27 December, 2010 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Palestinians rally to mark 2nd anniversary of Israeli invasion of Gaza
IMEMC – 27 Dec 2010 – Monday December 27, 2010 – 22:46, A somber gathering in Gaza City marked the day two years ago in which over 200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed within the first two hours of an Israeli invasion that lasted three weeks, and resulted in over 1400 total Palestinian deaths. 14 Israelis, mostly soldiers, were killed in the 3-week long invasion.
Right-wing Israelis parade through East Jerusalem sparking clashes
IMEMC – 27 Dec 2010 – Monday December 27, 2010 – 22:16, Israeli Knesset (Parliament) members with the orthodox Shas party marched through the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem Monday, accompanied by Israeli police and right-wing settlers. The police blocked local Palestinian residents from reaching their homes, and fired tear gas and rubber-coated bullets, injuring six.
Palestinian girl hit by Israeli Police car during Silwan clashes
IMEMC – 27 Dec 2010 – Monday December 27, 2010 – 12:49, On Sunday, an Israeli police patrol car hit a five-year-old Palestinian girl in Silwan, after clashes erupted between Palestinian teenagers and Israeli forces.
Ecuador Recognizes Palestinian State; Paraguay to follow in 2011
IMEMC – 27 Dec 2010 – Monday December 27, 2010 – 12:01, After the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, officially recognized an independent Palestinian State on Friday, Paraguay announced that is planning to make the same decision next year.
Mavi Marmara Returns To Istanbul
IMEMC – 27 Dec 2010 – Monday December 27, 2010 – 08:08, Dozens of thousands of Turkish and international activists welcomed on Sunday the Mavi Marmara ship at the Istanbul Port seven months after the deadly Israeli attack in international waters that left nine Turkish activists dead.
Israel To Issue Apology To Britain For Using Fake Passports To Assassinate Hamas Leader In Dubai
IMEMC – 27 Dec 2010 – Monday December 27, 2010 – 07:36, The Daily Telegraph reported that the Israeli Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations, Mosad, intends to issue an official apology to Britain as Israeli Mosad agents entered United Arabs Emirates using several international passports, including forged British passports, to assassinate a senior Hamas leader at a hotel in Dubai.
Following ban, Islamic leader visits Jerusalem
12/27/2010 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Head of the Islamic movement in Israel Sheikh Raed Salah entered Jerusalem with a delegation of senior party officials on Sunday, for the first time since Israeli officials handed down an order exiling him from the city for several months. The delegation went to lend support at the Sheikh Jarrah protest….
Settlers torch fields near Nablus
12/27/2010 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Local officials in Madama village, south of Nablus, said Monday that dozens Israeli settlers from the nearby Yitzhar settlement were behind the torching of agricultural lands and an attack on a farmer. Village council member Hasan Ziyada said locals counted37 settlers in all, in four separate groups, harassing farmers in the….
Silwan: Toddler hit by police car during clashes
12/27/2010 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) – An Israeli police patrol car hit a five-year-old Palestinian girl while on rounds of the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood of Silwan on Sunday, locals said, causing light injuries that sent the child to hospital. According to Wad Hilweh Information Center, the incident followed fierce clashes between Palestinian teenagers and Israeli forces. The….
Right wing MK visit sparks Silwan clashes
12/27/2010 – By evening, six were hit with the bullets and dozens of others suffered the effects of tear-gas inhalation – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — With orders for the evacuation of an illegal settler home in Silwan pending, right wing MKs and an accompanying delegation entered the East Jerusalem neighborhood in a show of support. Officials from the….
Egypt builds watchtowers along Gaza border
12/27/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) —Egyptian authorities began to build new 30-meter tall watch towers along the Gaza border at a distance of 80 meters apart, in what officials said was part of an effort to keep the Sinai secure. The installations included the set up of four giant search lights at the top….
Gaza cabinet shuffle deepens division, factions say
12/27/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Independent faction the Popular Struggle Front urged Gaza government Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh not to go ahead with a planned cabinet shuffle, saying Sunday that the move would only deepen division with the West Bank. Haniyeh’s spokesman had announced on Monday that a special committee had been formed….
Hebron teenager shot dead
12/27/2010 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — A Palestinian teenager was shot dead by unidentified assailants near Hebron’s city center on Monday morning, police officials told Ma’an. Director of Hebron police Ramadan Awad said the slain teen was identified as 18-year-old Firas Al-Absi, who passersby found critically injured in the Ein Sarah neighborhood….
Rallies in Gaza mark war anniversary
12/27/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — At least 1,000 people attended a rally organized by the Islamic Jihad movement, chanting for continued “resistance” against Israel as Jabaliya residents, in an area just north of Gaza City, marked the anniversary of the start of Israel’s last war on Gaza. Mourners gathered at the entrance of….
Gaza crossings: 2 terminals operate
12/27/2010 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The bulk goods crossing in the southern Gaza Strip will open on Monday, Israeli officials informed their Palestinian counterparts at the crossings liaison office, alongside the Kerem Shalom crossing in the southern Strip. The bulk goods crossing will see the import of 140 truckloads of wheat and animal feed, crossings….
2010: Violence on the Gaza border
12/27/2010 – JERUSALEM (AFP) – Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Monday marked two years since Israel’s devastating invasion of the coastal enclave at a time of renewed high tensions with the Jewish state. Here are the main developments in tensions between Israel and the Palestinians over Gaza in the past year:—JANUARY, 2010—- 10: Israeli….
Report: UK may upgrade PLO diplomats
12/27/2010 – LONDON (Ma’an) — Officials in London may support an elevation of the diplomatic status of PLO officials in Britain and raise the status of the Palestinian representative’s office to a full diplomatic mission, Israel’s daily news site Ynet reported Monday. France, the United States, Portugal and Norway have already upgraded….
Japan extends $12 million in aid to PA
12/27/2010 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Government of Japan extended a 1 billion Yen non-project grant to the Palestinian Authority, officials said on Saturday, with a value of $11. 9 million. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad andDeputy Representative of Japan in Ramallah Hideaki Yamamoto signed the agreement on Monday, bringing to almost $59 million the grants from….
Israel: Army prepared for any scenario in south
12/27/2010 – TEL AVIV (Ma’an) — Israeli military Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said Monday that his army was “prepared for any possible scenario” for Gaza, citing what he said was a “recent escalation” in violence along the border area. Ashkenazi made the comments during a meeting with Italian Chief of Staff General Vincenzo Camporini, visiting….
Worker dies in garbage dump accident
12/27/2010 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A teenage worker was crushed by a bulldozer Sunday while working in a dumping site near the Bethlehem area town of Al-Eizariya. Spokesman at the Bethlehem Attorney General’s office Al’a At-Tamimi identified the teen as Amir Mahmoud Husein Rabay’a 19, who was standing in the….
Obama’s game may be picking up — Even with tougher congress
Palestine Note 27 Dec 2010 – Barack Obama’s team is working better and delivering results that just weeks ago seemed out of reach. Tomorrow, I’m going to be offering thoughts on these results and how the Obama White House is gaining ground….
Israel ‘interim deal’ for Palestine
AlJazeera 27 Dec 2010 – Binyamin Netanyahu’s idea gets shot down by Palestinians who insist on including the issue of Jerusalem and refugees.
Israel rules out apology to Turkey
AlJazeera 27 Dec 2010 – Israeli prime minister says he is prepared to express only “regret” to Turkey for loss of life in Gaza flotilla raid.
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (16 — 22 December. 2010)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
GroopBuy says it has a better way to bargain
Jeruslalem Post 27 Dec 2010 – New coupon site aims to empower Anglo consumers with major discounts, starting in Jerusalem.
‘Norwegians in UNIFIL causing negative view of J’lem’
Jeruslalem Post 27 Dec 2010 – WikiLeaks doc.: Norway laboratory for understanding Israel’s difficulties in Europe: The country sanctifies dialogue, has an aversion to force.
PM: Coalition considerations won’t stop peace agreement
Jeruslalem Post 27 Dec 2010 – In response to Lieberman’s comments, Netanyahu says coalition considerations won’t halt historic peace deal if PA is ready; PM also talks much softer than FM on Turkey.
Nat’l Union MKs visit J’lem’s embattled Beit Yehonatan
Jeruslalem Post 27 Dec 2010 – Opposition: If government can’t interfere with Jerusalem, Barkat can’t interfere with the law.
Specter of coalition crisis looms over state budget
Jeruslalem Post 27 Dec 2010 – Israel Beiteinu might boycott vote over its IDF conversions bill; Likud MK says she’ll buck party discipline over housing benefits.
Photo Gallery: Gazans mark Operation Cast Lead anniversary
Jeruslalem Post 27 Dec 2010 – As tensions mount in South, Palestinians hold demonstrations throughout Gaza Strip two years after Israel-Hamas war.
Ashkenazi: We’ll be ready if Gaza tensions escalate
Jeruslalem Post 27 Dec 2010 – IDF chief-of-staff meets with Italian counterpart in Tel Aviv; says IDF is “preparing for any scenario” in the Strip.
Raising fish in the desert
Jeruslalem Post 27 Dec 2010 – With fewer fish in the sea with each passing year, Israel’s “Grow Fish Anywhere” has found a way to grow them in the desert.
Palestinian group launches ‘Gaza Holocaust’ website
Jeruslalem Post 27 Dec 2010 – To mark Operation Cast Lead Gaza organization publishes “encyclopedia” documenting “Israeli war crimes,” lists soldiers, officers involved.
Researchers: Ancient human remains found in Israel
Ha’aretz – Israeli archaeologists may have uncovered the earliest evidence yet for the existence of modern man in a cave in central Israel.
2010 was record year for tourism in Israel, estimates show
Ha’aretz – Preliminary numbers released by the Tourism Ministry indicate that Israel received 3.45 million tourists in 2010, a 14 percent increase from the previous record in 2008.
Netanyahu, Barak and Yishai won’t face criminal probe over Carmel fire
Ha’aretz – Family members of a victim of the devastating Carmel fire had called for a criminal investigation of government ministers for negligence.
Study: One in six Israelis will suffer a stroke
Ha’aretz – Despite a decline in mortality rates, the number of stroke patients in Israel has remained stable, the Israeli Neurological Association reports.
Israeli diplomats protest low wages, poor working conditions
Ha’aretz – Foreign ministry workers’ committee members interrupt an annual ambassador conference wearing shirts with the slogan ‘I am a poor diplomat.’
Birth instructor suspected of sexually abusing patients
Ha’aretz – The man, a lawyer from Rehovot, presented himself as a labor doula and abused women in his home clinic.
Vintage weapons cache discovered in Caesarea following storm damage
Ha’aretz – Divers find underwater store containing British Mandate era hand-grenades and other weapons.
PM: Israel won’t apologize to Turkey for Gaza flotilla raid
Ha’aretz – Netanyahu says that Israel regrets the loss of life in the Gaza flotilla incident but that Turkey must recognize IDF soldiers acted in self-defense.
Netanyahu: Talks with Palestinians could result in interim peace agreement
Ha’aretz – In interview with Channel 10, prime minister says an interim agreement might be reached with the Palestinians if solutions can’t be found on issues like Jerusalem and refugees.
Lebanon army says IAF jets violated country’s airspace
Ha’aretz – Lebanon stresses breach constitutes violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended Second Lebanon War in 2006.
Arab League chief: Palestine and peace process are top priority in 2011
Ha’aretz – Amr Moussa blames breakdown of Mideast peace talks on Israeli ‘unilateralism’; Arab League plans to hold summit on topic of Jerusalem in Qatar in February.
Barak: Israel must reduce tensions with Turkey
Ha’aretz – Responding to Lieberman’s attack on Turkey, PA, and Netanyahu’s policies, the defense minister emphasizes need to reach peace with Palestinians, normalize ties with Turkey., Labor Minister Matan Vilnai says Hamas…
Netanyahu hits back at Lieberman: Only PM decides Israeli polices
Ha’aretz – Lieberman’s speech calling Turks liars, PA illegitimate and Netanyahu’s peace aspiration unrealistic draws criticism from parties across political spectrum.
Israeli court rejects settlers bid to postpone eviction of East Jerusalem home
Ha’aretz – Border Police stationed across East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan; many anticipate long-waited evacuation of illegally constructed building of Beit Yonatan.
Israeli Piracy continues: 6 Palestinian fishermen abducted
27 Dec 2010 – Gaza, December 28, (Pal telegraph) — Israeli occupation forces seized 6 Palestinian fishermen off Gaza shore northern the besieged Gaza Strip. Israeli naval forces opened its heavy machine guns against the innocent fishing boats. The act is considered as direct piracy as it took place within the Palestinian territorial waters. Israeli sources tried to cover up the incident by announcing…
Gaza: Two Years after the Horror
27 Dec 2010 – Gaza, December 28, (Pal Telegraph) – This week marks the second anniversary of the horror inflicted on the people of the Gaza Strip. Nothing has changed! Gaza has returned to its pre-invasion state of siege, confronted with the usual international indifference. Two years after the Israeli assault that lasted 22 long days and dark nights, during which its brave people…
Abbas: We will never forget that the Palestinian revolution began in Kuwait
27 Dec 2010 – Gaza, December 28, (Pal Telegraph) — A Kuwaiti media delegation left the Palestinian territories following a four-day visit, heading to Jordan through Al-Karama Crossing yestedray. Members of the delegation took part in the Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem that were held by the Christian communions that follow the Gregorian calendar. They also attended last supper and midnight mass as well as…
Gaza: MOH warns of the shortage of medical supplies
27 Dec 2010 – Gaza, December 27, (Pal Telegraph) — The Ministry of Health in Gaza warned Monday of the severity of the Israeli occupation ban of the chemical material of oxygen which is needed to the Maternity Hospital in Al-Shifa Medical Center, and the spare parts of CT in the European Hospital in Khan Younis. The ministry appealed in a statement on…
Palestinian detainees in Eichel go on a hunger strike
27 Dec 2010 – Ramallah, December 27, (Pal Telegraph) —A hunger strike will be held today by Eichel jail detainees as a protesting against the tragic conditions they live in, Ahrar center for the study of prisoners and human rights said. The lawyer, Mohammed Abdeen, said that the detainees havereturnedtheir meals along the previous week. Adding, the detainees warned the prison administration from continuing…
Israeli army raids Jenin, erects checkpoints
27 Dec 2010 – Jenin, December 27, (Pal Telegraph) — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) raided Monday Jenin, in the West Bank, and detained Mahmoud Abu Zeena after raiding his house. Israeli soldiers with more than ten military vehicles raided Jenin camp and blockaded the house of Abu Zeena and searched it with police dogs, local sources said. Intelligence officer was with the soldiers during…
Palestinian female detainees suffering under Israeli jails
27 Dec 2010 – Ramallah, December 27, (Pal Telegraph) —36 Palestinian female detainees are experienced to ill-treatment in the Israeli jails, the Gaza Ministry of Prisoners reported to local sources. Riad Ashkar, the director of media department in the Gaza Ministry of Prisoners, said in a statement that the female detainees are distributed between Damon and Hasharon prisons, 5 of them are sentenced for…
Palestinians commemorate 2nd anniversary of Gaza’s war
27 Dec 2010 – Gaza, December 27, (Pal Telegraph) — At 11:30am on December 27, 2008, Israel launched Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip with the stated aim of suppressing rocket fire from Gaza into Israel. Israel opened the attack with a surprise air strike against the Gaza Strip on December 27, 2008. Israeli forces attacked civilians, police stations, schools, universities, mosques, and…
Activism roundup: world to commemorate Gaza massacre anniversary
Uruknet December 27, 2010 – Palestinians and solidarity groups in the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland have organized vigils and political awareness actions on the occasion of the second anniversary of Israel’s winter 2008-09 attacks on the Gaza Strip — during which more than 1,400 Palestinians were killed and thousands more injured. Meanwhile, Palestinian and international solidarity protesters in…
Never Again, Gaza
Uruknet December 27, 2010 – “Never Again” they keep saying. “Never Again” will we stand still while there is injustice in the world. “Never Again” will we keep silent while innocent people are being murdered. “Never Again” will we turn a blind eye while homes are being demolished. “Never Again” will we close our ears while civilians are being displaced. “…
An Open Letter from Gaza: Two Years After the Massacre, a Demand for Justice
Uruknet December 27, 2010 – We, the Palestinians of the Besieged Gaza Strip, on this day, two years on from Israel’s genocidal attack on our families, our houses, our roads, our factories and our schools, are saying enough inaction, enough discussion, enough waiting — the time is now to hold Israel to account for its ongoing crimes against us. On…
Wikileaks: State Department Lied, Denying Dubai Asked for Assistance in Tracking Mossad Assassins
Uruknet December 27, 2010 – On February 25, 2010, State Department spokesperson Philip Crowley lied when he told a press conference that he wasn’t aware of any request from Dubai for assistance in tracking the Mossad killers of Mahmoud al-Mabouh. To those who say that Wikileaks hasn’t told us anything we didn’t already know—think again. Wikileaks has just released a…
Two Years Later, Israeli Cast Lead War Criminals Elude Justice
Uruknet December 27, 2010 – Accompanying an alarming metastasis of racism within Israel, baleful, triumphalist zionist rhetoric directed at the defenceless people of the Gaza gulag is building ominously once more.
Two years after Operation Cast Lead: Gaza Remains Sealed-Off from outside World, Impunity for War Crimes Prevails
Uruknet December 27, 2010 – Today, 27 December 2010, marks the two-year anniversary of the beginning of Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s 23 day offensive on the Gaza Strip. This offensive — the single most brutal event in the history of the occupation — was characterised by systematic violations of international law. Its aftermath has been characterised by pervasive impunity. In…
WikiLeaks is not shielding Israel
Uruknet December 27, 2010 – I’ve been reading columns by pro-Arab commentators pointing a finger at the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks for not publishing US diplomatic cables that could embarrass Israel. Some have even gone as far to suggest WikiLeaks is a Zionist-backed organisation that acted selectively when issuing its revelations. The anti-Assange brigade went to great extremes to extrapolate in…
Medical neglect at Ha Likdar prison endangering lives of detainees
Uruknet December 27, 2010 – The Mandela Foundation in Jerusalem is denouncing the Israeli prison system for medical neglect in the Ha Likdar prison, calling on relevant parties to intervene in saving the lives of the sick. Riyadh Dakhlullah al-Amour, an 11-time life prisoner from Bethlehem’s Tekoa district, sustained two bullet wounds, one of the bullets removed from his body,…
Groundbreaking report details Israel’s inhumane conditions for isolated prisoners
Uruknet December 27, 2010 – A classified report by the Israel Bar Association obtained by Haaretz provides a glimpse into the harrowing conditions prisoners separated from the main jail population must endure. According to the document, which is the first external review of the Prison Service, the isolation wings at the Ayalon and Shikma prisons are not fit for human…
Israeli activist sentenced to 3 months in prison for protesting Gaza war
Uruknet December 27, 2010 – Of all the criminals involved with the 2008 Gaza war, an Israeli leftist will be going to jail for riding his bike against the war in Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv Magistrates court judge Yitzhak Yitzhak convicted Israeli leftist Jonathan Pollak of illegal assembly for his participation in a January 2008 Critical Mass ride against the…
After two years, war looming in Gaza
Uruknet December 27, 2010 – Two years have passed since Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, and the people are still bleeding. Its homes have not been reconstructed yet, while young and old continue to hear the thunder of Israeli tanks, and the whizzing of missiles as the detonate in fields and government police stations. But despite this, despite the…
Lieberman: “P.A. An Illegal Entity, Not Interested In Peace”
Uruknet December 27, 2010 – Israeli Foreign Minister, a leader of the fundamentalist Israel Beiteinu Party, claimed Sunday that the Palestinian Authority (P.A) is not interested in peace with Israel, and stated that the P.A is an illegal entity. His statements came during the annual conference with international ambassadors in Israel. Lieberman stated that even of Israel proposes a full…
The Gaza massacre and the struggle for justice
Uruknet December 27, 2010 – The Gaza massacre, which Israel launched two years ago today, did not end on 18 January 2009, but continues. It was not only a massacre of human bodies, but of the truth and of justice. Only our actions can help bring it to an end. The UN-commissioned Goldstone Report documented evidence of war crimes and…
First ever encyclopedia documenting the Gaza war released Sunday
Uruknet December 26, 2010 – The “creativity” studies and training foundation released Sunday the first ever electronic encyclopedia that documents Israel’s late 2008 early 2009 war on the Gaza Strip to mark the war’s second anniversary as it approaches. The encyclopedia, dubbed “the Gaza Holocaust”, is the product of drawn out efforts by the foundation’s strategic research and studies center,…
The Antisemitism to Come? Hardly
Uruknet December 26, 2010 – Bernard-Henri Levy, the French pop star of philosophy and intellectual elitism, authored an essay that featured my novel, Mornings in Jenin, as one of three distressing developments that led him to ask “is there no end to the demonization of Israel?” It was titled: “The Antisemitism to Come.” The other two happenings that concern him,…
An Open Letter to Thomas Quasthoff
Alternative Information Center – Dear Thomas Quasthoff, We are a group of Israeli citizens, writing in support of the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine’s (BRICUP) open letter to you.
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
Syria backed 2006 attacks on embassies – cable
Daily Star 27 Dec 2010 OSLO: Syria backed attacks on Scandinavian embassies in Damascus as violent protests erupted in early 2006 over the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad, according to newly leaked US government cables.
Egypt sets presidential vote for September 2011
Daily Star 27 Dec 2010 CAIRO: Egypt will hold its presidential election in September next year and the ruling party will meet by July to choose its candidate, the party’s policy chief, Gamal Mubarak, said Monday, but refused to say if…
Iranian official: Istanbul talks can resolve nuclear row
Daily Star 27 Dec 2010 DAMASCUS A senior Iranian official said in Damascus Monday that next month’s talks in Istanbul between world powers and Tehran could resolve their dispute over Iran’s nuclear program.”We think [the negotiations], in line with the agenda…
Iran to let families visit imprisoned German reporters
Daily Star 27 Dec 2010 TEHRAN: Two German journalists detained in Iran since October will meet with their families, Iranian and German officials said Monday after Berlin denied reports the encounter had already taken place.”The families have left Tehran for Tabriz,”…
Palestinian refugees in Italy face bleak future
Daily Star 27 Dec 2010 RIACE, Italy: One year after landing in the south of Italy, as part of a program aimed at resettling Palestinian refugees, 32-year-old Samih says so far his main achievement has been obtaining a driving license. The…
Israeli activist imprisoned for protest against Gaza blockade
The Guardian 27 Dec 2010 – Jonathan Pollak handed three-month term after taking part in Tel Aviv protest cycle ride in January 2008 The prominent Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak was todaysentenced to three months in prison by a Tel Aviv court for…
OPT: Netanyahu says interim deal possible if talks fail
Relief Web 27 Dec 2010 – Source: Reuters – AlertNet
OPT: Rubble and Scrap Collectors – Deliberate Attacks and Lack of Protection
Relief Web 27 Dec 2010 – Source: Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
OPT: Gaza Patients Access to Medical Treatment Abroad
Relief Web 27 Dec 2010 – Source: Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
Brief Report on: On-going Displacement: Gaza’s Displaced Two Years after the War
Relief Web 27 Dec 2010 – Source: Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
Barak slams FM’s Turkey comments
YNet News – Defense minister says tension between Jerusalem, Ankara must be reduced rather….
UK considers recognizing PA diplomats
YNet News – London looking into possibility of upgrading Palestinian delegation to status of….
Did Israel sabotage Egyptian internet?
YNet News – Arrested spy tells all: Egyptian confesses to working for, recruiting ‘hundreds’….
Soldiers named in ‘Gaza holocaust’ site
YNet News – Website launched by Palestinian institute on second anniversary of Operation….
Crisis looming? Bibi endorses IDF conversion bill
YNet News – A coalition crisis? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to endorse Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s request to push forward the controversial IDF conversion …….
Netanyahu: No apology to Turkey
YNet News – Tough talk: Israel will not be apologizing to Turkey over the flotilla incident that left nine people dead, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Channel 10 Monday. …….
Assad welcomes murderer Kuntar
YNet News – Syrian President Bashar Assad warmly welcomed Monday an unusual guest at his palace — Samir Kuntar, who murdered an Israeli family and was released from prison in 2008 in …….
FM: We won’t turn into punching bag
YNet News – Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Monday that Israel cannot afford to become “a punching bag” in its conflict with Turkey. As for the negotiations with …….
Palestinian Information Center
Hindi: Israel can no longer delve into war every two years
PIC 27 Dec 2010 – Marking the second anniversary of Israel’s most recent war on Gaza, senior Islamic Jihad Movement official Mohammed al-Hindi said Israel can no longer delve into war every year or two.
Jerusalemites injured in confrontations in Silwan
PIC 27 Dec 2010 – Violent confrontations between Israeli occupation forces and Jerusalemite citizens in Silwan suburb on Monday evening led to injuries among the citizens, eyewitnesses reported.
Israel blocks essential medical supplies for Gaza hospitals
PIC 27 Dec 2010 – The Gaza Health Ministry’s maintenance and engineering authority warned of the dangers of Israel’s block of chemicals used in an oxygen plant in the maternity hospital in Gaza’s medical center.
Gaza Interior Ministry: Mavi Marmara is a symbol of freedom
PIC 27 Dec 2010 – The Interior Ministry in Gaza said that the Mavi Marmara ship served as a symbol of freedom by standing in the face of and refusing to surrender to the Israeli naval force that lethally attacked it.
Ramallah militias detain 11 Hamas supporters
PIC 27 Dec 2010 – Security militias loyal to the Ramallah authority of Mahmoud Abbas rounded up 11 Hamas supporters in the districts of Nablus, Tulkarem, Jenin, and Bethlehem on Monday.
Resistance factions declare readiness to repel any aggression against Gaza
PIC 27 Dec 2010 – The armed wings of the resistance factions stated that the escalating Israeli military actions against Gaza increase their strength and make them more willing to fight and capture Israeli soldiers.
IOF soldiers round up ten Palestinian citizens
PIC 27 Dec 2010 – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up ten Palestinian citizens in various West Bank areas at dawn Monday at the pretext of being wanted for questioning.
Hamas calls for prosecuting traitors for betraying their people
PIC 27 Dec 2010 – The Hamas Movement called, on the second anniversary of the Israeli war on Gaza, for bringing to court everyone who betrayed the Palestinian people and their national cause.
Hammad: We managed to rebuild 50 percent of the bombed security facilities
PIC 27 Dec 2010 – Palestinian minister of interior Fathi Hammad said that his ministry was able to reconstruct about 50 percent of its security headquarters that were destroyed during the winter of 2008 and 2009.
People’s Party calls for legal action against those who voiced exile threats
PIC 27 Dec 2010 – Senior member of the Palestinian People’s Party Waleed al-Awad called for immediate legal action against the Fatah officers who recently threatened to exile dozens of Hamas leaders in the West Bank.
World Briefing | Middle East: Israel: Fences Unmended With Turkey
New York Times 27 Dec 2010 – Talks between Turkey and Israel aimed at mending ties have so far fallen short, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Monday.
Israeli secret service targets Israeli BDS organizers, claiming “terrorist activity”
Mondoweiss – Amira Haas reports on the Israeli Secret Service, Shin Bet, targeting a variety of Israeli activists who support Palestinian rights, including 22-year-old Matan Cohen. He has quite a resumé: co-founder of Anarchists Against the Wall , an organizer of Hampshire College’s divestment measure , and one of the…
Israeli activist sentenced to 3 months in prison for protesting Gaza war
Mondoweiss – Jonathan Pollak in a Tel Aviv Court Room 27.12.10, wearing a Biko t-shirt (Photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org) Of all the criminals involved with the 2008 Gaza war , an Israeli leftist will be going to jail for riding his bike against the war in Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv…
What rough beast slouches towards East Jerusalem?
Mondoweiss – There’s an astonishing series of photos by Ammar Awad of Reuters of a child’s arrest in East Jerusalem for alleged stonethrowing, now up at the MSNBC blog. Please go look at all of them, including the boy being torn from his father, and tell me what…
Week of international solidarity actions in the West Bank is one sign ‘things are coming to a head’
Mondoweiss – Ahmed Moor sent the following report from the West Bank: It’s hard to describe the atmosphere here today. Traveling back and forth between the West Bank and Israel I get the sense that things are coming apart, or coming to a head. There’s a kinetic feeling…
Gaza Two Years Later: A little girl
Mondoweiss – Editors’ note: The following is the first entry in a series we’re running called Gaza Two Years Later. We have asked Gazan bloggers and writers to reflect on the two-year anniversary of the Israeli attack on Gaza in the winter of 2008/09.You can read the entire…
Israeli Occupation Forces Arrest 9 French Activists
Al-Manar 27 Dec 2010 – Israeli occupation forces have arrested several protesters, including nine French activists, at one of the largest Israeli military checkpoints in Qalandia in the occupied West Bank. The protesters were rallying on Sunday against the illegal apartheid wall that Israel is building across the occupied West…
Palestinian Group Launches “Gaza Holocaust” Website
Al-Manar 27 Dec 2010 – A Palestinian organization on Sunday launched a website ahead of the second anniversary of Operation Cast Lead which documents Israeli war crimes called “the electronic encyclopedia of the Gaza holocaust.” The Ibdaa institute for research and training, the organization behind the website, was founded in…
Evidence of early man found in Israel
BBC 27 Dec 2010 – Archaeologists excavating a cave in central Israel believe they have found teeth belonging to the earliest Homo sapiens that could be around 400,000 years old.
Monday: 24 Iraqis Killed, 66 Wounded
Antiwar.com 27 Dec 2010 – At least 24 Iraqis were killed and 66 more were wounded in new violence. The worst attack occurred in Anbar province where, as Awakening Council members abandon their security role, attacks have resumed after a relatively peaceful spell. Also, Kitaeb Hezbollah warned of attacks if U.S….
The Darkness to Expel
Antiwar.com 27 Dec 2010 – It is easy to despair before the filthy wave of racism that is engulfing us. The remedy for this despair: the growing number of young people, sons and daughters of the new Israeli generation, who are joining the fight against racism and occupation. This week, several…
(en) Israel, Media, Jewish democracy to anarchists against the wall (AAtW) shrink
A-infos 27 Dec 2010 – Still hesitantly, but gradually, the tolerance of Israeli state for the activity of the anarchists against the wall shrinks. We feel it in the increased repressions in the various locations of joint demonstrations with Palestinians. Lately the not so secret services summon members for warning sessions….
(en) Ireland, Red and Black Revolution #15 – Feminism in the Muslim World
A-infos 27 Dec 2010 – Sevinc Karaca, a Turkish anarchist and feminist, describes the fine line that Muslim women must navigate between Islam and the West. —— In the Muslim world, the feminist movement took shape in small numbers from the 1950s onwards, primarily in what were then more liberal, secular…
Articles
The 27th of December, a day I will never forget
Abu Yazan, Palestine Think Tank12/27/2010
I feel like sharing my story with my friends to show how much terror Israel has brought to us….
That day I was walking in the street with a friend of mine in the middle of Gaza City…we were laughing at some jokes he was saying…and all of the sudden we heard the roaring of the Israeli F16s…It is normal in Gaza to hear such things, so we did not pay much attention to that, we kept moving with our jokes….Then with a glance, an explosion happened in a police station that was around 150 meters away from us.. We went running to the place when another explosion took place followed by a third, then a fourth, a fifth, we didn’t know what was happening but we didn’t hesitate to keep on going to the first place bombed…We had our hands over our ears because the explosions never ended, it was very loud to the limit you think that you are the one being hit with those rockets.
When we arrived at the police station, this is exactly what we saw.. On the door there were two officers lying on the ground injured, when I told the man, “I am going to save you just hang on,” he said, “leave me and get inside”.. I didn’t know what was happening inside, so I went with my friend and with 15 other people following us…We found over 40 bodies lying on the ground dead and about 250 others were injured, most of them had bad injuries…
We left the dead and started to take the survivors out of the place fearing that the Israeli F16s would bomb the place for another time… Most of the survivors were in bad shape, while I was carrying the people, I reached to a person who was badly injured but he looked like he was dead to me, his body was all burned.. he was saying, “ashhad an la elah ela allah, ashhad an mohammed rasool allah”…and that’s what made me notice that he was alive…I just moved towards him and in a hurry tried to take him out of the place, I grabbed him by the hand but the problem was that his hand was not part of his body anymore…. more.. e-mail
After two years, war looming in Gaza
Hadiyya Al-Ghoul, Ma’an News Agency12/27/2010
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Two years have passed since Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, and the people are still bleeding. Its homes have not been reconstructed yet, while young and old continue to hear the thunder of Israeli tanks, and the whizzing of missiles as the detonate in fields and government police stations.
But despite this, despite the continued blockade, and despite the latest threats by Israeli generals to launch another “Operation Cast Lead” against Gaza, we have not fallen to our knees.
Today, we mark the second anniversary of the first strike of Israel’s most recent war on Gaza. It was 27 December 2008 when 80 Israeli warplanes blazed over Gaza skies and pummeled our 365-square-kilometer land with missiles. The 1.5 million residents of this, the most densely packed area on earth saw towers razed in seconds and were terrified.
That 22-day nightmare came to an end and Gaza remained steadfast. Two years later the people of Gaza are wondering: will Israel bring that nightmare back upon us?
One political analyst, Wisam Afifa, says yes, and believes that Israel is maneuvering and exploring the capabilities of the Palestinian resistance.
“The Israeli army is willing to wage a new war on Gaza, but we don’t know when,” Afifa said.
A coming war could be closer than we think, he said, as Israeli forces realize that they achieved none of their stated, or unstated, objectives during Operation Cast Lead. “They want to restore their reverence and they know that resistance took advantage of the ceasefire to develop military skills.” more.. e-mail
Groundbreaking report details Israel’s inhumane conditions for isolated prisoners
Tomer Zarchin, Haaretz, Israeli Occupation Archive12/27/2010
Report by Israel Bar Association, the first external review of the country’s prisons, says some sections ‘look more like a dungeon.’
A classified report by the Israel Bar Association obtained by Haaretz provides a glimpse into the harrowing conditions prisoners separated from the main jail population must endure.
According to the document, which is the first external review of the Prison Service, the isolation wings at the Ayalon and Shikma prisons are not fit for human habitation and “look more like a dungeon,” while most solitary cells in prisons across the country are “crammed, rancid with smells of sewer and mold, and infested with insects.”
“It’s difficult to ignore the feeling that isolation as practiced today serves a function of punishment rather than imprisonment,” wrote the authors of the report, Michael Atia — chairman of the prison service committee at the Israel Bar Association, and Moran Kabalo — chief of criminal law for the IBA.
“This is a unilateral instrument of punishment used primarily against organized crime groups,” the report reads.
Atia and Kabalo carried out the year-long review as official inspectors delegated by the IBA to the prison service, visiting prisons and speaking to the inmates.
The report noted that prolonged stay isolated from the general prison population has profound psychological impacts. “Many isolated inmates testified to have developed paranoia, a tendency for uncontrollable fits of rage, and eyesight problems because of the lack of natural light through most hours of the day,” the lawyers wrote. — See also: sOURCE more.. e-mail
Gaza families recall horror two years after Israel’s assault
Electronic Intifada: 27 Dec 2010 – Between 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009, Israel used its formidable military arsenal to wage all out war against a territory whose destitute population is made up largely of refugees. More than 1,400 people were killed, including almost four hundred children. Two years later, Rami Almeghari speaks with Gazans who witnessed Israel’s invasion.more
Activism roundup: world to commemorate Gaza massacre anniversary
Electronic Intifada: 27 Dec 2010 – Palestinians and solidarity groups in the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland have organized vigils and political awareness actions on the occasion of the second anniversary of Israel’s winter 2008-09 attacks on the Gaza Strip — during which more than 1,400 Palestinians were killed and thousands more injured.more
Two years after Gaza massacre, a demand for justice
Electronic Intifada: 27 Dec 2010 – We the Palestinians of the besieged Gaza Strip, on this day, two years on from Israel’s genocidal attack on our families, our houses, our roads, our factories and our schools, are saying enough inaction, enough discussion, enough waiting — the time is now to hold Israel to account for its ongoing crimes against us.more
Outrage continues over Israeli rabbis’ racist decree
Electronic Intifada: 27 Dec 2010 – BAT YAM (IPS) – Emotions are running high in this working class town on the Mediterranean adjacent to Tel Aviv, the Israeli metropolis that has long been the symbol of liberal laissez-faire Israel. Principally, anti-Arab emotions: racism is on the march.more
The Gaza massacre and the struggle for justice
Electronic Intifada: 27 Dec 2010 – The Gaza massacre, which Israel launched two years ago today, did not end on 18 January 2009, but continues. It was not only a massacre of human bodies, but of the truth and of justice. Only our actions can help bring it to an end. Ali Abunimah comments for The Electronic Intifada.more
Squaring the Circle? Britain and the De-Legitimisation of Israel
Palestine Chronicle: 27 Dec 2010 – By Salim Alam – London After passing through heavy security requiring IDs, questions about organizational and political affiliation and how far they had travelled, about 200 people gathered in a synagogue in Bayswater London to attend a key-note UK Pro-Israel meeting on how to counter the ‘de-legitimisation’ of Israel. The audience was very largely composed of senior citizens and the late middle-aged. There were few young people. Israel’s Ambassador to the UK -Ron Prosser- opened the meeting. In his view, Israel’s adversaries in the UK were ‘crossing the red line every day’. By this he explained he means criticism of Israel and its policies as well as calls for boycott and the application of the legal system against Israel and its citizens. Prosser sees the UK as the key battleground for three reasons. Firstly, London is the world hub of the English speaking media and what it reports gets picked…more
Peace on Earth, Even in Palestine
Palestine Chronicle: 27 Dec 2010 – By Mazin Qumsiyeh It has been some 130 years since the first European Jewish settlement was established with the explicit aim of taking over the country. The few thousand native Palestinian (Arab) Jews did not support Zionism. Christians and Muslims resisted it over the decades mostly by non-violent popular resistance as I detailed in my just released book “Popular Resistance in Palestine: A history of Hope and Empowerment”. This popular resistance included at least 15 waves of uprisings called intifada’s in the past few decades. The results of both the violent colonial settler activity and the resistance to it have been mixed. The last 6 decades witnessed the development of a militarized “Jewish state” that subsists on (mostly US) security-related exports and foreign aid (mostly from the west). Millions of Jews from around the world settled here in place of millions of ethnically cleansed Palestinians (see Ilan Pappe’s “The Ethnic…more
Two Years after the Massacre: A Letter from Gaza
Palestine Chronicle: 27 Dec 2010 – By Various Authors – Gaza, Palestine We the Palestinians of the besieged Gaza Strip, on this day, two years on from Israel’s genocidal attack on our families, our houses, our roads, our factories and our schools, are saying enough inaction, enough discussion, enough waiting — the time is now to hold Israel to account for its ongoing crimes against us. On the 27th of December 2008, Israel began an indiscriminate bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The assault lasted 22 days, killing 1,417 Palestinians, 352 of them children, according to main-stream Human Rights Organizations. For a staggering 528 hours, Israeli Occupation Forces let loose their US-supplied F15s, F16s, Merkava Tanks, internationally prohibited White Phosphorous, and bombed and invaded the small Palestinian coastal enclave that is home to 1.5 million, of whom 800,000 are children and over 80 percent UN registered refugees. Around 5,300 remain permanently wounded. This devastation exceeded in savagery…more
More material available from Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel – www.vtjp.org
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The New Dark Age 