12 October, 2010 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Israeli Settlers Expanding A Settlement Near Nablus
IMEMC – 12 Oct 2010 – Tuesday October 12, 2010 – 13:42, On Tuesday, Ghassan Doughlas, the Palestinian official in charge of monitoring Israeli settler and settlement issues in the northern West Bank, said that Israeli settlers began to expand the settlement of Eli, South of the city of Nablus.
Military Invades Towns In West Bank, Arrests Three
IMEMC – 12 Oct 2010 – Tuesday October 12, 2010 – 12:45, Israeli soldiers arrested Monday night a young man from the town of Beit Reema, near Ramallah in the central West Bank, after they invaded his house.
Israeli Army Invades Silwan and Arrests Children
IMEMC – 12 Oct 2010 – Tuesday October 12, 2010 – 12:13, Tuesday night Israeli troops launched large-scale raids of homes in several neighbourhoods and battled with children in the town of Silwan near the Al Aqsa Mosque.
Israeli Veteran’s Group Breaking The Silence Nominated For EU Human Rights Award
IMEMC – 12 Oct 2010 – Tuesday October 12, 2010 – 11:48, Israeli human rights group, Breaking the Silence, best known for publishing testimonials by current and former Israeli soldiers has been nominated by two European Green parties for the European Union’s Andrei Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
Eight Year Old Child Kidnapped By Israeli Soldiers
IMEMC – 12 Oct 2010 – Tuesday October 12, 2010 – 10:59, On Tuesday at dawn, Israeli soldiers invaded Silwan town in occupied East Jerusalem, broke into the house of Mofeed Mansour and kidnapped his eight year old child.
Troops Attack & Arrest Civilians in Towns South of Hebron
IMEMC – 12 Oct 2010 – Tuesday October 12, 2010 – 10:39, The Israeli military arrested or attached several citizens in towns south of Hebron..
Israeli Soldiers Kidnap A Student From Hebon University
IMEMC – 12 Oct 2010 – Monday October 11, 2010 – 17:37, The Israeli military kidnapped on Monday Sajeda al-‘Awawda, 20, a student at the Hebron University, and moved her to an unknown destination.
Israel expands 2 West Bank settlements
10/12/2010 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli settlers on Tuesday bulldozed farmland in order to expand the illegal Eli settlement south of Nablus and in Beit Ummar expanded the Karmei Tzur settlement north of Hebron, officials in the West Bank said. Palestinian Authority official responsible for settlement observation in the northern West Bank Ghassan Doughlas said that….
Civil Administration razes farmland in Beit Fajjar
10/12/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israel’s Civil Administration razed farmland and a barn owned by a resident of the Beit Fajjar village in the southern West Bank district of Bethlehem on Monday. Raed Taqatqa, the land owner, said Israeli forces sought to control the area near the village’s main road and that….
Israel uses TV footage to catch Jerusalem boy
10/12/2010 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities detained a young boy after identifying him in footage of a settler running down rock-throwing children in occupied East Jerusalem. The boy was spotted in news footage of the incident aired by The Associated Press, Jawad Seyam, director of Wadi Helwa Information Centre in the Silwan neighborhood, told Ma…. Related: Video shows settler leader run over Palestinian children
Center: Child detained in Silwan
10/12/2010 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — The Wad Hilweh Information Center said an eight-year-old Palestinian resident of Silwan was detained at dawn on Tuesday by Israeli police. Center director Jawad Siyam said police raided Omran Mansour’s home in the Beir Ayoub neighborhood of the flashpoint area. The center had said they believed the child was….
ACRI letter demanding clarification of transfer exercise
10/12/2010 – To: Mr. Binyamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister, Jerusalem – Dear Sir, Re: Security Forces Exercise Simulating Population Transfer. We learned through a report on Kol Israel (Reshet B, October 8) of a large-scale training exercise by the Prison Service, Police, Firefighters, emergency crews, and the Homefront Command simulating in detail how these forces would handle demonstrations and…. Related: ACRI
Residents petition high court to access olive groves
10/12/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Residents of the Wadi Ar-Rasha village filed a petition Tuesday with the Israeli High Court of Justice to secure access to their land during the olive harvest, an Israeli rights group said. Residents of the village, in the northern Qalqiliya district, had applied for 98 requests to access their olive groves….
Belly-dancing soldier identified
10/13/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The latest Israeli soldier to be caught on tape humiliating a Palestinian detainee has appeared in other questionable photographs during army service, and he posted some of those images online. The soldier, Avi Yakobov, was filmed belly-dancing beside 24-year-old Ihsan Dababisa in a YouTube video that went viral last Monday…. Related: VIDEO: “israeli soldier catch arab terrorist…”
Nablus center calls for release of sick detainees
10/12/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Nablus branch of the Detainees’ Society appealed Tuesday to human rights groups to pressure Israel into release detainees in ill health. Society director Raed Amer said there was a large number of unwell detainees that require immediate transferal to hospital for surgery or treatment. Amer added that detainees’….
Security source: 3 beaten, 1 detained in Hebron
10/12/2010 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — A Palestinian security source said three Palestinians were beaten by Israeli forces overnight Monday in the At-Tuwani village in the southern Hebron district. The source said 18-year-old Hijazi Al-Nawag’a was left with a broken hand as a result of the assault and was taken to the Abu Al-Hassan….
Combatants group awarded peace prize
10/12/2010 – NEW YORK (Ma’an) — Two founders of the Combatants for Peace group will be presented with the 2010 Victor J Goldberg Prize for Peace in the Middle East on Wednesday at a ceremony in the Bethlehem town of Beit Jala, a statement read. The Institute of International Education will present the award, which includes…. Related: Combatants for Peace
Flying checkpoint erected at Salfit entrance
10/12/2010 – SALFIT (Ma’an) — Israeli forces erected a flying checkpoint at the eastern entrance of Salfit in the northern West Bank on Tuesday, causing extensive delays, witnesses said. Witnesses said three military jeeps were parked at the entrance, carrying out searches of cars, leading to traffic, adding that they believed Israeli forces were searching for….
Report: PA meets Israeli army officials in Jenin
10/12/2010 – TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — Senior Israeli and Palestinian security officers met Tuesday afternoon in Jenin, Israeli media reported. The English-language Israeli news site Ynet reported only that the meeting was to “discuss security issues related to the region….
Hamas shuts down journalists syndicate in Gaza
10/12/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Security forces in the Gaza Strip closed the headquarters of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate without explanation Tuesday, a member of the press union’s general secretariat said. Tahseen Al-Astal told Ma’an that forces arrived in civilian clothes and told them that the Ministry of the Interior had….
Israeli authorities release detainee’s wife
10/12/2010 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities released Sajida Al-Awawda, 20,after being detained for several hours at an Israeli detention center south Hebron on Monday. Israeli authorities detained Al-Awawdaon Monday evening while she was in front of Hebron University. She was released after several hours of investigations….
Israel opens 1 Gaza crossing
10/12/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities announced Tuesday that one crossing into Gaza would be open for the transfer of goods, a Palestinian liaison official said. Raed Fattouh said the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza would be open for the delivery of fuel and the entry of 230 trucks with goods for the….
India ‘firmly committed’ to Palestinian capacity building
10/12/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — India remains “firmly committed to the capacity building and training of our Palestinian brothers and sisters,” the country’s representative to the Palestinian Authority said Monday to mark Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation day. Bishwadip Dey welcomed 150 Palestinians alumni of the ITEC course at the representative’s office….
Report: PA submits request for new airport
10/12/2010 – TEL AVIV (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority has submitted a request to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office for the construction of a new Palestinian airport in the central West Bank district of Jericho, Hebrew-language media reported Tuesday. The four square kilometer airport, 10km southeast of Jerusalem, includes plans for a single terminal….
PLO calls for boycott of OECD Jerusalem summit
10/12/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The PLO has called on member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development to boycott a summit on sustainable tourism which will be held in West Jerusalem in mid-October, a statement issued Tuesday read. The PLO said convening the summit in West Jerusalem “under current conditions is a….
EU urges equality for non-Jews in Israel
10/12/2010 – TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — The EU on Tuesday urged Israel to guarantee the equality of all its citizens after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Palestinians to recognize Israel’s Jewish identity, Agence France-Presse reported.” We support the two democratic states living side by side in peace and security,” EU diplomatic chief Catherine….
Israel vice premier says ‘no chance’ for peace deal soon
10/12/2010 – TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — Israel’s Vice Prime Minister and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon said Tuesday that he saw “no chance of reaching a peace deal with the Palestinians in the near future.” “In the eyes of Palestinians, the occupation began in ’48 and not in ’67….
Palestinian, Israeli officials meet at Gaza crossing
10/12/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Palestinian and Israeli officials met Tuesday at the Erez crossing in northern Gaza, Ma’an has learned. The meeting lasted three hours and was attended by civil affairs representative Ameen Seyam, liaison official Raed Fattouh, and a number of other Palestinian business officials and representatives. People present at the….
PA cabinet meets in Jericho
10/12/2010 – JERICHO (Ma’an) – Celebrations marking the 10,000th anniversary of Jericho’s founding will last several years and include activities throughout the Jordan Valley area, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Sunday. The West Bank city marks the eastern entrance to Palestine and reflects originality and a deep-rooted civilization, Fayyad said. The prime minister’….
Gaza electricity shortages ‘partially solved’
10/12/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Gaza Electricity Company said several improvements in supply have led to a partial solution to the electricity crisis in the coastal enclave, which has been plagued with power cuts since January. A statement issued by the GEC on Monday said the crisis was also partly solved through a government-enforced….
Hamas awaits Fatah proposal on security
10/12/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Hamas movement said Tuesday that it was waiting to see Fatah’s proposals on security, which is the outstanding issue in the national reconciliation meeting scheduled for 20 October in Damascus. Yahia Moussa, a Hamas lawmaker in the Palestinian parliament, said that “all that has been agreed upon….
Palestinian police detain 10 suspects
10/12/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Police on Tuesday detained 10 suspects wanted for questioning over car thefts in Hebron and Ramallah. Police recovered 270 cars and detained one suspect in Ramallah. In Hebron, they seized 40 cars and nine suspects. The suspects were sent to general prosecution to begin legal procedures. They were not identified….
Israel’s new loyalty oath
Palestine Note 12 Oct 2010 – Since inception, Israel’s democracy was illusory, but of late it’s further eroded. The Cabinet’s October 10 adopted Law of Citizenship amendment requires all non-Jews wanting it to pledge loyalty to “the State of Israel as a…
Iran: Negotiations shouldn’t be a last resort
Palestine Note 12 Oct 2010 – Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow at Brookings, wrote in the Nixon Center’s “National Interest” last month that an Israeli attack on Iran would be catastrophic. Riedel, no reflexive dove – he is a former CIA officer…
A few loyalty oaths Israel might consider, too
Palestine Note 12 Oct 2010 – Israel’s Cabinet adopted a new law that requires immigrants to the country – mainly non-Jews – to swear an oath of loyalty to the Jewishness of the country. That’s on top of the oath of loyalty…
US supports Israel as a “Jewish” state
Palestine Note 12 Oct 2010 – Washington – At a press conference on Tuesday, US State Department Spokesman Philip J. Crowley says the US recognizes the “special nature” of the state of Israel, and has backed Israel’s assertion that it is a…
Lieberman: PA intends to undermine Israel’s Jewish legitimacy
Palestine Note 12 Oct 2010 – Washington – Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has reportedly told his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb that the Palestinian Authority will use the Israeli Arab population to subvert the legitimacy of the Jewish state of Israel. The…
New survey shows American Jewish support for Obama waning
Palestine Note 12 Oct 2010 – Washington – A new survey , conducted ahead of the heated run toward midterm elections, by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) shows that American Jewish support for President Obama’s handling of US-Israeli relations is dropping. In a…
Car carrying MK’s pelted with stones in Silwan
Palestine Note 12 Oct 2010 – Security Minister vows to crackdown on stone-throwing. Washington – A minivan carrying members of the Israeli Knesset was hit with stones as they toured Beit Yehonatan in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan on Tuesday. The…
The problem with the media
Palestine Note 12 Oct 2010 – Many people around the world were disgusted with America, some to the point of violence, because of Pastor Terry Jones and his 9-11 Burn the Koran day. News media around the globe have given Pastor Jones…
Arm-twisting Obama
Palestine Note 12 Oct 2010 – Israel’s other ‘peace’ plan A ghost haunted the meeting of the Arab League in Libya at the weekend, as its foreign ministers decided to give a little more time to the peace talks between Israel and…
I pledge allegiance
Palestine Note 12 Oct 2010 – The creation of Israel was the fulfillment of the Zionism dream: the Jewish people would now finally have their own home, a place that Jews could go and feel safe in celebrating their traditions without fear…
Soldiers ‘killed’ in Iran blast
AlJazeera 12 Oct 2010 – Several killed and wounded in explosion at military base in western province of Lorestan, reports say.
Israeli Public Security Minister Aharonovitch: Kids will not receive immunity
PNN – The Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch spoke about the recent violence in Silwan, most of which has been stone throwing by kids: ‚ÄúThese things need to be stopped. The children cannot receive…
Afteem Falafel after 62 Years: In Photos
PNN –
A Tourism Conference in Israel, and a New Battle in Jerusalem
PNN – In a press conference yesterday, Fatah’s Central Commissioner of the Foreign Relations Nabil Sha’ath said that the event ‚Äúwas a political conference, not a tourism conference.‚Äù He called on the OECD to…
Israel Offers Settlement Freeze for Recognition of Israel as a Jewish State
PNN – The P.A. has rejected the offer made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Monday, that, ‚ÄúIf the Palestinian leadership will say unequivocally to its people that it recognizes Israel as the homeland…
As Occupation Plows Lands, Caravan Returns to Property of Ra’ed Taqataqa in Beit Fajjar
PNN – The hill in question falls near the main road between Beit Fajjar and Wam Salmuna.Taqataqa reported that after soldiers began plowing parts of the land, a wheeled caravan arrived with a rotating…
Israeli Unit Dresses in Women’s Clothes to Capture 4 Boys in Silwan
PNN – Suleiman Abduh Sayyam, age 10, was injured by a sound bomb and a rubber bullet to his leg during a confrontation that broke out in the village, but not arrested.Eyewitnesses in the…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (30 September — 06 October 2010)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Syrian bishop: Ahmadenijad’s antics not welcome in Lebanon
Jeruslalem Post 12 Oct 2010 – Chaldean Catholic Bishop of Aleppo tells ‘Post’ Lebanon is concerned about the consequences of Iranian President’s visit.
College pushes for free tuition for military veterans
Jeruslalem Post 12 Oct 2010 – Jerusalem College of Engineering: Capital should be included in gov’t program giving free freshman tuition to IDF veterans.
Fatah official says two-state solution is over
Jeruslalem Post 12 Oct 2010 – Mahmoud Aloul: Israel’s racist policies meant to undermine talks; US State Department spokesman says wants to achieve clear path allowing Israel, Palestinians to continue peace process.
Crowley: US committed to recognizing Israel as Jewish state
Jeruslalem Post 12 Oct 2010 – US State Department Spokesman says he wants to achieve clear path that allows Israel, Palestinians to continue peace process.
Likud slams Olmert after speech criticizing Netanyahu
Jeruslalem Post 12 Oct 2010 – “One could think it was heaven here under the Kadima government but the Israeli public remembers the truth,” Likud says.
Saudi King to Ahmadinejad: ‘We still need Lebanon’
Jeruslalem Post 12 Oct 2010 – King Abdullah telephones Iranian president before scheduled visit to Lebanon, warns him not to cause irreversible damage.
German army chief makes historic visit to Yad Vashem
Jeruslalem Post 12 Oct 2010 – Volker Wieker participates in memorial ceremony; IDF chief: “I think this illustrates the strong ties between the two countries.”
12 soldiers killed, 20 injured in west Iran blast
Jeruslalem Post 12 Oct 2010 – Blast, involving Revolutionary Gurds, being described as accidental; fire ignites military base with ties to Iran’s presidency.
12 Revolutionary Guards killed in west Iran blast
Jeruslalem Post 12 Oct 2010 – Blast, which is being described as accidental, also injures at least 20; fire ignites military base with ties to Iran’s presidency.
Helen Thomas: You cannot criticize Israel and survive
Jeruslalem Post 12 Oct 2010 – Former White House correspondent acknowledges she touched nerve, says comments were “exactly what I thought.”
Olmert slams Netanyahu, urges him to answer to US requests
Jeruslalem Post 12 Oct 2010 – Former prime minister says PM should stop arguing with and offending whole world, urges renewal of W.Bank settlement moratorium.
Lieberman: PA’s rejection of Jewish State impedes peace
Jeruslalem Post 12 Oct 2010 – Foreign Minister shares with Finnish foreign minister fear that Palestinians will use Israeli Arabs to subvert legitimacy of Jewish State.
FM: ‘PA refusal to accept Jewish State impedes peace’
Jeruslalem Post 12 Oct 2010 – Lieberman shares with Finnish foreign minister fear that Palestinians will use Israeli Arabs to subvert legitimacy of Jewish State.
Teaching Gaza to fish
Jeruslalem Post 12 Oct 2010 – Adherents of Economic Peace Theory, grad students in Israel believe that Gaza fish farms may be a stepping-stone to prosperity and peace.
Barak and Livni speak at Socio-Economic Forum
Jeruslalem Post 12 Oct 2010 – Livni: Anyone who hopes to weaken the US president for political reasons doesn’t understand the consequences for Israel.
Rachel Corrie’s parents in Israel for civil case
Jeruslalem Post 12 Oct 2010 – Cindy Corrie: After 7.5 years of trying to find accountability, we’ve sort of worked toward this moment, are seeking strength to forgive.
Dershowitz spars over how to defend Israel in US
Jeruslalem Post 12 Oct 2010 Р“The important point is to fight back,” Harvard law professor told the dozens of students among 800 activists.
Coming home to play
Jeruslalem Post 11 Oct 2010 – One of today’s most prominent baroque violinists, Kati Debretzeni, returns to Israel to dazzle audiences with her breathtaking technique and deep-rooted musicality.
International Solidarity Movement
Turkey will not attend OECD conference, minister says
10/12/2010 – International Solidarity Movement – Turkey will not send any delegation to a biannual tourism conference in Israel later this month, the country’s culture minister said Tuesday, marking the first boycott of Israel on a multilateral level since a deadly raid on a Turkish aid ship in May. Culture and Tourism Minister Ertug(rul G?ºnay told a group of reporters….
Olmert: Netanyahu leading Israel to political isolation
Ha’aretz – Former prime minister criticizes Netanyahu and Lieberman, saying that the refusal to extend the settlement freeze could lead to political isolation and damage the Israeli economy.
Livni to Lieberman: Israel’s strong economy is no excuse for rude diplomacy
Ha’aretz – During a dinner meeting on Sunday, Lieberman told France’s Bernard Kouchner and Spain’s Miguel Angel Moratinos to ‘solve your own problems in Europe before you come to us with complaints….
Israel Police officers suspected of organizing pay-for-sex scheme at station
Ha’aretz – Shfela District commander Shimon Ben Harosh ordered the probe after tipped off to the allegations of misconduct.
Tel Aviv Scientology building burns, arson suspected
Ha’aretz – Nine workers escape unharmed from the former Alhambra theater building, which has been undergoing renovations.
Settlers: Extending settlement freeze would undermine Netanyahu’s credibility
Ha’aretz – Yesha Council head: Settlement freeze would bring the prime minister into a political slaughterhouse.
Lieberman: Palestinians may try to form autonomous Arab regions within Israel
Ha’aretz – Foreign minister says there is a possibility the Palestinians may try to delegitimize Israel as a Jewish state.
MKs touring Silwan get caught in Arab-Jewish clashes
Ha’aretz – Car carrying members of State Control Committee hit by rocks, as tensions in East Jerusalem neighborhood continue.
Vice Premier: No chance of peace with Palestinians in near future
Ha’aretz – Ya’alon tells Army Radio that Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state shows they are not serious about two-state solution.
Palestinian official: PA will never recognize Israel as Jewish state
Ha’aretz – PA negotiator: Partial construction freeze not enough; PLO official accuses Netanyahu of using freeze-for-recognition proposal to weaken Obama’s influence in Mideast and distract from core issues in peace negotiations., Netanyahu…
Report: France ‘won’t rule out’ UN creation of Palestinian state
Ha’aretz – French FM Bernard Kouchner says that France prefers a two-state solution negotiated with Israel but the option of UN Security Council action remains on the table.
IDF soldier charged with stealing classified documents on Iran
Ha’aretz – The Southern Command military court last month charged the soldier, who had served in the teleprocessing department, for endangering the security of the state.
IOF arrests 5 children in Jerusalem
12 Oct 2010 – Jerusalem, October 12, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli police arrested today morning a Jerusalemite child named Imraan Mofeed Mansour (8 years old), after raiding his house in the neighborhood of ‚ÄúBir Ayub‚Äù in Silwan, and prevented his parents from accompanying him to the police car. According to Jawad Siyam, Director of Helweh Valley Information Center, said that the child Imraan Mansour, who’s…
IOF breaks into Hebron
12 Oct 2010 – Hebron, October 12, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli occupation forces stormed today morning the town of ‚ÄúAl Thahereyah‚Äù south of Hebron in the southern West Bank, and proceeded to inspect a number of houses. Security sources said that the Israeli occupying forces, reinforced by several mechanisms and military jeeps, stormed the village and searched several houses there and tampered with their contents….
IOF conducts limited incursion in Rafah
12 Oct 2010 – Gaza, October 12, (Pal Telegraph) Several Israeli military vehicles broke last night in a limited surprising way into the lands of the citizens near the Sufa crossing northeast of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip. According to eyewitnesses, two tanks escorted by two military bulldozers moved tens of meters near the crossing. According to local sources, heavy smoke was seen inside…
IOF targets Gazan fishermen
12 Oct 2010 – Gaza, October 12, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli gunboats stationed off the coast of Rafah city, southern Gaza Strip, opened fire using heavy machine guns last night towards the Palestinian fishing boats without reported injuries. Local sources said that Israeli gunships targeted Palestinian fishing boats within walking distance from the coast of the Rafah city several times, forcing some fishermen to get…
Israeli groups plan to storm Al Aqsa mosque
12 Oct 2010 – Jerusalem, October 12, (Pal Telegraph) Al-Aqsa Foundation for Heritage, warned from a mass rally organized by Jewish and Israeli groups creating also multiple campaigns calling to break into Al-Aqsa Mosque on a daily bases and by huge masses, calling for the revitalization of daily presence and intensifying their trips to it. The foundation said in a statement today that the…
Suspicious inflammatory body falls in Gaza’s sea
12 Oct 2010 – Gaza, October 12, (Pal Telegraph) Suspicious inflammatory body landed in the Sea of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, in the middle of the night, which led to the creation of vibration in the water near to the area it fell in. Sources in the Palestinian naval police said at first that the body is an Israeli missile, due to the Intensive…
Clashes erupt in Jerusalem
12 Oct 2010 – Jerusalem, October 12, (Pal Telegraph) A number of Palestinian citizens were wounded and a number of others were arrested during violent clashes that are taking place now between young Palestinian boys and Israeli soldiers backed up by Israeli settlers extremists in the town of ‚ÄúSilwan‚Äù, to the south of Al Aqsa Mosque. A force of Israeli soldiers is besieging a…
Israel opens 1 commercial crossing to Gaza
12 Oct 2010 – Gaza, October 12, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli occupation authorities opened today the Kerem Abu Salem commercial crossing to the entry of dozens of trucks carrying aid and fuel, while kept the Karni commercial crossing, east of Gaza, closed. Chairman of the Coordination Committee of Gaza’s supply, Raed Fattouh, said that the Israeli occupation authorities allowed the entry of between 220-230 truck…
Human rights organization: Israel is carrying out wide-scale prisoner transfers in its prisons
Uruknet October 12, 2010 – A Palestinian human rights organization has said that a few days ago, the managing authority of Israeli jails began a wide scale transfer campaign among prisoners, particularly in Megiddo, Gilboa, Be’er Sheva, and Shata prisons. In light of this campaign, dozens of prisoners have been moved to different prisons. In a written statement, the Organization…
Eight Year Old Palestinian Child Kidnapped By Israeli Soldiers
Uruknet October 12, 2010 – On Tuesday at dawn, Israeli soldiers invaded Silwan town in occupied East Jerusalem, broke into the house of Mofeed Mansour and kidnapped his eight year old child. Fakhri Abu Thiab, member of the Committee for Defending Silwan, slammed the kidnapping of the child, stating that the attack violates international law regarding the basic rights of…
Maliki Supporters ‘Wary’ Over Sadr Alliance
Uruknet October 12, 2010 – Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki seems to have secured his second term in office only by successfully courting Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and, by extension, the Iraqi National Alliance. But Maliki’s allies worry that Sadr’s inclusion could be harmful over the long term. “We gave our votes to Maliki and he stole them and gave…
Palestinian child injured in Silwan confrontations
Uruknet October 12, 2010 – A ten-year-old Palestinian child was hit with a sonic bomb in his eye and a rubber bullet in his leg during an Israeli police raid into Silwan in occupied Jerusalem on Monday night. Local sources said that the occupation policemen broke into the town, south of the Aqsa Mosque, and burst into many homes at…
Are we equipping the Palestinians to tolerate the intolerable?
Uruknet October 12, 2010 – A conference in Beirut last week focussed on the shift of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from “Relief and Works to Human Development: UNRWA and the Palestinian Refugees after 60 years”. Held at the American University of Beirut, the event attracted academics, aid workers and community…
Israeli minister warns of fascism lurking on the fringes of society
Uruknet October 12, 2010 – Israel’s Minister of Welfare and Social Services has warned that “fascism [is] devouring the margins of [Israeli] society”. Isaac Herzog believes that a proposed bill amending the Citizenship Law includes “fascist” measures, a clear reference to the requirement for all citizens, including non-Jews, to declare their loyalty to the Jewish nature of the state of…
Alvin Ailey: don’t dance around Israeli apartheid
Uruknet October 12, 2010 – The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) is deeply disturbed by news reports that your company plans to participate, later this month, in the fourth annual Tel Aviv Dance Festival, an initiative sponsored by the Tel Aviv Municipality and cultural institutions that are complicit in maintaining Israel’s system of colonial…
They hate us for our occupations
Uruknet October 12, 2010 – …Imagine that. Isn’t Muslim culture just so bizarre, primitive, and inscrutable? As strange as it is, they actually seem to dislike it when foreign militaries bomb, invade and occupy their countries, and Western powers interfere in their internal affairs by overthrowing and covertly manipulating their governments, imposing sanctions that kill hundreds of thousands of Muslim…
Arbitrary Arrests Continue in the West Bank and Detainees Held under Severe Condition and Subjected to Torture and Ill-Treatment
Uruknet October 12, 2010 – The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns campaigns of arbitrary arrests waged by Palestinian security services against members and supporters of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and subjecting the detainees to cruel treatment, in violation of the law. PCHR points out that, in spite of releasing a number of detainees recently, Palestinian security services have…
Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi Declares An Alternative To Failing Negotiations
Uruknet October 12, 2010 – Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI), MP and runner-up in the 2005 presidential election declared in a press conference in Ramallah yesterday that failed negotiations are threatening the last opportunity of peace based on a two-state solution. He argued that negotiations are meaningless and damaging while Israeli settlement building continues,…
Israeli soldiers ‘shot at children collecting gravel by Gaza border’
Uruknet October 12, 2010 – The Israeli military has been urged to investigate the recent shootings of at least 12 impoverished Palestinian teenagers and young men collecting gravel in an effort to eke out an income within 800 metres of Gaza’s heavily guarded northern border. The youngsters – including at least two under 15 – were shot and injured as…
Video: Anger at Israel’s controversial oath
Uruknet October 12, 2010 – Israel’s Arab community has been angered by the government’s proposal requiring any non-Jew taking Israeli citizenship to swear allegiance to the country as a Jewish and democratic state. The controversial phrase added to citizenship law in move is seen by critics as attempt to get support for new settlement freeze…
Israel’s New Loyalty Oath
Uruknet October 12, 2010 – Since inception, Israel’s democracy was illusory, but of late it’s further eroded. The Cabinet’s October 10 adopted Law of Citizenship amendment requires all non-Jews wanting it to pledge loyalty to “the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state,” its latest anti-democratic measure. Voting 22 – 8, it evoked protests from Israeli artists, writers…
Video: repression of non-violence in Beit Ommar, West Bank
Uruknet While Bil’in’s Abdallah Abu Rahmah is sentenced to a 12-month jail term,
Arab League meet haunted by memory of 2000 talks
Uruknet October 11, 2010 – A ghost haunted the meeting of the Arab League in Libya, as its foreign ministers decided to give a little more time to the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. That ghost was the Camp David talks of summer 2000, when US President Bill Clinton publicly held Yasser Arafat, the then-Palestinian leader, responsible for…
Israeli troops accused of shooting children in Gaza
Uruknet October 11, 2010 – At least 10 Palestinian children have been shot and wounded by Israeli troops in the past three months while collecting rubble in or near the “buffer zone” created by Israel along the Gaza border, in a low-intensity offensive on the fringes of the blockaded Palestinian territory. Israeli soldiers are routinely shooting at Gazans well beyond…
One Wall, Two People, No States: The Peace Pretense
Uruknet October 11, 2010 – “Our goal is two states, Israel and Palestine , living side by side in peace and security,” (President Obama) such is the illusion that resurfaces to restart the peace negotiations that will stabilize the mid-east. For 63 years that “goal” has been the carrot held before the people of the United States and Britain as the…
A tour of the maze of Israeli (in)justice
Uruknet October 11, 2010 – Ron, the Irish activist arrested during the peaceful demo in Beit Ummar, will remain in prison till the 12th of October. On Sunday we went to see Ron’s trial at the Russian Compound in Jerusalem early in the morning, because they didn’t give us the exact time when it would be. It was very difficult…
Former Guant?°namo Prisoner, Tortured by Al-Qaeda and the US, Launches Futile Attempt to Hold America Accountable
Uruknet October 11, 2010 – Last June, in the District Court in Washington D.C., a ruling was delivered on the habeas corpus petition of a Syrian prisoner in Guant?°namo, Abdul Rahim al-Janko (also identified as Abdul Rahim al-Ginco), which exemplified all that was wrong with the Bush administration’s detention policies in the “War on Terror,” and which also dealt a…
The Law is an Ass … Armed with Rockets
Uruknet October 11, 2010 – Here’s what they are saying about America’s Terror Warriors in the UK’s arch-conservative Daily Telegraph:
New Settlement Activity in Southern Bethlehem Area
Alternative Information Center – On the afternoon of Monday, 11 October, an Israeli army bulldozer damaged land belonging to Palestinian farmer Raed Taqatqa of the Bait Fajjar village, south of Bethlehem . Immediately after leveling the land, the soldiers brought and…
BDS Success: Unilever to Move Factory out of West Bank
Alternative Information Center – Unilever Israel Foods is planning move its Beigel & Beigel company plant from the Barkan industrial zone, located in the occupied West Bank, to a location inside Israel, reports the Hebrew-language daily Maariv .
PLO asks OECD to cancel Jerusalem Conference
Alternative Information Center – The PLO has asked the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD) to cancel its annual tourism conference, set to be held in Jerusalem between 20-22 October.
Update on French Attack of BDS Activists
Alternative Information Center – Dear friends, The press meeting that took place this morning in the French Senate was proof that the repression of women and men involved in the BDS Campaign strengthens the larger movement of protest and solidarity…
Works Start to Expand Eli Settlement
WAFA – NABLUS, October 12, 2010 (WAFA)- The responsible of the settlement fie in the northern West Banks, Ghassan Daglas announced today that settlers started the expanding operations in Eli settlement
PLO Rejects Netanyahu Proposal
WAFA – TEL AVIV, October 12 (WAFA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed to halt settlement construction if the Palestinian Authority was to recognize of Israel as a Jewish state.
Silwan Welcomes Israeli Knesset Members with Stones
WAFA РJERUSALEM, October, 12 (WAFA) РAs tensions in East Jerusalem continues a car carrying Israeli right wing Knesset members was stone-threw during a “provocative tour” in the Palestinian neighborhood
Petition: Authorities Block Palestinian Villagers from Harvesting Their Olives
WAFA – TEL AVIV, October 12, 2010 (WAFA)- Villagers of Wadi A-Rasha in the West Bank filed 98 requests to access their olive groves which are beyond the Separation Wall, but the requests were all declined.
PCBS Launches Web Site for Celebration of World Statistics Day
WAFA – RAMALLAH, October 12, 2010 (WAFA)- The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) launched Tuesday a special web site for the celebration of the World Statistics Day. PCBS will celebrate
U.S. Consulate Supports Palestinian Efforts to Enhance Free Flow of Information
WAFA – RAMALLAH, October 12, 2010 (WAFA)- American strategic communication and political campaign expert Peter McDonough participated in a series of workshops and meetings with Palestinian Authority (PA)
Inauguration of ‘Mahmoud Darwish’ Streetin Jericho
WAFA – JERICHO, October 11, 2010 (WAFA)- On the occasion of the celebration of the 10,000th anniversary of the city, French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Bernard Kouchner inaugurated in
Iraq PM to visit Syria after year-long spat
Daily Star 12 Oct 2010 The European Union on Tuesday urged Israel to guarantee the equality of all its citizens after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Palestinians to recognize Israel’s Jewish identity in exchange for a freeze on settlement building in…
EU urges Israel to guarantee equality for all its citizens
Daily Star 12 Oct 2010 The European Union on Tuesday urged Israel to guarantee the equality of all its citizens after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Palestinians to recognize Israel’s Jewish identity in exchange for a freeze on settlement building in…
Soldiers killed by ‘accidental’ blast at Iranian military base
Daily Star 12 Oct 2010 TEHRAN: An explosion at an Iranian military training base that was apparently triggered when a munitions cache caught fire by accident killed and injured several servicemen on Tuesday, Iranian news agencies reported.
Iran blames EU’s Ashton for deadlock over nuclear talks
Daily Star 12 Oct 2010 TEHRAN: Iran on Tuesday blamed EU Foreign Affairs chief Catherine Ashton for the deadlock over nuclear talks with world powers, urging her to be “more active” in pursuing the dialogue. “Basically, it seems that the volume…
Egyptian authorities charge at least four Shiites with blasphemy
Daily Star 12 Oct 2010 CAIRO: Egyptian police have arrested and charged at least four Shiite Muslims, including a visiting Australian, with insulting and denying tenets of religion, a judicial source said on Tuesday. The Shiites, who also include two Iraqis,…
Islamists accuse Egypt police of pre-poll arrests
Daily Star 12 Oct 2010 CAIRO: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood on Tuesday accused the government of cracking down ahead of November’s parliamentary elections, as police arrested at least 28 members of the Islamist group. The Brotherhood, which fields independent candidates to skirt…
OCHA ROMENACA Regional Humanitarian Update – September 2010
Relief Web 12 Oct 2010 – Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
NGO Statementon International Protection, 61st Session of the UNHCR Executive Committee, 4-8 October 2010
Relief Web 12 Oct 2010 – Source: International Council of Voluntary Agencies
Fourth Committee Sends 12 Draft Texts to General Assembly on Decolonization, Including Request for Third International Decade, Concludes Debate on Topic
Relief Web 12 Oct 2010 – Source: UN General Assembly
8th Week against the Apartheid Wall, November 9 — 16 2010
Stop The Wall – [
Weekly Stop the Wall Repression Update
Stop The Wall – The Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign and its popular committees are coordinating collective efforts to safeguard the annual olive harvest.
Livni slams government conduct vis-?†-vis world
YNet News – Opposition chairwoman says prime minister, foreign minister conducting….
EU: Israel must guarantee equality for all
YNet News – Following PM’s proposal to extend freeze in exchange for Palestinian recognition….
Palestinians: US not taking Bibi seriously
YNet News – Senior Palestinian Authority official tells Ynet direct peace talks unlikely to….
Have American Jews lost faith in Obama?
YNet News – US president’s tough position on Israel seems to be taking its toll as US Jews’….
Ahmadinejad wants to ‘strengthen resistance’
YNet News – A visit of defiance and agitation? Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke with Arab leaders on the phone Tuesday night ahead of a scheduled visit to Lebanon, and …….
US backs PM: Israel is Jewish state
YNet News – WASHINGTON — The US State Department said Tuesday it supports Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state. …….
Israel trails behind Western states in gender equality
YNet News – Gender gaps in Israel remain enormous, according to the World Economic Forum’s annual report, released Tuesday. The report ranks Israel as number 52 in the world, …….
Lieberman: PA will try to undermine our legitimacy
YNet News – Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb Tuesday that he is skeptical about the prospects of peace, and that he expects the …….
Helen Thomas on being anti-Semitic: ‘Baloney!’
YNet News – Former White House correspondent Helen Thomas acknowledges she touched a nerve with remarks about Israel that led to her retirement. But she says the comments were …….
Palestinian Information Center
Lawyers from 20 countries discuss charges against Israel over flotilla massacre
PIC 12 Oct 2010 – Freedom Flotilla alliance, meeting in Geneva on Monday, announced that dozens of lawyers will meet to discuss suits filed against Israel over its May 31 attack against the Gaza-bound flotilla.
Settlers confiscate tens of Palestinian cultivated dunums south of Nablus
PIC 12 Oct 2010 – Zionist settlers south of Nablus city started on Tuesday to bulldoze Palestinian cultivated lands in preparation for annexing them to their settlement of Eli, reliable sources reported.
Barhoum: Moeller in office proves the U.S., Fatah serve Israeli interests
PIC 12 Oct 2010 – Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Michael Moeller’s presence in the West Bank confirms that a multinational authority is controlling the West Bank.
Sources: Conditional Egyptian approval for entry of lifeline 5 to Gaza
PIC 12 Oct 2010 – Reliable sources in the Syrian port of Latakia told the PIC that Egypt had extended its “conditional” approval to the entry of the lifeline 5 aid convoy to the Gaza Strip via Egyptian territory.
Israel to conduct security exercises in J’lem simulating human bombing operation
PIC 12 Oct 2010 – Israeli security forces have launched wide ranging security exercises in occupied Jerusalem that simulate human bombing operations against Israeli targets in the city.
Peres urges Abbas to conduct “behind-the-scene, quiet talks”
PIC 12 Oct 2010 – Israeli president Shimon Peres called on de facto Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to conduct “quiet talks” in order to reach bilateral agreements on the entire negotiations process.
New U.S. military chief takes office in the West Bank
PIC 12 Oct 2010 – U.S. military chief in the West Bank Keith Dayton has handed over the task of training Palestinian Authority security forces to his successor Gen. Michael Moeller, several sources confirmed on Monday.
Palestinian child injured in Silwan confrontations
PIC 12 Oct 2010 – A ten-year-old Palestinian child was hit with a sonic bomb in his eye and a rubber bullet in his leg during an Israeli police raid into Silwan in occupied Jerusalem on Monday night.
Three men sustain bruises, fractures during IOF attack in Al-Khalil
PIC 12 Oct 2010 – Three Palestinians were injured and one of them arrested after a brutal assault by Israeli soldiers in the Al Tawana region south of Yatta, Al-Khalil.
Int’l campaign calls on Asian parliaments to discuss issue of Jerusalem MPs
PIC 12 Oct 2010 – The int’l campaign to release Palestinian MPs held in IOA jails has called on the council of Asian parliaments to discuss the issue of the Jerusalemite deputies threatened with IOA deportation.
12 reportedly killed in explosion at Iran base
LA Times 12 Oct 2010 – Iranian officials say the explosion was an accident caused by a fire at a Revolutionary Guard training base outside the town of Khorramabad that reached a weapons storage facility. An explosion at a munitions depot at a Revolutionary Guard base in southwestern Iran on Tuesday killed at least 12 people, an Iranian news report said.
Iran Holds 2 Germans Linked to Stoning Case
New York Times 12 Oct 2010 – Iran on Tuesday accused two detained Germans of having links to Iranian exile groups after they were arrested reportedly while trying to interview the son of a woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.
HEBRON: Open Shuhada St. movement changes tactics
Christian Peacemaker Teams – Palestine –
AT-TUWANI: After a long struggle, At-Tuwani on the grid.
Christian Peacemaker Teams – Palestine –
Lieberman Wins, Democracy Loses
Palestine Monitor – Amending the Citizenship Act to include a loyalty oath has moved the Israeli government a step away from democracy toward a system of apartheid.Written by Dorien Vanden Boer and Liza Noteris. A proposal for amending on the Citizenship Act was passed on Sunday, which originated from…
‘Hey BU you’ve been had, Dershowitz is WICKED bad!’: Boston University students protest CAMERA
Mondoweiss – Alan Dershowitz takes a photo of the protest outside CAMERA’s conference at Boston University. The following statement was sent by protest organizers: On Sunday, October 10th, students from Boston University’s Students for Justice in Palestine group and their allies (American Jews for a Just Peace, ItisApartheid,…
Israel-centric Ethan Bronner cites Israeli law on East J’lem and Golan, ignoring crystal clear int’l standards
Mondoweiss – Nestled in this all over-the-place article written by Ethan Bronner in today’s New York Times is this factually-challenged nugget: Both East Jerusalem and the Golan were officially annexed by Israel through parliamentary votes, so by Israeli law they count as Israeli territory. That is not true…
Question: How has activism changed your vision of the conflict?
Mondoweiss – Question for Joseph Dana : I’m going to put up a post today for your event in New York City next week . A question, one I’d ask at the event, but maybe you want to respond to now: You have spent a couple years now working with…
Several children, including 8 year old, arrested in Silwan
Mondoweiss – And more news from Today in Palestine: Settlers/ Land, Property, Resource Theft & Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing Civil Administration razes farmland in Beit Fajjar BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israel’s Civil Administration razed farmland and a barn owned by a resident of the Beit Fajjar village in the southern West…
Why I protested the Jewish National Fund
Mondoweiss – This Columbus Day weekend, the Jewish National Fund USA held its annual meeting in Atlanta. Like many Jews from the US, I grew up in communities that raised money for seemingly benign JNF campaigns to plant trees in Israel through our purchase of Hanukkah candles. But…
Palestinian Official: PA Will Never Recognize Israel as Jewish State
Al-Manar 12 Oct 2010 – The Palestinian Authority will never recognize Israel as a Jewish state, senior Palestinian officials said on Tuesday, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed to freeze settlement construction in exchange for that condition. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that demand could never be accepted, while his…
Action Alert : Demand The OECD Cancel Their Planned Tourism Conference in Jerusalem
Joseph Dana 12 Oct 2010 – Join us in calling on Angel Gurria, the chairman of the OECD, to cancel the organization’s tourism conference in Jerusalem and withdraw its support of Israeli colonialism. Despite Israel’s persistent violations of human rights and disregard for International law, the OECD — whose member countries include…
Photo essay of a West Bank demonstration against the occupation in Nabi Saleh
Joseph Dana 12 Oct 2010 – Every Friday the village of Nabi Saleh holds an unarmeddemonstrationagainst the occupation andcontinuedIsraeli settlementexpansion. The following is a photo essay of last Friday’sdemonstrationin which the IDF used live ammunition against unarmedprotesters and six Palestinians were injured. A Palestinian Demonstrator in the West Bank city of Ni’ilin….
Hamas: Shalit deal closed, mediators have pulled out
Sabr 12 Oct 2010 – [ 11/10/2010 – 07:06 PM ] GAZA, ( PIC )— Hamas leader Dr. Osama Al Muzaini said Germany will no longer mediate in the prisoner deal between Palestinian resistance movements and Israel after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu reneged on previous agreements thwarting the deal. ‚ÄúAfter Netanyahu frustrated the…
Ghoul: Isolating prisoners a war crime
Sabr 12 Oct 2010 – [ 11/10/2010 – 06:55 PM ] GAZA, ( PIC )— Minister of prisoners in Gaza Dr. Mohammed Al-Ghoul has described the Israeli occupation authority’s (IOA) policy of isolating Palestinian prisoners as a war crime. He said in a press release on Monday that the isolation of MP Ahmed…
Israel jails West Bank protester
BBC 12 Oct 2010 – An Israeli military court sentences a leading Palestinian protest leader, Abdallah Abu Rahma, to a year in prison for incitement and riot.
Germany seeking releases in Iran
BBC 12 Oct 2010 – German Chancellor Angela Merkel says her government is seeking the release of two foreigners arrested in Iran – believed to be German reporters.
The Endless Game of Peace
Sabbah report 12 Oct 2010 – Perhaps Erekat is right, and Bibi really is just playing games. Setting aside the composition of Israel’s demand of recognition as a Jewish state (which is ridiculous in and of itself), the mere act of setting preconditions for compliance with international law attests to Netanyahu’s apparently…
One Wall, Two People, No States: the Peace Pretense
Sabbah report 12 Oct 2010 – If the future state of the Palestinians is a mirage, the present Israeli State mocks the definition of a nation State; a true state has jurisdiction over a given territory. The state of Israel refuses the demarcation of its borders and refuses to abide by the…
Time for New Palestinian Political Strategy
Sabbah report 12 Oct 2010 – There is a dire need for an immediate new more assertive Palestinian political strategy. There is an urgent need for a new more effective Palestinian election, involving not only Palestinians under Israeli occupation, but also Palestinians in all Palestinian refugee camps and in exile, to choose…
(en) Palestine-Israel, The joint struggle continue in spite of escalation of repression
A-infos 12 Oct 2010 – Israeli democracy for Jews still hold. The state forces “only nearly murdered” Israelis participants in joint demonstrators – in comparison of around dozen Palestinians. (The shooting to murder of Palestinian participants was accompanied only by shooting to mime Israeli participants). We will have to see if…
Articles
ACRI Demands Clarification on Alleged Transfer Exercise
Association for Civil Rights in Israel – ACRI10/12/2010
ACRI to Netanyahu: Deny reports of large-scale training exercise to handle protests against population transfer
To: Mr. Binyamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister, Jerusalem
Dear Sir,
Re: Security Forces Exercise Simulating Population Transfer
We learned through a report on Kol Israel (Reshet B, October 8) of a large-scale training exercise by the Prison Service, Police, Firefighters, emergency crews, and the Homefront Command simulating in detail how these forces would handle demonstrations and protests by Arab citizens in response to the execution of plans to exchange populations and territory in the context of a diplomatic agreement with the Palestinian Authority.
If this is true, we demand an incontrovertible and immediate denial of this report by the most senior officials, given its extreme and outrageous nature.
If these reports are accurate – and the fact that such an exercise took place would attest as such – it would confirm that notions of transfer, also termed land swaps or population exchanges, in the context of a diplomatic process are not only elections slogans or the private fantasy of certain politicians and ministers, but a concrete possibility at the top of the agendas of the government and those behind the execution of the exercise. Indeed, it is an idea that is gaining legitimacy daily on the part of government and public officials. more.. e-mail
Israel’s other ‘peace’ plan: arm-twisting Obama
Jonathan Cook in Nazareth, Redress10/12/2010
A ghost haunted the meeting of the Arab League in Libya at the weekend, as its foreign ministers decided to give a little more time to the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
That ghost was the Camp David talks of summer 2000, when US President Bill Clinton publicly held Yasser Arafat, the then-Palestinian leader, responsible for the breakdown of the negotiations, despite an earlier promise to blame neither side if they failed. Mr Clinton’s finger-pointing breathed life into the accusation from Ehud Barak, Israel’s prime minister, that there was “no Palestinian partner for peace”; brought about the collapse of the Israeli peace movement, and ultimately sanctioned the decision of Mr Barak’s successor, Ariel Sharon, to invade the Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank. A decade later, the Arab League ministers did not want to expose Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, to a similar charge from Barack Obama. They therefore played the safest hand possible: they offered Washington another month’s breathing space to persuade Israel to renew a freeze on settlement building, while also supporting Mr Abbas’s decision to break off direct talks until the freeze was back in place. The decision’s dual purpose was to throw the spotlight squarely back on Israel as the recalcitrant party, and allow the White House to continue to pretend the talks are still on track. The league’s new deadline was chosen precisely to appease Washington. Mr Obama’s most pressing concern is shoring up his Democratic Party’s vote at the congressional mid-term elections in early November. Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians want to be seen walking away from the president’s peace initiative before then. more.. e-mail
EU police mission complicit in Israeli, PA rights abuses
Electronic Intifada: 12 Oct 2010 – Rather than help nurture institutions for a future Palestinian state, a much-vaunted EU police training mission in the West Bank acts as a proxy for the Israeli occupation and is complicit in severe human rights abuses. David Cronin reports for The Electronic Intifada.more
Lieberman Wins, Democracy Loses
Palestine Monitor: 12 Oct 2010 – Amending the Citizenship Act to include a loyalty oath has moved the Israeli government a step away from democracy toward a system of apartheid.Written by Dorien Vanden Boer and Liza Noteris. A proposal for amending on the Citizenship Act was passed on Sunday, which originated from Israel’s loathsome foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman. It demands that non-Jews who wish to become Israeli citizens must take an oath of loyalty towards the ‘Jewish and democratic state’ of Israel. In practical terms, a loyalty oath is a verbal promise, demanding allegiance from an individual to a state. A government can require this from its citizens, especially those in military service or government employment. Often naturalised citizens have to pledge their faithfulness towards the new country, but in this case there are darker undertones. For Israel the oath has a distinguished function in moving Israel toward Jewish supremacy at the expense of all other…more
Can the OECD Stand up to Israel?
Palestine Chronicle: 12 Oct 2010 – By Sam Bahour and Charles Shamas What can be said for the state of international law when international organisations such as the OECD find themselves unable to prevent a member country from bringing its unlawful practice into the life of the organisation itself? In such situations, how can law-abiding member countries avoid being drawn into acquiescence? Later this month, these questions may find answers when Israel hosts an OECD gathering in Jerusalem to discuss global tourism. The OECD is an international economic organisation of 33 countries, with the latest controversial addition to this club being Israel. The OECD explains its mission as providing “a setting where governments compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and co-ordinate domestic and international policies”. At minimum, one would expect the co-ordination of these “international policies” to remain within the bounds of international law. At Israel’s invitation, the 86th session of…more
The No-State Alternative
Palestine Chronicle: 12 Oct 2010 – By Cameron Hunt Anyone that has studied the various ‘Alternatives’ to the US-managed ‘peace process’ that were put forward to the Arab League by Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, on 8 October 2010, has likely been able to piece together four different Alternatives that were proposed, and their likely chronology: (1) The PA will ask the US to unilaterally recognize the ‘State of Palestine’; (2) The Arab League will petition United Nations Member States to recognize a Palestinian State, via a new UN resolution calling for such recognition from all UN Members; (3) The Arab League will take action at the UN to have the occupied Palestinian Territories (oPTs) placed under direct UN custody; (4) Finally, the PA will be dissolved — following the resignation of Abbas — and the oPTs will consequently fall back under full Israeli sovereignty. At that point in time, it is hoped that Israel will…more
The Time That Remains – Film Review
Palestine Chronicle: 12 Oct 2010 – By Roger Sheety In just three years the Toronto Palestine Film Festival, which was originally created in 2008 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Al-Nakba, has become a major cultural happening in a city bustling with such events. That it has succeeded so quickly is due entirely to the festival’s tireless organizers and volunteers, their vision and their determination to present films of the highest quality possible. One such film is Elia Suleiman’s The Time That Remains: Chronicle of a Present Absentee which opened to a sold-out audience of over 800 at the October 2010 edition of the festival. Like few directors before him, the Nazareth-born Suleiman has been able to capture not just the tragedy but also the comedy and outright absurdity of Palestinians who were dispossessed while still living in their own homeland. Partly inspired by the private diaries of Suleiman’s father Fouad and his mother’s letters to…more
Time for New Palestinian Political Strategy
Palestine Chronicle: 12 Oct 2010 – By Dr. Elias Akleh Palestinians had long lost confidence in their Palestinian Authority as their representative, who was supposed to defend their rights and work to achieve their statehood. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, was imposed on the Palestinians in the 2005 election when the Israeli forces had arrested and restricted the movements of other Palestinian candidates and his campaign was given 94% of TV coverage. Although his presidency had expired in January of 2009 he is still, illegally and unconstitutionally, occupying his position. Polls had shown that his popularity is very low. Palestinian Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, and his government were also imposed on Palestinians when Abbas appointed him to the position after the democratically elected Hamas government foiled an American coup d’etat that eventually caused a division between the Palestinians. The Palestinians were deceived by the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords. They were misled that the Accords…more
Israel’s New Loyalty Oath
Palestine Chronicle: 12 Oct 2010 – By Stephen Lendman Since inception, Israel’s democracy was illusory, but of late it’s further eroded. The Cabinet’s October 10 adopted Law of Citizenship amendment requires all non-Jews wanting it to pledge loyalty to “the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state,” its latest anti-democratic measure. Voting 22 – 8, it evoked protests from Israeli artists, writers and intellectuals in front of Tel Aviv’s Independence Hall against “the continuous erosion of Israeli democracy.” Actress Hana Maron quoted Israel’s Declaration of Independence saying: “I will read this again: ‘(the state of Israel) will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex.’ This makes me want to cry. What has become of us?” Author Sefi Rachlevsky said: “a country that invades the sacred space of the citizen’s conscience, and punishes him for opinions and beliefs that are not in line with…more
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