26 August, 2010 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Israeli education ministry approves new ‘whites-only’ settlement school
IMEMC – 26 Aug 2010 – Thursday August 26, 2010 – 03:38, Several months ago, a religious school in the illegal Israeli settlement of Immanuel was criticized for segregating white Jewish students from non-white Jewish students in classes.
Bedouin Women Hold Non-Violent Demo Against Razing Of Villages
IMEMC – 26 Aug 2010 – Wednesday August 25, 2010 – 17:16, Around 700 Bedouin women held a protest in Jerusalem challenging the demolition of their villages by Israeli forces. They travelled to Jerusalem from the Negev desert in southern Israel, where they live in ‘unrecognized’ villages that have been razed multiple times since Israel was created in 1948.
Protester Arrested In Chicago While Challenging Israeli Segregation
IMEMC – 26 Aug 2010 – Wednesday August 25, 2010 – 16:25, In a demonstration organized by the Palestine Solidarity Group-Chicago on 23 August, more than two dozen activists converged on downtown Millennium Park to call on city leaders to sever ties with Israel and drop Petach Tikva, Israel from the Chicago Sister Cities program. During the annual Chicago Sister Cities’ International Festival, protesters rallied outside — and later, inside — the venue. One activist was arrested and released later that day.
Israeli Army Escorts 500 Jewish Israelis Into Controversial Settlement Near Nablus
IMEMC – 26 Aug 2010 – Wednesday August 25, 2010 – 15:35, 500 Israeli citizens, escorted by dozens of military vehicles, drove by bus deep into the West Bank on Wednesday in a provocative visit to a West Bank settlement. The settlement has been the home of a number of violent attackers of local Palestinians, and many incidents of violence originated from the settlement.
Non-violent activist convicted of ‘incitement’ by Israeli court
IMEMC – 26 Aug 2010 – Tuesday August 24, 2010 – 17:22, An Israeli military court convicted Palestinian peace activist Abdullah Abu Rahmah of incitement and cleared him of stone-throwing charges on Tuesday. Activists called the sentence a direct assault against the non-violent movement in Palestine.
Palestinian Legislators From Across Political Spectrum Opposed To ‚Äòdirect Talks’
IMEMC – 26 Aug 2010 – Tuesday August 24, 2010 – 12:46, Mustafa Barghouti, a leading parliamentarian from the Palestinian left-wing, has published an open letter questioning the wisdom of ‚Äòdirect talks’ with Israel at this time. On the right of the political spectrum, the Hamas party, elected in 2006 to represent the Palestinian people, has also challenged the decision by rival party Fateh to engage in direct talks with Israel without pre-conditions.
Soldiers Kidnap 12 Palestinians in the West Bank
IMEMC – 26 Aug 2010 – Monday August 23, 2010 – 15:40, Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Monday at dawn, 12 Palestinians in different areas of the occupied West Bank, and transferred them to a number of interrogation centers. In Gaza, army bulldozers uprooted farmlands.
Haniyya: “Direct Talks Have No Chances Of Success”
IMEMC – 26 Aug 2010 – Monday August 23, 2010 – 15:29, Prime Minister of the dissolved government in the Gaza Strip, stated Monday, that the decision of the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank to resume direct talks with Israel reflects a failed policy, and that such talks have no chances of success.
Settlers Torch Palestinian Farmlands Near Nablus
IMEMC – 26 Aug 2010 – Monday August 23, 2010 – 15:08, A group of extremist Israeli settlers torched, on Sunday, 20 Dunams (nearly 5 acres) of Palestinian farmlands south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
Palestinians Exiled Since Nativity Church Raid In ‘02 Appeal To Return Home
IMEMC – 26 Aug 2010 – Monday August 23, 2010 – 14:27, A group of 39 Palestinians who were exiled by Israel, after they sought refuge in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in 2002, have submitted an appeal through the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas that they be allowed to return home.
Silwan residents say settlers provoked clash
8/26/2010 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood said settlers attempted to enter the Al-Ein Mosque early Thursday morning, sparking skirmishes that lasted until after sunrise. Israeli forces arrived as locals said they were attempting to drive the settlers out of the mosque area. Two settler cars were torched, and….
Gaza sewage project fears potential delays
8/26/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Wastewater treatment project organizers in the northern Gaza Strip expressed concern on Thursday, ahead of the launch of phase two of construction. The first phase, a background paper said, was delayed three years due to the Israeli blockade on Gaza, which severely restricted the supplies available for the project. As….
Rights group condemns interception of anti-talks protest
8/26/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights on Thursday condemned the Palestinian Authority’s interception of a protest against the PA’s decision to participate in negotiations with Israel. In a statement, the rights group also condemned the detention of one of the protesters as well as the disruptions by….
Palestinians to face ‘Wikipedia War’
8/26/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The next regional war will be a media war, head of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate Abdul Nasser An-Najar said Thursday. Speaking to Ma’an Radio Network, An-Najar said Palestinian journalists are now on the front line in fighting Israeli violations. An-Najar discussed the widely reported “Zionist editing” courses launched in….
Gaza supplies dip as week ends
8/26/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) —A single Gaza crossing was opened for the transport of commercial goods, fuel and supplies for the Palestinian Energy Authority on Thursday, an official said. Chairman of the Goods Coordination Committee for Gaza crossings Raed Fattouh said the southernmost crossing at Kerem Shalom was set to be opened partially for….
Hamas: PA detain 28 party members
8/26/2010 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority’s security forces detained 28 Hamas members and affiliates from across the West Bank over the past three days, a statement from the party said Thursday. Men were detained from the Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron, Qalqiliya, Bethlehem, Tubas, Tulkarem, and Jenin areas, the statement said, alleging that all….
Former fighter detained in Nablus
8/26/2010 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — The Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said the detention of one member, Steven Anabtawi, by Israeli forces on Wednesday, would secure the continuation of armed struggle and resistance. Anabtawi, 23, was detained by Israeli forces outside of Nablus, which a statement from the Israeli military said was a violation of his pardon….
Six families celebrate release of sons from prison
8/26/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Detainees Centers across the West Bank celebrated the release of six Palestinian men from Israeli prisons last week, following the end of their prison terms. The six were identified as:Muhammad Abdul Majeed Al-Ashkar, 31, from Hebron, who spent one year in detention. Muhammad Abdul Rahim Abu Amsha, 26, from Zuwata….
Israel: Former Fatah official not denied Jerusalem permit
8/26/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A spokesman for Israel’s Civil Administration said former Bethlehem governor Salah Ta’mari was not denied permission to enter Jerusalem for medical treatment. The official said Ta’mari was told he had to bring in further documentation regarding his condition, and would then be issued a permit…. Related: Former Bethlehem governor denied Jerusalem access
Gaza father blames Civil Defense for son’s death
8/26/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A Gaza resident has denounced a Civil Defense unit’s claim that it helped to pull a drowned boy from the sea in northern Gaza on Tuesday. The Civil Defense unit made the claim in its weekly report, which came out Tuesday. Mohammad Yousef Mohammad Salah, from Jabaliya, said….
Gaza faction claims fire on Israeli force
8/26/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The An-Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, said fighters sent three mortar shells toward an Israeli force operating in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday morning. An Israeli military spokeswoman said troops had not reported any incidents in the central Gaza Strip during the….
EU pays 9.7 million euros to PA for social allowances
8/26/2010 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — The European Union announced its latest contribution to the Palestinian Authority on Thursday, with almost 10 million euros slated for social allowances for 49,700 vulnerable households in the West Bank and Gaza. The payment, to be released Saturday, will transfer funds to families four weeks ahead of schedule, and before Eid….
Turkish officials: Flotilla raid an ‘event between friends’
8/26/2010 – WASHINGTON (Ma’an/Agencies) — Senior Turkish officials in Washington reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining friendly relations with Israel, Turkish media reported Thursday. The delegation, headed by Turkey’s Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu, was visiting Washington weeks after media reports that the US threatened to pull out of arms deals if Turkey did….
Abbas: Negotiations despite opposition
8/26/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas said he would go to negotiations in Washington next week despite heavy opposition to the resumption of peace talks with Israel. Speaking at an iftar meal honoring religious figures and diplomatic officials in Palestine, Abbas said he hoped Israeli negotiators would grasp what he termed the “current opportunity….
Lieberman: Palestinians will disrupt negotiations
8/26/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he does not expect peace talks to be successful, during a discussion Wednesday over the expansion of a temporary settlement construction freeze. Lieberman told Israel’s Army Radio, “I think there’s room to lower expectations and get real,” adding that there is….
Netanyahu considers settlement freeze
8/26/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering a partial freeze on settlement building when the current freeze expires on 26 September, Israeli media reported Thursday. The Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth said Netanyahu is considering approving a resumption of construction in larger settlement blocs while continuing the freeze in the smaller, more….
US former official arrives in Israel to discuss settlements
8/26/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Former US envoy to the Middle East Denis Ross arrived in Israel on Thursday evening on an unannounced visit, Israeli sources said. Ross is one of the most senior US officials specializing in the Middle East and occupied a diplomatic post in the US administration of former President George Bush in….
Officials discuss PA ban on mosque loudspeakers
8/26/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — A delegation from Nablus was received in Ramallah on Wednesday to address the recent decision of the Minister ofAwqaf and Religious Affairs to stop Quran readings from loudspeakers in the West Bank. The decision, which caused an outcry from many religious officials, and from Hamas leaders in Gaza, saw the Palestinian….
Hamas mourns death of Muslim Brotherhood founder
8/26/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) – Hamas members in Rafah announced the death of Muslim Brotherhood official Hajj Lutfi Al-Hums, 81, in Rafah on Thursday. The group said Al-Hums was considered a founder of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, now a central party in Egypt and influential throughout the region. A statement said prayers for his soul….
PCBS: PA issues 1,741 building permits for West Bank
8/26/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Building permits for structures in “Area A” of the West Bank have risen by 30 percent, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said Thursday. The most recent report on building permits, covering the second quarter of 2010, counted the total number of new permits as 1,741, 60 percent of which were….
Mix and Ma’an co-produce ‘Ramadan Tent’
8/26/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) —”Ramadan Tent” is the first joint entertainment show co-produced by the Ma’an Network and Mix satellite channel, director Feras Abed Ar-Rahman said Thursday. The show has highlighted young, talented Palestinian singers from inside Israel who are unable to participate in competitions in Arab countries because they hold Israeli passports….
Separating from the settlements
Palestine Note 26 Aug 2010 – Not long ago, I was on a panel following a documentary by a Palestinian filmmaker, about life in both Gaza and the West Bank these days. The question and answer period, as usual, was far-ranging, and…
Rebranding Iraq: Playing with numbers and human lives
Palestine Note 26 Aug 2010 – The soldiers of the US 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division hollered as they made their way into Kuwait. “We won,” they claimed. “It’s over.” But what exactly did they win? And is the war really…
Report: Social allowances paid ahead of Eid al-Fitr
Palestine Note 26 Aug 2010 – Washington – This year’s third quarterly payment of social allowances paid by the European Union and the Palestinian Authority to nearly 50,000 “vulnerable” households across the West Bank and Gaza will take place Saturday Aug. 28,…
Israel forming September negotiations team
Palestine Note 26 Aug 2010 – Washington – Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu began this evening selecting his negotiating team for direct peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority in Washington, DC next week, Haaretz reported Thursday. Said Haaretz’s Barak Ravid: “Netanyahu will form…
Israeli report: Settler industry hurt by boycott
Palestine Note 26 Aug 2010 – Washington – An article in Hebrew-language Yediot Wednesday reported the Palestinian Authority-led boycott of settlement-produced goods is having an economic effect on settlement industry, according to a translation by Israeli news blog Coteret . Officials and business…
Gaza: Delays feared for sewage project
Palestine Note 26 Aug 2010 – Washington – Planners of a wastewater management project for the Gaza Strip are concerned about delays for phase two of the project’s construction, Ma’an News Agency reported Thursday: The need for a function sewage treatment plant…
Abbas: Heading to talks despite opposition
Palestine Note 26 Aug 2010 – Washington – Despite opposition from key rival Hamas and a conference organized Wednesday by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) against engaging Israel in peace talks next week, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has…
Palestinians, Israeli forces clash in Jerusalem
Palestine Note 26 Aug 2010 – Scuffle with settlers sparks clashes in Silwan New York – Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli forces early on Thursday in the neighborhood of Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem, after an altercation with settlers turned violent. According…
Israelis risk jail to smuggle Palestinians
Palestine Note 25 Aug 2010 – 600 sign up for campaign of disobedience Nearly 600 Israelis have signed up for a campaign of civil disobedience, vowing to risk jail to smuggle Palestinian women and children into Israel for a brief taste of…
Notes from Besieged Gaza
Palestine Note 25 Aug 2010 – On June 17, Israel’s Cabinet issued a six point plan, agreeing to ease access for civilian goods entering Gaza without loosening inflexible security measures to restrict them. So what’s changed? Not much. Increased truck traffic has…
Explosions in Palestine, but not what you think
Palestine Note 25 Aug 2010 – Nablus/Washington, DC – The explosions in Nablus, Palestine began in the evening on 21 July, and continued throughout the next day. Was it the beginning of the third Intifada? Absolutely not. The constant “Boom! Boom! Boom!”…
Mortar explodes near Gaza border
Palestine Note 25 Aug 2010 – Washington – A mortar reportedly fired from the northern Gaza Strip exploded near a kibbutz in the Negev Wednesday, Ynet news reported . Exploded ordinance [Flyk3r – FLickr] No injuries or damage has been reported. Said Ynet:…
Abbas and Abdullah II meet ahead of talks
Palestine Note 25 Aug 2010 – Washington – Both due in Washington, DC next week, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II met in Amman Wednesday to discuss issues ahead of the Sept. 2 direct talks between Abbas and Israeli…
PA shuts down anti-negotiation conference
Palestine Note 25 Aug 2010 – PA forces disrupt PFLP-organized gathering in Ramallah New York – Fatah-allied Palestinian Authority (PA) forces shut down a conference in Ramallah on Wednesday organized by opponents of the PA’s return to direct negotiations with Israel. Palestinian…
WATCH: Is Fox News evil or stupid?
Palestine Note 25 Aug 2010 – Washington – As the controversy surround the Park51 Islamic community center continues to grow, conservative network Fox News has featured several segments aimed at unearthing supposedly sinister funding and motivations behind the center, which it incorrectly…
EU’s Ashton slams Israel’s conviction of Bil’in leader
Palestine Note 25 Aug 2010 – New York – The European Union’s highest foreign policy official condemned on Wednesday Israel’s conviction of Abdallah Abu Rahma , a key organizer of the nonviolent protest movement in the West Bank village of Bil’in. Baroness Catherine…
Investigations called for teens gunned down in March
Palestine Note 25 Aug 2010 – Washington – In March, Mohammed Faisal Mahmoud Qawariq and Salah Mohammed Kamal Qawariq – both 19 – were shot to death by Israeli forces in Nablus. Medical officials said the boys were shot at close range,…
Lieberman: Settlement freeze must end
Palestine Note 25 Aug 2010 – Israeli FM says construction in West Bank settlements should resume New York – Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday that Israel should allow a partial ban on construction in settlements in the occupied West Bank…
Iran ready to sell arms to Lebanon
AlJazeera 25 Aug 2010 – Minister says his country is prepapred to sell military equipment on Lebanon’s request.
Clashes in East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan
PNN – Jerusalem-PNN-In the early hours of the Thursday morning clashes erupted between local Arab residents and Border Police and Firefighters, in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan. The clashes were instigated by settlers…
EU Ashton Raises Concerns Over Israel’s Convection Of A Palestinian Human Right Activist
PNN – Bethlehem — PNN — the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton, expressed her concerns by Israeli decision to convict protest organizer Abdallah Abu Rhamah from Bil’in, a small village in…
The PA Police Attack Leftists Rally In Ramallah
PNN – Ramallah — PNN — the Palestinian police suppressed on Wednesday a rally organized by leftists groups in the central West Bank city of Ramallah to protest the direct talks slated for next…
Fuel for Five Days To Gaza’s Power Plant
PNN – Gaza — PNN — the Palestinian Authority started on Wednesday to bump 600, 000 letters of industrial fuel to the Gaza’s only power plant. The amount will be enough to generate electricity…
Jordan Valley Demolitions: a History of Ongoing Silent Deportation
PNN – Ahmad Jaradat Maria Chiara Rioli- Alternative Information Center – Israel has recently recommenced a policy of demolishing houses and even entire villages in the northern valleys of West Bank. In the beginning…
Lieberman: Settlement Contraction To Continue In September
PNN – Ghassan Bannoura — PNN – The Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced on Wednesday that there is no reason for not resuming construction in West Bank settlements in September. The announced 10…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (19 -25 August 2010)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Mandelblit: Gaza blockade is legal
Jeruslalem Post 26 Aug 2010 – Maj.-Gen tells Turkel C’tee decisions made for protection of Israelis.
Pre-dawn riots in Silwan subdued with no injuries
Jeruslalem Post 26 Aug 2010 – Stones hurled at officers, cars set ablaze in east Jerusalem.
Edelstein: Palestinians should halt building as well
Jeruslalem Post 26 Aug 2010 – Public diplomacy minister to tell PM West Bank freeze should be mutual.
Politicians to fight freeze at schools
Jeruslalem Post 26 Aug 2010 – Right-wingers to visit settlements on 1st day of studies.
Politicians to denounce freeze at schools
Jeruslalem Post 26 Aug 2010 – Right-wingers to visit settlements on 1st day of studies.
Drastic fall in approvals for E. J’lem homes
Jeruslalem Post 26 Aug 2010 – Municipality: Any talk of a freeze is baseless
Radical groups demand Abbas resign
Jeruslalem Post 26 Aug 2010 – PA president urges Israel to seize ‚Äòhistoric opportunity.’
Radicals demand Abbas resign over talks
Jeruslalem Post 26 Aug 2010 – PA president urges Israel to seize ‚Äòhistoric opportunity.’
IAF to lease new training aircraft to replace Skyhawks
Jeruslalem Post 26 Aug 2010 – Barak to submit information request for South Korean and Italian trainer aircraft.
Gov’t says no to supplying Gaza with more electricity
Jeruslalem Post 26 Aug 2010 – Vice premier Shalom turns down request from Quartet’s Blair to increase output to Strip.
PM puts together negotiating team
Jeruslalem Post 26 Aug 2010 – US diplomat Dennis Ross arrives in Israel to discuss building freeze.
Gaza mall sparks blockade debate
Jeruslalem Post 26 Aug 2010 – Foreign Ministry: “This clearly belies all the moaning.”
Maj.-Gen Mandelblit: Gaza blockade is ‘entirely legal.’
Jeruslalem Post 26 Aug 2010 – Testimony before Turkel Committee continues, Mandelblit says decisions made for protection of Israeli citizens.
‘Turkey committed to ties with Israel’
Jeruslalem Post 26 Aug 2010 – Report: Turkish officials say flotilla was episode “between friends.”
‘Turkey committed to maintaining friendly ties with Israel’
Jeruslalem Post 26 Aug 2010 – Report: Turkish officials tell US the flotilla incident was experience “between friends”; impact of raid shocking because of previously good diplomatic relations.
Palestinians attack forces in Silwan
Jeruslalem Post 26 Aug 2010 – Stones hurled at officers, cars set ablaze in east Jerusalem.
Yesh Din demands probe of Palestinian teens’ deaths
Jeruslalem Post 26 Aug 2010 – Muhammad Faisal Mahmoud Qawariq and Salah Muhammad Kamal Qawariq, 19-year-old cousins, were killed while working in their families’ fields near their village of Awarta.
PA quells talks opposition with force
Jeruslalem Post 25 Aug 2010 – Security forces beat Palestinians in Ramallah against negotiations.
PA quells opposition to direct talks
Jeruslalem Post 25 Aug 2010 – Security forces beat Palestinians against talks meeting in Ramallah.
UNIFIL releases findings of IDF-Lebanon border clash
Jeruslalem Post 25 Aug 2010 – Report says Israel did not cross the Blue Line international border as the Lebanese had claimed to justify their decision to open fire on IDF soldiers.
Egypt: 1st nuclear plant site announced
Jeruslalem Post 25 Aug 2010 – Mubarak orders construction of nuclear plant on Mediterranean coast.
‘Lebanon should build own nuclear plant’
Jeruslalem Post 25 Aug 2010 – Nasrallah cites Iran’s new plant as cost effective solution.
International Solidarity Movement
Armed settler guards attack mosque in Wadi Hilweh, shots fired at Palestinian residents
8/26/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – Violence has swept through Wadi Hilweh again as Israeli settler security guards attempted to storm the neighborhood mosque last night, in what marks the third time such an attack has been launched on the local religious site. Settler guards fired live ammunition at Palestinian residents in the ensuing clashes that erupted. Police claim that stones…. Related: Wadi Hilweh Information Center
Abdallah Abu Rahmah: know the facts and act now for the freedom of a nonviolent freedom fighter
8/26/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – 27 August 2010 – The West Bank village of Bil’in has become a symbol of the wider popular resistance movement in Palestine. Abdallah Abu Rahmah, head of Bi’in’s Popular Committee, is one of many key organizers of peaceful resistance that Israel has used legal means to persecute. He was convicted….
Gabriela Shalev: Peace talks can change the UN’s stance on Israel
Ha’aretz – Israel’s soon-to-be former United Nations ambassador on why cold peace and problematic talks are better than lack of negotiations.
Netanyahu proposes bi-weekly meetings with Abbas during direct peace talks
Ha’aretz – Netanyahu: Serious negotiations in the Middle East mean only direct, quiet and consecutive talks between the two leaders on the key issues.
Israel begins forming negotiations team for direct peace talks
Ha’aretz – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting with advisers to select members of Israel’s delegation for direct peace talks with PA in Washington; lawyer Yitzhak Molcho to head team.
Military Advocate General: Gaza blockade entirely legal
Ha’aretz – Brig. Gen. Avichai Mendelblit to panel probing May 31 Gaza flotilla raid: No one in the IDF would think to violate international law., Turkish diplomat visiting U.S. tells Turkish paper…
Turkey officials discuss Gaza flotilla, Iran nukes on U.S. visit
Ha’aretz – Visit comes after the U.S. denied a report stating it had warned Turkey strained ties with Israel, support of Iran could hinder a significant arms deal between Washington and Ankara.
Israel arrests two members of Palestinian Tanzim militia
Ha’aretz – Steven Anbatawai and Wazir Isa arrested in joint raid by IDF, Shin Bet and police north of Nablus.
PA arrests dozens of Hamas, Islamic Jihad militants in West Bank
Ha’aretz – Hamas arrests in Gaza Islamic Jihad militants during mission to free a Gazan believed to have been abducted by the Islamic Jihad men.
Iran prepared to arm Lebanon ‘if it seeks military assistance’
Ha’aretz – Hezbollah leader Nasrallah vowed on Tuesday that his Iranian-backed group could help secure aid for Lebanon’s poorly equipped army.
Peres warns IAEA chief of Iran nuclear threat
Ha’aretz – ‘It is impossible to separate Iran’s nuclear plans from the nature of its regime,’ president tells Yukiya Amano in Jerusalem.
Lieberman: Settlement building should restart in September
Ha’aretz – No reason why construction should not resume in major West Bank settlements when 10-month freeze ends on September 26, foreign minister says.
UN prosecutor: Hezbollah proof linking Israel to Hariri assassination is ‘incomplete’
Ha’aretz – UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon: DVDs presented as evidence against Israel show only material already presented in press conference.
Top U.S. negotiators in Israel to soothe tensions ahead of Washington peace talks
Ha’aretz – Israel digs in as Palestinians push for commitment on settlement freeze before talks kick off on September 2.
Hamas: Direct Israeli-Palestinian talks illegitimate, coerced by U.S.
Ha’aretz – Hamas politburo chief urges Egypt’s Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah not to take part in Washington-backed peace negotiations.
Military Court convicts West Bank Palestinian activist of incitement
Ha’aretz – Abdullah Abu Rahmeh is one of the main leaders of the weekly protests in the Palestinian village of Bilin against Israel’s separation fence.
Israeli settlers try to seize lands in Jerusalem
26 Aug 2010 – Jerusalem, August 26, (Pal Telegraph) Local sources said that a number of Israeli settlers tried to storm the mosque named Eein-Silwan East of Jerusalem, and broke the locks of the mosque, but Palestinian young men stood up to this attack and besieged the Israeli settlers in the yard. The sources added that Israeli soldiers intervened by throwing gas and…
IOF raids a mosque in Hebron
26 Aug 2010 – Hebron, August 26, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli occupation forces raided at dawn today the “Hamza” mosque in the town of “Seir”, east of Hebron in the West Bank. Security sources said that the Israeli occupation forces raided the mosque in the early dawn, and searched and tampered with its contents, and searched a number of houses in the town of “Seir”….
Israel closes Ibrahimi mosque for 10 days, prevents Muslims and lets Israelis in
26 Aug 2010 – Hebron, August 26, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli Occupation authorities announced yesterday that it will fully open the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron before the Israeli settlers in the holy month of Ramadan, on the occasion of the Jewish “forgiveness” Day, in reference to fully close the campus before the Muslim worshipers. Israel Radio said that the Israeli army allowed the opening of…
Israel raids Hebron, arrests 3
26 Aug 2010 – Hebron, August 26, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli occupation forces arrested today three people after raiding their homes in the village of “Baq’a”, east of Hebron in the West Bank. According to local sources the Israeli occupation forces arrested both Ahed Hisham Mustafa Jaber and his brother Muhannad Mahmoud Mohammed Mustafa Jaber and transferred them to an unknown destination. Citizen…
Israel partially opens Gaza’s commercial crossings
26 Aug 2010 – Gaza, August 26, (Pal Telegraph) The Israeli occupation authorities decided today to partially open the Kerem Abu Salem crossing to let in food, aid, fuel and trucks to the Palestinian Energy Authority. Engineer Raed Fattouh, the Chairman of the Coordination Committee of the Gaza’s supplies, said that the Israeli authorities decided today to partially open the Kerem Abu Salem crossing,…
President Abbas tours Ramallah city
25 Aug 2010 – Ramallah, August 25, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – President Mahmoud Abbas toured Ramallah’s city streets on Tuesday evening and visited number of shops to see the state of trading during Ramadan, the fasting month for the Muslims, local sources reported. Abbas talked to shop owners about the state of the Palestinian economy in the West Bank and its progress in light…
Israel erects military checkpoints in Hebron, Bethlehem
25 Aug 2010 – Hebron, August 25, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) erected today military checkpoints at the north of Hebron city, in the West Bank. Local sources said that Israeli soldiers stopped citizens’ cars for hours. They searched them carefully and verified their ID cards. In addition to, IOF raided Bait Omer and Yonis area in Hebron, the sources added….
Israeli education ministry approves new ‘whites-only’ settlement school
Uruknet August 26, 2010 – Several months ago, a religious school in the illegal Israeli settlement of Immanuel was criticized for segregating white Jewish students from non-white Jewish students in classes. Originally, the school was fined for this policy of racial segregation, because the school was state funded. Now, the Israeli education ministry has agreed with the white parents’ request…
Settlement must stop
Uruknet August 25, 2010 – The announcement this week that the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership has agreed to resume “direct talks” with Israel, virtually without any conditions, has generated a lot of consternation among the Palestinian people as well as within virtually all political groups. A clearly embarrassed and frustrated PA has been struggling to justify and explain its decision…
Israeli Military Closes Access to School for Palestinian Children
Uruknet August 25, 2010 – On the same day that Israeli human rights associations Ir Amim and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) released a report denouncing the lack of classrooms in East Jerusalem, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem announces that children of the kindergarten of Bethany (Shayyah) “can no more reach their school through the small opening…
The Voice of Palestine (1)
Uruknet August 25, 2010 – We, the Palestinians, have a voice; a strong one that never tires no matter the deafness or the silence of the world. We speak of our suffering, aspirations and hopes when all others are silent. We tell our story, the story of a land usurped by foreign colonists, the story of an indigenous people ethnically…
Refusal to engage in direct negotiations without a clear settlement freeze
Uruknet August 25, 2010 – We have followed with great concern the increasing external pressure, especially from the U.S. and Israel, on the P.A. leadership to shift from indirect negotiations which have not resulted in any progress to direct negotiations without clear and binding terms of reference regarding a complete halt of all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory…
Jordan Valley Demolitions: a History of Ongoing Silent Deportation
Uruknet August 25, 2010 – Israel has recently recommenced a policy of demolishing houses and even entire villages in the northern valleys of West Bank. In the beginning of August, Israeli bulldozers came in the morning and demolished 23 small houses, structures and shacks in the Bedouin village of al-Farsiya. These houses had been already demolished on 19 July and…
PA forces raid meeting as dissent grows
Uruknet August 25, 2010 – Palestinian political leaders and activists, outraged by the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) approval of direct talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israeli leaders next week, attempted to converge in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah today in a meeting aimed at “express[ing] or stand[ing] against a return to negotiations,” Ma’an News Agency reported (“Police…
MK calls for investigation into Israeli soldiers’ abuse of Palestinian children
Uruknet August 25, 2010 – A member of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, has condemned as “unethical and inhumane” the methods used by Israeli soldiers to investigate Palestinians, particularly children. Dr. Afu Agbaria MK claimed that “Israel’s own statistics confirm that 14% of detained Palestinian children were subjected to sexual abuse threats by Israeli soldiers.” He referred to a report…
Ramallah: PA police shut down conference against talks
Uruknet August 25, 2010 – A conference for Palestinians angered by the governmental decision to proceed with direct peace talks was shut down by PA forces in Ramallah on Wednesday, organizers said. A spokesman with the Ramallah security forces, however, said the conference was not interfered with, explaining that officers “banned an illegal rally that was being carried out in…
Yale conference on anti-Semitism targets Palestinian identity, ‘self-hating’ Jews, and anyone who criticizes Israel
Uruknet August 25, 2010 – This is disturbing. A Yale University center that purports to study anti-Semitism is holding a three-day conference on “the crisis” of global anti-Semitism (ending tomorrow) that is dedicated to the idea that any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic. The flotilla raid, anti-Semitic. Helen Thomas, anti-Semitic. The very idea of Palestinian identity, anti-Semitic. That last claim—”The…
Jerusalem: Bedouin Women Hold Non-Violent Demo Against Razing Of Villages
Uruknet August 25, 2010 – Around 700 Bedouin women held a protest in Jerusalem challenging the demolition of their villages by Israeli forces. They travelled to Jerusalem from the Negev desert in southern Israel, where they live in ‘unrecognized’ villages that have been razed multiple times since Israel was created in 1948. They gathered outside the Israeli Ministry of the…
Math program taps potential of young students in Gaza
Uruknet August 24, 2010 – …The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 2010 report on the psycho-social situation of education in Gaza notes the effects of the Israeli attacks and siege on Gaza, saying 83 percent of students surveyed had difficulty concentrating in school; 48 percent had difficulty concentrating during home study; and 81 percent found it difficult…
Global boycott movement claims victories, arrests
Uruknet August 24, 2010 – This week, the Norwegian government announced that it has divested from two major Israeli companies involved in settlement construction and land theft in the occupied West Bank. Both companies, Africa Israel Investments and its subsidiary, Danya Cebus, are owned by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev, and have been at the center of a widespread boycott, divestment…
Obama Exploits US Strength, Abbas’s Weakness
Uruknet August 24, 2010 – You may be surprised to know that direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) have commenced. PA President Mahmoud Abbas was. Multiple sources told reporters Monday that Abbas became “enraged” after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton publicly announced an invitation for direct talks without informing him beforehand. Abbas received four calls from…
UN says Israel not cooperating with flotilla probe
Uruknet August 24, 2010 – Israel is not cooperating with the UN Human Rights Council’s probe of its deadly raid on an international aid flotilla that was trying to break the blockade of Gaza, a UN official said on Tuesday. Juan Carlos Monge said the fact-finding mission is speaking to witnesses and government officials in Turkey and Jordan, but he…
Health Ministry in Gaza warns of medicine shortage
Uruknet August 24, 2010 – The Gaza Healthy Ministry’s pharmaceuticals department says it faces a shortfall of 104 types of drugs and 101 types of medical equipment. Ministry general-director Dr Muneer Al-Barsh warned that most of the medical equipment was used in intensive care and surgery. The medicine stored by the ministry is prescribed to cancer patients, patients with kidney…
Deaths in Beirut shootout
Uruknet August 24, 2010- Three people, including a Hezbollah official, have been killed in clashes between supporters of different political factions in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, security sources have said. Machine guns and rocket propelled grenades were used in Tuesday’s unrest, which officials described as a “personal fight”. The shootout erupted between a supporter of the Shia Hezbollah group and…
Why Israel Criminalizes Nonviolence
Uruknet August 24, 2010 – An Israeli military court convicted Abdallah Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, of incitement and holding illegal demonstrations. The eight-month long ordeal, during which the peaceful activist was imprisoned, also ended with his acquittal on two other charges: stone-throwing and possession of arms. Abu Rahmah gained international…
Iran offers to arm Lebanon if US pulls weapons aid
The National 26 Aug 2010 – Israel says the Lebanese Armed Forces used American equipment against it in recent deadly firefight on the border over a tree.
Even politics pauses to break the fast
The National 25 Aug 2010 – Iftar food, drink and good cheer follow Hamas leader’s talk in Damascus.
Hamas leader rejects direct negotiations
The National 25 Aug 2010 – The resumption of peace talks with Israel has been dismissed by the Hamas leader, Khalid Meshaal, as nothing more than a public relations exercise.
Bilin Popular Committee Coordinator Convicted by Israeli Military Court
Alternative Information Center – Yesterday (24 August) Abdallah Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee, was convicted of incitement and organizing illegal marches by an Israeli military court. The conviction concluded an eight months long political show trial,…
Jordan Valley Demolitions: a History of Ongoing Silent Deportation
Alternative Information Center – CHRONOLOGY OF DESTRUCTION Israel has recently recommenced a policy of demolishing houses and even entire villages in the northern valleys of West Bank. In the beginning of August, Israeli bulldozers came in the morning and demolished…
Peace Now Protests against Resumption of West Bank Building
WAFA – TEL AVIV, August 26, 2010 (WAFA)- Israeli Peace Now activists gathered at entrance to settlement, say, ‘Without freeze, it won’t be possible to separate between Israel and Palestinian state.’ MK
EU, PA to Launch Payment of Social Allowances on Saturday
WAFA – JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH, August 26, 2010 (WAFA)- On Saturday August 28, the Palestinian Authority and the European Union will launch this year’s third quarterly payment of social allowances to over 49,700
B’Tselem Calls for Investigating Galant’s Responsibility in Cast Lead
WAFA – TEL AVIV, August 26, 2010 (WAFA)- The Israeli human rights organization, B’Tselem, called for Investigating the new Israeli Chief of Staff Yoav Galant’s responsibility for grave
PCBS: 1,741 Licenses Issued in West Bank
WAFA – RAMALLAH, August 26, 2010 (WAFA)- Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) revealed Thursday that the total number of issued building licenses for the Second Quarter 2010 in the West
Lieberman: Settlement Building Should Restart in September
WAFA – TEL AVIV, August 25, 2010(WAFA)-“No reason why construction should not resume in major West Bank settlements when 10-month freeze ends on September 26,” Lieberman said to daily Haaretz. Israeli
Abbas Receives Quartet Envoy
WAFA – RAMALLAH, August 25, 2010(WAFA)- President Mahmoud Abbas met today, in the presidency headquarters, the envoy of the Quartet to the peace process in the Middle East Tony Blair. During the meeting,
Israeli Army Should Investigate Killing of Two Palestinian Teens
WAFA – TEL AVIV, August 25, 2010 (WAFA)- Two 19-year old Palestinian cousins were shot to death at close range while working at their families’ fields by the West Bank village of Awarta. Although more than
Ashton Concerned by Conviction of Abu Rahma in Israeli Military Court
WAFA – BRUSSELS, August 25, 2010 (WAFA)-The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission Catherine Ashton, said she is concerned by the
Iran has enough material for 1-2 atom bombs – ex-IAEA aide
Daily Star 26 Aug 2010
Vehicles torched as settlers move near Jerusalem mosque
Daily Star 26 Aug 2010
Sarkozy says drawing Lebanon back into violence ‘unacceptable’
Daily Star 26 Aug 2010
Sleiman vows clashes will no longer be tolerated in Lebanon
Daily Star 26 Aug 2010
EU rebukes Israel over conviction of West Bank separation barrier protester
The Guardian 25 Aug 2010 – Lady Ashton’s support for Palestinian Abdallah Abu Rahmah deemed highly improper by Israeli foreign ministry Lady Ashton, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, today took the unusual step of publicly criticising the conviction in an Israeli military…
After the Middle East peace talks fail | Carlo Strenger
The Guardian 25 Aug 2010 – A unilaterally declared Palestinian state, run for a time without major security incident, offers the only possible path to peace Binyamin Netanyahu has scored a diplomatic victory, as many pundits have pointed out, because the US…
Gaza Strip land crossings weekly status report – August 15-21,2010
Relief Web 26 Aug 2010 – Source: Government of Israel
OPT: The Humanitarian Monitor – July 2010
Relief Web 26 Aug 2010 – Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (19 -25 August 2010)
Relief Web 26 Aug 2010 – Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
OPT: Renewing the Direct Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians – INSS Insight No. 203
Relief Web 26 Aug 2010 – Source: Institute for National Security Studies
MIDEAST: ‘McCarthyism’ Rises in Israel
IPS Rightwing Israeli groups financially supported by Jewish and fundamentalist Christian groups from abroad are on a campaign to undermine free thought in Israeli universities. Collaterally, a move is under way by right-wing parties in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, to limit the freedom of action of civil and human rights-minded NGOs….
PNA represses opposition to direct negotiations
Stop The Wall – This morning, over 100 people gathered at the meeting hall of the protestant church in Ramallah for the formation of the Palestinian Coalition against Direct Negotiations. Soon after the meeting had started, at 11 am, plain-clothes officers from the PNA entered the meeting hall, disrupted the meeting and beat the participants. [
Israel proscribes Free Speech: Anti-Wall activist sentenced
Stop The Wall – After more than thirty hearings, on Tuesday the Israeli military court convicted Palestinian human rights defender Abdullah Abu Rahma of participating, organizing and incitement at Bil’in’s protests. [
Iran offers Russia nuke cooperation
YNet News – Tehran submitts proposal to Russia to jointly produce nuclear fuel for Bushehr….
Report: Turkey tells US will maintain friendly ties with Israel
YNet News – Turkish media report delegation of diplomats headed by Foreign Ministry….
Stones, Molotov cocktails hurled in Silwan
YNet News – Border Guard officers disperse dozens of east Jerusalem residents rioting in….
Military prosecution: Israel under a moral blockade
YNet News – Military prosecution cites international public opinion as grounds for arrest in….
Abbas calls peace talks ‘historic opportunity’
YNet News – Week before launch of direct peace negotiations, Palestinian president urges….
Dozens disrupt Palestinian protest of peace talks
YNet News – Some 200 people gather at Ramallah meeting hall to issue declaration opposing….
Iran bans pet advertisements following fatwa
YNet News – Following a fatwa issued by cleric Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi, the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance decided to ban all advertisements for …….
Former ‘Canadian Idol’ contestant arrested in terror plot
YNet News – VIDEO – Two terrorism suspects made a brief appearance in court on Thursday, and a third man, who appeared on Canada’s version of “American Idol,” has reportedly been …….
PM forms small negotiation team to prevent leaks
YNet News – Ahead of next week’s direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has formed a small team of advisors to lead the …….
Leftists protest against resumption of West Bank building
YNet News – Pressure to continue the West Bank building freeze is being felt ahead of direct talks. About a hundred members of Peace Now protested on Thursday at a junction near the …….
Attorney: IDF harsh with troops for sake of PR
YNet News – The father of one of four soldiers who posted photos of themselves posing with bound and blindfolded Palestinians called them “the best men we have” Thursday at a court …….
Palestinian Information Center
Clashes in Silwan area following failed arson attack on mosque by settlers
PIC 26 Aug 2010 – Violent clashes broke out between Jerusalemite young men in Silwan neighborhood and Israeli troops after Israeli settlers tried to torch the historical mosque of Ein Silwan, south of the Aqsa Mosque.
B’Tselem calls for investigation into Galant’s war crimes against Gaza
PIC 26 Aug 2010 – The Israeli B’Tselem human rights organization has protested Israeli war minister Ehud Barak naming Yoav Galant as the military’s new chief of staff.
Abbas’s militias detain son of MP Tafesh along with 27 others
PIC 26 Aug 2010 – Militias loyal to the de facto president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas rounded up 28 Palestinian citizens for affiliation with Hamas movement including the son of MP Khaled Tafesh.
Israeli police arrest three journalists while leaving the Aqsa Mosque
PIC 26 Aug 2010 – Israeli police detained on Thursday a news crew while they were heading out of the Aqsa Mosque, and escorted them to the police station at the Western Wall for questioning.
PA security subdues opposition to direct talks with Israel
PIC 26 Aug 2010 – The Palestinian Authority’s security militias used excessive force to prevent dozens of Palestinians in Ramallah from participating in a conference opposing the US-sponsored direct talks with Israel.
Brazilian delegation to participate in Freedom Flotilla 2
PIC 26 Aug 2010 – The European campaign to end the siege on Gaza announced that a Brazilian delegation would take part in the Freedom Flotilla 2, which is expected to set sail for Gaza Strip by the end of this year.
Serious diseases in Gaza with electric shock-like symptoms
PIC 26 Aug 2010 – Dr. Nawaz Hussain, head of the Malaysian medical delegation that recently landed in Gaza, revealed an outbreak of a new illness in the Gaza Strip having symptoms similar to electric shock.
IOA ramps up occupation of Jerusalem in Muslim holy month
PIC 26 Aug 2010 – Sheikh Ikrema Sabri says he shares sentiments with all Muslims who are denied access to the Aqsa Mosque after he was barred from praying in the ancient mosque during the holy month of Ramadan.
Resheq to Abbas: Resign as long as you are incapable to resist pressures
PIC 26 Aug 2010 – Ezzat Al-Resheq called on de facto president Mahmoud Abbas to step down from all his posts as long as he cannot withstand the Zio-American pressures or protect the Palestinian rights and constants.
Algerian press accuses Israel of spying on military installations
PIC 26 Aug 2010 – Israel is using its spy satellites Ofek 6 and 7 to spy on Algerian military, and other vital, installations, the local newspaper Algeria News, known for its reliable sources, reported on Wednesday.
Israeli Police Join UN Contingent in Haiti
The Media Line 25 Aug 2010 – The move is seen as stepping stone to further Israeli presence in UN security forces. Israel is sending 14 police officers to Haiti to assist in United Nations efforts to bring law and order to the…
Lieberman: Construction Should Resume when Freeze Ends
The Media Line 25 Aug 2010 – In yet another show of Israeli diplomatic discipline and unity of message, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was quoted by Israeli media as saying that there is no reason that Israel cannot return to construction projects in…
Iran Offers to Sell Arms to Lebanon
The Media Line 25 Aug 2010 – Speaking of freezes, after nearly daily revelations of new home-grown weapons systems, Iran’s latest weapons story is their offer to sell a few to Lebanon. The move is in apparent reaction to moves by the United…
Report: Israel Boosts Spying on Algeria
The Media Line 25 Aug 2010 – An Algerian newspaper has reported that Israel is using its satellites”Ofek 6″ and “Ofek 7” to spy on vital Algerian military installations. The Algeria News newspaper says that the satellites were trying to obtain images of…
Palestinians opposed to new peace talks with Israel accuse police of disrupting protest
LA Times 25 Aug 2010 – RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) ‚Äî Dozens of men believed to be plainclothes Palestinian security personnel broke up a gathering of activists opposed to new Mideast peace talks on Wednesday, reflecting the Palestinian leadership’s sense of vulnerability as it prepares to launch negotiations with Israel next week.
Iran Clamps Down on Reporting on Protest Leaders
New York Times 26 Aug 2010 – Several news outlets have been shut down since last year’s presidential election, including major reformist dailies and magazines that have been critical of it.
World Briefing | MIDDLE EAST: Egypt: Power Failures Hit Ramadan Fasters
New York Times 26 Aug 2010 – Since Muslims began their daily dawn-to-dusk fast for the holy month of Ramadan two weeks ago, Egypt has been hit by its worst power failures in decades.
World Briefing | Middle East: Lebanon: ‚ÄòPersonal Dispute’ Leads to Armed Clash
New York Times 25 Aug 2010 – Members of the Shiite Hezbollah and the conservative Sunni Al-Ahbash group fought one another with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades just blocks from downtown Beirut.
HEBRON REFLECTION: “Captain, Where Is Your Sense of Decency?”
Christian Peacemaker Teams – Palestine – I wondered what was going on in your heart. I had often encountered you on the streets before this day, and most often I observed you as a decent policeman trying to do your job. This day I saw something so different in you.
The Stink of Control
Palestine Monitor – Sewage thickens the waters of the once pristine Zomar river in northwestern West Bank. With no nearby treatment plants, sludge like this coats the lands, poisoning wells and aquifers, polluting fields and infecting children. “There is no real life there – it is just waste water,”…
Refusal to engage in direct negotiations without a clear settlement freeze
Palestine Monitor – We have followed with great concern the increasing external pressure, especially from the U.S. and Israel, on the P.A. leadership to shift from indirect negotiations which have not resulted in any progress to direct negotiations without clear and binding terms of reference regarding a complete halt…
Top ten reasons for skepticism on Israeli-Palestinian talks
Mondoweiss – On August 20, the Obama Administration announced that it will reconvene under its auspices direct Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations beginning on September 2. While a just and lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace is in everyone’s interest, there are profound reasons to be skeptical about the likelihood of success for…
Israeli theater actors refuse to perform at new cultural center in West Bank settlement
Mondoweiss – And other news from Today in Palestine: Land and Property Theft and Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing Palestinians: Freeze must include East Jerusalem, Akiva Eldar The Palestinian Authority has told the U.S. administration that an Israeli commitment to continuing the freeze on settlement construction must include East Jerusalem. During…
When will the ‚ÄòWashington Post’ Op-Ed page provide space to Palestinian voices?
Mondoweiss – A fifth consecutive vicious piece about Palestinians by George Will.
After Birthright: Dangerous conversations and the stifling of dissent
Mondoweiss – Last month, activist Rachel Marcuse spent 10 days in Israel as part of the Taglit-Birthright program — a fully sponsored trip for young North American Jews to learn more about the country. She went to bear witness and ask questions about the Israeli state’s treatment of…
Gilbert Achcar’s book on Arabs and the Holocaust
Mondoweiss – A review of Gilbert Achcar’s book, The Arabs and the Holocaust: the Arab-Israeli War of Narratives (Metropolitan Books; in England, from Saqi ) . Gilbert Achcar is a Lebanese Professor based at SOAS (University of London) and writer of numerous books on geopolitical power relations and imperialism in…
PA “Security” Uses Force to End Anti-Direct Talks Meeting in Ramallah
Al-Manar 26 Aug 2010 – Palestinian Authority security forces on Wednesday used force to prevent dozens of Palestinians in Ramallah from voicing their opposition to the US-sponsored direct talks with Israel. PA security agents and policemen who stormed the building, where a press conference was supposed to be held, first turned…
Meshaal Slams “Illegitimate” Direct Talks
Al-Manar 25 Aug 2010 – Senior Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal snubbed Tuesday the upcoming direct “peace talks” between the Palestinian Authority and Israel as “illegitimate” and do not commit the Palestinian people to anything. “These negotiations are taking place by force of coercion and with an American summons,” the head…
Criminalizing Peaceful Protest: Israel Jails Another Palestinian Gandhi
Joseph Dana 26 Aug 2010 – Last year, on the night of International Human Rights Day at 2am, Abdallah Abu Rahmah was arrested from his home in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Abu Rahmah is the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements and was arrested for…
Under cover of darkness, Ta’ayush activists expose the stealing of more Palestinian land
Joseph Dana 25 Aug 2010 – Ta’ayush activists have uncovered information that the Southern West Bank settlement of Susya is illegal stealing Palestinian land to increase the production of their Carmel Wine. Last week, under cover of darkness, a group of Jerusalem activists went to explore the vineyards. What they found was…
Is Im Tirzu planning to sue author Meir Shalev?
Coteret 26 Aug 2010 – In February, I joined a number of other activists ‚Äî Roy Yellin , Yuval Yellin , Noam Wiener , Edan Ring , Ari Remez , Tal Niv and Noam Livne ‚Äî in establishing a Facebook group aimed at exposing the personae andmotivationbehind the Im Tirzu smear campaign…
Yediot reports on damage to settlement industry caused by targeted boycott
Coteret 26 Aug 2010 – The Politics of economics: The boycott on Israel is expanding Daniel Bettini, Navit Zumer and Ofer Petersburg, Yediot, August 25 2010 [Hebrew original here and at bottom of post] The decision made on Monday by the Norwegian oil fund to divest from Africa Israel and Danya…
Where Is The Sense of Decency? Video
Palestine Think Tank 25 Aug 2010 – Al- Shuhada Street is the main street in Hebron in southern part of the occupied West Bank. Al-Shuhada Street is a major commercial street, is connects between the north and the south of Hebron. Al-Shuhada Street could be compared to any major Street in New York…
Israel protester conviction criticised
BBC 26 Aug 2010 – The European Union criticises Israel for convicting an organiser of the weekly Palestinian protests against the West Bank separation barrier.
Israeli stab suspect held in US‚Äé
BBC 26 Aug 2010 – A US judge orders a man arrested over a series of 18 attacks held without bond after the suspect was extradited to Michigan.
Boxed into a Corner on Iran
Antiwar.com 26 Aug 2010 – Is war with Iran inevitable? by Philip Giraldi
Donors Sending Expired Medicine to Gaza
Sabbah report 26 Aug 2010 – By Nicole Johnston As you approach Gaza’s main dump by road you see a massive wall of trash looming over the plain. It’s crawling with around one hundred scavenger dogs and dozens of poor children, combing through the trash for anything they can sell. In this…
Why is Israel afraid of our cemeteries? By Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban
Sabbah report 26 Aug 2010 – By Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban* | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz After demolishing all the houses of Al-Arakib, the Israeli occupation authorities razed the village cemetery, completely erasing the memory and history of this Palestinian village, as it has erased more than 500 other Palestinian villages since 1948….
Israeli army’s female recruits denounce treatment of Palestinians
Sabbah report 26 Aug 2010 – Facebook images of an Israeli servicewoman posing with blindfolded Palestinians have caused a storm. Now two former female conscripts have spoken out about their own experiences By Harriet Sherwood* | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz It was a single word scrawled on a wall at the Hebrew…
Articles
Israel, Big Money and Obama
Margaret Kimberley, CounterPunch8/20/2010
“Barack Obama has established a strong record as a true friend of Israel, a stalwart defender of Israel’s security, and an effective advocate of strengthening the steadfast U.S.-Israel relationship, publicly stating that Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state should never be challenged.” — Lester Crown
Lester Crown is a Chicagoan with a net worth of four billion dollars. He owns a large stake in and is a former president and board chairman of defense contractor General Dynamics. He also has held large holdings in Hilton Hotels, Maytag (now Whirlpool), and the Chicago Bulls and New York Yankees.
Crown was an early supporter of Barack Obama’s candidacy first for the U.S. Senate, and then for president. He is one of the first and one of his most prodigious fundraisers. As the Obama presidential campaign website says, the candidate “‚Ķ systematically built a sophisticated, and in many ways quite conventional, money machine.” The Crowns were an integral part of that machinery. One of Lester Crown’s children, James Crown, personally bundled $500,000 in campaign contributions for Obama and served as chairman of the Illinois fund raising effort. Lester Crown and his wife Renee hosted a fundraiser for Obama in 2007 at their home. The event invitation made it clear; their support for Obama was due to his support of Israel, its “right to exist” and his willingness to strike militarily against Iran.
Every American president has wealthy individuals and families dedicated to getting them elected. The reliance of candidates for public office on the largesse of the rich may be common and expected, but it is nonetheless extremely dangerous. This corruption insures access for the rich, which guarantees that their interests are at the top of any president’s agenda, usually at the expense of what is good for everyone else. more.. e-mail
Police threaten freedom of expression
Palestinian National Initiative (PNI, Ma’an News Agency8/26/2010
We have followed with great concern the increasing external pressure, especially from the US and Israel, on the Palestinian Authority leadership to shift from indirect negotiations which have not resulted in any progress to direct negotiations without clear and binding terms of reference regarding a complete halt of all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory – including in Jerusalem.
A conference in Ramallah took place in order to announce the firm stand against engaging in any type of negotiation with Israel. A number of political parties such as the Palestinian National Initiative, Popular and Democratic Front, the People’s Party and independent figures, including businessmen Munib Al-Masri, Mamdouh Al-Aker, Hani Al-Masri and several others.
However, the conference was abruptly ended as it was stormed. The PNI stated that the actions that took place during the conference, such as turning off the electricity and the assault on participants ultimately threaten the freedom of expression, opinion and any attempt at promoting democracy.
The party demanded that the PA condemn the actions and bring those responsible to justice as it does not serve the public interest. Actions like these only increase the division between Palestinians at a time when we are in great need of national unity.
PNI Secretary-General Mustafa Barghouthi condemned the use of violence against the conference and its participants. The actions of certain people including the actions of some elements of security structures represent a threat to freedom of expression, human rights and democracy. more.. e-mail
The Power of Storytelling
Wajahat Ali, CounterPunch8/20/2010
Creating a New Future for American Muslims
In 7th-century Arabia, the storyteller was valued more than the swordsman. The audience sat on the floor surrounding the gifted orator as he captivated the eager listeners with beautiful poetry narrating their history. In the 21st century, the art form may have evolved to include motion pictures, TV shows, theater productions, novels, and standup comedy, but they all serve the same function: storytelling.
Ideas and principles are most effectively communicated and transmitted when they are couched in a narrative. Stories, whether they concern the etiquette and biography of prophets or the trials and tribulations of America’s founding fathers, inform and influence a cultural citizenry of its values and identity.
Stories of the Prophet Muhammad most effectively communicate the Quran’s eloquent exhortation to tolerate and embrace diversity: “O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise [each other])” (49:13). The Prophet’s cordial diplomacy and communication with the Christian, Abyssinian King yielded one of the first alliances of the young Muslim community. Furthermore, the Prophet displayed unconditional love for his diverse companions, who comprised the gamut of Arab society including former slaves, orphans, widows, wealthy dignitaries, and non-Arabs.
Similarly, the story of a biracial man with an Arabic name and a Kenyan father elected to the highest office in the land reminds the world that indeed America can live up to its cherished principles of freedom and racial equality, and her citizens are capable of reflecting a magnanimous and egalitarian spirit bereft of prejudice. more.. e-mail
Why Americans should oppose Zionism
Electronic Intifada: 26 Aug 2010 – More and more people are starting to pay attention to Israel’s crimes and indignities. In so doing, more and more people are questioning the origin and meaning of Zionism — that is, the very idea of a legally ethnocentric Israel. Steven Salaita comments.more
Veolia whitewashes illegal light rail project
Electronic Intifada: 26 Aug 2010 – Last week the Israeli daily Haaretz reported that the consortium holding the contract to the controversial Jerusalem light rail project surveyed city residents on whether they would feel comfortable sharing rail service with Palestinians. The bad publicity around the survey — described as racist by even members of the Israeli government — is an ironic turn of events. Adri Nieuwhof reports for The Electronic Intifada.more
PA forces raid meeting as dissent grows
Electronic Intifada: 25 Aug 2010 – Palestinian Authority forces today forcibly dispersed a meeting organized by Palestinian parties opposed to the Palestine Liberation Organization’s scheduled direct talks with Israel. The meeting was held at the same time as a conference in Gaza City, where officials of various Palestinian parties also discussed their opposition to the PLO’s plans for direct talks.more
Math program taps potential of young students in Gaza
Electronic Intifada: 25 Aug 2010 – AL-ZAHARA, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) – In a bright and spacious classroom, with plants overflowing in the courtyard outside, six students lean forward at their desks looking at the 10-digit addition they are asked to make. One student stands before the numbers on the chalkboard and a red and yellow-beaded abacus. But her attention is on the abacus she visualizes in her mind.more
Church boycott calls ring louder
Electronic Intifada: 25 Aug 2010 – The world’s churches have long been one of the battlegrounds of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. With the strengthening of the BDS movement, a number of churches across the globe have seen the boycott of Israeli and Israeli settlement goods hotting up, and recent weeks have witnessed some notable victories.more
Palestine’s students excel in new maths program
In Gaza: 24 Aug 2010 – AL ZAHARA, Central Gaza Strip, Aug 24, 2010 (IPS) — In a bright and spacious classroom, with plants overflowing in the courtyard outside, six students lean forward at their desks looking at the 10-digit addition they are asked to make. One student stands before the numbers on the chalkboard and a red and yellow-beaded abacus. But her attention is on the abacus she visualises in her mind. The Al Zahara private school in central Gaza is the first to incorporate a specialised programme for mental development based on math computations . “It originated in Malaysia in 1993,” says Majed al-Bari, director of the school and the first to bring the programme to Palestine. “The Universal Concept Mental Arithmetic System (UCMAS) was developed to use both sides of the brain,” says Bari. “The analytical left side and the creative right side.” Using a simple abacus, the UCMAS programme combines visual with textile,…more
The Stink of Control
Palestine Monitor: 26 Aug 2010 – Sewage thickens the waters of the once pristine Zomar river in northwestern West Bank. With no nearby treatment plants, sludge like this coats the lands, poisoning wells and aquifers, polluting fields and infecting children. “There is no real life there – it is just waste water,” said Iyad Aburdeieneh, Palestinian Deputy Director of Friends of the Earth Middle East. Called The Alexander in Israel, the rancid Zomar is not unique in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Twenty-five million cubic meters of untreated sewage – or five Zomar rivers – leak into the West Bank’s environment every year, according to the World Bank. Wadi Nar in the Kidron Valley. Photo by Bethlehem University, Water and Soil Environmental Research Unit Israel has allowed the Palestinians to build only one waste water treatment facility in the West Bank – and let others deteriorate. “To even dig and line a septic tank, you need…more
Refusal to engage in direct negotiations without a clear settlement freeze
Palestine Monitor: 25 Aug 2010 – We have followed with great concern the increasing external pressure, especially from the U.S. and Israel, on the P.A. leadership to shift from indirect negotiations which have not resulted in any progress to direct negotiations without clear and binding terms of reference regarding a complete halt of all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory – including in Jerusalem. A conference in Ramallah took place in order to announce the firm stand against engaging in any type of negotiation with Israel. A number of political parties such as the Palestinian National Initiative, Popular and Democratic Front, the People’s Party and independent figures, including businessman Munib al-Masri, Dr. Mamdouh Al-Aker, Hani Al-Masri and several others. However, the conference was abruptly ended as it was stormed. The PNI stated that the actions that took place during the conference, such as turning off the electricity and the assault on participants ultimately threatens the…more
Rebranding Iraq
Palestine Chronicle: 26 Aug 2010 – By Ramzy Baroud The soldiers of the US 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division hollered as they made their way into Kuwait. ‘We won,’ they claimed. ‘It’s over.’ But what exactly did they win? And is the war really over? It seems we are once again walking into the same trap, the same nonsensical assumptions of wars won, missions accomplished, troops withdrawn, and jolly soldiers carrying cardboard signs of heart-warming messages like “Lindsay & Austin … Dad’s coming home.” While much of the media is focused on the logistics of the misleading withdrawal of the “last combat brigade” from Iraq on August 19 – some accentuating the fact that the withdrawal is happening two weeks ahead of the August 31 deadline – most of us are guilty of forgetting Iraq and its people. When the economy began to take center stage, we completely dropped the war off our list of grievances….more
Declassified Documents Expose Lobby Influence
Palestine Chronicle: 26 Aug 2010 – By Stephen Lendman James Petras’ powerful 2006 book titled, ‘The Power of Israel in the United States’ explained the enormous pro-Israeli Jewish Lobby influence on US Middle East policies. Often harming American interests, they’re pursued anyway because of its grassroots and high-level control over government, the business community, academia, the clergy and mass media since at least the 1960s. Intolerant of opposing views, they’re suppressed for its own agenda, funded by PR propaganda domestically and overseas, America’s top publications paid off to go along, now revealed by a secret document subpoenaed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (FRC) investigation into the American Zionist Council (AZC), AIPAC’s parent lobbying arm. “Between 1962 – 1963, the FRC subpoenaed” AZC’s internal documents, examining their activities as “registered agents of foreign principals,” learning that over $5 million in tax exempt (and perhaps overseas funds) “had been laundered through the Jewish Agency’s American Section into…more
Five Books: Stories to Shape Life
Palestine Chronicle: 25 Aug 2010 – By Susan Abulhawa (Born to refugees of the 1967 Six Day War, Susan Abulhawa is the author of the novel Mornings In Jenin, the profits of which partly go to the children’s charity she founded, Playgrounds for Palestine. She chooses five books about Palestine by Palestinian writers.) My Father Was A Freedom Fighter, by Ramzy Baroud This is a wonderful book. It’s a history book, a work of literature and a memoir. Ramzy Baroud is a political commentator and historian, the editor of the Palestine Chronicle and of a book called Searching Jenin: Eyewitness Accounts Of The Israeli Invasion, about the events of 2002. He grew up in the Gaza refugee camp and is very familiar with the psychology of the people in the camps — to this day they’re holding out hope and still dreaming of going home. He captures this delightfully and his descriptions of place and people…more
Middle East Sound of Music
Palestine Chronicle: 25 Aug 2010 – By Sherri Muzher I don’t know where I’m going But, I sure know where I’ve been Hanging on the promises In songs of yesterday An’ I’ve made up my mind I ain’t wasting no more time But, here I go again Those lyrics belong to Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again On My Own,” and might as well be the theme song for the Palestinian Authority ahead of Mideast peace talks While direct talks between Palestinians and Israelis are welcome, actions speak louder than words. The continuation of Israeli settlements speaks volumes. Physical separation and lack of contiguity has nullified the hopes of two states living side by side. One can only conclude that the talks merely present photo-op for another U.S president and more time to plant more facts on the ground for the Israeli government. Professor Stephen Walt of Harvard University and co-author of “The Israeli Lobby and U.S….more
Abbas’ Position Isn’t as Weak as It May Appear
Palestine Chronicle: 25 Aug 2010 – By George S. Hishmeh — Washington, D.C. Palestinians will begin heading home a year from now to reclaim property in their homeland, which they have not seen for 62 years since the state of Israel was established there. They will be welcomed at the border by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and thousands of cheering Israelis. Much to their joy, the Palestinians will discover that Lieberman has relinquished his house in a colony on the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. But they will have to wait and see whether their own homes, in Haifa or Nazareth for example, will still be standing, along with their traditional lemon, olive and fig trees and grape vines, which their parents have longed to see since the beginning of their tortuous exile in neighbouring Arab countries and elsewhere. More importantly, they will not…more
Midnight on the Mavi Marmara: Finding Hope in Tragedy
Dissident Voice: 25 Aug 2010 – The shock much of the world felt upon first hearing the news of the May 31, 2010 Israeli attack on the aid to Gaza flotilla has diminished since those first days. The daily degradation and despair felt by many of Gaza’s residents hasn’t. While UN officials debate with Israeli leaders over the parameters of a supposedly independent inquiry, the situation remains static in the prison that is Gaza. Like previous inquiries into Tel Aviv’s more egregious excesses in its quest to destroy the idea of Palestine (Jenin, Lebanon 1982 and 2006, the bombardment of Gaza in 2007-2008, etc.), the longer the inquiry takes to begin, the less likely it will make a difference, because either the evidence will be missing or the PR campaign by Israel and its sycophants in the world’s media will have rendered any truths uncovered irrelevant. This is why the release of Midnight on the Mavi…more
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The New Dark Age 
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