18 September, 2010 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
JCSER: “Bound Palestinian Shot To Death By Israeli Policemen”
IMEMC – 18 Sep 2010 – Saturday September 18, 2010 – 12:42, The Documentation and Research Unit at the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights (JCSER) reported Saturday that the Palestinian resident from Jerusalem who was shot by an Israeli soldiers in Tel Aviv on September 14 was bound before he was killed.
Report: Gaza-bound Syrian aid ship sets sail
9/18/2010 – TARTOUS, Syria (Ma’an) — An aid boat destined for Gaza set sail Saturday from the Syrian port of Tartous, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported. State Minister for the Syrian Red Crescent Basahr Al-Shaar said the ship will bring 650 tons of humanitarian aid, including 40 tons of medical supplies, and will travel….
Israeli army shuts down peaceful Hebron rally
9/18/2010 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Saturday shut down a peaceful rally in the West Bank city of Hebron. The demonstration was organized by local peace group Youth Against Settlements to protest the continued closure of the city’s main street, and the restrictions on residents’ movements.” The rally comes in response….
Gaza govt: PA, Israel colluded in assassination
9/18/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Palestinain Authority Security Forces detained slain Hamas leader Iyad Shelbaya seven times in the past two years, Gaza government spokesman Taher An-Nunu said Saturday. The repeated detentions, which followed an 11-month period in Israeli prison starting in 2003, An-Nunu said, was akin to collaboration with Israel on the part….
Hamas rejects PA take-over of Gaza crossing
9/18/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hamas on Saturday rejected the deployment of Palestinian Authority officials at Gaza’s southern Kerem Shalom crossing. PA Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein Ash-Sheikh said Thursday that “in coming weeks” the PA would take over administration of the crossing, which is the main terminal for supplies to enter the….
Explosion north of Nablus injures 1
9/18/2010 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — A small explosion rocked an open field on the outskirts of Nablus on Friday afternoon, injuring a young cow herder, who was transferred to hospital with burns on his face and limbs. Police officials said the boy, who was not identified, was seriously injured, and had sustained burns on his eyes….
Hamas: PA continues targeted detentions
9/18/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Hamas officials in the West Bank said Palestinian Authority security services officers of detaining 22 members and affiliates from across the West Bank. While Ma’an could not independently verify the detentions, rights organizations like the Palestinian Center for Human Rights cataloged hundreds of detentions since 30 August, when Hamas-affiliated….
Gaza faction says projectiles launched on Israeli force
9/18/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — TheAn-Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades said fighters launched three projectiles from east of Rafah toward Israeli targets in the western Negev on Saturday morning. The militant unit, part of the Popular Resistance Committees in Gaza, said the projectiles were launched toward Israeli forces operating in the area. A statement from the….
Civil Defense worker detained at checkpoint
9/18/2010 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained a Palestinian Civil Defense Force worker on his way to Ramallah where he was expected to report for duty, security sources said. Soldiers at the Za’tara checkpoint south of Nablus stopped 25-year-old Thabet Yasser Sliman, a native of Beita village, and removed him from the….
Gaza hospitals chief meets over medical negligence claim
9/18/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Following accusations of medical negligence, the general manager of Gaza hospitals visited the coastal enclave’s facilities on Saturday. Dr Muhmmad Al-Kashef visited maternity wards, after a husband and wife accused medical staff of malpractice when their twin daughters died on Wednesday during delivery. The official inspected equipment and….
Israel complains to UN over Lebanon-Hezbollah ties
9/18/2010 – NEW YORK (Ma’an) — Israeli officials sent a letter of complaint to the UN Secretary General and Security Council over what was claimed as complicity between the Lebanese army and Hezbollah forces, the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reported Saturday. According to reports, the letter objected to “the Lebanese armed forces’ policy of turning a….
Sha’ath: 30 September will be decisive
9/18/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Negotiations team member Nabil Sha’ath said Friday night that the last day of September would be the turning point for fledgling peace talks. While officials have disputed the actual end of the settlement construction moratorium – some saying 26 September and others saying 30 September – Sha’ath pegged the….
Report: Mitchell explores Obama-Sleiman meeting
9/18/2010 – BEIRUT (Ma’an) — Lebanese President Michel Sleiman and US Mideast envoy George Mitchell discussed a possible meeting with US President Barack Obama when the Lebanese leader visits Washington on 21 September, a Lebanese newspaper reported Saturday. Beirut’s daily An-Nahar newspaper said the issue was discussed as Mitchell extended the latest round of….
Egypt declares state of emergency on Gaza border
9/18/2010 – EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — Egyptian authorities on Saturday declared a state of emergency on its borders with Gaza, security sources said. The move came after Egyptian authorities received information that Palestinians were entering Egypt from Gaza via underground tunnels, sources said, reporting that forces monitoring a tunnel entrance saw five Palestinians leave the tunnel….
Police arrest 4 after man stabbed in Hebron brawl
9/18/2010 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Palestinian Authority police arrested four residents on Saturday morning, who officials said were suspected of stabbing a man during a brawl in the southern Hebron district town of Yatta. Police said they were contacted by a resident who gave details of the brawl, and added that one person was stabbed during….
26 detained at Allenby crossing
9/18/2010 – JERICHO (Ma’an) — Palestinian Authority police said Saturday that 41,000 travelers crossed the Allenby Bridge between the West Bank and Jordan during the week. A police report added that 26 Palestinians “wanted for various criminal acts” were apprehended at the border crossing, and would be transferred to prosecution to commence legal proceedings. Israeli forces….
VIDEO – Gaza fish farms make up for blockade
9/18/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Steps away from the Mediterranean, Gaza markets are suffering from a fish shortage. Unable to repair a destroyed sewage system that seeps into the sea, waters are polluted but fishermen venturing out into deeper, cleaner waters are frequently detained, injured or killed by Israeli ships enforcing a sea blockade. Some….
Expired eggs seized on Ramallah farm
9/18/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Palestinian Authority police in Ramallah confiscated 22,500 trays of expired eggs from a farm east of the city on Saturday, a statement read. Police said they received information that expired eggs were being stored in a farm in the Abu Falah village. Officers raided the farm, confiscating the expired produce. The….
Rocognizing Israel as a Jewish state: Two views”
Palestine Note 18 Sep 2010 – Anon: The idea that the Palestinians must somehow recognize Israel as a Jewish state before we really start of peace negotiations is ridiculous. Israel is a fact. They are a country we are now negotiating with….
The obstacles that probably will kill any Israeli-Palestinian deal
Palestine Note 18 Sep 2010 – The Israeli-Palestinian negotiations are reported to be going well — or as well as they can go with the United States maintaining its insistence that no attempts at Palestinian unity are made. This is Israel’s demand,…
Sacramento Co-op members call for boycotting Israeli products
Palestine Note 18 Sep 2010 – Members of Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op in the state of California are calling for boycotting products that come from Israel, Sacramento News & Review reported. Among these products are Matzo and bath salts. The Sacramento Boycott,…
New shopping mall opens in Gaza
Palestine Note 18 Sep 2010 – A brand-new air-conditioned shopping mall that is owned and managed by the Palestinian group Hamas has opened in the Gaza Strip. The mall has ten shops and a grocery store. “You can find everything here,” one…
World Bank: Palestinian Authority is able to establish state
Palestine Note 18 Sep 2010 – A World Bank report that was released on Thursday said that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is well-positioned to establish a state. “If the Palestinian Authority (PA) maintains its current performance in institution-building and delivery of public…
Jail sentence for Iran activist
AlJazeera 18 Sep 2010 – Shiva Nazar Ahari sentenced to six years in prison for plotting crimes against state and waging war against God.
Iran urges US to free prisoners
AlJazeera 18 Sep 2010 – President Ahmadinejad seeks release of 11 Iranians in US custody days after Tehran freed suspected American spy.
LAMB: “Munir’s Story – 28 Years After The Massacre At Sabra-Shatila”
PNN – by Franklin Lamb – The untreated psychic wounds are still open. Accountability, justice and basic civil rights for the survivors are still denied. Scores of horror testimonies have been shared over the past…
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
Hamas vows it won’t let PA manage Kerem Shalom crossing
Jeruslalem Post 18 Sep 2010 – Movement claims that the move is aimed at paving the way for the return of the PA to the entire Gaza Strip.
IDF kills West Bank Hamas commander as security tightened
Jeruslalem Post 18 Sep 2010 – Hamas blames Israel, PA for death; vows to avenge killing of the terrorist who the group says was a local leader of its armed wing in Tulkarm.
Edelstein:Anti-Israel reports led to anti-Semitic incidents
Jeruslalem Post 18 Sep 2010 – “It is easy to boycott Israel when you don’t know what you are talking about,” says Diaspora Affairs and Public Diplomacy Minister.
Russian plan to sell arms to Syria alarms Israel, US
Jeruslalem Post 18 Sep 2010 – Defense source tells ‘Post’ there is a danger these weapons, which include P-800 Yakhont cruise missiles, could be used against Israel.
Abbas threatens to quit, again, if peace talks fail
Jeruslalem Post 18 Sep 2010 – Senior PA official says Abbas made comments regarding his future during a recent meeting of Fatah Central Committee; PLO and Fatah have yet to start the search for a replacement.
Edelstein: Anti-Israel reports led to anti-Semitic incident
Jeruslalem Post 18 Sep 2010 – “It is easy to boycott Israel when you don’t know what you are talking about,” says Diaspora Affairs and Public Diplomacy Minister.
Egyptian newspaper defends doctored peace talks photo
Jeruslalem Post 18 Sep 2010 – “The expressionist photo is … a brief, live and true expression of the prominent stance of President Mubarak in the Palestinian issue,” says Al-Ahram Editor.
Hamas opposes planned PA return to Kerem Shalom
Jeruslalem Post 18 Sep 2010 – Movement claims that the move is aimed at paving the way for the return of the PA to the entire Gaza Strip.
Abbas threatens to resign if peace talks fail
Jeruslalem Post 18 Sep 2010 – Senior PA official says Abbas made comments regarding his future during a recent meeting of Fatah Central Committee; PLO and Fatah have yet to start the search for a replacement.
Top defense official: Russian arms sold to Syria will be used against Israel
Ha’aretz – Russian defense minister announced on Friday that Moscow would go ahead with its sale of P-800 Yakhont anti-ship cruise missiles to Syria.
Lieberman: Palestinians use settlement freeze as an excuse to undermine peace talks
Ha’aretz – Foreign Minister tells British counterpart that there is no chance Israel will extend moratorium on construction in West Bank settlements beyond Sept. 26 expiration date.
Carter in new book: Obama turned back on settlement freeze
Ha’aretz – The former U.S. president also criticizes Bill Clinton, writing that Israeli settlement building in the West Bank was especially rapid under his administration.
JCSER: “Bound Palestinian Shot To Death By Israeli Policemen”
Uruknet September 18, 2010- The Documentation and Research Unit at the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights (JCSER) reported Saturday that the Palestinian resident from Jerusalem who was shot by an Israeli soldiers in Tel Aviv on September 14 was bound before he was killed. The center said that Hazim Adel Abu Al Dab’at, 22, from Al Thoury neighborhood…
Palestinian prisoners go on hunger strike to protest IPA abuse
Uruknet September 18, 2010 – Palestinian prisoners in all Israeli jails have announced they will go on hunger strike next Saturday Sept. 25 in protest of the heightened abuse they have recently suffered from the Israeli prisons authority (IPA). “The IPA has launched an unprecedented campaign against prisoners since the direct negotiations started, which reflected the Israeli government’s lack of…
Some Killing More ‘Moral’ Than Other
Uruknet September 18, 2010 – Controversy is building up over a 91-year-old man, his 17-year-old grandson and a 20-year-old neighbour, all farmers, who were killed by Israeli shelling and gunfire as they tried to tend their land 700 metres from northern Gaza’s border with Israel. The narrative according to the Israeli and foreign media is one of “self- defence”. During…
Chasing a friend: the Intelligence – Terrorism Nexus
Uruknet September 18, 2010 -… Recently an article caught my attention that was giving a dim picture of the relationship between intelligence and terrorism. According to Jeremy Keenan, professorial research associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, the Saharan front in the global war on terror was fabricated – planned by the U.S. and Algeria in…
Israel: Where Choosing Your Identity is an Act of Resistance
Uruknet September 17, 2010 – One of the most contentious issues for Palestinians in this conflict is identity, how a person sees him or herself in relation to society and the world. This is especially true for Palestinian Arabs living within Israel, holding Israeli citizenship. They must decide whether to be Israeli Arabs, Arabs living in Israel, Palestinians living in…
S Africans charged in ‘organ trade’Hospital and six doctors allegedly conducted illegal transplants in case that stretches to Israel and Brazil.
Uruknet September 17, 2010 – A prominent South African hospital chain and its chief executive have been charged in connection with trafficking human organs in a case that authorities say stretched to Israel and Brazil. Vish Naidoo, a police spokesman, told The Associated Press news agency on Thursday that 11 suspects were ordered to appear in court in November. He…
The Occupation’s Many Faces
Uruknet September 17, 2010 – There is an overriding reality that cannot be dismissed here in Palestine. Israel controls just about every aspect of our lives. No matter how we try to turn it around, candy coat it or look at it from a “different perspective” this is the truth and the main reason why no partial agreement will ever…
Families of Kidnapped Hamas supporters say sons are tortured in PA jails
Uruknet September 17, 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. Over the past three years, thousands of Hamas leaders and supporters in the West Bank were arrested by the militia of Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas in the…
Under the gun: how the people of Gaza feel about Hamas
Uruknet September 17, 2010 – …According to one human rights activist, who asked not to be named for fear of being killed by one side or the other, the root of the problem is that both governments — Fatah and Hamas — were born of what he called “original sin”. “The Palestinian constitution protects the right of the people to…
Due to Gaza closure, 40,000 students refused from UNRWA schools
Uruknet September 17, 2010 – Notebooks and pens are in, construction materials are out
What Israel wants from the Palestinians, it takesBy colonizing the West Bank and depriving Palestinians of basic rights, Israel has made a two-state solution impossible.
Uruknet September 17, 2010 – 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 believe him. They’ve said so often enough. But the Israelis want lots of other things too. For instance, they want the West Bank and East Jerusalem. In addition, they want the Palestinian aquifers…
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…
Hamas vows to retaliate after Israel kills military leader
The National 18 Sep 2010 – The Islamist group has promised revenge after an Israeli commando unit killed one of its senior members.
Iranian and Syrian presidents meet in Damascus
The National 18 Sep 2010 – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met Bashar al Assad in Damascus after US presses Syria to renew peace talks with Israel.
Assisting PA in Developing One of Most Advanced Cash Assistance Programs
WAFA – WASHINGTON, September 18, 2010 (WAFA)- The Social Safety Net Reform Project has supported the Palestinian Authority in developing and managing one of the most advanced cash assistance programs in the
Serry East Stresses Magnitude of Opportunity for Talks, Risks of Failure
WAFA – NEW YORK, September 18, 2010 (WAFA)- The Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process called on the Security Council and the international community to maintain strong support for the
Without Addressing Obstacles to Private Sector Development, PA will Remain Donor Dependent
WAFA – WASHINGTON, September 16, 2010 (WAFA) – “Unless action is taken in the near future to address the remaining obstacles to private sector development and sustainable growth, the PA will remain donor
OPT: Israel says it will not extend settlement curbs
Relief Web 18 Sep 2010 – Source: Agence France-Presse
West Bank and Gaza: Social Safety Net Reform Project
Relief Web 18 Sep 2010 – Source: World Bank
Measures Taken by Israel in Support of Developing the Palestinian Economy and Socio-Economic Structure
Relief Web 17 Sep 2010 – Source: Government of Israel
MIDEAST: Some Killing More ‘Moral’ Than Other
IPS Controversy is building up over a 91-year-old man, his 17-year-old grandson and a 20-year-old neighbour, all farmers, who were killed by Israeli shelling and gunfire as they tried to tend their land 700 metres from northern Gaza’s border with Israel.
Ahmadinejad: Resistance to West rising
YNet News – After meeting briefly with his counterpart Assad at Damascus airport, Iranian….
Lieberman: Israel won’t extend settlement freeze
YNet News – Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has rejected the possibility that Israel would extend the settlement construction moratorium, which is due to expire September 26. …….
‘Largest flotilla yet’ en-route to Gaza
YNet News – Four months after being injured on board the Mavi Marmara ship, one of the participants of late May’s Gaza-bound flotilla on Saturday joined what organizers are calling …….
US official: Saudi arms deal warning to Iran
YNet News – WASHINGTON – US administration and Pentagon officials told the New York Times Friday President Barak Obama is preparing to seek Congressional approval for a huge arms …….
Egyptian paper defends doctored photo
YNet News – A state-run newspaper on Friday defended a decision to publish a doctored photograph putting Egypt’s president front and center at Mideast peace talks in Washington, …….
Palestinian Information Center
Palestinian prisoners go on hunger strike to protest IPA abuse
PIC 18 Sep 2010 – Palestinian prisoners in all Israeli jails have announced they will go on hunger strike next Saturday in protest of the heightened abuse they have recently suffered from the IPA.
Rezqa warns of PA-Israeli peace initiative in France
PIC 18 Sep 2010 – Dr. Yousef Rezqa charged Saturday that the French-hosted initiative for peace between the ministries of education in Israel and Ramallah is “shameful”.
IOA isolates Jerusalem suburbs from holy city
PIC 18 Sep 2010 – The IOA started to build new huge cement blocks on the entrance to Ras Khamis suburb and Shufaat refugee camp in central occupied Jerusalem in preparation for isolating them completely from Jerusalem.
Gaza man arrested in transit at Cairo airport over links to Hamas
PIC 18 Sep 2010 – Egyptian authorities arrested a Palestinian man six days back in the Cairo International Airport on his return trip from Makkah after performing Umrah in the holy land, sources in Gaza said.
Abu Obeida: Murder of Shelbaya won’t pass without punishment
PIC 18 Sep 2010 – Abu Obeida, the official spokesman of the Qassam Brigades the armed wing of Hamas, has affirmed that the Israeli murder of Qassam commander Iyad Shelbaya in Tulkarem won’t pass without punishment.
PA’s security threatens to cut off tongues of mosque imams in W. Bank
PIC 18 Sep 2010 – A number of mosque imams said that the PA’s security apparatuses in the West Bank threatened to cut off their tongues if they refused to deliver the Friday khutbas prepared by Mahmoud Al-Habash.
Aid convoy “Lifeline 5” leaving London for Gaza today
PIC 18 Sep 2010 – Viva Palestina organization said its fifth aid convoy, Lifeline for Gaza, is expected to move today (Saturday) from central London towards France.
Massive crowds in Shelbaiya’s funeral despite tyrannies of PA
PIC 18 Sep 2010 – Despite the repressive acts of the Palestinian Authority, more than 15,000 Palestinian citizens and supporters of Hamas marched in the funeral procession of slain Qassam leader Iyad Shelbaiya.
Zahhar: Fatah not aware of the gravity of its settlement talks with Israel
PIC 18 Sep 2010 – Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar said that Fatah faction and its Arab allies do not realize the seriousness of the settlement process to very sensitive issues in the conflict with the Israeli occupation.
France to host PA-Israeli initiative to normalize Israeli relations
PIC 18 Sep 2010 – The French Foreign Ministry has revealed a new initiative between the PA and Israel to allegedly teach youth peace and coexistence in an apparent scheme to normalize relations with Israel.
U.S. Hiker Travels Home From Iran
New York Times 18 Sep 2010 – After more than 13 months in custody, Sarah E. Shroud began her journey back to the United States on Saturday.
World Briefing | Middle East: West Bank: Israeli Soldiers Kill Militant in Raid
New York Times 18 Sep 2010 – Israeli troops killed a Hamas militant on Friday during a raid in the West Bank, where violence has increased since a new round of peace talks began this month.
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.
Closed for atonement, but check out these recent highlights
Mondoweiss – There won’t be much posting around here for the next day or so, but I thought this would be a good chance to highlight some of the great material we’ve had on the site lately. First and foremost, Phil has been making his way through Jordan…
American public opinion and the special relationship with Israel
Mondoweiss – There is no question that the United States has a relationship with Israel that has no parallel in modern history. Washington gives Israel consistent, almost unconditional diplomatic backing and more foreign aid than any other country. In other words, Israel gets this aid even when it…
Why we are boycotting the Batsheva Dance Company
Mondoweiss – The following is an open letter to the Batsheva Dance Company from two groups organizing a boycott of its upcoming shows in New York City: Dear Batsheva Dance Company, We are a group of New York-based human rights activists and artists calling for a boycott of…
Gaza life
BBC 17 Sep 2010 – Doing business under the eased blockade
Hypocrisy Defined: Another Round of Peace Talks
Sabbah report 18 Sep 2010 – By Stephen Lendman* | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz Dealing with Washington and Israel is like swimming with sharks. Get out of the water or be eaten. Achieving an equitable Israeli/Palestinian peace settlement is no more likely now than ever. Both sides know it but pretend otherwise,…
Articles
In the midst of peace talks, Palestinians are more divided than ever
Mark Perry, Foreign Policy, Palestine Note 9/17/2010
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 to attend the talks. The Ramallah gathering, to be held at Ramallah’s Protestant Club meeting house, had been meticulously planned by a prominent coalition of political activists that included Palestinian businessmen, acknowledged leaders in Palestinian civil society and respected leaders of Palestinian political parties. “This was to be an open forum, an assembly to debate and discuss,” Munib al-Masri, the founder of the Palestine Forum and one of the meeting’s organizers said in an interview from his home in Nablus. “Our intention was to exercise our right to assemble and debate. Tragically, that’s not what happened.”
As the crowd of attendees (later estimated at between 250-300 people) began to gather at noon on Aug. 25, a group of about 100 non-uniformed officers from the Palestinian General Intelligence Service entered the hall carrying placards featuring Abbas’s picture and shouting pro-Abbas slogans. Across the street, at the headquarters of Al Haq — an independent human rights organization — Shawan Jabarin, the organization’s director (who had been invited to attend the meeting), heard of the commotion and decided to walk to the meeting hall. Jabarin described the scene: “This was going to be a large and important meeting,” he said, “so there were already 200 to 300 people in the hall at noon. But it was clear they wouldn’t be allowed to speak. The security people were shouting slogans, intimidating people. I saw a sign — ‘Stop Supporting Iran.’”
Inside the hall, those disrupting the meeting (Israeli journalist Amira Hess described them in Haaretz as “young men of similar appearance — well-developed muscles, civilian clothes and stern facial expressions”) began to shout down the first speaker, Dr. Mamdouh Al Aker, the director of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights (PICCR)…. — See also: Source: Foreign Policy more.. e-mail
Disbanding the Palestinian Authority would scupper Israeli strategy
Nureddin Sabir, Redress 9/16/2010
Nureddin Sabir argues that the time has come to dismantle the Palestinian National Authority — a principal tool of Israeli policy in Palestine — and to replace it with a progressive, patriotic and democratic grassroots liberation movement.
Often at seminal historical junctures the need to venture “outside the box” and think the unthinkable becomes critical.
Such a moment is now upon the Palestinians. At stake is whether they will survive as a people or dissolve into the oblivion of the banished: ethnically cleansed from their homeland, the world’s new gypsies, a second-class diaspora, third-class inhabitants of isolated reservations.
The challenge facing the Palestinians now is to step back from the abyss and seize the moment by turning threats and dangers into game-changing opportunities and a new strategic vision.
It is 17 years since that momentous event when, on 13 September 1993, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shook hands at the White House lawn before the world’s media. At the time, this was hailed as a new dawn that would usher in a just and lasting peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. But it was not to be, and many would say that the “peace process” launched by the Oslo agreements of 1993 was never intended to deliver justice or peace. To understand why, let us revisit what lay behind the Oslo process that gave birth to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) — also known as the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Ever since the establishment of the state of Israel, a central stratagem of Zionist propaganda has been the proclamation, repeated ad nauseum, of Israel’s readiness to hold bilateral talks with Arab leaders on a peaceful settlement, while at the same time refusing to talk to anyone who purports to represent the entire Palestinian people and not just those in the occupied territories…. more.. e-mail
Negotiations while ethnic cleansing continues
Mazin Qumsiyeh, Palestine Note 9/16/2010
Seven million of the 11 million Palestinians are refugees or displaced people. Israeli war criminals and US officials complicit in ethnic cleansing meet in fancy hotels to claim they are “negotiating” for peace (while in the meantime giving green light to further ethnic cleansing and destruction of Palestinian lives to strengthen the apartheid system).
Israeli colonial officers destroy the Bedouin village of Al-Araqib in the Negev for the fifth time (the village existed in this location before Israel was created in 1948).
Colonial apartheid soldiers seal shops in Hebron to add to hundreds of shops closed because illegal settlers took over nearby buildings (video and story by Israeli human Rights group B’Tselem).
Must Read: Where has the hypocrisy gone? Amira Hass in Haaretz.
No one thinks to ask about the consensus among the residents of Palestinian cities and villages on whose land the settlements have been built. The millions of Palestinians don’t count at all.
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics released a report showing the number of settlers in the West Bank reached 517,774.
But popular resistance is growing and more people are getting involved. There is widening gap between government officials and the people around the world on this issue. Millions of activists are being mobilized for the boycotts, divestments and sanctions movement and as the negotiations lead nowhere, the apartheid system is being exposed more. It will happen just as suddenly and unexpectedly as the fall of apartheid in South Africa. Your involvement can help. — See also: YouTube: Israel destroys Bedouin village and B’tselem: Israel seals shops in Hebronmore.. e-mail
UANI: United Against the Nation of Iran
Dissident Voice: 18 Sep 2010 – Those who regularly follow the developments of Iran might have come across to the website of “United Against Nuclear Iran”, a “non-partisan, non-profit advocacy organization” that seeks to “prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons” UANI has compiled an elaborate list of the foreign companies and firms which do business with Iran and calls on its readers and visitors to send condemnatory letters and complaints to these companies so as to persuade them to withdraw their capitals and resources from Iran and stop doing business with a country which the United States and its European allies consider to be an emerging nuclear threat in the Middle East. Interestingly, UANI has listed each and every foreign company which is active in Iran, from the food production companies to internet service providers, medicine manufacturers, industrial conglomerates, news agencies, transportation infrastructure providers and private consortiums, and…more
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