruknet August 16, 2010 – It has now been more than a year since Iranian authorities seized three Americans — Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal — in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan and falsely accused them of espionage on behalf of the U.S. government. No formal charges have been filed, and they have been denied their right to…
Israel’s ‘John Hancock’ Means Nothing
Uruknet August 16, 2010 – Has anyone ever wondered why Israel continues to sign agreements or humor those whose advice it has not intention of taking? It’s about time somebody questions the intentions, since the apparent trend is for Israel to ride the wave of international currents only to reject them before they reach their intended goal. Instead of offering…
Official: Settlers uproot 200 olive trees south of Nablus
Uruknet August 16, 2010 – Israeli residents living on an illegal West Bank outpost uprooted over 200 olive trees near the Qusra village in the Nablus district Monday, a Palestinian Authority official said. PA settlement affairs officer in the northern West Bank Ghassan Doughlas said residents of the nearby Svhut Rachel outpost ascended upon the village, uprooting the olive grove…
Palestinians in Lebanon win right to work
The National 17 Aug 2010 – Any industry now open to the refugees, and while supporters say new law is a big step forward, major hurdles remain.
Bedouin heritage of Syria in danger
The National 17 Aug 2010 – Modernising trends bring health and wealth, but they also represent destruction of old ways in the country.
Brotherhood TV drama hits a nerve in Egypt
The National 17 Aug 2010 – More than 3,000 have joined a Facebook group in protest as the country’s most popular Ramadan series angers supporters of the Islamist group.
Bedouin Village Demolished for Fourth Time
Alternative Information Center – This morning hundreds of police raided, for the fourth time this month, the “unrecognized” village of el Araqib in the Negev and removed all of the 300 villagers, a majority of whom are children, women and…
Attempts to Revoke Citizenship of Palestinian Knesset Member
Alternative Information Center – In July, the Israeli Knesset voted to strip of MK Hanin Zoabi of key parliamentary privileges as punishment for her participation in the Freedom Flotilla aid convoy to the Gaza Strip in late May 2010. Now…
Demonstration against Deportation of Migrant Kids
Alternative Information Center – Hundreds protested in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening (15 August), demonstrating against the Israeli government’s decision to deport 400 children of migrant workers, and calling for a reversal of this decision.
Open Letter to John Lyndon: Don’t Play Along with Apartheid Israel
Alternative Information Center – Dear John, Although you were born in Ireland, you may not be aware that on 12th August the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) launched its “boycott pledge” campaign, whereby over 140 (now over 160 and counting)…
Khalifa Bin Zayed Foundation Provides Relief to Poorest in OPT
WAFA – GAZA, August 17, 2010 (WAFA)- On the occasion of Ramadan, the Khalifa Bin Zayed Foundation has funded two projects in Gaza and the West Bank to assist poor Palestinian refugees through the
Al Mezan Meets the UN Committeein Context of Following-up Goldstone’s Report
WAFA – GAZA, August 17, 2010 (WAFA)- A delegation from the Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights met at 8pm on Sunday 15 August 2010 the UN Committee of Experts in the Gaza City. The Committee visit to Gaza
Push for Direct Middle East Talks Nearing Turning Point, UN Says
WAFA – NEW YORK, August 17, 2010 (WAFA)- Efforts to promote direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians are nearing a turning point, a senior United Nations official said today, underlining
Nuclear plant attack amounts to ‘international crime’ – Iran
Daily Star 17 Aug 2010
Palestinian takes hostages at Turkish Embassy – Israel
Daily Star 17 Aug 2010
Few Palestinians get permits to work in Israel, fewer to pray at Al-Aqsa
Daily Star 17 Aug 2010
White House denies giving Turkey ultimatum over Israel and Iran
Daily Star 17 Aug 2010
Iran tells West to stay out of woman’s stoning case
Daily Star 17 Aug 2010
Tehran to unveil array of new weapons, boats next week
Daily Star 17 Aug 2010
Court finds Israel responsible for Arab girl’s death
Daily Star 17 Aug 2010
Two sentenced to death for collaborating with Israel
Daily Star 17 Aug 2010
Cabinet to discuss three-year plan to equip Lebanese Army
Daily Star 17 Aug 2010
US official in Beirut to pursue Tehran penalties
Daily Star 17 Aug 2010
Mirza receives Hizbullah data, transfers to Bellemare
Daily Star 17 Aug 2010
Security forces surround Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv after shots fired
The Guardian 17 Aug 2010 – Palestinian man claims he has two hostages and will blow up building Israeli security forces were tonight in place around the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv where a Palestinian man was reported to be holding hostages…
Israeli soldiers’ ‘trophy’ pictures
The Guardian 17 Aug 2010 – Former Israeli soldier Eden Abergil’s Facebook photos of her posing with Palestinian prisoners has sparked accusations that ‘souvenir photos’ are widespread in the army. Veterans’ group Breaking the Silence has released a number of soldiers’ pictures,…
Palestinian girl was killed by border guards’ rubber bullet, judge rules
The Guardian 17 Aug 2010 – Court rules 10-year-old’s death ‘unjustifiable’, dismissing original police claims that it was caused by youths throwing stones A 10-year-old Palestinian girl was killed by a rubber bullet fired by Israeli border guards, a Jerusalem court has…
Jordan Valley is a microcosm of Israel’s colonisation | Ben White
The Guardian 17 Aug 2010 – Israeli land seizure and ethnic cleansing should be met with arrest warrants — not arms sales and diplomatic games The Jordan Valley, stretching all the way down the West Bank’s eastern side, is a microcosm of…
TIMELINE-Gaza since the end of a truce with Israel
Relief Web 17 Aug 2010 – Source: Reuters – AlertNet
Liban: les r?©fugi?©s palestiniens obtiennent plus de droits pour travailler
Relief Web 17 Aug 2010 – Source: Agence France-Presse
Efforts to Promote Direct Negotiations between Israel, Palestinians Nearing ‘Turning Point’, Top United Nations Official Tells Security Council
Relief Web 17 Aug 2010 – Source: UN Security Council
Lebanon grants Palestinian refugees right to work
Relief Web 17 Aug 2010 – Source: Agence France-Presse
New Report: People versus Oppression
Stop The Wall – One year ago, Stop the Wall and Addameer released a report entitled “Repression Allowed, Resistance Denied”, which detailed the repression of Palestinian human rights defenders active against the Wall since 2002.Today, in the 6th anniversary of the ICJ ruling against the Wall, The campaign publish this new document covering the ongoing repression between March – June 2010. [
20 hurt as Tel Aviv bus crashes into museum
YNet News – Bus hits pavement, breaks though Eretz Israel Museum’s fence. Twenty passengers….
Facebook scandal: More soldiers’ photos published
YNet News – Additional photographs show IDF soldiers, Border Guard police officers posing….
Italy? Life in Israel better
YNet News – Despite security situation, corruption Israel ranked 22nd in Newsweek Magazine’s….
2 soldiers hurt in Gaza-region mortar attack
YNet News – Southern escalation: Troops engaged in engineering work near Gaza sustain light….
Killed Palestinian girl’s father: Soldiers are victims too
YNet News – After court rules State must compensate Palestinian family for daughter’s death….
Palestinian shot at Turkish embassy
YNet News – A Palestinian man sustained gunshot wounds at the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv Tuesday evening. Turkish diplomats told Ankara news agencies that he had tried to take …….
IDF bombs targets in Gaza
YNet News – Palestinian sources reported that Israel carried out airstrikes in Gaza Tuesday, after two soldiers were injured by mortars that exploded near the border fence earlier in …….
4 Palestinians to be tried for violating settlement boycott
YNet News – The Palestinian Finance Ministry decided Tuesday to indict four merchants who violated the boycotted on products made in West Bank settlements. The four Palestinians …….
Hezbollah gives anti-Israel evidence to UN court
YNet News – Lebanon’s Hezbollah submitted a dossier to a state prosecutor on Tuesday after a UN court requested the Shi’ite group provide the evidence it said it had of Israel’s …….
Arab world ‘disgusted’ by IDF Facebook photos
YNet News – Arab media outlets expressed outrage Tuesday over at the publication of controversial Facebook photos showing an IDF female soldier posing next to cuffed and blindfolded …….
Bolton: Israel has few days to strike Iran
YNet News – Israel has days to launch a military strike against Iran’s Bushehr nuclear facility and stop Tehran from acquiring a functioning atomic plant, a former US envoy to the UN …….
Palestinian Information Center
Haneyya: Fatah authority waging war on Islam
PIC 17 Aug 2010 – Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneyya said the Fatah authority in the West Bank has begun a war on Islam after it called for visits to Jerusalem while it is under occupation.
Rights center slams Facebook pictures as crime against humanity
PIC 17 Aug 2010 – The Palestinian center for defending prisoners condemned the pictures posted on Facebook showing a female Israeli soldier smirking at Palestinian detainees as a crime against humanity.
IOF artillery shells Palestinian residential quarters
PIC 17 Aug 2010 – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) used artillery to shell Palestinian houses east of Abasan to the east of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, the PIC reporter said.
Israeli court holds gov’t responsible for murder of Palestinian girl
PIC 17 Aug 2010 – The Jerusalem District Court ruled that Israel is responsible for the shooting of a 10-year-old Palestinian girl in the town of Anata, north Jerusalem, three years ago, Israeli radio reported Monday.
Prisoner Lubada appeals a kidney to save his life
PIC 17 Aug 2010 – Prisoner Zuhair Lubada from Nablus city appealed to the Palestinian people to donate one kidney to save his life.
Israel knocks down Araqib village for the fourth time
PIC 17 Aug 2010 – Clashes erupted between Israeli police backed by special forces and the villagers of Araqib as a heavy fleet of Israeli troops raided the village for the fourth demolition process against it.
Zionist settlers uproot 200 Palestinian olive trees
PIC 17 Aug 2010 – Zionist settlers uprooted more than 200 Palestinian olive trees near the Qasra village, south of Nablus, on Monday, eyewitnesses reported.
Abbas gives up conditions, agrees to talks ‘with no guarantees’
PIC 17 Aug 2010 – Mahmoud Abbas no longer sets conditions for resuming talks with Israel, Fatah-linked media outlets said, noting that he currently seeks to improve terms for the negotiating environment.
Norway: EU to end Gaza power, water crises
PIC 17 Aug 2010 – Norway asked Israel to allow entry of more goods into the Gaza Strip and facilitate the opening of Gaza crossings, while affirming that the EU would work on ending the Gaza power crisis.
Resistance fighter killed in clashes with sneaking Israeli force
PIC 17 Aug 2010 – One resistance fighter was killed during clashes with an infiltrating Israeli military force in the vicinity of Kissufim border crossing, while unconfirmed news said that another one was also killed.
Iran and Syria to Sign Free Trade Agreement
The Media Line 16 Aug 2010 – Teheran wants to cash in on the success of a similar deal between Damascus ands Ankara. Iran and Syria are set to sign a free trade agreement, Iran’s commerce minister announced Monday.The news follows the success…
Hamas Blames Israel for Mail Embargo
The Media Line 16 Aug 2010 – Gaza government calls on the international community to intervene in postal crises. Israel is imposing a postal blockade on Gaza, officials in the Hamas government have claimed, calling on the international community to intervene.Yousef Al-Mansi, Hamas…
Netanyahu Becomes First Israeli P.M. to Visit Greece
The Media Line 16 Aug 2010 – Binyamin Netanyahu became the first Israeli prime minister to visit Greece when he arrived in Athens on Monday. His host, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, who recently visited Jerusalem, has been trying to become a player…
White House Says Obama Did Not Threaten Turkish Leader Over Israel, Iran
The Media Line 16 Aug 2010 – A Financial Times report saying that President Obama warned Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan would lose American assistance over its positions on Israel and Iran was not accurate according to the White House. The newspaper claimed Obama…
An American woman seeks justice for Palestinian husband
LA Times 18 Aug 2010 – Israeli police say they shot Ziad Jilani after he sideswiped three officers with his car in a ‘terror attack.’ His family says it was an accident. Wife Moira vows to ‘push this until the day I die.’ Get the girls ready, Ziad Jilani’s wife recalls him saying as he rushed out the door, and when I’m back from prayers we’ll have a day at the beach. With temperatures soaring and school in recess, the Jilani family was looking forward to a little fun and relaxation.
Lebanon Gives Palestinians New Work Rights
New York Times 17 Aug 2010 – Lebanon granted Palestinian refugees the same rights to work as other foreigners, a step in ending years of discrimination.
Court Rules Israel Was Responsible for Death of Palestinian Girl
New York Times 17 Aug 2010 – The case gained wide attention because the girl’s father was a Palestinian militant turned advocate for Israeli-Palestinian coexistence.
‘I do not want to see something green on your fields. I want to see everything yellow.’
Mondoweiss – Gideon Levy has interviewed the Jabari family featured in the video above. The article only seems to be available on Haaretz’s Hebrew language website, but Noam Sheizaf translated the following excerpt . Sheizaf also adds that Fadel and Wadee Jabari, whose arrest was shown in the video,…
Maybe the U.S. bears some responsibility for intolerance in Afghanistan
Mondoweiss – A week or so back Time Magazine ran that sensational cover of the Afghan woman whose nose and ears were cut off by her Taliban husband. The cover line was “What happens if we leave Afghanistan.” Today in the Times there is a piece out of…
Islamophobia in New York, Redux: We should have seen the ‘ground zero’ furor coming
Mondoweiss – When the Islamophobic furor against the proposed Muslim community center two-and-a-half blocks away from Ground Zero began to peak in mid-late July, some people wondered why it was occurring now, nine years after the 9/11 attacks. As the New York Times recently noted , an article published…
The noxious comeback of the SUV
Mondoweiss – On my walks around the streets of Manhattan, I recently started noticing many more new sport utility vehicles. Sure enough, a recent article in the New York Times confirmed my impression. Low gas prices have prompted the sales of pickup trucks to jump 29 per cent;…
Bedouin village in the Negev razed for the fourth time to make way for Jewish National Fund park
Mondoweiss – And other news from Today in Palestine: Land and Property Theft and Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing Settlement freeze dispute threatens direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks (The Christian Science Monitor) The Christian Science Monitor – An Israeli settlement freeze is emerging as the biggest obstacle to resuming direct talks aimed…
2 Israeli Occupation Soldiers Injured in Gaza-Region Mortar Attack
Al-Manar 17 Aug 2010 – Two Israeli occupation soldiers were wounded on Tuesday after a mortar bomb launched by Gaza resistance fighters exploded in the Eshkol regional council in the western Negev. This most recent mortar launch came in the wake of two clashes between Israeli occupation troops and Gaza…
Israel Decides to Raze 30 Palestinian Buildings in Occupied J’lem Village
Al-Manar 16 Aug 2010 – The Israeli occupation authority decided to demolish 30 Palestinian buildings in Kufr Aqab village located between occupied Jerusalem and Ramallah. Local sources said on Sunday that the decision to destroy those houses, located in area C according to the Oslo accords, was meant to exploit…
Riddle Or Conspiracy of Traitors , Video
Palestine Think Tank 17 Aug 2010 – Is this a Palestinian-Israeli riddle or a conspiracy? Yesterday I was searching and documenting the bloody crimes of several Israeli officials who were involved in genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, among others I was interested in…
Lebanon gives Palestinians rights
BBC 17 Aug 2010 – The Lebanese parliament finally passes a law allowing the 400,000 Palestinian refugees living in the country to work legally.
Hariri murder ‘evidence’ handover
BBC 17 Aug 2010 – Hezbollah hands a tribunal what it claims is evidence of Israeli involvement in the murder of ex-Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri.
Israeli denies Facebook mistake
BBC 17 Aug 2010 – A former Israeli soldier says she did nothing wrong by posting pictures of her and Palestinian prisoners onto Facebook.
Jordan policemen freed in Darfur
BBC 17 Aug 2010 – Two kidnapped Jordanian peacekeepers with the joint UN-African Union force in the Sudanese region of Darfur are freed unharmed.
Work Permits and Ramadan in the West Bank
Antiwar.com 17 Aug 2010 – HIRBET DEIR, Occupied West Bank — For Muhammad el-Baradiyeh, 38, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is always a blessing. In fact, every day of the month-and-a-half prior to Ramadan has been good for Muhammad. Thanks to a permit granted by the Israeli authorities, he’s been…
Israeli female soldier smiles for camera and posts images of blindfold Palestinian prisoners on Facebook, from ‘best time of my life’
Sabbah report 17 Aug 2010 – Photographs uploaded by Israeli soldier, Eden Abergil (meet her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1036677802 ) and labeled “IDF — the best time of my life” show her smiling next to Palestinian prisoners with their hands bound and their eyes covered.”That looks really sexy for you,” says a comment posted…
Articles
Formalizing Israel’s Land Grab
Chris Hedges, Truthdig8/16/2010
Time is running out for Israel. And the Israeli government knows it. The Jewish Diaspora, especially the young, has a waning emotional and ideological investment in Israel. The demographic boom means that Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories will soon outnumber Jews. And Israel’s increasing status as a pariah nation means that informal and eventually formal state sanctions against the country are probably inevitable.
Desperate Israeli politicians, watching opposition to their apartheid state mount, have proposed a perverted form of what they term “the one-state solution.” It is the latest tool to thwart a Palestinian state and allow Israel to retain its huge settlement complexes and land seizures in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The idea of a single state was backed by Moshe Arens, a former defense minister and foreign minister from the Likud Party, in a column he wrote last month in the newspaper Haaretz asking “Is There Another Option?” Arens has been joined by several other Israeli politicians including Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin.
The Israeli vision, however, does not include a state with equal rights for Jewish and Palestinians citizens. The call for a single state appears to include pushing Gaza into the unwilling arms of Egypt and incorporating the West Bank and East Jerusalem into Israel. Palestinians within Israeli-controlled territory, however, will remain burdened with crippling travel, work and security restrictions already in place. Palestinians in the occupied territories, for example, cannot reclaim lost property or acquire Israeli citizenship, yet watch as Jews born outside of Israel and with no prior tie to the country become Israeli citizens and receive government-subsidized housing. Palestinians in the West Bank live in a series of roughly eight squalid, ringed ghettos and are governed by military courts. Jews living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, like all full Israeli citizens, are subject to Israeli civilian law and constitutional protection. Palestinians cannot serve in the armed forces or the security services, while Jewish settlers are issued automatic weapons and protected by the Israel Defense Force. more.. e-mail
Bureaucracy vs. Occupation: Hamas Government Bulldozes Gazans’ Homes
Mohammed Omer, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs8/1/2010
In a strange interpretation of eminent domain—the government’s right to take private property for public use—on the morning of May 16 the Gaza Strip’s Hamas-led government, citing a lack of building permits and the need to requisition the land for public use—in this case, to build the Dawaa and Humanitarian Science College—dispatched bulldozers to the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza. The machines typically associated with Israeli occupation forces immediately began flattening the targeted homes, the residents of which insist they were given little or no notice, and that their claims to their homes are valid.
Many of the homes in the targeted district belonged to Gazans who had lost their houses during Israel’s December 2008-January 2009 attack on Gaza dubbed Operation Cast Lead. Following the murderous 22-day attack, the Hamas government announced it would allow the reconstruction of more than 1,000 housing units, many to be rebuilt with cement smuggled through tunnels between Rafah and Egypt. Prior to the assault, however, in November 2008, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh had designated the land for the construction of a new university and sports field dedicated to science and humanitarian efforts. Unfortunately, the post-attack decree failed to cancel the earlier one. So the homeowners rebuilt. And on May 16, the bulldozers arrived. From Homeowner to Homeless
One of the victims is 41-year-old Issa Al Sududi. “I had no prior warning,” he said, staring at the remnants of his home in shock. When he tried to stop the demolition, police officers beat him, until a policeman who recognized Issa stopped the assault. Issa’s wife, overwhelmed, collapsed while resisting the police. She was transferred to the hospital with an injured left arm and leg.
Samir Zaquot, 46, lives in the Al Barahma residential area. Prior to 2005 it was impossible for Palestinians to live here because of its proximity to the Jewish-only colony at Rafiah Yam…. more.. e-mail
No Room for Arab Students at Israeli Universities
Jonathan Cook, Dissident Voice8/17/2010
New Rules Favour Former Soldiers
Measures designed to benefit Jewish school-leavers applying for places in Israeli higher education at the cost of their Arab counterparts have been criticised by lawyers and human rights groups.
The new initiatives are viewed as part of an ongoing drive by right-wing politicians in Israel to demand “loyalty” from the country’s large minority population of Arab citizens.
Critics have termed the measures, including a programme to provide financial aid exclusively to students who have served in the Israeli army, a form of “covert discrimination”.
While most Jews are conscripted into the military, Israel’s Arab citizens are generally barred from serving.
The issue came to a head last week over reports that Tel Aviv University had reserved a large number of dormitory places for discharged soldiers, leaving Arab students facing a severe shortage of university accommodation in the coming academic year.
In addition, only former soldiers will be eligible in future for large subsidies on tuition fees under an amended law passed last month.
Arab students already face many obstacles to pursuing higher education, according to the Dirasat policy research centre in Nazareth. These include psychometric exams — a combined aptitude and personality test that has been criticised as culturally biased — and minimum age restrictions for courses, typically at age 21, when soldiers finish their three-year service. more.. e-mail
Arabs face increased discrimination at Tel Aviv University
Electronic Intifada: 17 Aug 2010 – Measures designed to benefit Jewish school-leavers applying for places in Israeli higher education at the cost of their Palestinian Arab counterparts have been criticized by lawyers and human rights groups.more
Economic and political pressures at Ramadan
Electronic Intifada: 17 Aug 2010 – HIRBET DEIR, occupied West Bank (IPS) – Ramadan, with its extra expense (families and friends hosted every evening for the festive iftar meal that breaks the daily fast) and shorter working hours, is a time when most Palestinians especially struggle to make ends meet.more
Is Canada passing information on its citizens to Israel?
Electronic Intifada: 17 Aug 2010 – As a national intelligence organization shrouded in secrecy, it is hard to know if the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) has been mandated to target Palestine solidarity activists. In the current political climate, however, it’s not surprising that CSIS officials view anyone defending Palestinian rights as a threat. Yves Engler analyzes for The Electronic Intifada.more
No Room for Arab Students at Israeli Universities
Palestine Chronicle: 17 Aug 2010 – By Jonathan Cook – Nazareth Measures designed to benefit Jewish school-leavers applying for places in Israeli higher education at the cost of their Arab counterparts have been criticised by lawyers and human rights groups. The new initiatives are viewed as part of an ongoing drive by right-wing politicians in Israel to demand “loyalty” from the country’s large minority population of Arab citizens. Critics have termed the measures, including a programme to provide financial aid exclusively to students who have served in the Israeli army, a form of “covert discrimination”. While most Jews are conscripted into the military, Israel’s Arab citizens are generally barred from serving. The issue came to a head last week over reports that Tel Aviv University had reserved a large number of dormitory places for discharged soldiers, leaving Arab students facing a severe shortage of university accommodation in the coming academic year. In addition, only former soldiers…more
Mr. Erdogan: Please Say No to Uribe
Palestine Chronicle: 17 Aug 2010 – (An Open Letter from Gaza to Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey: Urge UN Secretary General to remove Alvaro Uribe from the Panel of Inquiry into the attack on the Humanitarian Flotilla to Gaza.) Tuesday, 17th August, 2010 Besieged Gaza, Palestine Dear Mr. Prime Minister, We are writing to you from under a brutal, hermetic siege now entering its fourth year to express our outrage against the nomination of the notorious former president of Columbia, Alvaro Uribe Vélez to the Panel of Inquiry into the May 31, 2010 Israeli brutal attack on the humanitarian flotilla to Gaza. Mr. Prime Minister, it is an insult to the memory of those killed in the Israeli massacre against peace activists aboard the Mavi Marmara to have their blood “redeemed” by a man who has a record of violations against human rights and international law. Uribe Vélez was an accomplice in corruption…more
Hamas: A Beginner’s Guide – Book Review
Palestine Chronicle: 17 Aug 2010 – By Dr. Ludwig Watzal – Bonn Khaled Hroub, Hamas. A Beginner’s Guide, Pluto, 2 nd Edition, London-Ann Arbor 2010 (2006), 196 p. Israel, the United States and the European Union call Hamas a “terrorist organisation”. Yet Hamas swept to victory in the 2006 Palestinian elections and stunned the world. It is now a democratically elected political party. All the election observers agreed that the elections were free, fair, and democratic. The Palestinian people showed their ability to establish a democratic state next to Israel. But Israel, the United States and the EU did not like this idea of a democratic Palestinian state besides Israel and the outcome of a democratic election. According to their opinion, the Palestinian people voted democratically, but for the wrong party. What is wrong with the Hamas movement? And why is it demonised by Israel, the US and the European Union? The reviewed book asks all…more
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