17 September, 2010 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Israeli military uses tear gas to supress anti-wall protests
IMEMC – 17 Sep 2010 – Friday September 17, 2010 – 21:07, The Israeli military used tear gas canisters to desperse nonviolent activists from protesting against the construction of annexation wall in both villages, Ni’lin near Ramallah and al-Ma’asara near Bethlehem.
Four wounded in Bil’in’s weekly anti-wall protest
IMEMC – 17 Sep 2010 – Friday September 17, 2010 – 21:01, Israeli and international supporters marched with the villagers of Bil’in after the midday prayers and headed from the village to the wall built on farmers’ lands.
PCHR Weekly Report: 5 civilians killed, including 91-year old man, 3 wounded by Israeli forces
IMEMC – 17 Sep 2010 – Friday September 17, 2010 – 09:43, In its Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory for the week of 08-15 September 2010, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights found that Israeli forces killed 4 Palestinian civilians, including two children and old man, in the Gaza Strip. In addition, Israeli police killed a Palestinian civilian from the West Bank, in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
Army Assassinates A Hamas Leader In Tulkarem
IMEMC – 17 Sep 2010 – Friday September 17, 2010 – 08:59, Palestinian sources reported that Israeli soldiers assassinated on Friday at dawn a Hamas leader, in Nour Shams refugee camp near the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem, after breaking into his home and shooting him to death while he was in his bed. Ten Hamas members were also kidnapped.
Israel Starts Preparations To Construct A Bridge Adjacent To Al Aqsa Mosque
IMEMC – 17 Sep 2010 – Friday September 17, 2010 – 06:08, The Al Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage issued a statement on Thursday evening revealing that the Israeli Authorities started preparations for the construction of a bridge at the Mughrabi Gate adjacent to the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Israeli army assassinates Hamas leader
9/17/2010 – TULKAREM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces entered the home of a Hamas leader in Tulkarem on Friday morning and shot him three times in the neck and chest before withdrawing, family members said. Medics at the Thabit Thabit Hospital in Tulkarem confirmed that 38-year-old Iyad As’ad Shelbaya, a known Hamas leader, was…. Related: Hamas: Assassination covers ‘crimes of peace talks’
10 injured in Gaza tunnels
9/17/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Ten Gaza residents were injured in two tunnels accidents on Friday morning, medics said, with one man still missing beneath the Gaza-Egypt border. Military medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmya said Civil Defense crews were able to evacuate six tunnel workers from one passageway after they reported being incapacitated by…. Related: 12 rescued from Gaza tunnels
Israeli military detains 18 from northern West Bank
9/17/2010 – TULKAREM (Ma’an) — The Israeli military said 18 were detained overnight from the West Bank, including nine in Tulkarem and at least one in Jenin. Accounts from witnesses of two of the detentions said soldiers entered the homes of the men, ransacking their contents and breaking windows. In Tulkarem, the mother of 32-year-old….
Hamas: PA forces detain 53 overnight
9/17/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Hamas officials in the West Bank accused Palestinian security forces of detaining 53 members and affiliates overnight, a statement said. The alleged detentions came as Israeli forces entered Nur Shams refugee camp east of Tulkarem and assassinated a Hamas leader, also detaining at least nine other Hamas members, according to Palestinian….
Gaza crossings closed for weekend
9/17/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — As PA officials confirmed an impending take over of operations of the Kerem Shalom crossing, Israeli officials informed their Palestinian counterparts that the Gaza terminal would be closed on Friday. Palestinian coordination official Raed Fattouh said that “we were informed by the Israelis that the Kerem Sahlom and Karni crossings….
Armed Gaza group says Israeli forces fired on fighters
9/17/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine said fighters with their National Resistance Brigades evaded an Israeli military ambush in the Gaza Strip overnight. A statement from the group said operatives east of Wadi Al-Salqa in the central Gaza Strip were fired on by forces….
PA: Exports from Gaza ‘within weeks’
9/17/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority will take over the administration of the southernmost Gaza-Israel crossing “within the coming weeks,”Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein Ash-Sheikh told Ma’an Radio on Thursday. The official said that 95 percent of the structural changes to the crossing had already been completed, and once they….
Israeli police deploy across Jerusalem on Yom Kippur
9/18/2010 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Jerusalem streets will be closed from sunset Friday, as religious Jews observe Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. All but the main thoroughfares will be closed to vehicle traffic. Officials explained that while it was not illegal to drive during the hours of the holiday, expected to last from sundown….
B’Tselem: Tulkarem assassination unjustified
9/17/2010 – TULKAREM (Ma’an) — A field worker for Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem who investigated the scene of Friday’s assassination of a Tulkarem man by Israeli forces called the killing “unjustified.” Speaking with Ma’an less than 12 hours after 38-year-old Iyad As’ad Shelbaya was killed by…. Related: Israeli army assassinates Hamas leader
12 rescued from Gaza tunnels
9/17/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Medics reported that 12 injured workers were rescued Friday from two tunnels under Gaza’s border with Egypt. Civil defense crews evacuated six workers after they reported being suffocated by gas in an underground tunnel near the Salah Ad-Din gate south of Rafah. The six men were transferred to…. Related: 10 injured in Gaza tunnels
Israel detains civil defense worker
9/17/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli soldiers on Friday detained a Palestinian civil defense employee at Za’tara checkpoint south of Nablus, witnesses said. Locals said 25-year-old Thabet Yasser Izzat Suleiman from Beita, south of Nablus, was detained on his way to work….
In photos: Scene of Tulkarem assassination
9/17/2010 – Ma’anImages / Mourid Ashqar – Relatives in the home of 38-year-old Iyad As’ad Shelbaya, shot dead by Israeli forces on 17 September 2010. The Israeli military said Shelbaya ran at soldiers and did not heed warnings to stop. The slain man’s brother (L), who said he was abducted by Israeli….
PA issues string of condemnations at cabinet meeting
9/17/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority cabinet meeting on Thursday affirmed its support for negotiations efforts, aiming at reaching a political solution that ends the Israeli occupation and enables the achievement of Palestinian goals of an independent Palestinian state. It also reaffirmed the importance of international efforts to oblige Israel to end settlement activities….
Clinton confirms US going for Mideast peace
9/17/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrapped up her latest visit to the region with short visits to Ramallah and Amman on Thursday, where officials praised American efforts to push forward the peace process. In Ramallah, President Mahmoud Abbas met with Clinton, telling the press in advance of their sit-down that “unwavering….
Hamas: Assassination covers ‘crimes of peace talks’
9/17/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Friday morning’s assassination of a Hamas leader was an “attempt to cover up negotiations,” party official Salah Al-Bardawil said in a statement sent from Gaza hours after the killing.”These negotiations will lead to many important concessions,” the official warned, saying the assassination was part of an Israeli…. Related: Israeli army assassinates Hamas leader
Fayyad: Tulkarem killing endangers peace
9/17/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad strongly denounced Israel’s assassination of a Tulkarem man from the Nur Shams refugee camp on Friday. The assassination was a “dangerous escalation that weakened the credibility of the already fragile political process,” Fayyad said in a statement. On Friday morning, 38-year-old Iyad…. Related: Israeli army assassinates Hamas leader
Arab League refuses to recognize Israel as Jewish state
9/17/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo on Thursday decided to reject a demand made by Israel, asking Palestinian negotiators recognize Israel as a Jewish state. In a statement issued after the meeting, the Arab League supported President Mahmoud Abbas’ refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Palestinian negotiators have….
World Bank approves $40 million grant for PA
9/17/2010 – WASHINGTON (Ma’an) —The World Bank approved a grant dedicated to support the Palestinian Authority’s government budget on Thursday, a report from the body said. Although the report criticized optimistic growth numbers it said were “largely thanks to external financial aid,” and noted “critical private sector investment remains hampered by restrictions on….
EU leaders urge Israel to extend settlement ban
9/17/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — “The EU recalls that settlements are illegal under international law and calls for an extension of the moratorium decided by Israel,” a statement following a Thursday meeting of EU leaders in Brussels said. The statement said the re-start of direct peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders was “a major step….
Tulkarem man arrested for selling marijuana
9/17/2010 – TULKAREM (Ma’an) — Palestinian Authority police in the West Bank city of Tulkarem detained a man on Thursday suspected of selling marijuana. Police said they seized large quantities of the drug at the suspect’s house, and transferred the man to prosecution….
Jericho police detain 4 suspected of forging documents
9/17/2010 – JERICHO (Ma’an) — Palestinian Authority police on Friday detained four Palestinians suspected of forging official documents. Police said an investigation was launched after Israel’s District Coordination Office complained that two Palestinians had submitted forged official documents to obtain commercial permits to enter Israel. The holders of the false documents were questioned by….
In the midst of peace talks, Palestinians are more divided than ever
Palestine Note 17 Sep 2010 – On Aug. 25, one week prior to the opening of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, a group of Palestinians held a conference in Ramallah to discuss – and protest — President Mahmoud Abbas’s decision to travel to Washington…
Cherien Dabis’ “Amreeka”: From the West Bank to Illinois
Palestine Note 17 Sep 2010 – By Anam Raheem Washington – Cherien Dabis’ “Amreeka” is a not-so-typical film of the ‘pursuing the American dream’ genre, revolving around the struggles Muna Farah (Nisreen Faour) and her teenage son Fadi (Melkar Muallem) face upon…
Israel tightens security measures during Yom Kippur
Palestine Note 17 Sep 2010 – Washington – Israeli security forces are on high alert during the duration of the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, which lasts from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. The Israeli military closed…
Egyptian newspaper under heavy criticism due to image alteration
Palestine Note 17 Sep 2010 – Washington – Egypt’s state-run newspaper, Al-Ahram, recently published an altered photo of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak walking ahead of US President Barack Obama, Jordanian King Abdullah II, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin…
Russia to provide Syria with advanced weapons
Palestine Note 17 Sep 2010 – Washington – Despite protests from Israel, Russian Defense Minster Anatoly Serdyukov announced that Russia will carry on with its sale of anti-ship rockets to Syria, Haaretz reported Friday. Russia has vowed to fulfill its side of…
Qatar in FIFA World Cup bid
Palestine Note 17 Sep 2010 – Washington – Just months after the 2010 South African World Cup tournament, delegates for the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) set out on a world tour to visit the bidding nations for the 2018 and…
Iranian opposition leader Mousavi’s office raided
Palestine Note 17 Sep 2010 – Washington – Iranian security forces raided the office of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi late on Wednesday, the BBC reported Thursday. Mir Hossein Mousavi is the leader of the Green Movement in Iran. [Yahya Natanzi, Flickr]…
Salam Fayyad at New America foundation: Building Palestine under occupation
Palestine Note 17 Sep 2010 – I just want to give early word that the New America Foundation’s American Strategy Program and Middle East Task Force along with the Palestine Note will be hosting Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad for a…
Ahmadinejad: US-Israel relationship stunts US-Iran relationship
Palestine Note 17 Sep 2010 – Washington – In an interview on Wednesday night with NBC television in Tehran, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad discussed US-Iran relations and his upcoming visit to the United Nations in New York, Ynet new reported Thursday. President…
What does pro Israel mean?
Palestine Note 17 Sep 2010 – It’s not a hard question really. Pro means being in favor of something. But when it comes to Israel, the traditional argument is that supporting Israel means supporting all of Israel’s official government policies or, in…
Regarding US Muslims: A misguided debate
Palestine Note 17 Sep 2010 – Laurie Goodstein’s article, ‘American Muslims Ask, Will We Ever Belong?’ was intended as a sympathetic reading of the concerns of US Muslim communities facing increasing levels of hostility and fear. While generally insightful and sensibly written,…
America’s war on Islam
Palestine Note 16 Sep 2010 – America prides itself on religious freedom, the Constitution’s First Amendment stating: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the…
Hamas fighter killed in West Bank
AlJazeera 17 Sep 2010 – Israeli troops shoot dead local commander of armed group in raid on his home in Nur Shams refugee camp.
Shopping mall opens in Gaza
AlJazeera 17 Sep 2010 – Israeli blockade limits what goods are available in new air-conditioned centre.
Troops Attack Bethlehem Anti Wall Protest With Tear Gas
PNN – Bethlehem — PNN – Israeli soldiers used tear gas on Friday to suppress an anti wall protest in the village of Al Ma’ssara near Bethlehem in southern West Bank. Villagers along with…
Israeli Soldiers Attack Anti Wall Protesters Near Ramallah; Two Injured
PNN – Ramallah — PNN — Israeli soldiers used tear gas and sound bombs on Friday midday to suppress two anti wall protests in Bil’in and Nil’in villages near the central West Bank city…
PCHR: Israeli Attacks Left Four Palestinians Killed And Five Injured This week
PNN – PCHRGaza – PNN – This week the Israelis military killed 4 Palestinian civilians, including an old man and two children, and wounded 3 others and a resistance activist in the Gaza Strip….
Clashes erupt between local youth and Israeli police in Jerusalem
PNN – Jerusalem — PNN — Palestinian youth from the Sliwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem clashed on Friday with Israeli border police. Local sources reported that clashes started on Thursday night and lasted until…
Troops kill A Palestinian leader In Tulkarem; The Family Says He Was Executed
PNN – Tulkarem – PNN — Israeli troops invading the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem gunned down Eyad Shlebaya, 37 years, on Friday morning. Israeli soldiers invaded the city and the nearby Nur-Shams…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (08-15 September 2010)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Security forces on high alert as Israelis mark Yom Kippur
Jeruslalem Post 17 Sep 2010 – West Bank checkpoints temporarily closed until Saturday night; 300 policemen deployed in Acre; train and bus services ceased.
Russia to supply missiles to Syria, despite Israel protest
Jeruslalem Post 17 Sep 2010 – Russian defense minister says Moscow still intends to proceed with arms deal, that includes sale of P-800 missiles, amid objection from US, Israel.
IDF kills Hamas military commander in West Bank
Jeruslalem Post 17 Sep 2010 – IDF says strongman ran towards soldiers in threatening manner, ignored requests to cease his approach, resulting in him being shot; circumstances of the incident under investigation.
Galant assembling his new team
Jeruslalem Post 17 Sep 2010 – Senior military appointments made; incoming IDF chief of Staff, Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant will be replaced in the Southern Command by Maj.-Gen. Tal Russo.
Nesenoff ‚Äònever been closer’ to making aliya
Jeruslalem Post 17 Sep 2010 – Rabbi who videotaped Helen Thomas is working with One Family, David Project and Nefesh B’Nefesh on Israel trip.
Analysis: Peace talks highlight internal tensions in Hamas
Jeruslalem Post 17 Sep 2010 – Many in the West Bank say Mashaal and his Gaza followers are issuing ‚Äòimpossible’ directives.
Three kids killed in West Bank road accident weren’t wearing seat belts, probe finds
Ha’aretz – The three were riding in a truck being driven by the father of one of the victims, who slammed into a tractor that was driving without its lights on.
Report: Peres, Turkey president to meet on sidelines of UN assembly
Ha’aretz – Meet would be first of its kind between high level government representatives since Israeli raid on Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May.
U.S. envoy arrives in Lebanon in latest Mideast peace push
Ha’aretz – George Mitchell to meet Lebanon president Suleiman in wake of recent meeting with Syria’s Assad in Damascus.
Russia: We will provide Syria with advanced missiles, despite Israel, U.S. protests
Ha’aretz – Remark by Russia defense minster comes amid reports that Israeli officials, including PM Netanyahu and Defense Minister Barak, had reportedly warned arms could be used by Hezbollah.
IDF kills West Bank Hamas strongman amid rising tensions
Ha’aretz – Incident comes as Shin Bet issues warning that the Islamist organization issued ‘an organizational directive’ to foil recently restarted peace talks.
Obama pushing to restore Lebanon aid, despite Congress fears of threat to Israel
Ha’aretz – President believes $100 million in assistance to Lebanon Army serves America’s security interests, top U.S. officials say.
Israel decides to buy F-35 fighter jets, despite row over cost of deal
Ha’aretz – Barak gave his go-ahead last month to purchase the jets in a deal valued at around $2.75 billion. The first planes are expected to arrive in 2015.
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (08-15 September 2010)
Uruknet September 17, 2010 – Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (08 — 15 September 2010): Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed 4 Palestinian civilians, including an old man and two children, and wounded 3 others and a resistance activist in the Gaza Strip. They also wounded a 4th…
Nine PFLP Members Detained By P.A Security Forces In Bethlehem
Uruknet September 17, 2010 – Legislator Khalida Jarrar, member of the Political Bureau of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) started Thursday that Palestinian security forces arrested nine PFLP members from the Doheisha refugee camp in Bethlehem. Jarrar said that vice Secretary-General of the PLFP, Abdul-Rahim Mallouh, contacted a number of P.A security official in an…
Watch: As Israel Slides Toward Fascism, Citizens and Supporters Swear Their Loyalty
Uruknet September 17, 2010 – The Israeli Knesset is debating a bill proposed by David Rotem of the extreme right Yisrael Beiteinu party that would require all Israeli citizens to swear loyalty to Israel as a “Jewish and democratic state.” This bill is targeted at increasing pressure on the 20 percent of Israelis who are Palestinian citizens, while forcing the…
Audio: “They persecuted Ameer to keep us silent”
Uruknet September 16, 2010 – The trial of Palestinian citizen of Israel and civil society leader Ameer Makhoul resumes today in Haifa. Charged with espionage and other trumped-up security allegations, Makhoul denies the charges and maintains that “evidence” gathered by the state was obtained through coercion. Last month The Electronic Intifada contributor Hyun Lee interviewed Makhoul’s wife, activist Janan Abdu,…
Dreaming of Fish, and Flowers
Uruknet September 16, 2010 – As the many colours of the fish and flowers slowly disappear from the Gaza landscape, the already grim prospects of the besieged residents begins to look even bleaker. Fishing was a profession that used to keep thousands of fishermen and their families fed, but with Israel restricting the movements of fishermen, the catches are diminishing….
The Jewish identity of the State of Israel
Uruknet September 16, 2010 – Does anyone else wonder why Benjamin Netanyahu is already insisting that a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians must include recognition by the latter that the state of Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people? By insisting on no ambiguity whatsoever, the Israeli prime minister has thrown down a challenge to the Palestinian…
Indigenous resistance, from Colombia to Palestine
Uruknet September 16, 2010 – “They only see our water, our land, our trees. They don’t care about us. They want the land — without the people on it.” These words are not of a Palestinian farmer but of Justo Conda, governor of Lopez Adentro Indigenous Reserve in southwestern Colombia, whose community was repeatedly threatened with displacement under former president…
Seven Million Back Biggest British Boycott
Uruknet September 16, 2010 – At their annual conference this week the TUC, Britain’s all-encompassing trade union coalition, announced their most comprehensive boycott policy yet. It targets settlement goods as well as companies profiting from the illegal occupation of Palestinian land. The motion to boycott and disinvest from these companies passed unanimously on behalf of the TUC’s seven million members….
Second airstrike in 24 hours hits Gaza
Uruknet September 16, 2010 – An agricultural tools warehouse and an open area in the Rafah tunnels district were the sites of two airstrikes by the Israeli army on Gaza Thursday morning, witnesses said. An Israeli military statement on the strikes said the targets were “two weapons storage facilities in the northern and southern Gaza Strip” and added that the “…
Israeli army assassinates Hamas leader
Uruknet September 17, 2010 – Israeli forces entered the home of a Hamas leader in Tulkarem on Friday morning and shot him three times in the neck and chest before withdrawing, family members said. Medics at the Thabit Thabit Hospital in Tulkarem confirmed that 38-year-old Iyad As’ad Shelbaya, a known Hamas leader, was dead, killed by three bullets to the…
Regarding US Muslims: A Misguided Debate
Uruknet September 16, 2010 – …There is no question that the conflict remains largely political. Misconceptions and misperceptions, manipulated by ill-intentioned politicians, media cohorts and substantiated by violence and war will not be resolved overnight. However, hundreds of interfaith dialogues and conferences will not change much as long as American armies continue to roam Muslim countries, support Israel and back…
Gaza: PCHR is Concerned Over Unjustified Intervention of the Ministry of Interior into Public Freedoms
Uruknet September 16, 2010 – The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) is gravely concerned over the unjustified intervention of the Ministry of Interior into public freedoms, closing a number of tourist places in Gaza City, imposing restrictions on their work and arresting one of these places’ owners under the pretext of gender mixture and non-compliance with the Islamic customs….
Military Prosecution Demands More Than Two Years Imprisonment for Bil’in’s Abdallah Abu Rahmah
Uruknet September 16, 2010 – The sentencing phase in the trial of Abdallah Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, began yesterday at the Ofer Military Court. Abu Rahmah was convicted of organizing illegal marches and of incitement last month, but cleared of the violence charges he was indicted for — stone-throwing and…
Return to Shatila
Uruknet September 16, 2010 – Twenty eight years ago, a scene of unspeakable horror rocked the rubble strewn alleys of Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut as vengeance vied with naked lust in a massive display of human malice illuminated for the IDF overseers of this massacre with flares that provided “an unobstructed and panoramic view” for Israeli Defense…
Sabra and Shatila: The Legacy of Israeli Impunity
Uruknet September 16, 2010 – Starting yesterday, Palestinians around the world mark the 28th anniversary of the massacre at Sabra and the Shatila camp in Southern Beirut, Lebanon. Looking back at Palestine Center events and writings on this horrific massacre, it is clear the historical wound is an open one. The Lebanese perpetrators have not been brought to any justice,…
Israeli right erupts as Barak looks at ways to impose settlement freeze
The National 17 Sep 2010 – Ehud Barak, Israel’s defence minister, enrages pro-settler politicians after reports that he is seeking informal ways to restrict settlement expansion.
Israel refuses to extend settlement curbs
Daily Star 17 Sep 2010
Russian defense minister confirms plans to supply Syria with cruise missiles
Daily Star 17 Sep 2010
Arab states snub US over Israel resolution at IAEA meet
Daily Star 17 Sep 2010
Clinton urges Tehran to release remaining American hikers
Daily Star 17 Sep 2010
Hizbullah halts armed family feud in southern suburbs
Daily Star 17 Sep 2010
Hizbullah seen as trying to torpedo UN-backed tribunal
Daily Star 17 Sep 2010
Mitchell: No peace deal without Lebanon
Daily Star 17 Sep 2010
To the End of the Land by David Grossman | Book review
The Guardian 17 Sep 2010 – Jacqueline Rose is moved by David Grossman’s powerful novel of the Israel-Palestine conflict For some time now, David Grossman has been describing his writing as a means of survival, as a way of no longer feeling…
Supporting Palestinian Capacity Building – Israel’s report to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee- Sept2010
Relief Web 17 Sep 2010 – Source: Government of Israel
Briefing Security Council, Special Coordinator for Middle East Stresses Magnitude of Opportunity for Talks, Risks of Failure, Urges Collective Support
Relief Web 17 Sep 2010 – Source: UN Security Council
OPT: The Humanitarian Monitor – August 2010
Relief Web 17 Sep 2010 – Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
OPT: Secretary-General Receives Initial Progress Report from Panel of Inquiry on 31 May Flotilla Incident
Relief Web 17 Sep 2010 – Source: UN Secretary-General
Russo to take Southern Command
YNet News – Maj.-Gen. Tal Russo named to GCO Southern Command in IDF chief-designate Yoav….
IDF calls Yom Kippur closure on W. Bank
YNet News – Security forces were on high alert on Yom Kippur eve, including closures in the West Bank and deployment of police officers in the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Akko. The …….
Hamas vows vengeance over Shilbayeh killing
YNet News – Hamas on Friday threatened retaliation over the killing of Iyad abu Shilbayeh, formerly a senior operative in the organization, who was killed during an IDF raid east of …….
US urges transparency in nearing Egyptian election
YNet News – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has recently received a letter for US President Barack Obama detailing the United States’ vision for post-presidential elections Egypt, …….
IDF kills Hamas operative near Tulkarem
YNet News – An IDF force operating east of the West Bank city of Tulkarem overnight killed Iyad abu Shilbayeh, formerly a senior Hamas operative, Ynet learned Friday. According …….
Tehran: Ahmadinejad to visit Syria
YNet News – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit Damascus on Saturday and meet with Syria’s Bashar Assad, according to news sources in Tehran. According to the …….
Russia to supply Syria with P-800 missiles
YNet News – Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov confirmed in Washington that Russia would supply Syria with P-800 Yakhont cruise missiles, Russian news agencies reported …….
Palestinian Information Center
Palestinian citizens clash with Israeli police in Jerusalem
PIC 17 Sep 2010 – Fierce clashes were reported Thursday between Palestinian Jerusalemites and the Israeli occupation police in the suburb of Silwan after the Israeli occupation police sealed off the area..
Occupation closes the Ibrahimi Mosque
PIC 17 Sep 2010 – The Israeli occupation authority on Friday closed the Ibrahim Mosque for Muslim worshipers until Saturday, while it opened it entirely for Jewish settlers on the Jewish festival of Yom Kippur.
Abbas’s militia kidnap 53 Hamas supporters, nine PFLP supporters
PIC 17 Sep 2010 – Abbas’s militia continued to kidnap Hamas supporters in all districts of the West Bank kidnapping 53 of them according to local sources on Friday morning.
Palestinians in Lebanon commemorate the Sabra and Shatila massacre
PIC 17 Sep 2010 – Hundreds of Palestinians, Lebanese and European activists commemorated on Friday the Sabra and Shatila massacre in which thousands of Palestinian refugees were murdered in cold blood.
Hamas: Israeli occupation crimes not subject to statutes of limitations
PIC 17 Sep 2010 – Hamas said on Friday that the Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people in occupied Palestine and in refugee camps in the diaspora are not subject to a statute of limitations..
Families of Kidnapped Hamas supporters say sons are tortured in PA jails
PIC 17 Sep 2010 – Families of kidnapped Hamas members and supporters incarcerated in the PA jails asserted Thursday that their sons were exposed to severe forms of torture and for long hours.
IOF murders QB leader in W. Bank in cold blood
PIC 17 Sep 2010 – IOF troops have executed Palestinian fighter Eyad Asad Shelbaya, 37, Friday morning after storming his home in the refugee camp of Nur Shams in Tulkarem city, northwest of the West Bank.
Abbas’s militia raid home of MP Abu Juhaisha in Al-Khalil
PIC 17 Sep 2010 – Elements of the “notorious” PA preventive security apparatus under the command of Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank stormed on Thursday night the house of Hamas MP Mohammed Abu Juahaisha.
IOA starts building bridge leading to Aqsa Mosque
PIC 17 Sep 2010 – The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has started construction works near the Magharba Gate of the Aqsa Mosque to build a bridge leading easily to the heart of the Mosque.
Iran opposition leader’s offices raided
LA Times 17 Sep 2010 – Security forces storm the offices of Mir-Hossein Mousavi, confiscating computers and documents in a pattern of intimidation that has intensified in the last month. Some fear legal proceedings may follow. A recent government raid on the offices of an Iranian opposition leader suggests that authorities may be preparing to haul the leaders of the country’s reform movement into court, analysts said.
U.S. envoy Mitchell meets with Syrian president
LA Times 17 Sep 2010 – Mideast envoy George J. Mitchell’s visit to Damascus is aimed at persuading Syrian President Bashar Assad to back Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Syria, however, is said to be skeptical. U.S. Middle East envoy George J. Mitchell traveled to Damascus on Thursday in a bid to persuade Syrian President Bashar Assad to support Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
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.
HEBRON: Israeli Military and Policemen Shut Three Palestinian Shops
Christian Peacemaker Teams – Palestine – Israeli soldiers and police weld shut three Palestinian shops near a regular “Open Shuhada Street” demonstration site, leaving one injured, one expelled, four imprisoned (and thousands still under military occupation).
HEBRON REFLECTION: Shuhada Street: Keeping the quiet (when there’s no peace to be kept)
Christian Peacemaker Teams – Palestine – Honest words between a soldier and peacemakers shed light on the difference between “keeping the peace” and making it.
Dangers Of Negotiations Under Settlements
Palestine Monitor – The Palestinian National Initiative, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and independent national figures organised yesterday a press conference at WATAN Media Center in Ramallah expressing their rejection to the negotiations that are being held under…
Jewish groups denounce ‚ÄòMuseum of Tolerance’ builder Simon Wiesenthal Center for support of Islamophobia
Mondoweiss – New Yorkers protest Islamophobia (Photo: Bud Korotzer) A coalition of four Jewish groups, backed by a wide array of peace and justice organizations, held a demonstration Sept. 16 outside the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance in New York , denouncing the organization’s opposition to the Islamic…
Bil’in holds weekly protest as Abdallah Abu Rahmah faces two-year sentence
Mondoweiss – Here’s an update from the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee on the case of Abdallah Abu Rahmah , a leader in the Bil’in protests against the Wall: The sentencing phase in the trial of Abdallah Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and…
Ahmed Moor in the LA Times — ‚ÄòRather than lecture on Israel’s desire for a lopsided ‚Äòpeace,’ Oren should begin to imagine a state in which each person is equal under the law’
Mondoweiss – Mondoweiss’s very own Ahmed Moor hits the Los Angles Times Op-Ed page to respond to Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren’s recent Times editorial . Moor starts: Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Michael B. Oren, argues in his Sept. 15 Times Op-Ed article that Israelis want peace, and I…
In Jerusalem, Pipes suggests Muslim polygamy has ended ‚ÄòJane Austen’ England
Mondoweiss – Here is a snapshot of Jerusalem life. My wife and I go to dinner in the German Colony, a good neighborhood in West Jerusalem. We sit at the bar, and I ask for a Taybeh beer, the Palestinian beer brewed in Ramallah. They don’t have it,…
By colonial design
Mondoweiss – Ann Stoler, theWilly Brandt Distinguished University Professor of Anthropology and Historical Studies at the New School for Social Research, endorses BDS : As someone who has worked for some thirty years as a teacher and student of colonial studies— on comparative colonial situations, colonial histories, and the…
Hamas Vows Revenge for Israeli Killing of Senior Operative near Tulkarem
Al-Manar 17 Sep 2010 – Hamas on Friday threatened retaliation over the killing of Iyad abu Shilbayeh, formerly a senior operative in the resistance organization, who was killed during an Israeli raid east of the West Bank city of Tulkarem overnight. Hamas accused Israel and the Palestinian Authority of conspiring…
Aid Convoys Prepare to Head to Gaza
Al-Manar 17 Sep 2010 – A Jordanian workers’ union will send 50 truckloads of aid to Gaza as part of the fifth Viva Palestina convoy, a spokesman for the British organization said Thursday. Zahir Berawi said 50 trucks from Algeria would also join the European convoy when it reaches Syria…
Jay Knott — Faithful Circle — A response to Noam Chomsky’s book ‘Fateful Triangle’
Palestine Think Tank 17 Sep 2010 – Chomsky is by no means the worst example of chutzpah in the left. He is contradictory rather than duplicious. He exposes Jewish emotional blackmail. He is contemptuous of professional Holocaust survivors like Elie Wiesel. He is fearless and merciless at ridiculing the hypocrisy and hysteria for…
West Bank Hamas commander killed
BBC 17 Sep 2010 – Israeli forces shoot dead a local Hamas military commander in the northern West Bank.
Russia to sell missiles to Syria
BBC 17 Sep 2010 – Russia’s defence minister says it will supply Syria with anti-ship cruise missiles despite protests by the US and Israel, Russian media report.
Iran ‘closes’ opposition office
BBC 17 Sep 2010 – Iranian security forces surround the office of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, in effect closing it, his supporters say.
In Gaza, Dreaming of Fish and Flowers
Antiwar.com 17 Sep 2010 – GAZA CITY — As the many colors of the fish and flowers slowly disappear from the Gaza landscape, the already grim prospects of the besieged residents begins to look even bleaker. Fishing was a profession that used to keep thousands of fishermen and their families fed,…
Caught! Mossad Paid By U.S. To Spy On “Dissidents,” Tea Party, Environmentalists
Sabbah report 17 Sep 2010 – Taxpayers Funding Israeli Database Of American Citizens By Gordon Duff* | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz Did you know that attending a meeting to organize a bake sale for new band uniforms can put you on a terrorist watch list? You don’t have to join a peace…
Articles
Towards a World War III Scenario? The Role of Israel in Triggering an Attack on Iran
Michel Chossudovsky, Centre for Research on Globalization – Middle East8/13/2010
Part II: The Military Road Map
Israel is integrated into the “war plan for major combat operations” against Iran formulated in 2006 by US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM).
The stockpiling and deployment of advanced weapons systems directed against Iran started in the immediate wake of the 2003 bombing and invasion of Iraq. From the outset, these war plans were led by the US, in liaison with NATO and Israel.
Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration identified Iran and Syria as the next stage of “the road map to war”. US military sources intimated that an aerial attack on Iran could involve a large scale deployment comparable to the US “shock and awe” bombing raids on Iraq in March 2003:
“American air strikes on Iran would vastly exceed the scope of the 1981 Israeli attack on the Osiraq nuclear center in Iraq, and would more resemble the opening days of the 2003 air campaign against Iraq.(See Globalsecurity )
“Theater Iran Near Term”
Code named by US military planners as TIRANNT, “Theater Iran Near Term”, simulations of an attack on Iran were initiated in May 2003 “when modelers and intelligence specialists pulled together the data needed for theater-level (meaning large-scale) scenario analysis for Iran.” ( (William Arkin, Washington Post, 16 April 2006).
The scenarios identified several thousand targets inside Iran as part of a “Shock and Awe” Blitzkrieg…. — See also: Preparing for World War III, Targeting Iran – Part I: Global Warfare more.. e-mail
The Saudi Arms Deal
Rannie Amiri, CounterPunch9/17/2010
The U.S. Stirs Persian Gulf Waters
It would be the single largest foreign arms deal in United States history.
Pending congressional approval, the Obama administration plans to sell $60 billion in advanced aircraft and sophisticated weaponry to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Add $30 billion in proposed enhancements to the country’s navy and ballistic missile-defense systems, and the result is one huge jobs program, further deterioration in Saudi-Iranian relations and heightened tension in the Persian Gulf—all calculated endpoints.
That the colossal arms package was made public enough to be reported on in Monday’s Wall Street Journal indicates it comes without serious Israeli objection—giving credence to the longstanding notion that Saudi Arabia and Israel maintain increasingly close ties, joined by a mutual animus toward Iran.
The agreement would authorize Riyadh to buy 84 new F-15 fighter jets, upgrade another 70 and purchase three types of attack helicopters: 70 Apaches, 72 Black Hawks and 36 Little Birds. If Congress makes no significant modifications and Saudi Arabia opts for the entire package, a $90 billion deal to allegedly help the Kingdom counter Iranian influence is in the offing.
Boeing would be responsible for production of all aircraft other than the Black Hawk. They estimated the deal would support at least 75,000 direct or indirect jobs in 44 states. The muted criticism of the proposal by reflexively pro-Israel lawmakers was aided—not by the potential for job creation—but by knowledge that the fighters will not be equipped with long-range missiles…. more.. e-mail
Israeli art student activity reported at federal officials’ homes
Wayne Madsen, Online Journal9/13/2010
On the eve of the 9/11 anniversary and in an eerie repeat of Israeli “art student” activity a year and a half prior to the 9/11 attack at the offices and homes of federal government, U.S. military, and even federal judges, WMR has been informed of an increase in similar renewed activity at the homes of current and former federal officials.
In the most recent incident, federal officials of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) report Israeli “art students” visiting their homes in Brea, California, in Orange County. Similar to the art student activity in late 2000 and early 2001, one Israeli, accompanied by one or two others, including a driver, canvassed the neighborhood offering Israeli paintings door-to-door. The TSA individuals in the area are not airport screeners but more senior officials of the aviation security agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security. In 2000 and 2001, it was the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that initiated an investigation of the activity as an intelligence operation by Israel but the investigation was eventually halted a few months prior to 9/11 on the orders of Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI director Louis Freeh. After 9/11 and the revelation of the Israeli operation in the media, FBI director Robert Mueller continued the “hands-off” approach to the Israeli activity.
WMR has also been alerted by a former member of Congress to a new twist in Israeli activity in the Atlanta area. Foreign individuals meeting the description of Israelis have visited the homes and made phone calls to the family and a friend of the former member, asking if they would consider hosting a foreign exchange student at their residences. There are reports that these foreign exchange student canvassers travel in groups and drive into neighborhoods in a similar fashion to the Israeli art student vendors. more.. e-mail
Grim prospects for Gaza’s fishermen and farmers
Electronic Intifada: 17 Sep 2010 – GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) – As the many colors of the fish and flowers slowly disappear from the Gaza landscape, the already grim prospects of the besieged residents begins to look even bleaker.more
Novel gets to truth of Sabra and Shatila
Electronic Intifada: 17 Sep 2010 – Not one of the recent Israeli films covering the occupation of Lebanon makes the slightest attempt to humanize Israel’s victims or tell the story from their perspective. In contrast, UK author Mischa Hiller’s first novel, Sabra Zoo is told through the eyes of a young man named Ivan. Matthew Cassel writes for The Electronic Intifada.more
Dangers Of Negotiations Under Settlements
Palestine Monitor: 17 Sep 2010 – The Palestinian National Initiative, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and independent national figures organised yesterday a press conference at WATAN Media Center in Ramallah expressing their rejection to the negotiations that are being held under the settlements and because there is clear absence of terms of reference for the negotiations. PLC member Mustafa al-Barghouthi said: ” Our opposition to the negotiations is not opposition to a just peace but because we believe that the negotiations carry the seeds of failure .” He pointed out to the dangers of accepting the principle of land exchange because it means giving up 80% of the water resources under the settlements which Israel intends to annex. Qays Abdul Kareem from the DFLP said: ” We reject negotiations under the American and Israeli conditions; Israel must recognise the international legitimacy resolutions.” Abdul Rahim Mallouh from PFLP said…more
Colonial Design: Ann Stoler Endorses Boycott of Israel
Palestine Chronicle: 17 Sep 2010 – (The following is a statement released by eminent scholar, Ann Stoler in support of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement aimed at Israel.) By Ann Stoler As someone who has worked for some thirty years as a teacher and student of colonial studies — on comparative colonial situations, colonial histories, and the violent and subtle forms of governance on which colonial regimes rely, it would be difficult not to describe the Israeli state as a colonial one. It would be difficult not to recognize Israel’s past and ongoing illegal seizure of Palestinian land, the racialization of every aspect of daily life, and the large-scale and piecemeal demolition of Palestinian homes, destruction of livelihoods, and efforts to destroy the social and family fabric, as decimation by concerted and concentrated colonial design. These are the well-honed practices of regimes that define colonialisms and have flourished across the imperial globe. As with other colonial…more
Drowsy at Work? Aging Bones? You Could Try These Life-Threatening Meds
Dissident Voice: 17 Sep 2010 – It’s hard to tell the difference between the new radio ads for the McDonald’s breakfast menu and the “wakefulness” drug Nuvigil in Chicago because they both begin with the sound of someone snoring and alarm clocks. But whereas McDonald’s helps the morning lethargy with economy priced breakfast items, Nuvigil helps it with a drug that can cause “a serious rash or a serious allergic reaction that may result in hospitalization or be life-threatening,” also known as Stevens Johnson syndrome. SJS patients are treated on burn units if they are lucky enough to survive. You can thank pharma lobbying for the approval of a drug (armodafinil) in the US that causes SJS as an “important treatment option” for conditions that may not even exist like “excessive sleepiness” (ES) and “shift work sleep disorder” (SWSD). You can also thank pharma lobbying for the watered down warning which says, “may result in hospitalization…more
Canada Colludes in Suppressing Palestinians
Dissident Voice: 17 Sep 2010 – Current peace negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian officials are unlikely to end, let alone reverse, Palestinian dispossession. The power imbalance between the sides is simply too great. While Canada could be part of the solution, so far it has been part of the problem. The largest Palestinian political force, Hamas, has been excluded from these U.S.-sponsored talks, while the electoral mandate of the Palestinian representative, Mahmoud Abbas, expired 20 months ago. Abbas, who arbitrarily extended his term as Palestinian Authority President, is heavily dependent on countries such as the U.S. and Canada, and this has undermined his negotiating position. After Hamas won Canadian-monitored and facilitated legislative elections in early 2006, Stephen Harper made Canada the first country to cut its assistance to the Palestinian Authority. The goal was to sow division among Palestinians, and it worked. Immediately after the Palestinian unity government collapsed in mid 2007, the Canadian International Development…more
More material available from Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel – www.vtjp.org
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