2 December, 2010 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Israel Arrests Man Believed To Be Collaborating With Hamas
IMEMC – 2 Dec 2010 – Thursday December 02, 2010 – 11:28, Israeli sources reported that the Israeli Security Forces have recently detained an Arab man from al-Fredees Arab village, north of the country, who is suspected to be collaborating with the Hamas movement and of committing “security offensives”.
Haniyya: “We Will Accept Any Referendum That Includes All Palestinians”
IMEMC – 2 Dec 2010 – Thursday December 02, 2010 – 10:31, During a meeting with international reporters working in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister of the dissolved government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyya, stated that his government will accept the results of a public referendum on a peace deal with Israel as long as this referendum includes all Palestinians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and in exile.
Israel Approves Construction Of 625 Units In East Jerusalem
IMEMC – 2 Dec 2010 – Thursday December 02, 2010 – 04:07, The Israeli government approved, on Wednesday, evening the construction of additional 625 units in Pisgat Zeev settlement in occupied East Jerusalem.
2 Islamic Jihad men killed on Gaza border
12/2/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Two members of the armed wing of Islamic Jihad were killed by Israeli shelling and aerial bombing east of Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday. Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the group, also announced that the two were members of the organization. The deceased were identified as….
Houses raided, detentions in Al-Isawiya, Beit Hanina
12/2/2010 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces entered three homes in East Jerusalem neighborhoods Thursday morning, detaining two men and a minor for unspecified reasons, family members said. In the Al-Isawiya neighborhood, the wife and children of Ahmas Moussa Mustafa, 28, said the patriarch was detained after police and sniffer dogs broke into the home shortly….
Palestinian shot in An-Nabi Saleh
12/2/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Israeli soldiers shot a Palestinian in the leg during an incursion Thursday in the West Bank town of An-Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah, local sources said. Palestinians in the village said Omer Saleh At-Tamimi was shot with live ammunition while demonstrators confronted the Israeli soldiers, throwing stones. Israeli military forces were said….
Israel restricts Al-Aqsa access
12/2/2010 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces closed most gates leading into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound Thursday morning, leaving only two open. All worshipers under 40 years old were barred by Israeli police from entering the compound, and prayed together in the streets adjacent to the Haram Ash-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) which houses the mosque and….
Ministry: Feed shortage kills animals in Gaza
12/2/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Ministery of Agriculture in the Gaza Stripwarned Thursday of a shortage of animal fodder that has already lead to the starvation of several livestock animals in parts of the coastal enclave. The head of vetrenary services in the enclave Zakariyah Al-Kafarneh said chickens were the hardest hit by the….
Official: Settlers set fire to West Bank land
12/2/2010 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian-owned olive groves near the evacuated settlement of Homesh, near the West Bank city of Nablus Thursday, a Palestinian Authority official said. Ghasan Daghlas, who is charged with monitoring settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma’an: “The settlers set fire in the….
40 dead in northern Israel fire
12/2/2010 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — About 40 people have been killed in a massive forest fire raging out of control near the northern city of Haifa, Israel’s ambulance service Magen David Adom said on Thursday.” There are about 45 casualties, of whom about 40 are dead,” the ambulance service said in a statement, according….
Israeli court delays trial of Fatah official
12/2/2010 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli’s high court delayed Tuesday, the trial of Fatah’s Jerusalem Affairs official Hatem Abed Al-Qader, rescheduling a hearing to 28 December upon the request of the official’s lawyer. Attorney Jawad Boulus told Ma’an that the delay was successful despite objections from the prosecution….
PA: US says Israel rejected new settlement freeze
12/2/2010 – RAMALLAH (AFP) — The United States admitted it has failed to win a new Israeli settlement freeze, a Palestinian official said on Thursday, in a potential knockout blow to stalled peace talks.” The US administration has informed us that the Israeli government did not agree to a new settlement freeze,” said the official, who spoke on….
Islamic bloc says An-Najah students, teachers detained by PA
12/2/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — An-Najah National University’s student union party affiliated with the Islamic bloc issued a statement on Thursday saying Palestinian Authority security forces had detained 40 members during the month of November. Most of the 40 students remain in detention, the statement said, adding that the student bloc believed that the….
Gaza man released after 18 years in Israeli prison
12/2/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Detainees center in Gaza City said it was preparing to receive 42-year-old Walid Shaath upon his release from Israeli prison, expected to come on Thursday. The Khan Younis native was detained on 2 May 1993, charged with affiliation to the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the armed wing of….
One Gaza crossing partially open
12/2/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A single goods crossing terminal between Israel and the Gaza Strip was opened on Thursday morning, officials announced, for the transport of 200-210 truckloads of aid and commercial products. Raed Fattouh, Palestinian liaison official for the crossings, said he was informed by Israeli authorities at the crossings that the….
PLO official barred from leaving West Bank
12/2/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities barred PLO official Ziyad Salous from leaving the West Bank Thursday, Palestinian sources said. Salous, the director of Public Relations for the organization, was detained at the Allenby Bridge border crossing for three hours before being denied entry to Jordan. Salous was en route to a conference on Palestinian….
Leaked US cable: Qatar seen as unlikely to break strong Hamas ties
12/3/2010 – SECRET SECTION. . . . Classified By: Ambassador Joseph E. LeBaron, for reasons 1. 4 (b, d)1. (S) Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani (who serves concurrently as Foreign Minister) of Qatar will visit Washington beginning January 4 to continue the strategic consultations that Qatar and the USG have pursued since June, when Near Eastern Affairs….
Leaked US cable: Army officials tell Qatar to condition Hamas aid
12/3/2010 – CONFIDENTIAL SECTION. . . . Classified By: Amb Joseph LeBaron for reason 1. 4 (b) and (d)(C) SUMMARY 1. (C)During their July 20-21 visit to Qatar, Assistant Secretary of Defense (ASD) for International Security Affairs, Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, and State Political-Military (PM) Assistant Secretary Andrew Shapiro held meetings with Qatar’s military Chief of….
Leaked US cable: Qatar leader says Hamas would accept 1967 borders
12/3/2010 – CONFIDENTIAL. . . . Classified By: Ambassador Joseph E. LeBaron, for reasons 1. 4 (b, d). (C) KEY POINTS – The Amir of Qatar urged the U. S. in his February 14 meeting with Senator John Kerry (D-MA) to do everything in its power to find a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Amir said the best way….
Report: Head of UN Goldstone follow-up body resigns
12/2/2010 – TEL AVIV (Ma’an) — UN Watch Chairman Alfred Moses told Israeli media outlets on Thursday that German professor Christian Tomuschat, who headed the UN committee charged with implementing the findings of the Goldstone Report, resigned for unknown reasons. Tomuschat was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to lead a Committee of Experts to….
Greece sends planes to fight Israel fire
12/2/2010 – ATHENS (AFP) — Greece said it will send four Canadair fire fighting planes to help Israel bring a deadly forest fire under control near Haifa, the foreign ministry said Thursday. The planes were to take off late Thursday from a military airport near Athens and were due to reach Haifa at dawn on Friday, after refuelling….
Was PA cabinet reshuffle postponed?
12/2/2010 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Fatah Revolutionary Council Secretary-General Amin Maqboul denied Thursday that a reported PA cabinet reshuffle was postponed until the new year, saying discussions were ongoing between President Mahmoud Abbas and his appointed Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.”Abbas gave a clear decision about the cabinet reshuffle,” Maqboul told Ma’an, adding that….
Hamas: PA must release prisoners
12/2/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A Hamas official in Gaza called on the rival Fatah movement in the West Bank to release alleged political prisoners from Palestinian Authority prisoners Thursday. Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri reiterated accusations that the PA has tortured Hamas members in prison.”These acts against our brothers and sisters are unpatriotic,” he….
Cellcom network back online
12/2/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Topping the news in all the Hebrew newspapers Thursday morning was the debilitating Cellcom malfunction that left 3. 3 million cellphone users without service for most of the day. At 10:00 am. Wednesday morning Cellcom subscribers found their phones disabled. The phones remained offline for much of the day. According….
As Europe shivers, sunny Lebanon prays for rain
12/2/2010 – BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — As Europe shivers under freezing temperatures, unusually balmy weather and a lack of rain or snow have spelled disaster for Lebanon’s farmers and ski resorts.” The delayed rainfall is threatening some of our major springs, in which water is becoming increasingly scarce,” said Fouad Hashweh, dean of the Faculty of….
Why I’m building Palestine
Palestine Note 2 Dec 2010 – This article appeared originally on the Middle East Channel. When we launched our state-building plan for Palestine in August 2009, many dismissed it as an exercise in eggheadedness, extraordinary optimism, a dream. But here we are,…
Israel’s deadliest fire leaves 40 dead
Palestine Note 2 Dec 2010 – Ynet News – Firefighters battled a large blaze Thursday in the Carmel Forest near Haifa, which left dozens dead and brought life to a halt for many communities. The 40 people killed on the bus, making…
Some things just didn’t make sense
Palestine Note 2 Dec 2010 – I grew up in the womb of the Jewish Community of Washington, D.C, studied at our Hebrew Academy (a school that my grandfather helped found), and worshiped at the Beth Shalom Orthodox Jewish synagogue. After marrying,…
The Syrian poet Adonis talks about the power of poetry
Palestine Note 2 Dec 2010 – The National – The poet known as Adonis – whose work marked a great transformation in 20th-century Arabic poetry – has just had breakfast. Now, smiling indiscriminately, he settles into a chair in the basement cafe…
Palestine Youth Orchestra at Greece’s Megaron
Palestine Note 2 Dec 2010 – Athens News – Performing before a packed audience of all ages and descriptions at the Athens Megaron Concert Hall on Sunday night, the musicians of the Palestine Youth Orchestra (PYO) – ranging in age from 12…
Israel approves plan for 625 new housing units in East Jerusalem
Palestine Note 2 Dec 2010 – Haaretz – The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee announced Wednesday its plan to build 625 new housing units in the Pisgat Ze’ev neighborhood of East Jerusalem. The move comes despite wide international opposition to Israel’s…
Ahmadinejad’s Getting Pretty Tired of This Dead Scientist Crap
Palestine Note 2 Dec 2010 – Wired – On Monday, unknown assailants on motorcycles attached bombs to the cars of two Iranian nuclear scientists, Majid Shahriari and Fereydoun Abbasi , killing Shahriari and wounding Abbasi. In the past, Iran has been content to…
Wikileaks reveals cable saying Lebanese defense minister gave Israel invasion advice
Palestine Note 2 Dec 2010 – Los Angeles Times – Lebanon’s Defense Minister Elias Murr told Americans the army would stay out of the way if Israel tried to wipe out Hezbollah, according to a secret March 2008 conversation revealed in a…
Abbas still waiting for U.S. answers on Israeli settlements
Palestine Note 2 Dec 2010 – News on the most recent settlement freeze proposal is slow in coming Los Angeles Times – Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday took the opportunity of laying the cornerstone for the new presidential headquarters just…
UPDATE assange wrong: WikiLeaks do not advance peace by advancing Bibi
Palestine Note 2 Dec 2010 – UPDATE Check this out . Julian Assange buys into Netanyahu line that by demonstrating anti-Iran sentiment is rampant in region, WikiLeaks will help Netanyahu achieve peace. Peace? Netanyahu? I guess Assange is no Commie, more like a…
Football, bombs, and Iran
Palestine Note 2 Dec 2010 – In football, there is a famous saying attributed to both Woody Hayes and Duffy Daugherty, two run oriented coaches: Only three things can happen when a football team passes the ball, and two of them are…
Lebanon at stake: Turkey must reveal its cards
Palestine Note 2 Dec 2010 – The timing of the Turkish Prime Minister’s two-day visit to Lebanon could not be more judicious. Lebanon’s enemies have been banging the drums of war louder than ever before. All the malevolent plans hatched following the…
Hamas declares it would accept Palestinian referendum on peace deal with Israel
Palestine Note 1 Dec 2010 – Washington – Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said his group would honor a Palestinian referendum on a future peace treaty with Israel based on the 1967 borders in a news conference held in Gaza on Wednesday….
Deadly forest fire hits Israel
AlJazeera 2 Dec 2010 – A massive forest fire has killed an estimated 40 people and sparked evacuation from areas near the Carmel Forest.
Ireland ‘blocked’ weapons to Israel
AlJazeera 2 Dec 2010 – Released cable says Irish blocked US arms shipments to Israel during war with Lebanon.
US Unable to Stop Jerusalem Settlements; Peace Talks to “Collapse”
PNN – Bethlehem – PNN – The three-week period Palestinian negotiators gave their American counterparts to solve the issue of Israeli settlements expired on Thursday, leading chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat to blame Israel…
Druze Youth Imprisoned for Refusing to Serve in Israeli Army
PNN – Tel Aviv – PNN – Israeli troops arrested Ajoud Jamal Zaydan, an 18-year-old Druze resident of the village of Beit Jan, and sentenced him to 14 days of administrative detention for refusing…
At Least Two Killed in Gaza; Israel Claims Attempted Infiltration
PNN – Bethlehem – PNN – An Israeli military broadcast said two armed Palestinians were killed trying to infiltrate a kibbutz outside of the Gaza Strip. Army spokespersons said the two men were “approaching…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (11. – 24 November 2010)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
PCHR Concludes Training Course on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in Jabalia
Palestinian Center for Human Rights Ref: 88/2010 In the context of the International Campaign for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which started on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, until 10 December 2010, the Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Training Unit and Women’s Rights Unit of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) concluded
Possible Syrian nuke facility identified by satellite
Jeruslalem Post 2 Dec 2010 – Footage of Masyaf shows missile shaped items; IAEA urges Syria to let inspectors visit reactor that IAF destroyed in 2007.
US, Palestinians rebuke Israel over Pisgat Ze’ev project
Jeruslalem Post 2 Dec 2010 – State Department “urges both parties to avoid actions which could undermine trust, including in J’lem.”
Further evacuations as result of spreading Carmel fire
Jeruslalem Post 2 Dec 2010 – Areas of Denya neighborhood of Haifa begin evacuations; European fire suppression aircraft to arrive at IAF bases in hours; US sends 747 from NY; Egypt to supply fire retardant chemicals; 40 dead so far.
Turkey offers assistance in Carmel fire despite tensions
Jeruslalem Post 2 Dec 2010 – Ankara to send firefighting aircraft to Israel in attempt to extinguish raging blaze; Greece, Cyprus, Spain also lend support.
Ashkenazi: IDF will do all it can to help extinguish fire
Jeruslalem Post 2 Dec 2010 – PM requests help from foreign states; Peres expresses concerns over fire near Druze village of Usfiya which left 40 dead, dozens injured.
Iran says it arrested killers of nuclear scientists
Jeruslalem Post 2 Dec 2010 – Teheran’s intelligence services claim to uncover wide network operating against Islamic Republic; allege Mossad, US, UK involvement.
PA: Pisgat Ze’ev plan proves Israel doesn’t want peace
Jeruslalem Post 2 Dec 2010 – Abbas aide responds to J’lem c’tee’s approval of new neighborhood of 625 housing units in northeastern Jerusalem called “North Pisgat Ze’ev”; Erekat: Israel has chosen “settlements and not peace.”
WikiLeaks: US wary of rising organized crime in Israel
Jeruslalem Post 2 Dec 2010 – Cable from Tel Aviv embassy discusses spread of mafia and measures to keep Israeli crime figures from gaining entrance to US.
Turkish official: Israel is responsible for Wikileaks
Jeruslalem Post 2 Dec 2010 – Deputy leader of Turkish PM’s party says it is suspicious that “Israel is very pleased” by the released documents.
Meet the most original guitarist you never heard of
Jeruslalem Post 1 Dec 2010 – Freestyle improviser and US indie rock hero Eugene Chadbourne brings his warped sense of pop to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Former Chief of Staff Halutz enters politics
Ha’aretz – Dan Halutz, who commanded IDF forces during the Second Lebanon War, officially joins center-right party Kadima.
‘Flames spread on a scale we’ve never seen’
Ha’aretz – Reports stream in from eyewitnesses to the massive fires raging in the north of the country.
Disaster in the North: 40 dead as fire rages in Carmel Mountains
Ha’aretz – Forty dead and 13,000 evacuated – Netanyahu appeals for international aid as blaze swamps Israel’s emergency capacity and threatens city of Haifa; prison guards killed when fallen tree traps bus…
Livni to Netanyahu: When was the last time you told the truth?
Ha’aretz – Opposition leader rips into the prime minister at a boisterous session of the Knesset, saying he’s weak and at fault for the country’s weakness.
Bar-Lev pulls out of police chief race amid sexual assault probe
Ha’aretz – Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch expected to announce the next police commissioner within 10 days or so; deputy IDF chief denies rumors of candidacy.
Turkey offers Israel help in controlling fire despite tense relations
Ha’aretz – Officials in Turkish embassy in U.S. say Israel accepted two firefighting aircraft, say Turkey was one of the first governments to offer help.
European nations answer Netanyahu’s call for help with Carmel fire
Ha’aretz – The prime minister asks Cyprus, Greece, and other countries to send firefighting aircraft after rescue services say they have lost complete control of the fire.
Palestinians: Israel has chosen West Bank settlements over peace
Ha’aretz – After Israel announces plans for 625 new homes in Pisgat Ze’ev, Palestinians say Jerusalem has signaled it is ‘not willing’ to resume peace negotiations.
IDF troops kill two Palestinian militants trying to infiltrate Israel
Ha’aretz – The troops opened fire on the two militants as they were in the midst of laying explosives at the fence near Kibbutz Kfar Aza. None of the soldiers was wounded.
WikiLeaks cable warns of ‘widening crime war’ in Israel
Ha’aretz – The cable is signed by Ambassador James Cunningham, but appears to have been written by the American consul in Tel Aviv as a note on visa restrictions for members of…
Senior Turkey official says Israel behind WikiLeaks release
Ha’aretz – Deputy leader of Turkish PM Erdogan’s AKP party hints that Israel engineered the release of U.S. diplomatic cables as a plot to pressure Turkey, the daily Hurriyet reports.
Israel approves plan for 625 new housing units in East Jerusalem
Ha’aretz – Move comes despite wide international opposition to Israeli construction beyond the Green Line.
Hamas vows to honor Palestinian referendum on peace with Israel
Ha’aretz – Islamist leader Ismail Haniyeh says he would accept a deal with Israel based on 1967 borders and denies that Gaza has become a stronghold for al-Qaida.
Palestinians drop claim that Western Wall is ‘not Jewish’
Ha’aretz – PA removes from official website report claiming Jerusalem site is Islamic property and not holy to Jews.
Belgium Donates 600,000 Euros to Help Palestinian Refugees
2 Dec 2010 – Beirut, December 2, (Pal Telegraph – Agencies)Belgium donated 600,000 euros ($786,000) to help with relief for displaced Palestinian refugees in northern Lebanon, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees said. The donation supplements Belgian assistance for reconstruction of the Nahr Al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp that was destroyed during combat between the Lebanese army and Fatah al-Islam militants…
Israeli army prevents Palestinian from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque
2 Dec 2010 – Jerusalem, December 2, (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli soldiers prevented Thursday Palestinians from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque to pray to ease the entry of Jewish extremists to the Mosque under police protection,local sources said . Israeli police had tightened security procedures on the parameters of the Holy Muslim site, preventing Palestinians under the age of 40 from entering the Mosque. That was to…
Abbas expects US answer on settlement freeze
2 Dec 2010 – Ramallah , December 2, (Pal Telegraph) – Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said on Wednesday he was expecting to formally hear the outcome of US efforts to secure a new freeze on settlement building within a day. “We still haven’t received an official US response, but we may get one officially on Thursday,” Abbas told reporters as he inaugurated a new building…
Israeli army raids Jerusalem, detains 3 Palestinians
2 Dec 2010 – Jerusalem, December 2, (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli occupation forces raided Thrusday two hosues in Al-Aswya and Hnina towns in north Jerusalem and detained three Palestinians. Local sources reported that Israeli soldiers broke into the house of Ahmed Mostafa, 28, after searching his house with police dogs. The sources added that they detained another citizen under 18 years, his name is…
Kuwaiti charity rebuilds 400 Palestinian houses
2 Dec 2010 – Gaza, December 2, (Pal Telegraph) – Kuwaiti delegation, part of a larger delegation from the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) now visiting Gaza Strip, launched Wednesday a construction project to rehabilitate the Palestinian homes destroyed by the Israeli war on the strip in early 2009. The project is being sponsored by the Kuwaiti International Al-Rahma Charity. A ceremony was held…
Israeli gunboats open fire at Gazan fishing boats
2 Dec 2010 – Gaza, December 2, (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli armed boats opened fire Thursday at Palestinian fishing boats in Rafa waters, south of Gaza Strip. Local sources reported that Israeli gunboats opened heavy fire towards dozens of Palestinian fishing boats on coastal areas of Rafa, which enforced the fishermen to retreat to the cost, no casualties were reported. Israeli gunboats stationed in…
Gaza’s blockade silences women
Uruknet December 2, 2010 – We have just visited the Gaza Strip where we met many courageous people trying to live relatively normal lives despite the crippling effects of the illegal Israeli blockade. The blockade was imposed to punish the Hamas-led government, but it is women and children who are paying the highest price. In our conversations with a range…
New settler enclaves in East Jerusalem
Uruknet December 2, 2010 – On 23 and 24 November 2010, settler organizations took control of two houses in Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. In the first case, the Qara’in family, 14 persons, were evicted from their home, which is located next to the UN compound in Jabal Mukabber. The eviction was carried out in accordance with court order and…
IOF troops kill two Palestinians in Gaza, destroy water well in Al-Khalil
Uruknet December 2, 2010 — Two Palestinians were killed east of Gaza city on Thursday morning after Israeli occupation forces (IOF) fired at them, the Israeli radio said. It added that the two Palestinians approached the security fence and the IOF soldiers fired at and killed them, claiming they were planning an attack on Israeli targets…
Kashmiris’ movement is totally indigenous: MirwaizIndian troops martyr 29 innocent Kashmiris in November
Uruknet December 2, 2010 – In occupied Kashmir, the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has said that the Kashmiris’ struggle for securing their right to self-determination is totally indigenous. Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, today, the APHC Chairman said, the indigenous character of the movement is fully recognised by the people in India and this…
SOAS Academic: “No Palestinian State While Zionism Exists”
Uruknet December 2, 2010 – Mushtaq Kahn, a lecturer from the School of Oriental and African Studies, was the speaker at a special development lecture convened in memory of the Palestinian development economist, Yusif A.Sayigh. Speaking at the Palestinian Economic Research Institute, Khan spoke plainly about the problems facing a potential Palestinian state. In analysing the failure to create a…
Ministry: Feed shortage kills animals in Gaza
Uruknet December 2, 2010 – The Ministery of Agriculture in the Gaza Strip warned Thursday of a shortage of animal fodder that has already lead to the starvation of several livestock animals in parts of the coastal enclave. The head of vetrenary services in the enclave Zakariyah Al-Kafarneh said chickens were the hardest hit by the shortage…
New warning of Gaza plight
Uruknet December 2, 2010 – Issued by group of international humanitarian and legal rights organisations, Dashed Hopes is a 12-page report that examines the current humanitarian situation in Gaza and warns of grave consequences should the needs of civilians living in the densely populated and harshly impoverished Strip continue to be denied. According to the report, only seven per cent…
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (25 Nov.. – 01 Dec. 2010)
Uruknet December 2, 2010 – Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (25 November – 01 December 2010):
Israel Approves Construction Of 625 Units In East Jerusalem
Uruknet December 2, 2010 – The Israeli government approved, on Wednesday, evening the construction of additional 625 units in Pisgat Zeev settlement in occupied East Jerusalem. The so called Regional Construction Committee decided to approve the construction plan, that was originally approved by the Israeli Interior Ministry more than two years ago, but the initiators of the construction project were…
International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
Uruknet December 2, 2010 – On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 181, the Palestine Partition Plan, granting 56% of historic Palestine to Jews (with one-third of the population), 42% to Palestinians, with Jerusalem designated an international city (a corpus separatum – separate body) under a UN Trusteeship Council. The area included all Jerusalem, Bethlelem, and Beit…
Palestinian property destroyed as Israeli settlements grow
Uruknet December 2, 2010 – Israeli bulldozers and armed soldiers implemented a swath of demolitions of Palestinian homes and structures for more than a week in multiple areas across the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley. On 24 November, two bulldozers and approximately 200 soldiers swarmed the farming village of Abu al-Ajaj in the Jordan Valley, destroying…
40 dead in northern Israel fire
Uruknet December 2, 2010 – About 40 people have been killed in a massive forest fire raging out of control near the northern city of Haifa, Israel’s ambulance service Magen David Adom said on Thursday. “There are about 45 casualties, of whom about 40 are dead,” the ambulance service said in a statement, according to AFP. According to the Israeli…
JCSER: “Israeli Police Used Dogs In Attacking Homeowners In Jerusalem”
Uruknet December 1, 2010 – The Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights in Jerusalem (JCSER) reported that Israeli policemen used dogs during their Tuesday attack against Palestinian homeowners as the police attacked their homes before demolishing them earlier in the day in Al Esawiyya, in occupied East Jerusalem. The Research and Documentation Unit of the JCSER reported that resident…
EXCLUSIVE: Controversial Drug Given to All Guantanamo Detainees Akin to “Pharmacologic Waterboarding”
Uruknet December 1, 2010 – The Defense Department forced all “war on terror” detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison to take a high dosage of a controversial antimalarial drug, mefloquine, an act that an Army public health physician called “pharmacologic waterboarding.” The US military administered the drug despite Pentagon knowledge that mefloquine caused severe neuropsychiatric side effects, including suicidal thoughts,…
WikiLeaks website pulled by Amazon after US political pressure
Uruknet December 1, 2010 – The United States struck its first blow against WikiLeaks after Amazon.com pulled the plug on hosting the whistleblowing website in an apparent reaction to heavy political pressure. The main website and a sub-site devoted to the diplomatic documents were unavailable from the US and Europe on Wednesday, as Amazon servers refused to acknowledge requests for…
Israel to Demolish Two Homes, Mosque in Bethlehem-Area Village
Alternative Information Center – On Monday (29 December) Israeli authorities gave demolition notices to a mosque and the owners of two homes in the Al-Ma’sara village south of Bethlehem, locals reported.
Children of East Jerusalem’s Silwan
Alternative Information Center – Ôªø The Palestinian village of Silwan sits just south of the Old City walls in East Jerusalem. It counts 55,000 residents, 50 percent of whom are below the age of 18.
Press Conference to Protest Planned Deportation of East Jerusalem Resident
Alternative Information Center – The Al-Bustan Popular Committee in the Silwan neighbourhood of Jerusalem held a press conference today in response to the recent deportation order issued against Silwan resident and General Secretary of Fatah in Silwan, Adnan Geaith.
SPF Deivers Tonfa Training to 37 Recruits
WAFA – RAMALLAH, October 20, 2010 (WAFA)- The Palestinian Special Police Force (SPF) has successfully delivered a Tonfa training course to 37 new SPF recruits, according to a press release by EUPOL-COPPS,
Abu Rdeineh: All Settlement Forms are Illegal, Rejected
WAFA – RAMALLAH, October 19 (WAFA)- The Presidency spokesperson , Nabil Abu Rdeineh confirmed today that all the forms of settlement (outposts and non-random) in Palestinian lands are illegal. Commenting
Netanyahu Declines Demolishing Settlements’ Random Units
WAFA – TEL AVIV, October 19 (WAFA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided that he wouldn’t demolish the unregulated construction in a various settlements although the government has issued
The Elders Urge Comprehensive Approach to Arab-Israeli Peace
WAFA – DAMASCUS, October 19, 2010 (WAFA)- The Elders have called for a more comprehensive approach to the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks following discussions with officials, civil society, business and
France Provides €4 million for Gaza Wastewater Treatment Plant
WAFA – JERUSALEM, October 19, 2010 (WAFA)- On Sunday 17 of October 2010, at Ministry of Planning, Mr Dov Zerah, CEO of the French Development Agency (AFD), Dr Ali Jarbawi, Minister of Planning and
IOF deploys Ariel Settlement
WAFA – SALFIT, October 19 (WAFA)- The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) deployed, today, the Ariel Settlement that is established by force on the lands of the Salfit, Iskaka, Yasuf and Burkin
Dr. Erakat: Israel Seeks De Facto Recognition of Illegal Practices
WAFA – RAMALLAH, October 19, 2010 (WAFA)- Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization Negotiations Affairs Department Dr. Saeb Erakat said, yesterday, “By hosting the OECD conference in Jerusalem,
Observer: Israeli Government on Division Verge, Netanyahu Negotiates Kadima
WAFA – LONDON, October 17, 2010(WAFA) – The British Newspaper ‘Observer’ wrote that the Israeli government is facing the division risk because of the deadlock in the negotiations with the Palestinians
Russia, Qatar get World Cups in 2018, 2022
Daily Star 2 Dec 2010 HAIFA, Israel: A huge fire swept through a forest in northern Israel Thursday, killing up to 40 people, many of them prison guards who were trapped in a bus trying to flee the flames, security services…
Huge Israel forest fire kills dozens – rescue services
Daily Star 2 Dec 2010 HAIFA, Israel: A huge fire swept through a forest in northern Israel Thursday, killing up to 40 people, many of them prison guards who were trapped in a bus trying to flee the flames, security services…
Israel to blame for ‘collapse’ of peace talks – Erekat
Daily Star 2 Dec 2010 RAMALLAH, Occupied West Bank: The United States should blame Israel for the “collapse” of the peace process, a senior Palestinian official said Thursday, giving one of the bleakest assessments yet on recent Middle East diplomatic moves.Israeli…
WikiLeaks revelations serve Israel, says Turkish minister
Daily Star 2 Dec 2010 ANKARA: A senior Turkish minister said Thursday Israel seemed to be “benefitting” from the impact of US cables disclosed so far by the WikiLeaks website as he questioned whose interests the leaks served.”One should analyze why…
Sheep may have angered Egypt shark
Daily Star 2 Dec 2010 CAIRO: A shark that attacked swimmers off an Egyptian resort might have become frenzied after a transport ship dumped dead sheep in the sea, South Sinai’s governor said Thursday, adding that experts believe they have caught…
Egypt party to boycott vote despite struggle
Daily Star 2 Dec 2010 CAIRO: One of Egypt’s main opposition parties said it is sticking by its decision to pull out of parliamentary elections despite violent inter-party disagreements over the move Thursday.Supporters and opponents of the vote boycott faced off…
OPT/GAZA: MAG proud of achievements in reducing risks posed by UXO
Relief Web 2 Dec 2010 – Source: Mines Advisory Group
Palestinians still need relief assistance: OCHA
Relief Web 2 Dec 2010 – Source: UN Radio
OPT: USAID and the PWA Inaugurate a Newly Built Water Reservoir in Bani Nai’m
Relief Web 2 Dec 2010 – Source: US Agency for International Development
OPT: PRCS provides relief aid to distressed persons in Yarza (Al Aghwar)
Relief Web 2 Dec 2010 – Source: Palestine Red Crescent Society
The Roof Is Now the Field
IPS “We grow on our roof because we are farmers but have no land now,” says Moatassan Hamad, 21, from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza Strip.
Israel’s deadliest fire leaves 40 dead
YNet News – Blaze breaks out in Carmel, forcing authorities to evacuate Damon Prison, Beit….
Former IDF Chief Halutz joins Kadima
YNet News – Halutz, who resigned as chief of staff following failures of Second Lebanon War,….
PA: Israel snubs talks with building plans
YNet News – Plan for 625 new homes in Pisgat Ze’ev near east Jerusalem shows Jewish state….
US cable: French FM says Abbas ‘lost’
YNet News – Kouchner told Clinton in 2009 that PA leader is ‘completely isolated’, secret….
IDF kills 2 gunmen on Gaza fence
YNet News – IAF aircraft, tanks open fire at Palestinians believed to be trying to cross….
‘France lauded Assad in bid to hurt Iran’
YNet News – Leaked US cable reveals Paris sought to exaggerate Syrian role in French….
Northern fire: More than 15,000 residents evacuated, flames near Haifa
YNet News – Mass evacuation on, Haifa under threat: More than 15,000 people were evacuated from their homes by late Thursday as a massive fire continued to rage in northern Israel. …….
IDF joins firefighting efforts in north
YNet News – Hundreds of IDF soldiers have been deployed in northern Israel following the Carmel fire disaster in an effort to battle the flames and assist rescue operations. The …….
Fire disaster: PM to declare national day of mourning
YNet News – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will declare a national day of mourning to mark a massive northern Israel blaze that claimed at least 40 lives. The PM made …….
Palestinian Information Center
Israeli police round up 600 Palestinian workers
PIC 2 Dec 2010 – Israeli police in the 1948 occupied Palestinian land rounded up 600 Palestinian workers from the West Bank for working in those lands without permit.
Israeli prosecution indicts Palestinian in 1948 land for cooperation with Hamas
PIC 2 Dec 2010 – The Israeli attorney general filed an indictment against Islam Amin, a young man from Fredees village in the 1948 occupied Palestine, for alleged cooperation with Hamas in recruiting youth.
IOF troops kill two Palestinians in Gaza, destroy water well in Al-Khalil
PIC 2 Dec 2010 – Two Palestinians were killed east of Gaza city on Thursday morning after Israeli occupation forces (IOF) fired at them, the Israeli radio said.
Tadamun report: IOF troops killed 3 Palestinians, detained 200 in November
PIC 2 Dec 2010 – The IOF killed three Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and arrested more than 200 citizens in the West Bank over the past month of November, the Tadamun institute said in a report.
UN: Situation in Gaza still catastrophic
PIC 2 Dec 2010 – The UN has underlined that the situation in Gaza Strip was still catastrophic and that one and a half million people including 800,000 children were living as captives in the Strip due to the siege.
Abu Zuhri: Fatah authority crimes in WB reflect total allegiance to IOA
PIC 2 Dec 2010 – Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, told a press conference in Gaza on Thursday that crimes committed by the Fatah authority in Ramallah affirmed its allegiance to the IOA.
Sabri: Historical facts are non-negotiable
PIC 2 Dec 2010 – Sheikh Ekrema Sabri, the head of the higher Islamic authority, has asserted that none could dispute historical facts, stressing the Islamic identity of the Buraq Wall and the holy site.
Jewish settlers desecrate Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalemite worshipers face them
PIC 2 Dec 2010 – Palestinian worshipers on Thursday evening clashed with extremist Jewish settlers after they stormed under police protection the courtyards of the Aqsa Mosque.
Palestinian premier denies presence of any Qaeda members in Gaza
PIC 2 Dec 2010 – Palestinian premier Ismail Haneyya warned the world of being deceived by Israeli claims about the presence of Qaeda cells in Gaza and described them as lies aimed at justifying a new war on the Strip.
Wide campaign to brief European officials on reality of Israel’s siege on Gaza
PIC 2 Dec 2010 – The European campaign to end the siege initiated a comprehensive campaign to brief the officials of the European union on the reality of Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Forest fire in Israel kills 37 prison guards trapped in fleeing bus
LA Times 3 Dec 2010 – Wind-swept flames of an out-of-control fire in Carmel Forest in northern Israel trap the bus, which burns as firefighters struggle to rescue those inside. ‘This is an unprecedented disaster,’ says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A raging forest fire in northern Israel killed at least 37 prison guards Thursday when their bus was engulfed in flames while they rushed to evacuate a detention facility. Nearby firefighters tried desperately to rescue them as some guards hugged the floor of the vehicle in search of shelter, witnesses said.
Syria’s Assad seems to suggest backing for Hamas negotiable, leaked cables say
LA Times 2 Dec 2010 – But even as President Bashar Assad appeared willing to reduce ties with the Palestinian militant group ruling the Gaza Strip, he brushed off pressure to alter the dynamics of his friendship with Iran. Syrian President Bashar Assad described Hamas as an “uninvited guest” in his country in confidential conversations with American lawmakers, and appeared to suggest he would be willing to give up the alliance in exchange for incentives, according to several documents contained in the trove of leaked diplomatic cables posted online by the website WikiLeaks.
Lethal Fire Rages Through Forest in Northern Israel
New York Times 2 Dec 2010 – A spokesman for the fire service in northern Israel said the fire was the biggest and deadliest in Israel’s history.
Iran Arrests Suspects Over Scientist’s Murder
New York Times 2 Dec 2010 – Iranian security has made a number of arrests in the assassination of a prominent nuclear scientist, the country’s intelligence chief said Thursday.
World Briefing | Middle East: Iran: Arrests in Attacks on Nuclear Scientists
New York Times 2 Dec 2010 – Some perpetrators of the recent bomb attacks on two of the country’s top nuclear scientists have been arrested.
SOUTH HEBRON HILLS: Israeli Army arrests young Palestinian man in South Hebron Hills
Christian Peacemaker Teams – Palestine –
AL-KHALIL (HEBRON): Shepherd made homeless, livelihood threatened, son in prison
Christian Peacemaker Teams – Palestine –
Sharek Youth Forum Closed in Gaza
Palestine Monitor – The Sharek Youth Forum in Gaza City was forcibly closed by police on Tuesday. The forum’s liberal agenda had resulted in frequent clashes with the Hamas government prior to its closure. Sharek staff protest the action is illegal and unjust. In the past seven months the…
Oh, Canada: Al Jazeera investigates ‘the other special relationship’
Mondoweiss –
The big fat national conversation could actually start w/ California divestment initiative
Mondoweiss – IDC is the acronym for California Divestment Initiative . To fully understand the importance of this initiative please hear me out. The Israel Divestment Campaign (IDC) is the first citizens’ effort in the country to appeal directly to voters to hold Israel accountable for violations of international…
The Middle East’s only pretend democracy
Mondoweiss – Haaretz notes a recent survey , revealing the hollowness of Israel’s claim to be a democracy: A comprehensive survey compiled by the Israel Democracy Institute and reported in yesterday’s Haaretz paints a gloomy, worrisome picture… …Only 17% of the public believes the state’s self-definition as a democracy…
Watching The Pianist in Gaza
Mondoweiss – The Pianist is a movie that tells the disheartening story of a Jewish pianist, W?Çadys?Çaw Szpilman, who struggles to survive during the holocaust along with his family in Warsaw. Although it is primarily the story of one man, the movie instilled in me the notion of…
US admits it failed to get settlement freeze; Israel announces new building near East Jerusalem and Palestinians say ‘Israel has chosen West Bank settlements over peace’
Mondoweiss – And other news from Today in Palestine: Settlers/ Land, Property, Resource Theft & Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing ‘625 housing units approved in northern Pisgat Ze’ev’ Report: Jerusalem’s District officially approves plan for the establishment of a new neighborhood called “North Pisgat Ze’ev.” http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?ID=197583&R=R1 Israel unveils new residential plan…
Palestinians: Israel has Chosen West Bank Settlements over Peace
Al-Manar 2 Dec 2010 – The United States should openly blame Israel for the “collapse” of the so-called peace process, a senior Palestinian official said on Thursday, in one of the bleakest assessments yet on Middle East peace efforts, according to Haaretz. New Israeli plans to build near East Jerusalem…
Yediot: “Security establishment” warns of imminent Palestinian prisoner strike
Coteret 2 Dec 2010 – This appears to be a General Security Service (GSS) leak: The scenario that the security establishment is preparing for is threatening. The scenario envisions the security prisoners launching a hunger strike, setting fire to their cells, trying attack the guards, severing all contact with the prison…
Maariv “exclusive”: Israel and Brazil sign major security cooperation agreement
Coteret 2 Dec 2010 – This appears to be a major agreement: Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Security in the Defense Ministry Amir Kain signed the historic agreement for security cooperation between the two countries a few days ago. Brazil’s intelligence affairs minister signed the agreement on the Brazilian…
Israeli fire kills prison guards
BBC 2 Dec 2010 – About 40 people – mostly prison guards – are killed in a massive forest fire out of control in northern Israel, police say.
Confusion over Egypt shark claim
BBC 2 Dec 2010 – There is confusion over whether a shark which attacked four tourists off Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh has been captured.
Egypt Brothers ‘to quit election’
BBC 1 Dec 2010 – Egypt’s banned opposition movement the Muslim Brotherhood is withdrawing candidates from Sunday’s election run-off, media reports say.
Articles
Ahdaf Soueif in conversation with Daud Abdullah about Palestinian cultural resistance
Middle East Monitor (MEMO)11/19/2010
MEMO’s Director, Daud Abdullah, recently sat down with leading novelist, Ahdaf Soueif, to discuss Palestine. Their conversation covered a number of issues ranging from culture to politics and the current peace process. She described the situation in Palestine as one of the greatest injustices of our time; noting that a just resolution of the conflict would reduce tensions in many other parts of the world.
On the peace process, Soueif said she didn’t believe Israel is seriously pursuing peace with the Palestinians. “It suits Israel and the elites to have this eternal ‘peace process’; this pretence of seeking peace.”
She pointed out, “A huge injustice is taking place as we speak while the world pretends to uphold the principles of human rights, the right to self-determination, democracy, freedom of speech and freedom of movement. All of this is happening at the heart of the world, so it is an intensely human issue rather than a nationalistic one”.
On Gaza, the novelist said, “I think they are possibly the nation that sets the greatest store by culture; in Gaza, just one day after the ceasefire you saw the children going to school in pressed uniforms.”
Ahdaf Soueif is a novelist and political and cultural commentator. Born in Cairo, she was raised and educated in both England and Egypt. She published her first novel, In the Eye of the Sun, in 1993. She is best known for her second novel, The Map of Love, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1999. It has since been translated into 27 languages and has sold over a million copies. In 2008 she initiated the first Palestine Festival of Literature – an annual cultural festival that tours around Palestine.
For the full interview…. more.. e-mail
Wikileaks: UK, US Planned to Pressure IAEA on Iran, Tie Tehran to Pyongyang
Juan Cole, Informed Comment12/1/2010
Scott Peterson’s fine piece at CSM on Iranian reactions to the Wikileaks cables is given further credence by yet another document that surfaced Tuesday. Peterson says that the Iranians took the documents to suggest that President Obama was all along plotting against them even while pursuing a diplomatic track in public, and that a breakthrough through negotiations is now very unlikely.
It is an account of conversations between the US undersecretary for arms control and British officials in early September, 2009. It shows that the then British Labor Government supported President Obama’s diplomatic outreach to Iran but was very much prepared for it to fail, and fail quickly, and so was already focused on ratcheting up further economic sanctions on Tehran. Simon McDonald said that the prime minister did not think Obama’s diplomatic efforts should be “open-ended,” and seemed to have a 30-day deadline in mind for Iran to respond. That sort of impatience does not comport with genuine diplomacy, and it seems clear that the British were eager to impose further sanctions as soon as possible.
Another passage suggests strong British and American pressure on Yukiya Amano, the then incoming head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Under his predecessor, Mohammad Elbaradei, the IAEA had steadfastly refused to rubber stamp US and Western European charges that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon. The inspectors could find no evidence of it, and were able to certify that no nuclear material had been diverted from the civilian program. They were extremely frustrated by Iran’s lack of complete cooperation, and some entertained dark suspicions, but Elbaradei’s reports only included what could be proven from the inspections. Foreign Minister David Miliband spoke of putting some “steel” in Amano’s spine. Ellen Tauscher, the US under secretary for arms control and international security affairs, said that the US and the UK must work to make Amano a “success.” — See also: CSM: For Iran, WikiLeaks cables validate its skepticism of Obama’s sincerity more.. e-mail
The Folly of the Israeli AND Arab Approach to Iran
Alan Hart, Information Clearing House12/1/2010
Is Wikileaks being manipulated by an intelligence service?
The Wikileaks revelation that some Persian Gulf Arab leaders wanted (and still want?) America to attack Iran is confirmation of what some of us thought we knew – that Arab leaders are not merely impotent but as dangerously deluded as their Israeli counterparts.
Netanyahu was absolutely correct when he told a group of editors in Tel Aviv that “Israel has not been damaged at all by the Wikileaks publications.” A senior Israeli government official went further in his response to questions from AFP. He said: “We have come out looking good.” The leaked documents, he added, “confirm that the whole Middle East is terrified by the prospect of a nuclear Iran… The Arab countries are pushing the United States towards military action more forcefully than Israel.”
Actually the assertion that “the whole Middle East is terrified by the prospect of a nuclear Iran” is nonsense. The Arab regimes which more or less do the bidding of America-and-Zionism are terrified, but the same cannot be said of many of their repressed subjects. As Noam Chomsky pointed out in a recent interview with Open Democracy’s Amy Goodman, a poll of Arab opinion indicates that 80% regard Israel as the major threat in the region. Iran is seen as a threat by only 10%. The poll also indicated that 57% believe the region would be a more safe place if Iran had nuclear weapons. (As with Israel/Palestine, the regimes are effectively on one side – that of America-and-Israel, and the Arab masses are on the other side – that of the Palestinians). more.. e-mail
Palestinian property destroyed as Israeli settlements grow
Electronic Intifada: 2 Dec 2010 – Israeli bulldozers and armed soldiers implemented a swath of demolitions of Palestinian homes and structures for more than a week in multiple areas across the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley.more
The Roof Is Now the Field
In Gaza: 2 Dec 2010 – photo: Emad Badwan BEIT HANOUN, Gaza, Dec 2, 2010 – “We grow on our roof because we are farmers but have no land now,” says Moatassan Hamad, 21, from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza Strip. “Our family is large and thankfully what we grow feeds us,” he says. They grow a variety of staple vegetables. “Cabbage and eggplants in winter, and endochriyya (a plant used for making soup) and chili and garlic and onions in summer. And other things that we can sell, like flowers and palm tree seedlings.” The house is a typical cement block house, in the crush of a Palestinian refugee camp. “There is no space in camps, no trees, no public gardens,” Hamad says. The flourish of greenery and colour of his garden contrasts the utilitarian grey of their home and those close around it. Large blue plastic containers sprout date, orange and palm tree seedlings;…more
Sharek Youth Forum Closed in Gaza
Palestine Monitor: 2 Dec 2010 – The Sharek Youth Forum in Gaza City was forcibly closed by police on Tuesday. The forum’s liberal agenda had resulted in frequent clashes with the Hamas government prior to its closure. Sharek staff protest the action is illegal and unjust. In the past seven months the group’s headquarters have been repeatedly raided and members of staff have been subjected to physical intimidation, harassment and threats. During this time, Executive manager Muheib Shaath has been summoned to 15 separate interrogations from internal security. A summer camp run by Sharek in partnership with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was destroyed in May. Sharek co-founder Sufian Mshasha told us the harassment and ultimate closure was “prompted by our agenda of democracy, social development, and our insistence on holding activities for both genders.” He claimed that “80-90%” of questioning of Sharek staff focused on their practise of mixing genders in their…more
New Language for Middle East Peace
Palestine Chronicle: 2 Dec 2010 – By John V. Whitbeck The recent passage by Israel’s Knesset of a law requiring either a two-thirds Knesset majority or approval by an unprecedented national referendum before Israel can “cede” any land in expanded East Jerusalem to a Palestinian state or any land in the Golan Heights to Syria has been widely recognized as making any “two-state solution”, as well as any Israeli-Syrian peace, even more inconceivable than was previously the case. It also highlights the need for a concerted effort by politicians, negotiators and commentators to adopt a new “language of peace”. The words which people use, often unconsciously, can have a critical impact upon the thoughts and attitudes of those who speak and write, as well as those who listen and read. Dangerously misleading terminology remains a major obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace. It is normal practice for parties to a dispute to use terminology which favors them. In…more
WikiLeaks ‘Vindicated Israel’
Palestine Chronicle: 2 Dec 2010 – By Jeff Gates The U.S. is under attack by an enemy within. Skilled at game theory warfare, this foe targets the most sensitive realm of U.S. national security: its relations with other nations. The online publication of a quarter-million documents chronicling diplomatic exchanges is notable both for what’s omitted and what’s included. To determine whether this latest release was a form of espionage, analysts need only examine how this treasure trove of trivia was peppered with documents certain to damage U.S. relations. To identify its origins, analysts must answer a key question: Cui Bono? To whose benefit? One clue: the release of degrading and insulting language about Turkish leaders soon after they insisted in late October that the U.S. no longer share Turkish intelligence with Tel Aviv. That request from a valued ally marks a critical step in isolating Israel by requiring that the U.S. shut down Israeli operations inside…more
Lebanon at Stake: Turkey Must Reveal Its Cards
Palestine Chronicle: 2 Dec 2010 – By Ramzy Baroud The timing of the Turkish Prime Minister’s two-day visit to Lebanon could not be more judicious. Lebanon’s enemies have been banging the drums of war louder than ever before. All the malevolent plans hatched following the assassination of Lebanon’s former Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri are about to converge for one formidable goal: to destabilize and weaken Lebanon, disarm Hezbollah and allow Israel to return, uncontested, and wreck havoc on the tiny country, the way it remorselessly did in 1982. The Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Edrogan seemed clear in his intentions during his Lebanon trip. But considering what is at stake, maybe he wasn’t clear enough. Israel is full of “uncertainties” and it is “not definite what it will do,” he claimed, according to Turkey’s state Anatolia news agency (AA). “Does (Israel) think it can enter Lebanon with the most modern aircraft and tanks to kill women and…more
Outsourcing Airport Security to the Shin Bet?
Palestine Chronicle: 2 Dec 2010 – By Belen Fernandez Perhaps I am out of the loop, but is it normal in mainstream U.S. media these days to suggest that domestic airport security be outsourced to the Israeli Shin Bet? At first glance, you might not guess that this is the gist of Caroline Baum’s Nov. 28 Bloomberg article “My Breasts Pass Unchecked by Airport Screeners”, which begins with Baum admitting she was jealous to learn that an Orlando passenger had been subjected to additional airport screening due to the size of her breasts. Upon learning that this Orlando passenger was not the only one to receive such treatment, Baum excuses “breast stares” from male Transportation Security Administration agents as follows: “What’s so bad about that? There was a time — think Marilyn Monroe — when women encouraged longing looks from the opposite sex with cinched-in waists and cups that runneth over.” As long as we are…more
International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
Palestine Chronicle: 2 Dec 2010 – By Stephen Lendman On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 181, the Palestine Partition Plan, granting 56% of historic Palestine to Jews (with one-third of the population), 42% to Palestinians, with Jerusalem designated an international city (a corpus separatum – separate body) under a UN Trusteeship Council. The area included all Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Beit Sahour, to encompass Christian holy sites. Resolution 181 called for an Independent Arab state by October 1, 1948, asking “all Governments and peoples to refrain from taking any action which might hamper or delay the carrying out of these recommendations,” the Security Council to be empowered with “the necessary measures as provided for in the plan for its implementation.” However, Israel’s 1948 “War of Independence” intervened, creating the Jewish state on May 14, 1948 on 78% of historic Palestine, excluding Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. On December 2, 1947, the…more
Lebanon at Stake: Turkey Must Reveal Its Cards
Dissident Voice: 2 Dec 2010 – The timing of the Turkish Prime Minister’s two-day visit to Lebanon could not be more judicious. Lebanon’s enemies have been banging the drums of war louder than ever before. All the malevolent plans hatched following the assassination of Lebanon’s former Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri, are about to converge for one formidable goal: to destabilize and weaken Lebanon, disarm Hezbollah and allow Israel to return, uncontested, and wreck havoc on the tiny country, the way it remorselessly did in 1982. The Turkish premier, Recep Tayyip Edrogan, seemed clear in his intentions during his Lebanon trip. But considering what is at stake, maybe he wasn’t clear enough. Israel is full of “uncertainties” and it is “not definite what it will do,” he claimed, according to Turkey’s state Anatolia news agency (AA). “Does (Israel) think it can enter Lebanon with the most modern aircraft and tanks to kill women and children, and destroy…more
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