18 October, 2010 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Netanyahu: “The Discussions About the New Building Permits Are Superficial”
IMEMC – 18 Oct 2010 – Monday October 18, 2010 – 17:17, On Monday, during a Likud members meeting in Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said that only a small percentage of settlements have been added., “The addition is trivial and does not affect a possible peace treaty with Palestinians,” he claimed.
Israeli Army Abducts Four Citizens From Hebron
IMEMC – 18 Oct 2010 – Monday October 18, 2010 – 16:57, The Israeli military abducted, on Monday morning, four Palestinian citizens from different areas in Hebron, surrounded a mosque and errected many barriers in the region.
Medical Supplies en Route to Gaza
IMEMC – 18 Oct 2010 – Monday October 18, 2010 – 16:15, On Monday, the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health sent 17 truckloads of medicine and supplies to the Gaza Strip.
Israel Delayed a Summit of Regional Leaders in Paris
IMEMC – 18 Oct 2010 – Monday October 18, 2010 – 11:04, Palestinian Authority Spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudaineh, said that the decision to delay a regional summit in Paris was made by Israel to avoid revealing its rejection of peace negotiations.
Soldiers Kidnap A Legislator In Hebron
IMEMC – 18 Oct 2010 – Monday October 18, 2010 – 09:22, Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Monday at dawn, Legislator Hatim Qfeisha, 49, after breaking into his home in Wadi Hilwa neighborhood, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
20 Palestinians Injured In Jerusalem Clashes
IMEMC – 18 Oct 2010 – Monday October 18, 2010 – 08:27, Palestinian medical sources report that at least 20 Palestinians were injured, on Sunday night, during clashes that took place with Israeli soldiers and policemen in the town of Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem.
Abbas: “Netanyahu Told Me He Cannot Extend Settlement Freeze”
IMEMC – 18 Oct 2010 – Monday October 18, 2010 – 04:23, During a TV Interview with Israel’s Channel 1, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told him that he cannot extend the freeze on settlement activities in the occupied territories.
Israeli Inquiry Calls on Flotilla Attack Witnesses to Testify
IMEMC – 18 Oct 2010 – Sunday October 17, 2010 – 20:01, After promising, on multiple occasions, to arrest any participants in the humanitarian aid flotilla to Gaza, Israeli officials have now made an ‘open call’ to those same participants to testify in an inquiry about the Israeli attack on the aid boats that killed 9 aid volunteers.
Israel continues political detention campaign
10/18/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained a Hamas-affiliated member of the Palestinian Legislative Council on Monday from the southern West Bank district of Hebron. Hatem Qafaish, elected to the Palestinian parliament in 2006 with Hamas’ Change and Reform bloc, was detained after Israeli forces ransacked his home, a local source told Ma’….
Gaza govt says Israel barring entry of olives
10/18/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Gaza government’s Ministry of Agriculture said Monday that Israeli forces were disrupting the entry of olives from the West Bank into Gaza. Israeli forces are forbidding truckloads of olives to enter to Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing even though there is security coordination, theenclave’s….
Center: 6 detained in Silwan
10/18/2010 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities detained six young Palestinian men from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan on Monday, the Wadi Hilwa Information Center said. Center director Jawad Siyam said the six were detained early in the morning, and identified them as Khalil Odeh, Muhammad Al-Abbasy, Mahdi Al-Abbasy, Ali Al-Abbasy and two from the….
Prisoners advocate says detainee’s life in jeopardy
10/18/2010 – TUBAS (Ma’an) — The detainees’ center in Tubas called human rights organizations and the Red Cross to intervene and save a sick detainee whose as his illness progresses in detention at Israel’s Ramon prison. Imad Al-Masri was detained 20 years earlier when he was sentenced to life in prison. Detainee advocates….
Settlers flood vineyard with sewage
10/18/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – Israeli settlers on Monday flooded a Palestinian vineyard with wastewater north of Hebron, officials said. It was the second such incident this year in the Wadi Shakhit area near the illegal Etzion settlement, Palestine Solidarity Project director Mahmoud Awad said. Awad said armed settlers also stole a tractor in the same….
Report: Hamas warned against capturing soldiers
10/18/2010 – TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — If Hamas captures another Israeli soldier, Israel’s response will be more devastating than Operation Cast Lead, an army official reportedly warned Sunday. In a statement distributed so several Israeli newspapers, the officer, whose name was not released for reasons that were not immediately clear, said Hamas wanted….
Source: Hamas deputy, journalist detained in Hebron
10/18/2010 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained a Hamas-affiliated member of the Palestinian Legislative Council on Monday from Hebron, a source told Ma’an and a journalist for a local radio station. The source said PLC member Hatem Qafeesha and journalist Raed Ash-Sharif were detained after their homes were raided in Hebron….
Lebanese civil rights activist speaks of detention
10/19/2010 – BEIRUT (Ma’an) — A prominent civil rights activist who was detained by Lebanese army investigators for 14 hours has spoken about her experience, accusing authorities of disproportionate action against perceived pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Farah Kobeissi (#Farfahinne, Kobeissi’s Twitter username) was mentioned hundreds of times on the micro blogging site as her detention lengthened….
Abbas: Netanyahu fears govt collapse
10/18/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu told him he could not extend the settlement moratorium “because he fears his government might collapse.”In an interview with Israel’s Channel 1, Abbas further said “the government isn’t more valuable than peace, neither is it more….
Israel allows 20 more cars into Gaza
10/18/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities will partially open two Gaza crossings on Monday for the entry of 20 new cars, a Palestinian crossings official said. The Palestinian Authority announced on 13 September that the Transportation Ministry had completed all preparations for the import of cars into Gaza for the first time since 2007….
Minister: Don’t let OECD summit be used for ‘political gains’
10/18/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority Minister of Tourism and Antiquities has called on more OECD member states to boycott a tourism summit in West Jerusalem, to avoid Israel using it for “illegal political gains,” a statement issued Monday read. Minister Khloud Daibes said six countries have confirmed that they would not be sending….
Egypt seizes Gaza-bound weapons
10/18/2010 – EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — Egyptian security forces seized weapons, explosives and cars destined for Gaza in the border town of Rafah on Monday, a security source told Ma’an. The source said forces received a tip-off that smugglers were preparing to transfer the arms into Gaza through the tunnel complex in the Sarsuriya….
Erekat: Israel seeks de facto Jerusalem recognition
10/18/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erakat thanked the countries that have decided to withdraw their attendance to the OECD Tourism Committee Summit to be held in Jerusalem, 20-22 October.” Israeli control over Jerusalem is illegal and the Security Council has been clear on calling all member states not to recognize Israeli….
PA condemns proposals to expand Jerusalem settlements
10/18/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority, in its weekly meeting chaired by Salam Fayyad, strongly condemned the Israeli government’s decision to build 240 units in the settlements of Ramot and Pisgat Ze’ev in East Jerusalem. The Cabinet considered that these steps indicate clearly Israel’s disregard for efforts to….
Report: Peres visit to Morocco postponed
10/18/2010 – TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — Israeli President Shimon Peres put forward much effort in recent weeks to organize a meeting with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI. Peres wanted to meet with the king, a meeting he hoped would breathe some life into the peace talks. Israeli media reports, indeed, indicate that Morocco was….
MoH sends medical supplies to Gaza
10/18/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health sent 17 truckloads of medicine and medical supplies to the Gaza Strip on Monday, entering through the Kerem Shalom crossing. Minister Fathi Abu Moghli said the goods, which include 228 boxes of medicine, will enter the Strip on Tuesday at noon. The supplies include cancer….
Fatah official urges more reconciliation efforts
10/18/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Fatah official Azzam Al-Ahmad said Monday that Israel creates obstacles whenever Palestinian factions are close to reconciliation, but said efforts to achieve unity must continue. In an interview with Ma’an Radio, the Fatah lawmaker said he was optimistic about the future of relations between the rival factions. Hamas spokesman….
US fears Chinese companies still doing business with Iran
Palestine Note 18 Oct 2010 – Washington – An anonymous senior official told the Washington Post on Monday that US State Department special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control Robert J. Einhorn had presented a list to the Chinese government of Chinese…
UN official says new W Bank building permits violate international law
Palestine Note 18 Oct 2010 – Washington – UN Assistant Secretary for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez Taranco spoke before the Security council on Monday, warning that there is only a “brief window” open to overcome the current impasse over Israeli settlements in…
Abbas says PA will end claims on Israel in exchange for statehood
Palestine Note 18 Oct 2010 – Washington – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinian Authority was prepared to end any future claims on Israel in exchange for a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders in an interview on Sunday.Though he…
Erdogan demands flotilla apology
Palestine Note 18 Oct 2010 – Washington – In an address to his party, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Israel to apologize for its part in the deadly raid on the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara aid ship which left…
Gilad Shalit talks resume
Palestine Note 18 Oct 2010 – The German mediator is in the region, but details remain vague. Washington – Israel has resumed negotiations with Hamas to secure the release of Staff Sergeant Gilad Shalit, a soldier who has been held captive for…
Iraqi PM courts Iran during visit
AlJazeera 18 Oct 2010 – Politically controversial trip comes amid reports in media of direct Iranian help to keep al-Maliki in power.
Israel Moves Cautiously on West Bank Building Tenders
PNN – After Netanyahu signed 240 tenders for construction in East Jerusalem on Friday, US spokesman P.J. Crowley said he considered it “a disappointment.” Fear of further offending American interests is thought to be…
Israeli Senior Officer: New Gaza War If Soldiers Are Taken Prisoner
PNN – A senior General Staff officer warned on Sunday that if any soldiers were taken that the consequences would be no less severe than Operation Cast Lead. Beginning on December 27, 2008 in…
ADL Names Ten US NGOS As Anti Israeli
PNN – ADL just named the top ten groups in the US that they say are most organized in their anti-Israel stances in the US (see http://www.adl.org/PresRele/IslME_62/5875_62.htm (http://www.adl.org/PresRele/IslME_62/5875_62.htm); they even included Jewish Voice for…
The Elders Visit Gaza; Call For Lifting Of The blockade
PNN – Three members of The Elders on Saturday entered the Gaza Strip and spent the day on the ground with local opinion leaders, human rights activists, business people, women’s organisations, UN officials and…
Israeli Soldier Sentenced For Stealing Equipment From Mavi Marmara Flotilla
PNN – On May 31st, Israeli military soldiers stormed the aid ship Mavi Marmara, bound for Gaza to break the illegal blockade on Gaza and deliver international aid to the Palestinians in the region.The…
A First Five-Star Restaurant with Nablus Flavor and European Standards
PNN – Now, Qasr al-Jabi (al-Jabi’s Palace) runs according to the latest European standards and in line with the regulations of the Palestinian Tourism Ministry. It achieved a five-star rating, the first to do…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (07— 13 October 2010)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Interior Ministry head arrested in bribery probe
Jeruslalem Post 18 Oct 2010 – Gabi Maimon suspected of money laundering following investigation into construction of building project in central Israel.
Head of the Interior Ministry arrested in bribery probe
Jeruslalem Post 18 Oct 2010 – Gabi Maimon suspected of money laundering following investigation into construction of building project in central Israel.
Netanyahu instructs change to loyalty oath to include Jews
Jeruslalem Post 18 Oct 2010 – PM orders justice minister to draft new amendment to Citizenship Act saying Jews will also have to pledge their allegiance to “Jewish and democratic Israel” under Law of Return guidelines.
Chilean miners invited to Israel for Christmas pilgrimage
Jeruslalem Post 18 Oct 2010 – Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov formally invited the miners and their spouses to visit Israel on a spiritual journey this Christmas.
OECD J’lem summit to go ahead despite Arab pressure
Jeruslalem Post 18 Oct 2010 – Arab League, PA attempts to make member states boycott doesn’t stop economic group’s tourism summit taking place in capital.
OECD conference to go ahead in J’lem despite Arab pressure
Jeruslalem Post 18 Oct 2010 – Arab League, PA attempts to make member states boycott event doesn’t stop economic and development group’s tourism summit taking place in capital.
‘Israel’s new housing units decision violates int’l law’
Jeruslalem Post 18 Oct 2010 – UN slams Israel’s refusal to extend W.Bank settlement freeze; UN representative says “we have brief, crucial window to overcome current impasse. If door to peace closes, will be very hard to reopen.”
‘Cuban pilots flew 150,000 Jews from Arab states to Israel’
Jeruslalem Post 18 Oct 2010 – Report: From 1951-1953, Cuban company set up by Cuban businessman and Israeli flew missions where Israeli planes could not.
Yemen sentences al-Qaida militant to death for terror plots
Jeruslalem Post 18 Oct 2010 – Saleh al-Shawish was arrested in February and later charged with involvement in seven attacks on security facilities, training would-be suicide bombers and bomb making.
Egypt allows ‘Viva Palestina’ to leave Syria for al-Arish
Jeruslalem Post 18 Oct 2010 – Aid convoy set to arrive in Egypt then continue journey by land to Gaza; organizer George Galloway still won’t be allowed entry into country.
Netanyahu expresses concern for aircraft flying near Gaza
Jeruslalem Post 18 Oct 2010 – Speaking at a Likud meeting, PM says militants in Strip have anti-aircraft missiles “that can take down an aircraft which is en route to Ben Gurion airport”; calls settlement building an “artificial obstacle.”
IDF officer sentenced for stealing equipment off Marmara
Jeruslalem Post 18 Oct 2010 – First lieutenant receives 5 months in prison, NIS 700 fine, demotion to rank of private for theft of laptops, photographic lenses and compass.
Hamas: ‘Israel exaggerating Schalit talks on purpose’
Jeruslalem Post 18 Oct 2010 – Despite PM’s confirmation of Schalit negotiations, Mahmoud a-Zahar says talks are meant to distract from Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
UN: Settlement building contradicts efforts to achieve Mideast peace
Ha’aretz – UN assistant secretary general tells council session that Israel’s decision to build 238 new housing units violates international law.
Netanyahu: Hamas has obtained anti-aircraft missiles
Ha’aretz – Israel’s aerial freedom has been compromised by new weaponry in Gaza, presumably smuggled through tunnels connected to Egypt, PM tells Likud members for the first time.
OECD delegation to skip E. Jerusalem sites to avoid conflict
Ha’aretz – Tourism minister says he doesn’t want this week’s OECD conference to become political; Palestinians urge OECD members to boycott the meeting.
Turkey: NATO’s anti-missile system should not single out Iran
Ha’aretz – NATO says system intended to defend alliance, at odds with Iran over its suspicions Tehran is developing nuclear weapons., Hezbollah leader Nasrallah gave visiting Iranian leader a riffle claiming it…
IDF soldier jailed for stealing from Gaza flotilla ship
Ha’aretz – Under plea deal, soldier who removed electronic items from Mavi Marmara sentenced to 5 months in military jail, fined NIS 700 and demoted.
Arab League urges world leaders to boycott OECD conference in Jerusalem
Ha’aretz – Call issued in light of continued Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank comes after Turkey, Britain and Spain said they would not attend.
‘Netanyahu is killing Gilad Shalit by failing to secure his release’
Ha’aretz – Zvi Shalit, grandfather of the abducted IDF soldier, counters PM’s remark according to which Israel has resumed contacts with Shalit talks mediator.
Ahmadinejad: Israel and its allies are all on their way to hell
Ha’aretz – Remarks come in the wake of Iranian President’s recent visit to Lebanon, where he voiced what he termed as his support of Lebanon’s resistance of Israeli aggression.
Violent clashes reignite in Jerusalem
18 Oct 2010 – Jerusalem, October 18, (Pal Telegraph) Violent confrontations erupted last tonight between dozens of young Jerusalemites and Israeli police in the town of “Silwan” located in the city of Jerusalem. Young Jerusalemites were throwing stones at Israeli soldiers while Israeli soldiers fired metal and rubber bullets in addition to tear gas canisters towards them. Director of the Media Center in Jerusalem,…
Israel detains child who was run over by Israeli settler
18 Oct 2010 – Jerusalem, October 18, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli occupation forces arrested yesterday the child Imran Mansur (11 years), which was run over by Israeli zionist settler two weeks ago, Israeli police dragged him from his home in “Silwan” town located in Jerusalem city, despite his poor health condition. The Israeli occupation forces prevented the child’s parents from escorting their little son and…
Israel lets batch six of new cars into Gaza
18 Oct 2010 – Gaza, October 18, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli occupation authorities allowed today the entry of the sixth batch of new cars into the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Abu Salem commercial crossing located at the southern of the Gaza Strip. Chairman of the Coordinating Committee of Gaza’s Supplies, Raed Fattouh, said that the Israeli occupation authorities have informed the Palestinian side today…
Israeli army raids Tubas, detains 7
18 Oct 2010 – Ramallah, October 18, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli occupation forces arrested last night seven citizens in the occupied West Bank, claiming they were “wanted.” According to Israeli public radio that Israeli occupation forces transferred seven detainees to the security authorities for investigation. According to local sources in Jenin, Israeli occupation forces stormed in the early dawn hours today “Tubas” town and arrested…
Israeli army conducts limited incursion in Gaza
18 Oct 2010 – Gaza, October 18, (Pal Telegraph) Several Israeli military vehicles broke this morning into the north east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip. According to eyewitnesses, three Israeli tanks and two Israeli bulldozers entered agricultural territories and lands that belong to Gazan citizens and started randomly shooting at houses without reported injuries. Eyewitnesses added that the Israeli occupation forces used…
Israel expanding setllements in WB
17 Oct 2010 – Ramallah, October 17, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli occupation’s bulldozers began today morning the work of expanding the settlement of “Revava” that sits on the territory of “Salfit” in the West Bank. Witnesses said that a number of Israeli bulldozers started the work of razing lands in the southern part of the settlement of “Revava”. According to witnesses, the work of dredging…
Israeli army raids Hebron
17 Oct 2010 – Hebron, October 17, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli occupation army raided early today several towns belonging to the Governorate of Hebron in the West Bank, while there they also erected checkpoints and roadblocks at the main intersections in the city. Security sources said that the Israeli occupation forces raided the towns of Yatta, Dura, Seir, Ethna, and Bani Na’im in the province….
Gaza attempts to break record in Guinness Book
17 Oct 2010 – Gaza, October 17, (Pal Telegraph Al Jazira Sports Club in the Gaza Strip, is preparing for the implementation of a very unique sportive event aimed at highlighting the difficult conditions experienced by the residents of Gaza under the siege and the Israeli aggression. The club seeks to try to let Gaza enter to the global Guinness Book of Records by…
Israel partially opens 1 commercial crossing to Gaza
17 Oct 2010 – Gaza, October 17, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli occupation forces decided to partially open today the Kerem Abu Salem commercial crossing for the entry of dozens of trucks carrying aid and industrial fuel to the Gaza Strip. Chairman of the Coordinating Committee for Gaza’s Supplies, Raed Fattouh, said that the Israeli occupation authorities allowed the entry of between 190 to 200 trucks…
Israel shells Gaza overnight, 1 dead
17 Oct 2010 – Gaza, October 17, (Pal Telegraph) Gazan citizen was killed and two others wounded early today by Israeli shelling targeted the north-west of Gaza City. According to local sources, the medical personnel retrieved one martyr and two wounded one of them in critical condition, following the Israeli bombing near the Khuzondar station targeting a group of resistance fighters, as the Israeli…
Financing the Israeli Occupation
Uruknet October 18, 2010 – Israeli banks provide the financial infrastructure for all activities of companies, governmental agencies and individuals in the continuing occupation of Palestine and the Syrian Golan Heights. The services provided by the banks support and sustain these activities. Additionally, as this report shows, it is evident that the banks are well aware of the types and…
“Berkeley Says No to Torture” Week: Day Four — The Power of Art and the Power of the Pen (+ Video)
Uruknet October 18, 2010 – Last Wednesday, on Day Four of “Berkeley Says No to Torture” Week — the largest gathering of anti-torture experts and activists since the Bush administration’s “War on Terror” began over nine years ago — one of the obstacles to attracting support for a mass movement against the crimes and human rights abuses of the Bush…
Bulldozer driver and ground commander to testify in Corrie trial
Uruknet October 18, 2010 – The driver of the bulldozer that crushed to death Rachel Corrie in Rafah, Gaza, in March 2003, and the military commander in charge of the unit on the ground that day, are scheduled to testify on Thursday, October 21 in the civil lawsuit filed by Rachel’s family against the state of Israel for her unlawful…
Israeli bulldozers raze more land for housing units north of SilfitEXCLUSIVE PICTURES
Uruknet October 18, 2010 – Israeli bulldozers yesterday morning [Sunday 17 October] began the clearing of large tracts of land near the ‘Zafafa’ settlement north of Silfit province in the West Bank. The initial levelling was followed by the foundation laying of new housing units for the settlement. There has been a dangerous increase in settlement expansion throughout the West…
Israel continues political detention campaign
Uruknet October 18, 2010 – Israeli forces detained a Hamas-affiliated member of the Palestinian Legislative Council on Monday from the southern West Bank district of Hebron. Hatem Qafaish, elected to the Palestinian parliament in 2006 with Hamas’ Change and Reform bloc, was detained after Israeli forces ransacked his home, a local source told Ma’an. The PLC member was detained on…
Award Winning British Film Director Boycotts Israel
Uruknet October 18, 2010 – Mike Leigh had been due to teach classes at the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School (SSFTS) in Jerusalem next month, but has pulled out following the Israeli government’s amendment to the Citizenship Act. Leigh had been expected to lead the ‘Great Masters’ programme at the prestigious institution from November 20-27. In a letter to…
Video: Siege hurts Gaza wheelchair users
Uruknet October 18, 2010 – The Gaza Strip has around 16,000 registered wheelchair users or one per cent of its population. And aid delivery is the only way for electric wheelchairs to come in. But it is not enough, and the Israeli embargo also makes it hard to repair them….
The morality of Chas Freeman
Uruknet October 18, 2010 – …First, you don’t need a PhD in colonial history to know that the “American tradition of respect for blablabla” is a fantasy fit, first, for fourth graders and second, for Ron Paul. America has been enslaving, raping, murdering, and looting for centuries. American economic “prosperity” is founded on the slave trade and genocide. To ignore…
20 Palestinians Wounded In Jerusalem Clashes
Uruknet October 18, 2010 – Palestinian medical sources report that at least 20 Palestinians were wounded on Sunday night during clashes that took place with Israeli soldiers and policemen in the town of Silwan in East Jerusalem. The sources added that most of the residents suffered the effects of teargas inhalation. Soldiers and policemen were intensively deployed at the entrances…
British Director Mike Leigh Cancels Jerusalem Trip
Alternative Information Center – British film director Mike Leigh has canceled his November trip to Jerusalem ‘s Sam Spiegel Film & Television School in response to the Israeli government’s recent Citizenship Law proposal , which requires non-Jews to pledge allegiance to…
French protests intensify as government stands firm
Daily Star 18 Oct 2010 UNITED NATIONS: International powers must quickly bring Israel and the Palestinians together for new talks to avoid a new Middle East crisis, a top UN official told the Security Council Monday. “We have a brief and…
Only ‘brief window’ open for new Mideast talks – UN official
Daily Star 18 Oct 2010 UNITED NATIONS: International powers must quickly bring Israel and the Palestinians together for new talks to avoid a new Middle East crisis, a top UN official told the Security Council Monday. “We have a brief and…
Iraq’s Premier Maliki meets rival Sadr in Iran
Daily Star 18 Oct 2010 TEHRAN: The Iraqi premier met his erstwhile Shiite Muslim rival in Iran Monday, state television said, as Tehran moved to patch over their differences to help ensure Iraq’s next government is led by Shiites.With Iranian intervention,…
Russia seeks answers on NATO from French, Germans
Daily Star 18 Oct 2010 DEAUVILLE, France: The leaders of France, Germany and Russia were to meet late Monday and again Tuesday to try to cement improved relations and seek common ground over and NATO missile defense plans which Moscow sees…
Israel abducts Hamas MP in West Bank
Daily Star 18 Oct 2010 AL-KHALIL, Occupied West Bank: Israeli security forces abducted a Hamas MP at his home in the occupied West Bank town of Al-Khalil (Hebron) early Monday, Hamas and the Israeli military said. Omar Abdelrazaq, a senior Hamas…
Peres calls off Morocco trip after royal snub
Daily Star 18 Oct 2010 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israeli President Shimon Peres has cancelled a trip to Morocco after his requests to meet King Mohammad VI were spurned, an Israeli official said Monday. The Israeli leader was to have attended a gathering…
Iran ready for nuclear talks if agenda ‘clear’
Daily Star 18 Oct 2010 TEHRAN: Iran is ready to return to nuclear talks with major powers “as soon as tomorrow,” but only if the subject of the negotiations is made clear in advance, a senior official said Monday. Last week,…
Video: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas insists on Israeli settlements freeze
The Guardian 18 Oct 2010 – Interviewed on Israeli TV, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas says that he is willing to negotiate peace with Israel on 1967 borders, but not while settlements continue to be built on occupied territory
PRCS and the Japanese Embassy in Cairo sign an agreement for the improvement of medical equipment in Palestine Hospital
Relief Web 18 Oct 2010 – Source: Palestine Red Crescent Society
Oxfam Video: Food vouchers in the Gaza Strip
Relief Web 18 Oct 2010 – Source: Oxfam
The road to olive farming – Challenges to developing the economy of olive oil in the West Bank
Relief Web 18 Oct 2010 – Source: Oxfam
Israel settlers start fires amid West Bank harvest
Relief Web 18 Oct 2010 – Source: Agence France-Presse
8th Week against the Apartheid Wall, November 9 — 16 2010
Stop The Wall – [
Europe shuns Iranian planes
YNet News – Four major oil companies in Europe agreed to put end to business ties with Iran….
UN official: Settlements violate international law
YNet News – Senior UN official uses Security Council session to bash Israel over settlement….
Barak’s wife: I broke law
YNet News – Defense minister’s wife admits to illegally hiring foreign worker, expresses….
Marmara looter going to jail
YNet News – IDF soldier convicted of stealing equipment from Gaza-bound ship sentenced to….
Netanyahu’s, Barak’s silent freeze
YNet News – Thousands of housing units in Jerusalem, West Bank on hold as prime minister,….
Ahmadinejad: US will one day ‘beg’ Iran for ties
YNet News – Iranian president says US has become so weakened it can’t harm Islamic Republic….
Dalia Rabin: Murder now a page in history books
YNet News – ‘Sometimes I imagine what I would tell Rabin,’ says IDF chief on 15-year….
Hamas parliament member arrested
YNet News – Palestinian sources say Hathem Qufishe, jailed by Israel after Shalit capture,….
Syria: Norway artist’s works yanked from show over Israeli flag
YNet News – Two paintings by Norway’s Haakon Gullvaag that show an Israeli flag have been withdrawn from an exhibition at the French Cultural Centre in the Syrian capital, the artist …….
Palestinian Information Center
Abbas ready to give up Palestinian rights in return for settlement
PIC 18 Oct 2010 – De facto Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has declared readiness to announce an end to the conflict with Israel and give up most of historical Palestine.
Internat’l Lifeline 5 aid convoy to Gaza delayed by side factors
PIC 18 Oct 2010 – Delays on the Lifeline 5 aid convoy’s departure were caused by an extortion attempt by the ship’s cargo operators, the Palestinian Information Center learned.
Rights group: New hunger strike will mark milestone in prisoner movment history
PIC 18 Oct 2010 – Prisoners affairs researcher Fouad Al-Khafsh said new hunger strike constitutes a milestone in the prisoners’ movement history over decades of sacrifices.
Rachel Corrie’s family meet daughter’s killer in court
PIC 18 Oct 2010 – A court hearing will be held next Thursday to listen to testimonies of witnesses in death of Rachel Corrie, who was killed in cold blood by an Israeli bulldozer driver in Rafah in 2003.
Hamas insists on holding next meeting with Fatah in Damascus
PIC 18 Oct 2010 – Hamas informed Fatah faction that it was adamant on holding the next round of dialog talks in Damascus on Wednesday as previously agreed upon between the two movements in their latest meeting.
Mishaal to meet a delegation of the Elders
PIC 18 Oct 2010 – Khaled Mishaal, the political bureau chairman of Hamas, is to meet with a delegation of the Elders in his office in Damascus on Tuesday, Ezzet Al-Resheq announced on Monday.
Settler car assault victim placed under house arrest
PIC 18 Oct 2010 – One of the Palestinian boys who were recently run down by the car of an Israeli settler in Jerusalem’s Silwan district last week was placed under house arrest.
Hamas slams kidnapping of MP Kafisha from his home
PIC 18 Oct 2010 – Hamas strongly denounced Israel for kidnapping its lawmaker Hatem Kafisha from his home and taking him to an unknown place, considering such acts a violation of all international norms and laws.
Israeli troops kidnap seven Palestinians in W. Bank
PIC 18 Oct 2010 – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) at dawn Monday kidnapped seven Palestinian citizens during raids on homes in different West Bank areas.
Amid media blackout, PA-Israeli officers to question Palestinians in PA jail
PIC 18 Oct 2010 – The PA intelligence apparatus in Al-Khalil transferred amid media blackout a number of Palestinian detainees in its prison to Jericho jail in order to be interrogated by a joint PA-Israeli committee.
Israel’s Housing Prices Jumping Through the Roof
The Media Line 17 Oct 2010 – The real estate market in Israel is rising at the fastest rate in the world, leading many Israelis to move east of the Green Line. Housing prices in Israel are the fastest increasing in the world,…
Arab League Lobbies for OECD to Boycott Israel Meeting
The Media Line 17 Oct 2010 – The Arab League is actively lobbying member nations of the OECD — The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development — to stay away from the international trade organization’s annual travel conference set to be held in…
‘Abbas Tells Israel Television He’s Willing to Renounce Future Claims
The Media Line 17 Oct 2010 – Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud ‘Abbas told an Israeli television station on Sunday that he is willing to renounce future claims on Israel after a Palestinian state has been established. The pronouncement relates significantly to Israeli concerns…
Iran’s supreme leader calls for ‘speedy formation’ of new Iraqi government
LA Times 19 Oct 2010 – Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s statement comes as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki travels to Tehran, part of a tour aimed at winning regional support for his bid to remain in office. The visit underscores Iran’s powerbroker role in Iraqi affairs. Iran’s supreme leader urged the “speedy formation” of a new Iraqi government at a meeting Monday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, who is visiting Tehran as part of a tour of regional countries aimed at securing support for his bid to keep his job.
Israel pushes Palestinians to acknowledge its Jewish character
LA Times 19 Oct 2010 – Palestinians reject the demand as ‘racist’ and see it as a trap to force them to make concessions on such issues as the right of refugees to return. It sounds at first like a familiar Mideast tussle: Israel demands recognition, Arabs refuse to give it.
Hamas has antiaircraft missiles, Israel says
LA Times 18 Oct 2010 – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel’s aerial dominance is compromised by the weaponry, which is presumed to have been smuggled into Gaza from Egypt. The Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers have obtained antiaircraft missiles, Israel’s prime minister said Monday, in a potentially game-changing development that could threaten the Israeli air force’s ability to strike at the Islamic militant group.
AT-TUWANI/ABORIGINAL JUSTICE REFLECTION: Seeking the peace of Palestine by engaging our own settler reality
Christian Peacemaker Teams – Palestine –
AL-KHALIL (HEBRON) REFLECTION: God’s justice, even for the shops
Christian Peacemaker Teams – Palestine –
HEBRON: Open Shuhada St. movement changes tactics
Christian Peacemaker Teams – Palestine –
The Children Of Balata: Putting Faces To Statistics
Palestine Monitor – According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Balata’s 0.25 sq km area is home to more than 23,600 registered refugees, although the true population could be much higher. The camp was formed in 1950, designed for 5,000-7,000 people. For it’s 23,000+ occupants, the…
Award Winning British Film Director Boycotts Israel
Palestine Monitor – Mike Leigh had been due to teach classes at the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School (SSFTS) in Jerusalem next month, but has pulled out following the Israeli government’s amendment to the Citizenship Act. Leigh had been expected to lead the ‘Great Masters’ programme at the…
’60 Minutes’ marks the end of the two-state solution
Mondoweiss – Last night’s 60 Minutes story on Silwan and the “City of David,” marks the dawning recognition that the two-state solution is no longer possible. Lesley Stahl’s opening was a subtle introduction to the idea that the supposed solutions of the past, no longer fit today’s reality:…
Accommodating Israeli abuse: the Palestinian Authority’s perspective
Mondoweiss – Maen Rashid Areikat, the PLO’s Ambassador to the United States will be at Columbia to speak about the most recent phase of peace negotiations from the “Palestinian Perspective.” However, many Palestinians challenge and criticize Mr. Areikat and the Palestinian Authority (PA) for their participation in “peace…
Congressional chairman to Palestinians who live in the capital of the Jewish people: Drop dead
Mondoweiss – U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, issued the following statement today concerning the Israeli construction in Jerusalem. AIPAC is tweeting happily about it. “Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. It is not a settlement. “As…
Leave no stone unclaimed
Mondoweiss – Lynn Pollack submitted the above photo to the Israel Project’s “Best Shots of Israel” contest along with the note: “I shot this in Nov. 2008, right after the truce broke. Somewhere near Tel Aviv, if I recall correctly. I guess Israel didn’t want to take any…
Morocco gives Israel the cold shoulder and so does food co-op in Rachel Corrie’s home town
Mondoweiss – and other news from Today in Palestine: Settlers/Land, property & resource theft and destruction/Ethnic cleansing Settlers install new mobile homes in settlement near Jericho Zionist settlers installed tens of mobile homes in a settlement near Jericho overnight Sunday, eyewitnesses from Jericho city reported. http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq Harvest of…
Israel Arrests Hamas MP in West Bank
Al-Manar 18 Oct 2010 – Israeli security forces arrested a Hamas MP at his home in the occupied West Bank town of Al-Khalil early on Monday, according to Hamas and local Palestinian security officials. Omar Abdelrazaq, a senior Hamas official in the West Bank, said MP Hatem Qafaish had been…
Elders Call Gaza Situation Shocking
Al-Manar 18 Oct 2010 – Former Irish President Mary Robinson, chairing a delegation of global Elders visiting the Gaza Strip, has called the situation in the territory “shocking.” “I was last here in 2008, just before the Gaza war. The situation has deteriorated to a shocking extent since then,” she…
Video Interview about the Anarchists Against the Wall
Joseph Dana 18 Oct 2010 – I was recently interviewed for stimulator tv about the Anarchists Against the Wall and anarchism in Israel. The segment starts at minute 6:30.
60 Minutes Reports On Silwan, East Jerusalem
Joseph Dana 18 Oct 2010 – Silwan is a dangerous neighborhood. Not only because of the simmering political tensions between the Palestinians and the Jewish settlers occupying houses in the city, but also because the neighborhood is one of the centers of the drug trade. But of all the cities and villages…
Peaceful al Ma’asara Demonstration Attacked with Tear-Gas and Concussion Grenades
Joseph Dana 17 Oct 2010 – Soldiers staged a completely unprovoked attack on on the small and peaceful demonstration using tear-gas and concussion grenades. At quarter past noon about ten Palestinians and some twenty Israeli and international activists marked the first day of the olive harvest by marching to protest the annexation…
Prisoners advocate says detainee’s life in jeopardy
Sabr 18 Oct 2010 – TUBAS ( Ma’an ) — The detainees’ center in Tubas called human rights organizations and the Red Cross to intervene and save a sick detainee whose as his illness progresses in detention at Israel’s Ramon prison. Imad Al-Masri was detained 20 years earlier when he was sentenced to…
Rights group calls for immediate release of prisoner in critical condtion
Sabr 18 Oct 2010 – [ 18/10/2010 – 01:03 PM ] NABLUS, ( PIC )— The International Tadamun (Solidarity) Foundation for human rights said the Israeli prison authority continues to detain Kifah Awni Qatsh despite her critical health condition. Ahmed Al-Beitawi, a researcher at the foundation, said that Qatsh, a sufferer of immunodeficiency,…
Settler car assault victim placed under house arrest
Sabr 18 Oct 2010 – [ 18/10/2010 – 07:27 PM ] OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, ( PIC )— One of the Palestinian boys who were recently run down by the car of an Israeli settler in Jerusalem’s Silwan district last week as seen on television was placed under house arrest. Israeli news reported Monday that…
IOF soldiers detain Palestinian MP
Sabr 18 Oct 2010 – [ 18/10/2010 – 09:14 AM ] AL-KHALIL, ( PIC )— Israeli occupation forces (IOF) broke into the home of Palestinian MP Hatem Qufaisha south of Al-Khalil city before dawn Monday and took him away, his family said. The family members told the PIC reporter that an IOF unit…
China firms ‘evade Iran embargo’
BBC 18 Oct 2010 – The US asks China to do more to stop Chinese companies helping Iran with its nuclear programme and missile technology.
Delegates won’t tour E Jerusalem
BBC 18 Oct 2010 – Israel says delegates to an OECD tourism conference won’t be taken to East Jerusalem after international protests.
Israel warns over Hamas missiles
BBC 18 Oct 2010 – Hamas militants in the Gaza strip have obtained anti-aircraft missiles, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says.
Mike Leigh cancels trip to Israel
BBC 18 Oct 2010 – British director Mike Leigh has cancelled a trip to Israel, in protest against controversial plans to compel non-Jewish new citizens to swear loyalty to Israel as a Jewish state.
Until when this conspiracy of scilence?
Sabbah report 18 Oct 2010 – Do Western politicians, who flatter Israeli war criminals like Benjamin Netanyahu, by calling Israel ‘and oasis of democracy’ know this? Why don’t the Americans spread freedom and human rights in Palestine instead of supporting and funding torture, murder and settlement? Or do they view Palestinians as…
The Israeli Knesset’s Anti-Democratic Agenda
Sabbah report 18 Oct 2010 – In sum, it represents extremist efforts to weaken Israeli democracy, or what passes for its current system, by destroying civil liberties, silencing minority views, and characterizing groups holding them as state enemies. In fact, “We are witnessing a reality of increasing tyranny against social, political, and…
A question for the British foreign secretary
Sabbah report 18 Oct 2010 – The unbroken thread of Conservative Party support for Israel that has run for nearly a century from the Balfour Declaration to the present day will continue. Although it will no doubt often be tested in the years ahead, it will remain constant, unbroken and undiminished by…
(en) Palestine-Israel, The joint struggle continue in spite of the end of Summer blues.
A-infos 18 Oct 2010 – Anarchists Against the Wall (awalls.org) have a facebook presence though most of the texts are in Hebrew: “As every Friday, this weekend too we will demonstrate together with hundreds of Palestinians and internationals in villages of the west bank – want to join? – Send us…
Articles
New Israeli Report: Israeli Banks are Principal Beneficiaries of the Illegal Settlements
Tali Shapiro, Pulse10/18/2010
According to a new report by Who Profits, a research project that exposes Israeli and international corporate involvement in the occupation:
“The banks are well aware of the activities carried out with their financial assistance.”
A report published today by Who Profits exposes the financial support provided by Israeli banks to illegal Israeli settlements and the direct involvement of Israeli banks in control over the Palestinian banking market. The report, “Financing the Occupation,” investigated the involvement of Israeli banks in the economy of occupation:
Israeli banks provide the financial infrastructure for all activities of companies, governmental agencies and individuals in the continuing occupation of Palestine and the Syrian Golan Heights. The services provided by the banks support and sustain these activities. [p.4]
Merav Amir, Who Profits Research Coordinator, said today:
Our research provides evidence that the banks are well aware of the types and whereabouts of the activity that is being carried out with their financial assistance, and exposes the ways in which they are supporting illegitimate activities that violate international law.
Who Profits from the Occupation is a research project initiated by the Coalition of Women for Peace, an Israeli feminist peace organization. This project is dedicated to exposing the ongoing Israeli and international commercial involvement in the sustainability of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian and Syrian land. — See also: Who Profits: Financing the Israeli Occupation – Full Report (PDF) more.. e-mail
Just another futile Friday in Bil’in?
Greg Wilkinson, Ma’an News Agency10/18/2010
Business as usual? Weekly ritual? Sporting event? A bit of all three, but more than that.
Nobody injured, nobody killed, this week. Mercifully. No ground lost or gained, but nearly 100 people walking, talking, shouting singing in the sun, behind a Palestinian flag toward a boring line of metal fence — no Great Wall of Israel, just a stupid obstacle to little things like justice, peace and people’s land.
What’s the message of this march? Get out, we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Free our prisoners, and one in particular this week. Abdullah Abu Rahmah was jailed for a year three days ago. His daughter is somewhere in the crowd, with a picture of her dad. Abdullah in prison, Bassem dead … same family.
And me, from Wales, UK? What am I doing? And the other internationals who make up a third of this week’s ritual march. And the Israelis? They’re here too, on both sides of the fence. I can only speak for myself. In 1956, in Lebanon, a few months before the Suez war, I met a young Palestinian refugee. We ate up a month’s meat ration in his family’s one-room refugee-camp house, and he gave me a book called Palestine is our Business. True enough, I thought when I read it, then forgot it for nearly 50 years.
The last time I got a whiff of teargas was in Paris in 1968, and the formula seems to have stayed the same. That also goes for Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, here, there and everywhere. Our old terrace house in Swansea looks over the sea. Too cold for me, but my wife, who still swims in it, says “Why don’t you swim where it’s warm?” Gaza perhaps, when that’s open as a tourist resort. more.. e-mail
The Non-Jewish Immigrant Loyalty Oath
Gary Leupp, Dissident Voice10/16/2010
The State of Israel as a Jewish and Democratic State
On October 10, the Israeli cabinet approved a law requiring all non-Jewish immigrants to Israel to swear loyalty to “the laws of the state of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.” Up until now they’ve merely pledged loyalty to “the state of Israel.” Meanwhile Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demands that the Palestinian Authority headed by President Mahmud Abbas recognize Israel as a “Jewish state” as the precondition for even a six-month suspension of Israeli settlement construction on the West Bank (to say nothing of serious negotiations towards the establishment of a Palestinian state). Up until now the PA has said it will “never” recognize Israel as Jewish by definition. But on Wednesday a top Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) official, Yasser Abed Rabbo (who apparently has a sense of humor), stated, “Any formulation the Americans present—even asking us to call Israel the “Chinese State”—we will agree to it as long as we receive the 1967 borders.” This is an apparent effort to call Israel’s bluff, since the Israeli leadership has no intention of ever withdrawing to the 1967 borders, which exclude East Jerusalem.
But it is interesting and pleasing to note that many Israeli Jews are up in arms about the cabinet decision to force non-Jewish immigrants to pledge loyalty to a “Jewish state.” These include former Foreign Minister and head of the opposition Kadima party Tzipi Livni (Kadima) who calls the decision “politics at its worst,” adding, “The delicate and important topic of a Jewish and democratic state has turned into commercialized politics, and it is totally unnecessary. The central thing we need to protect is Israel’s existence as Jewish and equal for all of its citizens.” Minister of Welfare Isaac Herzog (of the Labor Party) calls it a step towards fascism. Even Likud Ministers Benny Begin and Dan Meridor warn it will harm relations with Israeli Arabs. Writer Sefi Rachlevsky, who organized a protest against the law, declares: “At the moment that you ask that everyone agree to this same belief, you are a fascist state,” adding, “every national catastrophe begins with decisions like this.” more.. e-mail
ADL’s demonization of student activism denounced
Electronic Intifada: 18 Oct 2010 – As members of several student groups working for justice in Palestine, we affirmatively state that the ADL’s characterization of our campus educational efforts and activism about Israeli injustices against Palestinians as “biased” is a disingenuous and misguided attempt to vilify students who criticize Israel’s occupation, which denies Palestinian human rights and self-determination.more
The international community’s final test
Electronic Intifada: 18 Oct 2010 – Negotiations between two unequal parties cannot succeed. Success in Palestinian-Israeli negotiations requires a reasonable balance of power, clear terms of reference and abstention of both sides from imposing unilateral facts on the ground. None of that existed in the talks that were re-initiated in September. Mustafa Barghouthi comments.more
JNF plants trees to uproot Bedouin
Electronic Intifada: 18 Oct 2010 – The Electronic Intifada contributor Arwa Aburawa spoke to Ra’ed al-Mickawi from Bustan, a green Bedouin organization, and Alice Gray an environmental expert based in the West Bank to find out more about the role of greenwashing in the Israeli occupation of the Naqab desert.more
Remembering Furkan Dogan
Electronic Intifada: 18 Oct 2010 – Furkan Dogan was an American, a young American of only 19 years when on 31 May a hail of Israeli bullets ended his life on the Mavi Marmara Turkish humanitarian aid shipmore
The Children Of Balata: Putting Faces To Statistics
Palestine Monitor: 18 Oct 2010 – According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Balata’s 0.25 sq km area is home to more than 23,600 registered refugees, although the true population could be much higher. The camp was formed in 1950, designed for 5,000-7,000 people. For it’s 23,000+ occupants, the camp has one food distribution center, one women’s program center and one community-based rehabilitation center. The camp is plagued by water shortages and sewage treatment problems that cause hygiene problems and lengthy droughts. Written and photographed by Brynn Utela. The camp is the home to thousands of children. 40% of Balata’s population are under 15. Another 20% of Balata refugees are aged 15-24, meaning that two-thirds of Balata’s occupants are under 24. Balata’s has one UNRWA health centre. There are eight other health centres in the camp not affiliated with the UNRWA. With only four schools and few opportunities within the camp for enrichment…more
Award Winning British Film Director Boycotts Israel
Palestine Monitor: 18 Oct 2010 – Mike Leigh had been due to teach classes at the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School (SSFTS) in Jerusalem next month, but has pulled out following the Israeli government’s amendment to the Citizenship Act. Leigh had been expected to lead the ‘Great Masters’ programme at the prestigious institution from November 20-27. In a letter to SSFTS director Renen Schorr, he outlined his reasons for the cancellation. “As you know, I have always had serious misgivings about coming, but I allowed myself to be persuaded by your sincerity and your commitment,” Leigh wrote. “And it is because of those special qualities of yours that I am especially sorry to have to let you down. But I have absolutely no choice. I cannot come, I do not want to come, and I am not coming. “Eight weeks after our lunch, the Israeli attack on the flotilla took place. As I watched the…more
The State of Bla-Bla-Bla
Palestine Chronicle: 18 Oct 2010 – By Uri Avnery Will Germany enact a law that demands that every Turk aspiring to citizenship swear allegiance to the ‘German Federal Republic, the Nation-State of the German People’? Sounds like a ridiculous idea. Will the US Senate adopt a law that would compel every candidate for citizenship to swear allegiance to “The United States of America, the Nation State of the…” Of whom? “The American People”? “The Anglo-Saxon People”? “The Christian People”? An absurd idea. But the Knesset is about to enact a law that demands from every non-Jew who desires Israeli citizenship to swear allegiance to “The State of Israel, the Nation-State of the Jewish people”. It seems that our benighted law-makers do not see anything questionable about this. And there already hovers in the air a bill that demands that all Israeli citizens, or perhaps only the non-Jewish ones, swear allegiance to this Nation-State of the Jewish…more
Israeli Police Look to Settlers to Fill Ranks
Palestine Chronicle: 18 Oct 2010 – By Jonathan Cook – Nazareth As US-sponsored peace talks have stalled over the issue of settlements, Israel’s national police force has revealed that it is turning to the very same illegal communities in its first-ever drive to recruit officers from among the settlers. The special officer training course, which is chiefly aimed at discharged combat soldiers, includes seven months of religious studies in an extremist West Bank settlement. The programme has provoked widespread concern among Israel’s 1.3 million Palestinian citizens, a fifth of the population. “The police have already repeatedly demonstrated their hostility to Palestinian citizens, but this move proves that the authorities want to extend and deepen our oppression,” said Jafar Farah, the director of Mossawa, an advocacy centre for the Palestinian minority. “Is it really credible that these religious extremists who have been educated to hate Palestinians in the West Bank are going to behave differently when they…more
Mainstreaming the Extreme Rightwing
Palestine Chronicle: 18 Oct 2010 – By Ralph Nader The strong case that Eric Alterman’s book What Liberal Media? made in 2003 against the propaganda-style claim by rightwingers, that the mass media has a liberal bias, is an expanding understatement. Just read recent issues of The Washington Post and The New York Times to see the most extreme reactionaries getting the kind of coverage their publicists love. Just last Sunday in the October 10, 2010 New York Times, two very lengthy features appeared on the rancid Ann Coulter and the blogger Pamela Geller—a grotesque anti-Semite against Arabs who flaunts her sweeping bigotry as a badge of pride. Geller even called herself a ‘racist-Islamophobic-anti-Muslim-bigot’. One veteran reporter called the sprawling two page feature, with all of twenty color photos “an advertisement.” Anyone with such open and flaunted hatred against Jews would either be ignored or slammed paragraph by paragraph with denunciations consigning the sick character into media…more
Israeli Police Look to Settlers to Fill Ranks
Dissident Voice: 18 Oct 2010 – As US-sponsored peace talks have stalled over the issue of settlements, Israel’s national police force has revealed that it is turning to the very same illegal communities in its first-ever drive to recruit officers from among the settlers. The special officer training course, which is chiefly aimed at discharged combat soldiers, includes seven months of religious studies in an extremist West Bank settlement. The programme has provoked widespread concern among Israel’s 1.3 million Palestinian citizens, a fifth of the population. “The police have already repeatedly demonstrated their hostility to Palestinian citizens, but this move proves that the authorities want to extend and deepen our oppression,” said Jafar Farah, the director of Mossawa, an advocacy centre for the Palestinian minority. “Is it really credible that these religious extremists who have been educated to hate Palestinians in the West Bank are going to behave differently when they police our communities inside Israel?”…more
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The New Dark Age 
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