4 September, 2010 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Barghouthi: “Construction Continues In Dozens of Settlements”
IMEMC – 4 Sep 2010 – Saturday September 04, 2010 – 18:10, Palestinian Legislator, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, stated that while Israel is heading to peace talks with the Palestinians, its government continues its illegal settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and in occupied East Jerusalem.
Israel bombs southern Gaza
9/5/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Three Palestinians were injured and two others were missing late Saturday after Israeli warplanes targeted three sites along the border between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip, medical officials said. A Gaza Health Ministry spokesman said three people arrived at Abu Yousef An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah shortly after the airstrikes….
Army shuts down entrances to Hebron’s Old City
9/5/2010 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli soldiers closed all entrances to Hebron’s Old City on Saturday and raided a home, residents said. Troops were heavily deployed in the area, locals said, adding that worshipers were prevented from praying at the Ar-Rahmah mosque. Yousef Ghannam said soldiers raided his home and converted it into a….
Settler injures 7 in Bethlehem village crash
9/4/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Seven Palestinians from the Al-Khader village in the southern West Bank district of Bethlehem were injured Saturday morning when an Israeli settler crashed his car into their tractor, relatives said. The injured, from the same family, were en route to tend to their grape plantation near the Daniel settlement along Route….
Family says Israeli court ordered them to raze kitchen
9/4/2010 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — An Israeli court recently ordered a family of nine to demolish a kitchen and bathroom in the home of a Palestinian in the Al-Qurmi neighborhood in the Old City of Jerusalem, relatives said. The court ruled in favor of Israel’s Jerusalem Municipality, ordering Nasri Abu Rajab, 60,to either….
Israeli media: Projectile lands in Negev
9/4/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A projectile landed in the Sdot Negev Regional Council on Saturday, Israeli media reported. According to Israelinews site Ynet, no injuries or damage were reported. Witnesses told the news site that the rocket alert was sounded before the explosion was heard….
Barghouthi: Settlement activity ongoing during talks
9/4/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Israeli settlement construction has continued while Palestinian and Israeli leaders re-entered peace talks, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative Mustafa Barghouthi said Saturday. Barghouthi said Israeli settlers illegally annexed 130 dunums of land in Qaryout, a village south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and that construction material has….
Erekat: We rejected proposal to form joint committees
9/4/2010 – AMMAN (Ma’an) — During talks in Washington, Palestinian negotiators rejected an Israeli proposal to form 12 joint committees, PLO chief Saeb Erekat said Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the proposal during the opening round of direct negotiations, re-launched after a 20-month hiatus, Erekat said in an interview with the Jordanian daily….
Egypt FM rejects Israeli army on Jordan’s border
9/4/2010 – CAIRO (Ma’an) — Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit on Sunday rejected the presence of Israeli troops on Jordan’s border with a future Palestinian state, Egyptian press said. Abul Gheit said Egypt supported Palestinian negotiators on this issue, adding that deploying an international presence to monitor the border would only….
Prisoner awarded PhD in jail
9/4/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A Palestinian prisoner held in the Negev prison was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration from the American World University, the Center for Detainees’ Studies announced Sunday. Abdel Hafez Saadi Gaithan’s doctoral thesis was entitled Strategic Planning in Qabilia, a Palestinian village in the northern….
Ba’ath-affiliated faction says talks ‘waste of time’
9/5/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A Palestinian faction within the PLO said Friday it rejected the Palestinian Authority’s decision to resume direct negotiations with Israel, describing negotiations as “serving only Israel” and a “waste of time.”Arab Liberation Front official Ibrahim Az-Za’aneen said at an iftar dinner in Khan Younis that….
Abbas updates Libyan president
9/4/2010 – TRIPOLI (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Tripoli Saturday to update Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on the first round of re-launched peace negotiations in Washington. Earlier this week, Abbas met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first direct talks in almost two years. Previous negotiations were broken off when Israel launched its….
Gaza police ‘ready to suppress’ clan clashes
9/5/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hamas-affiliated police are prepared to crack down on clan clashes in the coastal enclave, the chief of Gaza police said Saturday. Jamal Aj-Jarrah said the Gaza Interior Ministry’s decision to clamp down on family-related disputes, particularly when weapons have been involved, was undertaken during Ramadan “for social reasons….
Gaza forces detain emergency chief
9/4/2010 – GAZA (Ma’an) — A Gaza Heath Ministry official was detained by Gaza government security forces Friday night, his family said. Director of Gaza ambulance and emergency services Muawiya Hassanein was detained when forces raided his home and confiscated his belongings at 10 p. m. , his brother Hakim said. The family did not immediately contact….
Police detain 9 at Allenby Crossing
9/4/2010 – JERICHO (Ma’an) — Palestinian Authority security forces apprehended nine fugitives attempting to cross the Allenby Bridge into Jordan, a report said Sunday. Those arrested were wanted on fraud charges and criminal offenses, a police report said. Meanwhile, more than 8,000 travelers arrived in the West Bank from Jordan during the week, the report highlighted….
Hebron police arrest 14
9/4/2010 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Palestinian Authority police dispersed two fights on Sunday in the Hebron district, detaining 13 suspected of involvement. Police said suspects used clubs and threw stones at each other in fights in the southern West Bank city of Hebron and the nearby town Ash-Shuyukh. Three sustained injuries and were transferred to hospital….
Al-Khader hospital appoints new chief of medicine
9/4/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Al-Yamamah Hospital in the southern West Bank village of Al-Khader in Bethlehem appointed a new chief of medicine on Saturday, a statement issued by the Civil Charity Association read. Dr. Issa Ja’anina was appointed to the position, which the charity said was one of the goals of its….
Israeli, Palestinian reps to meet in Jericho Monday
Palestine Note 4 Sep 2010 – Washington – Following the first face-to-face sit-down between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in 20 months and an agreement to meet again Sept. 14-15 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, representatives from both sides will meet to further the…
Rocket fired into Israel from Gaza
Palestine Note 4 Sep 2010 – Washington – An projectile exploded in the western Negev Saturday, Haaretz reported . Exploded ordinance [Flyk3r – Flickr] No injuries have been reported. Projectiles launched from Gaza into southern Israel are not uncommon and frequently not the…
Hamas defends targeting settlers
Palestine Note 4 Sep 2010 – Politburo official: settlers are military targets Washington – After a series of shootings this week targeting Israeli settlers and claimed by Hamas’ militant wing, a member of the Hamas politburo defended the attacks, saying settlers are…
Israel launches raids on Gaza
AlJazeera 4 Sep 2010 – Cross-border rocket fire draws airborne response from Israeli military, which injures at least three Palestinians.
Iran tries human rights activist
AlJazeera 4 Sep 2010 – Shiva Nazar-Ahari charged with “warring against God” and links to opposition groups as trial opens in Tehran.
Talks More Positive Than Expected
PNN – The recent round of negotiations are being viewed in a more positive light since they have gotten under way, as was reported by a London based newspaper, having spoken with reliable Palestinian…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (26 Aug. — 01 Sep. 2010)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
PA to Iran: Mind your own business
Jeruslalem Post 5 Sep 2010 – After Iranian FM says those negotiating with Israel and “betraying their nations,” a PA spokesman said Iran has no right to talk about Palestinians, because they “repress their people.”
IDF responds to Kassam, West Bank shootings
Jeruslalem Post 5 Sep 2010 – Air force bombs three smuggling tunnels in the Gaza Strip; one was meant to aid terrorists in kidnapping and attacking Israeli soldiers and civilians.
Hizbullah explosion in Lebanon caused by hidden arms cache
Jeruslalem Post 4 Sep 2010 – Footage taken by IDF unmanned aerial vehicles showed smoke rising from a southern Lebanon home; there were no casualties from the blast.
Defense officials back US bid to send envoy to Syria
Jeruslalem Post 4 Sep 2010 – Top IDF officers say an American ambassador, US aid money may help convince Syria to sit down at the negotiating table, break ties with Iran and Hizbullah.
‚ÄòPA journalists depend on Israeli media’
Jeruslalem Post 4 Sep 2010 – PA media did not have enough information on the launch of direct talks in Washington; Palestinian officials preferred to talk to Israeli and Western reporters.
Barak heads to Russia in bid to halt Iran, Syria arms deal
Jeruslalem Post 4 Sep 2010 – Defense Minister is the first to visit Russia; Barak plans to discuss planned sale of advanced military technology, possible transfer of Russian armored vehicles into West Bank.
Court: Private school can bar teacher from wearing hijab
Jeruslalem Post 4 Sep 2010 – Jerusalem court rejects appeal by a Muslim teacher at a school owned by the Archdiocese of Cologne; Nadra Nimri said her rights were violated.
Erekat: Israel has agreed to honor Olmert concessions
Jeruslalem Post 4 Sep 2010 – J’lem remains mum on content of talks as negotiating teams prepare to meet in Sharm e-Sheikh; Palestinian negotiator says framework agreement will come within a year.
‘US to continue military aid to Lebanon’
Jeruslalem Post 4 Sep 2010 – Lebanese newspaper quotes Washington sources as saying LAF, IDF must continue showing restraint.
Hamas will continue to attack settlers, says spokesman
Jeruslalem Post 4 Sep 2010 – Report: Spokesman calls settlers a “legitimate target” and the direct talks a “media circus.”
Oren: Israel is offering gestures, not a freeze extension
Jeruslalem Post 4 Sep 2010 – US and Israel express satisfaction with launch of talks; calls Washington meetings “serious, candid, very constructive.”
Public Security Minister: We’re close to catching West Bank shooters
Ha’aretz – Aharonovitch speaks at Holon event about new alcohol law, argues that ‘drinking leads to violence, and this law discourages it.’
IDF weighs ban on school trips to West Bank as violence flares
Ha’aretz – Due to recent terror attacks, field trips beyond the Green Line will be re-evaluated according to security considerations
Top U.S. official: Obama ‘very pleased’ with outcome of Mideast summit in Washington
Ha’aretz – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a number of senior Palestinian and other Arab leaders expressed similar optimism following their meeting last week.
Military Police investigators to testify in civil suit by Rachel Corrie’s family
Ha’aretz – The second stage of the civil suit brought by the family of Rachel Corrie against the State of Israel is to open Sunday in the Haifa District Court.
IDF attacks Gaza tunnels in response to week of terror incidents
Ha’aretz – Gaza militants fired rocket at southern Israel earlier Saturday, just days after four Israelis were killed in a West Bank shooting attack.
‘Mideast peace process poses a strategic threat to Iran’
Ha’aretz – Minority Affairs Minister Avishay Braverman: Cancellation of Iran FM’s visit to Cairo is proof of the importance of the peace process., Speaking during official Ankara visit, Mullen says both countries…
Report: U.S. to continue Lebanon army support despite fatal Israel border clash
Ha’aretz – Last month, U.S. lawmakers sought to block Lebanon military aid over incident which resulted in the death of an IDF officer, 3 Lebanese soldiers.
Hamas official: Israeli settlers are a legitimate military target
Ha’aretz – Member of Hamas’ politburo says settlers posses more than half a million automatic weapons, as well as being regularly supported by IDF troops.
Gaza militants fire Qassam into southern Israel
Ha’aretz – Hamas, which controls the coastal Strip, has vowed to commit ‘operations of resistance’ against Israel amid attempts to restart direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
‘Palestinian attitude in peace talks shifting by 180 degrees’
Ha’aretz – Al-Hayat, quoting Abbas aides, says Palestinian skepticism is dissipating over U.S. desire to end process in 1 year, as well as the increased pressure on Israel to extend its settlement…
UN nuclear chief asks Israel to join nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
Ha’aretz – New IAEA report reveals agency chief Yukiya Amano, during his visit to the region last month, asked Israel to place its nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguard.
400 food packages were given to poor families in Gaza
4 Sep 2010 – Gaza, September 4, (Pal Telegraph) The Islamic Organization in the Gaza Strip distributed more than 400 food packages to the poor and needy families living under the poverty line in Gaza. The Secretary-General of the Islamic Organization, Nasim Yasin, said that the Organization continues to draw a smile on the faces of poor and needy families in Gaza through…
Israeli settler runs over 7 Palestinians
4 Sep 2010 – Bethlehem, September 4, (Pal Telegraph) Seven citizens of “al-Khader” village, south of Bethlehem, were diagnosed with different wounds, when the tractor who was supposed to be transporting them to the farmland when an Israeli settler made a move on a Palestian workers. The members of the family of Issa who live in al-Khader village were on their way to…
Bosnian delegation donate ambulances for Gaza
4 Sep 2010 – Gaza, September 4, (Pal Telegraph) A Bosnian delegation gave from the “Merhamet” charity organization around five ambulances from the type of “Toyota” to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in the conclusion of their visit to Gaza which lasted for two days in the Gaza Strip.
IOF continues seizing homes in hebron
4 Sep 2010 – Hebron, September 4, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli soldiers seized the second Palestinian home near the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba, east of Hebron on the West Bank back which belongs to a Palestinian citizen named Salem Salaima. The Israeli soldiers took control of another house near the previously mentioned settlement which belongs to the citizen Numan Shabana in the area near…
IOF supresses peaceful demos in WB
4 Sep 2010 – Ramallah, September 4, (Pal Telegraph) Dozens of Palestinian and foreign peaceful demonstrators were wounded and suffered from suffocation as a result of inhaling tear gas, following the suppression of the Israeli occupation forces for the weekly march against the separation wall and settlements in the village of “Bil’in” in the West Bank. Bil’in villagers participated in the march called by…
Gaza: Ramadan Goes Down Under Rubble
Uruknet September 4, 2010 – With power cuts up to 16 hours to full days, a soaring heat wave and unbearable humidity, the Israeli-led siege on Gaza is but one of many factors leaving Ramadan miserable for the majority of Palestinians in Gaza. Abu Hani, 54, lives with his wife Umm Hani, 54, and three sons in Johr al-Dik, eastern…
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani to be lashed over newspaper photograph
Uruknet September 4, 2010 – Iran has reportedly sentenced Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani — the 43-year-old Iranian woman who faces execution after being convicted of adultery — to 99 lashes in prison for “spreading corruption and indecency” after allowing an unveiled picture of herself to be published in a British newspaper. The claim, which could not be confirmed, comes from her…
Israeli Settlement Construction Booms Despite Ban
Uruknet September 4, 2010 – In Washington, the Israelis and Palestinians are discussing peace, but in the Jewish settlements in the West Bank, construction is proceeding at full speed. A legal ban is being ignored and the government is looking away. The thousands of new homes could hinder reconciliation. Officially, at least, this is the hour of diplomacy. For the…
Mass arrests, clashes follow settler shootings
Uruknet September 4, 2010 – On 1 September the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) security forces launched an unprecedented arrest campaign against Palestinians affiliated with the Hamas party in the occupied West Bank. The arrest sweep followed attacks earlier in the week against Israeli settlers in Hebron and Ramallah. The PA’s Preventative Security Services and the General Intelligence Services arrested and detained…
Video : IS SOME CRITIQUE OF ISRAEL ANTISEMITIC? “Should people boycott Israel?” – Interview with Omar Barghouti Pt. 4
Uruknet September 3, 2010 – …the majority of Palestinians do not have a problem with recognizing the Nazi genocide. It’s understood. People recognize it. Most Palestinians make a clear distinction between Jews, Israelis, Zionists, non-Zionists. This is something kids learn in school, they talk about in school, they debate in school, and so on. So we do make a distinction….
Video: THE FATAH HAMAS SPLIT “Should people boycott Israel?” Interview with Omar Barghouti Pt.3
Uruknet September 3, 2010 – I think it’s a simplification to call it a split between Hamas and Fatah. And I think Hamas fell into that trap of alienating the entire Fatah Party. Fatah has a big coalition, actually. It’s not an ideological party, so it has people from left, right, and center, religious, seculars, and so on. Hamas’ problem,…
Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin’s admission: Israel “expelled Arabs” across Palestine in 1948
Uruknet September 3, 2010 – In a little noticed article on page 19 of the September 1 edition of Maariv, the Speaker of the Israeli Knesset, Reuven Rivlin, assailed the actors and artists who have refused to perform at the theater in the Jewish settlement of Ariel. As a proud advocate of Greater Israel and professed friend of even the…
The 2010 Palestine Peace talks – a Sylvester Stallone remake?
Uruknet September 3, 2010 – A new round of peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis has just begun in the United States. The summer was one of kite-flying, on the one hand in the form of indirect contacts between the two sides so as not to further provoke Palestinians sick of the Israeli Occupation and the incompetence of the Palestinian…
The skewed Middle East peace talks
Uruknet September 3, 2010 – …In any event, Abbas will return to a fractured, fractious society. If he reaches a deal, many will ask in whose name he was bartering away Palestinian rights. If negotiations fail, most will accuse him of once more having been duped. If Netanyahu comes back with an accord, he will be hailed as a historic…
Gaza: Armed groups to form joint force
Uruknet September 3, 2010 – Twelve militant groups held a meeting in the Gaza Strip last week, and agreed to form a joint operations room to coordinate resistance activities, Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman told reporters Thursday. Speaking shortly before US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell delivered an update on the peace talks in Washington, Abu Obeida, flanked by representatives of…
Isreal Rejects Opening Up Nuclear Programme, IAEA Reports
Uruknet September 3, 2010 – Israel’s government has rebuffed the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) suggestion that it open its nuclear programme to international inspectors and join a global pact to stop the spread of nuclear arms, the IAEA said Friday in a report. Israel comes under frequent criticism in the Arab region for its widely assumed nuclear weapons arsenal,…
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (26 Aug. — 01 Sep. 2010)
Uruknet September 2, 2010 – Summary : Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (26 August — 01 September 2010): Shooting: During the reporting period, 8 Palestinian civilian and an international human rights defender were wounded by IOF in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In the West Bank, 7 civilians,…
Palestinian militants uniting to plan attacks
The National 4 Sep 2010 – Groups decrying peace talks plan renewed, ‘more effective’ attacks against Israel.
Abu Rdeina: Who Forged Elections, Doesn’t Represent Our Irani Friends
WAFA – RAMALLAH, September 4, 2010 (WAFA)- In response to the attacks made by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Palestinian leadership after the Washington meetings, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman
Clinton: Netanyahu Publically Committed to Two-State Solution
WAFA – WASHINGTON, September 4, 2010 (WAFA)- In an interview with Amira Hanania Rishmawi of Palestine TV and Udi Segal of Israel Channel 2, U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton affirmed that the Israeli
Israeli Violence Continues in West Bank, OCHA Says
WAFA – JERUSALEM, September 4, 2010 (WAFA)- Four Israelis settlers shot and killed. 15 Palestinians injured throughout the oPt. In East Jerusalem, clashes erupted in the Silwan neighborhood, OCHA weekly
Middle East peace talks: Cynicism and mistrust stalk make-or-break negotiations in America
The Guardian 4 Sep 2010 – The Barack Obama-backed summit is a long way from the bloody realities of the West Bank The Israeli taxi driver shook his head and pointed to his kippah when asked to journey across town to an…
South African billionaire in bid to take control of Minerva group
The Guardian 4 Sep 2010 – Nathan Kirsh’s move on the property group, which owns major developments in the City, is causing waves with West Bank campaigners as well as shareholders An emergency shareholder meeting at property developer Minerva this week will…
MIDEAST: Ramadan Goes Down Under Rubble
IPS With power cuts up to 16 hours to full days, a soaring heat wave and unbearable humidity, the Israeli-led siege on Gaza is but one of many factors leaving Ramadan miserable for the majority of Palestinians in Gaza.
Invitation: Join the Palestinian Olive Harvest efforts!
Stop The Wall – The Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign and its popular committees are coordinating collective efforts to safeguard the annual olive harvest and are calling on volunteers to stand in solidarity with Palestinian communities and join in the harvest on October 5 until November 15, 2010. [
US asks Turkey to help stop nuclear Iran
YNet News – Preventing Tehran from going nuclear ‘mutual goal,’ says Chairman of Joint….
Palestinian hunger striker eats again
YNet News – Maraghi, who went 40 days without food in front of Israeli embassy in Berlin to….
Report: Ground Zero mosque investor contributed to Hamas
YNet News – Key financial backer for proposed Islamic center near scene of 9/11 attack is….
Haredim caught defacing non-kosher deli
YNet News – Owner of Jerusalem deli says haredim have been smearing vomit on his door,….
Hamas: Hurting settlers is natural
YNet News – Spokesman for organization ruling Gaza praises terror attack that killed four….
Palestinian sources report positivity in talks
YNet News – Al-Hayat quotes Palestinian sources close to direct peace talks as saying….
IAF targets Gaza tunnels
YNet News – The Israel Air Force struck three Gaza tunnels Saturday night, for the first time since the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks were launched in Washington. Palestinian …….
PA: Ahmadinejad has no right to criticize Abbas
YNet News – The Palestinian Authority on Saturday slammed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s criticism of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ consent to hold peace talks with …….
PA official: Netanyahu procrastinating
YNet News – Is the Palestinian’s optimism about the Washington peace talks dimming? Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat said Saturday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is …….
Poll: US Jews ‘still connected’ to Israel
YNet News – WASHINGTON – The connection Jews feel to Israel remains strong, according to a new survey from the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University: Some 63% …….
Brik Committee set to probe Galant affair
YNet News – The Brik Committee, headed by IDF Ombudsman Brig.-Gen. Yitzhak Brik, will begin its investigation of the Galant Affair Sunday, as soon as it receives it official letter …….
Iranian cleric: Holocaust is ‘superstition’
YNet News – Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem-Shirazi on Saturday joined Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in denying the Holocaust, saying it was nothing more than a …….
Palestinian Information Center
Erekat’s apology for Israelis widely deplored
PIC 4 Sep 2010 – The Remarks made lately by Saeb Erekat in which he begged peace from Israelis and apologized to them for past mistakes made by the Palestinians received wide condemnation from the Palestinians.
German newspaper: Abbas an out-of-date puppet
PIC 4 Sep 2010 – The German Yungas Welt newspaper described Mahmoud Abbas as “Washington’s puppet”, adding that he “has expired”, arguing that direct talks between the Oslo authority and Israel “were dead at birth”.
Sources deny end to PA arrest campaign in Al-Khalil
PIC 4 Sep 2010 – Palestinian media sources said that the PA’s announcement of an end to what it called a “state of alert” in Al-Khalil was not true and the arrest campaign against Hamas cadres is still ongoing.
Demonstrators mark International J’lem Day in Moscow
PIC 4 Sep 2010 – Dozens of residents of the Russian capital gathered Friday with representatives of Arab and Muslim communities in one of Moscow’s largest squares to mark International Jerusalem Day.
Maqdesi: Israel’s violations against Palestinians in J’lem ongoing
PIC 4 Sep 2010 – Al-Maqdesi for society development said in its weekly report that Israel is still persistent in its violations against the Palestinian citizens in Jerusalem, especially the demolition of their homes.
Hamas refugees dept.: Peace talks results non-binding to Palestinians
PIC 4 Sep 2010 – The Hamas refugees affairs department said the peace talks are “a loss for our people and their cause” in addition to being a form of intelligence coordination with the enemy.
Haneyya: PA’s talks with the occupation state will fail
PIC 4 Sep 2010 – Ismail Haneyya stated that the fate of the PA’s direct talks would end in failure because Israel only moves to consolidate its Zionist project at the expense of the Palestinian cause.
Prominent human rights lawyer arrested in Tehran
LA Times 4 Sep 2010 –
Reform rabbi takes on Orthodox establishment in Israel
LA Times 4 Sep 2010 – Gilad Kariv has battled the dominance of Israel’s Orthodox, fighting in court battles for state recognition and funding for more liberal movements. Now he heads the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism. Gilad Kariv has been indefatigable in his battle against the dominance of Israel’s Orthodox community.
Diplomatic Memo: In Middle East Peace Talks, Clinton Faces a Crucial Test
New York Times 4 Sep 2010 – The talks could cement the legacy of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as a diplomat, or pose risks to any political ambitions she may harbor.
World Briefing | Middle East: Lebanon: Hezbollah Chief Rejects Demand From U.N. Prosecutor
New York Times 4 Sep 2010 – Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said that he would not hand over all information relevant to the killing of Lebanon’s former prime minister Rafik Hariri.
AL BWEIREH, PALESTINE: Settlers “heat up the air”; outpost dismantled
Christian Peacemaker Teams – Palestine – Roadblocks are emblematic of a decade of military and settler harassment of Palestinians in Al Bweireh. Will the new one be more than a bump in the road for the Hill 86 settlement outpost?
PALESTINE: Ongoing action alert: Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions
Christian Peacemaker Teams – Palestine – CPT-Palestine invites you to join people from all over the world in boycotting Israeli goods and cultural events, divesting from all companies that profit from the occupation of Palestine, and pushing for international sanctions on Israel.
“It’s like a situation where two people are sitting negotiating over a piece of cheese…”
Palestine Monitor – MARK COLVIN: Direct formal Middle East peace talks begin in Washington tomorrow, after the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas had separate meetings with Barack Obama at the White House today. President Obama is pushing hard for a return to a…
Bulldozing of land in the town of Beit Jala
Palestine Monitor – Israeli settlement construction has continued while Palestinian and Israeli leaders re-entered peace talks, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative Mustafa Barghouthi said Saturday. Barghouthi said Israeli settlers illegally annexed 130 dunums of land in Qaryout, a village south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus,…
While Netanyahu harped on ‚Äòthe blood of innocents,’ Mitchell seemed to warn of Israel’s demise
Mondoweiss – I watched Thursday’s State Department show on the peace talks on C-Span the other night and was left with a sense of despair. There were very few people in the fancy rooms and little sense of excitement. The leaders all seemed motheaten, except for Netanyahu, who…
The settler killings— morality and effectiveness
Mondoweiss – The recent killing of four West Bank settlers by Palestinian gunmen raises the ever-present issue of violence in resistance to occupation and oppression. I write in respectful response to Seham, who has expressed some understanding and perhaps sympathy for the killers, and disagreement with my analysis….
I.F. Stone supported state force to kill a racist movement before it poisoned society
Mondoweiss – I haven’t gotten into the debate over non-violence on this site for a few reasons, mainly because other articulate voices are engaged, though I tend to be on the non-violent side, because this moment is just too important in reaching out to Americans who are finally…
Hamas Vows to Attack More Settlers
Al-Manar 4 Sep 2010 – A Hamas spokesman told Arab language newspaper Al-Hayat that the group intends to continue its attacks on settlers because they are “legitimate targets” on Saturday. Azat al-Ghashek reportedly said that “Zionist settlers” made up an entire army living on occupied land, with a large cache…
Upcoming confernece: A JUST PEACE FOR PALESTINE — A conference on West Asia
Global BDS 4 Sep 2010 – At the India International Centre Auditorium, New Delhi, India, September 22nd – 23rd, 2010—————————————————————— read more
Prisoner awarded PhD in jail
Sabr 4 Sep 2010 – GAZA CITY ( Ma’an ) — A Palestinian prisoner held in the Negev prison was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration from the American World University, the Center for Detainees’ Studies announced Sunday. Abdel Hafez Saadi Gaithan’s doctoral thesis was entitled Strategic Planning in Qabilia, a…
ElBaradei alleges ‘smear’ tactic
BBC 4 Sep 2010 – Former UN chief nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei accuses Egypt’s government of being behind a campaign to smear his family.
Behind the scenes
BBC 4 Sep 2010 – Israeli and Palestinian talks seen from the inside
Obama has signalled his coming complete surrender to Zionism and its lobby
Sabbah report 4 Sep 2010 – By Alan Hart* | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz He did it with seven words. “Ultimately the U.S. cannot impose a solution.” He was speaking at the White House the day before the start of the new round of direct talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu…
Preparing For The End Game: United Nations Membership For Palestine
Sabbah report 4 Sep 2010 – By Amjad Atallah and Bassma Kodmani* | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz Even as the direct negotiations between the PLO and Israeli government are about to resume, thought needs to be given to the possibility that talks will fail and that an agreement will not be reached…
US Hamas policy blocks Middle East peace [Must read]
Sabbah report 4 Sep 2010 – By Henry Siegman* | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz Introduction Failed bilateral talks over these past 16 years have shown that a Middle East peace accord can never be reached by the parties themselves. Israeli governments believe they can defy international condemnation of their illegal colonial project…
Articles
The ‘Existential Threat’
Andrew Levine, Institute for Policy Studies, Axis of Logic9/4/2010
“Existential threat” recently entered the political lexicon, courtesy of Israeli paranoia. The expression sounds portentous, but all it seems to mean is that someone’s or something’s existence is in jeopardy. If so, the world is full of existential threats. But the expression is seldom used to refer to any of them except when the threatened party is Israel. Thus Iran’s still “aspirational” nuclear weapons program or, sometimes Iran itself are existential threats and so is Palestinian “terrorism.” An existential threat makes an excellent casus belli, a justification for war.
It is unclear, however what users of the expression think is threatened: is it the existence of the state of Israel as a state not of its citizens, but of the Jewish people? Or is it the physical existence of the inhabitants of that state? Those who promote the expression relish its ambiguity. It serves their purpose well.
In reality, of course, there is nothing in the offing emanating from Iran or occupied Palestine that rises to the level of an existential threat in either sense, notwithstanding some remarks of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. According to conventional wisdom, the Iranian threat is the more serious one; in reality, it is the more fanciful. Even were Iran to succeed in building a nuclear device — an unlikely prospect in the short term, since, according to all available evidence, they are trying only to build the capacity, not the weapon itself — they would have to be suicidal to use it against Israel for any purpose other than deterrence. Israel, after all, is the most bellicose state on the planet, judging by the number of wars it has started; and in addition to being otherwise armed to the teeth, it has more than two hundred of its own “deterrents” at the ready. Does anyone think that, if threatened, Israel’s leaders would be sane enough not to use them? They’re crazy, but not that crazy.
Ahmadinejad may not have all his marbles either but he isn’t crazy enough to risk annihilation, and neither are the theocrats who hold ultimate power in the Islamic Republic…. more.. e-mail
Obama has signalled his coming complete surrender to Zionism and its lobby
Alan Hart, Redress9/5/2010
He did it with seven words. “Ultimately the US cannot impose a solution.”
He was speaking at the White House the day before the start of the new round of direct talks between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, after he had met with them and Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah II…
Today there is a growing number of seriously well informed people of all faiths (including me) who believe there will be peace only if it is imposed.
Among those who have dared to say so in public is one of the most eminent Jewish gentlemen of our time, Henry Siegman. A former national director of the American Jewish Congress, he is president of the US/Middle East Project, which was part of the Council on Foreign Relations from 1994 until 2006 when it was established as an independent policy institute. He is also a research professor at the Sir Joseph Hotung Middle East Programme of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. During his more than 30 years of involvement in the Middle East peace process, he has published extensively on the subject and has been consulted by governments, international agencies and non-governmental organizations involved in the peace process. In a comment piece for the Financial Times on 23 February 2010, (quoted in Conflict Without End? the Epilogue to Volume 3 of the American edition of my book, Zionism: The Real Enemy of the Jews), he wrote this:
The Middle East peace process and its quest for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict that got under way nearly 20 years ago with the Oslo accords has undergone two fundamental transformations. It is now on the brink of a third…. more.. e-mail
What is said and what is not said
Mazin Qumsiyeh, Palestine Think Tank9/2/2010
Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel told his governing coalition that he did not promise an extension to the partial suspension in settlement construction when it expires in September (BTW, the suspension did not cover most of the settlement areas which are around Jerusalem and did not cover existing construction in other areas not infrastructure, schools, synagogue constructions etc. In other words, there was really no suspension.) Standing next to President Obama he simply emphasized that the topic to be discussed with Palestinians is how we can prevent attacks on illegal settlers in the West Bank. Six months ago, Abbas, encouraged by Obama, agreed to negotiations with Netanyahu only if Israel fulfill its obligations per the road map of a total settlement freeze including in East Jerusalem. Abbas stated about his decision to renew direct negotiations without even a promise of partial settlement suspension: “Palestinians are not powerful to dictate preconditions of negotiations” later in a prime time speech to the people “we did not want the difference between us and the Israelis to come down to differences on modality of negotiations, we want to build a peace based on security for both people”. He did not once mention the right of refugees to return to their homes and lands. If Netanyahu can use the excuse of having a coalition that can break apart if he gave up an inch, then how can Abbas who is now ruling by Fiat and has already given up 78% of Palestine resist further pressure for further back-downs without rebuilding a representative PLO? President Obama has been a strong advocate of Israel and half the staff in his administration that have anything to do with US policy in the Middle East are Jewish Zionists (people like Rahm Emanuel and Dennis Ross). Thus it is not surprising that he never ever said any words to acknowledge Palestinians have any rights to anything (only aspirations for statehood). By contrast he speaks of rights of Israelis (the occupiers) to security and peace. more.. e-mail
Ramadan Goes Down Under Rubble
In Gaza: 4 Sep 2010 – * cooking over olive branches bulldozed by the Israeli military in one of continuous invasions along Gaza’s borders JOHR AL-DIK, Eastern Gaza Strip, Sep 4, 2010 (IPS) — With power cuts up to 16 hours to full days, a soaring heat wave and unbearable humidity, the Israeli-led siege on Gaza is but one of many factors leaving Ramadan miserable for the majority of Palestinians in Gaza. Abu Hani, 54, lives with his wife Umm Hani, 54, and three sons in Johr al-Dik, eastern Gaza, in the rubble of their demolished home, destroyed in the 2008- 2009 Israeli war on Gaza. “When we returned after the war, everything was destroyed. We have five dunams of land (one dunam is 1,000 square metres), on which we had olive and fruit trees, chickens, sheep and some pigeons,” recalls Abu Hani. “My children and grandchildren all lived together in our two-storey house. When the…more
“It’s like a situation where two people are sitting negotiating over a piece of cheese…”
Palestine Monitor: 4 Sep 2010 – MARK COLVIN: Direct formal Middle East peace talks begin in Washington tomorrow, after the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas had separate meetings with Barack Obama at the White House today. President Obama is pushing hard for a return to a real peace process, and the leaders of Jordan and Egypt are also there to push things forward. But Hamas killed four Israelis in the West Bank as the conference was being prepared, and the history of these processes is not particularly optimistic. Mustafa Barghouti is an independent member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. He finished second to Mahmoud Abbas in the 2005 Palestinian presidential election. He told me he was still deeply sceptical because of the Israeli refusal to freeze settlements while the negotiations go on. MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI: It’s like a situation where two people are sitting negotiating over a piece of cheese and…more
Bulldozing of land in the town of Beit Jala
Palestine Monitor: 4 Sep 2010 – Israeli settlement construction has continued while Palestinian and Israeli leaders re-entered peace talks, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative Mustafa Barghouthi said Saturday. Barghouthi said Israeli settlers illegally annexed 130 dunums of land in Qaryout, a village south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and that construction material has been brought in to commence building works. The PNI leader said there was a plan underway to construct 3,000 new housing units throughout the settlement bloc, adding that 603 homes were built during Israel’s 10-month moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank, due to expire on 26 September. Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative said that the Israeli settlement activity that is taking on in full swing during the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. The decision to freeze settlement activity does not include Jerusalem. Dr. Barghouthi stated that Israel never froze settlement activity in Jerusalem and the…more
2010 Palestine Peace Talks – A Stallone Remake?
Palestine Chronicle: 4 Sep 2010 – By Agustén Velloso A new round of peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis has just begun in the United States. The summer was one of kite-flying, on the one hand in the form of indirect contacts between the two sides so as not to further provoke Palestinians sick of the Israeli Occupation and the incompetence of the Palestinian Authority. On the other hand threats came from Mahmud Abbas saying he would not participate without a halt to settlement building and from Benjamin Netanyahu saying he would only participate if no preconditions were set. So interest in this latest of the interminable round of talks resembles the likely interest in a film of Rocky 6. The directors and leading actors of Rocky knew they were offering entertainment barely suitable for an infantile public and for grown-ups desperate for escape. But they still managed to fool film goers around the world their…more
On the Way to Washington: Damage Control
Palestine Chronicle: 4 Sep 2010 – By Uri Avnery A Dutch journalist asked me last Wednesday to try and divine the thoughts of Binyamin Netanyahu on his way to Washington. It seems that she was satisfied with the results, because she asked me to divine the thoughts of Mahmoud Abbas, too. She must have liked that as well, because then she asked me to do the same for Barack Obama. Here, then, is what I told her: Netanyahu’s thoughts on the way to Washington: The main thing is to minimize the damage. Just now, someone asked me how I see our situation in four years time. Four years! I am thinking about what is going to happen in four weeks, when the settlement freeze is due to come to an end! I feel like an officer on the bridge of the Titanic, who sees the awful iceberg looming up. These settlers (yes, yes, I know I…more
Preparing for the Next Gaza Freedom Flotilla in Canada
Dissident Voice: 4 Sep 2010 – A specter is haunting the Harper government and its pro-Israel allies. It’s been dubbed CBG and it stands for Canadian Boat to Gaza. Pro-Palestinian activists recently began raising $300,000 to send a Canadian registered ship to help break Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza. The plan is to fill the ship with various supplies, a couple dozen prominent activists and to return with Palestinian exports. Collecting $300,000 is not easy but it’s important that Canada be represented in the next international Free Gaza flotilla, which is expected to include boats from the U.S., India, and many European countries. The Harper government continues to adopt an extreme pro-Israel position and the flotilla is an opportunity to demonstrate that there is a countervailing force supporting Palestinian rights. The CBG could also be used to embarrass the Conservative government. Presumably, the Prime Minister would like to maintain his ‚ÄòIsrael no matter what’ position, which…more
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The New Dark Age 
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