6 January, 2011 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
HRW Demand Criminal Investigation Into Death Of 20 y.o Palestinian Patient Denied Permit By Israel
IMEMC – 6 Jan 2011 – Friday January 07, 2011 – 03:03, Human Rights Organizations Demand Criminal Investigation into Death of 20 Year-Old Palestinian Patient Denied Permit by Israeli Authorities to Leave Gaza. The Israeli authorities insisted that an unconscious patient appear for questioning by the Israel Security Agency; the patient died in Gaza while waiting for a response
New Settlement Plan to Split Silwan in Two
IMEMC – 6 Jan 2011 – Thursday January 06, 2011 – 13:08, A new settlement project in Silwan will see the Jerusalem neighborhood split in two parts, a Silwan committee official revealed to Ma’an News on Thursday.
Umm al-Fahm neighborhood organizes general strike in response to home demolitions
IMEMC – 6 Jan 2011 – Thursday January 06, 2011 – 11:07, After the Israeli government demolished a 3-story building Tuesday in the neighborhood of Umm al-Fahm in East Jerusalem, the residents of the neighborhood declared a general strike in protest of Israel’s demolition policy.
Violence Continues After Israeli Shelling at Gaza Border
IMEMC – 6 Jan 2011 – Thursday January 06, 2011 – 10:57, The firing of three mortar shells was reported towards an Israeli military base along the Gaza border, on Thursday morning, a PFLP affilated armed group told Ma’an News. Violence resumed just after Israeli troops fired on a group of Palestinians when they were supposedly trying to cross the Gaza border, on Wednesday evening, AFP reported.
Netanyahu To Meet Mubarak In Egypt
IMEMC – 6 Jan 2011 – Thursday January 06, 2011 – 10:35, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will be holding a meeting on Thursday with the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, and will be heading back to Israel during evening hours.
Lieberman: “Gaza Siege Could Be Lifted if Smuggling Stops & International Forces Are Deployed”
IMEMC – 6 Jan 2011 – Thursday January 06, 2011 – 10:08, Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman stated during his Wednesday meeting with the visiting EU Foreign Policy Chief, Catherine Ashton, that the siege on Gaza can only be lifted if the EU wants to deploy forces along the border, and help stop the smuggling of weapons into the coastal region.
Israel slates 15 Jericho homes for demolition
1/6/2011 – JERICHO (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities delivered 15 demolition orders to farmers in the Ad-Dweik Al-Foqa area north of Jericho on Thursday, marking the second day such orders were handed out in the West Bank. Director of Agriculture in Jericho Omar Al-Bsharat said in a statement that the demolition orders were part of a larger…. Related: Jan 3, 2011: Israel issues 17 demolition orders in Jericho
Silwan committee: New settlement at Job’s Well
1/6/2011 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — A new settlement project in the Jerusalem community of Silwan will see the neighborhood split in two, a spokesman for the area’s Land and Real Estate Defense Committee said on Thursday. The new development, set for 5 dunums of land some of which take up the Silwan valley, a….
US Corporations: Israelis ‘demanded bribes at Gaza crossing’
1/6/2011 – OSLO, Norway (AFP) — US firms complained in 2006 of corruption by Israeli officials at the Karni crossing into Gaza, then the Palestinian territory’s main commercial transit point, a leaked US diplomatic cable showed Thursday. According to a cable from the US embassy in Tel Aviv and consulate in Jerusalem, US firms complained to….
Border guards bar infant from Jlem medical treatment
1/6/2011 – JERICHO (Ma’an) — Israeli soldiers deployed at the Zaytoun checkpoint east of Jerusalem turned away a mother and child with a medical permit to enter the city, on the grounds that the 18-month-old child was not her legitimate son. Soldiers told Umm Mohammed that her son Mohammad Kahlil Abu Dahuk was in fact….
Jericho teacher says settler car attempted to run down students
1/6/2011 – JERICHO (Ma’an) — A settler car with five passengers was seen careening toward a group of three school girls on their way to school in the northern Jericho governorate on Thursday. Headmistress of the An-Nuwei’ma Girls School, in the village where the girls live, said the car veered toward the children in….
Violence on Gaza border continues
1/6/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Three mortar shells were said to have been fired toward an Israeli military base along the Gaza border on Thursday morning, an armed group affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said. The Jihad Jibril Brigades said the mortars targeted the Kissufim military zone northeast Al-Qararra near….
Egypt’s Mubarak warns Israel against new Gaza war
1/6/2011 – CAIRO (AFP) — Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday warned Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu against launching a new war on Gaza, as they met in a bid to break the impasse in Middle East peace negotiations. Mubarak’s remarks were made during joint talks in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm Ash-Sheikh, which….
Women’s groups called to mass protest in Bil’in
1/6/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Women’s unions, cooperatives and civil society groups from across Israel and Palestine were called on Thursday to participate in a mass memorial service for Bil’in’s Jawaher Abu Rahma, who died of tear-gas inhalation on Saturday. Those commemorating Jawaher will participate in Bil’in’….
Palestinians look for early vote on UN resolution
1/6/2011 – UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — A Palestinian resolution condemning Israel’s settlement building could be voted on at the UN Security Council as early as next week, the Palestinian representative to the UN said Wednesday. However Palestinians are not yet sure whether the United States will veto the resolution as part of its traditional support of….
Detainees’ parents protest in Bethlehem
1/6/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The parents of Palestinians detained in Israel held a demonstration in Bethlehem on Thursday, calling for an end to the harsh treatment their sons and daughter face in detention facilities. The local Detainees Center held the rally, gathering parents with Fatah officials to a sit-in….
Single Gaza crossing open for transport
1/6/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The southernmost Gaza-Israel crossing terminal was open for imports and export on Thursday, the last expected day of crossing activity for the week. Raed Fattouh, Palestinian liaison official at the crossing, said he was told to expect 160 to 170 truckloads of goods for the aid and commercial sectors, including….
Israeli court releases J’lem official on bail
1/6/2011 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Fatah secretary in Silwan Adnan Ghaith was released on bail 24 hours after he was detained by Israeli forces on secret charges, and only days before an order exiling him from Jerusalem goes into effect. Ghaith was released following an appearance in an Israeli district court in Jerusalem on Thursday, with….
Bethlehem celebrates Eastern Christmas
1/6/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) —Greek Orthodox, Coptic, Assyrian and Ethiopian Christians gathered in Bethlehem on Thursday to welcome their Jerusalem patriarchs, celebrating the birth of Christ on the Eastern Calendar. In staggered receptions, Palestinian scouts marched in the heads of each church, with the Ethiopian cleric danced in by a delegation of faithful from the….
EU, Ireland and Luxembourg contribute to PA salaries
1/6/2011 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) —The EU, Ireland and Luxembourg announced a contribution of ‚Ǩ4. 0 million for the payment of civil servant salaries under the Palestinian Authority. A statement released on Thursday said the contribution would go toward the payment of almost 85,000 Palestinian civil servants and pensioners in the West Bank and the….
Netanyahu to meet Mubarak in Sharm
1/6/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads Thursday to Egypt for talks with President Hosni Mubarak on ways to break the impasse in peace negotiations with the Palestinians, his office said. The two leaders will meet in the Red Sea resort of Sharm Ash-Sheikh for talks that will also focus on threats facing the….
Lieberman blames Turkey for strain in relations
1/6/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Turkey is to blame for the crisis in relations between Israel and Ankara, and the state will not become a Turkish “punching bag,” Israel’s foreign minister said on Thursday. In a commentary published in the English-language Jerusalem Post, Avigdor Lieberman accused Ankara of anti-Israel incitement, and warned the situation in Turkey….
Ashton confirms ‘personal commitment’ to peace process
1/6/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — On her two-day trip to the Middle East, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urged Palestinian and Israeli officials to “find a satisfactory way to engage without delay in substantive negotiations on all final status issues.” Shortly before departing on Thursday, Ashton released a statement announcing her “personal commitment” to the….
Hamas: PA arrests two members from Ramallah
1/6/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Hamas forces in the West Bank accused the Palestinian Authority of detaining two members of the party from the Ramallah area on Wednesday evening….
In photos: Governor visits Hebron church for Christmas
1/6/2011 – MaanImages / Haytham Othman – Hebron governor Kamil Hmeid visits the Russian Orthodox Church on January 4, 2011, the day before monks there celebrated Christmas on the Eastern calendar. The Church, known in Arabic as Al-Maskobiah, sits on a hill near Wadi At-Tufah, and was built in the 1850s after the land was purchased by the Russian…. Related: Hebron settlers scuffle with local governor and After lobby effort PA releases 6 Hamas affiliates
After lobby effort PA releases 6 Hamas affiliates
1/6/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Governor of Hebron Kamel Ihmeid announced Thursday the release of six of Hamas affiliates on hunger strike, following a protest demanding their freedom. The release decision for the men, two of who had been ordered released by the Palestinian High Court, was signed by President Mahmoud Abbas following a negotiation with….
UFOs and hope: films probe “future” Jerusalem
Palestine Note 6 Jan 2011 – Reuters – Will aliens and zombies rampage through these ancient stone causeways, forcing Israelis and Palestinians to turn their weapons against a common foe? (Please visit the site to view this media) Or will Jerusalem be…
To see Muslim discourse in politics as a vicious anachronism is to see very little
Palestine Note 6 Jan 2011 – Pankaj Mishra, The Guardian – Last month in Kuala Lumpur I met the Malaysian politician Nurul Izzah Anwar . Just 30 years old, and formidably well-educated, Nurul Izzah is an MP as well as the mother of…
Medvedev to visit Palestinian territories, despite canceling Israel leg
Palestine Note 6 Jan 2011 – Haaretz – The Kremlin said President Dmitry Medvedev is going ahead with a visit to the Palestinian territories, even though his trip to Israel had been canceled . The cancellation was due to problems in Israel -…
Israeli military and Palestinians clash over death of West Bank woman
Palestine Note 6 Jan 2011 – The Guardian – The death of a Palestinian woman following a West Bank village protest in which teargas was fired by Israeli soldiers has become a battleground of competing narratives between the victim’s family, Israeli military…
Israel’s party problems
Palestine Note 6 Jan 2011 – Economist – Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and its defence minister, Ehud Barak, have been veritably flooding the airwaves with protestations of their zeal for peacemaking, despite the seemingly definitive breakdown of talks with the Palestinians…
Lieberman to EU: If you want to end Gaza siege, help stop arms smuggling
Palestine Note 6 Jan 2011 – Haaretz – EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton visited Israel Wednesday and was told by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman that if Europe wanted Israel to lift its siege of the Gaza Strip, it had to help…
Jordan to Netanyahu: Commitment to peace is not enough, take practical action
Palestine Note 6 Jan 2011 – Haaretz – The ongoing impasse in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is jeopardizing the security of the Middle East, Jordanian King Abdullah II told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Wednesday. In a phone conversation initiated by Netanyahu,…
EU’s Ashton calls for Quartet talks to solve impasse in Israel-PA negotiations
Palestine Note 6 Jan 2011 – Haaretz – The EU foreign policy chief called on Thursday for the Quartet of Middle East mediators to meet early next month to help Israel and the Palestinians overcome a deadlock in peace talks. With negotiations…
Kin of Israel fire dead snub Netanyahu at memorial
Palestine Note 6 Jan 2011 – Alert Net – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s memorial speech for those killed in Israel’s worst-ever wildfire was disrupted on Wednesday when bereaved relatives shouted for his interior minister’s ouster. Read Full Article Photo: PM Netanyahu in…
Israel asks US to ban Turk group behind Gaza ships
Palestine Note 6 Jan 2011 – Alert Net – Israel has asked the United States to consider outlawing the Turkish Islamist group behind a flotilla that tried to break Israel’s blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in May, Israeli officials said on…
Palestinians seek quick UN action on settlements
Palestine Note 6 Jan 2011 – Alert Net – The chief Palestinian U.N. delegate said on Wednesday that Arab states had launched negotiations on a resolution condemning Israeli West Bank settlement activity and aimed to have a final draft soon. An initial…
Israeli MPs back ‘McCarthyite’ probe on rights groups
Palestine Note 6 Jan 2011 – BBC News – Israeli MPs have voted to establish a formal inquiry into the foreign funding of human rights groups, in a move critics describe as “McCarthyite”. The bill accuses local rights groups of damaging the…
Can the region’s Christians survive the 21st Century?
Palestine Note 6 Jan 2011 – Paul Salem, Los Angeles Times – The new decade began in the Middle East with a car bomb that went off minutes after midnight outside an Egyptian church and left more than 20 people dead. This…
Copts celebrate amid tight security
AlJazeera 6 Jan 2011 – Security especially tight in Egypt ahead of the Coptic Christmas, days after deadly attack on church in country’s north.
‘Israel took bribes for Gaza entry’
AlJazeera 6 Jan 2011 – WikiLeaks releases US diplomatic cable indicating US companies had to pay bribes to get their goods into the Gaza Strip.
Iran ‘detains US woman on spying’
AlJazeera 6 Jan 2011 – State media says authorities arrest 55-year-old woman who entered the country without visa and with “spying equipment”.
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (30 Dec. 2010 — 05 Jan. 2011)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Private donors fund new absorption initiative
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2011 – Project already helping 500 French teenagers adjust to life in Israel; head of AMI-Israel “system that exists is simply not enough.”
Ma’aleh Adumim and Ariel beg PM to okay new building
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2011 – ‘Silent freeze’ about to descend on major settlements; state budget set aside funds for 200 new homes in Ma’aleh Adumim but needs Barak okay.
IAF strikes Gaza strip in response to mortar shell fire
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2011 – IDF spokesman says air force struck terror base in northern Gaza and a smuggling tunnel in the southern Strip; holds Hamas responsible.
Hamas leader claims Holocaust was a lie
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2011 – Anti Defamation League condemned the remarks saying, “comments are a disturbing reminder of the virulent anti-Semitism promoted by Hamas.”
No military strike at Iran as Pardo takes Mossad baton
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2011 – Military attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities would be counterproductive and would exact an enormous diplomatic, economic and military price.
PA frees 6 Hamas prisoners on hunger strike in Hebron jail
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2011 – Israel Radio reports some of released prisoners were involved in terror attacks in which Israelis were killed.
Ashton meets Abbas, Fayyad; urges return to negotiations
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2011 – EU foreign policy chief says both Israelis and Palestinians must find a way to renew talks; calls for further easing of Gaza blockade.
Mubarak: Israel must ‘review its policies’ for peace talks
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2011 – PM asks Egypt to persuade Palestinians to change direction; Lieberman to EU’s Ashton: Gaza blockade can end if arms smuggling stops.
Orthodox Christmas continues in the Holy Land
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2011 – Greek, Syrian, Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox Christians will converge at Manger Square in Bethlehem for their continuous Christmas celebrations.
Arab states work to finalize anti-settlement draft
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2011 – Palestinian UN delegate says hope is for UNSC to vote on resolution in February: “Once Israel complies, stops building, peace talks can resume.”
‘This jeopardizes development of Israel’s largest project’
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2011 – The Sheshinski C’tee’s recommendations on profit distribution are unfair, and run counter to Israel’s interests, gas exploration companies say.
Youth falls down 20-meter-deep hole in Hadera
Ha’aretz – 16-year-old in moderate to serious condition after falling into empty water well in Hadera.
Ben Gurion Airport to close Friday evenings for next 10 months
Ha’aretz – Israeli Airport Authority says shutdown, needed to extend a runway, is intended to cause the minimum amount of inconvenience possible.
Report: Netanyahu ordered Shin Bet to investigate senior aides
Ha’aretz – Premier suspected top members of his bureau, including his national security adviser and former spokesman, of passing on sensitive information to the media, according to Army Radio; PM’s bureau, Shin…
High Court: Gender segregation legal on Israeli buses – but only with passenger consent
Ha’aretz – In response to petition submitted against ultra-Orthodox Mehadrin line nearly three years ago, Israel’s highest legal body rules that coercion of such practice is illegal: ‘Have we returned to the…
Syrian bride crosses Israeli border to marry Israeli Druze
Ha’aretz – United Nations peace-keeping forces accompany the couple and their friends and family across UN buffer zone into Israel.
Netanyahu to Mubarak: Pressure Abbas to enter direct talks with Israel
Ha’aretz – PM meets with Egyptian president in Sharm el-Sheikh; Mubarak says Israel needs to revise its position on peace talks, settlements to reach deal with Palestinians.
WikiLeaks: Israel demanded bribes for goods entering Gaza
Ha’aretz – Joint June 2006 cable dispatched by U.S. diplomats in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem cites Coca Cola, Procter & Gamble, Motorola and Dell as some of the companies subject to corruption…
Netanyahu to tell Mubarak: We won’t let Hamas and Hezbollah disturb the quiet
Ha’aretz – Premier meets Egypt president in Sharm el-Sheikh in bid to revive stalled peace talks; political source says Shalit and discussion of core Mideast issues on agenda for meeting.
Lieberman likens Turkey to Iran on eve of revolution
Ha’aretz – In Jerusalem Post opinion piece, Foreign Minister offers to meet Turkey counterpart as part of ‘frank and honest dialogue’., In phone call with Netanyahu, the monarch urged him to remove ‘…
IDF chief-designate names Lior Lotan as his spokesman
Ha’aretz – Yoav Galant picks Colonel (res.) Lotan, former General Staff combatant and commander, who has vast experience in private sector to replace Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu.
UN refuses Lebanon request to intervene in Israel gas drilling
Ha’aretz – Lebanese FM urged Ban Ki-moon to prevent Israel from exploiting Lebanon’s maritime wealth, but UN spokesman says it won’t demarcate border.
Israeli army kills 2 Palestinians in Gaza
6 Jan 2011 – Gaza, (Pal Telegraph) -Israeli occupation forces shot dead yesterday two Palestinians in the east of Jabalya, in northern Gaza strip , medical sources reported.
New Israeli plan threats Silwan town
6 Jan 2011 – Silwan, (Pal Telegraph) – The committee for the defense estate of Silwan issued the Israeli plan about sizing Bir Ayoub area near Al-Bustan neighborhood ,in centralSilwan town. Israel has confirmed plans to increase the size of its largest settlement in Bir Ayoub neighborhood, including the construction of public building , swimming pools, and community centers on an area of five dunnums…
Israelis bribed to admit U.S. goods to Gaza – WikiLeaks
Uruknet U.S. distributors accused Israel in 2006 of charging exorbitant fees to allow their goods into Gaza and an Israeli general admitted corruption existed at a major border crossing, a U.S. diplomatic cable shows. The cable, obtained by WikiLeaks and published Thursday by the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, said frequent closures of the Karni crossing had “exacerbated the problem of access…
New Settlement Plan to Split Silwan in Two
Uruknet January 6, 2011 – A new settlement project in the Jerusalem community of Silwan will see the neighborhood split in two, a spokesman for the area’s Land and Real Estate Defense Committee said on Thursday. The new development, set for 5 dunums of land some of which take up the Silwan valley, a fertile area southeast of the Old…
Gaza Diary, day 13: seeds of the next Intifada?
Uruknet January 6, 2011 – …Israel has turned Gaza into the last ghetto. But inside that ghetto, except for the fishermen and the farmers in the border areas‚Äîa big except‚Äîthere’s no boots-on-the-ground occupation here to make day-to-day life impossible. Israeli forbids the fullness of life here but only itinerantly carries out a savage intrusion. So for some of the slightly…
Gaza on the edge of no return
Uruknet January 6, 2011 – “Get away from the window, you’re crazy!” screamed Kauthar. She was terrified to find her daughter standing on the couch by the window, observing the street from the seventh floor. The window had bars. She was afraid not that the girl might fall, but that she would be struck by fire from a UAV (unmanned…
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (30 Dec. 2010 — 05 Jan. 2011)
Uruknet January 6, 2011 – Summary : Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (30 December 2010 — 05 January 2011) – Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed two Palestinian civilians, including a woman, and wounded 5 others, including a child and a paramedic, in the West Bank. Three Palestinian civilians…
Jawaher Abu Rahmah Not the First to Die from Israeli Tear Gas
Uruknet January 6, 2011 – Contrary to Israeli claims, Abu Rahmah is not the first to have died as a result of tear-gas inhalation. Already during the years of the First Intifada, Amnesty International had reportedforty deaths from CS tear gas inhalation from December 1987 to June 1988 alone in its report “Israel and the Occupied Territories: Amnesty International’s concerns…
Israel’s killing zone in Gaza
Uruknet January 6, 2011 – Ahmed Qudaih was skinny, in blue Converse sneakers and a black leather jacket, his mustache oddly making him look younger, not older, than his 27 years. His voice was even, his face rigidly composed, like human stone, as we sat down with him in the martyr’s tent in Khozaa, a rural village slightly to the…
Declaring Palestine: Revisiting Hope and Failure
Uruknet January 5, 2011 – When late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat read the Declaration of the Palestinian Independence just over 22 years ago, Palestinians everywhere were enthralled. They held onto his every word during the Palestinian National Council (PNC) session in Algeria on November 15, 1988. The council members incessantly applauded and chanted in the name of Palestine, freedom, the…
Medical sources confirm: Two Palestinians killed at the hands of IOF troops in Gaza
Uruknet January 6, 2011 – Palestinian medical teams on Thursday retrieved the bodies of two Palestinians who were killed at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) east of Jabalia refugee camp to the north of the Gaza Strip. Adham Abu Salmiya, the spokesman for the medical services, told the PIC that the medical teams managed to evacuate the…
Video: New Neighbourhood Planned on Remains of Palestinian Village
Alternative Information Center – The Jerusalem Municipality has approved construction of 268 housing units, one hotel and a number of community institutions on the site of the ancient Palestinian village of Lifta.
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
Israeli military and Palestinians clash over death of West Bank woman
The Guardian 6 Jan 2011 – The death of Jawaher Abu Rahma, 36, who collapsed after inhaling teargas has sparked a war of words, threatening a controversy akin in scale to 12-year-old Muhammad al-Dura’s death in 2000 The death of a Palestinian…
E.Jerusalem home demolitions up: rights group
Relief Web 6 Jan 2011 – Source: Agence France-Presse
Statement by the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton on the occasion of her visit to the Middle East
Relief Web 6 Jan 2011 – Source: European Union
Press Conference by Security Council President on Programme of Work for January
Relief Web 6 Jan 2011 – Source: UN Department of Public Information, UN Security Council
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (30 Dec. 2010 — 05 Jan. 2011)
Relief Web 6 Jan 2011 – Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
Pressure Mounts on Security Council to Rein in Israel
IPS Calls are growing for a swift international response to the situation in the Middle East, as Israel continues to build new settlements in Palestinian territories with increased military actions against civilians.
MIDEAST: It’s Christmas Again, and Still No Way to Bethlehem
IPS “We try to be happy and celebrate with our families during Christmas, but the atmosphere is not cheery as in other parts of the world,” says Hossam Tawwil. And as around Christmas on Dec. 25, so for Orthodox Christians preparing to celebrate Christmas Jan. 7.
Police: Palestinians stole orange trees
YNet News – Owner of orchard in central Israel discovers gang of Palestinians chopping down….
IDF develops new navigation system
YNet News – Device no larger than matchbox will bring soldiers to coordinates they seek by….
Cable: IDF officials corrupt
YNet News – US businessmen accuse officials at Karni crossing of taking bribes to allow….
IDF kills 2 Palestinians on Gaza border
YNet News – Army says men were handling border fence. Meanwhile mortar shell explodes in….
New IDF spokesman named
YNet News – Colonel Lior Lotan, army’s former chief negotiator, to assume position when Yoav….
Ashkenazi: Female soldiers prominent in IDF
YNet News – Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said Thursday that the women serving in the IDF today are not the women seen in the 1976 popular comedy Givat Halfon, where female soldiers …….
Hamas leader denies Nazi Holocaust
YNet News – A senior Hamas leader on Thursday accused Israel of carrying out “countless holocausts” against the Palestinians while saying the Nazi genocide was a “lie.” Mahmoud …….
Mubarak to Bibi: Threats against Hamas threaten region
YNet News – A few weeks after Hosni Mubarak said Israel was responsible for the stalemate in the negotiations with the Palestinians, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met the …….
Palestinian Information Center
Jerusalemite officials urge Masri to get hunger strikers released from PA jails
PIC 6 Jan 2011 – The Jerusalemite officials facing exile from Jerusalem urged Palestinian businessman Munib Al-Masri to intervene to have the hunger strikers released from the Palestinian authority’s jails.
Ihsanoglu warns international officials of dangers threatening the Aqsa
PIC 6 Jan 2011 – Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu has sent messages to foreign ministers of permanent members of the UNSC warning them that serious threats were endangering the holy Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.
Palestinian attorney accused of helping Gaza captives in occupation jails
PIC 6 Jan 2011 – The Israeli central court held a hearing to listen to the testimonies offered by the military prosecutor in the case of Palestinian attorney Shirin al-Issawi and her brothers Madhat and Raafat.
The Israelis arrest three Beit Rema municipality officials
PIC 6 Jan 2011 – The Israeli army arrested Thursday four Palestinians from the northwest Ramallah town of Beit Rema, three of them members of the town municipality, said Palestinian rights expert Fouad al-Khuffash.
Clarke foundation: We are working diligently to end Gaza siege
PIC 6 Jan 2011 – Flounders, director of Clarke foundation’s external relations, said that former US Attorney General Ramsey Clarke is making great efforts to end Gaza blockade.
Health ministry: Fatah authority withholding medicines needed in Gaza
PIC 6 Jan 2011 – The Gaza health ministry warned Wednesday that the PA health ministry in Ramallah is continuing to withhold medicines required by Gaza patients.
Father of hunger striker: My son is still on hunger strike
PIC 6 Jan 2011 – The father of Ahmed Al-Oweiwi, one of the hunger strikers in the Palestinian authority’s jails, said his son is still on hunger strike and his life is in jeopardy.
Medical sources confirm: Two Palestinians killed at the hands of IOF troops
PIC 6 Jan 2011 – Palestinian medical teams on Thursday retrieved the bodies of two Palestinians who were killed at the hands of the IOF east of Jabalia refugee camp to the north of the Gaza Strip.
Wikileaks: Israel planned to keep Gaza economy on the edge of an abyss
PIC 6 Jan 2011 – Wikileaks revealed that Israel told the US embassy in cables that it intended to keep the economy in the besieged Gaza Strip on the brink of collapse through tightening the blockade on its people.
Israeli foreign official accused of sexual harassment
PIC 6 Jan 2011 – A senior official in the Israeli foreign ministry is under investigation for sex crimes against two Asian women, Israeli channel two reported Wednesday.
Egyptian Christians’ Christmas celebration clouded by New Year’s Day bomb attack
LA Times 7 Jan 2011 – Celebrations go on as scheduled despite grief and anger over the Jan. 1 bombing at a Coptic church in Alexandria. Egypt’s Christians celebrated Eastern Orthodox Christmas Eve on Thursday despite their mourning and anger over a New Year’s Day bomb attack on a church that killed 25 Copts, and the fear of more violence.
In Lebanon, storming the gates of … the local park
LA Times 6 Jan 2011 – Activists take on Beirut officials who are jealously guarding the city’s lone green refuge, the 80-acre Horsh Sanawbar, refusing most residents access with a variety of excuses, from fear of sectarian fights to vandalism. The majestic expanse of green rises like Central Park from this cramped city of concrete, brick and steel.
Blast Awakens Egyptians to Threat From Religious Strife
New York Times 6 Jan 2011 – A fatal blast at a church has forced leaders to to acknowledge that Egypt is plagued by religious extremism that could undermine stability.
Iran Detains American Woman as Spy, Reports Say
New York Times 6 Jan 2011 – Iran’s state-controlled media said the woman had espionage equipment concealed in her teeth.
World Briefing | MIDDLE EAST: Israel: Mourners Disrupt Ceremony
New York Times 6 Jan 2011 – Angry relatives of 42 Israelis killed in a huge forest fire last month forced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop his speech on Wednesday at a ceremony honoring the dead.
Bil’in to Commemorate Killed Demonstrator
Popular Struggle Coordination Committee – The people of Bil’in will be joined by women from across the West Bank and by Israeli women organizations in commemorating Jawaher Abu Rahmah who was killed by tear-gas last week.
Why does Israel ban Gazans from recycling?
Mondoweiss – A little over a year ago when I was visiting my family in Gaza, driving all the way from the southern tip of this narrow strip to the northern tip, “About an hour’s drive”, it was hard to imagine all the news Gaza received for being…
76% of children arrested in Silwan tell DCI they suffered some form of physical violence during arrest, transfer or interrogation.
Mondoweiss – And other news from Today in Palestine: Settlers/ Land, Property, Resource Theft & Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing Study: Israelis seized 86 per cent of east Jerusalem Israeli authorities have seized 86 per cent of the land area in east Jerusalem, imposing a fait accompli that is unchangeable by…
For Jawaher Abu Rahma: As one sleeps, another wakes up. As one dies, a whole generation is born.
Mondoweiss – The tragic death of the Palestinian protester Jawaher Abu Rahma in Bil’in left all of us grieving very deeply as we sat helpless, leafing through the news stories of her sad death. That, in fact, was not an extraordinary incident to me, but rather a new…
Well who does he remind you of?
Mondoweiss – Maybe I’m wrong, but the use of this photograph by Didi Remez strikes me as an Israeli’s cry to the world for help.
Israelis refused to ‘read or touch’ detailed Palestinian documents
Mondoweiss – Didi Remez juxtaposes conflicting reports—Netanyahu’s magnanimous offer of “”continuous direct one-on-one negotiations until white smoke is wafting ” while the Hebrew press tells quite another story. Maariv daily: In the past weeks, Israeli representatives, including Netanyahu, have repeatedly rejected official documents that their Palestinian counterparts have…
EU’s Ashton Meets Palestinian Chief in Talks Drive
Al-Manar 6 Jan 2011 – EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Thursday met Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas as part of an ongoing international effort to revive the moribund peace talks. The two met at Abbas’s Ramallah headquarters in the West Bank at the end of a two-day visit by…
Israeli Occupation Forces Kill 2 Palestinians in Gaza
Al-Manar 1 Jun 2011 – Palestinians have recovered the body of two men who were shot dead overnight by Israeli occupation forces in northern Gaza, medics say. Adham Abu Selmiya, the spokesman for Gaza health services, said an ambulance found the bodies of the two martyrs killed by Israeli military…
US Delegation Urges End to Gaza Siege
Al-Manar 1 Jun 2011 – An American delegation, which arrived in Gaza via the Rafah border crossing for a three-day visit headed by former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark, has called for an end to the Israeli-imposed Gaza siege. The delegation, upon arrival in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, said…
Egypt Halts Full Asia 1 Aid Delivery to Gaza
Al-Manar 1 Jun 2011 – Egypt has imposed heavy restrictions on an Asian aid convoy, which is seeking to break a crippling Israeli blockade on the impoverished Gaza Strip. Egyptian authorities have prevented some convoy members, including Iranians and some Jordanians, from crossing into the besieged Palestinian territory and have…
Jawaher Abu Rahmah Not the First to Die from Israeli Tear Gas
Joseph Dana 6 Jan 2011 – Contrary to Israeli claims, Abu Rahmah is not the first to have died as a result of tear-gas inhalation. Already during the years of the First Intifada, Amnesty International had reported forty deaths from CS tear gas inhalation from December 1987 to June 1988 alone in…
Tight security for Egypt’s Copts
BBC 6 Jan 2011 – Coptic Christians celebrate Christmas Eve amid tight security after a bomb attack on a church in Egypt in which 23 people died.
Iran detains US ‘spy tooth’ woman
BBC 6 Jan 2011 – Iran detains an American woman accused of hiding a spying device in her teeth, Iranian newspapers report.
Israel kills men near Gaza border
BBC 6 Jan 2011 – Two Palestinian militants are killed in southern Gaza and two rockets are fired over the border into Israel, amid rising tension in the area.
Israel backs rights groups probe
BBC 6 Jan 2011 – Israeli MPs vote to establish a formal inquiry into the foreign funding of human rights groups, in a move critics describe as “McCarthyite”.
Free Jonathan Pollard [Satire]
Sabbah report 6 Jan 2011 – They are afraid to ask for anything more than clemency for Pollard. Hell, everyone in this country has known since they were tall enough to kiss Frank’s ass without having to stand on a stool that over 90 % of the members of the House and Senate…
Palestine: Yet People Celebrate New Year 2011
Sabbah report 6 Jan 2011 – Here is a new Christmas video for Palestine.
Articles
Peace, not process
Daoud Kuttab, Ma’an News Agency1/6/2011
The United States should stop pushing for the resumption of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. Doing so might be the best way to achieve peace — a paradox that reflects the huge gap between a peace process and achieving genuine peace.
Make no mistake: this is not a call to arms or an appeal for a violent uprising. Peace between the conflicting parties east of the Mediterranean and west of the Jordan river can and must be achieved through negotiations. But if one party is more interested in a process than in the need for peace, something must be wrong.
For Israel, an occupying power whose people enjoy democratic civilian authority and a GDP tens times that of the people it is denying basic rights of freedom and independence, photo opportunities provided by meeting and greeting Palestinian leaders has replaced achieving peace.
A serious look back at the 17 years since Yassir Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin shook hands on the White House lawn is revealing. The number of illegal Jewish settlements and settlers has more than doubled in the areas Israel occupied in 1967. Negotiators have parsed every possible solution to the permanent-status issues of Jerusalem, borders, settlements, refugees, and economic relations. Leaders of the world’s superpowers, United Nations officials, the Elders, and tens of people of goodwill have offered their goodwill offices and their services to bring about peace. All to no avail.
The US efforts, led by Special Envoy George Mitchell, have shown clearly that the current ruling coalition in Israel is incapable of doing the minimum required for peace. The Obama administration staked its reputation on getting Israelis and Palestinians to agree at least on security and borders. The results are mixed, at best. more.. e-mail
Breaking the Israel-Palestine Deadlock
Noam Chomsky, Truthout1/3/2011
While intensively engaged in illegal settlement expansion, the government of Israel is also seeking to deal with two problems: a global campaign of what it perceives as “delegitimation” — that is, objections to its crimes and withdrawal of participation in them — and a parallel campaign of legitimation of Palestine.
The “delegitimation,” which is progressing rapidly, was carried forward in December by a Human Rights Watch call on the U.S. “to suspend financing to Israel in an amount equivalent to the costs of Israel’s spending in support of settlements,” and to monitor contributions to Israel from tax-exempt U.S. organizations that violate international law, “including prohibitions against discrimination” — which would cast a wide net. Amnesty International had already called for an arms embargo on Israel. The legitimation process also took a long step forward in December, when Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil recognized the State of Palestine (Gaza and the West Bank), bringing the number of supporting nations to more than 100.
International lawyer John Whitbeck estimates that 80-90 percent of the world’s population live in states that recognize Palestine, while 10-20 percent recognize the Republic of Kosovo. The U.S. recognizes Kosovo but not Palestine. Accordingly, as Whitbeck writes in Counterpunch, media “act as though Kosovo’s independence were an accomplished fact while Palestine’s independence is only an aspiration which can never be realized without Israeli-American consent,” reflecting the normal workings of power in the international arena.
Given the scale of Israeli settlement of the West Bank, it has been argued for more a decade that the international consensus on a two-state settlement is dead, or mistaken (though evidently most of the world does not agree). Therefore those concerned with Palestinian rights should call for Israeli takeover of the entire West Bank, followed by an anti-apartheid struggle of the South African variety that would lead to full citizenship for the Arab population there. more.. e-mail
Besieged Gaza two years after cast lead
Stephen Lendman, Palestine Note1/5/2011
December 28 was Cast Lead’s second anniversary, a three week onslaught inflicting an appalling human, destructive and environmental toll. The war ended. Regular attacks continued, and Gaza remains suffocating under siege. Yet world leaders are doing nothing to end it or hold Israeli war criminals accountable.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) said “Gaza remains sealed-off from the outside world (after) the single most brutal event in” the occupation’s history, and “impunity for war crimes prevails.”
To date, victims’ rights have been unaddressed. International law remains ignored. Indisputable war crimes were airbrushed from history. Israeli war criminals were shielded from justice. Only three lower-ranking soldier were convicted for war-related offenses. One was for credit card theft, two others for using a nine year old boy as a human shield. Israeli government officials who ordered war, generals and top commanders who planned and implemented it, and other complicit figures were uncharged and unpunished.
World leader silence condoned them. The rule of law was trashed for imperial Israel, including allowing it to slowly suffocate over 1.5 million Gazans. Moreover, a newly released WikiLeaks cable says Israel plans major wars on Gaza and Lebanon. More on them below.
Preventing Gaza’s Reconstruction
On December 21, the Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement asked “Who will rebuild Gaza?” Six months after Israel’s cabinet decision to ease closure, a new Gisha report headlined “Reconstructing the Closure: Will recent changes to the closure policy be enough to build in Gaza,” saying…. more.. e-mail
Photostory: home demolitions in Lydd
Electronic Intifada: 6 Jan 2011 – On 13 December 2010, Israeli bulldozers, flanked by hundreds of municipal, riot squad and border police forces, demolished seven homes belonging to the Abu Eid family in Lydd, a city a few miles east of Tel Aviv. Photographer Oren Ziv documented the demolition.more
Rawabi developer Masri helps deepen Israel’s grip on West Bank
Electronic Intifada: 6 Jan 2011 – Bashar Masri, the Palestinian businessman and CEO of the company that is developing the Rawabi luxury real estate project in the occupied West Bank, appears to be actively helping Israel deepen its hold on the Palestinian economy despite his earlier claims that he is trying to help end this relationship. Ali Abunimah reports.more
Israel’s killing zone in Gaza
Electronic Intifada: 6 Jan 2011 – Young men moved up and down the rows of plastic seats with brass coffee pots and tiny ceramic cups and platters of dates in the mourning tent as Ahmed Qudaih spoke about how the Israeli military had just murdered his 19-year-old brother Hassan in the village’s borderlands.more
It’s Christmas Again, and Still No Way to Bethlehem
In Gaza: 6 Jan 2011 – * Christmas sevice at Gaza’s Holy Family Church (photo: Eva Bartlett) Jan 6, 2011 (IPS) — “We try to be happy and celebrate with our families during Christmas, but the atmosphere is not cheery as in other parts of the world,” says Hossam Tawwil. And as around Christmas on Dec. 25, so for Orthodox Christians preparing to celebrate Christmas Jan. 7. “We are from Palestine and our lives aren’t easy: we are under occupation, under siege, and we’re prevented from visiting our holy city, Bethlehem,” says Tawwil, Member of Parliament in Gaza. “We don’t truly feel like we are celebrating holy days, not in the way we’d like to.” Bendali Tarazi is a Christian living in Gaza City. “We celebrate Christmas as we can. On Christmas morning, my family and I pray at the church, and after the service we visit our relatives then go home for a Christmas meal…more
One Palestine Story at a Time
Palestine Chronicle: 6 Jan 2011 – By Joumana al-Jabri — Beirut There is all the reason for a Palestinian youth to feel distressed, uninspired, bored, angry, depressed, resolved to the status quo. There is even more reason for a Palestinian adult to feel the same and add to that disappointment and frustration in having witnessed a generation pass within agony and now seeing a generation following again inheriting that same agony. I asked a young filmmaker from the far west, one who has spent months and cumulatively years within the Palestinian refugee camps to give me one positive story. He said I have none, that is not the side I see when I am there. I pressed him to think harder. He had none. Stories that bring hope and generate positive energy may be scarce, but they are not non-existent. I have encountered a few and so has a large number, looking for those stories, believing…more
Open Letter to Jon Bon Jovi: This One Should Go out to the Palestinians
Palestine Chronicle: 6 Jan 2011 – By PACBI It is with great disappointment that the undersigned organizations learned of your scheduled performance in Israel set for 2011 as part of your ‘Circle Tour’. Given that Israel is involved in grave violations of international law and human rights, particularly as indicated in the UN Goldstone Report, we urge you to cancel this gig until the time comes when Israel is in compliance with its obligations under international law and fully respects Palestinian rights. We were particularly surprised by news of your planned performance given your deep involvement in affordable housing and homelessness issues. As part of its ongoing dispossession of the Palestinian people, Israel continues to demolish Palestinian homes and entire villages, including the Bedouin village of Al-Araqib, which was destroyed seven times this year. Indeed, the entire modern history of the Palestinian people is based on dispossession and homelessness as more than 750,000 people were made…more
Tilting Towards Israel
Dissident Voice: 6 Jan 2011 – Journalist Jonathan Cook Reveals The Bias In ‘Balance’ On Israel-Palestine Towards the end of last year, we sent out two media alerts — Put The Palestinians On A Diet and Too Toxic To Handle? — about the corporate media’s failure to report the release of documents detailing Israel’s deliberate policy of near-starvation for Gaza. “The idea”, explained a senior Israeli official, “is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger.” The human rights group Gisha published explicit Israeli formulas for the amount of food, animal feed and poultry to be allowed into Gaza, and the cold calculation of “breathing space”: the number of days before these essential supplies would run out. We exposed the near-uniform silence of the media to these shocking revelations, as well as the media’s failure to respond to many impassioned and articulate emails from the public. A rare exception,…more
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The New Dark Age 
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